We will discuss various recovery strategies over the coming weeks, but it makes sense to start with the most important one – sleep.

Sleep is important because it is during this time that hormones are released which help with muscle growth, tissue repair and recovery from training.

It’s also been suggested that the brain uses this downtime to process information and motor skills, and stores this information in long-term memory. Therefore, a good night’s sleep may also help to improve technical skill.

Sports Medicine Expert, Elizabeth Quinn quotes a study from the University of Chicago Medical School by Eve Van Cauter Ph.D., which showed the effects of reduced sleep in eleven men aged 18 to 27.

Results showed that after a period of sleep deprivation, their body’s ability to manage sugar efficiently was reduced and their stress hormones increased. There was also reduced activity of Human Growth Hormone (HGH), which is vital for muscle repair and growth.

Other research studies have demonstrated links between reduced sleep and reductions in testosterone levels of between 10 and 15%.

Apart from beneficial effects on sexual function and reproduction, testosterone has important positive effects on muscle mass and strength, bone density, energy levels and general well-being.

Therefore, to improve recovery from training and to maintain general health and well-being, the proper quality and quantity of sleep is required. It’s often mentioned that the ideal amount of sleep is somewhere between 7 and 9 hours per night, although I’ve seen people (especially parents of newborns) who probably don’t get this amount of sleep in a week!  Most people get around 7 hours sleep per night, with a substantial portion of the population surviving on 6.5 hours or less.

The following are some simple ways to get more sleep.

Go to bed earlier! It’s not rocket science. For the majority of people, staying up late is a choice rather than a necessity. Nowadays there are many distractions that prevent us from getting our quota of sleep: work patterns, 24 hour television, internet and social media.

If you are serious about maximising your health and fitness, it would be a good idea to make getting a good night’s sleep a bigger priority than checking how many people liked your latest Facebook Post. Aim to be asleep around 11pm for best results.

Be Consistent. In an ideal world, it works best if you can go to sleep and get up at around the same time 7 days a week. The more consistent your sleep and wake times are, the less hormonal disruption you’ll experience. This in turn can make it easier to stay on track with nutrition and training.

Obviously, it can be a little more challenging if you’re a Party Animal who tends to crawl home at 4am at the weekend. Crawling home at 4am 7 days a week would be consistent although I’m not convinced it would be as effective.

Wind Down. Television and computer screens, as well as stressful situations can stimulate the brain, resulting in the release of stress hormones that are designed to keep us alert.

Replace these with a relaxing night-time ritual and let yourself unwind. Reading, listening to relaxing music, prayer or meditation can all help to de-stress at bed-time.

Avoid Sleeping on a Full Stomach. If your body is trying to digest a meal eaten just before bedtime, it is quite likely that it will disturb your sleep. Aim to stop eating approximately 2-2.5 hours before bedtime.

Sleep in a “Bat Cave” Light, noise, and electro-magnetic energy in your bedroom can all disturb sleep quality. Use black-out blinds, or an eye mask, remove or un-plug as many electric/electronic items as possible, use a battery-operated clock instead of a mobile phone as an alarm clock, and get that phone as far away from your head as possible while you sleep!

Sweet Dreams!

The post Train, Eat, Sleep appeared first on Body and Mind Fitness - Personal Training Ennis.

In the last twenty years the rate of change has increased at a mind-blowing pace, and technology is now moving so fast that phones and laptops seem to be out of date within weeks of being purchased.

The health and fitness industry has also been affected by this continuous evolution. It feels like we are bombarded on a weekly basis by claims that somebody has discovered the “ultimate” diet, exercise programme, or weight-loss supplement.

There have undoubtedly been huge improvements in training and nutrition strategies, especially at elite athlete level, but I sometimes feel that the constant search for the Holy Grail of weight-loss or training leads us to overlook what has worked in the past and will still work today.

