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How To Build Muscle On A Vegan Diet

How To Build Muscle On A Vegan Diet

If you want to build muscle tissue, you need protein. A vegan diet limits complete protein choices. While it’s harder to build muscle mass, it’s only because you have to be more careful in your menu selections. You have to ensure you have all the essential amino acids necessary to create muscle. There are 21 amino acids, but only nine the body can’t make. These are called essential amino acids. When you eat animal protein, you get all nine essential amino acids. Vegan protein options aren’t as easy to choose. Many of the protein options are incomplete, so they don’t contain all nine essential amino acids.

First make sure your diet contains enough calories.

If you are trying to lose weight and build muscle, don’t cut too many calories or you won’t have enough to build muscle. You may need to increase your caloric intake by 350 to 400 calories. If you’re trying to lose weight, don’t drastically cut your calorie count. Identify the calories required for your weight and cut that number by approximately 500 calories. You’ll have enough calories to build muscle tissue but a deficit to help you shed those extra pounds.

Determine the amount of protein you need.

Building muscle tissue requires approximately 1.4 to 2 grams of protein per pound of body weight. The key is to get complete protein. You’ll do that by increasing the variety of protein options you choose and combining them to get a complete protein. Rice is not a complete protein. Neither are red beans. Combining red beans with rice creates a complete protein.

Make sure you get adequate vitamin B12.

One of the vitamins that are plentiful in animal products but limited in a plant-based diet is vitamin B12. You can handle that challenge by increasing the vegan food that contains vitamin B12 or taking supplements. Vegan fortified sources of B12 include non-dairy milk, meat substitutes, nutritional yeast, breakfast cereals, and vegan spreads. Many also contain folic acid—vitamin B-9—which is difficult to get in a vegan diet.

  • Ezekiel bread has many virtues. One of those is it’s vegan. Another is that it’s high in protein. It has about five grams per slice of bread, far more than whole wheat bread with 3.6 grams per slice.
  • Good protein sources for a vegan diet include soy products like tempeh, tofu, edamame, beans and legumes, nutritional yeast, pumpkin seeds, and green peas. Many vegan protein powders contain pumpkin seeds or pea protein.
  • If you’re using protein shakes or protein bars to supplement your diet, research to ensure you’ve chosen one that’s not just a candy bar with a healthy-looking wrapper. No matter what type of food you select, don’t choose it only because it says vegan on the label or has the VE sign.
  • Most of all, exercise regularly. Lift heavy weights and do compound exercises that work all your muscles simultaneously. Do HIIT workouts if you’re trying to lose weight and want to get fit faster.

For more information, contact us today at Hawaii Fit Camp!


Best Stretches For Tight Muscles

Best Stretches For Tight Muscles

Are tight muscles causing you pain? Consider stretching to bring relief. Stretching can relieve tension. It helps keep muscles more flexible and increases the range of motion. If your muscles become tight with a limited range of motion, they also become weak and prone to injury. If you’re constantly sitting, when you get up, your leg muscles are tight and it’s hard to straighten your legs completely. That can change how you walk and your posture, causing issues in other parts of your body. Stretching tight muscles keeps your entire body functioning at its best.

Stretch up and reach the sky.

If you’re first getting out of bed, touching your toes should be the last thing you do. Your muscles need to be warmed to do that. Start by stretching your arms out and back, similar to yawning arm motions. Stand next to the bed. Raise your arms and try to touch the ceiling, stretching upward as far as you can with your upward body. Bend side-to-side with your arms up then lower your arms and keep them out to your sides and twist your upper-body from side-to-side.

Stretching your hamstrings can bring relief from back pain.

There are many types of hamstring stretches. One of the simplest gets great results. You need a towel to do it. Lie on your back on the floor. Create a loop in a long towel by holding one end in each hand. Loop it around one foot and lift that leg as you keep the other leg on the ground. You’ll start to feel it stretch on the back of your thighs. Hold that position for up to a half minute. Lower your leg and do the other leg. Repeat several times.

Use yoga to loosen muscles and improve flexibility.

Yoga poses are stretches. Many work on core muscles. Combining two poses, the cat and the cow pose, can improve core muscles and help relax tight muscles. Start on your hands and knees on a mat. Do the cat pose first. Arch your back like a cat as you lower your head. Pull your stomach in tightly. Hold that pose for a half minute. Then lift your head and drop your belly, creating a swayback appearance. Hold the pose and return to the cat pose.

