| Archive for April, 2010April 29th, 2010 by Joe The United States Department of Health and Human Service (USDHHS) say the meaning of fitness is to be physically fit, which is a set of attributes in which people have or achieved that relates to the ability to perform physical activities. According to other sources, physical fitness is the ability of the human body to function with vigor and alertness, without undue fatigue, and with ample energy to engage in leisure activities, and to meet physical stresses. Fitness is not about being thin, having bulging muscles or having a small waist. Another way to say it, is it’s more than being able to lift heavy weights or run long distances; being fit is not defined only by what kind of activity is being performed, at what level of intensity, or how long the activity is being done. It is a combination of qualities that enable one to be at their full potential in performing vigorous physical activities, which involves the performance of the muscles of the body and of the heart and lungs. Overall fitness involves five major components or qualities, which are: Cardiorespiratory endurance, Muscular strength, Muscular endurance, Body composition and Flexibility. To a certain extent, fitness also influences our emotional and mental development because what is done to the body also affects what can be done with the mind as well. Cardiorespiratory endurance is the ability of the body’s circulatory and respiratory systems to supply fuel during sustained physical activity; Muscular strength is the ability of the muscles to exert force during an activity; Muscular endurance is the ability of the muscles to continue to perform without fatigue; Body composition is the relative amount of muscle, fat, bone, and other vital parts of the body; and Flexibility is the range of motion around a joint. Plus, today’s fitness is used not only in conjunction with being physically fit, but also of the mind, body and spirit; currently there is an ever increasing movement that says fitness should include not only physical being, but mental as well. Ads How to Build Muscle – The Nonsense Hardgainer Guide To Bodybuilding 7 Minute Muscle – Build More Muscle In Just Minutes! Tom Venuto’s Burn The Fat Feed the Muscle How To Build Muscle and Gain Weight Fast – Top Mass Building System April 27th, 2010 by Joe In all of the craze for the perfect body, and especially lately, the perfect six-pack abs, there’s no doubt that people are learning how to live better. Watching diet and exercising several times a week are excellent beginnings. However, too often the attention is given to attaining a cosmetically-perfect body rather than a healthy one. While the washboard stomach looks great on billboards, it’s not necessarily an attainable goal, or even a desirable one. The same goes for the hardbody look that weightlifters carry, and all the variations of the movie star or model bodies, that are often on the verge of breaking down because of health issues. Health related fitness is another thing altogether, and is at the origin of the quest for the perfect body. It’s a good thing to see that there are some efforts to return to this. In health related fitness, the perfect body is not one that can be found on a billboard, but reflects you at your healthiest. It’s not one that can be attained, but is rather maintained through healthy diet and plenty of exercise. There are similarities with other kinds of fitness, to be sure, but the emphasis is different, and this is where its importance really becomes clear. In exercise for health, one works for flexibility, strength, stamina, a balanced metabolism, as well as cardio-vascular fitness. This means that the exercises are not so focused on muscle-building and fat-burning, but they do have these effects. Working for a healthy heart will help to make for a longer life, and any exercise for the heart also helps to tone the muscles. Likewise, doing a regimen that stresses flexibility, such as yoga, can also help to get that perfect stomach, but the focus is on inner calmness, and this can help make life more rich, interesting, and enjoyable. Health related fitness, then, takes the best that exercise can offer, and puts it to proper use for a longer, and indeed happier life. Ads How to Build Muscle – The Nonsense Hardgainer Guide To Bodybuilding 7 Minute Muscle – Build More Muscle In Just Minutes! Tom Venuto’s Burn The Fat Feed the Muscle How To Build Muscle and Gain Weight Fast – Top Mass Building System April 26th, 2010 by Joe Intellectually speaking, the importance of fitness is obvious to most people. A fit body allows for better health and better thinking. Why, then, do so many people seem to resist what it takes to become fit? Few people will say they eat in a healthy way all the time; some people will even admit an aversion to working out, or taking up even the most basic forms of exercise, such as walking. The excuses are rampant: Work interferes, raising a family interferes, social life interferes. Emotionally, people appear to have a hard time accepting the necessity of fitness. Creatures of habit, human beings tend to do the things that give them pleasure or comfort. The things required for fitness — consistent exercise and a proper diet — have effects which are not immediate. Only when people make the connection between the short term sacrifices and the long term results will change come about. What are some short term sacrifices of fitness? First, time must be made available during the week for exercise. Most experts suggest thirty minutes a day at least. Walking thirty minutes each day, for example, can produce a significant change. The key here, though, is consistency. The exercise should become a habit. This will provide more energy and, combined with proper diet, will result in weight loss. There are countless diet plans in the marketplace, but few of them have any power if they’re not combined with exercise. In fact, the truth is that any diet plan will work as long as you