The time after your workout is the most important time in which you can actually make a difference to your body. This is generally referred to as the 'window period' or the 'window of opportunity' when your body is asking for nutrition and is ready to instantaneously suck up almost everything. However understanding what are the needs of your body and providing it with the right kind of nutrition is the key.
WHAT TO EAT :
After a long intense workout or any form of exercise for that matter, your body is depleted of glycogen and hence energy. The energy sapped muscles are torn and are looking to repair themselves. Thus your body needs two primary constituents Carbs and Proteins post workout. Often carbs are neglected and people stress too much on proteins as a primary meal post exercise, carbs are very important. If your post workout meal doesn't contain carbs, your body may actually instead break down muscle tissue for this same purpose. That is not exactly what you are looking for.
Proteins help in repairing and rebuilding the muscle tissues. one component that should be avoided in this window period is FAT. The reason being fat digest very slowly, and your body needs nutrition almost immediately. If you consume Fat alongwith carbs and protein, this fat will slow the digestion of carbs and protein as well, hence glycogen levels will not be replenished soon enough and muscle repair will not happen effectively.
TYPES OF FOOD:
Include food items which are rich in protein and carbs but at the same time are easy to digest. Egg whites are part of my every meal during the day except this for the very simple reason that though they are rich in protein, they don't settle down that quickly. Similarly taking complex carbs in form of brown bread, oats is not a very good idea. For carbs, one needs dextrose(a kind of sugar) to spike up your insulin level. By providing an insulin spike, carbs provide the body with an excellent transport system for the nutrients to reach the muscle cells.The simplest way I find is to have a couple of spoons of Glucose in water. You can also replace this with fresh fruit juice. Again for protein, going for something that is readily digestible is a good idea. For my immediate nutrition, I carry my whey protein mixed with glucose. Remember liquids are easily digested as compared to whole foods, so a banana and an apple blended in low fat milk is better than eating a whole banana and apple.
RIGHT TIME TO EAT:
As discussed above, the body is in need of immediate nutrition. However that doesn't mean you take your meal the moment you step off from your cardio machine or drop your dumb bells. Allow your heart rate to settle down before gulping down that replenishing muscle building nutrition.
It is said that the next 30 mins after your exercise is the time when your body is most prone to infections due to production of destructive hormones, cortisol. Hence it becomes all the more important to eat and eat good in this window.
TRAIN HARD, EAT HARDER
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Sunday, September 5, 2010
MAINTAINING YOUR WEIGHT
One of the common problems that we see and find is people find it hard to maintain their lost weight. The motivation to loss weight usually takes them to their aimed weight level but less than 10% people are able to maintain that over time. The primary reason being going on drastic diets/workouts which are not natural to be continued over longer periods of time. It needs extra levels of motivation to be continue there always.
However following a few simple steps, one can keep a check on his/her weight.
1. DAILY ACTIVITY: Increase your total daily activity level. Try to include physical activities in your daily schedule such as exercise and sports. Even if you cannot be regular on exercise, brisk walking is as good a workout to maintain weight.
2. CUTTING BACK ON SEDENTARY ACTIVITIES: Cut back on your activities which involve little physical movements such as watching TV, computer etc. One thing that often goes unnoticed with such activities is the untimely food and drinks that goes along with it.
3. WEIGHT TRAINING: Weight training is as important as your cardio even in the maintenance phase. Doing weights increases your metabolism in general and hence your weight can be kept in check. Try to keep a track of what you eat and your workout routine. Maintain a record of your weight every week and see if your diet and workout is keeping you on the right track.
It's important to be motivated all the time and make use of whatever little time one has at his/her disposal for exercising. Maintaining a positive attitude is the key to your weight loss and maintenance.
However following a few simple steps, one can keep a check on his/her weight.
1. DAILY ACTIVITY: Increase your total daily activity level. Try to include physical activities in your daily schedule such as exercise and sports. Even if you cannot be regular on exercise, brisk walking is as good a workout to maintain weight.
2. CUTTING BACK ON SEDENTARY ACTIVITIES: Cut back on your activities which involve little physical movements such as watching TV, computer etc. One thing that often goes unnoticed with such activities is the untimely food and drinks that goes along with it.
