by: Ben Kong
The Dairy Calcium Myth Milk is not as high in calcium as the dairy industry would have you believe. In Healthy Vitamins and Minerals by Jane Turner, under the section on Calcium, milk doesn't even make the first page and sits 35th on the list with 120mg of calcium per 100g.
Some of the foods that beat it by far are sesame seeds (670mg/100g, more than 5 times!), sardines (540), Nori seaweed (470), both more than triple, almonds (240, double!), figs (230) parsley, spinach, watercress, kale (200-170, and these are green vegetables!) even hazelnuts and oysters (140).
More importantly though what little calcium milk actually has is offset by the fact that it is barely absorbable by humans since cows milk is meant for baby cows. Dr William Ellis has conducted thousands of blood tests in people who drank 4 glasses of milk a day and found that they had lower levels of calcium than the rest of the population.
This is because milk interferes with the digestion of nutrients by clogging the stomach and intestines with mucous. On top of all this, cows these days are extremely unhealthy as they have been pumped full of drugs, hormones and antibiotics (to prop them up from the diseases they contract) in a bid to produce more milk faster. Milk has been found to have 59 active hormones, 52 antibiotic residues, scores of allergens and contaminants such as pus from diseased udders.
The bottom line through all of this is that, on whose authority are you trusting when it comes deciding what goes into your mouth? Yours or the supposed 'experts' in the health and food industry with highly toxic hidden agendas? On whose authority are you trusting when it comes to deciding what food best fuels your body for the intensity of your workouts and post recovery? Yours or the supposed 'experts' in the health and food industry with highly toxic hidden agendas? On whose authority are you trusting when it comes to deciding what you should ingest to keep you not only healthy but alive? Yours or the supposed 'experts' in the health and food industry with highly toxic hidden agendas?
Get the picture?
Nutrition forms the absolute cornerstone for unleashing the ultimate physique that lies within you - clean functional nutrition based on what your body requires, not what someone would like you to eat so they can line their pockets are totally two different things. Before you eat anything that you believe should form part of your training regime, don't just take some 'expert's' word for gold, question everything. Seriously, don't even take my word for gospel - check it out and test out how accurate the above data is compared to what you hear day in day out from the health and food industry. If you're serious about making changes to your body and life, even if you do this just once, as soon as you see for yourself that what you're being told by those you've always believed you can trust is not always the truth, you will never go back. The truth will empower you to seek the truth out yourself and ensure your authority becomes rooted in what's accurate because your authority will be none other than your own.
Senin, 11 Agustus 2008
The Most Compelling Reasons To Eat Organic Meat
by: Ben Kong
Of the three macronutrients, protein is the most important for health and achieving the body you want. The bottom line is that protein is the ONLY nutrient out of the three that restores and repairs every single cell in your body. Now, every day your body with its trillions of cells is constantly being broken down and being rebuilt. In fact every 7 years you are literally a completely new person - there is not one cell in your body that was there 7 years ago. To stay alive we need enough protein to grow new cells to replace the old ones. It's that simple. With our hectic modern lives, the breakdown is even greater and so to stay healthy we need to make sure we are getting enough each and every day. Individual requirements will vary however a good minimum is anywhere from 1.5-3 grams per kilo of bodyweight when you are exercising depending on your specific goals and needs. This amount is necessary because as you exercise you breakdown a great deal of protein in the body to train it to adapt and grow new muscle that will fire up your metabolism and help you burn more body fat.
Now when we talk about quality protein sources you can always look to red meat...but not just any red meat, more to the point, quality organic red meat.
One of the most compelling reasons to eat only organic meat is the massive use of anti-biotics in the stock feed of mass commercially produced meats. In the United Sates Almost 17.9 million pounds of anti-biotics was added to stock feed of farm animals in an attempt to prevent the diseases caused by mass farming as well as a growth promoter to fatten the stock more quickly.
Considering most dosages of anti-biotics if you are unlucky enough to need them once or twice a year are measured in milligrams (1/1000th of a gram), anti-biotics in livestock feed create a massive overdose of 27g of anti-biotics per year for every man woman and child. This means that as a population, our natural resistance to disease is being steadily eroded. The situation in Australia is little better with approximately 20g of anti-biotics from stock feed ingested per person each year.
Once you have converted to organic meat there is no going back as it is far more carefully produced in smaller batches and the superior quality and taste is self-evident.
Eating meat can make you feel heavy at times but after eating organic meats you will probably find yourself feeling energized, as you should after having a good quality dose of protein. Game meats such as buffalo, bison, venison, kangaroo and ostrich are an excellent source of clean chemical free protein. They is also very low in fat, taste great and can be very good value for money. In larger pieces game meats with their lower fat content need to be cooked fairly rare, but if you prefer well done, slice thinly and use in stirfrys.
Your protein intake may be supplemented by good quality protein powders, which are particularly good before and after training due to their quick absorption, and convenience.
Of the three macronutrients, protein is the most important for health and achieving the body you want. The bottom line is that protein is the ONLY nutrient out of the three that restores and repairs every single cell in your body. Now, every day your body with its trillions of cells is constantly being broken down and being rebuilt. In fact every 7 years you are literally a completely new person - there is not one cell in your body that was there 7 years ago. To stay alive we need enough protein to grow new cells to replace the old ones. It's that simple. With our hectic modern lives, the breakdown is even greater and so to stay healthy we need to make sure we are getting enough each and every day. Individual requirements will vary however a good minimum is anywhere from 1.5-3 grams per kilo of bodyweight when you are exercising depending on your specific goals and needs. This amount is necessary because as you exercise you breakdown a great deal of protein in the body to train it to adapt and grow new muscle that will fire up your metabolism and help you burn more body fat.
