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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


Top Ten Foods for Fat Loss & Body Composition

avacadoswww.rebornpt.co.uk personal training, Sandbanks brings you a great article from Charles Poliquin on the TOP TEN FOODS FOR FAT LOSS:

Use these ten foods in your diet to support fat loss and get the physique you desire. Assuming you are training regularly, including these foods in a high-protein, relatively low-carb whole food diet will help you get and stay lean, while feeling energized and motivated throughout the day.

READ MORE ……

 


Is Aerobic or Anaerobic Training Best For Getting Rid of Belly Fat?

Lose belly fat fast and improve your health by doing strength training and high-intensity intervals. Compelling research shows that the BEST way to get rid of the belly fat is to train with hard but short bursts of exercise, a style that taps into the anaerobic energy system more than the aerobic.

There is overwhelming evidence that belly fat loss is best achieved when exercise is with a high, but varied intensity, and a relatively large volume. However, this does not mean you have to spend hours and hours a day killing yourself in the gym. Less than an hour a few days a week can produce dramatic fat loss if you do it right.

This article will tell you why you burn more fat when you favor anaerobic-style training and give you eight reasons to favor this style of training by lifting weights and doing sprints rather than spending hours on aerobic exercise.

#1: Burn More Belly Fat with Sprint Intervals
A large number of convincing studies show that high-intensity interval training is the best conditioning strategy for losing belly fat. In contrast, one research group that has conducted a number of experiments comparing aerobic and anaerobic training for belly fat loss write, “Disappointingly, aerobic exercise protocols have led to negligible fat loss.”

The reason anaerobic interval training works so much better is that it requires the body to adapt metabolically—your body is forced to burn fat to sustain the level of intensity being asked of it. It also elevates energy use for more than 24 hours post-workout, which has a dramatic effect on belly fat loss.

For example, a 2008 showed that a 6-week program increased the amount of fat burned during exercise by 12 percent and decreased the oxidation of carbohydrates—obviously, a favorable result for losing fat.  More impressive, a 2007 study showed that in as little as 2 weeks, active women who performed interval training experienced a 36 percent increase in the use of fat for fuel during exercise.

Interval training is so effective for fat loss because it taps into different energy pathways than aerobic exercise. Simply, aerobic exercise tends to burn carbohydrates first  and activate pathways that are degrading to muscle, whereas high-intensity exercise such as weight lifting and sprinting will burn a greater percentage of fat, enhance the body’s production of enzymes involved in fat breakdown, and activate pathways that lead to muscle development.

The other reason anaerobic intervals are superior for belly fat loss is that they increase excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) a huge amount. A 2006 review showed that protocols that are more anaerobic in nature produce higher EPOC values than steady-state aerobic training because the trained muscle cells must rest restore physiological factors in the cells, which translates to a lot of energy expenditure.

#2: Lose Belly Fat With Sprint Intervals: The Proof
The following are examples of the superiority of anaerobic interval training for belly fat loss from the research:
•    A 12-week high-intensity interval training program produced a 17 percent decrease in belly fat in overweight young men. Subjects lost 1.5 kg of belly fat and 2 kg of total fat, while building 1 kg of muscle. Fat burning was increased by 13 percent due to the 3-day a week program of 20-minutes of cycling in which the subjects sprinted for 8 seconds and then did 12 seconds of recovery, repeating these intervals for a total of 60 sprints.
•    The same 20-minute cycling interval program produced 2.5 kg of fat loss in young women in 15 weeks, and the majority of the fat loss come from the legs and abdominal area. The sprint intervals were compared to a steady-state aerobic program that produced no fat loss.
•    A 16-week study had trained athletes perform either a sprint interval protocol or steady-state running four days a week. The sprint interval protocol varied each day, but an example of one of the workouts used was 10 intervals of 30-sec sprints with 90 seconds rest. The sprint interval group lost 16 percent or 1 kg of visceral fat as well as 2 kg of total fat, compared to the endurance group that lost no belly fat, but did lose 1.4 kg of lean mass. The belly fat loss appears to be small, but be aware that subjects were lean, trained athletes to begin with and had less belly fat to lose than overweight subjects.
•    An 8-week interval program using both high- and moderate-intensity intervals decreased belly fat by 44 percent in middle-aged men with type 2 diabetes. Subjects increased quad muscle size by 24 percent and improved insulin sensitivity by 58 percent—a dramatic improvement that highlights the other mechanisms involved in belly fat loss (muscle building, insulin health & blood sugar management).

#3: Sprints Take Less Time than Aerobic Exercise
Not only do sprints help you lose MORE belly fat, they help you lose it FASTER and with LESS training time. Repeatedly, studies show that more fat loss is achieved in high-intensity programs that use 20 to 25 minutes of training time than those that use 45 or 50 minutes of aerobic training time.

Scientists write that anaerobic intervals are overwhelmingly preferable to aerobics for producing belly fat loss, and that the estimated optimal dose of aerobic exercise necessary to lose belly fat appears to be 3,780 calories expended per week. This is an enormous volume of exercise that would require 1 hour of moderate intensity aerobic cycling 7 days a week to burn 550 calories a day so that you could lose even a pound a week!

In less than half the time you can get better results with anaerobic training. A 1994 study is indicative of this: Participants did either 20 weeks of aerobic training or 15 weeks of intervals (15 sprints for 30 seconds each) and lost nine times more body fat and 12 percent more visceral belly fat than the aerobic group.