In order to get better results for my clients – and because I’m a bit of a training/nutrition geek – I read lots of books, articles and research papers and attend many seminars and training courses. While most of the subject material is the very latest research, I also like to go “Old Skool” every now and again and read about methods that were employed by previous generations.

One of the books I’ve just finished reading is called “The Science of Being Well” written by a man called Wallace D. Wattles. This book was part of his “Science of” Trilogy which also included “The Science of Being Great” and “The Science of Getting Rich”. Wattles wrote the books in 1910 and although he died a year later relatively unknown, Rhonda Byrne has credited him as being one of the inspirations behind her hit film and book “The Secret.”

Even though he had no specific qualifications in nutrition, physical training or psychotherapy, many of the ideas that he put forward would now be considered as the basis of a healthy lifestyle and have been validated by recent research studies.

So let’s look at some of Wallace’s theories and see how information that’s over 100 years old can be applied to our modern lives.

Positive Thinking
As might be expected from the man who was a major influence on the writer of “the Secret”, Wattles was a big believer in the power of the mind to help create a healthy body. He believed that we are all created healthy and that it is through “unhealthy thoughts” that we create illness and disease. While this may be considered controversial and a little bit “out there”, it is interesting to note that modern science is now seeing a direct connection between how we think and our state of physical health.

It has been shown that “unhealthy”, negative thinking can increase stress levels. If this is allowed to continue on a long-term basis, it can cause dysfunction in many of the body’s systems, most notably the digestive system, and can also impair the immune system.

Brain scans have shown that when thinking positive or happy thoughts, the brain and nervous system are much more relaxed and the body works in a far healthier manner. Wallace’s advice to form a mental image of yourself as being in perfect health with abundant energy, is remarkably similar to “visualization” methods used by modern Sports Psychologists to help athletes to achieve their best performance.

Take Action
This is the slightly less “airy-fairy” part of the advice that can often be forgotten! Something similar happened when “The Secret” was released back in 2006. A lot of people thought it was simply a case of writing down what they wanted in life, thinking about it for 5 minutes a day and then expecting the items on their shopping list to simply arrive at their doorstep.

So thinking healthy thoughts is all well and good but as Wattles writes: “this healthy functioning will not continue unless a person performs the external, or voluntary functions of living in a healthy manner”.

Putting It Together
The 100 year old recipe for good health contains no surprises: eat natural whole foods including animal, fish, natural wholegrains, and plant-based foods. Drink only water and avoid sweetened and processed foods. He recommends that physical exercise should be done for enjoyment and to help energize the body. Add in a good night’s sleep to re-build the body and mind and you can see that what was good for Wattles a century ago still holds true today.

It’s been said that the more things change, the more they stay the same. Good health is timeless, so stick with what works!

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Allegedly, a mother brought her young son to see Gandhi because she wanted the Mahatma to tell him to stop eating sugar. After hearing her story, Gandhi sent them away and told them to come back in 2 week’s time.

2 weeks later the mother and son returned, and Gandhi said to the boy: “Stop eating sugar”. The mother was a bit annoyed at having to make 2 journeys to hear this basic instruction and asked him why he could not have said this to the boy 2 weeks ago.

Gandhi replied “Because 2 weeks ago I was eating sugar”. Even if the story is not 100% accurate, I believe that if you “Talk the Talk” you have to “Walk the Walk”.

Today, I’ll go through some aspects of training, nutrition, motivation and lifestyle that have worked for me over the years but, most importantly, I am using them now.

Motivation
 You could have the best nutrition and training programme in the world, but if you’re not motivated to use them, then they are useless to you. My main motivation in life is to stay energetic, healthy, fit and strong enough to be able to run a business, provide for my family and see my young daughters grow up.

In order to do all of the above, I have goals for work, strength/fitness and a list of things that I want to do and see with my family. These goals are written down, and I read them every morning and evening. As each item is achieved it is replaced by something else to aim for.

This is a fairly simple method that you can complete by taking a little time to think about what is really important in your life. Using this process I’ve discovered that some items that I thought were important to me, were not important at all and I was easily able to discard them. This in turn gave me the time and energy to concentrate on what is meaningful to me.

