This diet can get you lean & mean in 28 days flat
You’re training hard every day with our program, going heavy on the weights and sweating up a storm with cardio.
Newsflash: While that’s critical to your ultimate success, that’s just not enough for you to lose the fat you want to.
To reach your get-lean goal, you must also follow a get-lean diet. Why? Even if you work out hard for an hour every day, that still leaves 23 more hours for you to wreck all your hard work in the gym with just one slip-up: a measly handful of chips, a beer with the guys or a burger at lunch. Diet is a huge, so to speak, part of the fat-loss equation. It’s the backbone of your entire plan, the foundation of a hard body.
Bodybuilding nutrition consultant Jim Juge says nutrition determines your success or failure, plain and simple. “The diet is 65% of what you need to get in shape,” he says. Juge would know, as he’s helped countless dedicated people reach their goals, from achieving their best body ever to placing first in bodybuilding competitions.
You’ve got 28 days to get to your goal, so we’ve recruited Juge to help you every step of the way. He’s adapted a traditional bodybuilding competitor’s diet for a non-competitor (that means you!) who wants to look his best, shedding as much fat as possible in a very short time. With just under a month, there’s no time to fool around, so commit today! Go to the grocery store and stock up tonight. Come breakfast time tomorrow, follow his plan as strictly as you can and get ready to show off those impressive muscles in a month.
Your Get-Lean Principles
Strict. Strict. Strict. This is your mantra for the next 28 days. There’s just no way around the diet, says Juge, and eating clean is the name of this get-lean game. Juge’s diet plan is filled with fresh, clean foods that are as unprocessed as possible. Here are his three simple principles to shed fat fast.
1. Eat at least 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight, daily. If your protein intake is too low on a restricted-calorie diet, you’ll lose a lot of muscle in addition to any fat you’re lucky enough to shed. A high protein intake will help you preserve lean mass during your dieting phase. Choose lean high-quality proteins like egg whites, poultry, lean red meat and protein supplements. The diet provided here contains about 220–250 grams of protein daily, fine for a male weighing 200–250 pounds. Up your protein only if you’re heavier than 250 pounds, or you’re very hungry and need to add food during the day. Juge suggests an additional protein shake for an easy quick fix. (If you’re under 180 pounds, cut out 3 ounces of meat or chicken per day from the diet.)
2. Keep your carbohydrates low to moderate when trying to lose weight. “On a low day you’ll have closer to 100 grams of carbs,” he says. “A moderate day is about 150 grams of carbs.” Juge prefers to rotate low and moderate days in order to keep energy high and provide a change of pace. Good, clean, fiber-rich carbs include oats, potatoes, rice and whole-grain bread.
3. Drink at least a gallon of water per day. It’ll keep you hydrated and healthy. Water should be your primary beverage during dieting. Though many rely on diet sodas, Crystal Light and other low-calorie sweetened drinks, plain old water is really your best bet.
Thinking Lean
Habits and cravings are the devil when it comes to dieting. Let’s deal with habits first. Juge explains that it takes a good week or two to ease into dieting. “Fast food is so easy and there’s a McDonald’s on every corner. The hardest thing is to develop the new habit of preparing your meals and taking them with you.” The first week is the most difficult, so prepare yourself for some challenges as you abandon your usual routine. For example, you might usually go out for a sub sandwich or burger at lunch. You’ll now have to bring your food with you and resist the temptation of spicing up your meal with the Doritos in the vending machine or your usual can of Coke. It can be a real mental battle to stick to your food plan.
To stay motivated and deal with cravings, Juge has a couple of great recommendations. First, schedule a cheat meal on every seventh day. “Many of my clients have their cheat meal on Sunday, so then they’re ready for Monday and the week to come,” he says. If you feel deprived during the week, concentrate on the cheat meal to come, knowing you can eat absolutely anything you want to -- pizza, lasagna, doughnuts, beer, chips, you name it! Remember, though, it’s just one cheat meal, not an entire day of cheating. Afterward, get right back on the wagon with your next scheduled meal.
Second, take a few photos of yourself to keep your motivation up. “Most of the people who come to me are doing it for a reason,” he explains. “They’re going on vacation, competing in a bodybuilding show, or maybe going to a reunion. I always have them strive for that goal. I take front, side and back pictures of them at the beginning and have them post the photos on their mirror at home. I tell them, just keep looking at that picture and think of what you’re going to look like in a few weeks.”
When it comes to cravings, protein drinks and bars may also help cure your need for sugar, says Juge. He recommends mixing a flavored protein powder in a blender with as much ice as possible, so it’ll taste more like a milkshake. Day Five’s protein shake includes a cup of berries, which will also help with sugar cravings. Once or twice per week, Juge adds, you can have a low-sugar high-protein bar. The newest varieties taste more like candy bars, with state-of-the-art sweetening techniques.
Your habits and cravings may both rear their heads at restaurants, where it’s easy to blow your diet in seconds. To stick to the plan, says Juge, be diligent in ordering. “Ask them to grill your meat without oil or grease. Ask for steamed vegetables with no butter. Get a salad (no cheese) with either fat-free dressing or a vinaigrette.” After his 14 years in bodybuilding, Juge testifies that he’s found many restaurants are accommodating, so there’s no reason to avoid them as long as they’ll cook to your preferences.
What to Expect
Some men can lose up to 5 pounds per week, says Juge, if they follow the diet strictly. He recommends striving for a weekly 2–3 pound loss for more lasting effects. “That way it’s not such a drastic change and you’ll be less likely to put all the weight back on when the diet’s done,” he adds. Weigh yourself naked just once per week, at the same time, preferably on the same scale. That way it’ll be as accurate as possible.
If you haven’t lost any weight after the first week, it may be time to troubleshoot. In addition to following the exercise program, Juge’s first line of defense is upping your cardio. Instead of one cardio session per day, he recommends doing 45 minutes of cardio in the morning, on an empty stomach. Then add a second 30-minute session in the late afternoon or evening.
If that doesn’t stimulate weight loss, Juge’s second line of defense is to cut carbs slightly. On lower days, drop to 60–80 grams a day rather than 100. Eat this low-carb diet for two days, then insert one higher-carb day (150 grams).
Think of your nutritional plan as the anchor to stabilize all of your other efforts. Eating right will help you shed fat, increase your energy and definitely look the way you want to. Follow this get-lean plan faithfully, and you’ll be showing off your new, leaner body in less than a month.
My 3 Favorite Diet Foods
Here are Juge’s picks for the top three foods to turn to when you’re trying to shed fat.
#1) Egg Whites. “There’s no fat or cholesterol and they’re pure protein. They’re very easy to prepare -- they take just a couple of minutes to make.”
#2) Oatmeal. It’s low in sugar, high in fiber and provides sustained energy. Choose the old-fashioned variety if you have a few minutes to spare, and the one-minute oats if you’re in a rush. In a pinch, you can even rip open a packet of instant oatmeal (plain flavor only) -- just add hot water and stir.
#3) Green Veggies. They’re healthy and deliver many benefits, like fiber for improved digestion. They contain many valuable vitamins, phytochemicals and antioxidants for better health. Plus, they’re bulky and fill you up for just a few grams of carbs per cup of veggies. (Quick tip: To quickly steam veggies, put an inch or two of water in a bowl, add veggies, cover bowl and microwave for 2–3 minutes.)
Maintain Your Gains
Your 28 days are up -- you look great and want to keep it that way. Juge has an easy plan to maintain your body, yet enjoy greater flexibility with your diet. Number one, he says, is to eat a good, clean breakfast. If you’re at home, it’s much easier to do — just scramble a few egg whites and have a whole-grain item (whole-wheat bread or a bagel, for instance) and/or some fruit. Eat dinner at home, again a healthy clean meal consisting of a lean protein source, green vegetable and whole grains. Then, bring a protein shake or bar with you to work for a midday meal. “You’ve now got three clean meals taken care of,” says Juge. So if you’re eating at a restaurant at lunch and you want to have something different, you can have it. Just keep the rest of your meals pretty strict, without added sugars and fats.
To contact Jim Juge or learn more, visit his website at www.jimjuge.com.
Day One
Meal 1: 1/2 cup oatmeal (dry amount)
made with water 1/2 cup strawberries
6 egg whites cooked with 1 yolk
Meal 2: 1 cup green vegetables
8 oz. chicken breast
Meal 3: Tuna sandwich made with 6-oz. can tuna (in spring water), 2 slices whole-wheat bread, 1 Tbsp. fat-free mayo, 2 leaves romaine lettuce
Meal 4: Protein shake made w/ 40 g whey protein
Meal 5: Chicken salad made with 8 oz. chicken breast, 2 Tbsp. Italian dressing, 1/2 medium tomato, 2 leaves romaine lettuce, 1/2 cup broccoli
1,817 calories, 255 g protein, 98 g carbohydrate, 37 g fat, 20 g fiber
Day Two
Meal 1: 1 medium bagel with 2 tbsp. reduced-fat peanut butter 6 egg whites cooked with 1 yolk
Meal 2: 1 cup brown long-grain rice (cooked amount) 1 cup green veggies
6 oz. chicken breast
Meal 3: 1 cup green veggies
6 oz. lean steak
Meal 4: Protein shake made w/ 30–40 g whey protein
Meal 5: 8 oz. red snapper or halibut
1 cup broccoli
1,959 calories, 254 g protein, 132 g carbohydrate, 39 g fat, 17 g fiber
Day Three
Meal 1: 1/2 cup oatmeal made with water
6 egg whites cooked with 1 yolk
1 piece fruit
Meal 2: 1 cup green veggies
8 oz. chicken breast
Meal 3: 1 cup green veggies
6 oz. lean steak
Large baked potato with skin (3–4" in diameter)
Meal 4: Low-carb, low-sugar protein bar
Meal 5: Omelet made with 8 egg whites and 1 yolk, cooked with 1/2 cup broccoli,2 mushrooms, fresh salsa
1,862 calories, 226 g protein, 149 g carbohydrate, 35 g fat, 23 g fiber
Day Four
Meal 1: 1 cup whole-grain cereal
1 cup 1% milk
1 piece fruit
1 Tbsp. peanut butter
Meal 2: Large baked potato with skin (3-4" in diameter)
1 cup green veggies
6 oz. chicken breast
Meal 3: Large baked potato with skin (3-4" in diameter)
1 cup green veggies
6 oz. lean steak
Meal 4: Protein shake made w/ 30-40 g whey protein
Meal 5: 16-oz. can tuna (in spring water) made with 1 Tbsp.
fat-free mayo
6-8 stalks asparagus
1,984 calories, 226 g protein, 200 g carbohydrate, 29 g fat, 28 g fiber
Day Five
Meal 1: 1/2 cup oatmeal made with water
7 egg whites cooked with 1 yolk
1/2 cup strawberries
Meal 2: 1 cup green veggies
8 oz. chicken breast
Meal 3: Large baked potato with skin (3-4" in diameter)
1 cup green veggies
8 oz. sliced turkey
Meal 4: Protein shake made w/ 30-40 g whey protein and 1 cup berries
Meal 5: 7 oz. lean steak
6-8 stalks asparagus
1,846 calories, 258 g protein, 122 g carbohydrate, 32 g fat, 23 g fiber.
source : MuscleAndFitness
Senin, 30 Juli 2007
25 WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR WORKOUTS
You never have to endure a bad workout again. Inject these 25 tips into your daily routine to start supercharging your gym sessions
In some distant, parallel universe, the laws of responsibility are reversed. Work is something you do in your spare time. Working out, on the other hand, is an essential life task - something to which you devote countless hours to survive in society. In this bold, fitness-driven world, your benefits include being strong, looking fantastic and feeling even better. Life is good.
Reality check. No matter how much daydreaming you do, that alternate setting doesn't exist - unless your name is Jay, Ronnie or Victor, that is. In this time and place, working out plays second fiddle to a number of obligations. And since your time is valuable, you can't waste one second on a bad workout - hell, the good ones are tough enough to plan for. Strained reps, poor energy levels, incomplete sets, longer-than-desired workouts and shoddy results can leave you feeling like your time in the gym is all for naught. But there are things you can do before and after you head to the gym to ensure supercharged workouts today, tomorrow and beyond - tips that can improve your efficiency, strength, even your time spent with the iron. If you're going to schedule your day around the gym, make sure you head in there well-rested, your strength tank topped off, your playlist ready to go and the following pointers in tow. The result? A stronger, fitter body. Now that's a reality worth reaching for. Incorporate as many of these tips as possible to start maximizing the benefits of your gym time.
DAY OF YOUR WORKOUT
Your workout doesn't start when you walk into the gym - it begins when you wake up in the morning and continues throughout the day. Preparations go beyond just packing your gym bag. They start with eating the right things at the right times to increase your body's productivity at the gym. In addition to your usual nutritional goals, you should observe these tips to power you through your workout.
1. Eat slow-digesting carbs before workouts
>> Researchers at Loughborough University (UK) discovered that when athletes ate slow-digesting carbs such as whole grains for breakfast and lunch, they had lower insulin levels and burned more fat during the day. The athletes also had more endurance and burned more fat during exercise compared to those who ate fast-digesting carbs such as white bread or plain bagels. Be sure that all the meals you eat before your workout, including the one immediately before, include about 40 grams of slow-digesting carbs such as oatmeal, sweet potatoes, fruit, buckwheat (see tip No. 4) or whole-wheat bread.
2. Avoid higher-fat meals for up to four hours before workouts
>> A University of Maryland School of Medicine (Baltimore) study reported that a high-fat meal blunts the ability of nitric oxide (NO) to dilate blood vessels for up to four hours. That means less blood flow to muscles and less of a muscle pump, which is even more costly if you've invested in an NO supplement. In the four hours before your workout, avoid eating large amounts of fats, such as the obvious fast-food fare and packaged foods (even if you're in a mass-gaining phase).
3. Eat a green salad with your last whole-food meal before the gym
>> The same University of Maryland researchers also discovered that consuming a small green salad with a high-fat meal prevented the adverse effects on blood vessel dilation, likely by enhancing NO. About two hours before you hit the gym, include a green salad with low-fat dressing with your meal.
IMMEDIATELY BEFORE YOUR WORKOUT
Whether you train before work or in the evening after work, there are certain things you can and should do to gear up for the battle ahead. Again, nutrition plays a part, but your supplements are what will put you over the top. Taking the right supps during this crucial window helps get your body in a position to grow from today's session.
4. Eat buckwheat as part of your preworkout carb intake
>> Buckwheat, found in buckwheat pancakes and soba noodles, is a fruit seed that's often used as a substitute for grains. It digests slowly, which helps increase endurance and fat-burning. Buckwheat also contains a flavonoid called chiroinositol, which mimics insulin. A cup of cooked soba noodles before workouts can help get more preworkout creatine (see tip No. 5) into your muscle cells without blunting fat loss, which can occur from high insulin spikes.
5. Take 20 grams of whey protein and 3-5 grams of a creatine supplement
>> Researchers from Victoria University (Australia) reported that subjects who consumed a protein and creatine supplement immediately before and after workouts over a 10-week period increased muscle mass by 87%, bench press strength by 36%, squat strength by 27% and deadlift strength by 25%, and decreased bodyfat by 3%, more than a group taking the supplement before breakfast and before bed.
6. Take 200-400 mg of caffeine 1-2 hours before your workout
>> Research shows that caffeine taken preworkout increases fat-burning and endurance and blunts muscle pain during training, which means you can do more reps. A more recent study, from the University of Nebraska (Lincoln), indicates that subjects who took a caffeine supplement before their workouts immediately increased their one-rep max (1RM) on the bench press by about 5 pounds. Studies show caffeine supplements work better than caffeine from coffee.
7. Take 3-5 grams of arginine 30-45 minutes before workouts
>> One study reported in the journal Nutrition that trained subjects who took arginine supplements for eight weeks increased their 1RMs for the bench press by almost 20 pounds more than those who took a placebo.
8. Add 2 teaspoons of cocoa extract to your preworkout protein shake
>> University of California, Davis, scientists discovered that a flavonol called epicathechin in cocoa boosts NO levels and blood vessel dilation. If you've taken your NO and had a preworkout salad, this will keep NO levels higher longer.
DURING YOUR WORKOUT
You don't want to be a going-through-the-motions kind of guy in the gym. If you've gone through the trouble of suiting up for a workout, you'd best be getting after it hard. These tips are all designed to help you maximize intensity and strength today to help you look better tomorrow.
