Create your Metabolism

What is the ideal metabolism?

Is it being able to eat anything you want and not gain weight? Well not exactly.
For weight loss and health purposes, an ideal metabolism is where we can
effectively digest and utilize food without excessive conversion of calories to body fat. A healthy metabolism should also allow us to draw upon our body fat reserves when needed. The typical American diet has robbed us of the ability to use our own body fat for energy because of the excessive amounts of poor quality carbohydrates available to us. We are relying so heavily on sugar and sugar substitutes that our bodies see no need to use our own body fat for energy. It is this phenomenon called Syndrome X or Metabolic Syndrome that is causing a large number of health epidemics today, such as heart disease and Type II diabetes.

There are certain genetic factors that affect the way we process food. But there are many lifestyle factors that are within our control and they are;
1. Total Calorie intake
2. Meal Frequency
3. Macronutrient ratio i.e. Protein: Carbohydrate: Fat ratios.
4. Exercise

It is important to understand that all of the above factors are intimately connected to each other in regards to creating a healthy metabolism. We can control one or all of these variables to help create a metabolism that works for us instead of against us. #weightloss #physicalexcellence #yoyodieting

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Breathing and Core Strength: Make the Connection

 

Core stabilization and respiration during high performance activity requires that the respiratory mechanism, inner unit and outer unit function properly and in sequence with each other. The activation of the outer unit is inversely related to the action of respiration and diaphragmatic excursion. Therefore the more the outer unit is contracted the less efficient breathing becomes. Therefore to insure efficient ventilation during high performance activity, there must be sufficient strength in the inner unit to allow for use of respiratory mechanics.

In plain English, what the above statement means is this; If your inner core is weak, the body will compensate by using the outer core to stabilize the spine. When this happens breathing is compromised, which causes a stress response in the body. Because breathing will always override stabilization, a tug-of-war between breathing and stabilizing occurs. This causes the body to waste energy and ultimately lose performance and in most cases get injured.

Therefore to maximize both breathing and performance, both systems need to be functional separately and also when working together. #breathingandcoreareone

 

PE F.A.D Buster|Open Chain Exercises and Glute Development

 

“Trying to build a butt with fire hydrant kicks is like trying to sculpt marble with an emory board.”

Terrence Thomas

The gluteus maximus muscles is designed for power and large movements such as squatting, running, jumping, and lunging. Therefore to develop the glutes, these movements must be performed. Whose butt would you rather have? A marathoner’s or a sprinter’s like Flo-Jo’s?  One of the major differences in the two “runners” is the intensity and muscle fiber recruitment that each of them performs. The marathoner moves in a slow and steady pace utilizing slow twitch muscle fibers. On the other hand sprinting activates the fast twitch fibers, which the glutes are predominantly composed of. This puts the butt in a perfect position to respond favorably. The squat and lunge patterns are the best for developing and shaping the butt. All squatting and lunging is done in a closed chain pattern (i.e. the feet are on the earth and the leg is moving the body away form the earth). This allows the glutes to be used in the exact way in which they are designed. Closed chain exercises for the lower body also promote optimal neural drive in the muscle. to learn more about neural drive, refer to my neural drive article in RxMuscle that explains it all. #neuraldriveincreasemuscletone #closedchainexercise

 

Corrective Exercise|Back Pain: Straighten Out or Stiffen Up!

 

 

Joel E. Goldthwait states that “The nervous system is peculiarly protected by a bony covering against trauma from without, but is unprotected against mechanical trauma from within”. To expand this thought further, the musculoskeletal system fundamentally is unprotected from within. Mechanical stress is one of the key contributors to the onset or exacerbation of osteoarthritis. In plain English, this means that the majority of pain that people have is a result of the body being in poor position. When your body is out of place so to speak, nerves and blood vessels get compressed, waste products build up in a concentrated area and creates pain. If the thought of looking better and feeling better isn’t motivation enough to focus on your posture, then consider that it will help you get out of pain. With that being said, it’s not just about making your body as straight as you can. Taking your posture to the other extreme will create the same problems. The key is finding the balance or zero resistance point within your own body##

 

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