Will Masturbation Kill Your Gainz?

Masturbation has been known to cause blindness, hairy palms, and warts, but inquiring minds want to know if spanking the monkey will make you lose your muscular gains. There have been numerous studies on the subject, but to this date, there is no concrete evidence supporting the theory that firing off a few knuckle children will make you lose muscle. I am of the belief that beating your meat will not cause muscle tissue to break down.

Firstly, you cannot expect to lose your gainz overnight. Just like you won't get jacked after one day at the gym, you cannot expect to become a skeleton after jacking one time. Any theory that states this is preposterous. You would probably have to make a habit out of beating your meat dozens of times a day to see any visible changes (aside from a possible and small increase of forearm mass) that directly correlate to masturbation.

Secondly, let's break down the calories. Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell were right: "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing", since a half-hour of real sex would burn about a hundred or so calories on average. This is only half as many calories as one could expect jogging for the same duration of time. Now, if you are only burning around a hundred calories with all of the muscle groups that you are recruiting (especially if you're doing it correctly like the Admiral does), then you cannot expect to burn enough to go into a caloric deficit going solo.

Like many things in life, physiques are not built or destroyed in a vacuum. Masturbation alone will not effect your physique that much; it would likely be habits revolving around masturbation that would effect your gainz. For instance, if you stay up late to do the deed, you might not be getting adequate rest for your body to recover and grow. If you masturbate so much that you don't eat enough, or if it cuts into time that you should be getting real exercise hitting the gym, then your body isn't getting what it needs to grow (and you may want to seek help). The same things can apply to real sex too though, like the guy that spends all of his nights drinking in clubs to get that tang. The sex itself is not what is doing damage, but the habits around it.

Personally speaking, masturbation does not completely sap me of energy, but it would cause me to waste a lot of time trying to fire one off. This is time better spent exercising, or working on developing entrepreneurial skills. Real sex, on the other hand, is often invigorating. This is probably psychological in my case, since a conquest makes me want to conquer more, leapfrogging from victory to victory.

Why Are So Many Vegetarians Still Fat?

Vegetarian and vegan diets are becoming more popular these days. Some people may choose these lifestyles due to personal taste, others due to consciousness of the treatment of animals at farms, others to join social bandwagons and feel "holier-than-thou", and others due to necessity. However, many people choose vegetarian or vegan diets in order to lose weight and slim down. If you fall into this latter category, then this article is just for you.

Aside from aging and genetic factors, there are few reasons why a person on a vegetarian diet should remain fat (or in some cases, get fatter). The problem is other lifestyle choices which make it hard to shed the pounds. Cutting meat alone will not guarantee weight-loss success, and in some cases (if you are not a conscientious objector to including meat in your diet), eating a portion of meat would be healthier than some of the choices that vegetarians make. Here are some lifestyle choices that you might want to reconsider if you are a vegetarian that is having a hard time slimming down:

Watch What You Drink

So you have cut meat out of your diet. Good for you, but are you sitting in coffee shops with the holier-than-thou hipster crowd? Are you sipping on fattening lattes? Sure, there isn't any meat in a latte, but they might still be loaded with empty calories (particularly with all of the extras). You may want to cut back on lattes, as well as soda, store-bought smoothies, and other sugar-filled drinks. Having one once in a while probably won't hurt too much, but if you make it an everyday habit, you probably won't be losing fat anytime soon.

There are 150 or more calories to make you fat in these.

Taste Makes Waste

Everyone likes food that tastes good, but some of our methods to make food taste good are not conducive to reaching our fitness goals. Broccoli smothered in cheese sauce, or carrots dipped in blackened ranch are 100% meat-free, but but those extra toppings add a tremendous amount of calories. Instead of adding all of the extras, try to find a way to mix vegetables together to make them suitable for your palate. If you cannot go without the extras, then try to find low-fat alternatives, or experiment with recipes of your own so you will know exactly what you will be consuming.

Lack of Protein

It is important to make sure that you are getting the right amount of protein, especially if you are trying to build muscle. Protein increases your metabolism since your body has to burn more calories digesting it. This includes non-meat sources of protein such as nuts or beans. Protein is also important in building and maintaining muscle, and as you may know, muscle mass increases one's metabolic rate, even when at rest. Finally, protein can help to reduce the feeling of hunger more effectively than carbohydrates, which can reduce the desire to overeat.

