via Gnolls.org

“Eat Like A Predator, Not Like Prey”:

Paleo In Six Easy Steps, A Motivational Guide

JULY 4th HOURS:  7am-4pm

PLAYROOM:  Closed

CLASSES:  9am Spin/Run & 10am Group Power

Fitness facilities today are doing a fantastic job of providing all facets of wellness: personal training, group exercise options, and nutritional counseling. When it comes to the success of training programs, nutrition plays a big role. When implemented properly and consistently, strategic pre- and post-workout supplementation can greatly increase the effectiveness of training which will lead to member retention.

Many educated gym owners today are finding that the placement of a smoothie bar in their facility is much more than just adding a profit center to their business – it is a vital part of their health offering to their members. With that knowledge comes the discovery that offering fitness programs along with a healthy smoothie option under the same roof is an under-utilized opportunity to provide your club members with just the post-workout nutrition they need!

The Post-Workout Meal: The Most Critical Nutritional Period

As many gym owners, managers, personal trainers, and even members know, the most critical nutritional period for muscle retention and growth is the postworkout meal. The post-workout meal is probably the most important meal of the day for anyone who is trying to get fit. However, in many cases, this importance leads to confusion. Maybe it’s because of the many ready-made shakes available on the market. Maybe it’s just not knowing what to eat after a workout. Whatever it is, it’s confusing.

After a hard workout, your body is severely depleted of glycogen and glucose. Hard-working muscles utilize sugar in the form of glucose (usable form), and glycogen (stored form) for energy. The amount of fuel in your tank obviously does not last forever. As such, there is a point at which blood glucose levels (available energy) and glycogen levels (stored energy) get so low that effective exercise cannot occur. This is typically characterized by a decline in energy levels (1.).

The truth is, once you understand the basics of post-workout nutrition, your post-workout meal will probably become the most simple decision, and quickest one of the day! So, what exactly are these needs? They are as follows:

Need 1. Water: Hydrating the body is of utmost importance.

Need 2. Carbohydrates: The purpose of carbohydrates is to offset protein catabolism and to replenish spent glycogen. Smoothies can infuse carbohydrates into the body immediately. More on this later…

Need 3. Protein: Consuming approximately 23 to 50 grams of quality protein per post-workout period will offset muscle loss. Your body will digest a whey protein shake much quicker than any whole food because it is in liquid form. Also, whey protein is the fastest digesting protein available. This is what makes whey pretty much the official choice of most people as their post-workout protein source. And, this is where a City Blends™ Smoothie Café can offer members the perfect post-workout meal. We’ve All Heard That Carbs Are Bad…

First of all, carbohydrates aren’t so bad; they are actually an important part of post-workout nutrition. Keep this in mind: it’s TOO MANY carbs that can be bad. Carbs are used by your body to restore muscle glycogen. If your post-workout meal doesn’t contain carbs, your the body can actually break down muscle tissue instead of building it up, and that would be bad! (Again, not TOO MANY!) Carbs also create an insulin spike, which helps to move nutrients to your muscle tissues quicker.

So, now that you know you need them, what kind of carbs do you need? Well, you have probably heard all about good carbs and bad carbs by now, right? Interestingly enough, the only time when good and bad carbs switch roles is after a workout. Typical good carbs (such as whole wheat bread, brown rice, etc.) contain fiber, and fiber slows down their digestion. This is what makes these carbs good any other time of the day. However, by now you know that the post-workout meal is all about speed. And, when it comes to speed, simple carbs beat complex carbs hands down. This is where a small amount of sugar is key. (The current debate about sugar is shrouded in misinformation, false marketing, and pseudo-nutritional advice.)

What Are the Simple Facts About Sugar?
Undoubtedly, the key here is moderation. Sugar is not bad. In fact, sugar is necessary for cellular function. After a workout, the carbohydrates you ingest should be in a powdered or liquid form. The reason for this is simple: faster absorption. The faster you can get glucose into your bloodstream and muscles, the less protein that is destroyed and the more glycogen that is stored. Normal digestion simply takes too long. A combination of juice and maltodextrin serves this purpose nicely. Maltodextrin is very rapidly absorbed, and fruit juices add flavor and will be the most rapidly absorbed. This is where a smoothie café can function nicely for club goers – a fruit smoothie, from City Blends™, is a practical, perfect choice.

