fitness – Page 5

What is the connection between Music and the Brain?

Music is a powerful tool for the brain. Classical music has been studied for many years for its influence in the brain. Scientists have come to a conclusion that music is a valuable therapy for many diseases.

Norman Doidge has talked about Mozart music therapy in his book. He says it is a very useful therapy for Autism. Other studies have proven that music therapy is helpful in stress reduction and improvement of literacy skills in children.

Music has a harmony and frequency. These two attributes are important for the brain. The brain likes to hear certain frequencies at certain moments. When we are happy we can hear loud music and enjoy it. When we are angry we only accept to hear certain frequencies. Experiments show that in angry moments we like to hear classical music as it calms the brain down. It is very interesting to see the brain scans before and after listening to music, and the way they change. In a brain scan the red areas are the ones with a higher blood circulation, that show more stress. When a person listens to music these areas are reduced.

In his book Norman Doidge says that Mozart music can improve the symptoms of Autistic children. He mentions a physician who uses Mozart music as a therapy for healing Autistic children. He changes the frequency of the music a bit to make it more approachable to his goal. The therapy lasts and in certain days children listen to a certain frequency.

The frequency that the brain likes to hear the most is 90Hz to 110Hz. Norman Doidge thinks this therapy can be used for many brain illnesses as anxiety or depression.

The music therapy helps to make the myelin cover in n axon thicker, which helps to improve the firing of neurons faster, and releasing all toxins. After the therapy the scans of the brain showed that there was small amount of stress and anxiety and the person’s brain was healthier.

In conclusion music is a therapy for the brain. It helps the brain be more efficient. It helps the literacy and auditory skills in children if they are exposed to music in early years of their life.

https://myscience94.wordpress.com/2016/04/25/what-is-the-connection-between-music-and-the-brain/

How Neuroscientists Explain the Mind-Clearing Magic of Running

It is something of a cliché among runners, how the activity never fails to clear your head. Does some creative block have you feeling stuck? Go for a run. Are you deliberating between one of two potentially life-altering decisions? Go for a run. Are you feeling mildly mad, sad, or even just vaguely meh? Go for a run, go for a run, go for a run.

The author Joyce Carol Oates once wrote in a column for the New York Times that

in running the mind flees with the body … in rhythm with our feet and the swinging of our arms.

Filmmaker Casey Neistat told Runner’s World last fall that running is sometimes the only thing that gives him clarity of mind.

“Every major decision I’ve made in the last eight years has been prefaced by a run,”

he told the magazine. But I maybe like the way a runner named Monte Davis phrased it best, as quoted in the 1976 book The Joy of Running:

“It’s hard to run and feel sorry for yourself at the same time. Also, there are those hours of clear-headedness that follow a long run.”

A good run can sometimes make you feel like a brand-new person. And, in a way, that feeling may be literally true. About three decades of research in neuroscience have identified a robust link between aerobic exercise and subsequent cognitive clarity, and to many in this field the most exciting recent finding in this area is that of neurogenesis. Not so many years ago, the brightest minds in neuroscience thought that our brains got a set amount of neurons, and that by adulthood, no new neurons would be birthed. But this turned out not to be true. Studies in animal models have shown that new neurons are produced in the brain throughout the lifespan, and, so far, only one activity is known to trigger the birth of those new neurons: vigorous aerobic exercise, said Karen Postal, president of the American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology. “That’s it,” she said. “That’s the only trigger that we know about.”

The other fascinating thing here is where these new cells pop up: in the hippocampus, a region of the brain associated with learning and memory. So this could help explain, at least partially, why so many studies have identified a link between aerobic exercise and improvement in memory.

If you are exercising so that you sweat — about 30 to 40 minutes — new brain cells are being born,

added Postal, who herself is a runner. “And it just happens to be in that memory area.”
Other post-run changes have been recorded in the brain’s frontal lobe, with increased activity seen in this region after people adopt a long-term habit of physical activity. This area of the brain — sometimes called the frontal executive network system — is located, obviously enough, at the very front: It’s right behind your forehead. After about 30 to 40 minutes of a vigorous aerobic workout – enough to make you sweat – studies have recorded increased blood flow to this region, which, incidentally, is associated with many of the attributes we associate with “clear thinking”: planning ahead, focus and concentration, goal-setting, time management.

But it’s this area that’s also been linked to emotion regulation, which may help explain the results of one recent study conducted by Harvard psychology professor Emily E. Bernstein. Like Postal, Bernstein is also a runner, and was curious about a pattern she saw in her own mind after a run.

I notice in myself that I just feel better when I’m active.

She started to become really interested in the intervention studies that have popped up in recent years that suggest if you can get people who are having trouble with mood or anxiety to exercise, it helps. “But why?” she wanted to know. “What is exercise actually doing?”

To find out, she did a version of a classic experiment among researchers who study emotion: She and her colleague — Richard J. McNally, also of Harvard — played a reliable tearjerker of a clip: the final scene of the 1979 film The Champ.

Before watching the film clip, some of the 80 participants were made to jog for 30 minutes; others just stretched for the same amount of time. Afterward, all of them filled out surveys to indicate how bummed out the film had made them. Bernstein kept them busy for about 15 minutes after that, and surveyed them again about how they were feeling. Those who’d done the 30-minute run were more likely to have recovered from the emotional gut-punch than those who’d just stretched — and, her results showed, the people who’d initially felt worse seemed to especially benefit from the run. Bernstein is currently doing a few follow-up research projects to determine exactly why this works the way it does.

But there’s another big mental benefit to gain from running, one that scientists haven’t quiet yet managed to pin down to poke at and study: the wonderful way your mind drifts here and there as the miles go by. Mindfulness, or being here now, is a wonderful thing, and there is a seemingly ever-growing stack of scientific evidence showing the good it can bring to your life. And yet mindlessness — daydreaming, or getting lost in your own weird thoughts — is important, too. Consider, for example, this argument, taken from a 2013 article by a trio of psychologists in the journal Frontiers in Psychology:

“We mind wander, by choice or by accident, because it produces tangible reward when measured against goals and aspirations that are personally meaningful. Having to reread a line of text three times because our attention has drifted away matters very little if that attention shift has allowed us to access a key insight, a precious memory or make sense of a troubling event. Pausing to reflect in the middle of telling a story is inconsequential if that pause allows us to retrieve a distant memory that makes the story more evocative and compelling. Losing a couple of minutes because we drove past our off ramp is a minor inconvenience if the attention lapse allowed us to finally understand why the boss was so upset by something we said in last week’s meeting. Arriving home from the store without the eggs that necessitated the trip is a mere annoyance when weighed against coming to a decision to ask for a raise, leave a job, or go back to school.

Just because the benefits of losing yourself in your own thoughts are not easily measured doesn’t mean they’re not of value, and there are few ways I know of that induce this state of mind more reliably than a long run. A handful of recent studies have tried to answer what every runner, whether pro or hobbyist, has no doubt been asked by friends and family: What on earth do you think about while you’re out there for so many miles? This, as the writer Haruki Murakami noted in his What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, is almost beside the point. Sometimes he thinks while on the run; sometimes, he doesn’t. It doesn’t really matter.

