4 supplements to seriously consider taking:

 

BCAA’s: Makes up 35% of the essential amino acids in muscle proteins, it is shown to support recovery as well as help regulate blood sugars. Mix this as directed in your protein shakes or just in plain water.


ZMA: ZMA is a combination of the 2 minerals zinc and magnesium, and vitamin b6 is shown to raise strength levels, aid recovery and support immune system. ZMA is recommended prior to bed.


Whey & Casein Protein Powder: Whey protein is a very economical way to support muscle tissue with fast mixing amino acids: Recommended post workout with low dose of simple sugars.
Casein protein has a structure that is hard to break down by the body and thus time releases amino acids which is suitable for nighttime recovery.


Fat burner: Please choose wisely when it comes to fat burners, you want to look for one that has no crashing effects and one that provides sustained energy.

One body. One mind. That's what each of us gets to last a lifetime.

Building Better Bodies & Living The Shredded Life.

Rich/Fit Fit Tips

1. Eat starches, grains and fruit ONLY when you need them: breakfast after a night’s fast, before your workouts and in the hour after your workout. At other times eat veggies as your source of carbs.

2. Make sure you train hard and keep a workout tracker/diary. This way you know if you are just going to the gym doing the same old or you are actually pushing harder each time. Your goal should be to outperform yourself every time.

3. Stay consistent. Don’t try to find a perfect diet that you start out on after another binge of junk food. When you over eat crap and don't exercise you get fat, simply put. It also wreaks havoc on your blood sugar which is NOT good for your muscle growth.

4. Eat real food, real food has a higher metabolic value than engineered foods. Compliment your eating plan with protein shakes. Protein bars are not good snacks. They have energy but not many real nutrients. It’s actually better IMO to eat a hamburger than a protein bar. In case of the hamburger it’s real food. Something that can be on the shelves for years cannot be good for you, exception POWDERS (protein powder). Just don't rely on these, remember they are just a supplement.

5. Eat moderate amounts of nuts and oils. Yes they are “healthy” but they don’t really fuel your workouts. They are good for hormonal health, joints etc, but don’t eat a fat and protein diet and believe it’s gonna make you train like an animal and get lean & muscular.

6. Think about your digestive system. You need alkaline foods like veggies daily in order to keep your body healthy. When you build muscle you need a lot of protein, but protein makes your body acidic. You can fix that bad state by eating tons of greens.You want carbs, get them from veggies. Remember the bloat you may get is simply temporary.

7. Consistency. Stop being impatient. Impatient people don’t get results. Why? they just don't last long enough to reap results. You need patience and planning, look truth is all your fitness goals can be accomplished with keeping these principles in mind: eat lots of good foods;when you train with weights, train heavy (heavy being relative to your body); consistently be consistent; mix up your exercises- cardio/workout schedule every three weeks to keep your body guessing and challenged; supplement with simple yet proven products such as whey protein, creatine, glutamine, BCAA, and a good multivitamin.

In closing, STAY OFF THE SCALE, use the mirror- it doesn't lie, and enjoy the journey. Enjoy the challenge, and have fun while achieving your goal. It'll make the process both educating and rewarding.

4 Fat-Burning Foods

Not all calories were created equal. Eating certain foods may actually help you shed body fat. We have so many reasons to eat right and control our weight. Some might be at the beginning of their journey, looking to replace their fatty counterparts with healthy alternatives, while others might be looking to shed the lingering five pounds remaining on their fit frame. Whatever your fat loss goals are, here are four fat-burning foods to help you drop fat fast. Fat Burning Foods




#1 Eggs How they help: “Eggs have been shown to enhance weight loss—likely by increasing satiety and allowing for reduced calorie consumption later in the day,” explains Brian Zehetner, MS, RD, CSSD, CSCS. A study conducted at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center at Louisians State University in Baton Rouge found that including two eggs with your breakfast helped reduce appetite and calorie intake for 24 hours compared to a breakfast of comparable calories from bagels. Those who ate eggs lost considerably more weight and abdominal body fat than those who consumed bagels. In addition, egg protein sports one of the best amino acid profiles found in foods, making it a great muscle builder. The fats contained in the yolk help slow digestion, reducing hunger and providing numerous health benefits. What to do: Consume two or more eggs up to five days a week as part of a healthy breakfast. Also, make sure to reduce fast-digesting carb sources, such as bagels, from your breakfast because they cause an insulin response that stimulates appetite and encourages body-fat storage.


