WHAT  TYPE  of  BODYBUILDING  TRAINING  INFORMATION  YOU  WILL  FIND  on  THIS  WEBPAGE

I trust, regardless of how you came to visit this page – by referral, web search engine link, or accident – that you understand, at least by the header above, whatever I do and with whomever I consult, my approach, when aiding anybody in reaching their goals, helping and supporting athletes in sundry ways, and when providing solutions for training challenges and lifestyle issues, my education, experience, and professional practice combine in a way that renders concentration solely on what is natural, safe, good, and healthy.  As a doctor of natural health with a second doctorate in naturopathy, it is usually pretty obvious to visitors here that I favor considering, employing, exploring, and exhausting all natural options first, before ever moving in the direction mapped out by the Western conventional medicine model.  As long as you understand this fact, we will do fine and you should really find the information presented hereinafter (and elsewhere on this website, for that matter) both interesting and informative.  When it comes to the support I provide for bodybuilding training, it all focuses on exactly what “natural bodybuilding” means:  no steroids, no drugs, and no so-called “light” muscle enhancers.

Whether you are interested in, investigating, or already in the sport as an amateur or professional, man or woman, and are bulking up or already bulked up to be showcased; or you are just an exercise, weightlifting, or bodybuilding sport enthusiast; I understand that the goal of the serious bodybuilder and gym-goer involves outward appearance to reflect his or her level of achievement and success.  Notwithstanding, my job, as a natural health, wellness practitioner, is similar to that of a coach.  I am in the picture to provide direct support, guidance, and educational material to help you assure what looks good on the outside of your body, in the form of muscle and skin, is backed up on the inside by an uncontaminated, physically powerful, healthy bloodstream and vigorous tissue environment.  Pharmaceutical agents (drugs) in general and synthetic fat-soluble organic compounds (steroids) in particular are not a solution, as far as this doctor of natural health is concerned, and I will never prescribe any.

I have never gone the mainstream path in medicine and I will not voluntarily ever go there. Thus, if you are seeking prescriptions for drugs, or want training advice on anything involving something unnatural, unhealthy, or illegal, then, you are reading the wrong web-

page. If you want drugs, visit a medical doctor. I am not a medical doctor. I am not a prescriber of drugs.  This webpage is exclusively about a healthy training regimen where the muscles of the human body are developed the natural way and the rest of the body is respected for its value, uniqueness, and needs.  It is all about natural health options and natural bodybuilding practices.

Natural bodybuilding, according to my view, is just that and should remain just that – all natural.  It is just a sensible combination of plain, good exercise, pure water, as healthy a diet as possible, and select, high-quality nutritional supplementation if and when necessary; all accompanied by a natural, safe, noninvasive monitoring plan, using advanced computer technology, human observational skills, and pencils and paper (for recordkeeping).  The only strategy I endorse, encourage, and maintain is constructed of five (5) basic pieces and several essential elements.  The five basic pieces are:  weight training; good nutrition; internal cleansing; rest; and consistent in vivo, noninvasive, safe, affordable, and speedy monitoring of all training, diet, cleansing, and resting applications.  These basics and the essential elements to successful bodybuilding training are discussed in more detail below.

MUSCLE  TRAUMA  and  ANABOLISM

Wellness practitioners believe that resistance weight training causes muscle trauma.  Further, natural health providers posit that one of the manifesting symptoms of that trauma is muscle soreness (known in the world of bodybuilding as DOMS, or Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness).  Accordingly, the muscle needs rest and repair.  During sleep (mostly), the body goes to work repairing the traumatized muscles and anabolism (muscle growth) occurs as a product of the repair and rebuilding processes.

Therefore, all natural bodybuilding training must be designed to safely force the muscle trauma, limit the symptoms of the trauma, eliminate as many as possible adverse effects of the trauma, and provide the body with all of what is needed during the repair and rebuilding processes that occur during sleep.  For this cause, natural bodybuilding training experts and I agree on the basic regimen rules.  There are six (6) basic rules that the experts encourage you to follow during the course of any natural bodybuilding program. 

Six Basic Rules for Any Natural Bodybuilding Program

(1)
Training sessions should be relatively short in duration (about sixty [60] minutes maximum in length).  This is because hormone levels for muscle building and growth begin to drop, after an hour or so of intense workout.  However, everybody is different; and some bodybuilders do not realize a significant drop for the first hour at all, while others experience hormone imbalances in as few as twenty minutes.  Therefore, one data group monitored under the Wellness Body Scan system is a hormone analysis panel -- which is the system I employ for noninvasive, in vivo monitoring of bodybuilding training regimens and all other sports training programs (as well as conventional medical therapies, protocols, and even prescribed drugs {checking for possible side effects}).  The data extrapolations I read allow for interpretation of what the consequences of your workout are to the functional status of your endocrine system (as well as the endocrine glands and hormones they secrete).

