I just finished reading several studies and articles that addressed the issue of supplementing with Nitric Oxide (NO-) pre-cursors for sports performance. Very interesting reading and very enlightening, but really didn’t tell me a whole lot that I didn’t know. And not because I’m some sort of genius, either.

I have taken the stand for a long time that a lot of the sports nutrition supplements that are being marketed today are basically worthless, and today’s bit of reading seemed to corroborate those feelings.

Open any muscle magazine these days and you will find, literally, no less than 20-30 advertisements hawking NO- supplements. The pitch is always the same: “Blank-blank supplement will enhance your workouts by increasing blood flow to the muscles and getting you the pump you crave.” Or something similar. Their rationale is that through the process of vasodilation (widening of the blood vessels), more blood is delivered to the muscles to carry oxygen and nutrients to, and waste away from, the muscles. And through the use of their supplement, (which probably contains L-Arginine, an amino acid naturally produced in the body through a process that involves the intestines and kidneys) the user can achieve great “pumps” and improved performance in the gym. This is a novel idea, and makes a lot of sense, but the truth is this: Typically most people already manufacture enough L-Arginine to allow the body to do what it is supposed to do with it, and even if one decided to supplement with L-Arginine, the recommended dosage is probably 10x what is contained within these formulas. Not to mention the fact that when studies were done regarding L-Arginine supplementation for sports performance, the supplement was administered via injection, as oral administration yielded little to no results.

That all being said, it is important to note that there are some supplements out there that have been shown scientifically to produce the desired results. However these are expensive and few and far between. Pre-workout supplements that contain GPLC (glycine propionyl l-carnitine) have been shown to be effective in promoting vasodilation and increasing blood flow by increasing available NO- in the body. But even these should be checked for proper dosage. Look for GPLC on the label or Glyco-Carn, which is the registered trademark for a formula of GPLC owned by Sigma-Tau Health Sciences, Inc. If the label doesn’t indicate exactly how much GPLC you are getting with each dose (they will usually hide behind the words, “proprietary formula”) chances are you won’t be getting enough to do the job. And if you suspect you may not be getting your money’s worth, it only makes sense not to spend your money. (Go here http://issac-lv.blogspot.com/2011/02/supplement-trade-names.html for a good article about what the supplement companies are doing.)

So, I stand on my original feeling that there is so much worthless junk out there being marketed as sports nutrition supplementation, when in reality, it is just really good marketing. Remember that supplements are not regulated by the government, so basically, their manufacturers and marketers can say practically anything they please in order to get you to buy it. Do your homework. The internet is available for you to double check almost anything. Be sure that you are not wasting your money on “the next big thing” to come along. Be sure that the ingredients that are supposed to deliver results are not masked behind a proprietary formulation. After all, it’s your money and you worked hard for it – why waste it on nonsense?

When I decided to myself several months ago, that I was going to enter my first bodybuilding competition since the 80's, it was more of a spur of the moment thing than a lifelong dream. I wasn’t trying to fulfill some fantasy by entering and hopefully winning a competition at my age. As I have told a lot of people, I have been there already. I have nothing to prove to anyone, let alone myself. Or so I thought.

I started this thinking I would show my clients that being 52 is not a reason to be fat and lazy. I wanted everyone to know that if I can do it, they can also. What I forgot was how hard contest preparation really is. I thought I was in pretty decent shape; it wouldn’t take more than a month or two to “tighten things up” a bit. I hadn’t realized that with age comes slower results. And this is taking a lot longer than I thought.

I am now officially three weeks out from the contest date and my workout and nutrition has changed dramatically. My trainer (yes I have a trainer) has revamped the works because I am not progressing as quickly as I had envisioned. I kinda hit a little bit of a funk last week because I was starting to feel as if I wasn’t going to be ready. I became very frustrated with my progress.  I was feeling defeated and overwhelmed by it all. It seemed like it just wasn’t happening. I wanted to give up. I was seriously wishing that my wife hadn’t told the entire clientele that I was entering a competition. I could drop out very easily if I knew they weren’t watching.

But I started this, and my dad taught me to not start something that I had no intention of completing. And to give it an all out effort along the way, or don’t bother. So, between my dad’s words haunting me and my clients watching every move I make, I suppose I have to do it.

So, I join you and all of you who have struggled with motivation and frustration. I am right there with you when you feel like you’re not getting anywhere. I know what you’re feeling when you feel this isn’t worth the trouble. I fully understand when you feel like quitting. But I have to tell you, if you started this, you had better finish it.

Because I started this and I fully intend to finish it. I came into this thing with the intention of doing well, and I won’t quit. I won’t spend the rest of my life wondering, “what if I had?” And so it should be with you. You have started this to get into shape. For whatever reason, you decided at one point in your life that it was important enough to sacrifice money, time and comfort to do what you needed to do to be healthy. Don’t give up now. I won’t let you. When Kari is screaming at you to get 15 more seconds of burpees, or Loy is telling you to hang in there, or Donna is making you sweat more than you ever thought possible, or I am in your face pushing you to get that last rep, remember that it is all for a good reason. This is your priority right now.

