Holiday Pounds

So the holidays are here and it's usually a time where all of us indulge in parties, booze and food. It's also a time where must of us put on extra pounds! But no worries, to avoid all of that it best that you prepare a High Intensity workout to give yourself a much needed metabolic boost. 

This recent study from researchers in North Carolina suggests 45 minutes of vigorous exercise increases your metabolic rate for 14 hours. Study participants burned an extra 190 calories throughout the day in addition to the 519 calories burned by their cycling activity (37% more calories).

By exercising harder (e.g., running faster) the day before or on Christmas, you can boost your metabolism in time for that big meal.

Other recommendations include doing a long run the day after Christmas, and eating protein at breakfast and doing 1-2 minute workouts throughout the day to keep the holiday weight gain at a minimum. 

Routine to keep you fit during the holidays. Perform these exercises with 45s rest between each set and 2 min rest between exercises. Perform the routine at least once and or twice a week.  Enjoy the holidays!!!

                                  Sets     Reps

Clean and Jerk         2-3      3-5 

Push-ups                  2-3       10-15

Lat Pulldowns          2-3       10-15

Shoulder Press         2-3        8-12

Tricep Extensions    2-3        8-12

Dumbbell Curls       2-3        10-15

JUST CHILL!! Rest and Recovery After Exercise.

A few weeks ago while in the sauna, another gym member came and sat right next to me and immediately asked me how many body parts I trained during each session. My response to him was that I train all the body parts for a total body workout but that I only perform calisthenics exercises. Needless to say he was pretty shocked that I could achieve great results without having to use weights. Then he proceeded to tell me about his training routine. He mentioned how he does, 2 to 3 high intensity interval training per day and spends a lot time doing cardio. So I asked him why he was working out so much. His answer was that he wants to get back to 3 percent body fat and lose all fat around his stomach so his abs would pop out. Then I asked him, "when do you get to rest?" He replied "I only take 1 or 2 days off and I only get 3 to 4 hours of sleep every night" And so I said to him "There is your problem! You are doing too much and not getting enough rest. That's why you are not seeing any results!"

Which brings us to why Rest and Recovery after Exercise is important. Rest is a very critical component in your training for a variety of reasons. Physically it is necessary so that the muscles can repair, rebuild and strengthen. During rest and recovery, the body adapts to the stress of exercise and the effects of the training take place. While resting the body takes time to replenish energy stores and repair damaged tissues. It is also the time where muscle GROWTH occurs! Without proper recovery time, the body will continue to breakdown from intensive exercise and can lead to overtraining syndrome. In the long run NO REST = NO GAIN. 


Here are 10 tips to recover quickly after a workout. 

1.        Cool Down. Cooling down simply means slowing down (not stopping completely) after exercise. Continuing to move around at a very low intensity for 5 to 10 minutes after a workout helps remove lactic acid from your muscles and may reduce muscles stiffness. warming up and cooling down are more helpful in cooler temperatures or when you have another exercise session or an event later the same day.

2.        Replace Fluids. You lose a lot of fluid during exercise and ideally, you should be replacing it during exercise, but filling up after exercise is an easy way to boost your recovery. Water supports every metabolic function and nutrient transfer in the body and having plenty of water will improve every bodily function. Adequate fluid replacement is even more important for endurance athletes who lose large amounts of water during hours of sweating.

3.        Eat Properly. After depleting your energy stores with exercise, you need to refuel if you expect your body to recover, repair tissues, get stronger and be ready for the next challenge. This is even more important if you are performing endurance exercise day after day or trying to build muscle. Ideally, you should try to eat within 60 minutes of the end of your workout and make sure you include some high-quality protein and complex carbohydrate.

4.        Stretch. After a tough workout, consider gentle stretching. This is a simple and fast way to help your muscles recover.

5.        Rest. Time is one of the best ways to recover (or heal) from just about any illness or injury and this also works after a hard workout. Your body has an amazing capacity to take care of itself if you allow it some time. Resting and waiting after a hard workout allows the repair and recovery process to happen at a natural pace. It's not the only thing you can or should do to promote recovery, but sometimes doing nothing is the easiest thing to do.

6.        Perform Active Recovery. Easy, gentle movement improves circulation which helps promote nutrient and waste product transport throughout the body. In theory, this helps the muscles repair and refuel faster.

