Selecting a good spotter: The use of a spotter crucial to intense training. A spotter lets you use advanced training techniques, monitors your form and helps break previous barriers. Not everyone with whom you work out with is an effective spotter, however. There is a real art to spotting.

Here are some guidelines for selecting
a good spotter:

• The spotter must have the mental capacity to be as focused in the workouts as you are.

• He/she is knowledgeable enough in physiology to know if you are using the right muscles.

• He/she has the ability to prompt you on proper form, and then correct you if necessary.

• He/she is a good communicator, capable of reading your non-verbal responses to workout exertion.

Remember, you may choose the best spotter in the world, but maximum intensity in every workout is still your responsibility—and yours only.

Nutrition Tip of the Month

Importance of Essential Fatty Acids: Are you getting enough essential fatty acids? The body is unable to manufacture EFAs itself, they must be obtained from the diet. Normally people don’t have to worry about EFA deficiency in this country because the typical diet contains so much fat. Furthermore, EFAs can be stored in body fat so a dietary deficiency won’t show up for a long time. Extremely lean athletes, however, who follow a low-fat diet for a prolonged time are definitely at increased risk for fatty acid deficiency. Have I ever actually seen any bodybuilders with the clinical symptoms of essential fatty acid deficiency? You bet. Did their symptoms resolve after fatty acid supplementation? Yes – rapidly and dramatically. Parrillo’s Evening Primrose Oil™ and Fish Oil DHA 800 EPA 200™ provide EFAs without excess non-essential fats, letting you maintain a low-fat diet.

Question of the Month

Question: Why are Parrillo Liver Amino Formula™ supplements recommended for bodybuilders and athletes?

Answer: Parrillo Liver Amino Formula™ is one of the best supplements available for bodybuilders and endurance athletes: It provides heme iron, high quality protein, and B vitamins all in one. Desiccated liver supplements, like Liver Amino™, represent probably the most bioavailable iron source. High potency beef liver tablets, taken at recurring intervals throughout the day, combined with sensible eating, will allow an athlete to have a better recovery rate all day long. Each tablet contains a whopping 1.5g of high BV protein – along with blood strengthening heme iron (women take note), plus a handful of B-12, Choline and Dibencozide as well. We recommend athletes take 5 to 8 tablets with each meal, depending on your size, and a handful before bed. These nighttime tabs will provide you with a nice anabolic jolt as they dissolve deep into the sleep cycle.

News and Discoveries in Fitness and Nutrition

Cooling Inflammation for Healthier Arteries

Agricultural Research Service (ARS)-funded scientists have reported new reasons for choosing “heart-healthy” oats at the grocery store. Nutritionist Mohsen Meydani, director of the Vascular Biology Laboratory at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston, Mass., led the research on the oat compounds, called avenanthramides. Meydani previously has shown that phenolic antioxidants in oats obstruct the ability of blood cells to stick to artery walls.

Chronic inflammation inside the arterial wall is part of the process that eventually leads to a disorder known as atherosclerosis. Meydani and colleagues have reported findings that suggest the avenanthramides of oats decrease the expression of inflammatory molecules. The study showed that forms of avenanthramides possess potential anti-inflammatory properties through inhibiting factors that are linked with activating proinflammatory cytokines.Cytokines are small proteins released by cells while seeking to protect and repair tissue. Some trigger inflammation, for example, while responding to infection. Inhibiting inflammation through diet, drugs, or key nutrients is considered to be of great benefit in preventing atherosclerosis. Details of this study can be found in the scientific journal Free Radical Biology & Medicine.

The study provides additional indications of the potential health benefit of oat consumption in the prevention of coronary heart disease beyond its known effect through lowering blood cholesterol.

Quick Tip of the Month

Here are some easy ideas to add a little spice to your breakfast: Try adding a dash of cinnamon or nutmeg to your Parrillo Hi-Protein Pancake & Muffin™ batter. Add a shake or two of cinnamon to your bowl of oatmeal. You can even add a pinch of cinnamon to your morning coffee before you brew it. Add a pinch of dried thyme or dill to your egg whites before you scramble them. For some heat sprinkle in a little cayenne pepper or hot paprika.

