Movement is energy and energy is power. The cycle of life and key to physical power lies in our ability to use oxygen. Strengthening and conditioning the heart through aerobic exercise does a lot more than burn excess body fat. Aerobic exercise is any activity that uses oxygen while moving large muscle groups continuously for an extended period of time. Aerobic activity fully oxygenates the body bringing about dramatic physiological and psychological change. Oxygenated blood, fluids and other nutrients are pumped into the active muscles; and the blood drains and burns away metabolic waste products like carbon dioxide and lactic acid. As muscles train, they’re better able to extract and use the oxygen to produce more work.
Over time, the heart adapts to aerobic exercise, as it can pump more blood per stroke. For instance, in an untrained female, it goes from pumping 4-5 liters of blood per minute at rest to 16-20 liters per minute during exercise, primarily through an increase in heart rate. In trained athletes, this cardiac output can increase up to eight times the resting output. This is brought on not only by an increased heart rate, but also by a training-induced increase in stroke volume –that is, the amount of blood ejected with each heartbeat. In trained individuals, the stroke volume can increase 50-60% during exercise. This is due to an increased force of contraction and greater emptying of the heart chamber. At rest, a trained person will have a slower heart rate and increased stroke volume.
During exercise, blood flow is redistributed –less blood to all major organs (except the heart and brain) and more blood flow to the working muscles and skin. At rest, 20% of our blood flows to the muscles compared to 88% at maximum exertion. Arteries, veins and capillaries either dilate or constrict, rapidly redistributing the flood flow to meet the demands of exercise. The increased flow of blood to the muscles increases exchanges of oxygen, the release of heat and removal of metabolic wastes: lactic acid and carbon dioxide.
The central nervous system prepares the body for exercise by secreting hormones signaling dilation of the blood vessels in the heart and working muscles. Endorphins (hormones) flush through the bloodstream creating a de-stressing and euphoric effect, as glucagon (hormone) is released from the liver mobilizing the release of stored carbohydrates (glycogen) to be burned as energy.
With exercise, capillary density increases up to 40% enabling more oxygen, nutrients and hormones to be delivered to the muscles, thus stimulating better removal of fat. Aerobic training increases the muscles’ ability to use oxygen to produce work and improves the muscles’ ability to store glycogen (carbohydrates) providing more energy. Further, increased aerobic enzymes, accelerators of chemical reactions in cells, result in enhanced capacity for aerobic production of ATP (adenosine triophosphate). Both aerobic exercise and strength (weight) training develop mitochondria (subcellular powerhouses) using oxygen to convert glycogen to useable energy known as ATP. With more mitochondria, we can produce more energy and more power.
WEIGHT TRAINING
Fundamentally, we think of the human body as bone, muscle and fat. Atop the bone lies muscle, and atop and around the muscle is fat. Muscles give shape and contour to the body. To change our shape –define ourselves– we must develop muscle. Fat covers muscle and presents a ripe, full, vital look. Too much fat buries our natural curves and hides our potential for exciting symmetry. Once the excess fat is gone, we see the shapely defined body, a response of exercise and diet. Although bone structure is inherited, we can sculpt and form the muscle around the bone to create a symmetrically beautiful body.
Have you noticed how some people at the gym work out month after month –even year after year, but do not look any different from the day you first saw them? They may say they feel better, but why haven’t they changed physically? To make changes in the body, training techniques must be very specific to goals. Often an overall, general workout program will not render the desired results. To determine your training goals and achieve the most productive results from weight training, analyze and assess your body as to proportion and balance. Focus on the total body versus isolated body parts. A well-designed training program includes exercises to attain balance and proportion that bring about a sense of peace, harmony and order to our visual appearance. The result rouses emotional reaction –people emotionally react to a beautiful symmetrical, contoured body! People treat us differently when we’re visually appealing. Looking good, we feel good; and when people treat us good, we empower. Energetically, we feel lighter, walk taller . . become ‘walking art’. Radiating from an inner centeredness, we become ‘poetry in motion’ expressing an aura of confidence, authority and sense of purpose. Take a look what weight training does:
Burns bodyfat and accelerates metabolism. Lean active muscle tissue takes energy (calories) to keep alive. Muscles metabolize fat 24 hours a day and burn calories long after your workout.
