Now that i’m ripped, should i try modelling?’

Ok, so you’ve been following fitness and workout tips on stayfitbug.com, have got your body ‘ripped’, you maintain a fantastic physical and mental being, look in the mirror and think to yourself ‘damn I look good!’ Maybe I should try my hand at modeling?

When I first began to start developing muscle, this was the first thing that I thought of as well. I even went to visit a scouting agent at one point who spotted my picture on a social networking site, so I had a taster of what the process is like first hand.

I probably could still go for it, as I am still far off the ‘gone pass your sell by date’ age, which tends to be mid-late 40′s. The main reason I don’t is because I simply didn’t start training to get attention from others, I started training for personal satisfaction (but that may change):-). Every one has their preferences, but if you have looked in the mirror and got that ‘wannabe model’ feeling, then here are some things to consider.

Build for an athletic body

A couple of weeks ago I wrote an article on why your training doesn’t result in an athletic body. The fault comes from the reason that most workouts are designed as body builder workouts, but there was a resolution; give it a read if you haven’t yet done so already. So what you must do is build a fit, healthy and ‘toned’ body. That’s what they’re after.

One person who done this a few years ago was LL cool J. He went from slim, to huge, to toned, and he’s now in his 40′s maintaining the same appearance! It seems people don’t seem to age like they used to. But ideally this is the look you may want.

Ryan Reynolds

Move to a big city

If you live in the US, then move to New York City. It is deemed as the heart of the modeling world. If you don’t, then still try to go. If both are not an option then look around in other big cities in your country. The Internet is bigger than ever these days, so start Googling.

Start to build a portfolio

Get in front of the camera and start to get some photos taken. That’s headshots and body shots in both formal and casual wear.

Find an Agent

If you are serious about being a model, then you are going to need one of these. Some times they’ll even come to you, as they may scout around smaller cities, or on the internet as I mentioned earlier, so be sure to be social. But the best time to find one is when there is ‘open call’. This is when an individual can be informed of their potential of making it in the modeling industry. But before you do anything, it is important to check that the agent you go with is legit, the scammers are out there! So do your research.

Hint: If they demand money upfront, then don’t be scared to ring some bells!

The importance of Persistence

This applies to almost everything in life, which I’m sure most of you already know (Always easier said then done). You will probably face a few rejections, but within every negative situation lays a positive. So when one turns you down, you’ll probably find a better one soon after.

Have a flexible schedule

This actually applies to all models, male and female. Once your agent starts booking photo shoots for you, you have to be ready to drop everything and go, so you might want to stay away from fixed hour jobs. Maybe you could even start making money online, which will free up your time, and I’d be glad to assist .

Let me know your experiences with your approach to becoming a model.

See you in the comments

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How To Build Killer Shoulders?

If there is one muscle group which I truly love over all others (ok, may be not the abs) it would have to be the shoulders. The reason why, is because once you have built great shoulders, you will look good regardless of your frame or the clothes that you wear. This is great for guys who suffer from (I really do have muscles), and as I have stated before, most of you really do workout so that you are noticed by others.

Many of you probably are familiar with shoulder exercises to do at home or at the gym.  But I’ll describe the exercises that have worked for myself over the years, without the use of any supplements, which gave me KILLER SHOULDERS!

Shoulder muscles ‘Deltoids’

Anterior (Front)
Medial (Middle)
Posterior (Rear)

Dips Exercise

Target Muscles: All shoulder muscles, triceps and chest

When I hit the gym I usually try to start with this exercise. It’s a killer shoulders exercise because you have to use your own body weight, but once you master it, you will prove to yourself that you really have increased your strength.

1. Raise yourself up to an initial position with your arms extended and supporting the entire weight of your body.
2. Next, lower yourself to a final position where your elbows are bent and your shoulders are mildly stretched.
3. Then use your arms to push yourself upwards to the initial position.

Wide Grip Pull-ups (with a dipping belt)

Target muscles: Posterior (rear), Latissimus Dorsi (lower back)

This is another strength testing exercise, but once mastered, add a dipping belt for a more challenging exercise. It primarily targets your lower back, but does also work the shoulders.

1. Allow your body to hang from the bar with your arms straightened.
2. Then pull yourself upward so that your chest nearly touches the bar and your chin is over the bar.

