The Super Smoothie For Bodybuilders.

Looking for a new way to enjoy your shakes ? Try this Super Protein Smoothie.

Ingredients

1 scoop whey protein(Optimum Gold Standard 100% Whey) [24g protein ,3g carbs, 2g fat]
2 tablespoons (11 g) rolled oats [1.2g protein ,6.2g carbs ,0.6g fat]
2 bananas [1.3g protein ,27g carbs ,0.4g fat]
1 cup milk [9g protein ,12g carbs ,3g fat]
½ cup cold water .
1 teaspoon honey [0.06g protein, 17.3g carbs, 0g fat]
4 ice cubes (optional).

Total Nutrition Facts

6 g fat.
65.5 g carbs.
26.5 g protein.

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blitz until smoth.

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Would You Build More Muscle With A Creatine Supplement Or Not?

There is no doubt that the number one cause of failure in the fitness industry is confusion.
One of the best things about working in the health and fitness sector is helping people to understand their body and get into the shape they want, whatever that my be. However, we all know at least one person in our lives who likes to complicate the situation and over analyze everything when it comes to supplements. They'll often lose the interest of the person they were initially trying to help in the first place as they go off on an ego trip to show their knowledge.
The bottom line is all the knowledge in the world is useless if you don't know how to communicate it properly.
How many times have you seen products which claim to give you life-changing effects? We're guessing too many times. It's time to find out what you are doing rather than continuing to get sucked in by marketing lines.
Despite being on the market now for over 20 years, there is still a large cloud of doubt surrounding people's knowledge of this particular product. Many people take it without even really knowing why, so today we will show you. This isn't a steroid, it's a naturally occurring substance which is produced by your body when you do any kind of explosive movement.
So what does all that actually mean for you in the gym? Imagine being able to push out an extra rep at the end of a few of your sets, or being able to sprint for another interval on the treadmill.
Once the facts are broken down like that it becomes very, very easy to understand why so many athletes and bodybuilders use products containing this ingredient.
Now for the all important question. Will the product give you a more muscular physique? The answer is no, it will not. At least, it won't directly give you a more muscular physique. Think about it, all it does is increase your 'ability' to lift slightly heavier than you may do right now. You still have to actually go put the work in yourself. If you took this product and didn't exercise, you'd see no change.
One area where people don't expect to come unstuck is choosing which blend of this supplement to use. There is more than one type of this product and all the major companies will have a range of different options, ranging from pills, to powders, to drinks.
If you are basing your decision on which blend has the most clinical research to back it up then your choice is very easy. The oldest form, monohydrate, is miles ahead of any other type.
That is largely due to the fact that monohydrate has been with us for around two decades and has been the subject of far more studies and trials than any of the newer options. It's also the most cost effective blend, so it's certainly a good place to start.
When it comes to learning how to build muscle we know that almost everybody needs help or advice at some point. The world of supplements is often the area where people get lost, so you now know the effects of creatine supplements and what to expect from them when you are in the gym. Now it's time to reap the rewards of your new knowledge.

Coach: Russ Howe PTI is a popular fitness coach. Learn how to build muscle with our free video guide giving the 5 steps to a more powerful physique and creatine.

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Losing Weight With Cardio Training - How to Eat Properly When Doing Cardio to Lose Weight

