6 Ways Exercise Boosts Productivity In Your Career

When you are trying to lose weight or focusing on another health goal that generally involves exercise, finding time to show up for your workouts can turn out to be challenging enough. So if you have a career (or a business) that you have been working with in order to build this; it can turn out to be double whammy, as it is common that you put your work time ahead of your exercise time. Given here are a few reasons why you might want to reconsider.

Exercise keeps you alert and focused

Here is a quick lesson; exercise helps to increase the blood flow in the brain. And that sharpens the awareness. According to a study conducted by Jim McKenna from the University of Bristol, once an individual finishes exercising, the work performance is consistently seen to be higher when compared by the better time management and improved mental sharpness. A client of mine recently came across this experience during a long week leadership development program. And as a part of the program participants including the client started the day to day exercise, yoga, walking, or strength training.

Increased energy

The more and more you move, the more energized you feel. Regular physical activity helps in improving your muscle strength, boosting up your endurance, giving you the energy you need to think clearer and come up with new and different ideas. A good 15 minutes of moving around even just around the living room makes your body produce more and more energy on a cellular level.

Exercise improves mood

Need an emotional lift? Or need to blow of some steam after a stressful day? Having a work out at the gym or a brisk thirty minutes' walk can help you deal with it at ease. Physical activity helps you stimulate various brain chemicals that may help you feel happier and relaxed. You also continue to feel better in terms of your appearance when you continue to exercise on a regular basis, boosting up your confidence and improving your self-esteem.

Tracking and limiting how much time you have been spending on tasks

You might think like all others that you are pretty good at engaging how much time you have been spending on various tasks. However, research studies conducted suggests that only 17% of the people around are actually able to accurately estimate the passage of time. A tool like Rescue Time can help the employees and the other individuals by letting them know exactly and how much time you will wish to spend on daily tasks, including social, email, word processing and apps.

Stress management

Regular exercise has generally been shown to decrease the overall levels of tension, improving sleep and boosting self-esteem in an individual. It is thought that even five minutes of an aerobic exercise can stimulate the anti – anxiety effects. If you feel that you do not have enough time to put in a full cardio work out each day then even incorporating short bursts of activity in your daily life can turn out to be beneficial. You can even try out a 15 minute walk during the lunch time, or just take the stairs rather than the lift. If you don’t want to exercise alone then you can also join a fitness centre with your friend or colleague.

Just say no to meetings

Meetings are generally considered to be one of the biggest time sucks around, and yet somehow we continue to book them without asking any questions, attend them and invite others. Everybody inevitably continues to complain about them. According to Atlassian, the average office worker generally spends more than 31 hours each month during unproductive meetings. Before booking your next meeting, do ask yourself if you can accomplish the same goal or tasks via email, phone or web based meetings, and whether they will be slightly more productive enough in the long run.

About the Author

Michael is the Marketing Manager at Ampliz, specializing in email and marketing database management software, editing blogs, case studies, and guides. Beside work he is a fitness freak and a Marathon runner. He tries to make the world just a bit more pleasant enough by working on strategies that would help them prevent and eliminate spam in terms of email marketing.

So what are your best work productivity related tips? What other tips have you come across in order to maximize your own productivity at work or in the office. Do leave your thoughts and comments below. STAY STRONG!

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Stop giving children sugar

There has been a culture in society that dictates that it is okay to give children sugar, because they like it. Is it really all in the name of innocent fun or are we actually causing more harm than good?

Sugar addiction

Sugar addiction is a worldwide epidemic that affects every country in the world. It has been called the world's deadliest addiction, killing more people than illegal drugs and other diseases. Some believe that more than half of the western world's population may have an unhealthy addiction to sugar. By allowing children to eat sugar-filled sweets; laden with other harmful colorants, artificial flavors and toxins, are we subconsciously teaching them how to become sugar addicts?

Some people probably think that I am going too far in this post. If we lived in a world where unhealthy foods were not the norm for those who can't even make decisions for themselves yet; would obesity, diabetes, heart failure and other related diseases are as prevalent as they are in adults?

Imagine two children who were born exactly the same: identical genetics, lifestyles, social groups and disciplines. Now imagine that one of them follows the same typical diet as what is considered normal. Imagine that the other child is raised on a diet that consists of nothing but healthy, wholesome food 99% of the time like fruit, vegetables, diary, meats and grains in balanced proportions. Which child do you think would get the best marks in school? Which one would be the healthiest and get sick less often? Which one would do better at whatever hobbies and sports they chose? Which one would get the least pimples in puberty and which one would turn out to be the best looking? Ultimately, which one is most likely to make the healthiest life choices in adulthood and which one would be the happiest in life? Which one of these two children got the best chance at the best possible life?

I'm not saying that parents don't care for their children. I'm saying that they don't know how badly a sugar filled diet will actually affect them. The problem is that we raise our children according to the way everybody else does. It has become the norm to have cake and sweets at birthday parties and other events, for children to be rewarded with sugar and for children to drink carbonated drinks when they are thirsty. I can remember all the different kinds of sweets I used to have regularly at school and at home. Whenever I visited my grandparents' house, I got to choose 3 sweets out of the 'sweetie bowl'. I remember all the sweets we used to buy from the shop at my school, and my sports teams were given nice sugary treats every time we played against other schools. It was the norm.

Perhaps now would be a good time for you to pause for a moment and do a quick search on the negative effects of sugar and the other additives commonly found in sweets on childhood development. 

Health has become a choice

Here is one of the biggest problems in the world: health has become a choice, not the norm. Those who follow healthy diets have chosen to do so. Eating healthy is not a standard. You either eat a healthy diet, or eat like a 'normal' person. Has this got anything to do with the way we were raised? If eating healthy was the standard, wouldn't everybody be doing it because that is what they know, instead of mainly for other reasons like weight loss or disease control? Then again, is eating healthy was the standard; would anyone need to 'diet' for weight loss? And how much disease would actually trouble the western world?

