New sections on MuscleTalk:
- New Power & Strength Competitions & Events sub-forum situated within the main Power & Strength forum.
- The competitions forum has changed: Bodybuilding Competitions & Events and Competitors forum. This section will have discussion of the UK and international bodybuilding scene.
- New Body Power Expo sub-forum situated within the Bodybuilding Competitions & Events and Competitors forum - this is the official place on the net to discuss Body power Expos past and future.
New articles, interviews and reports in June:
- Weight Training 0-12 Months Stepping Stones
- Cellulite - Anatomy & Development
- Interview with top UK bodybuilder Shaun Joseph-Tavernier
- Interview with strongman Mark Felix
Past Bodybuilding Articles, with categories making it easier for you.
MuscleTalk T-shirts! - new designs coming soon!
*** Best wishes from James Collier and The MuscleTalk team! ***
See you at www.MuscleTalk.co.uk
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*** Stimulant Drinks ***
By James Collier, BSc (Hons), RNutr - Nutrition Consultant www.healthyaction.co.uk
Quite often people refer to stimulant drinks as 'energy drinks'. However, correctly, energy drinks refer to drinks which are based on glucose or similar which provide energy in respect of carbohydrates and calories. Stimulant drinks are those which contain stimulant ingredients, and the terminology can be confusing as these drinks are often marketed to 'provide energy'.
Stimulant drinks may contain a range of ingredients, most commonly caffeine and taurine, but also other compounds designed to improve wakefulness or clarity, like guarana, B-vitamins, ginseng, and a range of other tonics, depending on the brand, and may also contain glucose or sweeteners in sugar-free varieties.
Caffeine is a stimulant found in tea, coffee and other foods and drinks which can help boost performance. Taurine is an amino acid which isn't a stimulant per se, but can help reduce muscle fatigue and improve concentration. Guarana is actually just a source of caffeine, so if a drink contains both 'caffeine' and 'guarana' make sure the total caffeine content is not too high. Certain B-vitamins are involved in energy transformation, like thiamin, riboflavin and niacin. Ginseng is a herb with purported 'well-being' effects, though a lot of researchers remain unconvinced.
Obviously amounts of each of the ingredients vary from brand to brand, but typically a 250ml can will contain around 80mg of caffeine and 1,000mg of taurine amongst the other ingredients in more variable amounts. Unless you are sensitive to caffeine then you can happily consume 300mg per day with no negative effects to health; obviously this total includes all caffeine, i.e. that from tea, coffee, other caffeine-containing products as well as stimulant drinks. So from a caffeine point of view, assuming you consume no other caffeine, then 2-3 cans per day should be of no health hazard.
However, caffeine is but one ingredient, and when ingested with other stimulants, along with the artificial additives in these products, then I would definitely say three cans per day is too much. My recommendation would be an absolute maximum of one or two 250ml cans per day, spread away from each other and not too late at night. If you still desire extra caffeine, then it would be better to obtain this from tea or coffee which have other constituents which are not only safer, but may actually have some health benefits, e.g. flavenoids found in tea are anti-oxidants.
Stimulant drinks can be useful as a pick-me-up for training, but don't rely on them. Like everything moderation is the key, and don't forget the drinks are acidic and are not great for dental health.
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*** The Perfect Tricep Pushdown ***
By James Collier, MuscleTalk Co-Owner
Tricep pushdowns are a great exercise for the triceps, and if done correctly will isolate the triceps bringing maximum stimulation for growth. However, too many people do not perform them properly; they use too much weight and end up swinging, leaning over too much, bringing the shoulders in or not doing the full movement. Keep the weight lighter and do the exercise fully; this will bring maximum stimulation to the whole triceps muscle.
Attach a straight bar to the top portion of a cable machine. Grab the bar with your palms facing down, less than shoulder-width grip and position the bar at about chest level and slowly lower the bar downward. Make sure to keep your elbows in while extending your arms and have a slight bend in your arms when you reach the bottom of the movement. Do not let your wrists bend back; these too must be kept straight. Squeeze hard at the bottom; even lean into the weight very slightly and push the bar towards the ground to get an extra inch or two of movement for maximum contraction. Slowly let the bar comes back up to the starting position while keeping your elbows in. Keep your lower back arched and your chest out through the movement.
A common error is not controlling the weight on the way up and using momentum on the way down. Tricep pushdowns should be performed slowly and controlled; if you're struggling to do this, lower the weight. Some people lean over the bar as you can move more weight this way; whilst this looks impressive, you're not actually getting full contraction of the triceps and it's a less efficient way of training them.
