Bodybuilding Tips to Build Muscles & Lose Weight

 

Tips to Build Muscles & Lose Weight

Weight loss is not only about fat loss, it also implies building muscles to give you a lean built. Or else you would be a stick with baggy clothes.

Genetics and Bodybuilding
Genetics play a major role in physical build. Building muscle is not an overnight effort; one has to rigourously work towards achieving it. Eating proper food, right form of exercise, dedication and consistency will contribute in building muscle. One should take professional help when trying to build muscle.

Diet is the most essential thing that will supplement your exercise regime to a build muscular body. The more protein your body stores, larger your muscles will grow, hence more intake of protein enriched food is suggested. Increase your calorie intake but ensure you are eating clean and not too much.

High-calorie, high-protein foods and beverages, such as a protein shake with two scoops of whey protein. Eating enough protein is also important to help you maintain your muscle mass.

In order to build muscle, you need complete proteins; these are found in eggs, meat, fish, cheese, milk and most other animal products. One should spread out these foods throughout the day and should have them accordingly.

Get protein into your breakfast. Omelets, protein shakes (or smoothies) and cottage cheese are great sources of protein. If you wish to gain muscle, your diet should include the following food products in various combinations.

These foods should be consumed in various combinations:

Red meat: Beef, pork, lamb, venison, bison, etc
Fish: Tuna, salmon, swordfish, bass, trout, mackerel, etc
Poultry breast: Chicken, turkey, duck, etc
Eggs: The yolk is high in cholesterol, but one or two a day isn't unhealthy.
Dairy: Milk, cheese, cottage cheese, yogurt, etc
Whey: Protein shakes rely on whey protein regularly.

It is important to have carbohydrates so that your body can tap into glycogen (energy) stores within your muscles while you are working out. If you do not eat enough carbohydrates your body will not have energy reserves and will break down your muscles instead.

Try to select carbohydrates low on the Glycemic Index, which are healthier and release their energy more slowly below are good example:

Brown Basmati Rice
Rolled Oats
Sweet Potato

Eating a carbohydrates and protein rich meal immediately after the workout, helps in gaining muscle. Post workout, carbohydrates help deliver the amino acids into muscles by boosting insulin levels. Insulin is an anabolic hormone, which drives nutrients into the muscle cells, leading to muscle growth.

Slim Down Your Face With Yoga

 

 

Have the adjectives 'cute, baby-face' stuck to you for too long? Well, there are many who are unhappy with their chubby face and tend to appear overweight because of this, despite their body being thin.


There are treatments for this, including using botox to paralyse facial muscles in order to make it look slimmer and shapely. However, both surgical and non-surgical procedures are painful and expensive. A natural and inexpensive way out is yoga. It may not be as quick as the former procedures when it comes to immediate visible results, but is painless and lasts.

"Yoga is safe and can be done within the confines of your home," says Dr Amrapali Patil, yoga and weight management consultant. Yogacharya Shelly Khera states, "Every yoga pose that ups the circulation and makes blood go to your head and stretches the neck, chin and facial muscles, helps to slim down and sculpt the face."

However, she cautions, "Do not expect overnight results. Every single day for at least three months if you do yogasanas you will find that your face has lost unwanted fat." She suggests poses like simha mudra, kakaki mudra, forward bending postures, certain neck and chin stretches, mastyasana etc work well. Here are some yoga poses that you must add to your daily exercise regime:

Simha mudra or the lion pose
This pose stimulates and tones the entire facial musculature and is considered the best facial asana.
How to do it:
Kneel on a mat. Straighten and place your hands on your knees. Take a deep breath, steadily, without gulping air in. Now drop your jaw and open your mouth wide. Simultaneously, stick your tongue out forcefully and downwards towards your chin. As you breath out through the mouth make a sound from your throat which simulates the roar of a lion. Repeat this exercise at least four to five times.

Jivha bandha or the locked tongue pose
"This is one of the classic yoga poses which not only helps to get a chiselled face but shapes the jaw line," says Patil. Like Simha Mudra this pose too helps in toning the facial muscles. Jivha Bandha also help in regulating blood pressure.


How to do it:
Sit in the Lotus pose or Padmasana. Alternatively, even Sukhasana or sitting cross-legged on the floor will do. If uncomfortable, you can sit on a chair. Place your hands on your lap or knees in a relaxed way. Now press the tip of the tongue against the upper plate — it is like trying to swallow your tongue. With the tongue thus placed open the mouth completely till you feel adequate stretch in the region of face and throat. Unlike Simha Mudra, in this asana breathe through the nose. Repeat three to four times.

Jalandhar Bandha or chin lock
This is yet another classic Hatha yoga pose. Though used for the purpose of meditation in traditional yoga, this pose also facilitates the shaping of the face and tones the facial and jaw line muscles and corrects a double chin. This asana also helps people with thyroid disorders.

How to do it:
Sit on the mat in the Lotus pose or in Sukhasana. Breathe in deeply. Place your hands on the knees and lift the shoulders up and tilt the body slightly forwards. Now press the chin firmly against the chest or between the two collar bones such that the oesophagus is firmly closed. Hold the breath as long as comfortable. To release the asana lift the head, breath normally and return to the starting position. Repeat.

Keep in mind
- Breathe normally when you are doing yoga poses.
- Relax for a minute between each pose by breathing in and out slowly.

5 Myths About Getting Flat Stomach

 

 

We all want to have that sexy flat stomach, especially when the summer is near, and we are willing to work for it. The problem is that lots of people are wasting their efforts simply because they have a wrong information about getting flat stomach. Here’s 5 myths you should not believe about it:

Extra Crunches for A Flat Stomach

Extra crunches don’t lead to tight abs. The truth is that everyone has ab muscles. They just stay hidden underneath a thick layer of fat on the stomach. If you want a toned look, you need to focus on burning the layer of fat that may be covering your belly. The key is to not obsess about crunches, but focus on burning fat.

Starve Yourself to get A Flat Stomach

At times, you may think that starving yourself is the only way to lose weight and get a flat stomach. Starving yourself is not only ineffective, but also dangerous for your overall well-being. You may think that severe calorie reduction may lead to better and quick results. It is important to understand that the human body is complex. As a result, starving yourself may disrupt your body’s metabolism. This will only slow down results. It is important not to starve yourself, but eat wholesome meals after short intervals of time. Eating less may be the key to weight loss, but starving yourself is not.

Diet Pills and Supplements

Well, diet pills and supplements can be quite tempting. There are many pills and supplements which claim to give you a flat stomach. However, you should not fall for it as there is no ‘magic pill’ available in the market. In fact, diet pills and supplements are more likely to hurt your pocket than showing any results on your belly. Instead of popping a pill, it will be better to burn calories with intense exercise.

Packaged Diet Products for Better Results

There are many packaged foods which are considered to be a solution for weight loss. Usually, such packaged products are packed with refined sugar. There are also some artificial ingredients which your body does not really need. Some ingredients in packaged foods don’t lead to weight loss. In fact, they may have a high-calorie content. You should try to avoid packaged foods and stick to a nutritious diet. Whole grains can be a good choice.

Avoid Carbohydrates for Tight Abs

Many notions and misconceptions make you think that carbohydrates are bad for your health. However, if you are one of the people who believe this, it is quite unfortunate. You can eat carbohydrates while slimming down. As mentioned earlier, it is important to avoid packaged foods and stick with oatmeal, whole grains and brown rice. In other words, you should stick with wholesome carbs rather than giving up all carbohydrates.