Deadlifts boost overall strength?

I received an email a few weeks ago about exercises that boost strength and the main area he wanted to know was, if he included deadlifts in his routine would he boost strength in other areas of his body as well? Here is my response,

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Pittas meal

Another high protein and healthy meal for you today. This is one of my favourite meals to use especially when I'm carb cycling or bulking due to the high levels of protein (70g). There are two different pittas for you to try so check it out. 

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Walking benefits

Everyone knows that weight loss and fitness are not a walk in the park, but is that true?
Walking has many benefits both for general health and weight loss, not to mention fitness models. So lets get into it. 
Walking not only is a good and simple steady pace cardio exercise we can all do, but it also is less commonly known as a good fat burner, let me explain. When we exercise our body has to burn fuel, to give us energy to keep going. Well the two main areas of energy in the human body are carbohydrates and fats. When we are under a lot of stress or exercising intensely the body will burn carbohydrates as they are faster and easier to break down and so we get more energy faster. But when walking or doing any steady pace cardio we are not under as much stress and so our body goes for the energy stores like fat. Now be aware that this happens when carbs are low or you haven't got a lot of food in your gut that it can access first!
Secondly in terms of fat loss study's show that walking helps to boost metabolism rates and reduces our appetite. So going for a walk in the morning before breakfast in the fresh air may be extremely beneficial if you are on a diet and trying to lose weight. Also walking after dinner will help digestion and absorption of vital nutrients and as long as your diet is good then this should lead to less fat storage while you rest later on in the day. 
Another point is that humans are supposed to be nomadic people, our ancestors walked a lot in search of food and shelter and to escape famine/ predators, hence why it is benificial to us in many ways. So don't think that its not a good way to start exercising. 
Also walking on un-level terrain like in a forest walk or cross country your blood circulation is increased further than normal walking, such as along a footpath. This not only increases your metabolism and heart rate but helps increase the fat burning effects around your stomach. As we spend a lot of time sitting down nowadays our circulation to our core area is poor and so we gain weight there first. But by using these muscles more and doing more exercise we can quickly turn the scales on fat. 

So next time you are trying to lose weight always remember that walking is a big plus, even if it is just a 25 minute walk to school or getting of the bus early and walking into uni or work. Or take your dog out for a walk or go out with friends. Just get out there and do it!

Not seeing gains?

A lot of people that start training give up very quickly when they can't see any improvements over a short period. But what you have to realise is that it is a journey, and it takes a long time to get to where you want to be, both mentally and physically. So this video will hopefully give you all some tips and help motivate you to not give up too soon and follow through with your training until you reach your goals.

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Muscle building oat and whey smoothie

This is a really tasty smoothie that is packed with protein, low GI carbs and some healthy fats to get your body into an anabolic state and get you packing on the muscle after a tough workout. Its quick and easy to make and the ingredients aren't overly expensive either so its a win win situation. 

Ingredients:                        Nutritional Values:
50g almonds                       Protein - 58g
2 scoops of oats                 Carbs - 48g
2 egg whites                        Fats - 31g (of which saturates 2g)
2 scoops of whey                Calories - 721
1 cup of water
1 spoonful of honey

Seriously though guys you have to try this smoothie, its great for anyone trying to add some mass and get gains from their bulk and also works well as a quick to make breakfast, just throw it all in the blender and go for it.

Bar Curls

Okay so everyone wants bigger biceps, not only for the pride of it, but for that t-shirt mass when you go out. However many of you will be mainly using dumbbells for biceps when in fact by incorporating the barbell it automatically forces the joints and muscles to undertake a more intense range of motion.

The first thing you want to be doing when planning out your barbell biceps workout is starting with the bigger exercises first that will utilize the greatest number of muscle fibers. Doing so will help ensure that you are able to generate a maximum amount of force on the exercises that will deliver the best results. This includes using straight bar curls, underhand rows and close grip pull ups. After you’ve finished with those exercises, then it will be time to move on to the isolated movements that are really going to zero in and hit the biceps hard. Here, you will want to primarily focus on movements such as dumbbell bicep curls, EZ bar curls and dumbbell concentration curls.

