Body Part Isolation vs. Complex Movements in Strength Training

What you need to know about Weight Training for a strong lean body that both looks good and is injury resistant

by Mike Geary, Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Nutrition Specialist
Author, The Truth about 6-Pack Abs

Working as a personal trainer & fitness professional, there is one type of question I get all the time that shows that many people are missing the big picture regarding the benefits of strength training. This popular question usually goes something like this:

“What exercise can I do to isolate my _______ (insert your muscle of choice – abs, quads, biceps, triceps, etc)?”

It doesn’t matter which muscle someone is asking about, they always seem to be asking how to ‘isolate’ it. My first response to this question is always – “Why in the world would you want to isolate it?”

The first thing I try to teach my clients is that the body does not work well in muscle isolation. Rather, it works better in movements along a kinetic chain; that is, large portions of the body assist other portions of the body in completing a complex movement. In fact, there really is no such thing as true muscle isolation. There is almost always a nearby muscle group that will assist in some way with whatever movement you are doing. However, this article compares attempting to ‘isolate’ body parts via single-joint exercises to the much more effective strategy of performing multi-joint complex movements.

When you attempt to ‘isolate’ muscles by performing single-joint exercises, you are actually creating a body that is non-functional and will be more prone to injury. Essentially, you are creating a body that is a compilation of body parts, instead of a powerful, functional unit that works together.

Now if you really want to end up hobbling around in a body bandaged up with joint problems, tendonitis, and excess body fat, then by all means, continue trying to ‘isolate’ body parts. On the other hand, if you would rather have a lean, muscular, injury-free, functional body that works as a complete powerful unit to perform complex movements (in athletics or even everyday tasks), then you need to shift your focus away from muscle isolation.

Believe me, focusing on how well your body functions will give you the side effect of a body that looks even better than it would have if you focused on muscle isolation. For example, take a look at the physiques of any NFL running backs, wide receivers, or even world class sprinters. Trust me when I say that these guys pretty much NEVER train for muscle isolation (their strength coaches wouldn’t be crazy enough to let them), yet they are absolutely ripped to shreds! Just look at guys like Maurice Green or Terrell Owens and tell me who wouldn’t want a physique like those guys.

Another benefit to moving away from the ‘muscle isolation’ mindset in weight training to a more ‘complex movement’ mindset is that you will find it much easier to lose body fat. The reason is that by focusing more on multi-joint complex movements as opposed to single-joint muscle isolation lifts, you not only burn a lot more calories during each workout, but you also increase your metabolic rate, and stimulate production of more fat burning and muscle building hormones such as growth hormone and testosterone.

Let’s look at an example. The machine leg extension is a single joint exercise that works mainly the quadriceps, can potentially cause knee joint instability in the long run, and doesn’t even burn that many calories. On the other hand, exercises like squats, lunges, step-ups, and deadlifts are all multi-joint complex movements that work hundreds of muscles in the body (including the quadriceps) as a functional unit, create more stable and strong joints in the long run (when done properly), and also burn massive quantities of calories compared to the single-joint exercises.

Now although I do feel that multi-joint exercises should comprise the majority of your weight training workouts, I also think that there can be some benefits with just minor inclusions of single-joint exercises for variety, etc. I choose to build my training programs with about 90-95% multi-joint exercises and about 5-10% single-joint exercises at most.

If you’re interested in discovering more ways to create a body that looks as good as it functions, pick up a copy of my innovative book The Truth About Six Pack Abs

Are Whole Eggs or Egg Whites Better for You?

by Mike Geary, Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Nutrition Specialist
Author, The Truth about 6-Pack Abs

I was on a weekend trip with some friends recently and one of my friends was cooking breakfast for the whole group. I went over to see what he was cooking and saw he was getting ready to make a big batch of eggs.

