I have a friend who wants to be a competitive bodybuilder and has done an amazing job of creating an enviable physique. He is hard as a rock with definition so thorough every muscle is visible in detail. And lean? He’s at four percent body fat, but that’s where his problem lies. He is months away from competition and won’t be able to maintain his physique, so his chances of winning will dwindle with each day.

Sure you look great now, but it will be hard to maintain that physique if the competition is more than a week or two away.

We got to talking, and I realized that, even though there’s a lot of good information out there about building muscle and minimizing fat, there are also still a lot of myths. Plus, even though the good information is readily available, so are the myths, and sifting through the fallacies to find the facts can take a lot of time–and competitive bodybuilders who are just starting out don’t have the kind of time they need for the trial and error it takes to find out which advice to follow. So! Because I have been a competitive bodybuilder, am currently a personal trainer, and have done the trial and error thing myself as well as sifted through the research, I’ve dedicated the next 4 weeks to setting the fat and muscle facts straight–one myth at a time.

Can You Gain Muscle and Lose Fat at the Same Time?

Today, to kick off our four-part series, we’ll look at whether or not you can gain muscle and lose fat simultaneously. Logically, it shouldn’t be able to be done. As BuiltLean points out, fat loss is a catabolic process while muscle building is an anabolic process–one requires burning more calories than you take in and the other requires increasing your nutrient intake. If you cut your calories by too much, you’ll end up burning muscle along with the fat instead of building lean mass. The good news for everyone–bodybuilders and Average Joes alike–is that it can be accomplished if you’re smart about it.

Gaining muscle while loosing fat requires a balancing act. Cut your overall calories, but also swap out most of your carb calories for protein.

Muscle and nutrition expert Mark McManus points out that you need to pay as much attention to the kind of calories you’re eating as you do to the amount. Yes, you should reduce the number of calories you eat in a day to create a fat-burning deficit, but just make sure you’re reducing mostly carbohydrate calories and replacing some of them with protein calories. That advice isn’t just McManus spouting a theory. A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that subjects placed on a low-calorie diet all lost weight, but the group of people who’s diets were low-cal but high in protein lost the most body fat.

My advice to my bodybuilding friend is to back off of the cardio. Also, relax your diet a little. You need to feed your muscles enough to maintain your mass, and any fat you gain can be shed in the last few weeks before you compete. At that point, if you’ve put on more fat weight than you want, increase the intensity of your workouts and even add a little cardio back into your regimen if you want to. Also, before you make that call, get an outside perspective. Don’t simply look in the mirror because you’ll think you’ve gained too much fat. Bodybuilders are notoriously overly critical of themselves and, like a person suffering from anorexia, can see more fat on their frames than is really there. Actually get your body fat measured by a professional to see where you’re at so you don’t go overboard trying to cut fat and end up losing muscle.

No, Muscle and Fat Don’t Metamorphose

You can’t turn fat into muscle, but you can replace one with the other using a combination of diet and exercise. Image by Maggi Bautista

A myth related to gaining muscle and losing fat at the same time is that you can turn fat into muscle–or the reverse, that if you don’t exercise and eat right, your muscle will turn into fat. Although many exercise programs, diet plans, and workout equipment salespeople claim they have the secret for turning fat into muscle, according to Bodybuilding.com, that’s an impossible feat. Fat and muscle are two very different tissues, and one cannot become the other.

One can replace the other, however, and you can replace fat with muscle when you reduce calories and carbs and increase protein. For anyone starting at square one in preparing for a bodybuilding meet, the expert advice is to bulk up initially, then shed the fat once you’ve met your muscle building goal. That means eating high protein throughout your training, but not worrying about cutting calories or carbs until you’re ready to start leaning up for the competition.

Train hard, stay clean!

–Matt

Put TRANSFORMATION at the top of your 2017 goals, then make it happen.

Every year millions of people make the resolution to finally get fit “this year.” Gym memberships spike, fitness equipment sales soar, and diet gurus’ clientele surges. Then, right around the three-month mark, people throw in the towel. It’s a phenomenon those in the health and fitness industry set their watches–or calendars, rather–by. If you’re tired of the start/stop cycle, here’s a few tips to make 2017 your year for transformation. Don’t stop me if you’ve heard them before. Instead, open your mind and take a fresh look at these simple things that can make all the difference in the world.

Be Your Own Real-Life Success Story

Don’t look to celebs for inspiration–be your own real-life success story.

Seeing celebrities hock workout equipment or gush about how the newest diet helped them lose weight and/or build muscle might increase sales, but it doesn’t do much to improve the results you get. It’s actually part of the problem. Quitting is easy if you try a new workout or diet and don’t look like the spokes-model within a few weeks or a month. Remember that, #1, those people are paid to make a success of looking great after using the product and, #2, they also have access to professional help like doctors, dieticians, and personal trainers to make sure their before and after pictures look good enough to sell the merchandise. The bottom line is, psychologically, you don’t see those testimonials as real-life successes.

