Carb Loading

When it comes to major athletic events, it is important for athletes and the weekend warriors to understand not only the importance of carbohydrate loading, but how to properly and safely carb load.

Carb loading has been scientifically proven to increase levels of muscle glycogen storage and is best used in athletic events that require increased levels of continuous energy expenditure.  Examples of individuals that would benefit from carb loading prior to a major event include distance runners, swimmers, bicyclists, tri-athletes, and cross-country skiers.  Also, athletes that perform continuous yet stop and go sport play, such as soccer, lacrosse, and tournament play tennis, can also reap the benefits of carb loading.

Carb loading should occur 3-7 days prior to the major athletic event (also important to taper exercise during this time period).  The amount of carbs that an individual should consume differs dependent upon the size of the athlete.  It is recommended that the individual should consume 6-8 Grams or 8-10 Grams per Kilogram of body weight dependpent upon the type of endurance event (kilograms can be found by dividing your body weight by 2.2), which should account for 70-80% of your caloric intake.  It is crucial for the individual to ensure they are receiving the daily dietary requirements for protein and fat, still.  It is also extremely important to not consume excess calories with carbohydrate loading.  The only shift in caloric intake should occur with the percentage of carbs taken in compared to the regular diet.

Example: 3 days prior to event – weight 160 pounds = 72 Kilograms (160/2.2) = 432 Grams of Carbohydrates throughout day (72 x 6).

Timing the carbohydrate loading stage also plays a major role in the individual’s performance.  The last large meal should occur 15 hours prior to the athletic event.  The individual in training should also have a small carbohydrate based breakfast 3-4 hours before the event.

Recommended Schedule: 7 Days Prior to Athletic Event 

Day 1: Depletion Exercise (optional)
Day 2: Mixed diet, moderate carbohydrate intake, tapering exercise
Day 3: Mixed diet, moderate carbohydrate intake, tapering exercise
Day 4: Mixed diet, moderate carbohydrate intake, tapering exercise
Day 5: High Carbohydrate Diet, tapering exercise
Day 6: High Carbohydrate Diet, Tapering Exercise or Rest
Day 7: High Carbohydrate Diet, Tapering Exercise or Rest
Day 8: Athletic Event/Competition

As always, feel free to consult our MidwestFit Team with any questions or concerns!

One aspect of the health and fitness industry that presents itself with extremely diluted information is that of the Pre-Workout Supplement industry. Not only is a lot of the information indecipherable to the average eye (unless you are a biochemist) it can also be extremely unsafe if proper research and precautions are not taken prior to using some of these products.

Many of the major pre-workout supplements contain a complex combination of ingredients that are designed to increase one’s training performance in the gym. Many common ingredients include Creatine, Beta-Alanine, Caffeine, Tyrosine, Phenylalamine, Arginine, Guarana, and many other acid matricies/extracts. While some of these ingredients make sense from a theoretical physiological stand point, it is difficult to find an actual scientific proven link to which has a true effect on performance, as it is tough to pinpoint which mechanism in the blend increases performance.

Many who take workout supplements properly tend to see improved performance with their training (it doesn’t always last though and one should not stay on a product for an extended period of time).

Now, it’s always great to be able to increase one’s athletic performance in the gym, but the problem with many of these popular products (most with lavish names to draw attention: N.O.-Xplode, Juggernaut, C4 Extreme, Assault, MassXXX) is you have absolutely NO IDEA how much of each ingredient is in the product. This is where you will see the words PROPRIETARY BLEND followed by the amount of grams in the blend, and below it is a list of ingredients in the PROPRIETARY BLEND with no actual milligram or gram values listed next to the individual ingredients.

This can be very dangerous as each individual’s tolerance/hormonal responses differ with the amount/type of ingredients or blend. For example some of these products (not all) can contain up to 19.2 Grams of a “proprietary blend” of many of the ingredients listed above. So you are unsure if you are receiving 10 grams of creatine, 2 grams of creatine, or 12 grams of caffeine, and so on and so forth. This can make a crucial difference as to if you are receiving 200mg of caffeine and caffeine related substances or 2,000mg of caffeine. With products with that high of a proprietary blend, many things can occur within the body causing unnaturally high hormonal changes, heart palpitations, and in some cases with athletes, even heart attacks.

