Raycon E55 Earbuds Review: Overhyped, Mediocre Performance

raycon earphones e55 the performer review 2

"Raycon's marketing-heavy hype machine largely doesn't live up to expectations."

  • Comfortable fit

  • Small charging case

  • Wireless charging

  • Feel cheap build

  • The bass overwhelms the mids and highs

  • No app, so the EQ cannot be adjusted

  • Terrible call quality

If you're like me, you've heard of Raycon earphones while either listening to a sponsored piece on the radio or listening to your favorite YouTuber. Raycon clearly spends a lot of money marketing its products. If you visit the company's website, you will see a lot of pictures of satisfied customers and some very big names in music that support the brand.

We were clearly a marketing-intensive hype machine and asked ourselves: are raycons really good? We grabbed a pair of the company's top $ 120 E55 The Performer earphones and put them through their paces.

Out of the box

With Raycon doing much of its marketing, it should come as no surprise that the box is pretty darn good. Even the shipping box carries the Raycon brand, and the actual product box offers exactly what I would expect from a high-end earphone brand.

raycon earphones e55 the performer review 3 "class =" m-carousel - image dt-lazy-no "src =" https://icdn3.digitaltrends.com/image/digitaltrends/raycon-the-performer-e55-earbuds- review -3-640x640.jpg "srcset =" https://www.digitaltrends.com/data:image/gif;base64,https://www.digitaltrends.com/R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAAABAJaron Schneider / Digital Trends

raycon earphones e55 the performer review 4 "class =" m-carousel - image dt-lazy-no "src =" https://icdn2.digitaltrends.com/image/digitaltrends/raycon-the-performer-e55-earbuds- review -4-640x640.jpg "srcset =" https://www.digitaltrends.com/data:image/gif;base64,https://www.digitaltrends.com/R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAAABAJaron Schneider / Digital Trends

The front is held in place by a magnet and opens to reveal a pitch-black interior and some brochures that invite you to the "next wave," as Raycon's slogan says. The buds are carefully embedded in the housing below, with a charging cable and additional earplugs in a small square box next to it.

Regarding earplugs, Raycon includes a total of five silicon earplug sizes, more than most companies offer. I personally have very small ear canals, so I replaced the tips attached to the buds with their smallest size.

Fit and ready

The Raycon charger case is wonderfully small and light, so that even the petite Jabra 75t case looks large in comparison. It even looks a bit smaller than the AirPods Pro case, although Raycon chose a more rounded square design over Apple's rounded rectangle. The Raycon logo is on the front of the case. The only edge of the otherwise smooth case is a small plastic loop through which you can run a mini lanyard provided.

Jaron Schneider / Digital Trends

I don't understand the need for a lanyard, so I'm not a big fan of it. I wish this little loop nubs didn't exist because it would have resulted in a much smoother end product. I think the idea is that you might want to attach this to a bag or something else, but frankly, I don't trust that the case will stay closed and the buds will be attached inside if I zip it up on the outside would pull off my backpack. The magnet that holds the lid closed and the one that holds the buds in their charging cradle are all pretty strong, but I still wouldn't trust them swinging around behind me.

While we are working on the magnets, the buds snap into place well and firmly when loading and the housing remains firmly closed. No complaints there.

The Raycon earphones fit my ear really well.

The case is compatible with wireless chargers, but can also be charged using a USB Type-C connector. A small LED next to the connector lights up red during the charging process. When you're done, it glows green.

The buds themselves are what I would classify as “cheap” in terms of their processing quality. They are fully plastic and extremely light, which is actually nice considering that they have to sit on your ear, but they just don't feel good. They are shiny, slippery, and feel inferior, as is common with cheap products. The fact that we have come so far with an otherwise high quality experience just to find that the buds are below this brand is disappointing.

Apart from the disappointing quality, the Raycon earphones fit very well in my ear. They snap into my ear canal and upper concha with slight pressure, which holds them really well, without making me tired over time. They actually fit better than the AirPods, which surprised me. I also appreciate how flat they are on my head. This is probably why Raycon shows so many customer selfies on its website: when they are worn, they look good.

Jaron Schneider / Digital Trends

The Performer earphones can be quickly connected to your phone using the conventional method (via the Bluetooth menu) and always greet you with a voice that sings “Raycon” every time it is switched on. They pair quickly and reliably, but I have found that sometimes when they are put back in their suitcases they are not separated. I put them away more than a few times and went to another room, only to find that my iPhone was still connected, and tried to send them sound. This is a problem that I have only seen in the past with really cheap, low quality earphones. So it's not great to see this here.

The buds have physical buttons on the left and right and mostly work quite well. There is a slight delay when asked to do something that is not unusual but worth mentioning. You can pause, play, skip, answer, and hang up the phone, and even control the volume using a number of different morse code-like taps. These worked as announced.

Sound and call quality

I get straight to the point here: The Raycon earphones sound good. All good. They won't blow you away with their quality, but if you bought them on the recommendation of your favorite YouTuber, you probably won't be too disappointed either. They do the job and offer heavier basses than standard basses, but are not nearly top of the class in this regard. When I first used it, I admitted that I was initially amazed at how much skullbeat bass they could throw out, but finally got tired of it because that bass overwhelmed the mids and highs to the point where they got the details crush. Overall, I think the EQ is off for those who want to hear everything in their music, but they should be enough if you just want to enjoy the beat of your favorite song.

Jaron Schneider / Digital Trends

Sias Save My Life gives you a good feel for the lower frequencies that resemble a dance club, but the higher timbres that make Sia's voice so exciting are lost as the bass so obscures the frequency range. If you're a fan of clear vocals, you probably won't be particularly happy with the sound of the Raycon earphones.

The Raycon earphones sound good. All good.

The thing is, if the idea of ​​bass-heavy buds sounds exactly in your alley, they are still not the best choice for it in their price range. The bass is actually stronger on the Jabra Elite 65ts (and the Elite 75ts is even better). With these you can also adjust the EQ via an app to adapt the listening experience to your specifications. This leads to another disadvantage of the Raycon earphones: they have no app. So you hear what you get.

The Raycons don't offer noise cancellation, which is pretty normal for earphones in this price range. However, the noise isolation you get with these feels below average. It may be the poor build quality, but without music I can pretty easily hear everything around me, even though it's stuck in my ears.

These are downright terrible to make calls.

Raycon advertises phone calls as great, but the company really shouldn't: they are terrible for phone calls. You can hear the other end perfectly, but you will have difficulty recognizing your voice as the earphones make you sound like a mixture of underwater and different distances. Your voice will go in and out to everyone you speak, resulting in an overall terrible listening experience for them.

Battery life and connectivity

According to Raycon, the buds should last six hours per charge and a total of up to 36 hours with the six charges available in the case. Six hours per charge is really too low in the middle of the road compared to what's out there, but I've actually found that the buds have exceeded this specification. I wore them for a full working day, eight hours, and they kept going without any problems. I think you should probably count on six hours, but if you grab a pair, they may last longer than what is very nice. They also charge up quickly and I honestly had no major problem with the battery here.

Jaron Schneider / Digital Trends

The connectivity was not outstanding and they underperformed all of the other modern earbuds I've tested. I couldn't even make it to my garden halfway through my kitchen with my cell phone, and the buds would cut out. If you always have your phone right next to you, you will probably be fine, but I have little hope that this will work well in rooms with a lot of interference, such as airports or streets in New York.

Our opinion

Raycon's marketing-heavy hype machine promises too much here, with buds that do enough right that anyone who buys them is likely to be happy, but not the right recommendation in their price range. In the included bud literature, the company claims that the goal from the start was to offer high quality buds at a lower cost than the competition, but they don't really. These buds are missing from the $ 120 feature section, but even if you use the YouTube discount code you heard to lower them to $ 100, they're still sub-par overall.

Is there a better alternative?

The Jabra Elite 65ts are a great alternative, and although their RRP like the Raycons according to this influencer discount code is $ 120, they're now available on Amazon for under $ 100. The Edifier TWS6s are just as solid a purchase as the Sony WF-XB700s.

How long will they last?

Raycon offers a one year warranty which is fairly standard. The build quality is important, however, so I can't say they consistently last much longer than two to three years.

Should you buy them

No, unless the sole purpose is to support a content creator you want and get something in return. These buds are mediocre and have no really prominent feature that makes them any better than their competition.

Editor's recommendations




Eve Cam Review: Marred By Performance Issues

Eve Cam in the kitchen

"Keep going. You can find much better HomeKit-enabled cameras."

  • Easy setup

  • Low price (for a homekit camera)

  • Bad capture frame rate

  • Disappointing video quality

  • Weak speaker

  • Favorable construction

HomeKit is slowly putting together a decent range of home security cameras for Apple's smart home ecosystem. With iOS 14 offering new features, the future looks promising.

We checked the Logitech Circle View not too long ago and now we have another HomeKit offer – the Eve Cam. There are some similarities between the two of what can be expected from cameras that support HomeKit, but it saves a bit of the price.

Simplified setup

I can't stress the simplicity of setting up a surveillance camera for HomeKit enough, but the Eve Cam is once again proof. It is not technically necessary to download an app, although it can be installed using the Eve app for iOS, which ultimately only opens the home app. From here, simply scan the QR code on the Eve Cam with an iPhone XS – and that's it. Easy enough? You bet! The advantage of HomeKit is that I wasn't forced to register a new account or set up passwords as everything is managed through my iCloud account.

However, I had the annoying problem that I was initially unable to connect to the Eve Cam after moving it to another room. I tried several times to manually reset the camera, but my iPhone XS simply couldn't recognize it.

After several more attempts, it somehow recognized it, but the same problem reappeared when I tried to move it again. After repeating it several times, it miraculously connected, after which I noticed a firmware update notification.

