Weight Training: Avoid Plateaus in Your Training Program for Muscle Building or General Fitness (part 1)

Anybody who has achieved a little success with their weight training is always bombarded by the same question: How did you build that physique??? Heavy weights or high reps? Naturally, the majority of trainees who have been in a training plateau for the last several months (or years), seek advice from those who have proven to be successful. There are two types of people who just can't seem to stop gaining muscle: those with those one-in a million genetics that allow them to put on muscle with any haphazard training program, and those who have intelligently manipulated their weight training program to keep their training dynamic and the muscle gains coming. If you are one of those genetic freaks that respond to anything, then this article is not for you. If you are a person who religiously hits the gym like an animal with a good nutritional plan, but still seems to be merely spinning their wheels instead of making the progress they want, then this article will be extremely helpful.
Before we get into the nuts and bolts of manipulating your weight workouts to avoid training plateaus, three important points need to be emphasized:

1. 99% of trainees are over-trained on volume and under-trained on intensity. More is not always better.

2.The human body will respond to any acute stimulus, but quickly adapts to maintain homeostasis. The workout that did wonders for the first few weeks will surely stall if no changes are made.

3. In order to keep the body adapting in a positive way to our training efforts, we must:

• increase the intensity of the training stimulus

or

• change the training stimulus all together

While while the three principles above are fundamental to program design, The following points also need to be considered in designing the any weight training/fitness program...

The all or nothing principle
Muscle fibers fire on an all-or nothing principle-the magnitude or strength of the contraction is dictated by the number of fibers that simultaneously fire. Heavier weights activate more muscle fibers/ rep. (although this is not the only means to influence the amount of fibers exhausted during a workout ) The more fibers exhausted the greater the overload, the greater the overload the greater the gains.

There can be too much of a good thing
There is such thing as too much of a good thing; with increasing amounts of overload in a given workout and decreasing amounts of recovery time there is a point of diminishing returns. The average trainee will see that things are working well and in an effort to keep the gains coming, they reason that if a little bit is good, then a lot must be better so they add more sets and reps and use heavier weights. Most people are constantly flirting with over training because of this. The actual weight workout is only a stimulus for muscle growth... muscles grow when we are resting. In order to be efficient, we must perform just enough work, but not too much to send the message for the muscles to grow and change in response to the weight training workout. We need to create maximum overload with a minimal demand on the recovery ability to achieve maximum gains.

It's all about the CNS!
Our central nervous system controls the muscle groups of every body part that we train, yet little attention is given to the large effect that this has on recovery. Anybody who has had a great weight training workout on one day, only to be disappointed on the next can attest to the fact that there is an aspect to the recovery ability that is independent of the body part trained during the previous workout.

Next: How can we apply this to designing a weight training program?

Competition Pics: 2004 Mike Francois Classic

Weight Training: Avoid Plateaus in Your Training Program for Muscle Building or General Fitness (part 2)

We have covered many important points regarding muscle physiology and exercise... so what does all of this mean in the context of an actual workout??? For example, imagine that you have just had the best leg workout ever and you feel great. You even achieved a personal best on a ten-rep max set of squats. Fired up for the next workout, you attempt to tackle the gym with equal fervor the next day-only to find that your bench press has decreased by about 20%! Common sense would tell us that if we have just trained legs and will train chest the next day, then we will be fine-even if the leg workout was very intense. The problem with this logic is that the CNS controls the ability of these muscle groups to contract. As stated above, muscles contract on an all-or nothing principle-the more fibers that contract the stronger the contraction. The CNS, after having been stressed during an intense leg workout, is still recovering and not able to fire up all those muscle fibers needed in the chest for maximum strength. The ramifications of this situation are extremely important: a fatigued CNS will not be able to generate the required workload to cause an overload in the target muscle. Translation: YOU WILL NOT GROW! This illustrates the very reasons that most people do not experience the progress with their weight training that they should. Your nutrition may be great, you may be getting plenty of rest, but you are still not gaining due to a dysfunctional training protocol that does not allow sufficient recovery.

We've all been in this situation before and pondered endlessly to the cause of the sudden decrease in strength….Was it the diet? Possibly stress? Or maybe you just forgot to wear your lucky underwear? The answer, of course is that all other things being equal (and of course you did not forget the lucky underwear), the CNS is still fatigued from the previous workout. If our pectoral muscles are capable of pushing 20% more than our CNS will actually allow on this particular day, it is no wonder that the chest workout will be unproductive. In order for a muscle to grow it must be overloaded, in order to achieve overload we must contract the muscles against heavy weights and these contractions controlled by the CNS. If the CNS is not recovered from the day before we cannot possibly hope to have a chest workout that will produce the desired results. We would be much better suited to have a day of complete rest and to train the chest (or whatever the next scheduled workout happens to be) when we are actually capable of doing so productively. Of course the reasoning of most serious trainees is that if they were not strong on chest day, then they simply need more chest work. Additional sets, reps, and possibly an additional training day during the week are then added-this only contributes to the problem in the first place, ensuring that with all that extra hard work we are breaking even, at best. It should also be noted that this is a cumulative problem, the deeper the ditch we dig into our recovery ability, the harder it is to get out.