Increases bone mass. Staggering statistics about the prevalence of osteoporosis and bone demineralization make weight training imperative to retard the natural deterioration of bone inherent with aging and living a sedentary lifestyle.
Maintains desired body composition. Part of becoming physically fit is achieving an optimal ratio of muscle to fat. Lean muscle tissue increases metabolism and burns bodyfat just to stay alive. Dieting alone, without exercise, not only loses fat, but also precious lean muscle tissue causing a decrease in metabolism, thus reducing the number of calories your body burns each day. Even worse, after dieting, any regained weight is fat (since you lost muscle tissue with diet). Diets without exercise can actually make you fatter! (See NUTRITION at this Website.)
Protects against injuries. Weight training improves overall fitness as muscles work through a full range of motion. Weight training strengthens the connective tissues, ligaments and tendons surrounding muscle, keeping them strong and resistant to injury.
Develops more energy, more power. Athletes train with weights to build more strength, which yields more power. Non-athletes know the energizing qualities of ‘pumping iron’, oxygenating blood into the muscles. Weight training increases mitochondria (the powerhouse of the cell) converting glycogen to ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate). The more mitochondria, the more power and energy are produced.
Improves posture, balance and reflex response. If we do not maintain muscle integrity, muscles will atrophy and weaken; and as a consequence, so will the bones. Maybe you didn’t know that every decade past the age of thirty-five, we lose 3-5% of muscle mass. Not as obvious, but just as lamenting is the slow shortening and stiffening of muscles and connective tissue throughout the body due to injury, neglect and aging. Exercising through a full range of motion and working opposing muscle groups, (i.e. quadriceps/hamstring, bicep/triceps, chest/back) keeps you balanced and finely tuned to respond to stimuli. Neurologically, the strong, fit body transmits messages from nervous system to the brain instantaneously. (See YOGA and PILATES at this Website.)
BODYSCULPTING: The Flow of Symmetry
Imagine a god or goddess waiting inside you to emancipate. Each of us, divinely designed, possesses seven natural body curves. To accentuate them, visually express and animate our innate beauty and potential, we can define these physical ‘peaks and valleys’ by contouring, shaping and sculpting a new body. Michelangelo said, “I saw the angel in the marble and carved away until I set it free”. This inspiration amplifies by the words of Leonardo Da Vinci, “All bodies together, and each by itself, give off to the surrounding air an infinite number of images which are all-pervading; and each complete, each conveying the nature, color and form of the body which produces it.”
The human body is a powerful instrument; and these two master artisans remind us how we, too, can be artists of our own canvas of flesh. We can sculpt our physical form by peeling away layers to define it. Who can deny that we ‘fill the surrounding air conveying our nature, color and form’? Each of us possesses the capability to create the flow of beautiful body symmetry –enhance physical proportion and balance– by chiseling ourselves into a masterpiece. The work begins standing naked in a mirror and observing where the eye settles. Carefully scanning the body as the eye flows over the natural curves, we come aware of our physical form and its awaiting potential. We marvel at the beauty and power of the female physique that projects a roundness –curvaceousness; and the male physique that asserts a more angular squareness. These differences are hormonal; yet both women and men share identical natural curves and visual focal points. The seven sensual curves of the human body crest and fall at the following places:
THE ABDS hold the most powerful contribution to body symmetry. The abdominals are the visual center of the body and divide upper from lower body. In women, the smaller the waist, the more accentuated the breasts and hips. Even a small-breasted woman looks dynamic with a tiny, whittled waistline. Both men and women seek slender waists that project the image of youth and sexiness. The abdominals speak a body language that proclaims ‘self-control’. A protruding belly may transmit another message: an inability to manage lifestyle excesses.