Fortunately, this may have resolved my reconnection problems since the Eve Cam has since been able to reconnect when I unplug it.

Flattering design

Although the price is slightly lower than that of the equally competent Logitech Circle View, the Eve Cam has an unflattering design. For starters, the all-plastic design makes it feel brittle and cheap. It lacks the essential feel of Logitech Circle View, which has a metal base and a matte exterior.

The Eve Cam has a somewhat flattering design.

Indoor placement is critical due to the 150 degree field of view. It's average if you compare it to some of its contemporaries, but it follows the 180-degree field of view that you get with Logitech Circle View. It is best to place it in corners for the best possible coverage.

As soon as it falls onto a surface, the sticky coat under its base ensures that it stays in place. If you want to attach it to a wall or ceiling, it comes with the required bracket and a 7.2 foot power cord. The base is also magnetic, providing additional flexibility in choosing the facility.

Below average performance

The Eve Cam records videos with a resolution of 1080p and 24 frames per second. While the resolution is expected from a camera in this range, the frame rate is very disappointing as 30 FPS seems to be the norm. As a result, the footage does not look smooth. You can still spot a scene, but with a competition of at least 30 frames per second, the lackluster frame rate of the Eve Cam is a noticeable disadvantage.

The video quality isn't worth writing at home either, mainly due to the poor dynamic range, subdued colors and soft details. This is a more serious problem than the frame rate.

If there is a lot of contrasting light in the frame, the highlights are often blown out to achieve a more neutral exposure in the rest of the shot. It's usually not that difficult to spot faces, but finer details often appear soft. You will find it difficult to see fine details in clothing, and objects in the distance can be very difficult to identify.

Eve cam close-upJohn Velasco / Digital Trends

Night vision does most of the job. Visibility is an average of about 20 feet indoors. That should be more than enough for most average-sized houses, but again, the performance of the Eve Cam is disappointing – mostly due to the soft graphics that make it difficult to see details.

Finally, the internal speaker can be used for bidirectional navigation, but it won't scare intruders. It is crisp, weak and difficult to recognize voices in it. You are more likely to confuse thieves than to scare them.

Data protection at its core thanks to HomeKit

As a HomeKit-enabled surveillance camera, all concerns regarding data protection are eliminated. In fact, all cameras supported by HomeKit offer the same data protection functions. This includes encrypted videos stored in iCloud, LEDs on the camera that show the status of the Eve Cam, the ability to electronically disable the camera based on my iPhone's GPS location, and more.

Our opinion

The Eve Cam has all the basic ingredients to make it a decent HomeKit-enabled surveillance camera. However, the disappointing picture quality, the low video frame rate and the mediocre design make them well behind the rest of the package.

How long it will take?

The all-plastic construction makes it light but brittle. It may not hold as well as other cameras. It comes with a 1-year limited warranty that covers defects, though this is standard in the industry.

Is there a better alternative?

The Logitech Circle View is a solid HomeKit-enabled camera that offers the same features, but has significantly better performance and a more stable design. The best thing is that picking it up on the Eve Cam doesn't cost you much more.

Do you have a limited budget? In this case, the Eufy Indoor Cam 2K Pan & Tilt is the ultimate indoor camera, as it is available at an affordable price of $ 50 and offers 360 degrees of view with its pan-and-tilt function.

Should you buy it

No, just no.

Editor's recommendations




Acer Predator Helios 300 Review: Best-Selling Performance

Acer Predator Helios 300 2020 review 06

Acer Predator Helios 300 review: More performance at the same price

  • Up to Nvidia RTX 2070 graphics

  • Great keyboard and touchpad

  • Fast 240Hz display

  • Still a bit chunky

  • Uses previous generation GPU

The Acer Predator Helios 300 is one of the most popular gaming laptops in recent years. It's a constant bestseller on Amazon for two simple reasons. It is affordable and reliable.

Acer recently announced an update to the Helios 300 that extends some of its key specs, including the display, graphics, and processor. The result should be better gaming performance at the same affordable price.

design

The Acer Predator Helios 300 hasn't changed its design this year. It's still a somewhat bulky 15.6-inch gaming laptop that comes in a standard black with blue accents. It weighs 5.3 pounds and is 0.9 inches thick, which is quite a bit larger than options like the Asus Zephyrus G or Razer Blade. A good size comparison is the Alienware m15, which weighs 5.5 pounds and is 0.8 inches thick. The Dell G5 SE gaming laptop is also similar in size.

Although it's a bit thick, its build quality is strong. The chassis or the lid have little flex. It feels sturdy and well built to hold or carry.

While gaming brands like Asus and Razer have transitioned to a more minimalist aesthetic, the Helios 300 maintains Predator's old-school gaming design. The back has some aggressive silver vents and the lid has an angular design. It's nothing obscene, but it's clearly built to draw attention to itself.

Acer has shortened the bezels somewhat in recent years. While the top and bottom bezels are still thick, the side bezels are slim enough to give a more modern feel.

display

The new Acer Predator Helios 300 is updated from a refresh rate of 144 Hz to 240 Hz. The faster update rate is useful for fast online games whether you play Counter-Strike: Global Offensive or Overwatch. While 240 frames per second sound out of the league of laptop games, gamers who enjoy competitive games are often willing to lower the settings to get better performance. However, you can still opt for the 144 Hz screen, which is available in the basic model for $ 1,200.

The screen also has a response time of 3 ms, which enables fast and smooth input. However, the Helios 300 does not support G-Sync, so image tears may occur, an ugly visual artifact that occurs when a game's frame rate doesn't match the refresh rate of a display.

The screen has a resolution of 1080p and uses IPS technology. It has a blue hue, although the screen handled the dark shadows of Battlefield V quite well. It's not the brightest or most colorful screen in the world, but it doesn't stand out as bad either. It's good. Budget gaming laptops with high refresh rates sometimes push the visual quality aside.

Ports

The Predator Helios 300 has a solid mix of ports that gamers will love. On the left side there is an Ethernet socket, two USB-A connections and a headphone socket. The right side contains an additional USB-A port and a USB-C port.

The right side offers two options for the display output: an HDMI connection or a mini DisplayPort. There are many ports for your keyboard or mouse, additional if you want to dock your laptop on an external monitor. Mini-DisplayPort is a strange choice in 2020, though, and Thunderbolt 3 isn't included.

The socket is on the back. I would prefer the display output to be on the back for a cleaner set up, but that's not the case here.

Keyboard and touchpad

Unlike many affordable gaming laptops, the Predator Helios 300 has a great keyboard and touchpad. The touchpad in particular is surprisingly good. It has a quiet click mechanism and quick, responsive tracking. The beveled aluminum edge that surrounds the touchpad gives the look of the gaming laptop some flair.

The keyboard keeps things simple. It offers a standard layout with only one turbo button at the top. No macro keys need to be programmed, although Acer has a number pad to the right of the device. The RGB backlight is taken over by Acer's PredatorSense software, which is offered in a four-zone setup.

In contrast to the latest ROG gaming laptops from Asus, the Predator Helios 300 has a 720p webcam above the screen. However, Windows Hello login in the form of a fingerprint reader or an IR camera is not supported.

Performance and configurations

The Helios 300 is not the most powerful gaming notebook you can buy. Nevertheless, an upgrade from 9th generation Intel chips to 10th generation chips is carried out. This is an Intel Core i7 H series – 45-watt CPUs with up to six cores and 16 threads.

My pre-production unit of the Helios 300 was also equipped with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q. Note that this is not the recently launched RTX 2070 super graphics, but the previous generation.

I wasn't able to test the pre-production system in benchmarks yet, but I started a game of Battlefield V and had a deliciously smooth gameplay. The RTX 2070 Max-Q has proven to be a solid mid-range laptop graphics chip in other of the systems that we have tested, and I doubt that it will turn out differently here.

My configuration also came with 32 GB of RAM and a 2 TB SSD. The system includes an additional PCIe NVMe SSD slot in the RAID 0 configuration for future upgrades.

The basic configuration comes with an Nvidia RTX 2060, 16 GB RAM and a 512 GB SSD. The previous Helios 300 only started with a GTX 1660 Ti, so the new base model significantly improves game performance at the same price. This is important. My decorated test device had all the tricks, but the basic model is the one that most people will buy.

However, the Helios 300 has a dangerous competitor. The Dell G5 SE, which is equipped with all AMD components. It starts at just $ 862, though it includes a new Ryzen 4000 processor and Radeon 5600M graphics. It's a value leader and doesn't support RTX ray tracing, but game performance was solid. The Helios 300 will have a hard time surpassing it.

The Predator Helios 300 will be available in July from $ 1,200.

Editor's recommendations




Find the Missing Links to Better Performance and Physique

When it comes to optimizing body composition, One of the key areas that men struggle with is prioritizing their performance. In most cases, the main goal is to get as slim as possible while improving muscle definition.

However, what usually happens is rapid weight loss in the first few weeks, which is generally due to a reduction in carbohydrate intake. Once you think you've stopped progressing, one of two things can happen:

  1. Another calorie reduction through less carbohydrate consumption.
  2. A further increase in energy delivery through cardiovascular activities, some form of HIIT or an increase in strength training days.

This is the downfall for most guys. It is what affects their ability to exercise. Its recoverability exceeds the amount of stress required for stimulation. They simply cannot recover from their work.

When I deal with such people, they eat fairly balanced meals during the day, but the biggest problem I see is that there is no structured food intake around the most important part of their day when they have to do their training.

It's like doing foot exercises in school uniform and chunky black school shoes until Tuesday evening. Sure, you're wearing clothes and shoes and you're training, but will you be able to perform well without your training equipment? Take it from a retired international and professional rugby player; It is a struggle.