Well, to my shock and horror, I noticed that he was cracking the eggs open and screening the egg whites into a bowl and throwing out the egg yolks. I asked him why the heck he was throwing out the egg yolks, and he replied something like this…

“because I thought the egg yolks were terrible for you…that’s where all the nasty fat and cholesterol is”.

And I replied, “you mean that’s where all of the nutrition is!”

This is a perfect example of how confused most people are about nutrition. In a world full of misinformation about nutrition, somehow most people now mistakenly think that the egg yolk is the worst part of the egg, when in fact, the YOLK IS THE HEALTHIEST PART OF THE EGG!

By throwing out the yolk and only eating egg whites, you’re essentially throwing out the most nutrient dense, antioxidant-rich, vitamin and mineral loaded portion of the egg. The yolks contain so many B-vitamins, trace minerals, vitamin A, folate, choline, lutein, and other powerful nutrients… it’s not even worth trying to list them all.

In fact, the egg whites are almost devoid of nutrition compared to the yolks.

Even the protein in egg whites isn’t as powerful without the yolks to balance out the amino acid profile and make the protein more bio-available. Not to even mention that the egg yolks from free range chickens are loaded with healthy omega-3 fatty acids.

Yolks contain more than 90% of the calcium, iron, phosphorus, zinc, thiamin, B6, folate, and B12, and panthothenic acid of the egg. In addition, the yolks contain ALL of the fat soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K in the egg, as well as ALL of the essential fatty acids (EFAs).

And now the common objection I get all the time when I say that the yolks are the most nutritious part of the egg…

“But I heard that whole eggs will skyrocket my cholesterol through the roof”

No, this is FALSE!

First of all, when you eat a food that contains a high amount of dietary cholesterol such as eggs, your body down-regulates it’s internal production of cholesterol to balance things out.

On the other hand, if you don’t eat enough cholesterol, your body simply produces more since cholesterol has dozens of important vital functions in the body.

healthy whole eggsAnd here’s where it gets even more interesting…

There have been plenty of studies lately that indicate that eating whole eggs actually raises your good HDL cholesterol to a higher degree than LDL cholesterol, thereby improving your overall cholesterol ratio and blood chemistry.

And 3rd… high cholesterol is NOT a disease! Heart disease is a disease…but high cholesterol is NOT. Cholesterol is actually a VERY important substance in your body and has vitally important functions… it is DEAD WRONG to try to “lower your cholesterol” just because of pharmaceutical companies propaganda that everyone on the planet should be on statin drugs.

If you’re interested in this topic of cholesterol specifically, I have another article listed at the bottom of this page about why trying to attack cholesterol is a mistake, and what the REAL deadly risk factors actually are.

In addition, the yolks contain the antioxidant lutein as well as other antioxidants which can help protect you from inflammation within your body (the REAL culprit in heart disease, not dietary cholesterol!), giving yet another reason why the yolks are actually GOOD for you, and not detrimental.

To help bring even more proof that whole eggs are better for you than egg whites, I recently read a University of Connecticut study that showed that a group of men in the study that ate 3 eggs per day for 12 weeks while on a reduced carb, higher fat diet increased their HDL good cholesterol by 20%, while their LDL bad cholesterol stayed the same during the study. However, the group that ate egg substitutes (egg whites) saw no change in either and did not see the improvement in good cholesterol (remember that higher HDL levels are associated with lower risk of heart disease) that the whole egg eaters did.

So I hope we’ve established that whole eggs are not some evil food that will wreck your body… instead whole eggs are FAR superior to egg whites.

But what about the extra calories in the yolks?

This is actually a non-issue and here’s why… even though egg yolks contain more calories than just eating the egg whites, the yolks have such a high micro-nutrient density in those calories, that it increases your overall nutrient density per calorie you consume. Essentially, what this does is help to regulate your appetite for the remainder of the day, so you end up eating less calories overall. In addition, the healthy fats in the egg yolks help to maintain a good level of fat-burning hormones in your body.

