A lot of people ask me what are the BCAA benefits?  Or will taking Branched Chain Amino Acids help me build muscle and stay lean?  Well I found a couple of good articles for you to help guide you.  I found the following article on notyouraveragefitnesstips.com.

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Today I’d like to discuss branched chain amino acids.  You may have heard of BCAAs before but do they really live up to their claim of being effective for losing fat and gaining muscle?  While I’d say there are many benefits of BCAAs, whether you decide to supplement with them will depend in part on when you exercise and how restrictive your diet is.  For fasted training, I’d highly recommend using branched chain amino acids to help prevent muscle loss while maximizing fat loss.  Any other time, there’s probably only a marginal benefit at best.

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I found this good video on BCAAs.  It’s has an advertising @ the end..skip over that part.

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Branched Chain Amino Acids

Let’s start with the basics.  What are branched chain amino acids?  In short, they’re the best building blocks of protein (essential amino acids known as valine, leucine, and isoleucine).  While your body cannot produce BCAAs on its own, you’re likely getting plenty of these amino acids from your diet, primarily through protein.  However, anyone pursuing a calorie restrictive diet knows that increasing protein intake leads to an increase in calories eaten as well.  Therefore, the primary benefits of branched chain amino acids in raw form are that they are essentially free of calories and provide your body with the materials it needs to build and preserve muscle.

BCAA Benefits and Side Effects

There have been a variety of studies done on BCAA benefits.  Here are some of the key findings associated with branched chain amino acids:

• Reduction of cortisol levels when combined with weight training
• Increase metabolism and fat loss
• Improve exercise performance and reduce fatigue
• Preserve muscle mass during endurance training
• Taking BCAAs after a workout may increase lean muscle mass
• Taking BCAAs before or during a workout may decrease soreness, help repair damaged muscles, and reduce breakdown of muscles
• Improve immune system

As with any supplement, there’s always the potential for side effects.  I haven’t found any definitive research that shows serious short or long term side effects.  One key recommendation is to stay hydrated.  Otherwise, it’s really no different than eating a lot of protein.  To be safe, I wouldn’t use these in excess (30g per training day should be more than enough for the average person) and maybe cycle off every couple months just to make sure.

Benefits of BCAAs During Fasted Training

With all the benefits of branched chain amino acids listed above, BCAAs are most valuable when you’re performing fasted training or eating a calorie restrictive diet in general.  It’s those times that you might not be getting an adequate amount of amino acids where supplementation can be important for preserving muscle mass while you focus on burning fat.  Because they are essentially calorie free, BCAAs only produce a minimal insulin response (if any) allowing you to gain the all the benefits of fasted training without the potential for muscle breakdown.

This is important because you can ensure your muscles have the proper building blocks in place while still training in a fasted state.  In a fasted state, your body is primed to burn fat since glycogen levels are low.  One concern, although modest in my opinion, is that you may risk losing muscle by performing fasted training or early morning cardio.  Think of BCAAs as an insurance policy.  There’s no guarantee but why not give yourself the best chance to preserve muscle while taking advantage of the fat burning that comes from fasted training?  In fact, this article shows how 12g of BCAAs taken around workout time is enough to significantly reduce muscle breakdown which is especially important if you are in a calorie depleted state.

Timing of BCAA Supplements

So when should you take branched chain amino acids?  Personally, I like the approach advocated by Martin Berkhan on Leangains:

• 10g of BCAAs right before early morning fasted training
• 10g of BCAAs 2 hours later
• 10g of BCAAs another 2 hours later (4 hours after first serving)
• Post workout meal 2 hours later

It’s a great method for fasted training whereby you can maximize fat burning while preserving muscle.  When I do morning cardio, I’ve been having 5-10g right before training, 10-15g 2 hours later, and then breakfast 1-2 hours after that.  This allows me to maximize the HGH release from an intense HIIT workout while the steady flow of branched chain amino acids prevents muscle loss.

Branched Chain Amino Acid Supplements

You have a couple choices for branched chain amino acid supplements.  My preferred drink is Scivation Xtend.  While the old formula was drinkable, the new formula is outstanding.  To me, it’s like drinking Gatorade with the essential building blocks of protein, no calories, and no sugar.  Honestly, when I first opened the new formula tub, the smell from the powder was not appealing.  However, once mixed with water, I loved all three flavors I tried (grape, orange, and lemon lime).  I recommend getting a few different flavors so that your taste buds get a nice variety over the course of a couple days.