Now when we talk about quality protein sources you can always look to red meat...but not just any red meat, more to the point, quality organic red meat.
One of the most compelling reasons to eat only organic meat is the massive use of anti-biotics in the stock feed of mass commercially produced meats. In the United Sates Almost 17.9 million pounds of anti-biotics was added to stock feed of farm animals in an attempt to prevent the diseases caused by mass farming as well as a growth promoter to fatten the stock more quickly.
Considering most dosages of anti-biotics if you are unlucky enough to need them once or twice a year are measured in milligrams (1/1000th of a gram), anti-biotics in livestock feed create a massive overdose of 27g of anti-biotics per year for every man woman and child. This means that as a population, our natural resistance to disease is being steadily eroded. The situation in Australia is little better with approximately 20g of anti-biotics from stock feed ingested per person each year.
Once you have converted to organic meat there is no going back as it is far more carefully produced in smaller batches and the superior quality and taste is self-evident.
Eating meat can make you feel heavy at times but after eating organic meats you will probably find yourself feeling energized, as you should after having a good quality dose of protein. Game meats such as buffalo, bison, venison, kangaroo and ostrich are an excellent source of clean chemical free protein. They is also very low in fat, taste great and can be very good value for money. In larger pieces game meats with their lower fat content need to be cooked fairly rare, but if you prefer well done, slice thinly and use in stirfrys.
Your protein intake may be supplemented by good quality protein powders, which are particularly good before and after training due to their quick absorption, and convenience.
Toxic Chemicals In Food: Your Number 1 Weight Loss Enemy
by: Ben Kong
Although most people logically acknowledge that chemicals in food are bad for them they do not really understand the full implications especially its direct connections to the metabolism and storage of excess body fat.
Firstly, the more chemicals that a person consumes from their food, the harder the liver must work to metabolize and flush out all of the toxins from the body. What does this have to do with fat loss? The liver is the body's number one fat burning organ and its health and function is closely related to how lean your physique will be. The more time it spends processing chemicals (including alcohol), the less it has to properly regulate your metabolism, burn fat and keep you looking lean and toned.
Here's some statistics to clearly put you in the picture:
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) currently lists about 2800 international food additives and about 3000 chemicals added deliberately to the food supply. Including chemicals used in food production from ground to stomach, the number rises to between 10,000 and 15,000. William Kellas and Andrea Dworkin -Surviving in a toxic world There are currently over 100,000 chemicals approved for use in Europe alone with over 8000 more added each year. The Danish Environmental Authority entered all that was known about 40,000 chemicals into a database and concluded: " 20,624 to be dangerous, of this number 9,538 acutely dangerous when consumed. " A further 9,668 incur allergic reactions. " 1678 are mutagenic. " 642 incur cancer.
Another massive problem with processed foods is that almost all of them contain refined white sugar. This can be in several forms such as sugar, sucrose, corn syrup etc but the bottom line is that all are highly detrimental to your health and achieving the body you deserve. This section is quite detailed but it's important that you know the TRUTH about how white sugar just totally destroys your ability to get lean and muscular and with this knowledge 'eating clean' becomes a powerfully sane choice. The following information comes from 'Sugar Blues' by William Duffy. Why is sugar toxic to the body? In 1957 Dr William Coda Martin tried to answer the question: When is a food a food and when is it a poison? His working definition of "poison" was: "Medically: Any substance applied to the body, ingested or developed within the body, which causes or may cause disease. Dr Martin classified refined sugar as a POISON because it has been depleted of its life forces, vitamins and minerals.
This is why the KEY principle above all else in your eating plan will be to eat only natural, unprocessed (and organic whenever possible) foods. Reducing the chemical build-up and intake will get your liver burning fat and speed up your metabolism so you are a better fat burning machine 24/7.
Obviously with the amounts of chemicals most people typically consume from the foods they generally eat, the liver cannot process them all so they become stored in the body until they can be processed. If the chemical barrage would stop these 'chemical stockpiles' would get around to being processed but unfortunately since there are more chemicals taken in every day, the stockpiles get larger and larger. Also many of these chemicals cause an acidity in the body that needs to be neutralized lest it literally burn and damage cells and tissue including your hard earned muscle that you spend hours in the gym developing.
Although most people logically acknowledge that chemicals in food are bad for them they do not really understand the full implications especially its direct connections to the metabolism and storage of excess body fat.
Firstly, the more chemicals that a person consumes from their food, the harder the liver must work to metabolize and flush out all of the toxins from the body. What does this have to do with fat loss? The liver is the body's number one fat burning organ and its health and function is closely related to how lean your physique will be. The more time it spends processing chemicals (including alcohol), the less it has to properly regulate your metabolism, burn fat and keep you looking lean and toned.
Here's some statistics to clearly put you in the picture:
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) currently lists about 2800 international food additives and about 3000 chemicals added deliberately to the food supply. Including chemicals used in food production from ground to stomach, the number rises to between 10,000 and 15,000. William Kellas and Andrea Dworkin -Surviving in a toxic world There are currently over 100,000 chemicals approved for use in Europe alone with over 8000 more added each year. The Danish Environmental Authority entered all that was known about 40,000 chemicals into a database and concluded: " 20,624 to be dangerous, of this number 9,538 acutely dangerous when consumed. " A further 9,668 incur allergic reactions. " 1678 are mutagenic. " 642 incur cancer.