But don’t use all of these moves in one session, rather pick two of each and create a workout that works well for you. In order to allow them to get optimum recover times and growth you want to train them for 16 sets max that’s 4 sets per exercise. Also never train them and back together or even the next day. This is because many back moves need the biceps to help with the exercise and so the bicep is further fatigued. Try putting chest or legs in between these days for better gains.

Another tip is changing your barbell grip for even better results, one week have a normal grip on the bar with your hands about level with your shoulders, or by keeping your arms brushing your sides with each rep, then the following week use a close grip with only 10-12cm between your hands to hit the fibers in different ways and get optimum results from your training.

Shopping Tips

So here are a few great tips to remember when you are out shopping for new healthy, high protein foods to include in your diet and a few tips on diet layout and structuring a good meal plan and shopping list for your bodybuilding and training style.

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Simple Healthy Swaps

So a lot of you have been asking me about healthy meals, snacks and some tips for buying healthy foods. So here a a few healthy swaps you can make in your diets that will increase your meals nutritional values and make you a little healthier.

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Incline Cable Rows

A great move for addding thickness to your back. It targets the traps, rear delts, lats and the biceps ( to a minor extent). Its also good as you have to really control the speed of the cable and this allows you to perform negative reps as well in your set. Give it a go next time you need some variation t your back routines.

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Green Tea boosts HGH

As I have mentioned before in a previous post Green tea is widely known to be beneficial for weight loss, and thousands of websites offer green tea products for this purpose. As it is such an important herb for weight management, and particularly for reducing body fat and increasing lean body mass it may surprise you that it has also been linked with the production of the human growth hormone.

Research from . This is a clip of their results’ “Fifty subjects were assigned to the green tea extract plus hypocaloric diet (lower calorie diet), while the other 50 subjects followed the hypocaloric diet only. After 90 days of treatment, significant weight loss and decreased body mass index (BMI) were observed in the group taking the herbal extract (14-kg loss in the green tea group compared to a 5-kg loss in the diet-only group); waistline was reduced only in male subjects. Besides the effect on weight and BMI, biochemical parameters (LDL-, HDL-, and total cholesterol, triglycerides, human growth hormone, insulin-like growth factor-1, insulin, and cortisol) were improved in both groups.

The result is that HGH increased by 321% over the starting point. Note that even the control group showed a 20 percent increase, which just goes to show you how important weight management is for hormone balance and overall health. But this staggering increase in human growth hormone is a main reason why from this day forth I strongly suggest that you take green tea at least once a day either as a cup of tea or by pouring a sachet into your protein shake post workout for best results.

 

Home Workouts 3

This is the second of three homeworkout videos. This covers ABS and STRETCHING to help your recovery after your wrokouts. They are great for younger teens looking to get into fitness and resistance style training without paying for the gym membership. They also work well as holiday workouts if your staying somewhere without a fitness suite or gym. Check it out...

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Home workouts 2

This is the second of three homeworkout videos. This covers BICEPS, BACK and SHOULDERS. They are great for younger teens looking to get into fitness and resistance style training without paying for the gym membership. They also work well as holiday workouts if your staying somewhere without a fitness suite or gym. Check it out...

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Home Workouts 1

This is the first of three homeworkout videos. This covers LEGS, CHEST and TRICEPS. They are great for younger teens looking to get into fitness and resistance style training without paying for the gym membership. They also work well as holiday workouts if your staying somewhere without a fitness suite or gym. Check it out...

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My glycogen depletion workout

This is a workout routine that I use the day before my progress pics at the end of my cutting cycle, it depletes all of the main muscles of glycogen and this helps you 'carb up' over night before your pics to look fuller as well as preventing any fat stirage in the carb up phase. It os a circuit style training cycle with each set being performed in order. Each is also an isolation style move (mostly) in order ot deplete each individual muscle.

Circuit 1:
Lat pull down - 20    20   20 reps
Bench Press - 20   20    20 reps
Bicep curls - 15   15   15 reps
Tricep pull down - 20   20   15 reps
Leg raise -  15   15   15 reps
Leg Curl - 20   20   20 reps
Shoulder press - 20   20   15 reps

Circuit 2:
Side crunches - 10   10   10 reps
Knee up crunches - 30   25   20 reps
Push ups - 50   40   40 reps
Upright row - 15   10   10 reps
Lateral raise - 12  10 reps

Finish of with a 1km walk on incline Tredmill.