Spotting the 'crazy' in the 'normal'

• Ask a parent what their child's favorite sweet is, then ask what their child's favorite vegetable is. 
• Vegetables are the things we need to finish quickly on the plate, but sweets are the things we can have fun with.
• Have you ever seen a parent say 'hmm, yummy!' when giving their baby their first taste of cake? They are saying that because they expect their child to like the taste, not realizing that they are actually suggesting that their baby should like the taste.
• Children are told to finish their greens, and then have a choice of desert afterwards. The healthy stuff becomes the work; the unhealthy stuff becomes the reward.
• Look at cafeterias in schools. What kind of food is offered to children there?
• How often are sugars present at fun childhood events, and which foods have the most interesting colors and shapes?
• A child runs to a parent and says, 'I'm hungry'. How often will the parent say, 'there is an apple in the food bowl'?
• At the age of 7, compare the number of different sweets a child has tasted to the number of different fruits they have ever tried.

At the risk of sounding negative, if this article has made you think twice or given you a new perspective, it was well worth the write! STAY STRONG!

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Should you cycle creatine?

Quick answer: Yes. Read on to find out why...

Creatine is a nutrient that is naturally found in red meat. It is non-essential, which means that it is created by the body, for the body, in the body. The fact that it is already created in the body is the core reason why you should cycle creatine supplementation.

Creatine and its primary role

Creatine is required for muscle contraction. Therefore, even runners, swimmers and ordinary people use creatine daily. Our bodies use creatine as and when it is needed.

The effect of creatine supplementation

When creatine is ingested in larger doses (i.e. via consumption of creatine pills, powders and liquids bought at supplement stores), it does more than just provide energy. More creatine than usual in your system will have other effects as well. You will experience more power output and muscular endurance during your workouts because your muscles will have more of this primary energy resource to use. Additional creatine also causes water retention in muscle. When creatine is no longer consumed via supplementation, the extra water leaves the muscles. Many people reduce creatine's reputation to something that just fills the muscles with water. This is because it makes the muscles look larger when they are filled with water from the creatine and then makes the muscles look smaller in comparison when the water leaves the muscle. It is true that creatine does this, but its water retention properties are beneficial to muscle growth. This is because the extra water retention in the muscles creates more space for the muscle to grow. Additionally, extra muscle size (from water retention) means that more nutrients can enter the muscle through the blood stream, and waste products are much easier removed. As explained earlier, the extra creatine that is available to muscle because of supplementation means that muscles are able to generate more power for longer periods of time.

So creatine equals higher output, recovery and size. Are there any side effects?

Firstly, creatine causes water retention in the muscles. As discussed, this is a good thing. However, this will lead to increased hydration needs as the body scrambles for water to fill its muscles. Therefore, that you need to make sure that you are drinking enough water when using creatine so that you can have the best effect. If you don't drink enough water when using creatine, there will be a water shortfall. Your body can either account for this by taking water away from the muscles (which could lead to muscle break down) or from other organs in the body (like the brain, leading to headaches. Decreased water flow can also affect the kidneys). A good rule of thumb is to make sure that you never get thirsty when using creatine. If you are thirsty, chances are that you are already in a water shortfall (especially when using creatine).

Creatine in its pure supplement form (creatine monohydrate) can also cause water retention in the gut when it is ingested. This varies from person to person, though, which is why different people react differently to different types of creatine. Some people can experience diarrhea or nausea from creatine monohydrate when others don't have any problems at all. Also, some people have better effects with creatine HCL than with creatine ethyl ester, and for some it's the other way around.

If you want to find out more about the popular forms of creatine available and their differences, read all about creatine and its different forms.

Creatine is rumored to damage kidneys; however studies on the subject have shown conflicting findings. My personal opinion is that it will not damage your kidneys, as long as you stay optimally hydrated (that means no alcohol while using creatine, up to one week after using it), and as long as you have no pre-existing kidney complications.

If you stay well hydrated and use creatine at the right doses, creatine is beneficial to muscle growth without being dangerous. It that is the case, then why cycle creatine instead of using it continually?

The reason why creatine should be cycled is because it is non-essential. Essential nutrients like protein should not be cycled because muscle cannot grow without it. Additionally, essential nutrients need to come from external sources to be used in the body. Creatine, however, is made in the body on its own. Our bodies are efficient at adapting. When creatine is supplemented for a long period of time, the body will slow down the production of its own creatine, since it is already getting so much of it elsewhere. Secondly, the body will start to build up a resistance to the extra creatine, meaning that it will take more creatine to achieve the same effect as it did previously. Thirdly, muscle can develop a dependence on the increased use of creatine over time. This will mean they will need an ever-increasing, constant flow of new creatine to maintain output and growth. People who have supplemented with creatine for too long and then stop might find decreases in size and strength before their bodies re-adapt and are able to grow again without using it.

That last bit sounds risky. Should I supplement with creatine at all or rather not take the risk?

The potential benefits of increased size, power and recovery are great, and the risk of decreased sensitivity, increased dependence and decreased production are small in comparison, if used the right way (hydration, dosage, cycling). By using creatine for up to two months, ceasing usage for one month and continuing usage again (a 2-month-on, 1-month-off cycle), you get the benefits without the risks when done correctly. STAY STRONG!

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Benefits of Skipping For Bodybuilders

Skipping can actually help bodybuilders achieve greater muscle growth. Here are a few reasons why:

Because Skipping is Cardio

Cardio has been thought to be the arch enemy of muscle growth, but the right kind of cardio can help muscle growth by increasing blood circulation and improving anaerobic performance.

Skipping Improves Workout Performance. You have less Light Headedness, less Nausea and less Fatigue.

Skipping improves your energy performance and endurance. This is why boxers skip; so that they can perform at the highest intensity for prolonged periods of time. The reason why people often experience light headedness, nausea and fatigue or feeling exhausted when doing squats, for example, is because they are not used to expending so much energy in a short period of time. The body is therefore trying to cope with the energy-intensive part of the workout instead of the muscular stress. When your body is more adapted to working at a higher intensity, you will feel less of these side effects.

