In order to prep my body for a peak performance during a demanding early AM workout regimen, I will wake up and go directly to the kitchen for my pre-workout “cocktail” (protein shake). The rule of 25 In 25 (25 g. of protein within 25 minutes of waking up) is a way of life for me. When we wake in the mornings, our bodies have been on an 8-12 hour fast and as we wake our body begins to draw on an already empty fuel tank. This is a critical time of the day in that we must give our body the much needed proteins or it will produce cortisol and slip into a catabolic state. A protein shake or meal replacement is a perfect remedy for this. Below is an example of my morning “cocktail” regimen.

Pre-Workout Shake Dosage

Whey protein Isolate 35 g.

Mixed with 10 ounces 1% milk

BCAA’s 5 g.

Glutimine 5 g.

L-Arginine 1 ½ g.

Beta-Alanine 1 g.

Flaxseed (ground) 10 g.

Blue Berries (frozen) 35g. (about ¼ cup)

30 minutes Prior to My Workout

I will drink a pre-workout nitric oxide formula. I start the timer immediately upon drinking this one, because my body feels like it is ready to kick into high gear within 5-10 of consumption. Allowing 30 minutes for the ingredients to take full effect on the body is a must, not to mention If I step on the treadmill to soon, I will get a bit of a side ache from the fluid:

SuperPump Max 48 g.

Mixed in 12 ounces of water

1-1 ½ Hour into Workout

In the later portion of my workout, I will begin to drink my creatine cocktail that was already prepared in a small shaker bottle:

VoluGro (Creatine Monohydrate) 38 g.

Mixed in 10 ounces water

Immediately after I hae finished with my workout, I will return to the kitchen for my post-workout cocktail. This is another critical window where the body is demanding a fast acting protein and carbohydrate intake. Your body is depleted of energy source and your muscles will quickly absorb the carbs you ingest. Think of your body as having an empty fuel tank and your motor is running at a high RPM, even though you have finished your workout, you metabolism is charged to run.

Post-Workout Shake

High Protein Anabolic Gainer 75 g.

Mixed in 10 ounces of 1% milk

BCAA’s 5 g.

Glutimine 5 g.

L-Arginine 1 ½ g.

Beta-Alanine 1 g.

Blue Berries (frozen) 35g. (About ¼ cup)

As a general rule, I will repeat these two cocktails one more time each through the day, generally i will drink another whey protein mid to late afternoon and the high protein with a high carbohydrate complex late evening, prior to bedtime. This I will do along with a healthy diet of 3-6 square meals. Remember, protein builds muscle, carbohydrates fuel the muscle, and that tomorrow’s performance will be based on today’s loading of adequate nutrition.

While I do not recommend that everyone run out and break the bank buying all the components for these yummy cocktails. I do however recommend that you apply the “25 grams of protein within 25 minutes” rule (25 In 25), a healthy diet, and a minimum of 2 ½ -3 hours of working out a week. This is an excellent starting point to assess your body’s condition and build upon your short and long term fitness goals.

Consult with your Doctor about the application and usage of these supplements and cardio activities.

Beta-Alanine is an amino acid that promotes muscular energy that your body can utilize during an intense workout.  Whether you are involved in endurance training, or resistance training, beta-alanine may improve workout performance through muscular endurance and extra energy.  This product works at the cellular energy level working to buffer the muscle from fatigue that is felt during high intensity exercise;  It works by encouraging other amino acids into the muscle tissue.  When stacked with creatine, it enhances muscle growth and fat loss more so than creatine alone.  I add 1g in a powdered form to my pre and post workout shakes.

How this product benefits me.

• Increases aerobic endurance
• Increases exercise capacity, allowing to train harder and longer
• Boosts muscular anaerobic endurance
• Boosts explosive strength and power output
• Increases muscle mass

Consult with your Doctor about the application and usage of this supplement.