- Rosalie Marion Bliss, Feb. 16, 2010, ARS website: www.ars.usda.gov

Dominique’s Time Cruncher

If you miss having a tall glass of cold milk, or milk to pour over your shredded wheat cereal or oatmeal, try this: Get a big pitcher with a lid, pour in 8 scoops of Parrillo Milk-flavor All-Protein Powder™ and 4 cups of water, mix well and place in the refrigerator. Now the next time you sit down to enjoy a Parrillo Contest Brownie™, you can pour yourself a glass of cold Milk flavor All-Protein™ to wash it down!

Your ability to build additional muscle is limited by your degree of cardiovascular density. Without aerobics in your total bodybuilding program, your body can’t create any new supply routes for your newly developed muscles. The more blood vessels you have and the bigger they are, the longer and more intense your workouts can be. In other words, the better your cardiovascular density, the greater potential you have for building bigger muscles.

Do your aerobics in the morning for 45 to 60 minutes-before breakfast. By exercising before your first meal, you begin burning fatty acids for energy in the absence of glycogen. You become leaner as a result, plus your metabolism is activated for the entire day.

nutrition Tip

of the month:

Avoid “Starvation Mode” by eating five to six meals a day or more, spaced two to three hours apart. With a constant nutrient supply, you are never forced into “starvation mode,” a state induced by repeated cycles of low-calorie dieting in which the body prepares itself for famine. Because meals are coming at shorter, regular intervals, your body learns to process food more efficiently, and your metabolism is accelerated as a result. Eating this way also helps to naturally elevate your body’s level of insulin, a hormone with powerful anabolic (growth-producing) effects. One of its chief roles in the body is to make amino acids available to muscle tissue for growth and recovery.

Question

of the month:

Question: How should I eat in the off-season to get good results in bodybuilding?

Answer: The off-season is the ideal time to put on muscle, while staying relatively lean. This way, you don’t have to diet as hard as your contest approaches. You must eat enough in the off-season  to increase your body weight and still stay strict on your nutrition program. Eat the right foods (lean protein, starchy carbohydrates, and fibrous carbohydrates) in the right combinations and in multiple meals (5-6 a day.) In addition, use CapTri^®, supplements like ProCarb™, Hi-Protein™ or any Parrillo bars to increase your daily caloric intake. (Refer to the Parrillo Nutrition Manual for more info on off-season nutrition.) Be as consistent with your nutrition during the off-season as you are during the competitive season, and you’ll emerge ready for your contests bigger and more defined.

Breaking News

Fitness & Nutrition

Why Creatine Is Important

Creatine is a nonessential dietary component found in abundance in meat and fish. The body also makes creatine by using other dietary components called amino acids. Creatine is transported into muscle and nerves where it is joined with phosphate to form phosphocreatine. Phosphocreatine can not leave a cell; instead it donates its phosphate to a partially depleted energy source. The transfer results in the fully loaded compound adenosine triphosphate (ATP) – the immediate supplier of energy for all cells, particularly muscle and nerve cells.

Having extra phosphocreatine in muscle cells helps to boost performance in many aspects of sport including jumping, sprinting and repetitions of these actions and thus to enhance performance in sports requiring either short-term all out effort or repeated stop and go activities. Athletes involved in sports like football, soccer, sprinting in track and swimming, basketball, and hockey may hike performance from increasing muscle phosphocreatine content. Phosphocreatine also may help athletes to recover from repeated heavy training session like pre-season training camps.

- Henry C. Lukaski, Oct. 2006, Agricultural Research Service, USDA

Quick Tip

of the month:

Here’s a tip from personal trainer Dave Patterson, in Tacoma, Washington: For a mild lemon cookie taste, combine 2 scoops of Plain Shortbread Contest Cookie™ mix and 2 scoops of Lemon Flavor Shortbread Contest Cookie™ mix with 8 tablespoons of CapTri^® and bake according to package directions. Dave bakes them   for his gym and his clients love this new twist!

