Niezgoda Fitness Systems

Niezgoda Fitness Systems Blog

Ironman Nutrition

September 4th, 2008 1:13pm
With Ironman racing being the hot topic the last few months and Ironman Hawaii just around the corner I thought it would be a good idea to talk about Ironman Race Day Nutrition. So let's get started:

Remember never try new foods the week of the race and practice your nutrition plan during your long training efforts.

Swim
I recommend using these tabs pre race. One tabs 2 hours before the start and another 1-2 tabs 30 to 60 minutes pre swim.
30 min before the swim drink 8-12 oz of water and a few bites of an energy bar. 15 min before, sip on a sports drink or take a gel and some water.

Bike
In the first 5-10 min after leaving the swim drink a few sips of water (only water) and continue drinking
12 oz of plain water during first 30 minutes of bike. It is best not to take in anything other than water when first on the bike, just so you can settle down. Your stomach was just horizontal and not it's vertical so taking in calories can shock your system too much.

At 15 -minute intervals from then on, eat or drink your calorie intake should be about 150 -300 cals per hour. Some people can take in slightly more calories per hour so practice with this and find out what works for you.

Your calories can be in any combination of solid or liquid foods. Plan to eat a mixture of sports drink, bars (with water) and gels (with water) in between aid stations. If you are taking in less than 150 calories per hour, there is a good chance you will not finish the race.

Run
In the beginning of the run it is best for you to walk through the aid stations. This will give you a chance to use your muscles in a different way, and help to ensure sufficient hydration and nutrition.

Stick to the 150-300 calories per hour. However, keep in mind that many people cannot handle consuming as many calories as they can during the bike portion of the race.

Plan on alternating energy gel and sports drink during the run. Be careful with solid foods, some people will have a hard time digesting real food during the run. Practice and see if you can eat energy bars, pretzels, etc during your run. Again, take in calories every 15 min. 24 oz of a sports drink and 3 energy gels (w/ water) will equal about 300 calories.

If you are going to use your own sports drink, you will need more of it than you can carry in bottles. One way around this is to mix a very thick bunch of it and put it in a clear bottle. Mark off serving sizes on the bottle, and then you can add one serving to an empty bottle + water from the aid stations. Your bike will be lighter, and you will have your special drink! BUT, you must practice this and be very careful how you mix and measure your drink - too rich and you will get GI distress, too thin and you won’t get enough calories. Start practicing now!

Your nutrition/hydration plan could like this:

Just water for the first 30 min on the bike

After your initial 30 minutes with just plain water:
1st 15 minutes: one Gel (94-100 cals) & 8 oz of water.
2nd 15 minutes: 1/3 bottle sports drink (about 100 cals)
3rd 15 minutes: one Gel + at 8 oz of water.
4th 15 minutes: a few bites of an energy with water (about 50 calories)

Plan on finishing 24-32oz of fluid per hour or about 1 bottle on a cool day and 1.5 to 2 bottles per hour on a hot day.

If you find that you are urinating often more than 1 to 2 times during each half of the bike ride or if you get diarrhea try taking in salt.

And just keep alternating. If you plan on eating solid food, substitute it for the Gel. Don't mix sports drink with other food stuff as it will be hard for your stomach to digest this mixture.

Most people can tolerate consuming more calories during the bike portion than on the run. So, practice with more calories early in the bike ride and your last few feeding session on the bike cut your calories down to about 150. By the time you get to the run, it may be difficult to eat and absorb solid food, or gels.
During the run it's a good idea to carry some table salt and pop some of it every third feeding time. This will aid in electrolyte balance, and may reduce fluid loss. If you hate the taste of salt, you may try taking electrolyte tabs. A good electrolyte tab will have an electrolyte break down similar to:


100 mg of Sodium Chloride
25 mg of Magnesium (Chelate)
50 mg of Calcium (Chelate)
25 mg of K (Chelate)
6.5 mg of B-6
1.5 mg of Manganese

Plan Well, Eat Well, Race Well!

