American citizens usually dominate sporting events. They would somehow seem slightly bigger, have more muscle strengt and have top class resistance. Common opinion is that the secret to success is lots of exercise and conditioning. Another of their secretsis their things they eat that helps them become that powerful.

What else is commonly found in this american style of sports nutrition? I will elaborate a bit on this type of diet and nutritional arrangement so that you can have more strength and energy when you participate in sports.

How would you like to improve your performance and build up your muscle strength? Try the creatine that is most often present in American sports nutrition.

This will give you a higher capacity to work out longer and harder and help you produce as high a level as possible. Creatine can also assist in recovering quickly. This supplement will do the trick for any sportsman who does weight lifting or any other activity requiring quick bursts of energy, like sprinting for example. You may be able to do more before you hit fatigue point.

Your body uses this fascinating substance into adenosine triphosphate (or atp), which is the energy of our cells, and stores it into the mitichondria of each muscle cell giving it reserved energy. Every single muscle contraction is powered by atp, so we are able of more due to the the extra atp. This can beef up your physical power and lean muscle gain.

The substance you are looking for for is 100% pure pharmaceutical grade creatinh monohydrate. A suitable minimum dosage is about 1000 grams. Creatine do not have any additive and filters, and this chemical is commonly found in countless foods so it is generally safe. it doesn’t affect hormonal levels either.

Regardless if your ambition is for maximum athletic performance, pure lean muscle or lenghtened endurance, creatine will be right for you. As a bonus it also has cardio protective qualities. Creatine from American sports nutrition is a great way to complement a healthy diet and active way of life.

Building blocks from protein

Another one would be the American sports nutrition whey protein. It is a premium quality, lactose free and predigested protein. This nutritional supplement is an abundantnatural source of high potency essential amino acids.

If you are looking for a boost of muscle strength, american whey can help. The ion-exchanged whey protein in this supplement is the most preferred and bio-available for your body.

American whey protein also low on calories, has a great taste, and blends well with rice, milk and water. It also comes in a multitude of appetizing flavors.

There are many similar diets on the market like the American sports nutrition that offers protein as the mainstay of their nutritional diet. Examples of these are the American whey wild berry, American whey creamy vanilla extreme and the American whey double dutch chocolate .

The primary difference is in the dosage when taking them but the results are very similar. Certain types of thes require high amounts ofquantities for the supplement to function. And it also requires to be taken in constantly, if applicable you would follow the diet each and every day.

Like you probably see by now, in the American sports nutrition established way, the main nutrient taken into consideration are proteins.

So what is in proteins that make them so essential in the nutrition of Americans? Proteins are the main body builder nutrient. Protein works on the construction of muscle cells. Protein also participates in muscle contraction or in setting in motion muscles.

If you would like to have bigger, leaner and more functional muscles, there should be a massive intake of proteins before and after your practise. That’s why protein is so imperative not only to athletes but people like you and me as well.

As a curiosity, protein also contributes to how tall you are. If you want to be as tall as many americans are, you have to have a high degree of protein in your diet or at least use the supplements that Are discussed in this article.

Lastly, we must prompt the mind that it is not only a matter of the nutrition we use but it is the manner we get it and when we get it. There are optimal times when the nutrients we get will build up our performance and boost our metabolism. American sports nutrition targets these very best times in order for our body can get the most out of it and help us stay healthy and build up our muscles.

So you wanna loose weight and build muscle? Often the idea of using supplements comes to mind. There are so many nutritional supplements on the market these days but it’s healthy to exercise a bit of skepticism.

Many of the pills around these days are simply packed with stimulants and caffeine. Try not to take these because they can damage your metabolism more than it’s worth in the long run. They do speed up your metabolism, but they’ll also give you the jitters and often make you a bit edgy. There are much better ways to speed up your metabolism and it’s not even all that hard.

