Newsletter subscription and Media Feature

For anyone who has tried to sign up for my newsletter in the last couple of weeks and has received an error I am pleased to announce it has all been fixed.

On another note I have been featured in the January edition of the Four Shires publication. It is a half page spread on what a Personal Trainer is supposed to do for you as well as some information on how to make the most of your New Year's resolutions!

Simple tips to prevent fat gain over Christmas!

Here is an edited version of one of my posts from three years ago which has tips to help you prevent fat gain over Christmas.

Christmas is the one time of year where almost everyone accepts that they are going to be a bit sloppy with their diet (if they aren't already!) and will put on a few unwanted pounds. I myself stay strict with my diet over the Christmas period and allow a couple of planned days as a refeed rather than eating consistently poorly. Thankfully I have received an extremely generous hamper filled with high quality organic meat from a client of mine so I already have some of my Christmas food in stock!

If you want to know how to enjoy the foods you love while minimising fat accumulation here are the tips I use for carb ups. The majority of my existing client base should know these already but it is always helpful to have them on hand.

- Eat your protein first, binge later. This will lower your blood sugar response and cause less fat-storing insulin to be released.
- Save your treats for later in the day. While this goes against the grain of most advice it is important to know that usually when someone slips they slip in a big way. Saving it for later in the day is so you have a couple of cheat meals rather than an entire days worth
- Once you have binged you can limit the damage with vinegar (acetic acid), supplemental fibre, fish oil and cinnamon. There are some supplements out there which are fantastic for limiting fat gain from poor meal choices. Choosing any of these will result in less fat accumulation allowing you to have some damage control without changing your eating habits at all- bonus!

So there you have it, a quick few tips to help you over the Christmas period. Enjoy!

Discounts on Sports Nutrition Supplements

You can receive 25% off all supplements at the website www.oneon.co.uk. Just use the following code OOCCWW45.

Low carb diets superior for weight loss. A possible preventative measure for breast cancer?

A press release from the American Association for Cancer Research;

"Intermittent, Low-Carbohydrate Diets More Successful Than Standard Dieting, Present Possible Intervention for Breast Cancer Prevention"

- Intermittent, low-carbohydrate diets were superior in lowering blood levels of insulin, which can lead to cancer.
- Low-carbohydrate diet two days per week resulted in greater weight loss than standard daily dieting.

SAN ANTONIO — An intermittent, low-carbohydrate diet was superior to a standard, daily calorie-restricted diet for reducing weight and lowering blood levels of insulin, a cancer-promoting hormone, according to recent findings.

Researchers at Genesis Prevention Center at University Hospital in South Manchester, England, found that restricting carbohydrates two days per week may be a better dietary approach than a standard, daily calorie-restricted diet for preventing breast cancer and other diseases, but they said further study is needed.

“Weight loss and reduced insulin levels are required for breast cancer prevention, but [these levels] are difficult to achieve and maintain with conventional dietary approaches,” said Michelle Harvie, Ph.D., SRD, a research dietician at the Genesis Prevention Center, who presented the findings at the 2011 CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, held Dec. 6-10, 2011.

Harvie and her colleagues compared three diets during four months for effects on weight loss and blood markers of breast cancer risk among 115 women with a family history of breast cancer. They randomly assigned patients to one of the following diets: a calorie-restricted, low-carbohydrate diet for two days per week; an “ad lib” low-carbohydrate diet in which patients were permitted to eat unlimited protein and healthy fats, such as lean meats, olives and nuts, also for two days per week; and a standard, calorie-restricted daily Mediterranean diet for seven days per week.

Data revealed that both intermittent, low-carbohydrate diets were superior to the standard, daily Mediterranean diet in reducing weight, body fat and insulin resistance. Mean reduction in weight and body fat was roughly 4 kilograms (about 9 pounds) with the intermittent approaches compared with 2.4 kilograms (about 5 pounds) with the standard dietary approach. Insulin resistance reduced by 22 percent with the restricted low-carbohydrate diet and by 14 percent with the “ad lib” low-carbohydrate diet compared with 4 percent with the standard Mediterranean diet.

“It is interesting that the diet that only restricts carbohydrates but allows protein and fats is as effective as the calorie-restricted, low-carbohydrate diet,” Harvie said.

She and her colleagues plan to further study carbohydrate intake and breast cancer. This study was funded by the Genesis Breast Cancer Prevention Appeal (www.genesisuk.org).

http://www.aacr.org/home/public--media/aacr-press-releases.aspx?d=2649

Barbell Romanian Deadlifts from Podium

These are barbell romanian deadlifts from a podium. They are a fantastic exercise for strengthening your posterior chain (hamstrings, glutes and lower back) therefore it is fantastic for athletic performance, strength carry over into more standard lifts like the deadlift, flexibility (as you go into a stretch at the bottom), muscle gain and fat loss. It is also a valuable tool in certain injury rehabilitation programmes.

Fish oil, fat loss and so much more.

I was going to write a blog post about the benefits of fish oils. I started looking into studies which were worth writing about and then thought "why not just share what has been written already?" This is a concise list of why I consider fish oils a staple supplement.

