Stretching Myths…

Dispelling exercise and nutrition myths is one thing that we do regularly at Results FAST. One subject that often comes up is the question over stretching before a workout.

A new study released recently highlights that stretching before activity does not help protect you from injury. Twinned with this a recent piece of research in October highlighted that stretching post exercise did not prevent muscle soreness. With over 70 million people running worldwide this is a pretty large area of research in itself. Factors that contributed to injury from running included the following; past exercise and injury history, body mass index (or weight to height ratio) as well as changing pre or post run stretching strategies.

These studies highlight a number of important factors. Firstly, injury history and the muscular balance of your body is important. Making sure the right muscles are doing the right thing is tantamount to protect from injury and pain free exercise. It is true the saying that you need to get fit to run. Often we see individuals who just hit the road in the New Year as part of their new fitness kick. If you have had an injury in the past you are likely to aggravate it if you are not strong or mobile enough. The second issue highlighted by the research is that body mass index is a factor in injury- this simply means if you are carrying too much body fat then this is in effect an injury risk. The third factor highlights changing how you prepare or cool down can have a negative effect. Routine is important in all elements of training, indeed if you perform a new stretch before exercise it may increase mobility in a joint that you do not necessarily need leading to instability and possible injury.

At Results FAST we prioritize all the above in a sensible training structure, firstly we emphasis strength and mobility as a foundation of a new programme. Secondly nutrition is important and has to be maximised for optimum results- this often involves reducing unnecessary weight such as excess body fat. Thirdly, we emphasise mobility at the right joints (ankle, hips and upper back), stability (knees and lower back) while activating muscles that will help maintain stability. Getting in to a correct warm up routine is vital for a good session and is a smart way of also reinforcing good posture. Post exercise again stretching is means led- some muscles may be tight such as the calves, thighs and hamstrings- often though this is case dependant on the individual in question. Correct posture helps with an efficient running style and developing good leverages is a great way of protecting your body and should be the mainstay of any programme- be it in the gym or running.

What’s New in Weight Loss This Year?…

The title is a bit of a misnomer, “catchy” some might say. In between all the fads what do we know that works? The following details the order of approach that I consider probably the most important.

Firstly, diet (or prehaps nutition is the correct phrasing as all diets at the moment seem to be evil…. that is unless you are a caveman for which paleo dieting seem to be okay). Now what works from a nutrition perspective? General calorie restriction is an inefficent way of working and also a bit hit and miss. It makes a difference what calories you are cutting.

Protein should generally stay at a consistent level, the way the body regulates protein suggests that this is good practice, pre- activity and post activity protein is generally recommended as it helps promote and maintain muscle mass. I have been asked should you cycle protein types- I think that getting a variation of plant and animal proteins is good for you from a nutrition perspective, consuming the same things all the time can leave you short of vital nutrients if you are limiting the variability of your diet. Milk based proteins may not necesarily be the best source- most protein based sports supplements are derived from dairy products. I would suggest that if you are supplemeting with whey or caesin protein 1 shake a day would be enough if you can source your protein from other varied sources such as chicken, turkey, lean beef, fish as well as non-animal sources such as quinoa, beans and lentils (limited amounts) and brown rice. You do not need to rely heavily on supplementation though it is sensible for active individuals to take in a suitable amount of protein (about 1.6g/kg of bodyweight which equates to roughly 136g for an 85kg individual.

Fat intake can be varied, calorifically it is the highest value of the macronutritents explaining why a lot of diet plans cut fat as it does not necessarily reduce food intake by a great volume. Fats play a major role in metabolism regulation and the development and maintainance of the body. Reductions can take place in fats but what matters as well is the quality- saturated fats are not completely evil. What matters is that fat intake is varied from good sources and is varied. While a little bit trendy to say things like fish oils (which are rich in Omega 3) and natural occuring fats such as coconut oil (which are high in Medium Chain Tryglycerides reported to have metabolic enhancing effects) should be the fats of choice calorific load is still important. Indeed again variation is key and as long as you are not overconsuming calories in total then weight loss can be acheived. Fat and carbohydrate are our two main providers of energy and therefore overconsumption on either can cause weight gain (this is not rocket sceince and you probably know that- so stop eating pizza, curries and anything with the word pie related to it if you want to lose body fat). Ranges exist between 20% to 35% of your daily intake depending upon your total carbohydrate consumption. For health reasons I prefer the total amount to be around the 30% mark and get most new clients to target this amount. For your average male that would give a value of  between 55g and 97g.

