Science
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Fat-burning fats
Read more →There’s always been a lot of talk about “using fat to burn fat,” and we always see supplement companies offering essential fatty acid (EFA) or conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) supplements, suggesting that they’ll burn fat, stabilize blood sugar and generally help you get in shape. Of course, no fatty acid will replace some solid cardio, but it does have benefits. A new study shows fatty acids can help make a difference. Researchers had 12 adults follow a low-calorie diet for three weeks while consuming a fatty acid supplement. The study examined the effects of these fatty acids on low-density lipoprotein...
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Taking Your Salty Diet to Heart
Read more →As a bodybuilder, you need to make it your first job to train your muscles, but a very, very close second is to feed them. Eating a clean diet is the most important thing you can do outside the gym. Your cooler full of copious amounts of food makes the average Joe question your sanity. But eating clean is difficult, and we occasionally resort to some quick fixes that aren’t always the healthiest choices, especially when you look at salt content. High-salt food has its consequences, including high blood pressure and enough water retention to make you look and feel...
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Vitamin D and Its Connection to Testosterone
Read more →Vitamin D is one of the vitamins that we don’t hear much about. It doesn’t help fight off colds, like vitamin C. Nor is it a great antioxidant, like vitamin E. But one of the benefits vitamin D may have is of great importance to men and women, and also bodybuilders. Low vitamin D levels are linked to low levels of testosterone. Yes, you read that correctly. If you have low vitamin D levels, you’re more likely to have decreased testosterone. As most people know, testosterone is the hormone that’s key to promoting muscle growth. Vitamin D levels are also...
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Crappy gyms could mean crappy results
Read more →Nothing feels less legit than a shiny new McGym full of spin-class clowns and poseurs. It’s all about being hardcore, and that means putting in the time in a hardcore gym like the pros of old, with well-used equipment. That will get you huge fast, right? Not quite. A new study by researchers in California showed that although barbells and dumbbells are balanced when new and therefore can move in space correctly and stimulate correct muscle growth, old, well-used equipment undergoes continuous microchanges. This can result in unequal total weight distribution, meaning that one end of the barbell or dumbbell...
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A cool recovery helps a hot workout
Read more →When summer rolls around, you’ll probably be spending more time outside. But when you’re inside, chances are that it’ll be several degrees warmer than normal – especially when you’re at the gym. And a hard workout in the heat is much more demanding than the same workout in an air-conditioned building. For bodybuilders, there has always been one big question: How does heat affect recovery? Scientists examined this question by getting male and female athletes to do two 30-minute exercise sessions seven days apart, each followed by a one-hour passive recovery session of sitting. During recovery, one group of people...
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Does cardio burn or build muscle?
Read more →Get two training experts in a room, and before long the argument will start. “Cardio costs you muscle.” “No, cardio is essential. Without it, you simply won’t grow.” For years, there have been no clear answers – until now. Researchers measured cardio training’s influence on the size and function of muscles. Study participants underwent ergometer training, doing no other form of workout. After 12 weeks, average quadriceps muscle volume increased by 12 percent and average power generated from the knee extensor increased by 55 percent. Biopsies showed that the cardio training alone increased participants’ type I muscle fiber size by...
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