Monday, January 31, 2011

Vegetarian protein vs complete proteins

There has always been a debate in the world of training as to which protein is the best protein for a given athlete to consume. It used to be egg protein years ago hence all the atletes of old drinking the cup full of raw eggs. After the egg protein it is now whey protein. For a short period of time a lot of nutrition stores were pushing soy protein. This vegetarian protein is loaded with the anti catabolic amino  acid L- glutamine but lacks proper amounts of the branch chain amino acids. The branch chain amino acids are essencial for muscle growth due to the fact that our bodies can simply not produce them and need them from our diets. This is the fatal flaw in most vegetarian protein sources these branch chain amino acids are in lower concentrations in the vegetarian protein sources. Complete proteins on the other hand contain a more complete amino acid profile and concentration of the branch chain amino acids. They might not be as high in say L- glutamine but it doesn't really matter as your body can make L- glutamine anyway. But once again it cannot make the branch chain amino acids. This does not mean you have to cut out vegitarian proteion sources. All this means is that you have to incorperate them as part of a protein complexe into your diet. Like say a complex of whey, soy and egg protein or something. This would be a complete protein profile and yield the most benefit for the user. So mix up your proteins for better gains.

The importance of free weight exercises vs machines

There is a lot of talk about machines in gyms these days. They tell you that  these "machines" isolate this muscle and that muscle. Well here is the truth people you need to do multi- joint complex movements before you even attempt to isolate a given body part. The complex multi joint movements are the only way to truly strengthen your core and build a good foundation for the rest of your training career. These are the tried and true movements that have been working for decades around the globe. These "trainers" in some of these gyms can't tell me that doing some weak little circuit is better than doing free weights. I know from my own experience that I will get 100 times stronger doing dead lifts that machine rows. You want your back to develop better in the middle. Stop doing lat pull downs and start doing pull-ups. My point is this yes you can incorporate machine movements into your workout regiment but it should only be when you are at an advanced level of training. Even when at an advanced level you should just add a few machine exercise to you free weight regiment. So get off the machine and pick up those weights.

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Branch chain amino acids. What do they mean to me?

The branch chain amino acids are amino acids that our bodies cannot produce from other amino acids. These amino acids are essential to muscle growth due to the fact that we are %100 dependent on getting them from our diets and that is the only place they can be derived from. All amino acids are in general are broken down proteins. If you break a protein down to it's smallest component you get amino acids. So they are often referred to as the building blocks of proteins. The three branch chain amino acids are leucine, iso-leucine and valine. The reason that they are referred to as branch chains is because the body can make any other amino acid out of these three. There fore it is essential to get your protein from sources high in these three amino acids in order to have an effective nutrition regiment. Not enough branch chain amino acids equals not enough growth. Unfortunately most sources of protein derived from vegetables are low in this essential amino acid trio. Although it can be higher in certain amino acids that have good effects for other things it still lacks these three in strong levels. So if you are not getting enough good quality animal protein in your diet you need a non vegetable based protein powder to make up the difference. Or someone concerned with vegetarian aspects of there diet could consume milk and eggs in addition to the protein powder to make up the difference. Whatever it is that you do add a strong source of this amino acid trio in somewhere. The bottom line is that if you don't you are only hurting your own progress in the gym.

Saturday, January 29, 2011

The magic of MCT'S

People are constantly stuck between the struggle to stay lean and build muscle. There are very few things that you can use in your arsenal to accomplish this feat of balance. If you eat too many calories from most sources of food you will store the excess as fat because that is what the body is designed to do. However if you eat too few calories you look like a skinny little weakling and feel like one to. So what am I getting at? This is where M.C.T's come into the picture. Medium chain triglycerides are a source of calories that can be used for fuel but cannot be stored as fat. So what that means to you and me is that you can use them to gain extra calories to maintain muscle mass without affecting your body fat percentage. The main source of M.C.T's are from coconuts. This is a calorie packed super food that can help you maintain and gain mass without sacrificing the lean look so much. You can also find M.C.T's in oil form at some nutrition centers and retailers. My suggestion to you is to either incorporate the oil somewhere in your supplement regiment. What I do is add coconut extract to my morning and post training shakes to get benefit from the free calories. What ever you decide to do I definitely suggest you ad this to you regiment.

Friday, January 28, 2011

E.C.A Stack to help melt the fat

The E.C.A stacks or ephedrine, aspirin and caffeine stacks are some of the most effective thermo genics ever developed. They work by raising your metabolic rate and starting thermo genesis. Or in other words your body is warm due to the fact that it is using stimulants to raise your activity levels and everything. So if they are so good why is it so hard to find ephedrine based products on the market? There is a two fold answer to this question the first part is liability due to abuse. The federal government was even considering legislation against ephedrine not too long ago. It's the old adage "If one pill is good..." This is the worst attitude to have especially if you are not in good shape. An overdose can cause a panic type problem in most people which in obese people could cause a heart attack. The second cause for concern was the fact that the meth dealers use this to make their product. That is why you have to show your ID every time you want sudafed for a cold or something. Even with all these problems it is still sold. But most companies choose to use a replacement stimulant in the place of ephedrine. Even though they replace it with a different ingredient it still has an impressive response in the body. My suggestion is to add them with the supplements that I suggest in my article the supplement trifecta to help kindle the fat burning furnace.

