How to gain lean muscle

1. Train with challenging weights in the six to 12 rep range

Adding lean muscle (called hypertrophy) is achieved with challenging weights in the rep range of six. Hypertrophy is the process of increasing the number of cells within an organ or tissue (such as muscle tissue), thereby increasing its overall size. If you train with higher reps you surpass this stage and train your muscles for endurance rather than lean muscle gain.

2. Train at least three times a week with weights

Muscle growth occurs through adaptation. You need to stress the muscles often enough to elicit the adaptation response. The muscle gets stronger and bigger, due to the stress placed upon it. Training also needs to be challenging.

3. Eat plenty of protein

Protein is the building block of muscle tissue (among many other tissues in the body). When you are training hard you need to ensure you are getting enough protein to aid with recovery and repair of your muscle cells in order to achieve hypertrophy. Protein will also help keep you fuller for longer and it has a thermic effect, meaning that it takes additional energy/calories to digest, so it’s also great for fat loss.

4. Reduce your intake of carbohydrates but don’t eliminate them 

You can’t burn fat in the presence of insulin and every time you ingest sugars or carbohydrates, your body releases insulin. Yet carbohydrates are beneficial for brain fuel and your body’s preferred energy source, as well as for muscle recovery - so don’t eliminate them even. The best time to eat carbohydrates is around your training times – before, and especially after, a challenging workout.

5. Eat more vegies

Not only are vegies low in calories and packed with nutrients, but they also have a high thermic effect, meaning they use a lot of energy just to digest (particularly if eaten raw or as close to raw as you can manage).

6. Eat enough food

One of the biggest mistakes women make is not eating enough to fuel their body and assist with their fat loss and lean muscle gain goals. You need to eat regular meals packed with protein, some complex carbs, lots of vegies and some good fats. Starving yourself is only going to slow down your metabolism and see you gain weight long term, making it harder to get it off and keep it off.

7. Get enough rest and sleep

Many overlook the importance of sleep, but if you don’t get enough sleep you can’t function properly and this has two negative outcomes. The first is that you are unable to work to your full potential or hard enough in your training sessions. The second is that when you are tired, it messes with your hormones making it much harder to resist cravings.

8. Don’t overdo the cardio

If you want to lower your body fat and gain lean muscle too much cardio is counter-productive - especially the popular long, slow kind such as long distance running or cycling. Muscle wastage occurs when performing a lot of long duration cardio, so instead try 2-3 short, high intensity sessions and only add longer, more moderate sessions as a last resort. The aim should always be to do as little cardio as possible if body re-comp osition is your goal.

9. Hide the scales

When you change your body recomposition for the better, you add lean muscle weight (while reducing fat weight) so you may not see a huge drop on the scale but you will definitely see it in the mirror and by how your clothes fit.

10. Be patient

Body recomposition takes time - 12 weeks is a great time frame. If you are looking for rapid ‘weight’ loss, you will find yourself losing precious muscle tissue instead of fat.

Wellness and fitness for Women 2014

Here are 10 ideas for females to keep fit and healthy:

1. Staying healthier starts with a proper and balanced diet. Know and observe the right body program weight for your age. Check with your physician to learn what foods you should avoid and follow your eating self-discipline workouts. If you are trying to decrease some body program weight, foods with excellent calories should be left out from your foods. Food with excellent fiber and low fat should be included a priority in your list instead of red meat, carbohydrates and human extra fat.

2. Drink plenty of water. Consuming at least eight glasses of water everyday. This cleans one's whole body program from toxins. It is also advised for nursing females to increase drinking habits to keep one's whole body program hydrated.

3. Take Vitamins and Supplements. Do not neglect your Calcium mineral nutrient mineral.  Sufficient Calcium mineral nutrient intake is beneficial for females of all ages. This has been proven to avoid having pains and Pre-Menstrual Period (PMS) Symptoms. It also stops Weak bones especially for females. Complement E increases strong immune program. Ladies who go through the change of life period should take Complement E-400 as it stops perspiration at night and hot quick quick flashes. Also, Complement E is said to be best in avoiding collections and wrinkles when aging.

4. Quit smoking cigarettes cigarettes. If you are smoking cigarettes cigarettes, stop. It is also a big “NO” for mothers-to-be, as this will affect the of the baby. Expecting females who smoking cigarettes cigarettes may pass the risky content of cigarettes to children through the veins. Recent surveys have shown that females cigarettes customers are more susceptible to diseases than men cigarettes customers. Ladies who smoking cigarettes cigarettes have a risky of getting chests malignancies. Also limit your booze.

 2014 Fitness for Women- Stay Fit and Healthy! 

5. Incorporate workouts in yourself. Take a walk after work, use staircases instead of lift or play with your kids when you are at home. Home workouts are also effective especially when you do not have a opportunity to go to the gym and would like to decrease some body program weight. Yoga exercises workouts and Yoga exercises workouts are only a few of the many effective workouts you can do at home. Exercises help in reducing the possibility of heart diseases.

6. Avoid stress. Many females are susceptible to too much stress. Stress has been known as cause to many medical concerns. As much as possible take a opportunity to relax. Read a top seller, hang out with friends and engage into sports. Engage yourself by going to companies or you can do some purchasing. And do not neglect to get enough sleep to get back your energy.

7. Use sun block to protected your skin from the risky rays of the sun. Wear hats when under the sun to protected your skin. Too much sun is bad for your skin. The skin is susceptible to cancer when exposed to too much sunlight. It also rates up the aging of skin cells, which causes collections and wrinkles to females.

8. Make sure to check out your dental practitioner to keep that beautiful smile. Always have it cleaned to avoid space and bad breath.

9. Visit your Doctor. Ladies who are 18 and above should have their Physical Assessment annually especially for the Pap Apply test. Ladies who are forty and up should have their mammograms and the Breasts self-exam is inspired once puberty has been achieved and should be a habit as they mature

10. Safe sex is strongly recommended. Use birth control methods to avoid std's.

5 SURPRISING HEALTH BENEFITS OF YOGA

There was a great interview on NPR’s “Fresh Air” recently about the surprising health benefits of yoga. Western science/medicine is learning more about the health benefits of this ancient spiritual practice. Yoga is not just about flexibility and meditation, it can also lower your blood pressure, improve cardiovascular function and lower the risk of various diseases.

Eli Broad, a science writer for the New York Times, has written a new book called The Science of Yoga, which explores the history, risks and rewards of yoga. There is much more to yoga than most people might expect.

Here are a few of the ways that yoga can improve your health:

 SURPRISING HEALTH BENEFITS OF YOGA

1. Cardiovascular health: Most exercise is about boosting your heart rate – getting your blood pumping. Yoga has the opposite effect – it tends to lower the heart rate and reduce blood pressure. But this can be hugely beneficial to your health because yoga relaxes you, lowers your blood pressure, and relaxes your heart. Yoga has also been linked with lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels.
2. Emotional health: Many people suffer from stress, depression and anxiety. These mental illnesses can also have physical repercussions, as people try to relieve their emotional symptoms by eating too much, drinking too much, or not taking care of their bodies because their minds are unwell. Yoga can help relieve emotional distress by helping people feel calmer, more relaxed, more at peace. Yoga can increase feelings of pleasure and well-being, making it easier to take on the challenges of daily life.
3. Flexibility: Yoga increases the flexibility of the spine and other bones and muscles throughout the body. By holding various yoga poses, you strengthen your core and other muscles that you probably don’t get to use very often. It’s a full body workout! In one study, people gained a 35% increase in flexibility in just 8 weeks of practicing yoga.
4. Posture: If you tend to slouch or suffer from back pain, neck strain or soreness in your shoulders, yoga can help you sit and stand straighter. The reason is that yoga develops the deep core muscles like the abdominals. Yoga also makes you more aware of your body so you can correct your posture and prevent slouching.
5. Breathing: Yoga can increase lung capacity by deepening and lengthening your breathing.

One of the interesting ideas from the NPR interview with “Science of Yoga” author William Broad is that in the not-too-distant future, yoga might be prescribed by Western doctors as a way to treat chronic health conditions. Just as dentists recommend that people brush their teeth each day, doctors might soon recommend that people practice yoga each day as a way to maintain good health, lower their heart rate and reduce their emotional stress.
Medical science is still learning a lot of fascinating new information about how the ancient practice of yoga can benefit people’s health. Even though yoga has been practiced (starting in India) for 5,000 years, perhaps it will become “new” again not only as a popular fitness activity, but as a therapeutic way to improve people’s health.

Fun Way to be Healthy | Sports Fitness

When you talk about sports fitness, what comes first in your mind? It is, basically, the different sports activities, right? This is because sports fitness has always been referred to as the sports itself.

Generally, sports entail physical activities that are usually carried out for some “recreational” functions such as self-satisfaction, entertainment, competition, etc. It uses physical activity that is why most fitness experts regard sports as one way of staying fit and healthy. It can also be considered as one way of physical fitness; the only difference is that sports fitness is more inclined to the development of skill or ability.

However, like physical fitness, sports fitness is also capable of toning down the body fats of a person. Because of its rigid and strict health program, a sports enthusiast is able to maintain a well-balanced lifestyle in order to cope up with the strenuous demands of sports.

In sports, people should learn how to value their health. Otherwise, they can never endure the kind of energy that is required when playing sports activities.

Therefore, for people whoa re into sports fitness, here are some tips that you could use in order to stay healthy and be active on whatever sports you want to pursue:

1. Drinks lots of water

Humans can survive days, or even months without food, but they can never last a day without water.

Water is, indeed, the most important element needed by the body. Excessive perspiration, without any means of replenishing the lost fluids will result to serious health problems, and even death.

Therefore, for people who are into strenuous exercises and trainings, it is best to always drink lots of water.

However, for sports enthusiasts, water may not be enough to replace the kind of fluid lost. Hence, it would be better if they would have sports drinks instead. Aside from the fluid, sports drinks have tow additional important ingredients needed by a person who is into sports fitness: carbohydrates and electrolytes.

Electrolytes are usually lost during strenuous physical activity, and this can only be replaced through sports drinks. Carbohydrates, on the other hand, are also needed by the body during rigid workouts to provide more energy so that the body can cope up to the demands of the activity.

2. More veggies!

People who are into sports fitness require more intakes of vegetables and fruits. This is because the body is craving for more vitamins and mineral supplements. It makes the body stronger and healthier enabling it to cope up with demands of the activity.

3. Calcium intake

People who are into sports fitness should have calcium present on their diet. This is to provide stronger bones to the body.

Since the body is more exposed to greater physical activities, it is important to have stronger bones in order to avoid fractures or certain bone diseases like “osteoporosis.”

Calcium can be found in different vitamin and mineral supplements. They are also abundant in foods like sardines, tofu, dairy products, etc.

4. Warm exercises are always important before any kind of strenuous activities.

This kind of activity is needed in order not to strain the body. Hence, before playing the sports that you have always love, it is best to do some warm-up exercises first.

Indeed, engaging into sports activities is one great way of being physically fit. The best thing about it is that in sports, you get to enjoy the best of both worlds.

Fitness for Women- Stay Fit and Healthy!

Here are 10 tips for women to stay fit and healthy:

1.    Staying fit and healthy starts with a balanced diet. Know and monitor the right weight for your age. Consult your doctor to learn what food you should avoid and follow your eating discipline routines. If you are trying to lose some weight, foods with high calories should be omitted from your meals. Food with high fiber and low fat should be included a priority in your grocery list instead of red meat, sugars and fats.

2.    Drink plenty of water. Drinking at least eight glasses of water everyday. This cleanses the body from impurities. It is also advised for lactating women to increase water intake to keep the body hydrated.

3.    Take Vitamins and Supplements. Do not forget your Calcium supplement.  Sufficient Calcium intake is beneficial for women of all ages. This has been proven to prevent having cramps and Pre-Menstrual Period (PMS) Symptoms. It also prevents Osteoporosis especially for menopausal women. Vitamin E boosts strong immune system. Women who undergo menopausal period should take Vitamin E-400 as it stops night sweats and hot flashes. Also, Vitamin E is said to be best in avoiding wrinkles when aging.

4.    Quit smoking. If you are smoking, stop. It is also a big “NO” for pregnant women, as this will affect the health of the baby. Pregnant women who smoke may pass the harmful content of cigarettes to babies through the bloodstream. Recent studies have shown that women smokers are more prone to diseases than men smokers. Women who smoke have a high risk of getting breast cancer. Also limit your alcohol intake.

5.    Incorporate exercises in your daily routine. Take a walk after work, use stairs instead of elevator or play with your kids when you are at home. Home exercises are also effective especially when you do not have time to go to the gym and would like to lose some weight. Yoga and Pilates are only a few of the many effective exercises you can do at home. Exercises help in limiting the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

6.    Avoid stress. Many women are prone to too much stress. Stress has been known as cause to many sicknesses. As much as possible take time to relax. Read a good book, hang out with friends and engage into sports. Pamper yourself by going to parlors or you can do some shopping. And do not forget to get enough sleep to revive your energy.

7.    Use sunscreen to protect your skin from the harmful rays of the sun. Wear hats when under the sun to protect your skin. Too much sun is bad for your skin. The skin is prone to cancer when exposed to too much sunlight. It also speeds up the aging of skin cells, which causes wrinkles to women.

8.    Make sure to visit your dentist to keep that beautiful smile. Always have it cleaned to prevent cavities and bad breath.

9.    Visit your Gynecologist. Women who are eighteen and above should have their Physical Examination annually especially for the Pap Smear test. Women who are forty and up should have their mammograms and the Breast self-exam is encouraged once puberty has been reached and should be a habit as they mature

10.     Safe sex is strongly recommended. Use condoms to prevent sexually transmitted diseases.