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Posts tagged “fitness”

Three Tips to Solve Obesity

Avoid falling into the Fat Trap! Start losing fat and improving your health today by understanding the truth of how we get and stay so fat.
Misinformation on how people get fat and how they should lose that fat is everywhere in the media. It’s even been dubbed the “The Fat Trap” because these faulty strategies like eating low-fat and calorie-restricted diets or doing aerobic training for 150 minutes a week don’t work. In some cases these methods make the poor folks who try them even fatter! What is a well-intentioned, motivated person to do?
This article will tell you who is fat and the truth about the source of that fatness. I will provide three tips for clearing away the myths, lies, and misperceptions about fat loss so that you are left with some real strategies you can use to lose the fat and avoid the trap.
Who Is Fat?
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?

People are fat because they eat too many carbohydrates, the majority of which are high-glycemic carbs that persistently raise insulin and drive fat gain in the body. According to the Center for Nutrition Policy of the U.S. Census Bureau, the average American also eats too much everyday—a whopping 2,800 to 3,000 calories a day in 2006.
We’re not talking about highly active athletes and strength trainees who obviously need to consume that amount of calories, but the vast majority of Americans who do limited or no physical activity but still eat 2,800 calories a day. In fact, 25 percent of Americans report no daily physical activity and many more live sedentary lifestyles, while exercising a few days a week, which is not enough to induce fat loss on a 2,800 calorie a day diet. Plus, statistics suggest that 55 to 65 percent of those calories are from high-carb foods, making the source of the obesity epidemic crystal clear. The average American eats 152 pounds of caloric sweeteners such as sugar or high –fructose corn syrup a year!
The daily intake of 2,800 calories is up 21 percent over 1970, and prevalence of being overweight has naturally increased over that time.  The amount of food available for consumption daily in the U.S. is even more appalling: There are 3,900 calories available per person each day but about 20 percent of that gets thrown away and the rest goes into the mouths of Americans to be stored as fat.  About 474 grams of those 3,900 calories  are carbs, 111 grams are protein, and 178 grams are fat.

You Can’t Out-Train A Bad Diet

You can’t out-exercise a bad diet. Although strength training and regular physical activity will provide numerous body composition benefits and make it much easier to lose fat, exercise is not the sole solution to the obesity epidemic. A common misperception is that if you go to the gym everyday or jog a few miles on a regular basis, you can eat whatever you want. This is not the case.You need to eat a diet that promotes sensitivity to the hormone insulin in the body, and eat macronutrient ratios that promote health. I’ll get more into dietary solutions to obesity below, but before we go there, you need to understand three critical points about exercise and fat loss:

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.

2)    Strength training and high-intensity intervals can help you create an energy deficit to lose fat. Training will build muscle and increase your resting metabolic rate, and hard training elevates your metabolism during the recovery period meaning your body burns more energy, further supporting the energy deficit and weight loss.

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.

If you take in too much energy every day, you will get fat. But, all calories are not created equal when you are dealing with a sane and reasonable energy intake. Here’s why:
•    Macronutrient ratios will determine hormone response. Carbohydrates like sugar, bread, and grains all raise the hormone insulin, which when persistently high, leads to fat gain.
•    High insulin also drives up the hormone cortisol, which tells the body to store energy as fat. Carbs drive insulin, which drives fat storage and sleepiness, while protein drives wakefulness and fat for use as fuel.
•    Using a calorie-restriction approach to fat loss puts the body into a fat conserving mode and lowers metabolism. This is the reason people commonly regain all the weight they lost after ending a calorie-restriction diet—they’ve altered their metabolism for the long-term.
•    A recent study showed the futility of the calorie approach to weight loss. A 10-week calorie-restricting diet produced weigh loss but also resulted in severely altered hormone levels that regulate hunger and fat storage. Leptin, a hormone that suppresses hunger was reduced, whereas ghrelin and gastric inhibitory polypeptide, which promote fat storage and stimulate hunger, were elevated for at least a year after then end of the 10-week diet!
•    The thermic effect of food varies greatly. This is the amount of calories required for the body to break down and send different foods where they need to go. Protein requires many more calories to process than do carbs or fat, and nearly all the protein you eat will be used to rebuild tissue and increase muscle mass in the body.

Tip #2: Eat A High-Protein, Low-Carb Diet

Use a “lifestyle” change diet for long-term, sustainable fat loss, rather than a temporary dietary change that induces short-term weight loss but alters hormone response for the worse. Research in the New England Journal of Medicine shows that adopting a low-carb, high-protein diet for the long-term—over two years in this study—leads participants to have better eating habits that support weight loss and maintenance of that new weight.
The study used a simple lifestyle intervention program that taught participants how to eat primarily low-glycemic carbs, with a diet high in protein that did not restrict fat intake. This diet did not restrict calories, but carb intake was limited to 120 grams, mainly from vegetable sources. This diet was compared to a low-fat, calorie–restricted diet of 1,500 calories for women and 1,800 calories for men.
Results showed that participants on the low-carb diet  lost more weight (4.7 kg compared to 2.9 kg in the low-calorie group), and that because the diet improved insulin and hormone response to eating, it induced “a cascade of changes” that led to better maintenance of body composition. The low-carb diet also decreased markers of systemic inflammation, and produced better cholesterol levels and blood sugar regulation than the low-calorie diet.


