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This is the place to find those quick tips that instantly help your daily workout routine. This weeks top tip is brought to you by Chris Hall.
Many 'experts' believe coffee isn't good for our health and can cause all sorts of 'problems.' However there have been so many studies backing coffee up, from increasing fat loss and strength output, extending one's life to improving brain health.
In the year 2000, two studies (one in the mainstream journal Neurology) showed that coffee consumption is associated with a reduced risk for Parkinson’s disease. More recent studies have also shown that coffee drinkers are less likely to get Alzheimer’s and dementia, with a decreased risk of about 65% at late-life. It's also been shown to improve short-term cognitive function on various testing parameters like reaction time, choice reaction time, incidental verbal memory, and visual-spatial reasoning.
The mechanisms behind the health benefits of coffee could be the fact that coffee enhances detoxification in the body, and/or its anti-oxidant content and ability to increase insulin sensitivity and reduce the onset of type 2 diabetes... after all Alzheimer's can otherwise be known as type 3 diabetes.
How Many Kcals Do I Need To Burn To Lose 1lb Of Fat!
I often find people get very caught up on how many calories they burn up in a workout.
It is the end figure illuminated on the treadmills display that often dictates to someone whether or not they've had a productive workout. If an hour passes and they're not happy with the figure displayed they'll often stay for an extra half hour/hour to help increase it - nevertheless this is all well and good but do any of these people know exactly what figure their trying to achieve?! I mean what figure do they reach before they decide; time's up!
Well for most people who either run, row, cycle, etc their main goal is probably fat loss. (although we already know, looking back at a recent blog post that long duration cardio has a negative impact on fat loss)
With this goal in mind then, how many Kcals are needed to burn... lets say a 1lb of fat?
If you type into Google "how many kcals are in one pound of fat" the answer you get is about 3,500kcals, however if we look at the science the figure is more like 4,082Kcals.
That's right - 4,082Kals Equate to One Pound of Fat
Now I'm not saying jump on a treadmill and reach 4,000kcals every workout, that would be ludicrous. What I am saying is, we now have a better idea of the figure we need to reach in order to burn a pound of fat.
E.g If you need to lose an extra 5lbs then you should aim for a calorie expenditure of 20,410Kals over a period of time to help with this weight loss.
Bare in mind this doesn't have to come from exercise alone, by adjusting your diet, taking into account your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR - amount of Kcals you burn while resting) and eating the right foods at the right times will help with total calorie expenditure.
Let this be quick reference, something tangible, to help keep you focused and on the right track. This figure can be used as a goal, something to aim for when training without over complicating things.
Remember though the science of fat loss and body re-composition isn't as simple as calories in vs. calories out.
This is a top tip for anyone who finds it a problem remembering names, numbers, dates or even people's faces.
A lot of people believe that their ability to remember and retain information is down to perceptiveness and general brain activity. Little do they know that memory can be enhanced by eating the correct foods!
Brain cells, the primary component our brains are made out of, require what we call neurotransmitters to carry messages around.
Low levels of certain neurotransmitters can have impacts on our memory, specifically the neurotransmitter, acetylcholine and dopamine.
If you have a hard time remembering names and numbers it is a sign that you have a deficiency in the acetylcholine neurotransmitter.
For those of you who struggle to remember peoples faces it’s a deficiency in dopamine levels.
If you are someone who struggles with the above then I've provided a short list below of the types of foods your diet should revolve around to help resolve the problem.
Here is a list of foods that help boost Acetylcholine, the neurotransmitter responsible for memory, concentration and focus:
Acetylcholine
- Egg Yolks
- Meat – Chicken, Beef, Pork, Mutton
- Fish
- Liver
- Dairy Products – Milk and Cheese
- Vegetables – Broccoli, Cabbage and Cauliflower have higher amounts
- Pine Nuts and macadamias are particularly good if eaten at breakfast
- Blueberries are also great at raising acetylcholine levels
Remember those clearly… and now for the next one.
