Our fat burners are very popular, not just with bodybuilders, but also the general public. They help burn off extra calories by boosting your metabolism and giving you more energy. They can also make you feel hotter, which again makes you burn more calories, which is good news for anyone wanting to lose weight. Here are some of our most popular fat burners:

Don’t Just Lose Weight, Instead Increase Muscle Tone and Lose Fat

Using your fat burner alongside a protein shake, such as Nutrabolics Hemowhey, your body will retain more muscle tone, whilst losing fat, leading to a more toned and slender physique. To lose mainly fat when you lose weight, to increase tone and slim down, you should take 1 scoop of whey protein 2-3 times per day, between meals, to ensure a steady stream of amino acids continue to feed your muscles throughout the day. Don’t worry about gaining weight as whey protein is only about 100 calories per serving. Of course your normal 3 meals per day will need to be smaller and your typical daily diet and supplements intake should look like:

• breakfast – small bowl of porridge + fat burners
• brunch – 1 scoop whey protein
• lunch – wholemeal chicken/tuna/beef/ham/turkey (salad) sandwich in 2 slices of bread, no mayo
• mid afternoon – 1 scoop whey protein
• evening meal – something healthy and fairly low calorie
• before bed – 1 scoop whey protein

By following the above diet, you will not only be losing weight, but you will be controlling your body fat levels in a similar way to bodybuilders, who can control their body fat to the nearest 1%. Obviously weight training and a little cardio is going to improve results, so if you can include some exercise that would be better still.

Weight Loss, Using Supplements, Protein Shakes and Regulated Calories is Guaranteed

As long as your daily calorie intake is no more than 10x your bodyweight in pounds, you should lose weight progressively and healthily. Do not lower your calories too low though, or your metabolism will slow down, your energy levels will drop and so will your motivation and it would not be good for your health either. Remember, supplements do not replace food, they supplement food, so ensure your diet is spot on. Calories are your main concern, followed by your sugar intake which you should try and reduce. If you need further information, use our search bar at the top of the page, as we have many articles on weight loss.

I can be very critical of diets and diet advice in the press. Most of it is bullsh*t and/or duplicated re-written or replicated cr*p. However, when it comes to huge organisations, such as the NHS, who are trusted by millions, you would expect their diet advice to be absolutely spot on. The NHS Guide to Weight Loss starts off badly by calling it weight loss, not fat loss. To lose weight, you need to lose body fat, whilst aiming to preserve and increase lean muscle tone. Therefore, to convey the appropriate initial message, the page should be all about fat loss.

The first page on the NHS ‘Weight’ Loss kicks off with the heading “Start Losing Weight”, with sections titled “Commit to Change”, “Do Today”, “Do This Week”, etc. and sounds more like management talk, rather than actual hands on fat loss advice. Reading the article, you will see it goes on to talk about your Body Mass Index (BMI), which is a highly inaccurate measure of body composition, which basically divides your weight by your height. I have a body fat percentage of around 8% and my abs are clearly visible, etc., but their calculator puts me in the “Overweight Category”, half way towards “Obese”, which is clearly wrong. The advice goes on and on and whilst the presentation is excellent, the content is very poor and just upsets me, so I’m not going to cover any more of it.

My Advice to the NHS Weight Loss Team

Innovation is a buzz word in the Public Sector and you guys at the NHS should be more innovative and consider which group of people know how to control the appearance of their body better than anyone, yes, bodybuilders. Don’t be scared away by the Pro Bodybuilders, there are drug free bodybuilders out there who are all about good health you know! Research their training and diet principles and apply it to a fat loss diet and exercise programme that will work for overweight people much easier and quicker than the advice you are promoting currently.

The site is overloaded with information, without getting across the main messages, relevant to food choices in the supermarket. There is a distinction to be made between getting fit and losing fat and between eating a healthy diet and eating a diet to increase fat loss. Along with appropriate exercise, these are the main tips that should be provided in my honest opinion.

For fat loss…

1. Low fat food is great for reducing calorie intake, but if it is high in sugar, then that is very bad. If you look at the labels on the back of most low fat foods in the super markets, you will find they contain shockingly high amounts of sugars. The only way to get avoid these sugars is to cut out ready meals, tinned foods, etc. and cook your own meals from the basic ingredients. A bodybuilding style diet addresses these issues and there are thousands of websites out there offering bodybuilding meal recipes and instructions, with most meals being pretty tasty.
2. Gym instructors, TV shows and magazines all promote cardiovascular exercise, such as jogging, cycling, etc. for losing weight. But, it is better to lose mainly fat and build muscle tone for a better looking physique and quicker results. It is therefore a better choice to lift weights and do cardio for the combined effects of increasing muscle tone and burning off more calories, for optimum fat loss, leading to optimum weight loss. This has been proven in numerous studies, which again can be found online.