(2) 
Resting in between exercise sets should be minimized (allowing only from 60 to 90 seconds).  This is for cardiovascular system support and for maximum voluminosity of the muscles to take place.

(3) 
Exercise sets should be from 6 to 15 cycles for each.  This helps maximize the level of growth hormone, increases blood circulation, and promotes the timely delivery of nutrients to your tissues.

(4) 
Training should be progressive, systematic, and consistent (more information on progressive training and how we can monitor the effects of your training program appear below).   

(5) 
Create and follow a well-balanced diet (more information on diet and how we can monitor the effects of your menu plans appear below) and drink a sufficient amount of water every day (more information on water and how we can monitor the effects of your water consumption appear below). 

(6) 
Non-stressful days and quality sleep at night.  On one hand, stress, although unavoidable in real life to some degree, when experienced at high levels is counterproductive to your current state of health and harmful to your long-term wellbeing possibilities.   On the other hand, quality sleep is very much needed, in order for you to achieve your muscle-bulking goals.  Below, you will find more information and discussion regarding stress, sleep, and how we can monitor the effects of your lifestyle and sleep.

 technology -- The ES Teck Complex.

Dr. Speroni is the Department Head of Bioenergetic Medicine at the College of International Holistic Studies, and has more than 33 years of private practice experience as a Floridian practitioner in complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).

Today, 21^st Century technology used as part of the Wellness Body Scan System makes it possible to study the functional status of your internal organs and do so, quickly (in less than 10 minutes), safely, painlessly, noninvasively, accurately (the equipment is extremely sensitive and rivals or exceeds accuracy ratings of most other medical bioimpedence apparatuses), and affordably. 
    

Earlier, I spoke about how too many bodybuilders and weight trainers often look at the diet and routines, while they de-emphasize other extremely important elements to successful bodybuilding; and in the above, previous two paragraphs, I highlighted the facts about how sports trainers and rehabilitation therapists may use the EIS to immediately observe the results of bodybuilding training, select exercises, conditioning techniques upon athletes, as well as a host of physiological parameters and the functional statuses of internal organs.  Emphasis on diet, bodybuilding, weight gain, and exercise routines may too often be over-emphasized because of how easy it is to visually monitor a program that combines such elements and also eye the progress made when such are followed.  Further, these elements are easy to teach, institute, and manage; they also do not vary widely with gender.   Nevertheless,  the biochemical  and psychophysiological pro-

v  decrease in motor coordination

v  disorientation

v  dizziness

v  drowsiness

v  headaches

v  impaired judgment

v  inattentiveness

v  insomnia

v  lethargy

v  memory loss

v  nausea

v  poor judgment

v  shortness of breath (mild)

v  stress

The Wellness Body Scan study includes data extrapolation returns with values not only at the tissue level but also deep within the internal cellular level and genes:

Ø  Oxidative stress factors

o   Malondialdehyde (MDA)

o   Mitochondrial superoxide dismutase (SOD2)

o   Glutathione reductase
 

Ø  Autonomic Nervous System status

o   Sympathetic Nervous System dominance

o   Parasympathetic Nervous System dominance
 

Ø  Heart Rate Variability

o   R – R interval (respiratory rate)

o   N –N interval (heart rhythm stability)

o   Psycho-emotional tension

o   Stress index (coronary contraction)
 

Ø  Tissue Electrolyte indicators

o   Sodium (Na+)

o   Potassium (K+)

o   Chloride (Cl-)

o   Phosphate

o   Calcium (Ca++)

o   Magnesium
 

Ø  Total Body Water
 

Ø  Organ-by-organ

o   interstitial pH (acid/base balance) [truest possible reading]

o   oxygen uptake

o   sodium/potassium/ATPase pump

o   microcirculation

o   bioelectromagnetic conduction
 

Ø  Respiratory tissue

o   Bronchi conductivity

o   Lung conductivity

o   PaCO₂ (partial pressure of carbon dioxide in the arterial blood)

o   PaO₂ (partial pressure of oxygen in the arterial blood)

o   Respiratory rate
 

Ø  Hypoxia
 

Ø  Lactic acid
 

Ø  ATP production

Aerobic exercises increase oxygen and blood circulation in the body, because they all raise the metabolic rate and tone the muscles.  Aerobic exercises center around endurance activities and include such actions as:  aerobic classes, biking, cross-country skiing, cycling, dancing, fartlek training, hiking, jogging, jumping rope, rebounding, running, swimming, spinning on a stationary cycle or long-distance cycling, and walking.

