Interview with Tommy Hackenbruck

Tommy Hackenbruck is a father, husband, coach, gym owner and an athlete.  He’s an all around great guy and in our opinion a role model.  He’s capable of balancing all aspects of life and achiving greatness in everything he does.  Over the past two years we’ve really gotten to know Tommy.  We all consider him a friend and are happy to have him officially on the SFH team!

We conducted a brief interview with Tommy, so everyone who doesn’t already know this amazing guy, has the opportunity to get to know him a little better.

      

What is your athletic background?

Prior to CrossFit, I did a little of everything but always gravitated toward the sports that required the most danger and risk.  I had no official gymnastics training but learned to tumble at a young age and remember doing backflips in my football pads in the back yard (I was practicing my touchdown celebration for the NFL when I grew up).  In high school I played basketball and football, as well as competing in pole vault, javelin, discus, hurdles, and triple jump on the track and field team.  Football was real love from a young age and I was fortunate to go on to play linebacker for the University of Utah, ending my career with a Fiesta Bowl win on the first ever BCS Busting team. 

When did you decide to start competing in Crossfit?

I started in a CrossFit gym in January of 2009, about 2 weeks into it I decided that it would be “fun” to compete in the sport and train for the CrossFit Games.

How did you transition from being an athlete to being a coach?

My father coached HS Football for 30 years and my Grandfather coached HS Basketball for over 50 years, so I’ve always had a passion for helping and teaching others.  Throughout my life I’ve taken every opportunity to help coach youth sports teams, mentor younger teammates I’ve played with, and now I coach clients on a day to day basis as well as program workouts and coach CrossFit Games Athletes.     

Where do you see yourself going with Crossfit and coaching?

I know as an athlete my time will come, but the passion I have for helping people will keep me coaching for the rest of my life.  I am blessed to have some amazing athletes to work with in Utah, and will continue to develop and train people in all sports.  I would love to coach athletes in the CrossFit Games every year as individuals and on teams, and someday hope to train my son and daughter for whatever they choose to pursue in life.

 How do you see your coaching helping people? 

As a coach there is nothing better than celebrating the victory’s and successes of your clients.  I have seen people overcome nagging injuries that have troubled them for years, transform their bodies, and achieve levels of fitness they never had at any stage in their life.  The most rewarding thing as a coach is hearing a client brag about being the fittest and happiest they have ever been, and they are over 50 years old.  

How do these skills apply to your life outside of competition?

As a competitive athlete I know the value of a great coach.  I was blessed to have an amazing HS coach (my dad) and College coach in Urban Meyer.  Those men taught me lessons about hard work, setting goals, and having a positive attitude that have helped me succeed as an athlete and as a business owner.  I hope that I can provide that leadership and influence to all of the athletes that I work with, and create a culture in my business of hard work and positivity that trickles down to all of our clients.

Competition Record:

2009- 2nd Place in world

2010- 9th place in world

2010- Coached affiliate team to games

2011- 23rd place in world

2011- coached Taylor Richards-Lindsay 24th place in world

2011- coached affiliate team 9th place in world

2012- Affiliate Team member and coach, 1st SW Regional

2012- CrossFit Games July 14-15


         


What are your goals for the future? 

My goal is to grow a business that promotes fitness and wellness through competition, proper training, and nutrition awareness.  I worry that too many people get the wrong message, or mixed messages about fitness and wellness and end up looking in the wrong places.  By promoting fitness through intense, functional training, coupled with proper nutrition choices I believe we can make a huge difference in the health of our community.  

 

Where to find Tommy:

Website:  http://utecrossfit.com/

Twitter:  @UteCrossFit

Book Review: It Starts With Food

              

I’ve known Dallas and Melissa Hartwig for roughly two years now.  In the course of the past two years we’ve had numerous enlightening nutrition conversations, a few disagreements but ultimately I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know them both better.  These two are passionate about helping others, which I love about them.  Their Whole9 One Day Seminar is top-notch but they have really outdone themselves with It Starts With Food.

“IMAGINE YOURSELF HEALTHIER THAN YOU EVER THOUGHT POSSIBLE. IT STARTS WITH FOOD“ 

From beginning to end there is not a dull chapter that you want to skim through.  It’s broken out into easy to read sections that flow from one to the next.  You don’t need a nutrition degree to understand what is written.  It Starts With Food is a book for everyone.  It’s the perfect blend between science and practical application.

The book opens with a simple concept that is the root of It Starts With Food: “The food you eat either makes you more healthy or less healthy.  Those are your options.”  Simple, enough… and makes sense, right?  The chapters that follow create a framework for healthy eating habits and really breaks it down, so it is simple to understand.

Part two brings a little more science into explaining Good Food Standards.

Highlighting the food choices you make should: 

  1. Promote a healthy psychological response.
  2. Promote healthy hormonal response in the body.
  3. Foster a healthy gut and digestive system.
  4. Promote a balanced immune system, and minimize chronic systemic inflammation.

These science-y chapters are necessary to understand what goes on in your body but are all broken down with analogies that the average (non-scientist) person can relate to. One of my favorites: Chapter 6 - Your Gut, and comparing it to night club security. The Hartwigs have a way of making science and nutrition fun and easy to understand.  If you know either of them you can hear/read their personalities coming through in the text.

The middle of the book gets into the hot topic:  FOOD!  What food choices are less healthy or more healthy.  Followed by a detailed explanation of their famous WHOLE30 program and a nice portion of the book dedicated to meal planning.  

It Starts With Food is a great book all around and a must read for anyone that is interested in a healthy lifestyle or having a healthy relationship with food. The book can stay on your shelf for years and be used as a reference tool or a source for what to cook for dinner tonight :)


                                   


It Starts With Food can be purchased at Barnes & Noble or Amazon.

Congratulations Dallas & Melissa!  - Patricia Leighton

Daily Balance + MCTs

                                     

As science and medicine evolve, SFH evolves as well and we will improve our products.  We’ve been working with MCTs since the beginning of 2011 and introduced them into our Endurance Product line.  After seeing amazing results we’ve added MCTs to our Daily Balance as well.

Daily Balance is formulated with our clean Grass-Fed, Free-Range whey protein concentrate as a base.  We use concentrates over other options because they have the best   all natural rate of absorption and have minimal effects on insulin release.

- Isolates digest too slowly

- Hydrolysates are absorbed too quickly and induce spikes in insulin release, averaging between 28 and 42%.