Focus on Muscular Fatigue Instead of Cardio-Vascular Fatigue

Ever had to stop squats or deadlifts because you feel light-headed or nauseous? What if you didn't get that feeling at all and could carry on until your muscles failed, instead of your energy system? Skipping makes your body more adept at high exercise intensities, so that when you train under the iron, you can focus on delivering maximum stimulus to your muscle without hindered energy limitations.

Speedy Recovery

Because of the above, when your body is more cardio-capable, recovery after your workouts will be quicker and more efficient. Your body will need to recover less from the energy-related aspect of training and can focus more on recovering from muscular stress. This means that you will enter into an anabolic state quicker and more recovery can be done per muscle per day. Less resources (nutrients and energy) spent on energy, more resources (nutrients and energy) spent on muscle! 

Excess Energy: 

Because you will also require less rest in between sets, your workout can either be shorter or include more exercises. Having higher energy levels also means that you will push harder during your weight training.

Increased Metabolism:

Skipping increases your metabolism, so your body will burn carbs quicker for energy. This means that you will need to make sure that you are eating enough carbs, otherwise your body will break down muscle. The brighter side of an increased metabolism is that your body is better able at producing energy, which can also be used for muscle growth and recovery.

Better Immune System

Being more physically fit increases your immunity so that you get sick less often, we all know how illness can set us back a few weeks!

To find out more about how cardio can increase muscle growth, click here.

Skipping Tones Your Body

Skipping is a great way to keep your bulk phase as clean as possible (more muscle, less fat) and speed up cutting phase (shorter duration needed, better results at the end)

Skipping Tones Muscle

Skipping tones the shoulder, arm, ab, quad, hamstring and calve muscles. Adding an aerobic exercise like skipping to a weight training exercise will add a separate stimulus to the calves, for example, challenging them to grow bigger to adapt.

Good Joint Health

High rep training helps to solidify joints so that they are stronger during low rep training. Skipping helps to build shoulder joint stability, for example, so that they are less prone to injury under the bar.

Add Jump Rope To Your Routine, But Don't Subtract It!

Let skipping add to your workout, but don't let it take away from your original goal. As great as skipping can be as a complimentary exercise to a muscle growth program, too much can be a bad thing. If your main objective is to grow muscle, do not skip so much before weight training that you don't have enough energy to finish you training at an optimal level. As well, skipping too much after a workout might overload your body so that it spends less of it time recovering (and growing) from muscle stimulus to cope with the stress of this intense cardio. One of my favorite ways to include skipping into my routine is to skip at night because I train in the mornings, so that it does not interfere with muscle growth. Additionally, don't push yourself too hard when skipping. Rather give 100% during weight training workouts and around 60% when you skip. Don't try to push yourself to perform better in the same way you push yourself to improve on every workout. Your body will slowly adapt with time and rather increase the intensity or time over smaller increments so that your body spends more of its precious resources on muscle growth instead of trying to adapt to skipping more.

Silly analogy: a little chilli makes French toast better, but too much takes the original flavor away. Stay Strong!

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The Effects of Smoking on Bodybuilding

Looking to take your bodybuilding endeavors to the next level by finally putting down those nasty cigarettes but need the motivation and some information to give you that push you need to quit? Well then, dear smoker, you are at the right place!

We all know that smoking is bad for you, and that it hampers your training progression. Here is a list of reasons why quitting smoking will help you to get bigger, stronger and fitter.

Smoking Harms Blood Sugar Levels

Nicotine causes a quick, short-term release of blood sugar. This is one of the reasons why smoking often leads to diabetes. It also lowers insulin sensitivity, which means that your body is less able to handle sugar and energy production. The less your body is able to create and utilize energy, the less energy you have during workouts and you get tired quicker. Your strength is also hampered, which means that if you didn’t smoke, you would probably be able to lift heavier weights, for more reps, for a longer period of time, causing a greater stimulus leading to greater muscle gains. Insulin helps to regulate sugar and therefore energy. Because your body is less able to regulate energy, it is less able to perform other functions that require energy that it needs to do to adapt and grow muscle, such as filling muscles with glycogen (the energy in the muscle that enables it to work). Because energy is already lowered in smokers, their bodies take longer to change from a stress-induced state that exercise causes to the anabolic, repairing state that grows muscle and strength. When the body stays longer in this stress-induced state, it will start breaking down muscle as a survival mechanism for energy and nutrients.

Smoking affects Your Breathing and Oxygen Levels

One of the most important roles of the lungs is to take in oxygen from the surrounding air and expel carbon dioxide out. Smoking physically damages the lungs, and also progressively smothers the lungs with tar. Additionally, the lungs are also too busy trying to heal and clean themselves out to function optimally. This greatly reduces the amount of oxygen that the body has at its disposal and the amount of carbon dioxide it can get rid of. This leads to decreased energy and strength, lengthened recovery times needed between workouts and a lowered ability for muscle to grow and adapt from stimulus.

Carbon Monoxide and other Toxins

Smoking increases the amount of carbon monoxide in the blood, along with other toxins. The naked eye can see the different between the blood of a smoker and that of a non-smoker. The blood of smokers is thicker and darker than that of non-smokers. If you think about blood and veins as a road which acts as the body’s delivery system, then the carbon monoxide and other toxins can be seen as elephants in the road that take up a space that is not designed to accommodate them. They get in the way of the other vehicles and stop them from doing their job properly, turning an efficient road into peak traffic on damaged roads. The body is also less able to respond the way we want it to with weight training because it is busy fighting off and trying to cope with these harmful chemicals. For example, these chemicals place an unnecessary burden on the liver and kidneys which are metabolizing and eliminating these chemicals, on top of regulating and creating chemicals needed for growth.

Smokers Get More Sick

Smokers get sick more often than non-smokers, and when they fall ill, they are sick for longer and experience worse symptoms. We all know about the terror of falling sick and being unable to gym, as well as feeling like we are losing all the strength and size gains we have worked so hard to get. Getting sick more often means that your body spends less time in the gym, and less time growing from strength to strength and the worse symptoms mean that you suffer greater setbacks every time you get sick.