Another consideration is to take BCAAs in pill form.  This may require taking a lot of pills if you follow the fasted training routine above.  However, it’s unclear how many grams of BCAAs you really need to prevent muscle loss.  Depending on how many branched chain amino acids you get from your daily diet, you might only need a few additional grams around your workout to get the maximum benefit.

Bottom Line on Branched Chain Amino Acids

There are no absolutes when it comes to training and branched chain amino acid supplements.  I think claims of losing fat and gaining muscle just by ingesting BCAAs on their own may be overstated but it’s hard to say definitively.  In my opinion, the biggest benefit of BCAA supplementation is during fasted training or when you’re engaged in an overall calorie restrictive diet.  The branched chain amino acids provide your muscles with the essential building blocks of protein ensuring that your muscles are adequately nourished.  The lack of calories allows you to maintain the fat burning effects after an intense workout.

Source: notyouraveragefitnesstips.com

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That’s a great article from Not Your Average Fitness Tips.  He has a ton of good stuff on there.

If you want more information I found a great top 10 of BCAAs and their benefits.  Check out the table at the end of the article.  It’s good stuff.  This article is from Muscle And Body Mag.

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Unlike other amino acids, BCAAs can be used directly by your muscles for fuel. Also, BCAAs are known to enhance muscle growth and strength by directly stimulating muscle protein synthesis.

Rule #1: 
Know Your Three BCAAs. 
The BCAAs are comprised of three essential amino acids: leucine, isoleucine and valine. Each of these amino acid molecules has a section that builds off of the amino acid and forms a branch structure. This is why they are referred to as “branched-chain amino acids.”

These three aminos alone make up about one-third of the total amino acids in muscle. The human body has about 20 amino acids, so this should give you a sense of just how important these three key BCAAs are. Essential amino acids are those that your body cannot make itself; they must be provided by the diet, and that’s another reason why BCAA supplementation is so important.

Rule #2: 
Learn Why The BCAAs Are Special Aminos.
The BCAAs are not just important because they are essential aminos or because they make up a good proportion of muscle protein. The reason these three are super-special aminos is because of how they are handled in the body. Most amino acids go directly to the liver after being digested, where they can be broken down if the body needs them for energy. On the other hand, BCAAs tend to be spared by the liver and go directly to the muscles intact. Another thing that makes the BCAAs special is that muscle can use BCAAs directly for fuel, unlike with other amino acids. This is crucial for helping to strengthen, build and repair muscle tissue that has been stressed by weight training.

Rule #3: 
Use BCAAs To Energize Your Muscles.
Besides boosting energy by being used as a direct fuel source for muscle fibers, BCAAs also enhance energy by reducing the amount of tryptophan that gets into the brain. Tryptophan produces a metabolite known as 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HTP) or serotonin. During exercise, serotonin notifies the brain that the body is fatigued and causes it to reduce muscle strength and endurance. The BCAAs, namely valine, compete with tryptophan for entry into the brain. Research studies confirm that taking BCAAs before workouts lowers the amount of the amino acid tryptophan that gets into the brain, and therefore lowers the amount of fatigue you feel. In addition, BCAAs can also help to boost brain function by reducing brain fatigue.

Rule #4: 
Master The Ways BCAAs Can Boost Muscle Growth And Strength.
Of all the benefits that BCAAs offer, the most interesting for M&B readers is their ability to enhance muscle growth and strength. They do this by directly stimulating muscle protein synthesis, which is the buildup of muscle protein. Of the three BCAAs, leucine appears to be the most critical for stimulating muscle protein synthesis, yet all three are important for optimizing protein synthesis.

BCAAs also work to enhance muscle growth and strength by altering levels of anabolic and catabolic hormones. One anabolic hormone the BCAAs boost is insulin. This is primarily caused by leucine, and it leads to further enhancement of muscle protein synthesis. BCAAs have also been found to increase levels of growth hormone.

Another advantage that comes (albeit from the other direction) is that BCAAs also blunt levels of the catabolic hormone cortisol, particularly during exercise. Since cortisol normally increases muscle breakdown and inhibits testosterone’s anabolic actions, blunting cortisol works to increase muscle growth and strength gains.