Carbohydrate intake is where you should see the most variation in consumption. In general this needs to be matched to activity. Simply, train more and you can eat more- specifically post workout. Fitter individuals have a better tolerance to carbohydrates and as they will use them to recover form exercise it makes sense to include them post activity. Anywhere between 4 and 10g/kg of bodyweight for carbohydrates would be necessary (10g/kg would obviously be an endurance athlete performing  multiple training sessions daily). Lower carbohydrate diets can be used and have been publicised by the media. However often these plans blunt activity and from a nutritional standpoint do not leave you at a good standpoint for sensible eating after your dieting phase. Generally these plans are more suitable for lean people looking to be leaner though it’s not a particularly healthy process (not to mention the bad breath and mood swings) so i’ll generally limit the application of these programmes to those I think are sensible to understand it as a short term change.

There is a lot more info out there of specific types of supplements which can aid various processes, however, 95% of people looking to take care of their weight loss results need to focus on doing the basics- if you are ticking all the boxes above then worry about the 5% which may include the next thermogenic fat burning technology but until that point consistancy of nutrition delivers results. I have mentioned about quality and specific amounts on previous posts about carbohydrates, protein and fats.

Training is also a devisive point. I tend to order things in to a hierarchy, this means that there are certain things that you can do to help fat loss, each one you add in accelerates the effects and the quality of the results you want to acheive. Activity is first on the list- most people move daily but this is a completely underestimated factor in losing weight loss. We tend to set a baseline of around 3 to 5 hours a week of activity. Do most people get this? If your gut hangs over your trousers I doubt it. Seriously though, if you are sat all day can you really be expecting for your body to be smashing through vasts amount of calories. Calorific depravation and starving yourself works for a bit but after a while you will become a smaller, pasty, weak individual with no want or ability to move… it’s the trap most dieters fall in to. In to activity I include any disordered form of training including walking, jogging and most exercise classes as they all are really undirectional from a stand point of what are they trying to acheive apart from shearing calories. The second point is training- this is different to activity in my mind (this was featured as an article in Men’s Health). Training is structured and organised towards a goal, it is personalised specifically to what you want to acheive. It is not subjective if results are directly measurable.

What training fits best for weight loss? This is case dependant as a general rule a bit of everything in my mind is the order of the day. Lifts weights to develop strength and to maintain and develop muscle mass, higher intensity cardiovascular exercise to burn more calories and lift you aerobic and anaerobic capabilities and steady state cardio for recovery- though in my mind this may also be classified as general activity.

Pounding away on a treadmill is an inefficent way- it just takes a long time and can result over time in decreases in muscle mass…. something that most people do not need a reduction in.

As you see there is not really anything new or special- the basics still apply. For most people cleaning up their nutritional practices and including a lot more vegetables as the base to most of their meals is where they will see better results. Focussed training is time efficent- go to your local gym and see the guys doing one set of exercise as they sit on the bench and recover for the next 8 minutes or watch the young lady reading her book or watching the latest soap in a reclining bike. This is not exercise it’s unfocussed activity.

How many training centres can you walk in to and see each of the members looking like they are training, looking like they actually want to lean up/ get fitter/ build some muscle, most chain gyms don’t cater for people who want to train- they are activty centers for adults, not focussed to set people up for people to acheive their goals.

Strength Training and Endurance Athletes…

Strength and the training of strength is still a bit of a misnomer in endurance sports. It is relevant to swiming, cycling and running? Why? Strength training build postural balance and also aims to build efficent movement in the body.

There are different facets of strength. Strength endurance is the one most commonly associated with endurance sports however it is greatly misunderstood. Doing 50 squats and 100 lunges is not really relevant in theis case. The need to feel the burn seems to be a pre-requisite for most endurance trainers however this is not an efficent way of training and may be harming your progress.

