For Optimum Performance and Conditioning Fuel Your Muscles with…Fat!

Continuing with Part 1:  Much like stoking a furnace with coals in order to burn body fat efficiently, a constant and steady supply of muscle glycogen must be available at all times.  So how do we access and convert stored body fat into the primary fuel source for muscular contractions?  It all starts with diet.  As indicated in the American Dietetic Association, eating disproportionately high amounts of carbohydrate rich foods (at any one meal) can trigger an excessive release of insulin.  This in turn leads to increased fat synthesis and storage even without an over consumption of calories and despite physical activity.

Interestingly enough, a number of diets including The Complete Scarsdale Diet, The I Love the New York Diet and the Zone have all purported that dietary nutrient ratios should consist of 40% carbohydrate, 30% fat and the remaining 30% derived from protein to achieve effective weight loss.  Although the 40/30/30 food ratio has gained a tremendous amount of recognition, especially in the athletic community it has had very limited success towards effective long-term weight management.  This may be due in part to the short-term adherence to the diet plan combines with a somewhat restricted food variety and a reduced calorie intake that may not support the energy demands of the brain and nervous system.

In summary it appears that carbohydrate intake is consequential in two separate ways:  1) If disproportionately high amounts of carbohydrates are eaten at any one meal and/or throughout the day, the breakdown of body fat may be greatly inhibited (regardless of a low calorie intake).  Consequently the availability and therefore the utilization of free fatty acids to the muscles may also be greatly reduced.  2) If carbohydrate intake is restricted at any one meal and/or throughout the day, not only will the brain and nervous system suffer but the body’s ability to burn fat may also be dramatically decreased therefore compromising strength, performance and conditioning.

In health and honor,
William Smith

 

PS-Just a reminder…When it comes to achieving optimal health, fitness and performance, the INTRAFITT Program is second to none because its concepts and applications favorably impact each and every aspect of our triune existence (mind, body & spirit).  This simply means that not only will you feel, look and perform at your very best on a physical level, you will also achieve a heightened ability in your cognitive thinking as well! Send me an email with any questions: gladiator@intrafitt.com or visit me at www.intrafitt.com

 

For Optimum Performance and Conditioning Fuel Your Muscles with…Fat!

Continuing with Part 1:  Much like stoking a furnace with coals in order to burn body fat efficiently, a constant and steady supply of muscle glycogen must be available at all times.  So how do we access and convert stored body fat into the primary fuel source for muscular contractions?  It all starts with diet.  As indicated in the American Dietetic Association, eating disproportionately high amounts of carbohydrate rich foods (at any one meal) can trigger an excessive release of insulin.  This in turn leads to increased fat synthesis and storage even without an over consumption of calories and despite physical activity.

Interestingly enough, a number of diets including The Complete Scarsdale Diet, The I Love the New York Diet and the Zone have all purported that dietary nutrient ratios should consist of 40% carbohydrate, 30% fat and the remaining 30% derived from protein to achieve effective weight loss.  Although the 40/30/30 food ratio has gained a tremendous amount of recognition, especially in the athletic community it has had very limited success towards effective long-term weight management.  This may be due in part to the short-term adherence to the diet plan combines with a somewhat restricted food variety and a reduced calorie intake that may not support the energy demands of the brain and nervous system.

In summary it appears that carbohydrate intake is consequential in two separate ways:  1) If disproportionately high amounts of carbohydrates are eaten at any one meal and/or throughout the day, the breakdown of body fat may be greatly inhibited (regardless of a low calorie intake).  Consequently the availability and therefore the utilization of free fatty acids to the muscles may also be greatly reduced.  2) If carbohydrate intake is restricted at any one meal and/or throughout the day, not only will the brain and nervous system suffer but the body’s ability to burn fat may also be dramatically decreased therefore compromising strength, performance and conditioning.

In health and honor,
William Smith (aka) Thunder of the American Gladiators)

 

PS-Just a reminder…When it comes to achieving optimal health, fitness and performance, the INTRAFITT Program is second to none because its concepts and applications favorably impact each and every aspect of our triune existence (mind, body & spirit).  This simply means that not only will you feel, look and perform at your very best on a physical level, you will also achieve a heightened ability in your cognitive thinking as well! Send me an email with any questions: gladiator@intrafitt.com or visit me at www.intrafitt.com

 

Type II Diabetes and Emotional Stress…Part 2

Hi, I’m Will Smith AKA Thunder of the American Gladiators.