So now that we have identified the problem what do we do now???

Unfortunately, there is not one answer to this question, but there are a few general strategies to manipulate your training program to keep the gains coming. The most fundamental rule here is that the human body responds very quickly to change. It is not adequate, however to simply change the workout in an arbitrary manner-we must have a systematic way of manipulating our weight training workouts to produce the desired results. Training an exercise from a different angle, or changing the order in which the exercises in a workout are performed are both good ways to achieve this end in the context of your more general weight training plan. This is not enough, however to avoid a training plateau-the overall volume and intensity of the workout must be cycled in a systematic manner.

Next: Putting it all together!

Weight Training: Avoid Plateaus in Your Training Program for Muscle Building or General Fitness (part 3)

Volume, Intensity and Overload Explained
With the countless ways in which the words volume and intensity are thrown around in the muscle magazines and popular books on weight training and fitness, the lack of consensus on exactly what these terms mean is not surprising. So you had a tough workout- was it high-intensity? or was high- volume? The formal definition of training volume is the overall amount of work that was performed during the workout; take all the sets that you performed and multiply the weights x reps; add these numbers together and you have your overall training volume. Intensity is defined by the percentage of your one-rep max in which the exercises were performed; the higher percentage of one-rep max a set is performed at, the higher the intensity. It should then make sense that there is an intrinsic equilibrium between volume and intensity. If you are performing heavier sets at a greater percentage of your one rep-max, then you will necessarily be doing less repetitions and the overall volume will go down. Like-wise, with a ton of sets and reps we will not be able to train as heavy-volume increases and intensity drops.
The cycling of volume and intensity keeps the gains coming by keeping the CNS off-balance. Our CNS is lazy by nature-the first time we perform and exercise we use the most muscle-each successive time the exercise is performed the CNS “learns” how to contract that muscle more efficiently by the way in which it recruits the muscle fibers to contract. Many strength gains, for this reason, are due to the CNS becoming more efficient, rather than the muscle actually growing. When the CNS becomes more efficient, the same weights, sets, and reps that caused an overload in previous workouts will fail to do so indefinitely. Hence the fundamental rule of overload: In order to keep the gains coming we must either increase the intensity of the stimulus (use progressively heavier weights), or change the stimulus all together by:

• implementing different exercises



• changing the angle or rep-tempo of existing exercises



• (most importantly) changing in volume and intensity over time in a planned, systematic manner

The most profound way to change the nature of the training stimulus is to change volume/intensity of the workout- in this way we are ensuring that any adaptations are due to muscular gains rather than a CNS that has learned how to do more work with less fatigue on the muscle. Unfortunately, there is no magical formula to accomplish this, but as a general rule of thumb, workouts should be organized into two phases of training lasting 4-6 weeks. Phase I is the higher volume workout which lasts 4-6 weeks, then after a one-week "break-in" period, begin increasing the weights and intensity while dropping training volume during phase II training. Additionally, within the individual phases of your workout, changes in exercises themselves, rep tempo, angle of execution, etc should be further utilized to keep your body guessing (and gaining). Most any popular training system is compatible with this; during the high-volume phase "German volume" training works extremely well, while any high-intensity protocol such as "heavy duty" or otherwise will work great.

So now you know the "secret" to making muscle building is really just intelligent program design. Think twice before jumping on the latest fad-workout bandwagon or wasting time by trying out the latest workout in a magazine, as described by a pro-bodybuilder. The best training protocol is dynamic and custom-designed to the goals, lifestyle and schedule of the trainee. While many people respond great to a new training program, lack of a planned cycling of volume and intensity to keep the workouts productive leads inevitably to a training plateau. Those who have been and continue to be successful in this game have become expert at manipulating their weight training and fitness workouts to keep the progress coming.

D.E.C.: New and Revolutionary diet and fitness routine for all of your weightloss goals

A Revolutionary new approach to weight loss, muscle-building, and overal health

What If I told you there was a method so powerful for changing and transforming your body that the following laundry-list of the latest fad-diets and training programs will pale in comparison?

ZoneDiet

South Beach Diet

Diabetic Diet

Glycemic Index Diet

Low-carb diet

High-carb diet

Carb-busters diet

The No-diet diet

Mediterranean diet

The liquid diet

The Cabbage Soup Diet

The Rice Diet

The 3-day diet

….this list continues forever, but you get the idea!

Hopefully I have your attention....... Before we continue however, I have to tell you that the concept of that new, top-secret diet plan is total BS!

