Which type of cardio is best for you?

Is steady state cardio the best thing for your buck?

As soon as a guy or a gal decides to lose some fat or try to look good for some special event or try to fit in a new pair of jeans, the first thing that comes onto his or her mind will be cardio. But, do you know that the endless hours you spend on the treadmill or on the elliptical is just you waiting your time and money. But, to properly make our cardio regimen effective for our body, we have to train smarter and harder. In this article, we will be discussing about how we can make our cardio regimen more effective, tuning it to bring out better results.

Weight training is necessary?

Our body has two types of respiration, aerobic and anaerobic respiration. We need to first understand that how are these stimulated. Aerobic respiration works when plenty of oxygen is available to our muscles while performing the exercise such as light jogging, whereas anaerobic respiration works when little or no oxygen is available to our muscles, such as weight training or sprinting on a track. Our body uses glycogen stores for both aerobic and anaerobic activities when it is not habitual of regular weight training. So, all of us who stick just to cardio for weight loss is just our muscles using glycogen not fats. This is why we see less or no results. When we perform regular weight training our body prioritize glycogen use for weight training resulting in use of fats when we perform cardiovascular activities doubling the results of cardio. So regular weight training sessions with cardio is the key to weight loss.

Types of cardio and their functions:

There are two types of cardio we can perform one being steady state whereas the HIIT(High Intensity Interval Training).
Steady state cardio is the slow form of cardio where you perform the activity at a steady pace where your heart beat is a little up than resting performed for a session of 20-30 mins.
HIIT is performed in solutions where we go all out for a time period and rest for a time period. The rest to work ratio for beginners can be 4:1 and you can take it to 1:1. This form of cardio is becoming quite famous as you are able to burn more calories in less time than steady state cardio. This can be easily performed on track or in the gym, on the elliptical and is very convenient.
So, we must try this new form of cardio as it is more fast paced and enjoyable by people also giving us great results .

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Hydration 101: How much and When To Drink Water.

Hydration 101: How much and When To Drink Water

Our body is made up of 70% fluids and is considered to be highly dependent on water for many of its metabolically active processes.  An average human can only live about 30 hours without water before his internal organs stop their functioning. Thus, in this article we are going to discuss about, the benefits of drinking water and the optimal time for drinking water to maximize results.

 

Benefits Of Drinking Water:

1.   Healthy Skin: Drinking adequate water daily ensures that we have smooth, radiant and attractive skin tone. As our metabolism speeds up, no metaboical wastes accumulate under our skin and thus gives us a great looking skin tone.

2.   Activeness: Drinking water at regular intervals of time keeps you active as brain gets adequate liquid and oxygen and thus, it will increase your alertness and energy levels. You will be able to power through the day without fatiguing.

3.   Hair Health: Drinking water hugely increase your hair heath and lessens the probability of hair damage, whitening and hair fall. Drinking enough water will make your hair radiant and very good looking.

4.   Reduces Acne: Avid water drinkers usually have acne free skin as the wastes do not accumulate under your facial skin and also prevents many other skin diseases. Washing your face twice a day can also greatly prevent acne. 

5.   Delays Fatigue While Working Out: Often, people exercising or going to the gym are in dehydrated condition before even starting the workout. This can be greatly harmful for the muscles. We sweat during our workout as to maintain optimal temperature inside our body for the workout and thus having enough water post, pre and inter - workout is very important. 

6.   Speeds Up Metabolism: Drinking water hugely speeds up our metabolism ensuring proper utilization of the foods we are eating and also speeds up our fat burning processes, providing us with a great looking physique. Water combined with food is great for our body.

7.   Proper Digestion: Studies have found that people who drink water before and throughout the meals have better digestion than those who do not drink water and also water with meals supresses appetite which doesn’t let us eat more calories than we need.

Optimal Time For Drinking Water:

 

The time that we are drinking water can play a huge role in our health and fitness.

·       After waking up: As we wake up in the morning, we are dehydrated as we did not have any fluids throughout the night. Drinking water as soon as we wake up will wake up are internal organs, speed up our metabolism and bring the body in a hydrated state bringing the cells of our body in optimal working state.

·       30 minutes before a meal: Drinking water thirty minutes before having a meal speeds up our digestion and allows our body to assimilate the food we eat.

·       Before sleep: Majority of deaths that are caused due to heart attacks take place at night during sleep. Drinking water before sleeping will reduce the risk if high blood pressure and reduce the risk of heart attacks.

·       Before working out: Having water before working out will allow us to take maximum benefits from our workout regimen as we will be properly hydrated and will have less muscle breakdown and high fat utilization.

These are the benefits and optimal timings of drinking water and we must learn from it.

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When And Why We Should Have Whey Protein?

The Liquid Gold For Vegetarians : Whey Protein

There is always a problem for vegetarians in fulfilling their daily protein needs as they cannot have animal protein. Whey protein is like liquid gold for them. Not only vegan, but non vegetarians also take benefit of this dairy protein. It is staple for bodybuilders. Indian way of eating usually lacks protein and thus, whey can be 

quite helpful.

