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8 Ways To Optimize Your Time In The Gym
“I just don’t have the time.” Whenever you talk to someone who could probably benefit from getting more exercise, this is far and away the most likely response you'll get.And the thing is, it's true. We're all in a bind when it comes to time. We work all day, maybe we've got a side hustle too. We're picking up the kids from school; we're running errands; we're trying like heck to maintain some small semblance of a social life with those near and dear to us.Maybe this is why some of the most common click-bait on the internet focuses on a very specific theme: Six-Pack Abs in Six Minutes A Day. 10-Minute Strength Workout. 8-Minute Chair Workout for Weight Loss.We can't vouch for any of these miracle training regimens, but we appreciate where they're coming from. There just isn't enough time. Time-Optimized Training This concern with available time isn't limited to people who want to sell you a Magic Weight-Loss Vibrating Belt. It's also one of the hottest trends among reputable gyms and trainers across the country. Their clients want shorter optimized workouts and classes that are designed to be efficient and effective in a briefer amount of time. And they're willing to pay for it, whether that means expensive one-on-one training, trendy classes, or the latest wearable fitness tech.Again, some of these fitness options are more hype than substance. But at their core is a philosophy containing a kernel of truth: A short, sharp, hyper-focused, high-intensity workout will confer more benefit than a slower-paced workout that takes up more time and offers plenty of opportunities for rest.To achieve the former, you don't necessarily have to shell out big bucks for a celebrity trainer or get on a wait list for a popular class. You just need to approach your daily workout with common sense. Here are eight ways to make your workout shorter, more efficient and more productive. 1Have a Detailed Plan Every Time You Walk Into the Gym We see this all the time, especially when two or more people are training together. What should we do today? I don't know, maybe leg day. Oh man, I'm not up for leg day. Look, the bench press is open, let's start there.This sort of lackadaisical approach to training is a recipe for failure. If you're wandering around, trying a little of this and a little of that, you might as well go home. Instead, you should have a specific split (i.e. back/biceps/forearms or chest/shoulders/triceps) you want to do, working knowledge of how exactly to work those body parts maximally, and an eye on the clock to minimize rests.You should also have a contingency plan in place for when particular machines or pieces of equipment are occupied. You should know exactly how to modify your routine (what to switch with what) so that you can keep working without a hitch. You do not want to be standing around while someone finishes up. Or trying to work in with someone who's pace is considerably more casual than yours. Always be looking ahead to the next piece of equipment, making sure it's available, and knowing what to do if it isn't. 245 Minutes or Less is Best In the Dark Ages of physique training, guys would be on the gym floor for ninety minutes, two hours, lifting massive volumes of aggregate weight at a leisurely pace. Golden era bodybuilders would clock in on the floor from eight to ten in the morning, and then COME BACK in the evening for some more work.Kudos to those guys, but their plane of existence is not yours. Even if you had that kind of time. The harsh truth is, a workout of more than 45 minutes is probably counter-productive. After forty-five minutes, you've already shredded all the muscle fibers you're going to shred, and you're just postponing recovery and squandering growth potential. You're flooding your system with stress hormones like cortisol that have negative effects on protein synthesis and fat gain. You're increasing your chances of injury. And, frankly, your rest intervals are probably too long anyway.Forty-five minutes is ideal for a workout consisting of eight different exercises, three sets each, with twenty to thirty seconds of rest between each set. Or some minor variation of such, which we'll get into. In the gym, pace is just as important as volume. Keep it moving. Then shut it down and start refueling and recovering. 3Emphasize Compound Movements Want to get more done in the gym in less time? Work more muscles. Isolation movements focused on your delts or your calves have a place in your regimen, but when time is a factor you want to dial in the Big Daddies of multi-joint movements -- bench presses, deadlifts, squats, and rows. All of these exercises work multiple muscle groups, build both mass and functional strength, and even improve balance and coordination.Also, it's a good idea to move these high-impact exercises to the beginning of your workout when you're fresh and your energy levels are at their highest. 4Steer Clear of the Treadmill Is there a machine in the gym that offers less benefit for your fitness-club buck than the treadmill? We don't think so. Yes, theoretically you do derive some cardiovascular health benefit from plodding along on the treadmill. But you'll gain the same benefit with a fast-paced, high-velocity weight training session. And that weight training session will help you gain muscle mass, while steady-state cardio chews up muscle mass, spares body fat, and undermines your metabolism. Worse yet, your body acclimates to it very quickly, so after a while, you're not even burning much in the way of calories, never mind fat.The truth is, you're better off doing cardio outside the gym, maybe twice a week. Run some sprints. Find a sports field or event arena near you and climb some inclines or stairs. Simply going for a walk offers much the same cardio benefit as sweating on that noisy machine. If you want to do cardio in the gym, invest in a class. Kick boxing, high-intensity interval training, a dance aerobics class, heck, even yoga all offer better cardio and fat-burning benefits. And they're more fun, too. 5Employ Supersets The key to time-optimized training is to reduce the amount of time you spend at rest. One way to do this is to utilize supersets. A superset is essentially a workout routine in which you do two exercises, targeting different and contrasting muscle groups, back to back without any rests in between. This is a time-efficient strategy that will significantly build both strength and endurance.Good examples of superset pairings include bench presses and rows, bicep curls and tricep push-downs, dips and pull-ups, leg curls and deadlifts. You can find many more online. Do five blocks of exercises working opposing muscle groups in thirty minutes and you'll walk out of the gym feeling like you just went to war. 6Put Down the Phone It's a common theme here, but still a universal truth. Unless you're a brain surgeon on call or have small children at some kind of unique risk, you can be off the phone for forty-five minutes. Leave the phone in your car. Or, if you need it for music, set up your music before you hit the floor and slip the phone into a common arm-band-type phone holder so you don't have easy access to the screen. Tiktok can wait. 7Avoid Rush Hour We're big fans of home gyms. If you own your own home and have a suitable dedicated space -- extra room, basement area, garage -- for working out, by all means do so. You can assemble a highly versatile training set-up with relatively few pieces of equipment and eventually save money compared to what you'll spend on a gym membership over the years. You'll also have good motivation for actually using that equipment, since it will be staring you in the face every day.Not everyone has this opportunity, however, so the next best thing is to schedule your gym visits in off hours. Don't feel that you have to join the 5pm-to-7pm masses jostling for gym floor space and queuing up for the squat rack. Early morning workouts afford greater access to equipment and get your day off to a vibrant, positive start. Since you're focused on shortening your workout, lunchtime is also a possibility and will help you avoid the dreaded midday slump. 8Train With A Friend And no, not the feckless gym tourist referenced in #1 above. Finding a workout partner at your basic level of development, who shares your determination, is the gift that keeps giving. That person will push you when your pace slackens, inspire you to make a greater effort, and, if need be, shame you into going to the gym when it's 12 degrees out on a February morning. The articles featured herein are for informational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice. Specific medical advice should only be obtained from a licensed health care professional. No liability is assumed by ProSource for any information herein.
