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Agreed. Whey protein is perhaps the most popular bodybuilding and fitness supplement out there, and it's a great way to streamline your diet and make it easier to hit your overall daily protein needs. However, many people shy away from protein powders under the assumption that consuming "real food" is superior in some way…
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Yes, creatine does lead to an increase in total water weight, however, that water is stored directly inside the muscle cell itself and not underneath the skin. For that reason, creatine shouldn't cause you to appear soft or bloated. If anything, creatine should lead to an increase in overall muscle definition and hardness.…
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To put it simply, yes, you should continue supplementing with creatine whether your goal is to build muscle or to burn fat. Many people wonder, "does creatine burn fat", and although it doesn't enhance fat loss directly, it will allow you to maintain as much lean muscle and strength as possible while you lean down.…
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Well to put it simple, creatine is the single most powerful natural muscle building compound in existence. It's backed up by endless piles of research demonstrating its positive effects on training performance and lean muscle growth, and in my opinion should definitely be included in any supplement plan aiming to maximize…
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If you're aiming to bulk up and gain some weight and strength but have a tough time getting in enough calories each day, mass gainer shakes are a great way to help you meet your needs. However, most commercial weight gain shakes that you purchase in stores are not going to be the ideal choice. Most are low in overall…
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Your body cannot recognize individual food items as separate entities. It doesn't say “that’s a chicken breast, that’s an apple and that’s a cup of rice”. It only sees the complete diet as a whole – the total protein, carbs, fats and micronutrients that you consume each day. As long as the majority (around 80-90%) of your…
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Aim to get 80-90% of your diet from high quality proteins, carbs and healthy fats, and then the other 10-20% can come from whatever food you like as long as it fits into your daiy calorie/macronutrient totals.
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Create a small calorie surplus and focus on building muscle at a gradual pace. 15-20% above your maintenance level is a good guideline. Aimlessly stuffing more food down your throat is not going to help you build muscle faster, since your body can only synthesize a limited amount of lean tissue in a given day. Any excess…
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Some tips if you feel hungry while cutting or dieting: 1 - Maintain only a small 15-20% calorie deficit and focus on losing about 1-2 pounds of fat per week. 2 - Consume 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight daily. Protein is the most filling macronutrient and is the most useful for reducing appetite. 3 - Get at least…
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A cutting phase can continue for whatever length of time is necessary for any individual to reach their desired level of leanness, or until they simply want to shift gears and add some muscle mass based on their personal preference of how they want to look. Again, depending on the person, the time frame for this could vary…
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Optimal refeed day frequency will vary from person to person and depends on several factors. The leaner you are and the longer you’ve been in a calorie deficit, the more frequently you’ll likely want to refeed since the effects of the diet will be more severe on your body. On the other hand, beginners with higher body fat…
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Hell yeahh...
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High potassium foods: Beans Apricots Dark leafy greens Yogurt Banana Potato Avocado Squash Mushrooms Salmon
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Make sure that you only create a slight deficit and focus on burning fat at a gradual pace. This will ensure that you lose fat, not muscle, and maintain as much of your strength as possible. A 15-20% deficit below your maintenance level is a good guideline to follow. This will allow you to lose about 1-2 pounds of fat a…
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The key to figuring out the optimal range in terms of calories for muscle gain is to create a surplus that is big enough to maximize growth, but also small enough that you don't put on an excessive amount of body fat. A reliable guideline for daily calories to build muscle is to find your calorie maintenance level and then…
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Then I say the more gradual, the better :)
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I suggest you only create a slight deficit and focus on burning fat at a gradual pace. This will ensure that you lose fat, not muscle, and maintain as much of your strength as possible (assuming you are weight training). A 15-20% deficit below your maintenance level is a good guideline to follow. This will allow you to…
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If you’re truly serious about transforming your body in the fastest and most efficient way possible, proper dietary tracking is key. This will ensure that you're maintaining a proper calorie deficit that lands in the proper range based on your goal, as well as an effective macronutrient breakdown to optimize body…
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Whey.
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Well, given that proper nutrition is all about the big picture, there really is no such thing as a "cheat meal" or "cheat food" or "cheat day" as long as the bulk of your diet is based around nutrient dense, minimally processed foods. I don't think about my diet in terms of individual food items, I look at it as one…
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Correct, if you really want to maximize the visible definition of your abs, then yes, direct ab training will be necessary. Big compound lifts like squats and deadlifts will not be enough to develop the rectus abdominus (the "six pack muscles") to their full potential as some people claim, and isolated exercises like…
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Calgary B)
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It doesn’t matter how “healthy” or how “clean” you eat – go overboard on total calories and you aren’t going to lose an ounce of fat, period. Bodybuilding is just a numbers game.
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Well, always keep in mind that any time you try to add a significant amount of muscle to your body, you're always going to gain some body fat along with it. This is just an inevitable result of remaining in a calorie surplus over time and there's really no way around it. If you want to gain more muscle mass, just continue…
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The bottom line for fat loss is that you maintain a net calorie deficit over time, so whatever particular cutting diet plan allows you to accomplish that is ultimately going to be successful. Just make sure you get the fundamentals down first (sufficient intake of protein, fat, fiber and micronutrients), and then lay out…
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Well, when it really all comes down to it, carbs are just sugar. Whether you drink a grande Starbucks Mocha Frappuccino with extra whipping cream or you eat a bowl of brown rice, it all gets broken down into the simple form of glucose one way or another. So in that sense, a carbohydrate is a carbohydrate because the end…
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No matter what type of carbohydrate rich food you eat, in the end it will always be broken down into its simplest form of glucose. At the end of the day, a carb is a carb. The only real difference is in how those carbs are "packaged up". Some are found in high fiber, micronutrient dense sources, while others are found in…
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Totally disagree and very misleading. Fat loss/fat gain is determined by your overall net energy balance. As long as your total calorie intake remains constant, it makes no difference whether you burn/store more fat earlier in the day or burn/store more fat later in the day. The net result will be the same regardless of…
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In addition to my post earlier. Let me just be more detailed. Yes, it’s perfectly possible to make noteworthy gains in strength without any real size gains to go along with it. In simple terms, your body can produce gains in strength in two primary ways… The first is through muscular hypertrophy, or growth.This refers to…
