Archive for August, 2009

Risks Of Steroids

Saturday, August 29th, 2009

In the world of sports, there is a lot of competition out there, beginning on the high school level spanning all the way to the professional leagues. In order to make it to the top, an athlete can’t just be good. They have to be the best. This can be an overwhelming and difficult idea to handle. While eating right and training for the sport, an athlete might him or herself feeling that they just aren’t good enough. There has to be something more, right? It’s at this point that athletes may think about, even if they never actually start, using steroids.

The body naturally produces steroids in order to fight stress or to help with growth and development in the body. Some athletes are not satisfied with what their body will naturally produce, so they turn to artificial steroids. These can produce muscle growth and strenght because steroids are hormones that support these functions in the body.

It may seem like the perfect means to improve your game, but let me just say now that STEROIDS ARE NOT THE ANSWER. Not only are they illegal, but there are many harmful side-effects. What steroids companies tell you about their products is often incomplete or false altogether. There is not enough known about steroids to promote their use, but there is ample evidence in the way of the effects made on people who have taken advantage of this drug.

Some of the dangers of using steroids include premature balding, dizziness, delusions, paranoia, nausea, vomiting, urinary problems as well as an increased risk of heart trauma and strokes.  And if that’s not enough of a warning for you, girls and boys can develop different problems when using steroids. Girls can suffer from increased facial hair growth, gaining more masculine attributes and a change in the menstrual cycle. Guys have been known to have testicular shrinkage, breast growth and sterility. Sound fun? I didn’t think so.

The point is that if you are an athlete, you may be feeling a need to improve so that you can do well in the future, but turning to steroids will only make things worse for you in the future.

Protein Drinks

Friday, August 28th, 2009

While there are various exercises and diets one can use to start building some muscle, another way to help is to add a little protein to your diet. Some of the obvious ways would be to add some meat or fish to your diet, but another good (and arguably tastier, too) way to get the protein is through protein drinks.

There are a variety of forms. You can buy them straight off the shelf at the grocery store. This can be a bit more expensive or can include a lot of caffeine, which isn’t always good for you. I would recommend buying a large can of the powder variety. It comes with quite a bit and so it lasts for awhile.

What’s also really good about this is that you can put it in just about anything. From juices to teas, or my personal favorite is using them to make a smoothie. That way, you can put in whatever you like such as bananas, strawberries, blueberries, etc. I say this because while protein is good for you, I wouldn’t exactly post it on my Top 10 List of Favorite Flavors. So mixing it into something else to have with your breakfast in the morning is a good way to get it into your system. 

I discovered the handiness of a protein shake one week when I was struck down with some serious mouth pains for a week, such that I was unable to eat anything solid. Just about every meal that I ate for days was a protein shake and while it wasn’t exactly delicious, it helped me to not be too hungry while I couldn’t really eat.

The important thing to remember is that protein drinks can’t really help to build your muscle if you don’t put in a little effort behind the drink- that is, you’ve got to put in the exercise as well. With the combined effort, you should see some results over time.

How To Gain Weight

Thursday, August 27th, 2009

While much of America diets to lose unwanted and excessive weight, there are some who face the opposite problem. The people (generally male, but not exclusively) that would like to add weight in the form of hard-core, lean, trained muscle. Unfortunately, there are just some people are genetically underprivileged to have muscle that builds easily (And when I say that, I mean the majority of the population.) And so these people seek to add weight by working out, eating the right kinds of foods, taking supplements and training specifically for muscle-building in order to achieve a healthy lifestyle and the body image they desire.

The important thing to realize when doing this is that you can’t expect results to appear immediately and you can’t get discouraged when you’re finding it to be difficult, especially in the beginning. According to the testimonials of those who have worked on this, it is important to eat well, and each as much as you can. Working out isn’t enough without the right diet behind it.

You’ll know that you’re succeeding when your weight increases somewhat, but your body-fat decreases. This shows that all the weight gain you are achieving is all muscle, which is the goal.

There are many programs that target various areas of the body and encourage different eating habits. The best thing to do is to do a bit of research so you can have an idea of what may work for you, then try it out and see for yourself. Keep working hard and don’t give up the first week! It can be done, but it’s going to take a lot of work. Good luck!