The message I am trying to convey is that you should know what you are doing AND why you are doing it.
Cardio –> Burns calories whilst you are exercising and raises metabolism slightly
High Intensity Resistance Exercise –> Burns calories whilst you are exercising and raises metabolism significantly (and increases strength and muscle tone)
Low Calorie Diet –> Ensures a calorie deficit, so you have to use your long term energy stores, i.e. body fat, for exercise
Low Sugar Diet –> Avoids insulin spikes associated with hunger pangs and bingeing

For more information on fat loss, read our 11 Tips For Sustained Fat Loss. Supplements are not the answer for weight loss, but they can complement an exercise and diet program and are an addition, not a replacement for good exercise and nutrition.

The Dukan Diet Introduction

The following article aims to explain the Dukan Diet as concisely but as detailed as possible. No sales pitch, no bull, just information.

Origins and Aims of the Dukan Diet

Dr Pierre Dukan introduced the Dukan Diet in France about 10 years ago. Since then, the Dukan Diet has become extremely popular worldwide with celebritities, such as Jennifer Lopez and Gizelle Bundchen following the Dukan life for it’s promise of permanent and progressive weight loss, whilst eating as much as you like!

Phases of The Dukan Diet

On all phases of the Dukan Diet, you should drink 3-4 litres of water per day to stay well hydrated.

Phase 1 (5 Days)

Eat as much high protein food as you like, but no sugars or fats. This means lean beef steak, tuna (no mayo), chicken, turkey, fat free yoghurt, etc. Include 1.5 table spoons of Oat Bran in your daily diet.

Phase 2 (As long as it takes to reach your ‘True Weight’)

Alternate protein only days with protein + vegetables/salad days. This can be varied, i.e. 3 days protein, then 3 days protein + veg/salad, etc. but continue with the Oat Bran.

Phase 3 (Maintain your ‘True Weight’)

• Continue eating as much protein plus vegetables and salad as you like
• One piece of fruit per day, typically melon or other watery fruits
• Two slices of whole-grain bread, with small amount of low fat margarine or butter
• One serving of carbohydrates per week, such as pasta or rice
• One ‘celebration meal’ per week, where you can eat anything

Phase 4 (Eat What You Like!)

As long as you stay within the phase 3 guidelines.

The Dukan Diet Feedback

Kate Middleton has supposedly followed the Dukan Diet with success to lose weight for her wedding to Prince William. There are also lots of forum posts throughout the internet about peoples’ success following the Dukan Diet.

Hang on a Minute…We have a Question?

Q. Is the Dukan Diet just a cleverly phased and fat person friendly version of a bodybuilders’ diet on a cutting phase?
A. Yes it is, but less effective and less healthy, in our opinion. Bodybuilders are the masters at manipulating body fat levels and can control it to the nearest percent or two. Natural, drug free bodybuilders are very healthy and following their “complete diets” which include fruit, veg, good fats and lots of protein seems like the obvious answer for anyone wanting to lose weight. Why do something less effective?

Side Effects of the Dukan Diet

Possible side effects could include Gout, Headaches, Dizziness and Constipation. Lacking nutrients can cause many other health problems, but losing weight leads to better health and may offset any health issues related to the diet.

Promart Verdict

There’ve been thousands of popular diets in the press over the years, which lose popularity and become superceded by new diets. Each of these diets seem to be created with the aim of making money, lots of money. Probably all of the diets work to some degree, but many are unsafe with potentially harmful side effects, due to lack of nutrients and I would avoid them at all costs.

In terms of the Dukan Diet, if an obese person only eats high protein, very low carb/fat foods for 5 days and only drinks water, then duh! yes they are obviously going to lose weight. It is impossible to eat enough chicken, turkey, tuna, lean beef, etc. to exceed your calorie requirements. For example, I weigh 180lbs and average about 2800 calories per day, and as protein is only 4 calories per gram, I would need about 700g of protein to achieve my daily calorific requirements (assuming zero carb/fat intake) to maintain my weight. Bearing in mind I am a bodybuilder, I have always followed a high protein diet, I use protein supplements and my daily protein intake has never exceeded 350g per day, say, then you can see it is impossible to achieve, hence the weight loss. 700g of protein is equivalent to 28 tins of tuna (which due to the mercury levels would probably kill you) OR 24 chicken breasts OR 11KG of fat free yoghurt. People who are considering following the Dukan Diet probably average anything between 4000 and 10000 calories per day, so imagine how much protein they would need to eat to not lose weight? Anyway, my point is, if you eat significantly less calories then you will lose significant amounts of weight! The problem is that cutting out other foods can be bad for your health.

Promart Advice

My advice for your weight loss is to eat 6 small meals per day, using small plates for your meals to stop over eating. Meals tips:

1. spread meals out evenly during the day, i.e. every 2-3 hours
2. meals should be high in quality protein from lean meats, poultry, fish, eggs, fat free yoghurt, cottage cheese, etc.
3. meals should contain contain either salad, green vegetables or both. Portions can be as large as you like as these food items are low calorie and very good for your health
4. meals should contain a small amount of low GI carbs, such as brown rice, wholemeal pasta, wholegrain bread, etc.
5. meals should contain a small amount of good fats, such as flax seed oil, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, etc.
6. meals should not be ready meals, or prepared foods, just eat natural.