You’ve read about these diets; listened to co-workers, friends, and family rave about their latest diet plan or possibly even about how they have finally found that “top diet plan” or the magic "weight loss diet pill". Thank goodness for the placebo effect! If it were not for this along with the latest propaganda about the latest diet plan or magic weight loss pill we would see the billion-dollar supplement industry collapse! What would we waste our money on then? Although more than a few of the diet plans listed above are actually based on very sound principles (calorie restriction…..a no-brainer) couple our innate tendency to search infinitely for an easier way to do things when the most effective way is staring us right in the face, and a multi-billion dollar industry is born. In fact, simply to prove a point, I have considered writing a book detailing a diet plan called “The Snickers Bar Diet” …and I can guarantee that it will work! This diet will promise to move into the “top diet plan” spot because everybody likes snickers bars! The dieter would simply calculate their BMR (basal metabolic rate, the amount of calories they need to maintain their current bodyweight), divide that by the number of calories in a snickers bar, and then simply eat one or two less then this number over the course of a day and the trainee will lose weight! (of course, this is the snickers bar diet so other than water that’s all there is on the menu!).

On a more serious note, please do not follow this diet! You will lose weight, but it will also be inherently unhealthy. The point I am making here is that any diet plan which induces a calorie deficit will cause weight loss. The real secret (as we refer to it here a Pinnacle Fitness), is D.E.C.

DIET, EXERCISE (ie weight training), CARDIO. Once people stop looking for the magic diet pill or secret and begin to do some real work, their fitness workout results will come at an unbelievable rate.

Fitness Nutrition 101: Lose Bodyfat and Gain Lean Muscle Mass with an Optimized Diet Plan

Generally speaking, the typical diet followed by most people in order to lose weight consists of many more carbohydrates than our bodies actually need in order to optimize muscle gain and bodyfat loss. While at a fundamental level it is actually the total calorie count that dictates whether we lose or gain weight, but it is the macronutrient profile that influences where this weight will come from. Many people wo have limiting success with the "conventional", high-carbohydrate diet have problems not with their overall energy intake, but where this energy is stored. These "carbohydrate-sensitive" people tend to store carbohydrate calories as bodyfat much more readily than those who will simply respond to any reduced-calorie diet. The deficiency in these people invovles the insulin receptor; when carbohydates are ingested they are broken down into glucose which enters the blood steam. It is insulin which transports this sugar into the appropriate cells, namely muscle cells (as mucle glycogen....this is good!), or it is converted to triglyceride (fat), and stored in adispose tissue (this is bad!). In people who typically have a tough time losing fat, the insulin receptors on their muscle cells have become "insensitive" to insulin from years of a high-carbohydrate intake, thus the muscle cells will only accept so much glucose and the rest is converted to and stored as bodyfat.

While this sounds hopeless, we can resolve this situation either by consuming less carbohydrates (= less insulin), or choosing carbohydrates of "low glycemic index", which will cause blood sugar to increase much more slowly, resulting in a more even, gradual increase in insulin levels. This might sound familiar, because most of today's very popular (and effective) diet plans (i.e. South Beach, the Zone, etc) are based on this principle. While this could seem overly technical it is actually a very simple equation: less carbs = less insulin = less fat! All other aspects of these diets are simply trivial details. Now you don't have to read a 200+ page book to lose bodyfat and maximize muscle mass! This is all you need to know.
Look out for more on this here at pinnaclefitness-online......

Fitness Nutrition: Optimize Workout Results With the Proper Supplemenation

The corner-stone to any well-designed fitness regimen is a solid, well-designed nutritional approach. While there is much debate over the relative roles that diet or training actually have in achieving your goals, there need not be. While anybody can make decent strides in the first few weeks of their training program, even those with the best, most dynamic training programs will fall short of their potential given a haphazard nutritional approach. The nuts-and bolts of a solid nutritional foundation is beyond the scope of this article (look for this in future articles), however suffice it to say that it is extremely important. So much so, that there should be no debate over the importance of training vs. diet in achieving optimal results....they are both needed and of equal importance. Given the importance of a good diet, this should be the highest priority in any new training program. Once this is solid, adding supplementation at specific times will take a great thing and make it better.
Before we move on, it is VERY important to realize that supplements are just that, SUPPLEMENTS....they can take a good diet and make it much more effective, but the diet must be solid in the first place. That being said, utilizing a post-workout supplement plan can help you recover faster from your workouts, and can promote gains in muscularity and strength while maximizing bodyfat loss. Certain supplements post-workout are extremely valuable in certain situations, especially when the goal of your training program is to lose bodyfat while gaining -or maintaining muscle. Our bodies have been designed to survive the harshest of conditions, readily storing bodyfat during times when food is plentiful and shedding it (along with muscle-tissue) when food is scarce. While this metabolic situation kept us alive through the ice-ages, it makes things really difficult for building a lean-muscular physique (that is if you are not busy running from saber-tooth tigers and fighting rival tribes). The right post-workout supplementation can "trick" the body into thinking it has what it needs so that muscle is preserved. What happens during intense training is that our bodies, along with burning glycogen and bodyfat, are also very efficient at breaking down muscle tissue. This metabolic adaptation helps to preserve energy stores at the expense of metabolically costly muscle-tissue; if you are starving the more muscle you have the quicker you will die (good for us back in the cave-man days, but bad for us now!). Our muscles are constantly being broken down and built back up from hard training, and if we could shift the balance just slightly away from degradation (catabolism) and toward accumulation (anabolism), this would have a huge effect on the effectiveness of our training. One way to do this is to consume a huge amount of calories, but this will cause us to gain bodyfat along any increases in muscle mass. The other way is to take the right supplements; the body is "tricked" into thinking it has what it needs (from broken-down muscle tissue) and will tear-down less muscle, especially on a reduced calorie diet (and we all know that to shed bodyfat those calories need to be slightly reduced!).
Below I have included a list of supplements important for post-workout nutrition. Part II of this article will explain how they work and how to take them.

