You don’t need to be a pro athlete... to stay fit!

To keep your body “strong, fit and agile” you must exercise on a regular, planned basis. A good exercise workout should not only tone and strengthen all of the body’s major muscles, but should include enough aerobic activity to get your heart rate up and increase the capacity and strength of your cardiovascular system. Simply walking or doing exercises to a good aerobics video for 30 minutes, 4 to 6 times per week, will substantially increase your overall fitness level. Start slow but with a determination to keep it up for the rest of your life. The health benefits will astonish you and give you great pleasure... and it will lengthen your life!
Once you are fit, perhaps the challenge of more vigorous physical pursuits will beckon. Working out regularly with weights will strengthen muscles and give them definition. (And as a bonus... building lean muscle mass helps you burn excess fat deposits.) Soon, you may want to participate in a “tennis ladder” at the local recreation center. Perhaps you’ll join a hiking club. Or maybe... just maybe... you’ll decide to run a marathon! Once your body is “strong, fit and agile,” almost anything is possible!






You’re never too old to start!








When it comes to getting as fit as you can, age isn’t a factor. Even if you are so stiff and out of shape that you can’t even touch your knees, let alone your toes, you can gradually increase your flexibility and become fluid and graceful once again. What??? You can’t see your feet, even when you’re leaning forward because your stomach gets in the way? Following the Shaklee Cinch Plan while you embark upon a simple walking program will shrink that stomach faster than almost anything else. If you are only able to walk half a block on your first try, just attempt to walk a little farther each day. Do only what you can without total exhaustion... but do it!






Nutrition is critical to fitness


To give you the energy for regular exercise, the materials to build strong, healthy cells, and the endurance to stay with your program, you need to feed your body correctly. Your basic diet should be low in fat and cholesterol, but rich in raw fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds, plenty of calcium-rich foods, and lots of water. Once you begin a more rigorous exercise program, however, there are other specific factors to take into consideration. What foods should you eat for maximum endurance? Is “carbo-loading” important before a big event? What is strategic hydration? How can you build muscle mass without dangerous steroids? How much protein is enough? What vitamins and minerals does your body need for maximum athletic performance?




Carbohydrates: The athlete’s “make-or-break” nutrient


It can’t be stated more simply: If you care about your athletic performance, you’ll eat more carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are the most important fuel for your working muscles.Your muscles are fueled by three nutrients: carbohydrates, fats, and protein. The harder you exercise, the more your body relies on carbohydrates for fuel. Why? Carbohydrates need far less oxygen to provide fuel than fat. That’s why when you’re resting and have plenty of oxygen, fat does a fine job of supplying energy. But when you exercise and your oxygen supply becomes limited, you rely more and more on carbohydrates for energy.
Although fat stores are virtually unlimited, fat needs carbohydrates to burn. Carbohydrates “prime” the metabolic machinery that turns fat into muscle fuel. When you run low on carbohydrates, the conversion of fat to muscle is slower. This makes your carbohydrate supply all the more important. Protein is also a source of muscle fuel, but your body knows that protein has another important job... it makes muscles. Perhaps for this reason, the body uses it much less often for energy than it does fat or carbohydrates. Typically only 5% of calories burned during exercise come from protein.




Fluids: Strategic hydration greatly increases endurance


Research has uncovered an amazing endurance aid that only a small number of athletes use competitively. It’s called strategic hydration. When manipulated correctly, it can literally control the amount of blood your heart has to pump, your heart rate, and your body temperature. And for an athlete, that can mean more energy and more stamina.




What happens when you exercise?





If you exercise long enough, hard enough, or in weather hot enough, your body builds up heat that needs to be released. This heat is released in three ways:



1) by breathing out;


2) by the skin’s exposure to cool air; and


3) by sweating.



