Anabolic-androgenic steroids also known as anabolic steroids, is a drug that increases the proteins in the cells that results to the building up of cellular tissues in the body, most especially in muscles. Discovered in the late 1930s, anabolic steroids are known to stimulate appetite, bone growth, and treat serious conditions such as cancer and AIDS. It is also claimed that when used together with proper exercise and the right amount of diet, it may help increase weight, mass, and gains muscular strength. However, along with the discovery of several benefits we can get from it, anabolic steroids side effects also made its way to be known in the medical world as a lot of people try to use the drug. Yes, it has its own benefits but when used in the wrong way, may lead us to serious health conditions.
Monday, September 9, 2013
Steroids and Bollywood: Body of lies
They are Bollywood's Greek Gods, with a seeming advantage even the Gods never had - steroids. As news of a leading actor being advised by doctors to stop gymming to counter acute muscle fatigue does the rounds, HT City spoke to celebrity fitness trainers and experts - and found some shocking truths about the shortcut men in the film industry use to get that perfect physique.
The steroid train
A renowned fitness trainer, speaking on condition of anonymity, revealed, "A male star, known for his macho physique, approached me before he made it big and asked if he should take steroids to bulk up. I told him the pros and cons.
I saw him after a month; he was a completely different person. Now that I see him in ads, I can bet my life that he's on steroids. Recently, I read about him being unwell. He must be suffering from side effects. You don't get big by training hard - you have hundreds of guys training in the gym... why don't they get such bodies and only a handful of actors do?
The steroid train
A renowned fitness trainer, speaking on condition of anonymity, revealed, "A male star, known for his macho physique, approached me before he made it big and asked if he should take steroids to bulk up. I told him the pros and cons.
I saw him after a month; he was a completely different person. Now that I see him in ads, I can bet my life that he's on steroids. Recently, I read about him being unwell. He must be suffering from side effects. You don't get big by training hard - you have hundreds of guys training in the gym... why don't they get such bodies and only a handful of actors do?
Friday, September 6, 2013
HRITHIK ROSHAN’S WORKOUT AND FITNESS SECRETS
This Greek god of Indian cinema has such a fine body and muscle gaining ability that makes almost impossible for other mortals. With super chiseled abs and admirable back strength Hrithik Roshan gave full commitment for his key to fitness.
After 20 minutes of cardio each day he starts with:
MONDAY: CHEST,CALVES AND BACK
Total 5 Sets of Dumbbell Bench Press(5 sets)
2 Working Sets of 5-10 reps
3 Warm up Sets of 5-10 reps
2 sets of Inclined Dumbbell Flyes with 5-20 reps.
Under Hand Cable Pull down(4 Sets)
3 Working Sets and 1 Warm up Sets of 5-10 reps.
Bent Over Barbell Row(4 Sets)
3 Working sets of 6-10 reps
1 Warm up set of 8-10 reps
Back Extensions(3 Sets)
2 Working Sets of 8-10 rep
1 Warm up Set of 8-10 rep
3 Sets of Seated Calf Raise of 20 reps
3 Sets of Standing Calf Raise of 16-20 reps
After 20 minutes of cardio each day he starts with:
MONDAY: CHEST,CALVES AND BACK
Total 5 Sets of Dumbbell Bench Press(5 sets)
2 Working Sets of 5-10 reps
3 Warm up Sets of 5-10 reps
2 sets of Inclined Dumbbell Flyes with 5-20 reps.
Under Hand Cable Pull down(4 Sets)
3 Working Sets and 1 Warm up Sets of 5-10 reps.
Bent Over Barbell Row(4 Sets)
3 Working sets of 6-10 reps
1 Warm up set of 8-10 reps
Back Extensions(3 Sets)
2 Working Sets of 8-10 rep
1 Warm up Set of 8-10 rep
3 Sets of Seated Calf Raise of 20 reps
3 Sets of Standing Calf Raise of 16-20 reps
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
Vin Diesel’s workout and diet secrets
If there was one actor who was destined to be an action hero it was Mark Sinclair Vincent, known to legions of his fans as Vin Diesel. While most new fans would associate him with The Fast and Furious franchise, his breakthrough as an action hero actually came a year before the first Fast and Furious movie with in the sci-fi thriller Pitch Black where he played a highly skilled predator called Richard B Riddick.
As the fourth movie in the instalment Riddick hits the theatres in the USA on September 4 and in India on September 6 we look back at the fitness regime of one of Hollywood’s favourite action stars.
