How certain amino acids affect the body

Posted on January 30, 2021 by Sergei_Bst

The importance of amino acids

The topic of the importance of amino acids for muscle recovery (and muscle mass growth) after exercise is well studied. And we usually consume different amino acids together when we eat protein-rich foods — meat, fish, milk, cheese, eggs, nuts, beans, and so on.

But modern technologies allow the production of isolated amino acids.

Key neurotransmitters are synthesized from amino acids — for example, serotonin (its low level is considered one of the main factors in the development of depression) is formed from tryptophan.

Therefore, the use of individual amino acids can affect the brain and hormonal balance in a way that the use of a mixture of different amino acids will not affect. In the latter case, they will compete to overcome the blood-brain barrier, which will not significantly increase the level of a particular amino acid.

Can some amino acids in isolated form affect performance in sports, changing the ” brain chemistry” and hormonal balance? And what research is there on this topic?

Amino acids and affection on performance

Tyrosine

It is a precursor of dopamine and norepinephrine, and in theory, its consumption should have a positive effect on functioning under stress. But the results of studies with athletes are mixed.

In one case, cyclists in very hot conditions took 150 mg of tyrosine per kilogram of body weight 60 minutes before the test, and this improved the time “to failure”. The study’s authors concluded that tyrosine helped cyclists cope with the physical stress of heat and exercise; and reduced levels of tyrosine in the brain impair performance in sports in hot conditions.

And another study did not show an improvement in athletic performance, but there was an improvement in memory and information processing, so the author concludes: for those who are important for cognitive functions in difficult conditions, tyrosine can help. These are, for example, ultramarathoners, participants of adventure races, etc.

Another study in military personnel found no positive effects from the use of tyrosine before exercise.

Phenylalanine

Not so actively researched in the light of exercise. But there was something: it showed a significant effect on fat burning during exercises with submaximal intensity when taking 3 g of phenylalanine before them.

Although it can be useful at the beginning of the season for fat burning, this approach is not recommended when participating in competitions, when you need maximum results and the intensity is also maximum, and the availability of carbohydrates plays an important role.

Taurine

It is added to many drinks and is claimed to have an effect on focus and performance. But there is no convincing evidence. 6 grams of taurine did not help runners in one study improve their performance in high-intensity exercise, just as 1.7 grams did not help cyclists in another study.

A relatively recent review of seven studies showed little effect on performance in endurance sports. And there is no evidence about the effect of taurine on mood, cognitive function, or performance in sprints or high-intensity exercise.

Theanine

It is found in small amounts in tea. It has a positive effect on cognitive function, especially when combined with caffeine. It has been proven that 100-200 mg of theanine, coupled with 50-150 mg of caffeine:

– improve mood and cognitive function;

– promote the concentration of attention on external stimuli and reduce distraction;

– contribute to increased vigilance during the execution of task on attention.

Although further research is needed, there is already evidence that theanine with caffeine before exercise can be beneficial for athletes who need skills, attention, and concentration combined with physical effort.

General recommendations

Those who compete in challenging environments and who value cognitive function may benefit from taking tyrosine supplements. Phenylalanine may promote better fat burning during submaximal-intensity endurance exercises, but it definitely won’t help and can hurt during high-intensity exercise. Athletes in endurance sports may get small benefits from consuming taurine, but the evidence for its effectiveness is weak. Theanine in combination with caffeine can be useful for athletes who need concentration, visual processing, and motor skills — for example, during training, learning new movements and skills.

How to make training with your own weight more effective

Posted on January 30, 2021 by Sergei_Bst

In this article, we will look at four ways to change training with your own weight to increase its effectiveness for gaining strength and improving your body structure. In addition, we will give you some nutrition tips to support your workouts.

Are self-weight training effective?

Before we dive into the subtleties of increasing the intensity of training with your own weight, we will dispel one popular misconception — that such training is suitable only for “beginners” and can not provide serious results. This is a completely baseless claim.

It is based on the assumption that training with your own weight is less effective than strength training, since you do not exert yourself as much. Obviously, the last statement is true. However, this omits the fact that training involves more than just gaining strength.

There are different types of power. And if training with your own weight is really not the best option for increasing the result by one repetition, then they can be incredibly effective in improving muscle endurance and metabolism. In addition, they can significantly increase the time of muscle tension, ensuring muscle hypertrophy and improving such indicators as stability, balance and coordination.

