BCAA's: Branched Chain Amino Awesomeness

In my last post, I provided an outline for implementing good eating habits into your fitness plan that will help get you looking lean and shredded. While this type of dieting might help you lose unwanted weight around the midsection, it might also take away mass from the areas you don't want, such as the biceps and triceps. So how do you find the balance between making muscle gains while still getting lean and ripped? Branched chain amino acids, or BCAA's, hold your answer. 

BCAA's are making a reemergence in the world of body building, and for good reason. They are particularly useful for serious body builders during their "cutting" phase--the time a few months before competition when builders decrease their caloric intake to add definition to their muscles. Even if you are just a casual builder though, BCAA's can help you in the same manner, and have you looking lean and ripped

BCAA supplements work well with a proper diet because they stop the body from using muscle as a source of energy. When the body runs out of stored energy (fat) to feed on, it begins to break down muscle to liberate the amino acids it needs to supply the body with energy. This is a huge problem for those trying to eliminate body fat while gaining muscle mass. Luckily, using BCAA's to supply the body with an extra source of amino acids for energy will eliminate this problem.

BCAA's not only stimulate this type of protein synthesis, but actually increases the rate your body synthesizes protein, which means that mass gains will come even quicker than before. BCAA supplements come in a powdered form and can be mixed right in with your recover protein drink, so they are easy to take and ingested straight into the blood stream from the stomach. If you are ready to mix BCAA supplements into your nutrition plan than be sure to check out bodybuilding.com for a variety of great products!

The Five Pillars of Good Nutrition

There are many different factors that go into developing a good fitness plan for yourself, but none may be more important than eating correctly. You can put all the time in the world into working out in the gym, but if you don't have a solid nutrition plan you probably will not see the results you are aiming for. Lucky for you I have done some research to outline the five key points of nutrition and meal planning that will give you a solid ground-plan for your diet.

1) Try to Eat Six Times A Day

Fuel your body with snacks and smaller portioned meals frequently throughout the day to keep your metabolism constant and your blood sugar levels in check. Eating six small meals during the day is better for feeding and stimulating the growth of new muscle.

2) Limit Processed Foods

Basically if it has a brand name and comes from a package or box--don't eat it. These types of food hold little to no nutritional value and also boost high caloric values that will hinder your progress in the gym. Eliminate eating these types of food as much as possible.

3) Stay Hydrated

Sounds simple, but staying hydrated will increase your metabolism and keep you at peak performance in the gym. Avoid drinking sugar-laden drinks that will only add size to your waistline and sabotage your body's natural antioxidant system.

4) Consume Lean Protein Throughout the Day

Provide your body with stimulants for muscle growth while kick-starting the fat-burning process by consuming lean protein sources every few hours throughout the day. The best sources for this type of protein is found in beef, chicken, fish, low-fat dairy products, and soy.

5) Be Strategic with Carbohydrate Intake

Carbs come in two forms--starchy and non-starchy. The non-starchy variant is what is found in fruits and vegetables and is rarely a dietary problem; controlling starchy carbs, however, is the key the maintaining a lean and muscular body. These carbs are found in products such as bread, rice, and pasta. Be sure to eat these types of carbs either directly in the morning when your metabolism is starting up, or after a workout to be sure these carbohydrates are being used as an replenishing energy source right away.

Following these five guidelines will give you a base to start tracking out your diet plan. Regardless of what your fitness goals are, not eating is never the correct option and is even dangerous. A combination of putting the time in the gym and eating healthy amounts of food is the healthiest option and will have you looking your best this summer.

Plateau Busting!

In my last post I briefly described training plateaus and the frustrations they can cause. A training plateau can occur when one feels they are not making progress in muscle gain, strength increase, or just overall performance. The worst part about hitting a plateau is that it can be caused by a variety of reasons from over training, under training, eating too much, not eating enough, varying your workouts too much, or not varying your workouts enough!

When you hit a plateau you can do three different things: 1) Quit 2) Stick with your routine and be satisfied with minimal muscle growths 3) Try something different and break through the plateau. If you decide to choose the latter I have a couple of tips that will help you break through that plateau wall in no time!