THE HIP is the next visual focal point. Moving down the body, the hip curve is accentuated when the waist is slender. Excess bodyfat lessens the power of this curve. Further, a flat, under-developed upper body makes hips look even bigger.
THE LOWER BACK. The inward curve in the small of the back is sandwiched by the outward curve of the buttocks below it. The outward curve of the back above it unveils exquisite visual appeal, harmony and symmetry to this part of the body. Recall the famous quote from the movie, Bill Durham, “I believe in the soul and the small of a woman’s back”. The lumbar curve is subtle, yet dramatic, as it continues to taper the waistline and flow down from the spine. Excess bodyfat denies this curve’s existence, yet it’s there waiting to be liberated and admired!
THE BUTTOCKS are eye appealing when firm, yet resilient. Both men and women become athletic-looking with shaped buttocks indicative of strength and power, youth and agility. Soft, flat buttocks reflect a sedentary lifestyle. Without the wiggle, jiggle and sag, buttocks move in stride with the rest of the body and become ‘firm buns’ –resilient, saucy and enviable.
THE HAMSTRING is probably the most underdeveloped curve in a woman’s body. Shapely hamstrings are hard to attain and maintain, yet make the waistline, knees and ankles look thinner. A cat-like prowess associates with beautifully chiseled hamstrings; and those men and women who tend toward bow-leggedness may want to tweak the hamstring segment of their workout.
THE CALF curve is truly understated. It ‘finishes the body off’ as the final visual focal point. ‘Diamond cut’ gastrocs require special attention and effort to build. Gently developed calves lack excitement, while hard-cut calves make the knees look thinner and bring shape and balance to the leg. An intense calf routine can revive the ‘high-heel fantasy’, emphasizing the calf muscles. Hard-cut calves among men lend a powerful sense of groundedness –give an ‘Atlas’ appeal to the male physique.
THE PECTORALS create a majestic summit of visual dynamism. Moving upward from the waistline, the eyes interpret well-developed ‘Pecs’ as glamorous, boasting virility and masculinity. The chest muscles contribute to the ‘V’ taper men vie for and accentuate the broadness of shoulders, making the waistline look even smaller. In woman, firm pectorals are important in supporting breast tissue, postural alignment and rendering that full, ripe look to the body. Soggy skin tissue above the cleavage area dampens the excitement and delicacy of the decolletage surrounding the clavicular area. Sunken chests and forward-drooping shoulders give an appearance of being burdened and weighed down. A well-developed chest exudes an aura of nobility and regality.
The above muscle groups require specific weight training exercises sequenced synergistically to emerge our innate human form’s potential for physical excellence and visual splendor. These muscles respond to diversity via exercises that recruit different muscle fibers for hypertrophy and adhere to the three principles of training.
FUNCTIONAL CORE CONDITIONING
Core conditioning can change your body and your life. Leonardo Da Vinci extensively illustrated the core, referring to it as De Divina Proportione, also known as The Golden Ratio, or The Golden Section. The core is the fulcrum of physical power and locates in the body 2-3 inches below the navel. The abdominal muscles within the core region run from sternum to pubis bone and laterally to include the intercostals, or obliques. Yet ‘the core’ actually wraps the entire cylindrical girth of the body: front, side and back.
Functional core training engages the central nervous system and the relationship between muscle and connective tissue. It develops strength and resiliency, increasing not only mobility, but motility –boosting the quality of life via performance, productivity and overall well being. Exercising the torso, pelvis, hips and low back to maintain a full range of motion in all three planes of motion: frontal, sagital and transverse, prepares the body for endurance and quirky challenges, i.e. hiking on uneven terrain, or bending over at the waist for an extended period of time while washing the hood of a car.