Our Sustained Weight Loss article provides some good tips on weight loss.

Final Thoughts…
Q1. If you were to go to the gym for 2 hours every day for the next year, whilst following the above diet/meal tips on a calorie restricted diet, would you lose weight?
A1. Yes, loads of weight, definitely, but I’m not going to do that.
Q2. Okay, so now you know weight loss is definitely possible, would you consider going to the gym 3 times per week for 45 minutes per session?
A2. Er, yes. But, I would be embarassed as I would be the fattest person there.
Q3. Local Sports Centre gyms are usually pretty empty when they open, both on weekdays and weekends. You could either go at these times, or simply go for a long walk, jog or run (depending upon your level), for the same amount of time. Would you do this?
A3. ____?

Whatever you do, make sure you are consistent, with the mindset that you will still be following this diet and lifetsyle advice in 5 years time. If you can’t go to the gym, then walk, jog or run somewhere (at your level), for the same amount of time. Starting exercise can feel very tough, so start at a low level, writing down your performance, in terms of distance, reps, time, etc. and aim for progressive improvements. As your strength and fitness improves, you will start enjoying exercise and be able to exercise for longer and to a higher intensity. Along with your new diet, you will lose lots of fat and you will know how to lose more and keep it off.

Leave your comments/questions and I will respond within 24 hours.

Regards,

Martin.

The quickest way to get visible six, or even eight pack abdominal muscles and a flat stomach is to:

1. reduce your body fat percentage (Can be tough)
2. exercise your stomach (Easy)

To make your abs visible in the fastest time possible, you really… no, you HAVE to lose fat, or more accurately, you HAVE to reduce your body fat percentage. Development of the ab muscles does not require much time or effort in comparison to reducing body fat, so I have kept the focus of this article on body fat. However, tips on training the abs are provided on the linked articles at the end of this article.

Body Fat Reduction to Make Six Pack Abs Visible

For your abs to be visible:

• Men – body fat percentage needs to be less than 11%
• Women – body fat percentage needs to be less than about 16%

Weigh yourself first thing on a morning before breakfast and also calculate your body fat percentage. Body fat measuring scales are reasonably accurate if you follow the instructions. Other ways of measuring body fat percentage are reviewed here. Now you can work out how much you need to reduce your body fat percentage by to see your abs.

The amount of time that this takes obviously varies per individual. The majority of people reading this article are probably less than 35 years old and have a bodyfat percentage of less than 25% (men) and 30% (women). For that category of people typical body fat reduction of 0.5% to 1% per week is possible.

Further Information About Ab Training and Fat Loss

Rather than re-write existing articles that make perfect sense, please refer to our Supplements for Six Pack Abs article, our How Do You Get a Six Pack article and our 11 Tips For Sustained Weight Loss. These articles will give you the information needed for you to implement a training and diet programme that will lead to the quickest way to get six pack abs. Remember though, consistency with your diet and training is the only way you will ever achieve this goal. Let me know how you get on, or if you have any questions, leave your comments below.

Regards,

Martin.

As owner of Promart Supplements, I am sick and tired of seeing weight loss programmes devised by scheming individuals who are first and foremost looking to make money, at the expense of frustrated people who want to improve themselves. The majority of these diets you hear about from your friends and see on TV are rubbish. They aren’t good for you and they rarely give the results they advertise.

Weight loss is not simple, but if you can follow the 8 tips below, then you will lose weight healthily, progressively and best of all, you will retain and even increase your muscle tone – meaning that once you lose the excess body fat, your physique will be much more athletic. Here are the rules:

1. Consume between 10 calories per day for every pound that you weigh, i.e. if you weigh 12 stones, that is 12 x 14 = 168 pounds, so consume approximately 1680 calories per day. This amount of calories will create a calorie deficit, without being so low that it puts your body into starvation mode, where your metabolism slows down.
2. Split your daily calorie intake over 5 small, low sugar, low fat, high protein, even sized meals to reduce insulin spikes to regulate energy levels, reduce hunger and avoid the accumulation of body fat; show your body there is an abundance of food available and so your long term energy stores (fat) are not so important and can be used; boost your metabolism; and maintain/increase muscle tone
3. Drink more water, i.e. 8-10 glasses per day, as drinking more water can boost your metabolism by up to 30%
4. Sleep 8-9 hours per night at the same times every night
5. Do not drink alcohol
6. Eat the right foods for weight loss. This means avoid sugary and fatty foods and keep protein intake fairly high, using protein shakes if necessary. Ideally, you should consume less than 5g sugar per meal. This means that ready meals are not an option. A typical diet is shown below.
7. Perform low intensity cardio sessions, first thing on a morning before breakfast, when your hormone levels and depeleted glycogen levels put your body in the perfect place for fat loss. Note: at other times of the day, you are likely to use a small amount of fat, glycogen stores in your liver (from food) and also some muscle mass will be used for energy, through a process called gluconeogenesis. Three or four 40 minute sessions per week will provide the best results, but remember to aim for low intensity, i.e. 60% of your max heart rate for your age.
8. Perform high intensity anaerobic exercise 3-4 times per week, to increase muscle tone and strength. Don’t worry about getting big and muscly, as consuming just 10 calories per day for every pound of bodyweight, whilst exercising regularly, will not provide your body with enough calories for your muscles to grow big, although they will get much more toned.
9. Consume plenty of fruit and vegetables, as their nutritional benefits help weight loss and improve your overall health and appearance. However, you should only consume fruit in small portions, typically on a morning and before/after exercise due to their high sugar content.
10. Consider using supplements, such as protein supplements to boost low protein meals, meal replacement powders to provide 2 of your 5 meals per day, multivitamins to make up for lack of fruit and veg in your diet and green tea to burn an extra 100 calories or so per day for every 3-4 cups. I wouldn’t bother with other supplements such as fat burners, fat blockers or carb blockers as following the above tips means you don’t need them. They are worthwhile supplements for bodybuilders wanting to reduce body fat levels below normal ranges, but not so much for normal weight loss.
11. Be consistent. Results won’t happen overnight. I can guarantee success to anyone who follows all of the above points, but unfortunately only a small numbe rof people will, whilst the rest will part follow some of the tips for a couple of weeks then try something else. Don’t let that happen. Get motivated. Forget eating a single sweet, chocolate, biscuit, or anything like that and see where you end up in three months. When it works, get in touch and let me know your progress. Small improvements every week add up to a new physique after a few months.