This should help boost your metabolism over the next few hours and if you have been on a low carb diet for a few weeks, then this should deplete your muscles of most of their glycogen. Then when your carb up a bit later in the day, by tomorow your body will be looking fuller and when you pump up before steping on stage you will look larger and yet still ripped.

 

Starvation Diets don't Work!

Starvation diets are not only detrimental to your health in more ways than one, but also do not work as effective fat loss diets. Not only do you lose more muscle than fat, but you also set yourself in a position where your body wants to store as much energy as possible as fat for use in the future.
Check out the alternatives below...

 

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Not making abs gains?

So a big question I get is that people struggle to get good ab gains and develop a six pack/ eight pack and want some advice. So here is a short video that I compiled that should help with alot of the problems teenagers have when it comes to abs training.

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Mr Olympia 2012

The Mr Olympia finals were held this weekend in Las Vegas Nevada USA. The best of the best came to do battle on stage and it was one of the best ever shows despite 4 time Mr Olympia Jay Cutler being absent through injury.
With the new champion from 2011 Phill Heath defending his title it was going to be an epic showdown. Branch Warren the Arnold Classic champion was back after injury and looked a strong competetor in the pre judging. kai Greene to had put on extra muscle and was one of the biggest athletes on stage.
The Olympia also welcomed 6 new athletes to the competition. However when it came down to it the age and experience showed with the top 6 places going to 'Veteran' Olympia competetors.

However it all came down to Phil versus Kai and it was an epic battle. See for yourself.

But in the end the Champion and my personal favourite Phil Heath took the big prize and fully deserved his win. In my opinion he achieved his goal to have' People say I won the damn show before I even hit a pose!' After winning the Olympia he has come out and said, "We did it, we defeated the haters again!" earlier he claimed"don't take rest after your first victory because if you fail in second more lips are waiting to say that your first victory is was just luck". Well I think we can agree that it was all hard work no luck was involved in this victory.

Top 6 places:

1. Phil Heath (2x Mr O.)
2. Kai Greene
3. Shawn Roden
4. Dexter Jackson (1x Mr O.)
5. Branch Warren
6. Denis Wolf
 

Pasta + Turkey and peppers

This is another healthy meal that I use especially as a post workout meal to replenish my carbohydrate and glycogen levels and fill me up after a tough gym session. Using 80 grams of wholemeal pasta, 100 grams of sliced turkey and a handful of chopped peppers. The wholemeal pasta is much lower is sugar and has a lower GI index than white pasta and is also more filling. The turkey, being a very lean meat is also a great source of protein without the added calories or fat count, so helps to even out the high carb pasta well. By adding peppers it gives the dish some flavour and vitamins including vitamin C and D.

Nutritional values:

Protein – 37grams
Carbs – 49 grams
Fats – 7 grams
kcals - 407

Machines vs. Free weights

This is a common debate I hear in the gym, free weights are better than machines. But is it always the case, a lot of people will disagree with this statement. In this video I will discuss the benifits and negative side to each option.

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Body Update September 2012

So it has been 6 months since my fitst ever shredding cycle in march 2012. I ended that cycle at 75kg, (165 pounds). Now its time for an update on my personal progress and I can happily say that I gained 5kg of muscle in that time. I'm now weighing in at 80kg at 10% bodyfat. Here are a few pictures to show you my progress.

To see my full statistics head over to www.kurtfitness.blogspot.com and click on statictics.
Also you can check out a few daily updates from the last 2 weeks.




 

Building a Thick Inner Chest

This video outlines the main poits to consider when trying to develop a thick inner chest and get more chest definition. It also gives some moves to hit this area better and should help you improve this area in your training.

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Back workout

It's back day today so I thought I'd share with you one of my back workout routines. It lasts about an hour - 1 hour 10 mins depending on my rest times and weight, but I usually triain back for 55 minuts and finish with 10 minutes of abs using any 3 of the abs circuits on the blog.