7.        Have a Massage. Massage feels good and improves circulation while allowing you to fully relax. You can also try self-massage and Foam Roller Exercises for Easing Tight Muscles and avoid the heavy sports massage price tag.

8.        Take an Ice Bath. Some athletes swear by ice baths, ice massage or contrast water therapy (alternating hot and cold showers) to recover faster, reduce muscle soreness and prevent injury. The theory behind this method is that by repeatedly constricting and dilating blood vessels helps remove (or flush out) waste products in the tissues. Limited research has found some benefits of contrast water therapy at reducing delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS).

How to use contrast water therapy: While taking your post-exercise shower, alternate 2 minutes of hot water with 30 seconds of cold water. Repeat four times with a minute of moderate temperatures between each hot-cold spray. If you happen to have a spa with hot and cold tubs available, you can take a plunge in each for the same time.

9.        Get Lots of Sleep. While you sleep, amazing things are taking place in your body. Optimal sleep is essential for anyone who exercises regularly. During sleep, your body produces Growth Hormone (GH) which is largely responsible for tissue growth and repair.

10.     Avoid Overtraining. One simple way to recovery faster is by designing a smart workout routine in the first place. Excessive exercise, heavy training at every session or a lack of rest days will limit your fitness gains from exercise and undermine your 

WHAT TO EAT - WHAT NOT TO EAT!

What to eat and What not to eat are usually the most common questions I get asked. My answer to that is usually pretty simple. I tell people, "Never skip breakfast and make sure that everything you eat is a cooked meal and comes from your kitchen". Why? because if it comes from  your kitchen it is most likely going to be fresh, not full of preservatives, pumped with sodium, calories and will save you a lot of money. Secondly, I tell them to eliminate vegetable oil out of there diet and use Canola oil for frying and Olive oil for some kind of sauce/gravy and for salad dressing. The reason is vegetable oil is high in fat and less healthy as opposed to canola oil and olive oil who have less fat content and are actually beneficial to you health. Thirdly, I advise them to include a lot of fruits and vegetables in their diet for many reasons. Fruits and vegetables have a lot of nutrients that are good for you, are low in fat, and help fight certain common diseases. I also tell them to include spices in their food such curry, turmeric, chili powder and masala just to name a few. These spices not only help you fight diseases but also speed up your metabolism to help you lose weight.


The other advice that I give is for them to eliminate sugar/sweets from their diet. Drinking and eating foods high in sugar is bad for your health and can lead to diabetes but can also lead to weight gain and obesity. Instead, I tell them to substitute their sugar cravings with fruits and or low fat yogurt as a healthier choice. For snacks, I suggest for them to include lots of nuts as they are a good source of dietary fats. As for beverages, I tell them that they should drink at least 1L of water a day instead of pop and or juices. Drinking water helps you feel fuller and keeps the hunger feeling at bay all day. Furthermore, water promotes weight loss, and keeps your organs hydrated so they can function properly.


In all it's all about living a healthy balanced lifestyle. Developing healthy eating habit can be difficult, that is why I also tell people to include a CHEAT DAY in their diet. On the cheat day you can eat anything you want from anywhere. In return the cheat day helps you stay committed to your goals of eating healthy and not destroy your diet.


If you don't know how to cook or how to get started. I suggest you pick up this book Abs Diet and you can also visit the website http://www.absdiet.com/uof/absdiet/ for more information. It is the best dieting book I have read. This book is actually what put me back on track and taught me how to be a better cook and stay fit. The book teaches about the benefits of many foods, what kind of food to include in you grocery list, what to eat at a restaurant and many other benefits of healthy eating. . To top it all the recipes are great and tasty. 


For better results you can include this workout  The Deck of Cards part of your weight loss goals.

MEAL PLAN TO GET YOU LEAN!!

After the holidays we all have New Years Resolution of eating better , healthier and losing weight. So here is a good diet meal plan from the Abs Diet book. Anyone could use this sample meal plan to help them in their quest quest.

