Oct 31, 2013
World Kettlebell Lifting Championships Chicago 2013 - Trifon Marchovski performs 66 Reps with 2x24 kg kettlebells Long Cycle
World Kettlebell Lifting Championships Chicago 2013 - Trifon Marchovski performs 66 Reps with 2x24 kg kettlebells Long Cycle. For the first time in history all kettlebell lifters chose to lift with a fixometer ( a motion detection device ). Trifon Marchovski took 1st place in the 75 kg category. An interesting fact is that 66 Reps is the highest number achieved with 2x24 kg kettlebells in the men's long cycle event since the beginning of the World Kettlebell Lifting Championships history regardless of the weight category or fixometer usage. Trifon Marchovski says: " I am proud to be a part of this historical movement which allows Kettlebell Lifting to break free and become an honest bullshitproof sport. I support honesty and will always choose to use a fixometer against the unstable human opinion.".
Oct 28, 2013
Get Grounded 3 - Anti Aging and ATP production
Grounding and Anti Aging
One of the most popular anti-aging theories is the free radical theory which states that organisms age because cells accumulate free radical damage over time. A free radical is any molecule or atom that has a single unpaired electron in an outer shell. Electrons usually live in pairs and travel in orbitals. This does not define charge which means that the free radical can be positively or negatively charged, or neutral. The damage occurs when the free radical steals the missing electron from another molecule which turns the affected molecule into a free radical. This turns into a chain reaction creating a whole lot of dysfunctional molecules and leads to cross-linking of atomic structures. DNA cross-linking for instance can cause cancer. Cross-linking between fat and protein forms the wrinkles on your skin, the oxidation of LDL (low density lipoprotein) starts plaque formation which could end up as a heart disease or a stroke. As an addition to the free radical theory comes the mitochondrial theory of aging which takes the mitochondria as the main target for the free radicals. The theory states that mitochondrial DNA is less protected than the nuclear DNA and during energy production electrons may escape, interact with water, and form reactive oxygen species (ROS) which accumulate and do the damage over time.
The largest amount of free radicals are produced during inflammation, and energy formation. So we get them every time we take a breath. We get them every time we eat. We get them every time we get injured. It is not a question of if we are going to get them, it is a question of how much.
"It looks to me, from my study of biophysics and cell biology, like the body is designed with a semi-conductive fabric that connects everything in the body, including inside of every cell,...
I refer to this system as the living matrix. Those electrons that enter the bottom of your foot can move anywhere in your body. Any place where a free radical forms, there are electrons nearby that can neutralize that free radical and prevent any of those processes: mitochondrial damage, cross linking of proteins, and mutation or genetic damage.
So the whole fabric is basically an antioxidant defense system that is in every part of our body.
We have this material called ground substance which is part of the connective tissue. It goes everywhere in the body. It's a gel material and it stores electrons. So that if you go barefoot, you will take in electrons and your body will store them, and they will be available at any point where you might have an injury, or any point where a free radical might form..."
Dr. James Oschman
ATP is our energy currency. The molecule contains adenosine (an adenine ring and a ribose sugar) and three phosphate groups. The groups starting closest to the ribose are referred to as the alpha, beta and gamma phosphates. The energy is stored in the covalent bonds between them with the greatest energy being between the second and the third. A decent analogy is to look at ATP as a rechargeable battery. Its energy is exhausted first and then it gets recharged. ATP is the charged battery which releases energy by cutting loose the third phosphate. ADP (adenosine diphosphate ) is the exhausted battery which gets recharged with the help of additional energy and a phosphate group.
ADP + Pi + energy ----> ATP
Adenosine diphosphate + inorganic Phosphate + energy produces Adenosine Triphosphate
ATP ----> ADP + energy + Pi
Adenosine Triphosphate produces Adenosine diphosphate + energy + inorganic Phosphate
ATP generated from ADP and Phosphate ions is quite a process. There are supportive agents called coenzymes that navigate the flow of the electrons. Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) and flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) are the two most important enzymes. The removal of electrons or protons from a coenzyme is called oxidation and the opposite is called reduction. So the chemical workings done by the coenzymes are called oxidation-reduction reactions. Together with the coenzymes, another bunch of guys called cytochromes also deal with the electrons in a system known as the electron transport system. Cytochromes and coenzymes extract the energy from the electrons to form ATP from ADP and phosphate ions. So energy always forms by turning a high energy state electron into a low energy state electron.
ATP can be produced by using carbohydrates (broken down to glucose or fructose) or fats ( fatty acids and glycerol ).
