HOPE is STRENGTH .com» Lists

4 Supplements Actually Worth Buying

Aaron — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 13:00:36 +0000

There is a magic secret to building lean muscle and strength faster than you ever imagined. This secret has been obscured from public view, but now, with the help of modern science and yours truly, the golden bullet will be revealed . . .

OK, I lied. There’s no magical secret to getting bigger, stronger and faster. Because our culture is geared towards immediate results, and because steroids are illegal, potentially dangerous and morally questionable, literally thousands of companies have popped up, purporting to offer the next big thing in muscular science. Not surprisingly, most of them have fallen by the wayside, leaving a few reputable juggernauts to duke it out for market share.

I would also be lying if I told you that ALL supplements are a waste of time and money. It is a fact that a select few have been proven useful through years of use, but another, more alarming fact is that the vast majority of all bodybuilding, fitness and fat loss supplements are about as effective as folding up dollar bills and stuffing them into your air conditioner vents in an attempt to get ripped. Sure, the bottles look cool (my god, has the packaging improved over the last five years!), but when it comes right down to it, most of these products cannot and do not live up to their marketing hype. Most are advertised with what is at best pseudo-science and at worst outright lies. Sandwiched in between pages of Jay Cutler’s massive legs and Dexter Jackson’s amazing abs are the B.S. ads that make up the bulk of an average bodybuilding magazine. Young kids read these things, wanting to get bigger and stronger as fast as possible so they can get laid and impress their friends, but are usually disappointed when they find that there’s really only one way to success in the iron game:

HARD WORK AND DEDICATION!

You’re going to be at this for a while, and if you wanna go anywhere with your strength and size, then you’ll be in the gym regularly, eating well, and getting plenty of rest. Then again, once you have these three pillars of training success well established, there are a few things that you can, and that I’d recommend that you add to the equation. I toyed with the idea of telling you which exact brands I use, but for now, I’m going to stick to the basics. Here is the short list of supplements that I have used and suggest to my clients (yes, even I have been burned by the super nitro booster energy paks of the world, but I finally learned).

Multivitamin/multimineral. These are among the three most important supplements any athlete can invest in. I’d call them 1a on my list, because even people who don’t train (please, if you don’t train, at least do some walking or running or something active, but I digress) – almost everyone can benefit from multivitamin/multimineral supplements. Even the best of us who strive to eat a wide variety of fruits, vegetables and grains can find it hard to get enough of these little natural chemicals that are crucial for the body’s growth and maintenance. Some even have extras, like joint support, immune and digestive enzymes, and male or female-specific herbal enhancements. They’ll help you get stronger, faster because they regulate your body’s processes. Plus, you won’t get sick, since you’re getting plenty of the good stuff you need to fend off the constant onslaught of germs and viruses in the environment.

Fish oil. This is my 1b, because like the multivitamin/multiminerals, they are just as valuable to sedentary folks as highly tuned athletes. Fish oil contains omega-3 fatty acids, which are essential for body processes, but often overlooked in our prepared food-based diet. Supplementing with fish oil will reduce inflammation and soreness. Another interesting benefit is that ingesting this fat actually reduces cholesterol and decreases body fat. Serum cholesterol is dropped because fish oil raises your HDL levels, which effectively cleans out your arteries, while it helps your body burn fat by teaching it how to utilize fatty acids for energy more effectively. Find a fish oil supplement that has a good amount of EPA and DHA, and take 6-12 caps each day. I usually buy them when they’re on sale, buy-one-get-one free at the local drugstore. You can stock up with 10 or more economy sized bottles, then put one in your cups and glasses cabinet. Whenever you go to get something to drink with a meal, take 2 or 3 caps of fish oil as well.

Whey protein. Though it’s 1c, it’s every bit as important as the other two for succeeding in adding strength and muscle. When you’re lifting weights, you need at least 1g of protein per pound of bodyweight each day. Some people find that they’re stronger and more energetic with 1.5g or even 2g/lb, so experiment with different levels to see what works best for you. Use whey only after working out (or if you like doing some cardio first thing in the morning, you can have some whey as soon as you wake up so that you’re not totally fasted). Whey digests in less than an hour (more like 45 minutes for whey isolates), so it’s not suitable for meal replacement, but this fast digestion time makes it perfect for post-workout recovery. Shoot for at least .5g protein per pound of bodyweight in your post-workout drink. (For what it’s worth, I’m currently mixing two scoops of protein into 16oz. skim milk, plus an ice cube.)