Strength endurance is the ability to hold and move to correct body position. A lot of your postural muscles need strength endurance to continue to hold correct position allowing your other larger muscles to generate force. A lot of endurance athletes will fundamentally have great endurance capabilities in their major muscle groups- however posturally they wil not necessarily have strength in the right areas. What is the product of this? Poor posture equals poor form and limits good technique. Maximal Strength is the ability of the muscles to move a maximal weight. Commonly this area of training is not utilised because of the perception that it is not relative to the sport trained for. However you could not be more wrong. Maximal strength trains the nervous system and the bodys ability to recruit as much muscle mass as possible. While not feeling the burn of a hill climb training in this way reminds the body where it’s leverages need to be. Weight training in itself is often corrective in nature- the goal is to build muscular balance facilitating better technique. Individual’s can have great strength endurance but poor maximal strength. As strength endurance is often a product of maximal strength then developing strength levels should be a primary method of training.

New Year Tips- Balance the Scales…

1- Eat Small Meals at Regular Intervals. Rather than eating 3 large meals try to eat 5-7 smaller meals and snacks throughout the day. This will help you regulate your hunger and provide a steady flow of energy meaning you will not be so tempted to start snacking.

2- Drink Water or Green Tea. Fruit juice and fizzy drinks are laden with calories which will promote fat storage, while they will provide you with a short term burst of energy, in the long term they will leave you feeling tired and lethargic. Keeping hydrated by consuming enough water helps prevent hunger pangs while consuming green tea is a low calorie option to water which has reported metabolism enhancing abilities.

3- Bodyweight Exercise Can Get Results. Squats, lunges and press ups are all great exercises for getting in to shape. Not only this- they are a great starting point for the inexperienced exerciser or if you are just getting back in to a routine.

4- Target the Process Not the Result. Set your goals on factors that you can control. A lot of the time our clients become fixed on a number such as “lose one stone” or “fit in to a size 8 dress”. This is the type of goal that over the long term is unsustainable as if you do not achieve the result it can be demotivating. Take charge of your goals by focussing on processes, good habits, regular exercise and things that you can achieve (like the performance of a certain exercise) are really the only place to go. Focussing on drinking 2 litres of water a day or consuming at least 5 portions of fruit a day or from an exercise perspective training 4 times a week is a realistic and motivating way of setting your goals.

5- Resistance Training, Movement Based Energy Systems and Some Form of Core Work Should Be The Mainstay of Your Programme. Training in one way generally will not get the best results. Combining different types of exercise such as core work, sprinting and weight training can help maximize your results. The individuals who get the best results train in a range of methods for a number of hours a day- generally they may credit one form of exercise but remember they may be doing up to 4 hours a day of training- it’s pretty hard not to get a result with that volume of exercise. Varying your type of training when you start out will test your body in a number of ways, not only this it allows you to see what forms of exercise you enjoy and what you could fit in to your routine in the long term.

6- Match Intentions With Action. How many people start a diet that is finished within 4 weeks? Refocusing your goals and achieving your ideal physique is something that most people want to do but very rarely put the effort in to achieving. Make the change this month and match your intentions with the right actions. If this means starting an exercise routine or cleaning up your diet then get focussed set your goals, make a plan and do it so you achieve the results that you talk about.

7- Low Fat Is Not Always The Way to Go. Many foods are marketed as being low fat, fat in itself is vital for a number of metabolic processes. Don’t preferentially buy low fat foods- often they are full of processed sugars. Focus on natural foods as well as healthy fats from foods such as fish and avocado.

8- Don’t Just Rely on Doing Cardio. After a period of adaptation the body becomes more efficient at using energy. For the beginner this is what you may consider as improvements in your fitness where you have to work at a higher intensity to feel the fatigue that you may have felt in your first session. Most exercisers looking to reduce their waist line make their biggest mistake at this point. Not only are their bodies better adapted to deal with the exercise also improvements in cardiovascular efficiency mean that the energy cost of pounding the roads or cross trainer is comparatively reduced. Add in at least two resistance training sessions a week to your weekly routine for optimum results.

9- Function Follows Form. Often we see new exercisers running inefficiently or performing weights training in bad form. We always emphasise good form in all training- if you can’t hold good form then you could be doing yourself more damage. Running in itself is one of the things that I see more clients getting injured if they are not initially strong enough. Get some proper advice from a qualified professional- in the long run it will pay you back.

