Top Ten Foods for Fat Loss & Body Composition
www.rebornpt.co.uk personal training, Sandbanks brings you a great article from Charles Poliquin on the TOP TEN FOODS FOR FAT LOSS:
Use these ten foods in your diet to support fat loss and get the physique you desire. Assuming you are training regularly, including these foods in a high-protein, relatively low-carb whole food diet will help you get and stay lean, while feeling energized and motivated throughout the day.
Biosignature Modulation..Coming to you in FEB 2013
REBorn Personal training will be bringing you BioSignature Modulation in 2013
Are you sick of being tired, grumpy and overweight?
Are you looking to get more out of life?
Imagine if you could quickly and painlessly delve deep into your biochemical and hormonal make up and formulate rapid responses to anything that may be holding you back.
Imagine if you could identify exactly why you feel so listless in the afternoon, or why you diet and exercise hard and never quite see the results you want.
Imagine too if you could assess the health of your thyroid, your reproductive system, and your tolerance to the stress and the toxicity of busy life without resorting to invasive, time consuming and hideously expensive blood tests.
Blueprint for faster fat loss
BioSignature goes beyond standard body fat testing and REVEALS your BLUEPRINT for FASTER FAT LOSS! This means that your body fat levels and corresponding imbalanced hormones can be effectively managed through a combination of nutrition, exercise, a targeted supplementation program and lifestyle modifications.
For example, the thickness of a person’s umbilical skin fold is a direct reflection of cortisol (the stress hormone) output. A midsection that is fat relative to the rest of the body (again, just think of those people you know with skinny arms and legs and pot bellies) is a sure fire indicator of stress. The bad news is that if stress is left unchecked your body shape will be the last thing on your mind – stress is a killer. The good news is that once a problem is identified, we can always do something about it.
A trained BioSignature practitioner will develop that plan for you based on YOUR unique biological signature. This means FASTER results and FEWER supplements than is possible with the industry’s typically more random and haphazard approach.
So what is BioSignature Modulation?
BioSignature Modulation is a systematic approach to losing unwanted body fat in specific locations otherwise known as “spot reduction”. The science behind BioSignature Modulation comes from skin fold data Charles Poliquin has gathered over the past 20 years and comparing his data against blood, urine and saliva tests to determine a client’s specific hormone imbalance.
Charles Poliquin has discovered 12 specific sites that can be measured to scientifically determine what hormones need to be optimised and which supplements can be used to achieve rapid results in fat loss.
How can BioSignature Help you?
Whether you suffer from chronically ill health, maybe your over weight or seek improved athletic performance, BioSignature can work for you.
Conditions that respond particularly well include:
- Targeted Fat Loss
- Increase lean muscle mass
- Increase strength
- Better quality of life
- Female and Male Estrogen Problems
- Male Testosterone Problems
- Anti-Aging Therapy
- Protect from cancers and diseases
- Digestive Disorders such as leaky gut syndrome and IBS
- Liver Detoxification
- Low Energy and Adrenal Fatigue
- Heavy Metal Detoxification
- Hypothyroidism (Slow thyroid)
- Insulin Resistance/Type Two Diabetes
- Male and Female Libido Issues
- Depression
- Pre, during and post-natal health
- Eating Disorders (Anorexia/Bulimia)
To get your BioSignature, contact me on james@rebornpt.co.uk or call 01202 671783
Is Aerobic or Anaerobic Training Best For Getting Rid of Belly Fat?
Lose belly fat fast and improve your health by doing strength training and high-intensity intervals. Compelling research shows that the BEST way to get rid of the belly fat is to train with hard but short bursts of exercise, a style that taps into the anaerobic energy system more than the aerobic.
There is overwhelming evidence that belly fat loss is best achieved when exercise is with a high, but varied intensity, and a relatively large volume. However, this does not mean you have to spend hours and hours a day killing yourself in the gym. Less than an hour a few days a week can produce dramatic fat loss if you do it right.
This article will tell you why you burn more fat when you favor anaerobic-style training and give you eight reasons to favor this style of training by lifting weights and doing sprints rather than spending hours on aerobic exercise.
#1: Burn More Belly Fat with Sprint Intervals
A large number of convincing studies show that high-intensity interval training is the best conditioning strategy for losing belly fat. In contrast, one research group that has conducted a number of experiments comparing aerobic and anaerobic training for belly fat loss write, “Disappointingly, aerobic exercise protocols have led to negligible fat loss.”
The reason anaerobic interval training works so much better is that it requires the body to adapt metabolically—your body is forced to burn fat to sustain the level of intensity being asked of it. It also elevates energy use for more than 24 hours post-workout, which has a dramatic effect on belly fat loss.
For example, a 2008 showed that a 6-week program increased the amount of fat burned during exercise by 12 percent and decreased the oxidation of carbohydrates—obviously, a favorable result for losing fat. More impressive, a 2007 study showed that in as little as 2 weeks, active women who performed interval training experienced a 36 percent increase in the use of fat for fuel during exercise.
Interval training is so effective for fat loss because it taps into different energy pathways than aerobic exercise. Simply, aerobic exercise tends to burn carbohydrates first and activate pathways that are degrading to muscle, whereas high-intensity exercise such as weight lifting and sprinting will burn a greater percentage of fat, enhance the body’s production of enzymes involved in fat breakdown, and activate pathways that lead to muscle development.
The other reason anaerobic intervals are superior for belly fat loss is that they increase excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) a huge amount. A 2006 review showed that protocols that are more anaerobic in nature produce higher EPOC values than steady-state aerobic training because the trained muscle cells must rest restore physiological factors in the cells, which translates to a lot of energy expenditure.
#2: Lose Belly Fat With Sprint Intervals: The Proof
The following are examples of the superiority of anaerobic interval training for belly fat loss from the research:
• A 12-week high-intensity interval training program produced a 17 percent decrease in belly fat in overweight young men. Subjects lost 1.5 kg of belly fat and 2 kg of total fat, while building 1 kg of muscle. Fat burning was increased by 13 percent due to the 3-day a week program of 20-minutes of cycling in which the subjects sprinted for 8 seconds and then did 12 seconds of recovery, repeating these intervals for a total of 60 sprints.
• The same 20-minute cycling interval program produced 2.5 kg of fat loss in young women in 15 weeks, and the majority of the fat loss come from the legs and abdominal area. The sprint intervals were compared to a steady-state aerobic program that produced no fat loss.
• A 16-week study had trained athletes perform either a sprint interval protocol or steady-state running four days a week. The sprint interval protocol varied each day, but an example of one of the workouts used was 10 intervals of 30-sec sprints with 90 seconds rest. The sprint interval group lost 16 percent or 1 kg of visceral fat as well as 2 kg of total fat, compared to the endurance group that lost no belly fat, but did lose 1.4 kg of lean mass. The belly fat loss appears to be small, but be aware that subjects were lean, trained athletes to begin with and had less belly fat to lose than overweight subjects.
• An 8-week interval program using both high- and moderate-intensity intervals decreased belly fat by 44 percent in middle-aged men with type 2 diabetes. Subjects increased quad muscle size by 24 percent and improved insulin sensitivity by 58 percent—a dramatic improvement that highlights the other mechanisms involved in belly fat loss (muscle building, insulin health & blood sugar management).
#3: Sprints Take Less Time than Aerobic Exercise
Not only do sprints help you lose MORE belly fat, they help you lose it FASTER and with LESS training time. Repeatedly, studies show that more fat loss is achieved in high-intensity programs that use 20 to 25 minutes of training time than those that use 45 or 50 minutes of aerobic training time.