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Abs Circuit 3

Swiss Ball jack-knives  (15-20 reps)
Side crunches  (10 reps each side)
Plank (1 minute)
Leg raises  (20 reps)
Knee up crunches  (30-40 reps)
Russian twists  (1 minute)

Unsure of a few moves? Jackknives can be found in section 2011, august, day 6. Side crunches are perfromed from lying on your side with the hand underneath placed across your chest holding the opposite shoulder. The other hand is in the normal sit up position. Now raise your legs and crunch your body upwards into a slight v shape and lower back down again.
Russian twists are performed from a sit up position with your feet off the ground, either out straight or knees bent. Then keeping both hands together, twist your body to each side and touch both hands to the floor, then twist the opposite way and repeat.

Timing and duration:
For beginners try completing the circuit twice with a rest time in between each circuit of 2-3 minutes with as little rest as possible between each exercise.
For a more advanced workout try completing the circuit 3 times with a rest between each circuit of 1-2 minutes and no rest between exercises.

Want to go even harder, then add weight to the Russian twists in the form of a small dumbbell 2-5kg should be fine. Or hold the plank for longer, up to 2 minutes or beyond. Or simply do more reps of the crunches, leg raises or jack-knives.

But most importantly finish the circuit in a controlled but high effort way for best results. Remember you are only cheating yourself if you cheat the circuit.

Protein Pancakes

A great nutritous and protein packed meal thats quick and easy to make and only needs 3 ingredients.
Ingredients list:                                                         Nutrition:
4 egg whites                                                                Protein - 44 grams
1 scoop of whey protein                                            Carbs - 42 grams
2 scoops of porridge oats                                           Fats - 9 grams

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Bodybuilding's Golden Age

Bodybuilding has come under intense scrutiny over the many years it has been famous as a sport. This mainly revolves around the constant comments and claims of steroid abuse and unhealthy size of many of the athletes involved. But there was a time when bodybuilders looked aesthetic, rather than huge and bloated. There was a time when it was accepted by millions of people as a great sport and outstanding physical achievement. This was bodybuilding’s golden age.

In 1970 Arnold Schwarzenegger won his first Mr Olympia and went on to defend his title as the worlds top bodybuilder for the next 5 years. Arnold not only led the way for bodybuilding’s huge growth in support with his movie/documentary ‘Pumping Iron’ but also encouraged people to get fit and this was evident with the explosion of fitness and gym style training in the late 70’s across America and Europe.

But Arnold was only one of the many aesthetic and wonderfully carved bodybuilders of this era. In 1975 he fended of one of the greatest bodies of all time, Serge Nubret, and in his return in 1980 he also defeated another legend Frank Zane. 

But this era also had a weight division for less than 200 pounds, which was graced by the likes of Franco Columbu and the legendary poser Ed Corney. If you have never watched him pose then I strongly suggest you check him out. 

Unlike today’s larger than life bodybuilders, the athletes of Arnold’s era where aesthetic, trim and ripped. There was not a single bloated stomach to be seen onstage and no calls for bodybuilders to shrink their wastes by the head of the Olympia board, JoeWeider.  

However it seems the tides may be turning, With Weider’s declaration a few years ago that waist sizes needed to be addressed and shrunk the latest champion and Mr Olympia number 13 Phil Heath seems to be on the right lines once again. His streamlined physique and only 29-inch waist seem to signal a return of aesthetic quality to the Olympia stage. May it long continue.

Cardio Tips

Cardio is a great way to lose fat and burn excess calories, whilst reving your metabolism up for the rest of the day. Check out the video to get tis on three cardio styles and which is best for you.

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Tuna Pasta

A great combination of carbs and protein for a post-workout meal to really get your body in a muscle gaining, anabloic state. It's quick and easy to make and tastes great. It's also a healthy meal if you are looking to get into a more healthy lifestyle and has a mixture of all the macro nutrients your body needs.
Protein = 46 grams
Carbs= 68 grams
Fats= 6 grams (of which saturates 0.5g)

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R.I.P Zyzz

Rest in Peace Aziz Sergeyevich Shavershian. A true legend of fitness and physique training was lost one year ago today. He inspired me and millions more to change how we looked at bodybuilding and took away from the mass building towards building a beautiful and aesthetic body that was both useful and powerful. Made famous by his physique and trolling antics on youtube Zyzz really has inspired a new generation of bodybuilding. Here are some pics and quotes from this lost diamond.

“My end goal is not to be some massed up freak, but rather to have a physique that can be looked on as art; streamlined tapered and universally appealing”

“You Mirin’?”