Let me know how you get on, but be consistent. If you are going to follow these tips, follow all of them precisely, or results will be greatly affected. However, before undertaking any new diet or exercise programme, please make sure you consult your GP beforehand.

Regards,

Martin Procter

Top 50 Bodybuilding Tips

Below is a list of the Top 50 Bodybuilding Tips, covering training, lifestyle, diet and supplementation for bodybuilders. Applying these tips to your bodybuilding programme will improve your results significantly.

Training Tips For Bodybuilding

1. Do not spend more than 60 minutes in the gym, or your body will start releasing a stress related hormone called cortisol, which is associated with muscle loss. The 60 minute rule applies to any high intensity exercise.
2. Remember that bodybuilding is an art and requires serious concentration to achieve a proper mind muscle link. The mind-muscle link is important for recruiting muscle fibers when lifting heavy weights. Over time, with practice, you should be able to recruit more muscle fibers from each muscle, allowing you to lift more weight on each exercise. There are lots of ways of improving the mind muscle link, but the most memorable is the quote by Arnold Schwarzenegger in Pumping Iron.
3. To continually build more muscle, you need to keep increasing the intensity of your training. It is therefore essential to your progress as a bodybuilder that you achieve maximum intensity in each and every work set at the gym. I personally recommend the views of Dr Darden (Massive Muscles in 10 Weeks, HIT, etc.), Stuart McRobert (Braun series of books) and Dorian Yates (Blood N Guts book).


Lift Free Weights, including Presses, Rows, Squats and Deadlifts

4. Use an ever increasing training intensity, suited to yourself. For someone who hasn’t been to the gym in the last few months, just going is ‘high intensity’. After a month or two, supersets are worthwhile. After supersetting for a couple of months, include drop sets, pre-exhaustions, timed sets, post-exhaustions, super slow sets and everything you can imagine on every work set. Training to a higher intensity than your body is used to signals your body to grow more muscle. Training to too high an intensity too quickly can leave you overtrained, which makes you feel like you have flu and is awful.
5. Every 3-4 weeks, perform a testosterone boosting workout, followed by 3 days rest for maximum results. By this, I mean go to the gym and do 10 sets of super slow full squats, starting with a weight that allows 12 slow, controlled reps for your first set and adding weight each set until you can only manage 2-3 reps on your 6th or 7th set. Then, reduce weight and increase reps again up until your 10th and final set. Take a 90 second rest between sets and complete the workout within 20-30 minutes.
6. Finish each workout with a fast set of 100 light, fast, controlled reps on a body part worked in your previous workout, i.e. if you trained your back Monday, then on Wednesday you train your legs, then end your leg workout with a set of 100 light pulldowns, aiming for a maximum muscular burn. Not only does this send blood to your recovering muscles, but it gives your body a GH (Growth Hormone) boost, which helps muscle growth and fat loss.
7. Go heavy. Heavy weights lifted with correct form are key to overloading the muscles, leading to hypertrophy.
8. Use a smooth, slow rep cadence. This helps avoid injury and makes your target muscles do the work, rather than momentum and avoids sticking points on exercises leading to plateaus in progress.
9. Emphasize the negative part of your reps for maximum muscle gains. 1 rep super slow sets, such as a 1 minute-rep on the pullups, i.e. 20 seconds in positive phase and 40 seconds in negative phase, really work the muscles and give big results.
10. Build your training routines around the big multiple joint movements, such as squats, deadlifts, weighted pullups, weighted dips, rows and presses. Increase your reps and weights on these exercises and you are guaranteed to see muscle gains. Don’t worry about isolation exercises until you are 6 months away from competition. I’m not saying don’t do isolation exercises, I am saying that if you do isolation exercises, do them at the end of your workouts, keeping them under 60 minutes and don’t do more than 2-3 sets.
11. A true high intensity workout should involve no more than 12-18 actual work sets. If you can do more than this, then you aren’t trying hard enough. Each work set should leave you out of breath, sweating, maybe a little light headed due to blood flow to muscles, etc. and 12-18 sets will leave you feeling very tired.