What is so interesting about this study is that the energy cost of the aerobic program over the whole study period was 28,661 calories, whereas for intervals it was less than half, at 13,614 calories. In less time, the interval group lost much more weight—nine times more weight. How do researchers explain it?

Aside from greater fat oxidation and higher EPOC, hormone response plays a major role…

#4: Sprints Improve Hormone Response for More Belly Fat Loss
Sprint intervals and anaerobic exercise in general improve your entire endocrine system. Both training modes enhance the cells’ sensitivity to insulin, making anaerobic training a successful treatment for diabetes.

Perhaps most important, anaerobic exercise also elevates growth hormone (GH) —a powerful fat burning hormone that helps restore tissue and build muscle—much more than aerobic training. GH is released by the body in greater quantities in response to physical stress above the lactate threshold, which is the reason heavy, sprints are so effective.

Another hormone called adiponectin that is released from fat tissue during exercise also helps burn fat. Emerging scientific evidence shows that any time you perform forceful muscle contractions, adiponectin is released, and then your body produces a substance called PGC1 that is like a “master switch” that enhances muscle and metabolic functions, thereby burning belly fat. Naturally, anaerobic training is most effective for increasing adiponectin and PGC1 to burn fat since sprints and especially weight lifting require extremely forceful muscle contractions.

#5: Strength Train to Lose Belly Fat

To get a lean, trim your midsection and lose belly fat, you need to strength train with a high volume, using large muscle groups, and short rest periods. This metabolically intense type of training is fantastic for increasing GH and aiding belly fat loss. This doesn’t mean you have to spend hours and hours a day killing yourself in the gym!

You will get results from a resistance training program that includes the following components:
•    Multi-joint lifts such as squats, deadlifts, lunges, split squats, step-ups, chin-ups, and chest presses in every training session. Add isolation exercises only if you have extra time.
•    Train with a higher volume—work up to more than 4 sets per exercise. Shoot for 24 to 32 total sets per training session.
•    Train with a higher intensity—include some training in the 70 to 85 percent of the 1RM range.
•    Include short rest periods (30 to 60 seconds) and always train a “finisher” that requires near maximal effort for more GH response (25 reps of squats or 2 minutes of leg presses, for example).
•    Count tempo for every lift so that you apply a specific amount of tension to the muscles. In general, opt for longer (4 second) eccentric tempos and short or explosive concentric tempos.
•    Shoot for 3 to 4 hours of total training time per week, which includes resistance training and a few short sprint sessions.

#6: Anaerobic Training Produces Less Cortisol For More Belly Fat Loss
Cortisol is the stress hormone that is elevated when you are under both physical and psychological stress. Research shows cortisol is chronically higher in endurance athletes—one study found that aerobic athletes had significantly higher evidence of cumulative cortisol secretion in their hair than controls.

In addition, cortisol is generally elevated more following aerobic training than anaerobic training. Part of this has to do with the fact that strength training and intervals do elevate cortisol, but they also elevate anabolic hormones such as GH and testosterone that counter the negative effects of cortisol.

If GH and testosterone are not elevated, cortisol overwhelms tissue, having a catabolic effect that leads to gradual muscle loss and fat gain. By doing aerobic training without strength training, you will lose muscle, lower your metabolic, rate, and gain fat.  Worst of all, high cortisol causes  chronic inflammation, which lead to belly fat gain over time—all-around bad news!

#7: Anaerobic Training Is More Fun & Less Boring than Aerobic Exercise
Intervals and strength training take less time and provide much more variety than aerobic training. Not only are you doing many different exercises in a strength training session, but you are pushing yourself to reach new personal bests. When you see how it can transform a fat belly into a lean, cut midsection, you will be that much more motivated to continue!

In addition, although sprint interval training can be mentally challenging, it only requires a short workout and many trainees find intervals less boring than endurance exercise. Plus, most people enjoy feeling powerful and fast from going all out. Get a training partner to help push you through the hard parts and know that by working hard but smart, you will reach your fat loss goal.

#8: Mix It Up with Modified Strongman, Varied Strength Protocols & Sprints
A few more anaerobic training suggestions include the following:
•    Try modified strongman training: Do sled training, tire flips, and a heavy farmer’s walk to lose belly fat fast.
•    Mix up strength training protocols with circuit training and supersets that use very short rest periods. For example, do supersets with 10 seconds rest when switching from the agonist to the antagonist exercise and 60 seconds between sets. Or, do a “death circuit” of heavy, high volume deadlifts followed by split squats followed by lighter high volume squats with 10 seconds rest between exercises.
•    Try a sprint training workout in which you do 20 second all-out sprints with 10 seconds rest in 4 sets of 4 intervals. Rest 3 to 4 minutes between sets.
•    Try hill or stair running in which you sprint up as fast as possible and jog down—repeat immediately. Do 8 to 16 reps.
•    Try a sprint-endurance workout with six to eight 200-meter sprints (about 30 seconds each) with a 3 to 4 minute recovery.


LOWER BACK PAIN, why you should treat the cause and not the pain.

Lower crossed syndrome is a common postural distortion that many people deal with on a daily basis.  This usually causes low back pain. This condition is caused by tight lower back muscles. The individual might also have sore knees due to tight leg adductor muscles (muscles that move your legs towards the center of your body.