 #2 Cinnamon How it helps: Cinnamon helps you control body fat by improving your body’s response to insulin and helping to burn body fat—two effects you want when you’re trying to shed some lard. First, cinnamon encourages insulin uptake in muscle cells, encouraging muscle building for those who are training rather than encouraging the storage of more body fat. Second, research has found that a compound in cinnamon (methylhydroxychalcone polymer) encourages body-fat reduction by enhancing glucose burning inside your fat cells—that’s like having a fire within a fire. For these reasons, cinnamon extract is often used in many fat-burning supplements. What to do: Liberally sprinkle cinnamon on your oatmeal. Add it to protein shakes (blending may be the best option to ensure that it mixes properly) and shake it onto your Starbucks blend of the day (it will add flavor without calories and deliver a double dose of fat-burning effects).



 #3 Oatmeal How it helps: This classic breakfast food may help reduce body-fat levels by providing slow-digesting carbs with plenty of fiber to keep your insulin levels stable throughout the day. A study performed at Loughborough University in the United Kingdom concluded that athletes who consumed slow-digesting carbs at breakfast and lunch had lower insulin levels than those who ate fast-digesting carbs (sugary carbs like fruit juices and sodas). Ultimately, this helps increase fat-burning because higher insulin levels help move fat into storage more readily, especially if you’re not training regularly. What to do: Eat a small bowl of oatmeal in the morning. For even better results, sprinkle it with cinnamon and eat it with two eggs and black coffee—that’s the breakfast of fat loss champions.



 #4 Green Tea

How it helps: The acceptance of green tea in America has shown steady growth, even making some inroads against the more popular staple: black tea. While both teas contain caffeine—which helps boost metabolic rate—the primary fat-burning component in green tea is the catechin epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). EGCG inhibits an enzyme that breaks down norepinephrine. Also, this neurotransmitter is crucial for regulating your metabolic rate. By inhibiting the breakdown of norepinephrine, green tea effectively increases your metabolism. “Both caffeine and EGCG have a mild effect individually, so reaping the benefits of both in a healthy and good-tasting beverage makes sense,” says Zehetner. What to do: You can drink as much green tea as you like, but research has shown that supplemental forms of green tea extract are even more effective for burning fat. For best results, you should take up to three doses of 500 milligrams each day.

Cross Fitt training .......

Systemic Working Of The Physique:

Most sports require a strong core region, making the squat a valuable addition to many athletes training programs. As a muscle-builder, squats - both the standard version and its variations - are unsurpassed for building leg size from all angles, and for working the physique systemically.




Squats work all the muscles of the quadriceps (the rectus femoris - middle head- vastus lateralis - outer head - and vastus medialis - inner head) and hamstrings (the biceps femoris - outer head - semimembranosus - middle head - and semitendinosus - inner head), along with hip flexors and abductor (on the outer thighs) and adductors (on the inner thighs). Physically Demanding: The benefits of squatting do not end there. In addition to at least 75 percent of the body's muscle (primary ones being the shoulders, back, trapezius, gluteus maximus, and calves along with the thighs and hamstrings) being worked through the squat, it is the most physically demanding of the various weight training exercises, so will therefore enhance cardiovascular health and endurance levels.