* glutamine (free-form or peptides)
* branched chain amino acids (BCAAS)
* protein, specifically more "anabolic proteins such as whey isolate (more on the distinction between "anabolic" and "anticatabolic" proteins in a later article
* creatine
* carbs *depending on the trainng goals these may-or may not be present*

If you like this article, you will also like: Top 6 Nutritional Supplements and How to Take Them

Muscle Building Tips: Hamstring Training Part 2

Even if you have just finished reading my previous article on hamstring training fundamentals, the task of putting together a hamstring workout and successfully integrating it into your current fitness routine may seem daunting. Before I simply write out a laundry list of exercises that we could just indiscriminately thrown into our fitness training program, I think it would be good to understand a little more about the nuts and bolts of the individual hamstring exercises that we will be using.

Single-joint movements (i.e. isolation movements)

* lying leg curl
* unilateral leg curl (single-leg -sitting or standing variations)
* seated leg curl
* swiss-ball leg curls (both simultaneous and unilateral)

Multiple Joint Movements

* weighted step-up
* lunge of any variants targeted to the hamstrings
* stiff-leg deadlifts
* reverse hyperextension

Although there ere certainly other exercises for hamstrings, both more and less advanced in level, this core group of exercises with all their possible variants could provide a complete arsenal to anybody’s training regimen. Although these exercises are certainly great, it is us who must execute them to perfection; all the while keeping the tension from the weight on the target muscle(s).. Although certain trainers out there are excellent coaches when it comes to exercise from, andybody can learn how to do a movement properly with a little determination and patience-simply start with lighter weights to get a feel for the movement and how it should feel while doing it. Check your ego at the door; when you become proficient with proper technique the weight will start to pile on.
Look for more on this in Hamstrings part III where we will detail the proper execution of exercises listed above and how to implement them into your fitness training of bodybuilding training program.

Muscle Building Tips: Hamstring Training Part 1

One of the most neglected body parts of the lower body, a well-developed set of hamstrings not only looks great, but helps to prevent common knee and lower-back injuries. The hamstrings run the length of the back of the leg and act to both flex the knee and to extend the hip. Given their location and function, there are a scarce number of lower body exercises that do not involve the hamstrings. It would seem that their ubiquitous role in lower body exercise would preclude anybody who actually trains their legs from having lagging hamstrings. Why then do many people who train their legs hard still have lagging hamstrings??? The short answer is improper training, but also extremely important and often overlooked is ones posture. Even with the most efficient hamstring training, not all trainees will respond equally to their workouts due to the position of their hip, which dictates much of good posture. This is why in exercise physiology people are often referred to as "quad-dominant", or "hip-dominant". Quad-dominant people tend to have very muscular quadriceps, good hamstrings, and absolutely no glutes. "Hip-dominant" people, on the other hand tend to have weaker quadriceps, underdeveloped hamstrings, and very well-developed glutes (i.e. shelf-ass syndrome). The major factor which dictates quad-versus hip dominance is the position of the hip; those with an anterior (forward) tilt tend to be very glute-dominant, while those with posterior tilt are very quad-dominant. The being said, for those people that have difficulty in bringing up their hamstrings, the solution is to first work on good posture/hip position by stretching the hip flexors, and strengthening the abs. This will serve to reduce the anterior tilt of the pelvis allowing greater recruitment of the hamstrings. In addition, a little-known fact is that excess-hamstring flexibility actually contributes to anterior pelvic-tilt, all other things being equal.

While it takes time, effort and consistency to alter ones posture (i.e. rotational status of the hip, there are a few strategies that can be employed right now to drastically increase the effectiveness of your hamstring training:

* Choose exercises which force the hip to extend-this reduces anterior tilt and puts the hamstrings in position where they have to contract harder. Also be careful not to flex the hips during exercises such as leg curls. We have all done this; look around at anybody doing leg curls and 90% of them will be arching their back (by flexing the hip) as they heave the weight up.
* Flex the calf - (plantar-flexion)-the gastrocnemius of the calf actually inserts on the femur, assisting in knee-flexion (bending the knee). Pre-shortening the gastroc takes it out of action during this motion. Perform leg curls with the calf flexed.
* Perform stiff-legs correctly!-stiff-leg deadlifts are one of the most abused exercises on the planet! All stiff-legs should be performed with everything from the waist-up completely rigid and the hips need to travel back (flexion) so that they can extend during the positive phase of the movement. After all, this is the job of the hamstrings during this exercise; to extend the hip! Simply bending over with a rounded back is not only ineffective, but leaves you open to injury.
* Make friends with the Swiss-ball- Swiss-ball leg curls force the hip into an extended position so that they must work much harder.