Now your strength training (RT) is there to trigger a reaction in the body, a reaction that signals anabolic reactions with a primary focus on muscle protein synthesis (MPS), provided that enough effort and demands are placed on the muscles during the training. MPS is a process that repairs muscle damage caused by intense exercise and activity. It repairs and strengthens the muscle fibers.

While nutrient-driven stimulation from MPS can be observed, it cannot be compared to prolonged stimulation through weight training. MPS can even be extended beyond 24 hours after a single workout. 1

Right, so RT => more time for MPS switched on = more time for an increased recovery, repair and growth state.

Nutritional deficiencies

We want to optimize the rest of our food intake so that we can::

  1. Maximize the time you spend in a recovery and repair state.
  2. Improve our performance and the quality of work in our training (at least keep it up).

When we talk about organizing a peri-workout diet strategy, we are referring to your food intake before, within, and after exercise.

This allows your body to develop and overcome any obstacles that stand in your way while effortlessly reducing body fat.

How can we basically organize these specific periods to better support our performance and goal by timing the nutrients?

So let's see what the evidence suggests by dividing things up into individual meal and macronutrient requirements. Let's start with the pre-workout.

The role of nutrition before training

Pre-workout means the consumption of nutrients within a 3 hour radius of your planned training time. This feeding time should help to supply the body with the fuel it needs for training.

Consuming protein before your scheduled workout is incredibly important to make sure you have enough amino acids in your blood, especially if you haven't consumed protein or missed a meal that day.

Now I have to remind you that the most important factor in protein consumption is your daily intake. It doesn't make sense to be obsessed with nutrient timing if you don't have the basics of the nutritional basis.

When it comes to body development and nutrition, we want to make sure that we maximize our MPS.

Maximizing the anabolic effect of protein dosing per meal includes a goal of 0.4 to 0.55 g / kg 2, 3. The total daily protein to achieve this goal is 1.6 to 2.2 g / kg (0.7 to 1.0 g / lb) .2, 3

Everyone benefits from pre-workout protein. Regardless of whether your goal is body-oriented or not, protein plays an important role in all areas of life. Do not be stupid. Eat your protein.

The role of carbohydrates before training

The pre-workout meal is about providing the fuel you need for the workout. It is worth noting that there are numerous clues that demonstrate a similar fat loss between high-carb and low-carb diets if calories and protein match. 4

Since most men tend to reduce their carbohydrate intake drastically, this only shows that fat loss occurs as long as you are in an energy deficit.

However, by prioritizing the timing of our high-energy carbohydrates, we can do what we are asked to do: perform. This also helps maintain muscle mass and creates higher energy consumption.

Now when we look at carbohydrates and performance, your body stores carbohydrates in your muscles. This stored glycogen is the main fuel source for high-intensity exercises.5 Consuming carbohydrates before exercise also supports better muscle contractions due to higher blood glucose levels.

However, the further you move on your path to fat loss, the more important it becomesThis could be the difference in your ability to work at a high enough intensity that you may be required to do. It is also critical for great workouts and bigger pumps. Let's be honest; Nobody will say no if they get a nice pump.

Since we know that carbohydrates do not have to be removed from our diet and you do strength training, it makes sense to consume carbohydrates, especially if you want to get the best possible result in fat loss.

Let me repeat again that you consume carbohydrates before training:

  • Helps with performance and recovery – Most people may think that you only need carbohydrates for long-lasting exercises (two hours or more), even if you benefit from intensive training in the short term (60 minutes or longer). So if you plan to exercise at high intensity, you should eat these carbohydrates.
  • Preservation of muscle and liver glycogen – carbohydrates are a protein-friendly nutrient. So if no carbohydrates are available, your body won't use its muscle tissue for energy without them. This is why it is so important that carbohydrates are consumed as part of your food intake, especially if you want to maintain or build muscle.
  • Stimulates the release of insulin – The combination of protein with carbohydrates can improve our protein synthesis response and prevent protein breakdown.

The role of fats before training

Fats before training are not necessary, nor do you need to remove them completely. Despite what you may hear, fats aren't the best option when it comes to performance. Performance enhancement is literally what carbohydrates do.

Fats simply don't have a significant impact on your performance, but they can provide your body with vitamins and minerals while slowing down food digestion. This, in turn, can help maintain blood sugar and insulin levels.

Adding fats to your meal before exercise is a wise decision, especially if your meal is closer to the three-hour mark before you exercise. Fats are more critical in the daily intake spectrum, but as I said, you don't have to leave them out entirely when considering your meals before and after your workout.

Guidelines for structuring your diet before training

  • Try to eat a whole meal with a full protein, high-energy carbohydrate and, if you exercise 2-3 hours later, a portion of fat – especially if you have low blood sugar levels during an intense workout.
  • If time is an issue, use a fast-acting whey protein in combination with an easily digestible carbohydrate source so you can make sure there is something in the tank.
  • For most men, between 25 and 40 g of protein, 30 to 60 g of carbohydrates and 10 to 15 g of fat are sufficient.

Example of dining options:

  1. Chicken breast, white potatoes, 1 serving of water-based vegetables, avocado.
  2. Chocolate whey protein isolate, oats, banana, nut butter with a pinch of cinnamon.

The role of intra-workout nutrition

Definition within the training: The consumption of nutrients during your training session.

Using a protein and carbohydrate supplement while exercising can provide additional energy while supporting fatigue and helping your body continue to use carbohydrates as fuel.

Don't be too excited yet. What matters in the end is the duration, volume and intensity of your training sessions.

If you do not exercise at high intensity and volume for more than 60 minutes, you do not need additional carbohydrates during the exercise.

Instead, we can store our carbohydrates for post-workout training, where they can help regenerate and weaken the post-session cortisol response. A simple mix of essential amino acid (EAA) and electrolyte is fine.

However, once you've shaped this lean and muscular body, you want to add a quality muscle to your bodyTherefore, I will give you an overview of how we can use our intra-workout diet to build muscle.

If muscle growth is a priority during training, the combination of EAAs + highly branched cyclic dextrin (HBCD) is a strong addition to your intra-training.

If essential amino acids are very digestible, add a little HBCD and you will notice an improvement in the absorption of amino acids into your skeletal muscle. 6

This triggers muscle protein synthesis and promotes growth. There are now studies showing an increase in muscle cross-sectional tissue in trainees who supplement this combination.

The effects of EAAs + HBCD are most efficient during training if your blood pumps thanks to your training.

Keep in mind that carbohydrates may not always be required during exercise. If you plan to exercise at high intensity and volume for more than an hour, it may be a good idea to use intra-workout carbohydrates.

Guidelines for structuring your intra-workout diet

  • For sessions of less than 60 minutes: 1-2 servings of EAA + electrolyte mixture (usually 10-20 g).
  • For sessions that last longer than 60 minutes: 1-2 servings of EAA + electrolyte mixture, one serving of HBCD (usually 20-30 g).
  • For those looking for muscle growth: 1 serving of EAA + electrolyte mixture, two servings of HBCD.

The role of nutrition after exercise

The consumption of nutrients after completing your training session fulfills the role of post-training nutrition. This meal should be taken within 1-3 hours after training.

The focus of the post-workout meal is on reducing the cortisol (stress) response through weight training, starting the recovery and repair process, while avoiding spending time in a catabolic state.

After exercise, the body's insulin sensitivity is high, meaning that it is ready to use the carbohydrates in this meal by replenishing the glycogen level without shifting much of that energy into a fat cell. Another reason why this is such a strong time – wait, so can I expect to build muscle quickly in this window?

No, not necessarily, because your body is less likely to split the calories consumed as fat than muscle.

The role of the post workout protein

Keep in mind that training increases both protein synthesis and protein breakdown. Consuming protein in this window can further promote the positive nitrogen balance required for recovery, repair, and growth.

Since most men tend not to meet their daily protein needs, a useful strategy is to consume a post-workout shake within 30 minutes of your workout so that you have time to relax before you go within 1-2 hours eat a whole meal.

The same protein guidelines from our pre-workout should be followed. However, you can only take in 20-40 g of high quality protein in the form of a whey protein isolate after training. This can be repeated every 3-5 hours in order to maximally maintain protein synthesis7.

Make sure you consume a complete source of protein, such as lean red or white meat, fish, eggs, or a combination of these, in your whole meal.

The role of carbohydrates after exercise

This meal should contain the highest amount of carbohydrates in one of your meals during the day. We've already noticed that your body's insulin sensitivity and nutrient distribution is high, but that doesn't mean you can just eat everything in the kitchen.

I want to keep reminding my customers that you deserve your carbohydrates. So make sure you've put effort into your workout so you can really enjoy the benefits of this high-carb meal.

Our post-workout carbohydrates also help increase intramuscular glycogen storage, which is known to reduce recovery times

It is also worth noting that post-workout carbohydrates may result in an increased response to muscle protein synthesis through insulin-mediated activation of the Akt / mTORC1 pathway and reduced cortisol and muscle protein breakdown. 9

The number of carbohydrates in this meal can vary depending on personal preference and the amount you need to play with every day.

Since 3 g / kg body weight is a good starting point for your daily intake, I like to take pictures of 50% of my daily intake with my meal after training. 10

For example, an 80 kg man would aim for 240 g of carbohydrates for daily intake, which would mean adding 120 g of carbohydrates to the post-workout meal. Add the rest of the 120 g of carbohydrates to the other meals throughout the day.

The role of fats after exercise

Since we know that fats are not necessary in our pre-workout, it should come as no surprise that they are also not necessary for our post-workout meal.

