Cancer evokes fear in many because we often see no warning signs. A person goes from apparently healthy to being diagnosed with cancer. And, all of us have heard stories of people with an incredibly short period of time between diagnosis and death.
Is cancer an inevitable diagnosis for some of us? Not necessarily. There are many steps you can take to decrease your risk of developing various types of cancer.
What Is Cancer?
Cancer starts when abnormal cells divide out of control and invade other, healthy body tissues. Normally our cells grow and divide then die when they become old and/or damaged. These cells are replaced with healthy new cells. When the DNA within our cells becomes damaged this process can go haywire and normal cell growth and division is disrupted leading to cancer.
Risk Factors
There are over 100 different types of cancer. The National Cancer Institute(NCI) has outlined the risk factors for many types of cancer on their website. In addition, NCI outlined overall risk factors for developing cancer. These include:
Age
The longer you live the likelihood of developing cancer increases.
Diet, Physical Inactivity, Alcohol Use, Overweight
More on this later.
Tobacco Use
Smoking, dipping, secondhand smoke, you name it, tobacco sucks. It makes you smell bad and look older too. Besides looking wrinkled with pursed lips, smokers have an increased risk of developing cancer of the lungs, larynx, mouth, esophagus, bladder, kidney, throat, stomach, pancreas, cervix and acute myeloid leukemia (cancer that starts in blood cells).
Sunlight Exposure
Have you ever walked into a tanning salon that carries signs saying their beds are UVB free? They may be UVB free but if they tan you, you are getting harmful rays. UVA rays, the kind that cause wrinkling and skin cancer. If you want a tan, use the spray on stuff or lotion and don't believe what the people working in a tanning booth tell you.
Ionizing Radiation
Ionizing radiation comes from radioactive fallout (from nuclear power plants or plants where they test the production and use of atomic weapons), radon gas, x-rays, and other sources.
People exposed to radioactive fall have an increased risk of leukemia and thyroid, breast, lung and stomach cancer. X-rays provide very low doses of radiation and the benefits of x-rays as a screening tool far outweigh the risks from radiation exposure.
Certain Chemicals And Other Substances
Some of these chemicals include asbestos, benzene, benzidine, cadmium, nickel, and vinyl chloride.
Some Viruses And Bacteria
Human Papillomaviruses (HPVs): Some strains of HPV cause cervical cancer and HPV may put you at risk for other types of cancer.
Hepatitis B And Hepatitis C: These can increase your risk of developing liver cancer.
Human T-cell Leukemia/Lymphoma Virus (HTLV-1): Increases a person's risk of lymphoma and leukemia.
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV): HIV increases one's risk of certain types of cancer including lymphoma and the rare cancer Kaposi's sarcoma.
Mono (Epstein-Barr virus, EBV): Infection with mono has been linked to an increased risk of lymphoma.
Human Herpes Virus 8 (HHV8): This virus is considered a risk factor for Kaposi's sarcoma.
Helicobacter Pylori: The virus that causes stomach ulcers, H pylori, can increase your risk of developing stomach cancer and lymphoma in the stomach lining.
Family History
Cancer actually doesn't typically run in families. However, melanoma and cancers of the breast, ovary, prostate, and colon can run in families.
Bodybuilding Can Help Decrease Your Risk Of Developing Some Types Of Cancer
You can decrease your risk of developing many types of cancer by leading a healthy lifestyle and controlling environmental factors as much as possible. Luckily, as a bodybuilder, you are already following the recommendations from top scientific organizations for decreasing your risk of developing cancer:
Avoid Excess Alcohol Consumption
Drinking two or more drinks per day increases your risk of developing cancers of the mouth, throat, esophagus, larynx, liver, and breast. The risk increases with greater alcohol consumption and it also increases if you pair alcohol with cigarettes.
As a bodybuilder, if you drink, you drink either rarely or in extreme moderation. Drinking does not build the body of champions inside or outside. And if you smoke, start doing intervals. Soon you'll realize how much smoking impairs your lung capacity.
Maintain A Healthy Weight And Engage In Regular Physical Activity
Being overweight and being a couch potato both increase your risk for cancers of the breast, colon, esophagus, kidney, and uterus.
If you are a bodybuilder you have both of these areas covered. What you are doing to look fabulous on the outside and attract people of the opposite (or same if you prefer) sex, will also help you decrease your risk for some types of cancer.
Eat A Good Diet
Approximately 30-40% of all cancers are linked to one's diet. Experts recommend eating a diet high in fiber, whole-grains and antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables for preventing cancer. Those who choose organic produce are decreasing their risk of ingesting unhealthy pesticides and herbicides. A few dietary don'ts:
• Avoid smelly or moldy foods (they may contain aflatoxin)
• Do not cook oils on high heat (240°F or above)
• Avoid cured, dried or preserved meats (like dark beer, they contain nitrosamines)
• Avoid burning or charring meat. If you do overcook it, cut those parts off and discard them.
• Avoid fried and charbroiled meats.
• Minimize your intake of smoked foods.
If you are a bodybuilder, you also very aware of your body and notice when something doesn't feel right. Keep in mind that having one or more risk factors doesn't mean you are doomed to a future cancer diagnosis. In fact, according to the NCI, most people who have risk factors will never develop cancer.
Additional Tips To Help Prevent Cancer
If you take a look at many of the viruses and bacteria listed above, you'll see that they are preventable. Her are some additional tips to help you prevent cancer:
• Don't share needles with anyone.
• Avoid unprotected sex (and no the pill doesn't protect you from disease). Is one night of spontaneous fun worth a lifetime of disease?
• Consider getting the vaccine that prevents Hepatitis B and see your doctor if you have stomach problems that won't go away (get tested for H pylori).
• If you are traveling to a foreign country, see CDC's website for the vaccines you need and additional tips on staying safe and healthy.
• If you think you have a family history of a certain type of cancer, talk to your physician for additional tips on prevention and screening.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Friday, April 16, 2010
Sodium Needs For Athletes
High sodium diets have recently been linked to a number of health risks in many Americans. However, athletes must consider that due to their increased activity and excessive sweat production, they are actually at risk of having too little sodium in their blood stream during training and competition. Athletes do indeed, have special sodium requirements. Because sodium is lost in sweat, it is more important for individuals who exercise at high intensity to get adequate sodium before, during and after exercise. This is even more critical during ultra-endurance competition.
Risks Of Hyponatremia
Hyponatremia, a low concentration of sodium in the blood, has become more prevalent in endurance athletes. The Hawaii Ironman Triathlon routinely sees finishers with low blood sodium concentrations. Adequate sodium balance is necessary for transmitting nerve impulses and proper muscle function, and even a slight depletion of this concentration can cause problems.
Ultra distance running events that take place in hot, humid conditions, and have athletes competing at high intensity have conditions prime for hyponatremia to develop.
Causes Of Hyponatremia
During high intensity exercise, sodium is lost along with sweat. An athlete who only replaces the lost fluid with water will contribute to a decreased blood sodium concentration. As an example, consider a full glass of salt-water. If you dump out half of the contents of the glass (as is lost in sweat), and replace that with water only, the sodium concentration of in the glass is far less and the water is more dilute. This often occurs in the bloodstream of an athlete who only hydrates with water during excessive sweating. The result is hyponatremia.
Studies have shown that athletes can lose 2 (or more) grams of salt per liter of sweat. If you consider that athletes may lose up to a liter (or more) of sweat each hour, you can see that over a long endurance event (12 hour race), it is not unimaginable that an athlete could sweat out 30 or 40 grams of salt. Replacing this loss of sodium during the event is critical to performance and safety.
Symptoms Of Hyponatremia
The early warning signs are often subtle and may be similar to dehydration; nausea, muscle cramps, disorientation, slurred speech, confusion, and inappropriate behavior. At this point, many athletes get into trouble by drinking water because they think they are dehydrated. In fact, water alone will increase the problem of hyponatremia. At the most extreme an athlete may experience seizures, coma, or death.
Treatment Of Hyponatremia
At the first sign of nausea, muscle cramps, disorientation, an athlete should drink a sodium containing sports drink, such as Gatorade, or eat salty foods. If possible, an athlete should plan ahead and estimate his or her fluid loss and need for sodium replacement during the event, and stay on a hydration schedule during the race. If the symptoms are extreme, a medical professional should be seen.
