Tip: Eat These for Big Sex Drive

Spanish scientists just published a report that found that adding nuts to a regular diet improves orgasmic intensity and sexual desire in men. What’s particularly notable about this study is that it wasn’t like most of the studies on erectile function in that it didn’t involve flaccid old coots who became only slightly less flaccid after undergoing some dietary or lifestyle change. Instead, this study involved young guys who already possessed the unassailable erections and volcanic orgasmic function of youth before taking part in the study. What They Did Spanish scientists, led by Dr. Albert Salas-Huetos of the University Rovira i Virgili, recruited 98 healthy men between the ages of 18 and 35 for a 14-week, randomized controlled study on the effects of mixed nuts on male sexual function. Half of the men were assigned to consume a typical Western-style diet while the other half was assigned to eat that same diet but with the addition of 60 grams per day of raw, mixed nuts (walnuts, almonds, and hazelnuts). What They Found The primary outcome seen in the nut-diet group was improved sperm count and sperm quality, but the researchers then asked the participants to supply answers to the 15-question International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF). Eighty-three of the subjects (43 in the nut group and 40 in the control group) complied. Compared to the control group, the nut-diet group reported a significant increase in orgasmic function and sexual desire. Oddly enough, the researchers couldn’t figure out why the nut group experienced an improvement in sexual function because the usual biochemical suspects didn’t appear to play a part. For instance, increased erectile function usually corresponds and correlates with an increase in nitric oxide (NO), which improves endothelial function and allows more blood to flow into the penis. But for some reason the scientists didn’t see an increase in NO production, even though nuts are high in arginine, an amino acid precursor of NO. And neither did the scientists note an increase in concentration of E-selectin, another molecule indirectly involved in healthy erections. In fact, they couldn’t figure out why nuts had the effect the did, but they rightly concluded that, “an absence of evidence does not mean evidence of no effect,” which is probably another way of saying that you shouldn’t look either a gift horse or gift erection in the mouth. How to Use This Info It’s easy to test out the findings of this study. All you’ve got to do is start eating 60 grams of mixed nuts a day and take your penis out for an occasional spin to see how the old boy handles some curves. While the study used a blend of walnuts, almonds, and hazelnuts, you could probably get away with sticking to one or two of the listed varieties instead of an equally proportioned blend of all three. Likewise, you could probably opt for other types of nuts. A previous study found that eating 100 grams of pistachios every day for three weeks had similar effects on sexual function. (That particular study was done with men who had erectile dysfunction at the outset, so given that the pistachios literally had a heavier load to lift, it could mean that larger amounts of nuts are even more potent than the 60 grams used in the Spanish study.) Here’s a breakdown of approximately how many nuts you’d have to eat to get 60 grams: 20 Walnuts, or… 40 Almonds, or… 40 Hazelnuts, or … 20 Brazil nuts, or… 30 Cashews, or… 30 Pecans, or… 4 Tablespoons of pine nuts, or… A blend of different nuts totaling 60 grams. So if you wanted to duplicate the protocol used in the Spanish study, you could eat a 60-gram blend consisting of about 10 walnuts (30 grams), 10 almonds (15 grams), and 10 hazelnuts (15 grams). However you do it, keep in mind that 60 grams of nuts is between 350 and 400 calories, so make dietary adjustments accordingly so you don’t gradually pork out your waistline. Of course, 60 grams is a damn lot of nuts to eat in general, so let’s get practical. The pro-sexual effects of nuts are likely due to their anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant properties (courtesy of their inherent polyphenols), and eating just 30 grams of them a day instead of 60 is probably more than enough to help you get the desired sexual effects and the desired health effects, especially if you’re young and already turgid a good amount of the
Origin: Tip: Eat These for Big Sex Drive

