Archive for July, 2009

Sports nutrition supplements are used by a variety of participants in a variety of different sports, hobbies or pastimes. Some people choose to do bodybuilding, either on a personal or even professional level. This activity requires specific nutrition and intake of certain foods that is absolutely necessary to accomplish their goals in the gym. Some of the noted sports nutrition supplements that are most popular in the bodybuilding fraternity are products such as whey protein, which comes in variety of forms, such as powder or even liquid. Proteins are necessary for the growth and repair of the muscles that are focussed upon by the bodybuilder, and the sooner the muscles repair themselves the better, as they can then work on those muscles again. To further their strength, and endurance sports nutrition supplements such as creatines will be used to push their abilities to the next level.

In addition to bodybuilding, many professionals stand to benefit from the use of sports nutrition supplements, one needs only consider the tri athlete, who has to develop significant endurance and fitness levels in order to complete the three stages of a triathlon. Hence the issue of strength may not be as relevant to the tri athlete than that of the body building enthusiast, however the need for sports nutrition supplements is just as necessary for their goals and objectives of endurance and fitness, versus that of higher strength requirements. If one has to move away from triathlons and consider the golfer, one might wonder how this could be compared from a sports nutrition supplements perspective. Well the answer here is that the golfer requires more strength when driving the golf ball down the fairway. By increasing their strength, and their accuracy which incidentally is beyond the help of supplementation, the golfer effectively reduces the overall length of their game, and hopefully fewer shots resulting in a high scoring game.

Considering the sport of tennis, where the players playing in tournaments week in and week out, almost for the entire year, one cannot help but to wonder where they draw the strength and energy for such consistent participation in these tournaments. Well the answer lies in their fitness levels, as well as their intake of sports nutrition supplements, which are required for strength, fitness and endurance where necessary. The vast majority of professional sports people utilise a proven training routine, together with a well constructed eating plan, enhanced by sports nutrition supplements in order to achieve their high levels of performance and achievement in their chosen sport.

The majority of sports nutrition supplements are naturally occurring products which are already found in the human body, however those that exert themselves more and push themselves further in terms of their limits have a higher demand of their bodies, which in turn are fuelled by products that provide such nutrition to the human body.

Chris writes for SportsandSupplements.com, for the widest range in sport and fitness supplements visit http://www.sportandsupplements.com

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Cravings can be caused by numerous factors including stress, psychological and physical dependencies, mineral deficiencies and blood sugar irregularities.

4pm in the afternoon is a prime time for cravings to kick in. As we approach the end of a working day many of us scramble for that afternoon cup of tea and biscuit/cake or chocolate bar which we know will jeopardise our healthy eating plans So, just what are these cravings and can we do something to survive or eliminate them altogether.

The first step is to be aware of the trigger foods that can cause cravings, inevitably the triggers are from the very foods you can often crave i.e. highly processed foods like the sweet biscuit and chocolate we mentioned earlier.

Cravings can also be due to blood sugar levels dropping. When your blood sugar level drops your brain sends signals to your body indicating that you need sugar and that you need it fast, hence the craving. The key to maintaining your blood sugar level is to eat regular healthy meals which do not include the high sugar, high fat content. Ensure that you eat meals built around low GI foods such as oats, muesli, rye bread, whole grains i.e. brown rice and pasta, vegetables, fruits and pulses. These foods will not only ensure a healthy and natural weight loss but also help to stabilise blood sugar levels and reduce cravings.

Therefore to avoid cravings and thereby maintaining a healthy diet and lifestyle we suggest the following:
Follow a healthy eating programme made up of foods mainly from the low GI list. And try to ensure that you drink at least 2 litres of filtered water each day. You also need to identify whether your cravings for unhealthy food are contributable to your mood. For instance are you bored, unhappy or upset. If this is the case then you need to practise self discipline and distract yourself for the next 10 to 15minutes. Pick up the newspaper or a book, phone a friend, go for a walk or out into the garden, clear out your email inbox or tidy the wardrobe. Try to avoid sitting on the sofa in front of the TV as this in itself can trigger cravings or comfort eating.

