Train Smarter not harder
There are a number of equations people use to work out how many calories, protein, fat and carbohydrate we need to improve performance in sports, build muscle, burn fat or for general good health. However all of these are, at best, vague and account for age, sex and little else. In reality there are so many confounding factors that it is impossible to ascertain how much of each nutrient to eat and at what level to exercise in order to achieve your goals. For this reason James Collier, MuscleTalk's nutrition expert, has always advocated ignoring these equations and merely eating a diet and training in such a way to suit your aims, then monitoring your progress and re-assessing periodically. Therefore, other than luck, trial and error has really been the only way to evaluate you needs.
However, the OriginFit system is now available and takes the guesswork out of nutrition and exercise and may well revolutionise exercise prescription and nutritional advice for sport.
Your body is constantly burning fuel to keep you alive and healthy. This is called homeostasis. At lower intensities of exercise, the type of exercise performed is aerobic (requires oxygen) and fat is burned as part of that fuel. At higher intensities you start to work anaerobically and your body burns less fat and just burns and more from your carbohydrate stores, i.e. blood glucose and liver and muscle glycogen. When these carbohydrate reserves are low, protein stores (muscle) will be converted to glucose for fuel.
The point at which you go from aerobic to anaerobic metabolism is called your anaerobic threshold (AT), and this point varies from person to person and cannot be accurately guessed, it must be scientifically measured. In knowing the exact point at which you start to work anaerobically, you have the vital information you need to intelligently take control of your cardiovascular (CV) exercise and, more importantly, your fat burning.
OriginFit is now available to the general public, for the first time. It was previously only used in human performance labs, for specialist clinical patients, elite athletes and astronaught training. It is a unique piece of equipment (an oxygen consumption or VO2 analyser) that identifies the ideal heart rate range for achieving specific goals and objectives.
The VO2 analyser tells you:
- Your anaerobic threshold
- Your true maximum heart rate which is more reliable than the equation 220 minus your age in years which may be as much as 45 bpm out
- Your VO2 maximum (VO2 max) i.e. the maximum amount of oxygen uptake, which is an indicator of an individuals fitness
- Your resting metabolic rate (RMR) expressed in calories (kcal) burned per day. This is the rate at which you utilize energy lying down at rest
- What percentage of those calories burned come from fat and what percentage from carbohydrate
Benefits for Gym Users
Understand how your body works and receive tailored, bespoke information on your body's very own weight management and performance enhancement zones. OriginFit can revolutionise the way you view your body and your training and evolve your personal training into personalised training.
Weight Management
It's a simple equation that in order to lose weight, calories consumed must be less than calories used. Just as everyone has a different fingerprint, we all have different metabolisms. With OriginFit, you can see your metabolism while you wait and receive your very own personalised report which tells you precisely how many calories you need each day to sustain your body weight. OriginFit helps you take the guesswork out of counting calories and manage your weight effectively.
The one-stop resource for product specific nutrition information. Use it to keep track of what you're eating and what it is doing for you. Use the customisable system to keep on target and meet your goals. Tell the system how many calories a day you want to burn - what you're eating and Origin will keep track for you.
Performance
Whatever your performance goals, you need to know the point at which your training becomes anaerobic. Based on this, you can determine the heart rate range, specific to you that you need to train at in order to achieve aerobic endurance, strength, power or interval performance.
For the first time ever, all exercise enthusiasts have access to the tool which elite athletes have been using for over 20 years. VO2 max testing takes the guesswork out of training, helping you get fitter, stronger and faster by identifying your specific performance training zones.
Competitive Bodybuilding
OriginFit is invaluable to the competitive bodybuilder to remove the guesswork about the grueling pre-contest diet. From the results you can evaluate the ratios of carbohydrate:fat you need to eat in order to lose the fat and get shredded.
OriginFit offer two tests:
- In the resting metabolic rate test you relax, then sit at rest for a period while your oxygen consumption is measured. This will provide you with information about whether you burn predominantly fat or carbohydrate when at rest.
- The exercise test measures oxygen consumption while performing aerobic exercise (e.g. on a treadmill or exercise bike), and from this you can discover the ratios of burning macronutrients at different heart rates.
One hour is allocated for both tests although the test itself takes approximately 15 minutes; the remainder of the time is spent on taking you through the detailed analysis and your bespoke fitness program.
Following your test you will be given a comprehensive report to take away with you, this includes your New Leaf Metabolic Profile, which provides the results from the tests and information about how your exercise and nutrition regimens can be devised to suit you. Each individual receives their own mask for future tests, and their own fully comprehensive 12 week fitness program which is devised from the results of your test.
All individuals have on going support via email or telephone free of charge.
All this is only £130.
For more details about OriginFit and to how you can be tested please contact:
Kevin Reynolds
01708 630 987 or 07747 606056
Email: originhealth@hotmail.com
Website: www.originfit.com
If you have any questions please post on the MuscleTalk forums.
Your OriginFit results can be used for a more accurate tailored nutrition plan.