take in less calories than you burn in a day. An even greater truth is that if you eat in a healthy manner — no fast foods, no reliance on breads and potatoes — focusing on fruits, vegetables, nuts, and whole grains, such as oatmeal — you’ll also allow your body to work more efficiently, becoming fitter. As a body becomes fitter, not only will you achieve greater health, but you may well find yourself becoming a better thinker. Clarity of mind can be a side effect of fitness. A fitter body will allow an individual to have more confidence, to raise self-esteem, and to have more energy. The biggest obstacle seems to be getting started and to maintaining this change in mindset. The road to fitness begins with a decision that you are not on a temporary plan of exercise and diet for health and weight loss, but rather you are seeking out a permanent transformation about how you relate to physical exercise and food, to recognize both intellectually and emotionally the importance of being fit. Ads How to Build Muscle – The Nonsense Hardgainer Guide To Bodybuilding 7 Minute Muscle – Build More Muscle In Just Minutes! Tom Venuto’s Burn The Fat Feed the Muscle How To Build Muscle and Gain Weight Fast – Top Mass Building System April 20th, 2010 by Joe The recent craze for physical fitness is probably not all that recent at all. In the middle of the 20th century, bodybuilding was already very well-established as a sport and a lifestyle, where the notion of the perfect beach body started taking root in the public consciousness. Images of weightlifters and bikini-clad women on white sands were all over advertising then, and still are very much an iconic selling point in visual media today. Of course, the force behind physical fitness does come from ideals of physical beauty, but there are many other forces at work, too. So why is physical fitness important to your health? There are many emotional benefits to looking good, and that point may be an obvious one, but there are also plenty of psychological benefits that come from feeling good as well. Being able to move with dexterity and flexibility keep the body doing what it’s designed to do, and that can be a path toward feeling more ready to embrace life in general. Exercise also releases chemicals in the brain that cause physical pleasure in the body. It can also help keep all the systems running as they should, and when the blood flows, all the organs get rejuvenated in a remarkable way. It’s important to note how exercise crazes come along when a society becomes more sedentary, and a sedentary lifestyle is not a very healthy one. The body is made for movement and activity, and an active body is one that can fight off sickness and disease much better than an inactive one. Feeling better and living longer are absolutely connected, and they do feed off of each other. The key to all of this is exercise, and even a little, just 30 minutes a day, can help to relieve stress and anxiety, tone the muscles, and build a better attitude toward all aspects of your life. That’s real health! Ads How to Build Muscle – The Nonsense Hardgainer Guide To Bodybuilding 7 Minute Muscle – Build More Muscle In Just Minutes! Tom Venuto’s Burn The Fat Feed the Muscle How To Build Muscle and Gain Weight Fast – Top Mass Building System April 16th, 2010 by Joe In the world of bodybuilding, there are always new developments that come from merging science and technology to meet the demands of athletes. Interestingly enough, the wild popularity of creatine supplements is really nothing new. It’s been around a century now that bodybuilders have been experimenting with creatine boosts to enhance performance and bodybuilding results. Creatine ethyl ester is another stage in developing these technologies, with some significant modifications, but what exactly is it? Creatine is something that the body already produces naturally, and is found in the skeletal muscle. It’s that substance that gives the muscles the ability to respond and react, and to perform with more energy for greater endurance. Creatine supplements help to keep the process moving forward, so that the energy and endurance is enhanced, and it increases muscle mass, and that’s why those who use them experience a boost when taking the chemicals. Of course, it is ingesting something in the body that alters the chemistry, but so far, the negative side-effects seem to be fairly minor. Some people experience digestive problems, and others get that well-known muscle bloat. It could be that these things come from overuse, taking more of the supplement than the body can absorb. This is where creatine ethyl ester enters the picture. The ester part of the equation helps the body to absorb the creatine more efficiently, allowing the users to ingest less and perform better. It does seem to have a peculiarly effective way of increasing energy and performance, and can also increase lean muscle mass. There are some who will argue that using it is simply enhancing what the body already does naturally, and there are others who will argue against any chemical alterations in how the body builds muscle. Because there are few negative side effects from the supplements, it really is up to the athlete to decide if it’s worth it. Ads How to Build Muscle – The Nonsense Hardgainer Guide To Bodybuilding 7 Minute Muscle – Build More Muscle In Just Minutes! Tom Venuto’s Burn The Fat Feed the Muscle How To Build Muscle and Gain Weight Fast – Top Mass Building System April 14th, 2010 by Joe There are five primary components of physical fitness that represent the five areas of physicality, which all components should be worked in order to optimize the process of remaining fit. The five components of physical fitness are: Muscular Strength, Muscular endurance, cardiorespiratory endurance, flexibility and body composition. Muscular Strength is where the greatest amount of force a muscle will exert in one single effort of an exercise. For example, the ‘max’ muscular strength can be tested with one single