How to lower cholesterol naturally

There are lots of people these days with cholesterol problems. I know everybody thinks it's the token fat guy sweating on the tread mill that is the guy with the high cholesterol but you would be surprised. Many of these people with high cholesterol are not even fat. In fact some of them even look thin. It is more a matter of what kind of liver you got in the genetic lottery than how fat you are. Granted if you got a bad one for producing the bad cholesterol and you are obese you are asking for serious trouble. There is always the token listen to the doctor and eat your oatmeal approach. This will lower your cholesterol a couple of points but not dramatically. Oatmeal is good don't get me wrong it is not enough in most cases however. Then there are the statin drugs like Baycol that killed hundreds of people. You can have low cholesterol and keep eating those double blubber chunk burgers with cheese and not worry right? Well the truth of the matter is that many of these statin drugs lower your good cholesterol along with the bad so what you wind up with are sore muscles for no reason and a lack of energy if you are lucky. If you are not lucky then you get muscle wasting (Baycol) your kidneys fail and you could die. So what do you do then? There are a lot of natural supplements combined with diet that can lower cholesterol if taken properly without hurting or killing you. One of the main stacks that I have always suggested are soy lecthin granules with increased vitamin C. What this does is supply the liver with more choline to do it's job naturally. Of course you could always eat oatmeal once a day to put icing on the cake. Try the granule once a day for a month and see what you think. They are also way cheaper that prescriptions by the way.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Super slow training isometrics in motion

There has been a lot of press lately about super slow training in every gym from Los Angeles to Moscow. Super slow is a good method of training but all they are doing is influencing you to conduct all your repetitions at a very slow pace. So your reps are a few seconds down and a few seconds up. This is a very familiar technique it is isometric training with range of motion added. The benefit is that you get that burning sensation in your muscles from them running out of oxygen. The drawbacks are that you cannot take the muscle to maximum overload. Remember there are three types of muscle fiber in your muscles that should be stimulated by your training routine. Especially by the resistance portion of whatever routine you are taking part in to stimulate your muscles. Some of these gyms and fitness centers tote the super slow method as the same as doing weights with cardio at the same time. Although you are burning more calories by doing your reps for a longer period of time this is far from "cardio". As we know you need to achieve your target heart rate and I see a serious problem for you to accomplish this while doing slow reps with relatively light weight in a still position. Does this mean that the super slow method is not good at all? No of course not. It is just not the answer to all questions concerning resistance training. I am afraid our bodies are just too complicated bio feed back mechanisms to accept that for an answer. As they say variety is the spice of life and the same holds true with your training.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Which multi vitamin is a good multi vitamin?

I believe that every single person in the world should take a good multi-vitamin. Especially considering the way most people eat these days. We just do not eat all the wholesome nutrient filled foods that we should on a daily basis. The reasons for this vary but whatever they may be you are the one that suffers for them one way or another. There are many types of multi vitamins on the market. So which ones are good and which ones are not good? Well to understand that you must look at the vitamins themselves and have a limited understanding of how they work in your body. For starters they have to have enough potency wise to supply your body with the right amount of each vitamin. They also have to be bio-available to your body through digestive processes. Most honest vitamin companies will have a USP disintegration code somewhere on the packaging. Once you have determined all of these factors then you have to look at the different kinds of vitamins and how they interact with your body. Fat soluble vitamins for example tend to stay in your body for longer periods of time. There fore such vitamins like E and D can become toxic if you consume too much over time. Water soluble vitamins are the exact opposite they are excreted and used by our bodies very quickly. There fore taking them multiple times a day is the most efficient way to keep your levels up. This is why I do not recommend a one a day philosophy for vitamins as this is not enough. Although it is better than nothing it is still not enough for our overtaxed and underpaid bodies. The best way to go is to take a two pill a day dose so you can divide your dose between breakfast and lunchtime meals. This divides the dose of fat soluble vitamins while keeping levels of water soluble vitamins like the B vitamins up. So take a two a day keep the doctor away philosophy because one a day is not enough.

Active and resting metabolism for fat burning

To understand how to change something that you don;t like about yourself you first have to understand how it works. Our bodies are often referred to as having a "metabolism" but in actuality there are more like two metabolisms working simultaneously. The first one is referred to as the resting metabolism this is your metabolic rate when you are at a state of rest. In other words how many calories your body is burning while just sitting around. This metabolism is directly affected by how much lean muscle mass there is on your body. Therefore the more lean mass you have the more calories and fat you can burn. That is why resistance and weight training are so important. The second metabolism is the active metabolism this one is affected by the amount of activity you do at any given time. This metabolism is only reactive for a short period of time usually 24 hrs after the activity. This is why you have to keep doing cardio to burn off extra fat. The best thing to do is to take advantage of both to achieve your goal. So in other words do both weight training and cardio to get better faster results. Happy training.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

How much protein is enough protein?

This is probably the number on nutritional question that I have been asked over the years. As we know it takes protein to build muscle not enough protein and not enough muscle. A good rule of thumb that is told around every gym across the globe is one gram of protein per pound of body mass. This is good but not if you are extremely over weight. Lets say you weigh 295 pounds and are at %30 body fat than why would you eat enough protein to support the 88.5 pounds of fat on your body? Lets not forget that protein has 4 calories per gram just like carbohydrates do. So what you should do is eat to support your 206 ponds of lean muscle mass and ditch the extra calories. So what I am saying is to divide your 205 grams of protein over 6 meals or so and you will get the right amount without excess. You will have to get your body fat measured in order to figure this out. Once you do you will be very happy with the results. The key is to get enough protein to support muscle growth without getting fat. If you are curious about carbs you can check my post called good carbs bad carbs what carbs? So eat your protein but not too much and train hard.

How much cardio is enough cardio?