My interest in competing and winning championship titles began to wane as my interest in the scientific discipline of diet and exercise neuroendocrinology intensified. This particular scientific elective was initially the result of my younger brother’s diagnoses and longtime struggle with Type I Diabetes. My determination to research and develop a diet and exercise related curriculum that would improve my brother’s ability to play sports and live a normal life (while also enabling him to achieve optimal levels of health, fitness and performance, minimize the use of insulin and reduce his risk of developing further cardiovascular related diseases and complications) would eventually become my obsession and is known today as the INTRAFITT Individualized Nutrition and Exercise Program.

I refer often to the following article and I am sharing it with you in several parts.  This is Part 2.

Introduction

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a serious and common metabolic disorder. The World Health Organization (WHO) has estimated the number of persons with diabetes worldwide at more than 220 million (WHO, 2009). These figures are expected to rise to 366 million by 2030 (Wild et al., 2004). Besides, diabetes mellitus is associated with a two- to four-fold increased risk of coronary heart disease and also an increased risk for microvascular diseases such as retinopathy, nephropathy, and neuropathy. Patients with type 2 diabetes also have a doubled risk level for co-morbid depression compared to healthy controls, hampering the quality of life of patients (Pouwer et al., 2003; Schram et al., 2009). Moreover, a considerable number of depressed patients suffer from high levels of diabetes-specific emotional stress (Pouwer et al., 2005; Kokoszka et al., 2009). Important factors contributing to the increasing prevalence of type 2 diabetes are obesity, physical inactivity, and an increase in the number of individuals older than 65 years (Wild et al., 2004).

Interestingly, stress has long been suspected as having important effects on the development of diabetes. More than 400 years ago, the famous English physician Thomas Willis (1621-1675) noted that diabetes often appeared among persons who had experienced significant life stresses, sadness, or long sorrow (Willis, 1675). One of the first systematic studies testing Willis’s hypothesis was described in 1935, by the American psychiatrist Dr. W. Menninger, who postulated the existence of psychogenic diabetes and described a “diabetic personality” (Menninger, 1935). Almost thirty years later, P.F. Slawson et al. described in the Journal of the American Medical Association that 80% of a group of 25 adult diabetes patients gave a history of antecedent stress mainly in terms of losses, 1-48 months prior to the onset of diabetes (Slawson et al., 1963). However, this study had several important limitations, including a very small sample size, a retrospective, uncontrolled design, and a high risk of selection bias. More recently, numerous studies have been performed, elucidating the role of emotional stress as a risk factor for the development of type 2 diabetes. The majority of these studies focus on depression. However, there is growing evidence that other forms of emotional stress contribute to the development of type 2 diabetes as well.

The aim of this review is to provide an overview of studies on the relationship between different forms of emotional stress and the risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus, involving depression, anxiety, life events or traumata, general emotional stress, work stress, and sleeping problems. The different pathways, limitations of these findings, and implications for future research will also be discussed.

Any questions or concerns on this article, please email me at gladiator@intrafitt.com.

Type II Diabetes and Emotional Stress

Hi, I’m Will Smith AKA Thunder of the American Gladiators.

My interest in competing and winning championship titles began to wane as my interest in the scientific discipline of diet and exercise neuroendocrinology intensified. This particular scientific elective was initially the result of my younger brother’s diagnoses and longtime struggle with Type I Diabetes. My determination to research and develop a diet and exercise related curriculum that would improve my brother’s ability to play sports and live a normal life (while also enabling him to achieve optimal levels of health, fitness and performance, minimize the use of insulin and reduce his risk of developing further cardiovascular related diseases and complications) would eventually become my obsession and is known today as the INTRAFITT Individualized Nutrition and Exercise Program.

I’ve written this article in several parts and today I am bringing you Part 1 of the Series.