When you sweat your body “borrows” the extra fluid you need to cool down from the blood, causing dehydration. While this allows your body to cool, it also means you have less blood flowing to the heart. Thus, the heart pumps harder and faster to get oxygen and nutrient-rich blood to your muscles. For the athlete, that means less energy for the finish line sprint.The key to preventing dehydration is strategic hydration. Water was once considered the ideal hydrator, but no more. Today, clinical tests show that sports drinks containing water, carbohydrates and electrolytes, hydrate as well as water and provide other critical benefits. They balance your thirst level with your actual fluid needs, are absorbed as fast as water, provide carbohydrates for muscle fuel, and offer taste appeal. Consuming a well-balanced sports rehydration drink such as Shaklee Performance before, during and after vigorous exercise will help you gain maximum benefit from any workout.

Protein:

It’s so important Proteins are some of the most useful compounds you have in your body. Not only do they make up the muscles that are responsible for some 15% of your weight, they also direct a multitude of biochemical reactions within you.Proteins in the body are made from different combinations of 20 amino acids. Your body constantly breaks down dietary protein, turns it into amino acids, and recombines these amino acids to synthesize new proteins... protein in your blood, protein in your hair and fingernails, and of course, protein in your muscle tissue.



Essential vs. nonessential

If the 20 amino acids your body uses to make protein, there are 11 that your body can make (called nonessential), and 9 (called essential) that you have to get from your diet because your body cannot make them. To build or rebuild muscle, the 9 essential ones... those you get only from what you eat... must be present in your body all at the same time. If any one is missing, then the building of muscle is hindered.


Protein as a fuel source


It’s probably because protein has so many other important jobs that it’s rarely used by your body as a fuel source. Carbohydrates and fat contribute far more to the body’s fuel supply than protein. Protein is only tapped as a fuel source as you get closer and closer to running out of carbohydrate muscle fuel. In that circumstance, your body will use more and more protein to compensate for your depleted carbohydrate stores. But before your body can use protein as an energy or fuel source, it must first be broken down into a carbohydrate, specifically glucose.Unlike extra fat, which just sits in various fat storage compartments throughout your body, and carbohydrate, which remains quietly stored as glycogen in the liver and muscles until needed, protein is stored as muscle, and muscle is functional. Your muscles are your tools for moving, lifting, sprinting, and jumping. If you’re burning or breaking down the protein in muscle to be used as a significant source of fuel, you simply won’t be as strong because you’ve lost that portion of your muscle.


For better workouts, faster recovery


Research conducted at a leading university’s sports laboratories showed that consuming Shaklee Physique raised the body’s all-important insulin levels higher than when either protein or carbohydrate was taken alone. Even more important is the fact that the combination of protein and carbohydrate in Physique produced an insulin increase that’s greater than the sum of the increases from equal amounts of protein and carbohydrates consumed separately.



Physique: Maximizing insulin production


These results are important to anyone seeking to build lean muscle mass, because insulin is one of the body’s most powerful anabolic, or body-building, hormones. Insulin enhances the uptake of amino acids and glucose by muscle cells for muscle repair, synthesis of new muscle mass, and glycogen restoration following exercise.



But there’s more. Physique’s unique blend of carbohydrates and protein also speeds up and enhances muscle glycogen resynthesis... it refuels faster and better than carbohydrates or proteins alone. Research also suggests that using high-protein or pure protein formulas (similar to those found in many “muscle” drinks) after exercise has little or no effect on muscle energy restoration.


Vitamins and Minerals:

What athletes need...Vitamins and minerals have a tremendous range of functions within the body. Some vitamins and minerals are like spark plugs... they release the energy from carbohydrates, fat, and protein to fuel muscles. They “spark” the metabolic reactions that enable you to take each breath and have oxygen delivered instantly to your exercising muscles. They transform your food into muscle fuel for your workout. They congregate in your bones to help absorb the tremendous pounding that comes with each stride you take (not to mention jarring tackles or rattling rebounds). And they assist in the building of ligaments and tendons that give you flexibility and movement during exercise.So how do they do all that? Complex chemicals called enzymes regulate almost everything your body does (digestion, muscle movement, growth, blood clotting, etc.) Enzymes usually come in two parts: 1) a protein molecule, and 2) normally either a vitamin or mineral. In other words, certain vitamins and minerals hook up with protein molecules to direct the activities of the body.As important as micronutrients are, they are not a source of energy. Carbohydrates, fat and protein are converted into energy. Vitamins and minerals are the energy releasers... and so much more.Yes, vitamins and minerals have an incredible job to do... especially in the body of an athlete.