R.I.P Zyzz, forever Mirin’!

Human Growth Hormone

The human growth hormone is the main hormone other than testosterone that all bodybuilders need to learn about. Once you start lifting weights in your resistance style training your body will start to produce heaps of both of these hormones.
However unlike testosterone, human growth hormones (HGH) only begin to really function well after your training ends, because it does'nt have enough time to work inbetween each set. But theres a huge problem here that many people will have that they are oblivious to. Human growth hormone doesn't like to work once you ingest alot of carbs. So for anyone who has carbs in their post workout shake all the time, or has a recovery shake once they leave the gym, then they aren't getting much benifit from their training and hormone production as they should. Also it is very active at night, so if you have carbs before bed you again will reduce its effects in your muscle gains.

What the human growth hormone does is it activates your body's fat stores as energy and uses the energy and fat molecules to build new cell walls on yor muscle fibres with any protein in your gut or blood stream that you ate earlier. Dr McColla and researchers at the University of Virginia have looked into this and believe that to get the most out of your training you should wait up to an hour after training before having your recovery shake in order to maximise your gains and effectiveness of this hormone.

The main reason for the effect of the carbs is the release of insulin, which not only reduces the amount of human growth hormone production but also the two hormone struggle to work together due to the fact that each is attempting to utilise a different energy source, either carbs or fats and so the growth hormone almost takes a back seat and stops working.

So to sumarise, wait up to an hour after training to maximise your effectiveness of the hormone before having your post workout shake and you should start to see better results in your muscle gains and may even put on less body fat due to its recruitment in the HGH process.

Time Under Tension

This is the time that your muscles are under 'stress' or tension whilst lifting weights.It means that you lift the weight in a controlled and steady motion making sure that the muscle fibres are stimulated to the max in every rep, therefore helping you make the best gains.
The main aim of this training style is to take all the momentum that helps you lift the weight out of the equation, in a sense you focus on each individual rep as its own rep, not as part of a bigger set. This not only improves your control over the muscle but increases its overal stimulation in each set and therefore should lead to faster gains. You've all seen the swingers in the gym, the chest bouncers and the guys who have poor form, and a sa result have poorer muscle definition or size. Well by using time under tension your results and shape will start to improve.

Focus especially on the negative section of each rep and the exploding up from the base into a perfect lift. This will therefore work both the fast and slow twitch muscle fibres, and give you a better all round workout, combining muscle gains and power, whilst reducing risk of injury.
another way to improve your muscles time under tension is to squeese the muscle at the top of each rep, forcing the blood into the muscle and getting more of a pump, this will help to bring out more definition in the muscle and help your gains.

If you struggle with negative reps on every rep then start slowly, wait until the last rep, finish it and then do a negative rep after this to finish the set. For example try doing 8 reps of chest press and as the 8th rep gets to the top, lower it back to your chest as slowly as you can, and build it up from there.

Always remember that momentum in your lifts, will build muscle, a little. But by controlling the weight and really squeesing and stimulating the muscle with each rep it will not only increase your gains but reduce your risk of injury and help with lean definition after you cut down your bodyfat.
So always remember TIME UNDER TENSION!

Bench Boost

This simple but effective move helps to strengthen the areas where you will struggle on the bench press. Be it in your negative rep training or the more common struggle of the 'sticking point' about half way off the chest towards the end of the set.
Try it out for yourselves:

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Chicken and Ginger

A little meal I cooked up last night and it has seriously good macro/micro nutrient levels to support your muscle growth and recovery after a tough day at the gym.

Protein - 47g
Carbs - 39g
Fats - 9g


It's reasonably easy to make. First you need to collect the ingredients from the list below. Then slice the red pepper into reasonably large slices and chop the brocolli in half or quarters down the center depending on its size. Now weight out 150g of chicken per person and warm up your wok before you add the chicken. Now weight out 75-100g of brown wholemeal rice per person. (note nutritional values are estimated on 75g of rice). Then add the rice to a suitable pot and cover in boiling water, abd allow to boil for 20-25 minutes depending on the brand. Whilst the rice boils you need to add the chicken to the wok and cook until the chicken has turned white all over. Once white, lower the heat under the wok and grate 1/3 of a ginger root per person into a small dish. Once the ginger is grated add the veg to the wok and increase the heat stiring well. After about 5 minutes you need to add the ginger and a table spoon of soy sauce and mix it in well with the veg and chicken, decrease the heat at this point.
After a further 5 minutes th rice should be ready, so drain the rice, serve it out onto the plates and add your chicken and veg. There won't be alot of sauce, but thats how this dish is prepared, you are coating the chicken in ginger not adding a ginger sauce.