I just run. I run in void. Or maybe I should put it the other way: I run in order to acquire a void.

April 21, 2016 12:51 p.m.

By Melissa Dahl

https://madridjournal.wordpress.com/2016/04/25/how-neuroscientists-explain-the-mind-clearing-magic-of-running/

How to postpone aging

I recently attended an all day event at the USC Campus, specifically at the USC Davis School of Gerontology to learn about the latest science on healthy aging from several of the world’s top aging experts. I feel inspired to share with you all what I learned. Many of you may have come across the information that I am about to share, but in case you have not, it’s never too late to learn something new!

1) One of the “hottest” question presented was “Does caloric restriction extend lifespan?” Answer: only sometimes. But if you compare a low fat diet versus a Mediterranean diet (which includes nuts and olive oil), the Mediterranean diet wins! It was shown to prevent cognitive decline and heart problems.

2) Sitting is the new smoking! Incredible to believe but the more hours you spend sitting on a daily basis decreases your health span. It is important to use your break time to get away from your workspace. And if you don’t get any breaks? Get up and take a walk to the bathroom every hour or two. Sitting can cause a multitude of heart problems, whereas smoking can cause lung problems/lung cancer. I guess you pick and choose your poison, or avoid them altogether.

3) Ovaries removed after normal menopause lessens a woman’s risk for dementia. Ovaries removed before normal menopause increases a woman’s risk for dementia.

4) A low protein, high carbohydrate diet is recommended for everyone below 65 years of age. Once you reach 65 and older, moderate (not low!) protein intake is recommended.

5) If you want to live longer and spend your later years without getting a disease or being disabled in any way, adhering to a plant based diet that includes high levels of legumes, vegetables and healthy fats (olive oil, other monounsaturated fats, nuts) is recommended. Waist goals for men to have should be less than 40 inches, and less than 35 inches for women.

6) Take care of your teeth! Get regular dental checkups! Edentulousness (having no teeth) is directly related to nutritional issues and health problems.

7) Watch the BBC video: The Men Who Made Us Fat.
8) Recommended weight loss programs are: weight watchers and TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly).

9) Create your own individualized diet/meal plan that takes into consideration your age, gender, weight, and activity levels.

http://foodhabitat.com/2016/04/24/healthy-aging/

How to keep fit over 30

After we reach 30 we generally get more clarity about ourselves, other people and the world around us. We start leading a fuller life, and have deeper, more stable and enduring feelings… For many people, life assumes a different hue, and experiences are more colourful, and in a sense, more vivid – even more ‘real’. This concentration of the sense of being alive can be equated with a deliciously thick hot-chocolate or, if you prefer, sipping a wine of the finest vintage. Everything enters a new, more advanced stage. Everything, that is, aside from our physical selves.

It has been proven that thirty is the age at which all bodily processes begin to change. Before that time we can easily gain muscle, and be extremely lean without too much effort. After thirty, we gradually become aware of having to buy larger clothes sizes, and our first wrinkles and grey hairs begin to appear. Unfortunately our beach holidays can also become far less fun as a result. As we approach middle age we increasingly become what we ‘eat, do, and read’.

Sarcopenia (skeletal muscle degradation with age) is an inevitable process. Our body become limited in its protein synthesis and utilization abilities as soon as we cross the thirty-year threshold. According to Runners World research, once people reach thirty they lose, on average, about 15% of muscle mass every 10 years. Our metabolism naturally slows as well. Another important point is that the human body never really loses anything without some sort of compensation. Lost muscle tissue is replaced by fat. It is exactly for this reason that we become chubbier with age.

Fat gain and metabolic slowdown are the natural consequences of age, which brings us to a point where we have to run ‘twice as fast as we can’. Don’t panic though. Awareness is the first step toward success. “A healthy and active 60 year old can have the muscle mass of a 30-year old, while a sedentary middle-aged person who eats a primarily processed food diet and struggles with insulin resistance or diabetes may have the muscle quality of a 70-year old”, sais Dr. Mercola, a physician and blog contributor to Fitness Peak.

Here are a few tips on how to avoid age-related muscle degradation, and keep yourself energised, fit and healthy after the age of thirty, and for the rest of your natural life.

Hormones determine harmony

“Other factors, such as age-related changes in circulating levels of muscle anabolic hormones and growth factors, must also be considered as contributing mechanisms underlying the sarcopenic phenotype” – Alex Hatchinson, nutritionist and physician, and contributor to Runners World.

We primarily age as a result of hormonal and biochemical changes. Some endocrinologists believe that production of the human growth hormone (the hormone responsible for cell formation, regeneration, and general recovery) already starts to decline after the age of 25. Muscle loss and excessive fat formation could be the first symptoms of GH (somatotropin) deficiency. Somatotropin is a prescribed drug and available in any pharmacy. However, its use as a supplement requires extensive research, and should only be taken under medical guidance and supervision. But there is some good news. When taken together, widely available amino acids such as l-Arginine, l-Lysine, and l-Ornithine, act as GH’s precursors and theoretically increase natural somatotropin production. The right supplements in the correct dosages, taken with other requisite healthy nutrients, vitamins and minerals, could postpone aging and have a tremendously positive effect.

Estrogen and testosterone are two other important youth hormones. As long as the body can produce them in adequate quantities to support the reproductive process, youth and beauty will be maintained. When estrogen and testosterone production is suppressed by certain factors such as incorrect contraceptive methods, stress, overload, lack of sleep or irregular sex, malnutrition, and so on, the body’s aging processes accelerates. I am not going to cover this highly complex topic within this particular article as it worth looking at separately, and in more depth, another time. Perhaps only one tip can be given: be attentive to your wellbeing and private life. Sufficient rest, inner peace, regular physical activities, sex, and balanced nutrition are the key factors to maintain hormonal health and youth. Consult your physician and nutritionist if you have any pressing questions on the subject.

Build the body in advance of ageing

Anabolism (muscular development and maintenance) gets more complicated after thirty, reinforcing aging and resulting in metabolic slowdown and fat gain. However, a recent study by the National Center of Biotechnology Information showed that “(even) mobility-limited subjects between 70 and 85 managed to add an average of 1.3% to their lean mass after six months of high-intensity resistance training and protein supplementation”.

So, don’t miss the opportunity to start building your muscles as early as possible while your hormones are working at their peak and supporting high anabolic muscle response. Remember, the earlier you start the longer you last. Include 3-4 sessions of resistance training such as weights lifting, Pilates, TRX, pole dance, or body pump classes into your fitness routine. Don’t forget about taking supporting supplements to quicken your recovery, and to help create precious muscle tissue to overcompensate for inevitable aging muscle loss.

Magic youth bullets

First and foremost, I would like to say couple of words about whey protein (WP). I’m asked every day by my clients and friends if it is worth taking whey supplements. The answer is an unequivocal YES. I add 1 scoop of high-quality, vanilla-flavoured, whey protein into my morning oats and take two more after my evening workout, mixed with simple carbs such as fruit or maltodextrin and BCAA into my traditional post-workout shake. According to research conducted by the National Center of Biotechnology Information, “whey protein supplementation may augment resistance levels and boost exercise-induced increases in muscle strength and mass”. So don’t miss your shake. It will help you to recover more quickly and to retain your muscle mass.

