Building Muscles Right at Home

There are people whose aim is to get bulky or build their muscles. They’re willing to spend long hours in the gym and perform backbreaking exercises just to achieve a muscular physique. Now what if you have the same goal but just don’t have time to go to the gym because of your hectic daily schedule? Does that mean your dream of getting beefy will never become a reality?

Well, who says you can only beef up in the gym? If the only time you can squeeze in each day for working out is the time the gyms are closed, then you can do your muscle-building routines at home. The next question then would be, what if you don’t have all the fancy equipment you can find in most gyms? You can actually still work out without getting all those muscle-building apparatuses.   

Muscle-Building Principles

To build muscles, there are 2 fundamental principles that are required. The first is applying progressive overload in an environment that can stimulate growth. This means that for one to get stronger, you should come up with an intelligently designed workout routine. The second principle is to have a nutritious diet that’s capable of supporting muscle growth, which means consuming big amounts of calories and protein.

The Tools You Need

You’re probably beginning to ask now how in the world you’ll be able to build muscles without the necessary tools. Well, all that equipment doesn’t necessarily build muscles; it’s just the better equipment to get the job done. Truth be told, the tools and toys in the gym are still the best and most efficient equipment to bulk up. However, you can substitute these tools with things you can find in your house (e.g. those you can find in your toolbox).

Use Your Own Body as a Tool

You may not realize it, but if there’s one piece of equipment you can use to build muscles, it’s actually your own body, specifically your body weight. If you’re creative and imaginative enough, you can perform all sorts of exercises to get a muscular figure. Among the many exercises you can do are things as basic as pushups and pull-ups (and their many variations), lunges and squats to something as challenging as pistol squats and even body weight bicep curls and triceps extensions.

Finally, make sure you eat foods that help in facilitating muscle-building. Things like eggs, nuts, cottage cheese (with live cultures), chickpeas, and lean beef should be in your diet. Of course, don’t forget protein shakes, which is the cornerstone for any muscle-building program (you can find protein powders like 100 Whey Gold Standard at NutritionWarehouse).

So, don’t have time to work out in the gym? Get those big and strong muscles right at home!

How Antioxidants Benefit Us

One of the terms in relation to health that’s being thrown around a lot in these modern times is ‘antioxidant.’ Despite its popularity, however, not a lot of people actually know its real benefits, let alone what it is. What some people know is we can get it from readily available sources like tea, red wine, and even dark chocolate. But that’s about how limited their knowledge is as far as antioxidants are concerned.

What Are Antioxidants?

Before we start talking about their benefits, let us first get to know what they are. Antioxidants are substances that can protect your cells against the effects of free radicals. Yet another term to be defined, free radicals are molecules produced when our body breaks down the food we eat. These molecules can also be produced by environmental exposures, including tobacco smoke and even radiation. These free radicals can damage our cells, which can result to certain diseases.

Antioxidants are found in foods like fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, some meats, and whole grains. Certain vitamins, minerals, and compounds in food have antioxidant properties, some of which are vitamins A, C, and E and carotene and selenium.

Battling Oxidative Stress and Free Radicals

As we get older, our body tissues suffer from oxidative stress (a disturbance in the balance between the production of reactive oxygen species (free radicals) and antioxidant defenses. Oxidation takes place when molecules within our body lose electrons to electrically charged molecules of oxygen in our blood stream. These electrically charged oxygen molecules are called ‘free radicals,’ which have the potential to cause damage to cellular DNA. Over time, the damage can become irreversible and lead to disease. What antioxidants do is to keep the levels of free radicals in our body at low levels, thereby maintaining our good health.

Health Benefits

We now know that antioxidants get rid of free radicals from our bloodstream. Apart from that, according to certain studies, they also reduce the signs of aging by protecting our skin from sun damage, thereby minimizing wrinkles and preserving our skin’s texture. They’re also believed to help in preventing certain degenerative and age-related diseases such as cancer, cataracts, cardiovascular disease, macular degeneration, and Alzheimer’s.

Other Sources

Aside from the food sources mentioned earlier here, antioxidants can also be found in poultry, nuts, and acai berry. The latter is known as a ‘superfood’ and contains an exceptional concentration of antioxidants.

