Post Workout Nutrition - What's yours?

Sometimes these posts just write themselves!

I was at the gym this afternoon, primarily working on strengthening my glutes, after attending a Kinetic Chain Assessment course in London with Dax Moy last week. A post on postural issues and correction will be at a later date!

However, there was a girl at the gym running through the usual "lost sheep" routine of moving from one exercise to the next with really no intensity, and no workout plan. The only thing going for her was that she was in pretty good shape. This was by no means down to a good workout routine however!

She then spotted a gym instructor and asked him about putting on some lean muscle and protein shakes.

I could just overhear him suggesting big, compound exercises (good so far!) and going to the high street to buy some protein powder, but to "buy one of the big brands" because they have done more research and their products are proven!

Hang on! Protein powder is just skimmed and extracted from milk!! There is no secret formula or proving to be done by anyone!!?

Anyway, she went back to her workout and eventually left.

I left shortly after and as I went through reception, I saw the same girl, standing at the vending machine!

In this machine you could buy chocolate bars or crisps! She bent down and pulled out a bag of crisps!

Now, post nutrition is probably the second most important meal of the day, after breakfast.

Your body, if you've worked out correctly, will be looking for nutrients to refuel, repair and re-grow your muscles. It wants quality foods, and fasting acting ones.

It doesn't want artificial, packaged fats and useless calories.

Look to drink chocolate milk or soya (or another flavour!) as you'll get some fast acting carbs and protein, the perfect mix, or a protein shake with half a banana.

You should then be aiming to eat a meal with a balanced amount of carbs, protein and good fats within the next 2 hours to continue the refuel and repair process.

Don't waste your efforts in the gym, or even during the week by neglecting post workout nutrition!

Burn off the FAT -

"With this great Abs workout!"
Well, that was a headline on the front of Runner's World last month, and is often a headline you'll see on most "fitness or celebrity" magazines, every month.

Will it do as the headline says?

Largely, No.

Yes ab and core exercises will help strengthen those muscles and improve posture, but they're not going to burn fat alone. Just how many calories would a set of ab exercises burn? 30, 40, 50 at most if you're going for a while!

Ab and core work should be built into your workouts, along with big full body exercises like Squats, Lunges, Pressups, pullups, Kettlebell or dumbell swings, Rotational work etc, and again using freeweights and not machines, unless you're using assisted pullup work.

Add in some interval training, be it on CV equipment or with resistance exercises, and cut back on sugar, wheat and processed foods, whilst eating more protein and natural foods, and you'll be on your way to really burning off the fat!

If you want more information on Interval Training, signup to the box on the right and you'll receive my report on how to integrate Intervals into your workouts for maximum results!

A tree is only as strong as it's roots!

While PT'ing at the gym today, the freeweights area was unfortunately full of men, and boys, performing set after set of bicep curls and tricep work! All with tracksuit bottoms on.

Yes, the weather is getting warmer, and T-shirts are starting to make an appearance, but soon, it will be Summer weather (hopefully!) and the shorts and skirts will have to come out!

If you're not training your legs, and this applies to women too, how are you going to feel when the legs are on show?! Yes guys, you might have a nice set of guns, but it looks a bit comical when there are a set of chicken legs further down! Or ladies, are you fed up with shapeless, round legs, and no bum to speak of?

Then get working on the lower body! Stretch your hip flexors and start performing Squats, Lunges, Straight Leg deadlifts, Deadlifts, Good mornings, weighted steups, Sumo squats, and you will soon start shaping that bottom and building definition in those legs!

Add in 2-3 interval workouts a week, be it on the bike, running, or circuit-format weights, and you will start to see your results!

Combine your exercise with some clean eating, more water, nuts, lean meat, fruit and vegetables, cutting back on sugar, wheat and processed foods and you'll be bringing out the shorts and skirts before the majority!

Stretching for results

Having flown home for 13 hours yesterday with 2 young daughters, I had a touch of jetlag to say the least!
Not just that, but my body felt it had been squashed into a tiny box for most of the journey, and my notoriously tight calves felt like concrete for the next 24hours! Suffice to say my plantar fasciatis reared it's head again for a few hours afterwards.

If you have tight muscles, not only will you be affecting your posture, but you could also be hampering your results.

Ladies - are you continuously trying to firm up your bottom, and give it a better shape, but the only things that seem to change are your legs? This could well be down to the fact you may have tight hip flexors, located at the top of your thigh, connecting to your hip. When tight, these muscles will inhibit your glutes from working correctly, and will therefore limit your potential for results.

