Have you ever heard the quote by Jay Cutler, 4 time Mr. Olympia champion, “I don’t eat for taste, I eat for function.”? If not and you’re into working out and being fit you’re probably doing something wrong.

The science behind nutrition in exercise is fairly straightforward. Eat according to your goals. By what exactly does nutrition have to do with our goals? We all know those people who can eat whatever they want and not gain weight. That’s all because of their personal metabolism and that discussion is for another time. But what about the people who grind it out every day looking to improve their size and strength by just that much? These people weigh out their food and know every macro and micro nutrient that enters their body.

So let’s start with the basics. What does nutrition provide? Nutrition provides the body with macro nutrients (Carbs, Protein, and Fat) and micronutrients (small substances the body needs to run). For this article we are going to focus on macronutrients.

First let’s define what a carb is. Most people think carbs are just braid and other types of grains but that’s not true. A Carbohydrate according to atkins.com is either a monosaccharide or a simple sugar. Carbs can take the form of fructose or glucose and can be found in all types of food including cauliflower and candy.

Second let’s define what protein is. Protein is the body’s building block for muscle and many other functions. Protein is made up of single amino acids or branch amino acids depending on what the source of the protein is and what type of protein it is.

Lastly let’s define what fat is. Fat is actually a nutrient that is essential for healthy functions in the human body. It’s not all bad for you. Most fats are made up of triglycerides which are fatty acids and found in most foods.

Now how does all that information help us and what does it have to do with building muscle?

When put all together a balanced diet including all 3 macronutrients is extremely important in the process of muscle growth. So let’s break down that process.

When you exercise the fibers in your muscles are broken down during the actual process of lifting weights. This happens because of the stress put on them during the contraction and unloading phases of lifting a weight. It’s after leaving the gym that the real work starts to happen.

Most people know that after working out it’s good to eat a meal high in protein and sometimes carbohydrates depending on your goals. Let’s assume for argument sake that you eat a meal with a quality source of protein and carbs. What do those macros do in your body?

Depending on the type of protein you intake changes the digestion rate but for this let us assume you eat a meal consisting of steak and brown rice. The protein in the steak is broken down into it’s branch amino acids and is then sent to your muscles. Here the amino acids determine which muscle fibers were “torn” during your workout and attach themselves to them in order to regrow. This process is known as protein synthesis. Now that’s all well and good but eating protein alone won’t get you to your goals if your goal is to grow your muscles. Protein maintains and strengthens but in order to grow your muscles you need carbohydrates as well. After eating the brown rice the complex carbohydrates will be broken down into their simplest form and also sent to your muscles. It is here that muscle growth occurs. When the monosaccharide reaches the muscle it allows the fiber to not only repair itself but grow as well.

That is where muscle growth comes from. The combination of protein and carbohydrates interact with the muscle fibers in order to grow and become stronger. That is why so many professional athletes, bodybuilders included, stress the importance of nutrition along with exercise. Remember next time you hit the gym, most work is done in the kitchen.

Works Cited:

http://www.atkins.com/Science/Nutrition-and-Exercise/Good-Carbs.aspx

http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/whoami/findoutmore/yourbody/whatdoyourcellsdo/whatisacellmadeof/whatareproteinsmadeof.aspx

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/heart/healthy/fat.html

We all know it. We have an exam in the coming weeks and it seems so far away. But it’s really not that far. Most students will procrastinate studying for their exam though until the last minute. In fact according to the American Psychological Association 80-95% of college students procrastinate. That study was done as a meta analysis experiment by the University of Calgary. Even allowing room for error that’s a staggering number!

But this blog isn’t about procrastination. It’s about those students who decide to take “study drugs” to compensate for their procrastination problem. The most common types of drugs that students take to help them study are prescription medications used to combat the adverse effects of ADHD. There are many different types but the most common ones are Ritalin, concerta, and vyvanse.

But what really is happening in your body when you take those drugs?

Do you even know? Sure it might help you study a little bit longer by keeping you awake but is that all it’s doing?

According to a health guide published in the New York Times  concerning these drugs the side effects for those who aren’t prescribed them are quite lengthy. These side effects include hallucinations and paranoia, aggressive behavior, sleeplessness, and loss of appetite. That’s quite a list for just one good night of studying and that’s not even all the side effects.

Even a test at an unnamed ivy league school showed that at least 18% of the student body has admitted to using stimulant drugs in order to achieve a higher grade in school.

This is becoming a serious problem in college life today and is quickly spreading across the nation’s universities and colleges. But can it really be harmful? The list of side effects I mentioned above seem bad but none of them are long lasting so what’s a few uncomfortable hours for that grade? Well it might not just be a couple hours.

The fact is the human body is only able to handle so much. When a student introduces a stimulant into his body he opens the door for a possible fatal event. The strain that the stimulants put on the cardiovascular and immune system are severe and in some cases can result in death if not treated properly.

So remember next time you have an exam coming up… Start studying early! And skip the study beans.

