Why “Bulkier” May be Healthier

While some swear by cardio and strict diets, doing everything they can to stay skinny, others hit the gym to lift weights and bulk up, sometimes paying a little less attention to the number on the scale. Is there a benefit to one over the other? Healthy is healthy, after all. Well, as it turns out, one strategy may just prove to be more beneficial than the other.

According to the study published in the American Journal of Cardiology, people with a higher muscle mass may have a lower risk of heart disease and death, regardless of how much body fat they may have. Researchers divided 6,400 people into four categories: low muscle/low fat mass (“skinny fat”), low muscle/high fat mass (“fat”), high muscle/low fat mass (“athletic”), and high muscle/high fat mass (“fit and fat”). It may not come as much of a surprise to learn that those in the “athletic” group had the lowest risk of death and the best heart health. What may come as a surprise, however, is that the “fit and fat” group came in a close second, far ahead of the “skinny fat” or “fat” groups when it came to health.

From the study: “Regardless of a person’s level of fat mass, a higher level of muscle mass helps reduce the risk of death, […] highlighting the importance of maintaining muscle mass, rather than focusing on weight loss, in order to prolong life.” Turns out it may just be worth putting some priority on lifting weights and building muscle over losing weight or staying skinny.

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Is There Really Such a Thing as a Protein Window?

How often have you seen someone prepare their protein shake in the locker room? Or worse yet, in the gym itself as they prepare to do their last set, determined not to miss out on the “protein window.” Often referred to as the “anabolic window,” this so-called “protein window” is thought to be the period of time after a workout in which the consumption of protein is most helpful in the process of regenerating and building stronger muscles. But is it fact or myth? Will you stay scrawny if you don’t consume some protein within that window?

Technically speaking, yes, consuming protein after a workout is an efficient time to do so. Your muscles have worked hard, and they need to refuel, after all. But the so-called “protein window” doesn’t just apply to immediately after a workout, it applies a few hours before and a few hours after. That is to say, if you had a protein-rich meal right before your workout, you would need less protein after. Likewise, if you wait 30 min to shower and get dressed instead of consuming your protein right away, it won’t make a huge difference. It’s also worth noting that the timing of your protein intake isn’t as important to muscle development as your overall protein intake throughout the day. So if you’re pounding back a protein shake right after your workout but eating nothing but carbs the rest of the day, odds are you won’t see the results you’re hoping for.

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Exercising in Your 30s

For most of us, after completing our education in our 20s and taking some time to start on a career path, our 30s represent our prime earning and working years. Thos prime working years, however, sometimes come at the expense of our fitness, which can not only make our 30s a little more difficult than they need to be, but can also bring about some serious health problems down the line including, but not limited to, obesity and heart disease. To learn how to balance work and exercise, and to better prepare yourself for latter years, here are a few tips for exercising in your 30s:

Cardiovascular conditioning can’t be overlooked. Many of us live sedentary lives, with many commuting to work by car and opting to take the elevator over the stairs. Such a lifestyle can take a toll on our cardiovascular conditioning, potentially contributing to heart disease down the road. Taking time to ensure at least 30 minutes of cardiovascular activity like swimming, running, or cycling, at least 3 times a week, will go a long way towards keeping our hearts in good health.

Posture. Many of us work desk jobs, and those countless hours hunched over a laptop can take a toll on our postures, leading to neck and back pain that will only worsen with time. Ensure proper posture starts with being mindful of it, taking breaks from the screen, paying attention to how we’re sitting, even setting hourly alarms to remind ourselves to sit up straight. It’ll definitely pay off in the long run.

Use it or lose it. We lose muscle up to four times faster than we gain it, and it’s much harder to gain muscle later on in life. Staying fit in our 30s, however, will ensure we slow down that muscle loss well into our later years.

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The Brain Boosting Effects of Exercise

We all know the physical benefits of exercise, but how many of us think about the cognitive benefits? According to Richard Maddock, a professor of psychiatry at the University of California, Davis: “There is a very consistent finding that the brain works better after exercise,” although it’s not a magic bullet.