The answer is to be your own real-life success story. To accomplish that, Helpguide.org advises that you take a step back and make sure your expectations are realistic. Don’t expect too much too soon but, rather, set small, reachable goals that an average person can accomplish with some reasonable effort. Ignore what the celebrity rep looks like and focus on what you want your results to be, not at the end of the road, because there is no end, but at the beginning of the next stage. It’s a journey, not a destination, so each milestone you reach is a success story in itself. Lots of “real-life” people have transformed themselves, and you can do it, too.

Do It for the Right Reasons

Tony Peace built more than 20 pounds of muscle to transform his physique using resistance training and common-sense diet modification.

Real-life people who have successfully stuck with exercise and/or diet modifications usually have one thing in common: they do it for themselves. WebMD puts that at the top of the list of tips that help you stick to a health and fitness plan. It’s called being internally motivated because you’re not doing it to please someone else or just to look good for others’ benefit, like for a wedding or class reunion. Some people find it easier than others to find their motivation within, but if simply wanting to lose weight and get in shape isn’t enough to make you want to work out day after day, look around at other motivating factors that still qualify as internal.

Tony Peace is an ideal example of a real-life person who is a transformation success. He was a long distance runner, so he was in fairly good shape to begin with, but he was thin and didn’t have much strength. Initially, his motivation came from getting a job that required he be able to lift and load 100 pounds. Once his transformation became noticeable, though, the motivation shifted to become even more internal. Sure, it helped that he was strong enough to do his job, but he’s a self-described work-in-progress who loves challenging himself by adding 20 pounds to his front pause squat or doing 15 reps using weight that was a one rep max a few months before. Tony admits it feels great when people comment on his transformation, and it does help drive him, but the bottom line is that he still works out and sets new, more aggressive goals to challenge himself and stay strong for his job, rather than to please anyone else.

Don’t Dismiss the Value of Support

Friends and family with similar goals are an invaluable resource for helping your transformation.

You won’t stick with a health and fitness regimen if you’re doing it for someone else, but Julie Kailus of Giam says you also shouldn’t underestimate the importance of getting support and encouragement from others. The celebrity spokespeople get it from their hired support team, but real-life people can get it for free from family and friends. In Tony Peace’s case, it came from his parents. When they joined a gym for their own health, it was terrific motivation that Tony describes as “unmatchable” because not only were they setting an example, but they could encourage each other, too. It’s not always convenient to try to synchronize schedules to go to the gym together, but it really does help to make plans together when you can. It’s also easier to talk to someone who is in it with you and understands, at least on some level, what you’re going through. They can commiserate and encourage when you have setbacks and will be the first to give you a high-five when you hit milestones.

To Supplement or Not?

Unless you’re competing, you don’t need a ton of supplements. Stick with the basics: multi-vitamins, protein, Omegas, and maybe some creatine to help build muscle.

Real-life people who aren’t getting in shape for a competition don’t need to go overboard on the supps. Like last week’s article advised, keep it simple. Real-lifers like Tony stick to the basics, like protein, multi-vitamins, Omegas, and maybe some creatine for a pre-workout boost if muscle-building is the goal. Cheaper is usually not better when it comes to supplements, though, so don’t waste your money or your time if you’re not willing or able to buy quality. Beverly International is the brand all the pros use, regardless of what you see them selling in the pages of muscle mags. The nice thing about Beverly is that, if you’re serious about making 2017 your transformative year, they’ll set you up with the whole shebang: nutrition, training plans, and supplements to maximize your chances of success.

The beginning of football season doesn’t have to be the beginning of expanding waistlines.

No, you’re not paranoid. Your attempts to lose or at least keep from gaining weight are really being sabotaged from all sides. Even football season is detrimental to your quest. PR Newswire reports that 25 percent of people surveyed by Harris Interactive reported gaining weight during football season, and 16 percent of those say they packed on 20 pounds or more. Apparently jumping up and down when your team scores and waving a fist in anger when the ref makes a bonehead call isn’t enough exercise to actually count as a workout.

The tasty and tempting tailgate food is partially to blame. It’s all too easy to mindlessly shovel in mouthful after mouthful of queso dip, super supreme pizza, and hot wings while you’re watching any game. Now, we’re not saying that you should forego snacking during football season. That would be as un-American as not standing for the National Anthem. If you really feel like you need to give up game-time-grazing, we respect your right to do that, but it’s a topic for a different blog. What we’re talking about here is making better choices, and it doesn’t have to mean compromising on your convictions about how delicious food and football go hand-in-hand. Here are a few tricks for tipping the scale in your favor during football season.

Healthier Chips ‘n Dips

Opting for veggie dips like salsa cut calories in half when compared to creamy onion and ranch dips.

You won’t even miss the crunchy-salty-creamy-flavorful goodness of potato chips and onion dip when you swap them out for corn chips and salsa. You’ll save half the calories when you do so, according to Today. If you favor queso dip, give black bean chipotle dip a go. In a food processor, blend 1 (14 ounce) can of black beans (drained, of course), 4 Tbsp olive oil, 1/2 c plain Greek yogurt, 1 Tbsp tomato paste, 1 chipotle chili pepper in adobo sauce, 1 Tbsp lime juice, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp ground black pepper, and 1/2 tsp ground cumin. Serve it with baked pita chips you made yourself by slicing pita rounds into eighths to create wedges (pull each wedge apart so you get 16 chips from each pita). Lay the wedges out on a baking sheet and brush them with a mixture of 2 Tbsp olive oil, 1/2 tsp garlic salt, and 1/2 tsp black pepper. Sprinkle chili powder lightly over chips, if desired, then pop them into a 350˚ oven for 8 minutes.