3. WEIGHT TRAINING: Weight training is as important as your cardio even in the maintenance phase. Doing weights increases your metabolism in general and hence your weight can be kept in check. Try to keep a track of what you eat and your workout routine. Maintain a record of your weight every week and see if your diet and workout is keeping you on the right track.
It's important to be motivated all the time and make use of whatever little time one has at his/her disposal for exercising. Maintaining a positive attitude is the key to your weight loss and maintenance.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Mr. OLYMPIA 2010
The biggest showdown in the world of body of building is coming this month. The event is scheduled to take place on Sep24-25 at Las Vegas.
Ronnie Coleman has already announced his decision to come out of retirement and compete at this years Mr. Olympia. Current champion Jay Cutler remains the man to beat. Dexter Jackson will be gunning to avenge last year's defeat while Branch Warren will be looking to improve upon the last year's performance. This years event has all the making of a great battle between world's top body builders.
Stay Tuned...It doesn't get any bigger than this!!!
THE BIG RON
DEXTER JACKSON
BRANCH WARREN
JAY CUTLER - the defending champ
Ronnie Coleman has already announced his decision to come out of retirement and compete at this years Mr. Olympia. Current champion Jay Cutler remains the man to beat. Dexter Jackson will be gunning to avenge last year's defeat while Branch Warren will be looking to improve upon the last year's performance. This years event has all the making of a great battle between world's top body builders.
Stay Tuned...It doesn't get any bigger than this!!!
THE BIG RON
DEXTER JACKSON
BRANCH WARREN
JAY CUTLER - the defending champ
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Super Setting 3
Apart from the two types of supersetting techniques discussed in previous two posts, there is another type of supersetting. This is basically a staggered technique in which you super set muscles not related to other. This helps in doing both the muscles at effectively the same intensity and you finish your workout in a short time.
e.g: Combine a upper body workout with lower body. Refer to the video below to have a better idea:
e.g: Combine a upper body workout with lower body. Refer to the video below to have a better idea:
Saturday, August 28, 2010
SUPERSETTING - PART 2
Continuing with the previous post, supersetting can also be performed with antagonist muscle approach. This is in sharp contrast to the previous methodology where we discussed about supersetting same muscle group.
When you do two exercises in a row for the same muscle group, it tends to significantly limit the amount of weight you can use because of fatigue. Pairing opposing (antagonistic) muscle groups together can help you keep your strength up because as one muscle is working, the opposite one is resting. Common examples include pairing biceps with triceps, chest with back, or hamstrings with quadriceps.
This is also an excellent technique for developing better muscle balance. For example, many people overwork the pushing exercises like bench press, while neglecting the pulling exercises like rows. By using antagonistic (push-pull) supersets. You assure a good balance between these opposing muscle groups.
Some examples:
Dumbbell Curls + Tricep extensions
Leg Press + Lying Leg Curl
Bench Press + Seated Cable Row
One thing that must be kept while performing supersets is that one might lose power and muscles might fail instantaneously in the second exercise, specially if that is a compound exercise. Hence it is advisable to have a partner or a trainer watching your back while you perform your supersets. Finally if your training program is getting stale, supersets can also help relieve your boredom. Best of all, supersetting is a legitimate way to get more results in less time.
When you do two exercises in a row for the same muscle group, it tends to significantly limit the amount of weight you can use because of fatigue. Pairing opposing (antagonistic) muscle groups together can help you keep your strength up because as one muscle is working, the opposite one is resting. Common examples include pairing biceps with triceps, chest with back, or hamstrings with quadriceps.
This is also an excellent technique for developing better muscle balance. For example, many people overwork the pushing exercises like bench press, while neglecting the pulling exercises like rows. By using antagonistic (push-pull) supersets. You assure a good balance between these opposing muscle groups.