 In addition to our clean whey Daily Balance includes:

  • Cherry powder is an all-natural, never chemically modified, low glycemic carbohydrate with the added advantage of containing astaxanthins, which are regarded as having potent natural anti-inflammatory activity.
  • Coconut fat is a rich source of medium chain triglycerides. Our source of coconut fat does not contain high glycemic carbohydrates. MCTs provide sustained energy without spiking insulin.

              


How Does It Work:

1.  Provides super clean protein that tastes good and is quickly digested and absorbed as amino acids with minimal insulin spiking. This component maintains or stimulates muscle development and if in excess is recycled to glucose via gluconeogenesis at rates that do not affect insulin actions.  The protein content varies between the flavors.  In a 30g scoop you get between 20-23g of protein or 67%-75%.

2.  Provides an all natural source of low glycemic carbohydrate in the form of cherry powder.  Cherries have a glycemic index of 22.  Our cherry powder digests slowly, providing small units of sugar to our bodies at a rate that has minimal effects of insulin release.   This means that you maintain your energy levels and minimize your between meals feelings of hunger.  In all flavors in a 30g scoop you get 1.5g of cherry powder or 5%.

3.  Provides a rich, non carbohydrate source of medium chain fats as MCTs.  These fats are oxidized to energy. They do not get stored as fat in our bodies and they do not spike insulin.  The fats also provide an alternative source of energy for our hearts and brains in the form of ketones. In all flavors, in a 30g scoop you get 3g of MCTs or 10%.

How/When to Use:

Daily Balance can be used any time of day – morning smoothie, meal between meals, pre-workout, snack before bed.  There is no substitute for real food but Daily Balance is the best alternative if you are going to miss a meal.

http://www.strongerfasterhealthier.com/products/whey_protein/daily_balance

Interview with Sean Waxman

An Interview with one of our Brand Ambassadors - Sean Waxman.  If you are interested in Olympic Lifting, you’ll certainly be interested in what Sean has to say.  Enjoy.

                     

What is your athletic background that lead you into Olympic lifting?

Athletics have been part of my family for generations. My grandfather was an armed forces boxing champion, boxing referee, professional wrestler, and ran 4 x 100 relay on the national track team with Jesse Owens. Both my uncle and father were standout athletes playing many sports including semi-pro football. I’m holding a football or baseball mitt in many of my earliest baby pictures. So sports were part of the early fabric of my existence.

I grew up in a tough New York neighborhood during the late 70’s and 80’s at the height of the crime/drug epidemic. Being respected in the streets was a necessary component for survival. There were many ways to earn respect, few of them legal. Fortunately, being a good athlete was one of the legal ways. This motivated me to stand out in sports. As a kid, I excelled in basketball, football, archery, martial arts, and boxing. However, stickball and baseball were by far my best sports.

I was also fascinated with the science of strength, speed, and power at a very early age. Watching the 1980 Olympics on TV and discovering an issue of the Soviet Sports Review at age 13 fueled this fascination. These events marked the beginning of my quest to understand how people become big, strong, and fast. This passion eventually led me towards Olympic Weightlifting.

When did you decide to start competing in Olympic lifting?

While playing football in college I realized that I wanted to become a strength coach.  This decision led me to train and compete. I ended my football career prematurely and started training full-time as an Olympic weightlifter. I figured the best way for me to become a good coach was not only to study the science of performance but also to experience the process of athletic development for myself. Since Olympic weightlifting requires the purest application of the science of strength and speed, I chose to immerse myself in it. I was in my early twenties.

How did you transition from being, a competitive Olympic Weightlifter to being a coach?

I started coaching student-athletes as an undergrad before I was a competitive weightlifter. They saw me training in the weightroom (for football) and approached me with questions about what they should do for training and why. This led to an informal coaching role with some of them.

After college, I was deciding between a career in medicine or coaching. Either way, I knew I would need to immerse myself in science. I had recently learned that famed Olympic weightlifting coach Bob Takano was in Southern California and within driving distance of world-renowned biomechanics professor and strength coach Dr. John Garhammer. A particularly icy New York winter was the straw that broke the camel’s back. One day, after chipping through literally inches of ice to get my car door open, I decided I needed to escape from New York winters. That very day I packed up and drove out to California to become a coach and a weightlifter.

My first paid coaching gig came while I was in grad school and training full time as a weightlifter in 1995. Los Angeles City College hired me to work with the men’s basketball team. Within two years of working with them, they won their first state championship.

       

Where do you see yourself going with Olympic Lifting and coaching?

I want to encourage and foster greater participation in competitive Olympic weightlifting at an early age. I would also like to spread the gospel of the snatch and clean & jerk as powerful and effective tools for general fitness and wellness.

Within weightlifting, my ultimate goal is to be the first American Olympic weightlifting coach to produce World Championship and Olympic medalists consistently throughout my career.

Also, since weightlifting is such an essential component of CrossFit, I want to help improve the efficiency of as many CrossFitters as possible, whether competitive or not. On the competitive side, I want to help develop world-class CrossFit Games competitors and, eventually, champions.

How do you see your coaching helping people outside of O-lifting? For example, Crossfit or non-competitive athletes looking to learn your sport.

The nice thing for me about weightlifting is that it requires people to move safely, efficiently and with strength and power. I think these qualities should be important to most people, not just weightlifters.

That’s why CrossFit stands out to me as such a great example of a group that gets this. No matter whether they compete or just train for day-to-day fitness, CrossFitters use Olympic lifting and other barbell lifts as primary tools in their training. They also understand the benefits of moving efficiently. My gym has had the good fortune of teaching technique seminars and providing ongoing technique coaching to dozens of CrossFitters and CrossFit coaches from affiliates all over Southern California. In addition to numerous recreational CrossFitters, we also work with competitors and teams that are making names for themselves in local and Games-related competitions (thanks in part, I hope, to the technique help we are able to provide).

Coaches seek me out because they want to add the Olympic lifts to their coaching toolkit. I’ve always believed that there’s no better way to coach the lifts than to learn how to perform them yourself. When I work with coaches, I teach them not only the snatch and clean & jerk but also the process behind learning and teaching these lifts. I remind them that every part of the training process should have a purpose. Coaches should always be prepared to answer the question “Why are we doing this?”

Occasionally I work with people that aren’t athletes at all. We use many of the same tools with them as we use with our athletes. The ultimate goals for most athletes and non-athletes are the same: being strong and stable in the most important positions in life: squatting, reaching above your head, and bending over. Everyone needs to do these things. The mechanisms are the same for competitors and non-athletes alike. Only the intensity varies.

