Ideal Before, During and After Workout Stacks For General Weight Maintenance and Fitness

 Regardless of your exercise goal but particularly if you wish to lose excess fat, you could not go far wrong with the following supplementation protocol to maximise your results.

Pre-Workout Stack
The goal of the peri-workout protcol is to increase the intensity of your workout, which translates into faster and greater gains.

45 minutes before your exercise session, consume

•  Solstic Energy sachet mixed with water,
• Vitamin B Complex 1 tablet
  
  Involved in the release of energy and sysnthesis of protein.
• Gingko Biloba 1 tablet

A powerful free radical scavenger, ginkgo helps protect blood vessels and optimises the amount of oxygen supplied to brain cells.

During Workout Stack
The goal of during workout supplementation is to keep energy and training drive and minimize catabolism

• Branch Chain Amino Acids (BCAA)
• Nitro-Fusion

 Different sized people will need differnt amounts of these supplements

Post-Workout Stack
 In a shaker I add 500ml of milk then top it up with water, to which I add:-

•  2 scoops of chocolate SynerProtein
• 2 Omega 3 EPA capsules

http://www.inspiringfitness.co.uk/;news;item/3/79/t/Five+Fat+Loss+Myths/

http://www.inspiringfitness.co.uk/;news;item/3/79/t/Five+Fat+Loss+Myths/

Central Asia Trip

I had a request to post some pics from my trip to Mongolia and Korea so here they are.

That is just some of them but you get the idea of what Mongolian country side and living is like.  Ulanbutaar was much more built up and much more of a city.
When I get a sec, I may upload some more and some of Korea.

I hold these truths to be self-evident, that NOT all supplements are created equal

A lot of people are supplementing their diet these days, either because they know why we need to supplement or they are blindly taking the latest fad pill.  Either way, you need to know that what you are taking is actually giving you the nutrients that you seek, and that comes down to one word: quality.  Quality ingredients and quality manufacturing processes.
For some products, you can save and skimp on quality.  For example, you could buy a cheap mp3 player.  It won't have all the cool features, will have less storage space, run slower and probably fall apart or stop working sooner than the more expensive versions.  But initially, the function will be the same.  You will be able to listen to your music files.
With nutrition, it is a whole other story.  If your products are made from low quality ingredients or produced through less than the best quality procedures, they will not work at all.  Then you will literally be pissing your money down the drain.
The supplements industry is not regulated like the food and drug industry.  If you buy an over the counter pain killer, like paracetamol or ibuprofen, in the name brand and the generic brand, the active ingredients are going to be the same.
An interesting example, given in a recent blog, is Black Cohosh, an excellent supplement for menopausal women.  The article highlighted that though the label might say black cohosh, it might not be the right genus nor extracted from the root instead of the leaves nor standardised for triterpene glycosides (the key active constituent).  Studies have only been done on the former of all these conditions.  Natures Sunshine Black Cohosh products (both with Licorice Combination and with Dong Quai) fulfill all these standards. 
Another consideration when it comes to quality must be what is in the bottle, as well as the active ingredient that it states on the label.  This means that there should not be a heap of garbage and filler in the product.  A lot of supplements on the market are synthetic and filled with sugar and other starchy fillers.
The product should also only contain what it is suppose to and no other active ingredients- some 'herbal' formulas were recently found in North America to contain pharmaceutical drugs!
Also, is there the correct ingredients in the product to facilitate the active ingredient working.  For example, some calcium supplements may contain just pure calcium carbonate, but the body needs both calcium and magnesium along with Vitamin D and other minerals to build bones.  Pure calcium carbonate will only succeed in neutralising your stomach acid, leading to reduced absorption of other nutrients and digestive problems.