Another massive problem with processed foods is that almost all of them contain refined white sugar. This can be in several forms such as sugar, sucrose, corn syrup etc but the bottom line is that all are highly detrimental to your health and achieving the body you deserve. This section is quite detailed but it's important that you know the TRUTH about how white sugar just totally destroys your ability to get lean and muscular and with this knowledge 'eating clean' becomes a powerfully sane choice. The following information comes from 'Sugar Blues' by William Duffy. Why is sugar toxic to the body? In 1957 Dr William Coda Martin tried to answer the question: When is a food a food and when is it a poison? His working definition of "poison" was: "Medically: Any substance applied to the body, ingested or developed within the body, which causes or may cause disease. Dr Martin classified refined sugar as a POISON because it has been depleted of its life forces, vitamins and minerals.
This is why the KEY principle above all else in your eating plan will be to eat only natural, unprocessed (and organic whenever possible) foods. Reducing the chemical build-up and intake will get your liver burning fat and speed up your metabolism so you are a better fat burning machine 24/7.
Obviously with the amounts of chemicals most people typically consume from the foods they generally eat, the liver cannot process them all so they become stored in the body until they can be processed. If the chemical barrage would stop these 'chemical stockpiles' would get around to being processed but unfortunately since there are more chemicals taken in every day, the stockpiles get larger and larger. Also many of these chemicals cause an acidity in the body that needs to be neutralized lest it literally burn and damage cells and tissue including your hard earned muscle that you spend hours in the gym developing.
How To Make Weight Loss And Muscle Gain The Powerful Lifestyle Choice
by: Ben Kong
Busy people live their lives according to their diaries which is effective and efficient. Yet for some reason, often when starting an exercise program they won't book themselves in. Rather they will simply decide to exercise and sure enough because that's what they want to do, they will set out and begin. The problem is though that they are busy people and as such 'life' gets in the way of their exercise very quickly. Booking themselves for exercise is a key practice that serves to minimize the various disruptions to the kind of consistency required to achieve significant muscle gain and fat loss for a better body.
It is important in a couple of ways. First of all it creates a tangible and subconscious importance for the exercise session and as such, it is given due consideration when arranging all other affairs as opposed to always being the first thing to be sacrificed for other priorities. This small step can make an amazing difference to a person's consistency. Simply by giving the time required to create a better body at bare minimum an equal footing, people get smarter and think laterally and design their lives to be able to meet this new commitment. Of course there will still be scheduling conflicts (though far less). In these cases though, diarizing exercise alongside everything else again makes people solution focused and sharpens their organization in order to be able to make it possible to meet both objectives should a conflict arise. Exercise becomes part of the priority hierarchy and over time, may even move up the list. This means that the busy person willingly increases their commitment to exercise and will muscle gain and fat loss results faster but most importantly, they will do so in a stress free manner because exercise is balanced against all their other life priorities.
The second key once time has been 'created' for exercise is to maximize it. Does any high achiever settle for second best? Do they haphazardly attack challenges without a sound strategic understanding of various cause and effect relationships so that they can navigate a course of action that will allow them to achieve success in the most effective and efficient way possible? For busy people who want to maximize lean muscle gain and fat loss, knowing the exact specifics of the entire process is critical. By understanding how the body responds to food and training will keep you on the most productive path possible. Yet so many simply seek training methods and adopt them without any idea if they are sound because they have no objective framework with which to evaluate them. The exact same goes for various crazy diets people try. If you don't understand how food works in the body of course any option, especially if it is hyped up my slick advertising, sounds plausible.
In terms of acquiring this knowledge, there is good news and bad news. The bad news is that the actual truth of this information can be a little hard to find. There are countless sources of misinformation and agenda based pseudo science to push certain viewpoints and products. At best even when you find solid information, there are some conflicting arguments that are equally valid, where only trial and error can determine the best approach. The good news is that once you find a good source of information - the truth about what the people who live with the lean muscular bodies that they desire really do it is actually reasonably easy to understand and achieve an excellent working understanding of it all. With someone who really knows what they are doing and sources of honest truth in your corner, it is no exaggeration to say that your comprehension of nutrition and training will outstrip many people in the fitness industry in about a month or even less.
In very simple terms, the second foundation is: Find out and understand the nutrition and training strategies that work best (for your individual makeup) and why. Once you know what you need to do for maximized muscle gain and fat loss, do it.
The third key is on the surface the most simple (though perhaps most esoteric) yet it completely underpins the success of the first two foundations. Once you have the first two foundations in place the third key is to just relax and enjoy the process. Don't stress about anything related to nutrition and exercise.
Busy people generally have some degree of stress in their lives already. The secret to ultimate body success is to make the process required to achieve a lean and muscular body and keep it for life become truly effortless. Get it out of your head that it's all hard work. When people think of nutrition and exercise it generally conjures up feelings of panic, pain, sacrifice and effort. Whilst some of us have a certain masochistic streak, why bother with all that when the alternative is a peace of mind and living in an effortless natural state that achieves far superior results?
Of course with any Zen-like sounding state, it will take some time to achieve and the exact process is complex topic that you could write a whole book on (maybe I might one day). The key take home message though is to make you aware and question the overwhelming societal norm to view nutrition and exercise in a certain negative light. Beyond a powerful (though unattached) desire for a successful result, I believe that the initial determination and work ethic must evolve into a peace of mind that has a calm core of absolute, unshakable certainty for long term results.
