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Should You Be Fit To Teach?

Posted on by Posted in Techno-fit 2 Comments

Here is an issue that I have been wrestling with for some time now and it is fueled by emails……

I have received several (inbox & junk mail have equal amounts) emails from ‘fitness professionals’ promoting the latest way in how to lose weight or how to get into shape. I have also seen new instructors on the block teaching classes on how to tone your body and also talked to instructors who claim to live, breath and eat fitness, you name it I have either read about it or seen it. Mini rant you may say, but where is it leading? Well, I will put my head squarely on the block and declare what I have really noticed is that whilst instructors are preaching to people about fitness or the way to get into shape, they themselves are out of shape, lack passion or fail to keep up to date with the latest fitness scientific research…..CONTROVERSIAL ALERT, CONTROVERSIAL ALERT, CONTROVERSIAL ALERT!!!

Now, I truly believe in spreading the word of fitness but it bothers me when instructors are unable to practice what they preach. Is it really fair to tell people how to get into shape but as a representative of health & fitness, you are out of shape yourself?!?

We all have different body types & shapes but over the years, I have seen real fitness as a product fade into the background and it has been replaced with ‘gimmick style fitness’ offering an unrealistic, easy way out. How many info-mercials have you seen promoting the next best thing for abdominal training, chest and arms definition and an amazing body from only £29.99 + postage & packaging? Perfect push-up, impingement alert, super ab training = dust collector, the list goes on. Unfortunately, this reflects on some representatives in the business by the way they physically look. The truth is, you are not going to have an amazing body and feel healthy by taking five step classes per week and eating 2 rice crackers and a bowl or two of special ‘K’ with skimmed milk…..you need to change your approach and begin to train your body specifically.

I try to break it down by explaining to potential clients/participants that there are two ways to view the fitness industry, the Exercise Sector and Training Sector.

Within the Exercise sector, which consists of dance, step, aerobics, light conditioning/toning classes, mind body etc, are a stable variety of classes found on any gym timetable. These classes promote movement, activity and are usually great for people who want to start getting fit. Classes in this genre are usually fun and leave you with a ‘ feel good factor’ but offer no real bonafide physical fitness changes or results. The Les Mills explosion has added to this sector (Body Jam, Step, Combat), but they also have added to the training sector and have what I call a hybrid in Body Attack, which has some elements of the Exercise and Training sectors.

Then we have the Training sector, which consists of weight training, strength training, circuit training, personal training etc. and is usually for people who are used to physical activity and want to move to the next level to develop their fitness. These classes or programs require a lot of hard work but the results are extremely rewarding. As a regular weight trainer, I was impressed to finally see a commercialised weight training program come from the Les Mills stable, Body Pump, though the routines should in my view change more frequently to account for how soon our body adapts to loading and to challenge the participants form.

Most instructors need to be Training at least twice a week in order to keep themselves in shape, whether it be a gym strength session or circuit training. This is good for business and for themselves, personally I get 2 quality sessions based on H.I.T (high intensity training) prinicple, which saves time and consistently gives great results. BTW H.I.T as it is now known, is what my peers and I call our ‘no-hustle’ sessions, no breaks

Regular fitness enthusiasts need to incorporate quality training sessions into their training schedules to really see or feel a physical difference. I would recommend that at least one session per week is a high intensity session, something to be finished with 30 to 45 minutes, and I promise you that you will feel and notice the results within a relatively short period of time, and never ever underestimate how much you can and will gain from body weight training  ( I am shouting TRX [or alternative] suspension system from high)

 

On y va mon amis!

 

T

Eating and Exercise

Posted on by Posted in Health Matters Leave a comment

There’s a saying that rings true, “Failing to prepare is preparing to fail”. Now, I should know you said it first in history, but I must credit one of my tutors from Manchester Metropolitan University, Jim Barron, for drilling this mantra into our heads. You may wonder why I descended into reminiscing about my long lost college days, but this has a clear application to wanting to get the best out of your training. Your pre-exercise diet needs to be planned effectively.