The most important thing to remember when you’re trying to loose weight and build muscle is to “eat clean”. This is a term used by bodybuilders and fitness professionals that means to eat healthy and nutrient rich foods.

Fill your stomach with the nutrients and minerals your body needs to repair the muscles and clean out the toxins exercising produces. You know just as well as anyone that eating KFC and McDonald’s is not going to get you the vitamins you need to build muscle and loose weight quickly. Eat clean, and you’ll achieve your goals quickly and effectively. So what do we have to eat to keep a clean diet?

So what’s the most important part of a clean diet? Water!

Water is not a food, I know. But it does make up about 80% of your body’s mass. It’s important, real important. Water will help you loose weight and build muscle. Water cleans out the toxins, and gives your body the freedom to put back the nutrition that the toxin’s have taken out. Water will also help eliminate the fat from your body by cleaning out your digestive tract and liver. Drink water often. About 8 glasses a day. And remember, if you’re thirsty, you’re already de hydrated.

Eat your vegetables! Yep, your mother was right. Fresh fruits and vegetables help your body speed up by providing easily accessable nutrients so your muscles will grow faster and stronger. Your body will burn fat faster too because of the increased muscle mass. When your metabolism is burning fat faster, you’ll feel more energetic and the vitamins will make all the difference in your goal to loose weight and build muscle.

Protein is essential for your body to synthesize new muscle cells. Protein supplements are probably one of the only worthwhile supplements I’d consider buying when you’re looking to loose weight and build muscle. It’s important to provide a quickly digestible high quality protein to give your muscles what they need to repair and grow quickly, when they need it most, right after training. So get yourself some good quality whey (or soy if you’re vegetarian) protein supplement and have a milk shake after you train. You deserve it!

You should eat roughly 5-7 times a day, small meals with a bit of protein in each meal so you don’t have cravings. Protein has the ability to stave off sugar cravings so if you get a bit of a sweet tooth, grab another shake (with water), or a protein nutrition bar. Also, a handful of raw nuts is a great substitute.

 

Athletes are always aiming to build their lean muscle mass to increase their athletic performance. One key to achieving your muscle gain goals is to have the proper calorie uptake for your workout routine. Most competitive athletes know that not all calories are created equal so eating the right calories is key to proper sports nutrition.

Carbohydrates For Sports Nutrition

Carbohydrates are the leading energy resource for building strength in muscles. Carbohydrates are stored as glycogen in the muscles to provide energy for short, explosive bursts of exercise. The harder and longer you workout, the more carbohydrates your muscles need. If your stored glycogens are exhausted then you will feel a drop in energy and find it very difficult to continue exercising. If you continue to work out without any energy stores then the body will start burning muscle instead of fat reducing your exercise effectiveness. You can see why eating enough of the proper foods for good carbohydrates is important when building lean muscle through strength training.

Sports Nutrition Protein

In order to build muscle your body needs protein because it is the foundational building block for muscle tissue. The amount you exercise and body weight will both play a factor in how much protein your body requires. You should consult a nutritionist or personal trainer to determine the proper protein uptake you need but a general rule is around half a gram of protein per pound of body mass for average athletes. If you are serious about strength training and workout 5 or more times a week you may want 0.6 to 0.8 grams of protein per pound of body weight.

Burning Fat

Even though your ultimate goal is to burn fat and build muscle you need to include some fat into your diet to keep your body healthy. This will help your body burn fat and keep muscle along with giving you some wiggle room in your diet. You should aim for 25% of your calories to come from unsaturated fat.

Sports Nutrition Hydration

Athletes require more than the standard eight glasses of water a day to replace the fluids lost during an intense workout. It is a good idea to consume about a liter of water during a workout and 2 cups of water before and after your workout. This will ensure your body does not become dehydrated during an exercise routine lessening the impact of your efforts.