Training
My current training goals are to improve my strength in the squat, deadlift, bench press and chin-up, while maintaining my current body fat levels. In order to do that I weight-train 4 times per week and also do some high-intensity interval training. However, I let my recovery dictate the intensity and amount of training I do. I no longer beat myself up about missing a training session if I’m sick or feeling that the energy levels aren’t there to support a good workout. On days like that, I will simply do a lighter session, go for a walk, do some stretching/core work or have a day off if I’m really tired.

Nutrition
I tend to keep weight and body fat levels within a fairly narrow range. Although, like most people, I put on a certain amount of excess weight after holidays and “blow-outs”, my main motivation for eating as healthily as possible is not related to body composition.

When I eat well and avoid junk food, I feel better, I sleep better, I have more energy, more concentration, more motivation and tend to be in much better mood. These are far more important to me than mere numbers on a scales or a body fat calipers.

Healthy eating for me means 2-3 litres of filtered water per day, green vegetables with EVERY meal (yes breakfast as well!), some form of lean protein with every meal (breakfast again) and the absolute minimum amount of processed food.  My “treats”, which usually only happen at the weekends, consist of red wine, cheesecake, dark chocolate and, when I’m on a different type of “session,” Cider.

Lifestyle
The best and most under-used form of recovery is sleep. For a long time I was looking for the magic food or supplement that would give me more energy. The real reason I was tired was because I wasn’t sleeping enough. Now, I’m asleep most nights before 10.45pm and I get up between 5.45 and 6am feeling energetic enough to face the day.  I’ve also been meditating on a daily basis for the last number of months and have found it to be a great way to reduce stress levels and take the edge off the madness.

Try some or all of the above and see if they’ll work for you!

The post My Favourite Things appeared first on Body and Mind Fitness - Personal Training Ennis.

For those of you who are not familiar with the term, it was apparently popularized by an American student called Mackenzie Pearson in a post on theodysseyonline.com website, and it refers to a male body type that is “a nice balance between a beer gut and working out”.

According to Pearson this particular shape says to her that “I go to the gym occasionally, but I also drink heavily on the weekends and enjoy eating eight slices of pizza at a time.”

And the good news for all the lads out there that enjoy similar nutrition and training habits is that according to Ms. Pearson, girls love that look. So, it appears that all the time that you’ve spent attempting to develop a rock-hard six-pack and bulging biceps has been a complete waste of time.

Apparently, the reason this look is irresistible to women is because they feel less intimidated standing beside a lad carrying a few extra pounds of flab, and obviously he’s going to be more fun to cuddle.

But it seems there’s some long term strategic planning going on as well. Pearson reckons that women map out their future pretty early in a relationship and don’t like too many surprises. So they feel more comfortable dating a man in his twenties who already has the body of a 45 year old!

Needless to say this opinion has sparked a fair amount of controversy and it has thrown up allegations that society has double-standards for what is considered physically attractive in men and women. There have also been a number of comments on how it portrays women and their preferences for an “ideal” partner.

I believe you could spend a long time and waste a lot of energy trying to argue about the ethical, moral and socio-psychological implications of body-image in general and the Dadbod phenomenon in particular. So rather than get too deep or heavy, here’s my take on the subject.

1.     It’s A Point Of View.

Whether it was written as a passionately-held conviction or, (as I suspect), a tongue-in-cheek attempt to provoke reaction, the original article is merely Mackenzie Pearson’s opinion. Just as this, and every other article that I write, is merely my opinion. And opinions are like the body part that we can’t mention in a family newspaper – everybody’s got one.

2.     It Has Created Debate.

This particular debate will probably generate more heat than light but I believe that the whole concept of body-image is an important one. Anything that encourages us to think about our own body shape and question our values in relation to it has to be a good thing.