Barbell Upright Row

Target Muscles: All, but mainly Anterior (Front), Back

I never used to include this in my workouts in the beginning, but then I realised that if you want great looking shoulders then you must work them on all dimensions. This primarily targets the front shoulders.

1. Place your hands no more than six inches apart on the bar.
2. Pull the bar to just underneath your chin, allowing the elbows to flare out as wide as possible.

Dumbbell Side Raise

Target Muscles: Anterior (Front)

This is my all time favourite weights assisted shoulder exercise. No matter how many times I perform, or how good I get at this exercise, it is always a challenge. But stick at it and this will give you a fine set of shoulders!

1. In correct posture, stand with your legs spaced shoulder width apart.
2. Keep your abdominal muscles tight, knees bent and chest relaxed.
3. Slightly in front of your sides lift the weight directly up, while focusing on your shoulders.
4. Stop when your elbow joints are in a straight line with your shoulders and reverse the motion down.
5. Under control, lower the weight, stop when your arms slightly touch your sides and reverse the motion.

Dumbbell Front Raise

Muscles worked: Anterior (Front)

This is similar to the side raise exercise, but instead you place the dumbbells horizontally, one on each thigh. I actually find this one more of a challenge than side raise exercise, but keep this up and the results will come.

(With both raises it is highly advisable that you start off with lightweights)

There are other exercises you can use to build your shoulders, but these ones work quite well. Try to alternate these exercises on different days of your weekly workout schedule. Keep that up and I can almost guarantee that you will achieve some serious results along with KILLER SHOULDERS!

What exercises have worked for you?

See you in the comments

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Benefits of boxing training for fitness

When people think of fitness, they tend to think of free weights, machines and running (I use to think this to). But building for fitness really is more diverse than that, and there are many other sporting activities you can take up to build a diverse range of fitness abilities, Boxing being one of them.

Boxing is generally seen as a male activity, but I can assure you, it certainly isn’t, and it has definitely given my body a boost and allowed me to be more diverse in my attitude towards fitness.

In the sporting world, Boxing is known as “the noble art of self-defense”. It is a classic fistfight with gloves. But to box doesn’t necessarily mean to enter the ring and knock each other down. There are different ways to work on this art of self-defense, and if you are open to try out boxing, you will find that you will gain a lot more than just a toned body.

Boxing is an intricate way of working out, that incorporates all of the important aspects of fitness, including strength, endurance, speed, and coordination. During training, every movement will be worked on properly and systematically and you will build stronger and more defined arms, legs and abs.

Classical workout methods in boxing include running, jogging, intervals, jump ropes, and sparring, in addition to sit-ups, push ups, and star jumps. If you prefer to keep to yourself, boxing is very versatile and you can use heavy bags, focus mitts or shadow boxing to practice your fighting skills.

Calories burned per 30 minutes of boxing:

50 kg 240 kcal
65 kg 270 kcal
75 kg 300 kcal
85 kg 330 kcal
100 kg 390 kcal

In addition to working on your physical strength, boxing will improve your mental strength, leaving you with a sense of emotional balance. It is a great platform to develop your self-motivation, as it leaves you wanting to push yourself to the limit each and every time. With help from your opponents, you will practice determination, patience, and focus.

Boxing classes will let you push yourself to the limit, in a motivating and safe environment. Different levels in classes will let you work out on the level that you are comfortable with. You will learn self-defense skills that can turn out to be very valuable in many ‘unwanted’ real life situations. But most importantly, you will get an energy boost that will enable you to keep on top of your game in your day-to-day life.

So what are you waiting for? Go and get the body and self-confidence you have always wanted!

See you in the comments.

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How to keep fit while making money online

If there is one thing that affects us all that no one has universally solved, it is how to manage our time effectively. Every one does have personal preferences on their approach to this and some manage their time better than others, and there are plenty of online tools that help us to do so, but that’s all they are, tools. We still have to put those tools into action.

In the Adult world it seems that everyone is BUSY, regardless of the profession they are in. This often leaves us with less time to spend with families, girlfriends, boyfriends, friends or any other things we may deem important to us. The real problem is not that we are busy, just that we are bad at managing our time.

