Ammino Acids
The Function of Amino Acids
Amino acids are the chemical units or the “building blocks,” as they are popularly called, that make up proteins. Protein could not exist without the proper combination of amino acids. To understand how vital amino acids are, you must understand how essential proteins are to life. It is protein that provides the structure for all living things.
In the human body, protein substances make up the muscles, ligaments, tendons, organs, glands, nails, hair, and body fluids (except for bile and urine). Next to water, protein makes up the greatest portion of our weight. Consequently, it is easy to see why meeting our body’s protein requirement is so important to good health.
In order for a protein to be complete, it must contain all of its particular amino acids. Amino acids may be linked together almost indefinitely to form more than 50,000 different proteins and 20,000 known enzymes.
Amino acids contain about 16 percent nitrogen. This distinguishes them from carbohydrates and fats in the body.
There are approximately twenty-nine commonly known amino acids that account for the hundreds of different types of protein present in all living things. In the human body, the liver produces about 80 percent of the amino acids we need. The remaining 20 percent must be obtained from outside sources. The amino acids that must be obtained from the diet are called essential amino acids. The essential amino acids that enter the body through diet are arginine, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionie, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine. Other amino acids that the body seems to be able to manufacture from other sources are alanine, arginine, aspartic aced, asparagines, glutamic acid, glutamine, glycine, praline, and serine.
Most of the amino acids (excluding glycine) can appear in two forms – one being the mirror image of the other. These are called the D and L series. Because amino acids found in living plant or animal tissue, they are considered to be more compatible to human biochemistry. The ones that make up a protein are all of the L- configuration, except phenylalanine, which can also appear as DL – phenylalanine.
The process of assembling amino acids to make protein or breaking down proteins into individual amino acids for the body’s use is continuous. If the diet is improperly balanced, that is, contains inadequate amounts of the essential amino acids, physical and mental disorders will arise.
Amino acids enable vitamins and mineral to perform their jobs properly. Even if the vitamins and minerals are assimilated rapidly and in appeal supply, they will not be effective unless amino acids are present.
In order to avoid such problems, we can make sure we eat a properly balanced diet, or we can take supplements containing essential amino acids.
Energy Content of Carbohydrates, Fats, and Protein
by Stanley Phillips
The energy contained in equal weights of carbohydrate, fat, and protein is not the same. Energy content is measured in Calories (note the capital C). Carbohydrates and protein both contain 4.1 Calories per gram (120 Calories per ounce) while the energy “density” of fat is more than double at 9 Calories per gram. The disadvantage of fat as a fuel for exercise is that it is metabolized through pathways that differ from carbohydrates and can only support an exercise level equivalent to 50% VO2 max. It is an ideal fuel for endurance events, but unacceptable for high level aerobic (or sprint) type activities.
Carbohydrate metabolism is much more efficient than fat metabolism assuming adequate oxygen is available (ie aerobic metabolism). But once VO2max has been reached, and anaerobic metabolism takes over, the efficiency of carbohydrate metabolism drops off dramatically. Carbohydrate will produce 19 times as many units of ATP per gram when metabolized in the presence of adequate cell oxygen supplies (aerobic) as opposed to its metabolism in an oxygen deficient (anaerobic) environment.
In the well fed and rested state, the human body contains approximately 1500 carbohydrate Calories (stored as glycogen) in the liver and muscle tissue, and over 100,000 Calories of energy stored as fat. The carbohydrate Calories are adequate energy for several hours of brisk cycling (80 to 100 % VO2max), and if one slows the pace to 50 – 60 % VO2max where fat Calories can be utilized, there are enough energy stores to support cycling at this reduced speed for days.
How can these facts help you in designing a program to maximize your performance?? If one does not supplement glucose stores in the body (snacking while riding), you will run out of carbohydrate stored in your muscle and liver cells after 2 hours of aerobic activity, and the bonk occurs. This term describes the fatigue resulting from muscle glycogen depletion. Without adequate carbohydrate to fuel continues high level muscle activity, it is impossible to maintain a high level of energy output and one has to slow to speeds of 50% VO2max where fat metabolism can provide the needed Calories. The bonk can be delayed by using oral glucose to supplement muscle glycogen stores. On a long ride, a rider that snacks will have more glucose available to fuel that final sprint.
Two other strategies are to 1) minimize extremely energy inefficient anaerobic sprints earlier in the ride (remember they are very inefficient in terms of ATP production) and 2) whenever possible, ride closer to 50% VO2max to take advantage of supplemental Calories available from fat metabolism. In addition to eating while riding, these two strategies will help to save a few more grams of muscle glycogen for that final sprint to the line.
