Exercise Secrets

Cracking The Metabolic Code

A couple weeks ago I promised to recap the Sports Nutrition lecture that I attended. Here is that recap.

James LaVaJlle R.Ph. runs the LaValle Metabolic Institute in Cincinnati, OH.  He also wrote this book.

LaValle works with athletes and Olympians who have over-trained and become injured, exhausted and, or sick.  If you want to increase your own exercise stamina, overcome a weight/exercise plateau, or heal from sports-related injuries, LaValle focuses on these metabolic issues:

• How the downward spiral of an unhealthy metabolism begins.
• Balancing your blood sugar, fighting insulin resistance, and belly fat.
• Balancing your adrenals, relieving symptoms of chronic stress (cravings, lost energy, and insomnia).
• Understanding diet and how to get the most from what you eat.
• Understanding the need for water.
• Understanding the two sides of oxygen, breath of life or harbinger of aging, inflammation, and disease.
• Key foods and supplements to power your health

He was a fascinating speaker.  LaValle is a pharmacist and nutritionist who has a passion and expertise for physiology, metabolism and exercise.

Nostril Breathing Vs. Mouth Breathing During Exercise

While I’m on the subject of exercise, Dr. John Douillard is another interesting person to know about.  Douillard is the author of Body, Mind, and Sport: The Mind-Body Guide to Lifelong Health, Fitness, and Your Personal Best and a former professional triathlete who practices Ayurvedic and chiropractic sports medicine in Boulder, CO.

He teaches deep nasal breathing to everyday exercisers who want to become more fit as well as to professional athletes. I learned this technique years ago and I think it makes a lot of sense. Here is an article from Yoga Journal, which describes this breathing technique in more detail. If you don’t want to click and read another article this is the quick summary.

Douillard and a team of researchers measured the effects of nasal breathing on a group of volunteers who learned the technique and used it over a 12-week period while they exercised. The researchers then measured brain wave activity during two stress tests: one as the volunteers bicycled while chest breathing through their mouths, and the other while they did nasal breathing. During the nasal breathing workout, the cyclists’ EEGs showed brain wave patterns indicating relaxation; the volunteers’ breath rate, heart rate, and perceived exertion were lower during nasal breathing, too.

And  A Quick Note About Me…

I’m doing one-on-one nutrition counseling again which accounts for my blogging absence.  I partnered up with an Internal Medicine Doctor and I have been busy! Nonetheless, I like it. Private practice has been a fun change of pace from public speaking and training.

My teaching and travel schedule are in full swing but before I visit ten more cities between now and the end of the year, I’ve also been enjoying my Colorado summer. Hiking, sitting pool side, Jazz in Denver’s City Park on Sunday nights and entertaining friends in my new home, have taken over my writing time.

Please hang in there with me as I do miss and love this blog.

There are changes ahead and new features I want to try out, but I won’t make any timeline promises. As my routine becomes settled and my to-do list becomes shorter (ha!) I’ll be back here on a more frequent basis.

Hope you are enjoying your summer and getting some outdoor exercise 🙂