Pre-Workouts and What They are All About

With fitness always evolving nutrition trends are surely to follow close behind. The most recent changes have included the use of performance enhancing supplements. In the past decade supplements have grown into a $25 billion dollar industry making it one of the fastest growing industries in the world. I started doing some more research on pre-workout powders, pills, and all those dietary supplements. I wondered what makes them so attractive and why people are so willing to pay so much attention and money for these dietary supplements that we really do not know all that much about? The supplements make outlandish claims and promises like “insane vascularity and a STUPID PUMP that will blow your mind!”, “get steroid-like gains”, and “explosive energy”.  

Whether these claims are valid or not, I am not sure because I have not used any of these dietary supplements. However, they do sound a bit far-fetched and since the FDA does not regulate the $25 billion dollar industry it allows companies to put whatever they want in the supplements. Okay, that may sound a little scary, so let me just say that not everything in pre-workout is terrible, but some things can be. So as pre-workout supplements become increasingly popular with athletes in high schools, college, and event with the typical working man or woman, it could be causing some serious issues with their bodies.

Most pre-workout supplements that I have looked into have the same four ingredients in them; Creatine, Caffeine, Beta Alanine (BA), and LCLT.

Creatine: So this seems to be the most common ingredient with most, if not all, pre-workout substances. Creatine is naturally produced in our body and can also be found in a lot of meat. Creatine functions as a driving force in burst muscle contractions by constantly refueling the ATP which is the source of energy. Long chemical story short: Creatine will give you more energy and make you feel less tired.

Caffeine: Good ol’ caffeine. It’s the most commonly used stimulant among people and the popularity stems from its seemingly magical ability to wake us up from the dead. Caffeine in pre-workout powders can vary depending on the brand and the number of grams in each scoop. There is a fine line between just the right amount and having the most amazing workout ever and having too much causing you to shake uncontrollably and make the difference of having the best workout of your life or shaking uncontrollably and dropping a dumbbell on your foot.

Beta Alanine: Yea, i did not really know what it was till I started doing my research. From what I understand it is a nonessential amino acid usually found in poultry and other types of meat. Its main purpose is to reduce fatigue which as you can imagine sounds amazing to anyone, especially trainers and extreme athletes since most of them are working out and doing intense exercise for several hours a day.

L-Carnitine/L-Tartrate: Out of all the ingredients, I think I like this the best. Not only does it help your body use your excess fat as an energy source, but it also prevents the breakdown of muscles, and lessens the amount of tissue damage and soreness after a workout. So yes, this does improve performance, but again it is not essential in the grand scheme of things.

It is not necessary to use preworkout to get in an effective workout. With that said I can understand the appeal of an elixir that provides extra energy, focus, and work capacity. Each supplement can be beneficial as long as you stick to the proper dosage, but the more you use and depend on preworkout for each intensive workout session, the more your body will build up a tolerance to it and eventually just a scoop will not be enough.

Morning vs. Evening Workouts

If you could burn more calories, gain an edge on your workout, and get several more health benefits simply from working out at the perfect time, would you do it? Of course you would! But everyone seems to be unsure as to what time is best. Long story short, it all comes down to each individual- their level of energy and motivations, and their schedules.

Morning Workout Pros:

1. Consistency: What makes morning workouts great is that it keeps you consistent. Most of the excuses you hear from people is that they don’t have the time to workout because of their busy schedules. However, when get your workout done first thing in the morning it helps avoid the hurdles that may come up later on in the day which may make working out difficult. Also since the workout is done and over with earlier in the day there is no need to worry about squeezing in a workout later on in the day.
2. Well Rested: It may not seem like it, but your body is doing so much while you sleep. It is repairing muscles and helping your body recover and rest so that when you wake up you are good to go. Of course this is not always true, some people have difficulty sleeping. Try to make sure you go to bed early enough so your body has plenty of time to recuperate. Also when you wake up for your early morning workout, make sure you take some time to warm up and stretch to help your muscles wake up.
3. Domino Effect of Healthy Choices: Generally those who start the day with a killer workout will have more energy, eat more healthy snacks and meals, and will consistently keep themselves hydrated throughout the day. You basically cause a domino effect of healthy choices. Also working out in the morning kick starts your metabolism; in short, you are burning more calories simply by working out in the morning.

Morning Workout Cons:

1. Less Fuel/crash: Let’s be real, the early bird may get the worm but some of us no matter how hard we try will just never be morning people. Life does get in the way sometimes and you may plan to sleep early, but things come up, you cannot sleep, or you have a million things you have to get done by the morning so yea the last thing you would want to worry about is waking up early to workout. If you are generally  person who is consistently tired, morning workouts may not be your thing because well let’s face it, crashing before you even start makes it ten times harder to put your all into a workout.

