Fitness Health Exercise Article

This is a fitness health exercise article that details some fundamental facts about the wonders of exercise. Why Wonders? Well, unless you've been living in a cave, you've heard by now how exercise can increase your vitality, lower your risk of heart disease and other chronic ailments in addition to burning unwanted fat. Exercise truly appears to be a remedy to what ails you.

So what exactly is it about exercise that makes possible all these wonderful benefits, especially when it comes to burning fat. To address that, let's first take a look at the primary source needed for us to even move and then we'll take a look at how exercise utilizes that source.

Our Energy Source

This mysterious source that we need to use to simply move and stay alive is of course energy. It is the basis for all the things we do. The energy source supplied to your body comes from the foods we eat, which fall into three types: carbohydrates, protein and fats. For these sources to function as energy, they must first be converted into a form the body can use, namely adenosine triphosphate or ATP.

Your body needs a continuous supply of ATP in order to perform any type of physical activity. It can get the ADP from three sources. The first comes from the ADP stored in your muscles. The second source comes from a process called anaerobic metabolism which uses the carbs already present in your body. The third source and the one of most importance to the process of burning fat comes from the process known as aerobic metabolism ( thus the name aerobic exercise) which uses carbs, fat and oxygen to produce the ATP.

Exercise Types

As for the exercises, they can be classified into two categories: aerobic and anaerobic. Aerobic (meaning requiring free oxygen) exercise are activities such as jogging, speed walking, bicycling, swimming or any activity that raises your heart rate for an extended amount of time. Aerobic exercise is also the exercise we typically think about when someone says that they are going to start exercising.

So by performing aerobic exercise, you cause your body to start the beneficial process of aerobic metabolism. The process uses the fat stored in your body as part of the catalyst needed for aerobic metabolism, therefore starting the much desired state of fat burning. As long as you're in this state, your body is burning fat.

Anaerobic exercise on the other hand uses anaerobic metabolism, which is usually underused because of the lack of understanding of how it contributes to the process of burning fat. Anaerobic exercise also known as resistance training can be defined as any exercise in which force must be applied to move an external object. The first type of resistance training that comes to mind for many is of course weight lifting. However, the use of rubber bands and isometrics are also a forms of resistance training.

So how does resistance training help you to burn fat when anaerobic metabolism uses carbohydrates to create ATP?

Well the benefit actually comes after you have completed your resistance training and has to do with your basal metabolic rate or BMR. BMR is the minimum caloric requirement needed to sustain life when at rest and can be responsible for burning up to 70% of the total calories expended. This values varies, however, and is dependent on such factors as genetics, gender, age, diet and exercise.

Where resistance training plays a part in this process pertains to your lean body mass. Lean body mass burns more calories than the fat on your body. Resistance training builds more lean mass such as muscles and as a result increases your BMR. If you ever saw the headline "Burn Fat While You Sleep" and the product doesn't involve drugs then this in all likelihood is what they're referring to.

So if you want to burn fat while you sleep, you need to preform resistance exercises to build more muscle mass.

In short, I hope this fitness health exercise article enlightened you on some facts you may not have been aware of. And given the importance of knowledge, we must remember that in our battle of the bulge, knowledge will always be our best ally.

Top 6 Nutritional Supplements and how to booty them for Muscle-Building and General Fitness Training

There are 6 nutritional supplements available, however, that are indispensable for enhancing muscle-building and fat loss. Given the importance of a good diet, this should be the highest priority in any fitness training program. Once your diet is tuned to perfection, adding the right nutritional supplement at the right time will take a great thing and make it better.

Certain bodybuilding supplements are extremely valuable in particular situations, especially when the goal of your weight training program is to lose fat while building muscle. Our bodies have been designed to survive the harshest of conditions, readily storing body fat during times when food is plentiful and shedding it (along with muscle-tissue) when food is scarce. While this characteristic of our metabolism kept us alive through the ice-ages, it makes things really difficult for building a lean-muscular physique (that is if you are not busy running from saber-tooth tigers and fighting rival tribes!).

The right supplementation in the context of your bodybuilding or fitness workouts (pre and/or post-workout) can "trick" the body into thinking it has what it needs so that muscle-mass is preserved. What happens during intense weight training and cardiovascular exercise is that our bodies, along with burning glycogen and body fat, are also very efficient at breaking down muscle tissue. This metabolic adaptation helps to preserve energy stores at the expense of metabolically costly muscle-tissue; if you are starving the more muscle you have the quicker you will die (good for us back in the cave-man days, but bad for us now!). Our muscles are constantly being broken down and built back up from hard weight training, and if we could shift the balance just slightly away from degradation (catabolism) and toward accumulation (anabolism), this would have a huge effect on the effectiveness of our muscle training program.