Dominique’s

Time Cruncher

Save time at the grocery store by organizing your shopping list according to how the grocery store is laid out. For example, group all of the produce department items together on your list, and this way you won’t be backtracking to the aisles you’ve already been down, which will save you time.

of the month:

A successful approach to losing body fat involves alternating one month on a weight gain cycle and one month on a fat loss cycle. The first month you would gain a pound each week (4 lbs.) and 75% of it is muscle. In the second month you lose a pound a week (4 lbs. total) and 75% of that loss in fat. At the end of the two-month cycle you will have gained 2 lbs. of muscle and lost 2 lbs. of fat. Extend that to a year and you’re looking at 12 lbs of muscle gained and 12 lbs. of fat lost. You’re constantly making progress and your metabolism never gets the chance to slow down. These goals are quite realistic and very easily attainable for anyone, particularly easy for bodybuilders who are giving 100% effort to their training and nutrition program.

Training Tip

of the month:

Which is more effective for losing fat, weight training or aerobics?

Both aerobics and weight training can be very effective at promoting fat loss. Aerobics burns fat during the session and the harder the aerobic workout, the more fat you burn during your aerobic session. Weight lifting, on the other hand, burns less fat during the workout, but your metabolism will stay elevated as your body recovers from an intense workout, which burns fat between workouts. It’s best to include both hard aerobics and intense weight training if you want to be both lean and muscular.

Question

of the month:

Losing Weight May Lower Cholesterol, Boost Immunity

Question: Why aren’t fruit or dairy products in Parrillo’s nutrition diet plan? Aren’t they part of a balanced diet?

Answer: Fruit contains a simple sugar known as fructose, which is easily converted to fat in the liver. Although fresh fruit and low fat dairy products are healthy, nutritious foods, they contain a lot of natural sugars which are easily converted into body fat. So if you’re striving for ultimate leanness and a high energy level, avoid the consumption of sugary foods, including fruit and
dairy products.

It’s true that fruit is high in vitamins, minerals, and fiber – but so are natural, complex carbohydrates. If you want to get leaner and more muscular – and build your recuperative powers by re-stocking glycogen more efficiently – avoid fruit. Choose starchy and fibrous carbohydrates instead.

Breaking News

Fitness & Nutrition

Scientists funded by the Agricultural Research Service found that volunteers with high cholesterol and/or triglycerides–who followed both a low-fat and low-calorie diet–not only lost weight, but also significantly enhanced their immune response. The volunteers consumed different diets during four distinct test phases lasting more than one month each. The first three phases were designed to maintain body weight, and the last phase was not. The researchers tested the volunteers’ immune functions through blood tests and skin-patch tests geared to measure immune response at the end of each phase.

Cholesterol levels were significantly reduced during all phases, compared to the baseline-diet phase. But during skin-patch tests after the last phase, the volunteers showed significantly better immune responses than after any of the other three phases of the study. Blood tests also indicated enhanced cellular immune response. The study’s authors concluded that high-cholesterol individuals who follow recommended low-fat diets are unlikely to erode their immune systems, and they may well improve their immune response if they lose weight at the same time. The researchers now are planning more studies to gauge the effects of caloric restriction on health status and immune response in larger groups of volunteers.

- Rosalie Marion Bliss, September 2003, ARS, USDA

Quick Tip

of the month:

Keep multiples of kitchen tools you use often for cooking, things like measuring cups & spoons, bowls, spatulas, large spoons, etc., in your kitchen cabinets. This way, you’ll always have what you need, ready to use, even if you haven’t had a chance to do the dishes.

Dominique’s

Time Cruncher

ÚHave a food processor on hand in the kitchen! Keep it ready to go on your counter top, so it’s convenient to use. You can slice, dice, shred, or chop your vegetables with a food processor, which will save you so much prep time when cooking your meals!

Parrillo Pro-Carb Powder™ is the ultimate carbohydrate supplement. Carbohydrates are a great energy source for fueling athletic activities and supporting weight gain. Pro-Carb™ is ideal for carb loading, for use during training and athletic competition and as a source of extra calories during heavy training. Not only is it high in carbohydrates, but a Pro-Carb™ drink also supplies water which is needed for glycogen storage. Using Pro-Carb™, you get a more even energy level because the carbs are released slowly, minimizing the chance that any will spill over into fat stores. Pro-Carb™ contains no simple sugars or artificial sweeteners; it’s available in Vanilla, Chocolate, Strawberry, Banana, and Peach flavors.

