Month: June 2011

Categories
Weight Loss Exercise

How to Increase Testosterone

Anybody that is trying to gain muscle needs to know how to increase testosterone. Testosterone is a hormone produced by the testes that helps you improve strength and muscle mass quickly as well as making you more aggressive and able to tackle tough situations and workouts. These factors are not always good but any weightlifter is looking forwrd to knowing how to increase testosterone.

How to Increase Testosterone

How to Increase Testosterone

How to Increase Testosterone

ZMA Supplementation – ZMA is a great supplement you should use if you want to know how to increase testosterone, just don’t ask wikipedia about it (they don’t like ZMA) ZMA is actually short for Zinc monomethionine aspartate and Magnesium Aspartate, you can see why the term ZMA took off instead. Anyway there are two parts of this supplement Zinc and Magnesium are helpful for the muscle mass as well as helping oxygenationm of muscle tissue.

Lots of Sleep – Sleep is always critical for getting in good workouts and recoving from past workouts but the fact is that is you do not sleep enough then your testosterone level will drop over time so it is important to keep up your sleep habits

Sex – Well sex seems to be a great motivator for getting that muscle in the first place but since the testes are so critical to creating testosteron then it only stands to reason that sex (hopefully with a partner) will increase your bodies need for testosterone and it will start creating more of it.

NO Alcohol – Drinking is bad, we all may like to do it occasionally but one of the side effects of drinking is that alcohol will inhibit the bodies creation of testosterone (Micky Roarke character in Barfly should have looked for a different fuel) so try to reduce alcohol comnsumption as much as possible.

Be a Meat Eater – It is not the testosterone and other crap that is pumped into the cows that increases our testosterone but instead the meat itself. Some people including Tim Ferris of the 4 hour body swear by huge days of 24 ounces of steak but remember that for protein your body can only assimilate about 3 or 4 onces of protein per meal.

Heavy weights for low reps – In the gym you can do your part to increase your testosterone level by doing heavy weight for low reps so three sets of 5 high weight sets  instead of 2 sets of 25 of low weight sets. I like to mix it up but those low weight sets are not how to increase testosterone.

Big Exercises only – When you are in the gym it is best not to worry about cardio and isolated exercises instead do anything with a huge weight. Squats, Bench press, Deadlifts, and other multijoint exercises. This way you can be in and out of the gym in a short amount of time as well.

There are a few things that you can see from this list. I your are really looking at how to increase testosterone then it really has to come down to stressing your body beyond anything at all normal, and then allowing your body to rest and recuperate. The onld fight or flight mechanism with rest for your recovery pumps up that caveman feel for your body to get stronger and bigger.

There are many reasons and ways of how to increase testosterone any missing ones are up to you to add below.

How to Increase Testosterone

Categories
Weight Loss Exercise

How to Stay Fit While Traveling

We all travel and I am always asking myself how to stay fit while traveling. Well trainer Jon Gallo has written this great article full of tips and I hope you find these travel fitness tips as great as I did

How to Stay Fit While Traveling

How to Stay Fit While Traveling

How to Stay Fit While Traveling – By Jon Gallo

Many fitness enthusiasts find it difficult to follow their normal exercise plan while traveling. Unfamiliar environments, tightly-scheduled business meetings, or lack of exercise equipment may hamper even a fitness fanatic’s best intentions for staying fit while on the road. Jon Gallo is a certified fitness trainer. When planning your next business trip or vacation, he offers the following tips for putting together an exercise program that travels with you.

If you’ve worked hard to establish a good fitness routine, going on a business trip doesn’t have to mean your healthy habits will be derailed. Here are some tips on how to stay fit while traveling. You can keep your momentum and endorphins flowing and maintain your fitness level when traveling. How? For one thing, keep moving. “Drink a minimum of eight 8-ounce glasses of water each day. Airport food, sitting on a plane, jet lag – all contribute to bloat. The best way to fight it is to stay hydrated,” says Jon Gallo.

  • Use good body mechanics when you lift your suitcases up to the check-in counter.
  • Lift from your knees, not your back.
  • Be aware of your posture as you carry your bags.
  • Even though you’ve left behind your daily routine, try to eat three meals a day, maintain a balanced diet and eat plenty of fruit and vegetables.

How to Stay Fit While Traveling – Eating Tips

If you’re going to eat a high-fat meal, eat a smaller portion, or order an appetizer instead of a main course. Split desserts with a friend. Rest. If your schedule is shot and you’re not sleeping enough at night, take cat naps whenever you get the chance.  Stretch in the morning and evening, especially if you’ve been sitting all day. If you will be drinking alcohol at business mixers, drink a lot of water between events.  Pack snacks: bananas and apples, yogurt, protein bars. You can make meal replacement shakes in your room. You don’t need a blender, just a container with a tight fitting lid, large enough to shake the contents.

How to Stay Fit While Traveling – Workout Tips

To know how to stay fit while traveling it is critical to have a  workout plan. To find out if your gym reciprocates its membership with a gym where you’ll be traveling, log onto the International Physical Fitness Association’s Web site, http://www.ipfa.us/, or ask at your home health club before you leave town. Jon Gallo says that, “Three to five days off from a strength routine can give your muscles a rest. But you wouldn’t want to go a week or more without serious exercise and a short respite for your biceps doesn’t mean you should ever let your cardio workout go.”

