Shane's Fitness Articles
ARTICLE #12
Happy Easter
Easter has just come and gone for another year, which for most people means an over indulgence in chocolate. If you did overdo it here's an idea of what you'll need to do to in order to use all of that excess energy to atop it turning into excess body fat!
|
Easter Indulgence |
Grams of fat |
How to burn the energy |
|
200g Easter Bunny |
50g |
2 hour run |
|
2 small Caramello Eggs |
6g |
15 minutes on the rower |
|
1 Creme Egg |
6g |
Brisk walk for 20 minutes |
|
3 mini solid eggs |
7.5g |
15 minutes of skipping |
|
1 Hot cross bun with butter |
10g |
30 minutes of jogging |
|
1 packet of Malteser eggs |
38g |
Brisk walk for 75 minutes |
|
110g Cherry Ripe egg |
32g |
Brisk walk for 60 minutes |
|
125g crate of Ferrero Rocher |
53g |
2 hour run |
|
Humpy Dumpty egg containing smarties |
42g |
Brisk walk for 75 minutes |
Chocolate is full of fat and sugar. The table above is only for the calories from fat, I haven't even included the calories from sugar!
This outlines how crucial it is to occasionally allow yourself a treat or reward but not to go crazy. If you overdo it can be very easy to undo the hard work you've done through the preceding weeks.
Remember you've got a goal you are working towards so is it really worth sabotaging for a piece of chocolate?
ARTICLE #11
How much do the calories in alcohol affect your weight loss? Does a few drinks each night or weekend really make that much difference? Lets look at the reasons why alcohol consumption might be holding your weight loss back!
Just like any food or drink you consume (except water) alcoholic drinks contain energy or calories. There are 7 calories per gram of alcohol (29kJ), second only to fat (9 calories per gram) in energy concentration. A 'standard' alcoholic drink contains 8 grams of alcohol, which is equal to 56 calories from the alcohol alone (not to mention sugars that are also present).
The other downside of alcohol is that a 'standard' drink isn't so standard anymore! One pint of beer has 2.5 units of alcohol, a 125ml glass of wine (this is a small glass!) has 1.5 units, and a nip of spirits is 1 unit. The original guidelines for standard drink sizes have become outdated as in Australia we serve stronger beer (5% not 3%), stronger wine (13% not 10%) and larger portions of all drinks eg double shots are standard in most pubs. So you can see that a 'standard' drink contains a significant amount of calories from alcohol....and that's not including the calories from mixers sugar in the alcoholic drink and then any mixers you have!
So all alcoholic drinks contain a significant amount of calories per serve, and we often have a lot more than just one serve! But how much damage does this do for your weight loss efforts? Well, in an ideal dietary plan you'd reduce your calorie intake by 300-500 calories per day to achieve a good amount of healthy weight loss per week. If this is your target then you can easily see that 1-2 drinks per day puts pay to any good nutrition plan you might follow during the day.
Simply said: 1-2 alcoholic drinks can seriously halt your fat loss.
Another way to look at the effect alcohol has on weight loss is to compare the equivalent time you would need to spend doing fitness training to burn these calories off! We'll assume someone has an average fitness level and is of average weight:
Training time required to burn off calories from alcohol:
|
Alcoholic drink |
Walking |
Swimming |
Running |
Cycling |
|
Beer (355ml) |
30 mins |
17 mins |
12 mins |
13 mins |
|
Light beer (355ml) |
20 mins |
11 mins |
8 mins |
9 mins |
|
Low carb beer (355ml) |
23 mins |
13 mins |
9 mins |
10 mins |
|
White wine sweet (200ml glass) |
40 mins |
23 mins |
16 mins |
18 mins |
|
White wine dry (200ml glass) |
29 mins |
16 mins |
12 mins |
13 mins |
|
Red wine (200ml glass) |
28 mins |
16 mins |
11 mins |
12 mins |
|
Spirits (on ice / neat) |
13 mins |
7 mins |
5 mins |
6 mins |
|
Water |
0 mins |
0 mins |
0 mins |
0 mins |
So you can see there's a lot of work to be done if you have a few (or more) drinks. Think of all the blood, sweat, tears, and hard work that can go into a great fitness session....and how easily it can be reversed by drinking alcohol. Also, alcohol contains no essential nutrients and reduces the absorption of Vitamins A, D, E, K, folate, B I, and B2. As well, alcohol does not contribute to muscle glycogen, so you may be left short on carbohydrates, which you need in order to train hard.