Tip: Sit a Lot? Do These 4 Exercises

Slouchers, Do the T-W-A-Y Circuit Many lifters experience shoulder pain. This is often due to faulty biomechanics or weakness/inactivity of the scapular stabilizers (serratus anterior, rhomboids, levator scapulae and trapezius). Most commonly, anterior shoulder pain (in the front of the shoulder) will be due to difficulty fully retracting the scapulae. Much like the glute amnesia caused by prolonged sitting, scapular retractors can be hard to properly recruit after we sit slouched for hours. Because our shoulder blades tend to move into protraction (up and forward) when posture is less than ideal, you need to retrain your retractors to pull your shoulder blades down and back. The challenge is finding scapular retraction exercises in which the bigger, stronger muscles of the shoulder girdle won’t overpower their smaller counterparts. These exercises will help to combat the problem. Not only will they help lifters with shoulder stability for pain-free benching and overhead pressing, they’re also of great benefit for injury prevention in overhead movement athletes. All four exercises will be performed in a prone lying position. Take a breath to expand and stabilize the rib cage, lifting the sternum and head to achieve proper cervical and thoracic alignment. The range of motion will be minimal, which allows you to better target the scapular retractors. Maintain constant tension on the target muscles throughout the movement and between reps for maximum time under tension – don’t put your arms back down until all the reps are done. These movements are much more challenging than appear, so you’ll perform them with absolutely no load at first. Focus on movement control, squeezing the shoulder blades for a good strong peak contraction. The T Start with your arms straight out beside you in external rotation, thumbs up, forming a T-shape. Your upper arms should form a perfect 90 degree angle with your torso. Keeping your arms straight, lift your arms straight up while squeezing your shoulder blades together as hard as you can. Hold for a 3-second peak contraction. Repeat for 8-12 reps. The W Begin by extending your arms (palms down) up to 10 and 2 o’clock. Bend your elbows down and back as if you were trying to put your elbows in your back pockets (W-shape), focusing on a maximal contraction of the scapulae. Hold for a 3-second peak contraction. Repeat for 8-12 reps. The A Put your arms down alongside your torso (palms up) at about 5 and 7 o’clock (A-shape). Leading with the shoulder blades, lift your straight arms up and back as if you were trying to push off from a wall. Squeeze your scapulae hard and hold for 3 seconds. Repeat for 8-12 reps. The Y Extend your arms up (palms down) to about 10 and 2 o’clock (Y-shape). Leading with the hands, lift your straight arms up, while squeezing the shoulder blades back and down. Hold for 3 seconds and repeat 8-12 times. Programming Notes Perform all four exercises as a circuit at least two or three times per week. You can do them as a warm-up, at the end of an upper body workout, or even at home on the living room floor. In week 1, one set of each exercise will suffice. You’ll be surprised how tough they are. If the exercises seem too easy, you’re not trying. Focus on the squeeze. Add a second circuit in week 2 or 3 and then a third in week 3 or 4. Rest only 30 seconds or so between circuits. Resist the temptation to add load initially. You need to focus on maximally contracting the target muscles that drive full scapular retraction. You could easily cheat the movement up under load, but you won’t develop the proper mind-muscle connection you need to get the retractors firing. Once you’ve mastered recruiting the proper musculature, you can add a small load. Start with a 2.5 pound plate in each hand. If you go too heavy, other muscles will take over the movement and then you’re wasting your time. For the W, gravity is pulling in the wrong direction. Instead of using weights, anchor a low-resistance band to something stable a little way from your head, grab both ends and perform the movement as described above.
Origin: Tip: Sit a Lot? Do These 4 Exercises

Tip: Do These Stretches After Squats

Save your stretching for post-workout. This is when you want to hold stretches for a longer period of time while your muscles are still warm and receptive. These will help get rid of the kinks in your glutes and help prevent those kinks from cropping up again. Glutes and Hips This is called the standing pigeon stretch. Place one leg across a box at a 90 degree angle. Press your opposite hip forward and rotate the hip that’s on the box backward. Hips and Hip Flexors Do the lizard lunge with external rotation. Place one foot in front of you so that your knee is behind your shin. Extend your opposite leg behind you. Roll to the outside of your foot and press your knee away from your body. Hips and Thoracic Spine Do the squat hold with a reach back. Keeping your heels flat, squat down as deep as you can comfortably hold. While keeping you heels flat, reach one arm up as you try to touch your bicep to your ear. Ankles and Calves Place a resistance band around your ankle and loop the other end around a fixture. Keep your heel flat as you push your knee forward so that it goes past your toes. The band will pull your shin backwards, creating a stretch in your
Origin: Tip: Do These Stretches After Squats