Even with the rise of the Internet and the mobile web, the problem still seems to exist and it affects a group of individuals that I myself am a part of.

Those who make money online and like to keep fit!

Without a doubt, making money online is easier than making money from an offline business (in general), but you will still face similar hurdles. I also know that there are those of you out there (new and old) that do 17-hour days and don’t have time to fit anything else in. This usually happens with the online newbie’s more than anyone else, but at times, that’s just how it is. But believe me when I tell you this.

THIS IS NOT SUSTAINABLE!

You can keep this up for 3 –6 months max, but after that you will need to have systems in place to begin to work effectively, give you more time and for the people reading this, time to keep fit!

As that famous quote states:

IF YOU HAVE NO HEALTH, YOU HAVE NO WEALTH!

And this can’t be any truer for this group of people, myself included.

So what systems should you have in place?

The keyword here is ‘Autopilot’. The tools and methods outlined below will allow you to eventually free up more time and find time to workout… while still making money online.

Get organized

To do list software

Whether you use them on your phone, laptop or PC, be sure to use one of these. Sure you will plan things and on some day’s things won’t go according to plan. But by doing this it gives you structure, and whenever there are changes to your schedule, the time overlap into your other tasks will only be give and take.

Favourites

Apple iphone
- Remember the milk
- To do’s
- Things

PC
- Remember the milk

Time stamp posts

If you are like myself and part of your day consists of writing and/or publishing content, then set aside a time of day to do this. Once you have done so, and if you use online software such as WordPress, you can edit the time that the content is to be published. I set mine up either the night before or before midday the next day. This allows me to focus my time on other things that I do on the web, or time to schedule a workout at the gym.

Portfolio of potential guest writers, staff or partners

Join online communities of your niche. You will meet great people and possibly start a few new friendships. This is also a great way to meet other great writers, potential staff to help you out and possibly some strategic partners.

TweetLater and Tweetfeed

If you use Twitter for your business operations, then both of these services will allow you to post items to Twitter at a specific time during the day (such as new blog posts). This again will save you loads of time and allow you to get on with other tasks, or time to work out at the gym.

Social book-marking tools

Posting content to social book-marking sites can prove to be very valuable to your business operations, but it can also be a huge time sap. There are tools out there that allow you to post items to many social book-marking sites at once. By doing this you save A LOT of time, and again, more time for the gym.

Examples

Ping.fm
Socialposter.com

There probably are other methods out there to help you organize your time, but these are essential methods that I use daily and it seems to work well. Of course, do keep in mind that there will be times where full commitment is required, but when it’s not, you have yourself a winning plan. Implement these methods in a way that suits you best and you will save A LOT of time, have great health and wealth, while making money online.

What time management methods do you use?

See you in the comments.

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What are the best clothes to wear at the gym?

Since I began working out I have been to both local and commercial gym types, and one difference I notice about the people that attend them is the attitudes towards what clothes they wear in the gym. Now, I’ve watched both male and females workout and I have to say women are the main culprits for promoting fashion sense rather than dress sense at the gym. It doesn’t bother me personally, but those who dress for fashion standout out like a sore thumb. Maybe they are there to pick up a hot date… nothing wrong with that. But the way I see it, the gym is a place to workout, not a fashion parade, and you can definitely dress for the occasion while looking good at the same time.

Below I’ll outline the dos and the don’ts for clothes to wear in the gym, for both men and women.

Vests

To wear

Men

The best vests to wear are loose fitting sleeveless basketball type vests. They give you plenty of breathing space and allow you to sweat in comfort.

Women

Women can still have dress sense without the fashion in the gym. A vest like the one above would be best suited. It fits the body well, is light in weight and can be worn with a sports bra.

A good sports bra is essential to provide support and minimize excessive movement. The bra should be a blend of cotton and a breathable material such as Lycra mesh to help sweat evaporate and to prevent odours. The bra you choose should fit just right, allow you to breathe and be supportive, but not constricting your range of motion. Make sure the straps don’t dig into your shoulders or the band into your rib cage.

Not to wear

Men

Wife beaters! These types of vests are good as they keep out of the way and do a good job of exposing your muscles to the masses, but again, one is here to workout and not show off. Besides, it is better not see your muscles when you workout, as you get a better satisfactory feeling from seeing the after results. The main downside to wearing these is that they are cotton and when you sweat, it holds it, and it sticks to your body.

