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Impress
your friends! Impress your family! These unique training
tidbits will improve your training, health and nutrition
knowledge instantly!
1.
Fit people tend to sweat more and sooner than unfit people.
Their bodies are more efficient at cooling.
2. When
people start training as a result of a New Year's
Resolution, 60% have quit by Valentine's Day.
3.
If your workout clothes smell like ammonia after a workout,
you're burning a lot of protein for fuel. Ammonia is a
byproduct of protein metabolism. This is not a good thing,
as burning protein means you may be burning your muscle
tissue for energy instead of carbohydrates or bodyfat. |
4. Men
tend to overestimate their strength while women tend to
underestimate their strength.
5. To
determine if your scale is correct, set a dumbell or a weight plate
on it. If the numbers don't match, try another weight and see if
it's off by the same amount. Adjust your scale accordingly.
6.
Sometimes a barbell exercise causes pain while the dumbell version
doesn't. This occurs most often with the bench press and the
shoulder press. Dumbell don't lock your joints into a certain
pattern of movement.
7.
There is no evidence to support the argument that machines are safer
than free weights, according to studies.
8. More
bodyparts overlap in upper body training than lower body training,
giving legs more recovery time. That's why you may continue to
progress in leg training while your upper body plateaus.
9.
High-level endurance training (e.g. marathon training) reduces
testosterone levels by 15 - 40%.
10.
Eating post-workout carbohydrates and protein increases Growth
Hormone levels.
11. Acclimation
to exercising in the heat can take about 10 to 14 days. For each two
days of not exercising in heat, one day of acclimation is lost.
12.
There is an indirect effect on other muscles when you work a muscle.
The bigger the muscle, the greater the carryover. This is one reason
you should not neglect leg training as the largest muscles in the
body are found in the legs and will have the greatest impact on the
rest of your body.
13. The
initial adaptation to weight training is neuromuscular (in the
nervous system). Your muscles are basically learning how to fire
efficiently. This is why beginning trainers are often very shaky
when they first start lifting weights. Their muscles haven't learned
how to activate properly.
14. Holding
your breath during an exercise to temporarily increase
intra-abdominal pressure is called the Valsalva maneuver. While it
can be effective in temporarily increasing strength and stability,
it can be very dangerous, especially if you have high blood
pressure. It is, with few exceptions, better to breathe while
lifting.
15.
Training intensity is properly measured as a percentage of a
person's One Rep Max (the most weight they can lift for a single
rep). A high intensity means a high percentage. It is technically
not a subjective measure of effort or facial expression.
16. The
best performances in strength competitions are seen in the afternoon
and early evening. This may be due to increased muscle temperature
later in the day. A lower temperature may increase endurance
however. Endurance training may therefore be more effective when
done in the morning.
17. Shorter
rest periods (less than 1 minute) will result in an increase in the
hormones related to muscle growth. However, lower rest periods will
result in decreased strength during your workout. You will get
hypertrophy (muscle growth) at the expense of strength.
18. The
intestine is the single largest receptor of Growth Hormone in the
body. This is why people who take frequent Growth Hormone injections
often have distended (bloated) abdomens. Natural levels of Growth
Hormone don't result in this effect.
19. After
a high volume of aerobic work, fast-twitch muscle fibers (the larger
more powerful fibers) can act like slow-twitch muscle fibers (the
smaller, more endurance-oriented fibers). This doesn't work the
other way, though. If your goal is to gain muscle, decrease the
frequency of your aerobic work. The converted fast-twitch muscles
can revert to their original form after about 4 to 8 months of
aerobic detraining.
20. The
hormone Insulin signals the body that there is enough sugar in the
blood to be burned for energy. This prevents the fat cells from
releasing fat. The hormone Glucagon, which unlocks fat stores, can't
be released when insulin is present.
21. The
number of fat cells in our body is predetermined by genetics,
however, prolonged overfeeding can cause fat cells to split into
more cells, especially during the teen years. The more you have, the
more you have available to fill up and the greater your potential
for obesity.
22. Men
have about 18 times higher levels of testosterone than women. Men
with higher natural testosterone levels gain muscle faster. People
who have a harder time gaining muscle have lower testosterone
levels.
23. The
more deficient you are in vitamins and minerals the more of an
effect you will notice from supplementation. Be careful not to
overdo it and take too much though.
24.
Strenuous exercise can double mineral loss. Increased sweating is a
major cause of this.
25. Vitamin
capsules are generally better than tablets as tablets can be
compressed so hard as to be indigestible.
26. Minerals
that enhance sleep, recovery, healing, regeneration and growth like
zinc and magnesium should be taken on an empty stomach before bed.
The body's maximum daily release of Growth Hormone occurs 90 minutes
into sleep. Zinc and magnesium may increase the effects of G.H. and
peak absorption of these minerals occurs after 90 minutes. Take
20-30 mg of zinc and 400-500mg of magnesium.
27. Sodium
and calcium are removed via the same mechanism in the body therefore
when you increase your sodium intake, your body strives to maintain
balance by excreting more sodium. When 1 molecule of sodium goes, it
takes a molecule of calcium with it. This can decrease bone mass in
the long term. If you have osteoporosis or wish to prevent it,
decrease your sodium intake.
28. Be
careful what you eat grapefruit with. Naringin (an enzyme found in
grapefruits - also called naringenin) may increase the power of some
drugs. It deactivates enzymes in your stomach that normally break
down drugs. When mixed with alcohol, test subjects ended up with
four times more alcohol in the blood.
29.
Canned grapefruit juice contains twice the naringin (see above) of
fresh grapefruit.
30.
Many people are overweight because they are malnourished. Their body
craves nutrients so they are hungry. What they eat doesn't supply
the nutrients they need so they are still hungry. Empty-calorie food
is the culprit.
31. 20%
of the calories in protein are used for digestion and assimilation.
8% of the calories of carbs are used. The number is only 2% for fat.
32.
Alcohol acts as a direct toxin to type 2 fast-twitch fibers, though
it doesn't affect slow twitch fibers much. It increases protein
breakdown and decreases IGF-1 levels in blood and muscles.
33. Alcohol
(even a little) before sleep inhibits Growth Hormone secretion by up
to 75%.
34.
Reduce your alcohol intake if you are interested in weight loss. One
bottle of wine equals one six pack of beer. It can add 625 to 1100
calories to your diet. It is also very easily stored as fat.
35. Two
bananas a day for a week can reduce blood pressure 10%, due to their
high potassium content.
About The Author
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Nick
Nilsson is Vice-President of the online personal training
company BetterU,
Inc. He has a Bachelor's degree in Physical
Education and Psychology with emphasis on biomechanics,
physiology and kinesiology. He has been inventing new
training techniques for more than 16 years.
Nick
is a personal trainer and the author of a number of
bodybuilding eBooks including "Metabolic Surge - Rapid
Fat Loss," "The Best Exercises You've Never Heard
Of," "Gluteus to the Maximus - Build a Bigger Butt
NOW!" and "The Best Abdominal Exercises You've
Never Heard Of" all available at: www.Fitness-eBooks.com
He can be contacted at betteru@fitstep.com |
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