Saturday, May 18, 2013

The Weekly Schedule, Powerful Mushrooms, and My Vacation!

Experimenting with Mushrooms Part I -Immunity

You know what sucks? Getting ready to go on vacation and feeling like you have a cold coming on. In fact, I feel like ever since Jaxon started daycare I've been sick  and i'ts not cool! Before daycare, I was never sick. I always thought my immune system was in awesome shape.

Maybe it's because I haven't been eating as well as I should since kid-o's come along. Maybe I can chalk it up to the nasty stuff the other rug rats are coughing up on him. Either way I've decided something has to be done!

Typically when I feel something coming on I'll start to load up on Vitamin C, Zinc, Echinacea, Green Tea and all kinds of other stuff I have in my drawer. Needless to say, that approach hasn't been working. Not because those remedies are wives tales, but because I'm not using them on a regular basis to help keep my immune system strong. I also don't want to be worried about popping 6 different pills a day to keep the my system at its best.

Enter Shroom TECH Immune from Onnit Labs. I'll talk about how I gained interest in this product below, but for now just know I'm stoked to start using it. Shroom TECH Immune is made up of a number of the things I was taking before, like Echinacea and Zinc, but also contains powerful mushroom extracts that boost immunity. The plan is to use the month and a half supply I bought and see if it makes a difference.

Check my next few posts for details on how it's going. 

Experimenting with Mushrooms Part II -Sport

So how did I get the crazy idea that mushrooms could possibly boost my immune system? It all started with the idea that mushrooms could boost my athletic performance. I first heard about this from Ultra Triathlete Rich Roll in his book "Finding Ultra" (which I highly, highly recommend). He worked with a friend to develop a special recovery formula that included Cordyceps mushroom extract and claims it is his secret weapon.. 

Cordyceps have been a staple in Eastern medicine for centuries. According to Joe Rogan's podcast (which I also highly, highly recommend) cordyceps were discovered by high altitude societies in the Himalayas when they noticed their cattle had extra energy after eating these special mushrooms.

Apparently what happens is that the extract boosts the bodies ability to metabolize or deliver oxygen to the muscles. This means muscles can clear lactic acid faster, effectively raising your threshold level. I'm not a scientist or anything, but from what I've gathered, it's kind of like natural (and legal) EPO.

So after leading more about Rich Roll and the special blend he had created, I looked into purchasing his recovery product, "Jai Repair." I'm sure it's awesome, but it's also really expensive. When I heard Joe Rogan talking about his company's product, Shroom TECH Sport, I figured it might be a cheaper way to discover what kind of impact cordyceps could have on my training. Unfortunately, his stuff was also a bit expensive, but the other supplement seemed reasonable and that's how I ended up with the Shroom TECH Immunity discussed above. 

Anyway, not wanting to miss out on the endurance benefits I had heard so much about, I found the Vitamin Shoppe's Cordyceps product. The price was right, so I will be putting it to the test over the next few months. Just like the immune booster, Ill keep you updated on how it works. If I think they're dong the job, I'll probably upgrade to the Shroom TECH stuff (and who knows, maybe one day the Jai Repar). 

Stay tuned, results/reviews coming soon!

The Weekly Update

This update will serve as the schedule over the next 2 weeks. I'll be heading to Florida on Vacation this upcoming Friday for a few days and don't plan on posting while I'm away!

Wednesdays & Thursdays at LA Fitness

Unfortunately Janice will be taking a hiatus from her Wednesday & Thursday Spinning classes at LA Fitness. I'm not 100% sure what the LA Fitness team will decide to do with these slots, but I would they they are likely to try and find a new instructor to step in. That means if you know anyone who is certified, or might be interested in getting certified, let me know!

Weekly Schedule (5/19 - 5/25)

Monday 5:45am @ LA Fitness -  Standard Class w/ Ken (off Bike)
Monday @ Rivers Club - Interval Class w/ Ken
Tuesday @ LA Fitness - Interval Classl w/ Ken
Wednesday 5:45am @ LA Fitness - Standard Class w/ Janice
Wednesday @ Rivers Club - Standard Class w/ Ken
Thursday 5:45am @ LA Fitness - Standard Class w/ Janice
Friday 5:45am @ LA Fitness -  Ken on Vacation...sub requested


Weekly Schedule (5/26 - 6/1)

Monday 5:45am @ LA Fitness -  Ken on Vacation...sub at LA Fitness (Marc)
Monday @ Rivers Club - Memorial Day...NO Class
Tuesday @ LA Fitness - Ken on Vacation...sub requested
Wednesday 5:45am @ LA Fitness - Sub requested
Wednesday @ Rivers Club - Sub requested
Thursday 5:45am @ LA Fitness - Sub requested
Friday 5:45am @ LA Fitness -  Standard Class w/ Ken (off Bike)

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