Participation in sports, not only for top-level athletes but also for those who exercise on a more casual basis, is very demanding and taxing for the body, especially in today’s environment where many external factors effect health negatively.
An individualized scientific development program based on hair mineral analysis offers the cutting edge in athletic performance enhancement as well as all the other benefits that are included in development.
A development program can benefit amateur and professional athletes in many important ways. Following a program based on development science can mean the difference between a mediocre season and a winning one. The benefits include enhanced strength and stamina, improved mental clarity, focus and awareness, prevention of sporting injuries, burnout or exhaustion, rapid and more complete recovery from injuries, better weight control, regaining ideal hormonal production and balance similar to that experienced at a younger age (for older athletes) and improved general health. The development program is also an excellent way to guide diet and supplement recommendations for athletes. Here are more details about these benefits.
STRENGTH AND STAMINA
Balancing the oxidation rate will enhance the efficiency of energy production in the body cells. A very slow or very fast oxidation rate is similar to running a car or bicycle in the wrong gear, producing poor energy efficiency. Different sports require different metabolic attributes. For example, a fast oxidizer may do well as a sprinter. However, a slow oxidizer will often succeed better as a long–distance runner.
Iron, copper, manganese, magnesium, chromium, zinc and other minerals are intimately involved in cellular energy production. The proper combination is the key. Identifying and eliminating excess toxic metals is also most helpful for energy, flexibility and stamina.
Stabilizing carbohydrate tolerance also contributes to stamina. A balance of many nutrients including calcium, magnesium, manganese, zinc and chromium is required for the proper metabolism of glucose to generate sustained energy.
MENTAL CLARITY AND FOCUS
Coordination, clarity, awareness, judgment and a quick response time are a major part of all athletic performance. The brain is a chemical organ, and requires a vast array of nutrients for proper functioning. All toxic metals interfere with the central nervous system, leading to impaired mental functioning. Correcting biochemical imbalances invariably leads to improved mental focus and functioning for athletes.
An important problem in athletics today is the behaviour of team members, on the field and off. A development program helps enhance emotional clarity and stability, leading to better attitudes and behaviour.
IMPROVED HEALTH AND AVOIDING BURNOUT
Especially late in the season, chronic fatigue and related problems are common among athletes and many go into burnout. Development programs are excellent to help prevent and correct these complications.
Colds, flu, pneumonia and other illnesses often plague athletes, especially those who train hard and travel a lot. An effective immune system to resist infection relies on a balanced chemistry and the availability of a variety of vital nutrients. A development program allows monitoring and correction of imbalances before they lead to sickness to help maintain excellent health, the rigours of training, as well as while travelling.
INJURY PREVENTION
Nutritional imbalances cause weak joints, tendons and ligaments, excessive inflammation and muscle tears. Balancing body chemistry can help avoid injuries by maintaining stronger ligaments. It can also help reduce the need for antibiotics and other drugs by improving the immune system and general health.
Each year a number of supposedly healthy high school and professional athletes die from sudden heart attacks and even strokes. These tragic deaths can usually be predicted by stress indicators from a properly performed and interpreted hair analysis. And they can often be prevented through dietary changes and proper supplementation.
Without mineral testing and a development program, athletes often take needless risks — and suffer the consequences. Standard blood tests do not reveal this information.
ENHANCED RECOVERY
One of the most impressive uses of a development program is to speed up recovery from fractures, sprains and other injuries. Many nutrients including zinc, manganese, copper, calcium, magnesium and a variety of vitamins are required for healing of injuries.
When these are provided in the correct amounts and combinations, the results are most impressive.
A low sodium/potassium ratio or an abnormal phosphorus level in an unwashed hair sample are associated with excessive protein breakdown or catabolism. A chronic catabolic state can impair or even prevent the normal healing of sports injuries.
WEIGHT CONTROL
Many athletes are plagued by stubborn problems with food cravings and weight control. Development science offers a scientific and individualized method of approaching this issue in a safe and effective manner.
Nutrition programs based on this science can assist with both weight gain and weight loss.
PROPER SUPPLEMENTATION
Most athletes take a variety of supplements, some of which are incorrect and perhaps even dangerous. A development program is very helpful to assess the adequacy of the diet, and to guide the use of supplements to balance and enhance body chemistry.
On a personal note, I myself have always been very active in sport and enjoyed exercise, but after about the age of 34 I started to have a little less energy and pep when working out. I began to observe that the recovery and strength to bounce back after hard exercise which most younger age seem to take for granted does eventually peak and drop. I didn’t start development myself for athletic enhancement but rather due to poor health. Despite my visiting endless doctors as well as natural health practitioners it was not improving, but actually getting progressively worse. Throughout this time I would continue exercise as whipping up the nervous system, adrenals and endorphins would always make me feel much better for around twelve hours following intense exercise but if the following day I didn’t repeat the process then exhaustion and a general feeling of low health would set in. I’m sure many people know what I’m referring to. After my problems reached a head at the age of 37 (something I can talk about on a different occasion) I turned to the development program to regain my health. The effects were nothing like what I had experienced before, the science of development is intrinsic and complex but its application in practical terms is beautifully simplistic. Over the next few years I rebuilt my health and studied development and then became a practitioner myself. As I progressed on this life path, my chronic injuries that I thought were to be with me for ever began to clear up and disappear. It would always follow the same pattern: the injuries and conditions would suddenly flare up and I would in a way ‘relive the event’ of the original injury and then it would for the first time heal properly. This happened with chronic bicep tendinitis that was like a table tennis ball lodged in my arm, such was the inflammation. A similar healing pattern also occured with wrist and knee injuries, which after both being compromised for many years returned to full function in my early 40s. The way these conditions were retraced with the development program was quite amazing to me at the time. It also occurred in the same way with previous illnesses. The next effect I noticed was the way my hormones bounced back again and my strength and recovery became similar to what I had enjoyed a couple of decades back. This really capped off my amazement at development science with regards to athletic performance as well as general healing and restoration of health. I have a picture below of myself at the age of 40 and well on my way to regaining robust health. It is the only photo I have of me exercising in a gym as I don’t tend to take that many pictures of myself (or of anything else for that matter).
Two years later I am significantly more athletic and in better shape still, and I credit the development program fully for this. Now I’m just looking forward to getting healthier and stronger as the years advance. Sort of like life in reverse.
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