I get this question all of the time and the answer depends on what your goal is for your training. If you just want to burn fat the answer could be as simple as doing 15 min of cardio everyday in the morning before breakfast. This does not have to be high intensity (over 130 Bpm) it is only meant to burn fat. So in other words you could walk, bike, run, swim or whatever you want. If you want to get better endurance for some sort of endurance sport than you would want to do much more intense cardio of course. This cardio would have to bring your heart rate over 130 Bpm.The majority of my cardio is done for fat burning purposes so I do mine in the morning before I eat breakfast. See my previous article about the benefits of cardio before breakfast. I do on occasion however do cardio for a purpose. I do an endurance based workout that consists of 8 exercises non stop. I would only suggest doing such a workout once you have achieved a good level of conditioning. This will increase your ability to do endurance exercise even further. I typically do these endurance days on the rest days from my weight training. Whatever your goal is fat burning or endurance or some combo pick your plan and stick to it. As I always say consistency is your key to success. Happy training.

Isometrics the forgotten training aid

Isometrics are a forgotten form of exercise that most people have no idea about. They were developed in the 1940's that is the reason most people have no idea about isometrics. They came out around the same time as anabolic steroids were gaining popularity. Anyway enough about the history of the training form. Have you ever had a cramp in a certain spot and then the muscle in that spot was sore for days? That is because that muscle exerted maximum effort until it locked up and hurt like crazy. Well isometrics works on a similar principle. You exert as much force as possible in a static motion for a given amount of time and then repeat. Bruce Lee was famous for doing isometric squats with a bar logged to the ground. It provides maximum muscle overload but no range of motion. So in other words you push or pull against something as hard as you can for a few seconds and repeat a few times. You can do this exercise in any given position such as squats or bench ect. There have been studies which show isometrics to increase tendon strength in joints and also increasing the one rep maximum in weight training. What I suggest is to add some form of isometric exercise to your existing routine somewhere and reap the benefits. Good luck and happy training don't get cramped.

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Feed your muscles you should also feed your joints.

People are constantly feeding them self's things to keep there muscles growing and their strength up. But there is one very vital thing that they do not consider their joints. The only reason your muscles can move is because of the leaver action of the joints. Without them motion comes to a grinding halt for our bodies. So just as we take supplements and protein for our muscles recuperation we need to take something for the recuperation of our joints. What we need to take is called glucosamine and condrotin sulfate. These two compounds are found naturally in cartilage but we don't eat too much cartilage therefore we must take it in supplemental form. These compounds are bio active sulfides that aid in the repair of ligaments and cartilage. Unless you eat the entire animal and not just the meat you don't have too much in your diet. My suggestion to you is to add a good supplement containing both to your supplement regiment. I use a liquid drink called joint juice. I drink one every two days and it seems to do the trick for me. I suggest you add something to your supplement regiment containing these. Your joints will thank you.

Friday, January 21, 2011

How much water is enough water?

We all know that water is the essential building block for life. Without water for us to thrive we will perish. Dehydration can cause several severe problems with the human body. The worst of course being organ failure and death. The least maybe being that of a dry mouth and being thirsty. There is one definite point I would like to make in this article. If you are working out and training you need to drink more water!!! Water helps your body through all of it's metabolic functions including building muscle and burning fat. Muscle is 70% water by volume. So guess what? If you don't get enough your muscle will not grow. They have to be in a state called hyperplasia. What that means is that they are full of water to be simple about it. This is one of the strongest points for creatine and it's benefits in the gym. It keeps your muscles in hyperplasia and growing(recuperating). The same holds true for burning fat. If you are dehydrated it is a lot harder if not impossible for your body to burn fat. The water is used in the fat metabolism to energy and the excretion of by products such as key tones by the kidneys. So back to the original question. How much water do you actually need? A good rule of thumb to follow is to get your body weight in ounces every day. This would be the minimum requirement. If you like to drink caffeinated beverages a lot such as soda or coffee these do not count and are counter productive due to the diuretic effects of caffeine. So in simple terms a 128 lb person requires 1 gallon of water a day total. 32oz = 1 quart  4quarts = 1 gallon 32 x 4 = 128 oz. So drink up on your water and keep building that muscle and burning fat!!

Thursday, January 20, 2011

The Importance of a Morning shake

There are two big opportunities that someone has naturally to grow. The first one of is intimidately after you wake up. This is due to the fact that you just had sleep and your body has released all kinds of hormones to recuperate. the other  opportunity is after training. After you have just finished your training regiment your body has also responded by releasing hormones to recover and grow. My suggestion to you is to drink a shake loaded with nutrients at these two points during your day. You should take advantage of every edge you can naturally to grow and excel. These two will help you tremendously. I suggest mixing a protein complex with something like yogurt or skim milk and cold water. You can also add fruit and honey to the mix. I also add creatine to the shake this is optional of course.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

The benifits of rotating your training regiment

You can get huge benefits from rotating your training regiment around every few weeks or so. the reason this is is because the body works through feedback. If you keep doing the same things then you will eventually stagnate and stop progressing with your training. This is what people in the gym often refer to as "plateaus" or "sticking points" . The reason this happens most of the time is because they have been doing the same routine for months if not years. In order to get through these "plateaus" you have to change it up. By changing the routine every few weeks or so you are shocking your body into new development. The most popular training system that follows this concept is the PX90 training system. I have included a link to the training system with this post. Even if you do not follow that system you still need to change it up every few weeks. Try it out and see the benefits.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

A salad a day keeps the doctor away

Salad is an excellent way to get your fiber and servings of fruit and vegetables every day. I am always harping about the importance of eating non processed foods. Well salad is an easy way to get these non processed nutrients into your system. The fiber alone contained in a salad has enormous benefits not including if you get creative with your ingredients. Fiber keeps things moving in our digestive tracts and keeps them healthy. If you add some nuts and cuferious vegetables like broccoli now you have just included micro nutrients and omega fatty acids which are good for your brain. Now all you have to do is through a good oil and vinegar dressing on the salad and you are set for healthy success.

