Bodybuilding Vitamins: An Alternative Supplement For Bodybuilding

There are different types of bodybuilding supplements. One example is vitamins. Vitamins are commonly taken to boost metabolic reaction in one’s system. Research shows that about 90% of Americans are not getting the proper nutrition from the foods they consume, hence the need for vitamins.

Vitamins are also needed in bodybuilding since you need to supply the lost energy that your body has exerted during rigorous training. Some of the important vitamins a bodybuilder should take are:

Vitamin C

Ascorbic acid is another term for Vitamin C. It is a water-soluble type of vitamin. With proper amount of Vitamin C in your body, it will be able to:

- protect your muscle cell from radical injury.
- absorb iron to aid oxygen in the binding of hemoglobin in the blood to help you perform well.
- aid in the steroid-hormone formation.

Vitamin C supplements come in different forms which includes tablet, capsule, drink-mix packs, and "multi-vitamin formulation".

Vitamin B6

Vitamin B6 is primarily involved in protein metabolism, but also functions, to a lesser degree, in carbohydrate and fat metabolism. This vitamin, also called pyridoxine, is necessary for the functioning of numerous enzymes inside our bodies. Vitamin B-6 plays a role in a wide variety of metabolic reactions. This vitamin can also be found on foods such as liver, green beans, chicken, sea vegetables, nuts and bananas.

Vitamin B1

Thiamine is the other term for Vitamin B1. This vitamin is essential for bodybuilders in many ways. Some of them include:

- It fills muscle because thiamine aids in the conversion of carbohydrates and fats into energy.
- It aids in proper maintenance of the heart, digestive and nervous systems.

Vitamin B1 supplements can be found in most "B complex vitamins". Supplement aside, foods that are rich in thiamine are spinach, beef, pork, soybeans, cereals and legumes.

Vitamin D

Any bodybuilder can obtain a lot of benefits from getting proper dose of Vitamin D since:

- It helps in the regulation of calcium and phosphorus which aids in proper food absorption. Additionally, phosphorus is believed to increase robust contractions in the muscle.

- It aids in the development of a "strong skeleton" as well as proper formation and mineralization of the bone.

Milk and other dairy products is the major source of Vitamin D. Additionally, you may want to add oils from fish liver, fatty fish, and egg in your diet as other natural Vitamin D sources.

Vitamin E

In medical terms Vitamin E is referred to as "tocopherol". Through the following ways it may help bodybuilder to achieve their bodybuilding goal. This vitamin serves as a vital anti-oxidant factor where it shields the cell membranes from potential damage.

Vegetable oils are the common primary ingredient in the manufacturing of Vitamin E supplements. Alternatively, you can consume foods such as soybeans, nuts, wheat and peanut butter as other sources of Vitamin E.

Ab Training Myth: Sit Ups For Great Abs

Contrary to everything that we have heard over the years, you will find that sit ups are not going to help you get leaner abs. In fact, sit ups are more or less redundant when you really go to look at things.

What do I mean? After all, aren’t ab crunches the same thing as sit ups? The answer to that would have to be a resounding, NO! Ab crunches although similar to sit ups, are not the same thing.

On the face of it the principle is the same; it’s only when you go deeper that you see the difference. To begin with sit ups require you to come fully upwards towards your knees, whereas crunches only require you to lift a few inches off the ground.

The difference lies in this fact; and the redundancy of sit ups lies in the fact that going beyond a certain point, that is, raising your upper body up off the floor beyond a certain point does nothing for your abdominal muscles, and in some instances, if this is not done properly the sit up will work your hip muscles or strain your back and shoulder muscles.

So, no, the sit up is not the same as the crunch, since the crunch relies only on your ab muscles to pull you up, and doesn’t place extra strain on any other part of you. To see how to do a crunch, go to the sections entitled, “The crunch”, and “The crunch with the exercise ball”.

The verdict: Sit ups are not what you need to help you get better defined abs. Crunches are the way to go!

For more info on abs training, go to: Firm & Flatten Your Abs.

Politically Incorrect Fat Burning Tips

Politically Incorrect Fat Burning Tips
By line: By Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
URL: www.TurbulenceTraining.com

I was at a big event last week and was reminded how important it is to have strategies for this season of high-calorie parties and busy schedules. But I get ticked off by the tired old suggestions you find on the Internet or in magazines like Woman's World.

Often the suggestions are lack any substance, because the writers don't want to imply you actually have to make a sacrifice to succeed. They make fat loss sound easy, as if all you had to do was park at the far end of the parking lot and you'd burn all the calories from 5 shortbread cookies.