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10 Common Gym Exercises And How to Do Them Wrong
If you're the kind of regular gym visitor who really likes hanging out in the gym, but would really rather not see any physique or strength increases, today you're in luck.We spend A LOT of time in gyms and we see all kinds of people doing all kinds of wrong things, ensuring that their workout efforts are mostly in vain. And today we want to share some of their secrets.Ready? Here we go. 1. Standing Barbell Curl:Use your back and elbows to gain leverage. Seriously, watch some guys do standing curls and you'd think they're dancing the limbo. They're cocking their hips forward to get the bar moving and then quickly shifting their elbows directly under the bar to gain even more leverage. It's like they're trying to pass beneath the bar rather than lift it. And their biceps are strictly along for the ride. This is a good way to get little benefit from the exercise and maybe throw out your back.How to Do It Right: First of all (and this will be a recurring point), if you can't do the exercise correctly, you're trying to lift too much weight. Take some plates off the bar, Tarzan. Okay, now keep your hips stationary and your elbows firmly entrenched at your sides as you lift the bar. Make sure your back is straight. Lift the bar slowly. Picture a clock. If the bar starts at 9 o'clock, lift it to about 11 o'clock. You want to keep tension on the bicep. If you lift it all the way to 12 o'clock, you're resting at the top. Now lower the bar just as slowly. Don't lower it beyond 9 o'clock or the weight gets unsupported and you again risk injury. 2. Squats:End your squat high then harness momentum by bouncing out of it. Squats are the great equalizer. There's nothing as humbling as loading up the leg press machine with stacks of plates and then struggling with two 45-lb plates in the squat rack. Squats are also the source of great contention among gym rats. Many will tell you that parallel squats are bad for your knees, but we're here to tell you the opposite. If you end your squats too high (i.e. with your thighs not reaching parallel) the force of the barbell never transfers to your hips, meaning your knees are doing all the work.How to Do It Right: No one is impressed by the number of plates on the bar if you're doing quarter reps. Control the weight, move slow and easy. Going to parallel is not only safer on your knee joints, it engages more muscle fibers in your quads, hamstrings and glutes. Reach the bottom, pause, and rise up slowly. Employing a bounce at the bottom for momentum will, again, risk injury to your knees and your back as well. 3. Flat-Bench Dumbbell Flye: Tap the weights together at the top of each rep. Satisfying, isn't it? That little ding as you bring the dumbbells together over your head? Maybe it's because each time you do it, you're resting. You're removing the stress from your pectorals, allowing your chest to rest at the top instead of getting a maximal contraction. How to Do It Right: We're taught to quantify our workouts in terms of reps, but the real metric that matters is time under tension. With flyes, you need to raise the dumbbells to the equivalent of 11 o'clock and one o'clock, pause where you can still feel the effort in your pecs, and then lower them. Here again, don't overdo the depth on the negative end to a point where the weights are poorly supported, which opens the door to injury. 4. Bench Press:Arch your back and move your legs a lot. You would think, with all the attention people pay to bench presses, they'd do them with better form. But no, the mistakes are legion. As that last killer rep approaches, you see the butt rise up off the bench and the feet start moving. That guy's really working, right? Maybe, but none of that stuff is helping. In fact, he's wasting power and squandering leverage.How to Do It Right: When you prepare to bench press, drive your feet into the ground just like you would before a squat or deadlift. Anchor your glutes to the bench. Keep them like that and you’ll tighten your lower body while boosting stability and strength. While we're on the subject, keep your elbows close to your ribs as you press the weight up. This reduces the pressure on your shoulders and puts the load on your chest and triceps. 5. Dumbbell Lateral Raise: Swing the dumbbells all the way down in front of your hips and rock them back up. Lateral raises are meant to work a relatively small area, the middle deltoid head. So if you're hoisting 45-pound dumbbells, chances are you're cheating on your raises. Bringing the dumbbells all the way down to your sides between each repetition allows your muscles to rest at the bottom. If you bring the dumbbells down in front of your hips until they touch one another, you're extending further into the range where the middle delt isn't activated, and you're probably shifting your hips forward on the ascent to add some momentum to your raise.How to Do It Right: First of all, choose a more realistic weight and bring the dumbbells down to your sides. Hold them about six inches away from your sides, and then, without swaying or moving your body to help, lift the dumbbell out and up, only using your deltoid muscle to power the move. Bring the weights slowly and deliberately back down to your hips. 6. Bent-Over Dumbbell Row: Bring the dumbbell up by simply bending your elbow. Terrific! You've turned a shoulder exercise into a bicep exercise. Think about the action of your back muscles during a row. If they're stationary, if you can't feel tension in them, you're not working them. If you're bringing the dumbbell up to your flank by simply bending your elbow, you're basically calling on your biceps to do the majority of the work. Now, think about what happens to your back muscles when you shift your shoulders back and shoulder blades inward. That contraction is what you want. How to Do It Right: To engage your back in the exercise, you need to make sure your shoulder is moving along with your elbows. Establish this mind-muscle connection by visualizing your back muscles engaging on each repetition of a row, gliding inward toward your spine. Imagine you're trying to pinch a pencil between your shoulder blades. Once you start doing rows correctly, you'll soon be increasing the weight you can handle, while increasing the size of your lats and rhomboids. 7. Seated Cable Row: Lean forward and backward through each rep. You watch some people do cable rows and it looks like they're rowing sprints for Yale varsity crew. They're leaning as far forward as they can, then leaning excessively back the other way as they pull the handle toward their abdomen. You're not trying to beat Princeton. You're not trying to work your lower back and legs, either. The point of the seated cable row is to build strength and size in your upper back.How to Do It Right: To activate your upper back, you want to control the movement, staying upright throughout. As you bring the handle toward you, flex your upper back, which will pull back your shoulders. As you lower the weight, don't allow your upper body to follow the handle forward. Just let your shoulder blades shift outward and your elbows straighten. You should feel the tension in your lats, your rhomboids and to a lesser extent in your lower trapezius. 8. Dumbbell Lunge: Get your knee way out past your toes in the bottom position. You know you're working hard if you're getting super deep into each lunge and pushing your knee way out ahead of you. Right? Well, no. Actually you're taking too short a step forward into your lunge and then compensating by listing forward in an unsupported position. Along the way, you're subjecting your front knee to needless shearing forces and strain. Lunges are an excellent body-weight bearing exercise that emphasizes balance and posture, but not so much if you're in an ungainly position that you keep falling out of.How to Do It Right: Make sure you step out deeply enough and that you keep your hips shifted back. At the bottom of a lunge, your front knee should be in a 90-degree angle, and your back knee should be elevated an inch or two off of the floor. You should feel this in your quads, hamstrings and glutes. 9. Triceps Cable Press-Down: Lean over the bar as you push it down. Triceps cable press-downs are not a bodyweight bearing exercise. This is one we see all the time. People ambitiously popping the pin in under a huge stack of plates and then bearing down on the handle with all their weight. If you're leaning forward and shifting your shoulders over the handle as you finish each repetition, you're not letting your triceps take on the bulk of the workload. How to Do It Right: This is one exercise in which having access to a mirror really helps. You may think you're keeping your elbows motionless, but chances are they're revolving in little circles as you try to gain leverage. Lock your elbows in place at your sides and try to keep your spine as vertical as possible to isolate the tension on your tri's. 10. Seated Barbell Press: Slide forward so your lower back isn't in contact with the pad. This is a very common cheat. The seated barbell vertical press (or military press) is a high-volume exercise that isolates a small muscle group. Your delts. By sliding your lower back away from the pad behind you, you're trying to get leverage over the weight by engaging your upper pecs, essentially turning a vertical seated press into an incline press. Whenever you see some guy doing vertical presses with super-heavy dumbbells, this cheat is probably in play. How to Do It Right: Simple. Use lighter weights and keep your back pressed tight to the vertical seatback behind you. You'll start building those bowling ball delts you're seeking and your lower back -- no longer unsupported and subject to the risk of strain -- will thank you.The articles featured herein are for informational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice. Specific medical advice should only be obtained from a licensed health care professional. No liability is assumed by ProSource for any information herein.