Women

Leotards! Those are like… so 80’s.

Shorts

To wear

Men

Again, loose type basketball shorts are best, if you are running then you may want shorts that are above the knee for a smooth motion.

Women

Hot pants or mid length shorts are great, not only because they are a tight fit, elastic and allow for quick drying of sweat… they make women look good and are good dress sense for the occasion.

Not to wear

Men

Tight shorts or short shorts. The only reason I state this is because of issues regarding exposure (don’t let it hang out!). If you’ve got chick legs, then again this probably isn’t a good idea, unless you are comfortable with that.

Women

No bright, flashy or uncoordinated colours, that really is not cool.

Footwear

To wear

Men and Women

Runners: The right running shoe should provide stability, motion control, and cushioning for your runs. Depending on the shape of your foot you may need a different sized arch. These also should be ACTUAL running shoes that are designed for running, not those that state they are running shoes when they are in fact just the latest fashion. Talk to a salesperson that specializes in running shoes to find your best fit.

Walking shoes: An ideal walking shoe should allow for a range of motion and cushioning.

Cross-trainers: These are the most commonly worn shoes in the gym. These shoes are ideal for someone who occasionally runs, walks, and/or takes fitness classes. They should offer flexibility, cushioning, and lateral support.

Not to wear

Men and women

Sandals or shoes that expose your feet, keep the sandals for the locker room. The gym is full of equipment and mobile weights. If there ever is an incident involving your feet, then you are setting yourself up for maximum damage, even broken toes. Trainers only.

T-shirts

To wear

Men and women

The best t-shirts to wear are cotton/spandex material muscle shirts or t-shirts.  For the ladies, tops like the one above. Both men and women’s tops like these are loose fitting, allow your body to breath and hold sweat well.

Not to wear

Men
Tank tops. These are similar to wife beaters but worse as they are non sleeveless, so when you sweat you literally do have to stick with it!

Trousers

To wear

Men

During the winter months or if you are not a fan of shorts, the best thing to wear on your bottom half are track bottoms (within lining). I believe that track bottoms without lining shouldn’t even exist. When you sit down in them they feel cold against your skin and when you sweat it doesn’t absorb it, and they generally are uncomfortable.

Matching jogging outfits are a also a good thing to wear and for those that want to look like they have fashion sense.

Women

Leggings or tight pants. This is the usual gym wear for most ladies.

Not to wear

Men and women

Jeans… yes, I’ve seen people wear these. Wearing jeans in the gym is the ultimate crime, for dress sense and fashion sense in the gym. Regardless of what type of jeans they are, they are simply not to be worn. They cause and hold more sweat, they are not supportive and you simply cannot perform any exercise effectively while wearing them.

Accessories

To wear

Men and women

All you need are headbands, sweat bands, watches, heart rate monitors or timed devices that actually assist you with your workout.

Not to wear

Men

Trendy watches, jewellery, earrings and all other accessories belong in your locker. Again most people keep these on as a fashion statement, it really is not needed. Besides it could be hazardous to yourself and others in the gym to wear these while working out.

That pretty much sums it up. But since we are talking about real life experiences on stayfitbug.com, we do have to leave some room for personal preferences, and for rules to be broken.

• You may have a busy schedule, you finish work but can’t be bothered to do the whole ‘gym thing’, so you might just keep your trousers and shoes on, change your top and train.
• You might have a hot date. You hit the gym for an half an hour (wearing half of the clothes you’ll wear on the date) just to get that ‘pump’ look for the next 12 hours.

Putting the rule breaking aside, it is still important to follow a dress sense that is suited for the gym. But more important, is that you wear clothes that you feel comfortable in, allow you to feel dry, allow you to move freely and make you look good… with out looking like you are in a fashion parade.

What clothes do you where to the gym? Is your gym a fashion parade?

see you in the comments.

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Should you smoke Marijuana if you workout?

