Foods To Build Muscle

Foods To Build Muscle

If you’ve made the decision to start building up your muscles in the gym, then it's important to get to grips with what you should be eating to supplement your training. The more rigorous your new fitness regime is, whether you’re training for a marathon or starting exercise after pregnancy, the more your body will want energy from food - so you might have to eat more than your standard three meals a day if you want to really tone up.

Increasing protein

One of the main things to remember when toning arms, or any other muscle groups, is the importance of protein. Maintaining a high protein diet really is the quickest way to build muscle. Protein is created by amino acids and is the foundation of your muscles and body. Protein allows you to build, repair and maintain muscle tissue, which is why it’s so important when it comes to achieving your muscle-building goals.

Increasing calorie consumption

Whether it’s toning arms, your core, or even just starting up an exercise routine, gaining muscle will involve intensifying your training regime in the gym. This means that you’ll end up burning off a lot more calories than you normally would, but it’s important that you don’t burn off more than you're consuming, because that will just lead to weight loss rather than muscle gain.
So, it’s important that you calculate how many extra calories you're losing and compensate by increasing your intake in your diet. Do it sensibly though, with a variety of food groups and protein – increasing calories by eating extra fatty foods won’t help your health in the long run!

High protein recipes

You’ll notice in your gym that a lot of people, especially those doing serious toning, carry around protein supplement shakes. This is a quick way to ensure you get the daily protein you need, but you can also achieve this through food. There are many foods that are high in protein, and some of the best include cheese, beef, roasted pumpkin seeds, lean meats such as chicken, pork or turkey, fish such as tuna or salmon, and lentils. With such a wide variety of high protein foods out there, adopting a high protein diet is actually fairly easy. Here are a couple of tasty and simple recipes you can try to boost your protein intake:

 Banana Breakfast Shake (13.9g protein per serving) 

- For a quick ‘do-it-yourself’ protein shake, this is a great recipe. Take roughly a litre of low fat milk, four bananas (peeled!), two teaspoons of vanilla extract, one teaspoon of almond extract and half a teaspoon of cinnamon. Then throw the whole lot in a blender and blitz until it’s smooth enough to drink for a delicious and protein-full way to kick off your day! This is also a great one to try if you're just starting exercise after pregnancy and don't have a lot of time to prepare big meals.

Ham and Cheese Toasties (14.3g protein per serving) 

- This is one of the easiest recipes to do whilst also being high in protein and flavour. All you need to do is take two slices of wholemeal bread and butter one side of each. Then place four slices of ham and some low-fat cheese on the non-buttered sides, then grill. Grilling can be done easily either in your oven grill tray or on a portable kitchen grill, so why not have a go for a really tasty, high protein lunch?

Tuna Curry (17.3g protein per serving) 

- Tuna fish is a great source of protein for toning arms and more, but can get boring unless you mix up your recipes. This tuna curry is delicious and fresh. Simply grab a wok and lightly stir-fry one apple (peeled and chopped) for around 1-2 minutes on a medium heat. Then stir in two teaspoons of curry powder, pour on a cup of tomato sauce (tinned/chopped tomatoes) and bring to the boil. Finally, add in your tin of tuna fish (with juice!) and stir until warmed through. Serve over rice for a fruity and delicious high protein meal.

Why Do We Need Protein?

Why Do We Need Protein?

High-protein nutrition is essential whatever your training goal. Follow these important nutrition rules to maximise your physique, performance and recovery.

How much protein?

Aim to consume around 1.5-2g protein per kg of body mass per day. Extensive research shows that active individuals need more protein than the less active.

Multi-goal protein

Extra protein is essential whatever your physique or performance goal, including losing weight, playing sport, and increasing muscle.

Protein timing

Whey protein shakes like Promax deliver protein rapidly to your muscles, which is highly beneficial in the morning and before and after training. For a slower protein source in the evening or before bed, mix Promax with a glass of milk or some low-fat yoghurt.

Whole food proteins

Aim to consume a wide variety of high-quality complete proteins such as lean meat, eggs and fish.

Regular protein

A regular intake of high-quality protein supplies your body with the building blocks it needs to repair and grow muscle tissue. Ideally eat protein every 2-3 hours.

Rainbow Foods & Their Benefits

Rainbow Foods & Their Benefits

A healthy diet doesn't have to be boring: in fact, the more natural colours you put on your plate, the better! Phytonutrients, which give plants their colour, are also responsible for the vitamins and mineral content of our fruit and veg. In other words, you'll know the good stuff on the inside from the colour on the outside.
While it can be tempting to stick to your favourite salad, a green-heavy diet lacks the benefits of purple and orange. Stocking up on rainbow foods ensures a healthy dietary balance of phytonutrients - and it's a lot more fun than a multi-vitamin! 

