David Larson

Background:  Gyms and health stores across the globe promote workout supplements as a way of enhancing performance and promoting faster results. This has created a multi-billion dollar industry in which companies often promote products with bold claims.  Arginine is a non-essential amino acid, meaning that the majority of arginine needed can be produced in the body without dietary supplementation.  It can be found in a wide variety of foods such as dairy products, beef, seafood, and several plant sources.  Arginine-based products, often referred to as nitric oxide supplements, are examples of supplements thought to improve athletic performance.  These products claim to increase the ability of the body to make creatine, release growth hormone, and enhance blood flow by increasing nitric oxide production.  Although arginine supplementation is common among both athletic and recreationally active populations, increasing controversy is arising over the effectiveness of arginine in enhancing exercise.  Numerous studies investigating the performance enhancing effects of arginine have found no beneficial effects despite sound theory (Campbell et al., 2004; Fahs et al., 2009; Greer et al., 2011; Lambert et al, 1993; Mariotti et al., 2007; Tang et al., 2010; Walberg-Rankin et al., 1994); however, conflicting findings still exist (Colombani et al, 1999).  Even though creatine, growth hormone, and nitric oxide are important in optimizing exercise effectiveness, little evidence appears to support the use of arginine as a way to enhance exercise performance.

The Best and Latest Evidence on Arginine Supplementation: During the first 10 seconds of exercise, the body relies on creatine to maintain high intensity.  Theoretically, increasing creatine concentrations in the muscle will help maintain energy availability.  Arginine is one of the amino acids involved in synthesizing creatine.  Creatine supplementation has been demonstrated to increase muscular strength, increase muscle size, and improve performance in a variety of sports (Bemben et al, 2005; Demant et al., 1999; Kreider, 2003; Kreider, 2003; Mesa et al., 2002).   Arginine is often suggested as a way to enhance the body’s ability to make creatine without the need for creatine supplementation; however, there are no studies demonstrating this capability.  Since our body has an excess of arginine to make creatine, it seems unlikely that arginine supplementation would provide any benefits in enhancing the body’s production of creatine (Campbell, 2004).  In essence, arginine is unlikely to give the same benefit as creatine supplementation in prolonging the initial intensity of short bouts of activity.

Growth hormone increases cell growth in the body.  Increased growth hormone is usually associated with growth of muscle cells.  Numerous studies have demonstrated the ability of high doses (12 g to 30 g) of intravenous arginine supplementation to enhance the release of growth hormone (Alba-Roth, 1988).  Investigations of oral supplementation, however, demonstrate conflicting findings.  One study investigating arginine supplementation (15 grams for 14 days) found growth hormone levels to be elevated above what would be considered normal post-exercise levels (Colombani et al, 1999).  A more recent study found that there appears to be no additional effect of growth hormone on muscle when levels are enhanced by arginine supplementation (Tang et al., 2010).  In contrast, Abel and associates (2005) found that oral arginine supplementation (5.7 grams) did not affect growth hormone levels and provided no increase in endurance exercise performance.  Further research on resistance-trained subjects has found that ingestion of up to 8 grams of arginine for 17 days provides no changes in growth hormone levels (Lambert et al, 1993 & Walberg-Rankin et al, 1994).  To make matters worse, arginine ingestion of 30 grams per day was shown to lead to decreases in other hormones that lead to muscle growth, such as IGF-1 (Blazejewski, 2009).  Essentially, arginine ingestion may enhance growth hormone release at doses around 15 grams or higher; however, this appears to offer little benefit to exercise performance in the short term and possible negative effects in the long term.

In response to exercise or other stressful events, the body expands the diameter of blood vessels to increase blood flow to certain parts of the body.  It does this by producing and releasing nitric oxide in the blood vessels.  Arginine is a precursor to the synthesis of nitric oxide.  The body uses nitric oxide to increase blood flow by increasing blood vessel diameter.  By potentially improving blood flow, arginine is claimed to promote improvements in strength, power, and muscle recovery (Alvares, 2011).  Arginine has been shown to increase nitric oxide production when injected in high doses of at least 30 grams; however, the effects of oral supplementation are not as apparent.  Numerous studies investigating arginine supplementation found no contribution to enhancing nitric oxide production (Fahs et al, 2009; Greer et al, 2011; Mariotti, 2007).  An investigation into the necessary dosages of arginine found that one would have to consume approximately 43 grams of arginine to stimulate the same levels of nitric oxide production as when supplemented intravenously.  Furthermore, such high doses of arginine would lead to cramping and stomach pain during exercise (Tang et al., 2010).  It has also been suggested that arginine supplementation could lessen the sensitivity of blood vessels to nitric oxide, thus potentially inhibiting performance (Mariotti, 2007).  Clearly, arginine ingestion provides little benefit in enhancing blood flow and may even be counterproductive.