  • Do arm circles, across-the-chest stretches, chest expansion, and seated twists to help relieve shoulder tension. Just rolling your shoulders can be enough to bring relief.
  • If you’ve sat at a computer for over an hour, getting up and stretching helps increase mental capabilities and improves overall health. While getting up and stretching is best, seated arm stretches are also beneficial.
  • Doing a butt kick can help relieve muscle tension in the legs. Lift your leg behind you until it touches your bottom or you can’t get it any higher. Eventually, your muscles will loosen until you can reach your buttocks. Repeat on the opposite leg.
  • More flexibility not only protects the muscles from injury and helps prevent pain from muscle tension, but it also helps improve your posture, making you look more assured and thinner. It also improves digestion and other bodily functions.

For more information, contact us today at Hawaii Fit Camp!


Can Foods Help My Cardiovascular Health?

Can Foods Help My Cardiovascular Health?

There’s a reason we focus on more than exercise at Egan’s Bootcamp in Honolulu, HI. One of the most important factors for improving your health is the food you consume. A diet high in salt, processed meat, and sugar is harmful to your health and dramatically affects your cardiovascular system. To function at its best, the heart needs specific nutrients. Choosing foods that boost heart health and eliminating those that harm it can make a huge difference in your longevity.

It’s all about a healthy balance.

Omega-6 is beneficial to your health and so is omega-3. The key to good health is a good balance between the two. While many people disagree on the exact ratio, it’s somewhere between a 4 to 1 and a 1 to 4 balance with omega-6 being the first number and omega-3 the second. The American diet today is 25 to 1 with omega-6 the 25. Many people believe it’s even worse than that. Why does it matter? Too much omega-6 prevents the body from metabolizing omega-3. That can cause inflammation. Increased inflammation causes an increase in cholesterol, an increased risk for heart disease, and high blood pressure.

Choosing colorful vegetables and fruit can help improve your heart.

Cherries, pomegranates, beets, and red kidney beans all have one thing in common. They all contain anthocyanin. It’s what gives them the red color. Anthocyanin helps lower bad cholesterol and boost good cholesterol. It keeps arteries more flexible. Yellow and orange veggies and fruit contain carotenoids that reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke. Green vegetables, such as kale, lettuce, or broccoli, contain nutrients to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. If you have a plate filled with a rainbow of colors, you’ll reduce the risk of heart disease.

There’s a reason people soak their feet in Epsom salts.

Soaking in Epsom salts—magnesium sulfate—helps relieve tight muscles. The magnesium in the salts absorbs through the large pores in the soles of the feet. Magnesium helps the muscles relax, including the heart muscle. Lack of it can cause irregular heartbeat, osteoporosis, asthma, and mental disorders. You don’t have to soak in a tub high in magnesium. You can get magnesium from raw spinach, dark chocolate, and avocados.

  • Eating food high in antioxidants can help protect the heart from inflammation. Inflammation can damage arteries and vessels. Lowering inflammation reduces the risk of arteriosclerosis. Asian pears, bananas, carrots, and bell peppers contain antioxidants.
  • You can get vitamin D from the sun in Honolulu. In northern areas, that’s not true all year. Getting vitamin D from egg yolks, cheese, and beef liver helps. Vitamin D reduces the chances of heart disease and boosts immunity.
  • Food high in fiber helps regulate blood sugar. It helps regulate weight and reduces cholesterol. All those things boost heart health.
  • Beans provide a lot of benefits for your heart. They’re high in fiber. They contain folate which reduces the risk of heart disease. Depending on the beans, some contain vitamins A, B, C, and lutein that fight inflammation and prevent hypertension.

For more information, contact us today at Hawaii Fit Camp!


Incorporate A Stability Ball In Your Life

Incorporate A Stability Ball In Your Life

What’s a stability ball and how does it help boost your fitness? A stability ball works the core muscles that help maintain balance. Just sitting on the ball can increase the effort of the core muscles. Since the ball rolls, it’s harder to maintain stability and creates a workout that’s second to none. Some people use large stability balls as seating when they work at their desks for extended periods. It works the abs and can prevent back pain as you work.

Besides forcing the muscles to work harder, you’ll change position more frequently.

If you use a stability ball as a chair it helps your posture in several ways. First, it builds the core muscles that contribute to good posture and help relieve back pain. You also move more frequently when you use a stability ball as a chair. Changing position more frequently can help prevent stressed muscles and strains. It can eliminate the injuries caused by remaining in the same position too long and increase circulation.

If you want great abs, look no further.

Are washboard abs your goal? You’ll be amazed at how a little effort using the stability ball can help you reach your desired outcome. You can boost the power of crunches and other ab workouts by incorporating it into your session or just use it as a backup to sit on it and let nature take its course. You’ll feel the difference after just a few minutes. People who use the stability ball for the first time often incorporate it into their workout since they can feel the difference immediately.

