Tag: nutrition

Resources by Conor HeffernanSep 18, 201711:34 am

Guest Post: The Best Anti-Inflammatory Ingredients for Joint Pain Relief

Joint pain can be extremely unpleasant, and in certain cases, it can be severe and insufferable. This condition prevents affected people from performing some of their regular daily routines, and although it’s most common in elderly people, all age groups can suffer from it. Various medical issues, including osteoarthritis, gout, bursitis, strains, sprains, simple inflammation, or rheumatoid arthritis, are responsible for joint pain. The knee is usually very prone to pain, but other joints such as hips, shoulders, or ankles are also susceptible to this medical issue. As some of these conditions trigger inflammation, it’s highly beneficial to use natural ingredients to relieve the pain as they don’t have side effects.

Is Portion Control as Hard as It Seems?

One of the main goals in weight loss (and nutrition in general) is to cut calories that are wasteful. We all have a recommended daily intake of calories and if you surpass it, then you’re in the territory of gaining weight unless you supplement your lifestyle with plenty of exercise to balance it out. Unfortunately, some foods that we eat are “empty” calories, meaning that they provide no real benefit to our bodies. In addition, some foods simply aren’t as nutritional as others, and it can be seen as wasteful.

Portion control is just another way of watching what you eat, but it goes a little beyond just cutting out wasteful calories. If you’re serious about managing your nutrition, then it’s important to keep an eye on the portions you eat so that you’re gaining as many nutrients as possible with the fewest calories.

Nutrition by Conor HeffernanAug 28, 20175:02 pm

Forgotten Bodybuilding Supplements: Desiccated Liver

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At a time when anabolic steroids were in their infancy, bodybuilders were turning to an altogether different sort of wonder substance. Said to increase one’s energy, muscle mass and overall wellbeing, this product was cheap, easy to take and used by some of the top bodybuilders of the time.

I am of course referring to Desiccated Liver, a supplement form of liver, popularised from the 1950s onwards by a series of bodybuilding gurus. In today’s post we’re going to examine what exactly Desiccated Liver was, who used it and finally what benefits they believed it provided. We’ll then finish up with a brief discussion about whether or not it should form part of your own supplement stack.

Nutrition by Conor HeffernanAug 14, 20171:08 pm

Guest Post: What “dieting” meant to people in the 1900s

Dieting in the 1900s

The concept of “dieting” has been around for a very, very long time. If historical data is to be believed, people have been convinced about the power of dieting for as long as 500 years now. Can people control their body weight and composition by controlling what they eat, when they eat and how they eat it? Most certainly!

Today, we have a number of facilities and fitness equipment like roman chairs, treadmills, and dedicated trainers to help us with our fitness goals. Back in the day? Diets were more sought-after. A lot of diets have been introduced and experimented with over the years. Some of them have been failures, some have been quite weird, and others have been recycled, given fancier names, and exist in the current scenario. Let’s take a look at a few of these:

Training by Conor HeffernanJul 26, 20177:12 am

Guest Post: How To Effectively Use Cheat Meals

Our latest post comes from the wonderful and talented Samantha Olivier from Ripped.me. We’re delighted to have Samantha featured on the site again and know you’ll enjoy her latest piece.

Yes, I know, the word “cheat” sounds awful, but before you go all negative on cheat meals, you should know that they can be a valuable tool that can boost your metabolic rate. There are cheat strategies that people of all fitness levels and sizes can implement successfully. However, considering factors such as your previous dieting failure/success, daily eating habits, and fitness goals is a must as part of your self-evaluation.

Eating clean for the most of your week, staying active and rewarding yourself is at the heart of this matter. After a sudden intake of those extra calories, your metabolism starts burning hot, and the effects of enhanced fat loss and muscle gains are increased. Your body utilizes protein better, your cravings are reduced as well as metabolically damaging gut bacteria. So, there’s no need to feel guilty after consuming a cheat meal from time to time, because it actually helps you to become and stay lean.