What is whey protein?

Whey is a liquid made of globular proteins left over when cheese is made from milk. Cow’s milk has 20% whey and 80% casein whereas mother’s milk has 40% whey and 60% casein.

Types of whey protein:

There are many types of whey available in the market for consumption. Some of them are:

1. Hydrolysate:

    

This whey has its long chains of protein broken into smaller chains known as peptides which is easily metabolized and very light on stomach. Usually this process known as pre digestion is very expensive and everyone cannot afford this kind.

2. Native Whey:

This kind of whey is pretty much untouched and does not go through many processes. This is the purest form of whey protein.

    3.   Concentrate:

This kind of whey has low amounts of fats and cholesterol but has high amounts of carbohydrates compared to other kinds if whey which is around 80% to 90% of its weight.

    4.   Isolate:

This is the best kind of whey as it has low or no fats and trace amounts of carbohydrates and 90% of protein by its weight.

When to have whey protein?

Whey works best when taken as a post workout meal or shake specially the hydrolysed and isolate kind. As it is light, easy to digest and high in protein content. It also has BCAAs(Branched Chain Amino Acids) which prevents muscle breakdown in our body and increases lean muscle tissue.

We can also have it as a bridge meal that is between our lunch and dinner or breakfast and dinner.It is very flexible and can be used in numerous ways such as shakes, bridge liquids etc.

 

Can people with lactate allergies have whey protein?

Yes, people with lactate allergies can have whey as the allergen portion is casein which is in very minute quantities and is safe for consumption. If some reactions are observed, just after one use, stop using it from that particular instance and contact a doctor or a physician.

Why should we supplement with whey protein?

Whey can be a game changer for vegetarians. Here are some facts to convince us:

    1.   BCAA(Branched Chain Amino Acids):

Whey has BCAAs which prevents the breakdown of our muscle tissue and helps us to keep our muscle safe while losing fat at the same time. This is like a pizza with cheese two great things happening together. These amino acids help you train with intensity in the gym.

    2.   Leucine:

Leucine is a very important amino acid. Studies have shown people ingesting leucine have great muscle and strength gains.

   

    3.   Post workout shake:

As whey is light and quick digesting protein it is a great post-workout meal which gives your muscles a surplus of protein and leucine.

Nutritional Value

The  photo posted below tells us about the nutritional values of a common whey protein supplement.

 

Thus, whey is a great supplement specially for vegetarians and athletes in common and requires the attention on your supplements shopping list.

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Vegetarian Foods Rich In Protein

           Vegan Foods Rich In Protein

This articles focuses on the best foods for vegetarians which are rich in protein and are easily available in supermarkets or your normal grocery stores . There is often a myth that vegetarians cannot build a physique better than a non vegetarian athlete.

1. Cottage Cheese(Paneer)-

Cottage cheese can be a life saver for vegetarians as it is light on stomach and is a great post workout meal. People with lactate allergies can prefer other sources but people without this allergy are fine having it . A 20g of slice will have 8g of protein which is good compared to other alternatives. Paneer is easily available in markets and is flexible as you can have it in many forms, tastes well and is also a great source of calcium .

2.Tofu(Soy Paneer)-

This alternative of cottage cheese is a common food item seen in the kitchens of diet and health conscious people.
Tofu is also light on the stomach , has omega 3 fatty acids which are crucial for muscle recovery and growth. These fatty acids are known to reduce DOMS( Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness)or the pain we feel the next day after an exercise session.

These fatty acids are found in fishes and thus, Tofu is great for vegetarians.

3.Pulses and Lentils

Pulses are available in abundance in India and are storehouses of protein. Pulses are available in numerous varieties and can be found easily. The red gram or lal massar has 25g of protein which is better than your red meat. The green whole pulse has 28g protein per 100g scoop and is best digested when in sprouted form. These are the staple diet for vegan bodybuilders.

4.Peas-

Yes, guys peas. Who would have thought that these small round objects could have large amounts of protein.An average pea specie has 18g protein per 100g scoop and has all the seven essential amino acids in abundance. Not only this you can have it in many forms and is again cheap and easily available.

5.Oatmeal

Oatmeal has three times the protein of brown rice and twice the amount of fibre which is very gud in keeping you regular in your motions which can be very useful for bodybuilders and people looking to gain weight and mass. You can have oatmeal in many forms and thus is a great nutritional element of our diet

6. Dairy Foods

Dairy foods are having great amounts of vegan protein which can be consumed in lot many forms .Cheese,whole milk,cashew milk,yoghurt are some common forms of Dairy we can have. The only problem with Dairy is that some of us cannot have it due to lactate allergies but it is not very common .

7. Hemp Seed

These seeds have 23g per 100g of
protein which is quite good and is having
great anti inflammatory effects which is good after an intense workout in the gym. These seeds are easily available in India under the name of Bhang seeds.
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