        

Finally, on the programming side, we’ve recently launched: www.weightliftingwod.com, a free global resource with daily workouts in periodized training cycles to help people improve their snatch and clean & jerk.  Though it’s geared towards those that have already learned the Olympic lifts, we program it to be just as useful to recreational participants as it is for athletes.


Experiencing Regionals in 2012

Anybody who has been doing CrossFit for longer than a year can agree that the growth of the sport is staggering. When I first stepped foot into Petranek fitness in 2008, I didn’t expect to see CrossFit on ESPN so soon. As CrossFit continues to wrestle through these growing pains, one thing is for sure: It is not going anywhere.

Reebok’s huge investment has brought a lot of attention to the community since the 2011 Games. The 2012 CrossFit Regional Competitions from around the globe proved this growth. Just the competitiveness alone is so much fiercer than a couple of years ago that several Games level athletes from just last year are falling short of qualifying this year. Individual competition has become a full time job. If you have the potential to compete at Games level but do not own your own box or have an occupation that allows for the appropriate amount of training, your chances of qualifying are no where near as good as they were 2 years ago.

I have had the opportunity to compete in CrossFit over the past couple of years and have truly enjoyed the challenges it brings. Instead of trying to compete individually this year, and ending up with a mediocre performance (because of an ongoing injury, as well as other pursuits), I decided to go team. Before the open, I decided to join my current gym, DogTown CrossFit, to put together the best team we could.

The weekend of the So Cal Regionals brought the best athletes in Southern California to one location. Our team was pumped, and ready to see what we could do. We practically had the entire DogTown CrossFit gym there cheering us on, which was Incredible support on their part. I was ready to crush 5 of the 6 workouts. It felt so good to be back out there, feeling the intensity of the crowd. There were several highlights in our teams performances that made it an unforgettable experience. The crowd went crazy when Dusty Hyland was doing HSPU’s like air squats in WOD 1. Passing 4 teams as the anchor in WOD 2 put a permanent smile on my face. In WOD 3, Scott McGee and Niki Osimo handled the heavy dumbbell snatches with precision and accuracy. WOD 4 brought out April White and Liz Burn’s squat and press power. Everyone dug deep in the snatch ladder, achieving 1000 lbs collectively. While several highly ranked teams struggled to get their girls through the last two muscle ups in WOD 6, Niki and April used their training to execute them with little or no time wasted.

I would be lying if I told you our team was completely prepared for the So Cal Regionals. We did not have the luxury of being able to train together on a consistent basis. Often times, we practiced the workouts with only half the team present. We knew from the beginning what obstacles we were faced with, but that didn’t stop us from truly believing we had a shot at the Games. CrossFit is a game of consistency, and this becomes especially apparent with teams. Throughout the competition, our ranking hardly waivered.  In the end, we locked in a 5th place finish out of 30 teams, and ranked 30th in the world by the end of all regional competition. We were only 6 points away from a games spot, but I can honestly say our team gave it their all, and it was the best competition experience I have personally had to date.

I love this community we have built. I know there is a lot of controversy with big sponsors coming in and turning CrossFit into something it hadn’t intended to be, but as long as you personally stay true to your character, that can’t happen. Most importantly, love what you do, and if you ever feel like it isn’t making you happy anymore, than it’s time to make a change.  I have been so blessed to have the relationship I have with SFH as their creative director, with Life As Rx as one of their athletes, and with several CrossFit gyms in Southern California. Whether you are a CrossFit Games competitor, or on a weight loss journey and a new member of a CrossFit gym, we all are in the same community of people supporting one another and striving for greatness.

Stay tuned for the next blog post: Finding a balance.

Ben Hopkins is a product and furniture designer, and currently works as an environment designer at TOMS. In addition, he has worked as SFH’s creative director since the birth of the company on the west coast.

Follow Ben on Twitter: @imbenhopkins

Testimonial from Terry Hudson

Dear SFH,

To fill you in on the past 10 months since taking your Fish Oil. Ten months ago my cholesterol was 236, LDL’s were 170+ and my HDL’s was around 40. I have struggled with my cholesterol for the past 10 years. When I was running marathons and triathlons and eating a low fat diet, my body fat was 10% but I still had HIGH cholesterol. After my brother had a heart attack last May, it scared me and made me take this serious. After getting my blood work and finding out my numbers were High again, it made me decide to start taking your fish oil with hopes it would lower my numbers. After only 16 days on the fish oil and going to a paleo diet I was able to lower my cholesterol to 185. My LDL’s were still too high and my HDL’s were still too low. It has been 10 months now and I just re-took my blood work and my overall cholesterol was still under 200 but best of all my LDL’s were 120 and my HDL’s were at 55. I have NEVER had my HDL’s this high, no matter how much exercise or how good my diet was, this is AMAZING!

10 months ago my doctor told me that maybe it was time I went on Lipitor because it didn’t look like there was any other method, since diet and exercise had not worked in the past.

I am so glad that I tried your fish oil and I have never missed a day since, nor will I. I used to take 1 tablespoon every day but I cut back to 1 tea spoon about 2 months ago and it looks like I have found the cure to my cholesterol worries.

Thank You AGAIN for taking the time to educate me on the benefits of SFH Fish Oil - 

Sincerely Terry Hudson 

Owner of CrossFit FAST Westlake Village, Ca.

         

SFH Expands Their Endurance Line

Stronger Faster Healthier’s Endurance Formula is NOW Three Formulas + Recovery:  

  • Endurance Daily
  • Endurance Pre-Race 
  • Endurance In-Race
  • Recovery (Post Workout)

As many of you noticed our original Endurance Formula was taken out of our product line about six months ago.  We created this product and tested it on a group of professional triathletes out of Florida roughly four years ago.  We realized in the last year that this formula was not a one size fits all and it could be better.  Some people loved it just the way it was and had great results, such as professional triathlete, Felipe Bastos who achieved 44 career wins while taking the product.

         

Following a year long period of research, formulation testing and human testing Stronger Faster Healthier is pleased to announce the introduction of a Suite of Products for Endurance Athletes.  SFH realizes that one supplement cannot address all the needs of an athlete due to many different factors.  Daily training, pre-event (race) prep, in-race fueling and post race recovery are all different.  Each activity requires a different supplement strategy.

