How Muscles Grow

Never Enough Muscle

Increase in muscle size is called hypertrophy. How does a muscle’s size increase? There are two types of hypertrophy: transcient and chronic. The first one refers to the muscle pump you experience after completing a set of exercise. It is the result of fluid accumulation, or edema, that is lost from the blood plasma and lasts only for a short time.

Chronic hypertrophy is the consequence of long-term resistance training which changes the structure of the muscle. There is a lot of controversy about the theories that try to explain the exact mechanism of muscle growth. One theory suggests that hypertrophy takes place due to the increase in the number of muscle fibers (fiber hyperplasia), another presumption holds that the number of fibers does not change, but the size of existing individual fibers grows (fiber hypertrophy) in response to overloading the muscle with resistance such as weight training.

Resistance training will increase the muscle size (hypertrophy). Muscle growth depends on the type of the muscle fibers activated and the pattern of recruitment. Muscle growth is due to one or more of the following adaptions:

• Increased contractile proteins (actin & myosin)
• Increased number of and size of myofibrils per muscle fibre
• Increased amounts of connective, tendinous & ligamentous tissues
• Increased enzymes and stored nutrients

All skeletal muscle fibres are not alike in structure or function. For example, skeletal muscle fibres vary in colour depending on their content of myoglobin (myoglobin stores oxygen until needed by mitochondria). Skeletal muscle fibres contract with different velocities, depending on their ability to split Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP). Faster contracting fibres have greater ability to split ATP. In addition, skeletal muscle fibres vary with respect to the metabolic processes they use to generate ATP. They also differ in terms of the onset of fatigue. On the basis of various structural and functional characteristics, skeletal muscle fibres are classified into three types: Type I fibres, Type II B fibres and type II A fibres.

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Why Women Are Fat

Don’t Ever Get FAT
Women have more body fat than men, and not without reason. By nature, a woman’s body is developed to protect her and a potential fetus. As a result, women have more enzymes for storing fat and fewer enzymes for burning fat. To start with, women naturally have a higher percentage of body fat than men, about 25% compared to 15%. Athletes fall into different ranges with levels as low as 10 percent for women and 5 percent for men. But this minimal amount is only maintained for a brief period, such as competition. If body fat stays below normal for long, the health and body functions go down.

Weight Loss Today

Weight changes you see on the scales and in the mirror daily is not related to how much you’ve been eating or exercising today, yesterday, or last week. The small weight fluctuations result more from how much water and digested food there is in your body at the moment. When you feel like there is too much water in your system, such as after eating salty or sugary foods, or at that special time of the month when your body lets you know you are a woman, the number on the scales hits its greatest mark. Same thing happens when your stomach is fuller than usual, you are dehydrated and constipated. All that bulk contributes to your total body weight giving you an unwanted reflection in the mirror, reading on the scales and uncomfortably tight pants you planned to wear to a special occasional meeting.

Some of that not-so-great sensation can be contributed to the energy stores in the form of glycogen, not fat deposits on your hips and thighs. When the food is digested and metabolized, it turns into glycogen, or usable energy stored in the liver and muscles. Your body needs and uses glycogen all the time, and your hormones regulate that process making sure that you never run out of energy.

The Bad Side of Hydration 

However, each gram of sugar attracts 3 grams of water, giving your body a fuller healthier better-hydrated look. For example, for every spoon of sugar you eat your efficient self-regulating system will store three spoons of fluid contributing to the overall weight gain of 60 grams or four tablespoons. Salt also attracts water which is stored in the body cells. It naturally comes from all the foods you eat, but all manufactured products contain a lot more. So, the more salt or glycogen you hold, the more water your body has, the more you weight, and the tighter your pants are. But don’t get discouraged – this also means that your body fat percentage is lower! How can you be ‘fitter’ when you feel so ‘fat’?

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Cold and Always Hungry?

Stop The Hunger

It’s not uncommon for anyone to gain up to 10 pounds during winter. As a matter of fact, eating more food in winter is the body’s natural response to find the means of generating heat, and increased caloric intake is one of them. Your body will also try to insulate itself from cold environment by increased tissue insulation, namely fat. Thanks to the superb efficiency of living organisms to adapt, the body will do everything possible to create an insulating layer of fat cells and hold on to it. Arctic animals are a good example of the nature’s adaptation principle – nice thick layers of fat and fur keep them warm.

