The Pros and Cons of Caffeine

It’s 6.00am on a Monday morning and everyone is getting ready for another long week at work… At this early hour a lot of individuals, me included, will go straight for some coffee, tea or another form of caffeine. We drink it from machines in the luxury of our homes or choose to spend a small fortunes on it in branded coffee shops, but is all this caffeine really good for us?

I have no personal vendetta against coffee and believe there’s a time and place for caffeine in all forms. I also happen to love the taste, especially coffee, and therefore also use it as a “pick me up” throughout the day. On a physical note caffeine has also been proven to boost sports performance, endurance and recovery times when training when consumed 30-60 minutes prior to exertion and can temporarily increase your metabolism, which is great when training for fat loss.

Over indulging in this black liquid is where I would urge caution however. Consuming >600mg caffeine a day (5 cups coffee +) will put a lot of stress onto some of your bodily functions/system. Your adrenal gland function will suffer and your cortisol levels (stress related hormone) will be left continuously high which is something you definitely don’t want in the long run. Caffeine also acts as a natural diuretic and drinking too much will lead to dehydration especially if training.

If you love your coffee and tea please don’t feel like you need to cut it out of your daily routine but aim to limit your intake to about 2-3 cups a day and remember these are not the only sources of caffeine, fizzy drinks (e.g. coca cola/red bull), sweets and chocolates, also contain caffeine.

Finally, try and avoid consuming any caffeine past 5pm as this can affect your quality of sleep.

Enjoy your next Monday morning better informed!

• Black coffee (Instant)          - 60-10mg (Depends on serving)
• Black coffee (Brewed)        - 100-400mg (Depends on serving)
• Single shot of Espresso       - 75mg
• Tea                                          - 30-50mg (Depends on serving and brew time)
• Green tea                              - 25-50mg (Depends on serving and brew time)

Thanks for reading.

sjp@tonbridge-school.org

 Coffee can help boost your performance

Sugar

Excess carbohydrate, especially from a sweet/simple source, will ultimately lead to an increase in body fat. Sugar in small doses will not cause any complications for the majority of individuals, however with modernisation of our food production techniques, you often find sugars hidden in foods where you might not normally expect them. This is primarily to extend shelf life and improve taste, however obvious side effects are that food can begin to possess a slightly addictive quality with real ‘sugar addicts’ experiencing strong cravings for certain foods at certain times. To avoid getting yourself in this position try to act on/follow the below points:

 

‘Diet’ foods – Foods that have had their overall/natural fat content reduced are often high in sugar so watch out when/if selecting ‘light’ options at the supermarket.

Fruit juices – These are filled with natural sugars and in most cases have had all the fibre/beneficial part of the fruit removed. Some companies will even add extra sugar to the juice to make it even sweeter still.

Instant foods – Instant porridges, ‘quick’ convenient lunches and ready meals are often filled with added sugar.

Breakfast cereals/bars – These are frequently filled with sugar, even the mueslis and granolas, so you have to be extra careful when making your selections. Look at the ingredients list and choose options that packed with natural whole ingredients.

 

With these simple steps you can hopefully lower your personal sugar intake, reducing your cravings in the long run and feel lot healthier/happier in yourself.

 

 

 Keep sugar consumption under control

 

 

 

Five Exercises for a Stronger Core

Five Exercises for a Stronger Core

 

One of the main requests we get from clients, Members and Boys is that they want to strengthen their core and improve body composition in the abdominal area. The abdominal area, or core, has three main muscular groups; the transverse abdominis, rectus abdominis and obliques. Stereotypically men set themselves the goal of achieving a chiselled midsection with females preferring to generally flatten their stomach. These five exercises will kick start your quest for a stronger better looking core. 

 

1.       Squats

 

Whether you squat using your own bodyweight or with weights you’re going to strengthen your core. There are many variations of squat: Barbell Back Squat, Bulgarian Split Squat Dumbbell Goblet Squat etc. but whatever option you choose you’ll be sure to be working your core.

 

2.       Standing Overhead Press

 

The overhead press, or military press, is predominately a shoulder exercise however, when performed correctly with the right tempo your core will definitely be ‘firing on all cylinders’. Holding a barbell with a shoulder width grip, press the bar from just above your chest directly up above your head. Press hard and fully lock out your elbows at the top of the movement. On the way down ensure the return is slow (2-3 seconds), pause at the bottom and then repeat for desired rep range. Trust me, if you can press challenging loads above your head you will have a ‘rock solid’ core.

 

3.       Farmer’s Walk

 

You’re probably looking at this and thinking, what on earth is a farmer’s walk!? It’s actually quite a simple yet tough exercise.  You can perform the farmers walk with dumbbells, kettlebells, weight plates or anything else reasonably heavy. The simplest way to describe the farmers walk is to imagine you were carrying two heavy shopping bags back home (one in each hand). Keep your shoulders fixed and retracted back together with a nice tight core throughout the walk. Walk slowly for a certain distance or time and repeat this 3-5 times. Your traps (upper back) shoulders, forearms and core will certainly feel it afterwards!

 

4.       Pull-Ups

 

Pull-ups are the ‘king’ of all bodyweight exercises. If you can pull-up your own bodyweight several times with good technique you are bound to have a strong core. There are several width and grip variations: narrow (palms facing you), neutral and wide (palms facing away). Try mixing your grip up to engage as many muscles in your back and arms as possible. Keep the decent of the pull-up controlled (2-3 seconds) and be sure to fully extend your arms at the bottom before driving up pinching shoulders down at the top. An assisted pull-up machine will let you perform the above if you cannot manage pure bodyweight pull-ups.