The fastest wheel size is:

July 29th, 2008 3:33pm
Would you believe that not all tri/road bikes have the same sized wheels? It’s the triathlete who flock to the size that is left of center (mostly because of under education on the topic or refuse to change with technology) and pushes the boundaries of conventional cycling. In enters the 650C wheeled tri bike (in the early 90’s tri-bikes needed 650’s). A bike with smaller than “normal” wheels makes roadies turn there nose up and shake there heads (why don’t they like us Trigeeks?).
First, let’s get the size thing right: A normal road bike has 700C wheels. 700 refers to the nominal outside diameter of an inflated tire on this rim. The “C” is a code that determines the size of rim that the tire size relates to (the 700 is actually a medium, rather than exact diameter). So a 650C has a 650 millimetre nominal tire outside diameter (the actual measurement is slightly less just like on a 700). To make things a bit more interesting 650C is often referred to as 26 inch and can be marked 26 x 1 to 26 x ¾. This is in fact different to the standard mountain bike tire rim, which is 26 x 1.0 to 26 x 2.1
So why all the fuss about such a small difference? Watched a figure skater then you may be able to figure out the answer. As a skater with arms outstretched spins slowly, the skater gently brings their arms into their side and slowly starts to spin faster. This is all related to the rotating mass. This is because the further the weight is from the axis of a turning object, the more force required to turn that object. In the case of the figure skater, by moving her arms in, her weigh is transferred from a point far away from the axis to a point much closer to the axis, the rotating mass is reduced so, the spinning becomes faster.
650C wheels (compared to 700C) benefit in two ways from this principle:
• 1. If you were to compare two wheels from the same manufacturer, one 650C and the other 700C, all other things being equal, the 650C wheel being a smaller diameter would have required less material to make, thus is lighter and has less rotating mass. For example, a HED “Aero/CX” wheel in 650C weighs 630 grams whilst in 700C it weighs 700grams.
• 2. As the diameter of the wheel is smaller, the weight of the rim is closer to the hub than the 700C wheel and thus the 650C wheel has less rotating mass. It follows that a 650C requires less force to reach the same revolution speed. In real terms this can be translated into a 650C wheel accelerating faster than a 700C wheel.
While a 650C wheel may well accelerate faster than its 700C counterpart, two things take away some of this apparent advantage: as a 650C wheel is smaller in diameter, to cover the same ground in distance terms it actually has to spin approximately 1.1 revolutions to one of a 700C wheel. As the wheel has to spin further to cover the same ground, other forces acting in a negative way are also increased (such as the resistance to rolling generated inside the hub). This also contributes to the fact that with fewer miles ridden a 650C tire will wear faster.
Being a smaller diameter, 650C wheels require fewer spokes to achieve the same strength. The actual number of spokes in a given wheel will further decrease its weight and provide less turbulence while spinning. Both of these advantages are small and are offset significantly by the fact that road shock in a 650C wheel is much more apparent than its 700C counterpart creating greater rider fatigue and more wheel hop.
Still, there are still more differences: a 650C wheel has a smaller frontal area than a 700C wheel and thus has a very slight aerodynamic advantage, less than 1 sec over a 20k. In more practical terms the availability of 650C tires, tubes and rims is somewhat limited. Most of the major brands all make products for 650C However, shops with a triathlon influence should all be able to offer a good selection. 650C wheels will require a cassette with fewer teeth to get a similar roll out as the 700C wheel. So you will not be able to have that down hill gear that many athletes require. Let me explain: Using a smaller diameter wheel affects the output of your bicycle’s gearing ratio. For weaker or beginner cyclists, this puts the gear ratio within the reach. For the average cyclist changing the big front chain-ring to a 56 tooth puts things back to normal. However this adds weight often enough to bring the 650c wheel to about the same weight, give or take, as the 700 wheel. This will also make shifting slower and more crunchy for the front derailleur. Another important point is that 650C and 700C wheels can only be ridden on a bicycle specifically designed for a wheel of that size. This includes the funny bikes, which have a 650C front, and a 700C rear wheel. 650C bikes fit small better than most 700C bikes, as the frame tubes of the bike can be kept in better proportion.
There is no clear winner here. Both size wheels have their virtues and faults. 650s are smaller, lighter, accelerate and climb better. However, they're less comfortable, decelerate faster, need a larger chain ring and are not nearly as available as 700s. In most cases, the 650 vs. 700 decisions will not affect the outcome of your race.
There are, however, two groups of people who should strongly consider one wheel over the other. Shorter riders who ride small frames can greatly benefit from a 650c wheel, since it lowers the bike height (thus giving you better stand over clearance) and reduces the chance for toe overlap. Tall riders, on the other hand, should stick with 700c wheels, since 650s on a large frame requires an insanely large head tube, and this will make the frame less stiff.
In real world situations there seems to be no significant differences in the 2 sizes in terms of speed.
Taken by themselves 650 wheels would be more aerodynamic and therefore faster in the lab, but since they are always used while attached to a bicycle and a rider this seems a rather academic point. Especially since you the rider will be more fatigued offsetting any aerodynamic advantage.
So if you are small and puny like Mickey Roonie go with the 650C’s but if you are big and bad like Alan Ladd than opt for the 700C’s

