Abs twists with cables

This post as all about your abs and obleaks. In order to get the best results from your training you need to add resistance and weight or else your abs will not develop well. Many peole do endless sit ups or body weight crunches and neglect other core areas. But this move works all sectors and helps to build and tone a great six pack.

Simply stand with your feet just more than shoulder width appart and hold the cable at shoulder height. You should be able to adjust the height of the calbe to suit you. From here keeping your arms strauight twist your upper body only until your arms have travelled through a 180 degree turn. Then slowly return to the starting position. Make sure that the cable never fully returns to the start (i.e dont let go or let the plates touch) try doing 10 - 12 reps each side for 3-4 sets each time you train your abs to get good results.

Merry Christmas

Hey thanks for checking out the blog posts so far. Just thought I'd give you all a christmas greeting and the promise of more training tips and videos for the comming year.
So far this blog has had over 3500 hits and is going well so thanks again for all your support. I want to remind everyone that this blog can now be followed on facebook. This is a great way to check out when  new posts have been added or any update shave been made to any of the pages so your support through that would be hugely appreciated. But just remember to take a day of today and enjoy your recovery and training gains to date and recover for the fresh wave of gym enthusiasm in the new year. 

So Merry Christmas everyone,
Joyeux Noël

Frohe Weihnachten

Merry Nollag

Priecīgus Ziemassvētkus

С Рождеством

เมอร์รี่คริสมาสต์

Testosterone

Well waht do I need to say about it that you don't already know? Its the ultimate male hormone that controls everything from your sex drive, helping muscle gain and burining fat.  However what you probably didn't know is that stress generated from work, personal life and even workouts can lead to lower testosterone levels. But here are some good tips to help keep your testosterone levels on top form.

Vitamin D- (found in egg yolk, brussel sprouts..)
It has been proven tht this crucial vitamin does more than help burn fat and boost bone health. Research shows that males with more vitamin D have higher lvels of testosterone on average tahn those without, by over 5%.

Vitamin B12- (found in Chicken and turkey)
This B vitamin plays a critical role in numerous biological reactions in the body including the production and utilisation of energy from dietary fat and protein during exercise. Thi there for preserves the testosterone used to normally carryout this function and increases your fat burning and teststerone levels.

D-Aspartic Acid- (found in oats, most meats, avocado)
This amino-acid is produced in the pituitary gland where it stimulates the release of the luteinising hormone, which boosts testosterone production in the testicles.Study's have shown that consuming extra levels of D-Aspartic Acid over 12 days can increase testosterone levels by up to 40%.

Feed Your Abs

We all train our abs, but how many of you actually knew that certain foods were actually better at boosting your ab growth and definition than others? Well below are a list of these fooda and how and why they are so great for your six pack.












Lean beef: Any intense abs training will also burn up muscle tisue if your not eating enough protein. Grass fed beef contaions lots of this as well as other benificial ingrediants such as omega 3 and conjugated linoleic acid, a chemical linked to fat burning.


Kale: This leafy vegetable is calorie dilute and fot its small size it is packed with fibre. Its also loaded with minerals such as calcium and iron.

Eggs: Studies have shown thate ating whole egs for breakfast can help lead to greater fat loss due to the satating effects of the foods protein and fat content. Egg yolks are also loaded with vitamin D, which has also been linked to fat buring diets.

Mushrooms: Very low total calorie and carb levels of mushrooms make them the ideal add on, not to mention that they're fat free. it's main selling point is that mushrooms are a great source of vitamin D.

Rolled oats: They can be six pack friendly due to their resistant starch which doesn't get broken down into glucose like most carbs but acts like fibre, filling you up for longer.

Walnuts: The abundance of healthy omega 3 fats in walnuts make it a great snack to tide you over until your next meal.

Brussel sprouts: loaded with vitamins and minerals they are one of the best sources of vitamin c that you will find. They are also low in calories and high in fibre.

Great Ab's Tips

Want to know the best ways to train your abs and maximise your results? Then check out these top tips from some expert abs trainers. Its based on the most commonly asked questions about when and how to train your six pack:

Q1. What do most people neglect when training their abs?
Matthew Moulton - Their core muscles, the stronger the core the greater variety of abdominal exercises you will be able to perform and so you will get more gains faster.
Chris Rogers - agrees and claims that peole neglect the core muscle in their earnest to do endless amounts of crunches.
Phil Learney - People tend to train their abs in the suprine position (on their back), but trunk flexion should be balanced with trunk extension and prone exercises such as rollouts, jack knifes, planks and hip work to target the lower abs, and overall core.

Q2. How often can I train my abs?
Mattew Moulton - 2-3 times a week should be sufficient to see noticable differences in muscle development. as recovery time is essential to build muscle tissue.
Phil Learney - Agrees. As it provides maximum abdominal stimulus and recovery in between sessions.
Jack Lovett - Agrees. This is because your abs are less prone to suffering high amunts of micro trauma thn the rest of your muscle groups, allowing multiple training sessions per week.