Hopefully you'll try this and enjoy it. I know I did.

Ingredients:
150 grams of chicken (per person)
50 grams of brocolli (per person)
1/2 red pepper (per person)
1/3 ginger (root per person)
1 table spoon of soy sauce (per person)
75 grams brown rice (per person)

Spiderman Crawl

In the light of the new Amazing Spiderman movie I thought I’d share a move that even the famous wall crawler would be proud of. This is a full body move that helps build balance and all-round strength.

So, you will need to dumbbells, about 4kg-8kg. Hold them in each hand and get into a push-up position. From here reach one hand and the same leg forward, from his position do a push-up, then reach forward with the other arm and leg and again do a press up.
Aim to complete 8-10 reps with each hand per set and around 3-5 sets for the best results. You’ll also need a reasonably open and straight area to perform this move, try using a separate gym hall, or fitness studio if your gym has one, if not then try to stick to the channels where there are no cardio or weights machines to maintain a straight path for this move.
By using light dumbbells you will be working nearly all of the muscles in your upper body, with triceps, shoulders and chest working in the push-up and biceps and back working in the reach. Also your core is being worked hard to keep your balance and your legs are worked in each step forward.

By performing the push-ups at an awkward angle it hits the muscles in a different way that they aren’t used to. This is extremely useful for sports that require movement in constantly changing angles and positions, such as most combat sports and gymnastics. Also by constantly shifting your centre of gravity your abs are forced to work harder to maintain your stability and balance.

Breakfasts

Just a few breakfasts to try out, all have over 30grams of protein and plenty of essential macro and micro-nutrients to really kick start your gains and metabolism.

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Structuring a cutting cycle

Many people want to lose their bodyfat and get ripped, but few know how to structure their diet in order to get the best results possible in terms of muscle retention and fat loss. So I thought I'd share the structure of any cutting diet with you and you can use this simple maths and a calculator to get exactly the right amount of macro nutrients and calories in your diet in order to get shredded in 5-8 weeks.

Okay so first things first you need to workout your calorie limit.
Find your body weight in pounds -(weight in kilos x 2.2) then multiply this number by 11. That is your max calorie intake per day!
For example I weigh 85kg, which is 187 pounds, so my max calories is - 2057kcals

Now onto the macro-nutrients.
Protein is simple it is a gram per pound of body weight, so mine would be 187g per day max.
Carbs is also reasonably simple to work out, multiply your bodyweight in pounds by 0.6, so mine would be 187 x 0.6 = 112.2 grams of carbs per day max.

This is where most peoples cutting diets fall short and they start to sacrifice huge amounts of muscle.
In order to lose weight you need to increase the amounts of healthy fats that you eat! This is true and heres why. In order to prevent cortisol atacking your muscles for an energy source yo ave to provide an alternative, this is usually carbs, but as we have reduced carbs in the diet, fats are the best alternative. Secondly if the brain detects increased fat cosumption and I mean healthy omega 3 fats and ployunsaturated fats then it is more likely to burn excess bodyfat as it is no longer a rare component of the diet.
So how much fat should I be eating? well you need to make your macronutrients equal your total calories, so you must first workout how much you have already from the protein and carbs.
To do this add both totals together, e.g 112.2 + 187 = 299.2
then multiply this by 4(the amout of calories per gram of carbs and protein) 299.2 x 4 = 1196.8

Then take this value away from your total calorie figure. 2057-1196.8 = 860.2
then divide this by 9 (number of calories in fats) to get the amount of fat in grams you should be getting in your diet. 860.2/ 9 = 95grams

So to sumarise
calories = 2057kcals (bodyweight x11)
protein = 187g   (bodyweight)
carbs = 112.2g   (bodyweight x 0.6)
fats = 95g           (left over calories / 9)

These figures represent the max values you should be taking per day, aim to get close to the fats and protein, but don't worry if you fall short on the carbs every few days, just don't go over this!

