Search

Posts Tagged ‘nutrition’

Tips For Successful Teenage Bodybuilding

by Ricardo d Argence

It’s more and more common to see bodybuilders who are still in their teens. Getting into shape and building muscle is a good thing no matter how young or old you are ” and there’s no better time than your teens to take up weight training as long as you do it right. Teens are still developing, so they have different needs than adult body builders, particularly when it comes to nutrition. Just like adults, teenagers need adequate rest, a proper diet and careful training to prevent injury.

Teenagers have stores of energy that the rest of us marvel at, and these energy stores actually cause trouble in a body building routine. Teens can go for hours and never seem to tire, because of this many will work out for hours on end focusing on one set of muscles.

The thought is that more is better; however, in weight training nothing is further from the truth. A rounded workout in which all muscle groups are worked equally is better. Once a muscle has reached a certain point there is no need to strain it further, in fact you can actually reverse your progress or worse yet cause injury.

Start off with lighter weights and advance as your body becomes accustomed to lifting. Don’t try to show off by going immediately for the heaviest weight you can find. Start small and work your way up as you go.

To many times nutrition is neglected in favor of massive amounts of supplements. While supplements can be helpful in moderation eating the right quantities of protein and fiber are more important. You see when you are training you are actually tearing the muscles and in order to heal properly and build they need proper nutrition.

Proper hydration is also neglected by many young body builders. The human body is about 70% water and relies on adequate hydration to function properly ” and this definitely includes muscle tissue!

The recommendation of eight 8-ounce glasses of water per day is merely a starting point, when you are training you should increase your water intake considerably. Your joints and vital organs will thank you, plus you will increase the success of your work out.

While we’re on the subject of things neglected by teenage bodybuilders, let’s talk about sleep. It’s while you sleep that testosterone and the important growth hormone IGF-1 is released. It’s also when your body repairs itself and rejuvenates for another day ” make sure to get an adequate amount of sleep every night.

It is not enough to hit the gym hard every day to build muscles. You need a balanced approach for steady growth. This can hard to do for a generation who is used to getting what they want right now, but for long term success and to prevent injury this is the only way.

You can start weight training now and if you are into major physical sports like football it is imperative that you have a strong healthy body. Simply follow the tips above and you can have a safe productive work out.

About the Author:
Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • NewsVine
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • Twitter
  • Technorati
  • Live
  • LinkedIn
  • MySpace

Boost Your Metabolism Naturally with Supplements

by Thong M. Dao

Your body is a surprising mechanism. Most of the time, we are not even aware of the fact that our body is functioning and doing as many tasks as it is at one time. It is certainly something that we take for granted too often in our lives.

For those of us with poor health, our bodies are forever on our minds. It would be a more sensible idea to make sure that we take care of ourselves everyday before something goes bad than to try and correct it once it does.

Staying fit and making certain that you are not carrying too much fat is a crucial thing to many people. Unfortunately, it is also something that is very tough to achieve in the busy lives that most people follow. That’s not to say we can’t do it.

For example, to ensure maximum assistance for our body we can keep our metabolism up at optimal levels. This can be achieved by eating right, getting exercise or taking supplements. Each of them will work and you can try a combination.

The intake of supplements to raise your metabolism is relatively easy. There are lots of supplements out there which help in firing up our metabolism and to keep it running well for us throughout the day.

The most important thing is that you pick out something that is 100% natural so you will not damage the body during the process. Using man made chemicals to alter the way your body works is really not a good idea from the start.

Although there are a lot of different supplements which can increase our metabolism, one of the most recommended is green tea. You can take it either in naturally brewed form, or concentrated tablet form.

Green tea has various natural elements which can keep our metabolic process functioning smoothly as well as some which work as an antioxidant. In order to see the effects in the shortest period of time, use this natural supplement every day as recommended.

