Written by: AnnieWall
Getting ready for an athletic competition is not only about building muscle and increasing aerobic capacity. For many athletes, it is about cutting weight to achieve maximum performance. This is particularly important when you are an endurance athlete. Healthy weight loss is one of the things which will help to improve your performance and make any endurance athletic competition less challenging.
Slightly different principles apply to men and women when it comes to cutting down on excess weight safely. Remember that” safely” is the word which truly matters. Standing on the starting line of a long distance run having no energy is not going to help you. The trick is to keep up energy levels and cut back on calories at the same time.
Sports trainers often assume it is only young women who go in for athletic competitions, but that is not true. Women all of ages are getting more into sports than ever before. The main issue is that our body has different nutritional requirements at each stage of our life. When you are younger, diet alone may help you. As you age, your digestive system will slow down naturally. In order to give it a boost, and help your body to digest food more effectively, you should consider adding supplements to your diet. Yes, better digestion can help you to cut weight and get ready for an event.
Many mature women who go in for athletic competitions turn to soy or soy-based products thinking they will help them to lose weight. This is perhaps one of the most common misnomers in the fitness industry. Soya-based products do not help you to lose weight at all. They may, in fact, make it more difficult to lose weight and may not even be safe.
First of all, soya does not help you to lower body fat and improve digestion. It contains a range of specific plant estrogens which can slow down digestion and make you put on weight. We often talk about the sugar crisis when it comes to diet, but our food contains soy as well. The phytoestrogens in soy will make you store fat, and at the same time, upset your hormonal balance often reducing energy.
To help women to control both energy levels and reduce fat storage, it is best to turn to natural health. Adding supplements such as vitamin B and the herb sage will help a great deal.
Women involved in athletic competitions often find reducing body fat to be a real challenge. Hormones such as estrogen do not aid women when it comes to weight loss, however, women can help to improve hormonal balance by taking the right supplement. The herb sage is one of the safest herbal remedies for female athletes to take in order to control hormones. Taken every day, it will improve the way the liver works. Fewer blood fats are found in the bloodstream of women who take sage on a consistent basis.
Our food is lacking in many micro minerals which could help men to lose weight naturally. Men have a larger muscle mass thanks to the hormone testosterone which also helps them to keep their weight under control easier, But, they still need to focus on finding out what nutrients their food is lacking in. Food used to be much richer in magnesium, but modern farming and crop growing methods have cut down on the amount of magnesium which we get from our food. This is particularly important for men. More than any other micromineral, magnesium aids the male body to activate enzymes for the metabolism of carbohydrates and amino acids.
It aids in fat loss and fat prevention and is essential for proper functioning of the muscles. At the same time, magnesium improves vascular tone which is crucial when it comes to keeping fit. Much of the food we eat today contains less than 70% magnesium of what it did 30 years ago. No wonder we are all finding keeping our weight under control a problem.
Vitamin B complex can help both men and women to control weight and fat storage. All vitamins found in the vitamin B group are water-soluble and work together to perform a range of vital functions in the body. People who struggle with weight problems often have low levels of vitamin B. Without the right level of vitamin B in our bodies, the cells struggle to convert both fat and protein into energy.
Vitamin B is mainly found in fresh foods, but as fresh food is transported over long distances, it can hardly be called “fresh” when it arrives in our kitchens. Cooking destroys even more of the scant supply of vitamin B which can be found in our food.
Many of the foods which are rich in vitamin B are not part of our diet anymore as we don’t have the time to cook with them. Taking a vitamin B supplement will not only help to reduce body fat. It will also help to balance your cholesterol levels.
Furthermore, vitamin B is essential for a healthy nervous system, and as all athletes know, our nerves help to control our muscles. It is the one go-to supplement which both men and women need to take on a continuous basis if they would like to make sure they are ready for any kind of athletic competition.
Learning how to safely cut weight for an athletic competition is not a one-off event. It is something you need to bear in mind all of the time whether you are a male or female athlete. Not following a diet and supplement routine can make the time running up to an athletic competition more stressful when you suddenly find you need to lose weight. It is always better to make the concept of safe weight management part of your lifestyle.
Cold treatment helps to reduce inflammation (ice causes blood vessels to constrict) and numbs pain.…
“Strength does not come from physical capacity, it comes from indomitable will.” ―Mahatma Gandhi Building…
Choosing a good running shoe is important for runners, and there are plenty of options…
How to Find the Perfect Running Shoe Whether you’re a newbie or an experienced runner,…
One of the most under-appreciated pieces of gym equipment, the GHD machine has a lot…
There are many types of shoes available in the market. Some are made for formal…