10 Simple Tips For Building Muscle Immediately

Dr. Nick Galante, M.D. - Certified Medical Doctor (M.D.) Harvard Medical School

1. Warm Up. Would you stretch cold taffy? No, it will break. So don’t work your muscles when they’re cold. Five minutes of light cardio on the treadmill or exercise bike will get your heart rate up and blood flowing to your muscles.
2. Use Primarily Free Weights. Machines are great for isolating a muscle group. And they are part of a well rounded lifting routine. But too often we rely too heavily on them. Free weights allow you to move naturally and let you take advantage of your body’s natural anatomy. They also recruit many more stabilizing muscle groups, which make you stronger AND burns more calories.
3. Use Strict Form.Check you ego at the door and work the weight, don’t let the weight work you. If your form is off, you aren’t working your muscles properly, or worse, not working them at all. You’re wasting your time in the gym, and our time is all very costly.

4. Use Compound Exercise. These are the fundamental movements for every muscle group. They allow you to develop maximum strength and maximum mass. They work many muscle groups. And they will torch body fat. They are bench press for chest, should press for deltoids, squats for legs, deadlifts for legs and back, and rows and pull-ups for back. Make them a part of every workout.
5. Use The 8-10 Rep Range For Most Exercises.The exception is the aforementioned compound lifts where you can drop your rep range to 5-8. Otherwise 8-10 is the range you want for a combination of strength and hypertrophy.
6. Train Your Weakness. The key is balance. If you only train your strengths you will be completely unbalanced. Your muscles are all interconnected, so training your weakness will not only make you more symmetric.
7. Optimize Your Nutrition If you eat right and don’t workout a bit, you will look good. If you workout consistently but eat dirty, you won’t look like you’ve ever set foot inside the gym. Plain and simple.

8. Optimize Your Supplements. Most supplements make outrageous claims. But basic supplementation is key. A good multivitamin, Whey protein, and Pre-workout caffeine can help you look good in no time. These are the basics and they will go a long way.
9. Never Do Cardio Before Weights.This will run your glycogen levels into the ground and leave little if any fule left for the heavy lifting. This is especially important if you are in a calorie defecit and energy is at a premium. Do the hardest thing first, when you have the most fuel in your tank.
10. Don’t Overdo it with The Cardio. While cardiovascular exercise is excellent for your heart and blood vessels, it’s nearly always overdone. Cardio should be part of a balanced training routine. It should not take center stage, or be performed for hours and hours on end. If you do this, your stress hormones will go through the roof and your body will start to hold onto fat and actually store fat.

To learn more about Other Simple Tricks that will help you Burn More Fat and Lose Weight, Click Here.

5 Biggest Nutritional Lies You’ve Been Told

Dr. Nick Galante, M.D. - Certified Medical Doctor (M.D.) Harvard Medical School

1. You Need To Starve To Lose Weight. This isn’t only false, but detrimental to loosing weight. It’s true that you need to take in less calories than you are expending in a given day to lose. But starvation is way too extreme. A 500 calories a day deficit is enough to lose a pound a week.

There are several problems with starvation mode. First your body will start looking to the protein in you muscles for fuel, so you will lose muscle mass and look less lean. The goal is to keep as much muscle as possible when trying to lose weight. Next is that starving yourself forces your body into a panic and causes release of massive doses of stress hormones like cortisol. The end results is that you actually will start storing more fat and holding onto the fat you have because your body thinks it needs to perverse fuel. Last is that your metabolism will come to a grinding halt. Where as your basal metabolic rate may have been 2000 calories per day prior to starving yourself, it may drop to 1000 calories per day, forcing you to starve yourself even more to see minimal results. This becomes a vicious cycle.

2. Too Much Protein is Bad For You. You hear this all the time. That eating too much protein is bad for your kidneys and your health. To date there has not been a single study to conclusively support this notion. Protein is the key building block to muscle. The more muscle you have, the better you will look and the higher your metabolism. More muscle equals less fat, plain and simple. What's more, is that protein requires the most energy for you body to process. In scientist speak, it’s the most thermogenic of the macronutrients. Lastly, protein tends to be more filling than fat or carbohydrate on a calorie for calorie basis. You should aim for 1 gram or protein per pound of body weight. Again studies have shown that even at 1.25g of protein per pound of body weight had no effect on one’s kidney function.

