how to get ripped
Many inexperienced (sometimes even experienced!) gym regulars believe that muscles grow while lifting weights. However lifting weights forms only a small fraction of the muscle building process. Muscle development takes place at night during deep sleep when the body synthesizes new cells with nutrients from our diet. Therefore nutrition forms a very important part of a bodybuilding program.

The body utilizes nutrients in food to perform daily metabolic and what’s commonly referred to as the “wear and tear processes”. With bodybuilding, additional strain is put on the body to make new muscle tissues. Therefore the nutrient requirements also shoots up to stay with the demand.

The best bodybuilding nutrition comes from a balanced intake of carbohydrates, adequate protein, vitamins, minerals, fats and large amounts of water. So if you are serious about getting lean and ripped it’s time to say goodbye to mayo burgers, colas and other synthetic foods. Adopt eating habits imbibing fruits, whole grains, milk, eggs and fresh farm products.

How much protein do you need?

Your growing muscles need amino acids to create new tissues. The amino acids are provided by protein in diet. There is a lot of debate on the exact quantity of protein required in bodybuilding. The caution to maintain is that extreme amounts of protein in the diet can cause gastric and renal complications. Recent studies have suggested that a protein intake of 1 to 1.4 grams per unit of body weight is adequate to sustain the bodybuilding process. This means that the protein requirement of a 70 kg individual should be around 70 to 98 grams. To give an estimate of the amount involved consider the following: A 100 gm chicken breast has 22 grams of protein, a glass of milk has 8 grams,an egg approximately 5 grams and a slice bread 3 grams.

A word of caution against the tide of bodybuilding supplements in markets. Many times you come across advertisements proclaiming, ‘Gain 20 pounds of muscle in 3 months flat!’. Stay clear of these money hungry advertisers. Building lean muscle takes time and effort. Making use of synthetic products which alter body’s natural mechanism would offset what should be your real purpose in bodybuilding which is to keep the body fit and healthy.

Lastly in bodybuilding it’s not, ‘the more the better’. Rather it is ‘the more precise the better’. Don’t over exert, eat balanced food and include plenty of rest. With everything good in life, patience, commitment, and balance will guarantee your success. With these tips in mind you are all set to pump iron!

Typically, when thinking of the word diet, we think temporary. Spring breaks, weddings and even weekend beach trips will get us to lose some weight. Unfortunately, these short term diets don’t work. They are unhealthy and once you stop them, your weight will come back. Studies show you’ll be heavier than when you started. Instead of diet, think lifestyle change. This doesn’t mean you have to give up fried chicken, pizza or even chocolate. Eating is a big part of our lives and should be enjoyed. An important concept to understand is moderation. If you can’t live without fried chicken, eat it, just not everyday. Plus if you have it less, you’ll enjoy it more.

Going from your favorite unhealthy foods to healthier alternatives is a huge jump. Next time you are flipping through channels, try and find a makeover show. Many of these shows try and get people to completely change their eating habits in less than a week. While this may seem healthy, it probably won’t lead to any long term changes. Put yourself in their shoes. What food do you eat that you know is unhealthy and really love? How would you feel if someone said you can’t ever have that food again? I don’t think I’d go for it.

An easier way to do it is gradually. Take a food you love and try to make it healthier. If you love pizza, instead of buying it ready, make it at home. There are easy to use crusts available at your grocery store. Add your own toppings. If you love fried chicken, try baked chicken. Don’t go out, make it yourself. Home made meals are almost always healthier than ones you get at a restaurant (fast food or not).

Another popular way to get healthier are fat-free or low fat versions of food. Cream cheese, peanut butter and milk all have low fat or fat free substitutes. Sometimes companies do a good job with taste and sometimes they don’t. In some cases it might not even be possible to get the same taste with all the fat taken out. This is why it is important to go down in steps. If your goal is to drink fat free milk but you’re using whole milk, don’t do it overnight. Take it in steps over the coarse of a few weeks. You won’t notice the difference in taste as much. The same goes for other dairy products. Also, if you just can’t stomach the fat free version, try the low fat version.

Most importantly, don’t ever deprive yourself of something you love. Sometimes we over indulge in what we enjoy. Instead of eating a large number of cookies, look at the nutrition label. Eat a serving and put the pack down.

how to get ripped

Get important suggestions in the sphere of lose 10 pounds – your individual knowledge pack.

Every bodybuilder and fitness enthusiast knows that you must eat enough protein for muscle growth. Without the amino acids of protein, your muscles cannot grow no matter how hard and often you train your. Protein is the building block of muscles and there are no other nutrients to substitute protein for muscle growth.

