Fitness Training Tips to Build Quality Muscle

Good quality muscle comes from hard work, as cliché as that sounds it is also fact. Set realistic goals, have good technique, train all muscles keep a diary, eat well and rest. Goals are essential; they can act as a motivator and as a guide. For example, if you aim to bench press 80kg and in the seventh week of your plan you are benching 70kg, the extra 10kg may act as an incentive and can force out those few extra reps! Also, if it took you ten weeks to hit a specific goal for one group of muscles, then it is likely ten weeks is also a good guide for other muscle groups. So, if after eight weeks you have still not hit your goals you know there is still another two weeks available.

Good technique, arguably the most important aspect of training. The reason being, poor technique can be the difference between working your desired muscle group and working a completely different set of muscles altogether. Take standing dumbbell biceps curls as an example, keep the shoulders rigid and the elbow still, thus focussing the weight on the bicep muscle. When people tire they tend to swing the arm up with aid from the shoulder and force out those last few reps, the problem being the biceps are now assisted by the trapezius and deltoids- meaning less strain is placed on the biceps and therefore less chance of muscle growth. A way to avoid this is to use a mirror; a slow controlled movement will always point you in the right direction toward correct technique. Also, bring a partner, when the body is straining to force out that last rep, your focus probably will not be on is my technique right. A partner will be able to see all of the movement and critique it appropriately.

An imbalance can cause injury, hamstrings to quadriceps should be at least 60 percent but ideally 75 percent (one rep max of each then divide the hamstrings by the quadriceps). So, another tip is to train all muscles, the ‘beach body’ effect (large pectorals, biceps and abdominals) increases the chances of injury massively. A good way to ensure all muscles are being worked is to keep a diary- there are so many muscles it can be hard to remember exactly what weight you performed repetitions on the previous week. Simply writing, ‘bench-80kg’ can save time and decreases the chances of mistake and injury! It also ties in with the goals you should be setting, if in week six you bicep curled 20kg, week seven you could try 22.5kg, if this is too high, drop back to the 20kg you were doing last week but do not drop below.

Many bodybuilding forums will tell you, ‘decrease carbs, increase protein’, sounds good but actually it isn’t. Carbohydrates keep blood sugar levels constant thus, reducing fat storage and promoting the release of insulin. Insulin is the body’s natural anabolic hormone- it promotes muscle development. Eating carbohydrates straight after training prompts an insulin spike and puts your body into ‘growth mode’.

Lastly, rest! Muscles do not grow when you work out, they only grow when you rest work a specific muscle group once per week. So maybe, work biceps and pectorals on Monday and then different groups every other day of the week but do not train these two again until the following Monday. Also, sleep well- growth hormone releases when you sleep promoting muscle growth.

How To Make Basic Protein Balls

Ingredients:
- Whey Chocolate Protein (maximuscle): Two 30g scoops
- Instant Oats (Myprotein): Two 30g Scoops
- Honey: Tablespoon
- Vanilla extract: Cap full
- Chocolate: 80g for melting, 20g into chips
- Milk
- Icing Sugar
- Nuts (optional)



Useful Tips:
- When rolling your protein mix into balls, make sure you keep your hands dry and constantly dip your hands in the oatmix, as if you are making bread.
- These contain roughly 4.2 grams of protein per ball (dependent on what protein you use)
- When the mix becomes dry with the protein, add milk for slow release protein, water for quicker release

1) Break the 80g of chocolate into melt able pieces and put into a heatproof bowl above boiling water. Cut the other 20g of chocolate into chip chunks.

2) Bring the water to the boil and then turn it down to stop the chocolate burning.

3) Stir until all of the chocolate is melted.

4) Add a cap of vanilla extract

5) Add a tablespoon (doesn’t really matter) of honey.
Take off the heat and allow to cool.

6) Add two scoops of protein powder and mix.