9 Use forced reps on your last sets
>> A Finnish study found that when subjects performed a workout with forced reps (a spotter helped them get through their sticking points to get a few more reps), their growth hormone (GH) levels were almost 4,000% higher than without using forced reps. For the last set of each exercise after reaching failure, go for 2-3 extra forced reps, but utilize these sparingly to prevent overtraining.
10. Don't train to failure on every set
>> Australian scientists have reported that training with one set to failure increases strength better than taking no sets to failure. However, when subjects did more than one set to failure, strength gains were lowered by almost half compared to the subjects doing just one set to failure.
11. Keep your focus on the muscle you're training
>> British researchers discovered that subjects who focused on their biceps while doing biceps curls had significantly more muscle activity than those who thought about other things. More muscle recruitment can result in more muscle growth in the long run. Be sure that for every rep of every set during your workout you're thinking about the muscle(s) being trained, instead of wondering where that blonde wearing the short shorts went to do her bent-over rows.
12. Vary your rep speed
>> In another Australian study, subjects performing fast repetitions (one second each on the positive and the negative portions of the rep) gained more strength than subjects using slow reps (three seconds each on the positive and negative) because fast-twitch muscle fibers have the greatest potential for strength increases. But the slow-rep subjects gained more muscle mass than the fast-rep subjects, likely due to the muscular time under tension and increased microtrauma. A good mix of both is the best way to maximize strength and size. Try changing from your regular controlled rep speed to 2-3 weeks of fast reps followed by 2-3 weeks of slow reps. Or try one of our programs that utilizes different rep speeds such as "Speed Bumps" (January 2007).
13. Train with several partners
>> Research shows that when trained lifters attempt a 1RM in front of a group of people, they're stronger than when they lift in front of just one.
14 Use an i-Pod
>> A study done at the Weider Research Group found that when trained bodybuilders performed a shoulder workout while listening to music on a personal MP3 player, they were able to complete an average of 1-2 more reps per set for all sets of all exercises. So for another source of motivation, create a playlist on your MP3 player of your favorite songs that jack up your adrenaline and bring it to the gym.
15. Don't train too heavy for too long
>> Yes, training with a heavy weight that prevents you from getting more than 4-5 reps is good for strength and overall mass when done in conjunction with lighter training that allows you to get 8-12 reps. Yet too much heavy training may work against muscle growth. Baylor University (Waco, Texas) scientists found that when athletes trained using their 6RMs, they had higher levels of active myostatin (a protein that limits muscle growth) than when they did the same workout using their 18RMs. Keep to your heavy rep ranges for no longer than 6-8 weeks, then switch to a lighter-weight, higher-rep scheme to keep your myostatin levels in check.
16. Stay off the exercise balls, wobble boards and other instability devices
>> Canadian scientists reported that doing dumbbell chest presses on an exercise ball resulted in a 40% decrease in strength compared to doing the exercise on a bench. And a study from Appalachian State University (Boone, North Carolina) found that when athletes performed squats on instability discs, they had less force production and muscle activity of the quadriceps compared to when they did squats on firm ground. Since any marked increase in strength or muscle mass is going to come through moving progressively heavier weights on key lifts, you might want to avoid exercise balls and instability boards. Plant yourself for better gains.
17. Save cardio for after your weight workout
>> Researchers from Japan found that when subjects did cardio before weights, their GH response to the weight workout was blunted by about 1,100% compared to when they lifted first and ended with cardio. Try to do your cardio either after weights or on a different day.
18. Use wrist straps for your pulling exercises
>> A study conducted at the Weider Research Group found that when trained bodybuilders performed a back workout while using wrist straps, they completed an average of 1-2 more reps per set for all sets of all exercises in the routine.
IMMEDIATELY AFTER YOUR WORKOUT
You've just wrecked your body at the gym. Good. Now it's time to start looking ahead. Your body needs the right fuel to grow and repair itself over the next few days, and you need to start getting ready for your next bout with the weights. That recuperation and preparation starts now. By following these postworkout protocols, not only will you enhance your body's ability to grow from today's beatdown but you'll also get yourself right and ready for tomorrow's trip to the gym.
19. Drink a shake with 20 grams each of whey and casein proteins
>> Researchers from Baylor University (Waco, Texas) reported that subjects taking a whey-plus-casein protein powder immediately postworkout for 10 weeks increased muscle mass significantly more than those taking whey without casein.
20. Stretch only after training
>> Stretching right before weightlifting can actually make you weaker during training. Researchers from the University of Texas (Austin) reported that athletes who stretched after their workouts were more flexible than when they stretched beforehand. Plus, it's easier (as well as safer) to stretch a muscle that's already warm and pliable.
21. Take 3-5 grams of creatine with 50-100 grams of fast-digesting carbs and 300-500 mg of alpha-lipoic acid (ALA)
>> A study from the University of Saskatchewan (Canada) found that subjects who took ALA, creatine and sucrose right after a workout increased muscle creatine levels significantly more than those taking creatine and sucrose or creatine only.
CONSTANT STATE OF READINESS
While most of these tips are geared around pre- and postworkout times, there are some things you can do at different times of the day to get the most out of your workouts.
22. Don't drop dietary cholesterol too low
>> We know cholesterol is important for maintaining testosterone levels, but Kent State University (Ohio) scientists reported at the 2005 Experimental Biology Conference that older adults eating a diet higher in cholesterol while weight training for 12 weeks gained 55% more strength and had more than five times the muscle growth as those following a diet lower in cholesterol. Keep some cholesterol in your diet by eating at least 1-2 egg yolks with your egg whites at breakfast and at least one meal of lean red meat each day. Liver, shellfish and duck are other good sources of healthy cholesterol.
23. If your schedule allows, lift in the evening
>> Researchers from the University of Southern Mississippi (Hattiesburg) discovered that when subjects worked out after 6 p.m. for 10 weeks, they gained more muscle and lost more bodyfat than a group that trained before 10 a.m.
24. Relax in a sauna or hot tub every day
>> Japanese researchers reported that rats exposed to a heat chamber set at 105 degrees F for two weeks increased muscle mass by 13% compared to those that weren't exposed to the heat. They concluded the results are likely due to the effect of heat shock proteins (specific proteins in the body that get released when exposed to heat) on cellular mechanisms of muscle growth.
25. Drink four cups of tea during the day
>> Researchers from University College (London) found that when test subjects were faced with a stressful task, those who drank 4 cups of black tea each day for six weeks had cortisol levels that were almost half of those who drank a placebo. Since exercise is a stressor that increases your cortisol levels, drinking tea can help keep this catabolic hormone lower after workouts, clearing the path to greater growth.
Cruising through a set of heavy squats may not be as tough as actually finding enough time in your day to get yourself to the gym. If that's the case, you need to take every step possible to make sure you get your money's worth while you're there. Every set - every rep - is an investment in your physique, and you don't have the capital to waste on bad workouts. It's a commitment you've made to yourself, and as the saying goes, anything worth doing is worth doing right.
source : MuscleAndFitness
In some distant, parallel universe, the laws of responsibility are reversed. Work is something you do in your spare time. Working out, on the other hand, is an essential life task - something to which you devote countless hours to survive in society. In this bold, fitness-driven world, your benefits include being strong, looking fantastic and feeling even better. Life is good.
Reality check. No matter how much daydreaming you do, that alternate setting doesn't exist - unless your name is Jay, Ronnie or Victor, that is. In this time and place, working out plays second fiddle to a number of obligations. And since your time is valuable, you can't waste one second on a bad workout - hell, the good ones are tough enough to plan for. Strained reps, poor energy levels, incomplete sets, longer-than-desired workouts and shoddy results can leave you feeling like your time in the gym is all for naught. But there are things you can do before and after you head to the gym to ensure supercharged workouts today, tomorrow and beyond - tips that can improve your efficiency, strength, even your time spent with the iron. If you're going to schedule your day around the gym, make sure you head in there well-rested, your strength tank topped off, your playlist ready to go and the following pointers in tow. The result? A stronger, fitter body. Now that's a reality worth reaching for. Incorporate as many of these tips as possible to start maximizing the benefits of your gym time.
DAY OF YOUR WORKOUT
Your workout doesn't start when you walk into the gym - it begins when you wake up in the morning and continues throughout the day. Preparations go beyond just packing your gym bag. They start with eating the right things at the right times to increase your body's productivity at the gym. In addition to your usual nutritional goals, you should observe these tips to power you through your workout.
1. Eat slow-digesting carbs before workouts
>> Researchers at Loughborough University (UK) discovered that when athletes ate slow-digesting carbs such as whole grains for breakfast and lunch, they had lower insulin levels and burned more fat during the day. The athletes also had more endurance and burned more fat during exercise compared to those who ate fast-digesting carbs such as white bread or plain bagels. Be sure that all the meals you eat before your workout, including the one immediately before, include about 40 grams of slow-digesting carbs such as oatmeal, sweet potatoes, fruit, buckwheat (see tip No. 4) or whole-wheat bread.
2. Avoid higher-fat meals for up to four hours before workouts
>> A University of Maryland School of Medicine (Baltimore) study reported that a high-fat meal blunts the ability of nitric oxide (NO) to dilate blood vessels for up to four hours. That means less blood flow to muscles and less of a muscle pump, which is even more costly if you've invested in an NO supplement. In the four hours before your workout, avoid eating large amounts of fats, such as the obvious fast-food fare and packaged foods (even if you're in a mass-gaining phase).
3. Eat a green salad with your last whole-food meal before the gym
>> The same University of Maryland researchers also discovered that consuming a small green salad with a high-fat meal prevented the adverse effects on blood vessel dilation, likely by enhancing NO. About two hours before you hit the gym, include a green salad with low-fat dressing with your meal.
IMMEDIATELY BEFORE YOUR WORKOUT
Whether you train before work or in the evening after work, there are certain things you can and should do to gear up for the battle ahead. Again, nutrition plays a part, but your supplements are what will put you over the top. Taking the right supps during this crucial window helps get your body in a position to grow from today's session.
4. Eat buckwheat as part of your preworkout carb intake
>> Buckwheat, found in buckwheat pancakes and soba noodles, is a fruit seed that's often used as a substitute for grains. It digests slowly, which helps increase endurance and fat-burning. Buckwheat also contains a flavonoid called chiroinositol, which mimics insulin. A cup of cooked soba noodles before workouts can help get more preworkout creatine (see tip No. 5) into your muscle cells without blunting fat loss, which can occur from high insulin spikes.
5. Take 20 grams of whey protein and 3-5 grams of a creatine supplement
>> Researchers from Victoria University (Australia) reported that subjects who consumed a protein and creatine supplement immediately before and after workouts over a 10-week period increased muscle mass by 87%, bench press strength by 36%, squat strength by 27% and deadlift strength by 25%, and decreased bodyfat by 3%, more than a group taking the supplement before breakfast and before bed.
6. Take 200-400 mg of caffeine 1-2 hours before your workout
>> Research shows that caffeine taken preworkout increases fat-burning and endurance and blunts muscle pain during training, which means you can do more reps. A more recent study, from the University of Nebraska (Lincoln), indicates that subjects who took a caffeine supplement before their workouts immediately increased their one-rep max (1RM) on the bench press by about 5 pounds. Studies show caffeine supplements work better than caffeine from coffee.
7. Take 3-5 grams of arginine 30-45 minutes before workouts
>> One study reported in the journal Nutrition that trained subjects who took arginine supplements for eight weeks increased their 1RMs for the bench press by almost 20 pounds more than those who took a placebo.
8. Add 2 teaspoons of cocoa extract to your preworkout protein shake
>> University of California, Davis, scientists discovered that a flavonol called epicathechin in cocoa boosts NO levels and blood vessel dilation. If you've taken your NO and had a preworkout salad, this will keep NO levels higher longer.
DURING YOUR WORKOUT
You don't want to be a going-through-the-motions kind of guy in the gym. If you've gone through the trouble of suiting up for a workout, you'd best be getting after it hard. These tips are all designed to help you maximize intensity and strength today to help you look better tomorrow.
9 Use forced reps on your last sets
>> A Finnish study found that when subjects performed a workout with forced reps (a spotter helped them get through their sticking points to get a few more reps), their growth hormone (GH) levels were almost 4,000% higher than without using forced reps. For the last set of each exercise after reaching failure, go for 2-3 extra forced reps, but utilize these sparingly to prevent overtraining.
10. Don't train to failure on every set
>> Australian scientists have reported that training with one set to failure increases strength better than taking no sets to failure. However, when subjects did more than one set to failure, strength gains were lowered by almost half compared to the subjects doing just one set to failure.
11. Keep your focus on the muscle you're training
>> British researchers discovered that subjects who focused on their biceps while doing biceps curls had significantly more muscle activity than those who thought about other things. More muscle recruitment can result in more muscle growth in the long run. Be sure that for every rep of every set during your workout you're thinking about the muscle(s) being trained, instead of wondering where that blonde wearing the short shorts went to do her bent-over rows.
12. Vary your rep speed
>> In another Australian study, subjects performing fast repetitions (one second each on the positive and the negative portions of the rep) gained more strength than subjects using slow reps (three seconds each on the positive and negative) because fast-twitch muscle fibers have the greatest potential for strength increases. But the slow-rep subjects gained more muscle mass than the fast-rep subjects, likely due to the muscular time under tension and increased microtrauma. A good mix of both is the best way to maximize strength and size. Try changing from your regular controlled rep speed to 2-3 weeks of fast reps followed by 2-3 weeks of slow reps. Or try one of our programs that utilizes different rep speeds such as "Speed Bumps" (January 2007).
13. Train with several partners
>> Research shows that when trained lifters attempt a 1RM in front of a group of people, they're stronger than when they lift in front of just one.
14 Use an i-Pod
>> A study done at the Weider Research Group found that when trained bodybuilders performed a shoulder workout while listening to music on a personal MP3 player, they were able to complete an average of 1-2 more reps per set for all sets of all exercises. So for another source of motivation, create a playlist on your MP3 player of your favorite songs that jack up your adrenaline and bring it to the gym.
15. Don't train too heavy for too long
>> Yes, training with a heavy weight that prevents you from getting more than 4-5 reps is good for strength and overall mass when done in conjunction with lighter training that allows you to get 8-12 reps. Yet too much heavy training may work against muscle growth. Baylor University (Waco, Texas) scientists found that when athletes trained using their 6RMs, they had higher levels of active myostatin (a protein that limits muscle growth) than when they did the same workout using their 18RMs. Keep to your heavy rep ranges for no longer than 6-8 weeks, then switch to a lighter-weight, higher-rep scheme to keep your myostatin levels in check.
16. Stay off the exercise balls, wobble boards and other instability devices
>> Canadian scientists reported that doing dumbbell chest presses on an exercise ball resulted in a 40% decrease in strength compared to doing the exercise on a bench. And a study from Appalachian State University (Boone, North Carolina) found that when athletes performed squats on instability discs, they had less force production and muscle activity of the quadriceps compared to when they did squats on firm ground. Since any marked increase in strength or muscle mass is going to come through moving progressively heavier weights on key lifts, you might want to avoid exercise balls and instability boards. Plant yourself for better gains.
17. Save cardio for after your weight workout
>> Researchers from Japan found that when subjects did cardio before weights, their GH response to the weight workout was blunted by about 1,100% compared to when they lifted first and ended with cardio. Try to do your cardio either after weights or on a different day.
18. Use wrist straps for your pulling exercises
>> A study conducted at the Weider Research Group found that when trained bodybuilders performed a back workout while using wrist straps, they completed an average of 1-2 more reps per set for all sets of all exercises in the routine.
IMMEDIATELY AFTER YOUR WORKOUT
You've just wrecked your body at the gym. Good. Now it's time to start looking ahead. Your body needs the right fuel to grow and repair itself over the next few days, and you need to start getting ready for your next bout with the weights. That recuperation and preparation starts now. By following these postworkout protocols, not only will you enhance your body's ability to grow from today's beatdown but you'll also get yourself right and ready for tomorrow's trip to the gym.
19. Drink a shake with 20 grams each of whey and casein proteins
>> Researchers from Baylor University (Waco, Texas) reported that subjects taking a whey-plus-casein protein powder immediately postworkout for 10 weeks increased muscle mass significantly more than those taking whey without casein.
20. Stretch only after training
>> Stretching right before weightlifting can actually make you weaker during training. Researchers from the University of Texas (Austin) reported that athletes who stretched after their workouts were more flexible than when they stretched beforehand. Plus, it's easier (as well as safer) to stretch a muscle that's already warm and pliable.
21. Take 3-5 grams of creatine with 50-100 grams of fast-digesting carbs and 300-500 mg of alpha-lipoic acid (ALA)
>> A study from the University of Saskatchewan (Canada) found that subjects who took ALA, creatine and sucrose right after a workout increased muscle creatine levels significantly more than those taking creatine and sucrose or creatine only.
