Peri-workout supplements for lean muscle

I didn't start seeing proper results until I did 2 things.

1. Work harder

2. Not neglecting the fact that peri-workout supplementation is paramount!


In the last year, by focusing on these 2 points I've seen some of the best results of my life. Take a look at this before/after shot. On the left is pic from August 2012 (69kg) and on the right is one from August 2013 (73kg).

Today I wanted to talk about point number 2. Peri-workout supplementation. This basically means the supplements you take before, during and after your workout. Now I used to have a whey protein shake after my workout with a fast digesting carb. Which is great, but I was neglecting things. This was potentially holding me back from making each workout better than the last, which if you want results, is what you need to do! Now I'm forever experimenting with different products, but right now this is what I believe to be the most effective peri-workout supplement stack for lean muscle and strength gains....

PRE-WORKOUT

⚫ Caffeine - this fires up the adrenal glands and increases energy for the session. Aim for 5-10mg per kg of bodyweight. You'll have to experiment with this as its obviously going to be down to your tolerance to caffiene. You want to feel a good buzz, what you don't want is to be so jittery and shakey you can't even focus on a task for less than 5 seconds!

⚫ L-carnitine - boosts certain neurotransmitters that control focus and drive. Try 2000mg.

INTRA-WORKOUT

⚫ BCAA's in water - sip 10-15g grams of powdered BCAA's during your session. This will help prevent catabolism. BCAA's also compete with the amino acid tryptophan, a precursor to the calming neurotransmitter serotonin. In non-fitness geek terms, this means it will prevent you from getting a sleepy slump half way through your workout.



POST-WORKOUT

⚫ Whey protein - aim for 30-40g of good quality whey. This will increase protein sysnthises and help your muscles recover.

⚫ Vitargo - a fast digesting carb such as vitargo will help replenish depleted glycogen levels after your workout. Depending on your goal, aim for 50-100g.

⚫ Glutamine - this amino acid is needed for cell growth and serves as fuel for the immune system. During periods of heavy, intense training, muscle and blood glutamine levels drop quite dramatically. Therefore athletes/trainees are more susceptible to infection at this time. Glutamine after your workout will help replenish levels, and support the immune system. Go for 5-10 grams.

combine this stack with a good diet and some intense workouts, you'll see some epic results! I look forward to seeing your before/after photos...

To receive an exclusive 10% off all myprotein supplements use discount code: 007PT80

Ultimate obliques

I get asked a lot how to get those lines up the sides of your stomach. They look cool right? Ladies love 'em and they're responsible for hundreds of daily activities like twisting to pick your shopping bags up and supporting the core. Visually, the obliques help add detail to the torso and draw attention to the main event, the 6 pack. I would say they're visually one of my best muscles. Here's a candid iPhone shot I took the other night....

Now to get them showing through, your bodyfat needs to be sub 10%, so a good clean diet is a must. However training them will help strengthen and develop them so they pop through. Here's 5 of my favourite exercises I use and reccomend to everyone to train your obliques effectively.


Seated medicine ball twist - a classic! this should be in everyones routine. use an 8-10kg med ball and aim for 20-30 reps for 3-4 sets. Try to perform it with your feet of the floor for more of a challenge.


1 arm kettlebell rack walks - I love these! By using just 1 kettlebell you offset the weight and make your obliques engage more. 3-4 sets of 30 metres


Cable woodchop - aim to keep that neutral spine through this one, its so easy to mess up. Aim for 3 sets each side of 8-12 reps.


Hanging windshield wiper - this is a toughy and will leave you in bit for days after, but its a great exercise. Do as many revolutions as you can for 3-4 sets.


Side crunch to twist on exercise ball - this is a great money exercise for your obliques. They work to flex the torso up and rotate it around. Aim for 3 sets of 15 reps. If you've got the big boy pants on, hold a dumbbell or weight plate.



Pick 2-3 of the exercises each time you train your obliques and try them for 3-4 weeks to see how your body responds to them. Any questions, please don't hesitate to get in touch

Happy training!

