Foods that improve sexual performance should be included in every healthy adults’ diet.
Hormones are the chemical messengers of the body. The relationship between hormones and cells mirrors that of keys and doors (hormones being the keys). Nutrients and minerals give us what we need to synthesise every hormone in the body from insulin to dopamine and everything in between. What happens when someone that you live with loses their keys? They can’t get in. Right. Make sense? Good.
Add these foods to your diet to help support your sexual hormones!
WALNUTS
Walnuts improve the shape, movement and vitality of sperm in men.
STRAWBERRIES
Strawberries and raspberries have high levels of zinc, which is beneficial for both male and female genders. For women, zinc makes it easier for the body to prepare for sex, hormonally, while in men, it is needed to control healthy levels of testosterone.
AVOCADOS
Avocados are full of folic acid and vitamin B6. Folic acid fills you with energy and b6 stabilizes your hormones.
WATERMELON
Watermelon can boost libido and strengthen the erections in men. It is abundant in l-citrulline, which is an amino acid that increases nitric oxide for more vascularity.
SAFFRON
Saffron is a natural aphrodisiac that will improve your sex drive as well as your sexual performance. It is rich in zinc and other essential minerals that help increase blood flow to sexual organs, boosts mood and is also a proven anti-depressant.
CHOCOLATE
Dark chocolate will make your brain release serotonin (the happy hormone). It doesn’t necessarily help improve your actual libido, but it will improve your mood in preparation for the big moment!
STEAK Steak is full of (guess what!) zinc (!), vitamin, iron and protein. All of which are needed for men and women to keep up healthy libidos.
I hope that these foods that help improve sex and sexual performance bring come good lovin’ into your life!
I’m on a bulking cycle now, so I figured I share some of my foundation moves for quickly adding muscle mass.
You should know already that adding mass to your total physique is done best by focusing on the biggest muscle groups – legs, lats, shoulders and chest.
Clean & Press
This is an obvious one! Clean & Press is a true test of strength and will recruit just about every skeletal muscle in the body for every single rep. I wouldn’t bother doing over six reps per set if you are looking to pack on size. Otherwise you may end up shedding more than bulking. If you don’t already know how to clean & press properly, I recommend getting some guidance from a personal trainer, Crossfit instructor, or experienced power lifter, as it can be fairly dangerous if you don’t know what you are doing.
Sumo Dead Lift
I’ve chosen the Sumo DL over the standard version, because it is designed to hit hamstrings harder. Glutes and lats are still involved, but the sumo position typically puts less strain on the lower back for most, which might enable you to lift more weight, or complete more reps for a given set.
Back Squat
Nothing will make your legs bigger. Period. If you don’t go ass-to-grass then it’s not a squat. ‘Nuff said. Let’s move on.
Pull Up/Pull Down
Standard. If you aren’t strong enough to do pull ups then use the pull down to work up to it. If you are strong enough then use this as your staple lats exercise. You can strap weights to yourself using a dipping belt, or by holding a dumbbell in between your feet.
Cuban Press
Most people would recommend the standard press for shoulders with a bar, or dumbbells, but I’m choosing this one from personal experience and also because of how quickly it can add mass to your shoulders. The movement is similar to the Clean & Press, so the traps and deltoids will both get hit hard. No muscle in the shoulders will go missed with this move – not even rotator cuffs! It can be done sitting, or standing, with dumbbells, or kettle bells.
Dumbbell Pullover
I’m sure you expected to see bench press here, right? Well, I can’t really argue with anyone for relying on the bench press for size. It is a foundation move and should be included in your chest routine, no doubt, but consider this for a second – performing pullovers during the stages of physical development (women up to 21 and men up to 25 years old) will expand your rib cage. And what is the result of an expanded rib cage? Bigger shoulders, bigger chest & back, and a smaller waist! What more do you want?!
Make these moves a part of your weekly routines and you will be packing on size in no time! If you have further trouble then it’s either down to your diet, or your stomach’s ability to absorb the nutrients from your food. I’ll be sure to blog about those issues soon.
This is something that I like to hit up at the end of my chest and back routine after my pecs and lats are past exhaustion and full of blood.
When performing the press-up/push-up, be sure that the band is wrapped around the back of your shoulders and triceps. Keep you back straight and core tight. The benefit of using the kettle bells means that you can go deeper which will stretch the chest muscles, forcing them to work more than the triceps at the bottom of the movement. The band works to create more resistance the further it is stretched, so you will it working more as you press yourself back up.
When rowing, the band will be assisting the movement. Because of this you can go extra heavy with the kettle bells, but you MUST be sure to go super slow on the descent. Keep your lower back arched, chest high, posture just above a 90° angle, and row towards your waist.
Perform once per week, shifting the weight and rep range at least every two weeks, and you will be sure to pack on some serious mass!
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
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.
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