3.     Health Beats Body Shape Every Time.

Health is a fairly vague term but I like the World Health Organization definition that says “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” If you fit that criteria, it’s pretty certain that you’ll look good in your birthday suit. On the other hand, having rock-hard abdominals is no guarantee of social and mental well-being.

4.     Do What Makes You Genuinely Happy.

Last week I mentioned the “5 Whys” exercise that can help identify the real motivation behind your particular goals. For some people, being as strong, fit and lean as humanly possible gives them a huge sense of achievement, self-confidence and well-being. Others may have trained or played sport at a high level and have now decided that it is no longer the priority it once was as they start to focus on career and family.

For other people, training and body composition never was and never will be something that interests them one way or the other.

Regardless of which category you may belong to, there are plenty of opportunities to stay healthy and happy by pursuing your own interests and hobbies, while maintaining reasonable physical daily activity combined with a wholefood based diet.

It looks like Dadbod is going to join other derogatory terms like Cankles (Calf-Ankles) and Man Boobs (no explanation necessary) in today’s Social Media Addicted and Body Obsessed Society. I don’t think these labels are very helpful but as the old saying goes “sticks and stones may break my bones but whips and chains excite me.” Sorry, I meant “names will never hurt me”.

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As a good example we only need to look at the annual New Year’s Resolutions Madness. In the 1^st week of January, thousands of people across the country sign up to weight-loss programmes and take out gym memberships. By the 1^st week in February most of them are back on their couches, munching away on snacks and watching tv. And they’ll probably stay there till around the 1^st week of January the following year.

There are a lot of reasons that this happens: some people can’t make the time to train due to work/home commitments, others find that they don’t enjoy the experience, while some will quit due to the fact that progress is slower than they were expecting, and they feel that they’re wasting their time.

And in most cases there will have been no specific goals. Or else, there were goals that were not suitable to the individual.

The whole purpose of a goal is that it should be big enough to motivate you, but small enough to be achievable. But most importantly, it must be relevant and actually mean something to you. There’s no point jumping on the bandwagon and deciding that you have to run a marathon because everybody you know is doing it, or that you have to be 2 dress sizes smaller because all the “Health & Beauty” magazines say you should be.

In cases where goals or targets are imposed on us, there’s a natural tendency to rebel, or at least to not put in the required effort. Goals that we freely choose ourselves tend to work far better.

As part of my current Precision Nutrition Level 2 Coaching Certification Programme and previous NLP training courses, I’ve been learning about and using some different methods to help clients decide which goals are most suitable for them.

One very simple method is called the 5 Whys and it’s a system that was originally used by Toyota Motor Corporation. This is particularly useful when I’m working with a client who has a standard, vague goal of “losing weight and toning up.” In order to find out what they really want, I’ll use the 5 Whys. The conversation usually goes something along the lines of:

What’s your goal?
I want to lose weight and tone up.

1. Why do you want to lose weight and tone up?
   Because I want to fit into smaller clothes.
2. Why do you want to fit into smaller clothes?
   Because when I wear smaller clothes, I think I look good.
3. Why do you want to look good?
   Because when I look good, I feel good about myself.
4. Why do you want to feel good about yourself?
   Because when I feel good about myself, I’m more confident and relaxed.
5. Why do you want to be more confident and relaxed?
   Because when I’m more confident and relaxed, I feel like I’ve more energy, I’m able to handle stress better, and I can enjoy life more.

In most cases it takes a while to get through this relatively simple process. I have also used this method to figure out my own goals and its pretty powerful stuff. The reason it can take a while – and can be a little uncomfortable- is because it forces us to think, and also to really question why we’re taking on a new project.

When I used this method, I discovered that some of the goals I had set myself actually meant nothing to me, and that was probably the main reason I was having trouble achieving them! When I abandoned these meaningless goals, it immediately freed up mental and physical energy for things that I really want to do.

So, if you’re thinking of starting a weight-loss or fitness programme, begin by asking yourself the 5 whys. This will help you to develop your own personal goal and also help increase your motivation.