Getting the body you want in the fastest time possible for someone with a busy schedule is not about what exercises they need to do and what food they need eat. It certainly is not about exercising 'a bit' and eating a little better. It is about creating the lifestyle foundations and following systems to make it all work for you. The reward is that you will be able to take your place among the fitness elite - those who live their lives in such a way discover the body they desire, is an effortless by-product of their lifestyle.
Busy people live their lives according to their diaries which is effective and efficient. Yet for some reason, often when starting an exercise program they won't book themselves in. Rather they will simply decide to exercise and sure enough because that's what they want to do, they will set out and begin. The problem is though that they are busy people and as such 'life' gets in the way of their exercise very quickly. Booking themselves for exercise is a key practice that serves to minimize the various disruptions to the kind of consistency required to achieve significant muscle gain and fat loss for a better body.
It is important in a couple of ways. First of all it creates a tangible and subconscious importance for the exercise session and as such, it is given due consideration when arranging all other affairs as opposed to always being the first thing to be sacrificed for other priorities. This small step can make an amazing difference to a person's consistency. Simply by giving the time required to create a better body at bare minimum an equal footing, people get smarter and think laterally and design their lives to be able to meet this new commitment. Of course there will still be scheduling conflicts (though far less). In these cases though, diarizing exercise alongside everything else again makes people solution focused and sharpens their organization in order to be able to make it possible to meet both objectives should a conflict arise. Exercise becomes part of the priority hierarchy and over time, may even move up the list. This means that the busy person willingly increases their commitment to exercise and will muscle gain and fat loss results faster but most importantly, they will do so in a stress free manner because exercise is balanced against all their other life priorities.
The second key once time has been 'created' for exercise is to maximize it. Does any high achiever settle for second best? Do they haphazardly attack challenges without a sound strategic understanding of various cause and effect relationships so that they can navigate a course of action that will allow them to achieve success in the most effective and efficient way possible? For busy people who want to maximize lean muscle gain and fat loss, knowing the exact specifics of the entire process is critical. By understanding how the body responds to food and training will keep you on the most productive path possible. Yet so many simply seek training methods and adopt them without any idea if they are sound because they have no objective framework with which to evaluate them. The exact same goes for various crazy diets people try. If you don't understand how food works in the body of course any option, especially if it is hyped up my slick advertising, sounds plausible.
In terms of acquiring this knowledge, there is good news and bad news. The bad news is that the actual truth of this information can be a little hard to find. There are countless sources of misinformation and agenda based pseudo science to push certain viewpoints and products. At best even when you find solid information, there are some conflicting arguments that are equally valid, where only trial and error can determine the best approach. The good news is that once you find a good source of information - the truth about what the people who live with the lean muscular bodies that they desire really do it is actually reasonably easy to understand and achieve an excellent working understanding of it all. With someone who really knows what they are doing and sources of honest truth in your corner, it is no exaggeration to say that your comprehension of nutrition and training will outstrip many people in the fitness industry in about a month or even less.
In very simple terms, the second foundation is: Find out and understand the nutrition and training strategies that work best (for your individual makeup) and why. Once you know what you need to do for maximized muscle gain and fat loss, do it.
The third key is on the surface the most simple (though perhaps most esoteric) yet it completely underpins the success of the first two foundations. Once you have the first two foundations in place the third key is to just relax and enjoy the process. Don't stress about anything related to nutrition and exercise.
Busy people generally have some degree of stress in their lives already. The secret to ultimate body success is to make the process required to achieve a lean and muscular body and keep it for life become truly effortless. Get it out of your head that it's all hard work. When people think of nutrition and exercise it generally conjures up feelings of panic, pain, sacrifice and effort. Whilst some of us have a certain masochistic streak, why bother with all that when the alternative is a peace of mind and living in an effortless natural state that achieves far superior results?
Of course with any Zen-like sounding state, it will take some time to achieve and the exact process is complex topic that you could write a whole book on (maybe I might one day). The key take home message though is to make you aware and question the overwhelming societal norm to view nutrition and exercise in a certain negative light. Beyond a powerful (though unattached) desire for a successful result, I believe that the initial determination and work ethic must evolve into a peace of mind that has a calm core of absolute, unshakable certainty for long term results.
Getting the body you want in the fastest time possible for someone with a busy schedule is not about what exercises they need to do and what food they need eat. It certainly is not about exercising 'a bit' and eating a little better. It is about creating the lifestyle foundations and following systems to make it all work for you. The reward is that you will be able to take your place among the fitness elite - those who live their lives in such a way discover the body they desire, is an effortless by-product of their lifestyle.
Maximizing Muscle Gain And Fat Loss Just Like The Professionals
by: Ben Kong
A colleague of mine recently earned his 'Pro Card' (A designation to be able to compete in the professional ranks for cash. Generally you have to win your weight class at a national championship) in the premier natural bodybuilding federation the WNBF. This federation attracts the best natural athletes on the planet as it has by far the toughest drug testing policy in natural bodybuilding plus prize money that is significant by bodybuilding standards.
Whilst surfing various forums and sites for contest results and pictures I also read various posts by detailing the diet and training secrets of some of the best professional natural bodybuilders on the planet for maximizing muscle gain and fat loss.
Guess what the best of the best, world-class physiques do to build muscle and lose fat?
1. They learn as much as they can and continuously research how the human body works and over time refine their understanding of their own unique muscle growth and fat loss physiology.
