Why is it important to get regular massages – especially for us, athletes? Improve your massages with CBD oil! Here is my recommendation on Wellness CBD USA
Tag Archives: Bodybuilding
My experience with CBD oil
You can find my recommendation of CBD products on Wellness CBD USA
The benefits of massage oil with CBD
Massage is very important for all athletes. When we train 5-6 days a week, sometimes even twice a day, it’s very important that we make sure we smoothen out all muscles regularly. Massages can not only relax the body, but also prevent injuries and even promote muscle growth.
When getting a massage, it’s important to use the best oil, as your skin is the largest organ and absorbs anything that is applied topically. A high quality massage oil with CBD is a great option for any massage, whether at home, in spas or at a chiropractic office.
Why have CBD in my massage oil?
Your skin contains endocannabinoid receptors and is connected to your endocannabinoid system. The main function of the endocannabinoid system is to regulate and maintain bodily homeostasis, while keeping the biological harmony of our body in place in response to environmental changes. It also plays a crucial role in helping regulate an array of physiological and cognitive processes, which includes supporting memory retention, balancing mood, maintaining a normal appetite, boosting our immune system and supporting overall wellbeing. CBD stimulates the endocannabinoid system, which therefore promotes homeostasis in the body, combats swelling, enhances circulation and helps to reduce discomforts. The interaction of CBD and the endocannabinoid system also enhances clarity and focus, decreases anxious feelings, promotes a sense of calmness, aids in recovery and assists in a better night’s rest.
A massage is a perfect solution if you have sore muscles or want to promote overall wellbeing. CBD can help reduce discomfort, promote relaxation, ease stress and even nourish the skin.
Source: CBD Hemp Experts
My first article in Brainz Mag
Stay healthy this festive season!
Hello everyone,
I’m new to the Brainz family so let me quickly introduce myself. My name is Tamara Makar, and I’m an IFBB Pro bodybuilder. I have been coaching people for about 15 years on how to achieve their desired physique and I very much enjoy what I do.
Today I would like to talk about 2 very trendy seasons: the festive season and the flu season.
Let’s start with the festive season since Christmas is just around the corner! I am a professional athlete, and my training and diet is my priority since this is my job. However, I have a full understanding of my clients and other people, who just want to stay healthy, and they are on a completely different level of passion for fitness. I understand that they have other priorities, maybe their jobs or their families, and keeping their fitness could be just another ‘chore’ in their lives.
Let me first start with this statement: the gym is not for everyone. Some people love it, others hate it. We have different priorities, different mind sets and different goals. If you don’t like the gym, if you don’t like lifting weights, do not do it. It’s hard to keep up something when you don’t enjoy doing it. To keep your health and fitness – however – you have to do something. Find what you enjoy doing. It could be walking, running, cycling, swimming, it could be anything really. You don’t have to lift weights to keep yourself fit and healthy. If you do something that you enjoy doing, you’re more likely to stick to it in the long run, instead of quitting and restarting periodically.
However, I’ve noticed that most people struggle with sticking to healthy food choices. The holidays are not a very good time to start a diet for most people. There are certain things though that you could do to prevent overeating:
1: drink lots of water. If you fill up your stomach with water you’re less likely to overeat.
2: try to eat more vegetables, and less carbs. Again, if you fill up with greens: salads, broccoli, asparagus, cucumber etc you will have no space to overeat the naughty foods.
3: try to reduce your portions. Usually there are many courses during festive season and if you want to eat all the food, you will definitely overeat. There’s nothing wrong with trying all the dishes on the menu – especially if you’re invited to someone’s home, because you don’t want to offend them by not eating what they’ve prepared. Have a small portion of foods, especially sweets, and try to fill up with vegetables instead of rice, bread or potatoes.
4: another idea is to serve your food on a smaller plate – a smaller portion of food will look bigger on a smaller plate and that tricks the brain to believe it’s a full size portion.
But honestly, if you slide during the holidays, don’t sweat it – try and get back on track as soon as you can. A few days of holiday eating will not make you fat or ruin your work if you’ve been working hard – just like a few days of clean eating will not make you slim and healthy either. A little bit of rest will do good to your body, help with recovery and sometimes breaking the good habit of clean eating can be an advantage for your body. And if you haven’t been eating clean but you’re considering a change from next year, well, then enjoy the holidays and get serious once it’s finished.
When it comes to the flu season I’m a big believer of prevention. It’s always easier to prevent something from happening, than dealing with the hassle and consequences when it occurs. We have a great immune system, and we can help this system to guard us from all attacks.
For a great immune system you need enough rest. How many hours do you sleep at night? Do you wake up tired or do you get some deep rest? If you can’t sleep at night I recommend you try and take some sleep aid: melatonin or antihistamine just to mention a few. If the problem is deeper, you might need some professional help. Stress can cause some sleepless nights. There are different products and ways you can deal with stress – if you’re interested, hit me up and I’ll send you some information of what I recommend.
