Maximizing Lean Muscle Gain

We spend copious amounts of time in the weight room pushing, pulling, raising, and lowering weights; while flexing, extending, rotating and statically loading our body. Ultimately, we put ourselves through this to add lean muscle, which in turn increases our metabolism leading to a reduction in body fat. Although it might sound pretty straightforward, it is not as simple as showing up to the gym, moving some weight around and expecting the desired change.

Muscles are made up of thousands of fibers. There are two types: type I (slow twitch) is primarily used during long endurance activities and type II (fast-twitch) is mainly used during short bursts of movement. Both types are comprised of protein (amino acids in its simplest form).

The main factors that are required for muscle hypertrophy (growth and increase in the size of muscle cells) include:

1. Having a Strong Stimulus. Choosing a heavy enough load/weight results in microscopic tears to muscle fibers.

2. Consuming Enough Protein. Extra protein has to be circulating throughout the body to repair tears and add muscle size. Without it, this process of building new lean muscle is brought to a halt. This is why protein is essential at every meal and especially after a workout.

3. Getting Adequate Rest. Muscles grow and recover when they are resting. Overtraining results in your body’s inability to repair, which limits lean muscle gain.

Beyond these main factors, there are additional influences which include:

· Doing Multi-Joint Movements/ Working Large Muscle Groups – the more muscle fibers stimulated, the greater potential for hypertrophy. Squats and deadlifts, which are multi-joint movements and target large muscle groups, are more effective and beneficial for strength and muscle gain compared to single joint and/or small muscle groups.

· Proper Training Technique – having poor form or minimal range of motion does not allow for maximal gains and could potentially result in acute and/or chronic injury.

· Drinking Enough Water - proper hydration is essential for muscle growth, considering 75% of muscle is made up of water.

· Change Up Workout Routine Frequently – keep muscles guessing with new and/or varied stimuli to help maximize muscle growth. (Click here to learn more.)

· Protein Supplementation – having a quality whey protein isolate, along with glutamine (the most abundant amino acid found in the body) and branch chain amino acid’s (BCAA’s) are important for post workout recovery. They help prevent muscle loss, while increasing lean muscle.

What you do after your workout is just as important as what you do during it to increase lean muscle. What’s preventing you from maximizing muscle growth? Learn how to increase strength while minimizing muscle catabolism (breakdown) by contacting Dan at (978) 807-8579 or visit seachangefitness.net.

Dan Kinsella is an Exercise Physiologist with a degree in Sports Medicine. He's a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), as well as a Certified Nutrition Specialist. To learn more about this article, or his personal training services, visit seachangefitness.net or call (978) 807-8579 to schedule your FREE consultation!

Sleeping Your Way to Better Health

You’ve probably heard the phrase, “I’ll sleep when I’m dead;” however, not getting enough zzz’s can put you on a faster track to a date with destiny. With today’s hectic work schedules, fast paced lifestyles, and ever changing sleep patterns, many tend to underestimate its importance and forget that it is not a luxury, but a necessity. If completely deprived of shuteye, you will eventually die.

Sleep is divided into four stages; the most important sleep occurs during deep sleep (stage 3) and rapid eye movement (REM, stage 4). Deep sleep helps growth, the regulation of hormones, and physically re-energize us. Without it, the chance of getting sick, feeling depressed, and unhealthy weight gain increases. During REM, our brain processes and synthesizes memories and emotions, which is vital for learning and higher-level thinking. Lack of REM leads to difficulty concentrating, memory issues, as well as slower cognitive and social processing.

Over the past 30 years, the number of short sleepers (a person who gets 6 hours, or less, of sleep a night) have increased significantly. Short term, this leads a decrease in concentration, creativity, mood regulation, and productivity; long term, this increases the risk for developing certain diseases.

Some of the Major Benefits of Getting a Good Night’s Sleep Include:

• Increased production of protein molecules to repair cellular damage, which strengthen our immune system to fight infection and stay healthy
• Reduced levels of stress and inflammation, which is linked to heart disease and strokes
• Lower blood pressure
• Improved memory
• Higher understanding and retention
• Enhanced alertness
• Regulation of hormones that control appetite and fat storage
• Decreased chance of developing type 2 diabetes
• Growth hormone production necessary to maintain muscle and bone mass
• Moderation of cortisol levels, which minimizes the occurrence of mood disorders, like depression

It is important to realize the necessity of sound sleep and make it a priority. Too often other activities take precedent and lack of slumbering is accepted as a part of life. Sleep, along with exercise and healthy eating, is necessary for optimal health and development. Learn how exercise and proper nutrition can minimize insomnia, restless leg syndrome, and sleep-disordered breathing (including sleep apnea) by contacting Dan at (978) 807-8579 or visit seachangefitness.net to learn more.