Without a balanced diet, no other dietary changes will have the desired effect upon your performance. Once you have sorted the balance between Carbohydrate and Protein consumption, you should also fine tune carbohydrate and fluid intake. The human body contains approximately 2,500,000 sweat glands and for every litre of fluid lost your heart beats increases by 8 beats per minute in order to meet your body’s requirements.

It is important to know not only how much of these nutrients to consume, but also when to consume them. Looking at a very simple analogy using a car, when you are about to embark on a long journey, what is the more efficient and sensible strategy;

  • Fuel tank is effectively empty, with the fuel gauge warning light showing, meaning you need to stop for fuel after a short space of time.
  • Fuel tank is full with enough to safely complete the journey and enough to make a return journey.

Now I am sure you will say is it the second example, a no- brainer you may say but many of us will go to an exercise class or embark upon a training run or weights session with strategy A!! A  recent study by a popular sports drinks manufacturer sample 300 gym users and nearly half of these users arrive at the gym dehydrated.  Consuming the correct balance of carbohydrate and fluid before, during and after your exercise session will enhance your workout. Your stores of carbohydrate and fluid are limited and are drained during exercise, thus always ensure that you:

  1. Keep your carbohydrate and fluid stores as full as possible prior to starting your exercise session.
  2. Keep your carbohydrate and fluid stores are topped up during your exercise session.
  3. Once you have finished your session, try and eat within an hour (ideally within 30 minutes) as this is the time when your muscles will need re-fuelling to aid the recovery and re-building process.

Top Tips For Exercise Efficiency

Prior to starting exercise, eat a high carbohydrate meal at least 3 to 4 hours in advance to ensure your carbohydrate levels are well stocked. This may be as simple as a bowl of cereal e.g. porridge or a sports drink e.g.  Powerade, Gatorade, For Goodness Shakes. Additionally, ensure that you are drinking plenty of fluids, drinking a diluted 50:50 fruit juice or cordial drink will satisfy this and help top up  your carbohydrate levels. In normal ambient weather conditions aim for 500ml – 1000ml of fluid, increase this by at least 20% in the heat. The featured sports drinks also contain additional nutrients, though I will not express my favourite, these have their own merits and you will notice many professional teams using these. Maintaining your fluid intake is very important, especially as starting exercise in a dehydrated condition will impact upon your performance. In order to ensure your next session is reproducible, start your preparation as soon as your current session finishes by eating with the first 30 to 60 minutes. Drinking at least 500ml of either soya or dairy milk base will give approx 3.6g of protein per 100ml. During my personal training sessions, I will always have a complementary drink for my clients to ensure they may achieve their optimum performance.

Good to know and easy to consume (use soya alternative if lactose intolerant). Additionally, a handful of raisins or 60g of jelly sweets (try not to do this too often if you value your teeth, my dentist will chastise me if I do not say this!) will kick start your refuelling process and tide you over for an hour until you are able to prepare and consume your carbohydrate rich meal.

Whey Protein, an introduction

Posted on by Posted in Health Matters 1 Comment

So maybe you’re new to bodybuilding or a seasoned trainer, then you will have probably thought about taking supplements. As there are so many kinds of supplements available it can become quite overwhelming as to which one to choose. One of the most popular supplements taken is withou doubt whey protein.

So what is whey protein?

Whey protein is a by-product during the production of cheese, and it has the highest known levels of branched chain amino acids of any natural food source. Nice start one of think, natural and makes the right noises for being useful for those engaged in activities

When to take whey protein and what are the benefits?

Fast digestibility – Since whey protein is in a powdered form, it is very useful when you need a quick fix of protein. You will often need protein quickly after your weight lifting workouts to encourage protein synthesis. It is recommended that people eat something high in protein within 60 minutes (ideally 30 minutes) after their workout.

The reason for eating so soon after your workout is to inhibit the production of a catabolic hormone known as cortisol. Cortisol is a stress hormone which shuts down muscle growth. It increases in our body after we have used up a lot of energy and in order to prevent a build up of it; you need to refuel your body with calories. The easiest way of doing this is to have a whey protein shake as it takes literally no preparation time whatsoever and will be digested quicker than solid food.