Bottom line- your wheels are not holding you back and if you are a shorter person they may be allowing you a better position which is important as the rider contributes the majority of the drag in a bicycle and rider situation.
For more information on this topic please read: Are 650c wheels relevant today?
by Dan Empfield 8.10.04 on www.slowtwitch.com

Post Work Recovery

June 5th, 2008 8:24pm
I was asked by a buddy yesterday to post what we should eat after exercise to recover best.

When recovering from resistance training you want to make sure your post workout meal has a ratio of 4:1 carbs to proteins. A ratio of 3:1 (carbs:protein) is still ok. It's also a good idea to include some key amino acids, vitamins and antioxidants. After you finish working out your meal need to be eaten within one hour or it will not be absorbed well. Cutting edge research suggests replacing lipids and mixing up the types of carbs you take in after resistance training workouts. You still want to stay away from simple sugars but now it is known that medium chain and long chain carbs use different path ways when being absorbed. So for optimal absorption you need to look at what type of carbs you are eating. As for the lipid use it is not yet clear when, how much or what type of lipids should be taken in for recovery from resistance training. What is known is that less fat should be eaten after resistance training than after endurance training.


For recovery form moderate to intense endurance training you should be taking in a ration of carbs to protein of 7:1 up to as high as 9:1. Again, use different chain carbs.

Now what about lipids? New findings have scientists theorizing that muscle lipids may be an important energy source, especially early in exercise, and that burning muscle lipid as fuel may help spare muscle glycogen stores for later in exercise. The experts are still trying to unravel exactly what role muscle lipids may play in exercise. That said, if muscle lipids are proven to be an important energy source for endurance athletes, what can we do to replace these lipid stores?
It is pretty well known that inside the muscle fibers there is a distinct lipid deposits that physiologists call intramyocellular lipids (IMCL). These lipids are typically found right next to the mitochondria which functions to produce energy for the cell. Their close proximity to each other suggests muscle lipid have a role in providing energy for muscle cells. When scientists examined the muscle tissue of endurance athletes before and after a 2 hour moderate-intensity training session, they found that the level of this intriguing intramuscular lipid declined by about 70%.

It turns out that reloading muscle lipid stores is pretty complex. When these athletes were fed the typical 4:1 ratio there glycogen levels didn't return to normal over a 48 hour period of time, and there lipid levels were even worse. With the 7:1 ratio (carbs:protein) the glycogen was replaced quickly but the lipid levels were still low 48 hours later. But when fat was added to the post workout meal of 7:1 the muscle lipid level returned to normal. Any of the studies I've read showed this to happen in less than 24 hours depending on the type and amount of fats being used.


The challenging part to this is going to be taking in enough fat but limiting it enough so that the fat intake doesn't shut down the body's ability to absorb carbs after workouts.


I've found that 2g of fat per kilo of body weight is about right. Keep in mind that of the 4 research papers I've read are "cutting edge" (only a few months old) so this number will most likely change in the next few years.

Creatine

June 5th, 2008 8:23pm
Creatine works great with about 75% of the people who take it, with the other's not so much. When taking it, you will need to drink more fluids because it pulls fluid out of the blood and puts it into the muscles; this makes your blood thicker. Even though increasing fluid intake with Creatine use is recommended in most cases if you don't know major problems will follow (other than 3% blood fluid loss = 10% power output loss) . However, if you are trying to "make weight" for a competition and limit fluid intake you may turn you blood into sludge and cause health problems. If you are an endurance athlete and you don't up your water intake you heart will have to work harder to move the blood in your system, which will hinder performance big time. Plus, with the added fluid retained in your muscles you'll be lugging around an added 5-10lbs.
Creatine is naturally produced by our body in the liver, kidneys and I think the pancreases. It's also found in fish and red meat but is easily destroyed by heat (cooking).

