With the explosion of research proclaiming that omega-3 fatty acids are healthy for your heart, people are consuming more fish than ever. But one popular entrée on many menus may actually do more harm than good. Researchers from Wake Forest University recently revealed the results of a major study that found farm-raised tilapia has more unhealthy fatty acids (omega-6) than certain hamburgers, doughnuts, and pork bacon.

Whenever we exercise, whether it is cardio, strength or endurance training, we run the risk of overdoing it and putting our bodies in a state of “overtraining”. It’s sometimes hard to get motivated to exercise, but quite often, people feel they aren’t making enough gains or progress than they would like, and push their bodies and minds too far. Some symptoms of overtraining may include:

Well, as much as we hate stretching sometimes (after all, it CAN be the most boring part of your workout) we think it is an important part of any workout routine. We believe that stiff, unstretchable muscles and ligaments can shrink and then potententially, subtly pull your posture out of alignment, resulting in various ailments. One of our writers was the victim of a nasty case of “pseudo-sciatica” (most likely caused by excessive sitting at the computer) and once they got back into a regular exercise routine, filled with adequate amounts of stretching combined with certain types of exercises (e.g. lunges, deadlifts) the pain went away and didn't return (unless of course they got lazy and didn't stretch/exercise regularly).

But for the most part, we think it really depends on the type of workout as well as your fitness level. Many people believe that your muscles require significant warm up before they are stretched, so they recommend stretching after a warm up period consisting of at least 5-10 mins of light cardio/walking/etc. Some people we know don't stretch at all until after their workout. Also, some weightlifters we know don't stretch at all before workouts, believing that after warm up, eccentric movements performed while exercising the muscle groups in question provides enough stretching of the muscle and associated ligaments.

We're somewhere in between. We all believe in stretching a bit before each workout, especially long bouts of cardio. Most of us usually perform 5 mins of warm up on an elliptical trainer or exercise bike, then perform a light, full body stretching routine before commencing my workout. When strength training a few of our writers do compromise a bit and just do their warm up and a very light warm up set consisting of eccentric movements of each exercise before commencing their “real” workout, and then perform light stretching in between sets.

This is a good question that gets asked a lot by beginners. Many people want to benchmark their progress by how sore they are after each workout...THIS IS WRONG. There are many types of post workout muscle soreness that can be attributed to many different things, and a successful workout is generally not one of them.

There is DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness), which is associated with injury to the muscle cell membrane that triggers an inflammatory response (1). DOMS is often felt 24-48 hours after working out and can peak 1-3 days after working out, and should subside within 7 days. The inflammatory response associated with DOMS also leads to the production of metabolic wastes, which in turn trigger pain in the site of the injury. Swelling (or edema) is also common in DOMS and this can further exacerbate the sensation of pain. DOMS is very common, and many studies agree that you can continue to workout without causing further injury when you have DOMS (as long as proper care, nutrition and recovery steps are taken). Warming up before working out can significantly reduce the chance of getting delayed onset muscle soreness.

When you add muscle, you are almost guaranteed to add some amount of fat, whether the amount is small or large depends largely on your metabolism, exercise regime and body type.

The three basic body types, ectomorph, mesomorh and endomorph all gain muscle and fat at different rates. It is important to have a good understanding of your basic body type before engaging in a weight gain or weight loss program.

The process of eating surplus calories to gain muscle mass and weight is often referred to as “bulking”. Some people can even lower their relative body fat percentage by gaining more muscle weight than fat, but most of us aren’t so lucky.

In the upcoming weeks, we will be answering questions asked by beginners just starting out in their journey to better health. We will also be elaborating on training and diet tips for beginners. If you have any questions to add to this list, or would like to participate as a healthy and hot writer, please sign up for an account, or contact Healthy and Hot.

Eat Fiber

Drink Water

Taking Vitamins

Getting sleep.

Careful of your rotator cuff / support muscles.

Form is Everything!

What is split training (or splits)?

Do I stretch before, after working out?

Many people who first start training ask this question. Since you have to eat a lot more than usual, and since protein absorption is so vital, taking your supplements at the right times is critical.

The absolutely best (and most important) time to ingest protein (and a high glycemic-index carbohydrate) is immediately after your workout. At this time, your body is able to absorb and utilize nutrients in an efficient manner that maximizes uptake of proteins and other macronutrients (such as carbohydrates to replenish glycogen reserves). Post-workout, protein synthesis is increased and glycogen storage efficiency may be increased by up to 125%.

If you are trying to gain weight and lean body mass (through a combination of strength training and caloric surplus), the thing to always remember is to eat lots, but eat clean. Eating clean is as simple as avoiding highly refined, processed foods. You don’t HAVE to eat organic, but it is best to avoid food with chemical additives, preservatives, or flavor enhancers (like MSG, Hydrolyzed Plant Proteins, Yeast Extract or other glutamic acid derivatives). These flavor enhancers can often mask the flavor of sub-standard food, making you think you are eating something that is better than it really is.