Nutrition tip

First off just want to say sorry for the lack of post. I have been trying to post more, but I have been busy studying for finals, gym, and school projects.

The Tip: I may have said something similar to this before, but have you ever wondered what fats are good for you? And yes we need fats no doubt about it, but anyways this is a short tip....

Anything organic/natural in MODERATION= good for you

All these tasty trans fats, found in most fried food, etc= not good, no exceptions. 

Don't be afraid to lift!

This blog post applies to everyone, but it epically applies to the ladies out there that every time you go to the gym you jump on the treadmill and run/walk for about 45-60 minutes. It is not unnatural for a woman to just do cardio however; if you want to lean out and get that fit perfect hour-glass figure, you need to lift, no way around it. 

Me: "Understand?"

Woman: " Now hold on, I run and then do light lifting everyday so that I can tone and I am BULKING!"

Me: "Do you have a set meal plan or diet in place?"

Woman: "No, but that doesn't matter because I worked out so that evens going to McDonald's afterwards okay."

Me: "......"

See the problem?

You don't?!?!?!?

Heres the problem, there are 3 layers that affect how you look. Skin-->Fat-->Muscle in that order. 

The imaginary woman that I interviewed has it in her head that when she went to the gym that since she burned calories she can just go and eat whatever she wants and see results. Thats not an uncommon thing among women and some men, but heres the thing, you need both good nutrition and exercise to see that lean perfect figure no exceptions. 

What happens when you eat the fatty food, the fat layer under your skin expands and since you worked out your muscle like it should gets a little bigger keep this bad nutrition up and it seems like you are bulking and there aren't many women that want that. Then this causes women and certain men probably to go on these CRAZY and ridiculous fad diets such as the Twinkie diet and other unhealthy fad diets that make you starve yourself to loose weight. 

So basically what this post is saying do cardio, lift, and eat right and you will lean out and get that figure you have always wanted. Plus 5 pounds of muscle is less space than 5 pounds of fat. For more info check out Jim Cordova's youtube videos type in search box WorldBBchamp.

Nutrition Tip

Ever wondered how to increase your metabolism without having to go to the store and buy those weight loss pills that claim to boost your metabolism with caffeine. Well theres a simple way and this drink will not only give you the boost you need to stay alert in the morning, but it will also increase your metabolism by 16% thats right 16%. Don't know what it is yet? Coffee! It is because on the caffeine amount in coffee that is ables a cup of black, UNSWEETENED coffee to boost your metabolism by 16%. So if your looking for that extra fat burning, energy kick, without the trouble of popping pills, then go to the grocery store, find bag of regular coffee beans and make your self a mug of warm black coffee, without the sugar.

A Jim Cordova Back Work-out

"The back is arguably the most intricate of all muscle groups, but that doesn't mean a complex training approach will be required to develop it."

Wide-grip pull ups/ 3 sets/ 6/10/12 reps/ 1.5-2 min exercise rest.

Lat pulldowns/ 3 sets/ 6/10/12 reps/ 1.5-2 min exercise rest

Cable low rows/ 3 sets/ 6/10/12 reps/ 1.5 min exercise rest

Dumbell row/ 3 sets/ 10 reps/ 30 sec exercise rest

Shrugs/ 3 sets/ 10 reps/ 1.5 min exercise rest

The Men's Health Big Book of Food and Nutrition (Water)

Your body needs water no doubt, your body is 75% water! I use for some of my nutritional guide tips a book called The Men's Health Big Book of Food and Nutrition, a book I HIGHLY recommend getting if you plan on going on a diet and/or you want to learn more about good nutrition. This book has completely changed my life and my diet. So anyways back to the nutrition tip for the day.

Water: Water has had many studies done on it and the two that the book The Men's Health Big Book of Food and Nutrition mentions is a study done that was in the journal Obesity Research, those who drink water regularly consumer on average about 200 fewer calories a day than those who opt for sweeter drinks. Another study mentioned was that a glass of water before breakfast may reduce daily food intake by 13%.

As you can probably imagine I am drinking water while I write this and there is no other drink like water to get the clean feeling throughout your entire body. Water truly is the best beverage around.

Please Note: Flavored water is not the same regular water. This blog was not talking about if you switch sweeter beverages for flavored water. Only pure clean all natural water has these affects. Flavored water usually contains a load of sodium and artificial sweetener. Both of which make flavored water and other sweeten beverages not nearly as good for you as just plain water.   

Leg work-out routine (My own)

Nothing looks more funny than seeing a muscular upper body sitting on a pair of undeveloped legs.

So here is a work-out routine to develop that lower body:

Squats/ 16-14-12 reps/ 2 sets/ Rest 1 min (Wall sits in between *45 seconds)

Dead-lift/ 12-9-7 reps/ 2 sets/ rest 1.5 min (Wall sits in between *45 seconds)

Calf extensions/ 50-25-25/ 2 sets/ rest 45 sec (Squat jumps for 15 seconds)

Leg press/ 12 reps/ 5 sets/ Rest 1 min (Wall sits for 30 sec)

Leg Extensions/ 14 reps/ 3 sets/ rest 30 seconds

Leg curl/ 14 reps/ 3 sets/ rest 30 seconds

This is a leg work-out that will develop those legs in no time.