Because our body development is a priority, it may be advisable to limit the dietary fat in your post-workout meal. Based on current knowledge, I would recommend limiting the fat content in the diet to 10 g or less. 11

In addition, it should be mentioned that the results also indicate that a high-fat diet after training can impair the regulation of the restructuring of the skeletal muscles and suppress anabolic activity

Guidelines for structuring your post-workout diet

  • If you're struggling to meet your daily protein needs, consume a post-workout WPI shake that contains 20-40 g of protein.
  • Consume your post-workout meal within 1 to 3 hours of your workout with a competing protein source that meets our initial protein guidelines per meal of 0.4-0.55 g / kg body weight, combined with 50% of your total daily carb intake.
  • Limit your fat intake to 10 g or less.

Example of dining options::

  1. Red meat, jasmine rice and peppers.
  2. Turkey breast, pasta and spinach.

Some additional recommendations

Simplify your protein intake by distributing it evenly throughout the day. Try to meet the minimum requirements for your meal before training. Remember that it takes hours to digest food. So listen to how your body feels with the size of the meals you eat before training.

I know my personal preference is a medium-sized meal because I don't like to feel too full before training, but I also don't like to feel too hungry.

Fats slow down the digestive process, So keep this in mind since you don't want to attack the barbell if you feel excessively full. The further you are from your training, the more acceptable the fats in this meal are.

Choose fast, easily digestible carbohydrates like rice, rice cream, oats and potatoes that you can use in your meals before and after your workout.

There is an inverse relationship between carbohydrate and fat based meals. If you eat a high-carb meal, the fat content should be low. When eating a low-carb meal, the fat content should be higher.

References

1. Atherton, P.J. & Smith, K. (2012). "Muscle protein synthesis in response to diet and exercise." The Journal of Physiology, 590 (5), 1049-105. 1057.

2. Schönfeld BJ, Aragon AA. "How much protein can the body use to build muscle in a single meal? Impact on daily protein distribution." Int Soc magazine sports nutrition. 2018, February 27; 15:10.

3. Aragon AA. "Behind the paper: Clarifying protein distribution concerns." AARR, February 2018.

4. Hall & Guo, "Obesity energetics: regulation of body weight and the effects of the composition of the diet." Gastroenterology, volume 152, edition 7, May 2017, pages 1718-1727.e3.

5. Richard B. Kreider, Colin D. Wilborn, Lem Taylor, Bill Campbell, Anthony L. Almada, Rick Collins, Mathew Cooke, Conrad P. Earnest, Mike Greenwood et al. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 7, 7 (2010).

6. Vogel SP, Tarpenning KM, Marino FE. "Independent and combined effects of the intake of liquid carbohydrates / essential amino acids on hormonal and muscular adjustments after strength training in untrained men." Eur Journal Applied Physiology. 2006; 97: 225- 38.

7. Ralf Jäger, Chad M. Kerksick, Bill I. Campbell et al., "Status of the International Society for Sports Nutrition: Protein and Exercise". Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, Volume 14, item number: 20 (2017).

8. Burke, L.M., Hawley, J.A., Wong, S.H., Jeukendrup, A.E. "Carbohydrates for training and competition." Journal of Sports Science. 2011; 29 Suppl 1: S17-27.

9. Haff, G. G .; Lehmkuhl, M. J .; McCoy, L. B .; Stone, M.H. "Carbohydrate supplementation and strength training." J. Strength, Cond. Res. 2003.

10. Hall, KD et al. "A review of the carbohydrate-insulin model of obesity." European Journal of Clinical Nutrition vol. 71.3 (2017): 323-4. 326.

11. Stephens FB, Chee C, Wall BJ et al. "Lipid-induced insulin resistance is associated with an impaired synthetic response of skeletal muscle protein to amino acid intake in healthy young men." Diabetes. 2015; 64 (5): 1615-16. 1620.

12. Kimball SR, Ravi S., Gordon BS, Dennis MD, Jefferson LS. "The amino acid-induced activation of mTORC1 in rat liver is weakened by the short-term consumption of a high-fat diet." J Nutri. 2015; 145 (11): 2496-; 2502.

Find the Missing Links to Better Performance and Physique

When it comes to optimizing body composition, One of the key areas that men struggle with is prioritizing their performance. In most cases, the main goal is to get as slim as possible while improving muscle definition.

However, what usually happens is rapid weight loss in the first few weeks, which is generally due to a reduction in carbohydrate intake. Once you think you've stopped progressing, one of two things can happen:

  1. Another calorie reduction through less carbohydrate consumption.
  2. A further increase in energy delivery through cardiovascular activities, some form of HIIT or an increase in strength training days.

This is the downfall for most guys. It is what affects their ability to exercise. Its recoverability exceeds the amount of stress required for stimulation. They simply cannot recover from their work.

When I deal with such people, they eat fairly balanced meals during the day, but the biggest problem I see is that there is no structured food intake around the most important part of their day when they have to do their training.

It's like doing foot exercises in school uniform and chunky black school shoes until Tuesday evening. Sure, you're wearing clothes and shoes and you're training, but will you be able to perform well without your training equipment? Take it from a retired international and professional rugby player; It is a struggle.

Now your strength training (RT) is there to trigger a reaction in the body, a reaction that signals anabolic reactions with a primary focus on muscle protein synthesis (MPS), provided that enough effort and demands are placed on the muscles during the training. MPS is a process that repairs muscle damage caused by intense exercise and activity. It repairs and strengthens the muscle fibers.

While nutrient-driven stimulation from MPS can be observed, it cannot be compared to prolonged stimulation through weight training. MPS can even be extended beyond 24 hours after a single workout. 1

Right, so RT => more time for MPS switched on = more time for an increased recovery, repair and growth state.

Nutritional deficiencies

We want to optimize the rest of our food intake so that we can::

  1. Maximize the time you spend in a recovery and repair state.
  2. Improve our performance and the quality of work in our training (at least keep it up).

When we talk about organizing a peri-workout diet strategy, we are referring to your food intake before, within, and after exercise.

This allows your body to develop and overcome any obstacles that stand in your way while effortlessly reducing body fat.

How can we basically organize these specific periods to better support our performance and goal by timing the nutrients?

So let's see what the evidence suggests by dividing things up into individual meal and macronutrient requirements. Let's start with the pre-workout.

The role of nutrition before training

Pre-workout means the consumption of nutrients within a 3 hour radius of your planned training time. This feeding time should help to supply the body with the fuel it needs for training.

Consuming protein before your scheduled workout is incredibly important to make sure you have enough amino acids in your blood, especially if you haven't consumed protein or missed a meal that day.

Now I have to remind you that the most important factor in protein consumption is your daily intake. It doesn't make sense to be obsessed with nutrient timing if you don't have the basics of the nutritional basis.

When it comes to body development and nutrition, we want to make sure that we maximize our MPS.

Maximizing the anabolic effect of protein dosing per meal includes a goal of 0.4 to 0.55 g / kg 2, 3. The total daily protein to achieve this goal is 1.6 to 2.2 g / kg (0.7 to 1.0 g / lb) .2, 3

Everyone benefits from pre-workout protein. Regardless of whether your goal is body-oriented or not, protein plays an important role in all areas of life. Do not be stupid. Eat your protein.

The role of carbohydrates before training

The pre-workout meal is about providing the fuel you need for the workout. It is worth noting that there are numerous clues that demonstrate a similar fat loss between high-carb and low-carb diets if calories and protein match. 4

Since most men tend to reduce their carbohydrate intake drastically, this only shows that fat loss occurs as long as you are in an energy deficit.

However, by prioritizing the timing of our high-energy carbohydrates, we can do what we are asked to do: perform. This also helps maintain muscle mass and creates higher energy consumption.

Now when we look at carbohydrates and performance, your body stores carbohydrates in your muscles. This stored glycogen is the main fuel source for high-intensity exercises.5 Consuming carbohydrates before exercise also supports better muscle contractions due to higher blood glucose levels.

However, the further you move on your path to fat loss, the more important it becomesThis could be the difference in your ability to work at a high enough intensity that you may be required to do. It is also critical for great workouts and bigger pumps. Let's be honest; Nobody will say no if they get a nice pump.

Since we know that carbohydrates do not have to be removed from our diet and you do strength training, it makes sense to consume carbohydrates, especially if you want to get the best possible result in fat loss.

Let me repeat again that you consume carbohydrates before training:

  • Helps with performance and recovery – Most people may think that you only need carbohydrates for long-lasting exercises (two hours or more), even if you benefit from intensive training in the short term (60 minutes or longer). So if you plan to exercise at high intensity, you should eat these carbohydrates.
  • Preservation of muscle and liver glycogen – carbohydrates are a protein-friendly nutrient. So if no carbohydrates are available, your body won't use its muscle tissue for energy without them. This is why it is so important that carbohydrates are consumed as part of your food intake, especially if you want to maintain or build muscle.
  • Stimulates the release of insulin – The combination of protein with carbohydrates can improve our protein synthesis response and prevent protein breakdown.

The role of fats before training

Fats before training are not necessary, nor do you need to remove them completely. Despite what you may hear, fats aren't the best option when it comes to performance. Performance enhancement is literally what carbohydrates do.

Fats simply don't have a significant impact on your performance, but they can provide your body with vitamins and minerals while slowing down food digestion. This, in turn, can help maintain blood sugar and insulin levels.

Adding fats to your meal before exercise is a wise decision, especially if your meal is closer to the three-hour mark before you exercise. Fats are more critical in the daily intake spectrum, but as I said, you don't have to leave them out entirely when considering your meals before and after your workout.

