Herc2015

I read somewhere that cigarette smoke contains more than 700 chemicals back in 1970!!! Thank for the tip about Vit C and aspirin. Burning sensation in my gullet! LOL

Critical Mass

No Smoking

TheWolf

hell yah, no smoking

That 300 something is what recent ones say. I must say, it varies significantly from one type of cig to another.

TheWolf

Anabolism

This is an updated version of " The sun is rising in the West blah blah " which is in line with my current knowledge level.

I have made a number changes to the article and added more information.

Note that lean individuals who are insulin sensitive may consume a lot more fast acting carbs in their breakfast and post workout meal.



1. Breakfast

30-40 grams of fast acting carbs, it can be dextrose or the likes or it can also be fruit juice. In short, take acidic fruits or juice or dextrose itself about 15 mins before anything else.

Low GI carbs making up the rest of the carb intake. This will be taken 10-15 mins after taking fast acting carbs.

Take together with whey protein shake, multi vits and multi minerals + Omega 3 + Primrose Oil.

Fruits high in fructose should only be taken in moderation in your breakfast as fructose requires vits and minerals from your body and it can only be stored in the liver.

In the morning, liver glycogen stores are empty. As such, there is no harm in taking high fructose fruits such as banana, apple and such.




Breakfast should be taken within a half hour after you wake up.

Though some people say the body use fats and never use glucose during sleep, it is only their assumption.

The body will use temporary fat stores, glycogen from muscles and liver when you wake up to keep you going and these sources will be depleted by mid morning.

Cortisol and dopamine hormones will be high in the morning, as are Testosterone and Growth Hormone.

When a person does not feed the body in a few hours after he rises up, stress hormones will be further elevated and have adverse effects on the body.

It is good to use some fast acting carbs as the body is in dire need of nutrients at this time of the day and we can make best use of anabolic hormones, T and GH as well by taking in nutritious meal.

A good breakfast will prevent you from getting into catabolic state where you lose muscles, gain fat and experience other health problems. Furthermore, it will increase your metabolism by as much as 25 %.

This meal should not be high in Fats/Oils.






2. Pre Workout Meal

Consists of large amount of low GI carbs, Casein protein, some fats, ( you might want to take some vits and/or minerals ) and creatine should be taken about 1 hr - 1 1/2 hr before your workout.

You want slow steady supply of fuel, that is why avoiding the use of fast acting carbs is wise. One should not take in fruits high in fructose here.

Creatine will ensure adequate supply of CP during workout.





3. Post Workout Meal

Includes 30-40 grams of fast acting carbs ( dextrose or fruit juice or such) + Low GI carbs making up the rest of the carb intake ( taken about 15 mins after fast acting carbs ) + Fast acting protein ( preferably whey ) + antioxidants such as Vit C, Vit E, Vit B complex ( there should not be Calcium taken with them as it will inhibit the use of other Vits/Minerals ) + Creatine. Should be very low in Fats/Oils.


Well, just as in breakfast, your glycogen stores are low or empty here after your intense workout. Therefore, I include fast acting carbs to feed the body fast.

One more reason why I want to take in fast acting carbs and fast proteins here is because a good deal of Growth Hormone and Testosterone will also be released following the workout ( Resistance exercises either increase anabolic hormones or keep them at the same level... but, if you train when you have had sleepless nights or have not been eating well, then, your Catabolic hormones will rise up and rob away your muscles ). Growth Hormone bring about the increased amino acid intake and protein synthesis in muscle cells by stimulating IGF-I, Insulin Like Growth Factor I. To make use of the state the body is in now is to let the muscle cells take in more amino acids ( proteins you eat will be broken down into them ) and synthesize them.

Growth Hormone also arrange for the fat to be used by the body for energy preventing muscle proteins from being oxidized ( burned for energy ).

You should not be taking stuff like caffeine or energy drinks or tea or such as they will unnecessarily will keep your CNS awake. This is not what you want as you now want it to relax.





The rest of your meals will contain only Low GI carbs. Their GI value should be around 30 or lower. I recommend fibrous vegetables only. They are best muscle building nutritious foods.

Also, be careful with the total grams of carbs you take in at any one time. Try not to eat more than your body can use.



4. Pre Bed Meal

Low carbs ( fibrous carbs only ) + High Casein Protein ( slow acting ) + Low fat.


Will take ZMA on an empty stomach about 2 hrs before bedtime. Combination of certain amount Zinc, Magnesium and Vit B6 has been proven effective in improving hormonal health + Most of the users experience promoted sleep.