Q3. Top tips for great abs?
Matthew Moulton - Variety. Create a cocktail of abdominal exercises to incorporate both lifting and lowering weight under tension, as well as moves that involve contraction but not movement such as the plank or 6 inches hold.

Jack Lovett - Correct your diet iof you can't see your abs. If your diet is poor and your carrying a high level of body fat you will never have a visible six pack. (more on this in the next blog post)

Chris Rogers - Spend more time doing fat burning compuond exercises, such as squatts, bench press, military press, dead lifts, etc. And make sure you keep on top of your diet.

Phil Learney - Get your nutrition right. Most peole have well formed abs, they just can't see them. Concentrate on big muscle joint exercises such as squatts and dead lifts to boost your metabolism and shread those extra pounds and nail your diet.

It's Protein Time!

We all know that they best way to encourage muscle growth and fat loss is though your nutritional strategy. In this post I'll try to explain what and when different supplements will work best and the required amount of protein you should consume each day.

How Much?
Well I thought I'd start you of easily. Accourding to mist sports websites and research the maximum amount of proetein you should consume each day is around double your body weight in grams. E.g If I weighed 78kg  I could have a maximum of 156 grams ( 78 x 2) of protein daily before no more benifits were available and any minor health risk, (kidney stones ..) became an issue. So theres the limits of your protein consumption. However anything over your body weight in grams is going to work well.

What kind?
Well talking about protein alone its best to have a wide variety of solid and supplement forms of protein in your diet as each has added nutrients which help the body recover and repair muscle faster or in different ways. For example chicken contains vitamins B3, B6 and B12, which help release energy from food. Where as beef contains creatine which can help with overall strenght and muscle gains.
Also don't forget about other forms of protein such as organic yoghurt (up to 10 grams per pot) and nuts (which can have anything between 15-30 grams of good quality protein per 100 grams).
In terms of supplements the best proetin source seems to be pure Whey Protein as it is easily digestable and conatins a variety of extra nutrients which will boost its effects and your recovery times. Currently I am taking PhD's Whey Protein and have noticed some good gains as well as its quick break down in the shakes and easy digestion.

What time?
This part is more tricky to single out as there are different times for different aims.
In terms of general best times to take a supplement the list is as follows:

The most important time is right after a workout. Your muscles are like a sponge having swollen so much during your trainingand need instant nutrition for muscle recovery and growth.

Right before bed. You're about to sleep for 6 to 8 hours. That's a long time without protein.
Could you imagine going throughout your day (when awake) not eating 6 to 8 hours?
Right before bed is important.

Right upon waking. Same thing, you've just gone 6 to 8 hours without proper nutrition. Your body needs protein quick.

Half hour before a workout. This sets up the "anabolic window" before your workout and provides your muscles with adequate nutrition so that the effects of weight training are not as severe (weight training breaks down musclein a process called catabolic reaction).

However when you take specific aims into account then the information become less clear. However there are some good tios I can give:

1. Bulking Up: Basically in this process the same rules as before apply as you are aiming to get as much food in as possible so take it before and after your workout and of course first tim=hing in the morning to get your body going for the rest of the day and to keep you growing.

2. Lean muscle gains: Take your protein shake before your workout, preferably 1hour - 30 mins before you enter the gym. This will allow the protein to get to work throughout the workout instead of after it and will give a leaner body as it reduces the muscle damage and so leads to strength gains without the extra bulk.

3. Weight loss: Well the thing is a protein rich diet can aid weight loss due to the fact that you will feel fuller for longer and it takes more time and calories to break it down so you will eat less and burn more fat! I suggest taking protein in the morning as a smoothie and then pre-workout, but don't over load the protein supplements, maybe just a few times a week.

Inspirational quotes

I thought that we could all do with a few great inspiring quotes to motivate us to keep up out training as the darkest day of the year (21st December - winter equinox) approaches. So here we go...

1. It is exercise alone that supports the spirits, and keeps the mind in vigor.

- Marcus Tullius Cicero

 2. Take care of your body. It's the only place you have to live.

- Jim Rohn
 3. A man's health can be judged by which he takes two at a time - pills or stairs.
- Joan Welsh
 4. Self-delusion is pulling in your stomach when you step on the scales.

-Paul Sweeney

 5. Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.

- Thomas Edison

 6. It's not whether you get knocked down; it's whether you get up.

-Vince Lombardi

 7. Use it or lose it.

- Jimmy Connors
 8. The resistance that you fight physically in the gym and the resistance that you fight in life can only build a strong character.

