It's now the time of year when many of you will be looking forward to your summer holidays in the sun and time off work. But I'd wager a bet that many of you are also worried about not training, losing size, gaining fat and not eating correctly whilst away. Kind of ruins the whole holiday feeling doesn't it?! If this is a problem for you, remember this: holidays are a holiday! By this I mean they are a time to relax from all your lifestyle pressures, and this includes training. So enjoy yourselves, wherever you go.
In April we launched a new ebook: 'Grippers - Getting the most from your gripper' by Grip Champion Steve Gardener, who many of you will know better as 'Mobster'. This is an excellent addition to any elibrary.
'A Beginner's Guide to Building a Home Gym' is a great new article written by member AP, which covers all the essentials for what you need to train at home.
Don't forget to get your MuscleTalk training T-shirt this summer!
*** Best Wishes from James and The MuscleTalk team! ***
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** Need a diet for growth to suit YOU? - James Collier, Dietitian offers personalised nutrition programmes through email tailored to YOUR needs.
For more information see: www.muscletalk.co.uk/james.aspx or email james@muscletalk.co.uk
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*** The Benefits of Soya ***
By Nicole Bremner (Nikki) - MuscleTalk Moderator and author of Muscle Menus Vegetarian
Soya (or Soy for the benefit of the Americans) products have enjoyed increased press coverage recently and, as a result, sales of soya milk alone have escalated in the US, growing from $1.5 million in 1980 to almost $550 million in 2001. The reasons for this astronomical growth are some of the benefits of soy including:
- decreased risk of breast and prostate cancer
- lower cholesterol
- fight high blood pressure
- assist iron deficiency
- alternate to HRT
- protect against osteoporosis
- increased fertility in females
Unfortunately for many bodybuilders soya is seen as a second rate protein source. The truth is that soya offers unique benefits not found in other proteins. These benefits result from soya's isoflavones, particularly daidzein and genistein. When daidzein was injected in rats (16 days at 30mg per kg of body weight per day), muscle weight rose and growth hormone, endorphin and testosterone levels all increased. Human tests performed on Romanian and Chinese athletes confirmed that supplementing with soya protein produced similar results with increased lean body mass, reduced body fat, and increased resistance to fatigue. With regards to cardiovascular health and fat burning, soya may be the best protein available because it increases the production of thyroid stimulating hormone and thyroxin, two substances that may increase your body's metabolism. So if you're trying to cut down while maintaining lean mass, soya may be the best protein for you.
But, you might ask, I've heard that soya contains phytoestrogens which mimic the effects of oestrogen in animals. And as a male bodybuilder, I don't want oestrogen in my body? However, there is no evidence that points to increased oestrogen levels in males with increased soya intake. If fact a study by the University of Texas showed that both oestrogen and testosterone levels remained the same in males who used soya. Furthermore, dihydrotestosterone (DHT - a metabolite of testosterone that has been associated with enlarged prostates, acne and male balding) levels fell by 13%.
This certainly doesn't mean you should waste your whey. The bottom line is that you should not rely in just a single source of protein. Sculpt your dream body by providing it with a variety of quality protein powders including whey, casein and soya protein isolate. Indeed the Protein Digestibility-Corrected Amino Acid Scoring (PDCAAS) method of grading protein quality, the one used by the World Health Organisation / Food and Agriculture Organisation (WHO/FAO) and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ranks soya protein isolate as the best protein source.
How to get more soy in your diet:
- use soya milk in place of cows milk on your cereal and in protein shakes
- add a tablespoon of soya protein to your normal whey protein shake
- use soya yoghurt on cereal or topped with fresh fruit
- soya nut butter is lovely on whole wheat or rye bread
- eat a handful of soya nuts or soya crackers as a snack
- sprinkle soya nuts over salads
- tofu can taste great in everything from smoothies and ice cream to sandwiches and stir-frys
- for tasty recipe ideas see for using soya see Muscle Menus and Muscle Menus Vegetarian
*** May's Recipe - Banana Bread ***
By Nikki - MuscleTalk Moderator
Taken from yet another bodybuilding recipe publication *** coming soon! ***
**Ingredients
350g low fat cream cheese
10 egg whites (or 5 whole eggs)
3 bananas, mashed
½ cup vanilla protein powder
1 tsp baking powder
½ cup sugar substitute
2 tsp vanilla essence
zest of one lemon
1 cup bran
1 cup ground almonds
**Method
Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease and line with grease proof paper, a bread baking tin. In a bowl blend together the cream cheese and 3 eggs until smooth. Gradually add all the eggs mixing until smooth. Add all remaining ingredients and mix well. Spoon into the baking tin. Cook for 25-30 minutes until the bread is browned on to and a knife inserted in the centre of the bread comes out clean. Cool before slicing into about 10 slices.
**Information
Makes 10 slices. Per slice: 225kcal, 19g protein, 17g carbs, 12g fat, 4g fibre.
More great bodybuilding recipes can be found in the 'Muscle Menus' and 'Muscle Menus Vegetarian' eBooks.
The articles in The MuscleTalker are for information purposes only and are the sole expressions of the individual authors opinion and are those not necessarily shared by the owners of www.MuscleTalk.co.uk