 

5.       Jack-Knives

 

You can perform jack-knives on a fit-ball or using the TRX suspension bands. The exercise will involve holding a press-up position throughout whilst placing your shoe laces on the top of a fit-ball or in the bands of a TRX. From this position you slowly bring your knees in to your chest, keeping your hips up, and then return to the start position.

 

If you would like any of the gym team to show you any of these core strengthening exercises please do not hesitate to ask. I hope you will start implementing some of these exercises in your current programme. Along with a sound nutrition plan, consistent training and appropriate rest you really will start to see that desired midsection start to emerge in no time at all!

 

Thank you for reading.

 

Simon

 

sjp@tonbridge-school.org

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     Pull-Ups are great for building a stronger core

HIIT

High Intensity Interval Training

 

Whenever someone asks me what is the best way to get fitter and burn fat quickly? I’ll always respond with high intensity interval training (HIIT). Anyone can try HIIT training as you need very minimal equipment to get going so it works well in the gym or outside. HIIT also only requires you to work for a 10-20 minute period and you will still definitely feel like you’ve worked hard!

 

The benefits to HIIT are:

-          Increased fat metabolism.

-          Short term increase to your metabolic rate. (You’ll burn calories after you’ve finished)

-          Increases in human growth hormones (HGH) responsible for metabolism regulation and the ageing process.

Not only do you get these benefits when you regularly perform HIIT but it will also make you a lot fitter. Research has shown that doing HIIT increases muscle oxidative capacity by almost 50%, increases glycogen storage by 20% whilst improving cycle endurance capacity by 100%.  The University of Nebraska found that thirty second intervals were better for building endurance and aerobic capacity than intervals lasting three minutes. Therefore short intense interval training is an effective proven way to quickly build fitness.

It is tough though as you’re working above your aerobic threshold for extended periods of time and I would not recommend it to a complete beginner.

Example HIIT Workout

If you want to do it in a gym then find a treadmill, bike, cross trainer etc. and set your total time limit. If you haven’t done HIIT before start with about 10 minutes. This total time will comprise of 30 seconds “rest time”: 30 seconds “work” time. During your work time you need to focus on hitting a percentage heart rate of at least 80-90% of your maximum and during your rest time you need to focus on recovering to get ready for the next interval. If you feel you need more time to recover in between intervals then increase your rest time and decrease your work time slightly and vice versa. That’s the beauty of HIIT training you can play around with the work rest ratio until it suits you. Remember the whole point of HIIT is that you’re working above your aerobic threshold during the work times; you should be breathless and building up lactic acid in your muscles so don’t be afraid to work hard. You can also do this outside following the exact same principles as above obviously you will be limited to bodyweight exercises like running, burpees or cycling presuming you own a bike.

I hope you can incorporate HIIT into your training programme. Whether you’re looking to get fitter, faster or stronger it will definitely be of benefit. Start by doing it once or twice a week at the start or at the end of your session and if you need any more assistance or guidance please feel free to ask a member of the gym team to show you!

Thank you for reading,

Simon

sjp@tonbridge-school.org

Habits & Goals

Habits & Goals

It’s that time again when people start setting themselves goals and resolutions for the upcoming year… Why not take a second, read my blog post and hopefully you’ll be a lot more likely to achieve some of your aspirations this time round.

Typical New Year resolutions:

• Lose weight.
• Eat healthily.
• Train more regularly.
• Quit smoking.
• Reduce alcohol consumption.

These are all perfectly good goals, they’re realistic, they’re achievable so why are the majority not achieved? Firstly, they’re too broad. If there’s no plan of action inevitably after a few weeks you may lose track. One way to increase your chance of success is to begin by implicating good habits prior to working on a goal. These small stepping stones will help with overall progress and make the larger end goal more achievable.

For example: If your goal is “eat healthily” compile a list of all of the ‘smaller’ habitual changes you need to make in order for you to achieve this:

• Eat at least one to two pieces of fruit a day.
• Eat at least one to two vegetables a day.
• Drink more water/cut out juices and fizzy drinks.
• Eat at least two portions of oily fish a week.
• Increase your quality protein intake. (Chicken, Beef, Eggs, Salmon, Brazil Nuts etc.)
• Replace starchy carbohydrates with complex varieties. (White Bread à Brown Rice etc.)

Now these are just a handful of points you can implement every day which will ultimately move you closer towards your end goal. More importantly when you create your list the points should be specific to your lifestyle. Hopefully you’ll start consistently achieving these smaller points and it will become second nature to you.

Finally, don’t give up! Just because you’re not seeing progress on whatever your goal may be it doesn’t mean you’re not working hard for it. Some goals are short term and some are long term. Think of the small habitual changes as laying the foundations to achieve long term success. You need to determine your long term and short term goals then, break them down, plan them out, improve your habits and finally you can begin to put a time frame on the project.

I’m personally planning my goals for the 2015 now, breaking them down and seeing whether they are short term or long term. For any more advice and help on goal setting, why not arrange a free consultation with one of our qualified personal trainers.

Thank you for reading.

Simon Passey - sjp@tonbridge-school.org