The post Own Goal appeared first on Body and Mind Fitness - Personal Training Ennis.

Numerous boom times have been followed by economic downturns, oil prices peak and drop down again, and there are always wars going on in some part of the planet.

So how can we use this fascinating insight to help you get fitter, stronger or leaner?

I believe that for many people, there are also times of Boom and Bust in their fitness and nutrition programmes. You may have noticed that you’ve had times when everything went almost perfectly for you: you felt motivated to exercise on a regular basis, and even though you might not have had cravings for cabbage soup, you were probably happy to maintain a mostly healthy diet.

So if we can do it sometimes, why can we not do it all the time?

In many cases it’s simply a case of life getting in the way: other, more pressing concerns pop up and take our focus away from our fitness goals. At other times we think we’ve arrived, that our goals have been reached and now it’s just a case of plain sailing with no effort required.

No matter what the cause may be, it can feel very frustrating when all of your hard work seems to have been a waste of time. I see this all the time with clients who tell me that they used to be very fit and active, but now they find that their energy levels have reduced, while their waistlines have expanded.

In many cases this loss of fitness occurs over a period of years as work and family commitments change. But these feelings of deteriorating health and fitness can also occur over shorter time frames.

The short term Boom/Bust cycle is most noticeable around Christmas and also at summer holidays. Most people use these occasions as goals for getting into their best shape – they want to look good on the beach or at Christmas parties.

However, once that goal is achieved, all bets are off! All the good habits tend to be put aside and it’s not long before the pounds start piling on again. It’s at this stage that many people feel very de-motivated, and some may even have a tendency to start doubting their own willpower and self-discipline.

If this has happened to you in the past, or you’re currently going through a Bust phase of the cycle, let’s look at some ways that can help you get back on track.

Don’t judge, just Notice
I’m currently studying for my Precision Nutrition Level 2 Coach Certification. This programme deals with the psychological/motivational side of coaching rather than the “eat less, move more” technical side. One of the suggested techniques that can be used by coaches and clients to help bring awareness into their daily lives is the practice of Noticing and Naming. In other words, just be aware of what you’re thinking and what you’re doing on a daily basis without judging it.

So, rather than beating yourself up by thinking “I’ve put on weight because I’m lazy and have no willpower”, you could just notice that your current diet and exercise routine is not helping you stay fit and lean. It’s just an observation with no judgement attached.

Decide to Do Something About It
After noticing how you are thinking, acting and feeling, you may decide that what you are doing is perfectly right for you at this time. If that’s the case, carry on as you are and enjoy it while you’re at it!

However, if you decide that you want to feel or look better, then it’s simply a matter of choosing behaviours that will lead to these outcomes.

Do what Works For You
It’s not rocket science. Being more active and eating better quality food will improve your fitness, health, energy levels, mood, and also reduce your body fat levels. The trick is to find exercise that you enjoy, and combine it with food that doesn’t leave you feeling like you’re on hunger strike.

If you’ve succeeded in getting in shape before, then all you have to do is go back to doing what worked the last time. If you follow the same successful routine, you can be pretty sure of getting the same successful results!

The post Do What Works For You appeared first on Body and Mind Fitness - Personal Training Ennis.

A recent tv documentary highlighted some of these issues. Among them were the fact that there were not enough lifeboats, and many of the lifeboats that were available were not filled to capacity due to inadequate crew training, and poor management of evacuation procedure.

There were a series of poor decisions made prior to the collision including the one to maintain full speed going through an ice field, and the one that led to radio contact being lost with the closest available rescue ship. It’s also speculated that the decision to steer away from the iceberg caused far more damage than if the ship had struck the ice head-on.

Question marks were also raised over the quality of steel and rivets used in the construction of the hull, while the lack of binoculars being issued to the look-outs was also a major issue.

So what has all that got to do with you and the current state of your health and fitness? Well, in much the same way that many of us are looking for the Magic Bullet that will solve all our problems, we often think that there is just one cause of all those same problems.