Scientists write that anaerobic intervals are overwhelmingly preferable to aerobics for producing belly fat loss, and that the estimated optimal dose of aerobic exercise necessary to lose belly fat appears to be 3,780 calories expended per week. This is an enormous volume of exercise that would require 1 hour of moderate intensity aerobic cycling 7 days a week to burn 550 calories a day so that you could lose even a pound a week!
In less than half the time you can get better results with anaerobic training. A 1994 study is indicative of this: Participants did either 20 weeks of aerobic training or 15 weeks of intervals (15 sprints for 30 seconds each) and lost nine times more body fat and 12 percent more visceral belly fat than the aerobic group.
What is so interesting about this study is that the energy cost of the aerobic program over the whole study period was 28,661 calories, whereas for intervals it was less than half, at 13,614 calories. In less time, the interval group lost much more weight—nine times more weight. How do researchers explain it?
Aside from greater fat oxidation and higher EPOC, hormone response plays a major role…
#4: Sprints Improve Hormone Response for More Belly Fat Loss
Sprint intervals and anaerobic exercise in general improve your entire endocrine system. Both training modes enhance the cells’ sensitivity to insulin, making anaerobic training a successful treatment for diabetes.
Perhaps most important, anaerobic exercise also elevates growth hormone (GH) —a powerful fat burning hormone that helps restore tissue and build muscle—much more than aerobic training. GH is released by the body in greater quantities in response to physical stress above the lactate threshold, which is the reason heavy, sprints are so effective.
Another hormone called adiponectin that is released from fat tissue during exercise also helps burn fat. Emerging scientific evidence shows that any time you perform forceful muscle contractions, adiponectin is released, and then your body produces a substance called PGC1 that is like a “master switch” that enhances muscle and metabolic functions, thereby burning belly fat. Naturally, anaerobic training is most effective for increasing adiponectin and PGC1 to burn fat since sprints and especially weight lifting require extremely forceful muscle contractions.
#5: Strength Train to Lose Belly Fat
To get a lean, trim your midsection and lose belly fat, you need to strength train with a high volume, using large muscle groups, and short rest periods. This metabolically intense type of training is fantastic for increasing GH and aiding belly fat loss. This doesn’t mean you have to spend hours and hours a day killing yourself in the gym!
You will get results from a resistance training program that includes the following components:
• Multi-joint lifts such as squats, deadlifts, lunges, split squats, step-ups, chin-ups, and chest presses in every training session. Add isolation exercises only if you have extra time.
• Train with a higher volume—work up to more than 4 sets per exercise. Shoot for 24 to 32 total sets per training session.
• Train with a higher intensity—include some training in the 70 to 85 percent of the 1RM range.
• Include short rest periods (30 to 60 seconds) and always train a “finisher” that requires near maximal effort for more GH response (25 reps of squats or 2 minutes of leg presses, for example).
• Count tempo for every lift so that you apply a specific amount of tension to the muscles. In general, opt for longer (4 second) eccentric tempos and short or explosive concentric tempos.
• Shoot for 3 to 4 hours of total training time per week, which includes resistance training and a few short sprint sessions.
#6: Anaerobic Training Produces Less Cortisol For More Belly Fat Loss
Cortisol is the stress hormone that is elevated when you are under both physical and psychological stress. Research shows cortisol is chronically higher in endurance athletes—one study found that aerobic athletes had significantly higher evidence of cumulative cortisol secretion in their hair than controls.
In addition, cortisol is generally elevated more following aerobic training than anaerobic training. Part of this has to do with the fact that strength training and intervals do elevate cortisol, but they also elevate anabolic hormones such as GH and testosterone that counter the negative effects of cortisol.
If GH and testosterone are not elevated, cortisol overwhelms tissue, having a catabolic effect that leads to gradual muscle loss and fat gain. By doing aerobic training without strength training, you will lose muscle, lower your metabolic, rate, and gain fat. Worst of all, high cortisol causes chronic inflammation, which lead to belly fat gain over time—all-around bad news!
#7: Anaerobic Training Is More Fun & Less Boring than Aerobic Exercise
Intervals and strength training take less time and provide much more variety than aerobic training. Not only are you doing many different exercises in a strength training session, but you are pushing yourself to reach new personal bests. When you see how it can transform a fat belly into a lean, cut midsection, you will be that much more motivated to continue!
In addition, although sprint interval training can be mentally challenging, it only requires a short workout and many trainees find intervals less boring than endurance exercise. Plus, most people enjoy feeling powerful and fast from going all out. Get a training partner to help push you through the hard parts and know that by working hard but smart, you will reach your fat loss goal.
#8: Mix It Up with Modified Strongman, Varied Strength Protocols & Sprints
A few more anaerobic training suggestions include the following:
• Try modified strongman training: Do sled training, tire flips, and a heavy farmer’s walk to lose belly fat fast.
• Mix up strength training protocols with circuit training and supersets that use very short rest periods. For example, do supersets with 10 seconds rest when switching from the agonist to the antagonist exercise and 60 seconds between sets. Or, do a “death circuit” of heavy, high volume deadlifts followed by split squats followed by lighter high volume squats with 10 seconds rest between exercises.
• Try a sprint training workout in which you do 20 second all-out sprints with 10 seconds rest in 4 sets of 4 intervals. Rest 3 to 4 minutes between sets.
• Try hill or stair running in which you sprint up as fast as possible and jog down—repeat immediately. Do 8 to 16 reps.
• Try a sprint-endurance workout with six to eight 200-meter sprints (about 30 seconds each) with a 3 to 4 minute recovery.
Want to train for MASS size in this summers packed gyms? Here’s how to..
This also works great for someone with a home gym with restricted surface area. It goes like this::
Monday
Equipment needed: Olympic bar and plates and dumbbells
A. Power cleans from mid-thigh 5 x 4-6, rest 3 minutes between sets. Tempo X0X0
Tuesday
Equipment needed: Chin up station and dumbbells
A-1 Wide Grip Pullups, 5 x 4-6, rest 100 seconds between sets. Tempo 30X0
B-2 One Arm Lean Away Lateral Raises 5 x 8-10, rest 90 seconds between sets. Tempo 30X0
Thursday
Equipment needed: Olympic bar and plates and Power Rack.
A. Paused Front Squats 5 x 4-6, rest 3 minutes between sets. Tempo 32X0
B. Cyclist squats, 5 x 8-10, rest 2 minutes between sets. Tempo 30X0. They are narrow heels elevated squats. Heels are 15 cm apart, and elevated 6-10 cm. Expect to decrease the weight every set.
C. Inertia squats 5 x 6-8, rest 2 minutes between sets. Tempo 22X0. Sent the pins so that are at solar plexus level when your heels are together. Work up in weight on this one. Only the last set should be challenging.
D. Back Squats 1 x 15-20. Tempo 20X0
Equipment needed: Adjustable Bench and Dumbbells
A-1 Incline Dumbbell Press, 5 x 4-6, rest 100 seconds between sets. Tempo 30X0
A-2 Incline Dumbbell Curls 5 x 4-6, rest 100 seconds between sets. Tempo 30X0
B-1 Flat Dumbbell Presses, 4 x 8-12, rest 90 seconds between sets. Tempo 30X0
B-2 Seated Dumbbell Zottmann Curls, 4 x 8-12, rest 90 seconds between sets. Tempo 30X0
Now this will only work if you do it….So stop reading, print it out, stick it on your wall and get TRAINING TODAY!!
Three Tips to Solve Obesity
Americans are some of the fattest people in the world with 33 percent considered obese and 68 percent classified as overweight, but obesity is a problem in many industrialized countries. The UK, Australia, Mexico, and New Zealand all have obesity rates over 20 percent.In the U.S., a quick snapshot of obesity trends show that women are slightly more likely to be obese than men, and 33 percent of children are classified as overweight before they reach the age of 5. People living below the poverty level are more likely to be obese than those above it, and people of color are more likely to be obese than Caucasians.
