So how do you build muscle if excess protein isn’t the answer? Strength training. What you do in the gym is far more important than how much protein you eat/drink before, during, or after your workouts.

Even if you don’t want to build muscle, some people think that excess protein is the key to bodyfat loss. But too much protein can be just as bad. You won’t hear this from the mainstream because of the money involved in the supplement business. Millions of people seeking quick weight loss have turned to high protein, low carb diets over the years. Any diet will work in the short term but do you know what you are doing to your body over the long run?

Most people don’t know that one of the by products of protein metabolism is uric acid, a dangerous compound that increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, acidosis related health conditions, and painful joint problems like gout. You have to realise that too much protein, especially when not counter balanced with lots of veggies, can have damaging effects on your body.

You would think that if eating fat is supposed to make us fat then eating less of it should be a good thing… right?  But what has happened instead?

Does eating fat really make you fat?

The truth is that eating fat isn’t really the problem.  The real problem began when we started to increase the consumption of sugar, high fructose corn syrup and refined carbohydrates.

See, fat does not stimulate the release of insulin, but all these carbohydrates do.  When our blood sugar rises from the intake of carbs, insulin is secreted from the pancreas.  The role of the insulin is to shuttle excess sugar out of the blood and into your muscle, liver and fat cells.  If it didn’t do that too much sugar in the blood would cause severe damage to your arteries and capillaries.

From a weight management perspective, chronically elevated levels of insulin are not good.  The more insulin levels are raised, the more sugar you’re going to store as fat.

That’s why you need to reduce the amount of carbohydrate you are consuming and manage you insulin levels to avoid storing excess calories as fat.

Obviously, there are healthier carbohydrates just as there are healthier fats.  The key is to understand which carbohydrates are good for you, while avoiding the rest.

Unhealthy fats are terrible for your health and good fats are essential but neither one will make you fat.  Rather, it’s the rise in sugar consumption that is to blame.

Recent research reviewed using new measurement techniques has found  regional differences in muscle activation depending on the exercise of choice.  Something that bodybuilders have claimed for a long time is that you can train the inner-chest or even develop a bicep ‘peak’.
 
If this research is accurate then it leads to the following thought that to get optimal muscular development it is necessary to work the muscle from as many angles as possible.
 
It may also mean that using 1 or 2 exercises for years and years may lead to less-than-optimal muscle growth… and maybe overuse injuries.

So let’s recap these thoughts…

• muscles grow in a non-uniform way
• work your muscles in as many ways as possible
• weight training can affect different parts of a muscle in different ways

From what they are finding the differences seem to be along the ‘length’ of a muscle.  So, sometimes the effect can be around the end of a muscle where it connects to the joints or sometimes it’s more in the middle of the muscle belly.

We already know that it is unaccustomed stress that stimulates a muscle to grow, but these new findings also suggest another, very interesting point to consider:

That just changing exercises can cause muscle growth.

Just the act of changing to a new exercise or movement can stimulate the new growth.  So this provides more evidence to the idea of keeping your workouts fresh, new and challenging – especially if different exercises end up working different parts of a muscle.

Variety is the friend of muscle building.

So, the suggestion is to work your muscles in as many ways as possible and look for slight ways to change your workouts from week to week.

Contractile hypertrophy can occur either by adding sarcomeres in series or in parallel.  The majority of exercise-induced hypertrophy subsequent to traditional resistance training programs results from an increase of sarcomeres and myofibrils added in parallel.  When skeletal muscle is subjected to an overload stimulus, it causes perturbations in myofibers and the related extracellular matrix. This sets off a chain of myogenic events that ultimately leads to an increase in the size and amounts of the myofibrillar contractile proteins actin and myosin, and the total number of sarcomeres in parallel. This, in turn, augments the diameter of individual fibers and thereby results in an increase in muscle cross-sectional area.  A serial increase in sarcomeres results in a given muscle length corresponding to a shorter sarcomere length.

Inseries hypertrophy has been shown to occur when muscle is forced to adapt to a new functional length. This is seen with limbs that are placed in a cast, where immobilization of a joint at long muscle lengths results in an increased number of sarcomeres in series, whereas immobilization at shorter lengths causes a reduction.

There is some evidence that certain types of exercise can affect the number of sarcomeres in series. Lynn and Morgan showed that when rats climbed on a treadmill (i.e., incline), they had a lower sarcomere count in series than those who descended (i.e., decline). This suggests that repeated eccentric-only actions lead to a greater number of sarcomeres in series, whereas exercise consisting solely of concentric contractions results in a serial decrease in sarcomere length.

It is hypothesized that hypertrophy may be augmented by an increase in various noncontractile elements and fluid. This has been termed ‘‘sarcoplasmic hypertrophy,’’ and may result in greater muscle bulk without concomitant increases in strength.  Increases in sarcoplasmic hypertrophy are thought to be training specific, a belief perpetuated by studies showing that muscle hypertrophy is different in bodybuilders than in powerlifters.

