I have always been told that you must take in more calories than you expend each day to build muscle. Is that really true?
On paper, in a text book that’s true. In reality, there’s more to it than that. Certainly, calories are extremely influential in promoting gains in muscle mass. However, other factors play a role such as protein, fat, and carb intake, meal timing, and hormonal levels.
Many nutritionists will argue that you have to eat more calories than you burn to build additional muscle mass. That idea is limited in that you always have to consider other factors; specifically those listed above. Calories, say from carbohydrates, provide fuel for the muscles to do work
Okay, I have to confess that when it comes to ANY kind of energy drink or tablet I'm a total ‘re-hab worthy' addict. I mean if it's on the shelf in Vitamin Shoppe I have probably tried it!
The trouble with a lot of these products though is...they just don't work! I mean we have all read the bottles that pretty much tell us that if we drink the stuff inside we're gonna turn into a rampaging monster at the gym. The only trouble is that when we actually consume the stuff NOTHING HAPPENS and we have ‘just another workout'.
One hour prior to going to the gym for my typical late day workout, I tried BPI's 1MR (One More Rep) pre-workout formula for the very first time and, as a result, not only did I have a great workout but my arms are still so intensely pumped that I'm having trouble typing this review. In the next few paragraphs I'll give you guys a glimpse into my world over the last few hours so that you might get a better idea of what 1MR has done for me and how it's changed my pre-workout supplement regimen forever.
Lets' cut right to the chase; when it comes to getting lean, cardio is somewhat overrated. Anyone can sit on a bike for two hours a day and get lean but for the most part, as with training, there's a fine line between doing enough cardio and going overboard and doing too much.
In my book Everything You Need To Know About Fat loss (that was a shameless plug for you to buy it) I explain that cardio is simply a way to burn excess calories. Pretty straight-forward. You sit on a bike or run the stairs and you burn calories and, for the most part, the vast majority of those calories come from stored body fat. However, getting lean is not always a perfect math equation where you can sit down and plan out your contest prep based on the number of calories you expect to burn.
Capturing the imagination since its inception as a collaborative factor in muscle growth, creatine remains the quintessential hot topic in muscle physiology. If there were a continuum of sentiment on the ergogenic potential of supplements, creatine would lie favorably at the leading edge. A large body of work confirms that creatine is indispensable for muscular performance during repeated sets of intense exercise. Of interest, recent studies have provided insight into the versatility of creatine; shifting the paradigm towards satellite cell dynamics.
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