Creatine monohydrate. I wrote a paper about this to earn my nutritionist certification, and it’s shocking how many things creatine helps. Most people familiar with the world of bodybuilding and strength training know that creatine can make you bigger and stronger, but did you know it can help repair broken bones, increase brain function in elderly folks and possibly even prevent brain damage from blunt trauma?! There are several different ways to use creatine, and we’ll go into those later. For now, let’s just keep it simple: creatine helps you lift heavier weights or lift the weights more times, or BOTH! It’s also dirt cheap (you can get a kilogram of the stuff for under $20 with a quick search on the web). Perhaps the best testament to the effectiveness of creatine is the fact that you’ll see the cover of bodybuilding magazines ask the question “Is [supplement x] the new creatine?” at least once a year. So far, nothing has topped CM’s magical mix of effectiveness and affordability.

So there you have it. Four supplements that we know work very well for enhancing strength and general health. We’ll delve into each of these in depth later, plus discuss some of the other supplements and why or why not to even consider spending your hard earned money. Stick with HOPEisSTRENGTH and we’ll make you stronger, wiser and wealthier

Rating: 5.0/5 (1 vote cast)

11 Eating Commandments – Gain Muscle and Lose Fat

Aaron — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 13:00:10 +0000

Organic food spending has grown by at least 20% each year for the last two decades. That kind of exponential growth shows that we humans care about eating healthy food. After all, people vote with their money more than anything else. However, when you get started, the ‘challenge’ of healthy eating can seem overwhelming. It turns out that eating to stay healthy, lean and strong is a lot easier than most people think. We’ve boiled healthy eating down into a sweet reduction of eleven easy to follow steps:
1.    Eat every 2-3 hours. By eating regularly, you’re going to keep your body’s insulin levels more even. Avoiding the insulin spikes that come with large meals means you’re going to store less fat. Eating smaller meals more frequently also makes it easier to eat healthy foods. Imagine trying to eat 1500 calories of chicken breast and asparagus twice or three times a day. Rather than throwing up at the thought, you can easily stomach a single chicken breast along with a few spears of asparagus plus some brown rice and/or milk.
Eating small meals on a regular basis also increases your metabolism. Increased metabolism means you’re going to burn more calories every day and get leaner, faster. When you realize that you can actually eat more food and still lose fat because eating regularly stimulates and increases the metabolism, you’ll find the choice a no-brainer. I’ve been doing this for about five years now, and I can tell you what time it is without a clock, because around hour three, I know I need to be near a refrigerator.
2.    Eat breakfast. Just as eating regularly is important to keep the metabolism fast, eating breakfast is a critical step to a lean, healthy lifestyle. After eight or so hours of sleep, you’ve essentially been fasting for a third of the day or more. Especially for folks who train with weights, it’s important to end this fast by taking in a good mix of protein, complex carbs and healthy fats. By eating breakfast, you’re more likely to continue eating healthily throughout the day, maintain your energy levels, and avoid binging.
3.    Eat protein with every meal. Depending on your body weight, you’ll need 20-40g every time you eat. Protein builds and maintains your muscles, which in turn keep you strong and burn body fat. Get into the habit of planning meals around your protein intake. Once you meet your goal of 20-40g/meal, you can fill in the rest of your caloric requirements with a mix of healthy fats and complex carbs. In all, shoot for at least 1g protein for each pound of bodyweight every day.
4.    Eliminate simple sugars and refined carbohydrates in favour of complex carb sources. You’ve read ‘complex carbs’ a couple of times above, and that’s because we want to avoid foods that make you fat by using sugar or refined flour and other processed ingredients. Complex carbohydrates take longer for the body to process, so they cause less of an insulin spike. Other than immediately after training, insulin spikes generally cause fat retention, so keeping blood sugar consistent by eating complex carbs along with protein and fiber will help keep you lean.
5.    Eat fruits and vegetables. Not only do they taste delicious (even veggies are good when you learn to cook them correctly), but they have innumerable health benefits. After all, the entire cycle of life on this planet begins when plants capture solar energy. When we eat these plant foods, we’re getting tons of phytochemicals, vitamins and minerals that are essential for maintenance and growth. The fiber and water in fruits and veggies helps to keep you lean by providing a sense of fullness and filtering out toxic waste products. Buy organic whenever you can (afford to), since the are typically farmed in conditions that produce favourable micronutrient content when compared to those farmed with ‘traditional’ mega-farm agriculture.