A half hour after taking ZMA, pre bed meal should be consumed. Take Vit C as well.








I want to keep insulin released after this meal to minimum as it is one of the damn factors that reduces the amount of GH secreted during sleep. Vit C will be used when the body is undergoing the process of repair and building up.

So, it will be 1 1/2 hour - 2 hours before bedtime that I eat this meal.



Refer to " Join the Revolution" series for more information on pre bed nutrition and " The Knowledge ( Filter )" for evening nutrition.



Health Tips


A good breakfast can increase your metabolic rate. Moreover, drinking cold water or drink or eating cold stuff has been shown to increase your metabolic rate. To top it off, the more muscles you have the higher your resting metabolic rate will be. Even when we are lying in bed doing nothing, our body still burn calories. It is known as Resting Metabolic Rate, some likes to call it Base Metabolic Rate. Oh, One more thing, just eating food burn calories, especially fibrous carbs help you burn more calories than you eat.

That said, cold water or drinks should be avoided just bfore or during or soon after a meal as it will lower down the temperature which is needed for digestion.




Take sugary foods, dextrose or the likes, acidic foods or juices themselves. Don't take them together with flesh foods or starchy foods. There should be a minimum of 10-15 mins between them. Take the former first.


A meal should not be made so complex. That means, avoid mixing different protein sources + carb sources + fats.

Fats/Oils should be low in Breakfast and Post workout meal as they will slow down digestion of any other foods taken together.


Meals must be of big enough size to make you feel full for about 3 hours before the next meal. But they should not be large as the body makes only limited amount of digestive juices, enzymes.

Meals should not be too close as it takes time for the body to replenish juices and enzymes.


Meals should not also be too small as you will feel hungry when it is not needed and it will also disrupt the balance of hunger hormones.

Water can be consumed in moderation before, during and after a meal.

Nuts, Seeds and Butter should only be taken in moderation.

The amount of carbs consumed should get lower and lower into the night.


A person should be taking at least 5 meals a day.

Rely only on vegetables and fruits as the main carb sources. Grains can increase blood acidity as well as cause food allergies. Though they are nutritious, vegetables and fruits are richer in phytonutrients, macronutrients, organic water, soluble fibers, insoluble fibers and such.


Happy Eating

INHUMANSTRENGTH

TheWolf

This is from a forum.

The question is about Westerners generally stronger than Asians ( no racial whatever was intended by TS )

And my answer is here;

Being a wanna be science geek, I don't think I can keep quiet.

As you have already known that muscle fiber make up, CNS efficiency, tendon strength are some of the factors that play a role in determining how strong a person is.

Fiber make up can be changed in a couple of months by the right training. While doing so, CNS itself will learn to recruit more MUs and control different muscle groups efficiently. Once the trainee becomes fast twitch dominant from training, his slow twitch muscle fibers also will fire faster than bfore as they are no longer Type I, slow twitch.

At the same time, there will be weakening of inhibitory signals, while exitory signals become stronger. Force transmission from muscles to muscles, muscles to adjacent non muscle structures, muscles to tendons, tendons to bones will be improved.

A case in point is Frank Yang. He is obviously fast twitch dominant who possesses all the above abilities.

He not only does maximal strength training but explosive strength training. The olympic lifts he performs actually have the power that far exceeds that of deadlifts or squats. The power output of such lifts can be up to 12 times that of deadlifts or squats.

But, I have not answered your question actually.

Generally, Westerners are taller, hence, have not only bigger muscle fiber * as in larger surface area of contractile proteins * and/or larger number of muscle fibers but the fibers are also longer in length.

As you probably have already known, muscle fiber cross section area, the number of muscle fibers and the length of the muscle fibers are also the factors that determine one's strength.

Think of a number of guys pulling a rope/ropes that is/are tied to a lory.

If there is one rope, only ten guys can hold onto it and pull the lory. And If there are more ropes, say 3, then, a total of 30 guys can grab them and do so.

You can thinking of larger cross section as big size guys, whereas small cross section area as small size guys. Normally, who would pull the lory better?

Think of larger number of muscle fibers as more ropes. A group of 10 guys pulling the lory using a rope and three groups of ten guys pulling it, which is better ?

And, when you have greater muscle fiber length, you have longer rope/ropes, meaning that more than ten guys for each rope. So, this also can do a great contribution to one's strength.

And last but not least, bcos of bigger tendons, bones and structures, there are better force transmissions and less/weaker inhibitory signals.

I hope you can somehow see the answer now.