Getting Big the Right Way

I spent most of my life as a scrawny - mom's word - kid. I have a small frame and the muscle structure to match. I have gotten used to the idea that there will always be someone stronger than I. I learned to deal with this in two ways. First, I focused on the things my body could do well, such as running and biking. Second, I let them do all the heavy work. Turns out, I am kinda lazy. I understand what drives the guys that want to change themselves and get big.

Adding muscle when you are small takes more than going to the gym a few times and looking at yourself doing curls in the mirror. You need to work as hard to get big as most need to lose weight, and it will take longer. The first thing to come to grips with is the fact that you are an animal. Nature does not like waste - how many fat monkeys do see? When you gain a pound of muscle it requires more calories to maintain, so your body will not want to keep it long. You have to commit to this new lifestyle as a permanent part of your life. If you don't, your work will be lost almost right away.

Once you have decided that this is your goal, and you are training to achieve it, there are some supplements that can help you out. I have written about the core four, protein, creatine, glutamine, and arginine in the past but you will need more help to get to your goals. I would look first at your post work out/ recovery shake. I suggest that you get 30 grams of protein with about 60 grams of carbs in that shake. I would then add 5 grams of creatine. That seems to work the best for the guys I help. Any more protein and it will likely be flushed down the drain. The carbs are needed to recharge your muscles and control your insulin. Most people do not realize that insulin is the most anabolic hormone in the body. Controlling your insulin is a great way to improve the gains you will earn from you workouts.

Ideally, that will be the only shake of the day. You need to eat your calories, not drink them. Eat a balanced diet that has enough calories based on your metabolic rate to gain muscle at a controlled, slow and steady pace. Fast gains are fast loses. Remember you are change your body and it has been many years in the making already.

Krill Oil for Non-Belugas

“Which is better: krill or fish oil?” This is a question that I have faced almost daily for the better part of two years. When Dr. Oz gave his endorsement, it did not make my life any easier. I have asked the very same question to the people who produce the products we are deciding between.

My first warning about krill oil came 18 months ago when I asked 3 respected producers why I should take krill oil instead of the high quality fish oil supplement I had been using. Everything I had read up till then had indicated that I wanted to take between 1.5 and 2 grams of EPA and DHA per day. To achieve that in krill would require baleen http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baleen . I might be overestimating. My best received response was about the superior absorption of krill. The most common response was a condescending smile, and friendly pity. I guess I have that kinda face.

Well, two years later, I feel confident when people ask me that question. Krill is an outstanding source of astaxanthin, an outstanding antioxidant that I place a very high value on. http://www.naturalnews.com/astaxanthin.html For the omega 3 fatty acids, however, it is just not a practical source. Even it's better absorption does not over come its low amounts per dose of EPA and DHA. When you couple that to the fact that only 1 ship, not company but ship, has been certified as sustainably harvesting the krill, my decision is clear.

I do not take krill because it has the potential to do more harm to the environment than benefit to me.

Supporting the Whole You

The other day I woke up with a headache. I was away from home and did not have any solutions for the pain with me. I was not doing anything mentally stimulating, so there I sat with the pain and boredom. It made me think about what I would do if someone had approached me with this same issue.

Often people want a remedy for the pain, something that will work right away. When this happens I tell them I take aspirin. I love the look of shocked horror on their faces! After they recover I start the real process to help them.

Treating a symptom like a headache and calling it a cure is much the same as using one of the spray can flat tire repair kits to fix a flat. It does the job, but you still have a nail in your tire. A headache, for example could be caused by many things, such as excess stress, exhaustion, too much alcohol, or getting hit with a frying pan. It makes sense to most of us to prevent the headaches when we can. If most of your headaches come from flying cookware then you would naturally learn to duck and maybe buy a hard hat. Hangovers are prevented just as easily. Nobody does it, but, hey, at least it more fun the the Calphalon assault.

Why, then, would we not take the same steps for a systemic cause? Helping the body cope with chronic stress can have an impact on the frequency of the headaches. Use an adaptogen, such as rhodiola, to support your body's response to stress. If your sleep has been poor lately, using supplements like L-theonine, L-trytophan, or ZMA can help you return to regular sleep.

I know that when I do not eat correctly my blood sugar can drop and a headache soon follows. Regular use of supplements like cinnamon and chromium when combined with proper diet can help support blood sugar within normal levels.

Treating the symptom with something to mask it does not really help support your health. It is up to you to look for what is causing the symptom. Take the remedy of your choice to help with the immediate problem, just don't forget to look for the underling problem to maintain your better health.

What Does It All Mean

Many of us have heard the terms Omega 3, Omega 6, or Omega 9. A lot know that Omega 3s come mainly from fish oils, while Omega 6 and 9 come from plant and farm animal sources. Moo, Oink. Few of us, including me, knew what the 3, 6, or 9 meant.

The number in the name refers to the double bond, of carbon I believe, in the fatty acid. Omega 3 refers to fatty acids with the third double bond, omega 6 is the sixth double bond, and omega 9 is the, wait for it, ninth double bond. There is also a supplemental omega 7, but I figured you could run that down for yourselves.

Why is that important? To most of us, including me, it isn't. Frankly, I am pleased you made it this far in the post. If you are really interested or have lots of spare brain cells you can also look into the “cis” bonds. For myself, I am more interested in the way the body reacts to them, and uses them.

To simplify things, if you think of omega 3s as fish oils and omega 6s as vegetable oils, it will be easier for you to control their places in your life. This is not a correct way to look at them. Omega 3, 6, 7, and 9 are present together in most sources, but for ease in dietary concerns I will paint with a broad brush.

Omega 6 from things like corn and canola oils, which are two of the most common cooking oils, are big players in the diet of many of us. These omega 6's, when they out proportion omega 3's, have a profoundly inflammatory effect in the body. They may also create, in the right situations, arachidonic acid. No, this is not how Peter Parker got his mojo. Arachidonic acid is a powerful inflammatory omega 6 that has been tied to things like brittle muscle cells and prostate cancer.

Omega 3 from fish oils, and vegetable sources like flax and chia, support a healthy response to inflammation. They support the cardiovascular system, brain, eyes, skin, and joints. They also help with mood and the ability of the mind to focus.

Most of us do not cook with fish or flax oils, so how do we maintain the healthy 2 to 1 ratio of omega 3 to omega 6, you may ask? Well, I suggest you stop deep frying. It seems like a smart ass thing to say, but, it is really still to common a way to cook. Pan fry, if you must, but use lower temperature oils like olive and coconut. These tend to be better for you and taste better as well. I also supplement with omega 3 every day. I try to be sure my total of EPA and DHA for any day is over 1.1 grams.

Inflammation is linked to every disease as a contributing factor. It inhibits the bodies ability to deal with stress, toxins, and life in general. Why not be sure to keep such a simple problem in check?