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Supplementation: L-Arginine & L-Carnitine
This is a beginners guide to some of the more complex supplements and should help you to find out what you should be taking and why.
We all know that feeling when you’ve done a really intense workout – your knees are shaking, you’re slumped over by the water cooler and then someone comes over and slaps your shoulder saying: “you look beat, are you sure you’re been taking enough glutamine?”.
It’s a well known fact that everyone in the gym is a pharmacist who just never bothered to attend medical school to take the qualifications and everyone claims to know the secret to that perfect supplement balance, but the truth of it is that half of us don’t know our L-arginine from our fruit juice, never mind the difference between the actual supplements!
L-Arginine
Necessary for the production of protein, L-arginine also helps rid the body of ammonia (a waste product) and stimulates the release of insulin. In addition, L-arginine is used to make nitric oxide (a compound that relaxes the blood vessels).[1]
Some people also use L-arginine to boost the immune system, improve athletic performance, and shorten recovery time after injury or surgery – this shortened recovery time is why L-arginine is popular among bodybuilders. It can also be used for the treatment of high-blood pressure and erectile dysfunction in men.
L-Carnitine
L-Carnitine is an amino-acid that is created in the body from the combination of lysine (one component of the BCAA matrix discussed in supplementation article 3) and methionine.
It is synthesised in the liver and kidneys andstored in the skeletal muscles such as the heart and brain.
It acts as an anti-oxidant as it can neutralise free-radicals.
A key feature of L-Carnitines use is that it helps the body turn fat in to energy.
Some studies do show that oral carnitine reduces fat mass, increases muscle mass, and reduces fatigue, which may contribute to weight loss in some people[i].
Supplementation: Amino Acids – Glutamine
This is a beginners guide to some of the more complex supplements and should help you to find out what you should be taking and why.
We all know that feeling when you’ve done a really intense workout – your knees are shaking, you’re slumped over by the water cooler and then someone comes over and slaps your shoulder saying: “are you sure you’re been taking enough glutamine?”.
It’s a well known fact that everyone in the gym is a pharmacist who just never bothered to attend medical school to take the qualifications and everyone claims to know the secret to that perfect supplement balance, but the truth of it is that half of us don’t know our L-Arginine from our fruit juice, never mind the difference between the actual supplements!
GLUTAMINE:
Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins. There are 20 ‘standard’ amino acids which are encoded by the universal genetic code into the body.
9 of these ‘standard’ amino acids are “essential” for humans because they cannot be created from othercompounds by the human body, and so must be taken in as food or supplements.
If you are on a restricted diet these supplements are vital for protein development (muscles are a protein :)).
Glutamine is the most abundant naturally occurring amino acids in the human body. In the body, it is found circulating in the blood as well as stored in the skeletal muscles. It becomes conditionally essential (requiring intake from food or supplements) in states of illness or injury so after intensive workouts for muscles repair and growth glutamine is essential.
Glutamine is also thought to have cleansing properties for the gut and intestinal tract. In recent studies, glutamine-enriched diets have been linked with intestinal effects and are thought to be the most viable option when attempting to alleviate conditions relating to the gastrointestinal tract.[1]
Benefits of taking:
- Increased endurance
- Increased / faster recovery
- Increased muscular growth (ability to grown tissue faster)
[1] http://www.news-medical.net
Supplementation For Fat Loss
Supplements should not be a big deal, as most fat loss can be done through simply eating the right food at the right time; and unless everything that you are doing is already done to ensure the maximum results in the timeframe that you want to achieve it in, and then supplementation should not be the focus. However, there are a few supplements that I think are important to any regime:
- A multivitamin (although you should be eating as much of a variety of food as possible, in order to meet the RDI/AI of most nutrients from actual food).
- Creatine monohydrate. Creatine helps the body to recover faster, as well as indirectly aiding in increasing strength levels and lean body mass.
- Flax seed/Hemp seed/Fish Oil. This is the GOOD fats. Flax seed or Hemp seed oil is great with breakfast or in protein shakes.
- Protein Powder. This just helps for the in-between meals, or after the gym, and to make sure that you get enough protein in.
Creatine
What type of creatine should I use?
There are so many types of creatine out there that it can be confusing deciding which one to use. If you’re just starting out with creatine, stick to creatine monohydrate – the most tried and proven of the creatine types – and use a straight creatine product, as opposed to a product that includes creatine and has other properties.
How long should I cycle creatine?
Creatine cycling is a personal preference option. Many individuals cycle creatine, using for 2-3 months before taking a month or so off. Others do not cycle it and use it all the time – I am one of those people, and the only time I have off creatine is if I have run out of my creatine/product containing creatine and are waiting on another.
