Health Facts – Low Body Fat

Health Facts – Low Body Fat

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HEALTH FACTS – LOW BODY FAT

In the superficial world of Instagram (especially) and other social media influences, immeasurable masses of people are collectively blinded by the vanity of physical appearance. Nowadays everyone is obsessed with sex packs and is conditioned to be ashamed of themselves to whatever extent if they don’t fit the description of what society considers to be sexy or attractive.

All opinions aside, here are the facts.

Ideal body fat percentage for young adults (percentage should increase with age – not mentioned):
Men up to 30 – 10-15%
Women up to 30 – 15-21%

Risks from Body Fat Defeciency:

  • Lowered transport of naturally occurring steroid hormone which can cause menstrual cycle cessation in women
  • Foot injuries and bone fractures due to lack of cushion in plantar foot pad
  • Impact injuries
  • Deterioration of organs – especially the lungs
  • Calcium and Vitamin D deficiency
  • Osteoporosis
  • Amenhorroea
  • Loss of bone mineralisation (bone acts as a storage site for minerals to be used elsewhere)
  • Psychological disorders
  • Abnormal dysfunction of immune system
  • Nervous system damage
  • Fertility
  • Death
    Damn, there’s so much more…

Stay healthy, folks.

Tay Gabbidon – Personal Trainer & Nutrition Therapist – www.immortal-training.com

Gluteus Maximus

Gluteus Maximus

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Potentially, the strongest muscle in the human body. However it is the laziest, by far.

For those of you that have had to endure this analogy from me before then just sing along lol.

If animals represented the different muscles in your body, Glute Maximus would be the king of the jungle. Like lions, they are strong and powerful, but also very lazy. They are happy to lay around and let the other muscles (such as hamstrings, quads, hip flexors, lower back, erector spinae, etc.) pick up the slack, on jobs that ar normally meant  to do, in order to reserve its full potential for when they are needed most.

Work at a desk job? Do you do a lot of driving? Chances are that your gluts are asleep. In order to get any sort of activation and growth from them they require ritual stimulation. Bridging exercises, squatting ass-to-the-grass, dead lifts and back extensions with full range of motion are great ways to activate the dormant muscle fibers in the Glutes.

Glutes are the most important muscles in your core. They connect your back to your legs through the pelvis and are the antagonists to the abdominals and hip flexors. Whether you’re an 75 year old woman who suffers from migraines and back pain, a sprinter looking to quicken your personal best time, a baseball pitcher looking to improve your fastball, or a someone just trying to put a lil more junk in your trunk, strengthen the Glutes and your problem is solved 90% of the time!

A lot of things are often mistaken for problems that are actually caused by inactive glutes. Here are some of the most common symptoms:

  • Migraines
  • Pain in the upper back and/or in between the shoulder blades
  • Lower back pain
  • Pain in the knees
  • Disorders of the feet
  • Poor balance
  • Poor felexibilty
  • Weak core balance
  • Exaggerated anterior tilt of the pelvis usually recognisable by an ass that doesn’t protrude when viewed from the side

I recommend a book by Bret Contreras, called “Strong Curves – A Woman’s Guide to Bulding a Better Butt and Body”. Though it is aimed toward educating women, this is an awesome read for men also.

Tay Gabbidon – Personal Trainer & Nutritional Therapist – Oxford, England – www.immortal-training.com

Supplement Facts: Leucine

Supplement Facts: Leucine

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Leucine is one of the three branches chained amino acids. It is by far the most important of all amino acids.

Benefits:

1) Activates a major process in mTOR which is the amino acid sensor of the cells. This increases protein synthesis in the muscles. Without leucine present there is no protein synthesis therefore no growth.

2) Increases high density cholesterol (“good” cholesterol) and decreases low density cholesterol (“bad” cholesterol). 3) Because it is easily converted into glucose, leucine helps regulate blood-sugar levels. Great for diabetics or those at high risk for Type 2 Diabetes.

3) Increases muscle recovery rate.

4) Can increase fat loss by keeping blood-sugar levels in check.

But, be careful. Too much leucine can be bad for you. Excessive use can cause pellagra – deficiency in niacin – which may cause dermatitis, diarrhoea and mental disorders. It can also disrupt the functioning of the kidneys and liver. Leucine is hard to come by in food, so you don’t need too much. A great food source is lentils. If you are taking supps don’t exceed the recommended dosage and if you are taking BCAAs it’s probably not a good idea to stack leucine as well as it will be included in the BCAAs. Leucine should also be taken with valine and isoleucine (2 mg of leucine and valine per 1 mg of isoleucine), but again all BCAAs supps should already have these included with the correct ratio.