Lower crossed syndrome is common in people who sit for extended periods of the day, leaning in a slightly flexed position.  This causes the lower back muscles or erector spinae to continually contract to hold the body’s weight upright while the constantly flexed position shortens the muscle length of the iliopsoas and rectus femoris muscles (hip flexors).  Over time these overused muscles adapt and shorten in length leading to muscle tightness.  Low back pain, knee pain and ankle and hip pain are very common symptoms from this condition.

The body responded by abnormally lengthening other muscle groups.  This phenomenon is known as reciprocal inhibition.  This causes major low back pain and pelvic distortion which can cause knee pain, ankle pain, low back pain, inflexibility of the hamstrings and hyperlordosis of the lumbar spine.

Think of your quads (front thigh muscles) versus your hamstrings (back thigh muscles), if you flex one, you should feel the other stretch when you maximally contract. In the end, the shortened tight muscles cause the stretching and lengthening of their antagonist muscles.  This ultimately leads to the weakening of those muscles.

Due to the tightened and lengthened muscles being imbalanced, a person suffering from lower crossed syndrome will typically present with anterior pelvic tilt that is causing low back pain and knee pain. The person will appear to be hunching forward with their pelvis.  They might also have an increased lumbar lordotic curve, also known as an increased lower back arch, which contributes to the anterior pelvic tilt.  Both of these conditions help to further enforce the lower crossed syndrome, resulting in one of the many reasons for lower back pain.

Muscles commonly tight or shortened in lower crossed syndrome include:

  • Iliopsoas
  • Rectus femoris
  • Erector spinae
  • Piriformis
  • Tensor fascia latae (TFL)
  • Leg adductors

The weakened or lengthened muscles include:

  • Abdominal group
  • Gluteal group

Treatment

Remove any trigger points and adhesions with myofasial release and trigger point therapy.  Using foam rollers can work wonders at home

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoHBDim_fzk it band foam roller

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cEaTbwrY5A hamstring foam roller

Stretch hamstrings with PNF

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvOQK8qNi9E&feature=related hamstring pnf

Strengthen Abdominals and Gluteus Maximus

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ld1yQZRCn14 glute pnf

 

PREHAB (Rather than rehab, PREHAB being a proactive method of keeping the body supple, moving and pain free) is a much faster, cheaper and more efficient way of dealing with back pain so get to work today and beat any future back issues, start by booking a full movement assessment at RE:born personal training in Sandbanks.

We will assess and then give you a corrective exercise program to solve your bio-mechanical issues.

Call 07825445333 today to book in.


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.

Vary the tempo of your lifts for maximum fat burning and strength results.

Vary the tempo of your lifts to lose fat and get more powerful. Manipulating tempo is an easy way to modify the amount of time your muscles spend under a load, making it one of the best tools to help you break through plateaus and drop a few pounds of fat.

A fascinating new study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research shows how varying tempo and load will produce very diverse physiological results. This study compared the effect of performing the upright seated bench press on power, work output, exercise time, energy burned, and excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) using the following four protocols performed to failure:
•    Muscular endurance, 55 percent 1RM with a 4141 tempo
•    Fast Force endurance, 55 percent 1RM with an explosive tempo
•    Maximum Strength, 85 percent 1RM with an explosive tempo
•    Hypertrophy, 70 percent 1RM with a 2121 tempo

(Here is a quick description of tempos :

The first and third are the amount of time it takes you to perform the eccentric and concentric portions of the exercise, respectively. The second and fourth are the number of seconds you are advised to pause after. So 2010 requires a 2 second eccentric portion (lowering the weight), no pause at the bottom, a one second concentric portion and no pause at the top.

the ‘X’ implies you perform the action as fast as possible with good form. You typically see this on the concentric (raising the weight) portion of an exercise. )

Results showed that the Fast Force protocol resulted in the greatest power output, followed by the Maximum Strength protocol—a finding that is not surprising since those exercise trials were performed explosively and the others used a controlled, deliberate tempo. Maximum possible velocity and loads in the 30 to 60 percent of the 1RM range will always produce greater output than restricted lifting speed or heavy loads.  Still, the fact that the Maximum Strength trial produced the second greatest power output also supports the inclusion of heavy load training for power—it’s not that one tempo is always best, but that you must vary tempo to achieve optimal results.

The Fast Force protocol also resulted in much greater work to be performed than all other protocols. The Maximum Strength protocol was second in work output, but this protocol took the shortest amount of time to complete (only 30 seconds) compared to the Muscular Endurance, which was longest in 105 seconds. The Fast Force and Hypertrophy trials both took about 64 seconds.

Considering that energy is related to the ability to perform work, it can be concluded that the Fast Force protocol requires the highest energy cost, or for practical purposes, it results in the greatest calorie burn. However, the Maximum Strength protocol provides the greatest energy burn for the amount of time spent lifting, again highlighting the value of tempo variation.

One interesting point made by the researchers is that in the Hypertrophy protocol, the amount of work performed was similar to that of the Maximum Strength trial, but the Hypertrophy protocol took much longer to complete, indicating that building muscle is a result of longer exercise duration and the subsequent physiological and metabolic responses produced, rather than mechanical work.

The last thing you should be aware of is that all the tempo protocols produced similar EPOC, which refers to the amount of calories burned following the workout due to an elevated metabolism. Although EPOC was similar, you would achieve best fat loss and body composition by using similar time under tension as with the Fast Force and Maximum Strength protocols since these used the most energy during training, and EPOC can be maximized with higher loads or greater work.