In the beginning there was Pangea. A supercontinent of immense proportions. It formed roughly around 300 million years ago and began to break apart, into what we know now as the seven continents, 100 million years ago.

This theory that all the continents were once connected is one that is commonly accepted by the scientific community.

Well that begs the question why did it break apart?

The answer lies in plate tectonic. Under the crust of the earth are gigantic land masses called plates. These plates move every year in such small increments to be unnoticeable. But it was not just a big split up. This super continent fell apart in pieces.

The first rift resulted in the pacific ocean.

The second rift resulted in Asia.

And the final rift resulted in Africa.

When looking at a map now one can tell that the continents used to be together. But even in this day the tectonic plates still move so a super continent will once again form but it will be the exact opposite of what it used to be.

Since the beginning of man kind we have been obsessed with what we don’t know, what we can’t understand. Thousands of years ago the stars were studied as a way to communicate to gods, thousands of years later they are studied to understand the creation of our universe and a way to gain more knowledge of the solar system around us.

One planet has caught our attention more than most though. That planet is mars. Known as the red planet this barren piece of rock circling the sun is no place for the faint hearted. It lays boast to the largest volcano in the solar system and more extreme weather and terrain than that could be found anywhere else on earth. It’s average temperature is -81 Fahrenheit.  No wonder we haven’t successfully landed humans on this planet yet.

Because of the brightness of the Red Planet it is impossible to determine when exactly Mars was “discovered”. But the main events that led to our knowledge of what Mars is today happened in the early 1970’s. (That’s not that long ago). In 1971 Mariner 9 discovered the largest volcano in the solar system, Olympus Mons, and also discovered the fact that water once existed on mars. 

This major discovery made by  mariner 9 is a huge reason why humans are so interested in Mars. At one time this barren planet was able to sustain life. So what happened to that life?

Well that’s the big question isn’t it?

The martians of hollywood’s imagination are most likely fiction, researchers only believe that microorganisms lived on mars years past. But this isn’t proven yet and were not done searching for what we believe could be intelligent life.

The mars rover landing represents the 40th attempt to study the Red Planet. As of now we only have little bits and pieces of information but we are building every day. At one time Mars was a Goldilocks planet, one able to sustain life, and that is why we are so interested.

All the time the Mars rover sends back a photo that sparks controversy in pro martian circles. Examples of these would be a footprint that would later be declared as a tread of the mars rover, an elongated human skull (this one is still a mystery), a ball, and some people actually claim to see aliens in some photos.

As of now there is no known active life on mars but that does not mean that is the final word. In the deep chasms of Mars and the tallest mountain ranges in our solar system we have no way to explore it all thoroughly. And that is why we are so fascinated with mars. Anything could be living there in a neighboring planet that we would have no idea about. Maybe there are Aliens, the type in the movies, or maybe there are just microorganisms waiting to be discovered.

Cancer sucks. It’s plain and simple. There is no good news in the world that has to do anything with cancer unless the word cured comes before it. Other than that cancer is a really nasty disease that devastates families worldwide.

But everyone knows that cancer sucks. Most people know what cancer is. And a lot of people are aware of the different kinds of cancers. At least they know the main types of cancer: carcinoma, sarcoma, melanoma, lymphoma, and leukemia. According to the Cancer institute, breast cancer is the most common type of cancer.

Still why do we need a month for Breast Cancer? Besides the fact that it leads to tens of thousands of deaths each year there are many cases that go undetected. It’s not for lack of information either, it’s for lack of attentiveness. According to the U.S department of Health and Human Services, breast cancer if detected and treated early can be cured almost every time.

But still why does it get a month? Is it for the survivors of Breast cancer? A little bit but that’s not quite it. Is it for those with breast cancer? Partially but still missing something very important. Breast Cancer receives a month because the most important thing is awareness.

It’s not about people who have had it, it’s about people who can get it. Men and woman both. Breast Cancer Awareness month is to inform everyone on the dangers Breast Cancer is and inform them how to seek help and early diagnosis?

But why October? There is actually little information surrounding why this takes place in october though. There are barely any theories out there either. So instead I shall make my own theory. I believe that Breast Cancer is in October because the season of Fall is just hitting full swing. The leaves are changing but not falling yet, the colors are beautiful, the air is clear, and that’s what breast cancer awareness is about. The new beginning that happens when you are cured of it. 

Admit it. We’ve all been there. Just watching the days slip away constantly telling ourselves that we have time to study, there’s not need to start just yet, it’s unimportant. Then the day before the big test arrives and suddenly we realize we haven’t done anything to prepare for it. What do we do?

We pull an all nighted. Cram a weeks worth of studying into one full night. Forgo sleep in favor of sitting in the library or our dorm rooms frantically going over all our notes, reviewing our text books, and searching google for the answers. How much sleep does the typical college student get a night? According to University of Georgia only six to six point nine hours a night. That mean before even pulling an all nighted college students are sleep deprived.

