Check out this great video from Charles Poliquin about Coffee and its benefits...
Ask Coach - Benefits of Coffee
Take home points...
1. Make sure its Organic. Coffee is one of the most sprayed crops in the world and its these toxins that are responsible for the bide seide effects associated with coffee
2. Prepare it Properly. Caffeine cannot diffuse across the coffee bean at high speeds, it must be slowly dripped to contain hier amounts of caffeine per ml.
3. Coffee contains high amounts of anti-oxidants, especially polphenolys. This is probably ,most peoples only source of anti oxidants.
4. Studies have shown that those who drink coffee can live up to 5 years longer than those who dont, the reason why could be because it induces liver detoxification processes (tellsyour body to clean itself out)
5. Use coffee 45-60 minutes pre-workout. Caffeine helps to increase muscle strength, it also helps to increase speed of muscle contractions, you spare muscle glycogen meaning you will burn more fat when exercising, increases your mood and concentration.
6. Anti-oxidants in Coffee also have useful properties to help with the pancreas so it helps to increase insulin sensitivity.
Sunday, 13 May 2012
Wednesday, 2 May 2012
Improving your Body Composition... High Protein Breakfast
Having a High Protein breakfast is important if you want to maximise your body composition results. A study in the International Journal of Obesity conducted a study on 3 groups, one group skipped breakfast, one group had breakfast and one group had a high protein breakfast (calories for both breakfasts were the same).
The grouo who ate the high-protein breakfast felt fuller and were less hungry throughout the day. They also freely chose to eat 130 calories less at lunch than both of the other groups, even the group who had breakfast!
So just having breakfast is not enough, make sure you are making the right choices and get the full bang for buck that your time and effort deserves.
The grouo who ate the high-protein breakfast felt fuller and were less hungry throughout the day. They also freely chose to eat 130 calories less at lunch than both of the other groups, even the group who had breakfast!
So just having breakfast is not enough, make sure you are making the right choices and get the full bang for buck that your time and effort deserves.
Monday, 23 April 2012
Improving Sleep
Sleep is the most unrated factors when looking to improve your body composition. Sleep deprivation is very commonm and it is to do more with the quality then the quantity of sleep. A lack of sleep will lead to a decrease in growth hormome, decrease in testosterone (bad for males and females), a decrese in tolerance to blood sugatsand an increase in cortisol. All of these things will have a detrimental effect on your goals...
Continue reading my blog for top tips to improve your sleep and results...
Continue reading my blog for top tips to improve your sleep and results...
Saturday, 21 April 2012
Improving your Body Composition... stay Hydrated
Staying hydrated in THE simplest thing you can do to improve your body composition, If you are dehydrated you will increase cortisol. Feeling thirsty is a sign of dehydration so this is something you want to avoid as much as possible, aim two consume 39ml of water(filtered or bottled, tap water is shit!) per KG of bodyweight per day, 0.039xbodyweight
So for me its 0.039x88 = 3.432 litres per day.
You could also add a slice or two of fresh lime to your water to help alkalise and improve detoxification.
Again this is something you have to do consitently, if you do you can expect to reduce body fat from the umbilical and triceps.
So for me its 0.039x88 = 3.432 litres per day.
You could also add a slice or two of fresh lime to your water to help alkalise and improve detoxification.
Again this is something you have to do consitently, if you do you can expect to reduce body fat from the umbilical and triceps.
Improving your Body Composition... add 50g of protein
One of the simplest and also most effective tricks to reduce body fat and increase lean muscle mass is to add and extra 50g of protein ( preferabbly animal protein) to your daily intake. This is especially important for females looking to improve their body composition, the first 50g of protein you consume goes towards detoxification and the immune system. This trick will ensure you have enough protein for these processes and the other sources of protein you consume can go towards promoting lean muscle tissue and reducing body fat.
This needs to be something you include consistently, everyday! Dont do it for 2 days the. Ell me its not working!!!
This needs to be something you include consistently, everyday! Dont do it for 2 days the. Ell me its not working!!!
Swap Cardio for Weight Training...
One of the first things my clients ask me is 'Are you going to make me do lots of cardio?'
When I answer 'No' they have a mixture of emotions, they are happy because they really didnt want to do lots of cardio and they are also confused as they believe cardio is the only way they will lose fat and change their body shape...they couldnt be more wrong. Cardio gets your heart rate up and keeps it up, I explain to my clients that we will be weight training, and weight training only and if this is performed correctly you will get results quicker and you will soon see why there is no need to does endless amounts of mind numbing cardio.
10 minutes into the session when they are drippimg with sweat and gasping for air like someone who is having an ashtma attack they soon understand what I was talking about.
Here are the reasons why you should swap Cardio for Weight training
- Cardio WILL plateau after a 6-8 week period, meaning at this point you will get no more benefit from that training and continuing on from this point would even be counter productive.
- Cardio will age you. Doing aerobic training increases oxidative stress(a process called oxidisation, similar to the rusting)caused by free radical damage, the body fights or nuetralises the negative effects of free readicals using antioxidants. Aerobinc training causes a huge excess in free radical damage that the body cannot deal with, this leads to metabolic changes (and rusting) which can accelarte aging. Look at long distance runners and people who regulalry do marathons, they all look old!
- Cardio can cause Adrenal stress/Adrenal fatigue. Too much cardio can lead to stress on the gland leading to adrenal fatigue, some of the symptoms include tiredness, allergies, arthritis, anxiety, depression, reduced memory, and difficulties in concentrating, insomnia, feeling worn-out, and the inability to lose body fat. If adrenally fatigue you will tend to store fat around the abdominals and love handles.