It will also help if every day you take a good health supplement to ensure your body is provided with the essential support of vitamins and minerals.

Angela operates a successful wellness clinic where she provides support for women to lose weight easily, control eating habits
and think like a slim person automatically and end yo yo dieting. To lose weight and keep it off forever visit NOW
at http://www.loseweightnowandforever.com

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There are various control factors which govern weight loss around your stomach and you must understand them, so you can successfully get rid of extra weight.

The key factors, which determine whether you are going to burn any fat is your diet and your exercising regime. Of course, these have to implemented regularly to achieve reasonble results.

Whatever weight loss exercises you are doing, they should be balanced and controlled, making sure you are not overexercising, because your body needs rest as well. Doctors as well as beauticians will help you to keep your routines in a balanced manner for the purposes of ensuring success in this dramatic goal.

You can easily overcome these problems, and in fact these are not really a big deal. What’s more important is your desire to get in shape. It’s all about how much you really want to lose fat.

All such exercises should be balanced by an intake of nutritious food which must be rich in protein contents, sprouts, cereals as well as pulses, milk, eggs, meat with a balanced calorie intake for the purposes of heavy workouts through exercises by a balanced intake of food.

Keeping your food balanced, while exercising heavily is cruicially important, and you can’t ignore this factor. However, don’t consume too many calories, because you might mess up your diet plan.

Every weekend the weight should be checked with comparison of week’s food intake and its impact on calories as well as weight every week.

Therefore it’s vital to understand all these factors. You can’t just jump in and start doing what you think is right. You must know that eating certain foods is good or bad, what exercises work well and which ones waste your time, etc.

Keeping a healthy diet plan while working out is one of the main things, which helps you to lose fat. Obviously exercising is a must, then unless you are eating the right foods at the right time of the day, you won’t get far.

These efforts should be put in for neutralizing the effects of loss of weight by the impact of consumption of nutritious food for the purposes of enjoyment of your life in a big way. Losing belly fat takes time and effort, so results won’t come in 2-3 days time. You have to be patient and keep exercising/dieting.

A very important point, which I would also like to cover, is that persistence is the key here. Lots of people simply quit after few weeks of training and dieting, because they get frustrated of slow or no results. This is actually one of the most common reasons why people fail – lack of persistence.

You see, losing fat is like building muscles. Both require quite a lot of time, before you can see big results. That’s why you simply have to follow your exercising routine and diet plan, while tracking your progress.

Did you know that the best exercise to lose belly fat doesn’t exist? You can learn much more from the guide called The Truth About Abs. Click below to check it out:

http://www.bestexercisetolosebellyfat.net/

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There are many things that you can spend your money on when it comes to muscle building. But one of the most beneficial expenditures that you can make is one that few take advantage of. The average lifter doesn’t see it as a worth while investment. But the most successful and best built bodybuilders in the world see it differently and wouldn’t think of training without it.

People think nothing of dropping hundreds of dollars monthly on gym memberships and supplements when in truth you could do bodyweight exercises at home and eat right, and for most people their physique wouldn’t suffer at all. The benefits of belonging to a gym are easy to see, and the supplement manufacturers advertising sees to it that their products are viewed as necessary, which, depending on your level of seriousness, may or may not be true. So the value for these expenditures is justifiable. Athletes the world over though have another must use product.

Massage.

When I tell people that I would rather spring for two one hour massages a month instead of the same dollar amount of certain products people think I am crazy. But the best and most fit people in the world agree with my thinking. If you are a regular, serious lifter, runner or athlete and ever have a full body, deep tissue massage, you understand the long term benefit that it can provide. All professional athletes get massages almost daily. I was fortunate enough to stumble onto a person that used to be Dennis Rodman’s personal masseuse, and they told me that at the height of Rodman’s athletic success he was getting a massage twice a day!

Everyone knows the benefits of stretching relative to exercise, well massage has a similar effect. We all know how lactic acid builds up in your muscles (which is what causes the soreness), and that a massage “works” that out, but did you know that it also lengthens muscles as well? This provides for a larger range of motion that in turn translates into better, more efficient workouts, not to mention the injury prevention that comes from less “tight” muscles.