6.    Eat healthy fats. Despite what your grandma may have told you back in the early 90’s, consuming fat does not make you gain body fat. Now, it’s true that you should avoid eating too much saturated fats and trans fats should be avoided at all costs, but healthy fats are, well, healthy. Sufficient intake of healthy fats improves circulation, joint lubrication and even helps to burn body fat. Omega-3, 6 & 9 fats are required for all kinds of body processes. Eating foods like nuts, peanut butter, avocados, olive oil and taking supplements like fish and flax oil will help to ensure you’re getting enough fat in your diet.
7.    Eat whole foods. We already discussed avoiding simple sugars and refined foods, plus how important it is to consume complex carbohydrates and a variety of vegetables and fruits. The easiest way to take care of these needs in one fell swoop is to eat as many whole foods as you can. Whole foods are the basic ingredients like raw meats, fruits, vegetables, eggs, milk, etc. A good rule of thumb is to shop the perimeter of your local grocery store. The stuff in the middle is typically heavily processed junk that you can avoid.
8.    Eat a variety of foods. It’s far better to eat a large number of different foods than just a few. An extreme example is tuna fish. Canned tuna is an incredibly efficient and cheap way to get lean protein. However, recent studies have suggested that the mercury levels in these fish might be harmful if they’re eaten too frequently. Aside from critical cases like this, it’s important to eat a variety of fruits and vegetables to ensure sufficient intake of vitamins and minerals. A good rule of thumb is to try to eat as many different coloured foods as possible. Add in the fact that you’re more likely to stick with healthy eating when you can get a wide variety of food and the choice is clear.
9.    Drink plenty of water. It has no calories, vitamins or minerals, but water is the very source of life on this planet. Without food you can last a month or more, but take away water for even a couple of days and you’re in big, big trouble. Drinking water provides the essential ‘juice’ for all of the body’s processes. In sufficient amounts, it helps to cleanse the body of all the toxins we’re exposed to and that we create just from living. I like to shoot for around a gallon a day. I’d say no less than 96 oz. no matter the situation, but you can try up to 2gals. if you don’t mind going to the bathroom somewhat frequently. Another good idea is to not drink whilst eating. Instead, drink 16oz. or more 15-30 mins prior to eating. When I’m at a restaurant, I drink a glass or two before my meal arrives. This hydrates the body, plus it primes the intestinal tract for smooth, efficient digestion.
10.    Use (few) supplements. Right now, the strength training world is awash in useless supplements marketed with pseudo-science. The fact is, you don’t need most of this junk, and aside from the possible placebo effect, they’re mostly a total waste of money. There are a few standbys that have been proven to work well, including whey protein, creatine monohydrate, multivitamins and fish oil. Whey is a great way to cheaply increase your protein intake, but be careful with it and don’t use it to the exclusion of whole foods. Whey digests in about an hour, so if you were to take some every three hours as your meal, the other two hours in between, your muscles would be wasting away. We’ll have plenty more about which supplements to consider and which to stay away from in future articles.
11.    Cheat. That’s right, cheat on your ‘diet’ every once in a while. Actually, this is not a ‘diet’ . . . it’s a sustainable lifestyle that permits you an unending variety of delicious munchies. Every once in a while, you’ll want to indulge in something like cheesecake or pizza, so go for it. Not only will eating less healthy meals relieve some of your stress, but the increased caloric intake will boost your metabolism and actually improve your fat burning, lean lifestyle. Don’t get carried away though. I’m not saying to eat sloppily every meal or even every day. I shoot for 90-95% clean food intake. If you’re eating every 3 hours, that’d be around 40 meals a week, so don’t eat junk more than 2-4 times. If you’re trying to get very lean (under 10% BF for men and 16% for women), consider cutting this back to 1-2 times a week, but even then, you’ll need to eat larger meals every week or so to push your metabolism back up (we’ll discuss this in depth in an upcoming article). Do your best and if you can follow the 90-95% standard, your results will be excellent.

So there you have it. Follow these eleven steps and remember that this is a lifestyle and not some get skinny fast program, and you’re on your way to a healthier, leaner, sexier body.

Rating: 5.0/5 (1 vote cast)

9 Reasons You MUST Train with Weights

Aaron — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 13:00:22 +0000

You can probably remember the first time you noticed a strong person. With me, I used to watch a lot of WWF growing up, so I remember seeing Hulk Hogan pressed over the Ultimate Warrior’s head, but I didn’t think much of it being a spectacular feat (or that they’re both huge steroid users). I remember exactly where I was the first time I was enamored with large muscles in person. In a hallway of my church as a nine year old, I grabbed the biceps of a former minor league baseball player and did a chinup from his upper arm. Whether or not he too was on the juice is something I’ll never know, but I do remember that my single aunt was quite fond of him, as were a lot of the ladies in the congregation. This didn’t get me interested in training with weights, as evidenced by me not starting for another decade. It took me another three years to get my ego under control and learn how to do it correctly, but now I’m set with a solid foundation for life.