Arginine has had many bold claims attached to it.  The theoretical benefits of increasing blood flow, enhancing growth hormone release, and enhance creatine production have made it a popular supplement for people of all ages and athletic backgrounds.  None-the-less, the effectiveness of arginine supplementation as a way to improve exercise performance has been a controversial subject.  Despite numerous studies demonstrating a lack of beneficial effects, conflicting findings still exist.  However, it must be remembered that only high doses of arginine (>15 grams) relate to improved growth hormone release profile, and possibly up to 43 grams to influence blood flow.  Furthermore, because arginine may create tolerance-related side effects, supplementation should be avoided or taken for very short periods of time.  In addition to the lack of benefits with respect to growth hormone and nitric oxide, arginine has not been shown to increase or promote further creatine synthesis.  Thus, creatine supplementation is likely a more effective way to increase the storage and utilization of creatine.  In conclusion, there does not appear to be sufficient evidence to support using arginine to enhance exercise performance.

            Take away points and Health Tips:

·   Arginine is a non-essential amino acid that is produced in the body and can also be found in a variety of foods.

·   Arginine or nitric oxide supplements often claim to promote increased blood flow, increased internal creatine synthesis, and increased growth hormone production.

·   Ingestion of arginine is not an effective way to enhance your body’s ability to make growth hormone.

·   Increasing exercise intensity and avoiding high fat diets could provide an increased growth hormone response to exercise, rather than supplementation.

·   Ingestion of arginine does not appear to increase blood flow.

·   Ingestion or intravenous use of arginine may decrease your ability to increase muscle size with long-term use.

·   It is probably best to avoid excess arginine supplementation unless instructed by a health care practitioner.

The Testosterone Diet

Testosterone is the key hormone in men that increases lean muscle, libido, sperm production, bone density, and energy. Testosterone levels begin to drop after the age of 30. Through proper diet, exercise, and supplementation we can ensure maximum production of this hormone in our bodies.

Ensuring sufficient production of this hormone requires eating the right amount of specific foods such as:

-          Oysters: Provide the highest dietary amount of zinc, a key mineral that supports testosterone production. 

-          Beans: Are high in Zinc, fiber, and protein which are all needed for testosterone production. Fiber helps to remove bile from our intestinal tract which in turn lowers estrogen. 

-          Protein – Meat, fish, poultry, and eggs: Provide quality protein, cholesterol, zinc, B vitamins, magnesium, and saturated fat. All of which are essential for testosterone production. Cholesterol is the base for the making of this hormone, while the minerals, vitamins, and amino acids from protein are required for its production. Don’t eat too much – Consuming more protein than carbohydrates can increase the loss of testosterone through urination. While protein is necessary for higher testosterone levels, too much can have a negative effect. Stick to about 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight. 

-          Broccoli, cabbage, and Brussels sprouts: Contain a compound known as Indole-3-carbinol which greatly reduces levels of bad estrogen known as Estradiol. High estrogen increases body fat and reduces the effects of testosterone.  

-          Garlic: Contains a compound known as Allicin. Allicin helps to increase testosterone levels and lowers Cortisol; a hormone that competes with testosterone and breaks down muscle.  

-          Avocados, Nuts, and Fish oil: Contain healthy unsaturated fats which help to support healthy cholesterol levels – balancing LDL and HDL. Monounsaturated fats in particular help to raise Testosterone the most. Although, too much fat healthy or not can lower testosterone.  

-          Figs: Are high in amino acids believed to increase libido and testosterone production.