2. They eat clean and they are specific. Sweet potato, beef, chicken, vegetables, good fats and plenty of water. All day, every day in the right amounts and at the right times for their body to keep their body fuelled and burning fat constantly.
3. They train smart. Once they know how their body works they create a training program that stacks up with the science of muscle grow adapted to how their body responds best.
4. They get their final edge with intelligent and rational supplementation. The pros of the WNBF know the handful of supplements that works and stick to them. They have everything else in line as well and know that supplements are not a miracle answer for deficient training and diet.
That's it! A simple four step process for developing the body of your dreams. Yes, there's effort and discipline involved but what everyone needs to understand is, once you get your body to the level where you've treated it to clean, functional eating for a period of time, you can relax a little, say over any festival periods it's not a problem to get get your body back into pristine condition again because there's not much work your body's got to do to eliminate any excess toxicity that's built up over a short space of time.
You don't have to become a world champion body builder to join the fitness elite - the term 'fitness elite' means knowing exactly how to work with your body in an intelligent, holistic way, so you can sculpt your body to your own specifications at will, naturally. It's not rocket science, it's biology! How you can transform your body and enjoy all the wonderful fruit that comes with it, if you don't take the time first to understand the very basics of what it requires to enable it to transform most efficiently? Impossible and downright insane.
To get your best body ever, it doesn't get any better than following in the footsteps of those with world class physiques. Ultimate Body Success was created from the very same foundations that built and continues to build the best bodies on the planet but most importantly allows YOU to do the same.
A colleague of mine recently earned his 'Pro Card' (A designation to be able to compete in the professional ranks for cash. Generally you have to win your weight class at a national championship) in the premier natural bodybuilding federation the WNBF. This federation attracts the best natural athletes on the planet as it has by far the toughest drug testing policy in natural bodybuilding plus prize money that is significant by bodybuilding standards.
Whilst surfing various forums and sites for contest results and pictures I also read various posts by detailing the diet and training secrets of some of the best professional natural bodybuilders on the planet for maximizing muscle gain and fat loss.
Guess what the best of the best, world-class physiques do to build muscle and lose fat?
1. They learn as much as they can and continuously research how the human body works and over time refine their understanding of their own unique muscle growth and fat loss physiology.
2. They eat clean and they are specific. Sweet potato, beef, chicken, vegetables, good fats and plenty of water. All day, every day in the right amounts and at the right times for their body to keep their body fuelled and burning fat constantly.
3. They train smart. Once they know how their body works they create a training program that stacks up with the science of muscle grow adapted to how their body responds best.
4. They get their final edge with intelligent and rational supplementation. The pros of the WNBF know the handful of supplements that works and stick to them. They have everything else in line as well and know that supplements are not a miracle answer for deficient training and diet.
That's it! A simple four step process for developing the body of your dreams. Yes, there's effort and discipline involved but what everyone needs to understand is, once you get your body to the level where you've treated it to clean, functional eating for a period of time, you can relax a little, say over any festival periods it's not a problem to get get your body back into pristine condition again because there's not much work your body's got to do to eliminate any excess toxicity that's built up over a short space of time.
You don't have to become a world champion body builder to join the fitness elite - the term 'fitness elite' means knowing exactly how to work with your body in an intelligent, holistic way, so you can sculpt your body to your own specifications at will, naturally. It's not rocket science, it's biology! How you can transform your body and enjoy all the wonderful fruit that comes with it, if you don't take the time first to understand the very basics of what it requires to enable it to transform most efficiently? Impossible and downright insane.
To get your best body ever, it doesn't get any better than following in the footsteps of those with world class physiques. Ultimate Body Success was created from the very same foundations that built and continues to build the best bodies on the planet but most importantly allows YOU to do the same.
Squats: The Ultimate Leg And All Body Exercise
by: Ben Kong
Your legs are your foundations and hard heavy leg training will transform your physique making it more powerful and stronger than you ever imagined. However, hard heavy leg training is brutal and that's why the majority of the masses run for the hills and don't achieve Ultimate Body Success. Leg training is simple in many ways but at the same time has many subtle technical and psychological nuances that make it very challenging and often very frustrating when people get stuck but can't quite figure out why or how to get past their plateau.
The Squat is the king of all exercises and failing to pay close attention to the technical aspects of this core exercise will mean that you will crash and burn with what I call the 80-90kg squat phenomenon. Very few guys squat, but still fewer squat well. If you don't perfect your technique, eventually around the 80-90lg mark, your progress will come to a grinding halt. You won't be able to get proper depth, the movement will feel awkward and at worst you may even injure yourself. I have seen it countless times,guys that weigh 80-90kg or more getting stuck at around the 80-90kg mark who end up 3/4 squatting that weight for years on end. Don't let this happen to you - technique is everything, otherwise you're just wasting your time and energy needlessly. It is absolutely imperative to practice until the bar sits well, you feel your groove and you can hit your depth consistently, staying tight and strong throughout the whole movement.
Like the deadlift, the squat is a hard and heavy simple movement yet has many subtle nuances that you will discover as you progress in your training journey.
As with any progressive overload, over time you will come up against sticking points or even from the start you may find that you may not be able to hit proper depth with any appreciable amount of weight. The most common technique flaw is not going to at least parallel. Even if you are never going to enter a powerlifting competition, going to parallel is so crucial for long term squatting power, effective leg training and balanced development of the quads, glutes and hamstrings that you always have to be fastidious about your depth.
