Daily Inspiration

Leap... and the net will appear

~Zen Quote

Overflowing with Muscles

Think of your muscles as a bathtub. Water coming in represents protein synthesis. Water draining out represents protein breakdown. When there is more water coming in than going, you end up with bigger muscles.

Creatine, Whey Protein (taken pre-workout), and protein carb supplements like Mass Factor (after a workout) will all help keep your tub full.

Is an Unhealthy Breakfast Better Than No Breakfast at All?

Yes—not that you have free reign to order a Grand Slam Breakfast at Denny’s, but there’s a whole lot of gray area between a fruit laden bowl of oatmeal and several pounds of grease and meat, and most of it is preferable to starting the day on an empty stomach.

Even foods with no redeeming nutritional value, like doughnuts, curb your appetite for a little while.

Enjoying a healthy breakfast in the morning will also keep your blood sugar levels even, which will help you stay more alert and in a better mood.

Skipping breakfast altogether may make you hungrier and lead you to overeat, so try to eat something. Just don’t use it as an excuse to overeat.

Daily Inspiration

"The goal to be sought is a world where well-being extends to all in the fullest, richest way possible... brought about by a mode of creative ethical living that includes all of us as moral equals, inspiring and uplifting us all, nourished by the creative energy we experience as spirituality..."

~Martin Prozesky

Energy Drinks Erode Your Teeth!

That buzz you feel after downing an energy drink may be your teeth disintegrating!

A recent study from the University of Maryland concluded that energy drinks rot your teeth faster than regular colas. When researchers immersed sections of human dental enamel in 13 popular beverages, they noted that energy drinks, including Amp and Red Bull, were up to 11 times more erosive than cola. High levels of some additives, such as citric acid, cause the erosion.

Their advice, if you must have an energy drink, chase it with a glass of water to help rinse off the damaging acids.

Milk Really Does Do the Body Good

A University of Tennessee study found that people who ate a daily 1,200 milligrams (mg) of calcium from dairy lost an average of 24 pounds, or 11 percent of their total body weight.

When you don’t have enough calcium in your diet, you are more efficient at making fat and less efficient in breaking down fat, causing a bigger, fatter fat cell.

Get just the right amount by taking in two 8 ounce glasses of low fat milk (699mg), a cup of low fat yogurt (338mg), and an ounce and a half of cheese (287mg).

Pray the Fat Away

Christian men who report feeling greater intimacy with God through prayer are more likely to be physically active than other men, according to research from Cornell University.

Studies have shown that those who have more social support move more, and being closer to God may provide that support.

Another possible reason: General religion in the US encompasses teachings that the body is a temple, which may lead to a overall healthier diet and lifestyle.

Get More from Your Cardio

Strip away abdominal fat by switching around your cardio so you can run hard early. In a study published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology, eight men ran for 30 minutes on 2 separate days.

In the first session, the men ran at relatively high intensity (80% of their maximum heart rate) for 15 minutes, and then slowed to 60% for the final 15 minutes. In the other session, they ran the slower part first.

The study concluded that the men burned 5 to 10% more fat when they ran faster at the start of their workout. “And this is only a 30 minute workout, “says Jie Kang, Ph.D., the study’s lead researcher. “If you extrapolate that to a longer workout three to five times a week, things can add up.”

Here’s why it works: To burn fat, your body first breaks down fat tissue into fat molecules. The study found that this works better when exercising at relatively high intensity. Next, molecules go to your cells to be burned, which Kang says happens at relatively lower intensities.

The best part: You’ll feel as if you’re burning fat easier than ever!

Daily Inspiration

“Passion is training endlessly to line up against the best in the game”.
~Carlos Rogers

Experts Say!

*Lean turkey is high in protein, low in fat and abundant in the amino acid Tryptophan—found to soothe the nerves and promote relaxation.

*Besides fiber, whole grain contains nutrients and plant based chemicals that are associated with weight control, cancer fighting, and improved blood glucose.

*Whey protein contains the building blocks of muscle growth and repair, and it may fight cancer, boost mood, increase bone density, and reduce blood pressure and body fat.

Push Up Tricks

Researchers at the University of Athens found that the standard pushup forces your upper body to lift 66% of your body weight. Pushups on your knees (a good starting point if you struggle to do standard pushups) lift 53% of your body weight.

