WHY DO YOU GET SORE AFTER THE GYM?

11/8/2019

Why do you get sore a day or two after completing a gym session you’re not accustomed to?

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It’s called DOMS, or maybe known as delayed onset muscle soreness.

In particular this occurs after exercise as the person is not familiar with the exercises, intensity, movements that’s performed during the session. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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DOMS are believed to be the result of microscopic tears within the connective tissues that hold the muscle fibers together. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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How can you prevent such soreness?

By using a foam roller post work out by rolling slowly over the targeted muscle groups previously trained can assist in expelling metabolic waste from the muscle itself whilst simultaneously promoting blood flow.

Consuming an adequate amount of Protein and Carbohydrates within your diet will also help assist in your recovery process.

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YOU THINK YOU KNOW ABOUT GUT HEALTH?

7/7/2019

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Few weeks ago I attended the RP Nutrition and Training to Optimise your Physique and Performance Seminar. The area I found most interesting was the gut health section by Dr. Gabrielle Fundaro. At the moment on social media there so many “self qualified” gurus, influencers, nutritionists and even personal trainers (if they are even PTs) talking about how gut health is the pinnacle of weight loss and selling supplements to “heal” your gut.

What experts know about gut health now

Research on humans started around 2010 (which is very new)

Not 100% sure on what an actual “healthy” gut is but for now it can mean resistance to perturbations (less sickness and good adaptation to new environments) and having diversity which can be done through eating huge variety of foods.
65% of the human gut microbiome is determined by genetics, sex, ethnicity, environment and other things we can’t control. 20% or more is determined by physical activity and diet and this what we can control (very small portion). Little to no evidence suggest that any gut health supplements and superfoods aid in the health of the gut.
Eating a variety of foods, 5 serves of veggies, 2 serves of fruits, lean meats, minimising processed foods and getting in plenty of physical activity is again one of the best recommendations of having a “healthy” gut.

These are some of the main things that experts know which is fuck all compared to what we know about other parts of the body.

What we need to avoid…

Diagnosing or curing “dysbiosis” (a shit gut, pun intended). This is because we are not 100% sure what a “healthy” or “unhealthy” gut is.
“Rebuilding the microbiome” like I said we cannot control 65% of this shit. This stuff is already determined by sex, genetics, ethnicity and the environment.
Healing the gut…
Diagnosing or curing leaky gut – this is not a disease.
Dysbiosis as a cause for weight gain – this will most likely cause failure to gain weight.

Avoid “superfoods” not because they’re bad but they just have little to no evidence of aiding gut health.

Fermented and cultured milk products (potential is there but the evidence is very, very tiny)
Fermented grains, fruits, veggies and meats
Digestive enzymes – these are largely denatured in stomach acid before it takes effect
Collagen and bone broth
Glutamine
Celery juice, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice ‘detoxes” lol

The message here is that there are sooo much that experts in the field don’t know so that ‘nutrition guru’ you follow definitely does not know about the gut. Stick to the things you can control, diet, physical activity and eating a wide variety of foods.

RE-POST FROM
Physique Lab - Kia Moini

Physique Lab

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REFEED VS CHEAT MEAL IN RELATION TO WEIGHT LOSS

6/7/2019

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The difference between a cheat meal and re-feed meals is a completely different outcome when you’re looking at the fundamentals of dieting, weight loss and a calorie deficit.

WHAT IS A CHEAT MEAL?

We all see social media influences posting photos and videos of an oily dripping burger and fries however a cheat meal is emphasised as just one meal of disregarding any macronutrient and calorie intake that the meal provides. You can eat whatever you want, in whatever quantity, but only for one meal.
Is this an ideal thing? Probably not if you’re trying to lose weight and maintain a calorie deficit.

WHAT IS A RE-FEED MEAL?

A refeed meal is a monitored/controlled increase of macronutrients and calories for a specific period of time. Generally speaking, most refeed meals will involve an increase in Carbohydrate intake and a corresponding slight decrease in protein and fat intake depending on one’s desired goals.