Branch-chain amino acids (BCAAs) include the amino acids luecine, isoleucine and valine.  These three aminos are essential for muscle growth, and they are an important energy source for muscle during exercise.  Leucine is particularly critical, as it has been found to be the key that turns on the process of growth in muscle cells.  These BCAAs are used directly by the muscle for fuel during workouts, sparing muscle BCAAs from being broken down as fuel.  Additionally, BCAAs inhibit cortisol, which interferes with testosterone’s levels and its anabolic functions in the body.

BCAAs are considered to be the building blocks for muscle growth.  They will be found in most all protein formulas, ranging from 2-5g.  Dosing ranges from 10-20g.  There are a variety of ways that you may supplement with BCAAs such as fruit flavored powder form, flavorless powder, capsules, even in the matrix of many vitamins.   I supplement my protein shakes with an additional 5g that comes in a flavorless powdered form manufactured by Optimum Nutrition (ON).  I have found ON to offer the best pricing for this supplement.

Consult with your Doctor about the application and usage of this supplement.

Creatine is a nitrogenous organic acid that occurs naturally in the body and helps to supply energy to all cells in the body, primarily muscle, by increasing the formation of adenosine triphosphate (ATP).  Our bodies naturally produce creatine from amino acids primarily in the liver, pancreas and kidneys.  It is then transported in the blood for use my muscles.    Most people only store about 60-80 percent of their potential creatine leels.  Studies have shown that supplimenting with creatine enables individuals to elevate their creatine stores an average of 30 percent.  This additional creatine gives the body the necessary ingredients to produce more adensine triphosphate (ATP) during the creatine kinase process and to ultimately generate more work.  In short-More work equals more muscle stimulation and more muscle stimulation equals greater muscle size.  Creatine does for the body builder what carbohydrate loading does for the long-distance runner:  It provides more energy-producing materials, which provides more work to be generated.

Creatine can be found in various forms:  Creatine Monohydrate, Creatine Ethyl Ester and Creatine Magnesium Chelate.

Creatine can be found in the supplement list of some proteins blends ranging from 2-5 g.  It will however be found in the matrix of most all nitric oxide pre-workout boosters, again ranging from 2-5g.  Some charts will suggest a dosage as high as 20g per day.  I would start out in the range of 2-5 g to see what your body’s tolerance level is.  Many manufactures have you loading with double doses.  It is my experience that the timing of loading was more important than their recommendations of doubling up.

A quick Google search on this supplement 9creatine) will give you scores of reading material on which product renders best results, their studies and suggested applications.  Having worked with multiple brands, I have found the claims of increased performance to not only be true, but very beneficial in building more muscle.

I am currently using Nutrix Research’s Volu Gro, a creatine monohydrate blended with a waxy maze starch which acts as an accelerant in the transport of creatine.  Since using the Volu Gro, I noticed a huge difference in my body’s ability to process and utilize creatine.

If you choose to supplement with creatine, make sure to hydrate well.

Consult with your Doctor about the application and usage of this supplement.

Arginine is an amino acid, L form being one of the most common.  In fitness, arginine is taken mainly for its ability to boost nitric oxide (NO) production.  This is what gives you the feeling of an enhanced pump, the engorged muscle tissue and veiny look that most hard training guys work for.  This effect is due to the increased blood flow that NO provides.  The greater blood flow not only enhances your muscle pump, but it also delivers more oxygen, nutrients and anabolic hormones to your muscles.  In addition, arginine boosts growth hormone (GH).  GH is important for muscle growth and strength, as well as fat loss.

Function

Arginine plays an important role in cell division, the healing of wounds, removing ammonia from the body, immune function, and the release of hormones.  Arginine is the immediate precursor of nitric oxide (NO); is necessary for the synthesis of creatine, and promotes vasodilation.