No matter how you use it, it burns extra calories.

Losing weight can be an incredibly long journey. It seems to take forever to lose just one pound. That’s why anything that can help make it go faster is a benefit. Using a stability ball, whether sitting on it at the computer or using it during a workout, can burn extra calories and help weight loss occur quicker. The muscles put out extra effort that can burn an additional 350 calories a day. That’s an extra pound in just ten days. It won’t replace a traditional workout program or healthy diet but it will provide a bonus you might otherwise miss.

  • Getting up and moving for five minutes every hour is recommended to be your healthiest. When you’re using a stability ball as a chair, you’ll be more apt to do it.
  • People sit on stability balls to relieve back pain. Several exercises with this equipment can diminish tight muscles quickly and leave you feeling great.
  • Besides building abdominal muscles, you’ll improve your balance by exercising with a stability ball. It can help improve your overall grace and prevent unnecessary falls.
  • Using a stability ball frequently can help improve your circulation. Improved circulation helps all parts of the body from the skin to the heart.

For more information, contact us today at Hawaii Fit Camp!


Should You Worry About Hormones In Food?

Should You Worry About Hormones In Food?

Today’s society is further from their source of food than ever. When people raised their food, they knew what those animals ate and didn’t use chemicals to boost productivity. Today, food might as well be grown on a different planet. A lot happens at factory farms that were never part of farming. Farmers give hormones to animals so they grow bigger or mature faster. There are hormones given to cows to produce 15% more milk, and beef cows get shots to grow to full size 20% faster. Even fish are given hormones to mature twice as fast. We’re eating the treated animals, so does that mean we’re also getting the treatment? Are there hormones in food we should worry about?

Organic pastured beef has become popular.

The FDA has tested the food and agrees that there is no harm in eating the meat from animals given hormones. The limited research results don’t indicate whether it is a problem. One widely used hormone is rBGH—recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone. It boosts milk production in cows. Do these pass on to people consuming animal products? It’s no wonder people are choosing a more natural option for their food, organically grown meat and milk from pastured cattle.

rBGH is in the milk.

The biggest concern about hormones occurs with milk production. Does drinking milk from animals using rBGH increase IGF-1—growth hormone levels? What are the effects of that increase? Does it increase the risk of cancer? Animals given rBGH tend to have more udder infections, causing farmers to give antibiotics. Does the increased use of antibiotics cause antibiotic-resistant bacteria?

rBGH does trigger the production of IGF-1.

rBGH won’t hurt you, but it does trigger the release of IGF-1—insulin like growth factor that may affect your health. The human body produces it, as do cows. The question is whether the rBGH increases it beyond normal levels and whether that can affect humans. There is a link between prostate, colorectal, and breast cancer and high levels of IGF-1 in the blood. Although there’s a link, scientists still don’t understand what that means for health.

  • Some evidence indicates that pasteurization does not deactivate the IGF-1 in milk and whether it’s absorbed through the digestive tract. One study suggested that the increase would only be 0.09% of normal daily production.
  • Another study identified that even if an infant drank 1.5 liters of milk with IGF-1 protein, it would be less than a 1% increase of the child’s normal daily production and have no effect.
  • Concern grew enough to create an outcry in the market. Today you’ll find products labeled rBGH or rBST-free. It doesn’t mean they didn’t use other synthetic hormones raising the animals.
  • Large companies like Kraft have now started using milk from cows raised without the use of rBGH in their Natural Cheese product, even though they found no significant difference between the milk from treated or untreated cows.

For more information, contact us today at Hawaii Fit Camp!


Are You As Healthy As You Think You Are?

Are You As Healthy As You Think You Are?

Many people in Honolulu, HI, take their good health for granted. They believe they’re healthier than they are. Most won’t visit the doctor and have the appropriate tests to prove they’re healthy or if they have a chronic underlying issue that needs to be addressed. These silent chronic illnesses are more dangerous or just as dangerous as any virus that spikes a fever or sends you to bed.

Do you have problems with chronic inflammation?

Inflammation is like fire. It’s beneficial in most cases unless it gets out of hand. It’s the body’s way of eliminating pathogens, damaged cells, and other irritants. It causes fevers that help destroy viruses and bacteria, preventing further damage. It helps speed the healing of wounds. Like fire, it can get out of control. Then the inflammation goes from acute to chronic. It is low-grade and can lead to serious conditions like cancer. Checking inflammation levels can identify problems earlier.

Are your belly bugs in balance?