Make an effort to do your aerobics in the morning for 45 to 60 minutes–before breakfast, several times a week. By exercising before your first meal, you begin burning fatty acids for energy in the absence of glycogen. You become leaner as a result. Then later, the carbohydrates you eat are efficiently re-supplied to muscles, without being turned into body fat. Plus, your metabolism is activated for the entire day. Don’t underestimate the power of aerobics in your training program! The benefits are numerous, from fat-burning to cardiovascular health to improved recovery mechanisms. Just don’t “coast”, work out hard to get the results you want! 

Breaking News Fitness & Nutrition

Fight Osteoporosis: Bone Up on a Quality Diet 

Findings from a new study suggest vitamin C may be protective against bone loss in older men.  Osteoporosis—a condition in which bones become porous and weak—affects about 10 million people in the U.S. population, and low bone mass is a public health concern among another 44 million people aged 50 or older. The researchers wanted to examine whether fruit- and vegetable-specific antioxidants such as vitamin C might decrease oxidative stress that is linked to accelerated bone loss. In the Framingham Osteoporosis Study, bone mineral density at the hip, spine and forearm was measured in 344 men and 540 women aged 75 on average. Because people at risk for bone loss, such as smokers, may use vitamin C supplements more often, the potential effects of vitamin C intake obtained from diet, supplements, and both diet and supplements were examined. Interactions based on smoking, calcium and vitamin E intakes were tracked. The researchers observed significant positive associations for total vitamin C—both dietary and supplemental—among men who never smoked. 

Among a subset of the participants—whose bone mineral density was again measured after four years—different interactions were observed. During those four years, total vitamin C appeared to be protective against losses in bone mineral density in two areas of the hip among men with low calcium or vitamin E intakes. That finding is consistent with previous reports by Tucker and other researchers that higher fruit and vegetable intake has positive effects on bone mineral status.

By Rosalie Marion Bliss, Oct. 2008, Agricultural Research Service, USDA 
 

Question of the month: 

Question: How important are nutritional supplements for athletes? 

Answer: First, make sure you remember: food is the foundation! There’s no supplement that has ever come close to providing everything you get from food. That’s not to say you don’t get results from supplements – you do, but only when taken with food and at the proper time and in the proper combinations. Vitamins, minerals and electrolytes, amino acids, medium chain fatty acids, aspartates, lipotropics, and other supplements increase the nutrient density in body cells, activating your body chemistry for growth. Once you’re eating correctly, supplements can be added to your diet to maximize the results. When you add the right supplements to the proper nutritional foundation, you’ll be bowled over by the amazing progress you can make!

Quick Tip of the month:

Try this easy topping to add more flavor to your grilled chicken or fish: Add a capful of salt-free lemon pepper seasoning mix to 2 Tablespoons of Butter Flavor CapTri^® MCT Oil, stirring well.  Try other salt-free seasoning mixes, like Italian, Herb & Garlic, Southwest, or Caribbean. 

Dominique’s Time Cruncher 

Ú To save time, always make a list before going to the grocery. First, plan your menu for the week, then make your grocery list according to what you’ll need. This way you can shop quickly and you won’t have to make extra trips to the store later. 

Tracie Euker

Consuming as little as one-half cup of cooked dry beans every day helped volunteers lower their total cholesterol levels in an Agricultural Research Service (ARS) study. These results, published in the November issue of the Journal of Nutrition by the ARS scientists and their colleagues, add to a growing—and convincing—body of evidence that beans are a heart healthy food choice. 

The researchers tested 80 volunteers aged 18 to 55 years. Half were healthy, while half had at least two symptoms that lead to metabolic syndrome, a combination of conditions that signal a risk for cardiovascular disease. Those with “pre-metabolic-syndrome” had abdominal obesity and either high triglyceride levels, low HDL “good” cholesterol, high blood sugar, or high blood pressure. 

