Lifestyle Habits For Long Term Health. Part 3 – Optimising exercise and food intake.

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Optimize your exercise and food intake.

We all know that diet and exercise are important for overall health. There is always arguments about what kind of foods to eat and when to eat them, but for the most part, you probably have an idea of what kind of foods are good for your body and what kind aren’t. Recovery should be looked at from a nutrition point of view. How well you feed your body determines how well you can recover from exercise. Simple things like eating enough protein, drinking enough water and eating plenty of green vegetables can go a long way in keeping your body happy and healthy. Even simple practices like taking the time to sit down to eat and chew your food thoroughly are helpful. Getting your body in a parasympathetic state before eating helps to improve digestion, and of course, thoroughly chewing your food does the same. These changes might seem to make a small difference, but the increased efficiency adds up over the 1000+ meals you have in a year. When it comes to exercise, everyone has their own thoughts on what type of training is optimal, but one thing that we can agree on is that moving your body in one way or another is the objective. We won’t go into what exercises you need to do in order to promote health, but rather the practices that surround them.

Believe it or not, when it comes to getting stronger and faster the most important component is recovery. If you can’t recover from the training stimulus, then you will not get better, or even worse, you’ll get injured. Your lifestyle, responsibility, and workload all change so therefor your capacity for recovery changes as well. Have a look at your training and lifestyle objectively to determine how much and how hard you should be training.

If it fits within your budget, hire a professional who can help you with this. A great way to start is with our 3 x 30min PT special for $49!

 

 

 

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Lifestyle Habits For Long Term Health. Part 1 – Managing stress.

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When it comes to anything in life, I find it helps to build a solid foundation if we hope to have success. The issue with health and well-being is that we have gotten away from the foundational practices that keep us running optimally.

We all know that exercise is important to staying fit and healthy. However, it only makes up a small part of our day. So what about the rest of our day and how does what we do during that time impact our health and well-being? Sometimes, it can be hard to change or modify your daily/weekly routine, but if you wish to feel younger, happier and live a lot longer… you may want to manage some behaviours in the 23hours you’re not working out.

Managing Stress

One the most serious additions in today’s modern life would be the stress we endure on a daily basis… Whether it be work, finances, family issues or relationships the stress never seems to stop. Whatever the case is for you, consider trimming down so to speak. Look at things with an open mind and avoid taking on too much at once. It may also be helpful to take some time to clear the mind and reflect on a daily basis. For some, it might be spending time in the gym for others they may like to find something a little more quiet. It’s been said that 12 minutes of meditation can be enough to shift brain activity in favor of better focus and reduced anxiety.

Making sure to keep stress levels low is vital, not just for our sanity, but for our ability to make progress in the gym given the fact that stress can have negative impact on our recovery.

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3 tips for overcoming a lack of motivation

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Lack of motivation is something that almost everyone goes through at times and something we deal with a lot as trainers. Here are 3 tips to overcome this:

  1. 1. Stop making excuses.

So you’re feeling unmotivated? This is the time when we start hearing a lot of reasons and excuses for cancelled training sessions and some of us slacking from the gym. Here are the most common excuses we see and how to deal with them.

“I don’t have time” – We all manage to make time for the things that are important to us. Choose an activity that is low priority and cut it out or reduce the amount of time you spend doing it e.g. watching TV. A 15 minute H.I.I.T session is just 1% of your day so it shouldn’t be too much of an issue to make time for some sort of exercise.

“I’m too tired” – Working out actually gives you more energy! Working out during your lunch break will help you beat that afternoon tiredness at work as your body will release endorphins and have improved circulation, helping you to have a more productive afternoon.

“It’s too hard because I have kids” – Most gyms have a creche, at All4Fitness, we have free child minding for all of our 9am classes.