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Yahoo! Shine - How Long Should It Take to (Safely) Lose Baby Weight?

 Check this article out it is a good reference for recently pregnant women.



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This is a good article for pregnant women to checkout.
How Long Should It Take to (Safely) Lose Baby Weight? on Shine
http://shine.yahoo.com/event/momentsofmotherhood/how-long-should-it-take-to-safely-lose-baby-weight-2433848/

Yahoo! Shine
http://shine.yahoo.com/

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Good carbs bad carbs no carbs? What???

There is a lot of confusion these days about good carbs bad carbs and no carbs. For starters a carbohydrate is a starch or in other words a long chain of sugars. The only way that a long chain carb can be bat for your training regiment and add fat is if you consume it 4 hrs or less from bed time. Simple sugars on the other hand cause a release of insulin by the body that can cause excess fat storage. The only time that this is beneficial is after a workout to replace your glycogen stores. To understand the whole thing a little better lets look at that neutral measurement known as the calorie. One gram of protein or carbohydrate has 4 calories of energy in it. One gram of fat contains 9 calories. That is more than twice the energy of the protein and the carb. This is the chief reason why I disagree with no carb diets. They work of the body's insulin response instead of micro nutrient intake. So essentially you are shutting down your body's ability to produce effective amounts of insulin. Your muscles and brain need carbs and insulin to function properly. The key is to eat the right micro nutrient at the right time. Oh yeah also limit your intake of processed foods as they contain high amounts of fats and sugars. The best way to eat is to respect the time line for the carbs and not cut them while also maintaining a low fat and high protein intake. Most of your fats should come from health omega fat sources like flax oil or salmon but the intake should still be low.

Friday, January 14, 2011

Fake sweeteners real Fat!

There a lot of these fake sweeteners running around these days. The concept sounds good fake artificial sugar that your body can't absorb. All of the flavor with none of the calories right? Well the research that they are coming out with is saying wrong. It turns out that these products are worse at making you fat than helping you stay lean. Not only do they make you crave that sweet flavor but it turns out that they might also cause insulin response from your body. It is not all that surprising if you think about it. Your body thinks it is getting sugar so it prepares for it. Insulin is the most anabolic hormone in the body and it makes you store more fat than any other hormone to. My suggestion use real sugar just not as much and less refined. Like turbano sugar from Hawaii.

Small changes that can keep fat off!!!

You would be surprised how scuttle changes overtime can make huge differences. If you where just to cut down on drinking anything with processed sugar or artificial sweeteners such as soda or soft drinks. The changes that would effect over time would be enormous. A few other things that would also help would be to eat at least one salad every day. This would increase your fiber intake and help you with weight loss. The last simple thing would be to cut out processed foods altogether or at least keep them at a minimum. If you want to kick fat burning into overdrive you could use a thermogenic to aid in fat metabolism. And of course workout and be more active.

The Importance of rest to a successful training regiment

Rest is very important to the success of any routine. Too much rest and your muscles will atrophy too little rest and you over train so what do you do? The key is to develop a split routine so that you are not crossing or training any one body part too many times. The way to do this is to split up your rest days so that you do not have any two together and train different body parts on different days. The most important is to split your rest days. Even someone who is a novice can benefit from spiting there rest days. My suggestion is to have one rest day at the beginning of the week and another one at the end like sun and wed. Now lets get to the splitting of the routine you would need to divide your body parts into sections on different days. You would do specific body parts on certain days like Monday would be chest day and Tuesday you could do arms. This gives your body a chance to recuperate on areas that you are not working on. One suggestion that I will give you is to split up your larger body parts with the smaller ones to avoid over training fatigue. You can also add a supplement like ZMA to help you rest and  recover at night before bed to decrease the recovery time.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

10 Things Your Skin Says About Your Health

 This article is good for tips on learning some signs that your skin can be giving you about your health. Check it out.


http://health.yahoo.net/caring/10-things-your-skin-says-about-your-health
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Want a small waist don't sit around so much!

Want a Smaller Waist? Take More Breaks From Sitting

Taking short breaks from sitting, even for only one minute, might whittle your waistline and improve your heart health, according to a new study.

People in the study who took the most breaks from sitting - up to 1,258 short breaks in one week - were about two pant sizes smaller than those who took the fewest, as few as 99 breaks in one week, said study researcher Genevieve Healy, who studies population health at the University of Queensland in Australia.

And a smaller waistline means less abdominal fat and better heart health, Healy said.

"A high waist circumference is associated with an increased risk for type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease," she told MyHealthNewsDaily.

When we stand, the large muscles in our legs and the back are continually contracting to maintain our posture, but when we sit or recline, these muscle groups are basically inactive, Healy said.

"So even short breaks from sitting get these large muscle groups contracting," she said.

The study will be published tomorrow (Jan. 12) in the European Heart Journal.

Measuring activity

Healy and her colleagues studied 4,757 people, ages 20 and older, who participated in the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. All participants wore an accelerometer on their right hips for seven days during their waking hours.

These accelerometers measured the amount and intensity of the participants' physical activity every minute. When activity levels were very low, the researchers assumed the participants were sedentary, Healy said.