And while it’s true that there is usually a major limiting factor or Red Flag, the reality is more often that we have a series of smaller events that contribute to the overall result. In the case of ill health or excess body fat, it’s not just 1 unhealthy meal or 1 “Duvet Day” that causes the problem. It’s a combination of regular poor quality food, lack of exercise, excess stress levels and inadequate sleep and recovery.

However the good news is that the situation can be reversed relatively simply. Sir Dave Brailsford, the General Manager of cycling’s Team Sky and former Performance Director of British Cycling, is credited with popularising the concept of “Marginal Gains”.

Brailsford was determined to create a cycling team that could compete- and win – without the use of performance-enhancing drugs. He reckoned that by analysing every aspect that went into riding a bike, and then improving each of these by only 1%, his cyclists could wipe out the advantage of their chemically-enhanced rivals.

Brailsford made sure that Team Sky had the best bikes, equipment, support staff, training, nutrition and recovery strategies available. This dedication to making continuous improvements in all areas, led to Britain’s cyclists becoming the most successful British team in any sport at a world and Olympic level and also allowed Team Sky to win the Tour de France 2 years in a row.

So let’s look at how you can make small, seemingly insignificant changes that can lead to better health and body composition.

1. Use the Power of N.E.A.T. Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis is the fancy term for burning calories doing everyday activity. Simple things like using stairs instead of lifts and escalators, cycling or walking for short journeys instead of using the car, and parking your car a little further away from your destination will all add a little more physical movement to your day. Doing this on a consistent basis can potentially burn a lot of excess fat while improving your overall health.

2. Replace fruit juices and soft drinks with flavoured water. There’s a big difference in the amount of calories between an average glass of fruit juice and a glass of filtered water with some lemon or lime juice squeezed into it. As well as having fewer calories, the lemon/lime-flavoured water can also help alkalize your body and this alkalinity is associated with improved health, energy and reduced body fat.

3. Get to sleep earlier. I keep including this on “to-do” lists because I sincerely believe that it is so important. As a society, we are not getting enough sleep. Low morning energy levels are very rarely a symptom of caffeine-deficiency. If you’re exhausted in the morning, it’s simply a sign that you didn’t get enough sleep, and taking all the coffee or “energy-boosting” supplements in the world is not going to fix it. Getting to bed earlier, and getting the appropriate amount of sleep will have a huge beneficial effect.

Today’s tips seem too small and unimportant to make a difference, but when it comes to health and fitness, every small improvement counts!

The post Everything Counts (In Large Amounts) appeared first on Body and Mind Fitness - Personal Training Ennis.

Many people mentioned that they felt as if the article was describing them. And when you think about it, that’s not really all that surprising.

Regardless of our current jobs or careers, we’re all doing our best to earn a living while trying to have an enjoyable family and social life as well. It’s a normal part of life that this balancing act, combined with the inevitable unforeseen circumstances that come along with it, will put us under some physical and mental strain every now and again.

However, being constantly “stressed out” is NOT normal and doesn’t need to be accepted as if it is. Not only is it not normal, it’s actually very dangerous.

Austrian-Canadian scientist Hans Selye, who did pioneering work on the study of stress, noted that we are constantly surrounded by unhealthy microbes and bacteria, but it only seems to be when we are highly stressed that we get sick. He also stated that “it’s not stress that kills us, but our response to it.”

Stress, or more accurately, a continuous, long-term heightened stress response, has been associated with the onset of many major health issues, especially coronary disease. This situation means that stress hormones are constantly being released which in turn can have a negative impact on our immune system. I’m sure that we can all remember a time when we felt under extreme pressure and then a few days later developed a cold or ‘flu’, or similar illness.

The important point to remember is that it’s our response, rather than the “stress” itself that is the crucial factor. And while we may not have much control over the stress-causing event, we have 100% control over how we react to it.