7) This should produce quite a dry mix so add milk/water to produce a gloopy kind of mix

8) Add the chocolate chips and mix

9) Add two scoops of the instant oat mix

10) Mix to produce a powdery, slightly sticky mix that can be rolled into balls

11) Roll out 12 protein balls

12) Cover in cling film and you can add them to mini cupcake paper case just to help keep the shape. Cling film is essential, the case is not.
Refrigerate for an hour.

13) Add icing sugar to make them look posh

14) Eat and get ripped.

The Essential Amino Acids (Part 2): Methionine, Phenylalanine, Theronine, Tryptophan and Valine

Methionine helps with metabolism and breaks down fat, thus preventing a build-up of fat in the arteries. It also helps the digestive system, being converted into cysteine a predecessor to gluthione which is very important in detoxifying the liver. It is also one of the three amino acids which manufactures creatine monohydrate- essential for energy production and muscle building. Methionine, choline and inositol belong to a group of compounds called lipotropics- they help the liver process fat. Once in the liver, methionine is converted into s-adenosyl methionine. The World Health Organization states that the appropriate amount of methionine is 10.4 mg per kilogram of body weight daily. Foods high in methionine are: cod, cottage cheese, Brazil nuts and eggs.

Phenylalanine comes in three forms: L-phenylalanine- found in proteins, D-phenylalanine- manufactured in a lab and DL-phenylalanine- a combination of the two. Phenylalanine is converted into tyrosine, a non-essential amino acid that affects mood. Tyrosine also elevates catecholamines in the CNS and plasma; there are links between catecholamine’s and happiness hence why performance can be enhanced with tyrosine and phenylalanine because of the reduced mental stress. Why do bodybuilders use it? To keep them in the zone- put simply. Foods high in phenylalanine include: egg whites, cotton seeds, milk, beef and pork.

Similar to methionine, threonine helps the liver with lipotropic function- the digestion of fats and fatty acids, they work together to achieve this. It also helps keep connective tissues and muscles throughout the body strong and elastic, particularly the heart where it is found in abundance. Foods rich in methionine are: beans, poultry, lentils and raw eggs.

Mood regulation and sleep are regulated by the chemical serotonin, this and melatonin are both products of tryptophan. When carbohydrates are consumed alongside this amino acid, it drives the other amino acids into the skeletal muscles. Interestingly, turkey is one food extremely high in tryptophan, melatonin (a product of the amino acid) prompts drowsiness and the onset of sleep. This may be why on Christmas day you feel tired after consuming turkey! Foods high in tryptophan include: cod, shrimp, lamb, salmon, turkey, tuna and chicken.

Valine is necessary for the smooth nervous system and cognitive functioning, alongside leucine and isoleucine it makes up the three BCAA’s. Derived from animal and vegetable protein, valine is used for muscle metabolism and helps speed up recovery time after exercise. It helps to maintain the correct amount of nitrogen in the body and preserve muscle tissues. Little scientific evidence supports the claims that valine actually promotes muscle growth, research has shown it does however restore muscle mass in people with liver disease, injury or have undergone surgery. Leafy vegetables, kidneys beans, poultry and milk are just some foods high in valine. An interesting point about valine, it is not processed by the liver; it is taken up by the muscles.

The Essential Amino Acids - Part 1: Arginine, Histidine, Isoleucine, Leucine and Lysine

The essential amino acids covered in this part of the article are: arginine, histidine, isoleucine, leucine and lysine. In total there are 10 essential amino acids; this is because arginine is only needed in children and not adults, for this article we will be focussing on 4 of the essential amino acids in adults. These amino acids are essential as they cannot be created by the body, they can only be produced from the food we eat. Interestingly, one of the non-essential amino acids tyrosine is produced from the essential amino acid phenylalanine, so phenylalanine deficiency will result in tyrosine deficiency also.