If you aren't supplementing with fish oil, you are probably missing out. If you want to know which fish oil I use and recommend just send me an email with the subject line "Fish oil" and I will get back to you!


Why Fish Oils Are The Most Important Supplement by Charles Poliquin

Fish oils have been promoted as a potential cure for virtually all diseases. Some members of the medical community have inferred that most ailments can be healed by manipulating the ratios between the EPA and the DHA.

For those of us interested in positively and optimally altering body composition and maximizing our training efforts, fish oils offer sixteen possible advantages:

1. Has positive effects on any disease known to man. According to the Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database, fish oils have been shown to have medical applications in the treatment of extremely wide variety of ailments including hyperlipidemia, hypertriglyceridemia, coronary heart disease, cardiac arrhythmias hypertension, stroke, bipolar disorder, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, ulcerative colitis, Behcet’s syndrome, and Raynaud’s syndrome. Fish oils are also used orally for weight loss, asthma, cancer, painful menses, lung diseases, hay fever, Crohn’s disease, chronic fatigue syndrome, albuminuria associated with diabetic neuropathy, restenosis after angioplasty, miscarriage, preeclampsia, preterm labor, and intrauterine growth retardation. Fish oils are used for systemic lupus erythematosus, cystic fibrosis, gingivitis, renal impairment associated with cirrhosis, hyperglycemia associated with type 2 diabetes and claudication. Fish oils are also used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), dyslexia, and dyspraxia.

2. Cell membrane health. Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), insure that cell membranes remain healthy. This means that the membranes are flexible and contain larger numbers of insulin receptors that are more receptive and responsive to circulating insulin. This results in decreased fat storage in the adipocytes (fat cells).

3. Fish oils turn on the lipolytic genes. That means that the genes responsible for burning fat are activated, which means there is an increased utilization of fat stores from the adipocytes.

4. Fish oils turn off the lipogenic genes. That means that the fat storage genes are turned off.

5. Fish oils diminish C-reactive proteins. This a newly identified risk factor associated with various inflammatory diseases, including atherosclerosis, angina, coronary heart disease, heart attack, stroke, congestive heart failure and diabetes. The DHA fraction of the fish oil seems to be one most responsible for that protective effect. DHA also has best ability to reduce blood pressure.

6. Reduced inflammation from physical training. EPA has the greatest effect on reducing inflammation through its downstream metabolites known as resolvins. Resolvins may be the key to the beneficial actions of fish oil in human diseases.

7. Pain management from the reduced inflammation. While fish oils reduce pain and inflammation themselves, they are also displacing other more pro-inflammatory fats out of the cell membranes, having an additive effect. When people improve their omega-6 to omega-3 ratio, they report a noticeable improvement in pain.

8. Increased focus in training. EPA regulates blood supply to the brain which is essential in maintaining focus in weight training sessions. DHA is important in brain membranes, memory and cognitive function.

9. Fish oils increase serotonin levels(th ehappy neurotransmitter).Therefore, fish oils will decrease incidence of depression, anxiety, panic attack and reduce carbohydrate cravings.

10. Fish oils will improve your cardiovascular risk profile. Fish Oils will lower VLDL, triglycerides, homocysteine, fibrinogen and increase HDL levels. Combining fish oils with plant sterols will improve lipid levels even more than either alone.

11. Fish oils can also decrease blood pressure by several mechanisms. These include increases in the vasodilatory compound, nitric oxide, reducing vascular inflammation, blocking the constrictive elements in the vascular wall such as the calcium channels reducing blood viscosity, and inhibiting a blood vessel constrictor (thromboxane). Lipoprotein (a) is another CVD predictor that can be lowered by fish oils (a 19% reduction was seen with natural, stable fish oils and just 4% with a highly purified fish oil).

12. Fish oils are a great stress fighter .Supplementation with n-3 fatty acids inhibits the adrenal activation of steroids, aldosterone , epinephrine and norepinephrine ( catecholamines) elicited by a mental stress, apparently through effects exerted at the level of the central nervous system. Therefore, for the same amount of stress, one will produce fewer stress hormones if consuming fish oils on a regular basis.

13. Fish oils turn on the carnitine enzymes. These are the enzymes responsible for the burning of body fat.

14. Fish oils mitigate insulin response. This means that your blood sugar won’t rise as quickly and sugar is less likely to go to your fat cells.

15. Fish oils reduce arterial stiffness and increase vasodilation. This benefit, which is good for both heart health and athletic performance, has been shown to take effect in 4 hours or less.

16. Very easy compliance. Taking fish oil on a regular basis is something very easy for people to do. Nearly all obese people are depressed, so for them to take fish oil, because it raises serotonin, could be their first essential step towards a lean healthy body.

Source: http://www.charlespoliquin.com/Blog/tabid/130/EntryId/118/Why-Fish-Oils-Are-The-Most-Important-Supplement.aspx

Medium Grip Pull Ups

This is a recording I made earlier while training at Bannatynes in Banbury. Pull Ups are excellent for back, bicep, shoulder and core strength. You will struggle to see someone out of shape doing pull ups. Is that because doing pull ups gets you into shape or because being out of shape makes them extremely hard to do?

Once gain, suitable for males and females (it is just that females are afraid of putting on muscle too quickly).