Is eating more smaller meals during the day better than 3 meals a day?

Studies show that having 4-5 small meals a day can improve overall metabolism making it easier to manage body weight. Less frequent large meals are linked to weight gain and a slower metabolism.

Some suggest that having 5-6 small meals in a day is better than having 3 large meals in a day as it helps to boost metabolism, resulting in quick weight loss.
DL

Do some supplement companies use banned substances in their products?

Some banned substances are intentionally added to supplements, while others may be naturally occurring. For example, boldione, is a naturally occurring anabolic androgenic steroid that has been found in plants such as Rhodiola rosea roots and guduchi vines.

Watch out for any supplement suggesting some amazing results but only form their products. A study at he University of University of Mississippi‘s National Center for Natural Products Research found what we here have been preaching for over 20+ years, there are no magic supplement just good one that compliment your nutrition. When buying supplement for your sports career look for the NSF certification to help you make better choices. We guide all athlete competing in organized sports toward companies like Now Sports supplements because they 3^rd party test all of their products for purity and accuracy.

We do allot of self screening before we list a companies products but even we can't catch all the huckster looking to make a quick dollar! So follow these simple rules when shopping:

• When someone is giving you big numbers like 300% or explosive growth, be very suspicious of such wild claims.
• Make sure you understand and have done some research on the ingredients and understand what they do.
• Look for 3^rd party verification when ever possible.

Is consuming turmeric root raw healthy?

Absolutely!!! Consumption of raw turmeric can boost metabolism and help to manage digestive disorders. The compounds present in Haldi(Turmeric) trigger the gall bladder to secrete bile produced by the liver – the bile helps in digestion more efficiently by processing fat. Haldi is also known to alleviate symptoms of gas and bloating.

Because turmeric is a plant in the ginger family, it also looks and tastes similar to ginger. So, just treat fresh, raw turmeric like you would with a knob of fresh ginger—just peel it, then slice, dice, or grate it.
MJ

Is homemade bone broth good for your joints?

HELL YEAH!!! Reduces Joint Pain and Inflammation – Bone broth is rich in glucosamine—the supplement many people take to help repair joint damage. Consuming glucosamine in the form of bone broth provides the best possible benefits and stimulates the growth of new collagen for healthy joints.
MJ

Are basketball shoes good workout shoes or do I need something else?

Yes are very good for all general workouts. Basketball shoes have additional ankle support, and are perfect for leg day training. It's all personal preference. If you find them cumbersome when doing cardio, simply switch to a pair of running shoes when doing your cardio.

Now for specific training such as a Powerlifting or Weight Lifting meet your going to have to get weightlifting shoes that have a flat now responsive sole. There is no pounce to the shoe as you feel with BBall shoe or cross trainers. This keeps you more grounded to the floor and allow for complete transfer of power from the ground up.
Bigzzz

Peanut Butter vs Almond Butter which one is healthier?

From a nutritional perspective, almond butter and peanut butter are healthy options since they offer a range of health benefits. However, almond butter tends to be lower in sugar, higher in vitamin E, magnesium, and fiber than peanut butter. On the other hand, peanut butter is higher in protein, slightly lower in fat and calories plus contains more folate (important in red blood cell formation and for healthy cell growth and function).

We believe that this is just a matter of preference - some days you may want a PBJ others you might prefer a ABJ. They are both good choices as long as both butter are 100% natural!
MJ

What is around the world exercise?

There are different types of Around The World exercises and each does a specific job. The single plate version is used for core stability and is great athletes looking to strength their core without adding to much size. Then there is the supine version that targets all the small muscle under lying muscles of the chest right next to shoulder strengthening muscles that are widely over looked with ordinary exercise. The around the world you want tare those we do standing with 2 dumbbells to warmup the shoulders along with the rotator cuff to prevent injury & increase range of motion. Below is listed exercise execution, this is not a heavy weighted exercise. Done with very light weights and moderate to high repetitions 15-20.