Now, let me shed some light on whey manufacturing processes, as this question is very sensitive to a majority of health-conscious people. According to research conducted by the Imperial College MBA Group Consulting project for GST Nutrition, certified whey protein available on the US and the UK markets is made of the same best and cleanest MPC-80 (milk protein concentrate) and MPI-80 (milk protein isolate) as various high quality baby formulas (I personally took part in this research at the end of my MBA program). Also, the majority of premium WP’s are suitable for people with lactose intolerance and vegetarians.

Another beneficial substance massively helping to postpone aging muscle degradation is BCAA complex. Branch Chain Amino Acids is a combination of three naturally occurring essential amino acids Isoleucine, Leucine and Valine, that make up over 35% of overall amino acids concentration in muscle tissues. Research shown that under conditions of stress, injuries, intense exercise and after the age of thirty, the human body requires up to a four times higher consumption of BCAA to maintain positive nitrogen balance. For more detail, read: How much protein should be eaten.

The International Sport and Science Association recommends an intake of BCAA of up to 6 grams a day depending on a range of factors including the physical condition, age, body weight and composition, and gender, of the subject. The type and level of their physical activity is also important, as are their general lifestyle choices. It is also recommended that BCAA is taken 30 minutes before and directly after meals, and throughout the day together with meals, to maximize its value for the body.

One more important group of substances helping to postpone aging muscle sarcopenia and related derogative processes, are antioxidants. Vitamin E, Omega3, Selenium and Choline are just at the top of a long ‘must take’ list of antioxidants. Read about antioxidants in another upcoming article How to keep your fleeting youth (magic pills and herbal rhapsody) and consult your nutritionist to calculate best dosages for your needs.

Glucosamine Chondroitine is one more necessary ingredient in the process. Read How to keep the fleeting youth (magic pills and herbal rhapsody) for more details.

Smart cardio

Another suggestion in this topic of discussion is, surprisingly, don’t run! Stop crushing your joints and back bone, and torturing your veins. Moreover, long steady state cardio sessions exacerbate muscle degradation turning your body’s green light to sarcopenia even more. Everyday Health noted that “aside from the toll it (running) can take on your knees and joints, recent reports of things such as “runner’s face” and ‘dead butt syndrome’ could send some running devotees sprinting in the other direction”. Great alternatives to running could be light jogging, hiking, spinning, horse riding, skiing, water skiing or sprints (my personal second-favourite year-round activity, after the delights of seasonal skiing). If you are a gym lover, the rowing machine, curve, climbing ladder or lively aerobics/dance/body combat classes are all super solutions.

Do not forget to hydrate the body taking at least a glass of water 30 minutes before, during and after a session. Keep it sweaty, and have as much fun as you can.

Other factors

CALIFORNIA WALNUT COMMISSION MEDITERRANEAN DIET — Mediterranean diet

The statement “You are what you eat” is even more valid after you hit thirty. If before that your body was able to metabolize almost all the rubbish you consumed, after your thirtieth birthday the picture really changes. Now five minutes of food indulgence can stay permanently lodged in your tummy or thighs. So take care of your body, and do yourself a favour by hiring a competent nutrition advisor.

Flexibility is another area to focus on. Allocate 10-15 minutes for stretching after any fitness activity. It will increase the blood flow to your muscles and will help to reduce joint and ligament load.

Stress, overload and constant tissues hypoxia (lack of fresh air) are few other important factors that quicken the aging process. A good eight hours of sleep, regular holidays, meditation, 15 –minutes of active rest every 2-3 hours during the day, and decent fresh air exposure (at least 1 hour daily) will help tremendously in the tough fight to retain your youth. Read Dream and Walk the youth back.

Tatiana Dmitrieva

Sources used:

Gastely D., Hatfield F.C. Sport nutrition. 2013

Nature medicine. “Rejuvenation of the muscle stem cell population restores strength to injured aged muscles“

Northrup C. The female brain. 2006

http://www.everydayhealth.com/fitness-pictures/weird-things-running-does-to-your-body.aspx

http://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness/archive/2015/10/02/preventing-age-related-muscle-loss.aspx

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23114462

http://www.lifeextension.com/anti-aging

http://www.runnersworld.com/sweat-science/is-age-related-muscle-loss-reversible

http://www.webmd.com/healthy-aging/sarcopenia-with-aging

The Pyramid Of Muscle-Building

Courtesy of http://www.bodybuilding.com

Stack the most critical training and nutrition factors in your favor to optimize muscle growth. Learn to build a solid, sustainable approach to fitness—along with a stellar physique!

You’ve seen the food pyramid—now meet the muscle-building pyramid! This simple structure lays out the essentials of what you need to do to add lean mass to your frame, while also providing the structure you need to prioritize them.

Each level of the pyramid builds off the next. What does this mean? Leap to the upper tiers without establishing the bottom two, and you’ll end up sore, burned out, and confused. If you stick to the base, you can go a long way, but you’ll be left wondering about your true potential.

With help from EAS athlete Jason Wittrock, you can start at the base of the pyramid, and build your way—and yourself—up!

LEVEL 1 TRAINING

Muscle growth starts with quality training, so the base of the pyramid focuses on training variables linked to muscle-growth processes. These are the factors that allow you to construct an effective program and create the stimulus your body needs in order to change!

Favor free-weight, multijoint movements. Single-joint movements like leg extensions or cable cross-overs have their place, but they shouldn’t be the centerpiece of your mass-building routine. Multijoint movements (think bench and squat) recruit far more muscle mass and give your body a greater stimulus to grow. Moreover, the challenge of handling a free-weight version of an exercise improves anabolism over a machine.

Train at the right intensity. Exercise scientists have determined most people should train between 70-85 percent of their one-rep max to elicit an optimal hypertrophic response. Choose a weight that allows you to do 6-12 reps with good form before reaching failure.

Add volume. Higher-volume, multiple-set protocols have consistently been shown to be superior over single sets when it comes to building muscle. This is one reason why advanced lifters often follow a body-part split.

HIGHER-VOLUME, MULTIPLE-SET PROTOCOLS HAVE CONSISTENTLY BEEN SHOWN TO BE SUPERIOR OVER SINGLE SETS WHEN IT COMES TO BUILDING MUSCLE. THIS IS ONE REASON WHY ADVANCED LIFTERS OFTEN FOLLOW A BODY-PART SPLIT.

Don’t build up volume simply by doing the same thing with different implements. Change angles, rep ranges, and types of weights.

Train to failure some of the time. Yes, you can grow without lifting to the point of failure, and certain movements don’t lend themselves well to it. But all things being equal, if you stop short of failure—especially on isolation moves for small body parts like arms and calves—you won’t get the same anabolic stimulus as if you pursue those last few challenging reps.

Contain rest periods. For bodybuilding purposes, moderate rest intervals of about 60-120 seconds between sets maximize the hypertrophic response. Resting too long has been shown to be counterproductive to muscle gains because it reduces overall accumulated metabolic stress, a marker of hypertrophy. The smaller the muscle and lighter the movement, the less you need to rest.

Lift with proper technique. Don’t take this for granted! It supports everything else on this level. An exercise won’t work the way you want it to if you’re not doing it right. Get feedback on your form if necessary.

