May 12
18
5 Tips For Fat Loss
Probably need a longer list to get everything down, but here’s 5 important ones for regular, continued results.
1) Ditch Sugar – Sugar is the biggest problem for health and fat loss. Made up of single molecules of sugar (all carbohydrates are made from sugar, just more tightly bunched, so digested slower) they take little work to get into our blood stream, “spiking” blood sugar levels and causing a release of Insulin, a storage hormone in our bodies. For starters, when insulin is in use, fat burning is switched off. Balanced blood sugar levels are crucial for weight maintenance. Therefore eating lower sugar foods, vegetables, proteins (meats, fish, eggs) and good fats like nuts, avocado will help do this.
2) Enough Quality Sleep. We live in a world of stimulants and stress! From alcohol, to coffee, to work, life, TV stress etc. All of these things put pressure on our body and it’s hormones. When hormones are out of balance the body doesn’t function well, and so healthy and fat loss are affected. When you sleep/rest, is when your body repairs, re-balances and gets to work on the stressors (even exercise) of the day. Hitting the sack late (post 11pm) breaks the natural sleep patterns/rhythm of the body. Growth hormone is released in everyone a few hours into deep sleep – this stuff is crucial for all the benefits of above. If you’re sleep is broken, then so is the release and repair process. Waking between 2-4am regularly is a sign of liver toxicity, as this is when the liver detoxifies itself. Think of your liver as a converter of everything you eat and drink. It’s crucial again for health and fat loss as a toxic liver will not remove toxins, deliver crucial nutrients around the body, and will affect hormone balancing. Search in the box at the top of this page for “Liver Detox” for ways to rectify this.
Better sleep can be had through relaxing the body leading up to bedtime (not watching TV/computer work and then hitting the sack due to stimulus to the eyes/brain) try magnesium, valerian tea, 5-HTP, Zinc – all are great for sleep improvement.
3) A decent/balanced breakfast – overnight your body has repaired. Liver glycogen is low (stored energy) as are your blood sugar levels. What you eat first thing will determine your mornings energy/mood and effectiveness. Hit the boxed/processed cereals (see 1 above!) and you’ll spike blood sugar levels and energy, and then crash again a few hours later, requiring another stimulant or sugar fix. Feed the body what it needs – natural foods like meat, eggs etc the majority of the time and you’ll certainly notice the difference – Again search above for “Protein Pancakes” and try these bad boys!
4) Pre-plan your weeks food and workouts - Planning is crucial. If you don’t plan something, anything you’re hoping, and leaving things to chance. Have a think of the things in life, personally or at work that you “plan” – why? Because they are important and need attention? Equally, so should your food and workouts, if you’re serious about getting regular consistent results.
There really is nothing worse than a few GREAT steps forward and then half a dozen back, physically and mentally because you’ve fallen off the wagon.
Plan main meals for the week, and snacks.
Shop for those.
Plan and prepare snacks the night before.
Decide what you’re doing workout wise and put it in your calendar like an appointment.
Fail to prepare, Prepare to Fail!
5) Accountability – I think a key one here. Why do most people, maybe yourself fall off the wagon the majority of the times? If you’re honest I think it’s through determination and accountability. If it’s just you working day every day towards your target (I’m hoping you’ve set one by the way!!) it can get hard, BLOODY hard to stay on track. What with work, life, family, relationships, energy vampires (people that are always trying to knock your efforts, feed you off course etc) Doing this or anything by yourself takes a lot of physical and mental effort, and only a select few are strong enough to stay strong no matter what is thrown at them.
This is nothing to be ashamed of if you’re in the majority. Everyone needs help and support at some point.
Therefore do EVERYTHING you can do be accountable for your actions. Examples are creating a food diary and logging everything you eat and drink.
Deciding when you’re going to have a cheat meal or alcohol so you’re not always restricting yourself, or always going off the rails!
Find like minded people to exercise with, to share targets and motivation with.
There are great areas/people on twitter etc for advice, equally I have my own Fat Loss & Fitness forum here which is free to join, over 1200 members and is geared towards this. I really don’t mind helping people, if they are willing to help themselves. Our TribeFit group is the point of this, motivating, talking with each other to keep the important things in the forefront of the mind, not tucked away at the back as a side-project.
If you want something…..go plan…..go do!!
Good Luck!
May 12
11
Core NOT Abs!
The infamous 6 pack! To some the holygrail of training and a great physique, the “must have” item of fitness, to others something you keep cold in the fridge and drink at weekends!
