Friday, August 17, 2012
THE 55
The "55" workout
Start by doing one body-weight squat and 10 pushups. Rest for 30 seconds, and then do 2 squats and 9 pushups. Gradually work your way up to 10 squats and down to 1 pushup. You'll complete 55 reps of each exercise by the time you're done—and reap both the cardiovascular benefit of aerobic training and the muscular pump of a strength session
JUMPING JACKS
Jumping-jack pyramid
Do as many jumping jacks as you can in 10 seconds. Rest for an equal amount of time. Next, do as many jumping jacks as you can in 20 seconds, and rest 20 seconds. Then do 30 seconds of jumping jacks followed by 30 seconds of rest. Now work your way back down the pyramid (30, 20, 10). Repeat three times. This will change the way you think about jumping jacks forever.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Thursday, April 12, 2012
SWIMMING 101
Let’s say you decide to take a swim. In the early morning light, armed with fresh new goggles and a cap, you hit the pool. Images of Michael Phelps and Dara Torres run through your head. But before you finish the first lap, you can hardly breathe.
Don’t sweat it. “Swimming takes longer to adapt to than any other sport,” says Gerry Rodrigues, a Los Angeles-based swim instructor who’s been coaching for 30 years. Even if you’re a marathon runner or have logged hours on the stair-climber, you have to acclimate to the new breathing pattern swimming requires, as well as the weightlessness the activity causes.
“We’re used to moving our bodies on land,” says Rodrigues, “But we have very little practice moving in the water. So the learning curve increases.”
The good news? Swimming is worth the effort. This full-body workout improves both your cardiovascular fitness and your muscular strength – all while causing no impact shock to your body. (Where do injured runners go? The pool!) And if you swim regularly, you’ll see progress within a month. “Commit to a doing a block of 10 swims over the course of three weeks and you’ll be amazed at the body’s uncanny ability to adapt,” says Rodrigues.
Here are the essential steps for starting a swimming program.
Swimming takes longer to adapt to than any other sport. We’re used to moving our bodies on land, but we have very little practice moving in the water.
Gerry Rodrigues, a Los Angeles-based swim instructor with 30 years of coaching experience.
First Strokes
Sure, you could just jump in the pool and go for it. But swimming is a specialized skill, one where having good form can make a world of difference. Your best bet is to work with an instructor if your stroke feels rusty, (and lessons are essential if you’ve never learned to swim). Your local pool will likely offer adult group or private options. Find a program near you through U.S. Masters Swimming (www.usms.org), a national group that provides organized workouts and clinics for anyone age 18 or older.
If you do decide to go solo, start with the freestyle stroke (the one that looks like a front crawl). Swim for as long as you can, then rest for as much time as you need. Repeat for a minimum of 20 minutes. Everyone is different, says Rodrigues, so don’t get discouraged if the guy in the next lane over is cranking out laps two-at-a-time, and you’re winded after 30 seconds. Rest. Repeat. Stamina will come.
Pool tools can help you build endurance and improve your form. Kickboards let your upper body rest while you work your legs. Pull-buoys (a figure-8 shaped foam device that you place between your legs, above your knees) support your lower body so you can concentrate on your stroke.
Rodrigues’s favorite teaching tool is the swimming snorkel – which is like a regular snorkel except the tube sits in front of your face, instead of being mounted to the side. The device allows you to breathe continuously while keeping your body in the best possible swimming position. “Once you turn your head to breathe, it’s harder to stay aligned,” says Rodrigues. “Snorkels allow you experience what it feels like to have proper mechanics without having to worry about your breathing. It makes it easier for you to replicate on your own later.”
Form Matters
While swimming, you want your head, hips and feet to form one long line. If your middle sags or your feet ride low, you increase drag, which slows you down and wastes energy. Try pushing your head down a bit if your feet are dragging, or do core work when on land if your midsection is slumping.
“Relaxed” is the go-to word of nearly every coach in every sport for good reason—it keeps unnecessary tension from zapping energy you can use for exercise. But for swimming, Rodrigues modifies the phrase to “athletically relaxed.” “There must be a tautness to your body to keep it aligned,” he says.
As you swim, elongate the body with every stroke. Keep the arm in line with or slightly inside the shoulder on each stroke. When the hand and arm enter and move through the water, they should not cross the mid-line of your body. Even elite-level swimmers work on technique frequently, so give it time.
Making Progress
Consistency is the key to learning anything, so get in 10 sessions of easy, steady swimming over a three week period and you'll feel your body adapting to the activity. After these 10 sessions, you’ll be ready to tackle a workout.
Swim workouts typically consist of a warm up, then blocks of distance at varying paces with rest in between. Doing faster laps boosts your cardiovascular fitness and endurance.
Pools are usually 25 or 50 yards (or meters) long. A lap is out and back, a length is one direction. So, a 100 means you swim two laps in a 25-meter pool or one in a 50-meter pool.
There are endless workout variations, but Rodrigues recommends the following routine for beginners:
• Warm up: Swim easy for 10 minutes. Then swim one or two lengths harder, rest for 10 to 15 seconds (most pools have big clocks at both ends). Repeat for 10 minutes.
• Intervals: 100 x 15 with 20 sec rest at 8 effort out of 10. Translation: Swim 100 meters/yard (that’s two laps) continuously at a speed that feels hard but manageable. Rest for 20 seconds. Repeat 15 times.
Aim to maintain three swims a week, but don’t drop below two if you want to advance.
Common Mistake
The upper body is the power mover in swimming, but don’t ignore the nuances of lower-body technique. “The biggest mistake new swimmers make is they kick too much,” Rodrigues says. The kick provides little propulsion but sucks up huge amounts of energy and sends your heart rate skyrocketing because you’re moving big muscle groups like the quads. You want to kick just enough to keep the legs ups. A light, gentle tapping should do the trick.
Essential Gear
A swimmer’s prize possession is their goggles. You’ll want a set of clear lenses for indoor swimming, and tinted ones for outdoors. An adjustable nosepiece will provide a better fit. The best options for most swimmers cost between $10 to $20. “Usually, the more expensive ones aren’t that much better,” Rodrigues says. “But if you spend less than 10 bucks, you’re likely risking quality.”
If you need a cap to keep your locks under control, go with a silicon version. It’ll run you between $8 and $20, and last much longer than latex.
Sticking With It
Rodrigues encourages his swimmers to set goals every 10 weeks. Signing up for an open water swim or sprint distance triathlon can give you a long-term target to strive after. And joining a swim club can turn workouts into social events, while also supplying motivation by surrounding you with people who’ll help keep you accountable.
After all, if you know a friend will be waiting for you at a race, you’re more likely to put in the work to get to the starting line.
Don’t sweat it. “Swimming takes longer to adapt to than any other sport,” says Gerry Rodrigues, a Los Angeles-based swim instructor who’s been coaching for 30 years. Even if you’re a marathon runner or have logged hours on the stair-climber, you have to acclimate to the new breathing pattern swimming requires, as well as the weightlessness the activity causes.
“We’re used to moving our bodies on land,” says Rodrigues, “But we have very little practice moving in the water. So the learning curve increases.”
The good news? Swimming is worth the effort. This full-body workout improves both your cardiovascular fitness and your muscular strength – all while causing no impact shock to your body. (Where do injured runners go? The pool!) And if you swim regularly, you’ll see progress within a month. “Commit to a doing a block of 10 swims over the course of three weeks and you’ll be amazed at the body’s uncanny ability to adapt,” says Rodrigues.
Here are the essential steps for starting a swimming program.
Swimming takes longer to adapt to than any other sport. We’re used to moving our bodies on land, but we have very little practice moving in the water.
Gerry Rodrigues, a Los Angeles-based swim instructor with 30 years of coaching experience.
First Strokes
Sure, you could just jump in the pool and go for it. But swimming is a specialized skill, one where having good form can make a world of difference. Your best bet is to work with an instructor if your stroke feels rusty, (and lessons are essential if you’ve never learned to swim). Your local pool will likely offer adult group or private options. Find a program near you through U.S. Masters Swimming (www.usms.org), a national group that provides organized workouts and clinics for anyone age 18 or older.