Lighter fluid for the fat burning furnace

A big part of fat loss is about developing little habits. Little habits that all add up to produce fast, effective results. I would urge everyone that wants to lose weight fast and effectively to incorporate these 2 habits into their daily life. Let me introduce 2 of the best fat burning drinks you can drink.....

Iced water - drinking 2L of water a day consecutivley for 6 months alone can produce up to a 5% loss  in body fat. Try adding ice, and this adds a completely new benefit. Because the ice is cold, your body has to work to warm it back up to body temperature. This raises your resting metabolic rate, meaning your total calories expended per day will increase.

Green tea with lemon - studies have shown green tea can cause weightloss from a mild increase in thermogenesis, ie. calorie burning. This is partly from its caffeine content and partly from its catechins and flavanols content. As another benefit it contains some strong anti-oxidants. Try and find real green tea leaves as opposed to the tea bags as they're much more potent. Adding a slice of lemon makes it taste a little better and helps alkalise the body. Aim for anything from 1-3 cups a day.

Desert island supplements

You join me 35,000ft up, somewhere over the Atlantic on a flight homeward bound. Amongst other things, I'm bored. There's only so many times you can watch the bleach blonde donut-haired air hostess's legs walk up and down the gangway before she gets annoyed. So to pass the time I thought I'd do something relatively productive - blog. Being this bored got me thinking, imagine if this plane was to go down, and crash land on a desert island. Much like the opening episode of 'lost'. Horrific! I know. The fitness and bodybuilding regime would crash (no pun intended) and fly right out of the window. or would it? 

Let me tell you about this island. It's population is 0. There's drinkable water. foods such as bananas, pineapples and coconuts thrive and are easily available. Seafood, like fish and crabs are available, but need to be caught. It's average temperature is 30 degrees. And the sun beats down day after day. Exercise on the island is easy as there's lots of things to push and pull. So a healthy, active lifestyle is easy to maintain. I've got one supplement in my bag. Is it the ultimate supplement to help support my new desert island lifestyle and keep me working towards my fitness and bodybuilding goals? I think so....

There's only a few supplements I'd ever recommend to my clients, because quite honestly, many of them are crap and a waste of your hard earned cash. Let me go through some of them and reveal what my 'if I were stranded on a desert island and could only take one supplement' is. 

Vitamin D - no, no, no. The "sunshine vitamin" as it's called is made in your body when exposed to uv light. There's plenty of this on the desert island.

Omega 3 - not this time. Foods such as fish and coconuts are high in good fats.

Zinc - a good choice. It will help support immune levels and maintain testosterone levels, but I think there's a better choice if you wanted more bang for your buck on this occasion.

Whey protein - not bad, your protein intake may be low depending on what food you've caught, but with only a 20kg allowance on most suitcases, a large tub of whey is a stupid idea unless your only packing 1 pair of socks, 1 pair of underwear and a toothbrush. 

BCAA capsules - yes! BCAA's made up of the amino acids L-leucine, L-isoleucine and L-valine are small, compact and extremely useful in this situation. Your diet may be lacking the full amino acid spectrum on the desert island due to unpredictable meals. Studies have shown they actually have immune strengthening properties, but what they are most known for is being the building blocks of the body. This will help build and retain lean muscle. This will keep your body in an anti-catabolic state. So you'll still be looking your best a million miles from home. So the tables will turn, and it'll be bleach-blondey air hostesses time to gawp!

Take home point from this post is BCAA caps make a great supplement choice to take away with you on vacation, if your going to be spending a long period away from home or if you plan on crash landing on a desert island. 

Get a beach body and eat pizza!

I'm less than a week into 'beach mode' and I'm already getting bored with the bland food. So I'm experimenting with different foods all the time. Check out this carb-less pizza, everyone loves pizza right?

How to make the pizza...