It is also useful to have in the mornings. Your muscles will be craving for some more food in the mornings, hence why breakfast is your most important meal of the day. You will have not eaten for several hours whilst sleeping. Having a whey protein shake prior to or alongside breakfast will satisfy your muscles quickly and allow them to continue to rebuild.

Bodybuilders and athletes will also need to be eating something nutritious every few hours so that they can keep feeding their muscles and allow them to grow. It is time-consuming and difficult to eat so many meals throughout the day. Whey protein allows you to have a high protein snack very quickly and can feel less filling than solid food. Remember in relation to your diet, eat little and often in synchronisation with your training routine.

Whey protein contains an antioxidant called glutathione which is required for a healthy immune system. Whey can help athletes maintain a strong immune system as glutathione levels may be reduced by exercise and resistance training.

When training for Weight loss Whey protein can also help if you choose a protein shake which is low in carbohydrates and it can be a useful method of having a low-calorie/low carb snack in between your meals.

When used correctly, whey protein can and will help you with excellent muscle gains or weight loss. However, you should remember that whey protein is just a supplement and is not a substitute for a good diet. Having a good diet should be your number one priority, once you do that, whey protein supplementation will be beneficial.

Fat Loss Tips That Work

Posted on by Posted in Health Matters 2 Comments

Welcome to the T-Fit blog FREE FAT LOSS Tips. You may have come across our website by chance or you may be interested in our versatile personal training options.

If your goal is fat loss then you should read on to find out some top tips that will help you reach your goal even faster.

Set yourself a goal
Stop making excuses and set a goal to achieve and an action plan to achieve it. The goal could be to wear your favourite jeans again. Set the date by which you want to wear them and then decide on your action plan to how to achieve it, whether by hiring a personal trainer or by following an elimination diet etc, whatever you think you
need to do. Keep a food diary or exercise log as part of your action plan.

Look at your nutrition
No matter what you hear anyone say – YOU CANNOT OUT TRAIN A BAD DIET! This
means that you must start with a clean and natural diet rather than relying on spending hours in the gym.

Look at your diet
This is essentially the same as point 2 but in more detail as there are several factors to consider:

  • what you are eating
  • how much of it you are eating
  • when you are eating it

Aim to eat unprocessed foods in their natural state and in small to moderate quantities through the day and avoid skipping meals to keep your blood sugar levels and energy steady through the day.

Don’t be scared of fat
The media often tends to demonise fats but healthy fats such as avocado, oily fish, natural nuts, seeds and olives are not only delicious, satisfying but also they provide essential nutrients for our bodies as well.

Beware of sugar
We all know that sugar is bad for the teeth, but it’s also bad news if you are trying to reduce your body fat levels. Apart from removing sugar from your tea and coffee and avoiding sweets and chocolate you need to look more carefully at some of the other things you may consume. High fructose corn syrup is in countless products such as soft drinks, and processed foods such as “healthy, low fat cereal bars”. Stay away from this as it will raise your blood sugar levels, increase insulin production and cause you to store more fat. Most of your energy from carbohydrate should come from vegetables, fruits and some more starchy foods such as sweet potatoes, oats, brown rice and pulses but never sugar. The best time to eat these is after exercise (ideally within 1 to 2 hours) and also in small amounts at other times of day depending on your activity levels.

Ensure you perform resistance training
Often people trying toburn body fat perform hours of cardio and neglect weight training. That is a HUGE mistake, resistance training, when done correctly, will release fat burning hormones and increase your muscle mass to allow you to burn more calories at rest, and keep your body fired up all day long. Aim to do it for 20-40 minutes 3 times a week working all the major muscle groups. You can also add cardiovascular and interval training on the other days to keep your body moving every day. Suspension trainers (e.g. Z-Trainer, TRX) are examples of the ideal tool to give you a full body, resistance training workout.

Stretching, do we do or do we don’t

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Definitely a do we do Stu; don’t do at your peril,Beryl!!!

