Supplements- Which Ones Do You Need To Get In Shape

Article by Kevin Richardson

SUPPLEMENTS- WHICH ONES DO YOU NEED TO GET IN SHAPE?

An honest answer is that you don’t need any. It might sound astonishing but the reality is that in over seventeen years of using multivitamins, fat burners, protein powders and bars, meal replacements, and all the other bodybuilding and fitness related products all I have to say is their miraculous abilities to make changes in your physique are yet to be seen. That and the fact that there is nothing that has yet convinced me that these substances are truly safe for human consumption.

I would like to bring to your attention that all of your information regarding the safety and efficacy of these supplements come from entities that have a vested interest in promoting them. The bodybuilding and health and fitness magazines that get paid millions to advertise the products, some of which are actually owned by the very companies that make the products in the first place. The media that also gets paid for the ads run by the products, and of course the many so called scientific studies conducted with funding from the manufacturers themselves. The supplement industry is no different from the food and tobacco industries that wreak havoc on the public health. Profit is and always will be the bottom line. Not your health, not your fitness goals and certainly not the truth. If you think that in some way that the federal government wouldn’t allow a company to make a product that could jeopardize your health, then you must have been asleep for the past few years while they banned products like ephedra and pro-hormones. Bans that took effect long after the products had been on the market for years. The problem is that the Food & Drug Administration regulates dietary supplements under a different set of regulations than those covering “conventional” food and drug products, both prescription and Over-the-Counter. Under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA), the dietary supplement manufacturer is responsible for ensuring that a dietary supplement is safe before it is marketed. 1The FDA is only responsible for taking action against any unsafe dietary supplement product after it reaches the market. Generally manufacturers do not need to register their products with FDA nor get FDA approval before producing or selling dietary supplements. Think about it; someone figures that there is money to be made from selling a particular product and they make it. As simple as that. There are no long term independent double blind studies to verify effectiveness or safety. In fact most of the studies quoted regarding supplement efficacy are either severely biased, purposefully misinterpreted or flawed. It is only after people die or consistently experience severe adverse side effects that the federal government gets involved. What is worse is that there have never been any long term studies to show how these substances interact with the human body. No one can really guarantee that the fat burner that you are taking now will not cause you health problems several years down the line. Many of them have not even been around for that long. So how do you know? Answer- you don’t! FAT BURNERSHave I used them? Yes. But not as much as you would think. I was never much of a fan of these products to begin with since I always paid very strict attention to my diet and training and didn’t really need them. If I needed to get ready for a contest or a photo shoot, I would simply adjust my diet to suit and train my behind off. When I did take fat burners earlier on in my career, I never used more than an quarter of the recommended dose. Did they work? The ones containing ephedrine did. I got leaner faster, but in the end I looked the same. Considering that when I took them I had trouble sleeping, my hands would shake and I would have terrible energy swings, I made the decision not to use them anymore. The pictures of me that you see posted are the result of years of hard work and conscientious dieting- not from any fat burners (or any other supplements for that matter- protein powders etc. included.) I believe the finished product proves my point that I didn’t need them.

We need to examine the mechanisms of these drugs to understand why they are so popular in spite of being so dangerous and filled with negative side effects. The most effective fat burners (the ones that were temporarily banned) were essentially ECA stacks. A combination of Ephedrine (from ephedra), Caffeine and Aspirin. Caffeine is a stimulant and has diuretic effect. Ephedrine is a bronchodilator and was sold over the counter as an asthma medication. It is a stimulant as well2. The two drugs together increase the body’s norephinepherine production which then decreases appetite3 along with significantly elevating your heart rate measurably.3 Reduced appetite means you eat less and the elevated heart rate means that you should burn more calories. These drugs also combine to slightly increase body heat which further increases caloric burn while the caffeine forces you to lose water at a faster rate. The end result- short term weight loss. Which would have been wonderful except for the fact that you are also potentially harming yourself.

Ephedrine (derived from ephedra) was banned for some time after being linked to several deaths. Studies have shown that it can increase blood pressure and risk of stroke, anxiety, irregular heartbeat, myocardial infarction4, depression and psychosis2. Largely due to the lobbying of certain special interest groups, the federal ephedra ban was lifted. Still, most companies now are afraid to put it back in their products because of the fear of lawsuits, that, the high cost of liability insurance and the fact that the federal ban being lifted does not make it a legal product in many states- the state of New York included.

