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What Type of Creatine Should I Use?

Posted by Rachael Thomas in Foods & Culinary | Comments Off

With so many types of creatine to choose from these days, it’s no wonder people are asking questions like “What type of creatine should I use?” or “Whats the best creatine?” or “Whats the most effective creatine?” This article is going to give you some insight on the various types of creatine out there and help you to decide which one is best for you.

To kick things off, we need to first mention creatine monohydrate because its the oldest and most scientifically proven form of creatine and it’s still the standard for creatine. Every other from of creatine, that is not creatine monohydrate, has come into existence much more recently. Some of the most well known and popular forms of creatine include:

Creatine HCL (hydrochloride)
Creatine ethyl ester
Kre-alkalyn
creatine phosphate
creatine pyruvate

Often you will see creatine supplements that that contain a blend of these different forms of creatine. The idea here is that your getting the best attributes of each type of creatine in these blends. Some of the more popular ones include Cell Tech by MuscleTech and CellMass by BSN. Both of these supplements are a bit pricey, but seem to get good reviews from users and are widely used.

The idea behind all of these other (not creatine monohydrate), newer forms of creatine is that at least one of the following is true:

1. They have a better absorption rate than creatine monohydrate
2. They are more stable than creatine monohydrate; meaning less conversion into byproducts
3. They have fewer side effects than creatine monohydrate

Although it would be great if each of these properties were true about every newer form of creatine, it’s not always the case. In fact, studies often prove the exact opposite. Creatine ethyl ester and creatine phosphate have both proved to be less stable than creatine monohydrate. Third party studies do confirm that creatine pyruvate is effective, however it may not be as effective as certain other forms of creatine.

The real question here is “Which form of creatine is the most effective?” Kre-alkalyn and creatine HCL are two of the most popular forms of creatine, outside of creatine monohydrate. Each of these forms of creatine has proven to be effective in third party studies.

Out of these two, it seems that creatine HCL has taken the spot as the front runner in the new creatine game. Thousands of users agree that it causes less bloating than creatine monohydrate and that there are virtually no side effects. Users also report great gains and many says it’s even more effective than creatine monohydrate. Many agree that its the best creatine on the market.

Creatine HCL is the newest development in creatine, patented in 2009, so we really have no long term data or studies to go by. With that being said, it looks like creatine HCL has a promising future. If you’ve never used creatine before, I highly recommended starting with creatine monohydrate. However, those who want to try something new may benefit from the newly discovered creatine HCL.

Overall, I would say stick with either creatine monohydrate, creatine HCL or Kre-alkalyn, as these three have the most positive user results and are the most popular. Creatine monohydrate is, by far, the least expensive form of creatine. So, if your taking cost into consideration you may want to stick with creatine monohydrate.

3 Important Reasons To Wear MMA Mouthguards For Martial Arts Training

Posted by Rachael Thomas in Stuff | Comments Off

If you plan on getting involved into MMA fights, you’d better wear MMA mouthguards every time you train or else you’ll have no teeth left when it comes time to fight. Many people think you should only wear a mouthguard if you’re actively sparring. This is ridiculous as a standard grappling session can easily result in a hard enough to blow to hurt your teeth, lips, or jaw. There’s a reason why every video showing an MMA class shows a room full of students with a mouthpiece in.

Here are 3 very important reasons to wear a mouthguard whenever you train.

1. The first reason being the fact that teeth are hard to be replaced. You are no longer an infant and you will not grow a second pair of teeth if you lose your current one. That is the main motive why you should consider being carefully oriented to shop for a mouth piece. You will without a doubt take serious punches and occasionally get kicked hard in the face once you get caught off guard. Your gums will not get sliced up and you won’t have to deal with a full mouth of blood, instead you will be able to stay in the fight and keep it together. Your teeth won’t get shoved through your lips either, which is a very common problem. There’s no reason why you should look like Leatherface at the end of a friendly sparring session.

2. Serious kicking or a heavy punch can make you lose consciousness if you don’t notice it and it actually lands on your jaw. You won’t lose the match from a KO because the mouth guard will block some of the heaviest hit and reduce the amount of force you get hit with. You will be unshakable by hard blows and remain focused on giving the opponent a hard time. It should go without saying that a mouthguard won’t make you invincible to a knockout blow, but it definitely helps you adsorb the punishment and won’t lead to a broken jaw as easily.