Aside from eating the right foods, there are a few other factors that can affect healthy testosterone levels as well. These include: 

-          Getting sufficient sleep: The body requires rest for recovery, sufficient hormone secretion, and production. Without proper rest the body will increase in cortisol secretion which helps to inhibit testosterone production and muscle repair. The amount of needed sleep can vary by age and activity level. However, it is recommended that everyone sleep at minimum 7 hours and no more than 9 hours. Too much sleep can have the same detrimental effects as not getting enough. 

-          Stress: Some stress can be good for us if we use it in a constructive and motivating manner. However, too much stress is hard on the body, not just for regulating testosterone but on all major bodily functions. Stress can age us; create an unhealthy environment within our bodies, as well as raise estrogen, cortisol, and lower testosterone. 

-          Alcohol: Alcohol is a poison to our bodies – upon consumption testosterone production is brought to a halt. Furthermore, alcohol increases stress hormones like cortisol and aids in body fat production as well as muscle breakdown. It’s effects are unfavorable to anyone seeking decreased body fat, increased lean muscle, strength, and an elevated libido. Keep consumption at a minimum of no more than 1-2 drinks per week. 

-          Obesity: Having a higher than normal body fat percentage puts you at a disadvantage for peak testosterone production and helps to amplify estrogen which is counterproductive to testosterone. Also, having a large amount of abdominal fat in particular has been shown to be a marker for increased risk of many diseases such as heart disease and diabetes. Focus on sufficient exercise and proper eating habits to lower body fat and increased testosterone will be one of many rewards.  

-          Smoking: Is not just terrible for your health, it can create erectile dysfunction, lower libido, raise estrogen, and decrease testosterone. Kick the habit and increased lifespan won’t be the only reward.  

-          Refined Sugar: Found in most processed foods, it won’t just increase body fat. Refined sugars have been found to decrease health, promote over eating, disrupt many bodily functions, and lower testosterone.  

-          Soy: Has been shown to increase estrogen due its high content of compounds called Phyto-Estrogens. These compounds mimic estrogen in the body which reduces the effects of testosterone. Try to avoid soy as well as processed food items as many ingredients now include soy derivatives. Note, that many protein bars and supplements contain high amounts of soy so watch for them in the ingredients list.

Some people drink soda pop as if it is water, some even instead of water. Sure, the primary ingredient is water, but, with all the other "stuff” it contains it can have a…toxic…poisonous…lethal…venomous… seriously harmful effect on your entire body. Drinking soda pop is a sure-fire way to age faster. Here’s why:

Soda Pop (or carbonated soft drinks) has an alarming amount of sugar, calories and harmful additives in it that have absolutely no nutritional value. Studies have linked soda to osteoporosis, obesity, tooth decay and heart disease. Despite this, soda accounts for more than one-quarter of all drinks consumed in the United States….and we wonder why we can’t lose weight and why we have health problems. So very often our health problems do not BEGIN on their own. WE encourage illness and disease little-by-little every day by NOTpreventingtheir cause. We know better, we try to fool ourselves, but our bodies’ cells can’t be fooled about what we put in our mouths. I hope the next time you look at a can of soda pop you take note of the ingredients and smarten up for the good of your own healthy lifespan and that of your children and grandchildren. …What you are about to read should turn you away from sodas altogether.

Here’s what’s in Soda Pop:

Phosphoric Acid:May interfere with the body's ability to use calcium, which can lead to osteoporosis or softening of the teeth and bones. Phosphoric acid also neutralizes the hydrochloric acid in your stomach, which can interfere with digestion, making it difficult to utilize nutrients.

Sugar:Soft drink manufacturers are the largest single user of refined sugar in the United States. It is a proven fact that sugar increases insulin levels, which can lead to high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, diabetes, weight gain, premature aging and many more negative side effects. Most sodas include over 100 percent of the RDA of sugar.

Aspartame:This chemical is used as a sugar substitute in diet soda. There are over 92 different health side effects associated with aspartame consumption including brain tumors, birth defects, diabetes, emotional disorders and epilepsy/seizures. Further, when aspartame is stored for long periods of time or kept in warm areas it changes to methanol, an alcohol that converts to formaldehyde and formic acid, which are known carcinogens.

Caffeine:Caffeinated drinks can cause jitters, insomnia, high blood pressure, irregular heartbeat, elevated blood cholesterol levels, vitamin and mineral depletion, breast lumps, birth defects, and perhaps some forms of cancer.