Metabolic & GH Stimulation:

The squat, due to its intense nature, will also stimulate the metabolism greater than any other movement, which will assist with fat burning, both during the exercise itself and at rest. Also, of special interest to bodybuilders, and due to its degree of difficulty and strenuousness, is its ability to release higher amounts of growth hormone, which will contribute greater overall gains in muscle size and strength. Strength Enhancement: Lastly, the squat has been shown to enhance strength in all other lifts due to its ability to work a greater range of muscles, thus adding to its reputation as a total body developer.


Standard Squats:

Hailed as the king of all bodybuilding exercises, the front squat is known to add more total body mass than any other movement. As a leg mass-builder it is unparalleled, so should form a major part of any bodybuilders training arsenal.

Preparation & Execution:

Position bar in squat rack about three inches below the upper shoulder area. Place hands evenly spaced on the bar, and place bar comfortably across trapezius area. Push weight up using legs, not back. Walk weight out. Place legs at slightly wider the shoulder width with toes pointed sightly outward. Keep head up and chest out. Arch back. Slowly bend knees while keeping hips under the bar and torso erect (do not bend the back). Fully descend into a deep squat, while controlling the weight and keeping tension on the leg muscles. At bottom of movement, push bar up with feet and hips while breathing out forcefully. End at lockout and repeat (a non-lockout position can be used for one set of this exercise per workout).

Rich Fit / Thoughts On Losing Fat, Building Muscle And Being Healthy For Life.

Life isn't an even number, so here are 11 insightful thoughts on nutrition to help guide even the most experienced athletes and those just beginning a fit healthy lifestyle. Enjoy!

1) To transform your body, you must drink enough clean water, eat high quality REAL food 4-6 times daily and challenge your body with resistance. And then plan the next day. Consistency and planning lead to physical success. The little things done daily make ALL the difference.


2) Don’t overcomplicate things…simply make only one small positive nutritional change at a time until that small change becomes a good habit, and then add the next small change. Over time this will work out much better than changing many things at once– (and the results will last longer too). Also, be sure to add protein to every meal that you eat! Our research has documented that this helps to promote fat loss and muscle mass gains.


3) Enhancing body composition implies maximizing lean muscle mass and reducing stored body fat. In terms of maximizing lean muscle mass, supplement with creatine monohydrate. Not only is this supplement safe and inexpensive – it WORKS.


4) Pay attention to what you eat before, during and after your workouts and be sure that regardless of the goal a good bit of general advice is to eat at least 1-2 grams of protein per day (especially when trying to lose to maintain the muscle you do have), healthy fats are wicked good for you and should be at least 30% of your macro breakdown for fat loss OR muscle gain and don’t be afraid of carbs!!!

5) If you want to lose fat and gain muscle, you need to eliminate the single nutrient that will stimulate fat storage: sugar. In a study conducted by researchers at UCONN, men who ate a high-protein, moderate-fat, zero carb diet lost significantly more fat and gained almost double muscle than men who ate more sugar and less protein. Rule of thumb: if it tastes sweet, only eat it after your workout, if at all.


6) You have to just do it (i.e. nutrition and training) consistently. You need proper nutrition (including appropriate, credible supplements) and a training plan tailore to suit your goals. It must be a lifestyle not a quick fix. Quick fixes don’t work; because they are quick to come and quick to go.


7) Adding lean protein is hands down the best way to promote muscle growth – it is the building block. Losing fat and gaining muscle at the same time is a tall order, so also adding Branched chain aminos pre workout for preserving muscle is a good plan as well.


8) Change your mindset in how you view food. Every time you eat you have a choice to choose foods that provide the body with stable energy, enzymes, and nutrients to improve the efficiency of the body and decrease inflammation. Get out of a diet mindset and make your food choices with those positive principles in mind


9) Make sure your resistance training program is practical (nobody gets an ideal physique by doing bicep curls while balancing on an inflatable disk) and that the weight/load and/or volume are substantial, throughout any variations, to satisfy muscle building. Supplements (i.e. whey protein, caffeine, creatine and beta-alanine) and diet are complementary to body composition enhancement as well as exercise regimen progressions. But don’t think for a minute that there is a magic pill, powder or potion that makes you exempt from eating cleaner and working harder!

