Hammer Time - For some unknown reason, at this point your doctor will hit you with a hammer all over your knees and ankles. With a metal hammer, I might add. The reason he’ll give you for doing this is that he’s checking your reflexes, but I think it’s really done in order to provide a few moments of laughter for doctor. Nothing like some humour to settle him down before “big three” components of physical, its true main events, which happen to be:

Checking man out for a hernia.

Checking man out for prostate problems.

Drawing blood to run a bunch of other tests.

Modesty forbids me describing any of these items in great detail, especially first and second ones, but I’ll bet a hundred dollars to a doughnut that most of you men out there who are reading this are suppressing any urge that you might have to cough, and I’ll also bet that your legs are crossed tighter than Jack Benny. These parts of male physical experience are enough to make you reflect on whether or not you might want to consider taking your chances with diseases or problems that cause these personal “inspections.” Frankly, I’d rather cut my lawn with my teeth than have to endure them, and just thinking about what all goes on is making my legs hurt as I type this.

So ladies, there you have it, scoop on one of male’s greatest fears, yearly physical. And please don’t give us any static about demands of giving birth in order to counterbalance this. All of us men appreciate fact that having kids is a rough, gritty business, but at least you ladies are physically designed to somehow get through it. We men, on other hand, are ill equipped to deal with some of invasive horrors inherent in our yearly physicals. And now, as abrupt as it may seem, I have to go as I need to shut down my computer before someone female comes in and reads these last few lines...

Ed’s latest book, “Rough As A Cob,“ can be ordered by calling River City Publishing toll-free at: 877-408-7078. He’s also a popular after dinner speaker, and his column runs in a number of Southeastern publications. You can contact him via email at: ed3@ed-williams.com, or through his web site address at: www.ed-williams.com.

Using Both Protein and Carbs

Dietitians and nutritionists too often look at percentage of total energy intake for proteins and carbohydrates. It would be better to look at actual intake levels. Both protein and carbs are needed in high amounts in order to gain muscle for all reasons discussed above.

The problem in giving general advice is that we are individuals and therefore our requirements for different nutrients vary. If you are trying to gain muscle at same time as trying to lose body fat, your carbohydrate intake will need to be reduced. If you are a beginner bodybuilder who is very skinny, your protein intake will need to be high and you will need to consume high carb foods regularly to gain weight. Remember, you will not make good gains unless your protein intake is sufficient. Any successful bodybuilder will tell you this, no matter what so-called experts say and clinical trials show. A reasonably high intake of quality carbs is also required to train on and for recuperation. Eat complex carbs regularly throughout day.

It is hard to give you figures of how much is required, as we are all so different. But as a general rule for any bodybuilder who is trying to gain muscle size and strength and does not wish to gain bodyfat, following would be a good guide: Protein: 1.0-1.5g of protein per pound bodyweight, depending on whether you use anabolic steroids. The intake must be staggered throughout day at regular intervals.

Carbohydrate: Approximately 2g per pound bodyweight, and eat regularly through day. As well as above, remember to eat a balanced healthy diet, which is reasonably low in fat and high in fruit and vegetables.

Jeff Bedeaux Your guide to building muscle and getting fit. http://www.dr-natural-bodybuilding.com