Full range squats and deadlifts with good form are the biggest overall muscle building exercises. Get stronger on these exercises and overall strength and muscle mass will increase significantly.

12. For some reason, many people avoid training their legs, despite them being the biggest muscle in your body and having a big effect on overall progress. If your legs are lagging behind and you struggle to achieve high intensity on the legs, then start your next three workouts with this superset:
    1. leg press (10-12 reps to complete failure); immediately followed by
    2. leg extensions (9-10 reps to absolute failure will hurt badly); immediately followed by
    3. full squats (8-10 reps to absolute failure)

    Gains of 1 inch on the quads in one week are possible.

13. Warm up for each work set by performing 1-3 sets with 20%, 40% and 60% of your work set weight. Do not reduce your work set ability, but feel the movement and prepare yourself mentally for the work set.
14. Use a full range of movement for each and every exercise, without stressing your joints. Follow this principle 95% of the time, other than for forced reps at the end of a set.
15. Use partial reps occasionally, to allow your body to feel a heavier weight for maximum overload, or to achieve more reps on the same weight, for bigger muscle pumps
16. Perform light cardio sessions first thing on a morning before breakfast for maximum fat burning. Your hormone levels on a morning place your body in the perfect environment for fat loss and seeing as your glycogen levels will be depleted from not eating since the night before, the only energy source that can be used is (mainly) body fat. This will make you feel sluggish, but it really works. Keep the cardio low intensity, to avoid stressing your body, which would result in catabolism.
17. As a 2nd best alternative to early morning runs for fat loss, follow up your weights sessions (40 minutes) with a 20 minute cardio session. Again, glycogen levels will be depleted from your weights session and body fat will provide the main energy source for light cardiovascular exercise at this point.
18. Never miss a training session, no matter what the reason. As soon as you miss one session, the rot can set in and before you know it, you no longer go to the gym. In advance, check with your gym for closing times over bank holidays, Xmas and Easter, as you may need to find another gym for those periods.
19. Try and find a training partner, or better still, two training partners. It is not a social gathering though, you know that of course, but what about your training partners? Make sure they are as dedicated as you are. Incline dumbbell press drop sets are much better with two spotters. Also, seated dumbbell lateral raises, with your training partner pushing your elbows down on the negative phase are not possible on your own. This is a very good exercise!
20. Finish your routines with 3 sets of perfect form standing barbell curls, alternating between you and your training partner repping to failure. Start with a weight that allows 12-15 reps. Reps will reduce quickly and therefore rest reduces and you get a real burn and a massive pump in the biceps. Just make sure you don’t overtrain the biceps.
21. Don’t use weight gloves, use chalk. Weight gloves do protect your palms from blistering, but they make your grip less effective on heavy pulls, such as deadlifts. With chalk, your grip on the deadlifts should improve enough for you to increase the weight by at least 25%, without straps, as long as your back is strong enough.
22. The only exercise where partial reps are okay all the time is deadlifts. The bottom 10% of normal deadlifts for some individuals can be impossible without rounding the lower back. Use a power rack, or similar and put the bar on the lowest setting, so that you are pulling from your lower shins, rather than from the floor.
23. Keep your toes in line with your knees on the squats and leg press, or risk injuries.
24. Think of any big compound exercises you hate doing and are relatively weak at and start your next 10 workouts with 1 work set of that exercise, until it becomes one of your favoured exercises. Wide grip pullups, deadlifts and most back exercises are common for people to avoid. This is probably because a lot of gym goers are extremely vain and prefer to train their front, rather than their back, as they can see it in the mirror. Not you though, of course!

Lifestyle Tips for Bodybuilding

25. Keep motivated and track progress monthly with realistic goals and photos.


Sleep well, be happy, avoid stress and alcohol and your bodybuilding progress will be optimised

26. Avoid stressful situations, as stress related hormones are associated with a loss in muscle mass.
27. Ensure you get sufficient rest, by doing as little as possible during the day when you are out of the gym
28. Sleep 8 hours every night at the same times. People often say its what you do when you are out of the gym that makes you ‘big’. Eating a good high protein diet, drinking lots of water and getting plenty of sleep is what they mean. It is hard to follow a good diet, but it becomes routine after a few weeks and gets easier.
29. Obvious one here… don’t drink alcohol. If you must, then drink lots of water before during and after your night out, to avoid dehydration. Guinness is high in iron, so would be a better choice than vodka and red bull, etc. Gin & Tonic aint a bad choice either. If you are going to have a takeaway, then a chicken kebab with chilli sauce is better than a burger, etc. Don’t make habit of it though, or you will add a bit of flab to your muscles, making you just look big and round.