10) Muscles lack the necessary enzymes to use alcohol as fuel. It negatively affects reaction time, hand-eye coordination, balance, thermoregulation, fluid balance, glycogen conversion and muscle growth. Alcohol decreases strength, power, speed, muscular endurance and cardiovascular fitness. For these reasons, the healthiest alternative is abstinence.


11) Eat leafy greens at every meal, they contain omega-3 fats too! Think spinach & eggs with salsa for breakfast, a handful of mesclun greens tossed into a smoothie mid morning, a big composed salad of tuna & beans on a bed of arugula for lunch, romaine lettuce wraps filled with Greek yogurt, shredded carrots & olives midday, and steamed kale alongside a baked sweet potato & lean grass-fed beef or steamed fish for dinner. Power meals don’t come in containers.


In closing Everyone wants a simple explanation as to how they can gain muscle and lose fat. The reality is that it’s a difficult process with no easy way from point A to point B. The best advice I can give you is that patience, dedication, and hard work are by far the key ingredients for changing body composition. The worst plan executed with the best work ethic is way better than the best plan executed with poor work ethic.
LN-

Nancy Reinhardt Online Lifestyle/Fitness Coach...Living Fit!

Are you overwhelmed with getting back into shape? Are you busy, stressed and just have no idea which way to turn or what “method” works? I was exactly where you are only 2 short years ago. I felt like I had the perfect life on the outside, but I was suffering big time on the inside. A mother of 5, a wife of 15yrs to a loving husband, a roof over our heads and yet I had no idea who I was. I know many can relate! After my last child at the age of 38 and hitting my all time high of 200lbs I wanted “it” but I had no idea what to do. To sit here and say that is crazy, as I had taught aerobics and been a trainer in my early twenties. I had watched Dara Torres kick butt in the Olympics after the age of 40 and I had every magazine there is that is fitness related and I just still sat here miserable. I even made a call to a friend who I had taught how to workout back in High school and she said, “You know what you are doing, you taught me all that I know!” I literally felt as lost as many of you who are reading this wondering and hoping for some miracle.

Well after a night out with a friend dancing, my life has forever changed and so can yours. We all have that rock bottom and for me it was years of mental and physical neglect that had come to the forefront. That night out had me in bed with what I later learned to be degenerating discs. That fun night out, that night that was my first night out in over 16yrs changed my life. I was told that I could wait until I could no longer take the pain or I could try to “patch” this pain with a series of epidurals that might “stabilize” the discs. Well after 5 of those, which happened to be just where my degeneration was, I chose to make a move.

I have never looked back and have kept going. I get asked often, how I have done this with 5 children. It has taken lots of organizing and preparation to stay on track along with not letting “life take over!” I decided that meds were not my answer and shots were not happening so I got back into the gym after many years out of it.
This took some work as I had 5 children with schedules and a husband who worked many hours to support the large family that we wanted. I had a choice to make and I chose ME for once, in over 15yrs. I told all of my kids and my husband that our gym had no childcare and the only time for me to workout was after school. Many might say that I was selfish that year but none of my kids were going to be able to do sports so that they could have the best mother and have all of me and not just a small portion of me.
Was this easy, no! Did I have lots of guilt when they wanted to go play after school and I was walking out the door to go workout, yes! What moms need to understand is that until you make yourself first on your priority list and allow yourself 60-90 minutes a day, you are robbing the ones that you love. They are not getting all of you but only a portion of you.
Has the physical journey been easy, no! Has it been worth it, yes! This is no easy road and there will be those days when you feel like you can’t workout another minute or can’t eat another piece of chicken but you must make goals. You must have that BIG goal but you can’t focus on that one and must focus on the little ones that will get you to the big one! Even if you just focus on what seems like tiny goals, that is what will get you there. For me it was just gaining mobility and losing that dreaded “muffin!” That drove me to eat clean. Eating clean allowed the inflammation in my back to subside just enough to help me lift heavier at the gym. As I was able to lift heavier weights, my body began to change and if you think that weights make you look like I man an, look at what I have done. They will change your life and without the combination of weights and a clean diet, I would not be sitting here writing this to all of you.