Don’t underestimate training with your own weight. If you “lack” them, then you just need to increase their intensity. You need to change the exercises so as to increase their complexity. In the long run, simply increasing the number of repetitions will not be effective in training with your own weight.

Four ways to Optimize your Own Weight Training for Muscle Strength and Volume

There are a few simple changes that you can make to your own weight training to gain strength and increase muscle hypertrophy.

Change the pace
A certain pace of exercise is a great way to increase the time of tension of the desired muscle groups. You should set a target time for performing the exercises and stick to it to increase the time in tension. By increasing this time, we load the muscles more and strain the muscle fibers, which can increase hypertrophy.

To set the tempo, use the following four-number diagram to set the target levels for performing the movements. For example:

Temp: 4110

4 seconds-eccentric force/downward movement
1 second-pause at the bottom
1 second-concentric force/upward movement
0 seconds-pause at the top

For more hypertrophy, increase the time for eccentric and concentric effort. To gain strength, extend the pauses.

Do one and a half reps
Another great way to increase strength and tension time is to do one and a half repetitions. The implication is that you do a full repeat, then another half-repeat, and count it all as one repeat.

For example, doing push-ups you go down in the normal way, then do not rise to the top just to the middle,and then go down again , and then a rise. And it all counts as one” one-and-a-half ” repeat. An incomplete repeat can also be done at the beginning of a general repeat. For example, when squatting, you can go down to the middle, stand up, then perform a full squat, and count it all as one repeat.

Training with your own weight on power
Training with your own weight is very effective for increasing power. The necessary exercises are safe and involve almost no risk of injury, as they can be easily changed as necessary. For example, you can change the height of the jump when squatting with a jump so that you jump to a convenient height for you to avoid injury.

To increase the power when training with your own weight, simply add an element of increased body distance from the point of contact (ground). When doing push-ups, push off from the floor so that your hands leave the ground. When squatting and lunging, jump up until your feet are off the ground.

To increase the difficulty and power of your own weight exercises, slow down the eccentric phase until it comes to a complete stop, then quickly perform the concentric phase. For example, when squatting with jumps, go down slowly and stop, keeping control of the body, then push off the ground sharply and powerfully.

Endurance training with your own weight
In addition to increasing repetitions, how else can you increase muscle endurance when training with your own weight? Here are two great ways to achieve this.

First, do the combined movements. To do this, simply combine two or more exercises. It’s like doing a circular workout, where you do one exercise after another in a deliberate and purposeful way, but there are some small differences. With a combined movement, one complete repetition consists of repetitions of individual exercises.

For example, one squat, one push-up, and one lunge count as one total rep. This approach is convenient because the total number of repetitions is reduced.

Secondly, limit yourself in time. This is a relatively simple change. Focus not on the number of repetitions, but on the time. To increase endurance, you need to do more in the same period of time.

Let’s say we want to increase the endurance of the lower body and for this we decided to do squats and lunges. Usually we will set a goal for repetitions with the allocation of time to rest. When you focus on the time we will just keep doing the exercises, occasionally pausing to rest. For example, with a goal of 15 minutes, you need to do a squat and lunge constantly, resting only when you have no strength left at all.

Four Nutrition Tips for Training with Your Own Weight

Since training with your own weight is effective for developing strength, improving physical fitness and body structure in the vast majority of trainees, they deserve the same attention to nutrition as regular training.

We will not discuss the subtleties of nutrition before and after training. Let’s just take as a basis the fact that we need sufficient recovery and energy to make progress. Many fall into the trap of delusions about training with their own weight: “They are so simple, they can be done more often and do not think about nutrition after training.”

This logic can lead to some problems, so it is definitely worth eating well and maintaining the body. If you regularly do thoughtful workouts with your own weight, then use these three tips.

1. Maintain consistency
At first, this advice may seem strange, but try to keep the same meal schedule and diet as with normal strength training.

The simpler, the better. Eat natural and high-quality foods, try to make your meals rich in nutrients.

2. Remember about protein
Supplements can help with intense training with your own weight. As with traditional strength training, protein is important for muscle recovery and growth. If you don’t feel like you’re eating enough protein every day, try a protein shake that gives you the right amount of calories and essential nutrients.