Guidelines for structuring your diet before training

  • Try to eat a whole meal with a full protein, high-energy carbohydrate and, if you exercise 2-3 hours later, a portion of fat – especially if you have low blood sugar levels during an intense workout.
  • If time is an issue, use a fast-acting whey protein in combination with an easily digestible carbohydrate source so you can make sure there is something in the tank.
  • For most men, between 25 and 40 g of protein, 30 to 60 g of carbohydrates and 10 to 15 g of fat are sufficient.

Example of dining options:

  1. Chicken breast, white potatoes, 1 serving of water-based vegetables, avocado.
  2. Chocolate whey protein isolate, oats, banana, nut butter with a pinch of cinnamon.

The role of intra-workout nutrition

Definition within the training: The consumption of nutrients during your training session.

Using a protein and carbohydrate supplement while exercising can provide additional energy while supporting fatigue and helping your body continue to use carbohydrates as fuel.

Don't be too excited yet. What matters in the end is the duration, volume and intensity of your training sessions.

If you do not exercise at high intensity and volume for more than 60 minutes, you do not need additional carbohydrates during the exercise.

Instead, we can store our carbohydrates for post-workout training, where they can help regenerate and weaken the post-session cortisol response. A simple mix of essential amino acid (EAA) and electrolyte is fine.

However, once you've shaped this lean and muscular body, you want to add a quality muscle to your bodyTherefore, I will give you an overview of how we can use our intra-workout diet to build muscle.

If muscle growth is a priority during training, the combination of EAAs + highly branched cyclic dextrin (HBCD) is a strong addition to your intra-training.

If essential amino acids are very digestible, add a little HBCD and you will notice an improvement in the absorption of amino acids into your skeletal muscle. 6

This triggers muscle protein synthesis and promotes growth. There are now studies showing an increase in muscle cross-sectional tissue in trainees who supplement this combination.

The effects of EAAs + HBCD are most efficient during training if your blood pumps thanks to your training.

Keep in mind that carbohydrates may not always be required during exercise. If you plan to exercise at high intensity and volume for more than an hour, it may be a good idea to use intra-workout carbohydrates.

Guidelines for structuring your intra-workout diet

  • For sessions of less than 60 minutes: 1-2 servings of EAA + electrolyte mixture (usually 10-20 g).
  • For sessions that last longer than 60 minutes: 1-2 servings of EAA + electrolyte mixture, one serving of HBCD (usually 20-30 g).
  • For those looking for muscle growth: 1 serving of EAA + electrolyte mixture, two servings of HBCD.

The role of nutrition after exercise

The consumption of nutrients after completing your training session fulfills the role of post-training nutrition. This meal should be taken within 1-3 hours after training.

The focus of the post-workout meal is on reducing the cortisol (stress) response through weight training, starting the recovery and repair process, while avoiding spending time in a catabolic state.

After exercise, the body's insulin sensitivity is high, meaning that it is ready to use the carbohydrates in this meal by replenishing the glycogen level without shifting much of that energy into a fat cell. Another reason why this is such a strong time – wait, so can I expect to build muscle quickly in this window?

No, not necessarily, because your body is less likely to split the calories consumed as fat than muscle.

The role of the post workout protein

Keep in mind that training increases both protein synthesis and protein breakdown. Consuming protein in this window can further promote the positive nitrogen balance required for recovery, repair, and growth.

Since most men tend not to meet their daily protein needs, a useful strategy is to consume a post-workout shake within 30 minutes of your workout so that you have time to relax before you go within 1-2 hours eat a whole meal.

The same protein guidelines from our pre-workout should be followed. However, you can only take in 20-40 g of high quality protein in the form of a whey protein isolate after training. This can be repeated every 3-5 hours in order to maximally maintain protein synthesis7.

Make sure you consume a complete source of protein, such as lean red or white meat, fish, eggs, or a combination of these, in your whole meal.

The role of carbohydrates after exercise

This meal should contain the highest amount of carbohydrates in one of your meals during the day. We've already noticed that your body's insulin sensitivity and nutrient distribution is high, but that doesn't mean you can just eat everything in the kitchen.

I want to keep reminding my customers that you deserve your carbohydrates. So make sure you've put effort into your workout so you can really enjoy the benefits of this high-carb meal.

Our post-workout carbohydrates also help increase intramuscular glycogen storage, which is known to reduce recovery times

It is also worth noting that post-workout carbohydrates may result in an increased response to muscle protein synthesis through insulin-mediated activation of the Akt / mTORC1 pathway and reduced cortisol and muscle protein breakdown. 9

The number of carbohydrates in this meal can vary depending on personal preference and the amount you need to play with every day.

Since 3 g / kg body weight is a good starting point for your daily intake, I like to take pictures of 50% of my daily intake with my meal after training. 10

For example, an 80 kg man would aim for 240 g of carbohydrates for daily intake, which would mean adding 120 g of carbohydrates to the post-workout meal. Add the rest of the 120 g of carbohydrates to the other meals throughout the day.

The role of fats after exercise

Since we know that fats are not necessary in our pre-workout, it should come as no surprise that they are also not necessary for our post-workout meal.

Because our body development is a priority, it may be advisable to limit the dietary fat in your post-workout meal. Based on current knowledge, I would recommend limiting the fat content in the diet to 10 g or less. 11

In addition, it should be mentioned that the results also indicate that a high-fat diet after training can impair the regulation of the restructuring of the skeletal muscles and suppress anabolic activity

Guidelines for structuring your post-workout diet

  • If you're struggling to meet your daily protein needs, consume a post-workout WPI shake that contains 20-40 g of protein.
  • Consume your post-workout meal within 1 to 3 hours of your workout with a competing protein source that meets our initial protein guidelines per meal of 0.4-0.55 g / kg body weight, combined with 50% of your total daily carb intake.
  • Limit your fat intake to 10 g or less.

Example of dining options::

  1. Red meat, jasmine rice and peppers.
  2. Turkey breast, pasta and spinach.

Some additional recommendations

Simplify your protein intake by distributing it evenly throughout the day. Try to meet the minimum requirements for your meal before training. Remember that it takes hours to digest food. So listen to how your body feels with the size of the meals you eat before training.

I know my personal preference is a medium-sized meal because I don't like to feel too full before training, but I also don't like to feel too hungry.

Fats slow down the digestive process, So keep this in mind since you don't want to attack the barbell if you feel excessively full. The further you are from your training, the more acceptable the fats in this meal are.

Choose fast, easily digestible carbohydrates like rice, rice cream, oats and potatoes that you can use in your meals before and after your workout.

There is an inverse relationship between carbohydrate and fat based meals. If you eat a high-carb meal, the fat content should be low. When eating a low-carb meal, the fat content should be higher.

References

1. Atherton, P.J. & Smith, K. (2012). "Muscle protein synthesis in response to diet and exercise." The Journal of Physiology, 590 (5), 1049-105. 1057.

2. Schönfeld BJ, Aragon AA. "How much protein can the body use to build muscle in a single meal? Impact on daily protein distribution." Int Soc magazine sports nutrition. 2018, February 27; 15:10.

3. Aragon AA. "Behind the paper: Clarifying protein distribution concerns." AARR, February 2018.

4. Hall & Guo, "Obesity energetics: regulation of body weight and the effects of the composition of the diet." Gastroenterology, volume 152, edition 7, May 2017, pages 1718-1727.e3.

5. Richard B. Kreider, Colin D. Wilborn, Lem Taylor, Bill Campbell, Anthony L. Almada, Rick Collins, Mathew Cooke, Conrad P. Earnest, Mike Greenwood et al. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 7, 7 (2010).

6. Vogel SP, Tarpenning KM, Marino FE. "Independent and combined effects of the intake of liquid carbohydrates / essential amino acids on hormonal and muscular adjustments after strength training in untrained men." Eur Journal Applied Physiology. 2006; 97: 225- 38.

7. Ralf Jäger, Chad M. Kerksick, Bill I. Campbell et al., "Status of the International Society for Sports Nutrition: Protein and Exercise". Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, Volume 14, item number: 20 (2017).

8. Burke, L.M., Hawley, J.A., Wong, S.H., Jeukendrup, A.E. "Carbohydrates for training and competition." Journal of Sports Science. 2011; 29 Suppl 1: S17-27.

9. Haff, G. G .; Lehmkuhl, M. J .; McCoy, L. B .; Stone, M.H. "Carbohydrate supplementation and strength training." J. Strength, Cond. Res. 2003.

10. Hall, KD et al. "A review of the carbohydrate-insulin model of obesity." European Journal of Clinical Nutrition vol. 71.3 (2017): 323-4. 326.

11. Stephens FB, Chee C, Wall BJ et al. "Lipid-induced insulin resistance is associated with an impaired synthetic response of skeletal muscle protein to amino acid intake in healthy young men." Diabetes. 2015; 64 (5): 1615-16. 1620.

12. Kimball SR, Ravi S., Gordon BS, Dennis MD, Jefferson LS. "The amino acid-induced activation of mTORC1 in rat liver is weakened by the short-term consumption of a high-fat diet." J Nutri. 2015; 145 (11): 2496-; 2502.

Understanding How Carbs Can Impact Performance

Carbohydrates are a macronutrient, ie a larger class of nutrients that (mostly have to be obtained externally). Carbohydrates are often mistaken for sugar.

Yes, sugar is a carbohydrate. However, spinach consists mainly of water and fiber, but is also considered a carbohydrate. In short, understanding what carbohydrates are, along with their classes and uses, can lead an athlete or athlete to consume the carbohydrates that help them do their best.

Carbohydrates 101

Carbohydrates are carbon and hydrogen molecules. They are divided into sugar (digestible) and fiber (somewhat indigestible). Examples of digestible forms are:

Understand how carbohydrates can affect performance - fitness, fitness, gluten-free, inflammation, glycemic index, cardiovascular disease, sugar alcohols, fiber, digestion, blood sugar

Non-digestible forms of carbohydrates include soluble and insoluble fibers. For the athlete or ordinary athlete, understanding how the balance between grains, legumes, and vegetables plays a role in proper nutrition can help them make better decisions.

