http://www.thekitchn.com/feedburnermain
This is a recipe that has stood the test of time and has become a family treasure. I developed it when our daughter was a toddler, and she is now a senior in high school (which I still can’t quite believe). In our house, it comes out several times a year for all sorts of holidays and occasions.
http://www.thekitchn.com/feedburnermain
There’s nothing that quite says “I spent $18 on lunch at a salad bar” like those brown paper takeout containers from Whole Foods. And, as it turns out, in addition to tasty, health-conscious offerings of steamed and fresh greens, couscous, and that corn salad we love so much, a little smidge of a cancer-causing chemical came free of charge — at least until now.
http://www.thekitchn.com/feedburnermain
For someone who doesn’t travel much, I got to go on a lot of fun work trips this year. During the summer, I went to Aldi’s headquarters just outside of Chicago. In September, I went to the Staub factory in Northern France. And just before Thanksgiving, I went to Target’s headquarters in Minneapolis. It was a good year! Especially because these are three of my favorite brands.
With the Thanksgiving frenzy, I didn’t get to tell you guys about my Target trip. So here goes! Here are some of the most surprising things I learned during my visit.
http://www.thekitchn.com/feedburnermain
This year you probably did too much cooking to recall every recipe you searched for. Maybe you used the massive Pinterest database, or maybe you turned to a trusty family cookbook passed down through the generations. Chances are, though, if you were in rush or looking for a new recipe on the fly, you took the simplest path and searched for what you were looking for on Google.
Curious about what your fellow home cooks whipped up this year? Well Google just released its most searched-for recipes of 2018, and the list is all about satisfying meals you can make for your family any night of the week.
http://www.thekitchn.com/feedburnermain
As much as we’ve enjoyed cooking some great dinners this past year, the desserts that have come afterwards have, of course, been even sweeter. We’ve had plenty of celebrations and holidays to bake for but we’ve also found a few moments to churn out cookies, brownies, or a cake just because. Here are our favorite desserts we baked this year.
Originally posted at: http://www.nerdfitness.com/
What exactly are electrolytes? You hear them mentioned all the time to sell sports drinks like Gatorade, Powerade, and Brawndo. Do you need them? Are you getting enough? What do electrolytes do for you anyway?
All you hear about is “rehydrate” this, and “electrolyte” that…is all this for real? Were humans born to consume sports drinks?
We’ll be diving into these waters headfirst, to give you everything you need to know about electrolytes:
First up, let’s chat chemistry.
Your body is constantly working around the clock to keep itself in balance. One way it does this is with “ionic solutions,” called electrolytes. They work to keep your body, muscles, and nerves functioning properly.
Electrolytes are electrically charged minerals and compounds, which is where the “ion” part comes in. They basically conduct electricity when mixed with water. No electrolytes, means no electricity, means body-no-worky.
There are all kinds of electrolytes, but the most important are:
Again, these are critical for health, which is why your body strives to keep them in order.
Which brings us to your kidneys. Your kidneys exist to help keep your body in balance by regulating the fluids and electrolytes in your body. One way they do this is by making pee – kidneys essentially filter blood so they can get rid of waste products like urea and ammonia.
When you are dehydrated, your kidneys make your pee as concentrated as possible to keep water in the body. When you are well hydrated, your kidneys let more water leave with the waste. Which is why your pee looks different depending on how hydrated you are (we’ll touch on this again later).
Bringing it back to our topic at hand, your kidneys also regulate the concentration of electrolytes in your blood.
When you work out, you sweat (trust me on this one, I’m a fitness expert). When you sweat, you lose fluids and electrolytes – especially sodium and chloride (which is why your sweat tastes salty…stop tasting your sweat you creep). Now, when you’re lacking fluids and electrolytes, your muscles suffer and your performance suffers.
Which is why having your electrolytes in balance is so crucial.
I can see the concern on your face already.
If I’ve lost you, and the idea of performance issues stresses you out, we got you. We created a 1-on-1 private online coaching program to answer questions just like “Do I need to supplement my workout with electrolytes?”
We work with busy people just like you to help establish goals and plans to achieve them. If you have tons of questions or want an accountability partner, we are here for you.
Click below to find out if we are a good fit for each other. We’ll schedule you a free call with a member of Team Nerd Fitness, who would love to talk to you no matter what!