Prevention Of Hyponatremia
The best way for an athlete to avoid such problems is to plan ahead. Tips and recommendations include:
• Use a sodium containing sports drinks during long distance, high intensity events.
• As there are no steadfast guidelines for everyone, it is important for an athlete to understand his or her individual fluid needs.
• Weigh yourself before and after training and drink enough sodium based sports drink to offset any fluid loss during exercise
• Increase salt intake by 10-25 grams per day several days prior to competition. The increased sodium concentration will allow additional hydration with water to remain balanced so that the dilution of blood sodium does not occur.
• Avoid use of aspirin, ibuprofen, and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents as they may increase the risk of hyponatremia in athletes.
• As many triathletes are taking these medications, they need to be aware of their detrimental effect on performance. Additional, chronic use of these medications often mask the bodies own warning mechanisms that alert athletes to pain and injury. Athletes should be discouraged from excessive use of these medications.
Risks Of Hyponatremia
Hyponatremia, a low concentration of sodium in the blood, has become more prevalent in endurance athletes. The Hawaii Ironman Triathlon routinely sees finishers with low blood sodium concentrations. Adequate sodium balance is necessary for transmitting nerve impulses and proper muscle function, and even a slight depletion of this concentration can cause problems.
Ultra distance running events that take place in hot, humid conditions, and have athletes competing at high intensity have conditions prime for hyponatremia to develop.
Causes Of Hyponatremia
During high intensity exercise, sodium is lost along with sweat. An athlete who only replaces the lost fluid with water will contribute to a decreased blood sodium concentration. As an example, consider a full glass of salt-water. If you dump out half of the contents of the glass (as is lost in sweat), and replace that with water only, the sodium concentration of in the glass is far less and the water is more dilute. This often occurs in the bloodstream of an athlete who only hydrates with water during excessive sweating. The result is hyponatremia.
Studies have shown that athletes can lose 2 (or more) grams of salt per liter of sweat. If you consider that athletes may lose up to a liter (or more) of sweat each hour, you can see that over a long endurance event (12 hour race), it is not unimaginable that an athlete could sweat out 30 or 40 grams of salt. Replacing this loss of sodium during the event is critical to performance and safety.
Symptoms Of Hyponatremia
The early warning signs are often subtle and may be similar to dehydration; nausea, muscle cramps, disorientation, slurred speech, confusion, and inappropriate behavior. At this point, many athletes get into trouble by drinking water because they think they are dehydrated. In fact, water alone will increase the problem of hyponatremia. At the most extreme an athlete may experience seizures, coma, or death.
Treatment Of Hyponatremia
At the first sign of nausea, muscle cramps, disorientation, an athlete should drink a sodium containing sports drink, such as Gatorade, or eat salty foods. If possible, an athlete should plan ahead and estimate his or her fluid loss and need for sodium replacement during the event, and stay on a hydration schedule during the race. If the symptoms are extreme, a medical professional should be seen.
Prevention Of Hyponatremia
The best way for an athlete to avoid such problems is to plan ahead. Tips and recommendations include:
• Use a sodium containing sports drinks during long distance, high intensity events.
• As there are no steadfast guidelines for everyone, it is important for an athlete to understand his or her individual fluid needs.
• Weigh yourself before and after training and drink enough sodium based sports drink to offset any fluid loss during exercise
• Increase salt intake by 10-25 grams per day several days prior to competition. The increased sodium concentration will allow additional hydration with water to remain balanced so that the dilution of blood sodium does not occur.
• Avoid use of aspirin, ibuprofen, and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents as they may increase the risk of hyponatremia in athletes.
• As many triathletes are taking these medications, they need to be aware of their detrimental effect on performance. Additional, chronic use of these medications often mask the bodies own warning mechanisms that alert athletes to pain and injury. Athletes should be discouraged from excessive use of these medications.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
3 Keys To Killer ABS
Whether you are after the elusive 6-pack, or just looking to lose a bit of extra luggage you're carrying around the mid-section,there are 3 "key" areas you need to focus on to achieve maximum abdominal development.Strong abs not only help strengthen your lower back, but also improve upon your posture. Most lower back injuries occur, believe it or not, due to weak abs. Focus on these three areas and over time, you will see improved results.
Proper Cardiovascular Work:
You can have the greatest, most muscular set of abs in the world, but if they are blanketed by a layer of body fat, who cares. In order to rid yourself of the extra body fat around your midsection, you need to incorporate effective cardio sessions into your fitness plan. You cannot spot-reduce the midsection by doing extra ab exercises like crunches or sit-ups. You first must burn off the body fat through proper cardio to properly define the area.
Abdominal training by itself will not do much. Cardio needs to be intenseenough to do the trick. Three to four sessions a week of intense jogging, running, the Stairmaster, the elliptical, jumping rope, or biking should be enough to get the process in gear. Swimming, hiking, and taking aerobics classes are beneficial as well. Nothing beats jogging or running. It is the most intense, efficient, and effective method of burning calories. If running outside hurts your joints, try running inside on a treadmill or outside on a dirt path. It definitely is easier on the body.Again, you NEED three to four intense cardio sessions a week to help create a calorie deficit and help rid the body of the fat that covers your abs.
Proper Nutrition:
Do not sabotage your results in the gym by giving yourself a passport to pig out. Ridding the body of fat once and for all is accomplished by proper nutrition more so than incorporating cardio. At the end of the day, if you have consumed more calories than you have expended, you add body fat. So you need to burn more calories than you consume.
Nutrition is important because you can reduce the amount of calories you take in, therefore greatly having an effect on the amount which you have to expend through cardio. Eat five to six small, well-balanced meals spaced apart about every three to four hours. Try to keep something healthy on hand.If not, when you become real hungry, you will opt for something that isn't as good for you. When you become overly hungry, all rational thinking goes out the window.But it is important to get something in you. Not eating on time or at all is almost as bad as eating too much. Keep protein intake high (approximately 50% of daily calories), carbs moderate (40%), and fats minimal (10%).Muscle fiber is made of tightly-wound protein molecules that is damaged during a workout, so you need more protein than the sedentary person to help that muscle tissue repair. Carbohydrates have an important role in the body, but do not base your meals on them. Try to avoid simple sugars like cane sugar, honey, fruit juices, syrups, and even a lot of fruit.
Drink at least a gallon of clean water each day as well. It will help in nutrient absorption and digestion and will help flush toxins from the body.
Bottom line, make sure you are supplying your body with well-balanced, healthy food every three to four hours.
Weight training The Abdominals:
Here's an important key. If you want proper ab development, you need to add resistance (weight) to your ab exercises. Abs are muscles just like biceps, triceps, pecs, glutes, whatever. You need resistance to properly strengthen and build them. The same goes for abdominals.
Ab Exercises To Incorporate For Proper Ab Stimulation:
Weighted Crunches - Grab a dumbbell, either hold it in front of your face, or let it lie on your upper chest, under your chin, and perform regular crunches. You are now using your abs more to work against the leverage the dumbbell has created. Stick with a heavy enough weight where you can handle 10-15 reps, but no more. Remember, you need to create enough resistance where your abs are forced to work.
Cable Rope Crunches - Grab the tricep rope, kneel on your knees, and bend downwards, forcefully contracting your abs on the way down. It's basically a crunch, only, you are on your knees. But the contraction is the same. Don't swing with the hips, you are not using the abs very much if you do. Just a slight, 30 degree contraction until you feel the abs contract, hold for a couple seconds, then back up.
Weighted Leg Raises - Lie flat on your back, with your hands tucked under your butt. Wrap your feet around a small dumbbell, and perform leg raises. Start with your feet about 6 inches from the ground, then raise them about 12-16 inches from the ground and then back down slowly. These can be done on the end of a bench as well.
Seated Ab Machine - Once again, do not swing all the way down, just far enough (30 degrees) to fully contract the abs, hold for a couple seconds, then back up. This is very similar to Cable rope crunches.Stability Ball Crunches - Working on the stability ball will incorporate balance into your abdominal work. They are effective at strengthening your core region, which is your abs and lower back.You lie down on a stability ball like you are going to perform a crunch. Position yourself on the ball so your lower back is resting on it. Keep your feet close together on the floor making your body less stable (helps incorporate more balance on your part) and place your hands behind your head or folded on your chest. Crunch your upper body towards your knees, exhaling as you contract your abs. Under muscular control, lower yourself back to the original position keeping full tension on the abs.