But does that mean that athletes need more of everything?


Or are there some nutrients the athlete should pay special attention to?


What course of action should the informed athlete take?


While many athletes today try to practice good nutritional habits, many more eat a diet similar to that of most Americans... and most Americans aren’t even getting the minimum U.S. Daily Allowance for some very important nutrients.In the largest survey of the eating habits of Americans ever conducted, researchers found that the typical American diet came up short in calcium, iron, magnesium, vitamin B6, vitamin A, vitamin D, and vitamin C. All of these nutrients are critical to the athlete.


Furthermore, nutritionists recommend that each of us get 6 to 8 servings of vitamin and mineral rich fruits and vegetables each day. Yet only half of us eat even a single serving of fruit or garden vegetables on a daily basis.


Two critical nutrients for the athlete are:


1) iron... to help transport oxygen from the lungs to body tissues and muscles; and


2) calcium... to keep the weight bearing bones strong and flexible.


But since all vitamins and minerals, in the proper balance, are important for good health and a strong body, supplementing with a complete product system like Vitalizer is one of the first steps you should take when engaging in any exercise program.




Click on picture to enlarge:







Click on picture to enlarge:

For more information please goto:

http://www.shaklee.net/fixithealth

Have a Healthy Day





Tim & Tammy

Celebrating upcoming Olympic Games with Health

Welcome to your July Shaklee Newsletter.

This month, in celebration of the upcoming 2008 Olympic Games, we’ll highlight Olympic athletes who have been fueled by Shaklee products, plus Shaklee’s newest star athlete ultramarathoner, Dean Karnazes.

We also share five workout tips to help you stay healthy and fit during the active summer, whether you’re a star athlete or a weekend mower!

Finally, we’re also excited to announce that Shaklee has been honored with the preeminent business award, the Stevie Award, for Best Corporate Environmental Responsibility Program! We highlight what Shaklee is doing to protect the environment and what you can do, too!
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In this Issue:
1) Olympic Athletes and Shaklee
2) Shaklee’s Newest Star Athlete: Dean Karnazes
3) Shaklee Sports Nutrition Workout Tips
4) Shaklee Wins Stevie Award
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1) Olympic Athletes and Shaklee
When it comes to nutrition, people like Olympic athletes, whose lives depend on their bodies being able to perform at the highest level, seek out Shaklee. Shaklee has been nutritional advisor to many U.S. Olympic teams. In fact if Shaklee were a country they’d have won 54 Olympic Gold Medals!

Shaklee has powered a number of other world-class athletes and below are three Olympians who share what Shaklee has meant to them. It should be noted that Shaklee does NOT pay for athletic endorsements, but does provide nutritional assistance.

Eli Bremer – Modern Pentathlon
Eli Bremer ranks second in the U.S. and is in the top 10 worldwide in the sport of Modern Pentathlon, a unique day-long competition that tests the versatility of an athlete by challenging his or her strengths in five events, namely running, swimming, equestrian, shooting and fencing. Eli is the only American to have qualified for the 2008 Beijing Games with a recent Gold medal at the 2007 Pan American Games, securing his place on the U.S. team.

Surprisingly, Eli wasn't always athletic. "As a child I struggled with being very overweight until I was about 14 and was the brunt of a lot of jokes about my weight and lack of athletic ability growing up. I guess what I am most proud of is overcoming my own shortcomings and being recognized as one of the top athletes in my sport."

