When asked how much booze is OK to drink on a diet, most nutritionists sound like Mr. Mackey, the school counselor from South Park: “Alcohol is bad, m’kay. You shouldn’t drink alcohol, m’kay.” As booze carries a host of health risks and offers few real benefits for your waistline, it’s easy to write it off as an unnecessary addition to any diet. But, as with signs that say to shower before entering a public pool, some rules are just asking to be broken, and you’re probably going to drink from time to time anyway—no matter how badly you want to lose weight and get in shape. And who are we to try and stop you?

As booze tends to contain both alcohol and sugar, the question of where it can fit on a ketogenic (or other lower-carb) diet is a big one. After all, “going keto” means cutting carbs way down. But according to Dominic D’Agostino (ketonutrition.org), an assistant professor at the University of South Florida—and one of the world’s leading researchers on ketogenic diets—“If you avoid the kinds of alcohol that have higher carbs and consume other types in low to moderate quantities, you don’t need to totally cut it out.”

We’ll raise a glass to that.

Read on, and you’ll learn exactly how you can make booze a part of your pursuit for a better, fitter body on a low-carb eating plan.

The Expert’s Guide to Alcohol on The Ketogenic Diet

As we described in our guide to going keto, the original, medically-defined ketogenic diet stipulates that you get 75% of your total calories from fat, 20% from protein, and 5% from carbs. (A person following an average 2,000-calorie diet would then limit his/her carbs to around 25 grams per day.) This configuration causes your body to switch its main fuel source from carbs to ketones—molecules that are made from your stored body fat. When this happens, you are considered to be in a state of ketosis. At the same time, when the body needs carbs for energy, it learns to make them itself in a process called gluconeogenesis.

First used in modern medicine by physicians at Johns Hopkins Medical Center in the 1920s, the ketogenic diet was applied to help patients suffering from epilepsy, seizures, and other neurological issues. Since then, research has suggested that keto eating can also help increase mental focus and promote healthy weight loss—perhaps even better than a low-fat diet can. A ketogenic diet also helps your body’s cells become more sensitive to glucose, so your pancreas won’t have to work as hard to carry carbs into them.

The classic ketogenic diet, however, can feel very restrictive and is often hard to follow, especially for athletes and other active people who may need more carbs to fuel exercise and support recovery afterward. In that case, we like what’s called a Mod Keto approach that allows you to consume more carbohydrates than in the traditional ketogenic diet. With Mod Keto, you can get 40–60% of your calories from fat, 20–40% from protein, and 20% from carbs (100 grams for the 2,000-calorie dieter). Though you may not be able to maintain a state of ketosis on this plan, the carbs are low enough to keep you mentally sharp but also generous enough to provide fuel for intense workouts.

What To Know Before Drinking Alcohol on the Keto Diet

There’s no denying it: excessive alcohol consumption can jeopardize several processes in the body, whether you’re keto or not. Your liver recognizes booze as a poison and prioritizes ridding your system of it. While it’s doing that, it stops making ketones and puts the brakes on gluconeogenesis (more on this later). To add to the problem, if you choose sugary beverages, a single serving has the potential to kick you out of ketosis, or eat up most of your carb allowance for the day. Furthermore, an alcoholic beverage can add hundreds of empty calories to your intake. Multiply the effect of one such drink by three or four or more—as in a night of binge drinking—and you’ll easily turn your finely-tuned metabolic engine into a clunky old rust bucket. (For your reference, a study from the National Institute of Health defines binge drinking as consuming five or more alcoholic drinks in a single session.)

Of course, booze is bad for the brain, too. One of the reasons heavy drinking makes you stagger like you just ate a Francis Ngannou uppercut is that alcohol disrupts the cerebellum—the brain region responsible for balance and coordination. In his book Why We Sleep, University of California, Berkeley, professor Matthew Walker explains that even moderate drinking causes memory impairment. He cites a Sleep study that found that participants who consumed alcohol on the same day they performed a learning exercise forgot about 50% of what they’d learned afterward. Even those who had two nights of high-quality sleep between the exercise and their bout of drinking forgot roughly 40% of the information. Walker hypothesizes that alcohol interferes with the process of committing items from short-term to long-term memory, which usually takes place while we’re asleep.

Your Grandma probably swore by the slumber-promoting power of her evening cocktail, and maybe you do, too. But there’s a difference between short-term sedation and restful sleep. While it might make you feel drowsy at first, when the hooch wears off, you can experience a rebound effect that actually stimulates alertness. If you’ve ever woken up at 3 a.m. after a bender, now you know why. Another contributing factor: the hot and cold feelings that alcohol can induce by disrupting the hypothalamus, the area of your brain that modulates body temperature, and other parts of the endocrine system.

In the book, The Sleep Solution, Chris Winter, who has become the de facto “sleep doctor” for NBA, NFL, and other pro teams seeking a rest-related advantage, states that the biggest nighttime issue with drinking alcohol is the disruption it causes to REM sleep. Professor D’Agostino has felt it firsthand. “If I have more than 16 ounces of wine, it not only affects my REM sleep but also the deep restorative stages,” he says, “so I feel lethargic in the morning.”

And then there’s the hangover. Alcohol has a diuretic effect, meaning that it prompts your body to excrete more water. This is why you go to the bathroom twice as often during happy hour, and why you wake up with a dry throat the morning after. Unfortunately, at the same time your body is losing water, it’s losing electrolytes too, throwing off the fluid balance inside you. This can hurt your performance the next time you hit the gym or the trail.

On the bright side, alcohol does have some benefits if you resist the temptation to go overboard with it. Numerous studies have shown that consuming small daily quantities of red wine can help with blood pressure, inflammation markers, and perceived and actual stress levels. In an article published in the Journal of Cardiovascular Disease Research, the phytochemicals in plants known as polyphenols—particularly resveratrol, and quercetin, which are present in wine—were shown to promote heart health. “The positive effects of dry red wine are pretty well established,” says D’Agostino. “Since I started drinking four to 12 ounces each evening, my overall health numbers are the best they’ve ever been. My HDL cholesterol numbers have increased by 25–30% percent.”

More into beer? Then you’ll appreciate the ability of hops to help protect brain cells from oxidative damage, as the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry reported.

How Does Alcohol Affect Your Keto Diet?

When you drink, around 20% of the alcohol (aka ethanol) enters your bloodstream, where it goes on to affect the brain and other parts of the body. The remaining 80% goes to your small intestine and then to your liver. Once in the liver, the process of metabolizing alcohol into energy begins via an enzyme called nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD). As NAD is also responsible for turning glucose into fuel, the liver temporarily stops glucose metabolism to deal with the alcohol.

“The liver is always going to prioritize metabolizing ethanol,” says Ben Greenfield, author of Beyond Training and host of the Ben Greenfield Fitness podcast. “That will occur over and above gluconeogenesis and utilizing glucose in the bloodstream.” At the same time, as mentioned earlier, fatty acids will stop being converted into ketones. These systems won’t get back on track until the alcohol is burned for fuel.

To add further complications, your body must deal with the waste products that drinking alcohol produces. When your liver breaks down ethanol, it results in acetaldehyde. The body sees this as a toxic threat and slows down fat metabolism further so that it can deal with the load, which it converts to acetyl CoA. At the same time, a buildup of acetaldehyde levels along with the release of NAD prompts the liver to produce new fatty acids. In other words, not only does drinking hurt your ability to burn fat, it encourages you to store more of it—a double whammy.

Now consider that your body can only convert acetaldehyde into 30 ml of acetyl CoA per hour. That’s the best case scenario, with half that amount being the low end of the range. A typical pint of beer (16 ounces) will make most people produce just under 23 ml of acetyl CoA, so drinking just one has the power to prevent your body from burning fat for an hour. If you start imbibing at dinner and continue until last call, you could produce enough acetyl CoA to disrupt fat metabolism for 9 to 12 hours afterward.

Alcohol and Workout Performance and Recovery

If you follow some form of a keto diet and you work out, you’ve got even more reason to cut back on booze. New Zealand’s Massey University has done numerous studies on how alcohol affects performance and recovery. It found that drinking can inhibit the protein synthesis necessary for muscle repair and growth, as well as delay injury healing. In an article on the school’s website, study author Matthew Barnes concluded, “If you’re [in the gym] to perform, you shouldn’t be drinking alcohol.”