Whenever you increase the weights, make sure that you still keep your depth. If you lose some depth, get it back before you increase the weight again. Simple. On the subject of proper squat depth as well, once you get beyond the basics, it should be a never ending constant refinement to improve your feel or awareness of where your proper depth is so you can work on hitting it precisely EVERY time and not spend any more time 'in the hole' than necessary before powering the weight back up. There is a saying that I think relates beautifully to the squat: "amateurs practice until they get it right, professionals practice until they never get it wrong."
Your legs are your foundations and hard heavy leg training will transform your physique making it more powerful and stronger than you ever imagined. However, hard heavy leg training is brutal and that's why the majority of the masses run for the hills and don't achieve Ultimate Body Success. Leg training is simple in many ways but at the same time has many subtle technical and psychological nuances that make it very challenging and often very frustrating when people get stuck but can't quite figure out why or how to get past their plateau.
The Squat is the king of all exercises and failing to pay close attention to the technical aspects of this core exercise will mean that you will crash and burn with what I call the 80-90kg squat phenomenon. Very few guys squat, but still fewer squat well. If you don't perfect your technique, eventually around the 80-90lg mark, your progress will come to a grinding halt. You won't be able to get proper depth, the movement will feel awkward and at worst you may even injure yourself. I have seen it countless times,guys that weigh 80-90kg or more getting stuck at around the 80-90kg mark who end up 3/4 squatting that weight for years on end. Don't let this happen to you - technique is everything, otherwise you're just wasting your time and energy needlessly. It is absolutely imperative to practice until the bar sits well, you feel your groove and you can hit your depth consistently, staying tight and strong throughout the whole movement.
Like the deadlift, the squat is a hard and heavy simple movement yet has many subtle nuances that you will discover as you progress in your training journey.
As with any progressive overload, over time you will come up against sticking points or even from the start you may find that you may not be able to hit proper depth with any appreciable amount of weight. The most common technique flaw is not going to at least parallel. Even if you are never going to enter a powerlifting competition, going to parallel is so crucial for long term squatting power, effective leg training and balanced development of the quads, glutes and hamstrings that you always have to be fastidious about your depth.
Whenever you increase the weights, make sure that you still keep your depth. If you lose some depth, get it back before you increase the weight again. Simple. On the subject of proper squat depth as well, once you get beyond the basics, it should be a never ending constant refinement to improve your feel or awareness of where your proper depth is so you can work on hitting it precisely EVERY time and not spend any more time 'in the hole' than necessary before powering the weight back up. There is a saying that I think relates beautifully to the squat: "amateurs practice until they get it right, professionals practice until they never get it wrong."
Biomimetics: Drawing Inspiration From the Design in Living Things
by: Harun Yahya
There is instruction for you in cattle. From the contents of their bellies, from between the dung and blood, We give you pure milk to drink, easy for drinkers to swallow. (Qur’an, 16:66)
And there is certainly a lesson for you in your livestock. We give you to drink from what is in their bellies and there are many ways in which you benefit from them, and some of them you eat; and you are conveyed on them and on ships as well. (Qur’an, 23:21-22)
Before scientists and research and development experts embark on new projects, they usually look for models in living things and imitate their systems and designs. In other words, they see and study the designs created in nature by Allah and, inspired by these, go on to develop their own new technologies.
This approach has given birth to biometrics, a new branch of science that seeks to imitate living things. In recent times, this branch of science has come to be widely applied in the world of technology. The use of the word “ibratan,” (to learn from, advice, importance, important thing, or model) in the above verses is most wise in this regard.
Biomimetics refers to all of the substances, equipment, mechanisms, and systems that people produce in order to imitate the systems present in nature. The scientific community currently feels a great need for the use of such equipment, particularly in the fields of nanotechnology, robot technology, artificial intelligence, medicine, and the military.
Biomimicry was first put forward by Janine M. Benyus, a writer and scientific observer from Montana. This concept was later analysed by many other people and began to find applications. Some of the comments made regarding biomimicry are as follows:
The theme of "biomimicry" is that we have much to learn from the natural world, as model, measure, and mentor. What these researchers have in common is a reverence for natural designs, and the inspiration to use them to solve human problems. 1
David Oakey, product strategist for Interface Inc., a company that uses nature to increasing product quality and productivity, says:
Nature is my mentor for business and design, a model for the way of life. Nature's system has worked for millions of years … Biomimicry is a way of learning from nature. 2
Scientists who began to favour this rapidly spreading idea accelerated their studies by using nature’s incomparable and flawless designs as models. These designs represent models for technological research, for they provide the maximum productivity for the least amount of materials and energy, and are self-maintaining, environmentally friendly, silent, aesthetically attractive, resistant, and long-lasting. The High Country News newspaper described biomimetics as “a scientific movement” and made the following comment:
By using natural systems as models, we can create technologies that are more sustainable than those in use today. 3
Janine M. Benyus, who believed that models in nature should be imitated, gave the following examples in her book, Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature (Perennial: 2002):
• Hummingbirds cross the Gulf of Mexico on less than 3 grams (one tenth of an ounce) of fuel,
• Dragonflies outmanoeuvre our best helicopters,
• Heating and air-conditioning systems in termite mounds are superior in terms of equipment and energy consumption to those made by human beings,
• A bat’s high-frequency transmitter is more efficient and sensitive than our own radar systems,
• Light-emitting algae combine various chemicals to illuminate their bodies,
• Arctic fish and frogs freeze solid and then spring to life, having protected their organs from ice damage,
• Chameleons and cuttlefish change the pattern of their skin to blend instantly with their surroundings,
• Bees, turtles, and birds navigate without maps, and
• Whales and penguins dive without scuba gear.