Simple and complex sugars are found in most of the foods we eat, such as:

  • oats
  • fruit
  • rice
  • Potatoes

Sugar additive and sugar alcohols are made from simple and complex sugars to meet your needs. An example of added sugar can be::

These added sugars and sugar alcohols are best avoided or limited due to their association with cardiovascular diseases.

Sugar alcohols, which are often found in fermented products such as beer, have no calories and are associated with weight gain. According to this understanding, carbohydrates have a significant metabolic effect on the human body.

Carbohydrates and humans

The human brain alone consumes 40% of the glucose in the human body (a simple sugar). Muscle tissue has a simple sugar store called glycogen, and therefore power loss suffers without enough carbohydrates. What could be more important to you as a reader is the impact on your daily training and which carbohydrates work well at what times. Three things to label to use carbohydrates effectively:

  1. Glycemic index
  2. Gastric emptying time
  3. Sensitivity and timing

People usually have an excellent tolerance for various forms of carbohydrates. Therefore, diversifying your carbohydrate intake is critical to longevity.

Carbohydrate sensitivity

I am predisposed to celiac disease. So much so that my favorite carb source is gluten-free rice cream. Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease (the body fights against itself) in which the digestion of wheat-based products damages the intestinal / gastrointestinal tract (GI), especially inflammation due to gluten.

The sensitivity to carbohydrates doesn't have to be that high, but we understand that in terms of ease of digestion The high glycemic index (which causes an increase in blood sugar) is usually transported quickly through the body. In contrast, foods with a low to medium GI stay longer in the GI tract.

Still, people often don't think of foods that offer the best return on digesting glycogen stores and digestibility. Sensitivity is best done piece by piece. Try three low-carbohydrates, such as:

  • oats
  • Jasmine rice
  • sweet potato

Understand how carbohydrates can affect performance - fitness, fitness, gluten-free, inflammation, glycemic index, cardiovascular disease, sugar alcohols, fiber, digestion, blood sugar

Use this source as a carbohydrate source for 48 hours. Record flatulence, energy levels, and power exhaustion, and do so with alternative sources of carbohydrates. Ultimately, carbohydrates are your ideal, giving you the best pump in the gym, enforcing performance, promoting proper digestion without bloating, and being easily accepted by the body. For those interested, insulin sensitivity goes hand in hand with carbohydrate sensitivity.

Carbohydrates and gastric happiness

The gastric emptying time refers to how quickly the stomach and intestines can move food. This movement is typically measured using ultrasound in isolated environments such as a doctor's office. Gastric emptying is affected by the type of food consumed. For example, protein needs more energy to be metabolized, but is broken down into fast-digesting and slow-digesting ones, like whey protein versus casein. This also applies to carbohydrates.

Most foods with a high glycemic index, such as jasmine rice, move quickly through the colon. For science fans, dextrose and amylopectin are examples of quick-digestible carbohydrates, which are longer-chain carbohydrates typically found in supplement powders.

Slowly digestible carbohydrates have a low or medium GI. An example would be a sweet potato. This rate of digestion is important for the timing of meals. You don't want to have a slow digestible carbohydrate closer to a workout, which can mean 30 or even 120 minutes before a workout.

Carb timing

As previously mentioned, the Cari Timing Peri workout is vital for athletes and typical athletes because of their training. Longer workouts benefit from quickly digestible carbohydrates before exercise and a combination of fast and slow carbohydrates after exercise, especially when the next meal is a significant amount of time away (4+ hours). This is because during exercise, the body expresses a protein called insulin-like growth factors 1 and 2 (IGF-1), which increases the human body's sensitivity to insulin release. This is important for nutrition than the faster digestible carbohydrate; The faster muscle glycogen can be recovered.

However, this is different based on the amount of adipose tissue in the individual. Therefore, for example, diabetics who have overweight, faster-to-digest carbohydrates may not be the right choice before exercise because the body is not prepared to promote lipolysis. Instead, the incoming carbohydrates are used to promote training.

Get advice from a trainer and an endocrinologist on where you are. Nutritionists and dieticians are helpful, but do not seek sports nutritionists or dieticians who specialize in sports nutrition for the general public.

A friendly carb PSA

Myth number 1: Carbohydrates before bed are helpful.

This is one of the most nonsensical things I've heard for athletes and people who exercise consistently 4-8 days a week. As mentioned earlier, high GI foods like pop tarts or jasmine rice pump your bloodstream with glucose right before bed. This scenario would be great if you want to do a nightly competition, but not before bed for an average healthy sleeper, as discussed by Afgahi et al., 2007.

Myth # 2: Carbohydrates are bad.

Carbohydrates are structural and energy producing machines, non-responders, please leave the conversation. Even vegans have carbohydrates, and my good colleague Alexa, an aspiring health and nutrition trainer, agrees. Aside from carbohydrates, protein can come from things like grains, sprouts, and germs (nutritionally dense and full of carbohydrates).

Myth No. 3: Carbohydrates make me fat.

As mentioned earlier, the problem is insulin sensitivity and not an isolated problem of Mother Nature's fuel source. The training increases insulin sensitivity as well as constant steady-state cardio and (which enables biomechanics) high-intensity cardio such as jump rope or sled thrusts for intervals.

A final and important note

All processed carbohydrates are bad. Have you seen how to make gluten free rice cream?

If you're interested in vegan approaches to food and carbohydrates, please follow Alexa Pizzarello on Instagram.

Lift with love, my friends.

Understanding How Carbs Can Impact Performance

Carbohydrates are a macronutrient, ie a larger class of nutrients that (mostly have to be obtained externally). Carbohydrates are often mistaken for sugar.

Yes, sugar is a carbohydrate. However, spinach consists mainly of water and fiber, but is also considered a carbohydrate. In short, understanding what carbohydrates are, along with their classes and uses, can lead an athlete or athlete to consume the carbohydrates that help them do their best.

Carbohydrates 101

Carbohydrates are carbon and hydrogen molecules. They are divided into sugar (digestible) and fiber (somewhat indigestible). Examples of digestible forms are:

Understand how carbohydrates can affect performance - fitness, fitness, gluten-free, inflammation, glycemic index, cardiovascular disease, sugar alcohols, fiber, digestion, blood sugar

Non-digestible forms of carbohydrates include soluble and insoluble fibers. For the athlete or ordinary athlete, understanding how the balance between grains, legumes, and vegetables plays a role in proper nutrition can help them make better decisions.

Simple and complex sugars are found in most of the foods we eat, such as:

  • oats
  • fruit
  • rice
  • Potatoes

Sugar additive and sugar alcohols are made from simple and complex sugars to meet your needs. An example of added sugar can be::

These added sugars and sugar alcohols are best avoided or limited due to their association with cardiovascular diseases.

Sugar alcohols, which are often found in fermented products such as beer, have no calories and are associated with weight gain. According to this understanding, carbohydrates have a significant metabolic effect on the human body.

Carbohydrates and humans

The human brain alone consumes 40% of the glucose in the human body (a simple sugar). Muscle tissue has a simple sugar store called glycogen, and therefore power loss suffers without enough carbohydrates. What could be more important to you as a reader is the impact on your daily training and which carbohydrates work well at what times. Three things to label to use carbohydrates effectively:

  1. Glycemic index
  2. Gastric emptying time
  3. Sensitivity and timing

People usually have an excellent tolerance for various forms of carbohydrates. Therefore, diversifying your carbohydrate intake is critical to longevity.

Carbohydrate sensitivity

I am predisposed to celiac disease. So much so that my favorite carb source is gluten-free rice cream. Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease (the body fights against itself) in which the digestion of wheat-based products damages the intestinal / gastrointestinal tract (GI), especially inflammation due to gluten.

The sensitivity to carbohydrates doesn't have to be that high, but we understand that in terms of ease of digestion The high glycemic index (which causes an increase in blood sugar) is usually transported quickly through the body. In contrast, foods with a low to medium GI stay longer in the GI tract.

Still, people often don't think of foods that offer the best return on digesting glycogen stores and digestibility. Sensitivity is best done piece by piece. Try three low-carbohydrates, such as:

  • oats
  • Jasmine rice
  • sweet potato

Understand how carbohydrates can affect performance - fitness, fitness, gluten-free, inflammation, glycemic index, cardiovascular disease, sugar alcohols, fiber, digestion, blood sugar

Use this source as a carbohydrate source for 48 hours. Record flatulence, energy levels, and power exhaustion, and do so with alternative sources of carbohydrates. Ultimately, carbohydrates are your ideal, giving you the best pump in the gym, enforcing performance, promoting proper digestion without bloating, and being easily accepted by the body. For those interested, insulin sensitivity goes hand in hand with carbohydrate sensitivity.

Carbohydrates and gastric happiness

The gastric emptying time refers to how quickly the stomach and intestines can move food. This movement is typically measured using ultrasound in isolated environments such as a doctor's office. Gastric emptying is affected by the type of food consumed. For example, protein needs more energy to be metabolized, but is broken down into fast-digesting and slow-digesting ones, like whey protein versus casein. This also applies to carbohydrates.

Most foods with a high glycemic index, such as jasmine rice, move quickly through the colon. For science fans, dextrose and amylopectin are examples of quick-digestible carbohydrates, which are longer-chain carbohydrates typically found in supplement powders.

Slowly digestible carbohydrates have a low or medium GI. An example would be a sweet potato. This rate of digestion is important for the timing of meals. You don't want to have a slow digestible carbohydrate closer to a workout, which can mean 30 or even 120 minutes before a workout.