3. The mouth piece will not allow you to bite your tongue during the match and chop it off by accident. Your teeth will be well protected alongside your gum line and you won’t manifest any signs of excessive bleeding. You will have teeth to eat with when you will be old. That should be a huge priority of virtually anyone, whether they’re training MMA or not. With precautions in place you will make it through training and through your debut matches in one piece. Go shopping for the right kind of equipment before it is too late and your health has to suffer. A mouthguard should only cost you $40 or so, which is a drop in the bucket when compared to your future dental bills should you continue to train without one.

As you can see, mouthguards prevent many common injuries that come up frequently while on the mats. Don’t be a dummy; get a mouthpiece to help eliminate these injuries.

How to Build Muscle on a Raw Food Diet, Lose Weight and Gain More Energy!

Posted by Rachael Thomas in Health | Comments Off

Want to lose weight, feel better, be happier, more energetic, healthier and radiant? Who wouldn’t, right? Most of us probably have some weight to lose, and wouldn’t mind improving our health either. And doing so may not be as complicated as you think. Believe it or not, it is all attainable on a raw food diet, and there are honestly thousands of people who will back me up on that. The raw food diet changes lives, and seeing as its popularity has absolutely exploded over the last few years, that’s really a lot of lives changed! Feeling skeptical? Do a YouTube search for “Raw Food Testimonials” and see for yourself!

But what is a raw food diet? This is a diet where 75% or more of your calories come from uncooked plant foods like fruits, berries, vegetables, nuts and seeds and so on. It has been found that, in general, not cooking these foods helps them retain their nutrient profile better, making them a lot healthier for you. This affects not just their enzyme content (most of these foods lose all their highly beneficial enzymes when cooked) but also their vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants, phyto-chemicals and other nutrients that your body need to function optimally.

And what can you expect when switching to a raw food diet? Lots of things, and all of them good! Due to social and habitual reasons, switching to a raw food diet may not be easy, but here are just some of the many benefits you can expect, as reported by raw food eaters:

• Easy weight loss. Because most of the foods you will be consuming on a raw food diet have a very low energy density (this is particularly true when talking about vegetables), you will probably find that weight loss on a raw food diet can be easier than ever, because of the simple fact that you can eat until you’re full and still not take in enough calories to maintain a high bodyweight. In addition, by not cooking these foods you avoid altering their glycemic index, so that your blood sugar control improves. Even people who’ve unsuccesfully tried all kinds of different diets have found that weight loss was easier than ever when they switched to a diet consisting mainly of raw fruits and vegetables. Fast and sustained weight loss isn’t just a possibility on a raw food diet – it’s a probability. Try it and see for yourself!

• More energy. Feeling weak and tired all the time? You’re not alone. A large part of our population feel that their energy levels just don’t measure up. You can expect big changes when switching to a properly planned raw food diet, though: raw foodists sometimes claim their new diet has given them too much energy – something that is really best seen as a bit of a luxury problem!

• Improved immunity. Raw foodists usually find that they don’t catch colds or other illnesses as frequently as they used to, and they usually also report experiencing a huge improvement in general health because of eating this way.

• Enhanced athletic performance. This comes as a surprise to many, but the fact is that a well planned raw food diet can lead to significant improvements in performance. Even with the relatively low protein intake you can expect from eating mostly plants all day, you can actually build muscle on a raw food diet - some raw food converts find it easier to build muscle than ever before when eating this way.

• Better mood. There are those that claim that raw food cured their depression, and then there are the rest of us who may not have been suffering from a clinical condition but just plain feel happier when we eat this way. No doubt about it, raw food can improve moods.

These are just some of the many benefits you can expect to experience when “going raw.” If this way of eating is new to you, you really do owe it to yourself to give it a try. You may never want to switch back to a diet full of cooked foods ever again!

Preventing Leg Cramps that Occur During or After Physical Activity

Posted by Rachael Thomas in Health | Comments Off

Muscle cramping is one of the most common injuries that befalls athletes during their big sports games. At the same time, out of shape individuals who hardly put any strain on their muscles at all can still find themselves at the mercy of horrible leg cramps that most commonly occur while they are asleep in their bed. There are obvious measures that one can take to lessen the chances of a leg cramp or muscle spasm occurring, but you will probably need a more direct means of relief if you plan to be regularly pushing your muscles to the limit through sports or other physical activities.