Unlike most other actors who bulk up specifically for movie roles, Diesel has always had a formidable physique going back to the days of his youth when he was a bouncer in one of America’s edgiest cities – New York. ‘I was a bouncer for ten years in New York City,’ he told Men’s Health. As a bouncer, he had to train not to look good but to be tough enough to keep troublemakers away. ‘I look formidable,’ Diesel accepts. ‘I have dangerous bones in my body.’ It’s what gives him what he calls the ‘dark, dangerous streak.’ Of course, this training for self-defence helped him construct a frame that very Hollywood actors can dream of competing with. (Read: How Hollywood hunks get in shape)
Training secrets
Diesel used weight training techniques influenced by old-school bodybuilding which focusses on maintain muscular mass. This includes sudden switches to activities like fight training and free-running which strips the body of any extra fat. His regime has changed over the years. ‘At this stage in my life I’m trying to tweak out every body part,’ he says. ‘When I was younger I was trying to gain as much weight as possible. Now I focus on each body part to define it. I shock the muscle with two sets of powerlifting and then go into higher-rep sets afterwards.’ He even turned to yoga and Pilates to stretch out the muscle and hopefully this will get rid of the notion that these exercises aren’t for real men!
The Vin Diesel Workout
According to Hollywood Celebrity Workouts, he does weight lifting on alternate days which involves different body parts:
First he warm-ups on treadmill by doing a light jog for 5 minutes to get the blood flowing.
Monday (Chest and shoulders)
Barbell or dumbbell bench press – 4 sets X 5-6 reps
Incline dumbbell fly(no more than 30 degree angle) – 3 sets X 10-12 reps
Regular push ups – 2 sets X failure*
Dumbbell shoulder press – 3 sets X 6 reps
Upright row – 3 sets X 8 reps
Side lateral dumbbell raise – 3 sets X 10-12 reps
*Training to failure refers to doing as many reps of an exercise as humanly possible until the muscles can’t take it anymore and even a single rep is not possible.
Wednesday (back)
Deadlift – 3 sets X 5 reps
Wide grip cable row – 3 sets X 8 reps
Bent over dumbbell row – 3 sets X 10 reps
Pull ups – 4 sets X failure
Friday (arms and legs)
Incline dumbbell curl – 3 sets X 8 reps
Standing hammer curl – 3 sets X 10-12 reps
Triceps rope extension – 3 sets X 8 reps
Close grip push ups – 2 sets X failure
Leg press – 3 sets X 10 reps
Lunges – 2 sets X 8 reps(per leg)
Standing calf raise – 2 sets X 13 reps
We can see that Diesel’s regime consists of old school techniques which includes weight training on alternate days and cardio exercises like swimming and biking and also yoga and Pilates on the other days.
The Vin Diesel Diet
His diet consists of a mix of food items from all nutritional groups including protein, multivitamins and omega-3 fatty acids. To reduce the fat intake he looks to get his carbs from fibre, veggies and fruits. There’s also lean beef (about 500g a week), eggs (considered by many to be superfood), chicken and sweet potatoes. Of course, he follows age-old tested regime which needs you to eat instead of three meals, 6-8 smaller ones a day!
Diesel’s regime is without a doubt one of the old school ones, but it’s there to remind us – there’s no shortcut to achieving that dream body. You have to earn it the hard way!
As the fourth movie in the instalment Riddick hits the theatres in the USA on September 4 and in India on September 6 we look back at the fitness regime of one of Hollywood’s favourite action stars.
Unlike most other actors who bulk up specifically for movie roles, Diesel has always had a formidable physique going back to the days of his youth when he was a bouncer in one of America’s edgiest cities – New York. ‘I was a bouncer for ten years in New York City,’ he told Men’s Health. As a bouncer, he had to train not to look good but to be tough enough to keep troublemakers away. ‘I look formidable,’ Diesel accepts. ‘I have dangerous bones in my body.’ It’s what gives him what he calls the ‘dark, dangerous streak.’ Of course, this training for self-defence helped him construct a frame that very Hollywood actors can dream of competing with. (Read: How Hollywood hunks get in shape)
Training secrets
Diesel used weight training techniques influenced by old-school bodybuilding which focusses on maintain muscular mass. This includes sudden switches to activities like fight training and free-running which strips the body of any extra fat. His regime has changed over the years. ‘At this stage in my life I’m trying to tweak out every body part,’ he says. ‘When I was younger I was trying to gain as much weight as possible. Now I focus on each body part to define it. I shock the muscle with two sets of powerlifting and then go into higher-rep sets afterwards.’ He even turned to yoga and Pilates to stretch out the muscle and hopefully this will get rid of the notion that these exercises aren’t for real men!