Abstract: According to the World Health Organization, approximately 220 million people worldwide have type 2 diabetes mellitus. Patients with type 2 diabetes not only have a chronic disease to cope with, they are also at increased risk for coronary heart disease, peripheral vascular disease, retinopathy, nephropathy, and neuropathy.

The exact causes of type 2 diabetes are still not clear. Since the 17th century, it has been suggested that emotional stress plays a role in the etiology of type 2 diabetes mellitus. So far, review studies have mainly focused on depression as a risk factor for the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Yet, chronic emotional stress is an established risk factor for the development of depression.

The present review provides an overview of mainly prospective epidemiological studies that have investigated the associations between different forms of emotional stress and the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Results of longitudinal studies suggest that not only depression but also general emotional stress and anxiety, sleeping problems, anger, and hostility are associated with an increased risk for the development of type 2 diabetes. Conflicting results were found regarding childhood neglect, life events, and work stress. It is important to emphasize that publication-bias may have occurred, resulting from “fishing-expeditions,” where authors search their data for significant associations. Publication bias may also be caused by the tendency of reviewers and Editors to reject manuscripts with negative results for publication. It is therefore essential that research groups, who aim to conduct a new epidemiological cohort study, prospectively describe and publish the design of their study. Future research should focus on identifying mechanisms linking different forms of stress and incident type 2 diabetes.

Part 2 of this article to follow. Email me any time at gladiator@intrafitt.com

For your very own Individual Nutrition Plan click here NOW!

In good health,
Will AKA THUNDER of the American Gladiators

Water and Human Performance

I promised you a little more information on the subject of Water and how it relates to Human Metabolism and Performance…so picking up from our last blog…I want to explain that during periods of highly strenuous exercise, the body can lose as much as four and one half pounds of fluid.  An endurance athlete may lose as much as 4% of his entire body weight to the loss of water primarily in the form of sweat.

When preparing to exercise, three factors should be strongly considered: 1) the temperature of the exercise environment.  2) the hydration level of the body prior to exercise.  And, 3) the relative humidity of the exercise environment.  Although the first two reasons listed are fairly obvious, considerations regarding pre-exercise hydration, the third reason may need further explanation.  If you have spent any amount of time training and/or competing on the eastern coast of the United States during the summer months, you should have a pretty good idea of how humid it can get.  Relative Humidity is basically the measure of water vapor in the air.  Although this may not seem like an important factor in exercise performance, it is quite possibly the most significant limiting factor when exercising on a humid day.  For example when there is a relative humidity of 100%, the air is considered to be completely saturated with water.  As a result, the body’s cooling mechanisms are severely affected due to the fact that sweat cannot evaporate efficiently.  When this happens the body’s internal temperature can reach dangerous levels, and may result in hyperthermia.

The primary reason to consider proper hydration and rehydration before, during, and after exercise is the need to maintain proper blood plasma viscosity and to encourage normal circulation and cooling of the body.  When an individual begins sweating profusely there is a subsequent decrease in the blood plasma levels.   As a result, blood viscosity increases and therefore increases the workload of the heart which cold potentially result in a heart attack.  In order to help prevent these conditions,  aside from drinking water throughout the entire exercise session, it is recommended that 2-3 cups of water are ingested prior to exercise.  By properly hydrating the body before exercise, the body’s ability to sweat is increased thereby delaying the onset of dehydration while enabling a more subtle rise in body temperature.

“The recommended water intake for normal sedentary individuals is a minimum of 96 ounces or three quarts per day.  For physically active individuals, the minimum recommended water intake is twice that of the sedentary person or six quarts per day!!!”

Just a reminder…When it comes to achieving optimal health, fitness and performance, the INTRAFITT Program is second to none because its concepts and applications favorably impact each and every aspect of our triune existence (mind, body & spirit).  This simply means that not only will you feel, look and perform at your very best on a physical level, you will also achieve a heightened ability in your cognitive thinking as well! Send me an email with any questions: gladiator@intrafitt.com

PS- Take advantage of our Fit & Lean Forever Program on special now.  Use finallyfit for $99 discount.  It’s only $.27 a day with 365 day access to all your meal plans and exercise protocols.  You can even talk to me if you wish. www.intrafitt.com

In health & honor,
Will Smith aka/Thunder of the American Gladiators

The Role of Water in Human Metabolism & Performance

Aside from water being classified as an essential nutrient, I feel that it deserves special attention due to the fact that most people underestimate its importance in human nutrition.  One interesting fact is that the human body can survive for up to five weeks without protein, carbohydrates and/or fats, and only five days without water.

