The Key to Fitness is Advancing to the Next Level

By Al Sears, MD

Our caveman ancestors had to be ready to run from a predator or chase after prey at a moment's notice. They needed a strong heart and lungs to generate lots of power very quickly in order to survive.

In modern times, you don't have to run from predators but you do need to have access to that extra power if you are being chased by someone or if you need to make a quick getaway.

So when it comes to exercise, it's a good idea to build and strengthen your high-energy output system. You make sure your heart and lungs have the ability to generate lots of power very quickly -- just in case.

Having quick access to extra power is what our ancient ancestors built and maintained naturally in their native environment. But it's lacking in our modern world.

The training of your high-energy output system is critical to your health improvement, disease resistance, fat-fighting, energizing and anti-aging capacities. It's incredible that no popular exercise program has ever specifically addressed this issue.

On the surface, it would be dangerous -- even foolhardy -- to go on an intense exercise rampage to challenge your heart, lung, vascular and metabolic capacities. What you need is a plan to build these capacities safely and effectively.

PACE® is the first and only program conceived, designed, tested and proven to achieve this most important of all fitness goals. It does this for you by measuring where you are, then making progressive, small, incremental changes over time. Little by little you advance to the next level.

The key is to start with a brief exertion that is comfortable for you at your current capacity. It's not so important how hard you exert yourself today. It's that little bit that you do next week that you didn't do this week. This is the element of progressivity.

That tiny incremental change compounds -- like interest on capital -- to have an amazing and powerful affect over time. By changing your program through time, you work with your metabolism and your inborn adaptive response to coach your body to change.

Learn Progression with This Easy 10-Minute PACE® Program
Here's a simple program to use progressivity in the right direction. In this 10-minute program below, you're going to focus on gradually increasing the challenge as you progress.

Weeks	Warm-ups	Set 1		Set 2		Set 3
		Exertion	Recovery	Exertion	Recovery	Exertion	Recovery
1	2 min	5 min	3 min
2	1 min	3 min	2 min	3 min	2 min
3	1 min	2 min	2 min	2 min	2 min	2 min	2 min
4	1 min	1 min	2 min	1 min	2 min	1 min	2 min

Notice the progressivity of this workout. Over time, the duration of each exertion period decreases. This progressivity in the right direction toward maximal capacity is the heart of PACE®.

Here's how it works...

During week 1, you're going to take it easy and just do one warm up for 2 minutes and then one exercise set at a low to moderate intensity. Just do what feels comfortable. If you are out of shape, it's okay. You can just start with walking.

Try and do this 10-minute interval at least 3 times during the first week. But each time you do it, slightly increase the intensity level. By the end of the first week, you should feel like you've given yourself a slight challenge you were able to accomplish.

Keep in mind that how you adjust the intensity will depend on what instrument you're using. If you're on a stationary bike, increase the level on the control panel so it becomes harder to pedal. If you're on an elliptical, boost the incline so it's harder to run, etc.

During week 2, you'll add another exercise set. But the duration of your exertion periods will decrease. After a quick warm up, you'll do a 3-minute exertion period. As you start, notice how fast you're going and how long it takes for your heart and lungs to meet the challenge.

When 3 minutes is up, begin your recovery. If you need to stop, that's okay. Otherwise, your recovery period should be a slow, easy pace. If you're on an elliptical machine for example, you should slow down so you feel like you're walking.

During each recovery period, focus on your heart rate slowing down. If you start to pant, it is okay. Feel your lungs quickly fill up and release. Allow your body to come back to a state of rest. This is strengthening your heart and lungs.

During week 3, you'll start with a quick warm up and then a 2-minute exertion period. But this time, increase the intensity to give yourself more of a challenge.

When 2 minutes is up, begin your recovery. Repeat this process for exercise sets 2 and 3. During week 3, try and repeat this workout 3 or 4 times.

When you hit week 4, you're going to do 3 exercise sets as in week 3. Except this time, you're going to reduce the exertion periods to just 1 minute each, followed by 2-minute recovery periods.

Apply the same principles. Take your warm up at a low to moderate intensity. Then turn up the intensity when you start your first exertion period.

Remember, don't stress yourself. As you decrease the duration, you turn up the intensity. And by decreasing the duration, it will actually feel easier as the 4 weeks progress. Part of the PACE® program is realizing that real progress can be made in just minutes a day.

[Ed. Note: Dr. Sears, Chairman of the Board of Total Health Breakthroughs, has written over 500 articles and seven books in the fields of alternative medicine, anti-aging, and nutritional supplementation.If you want a total picture of the kind of exercise you need for optimum health, strength, and fitness, click here.]

Positive Thinking: The Will Power Myth By Michael Lovitch, M.A.

If you have been fighting the battle of the bulge for any length of time, you have undoubtedly been told to just suck it up and use a little bit of will power. If it were that easy, we wouldn't have an obesity epidemic in this country. In this article, we'll explore why using "will power" is usually so ineffective.

According to a fascinating experiment published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, "Just one act of self-control depletes your ability to have self-control in another unrelated area."¹For example, when subjects were told not to eat chocolates sitting right in front of them, their persistence in puzzle solving deteriorated.

This is not just related to food. When subjects were told to suppress an emotional reaction to a movie, they had problems solving an easy anagram. It turns out that you only have the conscious resources to exhibit willpower on one (or at the most two) fronts at one time. The research is overwhelming in this area.