What about the calories in low carb beer?
Low carb beer has become very popular. But how much difference will a low carb beer make to your calorie intake? Will low carb beers help with weight loss? An example here is called 'Pure Blonde’.
Pure Blonde is a full strength beer. The combination of a great tasting beer and low-carb content is surely the answer many health and lifestyle conscious beer lovers have been seeking.
Sounds good, but does the beer live up to the marketing hype?! Pure Blonde contains 0.9 grams of carbohydrates per 100mL - a significant reduction to a standard full strength beer that on average contains around 20% more energy (usually 3g / 100mL). So you definitely save some energy intake by going low carb: approx 25 calories per drink.....but this really isn't much!
Why not? The energy in beer and other drinks is from the alcohol. You're MUCH better off going for light beers as the energy saved from the reduced alcohol content far outweighs the low carb idea. As I said, most of the calories in alcoholic drinks comes from the alcohol at 7 calories per ml, not sugar / carbs at all!
The tip is to make alcohol the exception rather than the rule. If you are serious about reaching your fitness goals, limit your alcohol, definitely don’t drink alcohol every day. Follow the 10% rule, only consume alcohol as 10% of your weekly food consumption.
ARTICLE #10
Diabetes
After reading a recent article in the Gold Coast Bulletin, I was shocked to discover some alarming facts about the health of Gold Coasts residents.
Some of these concerning statistics include:
* Amongst other things since 2007 rates of Type 2 diabetes has nearly doubled to nearly 20,000 people
* Diabetes alone costs the health system, funded by us taxpayers over $19 million each year
* Currently in Queensland 1 in 3 adults are overweight and 1 in 5 are obese
* At the current rate by 2025 83% of men and 75% of women will be overweight or obese. Unlike people with type 1 diabetes, people with type 2 diabetes produce insulin. However, the insulin their pancreas secretes is either not enough or the body is unable to recognize the insulin and use it properly. This is called insulin-resistance. When there isn't enough insulin or the insulin is not used as it should be, glucose (sugar) can't get into the body's cells. When glucose builds up in the blood instead of going into cells, the body's cells are unable to function properly. Being overweight and lack of physical activity are two of the most common causes of this form of diabetes
It is estimated that up to 60% of cases of Type 2 diabetes can be prevented. People at risk of type 2 diabetes can delay and even prevent this disease by making smart lifestyle choices.
This includes:
* Maintaining a healthy weight
* Regular physical activity
* Making healthy food choices
* Managing blood pressure
* Managing cholesterol levels
* Not smoking.
For those that make the choice to overeat, eat the wrong foods, avoid exercise and physical activity and end up with Type 2 Diabetes there is no cure so the disease can only be managed. This involves the possibility of needing to start injecting insulin to control blood glucose levels, when your body is no longer producing enough insulin of its own. Sometimes tablets are also required in addition to insulin injections.
So ask yourself are you really too busy now to eat well and do regular exercise? You could make the time now to change your life or have to consider the possibility of needing to find time every day for the rest of your life to inject yourself with insulin and monitor your blood sugars up to 5 times a day should you develop diabetes.
Food for thought.
ARTICLE #9
New Year’s Guilt Trips
As a trainer I am approached at the beginning of each year by both new and current clients about how we can reach their New Year’s resolutions.
Generally these resolutions revolve around weight loss perceived to have been gained over the Christmas period. The truth of the matter is that this weight has been slowly put on over the preceding months. It is guilt that drives people to make fitness resolutions knowing they have been slack.
You can’t get fat from having a bad week of eating and drinking. Obviously you aren’t doing your body any favours but in the same way it takes time to remove body fat it also takes time to accumulate it.
Whatever your aim, success is dependent on being consistent. Be consistent with your training; be consistent with your nutrition. A quality exercise regime balanced with the right eating plan maintained is the only way to really achieve your goals as well as keeping your health on track.
Regular exercise can have positive effects on effective management of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity, mental health, respiratory ailments such as asthma, osteoporosis not to mention the obvious benefits of looking and feeling better.
The message is simple – exercise is the best preventative medicine at your disposal. But it is important to note that it is a lifelong change we need to make every day.
