When Is it the best time to have a protein Shake?

Many people ask this question a lot, when should i have my protein shake? and my answer to this question always depends on the persons work out regiment and diet. For example, I always recommend for people to do their cardio on an empty stomach early on in their day. Some people however, feel fatigued and may also experience dizziness due to hunger. For those circumstances i recommend having at least 25gr of whey protein 30 min before working out which will provide them with the feeling of fullness and will also fuel their muscles with some fast absorbed protein. Another question that often arises is when should i take my protein shake before or after i lift weights? both time frames are good, for as long you take it 30 minutes before or 30 minutes after the work out. The body has the ability to  create a protein pool so the amount of protein you ingest will be utilized eventually in the right moment. The key factor you want to take into account is how much protein you ingest on a daily bases which this number should be anywhere from 1 gram per body pound to 1.6grams per body pound depending on the intensity of your work outs and the amount of muscle you want to put on. I highly recommend using protein shakes as a supplement to your diet rather than a substitute, so always focus on eating your chicken, beef, fish, turkey etc and have the shakes at times when eating such meals would inhibit you from having an efficient work out.

The secret to toning

Lots of people ask how can i tone my body? or how can I convert fat into muscle? The truth is that fat can not be converted into muscle, it can only be utilized as energy to feed the needs of the body. So, first thing you need to understand is that if you are looking for more muscle definition you first have to burn the fat that surrounds the muscle. but the second step would be to tone and toning can happen simultaneously while burning fat. Toning is directly correlated to the density of the muscle. Remember the last time you felt someones arms and even though they were pretty relaxed they seemed to be flexed. The only way you can account for such an effect is to maximize the resistance training of that muscle. In other words there are no shortcuts, the more toned you want a certain muscle group to be the more you have to stimulate that muscle group. Over time you will start developing these things between your muscle fibers that are called cross bridges or cross links and these are the connections that allow your muscles to contract. So, you have one layer of your muscle fibers called myosin which binds onto another layer called actin as you see on the later slides. Myosin pulls actin towards the center, causing the muscle to contract. The interesting part is that over time of repetitive  resistance training, you will develop more cross links and hence create more dense muscles. Some of the cross-bridges will be constantly contracted, thus it will feel like you are flexing, which will account for the hardness of your muscles. A good example is your neck muscles, if you notice you don't have to put much effort to keep your neck up, because the muscle fibers of your neck are constantly flexed.

lyme disease

This post is in response to my friend Stephanie M Mejia  who is concerned about her friends condition. She asked what do you do when you have Lyme disease and what would be a good diet for someone suffering this disease?

First i want to specify that i am not a doctor and i can not talk about treating any kind of disease. And Lyme disease is definitely one of those conditions that Is definitely unable to be treated through dieting alone. So my first advise is to consult with a physician.

Some general advice about dieting, is to follow a gluten free, and a casein (milk protein) free diet, as well as low carbohydrate diet.

Some self help approaches are Colon hydrotherapy, Swedish sauna as warm/cold showers. It will help eliminate some of the toxins plus alleviate some of the symptoms.

Supplements: stick to a daily multivitamin and can have a mixture of fiber with Bentonite clay in the morning on an empty stomach to eliminate some of the toxins of the disease.

Pregnancy and weight loss

Many women are concerned about losing weight after pregnancy and although the feeling can be despairing, the methods to combat weight loss should not be any different than the average person trying to lose weight. One competitive advantage that pregnant woman have is breastfeeding which utilities about 500 calories per day. Yet the best approach to combat weight loss is through proper training, diet and supplementation. 

Training:
The best way to lose weight is to train 3 to 4 times a week about 1 hour to an hour and a half in the morning before breakfast. I guarantee you, you will be amazed by the results. If you cannot tolerate to train on an empty stomach and you feel dizzy, i recommend you have a high quality whey protein shake before work out about 25g of protein. Some of the best exercises are yoga, resistance training exercises with increased weight and slow motion for maximum toning as well as cardiovascular exercises; for example interval training which means running 1minute and jogging 2 minutes on intervals.


Diet:
Best foods to eat are low glycemic foods such as eggs, cottage cheese, chicken, fish, yogurt, nuts, peanut butter, greens, beans, avocado, turkey. Limit your intake of fruit, pasta, potatoes, bread including whole wheat, rice, corn and also many sauces that are high in sugar and sodium.

Supplements:
CLA 500 can be taken with food about 1000mg per serving 3 times a day for fat metabolism and stomach toning. Ultimate results will be achieved in 30-45 days.

Slimmetry: is another cool supplement that will help you increase your metabolism and curb your appetite for sweets. should be taken 30 min before meals, and at least 3 hours before you go to bed.

Carb Blockers: are good to be taken before any high sugar meal, if you decide to cheat on a meal, you can have 2 carb-blockers and it will eliminate 500 calories from carbohydrates.

Glucose health: will help you metabolize any fat protein and especially carbohydrates and the chromium in the supplement will help you burn more fat.

Rhodiola: if you have all the information but you lack the motivation, Rhodia is an awesome supplement, used by Russian athletes for training purposes. It helps with your motivation as well as your energy levels but it also assists in repair of muscles when injured due to training.

In addition if you are aiming for better helath you should always take you daily essentials which are your multivitamins and fish oil.

Is Sodium really bad for you?

Take the rumors with a grain of salt. there is a lot of pressure by medical association to lower dietary sodium, since it is linked to hypertension, strokes and deaths. However if you examine the Japanese diet, which has one of the highest sodium contents in the world also have one of the highest life expectancies. Sodium is actually extremely important for maintaining ultimate health, it is vitally important for maintaining blood pressure and for your nervous system function. In addition it is very important for your digestion one of the key components of digestion is hydrochloric acid and chlorine which is a key element of hydrochloric acid comes from dietary salt. My concern would not be that much the salt, but what kind of salt do you take and what foods you combine it with? the dangers of salt come from the refined salt or table salt that we eat and our food industry uses which has 2.5% toxins which puts a negative toll on your body. Lots of people have turned to sea salt thinking of it as as a better alternative, yet they do not consider the mercury content of the sea. The best salt in the market is unrefined Himalayan salt which comes from the Himalayan mountains. Now when it comes to refined foods you should definitely monitor sodium intake, make sure the sodium intake is less than the calories on the packet. i would however stay away from refined food overall since they use other taste enhancers such as GMO's to compensate for flavor, which are far worse. For bodybuilding purposes sodium does retain some water in your body but mainly when you combine it with a lot of sugary foods, So try not to have the two SS together. If you look at the typical body builder they keep their sodium levels high till a week before competition so their muscles can look round and full while they keep their sugars low and they reverse that the week of the competition to achieve the extra dry look.

What is CLA 500 and how does it work?

CLA 500 (conjugated linoleic acid) or as I describe it in my store as belly toner is a natural fat that is generally found in nature in small amounts and even larger amounts in grass fed beef and grass fed raw dairy products. It has been claimed that CLA supports fat loss and helps maintain muscle mass. So how does it do that? CLA keeps fat cells from getting big by blocking certain enzymes that let fat cells swell. Furthermore fat is being used as a fuel for the muscles instead of being stored and in doing so it prevents muscles from losing size. How much should you take? about 2grams daily. the other thing you need to note when you are taking CLA is to make sure it is from a high quality company since CLA is a fat and it can spoil pretty easy regardless of expiration date on package, which defeats the benefit.

true inspiration

Jimmy Is a close friend and a true inspiration to me. At the age of 42 he has developed a physique that is second to none. Jimmy is a true advocate of the sport of building and he shares some of his thoughts about a work out technique in a later post. scroll down to view!