CONSTANT STATE OF READINESS
While most of these tips are geared around pre- and postworkout times, there are some things you can do at different times of the day to get the most out of your workouts.
22. Don't drop dietary cholesterol too low
>> We know cholesterol is important for maintaining testosterone levels, but Kent State University (Ohio) scientists reported at the 2005 Experimental Biology Conference that older adults eating a diet higher in cholesterol while weight training for 12 weeks gained 55% more strength and had more than five times the muscle growth as those following a diet lower in cholesterol. Keep some cholesterol in your diet by eating at least 1-2 egg yolks with your egg whites at breakfast and at least one meal of lean red meat each day. Liver, shellfish and duck are other good sources of healthy cholesterol.
23. If your schedule allows, lift in the evening
>> Researchers from the University of Southern Mississippi (Hattiesburg) discovered that when subjects worked out after 6 p.m. for 10 weeks, they gained more muscle and lost more bodyfat than a group that trained before 10 a.m.
24. Relax in a sauna or hot tub every day
>> Japanese researchers reported that rats exposed to a heat chamber set at 105 degrees F for two weeks increased muscle mass by 13% compared to those that weren't exposed to the heat. They concluded the results are likely due to the effect of heat shock proteins (specific proteins in the body that get released when exposed to heat) on cellular mechanisms of muscle growth.
25. Drink four cups of tea during the day
>> Researchers from University College (London) found that when test subjects were faced with a stressful task, those who drank 4 cups of black tea each day for six weeks had cortisol levels that were almost half of those who drank a placebo. Since exercise is a stressor that increases your cortisol levels, drinking tea can help keep this catabolic hormone lower after workouts, clearing the path to greater growth.
Cruising through a set of heavy squats may not be as tough as actually finding enough time in your day to get yourself to the gym. If that's the case, you need to take every step possible to make sure you get your money's worth while you're there. Every set - every rep - is an investment in your physique, and you don't have the capital to waste on bad workouts. It's a commitment you've made to yourself, and as the saying goes, anything worth doing is worth doing right.
source : MuscleAndFitness
BASIC NUTRITION
There’s no need to abandon all your favorite foods to get in shape – just follow these 10 simple nutrition and supplement guidelines to build muscle faster
Bodybuilders, trainers and diet gurus alike (at least those worth their salt) will tell you that bodybuilding is more than 50% nutrition. We tend to agree, especially where the novice is concerned. Beginners or those heading back into the gym after a layoff can expect to make some serious gains in strength and mass from a regular training program, but not without a solid nutrition program. Bottom line, the more serious you are about your nutrition, the more serious your gains will be. In fact, if you combed the literature on weightlifting, you'd quickly learn that relatively little research has been done on training techniques for boosting muscle mass and strength compared to the tons of studies on the effects of nutrition and dietary supplements. Said research shows that paying attention to macronutrients (protein, carbohydrates and fat), calories, meal timing and certain supplements will have a huge impact on your results.
But because you don't have time to do all the combing yourself, we've boiled it down to 10 basic nutrition and supplement rules that every beginner should learn now and maintain indefinitely. Follow these rules and stick to your lifting program, and soon that "beginner" label will no longer apply to you.
Rule #1: Focus on Protein
Consume at least 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight on a daily basis. Protein provides the amino acids that are used as the building blocks of muscle protein. Although the recommended daily allowance for protein is set at less than half a gram per pound of bodyweight for the typical person, research shows that athletes, especially those concerned with muscle mass and strength, need roughly double that amount. Beginners should actually try to get in about 1.5 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight per day for the first six months of working out, since this is when your muscles will respond the most rapidly to training. For the 180-pounder, this means 270 grams per day at the outset and a bare minimum of 180 grams daily thereafter.
Your protein choices should come mainly from lean animal proteins such as chicken, turkey, beef, fish, eggs and dairy. These are the most complete protein sources, meaning they provide your body with every essential amino acid, defined as those your body cannot manufacture on its own.
Rule #2: Carb Up
Eat about 2-3 grams of carbohydrates per pound of bodyweight each day. Protein is the most critical macronutrient for muscle growth, with carbohydrates a close second. Carbs are stored in your muscles as glycogen and both keep your muscles full and large and fuel them during workouts. To gain mass, the 180-pound beginner will need 360-540 grams of carbs daily.
For most meals, stick with slow-digesting carb sources such as whole grains, oatmeal, sweet potatoes, beans, fruit and vegetables. (For all other times of day, see Rule No. 7.)
Rule #3: Don't Avoid Fat
About 20%-30% of your total daily calories should come from fat. And unlike the sedentary general population who are advised to eliminate their saturated fat intake, 5%-10% of your fat calories should be saturated because higher-fat diets (particularly those higher in monounsaturated and saturated fats) appear to maintain testosterone levels better than low-fat diets. Maintaining optimal levels of testosterone, don't forget, is paramount for building muscle mass and strength and for avoiding fat gain.
Choose red meats such as steak and ground beef for your saturated fats (these also provide quality protein); avocados, mixed nuts, olive oil, olives and peanut butter for monounsaturated fats; and fatty fish (salmon, trout, catfish), flaxseed oil and walnuts as good sources of essential, omega-3 polyunsaturated fats.
Rule #4: Calories Count
To build muscle, consume 20 calories per pound of bodyweight per day. You must stay in a positive calorie balance (taking in more calories than you burn) to gain quality mass. If you burn more calories than you consume (a negative balance), your body will go into conservation mode and won't support new muscle growth. That's why a 180-pounder should get roughly 3,600 calories daily. Keeping Rules 1, 2, and 3 in mind, 20%-30% of these calories should come from protein, 40%-60% from carbs and 20%-30% from fat.
Rule #5: Eat Frequently
Eat a meal that contains quality protein and carbs every 2-3 hours to ensure a steady supply of energy and amino acids for muscle growth all day long, helping you gain mass and stay lean. The key is to keep every meal approximately the same size. If you pig out with a 1,200-calorie lunch, you'll be less likely to eat 2-3 hours later and liable to gain the wrong kind of weight, since calories in excess of what the body can process at a given time are often stored as bodyfat. Aim for at least six meals per day and shoot for eight, which for the 180-pound guy would consist of 500-600 calories per meal.
Rule #6 Shake It Up
Pre- and postworkout, get in at least 20 grams of protein in convenient shake form. Protein shakes are considered supplements, but we like to think of them as important meals to be consumed at critical times during the day. While your diet should consist mostly of unprocessed whole foods, at times a protein shake is a much better option. An example is 30 minutes immediately before your workout. To prepare your muscles for the ensuing training session, as well as to get a head start on the muscle recovery process, drink a shake with 20 grams of either whey protein or a mix of whey and casein along with 40 grams or so of a slower-digesting carbohydrate (see Rule No. 7). Then, in the 60-minute window immediately postworkout, down another 20-40 grams of liquid protein (mix in water for convenience) and 60-100 grams of faster-digesting carbs (again, see Rule No. 7).
Rule #7: Eat the Right Carbs at the Right Time
Eat a slow carb 30 minutes preworkout and mainly fast carbs postworkout. As stated in Rule No. 2, you should select slower-burning carbs for most meals, including before you train. Research shows that when athletes eat slower-digesting carbs, they not only have more energy and less fatigue during exercise but they burn more fat while training and experience less hunger throughout the day. Good slow-carb choices include fruit, whole-grain bread and oatmeal.
Postworkout, choose fast-digesting carbs such as white bread, a plain bagel or baked potato or a sports drink (Gatorade, Powerade, etc.). This will spike levels of the anabolic hormone insulin, which drives the carbs you eat into muscle cells, where they'll be stored as glycogen to be used for your next workout. Insulin also helps amino acids get into the muscle cells to build muscle protein. It's critical to delivering creatine to the muscles (see Rule No. 9) and increases muscle protein synthesis, one of the major processes by which muscle fibers grow. Normally, you want to keep insulin levels in check for a variety of health reasons, but immediately following a hard training session is one time when an insulin spike is desirable.
Rule #8: Eat Before Bedtime
Before going to bed every night, consume 30-40 grams of a micellar casein protein shake or 1 cup of low-fat cottage cheese, as well as 2-3 tablespoons of flaxseed oil, 2 ounces of mixed nuts or 2-3 tablespoons of peanut butter. When you sleep, you essentially fast for 7-9 hours (or for however long you sleep). With no food available, the body goes to your muscle fibers for amino acids to fuel your brain. For the individual looking to get bigger and leaner, this is not a good thing. The answer isn't to get less sleep but rather to eat the proper foods immediately before bedtime. Slow-digesting proteins and healthy fats are your best bet. These foods help slow digestion and provide a steady supply of amino acids for fuel, thereby minimizing the body's tendency to use muscle. Casein, the major protein in milk, is a good option - either from a protein shake or 1 cup of low-fat cottage cheese.
Rule #9 Use Creatine
Include 3-5 grams of creatine with your pre- and postworkout shakes. One of the most effective supplements to buy is creatine. Many scientists, doctors and nutritionists agree that creatine works great for most athletes regardless of age or gender. After hundreds of studies have been conducted on the supplement, the consensus is that it's not just effective but also safe. Taking creatine in monohydrate, ethyl ester or any other form can help you gain up to 10 pounds of lean muscle, boost your strength in the gym by 10% and produce a significantly greater pump during your workout, all with zero side effects, in just a few weeks.
Rule #10: Use Beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate (HMB)
Take 1-3 grams of HMB with food in the morning, before and after workouts and before bed during your first three months of training. Besides creatine, which is good for bodybuilders of all experience levels, another great supplement for beginners is HMB, a metabolite of the branched-chain amino acid leucine. HMB prevents muscle breakdown and stimulates muscle growth, particularly in beginning trainees. (Research shows that HMB's effectiveness is not as significant for experienced bodybuilders.) After you reach the three-month mark, switch to 5-10 grams of leucine at those same times. M&F
THE PERFECT DAY
Now that you know the 10 golden rules of nutrition and supplementation for the beginner, here's what an ideal day of eating might look like for the 180-pounder.
7:30 a.m. Breakfast
4 large whole eggs
1 cup plain cooked oatmeal
Large sliced banana
1-3 g HMB*
10 a.m. Midmorning Snack
2 slices whole-wheat bread
3-4 slices deli-style turkey breast
2 slices low-fat cheese
Mustard, lettuce
Choice of fruit
1 p.m. Lunch
6 oz. lean ground beef
2 cups pasta
1 cup broccoli
3 p.m. Midday snack
1/2 can albacore tuna
2 slices whole-wheat bread
1/2 avocado
5 p.m. Preworkout
20 g protein shake (whey or whey/casein blend) with 3-5 g creatine
2 slices whole-wheat bread
1-3 g HMB*
3-5 g creatine
6:30 p.m. Postworkout
20-40 g protein shake (whey or whey/casein blend) with 3-5 g creatine
32 oz. Gatorade
1-3 g HMB*
3-5 g creatine
7:30 p.m. Dinner
8 oz. chicken breast or steak
Large sweet potato
1 cup broccoli or asparagus
10:30 p.m. Bedtime
1 cup low-fat cottage cheese
2-3 Tbsp. peanut butter
1-3 g HMB*
* During first three months of training. After three months, switch to 5-10 g of leucine.
source : MuscleAndFitness
Bodybuilders, trainers and diet gurus alike (at least those worth their salt) will tell you that bodybuilding is more than 50% nutrition. We tend to agree, especially where the novice is concerned. Beginners or those heading back into the gym after a layoff can expect to make some serious gains in strength and mass from a regular training program, but not without a solid nutrition program. Bottom line, the more serious you are about your nutrition, the more serious your gains will be. In fact, if you combed the literature on weightlifting, you'd quickly learn that relatively little research has been done on training techniques for boosting muscle mass and strength compared to the tons of studies on the effects of nutrition and dietary supplements. Said research shows that paying attention to macronutrients (protein, carbohydrates and fat), calories, meal timing and certain supplements will have a huge impact on your results.
But because you don't have time to do all the combing yourself, we've boiled it down to 10 basic nutrition and supplement rules that every beginner should learn now and maintain indefinitely. Follow these rules and stick to your lifting program, and soon that "beginner" label will no longer apply to you.
Rule #1: Focus on Protein
Consume at least 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight on a daily basis. Protein provides the amino acids that are used as the building blocks of muscle protein. Although the recommended daily allowance for protein is set at less than half a gram per pound of bodyweight for the typical person, research shows that athletes, especially those concerned with muscle mass and strength, need roughly double that amount. Beginners should actually try to get in about 1.5 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight per day for the first six months of working out, since this is when your muscles will respond the most rapidly to training. For the 180-pounder, this means 270 grams per day at the outset and a bare minimum of 180 grams daily thereafter.
Your protein choices should come mainly from lean animal proteins such as chicken, turkey, beef, fish, eggs and dairy. These are the most complete protein sources, meaning they provide your body with every essential amino acid, defined as those your body cannot manufacture on its own.
Rule #2: Carb Up
Eat about 2-3 grams of carbohydrates per pound of bodyweight each day. Protein is the most critical macronutrient for muscle growth, with carbohydrates a close second. Carbs are stored in your muscles as glycogen and both keep your muscles full and large and fuel them during workouts. To gain mass, the 180-pound beginner will need 360-540 grams of carbs daily.
For most meals, stick with slow-digesting carb sources such as whole grains, oatmeal, sweet potatoes, beans, fruit and vegetables. (For all other times of day, see Rule No. 7.)
Rule #3: Don't Avoid Fat
About 20%-30% of your total daily calories should come from fat. And unlike the sedentary general population who are advised to eliminate their saturated fat intake, 5%-10% of your fat calories should be saturated because higher-fat diets (particularly those higher in monounsaturated and saturated fats) appear to maintain testosterone levels better than low-fat diets. Maintaining optimal levels of testosterone, don't forget, is paramount for building muscle mass and strength and for avoiding fat gain.
Choose red meats such as steak and ground beef for your saturated fats (these also provide quality protein); avocados, mixed nuts, olive oil, olives and peanut butter for monounsaturated fats; and fatty fish (salmon, trout, catfish), flaxseed oil and walnuts as good sources of essential, omega-3 polyunsaturated fats.
Rule #4: Calories Count
To build muscle, consume 20 calories per pound of bodyweight per day. You must stay in a positive calorie balance (taking in more calories than you burn) to gain quality mass. If you burn more calories than you consume (a negative balance), your body will go into conservation mode and won't support new muscle growth. That's why a 180-pounder should get roughly 3,600 calories daily. Keeping Rules 1, 2, and 3 in mind, 20%-30% of these calories should come from protein, 40%-60% from carbs and 20%-30% from fat.
Rule #5: Eat Frequently
Eat a meal that contains quality protein and carbs every 2-3 hours to ensure a steady supply of energy and amino acids for muscle growth all day long, helping you gain mass and stay lean. The key is to keep every meal approximately the same size. If you pig out with a 1,200-calorie lunch, you'll be less likely to eat 2-3 hours later and liable to gain the wrong kind of weight, since calories in excess of what the body can process at a given time are often stored as bodyfat. Aim for at least six meals per day and shoot for eight, which for the 180-pound guy would consist of 500-600 calories per meal.
Rule #6 Shake It Up
Pre- and postworkout, get in at least 20 grams of protein in convenient shake form. Protein shakes are considered supplements, but we like to think of them as important meals to be consumed at critical times during the day. While your diet should consist mostly of unprocessed whole foods, at times a protein shake is a much better option. An example is 30 minutes immediately before your workout. To prepare your muscles for the ensuing training session, as well as to get a head start on the muscle recovery process, drink a shake with 20 grams of either whey protein or a mix of whey and casein along with 40 grams or so of a slower-digesting carbohydrate (see Rule No. 7). Then, in the 60-minute window immediately postworkout, down another 20-40 grams of liquid protein (mix in water for convenience) and 60-100 grams of faster-digesting carbs (again, see Rule No. 7).
Rule #7: Eat the Right Carbs at the Right Time
Eat a slow carb 30 minutes preworkout and mainly fast carbs postworkout. As stated in Rule No. 2, you should select slower-burning carbs for most meals, including before you train. Research shows that when athletes eat slower-digesting carbs, they not only have more energy and less fatigue during exercise but they burn more fat while training and experience less hunger throughout the day. Good slow-carb choices include fruit, whole-grain bread and oatmeal.