My top-6 list of indispensable nutritional supplements:

1. glutamine

How Glutamine works: glutamine is known as a "conditionally essential" amino acid; it becomes "essential" during intense exercise such as weight training or cardiovascular exercise, as the need for glutamine is greatly increased. During bouts of intense activity (or stress), glutamine enters the bloodstream and travels into the liver where it is converted into glucose; this newly synthesized glucose helps to fuel the working muscles. This process is known as gluconeogenesis-the process of turning a non-carbohydrate substance (glutamine and some other amino acids) into glucose which can be used for energy. While this all sounds great for the muscles, the problem is that the primary source of glutamine during exercise is from broken down muscle tissue; the body actually breaks down muscle tissue to help fuel the working muscles by preserving their glycogen stores1. Supplying the muscles with an exogenous source of glutamine (i.e a glutamine supplement, has been shown to reduce muscle degradation during intense exercise-the body is "tricked" into not breaking down as much muscle tissue.

2. Branched chain amino acids (BCAAS)

How BCAAs work: Unlike glutamine, BCAAs, consisting of leucine, isoleucine, and valine, are essential amino acids, meaning that the body cannot synthesize them from precursors-they must be obtained from the diet. Like glutamine, there is a greater requirement for BCAAs during intense exercise such as weight training and they are derived primarily from catabolized muscle tissue. BCAAs are broken down into (among other things) alanine and glutamine (remember glutamine?) which are in-turn used to generate glucose in the liver. Supplementing with BCAAs will help to prevent their degradation in muscle tissue, limiting muscle-degradation and speeding up recovery. Leucine itself has been shown to stimulate protein synthesis, and research has shown that the BCAAs have a positive effect on recovery, can reduce fatigue, and encourage an overall anabolic state in the muscle. BCAAs seem to be especially effective in times of reduced calorie intake (i.e. while dieting down to lose that last 5lbs).

3. Protein: (whey protein isolates)

How whey protein works: This one may seem like a no-brainer; proteins are made of amino acids and as discussed above, certain aminos can greatly enhance your weight training efforts. Whey protein is a great protein source because it is very high in both BCAAs and glutamine; any whey protein will have these qualities, but after a weight training workout timing is the key. Many whey proteins are a mixture of both whey isolate and whey concentrate. Whey protein isolate is absorbed extremely fast, while whey concentrate is broken down more gradually over time. Fast-acting proteins such as whey isolate are known as "anabolic proteins", dumping tons of amino acids into the bloodstream very quickly, promoting muscle-growth. Slower acting proteins such as whey concentrate, soy protein concentrate, or calcium casienate (milk protein) are known as "anti-catabolic proteins"; they provide a slow, steady release of amino acids into the bloodstream helping to reduce muscle-protein breakdown for fuel. After a weight training workout, we want our protein to get there fast-whey protein isolate is ideal for this purpose.

4. Creatine monohydrate:

How creatine works: Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is the primary energy source to fuel intense muscular contractions, such as those during sprinting or weight-training. ATP contains a high-energy phosphate bond, which is broken down into ADP (adenosine monophosphate), releasing the energy necessary for muscles to contract. Every muscle cell has a store of phosphate, from which ADP is recycled back into ATP to continue fueling contractions. As this pool of phosphate gets depleted, so does our ability to make ATP; when we run out of ATP the muscle is exhausted and unable to further contract (i.e. the muscle fails such as on the last rep of a bench press). It was discovered some time ago that our muscles can actually be "loaded" with additional phosphate, which can extend our capacity to do high-intensity exercise. Phosphate is stored in the muscle as creatine phosphate, which acts to replenish cellular phosphate stores. When creatine monohydrate is ingested, it is converted to creatine phosphate and absorbed into the muscle cell, helping to replenish the phosphate pool. After an intense workout, muscle phosphate levels are drastically decreased. Supplementing with creatine post-workout replenishes creatine phosphate stores much faster, speeding recovery. Creatine also acts through unknown mechanisms to increase protein synthesis and muscle growth. For every molecule of creatine absorbed into the muscle, several molecules of water are absorbed, giving the muscles a fuller, more pumped appearance. A hydrated muscle is an anabolic muscle.

4. Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs)

How EFAs work: Without getting too much into fatty acid biochemistry, EFAs are required by the body for a countless number of processes, and are an essential element to any nutritional supplementation regimen whether for bodybuilding, athletic training, or general fitness training. The typical American diet is largely deficient in EFAs, and dieters often have less than optimal levels while on low-fat diets. There are 3 basic EFAs which are named based on their chemical structure, including omega-3, 6, and 9. Most commercial EFA supplements are a blend of the various EFAs, providing an ideal EFA profile.