Smoking Disrupts Eating and Diet Habits

Eating the amounts of food you need in order to gain mass can sometimes be challenging. The increased appetite from quitting smoking is a great chance to stock up on the extra calories that you need to increase muscle growth. In the long term, smoking will no longer interfere with your appetite and blood sugar levels.

Sleep

Smokers not only need more hours of sleep than non-smokers, but their sleep is of less quality. One reason for this is because their bodies spend a lot of time trying to cope with the demands placed on it from smoking. Another reason is because of the nicotine withdrawal they go through while sleep. Getting better quality sleep as a non-smoker means that your body is better able to recover and grow muscle every night you sleep.

Recovering From Smoking Instead of Growing

As mentioned earlier, smoking placed a big burden on the body and the body is in a constant battle to deal with its harmful effects and survive. This energy that the body spends counteracting the negative effects of smoking would be much better spent building muscle.

Smoking and Focus during Workouts

Smokers are less able to concentrate because they are in constant withdrawal from nicotine. This withdrawal starts a few minutes after their last cigarette and builds up as time goes by. Withdrawals usually get to a point where people start craving another cigarette after 30 minutes, which is why the average person smokes a box (20 cigarettes) a day. As time drags on, withdrawals intensify, leading to symptoms like thirst, moodiness, dropped sugar levels, lack of concentration etc. These withdrawals mean that smokers are generally not as able as non-smokers to focus 100% on their entire workout program.

Smokers Take Longer to Build Muscle and Reach Greater Levels of Fitness than Non-smokers

Can you grow muscle if you smoke? Yes. Can you get bigger muscles than most people who go to the gym if you smoke?  Yes. Can you compete in bodybuilding competitions and have a successful bodybuilding career as a smoker? Yes. Can you do all these things with the same amount of time and energy compared to if you didn’t smoke? No. You can still get there, but the road will be longer and tougher.

Rather quit smoking and give your body every fighting chance that you can to reach your goals as quick as possible. STAY STRONG!

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The Health Benefits of Sweating

You sweat while you work out, while in the sauna and throughout the day because of heat. Sweat is the body’s way of cooling the body down because of the cooling effect when water evaporates from the skin. In the cave man era, humans were able to run for long periods of time - longer than most animals – because their ability to sweat. Sweating prevented them from overheating, which would lead to collapsing, feinting and even death.

Sweat is smelly and unattractive, but is essential for life. Here are a few benefits of sweating:

• Sweating Prevents Death. 

This is because of its ability to cool the body down. If humans could not sweat, then more than 70% of the human population would die within one week. Scary statistics…

• Sweating helps to detox the body. 

Sweating allows the body to release some of the toxins that it needs to expel through the skin. This detox method can release up to 30% of the toxins and impurities that the kidneys and liver would otherwise have to deal with. This eases the burden on the kidneys and liver, allowing them to perform more of their other bodily functions like energy, nutrient and hormone control, metabolism and release.

• Sweating is good for the skin. 

Sweating opens up the skin so that it can receive some of the nutrients and minerals from within. This includes lipids and oils that moisturizes dry skin and also allows the skin to release excess oils that might cause pimples and blackheads. People who sweat more often have better looking skin than those who sweat less.

• Sweating can be used as an indicator to the level of effort used during exercise. 

Although people sweat differently (i.e. some people sweat less after high intensities of exercise while others sweat a lot even when they are not exercising.), without sweat people could push past what is safe because we could be overheating without realizing it. The dangerous effects of overheating progress until death.

• Sweating decreases water retention. 

Sweating gives the body an opportunity to get rid of some of the excess water under the skin. This excess water looks like cellulite, can make people look bloated and hides muscle definition. Sweating also gets rid of sodium, which is an important mineral but can cause health problems. People who follow a typical westernized diet consume too much sodium (the amount of sodium needed is 2400 mg. The average American consumes 7800 mg a day).


People who don’t engage in exercise and therefore don’t sweat often enough tend to have higher levels of toxins in their bodies. They are also more prone to duller looking skin which is more likely to breakouts with pimples or blackheads or whiteheads, rashes, redness, inflammation and flaking.
As healthy as sweating is, sweating too much can cause the body to lose precious nutrients like water and electrolytes that the body cannot survive without. Make sure to replenish water whenever you sweat to stay hydrated and eat a good diet that is rich in minerals and electrolytes. Mineral and electrolyte dense foods are foods like fresh, raw produce (like vegetables, leafy greens, fruit, seeds, nuts) red and white meat, fish and seafood.
It is commonly believed that those who sweat more are healthier than those sweat less. The fitter you become, the more you will sweat as one of the ways that your body becomes more adept at cooling itself down.

Sweating might not be the best thing for your image and it might make you feel uncomfortable, but at least you know that it is a healthy thing to do. Keep hydrated and make sure your diet / supplementation includes the minerals and electrolytes that are lost from sweating. STAY STRONG!

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Steam Rooms: The Good,The Bad and The Truth

There are benefits to steaming, but there are also risks and potential health implications that could hinder the progress of your physical transformation. Today I look at the balance between keeping your steaming habits healthy and avoiding any potential health implications.

Everything you need to know about using the steam room

The benefits

Steams rooms are very popular and have been shown to increase overall health. Here are a few reasons why:

• Sweating: Toxin release

Sweating is great for you. Sweating is the body’s natural way of cooling itself off, but the body also uses its sweat glands to release toxins that are accumulated from foods, liquids, impurities in the air and all the other ways we unexpectedly poison ourselves. You can sweat up to 30% of these toxins that would otherwise be excreted through urination and defecation (or accumulate in the body). By sweating more, your kidneys and liver have less of a burden to carry regarding toxin release and can spend more time and energy on their other bodily functions. The liver can break down fats into energy more efficiently when it is healthier. Other bodily functions that need the liver include hormone control, converting and utilizing other chemicals and agents throughout the body, protein synthesis, conversion of carbohydrates, sugars and fats into energy, stress management and sleep regulation. Sweating also releases sodium out of the body, decreasing overall sodium levels. This will help lower overall blood pressure levels.

