Why? Why do we toe the line, hoist the bar, click the ski, pedal the bike, paddle the kayak, climb that next mountain tracking a trophy? Why does one summon the courage “to just get out of the car” arriving for a movie shoot as famed director Steven Spielberg suggests is a major key to success.
She answered; to embrace the risk, the challenge, the possibility of failure and disappointment. Not an endurance athlete providing the reply, but one who endured in her own way, offering this profound advice.
“We gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face . . . we must do that which we think we cannot.”
This was Eleanor Roosevelt, American First Lady, profoundly teaching “. . . we must do that which we think we cannot.”
We must do that which we think we cannot; what a canon to recall when choosing your challenge. Fear is contained by first conceiving something larger than yourself like the first 5 km race on dirt, roads or snow, the first marathon, the first 50 km bike ride, the first 50 km cross-country ski race, the first winter ultra. Whadda think, warrior?
Oh, yeah; it’s nice and warm in the gym, but getting out and braving those wailing elements battling to burn you or freeze you, break you or pain you, scare you or correct you? Take comfort realizing the odds are extremely high someone else has broken ground before you.
Consider the explosion in snowbike winter races and ultras. Who could have imagined ten short years ago the popularity today of riding those adult big wheels over snow, through blizzards while enjoying frigid, frosty eye brows . . . everyone of them smiling, laughing, ready to go at the start line, too.
One trick is preparation; Snowshoe Magazine offers equipment, guides, supplements, food, and real experiences that can set one on their way. A specialty of the magazine happens to be getting in and under those ingredients on labels, understanding why they can or cannot aid your physical side. To do that I go to the Conqueror of Fear, the Male Madonna of the Mountain, Dr Jeff Kildahl, Wellness Editor of Snowshoe Magazine. No niceties now; he has too much to do, to tell me as his hyper-productive mind runneth over like . . . well . . . like a virgin.
Inquiring, how can an athlete improve in a natural way the level of performance? What are ingredients we should look for and why . . . like a Harry Potter movie coming alive, lamps, fires, even walls begin to talk, when out zooms an answer in the Doctor’s distinctive voice: “Moomiyo, an adaptogenic herb.”
I’m diving in the dictionary discovering adaptogenic means “active ingredients of herbs that are reputed to be anti-stress compounds.”
Before the words leave my mouth, he is already answering “Why?”
“This herb has been utilized by Russian athletes for more than 40 years to enhance sports performance.” Okay, Doctor, like John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John harmonized in the movie Grease,
Tell me more, tell me more
But you don´t gotta brag
Tell me more, tell me more . . .
“Moomiyo is believed to build muscle tissue, strength, and abbreviate recovery time after strenuous exercise while boosting your immune system and necessary minerals for optimal sports performance. The properties of Moomiyo seem exclusive to the mountainous regions of Russia in which the “black syrup” (as it is known) grows and then harvest begins.
It is high in alkaloids (large group of nitrogen-containing organic compounds, answers the medical dictionary), glycosides (herbal carbohydrate that exerts powerful effect on hormone-producing tissues), saponins (a natural body builder), chlorophyll (oxygen development, energy), carotenes (converts to vitamin A in the liver), and flavenoids which specifically assist endurance athletes at the master level seeking an edge and reduction of inflammation.”
He hands me a bottle of Ultimate Pre-Workout, “See? There it is listed right on the label of Wilderness Athlete’s super maximizer of fuel and oxygen.”
I read once where Moomiyo should be detailed with the percentages of fulvic and humic acids contained, or it is suspect. WA doesn’t do that; why?
Dr. Kildahl sits back in his chair and answers, “Let’s ask the Formulator.” The Formulator! That mystic mixer of supplement advantage, living life in deep caves somewhere in Wilderness Athlete’s Arizona? “Yes, that one.”
That is the equivalent of calling Winston “The Wolf” Wolfe in Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction. Wolfe’s very presence, played to perfection by Harvey Keitel, is to resolve issues. He says, arriving at the house with the corpse in the car, “I solve problems.” So, think of the Formulator like Mr. Wolfe but solving nutritional problems.
The good Doctor taps a few keys, and suddenly on the screen appears this fog, a face unknown to me but resembling Jambi the Genie on Pee Wee Herman’s shows, except he doesn’t say “Mekka Lekka Hi-Mekka Hiney Ho” like that guy.
The vision explains with warm and understandable words, not even needing to hear the question; he knows it via a power only known to him. “There are a number of things that you want to look at when selecting Moomiyo. Fulvic and humic acids are certainly very important considerations. I don’t put the standardization on our label for this or for any herbals that we include in our secret formulas; these are proprietary.”
I understand that; it would be like Coke putting their formula on every bottle . . . not going to happen.
The Formulator continues, “Mineral acids are also very important since minerals comprise some 20 percent of the Moomiyo material. Consequently, it’s important that there is no lead, mercury, cadmium, or arsenic. Likewise, you need to be certain that there is a very low aluminum level. Poorer grades are usually not Moomiyo but India-derived Shilajit and are very high in aluminum, which can disrupt the phospholipids in the brain.”
Noting the quizzical look on my face, the good Doctor whispers to me “Phosopholipids keep the bad out, and the good in.” I nod as if I already knew this.