To illustrate this point, imagine 2 people stuck in the same traffic jam caused by a motorway accident and they’re both going to be 15-20 minutes late for work. Person A freaks out, cursing and blinding, banging the steering wheel and sounding the horn at equally frustrated drivers who can’t move either. Person B accepts he’s going to be late, gives thanks he wasn’t involved in the collision, contacts his workplace to let them know he’s on his way, and then relaxes in the car listening to the radio or a favourite CD.

In this case, both drivers have experienced the same incident over which they had no control, but they’ve had 2 totally different responses. And there are no prizes for guessing which one is more likely to have a heart attack.

I’ve done the Driver A, freak-out response enough times in different situations to realize that it doesn’t work very well. The following are 2 of the simple strategies that I find most useful to help reduce my own stress levels and feelings of being over-whelmed. I’ve also recommended them to those of my clients who have been struggling to reach their training goals due to high stress levels.

Control the Controllable. You can control your thoughts, decisions, actions, the amount of training and exercise you do, the type of food you eat, how much water you drink and what time you go to bed. If you spend more time focussing on that lot, you’ll be well on the way to a happy life! These are the basics but they’re the most important factors for improving physical and mental health

Do The One Thing. After that, there are many other areas of your family, work, social, and sporting life that you can also directly control. However, with such a lot of options and items calling for your immediate attention, things can get very over-whelming. The best piece of advice I’ve read recently comes from Gary Keller in his book The One Thing. He recommends that you avoid trying to multi-task (sorry ladies, but according to the book “multitasking is merely the opportunity to screw-up more than one thing at a time”!).

Instead, he suggests asking yourself the focussing question: “What’s The One Thing I Can Do, Such By Doing It, Everything Else Will Be Easier Or Un-Necessary?” For me, this means that in as many situations as possible, I choose the one item that will make the rest of my day, week or life easier. This question alone can help bring clarity and a greater sense of control to your life, while reducing those feelings of over-whelm.

Today was just a sample of how to reduce stress levels. We’ll look at plenty more over the coming weeks.

The post Taking Control appeared first on Body and Mind Fitness - Personal Training Ennis.

Over the years, my clients that have had most difficulty in losing body-fat have been those who were most stressed-out. Their elevated stress levels were working against them on two fronts. On a hormonal level, their raised Cortisol levels caused them to store more body fat around the abdominal area, and also suppressed the release of muscle-building hormones.

From a behavioural standpoint, these clients tended to skip meals, and when they did eat, their food choices were poor: fast food and sugary snacks. They usually also ate too food much at night.

If this sounds familiar to you, then try the following, to help keep you more balanced, and allow you to recover from your daily work and training regime.

1. Relax: For some people, it’s reading a book or magazine, for others it may be listening to soothing music, meeting up with friends or even some quiet time alone. Just make sure that it’s something that you enjoy, and that it allows you to give your system a rest.
2. Get Active: The level of activity will depend on your fitness level but it can vary from gentle exercise to a more rigorous workout. Regular exercise will help release endorphins a.k.a. the Happy Hormones.
3. Plan Your Day: I get stressed when I feel that I haven’t the time or resources to do what I want to do. That’s usually caused by a lack of planning. By taking some time at the end of every day to plan what I can realistically achieve the next day, I find I’m more productive in my work, training and family life. Life will always be a juggling act between work, home and training. By planning ahead, you can help manage your daily commitments and ensure that stress works for you, not against you.
4. Avoid worry: It’s been said that there are two things you shouldn’t worry about: things that you can control and things that you can’t. If you can control a situation, then do what needs to be done. If you can’t control it, then there’s no point worrying about it.
5. Breathe: A very simple way of relaxing the body is to focus on taking long, slow breaths. The more relaxed your body is, the easier it will be to relax your mind.

Another area of fat loss that gets overlooked is a very simple one: sleep. Numerous studies show that those people who regularly have poor sleep are more inclined to put on weight. During a good night’s sleep, your body repairs itself physically and mentally. Physical repair typically occurs between 10pm and 2am, with mental recovery kicking in after 2am.