Diet Tips for Bodybuilding

30. Spread your daily calories out evenly over at least 6 meals per day, so that you ‘stay hungry’. This will help regulate your insulin levels and optimise and maximise nutrient absorption.


Tuna is a great source of protein, but limit yourself to 2-3 tins per week, or the high levels of mercury in tuna can be poisonous!

31. Ensure that each of your 6+ meals per day contain the same amount of protein, to reach your daily protein requirements. Too little protein per meal and your body may become catabolic, too much and it may de-sensitise your body to protein, as well as either being excreted as waste, or used as energy through a process called gluconeogenesis. Using protein shakes, protein powder or other protein supplements makes this task much easier.
32. Drink 3-4 cups of green tea per day for it’s anti-oxidant qualities as well as naturally burning an extra 100 calories per day.
33. Try this breakfast shake:
    1. 500ml water
    2. 1 banana
    3. sprinkle of sunflower seeds and pine seeds
    4. 1 cup of fine milled plain oats
    5. 1 scoop of whey protein

    Blend and drink quickly, before the oats settle. You may have to stir between sips, but it is the quickest way of consuming 100g of oats by far.

34. Consume enough protein per day to keep your body in an anabolic muscle building state. You can use a macronutrient calculator to work out your daily protein requirements.
35. Don’t eat more than 3-4 tins of tuna per week. Tuna is very high in mercury, which is toxic in sustained high doses and can seriously and permanently affect your health.
36. Fruit is good for you and your bodybuilding diet. However, due to the sugars in fruit, it is best to consume small servings of fruit, spread out throughout the day. Also, it is better to consume fruit before your meals, as it digests much quicker than regular food and would give you gas if eaten after a large meal.
37. Low fat cheddar cheese is low calorie and 30g of protein per 100g. Not bad on wholemeal toast!

Supplements Tips for Bodybuilding

38. Don’t buy your bodybuilding supplements from the supermarkets, they sting you with much higher prices, than online supplements stores.
39. For convenience, if you don’t have a post workout shake available, drink a pint of skimmed milk, as it is high sugar, high protein and low fat, making it ideal for this purpose.


Protein shakes, such as Cytosport Muscle Milk really taste great and can be enjoyed in many flavours

40. Use a hand held blender (available from most supermarkets for under £10) to mix your protein shakes in a measuring jug. All you do is dip the hand held blender in the top of the jug, blend for 15-20 seconds and your shake is ready. Swill the blender under the tap and it is ready for your next protein shake. Much less faffing about and washing up than using a proper blender!
41. Drink 8-10 glasses of water per day, to keep your body well hydrated. Dehydration can drastically affect physical performance, which means that your training sessions will be less intense.
42. Help your body avoid overtraining by eating a good diet, high in fruit and vegetables, wholegrains, rice, lean meats, fish and poultry.
43. Avoid sugary foods at all times except for before, during and after training, when glycogen levels are depleted, to avoid the accumulation of body fat. Your liver can only hold about 150g-200g of glycogen and any more will be excreted and/or stored as body fat. Also, sugary foods play havoc with your insulin levels, which in turn results in hunger pangs and a downward spiral with your diet.
44. Do not listen to all the sales hype on the internet about ‘supplements awards’, etc. 9 times out of 10, the company or magazine promoting a particular product or brand of supplements, usually owns the brand as well and the awards are more about self promotion.
45. Always consume a sugary high protein post-workout shake immediately after training, to restore glycogen levels and restore a positive nitrogen balance in the body to allow muscle gain, rather than muscle loss.
46. Use protein supplements, to achieve a high protein diet that is low in fat.
47. Use protein bars and high protein flapjacks for convenience, rather than missing meals when on the go
48. Use creatine supplements to increase reps and strength, resulting in higher intensity training, leading to hypertrophy of the muscles. You will gain weight whilst using creatine, mainly due to the increased hydration of the muscles. It is up to you to make sure you build muscle whilst using creatine, so that when you stop using it and normal hydration levels return, the net result is a quicker increase in muscle mass than could have been achieved without creatine.
49. Use multivitamin and mineral supplements to boost micronutrient intake throughout the day. Benefits include better protein absorption, transport and synthesis, as well as many other benefits.
50. Use nitric oxide supplements, such as Gaspari Superpump to increase strength during your training sessions and to achieve a bigger pump, allowing better nutrient transport in the muscles. Be warned that using nitric oxide supplements can lead to diarrhoea if you already consume excessive amounts of arginine from your protein shakes – the tolerable amount varies widely person to person.

Remember, it is a lot harder to build a world class physique than it is to lose it. That is good news though because that’s what sets you apart from the crowd. Only an elite group of individuals can become professional bodybuilders due to the level of determination required, as well as your genetic disposition.

This list is a ‘Work In Progress’, so any additional items, or improvements would be greatly appreciated. Please leave your comments and feedback below.