Core exercises are generally not the ones that harness you in a machine to isolate a specific muscle group. They enlist the coordination of several muscle groups and often core work utilizes small apparatus, such as physio-balls, medicine balls, The Bosu, bands, tubes, foam roller, rotating discs and wobble boards. All stimulate the central nervous system and strengthen opposing muscle groups simultaneously, engaging deeper stabilization muscles that assist the primary and secondary movers. Core exercise can be simple calisthenics, using the body’s own weight as resistance. It also extends to plyometic training (jumping) that departs from cardio work to improve the body’s elasticity –the ability to generate force and make it springy– through powerful bursts of energy.
There is a vast difference between power and strength. ‘Mr. Godzilla’ at the gym may be an icon of brute strength, yet lacks integrated power, the resiliency to develop balanced strength without force. Strength using force tends to be all ‘smoke and mirrors’ showcasing external muscles. Generally, it’s an open invitation to musculo-skeletal imbalance. To clarify: think ‘Cirque du Soleil’ . . . that’s power without force!
Training that fails to develop ‘pillar strength’ –the girth muscles that support and stabilize the spine– including muscles of the hips, torso and shoulders– can breed imbalance. Emphasis to large external muscle groups at the expense of the smaller, internal ones, exploits massy ‘glam’ muscles in the glory of vanity. Exploding pectorals and biceps may visually impress, but balanced training requires core attention to maintain supple, fully oxygenated, responsive connective tissue. A body that vacates the core loses buoyancy, balance and freedom of movement. Being strong, wholly and integrally strong, requires ‘wholistic’ training producing muscular hypertrophy and resiliency. True power exudes integral strength and movement with ease, agility and fluidity. Authentic power maintains the flexibility of joints and the balance between muscle and connective tissue. Great athletes possess this equipoise. The rest eventually go down because of joint problems –hip, knee or ankle injuries that force them into retirement.
NUTRITION
The body survives and thrives upon the fuel we provide it. Nothing is more fundamental to health, vitality and longevity than full-power nutrition. We are what we eat and we are what we don’t eat. Grossly overlooked, if not altogether dismissed, is the life force energy, the vital power in food: Enzymes. The topic of food enzymes remains one of contention between scientists and nutritionists because enzymes operate on both chemical and biological levels. Science simply cannot measure life force energy in food (or in us), yet this biological life force exists in every enzyme (and in us). They are the seeds of life and exist in live, whole foods (raw, uncooked, out-of-the-earth foods). Our metabolism operates and relies upon the body’s enzymatic labor force that charges our own life battery. Science simply cannot measure life force energy in food (or in us), yet this biological life force exists in every enzyme.
Few know that at birth each of us is given a limited supply of enzymes that has to last a lifetime. The body produces both metabolic enzymes and digestive enzymes. Metabolic enzymes allow the estimated six trillion reactions that take place in the cell every second and keep the organs, tissues and blood vessels running properly. Digestive enzymes break down food to be absorbed by the cells. There is a third type, food enzymes, that spare us from depleting of our inherent supply; and these are found in vegetables and fruits –most abundantly in raw, whole foods.
It is reported that by the time we’re 40 years old, we produce only half the enzymes we need to sustain a vital, healthy life. Consuming highly enzymatic foods provide the most nutritive value and add to our enzyme pool. Eating cooked or processed foods, we actually lose more nutrients than gained. Foods heated above 115 degrees are enzyme-destroyed; and irradiated foods (restaurant food zapped with gamma and electron radiation) and microwaved foods chemically alter nutrients and damage enzymes, vitamins, and minerals. Unfortunately, The American Diet contains highly refined foods: processed, overcooked and dead (without enzymes). Our lifestyle habits of consuming fast foods, packaged, processed and microwaved, make us victims of malnutrition while ‘eating on the run’ (without thorough chewing) make us victims of mal-absorption.