• Beauty: Better looking skin

Using the steam room regularly actually makes you more attractive. People who use the steam room (or sauna) have a particular radiance for around an hour after their sessions, and using steam rooms often will improve skin health and appearance over the long-term as well. Using the steam room is also beneficial for people with oily skin because the heat opens up the skin’s pores and allows the extra oils to be released, which will be washed away in the shower afterwards. This leads to cleaner pores with less oil suppressed underneath the skin. The steam room is also beneficial to people with dry skin because the opening of the skin’s pores allows oils and lipids to hydrate the skin. Additionally, the steam adds moisture to the skin which provides short-term relief from the constant dryness that people with dry skin suffer. See how I manipulate my skin to produce more or less oil using simple homeostasis principles.

• Cardio-like health benefits

Sitting in the steam room has similar effects and benefits to a cardiovascular workout. Steaming causes the body to heat up more than normal. Heat is directly linked to metabolism. This causes an increased heart rate and also opens up the airways. These effects improve both heart and lung health as they are stimulated to work harder for these short periods of time as a response to the heat. By working harder, they adapt by getting stronger and increasing their overall capacity - the same way that cardio makes them stronger. Standard cardio can actually help strength trainers increase muscle mass if done right.

• Increased blood circulation

The heat acts as a vasodilator. This means that the veins and arteries widen because of the heat, allowing more blood to flow through the body and its limbs, muscles, organs, skin, brain etc. The increased heart rate also plays a significant role in increasing blood circulation as the body tries to pump more blood into the extremities (legs and arms, feet and hands) and away from the core in an effort to cool the body down.  This is why your legs and arms go red and veiny in the heat. They go pale when the body is cold as the body tries to draw blood (and the heat the blood carries, which is vital for bodily functions) away from the extremities back into the core as a survival mechanism. The increased blood circulation induced from using a steam room has many benefits because the body is more able to carry precious nutrients (like oxygen, water, proteins, energy, minerals, etc.) throughout the body to where it is needed. It can also carry away waste products like lactic acid (learn about lactic acid to improve performance) and carbon dioxide a lot faster. This speeds up the healing and recovery of wounds, muscles and sickness. This is why using the steam room is one of my recommendations for maximizing recovery and growth during your rest week.

• Opening up of pores and veins

As discussed earlier, using the steam room opens up the body on many levels, from opening pores on the skin which release oils and toxins, to opening veins and arteries to encourage better nutrient delivery and usage, to opening up the lungs and nasal passages to loosen and remove phlegm. Heat and steam is a great way for the body to open up passages that can sometimes get clogged up.

• Improved immune system

Your core body temperature increases in the steam room. Many germs and viruses cannot survive the one or two degree increase in body temperature and therefore die off. Because of increased blood circulation and released toxins, the body’s immune system is also made stronger and more adept at killing off bodily invaders - the few that do survive the temperature increase. Here are more ways to conquer illness faster.

• Destress and relaxation

Steaming has a relaxing and de-stressing effect. This is a great way to take a break from the mental stress from work and the physical stress from working out - which can turn out to be quite refreshing for both body and mind. The de-stressing effects help with other ailments that often arise because of stress and the relaxing effects can speed up general recovery and add to general happiness.

• Cleansing, detoxification and release of hormones

Steam rooms help the body to clean itself from the inside out. Not only does sweating release toxins; but the increased blood circulation, relaxation effects and increased ability for the kidney and liver organs to perform other functions allows the body to metabolize and deal with hormones like cortisol (the body’s stress hormone), flush out lactic acid build up from physical exertion and get rid of acids from food. Strength training can also release muscle-building hormones.

The negative effects of using the steam room

As healthy as they can be, steam rooms can be dangerous as well. Using the steam room can sometimes even counteract the anabolic effects of weight training and slow the body’s ability to recover from exercise. Over-steaming can harm the body and reduce immune function, recovery rate, and normal function. Here are a few reasons why:

• Dehydration

Sweating is great for you, but too much sweating can harm your health. One of the most common reasons (and most preventable) is water storage. When you sweat, your body loses a lot of water. Dehydration can happen very quickly and can lead to weakness, failure of normal functioning, feinting, hallucinations, death and even worse… decreased muscle mass! It is therefore important to make sure that you drink plenty of fluids while using the steam room and don’t stay in for too long. Too much of anything can quickly turn into a bad thing.

• Elevated heart rate and blood pressure

As discussed earlier, using the steam room temporarily elevates your heart rate and increases blood pressure. As much as this can be a beneficial and an often-desired effect, it can be dangerous too. For example, people with very high blood pressure or who are at risk of heart attacks or strokes should not use the steam room because this temporary increase might push their heart rates or blood pressure past safe levels. For healthy individuals who don’t have heart or blood pressure problems, this isn’t a risk as long as they don’t stay in for too long.

• Overheating

Staying in the heat for too long can push your body past the safe levels of stimulation to dangerous levels - a point where health is compromised. Stay in for long enough and you will die. It is important to make sure that you get out as soon as you start feeling dizzy or start feeling uncomfortable. However, heat is not dangerous when used in moderation. Increased blood circulation from the heat will also lead to greater blood loss from open wounds, which is why people with open wounds should not use the steam room, for both their and others’ health and safety.

• Minerals and electrolytes

When you sweat, you lose salts, minerals and electrolytes that your body needs to function properly. If these minerals are not replaced (or if too much is lost in a short period of time) your body can suffer from mineral or electrolyte deficiencies, which can lead to a variety of negative health effects. Click here to read more about minerals, electrolytes and their roles, sources and deficiencies.

• Germs, viruses and fungi

Although the increased body temperature kills many common germs within the body, public steam rooms can also be viable breeding grounds for other pathogens which thrive in hot, humid environments. Since many people use these steam rooms daily, it is easy for these pathogens to transmit from one person to the other through the floors, seats, walls and taps. One example of a fungus that is very often transmitted through steam rooms is athlete’s foot. Make sure that the steam room you use is cleaned regularly, that you wear sandals in the steam room and that your skin does not touch any surfaces. You can do this by wearing a towel around your waist.