Postworkout, choose fast-digesting carbs such as white bread, a plain bagel or baked potato or a sports drink (Gatorade, Powerade, etc.). This will spike levels of the anabolic hormone insulin, which drives the carbs you eat into muscle cells, where they'll be stored as glycogen to be used for your next workout. Insulin also helps amino acids get into the muscle cells to build muscle protein. It's critical to delivering creatine to the muscles (see Rule No. 9) and increases muscle protein synthesis, one of the major processes by which muscle fibers grow. Normally, you want to keep insulin levels in check for a variety of health reasons, but immediately following a hard training session is one time when an insulin spike is desirable.
Rule #8: Eat Before Bedtime
Before going to bed every night, consume 30-40 grams of a micellar casein protein shake or 1 cup of low-fat cottage cheese, as well as 2-3 tablespoons of flaxseed oil, 2 ounces of mixed nuts or 2-3 tablespoons of peanut butter. When you sleep, you essentially fast for 7-9 hours (or for however long you sleep). With no food available, the body goes to your muscle fibers for amino acids to fuel your brain. For the individual looking to get bigger and leaner, this is not a good thing. The answer isn't to get less sleep but rather to eat the proper foods immediately before bedtime. Slow-digesting proteins and healthy fats are your best bet. These foods help slow digestion and provide a steady supply of amino acids for fuel, thereby minimizing the body's tendency to use muscle. Casein, the major protein in milk, is a good option - either from a protein shake or 1 cup of low-fat cottage cheese.
Rule #9 Use Creatine
Include 3-5 grams of creatine with your pre- and postworkout shakes. One of the most effective supplements to buy is creatine. Many scientists, doctors and nutritionists agree that creatine works great for most athletes regardless of age or gender. After hundreds of studies have been conducted on the supplement, the consensus is that it's not just effective but also safe. Taking creatine in monohydrate, ethyl ester or any other form can help you gain up to 10 pounds of lean muscle, boost your strength in the gym by 10% and produce a significantly greater pump during your workout, all with zero side effects, in just a few weeks.
Rule #10: Use Beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate (HMB)
Take 1-3 grams of HMB with food in the morning, before and after workouts and before bed during your first three months of training. Besides creatine, which is good for bodybuilders of all experience levels, another great supplement for beginners is HMB, a metabolite of the branched-chain amino acid leucine. HMB prevents muscle breakdown and stimulates muscle growth, particularly in beginning trainees. (Research shows that HMB's effectiveness is not as significant for experienced bodybuilders.) After you reach the three-month mark, switch to 5-10 grams of leucine at those same times. M&F
THE PERFECT DAY
Now that you know the 10 golden rules of nutrition and supplementation for the beginner, here's what an ideal day of eating might look like for the 180-pounder.
7:30 a.m. Breakfast
4 large whole eggs
1 cup plain cooked oatmeal
Large sliced banana
1-3 g HMB*
10 a.m. Midmorning Snack
2 slices whole-wheat bread
3-4 slices deli-style turkey breast
2 slices low-fat cheese
Mustard, lettuce
Choice of fruit
1 p.m. Lunch
6 oz. lean ground beef
2 cups pasta
1 cup broccoli
3 p.m. Midday snack
1/2 can albacore tuna
2 slices whole-wheat bread
1/2 avocado
5 p.m. Preworkout
20 g protein shake (whey or whey/casein blend) with 3-5 g creatine
2 slices whole-wheat bread
1-3 g HMB*
3-5 g creatine
6:30 p.m. Postworkout
20-40 g protein shake (whey or whey/casein blend) with 3-5 g creatine
32 oz. Gatorade
1-3 g HMB*
3-5 g creatine
7:30 p.m. Dinner
8 oz. chicken breast or steak
Large sweet potato
1 cup broccoli or asparagus
10:30 p.m. Bedtime
1 cup low-fat cottage cheese
2-3 Tbsp. peanut butter
1-3 g HMB*
* During first three months of training. After three months, switch to 5-10 g of leucine.
source : MuscleAndFitness
12 LAWS OF FAT-BURNING
Want to see your six-pack again - or for the first time ever? You'll find all you need to know to get superlean in a dozen simple rules
No question about it, burning fat is a 24/7 endeavor. To keep the fires hot, you need to eat every 2-3 hours throughout the day. Not only that, but you must choose the right foods in the right amounts to keep your metabolism revved up so your six-pack will be ready for its close-up. The way we see it, there are 12 fundamentals - laws, if you will - that are all you need to shed that unwanted blubber from your midsection and elsewhere. Most of them are nutrition-driven, but training comes into play as well. Your mass-gaining phase is over for the time being; now it's time to get lean. These 12 laws of fat-burning will help get you there.
1 SLASH (CALORIES) AND BURN
>> Step 1 revolves around simple math: You must eat fewer calories than your body is accustomed to in order to drop bodyfat. When a calorie shortfall is created, the body responds by digging into bodyfat reserves to make up the difference. And presto, you grow leaner. All other laws aside, this one heads the list every time, no matter what dietary approach you take.
Do This: Most guys who are fairly active and exercise regularly burn about 18 calories per pound of bodyweight or more per day. On that basis, a 200-pounder would consume 3,600 calories daily. To start dropping bodyfat, reduce your calories to between 14 and 16 per pound of bodyweight per day on workout days, or 2,800-3,200 calories daily. On nonworkout days, drop to about 12 calories per pound per day (2,400 calories for the guy who's 200 pounds).
The easiest way to cut calories? Eliminate excess dietary fat - meaning no butter, oils, salad dressings (low-fat or fat-free dressings are okay); remove the skin from chicken; substitute egg whites for most of your whole eggs; avoid whole-milk dairy products; and ditch marbled red meats such as rib-eye for lean cuts such as flank. Keep some healthy fats in your diet, such as salmon, mixed nuts, peanut butter and avocados.
2 CURTAIL CARBOHYDRATES
>> Though calorie control is a must, hormonal control is nearly as important. Coupled with calories, hormones govern fat-burning. Suppress fat-storing hormones and you can expect a significant amount of bodyfat to melt away. The ideal way to control these hormones is to keep your carbohydrate intake in check, since carbs kick up insulin, a hormone that inhibits fat breakdown and drives fat storage. Eat fewer carbs and insulin levels tend to moderate, leading to fat loss.
Of course, not all carbohydrates are equal. In short, fast-digesting carbs tend to create a large insulin burst, leading to more potential fat gain. These carbs include white bread, most cold cereals, any sweets, rice cakes, white rice and white potatoes. Conversely, slow-digesting carbs (found in whole-grain breads, oatmeal, sweet potatoes and legumes) don't cause much of an insulin rise, so these should make up the vast majority of your carb consumption.
Do This: The commonsense approach is to halve your carbohydrate portions. If you tend to eat a large bagel for breakfast, eat only half and save the rest for tomorrow, or simply eat a smaller bagel. If you typically eat 2 cups of pasta at dinner, eat just one. In time, you'll see the effects of insulin control.
As for carb choices, the aforementioned bagel should be 100% whole wheat, not white. At all times during the day, in fact, choose whole-grain foods over refined ones, the only exception being immediately after a workout, when fast-digesting carbs reign supreme for boosting insulin and replenishing muscle glycogen stores (see Law 8). Keep carbs to less than 2 grams per pound of bodyweight per day.
3 STRESS PROTEIN
>> Is a calorie truly a calorie? Not always, because different types of calories can affect your body and your results differently. Dietary fat, for example, is more "fattening" than protein or carbs because it's less likely to be used to build your body. Granted, carbs can potentially make you fat, but they also directly fuel your training. Protein? That's a no-brainer: It builds muscle. Fat does neither, but it isn't useless; moderate amounts of it support vitamin absorption and help manufacture hormones.
But if you're trying to get ripped, you must minimize your consumption of fat. Protein, on the other hand, not only adds to your muscle - key in boosting the metabolism - but actually increases your metabolism more directly. The body burns more calories processing protein than it burns to process carbs or fat, known as the thermic effect of food. That's the main reason diets that include a lot of protein result in greater fat loss than low-protein diets, even when both diets contain the same amount of calories.
Do This: We can't harp on this advice too much: Eat at least 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight every day. Your major protein sources should be lean meats (chicken, steak, turkey breast, tuna), egg whites (the yolks contain the fat, so discard most of them when you're trying to lose fat), protein powder (whey or casein) and low-fat cottage cheese. As for fat, limit it to 20%-30% of your total daily caloric intake.
4 NEVER EAT CARBS BY THEMSELVES
>> When attempting to lose bodyfat, insulin control is crucial. The total amount of insulin released by the body isn't related to just how many carbohydrates you eat but how fast those carbs are digested. Refined carbs digest quickly, raising insulin levels substantially, which is why you should avoid them. But if you do happen to eat, say, a bowl of cold cereal (typically a fast-digesting carb), you can still take measures to ensure those carbs digest more slowly. This will cause less insulin to be released and therefore have less of an impact on your ability to burn fat.
Do This: One way to slow digestion is to eat carbs with protein and small amounts of fat. Never eat carbs alone. Accompany that bowl of cereal, for example, with scrambled egg whites or cottage cheese. Alternatively, you could eat plenty of vegetables, such as broccoli, cauliflower, green beans and green salads, with your meals. These foods actually slow the breakdown and digestion rate of all carbohydrates.
5 NEVER EAT CARBS BEFORE BED
>> Once again, it's about hormones. At night your insulin sensitivity decreases, meaning your body must release more insulin than usual to put any carbohydrates you eat at night to use in the body. And by now you know that higher insulin levels can decrease fat-burning and enhance fat storage. In addition, the body naturally produces a fat-liberating hormone called growth hormone (GH) within the initial 90 minutes of sleep.
GH not only increases fat-burning but is required to build mass and strengthen the immune system. Yet carbs put a damper on GH release, so it's ideal to go to bed under one of two scenarios: on an empty stomach or, even better, having consumed only protein, no carbs. This allows blood glucose - the high-tech name for digested carbs circulating in the blood - to remain low, which facilitates the rise in nocturnal GH production.
Do This: Don't eat anything about three hours before bed. A better option is to eat only protein meals the final four hours before bed, with one protein meal immediately before bedtime that includes only protein, such as a casein shake, low-fat cottage cheese or chicken breast. You can, however, eat a small serving of vegetables here if you wish.
6 USE NITRIC OXIDE AT NIGHT
>> Nitric oxide (no) is the compound that opens everything up and, not surprisingly, it's one of the best fat-burning products on the market. NO supports "the pump" when taken before training, enhancing blood flow to muscles by allowing more blood to make its way to tissues, including muscles, which can help maximize hypertrophy and boost metabolism. This arginine-based supplement is also effective when taken before bed, when it can exert a profound surge in GH levels and support fat-burning.
Do This: Within 30-60 minutes of bedtime every night, take a 5-10-gram dose of a nitric-oxide supplement that doesn't contain caffeine on an empty stomach.
7 EAT MORE MEALS PER DAY
>> Sure, calories and hormones can determine whether your body deposits food into muscle or as bodyfat, but meal frequency, or how many times you eat each day, affects your overall metabolism. Every time you eat, the body's calorie-burning engine, also known as metabolism, slightly increases. This is especially true for meals that contain protein. So if you eat six times a day, you'll experience six metabolic surges a day, rather than just four if you eat only four times a day. And, of course, eating seven or eight times per day would be even better than six. This is one way to lean out without having to drastically reduce calories. Frequent feedings tend to increase the chance that what you eat will make its way into muscle tissue rather than being packed away as bodyfat.
Do This: Eat 6-8 small meals per day, spaced 2-3 hours apart. Don't go longer than three hours without eating - your body will go into starvation mode, which can cause you to store bodyfat and makes it more likely that you'll overeat at your next meal. Speaking of overeating, just because you're consuming more meals doesn't mean you should be taking in more total calories. Determine your ideal daily caloric intake for fat-burning (see Rule I) and divide that more or less evenly between your 6-8 meals.
8 PRIORITIZE THE POST-TRAINING MEAL
>> After you train, it's difficult to gain bodyfat. Why? Depleted, broken-down muscles soak up both protein and carbohydrates for growth and recovery. If you eat too little at this time, you may actually set yourself back by impeding recovery; supporting recovery and growth actually increases metabolism while impeding it slows metabolism. In terms of spurring recovery and growth, just about the most counterproductive thing you can do after a hard workout is starve yourself.
Do This: Consume 30-40 grams of protein powder such as whey powder and casein along with 60-80 grams of fast-digesting carbs (a large baked potato, 4-5 slices of white bread or a large sports drink such as Gatorade) as soon as possible within an hour after training.
9 AVOID FAST CARBS PREWORKOUT
>> When you hit the gym, the body releases a fat-liberating messenger called epinephrine, which attaches itself to fat cells and allows fat to be burned as fuel. And, you guessed it, carbohydrates come into play here. Refined carbs consumed before training suppress the exercise- and supplement-induced rise in epinephrine compared to eating the same amount of slower-digesting carbs. Refined carbs also boost insulin levels, further hampering fat-burning during the workout. Bottom line, avoid refined carbs altogether before training.
Do This: Fifteen to 30 minutes (or less) before training, consume 20 grams of protein powder in a whey shake or other protein powder source and 30-40 grams of carbohydrates to help you train hard all the way through your workout. Stick with slow-digesting carbs here, such as oat bran, oatmeal, rye or whole-wheat bread, fruit or sweet potatoes. On nonworkout days, eat that meal as a snack and drop your postworkout feeding.
10 EMPTY YOUR GLYCOGEN STORES ONCE EVERY TWO WEEKS
>> Glycogen is the unused and stored form of carbohydrates in muscles. When glycogen stores begin to peak from eating plenty of carbs, the body upgrades its fat-storing ability. Conversely, as glycogen stores are depleted, fat-burning increases. One way to kick-start the fat-burning process is to go extremely low-carb on two consecutive days every couple of weeks. This ensures that you tap into your glycogen stores for fuel, which signals the body to burn more fat.
Do This: Limit your total carbs on two consecutive days every two weeks or so to less than 100 grams per day. This will require you to know how many grams of carbohydrates are in the foods you eat and have the discipline to be very strict on your intake. Your diligence will be rewarded with a noticeable difference in bodyfat. After two days, you can return to a more normal, though not excessive, carb intake.
11 TRAIN UNTIL YOU'RE BEAT, NOT DEAD
>> It's the age-old question: How many sets do you need, and how much time should you spend in the gym each day? The answer varies from person to person, but when burning fat is the primary goal, a good rule of thumb is to train until you're pretty beat up, but not to the point where you're flattened and thoroughly exhausted. That type of kamikaze training may satisfy your pysche, but it does a number on your anabolic hormones.
Serious fat loss requires you to retain muscle mass, the body's primary metabolic driver. If you go overboard in the gym, testosterone and growth hormone go into free fall, and your metabolism follows suit.
Do This: Go ahead, train as intensely as you like, just don't go longer than 75 minutes in any one workout. Do as many sets and reps as you can during this time, using shorter rest periods (60 seconds max), but when your 60-75 minutes end, finish up and go drink your protein/carb shake.
12 DO CARDIO AT THE RIGHT TIME
>> Cardio exerts two benefits: it burns calories and affects hormone levels in the body. Specifically, cardio helps raise levels of norepinephrine. Yet when you do cardio makes a big difference in how your body handles the hormonal changes. Cardio on an empty stomach allows norepinephrine to readily target fat cells, which triggers maximal fat-burning. On the flip side, if you eat before doing cardio, and particularly if you eat carbs, the fat-blocking hormone insulin rises, making your body less effective at burning fat.
Do This: To ensure that your body is in optimal fat-burning mode, do 30-60 minutes of cardio first thing in the morning before breakfast 4-6 days per week. Feel free, however, to drink your morning coffee (without cream or sugar) and take 6-10 grams of mixed amino acids or a small amount of whey protein powder mixed in water beforehand. The caffeine will help you burn more fat, as will the amino acids (whether from a supplement or whey protein), as research from Kanazawa University in Japan has found. The aminos will also help prevent muscle breakdown during cardio.
source : MuscleAndFitness
No question about it, burning fat is a 24/7 endeavor. To keep the fires hot, you need to eat every 2-3 hours throughout the day. Not only that, but you must choose the right foods in the right amounts to keep your metabolism revved up so your six-pack will be ready for its close-up. The way we see it, there are 12 fundamentals - laws, if you will - that are all you need to shed that unwanted blubber from your midsection and elsewhere. Most of them are nutrition-driven, but training comes into play as well. Your mass-gaining phase is over for the time being; now it's time to get lean. These 12 laws of fat-burning will help get you there.
