The Basics for Having A Healthy And Fit Body

Outlining macro/micro-nutrients roles

Athletes are always seeking new methods to enhance their performance and define their muscle shape and volume weather it was purely natural or in some ways synthesized. Scientists didn’t miss a chance to study the relation between food and its main components and how it affects muscle growth, and they found that the ratios and the amounts of macronutrients and micronutrients are much more important and relevant than the total caloric intake. Macronutrients are basically carbs, proteins and fats. While micronutrients are the vitamins and minerals. Our body organs and muscles need certain amount of each one of these components to function and grow in a healthy manner.

Macronutrients

Taking a quick glance into the macronutrients role in athlete’s performance, we will find that carbohydrate is the main playing character in extending the duration of the exercise and recovering the muscle when it’s tired and overworked. On the other hand, protein is highly needed especially during strength exercises. Athletes work on increasing the muscle size and protein is the building blocks for the muscle tissue. However, the fact that athletes need protein to build their muscles doesn’t mean that they need a huge amount of amino acid supplements or imaginary amounts of protein intake, as that can be truly dangerous so the body. 1.00-1.2g / kg of body weight is more than enough for an athlete which can be attained by healthy and balanced diet plan.

Micronutrients

When we talk about athletes and nutrition needs we can’t ignore the role of micronutrients which are the constructer and the conditioner for a strong and healthy muscles. Vitamin C for example protects the muscle cells from damages, Magnesium for strong heart muscle and many more from vitamins and minerals each has its own critical role in pumping up a healthy muscle and an organ in the body.

In conclusion an athlete needs to have balance between energy consumption and Macro and micronutrients intake to provide the best environment for the muscle to grow, in a healthy body where everything is functioning optimally. Finally, I have created a short survey, because of my keen interest in knowing your diet and exercising habits. By completing this survey, I will have a good knowledge about you guys and I’ll be able to know who is more into my blog and how I can assist you more and provide you with more helpful and suitable information in my future posts. It will take no more than 5 minutes to complete. Click here to go to the survey.

Give your back to all the BS

6 Health and Fitness Myths, Debunked

In the health and fitness world, there exist a sea of widely spread myths that we often hear about from people the moment we tell them that we started going to the gym, or that we are committed to a healthy lifestyle with some sort of physical activity, especially weight lifting. Bellow I will be explaining 6 common myths that I see spreading around in about every conversation regarding health and fitness. Being informed about the facts that makes these fictions invalid makes it easier for you to plan your fitness journey in a clean manner, free of all the false clutter that is surrounding it.

Fat and unhealthy – Slim and Fit

Not every fat individual is unhealthy, nor is every slim person fit. A study was done proving that a fat person could have a healthy functioning body with no blood pressure or diabetes. While a slim one can have high cholesterol and an abnormal blood pressure. It all depends on how physically active you are, and more importantly the type of food you throw into your stomach, even if you don’t plan on losing weight, these two things are in fact crucial for everyone.

You need to go to the gym to get fit

Many people rely on a Gym membership in order to stick to a healthy lifestyle and claim that they are not able to exercise without a good Gym. This is one of the most common myths that we do not seem to be able to get rid of. There is almost an infinite number of physical activities that you can do out of the gym and without having to pay a single dime, and people living in this century are lucky enough to have things like the Internet and YouTube were they can find the most suitable routine of physical activity to suit their lifestyle and needs, and in the way they desire. One of the best examples I can give and highly recommend as a workout away from the gym is HIIT, and I have made an entire post to specifically emphasize the significance and the importance about HIIT so I recommend you to go and take a look at it.

No pain, no gain

It is very normal to feel some stiffness or have difficulties moving around due to tired muscles. Especially a day after your workout. However, struggling with pain during and/or after your workout is far from normal as that pain could be an indicator of a damage happening to your joints and bones. Also serious issues as a result of lifting weights could be the reason behind this pain. A backache for example could be a symptom of a back problem and an exercise of any kind could be dangerous in such situations. 

Muscles will turn to fat when I stop weight lifting

The only way for muscles to turn into fat is magic, as they are two different things in our bodies. It is okay to take some time off after you have gained a decent amount of muscle mass. That is not going to turn your muscles into fat and gain weight, instead it is going to help your muscles to heal and refuel, and the moment you start after your break you will feel more energized because of the rest you took.  The only thing that you will have to make sure you do is eat less than when you used to lift weights. Because you are technically burn less calories when you the level of your activity drops. However, the break shouldn’t be too long, otherwise your muscles will start to shrink as prolonged inactivity sends a message to our brain that we no more need this mass because we are no more creating that sort of resistance when we lift weights that causes our muscles to grow. It’s a natural adaptation mechanism in our bodies.