maximum lift. Working on strong muscular strength does not mean having to be muscle bound. All muscular strength means is to have good support for the skeleton structure, shape, tone and good posture. Muscular Endurance is the ability of muscles to repeatedly perform an exercise with sub-maximal force for an extended amount of time. Bench pressing is a good field test for muscular endurance by using about 40 percent of your body weight and counting how many times it can be lifted repetitively. Muscular endurance is so the muscles can work for long periods without getting tired. Cardiorespiratory Endurance is the efficiency that the body delivers oxygen and needed nutrients for muscular activity so there is an ease of removing waste products from the cells. The treadmill stress test is a good test to take if you are at the doctors. Aerobic exercise is another vital exercise with which to create a strong, healthy heart, and a greater lung capacity, which in turn creates the foundation for a fit and healthy lifestyle. Flexibility is the ability of joints in the body to move through their full potential range of movement. Flexibility is one of the most overlooked of the 5 components of physical fitness; it is just a vital to the bodies overall fitness, maybe even more so than the other 4 components. Stretching provides for a more agile body and will reduce the muscle tension associated with a hard workout. Flexibility also will reduce joint issues and tension headaches. Finally, Body Composition is the percentage of a persons body fat in relation to their total body mass. Body composition is measured by using a body fat test. The best method is doing the 3, 4, or 7 site skin fold test using specifically designed skin fold calipers. It’s recommend that one should identify a test for each of the five components and conduct those tests to find a baseline set of data, which will show where the current fitness level is and where to work on improving the five components of physical fitness as needed in order to maximize each one to their full potential. Ads How to Build Muscle – The Nonsense Hardgainer Guide To Bodybuilding 7 Minute Muscle – Build More Muscle In Just Minutes! Tom Venuto’s Burn The Fat Feed the Muscle How To Build Muscle and Gain Weight Fast – Top Mass Building System April 12th, 2010 by Joe Any physical activity helps the body become fit, and becoming fit makes for a happier, longer and well lived life. Many people hold back on becoming fit because they feel self-conscious about their ability or have doubts if their body is up to the task, but organized classes and sports clubs will provide them with the support and motivation. Many activities can be done by themselves, and require no technical expertise or much in the way of equipment or expense, just their willingness to give it a go. Walking improves the condition of the heart and lungs, which is considered a cardiovascular fitness and works the muscles of the lower body. Walking is a weight bearing activity, so it improves the bodies bone density and it’s low-impact, which puts less stress on the joints like running can do. A high-impact activity, such as running, will maintain and even increase the bone density, helping offset osteoporosis. But, running can also put more stress on the joints, especially if they are overweight, so walking is recommended over running. Swimming is a great way to tone up and trim down their body, because to swim, they need to move their body against the resistance of the water. Just swimming for a few lengths involves all of the major muscle groups that gives the body a great workout, plus, if the swimming gets cranked up, they will also benefit from an aerobic workout. Dancing is considered an aerobic activity that will improve the condition of the heart and lungs and well as testing the bodies balance. Dancing for any length of time also requires muscular endurance and motor fitness. Gym based activities, which include aerobic exercise like running, rowing, or cycling machines will be tailored to their specific needs, and all ages and fitness levels are catered to and improvements can be measured. Plus, the advantage of belonging to a gym compared to working out on their own, is that a gym is a great social activity where new friends can be made and where they will receive the emotional support necessary to continue on with a good exercise program. Ads How to Build Muscle – The Nonsense Hardgainer Guide To Bodybuilding 7 Minute Muscle – Build More Muscle In Just Minutes! Tom Venuto’s Burn The Fat Feed the Muscle How To Build Muscle and Gain Weight Fast – Top Mass Building System April 11th, 2010 by Joe When to take Creatine is a difficult call, some body-builders take Creatine before they workout, believing they have the advantage of it’s availability in the bloodstream, other body-builders believe they should take Creatine after a workout, because their muscle cells will be more receptive to the nutrient, still other body-builders believe that Creatine is a stored substance, that it doesn’t really matter when you take it. There are many factors when it comes to taking Creatine as a supplement like pill form compared to powder and liquid forms, large dosage or small dosage, whether to load the Creatine or not load, taking it with juice or with other Creatine products, taking it before a workout our after a workout, cycling or not cycling, and how much water to drink, how much protein is necessary, and finally concerns with caffeine. Powder compared to pills or liquid intake is the most used and trusted by body-builders to be the best way for delivery into their system. Pills are expensive, are more difficult to dissolve and is considered the worst way for delivery. Liquid Creatine seems to have a good advantage with it’s absorption rate, but the supplement in liquid form is not stable. As for dosage, it’s recommended to start off with only 2 to 5 grams per day (non-loading or no loading). If taking more than that at the beginning, the