Nutrition/ Fitness Quiz for ya?

Hey everyone,

Well well well...today's post will be a questionnaire on the topics of nutrition and exercise. I wanted to see your opinion on the questions below. okey doki...here we go:

1. What do you thinking is the no.1 reason why any nutrition regime fails?
2. When do you think is the best time to have your protein shake before or after your workout to enhance protein synthesis?
3. Running for 30 minutes or weightlifting for 30 minutes for boosting your metabolism and burn more calories?
4. When is the best time to take your creatine supplementation...after you did the loading period...before or after your workout to get better results such as muscle hypertrophy?
5. Is creatine supplementation healhty?
6. Are exercises such as abdominal crunch machine and twist abdominal machine safe and effective for you?
7. Which muscles you think are tight when someone is doing a lot of prolonged sitting as most of yaaaa?
8. Is it possible to lose weight and body fat if someone is eating 5 or 6 times a day ?
9. Which is the best form of warm up before your weight lifting workout or any other sport activity?
10. Which is the most effective diet regime on losing fat.....low fat diet or low carbohydrate diet and why?

Just go ahead and answer the above questions...please do not worry if the answers are wrong or right. Just doooooo it....Next post will be the answers, so make sure you check them out. I'm out.........

Do you ROW?

This is a great article on rowing exercises. I do not have to say anything...just check it out.

COMPARISON OF DIFFERENT ROWING EXERCISES:
TRUNK MUSCLE ACTIVATION AND LUMBAR SPINE
MOTION, LOAD, AND STIFFNESS

CHAD M.J. FENWICK, STEPHEN H.M. BROWN, AND STUART M. MCGILL

ABSTRACT
Fenwick, CMJ, Brown, SHM, and McGill, SM. Comparison of
different rowing exercises: Trunk muscle activation and lumbar
spine motion, load and stiffness. J Strength Cond Res 23(5):
1408–1417, 2009—The objective of this study was to investigate
3 different rowing exercises and quantify the muscle
activation of the torso and the hip musculature, together with
the corresponding spinal loading and stiffness. Seven healthy
male subjects from a university population were instrumented
to obtain surface electromyography of selected trunk and hip
muscles and to obtain spine position using an electromagnetic
spine position sensor, together with video analysis to calculate
joint moments. The 3 rowing exercises investigated are the
inverted row, standing bent-over row, and the standing 1-armed
cable row. The inverted row elicited the highest activation of the
latissimus dorsi muscles, upper back, and hip extensor
muscles. The lower activation of the lumbar erector spinae
muscles during the inverted row corresponded to the lowerspine
load measured. The standing bent-over row produced
large activation symmetrically across the back but produced the
largest lumbar spine load. The 1-armed cable row challenged
the torsional capabilities of the trunk musculature. Some ‘‘core’’
exercises may be better for rehabilitation (e.g., having the
training goals of modest muscle activation with low spine load),
while other exercises may be better for athletic training (e.g.,
resulting in higher muscle activation and larger spine load).
When prescribing ‘‘core’’ exercises, those wishing to spare the
low back may choose the inverted row given the lowest spine
load exercise. The standing bent-over row elicited large muscle
activation symmetrically from the upper to lower back, however
induced larger spine loads, but not surprisingly the highest

spine stiffness. If torsional endurance or strength is the training
goal, the 1-armed cable row might be considered.

Any questions....I'm out!

Effective training program Vs Soreness?

It seems that individuals that perform any kind of activity and especially resistance training are mislead with muscle soreness which is wrong translated with an effective training regime. Muscle soreness doesn't have to do with an effective program.... that's a true fact.

Whatever is your training goal, that's what your training regime should focus. Getting sore from a workout does not mean that you executed a well planned program. Muscle soreness is associated with heavy weight loading of an exercise or high volume...doing a lot of exercises of example or it can be from a new set of exercises tried for the first time. I will admit that muscle soreness can be beneficial if you are aiming for muscle hypertrophy, but if thats not the case you better think twice. Don't forget the other key elements of an effective exercise regime.

On the other hand, an effective training program should focus on training goals where the technique is kept in an optimal form and each exercise performed has always a reason why it is performed.

I hope you figured out my point....it all depends on your goal, but make sure that you know the why you perform each individual exercise. I'm out.....

SORT OUT YOUR BREAKFAST

IT IS OBVIOUS THAT BREAKFAST SHOULD BE THE MEAL OF THE DAY THAT YOU SHOULD NOT SKIP. ITS VERY IMPORTANT BECAUSE YOUR BODY NEEDS ENERGY WHICH IT CAN GET FROM FOOD. A COMPLETE BREAKFAST WILL BOOST YOUR DAY.