Extending Energy with Sports Drinks

Protein bars and sports drinks (anything that ends in “ade”) are good for a boost when you exercise more than an hour a day. If you workout twice a day or have an extended workout then sports drinks are a great supplement for energy and hydration. It is best to save the energy bar or some other protein rich food for after your workout routine. Another option is a protein shake designed as a meal replacement; although this may just be a snack if you are really pushing hard. It is important to recharge your body after exercising with protein, carbohydrates and hydration so that your body is fully fueled for the next intense session. This will help promote fat burning after your workout and complement building muscle mass in future workouts.

Sports Nutrition Supplements

There are many nutrition supplements touted as the best thing ever however trained athletes should know that most of these products are gimmicks. Since nutritional supplements including sports nutrition supplements are not regulated by the FDA there is a lot of room for stretching the truth. Seasoned strength trainers do utilize a few supplements including whey protein powders, creatine and fish oils.

Training With Creatine

Creatine is a supplement that helps muscles recover from a workout and is a good way to speed up muscle building when coupled with a solid diet and exercise regiment. Creatine occurs naturally in some meats but you can take about 5 grams for 5 days for an extra boost. It is a good idea to rotate creatine usage to maximize its affect in building muscle. Many athletes take it for 5 days then take 5 days off and start using again. Be aware that if you take creatine everyday eventually it will lose effectiveness.

Remember to always consult a registered nutritionist, physician or personal trainer for nutritional guidance.

The time is coming… you just turned 28 and your 10-year high school reunion is just around the corner. You’re going to Cabo in 2 months! Or maybe you just want to Get Ripped for summer? Who cares what the reason is! We’re all in the same boat and we need to Get Ripped FAST!

A wise man once told me that when a person won’t do something, it’s for one of 3 reasons. They either 1. Don’t know how to do it, 2. Don’t know why they should do it, or 3. They simply just don’t care. I’m going to assume that you don’t know how, or you would already be ripped to shreds. Be it to get the chicks, personal satisfaction, a reunion… everyone has their own reason why. But if your reason is the last one, you should just stop reading this right now. Because if you simply don’t care enough, you aren’t going to get anywhere. And there’s nothing I, or anyone else for that matter, can do to help! So, “go start an ant farm!”

I’m going to tell you how to Get Shredded Fast and explain why these 5 steps work! What you are about to read may or may not be news to you… I don’t know. But I do know this, if you follow these 5 steps – you wont be disappointed!

1) Nutrition: focus on your metabolism!

I put this first on the list for a reason. It is the absolute most important part of any successfully shredded man or woman’s lifestyle. Your nutritional choices directly affect your metabolism and through it alone, you can totally change your physical appearance! But, whether you are a bodybuilder, a swimmer, a football player, or an every day average overweight American, keeping a consistently clean diet is as hard as it gets… and I’m sure we all can attest to that.

Eat 5-6 Meals per day:

It’s funny… I have this friend who swears this 5 or 6 meal-a-day rule is the “Catch” that all the nutrition companies are throwing out there. He says that no one can consistently eat 5 small meals a day and the nutrition companies know this – so they put this rule out there as a fail-safe to ensure that, if their diet program doesn’t work, they can blame its failure on the customer! The ironic thing about it is if the customer had followed the rules of their diet program, they would have succeeded!

And the reason they would have succeeded is because the “eat 5 small meals a day” rule works… just probably not in the way you think. You see, it’s not really the 5 meals that does it… it’s the fact that you aren’t relying on 2 or 3 meals to fuel your body for a full 24-hour period. Think about it; your body uses a fairly steady stream of energy all day, so when you feed it in spurts, your body adjusts and begins to store energy instead of using it. Eating 5-6 smaller meals throughout the day ultimately conditions your body to use the energy you provide it – and use it now – because it knows that more is coming soon. There is no need to store the energy (fat) for later… make sense?