Specifically, bodybuilders tend to display a greater proliferation of fibrous endomysial connective tissue and a greater glycogen content compared to powerlifters, presumably because of differences in training methodology. Although sarcoplasmic hypertrophy is often described as nonfunctional, it is plausible that chronic adaptations associated with its effects on cell swelling may mediate subsequent increases in protein synthesis that lead to greater contractile growth.

Some researchers have put forth the possibility that increases in cross-sectional area may be at least partly because of an increase in fiber number.  A meta-analysis by Kelley found that hyperplasia occurs in certain animal species under experimental conditions as a result of mechanical overload. Increases in muscle fiber number were greatest among those groups that used an avian vs. a mammalian model, and stretch overload yielded larger increases in fiber count than exercise. However, subsequent research suggests that such observations may be erroneous, with results attributed to a miscounting of the intricate arrangements of elongating fibers as a greater fiber number.  Evidence that hyperplasia occurs in human subjects is lacking and, if it does occur at all, the overall effects on muscle cross-sectional area would appear to be minimal.

Keep your workouts short and sweet:

Keep you workouts short, preferably less than 30 minutes.  Stick to compound movements like squats, lunges, push ups and pull ups.  Remember the more muscles you can stimulate at one time the more calories you’ll burn and better the results!

When working out, pay attention to how your body feels.  Push it only as far as you’re comfortable.  If you haven’t worked out at higher intensities before, listen to your body.  If you push yourself beyond exertion, you won’t be able to recover adequately.  A good sign is how you feel after the workout is over.  If you’re still  tired and dragging yourself hours after the workout, you probably over did it.

Eat clean:

Make sure that you’re eating the right combination of macronutrients, which are your proteins, carbs and fats.  Most people eat too many carbs.  Remember, just because it’s healthy, doesn’t mean that it’s not going add fat on your body.

Cut out all refined/processed foods.  Stick to whole foods that you’re body was meant to eat.

Consume enough protein, about 0.7 – 1 gram of protein for each pound of lean body weight is a good estimate.  Protein helps keep you satisfied longer.

Keep your eye on how many carbs you’re eating.  That includes fruit as well.  Fruits are good for you, but most of them are also quite high in sugar (fructose).  So keep your fruit intake moderate and if possible to stick to fruits with lower sugar concentrations and higher antioxidant levels like berries.

Don’t stay away from fats…especially good fats.  Eating ample amounts of good fat will help you stay healthy and actually accelerate your body’s own fat burning process!

Some common examples of cardio workouts are running, biking, weightlifting, kettlebells and swimming.

Top 7 Reasons Why Cardio Is Good

Add More Volume

• Cardio is a great way for you to add training volume, burning more fat, without putting your recovery at risk.

Fat For Fuel

• When you do cardio, you burn bodyfat for fuel. So it’s a great way to lose fat while you train your body’s cells to burn fat more efficiently.

Spares Muscle Mass

• Because it burns fat preferentially, cardio is a great way for you to add exercise volume to your training without running the risk of tapping into your muscle mass for fuel.

Aids Recovery

• By increasing blood flow, cardio can actually help you recover more quickly. Your cells get flooded with nutrition while toxins and other by-products of cell metabolism are flushed away.

Increased Work Capacity

• Cardio will improve your General Physical Preparedness. Your endurance capacity is a big factor in your overall fitness.  Cardio is still one of the best ways to develop it.

Moving Meditation

• Cardio is one of the best ways to get into a “groove” or practice intense concentration. The repetitive nature of cardio provide the perfect environment for losing yourself in your thoughts.

Perfect Match For Low Carb & Fasting Days

• When you’re following a Low Carb diet or using Intermittent Fasting, you’ll quickly get yourself into a glycogen depleted state. That just means the muscles and liver aren’t storing as much “sugar.” Since cardio uses fat for fuel, it’s a great match. That’s one of the reasons we love morning cardio before breakfast.

When participating in fitness programs individuals will often set goals focusing on improving muscular strength, muscular endurance, cardiovascular endurance, and body composition. Many times flexibility is often overlooked due to lack of interest or not taking the time to incorporate it into a fitness program. Individuals should consider including flexibility into their training regimen to complete a thorough, well-rounded program.

Types of Flexibility Training

The four key types of stretching include the following:  static, dynamic, ballistic, and proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF).

They are defined as:

•   Static: The ability to maintain a stretch while elongating a muscle at a specific joint for an amount of time with mild discomfort. Static stretching may be considered the safest and most used method of flexibility training.

•   Dynamic Flexibility (warm-up): Incorporates bodily movements that are related to the activity or movement patterns needed for the specific event. Performing high-knees, walking lunges, and carioca are just a few examples of dynamic flexibility exercises.

•   Ballistic: Can be defined as a bouncing movement that is rhythmic in nature, where the end position of the stretch is not held. Performing a seated hamstring stretch with a bouncing movement instead of holding the stretch at the toes would be an example of a ballistic stretch.

• Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF): Incorporates concentric and isometric movements that involve three muscle actions (hold-relax, contract-relax, and hold-relax with an agonist contraction). PNF usually requires a partner to perform the stretches, or in the case where a partner is not present, a strap or band may be used for many of the stretches.

Flexibility Research

Warm-Up

Performing a dynamic warm-up prior to an athletic event or workout increases blood flow to the muscles, therefore increasing the temperature of the muscles. When the temperature of the muscles increases there is a positive shift in the metabolic rate, which leads to an increase in oxygen uptake and allows oxygen to be more readily available to the muscles. Incorporating a dynamic warm-up with proper progressions prior to a workout or event may lead to an increase in performance.

Decreased Injury Rates

Decreasing injuries during an activity or sport is a primary reason individuals include or add flexibility exercises to a training program. Although there are several recommendations stating flexibility training or stretching may lead to decreased injuries, the science and research is still lacking. It would be difficult to make a definitive statement that “adding static stretching to a program would lead to a decrease in injuries”.  That being said, individuals should still maintain a normal range of flexibility for optimal performance. Studies have shown that individuals who are hyper-flexible and inflexible may be at the highest risk for injury when participating in an athletic event.

Improved Performance

Several studies have been performed evaluating flexibility programs and the effect they may have on performance. Studies have shown individuals should maintain an optimal level of flexibility to improve overall performance. In a study conducted observing sprint performance, five different groups were observed. The group that included sprint training, resistance training, and flexibility training performed the best. This validates the importance of incorporating multiple components into a fitness program. Interestingly, a study that tested the effects of stretching, submaximal running, and practice jumps on vertical jump height found that static stretching had a negative impact on vertical jump height when performed immediately before the jump. The researchers also concluded that a general dynamic warm-up would be the most beneficial to enhance performance.

Stretching and Flexibility

There have been over 25 studies conducted since the early 1960s that have concluded that stretching is an effective way to increase muscle flexibility and increase the range of motion at specific joints. Individuals that adhere to a flexibility program can maintain flexibility improvements for several weeks.

Guidelines and Suggestions

The following flexibility training suggestions can be incorporated into a fitness program to develop a complete, well-rounded routine.

Dynamic Warm-Up

A dynamic warm-up can be implemented prior to a workout or event to increase core temperature of the muscles and prepare the individual for increased intensity and increased muscular performance. The dynamic warm-up should be progressive in nature, consisting of 6 – 8 exercises, and taking about 5 – 10 minutes to complete.

Static Stretching

After completing the workout routine, the individual can perform either static stretching or PNF stretching as part of the cool-down. Static stretching should be performed after each bout of activity incorporating stretches involving all the major muscles and the joints the muscles cross. Each stretch should be performed 3 – 5 times and held for approximately 30 – 60 seconds. The intensity should be slow, controlled, and held to mild discomfort. Static stretching is a simple way to incorporate flexibility training into a program because a partner is not needed and the exercises are simple.

PNF Stretching

PNF is another type of stretching that can be incorporated into a cool-down. PNF requires an experienced partner due to the complexity and possible risks associated with the stretches. If a partner is not present, then a strap or band may be used to perform PNF self-stretching. All three types of PNF involve three phases, which include a 10-second pre-stretch prior to performing the other phases of the specific stretches. The hold-relax phase begins with a passive pre-stretch to mild discomfort. While the partner applies force, the individual resists the movement with an isometric muscle contraction. The contract-relax phase begins with a passive pre-stretch to mild discomfort. The individual creates a concentric muscle action to complete a full range of motion. The hold-relax with agonist contraction phase adds a passive stretch and is the most beneficial due to both reciprocal and autogenic inhibition being utilized. There are six common stretches that target major areas of the body which includes hamstrings and hip extensors, calf and ankle, chest, groin, quadriceps and hip flexors, and shoulders.

Conclusion

Following these few simple guidelines and suggestions can be the key to developing a complete fitness program. Incorporating a dynamic warm-up prior to exercise and static or PNF stretching after exercise are just a few ways you can enhance your overall fitness performance.

It’s always exciting to see new programs.  Not just because you’re creating a systematic approach to building your strength and unique physiques, but because your exercise program can be geared to your normal life.

A lot of people think that gymnastic, bodyweight exercises look pretty intimidating.  Especially the feats of strength and precise coordination they involve.  But there’s no need to worry when you have an intelligent, progressive program to work off.

It’s a good bodyweight programs that makes this stuff work for everyday health and fitness enthusiasts. It doesn’t just build an amazing gymnast’s physique, it also teaches you how to pull off a
few pro-looking feats of strength along the way.

That’s pretty cool because, while you might not have the ambition of being a gymnast, you still want the challenge of learning new skills.

What I also love is the quick and targeted results these sort of programs can gets for you.  Bodyweight-style training focuses on nervous system excitation / activation.  That focused concentration engages your nervous system throughout every second of the exercise and that is what builds strength quickly — and the natural byproduct is the shredded, athletic gymnast physique so many of us crave.