You started this.

It is said that digestion begins in the mouth, but how much do you really know about chewing?

Indeed, digestion begins in the mouth, but in fact, it starts long before you begin to chew your food. Technically, digestion begins the moment your food enters your mouth and comes in contact with saliva. At that moment, the food has already begun to break down due to the
acids and other elements in saliva. But we are going to focus on the act of chewing.

When solid or semi-solid food enters your mouth, your brain senses that it is not a liquid and this triggers the chew response. So you chew. Sometimes without even thinking about it. And this is where we can get ourselves into trouble.

You see, your brain tells your mouth (well technically your jaw bone muscles, tongue and cheek muscles) to begin chewing, but it doesn't have a clue as to how long you should chew. Believe it or not, you, the eater, are responsible to decide as to when you are finished chewing. And this can be a problem. Sometimes we are so hungry, or the food is so delicious , or we are in such a hurry, that we rush through our chewing and the food gets passed into the stomach only partially broken down. When the food enters the stomach only partially broken down, the whole digestion process is curtailed. The acids in the stomach only have so much time to dissolve food before the stomach passes it on to the intestinal tract. And the intestines do very little after that in the way of digestion, so what happens is you end up with partially digested food passing through. This, at the very least, can result in constipation. At its worst, it can lead to impaction and infection.

Another problem with not chewing enough is when the partially broken down foods go through our system, the nutrients are not as available to the body as they would be if it was properly chewed. So you're not getting the full nutritional value of your food.

Well, what do we do to avoid these potential disasters? You know the answer: chew! Your mother probably told you to slow down and chew your food and she was right. Not only does slowing down and chewing more help your digesestion, it can also help you lose weight. Talk about a double bonus!

I'm sure you've heard that you should chew each bite 27 times. I'm going to take a little different approach. You should chew your food until it becomes a smooth pasty mash in your mouth. When you can feel no more chunks in your food, you are done chewing. Then swallow. It's
also a good idea to help the process a little by taking a drink every few bites. But the key is, slow down. You might eve try setting your fork down while you're chewing. This will definitely help you to slow down and chew more thoroughly.

Eating time is not a race to see who can choke down the most food in the shortest amount of time. You are refueling your body and the process needs to be done properly. So slow down and chew!

For those of you who know me, you know that I have my own way of doing things. That sometimes, my way is a little different than what the rest of the world will tell you. But I have to tell you something. I didn't come up with these ideas all on my own. When it comes to personal training and fitness, all of the things that I teach and the methods that I use are backed by sound research and science. I say this, not in the form of an apology, but as a statement of fact. That you never have to wonder if what I am telling you to do is safe or productive. I guarantee that it is.

Case in point: cardio.

The world believes that you need to get on the treadmill and run your little heart out for hours and hours in order to receive any fat-burning benefits. If you have ever trained with me, you know that I don't agree with this. I have long sided with the fitness researchers who believe that one can get all the cardio one needs in a very short amount of time. In fact, it is not the time that matters, but the intensity. I have been challenged on this on more than one occasion, and have always stood by my belief and backed it up with research.

What's it gonna take for you to believe that this works? Well,, for those who are visual people, there is a video that supports these findings. You can find it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94xeECUMNiA

So the next time The Rhino tells you that you can get the benefits you need in less time, you should believe him.

Feel free to leave a comment about this. I would love to hear your side.

Diet and lack of exercise account for more than 400,000 deaths annually. Recent studies have shown that only 30 percent of the population exercises regularly; however, another 30 percent state they would like to exercise. Exercise has been clinically shown to improve medical outcomes in chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and coronary artery disease.

1.    Type II Diabetes is on the rise – the disease has increased 62% since 1990 and 17 million Americans have it. Losing weight may increase insulin sensitivity, improves blood sugar and cholesterol levels, and reduces blood pressure.  Al of these are extremely important in the health management of a person with Type II Diabetes. The safest and most permanent way to lose weight is regular exercise.

2.    Regular physical activity strengthens the heart muscle, lowers blood pressure, lowers ‘bad’ cholesterol, raised ‘good’ cholesterol, enhances blood flow and helps the heart function more efficiently. It has been shown that any exercise in any amount is beneficial to these items, although more is definitely better.

3.    Regular exercise reduces one’s risk of having and dying from a stroke. Studies indicate that a moderately active person has 20% less risk of stroke than his less active counterpart.

4.    Weight-bearing activity reduces the risk of osteoporosis and can even reverse its effects by building new bone tissue.

Of course, there are other benefits as well. Increased self-esteem, increased mental focus, better mood, better ability to handle stress, better sex and improvements in strength and aerobic capacity are all key points to consider when assessing the benefits of regular physical activity. And the improved physical appearance is definitely a plus!

Give The Rhino a call or stop by www.MeetTheRhino.com for more advice and info.