Grossly overlooked by most American diets is acidic/alkaline balance. As vibratory beings, the stronger our vibration, the healthier we are. The power of vitality, our body electricity (electromagnetism), is determined by our acid/alkaline body chemistry. The body’s pH is the measurement of electrical resistance between negative and positive ions. Maintaining a diet of 80% alkaline-forming foods and 20% acid-forming foods maintains optimal ionic balance. Highly acidic foods are those made with white flour, sugar, animal products, coffee and alcohol. Alkaline foods are fruits (with some exceptions), vegetables, fermented soybean products, seeds and nuts (with exceptions). When our inner environment is overly acidic, we are vulnerable to illness and disease. Acid wastes lead to leaky gut and attack the joints, tissues, muscles, organs and glands. If they attack the joints, we can develop arthritis. If they attack the muscles, we can develop myofibrosis (aching muscles). If they attack the organs and glands, a myriad of serious illnesses and diseases can present. Viruses, fungus or bacteria cannot survive in an alkaline environment. Cancer thrives in a highly acidic body.
Interestingly, highly acidic food is not the only culprit of acid/alkaline imbalance. A specific personality type can create acid wastes despite an award-winning alkaline diet! These personas appear solid and in control, but emotionally they repress, suppress and/or deny feelings, store anger, fear and shame (the unconscious energies that comprise ‘the shadow’ self), and suffer with issues of self-esteem, self-integrity, self-responsibility and self-worthiness. The point is that all ingested substances and situations affect the body, leaving an acid or alkaline residue.
WEIGHT MANAGEMENT
The concept of weight management is simply stated: What goes in must come out; otherwise, it gets stored as fat. Any food substrate, carb, protein or fat, that is not burned as fuel will convert and be stored as fat. The brutal fact is it takes 3,500 calories to burn one pound of fat, making weight management a numbers game. The bottom line: caloric expenditure must exceed caloric intake to lose weight. More complicated, however, is an understanding of nutritional balance, i.e. vitamin and minerals. Deficiencies may not become apparent in ways you would associate with a lack of nutrients. Just as excess calories distort body proportion, an inadequate intake of vitamins, minerals and enzymes diminishes health. Over supplementing may create a toxic condition in the body; and well known are medications that often conflict with supplements. Consulting a doctor is recommended.
A balanced diet of complex carbohydrates, vegetables, fruits and whole grains with high-quality protein (lean, skinless meat or poultry, fish and beans), and healthy fats (oils, seeds and nuts), provide the full spectrum of nutrition. Nutritional savvy is awareness of what you eat, how much and when you eat. Keeping a daily log of everything you ingest for five consecutive days will give you a general idea of whether your diet nourishes or depletes your energy. Invest in a book of Food Counts and make a list of the foods you eat adding the daily calories, carbs, protein and fat. Calculate the vitamins and minerals, noticing which ones are deficient or abundant. How often do you eat out of boredom, restlessness or when stressed? Note how many times you eat when really hungry. Jot down your mood and the time you eat; observe how fast and how thoroughly you chew your food (even whom you dine with because some people may rush or keep you mentally or emotionally engaged– distracted from the task of thorough chewing). Reviewing dietary data and eating habits reveal psychological patterns that may give clue to why you overeat or under-eat; reveal the extent of balance and control in your life.
Many of us consume a several thousand calories a day. However, if caloric intake is less than 1,200 daily, it may warrant diet analysis to assure you’re getting sufficient nutrients. Food not only supplies energy to the body, but must also feed the cells. Smart food choices support cellular health. The local library or bookstore is a great source for nutritional education and tantalizing recipes. Food is also a great pleasure in life and creating menus and sampling new ‘taste sensations’ makes cooking fun. Planning diverse and colorful menus adds adventure to dining. Seek out healthy foods and clear the cabinets and refrigerator of junk foods. Dump the rancid oils and replace with fresh, cold press, expeller oils and other nutritious choices. Make every meal a celebration!!
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