Exercise, Exercise, Exercise!

If you want to lose weight, you are going to have to get on a caloric deficit. This means that you must burn more calories than you take in. If you cannot do this with diet alone, then you will have to exercise to burn off those excess calories. Exercise can also help you to build muscle, which makes it easier to keep the fat off due to the increase in metabolism that muscle provides, as previously stated.

Whether you are a meat-eater or not, basic lifestyle changes will be necessary if you are serious about losing weight. Eating vegetables just to brag to your friends and feel smug is the same as going to the gym without getting on a treadmill or picking up a single weight, and will not get you the results that you desire.

Can Taking a Good Dump Alter Your Mind and Body?

When I was but a wee lad, I went to a petting zoo at the county fair. I recall that the goats, pigs, calves, (I don't quite remember all of the animals that they had, maybe seals or something) all came up to me, eager to be petted. There was only one animal in the bunch that did not seem to want to be bothered: a mallard duck.

Every time I tried to approach the duck, it would angrily quack and run away from me. This behavior continued until it released a huge pile of feces. The duck then ran up to me, wanting to be petted along with the rest of its cohorts. Of course, I didn't want to pet the duck anymore after it dropped a deuce, but this episode shows that having a clear digestive tract can alter mood (either that or the duck was trained well enough not to poo on customers).

Personally, I feel much better after voiding my bowels. Having lots of festering food stuck in my intestines causes me to feel sluggish, and in many cases, aggravated. After releasing, I am ready to take on the world once more with increased jubilation. This is why it is important to drink plenty of water and increase fiber intake to cleanse our colons. Not only will we improve our outlook and energy level, but we also decrease the risk of digestive disorders such as cancer or Crohn's disease.

Is There an Ideal Time for Working Out?

I was watching the news the other day, and they had a segment talking about the ideal time for exercising. According to their research, the best time to exercise is between 4 P.M. and 6 P.M. since our bodies have maximum lung capacity during these two hours of the day.

I'm no biologist, but personally, I call B.S.. As with most things dealing with fitness, the best time to exercise probably depends on the individual. For me, my energy peaks twice daily; once in the morning at about 10 AM, and once in the afternoon around 1 PM.. I generally hit the gym in the early afternoon to take advantage of my second energy peak and due to the sparse crowds at the gym. The time that works for you will depend on your own body, schedule, and other factors.

If there is any truth at all to what the news report said though, I wonder if this increased lung capacity is hard-wired into our biological clock or if it goes by local time. For example, if I were to move back to Japan, would my peak lung capacity be between the hours of 8 A.M. and 10 A.M.? When we "fall back" an hour for daylight saving's time tomorrow, will our lung capacity fall back an hour with us? Just a curiosity.

Rest and Nutrition are Key

It is said that gains are not made in the gym, but rather at home. This means that you stimulate your muscles at the gym (or wherever you may choose to exercise), but your muscles actually grow when you are resting.

Lifting weights causes microtears in your muscles (part of what makes you sore after a strenuous workout). When your body repairs these tears, your muscles grow back stornger. This requires the right nutrition, plenty of proteins, complex carbohydrates, and healthy fats, as well as proper sleep. Failure to eat right or sleep right can actually result in a loss of muscle, despite how much weight you lift. If you want to see more gains, then be sure to get enough calories and rest, that is, unless you just like picking up heavy stuff, putting it down, and repeating without seeing any changes in your physique.

Proper nutrition is also important to provide fuel through your workout. A good breakfast with complex, slow-burning carbs and protein can help you to sustain your energy throughout your regimen. You'll have to keep it up on days that you don't workout too. Soreness that lasts days after your workout can be an indicator that your body is still healing, and thus, still needs proper fuel and rest. Sometimes this soreness can be alleviated by taking in the right kinds and amounts of nutrients.

This piece of advice is primarily for those that are trying to gain muscle. For those of you who are trying to lose fat, nutrition and rest are still important, but you will want to try to have a caloric deficit (in other words, take in less calories than you burn with your basal metabolic rate plus physical activity).

Give It Just a Litttle Bit More

Unless you have some insane genetics, you probably won't get all of the progress that you want after a single workout session. In fact, it could take years of dedicated exercise to reach your desired goals.