• Chlorine

If the same water is used over and over in the steam rooms, high levels of chlorine can evaporate into the air, which is then inhaled and can cause toxicity in humans. It is always safe to ask gym staff how often the steam room water is replaced with fresh water.

• Rest and recovery (too much stimulus)

Just like exercise places a stress on the body, steam rooms also place stress on the body to cope with heat and then bring the body back to a normal temperature afterwards. Using the steam room too much (especially in conjunction with too much training) to place too much stimulus on the body to deal with more stress than it can handle. As much as moderate usage will help with recovery, too much time forcing the body to respond to heat stress can lead to overtraining.

• Drug interactions

Using steams rooms with medicines, illegal substances and alcohol can be dangerous. Drug rehabs often use steam rooms to help recovering drug and alcohol addicts detoxify from drugs and substances, but using the steam room whilst under the influence of alcohol, for example, can be dangerous because alcohol dehydrates the body and further dehydration from steaming could drain the body of more fluid than it can cope with. Whenever on medication, make sure that you consult with your doctor before using a steam room to make sure that the medicine you are using won’t have any adverse effects from the steaming. Some substances, for example, are rendered mute (don’t so what they are supposed to) or have counteractive effects because of steaming. Drugs that are meant to adjust blood pressure and circulation are especially affected by heat therapy.

The truth about steaming

• Should you steam?

It is totally up to you, but steaming from time to time will be beneficial to your health and can actually help you to achieve your goals because it can keep your body detoxed, destressed and running optimally. It can complement muscle building, fat loss and fitness pursuits (by speeding up recovery). I steam around once a week to increase the body's ability to recover.

• How often should you steam?

It is considered optimal to steam 2-3 times a week. Steaming more often could drain your body of too many essential minerals and electrolytes.

• How long should you steam?

Do not steam for longer than 20 minutes, depending on the heat of the steam room. It is not about building up tolerance and resistance to steam rooms like exercise. It is about increasing body temperature to the point where your body sweats. Longer steaming times can place a greater stress and nutrient loss (electrolytes and minerals) on the body, instead of a stress and toxin release. When starting out, steam for 5 minutes only, then cool off and then another 5 minutes for your body to get used to it, then build up to one 20-minute session only.

• Can you steam after a workout?

This has been a topic of debate for a long time. Some argue that steaming after a workout is a great way to relax the muscles and body after physical exertion and makes for a great ‘cool-down’ session, flushing out lactic acid, increasing blood blow and nutrient delivery where it is needed. Others argue that physical exercise already increases body temperature and that steaming after a workout prolongs recovery and keeps the body out of its anabolic state after exercise because it takes longer to cool down than it would from exercise alone. Try both and see what works best for you. Personally, I don't steam on muscle-building days because I already have a cool-down routine (light, short cardio), I want my body to return to a normal (anabolic or muscle-building) state as soon as possible and I focus on nutrition for the best post-workout recovery.

• At what other times can you steam?

 Steaming on rest days is a great way to relax and increase blood flow to help with rest and recovery (and is also a great excuse to get into the gym when that’s the only place you want to be on rest days). Some say that steaming before a workout gets the blood flowing and is a great ‘warm-up’ before exercise. Steaming is one of the best ways to maximize recovery on rest days.

• Make sure to shower before and after using the steam room

This is very important. This cleans away all the extra dirt that might clog your pores before steaming, and washes off the toxins released after steaming. By showering before and after using the steam room, the risk of germ and fungus transference from one person to another is also reduced.

• Replace lost nutrients

Don’t steam too often. Eat enough healthy, balanced foods every day. Many people drink a mineral and electrolyte replacement after steam sessions.

It’s up to you to choose what works best for you. If you enjoy steaming, have fun! If you don’t, that’s okay too. STAY STRONG!

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Does Alcohol affect Muscle Growth?

Alcohol negatively affects muscle growth. Here are a few reasons why:

• Dehydration

Alcohol is a mild poison and a toxin. This is why drinking it makes people intoxicated. It is also a diuretic, meaning that it causes the body to lose water. The main reason why people often experience a headache the next morning after drinking alcohol is because of dehydration i.e. not enough water and electrolytes for optimal brain function. At this point, your whole body is dehydrated - you just feel it in your head the most. Dehydration also affects the muscles. When in a hangover state, the body will draw water out of the muscles to put in the vital organs like the heart, liver and kidneys in order to survive. The body also needs the little water that it has to clean out the toxins from the body as quick as it can to get back to normal. This dehydration puts your muscles in a catabolic state (breaking down of muscle), instead of the anabolic state (building of muscle) that we all desire. If you spend a night drinking and the next day nursing your hangover, you have not only wasted that time where the body won't rebuild muscle, but you have caused your body to break down muscle mass to recover as well.

• Metabolizing alcohol instead of protein syntheses

Starting from as soon as the second or third drink, your body gets to work to metabolize (break down) and process the alcohol so that it can exit the body before it causes further damage. When the kidneys and liver are burdened with the task of processing alcohol, they cannot convert protein into muscle and perform the other tasks that facilitate this process. Therefore, when alcohol reaches certain levels in the blood, protein synthesis (turning protein into muscle tissue) stops. This means that the body will shut down the process of turning protein into muscle from the time of drinking until the next day (way after the hangover state) when its functions start returning to normal. That is a lot of muscle growth time that is missed out on. Alcohol doesn't only affect your kidneys and liver badly, it also messes up your hormonal and blood sugar levels. Avoiding alcohol is one of the top suggestions when trying to increase testosterone levels.