I HEARD A LOT OF PEOPLE SAYING THAT THEY ARE NOT HUNRY WHEN THEY WAKE UP. IF SO HAVE YOUR BREAKFAST IN COUPLE OF HOURS AFTER YOU WAKE UP. THE OTHER BIG ISSUE WITH BREAKFAST IS THE CHOICES THAT INDIVIDUALS MAKE. A HEALTHY BREAKFAST SHOULD CONSIST OF BOTH CARBOHYDRATES AND PROTEIN WHICH MAKES A COMPLETE MEAL. JUST CEREAL WON'T COUNT FOR A HEALTHY CHOICE. YOU KNOW WHY?

BECAUSE MOST OF THE CEREAL OUT THERE CONTAIN SUGAR, EVEN THE ONES THAT DEPICT THAT THEY ARE FAT FREE...FIND OUT YOURSELF IF YOU DONT BELIEVE ME, JUST GO AHEAD AND READ THE INCREDIENTS AT THE BACK OF THE BOX. THATS THE MISSING LINK....EVEN LOW FAT ITEMS CONTAIN SUGAR IN THEM WHICH SPIKES YOU INSULIN LEVELS.

SOME HEALTHY ALTERNATIVES ARE OAT MEAL WITH PROTEIN POWDER OF YOUR CHOICE, AND COTTAGE CHEESE WITH SOME FIBER ON IT...YET YOU CAN SQUEEZE A FRUIT IF YOU LIKE. IN ADDITION, SWITCH YOUR COFFEE WITH GREEN TEA...IT CAN BE A PROBLEM AT FIRST IF YOU ARE A CHRONIC COFFEE DRINKER BUT TOO MUCH COFFEE IS NOT GOOD FOR YOU. GREEN TEA HAS A LITTLE COFFEE IN IT TOO.

I'M WONDERING WHAT DO YOU EAT FOR BREAKFAST...DROP ME A LINE?

THERE YOU HAVE IT, MAKE SURE YOU SORT OUT YOUR BREAKFAST CHOICES...IT WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE BELIEVE ME. I'M OUT......

Training and the Nervous System?

Hey to all,

What really happens to our nervous system when we train? Does it fatique as well? What kind of exercise affects it most high intensity or low intensity? Do we get injured more easily when our nervous system is low?

Well, these are equally great questions for someone that is currently training either for any type of sport or fitness. Our nervous system fatiques as well as our body does with exercise and it should be noted that high intensity exercise affects our nervous system the most. After any strenous type of training our nervous system needs to rest. The rest period can be between 24 to 48 hours depending how intense was your workout. When our nervous system is fatique....yes you can injured easily.

As Dr. Osar depicts in his book Form and Function (a great book to read!) occupation, gait, exercise selection, activity level, level of stress, and nutrition can influence nervous system function. In addition, when personal training/ coaching take place exercise selection, adherence to the proper form proper cueing, and constant reinforcement are important training elements to think about. Negative input that can affect our nervous system are sedentary lifestyle, pain and incorrect training regime.

You better train smart! I'm out.......

Carob syrup: energy and nutrient booster!

I came across this powerful nutrient product last weekend...the Carob syrup....oh myyyyy what can I say...... You can use it with breakfast or make energy bars or use it anyway you like. I was amazed to find that the carob syrup is rich in calcium, potassium, phosphorus, sodium, iron and Vitamin A and B....don't forget that it soothes your digestive tract too. It contains 60% less calories than chocolate.

This are the Nutritional Facts per 100g Carob:

• Calcium 352 mg
• Carbohydrates 80.7g
• Fat 1.4g
• Fiber 7.7g
• Phosphorus 81mg
• Potassium 800 mg
• Protein 4.2g

Mavros Chrysos at Anogyra village is the place for the best source of organic Carob Syrup. Try it out and tell me what you think. I'm out.....

Dietery Fat Benefits!

Hey everyone,

Since I'm a recent Sport Nutrition Certified (CISSN) from International Society of Sport Nutrition I will talk about fat benefits. Everyone is really negative about the fat intake in their diets. Your fat should come from monosaturated sources (10-15%) like canola or olive and polysaturate (10-15%) such as corn/ safflower oil, flax or walnuts. Saturated fats should be limited around 5-10 %. Your daily total fat should not exit 30%.

Some of dietary fat benefits are:

1. Muscle recovery
2. Maintainted sex hormone concentration
3. Decrease catabolic hormone concetration such as cortisol
4. Decrease inflammation
5. Correction of inadequate energy status
6. Bone preservation
7. Resistance to overtraining

(reference: Essentials of Sports Nutrition and Supplements)

I'm not suggesting that you go and bench on junck food or start eating fat as an alternative. The answer is to be selective and smart regarding your dietery fat. I'm out.....