Health & Fitness

What Multi-Vitamin Is Right For Me?

2010-07-30T02:07:00.000-04:00

With all of the numerous kinds and brand names of multi-vitamins out there, it may be extremely hard to know which one actually is best for you nowadays. With the new nutrition craze brought about from years of overeating and fast food binging, multi-vitamins seem to be one of the top 3 choices of turning your unhealthy ways around. You may be familiar with the new Dr. Oz show encouraging the uses and benefits of multi-vitamins. So the answer is YES, multi-vitamins are necessary to obtain the needed daily nutrition, vitamins, and minerals.

With multi-vitamins being so important, which multi-vitamins would be best suitable for my daily needs?

It all depends on a number of factors. First off, men and women each have different daily needs. With this being so, there are men's and women's vitamins. Men's vitamins, for instance, with normally have a higher percentage of zinc, since zinc has the effect on the masculinity and testosterone production. This is the main reason why oysters are considered an aphrodisiac, especially for men. They contain an astonishing amount of zinc. Women's vitamins would most likely contain more iron, since they lose iron monthly from menstruation. Also, you may find genistein, commonly found in soy, in women's vitamins since it has the effect of keeping women's bones strong and healthy. This is especially key as a women ages, since their bodies will make less and less of estrogen, which keeps the bones strong and prevents them from becoming brittle and weak. Other than a few other differences, men's and women's vitamins are basically the same or very similar.

They key of picking out the most suitable multi-vitamin is to take note of your specific daily needs, then simply do some research, maybe online or shopping through some vitamin stores to find the product perfect for you. Let's say you suffer front joint pain and maybe have arthritis. Finding a multi-vitamin with glucosamine and chondroitin may be the best product for you, since glucosamine and chondroitin will help with that joint pain.

If your a bodybuilder, athlete, or a particularly active person, your choice of vitamins may be different than others. You normally would want to choose a vitamin with higher than 100% daily value of zinc and extra rich in B vitamins. B vitamins may also be a key thing to look for if you have chronic feelings of tiredness, since B vitamins aid in energizing your body. The addition of some amino acids may not be a bad idea either if you are an active individual. If you have trouble digesting, try and find a multi-vitamin which contains digestive enzymes such as lipase etc. If you are a vegetarian, pick a multi-vitamin containing the vitamins and minerals that are commonly found in meats and what is missing in your diet.

What decides if a certain multi-vitamin is good or not?

Every mutli-vitamin should contain:

Calcium: at least a certain amount, but does not have to be 100% since calcium should be commonly acquired at meals throughout the day to be most effective.

Iron: aids red blood cells to carry oxygen.

Magnesium: aids in muscle and nerve function.

Phosphorus: promotes healthy bones and teeth.

Potassium: aids in the function of the muscle and nervous systems and water balance in the blood and body tissues.

Zinc: helps to build a strong immunity, growth, and healing. Plays a role in the production of sex hormones such as testosterone (key for muscle building and fat loss).

Also: chromium, copper, and selenium

Vitamins: A, B-1 B-2 B-3 B-6 B-12, C, D, E, and folic acid

These should be standard in every multi-vitamin, but check the label just in case! The daily values of each should be 100% usually, with exceptions being calcium and iron. These two are consumed throughout the day from foods. Calcium comes mainly from dairy and iron comes from red meat etc.

What are examples of good multi-vitamins?

A good standard vitamin is Centrum. The regular Centrum multi-vitamin contains all of your basic vitamins and minerals needed for the day. Basic daily values and ingredients may not be what is best for you however, for there are many other vitamins and types of different Centrum multi-vitamins to choose from.

For a bodybuilder, athlete, or active individual:

For those with joint pain and digestion help:

Controlled Labs Orange Triad

For those with chronic tiredness:

take any pictured above or add a B-complex

*** Keep in mind that specific vitamins and minerals are sold in separate pills if you are deficient of a certain vitamin or mineral.

~~~ The examples above aren't the only, or particularly the overall best in the world without question. There are many multi-vitamins to choose from. So find the multi-vitamin that is best for you or try the ones above!

Any questions about certain multi-vitamins or other questions or concerns please contact the Healthy Fitness Guru.

Sleep Is For the Weak!

2010-07-27T20:37:00.001-04:00

GET UP AND GET OUT!

Sure, of course sleep is a vital and key aspect of healing your muscles from the day before, however, oversleeping has its unwanted side effects also. These side effects include:

Becoming even more tired even though you may be sleeping even longer
Low socioeconomic status
Depression
Muscle depletion***
Being unproductive (laziness)

For a bodybuilders sake, # 4 is of the most importance (as well as the others). And YES, sleeping more may induce the process of muscle depletion, or in more simple terms, your body starts to eat its own muscle. Your body relies on its own muscle for a means of an energy source if all other energy sources are diminished. To prevent this is simple: GET UP! and eat some breakfast! But, as always, eat a nice and healthy, balanced breakfast. Yes, you all have heard this before: breakfast is one of the most important meals of the day!

Also, keep in mind that breakfast is meant to be eaten during the morning hours, typically before 12:00 PM, and you can even say before 11:00 AM or 10:00 AM if you want to get real technical, since any time around 11:00 AM is typically a "brunch" time. But DO NOT think it is at all a great idea to merge your breakfast and lunch into one big "brunch" meal. Splitting these two meals will help you not to overeat, and coincidentally help you to not gain those unwanted pounds!

Having your normal 3 meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) is an important factor in keeping your metabolism running. When your metabolism is running, so is the fat burning process. For those who strive for more, 5-6 meals a day should be your goal. This can only be attained if you wake up early to have the rest of the day to exercise and eat. This is the ideal meal plan for any athlete, bodybuilder, or your average, everyday person. In the 5-6 meals, you should be eating just enough to satisfy your hunger and your nutritional needs. Again, having your metabolism always running will be key in losing that fat!

^ Don't Be That Guy! ^

High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)

2010-07-26T21:52:00.001-04:00

High Intensity Interval Training, commonly referred to as HIIT training, is a strategic way of exercising that is baffling the minds of researchers, athletes, and bodybuilders alike. The benefits of such HIIT training are vast and extraordinary.

Having trouble reaching those goals of decreasing body fat percentage? Look no further than HIIT training.

Have you reached a plateau in muscle growth and results? Again, HIIT is the answer.

Is there an actual way to decrease a large amount of body fat while gaining lean muscle? YES! HIIT training is exactly what you need to do!

What exactly is HIIT, you might ask?

HIIT training, similar to that of High Intensity Training (HIT), is to perform a continuous, non-stop workout with varying intensities, with the intensity at all times being greater than 50% and peaking at some range between 80-100%. For example, a certain individual may run at a 60% intensity to a 90% intensity during their HIIT session. That person will alter between their lower and higher intensity according to his or her level of endurance. The peaking of each individual is obviously not the same. So do not worry about that guy at the track who may lap you 10 times every time you try to go for a run! HIIT works at your own intensity levels. Just because your intensity levels may not be as high as another's does NOT at all mean that HIIT is not for you, nor is it a time to quit! Rather, it is a time to raise the bar and your own standards, and to once and for all receive those most desirable results no matter how far away the goals you have set for yourself may be. The whole idea of HIIT training is to challenge your body and put your body into another gear that it is not at all used to. The body, being an extraordinary, complex machine that it is, will react to the high intensities that you are putting it through and frantically work itself and endure the challenge it is up against during the HIIT session.

High Intensity 30 seconds, followed by 90 second Lower Intensity

High Intensity 60 seconds, followed by 90 second Lower Intensity

High Intensity 30 seconds, followed by 30 second Lower Intensity

Through your bodies efforts during the HIIT session, a massive amount of hormones and fat burning agents are released throughout the body. These hormones include: testosterone (predominantly in men) and growth hormone. These two hormones are fat incinerators. As your body gasps for that much need oxygen, growth hormone is being released.

So instead of running for hours upon hours at a time like a marathon runner, run from 15-30 minutes implementing HIIT into your cardio workout! The results are proven to be much more effective than the results of running at a constant speed for a long amount of time. It is almost running more like a sprinter, but non-stop.

Make sure an adequate warm-up session and stretching session are completed before attempting an HIIT based workout.

Can HIIT training be applied to anaerobic (weight-lifting) workout also?

Yes! HIIT can be applied in a similar fashion to an anaerobic workout. The concepts remain the same. It is similar to a 15-20 minute long superset of non-stop working out having no rest periods between sets. So make a workout routine at least 15 minutes long implementing as many exercises as needed. Make sure the weights being used are the heaviest that can be fully manageable during the extent of the whole HIIT session. The whole idea is to push your muscles to their limit, or temporary muscular failure in a sense. This is where your muscles "give up" on their own, or in other words are worked to their maximal potential. This should be everyone's goal when working with weights. This way, the results obtained will be maximal as well, giving you that muscular, lean body you have always dreamed of!

Also, keep in mind of the many cardiovascular exercises HIIT can be applied to!