Just a little fun at Athlon Elite for your mid-week slump…

 And Moose Wins…  Good Boy!

How’s That Metabolism???

Research now shows that on average, most people experience a 2-4% decline in their resting metabolic rate with each passing decade.  Add to that the 5 lbs. of muscle loss and the 5 lbs. of fat increase that the average person experiences and getting older becomes a pretty depressing proposition.

(read on…)

"Age-related metabolic decline" is the scientific term for some of the negative physical changes the average person experiences as they age (notice I said "they").

They lose muscle mass, they gain fat mass and their strength & power abilities rapidly decline.  Sometimes to the point that they can’t even get out of a chair or out of bed and you know what comes next…

This happens because we just don’t use our muscles as much as we did when we were younger and in the same ways.

There’s a whole host of reasons for this, but allow me to be "captain obvious" here…

We just plain sit more.

As we climb the corporate ladder and "progress" in life we get a more expensive and softer chair and get to sit in it, more and more!  Ahhh, the good life…

I’m guilty of this… I have transitioned from only doing personal training (where I was always moving and jumping around performing the "labor" of personal training) to now doing a lot more management of a fitness business (which requires more time behind this computer).  I do still train a small group of clients but nothing like I used to.

So the result of all this sitting is that our big lifter muscles, often called "fast-twitch" muscle fibers, the ones that help you stand up, pick things up, move with power and precision, don’t get stimulated much anymore.  And you know what happens when you’re not following the body’s "use it or lose it" principle… the muscles go away.

    Some people mistakenly think, "well, I get my exercise, I walk my dog every night and ride my bike on the weekends…"  But, unfortunately, walking or casually riding a bicycle doesn’t stimulate the "big guys" enough… the "fast twitch" muscle fibers.  The activity is not at a high enough intensity to really recruit them into action and so they still wither and die from lack of use…

and you still experience "age-related metabolic decline."

And… the worst thing about it is when it comes time to use your big strong muscle fibers, like when you stumble and need a big powerful muscle contraction to prevent yourself from falling on your face, they’re no longer their and you suffer.

But, as I said above,

YOU’RE NOT AVERAGE… YOU’VE GOT US!

Will Work For A Metabolism…

How are you going to prevent the grim scenario presented above???  Because there really is a solution.

When it comes to muscle mass, strength and metabolism as we age,

intense exercise is king!

With it…  you get to keep the muscle mass (particularly the fast-twitch fibers) and a much higher metabolism through your lifespan.

Without it…  well you get to politely smile and waive bye, bye to parting muscle mass, a healthy metabolism and that lean, energetic, youthful body!

So what is "intense" exercise?  Well, strength training is a good one for starters.  Lifting a heavier weight than what the body normally does is a great way to create that "overload" effect, and hence maintain or build more muscle (particularly the bigger fast-twitch muscle fibers).

Pick an exercise that includes many muscle groups like a deadlift or a squat and start doing it, gradually increasing the amount of weight your lifting over time.  And for goodness sake, hire a professional to make sure your proficient at it as well as help you pick a few other really good ones that will result in you reaching your goals.

Pain Is Your Friend… No Really!

There are also many other ways to increase the "intensity" of your exercise program and hence keep that lean, mean, beach-machine of a body.

Here are a few of the techniques/workouts we prescribe here in Athlon Elite:

• Interval running or hill running (something with a good incline)
  

• Body weight circuits that bring about fatigue like rounds of 10 push-ups, 10 sit-ups and 10 back extensions for 20 minutes
  

• Rope skipping for 2 minutes then rest 1 minute
  

• Burpees, jumping jacks and other explosive movements like box jumping

• Kettlebell exercises (taught by Travis here at Athlon Elite)

• Tire flips, farmer walks, and sled dragging

There are many ways to accomplish the "overload" and hence an intense exercise routine.  Just make sure that (1) it’s a physically demanding exericse, (2) that it involves multiple muscle groups and joints, and (3) it is done near your maximum heart rate for short bursts.

You can do it!  And if you’re not sure you can come into Athlon Elite for a trial workout and a FREE consultation with one of our Lead Trainers to figure out how we can help you do it.  It really does work and we have over 100 success stories on it working.  Click here to request a FREE consultation.  It will be the best decision you ever make!

Until next time,

Ryan

P.S. Ask about our multiple person discount.  At these prices you can’t afford not to take advantage of our program.  Sign up for a FREE consultation, click here.