I love this quote -
“Those who think they have not time for bodily exercise will sooner or later have to find time for illness.” Edward Stanley, Earl of Derby (1826-93), British statesman. The Conduct of Life, address at Liverpool College, 20 Dec 1873.
There is no quick fix, no pills or potions or an easy option. You have the ability to forever remove the need to ever have to make a New Year’s Resolution again. Stay true to your goals every day. Have a day off here or there but make it the exception rather than the rule. Do this and think of how much better your life will be in ten, twenty even thirty years’ time. Keep going in circles now and think about the potential alternatives.
ARTICLE #8
Hormones and their role in the body
Id like to outline the importance of the body's key hormones and their role in energy, fat storage, body composition and disease.
Hormones, are considered by scientists to be the body's most powerful biological agents, regulating almost entirely all the chemical activities of the body.
They can serve us both positively and negatively, depending wholly and solely on the level of respect we show our bodies We can to a considerable degree control the activity of the hormones to optimize their effects on our health and longevity.
The hormones I have selected to consider are growth hormone, testosterone, insulin and cortisol.
Growth Hormone
Growth hormone, is involved in building muscle and directing the body to burn fat. Keep in mind that any efficiency we have in building, repairing and replacing muscle is also an efficiency in slowing the aging process. Growth hormone cooperates well with insulin and testosterone in the muscle-building process.
This hormone also enhances immune function, inhibits early stages of hardening of the arteries and numerous symptoms of aging. It unfortunately declines in production as one gets older. Growth hormone is secreted in the early hours of deep sleep and it is positively affected by exercise.
Testosterone
Testosterone is the super hormone in men responsible, to a large degree, for his sexuality and male characteristics. It is to a much lesser degree present in women. It plays a powerful role in muscle building and fat burning and, like growth hormone, declines in production with age.
Testosterone levels fluctuate and can be increased by exercise, provided that you are not over-training and environmental variables such as fitness, correct nutrition, rest, sleep and emotional stress are favourably controlled.
Insulin
Insulin’s primary purpose is to transport blood sugar into the cells for energy. It also moves amino acids into the tissues for their anabolic action. Be aware also that insulin in excess is a very potent fat builder.
Insulin resistance is fast becoming the big issue of modern times.
When carbohydrates are eaten excessively, insulin remains high and the cells over time adapt to its presence and become resistant to its function; additional insulin is demanded to carry on its job of transporting sugar into cells for energy, thereby lowering blood sugar.
The persistent and long-term increase of insulin and glucose in the blood stream cause havoc on the system. Impaired insulin activity inhibits sugar burning and initiates its storage as fat.
Damage to arterial walls result in cardiovascular disease and insulin-resistance might very well lead to adult-onset diabetes.
Cortisol
Where growth hormone and testosterone are hormones that promote muscle building (anabolic), life extension, well-being, immunity, resistance, energy and fat burning, cortisol is the catabolic hormone.
It destroys muscle and contributes to undesirable fat storage. It is primarily a product of stress. Over-training elevates cortisol levels, lack of sound sleep facilitates its destructive action and it will compete with and compromise the positive effects of testosterone and growth hormones' anabolic action. Nutrition, sleep, stress-buffering attitude and exercise counter the cortisol.
Those hormones are a busy bunch. This is a very basic outline of their function and the role they can play in your body. How you choose to utilise them is up to you!
ARTICLE #7
What’s your excuse?
Are you achieving your health and fitness goals? If your answer is Yes then congratulations, keep up the good work and you probably don’t need to read any further.
If you answered No, then do you know why? The reason you aren’t reaching your goals is you. There is quite simply no way of sugar coating it. It’s not your job, or the long hours you do, not because you don’t know how, not because of your genetics. Plain and simple you are making excuses and not good choices. Health and fitness begins and ends with the right mindset. Only by being consistent can you reach your goals. Fitness cannot be stored, it is an ongoing process. The choices you make if you want to achieve your health and fitness goals need to be life-long.
The Webster's Dictionary describes "excuse" as: a: to make apology for, and the Webster's Dictionary describes "choice" as: a: the right or power to choose.
Which definition sounds more empowering to you? When you are making excuses for your actions, you are quite simply just playing victim, not to mention you are not taking the proper steps toward your goals.
