What is Recovery?

Recovery is the period that immediately follows a training session or exercise workout.  This is the time where your body will repair itself from the stresses and loads it was subjected to through exercise.  As well as rest and relaxation, nutrition plays a vital part in your body’s ability to recover.   Carbohydrates, Protein, and hydration are the key nutritional factors that will give you a quicker recovery.

Carbohydrates

This is the source of energy that allows you to carry out your training sessions, much like the fuel tank in your car, you will not go very far on an empty tank.  It is fair to say that after a session, your ‘fuel tank’ will be lower than when you started.  This is why it is so important to make use of the recovery period and re-stock your tank before your next session.  If you do not fully recover, you may start your next session with half a tank, and subsequently ‘burn out’ much quicker during your session.  We have all been in the position when the low fuel light comes on in the car, and we automatically go into fuel saving mode by slowing down and taking it easy on the accelerator pedal.  We wouldn’t assume we could drive for hours on end with the low fuel on, this is the same with our body’s - it wouldn’t be possible.  Simple sugar carbohydrates that digest easily are a great choice for a swift recovery.  Fresh fruit and yoghurt is a good example.

-          Immediately after exercise consume 1g of carbohydrates for every kg of body weight.

Protein

During a training session you are placing your muscles under stress and are effectively weakening them.  In order for you muscles to recover, they need to be repaired.  Protein is great at aiding the repairing process.  Unlike carbohydrates, our body’s do not store protein, so we need to drip feed our body with rich protein throughout the day for maximum recovery.  Good sources of protein would be things such as poultry, fish, and dairy produce.  Tuna pasta bake would be ideal for a good mixture of carbohydrates and protein (Providing plenty of carbohydrates from the pasta, and protein from the tuna)

-          Immediately after exercise consume 15-20g of protein.

Hydration

During a training session we will loose some body fluid, usually in the form of sweat.  It is very important that this fluid is replaced in order to speed up the recovery process.  We should aim to replace the fluid deficit by at least 150% to help compensate for the rise in body temperature after exercise.  So if you loose 1kg in bodyweight after training, then this would equate to 1.5L needed for recovery.  This amount of fluid should be drank over a period of a few hours, and not in one sitting.

-          Drink 1.5L of fluid for every Kg lost during training

3 Great Recovery meals Full of carbohydrates and protein

-          Tuna Pasta Bake

-          Baked Potato with Baked Beans

-          Fresh Fruit and Yoghurt




Trev

www.SprintPersonalTraining.co.uk

Kick-start your new healthy eating regime by emptying your fridge of all the bad foods and be more prepared in the kitchen.


Step  1 - "Out of sight, out of mind"

Get rid of the rubbish that fills up your cupboards and fridge.  If low quality foods such as snacks, sauces, dressings, and high processed foods are filling your cupboards then your more likely to snack on them.  The first step is to get rid of them and remove all temptation.

Step 2 – Read the labels

It is very important to know what you are eating, so get into the habit of reading the labels on food packaging.  This will allow you to gather information about the nutritional content in the foods you eat. 

-          Stay away from sugary foods (Sugar is labelled as carbohydrates, less than 5g/100g is ok).

-          Stay away from fatty foods (Less than 3g/100g is ok).

-          Stay away from saturated fats, trans fats, artificial flavours, and colourings.

-          Stay away from processed foods (Usually a huge list of ingredients on the label is a big giveaway).

Step 3 – Be Prepared

Plan your meals the night before.  This will encourage a good selection of healthy food choices, ensuring you have a well-stocked fridge of fruit and vegetables.  Make sure you take enough food to work to last the day and stop you from impulse buying at the vending machine.

Healthy food choices

- Fruit and Vegetables

- Lean Meats and Fish

- Wholegrains (Bread, Pasta, Rice)

- Whole Oats

- Eggs

- Olive Oils, Fish Oils

- Nuts and Seeds

- Dairy Produce


Trev

www.SprintPersonalTraining.co.uk

Protein: The Benefits

So why is it that so many bodybuilders take protein shakes? Well, protein is used for the production of muscles. Proteins are also used to manufacture hormones, enzymes, cellular messengers, nucleic acids, and immune-system components. Without adequate protein, our bodies can't put together the structures that make up every cell, tissue, and organ, nor can it generate the biochemical substances needed for cardiovascular function, muscle contraction, growth, and healing. Without an adequate amount of protein our muscles wouldn't heal up as quickly and could therefore lead to overtraining your muscle which could lead to injury.