Performed correctly, truces pushdowns are a very effective mass builder and shaper for all heads of the triceps, although principally working the long head.
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*** Food of the Month - Banana ***
By Big Les - MuscleTalk Moderator & Nutrition Consultant - www.healthyaction.co.uk
Now commonplace on the supermarket shelves the banana was once the height of exotic food, a favourite of athletes gracing events from centre court at Wimbledon to your local gym class, the banana has a very long history.
Organised banana plantations can be dated back to around 200 AD China; however the banana gets its first honourable mention at around 600 BC! Only in the 1500s do plantations appear in the Caribbean and Central America. Any food with such a long history of cultivation invariably packs a heavy nutritional punch and the banana is no exception.
Interestingly the banana does not grow on trees, instead it is a giant herb of the same family as lilies, orchids and palms.
Famed for its potassium content, with approx 270mg per 100g of banana in its skin, the banana also delivers 7g of vitamin C and 16g of carbohydrate. The banana also contains a host of other vitamins and minerals, including a good dose of vitamin B6, which is essential for the production of healthy red blood cells amongst other things. The banana is also fat free and has approx 49g of water in that 100g, making it a great food during prolonged exercise - quite possibly the banana can claim to be a 'superfood' for any athlete.
It is great for bodybuilders because it can be used both pre and post workout, depending on how you want your carbohydrate; go green and the sugar is more complex and delivery is slower, to yellow, the banana is more ripe and the sugar simple for that quicker hit. It is nutritionally packed and versatile, a practically perfect fruit snack.
Now you know the banana is truly worthy of its place in your shopping basket, it's time to look for good ones. Taste is unaffected by the size of the banana, but skinny bananas do not ripen as well as the full bodied ones. Avoid any banana with a bruise or dent, steer clear of any greyish or dull looking bananas - these have been stored at the wrong temperature, and finally look for a long stem. Bananas with a short stem will deteriorate much more rapidly. If you want to ripen a banana stick it in a paper bag - this contains the ethylene produced and hastens ripening, to speed this up more put an apple in the bag too.
Once your banana is ripe you can put it in the fridge and the skin will go black - but the banana is unaffected. If you are using a banana and want it not to discolour, lemon or other citrus juice on it will stop this, great when cooking my delicious banana bread.
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** Informed Bodybuilding Nutrition eBook by James Collier - the ULTIMATE nutrition bible for bodybuilding.
For more information click here:
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*** MT Powerlifting Totals Competition ***
By Hazel - MuscleTalk Moderator
Check out the latest totals here
Members have been posting up their improved totals, so if you have totals listed already make sure they are up to date, and see where you are on the leader board!
Also check out the Cardio & Fitness forum Test your Mettle... What's your best? competition - open to all MuscleTalk members, just for fun so please join in! Also the MT 220lb bench press competition - how many reps can you do? Post the number of reps you manage and I will add them to the table on the first page of the thread.
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** Tailored Nutrition Advice from Experts!
Healthy Action Nutrition Consultancy. A team of consultants are available to provide on line nutrition advice completely tailored to suit you and your goals.
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*** Recipe - Banana Bread ***
By Big Les - MuscleTalk Moderator & Nutrition Consultant - www.healthyaction.co.uk
** Ingredients
100g of low fat baking spread (or butter)
225g wholemeal self raising flour
20g soft brown sugar
40g granulated sweetener
150g raisins
2 eggs
2 tablespoons honey
3 medium bananas
** Directions
Rub the baking spread and flour together to make breadcrumbs. Add sugar, sweetener and raisins and stir well. Beat the eggs; spoon out the honey - then stir them both in well. In a separate bowl give the bananas a good mashing - go on smash 'em in! Add the bananas and stir it really well!
Lightly oil a loaf tin (olive oil, perhaps) just to stop the loaf sticking using a brush. Preheat your oven to gas mark 4 / 180 °C / 350 °F. Pour your mixture into the tin and bake it for about an hour. To check if it's done, stick in a skewer (or very small sharpish object) and if it comes out clean it's done - any mixture and its needs a bit more time. Leave it to cool.
Slide a knife between the loaf and the tin and carefully flip the tin over so the load lands on a cooling rack. Make sure the loaf is cold, slice and serve, the colder the loaf the easier it is to cut it!
And there you have bulking banana bread - definitely one for the off-season!
More great bodybuilding recipes can be found in the eBooks 'Muscle Menus', 'Muscle Menus 2', 'Muscle Menus Vegetarian' and Muscle Menus Shakes, Bars and Smoothies
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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