About the Author:
Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • NewsVine
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • Twitter
  • Technorati
  • Live
  • LinkedIn
  • MySpace

Eating to Build Muscle in an Overall Bodybuilding Program

by Harley Radowski

Ensuring that you give your body the fuel it needs to build muscle is an important part of bodybuilding. Eating to build muscle is just as important as your weight lifting program or other bodybuilding routines.

Lifting weights forces your muscles to work hard, and can also cause minor injury to muscles. Although those injuries can heal very quickly, eating the right foods that build muscle can really speed up the process. Food supplies fuel that the body needs, and the right food can do wonders.

Food that helps build muscle ? what it is? Well, to begin with, protein. Protein is probably the most important nutritional component in a muscle building program. You probably thought the most important component was cutting out fat, in order to reduce your body fat, didn’t you? Well, it is not. Protein is essential. Without protein, your body withers away to nothing. So make sure you include protein foods that build muscle such as chicken, lean beef, eggs, fish (don’t like fresh fish? Try canned tuna ?it’s perfect), and cheese.

Finding out how much protein to eat when you are interested in building muscle fast is actually not difficult. First, you will need to find out your lean body mass weight in kilos, and then you simply multiply that figure by 2.75 to determine your daily protein requirement. Calculating your lean body mass uses some complex formulae, so ask a professional at the gym if you do not already have this figure.

Foods that build muscle include carbohydrates. Many uninformed people believe that all carbs should be eliminated in order to obtain a fit, lean body. Nothing could be further from the truth. So long as the carbohydrates you ingest include plenty of fibre, carbs will contribute to building muscle mass ? not body fat. Great carbohydrate based foods include rice, oatmeal, bananas and other types of fruit such as apples and pears.

Reducing fat in your diet is of course necessary to build bigger muscle on a body that appears lean and has a low body fat ratio. If you are focussing on what foods build muscle mass, you also need to bear in mind that it pays to reduce fat as well. Although proteins are essential (as we talked about earlier), it is really important to select proteins that are low in fat, or that you can cut the fat off. So eat your chicken without the skin, and go for lean steaks rather than more fatty cuts of meat. Opting for cottage cheese or other reduced fat cheeses, and low fat milk also helps reduce your fat intake.

Drinking sufficient water with your meals, between meals, and while you are working out is also very important. Without sufficient water you will dehydrate, and you will be tired and lacking in energy, which gives no assistance at all to building your muscle with the right type of food.

Drinking 8 to 10 glasses of water a day (even 12 glasses) is absolutely essential to allow your body to properly digest all the good food you are eating. For those who just cannot stomach the taste (or lack of taste) of so much water, other types of liquid although not quite as good are still acceptable as water substitutes ? fruit juice and even soft drinks can suffice as long as you (preferably) drink some of your liquid intake in water form.

Foods that build muscle are one of the two essential components to having the body of your dreams. The other component is your weight training program or other type of bodybuilding workouts that you engage in regularly. Just because you have found foods that build muscle does not mean you can start to slack off with your weight training.

About the Author:
Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • NewsVine
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • Twitter
  • Technorati
  • Live
  • LinkedIn
  • MySpace

Is Hoodia Gordonii the Weight Loss Miracle You Were Waiting For?

by Ricardo d Argence

Hoodia Gordonii is a desert plant native to the southern regions of Africa. It has been used as an herbal remedy for centuries in folk medicine. It has been used as an apetite suppressant on long hunts in the desett and the indigenous peoples of the area have used the herb to treat indigestion and to flight.

In the west and has since been made a part of many natural weight loss schemes and this last use of Hoodia Gordonii has gained a lot of attention.

Only a few companies have been allowed to produce it for that purpose due primarily to restrictions on cultivating the plant for mass production, since the early research into the weight loss benefits of Hoodia Gordoni in 1977.

While there have not been any published testing that reveals that Hoodia Gordonii suppresses appetites in humans, it has been used for this purpose in indigenous history and similar effects have been seen in animal testing.

Early research into the way the plant works and how to market it for weight loss were halted due to the expense and complexity of synthesizing the component in Hoodia Gordonii that triggers the appetite suppression response in the body.