Regards,

Martin Procter
Promart Supplements

For the best muscle building results from using whey protein powder, follow the 10 tips below:

1. Calculate your daily protein intake, i.e. 1.5g per day for every pound of bodyweight. Divide this number by the number of meals you eat per day (6 or more is recommended) and this is how much protein you need to consume per meal, no more, no less. If you need more than 40g of protein per meal, consider eating more meals per day, to spread the protein out better. Whenever your meals contain less protein than required, boost the protein content with a whey protein powder.
2. Remember that calories dictate whether you gain weight or lose weight. Consume 10 calories per pound of bodyweight per day to lose weight and 15-20 calories per pound of bodyweight per day to gain weight (15 = slow metabolism, 20 = fast metabolism). But remember, like protein, calories need to be spread evenly throughout the day over 6 or more meals, to regulate insulin levels, which are associated with energy levels and fat loss. Also, eating small meals regularly throughout the day boosts your metabolism.
3. Keep well hydrated by drinking 8-10 glasses fo water per day, every day. Proper hydration is very important for many processes in the body and ultimately results in increased or decreased performance at the gym.
4. High intensity training is a must for anyone wanting to improve their physical performance and appearance, whether you want to lose weight or gain weight (remember weight is controlled mainly by calories). High intensity training has a knock on effect upon hormone levels within the body, which help fat loss and boost metabolism. The higher the intensity, the better. Fifty minutes appears to be the optimum time in the gym, lifting weights and should be repeated 2-4 times per week, depending upon your requirements.
5. Low to medium intensity cardiovascular training, such as a brisk walk or a steady jog are good for increasing fat loss, without affecting muscle mass, when performed for the right duration at the right times. Forty minutes, first thing on a morning, before breakfast, performed 3-4 times per week will boost results significantly. An extra tip is to have a black coffee, or a cup of green tea before exercising. Have your protein shakes immediately after you return from your jog, to ensure no lean muscle is lost as a result of the jogging.
6. Follow all high intensity training sessions with a post workout shake. For weight loss, have whey protein powder in water, with a few raisins. For weight gain, mix your protein powder in skimmed milk for extra protein and 27g of sugar, which is one of the few times when sugar is a good thing in your diet.
7. Avoid lack of sleep, stressful situations and overtraining as they can result in the release of a stress related hormone called Cortisol, which is associated with muscle loss and the accumulation of body fat.
8. Eat plenty of fruit and veg in your diet, as the vitamins, minerals and other micronutrients found (or not found yet) in these foods allow for optimum performance of your bodily functions, such as improving protein synthesis and increasing energy. You don’t see what these foods do, but they have a massive positive effect upon your overall routine.
9. Make sure your normal meals are low GI and low GL, to avoid insulin spikes. Your body can only store up to 150g or so of glycogen and if you eat a large sugary meal, the extra will either be excreted or will result in additional fat gain. Note: on a morning and after lifting weights, your glycogen levels are depleted, so your instant energy source is gone, meaning you need to use your fat stores as energy for any form of exercise, hence the early morning slow jog. If you do anything higher intensity, the Cortisol is going to kick in, so don’t overdo it on a morning. Similarly for after lifting weights.
10. With reagrds whey protein supplements, if you are lactose intolerant, use whey isolate as it does not contain lactose. Otherwise, I would recommend using AST Whey Protein for everyone else.

Regards,

Gareth

Protein Shakes FAQ

1. What are protein shakes made from?
   Protein Shakes are usually made from milk, eggs and soy, but mainly milk.
2. Are protein shakes safe to use?
   Yes, but if you are lactose intolerant they may cause stomach upsets, which can be eliminated by using a whey protein isolate shake. Other than that, protein shakes simply provide the protein from the above sources, but with the majority of the sugars and fats removed, thereby reducing calories significantly.
3. So can protein shakes help weight loss?
   Yes. A high protein, low sugar, low fat, calorie restricted diet, with calories and protein spread out evenly over 6 meals per day provides the perfect environment for progressive, consistent fat loss, whilst increasing muscle tone. Obviously, going to the gym also plays a big part, but your diet is key.
4. Are protein shakes good for me?
   Yes. They improve skin, nails and hair, boost the immune system and can improve cognitive function, as well as improving physical ability and appearance
5. Isn’t normal food better than protein shakes?
   Protein shakes are made from normal food, but with the sugars and fats removed, so in a sense they are normal food. They should never replace regular meals, but are ideal for use 2-3 hours after breakfast, lunch and dinner, so that you are eating regularly enough to keep your metabolism running fast, insulin levels constant and therefore having more energy throughout the day.
6. How much protein do I need per day?
   If you are starting a training programme, 1g of protein per pound of bodyweight per day is about right. If you are a bodybuilder, then 1.5g of protein per pound of bodyweight is recommended.
7. What about calories?
   If you want to lose weight, consume 10 calories per pound of bodyweight per day. If you want to gain weight consume 15-20 calories per pound of bodyweight per day (depending upon your metabolism, obviously more calories are required if you have a fast metabolism. Whether you want to lose weight or gain weight, it is essential that these calories are split evenly over 6 meals per day, to keep body fat levels low.
8. Where can I find more information and buy some protein shakes in the UK?
   Take a look at our protein shakes page for more information and recommended products. There are also over 100 other articles on our blog which may be of interest.