Tuna Steaks

This is a meal I had at the weekend after a tough shoulder session and it was the most satisfying meal I had had all week. Not only does it taste great but it is packed with protein and healthy fats. I combined the steaks with red peppers stuffed with sweet corn and cous cous and mushrooms. This added a lot of vitamins and essential micronutrients that your muscles need to grow as well as carbs to help recovery post workout.

Nutritional values:

Protein – 72 grams

Carbs – 68 grams

Fats – 12 grams

The tuna really helps with muscle gains being a low carb fish source of protein it really allows all of the steak to be converted into amino acids which are essential for post workout muscle growth and recovery. The vitamin D in the mushrooms will also aid testosterone levels and hopefully lead to muscle gains. As for the carbs they help muscle recovery and as they are taken post workout they should be absorbed by the muscles and converted into glycogen which will be seriously depleted following a tight and intense workout.

To prepare all you need to do is cook the steaks and mushrooms in a pan for 4 minutes each side, and then let them sit in the pan for a few minutes. Mean while you need to slice the red pepper in half, and grill it for a few minutes, then stuff it with cous cous and sweet corn. Then it’s all ready to serve.

Beating cortisol

Many of you will be wary of this stress hormone - 'cortisol'. The dreaded hormone that breaks down muscle for energy after approximately 1 hour of an intense workout and can wash away any gains you made prior to this in the gym. However getting the right nutrients pre and post workout can help to prolong the time it takes for your body to release it and how much of it is produced, therefore allowing a longer, more effective workout.

Many of you are propably doing a session of about 20 sets maximum per muscle group in order to stop his cortisol being realeased, but this reduces the amount of muscle fibres you recruit and damage and so less is repaired and less growth occurs post workout. So to allow you to reach 30 sets try these nutrition tips.

1. Protein. High quality sources of protein can help to decrease cortisol production. Whey proein, eggs, lean meats all contain amino acids that are essentila to survival. By taking 15-30 grams of protein every 3 hours you body will begin to reduce the levels of cortisol it has ready to release into the blood stream when your body is under stress.

2. Having low GI carbs such as wholemeal toast, whole meal pasta or oats post workout will reduce the levels of cortisol that the body produces, as long as you avoid sugary foods and stop any insulin spikes then your body will not release very much cortisol and so you will reduce the loss of muscle caused by this hormone.

3. Keep getting healthy fats. Not only do these fats like omega 3 increase testosterone levels that we need to gain muscle, but they also reduce cortisol production, dont over do it though or you may actually increase your stress levels due to increased fat gains.

4. Vitamin C. This has been proven to not only reduce cortisol levels in the body, but it also delays its release allowing us to train longer and harder. make sure you are getting your 5 a day to ensure your vitamin c levels are naturally kept high all day.

5. Green tea. This contains theanine, which has a  tranquilizing effect in the brain, theanine is a unique amino acid found in the leaves sencha. This in turn reduces the effects of the stress hormone cortisol.

Therefore I suggest a new style of post workout shake for those of you looking to gain some size and strength. I am currently having this concoction:
1 scoop of whey protein
30 grams of porridge oats
1 sachet of green tea
300ml of water

This combines the low GI carbs, over 20grams of protein, and the theanine in green tea to help reduce the effects of cortisol post workout and provides my muscles with not only the protein and carbs that it needs but it also has a minor thermogenic effect to burn a little body fat due to the protein, water and green tea. Try it.

Holiday Workout

Well seeing as the summer is fast approaching and many of you will soon be jetting off on your holidays to relax and enjoy the sun I thought I’d share a simple, no kit needed workout that I used last year on holiday that helped keep of the holiday pounds that many of us gain whilst away. It’s a simple bodyweight circuit style workout that should only take 30-40minutes at most, and can be extended or shortened to suit your own personal liking.

Workout:

1. Press ups – 4 sets to failure with 30 seconds rest periods in between sets.
2. Sit ups – either complete 100 reps or go until failure
3. The next part is a superset move: do four sets of each

-         Jump squats: do a set of 20 reps of standing squats to below 90 degrees and then explode upwards into a jump, landing back into the next squat.