Some examples:
Dumbbell Curls + Tricep extensions
Leg Press + Lying Leg Curl
Bench Press + Seated Cable Row
One thing that must be kept while performing supersets is that one might lose power and muscles might fail instantaneously in the second exercise, specially if that is a compound exercise. Hence it is advisable to have a partner or a trainer watching your back while you perform your supersets. Finally if your training program is getting stale, supersets can also help relieve your boredom. Best of all, supersetting is a legitimate way to get more results in less time.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
SUPERSETTING - PART 1
For all the guys who are gym goers, they probably understand what is meant by supersetting. However, one might not have fully explored the benefits that supersetting can help you reap out of your workout. Conventional weight training invovles "straight sets." A straight set consists of a series of nonstop repetitions, usually somewhere between 6 and 12, followed by a rest interval of one to two minutes. A superset, on the other hand, is an advanced training technique where you perform two exercises in a row with virtually no rest in between exercises.
If you perform two exercises back to back, it is quite obvious that the weight in the second exercise is going to be less then if you had performed that exercise separately. Since the muscle didn't get sufficient time to recover, strength is bound to be less for te second exercise and subsequently lesser for further supersets.
Super setting can be done in more than one way, the most common among them is SUPERSETTING SAME MUSCLE GROUP. In this post, we will discuss the above mentioned type. The most common type to super set is super setting same muscle group. An example would be supersetting bench presses with dumbbell flyes.
HOwever we can further disintegrate this supersetting technique into four techniques.
1. ISOLATION + COMPOUND
2. COMPOUND + ISOLATION
3. COMPOUND + COMPOUND
4. ISOLATION + ISOLATION
Isolation exercises involves concentrating on isolated muscle groups while compound exercises involve more than one muscle group.
1. ISOLATION + COMPOUND : In this technique, you perform an isolcation exercise first followed immediately by a compound movement exercise. The idea behind is to pre exhaust the primary muscle group, and then perform the compound movement to blast the fatigues muscle with the help of other muscle group. e.g: Performing a dumble fly involved pecks, and then following it up with bench press, you can further stress your pecks with the help of shoulder muscles, and hence induce growth.
Some examples;
a. Dumbell Fly + Bench/Inclined Press
b. Leg Extension + Squat
c. D/B lateral raise + shoulder press
d. Tricep extension + bench dips
2. COMPOUND + ISOLATION: This is the exact opposite of the above technique. The benefit of this method is that you can usually go for more poundages in the compound exercise, giving more pump and a more satisfying feeling.
Some examples:
a. Squat/leg extension + Leg extension
b. B/B shoulder press + front/lateral raises
c. bench press + cable cross over
3. COMPOUND + COMPOUND: This technique is very taxing on the body and it is likely to leave one exhausted. Going with havey poundage in both the exercises, can cause faitgue pretty rapidly, and at the same time induce muscle growth like no workout before.
Some examples:
a. Bench Press + Pushups
b. Squat + Leg press
3. B/B curl + D/b curls
4. ISOLATION + ISOLATION: This technique is mainly used by proefessionals prior to a competition when they are going for definition.This is a useful technique for focusing on one particular muscle group or section of a muscle group to the exclusion of others.
some examples:
a. Dumbell fly + cable cross over
b. tricep pushdown + dumbbell kickback
More to follow on superset training.
If you perform two exercises back to back, it is quite obvious that the weight in the second exercise is going to be less then if you had performed that exercise separately. Since the muscle didn't get sufficient time to recover, strength is bound to be less for te second exercise and subsequently lesser for further supersets.
Super setting can be done in more than one way, the most common among them is SUPERSETTING SAME MUSCLE GROUP. In this post, we will discuss the above mentioned type. The most common type to super set is super setting same muscle group. An example would be supersetting bench presses with dumbbell flyes.
HOwever we can further disintegrate this supersetting technique into four techniques.
1. ISOLATION + COMPOUND
2. COMPOUND + ISOLATION
3. COMPOUND + COMPOUND
4. ISOLATION + ISOLATION
Isolation exercises involves concentrating on isolated muscle groups while compound exercises involve more than one muscle group.
1. ISOLATION + COMPOUND : In this technique, you perform an isolcation exercise first followed immediately by a compound movement exercise. The idea behind is to pre exhaust the primary muscle group, and then perform the compound movement to blast the fatigues muscle with the help of other muscle group. e.g: Performing a dumble fly involved pecks, and then following it up with bench press, you can further stress your pecks with the help of shoulder muscles, and hence induce growth.