Soda is one of the main reasons, nutritionally speaking, why many people suffer health problems. Aside from the negative effects of the soda itself, drinking a lot of soda is likely to leave you with little appetite for vegetables, protein and other food that your body needs.

How many sodas have you had today? How about your kids? The average American drinks an estimated 56 gallons of soft drinks each year, but before you grab that next can of soda, consider this: one can of soda has about 10 teaspoons of sugar, 150 calories, 30 to 55 mg of caffeine, and is loaded with artificial food colors and sulphites.

Teenagers and children, who many soft drinks are marketed toward, are among the largest consumers. In the past 10 years, soft drink consumption among children has almost doubled in the United States. Teenage boys now drink, on average, three or more cans of soda per day, and 10 percent drink seven or more cans a day. The average for teenage girls is more than two cans a day, and 10 percent drink more than five cans a day.

It also raises the question of how one determines a product's caffeine content. Nutrition labels are not required to divulge that information. If a beverage contains caffeine, it must be included in the ingredient list, but there's no way to tell how much a beverage has, and there's little logic or predictability to the way caffeine is deployed throughout a product line.

Let’s take a look at some of the major components of a can of soda:

Okay, so most enlightened consumers already know that colas contain a fair amount of caffeine. It turns out to be 35 to 38 milligrams per 12-ounce can, or roughly 28 percent of the amount found in an 8-ounce cup of coffee. But few know that diet colas -- usually chosen by those who are trying to dodge calories and/or sugar -- often pack a lot more caffeine.

A 12-ounce can of Diet Coke, for example, has about 42 milligrams of caffeine -- seven more than the same amount of Coke Classic. A can of Pepsi One has about 56 milligrams of caffeine -- 18 milligrams more than both regular Pepsi and Diet Pepsi.

Even harder to figure out is the caffeine distribution in other flavors of soda pop. Many brands of root beer contain no caffeine. An exception is Barq's, made by the Coca-Cola Co., which has 23 milligrams per 12-ounce can. Sprite, 7-Up and ginger ale are caffeine-free. But Mountain Dew, the curiously named Mello Yellow, Sun Drop Regular, Jolt and diet as well as regular Sunkist orange soda all pack caffeine.

Caffeine occurs naturally in kola nuts, an ingredient of cola soft drinks. But why is this drug, which is known to create physical dependence, added to other soft drinks?

The industry line is that small amounts are added for taste, not for the drug's power to sustain demand for the products that contain it. Caffeine's bitter taste, they say, enhances other flavors. "It has been a part of almost every cola -- and pepper-type beverage -- since they were first formulated more than 100 years ago," according to the National Soft Drink Association.

But recent blind taste tests conducted by Roland Griffiths at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions in Baltimore found that only 8 percent of regular soft drink consumers could identify the difference between regular and caffeine-free soft drinks.

The study included only subjects who reported that they drank soft drinks mainly for their caffeine content. In other words, more than 90 percent of the self-diagnosed caffeine cravers in this small sample could not detect the presence of caffeine.

That's why the great popularity of caffeinated soft drinks is driven not so much by subtle taste effects as by the mood-altering and physical dependence of caffeine that drives the daily self-administration.

And the unknown could be especially troublesome for the developing brains of children and adolescents. Logic dictates that when you are dependent on a drug, you are really upsetting the normal balances of neurochemistry in the brain. The fact that kids have withdrawal signs and symptoms when the caffeine is stopped is a good indication that something has been profoundly disturbed in the brain.

Exactly where that leads is anybody's guess -- which is to say there is little good research on the effects of caffeine on kids' developing brains.

Bone Weakening
Animal studies demonstrate that phosphorus, a common ingredient in soda, can deplete bones of calcium.

And two recent human studies suggest that girls who drink more soda are more prone to broken bones. The industry denies that soda plays a role in bone weakening.

Animal studies -- mostly involving rats -- point to clear and consistent bone loss with the use of cola beverages. But as scientists like to point out, humans and rats are not exactly the same.

Even so, there's been concern among the research community, public health officials and government agencies over the high phosphorus content in the US diet. Phosphorus -- which occurs naturally in some foods and is used as an additive in many others -- appears to weaken bones by promoting the loss of calcium. With less calcium available, the bones become more porous and prone to fracture.