Only you are in control of either making proper choices or making excuses. So you can have a bad day at work go home sit on the couch, eat bad food and drink alcohol and feel sorry for yourself cause all the world is against you or you can go home, get changed, go for a walk, go to the gym, swimming or whatever you like to do, then come home eat a nutritious meal and realise that you really do have a good life and it can keep getting better.
The formula for success in your health and fitness goals is easy and we’ve all heard it many times over. You need to maintain frequent eating, moderate protein, moderate carbohydrate, and a low fat intake, staying away from processed sugars and bad fats. You need maintain a consistent water intake. Undertake a consistent weight training and cardio routine with a moderate to high intensity. That’s it. There are no secret formulas, pills or potions. There are no short cuts. Never have been and probably never will be. You can find this information in hundreds of books and magazines, thousands of articles on line or ask any of the trainers in the studio.
You need to accept that your desired goals as well as their maintenance take a daily commitment, permanently.
So next time you are at a fork in the road and you have a decision to make do the following, think about what your health and fitness goals are.
Make a list of what steps you must do to reach that goal, and then read them. Then think about the action you are about to undertake. Now be honest with yourself. Are you making a good choice or will you make excuses?
Whether your goals be retaining youthfulness, increasing strength and power, warding off illness and poor health, controlling body fat levels, adding muscle
ARTICLE #6 - Inflammation
Inflammation is the first response of the immune system to infection or irritation. We are all familiar with the classic signs of inflammation -swelling, redness and pain that occur when we hurt ourselves or have some kind of infection. However recent research has shown that eating the wrong foods can cause inflammation within our bodies. Research has also revealed that being overweight can itself be the cause of inflammation.
The fatty tissues of the body secrete hormones that regulate the immune system and inflammation, but in the case of overweight people this can become a significant issue. Three hormones that play a role in metabolism are leptin, resistin and adiponectin.
- Leptin is involved in appetite control.
- Resistin is a hormone that increases insulin resistance.
- Adiponectin lowers the blood sugar by making your body more insulin sensitive.
The fact that it is the fatty tissue that produces these hormones makes the fat self regulating, as the hormones should act to bring the increased fat under control. Bodies with more fat will produce more leptin bringing the appetite under control. However in cases where the body is inflamed there is often a problem with leptin resistance and the self regulation of fat does not occur. Leptin resistance is where to body stops responding to the appetite controlling effects of the hormone.
In addition to the metabolism regulating hormones, your fatty tissue also produces chemicals that cause inflammation and this can make the problem of leptin resistance worse. This is why obesity can cause an increase of these inflammatory chemicals which in turn inhibit the correct balancing function of the weight controlling hormones. This results in a vicious circle of weight gain causing inflammation which inhibits hormone function thereby causing further weight gain.
Another major cause of inflammation in our bodies is the food we eat. Inflammation can be aggravated by diets high in refined or hydrogenated vegetable oils such as those found in margarines, potato chips and baked goods and by diets high in sugars. But food can also be part of the solution to the problem of inflammation. So from this you can see how important optimum nutrition is in controlling body fat and inflammation. When you eat right you will reduce your body fat and inflammation and when you have reduced body fat your body is better able to regulate the hormones responsible for weight management also reducing the inflammation response.
Anti-inflammatory foods, if eaten regularly, can reduce inflammation in the body and bring the problem under control. This page contains a list of anti-inflammatory foods that if incorporated into your regular diet will help bring a balance to inflammation in your body. Try and feature some kind of anti-inflammatory food into every meal that you eat, and eliminate pro-inflammatory foods from your diet all together. Do this and you will notice significant relief from previous discomforts and a greater ability to control their weight.
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Your daily diet should include the right balance of proteins, carbohydrates, fats, fibres and essential nutrients like vitamins, minerals and amino acids. You can get all these nutrients through fresh vegetables, fruits, oils, grains, meats, fish, dairy products, seeds and nuts. Always include healthy fats in your diet like flaxseed oil, extra-virgin olive oil and omega-3 fish oil. You can have fresh vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, bell pepper, fennel bulb, brussels sprouts, green beans, garlic, spinach, kale, leeks and sweet potatoes. Fruits like apples, lemons, avocados, papayas, grapes, oranges, strawberries and blueberries also possess anti-inflammatory properties. These vegetables and fruits are rich in anti-oxidants as well as vitamins like A, C and E. |
You should avoid junk foods, fast foods, sugar and high-fat meats. Processed meats like sausages or hot dogs consist of chemicals like nitrites, which increase the risk of inflammation and chronic diseases. Foods high in sugar can also cause obesity, inflammation and diseases like diabetes. Therefore, you should avoid sugar-rich foods like pastries, candies, soft-drinks and pre-sweetened cereals. Foods to be excluded from the anti-inflammatory diet are junk foods, processed foods, frozen and canned foods, sugars, artificial sweeteners, fatty meat, and white bread and pasta.