• Precursor for the synthesis of nitric oxide (NO)
• Reduces healing time of injuries (particularly bone)
• Quickens repair time of damaged tissue
• Helps decrease blood pressure

Most quality proteins have arginine in them, generally 2-3g.  Additionally I supplement my protein shakes with 1-1.5 g of powder form, for a total of 10-12g combine.  Arginine brings a noticeable difference to my workout regimen and felt recovery time.  I cycle arginine at 6 months intervals (taken for 5 months followed by one month off).

Consult with your Doctor about the application and usage of this supplement.

L-Arginine>>>CLICK HERE

BCAAs>>>  CLICK HERE

Beta-Alanine>>>  CLICK HERE

Creatine>>> CLICK HERE

Learn more about heart rate basics and use these heart rate charts to help you understand and improve your overall cardio fitness. Understanding the different types of heart rates and what they represent, you can measure your overall cardio heart health.

Knowing how to measure a maximum heart rate, and understanding how a target your heart rate zone while exercising can set the stage for successful weight loss, get the maximum benefits of any exercise regime and ultimately help you to understand the overall health of your heart.

Q: What is a heart rate?

A: The average number of heart beats per minute; a heart beat is when the heart contracts to pump blood thru your system.

Q: What is a resting heart rate?

A: Resting heart rate is the number of beats in one minute while you are at a complete rest state. Your resting heart rate indicates your basic overall heart health and fitness level. The more conditioned your body is, the less effort it needs to make to pump blood thru your body.

Q: What is a recovery heart rate?

A: This is the heart rate your body will drop to after two minutes, after stopping an exercise session. For instance you exercised for 30 minutes and your heart rate was at 155. Two minutes after you stopped exercising, your heart rate then decreased to 95. This recovery heart rate measure helps to evaluate your overall heart fitness level. Use this measurement to compare between exercise sessions

Q: What is a maximum heart rate?

A: A maximum heart rate (Max HR) is the highest number of beats your heart contracts during a one minute measurement. Max HR is a useful tool to measure training intensities and typically is used to measure or predict the level of exercise. It’s always good to measure your Max HR while doing exercises to ensure you stay within a safe range or use it to measure if the exercise is actually working well enough to raise your heart rate to acceptable ranges and levels.

Q: How do I measure a Max HR?

A: The best method of determining your individual maximum heart rate is to be clinically tested and monitored on a treadmill. This is called a treadmill stress testing and is done by a cardiologist or certified physical therapist. Based on your age and physical condition, a formula is used to predict your Max HR. The other method is by using an age-predicted maximum heart rate formula:

WOMEN: 226 – your age = age-adjusted Max HR
MEN: 220 – your age = age-adjusted Max HR

Example: If you are a 30-year-old woman, your age-adjusted maximum heart rate is 226- 30 years = 196 bpm (beats per minute).

*note that this formula allows you to estimate your Max HR. Be sure to consult with your exercise trainer and doctors for the most effective rates that are customized to your health.

Q: What is your heart rate reserve?

A: The heart rate reserve is the difference between your Max HR and your Resting HR. For instance, if your Max HR is 150 bpm and your resting HR is 65, this means your heart rate reserve is 95. (150 – 65 = 95)

Q: What is a safe heart rate?

A: Your “safe heart rate” is a heart rate that is prescribed to help moderate and supervise your exercise training so that you don’t overdo it. This range is typically about 60% of the maximum heart rate and helps to reduce the amount of stress on the heart while gaining good effects of exercise. This is especially important if you have a heart condition or just starting an exercise regime.

Q: What is a target zone?

A: A target zone is a heart rate range that helps you maintain an intensity level while you work out. There are different target zones for different types of athletes and levels of exercise you are following. Target zones typically correspond with a specific exercise goal and helps to effectively grade if an exercise is actually working for you or overworking you.

Select which level represents your physical condition and then locate the Heart Rate Zones for your age from the Target Heart Rate Chart. For Example: if you want to burn fat to lose weight, select your favorite exercise and keep within 60-70% of your maximum heart rate, based on your age, for at least 30 minutes a day, 3 times a week.

Printable Version>>>  CLICK HERE

_____________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________