If you are considering creatine cycling, be aware that your muscle creatine threshold levels return to baseline after three weeks of ceasing creatine usage.
Is creatine loading necessary?
No, creatine loading is not necessary – like creatine cycling, loading is individual preference. The purpose of creatine loading is to reach the muscle creatine threshold faster – this is usually done by dosing ~20 grams of creatine daily for five days. However, using ~5 grams of creatine daily for three weeks will achieve the same result.
How much creatine do I need?
Once your muscle creatine threshold has been reached, 2-3 grams of creatine daily is enough to keep them saturated. You will often see ~5 grams of creatine a day recommended – this is well over the necessary creatine required to maintain saturation and more than this is definitely not needed.
Once your body has reached its muscle creatine threshold (between 150-160 mmol/kg/dw for everyone), then using more than 3-5g of creatine daily is not going to saturate them any further, so there’s no point in using more than that.
When should I use creatine?
Creatine should be used daily. When you dose it is entirely up to you – there are several times that creatine can be dosed, including pre-training, post-training, and pre and post-training. If dosing pre-training I recommend doing it ~60 minutes pre-training, and if post-training, immediately after finishing training for best effects.
Do I use creatine on non-training days?
Yes, you can use creatine on non-training days – this helps maintain creatine muscle saturation. I recommend dosing creatine on non-training days first thing in the morning. As far as dosage, 2-3 grams is adequate.
Will using creatine make me bigger, faster, stronger?
Creatine is only an energy source of the body. Therefore, it will not directly make you bigger, faster, or stronger. However, it can indirectly aid in the achievement of these factors if your nutrition and training are targeted towards them.
Post Nutrition
Right after a workout, your muscles are most sensitive to taking in nutrients. If you aren’t feeding your body after you train, your muscles will stay broken down longer.
After you get out of the gym, eat simple carbs and high-quality protein. The best bet is usually a whey isolate or a whey/casein blend with some form of carbohydrate powder like waxy maize or maltodextrin. Some people like to have real food with their protein, so eating cereal or a bagel works fine. As long as you don’t suffer from blood glucose problems, try to keep your carbs simple. Your goal is to get a slight insulin spike to help drive glucose into the muscle cells.
Eat your meal or shake within 30-60 minutes of finishing your training session. This means that if you leave the gym and head directly to the office, you might have to supp-and-drive. If your gym is close to your workplace, mix a shake and grab a bagel when you get there.
Feel free to add some recovery-based supplements to your shake. Glutamine, creatine, or BCAAs are great choices. Timing them after your workout can increase your recovery.
How to survive Christmas!
So I looked out of my blinds this morning and was absolutely horrified to see that there was a relatively thick blanket of snow over everything! Now I’m not one to complain about the weather as I like to see the positive in everything, but snow isn’t one of the weather conditions that I particularly enjoy in this country. 
Following that and upon checking facebook I noticed that well over half my contacts were also posting about the weather / how cold it was/ how rubbish they were feeling / the fact that the had the flu.
This got me thinking about winter in general and the fact that for a lot of people it’s the time of year when they gain weight with too much eating and drinking, get the flu or find themselves generally run down – so I decided that a blog post helping people to survive Christmas might be just what we need for the current situation!
1) Embrace the cold weather
Switch your indoor cardio session for an icy outdoor run – whilst you may be cold to start off with (which in itself burns more calories as you shiver to keep warm), studies have shown that cardio vascular workouts actually increase your cardio endurance[i]! 
2) Energise your happy hormones
With longer nights and colder days it’s easy to start feeling lethargic and depressed – SAD (seasonal affective disorder) is a type of depression faced by many in winter, but research at Duke University in the USA found that cardiovascular workouts will not only increase the serotonin in your brain, but that it is four times more efficient at dropping symptoms of depression compared with antidepressants!
And never fear – if you aren’t into classic cardiovascular activities, super-set your weights instead to boost heart rate!
3) Eat smart
It’s very easy when you’re surrounded by mountains of quality streets, mince pies and mulled wine to over-indulge! Before you know it you’ve spent the entire month of December munching junk and in January you’re faced with a mountain to climb as you need to get your body back in shape.
Instead of reaching for the sugary snacks that are going to play havoc with your blood-sugar levels, try to fill your home with “diet-friendly” seasonal snacks such as nuts, seeds and protein filled nibbles like pigs in blankets.
If you really can’t resist sugar then try to go for dried fruits such as dates, figs and fruit and nut mixes.
4) Beware of empty calories
It’s very easy to drink upwards of 1,000 calories in one sitting – especially if you’re on the mulled wines, full-fat coke mixers and fruit juices all day mixed with calorific alcohols.