Dopamine
Dopamine is responsible for learning, a very important feature that helps boost intelligent memory, the memory that contributes to your overall intelligence. A list of foods that boost this particular neurotransmitter:
- Protein sources – Meat, Milk products, Fish, Nuts, Beans,
One of the most common myths held by the public and indeed many fitness professionals is the notion that steady state cardio (long duration cardio exercise) is the best exercise for fat loss. However when we take a look at the science and results I achieve with clients, it tells us a different story. A study published by Trapp and Boucher et al, at the University of New South Wales, Australia as shown long duration cardio to be infective at burning body fat and can in fact make you even fatter! Study 1: Trapp and Boucher et al (1) Group 1: performed 40mins of steady sate aerobics at 60% of VO2 max, three times per week for 15 weeks. Group 2: performed 20mins of interval training (8secs on, 12secs off - 60 times) three times per week for 15 weeks. Group 2 started at 5mins for the first week then built up to the full 20mins during the 15 week period. Both groups had their dietary intake closely monitored. Results Group 1: The steady state group GAINED 0.5kgs of fat in the 15 weeks! Group 2: The interval training group LOST on average 2.5kgs of fat in the same time frame. When two already lean subjects were removed the interval training groups results improved to an average loss of 3.9kgs of fat. (two of the women in the group lost 8kgs of fat, each) Study 2: Tremblay et al (2) This study pitted 20 weeks of endurance training against 15 weeks of interval training. Group 1: 20 week steady state aerobic program burned 28,661 calories during their workout. Group 2: 15 week interval training program burned only 13,614 calories during their workout (less than HALF as many as group 1) Results Group 2: lost 450% MORE body fat than group 1, despite the fact their workouts were both shorter and burned fewer calories. Conclusion The calories you burn during your workout are much less important than the calories you burn after your workout. A 30 minute steady state aerobic workout will only give you 30 minutes of a metabolic boost and that's it! A 20 minute high intensity interval workout will:
- Burn more calories after your workout, boosting your metabolism for up to 36 hours post exercise.
- Cause your body to burn more fat all day long. Your body will burn a greater percentage of calories from fat after an intense workout rather than a low intensity workout, such as jogging ot long distance training.
- Keep the stress hormone (cortisol) low, allowing for preservation of muscle, low oxidation stress and decreased death of brain cells.
You only need to compare two kinds of athlete - a marathon runner and a sprinter to help show that interval training supersedes long distance work when it comes to fat loss!
Improved Kicking Power!
The split squat is the best known exercise for predicting kicking power.
For sports that require a strong kick (kick boxing, football etc) the spilt squat should be a stable exercise in your workout.
I will be posting up exercise technique soon as this is one exercise I see so many people perform incorrectly.
A Great Breakfast For Fat Loss!
They say 'breakfast is the most important meal of the day.' When it comes to training it IS!
When training for fat loss a breakfast consisting of cereal, piece of toast and a cup of coffee will leave you feeling tired, bloated and often the carvings for sugars and carbs.
If becoming lean is high priority for you then a breakfast high in protein, fats and greens will be a far superior option.
A great example would be bacon and eggs with a handful of pine nuts and an avocado or chicken breast on a bed of watercress with a handful of cashew nuts.
A breakfast high in these macro nutrients will help keep blood sugar stable, feel fuller for longer and help to increase metal focus throughout the day.
A Simple Way To Measure Whey Protein Amount After A Workout!
Use this simple formula to calculate the amount of whey protein the body needs after a workout.
0.3 grams of whey protein per lb of bodyweight
e.g A 200 lbs man would need 60 grams of protein (200 x 0.3 = 60)
Remember! Your post workout shake needs to be consumed within the first 10 minutes of finishing your workout
...The Importance Of Good Eating When It Comes To Strength Training!
The energy stored and utilized by a muscle is determined on what you ate 2 days ago
...Two Signs To Look For When Over Trained!
When it comes to training the phrase 'more is better' isn't necessarily the best approach to take.
