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Five Reasons Fish Oil Will Make You Stronger, Leaner & Healthier

fishoil5

www.rebornpt.co.uk brings you an excellent article on fish oil from Charles Poliquin, 5 straight forward reasons why you should take more fish oil.

#1: Fish Oil Can Help You Lose Body Fat

Fish oil can help you lose body fat for a number of reasons, some of which are well known, while others are just emerging. First, fish oil provides essential fats because it is made up of omega-3 fatty acids. Essential fats are those which the body can’t produce on its own—they must be eaten—and it must have them for optimal function. Read more here


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.

Top tips to help you lose the fat and get super lean.

Here are some more amazing top tips to help you lose your body fat.

1.    Train using the most “bang for your buck,” multi-joint lifts like squats, deadlifts, bench press, chin-ups, and Olympic lifts.

2.    Avoid isolation, single-joint lifts such as bicep or leg curls unless you have unlimited training time.

3.    Use very short rest periods (10 to 60 seconds)
to trigger the greatest growth hormone response.

4.     Vary the tempo of lifting phases and rest periods
to provide new stimulus for the body to adapt.

5.    To get lean fast, use a hypertrophy-type protocol
(8 to 12 reps, more than 3 sets, 70 to 85 percent 1RM load).

6.    Use a longer time under tension to burn more energy and increase postexercise oxygen consumption
—try a 4-second eccentric and 1-second concentric phase.

7.    Train to create an anabolic response.
Increasing growth hormone is the priority because of its significant lipolytic (fat burning) effects.

8.    Perform circuit training with little rest between sets
for maximal growth hormone response.

9.    For gradual fat loss over a longer period, include strength cycles that favor testosterone release with heavier loads
(up to 95 percent 1RM), slightly longer rest (2 to 3 minutes), and lots of sets.

10.    Work harder.
If you’re not getting results, you’re not working hard enough.

11.    Give priority to training the anaerobic energy system
over the aerobic system when strength training and conditioning.

12.    Do high-intensity sprint intervals for conditioning.
Two examples are 60 cycle sprints of 8 seconds each, 12 seconds rest; or 6 all-out 30-second running sprints on a track, 4 minutes rest.

13.    Be as active as possible in daily life.
Move more: Take regular brisk walks during the day, always take the stairs, park far away in any parking lot, or do your own yard work.

14.    Do relaxing physical activity
instead of sitting in front of a screen: yoga, stretching, foam rolling, martial arts, or walking mediation.

15.    Eliminate all processed foods from your diet
—don’t eat them ever.

16.    Eliminate all trans-fats from your diet
such as margarine and shortening—they MUST be removed from the diet.

17.    Don’t avoid fat.
Research shows that people with diets with 30 to 50 percent coming from smart fats have higher androgens and lower body fat.

18.     Eat smart fat,
favoring the omega-3 fats that come from fish and wild meats.

19.    Take fish oil to boost omega-3 fat intake
and ensure your omega-3 to omega-6 fat intake is balanced.

20.    Eat a diet with high-quality protein—
organic meats will provide the largest “bang for your buck” protein.

21.    Eliminate wheat and avoid grains
in favor of vegetables.

22.    Raise resting metabolic rate
(the amount of calories the body burns at rest) by eating a higher protein diet with 15 to 25 percent of the diet coming from high-quality protein.

23.    Eliminate all high-glycemic carbs
and eat only low-glycemic vegetables and berries.

24.    Eat an antioxidant-rich diet to prevent inflammation,
which leads to fat gain. Try kale, broccoli, cauliflower, bok choy, berries, pomegranates, and cherries.

25.    Non-green veggies that help you lose fat
are colored peppers, eggplant, garlic, onions, mushrooms, hearts of palm, spaghetti squash, and water chestnuts.

26.    Drink a lot of water
(at LEAST 3 liters a day) to stay hydrated and help detox the body.

27.    Avoid alcohol, juice, soda, and sports drinks.
Stick to water, tea, and coffee.

28.    For a radical approach, eliminate all alcohol.

29.    Try acupuncture—
studies have shown it can aid in treating obesity.

30.    Make sure your vitamin D level is over 40 ng/ml.
Take vitamin D if not.

31.    Take a probiotic
to improve your gut health.

32.    Make sure your magnesium level is up to par.
Scientists suggest 500 mg of magnesium a day.

33.    Take a liquid zinc test to see if you can taste zinc.
If not, you are deficient and should take zinc to speed fat loss.

34.    Don’t buy cheap, poor quality supplements
because they will do more harm than good if they are tainted with heavy metals or pollutants.