Regardless of what exercise you do, the key is to add weight/resistance. If not, you will never increase the amount of lean muscle tissue in the area. You only need to train your abs twice a week for maximum results. Once again, treat them like any other muscle group (which means you wouldn't train them more often). Combine this weight training with proper diet and intense cardio and that elusive six-pack is yours to be had!
Proper Cardiovascular Work:
You can have the greatest, most muscular set of abs in the world, but if they are blanketed by a layer of body fat, who cares. In order to rid yourself of the extra body fat around your midsection, you need to incorporate effective cardio sessions into your fitness plan. You cannot spot-reduce the midsection by doing extra ab exercises like crunches or sit-ups. You first must burn off the body fat through proper cardio to properly define the area.
Abdominal training by itself will not do much. Cardio needs to be intenseenough to do the trick. Three to four sessions a week of intense jogging, running, the Stairmaster, the elliptical, jumping rope, or biking should be enough to get the process in gear. Swimming, hiking, and taking aerobics classes are beneficial as well. Nothing beats jogging or running. It is the most intense, efficient, and effective method of burning calories. If running outside hurts your joints, try running inside on a treadmill or outside on a dirt path. It definitely is easier on the body.Again, you NEED three to four intense cardio sessions a week to help create a calorie deficit and help rid the body of the fat that covers your abs.
Proper Nutrition:
Do not sabotage your results in the gym by giving yourself a passport to pig out. Ridding the body of fat once and for all is accomplished by proper nutrition more so than incorporating cardio. At the end of the day, if you have consumed more calories than you have expended, you add body fat. So you need to burn more calories than you consume.
Nutrition is important because you can reduce the amount of calories you take in, therefore greatly having an effect on the amount which you have to expend through cardio. Eat five to six small, well-balanced meals spaced apart about every three to four hours. Try to keep something healthy on hand.If not, when you become real hungry, you will opt for something that isn't as good for you. When you become overly hungry, all rational thinking goes out the window.But it is important to get something in you. Not eating on time or at all is almost as bad as eating too much. Keep protein intake high (approximately 50% of daily calories), carbs moderate (40%), and fats minimal (10%).Muscle fiber is made of tightly-wound protein molecules that is damaged during a workout, so you need more protein than the sedentary person to help that muscle tissue repair. Carbohydrates have an important role in the body, but do not base your meals on them. Try to avoid simple sugars like cane sugar, honey, fruit juices, syrups, and even a lot of fruit.
Drink at least a gallon of clean water each day as well. It will help in nutrient absorption and digestion and will help flush toxins from the body.
Bottom line, make sure you are supplying your body with well-balanced, healthy food every three to four hours.
Weight training The Abdominals:
Here's an important key. If you want proper ab development, you need to add resistance (weight) to your ab exercises. Abs are muscles just like biceps, triceps, pecs, glutes, whatever. You need resistance to properly strengthen and build them. The same goes for abdominals.
Ab Exercises To Incorporate For Proper Ab Stimulation:
Weighted Crunches - Grab a dumbbell, either hold it in front of your face, or let it lie on your upper chest, under your chin, and perform regular crunches. You are now using your abs more to work against the leverage the dumbbell has created. Stick with a heavy enough weight where you can handle 10-15 reps, but no more. Remember, you need to create enough resistance where your abs are forced to work.
Cable Rope Crunches - Grab the tricep rope, kneel on your knees, and bend downwards, forcefully contracting your abs on the way down. It's basically a crunch, only, you are on your knees. But the contraction is the same. Don't swing with the hips, you are not using the abs very much if you do. Just a slight, 30 degree contraction until you feel the abs contract, hold for a couple seconds, then back up.
Weighted Leg Raises - Lie flat on your back, with your hands tucked under your butt. Wrap your feet around a small dumbbell, and perform leg raises. Start with your feet about 6 inches from the ground, then raise them about 12-16 inches from the ground and then back down slowly. These can be done on the end of a bench as well.
Seated Ab Machine - Once again, do not swing all the way down, just far enough (30 degrees) to fully contract the abs, hold for a couple seconds, then back up. This is very similar to Cable rope crunches.Stability Ball Crunches - Working on the stability ball will incorporate balance into your abdominal work. They are effective at strengthening your core region, which is your abs and lower back.You lie down on a stability ball like you are going to perform a crunch. Position yourself on the ball so your lower back is resting on it. Keep your feet close together on the floor making your body less stable (helps incorporate more balance on your part) and place your hands behind your head or folded on your chest. Crunch your upper body towards your knees, exhaling as you contract your abs. Under muscular control, lower yourself back to the original position keeping full tension on the abs.
Regardless of what exercise you do, the key is to add weight/resistance. If not, you will never increase the amount of lean muscle tissue in the area. You only need to train your abs twice a week for maximum results. Once again, treat them like any other muscle group (which means you wouldn't train them more often). Combine this weight training with proper diet and intense cardio and that elusive six-pack is yours to be had!
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Beta-Alanine
While there are a great many supplements out there that people question just how much of a difference they make, beta-alanine is one that has proven to be effective time and time again.
Gaining a better understanding of exactly what beta-alanine is though and how it works in the body will enable you to make sure you're maximizing its performance in your supplement regime.
Here is more information on what beta-alanine is, how to take it, and what advantages it's going to bring to your workouts.
What Beta-Alanine Is
Beta-alanine is one of the non-essential amino acids that is not easily consumed in the regular mixed diet of chicken, beef, whey, or fish. Due to this fact, it can make getting in your required dose slightly more difficult.
When it's ingested by the body, beta-alanine will get converted into carnosine, which will then serve the purpose of increasing your stamina, strength as well as muscle development.
For those who are heavy into their training, this will then enable them to train harder while they're in the gym, resulting in increased muscle gains as a direct result.
Furthermore, for those who are trying to do more metabolic type of workouts by decreasing the amount of rest they're taking between sets, this will also serve to help them recover more quickly between sets, therefore allowing them to increase the overall calorie burn and intensity during the workout.
How Beta-Alanine Works In The Body
Looking more specifically at what beta-alanine does in the body, we need to dig a bit more into its connection with carnosine. It is through beta-alanine's direct effect that carnosine really exerts its influence, so that is really the key to understanding this supplement.
Carnosine can be found in both the two different muscle types in the body, but has higher concentration in the type two fibers, which are going to be more directed towards maximum strength and intensity exercises.When high intensity exercise takes place though, our body begins to accumulate a large amount of hydrogen ions, which then causes the body to take on a more acid state. It's also this increase in hydrogen ions that will cause the lactic acid build-up in the body, which then will cause feelings of fatigue while exercising and may eventually cause exercise to cease entirely.If you're getting a large build-up of lactic acid in most of the workouts you're doing, this will be a limiting factor of your overall performance and over time, will definitely impact how quickly you see results.
Carnosine, when present in the body though, will work as an intracellular buffer, helping to stabilize the muscular pH and also soak up any additional hydrogen ions that are released while the exercise is taking place.The more carnosine that's present in your system then, the less chances you're going to suffer from high lactic acid levels.It is the supplementation of beta-alanine that will effectively boost your carnosine levels in the body, with greatest increases seen after twelve straight weeks of use.
Because of the fact that you cannot take carnosine straight by itself, choosing to supplement with beta-alanine instead is the best course of action.
Who Does Not Need Beta-Alanine
While supplementing with beta-alanine should help most individuals who are involved in exercise, endurance athletes who are training and performing with low to moderate exercise levels may not notice as great of effects simply due to the fact that their body will not be producing as much excess hydrogen ions so they won't have as great of a lactic acid build-up as other athletes.
Beta-Alanine Vs. Creatine
Many people often question whether beta-alanine would work better than creatine in terms of increasing the body's ability to tolerate exercise but it's important to note that they are doing opposite things here.
Creatine is working to ensure that you have sufficient ATP (high energy molecule that powers exercise) in the body, while beta-alanine essentially is making sure the environment for exercise stays favorable.
For this reason, it's actually in your best interest to take both supplements if possible.