Of course you need to increase the intensity of your workout, but you should do so gradually. Instead of trying to lift the entire gym your second week of working out, add to your regimen gradually. For example, you can try to lift an extra five pounds, increase your workout volume by one additional set, or do an additional rep as part of each set. If you are a runner, try to run an additional thirty seconds, or even a mere hundredth of a mile. it may not seem like much, but every little bit helps and gets you one step closes to your fitness goals.

I try to practice what I preach. I worked my pectorals and tricepss today, following the same workout template that I did last week. In order to up the intensity, I added ten pounds (five on each side) to the iso-lateral weight-plate-loaded machine, and did an additional set of wide-grip dips. I wasn't really able to add to the bench presses just yet, but I hope to do so next week. Ideally, I will be able to perform sets of ten by the end of October.

Fitness Advice: Take Notes

You should take notes to record your fitness progress. These notes can help you to set benchmarks, repeat a successful workout, or fix any mistakes that you may have made. Bring a pen and paper if it helps, or if you are a technophile, you may be able to use one of those fancy smartphones or tablets; I'm sure that they have apps for it.

Aside from which exercises, how many sets and reps you performed, how much weight you lifted, and so on, you may also want to take note of seemingly minor details. For example, you may want to note the height that you set the pulleys at when performing pectoral cable flies, or the incline that you set the bench at when performing dumbbell incline bench presses. This way, you won't have to waste time trying to figure out the perfect settings for the equipment that you use (speaking from experience here).

Just wanted to share that tidbit of advice. Here's hoping that you have a safe, healthy, and enjoyable weekend!

Gym Ramblings: Music

As Marvin Gaye said, "Music is the soul of a man". Music can help you to focus in the gym and to increase the intensity of your workout. Most gyms have some kind of music on in the background, but it is better to bring your own music player and earbuds so that you can customize your playlist with songs that help you to increase your focus and intensity.

On the other hand, music devices may get in the way for some. I always had trouble with my earbuds getting caught on equipment (especially the Roman chair when doing hyperextensions for my lower back). I've sometimes found myself playing with my music player trying to get the right song too, cutting into time that I should have been lifting. Due to these two issues, I've stopped bringing my MP3 player to the gym. I can keep my focus without music, but it did help me to get in the zone when I first started hitting the gym regularly.

Whether you bring a music player to the gym or not, remember that your focus is on hitting the weights, making gains, losing fat, or whatever your personal fitness goals are; not just to listen to tunes! Music should be a tool that adds to your workout, not the primary focus.

Is it OK to Compare Yourself to Others?

Many bodybuilders and fitness gurus will tell you that you shouldn't compare yourself to others. I'm not an authority in the field, but I must say that I disagree (to an extent, at least).

Personally, I do like to compare myself to others at times since it gives me a benchmark to strive for. In some cases, it also helps me to feel comfortable about myself. Seeing that not every professional wrestler, boxer, or MMA fighter has rock-hard abs makes me feel more comfortable with the fact that I don't have a defined six-pack abs yet.

Do not be ashamed if you make comparisons between yourself and others, as long as you retain focus on your goals. If comparing yourself to others diverts from your progress, then you should avoid doing it. Do not feel guilty if you don't have another person's physique (yet), and don't get too cocky thinking that you are better than the next person. Remember that you are exercising to get your body into the shape that you want it to be in, not to be a carbon copy of someone else. Comparing myself to others gives me an extra drive to pursue my goals at times, but I always make sure to pursue my own goals that I set for myself.

Until next time, keep pushing yourselves.

Staying Focused

When you commit to an exercise regimen (or just about anything in life), it is best to stay focused on your goals. If you are beginning, you may search the Web far and wide, talk to personal trainers, or seek friends for advice. This is all well and good, but if their suggestions cause you to divert from your own personal fitness goals, you may just find yourself discarding some of their advice.

As you progress, you may also find yourself distracted by some of the "byproducts" of getting into shape. Attention from the opposite sex, compliments, and so on are great, but you should not get sidetracked by them either. Focus on your own goals, keep them in mind at all times when you are working out, and you will be better able to give it your all. Now if your goal was to attract a mate or get compliments, then I guess that you should focus on these things; more power to you!