Tactical Ground Combatives
This course is designed as a supplement to standard defensive tactics training programs. The first and most important paradigm shift is this course distinguishes between grappling and ground fighting to give the LEO/Mil, Correctional officers a stronger edge in a fight that ends up on the ground. Training evolutions include: tactical get-up, weapon control, unconventional aspects of stand up and ground combat, subject control and cuffing principles.
Length of course: customized
Edged Weapons Combatives Skills
This course will increase the LEO/Correctional officers’ chance of WINNING an edged weapon attack. We are not interested in just surviving an attach we need to win the encounter. We will teach the LEO/Correctional officers the mental and physical drills that will prepare them to adequately handle an attacker with an edged weapon. This training is essential in situations where the officer may not have the benefit of time or distance to draw his/her weapon.
Length of course: customized
Our Daily Bread
By Stanley Phillips
The slice of life, give thanks to the Earl of Sandwich for his packed schedule. It allegedly kept him so busy that he had to eat his meat between two pieces of bread, thereby spawning arguably the most popular food item of all time. So let’s take a look at this wonder food.
White
69 calories,
2g protein,
13g carbs,
1g fat, 1g fiber
White bread is made from the most processed wheat flours, which have had the vitamins and fiber packed bran and germ removed. And while most brands replace the vitamins lost, nothing replaces the fiber. That means you’re left with an extremely fast-burning carb that hits your bloodstream running. Eat mainly after your workout.
Whole Wheat
69 calories,
3g protein,
13 g carbs,
1g fat, 2 g fiber
Look for breads marked “100% whole wheat.” This guarantees that all of the germ and bran are present. Higher in fiber and therefore a slower-digesting carb, whole-wheat bread should be your “everyday” bread. Just don’t eat it right after workouts, as if wont’ spike insulin levels like white bread can.
Multigrain
65 calories,
3g protein,
12g carbs,
1g fat, 2g fiber
Repeatedly touted as healthy, multigrain is often no better than white bread. All “multigrain” means is there’s more than one grain involved; it makes no claim as to how whole those grains are, which is bread’s true measuring stick. Check the label; look for high fiber content (at least 2 grams per slice) and the words “whole grain” in the ingredients list.
Sourdough
70 calories,
3 g protein,
14g carbs,
0g fat, 1g fiber
It’s white, so you might liken sourdough to Wonder Bread. Yet its dough contains beneficial bacteria that breaks down the wheat protein in the flour and makes it more acidic (hence the bread’s tangy taste). Since studies show that acidic foods digest slower, sourdough is a good bread choice. Like whole wheat, avoid sourdough around workout time.
Bagel
270 calories,
11g protein,
53g carbs
1g fat, 2g fiber
Want to blow your diet first thing in the morning? Have a bagel for breakfast. With a whopping calorie count and a staggering amount of fast-digesting carbs, everyone’s favorite cream cheese platform should be consumed very sparingly.
True Fear
by Stanley Phillips
True fear is a survival signal that sounds only in the presence of danger.
Precautions are constructive, whereas remaining in a state of fear is destructive. It can also lead to panic, and panic itself is usually more dangerous than the outcome we dread. Rock climbers and long-distance ocean swimmers will tell you that it isn’t the mountain of the water that kills, it is panic!
Possibilities are in the mind, while safety is enhanced by perception of what is outside the mind, perception of what is happening, not what might happen.
There are two rules about fear that if you accept them can improve your use of it, reduce it frequency, and literally transform your life experience.
Rule #1:
-
The very fact that you fear something is solidevidence that it is not happening. Fear summons powerful predictive resources that tell us what might come next. It’s the might come next that we fear or what might happen, not what is happening now.
Rule #2:
· What you fear is rarely what you think you fear-it is what you link to fear.
Take anything about which you have ever felt profound fear and link it to
each of the possible outcomes. When it’s real fear, it will either be in the
presence of danger or it will link to pain or death.
Remember, fear says something might happen. If it does happen, we stop fearing it and start to respond to it, manage it, surrender to it; or we start to fear the next outcome we predict might be coming.
True fear is not paralyzing-it is energizing. It occurs in the presence of danger and will always link to pain or death.
Worry is the fear we manufacture-it is not authentic. Worry is a way to avoid change; when we worry, we don’t do anything about the matter.