LEVEL 2 NUTRITION

If you get the training variables down, you’re giving your body a great growth stimulus. But without proper nutrition, good luck turning it into muscle!

Eat enough. If your goal is to add mass, you need to eat more calories each day than you’re burning. It doesn’t have to be a lot more. You can shoot for 0.5-1.5 pounds of gain in mass each week—or about 2-6 pounds a month—without adding significant amounts of body fat. That comes to an increase of about 300-500 calories daily over and above your maintenance level of calories. Check the scale regularly to determine whether your body weight is increasing within your target range.

Eat enough protein. You’ll hear a million different versions of how much fat or carbs you need. So let’s focus on what can’t be disputed: You need adequate protein to grow! Protein is essential to building and repairing damaged muscle tissue during hard training. Recommendations vary, but a time-honored amount that also happens to be the easiest to remember is 1 gram per pound of body weight daily, split into meals of at least 20-30 grams.

EAT ENOUGH. IF YOUR GOAL IS TO ADD MASS, YOU NEED TO EAT MORE CALORIES EACH DAY THAN YOU’RE BURNING.

So, how are you going to get it? “The easiest way to increase your protein intake is to make it your highest nutritional priority—which means you must always be prepared,” says Jason Wittrock. “I prepare all of my protein sources in advance and always make sure I keep my whey protein with me. When I’m sitting down eating a meal, I’m already thinking about being prepared for the next one.”

Increase your meal frequency. Consuming a higher level of calories than you burn and getting, say, 180 grams of protein a day, is pretty tough on just three meals a day. Supplementing meals with protein shakes and protein-rich snacks every 3-4 hours will help to keep rates of protein synthesis elevated while reducing protein breakdown.

Manage your excesses. You don’t have to subscribe to the “cheat meal” approach to gain muscle. But let’s face it: It’s difficult to eat clean 24/7 and gain weight, simply because the foods you’ll be favoring are relatively low in calories, and you won’t always want to eat large amounts of them. It’s OK to loosen the reins at times! Just do it on a hard training day, and make you’re still hitting your protein benchmarks.

LEVEL 3 ADVANCED GROWTH TECHNIQUES

You’re training right and eating right. Great! You’re on your way. Let’s consider a few more factors that could make the difference between OK results and great ones.

Incorporate progressive overload. Progressive overload simply means continually challenging your body to new levels of performance as it adapts to previous marks you set before it. You can do it many ways: lifting more weight, doing more reps, resting less, performing different movements—the sky is the limit, really. The key is to never fall into a comfort zone and never stop pushing yourself.

“Chasing your full potential is a never-ending process,” says Wittrock. “The minute you get comfortable, you stop growing. Don’t be afraid to try new things, and always stay hungry for new information. The second I feel like I’m in a comfort zone, I re-evaluate my goals. If you don’t have a big enough goal, you’ll find yourself in a comfort zone very quickly.”

Use intensity techniques. These are all ways of training past the point of failure. We don’t recommend doing them all at once or on every set, but once you’ve put in your time becoming fundamentally sound and strong in a movement, they can definitely help you take it to the next level.

Forced reps: As you reach muscle failure, your partner steps in and provides with just enough assistance to keep the weight moving for another 2-3 reps.
Dropsets: Once you reach muscle failure, quickly reduce the poundage by about 25 percent, and immediately continue on with the set to a second point of muscle failure.
Negatives: Instead of lifting a weight, lower it slowly for 3-5 seconds. Your partner then lifts the weight back to the start position. This works because you’re stronger lowering a weight than lifting it.

USE SUPPLEMENTS THAT BOOST TRAINING QUALITY. CERTAIN SUPPLEMENTS HAVE WELL-DOCUMENTED MASS-BUILDING BENEFITS, OFTEN BECAUSE THEY HELP YOU TRAIN HARDER AND DELAY FATIGUE.

Use supplements that boost training quality. Certain supplements have well-documented mass-building benefits, often because they help you train harder and delay fatigue. Here are four rock-solid choices:

Creatine has been shown to boost strength and muscle mass when used in combination with strength training.
Caffeine can delay fatigue during all types of training.
Branched-chain amino acids have been shown to help speed up recovery after a tough workout.
Whey protein should be a staple of your supplement stack as well, as it’s been shown to stimulate muscle protein synthesis and lead to greater increases in muscle mass and strength.

Time your nutrient intake. When building muscle is the goal, the meals before and after your workout are the most important. Make sure both have adequate protein, but also carbs, which are going to help you power through an intense workout and jump-start the recovery process. Fats are less important at this meal, so focus on them at other times of day.

LEVEL 4 RECOVERY

Don’t let recovery’s location all the way up at the top convince you it’s not important! It’s crucial to keep you coming back to the gym, feeling good, and preventing your training from hitting the wall. Skimp here, and you’ll feel it!

Don’t shortchange your sleep. Sleep is far more than just rest. It’s the time when your body releases hormones that enable you to heal from training and grow stronger. Most people need seven hours of quality sleep each night. Make this one of your highest priorities.

Rest from exercise. Part of this is up to your programming, but part of it is up to you!

DON’T SHORTCHANGE YOUR SLEEP. SLEEP IS FAR MORE THAN JUST REST. IT’S THE TIME WHEN YOUR BODY RELEASES HORMONES THAT ENABLE YOU TO HEAL FROM TRAINING AND GROW STRONGER.

If you’re serious about building mass, but you also play intense intramural sports regularly, chances are you aren’t doing your muscle-building efforts any favors. It’s extremely difficult to maximize muscle gains when you’re pushing yourself in other physically demanding activities.

“In order to build muscle, you must tear it down and allow it to rebuild itself,” says Wittrock. “For this reason, rest is absolutely essential. I hate rest as much as anybody, but I know it’s necessary to continue building muscle.

Supplement for recovery. Experienced lifters often take a two-pronged approach to supplementation: those that boost workout intensity, and those that boost recovery. Make no mistake: The two go hand in hand. “My key recovery supplements are glutamine, a protein supplement with carbs, and BCAAs with electrolytes,” Wittrock says.

Cycle intensity. You shouldn’t shy away from challenging workouts or programs. But training full-bore without stop for months on end is likely to do as much harm as good. Cycle in periods of lower-intensity training, and even time off from the gym, both for your physical as well as mental health.

BUILD A NEW YOU FROM THE GROUND UP

Muscle growth requires a lot of hard work, but also a lot of forethought and strategy. Don’t negate all that quality training you’ve been doing by phoning in your nutrition or recovery. Establish a solid base, and you’ll quickly surprise yourself with what you can achieve.

By Bill Geiger

Last updated: Mar 02, 2016

Source: The Pyramid Of Muscle-Building

6 Fitness Myths That May Be Holding You Back!

Courtesy of http://www.bodybuiding.com

These 6 fitness myths have stalled the progress of many motivated lifters. Break through the mistruth and become a wiser, stronger you!

Fitness has its own share of tall tales. You’ve heard the ones about sculpting your six-pack with daily high-rep crunches, right? How about the little boy whose knees fell off after a single squat? Far too many of us have let our lives be steered by these yarns over the years, with nothing to show for it in the end. You deserve better!