Why Are They Fat?
You Can’t Out-Train A Bad Diet
1) Aerobic exercise is not the ideal exercise mode for fat loss because it doesn’t increase muscle mass and does not raise metabolism significantly. The common policy solutions promoted by government health organizations to perform aerobic training will not solve the obesity epidemic.
3) Strength training is well known to improve the body’s sensitivity to insulin. Making the body more sensitive to insulin improves energy use, enhancing the metabolism.
Tip #1: Avoid A Calorie Approach to Fat Loss
Avoid the calorie approach to fat loss in favor of a lifestyle in which you eat a diet with a macronutrient profile that improves hormone and chemical transmitter response in the body so that you achieve optimal body composition. By eating more protein and fewer carbs you will increase metabolism, elevate hormone levels that keep your appetite in check, and help you feel physically and mentally sharp. There’s research to prove this, which I’ll get to below, but let’s get the calorie issue out of the way first.
Tip #2: Eat A High-Protein, Low-Carb Diet
Tip #3: Eat Smart Fats and Protein for Better Body Composition and Health
Obesity Statistics by Country. Nation Master. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
Vary the tempo of your lifts for maximum fat burning and strength results.
Vary the tempo of your lifts to lose fat and get more powerful. Manipulating tempo is an easy way to modify the amount of time your muscles spend under a load, making it one of the best tools to help you break through plateaus and drop a few pounds of fat.
A fascinating new study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research shows how varying tempo and load will produce very diverse physiological results. This study compared the effect of performing the upright seated bench press on power, work output, exercise time, energy burned, and excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) using the following four protocols performed to failure:
• Muscular endurance, 55 percent 1RM with a 4141 tempo
• Fast Force endurance, 55 percent 1RM with an explosive tempo
• Maximum Strength, 85 percent 1RM with an explosive tempo
• Hypertrophy, 70 percent 1RM with a 2121 tempo
(Here is a quick description of tempos :
The first and third are the amount of time it takes you to perform the eccentric and concentric portions of the exercise, respectively. The second and fourth are the number of seconds you are advised to pause after. So 2010 requires a 2 second eccentric portion (lowering the weight), no pause at the bottom, a one second concentric portion and no pause at the top.
the ‘X’ implies you perform the action as fast as possible with good form. You typically see this on the concentric (raising the weight) portion of an exercise. )
Results showed that the Fast Force protocol resulted in the greatest power output, followed by the Maximum Strength protocol—a finding that is not surprising since those exercise trials were performed explosively and the others used a controlled, deliberate tempo. Maximum possible velocity and loads in the 30 to 60 percent of the 1RM range will always produce greater output than restricted lifting speed or heavy loads. Still, the fact that the Maximum Strength trial produced the second greatest power output also supports the inclusion of heavy load training for power—it’s not that one tempo is always best, but that you must vary tempo to achieve optimal results.
The Fast Force protocol also resulted in much greater work to be performed than all other protocols. The Maximum Strength protocol was second in work output, but this protocol took the shortest amount of time to complete (only 30 seconds) compared to the Muscular Endurance, which was longest in 105 seconds. The Fast Force and Hypertrophy trials both took about 64 seconds.
Considering that energy is related to the ability to perform work, it can be concluded that the Fast Force protocol requires the highest energy cost, or for practical purposes, it results in the greatest calorie burn. However, the Maximum Strength protocol provides the greatest energy burn for the amount of time spent lifting, again highlighting the value of tempo variation.
One interesting point made by the researchers is that in the Hypertrophy protocol, the amount of work performed was similar to that of the Maximum Strength trial, but the Hypertrophy protocol took much longer to complete, indicating that building muscle is a result of longer exercise duration and the subsequent physiological and metabolic responses produced, rather than mechanical work.
The last thing you should be aware of is that all the tempo protocols produced similar EPOC, which refers to the amount of calories burned following the workout due to an elevated metabolism. Although EPOC was similar, you would achieve best fat loss and body composition by using similar time under tension as with the Fast Force and Maximum Strength protocols since these used the most energy during training, and EPOC can be maximized with higher loads or greater work.
Reference
Buitago, S., Wirtz, N., et al. Mechanical Load and Physiological Responses of Four Different Resistance Training Methods in Bench Press Exercise. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2012. Published Ahead of Print.
Why the Calorie Approach to Weight Loss Doesn’t Work
Restricting calories to lose weight over the long term is more detrimental to your metabolism because it will turn your body into a hormone-induced hunger machine. A study in the New England Journal of Medicinefound that after putting overweight individuals on a ten-week calorie-restricted diet of 550 calories a day, they experienced elevated levels of the hormones ghrelin, which stimulates hunger, and gastric inhibitory polypeptide, which promotes fat storage. Leptin, a hormone that suppresses hunger and boosts fat burning, was profoundly reduced after the ten-week diet and stayed that way for the duration of the one-year study.Take note that after the ten-week diet, participants lost 30 pounds, but due to the way they had severely altered their metabolic hormone responses to food by restricting calories, they regained an average of 15 pounds in the next year.
The Thermic Effect of Food: Calories Are Stupid
A number of mainstream media outlets incorrectly (or stupidly) took the results of a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association proclaiming, “It’s the calories, stupid” that dictate body composition and weight gain. A close look at the study clarifies the misinterpretation and tells us exactly the opposite: it’s primarily the macronutrient content of the food you eat that dictates body composition, but if you overeat every day, then you will get fat.
The study compared the effect of overeating on body composition and fat gain from diets with three different protein contents. The thermic effect of the different diets was also measured, which is the amount of calories required to break down food, synthesize enzymes, and perform metabolic processes.
Participants ate either 5, 15, or 25 percent of their diet from protein with a whopping extra 954 calories a day for eight weeks. All the diets consisted of well over 3,000 calories a day and the macronutrient content was as follows:
All three groups gained the same amount of fat from the overeating—about 3.5 kg. The normal- and high-protein diet groups actually gained 0.2 kgs less than the low-protein group, but this was not statistically significant. What was most interesting was that the low-protein diet group gained the least total body weight because along with the 3.5 kg of fat gain, they lost almost a kilogram of muscle mass. The lack of amino acid building blocks in the diet put them into a severely catabolic, fat-storing state.In comparison, the normal-protein diet group gained 2.9 kg of muscle mass and the high-protein diet group gained 3.4 kg of muscle. Therefore, along with the nearly 3.5 kg of fat they gained, the normal- and high-protein diets did produce more weight gain. But, from a body composition viewpoint, the normal- and high-protein diets were better even though participants gained more total weight than the low-protein group because their percentage of body fat went down.
Most significant, this study shows the extreme variation in the amount of calories burned on a daily basis from eating different proportions of macronutrients. The resting metabolic rate (RMR) is the amount of calories burned at rest during the day, and it’s highly influenced by dietary makeup and the thermic effect of food. The group that ate the low-protein diet experienced a 2 percent drop in their metabolic rate, meaning they burned less calories each day just from eating a low-protein diet.In contrast, the normal- and high-protein diets increased RMR by 11 percent in response to the higher protein intake. This meant that by eating more protein, more of the energy consumed was turned into lean mass, and only about 50 percent of the energy consumed was turned into fat. Researchers estimate that more than 90 percent of the energy consumed in the low-protein group was turned into fat.
Whole and Processed Calories Aren’t the Same Either
A second study shows that the RMR and the thermic effect of eating whole foods is much higher than if you ate the exact same amount of calories from processed foods. This study compared the effect of a whole foods meal with a processed foods meal that contained equal calories and equal macronutrient content.