A skeletal muscle is the term used to define any muscle that you can actively control. This includes your hands, feet, legs and your abdomen among others, and the most common types of muscle cramps almost always occur in your skeletal muscles. Your nutritional habits play a big role in the level at which these muscles can function, and a lack of potassium or magnesium has been found to be directly linked to the occurrence of leg cramps in humans. Although small measures like including more potassium and magnesium into your diet or drinking more water work quite well for some people, the level that athletes push their muscles to on a regular basis usually makes it so that your body is unable to stop the cramping regardless of it’s physical condition or ability.

Rubbing or massaging a muscle during or after a cramp occurs will help to rub some of the pain out, but this will hardly have much of an instant effect, even if you use a muscle heating product as well. Pain pills will take away the dull pain after a while, but this is an unacceptable approach for anyone that is going to need to be at the top of their physical condition for the upcoming game, practice session or workout.

An Amish remedy that combines all-natural and organic apple cider vinegar with other natural ingredients is currently the most effective remedy on the market, and the company that has made this product available online is known as Stops Leg Cramps. Not only does their formula help to stop leg cramps as soon as they start, it can also be taken right before a game to ensure that none of your muscles cramp up on you in the middle of an important play. This pre-game preventative measure has slowly been sweeping through tennis, football and tons of other sports, and it only takes a couple of spoonfuls of the stuff to start working right away.

As an athlete or physically active person, injuring your muscles is much like a painter who has broken their hands. If you truly enjoy what you do, your number one priority will always be to preserve your ability to continue on as long as possible. By following safe measures related to stretching and nutrition, as well as familiarizing yourself with the best natural and harmless remedies to help with serious cases, you put yourself in a position in which you will be able to prepare for and prevent your leg cramps or muscle spasms almost every time.

Playing on Different Tennis Surfaces and the Beset Clay Court Tennis Shoes

Posted by Rachael Thomas in Sports | Comments Off

Players involved in the sport of tennis are most familiar with the hard court: a surface based with concrete and asphalt layered over by acrylic.  Hard courts, while being the most popular, are only one of many different tennis surfaces.  

Playing tennis on grass and clay does not necessarily have to be part of a routine, but every tennis player should get a chance to try it at least once.  Some players will play exclusively on the clay surface, becoming defensive specialists and world class sliders.  Different intricacies of these surfaces make tennis a more interesting and diverse sport.  While it can be fun to experiment with other surfaces, careful attention should be paid to the proper equipment for each different surface.

Preparing for and Playing on Clay Tennis Courts

Clay courts are incredibly unique surfaces for two reasons.  First, and most obvious, the way the ball responds to the consistency of the loose dirt.  Balls will slow down considerably, while shooting up higher than normal.  The friction on the ball causes this effect and makes the ball sit up high in the air.  This can be problematic when hitting a normal shot that would normally be low enough, but instead floats up into your opponents strike zone.  On the other hand, utilizing topspin will increase the effect and produce a ball that climbs into the opponents shoulders, making it very difficult to hit back.

The other interesting effect that the clay court has is on a player’s movement around the court.  Tennis requires quick direction changes from side to side and the clay can really inhibit this.  The main problem is that the friction is considerably reduced by the loose material on the courts surface.  Lack of friction causes the players to slide rather than being able to make a full and complete stop.  

This sliding action can absolutely wreak havoc on an inexperienced player’s game.  Taking this into account, hitting behind an opponent becomes an amazingly effective strategy.  When you hit behind an opponent, they need to successfully change directions twice, once to recover towards the middle, then again to cover the shot.

Equipment for Playing on Clay Tennis Courts

The most important factor when gearing up for a game of tennis on the clay is your footwear.  Special clay court tennis shoes are designed to provide the most resistance on the clay surface.  Using a normal hard court shoe is possible, but not advisable.  The drawback to not having these shoes is less control in your movement, along with a heavier and bulkier shoe.  

Shoes designed specifically for the clay will be lighter performance based shoes.  This is because the reduced friction of the clay court will allow a lighter and less durable shoe more leeway.  Not taking advantage of these two factors when choosing footwear for a clay court is just giving up a huge advantage.  Movement is the key when playing on clay, having more controlled motion coupled with faster direction changes can make the difference in any match.