Lean and Delicious Deviled Eggs

Only use half the yolks and mix your deviled egg filling with plain Greek yogurt instead of mayo.

What’s a tailgate party without the deviled eggs? All those yolks and mayo are what will do your waistline in (or out), so take a tip from Health and substitute low-fat or fat-free Greek yogurt for the mayonnaise. Cut the fat and cholesterol just a bit more by only using half of the yolks. Spice up the filling mixture with the likes of ginger, curry powder, or Tobasco and give it more texture and flavor with add-ins like diced red peppers and green onions.

Pizza with Fewer Calories and Hold the Guilt

Skim mozzarella and a whole wheat flatbread crust make a pizza you can feel good about eating.

Men’s Fitness gives pizza on game day the thumbs up as long as you make it yourself with healthy ingredients. Use whole wheat flatbread for the crust and top it with skim mozzarella, fresh tomato slices, strips of fresh basil, and avocado. Absolutely need meat on your ‘za? Sprinkle chunks of cooked white meat chicken or turkey with Italian seasoning and use it to top your pie.

Boneless–and Shameless–Buffalo Chicken

Brush Buffalo sauce onto chicken tenders for lean boneless wings.

Not many people can plan a tailgate or football party without including hot wings, but you can enjoy a spicy chicken snack without deep-frying it and slathering it in butter-laden Buffalo sauce. At least cut the butter down to 2 Tbsp or substitute it altogether with 1/4 c olive oil when you mix it with about 1/2 c of Frank’s Red Hot Sauce. Bring the sauce to a gentle boil over medium heat, then divide it in half, reserving one portion for serving. Instead of the traditional bone-in wings, opt for chicken strips made from breast meat. Thread the strips onto metal skewers and brush them with half of the Buffalo sauce then grill them over medium-high heat for about 8 minutes, turning them at least once during cooking. Serve your Buffalo skewers with the reserved sauce and ranch dip you mixed up using a packet of ranch dressing mix and a 16-ounce carton of plain Greek yogurt.

Typically people look forward to their annual vacation as a time to relax and veg out. One doesn’t necessarily depend on the other, however. It’s possible to relax and have an enjoyable time on an active vacation that is specifically designed to improve your fitness and possibly help you lose weight.

Exercise is a stress reliever and helps to relax and recharge, according to the Mayo Clinic, so using your vacation time on a fit trip is ideal. What better way to do that than to holiday somewhere that purposely provides fun, action-filled activities, delicious meals that have been expertly prepared to also be healthy, and professional instruction and supervision to ensure you know what you’re doing? If you spend 40+ hours a week shackled to your desk, a fit trip may be just the thing you need. Instead of coming back from holiday more tired than ever and a few pounds heavier, how great would it be to return looking and feeling great with more energy and less “baggage?”

Outdoor Adventure

Morning hikes and as many fitness classes as you can handle are one way to spend a fit-cation.

For those who think that fit trips, like many spa vacations, are expensive, the Red Mountain Essential Retreat proves otherwise. According to MoneyCrashers, all-inclusive vacations at the resort in the southwest mountains of Utah start at just $200/night. For that price, you’ll enjoy three squares a day, a deluxe room, morning hikes with a guide, healthy life classes, access to all the fitness classes the resort offers, plus use of the hotel’s bikes, strength training equipment, and pool. Optional outdoor add-ons include horseback riding, mountain biking, rock climbing, and kayaking.

Yoga Retreat

Yoga and meditation twice daily, Jacuzzis and saunas make for a fitness vacation that will leave you relaxed.

If relaxation is the top priority for your vacation, pack your bags and head for Island Falls, Maine. There, you’ll check in at the Sewall House Yoga Retreat where Yoga Journal says you can start relaxing with meditation and yoga sessions morning and evening. The $130 to $210/day price includes three daily vegetarian meals, hiking, biking, use of the Jacuzzi and sauna, and plenty of activities centered around the lake such as swimming, kayaking, or canoeing. Get even more relaxed with massages, available for an extra charge.

Go On a Surfin’ Safari

Surfing is demanding physically and great for fitness. Catch a wave on your fit-cation learning to surf!

Spend a week learning how to surf or sharpening your surfing skills at Kalon Escuela de Surf in Costa Rica. The all-inclusive prices start at around $300/night and during your seven-day stay you’ll enjoy the services of a private chef to prepare meals and snacks, a private room with its own bath, 3 to 4 hours of surf coaching for 5 of the 7 days, surfing class Pilates, massage, professional videos and photos with video analysis of your progress, plus access to a personal mobile concierge. The cost of transport to and from San Jose is included, but travel costs to get San Jose are, of course, separate.

DIY Race-Cation

Oregon is for runners. The trails in and around Portland are the ideal place to spend a running vacation.