Carb timing

As previously mentioned, the Cari Timing Peri workout is vital for athletes and typical athletes because of their training. Longer workouts benefit from quickly digestible carbohydrates before exercise and a combination of fast and slow carbohydrates after exercise, especially when the next meal is a significant amount of time away (4+ hours). This is because during exercise, the body expresses a protein called insulin-like growth factors 1 and 2 (IGF-1), which increases the human body's sensitivity to insulin release. This is important for nutrition than the faster digestible carbohydrate; The faster muscle glycogen can be recovered.

However, this is different based on the amount of adipose tissue in the individual. Therefore, for example, diabetics who have overweight, faster-to-digest carbohydrates may not be the right choice before exercise because the body is not prepared to promote lipolysis. Instead, the incoming carbohydrates are used to promote training.

Get advice from a trainer and an endocrinologist on where you are. Nutritionists and dieticians are helpful, but do not seek sports nutritionists or dieticians who specialize in sports nutrition for the general public.

A friendly carb PSA

Myth number 1: Carbohydrates before bed are helpful.

This is one of the most nonsensical things I've heard for athletes and people who exercise consistently 4-8 days a week. As mentioned earlier, high GI foods like pop tarts or jasmine rice pump your bloodstream with glucose right before bed. This scenario would be great if you want to do a nightly competition, but not before bed for an average healthy sleeper, as discussed by Afgahi et al., 2007.

Myth # 2: Carbohydrates are bad.

Carbohydrates are structural and energy producing machines, non-responders, please leave the conversation. Even vegans have carbohydrates, and my good colleague Alexa, an aspiring health and nutrition trainer, agrees. Aside from carbohydrates, protein can come from things like grains, sprouts, and germs (nutritionally dense and full of carbohydrates).

Myth No. 3: Carbohydrates make me fat.

As mentioned earlier, the problem is insulin sensitivity and not an isolated problem of Mother Nature's fuel source. The training increases insulin sensitivity as well as constant steady-state cardio and (which enables biomechanics) high-intensity cardio such as jump rope or sled thrusts for intervals.

A final and important note

All processed carbohydrates are bad. Have you seen how to make gluten free rice cream?

If you're interested in vegan approaches to food and carbohydrates, please follow Alexa Pizzarello on Instagram.

Lift with love, my friends.

Does Low Estrogen in Women Impact Muscle Mass and Performance?

Does Low Estrogen Level Affect Muscle Mass and Performance in Women? - Fitness, fitness, body fat, recovery, menopause, inflammation, estrogen, phytoestrogens, protein synthesis, breast cancer, anorexia

What comes to mind first when you think of anabolic hormones?

It's probably not the estrogen hormone. However, some recent studies reported that female sex hormones are vital to muscle mass, strength, and even post-workout recovery.

Suboptimal estrogen levels are a common cause of muscle weakness and loss of muscle mass in women. Losing muscle can cause poor physical performance in the gym and competitions for no apparent reason.

What are the common causes of low estrogen levels? Who is at risk How do estrogens affect the muscles?

Let's sort the details one by one.

Common causes of low estrogen levels in women

Studies and statistics show that the main causes of hypoestrogenism (low estrogen) in women are:

Of course, age is the most common cause of low estrogen levels. Estrogen levels naturally decrease in women from the age of perimenopause (on average 47.5 years). Menopause begins at around 50 to 52 years of age, and then the symptoms of low estrogen levels appear.

However, about 1% of women start menopause much earlier. This condition is known as primary ovarian failure or premature menopause and can manifest itself before the age of 40. Early menopause is not just a question of physical fitness in the gym.

It also increases the risk of a number of dangerous diseases and even increases the likelihood of premature death.

For this reason, many women around the world are looking for hormonal solutions to keep their estrogen levels healthy – either through conventional hormone replacement therapy (HRT) or through herbal alternatives such as phytoestrogens.

Aside from premature menopause, how does estrogen affect physical performance?

Does Low Estrogen Level Affect Muscle Mass and Performance in Women? - Fitness, fitness, body fat, recovery, menopause, inflammation, estrogen, phytoestrogens, protein synthesis, breast cancer, anorexia

Are estrogen and physical performance linked?

Estrogen promotes muscle regeneration and regeneration. First, estrogen plays an essential role in muscle regeneration. Several studies reported that estrogen:

  • Damp muscle damage caused by exercise
  • Soothe muscle inflammation after exercise
  • Improve the healing of micro-injuries in the muscles
  • Stimulate the growth of atrophied muscle mass

This is an impressive list. But how is that possible?

Not all details are clear on this matter, however It appears that estrogen can stabilize the membranes of muscle cells and significantly reduce local oxidative stress.

This helps prevent major muscle damage (including exercise-related losses) and accelerate the recovery of existing injuries.

Estrogen promotes muscle growth

Let's make that clear: none of the body's estrogens is an anabolic hormone in the traditional sense of the word. You cannot inject estradiol and expect your muscle mass to double in a few weeks. It doesn't work that way.

However, studies have shown that hormone replacement therapy (HRT) with estrogens leads to muscle growth in postmenopausal women. Instead of directly increasing muscle growth (like testosterone and DHT), estrogen increases the effect of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1).

This is why women tend to lose muscle mass as they approach menopause. This is also the reason why both HRT and phytoestrogens are a fabulous but little-known method of preventing muscle and performance loss in women with under-optimal estrogen levels.

Estrogen somewhat increases muscle strength

Most likely, you already know that muscle tissue consists of two types of muscle fibers – actin and myosin. One of the factors that determine the strength of a particular muscle is the strength of the bond between its actin and the myosin filaments.

Studies have shown that this is one of the effects of estrogen on muscle tissue. Estrogen somewhat strengthens the connection between myosin and actin fibers in the muscle, which leads to a slight increase in physical strength.

Fixation of low estrogen levels

The first and most important step in restoring your estrogen is to find and treat the cause of your condition.

For example, if you suspect that your estrogen waste is due to chronic stress, rest and try to solve your most pressing problems as soon as possible. Most likely, eliminating your stress would result in a good rise in estrogen levels.

And yet the solution is rarely that simple. In most cases, the only way to permanently resolve a low estrogen problem is to start HRT or use natural phytoestrogens.

But how effective is this approach?

A study examined the effect of HRT on physical performance and muscle mass in 15 pairs of identical twins. All women were between 54 and 62 years old, so these are hormonal changes in the menopause and after the menopause.

For each pair of twins, one woman took conventional HRT hormones and the other twin received no menopause therapy (conventional or otherwise).

After seven years of this treatment, the twin taking HRT took:

Some other studies on the relationship between HRT and strength, muscle mass, and physical performance in women reported that HRT:

  1. Promotes muscle synthesis
  2. Increases muscle strength (measured by running speed and vertical jump height)

But wait a second, don't go out and stuff yourself with estrogens. These effects were primarily observed when a woman has little estrogen. If you are a healthy woman with normal estrogen levels, you don't have to look for HRT.

This diagnosis is particularly relevant because HRT can only be obtained with a prescription and is so serious that it can be monitored continuously and even then has some side effects. In some cases, the side effects can be as serious as an increased risk of breast cancer.

That is why so many women use phytoestrogens as a natural HRT alternative.

Phytoestrogens as an HRT alternative

In short, phytoestrogens are herbal substances that act similarly to the estrogens that the human body produces. Women around the world have used various sources of phytoestrogens to relieve menopause symptoms before doctors even knew what menopause was.

Now women who are approaching their 40s have another good reason to look for additional phytoestrogens in their diet: to support physical performance and prevent loss of muscle mass during menopause.

Do you need a quick shopping list? Here are some of the richest (and most delicious) food sources for phytoestrogens::

  • All soy products, except soy sauce (soybeans, tofu, soy milk)
  • Legumes (lentils, chickpeas, beans)
  • Berries, especially colored red and pink (strawberries, cranberries, raspberries)
  • Red grapes and red wine
  • parsley
  • Alfalfa sprouts
  • Dried fruit
  • Sesame seeds

If you don't want to change anything in your diet, you can also take supplements or use skin care products with phytoestrogens such as serums and creams.

The latter approach is particularly suitable for athletes, since the lion's share of the phytoestrogens acts locally on the skin and muscles.

One of the world's strongest sources of phytoestrogens is, for example, Pueraria Mirifica, a Thai plant that native women have used as an elixir of youth for centuries.

By using a skin care product with Pueraria Mirifica, you can improve local muscle regeneration and support the moisture and elasticity of the skin. Double action, double advantages.

Note that Pueraria Mirifica can slightly increase breast size due to its high estrogen content. So keep that in mind when you apply it to your chest area to support your pectoral muscles.

The bottom line

Although this fact remains unknown to most athletes, coaches, and even health professionals, low estrogen levels have a major impact on a woman's strength, muscle mass, and recovery rates after exercise.

If you are a woman approaching your 40s and you think you may be dealing with a case of suboptimal estrogen, ask your doctor to do some tests and discuss your treatment options.

However, keep in mind that you don't have to drive your estrogen levels through the roof for performance in the gym or even general health.

While estrogen is great for the health and performance of your bones and muscles, studies have found this out Excessive estrogen levels can make your tendons and ligaments weaker and more prone to injury.

So moderation is the key. Low estrogen levels are probably as bad as high ones.

An excellent first step to getting your estrogen back to normal would be to eat more sources of phytoestrogens like soy and other legumes. If you want to promote local recovery after physical activity, try applying a topical skin care product. Any source of phytoestrogens will work well, but Pueraria Mirifica is probably the least expensive option.

Does Low Estrogen in Women Impact Muscle Mass and Performance?