Participants ranged from 1.8 hours of sedentary time a day to 21.2 hours a day, according to the study. The average length of a break from sitting was 4.12 minutes.

Researchers found that even among those who spent a long time sitting, those who took a lot of breaks had smaller waistlines and lower levels of C-reactive protein - an indicator of inflammation in the body - than those who didn't take breaks.

The 25 percent of people who took the most breaks from sitting had waistlines that were, on average, 1.61 inches (4.1 centimeters) smaller than the 25 percent of people who took the fewest breaks, according to the study.

Increasing evidence shows sitting is bad for us

The finding comes on the heels of a study published earlier this week in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, which found that spending more than four hours of your leisure time in front of your computer or TV a day can increase the risk of being hospitalized for, or dying from, heart disease.

And a 2009 study of 5,453 people published in the journal Obesity showed that a 1-centimeter increase in waist circumference is associated with an increased chance of premature death.

Researchers have been "following the relationship between markers of sedentary behavior, such as TV watching and screen time, but now we have started to objectively quantify physical inactivity as well as activity," said Jeanne D. Johnston, an assistant professor of kinesiology at Indiana University who was not involved with the new study.

Because the study relied on results from the accelerometers, instead of self-reported information from participants, the results "provide a foundation" for exploring why periods of long sitting are bad for health, Johnston told MyHealthNewsDaily.

For example, researchers could now further explore the way insulin levels are affected by movement, and therefore lack of movement, she said. Being consistently active may increase insulin sensitivity, whereas inactivity can lead to insulin resistance, a precursor to type 2 diabetes.

Inflammation in the body in response to physical activity or high-fat meals might be another a culprit, Johnston said.

Pass it on: Taking short breaks from sitting is associated with a slimmer waistline and better heart health.



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Consistency is your key to success

There is a reason that some people are successful at training and others are not. We can sum it up in one word consistency. The reason that consistency is your key to success as they say is because no matter what you do you must do it continually to gain improvement. This is one of the hardest things for anyone to do at any level because as we all know life can get in the way. One good way to stay consistent and show improvement and keep going is to keep a training logbook. All you do is chart your progress workout by workout as you go. This will keep you motivated as you continue on your way to you main goal. Another technique to keep you headed in the right direction is to make micro goals to reach larger ones. This technique will keep you going towards the next goal to achieve the whole picture. How do you you eat a blue whale? One bite at a time.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Watch out for the Fake Pluggers of suppluments

You know when you read the muscle magazines and you see the pictures. There is some huge guy that hardly looks believable in the magazine. Then he standing in the picture next to some product that he might or might not use with his thumb up or something. Most of these pluggers as I call them are using steroids and getting checks from the supplement companies. They might use some protein powder or something like that for their protein intake but that's about it. If you believe for one second that anyone who has won the Mr. Olympia has done it with supplements alone you need your head examined. The only environment in which this is true is in the arena of W.A.D.A( world anti doping agency) tested natural bodybuilding.This is the same organization that the I.O.C uses you know the Olympic committee. These athletes are only allowed to use natural supplements and nothing from the pharmacy. I don't know about you but I don't like to be jerked around and shown one thing and given another. If you say you have a wonderful beach front property and I get there and it's a shack I am going to be mad. It is the same thing here these guys shouldn't be lying to people and representing something false and untrue. There are good organizations out there like the I.N.B.A ( International natural bodybuilding association) these guys are drug free. You want to sponsor someone supplement companies sponsor these guys. Hey at least they will actually use and know what your supplements can actually do right.

Monday, January 10, 2011

Eating carrots is not just good for you eyes anymore

Eating carrots 'makes you more attractive': study


Eating strongly coloured vegetables and fruit such as carrots and plums makes people more attractive, according to a new British study.
LONDON (AFP) - – Eating strongly coloured vegetables and fruit such as carrots and plums makes people more attractive, according to a new British study.
Researchers at St Andrews and Bristol universities studied the relationship between skin colour and attractiveness, and found people with a yellow skin hue were perceived as particularly healthy and attractive, the Grocer magazine reported.
They also established for the first time that yellow pigments, or carotenoids, from certain fruit and vegetables played a key role in producing yellowness in skin.
As part of the study, 40 volunteers rated 51 Scottish Caucasian faces for healthiness and attractiveness.
The results will be published in the journal Evolution and Human Behaviour in March, the magazine said.
Ian Stephen, one of the scientists involved in the project, said the link between yellowness and carotenoids opened up new strategies for encouraging young people to eat more fruit and vegetables, especially as it took just two months of increased consumption to produce visible results.
He told the Grocer: "Telling people they might have a heart attack in 40 years' time if they don't eat more healthily is one thing. What we can do is say, 'This is what you could look in a couple of months if you increased your fruit and veg intake'."

I think that this is an interesting study and needs to be an example to everyone. Eating your veggies and being healthy has more implications than just on your health. To truly enjoy your life you should be healthy nobody likes being sick and out of shape and other people can pick up on this.

