Blogging About The Truth To Gain Weight & Build Muscle Mass!

According to Allergy and Asthma Solution by Dr. Dean Mitchell if you leave your gym sneezing, wheezing, or feeling congested, the facility could be making you sick….literally. A lot of weight lifting gyms are humid, enclosed environments that aggrevate allergies because of subpar ventilation systems (HVAC). If you symptoms aren’t the result of a cold, consider checking it out with your doctor for an allergy test to determine the cause of your symptoms. Gyms full of dust and / or mold may force you to change the gym you currently workout at.

I remember when I used to be a member of a certain weight lifting gym. The place was fairly old, so their ventilation system was down right horrible. I used to always end up feeling sick to my stomach, and almost light headed when working out. I used to have to go outside once or twice just to get some fresh air. And that was by far the only location that I would get that way when training to building muscle and gain weight. So the physical environment does have an impact on your muscular performance.

As reported in a column in MuscleMag International, the average cutting board has 370 times more bacteria than a toilet seat. When you purchase a cutting board, go with pine, which has been proven to harbor 20% fewer E. coli colonies than plastic and beech wood. Cut down your risk of food poisoning by ditching that old cutting board and starting fresh with a new pine board. You should also use different cutting boards for vegetables and meat to avoid cross contamination. Soak boards after use in hot soapy water to kill bacteria.

As I’ve always written, calories from regular food is what will really make a difference with your weight gain / muscle building goals…..so you’ve got to make sure that you aren’t pushing contaminated food into your stomach.

According to a column in Men’s Health, narrowing your grip while performing presses for chest reduces your risk of injury, states a new study in Strength and Conditioning Journal. The reason is that you can’t over-rotate your shoulders, which is a mistake that plays a role in almost 20% of weight lifting injuries.

The narrow grip won’t reduce your strength or muscle building gains. Place your hands no farther than shoulder width apart. Also, be sure to keep your elbows tucked in at your sides at a approximately a 45 degree angle to your torso. This also reduces stress on your shoulder joints and rotator cuffs.

My take: As many of you already know, I’m not a fan at all of the barbell for almost any upper body exercise. Cables, dumbbells, and machines are much safer and effective (…..yes, I said even “machines”). You are going to get any weight gaining or muscle building done if your rotator cuffs are shot, trust me!

Read my latest article on another waste-of-good-money supplement, namely creatine - amino acid supplements. In this article I cite a brand new study that has revealed its ineffectiveness.

Check it out:
Don’t Waste Your Money On Creatine - Amino Acid Supplements!

According to a report released by Reuters, researchers have concluded that energy drinks may give you not only a but of energy but also an elevated heart rate (pulse) and high blood pressure. If you suffer from high blood pressure or heart disease, you should avoid energy drinks because they could interfere with your prescriptions meds.

I’d also like to add that you shouldn’t be wasting any of your hard earned cash on energy drinks to begin with. They are one of the biggest scams going around. Take a look at what the main ingredient is in all of them and you’ll be surprised to find out that it is caffeine. So basically you’re over-paying for sugar flavored coffee when you buy these things. I understand that in order for muscle building to take effect and to set the weight gain wheels in motion intense weight training is a must, and getting psyched up for these training sessions are important. I agree, caffeine is excellent and cheap………..just don’t get it in the form of an “energy drink”.

This week on Pro Bodybuilding Weekly they speak to Phil Heath, the newly crowned IronMan Pro champion, and the hosts go into a detailed observation of the contest overall.

Over at MD Radio, in addition to speaking about the contest, they also talk to Flex Wheeler and Shawn Ray. Also, they speak to IFBB professional Kenny Jones. In addition, they also touch briefly the very sad death of Shellie Beatty.

Yet another dietary supplement aimed at helping you building muscle, or burn fat, has allegedly been found to be laced with an illegal prescription drug…..Clenbuterol.

Read about it in my latest weight gaining / truth-exposing article:
Latest muscle building / gain weight article

During the process of growing and shipping fruits and vegetables, pesticide residue and pathogens can be picked up, including trace amounts of salmonella and E. coli. If you can, purchase locally grown produce from a farmers market. The fewer people produce has been in contact with, the better. Wash all produce in water for at least 20 seconds just before eating. Don’t wash everything at once because washing speeds up spoilage; wash only what you’re about to prepare. Rinse prepackaged salads, even when they are labeled prewashed, to be on the safe side.

SOURCE: MuscleMag column

My take: being that a high calorie diet is crucial when trying to build muscle mass and gain weight naturally, you must be careful with the safety of what you put in your mouth. Trust me, knowing from personal experience, food poisoning is no fun activity!

Former American Gladiator Shelly Beatie, aka “Siren”, died on February 13th, according to Dave Palumbo. The actual cause of death has not been made public yet. She was married to in the past to Muscular Development’s John Romano.

She was an accomplished competitor in bodybuilding and fitness. She will be sorely missed not only in the muscle building world, but all over.

Recently, researchers conducted a study in which they had several individuals drink half a quart of cold water, to which then afterwards they measured how many extra calories were burned off. (Just so you’ll know, when you drink cold water, as opposed to warm or hot water, it takes energy to “heat up” a little that water when it enters the body. This “energy” that it takes to heat the water up is technically calories being used to heat the water, since calories are a form of energy).

The study was done on 7 men and 7 women. They found that their metabolism increased by 30% within 10 minutes of drinking the cold water. This metabolism increase lasted for about an hour or so.

How many extra calories were burned off?

The equivalent of 100 extra calories.

Now, my take: I don’t really feel like an extra 100 calories being burned off is a big deal in the grand scheme of things. However, if you are drinking a lot more than a quart of cold water per day, then instead of burning an extra 100 calories just from drinking that, you may be burning an extra 200 or 300 calories, which then, in my opinion, will definitely help you get into the oh-so-important calorie deficit that’s needed to burn off body fat and show off your muscle building efforts by enhanced muscular definition.

Hey, it’s free, so give it a try!

Becky Holman reports in her column that oil taken with meals, whether as fish oil capsules or salad dressing, has been shown to boost absorption of some antioxidants and phytochemicals in vegetables by as much as 10%. She recommends to take a few capsules with every meal.

My take: I’m all about increasing the absorption of the foods you are already eating, especially when you are trying to gain weight fast. I, personally, recommend going the olive oil route, since it is cheaper and a great way to get an extra amount of calories into your daily total.

That’s right, according to Becky Holman in a recent column she penned, seaweed can make junk food healthier by increasing the fiber content of whatever it is you’re eating to gain muscle weight and build muscle fast.

In a study done at the University of Newcastle in the United Kingdom, continues to write Holman, scientists added seaweed to white bread for the health-boosting effect. Hey, whatever it takes, right.

Now, I do want to add that yes, fiber is good to a certain extent, but if you are person that does not have the biggest of appetites, which is more than likely one of the main reasons why you can’t seem to build muscle and gain quality weight because it’s very difficult for you to eat enough calories, then you really don’t want to be eating too much fiber.

The thing to consider about fiber is the fact that it takes a long time for your body to digest it, thus making you feel slightly bloated in the stomach, and, as a result, can kill your appetite…..wonderful if you are trying to cut calories to burn fat and lose weight…..but bad if you are skinny and are trying to gain muscle mass naturally.