There’s also evidence to suggest that alcohol can diminish muscle-building pathways triggered by strength training. A study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research concluded that, “Alcohol should not be ingested after RE [resistance exercise] as this ingestion could potentially hamper the desired muscular adaptations to RE by reducing anabolic signaling, at least in men.”

What Alcohol Can I Drink on a Ketogenic Diet?

Due to all the reasons listed above, alcohol intake should be minimized on any diet, and particularly on keto. But when you do drink, you can limit the damage by giving preference to the lowest-calorie and lowest-sugar beverages available. Below are some examples.

Hard liquor
This stuff is your best booze bet. Whiskey, rum, vodka, gin, brandy, and tequila have 0 grams of carbs and 95–105 calories per shot.

Dry white wine
Dry sparkling wines contain 1.3–3 grams carbs and 96–150 calories per five-ounce glass. Other dry whites also fare well, with Brut Cava (2.5 g carbs and 128 calories) and Champagne (2.8 g carbs and 147 calories) rounding out the podium, and Pinot Blanc not far behind (2.85 g carbs and 119 calories).

Dry red wine
Pinot noir, Merlot, Cabernet, and Syrah (Shiraz) have 3.4–3.8 grams of carbs per glass and around 120 calories.

Light (low-carb) and dark beer
While beer is one of the more carb-drenched booze choices out there, the lightest of the lightweight beers aren’t overly dangerous to a keto dieter. Budweiser Select 55™ contains under 2g carbs and 55 calories per 12 oz, and Miller 64™ has 2.4g carbs and 64 calories. Stouts and porters are higher in calories than most other beer options, but they also offer more health-boosting properties, so we don’t think you should exclude them on the weight of the numbers you see on their nutrition labels alone. Guinness Draught™ has 125 calories and 9.4g of carbs (of which only 0.8 grams are sugar), but also boasts high levels of flavonoids, which can help combat inflammation, lower oxidative stress, and reduce the oxygenation of cholesterol.

What Drinks Should I Avoid on a Ketogenic Diet?

The following drinks are known for packing a sugary punch. Indulge in them and you’ll swiftly kiss your ketogenic diet goodbye.

Any alcohol served with a soda, syrup, or fruit mixer
Sodas cram up to 50 grams of carbs in every 12 ounces. Cocktails made with syrups or artificial fruit can pack 20 grams per serving.

Regular beer
Some IPAs contain over 20 grams of carbs and more than 250 calories, and fruity beers can have more than 30 grams carbs and 300-plus calories.

Liqueur
Southern Comfort™ isn’t too bad with just 4.8 grams of carbs and 98 calories per serving. But Jägermeister™ (17g carbs and 154 calories), Kahlua™ (22g carbs, 137 calories), and amaretto (26g carbs, 165 calories) belong in the Hall of Shame.

Margaritas
The amount of tequila’s not the issue. The 100–175 calories and 30 grams of keto diet-busting carbs in the mix are.

Wine coolers
These pack a hefty 15–30 grams carbs and have between 200 and 250 calories.

After-dinner wines
Moscato™, port, and sherry contain up to 18 grams carbs and 75–100 calories per 3 ounces.

How Much Can I Drink On A Keto Diet?

It’s impossible to give a one-size-fits-all answer for how much booze you can drink while still staying keto. We’re all different, and, just as with other kinds of food and drink, alcohol rarely affects two people in exactly the same way. According to D’Agostino, your metabolic state before you start drinking—whether you’re fed, fasted, or semi-fasted—can also affect the degree to which ethanol impacts you.

To be on the safe side, it seems best to limit yourself to two drinks per night at the most. This allowance assumes you’re choosing from the What Alcohol Can I Drink on a Ketogenic Diet list, as these options will make it easier to stay in ketosis, or at least low-carb enough that you’ll avoid disrupting your hormone balance while also gaining the health benefits that alcoholic beverages can provide in moderation.

Remember that moderate drinking is not only tolerable to the body but also helpful. The University of California Irvine’s Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders evaluated the lifestyle habits of people who lived to be at least 90. Researchers concluded that those who drank lived longer than those who abstained. Furthermore, drinking up to two alcoholic beverages daily has been found to promote longevity. With that said, Greenfield, warns that going keto can, over time, make you a bit of a lightweight when you drink. “If you’re on a ketogenic diet and your primary source of glucose comes from gluconeogenesis,” says Greenfield, “you might have lower tolerance to alcohol, as your body processes it right away,” he says. When your glycogen stores are depleted, as they are on keto, alcohol gets metabolized much faster and therefore goes to your head much sooner. “And as you metabolize more of the alcohol, you’re going to be dealing with more acetaldehyde,” says Greenfield, “so if you drink too much you could experience a worse hangover.” If you used to guzzle drinks with reckless abandon, your new low-carb lifestyle might cause you to get tipsy on lesser amounts. One drink alone may be plenty for you, so don’t rely on your pre-keto limit as a guide.

If you want to get really scientific about your boozing, D’Agostino suggests buying an Abbot Precision Xtra™ monitor on Amazon.com or at a drugstore to measure your ketone and glucose levels before you start drinking and 30 minutes after you stop. “Then see how different kinds of alcohol and quantities affect you,” he says. “I found that 12 ounces of dry wine is the most I should have, and I often only have six ounces.”

It’s not just a question of what kind of booze you choose, how much you drink, or how high the alcohol by volume percentage is. Your rate of consumption is also important. Try to avoid downing your first drink in one go. As mentioned earlier, your body can take more than an hour to process the byproducts created by the liver when metabolizing even a small amount of alcohol, so if you can, sip slowly to give yourself a fighting chance of keeping up with the intake.

“The toxicity of alcohol is related to how fast you administer it,” D’Agostino says. “Once you start to feel buzzed, you’re beginning to experience the negative effects. That’s why I stick to a small amount spread out over several hours. Last night, I had a small glass of Merlot while I was preparing dinner and then a second one a couple of hours later. That had no affect on my glucose levels and a minimal impact on my ketones.”

A further consideration is exactly when you should drink. If you’re going to have a glass or two, it’s best to do it a few hours before bed—say, with dinner. The closer your alcohol consumption is to bedtime, the more it’s likely to mess with your sleep and overnight metabolism.

Are There Any Tricks That Would Allow Me To Drink More?

As alcohol is a diuretic, you’ve probably heard the recommendation to pound water before, during, and after drinking to offset the potential dehydration. Like alcohol consumption itself, drinking water is fine if done in moderation. Drinking too much fluid, however, will start flushing electrolytes (magnesium, potassium, and particularly sodium) out of your system, and that can make a hangover even worse. Stick to an eight to 12-ounce glass of water per serving of alcohol and include a pinch of sea salt. The salt contains trace minerals that aid in fluid retention.

Eating food will slow down the absorption of the alcohol, so try to combine your drinking with a main meal. Blood alcohol content can rocket up to three times higher if you don’t have any food in your system. Whereas if you eat just before or while drinking, peak alcohol concentration can be reduced by between 9 and 23%. Be sure you’re eating the right foods too. While a night of drinking can be part of a cheat meal that finds you eating carb foods as well, it’s smarter to stick to keto-friendly fare like meat and vegetables. D’Agostino says fat, protein, and fiber slow the absorption of alcohol and reduce the load it puts on your digestive system. A big meal may also help you feel more satiated, causing you to drink less.

There are exceptions, however. “Personally, I’ve found that a small glass of wine that’s been fermented for a longer period of time to lower the sugar content allows me to operate well on a low-carb diet,” says Greenfield. “I do this particularly when my liver’s glycogen stores are low, which would be when I’m in a fasted state or post-workout. So I break the rules and drink on an empty stomach. I usually have a small glass of wine from Dry Farm Wines or FitVine Wines at 7:30 or 8 p.m. after I’ve exercised and before I eat dinner.” If he’s drinking liquor, Greenfield uses club soda as a low-carb mixer.

Even if you do overdo it at the bar, don’t panic. There’s a simple prescription for getting back on track. “Just drink a couple of glasses of water and go for a brisk walk,” says D’Agostino. “This way you’ll combat the dehydration and increase your circulation and metabolism, which will enable you to clear out the alcohol and get back into ketosis.”