Red
Vibrant tomatoes, red peppers and strawberries get their enticing red skin from lycopene. This antioxidant protects against degenerative diseases, and it is also associated with a reduced risk of heart disease in men. Canned tomatoes actually contain more lycopene than fresh produce, so stock up on tomato sauces and salsa! 
Red berries are packed with anthocyanins, known to inhibit the growth of cancer cells.
Orange
Carrots, sweet potatoes and pumpkins are full of beta-carotene, an orangey pigment that the human body converts into vitamin A. Also known as retinol, this vitamin is good for skin, immunity and strengthening the eyes.  
Oranges are full of vitamin C, best known for preventing scurvy but also essential for maintaining healthy organs.
Yellow
Yellow foods help digestive health and have anti-inflammatory properties. Bananas contain potassium, thought to help regulate blood pressure, and are a good source of fibre.
Corn contains vitamin B1, also known as thiamine, which is used to treat digestive ailments.
Green
Renowned green 'superfoods' are packed with super antioxidant powers and an abundance of vitamins. Broccoli serves up a hefty dose of Vitamin K to help protect arteries and regulate blood clotting, while avocado is full of heart-healthy monounsaturated fats. Spinach contains omega 3 fatty acids - yes, the same kind found in salmon!
Blue
Blueberries get their colour from flavonoids. With more antioxidants than red wine, blueberries help to prevent age-related diseases, including certain cancers and cardiovascular problems.
Purple
Purple foods like blackberries and plums get their anti-inflammatory properties from anthocyanins. Purple fruits and vegetables like aubergine and purple kale are also associated with minimising the risk of high blood pressure.  
...and pink!l
Pink grapefruits also contain lycopene, and have one of the highest antioxidant concentrations in the citrus aisle.
Beetroot gets its pink colour from betacyanin, which speeds up liver detoxification - the ultimate hangover cure! This antioxidant is also thought to inhibit cancer cells.

A varied and colourful diet is definitely one of the best ways to keep healthy. Make sure to include all the colours of the rainbow in your weekly shop - not only will your plate look pretty, your body will be ete.

7 Day Healthy Eating Plan

7 Day Healthy Eating Plan

Whether you’re heading to the gym, about to spend the day tackling spreadsheets or catching up on household chores, eating well is essential to keeping your energy levels up, as well as for an overall balanced diet and lifestyle. Here are seven tasty, low-fat meal suggestions for breakfast, lunch and dinner to help make healthy eating easy this summer. 

Monday 

Breakfast: Fresh fruit smoothie. Keep berries - whether that's blueberries, raspberries or strawberries - in the freezer to sling a handful into your blender or food processor in the morning. Add whatever fruit you have handy, such as a chopped banana, for added flavour and top up with natural yoghurt for a creamy texture.

Lunch: Hummus and crudités. Raw veg such as carrot or celery sticks are great dipped in hummus at lunch - you can look for low-fat varieties or make your own. For a more filling dinner, serve hummus on a baked potato with sweetcorn and salad. Much healthier than cheesy beans, but just as comforting!

Tuesday

Breakfast:Homemade granola. Swap the sugary cereals for something more natural. Making your own granola is easy - simply mix dried fruit, like sultanas, dried apricots or more exotic flavours like dried pineapple or mango, with dried (unsalted) nuts and a handful of oats, served with either skimmed milk or natural yoghurt. 

Lunch: Melon salad. Delicious and creamy, sprinkle balled melon with fresh mint, crumbled feta and crushed kalamata olives for the ultimate Mediterranean-inspired summer lunch

Wednesday

Breakfast: Poached egg on toast. Skip high-fat fried eggs in favour of poaching. There’s a bit of a knack to perfecting poached eggs, but the health benefits are significant, with no oil involved in cooking. 

Lunch: Homemade sandwiches. Skip fatty supermarket sandwiches at lunch (typically packed with calories) and make your own instead. Raw tofu covered in tomato chutney with salad is delicious and low-fat. When making your own sandwiches, try to avoid processed white bread and full-fat mayonnaise.  

Thursday

Breakfast: Grilled fruit. A delicious alternative to calorific breakfast pastries, a grilled grapefruit half tastes sweet and indulgent, without the calories. Sprinkle with a very light layer of brown sugar and grill until bubbling.