How To Take Beta-Alanine
Typically, it's also recommend to do a bit of a loading phase with beta-alanine as well, starting with about 6 grams spread over two or three doses during the day for the first six days, and then progressing to the maintenance phase, taking in about 3 grams divided into three doses.Note that when first starting to take beta-alanine, you may feel a small tingling sensation in the body because the nerves under the skin are being stimulated. Don't worry if you are feeling this way as it's actually a good sign that the supplement is doing its job.Also keep in mind that it typically takes about two weeks to start noticing good increases in performance, so if it's not immediately noticeable, don't give up on it too quickly.
Additionally, some people find that beta-alanine works well for increasing vasodilation as carnosine will also work as a precursor to nitric oxide synthase.
The Best Mix For Beta-Alanine
Just like creatine, beta-alanine seems to work best if it's taken with carbohydratesas well, due to the insulin spike that's created, speeding the uptake into the muscle cells.
So, if you're looking for a way to extend your workouts so you can train harder and accomplish more in each gym session, give beta-alanine some consideration. Fatigue is something that many individuals face, especially if you're currently dieting, therefore anything that can increase levels will definitely improve your ability to continue to make progress.
Gaining a better understanding of exactly what beta-alanine is though and how it works in the body will enable you to make sure you're maximizing its performance in your supplement regime.
Here is more information on what beta-alanine is, how to take it, and what advantages it's going to bring to your workouts.
What Beta-Alanine Is
Beta-alanine is one of the non-essential amino acids that is not easily consumed in the regular mixed diet of chicken, beef, whey, or fish. Due to this fact, it can make getting in your required dose slightly more difficult.
When it's ingested by the body, beta-alanine will get converted into carnosine, which will then serve the purpose of increasing your stamina, strength as well as muscle development.
For those who are heavy into their training, this will then enable them to train harder while they're in the gym, resulting in increased muscle gains as a direct result.
Furthermore, for those who are trying to do more metabolic type of workouts by decreasing the amount of rest they're taking between sets, this will also serve to help them recover more quickly between sets, therefore allowing them to increase the overall calorie burn and intensity during the workout.
How Beta-Alanine Works In The Body
Looking more specifically at what beta-alanine does in the body, we need to dig a bit more into its connection with carnosine. It is through beta-alanine's direct effect that carnosine really exerts its influence, so that is really the key to understanding this supplement.
Carnosine can be found in both the two different muscle types in the body, but has higher concentration in the type two fibers, which are going to be more directed towards maximum strength and intensity exercises.When high intensity exercise takes place though, our body begins to accumulate a large amount of hydrogen ions, which then causes the body to take on a more acid state. It's also this increase in hydrogen ions that will cause the lactic acid build-up in the body, which then will cause feelings of fatigue while exercising and may eventually cause exercise to cease entirely.If you're getting a large build-up of lactic acid in most of the workouts you're doing, this will be a limiting factor of your overall performance and over time, will definitely impact how quickly you see results.
Carnosine, when present in the body though, will work as an intracellular buffer, helping to stabilize the muscular pH and also soak up any additional hydrogen ions that are released while the exercise is taking place.The more carnosine that's present in your system then, the less chances you're going to suffer from high lactic acid levels.It is the supplementation of beta-alanine that will effectively boost your carnosine levels in the body, with greatest increases seen after twelve straight weeks of use.
Because of the fact that you cannot take carnosine straight by itself, choosing to supplement with beta-alanine instead is the best course of action.
Who Does Not Need Beta-Alanine
While supplementing with beta-alanine should help most individuals who are involved in exercise, endurance athletes who are training and performing with low to moderate exercise levels may not notice as great of effects simply due to the fact that their body will not be producing as much excess hydrogen ions so they won't have as great of a lactic acid build-up as other athletes.
Beta-Alanine Vs. Creatine
Many people often question whether beta-alanine would work better than creatine in terms of increasing the body's ability to tolerate exercise but it's important to note that they are doing opposite things here.
Creatine is working to ensure that you have sufficient ATP (high energy molecule that powers exercise) in the body, while beta-alanine essentially is making sure the environment for exercise stays favorable.
For this reason, it's actually in your best interest to take both supplements if possible.
How To Take Beta-Alanine
Typically, it's also recommend to do a bit of a loading phase with beta-alanine as well, starting with about 6 grams spread over two or three doses during the day for the first six days, and then progressing to the maintenance phase, taking in about 3 grams divided into three doses.Note that when first starting to take beta-alanine, you may feel a small tingling sensation in the body because the nerves under the skin are being stimulated. Don't worry if you are feeling this way as it's actually a good sign that the supplement is doing its job.Also keep in mind that it typically takes about two weeks to start noticing good increases in performance, so if it's not immediately noticeable, don't give up on it too quickly.
Additionally, some people find that beta-alanine works well for increasing vasodilation as carnosine will also work as a precursor to nitric oxide synthase.
The Best Mix For Beta-Alanine
Just like creatine, beta-alanine seems to work best if it's taken with carbohydratesas well, due to the insulin spike that's created, speeding the uptake into the muscle cells.
So, if you're looking for a way to extend your workouts so you can train harder and accomplish more in each gym session, give beta-alanine some consideration. Fatigue is something that many individuals face, especially if you're currently dieting, therefore anything that can increase levels will definitely improve your ability to continue to make progress.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Amazing Delts!
The Deltoid is a large, triangular shaped, 3-headed muscle which goes from the clavicle and the scapula at the back of the shoulder down to where it inserts in the upper arm. The basic function of the deltoid is to lift and rotate the arm. The 3 heads of the deltoid are the anterior (front), medial (side), and posterior (rear).
During the 1940's men often wore coats with pinched waists and huge, padded shoulders, to give them that "V" shape look. Coincidentally that's the look Bodybuilders work very hard to develop, and a major part of this look is wide, and very well developed shoulders.
One of the first bodybuilders to develop the classic V shape was Steve Reeves. He was able to create that look because of naturally wide shoulders and small waist. Shoulder width and deltoid development are two different things. An example would be Steve Reeves, who in spite of his width, was not particularly thick in his delts. On the other side would be Larry Scott whose narrow proportions were offset by his massive shoulder development.
Training the Deltoids
There are two kinds of exercises for the deltoids- straight arm raises, and presses.
Raises
Raises involve lifting the extended arm upward in an arc. Raises don't involve the triceps, but almost completely isolate the various heads of the deltoids. When doing raises do them really slow and controlled.
Presses-
In presses you begin with your arms bent, the weight around shoulder height, and press the weight straight up over head. Because you are straightening your arms, presses involve the triceps as well as the deltoids. At the top of the movement stop just short of lockout to help keep the triceps from doing too much of the work.
Arnold presses -
This is my favorite deltoid exercise, and has helped me add a lot of size and width to my shoulders. These work both the side and the front head with a longer range of motion. I started doing these 3 months ago and have seen amazing results. Start with the dumbbells up by your shoulders where they would be at the top of a dumbbell curl. press the weights up overhead-not quite to the point where they lockout, while rotating your hands so your palms face forward at the top of the movement. hold for a moment and lower the weights and rotate your hands back to the starting position.
Try to include a compound movement first, like barbell presses, and be sure to include laterals with dumbbells and or cables to hit the side head and bent over laterals for the rear head. Some other good shoulder exercises are Clean and press and smith machine presses. The smith presses should only be used for variety every once in awhile and should not replace the mass building barbell press. You can also include heavy upright rows in your shoulder routine which involve the traps as well as the shoulders. Cable laterals may also be used in place of the dumbbells.
Since the front deltoids are usually not a weak area for many people because they are involved in many other exercises, I have not included and front raises. If you do have a problem with them then I recommend adding in a few sets of front raises at the end of your workout. Also the rear deltoid which a lot of people have trouble with, may require some extra work.
Training the Traps
I have decided to include a little section on traps in this article also, since I, as well as many other people choose to train them on shoulder day. I like to get all the shoulder stuff out of the way, since the traps get used in a lot of other exercises too, then add in a few exercises for traps to finish off my workout. Since the traps get some work from the other shoulder exercises I find that 6-8 sets is enough.
