35 and Stronger than Ever!

I'm very proud of myself this week. Set a new personal strength record with yesterday's leg press set, and wanted to toot my own horn a bit :-)

Equipment: Hammer Strength plate loaded linear leg press machine. Weights include starting weight of 80 lbs (resistance with no plates).

weight x reps
170 x 10
260 x 10
350 x 10
440 x 8
530 x 8
620 x 6
710 x 6
800 x 5
890 x 5
980 x 4
1080 x 4 ***********
530 x 12

Not bad for a guy who only weighs 145! Goes to show that you can do anything.

Long Island's Own Matt Serra: UFC Champion

Congratulations to Matt "The Terror" Serra, on becoming the NEW UFC Welterweight Champion of the World! Matt was a huge underdog going into this fight, but shocked the world with a 1st round TKO of the phenomenal Canadian fighter, Georges St. Pierre.

Yo Adrian, I did it!!!
Matt Serra is a mixed martial arts fighter from right here in Long Island, NY. He's one of the world's top practitioners and teachers of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. In fact, he's the first ever American to earn a black belt from the legendary Gracie Jiu-Jitsu camp.

If you're looking to get in amazing shape and more traditional fitness methods are not your cup of tea, why not try Jiu Jitsu? Matt and his brother Nick are among the premiere trainers in the country, with two training academies here on Long Island. Go to serrajitsu.com to learn more.

Way to go, Matt!

Supercharge Your Body's Ability to Fight the Flu and Other Viruses

A new study finds that anti-viral flu drugs are losing their effectiveness as influenza viruses adapt, and that new strategies need to be discovered in order to combat a possible global flu pandemic. You can read about the story here.

There are significant steps you can take to boost your immune response. I'm not talking about drinking a fizzy herbal beverage when you feel like you might be getting sick. I am talking about significant immune system boosting, at the cellular level, backed by real science. I'm talking about strategies that actually work. If you read my article on Glutathione, you know what I'm talking about.

Why are babies and the elderly most susceptible to deadly viruses? Well, babies do not have a fully developed immune system until somewhere around two years old - but on the bright side, they've got nowhere to go but up! But for those of us in our late twenties and beyond, the effects of age, stressors, free-radical damage, poor nutrition, and lack of exercise all add up to a decline in our bodies immune response.

But it doesn't have to be that way. A Penn State University study done in 2002 showed that some well-nourished older women, age 60 to 80, have immune systems that function at levels close to those of women age 20 to 40 years. Studies also show that proper exercise increases your immune response and protects your body from colds and infections. So there's part of the solution right there. This is common sense that we already know: Eating right and exercising leads to better health.

Avoiding toxins in our environment as well in our diet is also a key to better immune response. Unfortunately, we have little control over the air we breathe and the content of many of the foods available in our local supermarket and restaurants.

We hear lots of talk about antioxidants these days. Seems like every food product out there claims to be "rich" in them. Antioxidants are well-documented to play vital roles in health maintenance and disease prevention. Of the many antioxidants you may have heard of, five are absolutely crucial to our health and longevity. Without the big five, the rest are virtually useless.

Vitamins E and C are two major antioxidants that are abundant in our diets, although research shows that a daily multivitamin really helps even for those who practice healthy eating. But did you know that there are three antioxidants that are absolutely critical to our health that we simply can not get enough of from the foods we eat? They are Coenzyme Q-10, Alpha Lipoic Acid, and most importantly, Glutathione.

Co-enzyme Q10 is not only important in the mitochondria for energy production, it is also needed as part of the intracellular anti-oxidant cascade. It is abundant in the heart, liver and immune cells.

Apha Lipoic Acid helps in recycling the anti-oxidant vitamins, while being a powerful anti-oxidant itself. It is needed for the recycling of glutathione, which is the most important intra-cellular anti-oxidant.

Glutathione is the cell's master anti-oxidant. It is also a very powerful immune-booster and detoxifier, that is abundant in liver and lung cells. It is produced within the cells by ingesting its component amino acids, most importantly bonded cysteine, which is rare in our diets. Because of its crucial role as the main conductor of the intra-cellular anti-oxidant cascade, it is in fact the most important anti-oxidant to fight cancer, as well as combating degenerative chronic diseases and aging. Lymphocytes, cells vital for your immune response, depend on Glutathione for their proper function and replication.

Supplementation to boost these key antioxidants is readily available, and does not require a prescription. Coenzyme Q10 (I use the 'Q-Gel' kind) and Alpha Lipoic Acid (as R-ALA) can be found at your local vitamin or health food stores. Bonded Cysteine for raising Glutathione can be found here. Immunocal is the only supplement clinically proven to raise intracellular Glutathione levels and has a ton of real science to back it.

So to sum it up, here's how to superboost your immune system:
1) eat right
2) exercise
3) avoid toxins as much as possible
4) supplement to ensure high levels of the 5 key antioxidants

Feel free to contact Positive Charge Fitness anytime if you'd like more information on how to incorporate any of these four steps into your lifestyle.