35.    Take B vitamins, especially if you eat a high-protein diet or take BCAAs
because the extra amino acids take away from the pool of available B vitamins need for detox.

36.    Drink coffee or take caffeine before workouts to increase fat burning
and work capacity—research shows we will self-select heavier loads if we take caffeine before training.

37.    Drink organic green tea
to elevate fat burning and aid in detoxifying the body.

38.    Take carnitine
to help the body use fat for fuel and increase time to exhaustion when training hard.

39.    Take the amino acid taurine
because it lowers the stress hormone cortisol and helps the body digest fat.

40.    Take R-form alpha lipoic acid
because it supports detox and recovery from training.

41.    Use the herb fenugreek with meals
to improve insulin sensitivity and energy use.

42.    Remove body piercings to lose fat fast,
especially belly piercings.

43.    Limit fructose in the diet
because it gets in the way of losing belly fat.

44.    Never eat fructose before workouts
because it blunts fat burning and lowers metabolic rate.

45.    Avoid milk before workouts
because it is very “insulinotropic,” meaning it causes persistently high insulin levels that make you burn less energy.

46.    Don’t drink caffeine after workouts
because it may raise cortisol at the point where you need to clear it for the best fat-burning and recovery effect.

47.    Eat high-quality protein for breakfast.
Avoid cereal and all processed foods.

48.    Eliminate all sugar from your diet.
It’s way more trouble than it’s worth if you want to lose fat.

49.    Make an effort to get enough sleep.
An early-to-bed, early-to-rise sleep pattern has been shown to improve body composition.

50.    Know that you have complete control over what you put in your mouth.
No one ever ate anything by accident.
Well there’s plenty there for you to be getting on with, now read them again and pick out some that you can achieve between now and next week.
Then revisit the blog and pick out some more……sooner than later, believe me you’ll be leaner very soon.

WOD 23rd April 2012 Beach Body Blitz


Today’s WOD 19th April 2012


Today’s WOD (workout of the Day) 18th April 2012


Abdominal training


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.

2007 05 06 world fatness All About Fat Loss

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).

fast phases All About Fat LossStages of fuel use during fasting

Fat 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.


HIIT: The reason why you should choose RE:Born Poole bootcamps.

High intensity interval training, the reason why you will burn more FAT at RE:Born Bootcamps.

So many fat loss methods, so many celebrity fat loss videos, so many weight loss surgeries and i can’t believe it, the highest definition of laziness, there is even weight loss gastric band hypnotherapy!!! What’s that all about……..

So what is best? Well I hate to say it, but nothing beats good old fashioned hard work! Forget prancing around your front room following the latest celebrity in a low impact Pilates session, although this is a start you’ll never reach your maximum FAT loss potential.

So what should you be doing? you should be booking in to join us at RE:Born Bootcamp for HIIT it is the answer to your body composition dreams.

What is HIIT?

High intensity interval training (HIIT) is when you alternate between high and low intensity exercise(s) or between high intensity exercise and a short period of rest.

For example, a short sprint across the Sandbanks beach followed by a walk back to Jazzys is interval training. Or a set of burpees followed by bodyweight rows at the RE:Born Bootcamp.

If you’ve ever participated in HIIT, you know that alternating body weight conditioning exercises for 15 minutes can be a lot more challenging than a jog around the park.

Ok so why is high intensity interval training so important, sorry it gets a bit sciencey now..

It’s physiologically impossible to sustain maximal intensities during exercise for an extended amount of time. This is because of how our bodies use fuel.

A good way to explain these systems to you is to tell you to go outside and run as fast as you can for 20 minutes. Here is what will happen:

Stage 1 – Phosphocreatine

The first 10 to 20 seconds are going great! You’re sprinting like the wind! That’s because you’re using a high-intensity energy source known as phosphocreatine.

Stage 2 – Lactic acid and anaerobic glycolysis

After about 20 seconds, your phosphocreatine starts to run low, and anaerobic glycolysis would dominate. At this point, more lactic acid would be produced and used as a fuel source.

You’re still be running as hard as you can, but you’d be slowing down, and your lungs are working overtime.

If you were a Lance Armstrong, you could probably maintain this for up to 10 minutes. But those who are not well conditioned would need to slow down and even stop and if this is your first time off the sofa, you might even consider throwing up, YUK….however don’t worry this is just due to the change in blood pH levels.

Well, it looks like the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. 20-minute sprint challenge: FAIL.

So why can’t you work at maximal intensity for an extended amount of time?