• Lack of energy, hangovers and messed up diet

When drinking to the point of a hangover the next day, the effect on the body is similar to a short-term cold or flu. If you have been building muscle for long enough, you know how detrimental getting sick can be to muscle gains, both size- and strength-wise. The effects of drinking too much alcohol can do the same thing - depending on the amount of alcohol consumed. Additionally, the lost workouts or decreased physical performance the day after alcohol consumption causes a temporary but unnecessary decrease in muscle stimulus. Think of how much muscle weight you lose when you get sick. Here are ways to speed up sickness recovery.

What about alcohol in very small quantities?

What about one beer? Some studies show that the occasional beer or glass of wine can actually be beneficial to health. For example, wine has shown to improve heart function and contain antioxidants. Beer has, among other health benefits, been shown to keep skin looking younger due to its silicon content. It is generally recommended that a person should only drink 500 milliliters or less of beers and ciders, one glass or less of wine and a single shot of spirits or hard liquors at a time (not all three - just one of them!). This won’t negatively hamper muscle growth. Some sportsmen and bodybuilders also believe that whiskey has the least damaging effect on physical health compared to other alcoholic substances.

The final verdict

Rather stay away from drinking too much alcohol to the point of getting drunk (or even tipsy). This will help you to maximize muscle growth. It is also dangerous and expensive. Too many valuable friendships have been ruined, lives lost, cars wrecked and lives permanently changed because of times that initially started as a ‘harmless night out’. I also don’t recommend drinking a beer, wine or even whiskey daily, because alcohol can be addictive. The best thing to do is create a life that does not have alcohol as an aspect of your weekly routine. The healthiest thing to do is create a habit of living where you can break away, have fun, relax and socialize without alcohol. It is OK have a single beer or glass of wine on occasion, perhaps once a month or less. Does that sound too scarce for you? If so, there might be a few adjustments that you can make for an even better life. STAY STRONG!

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Benefits of Squats

Squatting is arguably the best muscle building exercise out there. We've decided to compose a list of the benefits of squats that you might (or might not) already know. There are over 100 benefits of exercise in general. You might also be interested in the benefits of push ups or pull ups as well.

Facts about squats

1. Squats work the entire leg muscles

Squats are good for growing the quads, hamstrings, calves and glutes generally. They also work the ankles, abs, oblique muscles and lower back. Yes, they will help to improve calve muscle size.

2. Squats increase human growth hormone

Squatting regularly will increase your body's production of Human Growth Hormone, a hormone that speeds up muscle recovery and aids muscle growth. See here the muscle building hormones that get stimulated through strength training.

3. Squats also increase natural testosterone levels (and production)

The body responds to squatting exercises by producing more testosterone, the hormone which (among other things) determines muscle size. There are other natural ways to boost testosterone too.

4. Squats give you a good-looking, sexy bum

Squats make your bum look more aesthetic and more attractive to the opposite sex. This is true for males AND females. Guys can get a perfect jock-bum, while girls can use squats to add tone and shape.

5. Squats increase your endurance

The more you squat, the easier the rest of the exercises that you do at the gym will be, no matter what you goals are. This is because squats are so intense. Doing these high-intensity movements will increase your intensity tolerance and therefore increase the amount of physical pressure that you can take in one go.

6. Squats increase blood circulation and oxygen usage

The more you squat, the better your body will be at performing other physical tasks. Since squats are so intense, your body learns to get better at using oxygen and other nutrients in your blood to recuperate. This raises your immune system, metabolic rate and natural energy levels.

7. A squat burns fat at a faster rate than running

Squatting continuously for the same time as jogging, for example, will burn fat faster whilst still increasing muscle mass. Squats take a lot of energy to do (but take a lot less time and space). Here are the calories that different sports burn per hour, on average.

8. Performing semi-squats decrease mobility over time

Like with any exercise, use the full range of motion. Squats are no exception. Doing half-rep squats could negatively impact the general mobility of your muscles and joints over time as you train to work within lesser motions.

9. Doing squats properly actually improves your knee health

Doing squats regularly without overdoing it to injury will actually build your knee/ankle joints and their surrounding muscles, ligaments and tendons over time. Squats are used in some rehabilitation courses to help people rebuild knee and ankle strength. It is important to always use full range of motion and correct form. 

10. Squats are good for digestion and help keep you regular

Can't produce squat in the bathroom? Try producing squats at the gym!

11. Squats help to build and maintain muscular balance and posture

The better you can hold your squat, the better your body can hold itself throughout the day. Squatting teaches you to keep your back straight and is great for programming your body to keep the right, healthiest posture without effort.

12. Squats strengthen your core

The better your core strength, the stronger your other lifts will be. A lot of physical power is generated from your core. Note that it is important to still do additional core strengthening work outside of squat exercises.

13. Squats will make you jump higher

The strengthening of the leg muscles used during the squat means that you will have more power accessible for jumping and power exercises. 

14. Squats can help your run

Since squats help your leg muscles so much, they can add power to your sprint and offer joint protection for long-distance runners, too.

15. Get mentally used to intensity

 If you can squat with heavy weights almost to failure for a few reps regularly, you won't have a problem with added intensity in your other exercises. Since squats are one of the most intensive exercises, once you've got this one down it will be a lot easier to deal with other physical challenges during training.

16. You can squat easily

Squats, push-ups, planks and pull-ups make a great almost-full-body-workout when you can't get to the gym and don't have any equipment with you. Luckily, this means that you can get bigger and stronger no matter where you are!

17. Squatting undoes all of the negative muscle-moves that we do daily

Nothing like some good squats to counteract all the bad postures we put ourselves through in daily activities like sitting, working on the computer and driving.

18. Squatting can help eliminate back pain

This is because it undoes negative posture moves like in the point above, and because it helps strengthen the lower back muscles.

Can you think of any other reasons why squats are so great? Do you know of any other interesting facts about squats? Let us know below.

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Bodybuilding Makes You Smarter

Bodybuilding actually makes you smarter. You will do better at your studies, perform better at work and have greater cognitive power if you are a bodybuilder. Taking part in the sport will increase your overall IQ over time. Here is a list of reasons why.

