Cardio to preserve muscle mass

There has been a lot of research lately into the best forms of cardio to maintain muscle mass and strength. Cardio is great for many reasons. We all need some form of conditioning, whether it be for sport or just for general health. However, for many people who find it difficult to gain muscle and keep it, adding cardio can be detrimental. Cardio can take much needed calories away from the muscle building process and can hamper strength if you do too much.

If you fall into this category, there are certain forms of cardio that can help you maintain muscle mass and strength whilst keeping the heart and lungs functioning well! A recent study shows that the two forms of cardio that are beneficial for this are cycling and sprints. The main reason for this is that both involve hip extension. Hip extension with resistance (sprinting hard, or cycling with a high gear) is the closest thing you will get to leg exercises like squats. Obviously cycling for hours on end will still not help but short sessions of 20-30 minutes with some intervals in between would work well. The same applies for sprints. Make sure they are maximal sprints and aim for 5 to 10 sets with walking in between for recovery.

Another form of cardio that is often overlooked is circuit training or even strongman training. Bodyweight exercises in a circuit or tire flipping, sled dragging, keg tossing etc, put in a back to back order, will have a big element of cardio but with added strength.

So if strength and muscle is key for you, the next time you do cardio maybe avoid the long run or hours on the cardio machines. Give a short intense burst on the exercise bike a go, a set of sprints in a local field or even  a strongman style circuit.

Oli.

Summer Circuits

With the British summertime beginning and the weather warming up, why not take advantage of this by doing some circuits outside? Let’s be honest it doesn’t last long!

All you need is an open space (i.e. the park, your garden, the TSC yard), a few bits of equipment and your imagination! Make up as many “stations” within your circuit and do as many “rounds” as you like, but around 30-45 minutes of circuit work is plenty of time. 

Here’s an example of a simple circuit:                                   Equipment needed:

Shuttle runs – 30-60 seconds                                                              Cones

Squats/Jump Squats- 20 reps                                                                 N/A

Press-ups- 20 reps                                                                        Exercise mat (optional)

Front Plank- 30-60 seconds                                                        Exercise mat (optional)

Lateral Raises – 20 reps                                                                 Pair of dumbbells

Burpees- 20 reps                                                                                        N/A

Star Jumps/Jumping Jacks- 30-60 seconds                                            N/A

20m Sprints- 30-60 seconds                                                                  Cones

 

Make sure you perform each station back to back without any rest in between, once you have completed all stations, have a 2-3 minute rest, have a drink and go again! 3-5 rounds should be enough, but it all depends on how far you want to push yourself. Play around with the amount of reps and or time on each station and feel free to come up with your own exercises.

Circuits are very flexible giving you a full body workout, which not only works your cardiovascular system but also gives you elements of strength training. So you will be improving your general fitness whilst increasing your strength at the same time. This is great for fat loss and better overall body definition.  Circuits are a form of HIIT training (high intense interval training). This will get your metabolism firing, burning more calories than a more casual 60 minute gym workout.

Also if you are stretched for time in the day then a quick circuit workout for 30 minutes would be extremely beneficial for you. Finally, get some friends involved to help you with that extra motivation, pushing each other to the very end! So give some circuits a go this summer (or whenever the weather is good) maybe once or twice a week and I’ll promise you, you won’t be disappointed.

Simon

Avoid these 'dieting' pitfalls

1 - AVOIDING FATS. If saturated fat was bad for us the human race would not have survived to this day. Can you imagine our ancestors catching a wild animal but not eating it because it was red meat? Or not eating the skin because it was too fatty? This is nonsense. Eat natural.

2 - CONSUMING TOO MANY LOW-FAT PRODUCTS. The market for low-fat products is massive. This is due to many of us being told that fat is bad. How do you make low-fat products taste nice? Add sugar and often lots of it. For example avoid low-fat yoghurts but buy normal ones like greek or natural yoghurt instead. You will eat less of the greek/natural yoghurt because it's more satisfying. Sugary yoghurts will often leave you wanting more.

3 - I MUST STARVE MYSELF - If you do this, any initial weightloss will be from both the loss of fat and muscle. The body will then composate by slowing down your metabolism and then your weightloss will stall, even if you are hardly eating. Eat lean and healthy on a constant basis. Feed your body the natural goodness it needs in reasonable quantities and do some exercise with this. Exercise will change your body shape and assist the fat-loss if the foods you eat are healthy. We are born to eat, don't deny yourself the pleasure of good food! Healthy food can be tasty too, you just need to take the time and effort to cook it.