Overall, this means that the extra fats (healthy fats) and calories from the yolk are so nutrient-dense that they actually HELP you to burn off body fat!

Also, your normal supermarket eggs coming from mass factory farming just don’t compare nutritionally with organic free range eggs from healthy chickens that are allowed to roam freely and eat a more natural diet. Your typical cheap grocery store eggs will have lower nutrient levels and a higher omega-6 level and lower omega-3 level. On the other hand, the cage-free organic eggs from healthier chickens allowed to eat more natural feed and roam freely will have much higher vitamin and mineral levels and a more balanced healthier omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acid ratio.

I recently compared eggs I bought at the grocery store with a batch of eggs I got at a farm stand where the chickens were free roaming and healthy.

Most people don’t realize that there’s a major difference because they’ve never bought real eggs from healthy chickens… The eggs from the grocery store had pale yellow yolks and thin weak shells. On the other hand, the healthier free range eggs from the local farm had strong thick shells and deep orange colored yolks indicating much higher nutrition levels and carotenoids… and just a healthier egg in general.

This is due to the fact that a free-roaming hen allowed to roam on plenty of land will eat a variety of greens, insects, worms, etc transferring MUCH higher levels of nutrients to the eggs compared to an unhealthy hen that is trapped inside a dark factory farm hen house in horrible conditions and fed nothing but piles of corn and soy. It’s a DRASTIC difference in the nutrition that you get from the egg.

So next time a health or fitness professional tells you that egg whites are superior (because of their “fat-phobic” mentality towards dietary fats), you can quietly ignore their advice knowing that you now understand the REAL deal about egg yolks.

And can we all please STOP with this sillyness about eating an omelete with 4-5 egg whites and only 1 egg yolk… If you want real taste and real health benefits, we’d all be better off eating ALL of our eggs with the yolks.

After all, do you REALLY think that our ancestors thousands of years ago threw out the yolks and only ate the egg whites? NOT A CHANCE! They intuitively knew that all of the nutrition was found in the yolks. But our modern society has been brainwashed with misinformation about fats and cholesterol.

Another interesting study about eggs…

I read a study recently that compared groups of people that ate egg breakfasts vs groups of people that ate cereal or bagel-based breakfasts. The results of the study showed that the egg eaters lost or maintained a healthier bodyweight, while the cereal/bagel eaters gained weight.

It was hypothesized that the egg eaters actually ate less calories during the remainder of the day because their appetite was more satisfied compared to the cereal/bagel eaters who would have been more prone to wild blood sugar swings and food cravings.

Oh, one last thing I almost forgot… I personally eat 4 whole eggs almost every day with breakfast, and I maintain single-digit bodyfat most of the year.

Enjoy your eggs and get a leaner body!

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer
Author, The Truth about 6-Pack Abs

The dangers of cholesterol lowering drugs, statins

Build Your Core Strength and Power to Improve Performance

Building your core strength and power will improve your athletic power and explosion. Dynamic core power exercises are done at full speed to train your body to move faster with control and strength.

Great dynamic core strength and power allows you to generate more power when you are tired. This allows you to defeat your opponent or outrun your opponent.

One of the first signs of fatigue that I look for in an athlete is whether he or she can remain strong and upright towards the end of the game. If your core is weak, you will start to “bend over” and lose power and explosiveness when you run.

Next, your arms will start to “flail” instead of pumping powerfully to fuel your running.

Adequate core strength helps your speed endurance, which is the ability to maintain maximum velocity or a percentage of maximum velocity for a prolonged period of time or in a fatigued state. The best players and teams have excellent overall body strength, core strength and speed endurance (and they win the most games).

If you are a serious athlete, you need a program that continually challenges and improves your core strength! You will lose power and speed during the game if you have a weak core area!

Train hard and smart!

Go here now and get your Free Sports Power Workout Book and Speed Training Tips!