In addition to proper training technique, to maximize hamstring recruitment it is necessary to get rid of that forward pelvic tilt. Aside from benefits to hamstring development, people who suffer from low-back pain can often completely eliminate it by simply fixing their posture. Several tips to achieve accomplish this:

* Stretch!- stretch the hip-flexors (iliopsoas, psoas, and femoral head of the quadriceps)
* Train the abs (properly)- any ab exercise done correctly will recruit the hip-flexors little-if at all. This is why sit-ups should be avoided; any exercise with the feet fixed to the ground (or bench) will allow the hip flexors to bend the torso as-much or more than the abs. In other words, sit-ups suck.... Don't do them!
* For those of you with desk-jobs-remaining in the seated position for long periods of time causes the hip flexors to adaptively shorten, contributing to anterior pelvic tilt. Be sure to place an even greater emphasis on stretching the hip-flexors if you have a desk-job. At the very least, stretch out for 5-10 min after a long-day of work.

Next: check out part TWO to put together the perfect hamstring workout

Choosing the Right Personal Fitness Trainer

At first, the task of finding a personal fitness trainer to satisfy your fitness goals may seem daunting. Today it seems that personal trainers are a dime-a dozen, and unfortunately they often are. In addition, given that the personal fitness training field is largely unregulated by any governing agency, many smooth-talking, but less than competent personal fitness trainers have successfully parted their clientele of their hard-earned money with little return in results. Whether your goal is weight-loss, bodybuilding, or simply training for general health and fitness, the best fitness trainers out there are highly trained and more than competent to service the diverse fitness goals of their clientele.
There are several criteria that you should consider when shopping for a personal fitness trainer:

1. Physique:

* this is not to say that if the personal trainer is a competitive bodybuilder that they will not be able to service an executive who wants to tighten up their waistline and improve their golf-game, simply that the trainer must be in some type of acceptable physical condition. The bottom line is that if they cannot take care of their own fitness goals, they will have a very hard time of taking care of anybody else’s!

2. Clientele:

* What type of clients does the personal fitness trainer typically work with, and do they seem to have a good relationship? Observe the trainer working with different clients in the gym. Are they interactive, or staring off into space, looking into the mirror, or basically being anywhere (mentally at least) other than right-there with their client-set after set, rep-after rep? Talk to their clients (with the trainer not present, of course); anybody forging ahead toward their goals at a rapid pace under the guidance of great fitness trainer will have nothing but great things to say. In the fitness industry, adherence is always a significant variable, but a good personal fitness trainer will be able to motivate their clients to a high-level of success toward their fitness goals. If the personal trainer seems to be just as miserable and un-motivated as their client during a weight-training workout, you may want look elsewhere.

3. Training Style:

* Does the trainer in question seem to implement a weight training and cardiovascular exercise protocol based on the abilities and goals of the individual client, or do they use a “cookie-cutter”, one-size-fits all approach from which all of these workouts are created? Look for somebody with high-energy and a positive attitude who can also provide dynamic and innovative weight training workouts.

4. Certification:

* Look for a fitness trainer with a nationally-or internationally recognized certification such as ACE (the American Council on Exercise), NASM (National Academy of Sports Medicine), NSCA (National Strength and Conditioning Association), or other widely recognized personal fitness training certifications. In addition, be wary of fitness trainers with in-house certifications from the gym where they train; this is not to say that a minority of these people would not provide excellent service, it’s just that most of the of the time your money would be much better spent on somebody else with a nationally recognized personal training certification.

5. Trial workouts? :

* While many personal fitness trainers require their clientele to pay up-front, look out for fitness trainers who only offer package-deals with a large-number of sessions. With little exception, the best in the industry do not require extended packages for training; if the client is amenable to their training style and is getting results, no extended personal training package is needed to lock anybody into a commitment. Although it is often convenient to use them, the best-of the best do not rely heavily on package deals. In addition, most fitness trainers would be more than happy to incorporate you into one or a few of their group training sessions so that you may have a couple of trial-workouts free of charge.

There you have it; 5 tips for the successful selection the right personal fitness trainer for you. Be sure to do your homework first and hold back no questions you may have during the initial consultation. Also remember that a good trainer will more than likely have a full-book, so you are being interviewed by him (as a potential client) as well.