The goals of these products are to:

  • Increase the power and strength of muscle fibers and bundles
  • Optimize available energy for training and events
  • Energize and fuel the athlete without insulin spiking
  • Utilize both long chain fats and high efficiency fuels, such as medium chain triglycerides, allowing the athlete to burn a combination of glycogen, fat and endogenous sugar for longer periods of time
  • Decrease muscle acidification and prolong the time and capacity for our muscles to work efficiently
  • Shorten recovery times
  • Address inflammation in multi-mechanistic manner anchored with a global anti-inflammatory treatment using our SO3 Fish Oil

          

An Endurance Athlete is defined as an athlete who is involved in constant exercise exceeding one hour in duration such as a marathon, triathlon, long distance biking, etc.  Athletes in this class have different supplement needs than a high intensity, short duration athlete. 

For best results taking our Endurance Line, we encourage athletes to eat clean (good protein, good fat, low carbohydrate & minimal sugar).  For optimal success, this type of diet needs to be in place at least one month prior to an endurance event if taking SFH’s products.  A low carbohydrate/ low sugar diet will cause the athlete’s body to adjust its biochemistry away from preferentially using sugar and high glycemic carbohydrates as fuel to a hybrid model where the athlete’s body burns a combination of stored glycogen, sugar from gluconeogenesis (sugar made by our body rather than ingested), long chain fats from store fats and medium chain fats from supplements (coconut fat).

By eating a low carbohydrate diet, the athlete’s body is trained to burn 4 fuels simultaneously rather than burn through the fuel possibilities sequentially.  This is a key point to understand.  Simultaneous use of all 4 fuel types will extend the energy of the well trained athlete and increase  endurance.

Sequential burning means that glycogen is burned first. The liberation of sugar units and the metabolism of glycogen, increases basal insulin and shuts down fat metabolism.  After the glycogen is utilized, then protein (from muscle stores) starts to break down to amino acids that are processed back to sugar to provide energy. Thus for a period of time the body will continue to generate energy but at the expense of muscle break down. Protein supplements can be used to slow muscle breakdown but protein supplementation alone is not optimal.  Eventually, as a last resort the athlete will begin to burn fat stores as long as no external source of sugar and high glycemic products are used. However, most athletes supplement themselves during  an event with “energy drinks” or “goos” that are primarily composed of sugar and carbohydrates. Drinking energy drinks or taking goos that delivers sugar or high glycemic carbohydrates will release insulin and this will prevent fat metabolism.  We do not recommend supplements that deliver sugar because when they are used our bodies can not use all available fuels for energy. 

                     

SFH products are designed to allow the athlete to burn all major fuels and to work at a higher level longer in an endurance race.

In the absence of sugar and carbohydrate loading, our body’s biochemistry will adjust and be prepared to burn a combination of glycogen, sugar from gluconeogenesis, long chain fats from our fat depots and medium chain fats from our supplements.

Four Products for Endurance Athletes:

       

Endurance Daily:

This product should be used daily when the athlete is preparing for the BIG EVENT.  A key ingredient is beta alanine.   Beta alanine combines in our bodies with histidine to form sarcosine that concentrates in our muscles and acts as a proton buffer.  This means that our muscle become acidic at a slower rate and optimal muscle contraction (power generation) can continue for a longer period of time, i.e. endurance is increased. Muscle acidification will slow muscles responses and eventually cause the muscles to cease to function (bonking).  Beta alanine can cause flushing and an unpleasant feeling of tingling.  We avoid this side effect by using a lower dose and recommend that the athlete take our product daily while preparing for the Race.

Arginine is used in this product as well.  Arginine via nitric oxide increases blood flow to our muscles and helps to re-distribute lactic acid. This means that muscle soreness after the exercise period will be minimized and that one will start the next exercise period with a lower threshold of lactic acid. Arginine, in this sense, helps our muscles recover from lactic acid.

The next key ingredient is cherry powder. Cherry powder is very slowly digested to free sugar units which are absorbed by our bodies. The glycemic index and load factors are low when used as recommended.  This means that insulin release is not stimulated.  By generating a low level of sugar, fat metabolism is not shut down and glycogen is not preferential burned but co-burned with the small amount of sugar entering our bodies.  Energy is sustained for a longer period of time.

We also add creatine, taurine and ribose to help sustain our energy levels by biochemically helping to sustain our cells’ ATP.  ATP is the energy molecule that is responsible for our cells ability to function and survive.  When ATP level remains high our cells are healthy and can repair themselves from the rigors of exercise.

In addition to these additives, Endurance Daily contains our high quality whey concentrate.  This protein helps to protect our muscles from degradation, stimulates protein synthesis during rest periods, and participates in gluconeogenesis while exercising.

      

Endurance Pre Race:

The goal of this product is to optimize the athlete’s biochemistry just before race time.

As in the case of Endurance Daily, beta alanine is added to this product to help maintain the sarcosine levels and muscle buffer capacity during the Race.

Aspartate is added to increase flux of molecules that are undergoing oxidation and reduction.  What this means is that our mitochondria can oxidize more fat/time period and generate more energy

Carnitine is added to increase fatty acid entry into the mitochondria for oxidation (fuel burning).  This is a critical ingredient and drives energy generation.

Coconut fat is added to start the medium chain fat oxidation process.  Medium chain triglycerides are never stored, do not spike insulin and are burned, generate ATP and ketone bodies that can be used as fuels in our brains and hearts.

As with all of our products, high quality whey protein is added to nourish the muscles and to prevent excessive muscle breakdown during the race.

The athlete needs to experiment with the timing of taking this product. As a general rule, we recommend that this product be taken in a good hydration solution not containing any sugars. (No coconut milk or coconut water, these products contain too much sugar).  Just use a good isotonic water.

      

Endurance In Race:

During the race, the goal is to keep the supplementation simple.

Our In Race Fuel is 20% high grade coconut fat. This fat will burn to energy even in the event the athlete has not followed a low carb preparatory diet.  If a low carb is not followed the athlete will be burning 3 fuels (coconut fat, glycogen and sugars).  While we don’t recommend the 3 fuel approach (4 fuels burning simultaneous is more efficient and will prolong endurance) we recognize that the austere low carbohydrate diet may not work for all.

In addition to coconut fat, our In Race fuel contains high grade whey protein.  This protein will help minimize muscle loss and keep the muscles healthy during the race.

Ideally 30 grams of this product should be consumed every 30 minutes as a dilute solution in isotonic hydrating water.  This water should not be too cold.  Cold water can cool the body but it slows the absorption and digestion of products delivered to the stomach.