• Stand with your feet together with a 5lbs weight plate or a light dumbbell in each hand. Brace your core and pull your shoulders down and back. Rotate your wrists, so your palms are facing forward.
• Raise your arms up and out to the side as if your trying to touch the opposite walls on the gym. Keep lift your weights slowly rotating your hands until they meet above your head with your palm now facing forward. Remember to keep your arms straight throughout the movement.
• Lower the weights back to the front of your hips using the same motion and repeat. (Older version have you crossing your hands at the top and continuing the circle until your hand are back at the start)

That is how you preform an Around The World for your shoulders.
Bulldog

Which foam roller is best, the one with the bumps or the smooth kind?

Foam rollers with some sort of texture, such as bumpy knobs or wave-like ridges embedded in the foam, are designed to "dig in" to trigger points in the muscles, helping to release muscle knots quicker. That is what therapist say, I found zero difference when used regularly. So i really comes down to preference - I like a 24-36 inch HD Smooth Roller, they cover the whole body and are not cumbersome.
MJ

Is doing cardio after your workout bad for you?

Exercise science says there is no hard-and-fast rule about whether you should do cardio before or after weights. It's helpful to try both approaches and see which works better for you. The key is to include both cardio and strength training in whatever weekly exercise routine you put together.

We recommend to all those in a time crunch, is to do their main cardio after their training - 20-30 minutes on a treadmill or bike will speed the metabolism and help get the blood flowing throughout the body which speed healing and induces a little fat burning.
DL

Do spicy hot foods contribute to weight loss?

There has been allot of superficial studies of these over the last 30+ years with mixed results. One of the best was a study if more than 500 million people in China on target="_blank">the effect of spicy food on the Adiposity of everyday people. The study looked at all types of people regardless of age, diet, or activity. All those factors would be added in later.

What they found was that spicy foods help most active people maintain their body fat level at relatively low level over time. Meaning because of their active lifestyle, spicy foods helped them maintain a lower bodyfat level. Those that didn't exercise as much were found not obese of fat but did tend to gain most of their excess weight around their midsection. For those that didn't exercise and had a bad diet, spicy foods have little to zero effect on reduction in body fat levels.

Our take on this is that if your eating spicy foods and working out then you maybe ahead of the game when it comes to loosing body fat and building lean muscle mass.
MJ

What the difference between slow and fast twitch muscle fibers?

Slow-twitch muscles use energy slowly and fairly evenly to make it last a long time. This helps them contract (work) for a long time, without running out of power. Think of your calves as slow twitch muscle fiber that carry your body around all day. You calves best respond to high repetition sets of 15+. Fast-twitch muscles use up a lot of energy very quickly, then get tired (fatigued) and need a break. A fast twitch muscle type would be like your biceps which become fatigued allot quicker and tend to feel like their on fire when pushed to the limit from the lactic acid.
Bulldog

Can I get all the Creatine I need from the foods I eat?

For most adult athletes (18 years and over) that eat meat, you can have foods high in creatine, including red meat, poultry, and seafood. If you are vegetarian, there is some creatine in cheese and a little less in milk. Unfortunately for vegans, there aren't any foods containing creatine you can eat. The question was can I get enough creatine from the food I eat - the answer is both Yes & No!

Yes you can according those at NIH to the eat those foods high in creatine and you will have enough creatine in your diet to sustain your workouts, but their is a caveat to this approach. You will not have enough creatine store in your muscles to over saturate them and pull in extra nutrient to help them grow bigger and stronger. So yes you can eat enough creatine in your diet to support your performance, but NO you can nowhere eat enough in your diet to over saturate the body and induce the growth like supplementation would.
Bulldog

How high should I set the incline bench when doing incline presses for my chest workout?

The incline bench can be set to somewhere between 30 and 40 degrees. The more upright the bench, the more the front deltoids are activated, so keeping closer to 30 degrees will keep most of the focus on the pecs. Easiest way to get the right adjustment is to go up to 45 degrees and drop down 1 or 2 clicks from there. This way you will find the best position that hit you upper chest the most while limiting the frontal deltoids.
DL

What is the best time to take BCAAs?