Eating in this manner provides many benefits and improves general health and wellness over and above the anti inflammatory benefits. By switching to this way of eating, you will experience improved digestion, reduced arthritis pain, decreased levels of cholesterol and triglycerides, as well as a relief from the symptoms of bipolar disorder and depression.
Anti-inflammatory diet balanced with enough rest, regular exercises and maintaining a healthy weight can help to control the hazardous effects of inflammation and prevent a number of health related problems.
Please also remember that exercise is one of the greatest ways to counter inflammation.
ARTICLE #5 - Intensity Techniques
Lets face it even for the most passionate of trainers, sometimes doing another workout of 3 to 4 sets of 10 to 12 reps can become mind numbingly boring. Do this for long enough and your motivation will plummet and your results will stop dead. By implementing some different intensity techniques you can spice up your training which will allow you to push beyond conventional failure and work your muscles harder, providing a stimulus for your muscles to get larger and stronger. Following are some techniques you could try in your next workout. Be careful not to overuse them, however, as they can be extremely demanding and difficult for your body to recover from.
Drop Sets
Pick a weight that you would normally lift for around 10-12 repetitions. Once you reach a point where you cannot perform anymore reps in your set, immediately grab a lighter weight and then begin lifting for more reps. You would do this until you reached full exhaustion before fully resting.
The idea for this intensity technique is to simply keep dropping the weight down lighter by removing weight, over and over until you cannot perform anymore reps for that particular set.
Pre exhaustion
Pre-Exhaust training is when you do an isolation exercise which is an exercise that involves motion at only one joint, for example a dumbell flye, immediately followed by a compound exercise which is an exercise that involves motion at two or more joints, such as a bench press.
The idea with the Pre-Exhaust training is to basically exhaust your target muscle group, by first working directly with one exercise, then doing another exercise that utilizes other muscles to assist it. This increases the intensity of the work done by the target muscle as the assisting muscles will you allow you to push further.
Rest Pause
Rest Pause training is flat out brutal! You begin by reaching failure on an exercise. Then rest a few seconds and then continue the set until you reach failure again. The key is to rest as little as possible.
Triple Drop & Rebound Sets
This is a variation of a Triple Drop Set. The Triple Drop Set is where you start with a heavy weight, do a set to failure, reduce the weight, do another set to failure, reduce the weight a third time and do a final set to failure.
Once you’ve done the triple drop, quickly go back and do your starting (heaviest) weight again for a more few reps. You’ll be lucky to get one or two reps.
Isolation/Compound Rebound Sets
Do a drop set of an isolation exercise, then immediately go back and use your heaviest weights for a set of a compound exercise for that muscle group. This one burns just reading about it!
Combination Sets
With this technique, you use two different exercises alternating exercises on each rep. Some good examples of this are lying tricep extensions and close grip bench, dumbell flyes and dumbell press, rows and deadlifts. You should use exercises that are easily switched from one to the other.
Rep Targeting
Set a rep target and get that target no matter how many sets it takes you to get there. For example, if you pick a target of 50 reps, you get 30 on the first set. Rest a little while, say 10 seconds. Again do as many reps as possible. Say you get 10 reps this time. Rest 10 seconds again. Get 5 reps. Rest. Get 3 reps. Rest. Get 2 reps. Done.
Add Sets
These are my favourite. They are the opposite of drop sets. Start with a light weight for say 10 reps and add weight on every time you do ten reps. This technique works very well with machines.
Static Hold Weight Pyramiding
This technique only really works on plate-loaded machines. Start with a moderate weight and hold that weight in the contracted position of the exercise. Have a partner add plates to the machine while you continue to hold in that static position until the weight starts to drop. At that point, pull off one plate.
Hold until it starts to drop again. Pull off one plate and hold. You may come to a point where your partner is pulling off weights as fast as he can just to keep up with your lagging strength. Make sure you have effective communication when you want the next plate off. Continue this process until you end up at your original weight. If you are really crazy once you get back to the original weight try and bust out a conventional set of 8 to 12 reps.