When explosive movements are used ATP levels drop very quickly. When ATP levels drop, the muscle become fatigued so, regeneration of ATP is needed if muscle fatigue is to be delayed. Since Creatine is used to make more ATP supplementing in most people can be very helpful for reducing fatigue during explosive movements such as lifting weights or sprinting. I know ATP is needed for cell division, and normal nerve function as well as moving muscles but I am unsure if extra Creatine can help other bodily functions other then muscle movement.
To get more into how Creatine works, energy is produced when a phosphate separates from a molecule of ATP. It then becomes ADP; Creatine turns ADP back into ATP. Creatine also allows most people to store more ATP. Also, Creatine buffers lactic said which will allow an athlete to exercise longer and harder with less discomfort.

Creatine can increase muscle mass (but you need to resistance train for this to happen) but it's what is more important is that it allows you to do more work in the gym so that muscle gains can be made more quickly.

Creatine is best taken with dextrose (grape juice would be a good choice) either before or after workouts. A loading phase is a good idea but not necessary, if you don't load optimal results will take about 1 week longer to achieve. I also recommend cycling Creatine, if you are new to cycling a good starting practice would be take Creatine for one month then let it wash out for one month, then repeat. I found that is best to take Creatine before and after a workout. Split your serving in half, take ½ serving before you workout and ½ immediately following your workout.

Creatine is still pretty new so even though (as far as I know) there aren't any known long term negative side effects, I'd be careful with its use.

Do Ceramic Bearing Make Your Bike Faster?

June 5th, 2008 8:22pm
Is ceramic really faster?

With the Ceramic Revolution that is going on now it can be very confusing trying to find what bearings are faster. Let's try to clear things up a bit.

In cycling originally, the cone/cup style bearings were used and you would find them in older hubs. These bearing systems use loose steel ball bearings placed in a larger diameter rounded cup with an opposing rounded bearing race holding the system together. Both the cup and race are grooved enough to contact about 25% of the bearings surface and located at opposing 45 degree angles from the normal direction of force. The system is then packed with grease to help reduce friction and improve longevity, and then preloaded with enough tension to remove play in the bearing. This is a very good system and is used in low end equipment even today. But, what frictional losses are happening in this bearing style and how is one to improve on this design?

Within the cup and cone bearing design, friction was happening in three areas.

First, steel bearings:

* This bearing is not perfectly round. Having an imperfect ball causes friction and vibration by not rolling smoothly along the cup/race surface.
* These loose ball bearings are able to contact each other, further increasing the friction and vibration.
* The manufacturing of a ball bearing makes it "soft" relative to the race, and under normal rotational speeds, loads and shock experienced in cycling, Because of this the ball bearing changes shape or deforms further increasing friction.

The second area of increased friction comes from the cup/race interface.

* In the angular interface of the race/cone, 75% of each bearing surface is in contact with the race and cone causing high levels of friction.
* This bearing system has forces opposing the weight of the rider and the angular component of holding everything together. Meaning as downward force (rider's weight) is applied to this system wants it to separate.
* In order to offset this preload must be set. This is not a precise adjustment so bearing interface creates more friction (over tightening a cup and cone bearing in you hub and see what happens).

Finally, the grease causes friction.

* Grease tends to leak out of this system so thicker grease is needed, less viscous grease provides less friction and lower temperatures, but need to be replaced more frequently.
* Grease attracts dirt system, which causes the friction, heat and vibrations.
* Some bearing styles have seals to help solve both of these problems, but this adds more friction.

Cup and cone bearing style has been replaced by more efficient cartridge bearings. These sealed bearings were designed for industrial applications but we found a better use for them. Cartridge bearings use two races sandwiching balls held equally spaced by a retainer. These balls roll in grooves between the races. The cartridge is sealed to keep grease in and dirt out. Also, load forces are now perpendicular to the race and bearings.

This design providing a much harder and rounder ball and the balls are separated by the use of a bearing retainer. This prevents the balls from rubbing together which decreases heat, friction of vibrations which are found in the cup/cone style systems. The cartridge bearing also has less surface contact between the balls and races. Less contact equals less friction. By sealing the bearing system, it allows manufacturers to use lower friction grease.

Is ceramic better?