Working out? Eat whatever you want.

Eating healthy and working out goes hand in hand for maintaining a healthy fit body. You cannot be eating 3 slices of pizza, 2 burgers, shakes, chips and chocolate with exercise and expect to have your weight going down. No matter how much you burn on your workout it will not be enough to burn half of what you ate. The only correct way of losing weight is by working out and eating moderately in order to see results.

Best workouts are in the morning.

It does not matter when you do your workout. A morning workout would be a necessity if you work in an army for example, otherwise you don’t have to restrict yourself to working out in the morning because you think or were told that workout timing is a big deal. Free time is hard to find nowadays as life is getting more and more competitive and more demanding of our time. You have the flexibility to initiate your workout whenever you feel comfortable and free. And you will burn the same amount of fat and build the same amount 
of muscle regardless if you were working out morning or even midnight. 

High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT): One of The Best Training Exercises of all time!

Training of the steadfast!

When most people think of doing physical training and adding it to their daily life routines, for a variety of reasons, such as fat burning, overall health and well-being and muscle mass building. What immediately comes to their minds is the things that we normally see in the traditional gyms (treadmills, steady bicycles, weight machines, free weights etc...). But then most people feel like they are too busy (an excuse!) to follow a training schedule, attending the gym every other day and being committed (yeah... I still agree it's somewhat boring). So even though it happens that many people at some point of their lifetime end up paying for a membership in the gym and start the first days pushing themselves really hard and doing well. Yet before the month ends and they already have decided to quit. This is a reality that I have seen and experienced in most people within and out of my friends circle. Today, I am here to present and introduce you to the solution of your excuses and unstoppable laziness (yeah you can curse me now for being honest with you Mr. Lazy). It's something called High Intensity Interval Training, or HIIT.

What is High intensity interval training HIIT?
High intensity interval training is simply an intermittent training, done with a great deal of intensity for a period of time with rests in between. You basically do an intense physical effort for a short period of time (mostly less than 3 minutes) and then you rest for half or less of that time which you were active during (or you can do a very light effort to keep the blood flowing and regenerate your energy faster), and then you repeat the same cycle for few more times. This can be done in as short as 10 minutes and up to 30 minutes. Now I know some might think what can a 10 minutes of working out do or how can that be impactful on my health and physique. I suggest you to go and read more in-depth about HIIT, search on Google and YouTube and I assure you that you will find so many information, testimonials and scientific evidences that will literally blow your mind and convince the heck out of you to go and give it a shot yourself.


What makes HIIT a powerful exercise?
High intensity interval training comes with a whole lots of benefits. That of which you were looking for and that of which you might not have thought of and expected, out of such a seemingly simple 10-minute exercise (not that you are able to catch your breath during it anyway), the benefits are significant. Here are some of the most important ones;-

It increases your metabolism: High intensity interval training forces your body to consume high amounts of oxygen due to the great intensity, and that results in a great metabolism boost that lasts for up to 48 hours, and so you will be burning calories even after you have finished your actual exercise.

Burn more fat with less time: As time passes, more and more studies are showing that an HIIT session is much more effective and efficient in burning fat than steady state cardio and other medium/low intensity workouts. What’s even better is that you spend significantly less amount of time on an HIIT workout session than on other common workouts to burn the same amount of fat, and yet you keep on burning more fat post-workout in HIIT and so you burn more fat overall with considerably less amount of time.

An endurance boost: Doing your interval workout with intensity can increase your overall health and endurance according to a study in PLOS ONE, and that was seen through observing the increase in the amount of mitochondria, which aids in fueling your body and brain. Moreover, an improvement in blood pressure which helps in preventing diseases. And that improvement in endurance will stay with you and serve you during your less intense workouts and anything that requires physical effort.

Have a healthy heart: High intensity interval training increases the flexibility and elasticity of your blood vessels. Moreover, it's safer than other medium intensity exercises according to one study findings.


No equipment needed: One of the biggest advantages that HIIT exercise has, is that you don't need any equipment. Not even free weights. In HIIT you are fully reliant on your body weight as the main focus is on elevating your heart and making your body reach its maximal output. In addition to that, you retain your muscles. In fact, your muscle mass will actually increase from this kind of intense training, and you will be amazed by the results within the first few weeks.