1) Take a Planned Recovery Week of Rest
Most people don't associate muscle growth with rest, but that is exactly when muscle growth occurs. Growth doesn't occur when you are actually lifting weight, but rather the muscle is broken down during the lift and rebuilt when your body is in a resting state. With that being said, sometimes you might be overtraining and not giving your body enough time to rest for optimal muscle growth to occur. So if you feel like you have hit a plateau, be sure to give yourself a few days or even a full week of rest. This will allow your muscles to recover, and recharge you physically and mentality to get back on that lifting grind!

2) Changing Rep Types 
There are a few different types of ways to do reps and sets that will help you get over your plateau, here are a few:

Post-Failure Heavy Overloading Method

After your last set, rack the weight for 25-30 seconds and then pick up the weight again and do another small set of as many reps as you can. You may only get one or two more reps, but that is one or two more reps that will help you increase your strength and size.

Drop Sets

Pretty simple, start heavy and after every set drop down the weight and increase the reps. You will exhaust your muscle and achieve that famous "pump" feeling.

Force Assisted Rep Training

Another simple concept, as you beginning to struggle toward the end of your final set of a lift, have your spotter grab the weight and "assist" you in pressing out a few more reps. This will focus on working the "stabilizer" muscles around your key muscle groups, and that will in turn help you gain overall strength.

Using these tips you can quickly get over your plateau, but the key is implementing small changes. If you take the week of recover rest, don't go straight into the next week and using all 3 of the different rep types. Employ one of these techniques and vary the technique you use every few weeks. If you follow these strategies you will be busting through your plateau in no time!

Creatine: Are You Ready For It?

Through my fitness journey I have had many questions surrounding Creatine. I know that some of my friends take it, and that I've heard it's one of the best supplements to take for gaining muscle mass. With that being said, though, what exactly is Creatine and how does it work?

I did some research and discovered that (according to bodybuilding.com) Creatine is a nitrogenous organic derived from the amino acids glycerine, arginine, and methionine. What Creatine does is it allows you to have a longer and larger work volume and theoretically it allows you to "get one more rep." Basically, Creatine serves as a rapid fuel source for the muscles during a workout, which allows you lifter harder for longer. 

Creatine helps produce fat-free muscle mass, improves maximum strength and endurance, and increases anaerobic power and performance in activities such as sprinting, jumping, etc. The reason so much skepticism surrounds Creatine use is because not everyone agrees that it actually does this for your body, but it does not seem to have any adverse effects. So the question is, should you drop some extra bucks on this product? 

Well this depends where you might be in your workout progress. I recently order Creatine for the first time because I feel like I have "hit a wall" in my mass gaining. Now I'm sure I haven't really stopped gaining mass altogether, I just don't feel like I am making the same type of progress I was a few weeks ago. In the weight-lifting world they call these "plateaus," or times when the muscles are no longer shocked into growth and repair they way they used to be. 

There are a few ways to solve this problem. One is to do what I am, adding a new supplement to your regimen. I feel that Creatine will give my body an extra edge so I can start making more noticeable mass gains like before. If you aren't ready to take the leap to new supplements, however, you can try just varying your workouts to better shock and stimulate the muscle groups. Check back to my previous post about CrossFit training if you want to try this type of method. 

Like I said above, there are different ways to handle plateaus and the decision to use Creatine is your own. The advice I would give you is if you feel like you are ready to take the next step in lifting, I think Creatine or similar product would be the right fit for you. 

Shortcut to Size

There is no simple cure to being weak, but there are shortcuts to making maximum mass gains. One such shortcut is the one crafted by Jim Stoppani from bodybuilding.com. It is a 12 week program that involves the use of what he calls "microcycles." Basically these microcycles are weeks in which you address different body parts using different weights (lighter or heavier). Through these microcycles you are able to reap the benefits of both worlds when it comes to building muscle size and strength.