body will turn the excess into waste, basically washing away your budget for the supplement. Loading is taking extremely high amounts of Creatine for the first 5 to 7 days, which is split into 2 to 4 servings of 20 to 25 grams dosage. Most responsible body builders do not load, they gradually build-up their intake and get the same benefits as with the practice of ‘loading’. Taking Creatine with juice has proven to be a more effective way than to take the supplement with water, but not with orange juice, which seems to reduce the effects. Taking Creatine plus products is just as effective as taking it with grape juice, but it’s also more expensive: most manufacturers formulas don’t come cheap. Cycling is when body builders will stop the use of Creatin supplements to restore their own bodily function of creating its own Creatine. Most studies show no effects on the body, one way or the other. Drinking more water than normal is a good practice when taking Creatine supplements. Creatine helps bring more water into the muscles during a workout, which requires more water in the body. Adding protein supplements to the Creatine supplement helps the body retain more of the Creatine than otherwise. When it comes to caffeine, some studies have shown it to limit the effects of Creatine, but other studies show no change at all. Ads How to Build Muscle – The Nonsense Hardgainer Guide To Bodybuilding 7 Minute Muscle – Build More Muscle In Just Minutes! Tom Venuto’s Burn The Fat Feed the Muscle How To Build Muscle and Gain Weight Fast – Top Mass Building System April 8th, 2010 by Joe Creatine is an amino protein that is found naturally in vertebrates and has also been developed into a muscle mass building supplement. There are conflicting studies on the substance though research indicates it is helpful in increasing body size and muscle mass. Athletes across the nation are using it and many have a grasp on how to do so, though there are also a great number of questions related to the physical aspects of how creatine works. One of the strongly supported research studies indicates that creatine works by increasing the activity of satellite cells and this makes possible the occurrence of muscle hypertrophy. It is believed that the ingestion of creatine can increase by up to 20 percent the level of phosphocreatine in the muscles. In turn this contributes to maximum levels of output, endurance and muscle repair. Conflicting studies indicate that these benefits are due to other dietary or work out aspects, though popular belief and use of creatine indicates a strong belief in its effectiveness and satisfaction with the results it provides. The most popular ways to ingest creatine are by purchasing a powder that is added to fluid and then mixed into a drink. The other popular commercial form is in a capsule. Both of these manners of ingestion are easy to measure and monitor. It is popular to take the capsule with an energy or protein bar. Creatine has been used in various muscle building programs long before it become extremely popularized in 1992. Research studies indicate that it has been used throughout the 20th century, though twenty years ago it hit the mainstream market as a work out supplement and has been used by professional athletes and common people who are seeking to get into shape and gain muscle mass. Creatine is a naturally occurring amino acid that has been adapted for athletic training purposes. It has not been classified as an illegal performance enhancing drug or steroid. Ads How to Build Muscle – The Nonsense Hardgainer Guide To Bodybuilding 7 Minute Muscle – Build More Muscle In Just Minutes! Tom Venuto’s Burn The Fat Feed the Muscle How To Build Muscle and Gain Weight Fast – Top Mass Building System April 5th, 2010 by Joe In today’s realm of bodybuilding, where new scientific developments lead to the developments of supplements, creatine has become something of a hot topic for athletes. It is one of the most widely-used supplements, and there have been many recent studies that show that there are very few long-term side effects for most people who use it. With any supplement, however, especially those that can alter the body’s chemistry, it’s necessary to talk to your doctor before beginning any kind of new regimen. But what, exactly, does creatine do? Creatine is already in the body, something that it produces naturally. It’s found in the skeletal muscles, and is that thing that gives muscles energy, as well as aiding in muscle contraction. Taking creatine supplements, then, can also help in building muscle mass, if used carefully, and in the recommended allowances. The force of muscle contraction depends on the amount of ATP, which the muscles use quickly before turning it into ADP. Creatine works with this to turn ADP back to ATP, so there is more energy to work with. As such, it provides a quick boost of energy to the muscles. It also decreases fatigue, so the athlete can work out longer. It also helps to increase lean muscle mass, and can increase the amount of fluid going into the muscle. That’s why it’s useful for some people in developing more quickly, and also allowing for that extra energy boost. However, it’s also always a good idea to increase muscle mass naturally, working with the body’s own chemical balance to improve performance and develop strength and tone without the help of supplements. This is because a body that develops naturally tends to hold its shape and definition for much longer. Exercise is something that’s intended to prolong life by promoting health in all areas and all levels. Creatine supplements can certainly aid in this development for quick boosts, but for long-term health, proper nutrition and a reasonable exercise are the best tools for any aspiring athletes. Ads How to Build Muscle – The Nonsense Hardgainer Guide To Bodybuilding 7 Minute Muscle – Build More Muscle In Just Minutes! Tom Venuto’s Burn The Fat Feed the Muscle How To Build Muscle and Gain Weight Fast – Top Mass Building System | |
