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A:  First, let me emphasize that our bodies already produce creatine naturally.  Did you ever watch the transformers when you were a kid?  Well if not, there were groups of robots called " combiners. "  They would join together and form an even larger and more massive robot, crushing everything in their paths!  Our liver does the same thing with the three amino acids, Arginine, Glycine and Methionine.  It combines them to form creatine, much like the constructicons combined to form devastator!  Ok so that was a lame example, but it explains the process quite nicely.  

Q: What exactly does creatine do?

1. Creatine works mainly to increase our Creatine Phosphate System

2. Increases The Pump!

3. Increases The Reparation Process of Bodybuilding.

Q: How exactly does Creatine Apply to An Athlete?

A:  Simple, it does so by enhancing your creatine phosphate energy system.  This does a number of things: 1.  Increases explosion - Most athletes notice more explosiveness after utilizing this supplement 2.  Allows yourself to push yourself harder and longer. 

Q: What are the side effects of Creatine, and in General how safe is it? A:  As stated above, creatine is not, and I repeat not a hormone.  Therefore it does not have the side effects associated with any Prohormone or illegal steroid. There have been hundreds of studies done on creatine that all show that it is a safe supplement. To further prove its safety two an a half million kilograms of creatine were consumed in the United States alone in 1999!  That statistic alone speaks volumes about the safety and efficiency of this supplement!  Not only that, but creatine has been the number one supplement on the market for almost a decade and no one has reported any adverse side effects from it. ( aside from the ones I listed above. )

: I don't workout, but do you think that creatine will build muscles and help me to lose fat?

No!  If you don't workout I cannot imagine what supplement would help you.  Creatine provides your muscles with more short term energy - but that is wasted if you do not exercise them. If you take creatine you should push yourself even harder in the gym. The idea is with more energy you should be able to workout harder. A harder workout leads to increased muscle mass.

Q: Since Creatine makes you gain weight should I not take it on a cut?

Yes, creatine causes your body to hold water, but that is a good thing!  The fact that your muscles are super hydrated even on a cut is fantastic.  I see absolutely no correlation between taking creatine and our body storing fat.  If anything, creatine will assist us in maintaining more lean mass while dieting.  In my mind there is no point to discontinuing the use of creatine while trying to burn fat.

Can I take Creatine and Protein at the same time?

Firstly, protein is a food product.  If you couldn't take creatine and protein at the same time, then you would have to be a strict vegetarian and still you would end out consuming around 40 grams a day just from normal foods.  To top this off, creatine is not much use without a significant protein intake.  What is the point of pushing your muscles further than they are used to, if you are not going to provide the amino acids necessary for their repair?  

Which supplement is Better Creatine or Protein?

:  ( I probably get asked this question at least once a day through email.)  Amino acids are the building blocks of our muscles.  If you do not get enough than there is no point to working out.  Creatine is an outstanding supplement, but if you have to choose from getting at least 1 gram a day of protein or getting your creatine then opt for the protein.  However I do want to stress that creatine is an excellent supplement.  In fact for assistance in muscular gains I would rate it second only to whey.

Do you feel that creatine is cheating?  I want to earn my muscles the hard way and don't want to cheat to get them.

( I can't stand these types of questions!!! )  Yes, you would be cheating.  You would be cheating yourself out of great gains by not supplementing with it!

s there anything I can take to make creatine a more effective supplement?

The first thing I would like to emphasize is that creatine will not work if you are not properly hydrated!  It relies heavily on this, so you must drink tons of water, if you want optimal results from it.  Super hydrating your body will also improve your weight room pumps tremendously!

What is the best method, dose wise, of taking creatine?

For creatine to produce optimal results, muscle stores must be topped off or saturated with it.  To accomplish this you need to load the creatine for 5 days at 20-25 grams, spread out throughout the day into 4-5 servings.  This is the quickest and in my opinion the " best " way to saturate your muscles with creatine.  Following this phase, all you need is to take 5-10 grams a day to maintain your saturation levels.  After this, any creatine you take will be excreted as creatinine.

Do I need to Cycle Creatine?