If you regularly go to bed around midnight, then you’re losing 2 hours of sleep which can build and repair muscle and increase your resting metabolism. You’re also more likely to have sugar cravings which result from disturbed sleep patterns. It sounds contradictory but you’ll carry less fat by sleeping more!

Try the following tips to make sure you get the most from your night’s sleep:

1. Avoid sleeping on a full stomach. A light meal about two hours before bed time works best.
2. Aim to be in bed before 10pm and asleep by 10.30pm.
3. Avoid stimulants like caffeine or alcohol prior to bed time. Try night-time/relaxing herbal teas instead.
4. Have your bedroom pitch-black. Use black-out blinds and avoid having landing/night-lights on.
5. Unplug TVs, laptops, etc that are in your bedroom. Ideally mobile phones should be out of the room but if you must have them, avoid charging them in the bedroom and keep them as far away from your bed as possible. Get a battery operated alarm clock instead of a mains-operated clock radio.

Lack of quality sleep stresses you. And excessive amounts of low-level stress, on a long-term basis, can make you fat. So chill out, get to bed time on time and become leaner, more motivated and more energetic!

The post Stress & Sleep Management appeared first on Body and Mind Fitness - Personal Training Ennis.

One important thing to understand is that training makes you weaker. The point of training is to give your body a reason to get stronger, and this will only happen in the period between exercise sessions, if your body is allowed to adapt to the demands placed upon it. And that means adequate rest and nutrition.

It’s been said that the most successful athletes are not the ones who train the hardest, but those who recover from training the most effectively. Likewise, I’ve found that my most successful clients are those who regularly use effective recovery strategies.

When you train hard, you deliberately break down muscle fibres and impose a stress on all the systems of the body. So, your body interprets exercise as just another stress that needs to be managed or else it will have negative consequences. The following items will ensure that you recover physically from training:

1. Cool down for 5-10 minutes at the end of your workout. A gradual reduction of intensity allows the heart rate to return to normal in a controlled manner and helps flush waste products from the muscles.
2. Eat within 20 minutes of your workout. Immediately after exercise, your muscles are screaming for nutrients to replace the fuel that was used in your workout. The sooner you feed the muscles, the quicker they will repair and re-build, and then you will be able to train harder next session. The meal should be a combination of carbohydrates and protein, but if you don’t have access to solid food, a meal replacement drink or whey protein supplement will do the job.
3. Don’t train hard more than 3 days in a row.  There’s nothing stopping you doing some exercise every day, but it needs to be a mixture of high intensity (weights, circuits, intervals) and low intensity/recovery (walking, stretching, core work). Remember that quality is more important than quantity. It’s better to do 2 or 3 solid sessions per week rather than 5 or 6 mediocre ones.
4. Leave 48 hours between weight-training sessions on the same muscle group. You don’t have to leave 48 hours between every training session, just leave that time between doing the same resistance exercises. One way that you can do this is by using split routines. For example, you could train your legs on Monday and then train your upper body on Tuesday. Another option would be to do a whole-body weights programme on Monday followed by a High Intensity Interval Training session on Tuesday.
5. Avoid training when sick or injured. Many people find it difficult to ease off training when they’re not feeling well. This is hard to call but a good rule is the saying “Don’t Train if You Can’t Gain”.  This means that if you’re unable to improve performance by about 2% on your last workout, then it’s time to take a rest. If you continue to train, you will delay your recovery and slow down your progress in the long term.
6. Have Regular Massage. While stretching can be effective, most people don’t use the right techniques and very few individual stretching/flexibility programmes are as effective as massage for restoring full range of motion and reducing muscle soreness. Massage has also been shown to have psychological and stress-reducing benefits.

All of the above items will ensure that you get the most from your training programme and will allow you to reach your fitness goals as quickly as possible. Next time, I’ll focus on why managing your Stress and Sleep patterns is so important.

The post The Recovery Ward appeared first on Body and Mind Fitness - Personal Training Ennis.