How To Carb Cycle

So a lot of people have asked me what is the best nutritional plan to stay lean and ripped once I get shred off the body fat and build lean muscle. Well the best strategy that I would recommend is carb cycling. This is easy to do and follows a simple pattern that aims to keep energy levels high, maintain strength and muscle mass and keep your fat burning metabolism high enough to keep the fat at bay. 

How it works:
You follow a repetitive cycle of 2 low carb days followed by 1 high carb day. So for example Monday low carb, Tuesday low carb, wednesday high carb and so on. What is does is allows your body 2 days to use fat as the predominant energy source whilst topping up your carbohydrates and glycogen stores every three days to allow continue high performance training and efficient energy cycling in the body. If you combine this diet plan with at least 3 litres of water a day then you should maintain a good shape and level of shreddedness all year long. It also allows you to have a cheat meal each week and enjoy some high carb foods like pasta every few days whilst keeping the fat at bay.
On the low carb days the body will tap into your stored body fat as energy and therefore reduce the amount you put on. and on the high carb days, carbohrdrates are the main energy source and it lets the muscles store extra glycogen to help them perform well when you have 2 low carb days in a row.

Example diet for each day:

Low Carb Day:
Breakfast - porridge and 50 grams of almonds
Lunch- tuna salad with some greek yoghurt
Snack- protein shake post workout with a cinamon dusted apple (boost metabolism)
Dinner- Chicken breast and mixed vegetables
Snack- cottage cheese and whey(

Macros= Protein - 160 grams Carbs -110 grams Fats - 45 grams

High Carb day:
Breakfast - porridge and 50 grams of almonds and sliced banana
Lunch- chicken and salad wraps and greek yoghurt
Snack- protein shake post workout and 1 round of peanut butter toast
Dinner- Chicken breast and rice with broccoli
Snack- cottage cheese and whey with 50g oats

Macros= Protein - 175 grams Carbs - 205 grams Fats - 55 grams

Try this out and see if it works for you!

Joint Mobility

This video post shows you a great range of moves that I use pre-workout to help mobilise my joints and prepare my body for intense activity. Basically if you imagine a hinge joint (E.g your elbow) such as that on a door, if the hinge isn't oiled up it is very stiff and more likely to be hard to move or get damaged. Its the same in the joint, the joint itself is surrounded by synovial fluid, but when it is cold or not warmed up properly it is more like a paste than fluid so by doing these moves you held warm up the fluid and get better healthier motion when you train. It helps a lot with big lifts such as squats or bench press and also helps if you are going to perform intense cardio such as long distance running or interval training.

check out the other youtube videos at my channel - www.youtube.com/user/kurtyweir1 and like us on facebook at eitherwww.facebook.com/pages/Fitness-Teen-blog or www.facebook.com/kurtfitness

Training while Travelling

Recently I received a great article form Mike Manning. It discusses a serious problem many people experience at some time, especially this time of year when many of you will be travelling abroad on holiday. Training while travelling a lot is hard, you are not used to the new equipment and chopping and changing time zones can play havoc on your hormones and energy levels, but there are ways to still accommodate your fitness needs while on the move.
Mike says:
‘Travel can create barriers to a healthy lifestyle. Frequent travelers tend to experience overall poorer health than those who travel only occasionally, and those who are away from home 20 days a month experience a much higher risk of obesity than those who travel less than one week each month. Although these are grim statistics, you don’t have to kiss fitness goodbye when you hit the road.
Advance preparation and some basic self-awareness can turn stressful, unhealthy travel time into an opportunity for fitness. Begin planning for healthy options before you leave home, and you’ll be surprised what a difference these plans make.’
Here are some of Mike’s tips:

1.      Research the place where you plan to travel before you leave home. Learn if your health club allows you access to a gym there. Find out about local fitness amenities such as running trails or tracks that are open to the public. Also make sure to do some research before booking a hotel. On a recent trip to Maui I booked a hotel with a 24-hour gym, which allowed me to continue my workout routine seamlessly. I did this by searching through a travel site that listed all the Maui hotels and from here could click through amenities associated with each hotel.

2.      Be sure to pack for success. Include workout clothes and a good pair of trainers as well as a refillable water bottle to help you stay hydrated wherever you go. You might also want to pack portable workout equipment such as a simple exercise band to help you get a powerful workout despite limited time and space.

3.      On your flight, take the opportunity to stretch and perform a few in-flight fitness activities. On long flights, working through a series of these exercises once an hour will help you avoid stiffness, cramping and swelling frequently associated with extended travel.