Are Some Sugars Better than Others?
What is sucrose? What is high-fructose corn syrup? What is fructose? How does it differ from crystalline fructose? What about glucose? These and other questions are often misunderstood.

Sucrose is what we normally see as table sugar, and it is extracted from sources such as sugar cane. Although it is the world’s most prevalent sugar, it’s rapidly being replaced by the fructose syrups processed from corn – most notably, high-fructose corn syrup and crystalline fructose.

High-fructose corn syrup provides flavor stability and sweetness that is comparable with sucrose. High-fructose corn syrup is derived from cornstarch, which is almost 100% glucose. It is enzymatically processed to convert much of the glucose into crystalline fructose. Thus, high-fructose corn syrup is composed of glucose and crystalline fructose, normally in about a 1:1 ratio, having a blend of both glucose and fructose.

Fructose is the sugar type found in fruit. It has a high sweetness profile.

Crystalline fructose is probably the most misunderstood of all the sugars. The misinformed often equate it with fruit sugar. However, it is not derived from fruit, but rather from cornstarch. It is not found in nature, nor is it derived from fruit.

Glucose has a high glycemic index and is the most readily available form of cellular energy, making it the sugar of choice for sports drinks. It is easily converted into glycogen and used in high-intensity exercise as energy.

Always remember, the ultimate cause of obesity is not consuming sugar, but consuming more calories than we expend. All sugars contain the same amount of calories, and all sugars consumed in excess will make you fat. Again, moderation is the key!

So, How Long After a Workout Should a Post-Workout Meal Be Ingested?
The answer is soon – really soon! It doesn’t need to be “Hurry up, put down the dumbbells and start eating.” However, there is a “window of opportunity” that exists after a workout, during which it is most beneficial for your body to receive its post-workout nutrition. You want to try and get this meal into your body within one hour – although if possible, within 30 minutes would be better.

How Can Your Members Get the Proper Post-Workout Nutrition Fast While Still at the Gym?

Well, that’s where your City Blends™ Smoothie Café comes in! If your fitness facility wants to offer a healthy solution for members, then a City Blends™ Smoothie Café is the perfect choice. City Blends is the only smoothie of its kind which offers a unique blend of sweetners that produce a Lower Sugar Smoothie option. The proper post-workout nutrition for your members is just steps away!

References:

1. Sandeep De., (n.d.) Critical Mass: Optimizing Post Workout Nutrition. Retrieved October 2007 from timinvermont.com/fitness.

2. Post Workout Meal Nutrition – What to Eat After a Workout (n.d.) Retrieved October 2007 from.intense-workout.com/post_workout.

3. Haycock, Bryan, (n.d.) Going on a Diet? The Protein Supplement You Choose Might Make a Big Difference. A Note About “Low Carb” Bars, Glycerol & the FDA. Protein Pulse Feeding May Revolutionize the Way We Plan Our Meals. A Review of the Different Types of Popular Diets. Retrieved October 2007 from thinkmuscle.com.

4. Bernardi, John (2004, January). The Importance of Post Workout Nutrition. Retrieved October 2007 from bodybuilding.com.

Via Club Solution

As I’ve made pretty clear, our ultimate goal is to achieve positivegene expression, functional strength, optimum health, and extended longevity. In other words: To make the most out of the particular gene set you inherited. These are my end goals, and I’ve modeled the PB Laws with them in mind. But that doesn’t mean packing on extra muscle can’t happen with additional input. After I retired from a life of chronic cardio and started living Primally, I added 15 pounds of muscle, while keeping low body fat levels without really trying, so it’s absolutely possible for a hardgainer to gain some. The question is how much and at what expense?

I’d be the first to tell you that lean body mass is healthier than adipose tissue. Generally, the more lean mass a person has, the longer and better they live. But to increase mass at the expense of agility, strength, or speed is, in my opinion, counterproductive. What wouldGrokdo – go for enormous biceps or the ability to haul a carcass back to camp? Unless you’re a bodybuilder (nothing wrong with that, mind you; it’s just not my focus), I can’t advise simply packing on size without a proportional increase in actual strength. Those bulging biceps might look good on the beach, but then again, so does the body that comes with keeping up with the younger guys, knocking out twenty pull-ups in a row, and lifting twice your bodyweight. Form is best paired with a healthy serving of function. The two are quite delicious together, and, luckily, following the PB allows us to get both without sacrificing either.

