South Austin Gym

South Austin Gym

Here, Andy Bruchey who is the owner of Austin Fitness Center as well as the personal training company Complete Fitness Design, will answer questions related to not just this gym, but anything to do with fitness, nutrition, and health as well. Send in your questions as we will post a new entry every few days.

Latest Entry: Forget Diets

I'm asked all the time which diet will help people lose weight. The answer is none of them work very well. They may show an improvement, but the results, especially longterm are negligible at best. A study published Thursday in The New England Journal of Medicine, was supposed to determine which of three types of diets works best. Instead, the results highlighted the difficulty of weight loss and the fact that most diets do not work well. The researchers followed 322 dieters, 277 men and 45 women. The dieters were assigned to follow one of three types of diets — a diet with about 30 percent fat, based on American Heart Association guidelines; a Mediterranean diet; and a low-carbohydrate diet based on the Atkins diet plan. By the end of two years, all the dieters had regained most of the weight they'd lost, but not all. The low-fat dieters showed a net loss of six pounds, and the Mediterranean and low-carbohydrate dieters both lost about 10 pounds. If you're serious about losing weight, you need to get a proper nutrition structure in place which consists of a balance of carbs, fat, and proteins. Not an equal balance, but a healthy balance. The formula will vary with the individual as well so unfortunately, there's no 1 size fits all approach that is effective. In addition to the diet, cardiovascular exercise must be a staple of the persons regiment as well. Consistent cardio coupled with consistent nutrition is the key to fat loss. On top of that, consistent weight training is necessary to build muscles under the fat stores. That not only gives a person a toned, muscular look, but it also strengthens tendons, ligaments, bones, as well as the muscles themselves. Like most things worth having in life, weight loss is a little more complicated and requires more effort than the sales brochure is going to tell you. Sorry Atkins, South Beach, etc. No sale. Austin Fitness Center: South Austin's Gym 7-23-2008

Entry # 116: Watermellon and Libido

Who'd have thought? Watermelon may be a natural viagra according to some recent studies. That's because the popular summer fruit is richer than experts believed in an amino acid called citrulline, which relaxes and dilates blood vessels much like Viagra and other drugs meant to treat erectile dysfunction. How could watermelon be a natural Viagra? The amino acid citrulline is converted into the amino acid arginine. This is a precursor for nitric oxide, and the nitric oxide will help in blood vessel dilation. So, the burning question: How much watermelon does it take? Nobody knows for sure but we do know, however, that a typical 4-ounce serving of watermelon (about 10 watermelon balls) has about 150 milligrams of citrulline. We just can't say how much citrulline is needed to have Viagra-like effects. Austin Fitness Center: South Austin Gym 7-20-2008

Entry #115: The Scoop On Cholesterol Levels

The amount of cholesterol that you consume has a negligible impact on serum cholesterol levels, and for good reason. The cholesterol in our blood is made up of both the cholesterol that we ingest and the cholesterol that is synthesized by the liver and other tissues within the body. When cholesterol intake is decreased, the liver will compensate by producing more cholesterol, leaving total cholesterol levels relatively unchanged. In the same way, if cholesterol consumption is increased, the liver will produce less cholesterol, and again, total cholesterol values will not be substantially altered. In reality, changes made in dietary intake of cholesterol will alter total cholesterol levels by a few percent at best. Austin Fitness Center: South Austin Gym 7-17-2008

Entry # 114: Nitric Oxide

Supplements that reportedly increase nitric oxide levels within the body are currently being marketed as powerful muscle builders. The marketers of these supplements claim they increase nitric oxide levels within muscle tissue and a dramatic increase in muscle size and strength is experienced. Other claims also include an increase in fast-twitch muscle fiber strength, endurance, power output, and load capacity from taking these supplements. These reported benefits are quite specific, so I decided to scan the literature for the scientific evidence that supports these claims. Nitric Oxide – what is it? Nitric oxide is a colorless, free radical gas commonly found in tissues of all mammals (it’s also prepared commercially by passing air through an electric arc). Biologically, nitric oxide has been shown to be an important neuro-messenger in a number of vertebrate signal transduction processes. Nitric oxide is also used in medical treatment. For example, nitroglycerin ameliorates the pain of angina by supplying nitric oxide to the blood vessels that supply the heart. The popular drug Viagra controls erection by regulating nitric oxide in the penile cartilage chamber. The Research and the Claims I don’t know where the marketers obtained their literature on nitric oxide. It looks like they are using the same journals as the companies selling Myostatin inhibitors – Contrived garbage that is unsubstantiated. Although nitric oxide acts as a cell-to-cell communicator for certain metabolic functions, muscle growth is not one of them. After a review of the available literature I cannot find any research that remotely indicates increasing nitric oxide levels plays a part in increasing protein synthesis, contractile strength or any other biochemical pathway that may lead to increases in muscle mass. For a company to claim their supplement increases “fast-twitch” muscle strength, the promoters must have instigated or funded some kind of research that involved biopsy procedures and histochemical analyses to extract, assesses and identify these particular muscle fibers from animals or humans, before and after supplementation. However, I could find no documentation (either on their web sites or via a literature scan) that details these findings, only the marketing claims. As far as I’m aware, there is zero scientific evidence supporting the notion that nitric oxide supplements increase “fast-twitch” muscle strength. There also appears to be no evidence whatsoever that shows increasing nitric oxide levels enhances endurance, power output, and load capacity. Arginine alpha-ketogluterate is the “active” ingredient reported by one company that sells this type of supplement. It is claimed that this compound increases and maintains a constantly high level of nitric oxide in muscle. Nitric oxide is synthesized within the body using the amino acid arginine, the energy cyclic substrate NADPH, and oxygen. Nitric oxide diffuses freely across membranes but it is a transient signaling molecule. Nitric oxide is by nature, a highly reactive gas that has an extremely short life – less than a few seconds. While there is a lot of research on the effects of nitric oxide, there is no research that shows supplementation with arginine alpha-ketogluterate increases or sustains nitric oxide levels in any human or animal organs. The supplement industry is unregulated and notoriously full of crap. Be careful what you ingest. As you can see, the labels may be deceiving. Austin Fitness Center: South Austin Gym 7-13-2008