4 - TAKING PILLS AND POTIONS - People often ask me about fat-loss pills. I have never taken them and never would. It is the quick fix culture that we now live in. Many of us want to avoid consistently applying ourselves to changing our eating and lifestyle habits. Taking a pill would be much easier. I'm affraid this doesnt work! If it did we would all be taking these pills and getting results! You need to make the lifestyle change a habit. Good habits take time but they will eventually feel normal. Then you can get to where you want to be for life, not just for a month.

5 - YOU'RE ALWAYS ON A DIET - Some people switch form diet to diet, getting a few results along the way but then generally returning to their normal shape/habits when the diet stops. Instead, try the 'don't diet, diet'. Find foods that you like, that help you with your fat-loss/muscle building goals. Variety is good but don't worry if you eat similar foods, especially if they are good for you and they are helping you acheive your goals. Being on a diet will promote negative thoughts about food. We often think more about the foods that we aren't allowed and want them even more when we restrict ourselves from having them!

6 - DON'T EAT CARBS AFTER 6PM - The issue for most people is making sure they eat carbs at the right times, in the right amounts and in the right forms! Reducing your carbs as a whole will improve fat-loss. Carbs actually release seretonin so therefore having some at night should help you settle before bed. Our body does not know what time it is. It doesn't start to store fat as soon as the clock hits 6pm! Back in the day we would have hunted all day and feasted at night! Try upping good fats and protein throughout the day and having some carbs in the evening.

Oli

Better carb choices

When choosing carbohydrates either on a daily basis or to support your training, there are some options that work better than others. Why not switch to some of the following and see if this helps you feel more energetic throughout the day:

SWAP cereal for porridge. Cereal is high in sugar and the energy it provides you won't last long. Oats however are more slow release. Try adding low sugar fruits like berries to the mix rather than sugar or dried fruit.

SWAP white potatoes or chips for sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes are low in sugar and high in fibre.

SWAP cous cous for Quinoa. Quinoa is actually a seed whereas cous cous is made from wheat. Some of you may be intolerant to the gluten in wheat. Quinoa is also a good source of protein and healthy fats.

SWAP white bread for wholegrain bread. If bread isn't wholegrain, it has had part of the grain removed and replaced with starch to extend the shelf-life. If a food lasts a long time, then it means that even the bacteria won't eat it! Switch to wholegrain for better fibre and nutritional value.

SWAP high sugar fruits for low sugar fruits. I was once told if you can peel a fruit it's often higher in sugar (bananas, oranges, etc) than if you can eat a fruit without having to (berries, apples, pears,etc).

SWAP Pasta for brown rice pasta. Again for those of you who may react to gluten, switch to brown rice pasta for a healthy and fibre packed alternative.

SWAP white rice for brown rice or jasmin rice. Both of these are packed full of nutrients.

SWAP sugar for Cinnamon. Cinnamon is a great way to speed up the metabolism and add sweetness without the calories or sugar spike.

SWAP regular chocolate for Dark Chocolate. 85% plus dark chocolate is very low in sugar compared to your normal varieties. It also satisfies you quicker and you won't eat as much of it!
Oli.

Prepare to succeed!

They say that abs are made in the kitchen. This is not far from the truth! The key to successful nutrition, whether it be for fat-loss, muscle building or general well-being, is preparation.

When I say preparation I mean planning what meals you are going to have for the week, writing a list, shopping in advance and lastly preparing all your meals.

In my opinion this is the key if you are going to get into the shape that you want. If you leave nutrition to chance, you wont have the food available or the time to cook something and this leads to poor choices and convenience food. How many of us have got home after a long day, feeling hungry and not had anything in the fridge? Next step, something easy like toast, or even a takeaway.

Convenience food is often full of trans-fats, sugar and additives. If eaten regularly, this will often lead to an increase in body-fat. Fresh whole foods like meat, fish, eggs, veggies, salad, nuts and seeds will keep you lean. When you ask people why they opt for bread, takeaways, microwave meals, junk food, they will tell you they don't have time to cook. Often these people will be sitting on facebook for an hour a night or watching three hours or TV. There is always time.