This is why it is SO HARD to stay disciplined with eating and exercise. This is true for any form of will power, which is why we often don't do the things we tell ourselves we are going to do.

In short, any self-regulatory strategy has costs with respect to depleting a person's general resources for self regulation.²

To make it worse, according to research on information processing, your conscious mind is only able to process approximately 50 bits of information per second, while your unconscious mind processes approximately 11 million bits per second.³ This means your unconscious mind processes information about 220 THOUSAND TIMES FASTER than your conscious mind.

Going back to the willpower research, it makes more sense now. The part of your experience that you are aware of has very limited resources, while the part of you that you are NOT aware of, is extremely powerful.

Further evidence of this comes from the famous study done by Dr. George A. Miller of Princeton University. He proved that the conscious mind can only handle 7 (plus or minus 2) chunks of information at a time.⁴

So you can see what a drain it is trying to use willpower to follow a healthy diet, exercise regularly, etc. on a daily basis. This is also why when people try to quit smoking AND lose weight at the same, they are bound to fail!

Now you understand that the trick is to somehow get the part of you that you are not aware of (the unconscious mind) to make the changes for you.

So how do you get your unconscious mind to naturally desire healthy green foods, water, healthy portions, exercise, etc. without having to think about it consciously?

The trick is a combination of positive association, priming and ritual.

With positive association, think Pavlov and the dog (you remember how Dr. Pavlov was able to get dogs to salivate at the sound of a bell). You need to set up an environment where every time you take an action that leads to your goal, you will reward yourself. Your brain will quickly learn to create this behavior without you having to think about it.

With priming, you need to put in place cues that lead to your desired behaviors. The research is solid that environmental cues determine a great percentage of your behaviors. Every time you see a fast food advertisement, you are receiving a prime (in this case for a behavior you don't want)!

So level the playing field by putting pictures of healthy foods in your home and office. Eat off of smaller plates so you are primed to eat smaller portions. Remove "bad" snacks from your sight as they call for you to eat them! The point is to set up your environment for success.

Finally, use the power of ritual. It takes 21 days to change a habit. Pick one ritual that you can easily do every day that will lead to your weight loss goals. One powerful, easy thing you can do is to change your morning ritual.

Prepare a healthy meal every night before you go to bed, and pick any 20-minute form of exercise you can do in the mornings. When you wake up, do 20 minutes of exercise (even if it is just walking), then eat your healthy meal. This is easy to do and because it is the first thing you do every day, the stresses of the day will not prevent it.

References

1. Source: RE Baumeister et al. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, vol. 74, 1998.
2. Moraven, M., et al. (1998). Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74. 774-789.
3. Zimmerman, M. (1989). In R. F. Schmidt & G. Thews (eds.), Human Physiology, pp. 166-173. Berlin, Germany: Springer-Verlag.
4. Miller, G. A. (1956). Psychological Review, 63, 81-97.

[Ed. Note: Michael Lovitch, M.A., Founder of The Hypnosis Network, is a social science researcher and a connoisseur of effective psychologists.]

Healthy Recipes: Tomato Basil Soup By Laura LaValle, RD, LD

This traditional comfort food is delicious and easy to make. Our version is also wheat- and dairy-free and sure to please everyone.

Serves: 8

Time to Table: 1 hour

Healing Nutrient Spotlight
Excellent source of vitamin A, vitamin C

Ingredients*
4 T. (½ stick) butter
2 T. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup rice flour
3 T. tomato paste
3 T. chopped fresh basil or 1 tsp. dried
2 14.5-ounce cans reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 28-ounce cans whole peeled tomatoes in juice with basil
sea salt
fresh ground pepper

*Select organic ingredients for optimal nutrition.

Preparation
In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat. Add oil and onion and cook until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in flour and tomato paste -- cook 1 minute stirring constantly.

Add basil, broth, and tomatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes. Using an immersion blender, purée soup in pot, leaving a desired amount of the tomatoes in chunks. Or, working in several smaller batches (depending on blender capacity), purée soup in a conventional blender until smooth, and then return to pot. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately, or let cool to room temperature before dividing among airtight containers (leaving 1 inch of space at the top for expansion) and freezing.

Nutrition
160 calories, 4 g protein, 13 g carbohydrates, 10 g fat, 4 g saturated fat, 4 g monounsaturated fat, 1 g polyunsaturated fat, 17 mg cholesterol, 6 g sugar, 3 g fiber, 1225 IU vitamin A, .44 mg niacin, 6 mcg folate, 24 mg vitamin C, 42 mg calcium, 1.47 mg iron, 6 mg magnesium, 100 mg potassium, .27 mcg selenium, 370 mg sodium, .10 mg zinc

[Ed. Note: Laura B. LaValle, RD, LD is the director of dietetics nutrition at LaValle Metabolic Institute. Laura and her husband, Jim LaValle, R.Ph, CCN, ND have developed the powerful and life-changing Metabolic Code Diet – containing step-by-step, easy to follow recommendations for harnessing optimal metabolic energy and turning your body’s chemical make up into a fat-burning furnace.]

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These articles appear courtesy of Early to Rise’s Total Health Breakthroughs [Issue 01-06-09] which offers alternative solutions for mind, body and soul. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.totalhealthbreakthroughs.com/