Also, after a workout is one of the best time to get protein into the body so that the protein can be delivered to your muscles, to begin healing the "micro tears" (very small tears in the muscle tissue, caused by intense contraction of the muscle during workout) in the muscle.

Because solid food takes more time to digest and to break down the protein and send it to the muscles, it can be best to take a protein shake immediately following a workout, since protein shakes only take about 30 minutes to reach the muscle after ingestion. Definitely, we can see the advantage to taking a protein shake in this instance.

Which Protein Is The Best Choice?

Whey protein has become a favourite supplement for those seeking to put on muscle and enhance their physiques as well as improve their health. In order to decipher which protein is best for a particular need, typically one would use a specific gauge of some sort (e.g., protein quality tests) to determine which protein to use. The most commonly used criteria to measure the quality of a protein is Biological Value (or BV for short), which is the amount of nitrogen (body protein in grams) replaceable by 100 grams of protein in the adult diet.

Proteins with the highest BV are considered by many to be the best for promoting growth, but this is an often disputed issue among scientists. However, most scientists directly involved with protein research agree that the higher the BV, the better the protein is digested, used, and retained in the body. This should equate into more lean tissue gained, all things being equal (i.e., calories, exercise choice, etc.). It is, however, a very complicated topic not given to such black and white answers.

The bottom line is, whey is a complete protein with a very high BV and this means it contains all the essential and nonessential amino acids and boasts the highest branched-chain amino acid content found in nature. The BV of whey is approximately 104, while the next highest BV is 100, for whole egg. In contrast, the BV of whole milk is 91, the BV of casein is 77, beef is 80, soy is 74, wheat is 54, and beans are 49.

Again, BV is only one criteria for proteins, and although important, people often make too big a deal of it. For example, beef has a fairly low BV but has been a staple protein for athletes (and people in general) for decades. Soy has a low BV but has other potentially useful properties. So, as a general guide to choosing proteins, BV is something to consider but should not cause people to put blinders on to other proteins.

How Much Should You Take In?

The minimum amount of protein that you should take in for building muscle is 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight (for instance, if you weigh 200 pounds than the minimum amount of protein you should take in is 200 grams of protein for muscle growth). Any additional protein that exceeds the daily minimum for muscle gain just helps to speed up the healing process.

Even though there has been debate over a maximum amount of protein you should take in, it is my belief that it is not possible for somebody to take in too much protein, however, if you take in huge amounts of protein it is a good idea to supplement your diet with calcium and magnesium since excessive amounts of protein has been proven to deplete the amount of calcium and magnesium in the body. However, I emphasize high protein ingestion for more than one reason. Not only do muscles require the marvellous ingredient to repair and grow but also three-quarters of the solids in the body are comprised of proteins.

When Are The Best Times To Take In Protein?

So now you know the benefits and how much you should take in, but the question arises, when is the best time to take protein into your body? Well, one of the times that your body is in need of it the most is immediately following a workout since your body starts to heal the muscle right after a workout, taking protein at that time will give the body the fuel it needs to heal and grow.

Following your workout it's a good idea to take in small meals containing high protein in about three to four hour intervals, thereby providing your muscles with a constant supply of protein to help your muscles heal. It is also vital to take in a protein drink or a slow burning protein (such as cottage cheese) before you go to bed therefore providing your muscles with protein, since your body will be slowly depleted of protein as you sleep. Breakfast is a key meal as well, because your body awaits nourishment after sleeping for 8-12 hours. One of the best tips of advice I can give you though, is to eat consistently, day in and day out.

What brand do I choose?

There are many company's out there trying to over-sell their products saying they can do a lot more than what they actually can.  Starting off will be more of a trial-&-error game for you until you find what's best for you, and what you actually see gains from.  Study all the most popular brands at length, looking at their nutrition labels, scoop sizes, the recommended daily intake, cost, etc, and weigh up your options.  Something as simple as the flavour or mix-ability may sway you to choose a more expensive supplement.  Some popular brands can be reviewd in the link below.

Check out http://www.bestproteinshakes.org.uk/protein-shake-reviews.php


Trev,

www.SprintPersonalTraining.co.uk

Weak muscles are often at the root of back pain, especially lower back pain. The muscles of the back, the abdomen, and the buttocks all support the spine - these muscles are called the core muscles.

Muscles are the spine's main defence against gravity. Strengthening the muscles that support the spine with exercises, can prevent, reduce and even eliminate back pain.

Strong abdominal muscles (especially the deep abs) are as crucial as strong back muscles for supporting the lower back and preventing lower back pain. Strong quadriceps (front of thigh muscles) is important to prevent back injuries when lifting. Proper lifting techniques involve using your legs and if your legs are weak, you may end up using your back.