3. Try Creatine
Creatine is an excellent supplement for increasing strength, endurance and power. Although weight training may not seem as heavy as traditional strength training, creatine can still be useful if you want to improve your overall fitness.

Creatine is easily absorbed. In addition, it is one of the few supplements on the market, the benefits of which are described in many studies.

‌‌‌‌4. Consider taking BCAAs
If you want to enrich your diet with amino acids and are looking for a delicious drink that will provide the body with essential amino acids and help in the fight against hunger, then you should definitely consider BCAAs, or branched chain amino acids. They can help increase your intake of leucine, an amino acid thought to play a role in muscle protein synthesis.

Note: Before you start a new type of training, change your diet, or start taking new supplements, you should always consult your doctor!

General recomendations

Training with your own weight is an effective way to increase your strength, power, endurance, and overall tone. Do not think that they are suitable only for beginners. Be creative and increase their complexity — and they will be effective for you, too. Treat them like regular workouts and don’t forget about proper nutrition and adequate recovery.

All you need to know about creatine

Posted on January 30, 2021 by Sergei_Bst

Creatine and it’s functions

Creatine is a naturally occurring substance found mainly in muscle cells in the human body. Creatine is obtained from food, mainly from meat and seafood, a small amount is produced by the body.

Without the supplementation of creatine in the muscles, as a rule, be around 60-80%. Vegetarians don’t get enough creatine from their diet, so they tend to have even lower creatine stores in their muscles, which is why creatine supplements are all the more beneficial.

The main function of creatine is to replenish the stores of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), a molecule that is used for energy production in cells. During short, intense sets of exercises, the ability to quickly restore ATP is partially limited by the creatinine available in the muscles.

Creatine has been extensively studied since 1980. More than 1000 studies have been published. The main benefit of taking creatine supplements is to improve performance in the gym and in life. Most studies that have studied performance enhancement have found that taking creatine during high-intensity exercise improves performance by about 10-20%.

For example, in a study of strength training in men, the group that received creatine was able to perform an average of 1-2 additional repetitions in each of the five bench press sets before muscle failure. It may seem that 1-2 additional repetitions is not much, but over time, the ability to do 10-20% more repetitions leads to an increase in endurance and muscle mass.

Does creatine work for everyone?

Although creatine has been studied primarily in men, most studies involving women seem to show similar benefits of creatine for women. In addition, many studies have been conducted on the effects of creatine on the elderly, and similar results have been obtained. Unfortunately, the effect of creatine is not universal. The response may vary from person to person, ranging from an almost complete lack of performance improvement to a very pronounced improvement.

Is creatine harmful?

Creatine is one of the most studied performance-enhancing supplements. Data on it has been collected for more than 30 years. So we have a lot of evidence to support his safety. There have been claims that creatine can lead to dehydration and muscle cramps, but the best research does not support this information.

In addition, there is a misconception that creatine can contribute to kidney problems. Studies of both short-term and long-term creatine intake in different populations among young and healthy people, as well as among patients and the elderly, have not shown any negative effects of creatine.

Are there any side effects?

The only side effect that is mentioned in all the studies is a small weight gain-mainly due to an increase in the amount of water in the muscles. Not everyone gains weight from creatine, but most studies have shown an average weight gain of just over 1 kg in people who weigh about 75 kg. Weight gain ranges from < 1 kg to > 3 kg.

How do you take creatine?

Creatine is available in different formulations. The cheapest, most popular, and most well – studied is creatine monohydrate. Creatine monohydrate is usually available in tablet and powder form, which are equally effective. The effect of creatine becomes noticeable only when the muscles become sufficiently saturated with creatine. There are two options for taking creatine: “loading” and “no loading”.

Loading: 0.3 g / kg body weight 5-7 days, then 5 g daily. Loading allows you to saturate the muscles with creatine in about a week, when the results will become noticeable. The disadvantage of the loading method is that you have to take a lot of creatine a day.

The most reliable scientific studies do not show a tendency to the occurrence of gastrointestinal disorders on the background of creatine intake. However, the authors of one study suggested that the incidence of gastrointestinal disorders is higher at a dosage of more than 5 g at a time.

Without loading: take 5 g per day. As a rule, muscle saturation with creatine occurs within about 3-4 weeks. Please be patient.