Overtraining is very common almongst most gym goers and can really halt progress in your performance.
Suppression in appetite is a sign of over training on volume of work i.e too many resp and sets
A drop 2% in body weight is a sign of over training when it comes to intensity i.e amount of weight lifted in respect to your 1 R.M
If you find yourself falling victim to either of these then it's time to take several days off before re-entering the gym again.
...A Simple Concept To Make Progress!
Incorporate a stop watch and note book into your workouts. Both the timing of rest intervals and recordings of weight/reps/sets lifted are key for success in the gym.
This may sound like such a simple yet obvious tip, but I see so many people fail to utilise such simple methodology.
...The Myth Of The Vertical Jump!
Don't waste your time on developing your quads and calves if you want rapid increases in your vertical jump. These two muscles only contribute between 10-15% of your vertical jump.
Instead focus on developing the hamstrings, glutes and erector spinea (otherwise known as the posterior chain) all of which contribute towards 80% of your power output.
...A More Effective Way Of Doing Pectoral Flyes!
When performing pec flyes most trainees perform the exercise on a bench lowering the dumbells out into a T shape.
Although slightly felt in the pecs this technique hits more the lats than the chest.
A better technique would be to extend the arms out into a Y shape lowering the dumbells so they come in line with the ear. Thumbs should also be pointed up towards the ceiling at the bottom of the motion. This is better felt in the chest as it follows the line of the clavicular fibers (upper chest) of the chest muscle.
Also try performing this exercise on a stability ball with the hips lowered as it will give you a greater stretch in the chest than performing it on the bench.
...A Possible Solution For Gout!
Olive Leaf Extract has been shown to inhibit the enzyme xanthine oxidase, which is the main way that uric acid is formed in the body. Excess production of uric acid is highly inflammatory and can cause the disease gout, an inflammatory arthritis that primarily affects the big toe.
The activity of xanthine oxidase is a normal function of your liver and so is the production of uric acid. However, when your liver becomes inflamed or is stressed, uric acid production can increase to very high levels, setting the stage for the development of Gout
Use Lemons To Lower the GI Of Foods.
By adding the juice of half a lemon or lime will help lower the Glycemic Index of that food by 30%
This is a great tip to use if trying to stick to a low carb option, but have business commitments that won't necessary allow it.
...Incorporate Saunas For Faster Fat Loss.
For some real obese clients I like to integrate sauna sessions into their training schedule.
2x 1 hour sessions, in a regular sauna for 12 weeks can result in a loss of 11kgs of fat!
Environmental toxins are fat soluble so stored in body fat. If someone is poor at detoxifying (most fat people are) it can be easier for them to lose body fat simply by sitting in a sauna for two hours a week.
I've used this on two of my clinets with success, however it does require great discipline and commitment on the clinets behalf... An hour in a sauna is longer than you think!
Taylor your warm up to the exercise.
When it comes to weight training I see so many people inappropriately warm up or completely neglect it all together.
A good warm up regime can help improve performance in the gym and reduce risk of injury. You need to taylor your warm up to the exercises in your workout. I've talked to a lot of people who claim 10 mins on a bike is a great warm up prior to performing squats?!... This is both idiotic and stupid!
Your warm needs to reflect the ACTUAL movement of the exercise. So when warming up for squats perform several warm up sets with a lesser intensity ON the squat, NOT the bike!
For example: my working set could be 80kgs for 6-8 reps.
My warm up would be 40kgs for 6 reps (rest) 55kgs for 4 reps (rest) then 65kgs for 2-3 reps (rest)
then into working set.
This is vitally improvement, as not only does it reduce the risk of injury but will also help prime the nervous system and help to further embed the movement pattern of that exercise
Flat pressing, whether it be with a barbell or dumbells usually plateaus off and many people struggle to make necessary strength improvements. For the majority of new clients I focus a lot on both incline and overhead pressing movements.
Prioritising these lifts over a 6-8 week period will prove to show great increases in flat pressing movements i.e the bench press.