Experts warn against expecting too much from exercise, at least when it comes to the associated brain boost. Exercising won’t increase IQ, for example, or anything of that nature, but it can create moderate benefits, benefits which will improve cognition not just in the moment but for a time after the exercise has stopped.

Just why that is, however, has been difficult to figure outt. “Few studies have really looked at what’s actually going on in the brain while we’re moving,” says Tom Bullock, a postdoc at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Still, Bullock and fellow researcher Barry Giesbrecht, a professor of psychology and brain sciences at UC Santa Barbara, envision a day where exercise is prescribed instead of drugs to battle the cognitive decline that comes with age.

“Exercise is a potential prophylactic against some aspects of age-related cognitive decline,” Giesbrecht says. “When you think of the fact that we have an aging demographic and the high prevalence of depression, there might be simpler treatments out there, like exercise.”

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Jillian Michaels is Still The Queen of Quick and Effective Workouts

Looking for a quick and effective workout? Jillian Michaels has you covered. The personal trainer and “Biggest Loser” host recently launched her My Fitness app, which will allow users to customise workouts based on their needs, goals, and experience levels.

“I’m kind of the OG when it comes to the 20-minute workout. I put out a DVD 15 years ago called the 30 Day Shred,” Michaels told Muscle & Fitness. “Everybody was doing 45 minutes, an hour. These were 20 minutes. It’s the best-selling DVD of all-time because it was the first one to do 20-minute workouts—and it got results.”

Michaels is taking the same approach to her app, which is geared towards the quick and effective workouts most people try to cram into their busy schedules, many of whom don’t have time to hit the gym.

“Until recently with this kind of technology, you could get a great workout, but you couldn’t personalize that,” says Michaels. “What the app allows me to do is take the science of fitness and the science of nutrition, and wrap it around the individual. They can come to me and say, ‘I’m a beginner. I’m an advanced athlete. I have no equipment. I have these three pieces of equipment,’” she adds. “Based on their needs, their goals, who they are, where they’re starting from, what they like, what they don’t like, what they have access to—I can, essentially, personally train them with the app.”

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Alternatives to Ab Crunches

Who wouldn’t love six pack abs? Problem is, they’re a lot of work, not just to achieve but also to maintain. Along the way on your journey to the six pack you may encounter the dreaded abdominal crunch, a torturous exercise some of us may remember from high school gym class. But are crunches absolutely necessary to get six pack abs? We don’t think so, and here are some alternatives:

Planks. There’s no doubt that planks target the abdominal area, but they do so much more, engaging more of your core and incorporating an element of balance. Planks also help burn calories, and there are countless variations to keep your body from adapting too quickly and to keep you from getting bored.

Ab rollers. These handy little devices can be found at most gyms, but they’re so inexpensive that it’s worthwhile having one at home and sneaking in an extra little ab workout every now and again. They’re great for targeting lower abs where stubborn fat can be hard to get rid of, and they’ll definitely have you feeling the burn in short order!

Dumbbell side-bands. With so many exercises geared towards the upper or lower abs, it can be easy to forget all about the obliques! That’s where dumbbell side bends come into play, working a section of abs that often get neglected. Don’t feel like heading into the gym? You can substitute the dumbbells for a backpack full of books!

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Should You Exercise Every Day?

If you read the bible, even God took a day to rest, so you should too, right? But here’s the thing; exercise is a lifestyle choice that takes a lot of hard work and dedication to turn into a habit. While conventional wisdom may dictate that your body needs some time to rest and recover in order to grow stronger, we’d like to put forth a different theory: You should exercise every single day. Now let’s set some ground rules.

Rest and recovery are important. Your body and your muscles do in fact need time to recover, but odds are you won’t be working the same muscle groups every day. Really want big biceps? That’s great, but you probably shouldn’t be working them more than 2-3 times a week, and you can work other body parts in the meantime.

