Beyond Boomer Energy

How many of us in the Fitness World have often asked ourselves why we weren’t getting the results we wanted although we were certain we were doing all the right things. If this sounds like you, I can understand, feeling the same way many times. As a Coach and competitive athlete for over thirty years I am always looking for that “edge”. I am continually studying everything in nutrition, strength and psychology (Human Behavior) looking for that edge for myself and my clients. A few years ago as I was working with my Coach on an electrolyte problem I was having, I swerved into an area that grabbed my attention and changed everything. Being Alkaline. With my business focus being challenged populations, primarily those who I call “Beyond Boomers”, those who are beyond age 65, actually the averge age of my clients is 80-85. I needed to have a solid grasp of this concept before I would feel confident to share with these special populations.

My Plan

As a competitive Triathlete I proceeded to get myself alkaline. I used a very simple plan. I drank lots of water. But not just any water. It had to have a PH of at least 8.0. I also had to have a way to measure whether it worked. So being a good scientist I proceeded to eliminate my supplements that I had been using as buffering agents during training and replaced them with the water. It worked! I felt better. I was stronger and I was able to recover quicker from my workouts. I now felt it was time to share my knowledge with my clients.

My Clients

The first goal I have with a new client is to get them to start moving. After that is accomplished and we are establishing a training program or new activity, I then look at their nutrition. Now I need to remind everyone that I work with very challenged individuals, many having suffered very traumatic injuries, brain and spinal cord. For this article I am going to focus on Beyond Boomers which again their average age is 80-85. An important and often overlooked fact with this group is that as we age we lose taste buds. But we don’t lose our taste for sweets, which is why a lot of our Beyond Boomers have a difficult time with nutrition. The food has to taste good. I believed I had found at least a partial solution to the problem. I had a place to start. Plain old water. Let me make a couple points here. First it is very common that our Beyond Boomers are challenged when it comes to hydration. They just need to drink more. Second, remember it has to taste good. The goal was to introduce a more alkaline water. Most water is acidic which means it is less than 7.0 on a scale of 1-14. Although this will help with hydration, it won’t allow for maximum health. This is the goal, maximum health and performance. Just by drinking a more alkaline water anyone could quickly start to feel better and have increased energy, as I experienced in my own training.

The Science

How is it possible to achieve increased energy and strength through alkalinity? Some of you have probably been aware of the importance of keeping our bodies more alkaline, which has to do with your bloods PH. Ideally we need to be at 7.3 on that scale of 1-14 which I previously had mentioned. Your body will do whatever is possible to maintain 7.3 PH. This can weaken you. This is where drinking water that is alkaline is important. A more alkaline water can solve two problems at the same time. Proper hydration and being alkaline. Next, remember how I shared with you about those taste buds. The water must have a good taste to it. So to this point if we can get people to drink quality water we can begin to positively influence their health. If you want you can test your own PH with special strips from the Drugstore or a Health Food store. This gives you a baseline, but the real test is the results.

Benefits of Being Alkaline

Some of the benefits that are gained from drinking alkaline water and being alkaline are

* Increased Energy

* Increased Strength

* Improved Metabolism

* Improved Immunity

* Improved Fat Loss

* Feeling Better

* Improved Bone Density

Although all of these points are huge with Beyond Boomers, it’s important for everyone. Who would not want the benefits presented here?

Results from Being Alkaline

Let’s Look at these benefits and begin to appreciate the results of having more energy, such as providing you more time to do what you enjoy. Just think how important this is for our Beyond Boomers. With improved strength from having less muscle fatigue you are able to exercise more often, at an increased intensity because of being able to increase the time or resistance of your program. This then relates back to being able to do what you enjoy more, such as golf or other activities, at higher levels of performance. Which will then create a positive, emotional relationship to exercise and you will feel better.

Strength

Because I believe that being strong is the most important fitness component for Beyond Boomers. (I really believe it applies to everyone). I want to highlight this benefit. By being strong this population’s entire world opens up. They have no limits and now can find a purpose and go after it with physical certainty. Lastly by creating a healthier body with stronger bones and muscles, people have less health issues, which creates an incredible psychological boost. Being sick or injured is not fun at any age, but is devastating at this age.

Summary

Although many in the mainstream medical community may have problems understanding the concept of alkalinity, there has been good research that we should investigate for ourselves, as I did, by such individuals as Dr. Neil Solomon, Dr. Sang Whang, Dr. Alex Guerrero, top Endurance Coach, Joe Friel and many others. Remember what we in the fitness and athletic community are most concerned with is performance. When you can measure the effects on your own performance as well as others you coach, it becomes an undeniable and powerfull component of your peak performance program.