Patiently the Formulator teaches, “This leads to a condition of the tissue, which is very similar to what we see with Alzheimer’s disease. That all said, the Moomiyo used in Ultimate Pre-Workout is Premium Altai Moomiyo, the same as has been the subject of all the research of Dr. Nikolai Volkov and has been used for decades by Soviet athletes, cosmonauts, and elite military.”
Dr. Kildahl adds, “Phillip, this is the most potent form of Moomiyo available, and it’s right here inside this white container of Ultimate Pre-Workout.”
I hold the magic bottle, turning it over and over pausing only when I stumble on a way to trap the Professor of all Health and Knowledge.
“Ah, ha! Look, these capsules contain Arginine,” like I knew what THAT meant.
Tiring of my antics, he avoids the smart-alecky remark, patiently explaining, “Arginine is an amino acid with important roles related to healing wounds, detoxification, immune functions and the secretion of
insulin, growth and other hormones. It is vital to your circulatory system and toxin removal.
Arginine is a catalyst in the function of nitric oxide which is crucial to maximizing efficient blood flow. Endurance athletes likely require supplementation to meet increased demands beyond the level of arginine normally created by the body,” and the Ultimate Pre-Workout provides it. Okay, okay, I got it.
“The level of nitric oxide determines the effectiveness of arginine respective to maximizing blood flow, mitigating numerous cardiovascular disorders, regulating bladder function, and so forth. The less viscous (meaning less glue-like) the blood of endurance athletes, the more efficient the blood fluidity within the vessels. This means one’s chance of clot formation is reduced while intensifying an endurance athlete’s performance.” In simple terms, what he said is one’s blood will flow as easy as water over a spill-dam.
Hey, I think, doesn’t enhanced blood flow also help a male in other ways, too? The good Doctor smiles, nods, and leaves the subject at that.
The idea behind Wilderness Athlete’s Ultimate Pre-Workout formula is to provide immediate and sustained energy, increase endurance, raise aerobic and anaerobic capacity along with enhanced mental focus and physical recovery for the endurance athlete. One can just as well call it Pre-Endurance Race or Pre-Winter Ultra or Pre-Ironman Triathlon.
The tablet requires about 30 minutes circulating throughout the body. Asking about longer times and distances yielded a surprising finding. The Formulator whispers a secret. In an event longer than the estimated four hours of Ultimate’s life, have at those staged times the tablets broken down, crushed. I smashed mine with a small hammer in a plastic sandwich bag so they are ingested easily and quickly act vs. sitting in the stomach during the race. For ease of planning, take a small plastic bag holding four broken-up tables for each four-hour period you’ll be in the event. Of course one will ingest the tablets whole 30 minutes before the start.
I once was told if a change in attitude, activity or way of thinking could alter my life in a positive way, even by a small percentage, that extended over a lifetime the result can be dramatic as that small percentage grows and grows up and away from the benchmark. In a micro-way, the Ultimate Pre-Workout works similarly.
The real performance advantage is likely significantly higher. Where the line of giving up or enduring, trudging on or dropping out is as narrow as the movie The Thin Red Line suggests, where life itself hung in the battle for Guadalcanal, one gains an advantage tipping the outcome in a natural way.
In that movie, Nick Nolte’s character, Lt. Col. Gordon Tall, edicts “It’s never necessary to tell me that you think I’m right. We’ll just . . . assume it.” Perhaps that is the way we should understand the Formulator’s words.
Nolte wasn’t even nominated for an Oscar. If one screens the movie, it is impossible to forget his commanding performance. Interestingly, though, that same year the movie Affliction’s James Coburn won the Best Supporting Actor; that starred . . . Nolte.
Wilderness Athlete’s Ultimate Pre-Workout is a tool for the endurance athlete regardless if racing trails, walking fence-lines in search of game, fighting Smoky Mountain River rapids or snowshoeing the Iditarod.
As First Sgt. Edward Welsh revealed in The Thin Red Line, a thought one should consider when contemplating this little sandy tablet, “I might be your best friend, and you don’t even know it.”
This idea just may be the step required for you to achieve, as Eleanor Roosevelt suggested, those goals that seem so large they capture your imagination like no other. Remember, she also advised, “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”
Connect with Dr. Kildahl, Jeff@snowshoemag.com
Connect with Phillip@ultrasuperior.com
Dr. Kildahl’s
Twitter – https://twitter.com/TheMadSwede
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/thewholisticedge
Phillip’s
Twitter – https://twitter.com/iHarmonizing
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/#!/phillipgary.smith
Leucine is a branch-chain amino acid [BCAA] equal to approximately 1/3 muscle protein. Leucine creates and stimulates protein synthesis and is a catalyst for muscle growth. Its oxidation rate is extremely high yet studies have shown that increased aerobic activity mitigates oxidation levels. This is good news for the endurance athlete.
Leucine promotes positive nitrogen balance in the body and regulates glycogen stores in which your muscles tap for energy and power. It offsets cramps, dizziness and fatigue associated with endurance sports performance.
——-
Rhodiola is a natural energy booster with physiological and psychological benefits. It has been shown to reduce stress while boosting energy absent stimulation. Rhodiola balances the body’s stress response system and its effects on the nervous system. This explains its profound and diverse impact on reducing mental and muscle fatigue while simultaneously boosting energy.
Rhodiola is an adaptogen versus a stimulant.Its versatility maintains blood sugar levels, protects the nervous system against oxidative stress and enhances the Delta phase of sleep.
Leave a Comment