To help separate myth from reality, we turned to two EAS athletes who have seen and heard all sorts of pumped-up fitness parables over the course of their careers: active duty Coast Guard member Steven Lopez and NPC bikini competitor Nikki Walter.

STEVEN LOPEZ

Current Residence: Washington, D.C.
Occupation: Active duty Coast Guard, Bodybuilding.com athlete, EAS athlete

NIKKI WALTER

Current Residence: Aberdeen, SD
Occupation: Personal trainer, Bodybuilding.com athlete, EAS athlete
Website: www.nikkiwalter.com

Here’s what they had to say about six of the most persistent legends passed down through generations of iron enthusiasts.

MYTH 1 CRUNCHES ARE NECESSARY FOR A SIX-PACK

We get it: crunches burn so much when you do them they simply must be building something, right? Alas, wrong. Even the best direct ab exercises only strengthen the muscles underneath the flab. That doesn’t mean they’re not useful, but rather that they’re only useful at certain times for certain goals.

“Listen, we all have ‘abs,’ regardless of how high our body-fat percentage is,” Lopez explains. “It’s when you diet and exercise the whole body that those muscles become more visible. The key to a chiseled six-pack is sticking to a good overall workout routine and clean diet.”

FRONT SQUATS TORCH YOUR SIX-PACK MUSCLES AND PLENTY MORE. ARE YOU DOING THEM?

Got that? The overall quality of your approach is far more important than any small part. This is what Bill Geiger was writing about when he described the EAS Muscle-Building Pyramid: Start with the big, and then work your way to the small.

“Yes, exercises that directly work the abdominals can make the muscles more detailed and defined,” Lopez points out. “But that effort will only pay off when you peel away the layer of body fat over them. So start there.”

Just to be clear, a crunch is also not unique in its ability to work the “six-pack muscles” of the rectus abdominus. All of the following absolutely scorch the rectus and every other ab muscle, creating core strength that can carry over to everything else you do in the gym.

MYTH 2 TONS OF CARDIO IS NECESSARY TO GET EVEN A LITTLE LEAN

Slow-and-low cardiovascular training is a great tool—in the right time, amount, and place. But if you want to lose fat, you probably need less of it than you think, unless you’re already lean and looking to get leaner.

“I’ve found that the average person trying to get lean can accomplish that with just a good weight workout routine and diet,” explains Lopez. “However, if you compete or are prepping for a shoot, cardio is necessary to get rid of those last few pounds of stubborn fat in the final weeks of prep.”

YES, YOU CAN ENJOY YOUR LIFE WHILE YOU’RE TRANSFORMING IT. DON’T LET ANYONE CONVINCE YOU OTHERWISE!

Until then, you might get better results from blended cardio and bodyweight training—the type that EAS’s four “Transformed in 20” workouts contain in spades.

For guys, the most stubborn fatty areas are usually the love handles, lower abs, and lower back; for women, it’s usually the hips, butt, and thighs. “These areas have a high amount of alpha-receptors, which are more insulin sensitive and receive less blood flow,” Lopez says. “After being on prep for, say, 13-15 weeks, you might hit a fat-burning plateau and notice those areas are the last to get really lean. When that time comes, consider getting on the treadmill to help dial it in.”

MYTH 3 YOU MUST DISAPPEAR FROM LIFE IF YOU WANT TO LOSE FAT

There’s nothing like trying to transform your physique to make you start viewing the world starkly in terms of do’s and don’ts. Just watch the next time someone brings a cake into the office, and you’ll quickly notice two “teams” develop: those who partake, and those who don’t.

YOU MIGHT GET BETTER RESULTS FROM BLENDED CARDIO AND BODYWEIGHT TRAINING—THE TYPE THAT EAS’S FOUR “TRANSFORMED IN 20” WORKOUTS CONTAIN IN SPADES.

“Until I started competing and committed myself to a strict diet, I just wasn’t aware of how much of our social lives revolved around food and drinks,” Walter says. “I used to experience this working in an office, when others would bring in food to celebrate. Office settings are hard when co-workers want to bring treats in or go out to happy hour after work. No one wants to be the antisocial one.”

You want cake—but you want results, too. So what’s an aspiring athlete to do? As with training abs, you have to trust the overall approach to handle the big part of the results. If you’re confident in 90 percent of your nutritional approach—both the what and the why—it’s easier to say either “no thanks” or “just a bit” and really mean it.

“Go out and be social, but be prepared at work with your own snacks, or limit yourself to one treat a week—whatever will help you focus on the lifestyle change you’re aiming for,” Walter says.

MYTH 4 SQUATS ARE BAD FOR YOUR KNEES

This idea has many people scared squatless, as those fearful of injury have steered clear of what arguably is the most productive weight-training exercise ever devised. The squat, after all, works a multitude of muscles synergistically, including the quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes, as well as the core and upper body.

It’s entirely possible that a lifetime of sitting (among many other factors) may have gotten in the way of your ability to squat deeply with good form. Squatting heavy before you can squat well is also a major culprit. But with patience and a focus on mobility, you can absolutely regain your squat!

And what’s more, you should. The lower reaches of the range of motion, as they stop short of going all the way down to where the thighs are parallel to the floor or below, are where some of the squat’s biggest benefits are to be found.

“If your knees are tracking out past your toes, start by widening up your stance a bit to allow you to at least go to parallel. Over time, work on getting better at full-ROM squats, and they’ll more than earn their place in your leg-day routine,” Lopez says.

In other words, don’t leap to a heavy quarter-squat at the expense of learning how to do a light full squat. Start practicing light (or bodyweight) full squats, and then slowly add weight. Exercises like the goblet squat can certainly help you get there. They teach great squat form without requiring you to get under a heavy load.

MYTH 5 MACHINES ARE SAFER THAN FREE WEIGHTS

Because you’re locked into a specific range of motion with the resistance tucked away on a weight stack versus being in hand via a dumbbell or barbell, many assume machines are naturally safer than free weights. But is this true?

The answer is a huge “it depends.” Yes, you may be less at risk of hurting your knee today doing some leg extensions than doing a poor-quality, overly heavy squat. But you’re also doing a lot less to strengthen your body as a whole, including all those tiny stabilizer muscles that make you feel as strong as you look.

MACHINES WORK BEST AS THE DESSERT AFTER THE MAIN COURSE OF BIG LIFTS. BUT IF YOUR GOAL IS BIGGER QUADS, THEY DEFINITELY HAVE THEIR PLACE!

The precise thing that makes a squat so difficult—namely, your body being forced to stabilize during a difficult movement—is what makes it valuable. A well-performed squat, even just with body weight, teaches your muscles to fire and work together. A machine just hammers a muscle or two. One is a symphony; the other is a solo.

“Of course, machines have their place in a workout routine,” Lopez says. “But they’re just one ingredient. As long as you check your ego at the door when it comes to weight selection and use proper form, machines, cables, free weights, and bodyweight exercises are all the same as far as safety goes. Each provide their own unique way of targeting a muscle group. Use them all for what they’re best at.”

