:BodyFitnessInfo.com BLOG

I think we’ve all heard this question from time to time from various sources. In fact, I remember doing a lot of online research on it before I started taking it consistently for the first time.

Real Solutions Magazine put out an article recently addressing this same question. You can read it here:

Is Creatine Safe?

So what do you think? I know that a lot of people like to mention that the overall long term affects of creatine have not adequately been studied, and this may very well be true. I guess only time will tell. I know that for me personally, I don’t take any supplement (besides whey and a multivitamin) for super long periods of time. I think this is good advice for most enhancement related supplements.

90 Comments

Omega 3s are an important part in everyone’s diet. Here are some ideas from Dr. John Berardi on how to get more Omega 3s in your diet.

Omega 3 Snacks
by Dr. John Berardi

Once you’re splitting up your fats correctly (about 1/3 of your fat intake coming from each of the three types of fat), your next goal should be to balance out your omega 6: omega 3 ratio. Do this and you’re arteries will be jumping for joy and they’ll have less body fat around them to impede their jump height.

While most of you probably already know that the omega 6: omega 3 balance is critical, I’m sure many of you are wondering in you can balance out the 6:3 ratio without having to pour another tablespoon of flaxseed oil down the gullet?

How about trying some pumpkin seeds or flaxseeds? Pumpkin seeds provide a 2:1 ratio of omega 6 fatty acids to omega 3 fatty acids, increasing the EFA content of your diet while putting your fat intake back in balance. Also, adding flaxseeds to your diet is a good idea. Grind these seeds up in a coffee grinder and add to your meals. Flaxseeds provide fiber, protein, and a 3:1 ratio of omega 3: omega 6 fatty acids. Your arteries will thank you.

SEE ALSO:
This tip is sponsored by Precision Nutrition - our pick for the best nutrition and supplement resource currently available. Containing system manuals, gourmet cookbook, digital audio/video library, online membership, and more, Precision Nutrition will teach you everything you need to know to get the body you want — guaranteed.

45 Comments

Do you ever find yourself wondering what else you can eat, maybe even on a so-called ‘cheat day’? I know I do sometimes. I get tired every now and then of eating virtually the same type of foods all the time.

This is where recipe sites come in handy. Granted, not all of them are friendly for our particular lifestyle, but I think you can still get a lot of ideas from these sites. Then just tweak the recipe to your needs.

One really cool site for this is KeyIngredient.com. You can submit your own food recipe, view other recipes, and even add them to your own blog or whatever you want. Here’s an example:

Anyway, its a fun little site, check it out sometime and see what kind of recipes you can come up with and tweak to your enjoyment!

Sponsored Post

21 Comments

I was thinking about what to write about today, but I decided that I would go ahead and just do a short list of some of the most common muscle building supplements that are available out there.  You have most likely heard of all of these before, but I think it’s good to go back to the basics sometimes.

• Creatine - Creatine is the most popular bodybuilding supplement simply because it works.  It’s pretty easy to find plenty of examples of people that are seeing great results with this product.
• Whey Protein - You gotta have your protein!  Whey is the best, simply put.
• Glutamine - Glutamine is the most abundant amino acid in the body and has all sorts of benefits.
• ZMA - ZMA helps you produce more testosterone, and I think we all know what that leads to (bigger muscles from working out)
• Other

I’m sure I could add more things to this list, but those are some of the basics.  You could also look at some products like NO2, HMB, and others.  But some of these are not as well proven to help.

29 Comments

I’ve always heard and read that it’s never a good idea to be drinking a lot of caffeine when you’re taking caffeine. I’m assuming most of you have read something along these lines as well. So my initial thought was that creatine has been reported to help your muscles retain water, but if you notice when you drink a lot of caffeine you have to urinate more. So at first I thought that was the reason not to mix the two.

Well, rather than relying on my own thinking, I decided to look up some information on the topic. I came across a really interesting article from CreatineMonohydrate.net, and I’ll quote from it below:

Certain wrong explanations, however, can be discounted from the start. First, the fact that caffeine is a diuretic has nothing to do with its counterproductive effect…These opposing effects of caffeine and creatine have inspired rumors that caffeine counteracts the benefits of creatine by preventing muscles from retaining fluids.

So right away I learned that my assumption was wrong. So what is the big problem anyway? Well, this article goes on to explain more:

It is thus relevant that one of PCr’s primary roles in muscle is to provide the energy to return calcium into these reservoirs. In this manner creatine (PCr) assists in muscle relaxation and enhances our athletic performance. Interestingly, caffeine has the opposite effect of allowing calcium to escape from these intracellular calcium storage sites. Caffeine would thus hamper muscle relaxation. In agreement with these findings a recent study has shown that caffeine interferes with creatine’s ability to facilitate muscle relaxation, especially during moments of fatigue. Caffeine might thusly confound the ability of PCr to store away calcium and in doing so nullify part of creatine’s benefit.

So it isn’t really about the water, it’s more about calcium!

Another interesting thing I learned from this article is that most of the problems come from continuous caffeine use. If you’re just grabbing a Coke from time to time you shouldn’t see any problems. (I’d still say to limit the Coke though! ) But if you’re doing it daily, you can expect to see less benefit from your creatine use.

