Motivational Quotes - Health and Wellness: 05/06/11

"Don't sweat the small stuff."

This concept is one that really should be followed in all aspects of life. Too much time, energy and emotion can be spent being concerned with things that, really, in the big picture of life and what's important, are very insignificant. Take a moment to think about the last week - Were there any moments that left you feeling stressed, frustrated, angry, sad, or mad? Now, think about the cause of that feeling. What happened? Chances are you may have a difficult time even remembering or if you do, it is now seemingly silly that you even got so wrapped up in whatever it was that took place. The same holds true for health and wellness. Don't get overly obsessed with the relatively minor details (see Tip #5 of my Top Five Nutrition Tips) and you will find that living a healthier life really is enjoyable. Miss a day in the gym? SO WHAT! There are many more days in the gym ahead of you. Eat a large plate of nachos smothered in cheese and all other sorts of unhealthy goodness? WHO CARES!? There will be many more meals you eat that are far more healthy. Furthermore, getting frustrated or upset with yourself about doing so will only cause you to experience unnecessary negative feelings that will do nothing to improve the situation any how. Move on and continue with your life!

Motivational Quotes - Health and Wellness: 05/03/11

I just don't have the time...

Work. Life. Work. Life. Repeat.

Many of us lead very busy lives. Personally, just under half of each 24-hour day consists of work-related activities (getting ready for work, commuting, being at work, commuting some more, etc.). Then after work comes the "life" stuff - preparing meals, letting out and feeding the dogs, picking up the house as needed, running errands, and so on. Sound familiar? I am willing to bet it does.

"You will never find time for anything. If you want time, you must make it."

-Charles Buxton

There are only so many hours in a day and it seems as though health (exercise, nutrition, etc.) often times falls by the wayside due to "not having enough time". Sure there are going to be some individuals in unique situations who might literally not have any additional time available in their day to make room for exercise (I would still argue though that appropriate nutritional choices can and should still be made). However, large in part, I feel that this excuse really holds no water and instead is just a mask for some other underlying reason as to why the individual is unwilling to focus on their health (i.e. lack of knowledge, feelings of embarassment, etc.). Put those fears aside, understand that you must start somewhere, make the time for exercise, prepare healthy meals and get appropriate amounts of rest...You will be glad you did!





Tips for Building Abs

Got Abs?

Six-pack, washboard abs...A dream shared by all, right? OK - So that is likely a stretch, but it seems that abs are definitely high on many peoples' wish lists as it pertains to physique goals. So what does it take? 1,000 crunches per day? Amazing genetics? Sure, either of these things would probably help, but let's face it: 1,000 crunches per day would be amazingly boring, pain-staking and time consuming and amazing genetics are a little bit out of your control. So what can one do to build a set of strong, visible abs? Here are three simple tips:

1. No gimmicks - Whatever you do: Don't fall for all of the ab-building gimmicks that exist! A magic pill is NOT going to give you abs. A contraption that you wrap around your waist that "stimulates and activates the abdominal muscles for huge growth" is NOT going to give you abs. Doing crunches all day long without taking other factors into consideration (one in particular is discussed in Tip #2) will likely not give you abs either. Please, please, please, if nothing else - DO NOT FALL FOR GIMMICKS! I know the promise of abs can be very enticing, but chances are if it sounds too good to be true...you guessed it - It probably is!
2. "Abs are built in the kitchen!" - This is a phrase often thrown around by those seemingly in the know about these sorts of things and you know what? They are right! Of course, there needs to be a consistent regimen of training focused on the abs in order to develop them. However, much of what determines the extent to which your abs will be visible (and that's what it's all about right?) is the amount of fat that you carry around your midsection! To reduce the amount of fat in that area and/or to keep the fat off, one really should calculate daily caloric needs given their gender, height, age and weight - This is known as your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) and represents the number of calories you would expend if you literally did nothing but breathe all day. Once you have calculated your BMR, then factor in your activity levels using the Harris-Benedict Formula. This calculation will tell you what your daily caloric needs are also factoring in your activity level. Once this has been determined, simply aim to eat 10-15% less than what is required if you are looking to drop fat. Keep in mind that you will need to recalculate as you begin shedding the fat. Finally, when your goal weight has been achieved, recalculate one final time and aim to meet the amount of calories suggested in order to maintain your physique!
3. Abs are ALSO built in the gym - While nutrition really is king when it comes to abs, you undoubtedly will want to focus some of your time and effort working and building them as well. The standard crunch is an effective exercise to incorporate into your regimen, but there are many others as well. Two of my personal favorites are Roman Chair Leg Raises and Rope Crunch Pulldowns. Both of these exercises will hit your abs differently then the standard crunch and the incorporation of weight with the rope crunches will help to make the abs larger (which really helps them to "pop"). While these are my two personal favorites, there are all kinds of abdominal exercises that can be performed. Find a few options that you enjoy and stick with it! I often hear about people working their abs several times per week following the "more is better" approach. I personally don't feel that this is the case. Like other muscles, the abdominal muscles need time to heal and repair. Thus, I would suggest working them 2-3 days per week. The following are a couple clips showing how my favorite exercises are properly executed:

Roman Chair Leg Raises



Rope Crunch Pulldowns

I strongly encourage you to give these three, relatively simple, tips a try. While I have not provided you a huge laundry list of things you that you need to follow, I do feel that I have provided you with a few ideas that can be truly effective at achieving the set of strong, visible abdominal muscles that you desire. Here's to wishing you success in this endeavor - Keep at it and it will only be a matter of time before you get where you want to be!