I have taken the time to invest a lot of my personal time on this matter over the past few years, and have done so from both academic and practical viewpoints. This has given me a resource base that has been a valuable addition to the my knowledge base and (I feel) has added to my abilities as a personal and group exercise training instructor.

I have used (and politely abused!!) many sites across the internet and made use of the academic references to the many research papers that cover a spectrum of abilities and genotypes , in order to attain a base (though one must also advise a continually evolving) of knowledge. In these days of litigation, slander and copyright, I feel it prudent to add a simple disclaimer:-

  1. Not all results are guaranteed
  2. Some individuals may not attain the benefits explained in the resources
  3. It is advisable to contact your health practitioner (doctor!) before embarking upon a new fitness programme
  4. Any comments made here and acted upon are done so at your own risk as this is a free resource not an instruction.
  5. wibble wobble

Ok, so the wibble wobble is nonsense, but hey we got to have fun too

I do make particular reference to one of the best resources on the market today from The Stretching Institute, who have a none to extensive range of products focussed on the task of getting us to stretch properly, understand the reasons why (in lay and technical terms -your choice) and injury management (sprains and strains).

There are many stretching variations that are employed, some of which are commonly heard of, whereas some may be new to you. Those that are commonly known are:

  1. Static
  2. Dynamic
  3. PNF
  4. Active Isolation

More to follow soon, though to wet your appetites, have a look at this gem of a document call Stretching_Tips from the Stretching institute. Upon reading it you too will understand the value of regular stretching and hope that you use my links to purchase some of their amazing products.

Stay fit, stay healthy!

Parkour….meet Damien

Posted on by Posted in Health Matters, Techno-fit Leave a comment

Parkour is truly amazing in that it is bringing a new multi-skilled athlete to the fore. Someone who can be from any background, yet have an amazing gift that can be expressed in a ‘natural’ form.

My personal interpretation of natural is that the artists tapestry is our everyday environment (watch the following showreel for what I mean). Parkour may not be for the faint hearted, and it is certainly not for the weak. You do and will need to have an exceptionally strong core, upper body, lower body and above all, will power to perform what 99.98% of the population is shy away from.

You can currently search online and find an incredible amount of Parkour related resources and I hope that you too will find Parkour a fascinating extension of the playground and gym abilities that we have as children, that is pushed into an teen/adult arena and become an ‘extreme’ sport of great merit and athleticism.

And now…meet Damien………..

The Magic of Twitter

Posted on by Posted in Techweb Leave a comment

Hopefully you haven’t been living under a rock and you know what Twitter is. You don’t have to be an expert on the subject but you do know what there is something in the social media world called Twitter, correct?

As a refresher, here is Twitter in Plain English. It took me awhile to really start using Twitter. Actually it took me about a year before I really started engaging myself in Twitter. I kept thinking to myself, what could I possibly say in 140 characters? However, once I started to regularly use it, I was amazed at the things it could do. You can literally talk to people!! That may sound odd, but in this climate it is harder to create new connections, whereas having an active and popular Twitter profile can and will open more doors. Considering the economy these days, people’s time are more important than ever. It is harder to get an informational interview with someone, especially if they have not heard from you before, than if you just posted your question for them in Twitter. That is the beauty of Twitter. People are in there to engage with their respective communities. As a personal trainer who also has strong work history in EAI (and looking for a new role/ contract!!).

I follow people who are in those industries, I post links and articles who will benefit my followers as well as myself. Although I used to do this to my friends before, now, the people receiving my links and articles are actually interested in what I am interested in.

Below are a few Twitter people that I think are interesting as they cover many of my areas of interest (including topical humour) and have also opened my eyes up to more too (apparently Knowledge is Power…)

@Poet_Carl_Watts
@TheFitness_Guru
@KatieWeasel
@gemjays
@S_L_Jewellery
@NLPMindTraining

Here is a good list to check out.

And of course, if interested, mine is: @tfitinc

Are you on Twitter yet? If not take a brief moment in time to join, just click on the image below.

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