Maximuscle Affiliate Blog

For women who want to get lean, slim and toned while staying attractive and feminine, wading through the mass of confusing and conflicting information about how to exercise can be frustrating.

Expel the myths

One of the most popular myths is that resistance exercise (i.e. exercising with weights) will automatically lead to big, bulky muscles. In fact, the word “muscle” alone is enough to scare most women, mainly because they think it means getting bigger.

In fact, many women are afraid that training with weights will turn them into the female equivalent of the Incredible Hulk, with legs like tree trunks or shoulders like bowling balls.

But don’t worry; the truth is that this won’t happen. The fact is, that it takes years of hard work and an almost religious obsession with exercise and diet to develop the kind of muscular female physiques you see in magazines. And most men will tell you that gaining muscle is hard to do. It takes hours of training with heavy weights, eating a lot of food, and getting plenty of rest.

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Do you run out of energy and strength during a training session or competitive game? If you want to get that little extra effort on the pitch or in the gym, whether it’s faster or longer on the treadmill, an extra set of crunches, or a few more reps on the bench press, Maximuscle’s Energy and Recovery range will give you the edge you’re looking for. No matter what your goals, we can help you reach them - in less time, with less work…

1. Maintain energy levels and fuel your workouts

Eating 5 – 6 small meals a day provides your body with a constant energy supply. Skipping meals may leave you feeling lethargic as your body is lacking the required nutrients for energy. Eat balanced meals containing complex carbohydrates, protein, good fats and fibre. The addition of quality carbohydrate drinks will give you the essential energy you need to train hard, delay fatigue and recover effectively when used before, during and after training. Viper is a superb formula which addresses all of these needs and in addition helps you to retain motivation and focus during every training session.

2. Stay hydrated

Training causes you to sweat and lose water, salts and minerals. Not replacing these can cause dehydration. When you are dehydrated your performance suffers. Research shows optimum re-hydration to be a weak carbohydrate drink (6-8% solution) with electrolytes. The flexibility of Maximuscle’s Viper formula means you can mix your drink to the correct solution for before, during and after training.

3. Recover effectively

With the large exercise loads that endurance athletes commonly have, it is imperative to maximise recovery by introducing the right nutrients straight away after training. A 3:1 ratio of carbohydrates to protein has been shown to be beneficial to help the body to restore carbohydrate levels stored in the muscle (glycogen) and address muscle breakdown caused by training. Introduce a recovery formula such as Maximuscle’s Recovermax to ensure you are ready for your next exercise session.

4. Improve mental focus

Branch Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs) are found in some proteins and have been shown to prevent imbalances that could cause mental fatigue. Maximuscle’s Viper formula contains these BCAAs as does our whey protein product, Promax. For additional formulas that could give a mental and physical boost you can try ‘high-energy’ products such as Viper Extreme (drink, bar or capsules).

5. Minimise chances of illness or injury

There is nothing more frustrating than making great progress, only to get injured or sick. The Maintenance range (see p.52) supports immune health by providing your body with the right nutrients at the right times. (e.g. Protrient, Immune Support and Iron Kick).

Relevant products:

•  Viper http://www.maximuscle.com/viper
•  Viper Extreme http://www.maximuscle.com/viperextreme
•  Recovermax http://www.maximuscle.com/recovermax
•  Protrient http://www.maximuscle.com/protrient
•  Immune Support http://www.maximuscle.com/immunesupport

Make this the year that you get back into your favourite jeans and finally shake off the fat from your hips and waist by following our Top 6 Tips.

1. Eat more protein

Protein is the fuel your muscles need to become firm and toned. It also fools your brain into thinking your stomach is full, making it easier to control your hunger. Always opt for whey protein which is better than soya or casein at giving you that pleasant “full” feeling. If you’re too busy to cook protein-rich meals, use Promax Diet shakes and bars to boost your protein intake.

2. Eat little and often

Instead of eating just once or twice each day, spread your calorie intake out so that you’re eating 5-6 times per day. Rather than eating 1-2 big meals, eat 3 main meals and 2-3 snacks (such as a yoghurt, an apple or a Promax Diet bar) during the day.

3. Cut down on the junk food

Avoid eating sugary junk foods such as cakes, sweets, fizzy drinks, and chocolate. If you need a snack, eat some quality food, like a piece of fruit or a Promax Diet bar.

4. Eat more good fats

Not only is fat vital to your health, eating more of the good fats helps your body burn fat faster. Healthy sources of fat include extra virgin olive oil, avocados and salmon. There’s another type of good fat, known as CLA, which can play a vital role in supporting your weight loss goals.

5. Drink more water

Drink 6 to 8 glasses of water per day. If you’re well hydrated, fat loss becomes both faster and easier. Drinking plenty of water also gives your skin a healthy glow and will leave you feeling healthier and more energetic.

6. Use a fat-burner to increase results

A popular method among women to increase fat loss yet further is to use a research-supported herbal fat burner supplement, such as Thermobol. Thermobol is designed to increase the number of fat calories your body burns each day.