Mark Twain once said, “I have had a great many troubles, but most of them never happened”.
Mental Keys to Winning a Confrontation
By Stanley Phillips
Let’s consider three prime factors in controlling the outcome of a confrontation, first is Perception: Recognizing and prioritizing key indicators within your sphere. Next is Situational Awareness: The ability to collect, collate and store data in a fluid, dynamic and stressful environment, and to retrieve that data as needed to accurately predict future events in a compressed time frame. And finally is Being in the Moment: Totally tuned to the present, disassociating yourself from any thoughts of mistake found in the past, free from any fears of the future. This state of mind is the fertile ground for powerful and unique solutions. It really doesn’t matter that you can consistently present your firearm from a position of carry and fire multiple well placed rounds from your gun into the A-zone on your target in 1.25 seconds, if you never perceive the attack, you won’t respond. To paraphrase the great philosopher Forrest Gump, “Dead is as dead does.”
At peak function, anything in the environment that can become a weapon is an extension of your will. Your opponent may have carried your weapon to the fight for you!
On the defensive side of the coin, a perceptive, listening mind frequently allows you to position yourself completely out of harm’s way before many attacks can fully develop.
Train Hard
Stanley Phillips
What about Bodyweight Training?
|
W by Stanley Phillips |
|
The key to success with ANY form of physical training is PROGRESSION. If you are not progressing, you are not improving. And if you’re not improving, you’re wasting your valuable training time. Progressive training (whether it is with outside resistance like dumbbells or barbells, or with your own bodyweight) is what translates into real world physical improvements you can USE, and physique improvements you can SEE.
So, in order to get the most from your bodyweight training, you must progressively become better. For your exercise sessions to be successful, (producing the ability and physical changes you desire), you must be making progress. If you are not increasing the challenge of your training on a regular basis, you are doing little more than manual labor, and you will never reach your goals.
Sounds simple, but here’s the biggest problem:
Bodyweight training is different than progression in other types of training because the weight of resistance is fixed! Your bodyweight does not change much. So, how do you continue to progress when the weight you are using as resistance remains virtually the same, or actually becomes less due to fat loss?
In other forms of resistance training, there are multiple ways to progress, for example… increasing the weight you use for the exercise. You can use heavier dumbbells or, you can add more weight to the bar.
But these options don’t exist for bodyweight training. And unfortunately, instead of searching for a reasonable solution to this problem, most people ONLY progress by increasing the amount of repetitions performed. This is ONE way to progress.
However, this SINGULAR progression approach often leads to boredom, or worse, overuse injuries. In either case, the bodyweight training only goes so far.
So, what’s the solution?
Look to progress on multiple levels. Be creative, and there are many ways to progress even when the weight of the resistance stays the same. Here are a few of my favorites:
- Split the exercises up into Basic, Intermediate and Advanced levels and increasing the difficulty of the exercises.
- Increase the amount of repetitions performed PER SESSION. Don’t go for high reps per set, but increase the amount of overall reps by doing more set, circuits, rounds, etc. In this way, you can increase the volume of your workout effectively and safely.
- Reduce rest periods between exercises, sets, circuits, rounds, etc. This places greater stress on both the muscles and cardio respiratory systems by increasing the intensity of the workout.
- Here is the most important one. Do a combination of all three. Simultaneously using more difficult exercises, do more overall reps and reduce the rest periods. Talk about a progression method that forces your body to become stronger, leaner and fit.
Here is the one thing you should notice. All the above progression methods do not involve increasing the amount of resistance. And I think these methods can be used with weighted resistance programs as well.
As you see, bodyweight training is not limited because of the inability to add weight to the exercises. There are many ways to progress that does not involve adding weight. Multiple progression methods should be used in bodyweight exercise as well as other forms of training.
Are you using these progression methods effectively in your training?
Train hard and see you on the fit side! 
Body Language
by Stanley Phillips
Your body language is a conduit that transmits information to your opponent. Your posture and movement have a tremendous effect positively or negatively in terms of the final outcome. Put pressure on your threat by adopting a relatively calm, positively determined posture that displays that you are efficiently adapting and that you plan to prevail, period. If your posture ends up collapsing toward a fetal position, it only invites further encroachment.
Now is the time to expand your sphere of influence; do not collapse it. You are not just surviving here. You are absolutely committed to dominate, and your resolve will be revealed in all your movements.
Further expand your sphere of influence by the confident manner in which you present your weapon. Under duress, a weapon should be deployed as effortlessly as you reach for your keys, with no conscious thought in terms of function and employment. This is not the time to review basic function and presentation procedures.
