Protein Pancakes

A great nutritous and protein packed meal thats quick and easy to make and only needs 3 ingredients.
Ingredients list:                                                         Nutrition:
4 egg whites                                                                Protein - 44 grams
1 scoop of whey protein                                            Carbs - 42 grams
2 scoops of porridge oats                                           Fats - 9 grams

Don't forget to like us on facebook and check out the other training videos on the youtube channel or blog. Just follow the links at the side of the page. Thanks

Bodybuilding's Golden Age

Bodybuilding has come under intense scrutiny over the many years it has been famous as a sport. This mainly revolves around the constant comments and claims of steroid abuse and unhealthy size of many of the athletes involved. But there was a time when bodybuilders looked aesthetic, rather than huge and bloated. There was a time when it was accepted by millions of people as a great sport and outstanding physical achievement. This was bodybuilding’s golden age.

In 1970 Arnold Schwarzenegger won his first Mr Olympia and went on to defend his title as the worlds top bodybuilder for the next 5 years. Arnold not only led the way for bodybuilding’s huge growth in support with his movie/documentary ‘Pumping Iron’ but also encouraged people to get fit and this was evident with the explosion of fitness and gym style training in the late 70’s across America and Europe.

But Arnold was only one of the many aesthetic and wonderfully carved bodybuilders of this era. In 1975 he fended of one of the greatest bodies of all time, Serge Nubret, and in his return in 1980 he also defeated another legend Frank Zane. 

But this era also had a weight division for less than 200 pounds, which was graced by the likes of Franco Columbu and the legendary poser Ed Corney. If you have never watched him pose then I strongly suggest you check him out. 

Unlike today’s larger than life bodybuilders, the athletes of Arnold’s era where aesthetic, trim and ripped. There was not a single bloated stomach to be seen onstage and no calls for bodybuilders to shrink their wastes by the head of the Olympia board, JoeWeider.  

However it seems the tides may be turning, With Weider’s declaration a few years ago that waist sizes needed to be addressed and shrunk the latest champion and Mr Olympia number 13 Phil Heath seems to be on the right lines once again. His streamlined physique and only 29-inch waist seem to signal a return of aesthetic quality to the Olympia stage. May it long continue.

Cardio Tips

Cardio is a great way to lose fat and burn excess calories, whilst reving your metabolism up for the rest of the day. Check out the video to get tis on three cardio styles and which is best for you.

Don't forget to like us on facebook and check out the other training videos on the youtube channel or blog. Just follow the links at the side of the page. Thanks

Tuna Pasta

A great combination of carbs and protein for a post-workout meal to really get your body in a muscle gaining, anabloic state. It's quick and easy to make and tastes great. It's also a healthy meal if you are looking to get into a more healthy lifestyle and has a mixture of all the macro nutrients your body needs.
Protein = 46 grams
Carbs= 68 grams
Fats= 6 grams (of which saturates 0.5g)

Don't forget to like us on facebook and check out the other training videos on the youtube channel or blog. Just follow the links at the side of the page. Thanks

R.I.P Zyzz

Rest in Peace Aziz Sergeyevich Shavershian. A true legend of fitness and physique training was lost one year ago today. He inspired me and millions more to change how we looked at bodybuilding and took away from the mass building towards building a beautiful and aesthetic body that was both useful and powerful. Made famous by his physique and trolling antics on youtube Zyzz really has inspired a new generation of bodybuilding. Here are some pics and quotes from this lost diamond.

“My end goal is not to be some massed up freak, but rather to have a physique that can be looked on as art; streamlined tapered and universally appealing”

“You Mirin’?”

R.I.P Zyzz, forever Mirin’!

Human Growth Hormone

The human growth hormone is the main hormone other than testosterone that all bodybuilders need to learn about. Once you start lifting weights in your resistance style training your body will start to produce heaps of both of these hormones.
However unlike testosterone, human growth hormones (HGH) only begin to really function well after your training ends, because it does'nt have enough time to work inbetween each set. But theres a huge problem here that many people will have that they are oblivious to. Human growth hormone doesn't like to work once you ingest alot of carbs. So for anyone who has carbs in their post workout shake all the time, or has a recovery shake once they leave the gym, then they aren't getting much benifit from their training and hormone production as they should. Also it is very active at night, so if you have carbs before bed you again will reduce its effects in your muscle gains.

What the human growth hormone does is it activates your body's fat stores as energy and uses the energy and fat molecules to build new cell walls on yor muscle fibres with any protein in your gut or blood stream that you ate earlier. Dr McColla and researchers at the University of Virginia have looked into this and believe that to get the most out of your training you should wait up to an hour after training before having your recovery shake in order to maximise your gains and effectiveness of this hormone.

The main reason for the effect of the carbs is the release of insulin, which not only reduces the amount of human growth hormone production but also the two hormone struggle to work together due to the fact that each is attempting to utilise a different energy source, either carbs or fats and so the growth hormone almost takes a back seat and stops working.

So to sumarise, wait up to an hour after training to maximise your effectiveness of the hormone before having your post workout shake and you should start to see better results in your muscle gains and may even put on less body fat due to its recruitment in the HGH process.

Time Under Tension

This is the time that your muscles are under 'stress' or tension whilst lifting weights.It means that you lift the weight in a controlled and steady motion making sure that the muscle fibres are stimulated to the max in every rep, therefore helping you make the best gains.
The main aim of this training style is to take all the momentum that helps you lift the weight out of the equation, in a sense you focus on each individual rep as its own rep, not as part of a bigger set. This not only improves your control over the muscle but increases its overal stimulation in each set and therefore should lead to faster gains. You've all seen the swingers in the gym, the chest bouncers and the guys who have poor form, and a sa result have poorer muscle definition or size. Well by using time under tension your results and shape will start to improve.

Focus especially on the negative section of each rep and the exploding up from the base into a perfect lift. This will therefore work both the fast and slow twitch muscle fibres, and give you a better all round workout, combining muscle gains and power, whilst reducing risk of injury.
another way to improve your muscles time under tension is to squeese the muscle at the top of each rep, forcing the blood into the muscle and getting more of a pump, this will help to bring out more definition in the muscle and help your gains.

If you struggle with negative reps on every rep then start slowly, wait until the last rep, finish it and then do a negative rep after this to finish the set. For example try doing 8 reps of chest press and as the 8th rep gets to the top, lower it back to your chest as slowly as you can, and build it up from there.

Always remember that momentum in your lifts, will build muscle, a little. But by controlling the weight and really squeesing and stimulating the muscle with each rep it will not only increase your gains but reduce your risk of injury and help with lean definition after you cut down your bodyfat.
So always remember TIME UNDER TENSION!