Caffeine as we all know can also affect heart rate as well as blood pressure2. There is also an addictive property to caffeine, just as there was with ephedrine. Put the two together and you’re faced with an addictive compound quite adept at causing your natural adrenal production to be compromised. After developing a tolerance to the raciness effects of the drugs, frequent and increased dosages lead to a dramatic loss of “energy” when the drugs aren’t taken. It’s a classic addiction and it made many a supplement manufacture rich at the public health’s expense. Let us not forget the aspirin added to the blend that wreaked havoc on your stomach lining. Personally I chose not to use a substance that not only I didn’t need, but also that had many dangerous side effects and was potentially addictive. Now that ephedra has made it to the ‘we are not using it in our product list’ (thankfully), the remaining ingredients on their own have not been proven to significantly reduce body fat. Translation, they are still dangerous compounds, but now they don’t work as well.ECA fat burners have been around for about a decade or so, but people have succeeded in getting into fantastic shape for much longer without potentially dangerous drugs. They did it over time. By being patient and by working hard and in a responsible manner to achieve their goals.The other thing to consider is that studies have shown that individuals that lose weight and then regain it increase their likelihood of compulsive overeating5 developing heart disease6 and increasing mortality risks6 7. Remember if you rely on pills to get your weight down, the effects are only short term2. When you stop taking them your weight will eventually go right back to where it was to begin with, unless of course you choose to use them for the rest of your life. The only safe way is to be in shape all year round, not just for summer and certainly not thanks to supplements.

Kevin Richardson, CPT, ADS

References:1. Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA), 2. Shekelle PG, Hardy ML, Morton SC, et al.: Efficacy and safety of ephedra and ephedrine for weight loss and athletic performance. A meta-analysis. JAMA 289:1537-1545, 2003.3. Effect of a Dietary Herbal Supplement Containing Caffeine and Ephedra on Weight, Metabolic Rate, and Body Composition Greenway et al. Obes Res 2004;12:1152-11574. Cardiovascular Effects of Ephedra JAMA 2004;291:1560-1560.5. National Task Force on the Prevention and Treatment of Obesity. Dieting and the Development of Eating Disorders in Overweight and Obese Adults. Arch Intern Med 2000;160:2581-9.6. Lissner L, Brownell KD. Weight cycling, mortality and cardiovascular disease: a review of epidemiologic findings. In: Bjorntorp P, Brodoff BN, eds. Obesity. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Co.; 1992. 7. Wing RR. Weight cycling in humans: a review of the literature. Ann Behav Med. 1992;14:113-9

Information contained in this article is not meant to treat, diagnose illness, nor substitute for medical counseland is intended for purposes of information and education only. Consult your physician before modifying your dietor starting any exercise program.

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Free weights or bands – which ones give the best results?

Article by Tom Kalka

With so much conflicting information out there about fitness and exercise, it’s no wonder that clients often want advice about whether or not to use machines for exercise as opposed to free weights and bands.

But as a professional trainer, my answer is simple – I say, “Machines, free weights and cables”.

Confused? Don’t be. The fact is that each of these types of equipment has benefits and drawbacks that the others do not. Ultimately a good workout regimen will use a variety of exercises and equipment in order to produce “muscle confusion” which is a core element of fitness boot camps. So let’s take a closer look at each one of these and when you would use them.

Machines

We’ve covered this area before – machines are great mostly for safety reasons because they limit your range of motion. But this same limit is also why we’re not crazy about them, as limited range of motion means you cannot work each side of your body independently. Therefore you wind up with one side stronger than the other and your weaker side never catches up. So if you work out from home this might be a good thing, but you will eventually find yourself needing to change up your exercise routine.

Free Weights

In my experience, guys love free weights, ladies, generally are much more intimated by them. Hopefully, this explanation will bring everyone back down to earth and realize the benefits and limitations to free weights. When using free weights you are going to need to recruit the more muscle fibers in the muscle you are working because of the need to stabilize the weight though-out the ROM. Not to mention, that when using dumbbells you will also have to exert the same force on both sides of your body to move the same weight. Another benefit to free weights is the fact that you can change the angle in which you hold the weight, or the angle in which you push or pull the weight, all of which allow you to target different muscle fibers and more fully develop the muscle.

The limitations with free weights are that they are much more dangerous to use if you don’t know what you are doing, or you think you know what you are doing but are wrong! Without a spotter, it can be very difficult to increase the amount of weight you use because of the dangers of dropping the weight or not being able to lift the weight into the proper starting position.

Bands or Cables

The invention of cables machines was an attempt to find a balance between both free weights and machines. You will see many different types of cable machines in your local fitness facility but you can also find them in many homes as well. The famous Bowflex is a great tool to use as well as the Crossbow and other variations as well. The problem with these tools include: most clients have no clue how to perform the exercise properly not to mention that they cannot figure out the correct configuration with the machine to hit the muscle they want to target. While being safer than free weights, you still have to maintain stability using cables which is a great benefit, not to mention that you can hit the muscle at many more angles with cables.