Of course, we’re all built a little differently. The basic building blocks are the same in everyone, but sexual reproduction (as opposed to asexual reproduction) has the funny habit of producing unique genetics and small variations that affect the way we respond to our environments. It’s why some people are short and some are tall, or why some of us respond better to carbohydrates than others. Even though we all pretty much operate the same way, there IS a range of possible outcomes that is proscribed by your direct ancestors. By that same token, some people just naturally have more muscle mass. They’re usually innately more muscular than the average person, and putting more on through resistance training is often an easy task. Then there are those who can’t seem to gain a pound: the hardgainers. They might be increasing strength, but it doesn’t seem to translate into visible muscle mass. Now, my initial advice for a hardgainer is this – don’t worry too much about it! As long as you’re getting stronger, you’re doing it right.

Let’s face it, though. You’ve probably heard that enough already. It’s fun being the lanky guy at the gym who can lift more than most, but you’re dead set on bulking up (who doesn’t like a bit more muscle to go along with that strength?), and you want to do it in a Primal context. Besides, continuing to increase strength will eventually require increasing size. To do so, you have to target the very same anabolic hormones that others use to get big, only with even more enthusiasm and drive. Like I said, we all have similar engines, but some require more fuel and more efficient driving (sorry for the corny analogy). Activating these hormones will work for anyone, provided they work hard and eat enough food.

The main hormones that contribute to muscleanabolism are testosterone, growth hormone (GH), and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1). A little more about each and how to utilize them:

TESTOSTERONE

Crazy bodybuilders don’t inject themselves with anabolic steroid hormones that are based on testosterone for nothing. Among other roles, testosterone is an important muscle-building growth factor that favorably affects protein synthesis in addition to working with other hormones (like GH and IGF-1) to improve their function (more on this later). If you want to increase strength and build muscle, testosterone is absolutely required (don’t worry, though: no injections necessary!).

GROWTH HORMONE

It’s right there in the name, isn’t it? Growth hormone. It helps muscle grow and, perhaps more importantly, it burns body fat. After all, leaning out is a big part of building muscle (or else you’ll just look puffy) and GH will help you do it.

INSULIN-LIKE GROWTH FACTOR 1

IGF-1 is extremely similar in effect to GH, as it should be – GH stimulates IGF-1 production in the liver. In fact, it’s suspected that IGF-1 is actually responsible for most of the “growth-promoting effects of circulating GH.”

Anabolic hormones all work together. In fact, to maximize their muscle-building potential, you must have all three present. Testosterone increases IGF-1, but only in the presence of GH. GH promotes skeletal muscle cell fusion independent of IGF-1, but the two are most effective in concert. Luckily for you, the types of exercises that stimulate the secretion of one will generally stimulate the secretion of the others. Funny how that works out, huh?

ENTER THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM

In order for your body to start pumping out these delicious anabolic hormones, you must first give it a reason to do so. I might even say you should give your genes a reason to express themselves. The most effective way to do this is by notifying the central nervous system. Now, the CNS can be a stubborn bastard, but he’s all you got when it comes to interpreting stimuli and relaying messages to the rest of the body. He’s not easily perturbed, and he won’t bother if you aren’t serious. If you insist on doing nothing but light aerobics or tiny isolation exercises, your CNS will barely notice. If you want to get your CNS’ attention, pick up the intensity. Run some sprintsor do some heavy lifting. When you do an exercise like the squat with a heavy weight, all hands are on deck. Your CNS realizes that some serious exercising is going down and notifies the hypothalamus, which in turn talks to your pituitary gland. This tiny – but vital – member of the endocrine system is the gland that dispatches luteinizing hormones to tell the testicles to secrete testosterone. It’s also the gland that synthesizes and secretes GH. IGF-1 is mostly produced by the liver, but its production is facilitated by the presence of GH, so we can see that it all comes down to CNS stimulation.Chronic cardio doesn’t affect your CNS in any meaningful way, so that’s why we tend to avoid it; vigorous sprints, hard and heavy lifting, and anaerobic output will get its attention, so do plenty of these to maximize muscle growth.