The timing of creatine intake regarding training is often discussed, however, there is no strong scientific argument about what time creatine intake is most useful. If you usually consume a protein shake after a workout, you can add creatine to it for potential benefits, but do not worry if you are used to taking it before a workout.

Unlike supplements such as caffeine, to which the body develops an addiction and their effectiveness decreases over time, the effect of creatine is permanent and the intake of creatine in cycles is not required.

Some advocate the use of creatine in combination with a large amount of carbohydrates to improve absorption and increase the total supply of creatine in the muscles. It is true that carbohydrates help to deliver creatine to the muscles, but studies have not been conducted to prove the positive effect of such a strategy on improving performance.

In addition to creatine monohydrate, there are other forms of creatine, such as creatine hydrochloride (HCl) and creatine ethyl ether. The idea of the advantage of these forms over creatine monohydrate is not confirmed in the modern scientific literature.

The main advantage of creatine hydrochloride is that it is easily soluble in water, although it costs a little more. Some claim that the total required dosage of creatine HCl is lower than that of monohydrate, but this has never been studied. Finally, creatine ethyl ether does not appear to be as effective as creatine monohydrate. Its effectiveness is equal to the placebo effect.

All types of protein powder: from whey to vegan

Posted on January 29, 2021 by Sergei_Bst

There are many forms of powdered protein, and each of them contains several amino acids that the body needs to replenish its energy supply and ensure muscle growth.

Protein powder is best absorbed within the first 30 minutes after a vigorous workout. Since a person usually has no appetite after a heavy load, smoothies are a great way to replenish the supply of important proteins.

Whey Protein

Whey is one of the two main proteins found in dairy products. It is more easily absorbed by the human body than the other main milk protein — casein. In addition, the serum is easy to buy, and it is inexpensive, making it a favorite product of both bodybuilders and those who are trying to lose weight by following a high-protein diet.

Whey comes in two main forms: whey protein concentrate and whey protein isolate.

Whey Protein concentrate is made using the traditional cheese production process by separating milk into two components: liquid whey and solid cottage cheese, or milk fat and casein. This liquid whey is then dried into the most common type of whey powder. This version is easy to make and therefore generally cheaper than whey isolate.

Whey Protein Isolate (WPI) is obtained from liquid whey through a special filtration process that removes fat, cholesterol, and lactose from the solution. This process allows the use of whey powder without side effects for those who suffer from lactose intolerance.

Egg White Protein

Egg white protein is exactly what the name says — the dried, powdered form of chicken egg protein. For some people, it has several advantages over whey protein.

For example, people who suffer from allergies to lactose, you can use this protein powder. Although most of the lactose is removed from the whey protein isolate, it may remain in some amount. Egg white or albumin is digested at a moderate rate, which distinguishes it from fast-digested whey or slow-digested casein.

This means that its beneficial effect will last a little longer than when taking a cocktail with whey protein. It is also one of the few complex proteins on the powder market, as it contains all 10 essential amino acids.

Ready-to-use bone broth

Bone broth is a broth with a high protein content, which is prepared from bones and a small amount of meat. It is simmered long enough to extract a lot of collagen, minerals, and other nutrients from the bones. It is easy to prepare at home or purchase in a powder or liquid version.

Bone broth has become a favorite form of protein for many people. It can be drunk as a delicious soup, which is ideal for those people who do not like sweets. Collagen supplies the building blocks for healthy skin, hair, and nails. Because of this, it can slightly improve the situation with thinning hair, brittle nails, wrinkles and dermatological problems.

Bone broth is widely used as an ingredient in savory dishes, as a drinking broth, or as a base for soup.

Vegan and Vegetarian Protein

There are a wide variety of vegan protein options available. Each has its own advantages and taste profiles. Many of them are either sprouted or fermented, which opens up access to many of the nutrients in food and facilitates a person’s ability to digest them.

Pea protein powder provides a powerful and highly hypoallergenic protein boost. It contains a wide range of branched-chain amino acids. .

Soy protein powder is the most widely used vegan protein available. It is better to use fermented and organic powder, as it denatures the xenoestrogen hormones that are naturally present in the plant.

In many cases, vegan protein powders are also mixed together to produce a more complete plant-based food source.

General recomendations

Protein powder is a great product that can be consumed in a variety of other forms. It can be added to recipes for cookies, protein bars, cupcakes, or any other baked goods.