Men - Struggling to get a decent shape to your back? Well, if you bench press too much, and have tight pectorals, your shoulders will round forward giving you a stooped look, and inhibiting your back muscles from firing correctly.

If you stretch occasionally when you go to the gym, you really are cheating yourself from results! Ideally, look to stretch any tight muscle groups, 3-4 times a days for around 30seconds each stretch. If you're working out, stretch the tight Opposing muscle between sets. Ie if you're performing Deadlifts, and extension exercise, and you have tight hip flexors, stretch them between sets.

NOTE: It has been found that stretching a muscle, prior to using it in an exercise can actually have a detrimental effect on the exercise, and the power output will be decreased. An example would be stretching the pecs before performing a pressup.

In summary;

Perform dynamic, movement based stretches prior to working out.

Perform static stretches on any tight muscles before working the opposing muscle.

Perform static stretches, 3-4 times a day for 30secs each on tight muscles during the day

Perform static stretches on all tight muscles after a workout.

Should you workout when ill?

One question I get quite a bit, and often discuss with my PT clients, is whether you should work out when you're ill.
These views are my personal opinions, and I feel it's pretty individual to the person. If you are in doubt, I would say do not workout, until you are back to normal.

With any kind of illness, be it viral or bacterial, you're body will be working overtime to fight this infection, and so "clean" nutrition and water, is essential to help speed the bodies response, and assist your immune system.

** If you have a virus, chest infection, or temperature, definitely DO NOT WORK OUT. These are some pretty severe symptoms, and you will be doing your body more harm than good by working out. **

However, if you just have the sniffles, or a slight sore throat, and you work out regularly, then there should be no harm in doing a light workout. Certainly do not work to failure, or a challenging set of intervals!

Personally, I do not work out when I feel ill. My body tends to ache and I find that resistance work makes my muscles and body feel worse the next day, and I'd rather rest, eat and drink water, and get myself back to near 100% before returning. Also, if I'm ill and can't work, I lose money as I'm self-employed!! I always steer clear of big exercises when ill, as I've performed Squats a few times when slightly ill, and my body has ached big time for a few days afterwards - but that could just be me!!

Just remember, any form of exercise is a stress on the body, and when it is already stressed though illness, you could be doubling the effort the body is going through to rid the illness.
Often a rest from the gym can be as good as a workout in terms of recovery to the body. Plus, if you're goal is weight loss, remember the key is nutrition, so it would be more crucial to watch what, and how, you ate during this period, rather than whether you should be working out or not.


At the first signs of illness, or sore throat, I will dose up with Echinnacea and Olive Leaf extract. If I keep these running, I find the symptoms will dissapear in a few days, or if I caught it late, the symptoms will be a lot less severe than what they would have been without this supplementation. If you choose to take these, just ensure you continue for a few days after symptoms have dissapeared to ensure the virus/bacteria has been erradicated.

What are your views? Do you workout when ill?
NOTE: This is my personal view, and I will not be held responsible for any injury or illness that could be sustained from following my views above. If in doubt do not workout when ill, and contact your GP. (Mark)

"Can we do some stomach exercises?!"

If I said to you, "what exercises work your core, or your abs or your stomach", what would be your thought?

Crunches? Situps? Plank? Ab Rollers?

Sometimes I get asked at the end of our PT sessions, or have over heard at the gym "Can we do some stomach work?!", or "we haven't done any stomach exercises, let's do some now!"

I give the same answer, til I'm blue in the face, but it still keeps happening!!

"You know those lunges with overhead press, the pullups, the renegade rows, the pressups, the mountain climbers, the squats? You know I keep reminding you, pull that belly button in, brace your core?!"

Well hey! Guess what?! You've worked your core, your abs, your stomach, and a hell of a lot more muscles, with all of those functional exercises!! If those muscles didn't work during the exercises, your hips would have sagged, your lower back would have folded like jelly, your hips and knees would have buckled, and you would be a mess on the floor!

Your 'core' is always working! It is your central pillar, that keeps you upright, and assists with balance. By focusing on the above exercises, and bracing your abs/core further you are engaging those muscles to further support you, and whether you know it or not, they are getting a great workout!

It's only people who aren't in the know, who feel they have to finish, or sometimes even start (which is worse, as your core acts as a stabilising set of muscles for your body, and if they are fatigued at the beginning of your workout, you will not be very productive and risk injury!) their workouts with "abs" exercises, like situps, more situps and 'specific abs' exercises.