For those who prefer vacations with less structure, or who don’t feel the need to be overseen and instructed, a visit to a locale that offers little more than the perfect setting for running, biking, swimming, or all three, is the answer. Shape¹ thoughtfully breaks it down for you in the March 2016 issue, listing the ideal locations for triathletes (San Diego, CA), runners (Portland OR), and cyclists (Tucson, AZ and Boulder, CO). Keep in mind that DIY-ing it means that you won’t foot the bill in one, all-inclusive price, but that doesn’t mean your trip can’t be affordable, especially if you book your travel and hotel stays through travel sites that offer discounts for “bundling” your trip. Additionally, you’ll have more control over your meals, and can choose to pack food for breakfasts and lunches on the go, only eating out for dinner.

Dream Fit Trips

If you’ve ever envied the rich and famous for their resources, spend your fit-cation training like a star with a celebrity trainer.

If your interest in a fit-cation is piqued but you’re not sure where you’d like to go or what you’d like to do, there are plenty of people who would love to help you plan the fit trip of your dreams. Fit Trips can hook you up with a wellness event, get you trained like a superstar with a celebrity trainer, jumpstart your weight loss program, and even book a fit-cation for the entire family. On the other hand, if you do know what specific activity you want your fit trip to center around, an Internet search of “surf camps,” “Jui Jitsu training camps,” or pretty much camps for any activity will result in an abundance of options for a vacation you’ll never forget.

¹Sara Angle, “The Latest Fit Trip: Race-Cations,” Shape, March, 2016

Don’t go into denial when your body sends you signals!

Working out and eating a balanced diet will go a long way toward improving health, but learning how to listen to your body is one of the most important things you can do for staying healthy. Unless you are sensitive to the signs it sends you, you won’t know when you are putting your body through too much, when it’s time to eat or if you’ve had enough, or even when something is wrong. It usually takes severe, debilitating pain before most people contact a doctor and, even then, sometimes it takes more than that.

Kidney stones are one health issue that should not be ignored. While they aren’t a condition that everyone experiences, the National Kidney Foundation says that one in ten people will develop kidney stones at some point. The good news with these little mineral deposits is that they can be detected early if you know how to interpret the signals your body is sending.

Reading the Signs

Pain in the lower back area can be a symptom of many conditions–including kidney stones.

Often when kidney stones first start to develop, there is no pain, just a few telltale signs that can be easy to ignore. You may notice the color of your urine has gotten darker or gone cloudy, and there might be grainy, almost gravelly sediment in it. These are the early warnings to look for so you can get treatment before the condition worsens. If you try to wait it out, willing it to get better on its own, you’ll eventually experience other, more severe symptoms. According to the Mayo Clinic, these can include lower back pain that may spread to the groin and lower abdomen, painful urination, difficulty urinating, blood in the urine, and fever if an infection develops.

Those symptoms are ones that could be associated with a number of other health issues, but that is all the more reason to seek medical help as early as possible.

So, What Are These Stones?

Mineral deposits that start out as tiny crystals, kidney stones can grow larger if they aren’t flushed from your body. Image by Ted Johnson

Kidney stones are actually mineral deposits that start as small crystals in the kidneys. If you’ve ever seen a crystal close-up, you know it has jagged little edges. When those rough protrusions attract other elements, they join together, and the stone starts growing, kind of like a snowball rolling downhill. The stones will continue to grow unless they are passed out of your body, and large stones can create dangerous blockages in the kidneys or urethra.

There are four common varieties of kidney stones listed by the National Kidney Foundation,  with the two most common being calcium oxalate and uric acid stones. The calcium oxalate type doesn’t actually develop when there’s too much calcium in the system. Instead, those tend to form when you don’t have enough calcium. Uric acid stones typically develop when your body produces high amounts of monosodium urate, an event that is brought on by eating foods that are naturally high in purines such as shellfish or organ meats.

Though listed as “common” types of kidney stones, the other two are actually less common. Struvite stones can be caused by upper urinary tract infections. Cystine stones are in fact pretty rare and are seen in people who have a genetic predisposition to develop kidney stones.

Kidney Stone Causes

Some prescription medications can increase your chances of developing kidney stones.

The first thing that will run through your mind if you develop kidney stones is, “Why me? How did I get kidney stones?” It might be discouraging, but with a number of different types of stones, there are a number of issues and conditions that can cause them. In addition to the direct causes such as inadequate fluid intake, insufficient calcium, high animal protein intake, UUTIs, and heredity, the Mayo Clinic says that being obese, gastric bypass surgery, and digestive diseases can also increase your chances of developing kidney stones. Additionally, certain medical conditions such as hyperparathyroidism, renal tubular acidosis, and cystinuria have been known to cause kidney stones. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases says that diuretics, the protease inhibitor indinavir that is used to treat HIV, and the anti-seizure drug topiramate are all medications that have been associated with increased risk of kidney stones.

Take a look at your lifestyle, diet, personal health, and family history. It may be easy to pinpoint why you developed kidney stones but, if your doctor can determine what type of stones you have, you will be better able to decide what lifestyle changes you can make to reduce the chances of more kidney stones down the road.