Whether or not you believe that there are proven benefits of antioxidants, there’s no harm in eating foods and fruits that are rich in these substances (you can get acai berry at NutritionWarehouse).

Manage Your Weight with These Surefire Tips

Contrary to popular belief, weight management is not merely about losing weight.

Put in proper perspective, this topic is about developing healthy and effective habits that will allow you to have greater amount of energy and be more productive in life. This is about being in control of your body and achieving its full potential.

Maintaining a well-balanced diet is a big challenge for many. Consuming too much calories can be a factor that leads to gaining greater weight. On the other hand, minimal calorie intake may cause you to lose a few pounds. You have to strike a good balance, depending on your body’s needs, to be at the peak of your health.

Here are some things you should keep in mind as you do your best to manage your weight.

1. Be conscious about what and when you eat.

If you are serious about following a diet, you have to be careful not only about what you eat but how frequently you do it.

Do you often eat whenever you sit on the couch to watch TV? Are you the type of person who usually eats whenever you feel bored or sad? If so, then you are prone to breaking your diet. Stay watchful with what and when you eat in order to stay within your prescribed limits.

2. Choose healthy foods.

Naturally, losing the junk food (or at least minimizing them significantly) can make a big difference. Go for foods that are naturally rich in fiber. Fruits such as apples, strawberries, and oranges are perfect for you. Green leafy vegetables are also good. Black beans, chickpeas, pinto beans and other beans are recommended too. Brown rice, cereal, and oatmeal are intelligent choices for those who want to feel full without having to eat too much.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that you should entirely cut off favorite treats from your life. There’s nothing wrong about having some ice cream, chocolate or pizza as long as you do not overindulge.

3. Exercise regularly and take essential supplements.

These two tips are almost inseparable because one will not be complete without the other. Regular exercise is very important and so is taking the needed supplements. Besides, you will do a better job maintaining your weight as you observe both of these tips the right way.

You should establish a habit for your exercise routine and you may also check out the best fat burner supplement at NutritionWarehouse. This is a good idea if you want to stay healthy and fit at the same time.

Getting Familiar with Probiotics

Mentioning the term ‘antibiotics’ can easily bring to mind medicines that help us become well when we get sick. True enough, an antibiotic is an agent that destroys disease-causing bacteria. Although the prefix ‘anti’ means against, antibiotics serve a good purpose in our body.

Probiotics

But what about ‘probiotics’? Well, not many people are familiar with the term. Probiotics are organisms and are actually bacteria themselves that are widely believed to improve health. They can be available in the foods we eat as well as in supplements. Can you imagine yourself taking live bacteria? The thought of it may seem strange to some, but our bodies actually abound with all sorts of them. Our digestive system alone is home to over 500 different types of bacteria. But they help keep our intestines healthy and even assist in digesting the food we eat.

How Do They Work?

For any system to work well, there has to be balance in it. It is believed that disorders in the digestive system take place when the balance of friendly bacteria in the intestines is disrupted. Believe it or not, this can actually be a result of taking antibiotics. This is where probiotics come in. They improve intestinal function and even in maintaining the integrity of the lining of the intestines.

Improving the Immune System

The benefits we can get from probiotics don’t stop simply in the digestive system. There’s actually evidence that they can also help in maintaining a strong immune system. Experts say that by introducing friendly bacteria in the form of these probiotics, they help challenge the immune system in healthy ways.

Treating Ailments

Although not absolutely conclusive, there are studies that have shown that probiotics may help in certain illnesses. There are experts who have actually concluded that probiotics can be most effective for treating diarrhea in kids, ulcerative colitis, symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, and Crohn’s disease (a form of inflammatory bowel disease), among many others. They can also help in preventing eczema associated with cow’s milk allergy, pouchitis (inflammation of the intestines), and antibiotic-associated diarrhea.

Choosing a Probiotic Supplement

In the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration or FDA does not regulate probiotics in the same manner it regulates prescription drugs. If you want to stay on the safe side, choose those that are made by well-known companies. Their labels should contain essential information like the scientific studies they use for their recommendations. Furthermore, you can talk to your doctor to help you choose which probiotics supplements are ideal for you (you can get supplements like Oxyelite Pro in Nutrition Warehouse).