Arnie Fonseca, Jr
Wellness Coach
Exercise Physiologist
Founder of Your Awesome Life Now.com
Founder of Total Recovery
arnie@yourawesomelifenow.com
602-390-9144

Key factors that weigh in on traumatic brain injury care, rehab
On behalf of Harris, Powers & Cunningham, P.L.L.C. posted in Brain Injury on Monday, January 23, 2012
Here is a startling disconnect, as noted by Geoff Manley, a neurological surgery expert at the University of California, San Francisco, and Lisa McGuire of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Although the estimated costs to the nation associated with traumatic brain injury (TBI) last year were in excess of $76 billion, the total funding that is available to the National Institutes of Health for TBI research in 2012 is a scant $85 million.
That both perplexes and frustrates researchers and medical practitioners who work with brain-injury victims. Manley calls the dearth of available services and lack of funding “a travesty.”
What medical professionals also find disconcerting are the relative hit-or-miss aspects related to treatment. One patient might be lucky enough to receive exemplary intensive trauma care with long-term rehabilitative treatment thereafter, for example, while another patient receives mediocre care initially and little follow-up over time to address issues concerning cognitive abilities, the emotional aspects of severe head trauma, and related issues.
The severe head injury sustained by Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords last year, and information concerning her rehabilitative therapy, has served to focus a great deal of attention on brain-injury symptoms and care. Giffords has both lauded the care she has received and advocated that it should be standard for every person suffering from a brain injury.
Experts say that Gifford’s high level of care owes less to her congressional status than it does to her insurance carrier and coverage through federal workers’ compensation.
Many factors are involved that influence the type of care ultimately received, say experts. The state a person lives in can have an affect (Texas law, for example, requires that rehabilitation be provided for brain-injury victims). Insurance plans vary widely, as does personal advocacy in any given case.
And hospitals matter. Some — if not most — render merely adequate care for head injuries, says Manley, who adds that there are very few facilities that truly stand out for offering exceptional care.
Source: Pro Publica, “Giffords may get better brain-injury care than most of her constituents” Lena Groeger, Jan. 17, 2012
Tags: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, TBI, intensive trauma care, rehabilitative therapy, traumatic brain injury
Comments: Leave a comment

Day 49. Thursday, December 22, 2011. 8am

Day 49

I thought this was going to be my first rest day. But I ended up doing about 75 minutes of intense core training while being certified by Flexor. I actually felt great after the training as my back and hips received a great workout and stretch along with all the muscles associated with my core.

Arnie Fonseca, Jr. is the owner of Neuro Institute, Inc., which is located in Tempe, Arizona. He works as a Traumatic Injury Recovery Coach and loves a fitness challenge!

Day 48. Wednesday. December 21, 2011. 6AM

This week as been all about staying focused. I continue to push hard through most of the workouts. I am feeling lots of energy. My body doesn’t feel tired. So onward and upward towards the goal of “Tough Mudder Arizona” on January 15th.

Day 48
A
14 Step Up /Over 8 inch Steps with Ladder Steps: 1 set with 20 pound DB’s
Kettle Bell Swing to Top: 1 set of 50 reps with 35 pound bell
B
DB Bench: 2 sets of 25 reps with 40 pound DB’s
Standing DB Curls: 2 sets of 20 reps with 25 pound DB’s
C
14 Step Up /Over 8 inch Steps with Ladder Steps: 1 set with 25 pound DB’s
Jump Rope: 400 jumps
D
Seated Rows: 2 sets of 30 reps with 70 pounds
40 Degree DB Raise: 2 sets of 25 reps with 20 pound DB’s
E
14 Step Up /Over 8 inch Steps with Ladder Steps: 1 set with 30 pound DB’s
Supine Ab Bicycle: 1 set of 100 reps
F
DB Bench: 2 sets of 20 reps with 45 pound DB’s
Standing DB Shoulder Raise to Top: 2 sets of 50 reps with 8 pound DB’s
G
14 Step Up /Over 8 inch Steps with Ladder Steps: 1 set with 35 pound DB’s
Vertical Leg Press: 1 set of 50 reps with 250 pounds
H
Tricep Pressdowns: 2 sets of 50 reps with 40 pounds
Side Lateral Shoulder Raise to Top: 2 sets of 50 reps with 5 pound DB’s
I
14 Step Up /Over 8 inch Steps with Ladder Steps: 1 set with 40 pound DB’s
Hula Hoop: 1 set of 300 reps
J
Sit-Up Level 4: 2 sets of 40 reps
Box Squat: 135 pounds for 30/40 reps
Vertical Sit-ups: 2 sets of 15 with 25 pounds

Total Time: 75 minutes

Day 47. Tuesday December 20, 2011. 6am

Cold and rainy! Again! I made the decision to go outside this morning. I got a break and the weather held. I was able to get in a nice short run. I felt good during the run. Took on enough hills to make the run pretty challenging.

Day 47.

Street Run: 4.40 miles in 40 minutes for an average of 6.6 mph with some good hills.

Total time: 55 minutes. This included warm-up, cool down and good stretch.

Arnie Fonseca, Jr. is the owner of Neuro Institute, Inc., which is located in Tempe, Arizona. He works as a Traumatic Injury Recovery Coach and loves a fitness challenge!