CORTISOL: A HORMONE TO AVOID

Promoting muscle and strength growth also requires avoiding excess amounts of catabolic (muscle wasting) hormones like cortisol. Cortisol is the major stress hormone, and it exists for a very legitimate reason (dealing with “flight or fight” incidents, inadequate sleep, anxiety), but in large amounts cortisol increases serum amino acids by breaking down muscle, inhibiting protein synthesis and reducing amino acid uptake by the muscles – all awful things for muscle growth. Compounding the problem even further, the broken-down muscle is converted into blood glucose, which then raises insulin secretion and increases insulin resistance while promoting fat storage. And we all know how great those muscles look with a nice layer of adipose tissue covering them up! On a serious note, most people following the PB already minimize cortisol by getting plenty of sleep and reducing stress, but if you’re preoccupied with building muscle mass and engaging in extended workout sessions to achieve it, avoiding excess cortisol can get tricky: excessive exercise without enough recovery time actually increases cortisol. It makes sense (think of it like your body’s telling you it needs a day or two off), but the desire for more muscle mass drives many to work out to the point of counter-productivity. Just be careful, and give yourself at least a day of rest after a particularly grueling session.

LIFT REALLY HEAVY THINGS

If you haven’t figured it out already, you’re going to be doing some heavy lifting in order to put on lean mass. The foundation of your routine should be the big compound lifts: squats,deadlifts, presses (bench and overhead), pull-ups, rows, dips, snatches, power cleans, clean and jerks. These engage multiple muscles while triggering your hormonal response systems.Bodyweight stuff, while valuable, simply isn’t going to get you the strength and mass increases you’re looking for. Testosterone, while useful, only gets really anabolic when you start lifting. You need to get under some decent weight, enough so that your CNS and endocrine system are blasted, but not so much that you can’t maintain proper form.

A popular routine is the 5×5 method. Popularized by programs like StrongLifts and Starting Strength, doing compound lifts for five sets of five reps allows you to strike a balance between strength building and superficial muscle hypertrophy. Done this way, your hypertrophy won’t be purely sarcoplasmic, which results in fluid-filled muscles that look big but don’t see a corresponding increase in actual strength. Instead, the 5×5 method promotesmyofibrillar hypertrophy: hard, dense muscle fibers that increase strength and size (with no puffiness). That’s real muscle that would make Grok proud.

If you’re lifting heavy and lifting hard, keep your workouts spaced at least a day apart and don’t lift more than 3x/week. Three exercises per session should be perfect. That may not sound like much, but it’ll be plenty if you do it right. Remember, you’re doing big compound movements that will really shock your system, with an emphasis on intensity and power. You don’t want to overwork yourself, release a bunch of cortisol, and set yourself back a few weeks.

Squats and deadlifts are absolutely required. No excuses. They engage the most muscles and produce the biggest hormonal response. They will be the bedrock of your mass building campaign. Most programs recommend doing squats every session, and I tend to agree. You can handle it. Deadlifts are a bit more taxing and so should be relegated to every other workout. So, one week you’ll deadlift once, the next week twice. You can also sub in power cleans for the occasional deadlifts (or do them in addition) if you’re comfortable with such a complex movement. Presses are paramount, both overhead and bench. I’d alternate both types of presses every session. Pull-ups are great, but weighted pull-ups are even better. Same goes for dips. Just try to get one pulling, one pushing, and one squatting exercise in each session.

An example for beginners, with sets coming first in the sequence:

A
Squat 5×5
Pull-ups 5xFailure (add weight if “Failure” is becoming more than 12 reps)
Overhead Press 5×5

B
Squat 5×5
Deadlift 1/2/3×5 (your choice; deadlifts can be incredibly taxing, and with exhaustion comes poor form, so be careful; sometimes it’s better to do a really heavy load for a single set)
Bench Press 5×5

C
Squat 5×5
Pull-ups 5xFailure
Overhead Press 5×5

Do this sequence every week (maybe Monday, Wednesday, Friday) and steadily increase the weight each session. Once you’re making progress, feel free to add in other exercises like dips or more Olympic lifts. For more mass, more lactic “burn” (and more GH secretion), reduce your rest periods between sets or even superset them. If you feel like doing some cardio, stick to sprints once weekly, or even a Crossfit-style metcon (metabolic conditioning) workout, maybe someTabata burpees. The key is conserving strength and giving your body time to rest and recover for the next round of squats, deadlifts, and presses.

