The Science of Fitness

Power, Performance, and Endurance

Greg LeMond, Mark Hom

• Publisher: Academic Press
• Year: 2014
• ISBN:
  9780128010709
• Topic: Ciencias biológicas
• Subtopic: Fisiología

The Science of Fitness: Power, Performance, and Endurance clearly explains the vital connection between diet and exercise in the human body. With this knowledge, you can use the right exercise and nutrition to obtain a higher quality life, prevent disease, and slow the aging process.

Authored in a straightforward style and with color images throughout, this book explores the cellular science behind fitness, protein synthesis, and healthy living. With it you will learn the most recent and important discoveries in the relationships between physical fitness, nutrition, weight loss, and weight management. It provides key information on the body's mitochondrial processes and their role in aging, along with well-informed discussions on general nutrition, sports nutrition, exercise physiology, how to enhance athletic performance, and how exercise strengthens the mind.

Whether you are interested in how to eat healthy, train for your first (or next) marathon, take your fitness to the next level, find the best super foods, or simply want to improve your vitality through healthy, doable practices, this book will help you on your journey regardless of age or fitness level.

• Presents the connection between exercise, nutrition, and physiology in a way that is ideal for both experienced athletes and newcomers
• Provides the scientific basis for mitochondrial functions and their relationship to fitness, protein synthesis, quality of life, and the aging process
• Synthesizes the latest research on nutrition, sports nutrition, super foods, and the brain/body connection
• Co-Authored by legendary cyclist Greg LeMond, who illustrates key points using his own athletic journey

1

Becoming a BEAST

Summary

In our high-tech world, it is easy to neglect the physical body. However, the body requires exercise to function at its best and to maintain health. BEAST is an acronym for a five-point lifestyle that focuses on the ideals of this book. The name reminds us that no matter how sophisticated we consider ourselves, we still need to sweat to achieve our fitness goals. The BEAST system is made up of the following parts:

• Bicycling (or other aerobic exercise)

• Eating a nutritious diet for optimal energy and faster recovery

• Avoiding toxins (dietary, environmental, and pharmacologic)

• Stopping self-destructive and addictive behavior

• Training with resistance (weights)

Keywords

athlete

disease prevention

physical fitness

lifestyle

aerobic exercise

resistance training

evolution

The BEAST system

In the high-tech society we have constructed for ourselves, our minds are satisfied by virtual interaction in front of a computer monitor or television screen, while our bodies sit idly in a chair or repose on the couch. The Internet brings the digital world to us, instead of our need to go out and confront the real physical world. Facebook brings us virtual connections with our “friends,” instead of our need to leave the comforts of home to truly personally interact. We are very adept at creating these and other false realities that satisfy our minds. However, it should be noted that the human mind is only a recent evolutionary development. The body, on the other hand, is primordial. This is the basic premise of Carl Sagan’s Pulitzer Prize winning book, “The Dragons of Eden” [1] namely that animals in various forms have existed on Earth for many eons, but the human mind is merely a flash in the pan of evolutionary time. While it is true that our minds have imagined great inventions, created modern societies and shaped the world to our benefit, we have made these intellectual advancements at the detriment of our animal nature. Our physical bodies evolved under brutal conditions of death and survival. As an example of mammalian evolution, consider the wildebeest (Figure 1.1). To survive annual migration, the African wildebeest must have the endurance to stay with the herd or else be left behind. To escape a charging lion, the wildebeest must have the speed to sprint away and avoid capture. To evade a snapping crocodile, the wildebeest must have the explosive power to leap up a steep river bank.

Figure 1.1 Our bodies are ancient and evolved during brutal conditions of survival and death. An example of mammalian evolution is the annual wildebeest migration in Africa. Photography: Christopher Michel.

As evolving animals we humans also had to survive as physical beings, to evade predation, to be successful predators ourselves, and to fight or flee to live another day. As a result of this process of evolution, our bodies (even now) require motion and physical activity to be healthy, vibrant, and strong. Because we no longer have to fend off lions and jackals to live in our great cities, physical activity has become less of a priority in our immediate survival. However, the diseases and conditions of the modern age and inactivity such as metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, and obesity have reached epidemic proportions [2]. What is even more worrisome is that disorders such as type 2 diabetes and obesity, which were once considered adult conditions, are now common in our children [3]. The current generation of children may be the first to have a shorter life expectancy than the previous generation [4]. With less attention given to exercise and more cut backs in the physical education of our children, our long-term survival and well-being are greatly threatened. The solution (and the best way to fend off the diseases of the modern age) is to acknowledge our animalistic side and to be more physically active on a daily basis.

The body–brain connection

Strengthening the body strengthens the brain. This connection between physical activity and intellectualism has been recognized by different cultures in antiquity. In ancient Greece, Plato recommended physical exercise and sport as a complement to education. In old Tibet, Buddhists considered the mind and body as inseparable, advocating physical training in preparation for higher learning.

Scientists now understand the biologic basis of the body–brain connection. Exercise boosts the brain in many ways: increasing connections between brain cells, increasing blood flow and oxygen to the brain, stimulating many areas of the brain (not just those sections involved in motor function), and increasing neurotransmitters (the vital chemicals used in nerve cell communication) [5]. There is also evidence that exercise can delay the onset and progressio...