Sure, if you want to hit your core further, add in some cable rotations, wood chops, sledgehammers etc, but make sure they are at the end, and aren't the main focus of your workout.

Situps and Steady pace Cardio - The route for minimum results!

It never amazes me when at the gym, how many times I see the 2 exercises above being performed. The "situp" and the "steady Treadmill run".

Quite often, people will go from the treadmill to some situps and then home! To them, that is their workout done!

"The Situp"
Yesterday at the gym, I saw some overweight men, huffing and puffing on the treadmill, who then moved to the matted area and wrenched out a few variations of the situp. Each repetition looked strained and performance wise, would have been ineffective.
Let me state here and now, Situps WILL NOT REMOVE BELLY FAT .... period! If you're doing situps in an attempt to lose that belly, then I'm afraid you're fighting a losing battle. It takes 3,500kcals to rid just 1 pound of fat, how many calories do you honestly think some situps will burn?!

Agreed, to a degree, situps or crunches will be strengthening the muscles, but if there is a huge layer of fat overlaying them, it's pretty pointless.

If you have say a stone or more to lose, and you're hoping situps will rid that tummy, think again, no matter how many you do.
You will be better off performing BIG exercises, like the Squat, Pressups, Pullups, Deadlifts etc. Learn the correct form and each of these exercises will burn more calories, use more muscles, and work your core at the same time.

"The Treadmill"
Again, if the treadmill is your choice of exercise for Fat Loss, then you need to re-think your workouts.
Sure the occasional run is fine if you enjoy it, but if you are doing multiple runs a week to try and lose weight, there are so many better routes to take.

If you are just going to run for say 30mins, sure you will burn some calories, maybe around 400kcals, but that will be all, after you finish your heart rate returns, and you've burnt off 3-400 kcals...wow! A sandwich or latte later, and you've re-instated those calories.

However, if you were to perform say 15-20mins of interval training, combining a period of intense running, backed with a period of recovery (even walking) you will burn a greater number of calories, both during the workout, and for up to 36 hours later, because of your EPOC, or Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption.

When performing strenuous exercise, your body has to process oxygen throughout the body at a much higher rate, resulting in your metabolism being highly elevated, and your body working overtime to replenish energy stores, rid by-products which have been produced, and generally return the body back to a "recovered state." This system requires calories to work, and therefore your body will be burning those additional calories for hours after your workout.

Throw in some full body resistance or bodyweight exercises after your intervals, and you have 'ramped up' your body and it's metabolic state, big time! You will leave the gym knowing you've worked out!
Compare this to a laboured run on the treadmill, and 2 strained sets of 15 on the ab cradle or situps, and hopefully you can now see the benefit!

As I aways relay, exercise and results is about INTENSITY. Only with INTENSITY, and a clean diet, and commitment, will you get worthwhile results.

Gym Users - Don't waste your valuable time and money!

To people using gym's or planning on joining a gym - "read this post to ensure you don't waste your time, money and effort!"

Most of the equipment you will find at the gym, and most likely are inducted on, are a waste of time, and will get you minimal results.

Let's forget the X-trainer, stepper etc for now, I'm talking about the 'fixed range of motion' gym kit/machines that take up most of the gym floor space. Born in the 70's and primarily designed for Bodybuilders, these pieces of kit will do nothing to shape your body, and assist you in losing body fat.

Take the machine in the picture above for example, the shoulder press. Firstly you are sat down, so all the muscles from your hips down are switched off - already you are using less muscles and calories than you could be. Secondly, as you push the handles up, to work the "shoulder muscles", the arms will only move in 1 fixed, plane of motion.

Therefore, every time you use this machine, you will use the same group of muscles, in the same fixed movement.
Swap this to an everyday functional movement, such as lifting a box up or down from a top shelf - that box isn't going to move straight up and down is it?

The load will shift, it might wobble to the left or right, it might even start to topple backwards, but because you have trained your shoulder and tricep muscles to work straight up and down, you will not be in a strong position to correct the imbalance, and re-adjust to push that box up, or bring it down safely. Basically, you are not working additional muscles such as you core, and assistor muscles to the primary moving muscles.
It is just not a functional movement.

On the other hand, if you perform a kettlebell, dumbell, or sandbag overhead press, it will NOT move in a straight line, it WILL be more challenging, and therefore will use more muscles, will burn more calories, and fat, and will shape your body in a quicker time compared to static, fixed range machines.