Eli’s Favorite Shaklee Products: Physique® Workout Maximizer
Performance® Maximum Endurance Sports Drink

"I was first introduced to Shaklee in high school. My mom, who has a Ph.D. in human nutrition, searched the sports nutrition market for the highest quality nutrition product and recommended Shaklee to me. Ever since, I have been using their products and have never been let down by their quality. Shaklee is a leader in nutrition research and they are known industry-wide for the quality of their product line."

"Today, I am proud to say that I'm "Powered by Shaklee"! In the sport of Modern Pentathlon, it is important to ensure that my body is in peak condition. I burn a lot of electrolytes during training and I find that Shaklee’s Performance® really helps me keep up the intensity and my endurance."

"With up to five workouts totaling 8 to 12 hours of training a day, it's products like Physique® Workout Maximizer Supplement and Performance® Maximum Endurance Sports Drink that keep me going. They allow me to recover in the shortest amount of time between workouts and be at my best when the next workout or competition rolls around."

"I trust Shaklee products ─ I know that they're made from the purest of ingredients and manufactured in an ideal environment. With Shaklee, I don't have to worry about trace elements of banned substances ending up in my supplements. I know that the products I'm putting into my body are just as pure and clean as I am ─ and they will help me compete and win fairly. Compared to Shaklee, no other supplements I have taken in the past have given such a positive result."

Nia Abdallah: Taekwondo
Nia Abdallah is the 2004 Olympic silver medalist and the first American woman to officially receive a medal in taekwondo since it became an official Olympic event in 2000. And that same year, she was also named USA Taekwondo’s Female Athlete of the Year. Nia is a third degree black belt, and she is the 2003 Pan American Games bronze medalist.

Nia’s Favorite Shaklee Products: Vitalizer, Joint Health Complex, Cinch Shake Mix and Cinch Snack Bars

“Shaklee products not only have improved the quality of my training, they’ve improved the quality if my life. I didn’t realize what I was missing until I started taking Vitalizer every day.

I appreciate that Shaklee has a supplement targeted specifically to the joints. Joint Health Complex helps—all the training and competition we do can certainly cause stiffness. I also like Cinch shakes, and mix one up for breakfast with strawberries or bananas before the first workout of the day.”

Bethany Hart: Bobsledding and Hammer Throw
The missing link between bobsledding and the hammer throw: Bethany Hart, who trains year round for both sports. Should Bethany accomplish her goal in 2008, she will be only the 10th athlete in U.S. history to compete in both summer and winter sports.

The good news for Bethany is that since the hammer throw and bobsledding are both speed - and power-based sports, they require a similar training regimen. In two-person bobsledding Bethany’ job, as the brake person, is to push hard and fast to build speed at the race’s start. The hammer throw is basically a shot put – a 4-kilo steel ball attached to a wire – and also demands lightening speed and strength. Says Bethany, “In the hammer throw, you have to be patient and relaxed, yet powerful and explosive – a hard balance to find.”

While training for both hammer throw and bobsled in 2005, Bethany followed some maternal advice (her mother is a Shaklee Distributor) and started using Shaklee Performance® Maximum Endurance Sports Drink and Physique® Workout Maximizer Supplement. She was amazed at the results. “I was training harder than I had trained since college and I didn’t expect I would recover as well as I did,” says Bethany. “Shaklee Physique® and Performance® allowed me to maintain the high volume of training I needed.”

Bethany never shrinks from training: she now dedicates two to four hours daily to throwing, lifting and sprinting. “There’s just something I love about training and challenging my body,” she says Bethany. “I’ve far surpassed any expectations I’ve ever had for myself, so I just keep setting new goals as I go in order to reach my full athletic potential.”