Rule #5: 
Use BCAAs To Help Cut Fat.
Another benefit of BCAAs is their ability to enhance fat loss. Research on leucine alone has shown that this amino acid can increase metabolic rate, and therefore the amount of total calories and fat burned.

In addition, research shows that leucine helps to blunt hunger. It is theorized that leucine is used by the brain as an indicator of the levels of total amino acids in the bloodstream. Having more total amino acids in the blood signals your brain that you are well-fed, which means hunger should be reduced to prevent overeating, and your metabolic rate can be set on high without the concern that energy levels will run out.

Rule #6: 
Learn When To Take BCAAs. 
When it comes to BCAAs, timing is crucial (see chart at right).

For those interested in gaining more muscle mass, strength and energy, the most critical time for taking BCAAs is around workouts. For best results, you should take one dose within 30 minutes before your workouts along with your preworkout protein shake and carbs and another dose within 30 minutes after workouts along with your postworkout protein shake and carbs.

Working out also increases levels of cortisol. Supplementing with BCAAs before and after workouts keeps cortisol levels low, which encourages greater muscle growth. A dose of BCAAs right before workouts will provide your muscles with the energy they need to stave off fatigue throughout the workout. Additionally, research confirms that taking BCAAs around workout time will help to decrease delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), which comes on after intense workouts.

Another critical window for taking a dose of BCAAs is as soon as you wake in the morning.  Taking a dose of BCAAs first thing in the morning gets aminos immediately to your muscles to use as fuel and for repair, which will stop the continued breakdown of your hard-earned muscle from your night-long fasting. and help build it back up.

The fourth time of day you should take a dose of BCAAs is late in the day with dinner or with your last meal. This helps to keep protein synthesis and GH up, and cortisol down throughout the next day.

In addition, you may want to consider taking additional doses of BCAAs between meals to keep hunger down and metabolism up for optimal fat burning.

Rule #7: 
Learn How To Stack BCAAs With Other Supplements. 
To maximize their effectiveness, take BCAAs with protein and carbs, such as a whey protein shake and Gatorade (after workouts), eggs and toast (for breakfast), or steak and a sweet potato (for dinner). Taking BCAAs with protein and carbs will help to drive more of the BCAAs into your muscles thanks to the greater insulin boost.

For those following a low-carb diet, you will obviously not want to eat carbs every time you take a dose of BCAAs. That’s fine, because the leucine will help boost insulin on its own. In addition, you can take BCAAs with supplements, such as alpha-lipoic acid (ALA), that enhance insulin’s release and its action at muscle cells. Take 300–500 mg of ALA when you take a dose of BCAAs to further enhance insulin’s actions and get more BCAAs into your muscles.

Rule #8: 
Learn How To Dose Your BCAAs.
M&B suggests you get a minimum of 5 g and up to 10 g of BCAAs per dose. Start off with just 1 or 2 g of BCAAs per dose to allow your stomach to get used to them. Then slowly increase the dosage (by about 1 g per dose every three or four days) as your tolerance allows until you’re up to at least the minimum dose of 5 g.

Rule #9: 
Take The Most Effective Ratio Of BCAAs. 
Be aware that the ratio of leucine to isoleucine and valine is also critical for optimizing its benefits. You should look for BCAA supplements that provide leucine at a dose that delivers a ratio of leucine to valine and leucine to isoleucine of 2:1. For example, if you take a 5-g dose of BCAAs, you try to get about 2.5 g from leucine, 1.25 g from isoleucine and 1.25 g from valine.

Rule #10: 
Use The Best Form Of BCAAs.
BCAAs typically come in capsules or tablets that you swallow or as a powder that you mix. Both forms are similarly effective. Most capsules or tablet forms of BCAAs provide about 500–1,000 mg of BCAAs per pill.

Since you’ll be taking a minimum dose of 5 g of BCAAs about four times per day, you may not want to swallow a total of up to 20–40 pills per day. This is where powders have an advantage. While it used to be that BCAA powders were chalky and flavorless, today they often come in a variety of flavors that should please anyone’s palate.

Of course, if you can’t find a flavor you like, using a pill form of BCAAs could be your best bet. Another advantage of pill form is that they’re easier to travel with, such as taking them to work, school, the gym or when you travel. Try both versions to see which works best for you.