Mark Dilworth at My Fitness Hut

Burn Fat Faster and Shrink Your Body

It’s all about fat loss! Many of you need a huge change from your regular workouts and eating habits in order to make progress. And, some of you just need a jumpstart.

Did your weight yo-yo last year? Did you place emphasis on weight loss instead of fat loss? Losing weight the healthy way is the only way! Health is more important than weight loss. Don’t lose your health and self respect trying quick weight loss tactics that don’t work long-term. And, stop spending money on fat-burn supplements that only give you a short-term boost at best.

If you are restarting your exercise program this January, you need to know about fat loss and how to get it done.

Some of you have been doing the same workout for months and you need a change to break through your plateau. If your workouts are 2 hours long, you are spending too much time in the gym. You can get better results with less time. You don’t need a gym membership. You can do this program at home or anywhere you like.

Speed up your fat loss results by using more effective training methods. Burn body fat and get your lean body sooner. I’m not talking about just weight loss here.

Its not enough to just exercise every day. You MUST do the right kind of exercise to get the fat-burning results you want. And, you need to eat for muscle gain and fat loss.

With this program, strength workouts don’t exceed 50 minutes and interval cardio workouts don’t exceed 20 minutes! You will have to work out VERY HARD but you will be rewarded. You will also get meal plans to help you reach your goals.

Start out this year the right way and don’t stop! Get off the yo-yo weight loss and regain wagon. You can stop the weight loss/weight regain cycle with regular exercise and healthy menus. Its that simple.

Download your FREE 14-Day Accelerated Fat Loss Program now!

Mark Dilworth at My Fitness Hut

Turn on Your Fat-Burning Gene

You may have this gene. It may be turned “off” right now… in fact it probably is.

There’s a problem with that: This gene helps you melt off body fat.

It would be pretty nice to turn that sucker on, right?

Here’s an article on…

1. What SIRT1 is;
2. How you can “turn it on”
3. How to keep it on

What Is SIRT1?

Simply put, SIRT1 is a “rescue gene”. This gene is activated during times of fasting to, for a very SHORT period of time, access more stored body fat.

That’s a good thing.

The problems are…

1. Fasting is not good for the metabolism if done for more than a day;

2. This trick doesn’t work well over the long-run.

SIRT1 is practically dormant in most people as we have a surplus of food. We consume, on average, about 30% more food than our bodies require every single day.

It’s no wonder this gene went to sleep…

… and it’s time you wake it up.

How To Turn On SIRT1

As mentioned above, fasting for a day will activate SIRT1 if practiced for a few weeks. So you eat one day, fast the next, and keep this up for 1-2 weeks.

But… let’s face it. Most of us do not like the idea of NOT eating for a full day.

So I have two alternatives that work just as well to activate SIRT1 and NOT shut down your metabolism over the long-haul (as weekly fasting like this can do.)

TIP 1: Do a fruit fast instead.

If you want to try a fruit fast every other day you can do so. This is much healthier and much easier on the body than an all-out fast.

However, for some people the sugar in fruit can trigger over-eating… and we don’t want that.

TIP 2: Stagger your calories

Jon Benson teaches you this trick here:

Turn On Your Fatburning Gene <--- click.here

But he takes it a step further: He lets you in on how you can stagger your “macronutrients” and your calories without having to think too much about it.

He calls this his “Favorite Foods Plan” because it demands you consume high-calorie foods that you enjoy at specific times on specific days.

The other days are low in calories, higher in lean protein, but still contain real food.

Fasting is not necessary. The “starvation” switch that triggers SIRT1 has been shown to be triggered after only a day or two of low-calorie eating.

You just can’t do that very long without higher- calorie days… and THAT is the nifty trick you need to learn.

Jon wrote the book on the subject… literally. : )

Turn On Your Fatburning Gene <--- the guide to fat loss

How Do You Keep SIRT1 “On”?

Simple: You stay on this cycle-your-calories diet plan… yep. That’s necessary. This is for LIFETIME fat loss… not a crash diet plan… they never, EVER get you what you want.

