AITank: Fitness Explained

First of all let me extend my best wishes to fellow contributor Chris aka Dr.Swoll, in his endeavor to complete the MS 150. It truly is worthy cause and your support is indeed very valuable to fund multiple sclerosis research. I started thinking about what it would take to complete 180 miles in the Texas hill country and one thing stood out above all the other things I could think about and that is having a strong mind.

There comes a point when all of us think we can not go anymore. Another step would kill us, turn of the pedal drain what little energy we have left, rep under the weight of a barbell. Well the truth is, you are thinking you can’t so how the hell could you possibly expect go any farther? No matter what you are doing, this point is what many of us like to call the wall.

Time stops, its a surreal moment actually, and you are given a choice. I mean this very literally — your body actually asks your mind if it wants it to go further even though it may hurt, even though our bodies think we are spent and have nothing left to give. Those of us with the courage to take the harder path will say no, I want you to keep on going; whatever happens after that I will deal with when the dust has settled.

I mean it is true isn’t it?

Here at AITank we like free stuff and think you do to. So we have put together a contest for a Everlast weighted jump rope to get you your daily cardio anywhere fix and everywhere. Jump rope on the roof, in an alley, upside down, in space, we do not really care as long as you DO. Jump roping is great for your calves, quads and glutes, the weighted handles will also work your forearms and shoulders; it is like a portable full body workout machine! On top of that you will also get Everlast push up handles so you can mix up your grip to attack your triceps, pecs, or shoulders more intensely. To get started, lets first talk details, what will you get?!

• 8 or 9.5 foot Everlast Weighted Jump rope, your choice
• Push Up handles from Everlast
• A 20 minute cardio burn workout one week before we post it on the front page

What do you have to do? It is easy. One of two things, again your choice!

1. Post a comment on any of our articles and at the end of your comment copy the permalink to this contest article so we know you are entering.
2. Post a comment on this article with an idea for a new article that you would like for us to feature.

How will we choose?

Ever wondered why it is we get tired, sometimes to the point where we can no longer even move our limbs. Muscle fatigue is a topic of intense research and study as biochemists and biophysicists seek to explain what exactly occurs in our bodies that leads to such exhaustion. The 100 year old theory that fatigue is due solely to lactic acid buildup in the muscle cells has recently been contested as two newly discovered factors now are seen as playing roles in muscle exhaustion.Let me start off by saying that this is going to be a technical article, not terribly so, but more than you might be used to. Do not be afraid though, by understanding what is going on in our bodies we can then train in more efficient ways.

The lactate model of muscle fatigue can be summed up by saying that after partial depletion of our bodies glycogen stores, glycogen phosphorylase (the fight-or-flight enzyme) steps in to convert the now depleted glycogen stores into glucose, the basic energy unit for all cellular functions. This process is called glycogenolysis; after this occurs the resulting glucose is then converted to ATP or adenosine triphosphate, the basic energy unit for all metabolic processes. This is as far in detail as we need to go but what is important to know is that this production of ATP via the degradation of glycogen is very inefficient and the faster rate of the oxidation of glucose versus absorption of lactate results in excess lactate production.