- Arnold Schwarzenegger

 9. Pain is temporary. Quitting lasts forever.

- Lance Armstrong
 10. No pain, no gain.
- Athletic Proverb
 11. Nobody ever drowned in his own sweat.
– Ann Landers
 12. "F*** IT LET'S GO AGAIN"
- Dave Tate
 13. "I don't train to failure, I train to success"
 -Levrone
 14. "All men areborn equally - some just train harder"20. "GO HARD OR GO HOME!"
-Adidas
 15. " the only time I was beaten, I wasnt there "
-Unknown
 16. "Never give in, never give up, NEVER BACK DOWN!"
- Film never back down
 17. "Nothing can stop the man with the right mental mattitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude."
- Thomas Jefferson
 18. "Pain is weakness leaving the body"
-Unknown
 19. "Dedication is what the weak call obsession"
-Unknown
 20. "Train your muscle, not your ego"
- Unknown
 21. "a definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results"
- Unknown
22. "Winners find a way, losers find an excuse"
-Unknown
23. "Keep calm and carry on"
- Unknown
24. "What doesn't kill us makes us stronger"
- Unknown
25. GO HARD OR GO HOME!
- Unknown

Interview with Roger Snipes

This man knows all about the vital importance of sports nutrition, in keeping us going and gaining every time we train.

He says, "some of us train hard as second nature, others need a good kick before somthing actually happens. Whatever the case we all need motivation and for me, that comes in the shape of a comprehensive workout nutrition plan." But at the same time always remember that, "the mission is to leave the gym with a severe pump and dripping with sweat by any mena snecessary."

He calims that "Hitting the weights with no food or some kind of supplement is like driving a 4 litre vehicle with an empty tank on the motorway, 'your not gonna get very far' if anywhere at all." "the same goes for post workout. Many people don't understand the major importance of it and train for hours in the gym, the eat a chocolate bar because they feel they deserve it or their depleted energy levels demand sugar." He descibes the need for protein after a workout as, "ignoring signs of depletion or starving muscles is like working an entire month for your wages, and then when you are finally paid, you take it to a beting shop and lose everything"

This is what Roger snipes' post workout nutrition consists of:
IMMEDIATELY AFTER TRAINING = 2 scoops of PhD recovery 2:1
The name speaks for itself, RECOVERY! It provides the right levels of carbs, protein and L-glutamine to replenish and sustain muscle growth and is one of the best value for money products on the market.

He then has a solid meal around 90minutes after the gym. This is typically chicken / fish with rice.

Peanut Butter: the new super food?

I'm sick and tired of reading web site posts about avoiding peanut butter and that its bad for you. It simply isn't true! Peanut butter has a good combination of proteins and polyunsaturated fats which are perfect for building muscle and adding size to your training.

Yes, peanut butter is calorie-dense. But it can beneficially fit into your sports diet. A Purdue University study reports subjects who ate peanuts every day did not overeat daily calories. Peanut eaters tend to naturally eat less at other times of the day. Plus, if you enjoy what you are eating on your reducing diet, you'll stay with the food plan and be able to keep the weight off. This is far better than yo-yo dieting!
    Peanut butter is a good source of protein but, you need to eat the whole juar to get the equivalent protein levels of other sources such as turkey or chicken. To boost the protein value of peanut butter, simply accompany it with a tall glass of milk: 2 rounds of peanut butter and toast + 16 ounces low fat milk = 28 grams of protein, a good chunk of your daily requirement. Milk simultaneously enhances the value of the protein in the peanut butter sandwich. That is, peanuts are low in some of the essential amino acids muscles need for growth and repair. The amino acids in milk (as well as those in the sandwich bread) nicely complement the limiting amino acids in peanuts.
Peanut butter is a reasonable source of vitamins, minerals and other health-protective food compounds. For example, peanut butter contains folate, vitamin E, magnesium and resveratrol, all nutrients associated with reduced risk of heart disease. Peanut butter offers a small amount of zinc, a mineral important for healing and strengthening the immune system. As an athlete, you need all these nutrients to keep you off the bench and on the playing field. Peanuts contain mostly health-protective mono- and polyunsaturated fats.
When peanuts are made into commercial peanut butter, some of the oil gets converted into a harder, saturated fat. This keeps the oil from separating to the top. The hardened oil, called trans-fat, is less healthful. But the good news is, commercial peanut butters contain only a tiny amount of trans fats and just a small amount of (naturally occurring) saturated fat. For example, only 3.5 of the 17 grams fat in two tablespoons are "bad" fats.
     To minimize your intake of even this small amount of un-healthful fat, you can buy all-natural peanut butter. If you dislike the way the oil in this type of peanut butter separates to the top of the jar, simply store the jar upside down. That way, the oil rises to what becomes the bottom of the jar when you turn it over to open it. And if you eat peanut butter daily, you won't have to refrigerate it, thereby making the all-natural peanut butter easier to spread.

 

According to Men’s Fitness magazine the best high street brand of peanut butter is 'Whole Earth - Crunchy original' peanut butter. They gave it 5/5 stars and described it as, "thick, satisfying peanut butter, tastes great despite having no added sugar". It also is entirely naturally sourced ingredients and has low salt levels so its a win win situation.

My arms routine

Well tonight im training Bicep's and triceps so I thought I'd share my routine with you so that you can get some idea's about how to structure your workout routines and maybe give you some new ideas for your own training.

