Train On All Energy Systems.

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I have mentioned in the Befit Method™ Philosophy to train on all energy systems.
It is the approach that our team recommends and is the foundation of our training
methods.

So What does that mean? Why Energy Systems?

Energy systems is how the body produces the fuel our working muscles need while maintaining homeostasis. It allows us to really understand the most important questions about acheiving optimal performance.

The truth is…
More Energy = Better Performance.

As stated by Dr. Yuri Verkhoshansky…(inventor of plyometric training)

“The role of an athlete’s strength and conditioning program IS NOT just to improve strength or conditioning…it is first and foremost to increase their potential to produce energy. This increase in energy is what provides the foundation for the athlete to perform their skill faster.

If you think in terms of power an athlete needs to perform the movement or skill faster with more velocity. If you think in the terms of endurance the athlete must be able to produce energy for longer.

In order to regenerate or maintain energy homeostasis during intense exercise energy expenditure, the body has three energy systems that differ in terms of how fast they can regenerate ATP (our cell energy source) and for how long they can regenerate it. The three systems are aerobic, alactic anaerobic and lactic anaerobic.

A simple way to think of energy systems is to observe a 100 meter sprint, a 400 meter sprint and the mile. The record for the 100 meter = 9.58s, (Alactic Anaerobic) the World Record for the 400m = 43.18s (Lactic Anaerobic) and the World Record for the mile = 3:43. (Aerobic). The longer the duration, the more that the aerobic process takes over.

We believe in training with the objective to increase overall physical preperation and performance. With the goal to improve overall performance it is best to focus on maximizing total energy production and to establish a balance between aerobic and anaerobic processes.

WHY?
Energy systems are an integral part of human performance since they are the foundation for all motor work. To develop all energy systems allows you to maximize power and deliver over a greater duration. Although aerobic and anaerobic can’t always be addressed simultaneously it is important to address both since some sports will demand reletive contributions from both.

For More Details On The Science behind Energy Systems and Performance
Check out Joel Jamieson

©2013 | Chris Vlaun

What is Vibrational Energy?

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Humans are made out of energy and sustained by energy. Our bodies are ever-changing, dynamic fields of energy and vibration, not static physical structures.

Though we cannot see this vibrational energy that makes up the body/mind and sustains us, it is nevertheless a vital part of us. It is the life-force that keeps our hearts beating and our lungs breathing even when we are asleep.

Dr. Masaru Emoto, a Japanese researcher who has done groundbreaking work on the effect of emotions on the crystalline structure of water. In his book The Hidden Messages in Water, Dr. Emoto documents the effects of different emotions on the structure of frozen water crystals, showing beyond a shadow of a doubt that the energy of loving appreciation creates the most profoundly beautiful crystalline patterns. Given that our bodies are over 70 percent water, Emoto’s research has profound implications for health. How we think about, talk to, and feel about ourselves creates an imprint on our cells that affects not only us, but also everyone around us!

Clearly, human interactions have profound effects on health. These effects can be either positive or negative, depending upon the state of mind of the people involved in those interactions.

Through conscious movement, breath, meditation and exercise one can turn the state of mind more positive. When we begin to appreciate ourselves as vibrational fields of energy with the ability to affect the quality of our own experience, we will be getting in touch with our innate ability to heal ourselves and create health every day of our lives.

LEARN MORE | RECOMMENDED READING OR RESOURCES
The Biology of Belief, by Bruce Lipton
The Hidden Messages in Water, by Masaru Emoto and David A. Thayne

Raw vs Cooked Food

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How much of your food should be cooked? Proponents of the newly popular raw food diets claim that cooking ruins vitamins and enzymes, making food difficult to digest and therefore contributing to disease.



All the traditional peoples cooked some or most of their food. Even in the tropics, where people did not have to build fires to keep the food warm, they built fires every day to cook. In addition to cooking grains and legumes, they usually cooked their vegetables, the very foods some recommend to people to eat raw.

Why cooking? Cooking, helps neutralize many naturally occurring anti-nutrients and irritants in food, also breaking down indigestible fiber. Many foods, such as beans and potatoes, are indigestible until cooked.

While cooking, especially at very high temperatures, does destroy some nutrients but it makes minerals more available and it increase the antioxidants; a surprising benefit of cooking is the fact that it makes proteins more digestible by gently unfolding these large molecules so that the digestive enzymes can latch on and do their work.

For example, if you cook a tomato you will be losing 1/3 of the vitamin C it contains but the amount of available antioxidants increase of a 75% fold. Another problem in eating raw vegetables is that they are high in hard to digest fiber cellulose which will negatively affect your digestion, some are high in oxalic acid which bond with calcium and may lead to kidney stones or low bone density. People suffering of any gut related issues should avoid eating raw vegetables and fruits.

Though cooking does destroy enzymes, many foods we cook do not have many enzymes to start with. Consuming lacto fermented condiments, foods and beverages will more than compensate for enzymes lost in cooking.

Interestingly, all traditional cultures consumed at least some of their animal foods raw. Cooking destroys vitamin B6, derived from animal foods, and greatly reduces milk’s nutrients.

Traditional cultures consume some of their foods raw, which include:
Raw milk, butter and cream
Raw cheese
Raw marinated fish
Raw shellfish
Ethnic raw meat dishes
Lacto fermented fruits, vegetables and beverages

It is important to freeze meat for 14 days before using according to the USDA, to ensure that parasites are completely destroyed. Fish to be eaten raw must be marinated in lemon for several hours, equally effective for getting rid of parasites.

We should eat most of our food cooked, especially vegetables, grains and legumes but as traditional cultures did, we should consume some of our foods raw. I think we have so much to learn from the wisdom of past generation, I believe using that wisdom applying to our modern times would allow us to reach such potential that we do not even know, not only in sport or fitness. I think taking any concept or philosophy to the extreme is never the right choice so my answer to eating more raw foods than cooked foods my answer is as always moderation.

©2013 | Shantih Coro
V Art of Wellness
Director Functional Medicine.
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