The post The Expert’s Guide to Alcohol on The Ketogenic Diet appeared first on Onnit Academy.

We are so habituated to constant stimulation nowadays that it doesn’t take much for our attention to go elsewhere. Surprisingly enough our digestion process works in a very similar way.

Bite, chew and swallow. That’s how we are taught to eat, right? While the act of eating seems incredibly simple, there is so much more going on behind the scenes. Enter the autonomic nervous system (source).

The Two Faces of the Digestion Process

The autonomic nervous system has two divisions: the sympathetic mode and the parasympathetic mode. The sympathetic division of the nervous system responds to stress. This is our “fight or flight” response.

It focuses on what your body needs to do right now for survival: increasing heart rate, dilating the pupils, and creating thermal energy, all while decreasing the digestive rate and inhibiting peristalsis.

When we are in a sympathetic dominant mode, all of our energy is rushed to the brain, heart and muscles to combat a threat. In doing so, the actions of our sympathetic nervous system push all menial tasks aside.

The problem with that is our physiological reactions to non-immediate stresses are largely the same as when we’re actually fighting for survival (source).

Sure, it can be pretty stressful when you have to break up with someone, but it’s not quite the same as having to escape from the car they set on fire.

Since the response is very similar no matter what the stressor is, it can be incredibly taxing on the whole body over time.

This can lead to high blood pressure, suppression of your immune system and digestive problems.

Since every ying needs a yang, to balance the sympathetic system we have the the parasympathetic nervous system. This system regulates our “rest and digest” response, or what some call “feed and breed”.

Say you’re at work, and you know that (enter personal dietary vice here) is waiting for you in the break room fridge. This could be a steak or a doughnut, or in the case of the breeding inclination of the parasympathetic system, your mate at home – no judgment here!

The more you want it, the more your body will prepare to ingest and digest it. Blood will flow towards those digestive (and reproductive) organs, enzymes will secrete, and your mouth will salivate. This is your body entering parasympathetic dominance.

This system acts on the same organs as the sympathetic system, but with a different, complementary effect.

It decreases the rate of the heart and respiration rate, while increasing the flow of blood to digestive organs, reproductive organs and inducing peristalsis (the involuntary muscle contractions that move food along the digestive tract).

We need to be in parasympathetic dominance in order for digestion to properly occur (source).

Slow Down & Give the Digestion Process a Rest

Now, when I mentioned that our physiological reactions to non-immediate stresses are largely the same as when we are fighting for survival, it couldn’t be truer.

Walking, standing, reading, watching TV – all of these tasks involve our attention and energy. We are in action and sympathetic dominant.

And as we just learned, while in sympathetic dominance all digestion processes stop.

We aren’t paying attention to chewing our food completely, our digestive enzymes are insufficient and there is no peristalsis to help move the assimilated food through the digestive tract. Everything halts until you do.

We live in a fast paced time. We are usually on the go and it seems necessary to multitask. I know I can be guilty of quickly eating my breakfast while standing over the kitchen sink! But there are a few suggestions I can make that will take a load off your digestive system with some simple modifications:

• Eat in a calm, relaxed setting – Taking just a few minutes to slow your roll, sit down, and focus the task at hand – nourishing your body – will activate parasympathetic mode.

• Chew your food completely – The process of digestion begins in the mouth. When we swallow, the food we just finished chewing should be near liquid (the fancy, science term for this is bolus, once the mass is swallowed). This mixes the food with salivary amylase-rich saliva and begins carbohydrate digestion. This will also help stimulate digestive secretions further down the road.

• Eat well – For your highly individual needs, you require adequate protein, high quality fats, high fiber carbohydrates (fruits, vegetables, and whole grains) and adequate water to repair.

• Take digestive enzymes – Simply put, not everyone produces a sufficient amount of necessary digestive enzymes naturally, so support can be extremely beneficial in assimilation of food and prevent post-meal discomfort. A high-quality digestive enzyme supplement like Digestech® can help relieve that discomfort and aid your body in breaking down food effectively.

• Choose wisely – Avoid foods that bother your digestion. If you know that dairy or wheat sits like a brick and causes upset, don’t eat it!

• Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate – Pure water, herbal tea, and fresh juices provide the fluids and minerals needed to complete digestion and absorption.

• Consider pre and probiotics – When the intestinal flora ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy! Having imbalanced bacteria in the GI tract can host an array of internal issues: gas and decreased elimination, inflammation and leaky gut, SIBO, systemic viruses, weakened immune system, depression, and even joint health (source). The list of benefits is even longer!

• Breathe – Before and during. Simple, right? If you pay attention to your breath, you’ll notice how shallow it typically is. Breathing deeply and slowly has immediate benefits, including quieting down your fired up sympathetic nervous system system.

At the end of the day, the human body needs homeostasis. It wants to find balance to heal and for us to thrive. It can do some pretty amazing things, but the secret is that we must fuel it properly in order to greet and overcome challenges.

Slow down, be mindful, and for the sake of your digestion: don’t be so sympathetic.

The post Take a Seat: Rest and the Digestion Process appeared first on Onnit Academy.

Summary:

– People who strength train need up to 2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight daily. You need even more if you’re dieting.

– Plant protein powders offer a sustainable and sometimes more digestible alternative to dairy and other animal-derived protein powders.

– Most plant proteins by themselves are not complete sources, but, blended with other plant powders, they can supply the same amino acids and amounts of leucine as whey.

– Plant protein can help to control hunger, aiding weight loss.

The Truth About Plant Protein Supplements

People who wear glasses are smart. People who are overweight must be lazy. And vegetarians are all long-haired hippies that are so weak from malnutrition that a stiff breeze could knock them over.

There are some stereotypes that never seem to go away. And while the first two we listed are clearly nonsense when you think about them, the third one about vegetarians still seems to have a lot of believers—especially among athletes and muscle-seekers who think that you can’t build size and strength on a flesh-free diet. After all, huge guys are called “meatheads” for a reason.

The thing is though, it’s not meat per se that makes muscle grow, but rather the protein inside it. Protein from beans and rice can serve your purpose just as well as a rare steak can—and, in the supplement department, plant protein powders made from blends of pea, rice, or seeds can equal whey.

Nevertheless, if you’re looking to remove or reduce the amount of animal products in your diet for ethical or environmental reasons, or you’re a vegetarian/vegan who just started weight training, you may find it challenging to get all the protein you need in a day, as plant sources generally aren’t as rich in protein as animal foods are, and usually don’t contain all the necessary amino acids in amounts that make their protein complete. In this case, supplementation is helpful.

You’re about to discover the truth about plant protein supplements and muscle.

How Much Protein Do I Need?

The amount of protein you need daily depends on your goals and activity level. If you just want to get by (i.e., you don’t work out or play sports), the government’s nutrition guidelines call for a minimum of 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of bodyweight. That’s enough to keep a sedentary person alive, and it’s not at all hard to consume. If you’re a 140-pound woman (about 64 kilos) who fits this description, you only need a little over 50 grams of protein per day.

If you want to be awesome, however—as in, muscular, strong, and athletic—you’ll need much more. The International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) recommends 1.4–2 grams of protein per kilogram of bodyweight per day for those who strength train. So a 180-pound man (82 kilos) who lifts will need between 115 and 164 grams of protein daily. Still, many nutritionists recommend even more protein. If you’re a seriously dedicated lifter or bodybuilder, they’ll have you round the number up to one gram per pound of bodyweight, just to be sure your bases are covered.

If you’re dieting to lose fat, you’ll almost certainly need more—as much as 2.3–3.1 g/kg of bodyweight. For example, a 200-pound man (91 kilos) should shoot for 210–280 grams of protein to preserve muscle mass while dieting off his body fat.

That much protein can be tough to consume from whole foods alone, especially if your diet excludes meat or animal products. Vegetarians/vegans typically get their protein by way of carb-rich foods, such as beans, rice, and quinoa, so if you’re also watching your carbs, it will be even harder to get enough protein to support muscle on a plant-based diet. Conversely, if you’re trying to keep your fat in check to control calories, you won’t be able to include many nuts or seeds in your menu to hit your protein number.

