The Thorfit approach relies on the sum of all the little things we do to achieve our goals. When the English track team was preparing for the recent Olympics, their coach made them bring their own pillows from home, so they slept just a wee bit better. Some may argue that they may shave .001% off their times, and I’d have to agree. (difficult to quantify)
But, what if you added hundreds of little tweaks like these to your regimen. Pretty soon, you’re shaving off whole seconds, and that’s where this begins to make sense.
This brings me to another piece of the puzzle, that will definitely increase your performance. – Supplements. There are so many, and if you use to all of them, then the biggest change you’re going to experience will be in your bank account. – So, here’s a list of the supplements that I would recommend you take if you want to add another part to the puzzle of living long and strong…
Protein Powder
Why you need it
Protein is one of the foundational blocks of any good diet. It’s what helps you build muscle. It’s what helps you lose fat. And it’s what allows you to stay lean, keep full, and avoid binging on foods that you’d be wise to avoid other than on cheat days. Now, there is nothing magical about protein powders other than the fact that most people don’t eat enough protein in their diet.
And these drinks, which now taste much better than they did ten years ago, can be used as a delicious way to provide your body with all the protein it needs with a dessert-like flavor. You just need to make sure that you find high-quality proteins. Research shows that the best approach is taking a blended protein powder that digests at different speeds so you make the most of the supplement. Read the labels and look for the slow release versions.
Greens Drink
Why You Need
Everyone should be taking a multivitamin. You probably know this by now. But the rules of multivitamins have changed. The problem with multivitamins is that your body can’t take advantage of all the vitamins and minerals listed on the label, and it doesn’t absorb most of the nutrients. That’s why a greens supplement is a better route.
All the nutrients are derived from whole fruits and vegetables, making it a more natural route for your body. It’s a superfood that will boost your overall health, improve your immune system, protect your digestive system, and help you fight off a variety of diseases. And those are claims that no multivitamin can make.
Vitamin D
Why You Need It
We don’t get enough sunlight. And this has nothing to do with having a great tan. The sun provides your body with vitamin D, and recent research indicates that more than 40 percent of people are deficient in vitamin D, according to the journal Nutrition. This wouldn’t be an issue if vitamin D wasn’t so essential to your health.
Low levels have been linked to cancer, cardiovascular disease, heart attacks, and depression. And research from Canada now shows that people with higher levels of vitamin D also have lower levels of body fat. The connection isn’t a coincidence. Vitamin D helps you feel fuller because, according to Australian researchers, it helps you release more leptin — an important hormone you’ll learn about in chapter 5. And it also helps you store less fat by decreasing parathyroid hormone, which makes you hold on to lard. Best of all, vitamin D literally burns more fat by reducing the production of the stress hormone cortisol,(which I will explain later)
BCAA’S
Why You Need
If you’re worried about not eating before training, understand this: when you fast before you train, your levels of hydration and sleep patterns play a significant role in your performance. In fact, poor sleep or not drinking enough can have a bigger negative impact on your ability to train hard than not having a protein shake before your workout. If you want to eat, go for it. And if you’re concerned about potentially losing a little bit of muscle, then follow our lead and take BCAAs (Branched-Chain Amino Acids, the building blocks of protein).
They are not necessary, but they get the job done. And what’s more, researchers from Syracuse University found that simply adding amino acids before you train boosts muscle gain and fat loss. The study looked at two common meals before your workout: one with carbs (think: a sports drink) and one that combined BCAAs and carbs. After the pre-workout meal, the subjects then hit the weight room with a focus on heavy resistance training.
Think: max weights that scream testosterone. After the training, several important factors were examined, including muscle gain, fat loss, and metabolism. While both groups saw benefits from what they ate before a workout, it was the BCAA group that saw a bigger improvement in every measure.
But maybe most impressively, those who had BCAAs before training saw a greater increase in their metabolism up to forty-eight hours after they finished training. While research has known for a while that weight training improves metabolism after a good workout, the surprising benefit was that those who took BCAAs (like BCAA Matrix) pre-workout had an increased metabolism the following day.
Fish Oil
Why you need it
I’m not even going on a rant here… The benefits of fish oil are huge and you should get some.
- Less Inflammation
- Improved recovery from exercise
- Less body fat
- More muscle mass
- Better-looking skin
- Higher sex drive
- Better brain function
- Less disease