Keeping all this in mind, how do you avoid this diet and exercises induced metabolic adaptation and subsequently stall in fat loss? Enter the refeed and or/cheat meal: an increase in energy intake can help to revive hormonal levels and metabolic factors.

Generally speaking these will happen between 8-10 weeks of a calorie deficit phase to reduce plateau.
You should look at refeeds instead of cheat meals for the following reasons:

Cheat meals are more conductive to binge eat and over indulging once you get that hit.

- Not tracking or controlling macronutrient or calorie intake makes it difficult to replicate in the future and hence difficult to incorporate into a structured diet plan.

- “Cheat” foods are typically high in sodium and starch which can result in severe bloating and discomfort.
- Tends to lead to feelings of guilt for “cheating”, which can negatively impact ones psychological state.

At the end of the day, it’s your preference on which you’d like to do.

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WHAT IS A CALORIE DEFICIT?

21/6/2019

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Within the industry, the biggest misconception on weight loss is people not knowing what a calorie deficit is. They’re led to believe eating certain foods will target certain areas for weight loss or even cutting out a macronutrient like carbohydrates will help.

However, that’s not the case, creating a Calorie Deficit is the answer to Weight Loss.

WHAT IS A CALORIE DEFICIT?

A calorie deficit is simple; it’s reducing the amount of energy you’re consuming through food and liquids to help target/meet your energy requirements for the day, leading your body to utilise stored energy, which means WEIGHT LOSS
But sometimes it’s not as easy as you think to create one if you don’t know what you’re doing.

Weight loss Diagram by Ram Personal Trainer Brisbane

HOW DO I CREATE A CALORIE DEFICIT?

Every person has individual requirements for Calories and Macronutrients, so following a generic diet on the internet isn’t going to necessarily work for you, nor will it be sustainable.

First things first before you start looking at creating a calorie deficit.You need to know what your energy requirements are for the day, e.g. your Total Daily Energy Expenditure.

Calculate your Resting Metabolic Rate first;

Men= 88.362 + (13.397 x weight in kg) + (4.799 x height in cm) – (5.677 x age in years) =

Women = 447.593 + (9.247 x weight in kg) + (3.098 x height in cm) – (4.330 x age in years) =

Now we need to find out what your Total Daily Energy Expenditure is;

Sedentary
Little or no Exercise/ desk job
TDEE = 1.2 x BMR

Lightly Active
Light exercise/ sports 1 – 3 days/ week
TDEE = 1.375 x BMR

Moderately Active
Moderate Exercise, sports 3 – 5 days/ week
TDEE = 1.55 x BMR

Very Active
Heavy Exercise/ sports 6 – 7 days/ week
TDEE = 1.725 x BMR

Extremely Active
Very heavy exercise/ physical job/ training 2 x/ day
TDEE = 1.9 x BMR

Place yourself 200-500 calories below your Total Daily Energy Expenditure for weight loss.
Or even if you want to take the path of gaining weight, 200-500 above your Total Daily Energy Expenditure.

HOW CAN I TRACK MY CALORIES

There is plenty of ways that you can track your calorie intake, whether it be via MyFitnessPal, Calorie King or writing it down on a piece of paper, you’re still somewhat tracking your intake.

However, these calorie tracking apps don’t always work for some people. You see, tracking your calories is a little harder than you think when you don’t know what you’re doing. Misreporting your food is probably the biggest issue there is when it comes to these apps.

Remember that sauce you put on all your meals?
Yeah, they were liquid calories…
Remember that night you went out drinking but didn’t eat food?
Yeah, they were more liquid calories…
Alcohol has 7kcal/g plus whatever you mixed with it.

Liquid calories should also be put into consideration when you’re tracking your calorie intake for the day.

My preference to use for tracking your food intake would be “ NUTTAB “.

Here is some examples of diets and how they work.

No matter what you’ve heard from some unqualified gimp with countless amounts of followers, do they really know what they’re talking about?
Any diet follows the same basic fundamental factor of creating a Calorie Deficit. However, how you wish to do it, that’s up to you and your preferences.