Rarely do we ever see an adequate water intake included as part of an individual’s regular dietary regime.  In fact, it has been determined that 75% of the American population is chronically dehydrated with further speculation that this finding likely applies to half the world population.

As far as the genders are concerned, it should be noted that although men have a higher percentage of water contained in their bodies than women (primarily due to a higher lean body mass) it does not make the water requirements for women any less important than those for men.

Although people normally drink water in order to satisfy the thirst drives brought on by neural innervation, there are other instances (especially before, during and after strenuous exercise) when water intake should be strongly considered.

BIOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS OF WATER:
Water performs three important biological functions in the human body: it provides structure and form to the body also known as its tugor; it provides the fluid environment both intracellularly required for normal cell metabolism and water regulates the temperature of the body.

Water can be supplied to the body by actually drinking water and other beverages high in water content such as tea and coffee, preformed water contained in foods, especially low calorie fruits and vegetables such as melons, strawberries, lettuce, tomatoes, etc. and metabolic water which is a by product of cellular oxidation.

More about Water and Human Performance…next time!

Just a reminder…When it comes to achieving optimal health, fitness and performance, the INTRAFITT Program is second to none because its concepts and applications favorably impact each and every aspect of our triune existence (mind, body & spirit).  This simply means that not only will you feel, look and perform at your very best on a physical level, you will also achieve a heightened ability in your cognitive thinking as well! Send me an email with any questions: gladiator@intrafitt.com

PS- Take advantage of our Fit & Lean Forever Program on special now.  Use finallyfit for $99 discount.  It’s only $.27 a day with 365 day access to all your meal plans and exercise protocols.  You can even talk to me if you wish. www.intrafitt.com

In health & honor,
Will Smith aka/Thunder of the American Gladiator days

Do You Know Your Fat Burning Zone?

I am continually asked by my clients “How do I know if I am burning fat?” Well, that is why I suggest wearing a heart rate monitor. It is the key to optimum efficiency during a cardiovascular exercise. The objective is to work smarter not harder. Think of a heart rate monitor as a tachometer (a device that measures RPM) for the body. For example, the speedometer in your car tells you how fast you are moving but does not reflect how hard the engine is working. The tachometer on the other hand, tells you exactly how fast the engine is turning at any given speed RPM (Revolutions Per Minute). The same is true with a heart rate monitor. Although it does not tell you how fast you are walking or running, it does indicate how fast your heart is beating BPM (Beats Per Minute).

In order for fat to burn efficiently once it enters the muscles, a constant and steady supply of oxygen must be present at all times. If the heart rate and/or level of exercise intensity is too high, the muscles will tend to rely more heavily on sugar instead of fat due to a lack of oxygen (also known as oxygen debt). If on the other hand the heart rate and/or corresponding level of exercise intensity is too low, your will most likely make inefficient use of your time, slow the rate of fat loss and decelerate the development of intra-muscular changes needed to “Reprogram” the body to be fit and lean.

How do we know how fast our heart should be beating while exercising?
The most efficient way to determine your heart rate is to take your age and subtract it from 220. Once that is determined you can then use the Fat Burning Formula of exercising between 60% – 75% of your maximum heart rate. For instance: A 45 year old person (just starting an exercise program) the appropriate target heart rate during exercise should be 220 – 45(age) = 175 Maximum Heart Rate …175 X 60% = 105. 105 would be the Target Heart Rate During Exercise. Of course we then would discuss the FITT factor which is proper Frequency, Intensity, Time & Type of exercise.

