Milk Vs Antioxidants

Antioxidants

This blog has looked into the benefits of antioxidants and why they are so important to us. Today, we will look into what affect milk has on our antioxidant consumption and find out whether it is a good idea or not.

Why We Want Antioxidants

Basically, we want antioxidants. Essentially, antioxidants fight free radicals in the body and stop the negative impact that these free radicals have on our body. For more detailed information on antioxidants, try this page.

Milk versus Antioxidants

So while we want antioxidants, it appears that milk may have a negative affect on all the good work that antioxidants can do. Vegetables, berries, tea and chocolate are some of the major foods that contain antioxidants. Studies show, however, that the benefits enjoyed from consumption of these foods are heightened when eaten alone, or as part of a meal with other foods.

Experts have also found that consuming these products alongside milk can have a damaging affect on the antioxidant activity – decreasing it essentially. Drinking a black tea, for example, can have fantastic antioxidant activity. Adding milk to this tea, however, will decrease the benefits of the antioxidants in the tea.

Why does Milk have a Negative Affect on Antioxidants?

Research appears to suggest that some proteins found in milk consumption limit the absorption of antioxidant molecules into our system, rendering them useless!

So, it is vitally important for our health that we consume foods with antioxidants but we must be careful not to associate these with milk to get the most out of them.

Bodyweight Workouts

Bodyweight Exercises

When we think of working out and getting fit, we generally picture a gym or health club, packed with different machines and weights. However, it does not have to be like this. There are many reasons for wanting to use bodyweight workouts, whether this is just to aid with weight workouts or to use them as our sole method of exercise.

Benefits of Bodyweight Workouts
1) Convenience - weight free workouts require little to no equipment so can be done anywhere, at anytime and by anyone! Excuses suggesting that we have no time to go to the gym don’t apply here as we can workout anywhere. 

2) Core and Balance - research suggests that working out without weights, doing activities such as Yoga and Pilates, can help to strengthen the core and improve our balance, posture and form. 

3) Target All Muscle Groups - obviously, when we are working out we want to exercise our whole body. With bodyweight exercises this can still be achieved and each muscle group can be targeted for exercise. 

Classic Bodyweight Exercises


There are so many bodyweight exercises out there but the following list will identify some of the most common and basic bodyweight exercises that should be part of everybody’s workouts!

1. Push-Ups
2. Pull-Ups
3. Squats
4. Lunges
5. Sit-ups/Crunches
6. The Plank
7. Tricep Dips
8. Walking/Running/Jogging

Bodyweight exercises can form part of anyone’s exercise regime. They can form the whole workout, or be used to supplement other workouts that we may be doing. As with all exercise programmes, though, it is important that we warm up, stretch before and after, and practice good form while exercising. This way we will be safe and get the most from our workouts.

SuperSets!

More Muscle – Less Time

This blog entry will look at ‘Supersets’, which is a concept designed to increase the rate in which we build muscle. The basic idea involves building more muscle in a shorter period of time.

What are supersets?

Supersets basically involve working the same muscles with two different exercises without a rest in between. An example would be doing a set of bench presses followed by a set of push ups.

How do we get bigger muscles?

With little rest in between each set, a workout that takes half an hour can now take 20-25 minutes. Using the example above, we would do 10 repetitions of the bench press and then immediately complete 20 repetitions of push ups. This works similar muscle groups without rest. We can then move on to the next muscle groups and complete, for example, chin ups followed by lat pull downs. We continue the exercises and repeat the routine. Two or three supersets will be sufficient!

We may find that we enjoy doing supersets, and we may find that they are simply not for us. As with any exercise regime it is always better to be comfortable and so we should only complete supersets in a controlled and safe manner!