  • Ask your travel agent about hotels that offer fully equipped gyms, pools, and/or other fitness facilities.
  • Bring along a CD or Ipod with your favorite music and work out in the privacy of your hotel room.
  • Pack a jump rope for a go-anywhere aerobic session. Invest in “travel weights” -inflatable weights that can be filled with water or sand when training, folded and stored while on the road.
  • Plan active recreation during vacations -check out the local golf course, riding stable, and so on.
  • When site-seeing, forget the tour bus and walk. You’ll not only see more, but you’ll be sneaking in some extra activity.

For more fitness options, place in your luggage a Resist-A-Tube or any of the home exercise tubing, a stability ball, jump rope or exercise video. ”If you like classes, make your own class in your room,” offers Jon Gallo. If you work with a personal trainer, ask him or her to design an exercise plan before you leave town. When you’re sitting on a plane or in a conference room, take deep breaths occasionally, tighten your stomach muscles, then relax.

How to Stay Fit While Traveling – On Transportation

Travelers need to periodically flex and stretch the hamstrings and hip flexors, the muscle at the upper part of the leg that connects into the pelvis. For women who spend the day in high heels, a walk around the room toe-up, heel-down will stretch the calf muscles. Or, do toe raises by putting the heels on the floor and stepping up onto a telephone book. “Men often complain of being cramped when traveling,” states Gallo. “They need to stretch their lower back and legs.” He recommends the cat stretch. Get up on your hands and knees, arch your back for 15 seconds, then release. Repeat.

Jon Gallo points out that the more comfortable you are with operating fitness machinery at your home gym, the easier it will be to set up unfamiliar equipment when you’re on the road. And consider Thera-Bands, which you can buy online and at most sporting goods stores. Thera-Bands are heavy-duty elastic tubing, graded by color according to elasticity and tightness that you can use in resistance exercises. They are easy to pack and you can do a complete maintenance workout with them.

FIT FLYING

Air travel may be fast and convenient, but for many of us, it can be uncomfortable and restrictive due to cramped cabins and sardine-like seating. The following tips can help you make the most of your next airplane trip by helping you stay flexible and fit while you fly.

  • DEEP BREATHING is an instant-relaxer and can be done anywhere at any time. Try taking 4-5 deep, cleansing breaths several times during your flight.
  • RELAX YOUR SHOULDERS by bending forward slightly, hands on knees and “rolling” your shoulders in a circular motion 5 or 6 times. Repeat the “roll” in the opposite direction, then finish up by “shrugging” your shoulders up and down 5 times.
  • RELAX YOUR BACK by reaching overhead, holding elbows, and bending side to side. Repeat 5 times in each direction.
  • STRETCH YOUR LEGS by alternately lifting your knees toward your chest and bringing your body toward your knee to the count of eight.
  • RELEASE YOUR FEET by “drawing” the alphabet with one foot then the other.

These are great How to Stay Fit While Traveling tips that I hope that you can use this summer.

How to Stay Fit While Traveling

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Categories
Weight Loss Exercise

Lutein for Better Eye Health

Lutein has over the last few years become a very popular supplement and nutrient to improve vision or to actually stop and reduce cataracts. You can not only find Lutein in most multivitamins but also a lot of those green leafy veggies are high in Lutein as well.

Lutein for Better Eye Health

Lutein for Better Eye Health

Lutein for Better Eye Health

Lutein was found to be concentrated in the macula, a small area of the retina responsible for central vision. The hypothesis for the natural concentration is that lutein helps keep the eyes safe from oxidative stress and the high-energy photons of blue light. Various research studies have shown that a direct relationship exists between lutein intake and pigmentation in the eye

Several studies show that an increase in macula pigmentation decreases the risk for eye diseases such as age-related macular degeneration

A six year study by the National Eye Institute found that lutein and zeaxanthin (nutrients in eggs, spinach and other green vegetables) protect against blindness (macular degeneration), affecting 1.2 million Americans, mostly after age 65.

There is also epidemiological evidence that increasing lutein  intake lowers the risk of cataract development. Consumption of more than 2.4 mg of lutein daily from foods and supplements was significantly correlated with reduced incidence of nuclear lens opacities, as revealed from data collected during a 13- to 15-year period in the Nutrition and Vision Project

One Strange Fact about Lutein

As I was researching about Lutein I found this really strange info about Lutein. Apparently it was traditionally used in chicken feed to provide the yellow color of broiler chicken skin. Consumers viewed yellow chicken skin more favorably than white chicken skin. Lutein also makes egg youlks a darker yellow color which I always though was great. This darker yellow is the really only reason for feed fortification in chickens now.

Sources of Lutein

As I mentioned earlier Lutein can be found in most multivitamins as well as those vitamins that are specifically made for better eye health.

There are also many vegetables that are high in this super nutrient including Kale, Spinach, Garden peas, Zucchini, Brussels sprouts, Pistachio nuts, Broccoli

Lutein for Better Eye Health

Related Blogs

  • Related Blogs on Age Related Macular Degeneration