MYTH 6 SUPPLEMENTS ARE ONLY USEFUL FOR MUSCLE BUILDING

There are two things that are about as timeless in the fitness industry as the dumbbell itself: the sound of a big guy in the weight room rattling a shaker cup, and the magazine ad of a ripped bodybuilder roaring into the camera.

We’ve all seen them both a million times by now. But their popularity comes with a downside: A generation of people have seemingly become convinced that supplements are only for people who either already have tons of muscle or who are desperately in pursuit of it.

As Nikki Walter found out when she wanted to transform her life, this just isn’t the case. “Supplements can be scary for someone who has never used them,” she says. “Had I known several years ago, back when I was a marathon runner, how much supplementation can assist with recovery and performance, I would have saved myself a lot of hassle.”

Ask any of the millions who have successfully completed the EAS Body for Life challenge over the last 20 years, and they’ll echo Walter’s conclusion. Yes, a protein shakeis helpful to meet your daily protein target, but it’s more helpful in its ability to fuel your recovery between workouts. Sure, a pre-workout is helpful for giving you energy, but only if that energy equals another rep, set, or movement you wouldn’t have done otherwise.

Think of it this way: Choosing to commit to a lifetime with such an intense, challenging hour in it every day isn’t easy. It isn’t normal—even though it should be—but it’s necessary. If a supplement can help you turn that daily ritual into something to be relished rather than feared or dreaded, well, that’s worth considering for any athlete.

“It’s worth your time to read reviews and embrace supplementation as an intellectual challenge,” Walter says. “Knowing not only what to take, but also when to take supplements and how they support your goals are all key to success.” Look for supplements that use transparent labeling, meaning you can see each ingredient and the exact dose used in the product, and carry third party certifications like GMP and NSF so that you know the product has been tested for safety and for banned substances.

Source: 6 Fitness Myths That May Be Holding You Back!

7 Movements You Need For Full Body Strength

Courtesy of bodybuilding.com, 7 movements you need for full body strength. Really useful info for those who need a great general direction.

Is your one-sided program setting you up for frustration? Eradicate your weaknesses for a body that performs from any angle by mastering the fundamental human movement patterns!

So let’s dig deeper into the patterns. Different coaches categorize them different ways, but for me, it all comes down to what I call the “Magnificent Seven.” No matter your goals, these all need to be present and accounted for!

1. Overhead press

This includes bodyweight moves like handstands or handstand push-ups, but also the military press, Arnold press, and plenty more. Any exercise that requires the practitioner to press away from his or her body in a vertical plane falls under this heading.

SEATED DUMBBELL PRESS / PIKE PRESS-UP

The primary movers here are your shoulders, traps, and triceps, although there are certainly differences from exercise to exercise. For example, a wall pike press-up requires more core stability than a seated dumbbell press, but the overall movement patterns are the same, and the yields are extraordinary from both.

2. Overhead pull

Pull-ups, chin-ups, and lat pull-downs, including all their numerous grips, angles, and hand placements, are the big hitters in this category. They place the focus more on the lats and biceps, the antagonists to your pressing muscles.

Pulling in general is a fundamental component of full-body strength, which is sadly underrepresented in many styles of training. The calisthenics fanatic knows how important it is, though! You’ve simply got to train your back to be balanced, symmetrical, and truly strong, even if you can’t see it in the mirror.

Whichever modality you choose to train, be sure you’ve got a balance of pushes and pulls in your regimen.

3. Horizontal push

This is any exercise in which you push your arms out in front of your chest and away from your body. Push-ups and bench presses are clearly the gold standards here, but make no mistake, they come in far more variations beyond just wide-grip, narrow-grip, incline, and decline.

PUSH-UP / BENCH PRESS

Furthermore, the choice between barbells, dumbbells and bodyweight training each have their own intrinsic distinctions. Barbells, of course, allow for maximal absolute strength. Dumbbells provide a greater grip workout, whereas unilateral and bodyweight variations train full-body coordination and muscular control.

Yes, you’re hitting primarily the chest and triceps here, but if you’ve ever done the work to achieve your first single-arm push-up, you know that the shoulders, abs, lats, and glutes also come into play to provide stability and assistance. There is no true muscle isolation, as the body always has to work together in one cohesive unit.

4. Horisontal pull

I love pull-ups as much as anybody, but I know I need my rows, too. Why? Typically, these exercises recruit more medial back muscles than the overhead pulls do, such as the rhomboids and spine erectors. If these crucial postural muscles are weak, something else is having to compensate—and that could be setting you up for trouble down the road.

AUSTRALIAN PULL-UP / BENT-OVER BARBELL ROW

So where do I get them? Australian pull-ups and suspension-strap pulls are great ways to get some volume.Dumbbell rows and bent-over rows are also classic moves here, along with the standard seated cable row.

If you want an elite row variation to aim for, try the front-lever pull-up. If you can knock out one of those cleanly, your back will show it from every angle.

5. Squat

The squat is the most foundational lower-body exercise there is, as well one of the most important movement patterns in general. You were a master of it as a kid, even though the hip, knee, and ankle range of motion you had then may have since slipped away. But it’s not too late to get it back!

Squats are unique in that both the anterior (front) and posterior (back) of the legs are employed, including the quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, and tibialis. Very much a full-body movement pattern, squats also recruit your hip flexors, spine erectors, abdominals, and more.

There are benefits to be gained from both bilateral and single-leg squat training, so save time for both. The foundation always has been—and still is—the simple bodyweight squat, but other worthy additions include the split-squat, walking lunges, and pistol squats, as well as the classic barbell lifts like back squats and front squats. Even theleg press is a variant of the basic squatting motion! Do not ignore this vital movement.

6. Forward flexion

Examples of this motion include all variations of sit-ups, hanging leg raises, twisting knee raises, jackknife crunches, and a vast multitude of abs and core exercises. Weighted crunch machines fall into this category, too.

Basically, any exercise where the body bends forward, emphasizing the abdominals, is part of this group. Bear in mind that although the primary movers here are the abs, many of these exercises—particularly those exercises which require you to hang from a bar—recruit additional muscles like your lats, arms, and shoulders.

7. Hinge

This group is made up of extension-based movements that balance out the immense amount of forward flexion we tend to include in our workouts and our lives. Because of the emphasis many of us place on the “beach muscles” (abs and chest, for example), the muscles you can’t see in the mirror often go undertrained. The importance of working the backside of your body cannot be understated.

You won’t be functionally strong, sound, or physically unyielding if you’re lacking in the posterior chain. There are many spectacular hinge movements, including but not limited to all forms of back bridging, the deadlift and its many incarnations, and the kettlebell swing.

BARBELL DEADLIFT / BRIDGE

Make no mistake: Although the primary movers in these exercises are the glutes, legs, upper back, and lower back, you must recruit your entire body in order to execute the hinge movement effectively. And your entire body will thank you for it.

ARE YOU TRAINING THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN?

Different people progress in different ways. A group of men and women could follow the same solid full-body training plan that hits all seven of these patterns, and each person would probably see one movement—horizontal push, for example—get stronger faster than another.

That’s perfectly normal. They key is to not let your weaknesses become your blind spots. Get stronger at what you’re lacking, stay strong at what you’re crushing, and incorporate some flexibility work to enhance your overall training.