Well it doesn't work that way...So here are my politically incorrect, unique Turbulence Training strategies to help you keep off the holiday pounds.

By the way, I "borrowed" a few ideas from contestants in my Turbulence Training Transformation Contest. The Transformation is rocking with social support and success stories right now, even while the rest of the world struggles with weight gain, these TT users are losing fat over the holidays.

Click here to get started with Turbulence Training for Fat Loss:
==> http://www.turbulencetraining.com

Strategy #1 - Green Tea & Almonds

One of the most common tips you'll hear is to "fill up" before you go to a party where there will be lots of goodies.

Unfortunately, most people I talk to have no luck with this tip. Most people still go to a party and eat everything in sight.

But recently TT users have told me that having a cup of Green Tea and one ounce of almonds has helped them avoid holiday cravings better than anything ever before.

The fiber from the almonds reduces appetite while the small amount of caffeine from the Green Tea seems to increase mental alertness and keep you "energized" at the party.

Hopefully that might work for you...

Strategy #2 - Don't waste your time on any fancy cardio programs

Listen, the bottom line over the holiday season is that your success depends almost entirely on your nutrition.

You can't expect to hit the cardio confessional and burn off last night's 2000 calorie smorgasboard. That's a 4-hour workout. Instead, don't get into that situation in the first place.

Here are more nutrition tips:

- Focus on portion control (and if you have no discipline, forget
even trying to eat just one)
- Nix all drinks mixed with calorie-containing beverages, or better yet, just stop getting drunk. Period.
- Write down everything you eat to identify your problem spots. Then do whatever you need to do to eliminate your weaknesses. If you don't record your nutrition, chances are you'll miss big
opportunities to change your diet and lose fat.

Strategy #3 - Take care of yourself first.

My friend Holly Rigsby (of http://www.fityummymummy.com) is always reminding busy moms to take care of themselves first, and I think that suggestion applies at this time of year to everyone.

So take a deep breath. Ask yourself as you're running around to please everyone else, "Have you set aside time for yourself"

Be selfish. Make sure you have had some exercise time, some good nutrition, and some rest before overextending yourself and doing too much for other people when you haven't taken care of yourself and your goals first.

Strategy #4 - Get on a roll

This one comes from a TT Transformation contestant who is too busy losing fat to get off track over the holidays.

Don't procrastinate till January 1st. Get started now. Dozens of men and women are doing their Turbulence Training Transformations right now - through the heart of the holiday season.

They aren't waiting for Jan. 1st to show up. They are taking control now, and getting on a roll, and not letting anything (from work parties to peer pressure) get in their way.

Strategy #5 - Exercise in short bursts whenever you can

Don't be afraid to dance at your Christmas party. Don't worry, there is bound to be at least one worse dancer than you out on the floor. Have fun and get down!

On a more serious note, here's how to avoid falling off the fitness program during the busy holiday season.

Get your butt out of bed 15 minutes early so you can have 3 minutes to wake up and 12 minutes to do the December 2007 Turbulence Training 12-Minute Workouts.

Get this workout as part of your bonuses when you start using
Turbulence Training today: http://www.TurbulenceTraining.com

Stay healthy and fit over the holidays,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, Turbulence Training.

The 300 Workout: A Great Muscle Building Workout Routines On Video

Craig Ballantyne - the creator of Turbulence Training - put together this great muscle building workout routines on video for you to follow along and try for yourself, provided if you're fit. These muscle building workout routines will help increase your muscular endurance and stripped fat fast. You can complete the whole workout routine under 20 minutes. It's a brutal workout, starting out strong and slowing down, finishing at a crawl.

Here are the workout routines:

a) Pullups - 25 reps
b) Deadlifts with 135lbs - 50 reps
c) Pushups - 50 reps
d) 24-inch Box jumps - 50 reps
e) Floor wipers - 50 reps
f) Single-arm Clean-and-Press with 36lbs Kettlebell - 50 reps
g) Pullups - 25 reps

NOTE: This is an advanced workout, you shouldn't do it unless you are already in great shape.

You can watch a video demo of this great muscle building workout routines below...

For more information, visit TurbulenceTraining.com



For more information, visit TurbulenceTraining.com

Weight Training With A Weight Loss Goal

In a weight loss, or fat loss phase as I prefer to call it, weight training is considered a very important ingredient to the equation. The main emphasis of weight training in the fat loss phase is maintenance of muscle tissue.