Not only can you lack electrolytes, but you can also have TOO MANY. Electrolytes take on a positive or negative charge when they dissolve in your body fluid. So having too many of some and not enough of another can create problems.
Ugh. Fitness can be complicated.
Here are some signs that things are out of whack:
Generally, if your electrolytes are out of balance, it’s because you are deficient. It’s way more common to have too few than too many electrolytes. Which is why proper hydration is so critical.
Now that I’ve convinced you that you are going to die a miserable and terrible death from the lack of electrolytes, let’s chat about Gatorade.
How does Gatorade (or any sports drink–they’re all about the same) work?
Sticking to the theme of this article, it comes down to electrolytes. Water will get into your bloodstream faster (and to the right places) when it’s mixed with electrolytes, because water follows electrolytes. Said another way, the absorption of water depends on sodium, an electrolyte.
And Gatorade, like Brawndo, has electrolytes.
Gatorade has a good amount of sodium, as well as glucose (sugar). And your small intestines LOVE glucose. The little transporters in your small intestines will pick up that glucose, and in turn pick up the sodium. If they‘re picking up glucose and sodium, they’re also grabbing the H20, and BOOM! You’re getting rehydrated faster. That’s the theory, and there is some evidence in support.[1]
Another benefit of Gatorade is that sodium minimizes urination (Remember osmosis from high school chemistry? Water goes where the salt is). When you’re drinking Gatorade, the liquid will stay in your body longer, giving it more time to get absorbed, which will get you back into balance quicker!
So I realize this section reads like an ad for Gatorade. Pay no attention to the bag of money left for me in the corner. All this talk about how great Gatorade is at getting you rehydrated quicker will REALLY only affect you if you’re doing hours and hours of strenuous activity. That report mentioned above was critical on this point. If you’re just working out for 45 minutes, drinking water throughout the workout and afterward will keep you plenty hydrated. You can forgo a sports drink.
However, if you’re running a marathon, Gatorade might be a good idea.
You know what isn’t a good idea? Bourbon. Trust me on this one.
However, I run a fitness site here. So I can’t let this be the final word on Gatorade.
Reality check: Gatorade is essentially sugar water with some electrolytes added.
And sugar can make you fat.
If you’re looking to burn fat, drinking a 32 oz Gatorade will probably put back all the calories you just burned off during your workout (there are about 200-240 calories in there, most of which is sugar).
It comes down to total calories consumed vs. total calories burned every day. To lose body fat, you need to be in a caloric deficit, meaning you need to burn more than you consume. Drinking Gatorade can make this equation more difficult to tip in your favor.
So if you are doing moderate exercise, or even strenuous exercise for a shorter (an hour or so) amount of time, water should suffice.
If you are running marathons or doing hours of intense work, then replenishing your electrolytes is important. And one way to do that could be Gatorade.
Just don’t sit on your couch eating donuts and drinking Gatorade, despite the presence of electrolytes. The sugar will go straight to your gut!
Are you doomed? Do you have to drink sugar water to get enough electrolytes?
All sorts of foods contain electrolytes. Our caveman ancestors didn’t have access to Fierce: Melon. They had to get their electrolytes from food.
This is still a good strategy.
Here are some ideas on how to eat your electrolytes:
I’ll also note, that most REAL food (mushrooms, lentils, peas), will have micronutrients like electrolytes. Processed food like a Twinkie? Not so much.
If you eat a diet containing mostly REAL food, you should be fine on electrolytes. We evolved to get our nutrients from the foods we eat. If you want more guidance on what healthy eating means, make sure you check out our Guide on Healthy Eating. We explain what REAL food is, plus give you guidance on how to move your diet in that direction.
It should be noted that if you want to supplement with extra electrolytes, you don’t have to swig Gatorade. There are plenty of electrolytes on the market. Mix some with water after a workout and you’ll be good to go. This, plus lightly salting your food will do the trick.
I’ll end this section by saying that some low-carb diets like Keto can cause you to lose water and electrolytes along with it. We dive in the subject pretty heavily in our guide, but it’s good to keep in mind that if you are going low-carb, you’ll likely need more electrolytes than the average person.
Okay. That about does it. However, I promised we’d get to it.