Your gut microbiome controls more than just digestion. It plays a role in your overall health, including your mental health. Your microbiome is easier to control than several other issues in the body. Making lifestyle changes can help. The food you eat, medications, stress level, and weight can make a difference between a healthy microbiome and an unhealthy one. If your microbiome is off kilter, it can cause weight gain and other problems. If you’re chronically bloated and gassy, check with a doctor.

Are you getting the benefits of all the necessary minerals, vitamins, and nutrients?

Having a blood test can pinpoint any nutrient deficiencies, whether it’s vitamin D, iron, or other important nutrient. Having a blood profile can look at all the body’s nutrient levels and pinpoint areas where an improved diet could help. It also can show places where absorption isn’t adequate or some other health condition exists.

  • Your eyes can show when there’s an internal problem and so can your skin. Rashes, eczema, acne, and other skin problems indicate you may have an underlying health condition. Skin problems can also indicate digestive issues.
  • Are you getting a good night’s sleep without waking up several times throughout the night? If you sleep through the night and wake up refreshed, it’s a sign of a healthy lifestyle. Waking up tired is an indicator there’s a problem.
  • You don’t need a doctor to tell you that you’re getting winded doing simple tasks and that’s not good. If loading groceries into your car makes you want to sit and rest, talk to your doctor. You may need to increase your daily exercise, lose weight, or have a health issue that needs addressing.
  • Is your blood sugar stable? Do you go through super lows where your personality changes or you are ready to drop? Do you suffer from cravings that may indicate stress, hormonal imbalances, or instability of blood sugar?

For more information, contact us today at Hawaii Fit Camp!


The Top Benefits Of Walking For Fitness

The Top Benefits Of Walking For Fitness

It’s so beautiful in Honolulu, HI, that it’s amazing more people aren’t walking to their destinations but using their cars instead. There are so many benefits for overall fitness, physical and mental. Walking may be inconvenient if your errand involves bulky boxes or is at a distance, but for short distances, it saves gas and improves your fitness. Barring physical limitations, it’s an easy exercise almost everyone can do, providing cardio and weight-bearing benefits.

Walking is an excellent supplement to a traditional exercise program.

Exercise is all about being more active. If you’re already pursuing a scheduled workout program, you can supplement it with walking. It increases cardiovascular efficiency, extends endurance, and boosts leg strength. Walking is also a good recovery activity. If you’ve overworked your body doing traditional workouts, resting the next day is advised. That doesn’t mean laying on the couch. It does mean doing light activity that stimulates circulation to speed recovery. That’s the perfect description of walking.

Walking can help prevent osteoporosis and slow or reverse it once it starts.

Weight-bearing exercises like walking can help prevent the bone-thinning of osteoporosis. Exercise causes muscles to tug on the bone. That tugging causes the bone to uptake calcium for strength to resist the tugging. If there’s no exercise, there’s no tugging. Calcium is leached from the bone causing bone thinning and osteoporosis. Walking builds muscle tissue to prevent osteopenia, the loss of muscle tissue that precedes osteoporosis.

You’ll reduce the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes when you walk.

Making your heart work a little harder is a good thing. If you don’t increase its efforts periodically, it becomes inefficient. Just like any muscle that you don’t use, it gets weaker. Walking keeps the heart pumping harder, boosting its strength. It also helps lower blood pressure by working large muscles in the legs. They produce nitric oxide that causes blood vessels to expand, making it easier for blood to flow and lowering blood pressure. It reduces bad cholesterol levels, helps you lose weight, and helps reduce the risk of insulin resistance, a precursor to diabetes.

  • Walking improves circulation, sending oxygen and nutrient-laden blood to all parts of the body, including the brain. Research shows that daily exercise like walking reduces the risk of Alzheimer’s, improves dementia, and lessens the symptoms of depression.
  • Make your walking more effective by turning it into a HIIT—high intensity interval training—session. Just alternate the pace between peak intensity and recovery to do that. It burns more calories and gets faster results.
  • For people who are overweight or those with joint issues, walking is superior to running. It’s a low-impact exercise so there’s no pounding motion.
  • Walking also boosts your digestion, improves immune response, and reduces the risk of certain types of cancer. You can increase benefits by adding arm and leg weights when you walk.

For more information, contact us today at Hawaii Fit Camp!


Most Effective Core Workouts For A Stronger Body

Most Effective Core Workouts For A Stronger Body

Your posture, digestion, and even your entire body are affected by the strength of your core muscles. That’s why workouts focusing on the core are so valuable. Every movement you make uses core muscles in one way or another. These muscles include the pelvis, lower back, hips, and abs. The abs and back muscles work together to keep you in balance, in an upright position. If one group is weak, it makes the other group work harder. It can force the back muscles to pick up the slack when the abs are weak. They must do extra work to maintain good posture. That can cause back issues and pain. It also affects your posture and makes you look heavier.