Why bodybuilders are smarter

The better the body, the better the brain

Our bodies are interconnected. Our physical, mental, emotional, social and spiritual states are in tune and dependent on one another. A mental state cannot work without a physical state. Therefore, the healthier our physical bodies are, the better we can perform mentally. Lifters work to improve their physical states and this leads to natural, healthy mental performance. Since our bodies are healthier and stronger than normal, our brains are housed in bodies that are more physically able to provide more for our brain's needs. Having a body that is less challenging to physically sustain translates to having minds can run more freely without needing to adapt to physical demands like physical weakness and other bodily problems.

Bodybuilding increases blood flow and oxygen to the brain

Physical exercise - especially high intensity exercise - increases our body's ability to transport blood around the entire body. This benefits our brains without our realizing it. The amount of oxygen that we take in with each breath though our lungs increases. Additionally, the percentage of that oxygen that we can actually use within our bodies increases as well. This translates means into more blood-rich oxygen for the brain to use. Ever heard of the concept that the deeper we breath in, the healthier and smarter we are? There is no need to walk around taking ridiculously large breaths all of the time. Simple exercise increases our blood flow and our blood oxygen levels. 

Bodybuilding provides the escapism and mental breaks that are needed for brain health

Over training is just as dangerous for the brain as it is for our bodies. Reading is a great way to physical rest, just like how exercising is a great way to rest your head while still advancing in life. These mental breaks give your brain a chance to rest, recover and recap on its current challenges before being used again at a higher intensity. Have you ever noticed that you get great ideas while working out? The reason for this is because the refreshing break with a low-thought activity (and increased blood flow to boot) puts the brain in a powerful place where it can settle and develop. The brain is a muscle which has a mental output instead of a physical or forceful output like the other muscles. Exercise is a great way to speed up mental recovery and adaption (growth) from daily stimuli and stresses placed on it. For example, exercise is a great way to get over addiction (it is often used in rehab centers for this reason) due to its ability to re-settle the brain.

Better choices

The choices that bodybuilders make improve their brains as well, although they make these choices to primarily improve their bodies. Bodybuilders are more likely to drink less alcohol, avoid smoking and eat less junk food - all of which damages the brain. The choices that we make that enhance our bodies are almost always likely to benefit our brains at the same time.

Bodybuilding gives you a goal

Bodybuilders have a great sense of purpose because they have goals that they achieve and then set new goals to work towards. This 'sense of purpose' and 'sense of achievement' after reaching predetermined goals are highly beneficial to our mental states. Our brain positively responds to these cycles and indirectly increases our mental confidence, performance, and refreshment. Also, lack of mental goals to visualize and work towards end up dulling and aging the brain faster than it should.

Prevents mental problems before they happen

Exercise is one of the best ways to fight depression - a mental condition - and people who take part in bodybuilding for a prolonged period of time are less likely to develop negative mental conditions later in life like depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, panic attacks, addiction, insomnia, paranoia, and personality disorders. Bodybuilding might be preventing you from getting an underlying mental condition that you would have experienced later on down the line if you didn't hit the gym.

Bodybuilding keeps you younger

We age as the cells in our bodies slowly lose their ability to regenerate and start to die off. Exercise slows down this process because through the challenges that exercise brings, we unknowingly reprogram our bodies to keep adapting to a stimulus and as a result our individual cells learn to regenerate at a faster pace. In the case of aging, it takes a longer time for our cells to lose their ability to regenerate. Because of this, they start dying much later than usual. It is as if they if been put under an increased demand to regrow for longer periods of time (years into old age). This is why medical aid schemes can determine your health status through an 'age test'. The younger your body appears in this test, the healthier you are. Our brains are very susceptible to aging just, like our bodies and physical appearance. Two people might be the same age, but their physical health will be different. This means that their bodies are operating as if they are older or younger than their actual age. Bodybuilders undergo exercising and dieting regimes that end up reversing the aging process. It unfortunately does not benefit us fast enough to reverse aging, but it slows it down at a great pace. This brings benefits for minds as well as our bodies and appearances. Being able to operate as if you were younger means that you could have the bright mind of and 21 year old, even though you are 60 years old. Don't believe me? Here are the studies that prove it. 

Bodybuilding relieves stress

Just like how the steam room could relieve stress placed on the body, exercise relieves mental stresses placed on us throughout the day. If these mental stresses and not relieved (like through exercise, relaxation, or social interaction), they can accumulate and lead to diminished cognitive function and even negative mental conditions mentioned above.

Bodybuilding makes you happier

Exercise releases endorphins, the brain's 'happy hormone'. Exercise also helps to eliminate stress hormones that the brain releases when under stress, much like how our muscles release lactic acid when under stress. The endorphin release is what gives you that great 'on top of the world' feeling when you leave the gym and is why some of us feel a little depressed when we don't work out for a few days. By regulating mental hormones like endorphin release and stress hormone elimination, regular exercise keeps your brain healthy and happy, allowing it to grow and develop to its best potential all the time; as well as preventing any negative stress build-up that might accumulate through time.

Higher immunity = More brain growth time

Bodybuilders generally have a higher immunity than other people and get sick less often, which is great for our brains. When we get sick, our brain development is slowed down as our bodies prioritize survival and fighting sickness instead of increasing our mental ability to respond to cognitive challenges. This is why it is harder to take in information, work, or pay attention when you are sick. The less time we are sick, the more time we have to stimulate our brains through social interaction, studies or work and the better our brains recover and grow as a response to that.

Nutrients

The same nutrients that are great for our bodies are often favourable for our brains as well. Fish, protein, complex carbs, vitamins, glutamine, fish oil and veggies which are a large part of bodybuilding diets are fantastic nutrient sources for the brain as well. Exercise increases the absorption and utility of these nutrients in the blood stream, which makes them more available for our brain just as much as these nutrients are readily available for the rest if our bodies to use.

Hormones

The hormones that are increased by regular exercise (especially compound movements) like testosterone, growth hormone and insulin are all improved. All of the hormones benefit your brain as well.

So there you have it. Bodybuilding makes you smarter! STAY STRONG

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