Monday, April 25, 2011

Fire Up that Metabolism, Feel the Burn!

Jefferson Squat
 You all know the feeling, you are working out, halfway through the exercise and you feel the BURN.......All these thoughts start racing through your head....You begin to think to yourself, is this pain normal, is this self-imposed punishment worth it, where am I, why am I here? All of these questions, depending on what you're doing at that present moment, are probably logical.  In regards to the is this worth it and is this normal, the answers are YES and YES.
Let's talk about the role of Lactate and specifically an interestingly, cool form of weighted-resistance training known as Lactate Training.

Ladies and Gents, when we put our bodies under the stress of
Deadlift
exercise, it must have an energy pathway producing energy to get our
muscles moving.  There are 3 different pathways that operate both together and independently.  The first is ATP energy production, which happens for about the first 20 seconds of any movement.  It fades quickly and the body transitions into the glycolytic or Anaerobic energy pathway.  This pathway is good for about 2 minutes of work and if we are still continuously moving, the body moves into the next method of energy production, the Aerobic pathway, which is the preferred energy system for endurance exercises like running, swimming, or cycling.  These are vague, quick explanations, but fine for some background info.

Stability Ball Shoulder Press
Now, back to lactate.  Intense exercise will quickly max out the aerobic physiology, forcing your body into anaerobic energy production.  We need energy faster than our bodies can adequately deliver oxygen; so, the muscles generate energy anaerobically breaking down glycogen molecules into pyruvate, which eventually becomes lactate.  We have heard of lactic acid before, but actually, lactic acid was first found in dairy milk (Lactic Acid, AKA, Milk Acid).  Lactate is the actual compound produced in human metabolism.  During intense exercise, the aerobic capacity becomes "cashed out", hydrogen ions from the breakdown of ATP energy begin to accumulate in the muscle cells.  These hydrogen ions are actually the culprit for the burn that you feel in the muscles, not lactic acid buildup, as we commonly thought or heard! These hydrogen ions cause the pH of the cell to become more acidic, thus the "BURN" (acidosis).  The lactate is actually the "good guy, " grabbing the rouge hydrogen ion and buffering against the pH change, reducing damage.

Split-Squat

During "power" exercises, when the demand for energy is higher, lactate is produced faster than the tissues ability to remove it.  The lactate concentration in the bloodstream rises.  Why is this beneficial, you are asking? What does this mean for my muscles and body metabolism? Science has shown us that there is a direct link between lactate and Human Growth Hormone (HGH).  HGH plays a huge role for burning or metabolizing fat for energy production.  Actually, lactate is a chief promoter of 2 powerful muscle building and fat burning hormones, Testosterone and HGH.  This increases lean muscle mass and decreases fat mass.  Your muscles will tone up and the energy production required will strip fat away.  This is what you want, this is WHY you workout, the desire for a more comfortable, more efficient body (that looks good and fits into your flashy clothes)!

Tricep Floor Press
OK, what you've been waiting for......the recipe on how to do Lactate Training:
  • Do Compound Movements, ones that involve multiple muscle groups like the pictures you see here.  Do these as opposed to isolation exercises (bicep curls) or machines.  Compound movements are well-suited for fat burning because they require many burnt calories to accomplish the movement.  You work more muscles, burn more calories all in one complex movement.  WIN WIN!
  • Take it SLOW through the movement.  3 to 5 seconds through the concentric or action phase of the movement (e.g. the upward press on bench press), Pause, then 3 seconds on the eccentric or negative phase of the movement (the return to the starting point of the exercise).  Take it slow through 12 to 15 repetitions, concentrating on proper form.  Because these are slower reps, you will want to use a lighter weight during the set. Minimize rest between sets to only about 10 to 15 seconds during the circuit.   Depending on the number of exercises in your circuit, you will want to complete the circuit 3 to 5 times total.
  • Short rest intervals between circuits.  Rest no longer than 75 seconds between your circuits.  If you rest too long, the oxygen you breath will clear the lactate from the bloodstream.
Lactate Training = Slow reps, long sets, with short rest


Stability Ball Hamstring Curl
The take home message is this:  Lactate Training will ignite your fat burning metabolism (because of the HGH correlation), and after weight training, this furnace will run on high all day long (even when you're kicked back on the couch watching Fraiser or filling out TPS reports at the J.O.B.)  But remember, you have to work your entire body and stay away from isolation exercises.  We want to keep that heart-rate pumping during this workout.  Don't get caught chatting it up with Joe Blow about how bad NBA basketball sucks or grabbing digits from the opposite sex, you're there to WORK! So, get to it!