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A Chocolate Bar A Day

Sweet Tooth?

Do you religiously strive for your “moment of ecstasy” by indulging in delicacy of chocolate? Do you know why this luscious, smooth, almost irreplaceable food make you feel sooooo good? You may find that chocolate is not as evil as we thought. Used throughout history as a tonic, it has a number of healthful compounds that might improve mood, fight fatigue, and even elevate your sex life.
Origins of chocolate can be traced back over one thousand years ago to the Mexican cacao tree Theobroma Cacao. The Mayans, who lived in the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico and Central America as long ago as 600 A.D., were the first humans to enjoy the wonders of cocoa beans.

They took pleasure in “food of the gods” by drinking mixture of roasted cocoa beans, water, and spices. Various preparations of cocoa were utilized by Incas, Aztecs, and Mayas throughout centuries. Aphrodisiac quality was considered not the only attribute of cocoa beans. Aztecs used beans as a form of currency as well.
But the present version of chocolate came out only in 1828, when a Dutch food chemist perfected the technique of mixing cocoa powder with cocoa butter so it would melt in your mouth. In 1878, the Swiss added milk to make our modern milk chocolate.

Statistics easily establish chocolate as one of the most craved foods in the United States. On average, each American consumes 11.7 pounds of chocolate per year, with more than 10 percent of this consumption occurring on Valentine’s Day. Americans will spend an estimated $800 million on 36 million boxes of chocolate this year.

Is there any connection between Valentine’s day and a box of chocolates? Why do we associate chocolate with feelings of love? Putting the cultural history aside, here is a scientific explanation.

The sugar in chocolate sparks the release of a nerve chemical called serotonin and might lower another nerve chemical called NPY; the end result is a sense of well-being. The sweet taste also releases endorphins in the brain, giving us an immediate euphoric rush. The fat in chocolate enhances flavor and aroma and satisfies another nerve chemical called galanin, thus curbing our cravings for fat.

Chocolate contains theobromine and caffeine, compounds that work as an energy pick-me-up. Several amino acids (phenylethylamine, or PEA, tryptophan, tyrosine) stimulate the nervous system, increase blood pressure and heart rate, enhancing pleasurable “love” feelings. Chocolate also contains anandamide that mimics the effects of marijuana and boosts the pleasure you get when you eat chocolate. Add to the list the natural calming elements (valeric and glutamic acid) and you’re craving an incredibly delicious, mellow, non-jittery mood and energy boost.

So, does a chocolate bar a day keep a doctor away? Maybe not. As if you needed any reason to get your chocolate fix, here are a few facts to justify the melt in your mouth.

• ” Chocolate is a surprising source of copper which we need for healthy bone formation and wound healing.
• ” Chocolate contains magnesium, which helps with calcium absorption for good bone health and proper muscle function for normal heart rhythm.
• ” Chocolate decreases activation of platelets, which are linked to heart attacks and stroke.
• ” Chocolate has a decent amount of antioxidants. These natural chemicals help protect against free radicals which may contribute to cancer and heart disease.
• ” Chocolate has shown to increase levels of “good” (HDL) cholesterol.
• ” Chocolate’s main ingredient cocoa has an anti-inflammatory effect that lowers the risk of blood clots which can cause heart disease

Before you run out to stock up on chocolate bars, I have to remind you that everything is good in moderation. Chocolate is good, and it’s good for you, but it is not faultless. Chocolate can increase stomach acid reflux and irritable bowel symptoms and cause allergic reactions, skin outbreaks, weight gain, dental cavities, and migraine in some people.

Of course, exercise is still the best mood enhancer I know of, and you shouldn’t put chocolate at the bottom of your daily food pyramid. But consuming sensible amounts of this mouth-watering pleaser is not such a big deal after all. I hope you have a very happy Valentine’s Day filled with love and pleasure!

