The BluePrint Power Hour

[00:09:28]   What is the optimal way to use caffeine for performance enhancement and to improve workouts?

• Different people metabolize different dosages in different ways.
• Michael Colgan answered this question best 30 years ago in his book, Optimum Sports Nutrition.
  • Use it infrequently.
  • If it is reserved for your toughest and most demanding workouts or competitions, even a moderate dose of caffeine is ergogenic gold.

[00:19:05]   Could I get better body composition jumping on a mini trampoline rather than running and sprinting?

• If you are wrecking your joints or your soft tissues doing sprinting or running, doing something is a lot better than doing nothing.
• Short intense sprints on a stationary bike have been proven to target specifically visceral fat.

[00:24:23]   What is the ideal training volume? How much is right, and how much is too much?

• Mezzo and endomorph physiques, or some variation thereof, can usually handle massive amounts of volume frequently. It does however usually take them some time to build up to those kinds of training loads.
• There is a big difference for ectomorphs in the number of volumes they can tolerate.
• For most people to grow optimally, a certain amount of mechanical work or volume is necessary. Studies show that multiple set protocols are better for both strength and muscle growth than just one.
• The classic “five sets of five reps” protocol by Bill Stars, is demanding enough to stimulate growth yet measured enough to be sustained for long periods of time.

[00:39:47] Is there anything I can take to ward off familial heart disease?

• Fundamentally – exercise, diet, sleep, and repeat.
• A calcium screen is a test wherein it looks for blockages., Unlike an EKG, it looks for calcification of the arteries and assigns a score to the degree of those blockages and it indicates where they are.
• As far as supplements go, antioxidants are at the top of the list as they will be very useful in the combatting of oxidized cholesterol:
  • Potent antioxidant by names of Carbon 60 (go to shrnetwork.biz/revive)
  • Curcumin
  • Ginger
  • Vitamin K2
  • Vitamin D 3
  • Magnesium glycinate, aspirate, picolinate or orotate
  • Zinc Picolinate
  • Copper
  • 400 milligrams a day of EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate) from green tea extract
  • 2 baby aspirin before bed, White Willow bark is a natural equivalent
  • Astaxanthin
  • ALA (alpha lipoic)
  • Vitamin C
  • Vitamin E
  • Quercetin
  • Melatonin
  • Trimethylglycine

[00:49:47]   Blueprint Tip of the Day – The Gift of Unhappiness

• It’s that time of the year where the new year's resolution crew starts dropping like flies.
• Most people are full of good intentions, and they're spurred on by the promise of that miracle body, but they come to a frightening realization that achieving that in 30,60 or 90 days is unrealistic.
• They soon get disillusioned and dejected and throw in the towel.
• Truth is, as most of the general population knows, there is no quick fix.
• Years of hard work and dedication is always part of the deal.
• Being unhappy with yourself and how you look can be a real motivator, harness it.
• There is a wonderful inverse relationship between that unhappiness and how hard you're willing to work to rectify it, something far more powerful than any stimulant supplement or steroid.
• You need to use that unhappiness to fuel the hard work necessary to change and keep doing it relentlessly and consistently.

Miscellaneous:

[00:43:00]   Coach Rob tells a very interesting story about his personal heart health, lipid profile and Statins.

[00:52:50]   Carl shares a compelling view on insulin resistance.

[00:00:00]   Carl paints a colorful and vivid picture about self-loathing.