Sunday, January 9, 2011

The benefits of super food like blood oranges and blue berries

The benefits of super food like blood oranges and blue berries other super foods are immense.  You cannot do better for yourself and your body than to add these to your diet and supplement regiment. Not only are the two examples that I am bringing excellent but there will be more articles in the future for you to take advantage of. The blood orange for instance is loaded with vitamins and nutrients it even contains flavanol antioxidants. Blood oranges' red pigment, anthocyanin, is an antioxidant. Blood oranges may also diminish the risk of heart disease, some types of cancer, and LDL cholesterol accumulation. Additionally, they may reduce the risk of cataracts, and aid in the body's healing process. Blood oranges, like all citrus fruits, are a great source of vitamin C; an average orange provides 130% of the FDA's recommended daily intake. It also provides 16% of the recommended daily intake of dietary fiber. Oranges can also be a valuable source of foliate and calcium. Blueberries contain the largest amounts per capita of antioxidants of any berry. They are easy to mix in with you yogurt or the morning shake and well worth the benefit. There are many products that contain blueberries in then but I would suggest that you read the labeling and make sure that the ingredients are what they say they are.

























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Saturday, January 8, 2011

High volume vs Heavy weight training

There is a lot of press running around these days about high volume( high rep) vs heavy weight training. To fully understand the situation and not get confused lets look at how the muscle has adapted to handle these differing types of training. Our muscle are constructed of three different types of muscle fibers. Fast twitch, slow twitch and intermediate. The fast twitch fibers are for high volume activities ( high reps). The slow twitch fibers are for heavy weight training. That is why someone who can do a certain exercise with 100 lbs for lots of reps and not get soar gets soar when only doing one rep of the same exercise with 250lbs. They do not use there slow twitch fiber for there workouts normally. You would have the same problem if you took a powerlifter and made him do a moderate weight for a lot of reps. The intermediate fibers are just that in the middle. Your body has not decided to make them either fast or slow yet. So what is the best technique for the best effect then? Use both types of training at different intervals through your training regiment. A good example of this would be to have a light day and a heavy day on alternating weeks for the same exercise. Don't forget to check my blog for the nutrition and supplement advice that will also help you tremendously along you journey. A good supplemental article is The supplement trifecta for the basics.

Friday, January 7, 2011

The Benifits of cardio before breakfast

Cardio is that fat burning exercise that most people don't like to spend a lot of time doing. So why not maximize your time. The best way to do this is to do your cardio in the morning before breakfast. A good percentage if not all calories that are burned will be pulled from your body fat stores. The main reason for this is because your body only has fat to burn for fuel. By doing cardio right after waking up your body has to rely on its energy stores for the fuel source you have just come off of a fast as you slept. You can also be more affective with less time like 10 - 15 min. total opposed to the 30 min traditional time. Try it for a week or two and see the difference. If you want to kick it into overdrive combine this technique with CLA and a good thermogenic supplement. Here are a couple of suggestions:
                    
                 

8 Tricks for Boosting Your Metabolism

8 Tricks for Boosting Your Metabolism

By Danielle Braff

8 Tricks for Boosting Your Metabolism

8 Tricks for Boosting Your Metabolism

Remember how, during your teens and 20s, you could eat practically anything and not gain a pound? Now that you're hovering around middle age, you've probably found that's just not the case anymore. Part of the problem is that your metabolism decreases as a result of other age-related factors, like decrease in muscle mass. However, there's no need to give in to a bigger pant size just yet! Read on for eight ways to rev up your metabolism and keep those unwanted pounds from your waistline.


Do Intervals
Mixing in fast-paced intervals raises your metabolic rate higher than doing a steady cardio workout, and will continue to do so up to an hour after you’re done, says Kristin McGee, a trainer and Pilates instructor whose client list includes Tina Fey and Bethenny Frankel. An Australian study also found that women who did intervals while they were biking lost three times as much fat as those who worked out at a steady pace. If you’re a walker, simply walk at your normal pace for 1 to 2 minutes, then speed-walk for 30 to 60 seconds. Repeat the sequence 10 to 15 times.

Opt for Caffeine
It’s time to hit Starbucks. A study published in the journal Physiology & Behavior shows that coffee drinkers have a 16 percent higher metabolic rate than those who abstain or drink decaf joe, because caffeine increases your heart rate and stimulates your central nervous system. Spread out the cups over your entire day to keep your metabolism running at a boosted rate—just be sure to have your last cup by early afternoon so you can hit the pillow with no problems later on.

Discover 9 fun facts about Starbucks, the world’s largest coffee chain.

Add Some Ice
Though the increase is modest, there is some evidence that drinking cold water can cause a slight surge in metabolic rate. Since your body maintains a core temperature around 98.6°F, cold water will be brought to that temperature after being consumed and calories are burned during the warming process. Discovery Health deduced that you can burn up to 70 extra calories a day if you follow the common rule of drinking eight 8-ounce glasses of cold water per day. Need another reason to up your water intake? Researchers at the University of Utah found that participants who drank half of the recommended amount of water per day (four 8-ounce glasses), not only showed signs of dehydration, they also experienced a 2% decrease in calories burned per day.

Eat a Big Breakfast
It’s time to nix the oatmeal with skim milk. Instead, start your day with a fatty breakfast, including eggs and even a piece of bacon, suggests Molly Bray, PhD, lead author of a recent study showing that a fat-filled morning meal will jumpstart your metabolism for the day faster than a lowfat, low-calorie breakfast. Another study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology found that people who eat 22 to 55 percent of their total calories at breakfast gain 1.7 pounds over four years. That’s not bad considering those who eat 0 to 11 percent of their calories in the morning gain nearly 3 pounds.

Drink Green Tea
Not only does green tea contain enough antioxidants to keep colds and the flu at bay, but it also does wonders for your metabolism, according to a study published in the journal Phytomedicine. Researchers found that people who drank the equivalent of three to five cups daily for three months shaved 5 percent off their body weight. Green tea contains ECGC, a plant compound that stimulates your metabolism, says Rania Batayneh, MPH, a nutritionist in private practice in San Francisco and Portland, Oregon, and founder of Essential Nutrition consulting.