Muscle tissue shapes and forms the contours of the body. I'm not saying you can change the shape of a muscle because that's physically impossible. It does, however, have a discernable shape that is reflected on the male or female body. So, if all emphasis were placed on cardiovascular or energy system development (ESD), as I call it, there would definitely be some muscle wasting going on.

This causes a loss in shape or lack of shape improvement when in a weight loss phase. Muscle is considered the primary indicator of metabolism. Basically, it single handedly determines how many calories the body burns. So if you lose muscle through exercise or dieting, you burn fewer calories through daily processes.

So, in a weight loss training program, we want to maintain or even add muscle to our frame through proper exercise prescription. The use of compound movements needs to be emphasized. This includes, but is not limited to, various forms of: squats ,deadlifts , pulls and pushes. Specific examples would be barbell squats, barbell bench press, chin ups, etc.

The frequency of weight training can vary, but keep in mind that maintenance of muscle tissue is the goal. The majority of training should be based on ESD. Weight workouts should include circuit training, supersets, tri sets, etc. to burn up energy and/or stimulate growth hormone which has been linked to fat mobilization and usage. Still, one session of the week should be devoted to lifting as heavy a weight as possible in good form. This is the most important lifting session of the week as far as muscle is concerned in a weight loss phase. By placing an overload on the system, the body has little choice but to hold onto that energy consuming tissue called muscle.

Repetitions for all lifts during each training session are going to be highly individual to the trainee. Beginners and women need to use a higher repetition range due to having less neurologically efficient central nervous systems. Basically, this means they aren't able to use as much muscle per repetition as someone with more experience. Both populations obviously improve with training. Intermediate and advanced trainees, on the other hand, need to use lower ranges. The one exception is when growth hormone or lactate producing workouts are to be performed. For this type of workout the range needs to be from 12-20.

One quick side note. Women shouldn't be afraid to lift heavy weights. I see it all the time at every gym I've ever been to. Lots of cardio and very little weight training. Most women need to get stronger. The concern of getting "big, bulky muscles" is so outdated it makes me sick. If you sit and worry about getting these "big, bulky muscles", consider all the men out there who are doing everything they know to get "big, bulky muscles" and are having a hard time achieving that. Men have a distinct advantage, with few exceptions from the female population, in stimulating muscle growth. The hormone, testosterone, is one of the main factors in this process. Women produce much less of it and therefore have a harder time adding muscle mass. I'm not saying women can't add muscle, it just might take a little longer or be a little harder to accomplish. Now make the necessary changes in your program and get started!

About the Author:
Paul Yost is the Owner/Operator of Paramount Training Systems, a personal training company based in Houston, TX. He also works as a Strength and Conditioning Coach in professional baseball. Find more about his services and information at: http://www.paramount-training.org

Do Bodybuilding Cutting Exercises Work?

Bodybuilding Cutting Exercises Don't Work For Getting Ripped
By: Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
www.TurbulenceTraining.com

If you do a lot of cardio trying to get ripped, you are wasting your time. Same with high repetition sets. High repetition sets do not get you cut or ripped.

This is a myth, and there's a much better way to sculpt your body, get ripped, and finally achieve the elusive 6-pack.

But again, let me repeat, you won't succeed with high-repetition sets using light weights. And don't even worry about the "pump", but that's another article for another day.

Getting ripped is all about nutrition and intensity. We want to be able to see our well-earned muscles and our 6-pack abs.

And that's why we get lured into the belief of the cutting exercises. Because it causes a burn in our muscles, we generally think, hey, this must be burning fat. But it's not! It's just a fatiguing sensation.

If you are using a high-rep, cutting program, I doubt you are getting the results you want. You don't need to be in the gym too long.

There is a better way to burn fat. A faster way. And a smarter way. It doesn't involve "toning" workouts or "Cutting exercises". What you need to do for fat loss, and getting cut, is to focus on the same exercises that helped you build muscle in the first place.

So forget the pec-dec, and stick with dumbell presses. Say goodbye to leg extensions, and keep using squats and lunges. Next up is the shocker! Use intervals to cut fat fast!

Instead, we'll use interval training to burn fat and boost our metabolism in less than half the time as a normal cardio workout. Only 20 minutes of interval training done 3 times per week resulted in weight loss in one Australian study.

On the other hand, three 40-minute cardio sessions did not cause any weight loss in the same study. Shocking results, but it just goes to show you the power of intensity.

No more slow boring aerobics. That means saying goodbye to light weights and high reps and long slow cardio. Goodbye, nice to know you! If you want to get ripped muscles, diet hard?

First, you need the proper dietary changes to promote muscle gains and body fat reductions. Nutrition is the most important factor for fat burning and getting cut.