Almost as Good as a Pound of Cure

Drinking plenty of water is one of the most important things you can do to help flush kidney stones from your body as well as to reduce your chances of developing more stones down the road.

Not to be a downer, but if you have had one bout with kidney stones, your chances of getting them again have increased by 50 percent. According to the Mayo Clinic, however, there are things you can do to reduce the odds that you’ll develop more stones. Exercise regularly and lose some pounds if you are overweight. Drink more water–especially if #1) you don’t get enough fluids and #2) you are beginning a workout regimen. The water you sweat out bypasses your kidneys and bladder, but the National Kidney Foundation points out that it is vital to keep fluids running through those organs to prevent and eliminate kidney stones. Depending on the type of stones your body forms, you can adjust what foods you eat, but don’t go overboard. Moderation is always better than extremes, so rather than eliminating animal proteins or oxalate-rich foods such as sweet potatoes, spinach, and nuts, just reduce the amounts you eat. Those foods still offer health benefits that you don’t want to lose.

Salt may also play a part in causing kidney stones so, if you don’t have low blood pressure, you may want to reduce your salt intake or switch to a salt substitute. Communicate with your doctor, too. He will be aware of all of the health issues you face and can adjust or change your medications if necessary as well as provide advice on your diet to ensure you stay healthy while avoiding kidney stones.

You adhere to a strict workout schedule and routine. You are equally meticulous about what you eat, and you always get enough rest. It’s practically a religion with you but, regardless of the progress you make, you still want to see more muscular growth. Maybe it’s just not in your genes…but what if it could be?

Ever wished for the genetic wildcard that would build crazy-lean muscle without giving your skin a greenish hue?

Even people who aren’t comic-crazed know the story of Bruce Banner, aka, the Hulk. It wasn’t the radiation from the Gamma Bomb that caused him to transform into the super-muscular Hulk, though that was the activating element. Instead, it was a genetic factor he carried, possibly passed on from his father, that kept the radiation from killing him and set the stage for his frequent, adrenalin-driven metamorphoses.

Manipulating the myostatin gene in mice results in super rodents who are naturally muscular and strong without having to work out.

So here is the point: there actually is a genetic factor that can be manipulated, and the muscular growth results are essentially on comic book and science fiction level. Back in 1997, scientists studying cell growth discovered a gene that controls muscular growth in animals, including humans. At the time, the gene had not been identified, but it has been come to be known as the myostatin gene. Everyone has them, and they limit muscle growth by releasing a protein into the body. The really interesting thing the researchers discovered was that knocking out the gene in embryonic mice resulted in literal mighty mice–rodents that were visibly muscular and exhibited increased strength. Additionally, inhibiting myostatin appears to only affect skeletal muscle and hasn’t shown any effects on the heart or organs.

Was that what happened to Bruce Banner? Who can say? Anything is possible in comics. But since the discovery of the myostatin gene and its role in muscle development, tons more research has been done. Of course, it shows huge promise for the treatment of muscle-wasting diseases such as muscular dystrophy, but you know the bodybuilding world is just as interested as medical researchers are. How great would it be to be able to turn off the myostatin gene like flipping a switch when you hit a plateau?

Belgian blue cattle have a myostatin gene mutation that makes them naturally super-muscular.

For years, ethics and morality stood in the way of human experimentation until, in 1999, nature did the experiment for us. Scientific American briefly documents the case of a baby born in a German hospital who displayed noticeably well-developed muscles. Straight from the womb, the baby boy looked as if he had been hitting the gym for a decade or more. Familiar with the myostatin gene research, pediatric neurologist Markus Schuelke and colleagues decided to find out if there was anything abnormal about this particular baby’s myostatin genes.

Turns out, both copies of the gene were inactive, so the baby wasn’t producing any myostatin at all. On top of that, the baby’s mother also displayed a natural muscularity, so the doctors tested her, too. Only one of her myostatin genes was “turned off,” so it is suspected that the baby’s father also had a myostatin gene mutation, though it appears that no testing was done on him. However, upon a closer look at the mother’s family, it was discovered that the men were extraordinarily strong, as in being able to easily lift 300+ pound stones strong. The bottom line is that the effects of the genetic mutation discovered in the lab have proven to be equally beneficial for humans in the real world.

Knowing all of that starts you thinking. How can I deactivate my myostatin genes so I can gain muscle which will increase my strength and burn fat? The first step is not to resort to pharmaceuticals to get the job done. It might seem like the easiest thing to do, but pharmaceutical companies have not had much success in formulating synthetic myostatin blockers. As of the writing of this post, there may not even be any effective products available. An Internet search will turn up results of supplements and other formulas that are supposed to inhibit myostatin, but you’ll also find an equal number of results discrediting the claims of those products. More importantly, though, is the fact that there could be adverse side effects from putting anything synthetic into your body.

There are natural ways to block myostatin, but they can be imprecise so giving them a try is essentially like conducting your own research. No harm in that, but just don’t be disappointed if you don’t gain 40 percent muscle mass in a month. You are probably already doing the two things Flex online recommends, but you will probably have to tweak your approach.

Pushing yourself in intense resistance workouts is an effective way to naturally control myostatin for muscle and strength gains.