The thermic effect of the whole food meal was almost double that of the processed food meal. Participants burned 50 percent more calories after eating whole foods! Equally significant is that the participants who ate the processed food meal had their metabolic rates drop below their average RMR during the fourth hour after eating, while the whole food meal group never fell below the RMR. Also the duration of elevated energy expenditure from digestion in the whole food meal group lasted an hour longer than the processed food group.
Still Not Convinced? Check Out What Happened to the Pima Indians
The Pima Indians, natives of Arizona, provide a classic example of how body composition is affected by much more than just the amount of calories ingested each day. The Pima Indians have genotypically evolved eating a low number of calories, primarily from fish, small game, and foods they gathered. As early as 1901, a new “obesity epidemic” was evident among the Pima.
Local scientists who lived in the region were stumped as to why this indigenous group that had previously been “tall and sinewy” were now plagued by widespread obesity. More recent analysis has shown that shortly after the Pima came in contact with white settlers and adopted their foods—both foods that they began to grow such as corn, beans, potatoes, and processed foods like sugar, bread, and eventually soda—obesity became very common as did type 2 diabetes.
Analysis of changes in the Pima diet shows that the Pima were not overeating or ingesting more calories than previously when they adopted the “white man’s” diet of sugar, bread, starchy foods, eggs, and beef rather than fish and small game. Nor was their caloric intake greater than the amount of energy they burned on a daily basis. Rather, the Pima were eating the wrong type of calories for their genotype and it was causing a hormonal response that led to fat gain and diabetes.
For optimal body composition, the solution to any remaining confusion about how to adopt a diet for fat loss is to understand the following:
Running’s Overuse Injuries: Time for a little PREHAB!!
Preventing overuse injuries is more about what you do when you’re not running. The crucial time right before and after your run are key times to take care of your body. But most runners ignore this time and only run.
They’re missing a HUGE opportunity to stay healthy, run more, and reach more of their goals. Consistency is the key to success in running, so injury prevention and consistent training should be a focus of your training.
I used to skip these two crucial windows…
Ten or so years ago – the “dark days” of my running when I was always hurt – I would come back from work, change into my running gear, and I would go for an evening run. Whether it was a workout or easy run, I had the same routine. Work, run, and then eat dinner.
When the run was over, I’d change into dry clothes, get some water, and start cooking. After an hour I was ready to eat and sat in the living room around the coffee table. After too much TV, I went to bed and averaged about 6.5 – 7 hours per night.
And that was it. Do you see the problems with this routine?
If not, let me present eight simple “little things” that you can do before or after your run to keep you healthy.
But first, what’s a running overuse injury?
Overuse Injuries are Trauma
Running injuries are too common among most runners. A few studies have put the annual injury rate as high as 75% – meaning three out of every four runners will get hurt every year and need to take significant time off to heal.
That’s just crazy.
Running injuries are quite simply the result of cumulative trauma to your muscles, tendons, ligaments, or joints. Running puts a lot of stress on your body! Especially if your technique is poor. Take a look at our events on our facebook page to see when our next running club meeting is, here we learn technique through skills and drills to prefect the best running pose
Injuries happen when the cumulative trauma you’re inflicting on your legs exceeds the rate at which you can recover from that damage. So prioritizing recovery is crucial to not only get faster (your body “absorbs” the training when you rest), but to prevent injuries.
The stress-adaptation graph below illustrates how your body reacts to training. There’s an initial training stimulus (like a workout), a dip in fitness when you feel fatigued and sore, but after you rest enough your body rebounds and BOOM! You’re in better shape than when you started.
We see here that stress is a good thing. Don’t be afraid of the words “cumulative trauma” because it’s why we train!
Alex Hutchinson recently wrote in a great column in Outside Magazine:
In our obsession with minimizing exercise damage, we may have lost sight of the reason we exercise in the first place: to force our bodies to adapt and get stronger.
Once we know that some exercise damage is a good thing, running becomes the careful management of that damage. Run long and hard enough to force as much adaptation as possible while recovering as much as you need to stay healthy.
Fortunately, there are specific ways to not only help you get faster, but manage the damage from running. Say goodbye to running overuse injuries.
Self-massage: learn to love it
Muscle soreness and tightness after a long run or workout are common (and of course, desirable). Sometimes it can be helpful for some self-massage – or a professional massage if you can afford one – to help speed the recovery process.
The fancy term is “myofascial release” and it simply means massage. It can help loosen tight muscles, promote healing blood circulation, and break up scar tissue and soft tissue adhesions. If you have any trigger points in your legs (especially tight and tender to the touch), massage can help release that tight spot.
You can perform self-massage on yourself before you run as part of your warm-up. Just make sure you keep the pressure lighter than usual so you don’t make yourself sore. After you run, you can be a little more aggressive.
Get flexible (but not by stretching)
I don’t support static stretching before or after running – it’s just not effective. Sure, some static stretching after you run doesn’t hurt, but recent studies show that it does nothing for injury prevention. And if you think static stretching before or after your run will prevent muscle soreness – think again.
A better way to promote more functional flexibility is with dynamic stretches. These are simple movements you can do both before and after you run to prepare your body for running, improve your range of motion, warm-up, or increase flexibility.
Not sure where to start? Then call us on 01202 671783 or like our facebook page at www.facebook.com/rebornpt and we’ll ping you our dynamic warmup sheets.
Fuel up after you run
After a long run or hard workout your body craves nutrients and fuel. There’s a window of about 30 minutes when your body is very receptive to the carbs, protein, and nutrients in your post-workout meal. Make sure you either plan ahead and have something ready to eat or have easily prepared, like energy bars, protein supplements, or a shake.
My favorite post-run fuel is a banana and a protein shake. I’ll eat this immediately after I finish my workout and then have a full meal about an hour later. If you’re pressed for time, make the protein shake in advance and you can take this recovery meal with you.
During marathon or other hard training, it’s crucial to give your body what it needs after those tough long runs and lengthy workouts. I’m a proponent of eating a significant amount of protein as a distance runner – that’s what helps repair muscle damage.
Get strong in your living room
Many runners think they need a fancy home gym or an expensive monthly membership to get the benefits of strength workouts. That can’t be further from the truth. You can get strong in your living room with a relatively quick workout.
Focus on the basic exercises and you’ll see real results:
- Planks
- Side planks
- Push ups
- Pull ups
- Chin ups
- Bridges
- Lunges
Chill out!
Sometimes you just need some quick recovery. That’s where an ice bath or a targeted ice massage (with an ice cup) comes in. Cooling your muscles helps fight inflammation and can speed recovery by reducing how sore you feel. But as we learned earlier, being sore is a good thing so only use ice baths when you’re really sore.
Some of the research on icing is contradictory and doesn’t show a conclusive physiological advantage. Even so, it’s still a common practice among elite runners and I’m a supporter of icing as an effective way to recover from hard workouts through my own personal experiences.
The best way to schedule your ice baths is to use them after an easy run to focus on complete recovery. You can also ice after a particularly hard workout or long run. While you may inhibit some adaptations gained through the workout itself, if you think you ran too much or too hard then it’s worth it.
For the most part, only elite athletes should worry about the tiny percent of fitness they’re losing from an ice bath. Icing has more benefits than drawbacks for “normal” runners like you and me.
Compress your pain away
I’m a massive believer in the technology, even though it does make me look a little silly!!! Compression socks claim to enhance recovery by increasing blood flow to your feet and lower legs. While you’re running this is a non-starter – your legs are getting as much blood as they possibly can anyways. But at rest, they can help a lot.