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7 Most Common Training Injuries, What Causes Them and How to Avoid Them
One of the great inequities of the active lifestyle -- particularly with regard to weight training -- is that it takes so long to gain even small amounts of muscle, and so little time to lose it again. This is especially true when the down-time is the result of injury.How quickly can you lose muscle and strength? In a recent study, researchers found that just one week of bed rest for otherwise healthy, well-trained young males resulted in an average loss of 3.1 lbs of muscle mass (1 Dirks). Another study showed that active young men lost 28% of strength and 17 ounces of leg muscle mass after two weeks of immobilization with a cast (2 Vigils).Of course, you don't have to be completely immobilized to experience swift reductions in muscle mass and strength. Simple common training injuries can force you to modify your regimen, removing certain exercises and making your workouts less productive. (These modifications can also sometimes lead to further injuries, as you try to compensate for the initial injury.)The frustrating thing is, most common workout injuries are easily avoidable if you're properly prepared, maintain proper form, know the warning signs of a worsening condition, and adhere to sensible training volume. Here are the causes of common but painful weight-training-related injuries and simple techniques for avoiding them. 1. Rotator Cuff / Shoulder Inpingement Syndrome This type of injury, most often associated with movements in which leverage is lost and weight isn't properly supported, involves a rupture of the superior labrum anterior and posterior in the shoulder girdle. In the gym, it is most commonly linked to exercises like overhead barbell presses, lateral raises and reverse flyes. Although the most severe form of this injury is a tear, a less severe condition called Shoulder Impingement Syndrome (in which an inflammation occurs around the tendons at the rotator cuff) can also be quite painful. Warning SignsAny sort of subtle popping or clicking you can feel in connective tissue during movements, especially lateral or overhead movements. Recurring pain, especially when lifting items over your head. Advanced signs might include grating or cracking sounds or feelings when moving your arm, trouble sleeping on the affected side and finally noticeable muscle weakness.PreventionBy and large, the majority of these injuries are caused by bad form and using too much weight. If you find that you're resorting to momentum (swinging your back or shoulders) to complete reps in overhead movements such as lateral raises or flyes, you're putting yourself at risk. Use a weight you can control over the complete range of motion with proper technique. Resist the impulse to over-extend the arc of your movements to the point where the weight is not correctly supported. 2. Plantar Fasciitis Plantar Fasciitis is most often associated with runners, but it can be caused by any sort of high-impact stress to the plantar fascia, a strong fibrous ligament that runs from your heel to the ball of your foot and your toes. This includes weightlifting that puts heavy stress on your feet, such as squats, deadlifts and standing barbell curls and overhead presses. It can also be caused by simply standing on your feet for excessively long periods of time during a typical day. Medical professionals estimate that one in every ten people will develop plantar fasciitis at some point in their life.Warning SignsPlantar fasciitis is characterized by a sharp, tight painful sensation at the base of the heel like stepping on a nail. The pain can vary from moderate to excruciating. Early signs of plantar fasciitis might include persistent pain in the arch of your foot, stiffness, or a tight Achilles tendon. Eventually you'll experience swelling around your heel and then chronic heel pain.PreventionOver-training and overuse can lead to plantar fasciitis. Also the wrong choice of footwear. We spend a lot of time in gyms and we've seen some of the most inappropriate footwear imaginable. Flat-soled boat shoes. Crocs. Sandals. People running barefoot on treadmills. It's excruciating just to watch. Any sort of weightlifting done while standing on your feet requires a steady, sturdy base with proper heel and arch support. Get yourself a proper pair of cross trainers.Footwear is even more important to runners. We strongly suggest that you go in person to a store that specializes in athletic footwear. These establishments have trained professionals, often with access to diagnostic equipment that can assess your stride and your weight distribution, and will match you with the ideal shoe.Also, it is important to know that running is not for anyone. If running long distances on hard surfaces is causing you heel pain, try rolling your foot on a golf ball, icing the injured area, and stretching and strengthening your calf muscles. If that doesn't work, then there are plenty of aerobic exercise alternatives that involve less impacts such as swimming or elliptical training. 3. Pinched Nerve A pinched nerve is caused when too much pressure is applied to a nerve by surrounding structures, such as bones, cartilage, muscles or tendons. It's a common condition in the neck and back, and can cause pain, numbness or a tingly sensation to radiate outward along the area served by the nerve.Warning SignsIf you have a frequent feeling that a limb, hand or foot has "fallen asleep," or if you're experiencing paresthesia (that tingling or "pins and needles" sensation), you could be in the early stages of suffering a pinched nerve. Eventually those symptoms will give way to a sharp or burning pain and muscle weakness in the affected area. These are all signs that you are experiencing swelling of connective tissue or muscle, or an out-of-position bone such as a spinal disc. Indeed, a pinched nerve can be a precursor to a much more serious condition, like a herniated disc.PreventionA pinched nerve serves as the perfect opportunity to present an argument against the popular notion of "working through the pain." Swelling or a shifted spinal disc is not going to get better if you ignore it. Rest is the prescription. If the swelling doesn't go down (i.e. the pinched nerve pain persists after several days) a visit to your doctor for analysis and probably an x-ray is well indicated.To prevent the onset of this condition, pay proper attention to form when you're working out. If you're placing the brunt of the resistance on your bones or spine (as opposed to your muscles), you're doing it wrong. Try to avoid curling or swaying your back during movements by tightening your abdomen and not lifting weights that are too heavy for you. Vary your workouts and remember that a few days' rest or a change of pace are both ideal components of a productive training program. 4. Patellar Tendonitis Your patella is your kneecap and patellar tendinitis is an injury that affects the tendon that anchors your kneecap to your shinbone. This condition is most often associated with running and jumping, but can arise from weight training as well. This is especially true of exercises that put excessive strain on the knees, such as hack squats, deadlifts, lunges, and barbell squats. These activities can cause tiny tears in the tendon that accumulate faster than your body can repair them.Warning SignsPain in the knee, plain and simple. At first, you'll experience discomfort when beginning your workout and after an especially intense training period. Eventually the pain worsens until common daily tasks like climbing stairs or even getting out of a chair become difficult.PreventionThere are no exercises for which proper form is more essential than the deadlift and squat. Your chances of injury are much higher here than anywhere else on the gym floor. In terms of your knees, keep them in correct alignment with your hips and ankles. Any lateral movement of the knees during a squat is to be avoided. Also, don't overdo depth in your squats. Friends like to give each other grief about shallow squats, but for the most part, your hips should drop just slightly below your knees and no further. Also, as always, use a weight you can control in both the positive and negative halves of the lift. Another factor that can lead to patellar tendonitis is muscular imbalance. If some muscles in your legs are much stronger than others, the stronger muscles may pull harder on your patellar tendon. A proper "leg day" should include targeted movements to strengthen your quads, hamstrings, calves and abductors. 5. Back Strains Unlike many of the injuries on this list, a painful back strain is not usually the result of repetitive, long-term stresses. It is often the result of a single unmindful moment. It can arise from a single poor rep at the end of a series of standing barbell curls in which you let your back sway out of position. It can be caused by a bent-over row in which your back is not angled or supported correctly. Or you can unthinkingly reach past someone to pick up or replace a dumbbell or kettlebell in the rack and feel that sudden sharp twinge in your back. The result is the same -- a painful strain that will literally effect just about any exercise or activity you can think of.Warning SignsPretty much none. You were okay a second ago, and now your high-stepping off the gym floor, kneading your throbbing lower back and looking at some significant down time.PreventionAs we've said, be mindful and in the moment. Pay attention to what you're doing. As people have been telling you all your life, when lifting, bend your knees to lift and keep your spine straight. Also, consider a secure, sturdy weightlifting belt. We see less and less of these in gyms these days and we have no idea why. Finally, stay away from machines that theoretically target the back and obliques but provide little or no benefit, like back extension or seated ab rotation machines. Subjecting the spine to vigorous twisting and lunging while keeping the hips in a static sitting position is a recipe for disaster. 6. IT Band Syndrome The IT band (or iliotibial band) is a long band of connective tissue that runs from hip to knee on the outside of your leg. When it's tight or inflamed, it can cause a chronic ache along the outside of your knee. IT Band Syndrome is commonly associated with runners, but it can affect weight trainers as well, as the actual inflammation results from the IT band rubbing over the thighbone, which occurs when you bend and straighten your knee. Warning SignsBefore any pain is even present, you may notice a clicking sensation where the IT band rubs against the knee, indicating tightness. Eventually, you'll sense a warmth or redness around the knee which will worsen into chronic pain when running or exercising.PreventionThough it might seem that your knee is the cause of ITBS, this condition actually originates from weak gluteal muscles, which destabilize the long tendon in your thigh. Glutes are very often the weakest link in a fitness enthusiast's physique, so there's plenty you can do to strengthen this area and prevent ITBS. Weighted squats, lunges, and barbell hip thrusts all target the glutes to some extent. Simple side leg raises and side shuffles (steps to the right and left) with or without resistance bands also work, or you can employ a stability or exercise ball to do side hip bridges and hip thrusts. Also, again, proper preparation is key. Warm up and stretch prior to exercise and get yourself a high-quality pair of shoes specific to the activity at hand. 7. Elbow Tendonitis Elbow tendonitis (or "tennis elbow") is a pernicious chronic condition for weight trainers because it involves gripping. Gym warriors do a lot of gripping. Characterized by inflammation in the elbow tendons that connect to your forearm joint, elbow tendonitis arises from the repeated contraction of the forearm muscles used to straighten and raise your hand and wrist. Gradually, as in other forms of tendonitis, little tears begin to appear in the tendon and its strength and flexibility are impaired.Warning SignsThe warning signs of elbow tendonitis are pretty straightforward. Pain when gripping or lifting an object or when rotating the wrist. Weakness or tingling in your arm or hand. Elbow stiffness and reduced range of motion. Eventually you'll experience pain or a dull, aching sensation that radiates from the elbow down into the forearm.PreventionMany people with this condition resort to applying ice or a cold pack to the affected area, which is an effective short-term treatment for swelling. Tennis players are often advised to switch to a racquet with a larger diameter grip. Weightlifters can emulate this by sliding circular foam pads around barbell and dumbbell grips, or wearing lifting gloves. Lifting gloves that provide sturdy wrist support are an even better idea.To prevent the onset of elbow tendinitis, make an effort to build overall wrist strength by doing finger stretches and wrist flexor stretches or by doing exercises that don't involve gripping at all, like push-ups or resistance band movements. Conclusion The old axiom is true: An ounce of prevention equals a pound of cure. Proper equipment, pre-exercise stretching, correct form, and the self-awareness necessary to avoid exacerbating an already-present injury will keep you on the path to overall wellness and pave the way to peak workout productivity.Scientific References1 Dirks ML, Wall BT, van de Valk B, Holloway TM, Holloway GP, Chabowski A, Goossens GH, van Loon LJ. One Week of Bed Rest Leads to Substantial Muscle Atrophy and Induces Whole-Body Insulin Resistance in the Absence of Skeletal Muscle Lipid Accumulation. Diabetes. 2016 Oct;65(10):2862-75. doi: 10.2337/db15-1661. Epub 2016 Jun 29.2 Vigels A, Gram M, Wiuff C, Andersen JL, Helge JW, Dela F. Six weeks' aerobic retraining after two weeks' immobilization restores leg lean mass and aerobic capacity but does not fully rehabilitate leg strength in young and older men. J Rehabil Med. 2015 Jun;47(6):552-60. The articles featured herein are for informational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice. Specific medical advice should only be obtained from a licensed health care professional. No liability is assumed by ProSource for any information herein.