“I just don’t enjoy exercise”- Come and try our classes! Working out in a group is always fun and makes a very supportive environment. If you don’t enjoy classes, find something that you do enjoy. We now run yoga classes on Mondays and Thursdays, or you can ask your trainer to do some one on one boxing

2. Set both short and long term SMART goals.

Setting SMART(Specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time limited) goals for yourself holds you accountable to a deadline in which a certain result is to be achieved. When it comes to deadlines, people tend to leave things until the last minute which is why it is important to set short term goals as well as long terms ones. For example, your long term goal might be to lose 3kg in six months, so you can break this down into short term goals of losing 500g each month, or 120g each week. Short term goals can even be as simple as making sure you do at least some form of exercise for 30mins each day

3. Be consistent.

No one feels super motivated all the time, not even coaches or professional athletes. Sometimes the best training sessions are the ones you don’t feel like doing, but you show up and get it done anyway. Being consistent when you’re not motivated stops you from falling behind so that when that you are feeling motivated, your still making progress rather than always trying to get back to where you were up to before you lost your motivation. You will always feel a greater sense of achievement when you reach your goals knowing that you had the self-discipline to see things through and didn’t just give up. It’s perfectly normal for motivation to come and go, but I’m sure you still brush your teeth every day, do your laundry, and pay your bills even if you don’t feel like it, right? You don’t need to feel motivated all the time, what’s more important than motivation is consistency! And when it comes to exercise, if you are more consistent, you will see more results, feel more motivated, and have more enjoyable training sessions.

 

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Recipe: Nutty Choc Protein Balls

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Nutty Choc Protein Balls

Active Time: 10-12 min Total Time: 10-12 min

INGREDIENTS

• 120 gram Raw/Natural Nuts of your choice (i.e Almonds & Cashews)

• 60 gram sunflower seeds

• 4 tablespoon Chocolate Protein Powder

• 2 tablespoon raw cacao powder

• 2 tablespoon Nut Butter of your choice

• 100 grams pitted dates

• 2 tablespoon Rice malt syrup (use honey but will be sweeter)

• 1 tablespoon coconut oil

• 4 tablespoon dessicated coconut for rolling

 

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Add all ingredients EXCEPT DESSICATED COCONUT to a good quality blender*.
2. Place on high speed until ingredients are completely blended. Check the consistency. If you need it to be more sticky, add some more coconut oil or rice malt syrup/honey. If it’s too sticky add some more protein or cacao powder. (These will go harder in the refrigerator, so don’t make them TOO sticky. Experiment by trying to make a ball first)
3. Roll into 12-16 balls. Roll Coconut & Refrigerate.
4. Eat and enjoy! (This is the most important step!)
*This can be a nutri-bullet, vitamix, thermomix etc. Be sure your blender can mill the nuts down finely.

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Set Goals + Follow a Plan = Success!

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An exercise plan is essentially a ‘road map’ that clearly identifies the steps needed to take, to reach your desired destination. Research has shown that goal setting greatly increases the chances of adherence and the achievement of outcomes. Without structure, you likely have little awareness of training goals and strategies to accomplish them. Want to get big and strong but eat very little, over do it on the cardio and lift light weights? Want to get lean and build muscle but eat too much, do no weights and all cardio? Are you following the latest “Kim Kardashian’s Intense Workout”? How do you expect to achieve your desired goals, if you’re following a program that’s all wrong for you? For some, hiring a personal trainer to guide you through a fitness regime 2-3 times per week isn’t affordable, so a following a customised program might fit more to your budget. Don’t like running? Love running? Hate weight machines? Love dumbbells? That’s fine! No matter what your likes or dislikes are, you can have an effective exercise program designed based on what YOU enjoy doing! Once you have decided on your goals and the type of training you want to engage in, creating consistency means being realistic about how much time you have to devote to your regular exercise regimen. To achieve and maintain your fitness goals, regular exercise, good nutrition and the other components of fitness have to become a regular part of your life. Once you start putting the plan into practice, you’ll see that having simple, achievable steps laid out in front of you helps motivate you to succeed. More importantly, having a fitness plan laid out for you means that you never lose track of what you’re supposed to do next. Staying on track is as simple as reading and implementing the instructions you’ve left for yourself.
Happy training!

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Basics on Macronutrients

                      Basics on Macronutrients Have you ever heard the word ‘calories’ being thrown around when people are speaking about nutrition. If you have, you’ve probably also come across the word ‘macros’ or in full, ‘Macronutrients’. It’s safe to say once you know what they are, […]

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5 Reasons Why You Struggle Losing Body Fat

1. You eat too much This might seem like an obvious mistake, but many people truly don’t know how many calories they’re actually eating. For example, ordering a salad might seem like a healthy choice, but you could be getting a 700-calorie meal without even knowing it. Sauces, dressing, and oils, all have calories you probably don’t even think about. We’re told all the time that the simple weight-loss process is to eat fewer calories than you expend throughout the day. However, this “calories in, calories out” methodology oversimplifies matters. The type of calories you eat matters. A carbohydrate-only diet will not help you reach your fat-loss goals. You need the right combination of protein, carbohydrates, and healthy fats to build muscle and burn fat.