This plant is nearly extinct so, it may become extinct if use and cultivation of the plant is not strictly monitored.

Hoodia Gordonii is believed by many people to be able to decrease your appetite, but the dosage required to accomplish this is actually larger than most websites have reported.

The herb also works best in a carbohydrate-controlled diet and a stable blood sugar level, as the plant does not react in the same way with a diet of simple sugars and refined carbohydrates. As with any herbal remedy, you need to take just the right amount, three times daily for an extended period of time to see results.

It would be unwise to think that you can just take excessive doses of Hoodia Gordonii and lose weight. Herbal remedies take time to work, and this one in particular works in conjunction with the kinds of foods you eat. As a result, even those considering Hoodia Gordonii as a part of their weight loss plan need to include it as a part of an overall diet and exercise routine.

Waarning: Use cation as you would any medication when taking Hoodia Gordonii, consuming large amounts can lead to illness. Also, if you are only using Hoodia Gordonii you will not get the results of exercise and diet.

About the Author:
Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • NewsVine
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • Twitter
  • Technorati
  • Live
  • LinkedIn
  • MySpace

How to Prevent Colorectal Cancer With a Good Diet

by Michael Byrd

Colorectal Cancer prevention and diet really have a lot in common.

As you all know, our colon and rectum are the ones responsible for the nutrient absorption, water management and elimination of wastes.

You don’t need a scientist to specifically tell you that garbage in is equivalent to garbage out. Let us hear what these experts have to say regarding this matter.

In the studies of colorectal cancer prevention and diet, it has discovered that red and processed meats were its major contributor. Unfortunately, many doctors in France were not convinced with its “existing evidence” and decided to do a more comprehensive study.

There were 478,040 men and women in a span of nearly five years that they followed before they have concluded that red and processed meat were a positive cause for colon cancer, adding that eating fish would reduce a person’s risk. [Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Vol. 15;97:906-16]

This is not the only available research involving omega 3 oil, explaining that fish is a factor in reducing colorectal cancer.

Doctors that were associated with New York University Women’s Health Study monitored 14,727 women for 7 years. They have found “a progressive decline in the risk for colorectal cancer by increasing intake of fish and shellfish.”

Adding more to that, there was also a similar decline in the risk for women who are inversely proportionate to the amount of calcium they consumed. Frankly speaking, women who ate most calcium are likely to have the lowest risk.

But, they were not that confident about the red meat connection to the colorectal cancer as how our friends in France were. Actually, the doctors in NYU said that, the issue of associated of red meat to colorectal cancer “remains unclear.” [Nutrition & Cancer, Vol. 28:276-81]

Also, a study out of Harvard suggests that it’s not the read meat and fats which causes the problem but our “western” lifestyle itself.

It was mentioned that obesity, being physically inactive, a person who has a diet how in vegetables and fruits while high in red meat and processed goods contributes most in giving you high levels of insulin in the blood!

It was explained by researchers that elevated blood insulin “promotes colon carcinogenesis” because insulin is a “growth factor” which causes cellular divisions of epithelial cells in the colon. [Cancer Causes & Control, Vol. 6, No. 2:164-79]

Now, what are we to do about colorectal cancer prevention and with the diet? It’s just easy as pie.

You just need to stick with whole foods. This includes lots of vegetables, fresh fruit, whole grains and other fiber rich foods. Always use unprocessed oils, like extra virgin olive oil, lean meats that are mostly, fish and chicken, then again, an occasional T-bone won’t hurt. Be sure you always get low fat dairy foods, and plenty of pure water.

The studies suggests that it is very important to cut way back on alcohol, start practicing stress management and be sure to exercise on a regular basis.

By these guideless, it won’t just reduce the risk for colorectal cancer but to other types of cancer, heart diseases and diabetes too. This will also improve your vim, vigor and your vitality.

About the Author:
Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • NewsVine
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • Twitter
  • Technorati
  • Live
  • LinkedIn
  • MySpace