4.      When you arrive at your destination, take time to orient yourself to your surroundings before rushing to meetings or other events. Find the fitness facilities and other amenities. Take a few moments to familiarize yourself with your room and stretch or do a few yoga moves to get started.

Finally make sure that throughout your stay, take advantage of every opportunity to move and be active. You probably won’t have an entire hour to spend working out in the fitness centre, but you can make short work out sessions effective. If you have a particularly rigorous schedule, squeeze in a quick routine with a chair and your exercise band between afternoon meetings. Ten minutes is long enough to get your heart pumping by doing some jumping jacks, lunges and other on-the-spot activities in the restroom or other secluded spot.

Check out my holiday workout routine that I designed last year, no kit, not cost and almost a full body workout in approximately 30-45 minutes. Check it out by following this link: http://www.fitness-teen.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/holiday-workout.html

References for Mikes article:
NY Times - "Adding Fitness to Your Itinerary" - http://travel.nytimes.com/2013/02/24/travel/adding-fitness-to-your-business-travel-itinerary.html?_r=1&

Gogobot - Travel reviews site for research  - http://www.gogobot.com/

Ace Fitness - "Top Ten IN-Flight Exercises to Reduce Jet Lag" - http://www.acefitness.org/updateable/update_display.aspx?pageID=494

Building Obleaks

This short video outlines many different moves you can use to get great obleaks and build a strong core with plenty of definition and striations. Check it out

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Nut Comparison

This is a short video comparing the different nutritional values of my top 5 nuts. It covers their main macro nutrient values for protein, carbs and fats and ranks them in order of 1-5 based on the ratios of each nutrient.

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Importance of good form

Good form is vital to your training, if you aren't doing the move right, be it cardio, weights, resistance machines it doesn't matter, if the technique is wrong your not gona get what you want out of it. For example if you are doing bicep curls and you only raise the dumbbells half way up whilst swinging your back to get momentum or you raise your elbows and get lift with your legs its not working!

If you want to get the best out of your workout you have to train smart and actually do the move properly. This not only ensures your own safety and reduces injury risk, but it also targets the muscles or body in such as way that you actually work those muscles or get fitter because you are using the muscle you want to grow.
So back to the curls again, if you want bigger arms then train the arms, i.e your biceps and triceps not your abs, lower back, shoulders and legs.
With each rep you should be squeezing the muscle and trying to feel the muscle working and getting filled with oxygenated blood and getting a good pump out of it. To be honest with you a lighter weight lifted properly with good technique and a slow negative or squeezing the muscle at its peak will result in far faster muscle growth than simply throwing heavy weights around. That may build strength but not muscle shape or size. 
Top Bodybuilders such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tom Platz, Frank Zane and Kai Greene all agree that form over weight is key to building a muscular and stage ready body. Yes of course you need big weights to build mass, but in terms of small muscle groups like your shoulders, biceps, triceps and calves them need to be controlled and allowed to grow. By keeping the tension on the muscle by using good technique you automatically tear more fibers and force the muscle to grow bigger because you focused all the weight you were using on that one area instead of lifting to heavy and not targeting the area you wanted to train.
In terms of safety again using proper technique will help reduce the risk of injury, for example doing a bench press or supine press (skull crusher) move with too much weight or too quickly is dangerous as you could drop the weight on your chest or head and then your out for a long time if not for life! Also by using lighter weight your less likely to dislocate, pop, or damage your joints and so you can train safely and for years to come because your joints are in good shape.

Its the same for cardio, if you are running to fast for yourself on a treadmill you begin to hunch your back and damage the spinal cord which is the last thing you want to damage believe me. Also if you run flat footed or lock out your joints you risk serious injury to your ankle or knee joints.(Did you know your knee joints experience over 3 times your body weight in pressure when you run flat footed! Instead try to strike with the heel and spring off on your toes) It is the same for cycling, you want to ensure that the bike pedals and seat are adjusted your your height and leg length so you don't over strain or lock out your knees. 

You may also want to check out this post which explains why slowing down the rep speed and using proper technique will help build muscle faster. 
http://www.fitness-teen.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/time-under-tension.html

Advanced Stretching (Legs)

This is my routine to give my legs a great stretch before I train them and it helps a lot if you are trying to boost your flexibility. I used to do this almost every day when I kickboxed but now I use it as a great stretching plan for my legs. Check it out

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