Anaerobic Exercise - Fast Fuel!

Anaerobic exercise is when you are exercising at a rate that requires your body to use energy systems that do not require the use of oxygen to produce energy from within the muscle.  That's not to say that you are going so fast that oxygen is not being used.  Some people error in suggesting that we get to a point where our body doesn't use oxygen.  That isn't the case.  What it means is that the primary source of energy being used at that particular moment is not dependent upon oxygen to produce energy (ATP) to keep you going.

The problem with anaerobic pathways is that they cannot be maintained for a long period of time.  When the energy demand exceeds the rate at which it can be produced, you hit the wall and slow down.  Slowing down allows for the oxygen dependent system (oxidative or aerobic) to produce more energy and hopefully catch up.

Another myth about anaerobic exercise is that lactic acid creates muscle failure and burning.  The fact is that lactate (not lactic acid) can be useful in serving as a bridge between the aerobic pathway and anaerobic pathways.

The point at which the muscle is no longer able to clear out lactate fast enough to be used in aerobic pathways is known as the lactate threshold or anaerobic threshold.  This measurement can be used to determine an athletes fitness level just as the maximum amount of oxygen that can be used by the muscle (VO2max).

Currently, there is a considerable amount of research to determine what relationship exists between VO2max and lactate threshold.  Both characteristics are important for high level athletes.

Anaerobic threshold can be improved through high intensity interval training.  Other sports or activities that require high levels of anaerobic threshold include basketball, soccer, hockey, lacrosse and racquetball just to name a few.

These types of workouts and activities are effective for improving lactate threshold because they tax the body's ability to clear lactate out of the muscles and become more efficient.  High Intensity Interval training (HIIT) routines help achieve this. HIIT allows you to exceed your anaerobic threshold for a period of time by alternating high intensity activities with periods of rest and recovery.

If you would like to implement an interval training program to get you in shape fast, visit the Interval Training Guide website to get you started.

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What is Insulin Resistance? And How Do Antioxidants and Exercise Help Lower Blood Sugar Levels?

Type 2 diabetics are told their condition results from insulin resistance, that insulin resistance is a forerunner to type 2 diabetes. But insulin resistance is usually given a circular definition such as "insulin resistance is resistance to insulin." So, what is insulin resistance really?

If you have a good idea why the body needs antioxidants, you can easily understand insulin resistance.

glucose is the most important fuel for the mitochondria, the "furnaces" inside every cell
the mitochondria are the principal energy source of the cell and converts nutrients into energy as well as doing many other specialized tasks
cells use glucose to make the energy storage molecule ATP. They can store energy from "burning" glucose with the help of oxygen, or they can make energy from glucose even without oxygen

The first process is known as aerobic respiration. The second process is known as anaerobic respiration... anaerobic respiration requires about 30 times as much glucose as aerobic respiration. That's why any kind of exercise that induces the feeling of a burn in your muscles, or that causes you to get out of breath, is so good for lowering your blood sugar levels.

About one in ten million oxygen molecules escapes the mitochondria and becomes a free radical. These toxic forms of oxygen can damage your cell's outer lining. They can cause mutations in your DNA and they can wreak havoc with the biochemical processes that keep your cells alive.

The more glucose your cell burns, the more oxygen molecules escape normal channels, and the more damage is done to your cell or cells. To protect themselves from a flood of glucose when blood sugar levels are high, cells become resistant to insulin. This protects them from free radical damage.

This is why antioxidants, such as vitamin C and alpha-lipoic acid, can actually lower your blood sugar levels slightly. Antioxidants make it possible for cells to stay healthy without becoming quite as resistant to insulin.

In most cases of type 2 diabetes, however, insulin resistance becomes a self-sustaining process. Cells resist insulin, so glucose stays in your bloodstream. The pancreas senses high blood sugar levels, so it releases more insulin. In turn, cells have to become even more resistant to insulin, blood sugar levels go even higher, and your pancreas produces even more insulin... until at some point the insulin-producing beta cells "burn out".

Reversing the process of insulin resistance is key to managing and even reversing your type 2 diabetes. Medication, diet, and nutritional supplements all help, especially a vegan raw foods diet to reverse type 2 diabetes.

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How the DP Exercise Bike Stacks Up Against Better Known Brands

The name DP exercise bike might not be as recognizable as other brands like Schwinn, Nautilus and ProForm, but this brand has been around for quite some time and is one of the most respected names in the physical fitness business. Currently, DP is better known for selling exercise bike parts and exercise equipment supplies.

Most DP indoor bikes are old models and are quite difficult to get hold of except in online stores and secondhand retailers. One of the models of DP that became quite popular was the DP Fit for Life Airgometer upright bike. This model costs around $1,000 to $1,200 and carries the basic features of an upright indoor bike.

Another model from the DP fitness brand is the Vita Master MBP2. It features various program settings and tension controls. It also has a heart-rate monitor and features battery operated controls. Aside from the Vita Master and the Airgometer, DP also offers DP Air Advantage, DP AirCisor, DP Prime Fit 6100, DP Sit for Life Aircizer and DP Vitamaster MD193.

DP has been overshadowed by more recognizable brands like Schwinn and ProForm. Schwinn, for one, has multiple models out in the market, including the 230 recumbent bike, the 130 upright and the Airdyne exercise bike. Scwhinn's products can cost from $350 to over $1,000. One of the brand's more expensive model, the Evolution, sells at more than $1,000 and has been highly rated by product reviewers. It features an inertia drive system, adjustable resistance and direct drive gearing.