These products are great to take with you on long hikes or use as a snack during an active day. Not only do they taste good — they can also help speed up a person’s metabolism and fully activate the body’s fat-burning generators.

As a result, a person will be able to get rid of more fat and build more muscle.

3 main rules to gain muscles

Posted on January 28, 2021January 28, 2021 by Sergei_Bst

Let’s be honest, we all want a nice toned body with strong arms, glutes and abs. And more of that, please. More muscles. So if our goal is to grow muscles then we need to take the right steps to achieve that goal.

For example, the way you train for muscle hypertrophy will be slightly different from training to increase strength, power, and so on.

When we talk about muscle mass gain, we define it as hypertrophic adaptation and the response of muscle fibers through progressive overload.

‌‌‌‌The basics of gaining muscle mass

Let’s discuss the three main principles of gaining muscle mass that everyone needs to consider in order to make progress.

1. Choose a high-quality training program for gaining muscle mass.

Why this is important: A proper training program will take into account several variables needed to build muscle, such as progressive overload, adequate volume gain, and an effort tracking system. And these are just some of the main aspects. If they are not included in your training program, it may be worth reviewing such a program or resorting to the help of a trainer.

What mistakes do powerlifters make?: as a rule, when an athlete, despite frequent training, does not gain muscle mass, this is due to the inconsistency of various aspects of his program. Changing programs when gaining muscle mass reduces all efforts to nothing. The result will be frequent transitions from program to program in the hope of finding the “best” or “perfect” plan, whatever it may be.

Social media, as well as a lack of patience and understanding of how muscle gain actually occurs, can affect the frequent change of programs. Without a balanced program (s) to track progress, we miss our opportunities to build muscle.

2. The role of nutrition in gaining muscle mass.

You can go to the gym and work out, stick to your current diet, and build muscle. This is because you are giving the body a new stimulus, and as you continue to do this, the body will adapt.

Why this is important: after a period of what we call “beginner progress” (rapid increase in muscle mass/strength due to the novelty of exercise), it becomes increasingly difficult to gain muscle mass. As with training, we ultimately need to put in a little more effort to continue to succeed — in this case, it dictates the nutrition strategy.

By controlling your total daily calories, macronutrients (protein, fat, carbohydrates), and even the number of meals you eat, you can accelerate your rate of muscle building. For example, if you do not monitor the amount of macronutrients, do not consume enough calories or do not get the right amount of protein, your rate of gaining muscle mass will be much lower than that of other athletes who take these factors into account.

Protein is extremely important for gaining muscle mass. Eating enough protein can help increase muscle mass with a supportive diet and when calories are in excess, and can also help maintain muscle mass when calories are in short supply.

There are many different ways to add more protein to your diet. In addition to animal sources such as beef, poultry, fish, and dairy products, there is a wide variety of protein powders available. For those who consume protein from animal sources, whey protein and casein protein are great options. For vegetarians and vegans, there are many different types of plant protein, including pea protein, soy protein, hemp protein, and many others. Many post-workout muscle recovery mixes also contain protein, along with muscle-supporting nutrients such as the BCAA complex (branched-chain amino acids) and other important amino acids.

What mistakes powerlifters make: what works at the beginning of training doesn’t work afterwards. The more we load the body with training, the more important it is to remember about nutrition and how it fits in with our goals.

For example, with a calorie deficit, the gain of muscle mass is much slower than with a supportive diet or with a small excess of calories. With this in mind, we can precisely align our goals with how we eat to gain muscle mass.

3. Remember that recovery (sleep) is extremely important for gaining muscle mass.

To gain muscle mass, it is not enough just to go to the gym, train and eat right. It should also be remembered that aspects of recovery, such as sleep, can also play a big role in building muscle.

Why this is important: while we sleep, our body produces growth hormone (HGH), which plays a major role in the growth of muscles and their adaptation to power loads. In addition, sleep can improve muscle recovery and growth through the synthesis of muscle protein. Our body thus uses protein to rebuild and restore muscle fibers.

In addition to these two key points, during the REM sleep phase, the body shows a tendency to increase blood flow. Increased blood flow has a beneficial effect on the transport of beneficial recovery products to the muscle fibers. Sleep also helps the muscles relax and relieves tension that occurs during the day and during training.

In addition to sleep, recovery techniques such as massage, ice baths, sauna sessions, and meditation can help us achieve our muscle-building goals.