Workout Routine:

1. Bench press: (3sets 10reps) + (4 sets of 8 reps) 

2. Seated curls (5 sets of 10 reps)
3. Tricep pull down (5 sets of 10 reps)

4. Held ab crunches (100 reps)

5. Bar curls (5 sets of 10 reps) - superset with next exercise

6. Tricep push down (5 sets of 10 reps)     

7. Single hand preacher curls (5 sets of 8 reps)

8. Held ab crunches with medicine ball (10 reps)

9. Concentratioin curls (5 sets of 10 reps)

10. Tricep bench (4 sets of 10 reps)

11. 21's (3 sets of 21 reps)



I prefer to work the antagonistic muscle groups in opposites to each other. (i.e one is a push, tricep, and one is a pull, bicep, movement) so the stretch each other out as you work and so you have more endurance and can lift heavier for longer during the worout.
I also find that supersetting allow me to add a cardio element to the workout as it means more work with less rest time in between sets and also does more muscle damage and forces the body to repair the damaged muscle faster and so makes your strength gains come faster.

By adding the two short sessions of ab crunches every three exercises it allows my arms to have a short ( 5min) break and allow a small amount of recovery before the next few exercises. It also prevents a rest time for my cardiovascular movements die to the constant motion of the abs during the crunches and prevents my heart rate or metabolic rate from dropping whislt I recover. Also its a good way to get some good ab work into the session.

Finally by finishing with the 21's it allows me to work the biceps to failure. "1's are a great way to train your biceps and are a form of endurance training b forcing your muscle so work overtime causing a build up of lactic acid. Simply pick up a bar or set of dumbells that are lighter than you normally curl, but not too much lighter. Then do 7 reps from full extension of the arm to 90 degrees, the 7 reps from 90 degrees to the top and thn a final 7 reps of full curls. the slower the better but as I said it really gives your muscles that burning snsation when done right and so its best to leave it till last.

MMA fight 12/11/2011

On saturday night I took part in A D-class MMA bout in The British Legion club in Antrim hosted by Marty Walker. I thought you'd like to see some pics of me in action so I've stuck them on below.

Round 1: Touch gloves. Back to your corners, ... fight!

So I came out of the corner and circled round before landing a front kick and low leg roundhouse kick.

After that he shot forward and took me down to the floor but I trapped him in half guard.

After around 40 seconds of grappling he attempted an arm bar, but i was able to get on top and slam him twice breaking the arm bar hold. After that another few punches and kicks were exchanged before the round ended.

                                                        

Round 2:

So second round again I come out looking to land a few low kicks and this time he buckles under the front kick to the stomach. being a heavier guy than me he drops his head as the kick lands and he stumbles forward.

In an attemt to take me down again he shoots forwards but I sprawl and take him down. From the control position I sweep around and get him in the sleeper hold.

After that Its pretty much over, I roll onto my back and finish the submission and he taps out.

                          

Jump-start your muscles!

Have your muscle gains stalled? Getting stronger without adding mass or tone? Well below are some excellent tips from top trainers and Men's Fitness Magazine UK to get your muscles growing once again:

Biceps: Guru Chad Waterbury's tip is to forget doing endless biceps curls and try somthing new. He suggests that rope climbing is a great way to build your biceps, "Any time you pull with your hands close together, theres no way your back can take over and so its all on the biceps" NO rope? then do pul ups on the V-handles for the same effect.

Triceps: 'No more kickbacks', according to Mens Fitness UK you need to do dips or tricep bench instead to really get the trieps pumping, make sure you work on the lock out part of the lift for extra gains.

Chest: Chad Waterbury also claims that by contantly changing your chest routine you can get a big chest in no time. "Mix it up" Dont just do bench press and flyes all the time , add decline bench and incline bench press or swap the bar bell for dumbells to build extra muscle.

Lats: Wide grip pull ups are a good way to work this muscle group. Aim to do 40-50 every back workout, either supersetting them or getting them done as quickly as possible at the end of a session can really make a difference.

Traps: Make sure your doing your shrugs right in order to build up mpressive traps. Leading US strenght coach, Jim Wendler suggests doing a few heavy warm up sets and then doing one big all out set of 20-50 reps of a lighter weight. But make sure it's still a challenge!

Abs: Water bury suggests dumping the crunches and instead claims that "overloading the abdominal muscles is the best way to improve". Try traing them in an ab's circuit involving obleak, ab and core stability exercises to get great abs.

Quads: Unlike most muslce groups it has been discovered that the quads react well to high volume training. I suggest doing intense cycle programmes to build up your Quads. Or you could throw in some front squatts.

Hamstrings: Dr Stuart Magill points out that unlike the leg curl machine, every real world hamstring move also recruits the posterior chain. try a single-leg deadlift.

Calves: The sports people with the biggest calfs are sprinters and american footballers. Waterbury claims that, "looking at the muscle action that both sports demand I realised deceleration is key to calf growth" The answer is single leg hops holding a dumbell on the same side.

EAT LESS - LIVE MORE!

I know what you're thinking, "obvioulsy eating less junk means I will  live longer", but I'm talking about eating less food in general, not just the unheralthy stuff. In fact up until very recently it was actually an unproved theorythat eating less food would make us live longer! It has been discovered that eating less can actually prolong our lifespans. By only having 3-4 small meals per day actually slows the aging processes in our cells and so increases our potential lifespan considerably!