3. A Calorie Is A Calorie. While at its most basic level this is fundamentally true, it is so often misunderstood. Sure, if you need to eat 2000 calories a day to maintain your weight, regardless of if comes from chicken, brown rice, and broccoli or big macs, you will stay the same weight. But your body composition will change if you start eating dirty all the time. Your energy levels will decline due to huge swings in blood hormones. Your muscles will waste away because they are not getting enough of their building blocks (protein). And your metabolism will be slow because you’ll be missing vitamin, minerals, and cofactors which grease the wheels of your metabolism. Plain and simple: you are what you eat.

4. Red Meat s bad for you. Red meat gets a very bad wrap. It gets blamed for cancer, heart disease, and high blood pressure. While most red meats are terrible for you, eating the right kind of red meat can help you can maximize muscle gain, fat loss, and your overall health. The problem is that people tend to not eat lean red meats. And they burn the hell out of the meats they are cooking. This is indeed horrible for your body for all the reasons mentioned. But lean red meat is high in iron, creatine, and packs more protein gram for gram than any other animal source. Make sure you trim the fat off your meat and if grilling, the burned or chard-to-a-crisp parts.

5. If I Eat Low Fat or Fat-Free Foods, I Won’t Get Fat. Although the low fat craze has come and gone its effects are still being felt and seen by the millions of overweight and obese Americans. The problem with low fat or fat free foods if that, almost without fail, “low fat” equals “high sugar”. And, “high sugar” equals, “gets stored as fat very quickly”. Good Fats are an essential part of a balanced diet and if chosen wisely will help you gain muscles and actually lose fat.

To learn more about Other Nutritional Tricks and how to Burn More Fat and Lose Weight, Click Here.

Is Alcohol Making You Fat?

Dr. Nick Galante, M.D. - Certified Medical Doctor (M.D.) Harvard Medical School

Alcohol is important to social and personal situations.
It does not need to be excluded, but just like everything else, knowing its place and moderating it intake is key to building a leaner and healthier you.

First and foremost, alcohol is Calorie dense. Each gram has 7 Calories, almost midway between carbs/protein and fat.

That's just pure ethyl alcohol. When you add the mixing substances, you have a very Calorie dense substance.

On top of that alcohol has general detrimental effects on fat loss by inhibiting fat burning metabolic pathways, creating a favorable environment for fat storage, and decreasing testosterone production.

But again going back to the fundamental principal of Calories in and Calories out, you can enjoy alcohol. Just like all other nutrients, it must be moderate. Without going into too much detail, the scientific way to handle alcohol and weight loss is as follows: generally limit carbs and Calories on days you will be drinking. Eat a smaller and generally low carb breakfast and lunch. Then have a moderate carb dinner.

The second aspect is deciding what to drink. Avoid sugar heavy mixed drinks and instead opt for drinks based on club soda / diet soda, light beer, wine, or drinks on the rocks like bourbon. Each drink can be thought of as the equivalent of as 1-2 slices of bread.

Lastly, moderation again. Most people are familiar with the negative effects of drinking in excess. Dehydration and hangovers that can derail a planned morning workout session. Alcohol also lower inhibitions and makes it easier to cheat and overeat.

To learn more about alcohol and modify intake to Burn More Fat and Lose Weight, Click Here.

Top Foods used by Ancient Romans to Burn Fat

Dr. Nick Galante, M.D. - Certified Medical Doctor (M.D.) Harvard Medical School

Fitness isn’t a temporary fix. It’s a lifestyle and nutrition is critical. Easily more than 50% of looking good and getting the most out of your workouts is nutrition. Once you learn the basics, it becomes easier and easier to adapt to your new lifestyle and the fit feeling becomes addictive. The first daunting task of creating an effective yet tasty diet can be overwhelming. Eventually it will become second nature.