The soft drink industry argues that the phosphoric acid in soda pop contributes only about 2 percent of the phosphorus in the typical US diet, with a 12-ounce can of soda pop averaging about 30 milligrams.

There's growing concern that even a few cans of soda today can be damaging when they are consumed during the peak bone-building years of childhood and adolescence. A 1996 study published in the Journal of Nutrition by the FDA's Office of Special Nutritionals noted that a pattern of high phosphorus/low calcium consumption, common in the American diet, is not conducive to optimizing peak bone mass in young women.

A 1994 Harvard study of bone fractures in teenage athletes found a strong association between cola beverage consumption and bone fractures in 14-year-old girls. The girls who drank cola were about five times more likely to suffer bone fractures than girls who didn't consume soda pop.

Besides, to many researchers, the combination of rising obesity and bone weakening has the potential to synergistically undermine future health. Adolescents and kids don't think long-term. But what happens when these soft-drinking people become young or middle-aged adults and they have osteoporosis, sedentary living and obesity?

By that time, switching to water, milk or fruit juice may be too little, too late.

Research presented at an American Diabetes Association gathering this summer found that women who went from drinking less than one, non-diet soda a day to one or more daily sodas were nearly twice as likely to develop type 2 diabetes over a four-year period as women who drank less than one soft during a day. (The women who drank more soda also gained more weight over the same period.)

A study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism suggested that fructose, a sweetener found naturally in fruit juice and typically used in concentrated amounts in soft drinks, may induce a hormonal response in the body that promotes weight gain.

Soft Drinks, especially light-colored drinks, and canned iced tea appear to "aggressively” erode teeth enamel in laboratory tests—and it didn’t matter whether they were diet drinks or regular ones, according to a study published inGeneral Dentistry.

Just a quick note to say THANK YOU for all of your support over the past few years. We've only been open for a total of 30 months so far,
but in that short time, we've really become noticed by the public and media. We have been recognized locally by the AZ Republic and several TV stations, but today we've just hit another milestone. We've just hit the TOP 10 in Ranking Arizona Magazine this year! Wow, what an
accomplishment especially beating out the Big Box gyms like LA Fitness, Mountainside, and 24 Hour Fitness. Arizona truly understands that it's the training and the results that matter most, not a sea-full of equipment and 100,000SF to get lost in.

Here is a shot of the Page in the Magazine we ranked #6 in ARIZONA!

Pursuit of a Dancer’s Physique

Donny Schreier

I can almost guarantee that anytime I discuss with a woman exercise and her fitness goals that she will state the following somewhere in or near the first sentence: "I want to look like a dancer." And I can pretty much also guarantee that at least one of the following phrases will turn up not too far from that first: "firm and tone," "long and lean," "shape and lengthen," and "not get bulky." The near universal desire among women to achieve the sinewy and lithe look of many professional dancers, coupled with an equal fear of "getting huge" from lifting heavy weights, has unfortunately led too many women to struggle with ineffective fitness programs.

The fitness industry itself is much to blame for this situation. Seeking to capitalize on a public's desire to look like a dancer it pushes countless training methods which promise to "firm, tone, shape and lengthen" both without lifting heavy weights or expending great effort. "And why should you," the thought goes, "you don't want to get big muscles. And besides, dancers don't lift heavy weights." So the marketplace becomes flooded with toning exercises, and shaping exercises, and lengthening exercises, etc.

In pursuit of the dancer-like physique there lives a common fear that lifting anything but light weights will build large, short and bulky muscles. And it is upon this fear that the whole muscle-lengthening, shaping, and toning ideology builds its home (interestingly a fear also fueled by this ideology). Watch any infomercial, read any of a number of magazine articles or books, and you will be sold on some gizmo or exercise program that promises to sculpt and lengthen your muscles without adding muscle bulk.

On the surface it would seem logical simply to do what dancers do if you want to look like one, until you consider the fact that professional dancers have a genetic predisposition towards a body type suited for dance, including good bone structure, decent muscularity, and a natural leanness; until you consider that dancers do not train as they do in order to look good but rather to improve their dance ability; and until you further consider the experience of thousands of other dancers who follow the same routines and prescribe to the same practices yet do not come close to looking the same way.