CALORIE DEFICIT is how you lose weight, plain and simple as that.
There is no magic pill, supplement or food that is going to blast your fat away in 2 weeks or overnight. It’s a long process but before you start your process, educate yourself and know what’re you doing safely and effectively and stay accountable to reach your goals!

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3 STEP GUIDE TO WEIGHT LOSS

9/6/2019

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STEP ONE
SMART GOALS

To begin your journey we need to have a clear path in which we can follow to your successful transformation journey. First and foremost, we need to set up a SMART goal.
By following this simple goal setting, you will create parameters and rules of your journey.
So get out your pen and paper, prepare to write down your desired goals.

What’s involved in your SMART goal?

Specific– being specific on what you desire and want to achieve. Use the word “will” instead of “want”
For example, “ I will lose 10kg in a 12 week period, I will keep myself accountable”

Measurable – your goal must be measurable whether it be on the scales or even a clothing size.

Attainable – if you’re a busy person with minimal time in the day, keep your time commitments to exercise at an attainable level. Whether it be 10 minutes of exercise or even an hour, it is better than what you’re doing now, and it will eventually grow.

Realistic – keep your goals as realistic as possible. Just remember you’re not going to lose 20kg in 2 weeks. Don’t expect more than what you’re willing to commit to in this process.

Time – you need to give yourself a specific time frame in which you want to achieve your goals. Set a specific date and time you want to reach that by.

Now that you have your SMART goal in place, hang it somewhere where you can see it every day to help keep yourself accountable.

STEP TWO
NUTRITION

This is usually the hardest aspect for every individual when it comes to weight loss because, where do you start?

Unfortunately there is too much misleading information out there when it comes to nutrition.
Generally speaking “ you need to cut out carbs to lose weight” “ sugar is bad for you” blah blah blah.
How you got to where you are now is from eating an excess amount of calories, not eating excess amount of carbs.

The basic fundamental of science – calories in vs calories out. IT’S THAT SIMPLE!

This is a good place to start, write down what you eat/drink throughout the day and then come back and reflect on what you’ve eaten, you might actually be surprised on how much you’ve consumed without even realising…

Your goal is weight loss? Then let’s do this

You need to find out what your Resting Metabolic Rateis:

Men = 88.362 + (13.397 x weight in kg) + (4.799 x height in cm) – (5.677 x age in years) =

Women = 447.593 + (9.247 x weight in kg) + (3.098 x height in cm) – (4.330 x age in years) =

Once you have found out your RMR, we need to find out what you Total Daily Energy Expenditure is:

Sedentary
Little or no Exercise/ desk job
TDEE = 1.2 x BMR

Lightly active
Light exercise/ sports 1 – 3 days/ week
TDEE = 1.375 x BMR

Moderately active
Moderate Exercise, sports 3 – 5 days/ week
TDEE = 1.55 x BMR

Very active
Heavy Exercise/ sports 6 – 7 days/ week
TDEE = 1.725 x BMR

Extremely active
Very heavy exercise/ physical job/ training 2 x/ day
TDEE = 1.9 x BMR

Whatever number you just got, is your Total Daily Energy Expenditure.
If you’re wishing to lose weight, you need to place yourself in a Calorie Deficit, 200 – 500 calories below your TDEE.

The next important thing is looking at your Macronutrients and Micronutrients.

1.4g -2.2g/kg of bodyweight for Protein
20-30% of your calories will be Fat’s
The remaining calories will be Carbohydrates.
15 – 18g per 1000kcal of Fibre a day.

One thing to note is Macros = Calories.
Protein and Carbohydrate – 4kcal per gram.
Fat – 9kcal per gram.
Alcohol – 7kcal per gram.

Supplements should be your last priority when you’re looking at weight loss, because why? All your nutrients should be coming out of majority of wholesome food, however if you struggle to reach your daily intake of needs via food, then resort to a supplementation.

But when it comes to a fat burner, the main ingredient that will usually ONLY take effect will be caffeine, cause what happens when you have caffeine? You move more and what happens when you move more? You burn more calories. You’re better of saving your money and having a coffee.

