exercise
Tips to Help Lower Triglyceride Levels
Triglyceride levels above 200 milligrams per deciliter of blood are considered High by the American Heart Association. The February 2008 Harvard Heart Letter recommends lifestyle changes to promote healthy triglyceride levels.
They offer the following tips to help:
Beware of bad fats. Cut back on saturated fat (found in red meat and
full-fat dairy foods) and [...]
Adenylpyrophosphoric Acid Supplements Not Effective for Muscle Strength or Endurance
Some claims of adenylpyrophosphoric acid supplement mixtures include the following:
Directly increases levels of adenosine triphosphate (cellular energy)
Increases blood flow to muscle cells
Increases ATP by supplying direct precursor, cAMP
Increases testosterone production
Increases blood flow (for increased “pump”)
Increases oxygen efficiency
Significantly decreases fatigue
Allows for more efficient energy production during anaerobic activity
Facilitates fatty acid and amino acid conversion into muscle [...]
New Research on Insulin Resistance
Research at Duke University Medical Center believe that insulin resistance, which precedes type 2 diabetes, may stem from a “metabolic traffic jam” that blocks the body’s ability to switch between glucose and fat as energy sources.
Normal blood glucose (sugar) control depends on insulin, a hormone that’s released after eating that stimulates sugar uptake in muscles [...]
Branched-Chain Amino Acids
The branched-chain amino acids (leucine, isoleucine, and valine) constitute approx one-third of skeletal muscle protein. Research has shown that of the three branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), leucine plays the most significant role in stimulating protein synthesis. This suggests amino acid supplementation may be advantageous for the exercising individual.
A few studies have reported that [...]
Soy Protein May Not Be So Bad
It is often rumored that soy protein consumption causes increased testosterone in men.
Previous work has suggested that soy protein is preferentially directed towards the splanchnic region (soft tissue organs) and milk proteins (whey and casein) to the peripheral regions such as muscle tissues. When compared to soy proteins, milk proteins provide greater amounts of [...]
Cardio Workout
This will be my last workout post until I change my workouts. I don’t plan to do cardio on all non-weight training days; however, I will add it in as I have the time. I plan to do my cardio sessions as interval training after weight training.
I started off with 20 minutes of [...]
Saturday Morning Workout
Since I already posted the first half of my workout program, I figured that I would post the rest of it. I plan to alternate these two workouts 3-4 times per week for about 4 weeks.
Here is what I did this morning:
A) Deadlift: 3 sets of 10, 60 seconds rest between sets
Superset with full [...]
Yesterday’s Workout
I don’t plan to post my workouts often, but I figured some people may want to see what I have been up to. Last week was my first time in a gym in over 4 months. I had been working two jobs, and I just didn’t have the time or energy to get [...]
Protein Requirements and Sources
Currently, the US Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for protein in healthy adults is 0.8 g/kg (0.36 g/lb) of body weight per day. Unfortunately, this does not take into account exercise, which adds several levels of complexity. Some factors that need to be considered include protein quality, energy intake, carbohydrate intake, mode and intensity [...]
What is Muscle?
The Oxford Dictionary defines muscle as “a band of fibrous tissue in the body that has the ability to contract, producing movement in or maintaining the position of a part of the body”.
Humans have three different types of muscle fibers: Type I, Type IIA, and Type IIB.
Type I fibers are called slow twitch fibers [...]
