American Fitness Professionals & Associates

 Habit is habit, and not to be flung out of the window by any man, but coaxed downstairs a step at a time
-Mark Twain

Table of Contents

Nutrition, Fitness Questions and Answers
Daily Exercise, Not Calcium Is Key to Strong Bones
Vegan Diet Cuts Risk of Prostate Cancer
Why Vegan Bones Last Longer

Biceps Definition:

Question:  What exercises can I do to get more muscle definition in the bicep area?  I do the normal   curls (wide form as well).  What else can I do   to get noticeable definition? Nothing affects the definition of a muscle more than diet.  I eat subs mainly for lunch.  I eat stir fry, chicken, lasagna, salad, bread, and broccoli at nights

Answer: Your subs at lunch are high in sodium [lunch meats, refined flour bread, the condiments [ketup, mayonnaise, etc.] all retain water under the skin that noticeable definition.

Stir Fry using soy sauce will also hide your muscle.  Lasagna-is high in fat [saturated fat and sodium]. Sodium from vegetables is critically important for normal cell and muscle function [one of the electrolytes].

Sweet potato’s are a great source of vital carbohydrates that would go nicely with your broccoli in the evening.

Work for size and strength in your biceps.  Rowing movements involve the biceps heavily.  Also concentrate on dumbbell curls-alternate standing, mixed in with hammer or “Zottman” curls [palms facing into your body while curling the dumbbell]. 3-4 sets of dumbbel curls for 8-10 reps twice weekly will increase size.  Your diet will show your hard work-or it will hide it.

Remember to drink copious amounts of water [distilled or spring water is the best]

Questions and Answers on Fitness

Pre-competition “Butterflies” Tachycardia [heart rate over 100 beats per minute]

Question: Is there any exercise may help an athelete’s tachycardia during competiton ?

One of the best techniques to develop is a process of progressive relaxation techniques, combined with Diaphragmatic breathing and finally auto-visualization. [Actually seeing yourself complete the task in slow motion]  Controlling your heart rate by these practices is very effective.

2) For a pistol shooting athlete, any suggestion for her to train up the upper body in order to improve the performance.  Again breathing techniques are part of the solution.  

For exercises:

Front rear and side dumbbell lateral raises, using a thumbs up or pistol grip holding the dumbbell. Only bring the dumbbell as high as the bottom of your ear.  3 sets of 10 reps-taking 2-3 seconds to raise and lower the weight.  Exercises with medicine ball to strengthen the abdominals. Situps with resistance, ball toss from side to side, twisting motion with medicine ball in both hands.  Finally, practice lifting weights standing on one foot and then the other.  This causes further strengthening of the core stabilizers [abdominals and lower back].

Zero Carbohydrates in the Diet and Building Muscle

Question: What do you think about a diet that contains no carbs or sugars. This will theoretically force the body to burn fat. However it will also produce Ketones. Will it deplete muscle mass? Is there any way to maintain muscle mass and size while you are on this?

Answer: Absence of carbs in the diet= disease and eventual death. Metabolic acidosis [ketosis] the Atkins diet, medifast, and others theorize that if you restrict CHO’s your body will burn stored fat.  There is truth with a caveat.  Your body will break down glycogen [skeletal, smooth and cardiac muscle] to liberate glucose.  This places the body in a state of Catabolism [tissue wasting].  Over time the gastro-intestinal tract is damaged, leading to IBS [irritable bowel syndrome-malabsorption[inability to utilize nutrients from the diet], and the highest likelihood of colon disease [resulting from by-products of animal protein digestion].

The Thyroid gland functions diminish, and the Thymus gland and adrenals are stressed.  The Pineal gland cannot adequately produce Melatonin, and consequently the body will not produce serotonin.  The individual becomes restless, listless, aggressive, and insomnia.  Needless to say building lean body mass is the last thing the body in this great state of distress will do.  You can minimize this process temporarily.  Many individuals will take anabolic steroids and growth hormone.  AS retains nitrogen.  GH will stimulate the pituitary etc.  In the long run this individual will suffer greatly.

Question: How many glasses of water should you Drink in a day and does coffee, tea and other drinks with water in them

Answer:  There are a host of variables that would determine the amount of water that is optimal for a human, including: lean body mass, total weight, exercise level, physical activity, environment-especially humidity, and diet. [A high protein diet requires more water to assist the kidneys in flushing the by-products of protein digestion].

Rule of Thumb:  

1.] Your urine should be consistently clear to pale yellow-even when you wake up in the morning.

2.] A minimum of 16-20 ounces of water should be consumed every 20 minutes of exercise and/or physical activity- [more if in hot/humid environments]

3.] Coffee and tea contain caffeine, which are diuretics.  For every 8 ounces of coffee or tea consumed you will need 16 ounces of water to replace the loss.

4.] Fruit juices count, and herb teas w/o caffeine. Soups [not high in sodium, as well as fruit and vegetables [cucumbers, celery]

5.] The average consumption to maintain health is 64 ounces of fluids each day [not including water consumed during physical activity].

Long-term studies of women have found that bone density was significantly affected by how much exercise they got in their teen years, the time that girls develop 40-50 percent of their skeletal mass, while calcium intake made no difference. Researchers at Penn State observed hipbone density, which is a common site for fractures with osteoporosis.  

Consistent with past studies, intake of calcium above 900 milligrams per day [two classes of milk] had no lasting effect on bone strength. Regular exercise did. [Lloyd, T. et. al. “adult female hipbone density reflects teenage sports-exercise patterns but not teenage calcium intake. ” Pediatrics 2000: 106:40-4.]

British researchers report more evidence that a diet free of meat and dairy products lowers a man’s risk for developing prostate cancer.  The Oxford study of 696 men found that IGF-I levels were 9-10 percent lower in vegan men than in meat eating men.  IGF-I, [insulin-like growth factor, has been found to play a key role in causing prostate cancer.  

The study reviews previous population studies showing that countries with low consumption of animal products had significantly lower rates of the disease.  The American Cancer Society predicts there will be about 180,400 new case of prostate cancer in the U.S. by the end of 2000.  It is estimated that approximately 31,900 men will die of this disease. [Allen, NE, et al. “Hormones and diet: low insulin-like growth factor-I but normal bioavailable androgens in vegan men”. British Journal of Cancer 2000; 83: 95-7.]

Haven’t you heard? Milk doesn’t stop osteoporosis, but cutting sodium and animal proteins do?  Some statistics for the doubting among you:  Eliminate 40 grams of animal protein each day [one chicken breast and two eggs] and humans calcium requirements are cut by 200 milligrams.  Reducing sodium intake by one-third and humans calcium requirements are cut by another 200 milligrams. Animal proteins, and sodium in the diet cause calcium to pass from the bloodstream, through the kidneys, and into the urine each and every day.  [www.pcrm.org]