Dan Kinsella is an Exercise Physiologist with a degree in Sports Medicine. He's a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), as well as a Certified Nutrition Specialist. To learn more about this article, or his personal training services, visit seachangefitness.net or call (978) 807-8579 to schedule your FREE consultation!

Mix Up Your Workout to Maximize Results

It has been said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. That could have easily been referring to people and their exercise habits. Too often, gym goers get into a rut by repeatedly doing the same monotonous workout and expecting something to change. In order to build muscle and burn fat, it is essential to add variety to your routine and not stagnate by hitting plateaus.

Your body is very adaptive (it likes homeostasis) and becomes more efficient at doing the same thing continuously, resulting in fewer calories being burned over time. This is called the principle of adaptation. Although this is beneficial for athletes and their ability to get better at their sport (like the repetitive movement of throwing or catching a ball) it does not bode well for fat loss, strength gain, or fitness progression.

It is important to modify your workouts every few weeks or months by adding a new stimulus through:

• varied exercise selection
• amount of weight lifted
• movement speed
• number of repetitions performed
• varied rest periods

Benefits include:

• improved conditioning
• enhanced performance
• increased muscle
• decreased fat weight

There is a mental component that benefits this change as well. Adding variety to workouts give our brains a new stimulus, which is important for keeping us motivated and preventing boredom. This mind set leads to better gym retention and a desire to achieve a higher level of fitness.

It is not as critical to the novice gym goer (who has been sedentary or has not worked out in years) to change up his/her routine early on. Any exercise performed in the gym will produce some form of training response for a “beginner”. Initially, the body neuromuscularly adapts, which results in enhanced communication between nerves and muscles. This improves the learning of movement patterns. More importantly this is a time to learn proper form and range of motion.

How often do you change up your exercise routine or give your body a new training stimulus? Learn the best plan of attack to maximize your time and results by contacting Dan at (978) 807-8579 or visit seachangefitness.net to learn more.

Dan Kinsella is an Exercise Physiologist with a degree in Sports Medicine. He's a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), as well as a Certified Nutrition Specialist. To learn more about this article, or his personal training services, visit seachangefitness.net or call (978) 807-8579 to schedule your FREE consultation!

Is Stress Making You Fat?

Stress can wreak havoc on our ability to lose fat – whether from your job, kids, relationships, financial woes, diseases, scale weight, lack of sleep, road rage, favorite sports team, or life in general. Stress is defined as any change that causes physical, emotional, or psychological strain and can be positive or negative, as well as acute or chronic. You can experience it as a result of your environment, body, and thoughts.

While the initial response to acute stress can be temporary loss of appetite, chronic stress leads to the release of the hormone cortisol, which causes weight gain in several ways:

• Decreased Metabolism – leads to fewer calories burned

• Increased Craving (Emotional Eating) – results in higher intake of fatty, salty, and sugary food, which adds calories
• Altered Blood Sugar Levels – causes health risks, like heart attacks and diabetes

• Excess Abdominal Fat Storage – links to more health issues compared to other areas of stored fat

Cortisol is termed the "stress hormone" because it is secreted in times of physical, emotional, and/or psychological demand. Produced in the cortex of the adrenal glands located at the top of each kidney, cortisol can be altered from its normal cycle, with the highest levels being in the early morning and lowest during the evening. The amount secreted, due to stress, varies from person to person; some being more reactive in stressful situations than others. Although some cortisol is necessary for energy regulation, and mobilization, when too much gets released, it negatively impacts our body.

The diet industry has attempted to capitalize on this craze, by claiming supplements can reduce cortisol levels and increase fat loss. There has been no scientific evidence to support these supplements. The best cortisol inhibitor is aerobic and anaerobic exercise, which burns calories, builds muscle, and leads to fat loss.

Other effective means to minimize its release include:

• eating well balanced meals
• getting enough sleep
• incorporating meditation, relaxation, and deep breathing
• adding whole grain, high fiber foods
• avoiding stimulants like caffeine and cigarettes
• avoiding depressants like alcohol
• taking vitamins (especially B, C, and D)

Since stress will always be part of our lives, it is important to learn how to cope with it. Too much stress over time, combined with poor managing skills, may cause chemical and physical imbalances, and eventually lead to disease and death. Contact Dan to help identify potential risks associated with stress-induced fat gain or to maximize your workouts while minimizing the amount of cortisol released.

Dan Kinsella is an Exercise Physiologist with a degree in Sports Medicine. He's a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), as well as a Certified Nutrition Specialist. To learn more about this article, or his personal training services, visit seachangefitness.net or call (978) 807-8579 to schedule your FREE consultation!

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