Nutrient Information of Milk Chocolate

Nutrient	Units	Value per 100 grams	1 bar (1.55oz) 44.00g
Energy	kcal	513.00	225.72
Energy	kj	2146.000	994.24
Protein	g	6.90	3.04
Total lipid (fat)	g	30.70	13.51
Carbohydrate, by difference	g	59.20	26.05
Fiber, total dietary	g	3.40	1.50
Sugars, total	g	51.50	22.660
Calcium, Ca	mg	191.00	84.04
Iron, Fe	mg	1.39	0.61
Magnesium, Mg	mg	60.00	26.40
Phosphorus, P	mg	216.00	95.04
Potassium, K	mg	385.00	169.40
Sodium, Na	mg	82.00	36.08
Zinc, Zn	mg	1.38	0.61
Copper, Cu	mg	0.39	0.17
Manganese,Mn	mg	0.30	26.4
Selenium, Se	mcg	3.90	1.72
Vitamin C, ascorbic acid	mg	0.40	0.18
Thiamin	mg	0.08	0.04
Riboflavin	mg	0.30	0.13
Niacin	mg	0.32	0.14
Panrothenic acid	mg	0.42	0.19
Vitamin B-6	mg	0.04	0.12
Folate	mcg	80	3.52
Vitamin B-12	mcg	0.39	0.17
Vitamin A, IU	IU	182.00	81.40
Vitamin A, RE	mcg_RE	55.00	24.20
Vitamin E	mg_ATE	1.24	0.55
Fatty acids, saturated	g	18.48	8.13
Fatty acids, monounsaturated	g	9.59	4.39
Fatty acids, polyunsaturated	g	1.06	0.47
Cholesterol	mg	22.00	9.68
Caffeine	mg	26.00	11.44
Theobromine	mg	169.00	74.36

USDA Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 13 (November 1999)

See Your Abs Today

Get Your Muscle Mass

Want to see better ab definition? No spot reducing here, you know it doesn’t work. But training your abs will surely help. If you worked them out religiously without any visible results, you must have been doing something wrong. Tell you what – follow these techniques and your eight-pack is guaranteed. First of, work your abs like any other body part – 2 to 3 times a week. Training them more than once or twice per week is unnecessary.

More is not necessarily better. It’s that same principle again and again – quality vs. quantity. And no matter what body part you train, or what your ultimate fitness goal is, you may end up spending a lot of time and effort on completing the planned workout, but you fail to achieve the results you are seeking.

The reason is that you may become very inefficient at training your abs due to continuous repetitive overload without sufficient rest and enough time left for recuperation.

Training your abs every day may have some merrit it you are at advanced stage, where you can actually see and feel your washboard. But for the rest of us, I recomment training hard, powerfully and slowly pushing to the limit, and then letting the work you’ve done work for you.

You must concentrate on two things while working your mid-section: slowly contracting your muscles as tight as you can and coordinating powerful slow breaths with it. This will cause your abs to fatigue faster. The number of repetitions is not as relevant as the actual performance technique. If it takes you 100 crunches before your abs begin to burn, then you are wasting your time. Your abs should be fatigued at no more than 20-25 reps. If they are aren’t, you need to add weights to your exercise and work on contracting the muscles tightly for each rep. Don’t concentrate so much on “how many” you can do, but instead focus on “how hard” you can contract the abdominal muscles.

Contrary to popular belief (another myth), doing full sit-ups, lying leg raises or hanging leg raises DOES NOT give your abdominals the best workout. In fact, these exercises work your hip flexor muscles (psoas major) much more than your abs! Remember, the most effective exercises for working the abs must involve a “scrunching” type contraction, like an accordion.

Night Sweats

Better Way To Sweat

Night sweats can be linked several diseases, but many healthy people are experiencing this uncomfortable phenomenon. Doctors and scientists know little about the effect of exercise on the occurrence of night sweats. But new research is finding that men and younger women are having the same symptoms that were once associated only with menopausal women. This may be of prime importance if you try to take care of your health and well-being by exercising. Physical activity brings about certain hormonal changes in your body. And your night sweats indicate that your system, specifically the thyroid gland, may be adjusting to the changes brought about by earlier exercise.