Unlike other amino acids, BCAAs can be used directly by your muscles for fuel. Also, BCAAs are known to enhance muscle growth and strength by directly stimulating muscle protein synthesis.

Source: http://www.muscleandbodymag.com/article.php?ArticleID=5287

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Wow… that is a ton of BCAA information.  Do you take BCAA’s?  Have you noticed any BCAA benefits?  Join in the conversation…would love to hear from you.

Stan

So you want to free tickets to the gun show?  Well I found some great articles for you on how to build arm muscle.  Ben Pakulski is the man.  Check out his 4 Uncommon Tips To BIGGER ARMS.

1) LESS VOLUME! 

Small muscles require less volume, and recover faster. Basic logic says,  a smaller muscle has less overall total volume of muscle fibres. It takes  LESS overall stimulus to fatigue these muscles and less overall training  volume to exhaust glycogen stores (stored muscle energy).

2) HEAVY WEIGHTS (WITH PERFECT FORM) 

Heavy weights are going to fatigue a greater overall percentage of muscle  fibres in a shorter amount of time (aka less sets). Heavy weights also have  the added benefit of stimulating “high threshold motor units”. These are the  muscle fibres that require a lot more stimulus to grow and respond, but also the fibres that are more likely to be responsible for muscle hypertrophy or GROWTH!

3) ARMS RECEIVE A LOT OF STIMULUS ON A REGULAR BASIS

Arms receive a lot of stimulus on a regular basis. For most people, this tends to  occur in the middle of the range of motion where the muscles are strongest. In order to get the arms to grow and respond, it is necessary to subject them to  a different type of stimulus. One of the best ways to improve arm development is to  subject them to more tension and continuous tension at the extremes of the range of motion (a.k.a, when a muscle is fully lengthened or fully shortened –where muscles are weakest). This will allow for greater time under tension as well as targeting different  points of the strength curve to force the nervous system to adapt and stimulate new muscle growth.

4) YOU MUST ENGAGE THE TARGET MUSCLE FIRST IN ANY MOVEMENT

The FIRST muscle to engage in ANY movement must be the muscle you are trying to target. If you are working your biceps, to most effectively stimulate the bicep, it must be the muscle to initiate the movement. As mentioned, muscles are weakest at those extremes and that makes it LEAST likely to contract. This is where your conscious intent and control is vital! The best way to ensure this is happening is to CONTRACT its antagonist muscle. This will ensure a fully lengthened working muscle and make it much more likely that it will initiate the movement(provided youre using proper control).

e.g. when working your bicep, to fully stretch your bicep at the bottom of the range, it is necessary to contract your tricep before initiating the movement of contracting your bicep again.The opposite is true when training triceps. Contract your biceps at the top of the range when a tricep is fully stretched(forearm touches biceps).

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Awesome article by Ben Pakulski is won 2nd in Flex and placed 4th in the Arnold Classic.  He has a kick ass muscle building program called MI40.

Here’s another great article of how to build arm muscle by Lee Hayward.  Lee really is super through with this great post.

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With arm training you’ll make better gains over the long term if you focus on simply working the muscles, rather then moving maximum weights. Obviously, as your arms get bigger they will also get stronger and you’ll have to increase your weights accordingly, but don’t force it. You’ll know when it’s time to up the weights for your arm workouts.

Since your arms come into play with so many other bodypart workouts (i.e. biceps are worked with all rowing exercises and triceps are worked with all pressing exercises). You’ll only need to devote one training day per week to direct arm work.

One of the most effective workouts for building muscle in the arms is using a training technique called “Positions of Flexion”. Which basically means training each muscle group through it’s full range of motion; starting with a compound mid-range exercise, then moving on to an exercise that works the muscle in the completely stretched position, and then finishing with an exercise that works the muscle in the fully contracted position.

IronMan Magazine writer Steve Holman has written a lot about “Positions of Flexion” workouts, but the concept is certainly not new. In fact if you watch the movie Pumping Iron you can see that Arnold used this style of training for his workouts, and his arm development was simply incredible, even by today’s standards.

