Science
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Caffeine cranks your conditioning
Adrenaline and noradrenaline are critical for the energy needed to bust through a hard training session that builds maximum muscle. While a hard workout itself stimulates and triggers the release of these important energy hormones, sometimes it isn’t enough. That’s why supplementation is important – it can take your energy to the next level and make the difference between an okay workout and an explosive muscle-building session for the history books. Caffeine stimulates adrenaline and noradrenaline release and dramatically increases your energy levels – but new science shows that not every bodybuilder responds equally to it. It turns out that...
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Breakfast helps get you lean
When it’s time to show off your physique, you need to drop that concealing layer of fat. Getting lean doesn’t just come down to using the best supplements, however. It’s all about diet, and no meal is more important for ripping it up than breakfast. It not only starts you off right but also is a winner when it comes to your body mass index (BMI). Recent research has examined the relationship between eating breakfast and BMI values by comparing the results of nine controlled studies on both children and adults. The researchers found a consistent correlation between eating breakfast...
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Berries can keep you ripped
You're a bodybuilder, an iron warrior, a disciple of Arnold, so chances are that you want a big, strong, beyond ripped body with no ugly fat hiding all your hard work. If this is you, add one more thing to your “must do” list: eat fresh berries. On the surface, berries don’t seem essential for bodybuilders; they’re low in protein and light on calories and they certainly won’t build muscle like a nice thick steak. But new evidence shows that fresh berries can stop you from getting fat – and not getting fat is always better than having to lose...
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Berries to boost your training
Eating fruit is good for you, but many of us worry that sugary fruit will make us fat. We can rest easy because when consumed in moderation, fruit won’t make us fat – it will only power our workouts and build muscle. New research shows that eating a mix of dark fruit berries twice daily not only helps trigger muscle growth by combating and crushing workout-induced harmful oxidants but also dramatically enhances cardiovascular capacity and performance, enhances oxygen and nutrient circulation and delivery to muscles, and ultimately leads to better cardio workouts and performance under the iron. Ultimately, then, the...
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Take your antioxidants before you need them
Exercise triggers the generation and release of harmful oxidants that can damage your muscles, organs and DNA. It’s also well-known that eating itself generates harmful oxidants. But whereas the harmful oxidants generated from your normal diet are well-managed by your body, the harmful oxidants generated by exercise aren’t. Many experts think that the solution to harmful exercise-generated oxidants is to consume foods with a high total antioxidant capacity (TAC), such as dark fruits and a wide variety of colored vegetables. But does eating a lot of high-TAC foods really help? An Italian study found that it doesn’t matter much how...
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After weight loss, your body tells you to eat
As bodybuilders, we’ve all experienced rebound weight gain. After a long dieting-down phase or a contest, we “relax” a bit and take some much-needed rest, enjoying some of the foods that we’ve had to forgo for so long for the sake of our physiques. But have you ever wondered why it’s so easy – especially right after dieting down or a contest – to gain body fat back faster than ever before? A study investigated this question by testing a group of male subjects and measuring circulating hormone concentrations, including ketone bodies, free fatty acids (FFAs), insulin, leptin, glucose and...