An important article on how white sugar is very destructive to good health and top notch fitness.


http://a-healthy-body.com/the-sugar-and-cancer-connection-why-sugar-is-calle

Very important. Some of these may be difficult to obtain in Naija. Clean diet and great fitness go hand and hand.
Some of these foods are in a couple of religious books/scriptures.

10 Foods to clean arteries.
http://a-healthy-body.com/10-foods-that-you-should-eat-daily-for-clean-arteries/

For Captains Nigeria.

Keeping it 100 for the team.

New study on gut health and muscle growth.

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/929371

A w/o for my elite power rangers.

Rest, get good nourishment in your bodies and hit it again. wash, rinse, repeat.

TRAINING

Tip: Benching vs. Push-Ups – The Shocking Science

This new study will definitely surprise you. Check it out.
by Calvin Huynh | May 8, 2020

https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-benching-vs-push-ups-the-shocking-science

Compared to the bench press, the push-up is often seen as a less effective alternative. After all, bench pressing is hardcore and push-ups are only for prisoners or people without gym access right?

Wrong.

People have this strange misconception that the heaviest exercises get you the most jacked but, physiologically, load is fairly irrelevant when it comes to building muscle.

External load isn't what drives muscle growth, but rather internal force production, otherwise known as mechanical tension. Load or any form of resistance – whether it's band, cables, or your own bodyweight – are merely tools to apply mechanical tension.

Don't believe me? Check out this new study.

THE STUDY
Kotarsky et al took 23 intermediate male lifters and divided them up into a bench press group and a push-up group. (1) Both groups did three workouts a week for a month. Each workout had three working sets of about 6-8 reps, so 9 weekly sets total of horizontal pushing for both groups.

Both groups also had an objective progression model. That just means that once a performance was reached, progression was auto-regulated based on the study design.

For the bench press group, they simply added load like you would at the gym. Prove you got stronger by hitting the maximum rep range and slap on some more plates.

For the push-up group, they progressed in push-up variation. The study design had nine variations starting with the wall push-ups your sister did in elementary school all the way to one-arm push-ups.

These progression models are crucial because without them subjects are just training willy nilly instead of actually building strength and creating adaptations. Ironically, plenty of researchers don't implement them and pretty much end up wasting everyone's time.

WHAT THEY FOUND
After four weeks, the study measured chest muscle thickness, explosive medball throw performance, and bench 1RM. Both groups also did a push-up progression test.

From a statistical standpoint, both groups made similar progress on all measures except the push-up progression test where the push-up group did significantly better. Not too surprising there.

While the bench press group had a slightly bigger "effect size" for bench press 1RM, I was surprised that the push-up group did so well considering the law of specificity. The push-up group didn't bench for a whole month and basically got just as strong at benching. Goes to show how versatile the push-up is.

As far as muscle size goes, push-ups were just as hypertrophic as benching. But let's look closer at the data.

When looking at the average raw effect sizes, the push-up group built over three times as much muscle as the bench press group did (4% vs. 1.2%). Considering this was just a four-week study in already intermediate lifters, total muscle growth is expectedly slow indicating that the results were simply underpowered.

Had the study continued longer with more participants, the gap would've got closer, but the push-up group likely would've made statistically better gains.

But enough about statistics. The big takeaway is push-up variations (even ones without weight) are, at worst equivalent to the bench press and, at best, superior.

HOW CAN THIS BE?
Remember, load/weight isn't the end-all, be-all in exercise selection. The push-up uses less absolute load, but muscle activation is equivalent to the bench press (2).

After all, the push-up is a closed-chain version with more range of motion while allowing for the shoulder blades to move freely, all of which make an exercise enticingly favorable (3). Also, the push-up is less fatiguing, so in practice it allows you to do more volume.

Oh, and it's definitely worth mentioning that push-ups are much less injurious. I mean, how many people do you know that hurt themselves doing push-ups compared to barbell benching?

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOU
Remember, for push-ups to be effective, they have to be challenging, but that's not an issue for most people.

Even the most hardcore of bros can't do 4 sets of 30 strict push-ups with a consistently controlled eccentric/negative. Start there, especially if you're a push-up skeptic.

However, if you're truly a beast, you can do one or more of the following to up your push-up game.

Increase range of motion: Elevate your feet or hands on blocks.
Make them unilateral: Do archer push-ups (see video below) or one-arm push-ups.
Add load: A bumper plate or some chains on your back will go a long way.
Add gymnastic rings or a TRX: The instability will make push-ups more challenging.
ARCHER PUSH-UP


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6X3dpH0WFeI

Grab anything with some weight which you can safely hold on to and get to work my friends.

Pomegranate: The Tropical Fruit With 6 Benefits

The pomegranate is one of the most interesting fruits in the world because of its distinctive looks and unique texture. Its white-reddish shell contains bright red, translucent seeds, equally positioned all throughout the insides.

Like many other fruits, pomegranate is rich and high in levels of vitamins and minerals, dietary fibers and proteins. Some of the vitamins are Vitamin C and K, folate, and the minerals iron and potassium. Pomegranate also contains good calories and natural sugar which make the pomegranate an amazingly healthy and nutritious snack.

The pomegranate fruit contains Punicalagin and Punicic Acid, powerful antioxidants with antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties.

Table of Contents
Fights Inflammation
Keeps A Healthy Heart
Antiviral Properties
Anemia Treatment
Improve Digestion
Improve Exercise Duration
Fights Inflammation
Pomegranate has a strong anti-inflammatory effect because of the high amount of antioxidants. The seeds eaten raw or squeezed into a juice, help reduce inflammation and pain and provide oxidative stress prevention.

Keeps A Healthy Heart
Pomegranate fruit provides protection for the heart, the arteries, and the other blood vessels. It also enhances the blood flow and prevents the growth and buildup of plaque in the arteries. Pomegranate lowers the cholesterol level which is linked to high blood pressure.

Antiviral Properties
Besides the high amount of Vitamins C, E and K, folate and other immune-boosting nutrients pomegranate can prevent infection and fight off viruses. Because of the anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties, pomegranate is a very important ingredient that helps in relieving the symptoms and even reducing the risks of getting ill in the first place.

Anemia Treatment
Anemia is a disorder that develops when your blood lacks red blood cells or hemoglobin.

Pomegranate is rich in folate- vitamin B9 or folic acid, a vitamin known for the production of new cells into the body. It has a high amount of minerals as well, such as potassium and iron, so this fruit is perfect for anemia treatment. It will also improve the iron supply to the blood and treat anemia symptoms.

Improve Digestion
The content of soluble and insoluble fibers found in pomegranates helps digestive function and bowel movement. Because of its anti-inflammatory properties, it may prevent or treat urinary tract infections. Pomegranate is perfect for soothing the stomach, helping the liver and improving digestion.
Improve Exercise Duration
Pomegranate is rich in dietary nitrates, which are known to increase exercise performance and duration. It enhances the blood flow and the amount of sugar it contains is a great provider for an instant boost of energy. Pomegranate is delaying the onset of fatigue and tiredness, hence provides exercise duration and efficiency.

https://topnaturalremedy.com/the-tropical-fruit-with-superpowers-for-your-body/

Are you a fitness instructor?