To give you an example, here is a typical bicep workout that Arnold used to do:

• Barbell Curls
  (this is a mid-range exercise as most of the tension is on the biceps in the middle of the rep)
• Incline Dumbbell Curls
  (this is a stretched position exercise as most of the tension is on the biceps at the bottom or fully stretched position)
• Concentration Curls
  (this is a peak contraction exercise as most of the tension is on the biceps at the top of the rep when the biceps are fully contracted)

Lately I’ve been focusing my own workouts around the “Positions Of Flexion” concept and the results have been awesome, I’ve gotten the most intense muscle pumps that I’ve felt in years. In the past I usually just focused most of my efforts around the big basic compound mid-range exercises, but by incorporating fully stretched movements and fully contracted movements I can tell that I’m working muscle fibers that are not getting touched with just basic compound lifts. POF training utilizes the best of both compound and isolation exercises to work the muscles through a complete range of motion.

Bicep Workout

Standing Barbell

Start each bicep workout with a basic exercise such as the standing barbell curl. Do a couple progressively heavier warm up sets and then keep the same weight for 3 sets of 10 reps. Rest about 2 minutes in between each set.

This is the way my sets usually go:

– On the first I will get all 10 reps with good form.

– On the second set I’ll usually have to use a slight bit of body momentum on the last few reps to complete the set as my muscles are a bit fatigued from the first set.

– On the third set I’ll get about 6-8 reps and then have to put the bar down for a 10 second rest pause before completing the rest of the set.

Incline Dumbbell Curls

Lying back on a 45 degree angle incline bench. Let the dumbbells hang down at your sides so that you feel a good stretch in the bottom. Really emphasis the stretch position during the entire exercise.

You should use a slight rebound out of the bottom position to help lift the weights back up. When you use a quick twitch at the point of stretch, you activate the myotatic reflex, which sends a shock to the nervous system and forces reserve muscle fibers to come into play.

Obviously, start off light and build up gradually. This is definitely not an ego exercise. You are doing this to work the muscles, not see how much weight you can lift. Training in the fully stretched position has a lot of potential for growth, but it also has an increased risk for injury if you are not careful.

Again, do 2-3 progressively heavier warm up sets and then keep the same weight for 3 sets of 10 reps. Rest about 2 minutes in between each set.

Concentration Curls

This exercise isolates the biceps and is good for getting a peak contraction in the muscles. The peak-contraction effect finishes off the muscle and helps further stimulate those reserve fibers you recruited with the stretch in the previous exercise.

Sit at the end of an exercise bench with your legs spread. Reach down between your legs and pick up a dumbbell with one hand. Brace your elbow against your knee and fully straighten your arm. Place your other hand on your opposite leg to support your upper body.

Moving only your forearm, use your bicep strength to curl the dumbbell up to shoulder level. Hold this position for a couple of seconds to maximize the peak contraction in the biceps. Slowly lower the dumbbell to the starting position. Repeat for the desired number of reps. Do the same for your other arm.

Since your biceps are all pumped and warmed up at this stage you can just jump to your working weight and do 3 sets of 10 reps for each arm. Rest only 1 minute in between each set, while you are training one arm the other will be getting a rest.

Tricep Workout

Close Grip Bench Press

Start your tricep workout with a big basic compound movement that heavily works the triceps throughout the mid-range of the exercise. Lie down on the flat bench press and grab the bar with a grip no wider then the width of your torso, generally for most guys this will be with the index fingers on the smooth part of a standard Olympic barbell. Using too close of a hand spacing will only place excess strain on the wrists and limit the amount of weight that you can lift.

Do a couple progressively heavier warm up sets and then keep the same weight for 3 sets of 10 reps. Rest about 2 minutes in between each set.

Overhead Tricep Extensions

I like to do this exercise with an ez curl bar as it is more comfortable on the wrists. By doing tricep extensions overhead you’ll get a better stretch throughout the muscles and it will work more of the long head of the triceps. Make sure to use a full range of motion and use a little bit of a rebound out of the bottom position to help lift the weights back up. Working in this stretched position point where you rebound and change direction between lowering and lifting can help trigger hyperplasia or fiber splitting and thus improve overall muscle growth and size gains.

Do 2-3 progressively heavier warm up sets and then keep the same weight for 3 sets of 10 reps. Rest about 2 minutes in between each set.

Dumbbell Kick Backs

This is a good exercise to hit all three heads of the triceps with a good peak contraction and finish off your tricep workout with an incredible skin stretching muscle pump.

Brace yourself against a flat exercise bench. Grab a dumbbell in one hand. Place your other hand on the bench to support yourself.

