M3:D32 Hormones
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 Today started out very early as I was travelling and wanted to get my lifting workout in. I hit the gym at 3:15 a.m. today, which is extremely early even by my standards. Today I wanted to discuss the importance of various hormones and how they effect your weight loss and weight training programs. I will give an overview and then go into more details in tomorrow's post. We never really think about it, but depending upon the state we put our bodies in, we are either in an anabolic (muscle building) state or a catabolic (muscle destroying) state. Insulin aids in protein synthesis, thereby putting us in an anabolic state. Testosterone is a hormone that also places us in an anabolic state. HGH is obviously an anabolic hormone. Cortisol is a catabolic hormone. How you eat will control what happens with each of these hormones. Obviously we are looking to avoid the catabolic state and remain in the anabolic state as long as possible. While lifting weights your body will begin to search for energy by breaking down the muscles. Your body is desperately seeking amino acids for your hard working muscles and when it can't find any, it breaks down the existing muscle to get what it is looking for. This is why amino acid supplementation is very important when lifting intensely. I personally sip Champion Amino Shots 10 minutes before my workout and 20 minutes into my workout. This helps to raise the anabolic state of my body. After a workout I have a protein shake containing whey and dextrose (to cause an insulin spike) along with glutamine. This post workout shake is extremely important as it causes an insulin spike, thereby increasing protein synthesis, throwing your body into an anabolic state. It is important to do this right after a workout because an intense workout increases the amount of cortisol released in your body, thereby causing you to go into a catabolic state. The important take away here is that what you eat and when you eat it can switch your body from catabolic to anabolic. I will explain more in tomorrow's post. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Today was the end of another kick butt week of intense workouts. I am definitely seeing some gains in both strength and size. I have been pushing myself as hard as I humanly can go and it seems to be working. The Quad Blaster is now a 2 time a week piece of equipment for my legs and I am seeing major results already. My thighs have visibly increased in size. I had to hit the gym very early today so that I could make my flight to Seattle and get in a great workout. My training lately has been extremely focused, almost razor sharp. I find that my body is completely beat up at the end of a workout these days. I am getting better results 3 days a week than I was 4 days a week previously. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 What are some techniques you use to up the intensity of your workouts? Answer this question by commenting this post. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Until tomorrow...GET BACK TO LIFTING! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
great post!
Currently to up the intensity of my workouts I'm shortening the rest between sets. I'm finding this a great way to keep the heart pumping and blood flowing for my whole workout.
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