Reference
Buitago, S., Wirtz, N., et al. Mechanical Load and Physiological Responses of Four Different Resistance Training Methods in Bench Press Exercise. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2012. Published Ahead of Print.


Why the Calorie Approach to Weight Loss Doesn’t Work

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.

Inspiration for us all……


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.

For more information and update fitness info, “like” our facebook page at www.facebook.com/rebornpt


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.

Beach Body Programme. Part 2


Stressed, gaining weight and feeling slugish then get some belly BUSTING probiotics.

Once you’ve read this article, click this link to purchase the best, clinically proven PROBIOTICS on the market.

BUY YOUR PROBIOTICS HERE.

Do you want to lose belly fat? Belly fat is one of the worst kinds of fats because it is a biologically active fat that releases chemicals called adipokines, which lead to more fat gain and muscle loss. Belly fat is very difficult to lose because along with producing those bad chemicals, it slows your metabolism.

Men typically have more belly fat than women—think of the big “beer belly”—putting them at greater risk for diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and the metabolic syndrome. Although beer may lead to greater belly fat gain, it is certainly not the biggest belly fat builder. Rather, high cortisol, poor insulin health, and gastrointestinal problems are greater influences on belly fat gain. Take control of these three factors and you’ll lose belly fat and be much healthier—and you’ll probably feel less stress!

Many people don’t realize that belly fat is not the fat that is right below the skin, which you can grab with your fingers. Rather, belly fat is the common term for visceral intra-abdominal fat—the fat that is deep inside the body behind your abdominal muscles and surrounding your organs. It can even get into your organs, such as your liver and heart, causing a host of bad things to happen.

Emerging research shows that one strategy for losing belly fat is to control insulin health and manage cortisol by taking a probiotic. There is a direct connection between belly fat gain, poor insulin health, and cortisol production, and probiotics have been shown to have rather amazing affects on all three. Indeed, there’s ample evidence that taking a probiotic will directly lead to belly fat loss without going on a diet. We also know that probiotics improve insulin sensitivity in diabetic and healthy individuals, and that probiotics decrease stress, lowering cortisol.

What Are Probiotics?
Probiotics are tiny live bacteria that naturally occur in the gastrointestinal tract. Appropriate levels of these bacteria, commonly called microflora because it sounds nicer, do more than just make sure food passes through you efficiently. Probiotics directly affect nutrient absorption and they lower chronic inflammation, while supporting your body’s ability to produce neurotransmitters for the brain.

In fact, about two-thirds of your neurotransmitters are made in the gut lining, meaning that the major chemicals that are responsible for mood and brain function are produced in the gastrointestinal tract. No kidding, there’s ample evidence that cognitive function and mood will be poor if you have problems with your gut.


How Will Probiotics Help Me Lose Belly Fat?
The fascinating thing about belly fat loss with probiotics is that it starts with the brain. Here’s how it works: if you have an unhealthy gut, you will likely have more stress and anxiety, which leads to the release of stress hormones, such as cortisol. Several studies have shown that stressful events trigger cortisol and lead to the onset of chronic gastrointestinal disturbances. Stomach problems and elevated cortisol directly affect insulin health and leads to belly fat gain.

It’s well established that chronically high cortisol results in fat gain around the middle, and this is explained by how cortisol makes the body insensitive to insulin. One study in the American Journal of Physiologylooked at cortisol levels, insulin sensitivity, and visceral belly fat in men. Men with more belly fat produced more cortisol and had decreased insulin sensitivity than those with less belly fat. Interestingly, subcutaneous fat—the jiggly kind that’s right below the skin was not related to insulin or cortisol. The men who were considered overweight were then put on a high-protein diet with a probiotic for six months and retested. They significantly lost belly fat and total body fat, improved insulin sensitivity, and lowered cortisol. Researchers suggest that less inflammation in the intestines was the source of lower cortisol and weight loss.
A 2010 study in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition further explains how these factors are interrelated. Researchers found that taking the probiotic lactobacillus gasseri for twelve weeks significantly decreased belly fat in subjects by 4.6 percent, and they lost an average of 5.8 square cm of visceral fat. A control group gained 1.4 square cm of belly fat. The probiotic supplement group lost 7.4 square cm of subcutaneous fat as well. Naturally, body fat percentage, body weight, BMI decreased, and the waist-to-hip circumference in the probiotic group improved significantly more than a control group. Researchers were particularly interested in the loss of visceral fat and reduction of waist circumference because a greater percentage of visceral fat and large waist numbers are strongly correlated with metabolic disease risk factors.

Take note that simply eating yogurt with active cultures does not provide enough of the most effective microflora probiotics to induce weight loss and visceral fat reduction. In the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition study, a fermented milk product was used that contained regular active yogurt cultures to which a specific high-powered lactobacillus strain was added. The probiotic group took this version, while a control group took the fermented milk product without any added probiotic. Despite the “naturally” occurring yogurt cultures, the control group lost no fat. Researchers also stress that although the control group’s supplement did contain calcium, conjugated linoleic acid, and amino acids—all of which are thought to be beneficial effects of dairy—they were not effective for inducing weight loss.

It’s supposed that the fat loss occurred because the probiotics inhibit lipid absorption so that fatty acids pass through the body without being metabolized. Plus, probiotics appear to speed overall metabolism, resulting in greater energy utilization. There’s also evidence that taking probiotics leads subjects to eat fewer calories, but this has only been proven in animals and still needs to be tested in humans. In the study described above, energy intake didn’t differ between the probiotic group and the control group, indicating that the weight loss wasn’t from less calorie intake.