"We're getting closer and closer to a good understanding of how caloric restriction works. This study is the first direct proof for a mechanism underlying the anti-aging effects we observe under caloric restriction," said Tomas A. Prolla at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

A calorie-restricted diet that still provides all the nutrients necessary for a healthy life but minimizes the energy (calories) supplied in the diet has been proven to delay the onset of age-related chronic diseases such as cancers, heart disease, and strokes. There are also hints that people who eat a calorie-restricted diet might live longer than those who overeat. In addition, calorie-restricted diets beneficially affect several biomarkers of aging, including decreased insulin sensitivity (a precursor to diabetes).

I know what your thinking how does less calories lead to a longer life span?
Well a major factor in the age-related decline of bodily functions is the accumulation of "oxidative damage" in the body's proteins, fats, and DNA. Oxidants (in particular, chemicals called "free radicals") are produced when food is converted to energy by cellular structures called mitochondria. Under reduced-calorie conditions, levels of Sirt3 increase, altering metabolism and resulting in fewer free radicals produced by mitochondria that are the sources of highly reactive forms of oxygen, which damage cells and promote the effects of aging.
"Caloric Restriction in non-obese people leads to less oxidative damage in muscle cells", according to a new study by Anthony Civitarese and Eric Ravussin,(Pennington Biomedical Research Center). As oxidative damage has been linked to aging, this could explain how limiting calorie intake without malnutrition would see more of us living long and healthy lives. 

Boost strength with Magnesium!

If you want bigger muscles, increased testosterone levels and better workour performance times, try increasing the amount of magnesium in your diet. This super element is found mainly in green, leafy vegetables such as spinach and it is involved in the activity of every cell in our body. This was discovered by turkish scientists working on new supplements for sports performace enfancements.


Okay so heres how it works:
The Turkish scientists wanted to test the effects of magnesium on free testosterone levels (the type which build muscle and are available in the blood). They split the subjects into three groups, the first two groups were given 10grams of magnesium per kilo of body weight a day for 4 weeks. the third group were given none. (the control group)
The first group would do no exercise over the 4 weeks. The second and third did between 90 minutes and 120 minutes a week of tae kwon do per day.
The second group recorded the highest increase in testosterone, followed by the third who didn't take any magnesium.

This proves that magnesium does work to increase your testosterone levels causing extra muscle gains and better performance, but it must be accompained by an active and physical training programme!

Pull your weight

This post is all about pull ups. The pull up is an old exercise that everyone has seen or done at some part in their life. Suprisingly though it is still rated as one of the best exercises for training your bicep and / or back muscles.

In this post I have listed 5 ways to boost your pull up reps max from beginner level to a more advanced routine.

 

1. If you find it hard to do a few pull ups then try doing negative reps. Using a bench or by jumping up so that your chin is over the bar lower yourself slowly back down. Make the reps last for at least 15 seconds to get the benifit out of it. The almost stayic hold as you slowly lower youself will aid strength gains and soon you'll be able to do more reps.

2. This tip comes from fitness coach 'Pavel Tsatsouline' that he calls "greasing the groove". Simply position a bar somewhere you will pass often during your workout, or at home and do a set up pull ups to failure every time you pass it. Soon youll be able to last longer than ever before.

3. Lowering the rest time between sets can help to increase your rep number maximums for pull ups. By lowering the rest times to around 30 seconds between sets you give the muscle less time to recover and so this increases the amount of resistance you can take before you give up. This way when you come do do your first set next time around your body will have adapted to recover faster and so you will be able to do more reps.

4. Add a weight. By holding a dumbell between your feet, or hanging a weight from your belt as you do pull ups increases the amount of weight you are used to pulling. Over time your muscles will become used to the extra load, so when you remove this you will feel lighter and so will be able to do more reps.

5. This tip is from Men's Fitness magazine. The say that once you are getting good amounts of reps in, (15-20) then you should start to perform a one set max every morning and afternoon for a month. By the end of the month your repititions will have dramatically increased and you'll feel stronger.

The chile that burns fat!

If you're looking to shift a few extra pounds, adding metabolism boosting foods such as the chilli pepper to your diet can have a serious impact. The high levels of capsaicin found in chillies will seriously rev up your metabolic rate, causing your body to burn more calories. Recent research found that eating 1 tablespoon of chopped red or green chilli peppers, which contains roughly 30mg of capsaicin, could temporarily boost your metabolism by over 20%. This is also supported by research for the 'Journal of The Medical Association of Thailand' in which participants experienced increases in their metabolic rates after consuming just 5 grams of chilli pepper.

Quick tips:

1. For maximum metabolic benifit make sure to eat the white 'ribs' in the centre of the chilli pepper as these contain the highest levels of capsaicin. But they're also the hottest part.

2. Make sure sure drink plently of water afterwards as this will also rev up your body's fat burning ability.
3. Fresh peppers are better than pesto's and dips so get down to the super market and get the good stuff!