Eat Low Glycemic Carbs:

Eating 5-6 small meals per day is a great start. But (there’s always a ‘but’ isn’t there?) that’s not the only thing you have to do. Something else you’ve probably heard before but hasn’t been explained fully… the benefit of low GI carbohydrates. Low GI carbs being carbs low on the Glycemic Index (GI). People usually confuse this with an ultra-low carb diet but its not! All you need to do is control the types of carbs you eat… not lose them altogether! Approximately 40% of your total calories should come from low GI carbs. A low GI carb diet will regulate your insulin levels in your body. This is important because your body uses insulin to burn the food you have for immediate energy. To explain it further, when you eat carbs, your body digests them and turns them into glucose. Then insulin is released to metabolize the glucose for energy. High GI carbs have a very fast glucose response, which tells your body to release a lot of insulin quickly. The result, you digest your food very fast… a bad thing! You want your food to digest slowly! And you can control this by eating low GI carbs. Knowing which carbs are low and high GI is pretty easy too. As a general rule, the more processed it is, the higher it is and the more natural (unprocessed) it is, the lower it is.

Here are a few examples.

Low GI Carbohydrates

FRUITS:

Berries

Apples

Barley

Pears

VEGETABLES:

Asparagus

Black beans

All lettuces

GRAINS:

All bran cereals

Whole grain breads

Whole grain pastas

Wild rice

DAIRY:

Organic milk

Organic plain yogurt

Low-fat cottage cheese

BEVERAGES:

Fresh vegetable juice

Grapefruit juice

Green tea

Water

SWEETENERS:

Fructose

Stevia

Moderate GI Carbohydrates

FRUITS:

Grapes

Watermelons

Mangos

Kiwis

VEGETABLES:

Carrots

Corn (on the cob)

Lima beans

Yams

GRAINS:

Brown rice

Oatmeal

Most pastas

Popcorn

Sourdough bread

DAIRY:

Custard

BEVERAGES:

Apple juice

Orange juice

SWEETENERS:

Unrefined raw honey

Organic brown sugar

Barely malt

Organic maple syrup

High GI Carbohydrates

FRUITS:

Raisins

Bananas (ripe)

VEGETABLES:

Potato (baked)

French fries

Sweet corn

GRAINS:

White bread

Whole wheat bread

Bagels

Breakfast cereals

Hamburger and hotdog buns

White rice

Pancakes

DAIRY:

Ice cream

BEVERAGES:

Soft drinks and sport drinks

Carrot juice

SWEETENERS:

Corn syrup solids

Sucrose (table sugar)

maltodextrin

Maltose

High-fructose corn syrup

There is, however, one time when you want to digest your food fast! Immediately following a workout, your body is goes into a “need food now!” state and requires a lot of nutrients to begin repairing the muscle that has been broken down. This is the perfect time to ingest 40-50 grams of high GI carbs. Actually, if you don’t, you are taking a risk that your body will go into a catabolic state and start breaking down muscle for energy instead of fat. Timing is important!

Increase Protein Intake:

The final part of the diet is to increase your protein intake. Again this is something we have all heard before… but do we really know why? First of all, we all know protein is a crucial part of muscle growth. But what we all don’t know is that protein is a good fat burner too! Protein digestion takes a lot of time and a lot of energy! You might be doing this already and if you are… don’t stop. A good rule of thumb is to consume 1 gram of protein for each pound of bodyweight. So if you are 200 pounds, you need 200 grams of protein.

2) Workout!

More cardio!

Increasing the intensity of your cardiovascular workouts will no doubt make a vast impact on your fat burning productivity. When it comes to burning fat, the more intense the cardio the better! A lot of fitness trainers and other self proclaimed fitness guru’s will tell you to be careful not to over do the cardio, but they don’t explain how you should do it. Here’s how.

It’s a little something I call Anabolic Cardio. You will burn more fat, faster, doing “anabolic cardio”. Anabolic cardio is often called HIIT or High Intensity Interval Training. HIIT is short burst, sprinter-like interval training. Here is a great example of HIIT that can be used doing any form of cardio; treadmill, elliptical trainer, or even an old school Health Rider!