Monday

Breakfast

One tall glass (8 to 12 ounces) Abs Diet Ultimate Power Smoothie; make extra for later

Abs Diet Ultimate Power Smoothie (number of Powerfoods: 5)
1 cup 1% milk
2 tablespoons low-fat vanilla yogurt
¾ cup instant oatmeal, nuked in water
2 teaspoons peanut butter
2 teaspoons chocolate whey powder
6 ice cubes, crushed

Makes 2 8-ounce servings

Per serving: 220 calories, 12 g protein, 29 g carbohydrates, 4 g fat (1.5 g saturated), 3 g fiber, 118 mg sodium

Snack #1

2 teaspoons peanut butter, raw vegetables (as much as you want)

Lunch

Turkey or roast beef sandwich on whole-grain bread, 1 cup 1% or fat-free milk, 1 apple

Snack #2

1 ounce almonds, 1½ cups berries

Dinner

Mas Macho Meatballs (number of Powerfoods: 3)
1 pound extra-lean ground beef
½ cup crushed saltine crackers
1 large onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon ground flaxseed or whey powder
1 jar (16 ounces) tomato sauce
4 whole-wheat hoagie rolls
½ cup reduced-fat mozzarella cheese, shredded

1. Mix the beef, crackers, onion, garlic, and flaxseed or whey powder into golf ball-size meatballs.

2. In a nonstick skillet over medium heat, cook the meatballs until browned all the way around. Drain the fat from the skillet, and add the tomato sauce.

3. While the mixture is warming, use a fork to scoop out some of the bread in the rolls to form shallow trenches. Spoon the meatballs and sauce into each trench, and sprinkle with shredded mozzarella, and top with the top half of the roll.

Makes 4 servings

Per serving: 569 calories, 38 g protein, 65 g carbohydrates, 19 g fat (6 g saturated), 10 g fiber, 1,341 mg sodium

Snack #3 

8 to 12 ounces Abs Diet Ultimate Power Smoothie

HIIT [High Intensity Interval Training]

Finally, after a long period of not writing I'm finally back writing fitness tips. This past footy season was great both our division 1 and 2 teams won the Grand Finals. Our women's team were Grand Finals runner up in their inaugural season. Congrats to them and a job well done.

Today we are discussing High Intensity Interval Training or HIIT. Some of you may have already heard of it as it's becoming the new craze these days. You have also probably seen infomercials such as P90X, Insanity or CrossFit. All those fitness programs are all examples of HIIT. The truth is High Intensity Interval Training has been around for years. But has been steadily becoming mainstream in the last couple of years. Besides being an effective training method HIIT is also the biggest time-saver. It only takes 20 mins to complete a session. Studies have shown that HIIT training is more effective than jogging for 45 mins and or conventional weight training programs. By doing short but intense bursts of exertion raises endurance and improve cardiorespiratory fitness (The ability of your heart and lungs to pump oxygen to your muscles). It increases enzyme activity. It boots your metabolism - which helps you lose weight. The biggest benefit is that your body continues to burn calories hours after you have finished your workout!

If you are looking for faster results and a quicker way to tone your body. I suggest you include a HIIT session in you weekly work out. You may in pain for a couple of days but remember that aches and pains mean something is working.

Peep below to see an example.

How to Use High-Intensity Interval Training: A Translation

NORMAL WORKOUTS
Jog for 45 minutes at 8 mph, or swim moderately for 30 minutes, or bike for one hour at 10 mph.

HIIT VERSIONS
Sprint for 30 seconds, then rest for one minute. Repeat six times. Or swim full speed for 30 seconds, then rest for two minutes. Repeat five times. Or set stationary bike to highest resistance level, pedal furiously for one minute, then rest for one minute. Repeat five times.

THE ULTIMATE HIIT WORKOUT 
From Mark Merchant, co-owner, As One Fitness, New York: guaranteed to kick your ass — and quickly. Do each exercise for 30 seconds at full throttle. Then take a ten-second rest.

1. Squats
2. Push-ups
3. Planks
4. Burpees
5. Split squats
6. Bent-over rows
7. Supine hip extensions
8. Burpees.

Total workout time: Five minutes. If repeated four times (as suggested): 20 minutes.

TRAIN LIKE A WARRIOR!!

Today was a day like no other. I did a spin class  and let me tell you the spin class sucked all the energy out of me. At the end of the spin class my body was so weak that I felt like collapsing.. The spin class is definitely a great class for me since I'm recovering from a knee injury and can't really run and or workout my legs. So today, since I got beat up in spin class, I felt like posting a very challenging workout that would leave you just as exhausted but a workout that is also great for building muscle and burning fat in the process. This workout is also my favorite and its called the 300 Workout. Apparently the actors who did 300 had to go through this type of regimen to achieve the physic they had in the movie. 