1 SLASH (CALORIES) AND BURN
>> Step 1 revolves around simple math: You must eat fewer calories than your body is accustomed to in order to drop bodyfat. When a calorie shortfall is created, the body responds by digging into bodyfat reserves to make up the difference. And presto, you grow leaner. All other laws aside, this one heads the list every time, no matter what dietary approach you take.
Do This: Most guys who are fairly active and exercise regularly burn about 18 calories per pound of bodyweight or more per day. On that basis, a 200-pounder would consume 3,600 calories daily. To start dropping bodyfat, reduce your calories to between 14 and 16 per pound of bodyweight per day on workout days, or 2,800-3,200 calories daily. On nonworkout days, drop to about 12 calories per pound per day (2,400 calories for the guy who's 200 pounds).
The easiest way to cut calories? Eliminate excess dietary fat - meaning no butter, oils, salad dressings (low-fat or fat-free dressings are okay); remove the skin from chicken; substitute egg whites for most of your whole eggs; avoid whole-milk dairy products; and ditch marbled red meats such as rib-eye for lean cuts such as flank. Keep some healthy fats in your diet, such as salmon, mixed nuts, peanut butter and avocados.
2 CURTAIL CARBOHYDRATES
>> Though calorie control is a must, hormonal control is nearly as important. Coupled with calories, hormones govern fat-burning. Suppress fat-storing hormones and you can expect a significant amount of bodyfat to melt away. The ideal way to control these hormones is to keep your carbohydrate intake in check, since carbs kick up insulin, a hormone that inhibits fat breakdown and drives fat storage. Eat fewer carbs and insulin levels tend to moderate, leading to fat loss.
Of course, not all carbohydrates are equal. In short, fast-digesting carbs tend to create a large insulin burst, leading to more potential fat gain. These carbs include white bread, most cold cereals, any sweets, rice cakes, white rice and white potatoes. Conversely, slow-digesting carbs (found in whole-grain breads, oatmeal, sweet potatoes and legumes) don't cause much of an insulin rise, so these should make up the vast majority of your carb consumption.
Do This: The commonsense approach is to halve your carbohydrate portions. If you tend to eat a large bagel for breakfast, eat only half and save the rest for tomorrow, or simply eat a smaller bagel. If you typically eat 2 cups of pasta at dinner, eat just one. In time, you'll see the effects of insulin control.
As for carb choices, the aforementioned bagel should be 100% whole wheat, not white. At all times during the day, in fact, choose whole-grain foods over refined ones, the only exception being immediately after a workout, when fast-digesting carbs reign supreme for boosting insulin and replenishing muscle glycogen stores (see Law 8). Keep carbs to less than 2 grams per pound of bodyweight per day.
3 STRESS PROTEIN
>> Is a calorie truly a calorie? Not always, because different types of calories can affect your body and your results differently. Dietary fat, for example, is more "fattening" than protein or carbs because it's less likely to be used to build your body. Granted, carbs can potentially make you fat, but they also directly fuel your training. Protein? That's a no-brainer: It builds muscle. Fat does neither, but it isn't useless; moderate amounts of it support vitamin absorption and help manufacture hormones.
But if you're trying to get ripped, you must minimize your consumption of fat. Protein, on the other hand, not only adds to your muscle - key in boosting the metabolism - but actually increases your metabolism more directly. The body burns more calories processing protein than it burns to process carbs or fat, known as the thermic effect of food. That's the main reason diets that include a lot of protein result in greater fat loss than low-protein diets, even when both diets contain the same amount of calories.
Do This: We can't harp on this advice too much: Eat at least 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight every day. Your major protein sources should be lean meats (chicken, steak, turkey breast, tuna), egg whites (the yolks contain the fat, so discard most of them when you're trying to lose fat), protein powder (whey or casein) and low-fat cottage cheese. As for fat, limit it to 20%-30% of your total daily caloric intake.
4 NEVER EAT CARBS BY THEMSELVES
>> When attempting to lose bodyfat, insulin control is crucial. The total amount of insulin released by the body isn't related to just how many carbohydrates you eat but how fast those carbs are digested. Refined carbs digest quickly, raising insulin levels substantially, which is why you should avoid them. But if you do happen to eat, say, a bowl of cold cereal (typically a fast-digesting carb), you can still take measures to ensure those carbs digest more slowly. This will cause less insulin to be released and therefore have less of an impact on your ability to burn fat.
Do This: One way to slow digestion is to eat carbs with protein and small amounts of fat. Never eat carbs alone. Accompany that bowl of cereal, for example, with scrambled egg whites or cottage cheese. Alternatively, you could eat plenty of vegetables, such as broccoli, cauliflower, green beans and green salads, with your meals. These foods actually slow the breakdown and digestion rate of all carbohydrates.
5 NEVER EAT CARBS BEFORE BED
>> Once again, it's about hormones. At night your insulin sensitivity decreases, meaning your body must release more insulin than usual to put any carbohydrates you eat at night to use in the body. And by now you know that higher insulin levels can decrease fat-burning and enhance fat storage. In addition, the body naturally produces a fat-liberating hormone called growth hormone (GH) within the initial 90 minutes of sleep.
GH not only increases fat-burning but is required to build mass and strengthen the immune system. Yet carbs put a damper on GH release, so it's ideal to go to bed under one of two scenarios: on an empty stomach or, even better, having consumed only protein, no carbs. This allows blood glucose - the high-tech name for digested carbs circulating in the blood - to remain low, which facilitates the rise in nocturnal GH production.
Do This: Don't eat anything about three hours before bed. A better option is to eat only protein meals the final four hours before bed, with one protein meal immediately before bedtime that includes only protein, such as a casein shake, low-fat cottage cheese or chicken breast. You can, however, eat a small serving of vegetables here if you wish.
6 USE NITRIC OXIDE AT NIGHT
>> Nitric oxide (no) is the compound that opens everything up and, not surprisingly, it's one of the best fat-burning products on the market. NO supports "the pump" when taken before training, enhancing blood flow to muscles by allowing more blood to make its way to tissues, including muscles, which can help maximize hypertrophy and boost metabolism. This arginine-based supplement is also effective when taken before bed, when it can exert a profound surge in GH levels and support fat-burning.
Do This: Within 30-60 minutes of bedtime every night, take a 5-10-gram dose of a nitric-oxide supplement that doesn't contain caffeine on an empty stomach.
7 EAT MORE MEALS PER DAY
>> Sure, calories and hormones can determine whether your body deposits food into muscle or as bodyfat, but meal frequency, or how many times you eat each day, affects your overall metabolism. Every time you eat, the body's calorie-burning engine, also known as metabolism, slightly increases. This is especially true for meals that contain protein. So if you eat six times a day, you'll experience six metabolic surges a day, rather than just four if you eat only four times a day. And, of course, eating seven or eight times per day would be even better than six. This is one way to lean out without having to drastically reduce calories. Frequent feedings tend to increase the chance that what you eat will make its way into muscle tissue rather than being packed away as bodyfat.
Do This: Eat 6-8 small meals per day, spaced 2-3 hours apart. Don't go longer than three hours without eating - your body will go into starvation mode, which can cause you to store bodyfat and makes it more likely that you'll overeat at your next meal. Speaking of overeating, just because you're consuming more meals doesn't mean you should be taking in more total calories. Determine your ideal daily caloric intake for fat-burning (see Rule I) and divide that more or less evenly between your 6-8 meals.
8 PRIORITIZE THE POST-TRAINING MEAL
>> After you train, it's difficult to gain bodyfat. Why? Depleted, broken-down muscles soak up both protein and carbohydrates for growth and recovery. If you eat too little at this time, you may actually set yourself back by impeding recovery; supporting recovery and growth actually increases metabolism while impeding it slows metabolism. In terms of spurring recovery and growth, just about the most counterproductive thing you can do after a hard workout is starve yourself.
Do This: Consume 30-40 grams of protein powder such as whey powder and casein along with 60-80 grams of fast-digesting carbs (a large baked potato, 4-5 slices of white bread or a large sports drink such as Gatorade) as soon as possible within an hour after training.
9 AVOID FAST CARBS PREWORKOUT
>> When you hit the gym, the body releases a fat-liberating messenger called epinephrine, which attaches itself to fat cells and allows fat to be burned as fuel. And, you guessed it, carbohydrates come into play here. Refined carbs consumed before training suppress the exercise- and supplement-induced rise in epinephrine compared to eating the same amount of slower-digesting carbs. Refined carbs also boost insulin levels, further hampering fat-burning during the workout. Bottom line, avoid refined carbs altogether before training.
Do This: Fifteen to 30 minutes (or less) before training, consume 20 grams of protein powder in a whey shake or other protein powder source and 30-40 grams of carbohydrates to help you train hard all the way through your workout. Stick with slow-digesting carbs here, such as oat bran, oatmeal, rye or whole-wheat bread, fruit or sweet potatoes. On nonworkout days, eat that meal as a snack and drop your postworkout feeding.
10 EMPTY YOUR GLYCOGEN STORES ONCE EVERY TWO WEEKS
>> Glycogen is the unused and stored form of carbohydrates in muscles. When glycogen stores begin to peak from eating plenty of carbs, the body upgrades its fat-storing ability. Conversely, as glycogen stores are depleted, fat-burning increases. One way to kick-start the fat-burning process is to go extremely low-carb on two consecutive days every couple of weeks. This ensures that you tap into your glycogen stores for fuel, which signals the body to burn more fat.
Do This: Limit your total carbs on two consecutive days every two weeks or so to less than 100 grams per day. This will require you to know how many grams of carbohydrates are in the foods you eat and have the discipline to be very strict on your intake. Your diligence will be rewarded with a noticeable difference in bodyfat. After two days, you can return to a more normal, though not excessive, carb intake.
11 TRAIN UNTIL YOU'RE BEAT, NOT DEAD
>> It's the age-old question: How many sets do you need, and how much time should you spend in the gym each day? The answer varies from person to person, but when burning fat is the primary goal, a good rule of thumb is to train until you're pretty beat up, but not to the point where you're flattened and thoroughly exhausted. That type of kamikaze training may satisfy your pysche, but it does a number on your anabolic hormones.
Serious fat loss requires you to retain muscle mass, the body's primary metabolic driver. If you go overboard in the gym, testosterone and growth hormone go into free fall, and your metabolism follows suit.
Do This: Go ahead, train as intensely as you like, just don't go longer than 75 minutes in any one workout. Do as many sets and reps as you can during this time, using shorter rest periods (60 seconds max), but when your 60-75 minutes end, finish up and go drink your protein/carb shake.
12 DO CARDIO AT THE RIGHT TIME
>> Cardio exerts two benefits: it burns calories and affects hormone levels in the body. Specifically, cardio helps raise levels of norepinephrine. Yet when you do cardio makes a big difference in how your body handles the hormonal changes. Cardio on an empty stomach allows norepinephrine to readily target fat cells, which triggers maximal fat-burning. On the flip side, if you eat before doing cardio, and particularly if you eat carbs, the fat-blocking hormone insulin rises, making your body less effective at burning fat.
Do This: To ensure that your body is in optimal fat-burning mode, do 30-60 minutes of cardio first thing in the morning before breakfast 4-6 days per week. Feel free, however, to drink your morning coffee (without cream or sugar) and take 6-10 grams of mixed amino acids or a small amount of whey protein powder mixed in water beforehand. The caffeine will help you burn more fat, as will the amino acids (whether from a supplement or whey protein), as research from Kanazawa University in Japan has found. The aminos will also help prevent muscle breakdown during cardio.
source : MuscleAndFitness
61 WAYS TO FIGHT FAT
M&F shares the secrets to shedding fat and getting lean with our comprehensive guide
How do I lose thee? Let me count the ways. We give you 61 (plus a few bonus tips for you dedicated online readers). Losing those last few inches, bringing out that six-pack or moving the slider to the left on the scale are among the hardest things for people to do — even you crafty gym veterans. But with this compilation of tips, unwanted bodyfat could be a thing of the past.
WEIGHT TRAINING
Be an Iron Man. There’s no overstating the importance of resistance training. Adding muscle to your frame through lifting weights causes your body to speed up its metabolism. For every pound of lean muscle you forge, count on losing an extra 35–50 calories per day, or up to 1,500 calories a month or 18,000 calories per year while resting. That’s approximately 5 pounds of bodyfat you can eliminate at rest.
FAT FACT: Depending on a number of factors — weight loads, rest periods, intensity, exercise selection, etc. — the average weight-training session will yield a caloric burn of 400–600 calories.
Limit rest periods. Don’t spend your time between sets chatting up the chick on the treadmill. To add a calorie-burning element to your weight training, limit rest periods to 30–45 seconds. Resting 30 seconds between sets has been shown to increase caloric burn by 50%, compared to a three-minute rest period. You may not be as strong heading into your next set, but the added calorie burn may be worth it.
Speed up the pace. To help amp up your calorie burn between sets — and to accomplish more in less time — incorporate supersets or drop sets on weight-training days or perform your exercises circuit-style. You can also speed up your workout by doing your ab moves between other exercises, rather than waiting until the end of your routine.
Expect progression. Don’t get stuck in a rut with the same weights and exercises. Expect that after 4–6 weeks, your body will have adjusted and will be starving for something new. Aim to make incremental increases to your weight loads, try new exercises, shorten rest periods, incorporate advanced techniques like supersets, change from barbells to dumbbells…anything to keep your body guessing and improving.
Compound interest. Build your routine around multijoint movements like presses, rows and squats to recruit the most muscle and burn the most calories. Isolation moves, or single-joint exercises, such as leg extensions, biceps curls and triceps extensions, should represent only a small portion of your routine.
Be free. Free weights force your body to recruit more total muscle because they call on stabilizer muscles to balance the weight, a superior advantage to the predetermined range of motion that machines have to offer.
Go rest, young man. To repair itself (which is where the real gains occur), the body needs rest. Get at least eight hours of sleep per night to allow your body to recover and grow muscle, which ups your overall calorie-burning potential. And depending on the volume of your training, allow a few days before working the same muscle group again. This also prevents overtraining, which can strip your body of muscle.
Go for the afterburn. Resistance training also burns more calories after exercise. One study found that after a 30-minute full-body workout in which subjects trained with their 10RM weights, resting metabolic rate was elevated by 20% for two days following the exercise session. In a 180-pound man, that percentage equates to an average 400 extra calories burned per day.
Overload. Training with the progressive-overload principle helps rev your metabolism. Pushing your muscles beyond what they’re currently trained to overcome forces them to adapt and regenerate themselves so they’re ready the next time such a stimulus is encountered.
Think “Ronnie.” Train like a bodybuilder to help improve your hormonal milieu. Doing 3–5 sets of 8–12 reps with relatively short rest periods has been shown to increase testosterone and growth hormone release, improving your anabolic environment and metabolism.
Train abs for endurance. If your goal is to have a slimmer waistline, don’t train your abs with heavy loads. Use a weight that allows you to get at least 15 reps per set, allowing minimal rest between sets (less than 60 seconds). Or use only your own bodyweight as resistance while maximally contracting your abs on each repetition.
Cyclical gains. Although it isn’t impossible, you shouldn’t attempt to get really lean and gain significant amounts of muscle mass simultaneously. Instead, periodize (cycle) your training for better overall results, alternating between phases when you focus on strength, mass and leaning out.
CARDIO
Cardio, cardio, cardio. This helps you with the simple philosophy behind fat loss: Burn more calories than you take in. If your goal is fat loss, incorporate 4–6, 30–60-minute sessions per week into your training schedule.
Of iron and sweat. If your goal is to lean out, follow your weight training with cardio. Since lifting depletes glycogen stores, your body is more likely to use fat as its first fuel source during cardio. Also, the combination of the two results in a higher caloric burn postworkout.
Tread heavily. What’s the best exercise and intensity to burn maximal fat? Researchers found that jogging on the treadmill at about 70% of your maximal heart rate, or MHR (subtract your age from 220 and multiply by 0.7 for your heart rate in beats per minute), was optimal, burning about 40 grams of fat per hour of exercise. Going above or below this intensity burned significantly less fat, as did pedaling on a stationary cycle, regardless of intensity.
Run hungry. If you can stomach getting up earlier, perform cardio before your first meal of the day. Your body is most likely to use fat as the first energy source because your glycogen stores are depleted. If you’re concerned with muscle loss, take 10–20 grams of whey protein before your session, but stay away from carbs.
Post-cardio burn. Following aerobic exercise, your resting metabolic rate remains elevated for anywhere from 60 minutes to about 12 hours, depending on the intensity and duration of the exercise session.