Shrugs
The best exercise for the traps is the shrug. The basic barbell shrug is still the number one mass builder for this muscle. Start by holding a barbell loaded with lots of weight, about shoulder width apart. Now lean in a little so the bar doesn't touch your legs and try to touch your shoulders to your ears. Shrugs may also be done on the smith machine or with dumbbells.
Upright rows
Another exercise for traps is upright rows. I use them for variety sometimes, but i mainly stick with shrugs since upright rows don't stimulate as much muscle and the attention is divided between the traps and shoulders. These can also be done on smith machines or with cables.
During the 1940's men often wore coats with pinched waists and huge, padded shoulders, to give them that "V" shape look. Coincidentally that's the look Bodybuilders work very hard to develop, and a major part of this look is wide, and very well developed shoulders.
One of the first bodybuilders to develop the classic V shape was Steve Reeves. He was able to create that look because of naturally wide shoulders and small waist. Shoulder width and deltoid development are two different things. An example would be Steve Reeves, who in spite of his width, was not particularly thick in his delts. On the other side would be Larry Scott whose narrow proportions were offset by his massive shoulder development.
Training the Deltoids
There are two kinds of exercises for the deltoids- straight arm raises, and presses.
Raises
Raises involve lifting the extended arm upward in an arc. Raises don't involve the triceps, but almost completely isolate the various heads of the deltoids. When doing raises do them really slow and controlled.
Presses-
In presses you begin with your arms bent, the weight around shoulder height, and press the weight straight up over head. Because you are straightening your arms, presses involve the triceps as well as the deltoids. At the top of the movement stop just short of lockout to help keep the triceps from doing too much of the work.
Arnold presses -
This is my favorite deltoid exercise, and has helped me add a lot of size and width to my shoulders. These work both the side and the front head with a longer range of motion. I started doing these 3 months ago and have seen amazing results. Start with the dumbbells up by your shoulders where they would be at the top of a dumbbell curl. press the weights up overhead-not quite to the point where they lockout, while rotating your hands so your palms face forward at the top of the movement. hold for a moment and lower the weights and rotate your hands back to the starting position.
Try to include a compound movement first, like barbell presses, and be sure to include laterals with dumbbells and or cables to hit the side head and bent over laterals for the rear head. Some other good shoulder exercises are Clean and press and smith machine presses. The smith presses should only be used for variety every once in awhile and should not replace the mass building barbell press. You can also include heavy upright rows in your shoulder routine which involve the traps as well as the shoulders. Cable laterals may also be used in place of the dumbbells.
Since the front deltoids are usually not a weak area for many people because they are involved in many other exercises, I have not included and front raises. If you do have a problem with them then I recommend adding in a few sets of front raises at the end of your workout. Also the rear deltoid which a lot of people have trouble with, may require some extra work.
Training the Traps
I have decided to include a little section on traps in this article also, since I, as well as many other people choose to train them on shoulder day. I like to get all the shoulder stuff out of the way, since the traps get used in a lot of other exercises too, then add in a few exercises for traps to finish off my workout. Since the traps get some work from the other shoulder exercises I find that 6-8 sets is enough.
Shrugs
The best exercise for the traps is the shrug. The basic barbell shrug is still the number one mass builder for this muscle. Start by holding a barbell loaded with lots of weight, about shoulder width apart. Now lean in a little so the bar doesn't touch your legs and try to touch your shoulders to your ears. Shrugs may also be done on the smith machine or with dumbbells.
Upright rows
Another exercise for traps is upright rows. I use them for variety sometimes, but i mainly stick with shrugs since upright rows don't stimulate as much muscle and the attention is divided between the traps and shoulders. These can also be done on smith machines or with cables.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Ten Quick Tips To Build Mass
Muscle mass is the straw that stirs the drink in the sport of bodybuilding. Talk all you want about symmetry, shape and definition, but in the final analysis, muscle mass is the defining element of a physique. The mass building equation has three components: a correct diet strategy, hardcore training and high tech supplementation. It's not rocket science, but there are tricks to it, nonetheless.
To save you time and trouble, I've complied 10 tips to jump start anabolism and create a positive nitrogen balance - to pack on muscle mass, you need to take in more nitrogen via protein and training than you excrete through the natural metabolic process.
1. Emphasize The Negative
Muscle growth is the logical byproduct of muscle contraction. Much emphasis is placed on the concentric phase of a lift where the muscle shortens as it contracts. But the stretching of the muscle during the eccentric, or negative, phase where the muscle lengthens while maintaining tension can directly cause muscle hypertrophy, too. Emphasizing the negative is an easy technique to overload muscles and promote radical gains in mass.
2. Eat Fish
Fish containing higher amounts of fat - salmon, for instance - provide us with the ever popular omega-3 fatty acids. Why is this important? The omega-3s make the muscle more sensitive to insulin; hence, they fuel glycogen storage and amino acid entry into muscles while also preserving glutamine stores.
3. Increase Sodium Intake
I'm not kidding. Sodium is an essential mineral that is an absolute must for muscle growth. Sodium has a bad rap because it can cause water retention - anathema to contest ready bodybuilders. On the plus side, sodium enhances carbohydrate storage and amino acid absorption while also improving the muscle's responsiveness to insulin.
4. Stop All Aerobics
Aerobic exercise has a detrimental effect on mass building. Aerobics interfere with strength gains and recovery while burning up valuable glycogen and branched chain amino acids (BCAA). Adding mass is the best way to upgrade your resting metabolic rate (RMR); is the RMR is elevated, more calories are burned and it is easier to stay lean.
5. Lift Explosively
The amount of force a muscle generates is proportional to the amount of muscle growth you'll be able to create. Force is defined as mass (the weight you use) multiplied by acceleration (the speed at which you push a weight against resistance). To generate more force, then, progressively increase your poundages while lifting explosively - in this context, you actually increase speed during the second half of the rep.
6. Dramatically Increase Your Calories For Three Days
You will never achieve a positive nitrogen balance with a low calorie diet. It takes raw materials - carbs, protein and fats - to build new muscle mass and support recovery. Increasing your calories by 50% (from 3,0000 to 4,500 per day, for instance) for three days can spur growth while adding little if any bodyfat. The key is to limit the increased calories to a designated three day period; you'll be able to stimulate growth by improving muscle sensitivity to insulin and by providing more carbs for glycogen storage.
If you are in a overtrained state - and if you're not gaining any new muscle mass, this is probably the case - the additional calories will promote anabolism before fat storage is able to kick in. That's why you want to limit the 50% increase to a three day period. After that time, return to your typical intake of daily calories; you'll have stimulated new growth without adding unwanted fat.
7. Rest
Many bodybuilders are unable to pack on mass because they are always training and, therefore, always recovering from those grueling workouts. Taking a couple of days off can restore glycogen, increase anabolism and allow hormonal indexes such as testosterone and cortisol to return to optimal levels.
8. Eat In The Middle Of The Night
Anabolism depends on an excess of calories. As you are well aware, bodybuilders eat four to six times per day to increase the absorption of nutrients and to provide a steady influx of carbs, protein and fat. Expanding on the four to six meals per day plan is to include a protein drink in the middle of the night that can encourage additional growth.
9. Increase Strength Through Powerlifting
Your muscles respond to training in three ways. When you train with high reps (more than 15), there is an increase in endurance with no substantive improvement in size or strength. The six to twelve rep range - the range that all big bodybuilders rely on - promotes an increase in both size and strength. Powerlifters generally stay with low reps, two to four per set, which supplements strength with slight variances in size.
However, if you set aside one week of training to pile on the weights with low reps the subsequent improvement in strength will make you stronger when you return to the six to twelve rep routine. Here's the formula: More strength equals more tension on the muscle equals more growth.
10. Supplement With The Big Three: Glutamine, Creatine & BCAA
Glutamine is known as the immunity amino. If you are overly stressed from dieting or training, the immune system kicks in, releasing glutamine into the bloodstream. Having low levels of glutamine will inhibit muscle growth - that's why supplementing with glutamine is important.
Creatine is associate with added power and the ability to produce more adenosine triphosphate (ATP) - the chemical fuel source for training and growth. Supplementing with creatine allows bodybuilders to raise creatine levels in the muscle - therefore enhancing strength and ATP - without the unwanted fat that you'd be saddled with by getting all your creatine exclusively from food.