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Building Muscle On A Vegan Diet
Unless you live under a rock — a rock with no wifi access — you’ve probably noticed that there’s been an explosion of interest in vegetarian and vegan lifestyles. Once the province of new-age hippies and animal rights activists, plant-based diets have gone mainstream in a big way. Indeed, according to a 2019 article in The Economist, 25% of 25- to 34-year-old Americans say they are vegans or vegetarians, and the trend is accelerating.Before we go on, let's establish the difference. A vegetarian is someone who doesn't consume any food products made from meat, poultry, fish, or seafood. In addition to these staples, a vegan will also not consume eggs or dairy products. Some extremely strict vegans will also extend this prohibition to some insect by-products such as honey.So, why go veggie? Well, there's the sustainability issue, of course. It takes a big old mountain of vegetable matter to feed one cow that in turn can be sliced into a few steaks. Environmental and ethical concerns aside, however, many people have discovered that they simply feel better after eliminating meat from their diet, whether it's due to digestion issues or allergies. Reducing meat intake may also help reduce cholesterol levels, lower A1C blood sugar levels, and lower the risk of getting certain kinds of cancer.One last bastion left unconquered by the vegan hordes has always been the realm of serious muscle-building athletes. Common consensus has always maintained that vegetable proteins are incomplete proteins that are not as efficiently utilized by the body to repair and build muscle tissue. The Protein Biological Value Scale, which ranks food sources according to percentage of protein that can be digested and used for muscle building purposes, includes all meats at the top and plants toward the bottom, generally speaking.All of which brings us back to our primary question: Can You Build Muscle on a Plant-Based Diet? For our purposes here, we're going to be considering the vegan lifestyle, so no eggs or dairy either. The answer is a classic good news / bad news proposition.1) Yes, you can build significant muscle mass on a vegan diet.2) It won't be easy.Skeptical? You don't have to take our word for it. Tennis superstar Venus Williams, pro basketball standout Chris Paul, and multiple Wimbledon champ and world number one tennis player Novak Djokovic have all embraced plant-based lifestyles while reaching the apex of their sports. Powerlifter and Germany's strongest man Patrik Bouboumian credits his vegan diet with helping him build colossal muscle and strength.So it is possible. But vegan athletes have to be even more diligent about the food they consume than their meat-eating contemporaries. And even then, challenges remain. Let's take a look at some of them. 1Maintaining a Caloric Surplus We talk all the time about how many muscle-building athletes undermine their gains by simply not consuming enough calories every day. All the exercise in the world won't make a difference if there isn't enough growth fuel in the tank. And these athletes have access to calorie-dense chicken breasts, lean beef and whey protein formulas. Now imagine how difficult it is to gain muscle solely on leafy greens. There's a reason cows and deer spend every waking moment munching foliage.We advise ALL aspiring muscle builders to use a calorie calculator. A good calculator -- they're free all over the internet -- will tell you how many calories you need to maintain and grow muscle. And then you have to manually weigh what you eat and plan your meals ahead to make your macros. This is even more important for vegan athletes. It takes a lot of kale to hit your daily protein intake number.In terms of sheer calories, one solution for vegan athletes is to rely on nutrient-dense plant-based foods like nuts, seeds, oils, and complex carbohydrates. (Early warning here that if you're also gluten sensitive, you're in a double-bind because some of the following suggestions are gluten-rich grains.) Excellent sources of protein for vegans include ancient grains such as spelt, barley and sorghum, as well as quinoa, oats, soy, tempeh, and all sorts of nuts and nut butters. If you're culinarily adventurous, you might consider mycoproteins, a non-animal-based protein derived from fungus, and seitan, a kind of "wheat meat" that is one of the richest plant protein sources available and is a good source of selenium, iron, calcium, and phosphorus.Complex carbohydrates will help you elevate your caloric intake and are an excellent energy source for your workouts. Again, whole grains, wild rice, quinoa, sweet potatoes and oats are your friends here. Bulk up!The key is to eat and eat often. If you're grazing like a deer, you need to approach it like a deer. As an eight-meal-a-day job. 2Combining Plant-Based Meal Options to Create Complete Amino Profiles Different plants have different amino profiles, but one thing they all have in common is that they're incomplete. Veggies tend to be deficient in leucine, which is essential to facilitating protein synthesis in muscle tissue. You can meet this challenge by turning to vegan protein powders sourced from green peas, wild rice, hemp and chia seeds, all of which have relatively higher leucine values.Soy protein powder actually has a protein biological value slightly higher than fish and lean beef. This makes it an ideal option for mixing into shakes, stir-frys, stews and other meal options. Other plant-based options that contain comparable amounts of protein per serving as animal-based foods are pumpkin seeds, black beans, lentils, and almonds. Also consider combining nuts and seeds with legumes, as well as grains and legumes (rice and beans, for instance) to create more complete amino profiles. You don't have to do this in the same meal, but as part of your everyday regimen.You may want to increase your overall protein intake as well. Plant-based proteins aren't as swiftly absorbed as meat proteins. If you absorb 85% to 95% of the protein in chicken breast and beef, you might only absorb 50% to 75% of the protein in common vegan protein sources. So if a typical carnivore is consuming 1.5 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day, you might want to shoot for something closer to two grams. Again, it's a lot of eating. 3Accessing Proper Amounts of Trace Nutrients A vegan diet is rich in the nutrition you need to achieve peak physique and performance, but some very specific trace nutrients can be harder to obtain. The one most commonly cited is Vitamin B-12, which is found almost exclusively in animal-sourced foods such as fish, meat, dairy products, and eggs. Vitamin B-12 deficiency can increase risks for a number of serious health conditions, so it makes sense to supplement for this key nutrient. Fortunately, there are vegan-friendly B-12 products formulated from fairly exotic sources such as lichen algae and nori seaweed.Omega-3 fatty acids are super-nutrients that support heart health, antioxidant activity and recovery from intense exercise. We primarily associate Omega-3s with fish oils, but flaxseed is another vital source of Omega-3s, as are walnuts, chia seeds and Brussels sprouts. For greater absorbability and utilization, consider supplementing with an Omega-3 formulation derived from algae.You would think the "sunshine vitamin" and plant-based foods would go hand-in-hand, but actually the Vitamin D found in plants is the much less bioactively useful Vitamin D2. Vitamin D3 or cholecalciferol is better absorbed and effectively raises blood vitamin D levels for a longer period than vitamin D2. Fortunately, nature has you covered here, as Vitamin D3 is a hormone that your body produces naturally in response to sunlight. During winter months, you can supplement with Vitamin D3 derived from lichen algae.Other trace nutrients that can be lacking in vegan diets include iodine (which can be derived from kelp and furnished in supplement form), taurine (available in synthetic form), and calcium, which is usually associated with dairy products, but is also richly supplied in leafy greens like kale and spinach as well as tofu, almonds and chia seeds. 4Avoiding Blood Acidosis Here's an aspect of muscle-building where vegans actually have an advantage over their meat-eating friends. Dietary regimens that include animal-based products tend to make the blood acidic, especially over time. Increases in blood acidity can decrease muscle mass and inhibit growth. This is one reason older people lose muscle mass as they age.Foods that are highly alkaline include fruits and vegetables. Consuming them in sizable amounts can help in aiding and preserving muscle mass regeneration, as long as you're getting enough calories, proteins, exercise and rest. Which brings us to an obvious conclusion. It should go without saying that to gain muscle the vegan way, you need to keep all the other aspects of your fitness regimen on point. Train hard and rest just as hard. Avoid processed foods. There are plenty of vegan food options in the frozen food and snack aisles that are just junk. Manage stress and set realistic goals. The pathway to peak physique via vegan living can be a little more winding and challenging than the carnivore highway, but it is just as rewarding.The articles featured herein are for informational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice. Specific medical advice should only be obtained from a licensed health care professional. No liability is assumed by ProSource for any information herein.