Move outdoors. Try your next outdoor run on sand, which is more difficult than running on harder surfaces like cement. It’s easier on the joints as well, but wear shoes to avoid stress fractures and protect your feet from glass. Running on grass is also a welcome relief to joints and arches.
Taper off. Instead of starting slow and building up speed, do your high-intensity cardio early in your workout and taper off to a slow finish to burn significantly more fat. After a 2–3-minute warm-up, immediately kick it into high gear (80%–85% max heart rate) for 15–20 minutes before slowing down (60%–65% max heart rate) for the last 10–20 minutes.
Vary your cardio. Whether you’re lifting weights or doing cardio, the trick is to keep your body from adapting to what you’re doing. Regularly changing your cardio mode is the best way to keep your body responding to your efforts.
Interval for success. Unless you’re a highly conditioned athlete, you can’t maintain a very intense pace for very long, so the best way to improve your aerobic fitness and burn fat is with intervals. That is, you alternate very intense periods of work with lower-intensity sessions in which you recover.
No butts. Smoking deprives cells of the oxygen they need to maximize metabolism, keeps muscles from repairing themselves after exercise and makes cardio a lot tougher. Plus, your smoke-scented clothes are sure to irritate fellow gym rats.
Fidget to fight fat. Are you a fidgeter? Maybe you should be. Several studies have shown that toe-tappers, while completely annoying at the office, will burn more calories over the course of the day than the stationary man.
NUTRITION
Stay hydrated. Active individuals actually require more water and should aim to consume roughly 1 gallon per day to avoid becoming dehydrated. And if you’re one of those people who hates drinking water, consider this: Dehydrated individuals burn less fat than their well-watered counterparts.
Eat more frequently. Eating 5–6 small meals a day as opposed to “three squares a day” causes your metabolism to work constantly. Eating larger meals, on the other hand, slows your metabolism and forces leftover calories to be stored as fat.
Eat protein. Since muscle-building is the fastest route to slim down, you want to make sure that your protein consumption is enough to keep up with your weight training. Eat too little protein and your gains could be much slower. Get 1–1.5 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight per day to help your muscle gains along. Use protein bars and shakes to supplement your whole-food consumption and stave off cravings.
Get leafy. Those who eat a salad before dinner tend to consume less calories overall during dinner. But don’t sabotage yourself — stay away from high-fat dressings like ranch, blue cheese and Caesar.
Skip happy hour. Alcohol consumption can temporarily blunt testosterone levels, hindering muscle repair and growth and blunting sexual drive. Also, the calories from alcoholic beverages — in the neighborhood of 100–200 each without cocktail mixers — add up faster than you may think.
Cut out soda. Instead, rely on water and other flavored drinks like Crystal Light to get your fluids every day. If you drink one soda per day, you’re adding 1,750 calories per week to your diet. Also, studies have shown that those who regularly consume diet sodas tend to gain weight in the long run because of overindulgences elsewhere.
Calories out! The goal in any fat-loss or weight-loss program should be to burn more calories than you consume. Aim to cut total calorie consumption by about 250 calories per day. Yes, that means you’ll have to figure out how many calories you eat in a normal day. Get on it. The math will pay big dividends later.
Got the munchies? If you can do without the butter and salt, plain popcorn is a winner. Two quarts has the same number of calories as just 20 potato chips. By substituting 1 cup of plain, unbuttered popcorn for a 1-ounce bag of chips, you’ll save 135 calories and 10 grams of fat.
The magical fruit. Subjects who ate half of a grapefruit with meals or drank 8 ounces of grapefruit juice three times a day lost 4 pounds (with some losing more than 10 pounds) in 12 weeks without dieting.
Carb smart. Keep your carbohydrates low to moderate when trying to lose weight. If you rotate low- and high-carb days, you’ll be able to keep your energy levels up while running a caloric deficit. Good, clean, fiber-rich carbs include oats, potatoes, rice and whole-grain bread. Also, limit high-carb drinks like fruit juice to postworkout, when your body needs carbs to speed recovery.
Operation Dinner Out. Be diligent when ordering in a restaurant. Have your meats grilled without oil or grease. Ask for steamed vegetables with no butter. Get a salad (no cheese) with either low-fat dressing or vinaigrette.
Avoid simple sugars. Too much sugar in your diet can wreak havoc on your metabolism by spiking your insulin response and promoting the accumulation of bodyfat over time. Immediately after exercise, however, is an ideal time to ingest simple sugars; otherwise, steer clear.
GI Low. For most of the day, your carb options should be of the low-glycemic variety, meaning they’re digested and burned more slowly. Athletes who eat low-GI carbs burn more fat throughout the day.
Eat more fiber. Fiber, both soluble and insoluble, is essential to health and helps decrease bodyfat. Adults should consume 35–40 grams of fiber per day, with about a third of that coming from insoluble fibrous sources. Along with whole grains rich in beneficial fiber, consume high amounts of fibrous vegetables, such as broccoli, to attain your daily intake. High-fiber foods also promote satiety.
Timed consumption. When you eat is just as important as what you eat. Many people who eat way too much at night should re-evaluate their eating patterns. Eat two-thirds of your day’s calories before dinnertime to avoid overeating late in the day.
Prepare. Watch what you eat around work. If your workplace serves nothing healthy, tote food or snacks along with you. If you’re attending a workplace function in which only junk food is served, pre-eat. Having recently eaten something that’s healthy and adequate in calories to meet your energy needs, it’s easier to say no to the junk and empty calories.
Get yolked. Eating eggs for breakfast was recently found to reduce hunger and food intake for up to 24 hours.
Slow down, Turbo! Successful dieters and fitness buffs will tell you that fast eating and bodyfat go hand in hand because you end up overeating. It takes about 10 minutes for the food in your stomach to signal your brain that you’ve eaten enough.
Don’t be salty. Excess sodium consumption can make you look softer and cause you to burn less fat. Most people get way too much, anyway, especially if you eat a lot of processed foods. To help you look leaner and strip sodium from your diet, drink more water, cut back on highly processed foods and switch to potassium chloride to season your foods.
Got milk? Research has shown that individuals who consume high levels of dietary calcium in a 24-hour period had higher rates of fat oxidation that day than those who consumed lesser amounts. So stock up on low-fat versions of cheese, milk and yogurt; if you’re lactose intolerant, choose dark-green leafy vegetables, legumes and almonds.
Go nuts! Eating a handful of almonds was found to help test subjects lose 62% more weight, 56% more fat and 50% more from their waistline after 24 weeks compared to those who followed the same diet without almonds.
SUPPLEMENTATION
Invest in a fat-burner. Consult your doctor before trying a fat-burner if you have any pre-existing medical conditions such as asthma or high blood pressure, as fat-burners can exacerbate those conditions. New products that combine multiple ingredients, such as Hydroxycut Hardcore and Lipid Fx, work well.
Have a tea party. Green tea, in beverage or capsule form, is a reliable fat-burning aid and is generally safe for most people.
Caffeinate. Drinking coffee before cardio will cause you to burn more fat. Subjects who consumed 300 mg of caffeine two hours before exercising on a stationary bike for 30 minutes were not only able to work out at a higher intensity (more total calories burned) but they also used a much greater percentage of bodyfat for fuel.
Aminos work, too. Researchers found that subjects who ingested about 3 grams of an amino acid mixture before one hour of moderate-intensity exercise on a stationary bike burned the same amount of total calories but more fat than those taking a placebo drink.
The Transporter. Carnitine, which helps transport fats to where they can be burned in the mitochondria of muscle and other cells, can help you burn more fat. One study showed that three weeks of carnitine supplementation increased carnitine levels in muscle and enhanced fat usage during exercise. Another study showed that just 10 days of carnitine supplementation (3 grams per day) increased the amount of fat burned.
Fat for fuel faster. Hydroxycitrate (HCA) appears to enhance fat loss, according to researchers. Subjects taking HCA were able to work out longer and harder, and the amount of calories they burned from fat during the hour of exercise increased. Try taking 250–1,000 mg once or twice a day.
Builder/burner. Creatine not only helps build muscle but can aid in bodyfat loss. Soldiers who took creatine (as opposed to the group that got a placebo) increased strength and muscle mass, but also averaged a 0.5% reduction in bodyfat percentage, with several subjects dropping more than 1% bodyfat.
Take CLA. Conjugated linoleic acid has come into vogue in bodybuilding circles as a fat-burner. Several studies in humans have shown modest effects on fat loss. Try 3 grams per day.
MOTIVATION
Recruit a partner. Weight training with the right partner can help push and motivate you beyond what you’d achieve on your own. He or she can also be a positive and healthy source of competition, if that’s a characteristic that helps drive you in accomplishing specific goals.
Discipline. Tired of how you look? Then understand you’re the only one who can change it. Resolve to do it and do it. Create a plan and carry it out, budgeting time for the gym, food prep and rest for the week.
But be flexible. While you should be rigid about your workout times and food intake, don’t lock yourself into lofty goals such as “I will lose 10 pounds in my first two weeks.” You’re setting yourself up for a fall. Instead, aim to shed up to 2 pounds per week after weeks 4–5. Anything earlier or greater than that should be the fat-free icing on your cake!
Be a fitness nerd. Watch and read everything you can get your hands on (such as Muscle & Fitness) to learn more about the body, exercise and nutrition. The more you know, the better off you’ll be in the gym.
Join a league or run a race. Many people lack the drive to keep to a regular routine. Giving yourself a reason to get into shape (or stay that way) is a great way to stay on course with your goals. Signing up for a 10K or joining a league in your favorite sport is often motivation enough not to miss your next gym session.
Cheat. To avoid going insane with anger over what you can or can’t eat, allow yourself 1–2 cheat meals per week, depending on how dedicated you can be. Small indulgences make dieting more tolerable, keeping you on track longer.
Stay the course. The watchword for taking off that extra layer of bodyfat is consistency. Stick with it, even if the first week or two are tough — by the third week, you’ll start to form a habit.
Be goal-oriented. To succeed, keep track of your goals. Make them attainable, and write them down to increase your chances of success. Set small goals — such as dropping 5 pounds or losing 2 inches off your waist — that are measurable and attainable. Once you hit those goals, set new ones to keep yourself motivated.
Picture this. Get motivated by hanging up a picture of yourself today next to one from a magazine of what you want to look like. Dream big, but be realistic: You can have a far-improved physique in a month, but more dramatic changes take more time.
Chart progress. Weigh yourself naked just once per week, at the same time of day, preferably on the same scale to ensure accuracy.
source : MuscleAndFitness
How do I lose thee? Let me count the ways. We give you 61 (plus a few bonus tips for you dedicated online readers). Losing those last few inches, bringing out that six-pack or moving the slider to the left on the scale are among the hardest things for people to do — even you crafty gym veterans. But with this compilation of tips, unwanted bodyfat could be a thing of the past.
WEIGHT TRAINING
Be an Iron Man. There’s no overstating the importance of resistance training. Adding muscle to your frame through lifting weights causes your body to speed up its metabolism. For every pound of lean muscle you forge, count on losing an extra 35–50 calories per day, or up to 1,500 calories a month or 18,000 calories per year while resting. That’s approximately 5 pounds of bodyfat you can eliminate at rest.
FAT FACT: Depending on a number of factors — weight loads, rest periods, intensity, exercise selection, etc. — the average weight-training session will yield a caloric burn of 400–600 calories.
Limit rest periods. Don’t spend your time between sets chatting up the chick on the treadmill. To add a calorie-burning element to your weight training, limit rest periods to 30–45 seconds. Resting 30 seconds between sets has been shown to increase caloric burn by 50%, compared to a three-minute rest period. You may not be as strong heading into your next set, but the added calorie burn may be worth it.
Speed up the pace. To help amp up your calorie burn between sets — and to accomplish more in less time — incorporate supersets or drop sets on weight-training days or perform your exercises circuit-style. You can also speed up your workout by doing your ab moves between other exercises, rather than waiting until the end of your routine.
Expect progression. Don’t get stuck in a rut with the same weights and exercises. Expect that after 4–6 weeks, your body will have adjusted and will be starving for something new. Aim to make incremental increases to your weight loads, try new exercises, shorten rest periods, incorporate advanced techniques like supersets, change from barbells to dumbbells…anything to keep your body guessing and improving.
Compound interest. Build your routine around multijoint movements like presses, rows and squats to recruit the most muscle and burn the most calories. Isolation moves, or single-joint exercises, such as leg extensions, biceps curls and triceps extensions, should represent only a small portion of your routine.
Be free. Free weights force your body to recruit more total muscle because they call on stabilizer muscles to balance the weight, a superior advantage to the predetermined range of motion that machines have to offer.
Go rest, young man. To repair itself (which is where the real gains occur), the body needs rest. Get at least eight hours of sleep per night to allow your body to recover and grow muscle, which ups your overall calorie-burning potential. And depending on the volume of your training, allow a few days before working the same muscle group again. This also prevents overtraining, which can strip your body of muscle.
Go for the afterburn. Resistance training also burns more calories after exercise. One study found that after a 30-minute full-body workout in which subjects trained with their 10RM weights, resting metabolic rate was elevated by 20% for two days following the exercise session. In a 180-pound man, that percentage equates to an average 400 extra calories burned per day.
Overload. Training with the progressive-overload principle helps rev your metabolism. Pushing your muscles beyond what they’re currently trained to overcome forces them to adapt and regenerate themselves so they’re ready the next time such a stimulus is encountered.
Think “Ronnie.” Train like a bodybuilder to help improve your hormonal milieu. Doing 3–5 sets of 8–12 reps with relatively short rest periods has been shown to increase testosterone and growth hormone release, improving your anabolic environment and metabolism.
Train abs for endurance. If your goal is to have a slimmer waistline, don’t train your abs with heavy loads. Use a weight that allows you to get at least 15 reps per set, allowing minimal rest between sets (less than 60 seconds). Or use only your own bodyweight as resistance while maximally contracting your abs on each repetition.
Cyclical gains. Although it isn’t impossible, you shouldn’t attempt to get really lean and gain significant amounts of muscle mass simultaneously. Instead, periodize (cycle) your training for better overall results, alternating between phases when you focus on strength, mass and leaning out.
CARDIO
Cardio, cardio, cardio. This helps you with the simple philosophy behind fat loss: Burn more calories than you take in. If your goal is fat loss, incorporate 4–6, 30–60-minute sessions per week into your training schedule.
Of iron and sweat. If your goal is to lean out, follow your weight training with cardio. Since lifting depletes glycogen stores, your body is more likely to use fat as its first fuel source during cardio. Also, the combination of the two results in a higher caloric burn postworkout.
Tread heavily. What’s the best exercise and intensity to burn maximal fat? Researchers found that jogging on the treadmill at about 70% of your maximal heart rate, or MHR (subtract your age from 220 and multiply by 0.7 for your heart rate in beats per minute), was optimal, burning about 40 grams of fat per hour of exercise. Going above or below this intensity burned significantly less fat, as did pedaling on a stationary cycle, regardless of intensity.
Run hungry. If you can stomach getting up earlier, perform cardio before your first meal of the day. Your body is most likely to use fat as the first energy source because your glycogen stores are depleted. If you’re concerned with muscle loss, take 10–20 grams of whey protein before your session, but stay away from carbs.
Post-cardio burn. Following aerobic exercise, your resting metabolic rate remains elevated for anywhere from 60 minutes to about 12 hours, depending on the intensity and duration of the exercise session.
Move outdoors. Try your next outdoor run on sand, which is more difficult than running on harder surfaces like cement. It’s easier on the joints as well, but wear shoes to avoid stress fractures and protect your feet from glass. Running on grass is also a welcome relief to joints and arches.
Taper off. Instead of starting slow and building up speed, do your high-intensity cardio early in your workout and taper off to a slow finish to burn significantly more fat. After a 2–3-minute warm-up, immediately kick it into high gear (80%–85% max heart rate) for 15–20 minutes before slowing down (60%–65% max heart rate) for the last 10–20 minutes.
Vary your cardio. Whether you’re lifting weights or doing cardio, the trick is to keep your body from adapting to what you’re doing. Regularly changing your cardio mode is the best way to keep your body responding to your efforts.
Interval for success. Unless you’re a highly conditioned athlete, you can’t maintain a very intense pace for very long, so the best way to improve your aerobic fitness and burn fat is with intervals. That is, you alternate very intense periods of work with lower-intensity sessions in which you recover.
No butts. Smoking deprives cells of the oxygen they need to maximize metabolism, keeps muscles from repairing themselves after exercise and makes cardio a lot tougher. Plus, your smoke-scented clothes are sure to irritate fellow gym rats.