For these reasons, protein supplementation is extremely beneficial, and in some cases may be necessary to ensure that you get enough protein to reach your goals. Furthermore, for those who lead busy lives and don’t have much time to prepare meals, protein powders make hitting your target protein number much more convenient and doable.

What Are The Benefits of Plant Protein Supplements?

Well-made plant protein powders can match ones derived from animals in almost every category, and offer some other benefits that whey, casein, egg, and beef protein powders can’t.

Easier Digestion

Although soy is an exception, most plant proteins digest easily and absorb well. As we reported in our guide to pea protein, pea’s digestibility rate is 94%, meaning that nearly all of it will break down in your gut. Most of it will be assimilated by your body as well—better than soy, hemp, and bean proteins are.

Rice protein’s digestibility is greater than 90%, which is higher than soy’s. According to a 2015 study, rice protein digests more easily than whey as well. If you’ve found that dairy proteins have made you feel bloated and give you gas, this shouldn’t be an issue with most plant sources.

Hemp is a burgeoning plant protein source. A study in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry found that the protein absorption rate of hempseeds is on par with that of casein, a dairy protein that’s used for its slow release of amino acids. This suggests that hemp could match casein as a great nighttime protein to take before bed, ensuring that the muscles are fed aminos at a steady rate throughout the night.

Low Risk of Allergens

Allergies and intolerances to milk/dairy, eggs, and soy are common, but most plant proteins are not offenders. Pure pea and rice proteins are known to be allergen-free.

Sustainability

It takes fewer natural resources to produce plant proteins than it does to farm dairy cows for whey and casein. And, unlike cattle, plants don’t burp or fart, releasing carbon into the atmosphere, or pollute waterways.

How Does Plant Protein Compare To Whey?

Whey protein is generally regarded as the gold standard for protein supplements, due to its complete amino acid profile, bioavailability, and fast digestion. However, plant protein powders aren’t necessarily inferior, especially if you combine them.

The main concern with plant proteins is that few of them are complete (soy protein is a notable exception). This means that they either don’t contain all nine essential amino acids, or they don’t provide them in adequate amounts. It’s an important distinction to make, because your body can’t produce these amino acids itself—they must be gotten from food.

But just because a plant protein isn’t complete doesn’t mean it’s useless. According to a 2018 article in The Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, you only need to consume more of it, or combine it with other plant proteins to make up the differences. Pea protein, for instance, contains all nine essential amino acids, but is low in methionine+cysteine. Rice protein has all the necessary aminos too, but is low in lysine. If you mix the two powders—or buy a product that’s combined them already—presto! Problem solved. Of course, methionine+cysteine and lysine are also found in many commonly-eaten foods among both omnivores and vegans, so simply having a protein shake along with a meal, or within a few hours of it, should balance everything out. Incidentally, pumpkin and watermelon seeds are sometimes added to plant protein blends as an inexpensive and sustainable way to round out their amino acid profiles, as both are good sources of protein.

One of whey protein’s standout features is its leucine content. Leucine is a branched-chain amino acid (BCAA), and scientists believe it’s the most important amino of all for signaling muscle growth. In fact, leucine is so powerful that it can stimulate muscle gains all by itself, and whey protein has the greatest amount of leucine of all protein sources.

According to the ISSN, the optimal amount of leucine for stimulating muscle protein synthesis is between 0.7 and 3 grams per serving of protein. One to two scoops of most whey protein powders will have this window covered, but it might take two or three scoops with soy, rice, pea, or hemp protein. So while plant proteins are not as efficient at providing leucine as whey, they’ll still get the job done. (Note: some plant protein supplements have extra leucine added to make up the deficit, so you don’t need to use more of the product to get the same amount.)

A 2015 study looked at the effect of pea protein versus whey on men 18–35 who followed the same 12-week lifting program. One group supplemented with 25 grams of pea protein twice a day, and another took the exact same amount of whey protein. Each 25-gram dose of pea protein delivered around two grams of leucine, versus 2.65 grams for whey, but both fell within the ISSN’s optimal leucine range. At the end of the 12 weeks, subjects in the pea and whey protein groups showed identical gains in biceps muscle, and both protein types showed greater results than placebo.

A Nutrition Journal study demonstrated similar results when rice protein was pitted against whey. Both groups had equal results in muscle thickness, body composition, and strength.

On the other hand, according to a review in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, soy protein does not seem to promote muscle gains as well as whey protein, potentially due to its amino acid composition or rate of digestion. (This is interesting, since, as we noted above, soy is a complete protein just like whey.) For this reason, as well as evidence that soy protein can reduce the body’s absorption of iron and zinc (1, 2), we don’t like soy protein as much as other plant protein options.

Is Plant Protein Good For Weight Loss?

Increasing your protein consumption—whether from plants or animals—has numerous health benefits, and weight loss is near the top of the list. Protein is the most satiating of all nutrients, so it helps to control appetite. It’s also metabolically expensive for your body to digest—that is, your body burns a lot of calories processing and absorbing it.

A study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that overweight people lost similar amounts of weight when they consumed more protein, regardless of whether it was derived from plants or animals.

Pea protein, however, seems to be particularly effective for helping to promote satiety. A Nutrition Journal study had subjects consume equal amounts of casein, whey, pea protein, egg albumin, a carbohydrate drink, or water 30 minutes before a meal. Pea protein ranked behind only casein for reducing appetite, causing subjects to consume fewer overall calories in the meal.

How Does Plant Protein Taste?

Many plant proteins have a chalky aftertaste that some people find hard to swallow (no pun intended). This is another reason why dairy proteins are more popular. But newer technology and sweeteners are making plant powders more palatable. Avocado powder may be used to help cut the chalkiness and improve mixability, while stevia and monkfruit can sweeten the powder without adding sugar, calories, or chemicals that might produce unwanted side effects.

What To Look For In a Plant Protein Supplement

Quality plant protein supplements stack up against whey powders. They should have between 100 and 150 calories per serving, and offer at least 15 grams of protein with little to no fat. Because plants are carbohydrate foods by nature, it’s normal for plant protein supplements to have three to five grams of carbs per serving, but they shouldn’t have added sugar.

To make sure you’re getting all the essential amino acids your body needs to support activity, look for a powder that blends multiple plant proteins, such as pea with rice or seeds. Getting one that also has digestive enzymes is a good idea too. A 2015 study found that ingesting enzymes along with a pea-rice protein blend improved protein absorption, bringing it closer to the rate at which whey concentrate gets soaked up by your muscles.

The post The Truth About Plant Protein Supplements appeared first on Onnit Academy.

You probably said whey protein. Now, what supplement would you take for energy in the gym? A pre-workout, right?

And what if you wanted better, more durable bones that could withstand impact and support your body through the most grueling training?

More than likely, you’re thinking of calcium, but, the truth is, you’re only half right. Strontium should come to mind too. And, perhaps after you read this article, it will from now on.

Strontium: The Forgotten Mineral For Strong Bones

Though largely overlooked by nutrition experts, strontium plays a critical role in making bones the steel girders of the body, and adding it to your supplement regimen may make you feel unbreakable.

What Is Strontium?

Strontium may be the best mineral that you’ve never heard of. For as ubiquitous as it is, it’s strange that it doesn’t get more press. In case it ever comes up in a game of Trivial Pursuit, strontium is the most abundant trace element in ocean water. It’s also found in soil and is present in many foods, including fish, whole grains, beans, spinach, root vegetables, and dairy foods.

More than 99% of the strontium in the human body is stored in bones and teeth, making it similar to calcium in its importance for their health. As a result, strontium supplementation has been studied for its effects on bones, and it has been recommended as a bone-health supplement since the 1890s.

Strontium Benefits

According to a 2012 report by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS), damages to bones are the most common injuries among athletes aged 25 to 40 who play basketball, soccer, football, and baseball. The knees, ankles, and fingers were found to be the most likely casualties.

The results of several long-term trials suggest that having more strontium in your system may boost bone mineral density, and thus your bones’ resilience. This makes strontium valuable to athletes who participate in high-impact sports, such as those listed above (as well as mixed martial arts, where the impact from hitting pads, the mat, and an opponent’s face can take its toll). It’s also critical for older individuals who face bone health problems associated with aging. Below are some of the key findings in support of strontium.

