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“The constitution only gives people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself.”
Benjamin Franklin
Author: Mike Furci (Page 41 of 65)
Mike Furci graduated from Bowling Green State University with a Bachelors of Science in Health Education. His curriculum laid the foundation for his future in fitness and sports specific training. He owned and operated Club Olympia Fitness Center in Westlake, Ohio for more than 10 years, and was voted “Best Personal Trainer” by Cleveland Magazine. In 2009 he decided to expand his knowledge of the human body and attained his license as a Registered Nurse in 2011.
Mike specializes in improving athletic performance through strength, conditioning and nutrition. He uses his education and knowledge to train clients according to their specific goals, i.e., increased fitness, strength, weight loss, health or sports performance. Mike started training 30 years ago, and was a competitive bodybuilder with several overall titles, including the 1999 Mr. Ohio. He continues to train with 100% intensity to this day, which has helped him excel as a firefighter for the city of Lorain Ohio. His experience has also allowed him to train and consult with many competitive powerlifters and bodybuilders.
Mike has appeared on many news stations as a fitness consultant. His qualifications allow him to offer expert information on all aspects of health, fitness and sports specific training.
The best advice I can give concerning fat consumption is to increase your intake of omega 3s, like EPA and DHA found in fish oil, and reduce your consumption of polyunsaturated fats like vegetable oil.? Polyunsaturated fats contain high amounts of omega 6 fatty acids, which in excess are detrimental to our health. Probably most importantly however, is to eliminate trans fats if your like most Americans who consume processed foods. By switching the fats one consumes you can increase your overall health, prevent heart disease, cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, ulcerative colitis, depression, Alzheimer’s, and a host of other diseases..
These two types of fat, omega-3 and omega-6, are both essential for human health. However, the typical American consumes far too many omega-6 fats in their diet while consuming very low levels of omega-3. America’s consumption of vegetable oil has increased by 437% in the past 80 years.? We evolved on a fairly high fat diet. The problem is that the types of fats we were eating back in the Paleolithic days were quite a bit different from the fats we eat now.
In the Paleolithic era, our ratio of omega 6s to omega 3s was very close to 1:1. We ate like this for millions of years. These days it has been suggested that this ratio is 30:1 up to 50:1! So why should we be concerned? The change in the ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 plays a role in pretty much every major disease that’s killing us in Western civilization. The primary sources of omega-6 are corn, soy, canola, safflower and sunflower oil. These oils are overabundant in the typical diet, which explains our excess omega-6 levels. Avoid or limit these oils. Omega-3, meanwhile, is typically found in flaxseed oil, walnut oil and some fish.?
By far, the best source of omega-3 fats are those found in wild fish. Wild caught fish like salmon is high in two omega-3 fatty acids crucial to human health, DHA and EPA. These two fatty acids are pivotal in preventing diseases as mentioned earlier. The human brain is also highly dependent on DHA. Low DHA levels have been linked to depression, schizophrenia, memory loss and a higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s. Eat more salmon
How often can, or more importantly, should I train per week? Optimum recovery time between training sessions is essential if one is going to continue to make progress. Training frequency, which is determined by ones recovery ability, is often a forgotten part of most training protocols. It never ceases to amaze me how many people train for months and years experiencing little or no success, and never consider the fact they may be doing too much.
Don’t be so concerned with how many training sessions you can handle per week. Be more concerned about the optimal amount. More is not always better. In fact, when somebody comes to me for advice because they’ve stopped making progress, usually I either reduce the workout volume or add days off. There is no reason in going to the gym if you’re not going to make progress. In every workout, if you have fully recovered, and you come ready to work, you should make progress, which is gauged by your strength.
How can anyone get stronger every workout? One can only bench press so much. Eventually, you have to hit a plateau. This is true. If one stays with the same exercises, the same number of reps and the same number of sets, progress may eventually stop. If the proper changes aren’t made at the right time, eventually the body adapts to the stimulus. And this is where the “art” of program design comes to play.