      

Recovery (previously know as Post Workout):

Our Recovery product is important to ALL athletes not just Endurance athletes.  This is also our most popular product we have in our collection.  It was formally called Post Workout.

The purpose of a Recovery product is to rescue the athlete from an intense exercise. Intense exercise depletes our cells of energy.  We define energy as Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP).  This is the high energy molecule that our mitochondria makes and it is essential for our cells to live and function.  Intense exercise depletes ATP.  Thus our Recovery product contains an ATP package (ribose, carnitine and Co-Q10).  In medicine this combination of natural products has been shown to extend life in very sick patient in end stage heart failure.  In this case their ATP levels are very low and their heart can’t function.  The same principle also applies to the intensely exercised athlete.

Exercise is a root cause of inflammation!  Inflammation will degrade muscles and prolong time to recovery from exercise.  This is why we add glucosamine and chondroitin. Glucosamine has been shown to decrease the symptoms of osteoarthritis, an inflammatory disease.  Glucosamine will decrease exercise induced inflammation. Chondroitin lubricates our joints and decrease wear and tear at pressure points in our bodies.

We also add a muscle building package of leucine, isoleucine and glutamine.  Leucine and isoleucine are branch chain amino acids and they stimulate muscle protein synthesis.  Glutamine is an amino acid that is widely incorporated in muscles and acts in time of infection as an immuno stimulant.

Taurine and creatine are fast recovery elements that help to restore energy fast, as ATP begins to build.

In addition to the above this product also contains high grade whey to build and nourish our muscle groups.

This product needs to be taken as soon as possible after a work out.  It can be taken more than once, after every workout or taken 2-3x at 2 hour intervals after an Endurance Event.

PLEASE NOTE: Our Recovery product does not contain sugar or carbohydrates.  This distinguishes us from the current fad of recovery products that advocate for a 4:1 ratio of protein to carbohydrates and sugars as a means to recover glycogen stores.  This is not a sound idea from the perspective of designing products for fitness and health.  Anything that stimulates insulin release excessively as these carbohydrate products will do is medically unsound.

Ready to try them out:  http://www.strongerfasterhealthier.com/products/endurance_line

Mr. & Mrs. Smith join SFH Team

We are excited to announce Web & Lindsey Smith as the newest additions to the SFH Team.  This dynamic duo are athletes first and driven entrepreneurs.  We always look forward to seeing them around the country at different events and sharing a laugh. 

        

LINDSEY SMITH - Sponsored Athlete  

CrossFit Athlete - Training for 2012 CrossFit Games

Coach: Brian Mackenzie

Age: 28

Height 5’ 11”

Weight: 159
 

CrossFit Highlights:
 2009 CrossFit Games – 5th Place
2010 CrossFit Games – 12th Place
2011 CrossFit Games – 16th Place
 

Collegiate and Post-Collegiate Highlights:
2004-2007 W-League Charlotte Eagles starting Goalkeeper
2006 NCAA Woman of the Year Nominee
2001-2006 DePaul University Varsity Letterman – Soccer, Basketball, Track and Field (Heptathlon)

Lindsey Smith is a three-year CrossFit Games competitor, former semi-professional soccer player, and former Division 1 three-sport athlete at DePaul University.  She grew up in Indiana playing every sport you can imagine, including high school football, where she was an All-State kicker.  She currently lives in Austin, Texas with her husband, Web, and three-year-old daughter, Alexis.  She is a full-time Physical Education Teacher and is a head trainer for the CrossFit HQ Seminar staff.
 
Also likes: college football, Sundays with her family, mountains, the ocean, kids, snow and Christmas.

Blog:  www.crossfitchron.blogspot.com

Twitter:  LinzBSmith

Favorite quotes: “Watch your thoughts, for they become words. Watch your words, for they become actions. Watch your actions, for they become habits.  Watch your habits, for they become character.  Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”

WEB SMITH

                                  

An athlete at heart, Web was privileged to play collegiate sports in beautiful New England before completing his studies at the University of St. Thomas and Rice University in Texas. He still competes as a CrossFit athlete, helping Texas’ CrossFit Central finish 6th, internationally, in 2010 and earning a spot in the South Central U.S. competition in 2011. He is Texas-born with deep roots and love for the New England states. He graduated with a dual B.A., with Honors, in General Business Administration and Management Information Systems. His study at Rice University was Russian linguistics and culture. 

Lindsey Smith - his lovely wife - and Alexis Leigh Smith -his grown-up three year old - round out his beautiful family. As the co-owner of SICFIT, he generates cutting-edge media and focuses on building an internationally viable action sports brand. As of May of 2011, he commutes to handle marketing, media, and branding strategies for Ohio’s Rogue Fitness. He consults for a wide range of businesses, offering foresight into branding, politics, and new media strategy. Web’s personal goal is to change the world around him while providing for his little family and future generations of hyper-ambitious Smith’s. No pressure. 

Blog:  CrossFitChron.com or WeAreCrossFit.com

Twitter:  CrossFitChron

Omega 3 in Fish vs Omega 3 Oil

Because we should all look to clean food as a means to get healthy and fit first, it would seem logical to eat lots of fish to get your daily and optimal amounts of omega 3 fatty acids. After all, fish are the best source of omega 3s.  Unfortunately, life is not that simple; here is some food for thought:

  1. Fish that we like to eat do not all have high concentrations of omega 3 oils. Further most farm raised fish have very low amounts of omega 3s compared to wild fish. Why?  Wild fish get their omega 3s from sea plants such as sea weed.
  1. The large tasty fish like halibut, sword, and grouper and all big fish that are deep water swimmers have excessive amounts of mercury.  This is because mercury is heavier than water and is more concentrated, the deeper the water.  Big fish live longer than little surface swimming fish and they eat other fish and accumulate mercury. Once we consume food that has mercury, the mercury is incorporated into our bodies and is essentially there for the remainder of our lives.  The more mercury containing food you eat, the more mercury one accumulates.  This will not stop anyone at SFH from eating wild caught fish but we are aware. While there is not enough data to make this conclusion, we do have a slight concern with the long term consequences of eating food products containing heavy metals. This could lead to chronic neurologic defects such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s syndrome, etc. It will take epidemiologic data spanning several generations to know the impact of eating excessive amounts of fish containing mercury.  This is why physicians tell pregnant mothers not to eat fish more than 2x/week. Their concern relates to neurologic defects in the fetus.  In the same context, physicians do recommend fish oil to pregnant mothers because a quality fish oil can be prepared without mercury and other heavy metal contamination. Omega 3s are absolutely good for nerve development and improved motor coordination in early childhood. More on this topic later women’s health, childhood disorders, etc.
  1. Benefit is derived by rate of absorption.  When a fish is eaten, it must first be digested and then absorbed.  Absorption rate is not optimal for omega 3 in a food product, i.e. fish. In fact absorption rate is not optimal if one consumes a high grade fish oil mixed with food, as the food will slow the absorption rate of the oil.  We need to understand this “food effect” to optimize the benefits of liquid omega 3 oils.  For example, there is a Japanese Clinical study, call “Jellis”.  This study compares the health (cardiovascular) benefits of adding 1800 mg of active omega 3s to a Japanese diet where the Japanese on average consumes fish 6 days a week.  The added omega 3s added significantly more health benefits. Why?  Easy absorbed omegas 3s are much more active.  In science this would be referred to as a pharmacokinetic effect.