For 12 weeks, half of the group was randomly selected to eat one-half cup of cooked dry pinto beans daily along with their regular daily diet. The others ate a replacement serving of chicken soup instead of the pinto beans. The findings show that, compared to measures taken prior to the 12-week test phase, all the volunteers—the healthy ones as well as those with symptoms—who ate pinto beans saw a reduction in their cholesterol levels. 

   - Rosalie Marion Bliss, USDA Agricultural Research Service website, November 28, 2007 

Question of the month:

Question: Why does the Parrillo Nutrition

Program exclude dairy products and fruit? 

Answer: In working with top bodybuilders and athletes for over 30 years, we’ve identified which foods yield the best results in terms of physique and performance. We’ve learned exactly what foods to eat, what foods to avoid, and how to structure meals. Those following the Parrillo Nutrition Program should avoid dairy products because they contain lactose, a simple sugar. In addition, dairy products are high in fat. Both simple sugars and fat are easily converted to body fat. 

We suggest that fruit be avoided as fruit contains fructose, a simple sugar that’s easily converted to body fat. In digestion, food passes from the stomach to the intestines to the liver and finally to the bloodstream. Because of fructose’s molecular structure, the liver readily converts it into a long chain triglyceride (a fat). Therefore, a majority of the fruit you eat can ultimately end up as body fat on your physique. 

ATHLETE spotlight 

Tracie Euker 

“I am an art teacher in Sullivan County, NY, wife and mother of 2 boys under the age of 7 and I’m over the age of 40. I am a Figure Competitor with the INBF. I just competed in and won “two” 1st place trophies in the NYS INBF Figure Championships held in Poughkeepsie, NY, in Figure Medium class & Masters Figure. Last year I entered the same show and placed 3rd in Figure Med. and 2nd in Masters Figure. A lot can happen in a year. For one I found Parrillo CapTri® MCT oil and Parrillo Protein Chew Bars™. Both helped me increase energy and performance without adding fat and empty calories. As a result I was able to add some nice lean weight over the year and come back better than ever! My message is simple…Not only is the old adage true that you are what you eat also true is the power of your mind for what you believe you can achieve. I am passionate about being a positive role model not only for my children and students but for other Moms or women over 40 who maybe feel they can’t. I am a living example of what hard work, sound nutrition and dedication can achieve.” 

Quick Tip of the month:

Treat yourself to an ice-cold Parrillo shake! Mix up a Parrillo protein shake in your favorite flavor and place your shaker cup in the freezer for about 15 minutes. You’ll have a delicious frosty Parrillo shake to enjoy in no time!  

Email your tips to graphics@parrillo.com! 

nutrition Tip of the month:

Parrillo Essential Vitamin™ and Mineral Electrolyte™ Formulas are designed to be taken at each meal. Here’s why: Since you need the vitamins and minerals to assist and control the molecular processes associated with metabolizing and synthesizing food, it only makes sense that you provide those vitamins and minerals with the food you’re eating. Also, water soluble vitamins (B group and C group) are excreted from your body in urine within 3-4 hours after you take them, so levels drop back down again. By taking vitamins with each meal, this provides a more steady and constant blood level, and helps incorporate dietary protein into new muscle tissue after each meal.

Training Tip of the month:

For maximal increases in muscle size, it is best to train mostly in the 6-12 rep range with a moderate load. Training with a “moderate” load means the heaviest load you can lift for 6-12 reps in good form. This rep range allows you to use about 70-80% of your one rep maximum (1RM) weight. It’s important to train to failure at each working set, which means keep performing reps until you absolutely cannot get another. When you can perform 12 or more reps with a given weight, increase the weight by about 10%. This is the concept of progressive resistance.

Dominique’s Time Cruncher

After completing your workout at the gym, you can save time by taking your shower in the locker room right there at the gym, and then drinking your protein shake on the drive home or your commute to work.