Also don't forget that like the chest work-outs, as the reps go down the weight goes up to a suitable amount so that you may preform the minimum amount of reps.

A Jim Cordova Chest Work-Out!

Jim Cordova has been Mr. Universe for I believe three years? Correct me if I am wrong. This is one of his many chest work-out plans.

Flat press/ 3 sets/ 15/12/8 reps/ 1.5-2 min exercise rest
Low Incline press/ 3 sets/ 15/12/8 reps/ 1.5-2 min exercise rest
V-BAR (chest) dips/ 3 sets/ 15 reps/ 1 min exercise rest
Cable Crossover/ 3 sets/ 16 reps/ 30 sec exercise rest
Barbell pullover/ 3 sets/ 15 reps/ 1 min exercise rest

This is a work-out routine that was in a magazine and Jim Cordova Mr.Universe does this chest work-out routine. This on course is only one out of his probably 50 different types of work-out routines and I will be posting more Jim Cordova work-outs along with some work-outs that I came up with myself. Try this routine and comment and tell me if you feel the burn.

Read This:
As the reps go down remember to make your weight go up. This is very important or else you won't see the gains as fast as you may want. 

Great shoulder work-out

The shoulder muscles are a group of muscles that is used in almost if not all upper body work-out routines, but here is one that I learned from my trainer who's name I won't say because I don't know if he would want me to.

Step 1: Grab two middle weight kettle-bells. Middleweight I mean a weight that you could do shoulder shrugs with about 50 times.
Step 2: Grab the kettle bells by the top of the handle and then shrug your shoulders and keep them shrugged and walk about 50 yards one way then walk back.
Step 3: When you return to start grab them both so that you can comfortably do 10 shoulder presses.
Step 4: Repeat 3 times.

Do this shoulder work-out to not only build muscular strength, but muscular endurance as well. 

Organic vs Low Calorie

All you people that give yourselves a pat on the back for choosing low calorie products and not organic products with high calorie can quit patting because heres why organic is better for you than low calorie.

From a 14 year olds point of view:
Low calorie may be great and is better than non-organic low calorie, but if your looking for something healthier always go with organic. It may cost a little more and maybe not taste as good, but eating right doesn't always taste good as everyone going on a diet should know. Organic foods have natural nutrients meaning that when you eat a piece of organic food the nutrients instantly break down in your body and your body is able to harness the natural energy so that it may preform everyday functions to the best of its abilities. Most low calorie has loads of preservatives and if you think fat free is best for you, well think again! Most of the its so good fat free items, are LOADED with artificial sugar and for all you new dieters, artificial sugar is not broken down in your body much like trans fats so there you go, you just got more fat that probably if you had just gotten the regular pudding cup or whatever. Also a famous preservative is salt. Salt is good, but to a point READ THE LABEL and keep away from foods with sodium explosions. No matter what you see on an organic label, every nutrient is great for you no matter what. Orange Juice has TONS of sugar in it, but this sugar is known as fructose a natural form of sugar found in fruit that the body breaks down almost instantly.


So from all of this, next time you go to the grocery store always choose organic over anything else. 

The super fruit!

Apples are a antioxidant rich fruit that is used/ added in many diets, but here are some things that you might not know about this power fruit.
        a) They have 1,500 milligrams of vitamin C.
        b) They lower bad cholesterol
        c) Benefit diabetics by lowering blood sugar
        d) These fruits are rich in amino acids which bolster levels of testosterone and muscle growth.
        e) An apple a day delivers quercetin, which is a flavonoid that reduces the risk of allergies, heart attack, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and prostate and lung cancers.

If you are not a big fan of Apples or are currently wearing braces like me (although I eat them anyway), but still if you don't want to go through all the work of cutting them up which is quite lazy if you ask me (even though I don't cut them up either!) then buy ORGANIC apple sauce with NO added sugar and for a nice refreshing beverage, have a nice cold glass of ORGANIC with NO added sugar Apple Juice. That is a great combination that will help you get some if not most of your nutrients from the super fruit known as apples.

The combination that I highly recommend....

 1) One whole sliced apple along all natural peanut butter for additional protein.

Please don't go and add caramel to your apple which if your going to do that then just don't waste money on an apple, just pour yourself a bowl of sugar and be done with it. Same goes for chocolate covered apples.

Nutritional facts for a 1 medium (3'' diameter) Apple.
Calories: 95
Fiber: 4g
Protein: 0g
Fat: 0g
Carbohydrates: 25g
Vitamin C: 14%

"An apple a day keeps the doctor away."

All about HN

For those of you that don't know, HN stands for Health and Nutrition. This blog was started back in December, but I never used it until I truly realized what I was passionate about which is Health and Nutrition along with working out. I guess you can say that I am sort of a gym rat. The gym is my home away from home and many people including my Health teacher along with my Trainer at the gym inspired me to become healthier and to start this blog so that I may help others. Use these tips and work-out plans to get swim trunk/ bikini ready.