Keep your upper arm along the side of your torso during the entire exercise. Moving just your forearm lift the dumbbell in an arc motion until your arm is straight. Hold this position for a second to maximize the peak contraction in the triceps. Slowly return the dumbbell to the starting position. Repeat.

Since your triceps are pumped and warmed up at this stage you can just jump to your working weight and do 3 sets of 10 reps for each arm. Rest only 1 minute in between each set, while you are training one arm the other will be getting a rest.

Source:  http://www.leehayward.com/arm_workout.htm

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Well there you go.  2 great articles on building arm muscle.  What is your favorite arm workout?

Leave a comment below.

We’ve all heard that milk does a body good.  Well is that just marketing or a lot of B.S.  So many different opinions are out there about if milk helps build muscle but I found a great article from stronglifts.com about it.

Check this article out here.

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Post workout nutrition is crucial for muscle recovery & rehydration. The common advice is to have whey after a weight lifting session because it’s a fast protein. You want to get protein in your muscles as fast as you can for recovery.

Truth or marketing from supplement companies? Fact is that many weight lifters have used milk as a post workout drink for years. After reading this post you’ll know why it’s the ultimate post workout food for many people.

Milk Content. 1 cup (250ml) whole milk contains 8g protein, 13g carbs & 8g fat for a total of 150kcal. 1 cup also has 290mg calcium & 107g sodium. This combo makes milk perfect for lean body mass gains & recovery. Full content:

• Casein. Slow digesting protein. Milk consists for 80% of casein, a dairy protein that keeps you full longer and helps fat loss & muscle repair.
• Whey. Fast digesting protein. Milk consists for 20% of whey which helps muscle repair. This is the same kind of whey you find in protein shakes.
• BCAA. Milk is rich in branched chain amino acids : leucine, isoleucine and valine. A diet rich in protein, especially dairy protein like milk, will get you plenty of BCAAs. No need to waste your money on supplements.
• Carbs. Milk contains lactose. Your body uses this sugar to replenish your energy stores. Some can’t digest lactose. Check the tips at the bottom.
• Fat. Unless you go fat-free, milk contains 1 to 3g fat per 100ml. Fats digest slowly and keep you full longer, thus decreasing hunger.
• Calcium. Dairy calcium increases fat loss & improves bone health. The latter is especially important if you’re a woman (osteoporosis).
• Water. Milk is about 87% water. Proper hydration improves muscle recovery and can increase strength by preventing fatigue & stalling.
• Electrolytes. Milk contains sodium & potassium. These minerals improve re-hydration by retaining the fluids you consume post workout.
• Nutrients. Biotin, magnesium, vitamin A, vitamin B-12, vitamin D, vitamin K, riboflavin and many others (naturally or through fortification).

5 Reasons You Should Drink Milk Post Workout.

1. Muscle Gains. Research shows a mix of slow and fast digesting protein is superior for lean body mass gains. Milk is 80% casein, 20% whey.
2. Fat Loss. Dairy calcium increases fat loss. The fat in milk keeps you full longer which decreases hunger and thus helps you to lose fat.
3. Recovery. Milk is a fluid and has electrolytes. Research shows milk is superior to water and sport drinks for rehydration post workout.
4. Cheap. When you consider the protein (whey/casein/BCAA) and calorie content of milk, it’s one of the cheapest foods available.
5. Easy. Milk requires zero preparation. 1 quarter (1 liter) milk can be a perfect post workout meal depending on your daily caloric needs.

Milk vs Whey. Some people still believe you need whey post workout. Probably because supplement companies keep pushing it. But studies show slow protein OR a mix of slow & fast protein is superior for lean body mass gains.

Whey is a fast protein. While milk is a combination of slow & fast protein (casein & whey). That’s why milk post workout is superior to whey but also to soy milk for lean body mass gains: whey & soy milk are fast digesting proteins.

If you don’t drink milk, the point is that a slow OR mix of slow & fast protein is better post workout. So even meat, poultry or fish is better than whey. Turns out many people have used solid meals post workout with success.

I haven’t used whey since a long time. I have milk post workout and/or a solid meal that consists of meat, grains & some fats. Exodus shared in this post that he got ripped using a similar kind of post workout meal.

Milk vs Sports Drinks. Strength training causes water loss through sweating. Rehydration is crucial for muscle recovery since dehydration can cause stalling. Signs of dehydration: fatigue & headaches (think hangovers).