The first thing Flex points out is that weight training is an effective natural myostatin suppressor. When you challenge your muscles enough, your body has some repair work to do so it naturally reduces production of myostatin to allow your muscle cells to rebuild. A 2004 study published in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise found that intense resistance training caused a decrease in serum myostatin levels, resulting in strength and muscle mass gain. So, it’s not enough to work out–which in itself is a beneficial activity. However, if you want to block myostatin production in your body to gain muscle size and strength, you have to work out intensely enough to get sore, to feel it.

Diet is the second factor that can affect myostatin production, but this is where it the science becomes really vague. It is not known exactly how or to what degree diet affects myostatin. Some animal studies have shown that restricting calories is effective for inhibiting myostatin, and there may be some benefits from an alkalinized diet, but there isn’t much conclusive evidence to guide the way when it comes to the diet part of controlling myostatin.

As anticlimactic as it may seem, if you are working out, eating healthy, and getting sufficient rest, you are already doing the right things for building muscle. Getting excited about it again will go a long way in helping get you past a plateau. Knowing that your workout is the key to what you can naturally do to gain some control over your body’s myostatin production is a great motivator. Change up that tired workout, increase the amount of weight you’re pulling, pushing, and lifting, or even try a different form of resistance. All of those things will challenge your muscles and decrease your myostatin levels so you can get back to building muscle.

Exercise has a variety of payoffs. However, based on the number of people who start and stop workout programs, apparently weight loss, meeting new people, living longer and improving the quality of life aren’t enough incentive to make exercise a permanent part of their lives. Well, there is one more benefit to working out, but it’s one that doesn’t get a lot of press.

According to the American Council on Exercise (ACE), studies have shown that vigorous exercise improves sex for both men and women. It’s logical. If love’s like a muscle, you gotta workout to enhance it. A well-rounded workout will strengthen muscles, improve cardiovascular fitness, and increase endurance. You shouldn’t need anyone to spell out for you how all of those bennies can help in the bedroom. ACE also reports on a Harvard School of Public Health study that showed men who participated in a brisk workout were less likely than sedentary men to experience erectile dysfunction. Plus, exercising can help you lose weight, and that is a terrific confidence-booster that makes you feel sexier.

Working out makes you feel better physically and emotionally, which results in a revved-up libido.

Remember the experiment where researchers had a handful of students treat a shy, plain female student as though she were a hottie? They made her feel attractive and, what do you know? She actually became attractive to other male students who weren’t in on the experiment. Exercise works a lot like that. You look better and feel better about yourself, and you put out a desirable vibe as a result.

Fox News also points out that when you work out, the endorphins your brain produces prompts your body to release sex hormones. When you do a cardiovascular workout, the beta-endorphins direct your blood to flow, making you more sensitive to touch. With resistance workouts, it’s testosterone that spikes, and that is the specific sex hormone that makes you feel aroused.

Yoga will improve flexibility for women AND men.

Everyday Health lists cardio (walking and swimming) and weight lifting as some of the top exercises that men should do to improve sex, but they will work just as well for women. The other two exercises that made the top five are yoga, for improving flexibility, and Kegels to help control and improve the quality of orgasm for both sexes.

Different types of crunches and lower ab exercises are recommended for improving the quality of sex. Image by Nayana Thara K

If you are wondering whether there are specific exercises you can do to optimize the sexual benefits of working out, just about any type of aerobic exercise will work for the cardio part. As for the resistance segment of your workout, WebMD recommends pushups to improve upper body strength and deadlifts for strengthening your back and legs. Squats are another effective exercise for improving leg strength that may come in handy. Also, since a strong pelvic floor improves sex, bridges and lower ab exercises such as leg lifts and lower ab crunches are the secret weapons for intensifying orgasms.

There truly is nothing new under the sun. All of the “latest” workouts and diet recommendations have been around forever; it’s just that they tend to get rediscovered every now and then. As 2016 looms large, we are taking a look back at our 2015 library of blogs and have picked out a handful. Everything presented on this site is researched and backed by authoritative sources, and it is all good information. That is what made it so difficult to narrow down a Top Five list. But, if the future of the Free World depended on it, what follows is pretty much the best of the best. 

HIIT it Hard

For almost a century, HIIT has been used to maximize fat burning and increase the metabolism.

High Intensity Interval Training, what you should be familiar with as HIIT, has been around forever. It gains new popularity every few years, and sometimes it’s not even called HIIT. The concept is still the same, though: alternating short bursts of intense exertion with longer intervals of reduced effort. The longer intervals are considered your rest periods, but you continue to move the entire time. HIIT remains a popular workout trend fitness experts recommend because it optimizes fat burning and increases the metabolism even after you’re done working out.  

The Best Fat-Busting, Muscle Building Supplements

You don’t have to break the bank buying supplements, but there are a few essentials you will benefit from.

The answer to the weight loss and muscle building question is essentially the same: supplements! You don’t necessarily need to spend a fortune at the health food store. There are four to five supplements that are essential. All the rest are optional ones that may provide benefits if you have a specific goal in mind, such as competing in a fitness model or bodybuilding meet. The terrific thing is that these supplements help achieve both goals of building muscle and losing weight.  