Whilst this article will focus more on the movements & exercises for training abs, let me state first that without a “good”, “clean” diet, you are seriously wasting your time with abdominal exercises, and the search for a flat stomach. If you’re regularly eating processed foods, over indulging with alcohol, sugars and irregular sleep patterns, then your trying to fill a bucket with multiple holes and leaks! Sort this first!
The abdominal area, also known as the core or trunk, is, as the name suggests, our bodies “structure”and stability; like the trunk of a tree – there for support, strength. They connect to the spine, pelvis and run the length of the torso. Ask different people and you’ll get different answers as to the muscles that make up the core section, but personally I’d say there ares around 10 muscles, some deep in the body and unseen, some closer to the surface and possibly visual.
Every movement you make, activates your core muscles; from bending down to pick something up, to turning round to answer someone, to even lifting an arm up in the air or to the side.
Abs or Rectus Abdominis (the 6 pack) have a very limited function, they actually only flex you at the waist, or allow you to bend over from the waist. First rule of health and safety – “Bend from the legs, not the waist” – so already we’ve ruled out Ab work or movement as something safe?!! Our core unit works as that, a unit, so to train one particular muscle, on such a functional unit seems pointless? In fact, during the crunch movement, there is more work on the ABS during extension or the “lowering down” part of the movement, so this might make you think twice about wrenching yourself up, before quickly collapsing back to the floor to repeat. Slower the extension, the more work on the abs….. 
How many people reading this have tried “Ab crunches, or situps” and found they strain their neck? Again, a sure sign the “right” muscles aren’t working!
Getting “abs” is about lowering your body fat through hard work, clean food, and challenging workouts. When you can perform upwards or 40 “crunches” there is nothing challenging happening there – there’s also minimal caloric expenditure due to the lack of intensity of the exercise/movement.
So what should you do?
Functional exercises that will train the whole core area, mimicking every day movements of twisting, flexing, rotating and bending. Training in these movements will not only strengthen your core area, but minimise or eliminate chances of lower back pain, often caused through muscular imbalances and a weak core area.
Plank - Works one of the most under-rated core muscles (Transverse Abdominis- TVA) – start on your forearms, and push up on your toes, keeping your body in a straight, horizontal line. This TVA muscle is like a corset, try it now, pull it in and up and it’s like a corset being tightened at your back….ok, maybe a loose fitting corset for now, but continued work will make your stomach flatter and stronger!
Side Plank - Working your obliques on the sides, (underneath the love handles!)
Rotations - From standing, shoulder width apart hands out in front (optional is to hold a weight), activate your TVA as above, and rotate your trunk/upper body to one side, squeeze your TVA hard and pull back the opposite way. Aim to keep lower body still so we’re just rotating the core area. As you become more competent build up the speed and weight you use. Again if you have access to a cable machine, performing this movement against resistance will further work the muscles.
Side Flexions - Same stance as above, one arm in the air flex over at the waist away from the raised arm side, pause for a few seconds at the furthest point, contract abs and tva and pull back to middle. Repeat for 30+ secs and swap sides. Again keep lower body still and add weight to raised arm as necessary.
This can be done with kettle bells also.
Superman - a great core stability exercise, start on all 4’s ensuring hips and shoulders are equal distance. Head looking down extend one arm out in front next to your ear, then slowly lift the opposite leg behind you. Back should stay flat, and hips should not “rock” Hold for 10secs and slowly return and swap. Repeat 6-10 times.
If you have access to weights, and/or are more competent there are many more exercises that can be used to work the core area effectively like deadlifts, overhead pressing, squatting and lunging along with cable work, but the above gives a basic outline to core work.
Even if daily, when sitting, driving etc you concentrate on pulling your TVA up and in, holding it tight while moving, you’ll find over time it will become stronger. Want some home workouts for the core area? Then click here and checkout some of my YouTube videos – we also have lots on my FREE forum here and the TribeFit Group based on there.
May 12
7
Effective isn’t often pretty!
And we’re talking workouts!!
One of the things many people lack with workout sessions is intensity.
Every workout you do doesn’t have to be “balls to the wall” but to to continue, progress, get better (performance and aesthetics) you need to workout intensely once a week (ask someone else and you’ll get a different perspective but this is my view!!)
Those that have followed my blog will know back in November I ruptured my bicep tendon, meaning surgery and about 5 months without working out. During this time I was fully focussed to get back as to where I was before the injury, and planned my “comeback”.
However, once I started back, weirdly I lost a lot of motivation to workout and push myself. Yep sounds weird for a Personal Trainer (see we’re all human!) but whether it was time out, starting from scratch, fear of it happening again who knows but I found all my “plans” disappeared and workouts became erratic and lacked intensity and reason.