BCAAs are effective pre, intra and post-workout supplements. When using before training consume about 5-10 about 10-15 minutes before training to prime your system with the BCAAs. During your training session BCAAs can be consumed in drink form such as an intra workout or taken about half way through training. Like between different muscle groups. Same thing again 5-10 grams(about 4-6 capsules). Post-workout is the same as the others when taking capsules - abbot 5-10 grams. BCAAs help a great deal in muscular energy and keeping your amino pools within the muscle high during strenuous workouts. This is makes BCAAs supplementation quite effective in athletes engaged in long strenuous workouts. Using capsules before and after training along with a intra-workout drink make for a good 1-2 punch in keeping our energy and strength up during your workouts.
Stacker

What does Protein Utilization mean?

We believe you mean Net Protein Utilization, or NPU. NPU is the percentage of ingested nitrogen that is retained in the body. It is used to determine the nutritional efficiency of protein in the diet, that is, it is used as a measure of "protein quality" for human nutritional purposes.

NPU can range from 0 to 1 (or 100), with a value of 1 (or 100) indicating 100% utilization of dietary nitrogen as protein and a value of 0 an indication that none of the nitrogen supplied was converted to protein.

• Ex. Eggs & Raw Milk scores = 1

DL

Are Pringles made from real potatoes?

Short answer: NO! To make their uniform design, Pringles uses a special recipe, which doesn't actually include potatoes. Instead, they're made with something called “dehydrated processed potato.” They also contain corn, rice and wheat.

This exactly why you can not call Pringles a "Potato Chip", because it is NOT!
DL

Does Ground Beef digests faster than Chicken?

In general, meat can take anywhere from 1 to 3 days to be fully digested. That means it has pasted through the stomach, small intestine, and large intestine. Chicken tends to digest more quickly than beef or pork due to its lower fat content. However, it's important to note that individual digestive systems can vary, and factors such as cooking method and portion size can also impact digestion times.

This is why what you eat today will effect your training 2 days later. So drinking and eating garbage on Saturday will make for a crappy workout on Monday!!!
Bigzzz

Does cardio hurt mass building goals?

Most trainers feel that doing cardio will burn up the very muscle that they are trying to build but that is far from the truth. University of Calgary in Alberta has been studying that very subject. They conducted a six month study of a group of men testing them on various cardio equipment(treadmill and elliptical) and exercises(jogging). Their myostatin(muscle inhibiting TGF beta protein) levels were measured before and after the study. Those performing the cardio workout saw their myostatin levels decrease by as much as 25%. The more insulin sensitive the cells were, the less myostatin the mens muscle cells produced. The correlation was less pronounced after the men had trained for a half year, but it was still there. So doing cardio may not be as detrimental to your muscle mass goals as once believed.
D.L.

Are nutritional Supplement better today than they were say 20years ago?

With onset use of nutritional supplement to by almost every adult have become very wide spread in their usage but are they better than the snake oil of the past? Short answer yes as many supplement of today have scientific data to back up their usage but still many more are still void of data altogether. So in our perspective be careful of those supplement promising some miracle in a capsule, tablet or powder, because there are NO such thing in the world of supplements. Supplement help those who need them because of stressful activities like weight lifting, contact sports, running or strenuous labors. Remember if you have a health condition always contact your doctor be fore taking any supplements.
Bulldog

How much caffeine is in a large cup of Coffee?

Most 8–ounce (oz) cups of coffee contain 80–100 milligrams (mg) of caffeine. But the caffeine content can vary considerably depending on several factors, including coffee type, brewing method, and brand. Caffeine can be a part of a healthy diet for most people. However, too much caffeine can be unsafe.

A healthy adult can consume around 400 milligrams of caffeine daily, which means you can safely have about four cups of coffee in a day unless otherwise advised by your doctor. Consumption of 200 milligrams of caffeine (the exact size of most caffeine capsules) doesn't cause any significant harmful effects in healthy people.
MJ