The OFM Pyramid
In biology no one element exists is compartmentalized. For this reason the OFM Pyramid provides a pathway so the athlete can understand the inter-related aspects of the OFM Program in an intuitive & holistic way. This allows each athlete to individualize OFM around their individual needs, situation and dynamics, rather than force them into a “one size fits all” program.
This not only achieves desired results, but does so on a long-term sustainable level. When an athlete achieves “The Zen of OFM,” OFM becomes effortless and intuitive because not only has the body made the physiological shifts, but also the behavioral changes that foster consistent optimal performance and health.
The OFM Pyramid is broken down into 7 fundamental elements, which combine to form the OFM Program. Each element is broken down further into related sub-sections. Every sub-section is intricately interwoven with the others and important in gaining your VESPA fueled performance potential. The pinnacle is OFM, what we term “The Zen of OFM”, however, it is first necessary to start with a solid foundation, the “Fat-Adapted” Metabolic State.
The “Strategic”carbohydrates are a key tool in OFM because the use of concentrated carbohydrates yields that performance push necessary for the adaptive signaling necessary for cells to become more efficient and robust in every way. This includes the mitochondria and why OFM athletes can build the metabolic capacity to metabolize fat at unprecedented levels.
OFM was originally developed as an outgrowth of supporting Vespa athletes to achieve their potential so while Vespa is not mandatory to achieve robust health, it is necessary if you are looking to optimize your performance potential. It is also a fantastic tool for streamlining the process of reaching the OFM state because it ‘jump starts’ your fat metabolism
Hydration is the most dynamic aspect of OFM and critical to both health and performance. It is crucially important if you want to experience the superior performance OFM provides.
The science of hydration is complex and imperfect. There is no ‘precision hydration’ formula. However, by understanding some basics and being aware of the signals, learning how to master your hydration needs makes executing hydration an intuitive task both in sport and life.
Because Training & Lifestyle are so intricately intertwined they occupy a single Tier of the OFM Pyramid, however, we break them down into two sub-categories each with several areas of actionable content to address to achieve “Higher Health & Peak Performance”:
Training: The multidimensional concept for “OFM Disruptive Periodization Training”
Lifestyle: Various areas of Life which impact OFM and how to make doable changes within the context of your life so they are sustainable
Stomach & Gut Health is intricately tied to whole body health and performance which OFM breaks down into three principal components:
Epithelium composed of epithelial cells and mucous membrane
The Biome composed of bacteria, fungi and archaea which reside in the Epithelium
Function of stomach acid and gall bladder
Stomach & Gut Health is crucial for:
Digestion and absorption of nutrition
Conversion of nutritional elements in food to critical building blocks for life
Breaking down of foreign proteins and other potentially harmful elements
Energy delivery
Hormonal balance
Immune system health / prevention of the development of auto-immune disease
Prevention of localized and systemic inflammation
Disease prevention
Longevity
Mental & Emotional health
Focusing on the Nutritional elements necessary to build and fuel the body are critical to any health, wellness or performance nutrition plan, however, by optimizing your fat metabolism, you optimize nutritional uptake and utilization thus minimize the metabolic loads of excess calories and nutritional imbalances.
The “Fat Adapted” Metabolic State forms the foundation of your Metabolic Health and Performance because fat metabolism:
- Is the energy source that you are meant to use to power you aerobically.
- Consists of and comprises what every element in your body (cells, mitochondria, hormones, enzymes, DNA, RNA etc.) are built upon.