Thus, while we advocate good clean food first over supplementation, in the case of getting enough omega 3 oil to really benefit your health (inflammation index,. lipid chemistries, heart disease without exposing yourselves to mercury based toxicities, it is essential to supplement a good diet with high dose omega 3 oils.

It’s always good to assess the risk and benefit of all products.  Fish is rich in many good nutrients, and should be part of everyone’s diet, but is not an optimal way to change your omega 3 oil content.

An Interview with Lindsey Valenzuela

                                   

Lindsey Valenzuela put on an impressive performance this year at the SoCal Regionals and earned herself a spot at the 2011 Reebok CrossFit Games. And if that wasn’t exciting enough… this past weekend she finished second overall at Nationals in the 75kg class with a total of 188kg (81kg snatch and 107kg clean and jerk).  We caught up with her prior to these two events to get to know her a little better.

What is your athletic background before CrossFit?

My main sport before starting CrossFit was volleyball. I played throughout my collegiate career at California Lutheran University. During my time at Cal Lutheran I was named Female Athlete of Year, a three time All American, was a regional champion with my team, team MVP for two years, won the Regal Award my junior year, and was all SCIAC player three years in a row.

Once my collegiate career was completed, I picked up my barbell and started competing in Olympic weightlifting. I had been weightlifting for a while at that point for sport specific reasons, but now I wanted to focus on form and go heavier! Along the way a trainer I knew introduced me to CrossFit. My first workout was ‘filthy filthy’ and I was hooked! I loved the intensity I felt. I still love the feeling of competing with myself mentally, and after accomplishing movements I would have never thought about trying before CrossFit.

When did you decide to start competing in CrossFit?

I competed in my first CrossFit competition in 2009 with only two months of experience, and placed 13th in the Southwest Regionals. I quickly realized the amount of training I would need to do to accomplish my CrossFit goals. From that day on, I dedicated myself to compete in CrossFit and had discovered something that would change my life forever.

How has being a competitive Olympic Weightlifter helped you be a better CrossFitter?

 The journey of being a CrossFitter and Olympic Weightlifter has helped me realize my true potential as a female athlete. Training at Valley CrossFit alongside some of the best female CrossFitters in the world, I find myself being inspired to become the best athlete I can become. I lift at CrossFit High Voltage with world famous Coach Bob Takano and every day I am accomplishing lifts that I only dreamt about a couple months ago.

How do these skills apply to your life outside of competition?

 Outside of CrossFit and Olympic weightlifting I am currently the assistant strength and conditioning coach at a Harvard Westlake Prep School. I get to do what I love everyday and I enjoy every minute of it. Nothing makes me feel more accomplished as a coach when I see my athletes build not only in strength, but also in character.

Where do you see yourself going with CrossFit/Olympic Lifting?

My journey as a CrossFitter and Olympic weightlifter have just begun, and my plans for my future are big! I am currently ranked eighth in the nation for Olympic weightlifting in the 69kg weight class and I am preparing for nationals in July. I am also preparing for the CrossFit Open Sectionals and Regionals that are soon approaching. I hope to place in the top five for Weightlifting Nationals and make it to the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games. I also plan to compete at the Crossfit Games. I know with the help from my coaches, family, husband, the Crossfit Community, and total belief in myself I can accomplish the goals I have set for myself.  Lindsey place 2nd at Nationals & is going to CrossFit Games!

 Competition Record:

·      3rd place Crossfit/USAW Open, Colorado Springs, CO

·      1st place American Record Makers Open, 2011, Los Angeles Fitness Expo, Los Angeles, CA.

·      4th place in 2010 Southwest Sectionals, Los Angeles, CA

·      8th place at 2010 American Open Weightlifting Championships, Cincinati, OH

·      5th place Overall National ranking in USAW 69kg women’s weight class

·      21st place in 2010 Southwest Regional’s, Irvine, CA

·      4th place in Second Annual Next Level Invitational, Lake Forrest, CA

·      3rd place in Third Annual Next Level Invitational, Lake Forrest, CA

·      Tied for 1st place overall currently in Next level Invitational

 Performance Statistics:

·      Snatch: 176lbs

·      Clean and jerk: 222lbs

·      Clean: 222lbs

·      Dead lift: 335lbs

·      Press: 135lbs

·      Bench Press: 160lbs

·      Overhead squat: 205lbs

·      Helen: 9:15

·      Cindy: 22 rounds

·      Grace: 2:16

·      Fran: 3:47

·      Max pull-ups: 33

Risk vs. Benefit Analysis - Follow-up on Glycogen Reloading

In medical science, the purpose of treating a patient with a drug is to save or prolong life that has been threaten by a pathophysiologic situation, e.g. heart failure, cancer, stroke, infections, etc.  Drugs are designed to treat the symptoms of the disease and in the best case situation to modify or eliminate the disease.  On the down side, most drugs have toxic side effects (just listen to the disclaimers on TV ads or read the PDR (side effect section for each drug). The physician must decide when prescribing a drug whether or not the benefit outweighs the short and long term  adverse consequences  of the drug therapy.  This is practical/real time risk:benefit analysis and it occurs every time you visit your health care provider.

           

Risk:Benefit analysis can also be applied to fitness and to the supplements that we take to enhance performance.  Recently, we posted a blog on glycogen re-loading and post recovery products.  The fastest way to re-load glycogen is to immediately, after exercise, ingest a solution of protein and high glycemic carbohydrates.  Yes Glycogen will re-load to capacity certainly with 90 minutes, if not sooner.  The benefit is clear: fast glycogen replenishment. The risk is also clear: after exercise and in the presence of protein and sugar, massive amounts of insulin are released that are well in excess of a need to re-load glycogen. Further, exercise sensitizes our bodies to insulin, thus we need even less insulin for effect not more!!!  