Anaerobic exercise benefits include such things as decreased blood sugar levels, heightened metabolism, looking healthy and strong, improved energy levels, and increased cell vitality.  Anaerobic exercise involves muscular effort -- usually is short in duration and high in intensity followed by periods of rest -- and include such activities as:  bodybuilding pull-ups, downhill skiing, push-ups, racquetball, rowing, sit-ups, sprinting, squats, tug of war, weightlifting, and most other physical exercises that last for less than 2 minutes.

Digestive System Monitoring
 
Furthermore, the condition of the bowel in and of itself must remain a priority for monitoring to the bodybuilder.  Your digestive system is your lifeline to good health and key to building and maintaining strong, big muscles!  It is a well known fact that an unhealthy digestive system inundated with mucus, toxins, and impacted waste can impede weight gain and muscle growth, and it can trigger a large amount of health issues such as:  backaches; bad breath; bloating; colds (seemingly seasonal); constipation; diarrhea; diminished appetite; diminished immunity; headaches; lack of energy; mood swings; muscle soreness; weight problems.

When the bowel is failing to optimally function, we can introduce an intestinal cleansing agent filled with oxygen that will be safely and continuously delivered throughout the entire intestinal tract for many hours per dosage, repeatedly over a course of several days; and we can monitor the progress of bowel detoxification under the Wellness Body Scan system (see green box on right).  By  virtue of the scanning technology, we are also able to monitor the internal development and elastic tension of muscle.
 

Bowel Transit Time Monitoring
 
New to bodybuilding training and wellness monitoring practices is the simple process of bowel transit time monitoring.  This is something that can be introduced at any level of training and is valuable for every wannabe, newbie, active, and has-been at anytime.  Monitoring of bowel transit time is a proactive, self-performed measure bodybuilders can include in their training support regimen.  Detailed instructions are often included during a Wellness Body Scan session.

Ø  Functional Status of the Liver

o   Liver tissue oxygen uptake

o   Liver conductivity

Ø  Functional Status of the Gallbladder

o   Gallbladder tissue oxygen uptake

o   Gallbladder conductivity

Ø  Functional Status of the Pancreas

o   Pancreas tissue oxygen uptake

o   Pancreas conductivity

Ø  Functional Status of the Stomach

o   Stomach tissue oxygen uptake

o   Stomach conductivity

Ø  Functional Status of the Intestines

o   Ascending large intestine tissue oxygen uptake

o   Ascending large intestine conductivity

o   Descending large intestine tissue oxygen uptake

o   Descending large intestine conductivity

Ø  Transit and Secretions Statuses

o   Transit indicators

o   Secretion indicators

o   Digestion

o   Gastric secretions

o   Peristalsis

Ø  Muscle Tone

o  Elastic tension of internal muscles (tonus)

Fats Monitoring

Another benefit of in vivo interstitial fluid scan results is data extrapolations related to body lipids (fats) and estimations regarding the stiffness of your arteries.  Cholesterol indicators include scan measurements of the liver and gallbladder; triglyceride indicators are also reflected in the data.  Additionally, how well your body is aging on the inside may be directly connected to how well your arteries are staying elastic and functioning.  For this cause, interstitial fluid scan data results include Augmentation Index estimations.
 

Sugar Monitoring

The importance of bodybuilder's making sure they are not over-stressing their systems with simple carbohydrates and sugars cannot be over-emphasized enough.  They over-tax the immune system, the pancreas, and liver.  They also add fat pounds to the total body weight. Moreover, they cause counterproductive cycles of sugar highs and lows.  Therefore, beyond just creating a meal plan that supports the consumption of few simple sugars and useless carbohydrates, noninvasive interstitial fluid studies should be conducted on a regular frequency, in order to monitor the effects of bodybuilding training on the athlete's autonomic nervous system and glycemia.
 

Immune System Monitoring
 
With 70% to 80% of the human immune system being located in the gut and constant eating of large meals, the immune system is always at risk for bodybuilders.  Therefore, building into the bodybuilder's daily diet a goodly sum of immune system boosting foods and nutritional supplements is very important.