-         Incline press ups: feet on the bed, hands shoulder width apart, do 20-30 reps

4. The plank – hold for 2 minutes or until failure
5. Second superset moves for 3 sets each this time.

-         Lunges: simply lunge forward onto one leg and drop down until the knee is below 90 degrees and then power back up to a standing position with feet back together, repeat 10 times for each leg.

-         Tricep press ups: press up position with hands close together so that when you lower yourself your elbows bend above your hands at a 90 degree angle but keep the arms tucked into your sides. Do each set to failure.

6. Finish with v- shaped crunches to failure.

Not hard enough? Then try adding weight to the press-ups, even in the form of a suitcase or backpack on your back or get a friend or sibling to sit on your back for an even harder workout. With the squatts and lunges again add weight, holding a suitcase above your head will also activate your core.

Finally for the abs exercises you can always hold the plank for longer or do more repititions of a certain move to get an extra pump.

This is a good quick workout that can be done in your room in the hotel and requires nothing more than a bed to complete the workout. Hopefully it will elp keep you lean before you hit the pool or beach, or even a a pre-pump before heading out for the night.

Gym tunes

Okay so I thought I'd give you a slightly different post today. Everyone has a particular song or genre of music that realy gets them going in the gym so I thought I'd share my top 5 tunes and also have a look at top songs from a few people who I know have checked out this blog before.

Okay, so my top 5:
1. W&W - Alpha
2. Skillet - Hero
3. John O'callaghan - Find Yourself
4. Rise Against - Satelite
5. Professor Green ft. Example - Monster

All great tunes that get my blood pumping and keep me pushing in the gym.

A few songs suggested by others now include:
Roy Jones jr - cant be touched
David Guetta - Titanium
Avicci - Enough is enough
Hardwell - spaceman
Gareth Emery - concrete angel
Elle golding  - Lights

Again great songs for a hard workout, or cardio that realy keep you going right until the end. Check out the video below to get a better idea of these awesome pumping tunes.

Dont forget to like the blog on facebook under ' Teen fitness blog', just look for the logo, also you can subcribe to the youtube channel - kurtyweir1 for more great training videos. Thanks

Green Tea

What is in green tea?

Tannins - A group of simple and complex phenol, polyphenol, and flavonoid compounds. Produced by plants, all of the tannins are relatively resistant to digestion or fermentation. All tannins act as astringents, shrinking tissues and contracting structural proteins in the skin and mucosa. This in turn will aid digestion and uptake of essential nutrients that your body needs.

Catechins - Catechins are a category of polyphenols. In green tea, catechins are present in significant quantities, with epigallocatechin gallate making up about 10-50% of the total catechin content and appears to be the most powerful of the catechins - with antioxidant activity about 25-100 times more potent than vitamins C and E! By having this powerful anti-oxidant in your system after a heavy workout is just what you need to stop any free radical damage.

Flavonoids - Flavonoids are plant pigments, and are the brightly colored chemical constituents found in most fresh fruits and vegetables. They may aid in protecting against infection. Deficiency can result in a tendency to bruise easily.Simply this will help keep you healthy and ready for the next session.

Theanine - An amino acid that produces tranquilizing effects in the brain, theanine is a unique amino acid found in the leaves sencha. Theanine is quite different from the polyphenol and catechin antioxidants for which green tea is typically consumed. It should leave you with a peaceful feeling without compromising motivation and mental activity.

When to take it?

Pre-workout - Green tea is a great alternative to the usual pre-workout pumps that we are exposed o now more than ever. The green tea is great because it does have some caffeine and the Theanine really relaxes you mentally but lets you perform physically. This lets you remain calm and focused during your work out and will help to reduce the release of Cortisol after a workout and thus less muscle damage.

Cutting - Research suggests that supplementing with green tea can raise your resting metabolic rate by 3%. In order to get this benefit you must have about about 3 glasses a day. If you have a bmr of 2000 or so that means 60 extra calories a day. Okay so its not much but throw it in with a post workout shake and the effects do rapidly increase as it prolongs the effects of the higher metabolic rate boost in your training.

Dont like the taste? Then have it with a shake, add one scoop of whey protein and pour in a sachet of green tea, add water, shake and enjoy! Or put in in a smoothie, or of course you could just man up and drink the thing.