A balanced diet includes the right macronutrients at the right times. Here are some foods for each macro nutrient group that you can’t go wrong with. Keep these stocked at you place at all times.

Protein is the building block of muscle. It’s also quite filling and requires the most energy expenditure by your body to process. Lean sources of protein should be in your diet.

Keep these proteins in your kitchen:
Chicken breast
Ground turkey
Lean ground beef
Lean cuts of red meat
Certain Types of Fish
Eggs
Greek yogurt
Whey protein

Fats are often seen as the enemy. But fats don’t make people fat, overeating does. Good Fats are essential for testosterone production, which is the major hormone for fat loss and muscle building. Good Fats are also necessary to keep your metabolism running smooth. And if you aren’t eating carbs later in the day, good fats are necessary to fill that caloric void.

Keep these fats in your kitchen:
Olive oil
Nuts
Peanut butter
Avocados
Cheese (hard cheese like Parmesans, Romano, or feta has the best protein to fat ratio)

Carbohydrates are your body’s primary fuel source. But overeating will quickly convert those excess carbohydrates to fat. Carbs should be eaten in the morning and pre and post workout. Carbs should be limited later in the day.

Keep these good carbohydrates in your kitchen:
Brown rice
Whole wheat bread
Whole wheat pasta
Quinoa
Oatmeal
Fruits (berries, bananas, apples, citrus)
Vegetables (sweet potatoes, broccoli, spinach, salads, tomatoes, carrots)
Beans and chickpeas

Seasonings:
Salsa
Reduce sodium soy sauce
Salt
Pepper
Garlic powder
Old Bay
Herbs
Mustard
Extract (vanilla, lemon)
Mrs. Dash

To learn more about other foods that can help you Burn More Fat and Lose Weight, Click Here.

Fun, Mental Trick that Stops Food Cravings.

Dr. Nick Galante, M.D. - Certified Medical Doctor (M.D.) Harvard Medical School

Ever wonder why it is that even though you may have just eaten a healthy and filling dinner, you still crave desert? You may even feel hungry, though you are not! It’s these cravings that often derail your hopes for a leaner and sexier body. You know the feeling. You’ve done everything right in the day up until that point and those pesky thoughts of sweets just won’t go away.

The truth is that after a meal you are full. It’s not hunger that’s driving you to crave sweets. It’s appetite. The desire to have those flavors and the mental joy that comes with them. These foods actually incite the same neural circuitry as many drugs, and that’s why there is a literal addiction to them. But how do you break the cycle?

First realize what’s happening. You aren’t actually hungry. Cravings are often brought on by boredom, stress, or anxiety. You’d be surprised how much simple awareness can help with cravings. Next, find something to occupy you. Try going for a walk, play with your kids or pet, or read something engaging. Sometimes your body is thirsty though it comes through as the sensation of hunger. Drink a glass of water, wait five minute, and see if you are still feeling hungry or having cravings. You can also try brushing your teeth.

Cravings can be ingrained in you. If you find that cravings always come at a certain time of day or following a certain activity, they may be part of your routine. Changing things up may be necessary. For example, if you always walk a certain way after lunch back to your desk, take a different rout. If you always crave sweets with your afternoon coffee, try a different caffeinated drink or different coffee spot.

Night cravings are a particular problem. If you don’t have the food on hand in your pantry, you are less likely to go out and get it. So don’t stock a bunch of junk food. Eat a filling dinner with a lot of vegetables and fiber. If you stay full longer it can help to curve your appetite. Try chewing gum to occupy your mouth.

Don’t think of food as a reward for how good you’ve been with your diet and exercise. No real reward sabotages your progress. Your reward is results. Don’t let cravings stand in their way.

To learn more about other simple tips that can help you Burn More Fat and Lose Weight, Click Here.

Shed 5 Pounds Today by Using these Unusual Tricks.