If you are a current smoker of tobacco and are deciding to get really serious about working out and keeping fit, then the best thing to do would be to quit it all together. Most of us know the dangers of smoking, as the ads do a pretty good job of not hiding it. Unless you have been living under a rock and don’t know then here are the dangers of smoking tobacco:

• Reduced oxygen to the muscles
• Can cause lung cancer
• Heart disease and strokes
• Smoking causes fat deposits to narrow and block blood vessels, which leads to heart attack.
• And others

Throughout all of my life I never have been a smoker so most of the above never did apply to me directly. But one thing that has always intrigued me over the years was what the affect of smoking marijuana has on people who work out, as there never has been a solid answer. I guess the reason why there is no solid answer could be the same reasons to why we don’t know why drinking alcohol affects some while not affecting others. Quite simply it affects different people in different ways.

Below I’ll outline two scenarios that I have become familiar with from meeting those who smoke marijuana and workout.

Scenario 1
I workout, smoke marijuana and I feel great!

This group of people tend to have very well developed bodies, are pretty sure of themselves and would smoke every other day of the week. They state that smoking:

Before a workout – Helps them to keep better form and concentrate on specific muscles more effectively.

After a work - They get a epinephrine high from the workout plus the high from the marijuana smoke, which leads to an overall better performance.

- Running or biking after smoking marijuana allows them to keep up excellent rhythm and push their selves harder than usual.

Scenario 2
I can’t workout and smoke marijuana. It makes me feel awful!

This group of people tend to be of slim to average build and would make statements such as:

- I wouldn’t recommend smoking while, before, or after working out, as I’ve done that twice and thrown up both times. It really is not a pleasant experience.

- If I smoke before I work out I get really lazy and cannot get motivated. Besides, smoking marijuana produces estrogen and by having that in your system you cannot get that solid muscle feel from working out that the non-smokers get.

After looking at both scenarios I guess we can conclude that smoking marijuana is just the same as working out and drinking alcohol (Alcohol and Exercising). If you smoke it and it makes you feel good with no ‘currently known’ side effects… STICK TO IT! If you smoke it and it makes you feel like crap, give up working out or QUIT IT!

What are your experiences from smoking Marijuana while exercising or from those you know that have?

See you in the comments.

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The importance of stretching

Knowing that one must stretch really is old news that we all picked up back in our physical education days. But as the years go own, it seems more and more people seem to forget not only that they need to stretch, but the importance of doing so. A scenario for you:

”You workout at the gym and your friends Tom, Dick and Harry all start their workout after you at every session. You notice (subconsciously) that Tom and Dick stretch before every session, but you also notice (subconsciously) that Harry doesn’t. A few months pass and one day you are having a conversation with Tom, Dick and some other gym friends and in-between that conversation some one asks ‘By the way, where’s Harry these days?’ and Tom would say ‘ I think he’s injured…pulled a muscle or something not to sure why or how!’.

Deja vu for anyone?

I’ve seen this scenario time and time again at every single gym I’ve been to, and I believe that this is a no.1 reason for interruptions and injury in the gym (along with doing it all wrong). But in this case it’s about what people aren’t doing right!

Like most people I learned early on, the importance of stretching before taking up any high performance activity, as I saw first hand the results and damage caused from not doing so from other family members activities. But one must act on that knowledge once it’s acquired. It seems that some people think they are either invincible, lazy or for guys, they may have an immature or stubborn view that stretching is for girls or wimps! This unfortunately happens quite often, and when it does, you’ve got a Harry on your hands.

So what does stretching do for you?

Stretching improves joint range of motion, improves the function of your muscles and improves neuro-muscular control or efficiency.

Flexibility is the range of motion around a specific joint or a set of joints. Every movement you make from daily activities, exercise and sports require your joints to move through a full range of motion. Therefore a lack of flexibility will lead to muscular imbalances and eventually injury. (Harry)

The good thing about stretching is that it can be done anywhere, at home, on the track or at the gym, but it’s important to first understand the principles of warming up and warming down.

Warming up

Prepares and readies your muscles for exercising and this will prevent injury.

Warming down

Is what you do after you exercise.  Doing this will help your muscles recover and reduce soreness.

Just be sure not to stretch for more than 30 seconds on any one muscle and to never bounce. Always hold firm and still.

What stretches should one perform?

All of the above are stretches that you should perform. My favorites have always been quadriceps, calf, standing hamstring and hip flexor stretches.

What will stretching improve?