Recent research has shown that compression socks increase lactic-acid and heart rate recovery after high-intensity running. Coupled with my personal experience that they work very well (wear them to bed!), then I’m comfortable recommending them to other runners.
The best times to use compression gear is after a tough workout or race when you know you’ll need extra help recovering. They can help boost your lower leg blood flow when normally the blood might pool in your extremities – like during periods of prolonged sitting at work or travel.
The other great time to use compression garments is right before a race. They can help your legs feel better after a day of wearing compression socks so you’re ready to race at your best.
Eat a good diet
Whether you’re a paleo runner, vegetarian marathoner, or a proud “regular diet” omnivore like myself, a good eating plan can be hugely beneficial to your recovery and performance. Put a focus on real food like vegetables, fruit, high-quality meat, fish, nuts, and a small amount of whole grains (don’t go crazy with the whole grains, I’ll be covering carb loading soon, and whether you should or shouldnt).
I have a very simple philosophy when it comes to the perfect runner’s diet and it aligns almost perfectly with Michael Pollan’s famous quote from In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto: eat food, mostly plants, not too much. Keep it simple and don’t worry so much about your food choices. As long as you’re eating real food you’ll be fine.
Get more sleep
Sleep is a runner’s best friend – prioritize it! Have you ever went to bed hours later than you originally intended because you watched a movie you’ve already seen six times? We’ve all done it and then regretted it the next morning when our alarm goes off.
Your body repairs itself when you sleep. It rebuilds your muscles, builds more mitochondria in response to all the training you’ve been doing, and adapts to your running workload. If you don’t rest then you don’t adapt.
And if you don’t adapt, you don’t become a better runner. Do yourself a favor and get the 8+ hours that your body craves.
WHAT IS FAT LOSS?
We store fat in adipose tissue in our bodies — mostly under the skin (subcutaneous) or in the body cavity (visceral), with a small amount in our muscles (intramuscular).
Why is fat loss so important?
We need to lose fat…
As a group, people in most industrialized societies are likely to be over-fat.
This isn’t just a cosmetic problem. Excess body fat can negatively affect nearly every facet of life, including:
- decreased mobility
- poorer emotional health and self-esteem
- increased risk of organ failure
- poorer circulatory health
- increased risk of heart disease
- increased risk of stress fractures
- increased risk of strokes
- increased risk of cancers
- decreased sexual and reproductive health
Fat cells can act as endocrine factories and produce hormones that influence numerous processes in the body — most of which lead to more fat accumulation.
Beyond the health of it all, carrying a lower body fat is often considered more attractive and desirable as the underlying muscle tone is revealed.
Further, carrying a lower body fat is advantageous for many sport competitors (barring sumo wrestlers) as extra fat weight adds drag and additional resistance that must be overcome.
Bottom line: Carrying a lot of excessive body fat makes health, body composition, and athletic performance worse.
…but it’s hard.
Here’s the problem — collectively, we’re not very good at losing fat either.
About 95% of those who are overweight go on repeated diets, only to gain most or all of the weight back within one year. Nearly 70% of the United States is overweight or obese. The percentage of 12 to 17 year olds who are overweight has doubled since 1980.
We need a better solution. Knowing how fat loss works may be helpful.
What you should know
Fat cells are a major storage site for body fat, and are in a continuous state of turnover. Fat metabolism is regulated independently by nutritional, metabolic, and hormonal factors; the net effect determines levels of circulating fatty acids and the extent of body fat.
Fat loss and hormones
Fatty acid release and use requires lower insulin levels and an increase of the hormones glucagon, cortisol, epinephrine, and growth hormone. These “anti-insulin” hormones activate HSL. The other major hormone that influences fat metabolism is thyroxine (thyroid hormone).
After a large feeding, glycogen is synthesized until stores are replenished. If high blood sugar persists, glucose is converted to fatty acids. Amino acids can also be converted to fatty acids. The enzyme necessary for cells to accept triglycerides is lipoprotein lipase.
In the un-fed state, insulin concentrations fall, and the anti-insulin hormones increase. This accelerates fat use.
Fat loss and caloric deficit
When we decrease our caloric intake significantly, the body preserves fat stores very efficiently. Since insulin is low, thyroid hormone production is decreased. With this, resting metabolism is lowered. This can take place within 24 hours of starting an extreme diet.
The body’s response to calorie deprivation makes rebound weight gain all but definite once the diet is finished. Muscle is usually lost, so the body usually becomes fatter.
Fats are more than just a fuel source during rest and lower intensity exercise. Fats restore phosphagens that have been exhausted during high intensity exercise. After intense exercise sessions, oxygen uptake is increased, which allows restoration to pre-exercise conditions (the “afterburn” effect).
Stages of fuel use during fastingFat loss is a complex problem
With our focus on specific nutrients, intense nutrition counseling, dieting and processed food consumption over the past 30 years, body fat levels have also increased. In other words, more information, more dieting, more junk food has given us more fat.
While some of this may seem counter-intuitive, it illustrates the importance of body awareness, avoidance of processed foods, regular physical activity and influential food advertising.
Summary and recommendations
To maintain a low body fat and/or lower body fat:
- Exercise at least 5 hours per week
- Eat whole/unprocessed foods at regular intervals, while being aware of physical hunger/fullness cues
- Sleep 7-9 hours per night
- Don’t engage in extreme diets
- Stay consistent with your habits
- Incorporate non-exercise physical activity
- Ignore food advertising
For extra credit
Aspartame was approved for use in 1981, and while this non-caloric sweetener was hypothesized to help control body weight, since 1980, levels of body fat have increased….stop using, eating or drinking anything with this in.
Other factors associated with lower levels of body fat include:
- nuts
- green tea
- low energy-density foods
- dietary protein
- avoiding refined carbohydrates
- adequate hydration
- dietary fibre
- fruits and vegetables
- regular exercise
- adequate sleep
- a supportive social network
While cortisol can break down muscle tissue, it can also break down body fat.
If you increase physical activity and nutritious food intake, metabolism will increase.
Blaming weight gain on calories is like blaming wars on guns. The diet is not the cause of excessive body fat levels. Rather, it’s the entire lifestyle.
Severe calorie deprivation inhibits the production of serotonin, a brain chemical needed to control appetite and maintain harmony with food.
Time to self evaluate, recap on goals and start making a change.
This year you said to yourself that this “IS” the year you would; make a difference to your health, change your physique, improve your fitness or cleanse your lifestyle.
So now on this Friday afternoon take a good hard look at yourself and self evaluate. Its only the end of January 2012, but already can you truly say that you have given it your all, tried your hardest, made those correct food choices, ran that extra mile, walked from one bus stop earlier, booked a PERSONAL TRAINER, attended a BOOTCAMP, gone through with a DETOX plan…have you done any of the things that will, i promise you, make a difference to who you are.
Can you say, Yes I have ACHIEVED this month?
Well I guess the answer is probably no for some of you, and its a hard pill to swallow but there is no-one else to blame but you. Maybe your lacking in motivation, waiting for next Monday to start your training, don’t know what exercise is best, not sure what food to eat, all of which are fair enough, but come on get off that sofa or from behind that desk and start to take accountability for your health.
Call and book in today, your not going to find the answer at the bottom of your coffee cup or from watching Eastenders.
There are 24hrs in a day, make just 30mins of that your time!
At REBorn we employ staff who completely understand this feeling that you do need a motivator, instructor, coach or support mechanism, that YES you do want to achieve this year, but simply dont know how to.
Well please lets not leave it another month, pick up the phone today and call REBorn on 01202 671783 to book in for your FREE weeks trial in which we will train, coach and guide you towards becoming that person you aspire to.
www.rebornpt.co.uk
REBorn Health Studios, Sandbanks Poole, BH13 7RD
REBorn Weight loss club Poole is here! To join call 01202 671783 today
Thats right guys and girls, REBornpt’s weight loss club Poole has arrived and we’re going to kick it off it style…with a BIGGEST LOSER COMPETITION.
