Remember we are all unique individuals so we are always experimenting to figure out what training and fueling plan works best for US…N = 1.
Vespa is a Natural Catalyst …
Hey friends!
Are you an aging endurance athlete as myself who is striving to improve fat burning, achieve athlete performance gains and slow down the aging process??
If you have followed me the past ten years and read my personal story that I shared in my book “LIFE IS NOT A RACE – IT IS A JOURNEY” (Amazon), then you know my struggles of going from a high performing athlete, setting PB/PR in 2012, to gaining 30 pounds in a “few” months without doing anything different? I suddenly started to experience breakdown and burn out of my body systems around March 2013 – and honestly, I have never been able to run the same since then. Mitochondrial dysfunction? Maybe insulin resistance? Mold toxicity, Pathogens, dysbiosis, candida, and hormone imbalances galore – since when CHRONIC stress is on non-stop, all efforts to “get healthy/be healthy” are diminished as the domino effect of breaking down the body systems is the result of METOABLIC CHAOS®!
For years, I have been on a mission to heal, rebuild and restore my health from the inside out. Actually, I figured out how to rebuild my health once I became a certified Nutritional Therapy Practitioner and a certified Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner (FDNP) to help other people avoid going through what my body, mind and spirit went through starting in 2013. I have been working on practicing what I have learned (and preach) and apply the lessons to my own self/body. This process included running 3-4 functional lab tests around the same time to investigate what was actually going on inside “under the hood”- then look at putting the missing pieces of my health puzzle back together again with an individualized protocol. Including a mold detox protocol and improving my mighty mitochondria.
I understand that “less is more” and “more is not better”- especially for aging female endurance athletes. Long cardio training sessions is not required to burn fat, performance gains and longevity. Actually, excessive cardio does the opposite! My goal is to improve the aging process, as well as look and feel my best self in my second half of my life – especially as I turn the big 5-O this November 2021!
What if I enjoy long bike rides in the sunny weather in Southern California?
What if I enjoy long runs along the coast of San Diego on Sundays?
Less is more. More is not better.
BUT… what if I do lower heart rate on the bike rides as MAF training that I have been doing for YEARS (2003), metabolic efficiency training, but adding two shorter bike workouts during the week with intervals while avoiding the BLACK HOLE!?
Perhaps on Sundays, my “long” run workout is not a “LSD” workout (long, slow, distance) at MAF heart rate (Max Aerobic Function) that I end up feeling slower and heavier instead of faster. I did add 1-2 days of trail running from my new house plus speed work and hill repeats each week. I love the longer run on the weekends, but I have continued to get feedback from my body that LONG RUN is not good for me as I just get more fatigue and slower pace. Especially, as “once upon a time” I ran my best Boston Marathon in 3hr12 minutes, and a marathon run split in Ironman under 3hr40… plus my best half marathon run time was 1hr33!
I am not bragging at all, but only explaining how I broke my body down, mitochondria dysfunction or who know what other stressors impact my performance as my microbiome (Akkermansia undetected) and mold toxicity (OATS test!). My run pace has not improved over the years as I continue to struggle running aerobically (MAF) under 9-minute mile – remember I could run a marathon at a 7:30 pace feeling high end of my aerobic pace!
STOP blaming the aging process and instead figure out the WHY… test and not guess with a comprehensive health investigation as you are a unique individual and N = 1 for sure!
Part of my rebuilding journey is experimenting with more interval training on my run sessions (speed work) and run/walk intervals on my long run – plus taking VESPA 30-minutes prior to starting my long run-on Sundays. My plan on Sundays has been to run 4-5 minutes then walk one minute (sometimes 30-45 seconds then slow jog) with nasal breathing to help recovery before starting my next run segment. I have felt stronger and can run longer without the heavy feeling of fatigue plus my recovery is amazing! I do still need to invest in an OURA ring to track my HRV (heart rate variability) and my “readiness” score plus my sleep and blood glucose/ketones with my Keto Mojo – then input into my new Heads-Up Health Program that I am using for coaching BG clients (and myself!).
So, I asked my go to VESPA and OFM Coach friend, Peter Defty, to explain what is happening to my cells (mitochondria) and microbiome when I am doing a long run and how VESPA is changing my performance (as well as recovery).
Vespa is ‘Nature’s Catalyst,’ for tapping into YOUR virtually unlimited energy: fat!