Back Strengthening exercises

Before you do any of the following exercises it is important to activate your abdominal muscles.  As good practice, this should be done for every exercise you do and not just when you’re working on your back. 

Activating your abdominal muscles (This is referred to as ‘tightening your abs’)

1)    Engage the Transversus Abdominis, try coughing.  The deep muscle you feel contracting is the Transversus Abdominis.  Hold this contraction after you have coughed.

2)    Draw your naval in towards your spine, then release this until you have a 30% contraction.   (It is only an approximation)

3)    Finally engage your pelvic floor, do this by contracting the deep muscles you use to stop yourself from passing urine and wind  (Sometimes it helps to imagine you need the toilet but there are no toilets nearby so you have to hold it in).

The Bridge:Strengthens several core muscle groups - buttocks, abs, back

Lay flat on your back; bend knees at 90-degree angle, feet flat on floor. Tighten abs. Raise buttocks off floor, keeping abs tight. Shoulder to knees should be in straight line. Hold for a count of five. Slowly lower buttocks to floor. Repeat five times.

The Plank:Strengthening exercise for back, abs and neck (also strengthens arms and legs)

Lay on stomach, place elbows and forearms on floor. In a push-up position, balance on your toes and elbows. Keep your back straight and legs straight. (Like a plank) Tighten abs. Hold position for 10 seconds. Relax. Repeat five to ten times. If this exercise is too difficult, use balance on your knees instead of your toes.

The Side Plank: Strengthens the obliques (side abdominal muscles or ‘Love Handles’)

Lay on right side. Place right elbow and forearm on floor. Tighten abs. Push up until shoulder is over elbow. Keep your body in a straight line – feet, knees, hips, shoulders, head aligned. Only forearm and side of right foot are on floor (feet are stacked). Hold position for 10 seconds. Relax. Repeat five to ten times. Repeat on left side. If this exercise is too difficult, balance on stacked knees (bend knees and keep feet off floor) instead of feet.

Wall Squat: Strengthening exercise for back, hips and quads.

Stand with your back against a wall, heels about 18 inches from the wall, feet shoulder-width apart. Tighten abs. Slide slowly down the wall into a crouch with knees bent to about 90 degrees. If this is too difficult, bend knees to 45 degrees and gradually build up from there. Count to five and slide back up the wall. Repeat 5 times. Use a stability ball if needed

Leg and Arm Raises: Strengthening exercise for back and hip muscles.

Lay on stomach, arms reached out past your head with palms and forehead on floor. Tighten abs. Lift one arm (as you raise your head and shoulders) and the opposite leg at the same time, stretching them away from each other. Hold for 10 - 20 seconds. Switch sides.

Leg lifts: Quad Strengthening Exercise

Lay flat on back. Bend right knee at 90-degree angle, keeping foot flat on floor. Tighten abs. Keeping the left leg straight, slowly lift it to the height of the left knee. Hold for a count of 3. Repeat 10 times. Switch sides.

Feeling peckish between meals?  It's so easy to just snack on whatever is in your cupboards.  Most of the foods we snack on tend to be high in Fat content or sugary foods that will give your body a quick fix between meals, but are not necessarily good for your body.  We tend to have temptation to over-indulge because most of these foods taste good.  If you are trying to manage your weight or just become healthier, your intake of these 'bad snacks' needs to be minimised. 

Below you can see a list of common 'bad snacks' along with some healthier alternatives.  Give them a try, and make a start to a new healthier you!

Trev

Sprint Personal Training

The Key to Your Metabolism

Your body needs fuel to function, and It requires energy for pretty much everything. These are things such as keeping your heart beating, circulating blood, breathing, and even thinking. Your body obtains this energy from the food you eat, and if that is insufficient, it takes energy from your body's fat storage. How efficiently or inefficiently your body burns fuel depends largely on your metabolic rate. Some people have a high metabolic rate, which means that they can seemingly eat all they want without gaining weight. Others have a low rate, and seem to gain on almost nothing.

The key to a fitter, healthier you lies in your metabolism and how clean your internal body is. Metabolism is a biochemical process that governs how quickly you turn calories into energy.  Your metabolism will increase every time you eat, so it is best to eat several small meals each day, rather than one or two big meals. This will keep your metabolic rate from slowing down between meals. Avoid sugar and simple carbohydrates, as they will make insulin levels rise dramatically and are easy for the body to digest (and thus convert to fat) as well.