The REBorn Weight Loss club is a 12-week course designed to give you the knowledge and support you need to get to lose weight in 2012 and keep it off for the rest of your life.
The club is much more than a ‘pay-weigh-and go’ weight loss classes. Every attendee is offered a comprehensive lifestyle questionnaire, food diaries to keep track of those little demons, a bespoke exercise plan to follow, professional body composition tests and advice from fully qualified certified personal trainers on simple changes they can make to improve their lifestyle.
You will also get the opportunity to join in our renowned fun packed Beach bootcamp classes on sandbanks beach in poole.
There simple steps that each REBorn Weight loss Club uses to deliver weight loss and health to its customers.
1. FULL BODY COMPOSITION ANALYSIS
Unlike most weight loss clubs and slimming clubs which only weigh and measure you we carry out a comprehensive body analysis to identify your weight, height, chest, waist, hips & thigh measurements, BMI, muscle mass, Body fat & lean muscle %, body water percentage %, visceral fat rating and your basal metabolic rate.
2. IDENTIFY & AGREE YOUR GOALS
Your REBorn Weight loss Club Coach will help you identify clear, achievable personal goals and work with you to ensure you achieve your goals.
3. DEVELOP A NUTRITION PLAN
You will receive a simple, easy to follow diet plan that is exactly right for your body and will enable you to achieve your goals.
4. INTRODUCE EXERCISE CORRECT FOR THE PARTICIPANT AND GOAL
Each member of the club, will have the opportunity to sit down with a qualified personal trainer to outline a bespoke exercise plan for the 12 weeks, this will include cardiovascular, toning, core strengthening and flexibility work. All designed for you, by us.
4. EDUCATION TO ENSURE YOUR WEIGHT LOSS IS PERMANENT
Every week of the course will include simple clear information on all the topics you need to understand to lose weight and keep the weight off! Topics include hydration, calories, fat, protein, metabolism etc and by the end of the course you will not only have achieved your weight loss goal but also be able to maintain a healthy weight for the rest of your life.
Don’t forget your RE:Born Weight loss Club Coach will be with you every step of the way to encourage, support and help you achieve your goals.
So don’t delay, class starts 30th January 2012 call us to book on 01202 671783 today
Jurassic Coast Challenge 2012…oh dear what have i got myself into?
For my sins i have entered the Jurassic Coast Challenge this March (2012).
The challenge is a 3 marathon in 3 day event run over the Jurassic coast, it is the mother of all hilly runs. The 2012 course is being run from Studland to Charmouth.
The run is 78.6 miles, approximately a 26.2 mile marathon each day.
Here is a breakdown of the 3 days.
DAY ONE:
Starts off with a pleasant jog along the beach of Studland Bay, past Old Harry rocks , through Swanage and straight into some tough coastal running along the South West Coast Path. Houns – tout Cliff provides the first real climb of the day followed by more climbing on Tyenham Cap and Worbarrow. The finish of the First day is Lulworth Cove where you will be treated to a sneak preview of the next days ‘warm up’ climb beginning day 2.
DAY TWO:
Sees runners (and walkers…not me I HOPE!) enjoy the delights of Durdle Door with steep ascents and descents. The course starts to level off half way in to Day 2 after Ringstead Bay. Weymouth hosts some path appreciated tarmac underfoot followed by a enjoyable lap of Portland to warm down on before finishing at the Event HQ on the Ferry bridge road between Weymouth and Portland.
DAY THREE:
Starts with a challenging and muddy underfoot course along coastal foot path towards Abbotsbury. Fairly flat ground for the next 10km until Eype’s mouth then the hilly fun starts again as the course approaches Golden Cap. Its then a short jog to the finish point just to the East of Charmouth. Where hopefully i don’t end up crossing the line like this:
l will be raising money for Help for Heroes. please click on their logo above and donate as much as you can..
The charity was launched in October 2007 in order to provide direct, practical support to those wounded, sick or injured in the line of duty since 9/11.
All the funds raised to date are either allocated or spent on the direct, practical support of those wounded in the current conflicts.
To date, H4H has funded a variety of projects including the £8m Rehabilitation Complex at Headley Court, a new £3.5m treatment centre for Combat Stress, adaptive adventure training through the Battle Back programme and the creation of a £6m Quick Reaction Fund to support individuals in need.
Some kind words from the last 12 weeks at RE:Born
Here are a couple of words from some of our RE:BORN clients in sandbanks poole.
At RE:Born we run both Bootcamps in Poole and personal training in Poole and here are just a couple of kind words from our clients. We thank you all for your support, and can’t wait to train you all in 2012.
Hi James,
I was walking some distance on the beach with the dog, Snoop, this morning and realised that this would not have been so easy or enjoyable a few months ago. I now have a lot more energy, have lost one and a half stone in weight and gone from a size 14 dress to a 10. This is all due to the regular exercise that you have set out and the diet which i am really enjoying and which is sustainable as i am never hungry. To have achieved this in just over 12 weeks is remarkable, especially as Christmas/New Year has been part of that period. I would recommend your programmes to everyone as I am feeling really great.
Sincerely
Sally
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Dear James,
Happy New Year! And what a New Year I have to go into: After 12 weeks of your guidance in both diet and exercise I have gone from 12st 10 lb to 11st (and that is after putting on only 2lb over Christmas and New Year and having a week’s holiday in Tenerife). However, the reality is that my waist size has gone from 38” to 33” and, as you have measured, my body and organ fat percentages have gone down by over 25%, despite the fact that I seem to be eating more food!.
All of this adds up to feeling fitter, with more energy and suits/trousers that I have not been able to wear for some years are now, are fitting me again. I do understand that this now has to become a way of life but the benefits I feel mean that I do not want to go back to the old style of eating and exercising.
I would recommend this to everyone if they value their long term health.
Regards
Peter
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Dear James
I was flabby 45 and fed up with the on/off diet cycle. I decided to run but the results were slower than I had hoped, so after bumping into a friend who’d attended boot camp with James I resolved to try it.
As a result I am fitter , slimmer and more toned and I am an addict…. I look forward to starting in January
Regards
Julie
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Dear James
‘’I started the RE:born bootcamp several weeks ago now and I am feeling a great improvement not only physically but also mentally! James is a breath of fresh air in his approach to coaching so much so that I have decided to extend my activity through bootcamp for 2012 and possibly start James’ 3 months ‘Lose weight and tone up’ programme. James seems to be the personal trainer I have been looking for in my aim to turn my life around in terms of my over weight situation!’’
Regards
Morgan
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Boot camp has changed my life…. Over Xmas I normally pile on the pounds but this year not so….all hail James…!!!!
All the best
Ian
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Training with James has taken my fitness level to a much higher stage. His professionalism and motivation has been an inspiration for me.
Thank you James for all your hard work and putting up with my moaning!!
Regards
Andrew
Thank you all so very much for your kind words…
If you would like to become one of our clients, or simply have a chat to us regarding your health and fitness goals for 2012, then please call us on 01202 671783 or email us on info@rebornpt.co.uk
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! BOOTCAMPS are back on the beach.
Well its here and we are off to a flyer!!!
Here is the outline for our Bootcamps on Sandbanks Beach, Poole, Dorset.
The REBornpt Bootcamp this new year will be a six week, 4 session per week (Don’t worry you don’t need to attend them all) program run by some of the South’s finest personal trainers.