Give some of these a try, push yourself as hard as you can. Remember you only get out what you put in!
ARTICLE#4 - GUIDE TO FAT LOSS
Maximizing Fat Loss
Exercise is the stimulus for the body to adapt to. An adaptive response from the body to exercise is decrease of body fat, increase muscle, cardiovascular fitness and general health. This is a basic overview of what is needed to be adhered to in order to get the best possible results for those looking to change their body composition and maximize fat loss.
Provide a Calorie Deficit Environment – Anyone wanting to lose body fat must consume less calories than they burn on a daily bases. When the body detects a calorie deficit, the body releases several hormones and enzymes for fat to be released into the blood stream and used as fuel by the body. Body fat is basically stored energy. Regular training and the appropriate nutritional intake can constantly signal the body to use its fat stores and preserve your hard earned muscle.
Protein – For fat loss one must consume protein as it is the building block of muscle. Protein in a calorie deficit environment will help tone and sculpt, enabling you to lose body. Inadequate protein intake whilst consuming a calorie deficit diet will eventually lead to muscle loss. Muscle constantly needs to utilise calories as it is always repairing itself from the stress it is put under from training and our day to day lives. This means the body burns more calories by holding more lean muscle making a calorie deficit environment much more achievable. Protein has a 30% thermogenic effect on food, meaning for every 100 calories of protein consumed, the body takes approximately 30 calories to digest and absorb. So protein can not only improve your muscle, but by consuming a higher intake of protein you can actually burn more calories.
Meal consistency – eating regularly for fat loss is absolutely essential. Our bodies will always find a way to adapt to what we expose it to. If meals are not frequent your metabolism will slow down as a survival adaptation to conserve energy and preserve life. By not eating consistently through the day or spreading meals too far apart your body will think food is not available. This will cause your metabolism to slow down and to store any excess food not needed as body fat. This is a primal survival response as the body is preparing for times of famine. Eating regularly will tell the body food is readily available, ramping your metabolism into overdrive, allowing the body to utilise nutrients as they are needed and support a healthy calorie burning environment, maximising fat loss.
Fluid Intake – considering your body is over 70% water, it is essential for many functions of the body. It is important in helping with digestion; the absorption of food, the regulation of body temperature and blood circulation, the carrying of nutrients and oxygen to the cells in the body, and the removal of toxins. Drinking water metabolizes stored fats, helps maintain proper muscle tone. Most importantly though, drinking water
will prevent dehydration, which can have detrimental effects on the body. It is recommended that you should consume 0.033 of your body weight daily plus an extra litre throughout training.
Portion Sizes – Can make or break a good nutritional program. There is only so much the body can process and absorb at any one time. What food your body does not need when you eat will be stored as body fat, even protein. Be sure to portion your meals accordingly and spread them regularly throughout the day. The body then will use nutrients as it needs. This will put your metabolism in over drive and combined with a calorie deficit environment will ensure fat is used as fuel.
Resistance Training – Weight training is essential on order to achieve optimal fat loss and change your body composition. Resistance training provides stress to muscles which gives the body a reason to hold on to muscle. Muscles are challenging to maintain as they burn calories constantly. Holding muscle through weight training will increase the body’s basil metabolic rate (BMR). Your BMR is the amount of calories the body burns to complete every function in your body.
Cardiovascular Training – burns calories and increases the body’s cardiovascular output. Be sure to carry our regular cardio sessions as this will help fast track your body’s fat loss. Cardio training increase the body’s BMR and helps stimulate the release of fat to be used as fuel. Higher intensity cardiovascular training sessions such as interval training will boost the body’s BMR for up to 36 hours. This means the body burns fat during this time even if you are not exercising. For lower intensity fat burning sessions, the best time to do these are 1st thing in the morning or immediately after your weight training sessions. The reason is your body’s blood sugars are low so you can release fat as your energy source.
Sleep – Sleep deprivation increases a stress hormone known as cortisol, decreases the immune system, metabolism, energy levels and the body’s ability to reduce body fat. It is best to get at least 7-9 hours sleep a night. Sleep is where much of the repair and recovery is carried out by the body. Failure to get adequate sleep will prevent your ability to achieve optimal results.
