Group items tagged

ncomplete proteins come from "plant products", beans, rice, etc. They must be combined in order to supply the body with the 9 essential amino acids it needs. Ladies and gentlemen, now that you see how important consuming protein is let's look at how much should be consume and what types.

The world health organization and many national health agencies have independently conducted studies, which (even though they differ slightly) all conclude our daily protein requirement should be between 10% to 15% of our daily caloric intake. If you eat 2000 calories a day that equates to 50 to 75 grams of protein.

Protein needs of individuals vary in nature. To estimate your personal protein needs you will need to take your current weight in pounds, divide it in half and then subtract 10. The result is a rough estimate of how much protein you should consume.

If you do not already do so, read food lables, then buy your food uncooked and cook it healthfully. If you do not take anything else from this article that last sentence is paramount.

your schedule is hectic and you are just too busy and do not have time to eat high protein foods then bars and powders can be substituted. A lot of bars on the market are loaded with other "not so good" man made additives, trans fats, aspartame, saturated fat content (over 3.5g), etc.

Carbohydrates are used to fuel muscle growth

. For this reason, an athlete or bodybuilder should consume 3 to 4.5 g of carbohydrates per pound of body weight. However, the high end is only for ultra-endurance athletes and unnecessary for building muscles.

While it is technically possible to train for a marathon and weightlifting competition at the same time, it is doubtful you will do well at either one, and run the risk of injury secondary to over-training. If your goal is general strength and conditioning, a few weightlifting training sessions a week and cardiovascular exercise on your off days will improve strength, power and health. If you wish to do well at one activity, you need to specialize. If you go for a limit run the day before a weightlifting meet, you are going to be too tired and sore to lift very much. If you snatch and clean heavy the night before a race, you are going to be stiff, sore and slow, so only you can determine how much of each.

GOALS Create mini goals. Don't just expect to put on a ton of muscle in one year without checking yourself along the way. Set weight-gain goals every 2-4 weeks and evaluate the results. If you fall short, make an adjustment for the next goal. When you stop setting goals, you stop critical thinking and stop making gains.

MAINTAIN Every 8-10 weeks, take a couple of weeks to prevent a plateau. Don't stop training, but back off a little and let your body recover. Stop trying to get stronger and don't push sets to failure. After two weeks of maintaining your previous gains, go back to 110%. Reduce your calories during this back-off phase as well. This gives your body a break from digesting and utilizing all the food you nee

FST-7 This is the advanced training technique I've used with all my athletes.

Basically, you train that bodypart heavy as you normally would on any given day, keeping the rep range at 8-12, but on the last exercise you perform the 7 sets to finish off that particular muscle, with minimal rest in between to get the best pump possible.

Alternate the first exercise between dumbbells, barbells and machines. Use them all each workout, but change the order and angle. On all chest moves, you must arch your back, throw your chest high and keep your shoulders back. This takes the shoulders out of the movemen

Low-rep flat-bench presses (fewer than eight reps) are a quick way to tear a pec. Use a full range of motion on all exercises. The only exceptions are intensity multipliers used on the last set. When you reach failure, push your muscles further with assisted negative reps or partials. Lean forward on dips to emphasize chest.

Work the angles. There are three sides to the shoulder muscles and countless angles to hit them. Sit, stand, lean; barbell, dumbbell, machine; use them all. Start the workout with a press. Hit the big compound movement while you're strongest. Don't be afraid to work your rear delts near the beginning or middle of the workout. If you always do them at the end they will never grow!

Warm up your shoulders, chest, triceps and rotator cuffs before training. The shoulders are vulnerable to injury. Try seated lateral raises to really isolate the side delts. This is my favorite move to build round shoulders!

BALANCE YOUR PROTEINS: Take in protein of all types from all sources — fast acting, slow acting, whey, casein, egg, fish and animal proteins (beef, chicken, turkey, etc.).

WHERE'S THE BEEF: Beef is great for offseason growth. In addition to the amino acids, you get tons of B vitamins, iron and testosterone-boosting fats.

JUNK IT UP: Don't be afraid to eat some junk food once or twice per week. This boosts your metabolism and gives your body a different type of fuel. Stick to the "clean junk." These are calorically dense, but not super greasy foods. Examples are pasta, burgers, steak, sweet potato fries and cheesecake.

If you want to grow, insulin spikes are your friends. You just have to time them correctly, like breakfast and postworkout. These are the times to have some fast-acting carbs that quickly replenish glycogen stores.

foods ranging from white rice to buckwheat.

whole grains are generally healthier because they offer more fiber

Examples of whole grains include barley, brown rice, oatmeal and whole-wheat bread.

Unsaturated Fats

Fat calories should make up about ¼ to 1/3 of the calories you eat.

saturated and trans fats can damage your cholesterol levels and increase your risk of heart disease

Swap these less healthy fat sources out for unsaturated fats, which are found mostly in nuts, seeds, plant oils and fish.

Lean Proteins

Protein should make up about 10 to 35 percent of your total calories

Fish, seeds and nuts also happen to be high in protein.

choose skinless chicken breast over fried dark chicken meat, replace whole milk with low-fat or skim milk, and choose beans over red meat in tacos, for example.

Fresh Fruits and Vegetables

get about 1½ to 2 cups of fruit per day and 2 to 3 cups of vegetables per day

a glass of 100 percent fruit juice can equal one serving of fruit but you shouldn't fill up on juice because it doesn't contain any fiber.

canned and frozen fruits and vegetables can be healthy alternatives when you don't have access to fresh produce, but avoid the ones that have been doused in salt, sugar, syrup and creamy sauces.

fresh fruits and vegetables can become less healthy if you prepare them in unhealthy ways