Moreover, undergoing regular interstitial fluid scans to monitor the effects of exercise and bodybuilding routines on your immune system, is a new standard of proactive self-care and self-management for the bodybuilding industry.  Paramount in your goal of long-term wellbeing is assuring you have a powerful, active, and stable immune system  -- 

Ø  Genitourinary

o   Bladder conductivity

o   Bladder tissue oxygen uptake

o   Tissue hydrogen ions (H+)

o   Tissue Potassium

o   Prostate tissue oxygen update (males)

o   Prostate conductivity (males)

o   PSA (estimate for males)

o   Uterus conductivity (females)

o   Uterus tissue oxygen uptake (females)

o   Renin secretion (estimate)

o   Total Body Water
 

Ø  Immune system

o   Thymus functional status
 

Ø  Tissue Acid/Base Balance
 

Ø  Lipid Balance

o   Cholesterol indicators

o   Liver tissue oxygen uptake

o   Gallbladder tissue oxygen uptake

o   Augmentation Index (arterial stiffness)

o   Triglycerides indicators

o   Pancreas tissue oxygen uptake

o   Fat mass
 

Ø  Glucose analysis

o   Insulin resistance

o   Autonomic nervous system and glycemia

o   Tissue sodium
 

Ø  Leptin resistance
 

Ø  Insulin resistance

At the top of the list of essential elements to successful bodybuilding, along with oxygen, water, and diet, is detoxification.  Unfortunately, since the birth of modern bodybuilding training, in virtually all professional, amateur, and personal bodybuilding regimens, the idea of and support for detoxification has been sadly omitted.  Now it is back and deemed an intricate part of the Wellness Body Scan system.

Toxicity is of greater concern in the twenty-first century than ever before.  Toxins are all around us today like never before.  Hundreds upon hundreds of new and stronger chemicals enter our local environments, annually; we are still dealing with air and water pollution; plus, radiation and nuclear power contamination remain widespread.  Whether accidentally or deliberately, we frequently ingest new chemicals into our bodies through the foods we eat and thus compound the dilemma with pharmaceutical agents (prescribed and over-the-counter), sugar, various stimulants, refined foods, and nutrition-void food products.  Consequently, the incidence of numerous, toxic diseases increased as well since the 1940s. 

Bodybuilders are not supernaturally protected from the havoc of toxicity, just because of their love for bulking up and looking strong.  Ironically, toxins as tiny as small molecules and measured in trillionths of parts per liter, when in the body, can bring champion weightlifters and champion bodybuilders to their knees or even cause premature death, with no effort and in very short time.  Hence, the concept of toxicity is no laughing matter.  Further, the need for detoxification stands out with great import, especially since bodybuilders tend to consumer excess quantities of foods filled with toxins.

This fact is changing, however.  With the advent of the Wellness Body Scan system and worldwide distribution of newly-invented medical device technology (the EIS), since 2002, things are really improving in this area of much-needed education.  Moreover, ever since 2007, wellness practitioners all around the globe have had at their disposal the most advanced version of an electronically-conducted, computer-powered, decade-assembled and packed database, surveying tool – CAM Survey Pro (now accessible online) – which is part of the Wellness Body Scan system.  Although this tool may be simply administered and takes less than one hour to complete a fully comprehensive study, its complexity and accuracy should never be underestimated.  It is by virtue of this tool’s data extrapolations that wellness practitioners are able to readily identify the possibility of gross toxicity in general and mycotoxicosis in particular.

Mycotoxicosis is not a medical issue related exclusively to mushrooms. Mycotoxicosis is systemic poisoning caused by toxic by-products produced by fungal organisms. It results from the ingestion of moldy feeds or as toxins produced directly by fungi that parasitize living plants externally or live in the tissues of  the  plants  as  endophytes.²   Mycotoxins are poisonous substances

(as far as we are concerned here).  When it comes to the matter of poisonous (toxic) by-products, there are no good-for-you or friendly fungi -- none -- zero -- nada!  They all, every one of them, produce substances that are toxic to human kind.

Mycotoxins are not so easily circumvented by just trying to stay away from mushrooms and fungus.  The dilemma gets more complex when we understand how far-reaching the domain of fungi is.  Take the discovery promulgated by the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology in 2003:  Corn is "universally contaminated" with fumonisin and other fungal toxins such as aflatoxin, zearalenone, and ochratoxin.³  Fumonisin and aflatoxin are well-known for their cancer-causing effects.  Zearalenone and ochratoxin cause estrogenic and kidney-related problems, respectively. 

Furthermore, just as corn is universally contaminated with mycotoxins, our food supply seems to be universally contaminated with corn.  Corn is in more than 80% of the food products found at the average grocery store.  This means corn is something, in the Western World, that is very difficult to altogether avoid.