Studies show milk is superior to water and sport drinks for rehydration. Here’s why: milk is rich in sodium & potassium which retain fluid, but also in protein & fat which slow digestion. Less hunger, longer hydration.

I don’t recommend sport drinks if you do strength training. Their sugar content will make you fat. Have a solid meal and/or milk and drink plenty of water post workout. Sport drinks are for endurance athletes, not weight lifters.

Whole Milk vs Fat Free Milk. Studies show whole milk causes more lean body mass gains than fat free milk. Since slower protein is better post workout, this could be why whole milk is superior: its fat content could slow absorption.

The fat in whole milk makes it tastier than fat free milk & keeps you full longer. So you’ll tend to eat less with whole milk and be less hungry. Although the fat content in whole milk can be an issue since it’s more caloric dense.

• Whole milk: 30g protein, 40g carbs, 35g fat, 600kcal.
• Low fat milk: 30g protein, 40g carbs, 10g fat, 370kcal.
• Non fat milk: 30g protein, 40g carbs, 0g fat, 280kcal.
• Low fat choco milk: 30g protein, 115g carbs, 10g fat, 670kcal.

Nutritional values are for 1 quart (1 liter) milk.

Milk Recommendations for Fat Loss. To lose fat, you need to eat less calories and/or burn more calories. Milk won’t make you fat. Neither will the fat content in fatty milk make you fat. Only excess calories cause fat gains.

Smoothing is possible when introducing milk in your diet (read below). But this isn’t fat gain. No food can make you fat if you have a caloric deficit. Just like any food, including protein, can cause fat gains when you have a caloric excess.

Research clearly shows that whole milk causes more lean body mass gains than non fat milk. Which proves fat doesn’t make you fat. Excess calories do. As long as you have a caloric deficit, it doesn’t matter if you drink non fat or whole milk.

So which milk you should drink post workout depends on your caloric needs for fat loss, which depend on your body-weight most. Example:

• If you’re 220lbs, you need about 2800kcal/day to lose fat. 1 quart whole milk post workout leaves room for 2200kcal the rest of the day.
• But if you’re 160lbs, you need about 1900kcal/day for fat loss. 1 quart whole milk only leaves 1300kcal. Or only 325kcal/meal if you eat 4x/day. Smaller meals don’t fill your stomach and could cause hunger.

So if you’re on the lighter side and need to lose fat, you have 2 options:

1. Drink smaller quantities whole milk: 1 cup has 150kcal, 2 cups 300kcal.
2. Drink low fat milk: 1 quart has 370kcal, 2 cups 185kcal.

Everything depends on your caloric needs for fat loss. Rule of thumb: 13kcal/lb of body-weight (or 11kcal/lb if you’re a woman). Do the math and make the milk fit within your caloric needs.

I recommend low fat milk over non fat milk because the difference in calories is insignificant. Low fat milk has only 90kcal more when you drink 1 quart and only 45kcal more when you drink 2 cups. Not a big deal.

On top of that, research shows that fattier milk causes more lean body mass. So drink low fat milk if you can’t make whole milk fit in your diet. Remember to drink milk post workout only if you follow the 8 nutrition rules, milk has carbs.

Milk Recommendations for Weight Gain. To gain weight, you need to have a caloric excess: eat more calories and/or burn less calories. Since burning less calories is hard to do, this means you have to eat more.

So it makes sense to drink 1 quart whole milk post workout: more calories and according to research more lean body mass gains. A more extreme version of this is obviously GOMAD: gallon of whole milk a day.

Chocolate milk could work too calorie wise. But it could be less effective than whole milk since it has less fat. Chocolate milk also seems to constipate.

Quick Tips. Some people can’t digest lactose. And many people experience smoothing from milk which they always mistake for fat gains. Tips:

• Lactose Intolerance. Take lactase pills with your milk if you get gas or diarrhea. Avoid lactaid-free milk: it’s convenient but more expensive.
• Smoothing. Milk is rich in sodium. Going from low to high sodium intakes causes water retention. Solution: increase your sodium intake. Eat more dairy products, eat pickles, supplement with real sea salt.

I get asked all the time if you can really build muscle with bodyweight workouts only or can you really get stronger without weights?  Well I found a great article from Jimmy Smith at JimmySmithTraining.com.  Check out the article here and it should answer some of your questions.

