American Fitness Professionals & Associates

 ”A good plan executed right now is far better than a perfect plan executed next week.”
-Gen. George S. Patton

Table of Contents:

Preparing to Climb Mt. Kilamanjaro
Cod Liver Oil/Fish Oils and the Human Body
Water Loss and Performance
High Fat Diet May Contribute to Breast Cancer Risk

A client recently contacted myself regarding what to do to prepare for a climb up Mt. Kilamanjaro.

My recommendations are to build a good base. With 10-12 weeks of concentration on developing strength in her legs, glutes, lower back in addition to increasing core strength. Rep range 6-10 reps

Squats, deadlifts [not stiff-legged], leg presses, lunges, mix them up.

After the initial 3 months of building strength, you can begin to work on her cardio-vascular endurance, and weight training endurance [increasing reps to 12-15 rep range] laying down more and varied types of cardio-vascular fitness. Foundation work 45 minutes to 1.5 hours daily. Make sure to cross-train [cycling, rowing, running, swimming, some climbing-real stairs not stair climbers]

The final 8 weeks should be spent in strength and endurance training. Kick up the intensity of cardio-vascular and resistance training with super sets and interval sets. Push the envelop of anaerobic threshold throughout the training session.

Final week extreme taper of workouts. With 3-4 full days of rest before the climb.

The application for Cod Liver Oil/Fish Oils in the human body are amazing and still very much under utilized in America and some other countries.

Please check the information below as it relates to inflammatory conditions, including arthritis. There is an excellent book by Dr. Michael Schmidt, “Smart Fats”, which we stock that discusses in great depth the relationship between healthy omega-3 fatty acids and the brain.

In the mid 1980’s I worked with doctors that were using vitamin B-6 in it’s active form [pyridoxal-5-phosphate] 60 mgs daily with the amino acid L-Tyrosine 800 mgs twice daily in the morning. We found that this combination reduced symptoms of Alzheimer’s and slowed the progression of this disease. Changing the diet to remove meats and fatty foods [butter, etc.] lessened the need for ant-acids, which at the time contained aluminium which was find to be in high concentrations in the synapses of the brain upon post mortem of many Alzheimer’s patients.

I have the book available if you are interested. In the meantime COL [Cod Liver Oil] make sure it is emulsified, as it is easier to get down. There should also be between 10-15 IU’s per serving to
protect the oil from rancidity.

1 Tsp twice daily with food. For maximum effectiveness and the reduction of pro-inflammation in the body in addition to COL, the individual could remove meat, cheese, eggs, dairy, fowl from the diet. Fish such as salmon, tuna, etc can be eaten 2-3 times weekly.

If they want to enhance the effects even further, then vitamin C [esterfied- 500 mgs x 3 daily with food] and Glucosamine [1,000 mgs x 3 daily with food].
This combination of dietary modification and supplementation really will make a difference within 3-4 months. There should be some improvement within the first month. 

Symptoms that have been observed when a percentage body water weight is lost is as follows[1]

0% — normal heat regulation and performance
1% — thirst is stimulated, heat regulation during exercise is altered, performance decline
2% — further decrease in heat regulation, increased thirst, hinders performance
3% — more of the same(worsening performance)
4% — exercise performance cut by 20 - 30%
5% — headache, irritability, “spaced-out” feeling, fatigue
6% — weakness, severe loss of thermoregulation
7% — collapse is likely unless exercise is stopped
10% — comatose
11% — death likely

[1]Submitted by: Dr. Bill Misner, Ph.D

The results of a new study indicate that a high fat diet probably plays a supporting role in the development of breast cancer. The study findings are the latest round in a scientific debate about the link between breast cancer and dietary fat.

UK researcher Dr. Richard A. Wiseman, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, examined “all relevant epidemiological and biological evidence” pertaining to the development of breast cancer, in an effort to pinpoint a single cause responsible for the majority of cases.

Although estrogen is a promoter of breast cancer, according to the data, it is not the main cause of the disease, and it appears that the diet plays an even greater role then previously thought.

Dietary factors and especially saturated fat consumption are associated with breast cancer, and dietary fat intake may cause depletion of an essential agent that is normally protective against breast cancer.

A deficiency of this yet-to-be discovered agent, either by inadequate intake or depletion via a high-fat diet, combined with age and estrogen, permits breast cancer to develop at significantly greater rates compared with women in countries that have a diet low in saturated fat.
[Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 2000; 54:851-858.]