Supplement Reviews - LG Sciences BC+EAA, Grape

There is nothing for more refreshing than taking a large sip (or several) of a nice, cold beverage in between sets during one's workout (and no, I'm not talking about beer!). Lucky for the avid weightlifter / exercise-enthusiast, the market is full of great intra-workout drinks aimed at helping to replenish the body while also tasting great. That being said, there certainly are some "winners" and some "losers" when it comes to intra-workout drinks and unfortunately LG Sciences BC+EAA Grape falls into the latter of these two categories in my opinion.

The Product
Branched-Chain Amino Acids (BCAA) and Essential Amino Acids (EAA) are crucial building blocks for muscular development. As the name of the product sounds, LG Sciences BC+EAA Grape is simply a grape-flavored, intra-workout drink that delivers a healthy dose of BCAA and EAA, as well as some L-Glutamine.

The supplement facts are as follows:

Serving Size: 11 g (~3 scoops)
Servings Per Container: 30

Total Amino Acid Content: 10.5 g
   Branched-Chain Amino Acid Blend: 4.5 g
     -L-Leucine
     -L-Isoleucine
     -L-Valine
   Essential Amino Acids : 4 g
Recovery Agent
     -L-Glutamine (2g)

Other Ingredients: Natural & Artificial Flavor, Natural & Artificial Color, Citric Acid, Xanthan Gum, Sucralose

The directions for use state the user should "put 3 scoops into 12 oz. of water and shake or stir well."

Additional supplementation of BCAA and EAA is intended to help increase training endurance, enhance the breakdown and utilization of protein in the body (protein synthesis), and increase muscular development (by promoting a state of anabolism and preventing muscular breakdown).

Efficacy
While I currently don't regularly use supplements that are explicitly BCAA and EAA, I have been around the block a time or two with regard to these types of supplements. The claims of increased endurance, while subtle, are what I personally believe is the most valid reason for supplementing with additional BCAA and EAA and this holds true for this product. I feel fresher throughout my workouts and feel as though I am able to push a bit harder for longer while supplementing BCAA and EAA. That being said, it should be noted that when I do take this product I generally double the serving size suggested. As far as increased protein synthesis and increased muscular development are concerned, I can't say that I necessarily "feel" a difference when taking this kind of supplement or not - That isn't to say that it isn't helping on some level, simply that there are no physical indicators to me of this taking place.

Taste
This was the BIG negative about this product for me. I generally enjoy grape-flavored products. LG Sciences BC+EAA Grape does a very poor job of replicating any sort of true grape flavor. As strange as it may sound, the flavoring of this product provides me with a hint of some sort of taco or burrito flavor with a hint of very chemically, artificially-derived grape flavoring. I am sure you can imagine how unappealing this is any time, much less in the middle of your workout! Bare in mind that taste is largely subjective and can be based on the supplement to water ratio that one employs; I have tried all sorts of supplement / water mixtures and the only thing that happened was that the aforementioned flavor was either more or less pronounced, but not any better.

Mixability / Appearance
For those who are not familiar with BCAA and EAA, they are notorious for mixing VERY poorly. For as soon as you stop stirring or shaking the mixture, its clumpy contents rise to the surface of your drink. This is definitely the case with this product as well, but not necessarily something I got too bent out of shape over. That being said, there are other products in this category that some how do a wonderful job of mitigating this issue so I know that it can be done. For those interested in appearance, once mixed you are left with a grayish (think dolphin-like) liquid that contains flecks of water chunks floating about - Not overly appealing to the eyes.

Price
"You get what you pay for" would be an accurate statement when it comes to this product. I have found prices for this as low as $12-13 when on sale online. If you can get past the flavor (or by some chance actually enjoy the flavor), this really is a low price for this type of product.

Overall
In conclusion, while I do feel that BCAA and EAA can be nice additions to any athlete's supplement arsenal, LG Sciences BC+EAA Grape is not the supplement that I would recommend in order to do so. While I can not dispute the potential benefits of this sort of product, there are far better tasting and better mixing intra-workout supplements available on the market.

Motivational Quotes - Health and Wellness: 04/16/11

"It has always been my thought that the most important single ingredient to success in athletics or life is discipline. I have many times felt that this word is the most ill-defined in all our language. My definition of the word is as follows: 1. Do what has to be done; 2. When it has to be done; 3. As well as it can be done; and 4. Do it that way all the time."

-Bob Knight

What an amazing quote about discipline is this passage from Bobby Knight. Obviously, the context of this quote likely pertained, more specifically, to the sport of basketball. However, I feel that it translates absolutely perfectly into the realm of health and wellness. If one really hopes to change their life for the better, get healthier and build a better physique, these four principles of discipline must be adhered to. Take these principles and combine them with consistency and, in time, you will achieve your goals - Without a doubt.