Nutrition by Conor HeffernanJul 18, 201710:23 am

Tips on Nurturing Healthy Eating Habits

If you have been thinking that eating healthy means you have to stop eating the things that you love and instead stick to foods that make you sulk, then you are perhaps mistaken. Also, it does not mean that you have to starve to stay thin and get that much sought after size zero figure. But eating healthy means, that it should reflect in your appearance, in your attitude, and most importantly, in your approach towards life.

In fact, if you have been eating well and eating right, it should make you more energetic, make you feel great, it should also help you to visit your medical practitioner less frequently, and increase the instances of so called “feel-good factor” in you.

In this write up, let us find out what is meant by eating healthy food and staying fit and how you can incorporate these habits in your daily life.

Given below are few tips that you can follow to stay fit, healthy, and in great health and spirit. Check out these guidelines-

Resources by Conor HeffernanJun 21, 20176:37 am

Guest Post: What You Need to Know about Vitamin B12 [Infographic]

Taking fitness seriously not only means training regularly but also means paying attention to the vitamins and nutrients that our body needs. While working out is often half of the battle towards increasing fitness, enhancing health and protecting against anti-aging, getting the right amount of nutrients is a long term battle.

Most of us know about the ‘headline’ vitamins such as vitamins C and D but B is often talked about much less, and specifically B12 is one of the most under discussed vitamins, that a growing number of people are deficient in. B12 plays a vital part in many of our body’s core functions such as the production of red blood cells and nerve cells.

Not only that, being deficient in B12 is likely to make you tired, sluggish and prone to getting headaches. To find out more about vitamin B12 and the symptoms, causes and treatments check out the below infographic by psysci:

Training by Conor HeffernanJun 8, 20171:07 pm

Guest Post: Reaching the Plateau – And Overcoming It

If you’ve tried basic diet and exercise to shed unwanted pounds, chances are, you are no stranger to the weight loss plateau dilemma. When we first alter our diets by cutting calories and adding a side of exercise, we tend to shed pounds quite rapidly. Yet, once we get down to the nitty gritty of shedding those last ten to 15 pounds to reach our goal weight, we then learn that it’s not nearly as easy as it was in the beginning. That’s because once our body starts to reach a comfortable weight, it becomes more difficult to shed the rest of those pounds.

Resources by Conor HeffernanMay 5, 20172:57 pm

Guest Post: 5 Breakfast Ideas for Fitness Enthusiasts

Skipping breakfast is not a habit that you should adopt, but still many people do it because they don’t have the time or the energy to eat in the morning. To each their own, of course, but you should know that having the first meal of the day on a regular basis allows your metabolism to go on full speed from an early morning and it actually helps in waking up. Healthy breakfast regulates your blood pressure and blood sugar, not to talk about the fact that it has a significant impact on how you’re going to eat for the rest of your day and if you’ll be able to keep cravings away.

All of these reasons are but the tip of the iceberg of why you should always have your breakfast of the champions and we’re here to help you out in this domain. Here are some breakfast ideas that won’t take up a lot of your time in the morning, they are perfect for every fitness enthusiast and they are delicious.

Resources by Conor HeffernanApr 10, 20174:04 pm

A History of Pre-Workout Supplements

Situated halfway between the gym and the nightclub, pre-workout supplements have taken on a remarkable popularity amongst gym goers in recent years. Labelled with ‘hardcore’ names such as ‘Anarchy’, ‘Mr. Hyde’ or ‘Rage’, the pre-workout supplement has become a staple amongst portions of the lifting community.

Indeed, one may be forgiven for thinking that bodybuilders, powerlifters, weight lifters and just about anyone else who has ever graced the gym floor have been using these supplements since the dawn of gym going. This however, is not the case. In fact, the first major pre workout supplements did not hit the markets since the 1980s.

So what came before the pre-workout supplement? What did bodybuilders do in the time of physical culture or the time of Arnold and co.? Furthermore when did pre-workouts hit the market? And why did they become so popular? An ambitious set of questions, which today’s article seeks to answer.