5. Meal replacement powders (MRPs): Commonly known as the "protein shake", MRPs serve not only as a convenient protein supplement, but as a substitute for regular meal.While real food is always best, the busy schedules of most people simply cannot accommodate the optimal 5-6 meals per day-MRPs are a great way to stay on the diet in spite of the most hectic of schedules. There are many brands commercially available with different nutrient profiles; choose the product that tastes good and provides the nutrient profile that fits for your particular diet plan.

6. Multivitamin/multi-mineral supplements: While in an ideal world we would get all the vitamins we need directly from the food we eat, in practice we can all benefit from a quality multivitamin. Stay away from the typical once/day tabs found at the supermarket. It is questionable whether these are absorbed well at all. Stick with those vitamin/mineral supplements derived from whole-food extracts-these are more readily absorbed. In addition, whole-food based multis may contain unknown substances which are found in food which are either essential or beneficial; science is constantly discovering new nutrients present in food-our current list is far from comprehensive.

There you have it, the only nutritional supplements you need to care about. They have been proven both anecdotally and with rigorous peer-reviewed research to enhance the muscle-building and fat-burning effects of any weight training and fitness program including.

A Review of the Body's Energy Systems for Fitness and Athletics

I've been talking a lot lately about using the right form of energy system work (cardio) to get in peak condition for your chosen exercise activity. For example, one of the dumbest things I see in sports training is football coaches sending their linemen on 1-3 mile runs, and timing them! As far as their sport conditioning goes, that's pointless to the point of counterproductive. Since I've been harping on it I thought I'd give a quick overview of the body's four energy systems, the fuels used, and give an example.

The Creatine-Phosphate System (C-P System): The Creatine-Phosphate System, sometimes called the Phosphagen System is the body's fastest form of energy. It provides energy for extremely intense, short-term activities like heavy resistance training and sprinting that last around 10 seconds or less.

The C-P system utilizes stored creatine phosphate in the muscle to regenerate ATP (the actual energy of the body). Since only a small amount of creatine phosphate can be stored by the muscle this is a fast but very limited system. The body regenerates creatine phosphate but the process takes time. This is why an athlete can't maintain their top speed for any more than a few seconds.

Fast, heavy lifting, short sprints, and any short stressful activity under 6 seconds or so are the best methods of training the C-P system.

Fast Glycolysis: Glycolysis is the process by which the body breaks down carbohydrate (sugar) for energy. This can be done in the muscle by breaking the carbohydrate down into pyruvate or lactic acid. During the course of this conversion some ATP is regenerated and utilized for energy. Oxygen is not required for lactic acid to be created and so this process is sometimes called anaerobic glycolysis. Since the production of some ATP and lactic acid is a fairly fast process this system is used for short duration activity as well.

Fast glycolysis is utilized during longer strength training sets and high intensity activities lasting longer from 6 seconds to about two minutes. Mid-range sprints and fast strength movements can train this system. Most American football players utilize the C-P system and fast glycolysis to provide the energy they need during play.

Slow Glycolysis: When oxygen is available glycolysis operates a little differently. During slow glycolysis (sometimes called aerobic glycolysis) the end result of the breakdown of carbohydrate is some ATP and pyruvate as opposed to lactic acid. The pyruvate is then passed on to the Krebs Cycle (the body's main power plant) in the cell's mitochondria where it can be further broken down to create more energy. As such slow glycolysis is much more efficient than the C-P system or fast glycolysis in that it nets much more ATP per molecule of sugar used. However, it's a much slower system, trading speed for efficiency.

Slow glycolysis is trained with exercise lasting longer than two minutes but is still fairly intense. Short, fast runs and sets lasting longer than two minutes are the best ways to train slow glycolysis. The development of the fast and slow oxidative system is the most important for most fitness goals. Most athletic activities rely on a combination of the two and they are also among the most effective training protocols for body fat loss.

The Oxidative System: The oxidative system consists of slow glycolysis, covered above, and beta-oxidation. Beta-oxidation is the series of reactions by which free fatty acids are broken down in the presence of oxygen. This results in acetyl CoA and hydrogen atoms. The acetyl CoA is sent directly to the Krebs cycle and the hydrogen is sent to the electron transport chain to squeeze out a few more ATP. This is by far the most efficient energy system in net ATP created, but also the slowest.

Beta-oxidation is the energy system primarily used by the body to create energy while at rest or during very low intensity exercise like long, slow running, cycling, or walking. Most long distance runners have developed a very refined oxidative system.

With a solid understanding of how your body works it becomes much easier to develop an efficient and effective exercise training program. By identifying and targeting the right fitness qualities you'll cut down on your wasted time in the gym and increase your training results.