HOW VESPA IS A CATALYST FOR OPTIMIZING FAT METABOLISM (OFM)
Vespa ‘jump starts’ your fat adaptation by working with your body’s physiology to tap into your virtually unlimited energy instead of circumventing it with massive amounts of sugar/carbs if you are a high-carb athlete or fat bombs, Nut Butters, MCT oil, etc. if you are a keto athlete. By tapping into YOUR robust energy stores as your main source of energy you avoid the energy swings and the multitude of GI issues common when trying to physically perform and digest significant calories at the same time. Most of all, Vespa changes the paradigm for ‘RECOVERY’ through ‘DAMAGE PREVENTION.’ You think you ‘recover’ faster using Vespa because shifting to use fat as fuel actually prevents the damage due to the oxidative stress and lactate load caused by metabolizing glucose/sugar.
https://vespapower.com/
Here is what I asked Peter and his response:
How does VESPA give me more energy on a run if I take it 30-minutes before a “fasted” long run?
What about taking VESPA before a speed workout?
- Vespa increases the body’s natural ability to harness fat as fuel making fasted long runs seamless thus avoiding the dreaded ‘bonk’ as well as the GI issues many athletes have or eventually develop by trying to consume calories for their energy.
- By making that fundamental shift to ‘fat as fuel’ for the aerobic spectrum of exercise Vespa gives athletes the ability to push harder and longer at threshold and anaerobic surges in intensity.
- This is primarily due to the lower lactate metabolic load and reduction in oxidative stress.
- What the athlete experiences during a higher intensity workout using Vespa is a physiological and psychological ability to ‘push back’ when the difficulty of the workout pushes against them.
- In post exercise recovery the athlete will note a significant reduction in DOMS allowing them to recover faster and sustain a higher training load.
- This ‘recovery’ experience is actually not so much ‘faster recovery’ but damage prevention through minimizing the oxidative stress at a cellular/mitochondrial level.
What are the key ingredients in VESPA?
… that boost my fat metabolism and mitochondria support to provide my body with the extra energy it needs to run faster and stronger – plus recover faster! So essential as I am in my last year of my 40’s this year!
Vespa is a synergistic blend of natural ingredients from bees & wasps.
The key ingredient, Wasp Extract, is derived from the Asian Giant Wasp, Vespa mandarinia, commonly known as the ‘Murder Hornet’. These wasps are the Apex predators of the insect world and fly up to 70 kilometers a day to hunt, kill, process their kill, then return to their colony with a food ball one-third their weight to feed to the larvae.
This incredible feat of performance, stamina and strength is done using stored fat. However, to access their fat stores, it is the wasp extract, a naturally occurring peptide, fed to the adult by the larvae, that allows the adult wasp to perform. This accidental discovery of a natural biological pathway was made by Japanese Entomologist studying the wasp. They theorized because animal metabolic pathways, on a cellular level, are remarkably similar across species the wasp extract would enhance fat metabolism in other species including Humans.
Hopefully you read this last piece with a better understanding of how Natural and Incredible Vespa can be for us aging endurance athletes.
Now we also need to work on the other elements of “The WHOLESTIC Method” to improve our fat burning engine, performance gains and longevity…
- Nutrition – eat real food that balances your blood sugar and keeps you energized with IF.
- Exercise – lift weights and do yoga!
- Sleep – prioritize your sleep hygiene routine.
- Stress– eliminate chronic sources of stress and your energy robbers (or vampires!)
- Movement– even if you ran that morning, make sure you are MOVING throughout the day as “mealtimes” for my clients means “MOVE times” now.
- Digestion – you are not only what you eat but what you can breakdown, digest and absorb! Learn more about your microbiome as with my interviews with Kiran on the BiomeFX testing or GI MAP.
- Hydration– don’t forget to hydrate throughout the day with filtered water and add sea salt to retain the water as we are 60% water!
- Happiness– well if you are not happy then you probably are not working on the other seven elements! Make time to laugh, play, be silly and be grateful EACH and EVERY Day!
Health is a choice. Get healthy and staying healthy takes commitment, motivation and consistency.
Learn more about VESPA here to improve your OFM.
Use the code THELOWCARBATHLETE to save 15% on your next purchase?
Stick with it and let me know how you are feeling each day!
Stop blaming the aging process and instead EMBRACE the aging process.
Coach Debbie