ARTICLE #3 - OVERCOMING TRAINING PLATEAUS
No matter how much weight training you do there is something that will inevitably happen to us all. That is the dreaded training plateau. You’ve been hitting the gym hard and it has been paying off, your muscles started rippling and you are getting a lot more attention.
But then just as quickly as it started, your muscles suddenly stop growing as quickly as they used to. You just aren’t getting the same response to all those hard and heavy workouts. So you start trying to add more weight and push heavier, trying to convince yourself you need to train even harder and longer. Before you know it, you are putting in marathon sessions at the gym. But low and behold to make matters even worse the more time and effort you put in, your muscles decide they will start getting smaller and your strength starts to go backwards.
Welcome to the frustrating world of training plateaus. It will happen to us all at some stage. The only thing that varies is how hard it affects each of us. Some people don’t even realise they have hit a plateau and just think it is their genetics holding them back.
The best way to overcome a plateau is to look for the signs you are experiencing one. The most obvious signs are the inability to progress at your goals, regardless of whether its weight loss, weight gain, muscle growth or strength gains. Two of the most common and easy to assess signs are constant fatigue and low motivation.
Don’t stress it’s not the end of the world. Here are some simple strategies you can implement to overcome plateaus and surge forward with new and improved training performances to get those muscles bursting again!
1) Rest!
If you have reached a plateau it is important to rest. Taking a day or two off can work wonders. This is especially important for people who feel tired and unmotivated. This doesn’t just plant your bum on the lounge and eat pizza – go for walks, go for a swim at the beach or do some yoga. This is called active rest. It is important to take short breaks from working out. Don’t worry your muscles wont shrink. You will come back feeling refreshed and rejuvenated.
2) Change your routine
You can’t do the same thing and expect a different result! Many people are skeptical about changing their routine. It’s common to be hesitant of change, especially when things have gone so well in the past. The body adapts easily to the stresses it is exposed to. This is the main reason why it is important to modify one's routine every now and then. Changes will shock the body and promote greater muscle growth.
3) Sleep
Your body regenerates and repairs muscle tissue the fastest when you are sleeping. It is therefore important to get an ample amount of sleep every night. The average adult should strive for 7 to 8 hours of sleep to ensure that the body is properly rested. \
4) Keep Workouts Under an Hour
The goal of weight training is to train your muscles to stimulate growth, not murder them. When we put intense pressure on our muscles for prolonged periods of time, our bodies go into a state muscle breakdown. This will usually begin to happen if weight training is done for more than an hour and a half. Consistently working-out for more than an hour will result in over-training. Always aim to keep workouts under an hour.
5) Don't Over Do It!
It is important to have ample rest before working the same muscle group again. If you did an intense workout on legs for example and they are sore and you are due to train them again you should let yourself have a few more days rest before you work that muscle group again.
Plain and simple training plateaus are as much fun as having teeth pulled. They are frustrating and emotionally draining. By paying close attention to your body, and implementing these simple strategies you can limit the negative effects of hitting a plateau. We all face challenges in this world, training is no different. By staying motivated, listening to your body and consistently pushing yourself, you absolutely have the power to accomplish anything!
ARTICLE #2 - NUTRITION BASICS
Ok so you have been sticking to you training program consistently enough, having only missed a few sessions. You’ve been pushing yourself hard, breaking through some personal bests, the body is starting to shape up a little and you are feeling great, but then all of a sudden everything seems to plateau. You’re not getting any faster, any stronger, that spare tire has stopped shrinking and there are still no abs to seen, no matter how hard you look first thing in the morning.
The best training regime in the world doesn’t mean squat if you aren’t getting the proper nutrition from a well balanced eating plan. Eating attributes to about 70% of the success of any training regime.
Let me put things in perspective. There are 168 hours in every week. In a perfect world if you slept for 8 hours each night and trained one hour a day for 7 days that leaves 105 hours per week. So that is 105 hours per week where your nutrition controls what your body looks like. Sadly most people have no idea how to eat correctly and think that by exercising they can eat whatever they want. Big mistake!
Good nutrition is not the latest diet in Women’s Weekly. Diets do not work, point blank.
Depriving your body of carbohydrates, proteins and fats, is quite harmful. Fad diets come and go, simply because they are unsustainable and they don’t work. A healthy balanced diet is always the best approach and will allow your body to function more efficiently allowing you to achieve results consistently and maintain them for as long as you continue to eat well. Plus you dramatically improve your chances of have a longer, better quality of life. Who wouldn’t want that?