• Improve you flexibility
• Feel better overall
• Improve your posture
• Reduce your risk of injury
• Relieve pain
• Counteract aging
• Improve muscle recovery after workouts
• Reduce stress

That’s really all there is to it and is aimed mostly at all the ‘Harry’s’ out there (You know who you are)! Be a Tom…. or be a Dick!

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How to build equal size Biceps and Triceps

Whenever the summer months begin to approach and the clothes on peoples back become less and less, you will inevitably see people flaunt their muscle sculpted and toned bodies that they have been working on during the winter months, and so they should. But one thing I do see every now and again is guys with huge arms…but not the whole circumference! What they would tend to have is large tricep muscles but small bicep muscles. So their arms would appear large in size only from a side or back viewpoint.

This is not the result you want!

Whenever you see someone with arms as I have described above, then they have been focusing to hard on one muscle group too much, in this case, the triceps. In general the tricep muscles are bigger than bicep muscles, and they will be the main muscles of the arm that stand out as your muscles grow. To prevent this one must work the biceps with exercises such as chin ups or any exercise that requires a pulling movement. After this it is then good to get into a habit of leaving bicep curls exercises till the end of your workout. This will ensure that your biceps are evenly worked compared to your triceps.

Even more important

The above is how you ensure a good balance and workout of both arm muscles. But what one must first acknowledge is that the arm muscles are still only facilitators of moving the larger muscle groups. Because of this, the arm muscles have no choice but to get stronger when the bigger muscle groups gets worked. Bigger muscle groups that the arms assist with would be with exercises such as:

• Bench-press (Chest, Shoulders muscles)
• Various row exercises (Back muscles)
• Military press (Shoulder muscles)
• Chin ups/ pull-ups (Several muscles)

If you focus on working on the above major muscle groups with the said exercises, your biceps and triceps will improve in strength and size naturally.

The key thing here is to:

1. Keep your main focus on a full body workout
2. Keep specific exercises for your triceps and biceps (or when weaknesses occur)

The reason why one may get carried away and focus on the arms only, is because they are the stand out muscles that every one will see with most of the clothes you wear. And this mindset is wrong. However, I believe there are exceptions.
Take someone like myself for example. Being 6’1 with longer legs and arms than most individuals, I have a much harder time building my biceps and tricep muscles to a reasonable size, compared to someone who maybe shorter than myself. So while the bigger muscle groups like shoulders back and chest develop naturally, my arms (and legs) tend to get left behind, even though I began my workouts with a ‘fully body workout’ mind set.

Keep working hard, be consistent and natural results will come!

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How to drink alcohol and workout effectively

When I started to workout at age 16-17, my body was a lot healthier then some of my other friends as I wasn’t into trying out legal or illegal substances. Such as…? I was more passionate about fitness, health and performance. But throughout my late teen years I would inevitably begin to socialize (and rightfully so). But with socializing comes partying and with partying comes alcohol consumption.

This happens everywhere across the globe, some places more than others (The UK). But for a person that works out or is into sport as a profession, it is vital that one must control how much and how often this happens. I for one has had first had experience of this scenario and I know he effects alcohol can have on the body of someone who works out. In general one must not drink to much alcohol, as the effects will be negative, as we all know. But it is not to say one must not drink at all, as life would be pointless with out a little fun, but one must learn to control how much they consume.

What alcohol does to muscles?

As I stated, in my late teens I was very much into fitness as I still am. But I did like to go out, party and quite often drink alcohol. Every time I did this, I would wake up the next day, go to the gym and my body would feel weak, I would have a headache and be thirstier than usual. To make things even worse, I would feel a decrease in MUSCLE MASS…The very thing that I am trying to build and maintain.

Why does this happen?

After few times of experiencing this, I wanted to find out why this was case, as I liked to both party, drink alcohol and workout, and i definitely didn’t want to give any of them up.

Alcohol causes dehydration

When you drink alcohol in excessive amounts it damages your muscles and dehydrates the body, which leads to a lack of water in your muscles. Water is the very thing that your muscles need in order to grow and be maintained. So you may find that after a few weeks of drinking on the binge, you feel a lot thirstier after working out. Drinking water is the natural thing to do when this occurs, but unfortunately this won’t decrease the levels of dehydration that mass alcohol consumption would have caused.