Some examples;
a. Dumbell Fly + Bench/Inclined Press
b. Leg Extension + Squat
c. D/B lateral raise + shoulder press
d. Tricep extension + bench dips
2. COMPOUND + ISOLATION: This is the exact opposite of the above technique. The benefit of this method is that you can usually go for more poundages in the compound exercise, giving more pump and a more satisfying feeling.
Some examples:
a. Squat/leg extension + Leg extension
b. B/B shoulder press + front/lateral raises
c. bench press + cable cross over
3. COMPOUND + COMPOUND: This technique is very taxing on the body and it is likely to leave one exhausted. Going with havey poundage in both the exercises, can cause faitgue pretty rapidly, and at the same time induce muscle growth like no workout before.
Some examples:
a. Bench Press + Pushups
b. Squat + Leg press
3. B/B curl + D/b curls
4. ISOLATION + ISOLATION: This technique is mainly used by proefessionals prior to a competition when they are going for definition.This is a useful technique for focusing on one particular muscle group or section of a muscle group to the exclusion of others.
some examples:
a. Dumbell fly + cable cross over
b. tricep pushdown + dumbbell kickback
More to follow on superset training.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
FACE FAT
People often want to lose fat or not lose fat at specific parts of the body. e.g: while a person may want to loose belly fat, you often come across people who have chubby cheeks and want to lose fat from there. However, spot reduction/addition of fat is practically impossible. The body gains and loses in a uniform way.
When a person starts getting lean, the face changes too. Your face starts to look less round and your jawline and cheekbones become more prominent. This drawn out look often gives an impression to onlookers if you actually eat something or not.
You lose face fat the same way you lose any other fat - by establishing a caloric deficit through nutrition and training and getting your overall body fat percentage down. For people, willing to lose face fat, the good news is, face fat is actually the opposite of stubborn abdominal fat - in the sense that for most people it is the first people from where fat disappears.
On the other hand, people who already have thin faces actually do not want to lose fat off their face. During my weight loss, i was often criticized that i was getting too lean and looked emaciated, including in the face. As your body fat gets very low, some people really do start to look gaunt and the cheeks look "sucked in".
To minimize this gaunt look in an extremely lean body, one should keep fluid intake high and carb intake adequate as low carb diets have a diuretic effect. One should also also avoid over training, prolonged periods of very low calorie/low carb dieting, sleep deprivation and overall life stress, because these factors will probably add to the "tired" look in the face.
At the same time, i would suggest don't get mislead by people's comments and leave your goal unfinished. It's true that in quest for a ripped mid section, we might end up looking a lot leaner in the face, but maintaining a healthy lifestyle with lot of water intake may actually work for you in the longer run.
When a person starts getting lean, the face changes too. Your face starts to look less round and your jawline and cheekbones become more prominent. This drawn out look often gives an impression to onlookers if you actually eat something or not.
You lose face fat the same way you lose any other fat - by establishing a caloric deficit through nutrition and training and getting your overall body fat percentage down. For people, willing to lose face fat, the good news is, face fat is actually the opposite of stubborn abdominal fat - in the sense that for most people it is the first people from where fat disappears.
On the other hand, people who already have thin faces actually do not want to lose fat off their face. During my weight loss, i was often criticized that i was getting too lean and looked emaciated, including in the face. As your body fat gets very low, some people really do start to look gaunt and the cheeks look "sucked in".
To minimize this gaunt look in an extremely lean body, one should keep fluid intake high and carb intake adequate as low carb diets have a diuretic effect. One should also also avoid over training, prolonged periods of very low calorie/low carb dieting, sleep deprivation and overall life stress, because these factors will probably add to the "tired" look in the face.
At the same time, i would suggest don't get mislead by people's comments and leave your goal unfinished. It's true that in quest for a ripped mid section, we might end up looking a lot leaner in the face, but maintaining a healthy lifestyle with lot of water intake may actually work for you in the longer run.
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