Bethany’s Favorite Shaklee Products: Joint Health Complex, OstoMatrix, Vitalizer, CarotoMax, FlavoMax, Physique, Nutriferon

“I noticed a big difference when I began taking the Shaklee multivitamin in combination with Physique®,” says Bethany. “I had more energy – when you’re training that hard, you can feel tired everyday.” In addition to helping post-workout recovery, Bethany believes Shaklee supplements are essential for athletes and anyone who wants to live a healthy lifestyle. Staying well during the bobsled season is also a priority. “I take NutriFeron because we’re in the cold so often,” remarks Bethany. “It’s crucial I do all I can to build a strong immune system.”

High bioavailability for maximum results and natural ingredients are what Bethany appreciates about Shaklee products. “Shaklee doesn’t use anything artificial and I’m secure in knowing I won’t test positive for anything during competition,” she says.

If all goes well in 2008 in Beijing, there’s no telling what Bethany will accomplish next. She is considering competing for the 2010 bobsled team for the Vancouver Games.

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2) Shaklee’s Newest Star Athlete: Ultramarathoner Dean Karnazes
When a bone-crushing endurance challenge is a normal part of your workweek, when TIME magazine names you as one of the “Top 100 Most Influential People in the World” and when Men’s Fitness says you “might just be the fittest man on the planet,” your name is Dean Karnazes.

Dean’s accomplishments? Here are but a few: Winning the Atacama Crossing, a brutal 6-day race across Chile’s most inhospitable desert; winning the Badwater Ultramarathon, 135 miles through the bowels of Death Valley in July; running a hellish minus-40-degree race through the South Pole (in running shoes); running 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 consecutive days and finishing with the NYC Marathon (which he completed in 3 hours flat); swimming across the San Francisco Bay; climbing Yosemite’s Half Dome; mountain-biking for 24 hours straight; and surfing the monstrous waves off Hawaii’s coast.

Dean’s Favorite Shaklee Supplements: Vitalizer, Performance, Physique and Joint Health Complex

Dean counts on Shaklee Vitalizer™, before, during, and after his adventures. “Vitalizer helps me perform at my best and recover quickly between hard workouts,” he says. “It’s an incredible wellness enhancer and I find it excellent pre-event, post-event, and for maintenance.”

Dean is also an avid fan of Shaklee Performance®, which he drinks before and during his races. “I think Performance is a terrific balance of both nutrients and electrolytes. You’re getting a good source of fuel with the carbohydrate blend as well as getting the electrolytes you need in the right balance.”

After every race, Dean counts on Shaklee Physique® to recover. “If I don’t replace the protein that I’ve depleted after strenuous workouts, I notice that the recovery is much longer and I don’t feel like I’m doing too well the next morning. So that’s where Physique has helped me tremendously because it contains a unique protein and carbohydrate blend with essential amino acids as well as vitamins and minerals which can enhance recovery, allowing me to train harder and go further.”

As an ultramarathoner, Dean also relies on Shaklee Joint Health Complex to support joint function and long term joint health. “I’ve been using Joint Health Complex, and I very much believe in the benefits of glucosamine. Scientifically, there are multiple studies that have confirmed the benefits of glucosamine. I think that, from a practical standpoint, I notice a difference.”

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4) Five Shaklee Workout Tips:
You don’t have to be an Olympic athlete to enjoy the benefits of Shaklee nutrition. Below are five workout tips to help you feel your best - whether you are trying out for Olympics or mowing your lawn.

1) Stay Hydrated
Did you know that 46% of exercisers are likely to go to the gym dehydrated? This is according to a study published in 2006 in Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism. Dehydration reduces aerobic endurance and can result in increased body temperature, increased heart rate, disorientation, and even physical collapse.

Whether you are going for a long bike ride or are gardening for the day, the best way to stay hydrated this summer is to drink Shaklee Performance®. It’s exclusive OptiCarb® formula contains carbohydrates for endurance and electrolytes for quick hydration.