You use energy and burn fat when you are doing physical activity and digesting food, but you also continue to burn fat even while you are at rest. The rate at which you burn fat when you are resting is called your basal metabolic rate (BMR). There are ways to speed it up so that you can burn fat faster even when you’re not doing much.  In this article you will discover tips that will help to increase your metabolism.

The higher your metabolism, the more efficiently you body will burn calories and thus the easier you can lose weight.  Foods that are hard for your body to digest also help you to lose weight.  However, every coin has two sides, and the flipside of speeding up your metabolism is slowing it down.  You might be doing things that slow down your metabolism and allow your body to store excess fat without even realising it.

How your metabolism can be slowed down

Eating Poorly – Bin the fizzy pops and snack cakes! Treats are fine; just make them organic, healthy, natural foods.  Avoid high processed fat foods.

Not Enough Sleep – If your body is exhausted then the efficiency with which it burns calories goes down the toilet.  A well rested body is more efficient.

Being Stressed Out – Stress causes high levels of a hormone called cortisol in your body, which leads to belly fat.  Relax and let go.

Dieting – Believe it or not, strict dieting can lead to lower metabolism. Avoid fad diets and super low calorie diets. Low calorie diets cause your body to switch to starvation mode, your metabolism slows down to keep you from burning too many calories, then when you eat again your body stores the calories as fat. Fad diets may work in the short term, but the true path to a healthier you is to improve your overall eating habits over the long term.

A Toxic Body – The accumulation of toxins in the body slows down the metabolism because the body has to work extra hard to eliminate these toxins on a daily basis.

There are factors that affect your metabolism that are beyond even your control. Metabolism naturally slows down as you age, especially in women.

Some people are the victims of an under-active thyroid, adrenal burnout or unfortunate family genetics that lead to weight gain, but there are still ways to speed up your metabolism, even if you have a horrible diet and are genetically predisposed to carrying more weight than you would like.

Tips to Speed Up Your Metabolism

Exercise - It doesn’t matter whether you cycle, swim, walk or jog, but do something to get yourself moving. A regular exercise routine is best, but remember to make slight changes to it once in awhile so your body doesn’t reach a plateau and stop improving.  Ten minutes out of your busy day may not seem like a lot when you’re first starting out, but if you exercise for 10 minutes, six days this week, that’s an hour more workout that you did last week! As you and your family get used to your routine it will become easier and easier to increase 10 minutes to 12, 15 and 20 minutes per day.

Tone up, Lean muscle - If you work on building up some lean muscle mass with weight training then you are guaranteed to burn more calories than just by doing cardio alone. Why? Because muscle burns calories for you even when you’re at rest-it raises your BMR to help you burn fat!

Do Intervals - When you do interval training, for example if you jog for 12 minutes total, but every 2 minutes you increase your speed to a hard run for 1 minute, your body is working a lot harder, so you get a more intense workout.

Get Up! - Stand up from your desk and walk around the office, go up and down the stairs a few times, park farther away or play with the dog. If you use these little bursts of energy throughout the day then your metabolism will stay revved up and you’ll keep burning more calories.

Breakfast - Start early with a smart breakfast that includes only fresh fruit.  When you wake up in the morning your body is in starvation mode because you’ve been fasting, but when you eat breakfast you boost your metabolism so that you start burning calories earlier, thereby burning more total calories through the day. What you eat and how often has a large impact on your metabolic rate.

Eat often - This will keep your metabolism pumping all day long, and when you eat many small meals through the day you tend to eat less at one time, which puts less burden on your digestive system and lets it work more efficiently.

Eat spicy foods - If they’re hot enough they’ll kick your metabolism into high gear and you’ll break a sweat!

Snack smart - On lean protein like nuts, seeds or hemp milk. Protein is high in amino acids so it takes more work for your body to break down, which means you burn more calories while you’re digesting it.

Chew Your Food – Chew up to 25 times before swallowing. This will save your body’s energy stores and speed up your metabolism.

Foods That Speed Up Your Metabolism

Lean meats and poultry - Chicken, turkey, and lean beef and pork all require more energy to digest than carbohydrates and fat.

Green tea - Green tea has a combination of caffeine and a chemical called ECGC. Caffeine raises your heartbeat, which makes your body burn more calories. ECGC also speeds up the nervous system, again burning more calories. Coffee (without cream and sugar) can also help by raising the heartbeat.

Hot peppers - Cayenne, jalapeno, and habanero peppers all contain capsaicin, which raises the heart rate and boosts metabolism. Studies have shown that even one hot pepper can boost metabolism by as much as 25% for as long as 3 hours after eating.