Fidget to fight fat. Are you a fidgeter? Maybe you should be. Several studies have shown that toe-tappers, while completely annoying at the office, will burn more calories over the course of the day than the stationary man.
NUTRITION
Stay hydrated. Active individuals actually require more water and should aim to consume roughly 1 gallon per day to avoid becoming dehydrated. And if you’re one of those people who hates drinking water, consider this: Dehydrated individuals burn less fat than their well-watered counterparts.
Eat more frequently. Eating 5–6 small meals a day as opposed to “three squares a day” causes your metabolism to work constantly. Eating larger meals, on the other hand, slows your metabolism and forces leftover calories to be stored as fat.
Eat protein. Since muscle-building is the fastest route to slim down, you want to make sure that your protein consumption is enough to keep up with your weight training. Eat too little protein and your gains could be much slower. Get 1–1.5 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight per day to help your muscle gains along. Use protein bars and shakes to supplement your whole-food consumption and stave off cravings.
Get leafy. Those who eat a salad before dinner tend to consume less calories overall during dinner. But don’t sabotage yourself — stay away from high-fat dressings like ranch, blue cheese and Caesar.
Skip happy hour. Alcohol consumption can temporarily blunt testosterone levels, hindering muscle repair and growth and blunting sexual drive. Also, the calories from alcoholic beverages — in the neighborhood of 100–200 each without cocktail mixers — add up faster than you may think.
Cut out soda. Instead, rely on water and other flavored drinks like Crystal Light to get your fluids every day. If you drink one soda per day, you’re adding 1,750 calories per week to your diet. Also, studies have shown that those who regularly consume diet sodas tend to gain weight in the long run because of overindulgences elsewhere.
Calories out! The goal in any fat-loss or weight-loss program should be to burn more calories than you consume. Aim to cut total calorie consumption by about 250 calories per day. Yes, that means you’ll have to figure out how many calories you eat in a normal day. Get on it. The math will pay big dividends later.
Got the munchies? If you can do without the butter and salt, plain popcorn is a winner. Two quarts has the same number of calories as just 20 potato chips. By substituting 1 cup of plain, unbuttered popcorn for a 1-ounce bag of chips, you’ll save 135 calories and 10 grams of fat.
The magical fruit. Subjects who ate half of a grapefruit with meals or drank 8 ounces of grapefruit juice three times a day lost 4 pounds (with some losing more than 10 pounds) in 12 weeks without dieting.
Carb smart. Keep your carbohydrates low to moderate when trying to lose weight. If you rotate low- and high-carb days, you’ll be able to keep your energy levels up while running a caloric deficit. Good, clean, fiber-rich carbs include oats, potatoes, rice and whole-grain bread. Also, limit high-carb drinks like fruit juice to postworkout, when your body needs carbs to speed recovery.
Operation Dinner Out. Be diligent when ordering in a restaurant. Have your meats grilled without oil or grease. Ask for steamed vegetables with no butter. Get a salad (no cheese) with either low-fat dressing or vinaigrette.
Avoid simple sugars. Too much sugar in your diet can wreak havoc on your metabolism by spiking your insulin response and promoting the accumulation of bodyfat over time. Immediately after exercise, however, is an ideal time to ingest simple sugars; otherwise, steer clear.
GI Low. For most of the day, your carb options should be of the low-glycemic variety, meaning they’re digested and burned more slowly. Athletes who eat low-GI carbs burn more fat throughout the day.
Eat more fiber. Fiber, both soluble and insoluble, is essential to health and helps decrease bodyfat. Adults should consume 35–40 grams of fiber per day, with about a third of that coming from insoluble fibrous sources. Along with whole grains rich in beneficial fiber, consume high amounts of fibrous vegetables, such as broccoli, to attain your daily intake. High-fiber foods also promote satiety.
Timed consumption. When you eat is just as important as what you eat. Many people who eat way too much at night should re-evaluate their eating patterns. Eat two-thirds of your day’s calories before dinnertime to avoid overeating late in the day.
Prepare. Watch what you eat around work. If your workplace serves nothing healthy, tote food or snacks along with you. If you’re attending a workplace function in which only junk food is served, pre-eat. Having recently eaten something that’s healthy and adequate in calories to meet your energy needs, it’s easier to say no to the junk and empty calories.
Get yolked. Eating eggs for breakfast was recently found to reduce hunger and food intake for up to 24 hours.
Slow down, Turbo! Successful dieters and fitness buffs will tell you that fast eating and bodyfat go hand in hand because you end up overeating. It takes about 10 minutes for the food in your stomach to signal your brain that you’ve eaten enough.
Don’t be salty. Excess sodium consumption can make you look softer and cause you to burn less fat. Most people get way too much, anyway, especially if you eat a lot of processed foods. To help you look leaner and strip sodium from your diet, drink more water, cut back on highly processed foods and switch to potassium chloride to season your foods.
Got milk? Research has shown that individuals who consume high levels of dietary calcium in a 24-hour period had higher rates of fat oxidation that day than those who consumed lesser amounts. So stock up on low-fat versions of cheese, milk and yogurt; if you’re lactose intolerant, choose dark-green leafy vegetables, legumes and almonds.
Go nuts! Eating a handful of almonds was found to help test subjects lose 62% more weight, 56% more fat and 50% more from their waistline after 24 weeks compared to those who followed the same diet without almonds.
SUPPLEMENTATION
Invest in a fat-burner. Consult your doctor before trying a fat-burner if you have any pre-existing medical conditions such as asthma or high blood pressure, as fat-burners can exacerbate those conditions. New products that combine multiple ingredients, such as Hydroxycut Hardcore and Lipid Fx, work well.
Have a tea party. Green tea, in beverage or capsule form, is a reliable fat-burning aid and is generally safe for most people.
Caffeinate. Drinking coffee before cardio will cause you to burn more fat. Subjects who consumed 300 mg of caffeine two hours before exercising on a stationary bike for 30 minutes were not only able to work out at a higher intensity (more total calories burned) but they also used a much greater percentage of bodyfat for fuel.
Aminos work, too. Researchers found that subjects who ingested about 3 grams of an amino acid mixture before one hour of moderate-intensity exercise on a stationary bike burned the same amount of total calories but more fat than those taking a placebo drink.
The Transporter. Carnitine, which helps transport fats to where they can be burned in the mitochondria of muscle and other cells, can help you burn more fat. One study showed that three weeks of carnitine supplementation increased carnitine levels in muscle and enhanced fat usage during exercise. Another study showed that just 10 days of carnitine supplementation (3 grams per day) increased the amount of fat burned.
Fat for fuel faster. Hydroxycitrate (HCA) appears to enhance fat loss, according to researchers. Subjects taking HCA were able to work out longer and harder, and the amount of calories they burned from fat during the hour of exercise increased. Try taking 250–1,000 mg once or twice a day.
Builder/burner. Creatine not only helps build muscle but can aid in bodyfat loss. Soldiers who took creatine (as opposed to the group that got a placebo) increased strength and muscle mass, but also averaged a 0.5% reduction in bodyfat percentage, with several subjects dropping more than 1% bodyfat.
Take CLA. Conjugated linoleic acid has come into vogue in bodybuilding circles as a fat-burner. Several studies in humans have shown modest effects on fat loss. Try 3 grams per day.
MOTIVATION
Recruit a partner. Weight training with the right partner can help push and motivate you beyond what you’d achieve on your own. He or she can also be a positive and healthy source of competition, if that’s a characteristic that helps drive you in accomplishing specific goals.
Discipline. Tired of how you look? Then understand you’re the only one who can change it. Resolve to do it and do it. Create a plan and carry it out, budgeting time for the gym, food prep and rest for the week.
But be flexible. While you should be rigid about your workout times and food intake, don’t lock yourself into lofty goals such as “I will lose 10 pounds in my first two weeks.” You’re setting yourself up for a fall. Instead, aim to shed up to 2 pounds per week after weeks 4–5. Anything earlier or greater than that should be the fat-free icing on your cake!
Be a fitness nerd. Watch and read everything you can get your hands on (such as Muscle & Fitness) to learn more about the body, exercise and nutrition. The more you know, the better off you’ll be in the gym.
Join a league or run a race. Many people lack the drive to keep to a regular routine. Giving yourself a reason to get into shape (or stay that way) is a great way to stay on course with your goals. Signing up for a 10K or joining a league in your favorite sport is often motivation enough not to miss your next gym session.
Cheat. To avoid going insane with anger over what you can or can’t eat, allow yourself 1–2 cheat meals per week, depending on how dedicated you can be. Small indulgences make dieting more tolerable, keeping you on track longer.
Stay the course. The watchword for taking off that extra layer of bodyfat is consistency. Stick with it, even if the first week or two are tough — by the third week, you’ll start to form a habit.
Be goal-oriented. To succeed, keep track of your goals. Make them attainable, and write them down to increase your chances of success. Set small goals — such as dropping 5 pounds or losing 2 inches off your waist — that are measurable and attainable. Once you hit those goals, set new ones to keep yourself motivated.
Picture this. Get motivated by hanging up a picture of yourself today next to one from a magazine of what you want to look like. Dream big, but be realistic: You can have a far-improved physique in a month, but more dramatic changes take more time.
Chart progress. Weigh yourself naked just once per week, at the same time of day, preferably on the same scale to ensure accuracy.
source : MuscleAndFitness
10 things you should know about . . . eggs
1) For most people, the cholesterol found in egg yolks will have little, if any, effect on blood cholesterol levels. Saturated fat and trans fats are the true villains.
2) The yolk is home to more of the egg’s vitamins and minerals than the white, including all of its vitamins A, D, E and K.
3) Egg whites sold in cartons have been pasteurized using high temperatures to kill off bacteria and are safer to consume raw than egg whites from whole raw eggs.
4) There are no nutritional differences between brown and white eggs.
5) Egg yolks are also rich in lutein and zeaxanthin — antioxidants that protect your eyes from oxidative damage.
6) Eggs are a great source of choline, a nutrient that’s essential for brain function and memory.
7) Organic eggs come from hens fed food that was grown without pesticides and not treated with antibiotics.
8) “Free-range” and “free-run” are poorly regulated labels meaning that hens may or may not get ample time to play in the sun.
9) Hens raised outside a cage and fed a grain/plant-based diet produce eggs with higher amounts of certain nutrients such as Vitamin E and carotenoids.
10) Eggs are known to play host to Salmonella enteritidis, which can cause severe illness when consumed raw. Forget Rocky; cook your eggs to avoid getting this bug.
source : MuscleAndFitness
2) The yolk is home to more of the egg’s vitamins and minerals than the white, including all of its vitamins A, D, E and K.
3) Egg whites sold in cartons have been pasteurized using high temperatures to kill off bacteria and are safer to consume raw than egg whites from whole raw eggs.
4) There are no nutritional differences between brown and white eggs.
5) Egg yolks are also rich in lutein and zeaxanthin — antioxidants that protect your eyes from oxidative damage.
6) Eggs are a great source of choline, a nutrient that’s essential for brain function and memory.
7) Organic eggs come from hens fed food that was grown without pesticides and not treated with antibiotics.
8) “Free-range” and “free-run” are poorly regulated labels meaning that hens may or may not get ample time to play in the sun.
9) Hens raised outside a cage and fed a grain/plant-based diet produce eggs with higher amounts of certain nutrients such as Vitamin E and carotenoids.
10) Eggs are known to play host to Salmonella enteritidis, which can cause severe illness when consumed raw. Forget Rocky; cook your eggs to avoid getting this bug.
source : MuscleAndFitness
17 common training and nutrition questions
What happens when ... You have sex before working out? And other common training and nutrition questions
In the world of health and fitness, old wives' tales and gym lore are oft repeated, chapter and verse, as hardcore fact. Opinions are bandied about as truth, and legend is taken as history. Health clubs are home to more speculation than the pork bellies market. And that's just the way it's always been. Until now.
We've recruited bona fide experts in the fields of exercise science and nutrition to help us answer 17 questions that have historically been ripe for speculation, guesswork and hearsay. So now, instead of listening to the advice of your training partner's friend's roommate's sister, you can be the one giving it. But one word of caution: You may find your standing among old wives seriously downgraded. So, what really happens when . . .
1) You don't wear a belt during heavy lifting? According to nutrition and exercise guru Chris Aceto, there are two sides to this coin. "If you don't use a belt when lifting heavy, you could possibly injure yourself because belts support the abdominal and lower back muscles -- the stabilizers of the trunk region," he says. "Paradoxically, when people start out training with a belt, they don't build those stabilizer muscles, so the risk of injury increases as the strength of other muscles increases." In other words, use a belt only to help prevent possible injury on your heavier sets, not to take the place of supporting muscles.
2) You eat too much or too little protein?
We all know that protein builds and maintains muscle (at least all m&f readers do it). So we do our best to get the right amount of protein to reach our personal fitness goals. But what happens on those days your meal schedule gets derailed?
Aceto explains: "If you eat too much protein, the excess is sent to the liver, changed to a sugar and used as fuel, stored as glycogen or stored as bodyfat. Many people don't realize that protein can be stored as fat. Conversely, if you eat too little protein, you fall into a negative nitrogen balance, meaning there aren't enough amino acids to make your muscles grow." All the more reason to keep a log of your daily nutrient intake. Try to stick to 1-1.5 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight daily.
3) You get less than eight hours of sleep?
Sleep deprivation has reached epidemic levels in the United States. While eight hours of work, eight hours of play and eight hours of sleep used to represent the magic triangle of balance in a person's day, our current version is an isosceles, with the sleep side getting ever shorter. What does this mean to you, the dedicated trainer?
"Sleep need is an individual thing," notes m&f Science Editor Jim Stoppani, PhD. "But research supports the fact that most people require between seven and nine hours. You should strive for at least seven; otherwise you risk perturbations in your hormone levels, like growth hormone, which seven hours tend to gain more bodyfat."
4) You don't stretch on a regular basis?
Between work, the fiancée, Sunday afternoon with the kids and your Internet addiction, you've got maybe an hour a day, four days a week, to hit the gym -- and you're not about to waste one minute of it stretching. So what's the worst that could happen?
"You'll lose flexibility and range of motion in each muscle," reports Aceto. "Consequently, you won't be able to overload the muscle through its entire range, and you'll limit your growth potential." Stretching is best done after working out to maximize flexibility and range of motion. It's never a good idea to stretch cold muscles, because it could lead to muscle pulls and tears.
5) You eat a meal (or meals) after 9:00 p.m.?
"Diet experts" often advise not to eat after 9:00 p.m. But what if you do?
"If your goal is to build muscle, you should consume a slow-digesting protein like meat or a casein product within an hour before sleeping to provide amino acids throughout the night," Stoppani advises. "Without them, muscle breakdown occurs while you sleep. As far as carbs go, some controversy exists. Many bodybuilders get good results by not eating carbs within four hours of bedtime. Others say it doesn't matter, as carbs won't make you fat if you don't take in excessive calories throughout the day."
A good rule of thumb: Try to grab a protein-rich (30 grams or so), low- to moderate-complex-carbohydrate meal about an hour before bedtime. Your muscles will thank you in the morning.
6) You try to train while you're sick?
"Studies show that exercise will generally cause an acute suppression of the immune system," states William J. Kraemer, PhD, CSCS, director of research and a professor in the department of kinesiology at The University of Connecticut, Storrs. "But with things like upper respiratory tract infections [colds], it's not going to do much damage and can even be beneficial if the exercise isn't too intense."
But what about the feverish? "If you're experiencing any flulike symptoms, you don't want to take the chance of compromising yourself and making things worse," Kraemer warns. Plus, it's not polite to sneeze on your gym partner while he's benching.
7) You train a bodypart two days in a row?
This idea is all but taboo in gym circles; the common belief is that it will surely lead to overtraining.
"We've trained people on consecutive days and have had success with it," Kraemer points out. "But the key is, the rest period following needs to compensate for the intensity of the workouts. This means between workouts, don't do any other type of activity -- just go home, eat and relax. It's also important that you vary the load on the muscles and the angle of the exercises. For example, if you were to train chest on consecutive days, you'd want to do flat benches on day one and inclines on the following day, or vice versa."
While this shouldn't be the basis of a long-term approach to your training, you could certainly incorporate it as a short-term way to shock your muscles into new growth. And make sure you consume sufficient carbs, protein and total calories.
8) You have sex before working out?
"Women weaken legs!" This infamous caveat bleated by crusty boxing trainer Mickey Goldmill to Rocky Balboa as he trained for his title shot made many a lonely lady out of athletes' wives and girlfriends. Did Mickey know what he was talking about, or did he have a few marbles knocked loose during his fighting days?
