Author: Nick Hawkins

Posted on

Static Stretching

-Static Stretching 

▪️Stretching plays a significant role in how well your muscles recover after a workout. It also affects your flexibility and the performance of your exercises.

▪️Static stretching is done at the end of your exercises.  It involves holding your stretched in place for a period of time, without movement. This helps your muscles loosen up, while enhancing flexibility and range of motion.

▪️Stretching after your workout, when your muscles are warmed up, can help increase the range of motion  in any joint that  you are targeting. 

▪️It’s beneficial to have greater flexibility and range of motion in order to move with more comfort and ease. 

▪️If your muscles are tense, tight, or overworked, you will be at risk of extensive pain and discomfort. Studies have proven that static stretching is an effective way to decrease stiffness in tight muscles. 

▪️When you have high levels of stress, your muscles can feel tense and tight. However, stretching your muscles along with mindful breathing exercises, can reduce mental tension and anxiety.

Posted on

Reverse Dieting

-Reverse Dieting

▪️The majority of diets involve lowering your calorie intake to create a calorie deficit, meaning that you’re consuming less calories than you’re burning.

▪️Over a period of time, your body will start to adapt, which will slow down your metabolism in an effort to conserve energy.

▪️This can become a problem once you’re ready to start back to having a normal diet but want to maintain your weight — or when you hit a weight loss plateau and are unable to further decrease your calories.

▪️Reverse dieting normally involves increasing calorie intake by 50 to 100 calories per week above your baseline levels, which is the number of calories you have to consume to maintain your weight.

▪️This phase lasts between 4 to 10 weeks, or until you reach your goal, pre-diet intake.

▪️️Because protein intake is typically calculated for body weight rather than calorie consumption, your protein intake should remain the same throughout the reverse phase.

▪️Increasing your calories can boost metabolism and enhance fat burn through non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT), which includes everyday actions such as walking, talking, and even fidgeting.

▪️Reverse dieting can also stabilize your hormones, like leptin, which regulates your appetite and body weight.

Resources:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25645138/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3943438/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19198647/
Posted on

Vitamin D Benefits

Vitamin D is your best bet for maximizing performance and muscle gains when it comes to vitamin supplementation. Researchers discovered that vitamin D supplementation could increase natural testosterone levels, especially for those deficient or part of the older population. Consuming between 3000 and 5000 IU per day of vitamin D is enough for this benefit, especially if you’re not getting enough vitamin D through your nutrition or sun exposure. In addition, having a healthy testosterone level is vital for building muscle gains as testosterone directly affects protein synthesis and overall strength and muscle growth. Not to mention, testosterone increases confidence and quality of life.

Researchers have also discovered that muscles have vitamin D receptors. This means that vitamin D could also play a critical role in protein synthesis and influence muscle strength. In addition, vitamin D is essential for bone health. Low vitamin D levels are associated with high risks in bone injuries . Therefore, supplementing with vitamin D is necessary for those who are looking to capitalize on their performance.

Vitamin D can be difficult to consume through a regular diet and exposure to the sun, especially during the winter when it’s colder. However, eggs and fish are both excellent sources of vitamin D. Most of the time, vitamin D is added to orange juice and dairy products. With that said, try to have some of these sources in your diet along with a vitamin D supplement of up to 5000 IU. Vitamin D3 is your best choice when it comes to vitamin D products.

Resources:

Click to access Athletic-Performance-and-Vitamin-D.pdf

https://idp.springer.com/authorize?response_type=cookie&client_id=springerlink&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Flink.springer.com%2Farticle%2F10.1007%2Fs00223-012-9645-y

Posted on

Post Workout Meal

  • Post Workout Meal

▪️Lately I’ve been asked the question . “What foods should I eat after I finish my workout?” – so here are some ideas that you can follow if you have time to prepare or if you’re in a time crunch- the 4 on the left takes a bit of time and the 4 on the right are fast and on the go.

▪️️The main focus is to implement your protein and carbs. This is the best time to replenish your energy levels as your body can absorb food very efficiently after a workout.

▪️The amount of food that you consume will depend on what your goal is. Remember that you may feel hungrier than you actually are so make sure that you chew your food slowly and don’t overeat (if decreasing fat percentage is your goal)

Posted on

Creatine Monohydrate

-Creatine Monohydrate

⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣

⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣

▪️Creatine is one of the most efficient supplements that you can take. Due to the amount of research that’s been done on creatine, which constantly shows benefits in increased performance, muscle mass and even cognitive abilities. ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣

⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣

▪️The liver naturally produces creatine (primarely) and also by the pancreas and the kidneys. Creatine can be found in animal sources of proteinsas well, but even vegan/vegetarian athletes can supplement with the synthetic version. ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣

⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣

-Is it safe? 

▪️The fact that there have been over 700 unique studies done on creatine alone, which have continuously shown its safety, we can conclude that the supplement is safe to use, assuming we make sure to drink the efficient amount of water on the daily.⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣

⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣

-Should you cycle it ‘on’ and ‘off’ ? Should you use it when Cutting or bulking? ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣

⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣

▪️You don’t have to cycle creatine, but if you want to reap better benefits, then you could do it. There really isn’t any difference consuming creatine long term vs short term. There’s really no point in not supplementing it regardless of whether you’re cutting to lose body fat or bulking to gain muscle. ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣Its supplementation only gives benefits.⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣

⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣

-What about the bloating ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣

⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣

▪️Creatine is correlated to intracellular water retention (which occurs within the muscle): if you think you have gained fat from creatine, think twice. Yes, your weight can increase, but none of it is going to be fat gain. 

⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣

-When should you consume it ? ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣

⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣

▪️Ultimately, based on the research available, it’s not clear whether there are any differences between taking creatine before or after workouts or any other time during the day. As long as you take the recommended amount , you’re good to go. ⁣⁣

⁣

Reference: ⁣

⁣

https://examine.com⁣⁣⁣⁣/supplements/creatine⁣
Posted on

Calorie Deficit With High Protein intake

▪️Protein is often identified as a critical macronutrient to consider in skeletal muscle repair. Resistance trained athletes have supported high protein diets for decades. Let’s get into the research on this matter. 

▪️When it comes to bulking and developing muscle mass through a surplus, an intake of 1.6-2.2 g x kg of body weight will build the most gains. 

Exceeding this upper range likely offers no further benefit and promotes amino acid catabolism & protein oxidation. 

▪️When the target is muscle retention, protein intake has to be increased in order to prevent 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘺. Current research suggests to keep the intake at 2.3-3.3 g x kg of lean body mass, as you get leaner. 

⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣

⁣⁣

Posted on

Tricep Home Workout

-Trying To Get Stronger Triceps, But No Gym? No Problem!

⠀⁠

▪️This is  a great bodyweight circuit-style workout that you can do at home.⁠

⠀⁠

▪️This one will target your triceps to get bigger and leaner 

⠀

⠀⁠

▪️For this circuit, perform the exercises for 10-15 repetitions or for a set worth of time, like 50 seconds (lower or higher, depending on your fitness level) and then move on to the next workout without resting.⁠

⠀⁠

▪️After you’ve done all 6 exercises, you can take a break for 60 seconds (or more/less, depending on your fitness level).⁠

⠀⁠

▪️That’s one circuit (or round) completed. Now, after taking a rest, you continue again from the top by performing the exercises (in whatever order you prefer) for 3-6 circuits in total.⁠

⠀⁠

▪️Save this Triceps Workout for later!⁠

Posted on

Dips Exercise

-Dips

▪️Dips fall into the category of compound exercises which requires multiple joints to perform and forces your body to stabilize itself.⁠
⠀⁠
▪️This workout stimulates muscle growth and increases strength. Dips can also enhance your performance in other key lifts such as the Bench Press.⁠
⠀⁠
▪️Depending on if your goal is to focus on your Chest or Triceps, there are slight differences in your form:⁠
⠀⁠
▪️If your goal is to target your Chest more, you have to lean slightly forward and flare your elbows out to each side as you lower your body and bend your knees and hips.⁠
⠀⁠
▪️But if you want to target your triceps more; you have to keep your upper arms closer to your body while bending your elbows straight back without flaring, and keep your lower body extended.

Posted on

Eating Clean

-Eating Clean

▪️ I’m sure that you’ve heard the phrases: “eat clean, train dirty” or “eat clean, train mean” or “you can’t expect to look like a million bucks if you eat off the dollar menu.”But what is the true meaning behind these phrases? If you were to ask 10 people what it means to “eat clean,” you’ll get 10 different responses.

▪️These phrase all have one thing in common: it’s exceptionally restrictive. Because of false information, we are often led to believe that some foods are good and other foods are bad. Not one person has ever dropped dead from eating one candy bar though—just like no one has ever woke up in the morning lean and healthy from eating a few servings of vegetables. This is not to say that we should choose chocolate chip cookies over apples and carrots. What I am directing towards is, being too restrictive on a diet is making it nearly impossible to consume the appropriate amount of nutrients that your body needs.

▪️If you try to get 3000 calories from chicken breasts and broccoli, you would know exactly what I’m talking about. However, I do recommend a minimally processed, whole food diet. I also advocate flexible eating. If 80-90% of your foods are minimally processed, whole foods, then don’t be worried if the other 10-20% is from strawberry ice-cream—assuming it fits into your overall macro and micronutrient goals.

▪️Keep in mind, that the longer you’ve been in a calorie deficit, the lower your calories will have to be. With that said, the lower your calorie intake, the less fun food you are able to eat. But that could be a good thing since minimally processed foods are more satisfying and provide more vitamins and minerals.

Posted on

Carbs During Workouts

-Carbs During Workouts

▪️Many athletes and bodybuilders consume carbs before and/or after training. But do they consume carbs during training?

▪️While the research of carb intake during strength training hasn’t been assessed much yet, there’s plenty of data to gather from endurance training. Because of the fact that endurance training workouts cause much more glycogen depletion, I believe the recommendations in the graphic are more than enough for most bodybuilders and athletes. Ultimately, the main factor that determines how many carbs you need during training is simply the length of your workout.

▪️But keep in mind that there aren’t many rules to follow about nutrition – especially during your workout. If you have a feeling that carbs help your workout, chow down! However, if you don’t gain any benefit, I don’t see any reason to consume carbs while you are training. Give it a shot and see how it works for you.

▪️ Reference: Jeukendrup, A. (2014). A step towards personalized sports nutrition: carbohydrate intake during exercise. Sports Medicine, 44(1), 25-33.