Basically the breakdown is this:

Monday-Chest and Triceps

Tuesday-Back and Biceps

Wednesday-Active Rest

Thursday-Shoulders

Friday-Legs

Saturday-Active Rest

Sunday-Active Rest

Microcycle Week 1: Light weight, high reps

Microcycle Week 2: Heavy weight, low reps

Microcycle Week 3: Heavy weight, low reps

Microcycle Week 4: Light weight, high reps

This pattern continues for a 12 week span to complete the program. I recently started doing this workout and I love not only the results I am seeing, but the way the workout fits into my schedule because you can break the workout in two parts and do them separately. This fits perfectly into my college schedule, and if you want maximum size gain in minimal time spent in the gym I would recommend this workout for you!

Pool Season: Adding in Cardio

It's that time of year again--the weather is heating up and the pools are opening, but are you ready to show off all your hard work in gym? If you have been lifting to bulk up but aren't quite seeing ripples and definition in your muscles yet you should try adding some running to your daily workout schedule.

I am a huge fan of running outside at night in during this lovely spring weather. Personally, I try to get between a 20 to 40 minute run in at night 3 to 4 times a week, and if you are looking to burn some fat and tone up your muscles I would recommend doing the same. You don't need to run incredibly long or hard,  just a nice consistent jog will be all you need. The important part is making sure you run at least 20 minutes a workout.

The body does not start tapping into the fat reserves for energy until after around 20 minutes of constant movement and cardio, so if you don't run at least 20 minutes than you are just burning the calories you consumed that day, not stored fat. A cardio exercise in your target heart rate zone for about 20-40 minutes will give you maximum results for fat burning. Anything below 20 minutes is not enough--going over 40 minutes can be just as detrimental though, and if you do it consistently you will see a reduction in your muscle size (not what you want if you're lifting add muscle bulk). 

Adding a quick set of abs right after you run can also help you target that problem mid-section as well. "Spot" fat reduction is not possible in the human body, but since your body is already in a fat-burning stage right after a run, doing abs as soon as your finish running will target areas in the midsection to help feed those particular muscle groups. Thus, you will be building muscle in your abdominal area while burning fat all at the same time! 

If you employ these methods 3-4 times a week I promise it will compliment all the weight lifting work you have been doing and really help you get that ripped look for pool season. As you lift more and your muscles get bigger, however, you won't have to do as much cardio because the more muscle you have the higher your metabolism will be at a resting rate. So in turn the more muscle you have, the more fat your body will burn on its own at a resting rate. 

Keep stopping by every week for more great tips to ad to your fitness plan that will have you looking your best for the upcoming summer! 

CrossFit Revolution

Don't have time for a long lifting session? Not a problem with great new fitness programs like CrossFit!

CrossFit is a personal fitness company that was founded in 2000. With over 3,400 gyms nation-wide, it has grown to be one of the most popular new forms of personal fitness. CrossFit  involves intense physical activity designed to shock muscle groups in ways other work-outs can't, and this is why it has grown in popularity. Many people don't actually own memberships to CrossFit  gyms, but do the daily workouts that the company posts on their website.

A Reebok CrossFit commercial featuring NFL receiver Chad Johnson.

Reebok is the leading sponsor for the "CrossFit Games," a professional

competition of CrossFit workouts where a world champion is crowned 

based on their workout performance. 

The top CrossFit  trainers in the world post their daily workouts on the website main-page everyday, and most (if not all) of the workouts take less than twenty minutes. CrossFit  training is a great alternative workout for those who want to build and carve defined muscle, as well as for those who are really busy and don't have much time to dedicate to working out. I have been trying these workouts for the past two weeks since I haven't had much time get in the gym for full lifts. The workouts are fast and intense and will leaving you feeling completely gassed, but it's a really satisfying feeling once you make it through the intensity at end and the results are great.

Even if you don't have any problems fitting workouts into your schedule I would recommend doing a few CrossFit workouts a week. They are great for burning away fat and increasing your overall strength, cardio, and athletic abilities. CrossFit  really is an innovation in personal fitness measurement, so checkout the website and join in on the revolution!