Trainer Spotlight 

Roxi Baum 

Title: Personal Trainer,

specializing in Female Fitness

Location: Jonathan’s Gym in Bedford, Indiana

After an exhilarating certification weekend at Parrillo Performance, I am a newly certified personal trainer enjoying my first clients and the amazing feeling of making a difference by helping people change their lives and meet their goals.  With equal emphasis on nutrition and training, I will give my clients a strong foundation on which to build a fit and healthful lifestyle.  I train at Johnathan’s Gym in Bedford, Indiana, specializing in Female Fitness with special emphasis on helping women feel confident in the gym.  Advice from “seasoned trainers” is welcomed at rbpft@yahoo.com. 

Training Tip of the Month: 

Bodybuilders can learn a lot from the training regimens of endurance athletes. They train regularly and at long durations at or near their VO2max (your body’s maximum capability to deliver oxygen to the working muscles) and as a result their muscles are conditioned to rely more heavily on fat for energy and less on stored carbohydrate (glycogen). To approach the training level of an endurance athlete, perform aerobics several times a week, at the recommended duration. But don’t “coast.” Work out hard, so that you’re breathing hard. The harder you breathe, the more fat you burn. 

Nutrition Tip of the Month: 

People consuming a high-protein diet should be sure to drink plenty of water and to get enough calcium. Protein metabolism generates ammonia, which is converted to urea and excreted in the urine and sweat. Drinking plenty of water aids the kidneys in removing this nitrogenous waste and dilutes calcium salts which could form kidney stones. Calcium balance can be maintained during high protein diets by assuring adequate calcium and phosphorus intake (at least the RDA, 800-1200 mg/day) from both diet and
supplementation.

Breaking News

Fitness & Nutrition 

Potassium and Potato Preparation

The preparation of a potato can have a big impact on its mineral content, Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists report in a new study of this popular vegetable. Baked, roasted, boiled or fried, the potato is America’s favorite vegetable. Every year, the average American eats about 130 pounds of potatoes, which are loaded with vitamins and minerals. 

Cubing potatoes can reduce boiling time, but it also reduces mineral content by as much as 75 percent. That’s one conclusion from a study by research geneticist Shelley Jansky and plant physiologist Paul Bethke at the ARS Vegetable Crops Research Unit. Jansky and Bethke subjected six potato varieties to various methods of preparation, and then ran a mineral analysis for potassium and 10 other minerals. They found that cubing or shredding potatoes prior to boiling resulted in significant potassium reductions. 

This could be a good cooking strategy for potato fans hoping to reduce potassium intake, such as dialysis patients. But individuals who want to get the highest nutritional bang for their buck would be better off boiling their potatoes whole. Jansky and Bethke also examined the effects of leaching the potatoes—letting them soak in water overnight. Their results showed that leaching had no significant impact on potassium reduction, in contrast with conventional wisdom. 

- By Laura McGinnis, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Dept.of Agriculture, June 24, 2008 

Are you mineral or trace element deficient? Many otherwise healthy individuals are and don’t even realize it. Why take a chance when you cover the critical mineral base with Mineral Electrolyte Formula™. 

Supplement of the Month: 

Mineral Electrolyte Formula™

  • Loaded with life-extending antioxidants

  • One tablet with each meal is optimal 

Here are some great ideas for Parrillo shake combinations: Mix a scoop of Orange Cream 50/50 Plus™ with a scoop of Peach Hi-Protein™ in 8oz of water to make a tangy, creamsicle-like shake. Mix a scoop of Banana Hi-Protein™ and a scoop of Chocolate Hi-Protein™ with 8oz of water for a protein shake that tastes like a banana split! 

Question of the Month:

Question: What’s the reason for bodybuilders and endurance athletes needing extra protein?

Answer: Most bodybuilders have the misconception that they need extra protein to supply the building blocks for muscle growth. The real reason bodybuilders and endurance athletes need more protein is that they burn more protein for fuel during exercise. If you don’t supply enough protein in the diet to make up for this increased demand then the body will actually break down muscle tissue to supply the amino acids to use as fuel. This is your worst nightmare. Since the biggest demand for amino acid fuel is during aerobic exercise, it turns out that endurance athletes actually have even higher protein requirements than bodybuilders. Very few people realize this, including very few endurance athletes. That’s why endurance athletes usually have a very thin (sometimes referred to as “stringy”) look, they burn more protein than they take in, so their muscles get cannibalized as fuel.