We started this article talking about pee. And like a Quentin Tarantino movie, that’s how we’ll end it. With pee. This joke worked in my head…
-Steve
PS: If you want an accountability partner to answer all your fitness questions, I’ll again remind you of the Nerd Fitness Coaching Program. We can give you feedback on workouts, nutrition, and other lifestyle habits. We can even take a look at the color of your pee to see if you’re dehydrated.[2]
**All photo credits can be found right here[3]**
http://www.thekitchn.com/feedburnermain
You may have noticed: This was the year of Ree Drummond. Sure, she’s been a Food Network star for a while now, but she really hit peak saturation in 2018. In addition to her line of bedding and dinnerware, this year she also got her own Instant Pot and even her own Barbie doll.
Of course she wouldn’t have any of those things if she wasn’t totally beloved by millions. Everywhere we look, we find someone who is obsessed with her (or, at the very least, her ranch lifestyle!). So we thought, why not make a gift guide specifically for those folks?
Here are 10 awesome gifts that even Ree Drummond herself would be happy to find under the tree.
http://www.thekitchn.com/feedburnermain
Shopping at World Market is like a treasure hunt — you never know what handcrafted, expertly sourced, wallet-friendly things you’re going to find! That’s true any time of year, and especially true right now. Because you undoubtably have a lot going on this holiday season, we decided to help you out and find some of the best treasures.
We now present you with a handy little list of the best gifts at World Market for just $25 or less!
Originally posted at: http://www.nerdfitness.com/
I have a lot of people ask me, “How many reps should I do per set?”
Unfortunately, there’s no easy, perfect answer to this question without a little more information, but I’m going to do my best to dig into the nitty gritty with today’s article and get you fixed up!
Regardless of what type of strength training you’re doing, having specific sets and reps to aim for will help you reach your goals. After all, as they say, what gets measured gets improved.
What you need to figure out is what you really want to accomplish.
Some people’s goals are to lose weight, which would require a certain rep range, and others’ goals are to build muscle mass, which requires a different range as well.
Think about the physique of a sprinter or bodybuilder versus a marathon runner. A sprinter is built for power and speed in short bursts, so their training sessions exist in small increments (10 second races).
A marathon runner is built for endurance, which means their training sessions are much longer (hours at a time).
Working out is no different.
I’m gonna go out on a limb and assume you’re reading this article because you have approximately one million questions about how you should be training in the gym. Should you do different muscle groups each day? Should you do 5 sets of 4 or 4 sets of 5? What about Starting Strength? Is it the most useful advice ever created? And how do you know you have good form on your squats and deadlifts?
These are all great questions, and they’re the same questions I asked when I got started. Unfortunately, I was an idiot and spent 6 years training the wrong way in the gym before I finally cracked the code and got stronger and healthier.
I’m guessing you don’t have 6 years to struggle as I did, or you’re just looking for expert guidance and accountability. Which is why we created our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program! You’ll get paired with a coach that gets to know you and your life, creates a workout program for you, and helps keep you accountable and can answer all of the questions you might have about this stuff.
You can learn more about the program by clicking in the image below to schedule a call with us!
“Rep” stands for “repetition” and defines one complete motion of an exercise. When deciding on how many reps to do, first and foremost, decide below what you want to get out of a workout. Then read how to get there. We cover this stuff in significantly greater detail over in our Strength Training 101 intro, but the content below should get you started.
We’ll group different rep ranges into different goals, for muscular endurance, muscle size, and overall strength and power. It’ll get us thinking about endurance vs. hypertrophy.
Let’s chat about the following:
1) Muscular endurance – Endurance means we want your muscles to perform for an extended period time. Thus, your heaviest sets should be greater than 12 repetitions. Aim for a range from 12 to 20 reps. Obviously you won’t be able to lift heavy amounts of weight for 20 reps, so you’ll be lifting lighter loads. Also, because you’re going for endurance, you want to decrease the amount of rest between sets. 30 seconds to a minute, but certainly no more. You want your muscles trained to be ready to constantly be putting forth effort and prepared for the long haul. If you are a runner or cyclist, strength training with higher repetitions can help your muscles develop more endurance as well!
2) Muscle Size ( Sarcoplasmic Hypertrophy) – This is for guys or gals looking to build muscle size.
Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy focuses on increasing the amount of sarcoplasm, the non-contractile fluid found in your muscle. Up to 30% of your muscle’s size is attributed to the sarcoplasm, so focusing on this type of hypertrophy helps build overall size.
If you’re looking to get bigger, you want to keep the number of reps per set in the 6 – 12 range per set. I find this is best accomplished by doing between 3-5 sets, each time increasing the weight and decreasing the reps. (12 reps at 200 lbs, 10 reps at 220 lbs, 8 reps at 240 lbs, etc.)
