Healthy, nutritionist-backed snacks to clean up your quarantine diet The CEO Magazine
* This article was originally published here
Thursday, April 30, 2020
What is Muscle Confusion?
Switch Up Your Workouts with Muscle Confusion
If you’ve hit a stagnant point with your training and simply have stopped seeing results, you’ve probably heard something about the importance of muscle confusion.
Muscle confusion is simply a method of weight training that involves changing things up on a regular basis in order to avoid plateaus – periods where your muscles get used to the same old efforts and stop responding.
Although it’s become all the craze among fitness professionals and bodybuilders, it’s not a new concept. Muscle confusion has been around for a long time, simply because it is an essential strategy to getting to the next level with your results.
It’s a principle that can actually be applied to any health and fitness goal. Your body is smart, and it adapts over time. Once your body adapts to any particular stimulus, you stop seeing changes, whether those changes include muscle growth, weight loss, or things like strength and speed.
But it’s particularly relevant to building muscle, which is why muscle confusion is such a popular method among weight lifters.
Let’s look at the different ways you can confuse your muscles and get better gains from every pump…
Muscle Confusion Variables:
- Number of Sets – Changing the number of sets for a particular exercise can help you vary your level of muscle fatigue for a particular workout. Reducing the number of sets to 1 or 2 can totally shock your muscles when you move on to the next exercise, while doing extra sets can help improve muscular endurance and strength.
- Number of Reps – You can get similar effects from changing up the number of reps within a set. Higher reps at lower weight will improve endurance and also help you work up more of a sweat, while packing on the weight at lower reps will have a huge impact on strength.
- Length of Rest – Whether it’s rest between sets or between exercise, this is a workout variable that many people tend to overlook. Increasing rest can help you get more out of your next set or station, while cutting down on this time can help you intensify your workout and get a bigger punch in less time.
- Exercise Order – It’s easy to get into the same routine when you hit the gym floor, but one of the easiest and most basic ways to confuse your muscles is to change the order of your muscle building exercises. Try starting in reverse, or just mix things up – you’ll notice a big difference with this method!
- Exercise Choice – Hopefully you’re already engaging in this method of muscle confusion. It’s absolutely critical that you don’t simply repeat the same series of exercises during every workout. You should aim for at least 2 different workout schedules for every muscle group, alternating on a regular basis.
Muscle Confusion – Support Your Efforts Nutritionally
No matter your preference for muscle confusion, you need to support your efforts with the right muscle nutrition, I can’t stress this enough! Here are some things you should add to your diet immediately, in order to maximize your muscle building efforts:
- A high quality whey protein like Optimum 100% Natural Whey. In addition to this, Optimum 100% Casein Protein is another great option if you’re looking for sustained release protein or if you want a plant based version the best in the industry is Vega Sport Performance Protein.
- Essential amino acids supplements like Scivation Xtend and Optimum Glutamine, both of which feed your muscles and improve recovery so you can train harder.
- A buffered creatine supplement to improve muscle endurance, recovery, and growth. Fusion Purple K and Kre-a-fem are by far the leading brands on the market.
With this simple combination of muscle building supplements, in addition to regular muscle confusion workouts at the gym, you’re sure to see amazing results in no time! Try it out, and get ripped!
Have any questions or feedback about muscle confusion? Please leave a comment below…
The post What is Muscle Confusion? appeared first on Weight Loss & Training.
* This article was originally published here
Wednesday, April 29, 2020
Secrets to Losing Weight
Secrets to Losing Weight
Weight loss is no easy task. But if you’re struggling to slim down, tone up, or just improve your overall fitness, there are a number of things you need to know.
In my years as a personal trainer, I’ve learned that weight loss is a science like anything else. As a science, it has its fair share of tricks and secrets. And taking advantage of these secrets can really improve your weight loss efforts.
These tips are the 5 best secrets to losing weight. They may surprise you, but in the end they’re all pretty simple, which means implementing them in your own life should be a breeze.
Remember, with any health goal, it’s important to be smart and open-minded. If what you’re doing isn’t working, then it’s time to try something new. One of these tips may be exactly what you’re looking for!
5 Best Secrets to Losing Weight
Secret to Losing Weight #5 – Your Memory Sucks
When it comes to keeping track of the food you eat, your brain really isn’t so reliable. In many instances, we tend to overlook certain things we eat. We remember that we had a salad for lunch, but we totally forget about the creamy salad dressing that came with it. Don’t count on your own memory to keep track of your eating habits. Instead, measure out portions and keep a detailed food journal. Research has shown that people who write down what they eat tend to lose about a half a pound more per week.
Secret to Losing Weight #4 – Bad Sleep Means Bad Cravings
When you don’t get adequate sleep, or when the quality of your sleep is jeopardized, you’re going to crave things like sugar and fat even more. This is because sleep helps regulate key hormones involved in hunger and cravings. Get a bad sleep, and you’re throwing these hormones off balance. If you’re looking for a natural sleep remedy, try Natrol Melatonin.
Secret to Losing Weight #3 – Strike a Balance
Eating healthy really requires a balance. The science tells us that when you cut too many calories from your diet, your body will actually start storing more calories as fat. This is because your body goes into a kind of self-preservation mode. So watch how much you cut from your diet, and instead make healthier choices. Go for foods high in healthy fats, protein, and fiber, like these NOW Almonds or these Nutiva Organic Chia Seeds.
Secret to Losing Weight #2 – Get Tough about Weight Loss
One of the biggest factors in weight loss is muscle mass, which is why I always recommend weight training at least 4 days a week. Muscle mass burns calories and fat all day long, even when your body is at rest. So hit the gym on a regular basis, and don’t be scared of the weights. To ensure proper muscle growth, include a high quality protein supplement in your diet, like Optimum 100% Natural Casein. It will also jumpstart your metabolism!
And the #1 weight loss secret is…
Secret to Losing Weight #1 – A Blowout is NOT a Failure
If you’ve been trying to lose weight for a while, you probably find yourself worrying about every little thing you eat. But a bad meal here and there won’t sabotage your dieting efforts one bit. You need to get practical about eating, in more ways than one. And when it comes to the calories you consume, it’s the total for the week that really counts, not each meal. Dine out once a week, or give yourself that piece of pizza. It won’t kill your efforts, and it may improve your success in the long run. Trust me, it is possible to lose weight AND be happy!
Have any questions or feedback about these secrets to losing weight? Please leave a comment below…
The post Secrets to Losing Weight appeared first on Weight Loss & Training.
* This article was originally published here
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)