Buckle down... this is an interesting one! We've all heard the term glycolysis thrown around when talking about nutritional and or exercise matters, but what really is this mysteriously scientific sounding word? It's actually not that complicated DON'T READ THE PARANTHESIS (OK, if you look deeply and discuss glucose 6-phosphate and hexosemonophosphate shunt, then it's complicated). But, let's keep it simple. The carbohydrates we eat are ultimately broken down to glucose, which hopefully, you are all familiar with. Well, glycolysis is like taking an ax and splitting all those glucose molecules in half.

I promise to only get slightly technical in this piece… here we go! Diabetes is classified as either type I or type II and is a disorder in which the body cannot metabolize glucose. Type I, also known as insulin-dependant diabetes mellitus (IDDM), describes an inability to secrete insulin, due primarily to the failure of the b-cells in the pancreas. We need exogenous insulin in order to avoid life-threatening situations, hence “insulin-dependant.” Type II, non-insulin-dependant diabetes mellitus (NIDDM), is thought to be due to insulin resistance in peripheral tissue. In other words, insulin is produced, but the target cells in the body fail to recognize its presence.

It’s time to turn the complicated information from lasts months piece into something you can use. Let’s do a quick refresher. The three fuel systems we discussed were the phosphagen system, glycolysis (fast and slow) and the oxidative system. Remember that all the fuel systems are active at the same time, but the level of involvement depends on the intensity of the exercise.

My objective with this topic is to raise the level of awareness about metabolic fuel systems (energy sources) used during exercise. How can this information benefit you? It’s important to know which fuel system to tax to better prepare for a particular sport or activity or to burn fat more efficiently. Bear with me; this material is complicated and may require rereading this piece several times before you grasp the information. The first of this...

You’re athletic performance has gone down hill; you’re tired all of the time and common injuries keep reoccurring! Does this sound familiar? One possibility (not to rule out any possible medical problems) is training too hard or too often, better known as overtraining. Before going into a solution, let’s look at some indications of overtraining. The five most outstanding are...

It’s that time again for the almighty new years resolution and because a fitness resolution ranks so highly in our society, it’s only appropriate to discuss what it takes. Many of us have a goal in mind of where we would like to be as far as health and fitness is concerned. A few of us have a plan to achieve this goal, but...

I would like to change gears this month and revisit some important nutrition issues. Dietary fat always seems to be an issue for many people, so let’s talk about fat and some of its important functions in our bodies, specifically, hormones. I will try and cover the few benefits of a high fat diet versus the many benefits of a low to moderately low fat diet as they apply to hormone levels. The two hormones that will focus on...

This seems like an old and tired subject, but I can’t stress enough the importance of strength training for the general public and sport performance training for the athlete. A well-conditioned body is better...

Those of you interested in taking your cardiovascular training to another level and making it more efficient, read on. This method is not for everyone, but it is very effective for those of us with minimal time for exercising as well as on-ice athletes. It’s called interval training. It taxes the correct fuel systems in on-ice athletes (as well as many off-ice athletes) to make it a very effective training tool. There are several different ways to approach this methodology...

I’m constantly being asked questions regarding proper amounts of carbohydrates (CHO) and protein. I’ve already discussed protein in a previous issue, so allow me to move on to CHO’s. There are several approaches to the regulation of CHO metabolism: one is the healthy way, one is the athletic way (CHO loading), and last is the less healthy...