Side Note: Unfortunately, aerobic exercise doesn't boost the metabolism post-workout like weight-training does.  Don't get me wrong, I like to run a few miles and do some races, but you have to diversify your fitness with some weight-training.  Mix it up, your body will thank you and working out will be more fun in the long run.

Get out there, MOVE, enhance and embrace the BURN!











Tuesday, April 12, 2011

So That's Where Butterflies In the Stomach Come From



Here is a really interesting article discussing the link between the gut and the mind.  A really cool scientific explanation that really had me shaking my head a few times.  Our bodies are truly amazing! Give this a read just because of the fact that, more than likely, this is information explaining a connection you have never heard about.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/04/12/beware--bacteria-growing-in-your-gut-can-influence-your-behavior.aspx

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Beautifully RAW

Jami has us eating raw today (Sunday) and I love it! We thought to take a day to load up on vitamins and minerals and cleanse a little bit.   Isn't it beautiful, what colors! Tastes amazing also!
This is a dish with papaya, strawberries, and lime juice.  Good on its own, but we actually used it in green smoothies.
An incredible taste to this dish today that we had for lunch, Nori rolls with avacado, fresh veggies, sea salt, yummy! It was really cool too, the avacado played a "meaty" roll to the dish.  Really neat how that worked out.  Delicious! Jami is quite the chef!

Raw Kale salad, loaded with some poweful minerals and fiber that are so beneficial for our gut.  We all want healthy guts!  Gotta have good pipes; an unhealthy gut can lead to a bad day at the office. 

For a negotiated fee, Jami will come to your house and be a raw chef to help lead your gut to the promised land of peace and tranquility.  : )
I am one blessed dude to have her skills.  Glad she's on my team!

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

And I'm Jami Lynn......

I don't know why it has taken me so long to introduce myself and say HELLO!!! I've been wanting to be really clear about my intention for writing on this blog. It has made me think a lot about what I put out into the world, into our universe. I have been exploring my authentic self. Most of my life has been about pleasing others....or I guess I should say, squashing my own being in order to not ruffle any or anyone's covers. Keeping the peace, smiling and being NICE. Although I think while growing up this was just the way I knew how to survive the world, now as an adult I'm realizing that some of the peace that I felt so strongly was my responsibility..wasn't!!! I have really protected some of me from the world simply out of fear ....so as this blog came about, which I was extremely excited about, I snuck back into my safe place...tucked away inside.
SO...all that to say, here goes!

I am a health and wellness junkie!! I love nutrition, all things natural, nature and fitness which is currently my weak link but in progress. I feel like the connection between my body, my mind/emotions and my spirit is what it's all about. I have a friend that calls it being connected to your GOD Presence. I love that. I desire to live my life through that connection and let that be what I share with the world.

I am so excited that Keith and I are both passionate about this lifestyle as a team. We make a great team! We laugh a LOT together and I am so thankful for that! I love him. I am excited for this journey that we have embarked upon to work together and share with others what we have learned and are learning about living connected ....being healthy in body, mind and soul.

Right now we are writing a daily motivational for a group here in Little Rock who is doing a Green Smoothie Challenge, for 21 days!!!! This is our second go round and we now have a name and logo, Green Mustache Club. It is a lot of fun to team up and write to folks in a way that hopefully inspires and stokes something inside of them that wants to come out and LIVE!  I am excited for all things coming up too.....not even knowing yet what they might be.

Until next post.....peace!

We Have to Teach Each Other

Check out this powerful video explanation about food safety from Robyn O'Brien, a food safety author/advocate.  We have to make some changes in food quality.  We are the most powerful nation on the planet but yet we are sick! Healthcare cost are astronomical.  We can't be naive anymore.  We must teach each other, and it starts with our family and friends.  Pass it on.  Let's spread these words and make some positive changes.  Our bodies need whole foods, real foods!