After a few months, I decided enough was enough. 5 years ago I did a season of duathlons and enjoyed them – so I signed up to the London Duathlon (5k/40k/10k) in October and had a reason to train! Since then I’ve also booked a 60mile cycle event next month and am planning more.
I’ve found my reason to get back training!
Anyhow – biking is my primary focus at the moment with next months event as yesterday I set out early and did a steady 35miles to get the leg endurance up.
I also invested in a turbo trainer which sits in my home office and lets me get 30-45min sessions in between work and crap weather!
This morning I did a few weights and then for some reason (as I’ve so far only be training for endurance purposes) decided to do a 10mile time trial as quick as possible. (At this point I’d like to say I went out with the wife for a meal last night …steak, half bottle of white wine and a couple of rum n cokes…probably not the best fuel!)
Anyhow I set off at quite a quick pace, and soon the lactate started to build. Looking at my cycle computer I was only 3 miles in……shit! I was seriously sweating….maybe rum, maybe wine, but I was leaking big time!!
Now, believe it or now (from the above!) I’m quite competitive with myself! If I set myself a target I do the best I can….a battle with myself to do better next time so this wasn’t gonna make me stop.
Anyhow I got through the remaining 7 miles thanks to SlipKnot, Pantera, Minor Threat, DJ Fresh and more on the iPod, and literally fell off at the end!
The time? Not massively great, but it’s a new marker for me to beat, but the intensity was there – I know I created a stimulus in my body for it to change.
So just once a week, more if you can, push yourself through that wall, challenge YOURself to do that bit more, so you can finish a workout thinking, damn, I couldn’t have done any more!
Do this regularly and you’ll certainly see results!
This is why I’m gonna create a members “Hall Of Fame” post on my free forum here. Come on over and join the fun!
Oh dear……the end………!! As if I hadn’t sat down enough for 10 miles
Everyone falls at some point.
Physically, mentally – it will always happen. If you don’t it means your not trying or actually doing anything worthwhile!
Some have missed some workouts.
Some are having family/social problems.
Some lack motivation
Some feel like the world is against them
But remember, whatever happens, happens. Things happen for a reason, and I’m a firm believer in your past (and present) sculpting you and your future.
It’s not so much the problem itself, it’s how you deal with it and how you MOVE ON.
If you continually worry about everything that happens, and how to deal with it, you’ll burn out (energy wise), you’ll become a stress head (which will affect cortisol levels, and in turn your immune system and be prone to additional tummy fat storage!), and everything will become a dark tunnel without a light at the end of it.
I know I’ve been there a few times!
There is something called the “law of attraction” whereby what you think/believe, you attract. If you are continually upbeat and happy this is what you draw to yourself. Continutally believe and act in a successful manner, this is what you’ll draw to yourself.
However, continually dwell on the weather, pending illness, despair etc, you’ll attract like minded people and feelings.
I know which way I move…… ?!!
Unless it’s something serious – make the decision to get up, dust off and move on. A few sweets, crisps, drinks etc is not going to set the marker for the next few weeks of effort, training and healthy eating!
If it is more serious than the above, evaluate the situation, get a plan in action for the short term and roll with this. The quicker you get back into a positive attitude and mindset, the quicker other pieces of the puzzle will fall into place and give you a path to follow.
REMEMBER;
It’s not how you get knocked down, it’s how you get up.
Chinese proverb – “Get knocked down 6 times, Stand up 7″
In Chinese – the word “Crisis” is composed of 2 characters, 1 means “Danger” the 2nd means “Opportunity”
Ready? Let’s go…….!
Apr 12
9
Duathlon time again!
Thos that follow this blog may know that I ruptured my bicep tendon in November, and following surgery it’s taken about 4 months before I could start working out again.
After the initial excitement of getting back into things, I hit a bit of a wall with motivation and focus. Yep it can happen even to PT’s.
Well last night I bit the bullet!
About 5 years ago I did a season of duathlons, and did alright! Haven’t done much running or biking since, but decided to signup again for the London Duathlon at Richmond park in September. By biting the bullet and booking the event, it’s now kicked my arse into gear – as I’ve got to train for something I’ve booked.
Not having that fixed goal/event could have left me doing a bit of this and a bit of that- with no real focus – so I’m pleased I’ve done that now.
10k run, followed by 40k bike, followed by 5k run.
I’ll be combining various run and bike training (sprints, hills, long distances) etc with kettelebell work, squats, deadlifts, lunges and core work alongside my TribeFit plan/group on my forum
Struggling for motivation? Come and join us and get a target set!