You want to be lean for life… no exceptions.

So to do that you need all the genetic help you can get…. and SIRT1 is part of that plan.

Turn it on today.

Go here:

Turn On Your Fatburning Gene <--- click.here

Mark Dilworth at My Fitness Hut

10 Tips to Improve your Body’s Composition and Health in 2012

Your body’s composition and health are worsening if you have been sedentary for a long period of time. Take steps to eat better, burn fat, lose weight and improve your health. This will give you the best chance to live a healthy, quality life. You deserve it.

If you are overweight or have too much body fat (a skinny person can have too much body fat), your body is not as healthy as it could be. Start making changes today!

Here are 10 tips you can take TODAY to start improving your health and body:

1. Identify your fitness goals and determine why your fat loss and weight loss efforts have failed or succeeded in the past. You also have to get your motivation right for your exercise program to work for you. This step takes you being “very honest” with yourself! Sometimes it is a painful process.

2. It is crucial that you improve your body’s composition (less body fat % vs. more lean mass %). Where are you fat? Excess abdominal fat has been shown to be a precursor to diseases such as cancer.

3. You need to know your body’s measurements (chest, arms, neck, hips, waist, etc.). Consistently strength training your total body will help you burn fat and shrink your body.

4. What’s your health history? You might need a doctor’s clearance before you can begin an exercise program.

5. What are your eating habits? Part of your fitness assessment will look at what you are eating, how you are eating and changes that you need to make.

6. What is your basal metabolic rate? Don’t know? This rate helps you set the daily calories you will need to reach your fat loss goals.

7. Have you had low back pain for some time? If so, you probably have postural problems that need to be corrected. Schedule an appointment with your trainer.

8. Had any muscle spasms or “knotted muscles” lately? Then, you need to improve your flexibility. A fitness assessment will tell you where your muscles are tight, lengthened or weak.

9. When’s the last time you checked your resting pulse rate? Your resting pulse rate will tell you how hard your heart is working in a resting state. For instance, my resting pulse rate was 58 beats per minute the last time I checked it. That’s pretty low. When I was at peak condition as a college athlete, my resting pulse rate was 54-56 beats per minute.

10. You might have to start out slowly getting in shape. Try walking 30 minutes a day for a week. You will need to progress to regular strength and cardio training to transform your body to lean and toned.

You have to start taking steps to improve your health and body. Do it today!

Be sure and download my Free Special Report: “10 Must Know Fat Loss Tips, Free Fat Loss Meals and Free Fat Loss Workouts!

“Exercise is not my life…..exercise makes my life better!”

Check out my other great blogs:

Her Fitness Hut Blog Her Fitness Hut is featured on EmpowHER, a great health issues website for women! Her Fitness Hut has also been named in the Top 50 Personal Training Blogs by Physical Therapy Assistant Schools!

Sports Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as the #1 Sports Fitness Blog and NursingDegree.net as one of the Best 100 Health and Nutrition Blogs for Athletes! The blog has also been named as one of the “50 Best Sports Medicine Blogs by Masters In Healthcare! It is an honor to be recognized by those in the health and academic fields! Afterall, health is number one for everybody—including athletes!

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Don’t Diet in 2012, Eat Better

December 31, 2011 by myfitnesshut  
Filed under Truth About Abs

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Don’t go on a diet in 2012! Change your eating habits, exercise regularly, burn fat and lose the weight for good! Make lifestyle changes and your life will change.

After 100 years of weight loss history, doctors and fitness professionals agree that the best solution for fat loss and weight loss is proper nutrition and regular exercise.

How about common sense? Name one thing in life worth having that didn’t take alot of hard, smart work? Is your health worth the hard work? Don’t look for shortcuts….here’s a few tips on diets, etc.

1. I don’t recommend any diet that omits one of the macronutrients (carbs, protein, fat). Your body’s metabolism needs all 3 macronutrients to work efficiently.