What’s there to do about that though? Nothing. It is impossible to be able to maintain adequate levels of sleep in college without giving something else up like a social life or good grades. But the human body is an amazing thing and is able to adapt to these low levels of sleep and maintain normal levels of brain activity.

It’s when college students start pulling the all nighters that things go south. They pull the all nighted feel like they know the information even though they know they crammed it all in and go on with their day. They may have a class or two before their exam and might end up just falling asleep in that class.

But then they get to the exam look at the first question and all of what they studied is gone. Nothing. Nada. They can’t remember a single thing. This is because sleep allows the brain to process memories. There are three stages involved when making a memory. Acquisition which is the action taking place, Consolidation which is the memory becoming stable, and Recall which allows the brain to process the information at any given time.

A study by Harvard University found that the recall stage of memory only happens when one is asleep. And to add to that discovery the most affected part of memory that recall helps is called declarative memory. Which basically means our knowledge. This type of memory is what helps us recall what we ate for dinner last night, or the capital of our state, or most importantly what we studied in our text book for 12 hours the day before.

So next time you’re thinking of pulling an all nighter, remember that it actually negatively affects you instead of a positive effect Not only will you be sleep deprived but you’re almost guaranteed to do poorly on the exam. 

We all know the story of the titanic. Wether our parents told us the story or we saw the movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio. The sinking of the titanic is common knowledge. But movies and the passage of time have skewed the actual facts and have given way to urban legend. In the movie the titanic hit an iceberg that practically split it in half and resulted in loss of numerous lives.

But let’s be honest here. The titanic is not a big ship by todays standards but back then it was enormous. It weighed 46,000 tons!That’s a huge piece of metal just floating in the ocean. And yes one could argue well an iceberg is a huge piece of ice just floating in the ocean. But metal is so strong, what could have weakened the metal so much that it was left to the mercy of the iceberg in the first place?

Well that would be the engine room fire. Not much is known about this incidence but it’s existence is recorded. The Coal Bunker Fires happenings are probably one of  the least lucky occurrences in recent history. The fact that this coal bunker caught fire and elevated to such a high temperature that it actually weakened the metal of the hull of the ship is astounding. It took a little while to figure out that this event actually occurred but researches of the Titanic and it’s maiden and only voyage were able to retrace telltale signs off the walls of the Coal Bunker.

To add to the ill fated luck of the fire it is theorized that the iceberg that hit the titanic hit in the exact spot in the hull that the fire had previously weakened. Despite countless warnings the Titanic still hit the ice berg.

Would it have sank without the fire? It might have but it would have been a much slower process since the iceberg would not have been able to rip cleanly through the hull of the ship. This would have provided the passengers with ample time to react to the situation and send out an SOS signal.

So next time someone is talking about how the titanic sunk and how it is all because of the iceberg. Interrupt and tell them exactly how the titanic sunk.

What is the actual truth behind steroids? Does anyone actually know the science behind them? I’m willing to bet that you don’t. Most people think that steroids are a drug used only by meatheads and other athletes to become bigger and have a better athletic performance. But this is simply not the case.

First let’s start out with who is using steroids. We’ll start as young as date can be provided for and work our way up. For starters it was reported from National Institute of Drug Abuse study that 2.5% of 8th graders use steroids, 2.5% of 10th graders, and 4% of 12th graders. When looking at the nation as a whole that is not a big percentage.

But why do they take them? Most people take steroids in order to enhance their physical image or improve their athletic performance. It is commonly known that professional athletes use steroids and continue to use them even though leagues including the NFL, NHL, and MLB are cracking down on steroid use. These athletes believe it is in their best interest to take them to win. Nearly one in every 10 retired football players took steroids at one point in their lives! That’s a lot of steroids. Unfortunately data on current steroid usage in professional and college sports are difficult to find and are unreliable plus the date is skewed.

So know we know who is using steroids or “roids” as they are commonly referred to. But what do they actually do? Steroids are a substitute for the male hormone known as testosterone. Testosterone is what fuels muscle building in both male and females and therefore this anabolic drug helps to build muscle mass therefore increasing strength. In short steroids speed up the recovery process of muscles when they are broken down.

This contradicts the widely held belief that using steroids builds muscle without doing any work. In fact if you were to take steroids without exercising you would just gain weight and not the good kind of weight, you would pack on fat. But when combined with exercise, steroids allow you to recover quickly making you be able to hit the gym or the field harder sooner rather than later, resulting in bigger muscle growth.

In most sports Steroids are taboo to talk about but some athletes will come forward and admit to their usage of the anabolic drug. Body Builders might be the most open about it and are the most outspoken for the health benefits of steroids. When used correctly they not only speed up muscle recovery but can have other benefits as well.

Hi everyone, My name is Will Hershon and I hate science. I always have and I always will. I have never done well in a science class so that’s why I am taking this course. My advisor recommended it to me when I protested about having to take any type of science course. We agreed on this, and well, here I am. The reason I am not a science major is my continuous lack of being able to grasp the concepts of science mainly due to my absolute lack of interest in the field. As of now I am undecided but plan on being a business major.