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE

Is There More Proof Probiotics Lower Cortisol?
There is! A new study published in the British Journal of Nutrition showed that taking a probiotic will directly lower cortisol levels because it improves gut flora that affects the brain. Remember, neurotransmitters are produced in the gut—I know you’ve heard the term “I have a gut feeling”—and there’s a well-established link between stress, mood disorders, brain function and gastrointestinal disease.

In this new study researchers compared giving a probiotic or a placebo to a group of volunteers who reported having mild anxiety or depression. The group that received the probiotic treatment reported elevated mood, had less stress and anxiety, and showed less depression and feelings of anger. The probiotics group also significantly decreased cortisol levels, while a placebo group had no changes in cortisol or in ratings of mood, stress, or depression.

Additionally, the probiotic group reported being more focused on problem solving tasks. According to researchers, the probiotics decreased unhealthy pathogens in the gut, helping to get rid of inflammation, while improving central nervous system communication between the brain and the gut. Biomarkers of inflammation, called C-reactive proteins, were diminished, leading to less depression and better emotional response.

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE

Is There Evidence of A Link Between Poor Gut Health and Greater Stress?
Naturally, there is. Bad gut bacteria such as Clostridium and Bacteriodes have proven to increase anxiety and aggressive behaviors in animals. These “deleterious” bacteria led to increased social isolation, and less play in animal studies, which indicates stress that triggers an elevated cortisol response. There’s a host of evidence that elevated stress levels, both psychological and physical, lead to an increase in cortisol and the inability of the body to regulate cortisol production effectively. This results in chronically high cortisol levels that then impair the body’s ability to respond appropriately to insulin. And of course poor insulin health or insulin “insensitivity” leads to visceral belly fat gain.

We also know that giving probiotics to humans and animals can lower cortisol in normal and high stress situations. One study showed that after inducing stress from heat and giving a probiotic supplement to poultry animals, cortisol, cholesterol, and C-reactive protein markers were significantly decreased in comparison to a control group. It’s the relationship between C-reactive proteins and cholesterol, which is a product of chronic inflammation, that explains how probiotics decrease cortisol and result in belly fat loss.

How are Insulin, Cortisol, and Neurotransmitters Related?
Cortisol is released due to both psychological stresses and physiological stresses. Endurance exercise is a physiological stress that leads to increased cortisol, as is heat stress that I mentioned above. So, your body releases stress hormones after physical stress, and when you are anxious, or under mental duress as well. This is why poor gut health affects the neurotransmitters that are produced in the gut, leading to mental strain and cortisol release. But, at the same time poor gut health triggers chronic inflammation in the intestine, bumping up cortisol, hindering insulin sensitivity.

These processes are all interrelated, but as demonstrated above, we know probiotics can moderate cortisol, improve gut health, lower chronic inflammation, improve insulin sensitivity, and allow you to shed the belly fat. Humans and animals on probiotic treatment have shown greater insulin sensitivity in both healthy subjects and the overweight. For example, a study done on rats compared the effect of four diets on visceral fat loss: a standard control diet, a standard control diet with probiotics, a high-fat diet, and a high-fat diet with probiotics.

The rats on the high-fat diet gained the most visceral fat, while the rats on the standard diet with probiotic actually lost visceral fat. The rats on the high-fat diet with probiotics did gain visceral fat, but it was significantly less than those that ate a high-fat diet without probiotics. More important is that the high-fat diet group showed decreased insulin sensitivity. The probiotic helped support insulin health in the high-fat diet group, and they maintained insulin sensitivity at the same level as the two standard diet groups.

I’m Convinced! What Else Can I Do To Shed the Fat?
The most effective workout for getting rid of belly fat is to do high-intensity intervals and strength training. Authors of a research review on fat loss from exercise noted that “the effect of regular aerobic exercise on body fat is negligible” whereas research into high-intensity exercise (HIT) “indicates that it may be more effective at reducing subcutaneous and abdominal (visceral) body fat than other types of exercise.”

One study that compared the effect of high-intensity exercise (60 sprints of 8 seconds each, 12 seconds rest) with aerobic exercise (60 percent of maximal oxygen uptake for 40 minutes) found that  HIT resulted in significant decreases in overall fat mass, while the aerobic exercise group had a fat gain of 0.44 kg on average. The HIT group also had a significant 9.5 percent decrease in visceral fat, whereas the aerobic group had a non-significant increase of 0.2 kg or 10.5 percent. Of related interest is that the HIT group decreased fasting insulin significantly more than the aerobic group (31 versus 9 percent).

A second study found that in men with type 2 diabetes, an eight-week program that mixed aerobic and anaerobic exercise (twice a week of 45 minutes of aerobic exercise at 75 percent of max, and once a week of 5 sprints for 2 minutes at 85 percent) had a significant 44 percent decrease in visceral fat, with a 58 percent improvement in insulin sensitivity. This is great news because it indicates that the cortisol response from the aerobic exercise didn’t mitigate the improvement in insulin health.

Best results are achieved by doing what you enjoy most—or what you dislike least—because there’s more chance you’ll stick with it. Luckily, the evidence shows that a mix of high-intensity training in the form of sprints or weight lifting and adding a probiotic to your diet will allow you to lose the belly fat.

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE

References:

Article taking from Charles Poliquin’s outstanding research into health, fitness and body composition.