If you don’t like taking more than one or two supplements, then the least you should do is start taking a whey protein and a multivitamin and mineral. You can even sneak the protein powder into some treats if that helps. If you are willing to include a few more to push you past a plateau, creatine and Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs) will increase energy and strength and improve your recovery, as well as enhance fat burning. Also, consider an L-arginine and L-citrulline supplement to increase nitric oxide (NO) in your system. NO is essential for organ function, adrenaline and hormone control, and it is great for your cardiovascular system. Plus, NO promotes efficient use of glucose and encourages your body to use fat as fuel. 

Eat More Often

Eating more often, not skipping meals, will fuel your body to build muscle and encourage it to burn stored fat.

It might seem counter-intuitive, but eating more often is an effective weight loss strategy, and frequent meals will keep your body fueled when you’re trying to build muscle. Eating every three or four hours will keep your body from panicking and thinking you are going to starve it, so it won’t be so desperate to hold onto stored fat. Studies have shown that five meals a day promote fat loss and lean bodies. The key is to increase the number of your meals, not the number of calories you eat. Just spread your calorie allotment for the day out over four or five meals instead of three and, of course, work out. You should start seeing results in as little as eight to 12 weeks. 

Real Food Will Rock Your Weight Loss

Your body knows how to process real sugar and real fat, too, making them healthier for you than the artificial options.

Here’s the good news: natural ingredients are healthier for you than ones created in a lab. Your body knows how to metabolize them and what to do with them. That means opting for real sugar and fats has a rightful place in your fitness and weight loss plan. Never heard of a weight loss diet that included real butter? Well, then, here’s a first for ya. Just remember that having permission to eat real fat and sugar is not a license to eat unlimited amounts of them. Eat them in moderation or even sparingly, then work them off with the exercise of your choice. Your weight loss will be more effective and will last for the long-haul if you aren’t bombarding your body with artificial foods. 

Make Up Your Mind

You’ll see real results and it will be a happy year all year long when you decide to do something every day for your fitness and weight loss goals.

Above all, you really have to want to meet your muscle-building and weight loss goals. They will take effort and, if you are still looking for that magic pill that will allow you to veg on the sofa and eat whatever you want, the bad news is that your resolution will fail again this year, just like it has in the past. Decide that 2016 is the year your body and your life will change and then only take it on one day at a time. Don’t even look at your big-picture goal, like building 24-inch biceps, benching 10 big plates, or losing 75 pounds. Just do what you can today, and then do what you can tomorrow and keep going. One day you will realize that you’ve stuck to your resolution and reached your goal–and how amazing will that be?

The medical world has long accepted silver’s antibacterial and antimicrobial properties, but is it safe to ingest?

As part of staying healthy, many people turn to alternative holistic medicine and natural remedies instead of traditional medicine. It makes sense. Back in the day, before medicine was created in laboratories, people had to rely on what nature provided to treat illness and enhance health. And it wasn’t always elements that were traditionally viewed as edible that ended up in medicine. Precious metals, specifically silver, have been used since “BC” times to control disease and heal wounds. Over the ages, the use of colloidal silver products as natural remedies has waxed and waned but has enjoyed a renewed interest in the 21st Century.

A suspension of minute silver particles in liquid, colloidal minerals are touted to be a wholesome addition to health regimens and effective for treating everything from acne to tuberculosis and even HIV. Still, it’s only natural to wonder whether it’s worth it or necessary to take colloidal silver products.

The Claims

Colloidal silver products are used to treat all manner of infection, internal and external and including HIV.

Web MD lists a number of diseases and health conditions colloidal silver is supposed to be effective for including

• Lyme disease
• rosacea
• chronic fatigue syndrome
• cold and flu prevention
• stomach ulcers
• food poisoning

Though the medical community has accepted silver’s antibacterial and antimicrobial properties since the time of Hippocrates, the Web MD site still claims that evidence of the effectiveness of ingesting colloidal silver is lacking. However, the University of Cambridge posted the results of research trials conducted in Africa on human subjects, showing conditions such as eye and ear infections, yeast infections, sinus infections, and urinary tract infections clearing up within a week or less when the subjects were on a colloidal silver regimen.

The Conflict

The Colloidal Silver Research Trials notwithstanding, mainstream medicine is trés reluctant to recommend colloidal silver products as dietary supplements. At the very least, the experts point out that silver is not a required mineral for human nutrition, so the argument is that it isn’t necessary to ingest colloidal silver to maintain or improve health. The dispute escalates from there, however, as authoritative resources such as the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health warns that colloidal silver can cause side effects such as permanent discoloration of the skin, and can build up in organ tissue which they suggest can interfere with nutrition absorption and possibly the absorption of some drugs.

Not All Cut and Dried

Research has shown that silver increases the effectiveness of antibiotics by inhibiting bacterial resistance.

