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If you spend an hour examining the packed shelves of a supplement store, you are more likely to walk away with a headache and empty pockets than a useful supplement. It is impossible to distinguish between supplements that build mass and those that build only debt without reliable nutrition and supplement information. Some supplements are useful but must be taken in appropriate quantities at the proper times.

research supports the notion that meal timing around exercise increases the amount of lean mass gained. In one study, researchers supplemented two groups of men with the same supplement, except one group got the supplement immediately before and after resistance training; the other group received the supplement several hours before and after working out(1). The group that received the supplement immediately before and after the workout gained significantly more lean mass than the group that did not practice good nutrient timing.

The most important part of building lean mass is eating extra calories. The extra calories should come from high quality protein, carbohydrates and fat, primarily before and after workouts.

Before a Workout-

protein:

Generally, protein supplementation enhances lean mass gain during periods of resistance training-- thousands of studies support this conclusion. A study conducted at Baylor University in young men showed a significant increase in muscle mass with about 40 grams of protein supplementation per day (2). Before a work-out, whey protein, casein protein or mixed protein sources (like whey and casein/egg and whey).

Supplement with 0.5 grams/kg of protein before your workout.

BCAA:

The branched chain amino acids include leucine, isoleucine, and valine. All of these amino acids (the smallest units of protein), and leucine especially, increase the rate of muscle building and decrease the rate of muscle break down (3,4). Hence, BCAA supplementation before and after weight-lifting allows for an anabolic effect on protein metabolism.

Experts recommend 3-6 grams of BCAAs before and after workouts; take about 3 grams for each 50 kg of body mass. A pure BCAA powder is the most ecomical way to take this supplement; one rounded teaspoon is about 5 grams. A container containing 500g should cost you about $22-30 and should last about 2 months, depending on your weight.

Carbohydrates:

Carbohydrates are an important fuel source; lower glycemic or "slower" carbohydrates should be consumed before a workout. Good examples are oats and berries.

Consume about 0.5 grams/kg of carbohydrates before your workout.

Creatine:

Numerous studies have been published showing the benefits of creatine supplementation for increased lean mass and strength. One study showed about twice as much lean mass gain for men taking creatine over the placebo group when completing the same resistance training program (5). In this study the men supplemented with 20 grams/day during a one week loading phase and 5 grams/day for the rest of the twelve week study for maintainance. If you choose to do a loading phase, be sure to split the creatine up into 4 or 5 doses throughout the day to minimize stomach upset.

Creatine monohydrate is the form of creatine that has been studied the most and has been proven effective in research; 500g should not cost more than $15. Furthermore, there is evidence that creatine is absorbed better with high-glycemic carbohydrates; bananas and juice are good natural sources of sugar.

Example of a Good Pre-work Out Shake for a 170 lb Man (taken 30-45 minutes before the workout begins): 1- 1.5 oz (scoops) casein protein, 2 Tbsp oats, 1 medium banana (in chunks, frozen for a thicker shake), 5 grams BCAAs, 7 g Creatine Monohydrate, ice or water as desired

Immediately After a Workout-

Carbohydrates:

Quick-absorbing carbohydrates are important after a workout for a number of reasons. First of all, the enzymes responsible for glycogen synthesis are upregulated immediately after resistance training. Glycogen, which is made in the body from sugar, is a major carbohydrate fuel for weight-training. As such, it is important to get your post-work out shake into your body as quickly as possible after a workout. Additionally, the high-glycemic carbohydrates stimulate the release of the anabolic hormone insulin, which aids in muscle recovery and growth.

Comsume at least 0.5 grams/kg of high-glycemic carbohydrate after a workout when you are trying to gain lean mass. Bananas and honey are both good choices after a work-out.

protein:

Whey protein is quickly absorbed and has an overall anabolic effect on muscle, as demonstrated in a study of young males (6). In this study the men who supplemented with whey protein and creatine increased their strength to the greatest degree; those who supplemented only with whey (1.2 g/kg/day) also improved significantly more than the placebo group.

Supplement with 0.5 grams/kg of whey protein after your workout.

BCAA:

The rationale is the same as the above; take 3-6 grams in a post-work out shake.

Example of a Good Pre-work Out Shake for a 170 lb Man: 1.5 oz (scoops) whey protein, 1.5 medium bananas (in chunks, frozen for a thicker shake), 5 grams BCAAs, ice or water as desired

*Do not add a fat source to your post-workout shake. Fat delays the emptying of stomach contents into the small intestine; you want the nutrients to reach your small intestine as quickly as possible*

You gain improve your gains with smart and consistent use of sports supplements. Though the supplements above are by no means an exhaustive list of all useful supplements, the most important and useful and effective ergogenic aids were included. When you are training to add lean mass, be sure to fuel your workouts 1) take your pre-workout supplements 30-45 minutes before you begin training; and 2) take your post-workout supplements within 30 minutes of completing your resistance training.

1. Cribb PJ, Hayes A. Effects of supplement timing and resistance exercise on skeletal muscle hypertrophy. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2006 Nov;38(11):1918-25.

2. Kerksick CM, Rasmussen CJ, Lancaster SL, Magu B, smith P, Melton C, Greenwood M, Almada AL, Earnest CP, Kreider RB. The effects of protein and amino acid supplementation on performance and training adaptations during ten weeks of resistance training. J Strength Cond Res. 2006 Aug;20(3):643-53.

3. Blomstrand E, Eliasson J, Karlsson HK, Kohnke R. Branched-chain amino acids activate key enzymes in protein synthesis after physical exercise. J Nutr. 2006 Jan;136(1 Suppl):269S-73S.