But what I want to do in the following paragraphs is look slightly beyond the genetics of dancers and experiences of others and review a few of the most common perceptions under the light of some basic laws of human anatomy and physiology. Namely, 

* that through exercise you can lengthen a muscle... you can't; 
* that through exercise you can shape a muscle... you can't; 
* that there are special "toning" exercises... there aren't.

In addressing these perceptions I hope to impress upon you that an effective training program is rooted in quite the opposite practice: that using basic exercises to lift substantially heavier weights is required to mold and trim the body into the physique that you are seeking. In a follow-up article I will provide more information on that type of program, but for now I hope that the information I provide here will at least nudge you in that direction and start saving you from countless hours of performing exercises that will essentially amount to little at best.

You get your shape from your skeletal structure, muscles, and fat. It should be obvious you cannot change your skeletal structure without breaking bones. Your structure is your structure, period.

Similarly, you cannot lengthen muscles! A muscle is attached to a bone on one end, crosses a joint or joints, and attaches to another bone at its other end. The muscle's length is fixed between these two points, and no matter what you do and no matter how you exercise or how hard you try you cannot lengthen this muscle without lengthening the bones to which it is attached, which as you know cannot be done without breaking them. Muscles cannot be lengthened, again period.

Well, perhaps one cannot literally lengthen her muscles, but can't she shape her muscles to achieve the illusion of length or at least sculpt them into a more exquisite shape? According to the toning camp, this can accomplished through "toning" exercises which utilize training with weights light enough to avoid gaining muscle bulk, yet which somehow provide just the right type or volume of stimulation to nurture in the muscle a beautifully sculpted contour and just the right amount of... tone.

Let me clarify that I have absolutely nothing against shaping/toning exercises because they emphasize the use of light weights-although it makes more sense to me to simply call this light resistance training-but I do take issue with the claims made for the exercises, that through toning exercises you can somehow affect the physical shape of your muscle without growing it (except perhaps to lengthen it as previously mentioned).

Consider the physiology of a muscle: when an exercise repeatedly demands a muscle to overcome a load of enough magnitude, such as when you lift a heavy weight, over time the muscle will adapt to the stimulus by getting stronger and possibly larger, until the time that it can handle the load more capably. Once the muscle can comfortably manage that load, it will adapt no further until greater demands are placed on it, such as when the load is increased even more.

Yet if the load is light and remains light, as is the prescription for toning exercises, little adaptation, if any, will occur because the muscle can already cope with the load. It is true that the high repetition training often used in toning exercises can elicit muscular adaptation, but not the adaptation that it claims, which is to shape and/or lengthen muscle. The muscle will only improve in its ability to perform more and more repetitions-in muscular endurance, as it is known-but not grow or change its shape in any way.

But more to the point, all muscles have shape to begin with, a predetermined size and shape depending on your genetics and underlying skeletal structure, which also is a factor of genetics, and all a muscle can do with regard to this shape is either grow in response to progressively increased loads or shrink through lack of use or malnourishment. It cannot be shaped in any other way. As it grows it becomes more "shaped," and as it shrinks it becomes less "shaped." So if you want to shape a muscle you basically have a few options: grow the muscle through training with resistance heavy enough to induce muscular growth; reveal the muscle's inherent shape by decreasing the amount of fat between it and the skin; or a combination of the two.

So what about this third component of your physique, fat, the first being your skeletal structure and the second being your muscles? As I am sure you know, stores of fat lie between the muscles and skin. If you reduce the fat, not only will the inherent shape of your muscles begin to show, but also you will appear physically longer as the girth of your body and limbs is reduced relative to your height.

Your muscle mass, as you may or may not know, is central in the fight against excess body fat. Your muscles are sort of like your body's furnace, continually burning calories while you eat, sleep and play. Therefore, if you increase your muscle mass, you will increase the rate at which your body burns calories-even while you rest-and thus decrease body fat. Yes, you will add some muscular size in the process, but muscle takes up less space than fat, so although you do gain muscle this gain is offset by an even greater loss in fat volume, the result being a thinner and leaner you. Furthermore, the additional muscle, especially when you lose fat, will only help cultivate the sculpted look you seek. Add to this the fact that as you age you naturally lose muscle mass, and the necessity to regain and maintain muscle becomes even more apparent.