2. You’re Drinking too much Alcohol.
 You will not get lean if your are drinking too much booze. A glass of red wine here or there is not a problem but it’s imperative that you stop indulging in weekend binges as you are not creating an environment conducive for fat loss. Alcoholic beverages are usually high in calories that your body just stores as fat, but just as crucially, it also impairs your judgement. So instead of making healthy food choices, your booze-brain will tell you that a big plate of nachos is the right choice.

3. You think healthy food has no or very little calories It doesn’t matter how healthy any particular food is; if you eat too much of it, you’ll have a hard time losing fat. Of course it’s important to eat whole foods, but overeating non-GMO, fair-trade, organic peanut butter is still overeating. One prime example of a healthy food that runs huge on calories are nuts and seeds. While these healthy foods have plenty of nutrients and are wonderful for your health, the calories they carry can be excessive. This doesn’t mean you should avoid them, but rather, when you pick up some almonds to snack on, don’t eat multiple handfuls.

4. You’re Not Getting Enough Sleep. Sleep is one of the most under utilised protocols when on a quest to improve your health and physique. If you do nothing else but improve your sleep quality and quantity you’ll improve your health and physique. A study by the American Cancer Society of 1.1 million Americans found that those who slept less than 6 hours a night had significantly higher mortality rates than those who slept around 7 hours per night. Inadequate sleep is linked to obesity due to it’s effect on important hormones. Important fat loss hormones like growth hormone are produced when we have quality sleep – if you’re not producing enough growth hormone you will never get lean, male or female. Insufficient sleep will decrease your insulin sensitivity and your cortisol increases, this is not the hormone recipe you want for an improved physique.

5. You don’t train heavy enough. Beginners should start slowly. However, as you grow accustomed to the weights, machines, and the gym atmosphere, you have to push harder and harder. You can’t get comfortable, or you will plateau. The “I don’t want to get too bulky” is a major misconception for you ladies, you simply don’t have the same quantity of hormones like testosterone that males do to cause significant muscle gains. The little bit that you do have you want to maximise to achieve your physique enhancement goals. If fat-loss is your goal, you have to create an extreme energy demand so your body can change. Lifting the same light weights day after day will not help you do this or meet any of your other physique goals.

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Reasons to limit Sugar & Fructose

Below are 10 reasons to eat less sugar
1. Sugar can elevate glucose and insulin responses and return them to fasting levels slower in oral contraceptive users.
 2. Sugar can contribute to osteoporosis.
3. Sugar can lower the amount of Vitamin E in the blood.
 4. Sugar can impair the structure of DNA.
 5. Sugar can make tendons more brittle.
 6. Sugar increases estradiol (the most potent form of naturally occurring estrogen) in men.
 7. Sugar can lead to prostate cancer.
 8. Sugar can contribute to mild memory loss.
 9. Sugar can cause brain decay in pre-diabetic and diabetic women.
10. Sugar can cause endometrial cancer.

One of the greatest effects on our health these days is high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) which is in just about everything we eat out of a packet, jar, tin. The first step to achieve improved health and body composition is eliminate this nasty stuff out of your diet. The 3 main sources of sugars are fructose, glucose and sucrose – they all should be minimised for improved health and weight management.  A lot of people will opt for fructose believing it is a better option, but is it really?  

Fructose
If you think fructose is the answer to your sugar problems think again. Fructose is referred to as a simple sugar, which means when eaten it is absorbed slowly in the intestine. When looking at dropping the fat a lot of people lean towards fructose consumption over other sugar sources e.g. glucose. The problem with fructose is it can only be processed in the liver in two ways: used for energy by liver cells or get stored as glycogen in the liver. How is this a problem? If your diet consists of too much fructose there is only one destination for it – your liver. What this means is more than likely your liver glycogen or fuel tanks are full so the fructose needs to go somewhere. The body will convert the fructose into fat to be stored on other parts of the body and well, hello lover handles! The difference with fructose and glucose is glucose can be used in other body tissues, namely your muscles.  