When it comes to doing cardio for weight loss, proper nutrition is as important as the training itself. If you're trying to lose weight, your cardio routine is just one piece of the puzzle, you need to back your training program with the proper diet. And here is why: In order to lose weight, you need to burn off more calories than you put in. That's it. And it's no secret. This is what is known as the energy deficit in the fitness circles.
Nevertheless, if you fail to properly address your nutritional needs-especially when doing cardio on a regular basis, then you won't get far down the road. Starving yourself won't help you lose weight. But quite the opposite, you'll only invite fatigue, loss of motivation and a myriad of health problems.
As a result, here's how to synchronize your diet and cardio training in the healthiest and most proficient way possible, while making the most of your workout sessions.
Don't Shock Your System
During the early stages of training, you may be overexcited about your new weight loss resolution, so you decide to stop eating and train for more hoping to see instant results. But that's no excuse to take on more than your body can handle. Opting for this approach does quite the opposite. Your body perceives the sudden change as a state of famine and slows down the metabolism, thus you'll be burning off less calories per minute than you used to. As a result, you're not going to see the scale going down any further, you'll just add to the frustration.
Therefore, preventing the starvation response is critical for weight loss. The best eating guideline for preventing this condition is opting for 4-5 small meals per day. When doing so, you'll constantly resetting your metabolism levels, thus burning calories at a higher level. In addition, eating every 3 to 4 hours will keep your energy tanks full and well replenished for your next cardio workout, thus you'll achieve better performance and enjoy the training.
Cultivate Good Eating Habits
Cultivating good eating habits is the way to go if you want to stay slim for the long term. These eating principles are universal. And everyone should abide by them, active or not. For starters, choose fresh, nutrient-rich food instead of junk food. Make sure to throw a healthy mix of vegetables, fruits and lean protein into your diet-especially when doing cardio training. Eat 2-3 hours before the training session, and immediately afterwards to replenish your energy tanks.
In addition, make sure your body well hydrated throughout the day. Drink plenty of water both before and after your cardio sessions. Otherwise, you'll suffer from dehydration which can lead to a myriad of health problems.
Nonetheless, this is not a call to perfectionism. Perfectionism is the way to losers' land. You need to take your weight loss diet with a grain of salt and give permission to yourself to go off track. Break the rules once in awhile. Go ahead and that slice of pizza or soda drink, just don't go overboard. Schedule your eating rants once a week as a prize for your hard efforts.

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How To Maximize Explosiveness In Any Athlete