Start off with 3 minutes working at a moderate 60% pace. This will get you warmed up and ready for the rest of the workout. Start the “interval portion” of the workout on minute number 4 going AS HARD AS YOU CAN without falling down or losing your running form (I’m talking 95%) for 1 full minute. Don’t pace yourself here, if you can go longer than a minute or two, you probably aren’t going hard enough! However, if you can only go at this pace for 20-30 seconds, that is ok… Just go as long as you can, you will improve fast! After the first minute, slow the pace to about 40% of your max. This should be a light jog or even a brisk walk for a minute or two until you recover your breathing. During the slower, recovery interval, try to focus on controlling your breathing and relaxing as much as possible.

Keep this interval of 1-2 minutes at 95% followed by 1-2 minutes at 40% for 10-15 more minutes. Like it or not, Anabolic Cardio is a key component to building a strong, lean, hard body!

Intensify Your Resistance Training

Believe it or not… weight training actually burns more fat than cardio! In fact there have been numerous studies to prove it. This doesn’t mean you should just drop cardio work altogether, but that you should have a balance between cardio and weight training. Hopefully you are lifting weights already. If you are… great! If you aren’t you really need to. Resistance Weight Training is only way to permanently raise your metabolism! You see… muscle burns fat. Not just when you are working out, but all the time – every day! One pound of muscle alone can burn up to 500 calories per week – that’s without doing anything! Lets put it this way: Without resistance training, the best you will ever be is “skinny fat”.

The best way to use weight training to get shredded is to stick to the basics! Hit the gym 4 times per week and focus all your efforts on doing compound muscle group movements like Squats, Deadlifts, Military Press, and Power Cleans. In fact, you could do 20 minutes of anabolic cardio then 6 sets of 8 reps on each of these exercises (one exercise per day 4 days per week), you would be in great shape easily in 6 weeks. These are easy to learn movements that use a lot of muscle groups and burn fat like CRAZY!

3) Get more sleep!

Sleep is probably the most overlooked factor in the quest to get shredded. Everyone knows the importance of getting “a good nights sleep” but not many of us go out of our way to be sure we get it. I read somewhere that the average adult gets approximately 7 hours of sleep at night! Not bad… but if you’re anything like me; 7 hours of sleep would be a blessing! And 7 hours is fine for the average adult, but if you’re an athlete you need more than normal! How much do you need? Well… that’s something you’ll have to experiment with and find out on your own. 7 hours of sleep might be enough for you – but it likely isn’t! I do know this – if you don’t get enough sleep, you are limiting your potential to build muscle. Sleep is very anabolic and you need it in order to efficiently recover from grueling workouts and stressful days! Be sure you get enough… it could be the difference maker.

4) Supplements!

Getting Ripped To Shreds is not an easy task for anyone. If it was easy then everyone would be ripped don’t you think? I know for sure that, at least for me, it would be virtually impossible without the benefit of supplements. There’s no denying that genetics plays a huge role in who is shredded and who isn’t, but that’s not the only thing. If you could take a behind-the-scenes look at just about any professional athletes’ supplement regimen, you would probably be shocked!

Back to the supplements… Getting “shredded” involves keeping (or gaining) muscle mass and losing fat at the same time, two things that are best done separately! So right off the bat the odds are against you. And if you’re anything like most Americans, you’re going to need all the help you can get! I’m going to recommend 3 separate base or standard supplements and then 3 I-will-do-whatever-it-takes-to-get-there supplements.