I am a firm believer in protein and creatine supplementation, and I own my fair share of “fitness” aids. But the next time you are trying to decide on what to buy to help your muscle building efforts, treat yourself to a massage. You may find yourself re-evaluating how you want to allocate your fitness fund in the future.

Steve Robbins has been a fitness enthusiast his entire adult life. He can bench double his weight and run a marathon, all at 52. Editor and main contributor to http://www.muscleandhealth.org where Free weight lifting routines, beginner – advanced and muscle building supplements can be found.

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People walk right past the most important item in the gym everyday without even realizing that it is the key to mass building success. If you use this every time you workout you will actually begin to obtain the body that you think you are building, but probably aren’t, and can’t figure out why.

The entire field of muscle building boils down to one very simple concept. Break the muscle down with X amount of weight so that when it recovers it can do that same amount of work the next time without breaking down again. So to get bigger, you must use X plus weight to break the muscle down, it recovers to handle this amount and on and on.

Now there are many variables that factor in to this process. Things like nutrition, supplements, amount of rest and so on. But the concept is fixed. Many things affect the process but only by understanding the concept and then following through with it again and again can you even have a chance at muscle mass gains. It’s obvious that you can do all the variable things involved in muscle building, but if you don’t hit the gym and understand this concept, there will be no gain.

Understanding this concept then means lifting X plus weight in every workout for the same body part right? Do you? Probably not. Why? Well lots of reasons. But the REAL reason is ego, and not REALLY understanding the concept of muscle building. If you can bench 200 today for x reps and x sets. Your goal for the very next chest workout is what? It should be x reps and x sets at 200 PLUS! So the most important part is the PLUS! Which leads me to the most important item in the gym.

The 1 pound weight plate.

Do you EVER use it? I didn’t think so. Using the bench example, when you tear the muscle down with 200 and it recovers to handle the same load again do you need to tear it down with 210? 225? 245? Let’s say 225. When it recovers in a couple days and you work chest again can you handle the 225 easy? So this workout let’s use 250 and then 275 and then 300. See, it doesn’t work that way. If it did you would be benching tons in months. So why lift that way?

So why don’t people use 1 pound weights? Not impressive enough? The reason I hear a lot is that they are TOO light and don’t make any difference. They can’t even tell they are on the bar. Isn’t that the POINT? If you add a 1 pound plate to each side every workout, and you train chest say ONCE a week, in a year you’ll be benching a 100 pounds more than today. Are you benching 100 pounds more today than a year ago? Why again are you in the gym?

Steve Robbins has been a fitness enthusiast his entire adult life. He can bench double his weight and run a marathon, all at 52. Editor and main contributor to http://www.muscleandhealth.org where Free weight lifting routines, beginner – advanced and muscle building supplements can be found.

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Bodybuilders are usually the first choice when it comes to security detail and bodyguards. The threatening physique of a massive bodybuilder auger well in this field. It is especially important in instilling the necessary fear that any security personnel wish to have. Most establishments and individuals prefer having masculine people around them as security. The same happens in club bouncers and floor security in most nightclubs, casinos, pubs and even restaurants. With the physique of a successful bodybuilder, especially featuring awesome well-defined muscle mass, it is very easy to lad a job as a bouncer in any local joint.

From a part time engagement by Eugene Sandow in Germany, bodybuilding as a sport and lifestyle has grown with reaps and bounds over the last decades to become a multi-billion industry. Sandow had enjoyed displaying his well-defined masculine physique to audiences free, then for a fee until he made it a business venture. Soon enough, his students picked up the trend and propelled bodybuilding possibilities into full time commitments. Across the continents, the bodybuilding fire caught very fast and contests began. Europe notably organized the pioneer bodybuilding contests. It was the Americans however, who picked up the mysterious and relatively unconventional sport and transformed it into a celebrity profession with large dollar figures attached to it.

Arnold Schwarzenegger perfected the trade of his predecessors and hit world prominence in a brazing storm. Arnold had just picked up from numerous father heads of bodybuilding in America and elsewhere in the world. He belonged to a generation that made bodybuilding a serious and coveted profession.