Salmon, tuna, and sardines - All of these contain Omega-3 fatty acids, which lower the levels of leptin in the body. Lower leptin levels mean a higher metabolism. Studies indicate that fish oil capsules may have a similar effect for those who do not like fish.

Oatmeal - The combination of fibre and complex carbs keep your insulin levels from spiking after you eat. Spikes in insulin signal the body to lower the metabolism. However, the oatmeal should be rolled oats, not the instant kind, for best results.

Other foods that can help your body burn calories are those that the body has trouble digesting easily. Spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, and celery are all filling choices that require your body to expend a lot of energy to process. They should be eaten raw and without sauce. Grapefruit also raises the metabolic rate, and studies have shown that there is some merit to the grapefruit diet. The calcium in low fat dairy products works in two ways, first by keeping insulin levels from spiking and second from the difficulty the body has in processing dairy. Cold water is also a metabolism booster, since the body has to warm it to process it.

Here are some Foods which will help boost your metabolism.

Apples | Celery | Garlic | Lemons | Mangos | Onions | Papaya | Cabbage | Green Tea | Nut milks
Seed milks | Asparagus | Cucumbers | Pineapple | Grapefruit | Cauliflower | Raw Nuts & Seeds
Green, Leafy Veggies | Lettuce | Avocado | Carrots | Berries | Oranges | Spinach | Turnips
Broccoli | Tomatoes | Zucchini

Why not try adding some of these foods into your daily intake and see if you feel the boost!

Trev

Sprint Personal Training

The foundation to getting and staying in shape is a good Cardiovascular workout.  As well as its many health benefits, it is proven to help burn body fat to get that lean body most people desire.  Cardiovascular training can be any activity that keeps your heart rate elevated for a sustained period of time.  During this period your body will burn vast amounts of calories, especially fat, and so it is essential to do Cardiovascular training in order to reduce you body fat %.  Some of the Health benefits include;

• Weight loss
• Stronger heart and lungs
• Increased bone density
• Reduced stress
• Temporary relief from depression and anxiety
• More confidence about how you feel and how you look
• Better sleep
• More energy

In addition to these benefits, regular cardio training helps prevent a variety of diseases including heart attack, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and obesity.

Types of Cardiovascular training

Continuous Aerobic Training (CAT)

This type of Cardiovascular training is what you would commonly see people doing in the gym.  It consists of exercise at moderate intensity, for usually long periods of time.  An example of this would be to run on a treadmill at 75% of your max heart rate for 30 – 45 minutes.  This training is good for beginners as it slowly introduces exercise to the body in order for it to make adaptations.

Random (Also known as Fartlek)

This type of Cardiovascular training involves random speed play.  There are no set times, speeds, or intensity levels preset for this workout.  The idea of this type of training is that you will be pushing your body through the different energy systems it uses during exercise in order to cope with the energy demands.  For example, a 100 meter sprinter may use the phospho-creatine, and a marathon runner would use the aerobic energy system.  Random training will take you into both of these energy systems as well as the lactic energy system which is anaerobic (Does not use oxygen)

Intervals

Interval training is carried out at a much higher intensity, pushing your body to the limit.  During interval training you should be aiming for about 80-95% of your max heart rate.  Some advance interval training (Expletives and cruise training) may even go as high as 100%, so you are working as hard as you possibly can.  The principle of this training is to have a work and rest phase.  The work phase is where your body is pushed all out, and the resting phase is where the body has chance to recuperate for the next interval.  It has been proven to burn more calories than continuous aerobic training due to the body’s metabolism constantly spiking.  Also, because of the high intensities reached during this training, the body becomes fatigued at a much faster pace, so interval training can only be sustained for usually 20-30 minutes.  Overall, Interval training is one of the most effective fat burning workouts, due to the high intensities reached in such small times.

How it can be done

Cardiovascular training can be done many ways.  Outside of the gym it can be done by running, walking, cycling, swimming, etc.  In the gym it can be done on a treadmill, rowing machine, bicycle, cross trainer, stepper, etc.  Choose a machine suitable for the type of cardiovascular training.  For example don’t choose a treadmill if you plan to do high intensity intervals, as there is a risk involved when changing between the work/rest phases at high speeds.   Choose a machine that is right for your fitness level.  If you prefer a low impact machine, something that will be light stress on the joints, then choose a Cross trainer rather than a treadmill.  Introduce some interval training in your next workout and see how many more calories you burn.  

Trev Flowers  

Sprint Personal Training