It’s all about high impact, quick result, fat burning intensity, bringing you all the benefits of a personal trainer at a fraction of the normal cost. The REBornpt BOOTCAMP mixes functional body weight movements, tough, challenging core exercises and peak intensity cardiovascular components.
Our Bootcamps are high energy no holds barred workouts which burns body fat and improves muscle tone faster than any other method of training.
And there’s more….the programs are designed specifically to raise EPOC – Excessive Post Exercise Oxygen Consumption. Sounds complicated, perhaps, but the results are simplicity itself – your metabolism will be boosted to such a degree that you’ll still be burning those calories a massive thirty six hours after you’ve finished your sessions.
There’s even more to REbornpt Bootcamps than a dramatically effective exercise regime. As a REbornpt Bootcamp member you’ll be able to benefit from an array of full nutrition and supplement program, exercise videos, recipes, articles, tips and much more in the way of ongoing support expressly designed to help you achieve extraordinary results in a short space of time.
And please do’nt forget…..REBornpt Bootcamps are all about having awesome FUN, with like minded people!!
Class times:
Monday 6.30am
Thursday 11am
Saturday and Sunday 9am
First class Saturday 7th January 2012….we look forward to see you all very soon.
Call us today on 01202 671783 or email info@rebornpt.co.uk to book in for your first session.
Christmas training calender: 19th December 2011, Day 18
Flaming carol singers everywhere….AGGGHH!!!
If i hear ding dong merrily again, I’m going to go crazy…these songs are in my head continuously!!!
Therefore I’ve had to and I’m sorry but today’s session is based on the 12 days of Christmas….cheesy i know but i have to get this out of my system.
Warm up:
5 – 10min: be as dynamic as possible, work through all your joints, moving in as many planes of movement as possible.
i.e multi-directional lunges, some jops (cross between hop and jogging, google it), some press ups, chin ups and ab work.
The 12 Days of Christmas Main session:
1. Bear Crawl (about 30-40 feet and back)
2. Inchworms (with push-ups)
3. Renegade Rows (3 on each side)
4. Russian Twists (4 per side)
5. Floppy Burpees
6. Double Unders (or 18 single jump ropes)
7. Pullover Sit-ups
8. Dips
9. Box Jumps (or 9 step-ups per side as a mod)
10. Walking Lunges (10 per side- optional with weight)
11. Suicide Push-ups (11 total, not per side)
12. Weighted Squat Jumps (weight is optional)
Then…after the 12-Days of Christmas, there is a one mile run to top it off!
Please feel free to sing this out loud when your training today…..it will help cleanse the soul!!!!
oh and by the way……
Boring disclaimer part.
Here at RE:Born we advise everyone before entering a new exercise programme to get a full health assessment and sign off by the GP, reborn also accept no responsibility of anyone suffering from injury, illness or shear stupidity to hurt themselves with these basic exercises)
Christmas training advent calender: 15th Dec 2011, Day 14
Time for a huge session I think….
Today you’re going to need to brace yourself for a full body, muscular endurance session.
We’ve got some running, some squatting, some pressing, some burping oh yeah some more running and some AB work…
So here goes.
Warm up:
5 – 10min: be as dynamic as possible, work through all your joints, moving in as many planes of movement as possible.
i.e multi-directional lunges, some jops (cross between hop and jogging, google it), some press ups, chin ups and ab work.
Main Session:
1/4 mile run
50 press ups
1/4 mile run
50 squats
1/4 mile run
50 burpees
1/4 mile run
50 jack knifes (25 each side)
1/4 mile run….by this time, if you’ve trained hard enough your legs should be something like this:
Boring disclaimer part.
Here at RE:Born we advise everyone before entering a new exercise programme to get a full health assessment and sign off by the GP, reborn also accept no responsibility of anyone suffering from injury, illness or shear stupidity to hurt themselves with these basic exercises)
Christmas training advent calender: 13th Dec 2011, Day 12
Today, all i want to do is open up a challenge to you…and that is to Defy Gravity and Do a Handstand Pushup!!
What you say that’s crazy…well maybe not, with a little hard work and patience you can get there.
First though we have to admit it: Kicking up to a handstand, lowering the top of your head to the floor and pressing your body-weight back up — even once — requires no small amount of physical power.
The inverted position alone presents a challenge to the stability and mobility in your core and upper back. And once you bend your arms, look out: Your shoulders, triceps and chest have to work for all they’re worth to keep you from whacking your head on the gym floor.
But that’s what makes it a perfect end-of-year fitness challenge. Nail this one and you’ll have bragging rights to arguably the toughest basic body-weight exercise there is. Adam Steer, NSCA-certified personal trainer and body-weight training specialist, shares the step-by-step method he uses to turn clients from inversion-averse scaredy-cats to hand-standing heroes in the space of a few short weeks.
Remember: Even superfit types find this exercise challenging. Strength wise, it’s nearly the equivalent of doing a barbell press with your full body weight. Take your time with this program and realize that getting even a little better at the handstand pushup will translate into greater athleticism in everything you do.
Work the following exercises into your regular routine two to three times a week, advancing to the next phase when you reach the “Ready to Advance” benchmarks described in each section.
The Program
Phase One: The Pike Pushup
• From a pushup position, walk your feet toward your hands a couple of steps, raising your hips high in the air so that your body forms a straight line from your tailbone to your hands.
• Keeping your hips high, slowly bend your arms, lowering yourself until the top of your head lightly touches the floor.
• Reverse the movement, pressing yourself back up to the starting position with as much explosive force as possible.
Sets and Reps: Start off with five sets of five, and work up to three sets of eight to 12.
Ready to Advance: When you can perform three sets of eight to 12 reps.
Phase Two: Pike Hold, Feet on a Box
• Use a box approximately 12 to 24 inches high.
• Locking your arms and bracing through your core, step your feet up onto the box, forming an inverted “L” with your body: hands on the floor, feet atop the box, torso and arms vertical, legs straight and roughly parallel to the floor.
• Use an incrementally higher box, counter top or other stable surface each time you perform the move.
Version One: Hold this position isometrically.
Version Two: Do partial pushups in which you lower your head just a few inches.
Version Three: Perform the full pushup, lightly touching the top of your head to the floor each rep.
Sets and Reps: Version One: Work up to three holds of 60 seconds each.
Versions Two and Three: Five sets of five, working up to three sets of eight to 12.
Ready to Advance: Version One: When you can do three sets of 60-second holds.
Versions Two and Three: When you can do three sets of eight to 12.
Phase Three: Isometric Handstand Hold
• Find a wall space at least 3 feet wide, with plenty of space around.
• Bend at the waist and place your hands flat on the floor, shoulder-width apart, about 12 inches from the wall.
• Keeping your arms locked and both legs straight, kick your dominant leg over your head, as if trying to touch the wall with your heel. When you do this correctly, your hips and non dominant leg will follow, and you will be in a handstand position with both heels against the wall.
• Once inverted, squeeze your legs together, tighten your glutes and core, and push away from the floor with your hands.
• Breathe as normally as possible and hold for as long as you comfortably can, coming down one leg at a time.
Sets and Reps: Two to three holds, each up to 60 seconds long.
Ready to Advance: When you can hold the position for three sets of 60 seconds each.
Phase Four: The Wall-Support Handstand Pushup
• Kick into a handstand against the wall as described at left.
Version One: Perform partial repetitions, lowering your head a few inches to the floor.
Version Two: Perform a full repetition, lowering your head all the way to the floor and pressing yourself back up.
Sets and Reps: Version One: Work up to three sets of eight to 12.
Version Two: Begin with multiple sets of one or two repetitions and go up from there.
Congratulations! You did it. Next year? The freestanding version!