If you’ve been involved with Athlon Elite at all since we opened you already know how much importance we give to proper "recovery nutrition."  In fact, we feel so strongly about it we supply all our clients with a specialized recovery drink, FLUID, to help with their recovery.

Well, I’m finally starting to see this concept of quick post-workout recovery nutrition pop-up in the mainstream media.  Last night I saw a commercial for "Muscle Milk," a type of post-workout recovery drink, and a famous football player saying ‘his workout isn’t over until he finishes his drink.’

While I don’t particularly like Muscle Milk and it’s formula, I’ll give them credit for getting the timing right.

You see, there’s a pretty crucial window of time where the body can repair itself and develop at an accelerated rate after exercise. This is due to hormonal changes within the body during intense exercise, but the changes are temporary and return to normal rapidly (some estimate as quickly as 30 minutes).

Everything about recovery nutrition is about the speed at which nutrients can get from the mouth to the cellular level. This window is a roller coaster curve, greatest immediately after exercise, and rapidly declining.  Ingestion of solid food can take hours to digest, empty the stomach, enter the blood stream, and arrive at the cellular level. At this point, the hormonal window from your exercise bout is long gone, and no "added" benefits from post-workout recovery nutrition can occur.  Solid food simply takes too long to capitalize on the window of opportunity.  Post-workout recovery drinks are based on supplying the body with the right balance of the right nutrients at the right time (right time meaning right away).

Here’s the problem… many of the "experts" seem to disagree on what that "right" balance of nutritients is.

Some feel it’s mostly protein,

some feel it’s mostly carbohydrate

and some are now saying it’s all in the "formulation" of the ingredients (like highly refined, almost vaporized powders that can be absorbed and used more effectively by the body).

Last week at the National Strength & Conditioning Association’s conference in Las Vegas research was presented on the many forms of supplementation, carbohydrate, whey protein, soy protein, casein protein, etc. for recovery nutrition.  Each presentation had good scientific evidence to support its use as a recovery food.

So which one is best?

Well it would appear (as with everything in the world in my opinion) that variety is best.  A little of each seems to be the way to go, though the animal proteins (whey & casein) were a little more superior than soy protein for building muscle.

—Whey protein is more rapidly digested and absorbed and has a greater concentration of branch chained amino acids and hence causes a greater increase in protein synthesis (the building of muscle) immediately after exercise…

—Casein protein is absorbed more slowly and thus it doesn’t increase synthesis as well as whey protein, but because of its "slower" properties it maintained levels of the "good stuff" longer in the blood and lead to less "breakdown" of the muscles during the recovery period over whey protein…

—Carbohydrate supplementation after exercise has shown a better replenishment of the "fuel" in your muscles and an improved immune function after the harsh effects of intense exercise…

So, the take home message here is they’re all good for you and a little of each is probably the best bet.  The key is in the timing of ingestion (drink it down right away).  The body is primed and ready to really use the nutrients immediately after exercise so get the fuel in soon, within 30 minutes.

On a personal note, I prefer the drink FLUID over all the other formulas because it has a good ratio of carbohydrate to protein and it has a little vitamin C and glutamine (an amino acid shown to aide in the recovery from exercise, but that’s a whole different blog post).

For those of you on a budget, guess what…

a little skim milk mixed with some Hershey’s chocolate is almost as good and in some cases even better.

Again, the key is to get it in right away… anything… even a can of soda according to Dr. Chad Kerksick from Oklahoma University.  Any kind of fuel taken immediately after exercise is going to inhibit the "catabolic effects" of exercise (the muscle destruction that occurs after a hard bout of exercise).  So go eat something right away!

Until next time,

Ryan

P.S. FLUID can be purchased at Athlon Elite and we even have it in little single serving packs so you can give it a try first!  (805) 440-0215

The New York Times published an interesting story last week on Larry Haubner, 107 years-old and still pumping iron!  He’s now out-lived his savings account TWICE!  And show’s no signs of slowing down!

Ask Larry Haubner for the secret to living 107 years, and the Fredericksburg man flexes his biceps, flashes a mostly toothless smile and growls. "Nutrition!" he bellows. "Exercise! I think we should all exercise more than we do."   Read more here.

And after you read it and start thinking about your retirement account you better get in to see Steve English, Certified Financial Planner at Merrill Lynch.  He can be found around Athlon Elite usually at 5:30!