The military workout

This work out is designed to incorporate alot of strength and fitness exercises into one training session and get you the body of the boys on the front line. It combines cardio, core and weights trainning to give a grea full body workout in one sesison.

1. Tredmill: Firstly you have to get on the tredmill and cover 1.5km in under 10minutes, to be honest it should be done a lot faster but the 10 minutes is the maximum time limit that you must complete this in.

2. The Plank: This core exercise is all about stability and mental focus. It involves little movement but is a great way to build your core strength. Simply hold this position for 2 minutes to complete this exercise. (If you are really struggling then do 2 x 1 minutes)

3. Military Press: This exercise woirks the core, shoulders, triceps and upper back and is a great way to build your upper body strength. Using the bar bell and perferably a squatt rack to give you somewhere to put the bar up high. Then stand with your feet shoulder width appart press the bar overhead keeping your back straight. Do 3-4 sets of 10 reps ofa suitable weight.

4. Press ups: This exercise is an old favourite. Simply find an open space and do 3 sets to failure of your own body weight taking only 40 secconds between each set.

5. Exercise bike: Quickly over to the next cardio station and again you are aiming to cover 3km in under 10 minutes. This again is a long time but make sure you complete this well before the time limit.

6. Russian twists: This abs exercise targets the bas and obleak's working on overall core strength. Get into a sit up position and raise your feet of the floor and keep your knee's bent. Now raise your bofdy off the floor keeping your legs where they are. From here simply twist your body to each side touching the floor on each side as you twist. Do this continuously for 2 minutes.

7. Walking lunges: This legs exercise is targeted to build up your leg strength and get you moving. Take a pair of dumbbells and find an open area and then follow these instructions. Lunges forward with one leg. Now instead of returning to your origninal position you will keep your body low and take another step forward with the other leg. Keep this up for 20 reps and then stop. You want to do 3-4 sets with only 1 minute rests maximum in between sets.

Performance boosting interview with Michael Johnson

Michael Johnson is one of the former American Olympic champions and in a short interview with Men's Fitness magazine he outlined a few ways in which we can all improve our workout performance and get that winning mentality.

1. Attitude Adjustment:
Johnson claims thta alot o your training comes down to attitude, how badly do you want it? You have to want to be the best in order to get gold. He believes that th big problem for UK athletes is that they have an overwhelming sense of complacency and a worrying habit of rewrding mediocrity. Many athletes need support, in both their training and nutritional push, but he claims that it can seriously affect your results if you allow these personal failings to be accepted. Help should only be given to those who deserve it.
He gives the example of Phillips Idowu, who won silver in the triple jump at the Bejing Olympics, but wasn't fully satisfied. That is the mentality we all need to achieve the best from our training.

2. Quality Control:
Johnson claims that we all need to discover our strengths and weaknesses and then work out a way to become a rounded athlete, not just focus on one or two things we are good at. he claims that many modern athletes are quick to blame their coaches or team mates for a poor performance when really there is no one to blame but yourself. You have to fully commit yourself to the task ahead or else your bound to fall short.

3. Percentage gains:
"Ulitmately it's all about vhasing those exta percentages that makes an athlete worldclass" cliams Johnson. We all require improvements in every component of our body, be it mental, physical, strength, nutrition, there is always somthing we can tweak to make better.
"Ask yourself in the mirror, DO YOU WANT TO BE GOOD, OR DO YOU WANT TYO BE THE BEST!"

Johnson also outlined a few tips to help you achieve that winning performance:
Make time - aim for consistency and regular intense training befor eyou try to move up.
Achievable aims - make your goals realistic or else you'll only end up annoyed or put off training all together.
Fuel your progress - its all about nutrition, it the toughest part to get right, but when you do your goals will fall into place.
Be sport specific - train for your sport, adapt your training programme to suit what you would need to perform at the top in your sport.

Why do I crave junk?

We've all experienced weird food cravings at some point in our lifetime and usually on a saturady night we'll get the urge to dive for an unhealthy option. This post should explain why and hopefully help prevent unhealthy cravings in the future.

Food cravings mean that the body has its signals mixed up. When we are exhausted or blue, we have low blood sugar and/or low serotonin, and the body signals the brain that it needs a pick-me-up. This signal causes a sugar craving or carbohydrate craving.
Serotonin is our basic feel-good hormone. If serotonin is low, we feel sad or depressed. And hormonal imbalance or weak digestion can lead to low serotonin. Unfortunately, sugars and simple carbohydrates release a short burst of serotonin — we feel good for a moment, but soon return to our low-serotonin state — then crave more sugar and simple carbohydrates. It’s an uphill battle from here.
If you eat a low-fat diet in the hope of losing weight, you unintentionally make the problem worse. Insulin is responsible for maintaining stable blood sugar levels by telling the body’s cells when to absorb glucose from the bloodstream. But many healthy diets tell us to avoid gluscose and carbs. However if you suddenly make the jump form normal to carb avoiding diets then your in serious trouble!  Your body cannot cope with the suden drop in carbs and stimulates your brain to crave them . In a few days time you will give in and eat too much carbs at once, leading ultimately to weight gain!At the same time, your cells cannot absorb the glucose they need, so they signal your brain that you need more carbohydrates or sugars. The result is persistent food cravings.

