Helpful Tip & Tricks
STRETCH IT OUT
Why Should I Stretch?
When you take the time to give your body a nice stretch before every workout, you allow yourself to have more flexibility & gives your body the ability to execute its full range of motion. Full range of motion is just a fancy way of saying how far you can bend, reach, & twist.
Giving your body the opportunity to stretch drastically lessen your chances of any future injuries due to exercising.
Types Of Stretches
Static stretch: stretching a muscle to the point of mild discomfort and holding that position, typically for at least 30 seconds or longer.
Proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF): methods vary, but typically PNF involves holding a stretch while contracting and relaxing the muscle.
Dynamic stretch: performing gentle repetitive movements, such as arm swings, where one gradually increases the range of motion of the movement, but always remains within the normal range of motion.
Ballistic or bouncing stretches: involves going into a stretch and performing bouncing or jerking movements to increase range of motion.
Most of the research on stretching has focused on static stretching; there is less evidence on other forms.
CALORIE COUNTING
How Do I Do This?
How do I know what’s too much, or do I need to eat a little extra to get to my goal? That’s understandable, click here to be connected to a link to a calorie counter that will give you the basis of where your calories should be.
In order to count your calories on the back of your favorite snacks to stay in alignment, let me give you a little help so it won’t be TOO confusing to grasp. For example, for peanut butter, it says that it is 188 calories, but for the average person, you might be saying “what the heck does that mean?”. Above the nutritional facts, there’s information that tells you how the nutritionist were able to measure their counts. For peanut butter, the 188 calories is for 2 tablespoons, so that means that each tablespoon of peanut butter is 94 calories. It is very important to understand the fraction and measurements that are in the information above the nutritional fact so you won’t under or over count your daily calories. MyFitnessPal is a really great app to download for your smart mobile devices as a way to make sure your path is on the straight and narrow.
WHAT'S YOUR BODY TYPE?
Ectomorph
On average, ectomorphs are usually thin & has a very difficult time gaining weight when it comes to either body fat or muscle. Have you ever seen the person that seems to be able to eat whatever they want, and won’t gain a THING? Even though some people might see this a gift and that person should be enrolled as an X-Men, to that person, it’s a really big issue & they have to adjust their bodies to fit their specific grouping.
Characteristics:
Narrow hips & clavicles
Small joints
Thin bones
Slim muscle belly
Long limbs
Mesomorph
Mesomorphs are known to be the middle man of the group. They are the ones that are known to have the best of both worlds. Those who are placed in this category tend to be generally muscular and naturally fit. Just because mesomorphs are can have the illusion, it doesn’t mean that they are allowed to eat and do whatever they want, or that they’re healthier than ectomorphs and endomorphs. Each body type has their own obstacles to overcome, however they are based on different aspects. Characteristics:
Wide clavicles
Narrow waist
Thinner Joints
Long and round muscle bellies
Endomorph
The endomorph both gains and keeps weight. We have helped people that has joined the M.C Family, but before following through with our programs, they’ve tried their friend’s health and nutrition plan to lose weight and failed without knowing that their body may be completely different from their friend. Many endomorphs don’t realize that they actually have more muscle than both ectomorphs and mesomorphs, but the only major difference is that they have an issue with gaining muscles without the muscle areas to be occupied by fat.
Characteristics:
Thick rib cage
Wide/thicker joints
Hips are wider than clavicle
Shorter limbs
NEED TO CATCH SOME Z's
Building Under Construction
Sleeping is a form of medicine for your muscles, but it is suggested to have a small meal filled with protein, fiber, and healthy fats to feed your recently broken down muscles and gives it the repair it needs. Not eating before bed increases protein synthesis, but not where we want it. During sleep protein synthesis does occur, but it has little to no effect on the muscles where we want them, but it’s targeted more towards the gastrointestinal tract. When this happens, your body begins to eat at your muscles, and your muscles are broken down to give amino acids to the stomach. This “steal from Peter to pay Paul” effect is more commonly known as nocturnal eating. Another area to consider is that human growth hormones are released while we’re sleeping. During your deepest sleep, men secretes between 60% to 70% of their daily human growth hormone, so if you’re not getting your sleep, you’re not building.
Belly Be Gone
When people typically think about the image of someone losing weight, they typically think of someone who eats less and moves more. Even though being active is very important, and as I said in the previous section, sticking to your consistent workout plan while pushing yourself to grow is necessary but so is sleep. For one example, not getting an adequate amount of sleep with your workouts not only causes muscle soreness and potential injuries from muscle exhaustion, but it also can drop you insulin levels by more than 30 percent. Fat cells gets rid of fatty acids and lipids from your blood stream when your insulin is working properly, but when your insulin drops, it begins to store fat in all of the wrong places. Not only will this cause an increase in weight, but it also puts a strain on your liver and other vital organs to simply do what they are supposed to do. Can you imagine someone working at a supermarket as a shell stocker carrying an extra 100 pounds on their back throughout their entire 8 hour shift? This is a dramatic representation, but this is just to give you an idea of how hard your organs are working when they shouldn’t have to work that hard.