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I’ve always prided myself on being very “in the middle” of the strength and conditioning scale.Everyone wants to argue about training techniques, like bodyweight training, and debate which one is better instead of finding which method is the most optimal. If you pay close enough attention to the industry you’ll see two groups…

Bodyweight training and workouts for more muscle and less fat

Group 1: The Jumpers. These are people who generally find out about a new method, proclaim it better then anything else that anyone has ever done to build muscle or get stronger and they build gyms, blogs or their lifestyle around it. Just spend five minutes talking to any Crossfitter, paleo advocate or strongman.

Group 2: The “Don’t Know Betters”.  This is typically a combination of old school lifters, general fitness trainers or just someone that wants to “go to the gym”. They are still the people using the same training methods for years. There’s nothing wrong with that if their getting results and like it but they’ll bash anything they haven’t tried, almost out of fear.

It actually pisses me off when I hear the extreme of both ends running down the other. You’ll hear stupid stuff like “only bodybuilders train their triceps” or ” you only build muscle with bodybuilding training”.

Listen, my quest is to be the best coach possible for you guys. It’s how I increase my results and change my body but also how I help you guys do the same.  I can’t afford to be closed minded and I have to view every new or different method for the face value and not get too caught up on it.  That brings me to today’s topic of bodyweight training. Never have I’ve seen such argument over a training method. The problem is NEVER in the method, it’s in the user. Hard pill to swallow I know.

To some bodyweight training is still the same old boring stuff that you’d do in gym class.  That’s the problem!

People don’t know how to advance and progress their bodyweight training to the point that they’ll start causing enough adaptation and forcing their central nervous system to grow and get stronger.  How’s that any different than curling a weight the same way year after year and not getting results? If you knew how to advance that arm workout like I show you in my Ultimate Arm Training series then you’d be constantly making gains.

At the end of day, can bodyweight training provide you with an increased stimulus? Yes it can. The best thing about it? Bodyweight workouts are actually easier on your joints because there’s no external weight.  I’m even of the theory that bodyweight training can help to heal your joints and reduce muscle soreness because you’re forced to work through a full range of motion. One of the bigger issues with life is that we lose the ability to perform several vital movements like a full squat or a full lunge as we age.

Holding a dumbbell or medicine ball actually adds a certain amount of external stability that doesn’t exist with bodyweight training. Working through the full range of motion in the squat can increasingly rehab our hip joint.

Same thing with the push up, getting really good at the push up, like you did when you were young, can be a fantastic shoulder rehab movement for turning on muscles like the serratus that are essential for proper shoulder health.

It’s a lot easier to grab a set of dumbbells and quickly work your way up to a twenty pound or so increase. And you feel badass as you see yourself progressing from a fifteen pound curl to a twenty pound curl. So the pundits are right, dumbbell training is more effective then body weight training for building muscle.

No…you’ve chosen the easier path to success. A chin up puts the biceps in a more direct line of pull then a dumbbell curl. If you want to get big arms you need to include chin ups in your program at some point. Just think about all the ways that you can do more chin ups. You can gain weight or you can lose fat.  Both provide a better challenge. You can add rest pause reps into the workout. You can use a band for support. You can do jumping chin ups.

Same with a lunge. You can add isometric pauses half way down to stimulate your glute more. You can perform mini or half lunges or you can do jumping lunges.

With a push up, you can change your hand position or add mini holds or use a band. I show you all these progressions and more in my Weapon X workout.

At the end of day building muscle and increasing strength is based on giving your body enough stimulus and tension to adapt. I often recommend all my clients to perform one bodyweight workout per week to reduce their soreness post training and just freshen things up. Lately I’ve been finishing all my workouts with at least one bodyweight exercise that corresponds with what I trained that day. If I hammered legs then I used high reps. If I did a hard shoulder workout I’ll use some rest pause push up variations. Bodyweight training is limitless and makes a perfect finisher to any workout you can think of.

Source: Jimmy Smith

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Jimmy has a great article here and has some great information on his site.

I found some great bodyweight workouts videos for ya.  This one is pretty hard core.

Here’s another one that isn’t as crazy.

So what do you think?  Can you build more muscle with only bodyweight workouts?

Chime in below or head over to my Facebook page.