Tip #3: Eat Smart Fats and Protein for Better Body Composition and Health

A fascinating new Swedish study provides support for flavorful eating, finding that a high-fat, low-carb diet can help you lose fat! The study used two energy-restricted diets of 1,600 calories a day for women or 1,800 calories a day for men with the following macronutrient ratios: the low-carb diet included 50 percent fat, 20 percent low-glycemic carbs, and 30 percent protein; the low-fat diet included 30 percent fat, 60 percent carbs, and 10 percent protein. Participants were all type 2 diabetics, and  researchers measured cholesterol levels, blood pressure, insulin and glucose levels, and weight loss.
Results showed that both groups lost equal amounts of weight after 6 months (4 kgs), and the low-carb diet produced better blood sugar regulation with much lower glucose levels than the low-fat diet. Insulin levels were decreased by 30 percent because the low-carb content produced better blood sugar regulation. This group also had dramatic improvements in cholesterol markers, with the “good” HDL cholesterol increasing more than on the low-carb diet, despite eating 20 percent of the diet from saturated fat. Blood pressure also decreased more from eating a low-carb, high-fat diet than from the low-fat diet.
This study is not first of its kind to show that smart fats aren’t evil, although it may be earth shattering for American nutritionists and “obesity” experts who are counseling low-fat, whole grain eating. Be aware that in order to use a high-protein, high-fat diet for health and body composition, you do have to be smart about it. For example, you can’t start chowing down on trans-fats, processed foods, or grain-fed meats from factory farms. Instead, include the following strategies to use a high-protein, high-fat, low-carb diet for optimal body comp and health:
•    Eat a large portion of your diet from a variety of animal protein sources—20 to 30 percent.
•    Opt for organic grass-fed/finished beef or wild meats for protein.
•    Eat only low-glycemic carbs in the range of 20 to 30 percent of the diet or no more than 100 grams from carbs.
•    Get the vast majority of your carbs from vegetables and fruits.
•    Eliminate all juice, soda, alcohol, and beverages other than water, tea, and coffee.
•    Eliminate all processed foods no matter what the macronutrient ratio.
•    Eliminate all sugar (obviously, since it is high-glycemic) and sweeteners, including low-glycemic ones such as agave.
•    Do not restrict fat intake and consider eating as much as 50 percent of your diet from healthy fats. Ensure you get adequate omega-3 fats.
•    Avoid all trans and hydrogenated fats. When choosing saturated fats to eat, opt for those that contain stearic and lauric acid rather than palmitic or myristic acid because the last two may elevate “bad” LDL cholesterol.
References
Shai, I., Schwarzfuchs. D., et al. Weight Loss with a Low-Carbohydrate, Mediterranean, or Low-Fat Diet. The New England Journal of Medicine. 2008. 359(3), 229-241.
Guldbrand, H., Dizdar, B., et al. In Type 2 Diabetes, Randomization to advice to follow a Low-Carbohydrate Diet Transiently Improves Glycemic Control compared with Advice to Follow a Low-Fat Diet Producing a Similar Weight Loss. Diabetologia. 2012. Published Ahead of Print.
Center for Nutrition Policy, U.S. Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the U.S.  Health and Nutrition Data Tables 215-218. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
Obesity Statistics by Country. Nation Master. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
Kamani, M., Schoute, J., et al. Activation of Central Orexin/Hypocretin Neurons by Dietary Amino Acids. Neuron. 2011. 72, 616-629.
Golan, R., Tirosh, A., et al. Dietary Intervention Induces Flow of Changes Within Biomarkers of Lipids, Inflammation, Liver Enzymes, and Glycemic Control. Nutrition. December 2011. Published Ahead of Print.
Sumithran, P., Prendergast, L., et al. Long-Term Persistence of Hormonal Adaptations to Weight Loss. The New England Journal of Medicine. October 2011. 356(17), 1597-1604.

June 28, 2012 | Categories: bootcamp poole, diet, exercise, fat loss, fizzy drinks make you fat, personal trainer poole, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave A Comment »

Why the Calorie Approach to Weight Loss Doesn’t Work

Here at RE:Born Personal Training Sandbanks, we strive to bring you up to information to help you look, feel and perform better.
Here is an indepth article on why a calorie-based weight loss system doesn’t work for two principle reasons. First, the different macronutrients  produce different hormone responses that directly influence the metabolic rate and whether the body is in a fat burning or storing mode.
Second, the amount of calories—known as the thermic effect of food— required for the body to break down different foods varies greatly. For a simple example, your body burns significantly more calories digesting a meal of animal protein and fibrous leafy greens than a meal of carbs such as pasta with tomato sauce. Even fewer calories are required to digest processed foods like cookies, white bread, or potato chips.
Macronutrients Dictate Hormone Responses
The first part of the faulty calorie system of weight loss is that the macronutrient ratios of your diet dictate hormone response. Carbohydrates, particularly those with a higher glycemic index, immediately increase the level of the hormone insulin. When you eat a lot of carbs—as is common in calorie-counting diets in which a person eats low-fat, high carb-foods—you will be consistently driving up insulin. Chronically elevated insulin makes the cells resistant to the insulin, which drives up levels of the stress hormone cortisol, causing cellular aging. The combination produce fat gain and diabetes.If you were substituting protein and “smart” fats for a portion of those carbs, the protein would be used to restore tissue and build lean mass, while the fats would be used to strengthen cellular lipid layers to improve insulin sensitivity, restore brain health, and build hormones like testosterone. Of course it all goes wrong if you eat trans fats, processed protein or carbs, or foods with additives, dyes, and chemical sweeteners—I address the this below.
Please watch this video before reading on…
Calorie Restriction Alters Hormonal Response

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:

•    a “low” protein diet contained 5 percent protein, 52 percent fat, and 42 percent carbs
•    a “normal” protein diet had 15 percent protein, 44 percent fat, and 42 percent carbs
•    a “high” protein diet had 25 percent protein, 33 percent fat, and 41 percent carbs

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:

•    A protein calorie is NOT the same as a carbohydrate calorie.
•    The thermic effect of different macronutrients varies just as the thermic effect of processed foods is much less than of whole foods.
•    Macronutrient ratios will determine hormone response.
•    The total amount of calories you eat in a day DO matter for body composition—if you are overeating as in the study that had participants eating an extra 954 calories a day, you will gain weight, but whether that weight results in fat or muscle gain depends on macronutrient ratios.
•    If you aren’t overeating, simply altering the macronutrient ratios to manage insulin and the hormone response of food can lead to fat loss and significantly improve body composition.
For more info on Nutrition, Diet, Lifestyle or training, call and book in for a consultation on 01202 671783
Research taken from recent article of Charles Poliquin.

June 25, 2012 | Categories: diet, exercise, fat loss, health, look better, metabolism, personal trainer poole, rapid weight loss | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave A Comment »

Do Sprints and Traditional Strength Training for the Best Abs

sandbanks fitness class
Do sprints and a strength training protocol that works all your muscles to get the best-looking abs for summer. If you’re hoping for a lean body composition and chiseled abs at the beach, forget the 15-minute ab programs in favor of a total body traditional strength program—and throw in some sprint intervals too.
Strength training and high-intensity intervals are well proven to give you lean abs, whereas programs that just train the abs have little pay off. For example, one study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research compared the effect of a six-week abdominal training program in which participants performed seven ab exercises (2 sets, 10 reps) five days a week—a fairly large number of reps, but none of the exercises used weights, meaning the metabolic effect on the body was minimal.
The exercises used were the Bent-Knee Sit-Up, Lateral Trunk Flexion, Leg Lifts, Oblique Crunch, Stability Ball Crunch, Stability Ball Twist, and Abdominal Crunch. Results showed no changes in body weight, body fat, abdominal fat, or waist circumference. Participants did improve abdominal endurance with a one-minute curl up test.
For the amount of time and effort invested in the ab program, participants didn’t get much benefit. A better training program would include deadlifts, squats, bench press, chin-ups, lunges, rows, and overhead press, with one ab exercise a day rounding out the training program. The fat burning effect would be much greater since these lift use larger muscle groups than the abs, while the squats, deads, chins, and lunges all require significant recruitment of the abdominal muscles. Plus, the added benefit of lifting heavy weights will help you lose fat that covers the abs, while improving muscle “definition.”
Another solution is to do sprint intervals to burn excess fat around the middle.
High-intensity intervals have been shown to be even more effective than strength training at burning fat fast. A recent study showed that participants who did a 6-week sprint interval program (4 to 6 sprints for 30 seconds each with 4 minutes rest) lost an impressive 12.4 percent body fat and an average of 3 kg of fat mass. Total training varied from 18 minutes when participants performed 4 sprints to 27 minutes when they did .

If your primary goal is lean abs, a high volume total body program with sprints is the way to go. You’ll gain strength and muscle mass in the obliques, rectus abdominus, and erector spinae, giving you better trunk stabilization and a rock hard stomach.

