Lisa Rovella
ATHLETE spotlight
Lisa Rovella
“I am fairly new to competing having started Sept. ‘07 in natural mixed pairs with my husband. I had started following the Parrillo lifestyle in ‘06 with the goal of competing. We won 1st place and I was hooked. I did feel that it was all for nothing, you diet and train and train; get up on stage for 90 seconds and you’re done. This made me look at Ms. Fitness USA. They get on stage three times, now that is more like it! So we went to Vegas in ‘07 to watch the Ms. Fitness USA finals. I knew I had to make it there. By the way, I’m 36 years old. I came home, started training for gymnastics, which involved a lot of time seeing Jesus as my husband hyperstretched me into my splits. I made my qualifier by placing 3rd. I went to Vegas Sept. ‘08 and made it through even though a shoulder injury made my routine bomb. Two weeks later I took 1st and in two more weeks I placed 4th at Natural Team USA. Nov. 8th was INBA/ABA Natural Olympia and we placed 2nd for mixed pairs. I have a couple of mantras that I remind myself to stay on track. Repeat after me, ‘I CAN do this!’ ‘Would Parrillo eat that?’ or ‘What would Parrillo do?’ and ‘Oh, yea I don’t need that’.”
nutrition Tip of the month:
Be sure to eat enough carbs!
A very low carb approach to dieting can cause energy levels to fall dramatically. Anaerobic exercise, such as weight lifting, is fueled almost exclusively by carbs. Fat cannot be used as an anaerobic energy source, it can only be oxidized aerobically. Therefore strength and energy levels fall dramatically without carbs. This results in more muscle catabolism, as the muscles turn to branched chain amino acids as fuel. Limit your carbohydrate selections to natural, unrefined, complex carbs, such as potatoes, rice, and vegetables. Avoid refined carbs such as bread and pasta and always consume your carbs with protein.
Training Tip of the month:
“The optimum training routine employs heavy/low rep sets to build mass and thickness and high rep sets to build shape and ‘cardiovascular density.’ By cardiovascular density, I mean the size and number of blood vessels. When this circulatory network is increased, more nutrients are carried to the muscles while performance-inhibiting toxins are effectively transported away. All of this results in muscular growth. In other words, the greater your cardiovascular density, the bigger you can become.”
Question of the month:
Question: What are some good sources of lean protein and are some sources better than others?
Answer: Protein is required in the diet to maintain tissues and organs and to supply building blocks for growth. Proteins from animal sources such as meat, eggs, and milk are called “complete” proteins because they supply all the essential amino acids. Animal proteins provide a balance of amino acids similar to that of human tissues. Plant proteins have a profile of amino acids different from human proteins. For this reason animal proteins are considered to be higher quality protein foods. While animal proteins are generally high quality protein foods, a problem arises in that many of them also contain a lot of fat. You must be selective when using animal proteins to avoid the fat that comes along with them. Good lean protein sources include skinless turkey breast, skinless chicken breast, fish, and egg whites. Occasional red meat is fine, as long as you consume the leanest cuts. Always trim all visible fat.
Quick Tip of the month:
Make a delicious frosty shake in less than 5 minutes with Parrillo’s new Protein Ice Kreem Mix™ and your blender. Just add 4 oz water and 4 oz ice for each scoop of mix used and blend well until smooth. Voilà, dessert is served!
Email your tips to graphics@parrillo.com!
Dominique’s Time Cruncher
Cook up a big batch of chicken breasts in your crockpot so that dinner is ready when you get home, and you’ll also have enough left over to pack individually for lunches. All you need to do is place the chicken breasts in the crockpot with 1/2 cup of water, set the crockpot to the low heat setting, then let it cook for 5-6 hours for fresh chicken and 8-9 hours for frozen chicken.
Supplement of the month:
Parrillo Protein Frosting Mix™
• Packed with 12 grams of protein per serving!
• Only 1 gram Net Carbs
• A delicious batch of Protein Frosting goes great with the Parrillo Hi-Protein Cakes & Cupcakes™!
• Roll up the Parrillo Hi-Protein Pancakes™ like crêpes with frosting in the middle
• Three Great Flavors: Vanilla, Chocolate, and Peanut Butter (allergen-free). Cream cheese flavor available soon to go with our new Spice Cake mix.
Creatine & Other Amazing Muscle Boosters
Cliff Sheats
If you’re building muscle mass, you need twice as much protein as the average person. But I doubt you’re protein deficient, since athletes and exercisers typically consume two to three times the daily requirement for protein. That being so, what else can you do nutritionally to maximize muscle?
Try Parrillo Creatine Monohydrate™, for starters. Creatine is one of the most effective muscle and performance-enhancing supplements available. The average diet naturally contains around 1-2 grams of creatine, particularly if you eat a lot of red meat. Most health-conscious athletes have cut back on red meat intake, however, making supplemental creatine more desirable. Also, it’s nearly impossible to consume the amount of creatine needed to influence athletic performance through a normal and healthful diet alone.
Creatine supplementation works by maintaining levels of ATP (the energy currency of the body) within individual cells. Research shows that strength athletes taking creatine show significant improvements in peak power output as well as performing a greater number of repetitions during high-intensity resistance exercise. In addition, use of creatine has been shown to result in an increase of body mass (an average of three pounds).
Combining carbs with creatine may help creatine work better. In fact, recent studies suggest that consuming carbohydrates with creatine enhances the uptake of creatine into the muscle.
In addition to creatine and a higher-protein diet, amino acids may also be able to give your muscle growth a boost. To round out your supplement program, look into Parrillo Muscle Amino™ and Parrillo Ultimate Amino™. Muscle Amino™ contains branched chain amino acids, which can help prevent the onset of catabolism and has both anabolic and anti-catabolic properties. Take two or more with every meal. BCAAs
CapTri Cooking
require insulin for absorption into muscle cells so take them with food (carbs) rather than on an empty stomach!
Ultimate Amino™ is a good all-round supplier of aminos. One of its constituent aminos is glutamine. Glutamine is technically described as a “glucogenic,” meaning that it assists your body in manufacturing glycogen, the chief muscle fuel. Also, supplemental glutamine has been shown to elevate growth hormone levels – and may even curb the desire for sugary foods. Each capsule in Parrillo Ultimate Amino Formula™ contains 103 milligrams of glutamine. Take two or more capsules of this supplement with each meal.
So – there are plenty of wonderful benefits to supplementing with creatine and amino acids, especially if you want to maximize performance, muscle development, and overall well-being.