Rest time between sets should be short, not as short as for endurance, between 60 and 90 seconds.
3) Strength and Power (Myofibril hypertrophy) – If you’re happy with your size, or you’re training for specific sports and just want to get stronger with more power, this is for you. This type of training focuses on strengthening the myofibril, the contractile part of the muscle. However, not only are you shocking your muscles, you’re also putting a lot of pressure on your body’s central nervous system. This forces it too to adapt and become stronger, critical for strength and power.[1]
It should be noted, that given proper nutrition, you’ll still develop some muscle and size with high weight and low reps. It just isn’t the primary goal.
For strength and power, your reps are going to be less than 6 with each set, and an increased amount of time waiting between sets (2-3 minutes). You’re going to be lifting crazy amounts of weight for sometimes just 1 repetition, so you need to have a spotter and absolutely perfect form or you could severely hurt yourself. This is how powerlifters train. Low reps, high weight, long time between sets. You need to increase your rest period because lifting this heavy fatigues the central nervous system and you’ll need longer to recover.
A “set” describes a group of repetitions performed for an exercise without stopping.
For example, if you drop down and do 10 push-ups right now, you just did 1 SET of 10 reps of push-ups.
How many sets should you do? In the section above, I mentioned doing “3-5” sets of a given exercise. This is a good rule of thumb in general.
Why?
It’s a rule of thumb with an origin story.
3 sets became popular in 1948 when the physician Thomas L. DeLorme suggested 3 sets of 10 reps to be an effective form of weight training. Delorme came to his conclusion after prescribing strength training to his injured patients, as a way for them to rebuild muscle and rehabilitate. He recorded and analyzed their improvements. When Delorme published his findings, it was one of the first academic looks on how to strength train. As one of the pioneers, Delorme’s recommendations stuck and became “permanently etched into the collective subconscious of the fitness community.”[2]
That’s the history of 3 sets at 10 repetitions…
Which is certainly more information than you needed. Sorry.
Anyway, don’t overthink how many sets to do. Don’t stress yourself out by worrying if you should do 4 sets or 3 sets. Pick one, record how you do with it, and get stronger the next time you do that movement.
It should be noted, there is evidence of more sets performed leading to more gains, in both endurance, size, and strength.[3] Which makes sense, because you are forcing your muscles to do more work overall. After your third set, if you feel like you can do a fourth, it might be a good idea to try it. Or a fifth. Any more than that, and you should be thinking about increasing your weight instead.
Exception: if you are doing endurance work, you may want to do only 2 sets with more reps. Less recovery time will test your muscle’s endurance.
Now that you have “edumacated” yourself on how your specific goals influence the number of reps per set, and what sets actually are, you can build your workout program around this info.
Don’t want to build your own routine? Not sure what sets and reps to do? Want to remove all the confusion and be told what to do? I got ya! Download our free, comprehensive Strength Training 101: Everything You Need to Know, as we dig into the answers of all those questions 🙂 I’ll send it to you right away after you sign up for the Rebellion in the box below:
There’s a lot of different truths and fallacies on plateaus and how your muscles can get “used” to working out and stop growing. If that’s something you’re battling, here’s a way to keep them guessing or send your workout program into a jolt:
Spend a week in a different rep range with different amounts of weight to throw them off. You can go with less weight and more reps. Or vice versa. Experiment with both. This will introduce a little chaos into the system, which could be a good thing, unless you’re Batman.
After a week of mixing it up, go back to your regularly scheduled routine and you’ll be right back on track.
Make sure you know what you want, and then design a plan to get there.
-Steve
PS: If you’re somebody that wants an expert to guide them through the training process, I hear you. I have a fitness coach myself who programs my workouts!
IF YOU WANT TO BE TOLD EXACTLY WHAT TO DO:
###
All photo citations can be found right here[3]
http://www.thekitchn.com/feedburnermain
The holiday season is approaching — do you have your go-to cookie recipe ready? Spritz cookies involve careful pressing, and Linzer cookies require filling and decorating. These cookies, however — lightly scented with orange zest and studded with white chocolate chips and dried cranberries — are full of holiday flavor and take next to no time to pull together.
For now classes are 6pm and 640pm at 2840 Wildwood st in the Boise Cloggers studio.
Book your class NOW!
click this ==>