The overall process of oxidizing glucose to carbon dioxide in humans is known as cellular respiration and can produce ideally 38 ATPs from a single glucose. There are three distinct stages: glycolysis, citric acid cycle ( also known as the Krebs Cycle ), and the electron transport chain. Glycolysis occurs in the cytoplasm and is purely anaerobic (no oxygen). It breaks down glucose into pyruvate and generates 2 ATPs. From this point the pyruvate can go two ways based on the oxygen usage. If the cells require fast delivery of energy and the aerobic pathway (citric acid cycle) can not fulfil the requirements the pyruvate goes to fermentation turning into lactic acid. Although fermentation is not creating any more ATPs, it allows the glycolysis to start over quickly and get another two ATPs ( by regenerating NAD+ enzyme). The process is highly inefficient but also a lifesaver in times of emergency. We see this in sports all the time when the intensity of the exercise needs energy faster than the mitochondria can produce, the muscle cells switch to fermentation. If there is no rush and the mitochondria is healthy, glycolysis continues to its rightful way. Pyruvate moves on towards the citric cycle. It starts after a preparation step where the pyruvate becomes Acetyl CoA and enters the cycle as Citric Acid producing another 2 ATPs (happens in the matrix of the mitochondrion). After the first two stages the reaction goes to the electron transport chain to generate the bulk of the energy - 34 ATPs with the help of the coenzymes and the cytochromes. This is the stage when the high energy state of the electron is used to create a high pressure turbine which jumbles ADPs and Phosphates together to form ATP.
This is also known as oxidative phosphorylation - the most efficient way to utilize glucose for energy. It is fair to note that grounding improves glucose metabolism by providing high state electrons thus promoting oxidative phosphorylation versus fermentation.
Beta-oxidation is the process of breaking the down the fatty acids in the mitochondria to generate Acetyl CoA which then enters the citric acid cycle and the electron transport chain. The fatty acid metabolism can use a lot of explanation but what’s important is that it generates a lot more ATPs comparing to glucose ( palmitate yields 106 ATPs vs 38 ATPs of the glucose ). So fats are better storage of electrons than carbs.
Being grounded is a good reason why plants don’t need fat storage, they have an access to the high state energy electrons of the earth all the time. So the more we stay connected to earth the more we don’t need fat storage. Yes, grounding consistently will help you lose fat.
One of the most popular anti-aging theories is the free radical theory which states that organisms age because cells accumulate free radical damage over time. A free radical is any molecule or atom that has a single unpaired electron in an outer shell. Electrons usually live in pairs and travel in orbitals. This does not define charge which means that the free radical can be positively or negatively charged, or neutral. The damage occurs when the free radical steals the missing electron from another molecule which turns the affected molecule into a free radical. This turns into a chain reaction creating a whole lot of dysfunctional molecules and leads to cross-linking of atomic structures. DNA cross-linking for instance can cause cancer. Cross-linking between fat and protein forms the wrinkles on your skin, the oxidation of LDL (low density lipoprotein) starts plaque formation which could end up as a heart disease or a stroke. As an addition to the free radical theory comes the mitochondrial theory of aging which takes the mitochondria as the main target for the free radicals. The theory states that mitochondrial DNA is less protected than the nuclear DNA and during energy production electrons may escape, interact with water, and form reactive oxygen species (ROS) which accumulate and do the damage over time.
The largest amount of free radicals are produced during inflammation, and energy formation. So we get them every time we take a breath. We get them every time we eat. We get them every time we get injured. It is not a question of if we are going to get them, it is a question of how much.
Grounding is still the most intelligent way to establish balance and control of the free radical chaos:
"It looks to me, from my study of biophysics and cell biology, like the body is designed with a semi-conductive fabric that connects everything in the body, including inside of every cell,...
I refer to this system as the living matrix. Those electrons that enter the bottom of your foot can move anywhere in your body. Any place where a free radical forms, there are electrons nearby that can neutralize that free radical and prevent any of those processes: mitochondrial damage, cross linking of proteins, and mutation or genetic damage.
So the whole fabric is basically an antioxidant defense system that is in every part of our body.
We have this material called ground substance which is part of the connective tissue. It goes everywhere in the body. It's a gel material and it stores electrons. So that if you go barefoot, you will take in electrons and your body will store them, and they will be available at any point where you might have an injury, or any point where a free radical might form..."