Ceramic is better because:

* Ceramic balls are about 60% lighter per ball than steel balls or about 30% as a complete system. This may be significant during climbing, breaking and accelerating.
* Ceramic balls are harder and have the potential to be much more round. This increases bearing life by about 20 times.
* In high quality systems the grease used is of a better quality and designed to work specifically with the ceramic surfaces to reduce friction and last longer. Ceramic style bearing systems often use a Teflon retainer to separate the balls. The Teflon is lighter and slicker than the brass retainer used in most steel bearings.
* A higher quality seal is used which will reduce friction and save watts.

The more ways a cyclist can shave weight and/or reduce friction the fewer watts go into over coming friction and the faster he/she can go. Because the ceramic balls are rounder, have less contact with the races, use better grease they reduce friction and save watts.

One study states that in triathlon, you would gain over 12 watts of free energy on the bike or provided a 22m lead in just 55 seconds of coasting down a hill.

Another study found a 22-fold decrease in friction, an average power savings of about 2.25 watts with ceramic bearings for a pair of wheels (6 bearings) with ceramic 30-45kph. Derailleur pulleys fitted with ceramic bearings can save anywhere from 0.6-1.7 watts and bottom brackets can save an additional 1-3 watts.

That is a big advantage by just swapping out bearings.

The less wind resistance and the slower you go the more you will notice improvements of ceramic bearings because the friction being discussed tends to be small so percentage wise you will gain more speed if you are a slower rider.

The only real downfall this system has is cost. Ceramic bearing take a long time to make and the materials used are much more expensive. Therefore we the consumer must pay for the improvements. However, ceramic bearings may be less expensive in the long term by saving money in maintenance and replacement.

Not all ceramic bearing are created equal:

Ceramic balls (and any other finished ball from all materials) are specified by "Grade" levels. The highest typical Grade is 3 (denoting 3 millionths sphericity or better), then 5, then 10, etc….. Bearing companies use different grades depending on the bearing precision and application. The lower the number the rounder the ball.

Another important measurement is ABEC tolerance. Precision ball bearings are manufactured to standards established by the Annular Bearing Engineers Committee (ABEC). The ABEC standards are primarily concerned with bearing tolerances. While tolerance is an important factor in the performance of a bearing, there are many other factors that also affect the suitability of a bearing to its application. ABEC standards do not cover: radial play, race curvature, surface finish, material, ball complement, number, size or precision level, retainer type, lubrication, torque, cleanliness at assembly, packaging and other factors that may be essential to the desired bearing performance. In simple terms the ABEC rating tells us how tight the cartridge bearing is put together. The higher the number, the closer the races are to the balls equaling less play in the bearing system. This should make a faster bearing, correct? Well, without getting into the science behind it you want to make sure that the races tolerance is as close as it can be without interfering with the balls. An example of a bad choice would be a grade 22 ball (a high quality steel ball, Zipp uses 22 grade steel balls) in a bearing with an ABEC rating of 9. You would be better off having an ABEC rating of 5 while using a grade 22 ball. An example of a good ceramic set up would be ABEC rating of 7 using a grade 3 ball.

Conclusion

I feel that if you are a fast rider and have everything else you can upgrade on your bike go with the ceramic bearings, or if you are very slow and just want a little more speed a quality ceramic bearing may be right for you. Or if you plan on keeping your bike for the long hall, ride in nasty conditions on a regular basis or are just lazy and don't want to take care of your bike then ceramics may also be the answer.

Choosing a Bike Saddle

May 31st, 2008 8:22pm
Choosing a comfortable bike saddle is one of the most important things a cyclist can do to make his/her ride more enjoyable. No pair of bike shorts or gel cover can fix a poor saddle.

First off you body comes in contact with the bike in 5 places, your 2 hand, 2 feet, and your sit bones. The most important of those contact points is your butt.

The most important aspect about saddle comfort is fit! Buy shoes too small and your feet hurt, buy a helmet too big and it will not sit on you head properly, well the same goes for a bike saddle. The narrower your hips are the more narrow you want a saddle, many women and some larger guys will need a larger saddle.
OK, I'm a smaller dude so I know I should use a narrowish saddle so what do I look for next? Think them bones, them bones, them body bones, more specifically the Ischia tuberosities or sit bones. These are the bones you'll notice when you sit on a hard bar stool. These sit bones need to be supported by your saddle. If the saddle is too narrow then you'll have what they call numby nuts (a term coined by a friend of mine, Rich Clark). This is because the saddle is pressing on the soft tissue between the sit bones. If you pick a saddle that is too wide, you are looking to get saddle sores and chafing from the saddle rubbing on your legs. This problem will be compounded if you like to spin a high rpm. In other words if you plan on spending on real time on a bike stay away from the saddles you’ll see on the bikes in a fitness center.

