The Best Abs Workout | How To Get Abs On Fire!

You have probably heard the phrase "no pain no gain", well when your doing an abs workout you should feel like they're on fire! We will show you the best ab exercises below!

When you first train abs you don't want to over do it, because you could injure yourself, so you should start off with light weight and build up progressively and add more and more weight (and exercise variation) with each workout!

How To Get Abs:

Just like any other muscle, the abs need to be trained as well, a good abs workout that can be done at home is also shown further down. However because they are in a place of high body fat storage, an appropriate level of fat loss needs to be obtained before the abs will shine through!

Of course, because the abs need to grow before they show, you need to supplement adequate protein and calories to your program before you cut down and let them abs shine, my bulking program may help you achieve this!

Best Ab Exercises:

The abs workout shown below is a good routine to train your abs, you should aim to do 3-4 Sets with 6-12 Reps of each exercise, you don't need to have access to weights or a gym (you only need an ab roller wheel), these can all be done at home.

Sits-Ups:

The sit-up involves both the abdominals and other stabilising muscles, such as those in the chest, neck and lower-back, as well as hip flexors and lower-leg muscles if you hook your feet under something. For this reason it shouldn't be a main choice for an abs workout, but more of an additional ab exercise.

Crunches:

Crunches are a similar abs workout to the sit-up, just with a lesser range of motion, but during a crunch you should keep your lower back on the floor. Crunches are a good way of isolating the rectus abdominis muscle, also known as the six pack!

Planks:

The plank requires you to have your elbows on the floor underneath you and your feet extended outwards, essentially so you're holding yourself up. This abs workout activates most of the the muscles in your legs, glutes, back, arms and core. However, the traditional plank is not that great compared to the rest of the ab exercises, so instead i recommend the long-lever plank! This version is similar to the traditional plank, but instead of having your elbows 90 degrees under you, they should be slightly further out in-front of you.

Long-Lever Improved Plank by ncbi

 Mountain Climbers:

Mountain climbers are similar to the plank, but instead of holding your body up on the spot, you're moving your legs forwards and backwards on the spot, as if you was trying to climb a mountain, its like jogging on the spot but in plank form and on your hands. Similar to the sit-up, this abs workout activates most muscles in your body, so you should count it as another additional ab exercise!

There are also many more ab exercises you can include in your abs workout program, these include the ab roller wheel, hanging knee-up, reverse crunch, ab windshield wipers and more!

People often say that a good compound movement such as the bench press, deadlift and squat will improve abs, while this is partly true that it will increase overall core strength and stability, it will not directly cause significant hypertrophy of the abs, you will need a good abs workout for this! EMG data supports this argument, concluding that the squat is ineffective in producing adequate rectus abdominis activation.

EMG & Kinetic Comparison of Overhead and Back Squat

Also because some of the common ab exercises are also isometric exercises (such as the plank), we need to change the workout up a bit and include more sets of non-isometric exercises, such as the sit-up, crunches, mountain climbers, ab roller wheel etc. Also, similarly to other exercises and workouts, stick to the 6-12 rep range and a total of 10-15 sets of non-isometric exercises depending on your experience with abs, you can add isometric workouts, such as the plank, on top of the other exercises!

The Best Ab Exercises You Can Do:

• Sit-up
• Crunches
• Long-Lever Plank
• Mountain Climber
• Ab Roller Wheel

So in summary, a combination of crunches, sit-ups, mountain climbers, ab wheeler's and isometric exercises, such as the modified long-lever plank, should yield good results and contribute to your abs workout, soon you may even have a six pack! Good luck and be sure to always warm up prior to any ab exercises that you do, or any exercises at that!

Best Daily Protein Intake To Build Muscle? | 10 High-Protein Foods

You want to know your recommended daily protein intake for muscle building, or what foods are high in protein or how much protein is too much? Well read on and ill tell you everything you need to know about protein!

What Is Protein?