Applying a forward lean when performing the Seated Leg Curl will help to make this exercise more effective by recruiting a higher proportionate of muscle fibers and allowing for a greater stretch at the top of the movement.
For women who store excess fat on their legs, adding watercress into the diet can have a dramatic impact on leaning out the legs. The legs are a fat storage site for those people who have problems with high circulating levels of estrogen.
Watercress is heavily rich in indole-3-Carbinol (I3C) and B-phenylethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC) two compounds that help to detoxify estrogen out of the body.
I recommend consuming a bag (60-75g) to two bags per day of watercress for 8 days then to take 8 days off, then repeat.
I've had great success using watercress and had one client drop her quadricep skinfold by 10mm in a week and another drop 9.6mm in 9 days!!
Start adding watercress to your meals to see the benefits for yourself
According to a new study reported last Friday in the Journal of Pain, published by the American Pain Society, daily doses of raw or heat-treated ginger effectively relieved muscle aches and discomfort - and that includes even severe pain following strenuous exercise.
The scientists worked with 74 student volunteers who were divided into three groups. One group was given raw ginger, one group received heated ginger and the third group received a fake ginger placebo.
Muscle pain was induced in the volunteers by having them perform 18 eccentric muscle exercises. Then the research subjects were tested on 11 consecutive days to see if those taking the ginger had reduced muscle aches and pains. And they did -- dramatically.
The results showed that both raw and heat-treated ginger lowered muscle pain intensity by 25 and 23 percent, respectively.
When Performing any pressing movements using dumbells, such as the flat dumbell press, it's best to take a semi supinated grip (palms facing in towards the body) instead of a pronated one (palms facing away from the body).
There are several advantages to this grip:
- A semi supinated grip places less stress through the should joint. i.e it's safe for the shoulder
- It allows for a greater stretch in the bottom position and greater range of motion
- It recruits a higher percentage of muscle fibers of the chest and studies have shown it to develop quicker strength gains than using a pronated grip.
When teaching clients any dumbell pressing movements I always teach them the benefits of a semi supinated grip. Although some are reluctant, within a week they can all see an improvement.
A recent study suggests by drinking four cups of an inexpensive, readily available green tea may help strip excess body weight. The study found that green tea as capsules or tea significantly reduced 2.5kgs of body weight over 8 weeks.
The tricep muscle is comprised of three different heads - the long, lateral and medial head. It's impossible to purely isolated a single head of the tricep, however by the orientation of the upper arm in relation to gravity and to the body, you can affect the percentage of recruitment of each head.
For Example:
From Incline to Perpendicular - the further away your arms are from your navel, the greater the recruitment of the long head of the triceps.
E.g Seated French Presses, Overhead Tricep Extension w/rope.
Flat - Exercises in a flat position tend to recruit more the lateral and long head of the triceps.
E.g Close Grip Bench Press, Lying EZ Bar Tricep Extensions
Decline - The closer your arms are to your torso the greater the contribution of the medial head of the triceps at the top position. At the bottom position the lateral head does most of the work.
E.g Decline Close Grip Bench Press, Decline EZ Bar Tricep Extension.
You may also want to consider hand position. As a general rule, pronating the grip (palms down) increases recruitment of the the lateral head and a supine grip (palms up) increases recruitment of the medial head.
Knowing this information will hopefully add value to your workouts and place new size and strength onto your triceps!
The lower body needs less variation when it comes to training than the upper body
This means if you're training for strength over the next 6 weeks you may find you can stick with the same exercises for the lower body and still make progress. However the upper would soon start to regress and a change to the workout would be needed.
80% of a muscles recovery occurs within the first 10 minutes after training
It's vital that you consume your post workout shake within this 10 minute time window for optimal recovery
The higher your blood levels of vitamin B the less likely you'll be bitten by mosquitoes
Vitamin B2 and B6 helps to repel mosquitoes.
You'll also find the higher your level of toxicity the more you'll attract mosquitoes.
