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Protein Requirements: by John Abdo

Protein is a super important class of nutrients our bodies need to survive and THRIVE.  Whether you’re a hard training athlete or someone who just wants to live a normal healthy life, living without protein is impossible.  Protein is needed for proper growth, maintenance and repair of body cells and tissues. Protein is made up of smaller compounds called amino acids (AAs).  When a protein food or supplement contains all of the essential AAs it is regarded as a complete protein. Essential AAs are those which the body cannot synthesize therefore they must be provided from food or supplementation on daily basis.

There are also many other foods which contain protein but are considered incomplete because they lack one or several of the essential AAs. If any one food source lacks an essential amino acid by simply eating another food might just supply the limiting amino acid and make the body accessible to the complete array of protein essentials needed for growth and repair.

When combining incomplete protein foods, even when both foods are incomplete, each one might just have its own missing amino acids that differs from the other food. So when combining foods, one’s chances for obtaining all the essential AAs are greatly increased.

In total, experts claim there are 22 amino acids needed for optimum human health. All of these 22 AAs must be available to the body on a daily basis if one is to live a healthy productive life. Of these 22 AAs, 8 of them are considered essential for human health. The term essential refers to the fact that it is essential one must eat or ingest these AAs on a daily basis from food or supplement sources. The remaining 14 AAs can be produced, or synthesized, by the body in the event they are not made available with food.

Proteins are complex molecular structures which are very interesting and versatile. Most other nutrients contain carbon (C), oxygen (O), and hydrogen (H). Protein contains COH but includes a backbone of nitrogen (N). The more N our bodies can retain the stronger and healthier we become.

When protein intake is adequate to meet normal daily requirements and no more, a condition known as nitrogen equilibrium is experienced. When one is deprived of adequate protein a negative nitrogen balance is the known condition. Of course, equilibrium is the better of the two conditions, but those who maintain a N equilibrium oftentimes remain at the same strength and size despite changes in training intensity.

Negative nitrogen balance is bad news. When one is sick, injured, or being deprived of food, their body immediately tries to fill its nutritional void by cannibalizing itself–also know as catabolism. The body actually eats, or atrophies away its own muscle tissues (heart and lungs included) to extract the amino acids needed for current biological operations. This is why I endorse the daily use of high-protein foods and supplements.

The ideal condition for all health enthusiasts and athletes is to obtain a condition known as positive nitrogen balance. Positive nitrogen balance simply means your tissues are receiving more protein, and retaining more N than what’s being excreted daily.

Physiologic dynamics         TISSUE REMODELING

I’ve explained that protein must be consumed on a daily basis if one is to achieve optimum health and performance. When one is deprived of protein, their body will fall into a catabolic state and literally cannibalize itself until protein is supplied by some food source or supplement. Muscle tissue is living tissue, which means it’s metabolically active. When one attains a healthy degree of lean tissue, they are healthier, and can keep off excess body fat easier as muscles need fuel to operate. In comparison, fat is inert and requires very little energy to maintain itself, that’s why developing muscle helps to keep off excess fat. The muscle maintenance process is fueled by fat. While stored fat, and the maintenance thereof, requires no energy so it remains right where it has decided to embed itself–usually on ones waistline, hips, buttocks, etc, get the point?

Scientists claim that in as little as every 6 months, all of the muscle tissue in our body is completely replaced by the food you eat. Since muscle tissue is constantly being remodeled it makes sense to feed our bodies with adequate protein on a regular basis–high quality foods and protein-rich supplements.

When you see a true health enthusiast, someone who eats correctly all the time, or an athlete who trains hard [and smart] year-round, you see individuals with a symmetrical tone to their physiques and exorbitant levels of energy that can only be explained by proper eating. As their bodies are growing, and at the same time remodeling, their exterior appearance looks very aesthetic due to the fact that the proteins [and other efficacious nutrients] they’ve been eating manifests in ultimate performance and appearance. Maintaining a positive nitrogen balance assures these benefits, and more!

I believe in food first then nutritional supplements to support nutritional voids and to empower the body with extra energy resources. The best times to eat protein is frequently throughout the day. Proper applications to nutritional strategies will produce dramatic benefits to muscle strength and endurance, overall health and, as a Bonus, you’ll look terrific as well!

http://www.JohnAbdo.com

August 6, 2012 Posted by | Performance Library | , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Cellular Receptivity: By John Abdo

Ever wonder how one guy can down a 12-pack and (seem to) carry on a normal conversation while another guy drinks one beer and gets smashed? The science of what’s occurring inside that person’s body, and brain, is immeasurably complex but it can be deduced by a couple of different terms like: tissue sensitivity or cellular receptivity.

To take this a step further, let me introduce you to a couple of wild and ambitious guys . . .

Let’s meet Joe and Tim. These two fellows hang out with one another constantly. In fact, they’re almost inseparable. They are the same age, height and bodyweight, and they share identical goals for building up their bodies and increasing the size and strength of their muscle.

Their goals are the same: Get big, get strong, get girls.