2. The various “body organ cleansers” out there on the market are not the key to your fat loss and weight loss…..regular exercise (weight training and interval cardio) and good nutrition are your tickets to a permanent lean and toned body.

Use the cleansers if you want for cleaning you out, I guess. Just remember that healthy foods such as fruits and veggies also play a role in keeping your body clean (and alot less expensive).

3. Along the same lines, there are no magic pills, powders or creams that will give you a permanent lean and toned body.

4. Again, forget the fad diets and make the commitment to a lifetime of good nutrition.

5. Set your daily calorie intake based on your basal metabolic rate, your activity level and goals. This way, you won’t eat too much or too little. Maintaining the right amount of calorie deficit on most days (burning more calories than you consume) is the key to burning fat and losing weight.

Happy New Year to you!

Be sure and download my Free Special Report: “10 Must Know Fat Loss Tips, Free Fat Loss Meals and Free Fat Loss Workouts!

“Exercise is not my life…..exercise makes my life better!”

Check out my other great blogs:

Her Fitness Hut Blog Her Fitness Hut is featured on EmpowHER, a great health issues website for women! Her Fitness Hut has also been named in the Top 50 Personal Training Blogs by Physical Therapy Assistant Schools!

Sports Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as the #1 Sports Fitness Blog and NursingDegree.net as one of the Best 100 Health and Nutrition Blogs for Athletes! The blog has also been named as one of the “50 Best Sports Medicine Blogs by Masters In Healthcare! It is an honor to be recognized by those in the health and academic fields! Afterall, health is number one for everybody—including athletes!

Tags: don't diet, eat better

Kickstart Your Metabolism without Fad Diets

December 29, 2011 by myfitnesshut  
Filed under Truth About Abs

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If you want to boost your metabolism, fad diets are not the answer. Fad diets will never work for you long-term and you will end up gaining more weight. Fad diets will place you further away from your weight loss and fat loss goals as you yo-yo back and forth with weight loss and regain!

A “quick weight loss only goal” is a short-term fix for your weight problem and will not ultimately help you attain your goals! Establish eating and exercise habits that will help you burn fat and lose weight for a lifetime.

The type of food you eat and timing of what you eat is very important for your metabolism to work properly. Your body needs adequate amounts of the macronutrients (carbohydrates, proteins, fats) to function properly.

Increasing muscle mass is critical to permanently speed up your metabolism. Your body has to work harder to maintain metabolically active muscle mass. And, increasing muscle mass will burn the fat off of your body. So, start doing your regular weight training workouts 2-3 days a week.

Protein’s main role in your body is to repair and rebuild body tissues (especially so after an intense weight training workout). When your body doesn’t get enough protein, it will take protein from other sources–mainly your muscles! Obviously, you don’t want that to happen. Including foods with protein in every meal will help you eat less during the day. This happens because it takes your body longer to digest protein.

Carbohydrates, in the form of glycogen, are your body’s preferred source of energy. Glycogen is stored in your liver and muscles and it is broken down into glucose. Glucose is then used by your body to make energy.

As a result, when your glycogen stores are low, your body’s performance will suffer. When your body doesn’t have enough carbohydrates, it uses energy mainly from proteins. As stated above, protein has another primary role in the body. And, again, your muscle mass will take the hit. Carb cycling can be useful in some situations, but don’t start with this method. Establish your eating foundation first.

Fat is important for your diet because it helps you feel full for longer periods of time and keeps skin, hair and nails healthy (among other things). You should limit your intake of saturated fats (usually solid at room temperature, such as butter) and trans fats ( partially hydrogenated fats found in packaged foods and fast foods). There are some saturated fats, such as coconut oil, that are very healthy. Still, you shouldn’t overdo it on fats.

Instead, increase your intake of heart-healthy unsaturated fats (they are usually liquid at room temperature, such as olive oil, canola oil, fish, nuts, seeds and avocados). Fats should not exceed 30% (closer to 20%) of your total caloric intake. Again, fats should not be used as your primary energy source.