Your powerful subconscious mind must be free to operate as designed. It should not be cluttered with the static of the conscious mind.
How can you effectively meld your weapon and your mind into a seamless whole? Be committed to effective weapons training. Couple this with an ongoing effort to enhance your perception skills by constantly striving to evaluate the reality around you.
Several notable studies have shown that the “walking dead,” those walking in a non-erect, scanning posture, are the preferred victims of society’s predators.
Manufacturer, caliber, magazine capacity and accuracy should be subservient to the directed mind, not the other way around. If you don’t constantly train, don’t expect results. You see, the only free lunch is the one your friends enjoy after your funeral.
Flaxseed Oil
by Stanley Phillips
Fifty-four percent of Americans are overweight, and 22% of them are considered obese… is that so startling, considering there’s a fat, I mean, fast-food joint on nearly every street corner? With many of us following a “low-fat” diet to avoid being overweight and doing our best to stay healthy, why are we still gaining so much weight – fat weight to be precise? Well, it’s not too much fat in our diets (literally) killing us but too little of the “right” kind of fat.
In reality, many Americans are suffering from a massive fat deficiency that is contributing to the rise of obesity, diabetes, arthritis, breast cancer, depression, immune-system dysfunction, PMS, hyperactivity in children, and many more ill-fated complications common today. Believe it or not, it takes (good) fat to lose (bad) fat. This is what’s wrong with many “low-fat” nutrition programs offered these days. “Good fats,” also known as essential fatty acids, on the other hand, actually increase our metabolic rate and improve our overall health at the same time.
Essential fats are so named because they are “essential” to our body’s normal cell functioning, and we cannot produce them on our own; thus, they must be supplemented or consumed as part of our normal diets. Essential fatty acids, or EFA’s are required for our overall health, including proper metabolism, energy production, regulation of cell functions, and healing of tissues and injuries. EFA’s can help us stay fit and healthy, while those dreaded unhealthy “bad” fats, such as the processed fats found in fried foods or margarine, compromise health and performance.
Flaxseed is one the “best” readily available sources of essential fatty acids (EFA’s). Flaxseed contains a very important substance known as omega-3 fats-labeled by many leading nutritionists as “the fat that heals.” Like most unsaturated oils, flaxseed oil contains linolenic acid. But flaxseed differs from most vegetable oil because it contains alpha-linolenic acid or (ALA), which is high in these all – important omega-3 fats. In fact, it is the best-known source of alpha-linolenic acid (omega-3 fats) available, as well as being a good source of some very important vitamins and minerals.
Active people report that flaxseed supplements help them recover more quickly after workouts and help decrease post-workout muscle soreness. Researchers believe this effect may be because flaxseed has both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
Researchers also believe flaxseed oil may increase the body’s metabolic rate and help the body burn fat more quickly. Animal studies support this theory, although more research is needed to determine if it is an effective weight-loss for humans.
Therapeutic uses
Recent studies suggest flaxseed oil offers powerful cardiovascular protection by improving arterial circulation, arterial function, and energy production. And, as little as one tablespoon of flaxseed oil a day has also been shown to significantly lower blood pressure.
The National Cancer Institute became interested in flaxseed after European studies revealed it could shrink certain tumors and combat cancers found in breast, prostate, and lung cells.
Flaxseed also contains a type of anti-inflammatory agent that may help relieve the painful symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, and other inflammatory conditions.
High-protein dieters
Too much protein in our daily diet and what tends to happen? The unpleasantness of constipation occurs. Working in opposition of protein’s tendency to constipate, flaxseed oil helps soften protein hardened stool, allowing us to be more “regular.” And it does so without adding “fattening” or bad fats to the diet.
One of the downsides to flaxseed in the form of oil is its instability when exposed to light, air, heat, or metal. For that reason, some individuals prefer taking flaxseed oil in capsule form or including flaxseeds in their daily diet regimen. But a working refrigerator is all that is needed to keep your flaxseed oil fresh and cold.
In conclusion
While the research continues on, many sports nutrition experts are already highly recommending this powerful “good” fat. Because the research has already revealed flaxseed may support healthy hormone secretions, decrease muscle soreness, and fight both free radicals and inflammation, at the very least, it could supply your body with an extra aid for recovery and allow you to exercise more intensely – or just plain live a healthier life. So, before taking this or any supplement check with your doctor, and enjoy good health.