So, unlike people, not all supplements were created equal.  That is why I recommend Natures Sunshine products.  They use over 300 tests and procedures to ensure the premium quality of their products and are backed by a 100 percent premium quality guarantee.  They test for purity and potency of ingredients and finished products are also tested to assure that all label claims are met.  Raw materials, including herbs, are tested for unwanted contamination such as arsenic, lead, aluminum and cadmium, as well as bacterial infestation.

http://www.inspiringfitness.co.uk/;news;item/3/67/t/Reduce+The+Effects+Injuries+Have+On+Your+Workouts/

I have expanded on the information provided by the EIS on preventing and recovering from injury

http://www.inspiringfitness.co.uk/;news;item/3/67/t/Reduce+The+Effects+Injuries+Have+On+Your+Workouts/

The Benefits of Small Regular Meals - part 2 - Inspiring Fitness - www.inspiringfitness.co.uk

Why snack? - part 2 - Inspiring Fitness - www.inspiringfitness.co.uk

If you missed the first one,
http://www.inspiringfitness.co.uk/;news;item/3/59/t/Is+Snacking+Bad?/

You Won't Build Your Perfect House If You Can't Unwrap The Materials

I recently read a great analogy for digestion and macronutrient absorption. Picture this! You are renovating your home. Trying to build the house you’ve always wanted. You will need to demolish the existing structures to make room for the newer, better parts you intend to build. After the demolition work, you will have carefully selected exactly what building materials you need for the renovations and had them delivered.
The building materials will have arrived in wrapped pallets. But what if you do not have a Stanley knife or any tool that allows you to remove the wrapping? All you will have managed to do is demolish parts of your home but not be able to rebuild and have your dream house.

When you train, you breakdown muscle and energy sources and replenish them when we consume the right foods. You may be eating lean, organic meat, oily fish, colourful fruit and vegetables and supplementing correctly, but that is a waste of time if you can not ‘unwrap’ them.
The ‘unwrapping’ is done by your digestive system. In your gastrointestinal (GI) tract, there are digestive enzymes that breakdown specific foods into their building blocks, which we use to remodel the house you live in, i.e. your body.
In an ideal world, you get your digestive enzymes from two sources: endogenous construction (produced by your body) and exogenous deliver (from our food). The body’s production reduces with age, as well as when you consume refined foods, alcohol or by simply eating too fast. Cooking food also destroys the naturally occurring enzymes found predominantly in vegetables.
So, you should eat a diet full of raw, whole foods, especially vegetables, as advocated by diets like the Paleo or Primal BluePrint. However that would involve not eating out and controlling what your friends and family feed you. This is somewhat impractical for most of us. I would recommend everyone supplement with highly specialised dietary enzymes, like those found in Proactazyme.

How To Supplement
Most enzyme supplements contain animal derived (pancreatic) enzymes which, though helpful, are dependent upon the acidity of the GI tract for activation. The GI tract has differing pH along the canal thus animal enzymes are a less than absolute solution can be especially ineffective in people with decreased stomach acid production, like those on anti-indigestion medication.
Plant sourced enzymes have been found to be up to 12.5 times more powerful than pancreatic sourced enzyme formulae. They are acid-stable, working over a broader spectrum of pH values.
In addition, Proactazyme has the bonus of helping with the digestion of a wider range of foods. Whilst most animal enzymes contain a protease (protein digestion), amylase (carbohydrate digestion at pH neutral) and lipase (fat digestion), Proactazyme has all those, in addition to glucoamylase for carbohydrate digestion at pH = 3, pectinase for pectin (found in plant cell walls) and cellulase for plant fiber.
If you suffer from any of the following, it is likely that your digestive enzymes are not working and you are not breaking your food down properly

1. Bad breath, body odour, smelly feet
2. Difficulty digesting food, so avoid certain food
3. Food allergies
4. Indigestion, wind, heart burn or bloating

Proactazyme is easy to use. Just take one or two tablets before eating, at least three times per day. The added bonus is that enzymes do not trigger a negative feedback, so your body will not decrease its endogenous production. That is why everyone should take Proactazyme, regardless of whether you have any of the above symptoms list above. That way, you will be ensured to have the building materials available when you need them.