Related Products

• Promax http://www.maximuscle.com/promax
• Promax Diet Bars http://www.maximuscle.com/promaxdietbars
• CLA-1000 http://www.maximuscle.com/cla1000
• Thermobol http://www.maximuscle.com/thermobol
  

You want a flatter stomach and a smaller waist, but, despite hours of exercise and a strict diet, you’re just not seeing the results you expected. Maximuscle’s fat-loss range will work as part of your nutrition and exercise programme to make sure the time and effort you invest in the gym pays off. You’ll lose weight, drop inches from your waist, and your favourite clothes will fit you once again. Discover the way to a leaner, fitter you…

1. Create a calorie deficit

To lose weight you need to consume fewer calories than your body needs to maintain weight, which creates a calorie deficit. To maximise your weight loss, the combination of a healthy ‘lower calorie’ diet and good exercise regime is vital. This will give you far faster results than that achieved by diet or exercise alone. To work out how many calories you need to consume daily for weight loss, and a full menu plan visit www.maximuscle.com/calories

2. Adopt the optimal eating pattern

To reduce hunger and speed up your metabolism, eat 5 to 6 small meals a day. This is easy when you include sports nutrition products - check out the example daily menu opposite. Your calories for the day should be split between these regular meals. Skipping meals reduces your metabolic rate and allows your blood sugar levels to drop. A regular intake of high protein calories throughout the day combats this.

3. Introduce sports nutrition products to assist your goals

It has been shown that using meal replacements high in whey protein (e.g. Promax or Promax Diet) not only preserves muscle when dieting, but also reduces hunger pangs and so enables you to reach your weight loss goals more easily. Those who use additional products such as Thermobol and Promax Diet bars will see results more quickly. These products promote weight loss when used in conjunction with the advised exercise and diet plan, and contain ingredients that research shows could increase fat loss.

4. Exercise regularly

Muscle is metabolically active, i.e. it burns calories. If you lose muscle, your body’s demand for calories decreases, hence weight loss is harder. The best way to preserve muscle and give your body that attractive toned look is to train at least 3 times a week for around 45 minutes. Aim to complete 3 weight sessions per week and gradually add cardiovascular training (running /cycling /aerobics) to your regime (up to 2 - 3 times per week). This will increase the calories burnt and so increase fat loss.

5. Stay hydrated and lose fat

Aim to drink 2-3 litres of water a day to maximise your performance and fat loss goals. This is easily achieved by drinking small regular drinks and/or low calorie rehydration drinks, such as Viper (see page 41).

Related Products:

• Promax http://www.maximuscle.com/promax
• Promax Diet http://www.maximuscle.com/promaxdiet
• Viper http://www.maximuscle.com/viper

Want that fitness magazine cover model look? That lean, defined, muscular look that sets you apart from everyone else in the gym and turns heads on the beach? Ask any experienced gym user, and they’ll tell you that you won’t lose fat and build muscle by spending every waking hour in the gym. You’ll just burn out. Instead, you need to use your head and feed your body what it needs. All it takes is a little know-how…

1. Exercise regularly

To get lean and defined, regular exercise is a must. To strip away fat and increase your muscle definition, do some type of resistance exercise (i.e. weight training) 2-3 times per week and gradually add cardiovascular training (e.g. jogging or cycling) to your routine (2-3 times per week).

2. Eat 5-6 meals a day

Grazing rather than gorging boosts your metabolic rate, reduces hunger by stabilising blood sugar levels, and keeps your energy levels high. The easiest way to do this is to have your breakfast, lunch and dinner as normal then use a meal replacement bar, such as a Promax Meal bar, as a mid-morning and mid-afternoon snack.

3. Include protein in each meal

You’ll build muscle and lose fat faster when you eat protein every few hours. You can use Promax at any time of the day to raise the protein content of your diet, such as having it as a shake at breakfast, adding it to your cereal, or mixing it with yogurt for a quick and easy protein-rich bedtime snack to help combat muscle breakdown at night.

4. Take Promax 5-10 minutes after exercise

Scientific studies show that taking protein after exercise could help you build muscle size and strength faster. Because it’s digested so quickly, Promax is perfect for use immediately after exercise.

5. Use a fat-burner to speed up weight loss

It’s frustrating go to the gym regularly, eat the right foods, and see little or nothing in the way of results. Fat-burners, such as Thermobol, and Maxi-EFA will help you get better results faster from your diet and exercise routine.

6. Use creatine for size and strength

Creatine is one of the most popular sports nutrition products available for anyone who wants more muscle definition. Studies show that people using creatine in combination with a weight training programme could gain muscle size and strength faster. How does it work? Creatine can help you train more intensely and increases your strength so you can do more reps with the same weight.

Related Products:

• Promax Meal Bars http://www.maximuscle.com/promaxmealbars
• Promax http://www.maximuscle.com/promax
• Thermobol http://www.maximuscle.com/thermobol
• Maxi-EFA http://www.maximuscle.com/maxiefa
• Creatamax 300 http://www.maximuscle.com/creatamax300