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Working Out Safely In The Heat
One of the great joys of the milder seasons is being able to take your workout outside. After a long winter of toiling under the iron in closed quarters, it’s nice to shake things up and head outdoors for a change of pace, whether it’s cycling, stair climbing, sprints, pickle ball, or just taking a set of kettlebells out to a secluded area and weight training under an oak tree.In recent years, however, it seems like the milder days of spring get shorter in duration, while the dog days of summer start earlier, last longer and are much hotter. You don't have to take our word for it. Just look at the temperature records that are being set and reset everywhere from Arizona to Alaska.Anyway, one question we often get here at ProSource is this: How hot is too hot to train outside? The answer isn't as simple as it seems. There is no universal temperature at which outdoor activities should be curtailed. Some people need to exercise with care when the mercury tops 75 degrees F; others can and do perform at peak capacity when the temperature is ten, fifteen or twenty degrees higher. (Although if it's 105 degrees F, maybe postpone that 5K.)The factors involved include your overall fitness, your age, the activity in question, and how accustomed you are to outside physical exertion. (If you spend your days spreading asphalt for the highway authority, you've probably built up some acclimation to heat stress.)So instead of watching the thermometer like a hawk, you need to know how your body reacts to heat, what the best practices are for supporting your body's response to heat stress are, and most importantly, what are the warning signs that are telling you it's time to stop. Your Body In The Heat Human beings are like the ultimate hothouse flowers. A few internal degrees below perfect body temperature and we begin to experience hypothermia, or freezing to death. A few degrees above and hyperthermia sets in. Hyperthermia occurs when your body generates and/or absorbs more heat than it can displace or release.So your body is always heating itself. It is consuming fuel to produce and radiate heat. Staying warm is one of the conditions of staying alive. A normal human temperature, as we all know, is 98.6 degrees. But that's your internal temperature. The temperature on the surface of your skin is more like 90 degrees.Once the heat outside your body exceeds the heat emanating from within, your body's stress response kicks in to make sure you don't overheat. Your body can dissipate heat through breathing and increasing blood flow to the skin, but the primary way that the body sheds heat to remain at stasis is through perspiration. Sweat glands secrete water, which cools the skin and then evaporates.You're actually sweating pretty much all the time. If it's 40 degrees outside and you're wearing a cotton shirt, a sweater and a jacket, you're probably sweating. If it's 70 degrees outside and you're in direct sunlight, you're sweating again. If you're up on a stage, struggling through a speech, you'll sweat simply as a stress response. Most of the time, the amount of sweat is so small, we barely notice it. It appears on the surface of the skin as the thinnest sheen and evaporates immediately.When the heat is on, however, we really start sweating. Copiously. In fact, during high-intensity exercise in modestly warm temperatures, you can lose as much as two liters of body water per hour, as your body works to cool off. You'll lose even more under more extreme heat conditions. Know the Warning Signs of Dehydration and Heat Exhaustion People react to heat differently in that some dissipate heat more efficiently. It may be genetics or they may simply be better acclimated to increased heat. But eventually everyone will begin to dehydrate. You're simply losing too much water at too swift a rate. As you lose moisture, you're also losing crucial salts called electrolytes, which support the chemical reactions necessary for fluid balance at the cellular level and also conduct electrical pulses in your body, allowing your muscles to contract.Once your body's cooling system begins to be overwhelmed by outside factors -- high-intensity activity and ambient temperature -- hyperthermia begins to set in. This is simply defined as an abnormally high body temperature and it only takes a few degrees of temperature rise to manifest as a health emergency. A body temperature of more than 104°F is defined as severe hyperthermia.How does hyperthermia progress? At first you'll probably notice increased redness of the skin and excessive sweating, followed by the onset of headache and muscle cramps. You may also experience mild nausea. Clearly, if any these latter symptoms appears, you need to stop exercising, get to a cooler location and drink water. Plenty of it. Spraying yourself with cold water will also help.If you don't, heat exhaustion will begin to set in. Symptoms may include cognitive difficulty, mood changes, rapid pulse, tunnel vision, and dizziness. In the final stages, you may stop sweating entirely as you dehydrate fully and you may suddenly feel cold or experience goosebumps. You are now at the brink of losing consciousness. (Interestingly, people who are undergoing hypothermia, or freezing to death, have the opposite experience. In the final stages, they often feel unbearably warm and try to shed the clothing they're wearing.) Staying Safe In The Heat Happily, there are many strategies and safeguards we can employ to avoid this kind of dire, heat-related emergency. One, as we've said, is to simply be mindful of our body's interactions with excess heat.The most important thing you can do is drink water during exercise. DO NOT wait until you are thirsty. You are losing body water at a swift rate while exercising in hot conditions, and your thirst response is almost certainly lagging behind. Shoot for about a liter of water per hour. The most water your body can absorb in an hour is about 1.5 liters. Drink water before, during and after exercise.If you can, consume a sports drink that contains electrolytes like sodium, potassium and magnesium. These electrolytes, as we've said, help maintain fluid balance in the cell. Sodium, in particular, is essential for maintaining proper fluid levels. There is a reason for those ubiquitous bags of sunflower seeds in baseball dugouts on hot summer days. It isn't because sunflower seeds (or pumpkin seeds) are tasty. It's because they're covered with salt.Dress correctly for the heat. Wear light comfortable clothing made of moisture-wicking material. Avoid cotton, which absorbs and holds sweat rather than letting it evaporate and carry away heat.If you can, pick a shady place to exercise. Also workout with a partner. Symptoms that you might not notice in yourself can be easier to spot for someone else. And finally, don't overdo it. You're out there to increase your fitness and well-being, not end up in an emergency care unit. Be careful out there!The articles featured herein are for informational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice. Specific medical advice should only be obtained from a licensed health care professional. No liability is assumed by ProSource for any information herein.
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DO's and DON'Ts of Gym Etiquette
The gym occupies an unusual space in our lives. It's that rare space where people (usually strangers) gather in close quarters to achieve very specific goals. A workplace where no one has their own office or desk. Everyone's working very hard, while also trying to stay out of each others' way. And everyone seems to know exactly what they're doing but you.It can be a bewildering experience. If you're new to the gym life entirely, and all these machines and fitness areas are new terrain for you, we strongly suggest that you invest in the services of a personal trainer. Your new gym will happily provide one along with a variety of hourly plans from short-term to long. Your new guide will show you how everything works and better yet, help you establish a workout routine best suited to your goals and abilities.If you're just switching gyms, you've probably already received a guided tour when you signed up. So you know where everything is, generally speaking, and how most things work. Most gyms have posted rules for certain activities and they can vary from gym to gym. Make a point of reading and following the rules specific to your gym. So here you are, gym bag in hand, at the front desk. Let's take a look at some do's and don'ts of gym etiquette that will help establish you as a good citizen in your new workplace. Handling Free Weights DO Re-Rack Your Plates and DumbbellsFew things are more frustrating than sacrificing your workout pace and momentum because you're looking around a pair of 25-lb dumbbells, only to find six of them in the back corner of the fitness class room. Those signs that say "Please Put Your Weights Back" are there for a reason.DON'TDrop Your Weights on the FloorYeah, we get it. You're pushing yourself beyond the absolute furthest extremes of human exertion, so of course you have to drop 120 pounds of barbell onto the floor like you just lifted a Buick off someone's baby. ONE MORE REP, right? Here's another philosophy: Control the weight throughout the entire movement -- concentric and eccentric -- for maximum productivity and growth benefit. While we're on the subject: grunting is fine; howling in the throes of agony is not. Occupying Workout Stations DOLeave Your Phone AloneThis is controversial, we know. Especially if you're young. But really, you can take 45 minutes off from your phone. It'll be okay. If you're using it to play music, leave it in your pocket. If you're not, leave in in your locker. It's especially irksome to see someone sitting on a piece of weight-training equipment you'd like to use and having to give them side-eye as they engage in a text frenzy on their phone (or even more baffling, scroll through TikTok). If you must engage with your phone instead of your workout, do it somewhere out of the way.DON'TOccupy Two Pieces of Equipment at the Same TimeDon't be the guy on the overhead press machine who yells "I'm using that!" when someone tries to take a seat at the unoccupied pulldown machine. There's a place in the world for supersets and that place is an uncrowded gym. If you're in the gym at a high-volume time, you can usually improvise supersets with free weights (overhead free weight presses and bent-over rows, for instance). At the very least, you can let someone work in. On the Gym Floor DOWipe Down Equipment When You're DoneUntil recently, it used to be sufficient to carry your own gym towel and wipe down equipment you'd finished with. Now most gyms deploy spray bottles of disinfectant and paper towels. Make liberal use