Base Supplements:

1.A balanced Meal Replacement (MRP)

An MRP is important for the obvious reasons. Diet is the number one key and with the way life is now, it’s pretty difficult to get 6 good meals in a day. However, if you alternate 3 small meals and 3 MRP’s throughout the day, you’ll be indeed setting yourself up for success. The reason I say “balanced” MRP is because too much protein is a waste, too little carbs will leave you energy-less, and you need to get your vitamins somewhere. Check the label and be sure it has around 30g of protein, 20g carbs, L-Glutamine, BCAA’s, EFA’s, and an array of multi vitamins. I recommend Myoplex by EAS, KILLER MRP by IMPACT Nutrition, or Lean Mass Matrix by Labrada.

2.Creatine

No matter what you think about creatine, you can’t deny the facts. Creatine promotes muscle growth and muscle contraction energy. And even though it is thought of as a staple to only muscle building programs, it’s an effective addition to almost any program… no matter what the goal is! Just get some and take it as directed.

3.ZMA

ZMA is a formula of Zinc and Magnesium Aspartate that has been proven to increase muscle strength, stamina, and recovery. But the main reason I added it to the list is because it will help you relax and sleep better. Like I said before, sleep could be the difference maker. And ZMA’s a lot less damaging than taking a shot of tequila or cough medicine! I suggest the original ZMA by SNAC Systems.

Will-Do-Whatever-It-Takes-To-Get-There Supplements:

1.Testosterone Based Anabolic Agents

Even with all the bad things reported about using “legal steroids“, they continue to reign in the muscle building supplement world. Why? Because they work! Believe me when I say this. Testosterone is the KING of the Muscle Growth jungle. The more testosterone you have in your system the more muscle you will have on your body. Period. Testosterone helps you recover faster, it raises your metabolism, it burns fat, and it gives you an “attitude” that leads to major muscle growth. If you can focus the increased aggression into your workouts, you will see substantial lean muscle growth, fast! Some great examples of Testosterone based legal steroids are Permadrol by Wesley-Adams, TestoXterone by RedXLabs, Equibolan by IMPACT Nutrition, Halodrol by Gaspari Nutrition, and Dynabolan by Russia Labs.

2.Anabolic Recovery Agent:

Like I said earlier, recovery is the KEY to building muscle. The better you recover, the faster your muscles will grow. Using an anabolic recovery agent is not a substitute for good nutrition choices or for sleep. But using a good recovery agent like RX5 by Red X Labs can put you in a more constant anabolic state between workouts. This will reduce your recovery period and allow you to get back to the gym faster. You can find these products at Zupplements.com

3.Anti-Catabolic Agent:

Anabolic means to build and catabolic means to break down. So, ANTI-Catabolic means agents are those that can help prevent the breakdown of lean muscle tissue; an important feature to anyone who is putting their body through a 6-week “Try To Get Ripped As Fast As I Can” program. You want to lose fat, remember… not muscle! Burn fat, preserve muscle, that’s the name of the game! Probably the best anti-catabolic agent available today is a veterinary injectable “supplement” called Kynoselen. There is supposedly a human version of this product too but I have yet to find it.

5) Know what not to do!

Now that I have explained all the tools you need to get ripped in 6 weeks, I feel obligated to address some of the most common mistakes people make when trying to lose fat fast! First of all you have to steer clear of the “Fab Diets” that claim you can drop 10 pounds in 48 hours. Even though these claims are true, you don’t want to do it. The weight you lose will be temporary at best! And because these diets help you lose weight, not fat, they wont get you shredded.

Fasting is another common mistake. You have to eat and eat consistently. As I pointed out before, it’s imperative that you don’t put your body in a “lets save the food for later” state. Remember, even though you are reducing your overall calories, your body will store more fat!

Oh… one more thing…. No matter what else you do over the course of the next 6-weeks… even if you mess up 10 times… even if it looks like you aren’t going to make it… no matter what… DO NOT GIVE UP!!! During the first 4 weeks you might not see one single change in your body composition. But that last 2 weeks could completely change it around! I like to think of it like coming back in the 4th quarter! Never give up because all that hard work will not go to waste! Remember what I said? People don’t do things for one of three reasons… don’t let your reason be that you simply don’t care!