I would go as far as to say 80% of the machines in gyms are a waste of time. Click here to see my video, and comments on the machines at my gym!

This evening while training one of my PT clients at the gym, I saw an induction being carried out, and every exercise the instructor gave them was on a static gym machine. The Chest Press, the shoulder press, leg press, leg extension..... the useless list went on!

Get people carrying and supporting their bodyweight when exercising, get them moving and using multiple muscles and calories, get them moving in a functional way that will help them in their daily lives, but will also get them results, in a reasonable time frame.

Use bodyweight exercises, cable machines, dumbells, barbells, sandbags, kettlebells etc, all external resistance which will move erratically and challenge the body further.
If you want further ideas for workouts, and places to talk about exercises, workouts and nutrition, come and join my Fat Loss and Fitness Solutions forum, it's free, as is the information, and my aim is to help you get your results!

No wonder, so many people give up early when joining a gym, they don't see results, they lose motivation, they lose interest, and most of this is because of such inductions and exercises.

Signup below for my 'controversial' list of Exercises that WORK and DON'T WORK at the gym!

Then feel free to comment about what you have seen and read, or your thoughts?!!

Celebrity 'Fat Loss' Dvd's? Don't waste your money!

It's that time of year when 'celebrities' bring out their magical 'fat loss' and fitness DVD's, promising you that pounds, even stones of fat will drop off it you just follow their DVD!
They will even have a before and after photo of themselves to make the choice even easier!

Errr......no. If people could get those results from following a step DVD, or a 30minute dance class that has you shuffling, tripping, and mostly stopping to rewind and re-watch the last moves, Personal Trainers, BootCamps etc would be out of business.

Please don't be fooled by this marketing and 'celebrity' tag, they are just using their profile to sell something that;

May get you a little bit fitter / May get you moving a bit, but WILL NOT help you burn fat!

The one thing you will need to do, that these DVD's often don't advertise is to CHANGE YOUR DIET. It's the food that you have eaten that has made you fat, not the fact that you have been without their DVD for all this time!!

Save your money, lay off the wheat, the dairy, the alcohol, and start eating more natural foods and then you Will start to lose regular weight.

Why not take advantage of my FREE online training offer posted below or at http://www.markspt.co.uk/?

You could also look to buy my combined Nutrition and Exercise ebook coming out in the next 6 weeks!! :-)

FREE Personal Training?! - Uh huh!

New Fat Loss & Fitness Forum

Are you looking for further information to help you lose fat, get fitter, and new ideas for workouts? Why not pop over to my new forum, setup for YOU! Over at Fat Loss and Fitness Solutions (http://www.fatlossfitness.ning.com/) you will find videos, photos, forums, blogs, articles and free downloads, relating to everything health and fitness related.

It is free to join, and is setup FOR YOU to read and contribute to.

Don't be shy, pop over, signup and say hello!

Home Workout #1 !

OK below is the first published home workout! (This can be done at the gym, but I will aim to give exercises which require little or no equipment, and can be completed in 5mins!!) This workout is designed to work the full body, put your metabolism into overdrive, and therefore burn a high number of calories, not just during the workout, but for many hours afterwards, due to the intensity of the workout! To achieve this 'overdrive' of calories you will need to work hard! You get out, or burn, what you put in!

Work at a steady pace and you'll be wasting time, push it hard and, well, you'll see!

Warmup (perform each exercise with no rest. At the end rest 30secs and repeat the warmup, then rest a further 30secs, and go straight into the workout)
Squats x10 / Star Jumps x20 / Pressups x10 / Alternate Lunges x16

Workout
1) Advanced Burpee - 10 repetitions. (Stand with a shoulder width stance. Squat down and put your hands on the ground in front of your feet. Next, kick your feet back while lowering your chest to the ground. This step will essentially put you in the bottom position of a push up. Then, push your chest away from the floor while simultaneously thrusting your legs back up into the squat position with the hands still on the floor. Finish the movement by explosively jumping up in the air. Upon landing, quickly drop back down into the squat position and repeat)
Rest 20seconds then;
2) Prisoner Speed Squats - 20 repetitions. (Feet just wider than shoulder width, with hands on back of head, pin elbows and shoulder blades backwards throughout. Squat down, keeping your weight on heels, and stomach muscles in and braced, then drive back upwards. Repeat at speed)
Rest 20 seconds then;

Repeat workout for 3 times in total. Stretch out at end of workout.
Expect the lower body to be feeling 'worked' the next day! Feel free to comment/give suggestions after the workout!