Your body needs the macronutrients at all times to function properly. When your body functions properly, your metabolism will also function properly. That’s why you should eat every 3-4 hours to give your body what it needs and to protect your vital muscle mass.

Eat for health, fat loss and weight loss. You should not ever try a fad diet program to reach your long-term goals.

If you want “The TRUTH” when it comes to losing fat with proper nutrition, you have to check out my friend’s FREE book download, One Week Kickstart to Your Metabolism.

Isabel De Los Rios is one of America’s top nutrition experts and educators and the author of TheDietSolutionProgram.com.

She has helped hundreds of people lose weight.

Isabel is the owner of New Body – Center for Fitness and Nutrition in New Jersey where she has personally educated and coached hundreds of people to realize their weight, health and fitness goals.

As a nutrition specialist and lifestyle coach, it is Isabel’s passion to educate, motivate and inspire people of all types to take daily action in order to realize their physical and personal dreams and goals.

Stop the guessing game when it comes to your eating habits and start shaping the body you always wanted! There are no fads, no pills and no starvation.

Download Isabel’s FREE book now, One Week Kickstart to Your Metabolism!

Mark Dilworth at My Fitness Hut

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Do Your Workouts Burn Fat?

December 26, 2011 by myfitnesshut  
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Body changing workouts will burn fat. Do your workouts “work?” If they don’t, you’re wasting time trying to lean out your body.

Your workout program may not be working because maybe you are doing the same workout program that hasn’t worked for you. Are you burning fat and losing weight on a weekly basis? If not, then your workout program isn’t working….you need to change up your exercise routine and/or eating habits, etc.

Change makes us all uncomfortable…….and making changes in habits can sometimes be the toughest thing to do. If your exercise program isn’t giving you the results you want then there’s a reason. Changes have to be made somewhere or you will continue to be disappointed in your fitness results.

From my experience as a life-long exerciser and personal trainer, there are 2 main roadblocks to people’s fitness success:

1. unwilling to change your workout routine and 2. unwilling to change eating habits.

There’s many other reasons between those 2 main reasons but let’s just look at the bottom line here…..Here’s a real life example: I have a friend who has repeatedly asked me how to burn fat and “get ripped.” My answer to him has been the same:

1. cut your weight training workout time down from 2 hours to 50 minutes or less of circuit weight training,

2. cut your 60-minute, slow-paced cardio session down to 20 minutes of interval cardio or bodyweight exercise cardio and

3. follow the fat-burning meal plans or substitute similar food items that you like.

Actually, his 2 hour workout includes about 45 minutes of socializing. Anyway, his body fat hasn’t changed because he is still doing the same things. Bottom line: he has been unwilling to change so he will continue to get the same bad results.

What about you? Are you unwilling to change your workout routine and eating habits? If so, you will be just like my friend—-disappointed with your fat loss and weight loss results!

Be sure and download my Free Special Report: “10 Must Know Fat Loss Tips, Free Fat Loss Meals and Free Fat Loss Workouts!

“Exercise is not my life…..exercise makes my life better!”

Check out my other great blogs:

Her Fitness Hut Blog Her Fitness Hut is featured on EmpowHER, a great health issues website for women! Her Fitness Hut has also been named in the Top 50 Personal Training Blogs by Physical Therapy Assistant Schools!

Sports Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as the #1 Sports Fitness Blog and NursingDegree.net as one of the Best 100 Health and Nutrition Blogs for Athletes! The blog has also been named as one of the “50 Best Sports Medicine Blogs by Masters In Healthcare! It is an honor to be recognized by those in the health and academic fields! Afterall, health is number one for everybody—including athletes!

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Top Nutrition Tips to Build Muscle Mass

December 23, 2011 by myfitnesshut  
Filed under Truth About Abs

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Pre- and post- workout nutrition is critical for you to build muscle mass and improve your workout recovery.

The rigors of training breaks down your body and you need proper nutrition and rest to rebuild your body bigger and better. Protein consumption, in particular, is critical if you want to build muscle (more discussion below on protein)

Here are some Workout Nutrition Tips to help you Build Muscle:

1. Pre-workout nutrition should mainly include carbohydrates and proteins. During intense training, your body depends on fuel from glycogen made from the carbohydrates that you eat. The body can’t use fat for fuel during high intensity exercise because there is not enough oxygen available.

Consuming fruits, vegetables and smoothies 1-2 hours before a workout will build up your glycogen stores. When your glycogen stores are low, your performance will suffer.

2. Research has shown the effectiveness of pre-workout protein drinks (such as whey and casein). Your muscles get 2 times as much benefit from a pre-workout protein drink compared to having just a post-workout protein drink.

3. Post-workout nutrition is important to help your body recover from intense exercise. You don’t need to eat immediately after your workout but there is a 30 to 45 minute window where replenishing your body’s fuel (carbs, protein, fats) will optimize your tissue’s repair and growth.

The post-exercise meal should consist of carbohydrates, protein and a small amount of essential fats. A drink, such as a smoothie, is good because it is quickly digestible. A ratio of 2g carbs/1g protein is what you need.

The carbs should be high glycemic, the proteins should be easily digestible (such as whey) and the fats should be from sources such as fish or flax oil.

4. Your body needs a minimum of 200 grams of carbs per day if you are a light exerciser. You will feel tired and listless without this amount of carbs.

5. Athletes in sports that require plyometrics, speed and weight training need about 2.5 grams of daily carbs per pound of body weight. A 180 pound athlete would need at least 450 grams of carbs each day to function properly.

6. Endurance athletes such as marathoners, swimmers, triathletes need high amounts of daily carbs. About 3.5 to 4.5 grams per pound of body weight is needed. So, a 180 pound athlete would need 630 to 810 grams of carbs per day. These athletes sometimes use carbohydrate loading before events.

7. Protein provides the main building blocks for your muscles. Daily protein needs for athletes should be calculated according to body weight (not by percent of calories). Daily protein targets (grams per pound of body weight) are:

–Recreational exerciser, adult 0.5-0.75
–Competitive athlete, adult 0.6-0.9
–Growing teenage athlete 0.8-0.9
–Adult building muscle mass 0.7-0.9
–Maximum usable amount by adults 0.9 (your body will excrete excess protein)

For example, if you weigh 190 pounds and want a high protein intake (0.9 gms/lb), you’ll need 171 grams of protein. Protein should be eaten at least every 3-4 hours (with every meal) to insure adequate supply during the day.

Your night meal should be comprised of slowly digesting protein (such as lean meats) that will give a constant release of amino acids into your system overnight.

8. Drink daily about a half an ounce of water for every pound of body weight (180 pound person would drink 90 ounces). During exercise, drink about a cup of water for every 15 minutes of exercise.

For exercise lasting more than one hour, a sports drink with carbohydrate and protein is needed.

Train hard, smart and build more muscle!

Be sure and download your Free Report, “What to Never Eat After You Workout!” Fuel your body all day to give you better results during and after workouts.

“Exercise is not my life…..exercise makes my life better!”

Check out my other great blogs:

Her Fitness Hut Blog Her Fitness Hut is featured on EmpowHER, a great health issues website for women! Her Fitness Hut has also been named in the Top 50 Personal Training Blogs by Physical Therapy Assistant Schools!

Sports Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as the #1 Sports Fitness Blog and NursingDegree.net as one of the Best 100 Health and Nutrition Blogs for Athletes! The blog has also been named as one of the “50 Best Sports Medicine Blogs by Masters In Healthcare! It is an honor to be recognized by those in the health and academic fields! Afterall, health is number one for everybody—including athletes!

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