Branched chain amino acids act as a handy fuel source when glycogen stores are low. Adding BCAA to your nutritional program will increase your nitrogen balance while preventing the dreaded catabolic state that derives from overtraining or overdieting.
To save you time and trouble, I've complied 10 tips to jump start anabolism and create a positive nitrogen balance - to pack on muscle mass, you need to take in more nitrogen via protein and training than you excrete through the natural metabolic process.
1. Emphasize The Negative
Muscle growth is the logical byproduct of muscle contraction. Much emphasis is placed on the concentric phase of a lift where the muscle shortens as it contracts. But the stretching of the muscle during the eccentric, or negative, phase where the muscle lengthens while maintaining tension can directly cause muscle hypertrophy, too. Emphasizing the negative is an easy technique to overload muscles and promote radical gains in mass.
2. Eat Fish
Fish containing higher amounts of fat - salmon, for instance - provide us with the ever popular omega-3 fatty acids. Why is this important? The omega-3s make the muscle more sensitive to insulin; hence, they fuel glycogen storage and amino acid entry into muscles while also preserving glutamine stores.
3. Increase Sodium Intake
I'm not kidding. Sodium is an essential mineral that is an absolute must for muscle growth. Sodium has a bad rap because it can cause water retention - anathema to contest ready bodybuilders. On the plus side, sodium enhances carbohydrate storage and amino acid absorption while also improving the muscle's responsiveness to insulin.
4. Stop All Aerobics
Aerobic exercise has a detrimental effect on mass building. Aerobics interfere with strength gains and recovery while burning up valuable glycogen and branched chain amino acids (BCAA). Adding mass is the best way to upgrade your resting metabolic rate (RMR); is the RMR is elevated, more calories are burned and it is easier to stay lean.
5. Lift Explosively
The amount of force a muscle generates is proportional to the amount of muscle growth you'll be able to create. Force is defined as mass (the weight you use) multiplied by acceleration (the speed at which you push a weight against resistance). To generate more force, then, progressively increase your poundages while lifting explosively - in this context, you actually increase speed during the second half of the rep.
6. Dramatically Increase Your Calories For Three Days
You will never achieve a positive nitrogen balance with a low calorie diet. It takes raw materials - carbs, protein and fats - to build new muscle mass and support recovery. Increasing your calories by 50% (from 3,0000 to 4,500 per day, for instance) for three days can spur growth while adding little if any bodyfat. The key is to limit the increased calories to a designated three day period; you'll be able to stimulate growth by improving muscle sensitivity to insulin and by providing more carbs for glycogen storage.
If you are in a overtrained state - and if you're not gaining any new muscle mass, this is probably the case - the additional calories will promote anabolism before fat storage is able to kick in. That's why you want to limit the 50% increase to a three day period. After that time, return to your typical intake of daily calories; you'll have stimulated new growth without adding unwanted fat.
7. Rest
Many bodybuilders are unable to pack on mass because they are always training and, therefore, always recovering from those grueling workouts. Taking a couple of days off can restore glycogen, increase anabolism and allow hormonal indexes such as testosterone and cortisol to return to optimal levels.
8. Eat In The Middle Of The Night
Anabolism depends on an excess of calories. As you are well aware, bodybuilders eat four to six times per day to increase the absorption of nutrients and to provide a steady influx of carbs, protein and fat. Expanding on the four to six meals per day plan is to include a protein drink in the middle of the night that can encourage additional growth.
9. Increase Strength Through Powerlifting
Your muscles respond to training in three ways. When you train with high reps (more than 15), there is an increase in endurance with no substantive improvement in size or strength. The six to twelve rep range - the range that all big bodybuilders rely on - promotes an increase in both size and strength. Powerlifters generally stay with low reps, two to four per set, which supplements strength with slight variances in size.
However, if you set aside one week of training to pile on the weights with low reps the subsequent improvement in strength will make you stronger when you return to the six to twelve rep routine. Here's the formula: More strength equals more tension on the muscle equals more growth.
10. Supplement With The Big Three: Glutamine, Creatine & BCAA
Glutamine is known as the immunity amino. If you are overly stressed from dieting or training, the immune system kicks in, releasing glutamine into the bloodstream. Having low levels of glutamine will inhibit muscle growth - that's why supplementing with glutamine is important.
Creatine is associate with added power and the ability to produce more adenosine triphosphate (ATP) - the chemical fuel source for training and growth. Supplementing with creatine allows bodybuilders to raise creatine levels in the muscle - therefore enhancing strength and ATP - without the unwanted fat that you'd be saddled with by getting all your creatine exclusively from food.
Branched chain amino acids act as a handy fuel source when glycogen stores are low. Adding BCAA to your nutritional program will increase your nitrogen balance while preventing the dreaded catabolic state that derives from overtraining or overdieting.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
ZMA Info And Products
1. What is it and where does it come from?
ZMA is a scientifically designed anabolic mineral formula.* It contains Zinc Monomethionine Aspartate plus Magnesium Aspartate and vitamin B-6, and is an all-natural product that clinical testing suggests may significantly increase anabolic hormone levels and muscle strength in trained athletes.*
2. What does it do and what scientific studies give evidence to support this?
Don't get me started! There is a large body of scientific evidence supportive of ZMA. Zinc and Magnesium are commonly depleted from your body. Studies suggest that supplementing with 30mg of Zinc and 450mg of Magnesium per day can elevate testosterone levels.*
The most talked about study is the following. Lorrie Brilla, PhD, a sports performance researcher at Western Washington University, recently reported that ZMA significantly increase free testosterone levels and muscle strength in NCAA football players. These ZMA study results were presented by Dr. Brilla on June 2, 1999, at the 46th Annual Meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine in Seattle, WA, and were published in the official ACSM journal, Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, Vol. 31, No. 5, May 1999.
Specifically, Brilla reported that "a group of competitive NCAA football players who took ZMA nightly during an eight-week spring training program had 2.5 times greater muscle strength gains than a placebo group. (250% better results!) Pre and post leg strength measurements were made using a Biodex isokinetic dynamometer." The strength of the ZMA group increased by 11.6% compared to only a 4.6% increase in the placebo group.
Brilla further explained, "The muscle strength increases may have been mediated by the anabolic hormone increases in the ZMA group. The ZMA group had 30% increases in free and total testosterone levels compared to 10 percent decreases in the placebo group... The ZMA group also had a slight increase in insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) levels compared to a 20 percent decrease in the placebo group. This study shows that anabolic hormone and muscle strength increases can be induced in already strength-trained athletes by using a novel zinc-magnesium preparation."
Many other studies have shown the same results! No wonder bodybuilders around the world are seeing better gains than ever before. No question about it, ZMA has the scientific research and real-world anecdotal evidence to launch it to a level previously held only by creatine. And the NFL has taken notice!
Another benefit is better sleep. ZMA should be taken 30 - 60 minutes before bed. Most people notice they can fall asleep deeper and then sleep more deeply. Don't be surprised if you start having very vivid dreams while taking ZMA!
3. Who needs it and what are some symptoms of deficiency?
Any bodybuilder looking to gain strength, increase athletic performance, and muscle mass should consider taking ZMA. There have been many studies suggesting that most athletes are deficient in zinc, magnesium, and vitamin B-6. This is not a good thing for any athlete! The effect of zinc depletion on muscle function was tested on eight male subjects. This study suggested that muscle endurance, or total work capacity, declines rapidly with acute zinc depletion and the degree of the decline is correlated with the reduction in plasma zinc concentration.* Many other studies suggest that after participating in regular intense exercise athletes' levels of zinc and magnesium decreases deeply.
4. How much should be taken? Are there any side effects?
The dosage and proportion is very important. You can't just take a multi-vitamin to get these results. Most successful ZMA products have: Vitamin B6: 11mg, Magnesium: 450mg, Zinc: 30mg. This product is all-natural and there are no known side effects. It is safe for men and women.