And yes, of course I get that these groupings are a generalization. There are many activities—calf raises, wrist curls, neck harnesses, you name it—that don’t fit cleanly on this list. However, those are the dessert. These are the main course. Train the Magnificent Seven with consistency and intensity, and you will be in the best shape of your life!

By Danny Kavadlo

Last updated: Apr 20, 2016

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/7-movements-you-need-for-full-body-strength

https://ten8fitness.wordpress.com/2016/04/22/7-movements-you-need-for-full-body-strength/

Diets and exit strategies

To lose 4lbs during a diet, yet gain 6lbs back within a few weeks of finishing it is a sadly familiar scenario. In the previous article “Why diets never work and what to do” we discussed in detail why fad diets generally have poor results. We also presented some of the best alternatives to fad dieting, with the goal of achieving desired ‘body correction’ and avoiding starving the body. This article is devoted to exit strategies for diets.

Any process embarked on should have an exit strategy.

Dropping a diet without planning is the equivalent of stopping your car in the middle of the motorway, or jumping out of the airplane before landing – not recommended!

In the previous article “Why diets do not work…” we discussed the body’s reaction to various ‘cut’ diets. Here’s a quick refresher:

A decrease in calories leads to metabolic slowdown due to inevitable negative metabolic adaptation. Being adapted to lower calories, the body burns less ingested nutrients for energy. The more you reduce your food intake, the lower your metabolic rate becomes and the lower the quantity of nutrients which are used for body maintenance. Muscle degradation occurs as a side effect of many diets. This is a result of the body using its own muscle tissue for its energy needs when it is being starved, rather than burning fat as the latter is used to store nutrient deposits for a ‘rainy day’. A final and important point is that the less muscle tissue the body has, the lower its metabolic rate. Consequently a decrease in food consumption leads directly to muscle degradation during ‘cut’ diets, resulting in a situation in which the dieter is both eating less and getting fatter.

By instead taking a path of balanced and healthy eating, you could achieve visible sustainable results and reach a desirable body correction. This, in combination with the right training strategy, is the right solution.

Now let’s imagine a situation in which you are a healthy eater and regular exerciser. You have adopted the right nutritional strategy and follow an appropriate fitness plan for your body’s needs, but you want to achieve even more.

In this instance so-called “manageable cut dieting” may be suitable.

Imagine that you achieve this additional goal; fantastic! But what next?

You always have two options: to either return to your normal eating habits, or follow a correct exit strategy. In the first case the pattern will be more or less classic. If you are a healthy eater, you will inevitably gain weight after the diet is over and your metabolism will accelerate due to an increase in calories. Super-compensation will occur and you will come back to your normal body weight and body composition with an additional 1-3% of body fat. This is the most favorable scenario. However, you have to be ready to be slightly “softer” for a while until all your bodily processes are settled. If you are not a healthy eater, you will probably fall into the vicious circle of any diet, described above.

The second scenario, which involves a smart exit strategy, is a bit more sophisticated in terms of execution but at the same time will definitely help to keep your physical achievements for longer. It may even shift your body composition permanently and allow you to be lean all-year-round. This is exactly what happened to me after 3 years of competing.

3 years of smart dieting and exercising helped me to shift my body composition towards being lean (9-12% of body fat) all year round. Taking into account my age (I’m 33) it is a great achievement and long-term health and wellbeing investment.

Exit strategy recommendations:

Increase calories gradually.

It is always very tempting to start eating all your favorite treats after a diet. However, keep in mind that your body will have become extremely sensitive to all previously excluded food sources. Be careful and conscious with carbs and fats first of all. Lane Norton (one of the most notable experts in metabolic damage) believes that the best way to smooth the transition to a non-dieting state is to increase your carbs by 10%, and fats by 1%, every week. Such moderate increases boost the metabolism and help the body to adapt to a new macronutrient modulation, without drastic changes in body composition.

Track protein intake

Protein consumption also should be trackable. In the majority of smart fitness diets (not fad diets) protein intake is sufficient at the ‘cut’ stage. Macronutrient increase usually happens on account of carb and fat intake. However, some strategies such as various “detox” programs exclude or minimize protein consumption for the entire duration of the diet. This leads to severe muscle loss and metabolic damage.

Conversely, there are some diets (Dr. Atkins and his numerous imitators) that exclude carbs almost completely. One of the biggest misconceptions behind such an approach is that the human body does not need anything apart from protein. This in turn gave birth to the following misunderstandings of the human body: One is that you can eat any amount of protein and not gain fat. In fact, any excessive amount of protein is converted into glucose by the liver via the neoglucogenesis process. Excessive glucose and fatty acids not used for energy are literally converted into body fat. So keep your protein intake attuned to your body composition, type of exercise you do and your activity level, but be careful with any extra amount consumed. If you want to increase muscle mass the nutrition strategy you follow should be allied with your training and supplementation plans to achieve desirable results. Eating mountains of protein without a smart plan will not bring benefits. On the other hand, excessive consumption of protein can even be dangerous and lead to unexpected fat gain, increased acidity and an additional burden placed on the kidney and the liver. For more details about this, read my article “How much protein should be eaten”.

Increase physical activity

It is clear that any increase in food consumption provides the body with additional energy. This increased energy should be burned up, in order to avoid undesirable body fat formation after a diet. As the metabolism is still slow after the period of reduced calories the only way to make sure you are on the right track is to increase your physical activity until the metabolic rate is normalized. The question is how we can do this in a more efficient and productive way. Obviously, we can not spend 2-3 hours a day doing low intense steady state (LISS) cardio as some so-called ‘fitness gurus’ recommend. That sort of free time is far too scarce for most of us. The best way to increase activity after a diet is to increase the intensity of your normal workout by increasing resistance (weight), or the number of receptions. Another recommended tactic is to add 15-20 minutes of highly intense interval (HIIT) cardio after your workout.

Supplementation

After any diet all bodily processes are altered. Being excluded for a while, and then re-introduced, some food sources could provoke digestion problems and cause bloating and other unpleasant consequences. You need to help the body to start working properly. Short, 2-3 week courses of digestive enzymes and friendly bacteria will be beneficial.

Metabolic boosters are another useful thing. Two of the most well-known natural metabolites are chili and black pepper. Just add a pinch of those to your meals.

The next possibility is an insulin controller. Keeping going without simple carbs for a period of time increases insulin sensitivity. Add 1-3 tablets of chromium to your meals to avoid insulin spikes. Also be careful with fruit: Those fruit with a high glycemic index such as mango, figs and other exotic fruits likely will be harmful for your six-pack.

Check your list of wellbeing factors daily

Try to get eight hours of quality sleep, fresh air (and, at least, a one-hour power walk outside) and attempt to keep your stress levels low. These three wellbeing factors should always be checked and whenever possible, observed. High cortisol levels (stress hormones) alone could ruin all your fitness and dietary efforts. Insufficient sleep, excessive alcohol consumption and smoking, and constant tissue hypoxia (lack of oxygen) will make change impossible.

Check your body composition

This is a pretty obvious point, but very often ignored. After a diet, it is essential to know what the proportion of your lean muscle mass is to your body fat percentage. Check it once every two weeks, a reasonable length of time to let your body react to new nutrients and any adjusted fitness plan. Ideally, both figures should stay unchanged or increase very slowly. Keep an eye on them. If you notice a drop in muscle mass or an increase in body fat of more than 4lbs within a two week period, your exit diet should be reconsidered and adjusted accordingly.