In conclusion, the best answer I could provide is that a proper exercise routine should incorporate all three types of tools, not to mention the numerous other tools available to you including: video tapes, treadmills, elliptical trainers, walking, jogging, and running, swimming, kickboxing, etc. The real secret is to constantly shock your body and never allow it to get use to doing one thing. This way, your body has to continually grow to keep up with the demands you are putting on it.

Setting up Ones own Home Gym

Article by Peterjeto

There are some well-known vendors with your own home gyms very well worth bringing up. However more or less all have their own disadvantages and advantages, in this article fitness at home health clubs will most certainly be notably remarkable. Your ratings will likely target the standard fitness center of the fact that organizations design.

Weider Your own home Health clubs ReviewThe Weider Crossbar (formerly the Crossbow) is known as a very easy health club employs sturdy except flexible bows to come up with protection. The plethora of level of resistance is produced by 6 excess fat towards Two hundred and forty lb, using an available improvement who enhances the amount of potential 440 body fat. All of the Weider Crossbar typically costs roughly $ 500.

Pros: All the Weider Crossbar is pretty low cost there are a wide array of routines may possibly provide to find.

Cons: You need to years into the future to set up as well as on the offered exercises are uneasy coupled with improper.

Gold’s Health Family Fitness gyms Review

The most in-demand Gold’s Fitness home gym will be Effectiveness Flex. It’s really a common physical fitness that makes use of bendable bows to supply a level of resistance. The absolute maximum resistance is usually 210 unwanted fat, through having an to be found add-on it boosts the maximal to help 410 those nasty extra pounds. The price tag variety with the Electrical power Contract is normally regarding $ 500 together with $ 900.

Pros: The Power Bend contains a rowing radio station, are able to do 63 many exercise movements, and additionally folds over to adjust to rrnside a 2’by 3′ room or space.

Cons: It is sometimes complicated to all of the strength skill level additionally, the companies offer bad support.

Tuff Things Property or home Health clubs Review

The CFM-555 may possibly be the best-known home gym created by Tuff Thing. It’s really a simple fitness center employing a unmarried body weight place. All of the CFM-555 sells for in existence $ 1200.Pros: Their CFM-555 provides very ran capability to move gizmo, a suitable contoured spot rear that has been sensible and comfy, along with a great deal of plausible workout routines.

Cons: It’s always huge and also fairly not easy to continue. There is certainly very little reference to any way incorporate capacity the very CFM-555.

Hoist Abode Fitness centres Review

The Lift Adjustable Physical fitness H-100 is really well-respected high-end simple workout center using a strongly suggested market price of $ 1500. The exact Numerous Fitness center H-100 entails solo excess fat stack.

Pros: Most of the Numerous Workout room H-100 is usually appropriately produced and sturdy. Within the large numbers of prospective physical exercises plus a soft, space saving theme.

Cons: Its over-priced and there is no procedure to add on push back in the evening solitary kilos add up.

Marcy Your own home Fitness center Review

The Marcy MWM 1800 possesses twice $ 100 or so bang extra fat stacks permitting 2 different people for do exercises directly. There are the capability of performing during 19 a variety of exercises. Their Marcy MWM 1800 retails around $ 400.

Pros: Most of the MWM 1800 is a superb advantage for their asking price together with suits a corner.

Cons: There seems to be merely takes a simple 50-pound a level of resistance add-on cited as well as MWM is very to put together.

Powerhouse Your own home Fitness centers Review

The Leader PH-1300 is a blend between a general gymnasium in conjunction with a no charge pounds home gym. It is typically the arranged to a standard health and fitness, nevertheless the member requirements offer the weight sheet. It costs concerning $ 350 additionally, the outlays concerning barbells.

Pros: Our PH-1300 can aquire approximately 550 weight used with the application. It is usually cheap and thus more or less easily portable.

Cons: The exact weight lifting need to be sold by itself additionally the cables that your maintain the weights fail quite easily.

Conclusion:

Any associated with the offerings talked about at your house gyms analysis would be a good selection intended for purchasers that want to activity from your own home. People who find themselves seeking complete light exercise should decide on a littler, low-cost and fewer convoluted best home gym, even while usually complete invested in create effectiveness could well be improved well-advised to get a more significant home gym a lot easier functions. The chief point out don’t forget is theres a home gym available on the market for any couple.

Home Fitness centres Details promises detailed information about low cost, most desirable, previously used, reduced, free of charge extra fat, as well as very easy household gyms, furthermore evaluates associated with most desirable home gym materials, and even more. Family Fitness centers Material is considered the cousin web pages most typically associated with Pure whey protein World wide web.

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