If your nutrition sucks, and you eat fast food or skip meals, you are in big trouble. There is no workout good enough to overcome bad nutrition. Next, focus on multi-muscle strength exercises and finish with interval training to burn more calories out of the gym.

Basic exercises such as squats, pushes, rows, and pulls done for 3-4 sets of 8 repetitions. If you did a squat, a press, and a row in each workout, and then did intervals, you'd get ripped if your nutrition was good. Work hard! Diet harder.

Forget about slow boring cardio. You need to do short burst exercise instead. Consistency is key for getting cut.

Work hard, and diet harder!


About the Author:
Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men's Health, Men's Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times in Men’s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit www.TurbulenceTraining.com

Winter Gym Membership - The Perfect Time To Join

Most people get out less in the winter than they do in the warmer months. It's just easier to sit in front of the television with a cup of hot tea than it is to bundle up and brave the cold. Besides it's too cold to participate in the activities we do in the summer.

However, the inactivity that many people experience in the winter can be detrimental to their health. No matter how healthy one's diet is one needs exercise as well. That's why winter is the perfect time to join a gym.

Joining a gym gives you access to numerous exercise options. You might not be able to go on a nature hike or whitewater rafting but there are plenty of options available to you at the gym. There are all sorts of equipment, classes and even indoor pools.

Working Out To Stay Well

Working out burns fat and keeps our hearts healthy. It reduces our risk for many diseases and ailments. It increases our metabolism. Did you know that studies suggest that exercise benefits our immune systems?

Regular moderate exercise can help us ward off colds and the flu. A study of 50 women showed that those who walked briskly 5 days a week had half as many colds as those who did not exercise at all. They also had healthier immune systems with more virus- and bacteria- killing cells.

Choosing a Gym To Join

Finding a gym that you like and is convenient for you is crucial. If you join a gym and find out later that it isn't what you wanted, you probably won't be able to get a refund. It's important to check out a number of gyms before deciding on one.

Location is important but it's not everything. If there is a gym that you can stop by on your way home from work without going out of the way, by all means check it out. If it has a friendly environment and equipment and facilities that you will use, go ahead and sign up. If not, keep looking.

Some gyms offer free trial memberships. This is a great way to try them out before paying membership fees. Make sure you check out all they have to offer before deciding. It's great if they have good equipment but if you're looking for a fun aerobics class you'll need to see what they have to offer in that department as well.

Even when it is freezing outside, you can stay fit by joining a gym. If you can get a friend to join with you it will be easier for you both to say motivated. Then you can spend the winter staying in shape instead of putting yourself in a position to work twice as hard in the spring.

Indoor Exercises For Your Kids

Cleaning the house expends more calories than one might think. However, if you add music to it, you and your kids can have fun and exercise at the same time. In fact, you could stop cleaning for 20 minutes and dance to the music. This is a wonderful cardiovascular exercise the kids will definitely enjoy.

When the winter weather keeps kids indoors, they need to expend all that pent up energy. One great exercise is to play Simon Says, which could incorporate jumping rope. The game will not only entice kids to join in the fun, but making it a contest will really get their juices flowing.

If you have a dance exercise DVD or CD, put it on and teach your kids new moves or, conversely, have them teach you a few steps. You can invite their friends over as well and in this way your kids will be more inclined to join in the activities. Of course, using the word “exercise” can be a turn off for some kids but if you present it to them as a game or contest, their competitive streak will kick in.

If your kids were lucky enough to receive the Nintendo Wii game for Christmas, while it does involve video play, it can be another excellent way to exercise. Some of the games in Wii consist of bowling, tennis and other sports games that any kid would love to play and it allows for quite a workout.

Believe it or not, musical chairs can also engage kids in a great exercise routine. Play the music a bit longer than usual so they can achieve a longer workout.

Another great exercise is to teach your kids how to row a boat. You can set the scene with pictures or drawings of waves and sand, then take the kiddie pool, blow it up and bring it into the den or basement. Have the kids sit it in with their feet pressed firmly to the bottom of the pool. Using a broom or mop handle, have them hold it in the center, and pretend they are rowing a boat. Similar to riding a bike, the hands and arms produce the same circular motion.

There was a home video on TV in which a mom was teaching her one-year-old son how to walk on a treadmill. She held his hands, of course, but the idea that it was fun and new to the child left him thoroughly enjoying it. Children become interested in exercising if it’s fun. So take out the “ex” in exercise, and replace it with jazzercise or danceasize, or any word you can come up with that will be enticing and sounds like loads of fun.