You will have days that you want to give up but what is that going to do? That’s right, take you right back where you started and who suffers the most when you do this? Not you, but your family! Feeling like you give to everyone and never give to you is no way to live. This just allows you to beat yourself up over things that only YOU can control!!!

Start with your diet and convert the entire family. Who wants kids to grow up feeling like you do about yourself or did feel about yourself? None of us does. Add weights once you gain some energy from the clean diet and then make small goals that are “gym” related and not body related. What I mean is challenge yourself to lift one more rep or last 5 more minutes on the bike. All of this will add up to meeting your physical goals. Forget the scale and the tape measure. Focus on those things and you will never be free of stress and stress causes weight gain and retention of fat. Challenge your body and your mind each day and you will slowly become that “physical” body that you want. It might be tough but it is the most rewarding thing you will ever do for yourself. Gain your life back and your gain more than you can ever imagine! It comes down to choices and when you choose you, everyone wins!

Nancy Reinhardt
Online Lifestyle/Fitness Coach
www.nancyreinhardt.com

Sergio Martinez Knocks Out Macklin in 11th Round

Martinez dropped tough Irishman Matthew Macklin twice near the end of the 11th round with the kind of powerful left hands he's become known for before Macklin's trainer Buddy McGirt stopped it as the round ended.

Martinez improved to 49-2-2, with 28 KOs, before a sold-out crowd of 4,671 at the Theater at Madison Square Garden on St. Patrick's Day.

Most Exciting Fighter Today And MiddleWeight Champion Of The world...Sergio Martinez Rise To Greatness.

Middleweight champion of the world Sergio "Maravilla" Martinez returns to action on Saturday night at New York City's Theater at Madison Square Garden, facing half-Irish contender Matthew Macklin on St. Patrick's Day in a fight that will hopefully light a fire in what was once -- but no longer is -- the center of American prizefighting.

The more one thinks about it, the more remarkable Martinez's rise in the last few years seems. Let's take a look back at the emergence of Sergio Martinez.

Lets take a closer Look!

Martinez, 37, turned pro in 1997, and toiled in relative obscurity for years. In 2000, still a welterweight, he was beaten down by Antonio Margarito, after which he went on a tear, winning 27 straight fights before he finally got a shot on HBO in October 2008, facing Alex Bunema.

To say he hit HBO with a splash would be an understatement. Bunema was no top contender, but a quality fighter, and the slick southpaw Martinez made mincemeat of him. Here's what I said at the time:

I've seen Martinez fight a fair amount of times before last night, and he never impressed me. I thought Bunema had a great shot at beating him, because Martinez seemed to be a creation -- a guy with a great-looking record in black-and-white terms, but without much in the way of good wins.

... Martinez was sensational in a one-sided beatdown of Bunema. At age 33, he looks like he's peaking. ... Martinez had Bunema totally off-balance all night, beating him to the punch with ease, popping his jab out at will, and essentially doing whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. He was exceptionally loose in the ring, confident and even cocky at times, holding his hands low, and Bunema could do nothing about it.

It was a star-making performance. Martinez isn't about to headline his own big card or anything, and nobody likes fighting a slick southpaw, but they'll be looking for the biggest possible fights. And with this performance, Martinez deserves it. I've gone from doubter to fan in one fight.