Top 6 Nutritional Supplements: multivatin/multiineral supplements

Multivitamin/multi-mineral supplements:

While in an ideal world we would get all the vitamins we need directly from the food we eat, in practice we can all benefit from a quality multivitamin. Stay away from the typical once/day tabs found at the supermarket. It is questionable whether these are absorbed well at all. Stick with those vitamin/mineral supplements derived from whole-food extracts-these are more readily absorbed. In addition, whole-food based multis may contain unknown substances which are found in food which are either essential or beneficial; science is constantly discovering new nutrients present in food-our current list is far from comprehensive.

There you have it, the only nutritional supplements you need to care about. They have been proven both anecdotally and with rigorous peer-reviewed research to enhance the muscle-building and fat-burning effects of any weight training and fitness program.

Be wary of the hundreds of other nutritional supplements which promise to be that “magic pill” that will finally bring the results you are looking for. There are no “secrets” in this game; consistency, hard-work, and dedication coupled with a rock-solid nutrition and supplement program will bring about results that will surely be the envy of all those people still spinning their wheels in search of that magic bullet. They will swear either that you are taking dangerous bodybuilding drugs or have found that “secret”, but just not telling them! Let them keep looking; being lean, muscular, and totally in shape would not be as cool of everybody could actually do it!

Top 6 Nutritional Supplements and How to Take Them

Given the importance of a good diet, this should be the highest priority in any fitness training program. Once your diet is tuned to perfection, adding the right nutritional supplement at the right time will take a great thing and make it better.
Before we move on, it is VERY important to realize that nutritional supplements are just that, nutritional SUPPLEMENTS....they are not a substitute for a well-designed diet plan. That being said, utilizing a nutritional supplement plan can help you recover faster from your weight-training and cardio workouts, promote gains in muscle-mass and strength and maximize body fat loss. While there are hundreds, if not thousands of nutritional supplements out there, most of them are simply excreted resulting in little other than extremely expensive urine! There are 6 nutritional supplements available, however, that are indispensable for enhancing muscle-building and fat loss.

Certain nutritional supplements are extremely valuable in particular situations, especially when the goal of your weight training program is to lose fat while building muscle. Our bodies have been designed to survive the harshest of conditions, readily storing body fat during times when food is plentiful and shedding it (along with muscle-tissue) when food is scarce. While this characteristic of our metabolism kept us alive through the ice-ages, it makes things really difficult for building a lean-muscular physique (that is if you are not busy running from saber-tooth tigers and fighting rival tribes!). The right nutritional supplementation in the context of your bodybuilding or fitness workouts can "trick" the body into thinking it has what it needs so that muscle-mass is preserved. What happens during intense weight training workouts and cardiovascular exercise is that our bodies, along with burning glycogen and body fat, are also very efficient at breaking down muscle tissue. This metabolic adaptation helps to preserve energy stores at the expense of metabolically costly muscle-tissue; if you are starving the more muscle you have the quicker you will die (good for us back in the cave-man days, but bad for us now!). Our muscles are constantly being broken down and built back up from hard weight training, and if we could shift the balance just slightly away from degradation (catabolism) and toward accumulation (anabolism), this would have a huge effect on the results from our fitness training programs, whether our goal is muscle-building, fat loss, or both. One way to accomplish this is to consume a huge amount of calories in the diet, but this will cause us to gain body fat along with any increases in muscle mass. The other way is to take the right nutritional supplements; the body is "tricked" into thinking it has what it needs (from broken-down muscle tissue) and will catabolize less muscle, especially on a reduced calorie diet (and we all know that to shed body fat those calories need to be reduced!). In addition to nutritional supplements before and after the weight training workouts, there are also other nutritional supplements, if taken consistently, which will greatly enhance the results from your fitness training or bodybuilding training program. After-all, regardless of whether you are training for bodybuilding competition, sport-specific training, or general fitness training for health and fitness, the goal is the same; burn body fat while building muscle!

Be sure to check out the next article in this series: Maximize muscle-building with glutamine.

Top 6 Nutritional Supplements: glutamine

How Glutamine works: glutamine is known as a “conditionally essential” amino acid; it becomes “essential” during intense exercise such as weight training or cardiovascular exercise, as the need for glutamine is greatly increased. During bouts of intense activity (or stress), glutamine enters the bloodstream and travels into the liver where it is converted into glucose; this newly synthesized glucose helps to fuel the working muscles. This process is known as gluconeogenesis-the process of turning a non-carbohydrate substance (glutamine and some other amino acids) into glucose which can be used for energy. While this all sounds great for muscle tissue, the problem is that the primary source of glutamine during exercise is from broken down muscle; the body actually breaks down muscle protein to help fuel working muscles thus preserving their glycogen stores[1]. Supplying the muscles with an exogenous source of glutamine (i.e. a glutamine supplement) has been shown to reduce muscle degradation during intense weight training exercise-the body is “tricked” into not breaking down as much muscle tissue.

Benefits of Glutamine: glutamine has a subtle effect; however over-time the trainee will recover more quickly from intense weight training workouts, resulting in faster and further progress than those not using a glutamine supplement. Trainees using a glutamine supplement often note that they have much less muscle soreness in the days following an intense weight training workout.

Is it glutamine safe? Side effects of glutamine:

Glutamine has virtually no side effects if taken at the recommended dosage.

How to supplement with Glutamine:

Although on paper glutamine supplementation seems very simple (take extra glutamine, burn less muscle), there is still the problem of getting the stuff to where it is needed-from the plastic jar in your gym-bag to your working muscles, and we need it to get there at the right time. Unfortunately, over 90% of orally ingested (free-form) glutamine is used up in the gut, and never makes it to the bloodstream. It is damned-inconvenient to walk from station to station in the gym pushing a cart to which we have a glutamine-drip attached to us by IV, so we will need to get by with the oral route (admit it; you’ve considered this!). Depending on your bodyweight, 5-10 g of glutamine should be taken both immediately before and immediately after your workout. The powder form is best-capsules are next-to worthless, as at 250mg per cap (assuming 10 g is the desired dose), you would need to take 40 capsules of Glutamine before-and after your workout. This is not only impractical but very expensive.

[1] Glycogen is glucose in the polymer-form; it is stored in muscle-tissue into it is broken down into its constituent glucose molecules and used as energy.

Next:PROTEIN

Top 6 Nutritional Supplements: -protein

* “Anabolic Proteins”: (whey protein isolates and hydrolysates)

How whey isolate works: This one may seem like a no-brainer; proteins are made of amino acids and as discussed above, certain aminos can greatly enhance your weight training efforts. Whey protein is a great protein source because it is very high in both BCAAs and glutamine; any whey protein will have these qualities, but after a weight training workout timing is the key. Many whey proteins are a mixture of both whey isolate and whey concentrate. Whey protein isolate is absorbed extremely fast, while whey concentrate is broken down more gradually over time. Fast-acting proteins such as whey isolate are known as “anabolic proteins”, dumping tons of amino acids into the bloodstream very quickly, promoting muscle-growth by delivering vital muscle-building amino acids to the muscles right when they are needed.

* “Anticatabolic Proteins”

How anticatabolic proteins work:
Slower acting proteins such as whey concentrate, soy protein concentrate, calcium caseinate, etc. are known as “anti-catabolic proteins”; they provide a slow, steady release of amino acids into the bloodstream helping to reduce muscle-protein breakdown for fuel. After a weight training workout, we want our protein to get there fast-whey protein isolate is ideal for this purpose. In between workouts, however, we want a slow, steady release of amino acids into the bloodstream to support the ever-ongoing process of muscle building and tissue repair. The slower-releasing, anticatabolic proteins ensure that there is a constant supply of amino acids to build muscle.

* How to supplement with whey protein isolate: 40-50 g immediately after training.

* How to supplement with anticatabolic Proteins: If unable to consume a meal with whole-food protein, 30-40 g in place of the missed meal is ideal to maintain blood nitrogen levels.

* Are protein supplements safe? : Side effects of a high-protein diet

A high-protein intake in the range of 1g/lb of bodyweight is perfectly safe in those with good health and no pre-existing conditions. Contrary to common belief, a high-protein intake (1-1.5g/lb of bodyweight) is perfectly safe in the absence of any kidney dysfunction or disease. As the protein intake increases, however, one must be sure to remain properly hydrated by drinking enough water. This will help the kidneys process the extra protein without strain. In addition, the trainee must pay attention to water-loss from weight training and cardiovascular workouts. Exercise causes a large amount of water loss in the form of sweating; this needs to be replaced in order to avoid dehydration.

Next: BCAAs

Top 6 Nutritional Supplements: BCAAs

How BCAAs work: Unlike glutamine, the branched chain amino acids, consisting of leucine, isoleucine, and valine, are “essential” amino acids, meaning that the body cannot synthesize them from precursors-they must be obtained directly from the diet. Like glutamine, there is a greater requirement for BCAAs during intense exercise such as weight training and they are derived primarily from catabolized muscle tissue. BCAAs are broken down into (among other things) alanine and glutamine (remember glutamine?) which are in-turn used to generate glucose in the liver. Supplementing with BCAAs will help to prevent their degradation in muscle tissue, limiting muscle-breakdown and speeding up recovery from intense weight training workouts. Leucine itself has been shown to stimulate protein synthesis, and research has shown that the BCAAs have a positive effect on recovery, can reduce fatigue, and encourage an overall anabolic state in the muscle. BCAAs seem to be especially effective during periods of reduced calorie intake (i.e. while dieting down to lose that last 5lbs of fat).

Are BCAAs Safe? Side effects:

Similar to glutamine, there are virtually no side effects with BCAA supplementation in healthy people at recommended doses.

How to supplement with BCAAs:

BCAAs are supplied in powder and tablet form. Like glutamine, a large dose is needed (10-20g before and after the workout), BCAAs are barely soluble in water so most find it convenient to just take the tabs (yes, this is a hell of a lot of tablets!). Most formal research has shown that a dose of 0.2 mg/kg of bodyweight is ideal-this would be 20 g for a 200 lb athlete. Real-world evidence suggests that anywhere in the range of 10-20g is effective. This dosage can be broken up, taking them both before-and after training. On non-weight training days BCAAs can be taken in small doses at every meal or before cardiovascular exercise.