● A study in the journal Bone found that eight years of daily strontium intake promoted continual increases in bone mineral density.

● Arthritis & Rheumatology noted that, in a study of 2,714 women over five years, strontium aided in the reduction of bone damage incidences.

● The New England Journal of Medicine found that strontium supported a 41% lower risk of bone damage in subjects after three years.

● According to the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, strontium was shown to help mitigate damage to the vertebrae of the spine by an average of 37% after three years. This effect was independent of the subjects’ age and initial bone mineral density, and applied to the most common forms of vertebral bone injury.

● A 2013 study in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism discovered that strontium stimulated greater bone mineral density in the lumbar spine in men over a two-year period than in subjects who received a placebo.

As to the mechanisms that make strontium so effective, scientists aren’t sure. But a review in Calcified Tissue International revealed that strontium appears to regulate the breakdown of bone cells while promoting the birth of new cells, fortifying the bone’s structure. Further evidence in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research suggests that strontium can stimulate a remodeling of the bones’ architecture, making them more durable than before.

Is Strontium Safe?

In spite of its benefits, skeptics still have a bone to pick with strontium about whether it’s safe as a supplement. Some research has shown that it could raise the risk of cardiovascular problems. However, these trials were done on people who were found to have already had poor cardiovascular health. A 2014 review in Expert Opinion on Drug Safety concluded that increased risk was detected in randomized controlled trials “but not in real life,” and recommended that patients with cardiovascular contraindications be excluded from future strontium research studies.

Another review from 2013 stated that strontium “has a good tolerability and safety profile in long-term studies.” And, that same year, a 32-month study of more than 12,000 people using strontium did not report a single cardiac safety issue. Based on all that, it seems fair to say that if you have a heart condition, you may want to avoid strontium. But if your doctor says you’re healthy, it’s probably not going to make you any worse.

Another critique of strontium is that the research showing that it boosts bone mineral density is based on the volume added by strontium’s high atomic weight. So, in effect, critics allege that you’re essentially adding fluff to the bones when you supplement with it and not dense bone tissue. While it’s true that strontium doesn’t stimulate bone mass as much as scientists once thought, it still has a significant effect. For example, a New England Journal of Medicine study initially reported that, after 36 months, subjects on strontium had experienced a 14.4% boost in bone mineral density. However, a follow-up article in the British Medical Journal adjusted for strontium’s atomic weight and concluded that the gain was actually 8.1%—not as dramatic as originally reported, but impressive nonetheless. From the journal: “An increase of 5% in spine bone mineral density is required to confirm a notable response to treatment.”

When Should I Take Strontium?

As with whey protein and pre-workout powders, the time at which you ingest strontium seems to influence its effectiveness. Your body is constantly renewing itself by sloughing off old cells and producing new ones, and scientists think that bone breakdown rates peak at night. Taking strontium before bed may allow it to best do its job.

The post Strontium: The Forgotten Mineral For Strong Bones appeared first on Onnit Academy.

The key is consistency, and knowing your options.

Recovery will need to be more, if not an equal, to your practice as you train to become an athlete.

Learning proper recovery methods will keep you in the game.

Recovery can be many different practices and topics, so you must ask yourself the question, “do you even recover…Bro?”

Let’s start with the most common practice known as the acronym P.R.I.C.E.

The reference to PRICE throughout the article IS in terms of the occurrence of injury and the need to recover as quickly as possible.

PRICE is an age old practice, so why reinvent the wheel?

Protect

Generally, it is difficult to refrain from using a body part once an injury has occurred. For instance, you injure your ankle.

The ankle is difficult to heal since you need to walk to move, which correlates to applying pressure and weight.

Exercise is helpful as long as the injury is not to the point of immobility (i.e. crutches). Use caution, be aware, and listen to your body about how your ankle feels.

Don’t do anything stupid that results in the injuring the ankle further, especially if it’s almost healed.

An example that best illustrates exercising with awareness can be taken from a Martial Arts stand point: the roundhouse kick.

Certain styles prefer shin while others prefer the top of the foot/ankle region as the point of contact.

While recovering, if you are kicking a pad using the top of the foot don’t go full blast, therefore causing further irritation and possible hyperextension.

Be aware and kick the pad with mental focus on protecting that joint.

Rest

Rest means relaxing and taking some time off from focused, planned exercise. For example, if it’s your knee that is injured, do upper body exercises until the knee feels better.

Listen to your body because it knows more than any doctor out there.

Resting does not mean “lay in bed all day for a week.” Remember the old saying, “A body in motion, tends to stay in motion. A body at rest, tends to stay at rest.”

Ice

Icing injuries as they occur is an ancient method of healing and calming inflammation. The method of icing we use today dates back to the ancient Greeks.

Man keeps trying to reinvent the wheel with this technique using odd products.

The truth is that nothing can substitute a solid ice pack to treat immediate injuries.

When do I Ice? It’s simple; if the injury is immediate, you want to ice the area as soon as possible to slow down the inflammation process. No more than 20 minute sessions are needed.

Also, try 5 minutes icing and 5 minutes off of icing with some mild movement, followed by 5 minutes of icing again and repeat.

Compression

Compression is heating the area by using mildly tight clothing or wraps to create a warming effect by trapping your body heat and providing blood flow to the injured area.

Generally, you want to ice the area for a few days after the injury before you apply heat treatment.

Heating treatments can be sport compression t-shirts, medical bandage wraps or braces, or taking a nice warm bath. The warm bath, in my opinion, is the best treatment option.

Ointments are available to create a heating sensation, I recommend the age old product Tiger Balm which can be found at any pharmaceutical or sport store.

Elevation

This doesn’t mean that you should climb a mountain. The idea behind elevation is to keep the injured area above your heart. The icing method applies here, about 20 minutes.

The higher you get your injured area above your heart, the better. Elevation results in an increase of blood flow and therefore help with recovery.

Beyond PRICE, there are many ways to recover and prevent injury. Here are a few.

Range of Motion

ROM, when used correctly, is active recovery. Using ROM will create balance in your body; meaning to find common ground.

Balance prevents muscles in your body from pulling or pushing, causing pain in the joints.

Generally, pain in your joints is an indicator of imbalance and mostly caused by lack of ROM.

Adding stretching, yoga, or practicing strength movements with or without weight in ROM will keep you from chasing pain in the joints as well keep you fresh and ready for anything at any time, guaranteed.

All you hear in American fitness culture is “Stretch!” Even so, ask most trainers how to stretch and they have no clue.

The worst part is that many trainers don’t even know that there are many types of stretches.

This is going to be a brief introduction into understanding the differences.

Promise me, if you add proper stretching methods and these ideas to your routines, you will be a better person than you were yesterday.

Understand that you don’t have to do full splits or develop extreme flexibility to benefit from stretching.

Here are some different types of stretching methods to follow. Really, no stretching method is better than the other, but all stretch methods should be applied into your daily practice.

Simple Stretch #1: Passive

Generally, passive stretching is the most common and should be used to relax the muscles with little to no resistance.

The con to passive stretching is that if you never strengthen your body, it can lead to injury.

It is to be used mostly after a workout routine or once a week in a series of postures to prepare the body for the week ahead and release unneeded tension.

Passive stretching does not really provide long term effects; it’s mostly to be considered for short term. So, remember to follow the mantra, “When you stretch you strengthen, and when you strengthen you stretch,” so your passive stretching can be the most beneficial.

Simple Stretch #2: Active

Active stretching eliminates force by creating tension in the muscles. This method stimulates and prepares muscles for use during exercise.

Not only does it stretch the muscles and tissues, it also activates and warms them up.

Active stretching is the most beneficial, will create long term effects, and supplement your recovery stage.

Active is best used all the time regardless of the time of day.

Certain disciplines such as Yoga is best to reference here.

Simple Stretch #3:  Dynamic

Dynamic stretching is best understood as a combination of passive and active stretching while using momentum in an effort to propel the muscle into an extended range of motion.

Dynamic stretching is usually done methodically, in a controlled state, and not going beyond what you are capable of.

Simple Stretch #4:  Ballistic

Ballistic stretching is used for advanced athletes since they understand the movements that their bodies are capable of.