Starting with histidine, this is generally produced by the body in adults, children may not hence it is coined a ‘semi-professional’ amino acid. It is particularly important in the myelin sheath that coats nervous cells which transmit messages to the brain. Histidine is also used to make histamine, the reason you swell and itch when you have an allergic reaction. In the muscle, histidine is resynthesized back into Carosine (alongside beta-alanine) by the enzyme Carosine synthase. Increasing histidine is linked to increased muscle Carosine concentrations- research has also found low histidine levels leads to lower Carosine levels. As a general guide, practitioners recommend 8-10 milligrams per kilogram of body weight daily, for muscle growth, 3 grams a day is a figure regularly suggested but this would be the upper end of the histidine daily intake scale. Foods high in histidine include: wheat, rye, yellow fin tuna, mackerel, chicken, beans, eggs, cauliflower and citrus fruits to name a few.

Isoleucine is one of the three branched chain amino acids (BCAA) that you always read about on the back of any good protein powder. It also has branched hydrocarbon side chains and can be interchangeable with leucine and valine (the other two BCAA’s) in proteins. These along with the other two BCAA’s promote muscle recovery after exercise as well as regulating blood sugar levels. Isoleucine biosynthesis is very complex but one of the final steps involves valine aminotransferase transferring an amino group from glutamate to produce isoleucine. It is important to remember that it can only be synthesised in plants and bacteria and the final product is used in the human diet- it cannot be synthesised by humans! Its usage post-exercise is because it maintains proteins balance to promote muscle growth and healing. It also prevents muscle breakdown and healing of the tissues after trauma i.e. a strenuous weight session. A recommended supplementation of isoleucine would be between 10-12 mg per kg of body weight daily. Foods high in isoleucine include: eggs, sausage, bacon, parmesan cheese, cod, almonds and cashew nuts.

In order to produce a positive post workout protein balance, leucine must be consumed, it will remain negative otherwise. As mentioned earlier, leucine is one of the BCAA’s, however it is considered the most important BCAA as it roughly has 10 times greater impact on protein synthesis than any other amino acid. The anabolic pathway mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is activated by leucine and a decrease in leucine signals to mTOR that there is not enough protein to synthesize skeletal muscle- and as a result mTOR is deactivated. Some studies have shown 2.5 grams is enough to stimulate protein synthesis whereas others have shown as much as 8 grams are needed and in athletes up to 20 grams has been suggested. It all depends on the individual but more importantly the timing i.e. it may be 20 grams but not in one sitting- take it throughout the day. The best food sources of leucine include any proteins from animals. The protein source with the highest leucine content is whey. Whey contains roughly 10% leucine whereas casein slightly less, weighing in at 8%.

Fatty acids can be converted into energy and cholesterol can be lowered both made possible by carnitine- lysine is essential in the production of the compound. As well as this, lysine helps the body absorb calcium and decrease the amount of calcium lost in urine. Because of this, lysine is linked to helping bone loss associated with osteoporosis. Lysine is also important in the role of collagen which is very important for connective tissues including skin, tendon and cartilage, not many people realise that collagen is the most abundant protein in our bodies. Lysine also maintains nitrogen levels, essential because nitrogen is essential in muscle growth and if the body is excreting more nitrogen than is being used up, a warning signal is sent out that one should increase their protein intake immediately. Nitrogen excretion can be measured to determine how much protein is present in the body. The daily dosage of lysine is about 12 mg per kilogram of body weight per day. Sources of lysine include meat (specifically red meat, pork and poultry) nuts, eggs and soy beans.

The 5:2 diet: good, bad or ugly?

The 5:2 diet is a new craze popularised by the telegraph newspaper supposedly promoting: weight loss, a longer life and immunity to cancer. You consume in essence what you want for five of the seven days in a week and the diet kicks in for the other two days. These two days can come in any order but usually precedes a normal eating day. During the two days, you limit your calorie intake to a mere 500 for women and 600 for men.

I’ll address the question that has diverted your attention away from the main theme of this article- how does it make you immune to cancer? When the body is starved, it enters survival mode- it stores what it can. Cancer however, cannot do this, so you are starving the cancer cells but not starving normal cells. Autophagy is the process where cells ‘clean up’ cellular rubbish, fasting induces profound autophagy (neuronal and general) and therefore it protects cells from the cancer.

What about just simply fasting? Fasting significantly lowers the amount of insulin in your body and a high level of insulin (more specifically insulin growth like factor 1) in the body has been linked to an enhanced cancer risk. The telegraph used the work of Professor Longo who looked at a remote population of people (fewer than 350) who do not produce IGF-1. Of these people not a single one had died of cancer. That works out to be a 350 (and counting) to 1 chance of contracting cancer for the IGF-1-less people. Numbers produced by cancer.org suggest males have a 1 in 4 chance of dying from cancer, females a 1 in 5. So, ignoring their appearance, ‘short, typically less than 4ft tall, with prominent foreheads and underdeveloped jaws’ the Laron syndrome suffers are exactly the same as everyone else, but have a much lower chance of contracting the deadly disease.


The pressing issue with a fasting diet is that cutting down calories means one major food group will suffer, either: fats, protein or carbohydrates. All of these are essential because the body looks to use fats, then carbohydrates, then protein. Cut down on fats or carbohydrates and the body uses protein quicker and takes more to compensate. Why is this a problem? Well, if IGF-1 definitely causes cancer and carbohydrates start this process, they would have both been eliminated years ago. Research from the Harvard gazette archives referring to IGF-1 found that, “a protein that binds to the growth factor seems to neutralize it and reduce the risk of these malignancies”. The reason not everyone who eats a potato contracts cancer is because the IGF-1 is neutralised by one of the six binding proteins (IGF-BP). If you allow your body to use up all of this protein because it is compensating for a decrease in fats or carbohydrates you are taking away your IGF-1 neutraliser and your cancer neutraliser. Simply decreasing the amount of protein you eat produces the same result just a lot quicker!

However, there are some of negatives of the 5:2 diet, autophagy as mentioned earlier relies on lysosomes and reactive oxygen species (ROS). Obviously ROS relies on oxygen (hence the name) and although this oxidation does destroy cells and stop cancer it can also cause chronic diseases according to Kiffin, Bandyopadhyay and Cuervo. Also, once the cancer cells are developed they may engage in autophagy to help the tumour grow in times without nutrients- Kiffin once again providing us with the research. This evidence suggests both healthy and unhealthy patients will be affected by the autophagy process.

Work produced by the telegraph and Dr. Varady shows benefits after 10 weeks of fasting under the 5:2 regime. One group was encouraged to eat low fat foods; the other group took part in the two day fasting programme (eating pizzas and lasagnes on their non-fasting days. Vardy’s study showed the 5:2 group lost the same if not more than the low fat group over the 10 week period. Of the two diets, from a health and not weight loss perspective- the 5:2 diet is much better. The low fat diet obviously neglects the body of fat (often deemed the way to lose weight) which can have catastrophic consequences. Work by the Cambridge nutrition clinic has proven that fats and cholesterol create and protect the white blood cells whereas a lack of fats can cause damage to arteries and veins as well as, heart attacks, strokes and organ failure.

Whichever way you look at it: restricting carbohydrates has strong benefits (low IGF-1) as well as strong consequences (use of protein faster). A low fat diet obviously lowers your body fat and you will lose weight, but as a result your immune system will suffer and the long term damages can be deadly. A fasting diet has been shown to reduce the chance of cancer and increase it at the same time. All restrictive diets have positives and consequences. The body may in the short term show benefits from cutting one of the seven food groups from your diet but, in the long term they are there for a reason! It may sound old fashioned but, exercise and a good balanced diet will always be best for you.

Research will carry on for thousands of years with new innovative diets and products and they will value and devalue each other but I guarantee, exercise and a good diet will never be devalued- fact. I do however have one little cheat- the exercise you have to do to lose weight is very, very light. Losing weight relies on working ‘aerobically’; this requires you working at roughly 65% of your maximum heart rate (220-age). A 20 year old for example will work at 130 beats per minute (BPM) which if you actually try it, is a very moderate jog. Doing this for per say 40 minutes a day, 3 days a week will show massive weight loss. The toning comes from working anaerobically which, granted, is hard work, but the initial weight loss phase is (to be brutally honest) easy.
To conclude, this article focused on the 5:2 diet so, does it work? Research shows it most definitely does work however, there is some research that suggests there are dangerous consequences- all be it very extreme and rare. It has to be considered the best diet out there at the minute for sure, but all restrictive dieting programes have consequences and for that, it has to be dubbed ‘the best of a bad bunch’.

The Basics of Sodium and the Sodium Balance

The body is unable to make any sodium whatsoever on its own, all of the sodiumused by the body is absorbed by the small intestine and taken up by the bloodfrom the food we eat. Sodium balance is controlled by the kidneys- when we havetoo much it is excreted in urine, when we do not have enough, the kidneypreserves what little it has. Sodium is also maintained by blood pressure (BP)and perspiration (sweat).

Traditional thinking has led us to believe sodium cannot be stored- when itbecomes excess it is simply disposed of in the urine. But, recent findingssuggest it can be stored and it does not affect water movement in and out ofcells, making it non-osmotically active. Further research has failed to provewhether or not this is beneficial for exercise. 

The outer layers inward of skin are covered in saltwater and the majorelectrolyte in these cells is potassium, the major electrolyte outside thesecells in the blood is sodium. The volume of water in the blood and theinterstitial fluid (the two main compartments outside cells) is determined bysodium concentration which is dependent on the amount of sodium- lots of sodiummeans there will be lots of water and vice-versa. The sodium balance inside andoutside of these cells determines the size and the function of the cells inquestion. An easy way to explain this would be to say, too little sodium in thefluid outside the cells causes the cell to swell- take the brain for example,this would cause unconsciousness. 

Mo Farah's events will have lost him a hell of a lot of sodium

So, as you probably know, sodium is lost in sweat as it makes up the majorityof the product. But just how much is lost? Sweat electrolyte losses can rangefrom 1000 to 3000 milligrams of sodium per hour; however some athletes havebeen known to lose 6000mg per hour- roughly translated that is two and a halfteaspoons of salt every hour! 

Although potassium and magnesium are lost in sweat, the amount is negligiblecompared to sodium. This is because; the major mineral in fluids outside thebody cells is sodium (even in the plasma) so, when sweat is needed, the plasmacontaining sodium, leaves the body. Some sodium however, is preserved; this isbecause when sweat passes through the sweat glands some of it is reabsorbed asthe body attempts to conserve some of it, particularly so, if the body is not providedwith enough sodium. 

Because of this, athletes more than anyone need more salt in their diet, butwill this not lead to some form of cardiovascular diseases? Well, no. Too muchsalt causes the water levels in the body to increase thus keeping the balancehowever, this will increase BP. But, athletes do not need to worry about thisbecause the excess salt will be lost during exercise and BP regulation improveswith endurance training. However, those eating high processed foods and notexercising run the risk of high BP. 

Some work in the field suggests that becoming used to heated conditions (heatacclamation) reduces the amount you sweat and therefore reduces the amount ofsodium you lose. However, this is very inconclusive- studies have proven heatacclamation produces a lower rate of sweat while others have proven it producesa higher rate. 

Salt + Water = Better hydration

Lastly, how can you maintain a sodium balance to prevent short term acutesodium deficits? Easy, what you take out put back. When you exercise, whateversweat you lose will also lose sodium so in essence ‘put it back’ and drink lotsof water and take in lots of salt. The movement of sodium into and out of cellsacross the cell membrane is very important as this allows muscles to contract-so losing sodium will most definitely hinder performance. It is important toremember lots of sodium can be lost through little sweat so do not think, becauseI haven’t sweat that much I can’t have lost any sodium and therefore don’t needto replenish my stores- you do. Next time you exercise drink plenty of waterafter and have a salty meal alongside it, or cut out the middle man and add acouple of pinches of salt to your water, winning.