Fructose Foods You Should Avoid
– High fructose corn syrup. Check the labels of all your foods you’ll be surprised how much of it you are consuming.
– Table Sugar, 50:50 combination of glucose and fructose
– Brown Sugar
– Maple Sugar
– Cane Sugar
– Molases
– Concentrated fruit juice

Not only is fructose addictive, but it’s also twice as sweet as glucose. And because fructose doesn’t trigger our “I’m full now” message, we can’t stop eating the stuff! Even though fruit can contain fructose it’s consumption is important due to the anti oxidant, vitamin, mineral and fiber content. Generally 2 pieces a day is recommended. The key is to chose fruits that are lowest in fructose and consume the higher fructose fruits in the morning because this is when your liver glycogen levels are lowest. This means your liver will use the fructose for energy and what’s not used can be stored in the liver and not be converted to fat.

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Injured? How to manage a Sprain or Strain.

If you have ever been involved in a long term physical activity, chances are you’ve experienced some sort of pull or pop that just didn’t feel right. We can usually relate this feeling to either a sprain or strain. These are very common injuries, especially to those who are very active or regularly play sport. But what’s the difference between the two? I mean, they do sound very similar right.
Basically, a sprain is an injury to a ligament (tissue that connects two or more bones at a joint) and a strain is an injury to a muscle or tendon (the tissue that connects your muscle to bone).
Some common symptoms for your common Sprain may be:
• Pain
• Swelling
• Bruising
• Inability to move or use the joint

Some common symptoms for your common Strain may be:
• Pain
• Muscle Spasms
• Muscle Weakness
• Swelling
• Cramping
• Trouble moving the muscle

Treatment to both sprains and strains are very similar. To reduce swelling and pain in the first day or two, doctors usually say to:
• Rest the injured area. If the ankle or knee is hurt, the doctor might tell you to use crutches or a cane.
• Put ice on the injury for 20 minutes at a time. The doctor might say to do this 4 to 8 times a day.
• Compress (squeeze) the injury using special bandages, casts, boots, or splints. Your doctor will tell you which one is best for you and how tight it should be.
• Put the injured ankle, knee, elbow, or wrist up on a pillow.
• The doctor may recommend taking medicines, such as aspirin or ibuprofen.

After treating pain and swelling, doctors usually say to exercise the injured area. This helps to prevent stiffness and increase strength. Some people need physical therapy. Your doctor or physical therapist will tell you when you can start to do normal activities, including sports. If you begin too soon, you can injure the area again.
It is important to see a doctor if you have a painful sprain or strain. This helps you get the right treatments.

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Bench Press – Set up and grip variations explained.

Bench Press - Set Up And Grip Variations Explained -Winter Is Dead.” (1)

Proper bench press technique is something I very rarely see done correctly in many commercial gyms. That being said many gym goers are confused by how to complete a bench press and which grip works for them. In this blog I will firstly cover the set up for the bench press, moving onto the 3 types of grips you can use to get the most out of your bench.

The set up

There are 3 main cues to think about when completing a SAFE and EFFICIENT bench.

  1. The Arch – Yes, this is completely safe to do but very easy to do incorrectly. Arching your back allows you to maximise the use of your chest (instead of your shoulders) and a decreased bar path will lead to more weight being put on the bar. Ensure your arch more through your upper back (thoracic) then your lower back as arching through your lower back will not benefit your bench
  2. Pinch Shoulder blades – Ensure you plant the upper portion of your shoulder onto the bench during the set up. Squeeze your shoulder blades together like there is a grape in-between them that you are trying to crush. This tightens your set up to protect against injury.
  3. Bar Path – Ensure you hit a point that is BELOW not on your nipple line and the top of your sternum. Then drive the bar back to the starting position which should be directly above your shoulders.

Types of Bench press grips

Normal – What is considered a normal grip is ring/middle finger over the rings of the bar. This is the most typical grip which will engage your chest, triceps and shoulders. This should be the grip you want to be strongest in, so the close/wide grip bench should be used to complement it.

Close- Close grip bench is approximately 2 finger width in from the rings. This grip is used to further isolate the triceps during a benching movement. Typically if you’re strong off the chest but struggle during lock out this exercise would benefit your bench as the lock out is mostly triceps.

Wide – Finally wide grip bench isolates your chest, this grip is typically 1or2 fingers width from the ring on the bar. This grip is great for someone that struggles with the initial press off the chest during the bench press.

Remember these grips are to help assist your bench press (normal grip). They are either done as a secondary exercise after your bench or on a separate day to work on your weakness.

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