Not all science is taking the “con” side of the silver argument. A 2013 Scientific American article reported that research had found silver to be the answer to the problem of antibiotic resistance, increasing the effectiveness of antibiotics by thousands of times. Additionally, the Silver Safety Council has developed a calculation to determine how much colloidal silver can safely be taken, and the Council’s website even offers three different calculators that do the math for you. The site stresses that it’s only when excessive amounts of silver are ingested that the dangerous side effects occur. Just another reminder to make moderation your mantra in everything.

Colloidal Silver for Weight Loss? What?

It’s a roundabout conclusion that makes the assumption of colloidal silver’s effectiveness on intestinal bacteria, but some have experienced weight loss when on a colloidal silver regimen.

It may be a stretch, especially considering that there still isn’t sufficient research that shows the benefits of colloidal silver products for digestive flora, but some people have claimed sudden, effortless weight loss after starting a safe regimen of colloidal silver. The explanation assumes the supplement’s effectiveness in aiding digestion by killing the “wrong” kind of bacteria in the digestive tract and looks to science for support.

According to Scientific American, research has shown that intestinal bacteria influences how a person stores fat, how blood glucose is balanced, and even how hungry or full a person feels. People who credit colloidal silver products with weight loss could very well have altered their lifestyles and/or diets right about the time they started with the supplements, so research should be done to confirm or disprove the role colloidal silver plays in weight loss. However, if reasonable amounts of colloidal silver are safe and could boost your immune system as well as help you lose weight, there’s no harm in giving it a shot.

After focusing on the weight loss benefits of coffee a few weeks back, we decided to take a look at tea. Green tea, in particular, has received a lot of press over the last few years, and tea drinkers will be happy to hear that it is not all hype. Studies and research continue to show that not only can drinking tea improve your health, but it can help improve the results of your weight loss plan, too.

Will Herbal Teas Work?

As an herbal, peppermint tea isn’t technically a tea. However, it still offers weight loss benefits.

For the most part, we are talking about real tea here. Herbal teas are not technically considered to be tea. It is largely teas that come from Camellia sinensis plants that are considered to be true tea, and it is the plant that is likely responsible for contributing the health and weight loss benefits. That is not to say that herbal teas cannot offer help when it comes to losing weight. According to research conducted at Wheeling Jesuit University, the scent of peppermint affects caloric intake by controlling the appetite. So, weight loss definitely belongs on the list of peppermint tea health benefits.

Hundreds of Secret Ingredients

The caffeine and other components in tea and coffee work together in the same way for weight loss.

Some are under the mistaken impression that tea is a viable alternative to coffee when they are trying to avoid caffeine. The truth is that tea has just as much caffeine as coffee–and some types of tea contain even more. That is a good thing, though, when weight loss is the goal. Caffeine revs your metabolism to burn more calories. The two drinks have more than just that one, helpful element in common, however. The United States Department of Agriculture reveals that tea, like coffee, contains a multitude of components that work either on their own or that act with the caffeine to increase essential weight loss factors such as fat oxidation and metabolism.

The Best Teas for Weight Loss

Different teas bring different elements to the table to help you lose weight.

All right, already. You want to know which teas work the best for losing weight. Many health publications in print and on the web have weighed in, listing a good selection of tea varieties that will enhance your weight loss plan. Everyone has heard of green tea for weight loss. It makes all the lists because of the catechins it contains. You remember those from a recent post, don’t you? They are an antioxidant that raises your resting metabolism and triggers your fat cells to release fat. Then they signal your liver to hurry up and turn the fat into energy.

Other teas that are weight loss wonders include

• White tea–weight loss website EatThis! says that it helps with weight control because it prevents your body from forming new fat cells.
• Oolong tea–gives metabolism a boost to increase fat burning.
• Pu-erh tea–this one shrinks existing fat cells, according to TheDailyMeal.
• Rooibos tea–reduces stress hormones that spark hunger and control fat storage.

Steaming Hot, on the Rocks, or Extracted

Brew iced tea extra-strong or substitute ice cubes with cubes of frozen tea.

For those who like variety, the good news is that drinking tea for weight loss and other health benefits can be done in a number of ways. Women’s Health advises that though a hot mug of tea may be the most common way to get your daily dose, you can opt to have your tea iced if the weather is too warm or you just want a change of pace. Remember, though, that the ice cubes can dilute the tea, decreasing its effectiveness. The solution to that is to brew iced tea stronger than you would hot tea, or freeze a tray of ice cubes made from brewed tea to use in your iced drink. Alternatively, green tea extract is a handy way to reap tea benefits if you are not in the mood for tea or simply do not have the time to brew up a pot. According to Keri Glassman, Woman’s Health nutrition expert, taking 1 ml of green tea extract is roughly the same as drinking 8 to 10 cups of brewed green tea.

General Tea Bennies

Even if losing weight is not at the top of your priority list, tea will still do your body good. The University of California Berkley reveals that tea has shown to positively affect a myriad of health issues such as

• brain health–including Parkinson’s Disease!
• bone health
• cancer
• cardiovascular health
• diabetes

The best tea for any health purpose is organic and has no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives.

Warning: all teas are not created equal. As with anything you put into your body, you need to become a label reader. Whatever variety you favor, whether for flavor or the specific benefits, look for teas with ingredients that are all natural, ones that do not contain artificial flavors, colors or preservatives.