of them.DON'TBroadcast Distracting NoiseYour music should not be clearly audible to people around you. Likewise watching YouTube, Tiktok or Instagram clips with the volume on is a no-no. Finally, don't be the person wandering the floor or running on a treadmill and having a conversation with someone on your phone. No one wants to hear your personal business or that of the person you're talking to. In Fitness Classes DOFollow Along With the Instructor as Best You CanThere will always be a specific exercise or position that you have trouble with. Maybe your body just doesn't contort that way or you have a recent injury. If so, this is not the time to try some completely unrelated exercise or start chatting up your neighbors. A good instructor, when you're clearly having difficulty, will usually suggest a modified version of the exercise. Be grateful and do the best you can.DON'TArrive LateIt's a sign of disrespect to your classmates if you're barging into a class ten minutes late while everyone else is already furiously working the kickboxing bags or trying to achieve a state of meditation in a full lotus. Even if someone doesn't have to stop what they're doing as you creep by or move their mat to make room for you, you're still disrupting the flow of the class. Try to arrive on time, or better yet, arrive a little early so you can greet the instructor and get set up. Socializing DORemember That Everyone Is There For a PurposeEvery gym has its coterie of gadflies, people who wander around starting conversations. This should not be you. Be pleasant by all means, exchange simple greetings when required. But recognize that most people you encounter in the gym have a specific goal in mind, and it's not talking to you. They're trying to squeeze a specific number of sets and exercises into a specific time frame. People coming up to you to engage you in conversations is why god invented earbuds.DON'TOffer Exercise AdviceEven if you're right. Especially if you're right. You come off looking like a know-it-all or a busybody. And the person you're mansplaining (or womansplaining) to is going to feel singled out, especially if you're in discernibly better shape than they are. Everyone has to find their own way. Or learn from a certified trainer whom they're paying. Oh, and don't "congratulate" anyone for being in the gym. In the Sauna or Steam Room DOSit Upright and Be PeacefulA sauna or steam room is, by definition, a small, confined space. It's not a place to lay down horizontally across a length of bench with a towel over your eyes while other people stand. It's not a place to air your compelling political beliefs. It's certainly not a place to suddenly start doing burpees or pushups. And stop getting up to throw water on the heating element; it's not helping. Just enter, grab a seat, close your eyes.DON'TTreat the Space Like It's Your Laundry RoomYep, we've seen it all. And the guy who takes the prize is the one who brings his sweaty workout shorts or wet bathing suit, HANGS IT OVER A RAIL in the sauna, and leaves. Because that's what we want, to spend some quality time alone with your laundry. This shouldn't be a thing, but it is. Also the guy who holds a conversation with someone in the open door of the sauna or steam room while all the heat escapes. In the Locker Room DOClean Up After YourselfNever, ever, be the kind of person who says "That's what attendants are for." If your gym issues towels, don't leave them on the floor when you leave. Throw them in a hamper. If you spill something, supplement powder or some toiletry substance, clean it up. Leave sinks and showers clean for the next person. For god's sake, don't be the person clipping their toenails on a bench in front of the lockers. Basic common sense.DON'TTake Up All The Available SpaceA typical locker room has a lot of lockers and not many benches. It stands to reason that bench space will be at a premium, especially during peak hours. That means you don't get to spread out all your clothes and toiletries on the bench beside your gym bag and yourself. You don't get to take up the whole bench. When you're done with what you have to do, don't take up space chatting or texting. Move on and make room. We'll conclude on a positive note by reminding you that, while there are plenty of do's and don'ts to gym etiquette, you can usually get by in any gym environment by being mindful of two basic philosophies: 1) Treat People With Respect and 2) Give People Space.The articles featured herein are for informational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice. Specific medical advice should only be obtained from a licensed health care professional. No liability is assumed by ProSource for any information herein.
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Dial In Your Ultimate Physique and Get Lean for Summer 2023
Hey everybody! Are you ready for summer? Have you been idle through the winter and looking to tone up? Fudged a little on your New Years' resolution? No worries, we all do it and have our reasons. The awesome thing about the human body is that you can truly change it and get the look you want with hard work, patience, diet, and a detailed supplementation program. Before we go any further I just want to thank ProSource for providing the very best in proteins and supplementation that works 24/7 silently in the background helping me grow and improve year over year. This August will be 9 years since I started my fitness journey, all 9 of them I have used ProSource supplements. Diet and training has been all over the map but supplementation has remained the same, ProSource. Hard Work is The Foundation of a Better Body I was asked about core training a while back and we will get back to that in a minute but I want to expand on a couple of things that I mentioned in the intro. To see the changes you want, it's going to require hard work. What do I mean by hard work? The best way I can describe it is always give 100% of your capacity on that specific day. Some days are going to be more explosive than others and other days are going to be less than stellar. You might just be getting it done, but the key is to walk out of the gym knowing you gave everything you had. The key to change is to make your body just uncomfortable enough to force it to change. So this one is up to you. Diet is also up to you. For whatever it is you are trying to accomplish, you will need to experiment with your total calorie count based on progress. In my case it is about building muscle, so where did I start? Well, the recommended amount of protein for building muscle is about 1.5 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight. So if you are 200 pounds, you should be taking in 300 grams of protein per day which equals 1200 calories spread out evenly throughout the day, in my case 8 small meals. I’m one of those guys that has a hard time eating a lot so I have to do 8 times per day. Next I grabbed a total caloric intake number, just took a stab at it. The number I picked was 3000 calories per day. All I wanted was a starting point and then I would do minor adjustments depending on which direction the muscle to fat ratio was going, not just the scale. The scale is an indicator that says check what kind of weight you are putting on or losing but not the entire answer. I like to run relatively lean year-round so its important me. I’ve been in such a dialed-in spot over the past couple of years that I can cut or add 100 calories daily and see changes. Another bonus is knowing that you can have a cheat day regularly and no after affects. Sure I probably sacrifice some gains but I always feel good about myself at the pool or beach anytime of the year. Cool thing about building your body, its yours to do it how you like! Find the Nutrition Supplements That Work Best For You Supplementation? ProSource has everything that you need for an extremely detailed program. I make my own blends for morning, pre-workout, and night. I can tell you what to take but do the research, look at all of the descriptions and try them individually so you can see and feel what works for you and what doesn’t. That’s what I did and now I have my daily staples that I don’t go away from. Top supplements that work for me are: NytroWhey Ultra Elite, MyoZene, AndroTest, Creatine, Acetyl L Carnitine, Leucine, Taurine, AKG, Beta Alanine, BCAAs, Extreme Caffeine, and Arginine to name most of them. Last summer I tested out BetaStax Elite 3.0 and was very happy with the results so I will probably run that again soon for increased fat loss.Patience? That is up to you as well. If you put the work in consistently, get and keep your diet dialed in, and follow a detailed supplement program, you will see results, over time. Your body doesn’t change overnight. Once you start to see results then the fire is lit and you have your routine. Don’t be afraid to change things up, a little at a time, and see how your body responds. I’m at a point to where I can make a diet, workout, or supplement change and see the changes within a couple of weeks. If I’m happy I stay the course, if not then I go back and try something else. And keep written records of all changes and the effects. Long winded lead in to the main question, don’t ya think? Core training. I’ll be honest with you guys, I only do core training in the summer months for appearance. I lift as heavy as I can under as strict control as I can, most of the time. When performing heavy work, you core is going to be flexed to keep you stable. Think about your lifts. Squats – every muscle in the body for the most part. Shoulders – side raises will get your obliques, front raise will get your abs, bar military press will get all. Biceps and triceps – same as shoulders, individual arm movements will work obliques and bar work will hit abs. Standing weight training exercises will hit your core well enough, in my opinion, to where I don’t have a need to focus on core movements. When I do want to tone up the abs a little more than they already are, I do various crunches but not a bunch. The biggest key to seeing those core muscles is getting rid of that layer of insulation which is primarily fat but can also be excess water. To remove fat, we’ve already explained what to do above. To remove excess water, drink more water, like a lot. I target 2 gallons per day minimum. Get out there and make some changes that only you can do! Thanks and you can always find me on Instagram @darrinjhills Endorsers used products in conjunction with diet and exercise and may have been compensated for their appearance. Endorser's results are not typical. The articles featured herein are for informational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice. Specific medical advice should only be obtained from a licensed health care professional. No liability is assumed by ProSource for any information herein.
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7 Ways to Jump Start Your Beach Body Weight Loss
As May turns to June, it's time for many of us to take a look in the mirror and assess the results of our physique-enhancing regimen for Summer 2023. How far have we gotten in shedding excess fat and getting lean and extra-defined for the beach days and nights out of the long, sweet season ahead? Did you achieve your goals? Do you like what you see? Then congratulations are in order. Go forth and turn heads wherever you go. You earned it. Many of the rest of us, however, are discovering the age-old harsh reality of summer weight-loss efforts.In February and March, the pounds just melt right off as we put new summer clothes in our online shopping carts and research tropical destinations. These pounds are the easy ones, and part of us knows that. They're water weight and the excess fat most recently gained since last summer or over the holidays. Surely the fat loss will continue until we reach our goal, right? Unfortunately, our bodies have other plans in store for us. Faced with caloric deprivation (what are ancestors experienced as famine) our bodies take countermeasures to preserve what excess fat remains. Our metabolism, heart rate and blood pressure slow down. The needle on the scale stutters and stalls. Our mood suffers and we may actually begin to feel cold. We have less energy because, frankly, our bodies aren't going to expend energy they don't have. Welcome to the last days of calendar spring. The challenge is real and the finish line is so close. What's needed now is a few not-so-extraordinary measures to fire up fat loss, restore vitality, and attain the ideal physique we aspired to in the cold months of winter. Let's take a look at seven of those strategies for a strong finish. Prioritize Resistance Training Over Cardio Exercise Like Running Maybe you love running. A lot of people do. It relieves stress, can improve both agility and bone density and can even enhance your creativity. It's also excellent for cardiovascular health. But it won't help you lose a single ounce of body fat. And if you're doing it, now is the time to cut down on it, particularly steady-state running over extended periods of time. Steady-state cardio actually burns very few calories. Your body acclimates to this kind of treadmill plodding very quickly. Even if you keep your heart rate elevated (which not many people do) you're burning at best maybe 100 calories per mile. You'll replace those calories with the energy drink you consume afterwards. Worse yet, you're not building any new muscle. When you engage in low-resistance exercise like cardio, your body tends to spare fat stores, quickly burning through the muscle glycogen available and then tearing down existing muscle mass for fuel. Muscle mass is the furnace that you’re depending on to burn fat. The less of it you have, the more challenging fat loss will be.Instead, if f you want to burn fat, you have to lift weights regularly to increase your training volume and add muscle mass. You're probably already doing this, but in these last days of spring you should rely on weight training exclusively to get lean. The more muscle mass you have, the more fuel it takes to maintain, the more fat you will burn. What about your cardiovascular health? The truth is, if you're maintaining a brisk pace, keeping breaks between sets to a minimum, using supersets to work opposing muscle groups (and thus keep moving), you're already getting a cardio workout. You're sweating and your heart rate is elevated for the duration of your workout. It's the best of both worlds -- getting cardio AND adding muscle mass. Forty-five minutes, three to four workouts a week with an emphasis on keeping rest intervals short, should be more than enough. Measure Your Portions If you're not already doing this, trust us, you're consuming many more calories per day than you think. Most people just don't have a realistic concept of what constitutes portion size. Dial in your macros (50% high-quality low-glycemic carbs, 30% protein, 20% healthy fats), weigh your food, and set it aside into pre-arranged meals. (If this seems like a lot of work and your budget allows it, there are plenty of fitness-oriented meal services out there that will do this for you.) Keep a log of what you eat. Doing so may seem like busywork, but it will help you maintain an accurate picture of your eating habits and avoid cheating. You're less likely to cheat on portion sizes if you have to write the cheat down. And you're certainly less likely to grab a bag of chips at the Quickie Mart if you have to write that down too. Successful dieting doesn't just mean eating less, it means eating better. Support Muscle Mass and Growth with BCAAs Every pound of muscle in your body burns about 50 calories per day at rest. So it makes sense to maintain as much of it as possible. Unfortunately, muscle mass is the first thing to go when your body shifts into survival mode. To keep it, you have to use it, which is where resistance training comes in. You also have to feed it. High-intensity resistance exercise literally destroys muscle tissue. When we destroy muscle tissue during exercise, we do so with the intention of building it back, bigger and better. We can't do that, however, if our bodies are under-fueled (as during caloric-restrictive dieting). But there are calorically efficient ways to fuel the protein synthesis that is the foundation for muscle recovery and repair. Branched-chain aminos (the essential aminos leucine, isoleucine and valine) facilitate protein synthesis in muscle tissue. Leucine, in particular, is a primary activator of the mTOR anabolic pathway that governs protein synthesis and consequent muscle repair and growth. Restoration and growth of muscle tissue, in turn, results in increased metabolism and increased fat mobilization for energy. You can supplement with BCAAs without adding much to your daily caloric intake by simply incorporating a daily high-quality protein formula into your meal regimen. A single serving of a high-quality whey isolate formula contains high amounts of BCAAs with little more than 100 calories or so, with negligible amounts of fat, sugar and lactose. Or you can supplement with a straight-up BCAA supplement pre- or intra-workout. Again, every ounce of muscle you can retain will inch you closer to your beach body ideal. Increase Strength and Work Output with Creatine Several weeks into your beach body diet, energy becomes a problem. You may be feeling lethargic and your workouts are suffering. Prioritizing the highest-quality food sources will help you bridge that energy gap, but to keep your workouts maximally productive, more is needed.Strength is the key to maintaining and increasing workout performance and output. To support strength, you need to consider creatine supplementation, if you haven't added it to your regimen already.Many people (especially women) seeking fat loss shy away from creatine because they associate it with water retention and weight gain. This is a mistake. Creatine plays an important role in helping to synthesize adenosine triphosphate (ATP) in muscle tissue, a compound that releases energy used for muscle contractions.Creatine, especially in its monohydrate form, has been associated with positive effects on strength and endurance increase, training capacity, muscle mass, and body composition in literally hundreds of clinically studies conducted all around the world. Again, the more muscle you have, the more fat you burn. Creatine monohydrate is a calorie-free secret weapon in your quest for a lean, rock-hard physique. Reset Your Body's Weight Loss Potential By Varying Your Exercise Regimen If you're adhering to the same training regimen day after day and week after week, you're most likely bored with it and your body is too. Your body will acclimate pretty swiftly to a stagnant routine, which will make maintaining muscle and leaning out difficult to achieve. So it's time to change it up. If you're hitting the same circuit of machines and free weights every time you hit the gym, sign up for a group exercise class. Or try high intensity interval training as a substitute for long-interval, static distance running. Swimming, yoga and tennis (or pickle ball) are all worthy alternatives as well. The key is to challenge yourself, both physically and mentally. Whether you're lifting weights or executing a perfect warrior pose, be mindful of your heart rate. Try maintaining a heart rate that's around 50% to 85% of your maximum heart rate. To establish your maximum heart rate, subtract your age from 220. But most of all, remember that variety is the spice of life and essential to your beach-body goals. Get Sufficient Sleep to Recharge Lack of proper sleep doesn't just interfere with proper muscle recovery and overall wellness, it can actually lead to fat gain. Observational evidence has long suggested that people who report irregular or fewer hours of quality sleep are more likely to be overweight. How much sleep is optimal for a typical adult? At least seven hours of high-quality sleep per night. So draw the shades, turn off the TV (or better yet, put the TV in another room), set the temperature on the cool side, and set aside any electronic devices. Try Intermittent Fasting Intermittent fasting is all the rage these days, with dieters, athletes, and even bodybuilders employing it to reach their physique goals. It turns out that fasting may actually increase metabolism due to increases in serum norepinephrine caused by caloric deprivation. Fasting has also been linked to increases in growth hormone production, which would support both fat loss and muscle gain, and more responsive insulin production, which could facilitate fat burning. Which kind of fasting is best for you? You might try the 16:8 Method, which entails skipping breakfast each day and eating during an eight-hour 12 noon-to-8pm window. Or try the 5:2 Diet, in which you would consume only 500-600 calories two days per week and eat normally otherwise. You could also fast entirely for one or two 24-hour periods per week. No matter which method you choose, make sure you don't overcompensate by eating much more during non-fasting periods. Keep Your Eyes on the Prize Change, flexibility and willingness to adapt are key attributes to achieving your summer beach body goals. Stay focused, stay active, give your body the nutrition it needs to thrive, and power your way across the finish line. Your Beach Body Summer is at hand!The articles featured herein are for informational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice. Specific medical advice should only be obtained from a licensed health care professional. No liability is assumed by ProSource for any information herein.