- Continuous Cardio can make you fatter. Cortisol is the stress hormone, it promotes the breakdown of muscle tissue and fat storage. Some people have a big exposure to stress in their lifestyle so by Adding more 'stress' doing aerobic work you could increase cortisol even more having a negative affect on decreasing body fat. An increase in cortisol will also decrease your chance of building muscle another negative if you are looking to improveyour bodfy composition.
When I answer 'No' they have a mixture of emotions, they are happy because they really didnt want to do lots of cardio and they are also confused as they believe cardio is the only way they will lose fat and change their body shape...they couldnt be more wrong. Cardio gets your heart rate up and keeps it up, I explain to my clients that we will be weight training, and weight training only and if this is performed correctly you will get results quicker and you will soon see why there is no need to does endless amounts of mind numbing cardio.
10 minutes into the session when they are drippimg with sweat and gasping for air like someone who is having an ashtma attack they soon understand what I was talking about.
Here are the reasons why you should swap Cardio for Weight training
- Cardio WILL plateau after a 6-8 week period, meaning at this point you will get no more benefit from that training and continuing on from this point would even be counter productive.
- Cardio will age you. Doing aerobic training increases oxidative stress(a process called oxidisation, similar to the rusting)caused by free radical damage, the body fights or nuetralises the negative effects of free readicals using antioxidants. Aerobinc training causes a huge excess in free radical damage that the body cannot deal with, this leads to metabolic changes (and rusting) which can accelarte aging. Look at long distance runners and people who regulalry do marathons, they all look old!
- Cardio can cause Adrenal stress/Adrenal fatigue. Too much cardio can lead to stress on the gland leading to adrenal fatigue, some of the symptoms include tiredness, allergies, arthritis, anxiety, depression, reduced memory, and difficulties in concentrating, insomnia, feeling worn-out, and the inability to lose body fat. If adrenally fatigue you will tend to store fat around the abdominals and love handles.
- Continuous Cardio can make you fatter. Cortisol is the stress hormone, it promotes the breakdown of muscle tissue and fat storage. Some people have a big exposure to stress in their lifestyle so by Adding more 'stress' doing aerobic work you could increase cortisol even more having a negative affect on decreasing body fat. An increase in cortisol will also decrease your chance of building muscle another negative if you are looking to improveyour bodfy composition.
Wednesday, 21 March 2012
Top 5 'Fat Loss' Fails...
Here are my top 5 reasons people do not achieve 'Fat loss'.
1. Dehydration
You must drink enough water. Around 3-4 litres a day, dehydration can reduce strength and performance in the gym and will make it increasingly hard to shift visceral (abdominal) fat.
2. Not eating enough
Most people just assume that by cutting calories you will burn fat...this is not true. You should focus more on burning more calories than you consume through activity and eating enough of the right foods to promote the correct hormone responses to burn fat. If you do not consume enough 'nutrients' then your body will go into a 'catabolic' state , this state promotes fat storage not fat loss, if you are exercising on top of that you are going increase the 'catabolic' effect even more so. Unsure if this is you...? In a catabolic state males will store fat around the abdominals and females will will store fat around the hips and thighs. Eat regualr meals consisting of animal proteins, natural fats and lots of greens to help feed your body with the essential nutrients your body needs to reduce 'catabolism' and increase 'anabolism'.
3. Not enough resistance training
If you want to change your body shape you must use weights.
A. You burn more calories in the session
B. You increase your metabolism for periods up to 72 hours after exercise
C. It has a positive effect on the hormones that are responsible for burning fat.
4. Too many carbohydrates not enough fat
Carbohydrates and 'Non-Essential', Fat are 'Essential' so which one is more important? Having the two together become a problem especially if they are refined or processed carbohydrates. Eat more good fats such as nuts, avocados, olive oil and butter. If you are unsure whether you are eating too many carbs, check your 'Love Handles'!
5. Eating the same foods
Food allergies will cause you to store fat around the abdominals and 'love handles'. Try to eat a variety of different foods over a 7 to 10 day period.
1. Dehydration
You must drink enough water. Around 3-4 litres a day, dehydration can reduce strength and performance in the gym and will make it increasingly hard to shift visceral (abdominal) fat.
2. Not eating enough
Most people just assume that by cutting calories you will burn fat...this is not true. You should focus more on burning more calories than you consume through activity and eating enough of the right foods to promote the correct hormone responses to burn fat. If you do not consume enough 'nutrients' then your body will go into a 'catabolic' state , this state promotes fat storage not fat loss, if you are exercising on top of that you are going increase the 'catabolic' effect even more so. Unsure if this is you...? In a catabolic state males will store fat around the abdominals and females will will store fat around the hips and thighs. Eat regualr meals consisting of animal proteins, natural fats and lots of greens to help feed your body with the essential nutrients your body needs to reduce 'catabolism' and increase 'anabolism'.
3. Not enough resistance training
If you want to change your body shape you must use weights.
A. You burn more calories in the session
B. You increase your metabolism for periods up to 72 hours after exercise
C. It has a positive effect on the hormones that are responsible for burning fat.
4. Too many carbohydrates not enough fat
Carbohydrates and 'Non-Essential', Fat are 'Essential' so which one is more important? Having the two together become a problem especially if they are refined or processed carbohydrates. Eat more good fats such as nuts, avocados, olive oil and butter. If you are unsure whether you are eating too many carbs, check your 'Love Handles'!
5. Eating the same foods
Food allergies will cause you to store fat around the abdominals and 'love handles'. Try to eat a variety of different foods over a 7 to 10 day period.
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