All this excess insulin induces a state of inflammation, shut downs fat oxidation, increases fat storage, induces vascular proliferation, and moves our bodies one step closer to Type II diabetes.  There is hardly a situation that one could imagine where this type of risk is worth the short term benefit.  This type of diet we belive should be referred to as Pre-Diabetic Conditioning.  Yes, you might feel that your recoverey has been accelerated but the long term consequences are definitely not positive.

Glycogen will re-load without this risk.  How?  Glycogen will re-load via the “back door”. Glucogenesis  via  aspartate, pyruvate and Acetyl Co A, rate limiting substrates in a multi-step biochemistry synthesis cascade, will force the re-load without massive insulin release.

If you want to goose the synthesis along, eat an apple, another fruit, or maybe a sweet potato. This will add some sugars where release is slowed a bit (because of digestive rate and fiber) and will result as a less bad actor insulin being released.  The idea here is that fiber helps to slow the uptake of a normal high glycemic sugar or carb, like the ones found in many protein supplements.  We add this point because everyone is different and we never tell anyone what they should or should not do.  We suggested an apple for those that feel they need this - an apple because it’s easy (no cooking involved).  We at SFH do not eat an apple or sweet potato along with our Post Workout Formula.  To learn more about the ATP replenishment package & other amino acids in our Post Workout Formula for recovery please refer to the earlier blog post.

The best glycogen re-load strategy is to eat a clean meal within 4 hours of rigorous exercise.  Do your meals normally consist of apples and sweet potatoes?

There is no reason to hurry this re-load process in the name of efficiency. There are few cases (maybe none) where a 30 minute reload of glycogen makes sense.  Even during a marathon or longer distance endurance event, one needs to avoid sugar ingestion. This leads to insulin release, a short burst of energy and then bonking. Once this happens, marathoners realize that they must continually (for the remainder of the race) add sugar to keep going. More on this later.  Again, a short term benefit with long term health problems.  Bottom line, be fit yes and be healthy, but avoid unnecessary health risks to be fit.

This is the first in a series of blogs on Risk and Benefit. The next blog on this topic will be on the Risk vs. Benefit of over-exercising .

Meet Dr. Leighton: Chief Scientist of SFH!

              

Dr. Leighton completed formal training in chemistry, pharmacology and human therapeutics at the University of Virginia. He believes that his education has continued to the present.  Over the course of 30 years, he counts 6 Nobel Laureates as his mentors, including: Al Gilman, Ferid Murad, George Hitchings, Trudy Elion.  John Vane and Jim Black.  These individuals and other imparted the idea that critical thinking was key to science, e.g. that it is obligation of science to test the “Null Hypothesis” In practice, this means to design definitive experiments that serve to disprove existing dogma.  Failure to disprove over time supports the value of the scientific theory as valid.

Upon graduation, he went to work for Burroughs Wellcome, where he rose to rank of Principle Scientist (Chief Scientist for the Corporation). Later he joined Glaxo Pharmaceuticals as V.P. of Pharmacology and World Wide Director for Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases.  In both of these companies, he was responsible for activities from concept to bedside (drug approval) and has developed many successful drugs.

After 18 years in large pharmaceutical, he began a career in biotechnology where he founded, managed and directed many companies involved in diverse technical areas including: chemistry, lung disease, ion channel biology, sleep, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and obesity research, migraine, pain and  formulation sciences.

Over the past 5 years, he has turned his attention to the role of nutrition in healthcare. His thesis being that we can control many of our health issues by changing our diets.  His goals are to transform health care in the U.S. to well care via nutrition choices; appropriate use of supplements that have been designed to work based on biochemistry and pharmacology and of course exercise. Central to this view is that many foods induce inflammation, obesity and diabetes.  Inflammation, he believes, is the core co-morbidity component of most chronic diseases including the aging process. In addition to inflammation, the second core area of focus is cell energetics, defined as the ability of our bodies to make and store energy and the role of insulin in this process.

His strengths including “thinking outside the box”, learning from the patient /client (good medicine comes from listening to the patient) and more specifically cardiovascular and metabolic disease (diabetes, muscle wasting and obesity). 

Over the course of his career he has filed over 150 patents and received approval to date for over 100 patents.

His hobbies include hiking, biking and running. He is an advocate of the CrossFit training methods, in particular CrossFit Endurance.  This approach in practice had been shown to produce results and makes sense from a biochemical perspective. 

Dr Leighton lives and works in Boston and along the coast of Maine. 

Fish Oil - Triglyceride Form? Free Fatty Acid Form? Ethyl Esters? Introducing SFH’s NEW SUPER OIL - SO3

By now most of us know that the “active “omega 3 fats are EPA and DHA.  By elimination, the other omega 3s such as ALA are much less active and require conversion to EPA in our bodies to be active.  Fish oils also contain other fats.  Good fish oil should contain as little omega 6 fats as possible. Companies that still advertise a “mixed” product containing both “essential fat groups (omega 3 and omega 6) are not sticking to the facts of science.  It is true that omega 6 fats are essential fats.  However, we ingest far too much omega 6 fats in out diets…even clean diets!!  Also remember that the omega 6 fats are inflammation drivers (pro-inflammatory).

          

Another key point is that unlike “processed sugar, where fast absorption is a big negative, fast absorption of omega 3 fats is essential to optimize health benefits.  Why is this the case?  It is all about the Law of Mass Action.  Omega 3 fats compete with Omega 6 fats for membrane storage sites and also for positions on fat storage molecules, a.k.a. triglycerides. Triglycerides are a major way we store fat in our bodies. Thus when you exercise and burn fats, it is best to liberate via triglyceride lipase “anti-inflammatory” fats than fats that drive inflammation. Thus it makes sense to load up on omega 3’s stored as triglycerides. The bottom line is that without question one should take liquid omega 3 oils and when possible on an empty stomach! Liquid omega 3 fats are absorbed better than omega 3 in capsules or even omega 3 in fish.

What about potency???  Omega 3 fats are totally safe to ingest and in most cases more is better.  The question about how much for optimum health and fitness depends on the amount of rigorous exercise that you undertake per day/week. The more time in the pain cave the more omega 3 oil that is needed to counter inflammation.