Messaoudi, M., Lalonde, R., et al. Assessment of Psychotropic-Like Properties of a Probiotic Formulation (Lactobacillus Helveticus R0052 and Bifidobacterium longum R0175 in Rats and Human Subjects. British Journal of Nutrition. 2011. 105, 755-764.

Andreasen, A., Larsen, N., et al. Effects of Lactobacillus Acidophilus NCFM on Insulin Sensitivity and the Systemic Inflammatory Response in Human Subjects. British Journal of Nutrition. December 2010. 104(12), 1831-1838.

Kadooka, Y., Sato, M., et al. Regulation of Abdominal Adiposity by Probiotics (Lactobacillus Gasseri SBT2055) in Adults with Obese Tendencies in a Randomized Controlled Trial. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2010. 64, 636-643.
Chen, J., Wang, R., et al. Bifidobacterium Adolescentis Supplementation Ameliorates Visceral Fat Accumulation and Insulin Sensitivity in an Experimental Model of the Metabolic Syndrome. British Journal of Nutrition. September 2011. 14, 1-6.
Penha, L., Pardo, P., et al. Effects of Probiotic Supplementation on Liveweight Gain and Serum Cortisol Concentration in Cattle. Veterinary Record. May 2011. 168(20), 538. Published Ahead of Print.Hayasaka, S., Kodama, T., Ohira, A. Retinal Risks of High-Dose Ornithine Supplements: A Review. British Journal of Nutrition. September  2011. 106(6), 801-811.
Rishi, P., Bharrhan, S., et al. Effect of Lactobacillus Plantarum and L-Arginine Against Endotoxin-Induced Liver Injury in a Rat Model. Life Sciences. September 2011. Published Ahead of Print.

Sohail, M., Liaz, A., et al. Alleviation of Cyclic Heat Stress in Broilers by Dietary Supplementation of Mannan-Oligossaccharide and Lactobacillus-Based Probiotic: Dynamics of Cortisol, Thyroid hormones, Cholesterol, C-Reactive Protein, and Humoral Immunity. Poultry Science. September 2010. 89(9), 1934-1938.

Phillips, D., Barker, D., et al. Elevated Plasma Cortisol Concentrations: A Link Between Low Birth Weight and the Insulin Resistance Syndrome? Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. March 1998. 83(3), 757-780.

Trapp, E., Chisholm, D., et al. The Effects of High-Intensity Intermittent Exercise Training and Fat Loss and Fasting Insulin Levels of Young Women. International Journal of Obesity. 2008. 32(4), 684-691.


WOD 23rd April 2012 Beach Body Blitz


Today’s WOD 19th April 2012


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


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.


On our Doorstep charity event for Help 4 Heroes

onourdoorstepgood1

Come and check out our FREE fundraiser on March 11th 2012.

Follow this link to our “On Our Doorstep” site for more info.

 


Christmas training calender: 19th December 2011, Day 18

Flaming carol singers everywhere….AGGGHH!!!

If i hear ding dong merrily again, I’m going to go crazy…these songs are in my head continuously!!!

Therefore I’ve had to and I’m sorry but today’s session is based on the 12 days of Christmas….cheesy i know but i have to get this out of my system.

Warm up:

5 – 10min: be as dynamic as possible, work through all your joints, moving in as many planes of movement as possible.

i.e multi-directional lunges, some jops (cross between hop and jogging, google it), some press ups, chin ups and ab work.

The 12 Days of Christmas Main session:

1.  Bear Crawl (about 30-40 feet and back)

2.  Inchworms (with push-ups)

3.  Renegade Rows (3 on each side)

4.  Russian Twists (4 per side)

5.  Floppy Burpees

6.  Double Unders (or 18 single jump ropes)

7.  Pullover Sit-ups

8.  Dips

9.  Box Jumps (or 9 step-ups per side as a mod)

10. Walking Lunges (10 per side- optional with weight)

11. Suicide Push-ups (11 total, not per side)

12. Weighted Squat Jumps (weight is optional)

Then…after the 12-Days of Christmas, there is a one mile run to top it off!

Please feel free to sing this out loud when your training today…..it will help cleanse the soul!!!!

oh and by the way……

Boring disclaimer part.

Here at RE:Born we advise everyone before entering a new exercise programme to get a full health assessment and sign off by the GP, reborn also accept no responsibility of anyone suffering from injury, illness or shear stupidity to hurt themselves with these basic exercises)


Pure water, as NATURE intented…WHY YOU MUST FILTER YOUR WATER.

WATER WATER EVERYWHERE…..should you drink it, or should you despair?

Well if its regular tap water or most bottled waters then the latter is the option every time.

Today is rest day from training, so i thought it apt to have a chat to you guys about hydration, and yes i know you have heard it probably a thousands times… so here it is for the thousand and first.

You NEED to stay hydrated… Most people are grossly dehydrated, and not only are people grossly dehydrated but also as a general public we are taking in over 40 harmful chemicals everyday from their tap water.

The tap water supplied to us today may have been treated to avoid contamination by certain water-borne organisms, but could also contain a whole host of potentially toxic chemicals as well as chlorine- resistant parasites. In fact, apart from chlorine addition and in some areas, fluoride, drinking water is often treated with other chemicals such as salts of aluminum, and may also contain other heavy-metal deposits.