4. Escobar J, Frank JW, Suryawan A, Nguyen HV, Kimball SR, Jefferson LS, Davis TA. Regulation of cardiac and skeletal muscle protein synthesis by individual branched-chain amino acids in neonatal pigs. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 2006 Apr;290(4):E612-21.

5. Volek JS, Duncan ND, Mazzetti SA, Staron RS, Putukian M, Gomez AL, Pearson DR, Fink WJ, Kraemer WJ. Performance and muscle fiber adaptations to creatine supplementation and heavy resistance training. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1999 Aug;31(8):1147-56.

6. Burke DG, Chilibeck PD, Davidson KS, Candow DG, Farthing J, smith-Palmer T. The effect of whey protein supplementation with and without creatine monohydrate combined with resistance training on lean tissue mass and muscle strength. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2001 Sep;11(3):349-64.

Jean Jitomir is a Registered Dietitian, light weight bodybuilder and Exercise nutrition PhD student. her department specializes in sports ergogenic aid and muscle hypertrophy research. Read more about her at:

http://www.jeanjitomir.com

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Find And Maintain Your Perfect weight: The Yoga of Mindful Eating

A common experience, among those who have practiced some form of yoga (or qigong or meditation) for a sustained period of time, is the experience of having ones weight stabilize, and maintain itself ~ almost magically ~ at the perfect level. This has certainly been my experience Regardless of what I eat (and granted, my diet is, my most standards, quite a healthy one), my weight has appeared, over many years, to fluctuate no more than a couple of pounds in either direction. I dont have scientific proof of this, since I almost never weigh myself on a scale but it is my perception, which Ive grown to trust. Basically, I feel comfortable in my body, and most of the time what I want to eat is what my body needs After Ive eaten what I have desired, I feel nourished, satisfied, and energized by those choices.

But this sort of natural equilibrium, around weight and food choices, for most people takes a while to cultivate. So, in the meantime, what to do about this eating thing? This body-weight thing? Based upon advice Ive received, over the years and from people I trust, Id like to present two practices: one very simple (in terms of its mechanics, at least); the other a bit more involved. What they have in common is this: youre not required to change WHAT you eat, in any way. Sound intriguing? Read on !

The first practice, designed specifically for those who would be healthier & happier if they weighed less than they do now, is to follow one simple rule, which is: dont eat anything after 5 p.m. This is a strategy that was transmitted to me by one of my teachers (herself a yogini, in the Sikh tradition) in Chinese medical school. What she noticed was that, almost universally, those patients of hers who were able to do this one thing, did indeed lose the weight that they needed to, without doing anything else. The explanation for this (common to both the Chinese and the Ayurvedic medical models) is that our digestive fire is hottest at high noon, and from there begins its daily descent reaching its low point at around midnight. To be in alignment with this natural cycle of our digestive system, its best to eat our largest meal at around noon, and definitely to avoid those fashionably late dinners, or midnight snacks. Now actually doing this may require some inconvenient if not downright painful (emotionally, socially) shifts & changes in your habitual eating patterns But if youre able to work through that piece of it, its a very simple thing!

A more involved meal-time practice ~ which still does not require you to change what you eat (though over time, this may indeed, and quite naturally, begin to happen) ~ is to bring a new level of mindfulness to the entire eating process. This sort of practice begins with the commitment to simply eat, when youre eating, i.e. to avoid meal-time multi-tasking (you know: reading the paper, checking you email or voice messages, driving the kids to school at the same time as youre having breakfast, lunch or dinner). Then, once you have your food on your plate, to pause for a moment or two to consider where the food has come from: to think of all the plants, minerals, animals and human beings without whom this food would not be here in front of you. So to remember: the farm-workers, the sunshine & minerals which were food to the plants that youre about to consume, the plants which were food to the animals youre about to consume, the workers in the supermarket and in the slaughterhouse As we deepen this practice, we come to understand that the food were about to consume could not be here were it not for the entire universe! Then we say a prayer, of acknowledgement and of gratitude, for what were about to consume. This could be anything that youd like it to be. A traditional prayer from the Hindu tradition is as follows (first in transliterated sanskrit, then the English translation):

brahmaarpaNaM brahma haviH brahmaagnau brahmaNaa hutam.h . brahmaiva tena gantavyaM brahmakarmasamaadhinaa ..

A process of offering is Brahman, the oblation is Brahman, the instrument of offering is Brahman, the fire to which the offering is made is also Brahman. For such a one who abides in Brahman, by him alone Brahman is reached.

The essential message of this prayer is: we and the food and the process of eating & drinking are all made of the same stuff and as we come, directly, to realize this, we and our food and our entire world is revealed as Divine (Brahman). In other words: you are God, eating food which is God, which is digested by God, and if you really get this, you will have reached God!

So now ~ at long last! ~ we take our first bite and chew it long enough to really taste it, and perhaps even long enough to notice how the taste changes as the food begins to break down in our mouths. And we allow ourselves to notice: is this an enjoyable or less-than-enjoyable taste? And allow ourselves to enjoy the whole process and to marvel at its miracle: at some point (where exactly is that point?) this food ceases to be food and becomes part of my body!

These sorts of mindfulness of eating practices are a potent way of waking up the bodys own intelligence and as such, are likely, over the long run, to have balancing and stabilizing affects on all of our physical (as well as emotional and spiritual) systems. Give it a try and bon appetit!

Elizabeth Reninger holds Masters degrees in Sociology and Chinese medicine, is a published poet, and has been exploring yoga ~ in its Taoist, Buddhist & Hindu varieties ~ for more than twenty years. She is a student of Richard Freeman and Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, and currently resides in Boulder, Colorado. For more of her essays on yoga-related topics, please visit her website: http://www.writingup.com/blog/elizabeth_reninger

// posted by 91850 @ 1:49 AM 0 comments