Ensure you’re hydrating enough throughout the day, my recommendation is 3L + a day.

STEP THREE
TRAINING

Whether you have access to a gym, equipment or a park, you can work around whatever situation you may be in when it comes to training.

The hardest part is creating a routine to get to the gym and most people have busy lifestyles in which they don’t always have time for the gym. But what if I said you always have time for the gym, but you just make excuses for not going?

Set a daily appointment at the gym like it’s a date, just don’t be disappointed when their isn’t candles lit around the equipment you want to use. Start making time to go to the gym throughout the week!
Resistance Training a minimum of 3-4 days a week to get started.

If you’re unsure of what you’re doing or how you to do something, seek advice from a Fitness Professional to minimise the risk of injury.

Here is a little insight on a training method used in most individuals.

HYPERTROPHY

This is basically the growth and increase of size of your muscle cells.
However, there are three factors in which make up Hypertrophy
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Metabolic Stress
Mechanical Tension
Muscular Damage
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Now lets break down the fundamentals of each factor.
Metabolic Stress- this is the pump and burning sensation you feel when working out. The pump is associated when the muscles are flooded with nutrient and metabolic rich fluids (lactate, hydrogen ions and creatine).
Metabolic stress can be created by persistent contraction of the muscles which prevents blood escaping or lack of oxygen supply to the muscles.
How can we train for this?
Perform medium to high reps with short rest periods and multiple sets.
Example is, 3-4 sets, 12-20 reps or to failure, tempo of 1010 or 2310 and rest for less than 1 minute. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Mechanical Tension- if tension is not created, muscles simply do not have the motivation to adapt and get bigger. As the load increases so does tension, thereby increasing protein synthesis.
How can we train for this?
Example is, 3-8 sets, 3-8 or 5-12 reps, 2010, 2013 or 2310 tempo and rest for 2-3 minutes. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Muscular Damage- this is creating damage to the muscles by employing a variety of techniques such as, lifting heavier loads or performing exercises that are unfamiliar. Also emphasise on the eccentric phase of lift which is the coming down of a movement.
Example is, 2-5 sets (depending on training frequency, muscle a week or a muscle multiple time a week), 8-12 reps, 4010 tempo and rest 1-2 minutes. ⠀
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What is a tempo you might ask? Tempo is basically the time it takes to complete one repetition. For example, 4010, the count of 4 represents the eccentric phase of a lift (lowering the weight), the 0 is pause at the bottom, however, cause it’s 0, there will be no pause. 1 represents the concentric phase of a lift (raising the weight) and again, 0 is no pause at the top of the lift.

As you can see from this chart above – this is your Total Daily Energy Expenditure broken up.

BMR – Basal Metabolic Rate:This is the number of calories you need simply at rest doing nothing other than staring at a wall for 24 hours a day. This is how many calories you need to simply maintain normal function of your body.

NEAT – Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis:When it comes to weight loss, this aspect becomes important to every individual cause you can see it has a higher contributing percentage.
However, what is this? This is known as incidental cardio, so doing things on a day to day basis from walking around your house, cleaning, vacuuming, parking your car further away from the shops, taking the stairs instead of the elevator and reaching a minimum of 10 000 steps a day.

EAT – Exercise Activity Thermogenesis: This is purposed activity in your day. Just like going to the gym and doing weights, a cycling class, boxing, you name it.
But unfortunately so many people are in the mindset of “I’ll go train that off” or even “I deserve this after the gym” and this isn’t always the case. You can visually see that purposed activity only contributes to 10% of your Total Daily Energy Expenditure.

TEF – Thermic Effect of Food – When you consume food it requires some of the energy/calories out of the food to help break it down, digest, and convert into energy.
Protein– 25 – 30%
Carbohydrates – 5 – 15%
Fats– 2 – 5%

I hope this assist’s you in your journey to creating the best version of yourself.
Also I hope this has educated you and eliminated any bulls**t you may have encountered out there on the current web.

GOOD LUCK AND HERE IS TO A NEW YOU!
See below some of my clients progression.

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