"It depends on who it's with," jokes Aceto. On a more serious note, he adds: "The idea that having sex drains you of your strength is an old wives' tale. I think it's probably a positive thing because it can help you to relax, men-tally and through the release of chemicals. When you're relaxed, you tend to perform better." Just don't make it a marathon session.
9) You lift too soon after eating?
Remember how your mom always told you to wait an hour after eating before going in the pool?
Some people believe the same warning applies to resistance training. But what really happens if you lift on a full stomach?
"For most people, nothing," Stoppani remarks. "Some people have to eat earlier, as their stomachs may be more sensitive; when you work out, blood flow is diverted away from the GI system and to the muscle, and digestion and absorption of nutrients slows. But it's more of an individual thing." Regardless of your preworkout eating habits, you need to consume some sort of protein and carbohydrate within an hour after your workout.
10) You slack off and miss a workout?
So now the job, the fianc´e and the rest of your busy life has squeezed that chest/back workout right out of your schedule. Or worse yet, all of your bodyparts took a backseat this week. Is it time to start repenting?
"Missed workouts provide you with an opportunity to rest," assures Kraemer. "A lot of guys become obsessed with getting to the gym anyway, so it can be a positive thing. The body is not going to untrain that quickly." Just how much time are we talking here? "In high-level athletes it can take two weeks," he says. "Recreational athletes won't see the effects for up to six weeks. Moreover, we've found that the longer an athlete has been training, the longer a rest period he or she should take to re-energize."
11) You get too busy and skip a meal?
Sooner or later, it happens to everyone: You're running late and you're fresh out of meal replacement bars. Major dilemma?
"If you skip a meal here or there, it's not going to suddenly put you into a catabolic state," Aceto notes. "We do have amino-acid pools that we store for just these instances. We also have glycogen reserves. But if you're trying to put on mass, you obviously don't want to make a habit of it."
12) You drink a glass of raw eggs?
Credit Rocky with propagating yet another sports-related myth. Who can forget watching the Italian Stallion in the ultimate act of athletic dedication, downing a glass full of freshly cracked eggs? And who didn't try, at least once, to emulate his gut-churning heroics? But to what end -- increased strength, energy and stamina, or food poisoning?
Although it's uncommon, you could suffer bacterial contamination. "You need to be careful with raw foods because they could contain food-borne pathogens," explains Kraemer. In fact, cooked eggs are better digested and utilized than raw. Sorry, Rock. Mickey should have told you.
13) You don't consume whey protein and simple carbs post-workout?
m&f has repeatedly heralded the importance of grabbing a quick-absorbing protein and simple-carb meal after working out. But why is this so important, and what happens if you miss it?
"We've found, as have other labs, that the initial 30 minutes to an hour after a workout is the optimal time for protein synthesis to occur," Kraemer states. The mantra "the sooner the better" clearly applies in this instance, he adds. "We actually try to get to that post-workout meal within 10 minutes after training. But sometimes people have a tough time getting a meal down that soon after working out, in which case a half-hour or even an hour is fine."
If you can't find whey or casein after your workout, go for any kind of protein. It may not be digested as efficiently, but as the sailors say, "Any port in a storm."
14) You sit in a sauna and try to "sweat off" pounds? It's hard to envision an image more synonymous with weight loss than that of a towel-clad health enthusiast sweating it out in a sauna. But what's really going on in there? Is some mystical metabolic process transpiring that will ultimately render the user thinner?
"No, you just lose water due to sweating for cooling the body," reports Stoppani. Don't sauna before a workout, as the majority of the water comes from the blood, so you may compromise blood flow and the pump to your muscles. A recent study did find, however, that sweating can be beneficial for your health."
15) You take a month . . . or a year . . . off from training?
A lot of the more serious (read: obsessed) trainees out there can't stomach the thought of missing one workout, let alone a month's -- or a year's -- worth. What's the worst that could happen, other than gym-withdrawal side effects?
"After a month, you'll definitely lose some muscle mass and strength, but probably not as much as you might think," Stoppani points out. "A recent study found that lifters lost little muscle and strength and gained minimal fat after six weeks off."
And what if you decide to call it quits for good -- will your muscle turn into fat? "The myth that muscle cells turn into fat derives from the fact that most guys who were bodybuilders at one time continue to eat as if they still were -- as if they still have the same metabolic requirements as someone with big muscles," Stoppani remarks. "But with smaller muscles comes a slower metabolism, and less training means less opportunity to burn calories. Hence fat begins to accumulate."
16) You lift on an empty stomach?
Once again, life gets in the way of lifting, and you miss your preworkout meal. What can you expect from your hungry body during the workout? "As far as fatigue goes, it depends on your reps and total sets," says Stoppani. "The higher your reps, the more muscle-glycogen you'll depend on to complete those reps. Without some form of dietary carbohydrate, you may fatigue earlier."
He continues: "As far as hormonal responses go, lifting without taking in carbs before the workout will lead to higher cortisol levels during and after the workout. Cortisol inhibits testosterone's anabolic effects and leads to muscle breakdown.
"Not having any protein before the workout is a double whammy as even higher cortisol levels lead to further muscle depletion. Eating protein helps to inhibit some of this breakdown, so having nothing to eat before a workout is bad for muscle gains."
In other words, carry a bar, a drink, something. Just don't hit the gym with a growling gut.
17) You work out when you're still sore?
Another old wives' tale is to stay out of the gym if your muscles still ache from your last workout. "A recent study found that when muscles were trained when still sore, no added damage occurred to those fibers," states Stoppani. "One study found that when a workout was repeated just two days later and muscles were still sore, subjects had lower cortisol levels than normal. Since low cortisol means more testosterone is available, it may actually be beneficial from time to time to train the same bodypart two days in a row -- but only rarely."
Now get back in the gym and stop asking so many questions!
source : Muscle&Fitness.com
In the world of health and fitness, old wives' tales and gym lore are oft repeated, chapter and verse, as hardcore fact. Opinions are bandied about as truth, and legend is taken as history. Health clubs are home to more speculation than the pork bellies market. And that's just the way it's always been. Until now.
We've recruited bona fide experts in the fields of exercise science and nutrition to help us answer 17 questions that have historically been ripe for speculation, guesswork and hearsay. So now, instead of listening to the advice of your training partner's friend's roommate's sister, you can be the one giving it. But one word of caution: You may find your standing among old wives seriously downgraded. So, what really happens when . . .
1) You don't wear a belt during heavy lifting? According to nutrition and exercise guru Chris Aceto, there are two sides to this coin. "If you don't use a belt when lifting heavy, you could possibly injure yourself because belts support the abdominal and lower back muscles -- the stabilizers of the trunk region," he says. "Paradoxically, when people start out training with a belt, they don't build those stabilizer muscles, so the risk of injury increases as the strength of other muscles increases." In other words, use a belt only to help prevent possible injury on your heavier sets, not to take the place of supporting muscles.
2) You eat too much or too little protein?
We all know that protein builds and maintains muscle (at least all m&f readers do it). So we do our best to get the right amount of protein to reach our personal fitness goals. But what happens on those days your meal schedule gets derailed?
Aceto explains: "If you eat too much protein, the excess is sent to the liver, changed to a sugar and used as fuel, stored as glycogen or stored as bodyfat. Many people don't realize that protein can be stored as fat. Conversely, if you eat too little protein, you fall into a negative nitrogen balance, meaning there aren't enough amino acids to make your muscles grow." All the more reason to keep a log of your daily nutrient intake. Try to stick to 1-1.5 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight daily.
3) You get less than eight hours of sleep?
Sleep deprivation has reached epidemic levels in the United States. While eight hours of work, eight hours of play and eight hours of sleep used to represent the magic triangle of balance in a person's day, our current version is an isosceles, with the sleep side getting ever shorter. What does this mean to you, the dedicated trainer?
"Sleep need is an individual thing," notes m&f Science Editor Jim Stoppani, PhD. "But research supports the fact that most people require between seven and nine hours. You should strive for at least seven; otherwise you risk perturbations in your hormone levels, like growth hormone, which seven hours tend to gain more bodyfat."
4) You don't stretch on a regular basis?
Between work, the fiancée, Sunday afternoon with the kids and your Internet addiction, you've got maybe an hour a day, four days a week, to hit the gym -- and you're not about to waste one minute of it stretching. So what's the worst that could happen?
"You'll lose flexibility and range of motion in each muscle," reports Aceto. "Consequently, you won't be able to overload the muscle through its entire range, and you'll limit your growth potential." Stretching is best done after working out to maximize flexibility and range of motion. It's never a good idea to stretch cold muscles, because it could lead to muscle pulls and tears.
5) You eat a meal (or meals) after 9:00 p.m.?
"Diet experts" often advise not to eat after 9:00 p.m. But what if you do?
"If your goal is to build muscle, you should consume a slow-digesting protein like meat or a casein product within an hour before sleeping to provide amino acids throughout the night," Stoppani advises. "Without them, muscle breakdown occurs while you sleep. As far as carbs go, some controversy exists. Many bodybuilders get good results by not eating carbs within four hours of bedtime. Others say it doesn't matter, as carbs won't make you fat if you don't take in excessive calories throughout the day."
A good rule of thumb: Try to grab a protein-rich (30 grams or so), low- to moderate-complex-carbohydrate meal about an hour before bedtime. Your muscles will thank you in the morning.
6) You try to train while you're sick?
"Studies show that exercise will generally cause an acute suppression of the immune system," states William J. Kraemer, PhD, CSCS, director of research and a professor in the department of kinesiology at The University of Connecticut, Storrs. "But with things like upper respiratory tract infections [colds], it's not going to do much damage and can even be beneficial if the exercise isn't too intense."
But what about the feverish? "If you're experiencing any flulike symptoms, you don't want to take the chance of compromising yourself and making things worse," Kraemer warns. Plus, it's not polite to sneeze on your gym partner while he's benching.
7) You train a bodypart two days in a row?
This idea is all but taboo in gym circles; the common belief is that it will surely lead to overtraining.
"We've trained people on consecutive days and have had success with it," Kraemer points out. "But the key is, the rest period following needs to compensate for the intensity of the workouts. This means between workouts, don't do any other type of activity -- just go home, eat and relax. It's also important that you vary the load on the muscles and the angle of the exercises. For example, if you were to train chest on consecutive days, you'd want to do flat benches on day one and inclines on the following day, or vice versa."
While this shouldn't be the basis of a long-term approach to your training, you could certainly incorporate it as a short-term way to shock your muscles into new growth. And make sure you consume sufficient carbs, protein and total calories.
8) You have sex before working out?
"Women weaken legs!" This infamous caveat bleated by crusty boxing trainer Mickey Goldmill to Rocky Balboa as he trained for his title shot made many a lonely lady out of athletes' wives and girlfriends. Did Mickey know what he was talking about, or did he have a few marbles knocked loose during his fighting days?
"It depends on who it's with," jokes Aceto. On a more serious note, he adds: "The idea that having sex drains you of your strength is an old wives' tale. I think it's probably a positive thing because it can help you to relax, men-tally and through the release of chemicals. When you're relaxed, you tend to perform better." Just don't make it a marathon session.
9) You lift too soon after eating?
Remember how your mom always told you to wait an hour after eating before going in the pool?
Some people believe the same warning applies to resistance training. But what really happens if you lift on a full stomach?
"For most people, nothing," Stoppani remarks. "Some people have to eat earlier, as their stomachs may be more sensitive; when you work out, blood flow is diverted away from the GI system and to the muscle, and digestion and absorption of nutrients slows. But it's more of an individual thing." Regardless of your preworkout eating habits, you need to consume some sort of protein and carbohydrate within an hour after your workout.
10) You slack off and miss a workout?
So now the job, the fianc´e and the rest of your busy life has squeezed that chest/back workout right out of your schedule. Or worse yet, all of your bodyparts took a backseat this week. Is it time to start repenting?
"Missed workouts provide you with an opportunity to rest," assures Kraemer. "A lot of guys become obsessed with getting to the gym anyway, so it can be a positive thing. The body is not going to untrain that quickly." Just how much time are we talking here? "In high-level athletes it can take two weeks," he says. "Recreational athletes won't see the effects for up to six weeks. Moreover, we've found that the longer an athlete has been training, the longer a rest period he or she should take to re-energize."
11) You get too busy and skip a meal?
Sooner or later, it happens to everyone: You're running late and you're fresh out of meal replacement bars. Major dilemma?
"If you skip a meal here or there, it's not going to suddenly put you into a catabolic state," Aceto notes. "We do have amino-acid pools that we store for just these instances. We also have glycogen reserves. But if you're trying to put on mass, you obviously don't want to make a habit of it."
12) You drink a glass of raw eggs?
Credit Rocky with propagating yet another sports-related myth. Who can forget watching the Italian Stallion in the ultimate act of athletic dedication, downing a glass full of freshly cracked eggs? And who didn't try, at least once, to emulate his gut-churning heroics? But to what end -- increased strength, energy and stamina, or food poisoning?
Although it's uncommon, you could suffer bacterial contamination. "You need to be careful with raw foods because they could contain food-borne pathogens," explains Kraemer. In fact, cooked eggs are better digested and utilized than raw. Sorry, Rock. Mickey should have told you.
13) You don't consume whey protein and simple carbs post-workout?
m&f has repeatedly heralded the importance of grabbing a quick-absorbing protein and simple-carb meal after working out. But why is this so important, and what happens if you miss it?
"We've found, as have other labs, that the initial 30 minutes to an hour after a workout is the optimal time for protein synthesis to occur," Kraemer states. The mantra "the sooner the better" clearly applies in this instance, he adds. "We actually try to get to that post-workout meal within 10 minutes after training. But sometimes people have a tough time getting a meal down that soon after working out, in which case a half-hour or even an hour is fine."
If you can't find whey or casein after your workout, go for any kind of protein. It may not be digested as efficiently, but as the sailors say, "Any port in a storm."
14) You sit in a sauna and try to "sweat off" pounds? It's hard to envision an image more synonymous with weight loss than that of a towel-clad health enthusiast sweating it out in a sauna. But what's really going on in there? Is some mystical metabolic process transpiring that will ultimately render the user thinner?
"No, you just lose water due to sweating for cooling the body," reports Stoppani. Don't sauna before a workout, as the majority of the water comes from the blood, so you may compromise blood flow and the pump to your muscles. A recent study did find, however, that sweating can be beneficial for your health."
15) You take a month . . . or a year . . . off from training?
A lot of the more serious (read: obsessed) trainees out there can't stomach the thought of missing one workout, let alone a month's -- or a year's -- worth. What's the worst that could happen, other than gym-withdrawal side effects?
"After a month, you'll definitely lose some muscle mass and strength, but probably not as much as you might think," Stoppani points out. "A recent study found that lifters lost little muscle and strength and gained minimal fat after six weeks off."
And what if you decide to call it quits for good -- will your muscle turn into fat? "The myth that muscle cells turn into fat derives from the fact that most guys who were bodybuilders at one time continue to eat as if they still were -- as if they still have the same metabolic requirements as someone with big muscles," Stoppani remarks. "But with smaller muscles comes a slower metabolism, and less training means less opportunity to burn calories. Hence fat begins to accumulate."
16) You lift on an empty stomach?
Once again, life gets in the way of lifting, and you miss your preworkout meal. What can you expect from your hungry body during the workout? "As far as fatigue goes, it depends on your reps and total sets," says Stoppani. "The higher your reps, the more muscle-glycogen you'll depend on to complete those reps. Without some form of dietary carbohydrate, you may fatigue earlier."
He continues: "As far as hormonal responses go, lifting without taking in carbs before the workout will lead to higher cortisol levels during and after the workout. Cortisol inhibits testosterone's anabolic effects and leads to muscle breakdown.
"Not having any protein before the workout is a double whammy as even higher cortisol levels lead to further muscle depletion. Eating protein helps to inhibit some of this breakdown, so having nothing to eat before a workout is bad for muscle gains."
In other words, carry a bar, a drink, something. Just don't hit the gym with a growling gut.
17) You work out when you're still sore?
Another old wives' tale is to stay out of the gym if your muscles still ache from your last workout. "A recent study found that when muscles were trained when still sore, no added damage occurred to those fibers," states Stoppani. "One study found that when a workout was repeated just two days later and muscles were still sore, subjects had lower cortisol levels than normal. Since low cortisol means more testosterone is available, it may actually be beneficial from time to time to train the same bodypart two days in a row -- but only rarely."
Now get back in the gym and stop asking so many questions!
source : Muscle&Fitness.com
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