Tatiana Dmitrieva

Vibrations determine being

When you wake up with a smile on your face it is good indication that you are doing something right. Our simple emotions are like litmus paper – the best indicator of what is going on in our lives. But what if you wake-up drained, apathetic, scared about your future? There are five crucial fields you should check daily.

image1 (13) — Love, be open, be grateful, respect yourself and others…

The body reacts first

The body is born to serve our basic needs and act as a box for the soul (our essence or spirit). Ayurveda practitioners believe that the body is “older” than the mind. Indeed, when one is born he/she is not able to analyse things, because cognitive skills are as yet undeveloped. This is the probably the best period of our existence, as we are still free from that constant, irritating and uncontrollable churn of thoughts that plague us later in life.

The body is the only real means a new-born has of indicating his or her feelings. Being adults we always put rationality first, not paying enough attention to our body’s signals. This is a huge mistake, as the body never lies! All the signals it sends us should be accepted, acknowledged, and taken into account. So, if you suffer a lack of energy, poor focus, or constant fatigue – it is time to change your routine.

Human magnetic field — Human energy field

Sufficient Sleep + Healthy Eating + Physical Activities + Fresh Air + Sex = Body Wellbeing.

It’s a pretty simple equation, but at the same time, one which is surprisingly difficult for most of us to put into effect.

However, this apparent complexity is just an abstract construction of our mind. If you walk instead of taking the train, car or bus, you have already met two fundamental needs at the same time (activity and fresh air).

Sex is the most well-known source of both endorphins and serotonin (happiness hormones). Of course, not all of us have the possibility to have regular sex – but this isn’t a problem. I don’t believe it was an issue when you were 15 (at least for most of us!). There are so many other ways of getting your daily dose of happiness: Weight training, yoga and deep relaxation, 5 HTP (naturally occurring amino acid acting as a precursor of serotonin), deep tissue massage, and proliferations of other methods, to name a few. You should aim to a rule of thumb to get two separate happiness experiences a day, topping up your levels of endorphins and serotonin.

Healthy Eating is also fundamental. Doing nutrition consulting over years I realized that 99% of people have difficulty in telling apart basic carbs, fat and protein sources. Very frequently we suffer from minor and major food intolerances: Major intolerances can inflict a great degree of pain, and so we are usually aware of them. Minor intolerances are not so obvious, but could nevertheless cause serious health problems. The best way to tackle the problem is to conduct an allergens and food intolerance test to identify the core problems, and then hire a qualified practitioner to design a well-balanced flexible diet to meet your needs. Even if you have a perfect body and don’t plan on losing or gaining weight, a balanced bespoke flexible diet could help you to maximize performance, boost your energy and immune system, and even extend your youth.

So, keep your body in good order and always listen to its signals: It will definitely pay off!

Monster in your head

Have you ever caught yourself thinking almost obsessively about something very unpleasant? I bet your answer is yes.

You are not alone. Obtrusive thinking is a major “defect” of the human brain.

Eckhart Tolle, the author of bestseller “The Power of Now”, and “The New Earth” compares this trait of human cognitive processes with the concept of original sin. In other words, all of us suffer from obtrusive negative thinking. It could be snippets past conversations, fighting with invisible “enemies”, or simply anxieties about possible future events that, most likely, will never happen.

It has been scientifically proven that obtrusive thinking is very energy-consuming. I compare it to a hungry vampire, sucking out your energy, draining you of life. You should remember that this ugly, greedy vampire only exists in your own head.

To many of us it seems like a trap from which we can’t escape, but wait: There are some people who are able to beat the Monster, for a while, at least. How? By focusing exclusively on the present moment. All your negative feelings, fears, anxieties and regrets dwell in the past (which you can’t change) or in the future (that you can’t control). So the present moment is the only safe place you have. Next time when the Monster attacks, do something that immediately requires your full, undivided attention. According to Zen principles and cognitive behavioural therapy practitioners, humans are not really able to successfully multitask, as we tend to believe. It’s an illusion. We are really able to do one thing at any one time, and this is a potent weapon in battling our Monster.

My personal method of combatting my inner, negative voice was to start lifting heavy weights, for instance, and counting reps. Doing this slowly, by flexing my muscles for 10 seconds during every rep, didn’t allow me to pay much attention to the Monster. Try this technique, or your own, and send me feedback.

Through controlling your emotions and managing that inner Monster, you will be able to save your energy for far more exciting and inspiring moments in life.

Just do it

When living each moment, try to extract maximum value from the present. Try to accomplish more, try to get new experiences, learn something relevant and useful to your life, visit new places; do something that you’ve never done before.

You’re probably thinking that you could be disappointed, that the experience may not live up to expectations. You might also worry about being put down by negative people, or failing in some way. Those possibilities exist, certainly, but why don’t we simply accept them, move on, and focus on the positives instead? There will always be experiences in life that disappoint us, which may be unpleasant or cause us to be upset. Your Monster is waiting for these feelings to surface, never sleeping, always ready to thrive on negative emotions. So be smarter than your Monster, and collect only beautiful pictures for your life album. Would you keep an ugly picture next to your bed? I don’t think so. Why are we so selective for our physical environment and not as selective for our inner peace?

Don’t be afraid, and open yourself to new and exciting experiences:

A life filled with wonder is a wonderful life.

Vampires feed your Monster

Celestine Chua, the author of the bestselling book Personal Excellence, states that your level of consciousness and energy levels are an average of the 5-10 people you interact most often.

Keep in mind that having negative, greedy, jealous, judgemental, aggressive or constantly moaning people in your circle is not good for you for three key reasons:

They drag down your level of consciousness. Remember, misery loves company. If you see that someone is suffering from personal problems, and you are in a position to help, don’t hesitate. But in majority of cases such people don’t need your help at all. It is ultimately their life choice to struggle. Try to help, but don’t get stuck in fighting a futile battle – if after a month or two you’re making no progress, walk away. They are simply draining your energy, benefitting neither of you.

Such people feed the Monster in your own head, multiplying anxieties, fears, jealousy and complexes. Have you ever noticed they are always keen to give you so much negative ‘food for thought’?

If you interact with negative people too often, you may also start to perceive other people negatively. If your close ‘friend’ is never grateful, doesn’t appreciate what you do, always tries to diminish your achievements – run away. Otherwise, very quickly, you will start seeing the world as a place full of people like them.

The Power of Words

Words have an incredible power to form our reality. Even the Bible begins with the sentence:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”.

Nowadays all of us are drowned in information. We read countless meaningless articles, snippets of news here and there, newspapers, magazines and text messages. We absorb all of this noise, again providing sustenance for the Monster.

On the other hand, books are the best teachers. Reading meaningful texts from positive and reliable sources could help you to acquire new useful knowledge and deeper insights. So, read, read, read, but be selective at the same time. Try to minimize your exposure to negative and meaningless information, or things written by negative people. Take care of your health, energy and purity, and spread positive vibes around to make our world a better place.

Tatiana Dmitrieva