Top tips to drinking smart:
- Switch full-fat mixer options for diet options, or even better utilise tonic and soda waters
- Avoid anything with a “cream” base – eggnog & baileys are examples of high calorie alcohols that should be avoided.
- Turn your white wine in to a “spritzer” using fizzy water – not only will it cut down the calories but you won’t get as tipsy.
- Pour your own drinks – it’s easy for friends or family to get carried away when pouring drinks and with no measures to hand it’s difficult to tell exactly how much you’re drinking – try to pour your own drinks so you can keep tabs. A helpful hint on pouring is to count “bubble-2-3-4” and that is roughly 1 shot if you’re using a pourer.
5) Try something new
A lot of gyms and health centres will be running a reduced class schedule over the festive season, but that doesn’t mean you should neglect your gym.
Classes will usually be smaller as people are away visiting family or friends so take it as an opportunity to try something different.
Also a lot of gyms have gym instructors who walk the floor – these guys are more than likely to be very bored over Christmas so see if they have some free time to give you some tips, pointers, spot you on a PB or help you shake up your plan
6) Bring a friend
Just because your family are visiting isn’t an excuse to neglect your gym. Most gyms if you call them in advance or contact the gym manager are happy to offer one-off complimentary sessions to friends and family of existing members.
It’s the perfect excuse to get your mum sat on a bike while you blast out a cross-fit session!
7) Let’s get roasty!
Root vegetables such as sweet-potatoes, carrots, Swedes and parsnips are all delicious and full of vitamins and minerals. Replacing your regular white potatoes with sweet can also help to reduce blood sugar spikes caused from starch.
Try thinly slicing your root vegetables and blasting them in the oven with no oil to create your own healthy “chips”, or cutting them up chunky style to make a delicious accompaniment to your roast dinner.
The above steps are designed to help you to structure your festive season and to give you some hints and tips for getting through it. The other thing to remember is that Christmas does only come once a year and while it is important to stay as healthy as you can it is NOT healthy to become obsessive, refuse to engage with your friends or family because you don’t agree with their “unhealthy” attitudes and to sit there eating your chicken and broccoli out of a Tupperware in protest!
Part of a healthy body is having a healthy mind and being able to exercise some self-control and moderation.
Treat yourself but don’t binge and you should have a fabulous time.
Love Georgia
xxx
What and why? -Protein Supplementation
Protein Supplementation
What is Protein?
Protein is a macronutrient much like carbohydrates and fats that can provide the body with energy – unlike fats however the energy supplied is far lower per gram (4 calories per gram) and although on paper is the same as carbohydrates, if you look at the way the energy is converted (insulin for carbs v. predominantly enzymes for fats / proteins) then the actual useful energy for day to day “use” is less from protein.
Also unlike carbs and fats, protein is used by the body for the formation and production of all tissue. Anytime your body has to make new tissue or repair tissue that has been damaged then protein is used as the raw material.
Proteins are made up of individual micro-nutrient compounds called amino-acids.
What are amino acids?
Amino acids are the compounds that make up proteins. In order for our bodies to utilize the proteins we are consuming then our bodies must contain all 8 of the essential amino-acids required for protein synthesis (essentially the creation of tissue).
Why should I increase my Protein Intake?
Whenever you exercise or do any form of intense physical activity, you create tiny tears in your muscle tissue that when repaired; make you stronger, faster, bigger and more toned. Protein is used to repair muscle. Think of protein as the material that is used to fix body tissue while fats and carbs provide the energy or man power to do it.
It is also necessary for the production of antibodies, which fight against infection and illness, and is the main nutrient that keeps our hair shiny and healthy, our nails strong, our skin fresh and glowing and our bones strong and healthy.
Increased protein will be required during intensive training so that your body can repair and also continue with its normal day-to-day functions.
Sources of protein
Protein can be found in meat, fish, shellfish, poultry and dairy produce.
Eggs are the best source of protein as they contain the highest amount of essential amino acids. Fish is the next best source and is then followed by meat, milk, cereal eaten with pulses, soya beans, oatmeal, rice, peas, lentils, kidney beans.
However, not all of the above sources contain the same amount of amino-acids components required for tissue creation. The best sources are milk / dairy produce and fish while the most incomplete are vegetable based proteins such as peas and beans.
Protein Supplementation
Anyone who is engaging in physical activity can benefit from protein supplemtation but the key is choosing the right protein for you.
The 3 main classes of protein powders fall into:
- Pure proteins (almost 0 carbohydrates and fats)
- All-in-one proteins (mix of carbohydrates and protein)
- Bulking proteins (protein portion with a massive carbohydrate component)
- Specialized / Miscellaneous proteins
Pure Proteins
Pure Proteins are not designed as a meal replacement because they do not have all the components that make up a meal such as carbohydrates or fats. These are ideally designed to be supplementary.