Unfortunately, fungus is ubiquitous.  It is inside you.  It is in the air we breathe.  It is one the plants we eat.  It is part of the foods we consume.  It is everywhere.  “The common toxic fungi on standing crops are Alternaria, Claviceps, Fusarium, Helminthosporium and Rhizopus spp.  On stored feeds the common ones are Aspergillus, Fusarium and Penicillium.  There are a number of identified specific poisonous fungi, but it is probable that there are a great number of fungal toxic incidents that go unnoticed.  Food animals are frequently exposed to fungi on moldy stored food and also on standing plants and on the litter lying at the ground surface in a pasture.  See also facial eczema, ryegrass staggers, lupinus poisoning, stachybotryotoxicosis.”²    

Since you cannot absolutely avoid exposure to fungi in one form or another, you cannot absolutely avoid having to battle mycotoxins.  Whereas bodybuilders breathe, drink, and eat much more than the average person, it is quite easy to understand why they are at a heightened risk for the ailments, diseases, and problems specifically related to mycotoxins and a wide-variety of toxicity caused from other sources.  If left unnoticed and allowed to progenerate, fungus will migrate throughout a body.  Once it establishes a systemic infection, the bodybuilder, regardless of how strong the muscles appear, regardless of how ideal a diet is followed, and regardless of what awesome nutritional supplements are taken, she or he will lose the war and inevitably fall to the microscopic invaders.
 

Individuals
 
Right now -- not later -- not tomorrow -- not next week -- not when you get the time -- now, right now -- regardless of whether you are a wannabe, newbie, active, has-been, retired, amateur, or professional bodybuilder, it is time to set up your appointment for a Wellness Body Scan study!  Do not delay.   Contact your wellness practitioner immediately (click here). 

Commercial Establishments

If you are a member of a participating training facility, gym, or nutritional supply center, you may be able to take advantage of specially priced packages available to bodybuilders.  Act right now.

The list of essential elements to successful bodybuilding training does not end with a goal of cleansing your body from poisonous mycotoxins and other deadly, toxic substances.  No -- not by a long shot.  After all the work involved in breathing properly, drinking the right type and amounts of water every day, eating massive amounts of food several times per day, and cleansing your gut and internal organs from toxic buildups, you need some rest -- get some sleep.

Do not set that alarm clock.  Close the curtains and keep the sunrays out.  Unplug the phone from the wall and shut off your cell phone.  Put the "Do Not Disturb" sign out.   You  need  to get all the sleep you can and

In most states, a blood alcohol content of 0.05 or above is considered driving under the influence of an intoxicating agent.  With that in mind, I bring to your attention the result of a study conducted and published by the Journal of Applied Sports Science Research⁴, that showed staying awake for 24 consecutive hours has the same physical effect as drinking your way to a blood alcohol content of 0.096% -- almost double the legal driving limit in most states of the USA.  After 24 consecutive waking hours, judgment becomes impaired, muscular coordination diminishes, response time to stimuli increases, vision becomes poorer, hormone imbalances widen, and the synchronization among body systems weakens.

Thus, one who has a period of prolonged lack of sleep should never visit the gym for a workout – just as one would not want to work out after a drinking party. Bodybuilding training and long periods without sleep in between workout sessions do not mix!  Such a combination could result in an injury.
 

What to do to Get a Good Night’s Sleep

Avoid exercising within three (3) hours of retiring to bed

Avoid simple carbohydrates within four (4) hours of retiring to bed

Avoid caffeine in all forms within five (5) hours of retiring to bed:  supplements, food products, and caffeinated drinks

Avoid stressful (emotional and physical) tasks within three (3) hours of retiring to bed

Avoid napping

Adopt a relaxing bedtime ritual and stick with it (watch a movie, read a book, answer your e-mails)

Maintain hormonal balance (monitor regularly)

Maintain neurotransmitter balance (monitor regularly)

1.  Goulet, Brian. "Confessions of a Herbalist: The Magic of Aerobic Oxygen", Focus on Nutrition - The Canadian Journal of Health & Nutrition. (Issue No. 21), Burmaby, BC, 1989.ademic Press, New York, 1977.

2.  Saunders Comprehensive Veteri, 3rd edition. © 2007 Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved.

3.  Council for Agricultural Science and Technology. Mycotoxins: Risks in Plant, Animal and Human Systems. Task Force Report No. 139. Ames, IA. Jan 2003.

4.  Journal of Applied Sports Science Research, Vol. 5 No.4, p. 219.

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