Cook one chicken breast
Blend the chicken breast in a blender or mash it up with a meat cleaver.
Create the pizza base with the blended chicken
Add toppings of your choice. I used tomato purree, mozzarella cheese, mushrooms and red pepper
Season with mixed herbs
Bake in the oven for a further 10-20 mins
Enjoy....

The superhero vitamin

Vit D is synthesised in the body in response to sun exposure or it can be obtained from food/supplement form. Chances are though your not getting enough sun exposure to create optimum amounts of Vit D (especially if you live in the uk). So it might be worth investing in a supplement. Look for 'vitamin D3' as its superior to its standard vitamin D counterpart. For a long time vitamin D was simply looked at as a bone health vitamin, but studies have shown its benefits branch out more. Much, much more....


Muscle strength 

Lean body mass

Blood sugar regulation

Insulin resistance

Muscle power 

Male and female reproductive health

Cardiovascular health

Fat loss

Immune function

Prevention of obesity 

Treatment of hypertension (high blood pressure)

Kidney health

Bone strength and density 

Acts as an anti-depressant 

Maternal health


Remember, there's 3 ways you can get your vitamin D levels up 

1. Sunshine
2. Vitamin D3 supplement
3. Eat foods high in Vit D such as cod liver oil, fish, oysters, caviar, eggs, mushrooms. 

Hands down, there's no other vitamin or supplement that gives you more 'bang for your buck' than what vitamin D does. It's not only essential for your health and fitness goals, but essential for life! 

How to get a body like Candice Swanepoel

In the gym, in a bar, at a party, it doesn't matter where I may be, as soon as a I tell a girl I'm a personal trainer you can pretty much guarantee they reel of a pre-prepared speech of questions like...

(Takes deep breath)

"How can I tone the insides of my legs and loose fat from my tummy and shape the back of my arms and develop a really nice bum and make my legs look longer and tighten up my abdominal muscles and lose fat off my back?"

(Looks and me with excited eyes and a big smile)

At first I don't normally give a direct answer, I usually want to find out what their currently doing and why it's not working for them. They're responses usually always involve:

Cardio (lots of it)
Bicep curls (with weights equivalent of a baked bean tin)
Crunches
Zumba class

Sound familiar? It's great, your doing some exercise, but it will only get you so far! Obviously diet plays a huge roll in getting that Candice Swanepoel figure, its also worth noting that you are tied to your genetic limitations when it comes to sculpting your perfect body. Your bone structure will always be the same, your height will always be the same etc. Candice has a slim, lean, muscular body, defined abs and definition in her arms,legs and shoulders. She looks strong yet sexy and feminine. In other terms - Perfect!

Here's 5 things you should be doing in the gym to achieve a similar look:

Sprint intervals
Sprint training is a great fat burning and metabolism revving tool. You can get more work done in a shorter period of time and its more exciting than a 30 minute jog. Check out this blog post for more info on sprint training http://fitinfivehundredwords.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/sprints-for-win.html

Focus on money exercises
What are money exercises? These are the ones that give you the most bang for your buck aka compound exercises. Compound exercises use more than one muscle group, burn plenty of calories and rev your metabolism. Examples are - squat, chest press, lunge, romanian deadlift, kettlebell swings and burpees.

Shorter rest periods between sets
Because females generally have less overall muscle than males they are generally weaker. This means they can recover faster between sets. The effort can usually be repeated in as little as 30 seconds. A faster paced workout will also burn more calories...bonus!

Lift heavier
The ideal rep range for females is 8-15, so pick a load that is ideal for that amount of repetitions. You need to challenge yourself and give your body stimulus to change. Baked bean tin bicep curls ain't going to cut it! High reps (20+) do not help burn fat or improve definition, lifting heavy will burn far more calories and keep your metabolism revved for hours after your workout.

Keep sessions short an intense
An ideal workout should be quick and intense. The ideal time is 45-60 minutes, not 3 hours of nonsense. Long workouts will either put you in so much of a calorie deficit you look fatigued, thin and wiry or the exact opposite and raise your cortisol levels up which will hold fat around your middle. Neither one of them is the look we're going for.