Call us today on 01202 671783 for more amazing info to get you looking great by this summer.

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May 21, 2012 | Categories: beach body, bootcamp poole, fat loss, performance, personal trainer poole, weight loss | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave A Comment »

WOD April 26th Row, Thrust and Press..

April 26, 2012 | Categories: bootcamp poole, exercise, fat loss, performance, personal trainer poole, weight loss, weight loss supplements | Tags: , , , | Leave A Comment »

Today’s WOD 19th April 2012

April 19, 2012 | Categories: bootcamp poole, fat loss, personal trainer poole, runners strength training, Uncategorized, weight loss | Tags: , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

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)

December 15, 2011 | Categories: burn fat, cortisol, destress, exercise, look better, mens health, running, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave A Comment »

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)

December 12, 2011 | Categories: diet, exercise, fitness, health, performance, Uncategorized, weight loss | Tags: , , , , , | Leave A Comment »

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)

December 9, 2011 | Categories: burn fat, exercise, fitness, health, mens health, nutrition, tabata intervals, weight loss | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave A Comment »

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

20111208-165459.jpg

75 Squats

20111208-165612.jpg

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)

December 8, 2011 | Categories: burn fat, cortisol, destress, diet, exercise, fitness, health, life, mens health, performance, weight loss | Tags: , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Christmas training advent calender: 6th Dec 2011, Day 5

Welcome to session 5

Well today started, until I went to the local supermarket and got bombarded by millions of offers on chocolates, cakes and all things covered in sugar, and witnessed poor people buying these goods.

AGGHHH, what a nightmare!! Too many people, stocking up their trolleys with all this JUNK!!

Why do they bother i ask myself, when it’s reported that 25% of females in the UK are obese, yet people still chose to chow through 100′s and 100′s of small foil wrapped, sugar filled small parcels of diabetes inducing goods…CRAZY.

Anyhow RANT over, for now. let’s get some training done.

Today’s focus is inline with these tins of chocolates, and its based on 1 REP per chocolate.

Therefore let me introduce you to the…….

100’s Workout!

Rules:  You must complete 100 reps for each of the 10 following exercises, keeping absolute perfect form. Each exercise can be broken down into any set/rep count for example: 4 sets of 25 reps, 5 sets of 20 reps, 10 sets of 10 reps.

1-  Basic squats
2- One-leg reach crunches (50 each side)
3- Push-ups (can use knee modification)
4- Spiderman plank
5- Burpees
6- Russian twist
7- Bench/chair dips
8- Power jacks
9- Bench crunches
10- V-jumps

Time this session, and remember to record the results. This can be a great benchmark for your fitness level, next time you must do it quicker.

Please post your time below in comments.

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)

December 6, 2011 | Categories: burn fat, chocolate, destress, diet, exercise, fillings, look better, weight loss | Tags: , , , , | 2 Comments »

Christmas training advent calender: 4th Dec 2011, Day 3

Unleash the animal within.

No not the roast dinner you’ve just munched through, your primal animal….primal movements is where its at.

So lets combine a couple for a great all body workout.

This routine assumes some serious base strength, so here are a couple of easier options to the below circuit.  Substitute a plyo pressups (any pop of the hands off the ground is awesome) for the Aztec. You can do handstand push ups instead of the handstand walking (or wall holds). If you can’t do one arm push ups than you can use a standard press up.

Most important aspect though, is to let go of all inhibitions…be an animal, go on ROAR!, i know you want to.

Warm up: 5 – 10 minutes, taking it easy  (run, skip, stair climb, get in the sauna, move move move!!!)

Main Session:

Rest as little as possible between exercises and rest 30-60 seconds between sets.

A1: Sprint – 3 x 50ft


A2: Aztec Push Up – 3 x 10

A3: Handstand Walk – 3 x 20ft

A4: Burpee – 3 x 10

A5: Headstand – 3 x 30-60sec


A6: Alternating 1-Arm Push Up – 3 x 5-10 each side.

Please post your time below in comments.

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)

December 4, 2011 | Categories: alkalise, burn fat, cortisol, destress, diet, exercise, fitness, growth hormone, health, hormones, life, look better, mens health, metabolism, nutrition, paleolithic, performance, running, testosterone, Uncategorized, weight loss | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Christmas training advent calender: 3rd Dec 2011, Day 2

Brrr…..its cold but its great to run in, so….

Get outside and enjoy!!

OK everyone its day two (of many).

Today its simple running, yes RUNNING, don’t be jogging on me now….jogging is so 1980′s.

All you need is some running shoes (barefoot style please Vibram fivefingers would be best), shorts, a hoody, a bottle of water, an iPod and a true belief that you can run and you can run fast.

Today’s workout:

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 and calves a good old going over.

Main session :

4 x 400m (as fast as you possibly can……)

Rest for 1 minute between each 400m.

RUN Forest RUN!!!

Post workout deep stretch: Hold the following stretches for 90 seconds each.

Hamstrings, Glutes, Quads, Hip flexors, and calves.

……and now breath deeply and head home,

giving yourself a massive pat on the back for training hard today. oh yeah, good time now to grab a recovery drink.

Please post your time below in comments.

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)

December 3, 2011 | Categories: burn fat, cortisol, destress, diet, exercise, fitness, health, HGH, life, look better, mens health, metabolism, nutrition, paleolithic, performance, running, Uncategorized, weight loss | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Alkaline or Acid, what PH is your body and does it really matter?

Well i guess many of you reading this, answer the above with a “Don’t know” answer, and I’m not surprised by this as many of us have know idea what is going on in our bodies, let alone know whether our body is Alkaline or Acid.

And frankly, do you know whether it matters or not to be Alkaline or Acid.

This is why i have put together this post to hopefully get across why it is essential for us to check out bodies PH levels.

Why acid – alkaline balance?

Please watch this video first:

Your body must stay alkaline for optimal health, energy and mental clarity. In order to do this your body has to eliminate the by-products of the normal processes of respiration, digestion and energy production, which are all acid. Your body has to work to ensure that it remains in this state of alkalinity.

Therefore in turn we will be able to automatically increase our energy levels, and as a by-product of this your body will become more energized and burn more Kcals!!

If you can detoxify and alkalize effectively, your body will also be able to absorb more oxygen!!

“An alkaline body can absorb up to 20 times more oxygen than an acidic body.” says Dr Otto Warburg, Nobel Prize Winner. He also found that diseased bodies are acidic bodies, which repel oxygen and attract the overgrowth of microorganisms.
As your body becomes acidic, your body’s oxygen levels begin to drop, leaving you too acidic and then you will begin to see the results that this stress causes in health-related symptoms including:

  • Fatigue
  • Poor digestion
  • Weight gain
  • Aches and pains in muscles and joints
  • Excess mucous production causing nasal and sinus congestion
  • Lowered immunity resulting in more frequent colds and flu
  • Increased anxiety and irritability

If you already have certain health conditions this acidity can increase inflammation and the degeneration of soft tissues and bone, which in turn causes further damage. Particularly affected is your body’s ability to build bone. Bone is sacrificed to keep your body alkaline (generally at a pH of higher than 7.2) and this means that you lose vital minerals, not just calcium but other minerals, which make up the structure of bone. If this is happening to your bones what effect might it be having on all your vital organs?