Even though night sweats may be just a reaction to your intense training, it may also be due to one of the following:

• Tuberculosis
• Leukemia
• Lymphoma or other tumor
• HIV
• Infectious mononucleosis
• Gastro-esophageal reflux disease
• Obstructive sleep apnea
• Hyper-thyrodism
• Chronic fatigue syndrome
• Diabetes
• Hypoglycemia
• Reaction to medications:aspirin, acetaminophen, blood pressure medications, anti-anxiety medications
• Anxiety
• Catecholamine excess
• Pregnancy
• Menopause
• Andropause
• Alcohol
• Recovery from intense exercise

Viera, A.J., et al. American Family Physician 67 (5):1,019-1,024, 2003.

Caffeine Free Your Body

As part of our daily routine, caffeine is not losing its popularity with time. With a thorough knowledge about its effects on our systems, most of us are able to make an educated decision before making a choice between a cup of coffee or herbal tea. We all want to do what’s best for our bodies. But if having to choose the right beverage for you makes you anxious and you start feeling stress, then this article is for you. Don’t worry so much about what’s going to happen if you drink a cup of coffee – in moderation it can be very beneficial if you are not on a stress-fatigue roller-coaster. But if you are already on the edge, and a simple decision of ‘to drink or not to drink’ that cup’o'java causes perspiration and fidgeting, then stick to this report to find out… Caffeine has many pharmacologic actions in the body, including excitation of the nerves followed by a sort of paralysis or depression. The stomach and bladder are irritated by caffeine and there is widespread interference in various enzyme systems, damage to the chromosomes of the sex cells and other body cells, and many other unwanted actions.Caffeine has the potential to raise stress hormone levels in the blood, inhibits important enzyme systems having to do with house cleaning in the body, sensitizes nerve reception sites, and is associated with a sense of poor health, anxiety, and depression (2,3).

The first thing that a physician usually mentions to a peptic ulcer patient is that he must leave off caffeinated drinks. Not only peptic ulcer but several other kinds of digestive problems arise from the use of coffee.

Many people find that caffeine drinks cause them to suffer diarrhea followed by constipation. Headaches are common among caffeine users, and often clear up after only a short period of caffeine abstinence — a week or two. Headaches may occur as a caffeine withdrawal symptom; some people are so sensitive that they get a headache soon after drinking their last cup.

Damage to chromosomes by caffeine has been recognized for years. Those who want good babies and easy pregnancies should use absolutely no caffeine before, during or after pregnancy, since caffeine can damage the chromosomes of the ova and spermatozoa, as well as the chromosomes of the developing embryo during pregnancy.

Any substance that can damage chromosomes can also cause an increase in the rate of cancer. Bladder cancer in women is 2 1/2 times more likely to occur if a woman drinks only one cup of coffee per day (7). There are already several cancers that are known to be more common if one uses caffeine.

Since caffeine first stimulates the nerves than causes depression, presence of fatigue in those who use caffeinated drinks is common. It is a fact that the commonest complaint in physicians’ offices today is that of fatigue.

Yet, many people mistakenly believe that coffee helps them get through a difficult day. In addition to fatigue, mental confusion and depression also result from the use of caffeinated drinks. While caffeine drinks cause an immediate increase in the learning ability, the overall result is a decrease in learning; the physical fatigue resulting from pharinacologic depression of the nervous system produces emotional depression, leading to a reduction of interest in and retention of new material.

If caffeine is taken at night, it interferes with the mechanism the brain has of transferring freshly learned material from the short-term memory to the long-term memory.

References:

Greden, John F. M.D. et al. Anxiety and Depression Associated with Caffeinism Among Psychiatric Inpatients. American Journal of Psychiatry 133:8, Aug 1978.
Bellet, Samuel. Effects of Coffee Ingestion on Catecholamine Release.
Greden, John F. M.D. Anxiety of Caffeinism: A diagnostic dilemma. American Journal of Psychiatry 131:10, October, 1974.
Miscarriage and the Coffee Connection. Science News October 25, 1975 page 267.
The Medical Effects of Coffee. Medical World News January 26, 1976 page 63-73.

Computer Bug

No More Technology? 

Some people like to joke that they are allergic to school and work, but it could be true. According to a Swedish study, a chemical emitted from computer monitors may be the culprit behind allergic reactions such as itching, nasal congestion and headaches. Study authors report that a flame-retardant additive used in plastic materials to make computer monitors is a proven contact allergen that have caused health problems related to computer work. Even worse, data show that newer computers emit more of the compound than older ones.