If you do decide to go solo, start with the freestyle stroke (the one that looks like a front crawl). Swim for as long as you can, then rest for as much time as you need. Repeat for a minimum of 20 minutes. Everyone is different, says Rodrigues, so don’t get discouraged if the guy in the next lane over is cranking out laps two-at-a-time, and you’re winded after 30 seconds. Rest. Repeat. Stamina will come.
Pool tools can help you build endurance and improve your form. Kickboards let your upper body rest while you work your legs. Pull-buoys (a figure-8 shaped foam device that you place between your legs, above your knees) support your lower body so you can concentrate on your stroke.
Rodrigues’s favorite teaching tool is the swimming snorkel – which is like a regular snorkel except the tube sits in front of your face, instead of being mounted to the side. The device allows you to breathe continuously while keeping your body in the best possible swimming position. “Once you turn your head to breathe, it’s harder to stay aligned,” says Rodrigues. “Snorkels allow you experience what it feels like to have proper mechanics without having to worry about your breathing. It makes it easier for you to replicate on your own later.”
Form Matters
While swimming, you want your head, hips and feet to form one long line. If your middle sags or your feet ride low, you increase drag, which slows you down and wastes energy. Try pushing your head down a bit if your feet are dragging, or do core work when on land if your midsection is slumping.
“Relaxed” is the go-to word of nearly every coach in every sport for good reason—it keeps unnecessary tension from zapping energy you can use for exercise. But for swimming, Rodrigues modifies the phrase to “athletically relaxed.” “There must be a tautness to your body to keep it aligned,” he says.
As you swim, elongate the body with every stroke. Keep the arm in line with or slightly inside the shoulder on each stroke. When the hand and arm enter and move through the water, they should not cross the mid-line of your body. Even elite-level swimmers work on technique frequently, so give it time.
Making Progress
Consistency is the key to learning anything, so get in 10 sessions of easy, steady swimming over a three week period and you'll feel your body adapting to the activity. After these 10 sessions, you’ll be ready to tackle a workout.
Swim workouts typically consist of a warm up, then blocks of distance at varying paces with rest in between. Doing faster laps boosts your cardiovascular fitness and endurance.
Pools are usually 25 or 50 yards (or meters) long. A lap is out and back, a length is one direction. So, a 100 means you swim two laps in a 25-meter pool or one in a 50-meter pool.
There are endless workout variations, but Rodrigues recommends the following routine for beginners:
• Warm up: Swim easy for 10 minutes. Then swim one or two lengths harder, rest for 10 to 15 seconds (most pools have big clocks at both ends). Repeat for 10 minutes.
• Intervals: 100 x 15 with 20 sec rest at 8 effort out of 10. Translation: Swim 100 meters/yard (that’s two laps) continuously at a speed that feels hard but manageable. Rest for 20 seconds. Repeat 15 times.
Aim to maintain three swims a week, but don’t drop below two if you want to advance.
Common Mistake
The upper body is the power mover in swimming, but don’t ignore the nuances of lower-body technique. “The biggest mistake new swimmers make is they kick too much,” Rodrigues says. The kick provides little propulsion but sucks up huge amounts of energy and sends your heart rate skyrocketing because you’re moving big muscle groups like the quads. You want to kick just enough to keep the legs ups. A light, gentle tapping should do the trick.
Essential Gear
A swimmer’s prize possession is their goggles. You’ll want a set of clear lenses for indoor swimming, and tinted ones for outdoors. An adjustable nosepiece will provide a better fit. The best options for most swimmers cost between $10 to $20. “Usually, the more expensive ones aren’t that much better,” Rodrigues says. “But if you spend less than 10 bucks, you’re likely risking quality.”
If you need a cap to keep your locks under control, go with a silicon version. It’ll run you between $8 and $20, and last much longer than latex.
Sticking With It
Rodrigues encourages his swimmers to set goals every 10 weeks. Signing up for an open water swim or sprint distance triathlon can give you a long-term target to strive after. And joining a swim club can turn workouts into social events, while also supplying motivation by surrounding you with people who’ll help keep you accountable.
After all, if you know a friend will be waiting for you at a race, you’re more likely to put in the work to get to the starting line.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
ROPE A DOPE
Make Heavy Rope Training Part of Your Workout Routine
Rope in a great new way to supplement your strength and conditioning training.
By Ralph Oliver
There comes a point in every guy’s life that calls for change. Your fitness regimen is no exception. How many times can you bench those same plates? Aside from the boredom factor, there’s also the drawback of the plateau effect. Adding an unconventional training technique to your fitness routine will not only put some life back into your workouts, but also shock some different muscles into getting in on the action
Originally developed for specific combat sports such as football and Mixed Martial Arts, heavy rope training (aka rope battling) is now finding its way into the mainstream. If you’re looking for a highly effective, back-to-basics type of conditioning that brings a new twist to your fitness routine, this is it. Along with increasing your strength, power, and endurance, the constant motion of rope battling will floor you with a muscle toning, metabolic workout unlike any other. You’ll be shocked at how fast a few quick whips can get you to your maximum heart rate.
All You Need
Unlike those flimsy infomercial contraptions or expensive home workout machines, heavy rope training requires just one sturdy, low-cost piece of equipment – rope. Don’t have one? No problem. Just head to your local hardware store and get yourself about 50 feet of manila rope (1.5 to 2 inches in thickness). Manila is best; because it’s sturdy, durable, and will stand up to the weekly pounding you put it through. Or you can order it online from Knot & Rope Supply 419-873-8300, they will even stitch up the ends so they don't ravel. (good ropes, I have two)
You’re also going to need something to anchor the rope. If it’s a pole, post or tree, loop the rope around it to give you two even lengths - holding one end in each hand. If it’s a person, have them grab the rope at the middle, and make sure they’re strong enough to handle the fury coming their way. Heavy rope training can get intense, so whatever anchor you use, be sure it’s secure.
Make Some Waves
There are tons of pulse pounding, heavy rope exercises to ramp up your cardio and build your core strength. Common movements include waves, slams, throws, spirals, and whips. All involve swinging your arms up and down (or side to side) in some manner for timed intervals. To maximize your efforts, focus on maintaining the intensity of the motion from start to finish, no matter how much it burns – and trust us, it’s going to burn.(Ropes gone Wild) has good training DVD's.
Start out doing 3 sets of 30-second intervals with 45 seconds of rest in between. As you get stronger and your conditioning improves, you can increase the duration of the move and decrease the rest times. With each of these exercises, you want to create a solid base by planting your feet in a shoulder width stance and stabilizing your core. You’ll quickly discover that these exercises engage not just your arms and shoulders, but your whole body.
Rope in a great new way to supplement your strength and conditioning training.
By Ralph Oliver
There comes a point in every guy’s life that calls for change. Your fitness regimen is no exception. How many times can you bench those same plates? Aside from the boredom factor, there’s also the drawback of the plateau effect. Adding an unconventional training technique to your fitness routine will not only put some life back into your workouts, but also shock some different muscles into getting in on the action
Originally developed for specific combat sports such as football and Mixed Martial Arts, heavy rope training (aka rope battling) is now finding its way into the mainstream. If you’re looking for a highly effective, back-to-basics type of conditioning that brings a new twist to your fitness routine, this is it. Along with increasing your strength, power, and endurance, the constant motion of rope battling will floor you with a muscle toning, metabolic workout unlike any other. You’ll be shocked at how fast a few quick whips can get you to your maximum heart rate.
All You Need
Unlike those flimsy infomercial contraptions or expensive home workout machines, heavy rope training requires just one sturdy, low-cost piece of equipment – rope. Don’t have one? No problem. Just head to your local hardware store and get yourself about 50 feet of manila rope (1.5 to 2 inches in thickness). Manila is best; because it’s sturdy, durable, and will stand up to the weekly pounding you put it through. Or you can order it online from Knot & Rope Supply 419-873-8300, they will even stitch up the ends so they don't ravel. (good ropes, I have two)
You’re also going to need something to anchor the rope. If it’s a pole, post or tree, loop the rope around it to give you two even lengths - holding one end in each hand. If it’s a person, have them grab the rope at the middle, and make sure they’re strong enough to handle the fury coming their way. Heavy rope training can get intense, so whatever anchor you use, be sure it’s secure.