Protein is an important macronutrient and is considered essential for building muscle. Protein is comprised of several amino acids, which are the organic compounds made up of Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Oxygen and Sulphur. These amino acids are classified into three groups, which consist of essential, non-essential an conditional:

• Essential Amino Acids are those which cannot be made by the body and must be acquired from your diet. The 9 essential amino acids are: Histidine, Isoleucine, Leucine, Lysine, Methionine, Phenylalanine, Threonine, Tryptophan and Valine.
• Non-Essential Amino Acids are those which are made within the body. There are 11 non-essential amino acids: Alanine, Arginine, Asparagine, Aspartic Acid, Cysteine, Glutamic Acid, Glutamine, Glycine, Proline, Serine and Tyrosine.
• Conditional Amino Acids are those needed in times of illness or stress. These are Arginine, Cysteine, Glutamine, Tyrosine, Glycine, Ornithine, Proline and Serine!

The amino acids that make up protein are responsible for many effects and roles within the body. They are the building blocks of protein and are needed for the synthesis of neurotransmitters, hormones, they are involved in cell signalling and many other functions in the body.

How Much Protein Do I Need Per Day?

The NHS recommends a daily protein intake of around 50 Grams per day, and this may be true for most sedentary people just wishing to stay healthy. However, bodybuilders (and anyone else living an active lifestyle) wishing to gain muscle will probably want even more!

Most sources agree anywhere between 1.2 and 1.7 Grams per Kilogram of body weight is a sufficient daily protein intake and any amount of protein above this is not needed and the benefits diminish rapidly, and may even result in ill-effects. However, in contrary to this, 2 Grams per Kilogram was shown to be safe for long-term use, even 3.5 Grams of protein per Kilogram was shown to be safe with relatively minor side effects.

However, based on other studies, it seems as though the most optimum daily protein intake in order to maximise muscle protein synthesis has been about 1.6 Grams per Kilogram of body weight. This doesn't necessarily mean that 1.6g/kg of protein is the universal limit but it is possibly the most "bang for your buck" in terms of muscle protein synthesis!

Safety of Protein Intake

Daily Protein Intake & Other Information

What Are Some High Protein Foods?

Protein is abundant in many foods and is relatively cheap to get! I have listed some foods below to help you reach your daily protein intake target.

1. Eggs are a great source of protein and also have a great array of other useful nutrients, such as vitamins & minerals!
2. Almonds, Cashews and similar nuts are high in protein, the protein in almonds makes up 13% of its calories and 11% in cashews!
3. Chicken is among the most popular foods which are high in protein, and for good reason too, it is relatively cheap, high in protein, tastes great and easy to cook!
4. Oats & Porridge is a great meal to start the day with, high in protein, good array of complex carbohydrates and tastes amazing!
5. Yogurts, Milk and other dairy products are great for getting your daily protein intake in, they are cheap and are good additions to other foods!
6. Broccoli is among the highest protein rich vegetables and also has a high nutrient density and contains many bio-active chemicals!
7. Tuna is another great way of meeting your daily protein intake! Protein makes up 94% of its total calories!
8. Whey Protein and other protein supplements. They are cheap, easy to make and very convenient, just drink it like any other drink and within a few minutes you have just consumed 15, 20, 25 Grams (or more) of protein!
9. Shrimp is another high in protein food, it is also a very nutrient dense food!
10. Pumpkin Seeds and other edible seeds are also high in protein, and once again nutrient dense!

How Much Protein Is Too Much?

So, here's a scenario; you've reached your daily

Inprotein intake but you still have half the day left.. what do you do? Do you not eat protein? Do you eat protein? Well you can carry on eating protein as normal, because as shown above it is perfectly safe to eat protein, even up to as much as 3.5 Grams per Kilogram of body weight! Which is a lot of protein.

But say you do eat 200 Grams of protein when your used to just eating 50 Grams a day, the worst that will happen is you get an upset stomach and the possible issues that come with this, other than this you are safe!

Overall, 1.6 Grams per Kilogram of body weight is usually agreed upon as being the optimal daily protein intake, sufficient to maximise muscle protein synthesis!

Beta-Alanine | The Best Pre Workout Supplement?

What Is Beta-Alanine:

Beta-alanine is a modified version of the amino acid alanine. It has been shown to be useful and effective as a pre workout supplement, when ingested it converts to a molecule called carnosine, this acts as an acidic buffer inside the body. Carnosine is stored within cells and is released in response to pH drops in the body.

Heightened stores of carnosine can protect against diet induced drops in pH, such as those during ketosis, as well as protect from exercise induced lactic acid production, which is what is responsible for that burning feeling you get during a set!