What mistakes powerlifters make: very often athletes follow the first two aspects described above, but forget about the importance of sleep and other recovery methods. If we don’t provide our muscles with the tools they need to recover and adapt, even the best training plans won’t produce the desired results.

In addition, even a great diet can be useless if you lose sight of aspects of recovery, such as sleep. Lack of sleep can cause an increase in the level of hormones such as cortisol (the stress hormone), which is really detrimental to muscle growth and muscle gain. Cortisol is a catabolic, which means it breaks down molecules, so increasing levels of this hormone can interfere with the synthesis of muscle protein in the body.

Why you train and not muscles grow but fat

Posted on January 20, 2021 by Sergei_Bst

Peple who train and want to gain weight face a situation when the weight grows, but not the muscles. You keep training and get more calories and see yourself just getting fatter. Let’s understand the reasons for that and find the ways to avoid that.

How muscles grow?

The reason for the increase in excessive fat is obvious – the consumption of too many calories. But muscles need extra calories to grow? Right. The problem of “mass growing” people is that they do not quite understand how much energy the muscles need to grow.

For the synthesis of 1 gr. of muscle tissue, approximately 20-22 kilocalories are required. The growth of a kilo of muscle will require about 20,000 calories. This is a lot, so why does so much fat build up, since the requirements are so high?

Because muscles grow very slowly, and increased calorie intake does not affect the speed of muscle growth in any way.

If you are a beginner, you have the highest potential for muscle growth. But 5-6 kg of muscle per year is a good indicator for good genetics. Most can count on 3-4 kg.
Let’s calculate: 5 kg of muscle is 100 000 kcal. For a year. Divide by 365 = 274 kcal per day. Total! How much do you eat extra?

Anything eaten beyond that will go into fat. And these are numbers for beginners. For people experienced in training, the potential for muscle growth is even lower. If your experience is 5+ years of training, you can count on a kilo of muscle per year, maximum. This is an additional 20,000 kcal per year. 50-70 kcal per day extra.

The connection between fat, muscles and calorie intake

So, if you have a large amount of fat (more than 20% for men and more than 30-35% for women), and you want to build muscle, do not try to “sit on the mass”. Reduce your calorie intake by 15%, and exercise actively, increase your protein intake.

If you have been training for a long time, your fat percentage is about 15% (for men), or about 20-30% (for women), you also do not need to “sit on the mass” to build muscle. You need up to 100 kcal per day extra for your muscles to grow.

If you notice that a sharp weight gain begins, this is a sign to reduce the calories intake.

The only case when it is necessary to decently increase the caloric content of food for muscle growth is when the percentage of fat is very low. Less than 10-12% for men and 15% for women.

5 facts how sports make us happy

Posted on December 10, 2020 by Sergei_Bst

Why we do sports

Since childhood, we know that sports are necessary for good health. We go to fitness gyms, run and attend swimming pool to keep our muscles toned, our heart functioning smoothly, and our back not hurting.

But do we know how physical activity affects our mental state? Of course, we feel a rise in mood, cheerfulness, but there are other advantages of sports, which we will talk about in the article.

5 scientific facts of physical activity influence on mental health

1. Exercise causes a rush of endorphins
When you start training, your body under stress from exercise, releases a protein called brain neurotrophic factor. This causes the brain to release more endorphins (“hormones of joy”) to compensate for the damage. That’s why you feel a rush of happiness after training. Endorphins are designed to minimize pain, but their side effect is a state of euphoria.

2. After physical activity, sleep tight
Lack of sleep increases the risk of many diseases, from obesity to cancer. According to the journal Clinical Sports Medicine, working out in the afternoon raises your body temperature, which drops again around the time you need to sleep, acting as an additional signal to the brain that it’s time to sleep.

3. Exercising energizes you
Physical activity enriches your body with oxygen and nutrients, which increases your energy level.

4. Gym rises your self esteem
In the gym, you will have a wonderful transformation, both in the physiological and psychological sense. According to the Journal of Health Psychology, the release of endorphins that accompanies exercise changes the way you think: even if you don’t become an athlete, your attitude to your own body will change for the better.

5. Sport increases the productivity
According to the British Journal of Sports Medicine, those who spend more time in the gym have an increased level of creativity. People who exercise more effectively manage their time: they are more productive in the office and, most importantly, happier in life.