How much protein do you need to compete

Recent studies have shown that the average American gets too much protein in their diet.  Of course being a bodybuilder or athlete you're not the average American. You are going to need more protein if you're training hard then they would because you will be breaking your body muscles down much more each day.

Athletes require more protein than inactive people to build, maintain and repair muscle and other tissues in the body. The more intense you train and the more intense your work out,  the more protein and nutrients you going to require to recover sufficiently.  If you do not get enough protein your body will not recover,  and you will actually lose muscle.   When you eat protein your body breaks it down into amino acids and these can be used for several different things. It can provide energy, but that is not it's main purpose. It is used for building and repairing muscle and tissues, red blood cells, hair and finger nails and for synthesizing hormones.

Extra protein does not build muscle or bulk. For that you need to increase your exercise level. If you do not exercise the protein was just sit your body and it will soon flushed out.

So make sure you get plenty of protein in your diet each day. That will ensure that your body can recover and make games that you agree should training well

Following link provides a good list of some of the most protein rich foods to eat

http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/athletes-need-protein-inactive-people-2794.html

Should you handle Heavy or Light Weights to get Results 

This question has been asked for years now from every bodybuilder, fitness competitor, and athlete in every sport.

In over 40 years of training and training  with athletes I have seen it all.  From bodybuilders and athletes doing Max lifts of 1-3 reps in almost every workout to some huge athletes doing sets of benches with 135 lbs, but doing every rep as slow, controlled and with as perfect form was possible.   

So there is a wide variety of different philosophies out there on what you should be doing for the best results.  So here are some initial tips on what to do:

• Do not got for max lifts more than once a week 
• DO NOT CHEAT ON YOUR LIFTS AND USE BAD FORM
• Do not use so light a weight that you are not straining at all to finish your set
• Do not lift heavy all the time - it will be to hard on your joints 
• Throw a high rep - light weight day in your routine every two weeks.   

Also do not overtrain!    If you are constantly tired and dragging then you are not going to be making any gains either.  Take a day or two off or better yet do some cross training.

Speaking of cross training I always do some form of cross - sport training.   My routine includes 

• Tennis - I am ranked player and coach
• Sprints -  Agility drills - LOVE THEM
• Jiu Jitsu - wrestling -  a great way to get strong, flexible, and have fun
• Hiking -  we have a ton of great hiking trails here

Now all of these activities burn calories, work my fast twitch muscles,  work my core,  and build explosive muscles density.   I LIKE to eat and so by cross training I am not eating dry chicken breasts and dry salads which i did when I was bodybuilding and had stopped cross training.  Those days are gone forever.  

Now I can eat a healthy diet but sill have carbs when I want to.  AND I do.

My routine is weights -  Monday - Tuesday  - Thursday - Friday and i have a max of 15 -30 seconds between sets.  I KEEP MOVING BETWEEN SETS!   I do anywhere from 4 -10 reps and 3 sets of each exercise. 

REST?  I have heard and believe the saying " you are not ever overtrained you are just under rested" .   You need to have some down time and you need to  have some fun.   Do not ignore your Family.   Get out to a park and hike-  play tennis - basketball-  go bowling - swimming and TAKE EVERYONE!    That means go out and exercise and have fun while you do it. 

Keep track of your weights and try to increase them 

Why do you need to eat breakfast each day

First of all breakfast is the most important meal of the day. You are literally "breaking the fast" of the night. Now I do not mean eating thre sugar loaded " cereal' that they have in the grocery store. That is nothing more than eating a "candy bar".

Studies have shown that you significantly increase your chances of being obsese if you skip breakfast! Also those same studies have shown that you also increase your chances of living longer by eating breakfast. 

Eating breakfast lets you start off your day with enery, vitality, and WILL ENABLE YOU TO EAT LESS DURING THE DAY FOR YOU WILL NOT CRAVE FOOD AS MUCH, 

Your body needs protein to recover from the fast of the night and to build muscle. If it does not get protein then it will canibalize your bodies muscles to get the protein it needs to meet your bodies needs each day.

For you parents scientific tests have proven that kids who do not eat breakfast are less able to learn and excel at school, and they do not get enough iron in their diet. Iron is a essential nutrient that's is needed to make hemoglobin, the oxygen-carrying component of red blood cells (RBCs). Red blood cells circulate throughout the body to deliver oxygen to all our cells, and are essential to get oxygen to our muscles and tissue. Plus these same children are more likely to be overweight. 

