CEO’s Blog

The more I research it and the more studies that are done, the more I am convinced that the bodybuilding lifestyle is the BEST thing you can do in your life.

"But what about family and friends and love? Isn’t that more important than looking good on the beach?", you say.

One of the best ways to support your family, friends and the love in your life is to take care of yourself first, be healthy so you can be there for them, and show by example how to be a fit, confident person.

For example, the more I learn about pregnancy and childbirth, the happier I am that my wife follows the bodybuilding lifestyle. No, she’s not a huge, ripped, freaky bodybuilder (most people that are following the bodybuilding lifestyle aren’t, just look around your gym), but she eats right, lifts weights, does cardio, rarely drinks, doesn’t smoke, and takes the right supplements.

My Fit Wife, Bryna, Pregnant With Our First Child

We all know that what you eat and how healthy your body is can make ALL the difference to your unborn child. What you do while you are pregnant can affect your child for the rest of his or her life. Yes, that’s right… their entire life! Everything from their intelligence levels, stress levels, ability to sleep through the night, emotional well being, to their risk of disease.

A few new studies are worth mentioning, although I could literally mention hundreds here to prove my point:

FROM FIT PREGNANCY MAGAZINE:

“We all know that pregnant women benefit from physical activity, but a small study now suggests that as you exercise, your baby gets fit along with you. Researchers at Kansas City University of Medicine and Bioscience followed 10 women from 24 weeks of pregnancy to delivery, measuring their fetuses’ heart rate and heart rate variability (an indicator of heart function). Five women did moderate to intense aerobic exercise for at least 30 minutes, three times a week; the other five did not exercise. The study found that the heart rates of fetuses whose mothers exercised were significantly lower, suggesting they had a healthier heart, says the author. That implies the baby’s heart will continue to benefit after birth.

“That positive in utero environment will, hopefully, improve the child’s cardiovascular function and decrease cardiovascular disease risk,” Linda E. May says.”

Women who are into bodybuildng and fitness obviously get plenty of exercise.

ANOTHER ONE:

“Women who consume plenty of omega-3 fatty acids during the 3rd trimester have babies with better visual, cognitive and motor development compared with babies whose mothers don’t get as much omega-3s, according to a study of Inuit women in the Canadian Arctic.”

Women who are into bodybuilding and fitness usually eat a lot of low fat fish and supplement with fish or salmon oil.

I’m glad that now that my wife is pregnant with our third child, she is continuing to follow the bodybuilding and fitness lifestyle. Our kids will thank her for their entire lives!

Thank you Bryna for my healthy, happy kids!

Raiden - 4

Kyla - 2

Oh… and dads? You may not think this applies to you, but studies show that how healthy you are can determine how healthy your sperm is. For example:

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“Doctors have found a link between the amount of a vitamin called folate in men’s diets, and the health of their sperm.

The researchers in this new study looked at sperm with genetic faults. Like eggs from the mother, sperm contain genetic information that tells the growing baby how to develop. If the genetic information from the sperm or egg is faulty, the baby can’t develop properly. The baby may be born with a condition like Down’s syndrome, or the woman might have a miscarriage.

The study showed that men with high intakes of folate had less faulty sperm. Overall, men eating the most folate (over 722 micrograms a day) had 20 percent to 30 percent less faulty sperm than men eating less folate. It would be difficult to get this amount of folate from food alone. For example, spinach has about 100 micrograms of folate per serving, so you would need to eat a large amount to get to 700 micrograms. The men in the study who were getting over 722 micrograms of folate were taking supplements as well as getting folate from their diet.”

http://www.askbootshealth.com/health_news/patient_news/march-2008/vitamin-link-to-healthy-sperm

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So keep working out, avoiding alcohol and nicotine, and taking your multivitamins!

For more info on what workout, diet, and supplement plan to follow while pregnant, check our Bryna’s fit pregnancy guide:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/pregnancy.htm

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 21st, 2008 at 2:18 pm and is filed under CEO Thoughts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.