Ballistic stretching forces your range of motion, especially when you have not relaxed the muscle to enter the posture.

This type of stretching is definitely not recommended for the beginner; you need a strong body first.

Many different athletes use this method just before their sporting event to help get them into the game.

Duration

Now that you have an understanding of the different types of stretching the next question is, how long should I spend stretching?

Flexibility has to do with mental will, a connection between you and your nervous system.

If you tap into your mental state and visualize the goal of what you want to achieve from your stretch, practice and you will get there.

Next, when performing your chosen stretch posture, holding for 10 seconds is generally for warm up, and holding for 30 seconds or more is for development.

All stretches are to be completed with controlled and focused breathing.

Now, when you advance and are well connected with your nervous system, you may not have to spend much time with your stretching practice.

Your body and muscle memory will be in sync, and you will just need to visit the stretch posture for only a few seconds.

Foam Rolling

Foam rolling is the poor mans massage. Unfortunately, not all of us have the funds or access to a masseuse, so we are left with this helpful tool to assist in self massage and muscle tension relief.

Foam rolling solves many known and unknown issues in your body and can literally “unlock” the muscles’ full potential. Foam rolling supple- ments both prehab and rehab stages if time is spent using the tool.

The truth is that every person who trains will develop imbalances in their muscles. An example of this is the quadriceps; quadriceps tend to get used more while working out than the hamstrings do.

This ultimately may result in knee pain. Generally, once one utilizes the foam rolling techniques they can massage out and release trigger points in the muscles to assist with the possible knee pain.

Foam rolling will increase blood flow and can supplement stretch practice. Foam rolling can be extremely painful at first, but just be patient and spend as much time on the area you’re rolling out as much as you can.

One key note is not to foam roll your joints at all, ever. Foam rolling joints can lead to lengthening ligaments.

This is not good because ligaments are what keeps your bones together. Once a ligament becomes stretched out it does not repair and will usually require reparative surgery.

It’s difficult to foam roll your joints, so don’t sweat it and you’ll be fine. Enjoy your poor man massage!

Ancient Chinese Secret

DIT DA JOW (the life saver) is the greatest tool in my arsenal. What is Dit Da Jow? Let’s have some insight. In simple, it is a mixture of herbs brewed together with alcohol to unlock healing potential.

This mixture becomes an external tonic (or ointment) to rub on your body. You can use it for bruises, sore bones, joints, muscle fatigue, or really anything that hurts on your body. Just keep away from your eyes and mouth (consuming may cause unexpected “cleansing”).

Unfortunately, I will not disclose the magic recipe I personally use because I do not want to be responsible for your actions. It cannot be bought in stores either.

Usually, in the Kung Fu arts, there are many recipes depending on the family and traditions; I recommend you search for a Kung Fu master or a skilled Chinese herbalist if you want to get a hold of this magic stuff.

I simply mentioned Dit Da Jow so you may become aware of its existence and research it on your own.

Final Thoughts on Simple Stretches

What we must understand at the end of all this is that no one is perfect; perfection is an illusion. Injuries will occur and can be great learning experiences.

Injuries will give you a sense of wisdom to be better and it’s all about how you handle it.

Using the techniques described through- out this article could be a great start and finish to your athletic injury problems.

The final step, when it comes to recovery, is to have faith in the recovery of whatever your injury may be.

You will heal in no time when your mind and body work together.

The post 4 Simple Stretches to Reduce Pain & Improve Recovery appeared first on Onnit Academy.

And the term “recovery” refers to several things, from the nutrition, your muscles get to your body’s ability to control inflammation, restore normal function, and maintain overall health in spite of the stress that your training imposes. Just taking an “off day” ain’t enough.

Here’s our guide (in no particular order) to all the ways you can recover faster and more fully build the greatest amount of strength, muscle, power, and endurance.

Post Workout Recovery Tip #1: Eat Protein and Carbs

Muscles need two main things to recover: protein, the raw material used to build muscle mass, and carbohydrate, which is stored as glycogen and serves as the muscles’ main source of energy during exercise.

Much has been written about the so-called “post-workout window,” in which a certain amount of both nutrients should be consumed within a particular period after training to optimize gains, but the research supporting this is conflicting.

The recommendations are also different depending on the type of training you do.

A 2012 review in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition concluded that to maximize muscle gain from strength training, “protein dosed at 0.4–0.5 grams per kilogram of lean body mass at both pre- and post-exercise is a simple, relatively fail-safe general guideline…

“For example, someone with 70kg of LBM [about 155 pounds of fat-free body weight] would consume roughly 28–35g protein in both the pre- and post-exercise meal.

“Exceeding this would have minimal detriment if any, whereas significantly undershooting or neglecting it altogether would not maximize the anabolic response.”

Pre- and post-workout meals, the authors decided, should not be separated by more than three to four hours. As far as carbohydrates go, the authors recommend merely hitting the amount your body needs over the course of the day according to your goals—there’s no need to time it.

When it comes to endurance training, the science is a little more firm. The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that athletes should consume around 0.8 grams carbohydrate per kilogram of body weight [about 55g for a 155-pounder], and 0.4g protein per kg [30 grams in the same example] every hour for four to six hours post-exercise.

Post Workout Recovery Tip #2: Get Cold

Athletes jump into ice baths to reduce inflammation after competition, and if you’ve ever been to a European-style bathhouse, you know how invigorating alternating trips between a hot sauna and cold pool can be.

Cold-water immersion and contrast baths have been used for generations for a multitude of health benefits, including boosting the immune system.

In 2013, the journal Plos One pooled data from 13 different studies and found that contrast baths resulted in significant reduction of muscle soreness, and it preserved strength—when it was tested at various intervals up to 96 hours after training—leading the researchers to conclude that contrast therapy is better for recovery than rest alone.

If you don’t have time for a bathhouse or don’t feel like filling your bathtub with ice cubes, you could try a cryotherapy chamber.

Don Saladino, a trainer to pro athletes and celebs (including Keegan Bradley and Blake Lively) in New York City, has one in his clubs (driveclubs.com). “It’s very similar to a standup tanning bed, but your head is exposed,” says Saladino. “Temperatures can range from –220 to –270 degrees Fahrenheit.”

According to him, the fact that chamber treatments take a mere three minutes make it the most efficient form of cold therapy. But beware: most places average $70 for the privilege.

Post Workout Recovery Tip #3: Foam Roll and Stretch

Self-myofascial release (SMR), commonly referred to as “foam rolling” because it’s most often done with a foam roller, isn’t just a must before workouts. It can be useful right afterward and on days you don’t train too.

The exact mechanisms by which SMR works are still a mystery, but most experts agree that it is useful for improving range of motion by relaxing tight muscle groups and promoting blood flow.

A 2014 study in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise looked at the effects of foam rolling performed after workouts, one of which consisted of 10 sets of 10 squats—a surefire formula for sore legs.

The result? Subjects who rolled had less muscle soreness afterward compared to a control group, and they enjoyed improvement on their vertical jump, as well as increased muscle activation and range of motion.

Ben Bruno, an LA-based trainer to pro athletes and celebrities, including the NBA’s Roy Hibbert and supermodel Kate Upton (benbruno.com), recommends rolling the upper back, lats, piriformis (the side of your glutes), and quads on your rest days. “Do ten passes with the foam roller,” or spend at least 30 seconds on it per muscle, says Bruno.

Follow up the rolling with stretching to take advantage of the increased range of motion that the rolling provides, focusing extra attention on the lats, pecs, hip flexors, groin, and calves—the most commonly tight areas. “Hold the stretches for 15–20 seconds.” You’ll go back to your regular workouts moving and feeling better.

Post Workout Recovery Tip #4: Take Colostrum

Colostrum is a milky fluid that mammals produce to nurse young for the first few days after birth before real milk is made in the mother’s body. It contains various nutrients and antibodies that promote health and help fight bacteria, but nutrition scientists believe it may also improve body composition in adult athletes.

A study in the journal Nutrition observed men and women who supplemented with colostrum while performing aerobic and heavy resistance training. After eight weeks, subjects saw significant gains in lean body mass compared to a control group.

Post Workout Recovery Tip #5: Drink Coconut Water

The water found in young green coconuts has been enjoyed as a beverage in South America for eons, but the past decade has seen it get credit as a sports drink.

