Posted on

Thursday, 1st August

Catherine’s question about “do you need protein shakes” and does it depend on who you are and what you are doing in terms of activities to justify drinking these shakes, is a very interesting one and a question I have heard more and more over the last couple of years in particular.

The real truth of the matter is that IF you are getting enough balance of protein, carbohydrates and fats, then you do not need all of these extra supplements including protein.

If you are skipping meals though, and have trouble getting enough protein into your day, then protein shakes can be handy, and in the case of certain athletes, much more necessary depending on their chosen sport, which we will talk another time about.

The lean protein sources from natural foods include chicken, turkey, lean beef, fish, cottage cheese etc.

If you feel you cannot get most or any of these into your day, then you either need to look at your planning and preparation, which means making your next day’s food the night before and putting it in the fridge ready for your next working day, or you can make it first thing in the morning to make it even fresher!

OR

If you have a job that involves very little time for eating for whatever reason, its this situation that can be perfect for the convenience of protein shakes, and will make sure you get regular meals even if they are in liquid forms for 1-2 meals a day.

It must be remembered that food supplements are exactly that, SUPPLEMENTS and not REAL FOOD. So real food is the first choice but protein shakes can be a substitute when no other food option is available.

Protein shakes only all day are seen by many as a quick weight loss tactic, unfortunately this is another short term method that will set you up for longer term failure.

Protein shakes can be very useful when used properly and when used to suit whatever lifestyle you lead.

Twitt
Posted on

Wednesday, 31st July

Two obsessions with people trying to lose weight that can be counter-productive, are how many calories you burn in each workout and how many calories you take in during the day.

Two examples of a workout can bring surprising results would be the following.

If you just do 300 calories of work on a stationery bike, and then you do 300 calories walking on a treadmill, then obviously this should lead to a 600 calorie workout.

If you worked out hard with weights with real intensity, and you did some boxing afterwards, you may only burn 400-500 calories.

So which one best? Both I have to say are very good for you!

In terms of OVERALL calorie burn, it is easy.

Aerobic only type of workouts such as the bike and treadmill will burn extra calories when you stop exercising for 12 extra hours.

Weight bearing and higher intensity exercise will burn calories when you stop exercising for a further 36-48 hours!!

So you can see which one gets your metabolism going higher and for longer.

The same with your food. You can eat a curry and a pint of lager a day only and take in 1200 calories.

If you take in a higher quality of food and drink, such as fruit, whole grains, vegetables, lean protein sources such as chicken, fish etc, then you can easily take in 1800 calories and still look far better, and feel better too!

So you can see its about the quality of your calorie burn, and your calorie intake will make ALL the difference!!!

Twitt
Posted on

Tuesday, 30th July

Those of you who spend a lot of time on the road will realize that its not always easy to eat well on the road.

In fact, if you rely on just stopping in places to find your meal every time you’re hungry, you are very likely to be eating a lot more saturated fat and refined sugar than you ever thought.

The individuals who I have trained over the years who have constantly worked away, have been the ones who have struggled with their weight, struggled with their performance and in general have been less than happy with their existence of “life on the road”.

I have seen turnaround situations happen though quite easily, as long as the individual was willing to spend more time preparing their meals and snacks before getting in the car.

Most hotels these days have a fridge, and this is an ideal place to store most of your ingredients for the week.

For example, let’s say you are used to eating sandwiches in petrol stations of supermarkets, then if you do this more or less every day, then you will never be in the shape you really want. You will often feel lousy during the day, and the last thing you will feel like after a hard day is have a tough workout!

Instead, if you packed your fridge or cooler box with fruit, wholemeal bread or wholemeal pitta, then no butter or margarine, no mayo or salad cream, put some tins of mackerel or tuna, make a cooked chicken before you go away, and you can pick away on this for sandwiches and snacks for most of the week.

Make sure you have a big bottle of water by your side for much of the week, just buy one and keep filling it up overnight, and stash it in the fridge ready for the next day.

Cottage cheese, low sugar low salt tins of beans can be example of ingredients for good snacks and meals.

If you have access to a microwave, then even better because you can use it for two minutes to heat up your porridge first thing in the morning or sometimes tea time just before a big workout.

Please don’t rely on pre-prepared packaged foods to get you in shape because it will not, simple as that!

Preparation is everything and you CAN be in great shape on the road, but it does take far greater planning!

Twitt
Posted on

Monday, 29th July

Due to various questions and requests I have had over the last couple of years writing this thing, I have decided to start uploading videos and showing some demonstrations on how to do certain exercises.

There is often a variety of ways to do the same exercise, and I wanted to take that doubt away from many of you on how exactly you need to be doing certain movements.

Then there has been a lot of questions about all the outside activities we do outside the gym.

I am talking about all the speed and agility we do with ladders, and what variations are best to use to get your speed improved greatly.

Then what are the benefits of running with parachutes and how to use them?

How do we use bungee ropes to their full benefit, and what combinations should you use?

Why do we use so much variety with those big tractor tyres?

What about those big girders weighing 60kg per hand?!!

What’s the correct way to sledgehammer? How high do you need to go, and which tyres do you smash them on?

What about the new Prowler 2 that everyone seems to be setting new records on? How beneficial is it and what exercises should you do on it?

What about the work on swiss balls? What are its true aims and what is the complete exercise range?

These questions are just the start so look forward to video guidance as soon as we can get it together!!

Twitt
Posted on

Tuesday, 23rd July

Now that the very warm weather seems to have subsided a little bit for the moment, its time to focus on your own personal best’s and standards you have in training.

For example, if you have managed to train through the extreme temperatures, then the first thing you will notice now is your ability to work a lot harder than usual.

I had several sprint sessions last night, and everyone seemed to be performing better than ever, even though it was hot but not quite so hot as it has been, and there was a lovely breeze last night which meant conditions were far better than at any time for the last 3 weeks or so.

The weather has cooled down a lot today, with the threat of flooding! You should look at this as a further opportunity to get back to your highest standards, and start hitting your big numbers again.

In most cases, the last 3 weeks of extremely warm weather has been about simply “surviving” the weather, now is your chance to feel the boost to your body that a period like that will give to your body is done sensibly. As I said at the time, many top athletes in the winter purposely seek out warm weather destinations so they can actively boost their performances by training in very warm weather.

When they come back, they not only feel invigorated, but they feel that their performance level has been raised considerably.

Warm weather can be a benefit and a nightmare.

It’s a benefit when you hydrate properly, be sensible about training in extreme heat, and generally get through it steadily rather than going over the top.

It is a nightmare for many when they don’t drink enough water, don’t eat enough food and do over the top efforts in extremely hot temperatures.

So see the last 3 weeks as your very own warm weather “camp”, and you should begin to see the benefits very soon in your own personal performance level.

Twitt