There is still hope though! There are many pre-workout supplements that seem to be effective and have the dosage of ingredients listed, or a small amount of proprietary blend, so you can be sure you are getting a safe amount of the necessary ingredients. One example is EAS Phos Force. It lists all the ingredients used and the amount of grams/milligrams listed in the product.

If you really want to be safe and know exactly what you are putting into your body if you cycle pre-workout supplements, you can always create your own! Here is an example of a stack you can blend on your own.

1. Creatine: Assists with force of muscular contraction. 5-10 Grams.

2. Beta-Alanine: Boosts production of Carnosine, which helps equalize muscular acidity (removal of lactic acid) via removal of excess hydrogen ions. 5-10 Grams.

3. Caffeine: Increase training drive, focus, and decreases fatigue. 200-400 Milligrams (DON’T FORGET TO STAY HYDRATED IF ADDING CAFFEINE TO DIET)

4. Tyrosine: Increases release of catecholamines (epinephrine and norepinephrine). 150 Milligrams.

5. Phenylalanine: Increase performance with resistance training and muscular output force. 150 Milligrams.

6. Arginine: Vasodilator that increase the amount of blood flow to the working muscles. 3-5 Grams.

Hopefully we’ve helped clear up (at least as well as we can for a complicated product/market) some common misconceptions and extreme safety issues related to pre-workout supplements.

As always, ask our MidwestFit team if you have any questions related to pre-workout supplements or other health and fitness related issues!

One aspect of the health and fitness industry that presents itself with extremely diluted information is that of the Pre-Workout Supplement industry. Not only is a lot of the information indecipherable to the average eye (unless you are a biochemist) it can also be extremely unsafe if proper research and precautions are not taken prior to using some of these products.

Many of the major pre-workout supplements contain a complex combination of ingredients that are designed to increase one’s training performance in the gym. Many common ingredients include Creatine, Beta-Alanine, Caffeine, Tyrosine, Phenylalamine, Arginine, Guarana, and many other acid matricies/extracts. While some of these ingredients make sense from a theoretical physiological stand point, it is difficult to find an actual scientific proven link to which has a true effect on performance, as it is tough to pinpoint which mechanism in the blend increases performance.

Many who take workout supplements properly tend to see improved performance with their training (it doesn’t always last though and one should not stay on a product for an extended period of time).

Now, it’s always great to be able to increase one’s athletic performance in the gym, but the problem with many of these popular products (most with lavish names to draw attention: N.O.-Xplode, Juggernaut, C4 Extreme, Assault, MassXXX) is you have absolutely NO IDEA how much of each ingredient is in the product. This is where you will see the words PROPRIETARY BLEND followed by the amount of grams in the blend, and below it is a list of ingredients in the PROPRIETARY BLEND with no actual milligram or gram values listed next to the individual ingredients.

This can be very dangerous as each individual’s tolerance/hormonal responses differ with the amount/type of ingredients or blend. For example some of these products (not all) can contain up to 19.2 Grams of a “proprietary blend” of many of the ingredients listed above. So you are unsure if you are receiving 10 grams of creatine, 2 grams of creatine, or 12 grams of caffeine, and so on and so forth. This can make a crucial difference as to if you are receiving 200mg of caffeine and caffeine related substances or 2,000mg of caffeine. With products with that high of a proprietary blend, many things can occur within the body causing unnaturally high hormonal changes, heart palpitations, and in some cases with athletes, even heart attacks.

There is still hope though! There are many pre-workout supplements that seem to be effective and have the dosage of ingredients listed, or a small amount of proprietary blend, so you can be sure you are getting a safe amount of the necessary ingredients. One example is EAS Phos Force. It lists all the ingredients used and the amount of grams/milligrams listed in the product.

If you really want to be safe and know exactly what you are putting into your body if you cycle pre-workout supplements, you can always create your own! Here is an example of a stack you can blend on your own.