The goal of the workout is to do a total of 300 reps of the prescribed exercises. Go through all the exercises with minimal rest or no rest at all. If you are a beginner and find this routine challenging begin with 15 repetitions of everything and work your way up. The goal of this workout is to go through all the exercises as fast as possible. Good luck and give it 110%.


Pullups - 25 reps
Deadlifts - 50 reps
Pushups - 50 reps
24-inch box jumps - 50 reps
Floor wipers - 50 reps
Single-arm Clean-and-Press with a Dumbbell - 50 reps
Pullups - 25 reps

BIGGER, STRONGER CHEST!

It's been a while since I posted a killer workout. Today, I have got one for you guys! Most men want to have a bigger, stronger chest and also want to look good and impress the ladies... But having a strong chest has many other benefits as well; 


Impressive power, The bench press is considered measure of strength. So when people ask you "how much can you bench?" being able to bench a lot will make people think that you are equally stronger in other exercises. 


Slimmer waist line. By packing more muscles in your shoulders, arms and chest will make your upper body look bigger and larger. As a result your waist line will look slimmer in the process. 


If you are a swimmer a stronger chest and shoulder muscles will give you more pulling power, which will allow you to swimmer longer and stay on top of the water.


Having a stronger chest will give you and edge in sports. Build a bigger chest and you'll dominate. 


The routine is fairly simple. Again its best if you have a partner who'll act as a spotter and who'll motivate you. For this routine you will lift a weight that 80% of your 1 rep Max.


Pre-exhaustion exercise.
Dumbbell Flies 1 set of 10.
immediately followed by 


Bench press (drop sets)
Begin by lifting 80% of your 1 rep max 10 times, Once you complete you first set, your partner will remove 10lbs off the bar. Do a second set of 10 then remove 10 lbs again and do a 3rd set of 10. Repeat in the same manner until all the weight is removed and you are down to the bar only. Then immediately move to;


Dips (Negative) 1 set of 10
Start in the up position as if you were going to perform a regular dip. Lower you body slowly with at least a 5 seconds count. When you reach the bottom explode up. Repeat 10 times. After this immediately perform;


Push-ups (Negative) 1 set of 10.
Place yourself in a push-up position. Lower your body slowly to the ground. When you reach the bottom explode up and repeat. 


To compliment the workout, you can perform 1 set of Bent-over Barbell Row, Barbell Squats and Hamstring Curls. Perform each exercise to failure, until you can no longer complete 1 rep.  

ARE YOU ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE!?

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!! It's that time of the year again, when everyone makes a new year resolution. That time of the year where most people make fitness and weight loss resolutions. As a matter of fact a good friend of mine called me today and said that they promised themselves to get back in the gym this year. I said that's great! She asked me to design a work out routine for her and asked to support her through and help her stay on track. So since it always hard for her to motivate herself to go to the gym, I suggested for her to chose her favorite fitness class and set some goals. But the goals could not be weight loss related. So we agreed for to go the gym at least twice a week as a small and easy goal. Since we didn't set any weight loss goal, this puts less pressure on her because she is simply trying to stay fit and not have to worry about losing weight by a certain date.

So the question is ARE YOU ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE!? Do you set fitness goals every new year and can't keep them and or lose motivation a month later. Do you get bored from your routine because it's the same routine all the time? Well don't beat yourself up too much, you are not the only one. Thousands of people do the same every year. So you are wondering, what can you do to stick to your new year's resolution? To start off set yourself a small and easy goal. It could be as easy as putting your shoes and getting out of your house and back in if you have trouble getting up. The point is set an easy goal that does not put a lot of pressure on you. Next find some support, someone who you know will encourage and help keep you on track. Someone who will not take your excuses not matter what or even someone that's also interested in working out. Lastly, pick exercises that you enjoy doing whether its a fitness class, spinning and or a weight training circuit. You can even have a bet with someone where you'll owe them money if you don't reach your goal.. I hope some of these ideas will help you stay on track. For those looking for new routine hit the jump to see this new killer workout.