Not only do I know how to safely increase my strength and lean mass, but I’ve been noticing more and more benefits in my entire life that seem to have sprung directly from my dealings with the iron. If you need a few more reasons why you should get into the gym three or more times a week, I compiled a list of nine:

Weight training improves your quality of life. As I mentioned above, there are tons of reasons why you need to get in the weight room regularly, but in general, you’re going to notice that your life is just *better*. From your improved physique to the ease of your daily activities, the added strength and muscle will do wonders for every aspect of your life.
Weight training builds muscle. Whether you want to look good, be better at sports, avoid injuries or just get stronger for the hell of it, lifting will help it all. Consider a boxer, sprinter or Olympic lifter. These athletes have among the most beautiful and functional bodies imaginable. Since we’ve evolved to select our partners for traits that indicate health and potential for successful breeding, there’s no coincidence that healthier = sexier. Then again, maybe you’re a monk. Even so, there’s no better way to concentrate than locking out the last reps of a limit-weight set of squats.
Weight training strengthens bones and joints. You didn’t think that it was all about big round muscle bellies, did you? Lifting with good form loads the bones and joints in a way that makes the bones denser and protects the joints by strengthening bones, tendons, and the muscles around them. I know plenty of people who work desk jobs that had nagging discomfort . . . *had*, because once they got into the satisfying habit of training with good form, their imbalances and injuries disappeared.
Weight training burns fat and makes you leaner and more attractive. This one’s simple: muscle burns fat. Your body stores fat for energy because a long time ago, we didn’t always have regular meals. Now that we can eat whenever and whatever we want, this adaptation has helped some people put themselves at risk for a ton of different disorders. The key to losing excess body fat is to build muscle. Muscle uses fat for energy, and the more you have, the more fat you burn, even while resting! Add to this that exercising burns calories and weight training will make you a fat melting machine!
Weight training builds confidence. Not only are you going to be leaner and more attractive than ever before, but once you start to succeed by meeting and surpassing your goals, you start to feel more confident than ever before. The mental aspects of training are often overlooked, but there’s little doubt that someone who can get through a 20-rep set of squats will be able to deal with life’s stressors a little more easily.
Weight training builds a pattern of success. Once you commit to training regularly and eating to fuel your workouts, you’ll find that it’s easier to get stuff done in your daily life. The things that used to seem so hard will now be easier, because you have a mindset to get stuff done.
Weight training builds cardiovascular fitness. If you thought lifting weights was only good for brute strength, think again. Lifting increases your total work capacity, which makes it easier to perform endurance exercises. Consider this: if your one rep max squat is 315lbs., it’s far easier for you to do a set of 10 with 135 than if your 1RM is 155. As with the increased reps, something like running is just a series of sub-maximal efforts. Now, it’s not accurate to say that squatting in the 1-3 rep range will make you a marathon champion, and I’m not trying to say that. Anyone who says that ONLY lifting weights is sufficient to train for the IronMan is lying to you. However, it’s absolutely true that the body is better prepared for enduring long bouts of exertion when strength levels are improved.
Weight training improves flexibility and mobility. When you use the full range of motion of barbell and dumbbell exercises (plus kettlebells and tons of other implements, but don’t even get me started on machines – MACHINES SUCK!) – when you use the full range of motion, you’re building strength and mobility. Not only will you be strong through that entire range of motion, but you’ll be able to bend into positions that carry over into sports and all kinds of daily activities.
Weight training is extremely versatile. Depending on how you tailor your nutritional intake, you can use your lifting regimen to build muscle, burn fat, get stronger, get leaner, or a combination of these. Stay tuned to HOPEisSTRENGTH and we’ll show you how to meet these goals!

It should be clear to you now that weight training can help you achieve a wide variety of goals, plus equip you with the confidence to make them into reality.

Rating: 5.0/5 (1 vote cast)

HOPE is STRENGTH .com» Lists

4 Supplements *Actually* Worth Buying

11 Eating Commandments – Gain Muscle and Lose Fat

9 Reasons You MUST Train with Weights

4 Supplements Actually Worth Buying