Oxygen: The molecule that makes the magic

One reason is the supply and demand of oxygen when working so hard, nature is full of trade-offs. In this case, we trade efficiency for intensity.

When you work at a lower intensity (such as plodding along on the treadmill at your gym), aerobic metabolism.

Your body uses oxygen to break down carbohydrate and fat for energy. This is very efficient, but you can’t work at top speed. With aerobic metabolism, you gain efficiency but lose intensity. Back in the caveman days, this would be useful for traveling long distances while foraging for food or water.

On the other hand, when you work at a higher intensity (such as sprinting), anaerobic metabolism.

Your body can’t get oxygen to where it needs to go fast enough. This is very inefficient, but it lets you produce short bursts of speed or high energy — very handy when you’re running away from a sabre-toothed tiger or similar.

So, we have these two systems, both of which have their own advantages and disadvantages. What if we could have our cake and eat it too? (Or, in this case, lose the fat we gained by eating the cake in the first place.)

Enter HIIT.

With HIIT, you alternate short bursts of very intense exercise (such as 10-20 sec of sprinting) with periods of lower intensity (such as 1 min of walking).

  • The higher intensity periods create a metabolic demand that is very effective for long-term fat loss and overall conditioning.
  • The lower intensity periods let you recover and use the aerobic energy system.

What you should know about HIIT

Exercise can range from gentle movements to maximal efforts. HIIT and heavy weights can elevate stress hormones.

Mostly every high intensity physical activity is a state of “crisis” in the body. It endangers oxygen supply to tissues, increases body temperature, reduces body fluids and fuel stores, and causes tissue damage.

Intense exercise creates endocrine and defense reactions that are similar to those elicited by low blood oxygen, high blood carbon dioxide, acidosis, high body temperature, dehydration, low blood sugar, physical injury and psychological stresses.

Hormonally, your body basically freaks out. Then it brings out the big guns to deal with the problem. High intensity exercise stresses the body so much that it’s forced to adapt.

Why HIIT?

HIIT is excellent for:

  • losing body fat (while retaining lean body mass)
  • strengthening the cardiovascular system
  • developing sport-specific energy systems (e.g. training for that England Rugby team)
  • developing “work capacity” (i.e. the ability to tolerate a high level of intensity for a longer period)
  • improving fat and carbohydrate oxidation in skeletal muscle
  • developing “mental toughness”
  • making you a badass exerciser
  • challenging the fast twitch muscle fibres — the fibres that are great for strength, power and looking great

HIIT is extremely efficient. It lets you get a bigger training effect with less time spent.

How to do HIIT

There are many ways to do HIIT. One is to come down to one of our Bootcamp classes for full a varied, motivational, high intensity and safe class or bust it alone with HIIT and remember the following principle: Alternate short bursts of very high intensity with periods of recovery/low intensity, such as…..

Don’t forget: Perform an adequate warm up and cool down when performing HIIT.

People always at this point ask what is HIGH intensity? Well, during your next sprint, envision a great big crazy polar bear chasing you. That should suffice.

So what are you guys and girls waiting for….get out there and smash some intervals.


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)


Hip or Lower Back Pain? better start paying more attention to your feet.

From one time or another, I think we have all felt some form of hip or back pain. If you haven’t you’re lucky….or just lying!

If you have, then trust me the way to sort this out is to aim away from the site of pain and thrust yourself into figuring out what is really going on and where the dysfunction/imbalance that is causing this pain, is originating from. To understand and fix this bio-mechanical malfunction we are going to have to address the way we sit, stand, the way we move in daily life and also realise that so many of our bio-mechanical dysfunctions are not created whilst we’re training.

And that is the key. Everyone thinks that pain, discomfort or spasm occurs while you are training/exercising, but in actuality it’s in your everyday life that your bio-mechanics get thrown off. Ultimately, this compromises your muscular structure and can potentially affect the rest of your life.

Muscles are designed to create and maintain structural integrity in the body.

We have to rely on the structural integrity of the muscles to keep us pain free and allow bio-mechanics to be proper throughout life. Strength, tone, flexibility and hydration are all vital in keeping the muscles healthy.

If you think about it, in order to have structural integrity you must have a solid foundation. I see that foundation as a fully functioning foot with great range of motion; a foot that can support the weight of the upper body no matter what happens. A malfunctioning bio-mechanical chain reaction that begins with the foot can take dysfunction from the lower leg all the way up to the lower back.

The body’s foundation (the foot) is compromised when the soleus muscle in the back of the leg under the calf gets tight and forces you to lose dorsiflection or range of motion in the foot. This happens because the muscles in the lower leg connect in the bottom of the foot, thereby controlling the foot (like a puppet).