The next most important to look for in a saddle is saddle flex. Think of it this way: What's more conferrable, sitting in the plastic seats (that flex slightly) at the ball game or sitting on the hard aluminum bleachers that don't flex?
When you are looking for saddle flex the most important thing you can do is to turn the saddle upside down and look at the saddle rails. Where do the saddle rails connect to the saddle? They should connect at the farthest reward point of the saddle and at the very tip. Also make sure that they are not connecting all the way to the outside edge of the saddle or too narrow. The rails should be twice as far apart from each other than they are from the edge of the saddle. Look at the diagram below:

Outside edge of the saddles tail - (
Rail - |
Outside edge of the saddles tail - )
( | | )
\ /

By having the saddle rails connect to the saddle shell in this way the manufacture is insuring saddle flex.

Saddle shape is another thing to look at when trying to find a saddle. Most triathletes like a saddle with a pretty flat shell. This is why the SLR, Aspide, Azoto and Airone are so popular among triathletes.

Padding is the least important aspect in finding a conferrable saddle. This is why buying padded bike shorts don’t help very much. They do aid in comfort, especially on rides longer than one hour. But it doesn’t matter how much padding you add to a pair of cycling shorts, they are not going to make a poor saddle conferrable.

For the recreational rider a soft padding is fine and most people who don't ride very much like will love soft saddles. People who ride will want a more dense padding, one that will give me support as they ride. With that said lets look at gel saddles. They are becoming very popular among triathletes.
All gel is not created equal. The traditional gel saddles are made for the recreational rider, it's very soft, and squishes easily when compressed. If you choose to use a gel saddle look for one that is firm and has the gel strategically placed. For a triathlete more gel in the nose of the saddle is a good idea. But some companies such as Koobi make some of the best saddles often put a thin layer of gel on the top of their denser padding. This also works well, but I would avoid a saddle that uses gel exclusively to pad the shell.

Cutaway Saddles are another way to go and have come a long why from their early days. The early cut out saddles would actually pinch the soft tissue that is located between the sit bones because the padding would get shorter and wider when as it compressed. This would cause you go numb very quickly. Most quality modern cutaway saddles eliminate that problem. Because there is no material making contact with your soft tissue some people find the cut away saddles very conferrable, other don't. Will a cut out work well for you? Trial and error is the only way to find out.

Saddle position and set up are also a very important aspect of comfort. Once you choose your saddle, make sure you get fit by a quality bike fitter or a USA Cycling Coach with fitting experience. Below are some tips for saddle comfort:

• If your saddle is too high you'll be rocking from side to side this can irate your soft tissue and cause chafing. Plus, you will be losing power and wasting energy.
• Saddle tilt is important and very personal, however, the rule is never tilt your saddle more then 3 mm up and never more than 3 mm down. A downward tilt may take pressure off of the soft tissue; however, some prefer the saddle tilted up. Make sure you try both as well as dead level.
• Some find that it may be helpful if you move the saddle to the left or the right instead of aligning it parallel with the top tube. Most women hate this and prefer a saddle parallel with the top tube. Many men however love this.
• Many saddles need a break in period before you find out if they will work well for you.
• Saddles tend to be their most uncomfortable when you are on a trainer so this is a good way to test them.
Not all saddles will work for everyone, so try many and buy the one's you like. If the shop you are looking at will not let you try a few out skip them and move on to another shop.

As a triathlete, some good saddles to look at would be the:
Koobi Tri saddle
Fizik Airone (and the tri version)
Selle San Marco Aspide Triathgel, Azoto and SLR
Terry Liberator - if you like to sit on a sofa

Swim Suit Body Continues - How Many Calories Should I Eat?

May 1st, 2008 7:17am
How many calories? How much food do you need to lose body fat? How much extra do you need to eat to add muscle? What ever your goals, the bottom line is calories. Below is a simplified formula to estimate how many calories you need each day based on whether you rate your metabolism as fast, moderate or slow. Multiply your body weight times the number on the chart that best fits your metabolism.

