Parrillo Tips and Tidbits January, 2010

Tips and Tidbits the month

Training Tip

Muscle fibers are divided into three types: slow-twitch, fast-twitch oxidative-glycolytic and pure fast-twitch. Slow-twitch and fast-twitch oxidative-glycolytic muscle fibers get most of their energy from burning fat. You can actually change pure fast-twitch fibers into fast-twitch oxidative fibers by high volume training such as long duration aerobics or high-intensity training. This type of training also increases the number of mitochondria in fast-twitch fibers to levels higher than those found in slow-twitch fibers. With more mitochondria in muscle cells, the fast-twitch muscle fibers burn more fat. Through high-volume training, your body literally becomes a fat-burning machine. If you want to burn more body fat, do high-rep work using heavy poundages. Work out intensely, so that you’re breathing hard each time you finish a set.

Nutrition Tip

Weight training athletes must include ample protein in their diets to promote muscular fitness. Individual protein needs vary and depend on a number of factors, including an athlete’s training intensity and level of conditioning. Based on our experiences at Parrillo, hard training bodybuilders can achieve excellent results by consuming 1.25 to 1.5 or more grams of protein per pound of body weight a day. On our program, at least one gram of your protein intake per pound of body weight should come from lean protein sources such as lean white meat poultry, fish, and egg whites. Avoid red meats and egg yolks, as these are high in fat which easily converts to body fat. The other .25 to .5 per pound of body weight should come from vegetables, particularly beans, corn and legumes.

Breaking News

Fitness & Nutrition

Panting Through Your Workouts?
Try Getting Enough Zinc

Consuming lower than recommended levels of dietary zinc could be especially hard on the body during exercise, according to an Agricultural Research Service study. That’s because tiny amounts of the mineral are contained in hundreds of zinc-dependent enzymes that play a role in regulating energy expenditure. One such friendly, zinc-dependent enzyme—carbonic anhydrase—helps the body clear away byproducts of daily cellular activity. The enzyme actually escorts carbon dioxide out of the body—from body tissue to blood, from blood to air sacs in the lungs, and from the lungs out into the air.

During the study, a group of active young men in their 20s and early 30s experienced a significant drop in physiological efficiency while exercising, when their zinc intake had been reduced to about one-third of their Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for nine weeks. They were fed a low-zinc diet of slightly more than 3.5 milligrams (mg) daily, compared to the RDA of 11 mg daily. For contrast, when the same group exercised the same way for nine weeks while consuming the same foods, but supplemented with 15 mg of zinc daily, their physiological response was normal during exercise. When zinc intake is too low, carbon dioxide backs up all the way to muscle cells, according to Lukaski. That results in acid-laden cells that require more oxygen for clearing toxic byproducts.

- Rosalie Marion Bliss, April 2006, Agricultural Research Service, USDA

Question

Question: What are the benefits of supplementing with branched-chain amino acids?

Answer: The branched-chain amino acids leucine, isoleucine and valine are directly involved in building muscle tissue. By carrying nitrogen, they assist the muscles in synthesizing other amino acids to promote growth and repair. Following hard and heavy weight training, a big dose of BCAA’s will immediately set about repairing damaged muscle tissue, thereby speeding the recovery process and providing the traumatized muscle with the micronutrients needed to heal and then grow. Parrillo uses high-quality amino acids in all of it’s formulations and Muscle Amino Formula™ is a particular favorite of some of the most prolific bodybuilders of all time that use or have used our products.

Quick Tip

Do you like eating raw vegetables with delicious dips, but think raw broccoli is too bitter, or raw green beans are too tough? Some vegetables taste better after blanching in a pot of boiling water, then quickly cooling them in a bowl of cold water. It only takes 1 minute of blanching for broccoli, cauliflower and fennel bulb, 30 seconds for snow peas, and 2-4 minutes for asparagus and green beans (depending on size.)

Reference: Live! from Marilyn’s Kitchen by Marilyn Harris

Dominique’s

Time Cruncher

ÚHere’s a great idea for a quick and delicious salad dressing that uses CapTri^® MCT oil in place of olive oil: Buy a package of Kraft’s Good Seasons Salad Dressing Mix with a glass cruet included, then mix dressing according to package directions, replacing the olive oil with CapTri^®. Good Seasons comes in several different flavor varieties, but the favorite at Parrillo HQ is the Italian dressing.

Resolution

Revolution