Dr. James Oschman
Grounding and ATP production
ATP is our energy currency. The molecule contains adenosine (an adenine ring and a ribose sugar) and three phosphate groups. The groups starting closest to the ribose are referred to as the alpha, beta and gamma phosphates. The energy is stored in the covalent bonds between them with the greatest energy being between the second and the third. A decent analogy is to look at ATP as a rechargeable battery. Its energy is exhausted first and then it gets recharged. ATP is the charged battery which releases energy by cutting loose the third phosphate. ADP (adenosine diphosphate ) is the exhausted battery which gets recharged with the help of additional energy and a phosphate group.
ADP + Pi + energy ----> ATP
Adenosine diphosphate + inorganic Phosphate + energy produces Adenosine Triphosphate
ATP ----> ADP + energy + Pi
Adenosine Triphosphate produces Adenosine diphosphate + energy + inorganic Phosphate
ATP generated from ADP and Phosphate ions is quite a process. There are supportive agents called coenzymes that navigate the flow of the electrons. Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) and flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) are the two most important enzymes. The removal of electrons or protons from a coenzyme is called oxidation and the opposite is called reduction. So the chemical workings done by the coenzymes are called oxidation-reduction reactions. Together with the coenzymes, another bunch of guys called cytochromes also deal with the electrons in a system known as the electron transport system. Cytochromes and coenzymes extract the energy from the electrons to form ATP from ADP and phosphate ions. So energy always forms by turning a high energy state electron into a low energy state electron.
ATP can be produced by using carbohydrates (broken down to glucose or fructose) or fats ( fatty acids and glycerol ).
The overall process of oxidizing glucose to carbon dioxide in humans is known as cellular respiration and can produce ideally 38 ATPs from a single glucose. There are three distinct stages: glycolysis, citric acid cycle ( also known as the Krebs Cycle ), and the electron transport chain. Glycolysis occurs in the cytoplasm and is purely anaerobic (no oxygen). It breaks down glucose into pyruvate and generates 2 ATPs. From this point the pyruvate can go two ways based on the oxygen usage. If the cells require fast delivery of energy and the aerobic pathway (citric acid cycle) can not fulfil the requirements the pyruvate goes to fermentation turning into lactic acid. Although fermentation is not creating any more ATPs, it allows the glycolysis to start over quickly and get another two ATPs ( by regenerating NAD+ enzyme). The process is highly inefficient but also a lifesaver in times of emergency. We see this in sports all the time when the intensity of the exercise needs energy faster than the mitochondria can produce, the muscle cells switch to fermentation. If there is no rush and the mitochondria is healthy, glycolysis continues to its rightful way. Pyruvate moves on towards the citric cycle. It starts after a preparation step where the pyruvate becomes Acetyl CoA and enters the cycle as Citric Acid producing another 2 ATPs (happens in the matrix of the mitochondrion). After the first two stages the reaction goes to the electron transport chain to generate the bulk of the energy - 34 ATPs with the help of the coenzymes and the cytochromes. This is the stage when the high energy state of the electron is used to create a high pressure turbine which jumbles ADPs and Phosphates together to form ATP.
This is also known as oxidative phosphorylation - the most efficient way to utilize glucose for energy. It is fair to note that grounding improves glucose metabolism by providing high state electrons thus promoting oxidative phosphorylation versus fermentation.
Beta-oxidation is the process of breaking the down the fatty acids in the mitochondria to generate Acetyl CoA which then enters the citric acid cycle and the electron transport chain. The fatty acid metabolism can use a lot of explanation but what’s important is that it generates a lot more ATPs comparing to glucose ( palmitate yields 106 ATPs vs 38 ATPs of the glucose ). So fats are better storage of electrons than carbs.
Being grounded is a good reason why plants don’t need fat storage, they have an access to the high state energy electrons of the earth all the time. So the more we stay connected to earth the more we don’t need fat storage. Yes, grounding consistently will help you lose fat.
Dr. Stephen Sinatra, the author of “The Sinatra Solution: Metabolic cardiology” talks about the importance of ATP production and heart health for years. He has been a promoter of the raw ingredients that help the muscle cell recycle ATP - Co-Q10, D-Ribose, Magnesium, and L-Carnitine. He recently added to the mix the ultimate ATP recharger - Earth’s free electrons. He is convinced that grounding is the most important health discovery in the last 30 years. He also believes that grounding gives the supercharged electrons our body needs to stay on top of the energy game.