It’s easy to follow a workout. The real challenge is assuring the stimulus is sufficient and more importantly, you recovery from workout to workout so that progress continues over a long period of time. Sometimes this entails having the discipline to deviate from something that is not working. If you’re not making progrss, and you’re training with all out intensity, try taking an extra day off.
Despite the years of research and mountains of data, there still is no definitive answer to whether stretching is worth your time and effort. Proponents argue that stretching prevents injury, diminishes delayed onset muscle soreness and improves athletic performance. Some go as far as to say that regular stretching can help speed recovery from workouts and improve blood flow to the area being stretched. Opponents will argue that stretching can actually cause injury, and does nothing to improve performance or prevent delayed onset muscle soreness. In fact there are many experts who not only believe stretching does nothing to improve performance, but that it can significantly hinder it. Each side can site numerous studies to support their claims.
Because there is so much conflicting data, should we even bother stretching? The answer is a resounding “yes”. Especially if you lack normal range of motion in your joints. Our bodies are a feat of engineering that man, in all his wisdom and brilliance, cannot replicate. For example, as we grow and develop into adults, we are provided with a certain degree of flexibility governed by our genetics. This flexibility allows us to have a normal range of movement around a joint. This range of movement is crucial to the health of our joints. Training, injuries and the natural aging process all will diminish flexibility and the range of movement we started with. Flexibility is not only lost or gained in the muscle, it’s also determined by tendons, ligaments and other connective tissue. It is this relationship between bones, muscles, tendons, ligaments, etc., that took millions of years to perfect through evolution. Any disturbance between the structures in our joints can lead to hindered performance or serious injury.
No matter which side you take, and no matter what the reason, the data is conclusive on one point: It’s much more effective to stretch muscles that are already warmed up. A warm-up is light to moderate activity lasting 10 – 15 minutes before the actual workout begins. Warming up drives blood into the muscles and synovial fluid into the joints, thus reducing stiffness. If you warm-up first, you’ll make much more progress than if you stretch cold.
To evaluate whether you are developing a restriction around a joint, and to see a list of stretches in their proper order go HERE.
How did our country get so unhealthy? In this second part of a series, ?Our Deteriorating Diet?, I explain what caused our weight gain and its inherent health risks. Many experts claim we, Americans, just eat too much. Is it just a matter of calories in versus calories out? Are we really eating too much or is it what we eat? Do man-made substances in our food supply really make a difference in our ability to maintain a healthy weight? Find the answers to these questions, and other interesting facts you wont see anywhere else.
Humans are carnivorous animals and the Stone Age diet, Dr Voegtlin challenges, was primarily one of a meat and fat eater. Like the carnivorous dog, our jaw moves in a vertical motion. A herbivores’ jaw moves in a rotary fashion. We have canine teeth, ridged molars and incisors designed for crushing and tearing. Unlike herbivores that lack canines and have flat molars, mastication is unnecessary and we do not ruminate or chew cud. Our stomachs hold two quarts, empty in about three hours, secrete hydrochloric acid, lack bacteria and cannot digest cellulose. A herbivorous sheep’s stomach holds eight and a half gallons, never empties, digests cellulose, and bacteria are vital to its function. A herbivore’s stomach doesn’t secrete hydrochloric acid, which is primarily for the digestion of protein. Carnivores like man feed intermittently while herbivores continuously feed (graze). A herbivore’s digestive tract is five times the size of man’s relative to our body size. Unlike herbivores, man’s colons are short and our rectums are small and do not contribute to digestion. Man’s gall bladder has a vital function and is well developed. The function of a herbivore’s gall bladder is weak or nonexistent because of the lack of fat in their diet. The volume of feces from man is small because our digestive efficiency borders on 100 percent. A herbivore’s feces are voluminous because their digestive efficiency is less than or equal to 50 percent, and they must eat large quantities of food.
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