9 High-Protein Snacks
Although the opinions of experts vary greatly as to how much protein men should consume on a daily basis, the generally accepted figure is one gram of protein per 2.2 pounds of body weight. Therefore, a 180-pound man should get about 82 grams of protein in his diet each day.
If you're one of the many men who doesn't manage to meet this minimum requirement, or if you're simply looking for some alternative nutritious snack ideas, read on: The following nine high-protein snacks require little preparation and are generally low in both carbohydrates and fat.
1- Beef jerky
Believe it or not, this old classic is actually a healthy choice. On average, one ounce contains about 70 calories and one gram of fat, but delivers 11 grams of protein. However, the brands sold in convenience stores are often high in salt. If you'd like beef jerky to be one of your high-protein snack options, look for healthier versions in health food stores.
2- Egg whites
One egg white has only 15 calories, is fat- and cholesterol-free and contains four grams of protein. Throw two or three in a pan (with some peppers and onions if you want to make an omelet) for a quick, nutritious mini-meal.
3- Cottage cheese and fruit
A half cup of 2% cottage cheese contains on average 16 grams of protein, yet only has 102 calories and two grams of fat (as opposed to other types of cheese, which can be extremely high in fat). If high protein isn't your ideal goal, then mix it with some fresh fruit for a fast, healthy snack.
4- Tuna
Tuna is a great source of protein with approximately 25 grams per can. Plus, one can of tuna in water contains approximately 111 calories and is fat-free. And hey, go easy on the mayonnaise if you're making a sandwich -- it's full of fat.
5- Protein bars
Although there are hundreds of varieties on the market, keep in mind that all protein bars are not created equal. Obviously, protein bars should be a high-protein snack, but be careful and avoid bars that are high in carbohydrates and fat. A good choice is DESIGNER WHEY Protein Bars: each 75-gram bar contains a full 30 grams of protein, with only six grams of carbs and five grams of fat.
6- Shakes
As with protein bars, many commercial protein shakes and powders can be high in carbohydrates. Advanced Protein, which delivers 20 grams of protein, two grams of fat and only two grams of carbs per scoop, is perfect for guys who work out.
You can also make your own high-protein shake without protein powder. Blend the following ingredients:
2 cups natural soy milk (Make sure it doesn't have any added sugar. The only ingredients should be soy and distilled water.)
3 egg whites
1 banana (Or another fruit of your choice.)
1 tbsp natural peanut butter (It only contains peanuts and oil -- no preservatives -- available in health food stores and some grocery stores.)
2 tbsps flax powder (Or 2 tsps flax seed oil.)
1/3 cup rolled oats
7- Lentils
Although they may not seem appetizing on their own, putting a handful of them in your soup or salad will give your snack a protein boost. One cup of lentils has about 230 calories, one gram of fat and 18 grams of protein.
8- Peanut butter
If you loved peanut butter and jelly sandwiches as a kid, you're in luck: one tablespoon contains about four grams of protein, eight grams of fat and 95 calories. For an energy boost, spread it on a slice of whole-wheat bread (60 calories and one gram of fat) and top it with banana slices.
9- Oatmeal
According to Aubyn Garstang, a certified personal trainer, many men who train hard favor oatmeal for its balance of protein and good carbohydrates, which gives them the energy necessary to make it through an intense workout. One packet of instant oatmeal has about five grams of protein, 105 calories and two grams of fat. You can eat it alone or add some cinnamon to the mix.
3:18 AM | Labels: Body Fitness, Food and Energy, Gain Weight, Supplements |
Home Remedies to Increase Height and Weight
3:03 AM | Labels: Body Fitness, Food and Energy, Gain Weight, Healthy Tips, increase height |
Protein Shake Recipes To Gain Mass
Chocolate Peanut Butter Supreme:
12 oz. water
4 ice cubes
1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon natural peanut butter
2 scoops chocolate protein powder
Mocha Shake:
6 oz. water
4 ice cubes
2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
6 oz.. coffee*
2 scoops chocolate protein powder
*You may use 12 oz. coffee and no water for an extra pre-workout or morning kick!
1:56 AM | Labels: Body Fitness, Gain Weight, Supplements |
Green Tea for Bodybuilding
Green tea is used mostly not only because of its refreshing flavor, but also for the antioxidants found in it which are approximately 100 times healthier than Vitamin C. Green tea is also observed in helping to reduce overall cholesterol level in body, Green tea dietary supplement is best option to reduce weight choice for a lot of people and bodybuilders.
It is a healthy option for those people who want to develop their bodies. Green tea increases overall exercising capability as it allows larger utilization of fatty acids which serve as an energy source during intense workouts. The recommended dosage of green tea supplement is about 100 to 500 mg of green tea every day for bodybuilders.
2:07 AM | Labels: Body Fitness, Green Tea |
Muscle Building Workout For Winter
Before getting into weight lifting workout, its a good idea to take at least one week to prepare your body for what to come. Below are the steps to prepare your body for Winter muscle building.
Give Your Body Some Rest
If you have been recently going to gym, then you must take two days off to give your body some rest because once you start intense muscle building exercise, the muscle stress on your body will be high so its important to give your body some rest.
During this off avoid any cardio training and give complete rest to both muscles and central nervous system.
If in case you haven't been working out then do some light cardio activity during the rest days which will help get your body used to vigorous movement again.
Figure out your current food intake and your muscle building diet intake and also do some research on various calorie contents of the food you have been eating to figure out what exactly your diet looks like. This will help you how much calories you need each day to start adding lean muscle mass to your body.
If you were on fat loss diet then its time to regain calories for muscle building, use the general guideline of 15 calories per pound of body weight for that. Keep in mind that factors such as height and age influence this.