Try these tips to get yourself organised:

• Plan your weekly meals
• Write a list before you go shopping based around your meal plans
• Choose a day to cook up several batches of food. I do this on Sunday. Sometimes I cook two or three meals for the first part of the week and then do the same on wednesday for the end of the week. Some can be frozen or simply put in the fridge to be heated up
• Have healthy alternatives on standby. Keep tinned fish in the cupboard, pre-cooked meat in the fridge, fresh salad that can be prepared instantly, healthy fruit and nuts to hand, etc. This along with pre-cooked meals will keep you fully stocked up and reaching for healthy food all day!
• Think about when you are going to eat for the next day. If you have a busy day plan when your are going to take some time to sit down and eat. It's important and you will be more productive with healthy food in your system
• Buy tupawere! Simple but effective. Use these to store meals in the freezer or take meals/snacks in these to work.

No excuses!

Oli.

Keep it simple!!

We are all guilty of reading up on the newest and craziest fitness fads. Sometimes it's very easy to get sucked in with the clever marketing or the fancy gadgets. The ab machine that will give you an 8-pack if you do it for 5 minutes a day or the new fitness class that 'melts' fat from your thighs.

For a beginner this can get confusing. For a long time now I have said stick with the basics. When I first joined the fitness industry I too got sucked in. I saw people doing single-leg alternate shoulder presses while balancing on a bosu ball. Why not just do a shoulder press with your feet on the floor and lift a heavier weight?

In the strength and fitness game, less is often more. Don't overcomplicate things with too many different exercises in the gym or confusing forms of cardio. If you are starting out and you want to get a bit fitter and a bit leaner, but you haven't exercised in a while then simply WALK! It's so easy and so simple but we rarely do it. This may be down to transport, lazyness, trying to fit too much into the day etc. But if we factored in 3 15-minute walks a day, all of a sudden we have totalled 45 minutes of cardio. Get off the bus a stop earlier, walk to work, put your headphones on and go for a 15 minute stroll one way and then 15 back. Not only will this improve things physically but mentally. If you have something on your mind, go for a long walk and i bet it won't be there when you've finished.

Some other basic strength exercises that you can base your programme around are:

• Squats
• Lunges
• Deadlifts
• Chest press
• Pushups
• Clean and press
• Shoulder press
• Chinups
• Rows

Don't get caught up the latest fad. Keep things simple, consistent and progressive. This will get results.

Oli.

Paused reps to improve your squats and bench press

If you struggle with the bottom part of your bench press or your squat, then paused reps are a great way to help improve your strength in these positions.


If you are training with squats then work on your normal sets with your normal technique. Then you can drop the weight slightly and do a few sets with a 1-2 second pause at the bottom position of the squat. Keep you body upright and make sure you count the seconds at the bottom. So many people think they are pausing but simply bounce back up. I tend to do 3 sets of 8 reps. When you are in the bottom position really focus on driving your feet into the floor as you come back up. This will help activate the leg muscles.



















In the bench press, you can either pause with the bar on your chest (if this is a comfortable bottom position for you) or simply pause at the lowest position of the range which you use (some people prefer to be an inch or two off the chest). The same rule applies here, pause 1-2 seconds and then drive the bar up. Another 3 sets of 8 works well for me and I'll tend to do these after my regular bench pressing.















For Beginners:

I find the above techniques also work really well for begginers who are learning to squat or bench press for the first time. Even if you are simply doing bodyweight squats or light dumbell bench pressing, holding the bottom position really enables a beginner to get a good 'feel' for the muscles they should be working when moving back the other way. It also slows the movement down a bit. Going too fast can often affect the quality of the movement and this will prevent that.

Try adding these in for variety, or if your squat or bench press have plateaued!

Oli

 

Do you really need that much sugar?

If you look at your daily food intake, how much of it is comprised of sugar? Not just pure sugar but also carbohydrates? Whether we eat pure white sugar or normal carbohydrates e.g rice or pasta, it all gets broken down into glucose in the body. This then gets shipped off to certain areas of the body to be used for various tasks, one of which is exercise.

