In a column written by Becky Holman, she mentions how onions have lots of quercetin, a bioflavonoid that reduces inflammation in the same manner as aspirin. That means onions can do good things for healing joint pain, that could be brought on by intense workout routines, as well as cardiovascular health, which will help in increasing the pump so important for muscle building and weight gaining purposes.
Probiotics are good bacteria that balance out the naturally occurring bad bacteria in your digestive tract, according to a column in MuscleMag. The majority of your immune system is located in your digestive tract, so if you keep it healthy, your entire body can stay healthy.
According to Dr. Alan Logan, continues the same column, several studies have shown that the use of probiotic supplements improves nasal congestion, sinus infections, and other allergies. One of the easiest and cheapest way to obtain probiotics in your every day eating is through yogurt, which contains a lot of these little guys.
Remember, the healthier you are the more likely you are to be able to engage in intense workout routines that will help you gain weight and build muscle mass fast!
The message boards have been lighting up in the last couple of days due to the fact that in one of the latest muscle building magazines IFBB rookie Ben White, who has long been challenging Johnny Jackson to a powerlifting contest, is said to now be claiming that he won’t do the competition because JOJ wants it to be a “3 lift” contest, meaning that they would be competing in the bench press, the squat, and deadlift.
Well, Ben White has long been stating that what he wants to go head to head with JOJ is in benching, since he feels that the deadlift and the squat are dangerous (which I completely agree with. I have always felt that those 2 movements have got to be 2 of the most over-rated exercises for muscle building ever!).
An official list of the prize money breakdown for the 2008 Arnold Classic has been released. It is as follows:
1st Place $130,000 plus Audemars Piquet Watch
2nd Place $70,000
3rd Place $50,000
4th Place $30,000
5th Place $15,000
6th Place $10,000
7th Place $1,000
8th Place $1,000
9th Place $1,000
10th Place $1,000
11th Place $1,000
12th Place $1,000
13th Place $1,000
14th Place $1,000
15th Place $1,000
*Best Poser $10,000
Fitness International
1st Place $25,000
2nd Place $12,500
3rd Place $8,000
4th Place $5,000
5th Place $3,000
6th Place $2,000
Figure International
1st Place $15,000
2nd Place $10,000
3rd Place $8,000
4th Place $5,000
5th Place $3,500
6th Place $2,000
Ms. International
1st Place $25,000
2nd Place $12,500
3rd Place $8,000
4th Place $5,000
5th Place $3,000
6th Place $2,000
According to “Ask The Dietitian”, at www.dietitian.com, amino acids in the real world don’t offer any significant advantages to muscle building than does regular foods that contain protein.
According to the site, “There is no research to support any benefit to taking amino acid supplements for persons who exercise…Weightlifting will increase muscle size and the average U.S. diet and the RDA contains enough protein (females 50 grams and males 63 grams per day) to promote an increase in muscle mass.”.
Interesting quote. However, we always have to be cautious whenever we read any scientific or medical study, being that what may happen in a lab doesn’t always come out the same in the real world.
Saying that, however, I personally agree that amino acid supplements are a waste of money and don’t offer any visible benefits in gaining weight and building muscle mass naturally than does simply ensuring that you are eating enough calories for your particular body. There are plenty of real world proofs of this. Look at IFBB legend Danny Padilla, who back in the day, when preparing for a competition, practically ate only 60 grams of protein per day, according to what he himself has said. Also, take a look at prisoners, who get big and strong, yet they don’t get anywhere near the amount of protein suggested in the bodybuilding magazines or internet sites, yet they manage to build more muscle and gain more weight than your average gym rat / supplement user
According to GetBig, the new Ironman Pro Competitor list has officially been released. It is as follows:
Phil Heath, Toney Freeman, Gustavo Badell, David Henry, Silvio Samuel, Johnnie Jackson, Troy Alves, Desmond Miller, King Kamali, Paco Bautista, Omar Deckard, Moe El Moussawi, Deshaun Grimez, Ray Arde, Will Harris and many others.
This lineup looks to be one of the better lineups for this competition in a while. Definitely tough!!!! They will all need to be bring their A-Game.
In the latest article I’ve just posted, you’ll read what I have to say about whether it’s more important to try to lift more weight and take longer rest breaks in between sets, or if you should not worry about how much you’re lifting, but maintain rest periods constant and short…..if muscle building and gaining quality weight is what you’re after.
Check out the article:
Continuous Sets or More Rest For Muscle Building Purposes?
According to the February issue of Flex, milk can in fact be better at replenishing your muscles after a hard and intense workout routine than drinks such as Gatorade and Powerade.
The column cites new research being conducted at Loughborough University, located in the United Kingdom, that suggests that skim milk may be better for rehydration.
Subjects exercised in the heat until they lost about 2% of their bodyweight from sweating. Then they drank 150% of their fluid loss either as water, Powerade, or skim milk. As reported in the British Journal of Nutrition, when the subjects drank water or Powerade, they urinated double the amount of fluid that they did when they drank skim milk. This resulted in the subjects staying adequately hydrated after drinking milk, but still dehydrated after downing water or Powerade. The study suggested that sodium and potassium in milk accounted for its effectiveness at rehydration.
Anything that helps maintain proper hydration within muscle mass is always going to help you with your muscle building / weight gaining goals!!!
BCAAs, also known as “branched-chain amino acids”, are what protein are made of. Recently, online and in magazines, some have began to recommend taking higher dosages of BCAAs, even suggesting that you can substitute a dosage for a meal and / or protein shake. The reasoning being that BCAAs don’t contain calories, technically, yet you get all of the benefits of protein. So, as a result, they say you can gain muscle on less overall calories, which would also benefit fat burning.
Well, I like how Dave Palumbo sees this matter. According to him he’s not a big believer in branched-chain amino acids. As he states, “The truth is that if you take in 6 solid meals (spaced every 2-3 hours) that contain high-quality protein, your blood amino acid levels should always be sufficient to support muscle growth and repair…..it’s probably a waste of money!”.
Dave, I couldn’t have said it better myself.
The University of Edinburgh, located in the country of Scotland, found that a low carbohydrate form of eating the breaking down of the hormone cortisol. Now, first off, to remind you, a high level of cortisol is not good if your after muscle building. This hormone directly breaks down muscle mass. So, the higher the amount of cortisol you have in the blood, the lower the amount of muscle tissue you’ll possess.
Now, if your body isn’t breaking down cortisol, that means that there will be higher amount of this hormone in the body. This study showed that eating a low carb diet keeps cortisol elevated…..which again, can wreak havoc on your muscle building goals.