What causes your system to become acid?

Here are some of the most acid-forming foods:

  • A diet rich in processed foods, high in sugar and salt
  • Red meat
  • Chocolate
  • Coffee
  • Wheat, white flour
  • Biscuits and cakes
  • Pasta
  • Cheese
  • Homogenised Milk
  • Ice Cream
  • Soft Drinks
  • Beer

Which foods will encourage your system to become alkaline?

Here are some of the most alkaline-forming foods:

  • Lemons (these are acid on the tongue but become alkaline)alkaline foods
  • Watermelon
  • Limes
  • Grapefruit
  • Mangoes
  • Papayas
  • Asparagus
  • Onions
  • Vegetable juices
  • Parsley
  • Raw spinach
  • Broccoli
  • Garlic
  • Olive oil
  • Herb teas
  • Lemon water

These are at the extremes of the acid-forming and alkaline-forming scales, so between the two there are degrees of each.

If you can include in your diet 250 gms of raw green leafy vegetables per day – say a generous salad with both lunch and dinner – then you will be changing your diet to be much more alkaline. You can, of course, do much more by eating more fruit and vegetables in general, and possibly including a green supplement like Green life, at great tasting GREEN drink.

What else can I do to help balance my body?

Drink good quality water

“Water, water everywhere nor any drop to drink” says the Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner. He was talking about seawater but in our world the quality of the water you drink and the quantity are vital to maintaining alkalinity through correct hydration, efficient elimination and mineral uptake.

Our advice at RE:Born Wellness is to certainly not drink tap water if you can avoid it. Drink at least two litres from a Mini Ioniser water filter to which you can add alkaline salts to is a good recommendation for daily consumption.

Organic food

Your body will become acidic if it is lacking in minerals. Most of us are mineral deficient as, in our modern world, fresh food is grown using chemical fertilizers which produce large glossy looking fruit and vegetables but which are mineral deficient – as the plants have taken up those fertilizers and not the minerals in the soil. So if you can, buy organic, or at least fruit and vegetables which have not been grown with those artificial fertilizers. Growing your own is, of course, an even better option. Not only do you know what you put into the soil, and hence your mouth, but you can pick and eat it immediately.

What to do next….

Our fully qualified trainers at RE:Born all have an in-depth knowledge of nutrition and how food can be your best medicine, so do come down to the RE:Born studio and they will be able to help you decide on your best strategies to develop a more Alkaline and healthier lifestyle.

November 24, 2011 | Categories: alkalise, burn fat, cortisol, destress, diet, exercise, fitness, growth hormone, health, HGH, hormones, life, look better, mens health, metabolism, nutrition, performance, ph level, supplement, testosterone, toxic, Uncategorized, weight loss | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

The essential 6 steps to a better looking, feeling and performing body.


If you want to change the way you look, feel and perform then health is your first priority.

Following these detailed but simple steps will change you for the rest of your life. Don’t leave it to late!

“This is not just living better…This is a “Power Living” regime that will both transform your health, looks AND make your life so much more exciting and energizing.”

Andy: RE:Born client, Bournemouth

6 steps to success!!

1)    Detoxify and Alkalize

2)    Get your nutrition right

3)    Supplement to combat the toxic environment

4)    Get a training plan from a Personal trainer, who you trust and has the knowledge to help you achieve, then start to FEEL results.

5)    Change the program constantly with your trainer and KEEP training so that you start to SEE results.

6)    MAINTAIN all that hard work and live a much healthy, energized and exciting life!!!

Step 1

Detoxify and alkalize:

First please let us understand that the ENERGY which is creating by the body is dependent upon the complex system of cellular respiration that is dependent on oxygen availability. If we understand this then it makes perfect sense to increase the body’s cellular oxygenation?

Therefore in turn we will be able to automatically increase our energy levels, and as a by-product of this your body will become more energized and burn more Kcals!!

If you can detoxify and alkalize effectively, your body will be able to absorb more oxygen!!

“An alkaline body can absorb up to 20 times more oxygen than an acidic body.” says Dr Otto Warburg, Nobel Prize Winner. He also found that diseased bodies are acidic bodies, which repel oxygen and attract the overgrowth of microorganisms.
As your body becomes acidic, your body’s oxygen levels begin to drop, leaving you tired and fatigued. This is what allows fungus, mould, parasites, bad bacteria and viral infections to flourish and gain a hold throughout the body.

The biggest causes of acidity in the human organism are as follows:

• Negative thinking
• Relationship and financial stress
• Tap water, tea, coffee and alcohol
• High animal protein diet
• Dairy foods (including those rubbish whey and casein drinks!)
• Processed sugar (especially carbonated drinks)
• Processed foods
• Cooked food
• Pharmaceutical drugs
• anaerobic exercise

This pretty much covers 99 % of people’s diets. To increase alkalinity in the body, you need the following:

• Positive thinking
• Happy relationship
• Drink alkalized water
• Adopt a 80% raw food diet
• Adopt a 80% alkaline diet e.g. vegetables, fruits
• Get the right dose of sunshine
• Aerobic exercise

At a pH slightly above 7.4 cancer cells become dormant and at pH 8.5 cancer cells will die while healthy cells will live.
Oxygen cannot stick to blood cells if the pH of the blood is too acidic. You can breathe pure oxygen, but if the blood pH is acidic, the oxygen will not be able to be picked up by the blood cells. It is chemically impossible.

Therefore in summary if we understand this then doesn’t it make perfect sense to detoxify and become more alkaline??

Step 2

Balance your Nutritional intake: start building better blood and cells.

“It all starts with what goes in your mouth!

Nutrition is the foundation in changing the way your body moves, feels, performs and looks. With bad nutrition you will create poor biological cells and poor performing hormones therefore giving you little chance of achieving your goals. Keep your intake to levels that will support exercise but not body fat.” James Rufus

Eat like our ancestors taught us to, not as the supermarkets direct us to. Try to eat a variety of foods, keeping as close to nature as possible. Stay away from anything packaged, canned, starchy (potatoes, pasta, rice etc unless you want your blood sugar levels going through the roof, making you produce more insulin and store fat) or freezed dried…etc

Making the change is a conscious effort, and only you can make for yourself.

Follow a diet that is balanced and based around a 40% carbohydrate, 30% protein and 30% fat. (but make sure you get your carbohydrates from vegetables and fruit).

or make it simple to the eye, 1/3 of your plate protein, 2/3 of your plate carbs and a dash of good fats (see below). this will allow you to control your insulin (storage hormone) from your carbs and the Glucagon (release hormone) from your proteins which stimulates the liver to release stored carbohydrates from its glycogen stores.

Barbara Cox, CEO and Nutritionalist for NUTRICHEF gives us these amazing top 10 tips!

1: Variety is the Spice of Life

Eating a wide variety of healthy food is essential for good health, so it’s no coincidence that the Japanese (who have the longest life expectancy) eat as many as 100 different foods per week compared to only around 30 for people in the UK. Why is variety so important? The answer is simple: we are complex creatures that have count-less processes going on inside us each and every day, and each of these processes requires a variety of different raw materials, which has to come from our food. Hence the saying, ‘You are what you eat’.