Well that’s it, make sure you guys stick with this and please comment, or send through any photos of your progress to info@rebornpt.co.uk and i’ll post on our wall.
Boring disclaimer part.
Here at RE:Born we advise everyone before entering a new exercise programme to get a full health assessment and sign off by the GP, reborn also accept no responsibility of anyone suffering from injury, illness or shear stupidity to hurt themselves with these basic exercises)
Christmas training advent calender: 12th Dec 2011, Day 11
Time to get outside again and hit a tempo run, and why not, its absolutely gorgeous in Poole, Dorset.
So what is a Tempo run, also known as an anaerobic threshold (AT) run or lactate-threshold run, the tempo run was popularized by Jack Daniels, Ph.D., about a decade ago. Here’s his definition, taken from Daniels’ Running Formula (Human Kinetics): “A tempo run is nothing more than 20 minutes of steady running at threshold pace.” (He goes on to say that 20 minutes is ideal, but may be varied to suit the needs of a particular course.) Without getting too technical, threshold pace is the effort level just below which the body’s ability to clear lactate, a by-product of carbohydrate metabolism, can no longer keep up with lactate production. Daniels states that this pace is, for most people, about 25 to 30 seconds per mile slower than current 5K race pace.
Exercise physiologist and coach Pete Pfitzinger adds: “For very fit runners, the pace is between 15K and half-marathon race pace.” For those fond of using heart rate monitors, Daniels notes that tempo runs are done at 90% of maximum. However, most runners seem to find it easier to use running speed as a guide.
For those who have neither HRMs nor marked courses at their disposal, Daniels stresses that the effort associated with a tempo run should be “comfortably hard”—one that could be maintained for an hour in a race.
So bearing that al in mind, find your runners, hoody and ipod and get moving…….RUN HARD!!!!
Boring disclaimer part.
Here at RE:Born we advise everyone before entering a new exercise programme to get a full health assessment and sign off by the GP, reborn also accept no responsibility of anyone suffering from injury, illness or shear stupidity to hurt themselves with these basic exercises)
Christmas training advent calender: 10th Dec 2011, Day 9
Saturday afternoon its really cold, but very sunny in Sandbanks, Poole
So what better way to spend our time, but to bash out some serious full body, dynamic, plyometic work!!! OH yeah, bet you did think that was coming.
Today we’re just going to do two exercises (Well maybe three, if you count the first exercise as two)
So here goes, today session……..
Warm up:
5 – 10min: be as dynamic as possible, work through all your joints, moving in as many planes of movement as possible.
i.e multi-directional lunges, some jops (cross between hop and jogging, google it), some press ups, chin ups and ab work.
Main session:
27-21-15-9 reps of:
Burpee Pullups
Plyo Pushups
20″ box jumps.
AGGHH, burning quads and massive pump on lats, chest and arms….love it!!
Now time to stretch, go through a whole body stretch routine, inc. tris, bis, quads, hams, hip flexors, claves, lats etc etc, hold each stretch for a 90sec period.
All the best, see ya tomorrow.
Boring disclaimer part.
Here at RE:Born we advise everyone before entering a new exercise programme to get a full health assessment and sign off by the GP, reborn also accept no responsibility of anyone suffering from injury, illness or shear stupidity to hurt themselves with these basic exercises)
Christmas training advent calender: 9th Dec 2011, Day 8
Hi all, well your still here wanting more…..and boy to we love that commitment from our clients and readers.
Today let me introduce you to the wonderfully world of Tabata intervals.
Tabata interval training is one of the most effective type of high intensity interval training, its also the most intense by far, and surprisingly its the shortest in duration, it only last for four minutes… but those four minutes produce remarkable effects.
Lose Fat, Get Fit in four minutes
Tabata training was discovered by Dr. Izumi Tabata and a team of researchers from the National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Tokyo.
Dr. Tabata discovered that this kind of interval training produces much better results than aerobic training. This included building as much muscular endurance as forty five minutes of normal cardio training. In fact in the study the subjects increased their anaerobic capacity by over a quarter as well a substantial increase in their aerobic fitness.
This type of training is very versatile, you can use tabata for weight loss as well most improving performance in most aerobic and anaerobic sport.
The full Tabata program is four minutes long, it will probably feel like the longest four minutes of your life.
If you are going to try it I would recommend going light the first time round otherwise you may be begging people around you to help you off the floor.
Tabata intervals follow this structure:
- Push hard for 20 seconds
- Rest for 10 seconds.
- Repeat this eight times.
The secret to making this effective is in your sprint interval. You have to go all out, so do as many reps as you can in the 20 seconds, then rest for 10 seconds, then go hell for leather for another 20 seconds and so on….
Warm up: 5 – 10 minutes, taking it easy (run, skip, stair climb come on you know what to do to get warm!!)
Pre-stretch: give your quads, hamstring, chest, triceps and calves a good old going over.
Main session:
Tabata pullups
Run 1 mile
Tabata pushups
Run 1 mile
Tabata situps
Run 1 mile
Tabata squats
Run 1 mile
Ok how are you feeling….i know i’m pretty cooked..GOOD JOB!!
Time to cool down, stretch and get some much needed post-workout nutrition.
Boring disclaimer part.
Here at RE:Born we advise everyone before entering a new exercise programme to get a full health assessment and sign off by the GP, reborn also accept no responsibility of anyone suffering from injury, illness or shear stupidity to hurt themselves with these basic exercises)
Christmas training advent calender: 8th Dec 2011, Day 7
Good afternoon you lot, hope after yesterdays mobility session you’re well rested and raring to go!!!
Today i just need about 30 mins of your time, we’re going to be hitting 3 big movements to work the whole body. It’s going to be hard, but oh so worth it.
5 mins to warm up, 20 mins to go at it like you’ve never trained before and then another 5mins to catch your breath.
So here goes:
Complete as many rounds in 20 minutes as you can of:
25 L shaped Pullups
50 Pushups
75 Squats
Now…….
Boring disclaimer part.
Here at RE:Born we advise everyone before entering a new exercise programme to get a full health assessment and sign off by the GP, reborn also accept no responsibility of anyone suffering from injury, illness or shear stupidity to hurt themselves with these basic exercises)
Christmas training advent calender: 7th Dec 2011, Day 6
On the 7th day of December my true love gave to me…….A brand new lovely foam roller!!!
Hooray to that, therefore today’s workout is all about spending some time mobilizing, flexing and releasing any tension and stresses in your body.
A quick note before we start on why we need to rid ourselves of stresses.
When you are mentally stressed and you keep trying to push your body physically during workouts (which is therefore applying more stress to your body), the straw that can break the camel’s back will eventually happen (please read drop a dress size re. Cortisol levels).
“Don’t train unless you can gain.”
This means that unless you can give 100% to your training session, you are wasting your time.
Remember this: you either get better or worse, you never stay the same. If this session is not going to make you better, then you need more rest and you should go for a massage, swim or walk along the beach, get fresh air and sunlight. I do anything to de-stress. Then when you arrive at your next session, you can then truly give it 100% and stimulate a result.
If you are going to be able to give 100% to the training session and get the results you deserve for your efforts, you must make sure you work at reducing stress in your life and improve your health.
AS you can see if it vital that we de-stress and relax as well.
OK lets get going, first all you guys need to do is, stay inside (thank god for that, its freezing in Poole), clear some floor space and get ready for a great mobility and flexibility vitalizer. follow this video, move by move, step by step.
WOW, i know i feel better now and ready for another training session tomorrow.
Boring disclaimer part.
Here at RE:Born we advise everyone before entering a new exercise programme to get a full health assessment and sign off by the GP, reborn also accept no responsibility of anyone suffering from injury, illness or shear stupidity to hurt themselves with these basic exercises)