These astonishing mechanisms and designs in nature, of which we have cited only a few, have the potential to enrich technology in a wide range of fields. This potential is becoming ever more obvious as our accumulated knowledge and technological means increase.
All animals possess many features that amaze human beings. Some have the ideal hydrodynamic shape that allows them to move through water, and others employ senses that appear very foreign to us. Most of these are features that researchers have encountered for the first time, or, rather, that they have only recently discovered. On occasion, it is necessary to bring together prominent scientists from such fields as computer technology, mechanical engineering, electronics, mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology in order to imitate just one feature of a living thing.
Scientists are amazed when confronted with the incomparable structures and systems they are discovering with every passing day, and use that amazement to inspire themselves to produce new technologies for humanity’s benefit. Realising that the existing perfect systems and extraordinary techniques applied in nature are far superior to their own knowledge and intellect, they became aware of these matchless solutions to existing problems and are now resorting to the designs in nature to resolve problems that have eluded them for years. As a result, they will perhaps achieve success in a very short time. Moreover, by imitating nature, scientists are making very important gains with regard to time and labour and also to the targeted use of material resources.
Today we see the developing technology gradually discovering the miracles of creation and using the extraordinary designs in living things, as in the case of biomimetics, in the service of humanity. Benyus has stated that “‘Doing it nature's way’ has the potential to change the way we grow food, make materials, harness energy, heal ourselves, store information, and conduct business.” 4 The following are just a few of the many scientific papers to have considered such subjects:
“Science is Imitating Nature,” 5
“Life's Lessons in Design,” 6
“Biomimicry: Secrets Hiding in Plain Sight,” 7
“Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature,” 8
“Biomimicry: Genius That Surrounds Us,” 9
“Biomimetics: Creating Materials from Nature's Blueprints,” 10 and
“Engineers Ask Nature for Design Advice.” 11
In the nineteenth century, nature was imitated only in aesthetic terms. Artists and architects of that time were influenced by nature and used examples of the structures’ external appearances in their works. Yet the realisation of nature’s extraordinary designs and that these could be used to benefit human beings only began in the twentieth century with the study of natural mechanisms at the molecular level. Scientists today are learning from living things, as revealed in the Qur’an 1,400 years ago.
1- Frederick Pratter, “Stories from the Field Offer Clues on Physics and Nature,” Christian Science Monitor, www.biomimicry.org/reviews_text.html.
2- “Biomimicry,” www.bfi.org/Trimtab/spring01/biomimicry.htm.
3- Michelle Nijhuis, High Country News, 6 July 1998, vol. 30, no. 13, www.biomimicry.org/reviews_text.html.
4- “Biomimicry Explained: A Conversation with Janine Benyus,” www.biomimicry.org/faq.html.
5- Bilim ve Teknik Dergisi (Journal of Science and Technology) (August 1994): 43.
6- Philip Ball, “Life's lessons in design,” Nature 409 (2001): 413-16, www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/nature/journal/v409/n6818/full/409413a0_fs.html&filetype=&_UserReference=C0A804EF465069D8A41132467E093F0EDE99.
7- “Biomimicry: Secrets Hiding in Plain Sight,” NBL (New Bottom Line) 6, no. 22, 17 November 1997, www.natlogic.com/resources/nbl/v06/n22.html.
8- Janine M. Benyus, Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature (New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc.: 1998), www.biomimicry.org/reviews_text.html.
9- Ed Hunt, “Biomimicry: Genius that Surrounds Us,” Tidepool editor, www.biomimicry.org/reviews_text.html.
10- Robin Eisner, “Biomimetics: Creating Materials from Nature's Blueprints,” The Scientist, 8 July 1991, www.the-scientist.com/yr1991/july/research_910708.html.
11- Jim Robbins, “Engineers Ask Nature for Design Advice,” New York Times, 11 December 2001.
There is instruction for you in cattle. From the contents of their bellies, from between the dung and blood, We give you pure milk to drink, easy for drinkers to swallow. (Qur’an, 16:66)
And there is certainly a lesson for you in your livestock. We give you to drink from what is in their bellies and there are many ways in which you benefit from them, and some of them you eat; and you are conveyed on them and on ships as well. (Qur’an, 23:21-22)
Before scientists and research and development experts embark on new projects, they usually look for models in living things and imitate their systems and designs. In other words, they see and study the designs created in nature by Allah and, inspired by these, go on to develop their own new technologies.
This approach has given birth to biometrics, a new branch of science that seeks to imitate living things. In recent times, this branch of science has come to be widely applied in the world of technology. The use of the word “ibratan,” (to learn from, advice, importance, important thing, or model) in the above verses is most wise in this regard.
Biomimetics refers to all of the substances, equipment, mechanisms, and systems that people produce in order to imitate the systems present in nature. The scientific community currently feels a great need for the use of such equipment, particularly in the fields of nanotechnology, robot technology, artificial intelligence, medicine, and the military.