Wrestling also had a lot to do in pioneering bodybuilding prominence in the mainstream media. Despite bodybuilding being an individual’s venture, it is sometimes clogged in group mentality, and essentially surrounded by influencing environments. The goals of a bodybuilding program are usually given form by third parties. In fact, workout schedules and the attendance of scheduled session are largely determined by the influence of third parties, directly or indirectly.

There are levels of peer influences a bodybuilder contends. The first level is that of colleagues with whom a body builder normally exercises. This is especially for those bodybuilders who exercise in membership gyms. After some time in the gym, a bodybuilder develops close associations with other regular members of the gym. These end up being friends. Their likes, preferences, goals and behaviors send up influencing the body builder either positively or negatively. In every relationship, people influence each other.

The bodybuilder may abandon formerly treasured point of view, drop preconceptions and even adopt different perspectives after interacting with peers in a membership gym. The same is actually true for those body builders who exercise in health clubs and personal gyms with friends and acquaintances. Another level of influence accrues from the significant others in a bodybuilder’s life. These may include spouses, children, siblings, parents and other personal relationships preexisting before the bodybuilding program was initiated.

Dane Fletcher is the world-wide authority on bodybuilding and steroids. He has coached countless athletes all over the world. To read more of his work, please visit either http://www.BodybuildingToday.com or http://www.SteroidsToday.com

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Fat loss is a very crucial part of any body building routine. This is because of keeping a healthy body and maintaining the fitness of the body at all times for a balanced routine. Getting fat loss done is very difficult because of the different approaches which are very confusing for the body builder. Many body builders have ended up in the traps of being misled by varied information from many parties within the profession. Some get into the fake supplies of supplements, branded as rapid fat burners which have detrimental effects for their health and have no relation to burning fats. But this is now history since this article gives varied information of how to get the whole process done and implemented easily and efficiently.

The first line of thought in loosing fats is the diet of a particular body builder. For a body builder to lose stomach fat there is a great need to have a well organized and balanced diet. What you put in a plate is the most important element of consideration bearing in mind that fats will develop from the food types we usually consume. Always count the calories being consumed in a day and per week so as to manage the fats development which emanates from your consumption.

It is good for the body builder to first know what his body holds so as to determine what to include in the diet to help balance the development. This however, dos not mean that you alter the normal routine completely, but it only requires a proper consideration of the consumed elements as part of fats accumulation control. If at all you notice an increase in fats, the best thin is to reduce foods with high amounts of calories and keep it at optimal balance.

The natural way of loosing fats has been the most upheld by many body builders. Training to loose fats is a good an excellent way of perfecting the whole process. This however will be determined by the types of trainings being used for the training. These types of trainings always vary with the body types where you want to workout and reduce fats. A trainer will be the ultimate solution for your fat loss since he gives guidelines to different trainings which perfect workouts and reduces fats effectively.

There are also supplements which have been introduced in the market to counter fats accumulation but this should be taken in a more serious way. Supplements are there to cut the fats in your body and reduce them to average levels. But these supplements come with a cost since they may lead to certain side effects. It is good to have a clear understanding of every supplement because their reaction in the body is usually varied and may lead to more problems. You can seek a doctor’s opinion about any supplement because they are qualified to take tests and evaluate your body, after which they can be able to give you prescriptions of the best supplements for your use in fat loss.

Dane Fletcher is the world-wide authority on bodybuilding and steroids. He has coached countless athletes all over the world. To read more of his work, please visit either http://www.BodybuildingToday.com or http://www.SteroidsToday.com

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Weight gain is an important aspect of body building. This is because training requires a body builder to have a balanced weight at all times. This is important in the sense that, one is able to hold his weight perfectly and get good workouts done to perfect the growth and development of muscles. Gaining weight has however been a very difficult experience for many body builders because the different approaches can only be relevant to different individuals. But now you can relax and have a smooth way of gaining weight since this article gives you some outlined ways of weight gaining.