When explosive athletes hear the word aerobic cardio many would rather take a bullet to the carotid artery than have to jog in a steady state for an hour. Other than the groans that often come from explosive athletes there is much scientific research that suggests that aerobic cardio may not be the most effective for development of explosiveness and athleticism. Aerobic cardio is touted as being important for endurance and fat loss but there may be a better solution that doesn't come with some of the negative side effects.
Anaerobic power is what is recruited during high intense bouts of activity. In order for the body to perform work or use energy it requires the production and breakdown of the high energy molecule A.T.P. There are two major systems the body uses to create energy the anaerobic system and the aerobic system. Sports such as football, wrestling, basketball all are explosive sports requiring major recruitment of the anaerobic system. It may not be an either or in terms of aerobic conditioning vs. anaerobic conditioning but over emphasis on aerobic conditioning may not maximize the many training adaptations that are beneficial to the athlete looking to be explosive.
The law of specificity suggests that in order to create the training stimulus that is beneficial, training must fundamentally mock the conditions that an athlete will see in his or her sport. A piece of anecdotal evidence that I think is important to point out; the limited understanding that often comes from those who recommend conditioning. They don't understand the law of specificity and the different energy systems. I.E my rugby coached suggested we build up to running 5 miles a day but he didn't transfer his understanding of rugby to that of his conditioning recommendation. During rugby much like basketball and soccer there is often high bursts of speed followed by slower speeds. Simply to train aerobic power, a steady state does not allow the proper energy systems to build that are specific to your sport. Even the major test for aerobic power the vo2max has its limitations.
There are two major types of muscle fibers in your body, Type 1 slow twitch and type fast twitch fibers. During aerobic conditioning the type 1 slow twitch fibers are the major muscle fiber used. During high bursts of activity the major muscle fiber used is type 2b. What is very seldom talked about is a third muscle fiber type called type 2 intermediary fibers. These muscle fibers often adapt to the training stimulus that is put upon them, meaning that if you train endurance they will transfer over to endurance fibers, if you train speed those intermediary will transfer over to the type 2 fast twitch. Inevitably that means if you train endurance you will get slower. Is that to suggest aerobic cardio is ineffective? Not at all but there is a more effective way to create explosiveness. Aerobic conditioning has its place in the recovery continuum. Something that can occur a couple days after intense exercise is called DOMS or delayed onset muscle soreness. DOMS is not caused by lactic acid buildup like many believe but by the byproduct of lactate: hydrogen ions. Aerobic cardio can help to rid of these ions. That will help rid of the soreness.
According to Costill, Kenney and Wilmore in Physiology Of Sport And Exercise Cross-training is defined as "training for one or more sport at the same time or training several different fitness components (such as endurance, strength and flexibility at one time". Costill, Kenney and Wilmore suggest
"... Gains in strength, power and endurance can result. However the gains in muscular strength and power are less when strength training is combined with endurance training than when strength training alone is done. The opposite does not appear to be true: Improvements of aerobic power with endurance training does not appear to be attenuated by inclusion of a resistance training program". (Kenney, Costill, Wilmore p 277)
However another study quoted in Physiology of Sport did not draw these conclusions. The study found no hindrance of strength gains by including some form of endurance based training. A study put out by Francesca PM, Giulia DI, Stefania C, Alessandro S, Gianluca V, Antonio LT called " Concurrent strength and endurance training effects on running economy in master endurance runners" found that maximal strength training which is by and large low rep heavy load anaerobic weight training, markedly increased running economy.
"Taken together, the results of this preliminary study indicate that master endurance athletes seem to benefit from concurrent strength and endurance training because the rate of force development may be crucial for RE improvement, one of the major determinants of endurance performance." (Kenney, Costill, Wilmore p 277)
This study suggests that anaerobic training can benefit aerobic endurance. Power is defined as force times acceleration. Or strength times speed. Power is explosiveness. It has been repeatedly shown that the most explosive athletes are the ones with the highest percentage of type 2 fibers. Aerobic training simply will not develop the type 2 fibers to the degree anaerobic training will. Some are born with a higher percentage of type 2 fibers and may have an advantage in that regard but anaerobic training appears to be the way to go. Individuals who train anaerobically will see improvement in their explosiveness. Another factor to consider is the hormonal effects of aerobic training or anaerobic training on the body. The body simply does not react the same to the two types of training. But that is another article for another day.
At the end of the day exercise physiology is a growing field of research and what is said to be useful now may not be useful down the road. As a sport performance coach I will always utilize anaerobic training over aerobic training for development of explosive athleticism. It should be noted that there are various forms of aerobic training that isn't simply steady state training. Plyometrics is a form of anaerobic training that focuses on explosiveness and something I recommend for athleticism development. I would also use the wingate test instead of utilizing the commonly overused vo2 max test. The wingate test is for anaerobic conditioning.
It should also be noted that I'm not against aerobic cardio only that I believe anaerobic cardio is much more effective due to its effect on the muscle fibers, its effects on strengthening the proper energy, hormone release and its effect j sustaining muscle that otherwise could be lost due to excessive aerobic cardio. Periodization is something to keep in mind when designing a fitness program for development of athleticism. Periodization is varying rep ranges and intensities to allow for continued gains that otherwise would not occur due to excessive training and inadequate recovery. Given all the research I've come to the conclusion that both forms of training are necessary in varying degrees but as a whole anaerobic training has many more benefits.
Works Cited
Costill David, Larry Kenney and Jack Wilmore. Physiology of Exercie. Illinois: Human Kinetics. Print.
Francesca PM, Giulia DI, Stefania C, Alessandro S, Gianluca V, Antonio LT. Concurrent strength and endurance training effects on running economy in master endurance runners. J Strength Cond Res. 2012 Nov 30. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 23207882.

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The Best Shoulder Exercises For Mass And Separation

So what are the best shoulder exercises for mass? Oh man, to be honest there are a ton of them and it really depends on your body and your characteristics. It also depends on what parts of your shoulders is lacking muscle mass. For example a lot of people have over developed front deltoids, but lack lateral deltoid mass and rear deltoid mass. The reason for this is because we tend to focus on a lot of the pressing movements without focusing as much attention on the lateral deltoids and rear deltoids. When equally developed, you will have a look that no one would want to mess with and an awesome set of broad shoulders. Now when it comes to which exercises you should perform, I feel there are some staples that you should always try and keep into your routine.

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