One of the best core workouts is the plank.

You’ll find a variety of plank modifications, but the basic plank is the most used for building abdominal and other core muscles. It’s simple enough. Get on the floor, lifting your body until your weight is on your forearms and toes. Keep your body straight, your arms bent at the elbow, and your upper arms at a 90-degree angle to the shoulders. That’s a low plank. For a high plank, continue lifting your body until your arms are straight and your weight is on your toes and the palms of your hands. Hold that position as long as possible, attempting to increase it as you get stronger.

Improve your core muscles by riding a bike and focusing on posture as you walk.

While it won’t give you flat abs immediately, riding a bicycle can work your abs and improve your core strength. The action of pedaling requires the use of several core muscles, but the real workout comes from balancing your body on the bike, especially during turns. You’ll only get that workout from riding a traditional bike, not the stationary bike in the gym. Combining bicycling as an aerobic exercise with ab workouts like the mountain climber provides the most benefits.

Do a glute bridge or burpees to build core strength.

A glute bridge starts by laying on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. You lift your buttocks, holding your abs and glutes tight until your body creates a straight line from your knees to your head. Hold that position as you squeeze your core muscles as tightly as possible, then slowly lower your body.

  • Consider doing walking lunges to improve your core muscles. Take a long stride forward as you lower your body into the lunge position. Raise your hands over your head to increase the effort to balance and work the core muscles more.
  • Walking and focusing on good posture can build core strength. Your head should be level with the floor, your shoulders should be back, and you should pull your abdomen in tightly.
  • Jump rope or use a hula hoop. You don’t have to have expensive equipment to improve core strength. Doing boxer jumps or high knee jumps can help.
  • We can create a workout program that increases strength, flexibility, balance, and endurance. It will improve overall strength and include the best core strength exercises that get fast results.

For more information, contact us today at Hawaii Fit Camp!


The Best HIIT Workouts To Burn Fat Fast

The Best HIIT Workouts To Burn Fat Fast

If you want to burn more fat, you have to burn more calories. One way to do that is by using HIIT, workouts. HIIT is an acronym for high intensity interval training. It’s not a specific workout but a way of doing any workout. It modifies the intensity throughout the workout by alternating between high-intensity to a recovery pace throughout the exercise period. The high intensity session can’t be achieved for long periods, by alternating between it and a recovery pace, you can exercise at peak intensity longer.

Using HIIT for running burns more calories, but does it burn more fat?

While you’ll burn tons of calories when you run, not all those calories come from fat. Some come from burning lean muscle tissue. Muscle tissue requires more calories for maintenance than fat tissue does, so the more you have, the easier it is to lose weight. How do you ensure that you’re burning more fat than muscle, whether you’re doing HIIT workouts or steady-state workouts? Do strength training.

Using HIIT to do strength training can ensure you’ll burn fat while you build muscle tissue.

One of the easiest ways to change a strength-building workout to a HIIT workout is to shorten the rest periods. It prevents the heart rate from dropping down to resting mode and keeps it moderately high at a recovery rate. It increases heart efficiency, burns fat, builds muscle tissue, and improves your endurance. You can also use cardio between sets as the recovery exercise. Pumping iron for a minute and switching to jumping rope for a minute is an example of a HIIT workout using strength-building.

Add weight to your HIIT workout.

Wearing weighted vests, wrist weights or ankle weights can burn extra calories and more fat when you do cardio HIIT workouts. Adding kettlebells to your workout program is another example of increasing cardiac fitness as you burn fat. Several kettlebell movements combine intensity and strength-building. You can also add movement to your dumbbell or barbell workouts. The combination of movement and strength-building makes it perfect for HIIT.

  • Alternating between push-pull exercises is similar to HIIT and burns fat. You’ll burn extra calories from compound workouts. When the pressing muscles work, the pulling muscles rest. That keeps your heart rate high.
  • Add weights to calisthenics. Do lunges holding barbells, going as fast as possible, then slowing to a recovery pace. Doing goblet squats holding a kettlebell or dumbbells also can be an effective HIIT workout.
  • Modifying any strength-building or cardio workout by three sets at peak intensity for one minute, moving quickly from one to another, then taking a one-minute break and starting the cycle again.
  • The amount of time spent at peak performance and recovery pace varies for each person. Get your heart rate high for as long as possible and switch back to recovery. Modify the time you spend at a recovery pace by how you feel.

For more information, contact us today at Hawaii Fit Camp!