Dinner: Flatbread pizza. This healthy alternative to pizza is easy to make: you can prepare the dough yourself using whole grain spelt flour or cheat by using shop-bought flatbread. Using either pesto or tomato sauce as a base, just top your bread with baby spinach, roasted peppers and aubergine for a delicious low-fat dinner. 

Friday

Breakfast: Fresh fruit salad. Get your 5-a-day off to a good start with a mixed fruit salad - surprisingly filling, you can use any type of fruit you like to whip up this breakfast, whether you prefer kiwi, mango, grapes or apples. Avoid syrupy tinned fruit and stick to fresh to keep it healthy. 

Dinner: Super-veg pasta. Create a pasta sauce that's packed with vegetable goodness by first frying fennel, onion and carrot until soft, before adding grilled red peppers, tomato puree and tinned tomatoes. Serve with pasta and basil to garnish for a dinner that contains only 323 calories and 2 of your 5 a day.

Saturday

Breakfast: Egg and salmon sandwich. Poach an egg and serve with smoked salmon (rich in beneficial omega-3 fats) on a brown wholemeal bap or bread. This is a great power breakfast to get you through a busy day.

Lunch: Greek salad. This classic dish is a healthy favourite, and very quick and easy to prepare. Just mix lettuce leaves, black olives, feta, tomato, red onion and cucumber and drizzle lightly with olive oil for a tasty, guilt-free lunch. 

Sunday

Breakfast: Fat-free fry up. Perfect for lazy Sundays, simply grill some sliced mushrooms and a halved tomato, and serve with a fistful of wilted spinach, brown toast, a poached egg and cracked black pepper.

Dinner: Healthy roast. Put a healthy twist on the traditional Sunday roast by serving rosemary chicken with ratatouille. Simply toss chopped aubergine, courgettes and peppers into a roasting tin with garlic, then add two lean rosemary-topped chicken breasts into the tin after 20 minutes, stirring in tinned tomatoes with the veg. Roast until the chicken is cooked through and serve with boiled new potatoes.

Top 10 Warm Up Exercises

Top 10 Warm Up Exercises

Let's be honest: warm ups are like breakfast. You know you shouldn't skip them - in fact, they might be the most important part of your workout - but you might not exactly look forward to them. Your pre-exercise routine should always include mobility drills, a pulse raiser, and flexibility exercises. It's also a good idea to blast out some motivational tunes during your warm up to gear up mentally for your workout too.

Check out our top 10 warm up exercises:

Mobility Exercises

Rotations and dynamic stretches prepare the joints for exercise. You'll improve range of movement and reduce the risk of strain or injury.

Neck rolls 

the first step to maintaining good posture throughout your workout. Slowly roll your neck clockwise for 30-60 seconds, then change direction. If you're prone to stiffness, repeat this exercise regularly.

Leg swings 

side-to-side and front-to-back - are the easiest way to prepare hip joints for exercise. As adults, we lose flexibility in our hips. Lubricating these joints improves performance and is an essential strength training precaution. Perform 10 in each direction, ensuring that the hip initiates movement.

Trunk twists 

facing forward with feet hip-width apart, twist the upper body to one side. Keep your hands on your hips to ensure the pelvis remains stationary throughout 10 rotations per side.

Pulse Raiser

Usually performed on a cardio machine, these exercises warm your muscles, protecting them from shock during the main workout. As your pulse climbs, oxygenated blood is sent throughout your body. Improved circulation and oxygenation helps all of your muscles perform better - including your heart.

Jogging 

 jogging is an easy way to raise your heart rate without fatiguing. Use the cross trainer, which also engages your upper body, or if jogging on a treadmill, swing your arms with control.

Cycling 

 it takes a certain level of cycling endurance to warm up on an exercise bike - if you feel the burn in your legs before reaching your target heart rate, switch machines!

Rowing

This is one of the best pulse raisers to prepare for any kind of workout. The rower engages your full body, and it's easy to gradually increase your speed throughout the warm up.

Flexibility Exercises

These exercises keep the muscles warm, preparing them for exercise by introducing movements that will be repeated throughout the main workout, reducing the risk of strain.

Squat stands 

- with hands raised above your head, squat until thighs are parallel to the ground before returning to full height. Your goal is to further improve hip flexion, so don't worry about holding the squat. 

Walking lunges 

- ideal for runners, these improve range of motion and blood flow to the legs.
Arm circles - simple but effective, small or large circles mobilise your shoulder joints and warm the surrounding muscles.