For any questions, I can be reached at http://www.intrafitt.com
gladiator@intrafitt.com

In health & honor,
William Smith aka/Thunder of the American Gladiators

Check out all our nutrition programs and on line certifications at http://www.intrafitt.com

INTRAFITT Sports Performance & Training Info

Folks,  I can’t wait to share this information with you…

Welcome to the INTRAFITT Sports Performance Nutrition & Training Curriculum!  We are elated to offer this new and improved conditioning package as the basis and foundation for education and results in the world of sports performance!  In order to excel in this world, you must be able to visualize victory because losing is not an option!  In order to achieve and maintain this level of focus and expectancy, you must adopt the proper attitude!   If you intend to rise up and become the very best you can be; you must learn to overcome mental and physical weakness while exchanging “complacency” for “commitment“, “excuses“ for “excellence“ and “disregard“ for “discipline” and “determination“....no matter what!

If you feel you have what it takes to engage in the INTRAFITT Sports Performance Nutrition & Training Curriculum, shoot me an email… will@intrafitt.com

Looking forward to hearing from you.

In strength and honor,
Will Smith, aka Thunder of American Gladiators

www.intrafitt.com

 

Meet William Smith of INTRAFITT

Yesterday I posted the following blog to my INTRAFITT Facebook page. Today, I would like to share this blog again and include a video that I produced about the INTRAFITT program. I am sure my passion will come through!!!

I posted: “Kudos to INTRAFITT client Jeffrey W for his success on the INTRAFITT program. In 8 months time, eating 5 meals a day, weight training 2x a week and doing an hour of cardio 5 days a week plus keeping his daily journal… he dropped 21% body fat! He also lost 53 pounds of fat and gained 14 pounds of lean mass and he is 67 yrs old!!!!! Now he has reprogrammed his body to continue to get leaner for life! Awesome job Jeffrey!”

This is the type of result you can expect from the INTRAFITT Program! I wanted to share my video with each you. Reach me at williamsmith@intrafitt.com with any and all questions. I am here to help each and every one of you reach your goals!

In health and honor,
William Smith (aka) Thunder of the American Gladiators
http://www.intrafitt.com

PLAN YOUR DAY OR PLAN TO FAIL….STOP WASTING TIME

There goes the alarm. You wake up with coffee and juice, get the kids off to school and head for work where your agenda is already filled with projects or meetings. After the morning dash comes long hours behind a desk, in front of a computer, in the car or out at the work site. By midmorning, your blood sugar is so low that you’re craving food loaded with sugar and fat. By remarkable coincidence, the vending machine, canteen or a box of donuts that one of your colleagues picked up on the way to work is calling your name. Then it’s lunchtime, a meal many of us skip altogether, or turn into a business meeting. After a day like this, it’s no surprise that many of us consume our entire day’s calories at night, which is usually the only time of day when our stress level is lower and/or we feel like we have the time to sit down and enjoy a meal. In fact, many of us associate relaxation with eating and/or snacking on high-calorie, high-fat foods before, during, and after dinner.

Fortunately, inside the new millennium, we see more and more people rejecting this routine and taking responsibility for their health through better nutrition and regular exercise. But how is it possible to incorporate good nutrition and fitness into a schedule like this?

Plan, Plan, Plan!

Remember, If You Fail To Plan, You Plan To Fail; It all begins with placing your nutrition and exercise program at the top of your priority list and then learning how to use those excellent organizational and time-management skills that you use at work to plan your healthy life?

Stress and Disease

Many of us put off good eating and exercise habits because we feel our lives are often times to hectic to try and change or add anything to our already busy schedules. The fact is, unless we learn how to eat and exercise optimally, each day, our lives (much like a “positive feedback cycle) will only become more difficult to manage and deal with as our minds and bodies continue to deteriorate. Thousands of scientific studies have shown a direct relationship between increased levels of stress, impaired thinking and judgment, decreased physical and mental conduct and poor eating habits. Consequently, chronic and degenerative diseases continue to rise as our desire and level of commitment to do anything about it steadily declines.

Optimal Fuel For Optimal Performance

Think of your body as a High Performance Race car. If you want it to perform (strength, speed, endurance, sexual drive etc…) you need to feed and train it optimally every day! Unfortunately, in our society, medications and supplements have become known and recognized as a convenient replacement for “Primary Nutrition” when in fact these products taken over a period of time have been shown to have more related side effects than the disease and symptoms they are being used to treat. Viagra and other OTC (over the counter) sexual aids for example are really nothing more than an expensive and perhaps dangerous replacement for eating the correct amount of nutrients and engaging in regular strength training and cardiovascular exercise.