Mosquitoes love to feed off heavily toxic people
Eating a vegetarian diet is healthy?
Wrong!
According to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the annual all-cause death rate of vegetarian men is slightly more than that of non-vegetarian men (.93% vs .89%); the annual death rate of vegetarian women is significantly more than that of non-vegetarian women (.86% vs .54%)
A Vegetarians diet often lacks important vitamins and minerals to help maintain a healthy lifestyle.
I strongly suggest all vegetarians supplement into their diet a good multivitamin, Vitamin B6/B12, zinc and some kind of protein supplement.
The average weight of a human head is though to weigh between 4.5 - 5kgs constituting around 8% of your total body mass.
Research suggests that for every 0.5cm of forward neck displacement, the neck ages prematurely by 5 years!
With today's lifestyle being what it is, the majority of people suffer from poor postural aligment and a forward head posture.
Training the neck extensors are often over looked in most peoples programs, however if correctly trained, can have a huge impact on upper body strength development.
Just the expectation of a mirthful laughter increases endorphins by 27% and Human Growth Hormone by 87%
In a paper presented in an American Physiological Society session at Experimental Biology 2006, Lee S. Berk published a study that showed the significance between "mirthful laughter" and neuroendocrine/hormone effects.
According to Berk: "subjects just before they watched the video had 27% more beta-endorphins and 87% more human growth hormone, compared to blood from the control group, which didn't anticipate the watching of a humorous video.
When it comes to organic food there's always some debate as to whether it's better for you or has a higher nutritional value. Although some organic food may not posses more nutrients than non-organic, one thing's for sure; non-organic food is ridiculed with toxins that can be detrimental to your health.
I can understand if you're not one for buying organic, however these two common day-to-day foods are a must when it comes to going organic.
Butter Coffee
These two foods have been tested to have the highest levels of pesticides/herbicides, compared with other foods
I recommend Rachel's Organic Butter and Percols Fairtrade Organic Coffee
Add cinnamon into your diet today for improved sugar management and greater fat loss
I recommend clients mix 1/3rd teaspoon of ground cinnamon into hot water. Begin by consuming 4 cups of cinnamon tea per day for two weeks then drop back to 1-2 cups per day thereafter.
Adding it to your coffee and consuming 40mins pre-workout will enhance the fat burning effects of your workout.
According to top strength coaches the truck or 'core' muscles are the least trainable muscle group in regards to increasing strength. The calfs on the other hand have the most potential for the greatest increases in strength.
In other words, spend an initial 6-8 week period on you're functional 'core' exercises and then let the big lifts, such as squats, deadlifts and chin ups take care of the rest. Time spent over this period is, in my experience time wasted.
By adding the following foods to you meal you can effectively lower the glycemic index of the meal by 30%
Green Olives
Dills and Sweet pickles
Horseadish
1/2 lemon or lime
Pickled beets, peppers, garlic, legumes
Vinegar
I often use this tip for clients who eat out regularly and find it hard to avoid low carbohydrate meals
When performing incline dumbbel curls make sure to keep the head back against the bench. When the exercise begins to get difficult push your head/neck into the bench as it will help increase neural drive to the biceps and improve concentric strength.
Avoid high-fat meals 4 hours before training. You will get less blood to your muscle , a smaller pump, and your recovery time will increase.
Some people find it helps if you have a dose of caffine an hour beofre you train, whether its coffee or tablet. (speak to your practitioner before taking caffine tablets)
Stretch only after training. Dynamic stretches should be done before a work out, but do normal stretches after your work out while your muscles are warm, you will increase your flexibility doing it this way.
Skip the sauna. After your work out dont use the sauna as this can impair your work out for days. Instead have a hot shower for 3mins then a cold one for 1min and so on.
Take 20g of whey protein and 5g of creatine 45mins before you train, this will increase your lean muscle and help you lift bigger.
Use dumb bells more than a bar-bell. Using the dumb bells will give you more muscle strength and a more even physique.
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Issue 6. Cover - Photographer - Moritz Stragholz