Biomimicry was first put forward by Janine M. Benyus, a writer and scientific observer from Montana. This concept was later analysed by many other people and began to find applications. Some of the comments made regarding biomimicry are as follows:
The theme of "biomimicry" is that we have much to learn from the natural world, as model, measure, and mentor. What these researchers have in common is a reverence for natural designs, and the inspiration to use them to solve human problems. 1
David Oakey, product strategist for Interface Inc., a company that uses nature to increasing product quality and productivity, says:
Nature is my mentor for business and design, a model for the way of life. Nature's system has worked for millions of years … Biomimicry is a way of learning from nature. 2
Scientists who began to favour this rapidly spreading idea accelerated their studies by using nature’s incomparable and flawless designs as models. These designs represent models for technological research, for they provide the maximum productivity for the least amount of materials and energy, and are self-maintaining, environmentally friendly, silent, aesthetically attractive, resistant, and long-lasting. The High Country News newspaper described biomimetics as “a scientific movement” and made the following comment:
By using natural systems as models, we can create technologies that are more sustainable than those in use today. 3
Janine M. Benyus, who believed that models in nature should be imitated, gave the following examples in her book, Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature (Perennial: 2002):
• Hummingbirds cross the Gulf of Mexico on less than 3 grams (one tenth of an ounce) of fuel,
• Dragonflies outmanoeuvre our best helicopters,
• Heating and air-conditioning systems in termite mounds are superior in terms of equipment and energy consumption to those made by human beings,
• A bat’s high-frequency transmitter is more efficient and sensitive than our own radar systems,
• Light-emitting algae combine various chemicals to illuminate their bodies,
• Arctic fish and frogs freeze solid and then spring to life, having protected their organs from ice damage,
• Chameleons and cuttlefish change the pattern of their skin to blend instantly with their surroundings,
• Bees, turtles, and birds navigate without maps, and
• Whales and penguins dive without scuba gear.
These astonishing mechanisms and designs in nature, of which we have cited only a few, have the potential to enrich technology in a wide range of fields. This potential is becoming ever more obvious as our accumulated knowledge and technological means increase.
All animals possess many features that amaze human beings. Some have the ideal hydrodynamic shape that allows them to move through water, and others employ senses that appear very foreign to us. Most of these are features that researchers have encountered for the first time, or, rather, that they have only recently discovered. On occasion, it is necessary to bring together prominent scientists from such fields as computer technology, mechanical engineering, electronics, mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology in order to imitate just one feature of a living thing.
Scientists are amazed when confronted with the incomparable structures and systems they are discovering with every passing day, and use that amazement to inspire themselves to produce new technologies for humanity’s benefit. Realising that the existing perfect systems and extraordinary techniques applied in nature are far superior to their own knowledge and intellect, they became aware of these matchless solutions to existing problems and are now resorting to the designs in nature to resolve problems that have eluded them for years. As a result, they will perhaps achieve success in a very short time. Moreover, by imitating nature, scientists are making very important gains with regard to time and labour and also to the targeted use of material resources.
Today we see the developing technology gradually discovering the miracles of creation and using the extraordinary designs in living things, as in the case of biomimetics, in the service of humanity. Benyus has stated that “‘Doing it nature's way’ has the potential to change the way we grow food, make materials, harness energy, heal ourselves, store information, and conduct business.” 4 The following are just a few of the many scientific papers to have considered such subjects:
“Science is Imitating Nature,” 5
“Life's Lessons in Design,” 6
“Biomimicry: Secrets Hiding in Plain Sight,” 7
“Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature,” 8
“Biomimicry: Genius That Surrounds Us,” 9
“Biomimetics: Creating Materials from Nature's Blueprints,” 10 and
“Engineers Ask Nature for Design Advice.” 11
In the nineteenth century, nature was imitated only in aesthetic terms. Artists and architects of that time were influenced by nature and used examples of the structures’ external appearances in their works. Yet the realisation of nature’s extraordinary designs and that these could be used to benefit human beings only began in the twentieth century with the study of natural mechanisms at the molecular level. Scientists today are learning from living things, as revealed in the Qur’an 1,400 years ago.
1- Frederick Pratter, “Stories from the Field Offer Clues on Physics and Nature,” Christian Science Monitor, www.biomimicry.org/reviews_text.html.
2- “Biomimicry,” www.bfi.org/Trimtab/spring01/biomimicry.htm.
3- Michelle Nijhuis, High Country News, 6 July 1998, vol. 30, no. 13, www.biomimicry.org/reviews_text.html.
4- “Biomimicry Explained: A Conversation with Janine Benyus,” www.biomimicry.org/faq.html.
5- Bilim ve Teknik Dergisi (Journal of Science and Technology) (August 1994): 43.
6- Philip Ball, “Life's lessons in design,” Nature 409 (2001): 413-16, www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/nature/journal/v409/n6818/full/409413a0_fs.html&filetype=&_UserReference=C0A804EF465069D8A41132467E093F0EDE99.
7- “Biomimicry: Secrets Hiding in Plain Sight,” NBL (New Bottom Line) 6, no. 22, 17 November 1997, www.natlogic.com/resources/nbl/v06/n22.html.
8- Janine M. Benyus, Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature (New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc.: 1998), www.biomimicry.org/reviews_text.html.
9- Ed Hunt, “Biomimicry: Genius that Surrounds Us,” Tidepool editor, www.biomimicry.org/reviews_text.html.
10- Robin Eisner, “Biomimetics: Creating Materials from Nature's Blueprints,” The Scientist, 8 July 1991, www.the-scientist.com/yr1991/july/research_910708.html.
11- Jim Robbins, “Engineers Ask Nature for Design Advice,” New York Times, 11 December 2001.
Langganan:
Postingan (Atom)