2: Love Your Fruit & Veg.

Fruit and vegetables are not only a great weight loss food and provider of fibre, they are easily the most important kind of food because they provide us with the greatest variety of nutrients.

3: Fish for Nutrients

They’re a great low-fat alternative to red meat and they’re a great source of essential fatty acids (EFA’s), especially omega-3, which are necessary for good brain health, for your cardiovascular system and for fighting illness. Oily fish such as mackerel, salmon, tuna and sardines are particularly good for providing EFA’s and also as a source of vitamin D, a very important disease-fighting antioxidant. Fish is also a good source of calcium.

4: Lose the Wheat and Starch

The problem with wheat is that its constituent protein – gluten – is difficult to digest, which can cause people considerable digestive problems and is also linked to depression.

5: Lose the Dairy

Did you grow up with the marketing slogan ‘Drink a pint of milk a day’? It really worked because millions of us took it as gospel that we couldn’t live a healthy life without dairy. What about calcium? Where do we get it if we don’t consume dairy products? By eating green vegetables such as spinach, broccoli, asparagus and peas. Also by eating fish, nuts and seeds. Try dairy-free ‘milk’ made with oats, quinoa or rice.

6: Take Pride in Your Protein

Good quality protein is essential for growth and repair of cells. So we steer clear of fatty protein, choosing to use fish, lean cuts of lamb and chicken, nuts, seeds and beans.

7: Avoid Artificial Additives & Preservatives! 

We believe strongly that manufacturers who use artificial colours or sweeteners such as aspartame are risking the health of their customers by expecting their bodies to process chemicals that are not naturally found in food. By and large if you don’t recognize it by name then don’t eat it!

8: Not All Fats are Bad

Good fats like omega-3 and omega-6. These are known as essential fatty acids (EFA’s) because we need them in our diet due to the fact that our bodies can’t actually make them. Omega-3 fatty acids in the oils from cold water fish such as mackerel, tuna, salmon, herring and sardines. Omega-6 fatty acids are found in cooking oils such as olive oil, sunflower oil and rapeseed oil.

9: Mind Your Salt & Sugar

The problem with salt is that it raises blood pressure, increasing the likelihood of stroke and heart disease. Sugar acts differently because it is loaded with calories, which, if they aren’t burned off during the day, have to be stored away into fat cells, resulting in weight gain.

10: Seasonal, Local, Organic

Although not always possible in practice, strive to use locally produced, organic ingredients that are in season. Seasonal ingredients are considered best because they are bound to be fresher and, therefore, their nutrient content will be at their maximum levels.

Step 3

Supplement your life to combat the toxic environment we live in.

We live in a toxic world, where our food, water and environment are all polluted by toxic chemicals such as: PCBs, Parabens, Fertilisers, heavy metals (such as lead and arsenic), Pesticides, Nitrates/Nitrites, Fluoride, Oestrogen / Hormones, Cryptosporidium, Chlorine,, Sulphates, Aspartame / Neotame in most diet drinks, Other Artificial Sweeteners Olestra / Olean, Monosodium Glutamate (MSG, hydrolyzed proteins) found in take away chinese etc, Preservatives / Additives, Genetically-Engineered Foods (Many Non-Organic Foods), Non-Organic Foods (Pesticides, Contaminated Sewage Sludge, Hormones), Dairy Foods / rBGH, Alcoholic Beverages (beer, wine), Allergy-Producing Foods, Microwave Oven Cooking, mercury, palladium, Cigarette Smoking / Second-Hand Smoke, household cleaners, personal care products etc, the list goes on and we can’t get away from it all.

Ideally we need to move anyway from the products in the list above, go organic and drink water from a reverse osmosis, mineralising water filter. However for some of us this is not going to happen.

Therefore we must consider supplementing our diets to make sure we combat these toxins. There are a few essential supplements we suggest you look at very seriously:

(Before starting on a supplement plan, we suggest that you book in for a full health appraisal prior to ascertain what areas your body is lacking)

(More detailed blogs will come soon regarding the profound positive effects of the list below)

Alkalizing Salts: Disease thrives in acidity. Health thrives in alkalinity. Neutralise the toxic acidity in your body and re-oxygenate the body up to 20% more.

Vitamin C: Gives your heart and arteries the essential nutrients they need to support repair and regeneration and to fight degenerative disease.

Omega 3s and especially: Heart / Brain Oil:  (see omega 3, blog)

Iodine and selenium and Tyrosine; these are powerful thyroid boosters that help maintain a healthy thyroid, boost the metabolism and raising energy levels.

A Probiotic:  helping to support healthy digestive and immune systems particularly those affected by their hectic lifestyle.

A Green drink:  Get one now!! Choose wisely, you want a powerhouse of natural greens: watercress, spinach, broccoli and kale. This is a phenomenal blend of health-promoting green vegetables for long-term health, energy and vitality.

An Antioxidant drink: A super fruit blend of juicy acai berries, blueberries and blackberries, would be great so its bursting with essential antioxidants to give your body a great defence against damaging free radicals.

A Growth hormone precursor:

A Mix of L – Arginine, L – Glutamine, L – Glycine, Potassium Ascorbate, B6, B12 & Folic acid and Niacin.

Why you ask? Well the good news is that your body must always product some minimal level of HGH or you would not be able to function. The bad news is that as you get past about 20 years old, your body produces less and less HGH each year. By age 60 you will probably have lost 75% of the HGH that your body produced.

If you are a numbers person, here are some average HGH secretion levels:

  • At 20 years old we average 500 micrograms/day
  • At 40 years old we average 200 micrograms/day
  • At 80 years old we average 25 micrograms/day

Human growth hormone and IGF-1 have been shown to play a significant role in:

  • Conversion of body fat to muscle mass
  • Growth of all tissues
  • Energy level
  • Tissue repair
  • Whole body healing
  • Cell replacement
  • Bone strength
  • Brain function
  • Sexual function
  • Organ health and integrity
  • Enzyme production
  • Integrity of hair, nails, skin and vital organs

Basically, anything that goes on in your body is in some way tied to HGH. This is why HGH is often called the “fountain of youth”. Elevated HGH levels are what make you feel young again.

You may see this list as overkill, and state that you can get these essential nutrient from your diet, which I would agree with, IF and it’s a big IF you were eating organic, fresh and varied nutrients everyday, without using household cleaners, personal care products and drinking tap water etc. Unfortunately very few of us can actually achieve this!!

So supplementing should be seriously considered.

Steps 4,5 and 6:

Exercising and de-stressing:

Although the next 3 stages are all similar I hope you’ll read through and understand why I have broken them down into 3 separate stages.

A quick note beforehand we start to talk about the stages is that we must try to rid ourselves of stresses before we take on any exercise.

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.

In regards to the exercising, your plan should consist of the following elements:

(please make sure you book in with a qualified trainer and get signed off by your GP before entering any exercise regime)

Cardiovascular: Bike, run, swim, row, etc,

Make sure it’s done at a high intensity and do it for short periods of time, but do that multiple times. This will cause your body to adapt and change, making you fitter and leaner. NO more running for hours on that treadmill. Hooray I hear you say.