So What’s The Answer?

Some would say “discipline” however the answer truly is knowledge, planning, and application. Sound’s simple and in fact it is. If you knew exactly how, what and when to eat and exercise each day in order to reprogram your body to be fit and lean for the rest of your life, chances are you would feel more compelled to do just that. (click here to learn how) If however, you simply cannot make the commitment to change your eating and exercise habits at this point in your life for whatever reason, there are other health alternatives that you can integrate right away that will certainly begin to improve =your body’s Health, Fitness and Performance!

Nutrient Dense Foods

Even if you don’t have time to learn the applications associated with optimal eating habits, you can at least learn and apply basic nutrition protocol such as lowering your fat intake and increasing your fiber intake. Eating lean or low fat protein foods such as skim milk, low fat or nonfat cheese, low-fat yogurt, lean beef, ham, turkey, chicken and tuna as well as high-fiber carbohydrates such as whole-grain cereals, beans, breads, fruits and vegetables will immediately begin to enhance your body’s performance!. These foods provide staying power because they take longer to digest, thus releasing energy into the body slowly.

Plan Alternatives

When you eat nutrient -dense foods during the day, you are unlikely to be as hungry at night, and will therefore be more satisfied with a lighter dinner. To get into this routine, try the following guidelines and suggestions and see if you don’t begin to perform better immediately:

• Find low-fat, high-protein foods in single serving packages.
• Keep convenient primary nutrition available at all times in your office or car
• Check your vending machine for acceptable choices such as low-fat snacks (baked chips, pretzels etc…)
• At business meetings, offer bagels with low-fat cream cheese as an alternative to donuts.
• Keep small cans of V-8 juice, water packed tuna and tiny applesauce containers in your desk or with you at work in a thermal food bag.
• Low-fat microwave popcorn and pretzels are favorite afternoon snacks, and fruit is the original fast food.
• Organize what you’ll eat for the week by purchasing foods you need on a weekend shopping trip. Then keep them handy.
• Cook on weekends and freeze one-serving portions to take with you for lunch. Pasta salads with steamed vegetable and fat-free dressings keep well in the refrigerator for a few days.
• Eat a high-fiber breakfast of whole-grain cereal with skim milk, or make a fruit smoothie with a high-grade protein powder and yogurt as a liquid breakfast.
• Bring your own bagel with a yogurt or fat-free cottage cheese with fruit (pineapple) to work when you have to skip breakfast at home.
• Other easy items are fat-free crackers, string cheese, turkey or beef jerky, or Gobble Sticks.
• When you are stuck at a fast-food restaurant, choose food items that are low in fat and order salads with chicken or beans along with a low-fat dressing choice.
• After work, remember that, although alcohol is a carbohydrate, it can only be used and metabolized by the liver. With time, planning your meal for work will become second nature. Most people find it helpful to actually schedule their snacks and meals into their daily calendar just as they would an important meeting.

Add Exercise

Use your lunchtime to walk or work out, then eat wholesome nutrient-dense foods at break times. There are many compact inexpensive pieces of home equipment you can use in front of the TV after the kids are in bed, such a slide board, home step or an aerobics video. As you continue to exercise, your muscle mass will increase, which will speed up your metabolic rate. Remember that muscle tissue burns calories, while fat tissue is stored calories. Don’t watch the scale to determine your progress, instead, monitor your energy and strength levels and pay attention to how your clothes fit.

In Summary

If you can apply all of the organizational skills and qualities that have made you successful in your work environment to your daily eating and exercise habits, you will find that achieving and maintaining Health, Fitness and Performance is really nothing more than “Planning Your Nutrition”.

Be sure to visit me at our website:  http://www.intrafitt.com/ or email me anytime at gladiator@intrafitt.com!  I would especially like to hear from you if you are trying to reconcile diabetes or any other health-related disease! You can also pick up your individualized nutrition plan on our site.

In strength and honor,

William Smith/aka Thunder of the American Gladiators