Lose Body Fat:
Slow Metabolism - 9 Calories
Moderate Metabolism - 10 Calories
Fast Metabolism - 11 Calories

Add muscle without adding fat
Slow Metabolism - 12 Calories
Moderate Metabolism - 13 Calories
Fast Metabolism - 14 Calories

Gain Muscle
Slow Metabolism - 15 Calories
Moderate Metabolism - 16 Calories
Fast Metabolism - 17 Calories

* Some hard gainers many need more calories because their body doesn't hold on to muscle very easily. Adding calories may help to preserve muscle
**As a general rule do not go below 1,300 calories per day. This is considered the minimum calorie level for obtaining necessary nutrients.

Swim Suit Body in 10 Weeks

March 30th, 2008 8:04am
Already healthy and somewhat fit? Just need to lose a few pounds and firm up?
This program will get you ready for beach season in 10 weeks.
Check with your doctor before starting any exercise program.

Day 1: Chest, Abs
Day 2: Back , Calves
Day 3: Shoulders, Abs
Day 4: Legs, Stability
Day 5: Arms, Abs
Day 6: Cardio (10 min warm up, 10 min intervals, 10 min cool down)
Day 7: Off

10 Week Periodization

Week 1 - 2: Anatomical Adaptation 15-20 reps, 3-5 sets, slow movement – purpose is to prepare muscles and connective tissue for grater loads. It also helps develop neuromuscular connections.

Week 3 - 4: Endurance 12-15 reps, 1-3 sets, slow to moderate movement – purpose is to develop neuromuscular connections, develop vascularity, and teach the body to flush lactic acid out of the muscles.

Weeks 5 - 6: Maximal Strength 3-6 reps, 3-6 sets, slow to moderate movement – Purpose is to teach the central nervous system to recruit high numbers of muscle fibers & break down large amounts of muscle tissue in each session.

Weeks 7 - 10: Power Endurance, 8 to 12 reps, 3 sets, moderate to explosive movements, moderate to slow recovery – Purpose is to combine strength with velocity, gives maximal hypertrophy.

** Every workout is followed by 30 – 45 min of moderate cardio vascular activity (mix up the cardio from day to day).

*Info on nutrition & interval workouts to follow in future blog posts.


10 Super Foods

March 11th, 2008 8:03am
1) Ground Flax seed – 2 table spoons are packed with 140% recommended daily amount of omega 3’s to reduce inflammation, bust cholesterol plus it’s great for eye health. This sweet and nutty seed also packs 4g of fiber per serving.

2) Almonds – ¼ cup has 41% RDA of vitamin E to boost immune system, 19% of magnesium to maintain normal nerve and muscle function, and 18% fiber to regulate your digestive system and maintain blood sugar levels.

3) Wheat Germ – Once per once wheat germ has more potassium and iron than any other food. It’s packed with vitamin B levels help with energy production and maintain healthy internal organs, hair and skin.

4) Olive Oil – It’s protective against heart diseases and other degenerative diseases. It also has a high feenal provides antioxidant properties.

5) Canned Pumpkin – When baking replace ½ the required butter with some canned pumpkin for a whapping dose of vitamin A.

6) Hummus – It makes a great vegetable dip or spread and is packed with protein.

7) Fresh Lemon Juice – Fresh lemon juice is a great source of vitamin C and cancer fighting limonoids.

8) Spinach – For strong bones. Use this in place of letticue.

9) Garlic – It has a small but positive effect on heart health, the digestive track and the immune system.

10) Parsnip - It's sweeter than a carrot and more nutritious than a potato, this humble food may be the best root vegetable you aren't eating. 1 Cup is loaded with fiber, packed with vitamin C.

The Best Info on Fat.

February 25th, 2008 8:15pm
There are 9 calories per gram of fat and 3,500 calories per lb of fat. So if you cut out 500 calories a day and change nothing else, how are you going to drop 2 lbs? You will only drop 1 lb.
You best bet is to add 10 lbs of muscle so that you will be burning 1 lb of fat per week at rest.
It's also a good idea to eat (a carb, a protein and a fat) every 2-4 hours. If you don't your blood sugar drops and your body starts to store fat because it thinks it is starving. Also, stay off the booze, alcohol has 7 cal's per gram and reduces fat burning by around 25%.