10- Eat More Vegetables It always shocks me when people preferentially avoid certain food groups. A lot of the time though people do not eat enough fruit and vegetables. They provide a good base level of carbohydrates as well as supporting your body with a large amount of vitamins and minerals. If you are going to perform any type of exclusion based diet this year your vegetable intake should be increased.

What’s New… Apart From The New Year…

Happy New Year to all the readers of the blog. As this serves as an updater for both training info and for currently training clients I’m going to roll of a few things you may see going forward on the blog as well as from a training perspective over the next few months.

From a centre perspective we are still running the 2 week trial. This is a great way to try training with us, be it a beginner or advanced exerciser. At Results we really do believe that we are delivering better programmes and a better experience than the majority of gyms in the local area. Also a special mention goes out to the current members who I want to thank for trying out something new when it comes to gym based training and for their application to their training and nutrition programmes. We really believe we are setting the standard in training in the local area and I am pleased that I get to coach in such a motivating environment (occasionally on some of the 18 hour days I may not look too hot but believe me I enjoy helping everyone). For any new readers if you are interested in training with us be it at the centre or at distance please feel free to contact us.

From a nutrition perspective we are just tweaking the nutrition pack- anyone currently needing updating, or indeed reminding please let me know. For anyone new enquiring about this service full nutrition advice comes fully included in your membership.

For the advanced guys we are looking at running an advanced conditioning session at 7pm on Wednesday night. We also are running Starting Strength classes for those looking to get in to training or who are new to a gym environment after the New Year. We hope to run some more specific themed sessions as we progress in to 2011.

With the blog we intend to make it more informative as well as adding some good in depth articles. A lot of fitness pro’s read the site so I’ll also be discussing fitness and nutrition and some of the methods we utilize. Ideally we will do a video blog once a month as well as some new research and product reviews. These things work well by letting me know what you want to see- any feedback is appreciated! So on with the New Year!

The Overtraining Myth…

Someone who I train on occasion recently said to me was that he thought he was “overtraining.” Now this is not the first time I have had this mentioned to me and I am sure many coach or trainer has had this said to them before. The fact is when someone says they are “overtraining” to me it is them saying they are either (a) tired or (b) bored.

Wikipedia- the font of all human knowledge gives the definition….

Overtraining is a physical, behavioral, and emotional condition that occurs when the volume and intensity of an individual’s exercise exceeds their recovery capacity. They cease making progress, and can even begin to lose strength and fitness. Overtraining is a common problem in weight training, but it can also be experienced by runners and other athletes.

In laymens terms you are training too much for your body to recover so in effect your results go backwards. To this individual who mentioned overtraining to me my first question was “Why do you think that?” His answer “I just feel a bit tired.”

While not immediatly throwing a Snickers Bar at him and shouting “Grrr… Get Some Nuts!!!” we had a look at his programme and compared to the general recomendations for “health” he exceeded these recomendations by about 5 hours a week. However, this does not mean he was overtraining- yes, he was training a lot but 8 scheduled hours of training is not overtraining, especially if you are an amateur athlete. 

We reviewed his sleep patterns and his nutrition. Well, this is where we got our breakthrough. “Has your regular trainer looked at your diet?” I asked “Not really, I tend to avoid most carbohydrates though…” was the answer. On further review this guy in general was filling up on protein shakes, tins of tuna, fish oil capsuels and lettuce. He was tired not because he was overtraining- he was tired because he was not fueling his body to train or recover.

This is all too common-  a lot of people now are so conscious of body fat gains that they effectively can not train hard because they do not eat enough- usually in part due to ineffective dietry recommendations or a “system” of dieting which does not give flexibility to activity.

Adding in to the mix a lack of sleep and the recommendation is pretty much eat and sleep more and a lot of your “tired” symptoms will clear up. Focus on pre-exercise nutrition to give you intensity in training, put good healthy foods in to your body post session to help recovery.

Granted if you are overtraining you will have tired symptoms but don’t confuse this with poor nutrition and recovery- generally we will always review nutritional needs in line with the desired goals as a primary component of keeping exercise effective.

What you do in the gym sucks… Do this instead!