Make Some Waves
There are tons of pulse pounding, heavy rope exercises to ramp up your cardio and build your core strength. Common movements include waves, slams, throws, spirals, and whips. All involve swinging your arms up and down (or side to side) in some manner for timed intervals. To maximize your efforts, focus on maintaining the intensity of the motion from start to finish, no matter how much it burns – and trust us, it’s going to burn.(Ropes gone Wild) has good training DVD's.
Start out doing 3 sets of 30-second intervals with 45 seconds of rest in between. As you get stronger and your conditioning improves, you can increase the duration of the move and decrease the rest times. With each of these exercises, you want to create a solid base by planting your feet in a shoulder width stance and stabilizing your core. You’ll quickly discover that these exercises engage not just your arms and shoulders, but your whole body.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
WHEN TO TAKE SUPPLEMENTS
Knowing the whens of supplementation is as important as knowing the whats. Get your money's worth by taking your supplements at exactly the right time.
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by Jim Stoppanni, Ph.D.Feb 27, 2012
No doubt about it, supplements are a critical component to achieving your physique and performance goals. And, for most of you, that means gaining more strength and endurance while building lean muscle and shedding as much fat as possible. But even if you know the right supplements to take, if you don't take them at the right times, their benefits will be limited.
As they say, "Timing is everything," and that maxim doesn't ring any truer than for supplements. In fact, research confirms that those taking whey and creatine around workouts achieve significantly greater results than those taking them at other times. This is merely one example of the science-backed truth behind supplement timing. To help you get the most bang for your buck, let us walk you through the perfect day of supplementation, from wake-up call to bedtime.
Wake Up
Immediately Upon Waking
WHAT HOW MUCH
Whey Protein ——————→ 20g
BCAAs —————————→ 5g
Caffeine —————————→ 200mg
When you wake up, your body has essentially been fasting for the past 6-9 hours and has begun turning to your muscles for fuel, so you obviously want to stop this process ASAP. Eating eggs or other whole-food proteins, like chicken or dairy, will take far too long to digest and stop the attack on your muscles. The only thing that will work is a whey protein shake, as whey is the fastest digesting form of protein, and in less than 20 minutes, its amino acids will start to reach your muscles. Adding some extra branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) to the shake will further help stop catabolism (muscle breakdown) and turn on muscle protein synthesis.
TIMING TIP
If you work out in the morning, this will be your pre-workout supplement plan, in addition to
any other pre-workout
supps you take.
Also, consider eating a piece of fruit with your protein shake. When you fast all night, your liver uses up its stores of glycogen (the storage form of glucose), which signals the body to use amino acids from your muscles for fuel. The small amount of glucose also doesn't cause a huge blood glucose spike just enough to raise insulin a bit, which also helps to signal the body to stop breaking down muscle.
If you like to start your day with a cup of coffee to give you a kick-start, consider taking a caffeine pill instead. A recent study found that caffeinated coffee kept levels of the muscle-wasting hormone cortisol high in the morning. Even research subjects drinking decaf had slightly higher levels of cortisol than those drinking water, which is likely due to other chemicals present in coffee. A caffeine pill will give you just what you need: a jolt to wake you up and increase fat burning without affecting cortisol as much.
Breakfast
30 To 60 Minutes After Waking
WHAT HOW MUCH
Multivitamin ——————→ 1 dose
B complex 100 —————→ 1 dose
Vitamin C ———————→ 1,000mg
Vitamin D ———————→ 1,000-3,000 IU
Vitamin E ———————→ 400-800 IU
Calcium ————————→ 500-600mg
Fish Oil ————————→ 2-3g
After your protein shake and a piece of fruit, you can do your usual morning ritual (take a shower, get dressed, do your hair and makeup, etc.). About 30-60 minutes after the shake, it's time to eat again, only this time you want whole foods like eggs and oatmeal. This is also a good time to get in a good dose of some other critical micronutrients that are better absorbed when taken with food. First on the list is your multivitamin and mineral complex. Of course, a hard-training woman needs more of certain vitamins and minerals than most typical multis provide, so add a B vitamin complex; vitamins C, D, and E; along with calcium. You'll also need fish oil, which has a laundry list of benefits, including enhancing heart, brain, and joint health; as well as improving muscle recovery and helping to promote fat loss.
Midmorning
60 To 90 Minutes After Breakfast
WHAT HOW MUCH
Green Tea Extract ————→ 500-1,000mg
(standardized for at least 30% EGCG)
Between breakfast and lunch-perhaps with a snack you have during this window-take a dose of green tea extract. Green tea, like fish oil, is nothing short of a wonder supplement. It contains polyphenols, notably EGCG, which not only increases fat burning but aids joint and muscle recovery as well. Drinking green tea, however, won't produce maximum effect. Research shows that the polyphenols from green tea beverages aren't absorbed as readily as those from green tea extract supplements.
Lunch
With Lunch
WHAT HOW MUCH
Fish Oil ————————→ 2-3g
Most of us eat lunch at work. And it's tough following a supplement plan when you never know whether lunch is going to be at your favorite local restaurant, during a meeting, or at your desk. Do yourself one favor and store a bottle of fish oil in your desk to take around lunchtime. Taking fish oil within 30 minutes before or after eating is just as good as taking it with a meal.
Pre-Workout No. 1
60 Minutes Before Exercise
FUN FACT
Current research suggests that the combination of caffeine and green tea burned more fat than either supplement alone.
WHAT HOW MUCH
Caffeine ————————→ 200-400mg
Green Tea Extract ————→ 500-1,000mg
(standardized for at least 30% EGCG)
Pre-Workout/NO Booster → 1 dose
If you want to maximize your endurance, strength, and fat burning during your workout (why wouldn't you?), your best bet is to take pre-workout supplements within an hour before training. This is a great time to get in a dose of caffeine to give you the boost you need for an intense workout. A dose of green tea will further enhance fat burning and endurance, as well as aid muscle recovery after the workout.
If you're really serious about training intensity, consider taking a pre-workout nitric oxide (NO) supplement. Boosting NO levels has been shown in clinical studies to increase endurance and strength during workouts as well as aid muscle growth and fat loss. Many NO-boosting products provide caffeine as well, killing two birds with one stone.
Pre-Workout No. 2
15 To 30 Minutes Before Exercise
WHAT HOW MUCH
Whey Protein ——————→ 20g
BCAAs —————————→ 5g
Creatine ————————→ 2-5g
Beta-Alanine ——————→ 2-3g
As the workout gets closer, within 15-30 minutes, think about fueling your body. Although most people think of carbs when they hear the term fuel, your first line of thought should actually be whey protein. Your muscles use amino acids for fuel during intense workouts, and if you don't provide your body with a quick source of aminos (whey), it will take them from your muscles. Pre-workout whey will also be there to help with muscle recovery and growth during the workout. Confused about how muscles start recovering during workouts? Well, you typically train more than one muscle group each workout-for example, chest, triceps, and abs. When you're training triceps, your chest is already in recovery mode, and you don't want to wait until the end of the workout to give it aminos. You'll also want to add BCAAs to this shake. These amino acids are the most critical when it comes to fueling your muscles during workouts. They also trick your brain into blunting fatigue so that you can stay stronger for longer. Then there's creatine, which is not for men only; it is another critical source of fuel for your working muscles. Finally, if you want to further boost energy, endurance, and strength, as well as aid muscle growth and fat loss, add beta-alanine to the mix. This amino acid is gaining the kind of respect that creatine has garnered in the supplement world.
Post-Workout
Within 45 Minutes Of Exercise
WHAT HOW MUCH
Whey Protein ——————→ 20g
Casein Protein —————→ 10-20g
BCAAs —————————→ 5g
Creatine ————————→ 2-5g
Beta-Alanine ——————→ 2-3g
Fast Carbs ———————→ 30-60g
After workouts, you have a 45-minute window, at the most, to refuel your muscles. Miss the window and you just blew your opportunity to maximize muscle recovery. The nutrients here need to work very quickly, so drinking a whey protein shake is your best bet. You also need more BCAAs to ensure that muscle protein synthesis is maximized, as well as more creatine and beta-alanine to restock your muscles for the next workout.
After workouts, you should also add some casein protein to your protein shake. This very-slow-digesting protein keeps protein synthesis going for many hours after the workout to enhance recovery and results.
TIMING TIP
If you're fearful that late-night carbs will be converted to body fat,
limit fast carbs
post-workout to 20-30g.