The Vin Diesel Workout
According to Hollywood Celebrity Workouts, he does weight lifting on alternate days which involves different body parts:
First he warm-ups on treadmill by doing a light jog for 5 minutes to get the blood flowing.
Monday (Chest and shoulders)
Barbell or dumbbell bench press – 4 sets X 5-6 reps
Incline dumbbell fly(no more than 30 degree angle) – 3 sets X 10-12 reps
Regular push ups – 2 sets X failure*
Dumbbell shoulder press – 3 sets X 6 reps
Upright row – 3 sets X 8 reps
Side lateral dumbbell raise – 3 sets X 10-12 reps
*Training to failure refers to doing as many reps of an exercise as humanly possible until the muscles can’t take it anymore and even a single rep is not possible.
Wednesday (back)
Deadlift – 3 sets X 5 reps
Wide grip cable row – 3 sets X 8 reps
Bent over dumbbell row – 3 sets X 10 reps
Pull ups – 4 sets X failure
Friday (arms and legs)
Incline dumbbell curl – 3 sets X 8 reps
Standing hammer curl – 3 sets X 10-12 reps
Triceps rope extension – 3 sets X 8 reps
Close grip push ups – 2 sets X failure
Leg press – 3 sets X 10 reps
Lunges – 2 sets X 8 reps(per leg)
Standing calf raise – 2 sets X 13 reps
We can see that Diesel’s regime consists of old school techniques which includes weight training on alternate days and cardio exercises like swimming and biking and also yoga and Pilates on the other days.
The Vin Diesel Diet
His diet consists of a mix of food items from all nutritional groups including protein, multivitamins and omega-3 fatty acids. To reduce the fat intake he looks to get his carbs from fibre, veggies and fruits. There’s also lean beef (about 500g a week), eggs (considered by many to be superfood), chicken and sweet potatoes. Of course, he follows age-old tested regime which needs you to eat instead of three meals, 6-8 smaller ones a day!
Diesel’s regime is without a doubt one of the old school ones, but it’s there to remind us – there’s no shortcut to achieving that dream body. You have to earn it the hard way!
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
What About Amino Acids Supplements like BCAAs, Glutamine, Leucine, and More???
There are a lot of sports supplements that are just extractions of amino acids found in protein, and some of the major ones are:
L-Glutamine
All three BCAAs (Leucine, Isoleucine, Valine)
HMB and Leucic acid (both metabolites of leucine)
These amino acids are great and all, but you don’t need to supplement them if you ingest enough protein. This is because the protein you are taking will give you more than enough glutamine and BCAAs, and leucine will convert into its metabolites in your body.
Still, there are some other amino acids to consider:
Some amino acids, like l-carnitine and taurine, are not highly present in protein and so supplementation could still be considered despite high dietary protein intake.
HMB for the specific purpose of anti-catabolism is apparently 20-fold more potent than leucine, so a 3g dosage of HMB is as anti-catabolic as 60g leucine. HMB can be a very useful supplement when cutting.
The supplements mentioned earlier can be useful as supplements if your diet has gone down the toilet.
L-Glutamine
All three BCAAs (Leucine, Isoleucine, Valine)
HMB and Leucic acid (both metabolites of leucine)
These amino acids are great and all, but you don’t need to supplement them if you ingest enough protein. This is because the protein you are taking will give you more than enough glutamine and BCAAs, and leucine will convert into its metabolites in your body.
Still, there are some other amino acids to consider:
Some amino acids, like l-carnitine and taurine, are not highly present in protein and so supplementation could still be considered despite high dietary protein intake.
HMB for the specific purpose of anti-catabolism is apparently 20-fold more potent than leucine, so a 3g dosage of HMB is as anti-catabolic as 60g leucine. HMB can be a very useful supplement when cutting.
The supplements mentioned earlier can be useful as supplements if your diet has gone down the toilet.
It’s Circuit Training, Not Crossfit !!!
Combing two or more exercises together like burpees and deadlifts or chin-ups and kettlebell swings is not “doing” Crossfit; it’s circuit training. Hamilton Nolan said it best in an article he wrote for Gawker.com, “You can’t trademark working out, you #&%kers…you don’t own that sh*t”. Besides, according to Mel Siff , circuit training appeared to be formalized way back in 1953 by R. Morgan and G. Adamson at the University of Leeds in England, meaning that it was around long before Crossfit.
