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