For many of us that exercise, one of our main goals is fat-loss. However, when we exercise, our body likes to use the carbohydrates in our system as they are easy to access first. If we are eating a lot of carbs and our stores are topped up regularly, it may take up to 30 minutes to burn these off before we even switch to using fat as a fuel source! So if you go for a 30 minute run, your ability to burn fat could be minimal.

If we look to reduce our sugar/carb intake then this can increase our fat-burning success! Have a look at the below meal plan and see how we could switch sugars for protein:

Meal 1 - Cereal (sugar) and toast (sugar)

Snack - Fruit (sugar) and cereal bar (sugar)

Meal 2 - Sandwhich (sugar) and crisps (sugar)

Snack - Biscuits (sugar)

Meal 3 - Pasta (sugar) and sauce (sugar)

Snack - Low fat yoghurt (masked by adding sugar!)

The above looks at simple sugars and more complex sugars in carbohydrates such as bread and pasta. The above is a very typical day even for people that have a sedintary lifestyle. Sugar is basically stored energy so why would you need all this stored energy if you are sitting at a desk all day? If it doesnt get used it may turn to fat or stop you burning fat at the gym.

Try this instead:

Meal 1 - Omellette

Snack - nuts

Meal 2 - Chicken and cottage cheese salad

Snack - Mixed berries (low in fruit sugars)

Meal 3 - Steak, sweet potato chips (low sugar) and veg

Snack - Greek yoghurt (not low fat therefore no added sugar)

Have a look at your daily intake of food. Does it look like the high sugar plan? If so, are you struggling to lose fat even with all your efforts in the gym? Start switching the composition of your meals from high carb to a balance between protein, good fats and small portions of carbs and the fat may start to shift!
Oli.

Pre-Christmas tactics!

Christmas is fast approaching and with this comes an abbundance of food and drink. Those of us who are looking to get lean or stay lean may be worried about what lies ahead. If you are in this situation it may be difficult to know what balance to acheive when looking to stay on track with your goals but also to enjoy this time of year.

My answer to this is to simply enjoy it! Factor a holiday or break such as christmas into your training and nutrition plan. Look to train consistently up to this period and then take a rest for these few days. The same applies with your food intake. If you keep everything as tight as possible before potentially feasting on all that the festive period offers, then your body will tend to deal with this without too many long-term adverse affects on your objectives.

Try the following tips leading up to the big day to keep the impact low but your enjoyment high:

• Train with weights leading up until Christmas day. When you lift weights your metabolism is lifted for hours afterwards. Also, when you have muscular soreness, your body will use the food/calories you eat to help with muscle repair. Have a tough session Christmas Eve and put the food you eat to good use on Christmas day!
• Keep Carbs low on the days leading up to Christmas. Look to eat plenty of lean meats, fish, eggs, veggies, nuts, seeds and drink plenty of water. 
• Drink plenty of water on Christmas Day
• Drink plenty of green tea on Christmas Day
• Eat protein Christmas morning. This will get the fat burning hormones started. Scrambled eggs and smoked salmon would be great!
• Have a pre-lunch 'mini-workout'. Try 20 bodyweight squats, 15 pushups and a 30-45 second skydiver (lay on your front and squeeze shoulder blades together, holding this position). This should allow plenty of carbs to be sent to the working muscles before the fat cells!

 


Merry Christmas!

Arm Workout

Christmas and the New Year are linguiring so why not try a Dan Bynre inspired arm workout to get them in shape for the parties that lie ahead!

Exercise Pair 1
Underhand Lat Pull Downs	2-3 (sets) x 6 – 10 (reps) x KG
Vs.
Narrow Grip Barbell Press	2-3 (sets) x 6 – 10 (reps) x KG
Exercise Pair 2
Ez-Bar Bicep Curls	2-3 (sets) x 8 – 12 (reps) x KG
Vs.
Ez-Bar Lying Tricep Ext.	2-3 (sets) x 8 – 12 (reps) x KG
Exercise Pair 3
Dumbbell Alternating Curls	2-3 (sets) x 12 – 15 (reps) x KG
Vs.
Dumbbell French Press	2-3 (sets) x 12 – 15 (reps) x KG
Exercise Pair 4
Cable Machine Tricep Rope Ext.	1-2 (sets) x 6 – 10 (reps) x KG
Vs.
Cable Machine Bicep Curls	1-2 (sets) x 6 – 10 (reps) x KG

Foam roller for better posture and reduced shoulder pain

I picked up a tip from a strength coach to lay in the below position on a foam roller for 15 minutes. After doing this most evenings before bed, my posture (which has always been bad) has improved dramatically. Not only have I stopped looking like a vulture but the shoulder pain that I have had for the last two years during movements such as pushups and bench pressing has virtually gone.