It’s important to have this maintenance phase in there before you move on to a muscle building stage because in some cases, going from a lower calorie intake to a much higher calorie intake can promote fat gain. Maintenance is a good middle ground that allows your body to adjust.
Once you’ve determined this, then you want to add about 250 to 500 calories more to your maintenance to promote muscle building. Your protein requirements, regardless of what most people think, will not go up dramatically from maintenance, so ideally you want to place most of these additional calories in the form of carbs immediately after your workout to promote the leanest muscle building.
Use Compound Exercise Only, Perform Three Full Body Workout
After your rest days its time for weight lifting workouts. During the first week of exercise perform main compound lifts of bench press, squat, deadlift, rows, and shoulder press. Be sure to plan a day of rest between each workout.
Complete three sets of each exercise using a rep range of 8 to 10 with moderately heavy weight. Double check that you’re utilizing correct form since this sets you off on the right track from the start.
Decrease your rep ranges during workout
After one week of that, you are going to lower the rep ranges down to the 5 to 8 rep range, using heavier weights. This will kick start the muscle building process using exercises that will target all the muscles in the body.
At this point, you should also start the muscle building diet you created for yourself to provide the body with the raw materials to synthesize new body mass.
Design your new workout split
After the last week and a half of the lower rep lifting is complete, you can choose to either stick with the program if you’re enjoying it or come up with your preferred muscle building workout split. Many men gravitate to upper/lower body splits since it allows for the addition of a few more exercises for each body part compared with the full-body workout, while still providing ample time for recovery.
By using this three-week cycle, you can go into winter ready to see good muscle development. When spring starts to show its timid head, you can start shredding some of your fat and be ready to show off your results come summer.
11:51 PM | Labels: Body Fitness, Gain Weight |
How To Do The Perfect Bench Press To Maximize Your Strength And Muscle Development
Learn the secrets to performing the perfect bench press, and send your muscle and strength development into the stratosphere.
Why is it that so many people are not aware of the correct way to perform one of the most popular exercises in the gym? If you don’t do the Flat Barbell Bench Press properly, you will be missing out on the amazing results possible with this exercise. What I’m going to describe below will help to ensure that you do the exercise in the most efficient and productive way to gain amazing results. You will not need any extra equipment and, if you find it helps to see pictures of exercises, there’s a link at the end of this article to pictures of the exercise being performed.
The perfect bench press rep starts without any weight on the bar! Because the first thing you need to do is get your hand spacing on the bar right. Lie down on the bench, unracking the bar as usual. As you lower the bar to your chest, have a partner note the orientation of your forearms, which should be as close to vertical as you can manage at the bottom of the rep. With your partner’s assistance, adjust your grip and remember their location by noting the position of your hands in relation to the smooth rings on the Olympic bar.
The reason for this adjustment is simple, the wider your hands are placed, the more of your push will be extended outwards, rather than upwards. By the same token, if your hands are too close together, the more energy will be extended inwards. You want your push to be directed as vertically as possible.
Now you can put some weight on the bar!
Lay back on the bench, with your feet planted firmly on the floor, knees at about an 80 degree angle. Do not place your feet on the bench, that will simply serve to destabilize you, which means that you will spend more power keeping yourself stable on the bench than pushing the bar upwards.
Now, remembering that perfect hand position, put your hands on the bar.
For maximum strength and stability, instead of placing your palms on the bottom of the bar, place them on the back of the bar (don’t worry, there’s a picture on the link for this). Then, without changing your grip, rotate the bar so that your palms are directly underneath it. You will feel as if you are locking your shoulders and the effect is to place your shoulders in their most strong and stable position.
As you perform the rotation I’ve just described, lift your torso slightly off the bench, forcing your shoulder blades together tightly.
The effect will be to push your shoulders backwards and puff out your chest, which will place your pecs in a position that gives them a more effective line of pull. It will also make your torso thicker, effectively reducing the distance you need to press the weight.
Remove the bar from the racks and tighten up the muscles of your torso.
Begin lowering the bar to a position where it is about even with the bottom of your breastbone – keeping the bar under complete control throughout. Think of your muscles as springs that are storing up the energy of that weight you are lowering, getting ready to recoil and explode the energy back out as you press the bar upwards. As you lower the bar, you should be inhaling.
Touch the weight lightly to your chest, but do not bounce it back up – this can cause injury to your ribs and/or breastbone.
Start to change the direction of the bar, beginning to press it up, driving with your legs. This technique is not often practiced, but the additional leg power really can help you to bench press more weight.
You should practice this technique with an empty bar before going on to perform it with weights. Remember the 80 degree leg position? Well, this technique is the reason for that. So, with an empty bar, lie on the bench and plant your feet firmly on the floor, knees at about 80 degrees. Lower the empty bar to your chest and, the minute you start to push the bar back up, push hard with your legs, as if you are trying to slide yourself up the bench. In fact, with the bar empty, you probably will have to slide yourself up the bench but, with weights in situ, your torso will be firmly fixed. This will have the effect of transferring your leg power through your body and into pushing the bar upwards. It’s known as driving with your legs.
As you are raising the bar, you should be exhaling forcefully through your pursed lips, which will help to keep you stable on the bench.
Even if you struggle with pressing the weight keep your feet on the floor. If you lift them, you will break your base of power.
As you raise the bar, it should follow a slight backwards arc – moving from your lower rib cage and ending up over your face at the end of the rep.
Instead of allowing the bar to slow its movement through your known sticking points, try to drive the bar through that point without hesitating.
Power the weight through to lockout. There – the perfect rep. Now repeat it!
If you know that you have a tendency to move your feet around during bench presses, try placing 2.5lb weights on them. The aim of this is to make you aware of the movement of your feet and, if a plate falls off, you will know that you have moved your feet.
1:57 AM | Labels: Body Fitness |