When you lose dorsiflection in the foot, the counter muscle on the front of the shin, the anterior tibialis, becomes tight and overworked which forces the knee to go forward. The body’s natural reaction is to adjust for the shift in weight. This creates an unstable platform for the knee and puts added stress on the knee joint. All joints have muscles and tendons that support the functionality of the joint. When the knee joint is compromised, the muscles in the inner, mid, and outer thigh are forced to work harder to maintain the structural integrity of the leg.

When the knees go forward, the butt shifts back. This is when the muscles in the thigh area, the quadriceps, now take a lot of the impact and become overworked. The quads are the biggest muscle group and take the absorption of each step when you run or walk. As the quads become tight they pull up on the patella and because they originate in the pelvic region, the quads will also pull down on the pelvis, forcing an even more dramatic pelvic tilt.

As the pelvis tilts, you may try to lift the upper body to counterbalance the weight. When you try to straighten your upper body and not lean forward, you end up arching your back, therefore, compressing the L4-5 area. The more compression there is on the L4-5 area, the more you compromise the neurological feed to the lower extremities.

Furthermore, when the quads lose their strength and flexibility and become tight and overworked they pull on the pelvis. The opposing muscles/tendons, the IT bands and hamstrings, then lengthen beyond their capacity subsequently creating their own unique aches and pains. Therefore instead of just stretching and massaging the IT bands and hamstrings, you must take the pelvic tilt out of the equation. This will produce better long term results.

Also during this bio-mechanical chain of events, a muscle called the psoas is engaged. The psoas connects in the groin and at T12 in the middle of the back. It unites the front to the back.

When the psoas is strong and flexible, it facilitates good posture and prevents compression on the lower back. On the contrary, when the psoas is challenged it can contribute to the upper body leaning in-front of the pelvis which worsens the compression on the L4-5 area. It also has the capability of compressing the diaphragm consequently compromising your ability to breathe.

Next, the piriformis is a muscle set deep within the glut region. A tight piriformis is a by-product of the pelvic tilt, but more importantly the piriformis can be challenged by the way that you sit.

When you sit, the knees will splay out to the side. As the knees rotate outward, the piriformis will bind up and go into spasm.

As soon as you stand up and walk, the knees come out straight in front of the body, and the piriformis muscle elongates therefore causing pain in the general glute area.

The sciatic nerve runs directly through the piriformis muscle. When the piriformis goes into spasm or tightens it can impinge the sciatic nerve.

If the piriformis and glute region is not managed regularly with massage, a build up of scar tissue and adhesions surrounding the sciatic nerve can compromise the neurological feed to the lower extremities.

Overall, the body’s posture and ability to function properly is influenced by the bio-mechanics and muscular structure. Here you can see the results of bad bio-mechanics and poor weight distribution.

Addressing the lower back independently, you can massage and strengthen the acute area in the back, but fundamentally, you must tackle the bio-mechanical chain to eliminate the root cause of this problem. Basically, you have to redefine the way your foot hits the ground and then eliminate the pelvic tilt.

In conclusion, it is important to remember that every bone has a muscle that surrounds it and every joint has a muscle and a tendon that supports it. If you do not strengthen and create elasticity (with massage) in the muscle, general aches and pains will result. By generating elasticity within the muscle, you are building a sound platform for structural integrity and positive biomechanics.

How to fix this issue, with some daily trigger point therapy and a hockey, cricket or tennis ball.

Well stayed tuned for the how to fix the issues. I will upload a video o my blog very soon.


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

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)


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)


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)


Christmas training advent calender: 2nd Dec 2011, Day 1

Image

Ho, ho ho…..Merry Xmas,

Its the season to be merry, good will to all men and for some of us, a damn good reason to eat like we’ve never eaten before!!

Some of us, will be putting on anything from 1/2 stone to 1 stone, or even more!! Ouch, then we’ll spend the first few months of the year, like every other new resolution sucker, blasting away like that headless turkey from xmas day on some treadmill in a battery farm, some people call health clubs!!

Well hopefully help is at hand, I’ll be posting a new exercise routine for your guys to do everyday up until xmas. so hopefully we can keep that xmas bulge at bay, and start the new year not so far away from our target weights next year..

Please leave feedback, and your results after every session.

Ok, so here goes, first session. nice and easy 3 exercises. make sure you

Warm up:

5 – 10 Minutes of cardio. (go for a run, skipping, fast walk, climb some stairs)

Main session:

3 rounds for time of:

50 Push­ups

50 Sit­ups
50 Squats

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)


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.