So make sure you eat a healthy breakfast each day to start your day.

When is the Best Time to Train for Bodybuilding or Fitness

I spent over 17 years training a 4am at Golds Gym in Venice Beach California. Now I did not think anything about this for there were 20-40 other people in there also by 4:30AM and that included many females bodybuilders and athletes.

Was I stiff at that time of the morning? Not really but it does take longer to warmup the earlier you start. And you may not be as strong as you will be in later in the day, but I found that my strength was just about the same in the morning as it was in the afternoon. 

But you will also get your workout in each day not matter what happens for nothing, work-Family- etc issues will not be able to interfer with your workouts for you will have already got it in before you start your day.

Yes as you get older you will sometimes you need to stay late at work, you have dinner meetings, and Family events which will make you postpone or cancel your workout.

Now for some technical analysis. ! The latest research on your body's circadian rhythms, which are its internal clock, have shown that the peak of several of the most important (anabolic) hormones occur at both 3 and 11 hours upon your awakening. Well, according to science, if you wake up at 5:00 am, you are at your strongest at either 8:00 am and 4:00 pm..

Furthermore according to many strength coaches - such as Olympic Strength Coach Charles Poliquin, your joints like your knees, shoulders, may not be warm first thing in the morning.

What they are referring to is the synovial fluid which lubricates your joints require about 3 to 4 hours to reach an optimal level of warmth which will increase your bodies flexibility. This will provide a increase in athletic performance while decreasing the chnces of injuries.

So if you have the time to train at the 3 or 11 hours upon wakening then you now know it is your optimum training time. But do not worry if you do not. Some of the best bodybuilders and athletes in the world have trained at every hour of the day. When i was in at 4AM many of the top bodybuilders and athletes where right in the gym with me

Are you training for a sport or want to increase your speed or power? Then try plyometric training.

http://power4sports.blogspot.com

Healthy Power Egg Breakfast 

I believe in eating a good healthy breakfast to start each day off.  

This is my recipe for my power egg breakfast.  

Use 6 eggs

cut tomatoes

turkey sausage

mushrooms

red and orange peppers

cut onions

Cook them all in a large frying pan sprayed lightly with pam.  

When all of this is cooked then add LOTS of Spinach to your eggs for the spinach will cook way down to where you can barely see it

Now you are ready to eat.   I put homemade salsa on top of mine and eat it with 1/2 piece of whole wheat toast

Enjoy it! 

Flexibility training 

This is something that we all  need to do regardless of our age. 

As we age of course the first thing that we lose is flexibility.  Our muscles. spine, and joints tighten from the force of gravity,  aging of our body and the pounding that we do each day.  This causes injuries, curvature of the spine, and can also cause arthritis in our joints.

So we need to spend time lengthening and elongating out body each day.   This can be done with traditional exercises like yoga which are static or they can also be done with non-static exercises like karate - jiu jitsu etc.  

I like a combination of both methods.  But either method you choose you need to make sure you get your body temperature up so that your muscles are warm and you can then stretch your muscles to that maximum ability.   When you body is cold you muscles are tight and inflexible.  That is the reason the so cold "Hot Yoga" classes are so hot for they heat your body up as you do the stretches. 

I really like to use the pool in the summer for flexibility training.  I can do high knee running from side to side - also high knee side -to side shuffle running to start off.   I also do high knee kicking ands arm pumping when treading water for 30 minutes sessions.  

I then do high kicks as i walk from side to side -  burpees in the shallow end - and squats and kickbacks in the shallow end.  I follow this up with explosive jumps across the pool.

You can use a chair to do a variety of stretching exercises bringing your knee up from the front and the side,  and also then doing slow karate kicks to the front - side - and back.  Do them slow and controlled.  Do not jerk your body as you do them.  Keep balanced and controlled at all times.   We also lose some our balance functions as we age so this is a great set of exercises to do. 

Do not always handle heavy weights all the time.  You need to have some light - form days to take the stress off of your joints and to also keep your body flexible and injury free.  Also this is where cross training comes in ( jiu jitsu) etc to keep your body flexible and to keep from getting stale in your workouts. 

If you are sitting in front of a desk all day make sure to get up every 15 minutes or so and move around and do some stretching.  Do not sit in the same position either.  Change your position every 15 minutes.  I also like to sit on a exercise ball instead of a chair,  The ball takes a lot of stress off of your spine and also stretches your spine out as you move around on it too. 

So add flexibility training to your routine each week and make sure you keep it there for the rest of your life