In fact, it’s a natural and arguably suitable replacement for leading drinks like Gatorade, which packs about twice the sugar.

Studies have shown that coconut water helps rehydrate the body after activity to about the same degree that sports drinks and even water alone do, as well as provide essential electrolytes like potassium and sodium which are lost through sweat.

According to one study in the Journal of Physiological Anthropology and Applied Human Science, subjects who drank coconut water after exercise experienced less nausea, fullness, and stomach upset than those who consumed a sports beverage.

Post Workout Recovery Tip #6: Do Active Recovery Workouts

Having light sessions on days between your toughest workouts can drive blood into the recovering muscles, which provides nutrients and carries waste products out. They’re also a chance to practice exercises you don’t often train but can serve to improve your athleticism and mobility.

“Bear crawls, med ball slams, weighted carries, and low-repetition jumps are exercises I use,” says Saladino. “The purpose of the workout is to break an easy sweat and finish with high energy.”

In other words, you shouldn’t leave the gym feeling smoked like you do after one of your regular sessions. Try not to let your heart rate dip below 120 beats per minute the entire workout, and go for about 30 minutes.

Post Workout Recovery Tip #7: Eat Enough Calories On Off Days

Some people like to cycle their carbs, eating more on training days when more calories are needed for energy and less on off days when needs aren’t as high.

It’s not a bad strategy, but Ben Bruno warns that undereating on off days can negatively impact recovery. “Having slightly fewer carbs is OK, but your protein and overall calories should be the same,” says Bruno.

Make sure you adjust your protein and fat intake accordingly to make up the difference.

It’s important to recognize that muscle protein synthesis—the process by which the body builds muscle up bigger and stronger in response to training—continues at a higher rate than average for 48 hours after a workout, so shortchanging your muscles of the nutrition that supports that development will hinder gains.

Post Workout Recovery Tip #8: Breathe

Proper breathing impacts just about every aspect of fitness, from allowing you to stabilize your core during a big lift to helping alleviate lower-back pain. It’s also worth working on during days off or immediately after training to promote relaxation and lower the pH in your muscles, which helps them stay loose.

Strength coaches Joe DeFranco and Jim Smith, founders of the CPPS certification (cppscoaches.com), suggest box breathing.

Lie on your back on the floor and close your eyes. Take five seconds to inhale, drawing the breath into your belly first and expanding it 360 degrees. Then fill your chest with air. Hold the breath five seconds, and then take five seconds to let it out. Repeat for at least five minutes.

Post Workout Recovery Tip #9: Sleep

You’ve heard it before. Now hear it again: you need at least eight hours per night. Sleep is your body’s chance to reorganize the brain and replete the body, and it won’t be denied. Long-term sleep debt negatively impacts growth hormone release and insulin sensitivity. Translation: you’ll get weaker and fatter.

Get as much sleep as you can by making your room completely dark and getting up and going to bed at the same time daily. A 2011 study in the journal Sleep found that when swimmers extended the time they spent sleeping to 10 hours per night for seven weeks, their 15-meter sprints, reaction time, turn time, and mood all improved.

Post Workout Recovery Tip #10: Listen to Music

Science is beginning to confirm what gym rats have known for years—that music helps you get more out of workouts. A 2016 study in Plos One looked at subjects who exercised with and without their favorite music playing. When they trained to music, parasympathetic nervous system activity increased afterward.

Serving as the complement to your body’s “fight or flight” response, which is heightened during exercise, the parasympathetic nervous system kicks in after you train and is key for recovery, controlling processes such as digestion, going to the bathroom, and sexual arousal. Maybe that’s why working out makes you feel sexy.

The post 10 Ways To Optimize Post Workout Recovery appeared first on Onnit Academy.

Not all your workouts have to be high intensity, circuit style training sessions.

While most athletes enjoy pushing their bodies to the limit, recovery is 50% of the equation when training for results.

Performance and aesthetic based training needs to have equal emphasis on recovery as it does on harder workouts. The Battle Ball Recoup & Recover Workout is the perfect choice to perform on an off day, between intense workouts, or even as a cool down or warmup to a harder session.

The Medicine Ball Recoup & Recover Workout will alleviate soreness, correct imbalances, and improve work capacity.

Workout Instructions

Perform as many reps as possible in 30 seconds. Do not rush through the movement, this workout is not for time. Perform all exercises in a slow-controlled manner. Rest as needed between movements and between groups as possible. If increased aerobic capacity is the goal, rest as little as possible during the workout.

A1: Medicine Ball 3 Way Lunge Complex – 6 rounds x 30 sec (each side)
A2: Medicine Ball Frontal Rotation – 6 rounds x 30 sec (each way)
A3: Medicine Ball Squat Press – 6 rounds x 30 sec
A4: Medicine Ball Half Moon – 6 rounds x 30 sec
A5: Medicine Ball Squat Curl – 6 rounds x 30 sec

Other Workout Details

Workout Created By: Onnit Academy
Workout Demonstrated By: Andrew Key
Equipment Used: Onnit Medicine Ball
See All Workout Details: Onnit Academy Youtube Channel

Power Up Your Medicine Ball Workouts with the New Ballistic Medicine Ball

The post Medicine Ball Recoup & Recover Workout appeared first on Onnit Academy.

The opportunity for muscle growth begins the moment you stop lifting, and that growth can’t happen without a proper recovery protocol. Muscles don’t grow in the gym; they grow in the kitchen. Here is one of my favorite recipes for a nutritious and delicious post-workout shake.

POWERFOOD Active Recovery Shake Ingredients

● 1 ½ cup unsweetened almond milk
● 2 scoops POWERFOOD Active  or POWERFOOD Vitality 
● 1 tsp. MCT oil
● 1 tbsp. Nut Butter
● 2 Shroom Tech® IMMUNE caps (poured out)
● Ice, optional

POWERFOOD Active Recovery Shake Instructions

Combine all ingredients together in a blender. Pulse until smooth.

The post Shawn Stevenson’s POWERFOOD Active Recovery Shake appeared first on Onnit Academy.

What is Recovery?

Every time you exercise, what you’re actually doing is placing your body under high levels of voluntary stress. You’re damaging muscle tissue and depleting glycogen stores as you simultaneously raise your breath and heart rate and excite your cells.

Recovery, then, can essentially be defined as how long it takes your body to return to its pre-exercise physiological state. Your cells return to homeostasis, your heart rate normalizes, your glycogen stores are replenished and your muscle cells have been repaired.

As long as you’re eating a well-balanced, nutrient-dense diet and you’re getting plenty of sleep, it’s completely possible for your body to recover on its own without excessive thought or planning. That said, to maximize recovery time and ensure your next workout is as stellar as the one before, it’s important to be cognizant of basic recovery strategies.

The way you hydrate, fuel and rest after a workout absolutely affects how your body responds to the stress you placed it under.

Rehydrating After a Workout

There’s a lot of talk about post-workout nutrition and supplementation when it comes to recovery. There’s no doubt that these topics deserve a spot at the table (and I’ll be getting to them shortly), but one of the most important factors you need to consider when thinking about recovery is hydration.

Understanding that the human body is comprised of roughly 60-percent water (the actual level depends on factors like age, sex and muscle mass), it shouldn’t be hard to grasp that pretty much every bodily function depends on and is affected by hydration level.

Even mild dehydration can affect performance and increase your recovery time by slowing cellular turnover, the removal of waste products from the bloodstream and the delivery of key nutrients to hungry cells. The more dehydrated you are and the longer you remain dehydrated, the more detrimental the effects on recovery time.

Rehydration protocols are fairly straightforward, although they do vary based on the type of exercise you perform, the length of your workouts and the environment you’re exercising in (for instance, very hot or cold environments). To maximize recovery time, make sure you’re drinking about 7 to 10 ounces of water every 15 minutes during exercise, then keep sipping after your workout is done. If your urine is pale yellow or almost clear, you’re probably doing a pretty good job of staying hydrated.

If your workouts last longer than an hour, or if you’re performing particularly intense exercise in a hot environment that results in excessive sweat loss, you may also want to consider rehydrating with an electrolyte-infused drink, such as coconut water.