Another cause of food cravings is adrenal imbalance. If you are under a great deal of stress, or suffer from sleep deprivation, you are probably exhausted much of the time. This situation causes your body to call upon your adrenal glands for more stress hormones to act as a pick-me-up, but over time, your adrenals become less able to respond appropriately. You may resort to sugar or carbohydrate snacks or coffee during the day and carbohydrates or alcohol at night, all of which exacerbate the problem.

To try and prevent this there are a few tips we can give.

1. SLEEP! Its vital that you get enough sleep to prevent this adrenal imbalance that leads to cravings. About 8-9 hours should be great.

2. Don't completely ditch carbs! As I've already said a sudden drop can lead to extar consumption in order to compensate for the lack of carbs and so you end up eating more and gaining weight! Instead try to gradually reduce the carbs until you see your weight dropping and then keep it there.

3. Keep your timing accurate. This means that you stick to the same nightly routine. if your usually in bed by 11 on a week day then keep it up over the weekend. Studies have shown that even oine hour of extra alertness can lead to cravings due to a drop in your brains glucose levels and it craves carbs to give it a sudden energy boost!

The 5% solution

This post is based on Charles Poliquin's strategy for shattering the plateau feeling that many men get when they train.
When you are building muscle there are lots of ways to structure your exercises to get good results, but soon your body can adapt to the programme that it is worked at and eventually you end up plateauing. This easy startegy will help you up your stength almost every time you train and hopefully help prevent yor muscle growth stalling.

HOW IT WORKS:
You increase your load by around 5% each time you train for two workouts in a row while reducing the target reps by one for each rep increase. Then after the third workout, your reduce the weight by 5% bt go back to the starting number of reps. For example;

This simple plan allows you to gradually increase your power without allowing your body to 'acclimatise' or get used to a certain routine as it is constantly changing and should help to prevent you stalling in yuor progress.

However once you exceed your body weight the 5% increase may be too much to take on and so i suggest lowering to % or doing everything twice before moving on. E.g work out 1 twice, then work out 2 twice and so on so you have extra time to build up the required strength and yet you wont stop increasing your overall strength.

Stay of the Sidelines

This post will outline how to avoid some of the most common football injuries and give you specific exercises that should help to lessen your risk of injury for the rest of the season.

On average professional footballers suffer tow injuries a season that can lead to them being out of action for a few days to many months. A teams injurt list can truly mean the difference between success and failure for the entire season so hopefully after reading these tips you'll be able to help your team succeed.

1. THIGH INJURIES:
Thigh injuries account for around 23% of all injuries. most of them are caused by strenght imbalances between the quads and hamstrings, leading to joints being pulled out of alignment causing excess muscle straign.
Tips: for most men the hamstrings are the weaker muscle group so try doing more lunges, and hamstring curls to build them up.

2. KNEE INJURIES:
These account for 18% and are usually caused by late / high tackles or when the studds get caught in the turf but the leg keeps turning, leading to a pressure build up.
Tips: Best ways to strenghten the knee joint is to perform free weight exercises such as squatts and lunges. These force the knee stabilising muscles and tendons to grow and help to abosorb excess stress in the joint.

3. ANKLE INJURIES:
These account for 14% of all football injuries, and are typically down to weak ligaments and poor flexability in the ankle.
Tips: Strengthening the ligaments around the ankle can improve its stability. Imporvign your flexibility can give your ankles a greater range of motion to help cope with late tackles. Try doing bosu squatts and again lunges to improve on both areas.

4. GROIN INJURIES:
These also account for 14% of all football injuries. Poor core strength and imbalances in the muscles attaching to the pelvis are to blame for this major sporting injury.
Tips: Try strengthening your inner thigh muscles such as side lunges to help reduce your chance of injury. Also try building up your overall core strength to assits the pelvis.

5. ACHILLES TEDON INJURIES:
These lower leg injuries make up 11% of football injuries and are down to a weak ahillies tendon and poor calf strength.
Tips: Calf presses or other calf exercise can help this. If you've never had this injury before then box jumps, with their explosive power can help reduce the risk of injury.

Special thanks to: Mens Fitness Magazine and Liverpool FC's fitness coach Darren Burgess

Back to Basics

Have you ever complained that your modern, fancy, well lit gym is missing a few weights or needs an extra bench. Well next time you go to complain just think about what these guys are forced to do in order to train.

These gyms in Brazil, Ukraine and Senegal all use the most basic and at times recycled gym equipment available to them and yet still churn out amazing results. Alot of this equipment is made from scrap metal and oil drums or truck wheels for the weights. So just consider yourself lucky next time you go to your nice gym in doors where its dry and probably air conditioned and don't forget that these guys have got results with equipment no where near as good as yours so if your struggling, don't blame the machine, blame yourself!