You will boost your immune system by taking vital vitamins. Vitamin C, vitamin D, zinc, Echinacea, these all help strengthen your immune system. Multivitamins, that suggest to take 1 pill a day are usually not strong enough to stop us from catching any viruses. Especially if you train on a regular basis, you need a higher amount of vitamins and antioxidants for your recovery and immune system. There are some stronger concentration multivitamins that you could take to help your immune system – if you need any recommendation, drop me a message (I’m not endorsing any products here, that’s why I don’t want to put it in the article).
And of course, last but not least: working out boosts your immune system. Either the gym, walking, running, swimming, anything that gets your heart pumping. Go for it and enjoy knowing that you’re doing something for your own health.
If you need any help with your diet or training plans, healthy choice of foods, how to get back on track or start again, please get in touch and I’m more than happy to help you with tips or full online coaching: hello@tamaramakar.me, www.tamaramakar.me
Training at home / getting back to training
Everyone has suffered some time away from the gym during the weeks of this pandemic. Some of us are blessed to be able to train in the gym again, others are still having to workout at home.
Most people don’t have any equipment at home, they can only use resistance bands or some light dumbbells/bars or trx.
First of all: I know for some of you it’s been a long period of time, some of you have certain goals to achieve – whether it’s weight loss, building muscle or competition preparation. Your diet is really the key thing here, and then your training.
If your diet is not right, it wouldn’t matter even if the gyms were open, so first and foremost pay attention to that.
Second thing is, if you’ve been training with bands and light weights / body weight, you have probably learned or are learning how to use the right technique to feel the exercise. Once you don’t have the heavy weights to throw around, you have to focus on the technique to feel it. It’s probably a positive for everyone. Perhaps it has helped you to achieve a better mind – muscle connection that you can use once the gyms reopen.
To be honest, I would’ve never thought about training with bands, but once I was forced to do that, I felt a big difference in my body – and in a good way. It was like an ‘active rest’ for my body. I was still training, but with less pressure on the joints, with a different technique: longer squeezes at the peak, so that I could get the most out of my workouts. A set could’ve lasted for 4-5 or sometimes even 10-15 mins when I was doing body weight squats and different lunges back to back to burn out my legs/quads.
But here’s what to watch out for when you can finally go back to the gym:
Don’t try and lift the same weights that you did before the lockdown.
Don’t get frustrated because you’ve lost some strength. You will gain it back quickly once you can continue going to the gym.
You will probably have to adjust your diet again when you can start lifting heavier weights.
?If you need any help with your current diet or training, drop me a line. I’m here to help you for free to adjust your diet or training plans, we can discuss different ideas.
?If you’d like a proper plan, I’m also available for online coaching.
Online coaching / training plans / meal plans
? get into shape
??♂️ build muscle
??♂️ lose fat
? contest prep
✉️ hello@tamaramakar.me
My take on supplements Part 1
Many people ask me about supplements, what to take to gain weight. It’s quite difficult to advise when I have no idea what they eat, but first I always recommend that you put your diet right. Most people wouldn’t need any protein shakes if their diet was spot on. You can have it, it’s your choice, but it’s not necessary to gain muscle. Protein intake is necessary, but most people should be able to have enough protein from their food intake: chicken, eggs, fish and beef.
If you’re vegetarian or vegan then it’s a whole different ballgame – depending on your end goal.
So what supplements do I recommend for gaining muscle?
?Creatine –
- Helps muscle cells produce more energy.
- Improves high-intensity exercise performance.
- Speeds muscle growth.
- May lower blood sugar levels and fight diabetes.
- May reduce fatigue and tiredness
- Can improve brain function
?Glutamine – which is an amino acid, therefore it’s a building block for protein and a critical part of the immune system. It also has a special role in intestinal health.
Some foods that contain glutamine are: eggs, beef, skinned milk and white rice
Glutamine is a critical fuel source for immune cells. If the body’s need for glutamine is greater than its ability to produce it, your body may break down protein stores, such as muscle, to release more of this amino acid.
Additionally, the function of the immune system can be compromised when insufficient amounts of glutamine are available.
Online coaching / training plans / meal plans
? get into shape
??♂️ build muscle
??♂️ lose fat
? contest prep
✉️ hello@tamaramakar.me
How to build your bootie
Glutes are just like any other muscles. There’s no secret to building up your glutes. Many people ask me to send them a workout routine for different body parts. The truth is: you can google it and get a workout online – as long as you only need a generic workout. It’s not WHAT exercises you do, but HOW you do the exercises. That’s is the reason why you need a coach: to show you how to activate the right muscles, how to have the mind-muscle connection. Anyone can tell you exercises, how many sets and reps to do, but if you’re not using the right technique, if you’re not activating the right muscles, the session will be a waste of time.