It’s better for you than just drinking water! In one clinical study, a group of cyclists consumed either water or Shaklee Performance® after 3 hours of vigorous cycling. Afterwards, they continued to cycle at a faster speed. The cyclists that drank only water lasted just 2 minutes before succumbing to fatigue, while the Shaklee Performance® drinkers lasted over 15 times longer!

2) Eat a Light Meal Before a Workout
Eating a large meal prior to a workout may leave you feeling sluggish or with cramps because your muscles and digestive system are competing for energy sources. On the other hand, not eating can cause low blood sugar levels leaving you feeling weak or faint.
For optimal performance, try a Cinch™ Snack Bar or Meal-in-a-Bar one to two hours prior to your workout. The nutrients are rapidly absorbed and Cinch Bars are powered by Leucine™ to help preserve muscle.

3) Replace Protein After a Workout
Have you ever strayed from an exercise regimen because you didn’t recover quickly enough from a workout? Most of us have. But you can enhance recovery by replenishing your body with protein and carbohydrates immediately after a workout to replenish glycogen stores that are depleted during exercise.

Stick to your exercise regimen by drinking Shaklee Physique® immediately after your workout. Physique contains Bio-Build® to give you the nutrients you need to rapidly recover and repair muscle tissue.
Shaklee Cinch Whey Shakes are also a perfect post-workout option. Whey protein is a complete protein and is one of the richest known sources of naturally occurring branched-chain amino acids, including leucine which plays a critical role in muscle protein synthesis and muscle growth.

4) Keep Joints Healthy
Getting that last mile in, struggling for that last weight-lifting rep, or playing that extra set of tennis can be tough on joints. Joints, the junction where one bone meets the other, are protected by cartilage, a resilient shock absorber.

Help put the spring back in your step with Joint Health Complex.
Joint Health Complex* contains glucosamine, which gives cartilage elasticity, strength and resiliency. And when you overdo a workout this summer, try rubbing Shaklee’s Joint and Muscle Pain Cream into the affected area to provide temporary relief for occasional joint and muscle pain.

5) Daily Nutrition Key to Every Workout
Athletes need to make sure that their bodies are in top form and that means getting important vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients every single day. For example, antioxidants are critical to prevent free radical damage caused by increased oxygen utilization during exercise and the B vitamins converts food you eat into fuel for working muscles.
Shaklee Vitalizer™ is the perfect supplement for daily nutritional support. Vitalizer contain more than 20 antioxidant compounds and essential vitamins in its comprehensive approach to health, wellness, and vitality.
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5) Shaklee Wins Stevie Award
Shaklee has been honored with the preeminent business award, the Stevie Award, for Best Corporate Environmental Responsibility Program. The Stevie Awards are the “Oscars” of the business world and their mission is to recognize and generate public awareness of excellence in the workplace.

Shaklee received the award in recognition of numerous innovative projects, partnerships and achievements launched by the company in 2007, the latest in over fifty years of environmental stewardship and global “firsts,” including becoming the world’s first Climate Neutral™ certified company in 2000 resulting in a net zero impact on the environment. In 2007, Shaklee became the first consumer products company to offset 100 percent of its greenhouse gas emissions through the U.S. EPA Climate Leaders Program and use certified Green-e renewable energy.

“We are honored to be recognized for our deep commitment to protect and preserve the environment. Shaklee was founded with the mission of making people and the planet healthier, values which are more relevant now than ever before,” said Shaklee CEO Roger Barnett. “Our 750,000 members and distributors around the world believe that the right way to do business means doing what is right for people and for the planet. It is this innovative approach to business that has made Shaklee the environmental pioneer that it is today.”

Join the Shaklee Green Movement to combat global warming and keep our families safe by removing harmful chemicals from your home with our Get Clean line of natural, safe and highly effective household and laundry cleaners. Learn more about Get Clean here.

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We want to thank all of you for choosing Shaklee products for your family’s wealth and wellness needs. Feel free to contact us with any Shaklee-related questions.

Yours in Health