SUPPLEMENTATION
Fat burners - how do they work.
Fat burners are one of the most popular supplements. They have been linked to a number of benefits such as health and performance improvements and of course weight loss. Commercially available fat burners often claim to increase fat metabolism, weight loss and fat oxidation (the rate at which the body use fat as a fuel), as well as reduce fat absorption. The supplements available on the market are made out of a combination of ingredients, each with its own unique mechanisms of action, which lead to these proposed benefits. Here we outline some of the key ingredients found in popular fat burners and weight loss aids, their effects, and the efficacy of each.
Liver support supplements
The liver, alongside the kidneys are our main defence against toxins that can enter the body. The toxins that enter the body can be present in our environment, as in chemicals found in pollution, small amounts potentially found in foods that have been exposed to certain pesticides, consumption of alcohol and long term prescription or non-prescription drug use can also be hepatotoxic (toxic to the liver).
Vitamin Supplements for bodybuilders
Due to the nature of the sport, bodybuilders can put a lot of stress on the body. This can have a large impact on our recovery and growth, which is obviously not ideal for those taking part in a sport that relies heavily on these two factors. There are many vitamins readily available in the foods we consume that will aid in our recovery and reduce the damage caused by repetitive stress induced by the sport, but despite this, many people are still deficient in several micronutrients. This can limit recovery and growth potential, and ultimately impact our performance in the gym. It is therefore wise to supplement with the vitamins that you may be deficient in.
Weight Loss - Green Tea
Green tea is made from the unfermented dried leaves of the plant Camellia Sinensis. The important components of green tea for health and fat loss benefits are ‘catechins’ and the world’s favourite ‘drug’, caffeine. A large mug (250ml) of brewed green tea contains 50–100 mg of catechins and 30–40 mg of caffeine, but these can vary depending on brewing time or water temperature. Therefore, green tea extract (GTE) has been developed, for research purposes, as well as a nutritional/sports supplement, providing a constant level of catechins and caffeine to elicit their proposed benefits. Green tea has many health benefits with catechins having been reported to have anti-diabetic, anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory and antiobesity properties.
Creatine isn’t just for weightlifters.
For a long time now creatine has been used by bodybuilders and strength athletes due to the unique, research-supported properties that creatine has. This has meant that many people who take part in non-strength or power sports who might benefit from creatine have tended to avoid or dismiss using it as a supplement, as it is often simply branded as a strength supplement.
Post Workout Tips
The period that follows a workout, particularly workouts that include resistance training are important, as nutrient uptake occurs more efficiently and the processes that support muscle recovery are triggered. Without proper nutritional support to accompany the triggering of these processes, there is a window of opportunity, which if missed, can potentially impact on gaining the maximum benefit from a workout, such as negatively affecting strength and performance in future workouts if the body is not fully recovered.
Three Supplements you probably should be taking for better health.
There are many supplements on the market today that are designed to fulfil a whole host of roles, from helping you build muscle, lose body fat or to improve mental focus and performance. Whatever your goal, the one thing that we need to consider is that underpinning the effectiveness of your training and supplementation is creating a healthy environment where the body can work effectively.
Fat Burners: How do they work?
One of the most popular nutritional supplements are known as ‘fat burners’, they are by far the most popular supplement. They have been linked to health and performance improvements, as well as weight loss. Fat burners generally claim to highly increase fat metabolism, weight loss and fat oxidation during exercise, alongside reducing fat absorption. However, it is important to note that the supplements available on the market are made out of a combination of ingredients, each with its own mechanism of action which leads to the proposed benefits. Many advertisements for these products use ‘too-good-to-be-true’ before and after photos of individuals who have used them, without enough evidence for their efficacy. Here, we’ll look at the most popular ingredients of these supplements and how they induce fat metabolism and weight loss, together with the evidence for their efficacy.
Get fit – How to stick to your new year’s resolution
We’ve all been there. The new-year-new-you train is at the station, but every time we get on the train it turns out this is a circular line and before we know it, we’ve ended up back to where we started. So how do we stick to it this year?
Can you build muscle and lose fat at the same time?
It is a simple law of the universe that in order to gain weight, we need to consume more calories than we use, and in order to lose weight, the opposite is true. It may therefore seem counterintuitive to some to suggest that we can grow muscle and anabolic (tissue building) process, whilst also having catabolic (breakdown of tissue) processes occurring at the same time. This led many to believe that you need to be eating an excessive amount of calories to support muscle growth, as you will hopefully now see, this is not entirely true.