YW_Issue_94_July-18_68 pages

exercise
44 wellness
Ways To Improve Fitness
Among The Fittest
Having protein regularly
throughout the day (proteinpacing)
combined with a multidimensional
exercise regimen
improves fitness among the
fittest, say exercise scientists
from Skidmore College, USA. The
exercise regimen has to include
resistance exercise, interval sprint
exercise, stretching and endurance
exercise. The researchers, in search
of the most effective lifestyle
strategies to improve health and
physical performance, have found
that this routine, when followed
for 12 weeks or more, shows
improved fitness, decreased total
and abdominal fat, increased lean
body mass, and optimal metabolic
and heart health in people.
To make the diet and exercise
regimen easy for the public to
remember, exercise scientist Paul
Arciero has coined the acronym,
‘PRISE’: P stands for proteinpacing,
R stands for resistance, I
stands for interval, the S stands
for stretching, and the E stands for
endurance.
“Whether your goal is to
improve fitness or heart health,
the quality of your diet and a
multi-dimensional exercise training
regimen (PRISE) can make all the
difference, says Arciero. “It’s not
about simply eating less calories
and doing more exercise. It’s
about eating the right foods at
the right time and incorporating a
combination of exercises that most
effectively promotes health and
fitness.”
The researchers enlisted 30
women and 20 men between the
ages of 30 and 65 who could
clearly be described as being
physically fit.
Dividing the subjects randomly
into two groups, the scientists
conducted a 12-week trial in
which all subjects consumed the
same amount of calories and
performed the identical exercise
routine, but their diet quality
differed. One group consumed
commonly-recommended protein
and fitness/sport nutrition
products and the second group
consumed a slightly increased
protein intake and antioxidantrich
supplements.
When the trial ended, the
researchers found that although
both groups improved on nearly
every measure, those who had
followed the protein-pacing and
antioxidant-rich diet showed
the greatest improvements in
fitness, including upper body
muscular endurance and power,
core strength, and blood vessel
health (reduced artery stiffness)
among female participants; and
upper and lower body muscular
strength and power, aerobic
power, and lower back flexibility
among male participants. They
observed that the PRISE protocol
of protein-pacing with either whole
food sources or whey protein
supplementation, were equally
effective at improving physical
fitness, as well as decreasing
total, abdominal and visceral fat,
increasing the proportion of lean
muscle mass and significantly
reducing blood glucose, insulin and
cholesterol levels.
Overall, the study encourages
rethinking of current assumptions
about diet and exercise, which
place too much focus on the
quantity of calories eaten and
amount of exercise people do,
rather than the quality of the food
eaten and the exercise.
yourwellness.com • Volume VII • Issue II • July 2018