Evening Workout:

Pros:

1. Awake and Ready to go: Yea, yea I know I said you are fueled in the morning, and while that is true for some of us it can not be said for everyone. Some people may be better equipped for workouts later on in the day. Later on in the day, you are more awake because you have completed daily tasks and activities, and you have also eaten a few meals so you will have a lot more energy to put into your workout. This may also be true because strength and endurance levels are supposedly highest around 4-6pm.
2. Unwind and De-stress: When you wake up, you have a fresh start, not much has happened and you are overall pretty relaxed. However, by evening time stress may start to creep in and overwhelm you whether it is because of a tough day at work, school work piling up, or something that just upset you. Research has shown that increased stress levels can cause weight gain because of a steroid hormone called cortisol which makes people more likely to eat and desire those guilty pleasure foods. So what are your options? You can channel that excess stress and release it through exercise. I am sure you have heard time and time again how wonderful exercise is and how effectively it relieves stress and allows people to blow off steam. The reason for this is because when exercising your body produces happy hormones (also known as endorphins).

Cons:

1. Lack of Consistency: Remember that workout you planned for after classes or your workday? And then you realized you have another obligation and will not be able to make your 6pm workout session, well it happens to everyone and it may not seem like a big deal but it can be. To get the best results you need to be consistent with your workouts. With a lack of consistency and a schedule, it becomes very easy to get off track and derail your progress. This is much more of a problem for those who workout in the evening because many people schedule events, meetings, dinners, and parties in the evening. So by the time you may be ready to workout you may be too exhausted or it is too late and the gym is closed.

Everyone is different and everyone performs differently at and so naturally everyone will have their own opinion regarding the best time to workout. The key to getting the most you can from your workout regimen is to stay consistent. Make a plan and stick to it the best you can and all of us at Urban Boxing will try to help you all the best we can!

Stretch Like an Athlete

So there are three types athletes…

Those who stretch, those who think they stretch, and those who simply don’t. So what happens if you don’t stretch, not much...right away. At first you will feel fine, you will be lifting, doing cardio, losing weight, eating less junk food, feeling like you are on top of the world. You think “I’m invincible” until you wake up one day and your hamstrings feel a bit tight, or maybe it's your lower back, you stretch it out a bit to ease the pain but it doesn’t budge. You continue training and working out and the pain lingers. Boy, do you wish that you properly stretched now. So as you may have guessed, this post is here to reintroduce stretching to your lives. If you’re like me, stretching is a tedious and fleeting afterthought. We are all so focused on getting our bodies in the best shape of our lives that we generally overlook the importance of stretching. It is too easy to do this, but stretching IS worth our time and I’m sure I don’t need to tell you all about the benefits of stretching and how it goes far beyond just preventing pulled muscles and injuries, but I’m going to do it anyways.

I want to emphasize how important it is to properly stretch. Some people say they stretch and more often than not they just end up moving a little to the right and then a little to the left and call that “stretching”.

So how does one properly stretch? 

So you first need to figure out which muscle groups commonly cause pain or tightness. This is not the same for everyone, for some people it is their shoulders, for others it’s their legs. A rule of thumb would be if it is not tight or causing any pain or tension, it does not necessarily need to be stretched. As you begin to familiarize yourself with the target muscle groups begin to balance out the flexibility training between the front and back of your body as well as the right and left side of your body. The goal is to have every part of your body feeling even and relaxed. People generally say to stretch after a cardio or strength training session as a way to keep your body limber. The thing people should consider when stretching is to keep it interesting, you don’t have to do the same exact stretches everyday nor should you. Adding variety will keep it from being monotonous and also will allow every muscle group increase flexibility.

Types of Stretches

There are two types of stretching: dynamic stretching which is great for warming up before a workout and the other is static and passive stretching which is utilized more during the cool down after a workout. When doing passive and static stretches, make sure to hold the stretch for longer than 10 seconds. You should hold each stretch for 30-60 seconds and repeat it two or three times to see or feel any real improvements regarding flexibility.

Why should you care?

It’s more than just being flexible, stretching keeps your body pain free, your muscles relaxed, and your mind at ease. I know I have been boring you with a bunch of facts and figures about stretching and it is just because I care. A 10-15 minute stretch session is all it really takes to reap all the benefits related to stretching.

5 Reasons Why You Should Fall in Love With Boxing

I have a confession, I love to punch. No, no I am not abusive or anything. But I am in love. In between jabbing and crossing and feeling the impact of my fists hitting the punching bag I came to the realization that well, I am in love with boxing.

Max Kellerman, an HBO boxing analyst, proposed that “Boxing is, in fact, everybody’s favorite sport,”  and he backs up the claim with a little social experiment, “If you come to an intersection and on four corners you see the following. On one corner, there’s a couple kids playing stickball. On the other corner, there are some guys that are shooting hoops. On a third corner, there’s a guy just standing there putting a golf ball. And on the fourth corner, there’s a fistfight. There are a hundred people at the intersection. How many people are watching anything but the fist fight?” Please do not try this experiment at home to prove Max Kellerman wrong. But the man has a point, people are drawn to excitement and sometimes that means two people hitting each other.

Lately I felt less motivated to work out, feeling like running and going to the gym were such monotonous activities. I needed a workout with a bit of a kick (literally) so one google fueled evening I was inspired to find something different, and the search led me to Urban Boxing. After my hour long session of high intensity cardio and throwing jabs, crosses, hooks, and roundhouse kicks at a punching bag, I was exhausted, sweaty, and hooked. It got me thinking, there are a million of sports out there, so why boxing?