Hit your chest from every angle with the following pushups:

Standard Pushups: Place your hands directly beneath your shoulders. Keep your abs tight and your body in a straight line from ear to ankle. The standard position activates the pectoral muscles more deeply than variations do.

Narrow Base: Place your hands less than shoulder-width apart. Keep your elbows out and squeeze your pecs together at the top of the move. The narrow base pushup activates the medial portion of the pectorals (close to the sternum) which can help define the inner chest and create a separation.

Wide-Base: Place your hands wider than shoulder-width apart. This variation increases the stretch on the pectorals, which develops the outer portion of the chest.

Decline: Place your feet on a bench or Swiss ball. This variation stresses the lower portion of the chest. With your toes on a ball, your shoulders work even harder to stabilize you.

Incline: Place your hands on a bench or Swiss ball. This variation in much easier than the standard pushup. The benefit of doing incline pushups is that it is a good way to completely fatigue the chest after doing as many reps as you can with the standard version.

Boost Your Bench Press

Put the moves that matter most near the start of your workout. A study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research compared workouts that began with large muscle groups with those that began with smaller groups.

Men fatigued faster late in the workout, regardless of the type of exercise, in one example doing 8 percent fewer bench presses when they did curls and extensions first.

Keep It Simple

In a recent study, Australian researchers found that using a Swiss ball instead of a bench forces core musculature to contract up to 54 percent harder. What’s more, single-arm, or unilateral, exercises increase core activation even further.

Try a chest press (on a bench first) with a dumbbell in one hand and your other hand at your waist. Start with extremely light weight—the unbalanced movement causes your trunk muscles to contract without much resistance.

Resting Metabolic Rate Test: Worth The Money?

Eating an extra 300 calories per day-- the content of a large candy bar -- will make you gain a pound every 11 or 12 days. Large people need more calories than small people and some people have slower metabolisms than normal.

Wouldn't be nice to know precisely how many calories you need every day?

Many health clubs or diet facilities will measure your resting metabolism for a hefty price ($50 to $100). They do this indirectly by measuring oxygen consumption-- a technique called indirect calorimetry.

Save your money!

These tests are highly variable and affected by meals, exercise, emotional distress, and test environment.

The Harris-Benedict Equation works just as well and is free:

Men: Basal Metabolic Rate = 66 + (13.7 x Weight (kg)) + ( 5 x Height (cm)) - (6.8 x age) = Daily Resting Calorie Need

Women: Basal Metabolic Rate = 665 + (9.6 x Weight (kg)) + ( 1.8 x Height (cm)) - (4.7 x age) = Daily Resting Calorie Need

Note: 1 kg =2.2 lb; 1 inch = 2.54

Example: You are female

You are 30 yrs old

You are 5' 6 " tall (167.6 cm)

You weigh 120 lbs. (54.5 kilos)

Your BMR = 655 + 523 + 302 - 141 = 1339 calories/day

Multiply the daily resting calories needs by your activity level to estimate your total daily caloric requirement.

Sedentary = BMR X 1.2 (little or no exercise, desk job)

Lightly active = BMR X 1.375 (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk)

Mod. active = BMR X 1.55 (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk)

Very active = BMR X 1.725 (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk)

Extr. active = BMR X 1.9 (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2X day training, i.e marathon, contest etc.)

Weights Plus Aerobics Best For Cutting Ab Fat

Korean researchers have shown that the best approach for losing abdominal fat is to combine a general 3 day per week weight training program with a 3 day per week (60 minute session) aerobics program. Fat loss was shown to be greater for a group that combined aerobics and weight training than for a group that did aerobics itself, or a control group. The combined group (weight and training) gained more lean muscle mass (12 lbs vs. one pound) and lost more subcutaneous fat (surface fat; 62 cc vs. 88 cc).

Having more muscle increases the calories you burn! Muscle is the main component of lean mass, so the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn each day.

Weigh training provides a triple whammy for weight loss by burning more calories during exercise than at rest; increasing calories use by increasing metabolically active tissue; and stimulating the nervous system to release hormones called catecholamines (epinephrine and nor epinephrine) that increase abdominal fat use.

(J Physiol Anthropol, 22: 129-135 , 2003)