This “program” can be tweaked and altered. Just make sure you’re doing big movements while maintaining extreme intensity and great form. Oh, and always make sure to squat and deadlift. Always. They produce the most testosterone, GH, and IGF-1.

EAT LOTS (I MEAN LOTS) OF PLANTS AND ANIMALS

No one would ever call the Primal Blueprint a protein-sparing plan, but you’re going to have toeat even more than before. Stuff yourself. I always say that body composition is 80% diet, and that goes for putting on mass as well as losing fat. You need to provide plenty of protein for all those hormones to synthesize, after all.

• Never let your protein intake go lower than 1g/lb of body weight when you are aiming to add long-term muscle. It’s the building block of muscle, and your body is going to be starving for it.
• Eat plenty of saturated and monounsaturated fat.Fat blunts insulin secretion while increasing testosterone production. Insulin may be useful for stuffing your muscles full of glycogen, but that’s not what you’re going for… right?
• Dietary fat, in conjunction with all the GH you’ll be producing, also spares muscle wasting.
• You may have heard of the popular GOMAD method – Gallon of Milk a Day for easy mass-building. It undoubtedly works, but a gallon of milk isn’t exactly Primal and I can’t recommend it. Instead of milk, why not a dozen eggs a day? ADEAD? If you can manage it, eating them on top of your regularly scheduled meals is a great source of affordable protein, fat, and vitamins (Vitamin A in particular may have pro-anabolic effects).
• Eat often. If you’re going for pure size and strength,fasted workouts and skipped PWO meals may not be the ticket. You’ll burn more fat with the extra GH secretion and existing muscle will be spared, but you may be missing the chance at prime protein synthesis when you fast. A PWO meal of protein and fat will still blunt the insulin secretion and provide fuel for your muscles.
• Increase caloric intake. You’re going to be expending so much energy on the lifts (and you’ll continue to burn through it even on rest days) while eating clean, Primal foods (and keeping insulin low as ever) that fat accumulation shouldn’t be an issue at all. Eat!
• On those days when you do expend a ton of energy – maybe on your metcon or sprint day – having a Primal-friendly starch, like squash or sweet potato, is a decent way to replenish depleted glycogen stores.
• Eat a big piece of fatty meat every single day.Steak, whole chicken, lamb leg, organs, whatever. Just eat a solid piece of animal flesh for a powerful protein infusion on a daily basis.
• A hardgainer is often someone who doesn’t eat enough. Sure, genes play a role, but you can ultimately have a significant say in how those genes rebuild you. To a point. Eat more and lift harder to grab the reins.

I’m a firm believer in the body’s natural ability to achieve proper homeostasis, provided we supply the right environment and the right foods. For some of you, that might mean lower body mass, lower than you’d like. In my opinion, that amount of muscle is probably “right” for you and I wouldn’t recommend going above and beyond to achieve more of it… but I also wouldn’t condemn it, especially if it’s pursued in accordance with the Primal Laws. As for me, I am comfortable where I’m at and tend not to seek added mass (I’m also at a point where lifting heavy increases my risk of injury, and I HATE downtime). But if you are a hard-gainer looking to add a few, as long as it’s not just show muscle and you can actually lift some decent weight and at the very least manipulate your own body weight comfortably, eat those dozen eggs and gain that weight.

Via Mark’s Daily Apple

Stop using your fat cells for storage and learn how to open the door and clean them out!

Via Fitness Spotlight

When you are faced with difficult choices, ask yourself, in context of course, what would a loving expert recommend? For example, when working chest, would a loving strength coach recommend the pec deck, or full range dumbbell presses. When choosing desserts, would the loving nutritionist recommend a bowl of berries or the triple decker brownie submerged under melting vanilla ice cream.

