Natural Muscle - Training Tips.

Nutritional Tip of the Month - Why do we need protein?

What do you associate with the word protein? Meat, chicken, fish, muscles, growth. You need to eat enough protein to grow big and strong. The protein in meat is more usable than the protein in plants and if you're training for muscular development, you need more protein than the average person.

There are many stories surrounding protein, such as what is the best and how much do we really need. Since protein is the basic material of all living cells and contains for example, approximately 65 per cent water and 25 per cent protein., it is essential to ensure that we replenish our protein stores every day.

Protein is made up of molecules called amino acids. Some twenty-five types of amino acids are pieced together to make different types of proteins and there are eight essential amino acids without which, the body cannot function properly. The remaining seventeen amino acids can be manufactured by our bodies.

So how much protein do you need, and what is the best? There are many recommended amounts of protein intake per day, but what I have found to work for me and numerous others that Al have helped over the years, is to correctly monitor the amounts of protein ingested according to the your level of activity, or chosen sport.

PROTEIN RICH FOODS

• Red meat chicken, turkey and fish.
• Eggs.
• Protein powder.
• Cottage cheese and yogurt.
• Soy beans and lentils.
• Nuts and seeds.

PROTEIN INTAKE TABLE

• Male -Semi Active: 1.7g of protein per kilo of bodyweight.
• Male - Training 3 to 5 times per week: 2 to 2.5g of protein per kilo of bodyweight.
• Male bodybuilder: 3 to 4g of protein per kilo of bodyweight.
• Female Active: 0.9 to 1.2g of protein per kilo of bodyweight.
• Female training 2 to 4 times per week: 1.5 to 2.2g of protein per kilo of bodyweight.
• Female Bodybuilder: 2.5 to 3g of protein per kilo of bodyweight.

By Domenic Cannizzaro.

Training Tip of the Month - Cardio training

It’s commonly believed that you need about 3 x20min cardio sessions per week to burn fat. Well, let me tell you that 20min is not enough for your body to use stored fat as energy.

To successfully loose fat you must train for a minimum of 40min for your aerobic systems to kick in. Most of you who have gym memberships or use personal trainers, would have been told that low intensity cardio the best for fat burning. This is mostly true, but the value of high-intensity exercise is that it increases your metabolic rate, which stays higher for longer after you finish exercising.

For fat loss, al recommend a combination of low and high intensity cardio training 2 or 3 weight training sessions per week. The more muscle development you carry, the better your body will utilize fat as energy.

FAT LOSS KICK STARTER

• 5 minute warm-up keep heart rate below 50% of maximum target heart rate.
• 20 minute on fat burn, heart rate at 65% of maximum target heart rate.
• Jump up to cardio for a 20 minute jog and keep heart rate at 80% target heart rate.
• Finish with 5 minute warm down.

HOW TO WORK OUT YOUR TARGET HEART RATE

220 minus your age = your target heart rate.

For example: 220 - 30 (years old) = 190 x 80% = 152.

By Domenic Cannizzaro.