You don’t always have to exercise to the point of exhaustion. Even bodybuilders can’t give it their max 7 days a week. Exercise doesn’t necessarily mean working your muscles to the point of failure, it can mean a light jog, a fun swim, or even a long walk. The point is to favor activity over time spent on the couch snacking on chips or candy.

Listen to your body. If your legs are sore, it may be a sign to reschedule leg day, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get some quality time in with the rowing machine or on the bench press. Adapting your routine to what your body is telling you that day is an important part of preventing injuries, and it’ll go a long way in making daily exercise a sustainable practice.

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The Keys to Staying Focused While Training

It’s not always easy to stay focused when you’re training, but here are four tips that may help.

Set your goals. It’s easy to lose focus when you haven’t set specific goals. Everyone wants to be in better shape, but when you set a goal with measurable results your training will feel much more rewarding when you attain those results! Want to lose weight? Set yourself a 5 or 10 pound weight loss within a given time. Want to get stronger? Set your sights on being able to lift a set amount of weight.

Make your goals realistic. You can’t be muscle bound in minutes, you won’t have a beach body by your first session, and you won’t drop a lot of weight right away. Goals take time to achieve, and setting realistic goals will go a long way in staying motivated, whereas unrealistic goals will often lead to giving up.

Develop a routine. Once you have your goals set, form a plan on how you’ll achieve them, and stick to that plan. Planning on going to the gym? Set a dedicated time each day and stick to that time, you’ll find that making it a routine will be the best way to stick to it in the long run.

Acknowledge that there will be bumps in the road. No plan is perfect, and sometimes life gets in the way of even the best of plans. You might get sick or injured, you might have a busy week, or something else may pop up to stop you from training. Don’t worry, these things happen, and it’s important to get right back to it as soon as you can when they do.

You Don’t Need a Workout in Order to Exercise

What is exercise to you? Ask most people and you’ll get the common types of answers you’d normally associate with exercise: Running, cycling, swimming, weight lifting, crossfit, yoga, or just about any other dedicated form of moving your body and elevating your heart rate. But what if you didn’t need to engage in any of these activities in order to exercise? Sounds impossible? According to a paper published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, it’s not.

Labelled high-intensity incidental physical activity, the paper suggests that everyday activities like taking the stairs, sprinting for the bus, walking uphill, or carrying heavy grocery bags home, is enough physical activity to produce health benefits, even if it’s only done in 30 second bursts throughout the day. Considered to be a form of high-intensity interval training (HIIT), these day to day activities can add up to big benefits down the road.

Now let’s be honest here, taking the stairs a few times a day isn’t going to work off that double bacon cheeseburger you had for lunch, the decadent chocolate cake that followed your dinner, or even that can of Coke you had as a pick-me-up on your work break. What it will do, however, is contribute to overall good health for people who already make sensible lifestyle choices, and emphasize the importance of leading an active life.

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What Equipment do You Need for a Great Home Gym?

Let’s be honest, we all have busy lives, and some of us just aren’t making it into the gym. Gyms can also be pricey, and if you’ll only be making it in a couple of times a week, it may not be worth it. So what equipment would you need to effectively exercise at home? Let’s have a look at some of the options:

Resistance bands. Perfect for a wide range of exercises and taking up minimal space, resistance bands make for great exercise equipment and an affordable alternative to expensive equipment and gym memberships.

Pull up bars. It’s often difficult to perform effective back exercises at home, but with a pull up bar and a common doorway the door to a variety of great exercises wings wide open, so to speak.

A yoga mat. Yoga mats are ideal for a lot more than just yoga, they offer a good grip for any exercise that requires your feet to be firmly planted (hint: a lot of them do) and they’re also ideal for stretching.

Nothing it all. At the end of the day, you don’t actually need any special equipment to get a great workout at home. Bodyweight exercises can be found in abundance online, YouTube and other streaming sites can be great motivating and teaching tools, and equipment can always be picked up down the road.

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