Resistance work: yes weights!!

Adding weights to your session will increase your metabolism, burn more calories, tone or build your muscles and make you look great. Make sure your weights work includes big lifts, such as squats, deadlifts, clean & jerks and bench presses to name just a few. Make sure you have a trainer to help you here.

Gymnastics: no not running round in a leotard,

But using your bodyweight as resistance, like press-ups, pulls ups, sit ups and maybe even a handstand. Making sure your body can move, lift and hold its own weight will make your daily life much easier.

To sum it up, get a personalized exercise programme from a personal trainer, it should be done 3 – 4 days per week, it needs to be constantly varied, and done at a high intensity including some functional exercises (exercises that mimic what you do in your daily life), cardiovascular work and gymnastic elements in as many combinations and patterns as creativity will allow.

This variety of exercise will not only sculpt the body that you desire, but make you ready for anything that life throws at you.

Remember routine is the enemy. Keep workouts short and intense.

Step 4

Getting through the first few days of pain, with little change in body shape.

The first 1-30 Days, starting to FEEL different!
During the first 30 days you will notice your cardiovascular endurance, muscular endurance & strength rapidly increase as your body adapts from an untrained state. This is especially the case if you haven’t exercised regularly in a while.

If improving flexibility was one of your primary goals and you have been working on it, expect it to slowly improve. While you will feel like you have more energy and are getting in shape, your body composition is likely not to significantly change in the first month of training because your body adapts neurologically first.

Step 5

Staying focused and motivated, with the help of others and a great plan.

The next 30-60 Days, starting to SEE change!
During the second month of training you will continue to make improvements in your cardiovascular endurance as well as muscular strength and endurance gains. Although the gains won’t be as rapid as the first month, your personal trainer should be adjusting your program to avoid plateau and keep making progress.

During the second month of training you can expect your body composition to slowly begin to improve provided you have been eating correctly and doing the prescribed exercise during the training sessions and on your own time. Your flexibility will slowly improve as long as you keep working on it by stretching the specific muscles you want to become more flexible.

Step 6

Maintaining the workload and achieving your desired result.

90+ Days onwards, change is here, now to MAINTAIN!
If you maintain your regular exercise with a personal trainer and exercise on your own time you can expect your body composition to continually improve.

From 90 days and beyond improving your fitness assessment results for muscular strength & endurance as well as cardiovascular endurance will gradually become more difficult as you are in a trained state.

If you have been working on flexibility you will start making noticeable progress. Your muscles will feel less tense and you will increase your range of motion about your joints.

The Most Important Thing to Consider: Persistence Pays Off

Achieving results in a fitness program will never be an overnight process. If you are exercising with a personal trainer, putting in exercise on your own time and attempting to eat right, results will come in time.

Basic Results Timeline

  • In the first 30 days of training you will FEEL the difference.
  • In the 2nd 30 Days of training you will be able to SEE the difference.
  • For 60 days and beyond of training your colleagues, family & friends will see the difference. A good time to call up a friend who you haven’t seen in a while!! See what they say about you!

So there we are people, 6 steps to achieving the body, life and performance you desire.

1)    Detoxify and Alkalize

2)    Get your nutrition right

3)    Supplement to combat the toxic environment

4)    Get a training plan from a Personal trainer and start to FEEL results.

5)    Change your program with your trainer and KEEP training and start to SEE results.

6)    MAINTAIN all that hard work and live a much healthy, energized and exciting life!!!

Please feel free to contact RE:Born Wellness on info@rebornpt.co.uk or call 01202 671783 for more information or to book in for our full health appraisal and programming.

October 31, 2011 | Categories: acupressure, alkalise, burn fat, cortisol, destress, diet, exercise, fitness, growth hormone, health, HGH, hormones, life, look better, massage, mens health, metabolism, nutrition, paleolithic, performance, ph level, testosterone, Uncategorized, weight loss | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments »

Paleolithic Diet: Ancient answers to modern problems.

October 21, 2011 | Categories: diet, exercise, health, hormones, mens health, metabolism, nutrition, paleolithic, testosterone, toxic, weight loss | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave A Comment »

Low testosterone vs the BEER belly!!!

OK an article for you guys, or girls read it for your guy.

Are you struggling to lose weight, is your belly growing or have you developed moobs? well then please read on.

You’re a middle-aged man with an expanding waistline and cholesterol levels just edging into the danger zone. Your muscles are a little flabby and so is your sex drive. You’re probably blaming it all on lack of exercise and a little too much wine.

But the problem could be something more insidious – you could have too much of the female hormone oestrogen.

As Professor Richard Sharpe, a senior scientist with the Medial Research Council Human Reproductive Science Unit, explains: ‘Both sexes need to keep their levels of oestrogen and testosterone in balance for good health. There is no absolute level of either for men and women – it is the relative levels that are important.’

The problem is that the balance between our male and female hormones can change. And it seems that men are particularly affected – indeed, over his lifetime a man will have more oestrogen circulating in his body than a woman.

And too much oestrogen is not good – it raises men’s risk of blood clots, encourages middle-aged spread (bad for heart health and diabetes) and possibly even affects their prostate.

The balance between oestrogen and testosterone doesn’t usually cause problems in men until middle age. That’s when their testosterone levels go into a downward spiral.

‘First, you produce less because of general ageing, but to make things worse, more of what you do make is turned into oestrogen,’ explains Professor Ashley Grossman, an endocrinologist at Bart’s Hospital, London.

Too much oestrogen in the body is known to increase body fat. This body fat then pumps out more oestrogen!!! AGGHHH, not good news….plus it’s not just age-related changes in the testosteroneoestrogen balance that affect men – you will also be getting more oestrogen from the environment:

Oestrogen is found in parts per billion in UK waters, we become receptive to these hormones in parts per trillion!!! These hormones are also found along with every other chemical you could imagine, inc.

  • Chlorine
  • Fluorine compounds
  • Trihalomethanes (THMs)
  • arsenic
  • radium
  • aluminium
  • copper
  • lead
  • mercury
  • cadmium
  • barium
  • Hormones
  • Nitrates
  • Pesticides

‘We know that pesticides and other chemicals have oestrogen-like effects,’ says Professor Banks. ‘When you add it all up, it’s clear that men are being increasingly feminised.’

Below we look at a couple of adverse effects high levels of oestrogen have on men.

WEIGHT GAIN: Rising levels of oestrogen encourage the development of male beer bellies.‘Oestrogen encourages fat to accumulate around the central part of the body,’ explains Professor Grossman. ‘The problem is that the fat cells, in turn, produce an enzyme that encourages testosterone to be converted into oestrogen.’

So you end up with even more oestrogen and lower testosterone levels than normal – as well as weight gain, this can lead to tiredness, flabby muscles and reduced libido.

ENLARGED PROSTATE: It’s thought too much oestrogen might contribute to an enlarged prostate, an age related condition where the gland surrounding the man’s urethra grows, affecting urine flow and causing the need to use the lavatory more often at night.