During the workout, you burned up a good deal of your muscle glycogen, so you also need to get carbs to your muscles in a hurry. Anything with fructose won't get to your muscles fast enough, so try to avoid foods like fruit or table sugar (sucrose). If you want to go the supplement route for carbs, good choices are dextrose powder (which is essentially glucose) or Vitargo, a branched chain of glucose molecules that has been found to reach muscles faster than sugar. If you prefer to have some fun after workouts and treat yourself, take a look at Wonka candies. The Pixy Stix and Bottle Caps use dextrose as the main sugar; few other candy companies make fructose-free candy. Other good carb options are white bread and white potatoes, which are pure starch
(glucose chains).
Dinner
With Dinner
WHAT HOW MUCH
Vitamin C ———————→ 1,000mg
Calcium ————————→ 500-600mg
Vitamin D ———————→ 1,000-3,000 IU
Whether you compete in sports or not, a woman who trains as hard as you do, for all intents and purposes, is an athlete. Research shows that athletes lose a lot of micronutrients through training, so make sure to get in another dose of the more critical ones-vitamin C, calcium, vitamin D-with dinner.
Bedtime
30 Minutes Before Going To Bed
WHAT HOW MUCH
Casein Protein —————→ 20g
Fish Oil ————————→ 2-3g
We already discussed what happens in your body while you sleep. The good news is, you can help to prevent the muscle breakdown that normally occurs with the help of the slow-digesting protein casein. Just be sure the casein you choose lists micellar casein first on the ingredients list. This is the slowest digesting protein you can get; it takes a good 7-8 hours, providing your body a slow and steady stream of amino acids all night long. Your body will use these amino acids for fuel instead of breaking down the aminos from your muscle fibers. Also, get in one final dose of fish oil at this time. Fat will help to further slow down digestion rate, and the omega-3s will provide a host of other health benefits.
EmailMore
by Jim Stoppanni, Ph.D.Feb 27, 2012
No doubt about it, supplements are a critical component to achieving your physique and performance goals. And, for most of you, that means gaining more strength and endurance while building lean muscle and shedding as much fat as possible. But even if you know the right supplements to take, if you don't take them at the right times, their benefits will be limited.
As they say, "Timing is everything," and that maxim doesn't ring any truer than for supplements. In fact, research confirms that those taking whey and creatine around workouts achieve significantly greater results than those taking them at other times. This is merely one example of the science-backed truth behind supplement timing. To help you get the most bang for your buck, let us walk you through the perfect day of supplementation, from wake-up call to bedtime.
Wake Up
Immediately Upon Waking
WHAT HOW MUCH
Whey Protein ——————→ 20g
BCAAs —————————→ 5g
Caffeine —————————→ 200mg
When you wake up, your body has essentially been fasting for the past 6-9 hours and has begun turning to your muscles for fuel, so you obviously want to stop this process ASAP. Eating eggs or other whole-food proteins, like chicken or dairy, will take far too long to digest and stop the attack on your muscles. The only thing that will work is a whey protein shake, as whey is the fastest digesting form of protein, and in less than 20 minutes, its amino acids will start to reach your muscles. Adding some extra branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) to the shake will further help stop catabolism (muscle breakdown) and turn on muscle protein synthesis.
TIMING TIP
If you work out in the morning, this will be your pre-workout supplement plan, in addition to
any other pre-workout
supps you take.
Also, consider eating a piece of fruit with your protein shake. When you fast all night, your liver uses up its stores of glycogen (the storage form of glucose), which signals the body to use amino acids from your muscles for fuel. The small amount of glucose also doesn't cause a huge blood glucose spike just enough to raise insulin a bit, which also helps to signal the body to stop breaking down muscle.
If you like to start your day with a cup of coffee to give you a kick-start, consider taking a caffeine pill instead. A recent study found that caffeinated coffee kept levels of the muscle-wasting hormone cortisol high in the morning. Even research subjects drinking decaf had slightly higher levels of cortisol than those drinking water, which is likely due to other chemicals present in coffee. A caffeine pill will give you just what you need: a jolt to wake you up and increase fat burning without affecting cortisol as much.
Breakfast
30 To 60 Minutes After Waking
WHAT HOW MUCH
Multivitamin ——————→ 1 dose
B complex 100 —————→ 1 dose
Vitamin C ———————→ 1,000mg
Vitamin D ———————→ 1,000-3,000 IU
Vitamin E ———————→ 400-800 IU
Calcium ————————→ 500-600mg
Fish Oil ————————→ 2-3g
After your protein shake and a piece of fruit, you can do your usual morning ritual (take a shower, get dressed, do your hair and makeup, etc.). About 30-60 minutes after the shake, it's time to eat again, only this time you want whole foods like eggs and oatmeal. This is also a good time to get in a good dose of some other critical micronutrients that are better absorbed when taken with food. First on the list is your multivitamin and mineral complex. Of course, a hard-training woman needs more of certain vitamins and minerals than most typical multis provide, so add a B vitamin complex; vitamins C, D, and E; along with calcium. You'll also need fish oil, which has a laundry list of benefits, including enhancing heart, brain, and joint health; as well as improving muscle recovery and helping to promote fat loss.
Midmorning
60 To 90 Minutes After Breakfast
WHAT HOW MUCH
Green Tea Extract ————→ 500-1,000mg
(standardized for at least 30% EGCG)
Between breakfast and lunch-perhaps with a snack you have during this window-take a dose of green tea extract. Green tea, like fish oil, is nothing short of a wonder supplement. It contains polyphenols, notably EGCG, which not only increases fat burning but aids joint and muscle recovery as well. Drinking green tea, however, won't produce maximum effect. Research shows that the polyphenols from green tea beverages aren't absorbed as readily as those from green tea extract supplements.
Lunch
With Lunch
WHAT HOW MUCH
Fish Oil ————————→ 2-3g
Most of us eat lunch at work. And it's tough following a supplement plan when you never know whether lunch is going to be at your favorite local restaurant, during a meeting, or at your desk. Do yourself one favor and store a bottle of fish oil in your desk to take around lunchtime. Taking fish oil within 30 minutes before or after eating is just as good as taking it with a meal.
Pre-Workout No. 1
60 Minutes Before Exercise
FUN FACT
Current research suggests that the combination of caffeine and green tea burned more fat than either supplement alone.
WHAT HOW MUCH
Caffeine ————————→ 200-400mg
Green Tea Extract ————→ 500-1,000mg
(standardized for at least 30% EGCG)
Pre-Workout/NO Booster → 1 dose
If you want to maximize your endurance, strength, and fat burning during your workout (why wouldn't you?), your best bet is to take pre-workout supplements within an hour before training. This is a great time to get in a dose of caffeine to give you the boost you need for an intense workout. A dose of green tea will further enhance fat burning and endurance, as well as aid muscle recovery after the workout.
If you're really serious about training intensity, consider taking a pre-workout nitric oxide (NO) supplement. Boosting NO levels has been shown in clinical studies to increase endurance and strength during workouts as well as aid muscle growth and fat loss. Many NO-boosting products provide caffeine as well, killing two birds with one stone.
Pre-Workout No. 2
15 To 30 Minutes Before Exercise
WHAT HOW MUCH
Whey Protein ——————→ 20g
BCAAs —————————→ 5g
Creatine ————————→ 2-5g
Beta-Alanine ——————→ 2-3g
As the workout gets closer, within 15-30 minutes, think about fueling your body. Although most people think of carbs when they hear the term fuel, your first line of thought should actually be whey protein. Your muscles use amino acids for fuel during intense workouts, and if you don't provide your body with a quick source of aminos (whey), it will take them from your muscles. Pre-workout whey will also be there to help with muscle recovery and growth during the workout. Confused about how muscles start recovering during workouts? Well, you typically train more than one muscle group each workout-for example, chest, triceps, and abs. When you're training triceps, your chest is already in recovery mode, and you don't want to wait until the end of the workout to give it aminos. You'll also want to add BCAAs to this shake. These amino acids are the most critical when it comes to fueling your muscles during workouts. They also trick your brain into blunting fatigue so that you can stay stronger for longer. Then there's creatine, which is not for men only; it is another critical source of fuel for your working muscles. Finally, if you want to further boost energy, endurance, and strength, as well as aid muscle growth and fat loss, add beta-alanine to the mix. This amino acid is gaining the kind of respect that creatine has garnered in the supplement world.
Post-Workout
Within 45 Minutes Of Exercise
WHAT HOW MUCH
Whey Protein ——————→ 20g
Casein Protein —————→ 10-20g
BCAAs —————————→ 5g
Creatine ————————→ 2-5g
Beta-Alanine ——————→ 2-3g
Fast Carbs ———————→ 30-60g
After workouts, you have a 45-minute window, at the most, to refuel your muscles. Miss the window and you just blew your opportunity to maximize muscle recovery. The nutrients here need to work very quickly, so drinking a whey protein shake is your best bet. You also need more BCAAs to ensure that muscle protein synthesis is maximized, as well as more creatine and beta-alanine to restock your muscles for the next workout.
After workouts, you should also add some casein protein to your protein shake. This very-slow-digesting protein keeps protein synthesis going for many hours after the workout to enhance recovery and results.
TIMING TIP
If you're fearful that late-night carbs will be converted to body fat,
limit fast carbs
post-workout to 20-30g.
During the workout, you burned up a good deal of your muscle glycogen, so you also need to get carbs to your muscles in a hurry. Anything with fructose won't get to your muscles fast enough, so try to avoid foods like fruit or table sugar (sucrose). If you want to go the supplement route for carbs, good choices are dextrose powder (which is essentially glucose) or Vitargo, a branched chain of glucose molecules that has been found to reach muscles faster than sugar. If you prefer to have some fun after workouts and treat yourself, take a look at Wonka candies. The Pixy Stix and Bottle Caps use dextrose as the main sugar; few other candy companies make fructose-free candy. Other good carb options are white bread and white potatoes, which are pure starch
(glucose chains).
Dinner
With Dinner
WHAT HOW MUCH
Vitamin C ———————→ 1,000mg
Calcium ————————→ 500-600mg
Vitamin D ———————→ 1,000-3,000 IU
Whether you compete in sports or not, a woman who trains as hard as you do, for all intents and purposes, is an athlete. Research shows that athletes lose a lot of micronutrients through training, so make sure to get in another dose of the more critical ones-vitamin C, calcium, vitamin D-with dinner.
Bedtime
30 Minutes Before Going To Bed
WHAT HOW MUCH
Casein Protein —————→ 20g
Fish Oil ————————→ 2-3g
We already discussed what happens in your body while you sleep. The good news is, you can help to prevent the muscle breakdown that normally occurs with the help of the slow-digesting protein casein. Just be sure the casein you choose lists micellar casein first on the ingredients list. This is the slowest digesting protein you can get; it takes a good 7-8 hours, providing your body a slow and steady stream of amino acids all night long. Your body will use these amino acids for fuel instead of breaking down the aminos from your muscle fibers. Also, get in one final dose of fish oil at this time. Fat will help to further slow down digestion rate, and the omega-3s will provide a host of other health benefits.
JUMP SQUATS
Those of you who have been members of JimStoppani.com for some time now know that I recommend using explosive exercises, such as jump squats to help you build more power in your legs, which can not only increase their strength, but also help to increase muscle size.
You may also know that I typically recommend that you do these explosive exercises first in your workout.
That’s because to maximize power development you want to perform these explosive moves when the fast-twitch muscle fibers are not fatigued and they are at their strongest. If you do explosive exercises, such as jump squats, after fatiguing the target muscles with another exercise, let's say regular squats, then the fast-twitch muscle fibers will not be able to contract with the same amount of power and you not only will jump lower, but your ability to build power will be compromised.
However, a new study shows that there may still be some benefit to doing jump squats after regular squats.
New Zealand researchers had trained male athletes perform four different workouts that consisted of jump squats and heavy squats using their 3-rep max weight. In one workout they did 3 sets of 3 jump squats followed by 3 sets of heavy squats. In another workout they first did the 3 sets of heavy squats followed by the 3 sets of jump squats. For other two workouts they did either 6 sets of heavy squats without any jump squats, or 6 sets of jump squats without any heavy squats.
They discovered that when the athletes did the heavy squats first followed by the jump squats, their testosterone levels increased by about 5% more than when they did the jump squats first followed by the heavy squats. And doing both jump squats and heavy squats in any order increased testosterone levels more than when doing just heavy squats alone or just jump squats alone.
Jim's take-home point:
Doing both heavy weight for low reps and light weight for explosive reps in the same workout, regardless of the order is a technique called Complex Training. Research shows that this combination produces the best gains in muscle strength and power, and may also produce gains in muscle size. This is the main reason why I often recommend using complex training by starting your leg workouts with jump squats or chest workouts with power push-ups.
One of the keys to why complex training works may be because it appears to boost testosterone levels the highest, regardless of the order you do the exercises in. I typically prefer doing the explosive exercise first to take advantage of muscle power and as a way to warm-up the muscle before the heavier sets. However, this study suggests that you might be able to get a slightly higher boost in testotserone by doing the explosive move after the heavy exercise. So on leg days, you may want to occasionally swap the order and do squats followed by a few sets of jump
You may also know that I typically recommend that you do these explosive exercises first in your workout.
That’s because to maximize power development you want to perform these explosive moves when the fast-twitch muscle fibers are not fatigued and they are at their strongest. If you do explosive exercises, such as jump squats, after fatiguing the target muscles with another exercise, let's say regular squats, then the fast-twitch muscle fibers will not be able to contract with the same amount of power and you not only will jump lower, but your ability to build power will be compromised.
However, a new study shows that there may still be some benefit to doing jump squats after regular squats.
New Zealand researchers had trained male athletes perform four different workouts that consisted of jump squats and heavy squats using their 3-rep max weight. In one workout they did 3 sets of 3 jump squats followed by 3 sets of heavy squats. In another workout they first did the 3 sets of heavy squats followed by the 3 sets of jump squats. For other two workouts they did either 6 sets of heavy squats without any jump squats, or 6 sets of jump squats without any heavy squats.
They discovered that when the athletes did the heavy squats first followed by the jump squats, their testosterone levels increased by about 5% more than when they did the jump squats first followed by the heavy squats. And doing both jump squats and heavy squats in any order increased testosterone levels more than when doing just heavy squats alone or just jump squats alone.
Jim's take-home point:
Doing both heavy weight for low reps and light weight for explosive reps in the same workout, regardless of the order is a technique called Complex Training. Research shows that this combination produces the best gains in muscle strength and power, and may also produce gains in muscle size. This is the main reason why I often recommend using complex training by starting your leg workouts with jump squats or chest workouts with power push-ups.
One of the keys to why complex training works may be because it appears to boost testosterone levels the highest, regardless of the order you do the exercises in. I typically prefer doing the explosive exercise first to take advantage of muscle power and as a way to warm-up the muscle before the heavier sets. However, this study suggests that you might be able to get a slightly higher boost in testotserone by doing the explosive move after the heavy exercise. So on leg days, you may want to occasionally swap the order and do squats followed by a few sets of jump
Friday, February 24, 2012
OMEGA 3
The two questions that I get asked the most about fish oil supplements are:
1) “Aren’t most fish oil supplements contaminated with mercury?”
And:
2) “What is the best brand of fish oil supplements”
To answer question #1 - No, most fish oil supplements are absolutely NOT contaminated with mercury or other toxins.
In fact, a recent test by ConsumerLab.com of about 40 different fish oil and other omega-3 fat products reported that only one product, which was an omega-3 supplement for pets, was contaminated with high amounts of PCBs. But none of the omega-3 products for humans were contaminated with mercury, PCBs (polycholorinated biphenyls), or dioxins.
To answer question #2 - Most brands of fish oil are perfectly fine.
There are only a few that you should stay away from according to the testing done by ConsumerLab.com. So to be sure that you select from only the good brands, I've provided you the list of brands that passed the ConsumerLab.com test and the short list of those that failed. They tested the omega-3 products for: 1) amount of omega-3 fat (EPA and DHA) in the actual product as compared to the amount that was listed on the label, 2) purity – to make sure that there was no contamination from mercury, PCBs, and dioxins, and 3) freshness – to make sure that there was no spoilage of the fat supplement.
1) “Aren’t most fish oil supplements contaminated with mercury?”