Oct 23, 2013
Oct 21, 2013
weather
 |
| "Don't knock the weather, if it didn't change once in a while, nine out of ten people couldn't start a conversation." Kim Hubbard Photography: Trifon Marchovski |
Oct 16, 2013
Get Grounded Part 2 - The Cardiovascular System
Part 2 - The Cardiovascular System
Heart never stops. It constantly pulsates creating a flow. A flow that runs in a system of vessels - the largest being the aorta and the smallest being the capillaries. The matter of the flow is the blood. It delivers oxygen, nutrients and messages to the cell and takes away the garbage. The elasticity of the vessels, their number and bandwidth together with the volume of the blood and its thickness define how well this cardiovascular system communicates.
Grounding improves it all.
Grounding, Blood Viscosity and Zeta Potential
Blood viscosity is a term describing the thickness of the blood. The thicker your blood, the slower it flows, the greater the possibility of clumping. Visualize it as ketchup versus red wine.
Zeta potential is related to blood viscosity. It is the negative charge on the surface of the red blood cells. The higher the amount of free electrons, the more negative charge, the more red blood cells repel each other. No coagulation and no traffic jams.
Grounding provides free electrons to negatively charge the red blood cells and thin the blood. Linus Pauling (the only person awarded two unshared Nobel Prize Awards) knew about zeta potential a great deal. This was one of the reasons why he promoted the supplementation of high doses vitamin c (a governor of the electron flow). Other popular blood thinners are the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) - aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen. Also natural remedies such as fish oil, turmeric (curcumin extract), ginger etc.
You need to be careful with grounding if you are taking a prescription blood thinner like Coumadin (often prescribed by physicians to heart patients). The combination between the two can thin the blood too much and become a health risk (not to be able to stop any kind of bleeding for instance). A good strategy is to start grounding gradually and lower the prescribed drug after you and your doctor have monitored and agreed upon all the changes.
You need to be careful with grounding if you are taking a prescription blood thinner like Coumadin (often prescribed by physicians to heart patients). The combination between the two can thin the blood too much and become a health risk (not to be able to stop any kind of bleeding for instance). A good strategy is to start grounding gradually and lower the prescribed drug after you and your doctor have monitored and agreed upon all the changes.
Grounding, Heart Rate Variability and Sympathetic Nervous System
Heart Rate Variability (HRV) is the variation in the time interval between heartbeats. HRV is an important indicator for both acute and chronic stress caused by mental overdrive, anxiety, and emotional trauma. In other words people with low variability are less able to handle stress and more prone to stress-related disorders.
The sympathetic nervous system (SNS) is also an important indicator of how stress has been handled. It represents the flight-or-fight response. It constricts the cardiovascular system, rises blood pressure, rushes adrenalin and cortisol to keep us on our toes. In today’s informational chaos we are surrounded by chronic uncertainty and frustration that leaves us in a state of defense and fear. This often causes panic attacks and arrhythmia which disrupts the stability of the heart rhythm. The parasympathetic nervous system (PSNS), which takes care of relaxation, rest,and recharge, can not cover for the over excitement. Neither can the enteric nervous system which controls the gastrointestinal system.
The sympathetic nervous system (SNS) is also an important indicator of how stress has been handled. It represents the flight-or-fight response. It constricts the cardiovascular system, rises blood pressure, rushes adrenalin and cortisol to keep us on our toes. In today’s informational chaos we are surrounded by chronic uncertainty and frustration that leaves us in a state of defense and fear. This often causes panic attacks and arrhythmia which disrupts the stability of the heart rhythm. The parasympathetic nervous system (PSNS), which takes care of relaxation, rest,and recharge, can not cover for the over excitement. Neither can the enteric nervous system which controls the gastrointestinal system.
So what are we to do since things don’t seem to be getting any less shaky?
Take it Easy. Realize that life is not that serious.Throw in some humor. Exercise, dance, listen to music, meditate, talk, be creative, laugh, reconnect to “Earth”.
Grounding acts as a calming regulator allowing the body to adapt, to lower cortisol, to balance the autonomic nervous system and to improve the Heart Rate Variability. The electrophysiologist Gaetan Chevalier, Ph. D. and Dr. Stephen T. Sinatra, offer an extensive experimental research on the matter clearly showing the relationship between grounding and the reduction in overall stress and tension.
Grounding acts as a calming regulator allowing the body to adapt, to lower cortisol, to balance the autonomic nervous system and to improve the Heart Rate Variability. The electrophysiologist Gaetan Chevalier, Ph. D. and Dr. Stephen T. Sinatra, offer an extensive experimental research on the matter clearly showing the relationship between grounding and the reduction in overall stress and tension.
