5 Scientific Reasons to Eat More Carbs

Why Athletes Need Carbohydrates

The battle over whether or not carbs are essential for athletes is still very much alive. There's a strong case to be made that power-based athletes should eat moderate to high amounts of carbohydrate to maximize performance. This includes every team sport athlete, every powerlifter, every bodybuilder, every CrossFitter, and every serious recreational lifter. Here's why.

1 – Maintaining Optimal Thyroid Function

The thyroid gland is a very powerful moderator of energy production, growth, body temperature, heart rate, and more. There are several studies, some dating back to the 1970's, that show impairment of thyroid expression with low-carb dieting.

Since the thyroid gland works in harmony with our central nervous system (CNS), it's in a power-based athlete's best interest to make sure he or she is consuming adequate carbs to prevent any pitfalls. Our CNS drives athletic performance, and without a strong functioning thyroid you're doomed to perform poorly, especially if you're a female prone to potential thyroid disease or ESS (euthyroid sick syndrome).

As examples, consider some of the Paleo diet people who, after adopting the controversial diet, soon exhibit symptoms that are similar to thyroid deficiency. They're tired, their muscles are flat, and they're as cold as cavemen in a blizzard without a mastodon fur cape. T3 drops off the scale. It's not good.

On the other hand, consider the pro-bodybuilders that have bucked the age-old practice of preparing for competition by going low-carb. A few years ago, Branch Warren and Jay Cutler consumed between 750 and 1000 grams of carbs a day in preparation for the Olympia. Both looked full and hard thanks to well-functioning thyroids and carbs in general.

2 – Proper Hydration and Keeping Muscles Looking Full

Dr. Edmund Burke discusses in his book the value of ingesting enough carbs after an intense training session to help offset inevitable fluid depletion and electrolyte losses. Burke writes:

"Research has shown that carbohydrate and sodium work together to increase water absorption in the intestinal wall. Carbohydrate's component glucose molecules stimulate sodium absorption, and sodium, in turn, is necessary for glucose absorption. When these two substances are absorbed by the intestines, they tend to pull water with them, thus facilitating the absorption of water from the intestines into the bloodstream."

Moreover, carbs are inherently hydrophilic, or water loving, and a lack of them affects different pathways in the human body responsible for regulating our hydration levels. For example, for each gram of glycogen (stored glucose) in our muscle and liver tissue, we store approximately three grams of water. Muscle and liver glycogen stores are pretty substantial so you could see how this could affect water balance. Want to look totally flat as if you've never worked out a day in your life? Cut out carbs and flush out all that stored water.

Also, when we deplete carbohydrates, there's a concurrent decrease in insulin production that can cause the kidneys to excrete more water. Lastly, if you cut carb intake down low enough to induce ketosis, you create a natural diuretic effect, and a decrease in hydration of just 2-3% can impair athletic performance.

Muscular Body

3 – Insulin Production

When you ingest carbs, your pancreas secretes insulin. Moronically, insulin sometimes still gets flack for its role in energy storage, specifically, fat storage. But insulin is powerfully anabolic, too, as it ferries nutrients (including protein) to muscles. No carbs, very little insulin. No insulin, very little muscle.

Additionally, insulin interferes with cortisol's inhibition of leucine, an amino acid that plays a powerful role in muscle protein synthesis. Moreover, insulin activates and influences several key pathways involved in muscle growth, including the mTOR pathway, which pretty much determines how big your muscles can grow.

4 – Avoiding Gluconeogenesis

This metabolic process involves the production of glucose from non-carbohydrate sources. This process can occur from a number of substrates, but let's focus on gluconeogenesis as it relates to specific amino acids. If your carb intake is low, you force your body to produce sugar from amino acids (among other things), which could result in muscle loss and declines in performance, especially if high-intensity activity is being performed on a regular basis.

Of course, gluconeogenesis and the loss of muscle doesn't much matter for obese individuals or endurance athletes, as low-carb diets have a minimal impact on them. However, this doesn't apply to muscular and explosive team sport athletes who need a steady flow of carbohydrates to maintain an awesome physique and superlative performance. It also doesn't apply to those WANTING to get muscular and explosive.

5 – Maintaining Healthy Levels of Vitamins and Minerals

When you avoid an entire category of macronutrients (carbs), as many anti-carb people are wont to do, you deprive your body of a tremendous treasure chest of micronutrients. 'Nuff said.

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Bodybuilding: 3 Exercises That Kill Your Knees

Better Ways to Lunge, Run, and Hit the Quads...

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Bodybuilding: 3 Exercises That Kill Your Knees

Better Ways to Lunge, Run, and Hit the Quads

Here's what you need to know...

The leg extension machine stresses out the knees. Use blood flow restriction training to increase its efficacy by creating cumulative stress in the muscle using less weigh.

Standard lunges cause knee pain for many. Either use stationary lunges or reverse lunges to remove stress from the knee and activate the glutes.

Running is hard on the knees. Swap it for incline treadmill walking or add variety using sprints and Fartlek-style running.

If the exercises you love are wrecking your body, swap them out. Or at least be open minded enough to try these modifications. Here are three swaps for the most notorious knee-crushing exercises.

1 – Leg Extensions

The leg extension machine has been demonized in the fitness industry for the last two decades. It's accused of creating chronic knee irritation by creating highly compressive forces at the patella-femoral joint, leading to breakdown of the joint surfaces. It's even called out by coaches, physical therapists, and biomechanists because it's an "open chain" exercise unlike a squat or deadlift.

These are all valid points, but the leg extension is also responsible for helping build some of the most impressive quads in bodybuilding. It continues to be a staple in many programs because it produces results for those wanting muscular hypertrophy. So what's the answer if you want tree trunks for legs AND knee health? Modification. And maybe even replacing it with something to protect the knees for the long haul.

A Better Exercise – Rear Foot Elevated Split Squat

While fatiguing muscular fibers in the quads is guaranteed on the leg extension machine, that same recruitment can be possible through split stance loaded variations such as the lunge or split squat. If you've proved the ability to dominate a static split squat and earned the right to progress, try the rear foot elevated split squat.

2 – The Alternating Forward Lunge

The lunge is a foundational exercise, but the most popular variation – the alternating forward lunge – is the most butchered. A rule of thumb is to never load (use weights) during a dysfunctional movement pattern. But many people don't have the ability to complete a single bodyweight lunge with proper mechanics. And in a society that views more as better, that shitty form becomes even more heinous when loads are introduced.

A lack of hip and core stability translates into valgus (collapsed) knee positions, increased degrees of anterior translation of the knee extending over the foot, and the use of momentum and compensation creating unstable shear forces through the spine, hips, and just about every other joint in the body. The smart thing to do is fix your form. And if you depend on the lunge to round out an epic leg day, there's a simple movement modification to help you keep lunging without the unwanted compressional stress on the knee cap.

A Better Exercise – Static Split Squat

The forward lunge is a dynamic movement meaning that the foot stepping ahead requires movement to step, complete the lunge, and return back to neutral. Any dynamic movement that's just begging for injury can be simplified into a static variation. The static split squat is a good replacement for the forward lunge until you earn the right to progress once again.

Static split squat

Place your feet in a split stance, hip width apart. If your position is sound, you'll be able to drop down to the floor in a half-kneeling position and your hips and knees will create 90-degree angles. From this position, stay on one leg in non-alternating fashion and complete sets of full-range split squats. This will target the same musculature of the dynamic forward lunge but keep compensation and poor technique to a minimum.

If you find yourself struggling to keep your balance, then adding a dynamic component isn't the right variation for you. Go inside a rack or up against a wall and monitor your balance with your fingertips, enhancing your balance each session, ultimately working your way back to free standing.

How to Keep the Alternating Lunge, If You Must

The reverse lunge will activate the posterior chain musculature significantly more than its forward counterpart. It will achieve a slightly (10-15 degree) higher front side hip flexion angle when the lunge is completed in split stance position.

The reverse lunge:

This higher hip flexion angle will allow the rectus femoris (a quad muscle in your thigh) to be slightly slackened when the back foot is placed behind the front and when you're doing the eccentric portion of the lunge. Without the strain from this muscle, the patella is more likely to respond favorably to the training forces through the quads rather than the strain on non-contractile tissues such as the patellar ligaments and fascia on the front side of the knee.

By moving through the reverse variation of this exercise, you'll be able to train the quads and legs just as effectively as the forward version, minus the chronic stress and poor positions. And anyways, who doesn't need a little extra booty emphasis on leg day? That's a win-win.

3 – Running

If you're a runner, you're either one of two people: A natural born runner with impeccable gait mechanics, or a pretender who's slogged through just enough miles to call yourself a runner, but not enough to finally break your body.

If your goal is to stay fit and healthy for the long run, prioritizing road work at sustained mid level threshold outputs for hours on end isn't your fast track to fat-loss or body recomposition. But on the plus side, it may help you finally tap into that health insurance plan. Here's how to make some intelligent modifications to your training if and when you're ready to break up with running.

A Better Exercise – Incline Treadmill Walks

The intelligent movement modification for running is to... wait for it... stop running. Granted, going for a jog once or twice a month isn't going to kill your body. But adhering to a multiple-day-a-week running schedule at moderate intensity and mid-mileage is the norm, and something that's in need of modification if your goal is staying healthy.

Training your cardiovascular system effectively involves more options than just running. As long as the specific energy system is targeted properly through heart rates and oxygen thresholds, cardio is cardio and your body can't discern the difference. Even if you plan on taking part in one long steady-state run a week, you can supplement in a more joint-friendly cardiovascular activity another few days a week to match your cardio output and keep your levels of conditioning up. My top recommendation is incline treadmill walks.

More on the incline treadmill walk:

Do them 2-3 days a week, and if you're dead-set on keeping your heart rate elevated at a sustained level, match your outputs on the runs with your systemic outputs on the walks. Just increase the speed and incline enough to reach those specific variables, minus the high impact rates associated with running.

How to Keep Running, If You Must

There's just something about running that captivates people both physically and mentally. So if you're not going to supplement incline walks into your cardio program a few days a week, at least vary your runs enough to avoid the stagnation and plateaus of training effects commonly associated with steady state cardio. This can be done through two different types of programming: traditional interval style runs, or sprints and Fartlek-style training:

You're familiar with intervals, where a faster running speed is completed for a duration followed by a slower speed to tap into heart rate variability and cardiovascular response. Likewise, Fartlek runs allow the variability in heart rate, but also the challenge of constant variances of speeds, inclines, and training variables to produce a more novel training stimulus compared to a steady state run.

Start off simply with the Fartlek runs, determining a specific time or distance for the run, and listen to your body. Challenge yourself with tempo runs, slower jogs, or periods of incline running if you're on a treadmill. Because it's randomized, every Fartlek run will be different. When it comes to improving the orthopedic response to a highly repetitive sport or activity such as running, the more variability in gait stride, speed, and ground reaction forces, the better.

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Train Hard And Dedicate Yourself. Don't Blame Genetics

Genetics make a difference, but don't lose hope. Smart training and eating will maximize what your parents gave you. Here's the deal....

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Train Hard And Dedicate Your Self. Don't Blame Genetics

Genetics make a difference, but don't lose hope. Smart training and eating will maximize what your parents gave you. Here's the deal.

Research shows that genetics do impact our ability to build muscle, lose fat, and display athleticism. We all have issues with genetics that we have to work around. Some of us are predisposed to carrying excess fat, some of us are lean but have stubborn areas of fat deposition, some have trouble building muscle, and some are muscular but have weak body parts. Some of us have all of this combined, and nobody has perfect genetics!

We all need to do our own research, tweak the variables, and figure out our optimal programming methodology. Some people respond best to variety, some to volume, some to intensity, some to frequency, and some to density. You have to discover the best stimuli for your body, which will evolve over time.

I've spoken to colleagues about this issue and we're all in agreement: we've never trained any individuals who didn't look better after a couple of months of training, assuming they stick with the program. All of them lose fat and gain some muscular shape. While some lifters have a much easier time than others developing an impressive physique, I've yet to see one train in an intelligent manner and fail to see any results.

So even if you're a "hard gainer" and you don't respond well, you can and will see results as long as you're consistent and as long as you continue to experiment. Of course, the rate and amount of adaptation is highly influenced by genetics, but sound training methods will always account for a large portion of training effects.

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                                          Source: https://www.t-nation.com

BODYBUILDING: Find Out If You're Insulin Sensitive

Take control of this hormone to make sure you're staying lean and building only muscle. Here's how....

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BODYBUILDING: Find Out If You're Insulin Sensitive

Take control of this hormone to make sure you're staying lean and building only muscle. Here's how.

Insulin is very anabolic. It's a hormone responsible for carb and amino acid delivery to the muscles for recovery and growth. So you need insulin, but you need to control it.

Insulin sensitivity seems to be the most important factor dictating how the body will handle carbs. Chronic elevation of insulin can increase the rate of transport of fats and carbs into fat cells. Although initially insulin shuttles nutrients into muscle cells, chronic insulin elevation will cause the muscles to become insulin resistant and refuse to take up nutrients. The adipose tissues, however, are greedy little pieces of cellular machinery and continue to take up nutrients at a rapid rate.

For those who have good insulin sensitivity, the body responds to carb intake with small insulin surges. Although the insulin surges are tiny, the cells are very responsive to that small amount of insulin and do a great job of becoming anabolic. Since lots of insulin can inhibit fat loss, the ideal scenario is to become very insulin sensitive so that only small amounts of insulin are required for anabolism, and so that those small amounts of insulin don't prevent fat loss.

Some experts use very simplistic recommendations for testing insulin sensitivity, methods I disagree with. For example, I've heard the statement that if you have an apple-shaped physique or if you get sleepy after a carb meal then you're insulin resistant (insensitive). These are way too non-specific and tell you very little about your nutrient needs or if you're making progress. I prefer methods that, although more time consuming, are objective.

Objective Testing

The first is a oral glucose tolerance test. For this you need to go to your local pharmacy and purchase a glucometer, some glucose test strips, and a standard glucose beverage (ask your pharmacist about this because it has to be a specific kind. Pepsi won't work). Once you've got the goods, you'll plan your test.

After going at least 24 hours without exercise (do this test after a day off from training), you'll wake up in the morning – fasted at least 12 hours – and take a blood sample from your finger tip. Write down this number. Then drink your glucose beverage and continue to take blood samples at 15, 30, 60, 90, and 120 minutes. Record all the numbers at each time point. Here's a little chart of what you should expect:

Fasted Glucose and Insulin Test

The second test is a fasted glucose and insulin test. For this you need to see your doctor. This test is simply a blood draw in the fasted state. It's easy to do. Just schedule an appointment, the nurse will do a single blood draw, and then the lab will measure the levels of insulin and glucose in your blood at this time.

Using one of the following equations, you'll have both an insulin sensitivity score and a pancreatic responsiveness score:

Insulin Sensitivity =

Fasted Insulin (mU/L) / 22.5 x E to the X e-ln(Fasted Glucose (mmol/L))

or

Fasted Insulin (pmol/L) x (Fasted Glucose (mmol/L) / 135)

Pancreatic Beta Cell Function =

(20 x Fasted Insulin (mU/L)) / (Fasted Glucose (mmol/L)-3.5)

or

(3.33 x Fasted Insulin (pmol/L) / (Fasted Glucose (mmol/L)-3.5)

If you're not a math whiz or don't own a calculator, have your doctor do the math for you. Remember, you have to go to his office to get the test done in the first place. Once you have these values, compare your numbers to the following to see how sensitive you are:

Insulin Sensitivity

Lower score = more sensitive

Normal insulin sensitivity: score should be below 2

Excellent insulin sensitivity: score will be around 0.5

Pancreatic Beta Cell Function

Higher = better pancreatic function and insulin release

Normal pancreatic function: score should be about 100

Excellent pancreatic function: score will be above 200

Once you've collected these measures, you'll have a better indication of what type of diet you need to consume. Do these tests at least once every few months to see how your diet and training is impacting your insulin sensitivity.

Get Sensitive

So let's assume that you've done the tests and you weren't happy with the results. You're insulin insensitive and, dammit, you don't like it! Well, instead of resigning yourself to a flabby midsection for the remainder of your days there are some things you can do to increase insulin sensitivity.

Both aerobic and resistance training greatly increase insulin sensitivity through a variety of mechanisms. So include both in your program. I've seen tremendous increases in insulin sensitivity with three to four intense weight training sessions per week lasting 1 to 1.5 hours per session. These sessions should be coupled with at least three or four aerobic sessions lasting 30 minutes per session. To really target insulin sensitivity, you'd want to perform weight training and cardio separately.

In addition, supplements like omega 3 fatty acids, fish oils such as Flameout™, alpha-lipoic acid, and chromium can increase insulin sensitivity. Start out with 600 mg of alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) and concentrated fish oils containing a total of six to ten grams of DHA and EPA (the most active omega 3 fats in fish oils).

On the flip side, stimulants like ephedrine and caffeine can decrease insulin sensitivity due to their effects on metabolism. Furthermore, the low carb, high-fat diets that have become popular can also lead to decreased insulin sensitivity. That's why the people I train don't go on no-carb diets.

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Try Blood Flow Restriction Training -Here Is How..

Popular with hardcore bodybuilders, this method can also be used if you're rehabbing. Here's how....

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Try Blood Flow Restriction Training -Here Is How..

Popular with hardcore bodybuilders, this method can also be used if you're rehabbing. Here's how.

Blood Flow Restriction (BFR) training has become popular with many hardcore bodybuilders. But since muscle form and function is essentially the same no matter what the intended use, BFR mechanisms of strength and muscle growth started to catch the eye of rehab practitioners with those same goals for their patients.

By occluding a muscular region with wraps, bands, or cuffs at approximately a 7/10 perceived level of tightness, resistance training can be carried out using fractions of external loads, as low as 20-40% of a predicted 1RM. Then higher set and rep ranges would create a highly metabolic environment perfect for increasing muscle growth and strength.

Blood Flow Restriction Training (BFR)

The most exciting aspect of BFR is the ability to build muscle tissue in lagging regions while minimizing the joint stress and shear forces that are most commonly involved with maximally loaded exercises. Doing work with less weight means joint stress is greatly decreased, while metabolic stress of the local environment is maximized.

It's killing two birds with one big-ass stone, and it's why I prioritize this method not only for the rehab of pain and dysfunction, but also for performance training and aesthetic programming i.e. working out to look good naked.

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Here Is Why You Should Eat Bananas-Benefit of Eating a Banana for Sports

Nutrients fuel your body to help it carry out day-to-day functions. If you have a physically demanding lifestyle that includes exercise, nutrition is particularly important to your health. Eating properly helps ensure that your muscles have enough energy to power through your workout ...

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Here Is Why You Should Eat Bananas-Benefit of Eating a Banana for Sports

Nutrients fuel your body to help it carry out day-to-day functions. If you have a physically demanding lifestyle that includes exercise, nutrition is particularly important to your health. Eating properly helps ensure that your muscles have enough energy to power through your workout and also prevents low blood sugar after physical activity that can cause dizziness and fatigue. Bananas provide your body with essential nutrients that benefit your health, especially if you play sports.

Potassium

Potassium plays an essential role in muscle function, and deficiencies in potassium can lead to abnormal cramping and discomfort. During exercise, your body loses potassium through your sweat, and prolonged periods of physical activity can significantly reduce your potassium levels. Eating a large banana boosts your potassium intake by 487 milligrams or 10 percent of your daily recommended intake, according to the Linus Pauling Institute.

Manganese

Manganese has a number of physiological functions, including a role in bone development and wound healing. Consuming enough manganese also plays a key role in your metabolism, helping your body access energy from the foods in your diet. As a result, manganese supports physical activity and performance in sports by helping your body get the most from your meals. A large banana provides 0.37 milligrams of manganese, about 21 percent of the daily recommended intake for women and 17 percent of the recommended intake for men, reports the Linus Pauling Institute.

Carbohydrates

Consuming bananas also provides your body with carbohydrates that help support athletic performance during sports. When you perform physical activity, your muscles use glycogen, a type of carbohydrate, as fuel. Eating sources of carbohydrates increases your exercise endurance, while a low-carbohydrate diet reduces endurance. Eating bananas helps to replenish your body's carbohydrate stores, providing 31 grams of carbohydrates in each large banana.

Considerations

If you plan to eat a banana before your workout, time your meal properly to maximize athletic performance. Eating right before exercise might diminish your athletic ability. Instead of directing blood flow to your muscles to maximize performance, your body must direct blood flow to your stomach and intestines to allow for digestion. Try eating a banana about an hour before working out to allow sufficient time for digestion, recommends Go Ask Alice, a service provided by Columbia University. Alternatively, eat a banana after exercise to restore your body's nutrients after a hard workout.

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                                          Source: http://healthyeating.sfgate.com

Here’s Why Cardio Exercises Are So Good For Your Health

You probably already know cardio exercises (in moderation) are good for you, but do you know why?

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Here’s Why Cardio Exercises Are So Good For Your Health

You probably already know cardio exercises (in moderation) are good for you, but do you know why?

It’s easy to go from one workout to the next, never really stopping to think about why you bother taking the time to sweat, tone, and sweat some more. It turns out there are a lot more health benefits associated with consistent cardio workouts than you may have initially thought.

This article describes what will start to happen once you have done cardio regularly for 150 minutes of moderate exercise every week for an extended period of time. Here are 5 reasons why you should put forth the effort.

1. You will have increased stamina

When you first started working out, you probably remember how hard it was to get through even half of your fitness routine in the beginning. However, as you kept up with that routine, each workout got a little easier, and you were able to get much more out of each session. This is because your stamina increased as you continued exerting energy.

Eventually, your body gets used to doing the work you ask it to do, which makes not only working out less difficult, but also tasks like yard-work and walking up stairs, much easier to endure.

2. You will have a stronger heart

Your heart works hard every day to continuously pump blood through your body, bringing oxygen to your muscles, and making sure you continue functioning like a healthy human being. The harder it has to work, the more you put yourself at risk for developing heart disease as you age

Over time, regular cardio workouts can help to strengthen your heart, meaning it won’t have to work quite as hard to do its job well and keep you healthy. Cardio exercise helps decrease blood pressure, which just means you’re putting less stress on your cardiovascular system as a whole.

3. You will notice improved sleep patterns

Remember those 150 minutes of exercise per week we mentioned earlier? This amount of weekly activity can change the way you sleep, giving you enough alertness throughout the day to keep you productive no matter what’s on your agenda.

If you generally have trouble sleeping well at night, a consistent moderate cardio workout can help improve the quality of your sleep. While there’s no solid evidence supporting whether or not there’s a best time of day to workout, studies have shown those who keep up with their fitness regiments report improved sleep patterns.

4. You will feel better, physically and mentally

With more energy, a stronger heart, and better sleep, there’s seemingly no end to all the ways cardio exercises are so good for you. There are more than just physical benefits to cardio, though – your brain also gets something out of it.

Engaging in regular physical activity not only makes you feel physically fit, but can also help improve your mood, help you manage daily stress, and help your ability to concentrate. Whether you start or end your day with cardio, you can be certain you’ll have a much better outlook on the days that will follow.

5. You will decrease your risk for developing chronic disease

Cardio (short for cardiovascular, or heart) workouts do much more than decrease your risk for developing heart problems. Doing cardio exercises multiple times a week can also minimizes depression symptoms and decreases your risk of developing diabetes, stomach problems, and certain types of cancers.

Conclusion

Humans were not meant to be sedentary. The lack of physical activity over time is a major contributor to many of the leading causes of death in America. Cardio exercise benefits you not only in the short-term, but also the long-term, increasing your potential for living a longer and much healthier life.

Now, as you go through your cardio workouts, you don’t have to do it just because you know it’s the healthy thing to do. You know why it’s good for you, and might also be able to convince your friends to head to the gym with you next time.

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                                          Source: http://www.lifehack.org

The Importance Of Water For Bodybuilders

The most important nutrient known is undoubtedly water. Well, not the most important maybe, because most nutrients are essential, but you can go a long time without most nutrients. A week is your absolute limit without water. Any longer is deadly!...

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The Importance Of Water For Bodybuilders

The most important nutrient known is undoubtedly water. Well, not the most important maybe, because most nutrients are essential, but you can go a long time without most nutrients. A week is your absolute limit without water. Any longer is deadly!

What happens if you go without calcium for a week? You may get white bits on your fingers nails...

What happens if you go without water for a week? You drop dead. That's right, dead; As a block of wood.

The most important nutrient known is undoubtedly water. Well, not the most important maybe, because most nutrients are essential, but you can go a long time without most nutrients. A week is your absolute limit without water. Any longer than that and it's game over for you. I don't mean to scare you, but I'm just putting the importance of water in perspective for bodybuilders and everyone!

So why is water so important?

For a few reasons really. The human body typically consists of between 60% and 75% water. In the body, water's responsibilities include removing waste material from the body and moving other nutrients around the body. It also keeps your body temperature correct, for example the loss of water from the body (sweating) is the bodies way of keeping you cool.

How much water do I need?

The average human adult needs AT LEAST 8 glasses of water per day, but a lot more water is recommended. There is no stereotype person. Some people will need less than 8 glasses, some will need more, but on average, you probably need more. If you were to join the army, you would learn that you can tell if you're drinking enough water by the color of your urine. If it's dark, then you need to increase your water consumption. If it's clear, then you're drinking plenty. Sorry for that, but it's pretty important. Especially to athletes and bodybuilders.

When should I drink?

All the time! Thirst is your bodies way of telling you that it needs rehydrating, but you should really not get to the stage when you are thirsty. Drink as often as you can. Also, if you do feel thirsty, drink lots - not just enough to wet the inside of your mouth. You should also drink water before, during and after exercise. You should start drinking more water about 2 hours before you exercise (bearing in mind that your body can only absorb 1 glass of water every 20 minutes) and keep drinking right up until you exercise. Whilst exercising, sip water every few minutes. I drink water between every set. DO NOT wait until the end of your exercise period and then gulp down lots of water as this is not good for you.

Do I HAVE to drink water?

I always do, and I recommend bodybuilders do because there is no extra nutritional content (like there is with carbonated beverages, cordial mix drinks and all other unnatural liquids). But the answer, actually, is no. You can drink those things if you want. Coffee is a good pre-workout drink, as is Lucozade (It's a UK Gatorade thing I think). I realise that some areas (like where I live) the tap water is pretty horrible. It tastes of chlorine because that's what they disinfect it with. I like to drink bottled water, but some people have water filters to filter out the horrible taste, and I think they work pretty well (e-mail me if you know please!)

Anyway. the bottom line is this: Drink plenty of water and you'll be fine.

Oh, and on a side note, the first woman to ever complete training for the Royal Marines Commando all arms course (an 8 week course, not the full 30 week one) has failed the final tests.

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                                          Source: http://www.bodybuilding.com

Mistakes That Experienced Lifters Make

You're a Smart Veteran Lifter. Time to Start Acting Like One.

Here's what you need to know...

Don't sabotage yourself by clinging to a workout program. Listen to your body and take advantage of training opportunities.

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Mistakes That Experienced Lifters Make

You're a Smart Veteran Lifter. Time to Start Acting Like One.

Here's what you need to know...

Don't sabotage yourself by clinging to a workout program. Listen to your body and take advantage of training opportunities.

If you have nothing to talk about aside from your gym and food accomplishments, it's time to do more with your life. Accept those who have other aspirations.

Short, intense workouts are better than nothing. Fit them in.

Training while injured will set you back longer than the time it would take to recover.

Stop thinking your goals depend wholly on training. Your diet plays just as big a role.

Beyond Basics

You're not a beginner anymore. You've made training a priority, you fill up on protein, and you use progressive overload to make progress.

Those are lessons learned by newbs. You're not a newb. But there are still areas for improvement. Here are the mistakes experienced lifters make and the solutions for overcoming them.

1 – Being Too Rigid

It's good to follow a program rather than just going into the gym and winging it every day. But it's just as important to learn how to adapt your workouts on the fly based on how you're feeling or your circumstances that day.

Fix it: Leave room for instinct and unpredictable circumstances.

Say your program calls for you to test your deadlift or do a brutal set of 20-rep squats when you feel a cold coming on, or your back is particularly stiff. The prudent move would be to hold off on your program and invest in your next training session when you feel better.

No, this isn't a hardcore strategy, but pushing through a workout when you're not at your best can sabotage your next few training sessions and set you back.

Now let's say your program calls for you to deload, but you're feeling great and you have a buddy in town that wants to lift with you. Rather than being a slave to your program, go in and get after it. Don't pass up opportunities when you're feeling great.

And never miss an opportunity to work out with people stronger than you or more skilled in a certain aspect of training. Doesn't matter if you just did a brutal squat workout the day before - if someone stronger invites you to join in on their leg day, toughen up and jump in.

Don't miss out on the opportunity to advance because you're too anal to stray from your program. You're only hurting yourself.

2 – Thinking You're Better Than Others

It's amazing how often some lifters bash those who aren't big on lifting weights.

That air of superiority isn't attractive to outsiders. It discourages them from wanting to get started. It also gives lifters a bad name.

You know those Planet Fitness commercials that paint an ugly picture of meatheads? Don't be the guy or girl who makes them somewhat accurate.

Smug Lifter

Fix it: Give up smugness and self-righteousness. It's just training.

If you judge people based on how they choose to exercise or eat, you need to rethink your priorities in life. Or better yet, get one. If you've got time to be a jerk, maybe you need to fill your life with more than just fitness.

The people you're bashing are probably better than you at other things. Maybe it's parenting, or farming, or being a rocket scientist, an FBI agent, or a heart surgeon. These people have made different life choices and could just as easily be ripping on you.

Keep that in mind and don't be a dick.

Lift weights because you love it, and leave others to pursue their own passions, whatever they might be.

3 – Doing All or Nothing

A lot of lifters won't even bother hitting the gym if they don't have time to work through their full training session. If they don't have 90 minutes to devote to a full warm-up and a preplanned routine, they figure it's not worth it.

Fix it: Work out when you're short on time.

For anyone with a busy life (you), it's important to learn that when you're strapped for time, something is always better than nothing.

Say you allotted 90 minutes for your upper body workout and intended to foam roll and do a dynamic warm-up before doing a workout consisting of 5-6 exercises for 3-5 sets each.

If you get stuck late at work and end up with only 20-30 minutes to train, you're much better off going to gym, ramping up in weight, picking the two most important exercises from your program that day and alternating back and forth between them for as many sets as you have time for.

This beats going home because you can't get it all done.

Is it that a perfect plan? No, but short workouts add up over time, even if it's just a few sets of chin-ups here or a couple sets of deadlifts there. And hitting the gym when you know you don't have a lot of time can force you to be more efficient.

Ironically, having fewer responsibilities will make you conditioned to expect lengthy workouts at your convenience. But the tighter your schedule, the more you get used to squeezing in training as often as possible.

4 – Prioritizing Training Over Diet

It doesn't matter if your intention is to build muscle, burn fat, lose weight, gain weight or improve your body composition, how you eat is the single biggest determinant of whether or not you achieve it.

Abs

Fix it: Adopt a nutrition strategy before piling more exercise on top of your program.

Hard work and good intentions don't really matter if you regularly throw caution to the wind with your food choices.

You know this. You can regurgitate all the platitudes about eating clean and out-training a bad diet, but if someone were to take a closer look at your diet, would your actions match your words, plans, and goals?

Some lifters always want recommendations on the best way to train for fat loss. Should I add more interval training? Do steady state cardio? Circuits? Barbell complexes? Kettlebells? Spin class?

Sure, all those things can work, but none of them will if you continue to crush shitty food like it's your job. Learn how to live without the damn donuts before you worry about what type of cardio you should be doing.

And this isn't just for those wanting to lose fat. There are guys who are dead-set on gaining 20-plus pounds. They'll say they've tried everything: high-reps, high frequency training, full body routines, body part splits, you name it.

The problem? Their training program isn't the missing link. Diet is.

One guy came to me with this very issue, and when I asked him about his diet, he told me about his intermittent fasting and how his only meal was a big dinner and a couple snacks.

Sure, he tried everything in the gym to gain muscle. But he was missing the most important part of the equation - food. Not surprisingly, he'd been stuck at 160 for a few years despite trying all sorts of training protocols.

No program is going to make you build muscle if you're eating like a bird. Intermittent fasting may be effective for those trying to lose weight or maintain their current physique, but if you want to gain a noticeable amount of muscle, eat.

5 – Training Through Injuries

Lifters will argue the merits of different forms of training, but none of this minutia will matter if they make the mistake of training through injuries and making them worse.

Fix it: Prioritize recovery.

If you injure yourself and can't train for an extended period of time, no program is going to work... no matter how good it is. Missed training time due to injury is far and away the biggest impedance on your progress.

Most training-related injuries start as minor tweaks then become major injuries because you're too stubborn to take care of them right away. When the discomfort first presents itself, you ignore it and train though, hoping that it'll disappear. But this just makes matters worse.

Remember this: When recovery is at stake, the body always wins.

That doesn't mean you can't train at all, it just means you need to seriously modify your approach, work around the issue, and give it time to recover. You'll also need to figure out the underlying cause of the injury to prevent it from getting worse.

You already know the difference between injury and exercise-induced muscle soreness. It's fine to train through muscle soreness provided it's not too severe, but strains and joint injuries are not to be ignored.

Don't try to kid yourself and train when you know it's more than just soreness. You'll digress when you try to make progress like a jackass.

6 – Letting Workouts Define You

If your life is defined by your workouts or diet, you need to take a step back. It's one thing to have a passion for training and health, but it's another to let it define who you are.

Workout Music

Fix it: Zoom out, re-prioritize your life, or at least pretend you haven't drunk the Kool-Aid when you interact with other people.

Last summer I ran into an acquaintance whom I hadn't seen in almost two years. I asked him how he was and expected to hear about his job, family, who he was dating... you know, life-stuff.

Instead, he went straight into telling me about how sore he was from his workout the day before, how hard it was to stick to his new "cutting" diet, and how he was pumped about getting shredded.

After describing the complexity of his training and nutrition protocol, he had nothing left to say.

Sure, it's fine to talk training with your friends, but remember, I hadn't spoken to this dude in almost two years and that was the most important thing for him to talk about. I made up an excuse to avoid hanging out with him.

Contrast that with a couple days later on my trip to see T Nation contributor Eric Cressey. Not once during our two-day visit did we broach the topic of training.

I have no clue how my closest friends train themselves, and frankly I couldn't care less - unless we're working out together. My friends have no idea how I train either because it's just not something I talk about that much outside of the gym.

As much as I love working out, when I meet someone who has nothing to talk about other than how he lifts or eats, I make a mental note never to hang out with that person.

Friendships and experiences aren't enhanced through self-referential fitness chatter - unless you're actually working out together or seeking feedback.

It's as annoying as the school girls who don't, like, stop talking about, like, the boys they like, and what they're, like, going to wear.

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