How to free yourself from the outdated concept of discipline:

1. Accept that all your choices are reflections of what you truly love.
2. Love is the greatest creative force of the Universe. Use it wisely.
3. Choose to love yourself more than external things.
4. Treating yourself well accelerates the growth of your self-esteem.
5. When people comment on your results and say things like “Wow you have a lot disciple” answer “No, I just make loving choices for myself”. Reinforcing your own positive behavior will help you grow in strength.
6. What you appreciate appreciates. Whenever you make a truly loving choice, say to yourself ‘Thank you for taking care of me in a loving way”. The more you talk to yourself like a loving parent, the faster you will grow. Let’s say, for example, you just did a single on the squat with a load you didn’t feel like doing. Say: “Wow! I am impressed with your strength of mind, that’s why you are a champion”. By documenting and rewarding your successes, they will grow in magnitude and frequency. Whenever I meet a goal, I reward myself with positive things like a vacation or a new piece of equipment. When I get something better, I make the choice of giving away the old piece to someone who will appreciate it. Living a clutter free life allows for more growth.
7. The more you believe in yourself, the more objectively you will be able to take the advice of authority figures.
8. “Use your faults” was French singer Edith Piaf’s motto. I don’t like to stretch athletes. It is too time consuming and requires too much energy. Using that fault, I developed the Poliquin Instant Muscle Strengthening Technique (P.I.M.S.T.), which is a system that uses a myriad of body work techniques such as acupressure points that instantly give increases in flexibility. No wonder it’s always the fastest selling course we offer in the PICP!

There is an old Hindhu saying: “The World is as we are”. Are you tired of seeing the condition of the world around you? Start by changing yourself- be the change you want to see in the world.

Via Charles Poliquin

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 22, 2011) — With every step of her first half-marathon on April 3, University of Kentucky alumna Emily Sandford will be fighting Parkinson’s disease.Sandford, 29, lost her mother, Claudette Hill, to young-onset Parkinson’s on April 3, 2007. To mark the fourth anniversary of her passing, Sandford is on a mission to raise $2,500 to further Parkinson’s research at theKentucky Neuroscience Institute (KNI) by participating in the Run the Bluegrass Half-Marathon.The day will also mark two other milestones for Sandford: the loss of more than 100 pounds, and her 30th birthday on April 5.

Sandford, who works as a marketing manager, is also a prolific blogger who has chronicled her fitness journey through her blog for approximately two years. A few months ago she announced her fundraising endeavor for KNI. So far she has raised over $1,500 in donations and sponsorships for the half-marathon, primarily through her blog. She has received donations from as far away as Ireland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, as well as many from across the United States.
On her blog, Sandford discusses her workouts with a trainer, her progress toward being able to complete the 13.1 miles of the half-marathon, her weight loss, and her feelings about her body and herself. Although she has completed two 5K races, Run the Bluegrass will mark the most distance she has ever covered at once. Blog readers have been able to share her training and fundraising journey toward the half-marathon.
“I really am exposing myself. The best thing to come out of it is the support I receive from readers,” Sandford said. “My husband has also been amazing. He’s a nurse, and compassionate and caring.”
So, what inspired Sandford to challenge her body, while honoring the memory of her mother?
“My mom had young-onset Parkinson’s, beginning in her mid-40s,” Sanford said. “She passed away at the age of 50. She could not control her health; I can control obesity and my own health. Parkinson’s is something you can’t prevent. It slowly takes away people’s motor skills and abilities. It can happen at any age and progress at any rate. By doing something active that people affected by Parkinson’s can’t do, we can bring light to the cause.”
Sandford relates that after the death of her mother and a series of stressful life events she gained a large amount of weight.
“My mom died, I had my birthday, I graduated with my MBA, I got a job, got married, got laid off, and started another job. That whole period was the breaking point,” she said.
While on travel for work, she felt herself becoming easily winded and realized “something has got to give.” It was then she reached out to a personal trainer and started her blog. She rallied the resources of sponsors like the Lexington Athletic Club.
“That was difficult,” she admits. “I don’t like asking for help, ever.”
Sandford was inspired to fundraise for KNI after participating in the 2010 Business Lexington Trivia Bowl, which also benefited Parkinson’s research at KNI.
“I just want to encourage people to support the people locally who are making a change. We have this fantastic resource at KNI,” Sandford said.
Emily Sandford holds a bachelor’s degree in Integrated Strategic Communication, and an MBA, both from the University of Kentucky. She blogs at http://skinnyemmie.com/ and Tweets @skinnyemmie.
MEDIA CONTACT: Allison Elliott, allison.elliott@uky.edu

Via UK NEWS