Beta-Alanine As A Pre Workout:

Beta-alanine has been shown to improve muscular endurance, some people report being able to perform one or two extra reps when training in sets of 8-15 reps. Beta-alanine supplementation may also improve moderate-high intensity cardiovascular performance, such as running and sprinting.

Pre workout usage of beta-alanine is a very common way to use this supplement, it is generally dosed at 2-5 Grams a day, this can be taken all in one dose safely or split into multiple smaller doses! However, there is one side effect which is prominent, its called paresthesia, it is a tingling effect which some people often get after taking beta-alanine, it is completely harmless though.

Effects Of Beta-Alanine Supplementation:

The benefits of beta-alanine greatly outweigh the potential side effects of this supplement, which is why I recommend it! It is great for use as a pre-workout, it may help build muscle and also has a fairly large array of other benefits:

• Beta-alanine may slightly improve muscular endurance. A meta-analysis was done to assess this, which resulted in a 2.85% median increase in performance!
• May be effective at reducing fatigue and increasing time-until-exhaustion.
• Possibly reduces fat mass and may possess a hypertrophic effect, however this could be due to higher work volume, it isn't clear.

The side effects of beta-alanine are almost non-existent and currently consists of just paresthesia, the tingling effect some people feel, which by the way is completely harmless.

Overall beta-alanine has proven itself to be among the top muscle building and pre workout supplements available. Capable of improving muscular endurance, reducing fatigue and increasing lean mass and improving body composition, as shown in the studies above!

Does Creatine Build Muscle? | The Benefits Of Creatine!

What is Creatine?

Creatine, a widely researched supplement, is a molecule that is produced in the body from amino acids. It's mostly made within the liver and, to a lesser extent, in the kidneys and pancreas. It stores high-energy phosphate groups in the form of a molecule called phosphocreatine which is then donated to ADP (Adenosine Diphosphate), regenerating it to ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate), the primary energy source in the body. This role in energy production is needed during situations of high energy demand, such as intense physical activity.

Creatine Benefits:

• An improvement in strength and power during resistance exercise.
• Creatine may modestly increase lean mass.
• A small improvement in anaerobic performance.
• A reduction in mental fatigue has been seen in various situations, such as demanding mental activity, sleep deprivation and brain injury.
• Creatine may improve working memory.

Creatine is a great addition to your supplement stack for an overall performance increase and people generally interested in improving their lifestyle. Its side effect profile is low and not many side effects have been reported. Creatine increases the levels of creatinine in the body, which is commonly a marker for poor kidney function, however the increase in creatinine isn't because of kidney damage, but simply because more of the creatinine is being produced in the first place. Other than the minor possible gastrointestinal issues from excessive creatine consumption, it is probably safe for almost anyone to use!

Does Creatine Build Muscle?

We will look at the question whether or not creatine might build muscle. Below are the known mechanisms which may be involved in the apparent hypertrophic effect of creatine on muscle mass.

• Other than non-responders, creatine increases the muscle creatine content.
• Appears to retain water within the muscle, due to Increased ATP.
• May be some degree of muscle damage protection.
• Decreases muscle fatigue, possibly allowing for greater power output and more reps.
• May cause a very slight testosterone spike.
• May reduce Myostatin levels.
• May increase Growth Hormone levels.
• May improve glycogen re-synthesis.
• May increase myonuclei proliferation.
• May improve muscle blood flow.

So it seems safe to say that Creatine may increase muscle mass for people who respond well to the supplementation of it! There seems to be relatively low side effect profile earn creatine is used properly and that you drink plenty of water with it.

How Much Creatine Should You Take?

Creatine is usually dosed in grams and comes in the form of Creatine Monohydrate. Most people take between 1-10 Grams per day and around 3-5 Grams is optimal, however some people take up to 25 Grams per day in the "loading phase" for 1-2 Weeks and then continue to use a "maintenance dosage" of 3-5 Grams for as long as they want. There isn't much of a difference between the two ways of dosing creatine, other than quicker onset of results with loading creatine, but if you have to compete in a month time you may want to load creatine to be at optimum levels for the competition, but remember, bodybuilding is a marathon and not a sprint.

My information came from multiple sources but most comes from below:

1. Creatine Meta-Analysis
2. Examine Creatine