Don't Skimp on Dairy
Calcium-rich foods and drinks, including milk, yogurt and cheese, increase the rate at which fat turns into waste, says a study by researchers at the University of Copenhagen published in the The Journal of Nutrition. It doesn’t matter what form of dairy product you’re consuming as long as the serving size is adequate (keep it lowfat!)—either a full glass of lowfat milk or 6 ounces of yogurt is perfect. Also, the study noted that you have to actually ingest the calcium in its natural form; supplements don’t work due to differences in the chemical makeup.

Build More Muscle
Gaining lean muscle mass boosts your metabolism and makes losing weight much easier, McGee says. If you add just 5 pounds of muscle to your body, you’ll burn up to 150 more calories per day without even working out those muscles. And, you can burn an average of 600 calories per hour during your cardio workout thanks to that extra muscle mass. “Muscle burns more calories than fat does, even at rest, so any strength-training activities to build lean muscle are excellent,” McGee says. The key is to challenge all your muscles and do a full-body strength-training workout, hitting your core, arms, legs, back and chest.

Pick Up Heavier Weights
By using heavy weights at a very slow rate—twice as slow as would feel natural—you break down your muscles (you’ll know the weights are heavy enough and the workout slow enough if you start to shake after just a few lifts or squats). Researchers at Wayne State University found that when your body repairs those overworked muscles, it causes your metabolism to increase for up to three days after the workout.

Original article appeared on WomansDay.com



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Best and worst bottled water brands

Best and worst bottled water brands

By Lori Bongiorno

(Photo: B2M Productions / Getty Images)

(Photo: B2M Productions / Getty Images)

How much do you know about the bottled water you drink? Not nearly enough, according to a new report released today from Environmental Working Group (EWG). "Bottled water companies try hard to hide information you might find troubling," says Jane Houlihan, senior vice president of research for the Washington D.C.-based research and advocacy group.

[Read more: Cities with the best (and worst) tap water]

EWG analyzed the labels of 173 unique bottled water products and company websites to determine if companies disclose information on where water comes from, how or if their water is treated, and whether the results of purity testing are revealed. The nonprofit also looked at how effective (and advanced) any water treatment methods are. Researchers followed up by calling dozens of bottled water companies to find out which ones willingly tell consumers what's in their bottles.

The Environmental Protection Agency says on its website that consumers have the right to know where their water comes from and what's in it so they can "make informed choices that affect the health of themselves and their families." Tap water is regularly tested and consumers can find their local water info online. That's not necessarily the case with bottled water, which is not required to disclose that information to consumers. "Bottled water is a food product and every one of these companies is complying with federal law," says Tom Lauria, of the International Bottled Water Association.  

[Video: The story of bottled water]

More than half of the bottled water products surveyed failed EWG's transparency test --18 percent didn't say where their water comes from, and another 32 percent did not disclose any information on treatment or purity of water.

Only three brands earned the highest possible marks for disclosing information and using the most advanced treatment methods available - Gerber Pure Purified Water, Nestle Pure Life Purified Water, and Penta Ultra-Purified Water.

On the other end of the spectrum, these six brands got the worst marks in EWG's report because they don't provide consumers with the three basic facts about water on product labels or their company website - Whole Foods Italian Still Mineral Water, Vintage Natural Spring Water, Sahara Premium Drinking Water, O Water Sport Electrolyte Enhanced Purified Drinking Water, Market Basket Natural Spring Water, and Cumby's Spring Water.

How does your bottled water brand stack up? Here's a look at the 10 top-selling* U.S. brands:

1.     Pure Life Purified Water (Nestle), EWG grade = B

2.     Arrowhead Mountain Spring Water (Nestle), EWG grade = C

3.     Aquafina Purified Drinking Water (Pepsi), EWG grade = D

4.     Dasani Purified Water (Coca-Cola), EWG grade = D

5.     Deer Park Natural Spring Water (Nestle), EWG grade = D

6.     Ice Mountain Natural Spring Water (Nestle), EWG grade = D

7.     Ozarka Natural Spring Water (Nestle), EWG grade = D

8.     Poland Spring Natural Spring Water (Nestle), EWG grade = D

9.     Zephyrhills Natural Spring Water (Nestle), EWG grade = D

10.  Crystal Geyser Natural Alpine Spring Water (CG Roxane), EWG grade =  F

Filtered tap water received the best grade (an A) from EWG because if you change your filter regularly, EWG says it is purer than bottled water, plus it saves money (bottled water can cost up to 1,900 times more than what flows from your tap). Drinking tap water also takes less of a toll on the planet. EWG offers plenty of tips for filtering your tap water so that you can drink the healthiest water possible.

[Related: Giving up bottled water saves a shocking amount of money]

What should you do when bottled water is your only option? "While our top choice is filtered tap water, when you do need to choose bottled water, we recommend brands that tell you what's in the water and that use advanced treatment technologies like reverse osmosis and micro-filtration," says Houlihan. Advanced treatment technologies remove pollutants that other methods don't. You should look for bottled water products that tell you where the water is coming from and how pure it is.

Here are the results for all 173 bottled water brands included in the report. You'll find that some less popular brands rank even lower than our list of top-sellers.