My recommendation is to load for 5 days, followed by a 5-10 gram maintenance dosage for 4-6 weeks.  Following this, there are two particular strategies: 1.  You can take one to two weeks off and then start the cycle over.  Many athletes attest to receiving a better results this way.  2.  However, several athletes will never come off of it.  They will load it for 5 days, maintain for a few weeks and then reload again.  This is increasingly becoming the more popular method of usage.

Carbohydrate loading may give you more energy during an endurance event. You may feel less fatigued and see an improvement in your performance after carbohydrate loading. But carbohydrate loading isn't effective for everyone. Other factors can influence your athletic performance or interfere with the effectiveness of your carbohydrate-loading strategy, including your fitness level and the intensity level of your exercise.

Carbohydrate loading isn't right for every endurance athlete. It's a good idea to consult your doctor or a registered dietitian before you start carbohydrate loading, especially if you have diabetes.

don't hold your breath, and keep elbows out of your line of vision to keep chest and shoulders open.

take the standard crunch and rotate the spine toward one side as you curl off the floor

"It's really important that the twist comes first because then it's the obliques that are actually getting you up."

Burning belly fat requires the well-known formula: using up more calories than you take in.

work the ab muscles

Bent-over Row

Technique

the question is not so much whether the exercise works as how well you execute.

"Done with good technique, all exercises do what they're supposed to do,"

6. Abdominal Crunches

Crunches can be excellent, but if they're not done correctly, with the back arching, they can actually weaken the abdominals," Petersen says.

The trouble is that poor form can change the whole exercise, putting emphasis or even strain on different areas than intended. This can hurt, rather than help you.

Here's how to do it with good form. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, then bend knees and flex forward at the hips. (If you have trouble doing this exercise standing up, support your weight by sitting on an incline bench, facing backward.) Tilt your pelvis slightly forward, engage the abdominals, and extend your upper spine to add support. Hold dumbbells or barbell beneath the shoulders with hands about shoulder-width apart. Flex your elbows, and lift both hands toward the sides of your body. Pause, then slowly lower hands to the starting position. (Beginners should perform the move without weights.)

For health and endurance: 1-3 sets of 12-16 reps using enough weight that you can ONLY complete the desired reps.

Adolescents should obtain 13 percent to 14 percent of their entire calorie intake from protein. If an adolescent weightlifter's diet contains 3,000 calories, 14 percent of the total calories would be 428 cal.

diet containing protein-rich foods such as eggs, lean meats, beans, nuts and low fat cheese and milk easily fulfills the young weightlifter's requirements.

The National Kidney Association cites studies showing accelerated kidney damage in diabetics on high protein diets.

However, Body Building For You suggests that athletes regularly exceed protein requirements with no adverse effects, and that no study ever scientifically proved that high protein diets are dangerous to healthy individuals.

n 1998, "Journal of Nutrition" reported excessive protein metabolism encouraging calcium loss through excretion, yet in 2003 the same journal suggested that calcium is not always lost, possibly because phosphorous helps to enable calcium re-uptake by the kidneys -- at least in people with no prior health problems.

hus, protein supplements may not harm the young weightlifter, even if those supplements contribute to protein intake beyond recommended levels.

Still, two concerns remain: one is financial loss at the expense of weight gain. Expensive protein supplements are unnecessary if the young weightlifter includes protein-rich foods in every meal.

Another danger is hidden ingredients. Some of the most respected Olympian weightlifters have tested positive for banned drugs or steroids hidden in nutritional supplements that they believed to be protein or energy supplements.

Some cause physical and sexual characteristics to alter, and some hasten cancer. In short, young weightlifters aspiring to world-class competition must exercise the utmost responsibility regarding nutrition. It is never too early to start such discipline.

Athletic performance was assessed after each regularly scheduled swim practice. After obtaining extra sleep, athletes swam a 15-meter meter sprint 0.51 seconds faster, reacted 0.15 seconds quicker off the blocks, improved turn time by 0.10 seconds and increased kick strokes by 5.0 kicks.

The study also monitored daytime sleepiness and weekly changes in mood

 Daytime sleepiness decreased significantly with extra sleep, while mood improvements related to getting extra sleep included higher ratings of vigor and lower ratings of fatigue.

Typically, many athletes accumulate a large sleep debt by not obtaining their individual sleep requirement each night, which can have detrimental effects on cognitive function, mood, and reaction time

These negative effects can be minimized or eliminated by prioritizing sleep in general and, more specifically, obtaining extra sleep to reduce one’s sleep debt.”

Mah and colleagues reported similar results in a previous study of six players on the Stanford men’s basketball team

also has worked with the football, tennis, golf, cross country, and track and field teams at Stanford.

It is interesting to note that many of the athletes in the various sports I have worked with, including the swimmers in this study

Make sleep a part of your regular training regimen.

Extend nightly sleep for several weeks to reduce your sleep debt before competition.

Maintain a low sleep debt by obtaining a sufficient amount of nightly sleep (seven to eight hours for adults, nine or more hours for teens and young adults).

Keep a regular sleep-wake schedule, going to bed and waking up at the same times every day.

Take brief naps to obtain additional sleep during the day, especially if drowsy.

Whether you're a beginner or an exercise veteran, a walker or an aerobic dancer, adding interval training to your cardiovascular workout will boost your fitness level

3. Squats

Strength training is essential, the experts say. "The more muscular fitness you have," says Cotton, "the greater the capacity you have to burn calories."

Adding resistance to your sprints helps build takeoff power in your legs for explosive speed down the field. You can add resistance by sprinting up a hill of about 30 degrees, or by using speed parachutes that follow behind you as you run. Parachutes are effective, but not always practical if you are training as a team.

Building speed for the defensive part of soccer is just as important as speed for offense. Practice sprinting backwards for short distances, using quick turns and crossovers along the way. This drill simulates an offensive player trying to dribble past you and will help you keep up during a game.

The condition, which occurs when the body cannot effectively use the insulin it makes, largely as a result of excess body weight and physical inactivity, was previously seen mainly in older people .

But Indian people are less concerned about nutrition. They first focus on the spice of the food, the taste."

Overweight children with diabetes are at greater risk of developing heart disease and heart attacks, deteriorating eyesight, kidney failure, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

Day 3: Cardio Cardio Cardio Only Day 4: Back/Triceps/Calves Exercise 1 Dumbbell Pullover 2 warm up sets of 10-12 reps, 1 working set of 8-10 reps to failure Desired weight (increase weight between sets) Exercise 2 Close-Grip Pulldown 1 warm up set of 10-12 reps, 1 working set of 8-10 reps to failure Desired weight (1 min rest between sets) Exercise 3 One-Arm Dumbbell Row 1 warm up set of 10-12 reps, 1 working set of 8-10 reps to failure Desired weight (1 min rest between sets) Exercise 4 Wide Grip Cable Row 1 warm up set of 10-12 reps, 1 working set of 8-10 reps to failure Desired weight (1 min rest between sets) Exercise 5 Barbell Deadlifts 1 warm up set of 10-12 reps, 1 working set of 8-10 reps to failure Desired weight (1 min rest between sets) Exercise 6 Triceps Pushdown 1 warm up set of 10-12 reps, 1 working set of 8-10 reps to failure Desired weight (1 min rest between sets) Exercise 7 Lying Triceps Extensions 1 warm up set of 10-12 reps, 1 working set of 8-10 reps to failure Desired weight (1 min rest between sets) Exercise 8 Seated Triceps Press 1 warm up set of 10-12 reps, 1 working set of 8-10 reps to failure Desired weight (1 min rest between sets) Exercise 9 Calf Press on Leg Press 1 warm up set of 10-12 reps, 3 rest-pause sets to failure Desired weight (10-15 sec rest between sets) Exercise 10 Seated Calf Raise 1 warm up set of 10-12 reps, 1 working set of 6-8 reps to failure Desired weight (1 min rest between sets

Day 5: Delts/Traps/Abs Exercise 1 Dumbbell Shoulder Press 1 warm up set of 10-12 reps, 1 warm up set of 8-10 reps, 1 working set of 6-8 reps to failure Desired weight (1 min rest between sets) Exercise 2 Side Lateral Raise 1 warm up set of 10-12 reps, 1 working set of 8-10 reps to failure Desired weight (1 min rest between sets) Exercise 3 Low Pulley Delt Raise 1 set of 6-8 reps to failure Each arm Exercise 4 Reverse Dumbbell Flyes 1 warm up set of 10-12 reps, 1 working set of 8-10 reps to failure Desired weight Exercise 5 Barbell Shrugs 1 warm up set of 12-15 reps, 2 working sets of 8-10 reps to failure Desired weight Exercise 6 Upright Row 1 warm up set of 12 reps, 2 working sets of 8-10 reps to failure Desired weight Superset 1 Knee Ups 3 working sets to failure Crunches 3 working sets to failure Superset 2 Cable Crunch 3 sets to failure Decline Reverse Crunch 3 sets to failure .mainheader h1 { position: relative; color: #ffffff; line-height: 115%; vertical-align:bottom}.mainheader h1 span { background: url(http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/images/2009/maingrade.png); background-repeat: repeat-x; position: absolute; display: block; width: 480px; height: 31px; } .subheader h2 span { background: none; filter: progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.AlphaImageLoader(src='http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/images/2009/maingrade.png', sizingMethod='scale');}.subheader h2 { position: relative; color: #ffffff; line-height: 115%; vertical-align:bottom}.subheader h2 span { background: url(http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/images/2009/maingrade.png); background-repeat: repeat-x; position: absolute; display: block; width: 445px; height: 31px; }Get A Printable Log Of Day 5. http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/printlog2.php?firstname=Steve+Cook&name=Day+5%3A+Delts%2FTraps%2FAbs&num_exercises=18&Exercise[]=Exercise+1&Sets[]=0&Exercise[]=Dumbbell+Shoulder+Press%2C+1+warm+up+set+of+10-12+reps%2C+1+warm+up+set+of+8-10+reps%2C+1+working+set+of+6-8+reps+to+failure+&Sets[]=3&Exercise[]=Exercise+2&Sets[]=0&Exercise[]=Side+Lateral+Raise%2C+1+warm+up+set+of+10-12+reps%2C+1+working+set+of+8-10+reps+to+failure+&Sets[]=2&Exercise[]=Exercise+3&Sets[]=0&Exercise[]=Low+Pulley+Delt+Raise%2C+6-8+reps+to+failure+&Sets[]=1&Exercise[]=Exercise+4&Sets[]=0&Exercise[]=Reverse+Dumbbell+Flyes%2C+1+warm+up+set+of+10-12+reps%2C+1+working+set+of+8-10+reps+to+failure+&Sets[]=2&Exercise[]=Exercise+5&Sets[]=0&Exercise[]=Barbell+Shrugs%2C+1+warm+up+set+of+12-15+reps%2C+2+working+sets+of+8-10+reps+to+failure+&

Motivation is key! My Motivation comes from a deep love for weights and to see how far I can push myself everyday in the weight room. I want to be the best I can genetically be. As healthy and as strong and lean as possible. I sometimes have to remind myself not to overdo it. As I've gotten older I realized how important recovery is. Ultimately I want to be the next Steve Reeves... I want a body that is appealing to the masses. My goal is to have the perfect balance of size, shape and symmetry.

While good quality supplements can make a difference (especially when dieting) they aren't an excuse to have poor nutrition and sleep habits. By taking the right supplements for your goals and in the right amount, one can achieve results faster than without supplementing. It's important to know exactly what you are putting into your body. Follow the instructions...just because some is good doesn't mean more is better!

Another of the best abdominal exercises for men is the lunge. People often assume this exercises focuses only on the legs but that is actually not true. Lunges – and especially when you use dumbbells at the same time – also work the abdominal muscles. Remember to focus on your core and squeeze your abs as you perform each lunge, keeping your abs tight and your back straight.

Nuts will help you get the abs you want by keeping you fuller longer. A study at Purdue University showed those who ate nuts felt fuller for longer periods than those who ate rice cakes, Quick & Simple reports. Don't overindulge with nuts, though, because they are high in calories and fat. The U.S. Department of Agriculture also instructs you to avoid salted nuts, because they exceed the agency's recommendations for daily sodium intake.

Barbell curls This is one of the most common biceps exercises as well as one of the most effective. This classic biceps exercises is great for building mass inyour biceps.

mainly made up of protein. However, p

What is protein? How much protein do we need? Is it possible to eat too much protein?

mainly

Proteins are made up of smaller units called amino acids. Our bodies cannot manufacture nine of the amino acids, so it is important to include all these amino acids in our diets.

Our protein needs depend on our age, size, and activity level.

Vegetable group

unbalanced diet can cause problems with maintenance

A balanced diet means getting the right types and amounts of foods and drinks to supply nutrition

balanced diet that is low in saturated and trans fats, cholesterol, added sugars, salt, and alcohol

Balance your calorie intake with exercise.

Eat 2 cups (4 servings) of fruit

Eat 3 ounces or more of whole-grain products per day.

Avoid trans fatty acids,

Your pre- and post-workout meals should be in the form of a protein shake made with a minimum of 48 g of protein, skim milk and fruit

he protein in skim milk stimulates muscle synthesis better than the protein in soy milk. Carbohydrates like fruit enhance muscle tissue building when combined with protein powder. The amino acids in protein powders are more quickly absorbed into your bloodstream and your muscle cells compared to meat and chicken, optimally enhancing muscle growth.

Protein powders are dietary supplements and must not replace all the sources of protein in your diet. Healthy options of high-protein foods include lean chicken breast, turkey, mackerel, lean meat, low-fat dairy and salmon. Chicken breast, turkey and mackerel are high in magnesium, a mineral essential for optimal muscular contraction

Lean red meat is high in iron, necessary for effective transport and use of oxygen, giving you maximal energy. Low-fat dairy products are rich in calcium, another minimal necessary for muscular contraction. Salmon is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which helps to reduce muscle soreness and inflammation.

Plant sources of protein like beans, rice, wheat, nuts and seeds are incomplete proteins. This means such plants are missing at least one essential amino acid. If you do not eat animal products, combine two different sources of plant protein such as beans with rice, seeds, corn, wheat or nuts. Consuming multiple sources of plant protein ensures you eat all the essential amino acids your body needs to build muscle.

Whatever you decide to eat, keep the 5:1.6 g carb-to-protein ratio in mind.

Obviously, the closer you get to your workout time, the smaller the meal should be

Many protein shakes and sports bars are designed specifically as pre-workout nutrition and have the precise nutrient ratio you need. They also have the added advantage of being portable, which can be convenient for those who hit the gym on the way home from work.

If you are stuck without your favorite supplement at hand, fat-free chocolate milk will suffice -- according to Mohr, it provides the exact carb-to-protein ratio as a pre-workout shake. The fat-free part is important though -- fat digests slowly and can weigh you down when you least need it.

Supplements are simply convenience products, and are not necessary to good nutrition. You can get the same benefit from whole foods, but this requires more planning and label reading. Fat-free yogurt with fruit and granola works, as does a whole-grain bagel with peanut butter.

Timing is important -- even the perfect meal can leave you flat if you eat it too early or weigh you down if you eat it too late

The actual amount of carbs and protein you eat depends upon how much time will elapse before your workout.

f your only pre-workout nutrition is a regular meal, eat it about three or four hours before you exercise so the food has time to digest. Otherwise, your full stomach will be susceptible to upset, and the nutrients won't be available in your bloodstream when your body needs them. Smaller meals can be eaten two or three hours prior, but stick to a small snack if you only have an hour to go.

Supplements are by far the easiest way to ensure you get the proper ratio in an appropriately-sized food source.

For a larger meal, a turkey sandwich on whole grain bread with lettuce and tomato is a nearly perfect pre-workout meal, and bananas or fruit juice can be a last-minute snack for quick energy.