As a follow up to my last post I received a few queries on what I was actually talking about! Well keeping in line with the practical nature of this blog I thought I would give some samples. A couple of people have asked how this translates to performance in respect to strength levels and if it is relevant for those in regular competition. Fat loss can also be a product of this type of training; fundamentally this is due to the expenditure of a lot of energy.

The point I was making before previously is that conditioning needs to be varied for those seeking body fat reductions. From a performance perspective gym based conditioning does not need to be too heavy- perhaps only one to two sessions a week for those who have team or game based training time as well (commonly due to time commitments I find most gym time is best developing strength, power and correcting the postural issues that game time and general amount of training brings). If necessary then those training for a sport need to perform higher end intense work as they will get a general turnover of low level conditioning from their “skills” training.

For those training for reducing body fat the higher intensity stuff still applies. Two sessions of interval based training is usually the best choice. What type of exercises used can vary; my point on efficiency in the blog post before highlights that mastery of an exercise can limit its effectiveness. It doesn’t mean that it can’t be used, it just means that to end up with a washboard stomach variation is the key.

Interval training and high rep circuits though are not the be all and end all if you want to turn your body in to a fat burning furnace. Resistance training 2-3 times a week helps build and preserve muscle mass. For a lot of clients I tend to have a preference for strength based work (sub 6 repetition). Here we get a good return in strength- a lot of people don’t want their scale weight to go up so working with lower repetitions does not necessarily cause as much muscle damage and therefore less size gains. This is not to say I do this exclusively with clients- some may lift with higher reps as they want to install a hypertrophy response- most of the time though for fat loss a dietary modification has been made that will limit muscle growth meaning it’s just not that smart to chase fat loss and muscle gain at the same time.

Everyone though has a different preference and their programme should reflect this. I generally think that you should have one main preference in your programme of which your training and nutrition should be reflective. 3 times a week of lifting weights is the ideal either with 3 full body sessions or one upper, one lower and one full body training session. So the ideal training week may look like the below.

Monday Lower Body Resistance
Tuesday Intervals/ High Intensity
Wednesday Upper Body Resistance
Thursday Low Level Intensity Exercise
Friday Full Body Resistance
Saturday Intervals/ High Intensity
Sunday Rest

 Additional training can be done after each resistance session though this may be general activity or steady state. Also there is a low level intensity “recovery” day this may involve some general activity, posture correction work and generally a flexibility/ mobility circuit.

So what are is the best intensity based exercises to perform? Well there are some broad categories of which I use a variety of combinations in a session. Firstly, there is your standard ratio based sessions for instance 1 minute hard followed by one minute easy, 45 hard/ 20 easy, 30 hard/ 30 easy. A lot of press time has been given to “Tabata” style work outs- the original protocol of 20 seconds of high intensity followed by 10 seconds rest is just another timed interval. Simply if you do the same interval all the time your body will adapt and adjust. These sessions could be performed on c.v. equipment, running on a track or outside or with low level weights. My though process is changing a lot on this recently as I have had a larger base of clients to work with. Weight training works pretty well if this is the only time you are going to touch weights- full body complexes such as squat to press, squat to curl, kettlebell variations and modified bodyweight drills. I often use single leg exercises such as walking lunges and dynamic movement based drills such as weighted get ups and rolling sprints. These are metabolically demanding as they use the whole body as a unit.

Secondly, random drills can be quite fun as well, loaded sled dragging and pushing is perhaps my favourite at the moment- although most trainees won’t always have access to this I find that the movement is so alien to most people that for the first 3 weeks of training they forget how hard it actually is as they just try to keep breathing! Again this may be repetition based or time based though this type of training can be good for individuals who compete in strength based sports as you can add additional load (this brings down the work interval time but in turn heightens the intensity- I like this for the Rugby players I work with).

Thirdly, I love sprint based drills and hill running. On this type of stuff varied distances and work intervals can be used but find a steep enough hill and that will effectively tell you when to start and end the session. Track based sprinting is also good fun 100m, 200m and 400m are among my favourites. If you only have access to a commercial gym and treadmill perform 5 x 400m sprints at full pace (recover for as long as you want) it will definitely blow the cob webs out if you are not used to it.