Why do we even need food? Calories. These are tiny units of energy that your body uses in order to function. Our calories come from the nutrients in food that include proteins, carbohydrates and fats.
Protein has multiple functions in the body, but I'll just concentrate on the most important: proteins are involved in growing, repairing, and replacing tissue. When protein intake exceeds output, protein is retained in tissue as new muscle is added. Obviously, this is something that you want.
Unrefined complex carbohydrates should be a staple of your eating plan. Complex carbohydrates are your body's preferred energy source. A moderate carbohydrate intake is essential to maintain high energy levels.
Don't worry; carbohydrates are not fattening as long as you select natural, unrefined complex carbs over processed, simple sugars and you keep portion sizes under control. You should also aim to consume plenty of fresh vegetables. These provide your body with fibre, vitamins and minerals.
Eating healthy fats is vital for good health, muscle development and body fat loss. Attempting to remove all the fat from your diet can actually slow down muscle growth, decrease strength and decrease energy levels and dramatically slows down the body’s ability to burn fat.
Here are my ten commandments of good eating:
1. Eat small meals every 2-3 hours
2. Eat complete, lean protein each time you eat
3. Eat vegetables every time you eat
4. Eat low GI carbohydrates
5. Learn to love healthy fats
6. Ditch the calorie containing drinks (including fruit juice)
7. Focus on whole foods
8. Treat yourself once a week
9. Develop food preparation strategies
10. Balance daily food choices with healthy variety
There is sad yet ever increasing trend in Western society; we are getting fatter and fatter. We have made food a game. Food is not a reward, it’s not your friend and it won’t make you feel better about yourself if you have had a rough day. Food has one purpose: to supply your body with nutrients. Cavemen didn't care if what they found tasted good; they just ate what they got. And how many fat Caveman were there?
Do not sacrifice nutrition for emotion, your health and your waistline will thank you for it.
ARTICLE #1 - CHANGING YOUR HEALTH
The start of the year often brings up feelings of guilt from our over indulgence during the Christmas and New Year’s celebrations. Many people will see the New Year as the opportunity to get motivated about making their health a priority and will dive headfirst into committing to a new exercise regime and the dreaded “DIET” in a bid to work off all that excess Christmas cheer.
Unfortunately this is where most people often get themselves into trouble. They create an expectation that they can transform their body into something they see on the cover of a magazine in only three weeks.
Changing your health and transforming your body requires three universal principles that will determine the success or failure of even the most motivated of people - consistency, perseverance and patience.
Now I know this doesn’t sound very sexy or exciting and you probably aren’t going to put this up as your next Facebook status update. However it was those sexy magazine photos that got you motivated and got your bum off the couch and into the gym. So how do we harness that burst of motivation so you are still in the gym consistently in 12 months looking and feeling amazing, not fat and tired and desperate to try and melt off that Christmas spare tyre again next year?
Let’s face it we’re all human, life takes time, we all have to work, have family commitments, we all have problems, we all have bad days, relationship problems. Sometimes life can get in the way and our exercise and good eating habits are often the first things to get pushed to the side.
Through enduring my own challenging life experiences I looked to learn from the experiences of sporting champions who inspired me, sourcing as much information as I could and keen to apply it to my own life and the lives of my clients.
Where many people go wrong including me, was thinking that while going through hard circumstances or bad days that we don’t have what it takes to succeed and be a champion in our own right. Champions aren't the unfailing pictures of amazing humanity that we may think they are. I had always thought they were. Doesn't life have to be perfect to be a real champion? Don’t all champions have everything handed to them; have big houses and cars and money with never-failing desire and superhuman resistance to pain.
Umm no. Champions have pain too. Nobody's life is perfect, and nobody has it easy. Fact.
When you're mentally and physically drained due to uncontrollable circumstances, don't question your motivation and DO NOT give up your exercising and healthy eating. Sure, some days you're not going to feel like training, and it's probably better to take it a little easier, but deep down if you had the desire before, then it's still there.
Here's what it boils down to:
Don't beat yourself up, but realize that everyone is human and we all have hard days, sometimes hard months, and maybe even hard years. Life takes time, training takes time and it's up to each individual to make the best of it all. Eating right and exercising will be the one thing in your life that you do have control over. Motivation gets you started but consistency gets you results.
Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up!