Electrolytes, including sodium, potassium, calcium, chloride, magnesium and phosphorus, play key roles during muscle firing and contraction. While electrolytes lost through sweat can typically be replaced through dietary sources, during long or intense bouts of exercise, it’s a good idea to supplement losses with electrolyte-rich drinks to ensure you recover effectively.

Key Nutrients Post-Workout

Exercise is very catabolic. The stress you place on your body results in damage to muscle fibers and the breakdown of nutrients for fuel. Your body eats up blood glucose and muscle glycogen, and as a result, it needs to replace these stores to effectively return to homeostasis during recovery.

For effective exercise recovery, you need to consume carbs to restore glycogen and blood glucose levels, and you need to consume proteins to provide your body with the essential amino acids (in the right ratios) to encourage cellular turnover and to repair muscle tissue.

Please hear me: It’s perfectly possible to do so through a well-managed nutrition plan, but you have to be conscientious to do it effectively. You must time your post-workout meal – aiming to eat within 1-2 hours of your workout, and you must eat the right type of macronutrients in the right ratios.

The “perfect ratio” of carbohydrate to protein post workout is between 3:1 or 4:1 carbohydrates to proteins. So for every three to four grams of carbohydrates, you should consume 1 gram of protein. This meal should include an easily-digestible carbohydrate and a complete protein.

For instance, you could eat a chicken breast and a baked sweet potato (chicken delivers the protein and the sweet potato delivers the carbs) or you could drink a glass of chocolate milk, which many studies indicate is a “perfect” recovery drink due to its high levels of branched chain amino acids (leucine, isoleucine and valine), protein, carbs and electrolyte content.
The benefit of relying on food for post-workout recovery is that food sources are typically consumed in mixed meals that deliver macro and micronutrients together. This means your body takes in multiple nutrients at once, using their benefits in combination, rather than isolation.

The challenge, however, is that planning ahead and preparing foods in advance with the perfect ratio of carbs to proteins isn’t feasible for everyone. That’s where supplements come in.

Opting for Supplementation

Supplements definitely have their place. They’re there to supplement a nutrient-rich diet, delivering key macro and micronutrients when it’s difficult for them to be consumed from food sources. The trick is that supplementation talk is very confusing. Lots of people share their opinions without really understanding the role each supplement plays.

Compounding the confusion are two factors:

1. Research in the field is still relatively new – scientists are regularly discovering new findings, so the “rules” are always in flux – what was thought to be true five years ago about one supplement or another may no longer hold water today.

2. Supplements are typically studied in isolation, or in small combinations, rather than the conglomeration of macro and micronutrients typically experienced when consuming whole foods. This means it’s hard to draw straightforward conclusions between the benefits of supplementation vs. consuming whole foods, especially given the relative newness of the field and the research within it.

The results of these two factors are a lot of excessively angry people “shouting” at each other online, swearing they’re right and everyone else is wrong.

Here’s my take on the subject:

For high-performance athletes, for those pursuing very specific performance goals, where constant food consumption simply isn’t possible, and for those who are always “on the go” and find it difficult to plan post-workout meals, supplementation is a no-brainer. Supplements can “fill the gaps” when eating whole foods is too difficult, ensuring you’re getting the nutrients you need to recover effectively.

If you fall into any of these categories, I still suggest looking for “mixed” supplements that provide a combination of nutrients together, much like you would get during a meal. For instance, look for a supplement that includes a high-quality protein source full of branched chain amino acids to help maximize muscle repair and hypertrophy. Make sure it also includes an easily digestible carbohydrate; maltodextrin, for instance, has a high glycemic index with fast cellular uptake to speed glycogen recovery.

You may also want to look for a supplement that includes other amino acids, such as glutamine. Glutamine is a non-essential amino acid (meaning your body can make it on its own – it’s not required from food sources).

What you must understand about glutamine is why you might want to take it for post-workout recovery. As an isolated muscle-building aid, its ergogenic benefits haven’t been proven. It doesn’t appear to help in isolation to enhance muscle protein synthesis. However, studies from 2013 and 2014 indicate that glutamine supplementation post-workout may have an anti-inflammatory effect that may reduce recovery time between repeated bouts of exercise.

It’s still too early in research to determine the absolute benefits of glutamine supplementation for post-workout recovery, but it certainly doesn’t appear to be detrimental, and if it does, in fact, reduce inflammation and help with recovery, it’s worth including.

The post How to Make the Most of Your Post-Workout Recovery appeared first on Onnit Academy.

But when you’re assaulted by all these different choices, what are you supposed to choose?

The answer, unfortunately, is not cut and dry unless you’re like 40% of the US population and have difficulty swallowing pills. Then the choice is easy – get powdered versions of your favorite supplements and drink them down! (Or break open the capsules and tip them in your drink).

But it is entirely possible, if not easy to pick something that works best for you. I’ll help you with a bit of a checklist.

Capsules

Most people prefer capsules thanks to their convenience.

Transportable

Capsules are easier to drag around to the gym with you, to your work, or wherever you need it. Since everything you need is contained with a small protective shell, you can just toss it in a pill organizer or small, dark, air-tight container and take it with you. You can’t do that with powder. You’ll either have to find a big enough container or you’ll have to take the whole tub with you. If you’ve got a couple of powdered supplements, have fun explaining why your desk looks like a GNC to everyone that walks by it. But you can pack a bunch of supplements in a small, airtight container and take it with you wherever you need to go.

Capsules Play Nice Together

Most powders come with some sort of taste (or else why would you take them?). But mixing Melon and Natural Spice might not elicit the taste you’re looking for. But a handful of supplements is different. There’s no need to worry about what sort of demonic taste you’ll create when you mix them all together because supplements are virtually tasteless. Just drink ’em down with some water, have some food if the directions say so, and move on your merry way.

Delayed Release

We’re not all like Veruca Salt. There are times when it’s worth the wait. Like if you’re taking a pre-workout and you’ve got a delicate stomach. Having a capsule is like ingesting a friendly time bomb. Once the capsule dissolves, the contents are released and are absorbed. It’s just a matter of time.

Powders

As I mentioned earlier, there was a study done by Harris Interactive. They found that 40% of Americans had difficulty swallowing capsules. It’s pretty understandable when you know the mechanism behind it.

We need food to function. Food is fuel and all that. We, however, do not need rocks. Or tiny things that do not look like food (or so our brain tells us). Many people have a hard time with capsules simply because their brain disagrees with the purpose of capsules. Your brain is fine with it being spat out or staying in your mouth, but it has absolutely closed the gate to the stomach. If you’re one of those people, then powders need to be your weapon of choice. If not, then consider these other reasons.

Concentration

Capsules need to be small so people don’t choke on them. That’s 100% reasonable. But it’s also why whey protein doesn’t come in a capsule. You just can’t cram that much into a tiny capsule. Does that mean they’re ineffective? Not necessarily. You don’t need giant scoops of supplements for them to work. Most supplements and vitamins can have an effective dose encapsulated in the given space. But there are certain products (like protein supplements) that require too large of a serving to fit in a capsule.

Quicker Absorption

Veruca Salt would want powders. Well, she’d probably want ready-to-drink supplements, but if she had to choose between capsules and powders, the choice is obvious.

Vitamin capsules just aren’t built for instant results. They’re designed to work their way through your system before they start getting absorbed. Powdered supplements, however, don’t have a barrier. The only barrier is your mouth. So just add water, drink it down, and your body begins absorbing it right away – which leads to quicker benefits.

Taste

There’s a lot to be said for taste.

It’s not always a good thing – taste. For instance, krill oil. There’s absolutely no way you can make me take liquid krill oil. But a capsule? By all means, hand it over.

Capsules are tasteless by nature, but you can have all sorts of fun with powders. Chocolate, chai, peach…whatever you want. If something is delicious, you’re more likely to drink it. If you’re more likely to drink it, you’re more likely to remember to take it. And if you manage to create a habit, you’re more liable to start seeing results thanks to your consistency. It can be difficult to remember to take a capsule because you’re not really looking forward to it. A frothy Matcha Chai sure beats a green tea capsule.

In the end, there’s not really a wrong choice as long as you choose your supplement based on what you need.

The post Are Capsules or Powders Better to Supplement With? appeared first on Onnit Academy.