So increasing muscle is, as you can see, of great importance in pursuit of the dancer's physique. Unfortunately, trying to increase muscle mass through toning exercises is almost a complete waste of your time since they elicit little muscle growth. The only way they can perhaps be of value, in the fight against fat that is, is if they are done in such volume and at such intensity that the workout effectively becomes aerobic, and as a consequence you burn a lot of calories during the workout.

On the other hand, training with moderate to heavy resistance and progressively increasing the load that the muscles must bear is, without doubt, how to gain muscle. In response to the physical stress, your nervous system will attempt to cope by improving its ability to recruit muscle fibers while the size of the muscle fibers themselves will increase in order to provide for a stronger contraction. Light resistance training, or toning, does not do this.

A simple understanding of anatomy and physiology should be enough to dispel claims about shaping and lengthening muscles. You cannot shape muscles, and you cannot lengthen them. Next time you hear such a claim be extremely skeptical as to that authority's knowledge or integrity-unless you are sure they are talking about something else. Light resistance exercise, as it should be called, can find its proper place in any fitness program, but shaping, lengthening, or even growing a muscle is not one of them.

The bottom line really is the same for all of us, whether you are overweight, underweight, or at a good weight but still want to improve your figure. If you want to be lean, fit, healthy, and sculpted, you need to gain, regain, or maintain muscle mass and reduce or control your fat levels. This is best accomplished with basic exercises that utilize large muscle groups to lift substantial amounts of weight. It will rev up your metabolism, and you'll burn more calories as you go about your daily life. Add to this moderate aerobic exercise and a healthy diet, and you will get lean and shapely and live in a body with which you can be happy.

One final note: I know that there will continue to be those who won't follow this advice out of fear of getting big and bulky. Don't you be one of them. Without a genetic predisposition to grow large muscles and perhaps the aid of drugs and/or male hormones, it is very, very difficult for women to gain a lot muscle. It is even difficult for many men to gain a lot of muscle without making special efforts. So don't let that fear be an impediment to adopting a good physical training program. And hey, you can always go back to those toning exercises if you really want.

What a great site:

http://health.yahoo.net/human-body-maps/

See the layers of the human body using 3-D maps!

Since we live in Arizona, here is the latest Trail Running Shoe Guide for your Browsing Pleasure:

http://health.yahoo.net/rodale/RW/fall-2011-trail-running-shoe-guide

Pulse Fitness Receives 2011 Best of Scottsdale Award

U.S. Commerce Associations Award Plaque Honors the Achievement

NEW YORK, NY, October 19, 2011 — Pulse Fitness has been selected for the 2011 Best of Scottsdale Award in the Trainers category by the U.S. Commerce Association (USCA).

The USCA "Best of Local Business” Award Program recognizes outstanding local businesses throughout the country. Each year, the USCA identifies companies that they believe have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category. These are local companies that enhance the positive image of small business through service to their customers and community.

Various sources of information were gathered and analyzed to choose the winners in each category. The 2011 USCA Award Program focuses on quality, not quantity. Winners are determined based on the information gathered both internally by the USCA and data provided by third parties.

About U.S. Commerce Association (USCA)

U.S. Commerce Association (USCA) is a New York City based organization funded by local businesses operating in towns, large and small, across America. The purpose of USCA is to promote local business through public relations, marketing and advertising.

The USCA was established to recognize the best of local businesses in their community. Our organization works exclusively with local business owners, trade groups, professional associations, chambers of commerce and other business advertising and marketing groups. Our mission is to be an advocate for small and medium size businesses and business entrepreneurs across America.

SOURCE: U.S. Commerce Association

CONTACT:
U.S. Commerce Association
Email: PublicRelations@uscaaward.com

Fitness Magazine Articles

http://pulsefitnessaz.fitpromag.com/Links.aspx

Work Out #1
Run 1 mile
100 Push-Ups
100 Sit-Ups
100 Air Squats
100 Walking Lunges
Run 1 Mile

Work Out #2
Run .25 Mile
30 Burpies
Run .25 Mile
25 Burpies
Run .25 Mile
20 Burpies
Run .25
15 Burpies
Run .25 Mile
10 Burpies
Run .25 Mile
5 Burpies
- 100 Sit- Ups