ZMA is a scientifically designed anabolic mineral formula.* It contains Zinc Monomethionine Aspartate plus Magnesium Aspartate and vitamin B-6, and is an all-natural product that clinical testing suggests may significantly increase anabolic hormone levels and muscle strength in trained athletes.*
2. What does it do and what scientific studies give evidence to support this?
Don't get me started! There is a large body of scientific evidence supportive of ZMA. Zinc and Magnesium are commonly depleted from your body. Studies suggest that supplementing with 30mg of Zinc and 450mg of Magnesium per day can elevate testosterone levels.*
The most talked about study is the following. Lorrie Brilla, PhD, a sports performance researcher at Western Washington University, recently reported that ZMA significantly increase free testosterone levels and muscle strength in NCAA football players. These ZMA study results were presented by Dr. Brilla on June 2, 1999, at the 46th Annual Meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine in Seattle, WA, and were published in the official ACSM journal, Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, Vol. 31, No. 5, May 1999.
Specifically, Brilla reported that "a group of competitive NCAA football players who took ZMA nightly during an eight-week spring training program had 2.5 times greater muscle strength gains than a placebo group. (250% better results!) Pre and post leg strength measurements were made using a Biodex isokinetic dynamometer." The strength of the ZMA group increased by 11.6% compared to only a 4.6% increase in the placebo group.
Brilla further explained, "The muscle strength increases may have been mediated by the anabolic hormone increases in the ZMA group. The ZMA group had 30% increases in free and total testosterone levels compared to 10 percent decreases in the placebo group... The ZMA group also had a slight increase in insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) levels compared to a 20 percent decrease in the placebo group. This study shows that anabolic hormone and muscle strength increases can be induced in already strength-trained athletes by using a novel zinc-magnesium preparation."
Many other studies have shown the same results! No wonder bodybuilders around the world are seeing better gains than ever before. No question about it, ZMA has the scientific research and real-world anecdotal evidence to launch it to a level previously held only by creatine. And the NFL has taken notice!
Another benefit is better sleep. ZMA should be taken 30 - 60 minutes before bed. Most people notice they can fall asleep deeper and then sleep more deeply. Don't be surprised if you start having very vivid dreams while taking ZMA!
3. Who needs it and what are some symptoms of deficiency?
Any bodybuilder looking to gain strength, increase athletic performance, and muscle mass should consider taking ZMA. There have been many studies suggesting that most athletes are deficient in zinc, magnesium, and vitamin B-6. This is not a good thing for any athlete! The effect of zinc depletion on muscle function was tested on eight male subjects. This study suggested that muscle endurance, or total work capacity, declines rapidly with acute zinc depletion and the degree of the decline is correlated with the reduction in plasma zinc concentration.* Many other studies suggest that after participating in regular intense exercise athletes' levels of zinc and magnesium decreases deeply.
4. How much should be taken? Are there any side effects?
The dosage and proportion is very important. You can't just take a multi-vitamin to get these results. Most successful ZMA products have: Vitamin B6: 11mg, Magnesium: 450mg, Zinc: 30mg. This product is all-natural and there are no known side effects. It is safe for men and women.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
NO Nitric Oxide Info And Products
1. What is it and where does it come from?
Nitric Oxide is a free form gas that is produced in the body and is used by the body to communicate with other cells in the body. To produce this gas, enzymes in the body break down the amino acid Arginine.
Nitric Oxide is a molecule consisting of one atom of nitrogen and one atom of oxygen. The production of Nitric Oxide occurs when the amino acid L-arginine is converted into L-citruline through an enzyme group known as Nitric Oxide Synthase (NOS).
2. What does it do and what scientific studies give evidence to support this?
Despite the claims of some in the supplement industry, there exists ample scientific literature to suggest the efficacy of Nitric Oxide products. The following was written in May 1996 in a document prepared for the Royal Society and Association of British Science Writers:
"Summary research papers continue to flood the scientific journals and insights into the biological activity and potential clinical uses of nitric oxide (NO): a gas controlling a seemingly limitless range of functions in the body. Each revelation adds to nitric oxide's already lengthy resume in controlling the circulation of the blood, regulating activities of the brain, lungs, liver, kidneys, stomach and other organs."
The above quotation states that Nitric Oxide controls the circulation of blood, and transmits messages between nerve cells.
The fact that nitric oxide increases blood flow should make it of interest to bodybuilders, as increased blood flow will serve to deliver more nutrients to muscles, thus helping muscles become larger when subject to stress.*
Nitric oxide also affects the endocrine system. It affects the release of gonadotroptin releasing hormone, as well as the release of adrenaline from the adrenal medulla.*
3. Who needs it and what are some symptoms of deficiency?
Everyone REQUIRES nitric oxide to carry out key physiological processes within the body. From a bodybuilder's perspective, nitric oxide supplementation may prove useful in increasing growth due to increases in blood flow to certain areas of the body.*
Signs of deficiency include physical weakness and extreme fatigue. Most "nitric oxide" supplements contain the amino acid Arginine-alpha-keto-glutarate.
4. How much should be taken? Are there any side effects?
With any amino acid containing product, overdose is a possibility. Dosing with too much arginine can lead to diarrhea, weakness and nausea. Clear dosing guidelines have not been established, so it is best to do what is known as "tolerance mapping". Take a small dosage for one week, note the benefits and the side effects, and increase the dosage until the benefits are maximized and the side effects minimized. Over time the two will converge and you will hit the optimal dose. This process is similar to "receptor mapping" for bodybuilders who use insulin.
Many protein powders are fortified with amino acids, including arginine. With this in mind, pay particular attention to how much arginine you are ingesting from all supplements taken.
5. Where can I get it?
At the time of this writing, Pinnacle Brands makes NOx2. This product is very similar to the NO2 product made by MRI. IDS also make a similar product, NP2. With IDS's product, tribulus terrestris is also included. Tribulus is proven to increase testosterone levels.* The combination of tribulus and NO may prove incredibly effective.
Nitric Oxide is a free form gas that is produced in the body and is used by the body to communicate with other cells in the body. To produce this gas, enzymes in the body break down the amino acid Arginine.
Nitric Oxide is a molecule consisting of one atom of nitrogen and one atom of oxygen. The production of Nitric Oxide occurs when the amino acid L-arginine is converted into L-citruline through an enzyme group known as Nitric Oxide Synthase (NOS).
2. What does it do and what scientific studies give evidence to support this?
Despite the claims of some in the supplement industry, there exists ample scientific literature to suggest the efficacy of Nitric Oxide products. The following was written in May 1996 in a document prepared for the Royal Society and Association of British Science Writers:
"Summary research papers continue to flood the scientific journals and insights into the biological activity and potential clinical uses of nitric oxide (NO): a gas controlling a seemingly limitless range of functions in the body. Each revelation adds to nitric oxide's already lengthy resume in controlling the circulation of the blood, regulating activities of the brain, lungs, liver, kidneys, stomach and other organs."
The above quotation states that Nitric Oxide controls the circulation of blood, and transmits messages between nerve cells.
The fact that nitric oxide increases blood flow should make it of interest to bodybuilders, as increased blood flow will serve to deliver more nutrients to muscles, thus helping muscles become larger when subject to stress.*
Nitric oxide also affects the endocrine system. It affects the release of gonadotroptin releasing hormone, as well as the release of adrenaline from the adrenal medulla.*
3. Who needs it and what are some symptoms of deficiency?
Everyone REQUIRES nitric oxide to carry out key physiological processes within the body. From a bodybuilder's perspective, nitric oxide supplementation may prove useful in increasing growth due to increases in blood flow to certain areas of the body.*
Signs of deficiency include physical weakness and extreme fatigue. Most "nitric oxide" supplements contain the amino acid Arginine-alpha-keto-glutarate.
4. How much should be taken? Are there any side effects?
With any amino acid containing product, overdose is a possibility. Dosing with too much arginine can lead to diarrhea, weakness and nausea. Clear dosing guidelines have not been established, so it is best to do what is known as "tolerance mapping". Take a small dosage for one week, note the benefits and the side effects, and increase the dosage until the benefits are maximized and the side effects minimized. Over time the two will converge and you will hit the optimal dose. This process is similar to "receptor mapping" for bodybuilders who use insulin.
Many protein powders are fortified with amino acids, including arginine. With this in mind, pay particular attention to how much arginine you are ingesting from all supplements taken.