It is recommended that if you want to grow and build muscle mass, the rule is to eat one gram of protein per pound of your body weight per day. That is a lot of protein which many people cannot get in their normal dietary meals and protein supplementation is often necessary. Without eating enough protein, all your muscle building training in the gym will be futile. Such a waste isn’t it?

So when is the best time to eat protein to optimize muscle growth? How and which type of protein should you eat to get spectacular muscular growth?

•Eat protein first thing in the morning – After a good night’s sleep, your body is in a catabolic state. That means your body is burning your muscle for energy since your glycogen store is low. So eat quickly digestible protein such as whey protein the first thing in the morning even before you brush your teeth to prevent your muscle wasting away or catabolism.

•Eat protein between your meals – To keep protein flowing in your bloodstream so as to feed your muscles continuously throughout the day, take casein protein in between your meals. Casein protein is slow to digest and as such will continuously release protein into your bloodstream to feed your muscles for many hours in between your meals. In this way, your muscles will be constantly receiving protein throughout the day.

•Protein before/after gym workout – It is a known fact that eating fast to digest protein such as whey protein before your workout will promote muscle growth as your muscles are being fed as you training to build muscles. Then take whey protein again after your workout along with some carbohydrates to repair your muscle cells after you have damaged them during your workout.

•Protein before bed – Since you will be going without food for many hours when you sleep and muscle building is at its optimum when you sleep, you must encourage your muscle to grow by eating casein protein before you sleep. As casein protein is slow to digest, it will continuously feed your muscles for as long as seven hours when you sleep and thus encouraging your muscles to build and grow.

So now that you know when is the best time to eat protein and to encourage building muscles, follow these tips and see your muscles growing like you have never seen before.
muscle building guide

Essentially there are three types of water filters, or more accurately, three types of water filtering methods. They are mechanical, chemical oxidation reduction (redox) and absorption. Following is a description of how each functions.

Mechanical Filtration
This is just having a barrier that has perforations smaller than the material that you mean to filter. This method of filtration removes tiny elements that are floating in the water like dirt, silt, sand, sediment, rust and additional un-dissolved particles. As water passes through the media the particles are held or blocked and effectively separated from the water.

Depending on the class and/or type of the filtration medium, particulates as small as 0.5 microns can be taken from your drinking water. For reference purposes, a micron is equivalent to 1/25,000 of an inch, the diameter of one strand of your hair is approximately 100 microns.

An assortment of substances are used to make mechanical filtration media. Ceramics and a variety of resins cover the greater part of this mode of water filtration.

Redox or Oxidation-Reduction
Oxidation/Reduction Technology is a process in which electrons of one molecule are passed on to a different one. That is to say that where you combine two dissimilar metals you induce an electrochemical process that oxidizes a host of chemicals often discovered in ground water along with our municipal water stores, thus removing them from the water. The heavy metals such as cadmium, aluminum, chromium and lead are stripped by the electrochemical process. Metals such as these are drawn to the filtering media, very similar to a magnet.

KDF Fluid Treatment, Inc., produces the most commonly used media of this kind, a zinc and copper alloy, and has retained the patent ever since 1987.

Adsorption: Activated Carbon
Activated charcoal absorbs organic substances that can cause your water to stink and taste awful. In addition it possesses the ability to get rid of pesticides, chlorine and its byproducts. This product is extremely porous having a vast surface area, so much so that the carbon in an average countertop filter would comprise a surface area of about 200 football fields.

The word “activated” refers to a method where the carbon becomes more porous than it is naturally. Activation is achieved by using steam, a chemical process or by controlled production processes while making the carbon.

Activated carbon works like this: When water flows over the surface dissolved chemicals adhere to the carbon letting the water to keep moving. This process is termed absorption.

There are three categories by which activated carbon can be grouped: granulated activated carbon (GAC), carbon block (CB) and powdered activated carbon (PAC). The carbon block variety is better for higher pressure and faster a faster flow, where the GAC is more economical and performs acceptably with municipally supplied water. The PAC kind is not use residentially as often.

The raw materials used for creating activated carbon are wood, coal, lignite, coconut shell and such. Coconut shell is considered to be the ideal substance when creating filters for drinking water because of its tendency to improve the flavor of the water.

Please note that water filtering does not entirely eliminate contaminates, they will just lessen them. However a first-class water filtration system is going to remove nearly all of the unwanted contaminants it is intended to eliminate. Make it a point to get only water filters certified by the NSF (National Sanitation Foundation) All of these filtration systems will have been tested against their claims. That way you are going to know that which you are getting.