Parrillo Tips and Tidbits July 2010

nutrition Tip of the month:

It’s not who diets the hardest, it’s who diets the smartest: Some people try to lose too much fat too quickly by making drastic dietary changes. Your body is like a thermostat: it does not respond well to severe change of any kind. If you drastically lower your caloric intake, your body begins hoarding fat and slowing its metabolic rate to conserve energy. Soon, you feel bad (you have no energy) and look terrible (you store fat and lose mass). Sure, you may lose some bodyfat, but you also lose a lot of muscle mass, not to mention your sanity, your spouse, and perhaps your job! Rather than making a quantum leap from off-season dieting to pre-contest starvation, we encourage bodybuilders to gradually modify their off-season diet while simultaneously increasing the time and intensity of their aerobics. By doing so, you give your body time to adjust so it can continue to burn bodyfat and maintain muscle mass.

Training Tip of the month:

The Essential Elements of Good Form,

A Five Part Series

Element #2: Use slow, strict reps in both the lifting and lowering portion of each exercise.

When you’re moving too fast through the exercise, inertia—and very little of your own muscle power—is doing all the work. So you’re really not getting much from the exercise. Plus, fast lifting is very stressful on your connective tissue. Each rep should be performed in a slow, controlled fashion throughout the range of motion. There’s one exception, however. If you need to strengthen your connective tissue for another sport, perform the last rep of each set in a fast, explosive way, or do an entire set this way.

Question of the month:

Question: I’m trying to convince my workout partner that the off-season is just as important as preparing for a bodybuilding show. Can you back me up on this one?

Answer: Intelligent bodybuilders always maintain a good off-season diet. They utilize these months to add lean muscle mass and minimize bodyfat. They eat basically the same foods as they would on a pre-contest diet, but in larger quantities and slightly different protein/fat/carbohydrate ratios. When it is time to start a pre-contest diet they have less bodyfat and more muscle mass. Smart bodybuilders know that preparation for the next contest begins the day after the last contest. Bodybuilding is a year-round lifestyle and the off-season is as important, if not more so, than the pre-contest period. It’s no accident that the most ripped bodybuilders are also have the most dedication to a strict off-season diet program.

News & Discoveries

In Fitness & Nutrition

Carriers of “Plaque” Gene at Greater Risk

When it comes to obesity, all fat deposits are not alike. A study by Agricultural Research Service (ARS)-funded scientists found that individuals who were born with a particular gene variant had a significantly greater buildup of plaque in their arteries than those who were not carriers. The researchers found that among more than 2,000 local study participants, those who had a particular variant of the APOA5 gene had higher levels of arterial plaque, as measured by carotid artery lining thickness.

Although obesity is a known contributing factor to heart disease, the problem was shown to be even worse among the 13 percent of both men and women who carry the less common gene variant. High blood lipids, such as total and LDL cholesterol and triglycerides—which can be detected through blood tests—are both genetically and environmentally controlled contributors to coronary artery disease risk. This study showed that it may be more important for some people than for others to make preventive dietary and lifestyle changes, depending upon their genetic makeup.

- By Rosalie Marion Bliss, Sept. 2007, Agricultural Research Service, USDA

Quick Tip of the month:

Think about joining a Community-supported agriculture program to get a weekly “CSA” produce box delivered to you. What’s better than having a great variety of fresh locally-grown vegetables delivered right to your door? In some areas you can even get locally-raised meat, poultry and grain products in your CSA box, saving you time spent waiting in line at the grocery store.

Dominique’s Time Cruncher

ÚTry one of the new “mini blender/food processors” now available, they are great time savers! You can chop onions and other veggies in them, make salsa, bean dip, and even dessert with them. Plus, the clean-up is a snap, just put the mixing cup in the dishwasher. Here’s one idea for a quick sweet treat: Put one scoop of Chocolate Ice Kreem Mix™ in the mixing cup, along with 8 oz of water and a handful of ice cubes. Blend until frothy and enjoy as a delicious milk shake. You can also put the blended mixture in the freezer and enjoy as a frozen treat!