MALE BREASTS: Male breasts are common in puberty, explains Professor Stafford Lightman, an endocrinologist and professor of medicine at Bristol University.

‘At this time, young boys start to produce sex hormones in large quantities for the first time.

‘Normally, the body recovers from this and the breasts vanish without the need for treatment.’ However, in older men the change in hormone balance causes fatty deposits to settle in the breast area, creating ‘man boobs’ or ‘moobs’.

So what is the answer?

Get a personal trainer FAST, one that will prescribe you the correct exercises, not the ones you see the guys in the local gym doing, you know the ones doing the mirror muscle workouts, biceps curls and tricep kickbacks!!! starting training like a coached athlete.

Your programme needs to include:

  1. Compound weight-lifting exercises that train several large muscle groups, and not just one or two smaller muscles. For example squats, deadlifts, cleans and bench presses.
  2. Get the weight right, throwing around  2 kg dumbbells won’t help you effect a rise in testosterone. Start off by using a heavy weight that you can lift only five times. That weight is about 85 percent of your one-repetition maximum.
  3. Do more sets and less reps. Researchers at Penn State determined that this fosters greater increases in testosterone than just one or two sets. Rest a full minute between sets, so you can regain enough strength to continue lifting at least 70 percent of your one-rep maximum during the second, third and forth sets.
  4. Rest, going everyday to the gym, will break your body down. If you overtrain — meaning you don’t allow your body to recuperate adequately between training sessions — your circulating testosterone levels can plunge by as much as 40 percent, according to a study at the University of North Carolina.

Don’t starve yourself.

When you want to trim down quickly, you probably starve yourself. One of the many reasons this stops working in your 30s, when your natural testosterone levels start dropping, is pretty simple: Cutting your calorie intake by more than 15 percent makes your brain think you’re starving, so it shuts down testosterone production to wait out the famine. “There’s no need to reproduce if you’re starving,” explains Thomas Incledon of Human Performance Specialists in Plantation, Fla.

Skip the Atkins Fad

Research suggests that eating a high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet can cramp your testosterone levels. High amounts of dietary protein in your blood can eventually lower the amount of testosterone produced in your testes, says Incledon, who observed this relationship in a Penn State study of 12 healthy, athletic men.

Your protein intake should be about 16 percent of your daily calories, Incledon says. So, if you’re the average 170-pound man who eats 2,900 calories a day, you should eat about 140 grams of protein daily, which is about the amount in two chicken breasts and a 6-ounce can of tuna.

Have Morning Sex

German scientists found that simply having an erection causes your circulating testosterone to rise significantly — and having one in the morning can goose your natural post-dawn testosterone surge. It’s a sure bet you’ll burn a little fat, too.

Make Nuts Your Midnight Snack

Nuts are good for your nuts. Research has found that men who ate diets rich in monounsaturated fat — the kind found in peanuts — had the highest testosterone levels. “It’s not known why this occurs, but some scientists believe that monounsaturated fats have a direct effect on the testes,” says Incledon. Nuts, olive oil, canola oil and peanut butter are good sources of monounsaturated fat.

Drive Home Sober

To maintain a healthy testosterone count — and titanium erections — cut yourself off after three drinks. “Binge drinking will kill your testosterone levels,” warns Incledon. getting drunk can reduce your testosterone by up to 25% for 48hrs!!

Have a Sandwich at 3 p.m.

As any sensible woman knows, the way to put hair on a man’s chest is to fill his stomach. Your body needs a ready supply of calories to make testosterone, so regularly skipping meals or going for long stretches without eating can cause your levels of the hormone to plummet.

Buy the Fried Tortilla Chips, no really you need some FAT!!

If you want to raise your testosterone score, eat a diet that includes about 30 percent fat, and not much less. Your body needs dietary fat to produce testosterone, so eating like a vegetarian aerobics instructor will cause your testosterone levels to sink drastically. This is bad, unless you actually are a vegetarian aerobics instructor.

Stop Surfing the internet at 2 a.m.

Sleeping less than seven to eight hours a night can screw up your circadian rhythm. That’s why it’s no wonder your testosterone levels are higher in the morning after a good night’s sleep.

For more info, or to book your anabolic drive consultation call 01202 671783 or email us on info@rebornpt.co.uk.

Alternatively click on this link and fill out the online form www.rebornpt.co.uk

October 10, 2011 | Categories: cortisol, fitness, health, hormones, mens health, nutrition, testosterone, Uncategorized, weight loss | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave A Comment »

Drop a dress size in 8 weeks, hard work made easy at RE:Born.

drop a dress size

Drop a dress size in 8 weeks.

Such a simple statement, but probably the one that most of our clients and most women around the world will battle with their whole lives.

Dropping a dress size, be it for an event, a special occasion, work, their partner or just maybe actually for themselves, and why not?

Being able to slip into a size smaller (or more) dress can be the most rewarding experience chased by our clients. Who cares what size they were, its all about how they LOOK and FEEL now!

Its this emotional reward that our clients love that has driven us to develop the most detailed, effective and guaranteed to work package that has seen over 100 women hit the dress size of their dreams.

So what do we know that you may not?

Well first we know that 93 – 97% of anyone following a fad diet will fail, sorry its true. There are several reason for this, firstly its so hard to make that behavioral modification in the face of the easy to buy incorrect food choices, secondly in this day and age we also inherently lead sedentary lives and of course the intense media programming telling us to take a magic pill or follow some celebrity and their baby food diet?

In fact there something much more powerful than these environmental stimuli stopping us from losing weight, its our hormones. Especially a powerful one called Cortisol.

Cortisol is a regulator of your blood sugar, energy production, inflammation and immune system. If this is not working in unity with you…GOOD LUCK chasing the fat loss dream.

You’re probably asking yourself a question right now, are my cortisol levels high? Yes is a good guess without meeting you, especially if any of the below applies to you:

  1. You are under any form of stress (did you shout at someone when driving today?)
  2. You have taken or are on any type up drug, be in medicinal or recreational.
  3. You are subject to intense heat, cold or noise daily.
  4. You are training too hard and overexerting yourself.
  5. Suffering from or had a recent trauma.
  6. Currently or have had recently been ill or had an infection.
  7. Worried about something.
  8. Fearful.
  9. Not eating a balanced diet.
  10. Eat fatty foods, eat processed out of a packet meals, eat canned goods.
  11. Drinking coffee, tea, red bull and any other stimulants.
  12. Eat a refined sugary foods.
  13. Using beauty products
  14. etc etc etc

As you can see the list is extensive, all of the above with cause your cortisol levels to rise through the cumulative effect on your stress levels. Continual living in this state will cause your cortisol to contribute to the accumulation of abdominal, hip and thigh FAT, and make it very hard to get rid of.

Believe me when I say that 80% of our clients before they start are following a diet and lifestyle that is putting their cortisol levels through the roof, and its not their fault is how we live to day, our diets are full of toxins, the lifestyles we choose give us undue stresses and we don’t exercise (If we do exercise we do incorrectly, not relative to our goals, ability or at the intensity required to make a difference).

Oh no, I hear you cry, what can I do?