              

The clinical data would suggest that for normal non athletes about 4.0 grams/day is adequate to lower serum triglycerides and to provide “lipid” health.  Doses as low as 3.0 grams may be adequate for lowering the incidence of sudden cardiac death, usually a result of cardiac arrhythmias. Given human individuality (genetic) and diet choices from Paleo to Primal to Neolithic to Mediterranean, the actual dose needed to optimize health and fitness will vary. When in doubt more is better and more will not hurt you (caveat if you are on blood thinners or allergic to fish or shrimp) consult your healthcare provider.

Lastly, one may want to consider the chemical forms for EPA and DHA.  The most expensive forms are usually the ethyl esters of EPA.  These products require chemistry to make the ethyl ester form of EPA.  This makes the molecules more volatile which allows this fatty acid ester to be separated and concentrated from other fats by distillation.  Free fatty acids are another major form. Finally, EPA and DHA may be prepared naturally and delivered in the triglyceride form. In fact, the most expensive over the counter liquid omega 3 oils are in the all triglycerides form and these products cost between $70 and $80 for an effective month’s supply.

One last point, most omega 3 oils use a soy based Vit E oil as an anti-oxidant.  This Vit E oil carries low levels of allergens derived from the GMO processed soy and may actually increase inflammation!  Read the labels and avoid soy based Vit E as an antioxidant.

              

At SFH we formulate our oils naturally, in liquid form, no chemistry, using natural flavors. and NO soy based VIT E. Our product contains less than 5% Omega 6s. For these reasons, our product has been very effective for controlling inflammation induced by rigorous exercise, BUT WE CAN AND HAVE DONE MORE!!!.

              

Allow us to introduce our best ever omega 3 oil: SO3 OIL.  This formulation is 50% more potent than our old oil (current product) and delivers over 5400 mg of EPA and DHA in two teaspoons.  Further our clinical research indicates that our oil is absorbed more efficiently.  SO3 Oil is a mixture of EPA and DHA in the triglyceride form and in the free fatty acid form of EPA and DHA.  This combination of the triglyceride form and the free fatty acid form facilitates the absorption of omega 3 active fats. This observation is so important that we have filed patents on this new formulation.

We recommend that you take between 1-2 teaspoons a day of our new SO3 oil.  This will deliver between 2700 - 5400mg.  In addition to our 10oz bottle we will also offer a 6 oz bottle at a lower price then our original 10oz bottle.  The 6oz bottle will last a person who is taking 3500mg/day - 28 days!  The 10oz bottle will last someone who is taking 3500mg/day - 46 days!

Why you shouldn’t take less then 3500mg a day?  Inflammation is the root cause (initiator) or sustaining contributor of most chronic diseases.  Inflammation is present after every workout and also present in everyone’s body (“silent inflammation). If you have pre-existing issues, injuries, etc you should take more oil …

With all this information, the question still remains:  How much should I take?  To properly answer this question would require a measurement of omega 3 fats in your cell membranes (red blood cells) and then correlate content with benefit.  Our studies at SFH suggest that the optimal amount of EPA and DHA fatty acids combined should be about 10% of the available fats in the cell membrane.  Even when we eat a clean diet, it is hard, if not impossible to reach this number.  (The average American is around 0.8%, the clean eating, omega 3 oil taking  adult,  is around 6%.). With our new super high potency SO3 oil, with absorption enhancement, it is expected that we can finally optimize omega 3 oil dose and health benefits.  This takes us to the cutting edge of science.  As we define the optimum dose and quantify the benefits for the serious athlete and the general public, we will be releasing our findings at SFH.

The Mysteries of Glycogen Re-loading

This blog post will strike a chord for a lot of athletes who put themselves through rigorous workouts day in and day out. So many athletes have the wrong idea about glycogen re-loading, and unfortunately it is hurting them. Please consider the following, because we want you to benefit from all of your hard work!

           

In order to understand glycogen re-loading, one needs to know a little biochemistry. Glycogen synthetase controls the rate of glycogen synthesis (re-loading).  When muscles work hard, our bodies’ glycogen synthetase activity goes up and we are primed to make more glycogen faster.  Exercise also increases insulin sensitivity.  This means that less insulin goes further to induce glycogen synthesis after exercise than at rest.  This enhanced synthesis activity and insulin sensitivity lasts between 1 and 6 hours and is optimally within 30 minutes after exercising.

When a post recovery product states that it is high in carbs and low in protein, then this combination is super sized to induce insulin release.  Is this good?  We think not. Why?  More insulin is available under these conditions than is necessary to optimize glycogen synthesis. The excess concentration of insulin damages our blood vessels and induces general inflammation which leads to muscle degradation.  We believe that a post exercised muscle will optimally react to insulin release from just protein alone.  For these reasons, over-stimulating insulin after exercise becomes a pathophysiologic risk factor for follow on heart, vascular and inflammatory disease.

             

If you’re chowing down on massive amounts of sweet potatoes after you workout to cause insulin spike, STOP! It’s not helping.

At Stronger Faster Healthier, we emphasize energy regeneration as a first step.  After a workout, cellular energy (ATP) is depleted.  Our cells are at a low energy state and in some cases just able to survive while stores of ATP build back up. We emphasize a combination of natural products that form our “ATP Package” (carnitine, co-Q 10, and ribose). We also add back other muscles builders such as BCAAs plus glutamine and taurine.  Then we add glucosamine and chrondroitin for joint protection and to function as a natural anti-inflammatory. All of this is found in our Post Workout Formula.

To summarize, our bodies, after a rigorous workout, are primed to burn fat. In fact having depleted the available glycogen stores, our bodies become fat burners.  Now add back sugar and high glycemic carbs and our bodies switch back to sugar users and excessive insulin spiking. This is not a good plan.

Having made these points, can one recover cellular energy and also promote glycogen  re-loading? For most people, SFH Post-Workout alone is sufficient, followed by a clean meal some 2-3 hours post exercise. However, if you like eating apples or a fruit with lots of fiber, then eat an apple or orange AFTER taking SFH Post Work.  Eating sugar in a food product like an apple is much better than taking sugar or high glycemic carbs in a protein supplement because the rate of absorption is slowed by digestive rate and fiber content…sugar in an apple has a functionally lower glycemic load than the equivalent amount of sugar in free form.  Insulin levels and sensitivity will be more than adequate and glycogen loading will occur rapidly.  Avoid supplements that have excessive carbohydrates in them, especially after exercise when insulin sensitivity is high and our bodies are primed to over release insulin.

Questions:  info@strongerfasterhealthier.com