Peak Conditioning Essay, Research Paper
Viper
Mrs. Boss
Personal Health and Fitness
14 February 1997
Peak Conditioning
Peak conditioning is a three way balance between nutrition, fitness, and
recuperation are key elements for staying physically fit and healthy. Nutrition
helps keep the internal body healthy as well as the mind. Fitness keeps the out
side healthy by building muscle and endurance and keeps the inside functioning
and working properly. Recuperation allows the body to recover from the hard
work and the muscle tears. Nutrition , fitness, and recuperation are over looked
by a lot in most Americans. This can lead to obesity and premature death.
What you eat is nutrition. Good nutrition can help eliminate afternoon
drowsiness, eliminate yeast allergies, improve hypoglycemia and
hyperglycemia, reduce food cravings and sugar cravings, and help keep a
steady energy throughout the day. Refined carbohydrates can be harmful in the
sense they stimulate the body to burn sugar instead of fat. Therefor eating less
of these refined carbohydrates will burn fat more efficiently. Eating protein at
meals can have many benefits. One benefit causes your resting metabolic rate
to raise, causing your body temperature to rise, which means your body is
consuming more calories at rest. Another benefit of eating more protein is by
combing high protein meals with high fiber, low calories, and low glycemic
carbohydrates. This force your body to work much harder than with ordinary
meals. Fiber and all roughage is good in that it cleans the walls of the
intestine. This keeps infection from forming in the intestine. Plus the fiber
stimulates bile production. Sugar also plays a big role in nutrition. Some people
have high glycemic (high sugar) and some have low glycemic ( low sugar).
These different levels of blood sugar can have different effects on people. Low
glycemic will not reduce growth hormone release. It will also not stimulate the
over production of insulin, instigating the possibility of fat storage. On the other
hand high glycemic will trigger excess insulin. It will also diminish the release
of growth hormones.
Fitness is the second part of staying healthy. Working out will build
muscle endurance and keep you physically fit. A workout plan is good for
keeping a balance exercise session. This is a workout plan that is well rounded
and works all the major muscle groups. Remember to use a strict form at all
times unless you are at an advanced level and even then perform minimal chest
reps. Do three to four different exercises each workout per major body parts like
the chest, back, and legs. Also do two to three exercises on minor body part like
the biceps, triceps, neck, shoulder, forearm, and calves:
At the beginning of your workout when you are performing the
heaviest basic movements you should rest 45 to 75 seconds
between sets. Near the end when you use the lighter weight
performing stricter isolation exercises rest only 30 to 45 second
between sets. Always perform cardiovascular exercise after weight
training unless performing ten to 15 minutes of cardiovascular
exercise before a workout as a warm-up. Remember to always
drink water before and after workouts to keep well hydrated.
(Weintraub)
To be in peak condition is to be the healthiest you can be. Nutrition
provides the building blocks for growth and development. Training provides the
stimulus for muscle growth provided you have generated greater intensity than
ever before by either lifting one pound more or one repetition more than you
have ever lifted. Recuperation provides the time for growth to occur. There are
several advantages for being in peak condition and here are just a few, more
energy for all other activities in life, live a longer and healthier life, look and feel
better, better mental focus, cleaner thought process, improved self esteem,
reduce blood pressure, reduce stress, sleep better, require less sleep, raises
your metabolic rate, helps reduce illness, maintain regularity, promote health,
reduce risk of diabetes and arthritis, reduce blood pressure and cholesterol,
reduce risk of heart disease, increases strength, improves coordination and
posture, increases bone density, reduces tendency for back injuries, and last but
not least increases flexibility.
If every person took time to make a workout plan a chose healthier food
we would all live longer. Nutrition and fitness don?t only help the physical but it
helps the mental too. For one to exercise ones mind and body is a great task
but can be accomplished with patients and hard work.
Works Cited
Callaway, C. Wayne. The Callaway Diet. New York: Bantam Books, 1990.
Clouatre, Dallas. Anti-Fat Nutrients. San Francisco: Pax Publishing, 1993.
Colgan, Dr. Michael. Optimum Sports Nutrition. New York: Advanced
Research Press, 1993.
Goulant, Frances Sheridan. Beyond Baby Fat. New York: McGraw-Hill Book
Company, 1985
Weintraub, Mitchell. Interview with Bonnie Anzalone. 20 July 1996.