They are best used by those trying to build lean muscle without gaining size or those looking to lose weight whilst increasing their protein intake – Reflex Instant Whey is a good example of this product. As is USN Pure Protein.
Some caseins also fall into this category (a more slow release dairy derivative usually taken before bed) such as Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Casein.
All-in-One Proteins
All-in-One proteins are usually designed to be a full meal replacement shake (especially if you are in competition prep mode and trying to fit in your 6 – 7 meals a day. These shakes are usually well balanced with a blend of carbohydrates and proteins. Garnell Nutrition All-In-One is a new shake that has managed to hit the sweet spot in terms of it’s balance in this area while USN Muscle Fuel is another well engineered meal replacement.
Another good shake for those who are cutting but still want some carbs in their shake is Gaspari Nutrition MyoFusion.
Bulking Proteins
These bad boys many of you will be familiar with with such names as the Met-Rx Xtreme Size Up, where shakes are packed full of protein, carbs and amino acids to help boost size fast.
These products are perfect for guys looking to move up a weight category or for those who simply struggle to put on any muscle or size at all – they usally have super servings of additional amino-acids packed in too such as Garnell Nutrition Anabolic Mass II.
Specialised Proteins
These are usually pure proteins or meal replacement proteins with the addition of other supplements such as creatine for bulking or green tea for dieting.
Ronnie Colemans new signature line has a great protein with a creatine addition (Ronnie Coleman Signature Series Pro-Antium) and Phd have created a fabulous diet meal replacement with green tea (Phd Diet Whey).
Keeping Healthy: What is cramp?
We all know the feeling of being doubled -over in the gym holding our calf / thigh / hand as crippling cramp strikes us, but what IS it and why does it happen?
What is cramp?
Cramp is the involuntary spasming of a muscle or muscle group where the muscle refuses to relax.
It is normally accompanied by a painful sensation that can range from a slight spasm to agonising pain. It can last a few seconds to 15 minutes and often recurs in the same muscle repeatedly.
Types of Cramps:
There are 4 distinct cramping types: ”true” cramps, tetany, contractures, and dystonic cramps but it is most likely that fitness models and athletes will be affected by “true” cramps, as these are commonly associated with the vigorous use of muscles and muscle fatigue brought on by excessive use in sports, or through repetitive use i.e. in weight lifting.
Such cramps may happen during activity or later, sometimes many hours later and are usually caused by:
- Dehydration: Sports and other vigorous activities can cause excessive fluid loss from perspiration.
Any athletes who commonly use diuretics such as “stackers” are likely to suffer from cramping more frequently than those who do not due to the chronic volume depletion of body fluids brought on by these substances.
Sodium depletion has also been associated with cramps – Sodium is the most abundant chemical constituent of body fluids outside the cell and is usually a function of dehydration. - Conditioning / Injury: Persistent cramping may occur as a protective mechanism following an injury or in weaker less conditioned muscles. In this instance, the spasm tends to minimize movement and stabilize the area of injury.
- Fatigue: Cramp sets in when our muscles are tired
- Vitamin Depletion – Low blood calcium and / or magnesium: Lower than recommended levels of either calcium or magnesium directly increase the sensitivity and excitability of nerve endings and muscles. This additional stimulation can be a predisposing factor for the cramps, and can often be brough on through excessive sweating as key electrolites are lost from the body.
It can also be caused by: inadequate calcium absorption due to a definciency of vitamin D, hyperventilation (overbreathing), vomiting, inadequate calcium and/or magnesium in the diet, and other conditions.
These can be combatted by ensuring that electrolytes are consumed during any periods of nausea or diarrhea, that a sufficient level of sun-light exposure is maintained, and that a good quality vitamin supplement is taken as part of a healthy and balanced diet.
Low potassium blood levels can also occasionally cause muscle cramps, although it is more common for low potassium although potassium deficiency usually results in weak muscles rather than cramp. Banana’s are an excellent source of potassium and are also an excellent source of energy before a workout.
Treatment?
The immediate treatment for muscle cramp is to stretch and gently massage the muscle. Use ice packs for severe cases and drink water or a sports drink, or better yet dextrose or maltodextrin – as a lot of the glucose in “sports” drinks will go to the liver as opposed to the muscle.
How can you avoid cramp?
Plenty of fluid and a nutritious diet along with a proper warm-up such as walking on an incline or x-training on a medium resistance for around 10 minutes will ensure that muscles are warm.
NEVER STRETCH COLD MUSCLES AS THIS CAN RESULT IN DAMAGE TO THE MUSCLE FIBRES.
Georgia B Simmons 