Dr. Nick Galante, M.D. - Certified Medical Doctor (M.D.) Harvard Medical School

Here are a few quick tips that can help you burn fat and lose weight imediately:

*Switch to skim milk, or at least 1%.

*Stop drinking sugary drinks. If you enjoy soda, have diet soda.

*Cut out fast food. It’s OK to indulge from time to time, but not every night.

*Eat more. More frequently that is. Smaller more frequent meals help you stay full longer and can ward off cravings and overeating. See How you can eat MORE and actually lose weigh.

*As a piggyback to that last piece of advice, don’t graze. Eat dedicated meals, but don’t continually snack.

*Eat skinless chicken, it's a great source of protein.

*Choose 90% lean ground beef instead of regular ground beef.

*Have a plan. If you have a meal already made, or at least know what you plan to eat, you’ll be less likely to stray.

To learn more about other simple tips that can help you Burn More Fat and Lose Weight, Click Here.

Top 4 Training Mistakes that Make You Flabby

Dr. Nick Galante, M.D. - Certified Medical Doctor (M.D.) Harvard Medical School

1. Too Much Cardio. This is the number one training mistake. In every gym you seen people grinding away on treadmills, exercise bikes, elliptical machines, and all other sorts of cardio machines hoping to shed calories. They look like zombies. While cardiovascular exercise is excellent for your heart and blood vessels, it’s nearly always overdone. Cardio should be part of a balanced training routine. It should not take center stage, or be performed for hours and hours on end. If you do this, your stress hormones will go through the roof and your body will start to hold onto fat and actually store fat. Additionally, you will injure yourself as your body suffers constant wear and tear. You will eat away at what little muscle you have. You will crave carbs to fuel your excessively draining workouts, and will inevitably overeat those carbs and get pudgy, or “skinny fat”. Just look at majority of marathoners. Skinny, yes. Lean, not really. And most importantly, you will have no energy left to actually lift weights.

2. Not Lifting Weights. “I don’t want to get too big.” “I’m just trying to get toned.” Yeah, yeah, well you know what? I do want to get “too big”. The only problem is I’ve been trying very hard for almost a decade to do that. And it hasn’t worked. It is impossible to get “too big”. I wish I could wake up one day, look in the mirror and say, “oh no, I finally did it. I got too big”. Enough ranting though. Lifting weights burns calories, a hell of a lot more than people realize. Lifting weight builds muscle, which makes you look better and helps significantly boost your metabolism. And, lifting weight helps build bone mass, warding off osteoporosis. Lift weights. Lift heavy weights. You won’t get too big. You’ll get lean and muscular.

3. Poor Form. As a piggy back to “lift weights”, do it properly. Check you ego at the door and work the weight, don’t let the weight work you. If your form is off, you aren’t working your muscles properly, or worse, not working them at all. You’re wasting your time in the gym, and our time is all very costly. More importantly, at some point you will injure yourself. That extra ten pounds on your bench press that’s causing you to arch your back… Or that extra 5 pounds on those curls that causes you to swing like a branch in a hurricane… That doesn’t impress anyone. The person next to you doesn’t care if you’re curling 20lbs or 40lbs. But your muscles and nervous system do care. They will only respond if stimulated adequately and through a full and dynamic range of motion. Work your muscles, not your ego.

4. Doing 1000 + Reps of Abs. There is no muscle group more misunderstood and more improperly trained than the abdominals. First of all, they are a muscle just like any other and respond to training like any other muscle group. You’re not doing 1000 biceps curls, are you? Your biceps respond just fine to 3-4 sets of 10 reps. Your abs will do the same. The problem is we get frustrated because we often don’t see our abs and think we aren’t working them hard enough. It’s not because they aren’t big enough. It’s because we’re carrying around too much abdominal fat.
The bigger your abs the more you’ll see them at a given level of body fat. Train them like any other muscles group and they will hypertrophy. Another point is understanding the anatomy of the abdominal muscles, which is complex, and thoroughly working all parts of your abdominal. Crunches are the tip of the iceberg.

Click here to learn more about Other Common Training Mistakes.