1. Great Cardio: Firstly, boxing is a full-body exercise! Muscles all over your body from your abs, back, glutes, shoulders, biceps, deltoids, triceps, quads, hamstrings, you name it, are engaged in every movement. You dodge and throw punches, throw in kicks and knee strikes, and dance around the ring to evade your opponent. In a typical session you start off slow to cover the basics and as you go on you build up the combinations and drills making them more complex which keeps your heart rate high. Every move is  high in intensity and whether you are boxing for fitness sake or to fight you are bound to sweat. In a hour session of boxing it is estimated that people burn over 500 calories!

2. All That Confidence: In individual sports like boxing, you build a strong relationship between yourself and your body and you know your strengths and weaknesses extremely well. In the ring and in life you may be placed in difficult positions and you have two options, you can either have faith in your abilities or fear failure. Being able to carry on in the face of adversity requires a certain degree of confidence. Obviously everyone wants to win, at least that is the main objective, but also the point is also to focus on doing your best, a poor attitude in the ring or in life can set you up to lose before the first punch is even thrown.
   
   

3. 

   Stress Relief: We have heard it a thousand time, exercise reduces stress and blah blah blah. But with boxing it does more than just that. The thing I love about boxing is that it requires 100% of my focus, I never feel my mind wandering to what I am doing later that day or to the pile of work I have waiting for me at home. With boxing you need to be present or you will get punched, playfully of course.

4. Mental Strength: What I think is super cool about boxing is the link with the basic primal instincts “fight or flight”. It is the most basic and human interaction between people and it has been around forever. I have never been a violent person and I would still not describe myself as violent, but I know that before I started boxing the idea of being punched or kicked scared me. However, when you box you are forced to go against your basic instincts and face the punch straight on.

5. IT’S FUN! Everyone I have ever met and talked to after a session has told me how much fun they had! The sport never becomes boring or monotonous because there are so many skills, combinations, and techniques to master. Once the session ends people want to know more about the sport and want to grow as athletes, they are inspired to watch videos, shadowbox in their living rooms, and fantasize about the next time they get to put on the gloves and punch...or maybe that is just me.

Let's Overcome Guilty Pleasure Cravings

It’s so good...it’s so bad. Let’s be honest, we have all been there; when you said you would only have one slice of the triple chocolate mousse cake and somehow ended up with three or have one too many glasses of your favorite wine on date night. It happens from time to time, and good news is that you can control it.

1. Stress Less: People deal with stress in all sorts of ways and it is common for people, when they feel stressed, they seek the comfort of food (hence the term comfort food). So excuse me just for a bit while I get all scientific with you, so what happens when you are stressed is that your adrenal glands release cortisol, a hormone that increases appetite and in general it increases levels of motivation- which may include the motivation to eat. I know, it sounds a bit overwhelming, but the good news is that when stress decreases, the hormone is not produced. So simple enough, right? Well not for everyone! Some people find it really difficult to stop worrying and stressing over everything, what may work for these people is practice. Practice deep breathing, letting things go, and letting your muscles relax.

2. Do NOT go to grocery stores hungry: We have done it, you forget to eat lunch and then head over to the grocery store. Uh-oh, bad idea- this is equivalent of letting a starving person loose inside a grocery store. Okay, okay I may be a little dramatic, but you know what I mean. Cornell University did a study on this relationship and found that people who go into supermarkets when their tummies are growling and grumbling they are more likely to fill up their carts with high calorie and “guilty pleasure” foods. Even a short amount of food deprivation can affect how you will shop for groceries. Grocery shopping needs to be done with a rational mind, which means your tummy needs to be satisfied before you take the trip, also don’t forget to make a grocery list so you stay on track!

3. Drink more water: Water can be boring and it is easier and sometimes tastier to pass on the water for the more sugary option. The issue with the sugary option is that it will not fill you up and they end up being empty calories. Water on the other hand can fill you up. Drink a glass or two before every meal. Not only will you be hydrating yourself, but you will be less inclined to eat a super-high calorie meal because it cues the brain to feel fuller faster.

4. Slow and steady wins the race: No, no I am not saying you should be a tortoise. What you need to take away from the tortoise is that you should not eat every meal as if it is a sprint, take your time and wait a few seconds between bites. The reason for this is that there is a delay between the time you take the bite and when you actually feel satiation from it. This delay is anywhere between 10-30 minutes. It helps to eat with someone and have a conversation while eating or if you are eating alone, eat while watching a 30 minute television show and make sure the meal lasts the entire time.

5. 
   And Indulge: I know, this sounds like the biggest contradiction to everything I just said, but I want you to know that it is OK to indulge every once in awhile. The main thing to remember is to find a balance. So when you are indulging in your favorite cookies, have a few but try not to have the entire box. And if that just doesn't work for you, you can always come to Urban Boxing DC and we will help you work off all those guilty pleasure calories.