Power to Weight Ratios

This is the ultimate defining moment of your training. When you sit down at the end of the latest programme and work this out. Your power to weight ratio gives you an indication of your over all strength and your improvements. To work it out follow my example below:

My weight = 75kg
My bench press for 8 reps = 110kg

110kg divided by 75kg         =         1.46

This tells me that I have a power to weight ratio of 1.46 : 1, or that I can push 146% of my body weight.

You should be aiming for at least 1.1 as anything below 1 means that you can't lift your own body weight and really arn't doing well. You can work this out for dead lifts and squatts as well but the main indicator of power: weight ratios is calculated using bench press for 8 reps.

Day 48

Well I'm almost at the end of my 50 day programme. Have trained everyday and the results are starting to show. I'm fitter, faster and stronger than I was before and can't wait to look at how much I have improved over the last 50 days.

Just to give you a quick idea of my general improvements heres a quick summary:

                                                 Bench Press :                                                          

was 105 kg ( 8 reps)  -   now 110kg ( 8 reps)

Squatts:

was 120kg (10 reps)  -  now 127.5kg (8 reps)

Tredmill 13 minutes distance covered:

was 2.98km   -   now 3.22km

Average work out time:

was 1 hour 20 mins   -    now 1 hour 10mins

(and im still doing the same ammunt of stuff in each workout)

1000 hits

This is just a quick post to thank everyone for their support so far. The blog is now up and running and is doing well. So far its had over 1000 hits and is bringing in a worldwide audience so I'd like to take a second to say hello.

Hello

       Gutten Tag

   Bonjour

  হ্যালো

  Dia duit

  Olá

สวัสดี

The fountain of youth

PROTEIN SHAKES CAN ADD YEARS TO YOUR LIFE!

Scientists at the University of Milan have found that consuming certain amino acids commonly found in proteinn shakes can lenghthen your life span by up to 12%. Thats approximately 9 years for the average man in the UK. The amino acids digested when you drink one shake a day increase the activation of your body's mitochondria ( the power houses of the cells). This in turn slows down the aging process and will result in a longer life span.

However this needs further testing to clarify the results but things are looking good. However please note that drinking more than one every day can lead to complications such as kidney stones or increase fat 
storage and so will reverse the effects. So don't start
gusseling them down like theres no tomorrow or there wont be!

Abs Circuit

Circuits are probably the best way to train your abs. By working all of the main core areas in a row without big breaks in between sets will give you the best results, fast! This circuit is designed to target all of the core muscle groups, (abdominals, core, obleaks) and can be performed without any equipment. So feel free to try it in your bedroom now.

Abs circuit: 

Station 1: Sit ups -  An easy one to start with to get the abs working just do regular sit ups at a reasonably high tempo for the time limit.

Station 2: Plank - From a press up position lower your self onto your elbows and hold that position for the time limit ( only the forearms and toes should be on the ground)

Station 3: Russian twists - holding your legs and body of the ground so that only your bum is touching the ground twis your body from side to side keeping your legs out in front.

Station 4: v sit ups - From a sit up position raise your body up and your legs up to form a V and then lower yourself back down again. Try not to touch your feet of the ground and remember to keep your legs straight.

Station 5: 6 inches position - lying on your back raise your legs 6 inches of the floor and hold that position. Keep your legs straight!

Station 6: side plank twists - from a side plank position raise one hand into the air and lean to the side so that your face is pointing towards the floor and then back up again. Remenber to do this for both sides!


For beginners try this once or twice with a minute rest between the circuits. Perform each exercise for 30 seconds each.

For a more advanced workout perform the circuit 3 times with 45 seconds rest between the circuits and perform each exercise for 45 seconds - 1 minute.

Building Speed

This post is all about building up your sprint speed and it contains tips from top athletes such as Usain Bolt and Linford Christie. Below are the three top moves for building sprint speed and acceleration.

Squatt:
Why? well squatting is the best way to build up your glutes and these provide the base of your explosive power in your legs helping to give your an extra boost of acceleration. Make sure you activate the glutes by keeping your back straight and your squatts as deep as you can.

Cleans:
Why? Again this is an explosive exercise and helps to build up the explosive power you need to get out of the blocks fast. It is also good at conditioning the entire body.

Bench Press:
Why? Linford Christie believes that, "Your upper body is your engine", "the faster your arms go the faster your legs go". So bench press is the best upper body move for building up your sprint speed. But instead of going slow and heavy linford suggests dropping the weight a bit and working on fast, explosive pushes of the chest.

Usain bolt has more quick tips to get faster:

Dont over stride: He claims that "if you do that you'll lose alot of power when you push off " Instead he suggests getting power through your ground contact to generate more power and therefore a larger driving force in your sprint.
Relax: he says that he always trys to relax before a race or else you can become tense and not perform as well.
Strong core: Bolt has often pushed through the importance of a strong core for sprinters and this is supported by Linford Christie who suggests, "core strength is vital" he claims that with out a strong core you will be out of balance when sprinting and this can lead to a serious drop in speed due to a reduction in your overall stride lengths.