Joe and Tim start working out together – same exercises, same routines, same foods, same supplements. Within one week, Joe increases his bench press from 185 to 205, while Tim’s doesn’t budge an ounce. Joe’s biceps grow to 16” up from 14½”, in only 3 weeks, while Tim gets a measly quarter inch gain. The pattern continues. Joe is the front-runner, and Tim lags behind. Both guys remain faithful to their regular evening workouts together; they even eat the same amount of food and pop all the same supplements.

So why is there a discrepancy between Joe’s and Tim’s results? Receptivity. Gym lingo would tell you that Joe’s muscle cells are more sensitive (or more receptive) to receiving the anabolic (muscle-growing) trigger induced by the weight training and supplements while Tim’s cells are, compared to Joe’s, more stubborn.

Tim’s cells have a quicker down-regulation reaction that limits the amount of nitrogen-rich protein, and other energy-yielding nutrients, that enter into his muscle cells. Joe’s cells, on the other hand, are allowing more muscle-building nourishment to enter into his tissues as his internal cellular receptors are reacting much differently; this is often where genetics plays its favorites.

Both guys, internally speaking, can have similar hormonal profiles, but, as stated, Joe’s tissues are simply responding better – and faster. This response is not limited to weight workouts and protein shakes. The same tissue-entering phenomenon occurs with most others foods, alcohol (remember the 12-pack guy?), caffeine, cigarette smoking, drugs (especially steroids), and all ingestible items. Each person has an internal cellular monitoring system that possesses its own levels of sensitivity, and cellular entry.

So two people who are doing the same things – eating the same foods, performing the same exercises, taking the same supplements or drugs, or drinking the same beverages (12-packs or one can of beer) – will have different rates of digestion, cellular absorption, assimilation, metabolism, and, above all, effects.

This is one of the reasons why the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requests all advertisers of diet programs and supplements list: “Individual results may vary.”

The great news in all this is that when a person relies on nourishing themselves with natural ingredients that have been harvested from Mother Nature, and are then processed under ‘standardized’ production regulations, cellular integrity is supported that can only result in positive benefits.

In conclusion, when making decisions that concern the strength, vitality and health of your body, and it’s trillions of cells, it’s wise to be patient with the process and rely on natural substances.

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Written by John Abdo, please refer to the book

Ultimate Sexual Health & Performance™

www.Androzene.com

July 28, 2012 Posted by | Performance Library | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Gaining Functional Muscle Weight: By John Abdo

It is ironic that a large segment of our population spends billions of dollars each year in attempts to lose excess weight (fat), while others exert lots of energy and also spend big bucks striving to gain weight—muscle weight that is.

No one needs instruction on how to gain fat, that’s easy; just eat and perform little, or no activity. On the other hand, gaining functional muscle weight is a highly sophisticated science, and complicated discipline. Let’s look at it closer.

To gain functional muscle mass, weight training with a specific range of resistances is one of the best prime stimulators, in addition to proper nutrition.

On a microscopic level, weight training actually traumatizes, or tears down muscle fibers; this is scientifically referred to as catabolism. Upon cessation of the catabolic phase, the body’s recuperative metabolism kicks into action; it’s known as the anabolic phase. The anabolic phase is the body’s reparation and rejuvenation metabolism that replenishes depleted energy storages while repairing damaged tissues and growing muscles, tendons, ligaments, nerves, bones and hormones. The catabolic/anabolic cycles are metabolic counterparts that are referred to as the ‘no pain, no gain’ cycle.

To stimulate the best anabolic state, strength authorities claim that medium-to-heavy resistances should be employed during weight training to induce the best catabolic phase. Generally speaking, many of the basic and/or multi-muscle weight-training movements; like bench presses, squats, power cleans, rows, leg presses and others, should be composed of sets that total between 5-12 repetitions. A weight that can only be performed for repetitions lower than 5 are typically too heavy a load, while a weight that can be performed for repetitions exceeding 12 means are typically too light.

The key to selecting accurate loads or resistances is simply select weights that allow failure between the 5-12 rep range. If a set for an exercise falls short or goes beyond this 5-12 rep range, the athlete simply adjusts their resistance on subsequent sets, or workouts, to remain within the range they need for progressive muscle building.

Although weight training is the main stimulus for anabolism, it’s nutrition that fuels both the catabolic and anabolic phases. Food and supplemental resources obtained from quality proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, certain herbs and adaptogens, all play essential roles in energy expenditure (catabolism/pain) and muscle growth (anabolism/gain).

Of course, gaining functional muscle mass, and the entire discipline of weight training for that matter, are far more complicated than my brief treatise, but there are always exceptions to most every rule. So have fun, experiment and watch your body grow stronger and bigger each and every week.

I Wish You Great Success!

John Abdo

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John Abdo is an Olympic Strength & Conditioning Coach, Master Fitness Trainer, co-formulator for Androzene® and author of the doctor-endorsed book Ultimate Sexual Health & Performance™. For more information please visit www.JohnAbdo.com.

July 24, 2012 Posted by | Performance Library | , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments