Archive for the ‘Articles’ Category
By Derek Howes on Jan 26th, 2010 in Articles, Health, Tips | Permalink | Leave a comment
Since we all eat out every once in awhile (some more than others), I’ve decided to write up a list of tips you can take into consideration when eating out.
- Get the dressing/sauces (such as gravy) on the side – Most restaurants overdo the dressing/sauces. Having it on the side lets you control how much you are or are not eating (obviously).
- Go for a lighter/fat free dressing – Most places now carry light or fat free versions of the dressings, all you have to do is ask. As for the healthiest dressing? Anything oil and vinegar. Balsamic vinaigrette is a great choice.
- Just because you are getting a salad doesn’t mean it’s going to be healthy – A typical side caesar salad could have up to ~1,000+ calories in it. For example: 99 Restaurants Chicken Caesar Salad has 900 Calories – 57grams of fat, 51 grams of carbs, and 55 grams of protein…not so “healthy”.
- Look up what you’re going to get before you go – Most restaurants now post calorie information on the website. Figuring out what you want before hand may be easier for you and the person you are out to eat with.
- Go grilled, steamed, broiled, dry-sauteed, baked, poached, or roasted instead of fried, crispy, pan-fried, stuffed, sauteed, au gratin, or escalloped.
- Trim the fat – Either do this yourself or ask your server that you would like the skin and fat removed.
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By Derek Howes on Jan 25th, 2010 in Articles, Dieting, Health, Nutrition | Permalink | Leave a comment
I think it’s safe to say everyone at some point has complained about trying to lose weight, how they can’t lose weight, or that they just don’t know how to lose it. We’ve all heard about the latest and greatest diets popping up every other month that claim to do what most people have trouble doing…losing that unwanted weight. Well the thing with all these “latest and greatest” diets is that (and I’m not saying they are all bad) 99% of the time it’s a waste of money and/or extremely unhealthy. Losing weight is only as hard as you make it. Really, if you want to lose weight, it’s not even as close to as hard as most people think it is. Use the K.I.S.S (Keep It Simple Stupid) way of thinking when it comes to weight loss. I will try and make you understand how simple it is to lose weight. If you do not somewhat understand how to lose weight after reading this article, I will do my best to create a time machine and refund your time.
There are two parts to losing weight (diet and exercise). The first and most important part of losing weight is diet. You can live in the gym, but if you’re diet is not in check you aren’t going to make much progress. This is by far the hardest part of losing weight, and by hard, I mean easy. The concept is simple: Continue reading…
By Kane Sumabat on Jan 24th, 2010 in Articles, General, Muscle Building | Permalink | Leave a comment
OR How my lack of reading comprehension led to Superman arms
A superset is a training method in which two exercises are performed back to back with no rest between exercises. Supersets can be performed either for antagonistic muscle groups or within the confines of the same muscle group. One superset cycle is completed when both exercises have been performed after which rest is then usually permitted, “usually” being the operative word here.
There are generally two types of exercises: compound exercises, in which multiple joints work in conjunction with one another, or isolation exercises, where only a single joint is involved in the movement. Supersets performed for a single bodypart can either be an isolation exercise immediately followed by a compound exercise or a compound exercises immediately followed by an isolation exercise.
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By Derek Howes on Jan 24th, 2010 in Articles, Nutrition | Permalink | Leave a comment
While protein is one of the most important parts of our diets, you may be confused as to all the different types of protein/products out there. There are advantages and disadvantages of every kind. I will try my best to keep everything as simplified as possible. Lets start with:
Whey Protein (Powder)
- What it is: A natural byproduct of the cheese-making process (from milk). Around 20% of the protein that is in milk is whey protein.
- The benefits: Fast absorption, low in fat/possibly fat free, increases protein synthesis, rich in branched-chain amino acids, lactose, minerals, and vitamins.
- The disadvantages: It can get expensive. The cheaper alternatives are usually filled with unhealthy ingredients and loaded with tons of sugar.
- My recommendation: Due to its fast absorption rate, this is the type of protein you want to have pre, during, or post-workout.
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By Derek Howes on Jan 23rd, 2010 in Articles, Health, Nutrition | Permalink | Leave a comment
1. Avocados - besides having a variety of benefits for your health (including helping people with problems in the bedroom). Avocados are great source of healthy fats and fiber.
2. Sweet Potatoes – one of the best vegetables you can eat. Loaded with carotenoids, vitamin C, potassium, and fiber. A great source of carbohydrates.
3. Blueberries – a low-calorie source of fiber, antioxidants and phytonutrients. They are also known to help short-term memory and reduce cell damage that comes with aging.
4. Lean Ground Turkey – usually lower in fat, calories, and cholesterol while being higher in protein than beef. Tastes like a burger while having more health benefits.
5. Olive Oil – a wide variety of health benefits and a great source of healthy fat.
By Derek Howes on Jan 20th, 2010 in Articles, General | Permalink | 1 comment
Bad grip? Hate wearing gloves? Get annoyed with straps? Well I have a solution for you, chalk.
If you’re like me and tend to sweat in the palms, which drastically decreases the ability to hold heavy weights or just have bad grip in general…chalk is by far the best solution I have come across. It is far better than gloves and straps. Chalk is made out of powdered magnesium carbonate which makes your hands “cling” to whatever you are trying to lift by keeping your hands dry, since the chalk acts as a drying agent. I have been using it for years now and have not looked back. It has dramatically helped improve my deadlift, olympic lifts, and shrugs. Continue reading…
By Derek Howes on Jan 20th, 2010 in Articles, Health | Permalink | Leave a comment
Caffeine, which is found in coffee, tea, soda, pre-workout supplements, pill form, energy drinks, and various other forms now is a drug that can have a wide range of effects depending on your sensitivity to it. Some and most people will feel alert and wide awake, you may get the jitters, your heart might race, or you may race to the bathroom (caffeine is a diuretic). Most people know caffeine as something that gives you a boost or keeps you awake, well here are Continue reading…
By Derek Howes on Jan 17th, 2010 in Articles, Tips | Permalink | Leave a comment
- Change up your cardio. We all know how boring cardio can get week after week. Instead of doing the same thing over and over, change it up. Do the stairs, bike, rower, treadmill (walking, running, incline walking), elliptical, jump rope, swimming, etc. Don’t limit yourself to just one type of cardio. If you do all that and are still “bored”, try changing the levels on the machine or setting “small” goals for yourself on each machine.
- Don’t over think what you are doing. You don’t need to read into every little thing. Simply do cardio, weightlift, and eat right. The results will soon follow. It’s that easy. There is no “secret” method to losing weight. You don’t need to do the latest diet or buy the latest gadget in order to see the fastest results.
- Get your diet on track before anything else. If your diet is not on track, you will not see good results no matter how hard you work in the gym. Diet plays the biggest role in achieving your goals.
- Don’t put snack foods you can “grab and eat” in plain sight. Chances are if you do this, you will “snack” on them randomly. Either don’t buy them or put them out of sight. Snacking on things is a downfall in most peoples diets. Continue reading…
By Derek Howes on Nov 21st, 2009 in Articles, Tips | Permalink | Leave a comment
Every gym has them and most of us have heard them from someone we know or through listening to others at the gym in between sets. We end up believing them and then telling people we know. This is how they start, and usually never end. I have come up with 18 myths that I have heard with-in the past year or so. Without further ado, here you go:
- I don’t lift weights because I don’t want to get “big” - Simply put: You won’t get big if you don’t want to get big.
- Working out abs everyday will not give you abs – No, a good diet will.
- Working out 24/7 will provide more or better “gains” than someone who works out less – No, your body needs time to repair itself and grow.
- More reps = better when dieting down - No, they aren’t. If you got big doing low reps, you can maintain muscle/lose fat while doing low reps too.
- Fat burners are the best way to lose weight – No, a good diet and dedication is the best way to lose weight. Fat burners do not help nearly as much as they make themselves out to.
- Eggs are bad cholesterol – No, they aren’t. That’s all I will say on this topic. I will post an article regarding eggs in the future.
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By Derek Howes on Nov 5th, 2009 in Articles, Nutrition | Permalink | Leave a comment
I’m sure you’ve all read the article I put up yesterday regarding why and when to eat before you exercise. Now we’ll get to post-workout eating. We will call this “recovery nutrition”. This is the most important meal of the day by far. It may seem confusing to most, but it is really very simple once you understand how the body works. The number one thing you need to understand is that after working out, you want your muscles to recover. Recovering requires you to replenish muscle glycogen. To keep it simple, muscle glycogen is basically carbohydrates that have been stored in the body to use for fuel.
After working out your muscles become more receptive to producing new glycogen. This usually lasts a few hours. During this time muscle cells will “eat” up glucose as if it were it’s last meal because blood flow to the muscles is much greater. Another thing that happens at this time is muscle cells become more sensitive to the effects of insulin. Insulin promotes glycogen synthesis.
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