When you workout, hit the weight first then cardio. You body like to use sugar as energy first and fat last. So by lifting first you body will burn off most of the sugars in your muscles. When you finish your resistance training, hit the cardio and stay below your Lactate Threshold or about 65-75% of my max heart rate. Less than 65% unless you very out of shape will not help you much. 55-65% of your MHR is best for active recovery (again unless you are very out of shape). Over 75% of your MHR will burn sugars (not fat) and make it harder for you to build muscle.

And on your comments on the two types of fat:
First lets talk about fat. Fat is a form of body tissue made of cells which primarily store lipids (fatty acids, etc) and fat cells are embedded in connective tissue. Fat cannot become muscle, and muscle cannot become fat. They are two entirely different types of tissues.

The two types of fat tissue are brown adipose tissue (BAT) and white adipose tissue. Humans, unlike many other animal species who require the specialized body temperature regulation that BAT provides, have mostly white adipose tissue (this is one reason why it's hard to generalize animal data to humans).

Fat has many purposes such as insulation, cushioning, fuel stores, and a source of estrogen production. Your body has fat because it's trying to keep you alive as long as possible. Fat is an excellent and energy-efficient fuel source.

We have a certain number of fat cells which remain more or less constant throughout our adult lives, if we maintain a roughly ideal weight. However, fat cells can also multiply when they become fully saturated (if you eat many more calories than your body can immediately use, over a long period of time, especially as a child), and then once you have them, they don't go away unless you physically remove them through liposuction. There is a process known as apoptosis, which does occur with the if you take certain supplements, or with illnesses such as HIV. But the research on this and fat tissue is too new to know much about it in humans.

Also, most people think that "Cellulite" is a type of fat. Don't listen to these people, they are clueless. Cellulite is not a special kind of fat, but merely an effect of the fat's position with regard to the connective tissue, and this depends largely on where the fat is, as well as age, gender, and genetics. Treatments that claim to reduce cellulite achieve a temporary tightening of the skin which gives the appearance of cellulite reduction for a brief time. In other words they do not work!

Body fat is stored in two places in the body: subcutaneously (under the skin), and viscerally (around internal organs). Visceral fat is much easier to mobilize (burn off) than subcutaneous fat, although it increases with age. This age-dependent increase in visceral fat is why body fat calculators factor in age.

When fat is lost, it follows the pattern of fat deposition set out by genetics and hormones. This means that where you put on fat first is where you lose it last.

Also, barring physical or chemical intervention (liposuction, hormones), you cannot choose where your body wants to lose or store fat. There is no such thing as spot reduction. It doesn't matter how hard you try, your body has a plan and it doesn't like to deviate from it. You may also notice that in the process of losing body fat, fat is lost disproportionately.

What some tend to call "toning" or "definition" simply refers to a loss of body fat so that the muscle underneath may be more clearly seen or felt. There is nothing special about toning or definition. It is not a mystical or special process, one which is restricted to women or a particular workout protocol. It's a loss of body fat, plain and simple.

Some women even get so lean that they feel the need to get fake boobs to make up for the ones that they lost. And if these women get too lean, you can see the top ridge of their breast implants. The negative appearance of very low body fat will also be compounded by age. Women should try to stay between 18%-22% Depending on the women, amenoreha (loss of period) may happen at around 15% body fat. If you get to that point put on body fat and talk to your MD.

Body fat loss also tends to be somewhat of an imprecise process. The body likes to also jettison muscle tissue along with fat and often gains some fat when muscle mass is gained. This varies with how the fat is lost, how much fat is lost, and the starting point of fat loss. If there is a great deal of fat to lose then the percentage of loss which is lean tissue is likely to be less. If fat is being lost by a person who is already at a low body fat, then more muscle relative to fat is often consumed. This is also why it is essential to get sufficient protein and engage in weight training while losing fat, so that the amount of lean muscle tissue is retained or even gained. There have been a few studies that put women on equal diets (same amount of calories) lost the same amount of weight but the group of women who was weight training wound up with much lower body fat than the sedentary group. Some members of the sedentary dieting group even wound up with more overall body fat as a percentage than they had started with, indicating that there was substantial muscle loss as a result of the dieting.

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