ProForm, another brand competing with DP in the indoor bike market, offers machines that cost $150 to $1,200. One of its low end models is the SR30. The features of this machine are very basic and the model is geared at entry level market. It features magnetic resistance, pulse sensors and an LCD console. Other ProForm models targeting the low end and middle markets are the SR80, GL 35 and GL 105.

The DP brand might not be at the top of the market, but its machines still serve the basic operating functions of exercise bikes. They offer users the ability to tone and strengthen leg and thigh muscles and provide an effective cardiovascular exercise routine. Limited availability aside, DP exercise machines, including the secondhand models being sold in online auction sites, might still be worth consumers' time and investment.

The DP exercise bike is not exactly hogging the physical fitness equipment limelight, but there are still those who like the brand. For these loyal customers, auction sites and online stores are their best options of finding one these products.

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How to Supercharge Your Energy Levels through Exercise

Your energy levels will depend on several factors, including genetics, nutrition, sleep habits, and emotional stress. Some of these you have no control over But there is one VERY important factor that you do have control over and that is your ability to take part in physical exercise.

Need a source of vast power and energy?

Look no further than your gym.

The link between physical fitness and energy is so strong, that doctors have lately been prescribing exercise as treatment for chronic fatigue, depression, seasonal affective disorder (SAD), and insomnia, for instance.

If sufferers of the most stubborn kind of fatigue can be energized with exercise, imagine what can do for those of us who experience ordinary, every-day fatigue.

* Feel Great At Mid-Afternoon *

Your brain thrives on oxygen. Blood transports oxygen to the brain, so the greater blood flow to the brain, the greater the oxygen supply the brain has. As you increase your heartbeat with a vigorous workout, more blood surges through the brain, more oxygen gets absorbed by your brain cells, and you feel more mentally alert and energetic.

Experts point out another long-term cause-and-effect relationship between exercise and blood flow to the brain: as you continue exercising, the number of capillaries (small blood vessels between your arteries and veins) throughout your body will grow. More blood flow through your "pipes" means more oxygen will be supplied where you need it.

Regular exercise also keeps the pipes clear and circulation healthy by preventing atherosclerosis (buildup of plaque). Regular exercise can actually REVERSE atherosclerosis when combined with a healthy nutrition plan. When you have atherosclerosis in check, your brain is virtually guaranteed for the rest of your life.

Blood also carries glucose, the simple sugar that's the primary fuel source for your entire nervous system of which the brain is the command center. Glucose's production starts the metabolism of carbohydrates. Various enzymes, plus your body's ability to use glucose to produce ATP, the more important energy chemical in the body, control this production. When you exercise, you increase the level of those enzymes and their activity.

In other words, when you exercise regularly, you boost your enzymes, resulting in more glucose, and your body is more efficient in using the glucose. You get a larger supply of ATP, which helps fight off the mid-afternoon energy drop-off.

* Increase Metabolism *

It's no secret that strength trainers are firmer and stronger than sedentary folks. How could it be otherwise?

Resistance exercise builds muscle, pure and simple. The more muscle you have, the higher your metabolism, and the more calories you burn even at rest.

So why does "strong and toned" equate to more energy?

For starters, heavy people have to lug around more weight all day long. When the overweight climbs a flight of stairs, do yard work, or even just carrying the garbage can to the curb, they're also carrying that excess weight, making almost everything they do more exhausting.

Better-conditioned muscles make every task that much easier, regardless of body weight. When you exercise, your ability to use muscle fibers is increased. So you require less effort to perform any physical task.

A strong body also has a stronger immune system. Being sick drains us of energy, and exercise, by boosting immunity, staves off illness. Recent research has shed light on why the strong may get sick less often and recuperate faster when they do get sick: exercise increases the activity of natural killer cells in the bloodstream.

* Less Stress *

A great deal of research supports that weight lifting is one of the most effective means of battling depression and stress. One of the main fatiguing factors of depression and stress is lack of sleep. In a recent Stanford University study, formerly sedentary insomniacs who began to exercise fell asleep 15 minutes faster and were able to sleep an hour longer than they had before becoming active.

* Boost Brain Fitness *

To this point, we've been talking about the benefit of exercise on mental energy. But is it possible that being in shape might translate to even greater mental benefits, such as increased intelligence, creativity, memory, or reasoning ability? It's very possible.

Studies show that both factors of mental stimulation and exercise were contributing to the increase of the brain's learning centers in different ways. Mental stimulation results in more synapses (the little gaps between brain nerve cells that enable them to communicate with one another), while exercise increases the number of capillaries in the cerebellum and cerebral cortex (two areas of the brain crucial to intelligence.)

* Take a Walk *

Medical research results could hardly be clearer: Taking a walk is one of the best ways to take charge of your health. A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (February 11, 1998) showed that walking briskly for half an hour just six times a month cut the risk of premature death in men and women by 44 percent. A study in the New England Journal of Medicine (January 8, 1997) reported that men 61 to 81 years old sharply reduced their risk of death from all causes, including cancer and heart disease, by walking two miles a day. Other research has shown similar results for women.

Recent studies have concluded that moderate amounts of exercise - including walking, jogging or using a treadmill for one hour, four to five times a week - can turn back the aging clock 30 years for middle aged men.

Consistency is probably the most important part of your workout. The more committed you are to walking all or most days of the week, the healthier you'll be. Remember that short walks are better then none at all. Health, like life, is a journey. All you have to do is take the first step.

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