 As you can see most of these methods of training involve full body movements and doing what are bodies are supposed to do- moving. Going for a 30 minute steady pace burn is okay after a resistance training session (if creating a calorie deficit is the idea) or as recovery but if you are serious about changing your fitness then simply this will not cut it when it comes to taking it on to the next level.

A Question on Fat Loss…

What’s the best exercise for calorie burning? Running? Rowing? Bike? Well they definitely can all be useful. However, the fundamental question is do you need to do cardiovascular exercise to lose weight? Well the physiques of Olympic level marathon runners and cyclists are pretty lean, saying that though sprinters are pretty lean and in comparison, although they perform a great deal less volume of training in comparison in regards to hours of performing “cardiovascular exercise.” Cardiovascular exercise it seems is at a bit of a point where definitions are flaky at best. For instance someone says “I don’t do cardio- I lift weights and circuit train.”

Well simply this is cardio- in my mind anything that gets you out of breath could be classified cardiovascular as there are greater stresses placed upon the cardirspiratory system. Here it is a question of intensity and load. Perform 10 burpees and you may be out of breath, indeed perform burpees for as long as you can and ultimately you will feel fatigue which will limit the performance of the exercise. As exercise intensity increases the volume of exercise that can be performed is limited. The higher the intensity the less you can do in effect. While not rocket science it certainly does not mean that interval/ high intensity training is the be all and end all. What matters is that the method of training is specific enough to overload the desired system of the body.

Here’s the Science Bit… If the major goal is to break down body fat we need a number of things to be aligned. Firstly, we need a number of things to be happening in the body. We are always turning over calories- be it stored fat or carbohydrate. What matters here is that what is being reabsorbed or restored is not as much as being burnt. Activity causes this burning of energy. Initially, we will preferentially burn through our stored carbohydrate stores, once these are gone we will move over to our stored fat stores. We will always be burning a mixture of both- however if we have depleted store of carbohydrate then the body burns fat to be used as energy. This highlights the usefulness of low carb diets for fat loss (though there are a lot of weight losses that are not body fat- weight loss does not always mean body fat reductions as muscle glycogen is reduced as is stored body water).

Secondly, we need to stimulate fat breakdown- two things do this. Exercise of a higher intensity stimulates a higher hormonal response stimulating a faster breakdown of fat stores, if we are in need of energy this will also break down stored energy sources.

A Question of Efficiency… So why currently does cardiovascular exercise get a bashing? Well it’s a question of efficiency. If you do the same thing repeatedly you become more efficient. Running, rowing, biking and swimming are all great examples of exercises where you perform repetitive movements. Repetition breeds efficiency- efficiency means less effort to sustain a higher intensity. Therefore changes in intensity don’t have as large effect as efficiency improves.

So What’s the Deal?… Are intervals effective for fat loss? Yes and no- elevating intensity causes a higher initial call for the body to provide energy though this does not necessarily need to be a 20 second Tabata sprint, 20 jump squats or 100m run. What matters here is the intensity and with all of the above you can only do a few sets well before intensity is hampered.

So shall we do no steady state?… Well if we have performed enough activity to stimulate fat breakdown initially then steady state will be ideal for burning released energy. In individuals new to exercise steady pace exercise may provide enough stimulus. More advanced exercisers will have to hold a higher intensity to give the same effect. Also in turn if you perform enough “activity” then you will burn through all stored energy unless diet contains a ridiculous amount of calories.

If we become efficient then does this hamper fat burning?… This is the take home point for me- possibly because our tolerance to intensity firstly and secondly to the efficency of the movement or activity performed. As a valid point of observation there are plenty of amateur runners and cyclists with a level of body fat which seemingly does not correlate with their level of activity (food intake is obviously important and I will address this in future posts).

Therefore should all “cardio” for fat loss be randomized to limit efficiency? Possibly a model of all methods should be fused together after all kettlebells won’t instantly make you thin but using them in a focussed way they can be a great tool. What matters in my mind is that periods of training are directional. Fat loss is one of those goals where you have to focus in on the primary goal. What holds true is that any exercise programme prescribing activity will cause extra calorific burn. Programming needs to be varied though to keep stimulating the body to adapt and change. Without these changes “exercise efficiency” only improves and sometimes for fat loss this is not always the best way to optimize your results.