1. Creatine: Assists with force of muscular contraction. 5-10 Grams.

2. Beta-Alanine: Boosts production of Carnosine, which helps equalize muscular acidity (removal of lactic acid) via removal of excess hydrogen ions. 5-10 Grams.

3. Caffeine: Increase training drive, focus, and decreases fatigue. 200-400 Milligrams (DON’T FORGET TO STAY HYDRATED IF ADDING CAFFEINE TO DIET)

4. Tyrosine: Increases release of catecholamines (epinephrine and norepinephrine). 150 Milligrams.

5. Phenylalanine: Increase performance with resistance training and muscular output force. 150 Milligrams.

6. Arginine: Vasodilator that increase the amount of blood flow to the working muscles. 3-5 Grams.

Hopefully we’ve helped clear up (at least as well as we can for a complicated product/market) some common misconceptions and extreme safety issues related to pre-workout supplements.

As always, ask our MidwestFit team if you have any questions related to pre-workout supplements or other health and fitness related issues!

Alright, we know people at MidwestFit enjoy our workouts that involve circuits, so to mix things up during our strength weeks we are adding a leg circuit today…Don’t worry you’ll love it!

Circuit 4+ times:

Lunges 8 (on each leg)

Prison Squats 20

Single Leg Dead Lift 8 (on each leg)

Jump Squats 15

DB Deadlift 15

Hamstring Curls w/ Ball 15

End Circuit

Cool Down:

Jog 15+ minutes

-The MidwestFit Team

Here’s a great recipe for some smoked salmon.  It’s grilling season, so here’s one to grill with and keep healthy!

Salmon is a rich source of omega 3 as well as protein. Couple that with sprouted grain tortilla and fresh arugula and you’ve got yourself a healthy, balanced meal that’s ready in only 5 minutes.
Servings: 2

Here’s what you need:
1 Sprouted grain tortilla
1 Tablespoon low fat cream cheese
4 oz Smoked salmon
1/2 cup Arugula
Dash of salt and pepper
Spread the cream cheese evenly over one side of tortilla. Place the salmon in the center of the tortilla. Top with arugula. Add a dash of salt and pepper.
Roll the tortilla and slice in half.

Nutritional Analysis: One serving equals: 175 calories, 6g fat, 12.5g carbohydrate, 3g fiber, and 16.5g protein.

WARNING: We are not responsible for anything you may be allergic to or any other health issues you may have with the food we suggest to eat. The responsibility is up to you to make sure what you put in your body is healthy and safe for you personally.

Image via Wikipedia

It has been awhile since we have posted one of these…So here we go again…

This workout is featured on MensHealth.com’s fitness page. It is one of the workouts that helped the main character get in shape for his role in a skin tight suit. His trainer? A former Navy SEAL…

Warmup
1 Rowing: 10 minutes, with your average wattage equal to your body weight.

2 Bag sprawl: Jump over a barrier, such as a heavy bag, and then drop and do a pushup. Stand back up and repeat in the other direction. Go for 40 seconds, rest 20 seconds, and repeat four times total.

Workout
3 Pick up a barbell, and don’t put it down until the circuit below is complete. Hedlund did 7 reps of an exercise before moving to the next, resting only after completing the circuit. That’s a huge challenge, so begin by doing the circuit with just 1 rep each (so that’s 7 reps total after doing all seven moves). Rest as needed, and repeat for 15 minutes.

1. Deadlift
2. Row
3. Hang clean
4. Front squat
5. Push press
6. Good morning
7. Back squat

View on MensHealth by clicking here.

Well I just wanted to try and relate to last nights lunar soltice that turned the moon red for about an hour. If your like most people you have work and were likely asleep…but hey, that’s what the internet is for!

So here is a workout in the rare red moon’s honor…

For each exercise, grab a deck of cards. Blindly pull a card. If the card is red, perform that number for the exercise. If the card is black, rest for that many seconds.

Lunges

Double Crunches

Side Lunges

Sit Ups

-K

Antioxidants have been receiving an increase in view to the public eye recently and we thought we would share an article explaining Antioxidants and the health benefits of daily intake to the human body.  Read up on this article and increase that antioxidant intake!

http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/health-benefits-of-antioxidants/