The advice to drink filtered tap water can seem confusing when there are often reports about the contaminants found in municipal water supplies. Just last month, for example, EWG announced that cancer causing hexavalent chromium (chromium-6) is in 31 cities' tap water. Houlihan says chromium-6 is as likely to be in your bottled water as it is in your tap water and we need action from the federal government on this. She points out that a reverse osmosis filter can remove the worrisome contaminant. You can guarantee its removal in your home supply, but in many cases you don't know what's in the bottle you're drinking from.

*Sales rankings from the Beverage Marketing Corporation.


Environmental journalist Lori Bongiorno shares green-living tips and product reviews with Yahoo! Green's users. Send Lori a question or suggestion for potential use in a future column. Her book, Green Greener Greenest: A Practical Guide to Making Eco-smart Choices a Part of Your Life is available on Yahoo! Shopping and Amazon.com.



This email and the contents thereof may be subject to public record requests per Florida State Statutes

Coffee is good in moderation

Coffee is good for you in many ways as long as you don't drink it by the gallon. Research in several studies with several different organizations has shown the antioxidant benefits coffee can provide through chemicals called tannins or flavanol antioxidants. In addition it is a good source of caffeine so coupled with CLA it is an excellent fat burner. It also helps suppress your appetite. If you don't believe me the next time you are hungry drink coffee and see how hungry you are in a few minutes. I suggest adding it to your health arsenal.

                                        

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Sexdrive boosters from nature

As we all know people have ups and downs in regard to ones desire and drive in the bedroom. Although there are many facts to consider there are many natural ways to help with this problem. There is one thing without a shadow of a doubt and that is being in bad shape, overweight and stressed will kill any drive you might have ever had in the bedroom. The more fat cells a man has on his body the more his estrogen level will creep up. Yes that's right I said "ESTROGEN" level. That would be the female sex hormone to which I am referring. All men have this to a degree but getting fat increases it. A good example of this is the development of fatty tissue behind the nipples on the chest. So beyond being out of shape if there are some other extenuating circumstances there are natural solutions ZMA  for instance boosts testosterone by up to %30 and it is backed by clinical research. This is one of my personal favorites. You have to take it 30 min prior to bed time and give it a couple of days. One of my other personal favorites is tribilus. Tribilius is an herb that increases the HCG the body produces and indirectly increases testosterone and other hormones. What ever you do should be done naturally and safely. There is an alarming number of young Americans that are going to doctors for hormone replacement therapy before they are even 30. This is a fast track to problems in the future. Stay in shape stay healthy stay natural. Here are some examples:
                                                    

Why You need a good multi-vitamin

In our fast paced and hectic lives we often times turn to processed garbage for our food. These processed foods are filled with empty calories that just turn into fat. The fact that they turn into fat is not the only problem though they are low in nutrients such as vitamins and minerals as well. The FDA in there finite wisdom gives us daily values or requirements for these vitamins and they are far from accurate. They have done studies on how much and how many different types of vitamins are consumed by spider monkeys and the findings are crazy. Most of these little simians consume grams of vitamin C and minerals through the food they eat not milligrams. The real messed up part is that they are about anywhere from 25% to 20% the size of a human. So take your vitamins people your bodies will thank you.

Best Snacks for the Gym

http://health.yahoo.net/rodale/MH/best-snacks-for-the-gym

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Wednesday, January 5, 2011

The Sunshine State Classic Natural bodybuilding at it's finest

The Sunshine State Classic is the premier natural bodybuilding event for the state of Florida. It is definitely a must see for any fitness or bodybuilding enthusiast. Here are some videos from the 2009 show. You can get more info on the show @ www.sscfl.com check it out!!!!!

Yahoo! News Story - Quinoa's popularity boon to Bolivians - Yahoo! News

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Quinoa's popularity boon to Bolivians - Yahoo! News
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Watch out Americans this could be us soon!!!!!

Here is a disturbing news article from NBC. It shows what processed bad food does to a country. It just so happens that this is the smallest and most obese nation on the planet. Check it out:

http://news.yahoo.com/video/health-15749655/the-fattest-place-on-earth-23708335

Scary people very scary.

The supplement Trifecta

My all time favorite training supplements. These are are the ones I like to call the trifecta of supplements. The trifecta is creatine, protein complex powder and CLA. Creatine is good at keeping the muscles hydrated and keeping the strength levels up for repair and training. The protein complex powder is essential for having all those building blocks that one needs for recovery and metabolism. Last but not least CLA is a powerful little fatty acid that has the ability to put our bodies into thermogenisis ( fat burning state) and also keep our bodies burning more fat for fuel. It does this by blocking an enzyme that the fat cells use to adsorb fatty acids according to the research that I have read. What that means is that your body will use more fat for fuel in you blood. The beat part is that it is all natural. I have included some links for you to explore the products that are available.Myoplex EAS Original Nutrition Shake, Chocolate Cream, Pack of 20NOW Foods Cla 800mg, 180 Softgels Universal Micronized Creatine Monohydrate, 1000-Gram Tub

Monday, January 3, 2011

A Good day

A good day for me is when I can put %110 in to everything. Let us not forget the true battle for battle with whatever type of training you are doing is consistency. In order to attain this you must also train your mind. I put on my mp3 player and focus everything I have into my training my mind, spirit and body. I tune out the distractions of the world. When I have achieved this balance then I can then say I have had a "good day". I hope everyone can have good days it will make the world that much better.

The purpose

The training news is here for the people. For all those people who would love to train but never get the right information. Weather you have questions about loosing weight or training you can find good real answers here. We here at training game will get the right and good non bias answers you need no matter what your training needs. We have 15 years of experience and counting. The coolest part is that the whole world can benefit by sharing up yo date training information with one another right here on our blog.  Enjoy and talk with you soon.