5. Where can I get it?
At the time of this writing, Pinnacle Brands makes NOx2. This product is very similar to the NO2 product made by MRI. IDS also make a similar product, NP2. With IDS's product, tribulus terrestris is also included. Tribulus is proven to increase testosterone levels.* The combination of tribulus and NO may prove incredibly effective.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
5 Supplements For Bodybuilding That Speed Results
As you get started on your workout program designed to help pack more lean muscle mass on your frame, you're going to want to also start paying attention to the foods you're eating on a daily basis, as well as any supplements you may choose to add to your diet regime. It's very essential that you do pay attention to these two aspects because what you do in the gym is only half of the equation.
After you have placed a stress on the muscle tissue, you then need to supply it with the resources in order to recover properly. If these resources are not supplied, you aren't going to be able to build the muscles up stronger than they were before, hence progress is not made.
With all the money that's been put into nutrition and supplement research, we now have a full spectrum of supplements that are available to us, all designed to boost the success we see with our bodybuilding workout programs.
If you're new to supplements, all the options can be a bit overwhelming. Here are some of the most common bodybuilding supplements, which would be a good place for you to start.
1. Protein Powder:
If there is one absolute requirement to build muscle mass, it's getting in enough protein. The amino acids that make up the protein we eat are the building blocks that form into individual muscle fibers, creating more muscle mass on your body.
When protein is not supplied in high enough amounts, the body will actually take protein from the muscle tissues and use it for other bodily functions since muscle building ranks in fairly low on the priority list for the body on the whole.
This is why it's critical you meet your needs because if you don't, it won't matter what you're doing in the gym, you'll actually be losing muscle rather than gaining it.
For some people meeting their protein needs becomes quite a challenge, which is where protein powder supplements come in. They are quick, convenient, and often more cost effective than meat choices, so they really make it much easier to get those amino acids into your day.
As an added benefit, taking protein powder before or after a workout will get absorbed into the muscle cells faster than solid food would, increasing the results you see from the workout.
2. Creatine:
The second bodybuilding supplement that can help you pack on muscle faster is creatine. By supplementing with creatine you will top off the stores of the high energy compound in the body that is responsible for creating muscular contractions, increasing the intensity of your workouts.
If you put in more effort at the gym because of the fact you are using the creatine, this then translates to better results.
The typical protocol is to load with 20 grams of creatine for the first five days when you initially begin taking it, and then move to a five gram per day dose for maintenance thereafter.
3. Glutamine:
Experiencing a fast recovery from your workout program is paramount to results, and glutamine is one of the supplements for bodybuilding that makes this possible.
Glutamine is one of the 20 amino acids in the body and research suggests that it may play a role in the healing time after injuries, surgery, or wounds (muscle breakdown through resistance training being classified in this group). Glutamine also plays a part in overall immune system health.
4. Weight Gainer Powder:
A fourth supplement for bodybuilding that many people will turn to in an effort to increase their results is a weight gain powder. These are similar to protein powder in that they are a quick way to get in more protein and supplement your regular meals with.
Where the difference between regular protein powder and weight gainer powder comes in is with the additional carbohydrate and fat calories added into the mixture.
Since those who are looking to build lean muscle mass must take in more calories than they require to maintain themselves, having these additional carbs and fats makes that much easier.
Men who are already at the higher end of the weight scales (180 pounds +) may really find it a struggle everyday to meet their weight gain calorie requirements, so utilizing a weight gainer makes it easier.
Some weight gainers are also specially formulated with special fat complexes that help you maintain leanness while building muscle, such as the one found in CytoSport's Muscle Milk Collegiate.
Be sure you do still work the calories in the weight gainer into your daily total because the calories count and must remain in balance.
5. Growth Hormone Boosters:
Finally, the fifth supplement for bodybuilding you may want to consider is one of the growth hormone boosters available. Growth hormone is a very powerful hormone that is produced naturally in the body that essentially drives muscle growth.
Males between the ages of eighteen to thirty tend to have the highest levels of growth hormones, and after that you'll see it slowly decline into older age.
This doesn't mean it completely drops off once you reach the older years, but it will not be present in the high concentrations you saw earlier in the body, which is demonstrated by the slower rate of muscle growth in this age range.
There are other natural ways you can go about increasing the growth hormone concentrations in the body such as making sure you get a good amount of sleep each and every night (concentrations are very high during the sleep period) as well as performing a weight lifting workout where you are lifting heavier weights and using appropriate rest periods.
After that though, individuals who feel they still would like a little boost to help increase muscle gains should consider looking into growth hormone supplements as these can help maximize the growth hormone release in the body over what you'd normally see.
After you have placed a stress on the muscle tissue, you then need to supply it with the resources in order to recover properly. If these resources are not supplied, you aren't going to be able to build the muscles up stronger than they were before, hence progress is not made.
With all the money that's been put into nutrition and supplement research, we now have a full spectrum of supplements that are available to us, all designed to boost the success we see with our bodybuilding workout programs.
If you're new to supplements, all the options can be a bit overwhelming. Here are some of the most common bodybuilding supplements, which would be a good place for you to start.
1. Protein Powder:
If there is one absolute requirement to build muscle mass, it's getting in enough protein. The amino acids that make up the protein we eat are the building blocks that form into individual muscle fibers, creating more muscle mass on your body.
When protein is not supplied in high enough amounts, the body will actually take protein from the muscle tissues and use it for other bodily functions since muscle building ranks in fairly low on the priority list for the body on the whole.
This is why it's critical you meet your needs because if you don't, it won't matter what you're doing in the gym, you'll actually be losing muscle rather than gaining it.
For some people meeting their protein needs becomes quite a challenge, which is where protein powder supplements come in. They are quick, convenient, and often more cost effective than meat choices, so they really make it much easier to get those amino acids into your day.
As an added benefit, taking protein powder before or after a workout will get absorbed into the muscle cells faster than solid food would, increasing the results you see from the workout.
2. Creatine:
The second bodybuilding supplement that can help you pack on muscle faster is creatine. By supplementing with creatine you will top off the stores of the high energy compound in the body that is responsible for creating muscular contractions, increasing the intensity of your workouts.
If you put in more effort at the gym because of the fact you are using the creatine, this then translates to better results.
The typical protocol is to load with 20 grams of creatine for the first five days when you initially begin taking it, and then move to a five gram per day dose for maintenance thereafter.
3. Glutamine:
Experiencing a fast recovery from your workout program is paramount to results, and glutamine is one of the supplements for bodybuilding that makes this possible.
Glutamine is one of the 20 amino acids in the body and research suggests that it may play a role in the healing time after injuries, surgery, or wounds (muscle breakdown through resistance training being classified in this group). Glutamine also plays a part in overall immune system health.
4. Weight Gainer Powder:
A fourth supplement for bodybuilding that many people will turn to in an effort to increase their results is a weight gain powder. These are similar to protein powder in that they are a quick way to get in more protein and supplement your regular meals with.
Where the difference between regular protein powder and weight gainer powder comes in is with the additional carbohydrate and fat calories added into the mixture.
Since those who are looking to build lean muscle mass must take in more calories than they require to maintain themselves, having these additional carbs and fats makes that much easier.
Men who are already at the higher end of the weight scales (180 pounds +) may really find it a struggle everyday to meet their weight gain calorie requirements, so utilizing a weight gainer makes it easier.
Some weight gainers are also specially formulated with special fat complexes that help you maintain leanness while building muscle, such as the one found in CytoSport's Muscle Milk Collegiate.
Be sure you do still work the calories in the weight gainer into your daily total because the calories count and must remain in balance.
5. Growth Hormone Boosters:
Finally, the fifth supplement for bodybuilding you may want to consider is one of the growth hormone boosters available. Growth hormone is a very powerful hormone that is produced naturally in the body that essentially drives muscle growth.
Males between the ages of eighteen to thirty tend to have the highest levels of growth hormones, and after that you'll see it slowly decline into older age.
This doesn't mean it completely drops off once you reach the older years, but it will not be present in the high concentrations you saw earlier in the body, which is demonstrated by the slower rate of muscle growth in this age range.
There are other natural ways you can go about increasing the growth hormone concentrations in the body such as making sure you get a good amount of sleep each and every night (concentrations are very high during the sleep period) as well as performing a weight lifting workout where you are lifting heavier weights and using appropriate rest periods.
After that though, individuals who feel they still would like a little boost to help increase muscle gains should consider looking into growth hormone supplements as these can help maximize the growth hormone release in the body over what you'd normally see.
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