And:
2) “What is the best brand of fish oil supplements”
To answer question #1 - No, most fish oil supplements are absolutely NOT contaminated with mercury or other toxins.
In fact, a recent test by ConsumerLab.com of about 40 different fish oil and other omega-3 fat products reported that only one product, which was an omega-3 supplement for pets, was contaminated with high amounts of PCBs. But none of the omega-3 products for humans were contaminated with mercury, PCBs (polycholorinated biphenyls), or dioxins.
To answer question #2 - Most brands of fish oil are perfectly fine.
There are only a few that you should stay away from according to the testing done by ConsumerLab.com. So to be sure that you select from only the good brands, I've provided you the list of brands that passed the ConsumerLab.com test and the short list of those that failed. They tested the omega-3 products for: 1) amount of omega-3 fat (EPA and DHA) in the actual product as compared to the amount that was listed on the label, 2) purity – to make sure that there was no contamination from mercury, PCBs, and dioxins, and 3) freshness – to make sure that there was no spoilage of the fat supplement.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
SHAVING BEFORE A MEET
A Maryland girls swimming team has had its county championship title retroactively stripped for one of the more bizarre retroactive punishments to come down in recent years: It was deemed that improper shaving had occurred.
Broadneck swimmer Lauren Fogarty swims at Anne Arundel County Championships — Annapolis Capital
That's right, improper shaving. Not shaving points mind you, but shaving of body hair. And, as it turns out, if the unnamed player implicated had only shaved a couple hours earlier, she and her teammates would still have their county title.
As reported by a number of Maryland news outlets, the Baltimore Sun and Annapolis Capital among them, the Broadneck (Md.) High girls swimming squad lost its Anne Arundel County title after it was determined that one of the team's swimmers shaved on-site just before the start of the event. National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) rules for swimming, diving and water polo stipulate that athletes can not shave before, during or after a meet once a team is on-site.
The reason why the NFHS institutes a no shaving on-site policy is to protect the swimmers themselves from possible blood transmission or, in general, doing full body shaves in high school locker rooms, which would maximize the possibility of unsafe practices like sharing razors. Still, the rule can seem quite a bit over the top when one considers generally acceptable practices for other sports; after all, no one is telling football or basketball players that they can't shave after a game or practice.
Because of the violation, Broadneck lost all points won by the swimmer implicated, dropping the Bruins from first to third place in the final standings. Severna Park (Md.) High was later declared the county champion after Broadneck's lost points were redistributed.
Meanwhile, the Annapolis Capital reported that Broadneck swimming coach Colleen Winans was suspended for the Class 4A-3A Regional Championships which were held on Saturday because of her swimmer's violation. A release from the Anne Arundel School District cited the failure of Winans' squad to abide by "the rules of the game and promote ethical relationships among coaches and players," as the reason for the discipline taken against Winans, which included the one-meet ban.
The Broadneck boys and girls varsity swimming teams — BroadneckAthletics.org
As Swimming World Magazine general manager Jason Marsteller noted in an email with Prep Rally, it's the retroactive aspect of Broadneck's punishment that may be most bizarre.
"I'm not sure I've seen much of this type of punishment within the sport," Marsteller wrote in an email. "About the only place retroactive punishments happen is in the case of positive doping tests."
Certainly doping tests and shaving seem a world apart, even if both might provide competitive advantages (doping for obvious reasons, and shaving to reduce drag for competitive swimmers).
Despite Winans absence, Broadneck returned to the top of the area standings, emerging with both a boys and girls regional title. The Bruins cruised past runners-up Severna Park by 16.5 points, with a number of Broadneck swimmers citing their coach's unfortunate and bizarre suspension as motivation to win their respective events.
Broadneck swimmer Lauren Fogarty swims at Anne Arundel County Championships — Annapolis Capital
That's right, improper shaving. Not shaving points mind you, but shaving of body hair. And, as it turns out, if the unnamed player implicated had only shaved a couple hours earlier, she and her teammates would still have their county title.
As reported by a number of Maryland news outlets, the Baltimore Sun and Annapolis Capital among them, the Broadneck (Md.) High girls swimming squad lost its Anne Arundel County title after it was determined that one of the team's swimmers shaved on-site just before the start of the event. National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) rules for swimming, diving and water polo stipulate that athletes can not shave before, during or after a meet once a team is on-site.
The reason why the NFHS institutes a no shaving on-site policy is to protect the swimmers themselves from possible blood transmission or, in general, doing full body shaves in high school locker rooms, which would maximize the possibility of unsafe practices like sharing razors. Still, the rule can seem quite a bit over the top when one considers generally acceptable practices for other sports; after all, no one is telling football or basketball players that they can't shave after a game or practice.
Because of the violation, Broadneck lost all points won by the swimmer implicated, dropping the Bruins from first to third place in the final standings. Severna Park (Md.) High was later declared the county champion after Broadneck's lost points were redistributed.
Meanwhile, the Annapolis Capital reported that Broadneck swimming coach Colleen Winans was suspended for the Class 4A-3A Regional Championships which were held on Saturday because of her swimmer's violation. A release from the Anne Arundel School District cited the failure of Winans' squad to abide by "the rules of the game and promote ethical relationships among coaches and players," as the reason for the discipline taken against Winans, which included the one-meet ban.
The Broadneck boys and girls varsity swimming teams — BroadneckAthletics.org
As Swimming World Magazine general manager Jason Marsteller noted in an email with Prep Rally, it's the retroactive aspect of Broadneck's punishment that may be most bizarre.
"I'm not sure I've seen much of this type of punishment within the sport," Marsteller wrote in an email. "About the only place retroactive punishments happen is in the case of positive doping tests."
Certainly doping tests and shaving seem a world apart, even if both might provide competitive advantages (doping for obvious reasons, and shaving to reduce drag for competitive swimmers).
Despite Winans absence, Broadneck returned to the top of the area standings, emerging with both a boys and girls regional title. The Bruins cruised past runners-up Severna Park by 16.5 points, with a number of Broadneck swimmers citing their coach's unfortunate and bizarre suspension as motivation to win their respective events.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
VITAMIN E
Almost everyone who has ever swallowed a vitamin of any kind knows a bit about vitamin E.
Mostly they know that it is a fat soluble vitamin that is a powerful antioxidant. But few know what vitamin E actually is.
Vitamin E is the generic name for a group of compounds known as tocopherols and the lesser known, tocotrienols.
Each has four different structures or isomers that are designated as alpha, beta, gamma and delta.
What may surprise you most about vitamin E is that although scientists know that it is important for muscle function, they don’t know exactly why.
That is until now.
Researchers from Georgia Health Sciences University recently uncovered how precisely vitamin E contributes to muscle function.
They discovered that tears in muscle membranes would not heal unless the muscle cells were treated with vitamin E. As you already know, vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant, which means it stops free radicals from causing further damage to cells, such as muscle cells. These free radicals prevent muscle tears from healing. You also know that vitamin E is fat soluble. The membrane of a muscle cell is essentially made of fats. Because vitamin E is fat soluble, it actually inserts itself into the membrane where it prevents the free radicals from attacking the membrane, and therefore allowing the tears to heal.
Jim’s take-home point:
When you work out you cause tears in the muscle cell membranes AND you increase free radical production. So getting in adequate vitamin E is absolutely critical for anyone who exercises.
I suggest supplementing with 400-800 IU of vitamin E per day and consider taking it with your preworkout shake on workout days.
But don’t just grab ANY kind of vitamin E supplement.
I have some critical tips to help you pick out a suitable vitamin E supplement.
First off, be sure that the vitamin E you choose provides at least all four of the forms of tocopherols: alpha, gamma, beta, and delta.
If it also contains some tocotrienols, even better. Although alpha tocopherol is the most critical form of vitamin E, particularly for muscle membrane repair, you also want to be sure to get in some of the gamma, beta, and delta, too. Each one offers distinct benefits in the body, and research shows that a mix of the isomers has the greatest range of benefits. For instance, gamma tocopherol can help to inhibit cancer growth. Plus, supplementation of only alpha tocopherol has been found to reduce levels of the other isomers in the body.
And second, be sure the vitamin E you choose uses natural forms of vitamin E and not synthetic.
While both are absorbed to the same degree, the natural form is more than two times more bioactive within the body. Only about half of the synthetic Vitamin E is treated as the preferred natural Vitamin E by the liver and the rest is predominantly excreted down the toilet.
So how do you tell if a vitamin E supplement is natural or synthetic?
By the letters “l” and “d”. If it lists dl-alpha tocopherol, it's synthetic. But if it lists d-alpha tocopherol (no "l" after the "d"), then it's the natural form and is most likely derived from vegetable oils.
So if you’re serious about your muscle growth and your health, be sure to supplement with vitamin E every day.
Reference:
Howard, A. C., et al. Promotion of plasma membrane repair by vitamin E. Nature Communications, 2011; 2: 597.
Mostly they know that it is a fat soluble vitamin that is a powerful antioxidant. But few know what vitamin E actually is.
Vitamin E is the generic name for a group of compounds known as tocopherols and the lesser known, tocotrienols.
Each has four different structures or isomers that are designated as alpha, beta, gamma and delta.
What may surprise you most about vitamin E is that although scientists know that it is important for muscle function, they don’t know exactly why.
That is until now.
Researchers from Georgia Health Sciences University recently uncovered how precisely vitamin E contributes to muscle function.
They discovered that tears in muscle membranes would not heal unless the muscle cells were treated with vitamin E. As you already know, vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant, which means it stops free radicals from causing further damage to cells, such as muscle cells. These free radicals prevent muscle tears from healing. You also know that vitamin E is fat soluble. The membrane of a muscle cell is essentially made of fats. Because vitamin E is fat soluble, it actually inserts itself into the membrane where it prevents the free radicals from attacking the membrane, and therefore allowing the tears to heal.
Jim’s take-home point:
When you work out you cause tears in the muscle cell membranes AND you increase free radical production. So getting in adequate vitamin E is absolutely critical for anyone who exercises.
I suggest supplementing with 400-800 IU of vitamin E per day and consider taking it with your preworkout shake on workout days.
But don’t just grab ANY kind of vitamin E supplement.
I have some critical tips to help you pick out a suitable vitamin E supplement.
First off, be sure that the vitamin E you choose provides at least all four of the forms of tocopherols: alpha, gamma, beta, and delta.
If it also contains some tocotrienols, even better. Although alpha tocopherol is the most critical form of vitamin E, particularly for muscle membrane repair, you also want to be sure to get in some of the gamma, beta, and delta, too. Each one offers distinct benefits in the body, and research shows that a mix of the isomers has the greatest range of benefits. For instance, gamma tocopherol can help to inhibit cancer growth. Plus, supplementation of only alpha tocopherol has been found to reduce levels of the other isomers in the body.
And second, be sure the vitamin E you choose uses natural forms of vitamin E and not synthetic.
While both are absorbed to the same degree, the natural form is more than two times more bioactive within the body. Only about half of the synthetic Vitamin E is treated as the preferred natural Vitamin E by the liver and the rest is predominantly excreted down the toilet.
So how do you tell if a vitamin E supplement is natural or synthetic?
By the letters “l” and “d”. If it lists dl-alpha tocopherol, it's synthetic. But if it lists d-alpha tocopherol (no "l" after the "d"), then it's the natural form and is most likely derived from vegetable oils.
So if you’re serious about your muscle growth and your health, be sure to supplement with vitamin E every day.
Reference:
Howard, A. C., et al. Promotion of plasma membrane repair by vitamin E. Nature Communications, 2011; 2: 597.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
ABS LAST
Regardless of how big you want your arms, or how strong you want your bench press, you still want a ripped set of abs.
I don’t think that I’ve ever met a man or woman who wouldn’t prefer to have an impressive six pack. Despite that fact, ab training and cardio are the most likely things to get skipped when time is running short. That is not the best way to get a ripped set of abs.
There are many trainers out there who recommend training abs and cardio first for those who tend to skip them.
Yet while this may be good for those who have a problem with their time management skills, it is not good for those who what to build muscle size and strength.
You NEVER want to do cardio first when you work out.
Yes, doing 5-10 minutes of light cardio makes a good warm-up, but doing a full cardio workout before you lift weights will zap your energy levels and your muscle strength. So be sure to wait to do cardio till after the weight workout. Not only is this best for muscle strength and size gains, but research shows that it can also enhance fat burning.
There are numerous reasons why you NEVER want to train abs first when you work out.
The first is strength… or lack there of.
Core strength is critical on most exercises you do, but is especially critical on exercises like squats, shoulder presses, bent-over rows, and even curls and the bench press. Greater core strength translates into greater strength on these exercises. If you train abs before you train the major muscle groups, then you will fatigue your core muscles, which will reduce your core strength, and reduce your strength on most other exercises. And this is not just hyperbole.
A study that I did with the Weider Research Group supports this.
We had trained bodybuilders do three sets of squats using their 6-rep max weight. In one workout, they did a typical warm-up and then did the 3 sets of squats. In another workout they first trained abs by doing 3 sets of the dumbbell woodchoppers, 3 sets of hanging leg raises, and 3 sets of crunches before doing the 3 sets of squats. When they did the ab workout before squats they completed fewer reps on ALL 3 sets of squats than when they did squats without doing abs first. They performed one less rep on sets one and two and 2 less reps on set three. In other words, the guys were weaker on squats after training abs. Likely the reason that they were weaker on squats was because their core muscles were fatigued.
A second reason to never train abs first when you workout is to prevent injuries, particularly to your spine or spinal discs.
Since the core supports your spine, training abs before you train legs or other muscle groups could also leave you more prone to injuries. That’s because a fatigued core will offer your spine less support. And when you have to support heavy weight, this can increase your risk of back injury, as well as other injuries.
You also can risk injuring your spinal discs by training abs first if you workout first thing in the morning or have a long commute to the gym.
When you sleep, loading on the discs is reduced, which allows them to absorb more fluid. So when you wake up the pressure inside the discs is much higher than before going to bed, which increases bending stresses at the discs. Flexing the spine, such as when you do crunches, at this time can increase the risk of injuring a disk. But if you first train other muscle groups first in the morning, the discs become more elastic and flexible in bending as the workout goes. Then when you train abs later in the workout, there is less risk of injury.
Sitting in your car for long periods allows the disks in your spine to gain height, which decreases your spines range of motion and that can increase your risk of injury when flexing the spine, such as during crunches. Again, by waiting till the end of your workout to train abs, the spinal disks will lose height and you’ll have an increased range of motion in the spine and less risk of injury.
Consider also reading my article to Crunch or Not To Crunch, which also covers these last two points about crunches:
http://www.jimstoppani.com/home/articles/to-crunch-or-not-to-crunch-that-is-the
The bottom line is to be sure to keep your ab training and cardio at the end of your workouts or do them as completely different workouts.
This way your strength and muscle growth will not be limited and neither will your ability to get lean and build an impressive six pack. For those of you who are often pressed for time and end up frequently skipping abs, I suggest that you consider supersetting abs with other small muscle groups, such as forearms or calves. Or you can even do an abs, calves and forearms triset workout. Again, do this at the end of the workout or as a separate workout on its own. This will help to limit the time it takes to train these oft-neglected muscle groups.
I don’t think that I’ve ever met a man or woman who wouldn’t prefer to have an impressive six pack. Despite that fact, ab training and cardio are the most likely things to get skipped when time is running short. That is not the best way to get a ripped set of abs.
There are many trainers out there who recommend training abs and cardio first for those who tend to skip them.
Yet while this may be good for those who have a problem with their time management skills, it is not good for those who what to build muscle size and strength.
You NEVER want to do cardio first when you work out.
Yes, doing 5-10 minutes of light cardio makes a good warm-up, but doing a full cardio workout before you lift weights will zap your energy levels and your muscle strength. So be sure to wait to do cardio till after the weight workout. Not only is this best for muscle strength and size gains, but research shows that it can also enhance fat burning.
There are numerous reasons why you NEVER want to train abs first when you work out.
The first is strength… or lack there of.
Core strength is critical on most exercises you do, but is especially critical on exercises like squats, shoulder presses, bent-over rows, and even curls and the bench press. Greater core strength translates into greater strength on these exercises. If you train abs before you train the major muscle groups, then you will fatigue your core muscles, which will reduce your core strength, and reduce your strength on most other exercises. And this is not just hyperbole.
A study that I did with the Weider Research Group supports this.
We had trained bodybuilders do three sets of squats using their 6-rep max weight. In one workout, they did a typical warm-up and then did the 3 sets of squats. In another workout they first trained abs by doing 3 sets of the dumbbell woodchoppers, 3 sets of hanging leg raises, and 3 sets of crunches before doing the 3 sets of squats. When they did the ab workout before squats they completed fewer reps on ALL 3 sets of squats than when they did squats without doing abs first. They performed one less rep on sets one and two and 2 less reps on set three. In other words, the guys were weaker on squats after training abs. Likely the reason that they were weaker on squats was because their core muscles were fatigued.
A second reason to never train abs first when you workout is to prevent injuries, particularly to your spine or spinal discs.
Since the core supports your spine, training abs before you train legs or other muscle groups could also leave you more prone to injuries. That’s because a fatigued core will offer your spine less support. And when you have to support heavy weight, this can increase your risk of back injury, as well as other injuries.
You also can risk injuring your spinal discs by training abs first if you workout first thing in the morning or have a long commute to the gym.
When you sleep, loading on the discs is reduced, which allows them to absorb more fluid. So when you wake up the pressure inside the discs is much higher than before going to bed, which increases bending stresses at the discs. Flexing the spine, such as when you do crunches, at this time can increase the risk of injuring a disk. But if you first train other muscle groups first in the morning, the discs become more elastic and flexible in bending as the workout goes. Then when you train abs later in the workout, there is less risk of injury.
Sitting in your car for long periods allows the disks in your spine to gain height, which decreases your spines range of motion and that can increase your risk of injury when flexing the spine, such as during crunches. Again, by waiting till the end of your workout to train abs, the spinal disks will lose height and you’ll have an increased range of motion in the spine and less risk of injury.
Consider also reading my article to Crunch or Not To Crunch, which also covers these last two points about crunches:
http://www.jimstoppani.com/home/articles/to-crunch-or-not-to-crunch-that-is-the
The bottom line is to be sure to keep your ab training and cardio at the end of your workouts or do them as completely different workouts.
This way your strength and muscle growth will not be limited and neither will your ability to get lean and build an impressive six pack. For those of you who are often pressed for time and end up frequently skipping abs, I suggest that you consider supersetting abs with other small muscle groups, such as forearms or calves. Or you can even do an abs, calves and forearms triset workout. Again, do this at the end of the workout or as a separate workout on its own. This will help to limit the time it takes to train these oft-neglected muscle groups.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
FAST REPS vs SLOW
Author: Jim Stoppani, PhD
If you're familiar with my training advice, then you know that I like change. I like to change up exercises, rep ranges, rest periods, training splits, and even the speed at which reps are performed. When it comestibles rep speed, most people stick with the tried and true slow and controlled pace of about 1-2 seconds on the positive and about 1-2 seconds on the negative. While this is the pace you should keep for most of the time, you should occasionally consider going much slower some of the time and much faster some of the time. Super slow reps can help you build more muscle, while fast and explosive reps can help you build more strength and power, which can help you build more muscle in the long run, and they can even help you to burn off more body fat.
If you're familiar with my training advice, then you know that I like change. I like to change up exercises, rep ranges, rest periods, training splits, and even the speed at which reps are performed. When it comestibles rep speed, most people stick with the tried and true slow and controlled pace of about 1-2 seconds on the positive and about 1-2 seconds on the negative. While this is the pace you should keep for most of the time, you should occasionally consider going much slower some of the time and much faster some of the time. Super slow reps can help you build more muscle, while fast and explosive reps can help you build more strength and power, which can help you build more muscle in the long run, and they can even help you to burn off more body fat.
Studies Confirmed
Scientists from the University of Sydney (Lidcome, NSW, Australia) had males and females follow a biceps training program for 6 weeks using different rep speeds to determine which rep speed on the one-arm biceps curl best increased strength and which rep speed best increased muscle size. One group did one-arm biceps curls using slow reps (3 seconds on the positive and 3 seconds on the negative part of the rep), while the other group did fast reps (less than 1 second on the positive and negative part of the rep). Each group trained with a weight that limited them to 6-8 reps on the one-arm biceps curl and trained three times per week. They found that the fast reps increased biceps strength by 46% over the 6 weeks, while slow reps only increased biceps strength by 40%. Slow reps on the other hand, increased biceps size by 3%, while the fast reps only increased size by 1%. In other words, fast reps appear to be best for increasing muscle strength, while slow reps are best for increasing muscle size. Slow reps may increase size better than fast reps due to a greater increase in growth hormone (GH) and testosterone levels. A Japanese study reported that subjects using slow reps raised GH and testosterone levels than those using faster reps.
Fast Reps = Fast Results
Fast reps likely increase muscle strength better because they utilize more of the fast-twitch muscle fibers within a muscle. These are the muscle fibers that can contract with great speed and strength. These muscle fibers also appear to burn more calories than slow-twitch muscle fibers. Researchers from Ball State found that weight-trained men doing squats with fast reps burned over 10% more calories than when they did squats with normal speed reps. The fast rep workouts also caused the men to burn 5% more calories at rest after the workout was over.
So be sure to change up your rep speeds just like you change up other aspects of your workouts. Keep normal-speed reps at the foundation of your training program, using them the majority of the time. However, also use fast reps for building strength and power, as well to drop body fat. Use slow reps to help encourage more muscle growth.
THE WORKOUT
The Workout
Day 1 | |||
Exercise | Sets | Reps | Muscle Group |
4 | 10 | Chest | |
4 | 8 | Chest | |
3 | 10 | Chest | |
3 | 15 | Chest | |
4 | 10 | Shoulders | |
4 | 8 | Shoulders | |
3 | 12 | Shoulders | |
3 | 15 | Shoulders | |
4 | 10 | Arms | |
4 | 8 | Chest | |
3 | 12 | Arms | |
Day 2 | |||
Exercise | Sets | Reps | Muscle Group |
4 | 10 | Back | |
4 | 8 | Back | |
3 | 12 | Back | |
3 | 12 | Back | |
4 | 8 | Arms | |
4 | 8 | Arms | |
3 | 10 | Arms | |
Day 3 | |||
Exercise | Sets | Reps | Muscle Group |
4 | 8 | Legs | |
4 | 8 | Legs | |
3 | 10 | Legs | |
3 | 12 | Legs | |
4 | 8 | Legs | |
4 | 8 | Legs | |
3 | 10 | Legs | |
Day 4 | |||
Exercise | Sets | Reps | Muscle Group |
4 | 10 | Shoulders | |
4 | 12 | Shoulders | |
3 | 15 | Shoulders | |
4 | 10 | Arms | |
4 | 12 | Arms | |
4 | 10 | Legs | |
4 | 12 | Legs | |
Day 5 | |||
Exercise | Sets | Reps | Muscle Group |
0 | 0 | TIPS | |
Day 1 | |||
Exercise | Sets | Reps | Muscle Group |
0 | 0 | TIPS | |
Day 1 | |||
Exercise | Sets | Reps | Muscle Group |
4 | 12 | Chest | |
4 | 10 | Chest | |
3 | 12 | Chest | |
3 | 20 | Chest | |
4 | 12 | Shoulders | |
4 | 10 | Shoulders | |
3 | 15 | Shoulders | |
3 | 20 | Shoulders | |
4 | 12 | Arms | |
4 | 10 | Chest | |
3 | 15 | Arms | |
Day 2 | |||
Exercise | Sets | Reps | Muscle Group |
4 | 12 | Back | |
4 | 10 | Back | |
3 | 15 | Back | |
3 | 20 | Back | |
4 | 12 | Arms | |
4 | 10 | Arms | |
3 | 15 | Arms | |
Day 3 | |||
Exercise | Sets | Reps | Muscle Group |
4 | 12 | Legs | |
4 | 10 | Legs | |
3 | 15 | Legs | |
3 | 20 | Legs | |
4 | 12 | Legs | |
4 | 10 | Legs | |
3 | 15 | Legs | |
Day 4 | |||
Exercise | Sets | Reps | Muscle Group |
4 | 15 | Shoulders | |
4 | 15 | Shoulders | |
3 | 20 | Shoulders | |
4 | 15 | Arms | |
4 | 15 | Arms | |
4 | 15 | Legs | |
4 | 15 | Legs | |
3 | 20 | Legs | |
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