14 Comments

If you’re going to gain muscle, and even if you’re going to lose weight….in fact, just to be healthy you need to make sure that you’re getting enough protein in your diet.  Then the question always comes up of “What type of protein is best for me?”  Great question!  Rather than going through all the details in this post, here is a protein supplement guide that you might want to check out if you have this question.

As a side note, you might have these questions on other supplements as well.  Here’s another article you might want to check out about the top 7 bodybuilding supplements.  This site gives some pretty good info on many different supplements.

Another question that comes up a lot about protein is, “What is the best way to get protein?  Should I get it through supplements or can I just eat enough regular food?”  Well, this is a difficult question to answer, because there are so many things you need to consider for yourself.  While there are a lot of high protein foods out there, it is very difficult for most of us to get in enough meals to make that a plausible idea.  That’s where supplements come in.   Just keep in mind that supplements are meant to be supplements!  They aren’t there to replace eating regular foods entirely, but to help you reach your goals by giving you what you might not be able to get from regular foods.

8 Comments

I think a lot of people would agree with me that when it comes to supplements, there is a lot of confusion about what to use, what actually works, etc.  So in this world of too much information (or in some cases not enough), I’d highly recommend that you always look for supplement reviews before you buy anything.

The good news is that supplement reviews are all over the place.  So the other trick comes in finding quality reviews.  I personally think that it’s a good idea to read the review, but then also look around for other reviews that backup what you’ve read on another site.  Also look for consumer reviews, individual shoppers and see what guys like you and me have to say.

For example, if you were looking for muscle milk reviews or cellmass reviews, check a few different sites to see if you can find a general consensus for what they do and how they can help you.  Then see if other consumers overall feel that its worth your time.  Doing this type of research will help you to form a more educated decision about the supplements you’re looking to use.

6 Comments

Here are some recommendations from John Berardi about how to get enough fat in your diet:

Fat Recommendations - How To Meet Them
by Dr. John Berardi

So how much fat do we need and what kinds? While there’s a lot of debate nowadays, most of the real fat experts agree that a good balance of the three is the way to go if you want to give the old ticker a fighting chance. In other words, your goal is to consume 1/3 of your fat from saturated fatty acids, 1/3 from monounsaturated fatty acids, and 1/3 from polyunsaturated fatty acids. But it’s important to learn what kinds of foods contain the different types of fatty acids. So use this handy chart below to learn which fatty acids are found in a number of common foods. By learning which foods contain which fatty acids, a balanced fat approach should be a snap.

Food % Saturated Fat % Monounsaturated Fat % Polyunsaturated Fat

Almonds 10% 68% 22%
Beef 55% 40% 4%
Brazil Nuts 26% 36% 38%
Canola Oil 5% 57% 38%
Cashews 20% 62% 18%
Cheese 67% 26% 7%
Chicken 31% 49% 20%
Coconut Oil 86% 9% 5%
Duck 35% 52% 13%
Eggs 39% 43% 18%
Flax Seed Oil 8% 18% 74%
Hazelnuts 8% 82% 10%
Herring 22% 55% 18%
Macadamia Nuts 16% 82% 2%
Milk 67% 26% 7%
Olive Oil 13% 75% 12%
Palm Oil 50% 41% 9%
Peanuts 15% 51% 34%
Pecans 8% 66% 26%
Pine Nuts 15% 40% 45%
Pistachios 13% 72% 15%
Pork / Lard 40% 48% 12%
Salmon 20% 30% 40%
Sesame Oil 15% 42% 43%
Walnuts 10% 24% 66%

2 Comments

This tip goes along with the last one that we posted. People seem to always be wondering how much they need to drink, so here are some suggestions from Dr. John Berardi of Precision Nutrition:

Increasing Water Intake
by Dr. John Berardi

Sedentary individuals should drink at least 2L or about 8 cups of water per day, athletes should drink at least 3L or about 12 cups of water per day, and athletes in hot weather climates drink at least 4L or about 16 cups of water per day.

Since following these recommendations can prevent dehydration and can actually assist with fat loss, you’d have to be a desiccated fool to ignore them. However, try as they might, some individuals find it difficult to ingest up to a gallon of water per day. So try out these three proven strategies for increasing water ingestion:

• Drink cold water - cold water is more palatable, improving ‘mouth feel’ and ingestion
• Add lemon - lemon increases urge to drink and also kills bacteria
• Chuggables - always carry some sort of jug of water around to ensure you’re drinking. Rubbermaid makes a nice blue top container (Chuggables) that we recommend to our clients.

This tip is provided by Dr. John Berardi of Precision Nutrition.

20 Comments

I mentioned last week that with a new addition to my family I really haven’t had time to go to the gym. Well I’m not going to let that stop me from getting a workout or at least doing some exercise, so I decided to pick up a set of resistance bands so I can still get some exercise in at home.

I’ve been a little skeptical about these bands for a long time, but after using them I can see them as a great alternative when you have little else you can do. Granted, I would still recommend weights over these things, but sometimes you have to make adjustments. If you make a workout that consists of resistance bands and bodyweight exercises, you can still get in a pretty good workout.

I also realize that this is not the way to go if you’re looking to put on mass. I don’t know that anything really compares to heavy lifting for that!

Any other thoughts out there on this?

11 Comments