This does not include the hundreds of tons of drugs that are flushed away every day in our toilets from urine only to re-emerge in our recycled drinking water system. It is estimated that the average glass of London drinking water has already passed through at least 15 other human bodies! Pharmaceutically manufactured drugs such as Prozac and the contraceptive pill are two of the most common organic compounds which may be found in city tap water, the effects of which have already been reported in the press.

Here also is a list of some of the other chemicals found in UK tap waters.

Aluminium Sulphate - Aluminium Sulphate can sometimes be found in tap water.

Heavy Metal Deposits - Small levels of metals such as Mercury, Cadmium and in some areas Arsenic & Lead can sometimes be found in tap water. These are leftover contamination from industrial effluent, leakages, spillages and left over from The Industrial Revolution.

Nitrates - especially in agricultural areas, the high levels of chemical fertilisers used on crops can enter local water supplies.

Herbicides & Pesticides - These are freely sprayed on crops and can leach out of soils into underground water sources.

Chlorine Resistant Parasites – Some Cysts including Cryptosporidium & Giardia can be resistant to the low lever of Chlorine in Tap Water. They can cause diarrhoea and vomiting as in the Cryptosporidium Outbreak in Northampton 2008.

Recycled pharmaceutical drugs - Hundreds of tons of drugs are flushed away every day in our toilets in urine, only to re-emerge in our recycled drinking water system. It is estimated that the average glass of London drinking water has already passed through at least 15 other human bodies! Pharmaceutically manufactured drugs such as Prozac and the contraceptive pill are two of the most common organic compounds found in city tap water.

Hormones – With millions of women on the pill and HRT relieving themselves into water supplies, and little attention paid to filtration of the hormone, recycled tap water has become a very risky.

Plastic bottled water doesn´t help either. Indeed, plastic packaging on all drinks and food stuffs leaches phthalates, which are ´oestrogen mimics´ into the food and drink in varying quantities. Plastics can also leach BisPhenol A, a chemical now banned in certain countries – it comes in bottles, dummies, babies´ feeding bottles and even plastic toys.

Chlorine – Chlorine is found in tap water as a means of water treatment. Chlorine can also react with organic compounds in tap water to produce THMs (trihalomethanes). It can vaporise in hot water to become steam during bathing & showering.

Fluoride. – Sodium Fluoride (Hexafluorosilicic Acid – H2SiF6) is added to tap water in large parts of the UK.


So now that I’ve scared you all, let me highlight a few reason why you should stay hydrated.

Energy: Suboptimal hydration slows the activity of enzymes, including those responsible for producing energy, leading to feelings of fatigue.

Digestion: Our bodies produce an average of 7 liters of digestive juices daily. When we don’t drink enough liquid, our secretions are more limited and the digestive process is inhibited.

Regularity: As partially digested food passes through the colon, the colon absorbs excess liquid and transfers it to the bloodstream so that a stool of normal consistency is formed.

Blood Pressure: When we are chronically dehydrated, our blood becomes thicker and more viscous. Additionally, in response to reduced overall blood volume, the blood vessels contract.

Stomach Health: Under normal circumstances, the stomach secretes a layer of mucus (which is composed of 98 percent water) to prevent its mucus membranes from being destroyed by the highly acidic digestive fluid it produces.

Respiration: The moist mucus membranes in the respiratory region are protective; however, in a state of chronic dehydration, they dry out and become vulnerable to attack from substances that might exist in inhaled air, such as dust and pollen.

Acid-Alkaline Balance: Dehydration causes enzymatic slowdown, interrupting important biochemical transformations, with acidifying results at the cellular level.

Weight Management: Feelings of thirst can be confused with hunger.

Dehydration a sure recipe for muscle tears and dysfunction.

Hydration is paramount to achieving healthy muscle tissue because a dehydrated muscle is like a piece of beef jerky, it has no elasticity and it had lost it’s suppleness and pliability.

Optimal hydration makes us not only feel and perform better, but I believe the muscular challenges we face today would probably not exist if we were optimally hydrated each and every day.

So what must we do?

Well there is only one option i believe, and that is to invest in a reverse osmosis water filter, i believe the best ones on the market are supplied from “THE WATER FILTER MAN“. Not only do these supply you with pure CLEAN drinking water, with the ability to remove chemicals as per the list below, but they also add alkalising salts, therefore giving you an anti-aging, anti-oxidant, oxygenating health drink and giving you body pure, filtered tap water daily.

Please take time to read my blog on alkalising and the importance of balancing your PH levels, to understand more on why this type of water filter is light-years ahead of the rest.

Here is the difference between your water and the water from a reverse osmosis water filter, clearly demonstrating the contaminated water we drink everyday in the uk.

I challenge you to start the day with a big glass of water, from a reverse osmosis filter, yes before your morning coffee and note the differences after 21 days!

BUY one of these filters today!!!!


Christmas training advent calender: 15th Dec 2011, Day 14

Time for a huge session I think….

Today you’re going to need to brace yourself for a full body, muscular endurance session.

We’ve got some running, some squatting, some pressing, some burping oh yeah some more running and some AB work…

So here goes.

Warm up:

5 – 10min: be as dynamic as possible, work through all your joints, moving in as many planes of movement as possible.

i.e multi-directional lunges, some jops (cross between hop and jogging, google it), some press ups, chin ups and ab work.

Main Session:

1/4 mile run

50 press ups

1/4 mile run

50 squats

1/4 mile run

50 burpees

1/4 mile run

50 jack knifes (25 each side)

1/4 mile run….by this time, if you’ve trained hard enough your legs should be something like this:

Boring disclaimer part.