Next: creatine monohydrate

Top 6 Nutritional Supplements: Essential Fatty Acid (EFAs)

Essential Fatty Acid (EFAs)

* How EFAs work: Without getting too much into fatty acid biochemistry, EFAs are required by the body for a countless number of processes, and are an essential element to any nutritional supplementation program whether it is for bodybuilding, athletic training, or general fitness training. The typical American diet is largely deficient in EFAs, and dieters often have less than optimal levels while on low-fat diets. There are 3 basic EFAs which are named based on their chemical structure, including omega-3, 6, and 9. Most commercial EFA supplements are a blend of the various EFAs, providing an ideal EFA profile. EFAs basically make everything work better- the benefits of EFA supplementation include:

§ Increased insulin sensitivity: The fate of ingested carbohydrate is determined by your insulin sensitivity. After eating a carbohydrate, the insulin receptor decides whether to allow the carbs to be stored in muscle tissue as glycogen or converted to triglyceride and stored as body fat. EFAs increase the sensitivity of the insulin receptor, reducing the chance that ingested carbohydrates will convert fat.

§ Better skin tone, healthier hair: Staying on a low-fat diet deficient in EFAs for a long period of time can result in dry, unhealthy skin and hair. EFAs provide many important substrates to maintain these.

§ Improved cardiovascular function: Our cardiovascular system is very dependent of EFAs for maintaining healthy blood vessels and blood pressure. EFAs have a preventative effect for heart disease, stoke, and other cardiovascular disorders.

§ Better sleep, improved sense of well being: The brain and CNS are highly dependent on EFAs for optimal function.

§ Healthier Immune system: The cells of the immune system can only function optimally with proper intake of EFAs. High intensity exercise places a demand on the immune system; supplementing with EFAs can support optimal function, resulting in a lesser number of illnesses, and could potentially help the immune system to better-fight off certain cancers.

* How supplement with EFAs: EFAs are supplied in both capsule-and liquid form. The most convenient form depends on the fat content for your diet. If a higher percentage of fats are being used, dieters can benefit from having a significant portion of their fat intake in the form of EFAs. Flax oil is a good choice, or there are many EFA blends that provide an optimal EFA profile. These same supplements are also supplied in pill form and should be used when the overall amount of fat in the diet is relatively low. Depending on the size and contents of the caps, daily EFA requirements can be met by taking 3-5 caps/day.

Next: meal replacement powders

Top 6 Nutritional Supplements: creatine monohydrate

* How creatine works: Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is the primary energy source to fuel intense muscular contractions, such as those during sprinting or weight-training. ATP contains a high-energy phosphate bond, which is broken down into ADP (adenosine monophosphate), releasing the energy necessary for muscles to contract. Every muscle cell has a store of phosphate, from which ADP is recycled back into ATP to continue fueling contractions. As this pool of phosphate gets depleted, so does our ability to make ATP; when we run out of ATP the muscle is exhausted and unable to further contract (i.e. the muscle fails such as on the last rep of a bench press). It was discovered some time ago that our muscles can actually be “loaded” with additional phosphate, which can extend our capacity to do high-intensity exercise. Phosphate is stored in the muscle as creatine phosphate, which acts to replenish cellular phosphate stores. When creatine monohydrate is ingested, it is converted to creatine phosphate and absorbed into the muscle cell, helping to replenish the phosphate pool. After an intense workout, muscle phosphate levels are drastically decreased. Supplementing with creatine post-workout replenishes creatine phosphate stores much faster, speeding recovery. Creatine also acts through unknown mechanisms to increase protein synthesis and muscle growth. For every molecule of creatine absorbed into the muscle, several molecules of water are absorbed, giving the muscles a fuller, more pumped appearance. A hydrated muscle is an anabolic muscle.

* Is creatine safe? Side effects of creatine:

Creatine caused quite a stir when it hit the supplement market in the 90’s with many allegations that is can be damaging to the kidneys, given that all of the research at that time had implemented acute Dosing of creatine. Today it has been shown both anecdotally and with peer-reviewed scientific research that creatine, when used as directed, is perfectly safe with little side effects. Care must be taken, however, to be properly hydrated while taking creatine, as using creating while dehydrated could be a strain on the kidneys.

* How to use creatine: Early research with creatine involved the use of a high-dose loading regimen, but it was later shown that muscle creatine stores can become just as saturated with a normal daily dose of 3-5 g. Take 3-5g of creatine with your post workout supplements (i.e. BCAAs, glutamine, whey isolate). Creatine is absorbed much more readily by the muscle in the presence of high-glycemic carbohydrates, so 40-60 g of simple sugars should be included. Like glutamine, creatine is much more convenient in powder-form.

Next: EFAs