The honeymoon was over just one fight after, when Martinez met former welterweight titlist Kermit Cintron on the Nate Campbell-Ali Fuenka undercard in Florida:

Sergio Martinez and Kermit Cintron went to a majority draw in a fight I thought Martinez clearly won. The fight was plagued by a strange seventh round incident. Cintron went down from a left hand he genuinely believed he was a headbutt, and referee Frank Santore counted him out, and appeared to have called the fight off. Replays showed that Cintron had made it to his feet before the count of ten, and he was incensed that it was (1) called a knockdown, and he was wrong there, and (2) that he appeared to have been counted out, which he was right about.

The fight, which had been an ugly clash of styles before the incident, picked up after it was surprisingly restarted. The draw, I feel, robs Martinez of a win, but neither man exactly made an entertaining fight. Bad Left Hook scored it 117-109 for Martinez. The official judges' scores were 113-113 twice and 116-110 for Martinez.

Though Martinez deserved a win (two, actually), the star quality wasn't there from him on that night. But that was a blip.

Eight months later, Martinez was in his first HBO main event, substituting for middleweight champ Kelly Pavlik, who fell out of a handful of dates with Paul Williams, leaving Williams with no choice but to find a late replacement opponent. It was a marvelous fight, with Martinez going up to 160 for the first time and immediately engaging in a war with "The Punisher":

On paper, it would be a tactical, lefty-versus-lefty affair, probably not very explosive, but a good substitute fight for sure.

It took less than a round for this to turn into a stunningly savage bout. Williams clipped Martinez for a knockdown in the opening round, but just before the end of the frame, Martinez drilled Williams and put him on the canvas. Williams was hurt.

And Williams seemed to fight much of the rest of the bout hurt, too. By the end of it (a decision win for Tall Paul), he seemed to be going purely on instinct. Martinez was able to neutralize Williams with a right hook early that landed at will, and later a straight left hand that kept getting through. But Williams was there, and at some points, he dominated the fight, making exceptional mid-fight changes in his gameplan and going toe-to-toe with Martinez.

It was a fight we just didn't expect to see, and a reminder that a great, great fight can happen when nobody sees one coming. Both of them upped their stock greatly with this outstanding brawl, a must-see fight that turned very good boxers into pure warriors, at least for one night.

Staying at middleweight for his next fight, Martinez was called upon by Pavlik, still the middleweight champ, to be his next challenger. Martinez had physical disadvantages going in -- name, Pavlik was taller and just plain bigger than him, a proven middleweight, even with his then-recent troubles. We know now that Pavlik had done his first rehab stint just before facing Martinez, but both fought well, and Sergio was simply the better fighter.

It was a terrific tactical fight, with some great back-and-forth momentum. Martinez dominated the early portion of the fight, but Pavlik (36-2, 32 KO) charged back in the middle rounds, knocking down Martinez and taking a lead on our card through eight rounds.

But then, it was the Sergio Martinez show. Martinez cut Pavlik up, had him bleeding profusely, and took the fight for the rest of the time left, winning what I felt was a clear and solid decision.

... The times changed tonight, folks. New middleweight champion of the world: Sergio Martinez.

Seven months later, Martinez repaid the favor that Paul Williams did for him the year before, giving him a shot at the middleweight championship. The rematch was highly anticipated. And though it lasted all of four minutes and 10 seconds, no one was disappointed.

This raises Martinez's stock even more. He said that Williams left himself open enough, and that the fight went how he expected it would. Both fighters were throwing punches again, coming out aggressively, though there was more holding in this one than last year.

If only there was much more to say about this one, but there really isn't. After all, not much to report. But it's a can't-miss knockout, and Sergio Martinez is legit as the middleweight champ.

That ended the rise, though: In 2011, Martinez fought Serhiy Dzinziruk and Darren Barker, winning handily both times out. But the division's lack of recognizable names willing to fight Sergio started to become glaringly obvious. Boxing being as fickle as it is, there are a few mumbles now that maybe Martinez, while very good, isn't quite great, isn't quite what he's cracked up to be, and that a determined challenger like Matthew Macklin just might be geared for an upset on Saturday night.
BLH-