Regards,

Brian

What is Myoplex?

Myoplex is a nutritional supplement manufactured by a US based company called EAS. Myoplex is available in many forms, such as bars, ready to drink shakes and powders, with varying amounts of nutrients, making them suitable for both people wanting to gain weight, tone up at the same weight or lose weight. What are the Benefits of Myoplex? Myoplex tastes really good in all forms, with the milkshakes tasting better than from fast food outlets, but not containing the sugars or fats. Myoplex is a high protein, low calorie supplement which provides 100% of your RDA of most vitamins and minerals Myoplex uses the MyoPro protein blend of Whey Protein Concentrate, Calcium Caseinate, Milk Protein Isolate, Whey Protein Isolate, Egg Albumin, Taurine And L-Glutamine which provides the optimum release of protein between meals, helping retain or gain muscle mass, without gaining fat. Myoplex comes in a variety of forms, with diet and lite versions of each product, for people who want to increase tone and lose fat at the same time, which is the number 1 aim for anyone trying to lose weight and look good, rather than skinny fat. Where Can You Buy Myoplex in the UK? Here at Promart Supplements, we stock a wide range of EAS Myoplex products. Our prices are the lowest in the UK, include Free Next Day Delivery and we also provide further discount options in the form of loyalty points, refer a friend, buy together and save and multibuy. Our Myoplex range of products are below: Myoplex Original Meal Replacement Powder (20 Sachets) Myoplex Deluxe Meal Replacement Powder (20 Sachets) Myoplex Diet Bars x 12 Myoplex Carb Sense Bars x 12 Myoplex Diet Meal Replacement Powder (20 Sachets) Myoplex Original Bars x 12 Myoplex Original Variety Pack – Meal Replacement Powder (42 Sachets) If you try Myoplex, you will love it. It tastes great and gives excellent results, both for people trying to gain muscle and people trying to lose fat, which is the reason why our Myoplex customers re-order so often. Give it a try today and start getting results tomorrow.

Regards,

Promart Supplements

So You Want a 6 Pack?

Six Pack Abs

The average person probably does not want to look like a bodybuilder, probably far from it. In general, the majority of people probably just want to increase their overall tone, strength and fitness. Having toned six pack abs is probably the biggest goal for most people. Training for a six pack is easy and it only takes a few weeks for the muscles to develop… the hard part is burning off the fat above your abs to make them visible. To make your abs visible, your body fat level needs to be reduced to around 8-10%.

Reduce your body fat using these Diet Tips

To reduce your bodyfat to reveal your abs, you have to do the following with your diet:

1. cut out all sugars from your diet
2. consume the same amount of calories every day (about 12 times your bodyweight in pounds)
3. split your daily calories over 6 equal calorie meals
4. increase protein intake
5. drink 8-10 glasses of water per day

Bingeing on sugary foods, drinking beer, missing breakfast, etc. will stop you getting any results, so don’t do it. Consistency is the main thing when reducing body fat. Aim to lose around 1% body fat every fortnight and do not judge results by your weight. You may lose 2 pounds of fat, but gain 2 pounds of muscle in a week, resulting in zero weight loss, although this would still be good progress.

Getting there now… Just add a little Exercise!

The above diet advice, when followed 100% would improve your physique. However, the diet would work better still when combined with exercise. Subtle changes could make all the difference. Here are some tips:

1. Perform aerobics 3-5 times per week, first thing on a morning before breakfast, but after a cup of green tea (no milk or sugar). This could be as easy as taking a brisk walk to work instead of driving – aim for 20-30 minutes.
2. Perform anaerobics 3 times per week. This means go to the gym and lift medium to heavy weights. Only use multiple joint exercises, performing just 10-12 high intensity sets per workout. Each set should be 8-12 reps, each lasting 4 seconds, with no stopping or locking out. Complete your workout within 45-50 minutes and consume a post workout shake immediately after your workout.

If you feel as though you are getting too muscly, just raise the number of reps that you do on the weights to 12-15, meaning you will then be targeting different muscle fibers that do not get as big.

…And finally, use Supplements to make your goals more Achievable!

There are 3 parts to this advice, i.e. diet, aerobics and anaerobics. Your diet is probably the hardest part to follow and is where most people would fail. To counter this, I would suggest eating a small bowl of unsweetened porridge with semi skimmed milk and/or water every day for breakfast and using a low calorie meal replacement shake for when you do not have the time or effort to eat a proper meal. It is surprising how well meal replacement shakes can satisfy your hunger, so give them a try if this is something you struggle with. I personally recommend CNP Professional’s meal replacement products, with Pro-MR suitable for men and Pro-MS suitable for women. Let me know how you get on, or if you have any questions.

(Note: the above advice is based upon vast amounts of research and experience, both personal and external and will work. I haven’t backed up my recommendations because it would have made this article 4-5 times as long and people would lose interest)

Regards,

Brian