Alcohol stunts muscle growth and shrinks them to!

The worst part of all this is that dehydration caused from excessive alcohol consumption will lead to a stunt in muscle growth and will shrink them to. Regardless of what body type you are or what workout routine you implement, you will burn fat. But when alcohol is present, your body will start to burn muscles (rather than fat) for energy when you workout. This is bad no doubt, and will only continue unless you begin to control your weekly intake of alcohol.

Wait! It gets worse

Too much alcohol can actual make you fat. Alcohol contains calories that no longer get burned like normal fat because of dehydration. So what starts to happen is you begin to gain weight, but gain no real muscle definition, therefore leading you to look fat? This is also the reason why people may say to you ‘Don’t build muscle and get to big, if you stop working out one day you might become fat!’

How often should I drink?

No level of alcohol consumption is risk-free. The general answer to that question would be to drink in moderation. The weekly average ‘safe’ amount for men is 21 units and 14 for women (1 unit = 1 half pint of beer, spirits or wine). So it’s probably a good bet to aim for a consumption rate that is below this amount. I personally started to drink more red wine. Red wine does contain microorganisms that can cause various diseases, however, because of its alcoholic and acidic nature, the microorganisms simply die out.

We do all like to party no doubt. So my final advice would be to do what I do:

Party and drink non-alcoholic drinks, as I really don’t think it is needed, unless you need to drink it to get into a merry state. If that is the case I would suggest re-evaluating your workout goals, as you simply won’t achieve anything that will be of benefit to you.

How has alcohol affected your workout routine?

See you in the comments.

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Shower at home or Shower at the gym?

Whenever there is talk regarding the gym showers, we will always be taken back to the good old days of the high school dorm showers. For most people, taking a shower at school in the high school years was deemed as a bold or brave thing to do, and if that was you I am pretty sure you stood out from the crowd when you did so. As people migrate to adulthood most would think the whole ‘shower in public’ issue would disappear, but this is not the case, and this will probably remain an issue until the end of human existence.

Shower at home or Shower at the gym?

Personally I like to shower at home as I have never been a fan of gym showers. When I shower I like to get comfortable, take my time and sing my heart out (something I’m sure won’t be favored by my fellow gym goers). It’s nothing to do with being shy either, as I don’t have any insecurities about my body (quite the opposite). It’s just that I like to keep my private parts…. PRIVATE.

Some people in the gym just let it all hang out…Willies, D***s, Vagina’s, P****s, Butts or what ever you like to call them.

Now I think I can speak for the masses here, but quite frankly, I just don’t want to see any of that when I’m at the gym.
The problem is, you just can’t help but look when it’s on display. Everyone that does go to the gym goes there to improve their bodies, but… most of the people in there are not quite improved… yet! So I have to suffer and look at rolls of fat, overly hairy bodies and private parts that are ugly to begin with. (Yikes!)

Now I know some people can’t help that, as I mentioned, we do all go to the gym to improve ourselves. But some people (Ladies… taking to you here) let it all hang out to show off, or some people know they don’t look to hot, but like to shower and at least have the decency to wear underwear or shorts as soon as they get into the locker room.

You can agree to disagree with me, but I think the whole shower thing bothers women more than it does men. Men tend to be more open. After all, we do pee together when out in public. (keep your head straight, don’t turn it now!)

Maybe that explains why women’s showers have a cubicle and men’s showers don’t.

All things said, we do have some great commercial gyms out there. You have facilities such as Jacuzzi’s, Saunas, and when you shower you get access to:

• Shampoo
• Conditioner
• Body wash
• Lotion
• Towels
• Razors
• Shaving gel
• Combs
• and more

Now that beats a home shower any day. (Home vs Gym)

Everyone has their preferences for sure, but below is a list of the pros and cons of both.

STAY FIT and STAY CLEAN! Bugs out!

Home shower

Pros

• Don’t have to look at naked people
• Less likely to pick up germs
• Time and comfort

Cons

• Inconvenience
• Waste time
• Travel around with a foul smell

Gym Shower

Pros

• Convenience
• Save time
• Leave the gym, bathed and fresh

Cons

• Extra baggage
• Look at other naked people
• Possibly pick up germs

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