It's probably not the estrogen hormone. However, some recent studies reported that female sex hormones are vital to muscle mass, strength, and even post-workout recovery.

Suboptimal estrogen levels are a common cause of muscle weakness and loss of muscle mass in women. Losing muscle can cause poor physical performance in the gym and competitions for no apparent reason.

What are the common causes of low estrogen levels? Who is at risk How do estrogens affect the muscles?

Let's sort the details one by one.

Common causes of low estrogen levels in women

Studies and statistics show that the main causes of hypoestrogenism (low estrogen) in women are:

Of course, age is the most common cause of low estrogen levels. Estrogen levels naturally decrease in women from the age of perimenopause (on average 47.5 years). Menopause begins at around 50 to 52 years of age, and then the symptoms of low estrogen levels appear.

However, about 1% of women start menopause much earlier. This condition is known as primary ovarian failure or premature menopause and can manifest itself before the age of 40. Early menopause is not just a question of physical fitness in the gym. It also increases the risk of a number of dangerous diseases and even increases the likelihood of premature death.

For this reason, many women around the world are looking for hormonal solutions to keep their estrogen levels healthy – either through conventional hormone replacement therapy (HRT) or through herbal alternatives such as phytoestrogens.

Aside from premature menopause, how does estrogen affect physical performance?

Does Low Estrogen Level Affect Muscle Mass and Performance in Women? - Fitness, fitness, body fat, recovery, menopause, inflammation, estrogen, phytoestrogens, protein synthesis, breast cancer, anorexia

Are estrogen and physical performance linked?

Estrogen promotes muscle regeneration and regeneration. First, estrogen plays an essential role in muscle regeneration. Several Studies reported that estrogen:

  • Damp muscle damage caused by exercise
  • Soothe muscle inflammation after exercise
  • Improve the healing of micro-injuries in the muscles
  • Stimulate the growth of atrophied muscle mass

This is an impressive list. But how is that possible?

Not all details are clear on this matter, however It appears that estrogen can stabilize the membranes of muscle cells and significantly reduce local oxidative stress. This helps prevent major muscle damage (including exercise-related losses) and accelerate the recovery of existing injuries.

Estrogen promotes muscle growth

Let's make that clear: none of the body's estrogens is an anabolic hormone in the traditional sense of the word. You cannot inject estradiol and expect your muscle mass to double in a few weeks. It doesn't work that way.

However, studies have shown that hormone replacement therapy (HRT) with estrogens leads to muscle growth in postmenopausal women. Instead of directly increasing muscle growth (like testosterone and DHT), estrogen increases the effect of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1).

This is why women tend to lose muscle mass as they approach menopause. This is also the reason why both HRT and phytoestrogens are a fabulous but little-known method of preventing muscle and performance loss in women with under-optimal estrogen levels.

Estrogen somewhat increases muscle strength

Most likely, you already know that muscle tissue consists of two types of muscle fibers – actin and myosin. One of the factors that determine the strength of a particular muscle is the strength of the bond between its actin and the myosin filaments.

Studies have shown that this is one of the effects of estrogen on muscle tissue. Estrogen somewhat strengthens the connection between myosin and actin fibers in the muscle, which leads to a slight increase in physical strength.

Fixation of low estrogen levels

The first and most important step in restoring your estrogen is to find and treat the cause of your condition. For example, if you suspect that your estrogen waste is due to chronic stress, rest and try to solve your most pressing problems as soon as possible. Most likely, eliminating your stress would result in a good rise in estrogen levels.

And yet the solution is rarely that simple. In most cases, the only way to permanently resolve a low estrogen problem is to start HRT or use natural phytoestrogens.

But how effective is this approach?

A study examined the effect of HRT on physical performance and muscle mass in 15 pairs of identical twins. All women were between 54 and 62 years old, so these are hormonal changes in the menopause and after the menopause. For each pair of twins, one woman took conventional HRT hormones and the other twin received no menopause therapy (conventional or otherwise).

After seven years of this treatment, the twin taking HRT took:

Some other studies on the relationship between HRT and strength, muscle mass, and physical performance in women reported that HRT:

  1. Promotes muscle synthesis
  2. Increases muscle strength (measured by running speed and vertical jump height)

But wait a second, don't go out and stuff yourself with estrogens. These effects were primarily observed when a woman has little estrogen. If you are a healthy woman with normal estrogen levels, you don't have to look for HRT.

This diagnosis is particularly relevant because HRT can only be obtained with a prescription and is so serious that it can be monitored continuously and even then has some side effects. In some cases, the side effects can be as serious as an increased risk of breast cancer.

That is why so many women use phytoestrogens as a natural HRT alternative.

Does Low Estrogen Level Affect Muscle Mass and Performance in Women? - Fitness, fitness, body fat, recovery, menopause, inflammation, estrogen, phytoestrogens, protein synthesis, breast cancer, anorexia

Phytoestrogens as an HRT alternative

In short, phytoestrogens are herbal substances that act similarly to the estrogens that the human body produces. Women around the world have used various sources of phytoestrogens to relieve menopause symptoms before doctors even knew what menopause was.

Now women who are approaching their 40s have another good reason to look for additional phytoestrogens in their diet: to support physical performance and prevent loss of muscle mass during menopause.

Do you need a quick shopping list? Here are some of the richest (and most delicious) food sources for phytoestrogens::

  • All soy products, except soy sauce (soybeans, tofu, soy milk)
  • Legumes (lentils, chickpeas, beans)
  • Berries, especially colored red and pink (strawberries, cranberries, raspberries)
  • Red grapes and red wine
  • parsley
  • Alfalfa sprouts
  • Dried fruit
  • Sesame seeds

If you don't want to change anything in your diet, you can also take supplements or use skin care products with phytoestrogens such as serums and creams. The latter approach is particularly suitable for athletes, since the lion's share of the phytoestrogens acts locally on the skin and muscles.

One of the world's strongest sources of phytoestrogens is, for example, Pueraria Mirifica, a Thai plant that native women have used as an elixir of youth for centuries. By using a skin care product with Pueraria Mirifica, you can improve local muscle regeneration and support the moisture and elasticity of the skin. Double action, double advantages.

Note that Pueraria Mirifica can slightly increase breast size due to its high estrogen content. So keep that in mind when you apply it to your chest area to support your pectoral muscles.

The bottom line

Although this fact remains unknown to most athletes, coaches, and even health professionals, low estrogen levels have a major impact on a woman's strength, muscle mass, and recovery rates after exercise.

If you are a woman approaching your 40s and you think you may be dealing with a case of suboptimal estrogen, ask your doctor to do some tests and discuss your treatment options.

However, keep in mind that you don't have to drive your estrogen levels through the roof for performance in the gym or even general health. While estrogen is great for the health and performance of your bones and muscles, studies have found this out Excessive estrogen levels can make your tendons and ligaments weaker and more prone to injury.

So moderation is the key. Low estrogen levels are probably as bad as high ones.

An excellent first stepo Bring your estrogen back to a normal range would be to eat more food sources for phytoestrogens – like soy and other legumes. If you want to promote local recovery after physical activity, try applying a topical skin care product. Any source of phytoestrogens will work well, but Pueraria Mirifica is probably the least expensive option.

A Comprehensive Guide to Unilateral Training for Injury-Free Training and Performance

Getting strong is pretty easy: move heavy weight in the classic compound lifts– deadlifts, squats, bench press and military press. If you can put large numbers in these elevators, congratulations, you are strong.

But the story doesn't end here. The story really begins with the complementary work that will hopefully enable you to continue to gain weight in the long term in a healthy and sustainable way. After all, it is difficult to get strong if you are constantly dealing with injuries after injuries. We believe that one-sided training (one-armed, one-legged, etc.) has an extremely positive impact on health, stability, coordination and the balance of the joints.

There should be periods in a cyclical, periodized, and progressive program year when the focus is definitely on the classic compound lifts, where these one-sided movements are purely complementary, and periods during the year when they can get a bit into the year more in the spotlight.

For example, if you are sometimes a powerlifter (or exercise like a powerlifter) throughout the year, it can be very valuable to move away from the classic barbell lifts and introduce barbell or kettlebell variations to fix weaknesses and at the same time provide some recovery to enable heavy compound lifting.

Below are some examples of variations on single arm, single leg, and barbell exercises to promote an injury-free hard workout. Let the rep range determine the load,

The one-armed dumbbell bench press

Do 3 sets of 10 to 20 per arm with a 60 second pause.

The one-arm dumbbell shoulder press

Do 3 sets of 15 to 20 per arm with a 60 second pause.

One arm breakaway rows

Do 3 sets of 10-15 per arm with a 30-60 second pause.

One-arm row of dumbbells

Do 3 sets of 10 to 20 per arm with a 30 to 60 second pause.

Lift the dumbbell to the side

Perform 3 sets of 10-20 with a 30-60 second pause.

Clean and press the one-armed kettlebell

Do 3 sets of 10-15 per arm with 30 seconds rest.

One-armed overhead walking lungs

Perform 3 sets of 15 m with a kettlebell or dumbbell (each arm) for a 30-60 second break.

Single leg step ups

Complete 3 sets of 15-20.

Double front rack step ups

Perform 3 sets of 10-15 with two light kettlebells.

Single leg RDLs

Do 3 sets of 10-15 with a light / medium weight kettlebell.

Keep it simple

Keep things simple, The last couple of repetitions should be hard and you should leave 2-3 in the tank. You can make these supplements progressive by increasing the load (weight), the volume (number of sets), the rest period (reduction of the rest period from week to week) or by changing all three variables.

Remember to add new exercise variations every 4 to 12 weeks or whenever you feel that progress has stalled. This means that you cannot add more weight without affecting the technique.