Well look no further, we have an all encompassing, non gimmick, proven package including nutritional coaching, personal training, lifestyle management, supplementation and well being acupressure massage therapy, that will, and please let me stress that again WILL change the way you LOOK and FEEL.

Call us today on 01202 671783 or email info@rebornpt.co.uk for your FREE consultation.

www.rebornpt.co.uk

We are here to help you look great.

RE:Born Wellness

October 5, 2011 | Categories: acupressure, cortisol, fitness, health, hormones, massage, nutrition, Uncategorized, weight loss | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave A Comment »

Omega 3 supplementation for health and to aid weight loss.

Omega 3 (Fish oils)

The modern Western diet has a real deficit of Omega 3 fatty acids. Today we lead generally sedentary lives, not the active hunter-gatherer lifestyle our genetics were designed for. The average diet today is high in saturated foods, trans fats, and foods rich in grains and refined sugars. Our modern diet is also poor in omega-3 fatty acids. (honestly how much fish do you eat?, not fish and chips, good quality fish from non-polluted mercury filled waters!!)

This combination of sedentary life and our modern diet is the prime cause for our epidemic of obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, and coronary heart disease.

So why are Fish oils Omega 3′s so very very important?

Before we answer this question, first we need to understand that being over weight / being obese (A chronic disease) is actually the body being in an inflamed state, due to the adipose tissue (fat tissue) becoming swollen (beer belly, big hips, big bum) and producing TNF IL6 which generate PRO inflammatory cytokines (small cell-signaling protein molecules that are secreted by the glial cells of the nervous system and by numerous cells of the immune system, these are the guys that make you feel ill)

Not only will we feel the psychological effects (do you really know how being well feels) of additional weight but we in turn will have a higher incidence of diabetes, heart disease, certain types of cancer (prostate, colon and breast) and arthritis. To top that off engorged fat cells release more inflammatory proteins in our body that normal fat cells do. That means the more overweight you are the more inflammation your body produces. As a result this leads to more degenerative conditions and pain, such as, fibromyalgia, autoimmune conditions, arthritis, cancers and migraines.

Renowned scientist, Dr. Nigel Plummer, says even depression is linked to inflammation and toxins crossing the blood brain barrier. Inflammation in the blood vessels causes an increase in the incidence of high cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart attack and strokes. In light of this information it makes sense why most often heavier people have a much higher risk of certain diseases. So how can we combat this epidemic and lose weight and consequently reduce the size of fat cells?

Well, we need to detox first by removing all the harmful toxins as much as you can from your diet and surroundings.

GET SOME EXERCISE, EAT, DRINK and LIVE Clean.

Go Organic, eat a variety of foods (50% raw), fresh veg and fruit in abundance, drink filtered water and stop eating processed rubbish!!

and yes of course you’ve got it!! take Omega-3′s, due to their key components both DHA and EPA having the following effect on the body:

DHA: An Omega-3 fatty acid, known for its importance for healthy brain function and cardio protection.

EPA: An Omega-3 fatty acid that helps regulate the pro-inflammatory effects of Omega-6 fats, helping reduce the pain of several agerelated diseases like arthritis.

Omega-3 fatty acids and inflammation:

Fish oil plus gamma linolenic acid (GLA) increase’s the body’s production of good eicosanoids (Anti-Inflammotaries). Therefore taking Omega 3′s will give you an increase in these eicosanoids which will help in the reduction of cytokines (these little buggers are what make you feel ill), they will down regulate the production of arachidonic acid (Bad eicosandoids, this flammatory regulator is PRO-inflammation, BAD news), help smooth out the heart rymthm, reduce inflammation, and will cause the enhanced release of growth hormone from the pituatary gland and this increases lean muscle mass.

The omega-3 fatty acid-rich oils have also been shown in hundreds of studies to lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels, including many studies in diabetics.

They help remind the body to turn inflammatory reactions off when they are no longer needed, therefore helping bringing an end to the inflamed body.

I hope you see from this small article the power of these oil’s, please do not negate the effect and hold off before you start using fish oil supplementation. you only get 1 go at this life, so make it a healthy one!!

FOR MORE INFO ON ALL WEIGHT LOSS, FITNESS, NUTRITION AND HEALTH INFO why don’t you give us a call on 01202 671783 or email us at info@rebornpt.co.uk.

www.rebornpt.co.uk

October 3, 2011 | Categories: fitness, health, nutrition, Uncategorized, weight loss | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

Coconut Oil, super food and fat burner.

Coconut oil.

Why are we not all eating this wonder food?

The benefits of coconut oil truly reach far and wide, but certain components of this tropical oil stand out for their valuable contribution to good health. Lauric acid, a medium-chain fatty acid found mainly in coconut oil, is one of these prized substances. Pure coconut oil contains about 50 percent lauric acid, and is the most abundant natural source of lauric acid available.

How the Body Uses Lauric Acid

When lauric acid is present in the body, it is converted into monolaurin, a monoglyceride compound which exhibits antiviral, antimicrobial, antiprotozoal and antifungal properties. It acts by disrupting the lipid membranes in organisms like fungus, bacteria and viruses, thus destroying them.

The compound monolaurin is an effective treatment for candida albicans and fungal infections like ringworm and athlete’s foot. Monolaurin also specifically targets bacterial infections as well as lipid-coated viruses like herpes, the measles, influenza, hepatitis C and HIV. Researchers in the Philippines have even begun studies to prove the effectiveness of lauric acid against HIV/AIDS because of its strong antiviral properties. Plus, lauric acid is basically non-toxic, which gives it a distinct advantage over modern pharmaceutical drugs that are typically used to fight viruses, bacterial infections and fungal infections.

Without a plentiful source of lauric acid, the body cannot produce monolaurin, and all of these important benefits are lost. Many people who regularly consume coconut oil experience less sickness. Breast milk is the only other natural source that contains such a high concentration of lauric acid, which could explain the drastic decrease of infections of all types in breast-fed babies.

A Missing Element in Today’s Diet

The lauric acid content of foods and infant formulas has been rapidly decreasing over the years. Manufacturers and consumers alike have turned from using coconut oil and have replaced it with cheap vegetable oils, obliterating lauric acid intake in the process.

There is no recommended daily allowance (RDA) for lauric acid, but as a guideline, Dr. Mary G. Enig suggests adults and growing children can benefit from an intake of 10 to 20 grams of lauric acid per day. It’s interesting to note that nursing babies consume up to 1 gram of lauric acid per kilogram of body weight per day.

You can get about two grams of lauric acid from one tablespoon of dried coconut, and quality coconut milk will contain about three and a half grams per two ounces. But coconut oil by far contains the best concentration of lauric acid – about seven grams per tablespoon.

Renowned coconut oil experts like Mary Enig and Bruce Fife recommend the average person eat about three tablespoons of coconut oil each day. This amount will not only provide protection against bacteria and viruses, but it will also increase your metabolism and improve the condition of your skin and hair, in addition to many other benefits.

To reap the full benefits of using coconut oil, choose a high-quality source that offers coconut oil in its best form: organic, cold-pressed and extra virgin.

Call 01202 671783 now to order your coconut oil.

September 29, 2011 | Categories: fitness, health, nutrition, Uncategorized, weight loss | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments »