Tag: fitness

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Post Workout Recovery

♠️Recovery♠️

🔹 I can remember my first few months of strength training. I wanted a huge bench press, so what did I do? I benched 4-5x/week to the point that I over trained. Even worse; I killed my gains and my strength came to a hault. 

🔹 Studies show  that muscles takes around  3-days to recover from a hard workout. Recovery isn’t just feeling better or less sore, but a state in which your muscles are able to reach nearly full activation again. This is essential because a muscle has to be active in an exercise in order to grow from the stimulus. If soreness and fatigue are hindering muscle activation, your workout won’t cause your muscles to grow.

🔹 A prime rule of thumb to remember is  that you grow muscles outside of the gym. It’s important that you focus on recovery just as much as training. If you skip this critical step, you’ll find it difficult to reach your goals. Make sure that you give your muscles at least 48-72 hours of rest to optimize your recovery. This is very beneficial for the long run. 

Resources: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12741861/

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Carbs After Workout

♠️Carbs After Workouts♠️

🔹 It’s often said that carbs are important for post-workout recovery. At times people even claim that carbs are more important than protein. Is this actually the case?

🔹 When we perform any type of strength training, we inevitably break down some muscle tissue. If we train in a fasted state, it’s very likely that by the end of the workout we will be in a negative protein balance. This is because we’re breaking down more muscle than we’re building. If I made the assumption that carbs were more important than protein and only consumed carbs after my workout, I would be in a negative protein balance. If I’m in a negative protein balance, my muscles wouldn’t grow.

🔹So how can we fix this situation? If your goal is to grow muscle, make sure that you are getting enough protein after your workouts;especially if you are training while fasted. The goal should be to spend as much time as possible in a positive protein balance and getting protein ASAP after working out is a great way to ensure this happens.

Resources: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5794245/

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Boosting Metabolism

♠️Key To Boosting Metabolism♠️

🔹 If you are in a fat burning phase, you definitely want to focus on speeding up your metabolism through a phenomenon called the EPOC effect, which stands for, “Excessive Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption.” The EPOC effect will produce more oxygen consumption to the body   in the post-workout period. This is beneficial because  when we consume more oxygen, we burn more calories. 

🔹 How and why does this happen?

🔹 Exercise will increase stress to the body. This interrupts our regular homeostasis. After our workouts, our bodies start to recover from this stress. Things such as tissue repair and nutrient replenishment require more energy, this is why we see increased calorie burning after we exercise. There are studies that show that this effect can last for as long as 38-hours. 

🔹 So let’s get to the question, “do all forms of exercise have the same effect”?

🔹 That’s precisely what this experiment investigated. Subjects performed workouts that burned the same amount of calories from resistance training, steady state cardio, and interval training. After that, they tracked their calorie burning throughout the post-workout period to see if there were any differences?

🔹 What were the results?

🔹 The steady state cardio group  didn’t boost metabolism one bit. Remember, the primary reason for an increase in metabolism  following a workout is due to things like tissue repair or nutrient replenishment. Steady state cardio typically isn’t stressful enough of a stimulus for most people so we don’t have as much muscle damage to repair or fuel stores to fill up.

🔹 On the other hand, both resistance training and interval training did increase metabolism. Both forms of exercise cause muscle damage and interval training will also deplete energy stores a little more than resistance training. Combine these two workouts and you’ll get a solid EPOC effect.

Resources:

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Beau-Greer/publication/272187749_EPOC_Comparison_Between_Isocaloric_Bouts_of_Steady-State_Aerobic_Intermittent_Aerobic_and_Resistance_Training/links/56d264a608ae4d8d64a5f597/EPOC-Comparison-Between-Isocaloric-Bouts-of-Steady-State-Aerobic-Intermittent-Aerobic-and-Resistance-Training.pdf

https://minds.wisconsin.edu/bitstream/handle/1793/48951/Oschuenkemark2001.pdf

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Stubborn Body Fat

♠️Stubborn Body Fat♠️

🔹There are three main factors that control how fast you lose fat from different parts of your body:⁣⁣

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1. How fat cells react  to catecholamines.⁣⁣

2. How fat cells react to insulin.⁣⁣

3. How much blood flow the area of fat cells receive.⁣⁣

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🔹There are two types of catecholamine receptors in the fat cell: alpha-2 and beta-2. Each receptor responds differently when it gets a signal from a catecholamine. Beta-2 receptors will  prompt the cells to release more fat. But alpha-2 receptors tell the cells to stop releasing fat.⁣⁣

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🔹If a fat cell has more alpha-2 receptors than beta-2 receptors, it will release fat slower than other cells. When your brain senses that it has enough energy from other cells, it will  signal to the  fat cells to stop releasing their energy. Once this happens, the stubborn fat will not be released. 

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🔹These stubborn fat cells tend to gather in the same areas within your body. Let’s take the fat cells from the stomach for example; these fat cells are on average 10-20 times more responsive to catecholamines than the fat cells that are in the glutes. 

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🔹Fat cells can also have a different response to the effects of the hormone insulin, which is  another kind of signaling molecule. In general, insulin is considered a “storage hormone,” which means it helps nutrients such as fat enter cells. When insulin levels incline, fat burning will drop to zero, and vice versa. 

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🔹Certain kinds of fat, such as visceral fat, are more insulin resistant than others. They continue to release fat despite insulin being present. However, stubborn fat will stop releasing triglycerides as a response to insulin.⁣⁣

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🔹The amount of blood that  circulates throughout the different parts of your body also determines how much fat you lose. The areas in your body that receive more blood flow generally lose fat easier.

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Full Body Home Workout

♠️HOME WORKOUT♠️

Here’s a little workout for you to do that requires absolutely no equipment (other than a table and chair) 

✅ Do the workout as one big circuit of 6 exercises

✅ Aim for 3-4 rounds of the circuit

✅ Take a 1 minute break after each round

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Drinking Alcohol After A Workout

♠️Does alcohol consumption affect muscle hypertrophy♠️

🔹Exercise and protein intake are the main factors that create muscle protein synthesis (the main process driving muscle adaptations, such as growth).

🔹It has been documented that athletes are more inclined to consume excessive amounts of alcohol, especially as part of binge-drinking practices in team sports. Can these binges affect muscle protein synthesis?

🔹There was a case study that researched on the the effects of post-exercise alcohol consumption on protein synthesis rates in healthy young subjects who work out regularly. The subjects first performed combined resistance and endurance exercises in order to mimic team sports. During an 8 hours of recovery, subjects consumed either:

-25 grams of protein

-25 grams of  protein and 12 standard alcoholic drinks

-25 grams of  carbohydrate and 12 standard alcoholic drinks

🔹The alcohol intake ended up reducing the  post-exercise muscle protein synthesis rates. But the post-exercise muscle protein synthesis rates were still elevated compared to the rest periods, even when alcohol was ingested.

🔹So what this means is  that even when you know that you will consume large amounts of alcohol afterwards, it is not an excuse to skip your training session.  

⚠️Keep in mind that the subjects received a large amount of alcohol (i.e. 12 drinks). The amount of alcohol in the study was  to mimic the binge drinking practices of sports players.  If the  alcohol consumption was lower, there would be much less of a effect.

🔹The conclusion is that consumption of large amounts of alcohol  after exercise lowers protein synthesis. 

Resources: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24533082/

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Hydration

♠️Hydration♠️

🔹 Drinking a 1/2 liter of water per hour of training is enough to prevent dehydration/lowering of body weight during exercise. 

🔹 A  liter of water is about 33 fluid ounces, so half would be 16.5 fl oz, or a medium-sized water bottle. A quick sip of water is normally about an ounce, give-or-take, so it’s easy to see that consuming 16-33 fl oz during exercise shouldn’t be too hard if you’re constantly grabbing a swig between each  set. 

🔹 Even if you’re not thirsty, it’s a good rule of thumb to hit the water fountain or grab a quick gulp from your bottle between sets. Work smarter, not harder is what I always say.

🔹 There was a study that states that ingesting 500mL (16.9 fl oz) about 2-hours before exercise is a good place to start. A good habit to start  is to simply start sipping on water at least two hours before your workout if you haven’t already been taking in water all day. 

🔹 If you are getting light-headed or nauseous during your workouts, you might not only be dehydrated, but it’s possible that you are experiencing symptoms of hyponatremia as well, which means your sodium levels are running low. 

🔹 Most sports drinks, like Gatorade, contain sodium so it might be a good idea to sip on a sports drink during your workout if you think you may have issues with sodium loss. 

🔹 Water may be one of the most important factors for your performance today and your gains in the long term. 

🔹 Good thing it’s one of the easiest deficits to overcome. Just get yourself a water bottle and keep it at your side at all times. If you don’t like plain water, add flavoring into it to make it more pleasurable. Whatever you have to do, just do it. 

Resources:

https://journals.lww.com/acsm-csmr/Abstract/2003/08000/Fluid_Balance_and_Endurance_Exercise_Performance.6.aspx

http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.583.3481&rep=rep1&type=pdf

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Working The Quads

♠️Working The Quads♠️

🔹Everyone needs strong quads to balance out the strenuous amount of hamstring and glute movements during leg day.

🔹The Quadriceps are made of  4 muscles that work together to extend your knee. They join together into one tendon which passes over your kneecap. The Rectus Femoris also helps flex the hip.

🔹They are a strong muscle group that often gets overly tight and pulls hard on the lonely tendon trying to hold them together at the bottom. Stretching, foam rolling and barbell smashing them will help loosen them up if they are getting tight.

🔹I would suggest that you put the majority of your focus on front squats, back squats and lunges when training your quads. The leg press can suffice and a narrower, lower foot position will target them more.

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Time Under Tension

♠️Time Under Tension and Muscle Growth⁣⁣♠️

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🔹There’s a lot of misconception among Time Under Tension (TUT) and its relationship with muscle growth. ⁣⁣

🔹I’ve noticed many articles say that slowing reps down and increasing the duration of the muscular contraction can create greater hypertrophy. And while there’s some truth to this statement, there’s still more to it. 

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🔹Why ? Because time under tension (TUT) matters, but mostly for the volume that counts as  effective  for hypertrophy. 

🔹TUT can help maximize two specific components of training that are related to muscle growth with the first being volume. Studies show that training volume has been shown to have a dose-response relationship with muscle growth, so increasing training volume should increase gains. 

🔹The second component is tension. When a muscle contracts to lift a weight, the muscle fibers experience mechanical tension while they shorten to move the joint. Mechanical tension is probably the main determinant of muscle hypertrophy, so the more tension you can create, the more gains you’ll get.

Resource: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3861774/#sec1-1title

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https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02640414.2016.1210197

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How To Burn Fat Fast

How To Burn Fat Fast

  • .75 to 1 Grams Of Protein Per Pound

🔹 Protein is essential for weight loss

🔹 Studies suggests that eating protein will increase the number of calories that you burn off by boosting your metabolic rate (calories out) and decreasing your appetite (calories in).

🔹 Evidence shows that consuming 25–30% of your total daily calories from protein will boost your metabolism by up to 80–100 calories per day, compared to lower protein diets.

  • Calorie Deficit

🔹 Each calorie is a unit of energy. The food that you eat provides energy in the form of heat so that your body can function even when it is at rest.

🔹 The amount of calories that you burn each day is called your total daily energy expenditure or TDEE. To be in a calorie deficit you have to expend more energy than you consume.

  • HIIT Cardio

🔹 HIIT is a combination of intense bursts of cardio exercise followed by longer period of rest. An example would be sprinting for 30 seconds to a minute, followed by a minute or two of walking or slow jogging between each cycle.

🔹 HIIT works to build muscle while burning fat at the same time. Performing HIIT requires the body to use more of its muscle tissue to perform. An interesting study published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology showed that a specific HIIT workout requires the body to use up to 80% of its muscle fibers while jogging uses only 20-40% of the muscle fibers.

Resources: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19640952/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11838888/

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1745691617690878