Anyways, considered a complete training system, circuit training is used to develop strength and cardiovascular endurance simultaneously because it involves pairing two or more resistance training exercises together. Since we like making acronyms in the fitness industry, circuit training with minimal breaks is referred to as HIRT (high-intensity interval resistance training) or HIPT, (high-intensity power training) in the literature. HIRT and HIPT basically share the same concept where moderately heavy resistance training exercises are paired together with minimal prescribed rest periods, with the goal of maintaining a high power output throughout the duration of the workout .
Similar to HIT, HIRT and HIPT have all been shown to be effective at improving body composition by increasing the energy required for post-exercise metabolism,otherwise known as EPOC (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption) However, I’ll take a step back and state that research seems to be equivocal regarding the effects of resistance training on the duration of EPOC as there is hardly any consistency in the resistance training protocols between studies.
Regardless, exercise intensity and duration seem to be very influential factors at determining EPOC duration and magnitude and it appears that compound exercises performed in a circuit style fashion that focus on loads geared toward muscle building (10-repetition maximum) may optimize post workout metabolism and increase EPOC for several hours, thus leading to more calories burned overall.
Anyways, considered a complete training system, circuit training is used to develop strength and cardiovascular endurance simultaneously because it involves pairing two or more resistance training exercises together. Since we like making acronyms in the fitness industry, circuit training with minimal breaks is referred to as HIRT (high-intensity interval resistance training) or HIPT, (high-intensity power training) in the literature. HIRT and HIPT basically share the same concept where moderately heavy resistance training exercises are paired together with minimal prescribed rest periods, with the goal of maintaining a high power output throughout the duration of the workout .
Similar to HIT, HIRT and HIPT have all been shown to be effective at improving body composition by increasing the energy required for post-exercise metabolism,otherwise known as EPOC (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption) However, I’ll take a step back and state that research seems to be equivocal regarding the effects of resistance training on the duration of EPOC as there is hardly any consistency in the resistance training protocols between studies.
Regardless, exercise intensity and duration seem to be very influential factors at determining EPOC duration and magnitude and it appears that compound exercises performed in a circuit style fashion that focus on loads geared toward muscle building (10-repetition maximum) may optimize post workout metabolism and increase EPOC for several hours, thus leading to more calories burned overall.
Putting a HIT on Aerobic Exercise - The Best Fat Loss Workout You’re Not Doing
A prime example is long slow distance training or aerobic exercise. Once believed as the go-to training method for fat loss, low intensity training has since been bumped from the top spot and replaced with high intensity training, also known as high-intensity interval training (HIT) or burst training. Commonly associated with cyclical-type exercises, like running and cycling , HIT incorporates hard and easy periods of high and low intensity efforts.
Regular performance of HIT-type workouts have been shown to be effective at reducing body fat, however, “the mechanisms underlying the fat reduction…are undetermined but may include [HIT]-induced fat oxidation during and after exercise and suppressed appetite”. HIT has been found to significantly lower insulin resistance, which increases the body’s capacity for fat oxidation, which basically means, you’re better able at utilizing fat for fuel during workouts (depending on exercise intensity) and in the recovery period, post workout.
Not only great for fat loss, but regular performance of HIT has been shown to enhance both aerobic and anaerobic energy systems simultaneously. HIT has been touted as a time-efficient training strategy because it takes less total time to induce similar metabolic adaptations that are comparable with longer duration endurance-type training.For example, similar improvements in work capacity can result from workouts consisting of multiple Wingate Tests, which involves 30-seconds of maximal cycling on a specialized upright bike, performed for several weeks, compared to higher volume, lower intensity aerobic workout
Regular performance of HIT-type workouts have been shown to be effective at reducing body fat, however, “the mechanisms underlying the fat reduction…are undetermined but may include [HIT]-induced fat oxidation during and after exercise and suppressed appetite”. HIT has been found to significantly lower insulin resistance, which increases the body’s capacity for fat oxidation, which basically means, you’re better able at utilizing fat for fuel during workouts (depending on exercise intensity) and in the recovery period, post workout.
Not only great for fat loss, but regular performance of HIT has been shown to enhance both aerobic and anaerobic energy systems simultaneously. HIT has been touted as a time-efficient training strategy because it takes less total time to induce similar metabolic adaptations that are comparable with longer duration endurance-type training.For example, similar improvements in work capacity can result from workouts consisting of multiple Wingate Tests, which involves 30-seconds of maximal cycling on a specialized upright bike, performed for several weeks, compared to higher volume, lower intensity aerobic workout
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