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Soy Vs. Whey
Why do you work out? If you're like most people your reason is likely to feel better, enhance your physique by building lean muscle and losing fat, and/or to improve your health. These processes require a number of factors to be in order and a primary component is your diet, which many people feel is by far the most important component. To put it one way, having a "perfect" workout day is far easier as you can shown up to the gym and train your tail off, but a "perfect" nutrition day goes from sun up to sun down -- every day! Building muscle and burning fat demands intense, consistent workouts along with a killer diet, plus enough healthy calories to facilitate muscle growth (but not too much or you will build fat). increasing protein intake is one of the best strategies to accomplish this needed balance. for a chance to win this product! Not All Proteins Are Created Equal Can you increase your protein intake to levels you need to build muscle and still support and even improve your health? This too can be a tricky balance and in this regard, this is where the source of your protein can become important. How many different sources of protein can you think of? Beef, bison, chicken, turkey, milk, soy and many plants have some protein in them as well. While a protein source like beef can range a great deal in the amount of protein, fat and cholesterol they contain, other protein sources like milk proteins (whey in particular) and soy offer excellent health benefits, but the extent to which they support your workout goals can vary widely. Soy protein, in fact, is considered by many to be one of the more healthy proteins. The components found within soy are isoflavones that contain naturally occurring nonsteroidal substances called phytoestrogens. Phytoestrogens interact with the estrogen receptor on the muscle membrane and increasing your intake of soy-based products naturally increases your intake of phytoestrogens which may result in decreased incidence of coronary heart disease and different cancers (Erdman and Fordyce 1989, Montgomery 2003). Isoflavone and phytoestrogen intake may also improve risk for osteoporosis, reduce triglycerides as well total and LDL cholesterol (Wong, Smith et al. 1998, Teede, Dalais et al. 2001) and can be a key part of a successful weight management program (Bhathena and Velasquez 2002). Soy Protein and Hormonal Response The health benefits of soy are well established, but speculation remains whether regular ingestion of soy protein is ideal for resistance training males who seek to maximize various hormonal responses in an effort to get stronger and increase their muscle mass. In fact, a good amount of scientific evidence exists to support both sides of the argument and fortunately, a recent study published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition sheds some light on this exact topic. The purpose of this study by researchers at the University of Connecticut was to examine the extent to which soy and whey protein impacted changes in various hormones in response to a single bout of heavy lower-body resistance training (Kraemer, Solomon-Hill et al. 2013). The authors had ten college-age resistance-trained men perform three identical experimental trials. Each trial was separated by a 14-day period called a washout period. Each trial began with a 14-day supplementation period where participants consumed either 20 grams of a carbohydrate placebo, 20 grams of soy protein isolate or 20 grams of whey protein isolate each morning during the supplementation period. After the supplementation period, participants performed a single bout of lower body resistance training by completing 6 sets of 10 repetitions at approximately 80% of each study participant's one-repetition maximum (1RM). A series of seven blood samples were collected before and within the first hour after completing the exercise bout to measure changes in key hormones such as testosterone, cortisol and estrogen. The authors found that when soy protein was provided, serum levels of testosterone were diminished and cortisol levels (a stress hormone) were greater when compared to the levels measured when whey protein was consumed. When both testosterone and cortisol were observed together, 20 grams of whey protein supplementation promoted and sustained higher levels of testosterone while also causing the lowest levels of cortisol (Kraemer, Solomon-Hill et al. 2013). The authors concluded that supplementation with whey protein led to the most favorable changes in hormones found in the blood in response to a single bout of resistance training and in particular that ingestion of soy blunted increases in testosterone and increased levels of cortisol. Other studies exist to demonstrate that using soy protein can negatively impact levels of key hormones such as testosterone (Gardner-Thorpe, O'Hagen et al. 2003), sex hormone binding globulin (Habito, Montalto et al. 2000) as well as the ratio between testosterone and estrogen (Habito, Montalto et al. 2000). Moreover, it is thought that soy may inhibit the function of some key enzymes that facilitate the production of various androgens (Evans, Griffiths et al. 1995, Makela, Poutanen et al. 1998). for a chance to win this product! Whey Protein Generates a Preferable Hormonal Response Whey protein, particularly high quality hydrolyzed isolate versions such as BioQuest's MyoZene and ProSource's NytroWhey Ultra Elite possess extremely favorable profiles of amino acids and in particular contain the highest concentrations of the essential amino acids as well as the branched-chain amino acids. As mentioned before, a recent study reported that when similar amounts of protein were given prior to completing an intense bout of lower-body resistance training, the most favorable changes in both testosterone and cortisol were found when a whey protein isolate was given (Kraemer, Solomon-Hill et al. 2013). Isolate versions of whey protein like those found in MyoZene and the entire NytroWhey family are the purest forms of whey protein and as a result contain the highest amounts of protein, essential amino acids and branched-chain amino acids (the good stuff) and the lowest amounts of fat and carbohydrate (the bad stuff). Whey Protein Ingestion Supports Increased Protein Synthesis Hormone response is important, but there are other factors in play as well. Two recent studies compared the impact of soy and whey protein on changes in muscle protein synthesis at rest as well as after resistance exercise. The first study had young college-aged men complete three experimental trials where during each visit they ingested similar amounts of either whey, casein or soy protein. Muscle protein synthesis was measured both at rest and after a single bout of resistance exercise. At rest, rates of muscle protein synthesis after whey protein ingestion were 18% greater than when soy protein was ingested. When the same response was measured after completing a single bout of heavy resistance exercise, the results favored whey protein even more, leading to 31% higher values of muscle protein synthesis (Tang, Moore et al. 2009). Think these results only apply to young men? Think again! These results were reported again in a later study which used older men whereby whey protein ingestion resulted in greater levels of muscle protein synthesis when compared to soy protein ingestion (Yang, Breen et al. 2012, Yang, Churchward-Venne et al. 2012). In conclusion, soy protein, particularly isolate versions, are considered to be high quality sources of protein, but a number of studies continue to provide evidence that soy protein ingestion might lead to unfavorable changes in key hormones that are a part of the muscle building process. On the other hand, high quality, isolate versions of whey protein like those found in MyoZene and the NytroWhey Ultra Elite have the highest levels of amino acids and when compared head to head, and a number of studies indicate that whey protein ingestion promotes greater increases in muscle-building processes. Do you take a soy protein supplement? What have your results been with it? Let us know in the comments field below! References Bhathena, S. J. and M. T. Velasquez (2002). "Beneficial role of dietary phytoestrogens in obesity and diabetes." Am J Clin Nutr 76(6): 1191-1201. Erdman, J. W., Jr. and E. J. Fordyce (1989). "Soy products and the human diet." Am J Clin Nutr 49(5): 725-737. Evans, B. A., K. Griffiths and M. S. Morton (1995). "Inhibition of 5 alpha-reductase in genital skin fibroblasts and prostate tissue by dietary lignans and isoflavonoids." J Endocrinol 147(2): 295-302. Gardner-Thorpe, D., C. O'Hagen, I. Young and S. J. Lewis (2003). "Dietary supplements of soya flour lower serum testosterone concentrations and improve markers of oxidative stress in men." Eur J Clin Nutr 57(1): 100-106. Habito, R. C., J. Montalto, E. Leslie and M. J. Ball (2000). "Effects of replacing meat with soyabean in the diet on sex hormone concentrations in healthy adult males." Br J Nutr 84(4): 557-563. Kraemer, W. J., G. Solomon-Hill, B. M. Volk, B. R. Kupchak, D. P. Looney, C. Dunn-Lewis, B. A. Comstock, T. K. Szivak, D. R. Hooper, S. D. Flanagan, C. M. Maresh and J. S. Volek (2013). "The effects of soy and whey protein supplementation on acute hormonal reponses to resistance exercise in men." J Am Coll Nutr 32(1): 66-74. Makela, S., M. Poutanen, M. L. Kostian, N. Lehtimaki, L. Strauss, R. Santti and R. Vihko (1998). "Inhibition of 17beta-hydroxysteroid oxidoreductase by flavonoids in breast and prostate cancer cells." Proc Soc Exp Biol Med 217(3): 310-316. Montgomery, K. S. (2003). "Soy protein." J Perinat Educ 12(3): 42-45. Tang, J. E., D. R. Moore, G. W. Kujbida, M. A. Tarnopolsky and S. M. Phillips (2009). "Ingestion of whey hydrolysate, casein, or soy protein isolate: effects on mixed muscle protein synthesis at rest and following resistance exercise in young men." J Appl Physiol 107(3): 987-992. Teede, H. J., F. S. Dalais, D. Kotsopoulos, Y. L. Liang, S. Davis and B. P. McGrath (2001). "Dietary soy has both beneficial and potentially adverse cardiovascular effects: a placebo-controlled study in men and postmenopausal women." J Clin Endocrinol Metab 86(7): 3053-3060. Wong, W. W., E. O. Smith, J. E. Stuff, D. L. Hachey, W. C. Heird and H. J. Pownell (1998). "Cholesterol-lowering effect of soy protein in normocholesterolemic and hypercholesterolemic men." Am J Clin Nutr 68(6 Suppl): 1385S-1389S. Yang, Y., L. Breen, N. A. Burd, A. J. Hector, T. A. Churchward-Venne, A. R. Josse, M. A. Tarnopolsky and S. M. Phillips (2012). "Resistance exercise enhances myofibrillar protein synthesis with graded intakes of whey protein in older men." The British journal of nutrition: 1-9. Yang, Y., T. A. Churchward-Venne, N. A. Burd, L. Breen, M. A. Tarnopolsky and S. M. Phillips (2012). "Myofibrillar protein synthesis following ingestion of soy protein isolate at rest and after resistance exercise in elderly men." Nutr Metab (Lond) 9(1): 57. 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