I’ve found while working with clients, that glutes are one of the most difficult muscles to activate. No matter what exercise we did, when you have weak glute muscles, some other muscles will take over. So my advice is: drop the weight, don’t go heavy, focus on muscle activation, and squeeze!
Online coaching / training plans / meal plans
? get into shape
??♂️ build muscle
??♂️ lose fat
? contest prep
✉️ hello@tamaramakar.me
My road to become an IFBB Pro
Reply
I thought I’d share my story with you guys, how I got here where I am now.
My prep actually started end of February. I was 79kg, and I was getting ready for the Nabba Worlds in June in Italy. I was very keen, had the passion burning inside me. I wanted to win! Last year I finished 2nd at the Nabba Worlds in Russia and I really wanted to prove myself this year. Athletes would know that a contest prep is not easy, but you can always step it up when you’re keen, so I went all in.
So June came, and I went to Italy to compete. Finished 2nd again – not gonna lie, I was pissed off. We planned another competition a couple of weeks after that, Portugal or Spain, but I said no. I knew what improvements I had to make and I needed a bit more time to make them happen.
So after my first comp mid June I went straight into prepping for the second one in November. First I wanted to go to Poland but then we learnt that the @ironrebelshow was gonna be organised again in November – and we went there with @abe.superman In May when he competed, so I changed my mind and I registered for Denmark.
I had to bring up my shoulders, especially my rear delts, so I started training them 3x a week. My glutes and hammies needed more shape, so that meant glutes and hammies 2x a week, and quads/full legs with glutes 1x a week. Are you keeping score? That meant Ꭵ hᎪᎠ ᏆᎾ ᏆᏒᎪᎥᏁ ᏆᎳᎥᏟᎬ Ꭺ ᎠᎪᎽ ᏆᎳᎥᏟᎬ Ꭺ ᎳᎬᎬᏦ… and this is exactly what I did for 6 months to get into the shape I needed for the @ironrebelshow in Denmark last weekend.
The first pic was taken 2 weeks into my prep in March. The second pic was 1 week before the second comp last weekend. I’m proud of this package, I’m proud of the improvements I’ve made and the condition I’ve got myself into. I know there’s more to come, but so far that was my best ever shape.
About caffeine
Caffeine can increase alertness, sharpen focus, improve mood, boost pain tolerance, help burn fat, and help athletes do more work for longer periods in the gym and in sport.
Caffeine was previously banned by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) pre-competition but since January 2004, any restriction on caffeine’s use pre-event has been lifted.
Caffeine works on the central nervous system.
In bodybuilding and sports, many people also use caffeine pills to enhance performance, these are typically 50-200mg each, and doses may be as much as 300-400mg.
Caffeine is rapidly absorbed from the digestive system reaching peak concentration in blood 60-90 minutes after ingestion. Caffeine is then metabolised in the liver. Complete clearance of caffeine from plasma and urine is not until 24-48 hours after ingestion of the last dose.
Caffeine has been shown to increase both short term intense exercise performance, ‘stop-start’ activities (football, rugby, etc), long distance running and help our performance in the gym, so we can train more effectively and ultimately increase size and strength.
About water balance in your body
The competition season is upon us, and a lot of athletes struggle to get dry on stage. Here are the basics of how your body works when it comes to water balance:
The majority of fluid output occurs from urination. Some fluid is lost through perspiration (part of the body’s temperature control mechanism) and as water vapor in expired air.
The body’s homeostatic control mechanisms ensure that a balance between fluid gain and fluid loss is maintained. The hormones ADH (antidiuretic hormone, also known as vasopressin ) and aldosterone are responsible for this.
What does this mean: your body is smart, it will always try and restore the water balance.
If you drink too little water, it will retain fluid by the kidneys and reduces the urine output.
When you drink too much water, your body will try and push it out by increasing your urine output. Drinking too much water also increases the amount of water in your blood and your sodium and electrolyte levels drop. Sodium helps balance fluids between the inside and outside of cells.
When sodium levels drop due to excess water consumption, fluids shift from the outside to the inside of the cells, causing them to swell. When brain cells swell, pressure inside the skull increases. This pressure causes the first symptoms of water intoxication: headache, nausea, vomiting.
Aldosterone increases water reabsorption through sodium cotransport.
ADH increases water reabsorption by increasing the nephron’s permeability to water, while aldosterone works by increasing the reabsorption of both sodium and water.
Over hydration happens when you drink more water than your kidneys can get rid of via urine.
But the amount of water is not the only factor. How long you take to drink the water also counts.Your kidneys can only get rid of about 0.8 – 1 liter of water per hour. Therefore to avoid water intoxication you should not drink more than 1 l of water per hour on average.
Extra care should be taken when you ‘load’ the water before a competition, and also when you rehydrate following a dehydration after a competition – don’t drink too much water at once.