Ok, let’s picture the cardiovascular system as a network of elastic pipes. It is logical to say that the blood pressure will be dependent on the strength and the rhythm of the heart, the volume and the thickness of the blood, the elasticity and the bandwidth of the pipes.
Although all parameters are important, the hardest to correct are the elasticity and the bandwidth.
Losing elasticity and narrowing the bandwidth is known as a disease called atherosclerosis. It is a chronic inflammatory response in the wall of the arteries leading to their hardening and narrowing because of a plaque formation. The response could be triggered by anything producing an excess of free radicals: smoking, chemical irritants, chronic cardiovascular overtraining (often invoked in long and intense marathon training programs), but the biggest reason is the diet itself. What we eat and how much we eat holds the key to inflammation and healing. As described in Part 1- Inflammation, the problem lies not in the first inflammatory response but in the inability to transform into the second rejuvenation phase. Let me summarize chronic inflammation with one word - miscommunication. An ongoing inflammatory battle causes a constant free radical shower. The body compensates by pulling all of its antioxidants and eventually exhausting them. One such powerful antioxidant is co-enzyme Q10. It plays an important role in ATP formation (the primary energy molecule in the cell). Once CoQ10 gets depleted the cell starts leaking energy, oxygen, and free electrons. The mitochondria can’t keep up with the energy requirements. So the body switches to an alternative anaerobic way to produce ATP which surpasses the mitochondria (glycolysis producing lactic acid through fermentation). Highly inefficient and damaging, this anaerobic respiration produces only 2 ATPs from one glucose while the aerobic respiration delivers 38 ATPs. The muscle cells (the heart is a muscle) start to lose energy in a cascading pattern which leads to an extensive glycation (bonding of protein or lipid with glucose or fructose). As a result of all this the cell membrane gets depleted from cholesterol sulfate which creates further oxidation and leakage of ions ( cholesterol serves a crucial role in preventing small charged ions, mainly sodium Na+ and potassium K+, from leaking across membranes).
Cholesterol is a long conversation which will be addressed in a future article. I will say however that it is not the bad guy. Although it is always found at the crime scene it is not the killer, in fact its intentions are quite the opposite, it is there to protect. If you believe in Nature’s intellect then it would be naive to assume that it concentrates cholesterol in the two most vital parts of the human body (the heart and the brain) just so it can get us killed.
"I always have believed that cholesterol is a very, very important nutrient,... Cholesterol is to animals as chlorophyll is to plants. It basically gives us mobility – the ability to move and it gives the nervous system the ability to think."
Dr.Stephanie Seneff
In a fascinating interview between Dr. Mercola and Dr. Seneff you can learn further about the role that cholesterol, sulfate metabolism, and sun exposure play in restoring health:
“My research has uncovered compelling evidence that the nutrient that is most crucially needed to protect the heart from atherosclerosis is cholesterol sulfate. The extensive literature review my colleagues and I have conducted to produce these two papers shows compellingly that the fatty deposits that build-up in the artery walls leading to the heart exist mainly for the purpose of extracting cholesterol from glycated small dense LDL particles and synthesizing cholesterol sulfate from it, providing the cholesterol sulfate directly to the heart muscle. The reason the plaque build-up occurs preferentially in the arteries leading to the heart is so that the heart muscle can be assured an adequate supply of cholesterol sulfate. In our papers, we develop the argument that the cholesterol sulfate plays an essential role in the caveolae in the lipid rafts, in mediating oxygen and glucose transport...
The skin produces cholesterol sulfate in large quantities when it is exposed to sunlight. Our theory suggests that the skin actually synthesizes sulfate from sulfide, capturing energy from sunlight in the form of the sulfate molecule, thus acting as a solar-powered battery. The sulfate is then shipped to all the cells of the body, carried on the back of the cholesterol molecule.”
The primary reason for cholesterol oxidation is inflammation and energy leaking. It is the sugars that cause the inflammation and which we need to fear and not the cholesterol. Cholesterol is there to help, to deliver energy, to improve communication, and to keep negative charge to fight bacteria and other invaders. Unfortunately if inflammation continues long enough cholesterol will fall oxidized on the battlefield. The free radicals do not pick the good from the bad and everybody suffers sooner or later.
Grounding is the best way to get free electrons needed as antioxidants, it is also the best way to increase the ATP production until you figure out the primary cause for the silent inflammation.
Oct 13, 2013
Oct 12, 2013
Oct 8, 2013
The boat
 |
| "Only the guy who isn't rowing has time to rock the boat" Jean-Paul Sartre Trifon Marchovski Photography |
Oct 3, 2013
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