Eating more is one of the most efficient ways of perfecting your weight gain. It is very logical that the body requires raw materials to process and help add up muscles in the process of development. These muscles can only be achieved through the amount of foods we eat. Calories in the body serve a very major purpose since they develop onto fats which are stored and used up as energy feeds for the body routines. Get to serious business and know how much of the calories are loaded in your meals because you need to have an optimal amount which will be enough for the body to gain weight and maintain it at a good level. In a day, always see unto it that, what you consume has enough for body development by sticking to a balanced diet at all times. Avoid the junk foods since they will only add fats and no energy and power will be supplied in the body.

You also have to start lifting heavier weights than it was the case in your earlier body building. When many people start body building, they do not consider the weight levels being lifted at different times. But this should be avoided since weights determine the weight of the body to a great extent. The more you lift, the better for weight gain since it takes a positive inclination and maintains at a desirable range. Purpose to lift 6-8 reps before having any break in every set and this will generate more power, strain and development of muscles. The intensity of lifting will also get better with time and serve well for muscle development.

Managing your training routines is also important. Without a proper program, the body builder ends up conducting his routine in a haphazard manner and this leads to poor development of weight and a more loss of the same. This is because of overstraining the body to extents it cannot hold and this is dangerous since it leads to wearing out of tissues and muscle damages. Less trainings and good rest duration should always be the case in body building so as to give the body ample time to use all the supplies and exhaust them for muscle development. Your routines must also involve some intervals not to make the muscles fatigued or even break them, which is dangerous for development. Remember that recovery must always be upheld when body building so that the muscles regain strength for later workouts.

Dane Fletcher is the world-wide authority on bodybuilding and steroids. He has coached countless athletes all over the world. To read more of his work, please visit either http://www.BodybuildingToday.com or http://www.SteroidsToday.com

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In intermediate and advanced stages of bodybuilding, it is important that you know what your one rep max is at almost weekly basis. This helps you track your progress as the one rep max keeps on rising. Without knowing whether or not you are gaining in mass and strength, it is impossible to determine your bodybuilding progress. One rep max is a simple and quick way of establishing whether you are stagnating or progressing encourse the bodybuilding program.

So if you then decide to establish what your one rep max is, you don’t just drop into the gym and start lifting up. There are a lot of variable that go into measuring the amount of weight we can lift at any given time. Such factors include:

1. Circulation efficiency at the time

2. Muscle status in terms of flexibility or rigidity

3. Body health

4. Breathing efficiency

5. Metabolism rate and efficiency at the time of lifting.

6. Temperature of the muscles and the body in general at the time of lifting, etc.

This article there fore gives a four step routine, not to measure your one rep max, but to prepare for the one rep max test.

Start out with the arms cycling exercise where you move your arms in a cyclic motion, forwards and backwards. Keep the arms straight out as you make at least twenty cycles for each direction. The idea is to loosen up the arms as a muscle group and to reduce tension in the shoulder joints. This should ideally be followed by the arm-rotation-cuff exercise. This helps to warm up both of your shoulder joints. Just stand with both arms held straight and parallel at the sides of the body. Then bend both elbows at an angle of 90 degrees. Begin movement by rotating the arms until the forearms point upwards. Continue to rotate the arms until the forearms point to the front. For this exercise, twenty to thirty rotations are enough.

Now is the time to perform several push-ups, ensuring that you stimulate the blood to flow into the muscle tissues in both arms. A couple of sets, five at most, should be enough. Each set should be about five or six reps so that the total number of push-ups tally at between twenty and thirty. It is very important that you control your pace and intensity, since you are not working out the muscles but stimulating circulation and boosting the metabolic preparedness of the arms ahead of the one rep max test. You intend that by the time you pick up the weights, your arms will be at the optimal fitness level, and this will help establish the true status of their strength. The movements also help to stimulate rigidity out of the elbow and shoulder joints in preparation of the weight lifting exercises that constitutes the one rep max determination test.

By this time, you are ready to pick up the weights. The body is at the optimal stability, flexibility, metabolic, circulatory status. Go on now and determine your one rep max, using any appropriate technique.

Dane Fletcher is the world-wide authority on bodybuilding and steroids. He has coached countless athletes all over the world. To read more of his work, please visit either http://www.BodybuildingToday.com or http://www.SteroidsToday.com

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