Many of our readers are competitive athletes and use nutrition and supplements to give them a competitive edge. Also, a number of our readers rank among the world’s top mountain climbers, body builders, martial artists, hockey players, football players, and golfers – to name just a few – and already use Peter Smanjak’s strength training program and natural health formulations to improve athletic performance. It seems that people suffering from catastrophic illness and top athletes share something in common: their bodies need extra support to rebuild to get back to their natural health.
We all know the reality; exercise is an important key to health. It promotes weight loss, builds muscles, bones, and joints. Improves the cardiovascular system, mental well-being, and reduces the risk of almost every major chronic illness known today.
Here are some performance pointers for athletes and weekend warriors.
Proper nutrients – take in enough appropriate nutrients for energy during and after a workout. Make sure you consume nutrient rich foods which hold a generous amount of antioxidants, phytonutrients, amino acids, and healthy fats (use link to superfoods) rich in omega-3 fatty acids (use link to fish oils) . Use whole, naturally occurring vitamins and minerals and not isolates.
Make sure you are getting enough minerals, especially Magnesium and vitamin A, B6, B12, B3, C, D, and E for proper carbohydrate, protein, and amino acid metabolism and muscle growth. Nutrition and supplements are essential as we realise that we do not consume sufficient nutrients in the everyday diet.
Be aware of the timing of your eating – If you want to lose weight, don’t eat until 3 hours after a workout. Stay away from sugars and refined carbohydrates. Try never eat right before a workout since the blood will go to the stomach instead of the muscles and hamper performance.
If you are a competitive athlete, this may be difficult. Bottom line, get in tune with your body. Note: if you do eat right before a workout, make sure that what you eat is easily digestible, provides quick energy, and does not produce an allergic response. Fruit, such as grapes, not many are perfect or even a ripe banana.
Purified water – drink at least 8-12 glasses of purified water per day. Distilled water is the better option. A good filter should remove organic toxins and chlorine, heavy metals and fluoride, and pathogens such as Cryptosporidium. The steam distillers are also good, but make sure they incorporate a charcoal filter to prevent volatile toxins from re-condensing in your water and re- mineralize the water before you drink it. As for bottle water, remember that bottled doesn’t always mean “pure.”
Suggested formulas to look for to enhance your fitness program:
Superfoods & Low-Glycemic Body Fuel – used by both dieters and top athletes, a mix of Aktivated barley, stabilized rice
bran, sugar management herbs, and guarana, can stabilize energy and satiate the body for hours. For more information on the
importance of these ingredients please review: The Super Smoothie of Endurance Warriors (https://……). For an extra protein kick, look for formulas that use a hypoallergenic and bio-available protein source to reduce gastrointestinal distress. The standard sources most athletes use don’t necessarily fit the bill. Meat is not bio-available and take much energy to digest. never mind the toxins in meat. Steak, for example, is only 22% protein, 15% of which us usable by the body. Whey, egg, and soy, on the other hand, are far more usable, but also are all highly allergenic. Keep in mind that even a low level allergic response (one that you may not even consciously notice) can degrade athletic performance. That does leave things things like rice and pea protein, spirulina, and chlorella, which all place just under egg and whey when it comes to bio-availability – but are all hypoallergic, making any or all of them a great choice for athletes.
For more information, see our Superfood range for additional nutrition per shake. (https://…..).Trace Minerals – you will want to look for a complete source of liquid trace minerals to sustain your body and to alkalinize it to counter the build up of lactic acid in your muscles. A formula like this will also include a water optimizing agent that improves the ability of liquids in your body to transport nutrients into cells and cellular waste out – most needed by all athletes or those new to an exercise program.
Proteolytic Enzymes – designed to reduce systemic inflammation and improve blood flow, these turn out to be the ultimate athletic performance and training enhancer. Proteolytic enzymes will increase energy, enhance endurance, and accelerate recovery time.
Antioxidants – you will want to find a full-spectrum free radical scrubber that quickly repairs the oxidative stress on your body caused by intense physical activity or high intensity workouts.
Hormonal balancers – without testosterone, you can’t build muscle or strength. You will want to look for a formula that will free up the natural testosterone bound in your body, once again making it available for maximizing strength, enhancing your zest for life and augmenting performance.