                               


If you work in an office, if you are a dentist, or even a student, being in a position with rounded shoulders for the majority of the day can often lead to shoulder and back pain. You can't necessarily change your job but you can reverse the posture that could cause further issues. These issues can manifest themselves in the gym, especially during weight training. Imagine having rounded shoulders and then trying to press a weight directly above your head. Most people do this. If your shoulders are rounded and you try to force them up (with a weight) then this could lead to a whole host of problems due to poor alignment.

If you struggle with poor posture, tight shoulders or a specific injury in this area, try the above for 15 mintues a night. Put on some therapuetic music and it's actually a good way to unwind!

Oli.

                                              

The Paleo Diet

The Paleolithic (Paleo) Diet is all the rage at the moment. In my opinion it's a great way of eating. The Paleo diet is basically all the foods we hunted or foraged for when we were cavemen. The Paleolithic era was around 2.5 million years in its dutation and only ended when agriculture progressed and started to dominate the way we ate around 10000 years ago. It's difficult to argue that it's not a natural way of eating simply because we have eaten this way for so long.

The foods predominantly on the Paleo diet are:

• Meat
• Fish
• Eggs
• Nuts
• Seeds
• Seasonal local fruit and vegetables
• Herbs and Spices

In my opinion the paleo diet is fantastic if you are looking to get lean. The reduction of carbohydrates naturally promotes the burning of fat, as the body isn't looking to burn sugar (from the carbs) first. The main difficulty of this diet is the lack of 'normal' foods that we are used to eating. Basically all the foods we eat due to the introduction of farming i.e bread, pasta, dairy, caffeine, etc. You also need to apply a fair amount of preparation and ensure these foods are in the house. No nipping to the bread-bin when feeling hungry!

However if you applied the above foods 80% of the week you would still lean out. Your energy levels would be good as long as you had adequate protein and good fats at meal times. If you are looking to build muscle in the gym then you can still follow this plan. If you find it hard to put on muscle then simply add in potatoes and rice to the equation.

A typical Paleo day may look like this:

• Breakfast - Eggs, ham, grilled mushrooms and grilled tomatoes
• Snack - Nuts and seed mix
• Lunch - Fish and mixed salad
• Snack - Cold meats
• Dinner - Steak with baked vegetables.
• Late evening - Berry mix

If you ate this way for the majority of the week with the occasional 'off' day or meal then you would shed pounds and change your bodyshape quite quickly.

Eat how we were designed to eat and feel the difference! If it wasn't around 2 million years ago, simply don't eat it!

                                         

Oli

More protein, more energy

Sometimes the worst thing you can do when you are tired or hungry is reach for some sugar, especially during the day. As soon as your blood sugar levels hit rock bottom, it's natural to crave something sugary to lift these back up. Things like bread, biscuits, cake, chocolate, will all start to jump out at you! Do your best to resist and head for the protein instead. In a matter of minutes this should turn things around. Your blood sugars will even out. If you eat sugar, they will crash again and the cycle continues.

Protein consists mainly of fish, meat and dairy. The key when snacking on protein is to find simple options that you can eat at home or on the go:

• Pre-cooked meats e.g ham, chicken, beef 
• Hard boiled eggs
• Tins of fish e.g mackerel on some ryveeta/rice cakes (tinned fish serve as a great back up for a meal if you are short on time. Add to salad, veggies, rice dishes)
• Cottage cheese - either straight out of the tub or again on ryveeta/rice cake (try the chive or pineapple versions for variety)
• Nuts
• Cashew/almond butter 1-2 teaspoons on ryveeta/ricecake
• Glass of milk
• Whey protein isolate drink mixed with water
• Beef Jerky
• Protein bar (quite high in sugar but better than a chocolate bar if you are on the road)

Even if you feel the need to grab some carbs, have some protein with it. Protein with slow down the digestion of the carbs and you will feel fuller for longer.


                               


Oli