Sample workout of HIIT training
High intensity interval training is something really creative in its nature. You can literally invent your own way of doing it. There are countless ways and movements that you can combine together and do intermittently, forming it into your own personalized HIIT workout. Depending on your physical capabilities and the space where you are going to perform your sessions. You can even do it at home, even if you room was tiny. The internet in general and specifically YouTube is full of videos and training schemes of different movements and combinations of HIIT. However, there is a specific video on YouTube for a guy called Mike Chang who i truly admire and highly respect for his  consisted work and effort. And i recommend you all to watch it as an example of how it’s like to do HIIT with minimal standards (Small room, absolutely no supporting equipment, simple combination of movements). This video was specially done by him to be easily digested by the beginners and those who didn't hear about HIIT before. I hope that it will be helpful to you. And now I’ll leave you with the video to watch, enjoy ;).

Benefits of Combining Diet and Fitness

By Karen Frazier

Diet Advisor

A true combination!

Medical experts recommend combining diet and fitness as the best possible path to good health. Choosing nutritious foods and exercising regularly helps you maintain a healthy weight, promotes weight loss, and provides the basis for cardiovascular fitness. So essential is this combination for good health that the American Heart Association and the American Diabetes Association recommend combined diet and fitness as the primary disease prevention and management tool.

Benefits of Combining Diet and Fitness

In the USDA's 2010 Dietary Guidelines, the agency suggests a combination of diet and exercise to achieve optimal health. It's a simple formula that's been around for decades: healthy diet plus regular exercise equals a healthier you. When you exercise and eat right, your body functions well because it receives the nutrients it needs to thrive, along with physical activity to improve strength, endurance, body composition, and cardiovascular health. What are the benefits of combining exercise and diet?

• The ability to achieve or maintain a healthy body weight
• A thinner appearance with better muscle tone
• Increased vigor and energy
• Reduced risk of many chronic diseases, including hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, and certain cancers
• Increased insulin sensitivity, which can help stave off weight gain, metabolic syndrome, and type 2 diabetes
• Improved blood lipid profiles including cholesterol and triglycerides
• Improved immunity
• Better sleep
• Reduced stress

Diet and Exercise Synergy

For years, nutrition experts have recommended controlling calories for weight loss and maintenance. To do so, they recommend balancing calories in versus calories out. Food contains calories, which are units of energy your body derives from the things you eat. In the calorie model of weight control, when you eat more calories than you burn via your body's basic processes and activity levels, you gain weight. When you burn more calories than you consume, you lose it.

Adding regular exercise increases energy expenditure, which either increases the amount of food you can eat without gaining weight, or reduces the number of calories you need to reduce to lose it. At the same time, exercise helps generate an additional metabolic advantage, as well. When you exercise, you build muscle mass, which utilizes more fuel than fat. One caveat to this, however, is that people tend to overestimate the metabolic advantage and caloric burn gained from exercise, and they overcompensate by eating more. According to the caloric hypothesis, in order to lose weight successfully by combining diet and exercise, you need to avoid overcompensating for exercise energy expenditures with additional food intake.

Healthy Diet Defined

How do you know if you are eating a healthy diet? ChooseMyPlate.gov provides a tool for determining what constitutes a healthy diet for you based on your height, weight, age, and gender. In general, a healthy diet consists of:

• Whole grains, nuts and legumes
• A variety of fruits and vegetables across the spectrum of color
• Lean proteins and low-fat dairy
• Small amounts of healthy fats including omega-3, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats
• Adequate water intake of at least 64 ounces per day
• Limitation of sugar, artificial ingredients, and added sodium

Fitness Defined

Achieving fitness encompasses all five components of physical fitness, including muscular strength and endurance, cardiovascular endurance, healthy body composition, and flexibility. An effective fitness plan balances all of these, and should include:

• Aerobic activity in your target heart rate zone at least 30 minutes per day most days per week
• Strength training activity that works all of your major muscle groups two to three times per week
• Stretching

Achieving Health

By putting both diet and exercise together, you can obtain good health. Many people try fad diets that bring about quick weight loss, and assume because they have lost the weight, they do not need to exercise. You can lose weight or be naturally thin without being fit. Likewise, you can be strong and have good cardiovascular health and maintain an unhealthy diet. It is the combination of the two, however, that propels you forward to overall better health, more energy, and disease prevention.