Here at RE:Born we advise everyone before entering a new exercise programme to get a full health assessment and sign off by the GP, reborn also accept no responsibility of anyone suffering from injury, illness or shear stupidity to hurt themselves with these basic exercises)


Christmas training advent calender: 12th Dec 2011, Day 11

Time to get outside again and hit a tempo run, and why not, its absolutely gorgeous in Poole, Dorset.

So what is a Tempo run, also known as an anaerobic threshold (AT) run or lactate-threshold run, the tempo run was popularized by Jack Daniels, Ph.D., about a decade ago. Here’s his definition, taken from Daniels’ Running Formula (Human Kinetics): “A tempo run is nothing more than 20 minutes of steady running at threshold pace.” (He goes on to say that 20 minutes is ideal, but may be varied to suit the needs of a particular course.) Without getting too technical, threshold pace is the effort level just below which the body’s ability to clear lactate, a by-product of carbohydrate metabolism, can no longer keep up with lactate production. Daniels states that this pace is, for most people, about 25 to 30 seconds per mile slower than current 5K race pace.

Exercise physiologist and coach Pete Pfitzinger adds: “For very fit runners, the pace is between 15K and half-marathon race pace.” For those fond of using heart rate monitors, Daniels notes that tempo runs are done at 90% of maximum. However, most runners seem to find it easier to use running speed as a guide.

For those who have neither HRMs nor marked courses at their disposal, Daniels stresses that the effort associated with a tempo run should be “comfortably hard”—one that could be maintained for an hour in a race.

So bearing that al in mind, find your runners, hoody and ipod and get moving…….RUN HARD!!!!

Boring disclaimer part.

Here at RE:Born we advise everyone before entering a new exercise programme to get a full health assessment and sign off by the GP, reborn also accept no responsibility of anyone suffering from injury, illness or shear stupidity to hurt themselves with these basic exercises)


Christmas training advent calender: 10th Dec 2011, Day 9

Saturday afternoon its really cold, but very sunny in Sandbanks, Poole

So what better way to spend our time, but to bash out some serious full body, dynamic, plyometic work!!! OH yeah, bet you did think that was coming.

Today we’re just going to do two exercises (Well maybe three, if you count the first exercise as two)

So here goes, today session……..

Warm up:

5 – 10min: be as dynamic as possible, work through all your joints, moving in as many planes of movement as possible.

i.e multi-directional lunges, some jops (cross between hop and jogging, google it), some press ups, chin ups and ab work.

Main session:

27-21­-15­-9 reps of:

Burpee Pullups

Plyo Pushups
20″ box jumps.

AGGHH, burning quads and massive pump on lats, chest and arms….love it!!

Now time to stretch, go through a whole body stretch routine, inc. tris, bis, quads, hams, hip flexors, claves, lats etc etc, hold each stretch for a 90sec period.

All the best, see ya tomorrow.

Boring disclaimer part.

Here at RE:Born we advise everyone before entering a new exercise programme to get a full health assessment and sign off by the GP, reborn also accept no responsibility of anyone suffering from injury, illness or shear stupidity to hurt themselves with these basic exercises)


Christmas training advent calender: 9th Dec 2011, Day 8

Hi all, well your still here wanting more…..and boy to we love that commitment from our clients and readers.

Today let me introduce you to the wonderfully world of Tabata intervals.

Tabata interval training is one of the most effective type of high intensity interval training, its also the most intense by far, and surprisingly its the shortest in duration, it only last for four minutes… but those four minutes produce remarkable effects.

Lose Fat, Get Fit in four minutes

Tabata training was discovered by Dr. Izumi Tabata and a team of researchers from the National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Tokyo.

Dr. Tabata discovered that this kind of interval training produces much better results than aerobic training. This included building as much muscular endurance as forty five minutes of normal cardio training. In fact in the study the subjects increased their anaerobic capacity by over a quarter as well a substantial increase in their aerobic fitness.

This type of training is very versatile, you can use tabata for weight loss as well most improving performance in most aerobic and anaerobic sport.

The full Tabata program is four minutes long, it will probably feel like the longest four minutes of your life.

If you are going to try it I would recommend going light the first time round otherwise you may be begging people around you to help you off the floor.

Tabata intervals follow this structure:

  • Push hard for 20 seconds
  • Rest for 10 seconds.
  • Repeat this eight times.

The secret to making this effective is in your sprint interval. You have to go all out, so do as many reps as you can in the 20 seconds, then rest for 10 seconds, then go hell for leather for another 20 seconds and so on….

Warm up: 5 – 10 minutes, taking it easy  (run, skip, stair climb come on you know what to do to get warm!!)

Pre-stretch: give your quads, hamstring, chest, triceps and calves a good old going over.

Main session:

Tabata pullups
Run 1 mile
Tabata pushups
Run 1 mile
Tabata situps
Run 1 mile
Tabata squats
Run 1 mile

Ok how are you feeling….i know i’m pretty cooked..GOOD JOB!!

Time to cool down, stretch and get some much needed post-workout nutrition.

Boring disclaimer part.

Here at RE:Born we advise everyone before entering a new exercise programme to get a full health assessment and sign off by the GP, reborn also accept no responsibility of anyone suffering from injury, illness or shear stupidity to hurt themselves with these basic exercises)


Christmas training advent calender: 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)