East London Personal Trainer... Why You'll Love AdMac Fitness

If you’re looking for a personal trainer in east London, let us tell you why AdMac Fitness is the perfect place to train. Having built our reputation as east London’s best private personal training studio over the last few years, we can share with you a few reasons why we’re the go-to venue for anyone looking to improve their health and fitness…

AdMac Fitness has amazing personal trainers

What makes a great personal trainer?

In our opinion it’s not just an in-depth knowledge of fitness and exercise programming. It isn’t about nutrition either. They’re the ‘hard skills’ that anyone can learn. Of course they’re fundamental to being a great trainer, but to truly help people get the best from themselves you have to be able to work with clients.

We don’t do the screaming and shouting - if you want that, join the army!

Instead the AdMac Fitness personal trainers work with clients, creating a team that helps you on your way to amazing results. We combine expert fitness and nutrition guidance with a supportive, hard working culture that allows people with different goals to thrive under one roof.

In a world where personal trainers are ten a penny, you have to be good to be successful. That’s why we’re still here, long after many other personal trainers have upped sticks and left the industry. We get results!

Private, supportive environment

The AdMac Fitness team operate out of a private personal training studio in Bow, E3. There’s a lot of reasons why this works so well for our clients…

• It’s a private gym, so you never have to wait for equipment

• You can exercise without fearing judgement - it’s an amazingly supportive environment

• Other users become friends. We’re all trying to achieve the same goals!

• There’s never any comprise on kit - our personal trainers design effective workouts because they know our equipment properly!

• It’s a clean, well-run space

Your surroundings are key to your success. If you feel as though you are exercising in an environment that supports you, relaxes you and inspires you, you’re going to go the extra mile. You’ll work harder, you’ll enjoy it more and you’ll write your own success story.

There’s a reason why personal training is so effective…

We operate a people-first culture

In the modern world we’re rapidly losing connection. Our friendships are managed over social media. Our dating is handled by apps. Our shopping is done online…

AdMac Fitness is the antidote. We put people and interaction first. You train with us, in-person. You interact, we chat, we support each other. We want to put the ‘personal’ into personal training. That means you’ll follow your own distinct programme. You workouts are yours - not something we downloaded off the internet.

Our personal trainers don’t just update your workouts and count your reps, they share your journey and they take a genuine interest in what you’re doing and how you’re doing it.

Our personal training clients join for the results, but they stay for the culture. They become part of the journey of AdMac Fitness, and our success stories are an amazing advert for what we do. Whether it’s helping someone to shed 50lbs, or help a person build muscle and confidence, happy clients are loyal clients and that’s how we’ve done so well.

The AdMac Fitness personal trainers achieve amazing results…

Always be wary of a personal trainer who doesn't have evidence of the results they helped their clients achieve. Unless you can point to your success, how can you be expected to be trusted to deliver?

The social proof of what we do at AdMac Fitness is abundant… we have so many success stories that validate our approach to training. The sheer range of success, with people from a wide variety of background and with a whole range of health and fitness goals shows the versatility and expertise of our personal trainers.

We don’t hand pick our easy wins, we help anyone who is willing to come in with enthusiasm, a smile and a commitment to what we ask them to do. We don’t pretend that change is easy, but we do promise to support you the whole way!

Are you interested in working with AdMac Fitness? Read on…

The AdMac Fitness personal training studio is in Bow, E3. We have personal trainers with a range of specialities, so we can offer the ideal personal trainer to help you achieve your goals. For more information on who we are, what we do and how we can help you achieve your health and fitness goals, contact us on… 07921465108 or email us at admacfitness@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you!

Training in the Hot Weather - 5 Useful Tips

It’s that time of year agin, when the days are long, the temperature rises and the world seems like a better place! For those of us who exercise, the summer brings with it a whole new set of challenges for us to deal with. Things we didn’t even consider in the other seasons now come to the forefront of our minds. Dealing with the heat and its challenges needn’t be a problem though, if you follow some basic advice.

In this article we’re going to provide you with 5 practical, actionable tips that will help you deal with training in the hot weather. They’ll help make you comfortable and allow you to get the most out of your summer exercise regime.

Tip #1 - Hydrate/Rehydrate Properly

This is so important that I wanted to put it first. There has been some strong research on exercise in the heat and sweating rates. As you’d expect, sweating rates tend to be proportional to three main points…

1. Temperature - we sweat more as the environmental temperature increases

2. Exercise intensity - the harder we’re working, the more we’ll be sweating

3. Fitness levels - the fitter and lighter we are, the less we tend sweat

There are some factors that we can control, others we can’t. Whilst there’s no way to control the outside temperature of your training environment, you can change the time of day at which you train, or the clothes you wear to train in.

Recommendations from the research suggests that performing exercise at moderate to high intensity, in intense heat you can expect lose around 3-4 litres of sweat/water per hour, or up to 10 litres of water per day. If you are training particularly hard in the peak heat, use these figures as a measuring stick for re-hydration requirements.

Tip #2 - Wear sunscreen

Another obvious point is the application of sunscreen. By now we all know we need to wear it, but what has been less clear is the details around application - do we need a particular SPF? How should we apply it? When should we apply it etc?

Canadian research has looked at sunscreen application and provides us with the following guidelines…

1. Use a minimum of factor 30

2. Go with generous application - ideally in cream rather than spray form to ensure good application

3. Apply 15-30 minutes before intended use to allow it to settle

4. If heavy sweating is expected, use a waterproof sunscreen

5. Re-apply if you’ve been in water

The important thing to remember with sunscreen is that for the most part, it’s a chemical barrier, not a physical one. You are protected from the harmful elements of sun exposure by the chemicals in the cream. It doesn’t ‘block’ the sunlight, it helps to absorb the negative elements of it.

If you have particularly sensitive areas (ears, lips, nose, eyes etc), then a full block may be advisable, such as the zinc sticks popular in sports such as cricket.

Tip #3 - Pick the right time of day to train

We’re told to avoid the peak sun where possible, because it’s when it’s at its most damaging and generally the temperatures are highest too. The time of day when this occurs can vary on a number of factors, but the general acceptance is that the hottest point of the day is 12-3pm. This is when the sun is at its hottest, which means floors, walls and surfaces are heated too.

These warm surfaces then radiate heat back into the environment, so it ends up becoming a perpetual cycle for a period of time.

If possible, avoid training outdoors during these hours, unless of course you’ve taken appropriate measures against the ill effects of the heat. Get the sunscreen on, drink plenty, dress appropriately etc.

Tip #4 - Reduce warm up time if it’s appropriate

When training in the cold, we have to increase the amount of time and care we put into our warm ups, because of the issues around reduced blood flow and the impact that has on tissue elasticity, and ultimate;y movement quality and injury risk.

Thankfully, the reverse is true in the warm weather.

A physiological process known as vasodilation (widening of the blood vessels) helps to improve circulation - vasodilation occurs naturally in the warm weather. In a warm up, we are moving to increase body temperature, creating vasodilation another way.

The additional blood flow created by vasodilation means that tissues are more elastic and able to move well in the warm weather. It’s also important for helping to reduce injury risk. What you may find is that in the warm weather you won’t need to warm up as thoroughly, which can save you time and energy in the heat.

Tip #5 - Dress appropriately for the weather

Your body is a pretty efficient machine when it comes to cooling itself - it radiates heat through the skin and produces sweat, which cools the body as it evaporates.

The clothes we wear can impact that significantly though, whether by keeping us too warm or harming the effectiveness of our natural cooling measures. Here’s a few pointers that will help you make better gym wear decisions, allowing you to stay cool in the hotter weather…

1. Layers are insulating, so try to reduce the amount of layers you wear

2. Avoid heavy materials such as wool or thick cotton

3. Expose as much skin as possible - trousers and jumpers will keep you warm, whereas shorts and t-shirts will help cool you

4. Wear breathable fabrics or cuts of clothes with airflow - elasticised cuffs and synthetics materials reduce airflow and create more sweat

5. A lot of heat is lost through our heads, so if you’re liable to sweat, don’t wear a hat

These are common sense for the most part, but they’re important if you want to be comfortable training in hot weather. By all means wear a heavy cotton tracksuit to go for a run at 1pm, but don’t say you weren’t warned!

Hot weather training - summary

It’s possible to train safely in the heat, but you just have to exercise caution. Follow these tips, use some common sense and you’ll be absolutely fine. It’s a case of taking care of yourself and not being silly. You’ll thence able to enjoy some great workouts in the summer sunshine - and there’s plenty to love about that!

If you want your health and fitness journey to be guided by the best personal training team in East London, get in touch with us at AdMac Fitness. We operate from our private personal training studio in Bow, E3. Contact us on 07921465108 or email us at admacfitness@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you!

Joint Health - Looking After Your Moving Parts

Anecdotal observation highlights joint injuries are incredibly frequent - especially among active people. Think of the common names for many of the joint injuries we’re aware of….

‘Tennis’ elbow, ‘Runner’s’ knee, ‘Golfer’s’ elbow, ‘Boxer’s’ knuckle, ‘Pitcher's’ shoulder… you get the point.

So if activity and injury are such frequent companions, how do we protect ourselves against frequent joint injuries? Are there steps we can take to reduce the risk, given the alternative (not exercising) has even greater risks attached?

The answer is yes, there are simple steps you can take to reduce your joint injury risk significantly.

In this article we’re going to outline a very simple three step approach to making sure you are doing everything possible to ensure your joints are protected and you stay injury free. Not only that, by taking some of the approaches in this article, you’ll make yourself more athletically capable and more muscular too.

A three step approach to improving your joint health…

Our goal here is to simplify and to give you practical guidance that you could realistically follow at home or in the gym. You won’t be told about expensive cryotherapy, massage techniques or anything involving additional people or skills - all of these three are completely achievable on your own.

Before we start though, let’s look at the main points that cause joint injury…

• Muscle weakness/imbalance

• Connective tissue health and tightness

• Inflammation

By addressing these we can prevent joint injury, and in the case of many existing injuries we can remove the problem entirely.

Tip #1 - Improve muscle strength

Joints are inherently unstable - they’re essentially held together by ligaments, supported by muscles which are attached via tendons. There’s a limited amount of strengthening work you can do for the connective tissues (most of which is achieved by loading them anyway), so the focus has to be on strengthening the muscles that surround the joint.

Doing this helps in two ways…

1. It allows the muscles to offset some of the loading on the joints

2. It protects the structural integrity of the joint - stronger muscles do a better job of holding the joint in place

Research shows us that strengthening muscles around the joints can have a positive effect on conditions such as arthritis. We also know that strong muscles can have a protective effect for ligaments. This is also a preventative measure against future injury as well.

Pick exercises that help to engage muscles across the full range of the joints, such as knees over toes split squats and push ups on parallettes...

Finally, the work done to strengthen the muscles will also have a strengthening effect on the ligaments, tendons and bones, making for a universally protective measure. There’s a benefit to strength training that goes FAR beyond having bigger muscles.

Tip #2 - Stretch more!

Another protective measure against join pain is ensuring the muscles around the joints are supple. There incidences such as shoulder pain, knee pain, hip pain and back pain that are often (in part) the result of tightness in the muscles that surround and anchor joints.

It’s not to say that stretching alone is going to be responsible for joint pain disappearing, but what it will allow is free movement of the muscles around the joints, which can help to protect the joints as they move. It also helps to keep the connective tissues such as the ligaments and tendons in good working order. If they are allowed to become stiff, it can increase the risk of injury.

The research around tendon stiffness shows that there’s a clear case for including a stretching protocol as part of your health and fitness regime. By keeping the connective tissues healthy, you reduce the likelihood of joint discomfort later on.

Tip #3 - Look after your diet

As with a lot of things to do with your health, nutrition can play a large part. Most of us are nutritionally sensitive to foodstuffs - that can span from a minor inflammatory response through to full-blown anaphylaxis by the appearance of a food in our presence.

Anecdotally, this can have a significant effect on joint health and well being. By removing these foods you can help to improve joint health and remove low-level inflammation. I myself noticed this when I fasted for 3 days once.

There’s significant research supporting the use of omega 3 oil in arthritis patients, and there’s even a school of thought that suggests taking fish oil even as a protective measure against joint issues. I think it’s a good move, given the other proven benefits of fish oil as a supplement.

Curcumin is another supplement with credible scientific research supporting its use for fighting inflammation. With the weight of research saying that it has positive impacts, it’s a worthwhile supplement to take, because even if you don’t suffer from arthritis, there’s a possibility that inflammation may be hindering joint health and recovery.

As a general rule, keep your diet as ‘clean’ (eating natural foods) as possible. Make sure you drink plenty of water and get a little sun exposure to help with vitamin D production - all of these points will help to create a low-inflammation environment that will keep joints feeling great and functioning as they should.

Joint Health - final thoughts

Living with joint pain can be miserable, so do your best to follow these simple tips and you’ll enjoy strong, healthy and functioning joints for a very long time. You’ll also improve your own strength and performance as a bonus too!

If you want your health and fitness journey to be guided by the best personal training team in East London, get in touch with us at AdMac Fitness. We operate from our private personal training studio in Bow, E3. Contact us on 07921465108 or email us at admacfitness@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you!

How to Indulge on Holiday... Without DESTROYING Your Hard Work!

Holiday season is upon us, and if there’s one thing any personal trainer knows, it’s that their clients will gain some weight both at Christmas and when they go on holiday. Throw a good value ‘all inclusive’ deal into the mix and it’s an absolute certainty!

That heady mix of on-tap food (that you don’t have to prepare and cook yourself), cold booze, relaxing days on the beach/by the pool and the great weather means you’ve got to have the discipline of a Shaolin Monk to avoid the temptations.

So assuming you’re not a Shaolin Monk, how exactly do you avoid the temptations of an all-inclusive holiday, without destroying all of your previous hard work in the gym? Here’s the AdMac Fitness advice…

How to indulge on holiday and get away with it!

Part of the joy of a holiday is the food and drink. It’s a chance to relax, to enjoy a few more treats and not be overly concerned with everything you eat and drink. Here’s how to do that, without gaining a lot of weight that you’ll struggle to get rid of when you get back home…

High protein, low carb meals

When you head to the restaurant, try to stick to the high protein options. Make sure you load your plate with plenty of meat, fish, eggs or whatever your protein of choice is. Bulk the rest of the meal out with salads and vegetables. Try to keep carbs at a minimum.

This isn’t a carb-bashing thing by the way, it’s just an observation that protein tends to be the bit people are most excited about, they' keep you full for a long time (therefore you don’t over-indulge) and they tend to not make you hold onto water as much, making you look leaner.

Exercise daily

The idea of exercising on holiday might fill you with dread, or even confusion - “I’m here to RELAX, not to SWEAT!”, but frequent activity goes a long way. You don’t have to train especially hard (although if you can, do and you’ll benefit more). There’s also the effect of exercise helping you to feel better after a day of indulgence!

Don’t automatically think of an on-site gym either. You could enjoy some sports if where you’re staying has them, you could swim, cycle, go on a long walk etc. If there is a gym though, a quick 30 minute HIIT or weight training blast will sort you out!

Look at your snack choices

Fresh fruit is always a huge part of an all-inclusive restaurant - the large array of available (meaning prepared and peeled etc) options make it far more likely you’ll jump in and enjoy them. One of the barriers to fruit at home is the fact that some of them need to be prepared, so it puts people off.

If you can, grab fruit as your snacks. It’s the perfect combination of being sweet (satisfies a craving), it’s full of fibre - great for digestive health, it’s full of vitamins and minerals (great for overall health) and it’s low calorie, which saves the weight gain! Winner all around.

Get plenty of sleep - even if it’s a nap

This might seem an odd one, but hear me out. It’s vital to help controlling your weight and cravings. When sleep in relation to weight loss and appetite control has been studied, the results are really clear. There’s strong evidence that a lack of sleep disrupts the hormones leptin and ghrelin, which are responsible for us feeling hungry and full.

Getting enough sleep helps us to regulate them properly - even a day time nap on the beach or pool helps. Feel free to enjoy an afternoon snooze, knowing that it’ll help you control your food intake better!

Lower calorie booze options

Alcohol and holidays go hand in hand, so I wouldn’t suggest you don’t have a drink. There’s a few simple tips to make sure you can enjoy a drink without gaining half a stone though!

1. Wait until later in the day. If you drink a couple of drinks per hour, waiting until 5pm rather than starting at 12 will save you thousands of calories.

2. Opting for a lower alcohol content drink will save calories. Think session beers (3-4.5%) rather than strong lagers (5%+).

3. Clear drinks with diet mixers help. Vodka/gin with a diet mixer will come in at less than 100 calories per drink, as opposed to over 200 with wine or beer.

As I said - it’s not about avoiding drink, it’s about making better choices around it!

How to Indulge on Holiday... final thoughts

The purpose of this post isn’t to be a fun killer, it’s trying to encourage you to enjoy yourself and really let your hair down, but to do it in a way that benefits you. By following the tips in this article you’ll be able to enjoy the great food and the booze on holiday, but you’ll also have eaten well, kept up with your exercise and managed to not gain a load of weight, leaving you feeling crappy after your break!

For more help on this, contact the AdMac Fitness personal trainers…

If you want your health and fitness journey to be guided by the best personal training team in East London, get in touch with us at AdMac Fitness. We operate from our private personal training studio in Bow, E3. Contact us on 07921465108 or email us at admacfitness@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you!

How Important are Vegetables? A Quick Review

Over the last few years vegetables have been in the firing line somewhat, which many of the diets gaining popularity (or notoriety) downplaying their importance. In some cases, there are diets that are suggesting their removal completely.

So what’s the score? How important are vegetables? Do they retain their spot as the basis on which all healthy eating should be based? In this article we’re going to take a look at some of the research and conclude by answering whether or not vegetables are important, and whether or not you should be making room for them in your diet…

Vegetables - why the halo may have slipped…

The spotlight on vegetables shifted when the Atkins diet came into popularity. It was the first of the low carb approaches to really gain traction in the mass media, and it was famous for allowing people to consume fried foods, as long as they were high in protein such as eggs, bacon and sausages.

Not only that, but the Atkins diet actually promoted the reduction of vegetable consumption, because some of them were too high in carbs! It was a dream diet to many… and it appeared to work!

Fast forward a few years and the Paleo diet become more mainstream. On the Paleo diet people were encouraged to return to a diet that a Paleolithic man would recognise - meat, fish, eggs, nuts, seeds, berries and greens. No processed foods, limited fruit and little/no starches.

Whilst the Paleo diet doesn’t ban vegetables, it certainly restricts the consumption of a lot of them.

By the 2010’s, the Ketogenic diet gained traction. This is a diet where around 80% of your calories come from fat, and the remaining 20% come from protein. This really is a diet whereby vegetables are off limits - with some VERY low sugar exceptions (broccoli, rocket, spinach etc). Vegetables were once again being questioned.

Although the ketogenic diet didn’t quite reach the popularity of the others, it remains a significant nutritional approach to this day and is used by some high profile people in the industry.

Last but not least, we’ll look at the Carnivore diet. This is exactly what it says - nothing but meat. No vegetables, no fruit, just flesh. It’s like a ketogenic diet, but restricted to meat and is higher in protein and less reliant on fat for calories.

Why eat vegetables, when they’re my food’s food? Is a common line in the community.

Why do we eat vegetables?

Before we nail our colours to the mast either way, let’s take a look at why we eat vegetables in the first place. If it’s a food group we can potentially do without, why do we hold them in such high esteem? Let’s take a look at three of the main reasons we think vegetables are important…

They’re high in fibre

I’ve gone with this point first because it’s (in my opinion) the most important point about them. You can get vitamins and minerals from other sources, but fibre is much more difficult to come by. The evidence from the research is crystal clear - a diet high in fibre (vegetables) improves appetite regulation, gut flora (bacteria) and can help to reduce inflammation.

They add variety to your diet

A boring diet is going to be very difficult to stick to, so vegetables provide an opportunity to consume a huge variety of foods on a daily basis. With vegetables available all year round, with a multitude of colours, flavours, textures and nutrient profiles, they offer dietary options that take us far beyond what we’d experience without them.

They’re incredibly nutrient dense

There’s no getting away from the nutrient density argument. In terms of ‘bang for your buck’, vegetables offer a huge depth of vitamin and minerals. Not only that. but when they’re fresh, these vitamins and minerals are of the highest quality - better than anything you’d be able to supplement with. Plant foods are also high in phytonutrients and antioxidants.

So why do some diets neglect vegetables?

There’s a number of reasons diets will neglect vegetables. In the case of the Ketogenic diet, it’s because some vegetables such as onions, carrots, parsnips, squashes etc are particularly high in carbohydrates and that will knock you out of ketosis, which is detrimental to the ketogenic diet approach.

In the Paleo diet, the argument is that many vegetables are actually a source of allergens and they can promote an inflammatory response in the diet, which will impact overall health. By removing these, Paleo follows argue the diet is actually healthier.

The other argument is that they’re just unnecessary. Some people believe that the vitamins and minerals we obtain from vegetables are easy to obtain from other foods, so why bother eating them if you don’t like/want/need to.

There’s no getting away from the fact that there are a lot of people who live perfectly healthy lives without touching a vegetable. I suppose the question is, just because you can, should you?

How important are vegetables? The AdMac Fitness take…

From our point of view, vegetables remain an important part of the diet, for the reasons mentioned above. Sure, you might be able to live perfectly well without them, but the fibre, the phytonutrients and the vitamin and mineral density means that they just have to feature for us.

Additionally, variety is the spice of life and by adding vegetables into your diet, you open up so many different culinary options, and we just can’t ignore that. With a multitude of ways to prep and cook them, you’ll never run out of possibilities.

For us, vegetables to remain fundamental to a great diet. We’d even encourage you to step out of your comfort zone and try a few new ones! Maybe explore pickled and fermented vegetables too, which are other great ways to eat them!

If you want your health and fitness journey to be guided by the best personal training team in East London, get in touch with us at AdMac Fitness. We operate from our private personal training studio in Bow, E3. Contact us on 07921465108 or email us at admacfitness@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you!

Mental Fitness - Keeping Your Motivation Strong

There’s a tendency in the fitness world to only talk about how to train your body. Whilst that’s important, we also need to acknowledge the impact that our mental state has on our willingness/ability to train. In many ways, your physical fitness follows your mental fitness. If you can’t be bothered to exercise, you’re either not going to train at all, or you’re going to do a really half-baked workout.

Either way, you don’t win.

In this article we’re going to share five quick and simple strategies to employ to help you keep your mental fitness up. A strong mind precedes a strong body, so follow these tips to stay mentally fit as well as physically fit.

Tip #1 - Get enough sleep!

This one can’t be stressed enough. Sleep has a dramatic impact on your physical and mental fitness. It’ll help you control your cravings for unhealthy foods, it boosts your motivation and it protects your mental health. It also helps you to rejuvenate physically, which is important - if you’re tired, or your body feels under-recovered, you’re not going to want to train.

Shoot for 7-10 hours per night, depending on what your body needs. For more of our sleep tips, follow the guidance in our sleep blog post here.

Tip #2 - Set yourself realistic mini goals

When we embark on a fitness journey, there’s a temptation to look way into the future, setting ourselves huge goals that will take a long time to complete. The problem is here that we lose sight of the regular wins, and the big goal can seem so overwhelmingly long term that we can lose focus. Say for example you want to lose 30lbs (just over two stone), break it down into smaller chunks.

Don’t fixate on the 30lbs target, instead shoot for a smaller target of 7-10lbs per month (always set a range, because there’s a lot of factors that make up weight loss, so it’ll never be precise). Also, hit regular mini goals, such as 10k step per day. These small goals keep motivation high.

Tip #3 - Reward yourself

Exercise can seem like a constant battle of punishment and sacrifice - eating fewer treat foods, drinking less, sweating more, working hard. That’s all true - it’d be pointless (and a lie) to suggest that great results are possible without some level of sacrifice. That doesn’t mean that there are rewards along the way though. You can factor in rewards, which are an important step to maintaining mental fitness.

A reward can be something like your favourite food, your favourite drink, your favourite day out, your favourite film - whatever you want! It’s your reward. Don’t worry about destroying your progress, because you can factor high calorie foods into a weight loss plan if you’re sensible.

Tip #4 - Do things you like to do

Unless your goal only has one path to completion (i.e. if your goal is to get stronger, you’ve GOT to lift progressively heavier loads), there’s nothing stopping you from picking a type of exercise you enjoy more. If you just want to be generally fitter, pick something you love to do an it’ll make the process much easier! If you want to improve your stamina and love football, 5 a side is a great way to get some hidden HIIT in!

This works really well with weight loss and general fitness improvement - pick something you love and do it often. It’ll help you get there more quickly if you love doing it.

Tip #5 - Start small

Ignore what other people are doing. Stop looking at fitness influencers and comparing your workouts to theirs. Stop looking around the gym and thinking your efforts aren’t as good or as worthy as other people. It’s YOUR journey, so just do your best. If your best at the moment is a simple 20 minute session, good for you - start there. Build up from somewhere, but just get started. If the idea of a huge workout scares you enough to not want to exercise, ask a personal trainer to design you a quick and simple workout to get you going.

Never compare your starting point with someone else’s 5 years of consistent training. We all start somewhere, and with enough effort and persistence we all make progress. One day you’ll look back and be glad you got going!

Tip #6 - Train with a friend!

If you struggle to exercise, ask your most active friend can you tag along with them - that way you mix both socialising and exercising, killing two birds with one stone! The important thing here is that you pick the friend who is most likely to exercise. If you pick a friend who is likely to skip the gym, you’ll find yourself diving out of training too, and that’s exactly what you’re trying NOT to do by getting a friend involved!

If you don’t have a fit friend who is a regular exerciser, see the next tip - it’ll get rid of that problem for you!

Tip #7 - Outsource your motivation

If you struggle to motivate yourself for any other reason, why not outsource your motivation to a personal trainer or group exercise class? At AdMac Fitness we have both! If you’ve booked a personal training session or a group exercise class, it’s a commitment in your diary that you can’t back out from, so it’ll force you to go. When you get there, you’ll get started and before you know it you’ll be enjoying your workout and be glad you went!

You’ll leave your session feeling great, even though you couldn’t be bothered beforehand. It’s amazing what some exercise at the hands of a great personal trainer can do!

At AdMac Fitness we’re not about fads, fashions and short term fixes. We want you to succeed properly over the long term, so with our help and advice you can get your fitness back on track! If you’d like us to help you, contact us on 07921465108 or email us at admacfitness@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you!

Power Training - Introducing it to Your Workouts

When you think of ‘power’ training, you may automatically think of Olympic Weightlifting movements such as the snatch and clean and jerk. You may picture huge weights, being hoisted off the floor by men who look like they’re one step away from being full caveman.

It’s an understandable link to make, but it’s wrong. Whilst those movements are powerful, explosive movements, they’re not the only way to train yourself to become more powerful.

In this article we’re going to look at ways to train power. We’ll look at why you should introduce power training to your workouts and what the benefits are, regardless of your age, gender, fitness goals and all the rest of those things. By the end of the article, I hope you’ll be introducing power training into your sessions at the gym.

What is power?

First things first. What’s power?

Power and strength are different. To put it simply, strength is your ability to move a heavy weight from one point to another. Think of a heavy deadlift - you’re moving the weight from the floor to full extension. It doesn’t matter how fast or slow that happens. That’s a movement that requires a lot of strength.

Power is your ability to move a weight (however heavy) at speed - the speed bit is the most important part here. Think of a shot put - the thrower has to generate a lot of power to throw the ball as far as he can. To do so he has to generate a lot of speed. This is a powerful movement.

You can be strong without being particularly powerful, but to generate power you need a bit of strength.

Why is it important to train for power?

Power training helps you to learn effective lifting technique. It also makes you a far more rounded, fitter athlete. Being more powerful will help you to resist injury more, you’ll be able to generate more force, you’ll learn new training methods, you’ll burn more calories in the workout and finally, it’ll compliment all of your other aspects of fitness and training that you’ll have been working on.

You don’t want to leave gaps in your training if you want to be truly fit.

How do we train for power?

Simple - we execute movements at high speed, with high quality. They don’t have to be especially heavy, in fact research shows that if you want to develop power, the emphasis should be on speed over weight.

There’s also a suggestion that power focussed training should be kept to short periods of time - maybe keeping power training blocks to 4-6 weeks at a time. This helps to keep things fresh, but it also reduces the injury risk over the longer term.

What this means is that developing power should be seen as something we work on occasionally, dropping it into an overarching training programme, rather than going all out, all of the time to work on it as a stand alone ability. When you look at power training approaches, this makes sense. They’re very physically demanding and as such, you want to ensure you maintain quality over quantity.

Power training exercises to add into a workout

If you want to maintain a level of power, without focussing on it all the time (which is what most of us should do), you could include plyometric drills into your workouts. Here’s a few suggestions in the video…

What you’ll notice here is that there’s not a massive amount of weight being lifted - the focus is on generating force and speed. It’s important to maintain this movement quality as well, so the advice is to use lots of sets, with short rep ranges.

Power training is a lot different to what many people expect - it’s not all huge weights. In fact, you can do so much power training with the equipment we have at AdMac Fitness. We use battle ropes, slam balls, kettlebells, bodyweight exercises and combine them with more traditional approaches such as barbells and dumbbells.

The AdMac Fitness team have your power needs covered!

Training for power - a summary

To summarise, here’s what the evidence suggests when it comes to developing power in the safest and most effective way…

• Lift lighter weights at high speeds – explosive movements are the fundamentally important part

• Keep power training to short blocks

• Do a lot of sets (5+), with low reps (3-6)

• Movement quality is key. Don’t go to full fatigue

Professional personal training in East London with AdMac Fitness

If you want your health and fitness journey to be guided by the best personal training team in East London, get in touch with us at AdMac Fitness. We operate from our private personal training studio in Bow, E3. Contact us on 07921465108 or email us at admacfitness@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you!

The 10 Commandments of General Fitness

We’ve got something a little different for you today. Instead of a blog post around a singular topic, we’re going to share ‘10 Commandments of General Fitness’. These are rules by which we believe anyone who wants to achieve a fantastic level of general fitness should abide by.

These commandments are simple, actionable, easy to understand and follow. More importantly, the'y’ll lead you to a fitter, healthier and hopefully happier state of being!

So without further ado, here’s the AdMac Fitness 10 Commandments of General Fitness…

Thou shalt strength train

Regardless of your health and fitness goals, it’s really important that there’s some form of strength training in your routine every single week. Strength training is so much more than just building muscle for the sake of vanity. It helps to burn calories, it strengthens connective tissues and bones, plus it reduces your risk of injury. Strength training is the foundation stone that all other fitness should be built on.

Thou shalt take more steps

As a basic form of exercise, walking takes some beating. It’s an excellent calorie burner, it’s a commuting tool and an excuse to get some fresh air. It’s an opportunity to make a phone call to a friend, to avoid a busy train or to listen to a podcast. It’s a way of breaking up your day and exercise by accident. Aim for 15k steps per day. It can save you petrol or tube money and help you move even your rest days.

Thou shalt eat more vegetables

Yes, this one may sound obvious… but it’s truer than ever. We STILL meet lots of people who don’t get anywhere near enough fibre in their diet, and the best way to do that is by dramatically increasing the amount of vegetables you eat. High in fibre, filling, versatile, full of vitamins and minerals. Unless you suffer from a gastro condition such as IBS, you should max out on your vegetable intake!

Thou shalt mix up cardio

Unless you’re in training for a particular event such as a 10k, there’s almost no doubting that HIIT (high intensity interval training) is king of the cardio hill. It’s an incredible calorie burner, can readjusted for endless variety, keeps the injury risk low and the motivation levels high. Don’t just think of cardio as a boring run down the road - throw in some HIIT!

Thou shalt stretch more

If the basic stretches at the end of your workout is the only stretching you do, you’ll need to up that considerably! Stretching is a fantastic way of promoting circulation, keeping movement quality high, reducing injury risk, making connective tissues work and generally maintaining suppleness. If you never stretch, start by following a beginner yoga routine on youtube.

Thou shalt drink plenty of water

Adequate hydration is a bedrock of health. Given (depending on who you listen to) 60-70% of our bodies are made up of water, it makes sense to ensure you’re drinking plenty of water every day. There’s a lot of guidance written about how much water you should drink, but much of it is over complicated. Here’s a simple way to ensure you’re hydrated… make sure your urine is clear. If it’s not, drink more water!

Thou shalt value training frequency over duration

There’s too much emphasis placed on how long a training session lasts and not enough on the quality of the session. Give me 4 good, hard 30 minute workouts over 2 low intensity, slow-paced workouts any day. We should always value quality over quantity. If you’re in the gym more than an hour… you probably should be working MUCH harder in there!

Thou shalt get more sleep

There’s almost no physiological process that isn’t affected by poor sleep. Every process in the body, ranging from training recovery, digestion, hormonal balance, immunity, mental health and a million others are governed in part by how well we sleep. Put the phone down in bed, keep a regular bed time routine and shoot for 7+ hours of sleep every night.

Thou shalt get plenty of protein

Protein isn’t just for bodybuilders - it’s important for everyone. As well as helping to build muscle, it’s involved in the repair and rebuilding of all tissues - skin, hair, bone, nails etc. Making sure you get enough protein will be important for helping your body recover from workouts, it’ll help you stay full for longer and depending on the protein source, it’s often accompanied by lots of vitamins and minerals.

Thou shalt train the full body

Unless you’re a seasoned bodybuilder, there’s no need to follow a split routine. Research shows us that more frequent stimulation of muscle is better for growth than a sole ‘day’ for a muscle. If you train all of your body in each workout you’ll stimulate more growth hormone, you’ll stimulate more growth and you’ll reduce the impact on a single body part, allowing you to recover more quickly.

The AdMac Fitness 10 Commandments of General Fitness…

We hope you’ve enjoyed the AdMac Fitness 10 Commandments of General Fitness! It’s a light-hearted advice piece with a few key takeaways and reminders about what you should be doing. Speaking of which, if you need help with that, read on…

Personal Training in East London…

If you’re confused about how you should go about building the fitness and physique you long for, trust the professionals at AdMac Fitness to help you. They’re a well-qualified group of expert personal trainers, with decades of collective health and fitness experience.

You’ll train in our private personal training studio in Bow, E3. That means fantastic 1-1 service and no waiting for equipment. It’s also perfect for those who feel self conscious because it’s a private studio, used only by AdMac Fitness personal trainers and our clients.

Contact AdMac Fitness on 07921465108 or email us at admacfitness@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you!

The Split Routine... Time to Put it to Bed?

For decades, gym goers have approached muscle building (and general weight training for that matter) with a ‘split routine’ approach. This is where you essentially divide the body into different sections and train each section at a time.

A classic example of a split routine might look like this…

Monday: Chest and triceps

Tuesday: Back and biceps

Thursday: Legs and abs

Friday: Shoulders and arms

The thinking behind this style of training was that you’d train the muscle group so intensely that it would need a week to rest, recover and grow.

It grew in popularity around the 70s onwards, when the golden age of bodybuilders (Arnie, Lou Ferrigno and the like) started to get attention. Their methods became popularised through magazine articles, TV shows, documentaries (anyone seen Pumping Iron?!)

But there was a problem…

Despite the magazine articles showing the guys training, it left out two major pieces of (vital) information about their training regimen…

1. They’d be training for years. What they were doing now wasn’t what got them to that point in the first place.

2. They were taking steroids. It’s no secret that bodybuilders enjoy some ‘chemical assistance’. That helps them to grow muscle faster, train harder and longer, plus recover quicker.

What this means is that although the articles were showing how the guys were training now, it wasn’t advice that was bets suited to your everyday office or factory worker who just wanted to look good on the beach. Despite that, the magazines sold in huge numbers and the split routine approach exploded in popularity - so much so that even today, lots of young people are still using split routines as complete beginners, because that’s what they’ve been told to do by others.

But is it the best approach?

The question can be answered with science…

When it comes to building muscle in people new to training, the frequency of the muscle stimulation is shown to be the most effective approach. In practice what that means is that the more often you train a muscle, the more times to create the physiological environment required for it to grow.

If you’re new to training (have less than 2 years resistance training background) then the research suggests that you need to stimulate all of your muscles frequently, rather than once per week which is the norm with a split routine.

The same study also mentions that when it comes to improving strength, full body training is the way to go. Given strength is fundamental to both fitness and performance, the sensible thing to do is to hit the full body workouts frequently, with the emphasis being on building both muscle and strength. You’d do this by following the summary below, taken from this review of muscle-building research…

‘Foundations for individuals seeking to maximize muscle growth should be hypertrophy-oriented RT consisting of multiple sets (3−6) of six to 12 repetitions with short rest intervals (60 s) and moderate intensity of effort (60−80% 1RM) with subsequent increases in training volume (12–28 sets/muscle/week).’

At AdMac Fitness we train our clients with a full body approach, because that’s what the research tells us to do. If you’re not an AdMac Fitness personal training client reading this, take a look at the way personal trainers are training people, or the way athletes on TV are training people - they’re certainly not doing a ‘back and biceps’ day!

So is it time to put the split routine to bed?

For most people, yes - absolutely.

If you’re a beginner looking to build muscle and strength, yes - you should be focussing your time on full body routines at least until you’ve added a significant amount of muscle to your frame. At that point, you could perhaps to add a little refinement to your physique with some body part split work.

If you’re looking for athletic development, there’s almost no place at all for a split routine in your gym work. As an approach, these isolated body part workouts offer us little in terms of movement quality improvement.

The only time a split routine may be favourable is if you’re already an established exerciser with a mature, muscular physique and you’re looking to add more muscle in particular areas. This refinement is possible by adding additional volume to certain body parts.

Beyond that, it’s full body for the win!

Personal Training in East London…

If you’re confused about how you should go about building the fitness and physique you long for, trust the professionals at AdMac Fitness to help you. They’re a well-qualified group of expert personal trainers, with decades of collective health and fitness experience.

You’ll train in our private personal training studio in Bow, E3. That means fantastic 1-1 service and no waiting for equipment. It’s also perfect for those who feel self conscious because it’s a private studio, used only by AdMac Fitness personal trainers and our clients.

Contact AdMac Fitness on 07921465108 or email us at admacfitness@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you!

Avoiding Stagnation in Your Training - the Beauty of Personal Training

There are all kinds of reasons why people will hire a personal trainer - for some it’s accountability. For others it’s a way of outsourcing motivation. There are personal training clients who need to be pushed further than they’re willing to push themselves.

They’re all great reasons to hire a personal trainer, but today we’re going to focus on one of the more forgotten about reasons - having someone mix up your training so you avoid stagnation of the exercise.

Mixing your training is one of the most effective ways to stay motivated. It also helps to keep your fitness progression ongoing and helps to make exercise boredom obsolete. Knowing that every time you go to the personal training studio for your session, you’ll be going through an entirely new challenge is a huge motivator in itself! There’s a new stimulus with every workout and that’s a massive motivator.

In his ‘fitness in 100 words’ post, Greg Glassman (founder of CrossFit) wrote about mixing up the elements of fitness in as many ways as your creativity will allow. In part, that is one of the primary roles of the personal trainer - whilst keeping the ultimate goal in mind (be it weight loss, muscle gain etc), build creative and enjoyable workouts that will help clients stay motivated to exercise for the long term.

Therein lies another benefit of training in a private personal training studio - full access to equipment and space. If you use a commercial gym, it’s really hard to ensure that your workout is done as cleanly as possible. because you might have to wait for equipment, which disrupts your flow.

If you train at home you’re limited to a small amount of equipment (unless of course you’re very lucky!), which stifles the amount of creativity you can put into your workouts. At the AdMac Fitness personal training studio in Bow, East London we have a wide variety of equipment, meaning we can offer hugely varied workouts. If a training session is limited by the equipment available, you’ve got no need to worry - we’re very well equipped!

By mixing up barbell work, kettlebell exercises, dumbbell training, bodyweight exercises, cardio, battle ropes and a range of other bits of kit, your training will never stagnate. It’s part of the reason our personal training clients at AdMac Fitness stay for so long. They come to get fit and they stay for how our methods make them feel for the long term.

One of the other ways AdMac Fitness can help you avoid stagnation in your training is by offering you a chance to join our group exercise sessions at the studio. It means you still get the workout variety, the challenging session and the expert guidance by one of our highly qualified personal trainers, but you can do so in a different format and at a lower price point.

We know how difficult it can be to motivate yourself to exercise. We also know the overwhelming feeling that comes with programming your own workouts, so why not leave it to the professionals? The AdMac Fitness personal trainers inEast London are experts at programming varied, interesting and challenging workouts, designed to help our clients achieve the kind of results they could only dream of before!

If you want your health and fitness journey to be guided by the best personal training team in East London, get in touch with us at AdMac Fitness. We operate from our private personal training studio in Bow, E3. Contact us on 07921465108 or email us at admacfitness@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you!

Your Sensible, Evidence Based Guide to Vitamin D

At the time of writing we’re in the middle of the first signs of spring appearing in the UK. We’ve had 4 or 5 consecutive days of sun (if you’re not from here… trust me, that’s a lot for us!). The temperatures have reached the upper teens, sales of bbq food and ice creams have shot up. Pub beer gardens are full. You get the picture - the seasons are changing.

With the warm weather comes that uniquely British phenomena - overdoing the sun exposure. With us being unsure when the next rays of sunshine will appear, we head outside (often for too long without sunscreen) and end up pinker that a stick of Blackpool rock!

But that brings us to a serious point - vitamin D. We know that sun exposure is still the best way to generate vitamin D in the body, but how much is too much? Is there a safe level of sun exposure? With around 50% of the global population suffering from low levels of vitamin D, it’s time we address the science and see what we can be doing to make sure we don’t end up with low levels of vitamin D.

What happens when we lack Vitamin D?

The biggest problem with an insufficiency of vitamin D is bone weakness. It’s a vitamin that helps us to absorb calcium in the body, which is integral to the formation of new bone. That’s not the only issue though - diseases such as cancer, heart disease, Parkinsons disease, diabetes, hypertension and autoimmune diseases are all more prevalent in people with low levels of vitamin D.

There are other symptoms that are less severe such as…

• Fatigue

• Bone pain

• Muscle weakness, muscle aches, or muscle cramps.

• Mood changes

• Reduced immunity

One of the quickest ways to see if your symptoms is to see if your problems disappear when you increase your level of sun exposure or even supplementation of vitamin d. If your mild symptoms clear up with a few sessions of sun exposure or within a couple of weeks of vitamin d supplements being taken, you' were probably just deficient, that’s all.

Can you get enough vitamin D from food?

The unfortunate answer is that no, not really. Even if you eat a richly-varied diet, the overwhelming likelihood is that you won’t be able to meet your vitamin D requirements. By far and away our best source of vitamin D is regular sun exposure, so if you live in a colder climate, in winter it makes sense to supplement daily.

The best food sources of vitamin D are…

• oily fish such as salmon, sardines, pilchards, trout, herring, kippers and eel

• cod liver oil contains a lot of vitamin D, but don’t take this if you are pregnant

• egg yolk, meat, offal and milk contain small amounts but this varies during the seasons

• margarine, some breakfast cereals, infant formula milk and some yoghurts have added vitamin D

Still eat these foods, but be aware that a good vitamin D supplement is beneficial too.

There’s strong evidence that regular vitamin D supplementation works over the long term, so it’s absolutely worth your while taking it. Risks of various diseases are reduced significantly thanks to vitamin D supplementation. If you live in the UK, a daily supplement between October and March is a good idea for maintaining healthy vitamin D levels.

Safe sun exposure - is there such a thing?

Concerns have been raised by some experts that we have become so cautious about sun exposure that we don’t have enough to maintain any notable vitamin D production. With heavy sun blocker being used by many people daily, not to mention actively seeking shade, some people in the UK suffer from chronic reduced vitamin D levels.

The fact is there is such a thing as safe sun exposure. According to NICE (National Institute of Clinical Excellence) guidelines, the key is to avoid prolonged exposure during the peak sun hours. In the UK that’s generally 11.00-15.00. Their work suggests that you can still manufacture sufficient levels of vitamin D outside of these hours with some small skin exposure such as face, forearms and lower legs.

There’s no ‘one size fits all’ advice with sun exposure - people with darker skin will be fine outside for longer. The key is to understand how your body reacts to sun exposure and work around that accordingly. Make sure you don’t expose your skin without sun blocker for a long period of time, and in the early parts of the warmer weather allow your skin to acclimatise by gradually increasing exposure.

The key is to not avoid sun completely - it’s good for you! Just ben sensible as to how you do it and when.

If you want your health and fitness journey to be guided by the best personal training team in East London, get in touch with us at AdMac Fitness. We operate from our private personal training studio in Bow, E3. Contact us on 07921465108 or email us at admacfitness@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you!

Let's Talk Life... and Fitness. They're Intertwined, you see...

In this article I’m not going to talk technique, tactics etc. Instead I’m going to take this opportunity to remind you that your health and fitness goals are completely reliant on how you live your life. All of the good intention, the hard work and the effort in the gym will be almost worthless if you spent the rest of your time living in a way that isn’t congruent with your health and fitness goals.

At a certain point, it becomes less about motivation and more about discipline. Motivation only takes you part of the way - it’s discipline that takes you the rest of the way.

Motivation and discipline - what’s the difference?

There’s a misconception in certain populations that fit and lean people are ‘motivated’ all of the time, when the reality is that’s just not true.

There are plenty of times when they’re tired, don’t really fancy the gym, would rather lie on the sofa with a blanket and a tub of biscuits, but they force themselves to get out and exercise, even for a short while. That’s the difference between motivation and discipline. A motivated person will exercise when the mood takes them. A disciplined person will exercise even when they don’t want to, because that’s how they’ll achieve their health and fitness goals.

I know lots of fit and lean people who would much prefer to live on a diet of pizza and cake, but they understand that as happy as they’d be in the moment, the aftermath of not feeling as healthy as they would be is a bigger issue for them. Feeling unhealthy overrides the pleasure they’d get from the food.

By the way, that’s not to say there’s no room for indulgences - there absolutely is, they’re just earned. You want to have a few drinks and a big meal? Go for it - just earn it first!

That understanding of disciple and motivation is the fundamental difference between being fit and healthy, or being unhealthy and feeling like it’s too hard, or nothing ever works. If you simply wait for the motivation to take over you in order for you to live a healthier life, then you may be waiting for the rest of your days. Unless you’re incredibly lucky, most people simply aren’t motivated all of the time… they just do it anyway.

Live in line with your goals

I’ll do some basic maths for you, so you can get a grasp of how important the ‘rest’ of your life is when it comes to your fitness goals.

A week is 168 hours.

Let’s discount time for sleeping - I’ll be generous and say you’re asleep for 56 of those hours (8 per night). That removes 33.3% of your week. (In reality though, most people sleep less than 8 hours per night).

You’re now down to 112 hours.

Say you train 4 hours per week (which is a good amount - lots of people do significantly less), it means there are 108 hours where you’re not training. You’re training for 3.7% of your week. It means there’s 96.3% of your week when you’re NOT actively trying to achieve your fitness goals.

If in that 96.3% of your waking hours you’re overeating, not doing ANY stretching, drinking too much, taking too few steps etc, you’ll be sabotaging your efforts in the gym.

In reality, it’s not too difficult to live in such a way that you’ll help your progress in the gym. The simple things are walk to work/on social engagements - try to hit 10k steps minimum per day. Eat your 5 portions of fruit and vegetables per day. Drink a couple of litres of water daily. Make consciously better food choices - all of these simple behaviours add up.

AdMac Fitness personal training - bridging the gap between motivation and discipline

One of the main reasons people hire the services of a personal trainer is to force accountability on themselves. They’re given a programme, help with how to train, how to eat and how to achieve their fitness goals.

A personal training session is an excellent accountability practice, because it means that even on those days when you don’t feel motivated, you have to turn up anyway because you’ve booked a session. It helps to force discipline on you when you don’t want it.

The good news is in this case, your discipline is the healthy sort! It’ll help you lead a fitter, healthier life in line with your health and fitness goals.

If you want your health and fitness journey to be guided by the best personal training team in East London, get in touch with us at AdMac Fitness. We operate from our private personal training studio in Bow, E3. Contact us on 07921465108 or email us at admacfitness@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you!

Meet the Team - Giancarlo Violante, Personal Trainer

In the second instalment of our ‘Meet the Team’ series we have the OG (apart from AdMac himself) of AdMac Fitness, Gian. Learn a little more about him and who he is with our interview here…

How long have you been working at AdMac Fitness? I have been working at AdMac Fitness for over three years! You could say I’m a loyal customer :)

Tell us about your training philosophy… My training philosophy is built on the foundation of achieving optimal athleticism through thorough examination and prescriptive training. This involves strength and conditioning, mobility, flexibility whilst understanding the way you move and how we can create a programme based on how to better yourselves (aesthetically and biomechanically).

Tell us one thing you believe the vast majority of people could do better with regards to their fitness… FORM! I see too many trainers out there teaching form which I like to call ‘null and void’. Form should not be taken lightly. Everyone ties their shoe laces up before they go for a walk correctly, so let’s train and bulletproof our bodies to move freely, correctly and without pain. Bella vita!

If you could encourage more people to change one thing about their food intake, what would it be?: PLANTS! PLANTS! PLANTS! More plants please. They’re packed with phytochemicals nutrients and they have a negative ORP, meaning their ability to reduce oxidation in the body is highly effective! Let’s get cooking!

Tell us one thing about you that may surprise people… I can beatbox quite well! No joke, it all started in shower. The acoustics lends itself a great reverb 👍🏼

Finally, if I work with you, what should I expect? In all seriousness, expect solid training sessions which involve personalised programming and great communication.

My goal isn’t just about aesthetics, but I want you to be moving like an athlete, focusing on being strong and functional! By focusing on this, what happens naturally is a sound body. I’m not all about making my clients sweat, sweat, sweat - I want you to feel like you are making progress, but sessions do need to have good work ethics. Let’s get training!

You can follow Giancarlo on Instagram at Giansjam.

If you’d like to work with Giancarlo, get in touch with us get in touch with us at AdMac Fitness. We operate from our private personal training studio in Bow, E3. Contact us on 07921465108 or email us at admacfitness@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you!

Meet the Team - Kiefer Piccio , Personal Trainer

Welcome to the first in our ‘meet the team’ series on the AdMac Fitness blog. It’s your opportunity to get to know your personal trainer a little better. You may learn what makes them tick, how they view fitness and maybe even pick up a few little tips along the way!

So without further ado, here’s Kie…

Name: Kiefer Piccio 

How long have you been working at AdMac Fitness?: Just over a year and counting!

Tell us about your training philosophy:

My training philosophy revolves around two main ideas: 

1. How does one achieve a goal in a smarter, not harder way.

2. Being strong, to be useful.

The aim  is to build a training approach that gives you the most fitness gains in an efficient way. Then, take those gains and use it in the real world. Either for oneself or to help others with it.

Tell us one thing you believe the vast majority of people could do better with regards to their fitness: 

The vast majority of people could do better with focusing on recovery. I find a lot of people focus far too much on the training aspect of a program and  they forget to rest their bodies, where the actual gains start to happen. Remember, in order for results to show, you need to train hard and recover harder.

If you could encourage more people to change one thing about their food intake, what would it be? 

It would be to encourage people to eat just before they're full and not when they're completely full up. Also, I encourage people to drink more water! Water is life - literally!

Tell us one thing about you that may surprise people… 

I was a part of a team that holds a world record in swimming the English Channel for Cancer Research and The Federation of Disability Sport.

Finally, if I work with you, what should I expect? 

Expect to be given realistic ways to progress through your goals and expect sessions to be varied whilst having the right amount of challenge each time.

My training approach involves numerous efficient training methods revolving around compound lifts, specific isolation work and body-weight progressions, which I have experimented and refined from my 20 years of experience in high performance sport.

My clients say I'm quite a 'Hype Man' - and (from my understanding) this means I can be quite a cheerleader when it comes to even the tiniest of improvement that they make! So be prepared to be motivated and 'hyped'!

You can follow Kie on Instagram by clicking here.

If you’d like to work with Kie, get in touch with us get in touch with us at AdMac Fitness. We operate from our private personal training studio in Bow, E3. Contact us on 07921465108 or email us at admacfitness@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you!

Training Frequency or Duration - Which is Better?

We’re all busy - that’s just life. Whether it’s working hours, kids, social pressures or the like, most of us probably don’t have the amount of free time we’d like. With a limited time window in which training can be done, one of the questions many people have is “it is better to do one long training sessions, or multiple short ones?”

I’ll shorten the question to ‘training frequency or duration - which is better?’

In this article we’ll look at the evidence to help you to understand which is the best way of training when time windows are compressed and you’re forced to prioritise. We’ll look at what is best to do any why, because there’s always an opportunity to do something…

Training in a squeezed window…

Let’s make an assumption that you have general fitness goals - you want to maintain a decent level of strength and cardio and burn plenty of calories in a session. You don’t have any specialist, extreme goals that will take up a lot of time and individualised, targeted training.

Now, imagine in a given week you have two hours in which you can realistically squeeze in some exercise - what’s the best use of that time?

A single, two hour blasting session? How about 2 x 1 hour sessions? Maybe the best way is three equal sessions?

There’s a way to answer this question and starts with what ‘general fitness’ looks like. I think we can all agree that being ‘generally fit’ means that you have a decent blend of strength and cardio capabilities. You might not have elite levels of either, but you certainly don’t want to be lacking in both. That means you’ll need to dedicate some training time to both. That leads us to higher intensity forms of training - using squeezed windows to work on strength and cardio at the same time.

The research on training frequency when it comes to muscle growth is clear - frequency is better than duration. A 2016 meta-analysis on training research showed that training muscles twice per week was significantly more effective than once. That leads us to a clear conclusion on the resistance training front - full body training sessions more frequently is better.

Moreover, a combined training approach appears to be even more effective than separating strength and cardio training when it comes to the general population. A lot of people will split their training into ‘strength’ days and ‘cardio’ days, keeping a sole focus for the session. A research study from 2019 suggests that this may not be the most effective approach though, and that combining strength and cardio work is better from a general health perspective. The researchers concluded that…

‘data suggest that combination training may be of better value than either aerobic or resistance training alone, as it appeared to have the most beneficial effect on the composite of CVD risk factors.’

This is interesting because it effectively gives the green light for the high intensity strength training that is often seen at bootcamps, circuit classes etc. The other good news is that these classes are often around the 30-45 minute mark, which allows for multiple sessions in the same week.

The benefits of combining exercise protocols

There are both practical and health reasons for combining training approaches, as opposed to keeping cardio and strength training apart. Research from 2020 that studied resistance based HIIT (high intensity interval training) showed there was a genuine benefit to gained from running these approaches concurrently. This is excellent news for anyone who is worried that they won’t achieve the same benefits if they mix the training approaches.

Do shorter workouts compromise results?

The next question to answer is whether shorter workouts mean results are worse? The evidence here again is clear - there’s no doubt that shorter workouts are very effective, as long as the intensity is sufficiently high enough. In fact, in this study the conclusion was that the shorter, high intensity sessions led to greater gains in VO2 max than the more traditional longer-duration steady state cardiovascular training.

Making the most of short time windows…

We know from the research that there’s definite benefit to short, intense workouts. This sets to bed one of the major worries about time restricted windows. So in order to make the most of short time windows in which you can train, here’s what the evidence suggests….

1. Go for frequency over duration. 4 x 30 minute sessions or 3 x 40 minute sessions are better than 1 x 2 hour session.

2. Combine strength and cardio training by adopting a circuit/bootcamp style of training. Research shows this is effective.

3. Work hard! Shorter workouts have to be more intense, so go all-out with effort!

It shows you can still exercise and hit your health and fitness goals even when you are limited with time. Don’t ever let a lack of time be a factor, there’s always a way!

At AdMac Fitness we’re not about fads, fashions and short term fixes. We want you to succeed properly over the long term, so with our help and advice you can get your fitness back on track! If you’d like us to help you, contact us on 07921465108 or email us at admacfitness@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you!

AdMac Fitness: Arch 457 Robeson St, London E3 4JA

AdMac Fitness South Woodford: Unit 4 Marlborough Business Centre, 96 George Lane, South Woodford, London, E18 1AD

Exploring the Different Types of Resistance Training

One of the fantastic things about training at our private personal training studio in East London, is that we can do things our way. If we believe there’s a more effective tool for a job, or a better way of doing things, we can adapt training methods. We’re not bound by equipment, rules or membership limitations, so we can explore different training methods to get the job done.

One such area of training variety is in resistance training. We don’t really ‘do’ the whole weights machines thing, so we can employ a whole raft of different types of resistance training to help our clients get into fantastic shape quickly.

Using a variety of resistance training maintains motivation because there’s always a new challenge around the corner, it keeps interest high, because we can offer lots of workout variety and finally it prevents physical stagnation from our clients because we keep their bodies ‘guessing’ when it comes to fitness - they never adapt to a method, creating lazy movement patterns and the like, dulling the effectiveness.

In this blog post we’re going to look at some of the different types of resistance training we use at AdMac Fitness, our private PT studio in Bow, East London.

Barbell exercises

Let’s start with the obvious one - barbell training. The OG of resistance training and still arguably the best and most versatile resistance training tool there is.

With an almost unlimited number of exercise and potential for ever-increasing weight, a barbell can be a whole workout in itself. You can adjust weights, sets, reps, rest periods and movement pattern to train your whole body. You can perform complexes (multiple exercises combined into a single exercise), super sets (different exercises performed back to back without rest) and everything else in between.

At AdMac Fitness barbell training is a fundamental aspect of our training approach, because it’s just so effective.

Kettlebells!

Kettlebell training can trace its roots as far back as the ancient Mongol armies (apparently). Their popularity took off again in the early 2000’s though when they became popular in Hollywood. To be honest, we don’t really care about that - we just use them because we think they’re awesome.

A kettlebell can be used for all types of resistance training - they can be used in place of dumbbells for lots of exercises, but they’re also excellent for swing movements, carry movements and explosive work. You can very easily perform a whole body circuit workout in 20 minutes with a kettlebell, such is their effectiveness.

There are particular techniques we use with kettlebells that make them slightly different to other resistance training approaches, which gives them unique properties. These include eccentric contract emphasis and unilateral strength improvements.

Bodyweight training… the forgotten one!

So many people forget about bodyweight exercise when it comes to resistance training, because they dismiss it as real training. Take it from us, done correctly, bodyweight training is no joke - it’s a tough workout that can (and does) get people into fantastic shape.

Bodyweight training is really scalable - at one end of the spectrum you have air squats, push ups etc, in the mid range you have pull ups, plyometrics, animal movement patterns etc, then at the top end you have advanced calisthenics. There’s progression for all levels and the results from other an athletic and physique points of view are great.

Limited equipment needed, with a huge physical upside. Bodyweight training is an important aspect of what we do at AdMac Fitness.

TRX and Suspension Training

The suspension trainer really blew up in popularity in the early 2000’s, because it offers HUGE exercise variety in a really convenient way. It has been described in some circles as stability ball training without the stability ball.

We use our suspension trainers with personal training clients of all levels, because they’re excellent, for all kinds of exercises and movements - from warm ups to high intensity circuit training, they’re super effective. It’s also a great way to progress and regress movements. For example, we can help people learn to do pistol squats with a TRX by making them easier, but we can also make core work and push ups much harder by using them.

Dumbbells - the other OG!

For many people, dumbbells are the forgotten about little brother of the barbell. For personal trainers, they’re an excellent way to improve unilateral (both sides) strength, create opportunities to load single sides, they offer unique exercise variety and freedoms of movement that you’d struggle to replicate with a barbell.

In some gyms people tend not to use dumbbells because it’s a kick in the teeth for your ego! For example, you’d think if you could bench press say, 60kg with a barbell you’d be able to bench press 2 x 30kg dumbbells, but that’s nowhere near the truth! In reality you can probably bench a couple of 22.5kg dumbbells! If your lifting is about your ego, you may want to give the dumbbells a swerve!

If (like us at AdMac Fitness), you’re more bothered about results than egos, grab hold of those dumbbells and use them a lot! Your body and health will thank you for it!

Battle ropes

Battle ropes are an excellent tool for upper body conditioning and they’re not especially common in commercial gyms. Being an independent personal training studio though, we’re not bound by such limitations!

We use battle ropes for a variety of reasons - we put them in circuits, we use them for workout finishers, we use them for warm ups. It’s a way to mix things up with upper body training, plus it’s a low-impact way to add huge reps to the arms.

Whilst battle ropes can be used to train more than just the upper body (they can be incorporated into exercises such as burpees, the most value is from using them as an upper body high rep training tool and that’s what we tend to do with them.

Different types of resistance training - concluded

At AdMac Fitness we will mix up all of these different types of resistance training to create interesting, varied and effective workouts. You’ll be constantly challenged and progressing with the help of the AdMac personal training team…

If you want your health and fitness journey to be guided by the best personal training team in East London, get in touch with us at AdMac Fitness. We operate from our private personal training studio in Bow, E3. Contact us on 07921465108 or email us at admacfitness@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you!

Five Tips to Help You Track Your Calorie Intake

There are a number of different ways for people to assess their food intake when it comes to weight loss. At AdMac Fitness we use a number of them - we don’t believe in a one size fits all approach. We’ve always found that a personalised approach works best for our members.

We have weight loss clients who will use an intermittent fasting approach, some who will track calories, some who will go low carb etc. Whatever works for you, we’ll support.

In this blog post we’re going to give you five tips to help you track your calorie intake. This is especially useful if you are following a calorie controlled diet approach, or an ‘if it fits your macros’ (IIFYM) approach. This is an approach that has been used successfully for years and arguably provides you with the most accurate calorie intake.

The downside is there’s a lot more work involved because you have to tack everything you eat. These tips are designed to make that process a little easier…

Tip #1 - Download (and use) MyFitnessPal

MyFitnessPal is the most popular calorie tracking app in the world and for good reason. It has a simple user interface, a huge food library, built-in tracking software and the ability to scan a barcode of a food and give you a precise calorie reading. The other thing I like about MyFitnessPal is that it will sync with most activity trackers, so if you track your exercise with a heart rate monitor then your activity calories will automatically be factored in to your daily calorie target. It makes the process so much easier!

Tip #2 - Use digital weighing scales

The most accurate way to ensure you’ve got the calorie content of your foods accurate is to weigh them. Some people may think they can get it right by sight, but to be honest that’s nonsense. Measurements such as a ‘cup’ aren’t great either, so weighing your foods is the best way. You don’t have to spend much money on them either - these weighing scales from amazon are great and cost less than £10!

Keep these on the kitchen counter whilst you are cooking and you’ll quickly and easily get the calorie content of each of your meals accurate every single time.

Tip #3 - Be formulaic!

When you’re new to tracking calories, make the process as easy as possible. One of the best ways you can do this in the early days is by being formulaic with your meals. That means you work out the calories for a meal you eat regularly, then have that frequently. Say for example you know that three weetabix, some milk and a banana is around 350 calories, have that every day. It means there’s less tracking involved, making it easier.

As and when you get more used to using the app and tracking, you can go off-piste and be a bit more adventurous, calculating the calories for more meals that you eat!

Tip #4 - Batch cook and save

The most difficult bit of calorie tracking is figuring out how many calories are in a meal you’ve cooked from scratch. The way you do this is by weighing each ingredient and adding the calories to the calculator as you cook the meal.

One way of reducing the amount of time you do this is by batch cooking and then dividing that up into multiple portions. If you take this approach you only need to calculate the calories once, then divide. Say for example you cook a whole lasagne and you calculate that the total calorie content of the whole thing is 1200 calories, well you’d know that 2 equal portions are 600 calories each. You’d also only have to add the meal to the app once, then just re-use the data time and again.

Tip #5 - Remember to include your liquids!

When people start calorie tracking, one of the things they often forget to include is their liquids. This can add up to hundreds (thousands in the case of alcohol) of calories that aren’t tracked. If you think that a 500ml bottle of Coke is 200 calories, it doesn’t take long for those things to add up.

Be fastidious with your calorie tracking - every food, every drink, every snack - even every supplement if you take high dose fish oils etc. They all add up and they’re all important when it comes to achieving your health and fitness goals. Weight loss is a case of creating a calorie deficit, so you’ll only be able to accurately do this if you know exactly what is coming in!

Tracking calorie intake - final thoughts

Tracking calories doesn’t suit everyone. It’s more work than the other ways, but it is the most accurate way of assessing your calorie intake, which allows you to track your choices precisely. It’s a very successful approach when done properly, so use these tips to help you get it right and watch the weight come off you!

If you want your health and fitness journey to be guided by the best personal training team in East London, get in touch with us at AdMac Fitness. We operate from our private personal training studio in Bow, E3. Contact us on 07921465108 or email us at admacfitness@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you!

Stretching and Flexibility - What, Why and How

Flexibility is an ongoing discussion amongst strength coaches and personal trainers. Some are all for it and view it as a vital element of performance, others aren’t as convinced. Physiotherapists share similar contrasting viewpoints.

To clear up the issue once and for all, we’re going to look at the evidence around stretching, flexibility and mobility and draw conclusions from the science, not opinions. We’ll end the article with some recommendations that will help you improve muscle suppleness and injury resistance.

The history of stretching

If we cast our minds back, stretching was something PE teachers and amateur sports coaches used to make us do ahead of a sporting activity. It didn’t matter how cold it was, the ‘warm up’ involved stretching various body parts before engaging in a full-steam-ahead sporting activity!

We now know that this is, well, stupid.

The risk of injury is significantly higher at lower temperatures. What we know from the research is that when the muscle tissue temperature drops, it’s much easier to tear, so for this reason it’s good advice to NEVER stretch a cold muscle. We’ve written about cold weather exercise on the blog in the past, but now we’re back in the winter it’s always good to have a little reminder of what we need to consider.

So whether or not you are going to stretch, just make sure you ONLY ever stretch a warm muscle, never a cold one. The injury risk isn’t worth it and and the immediate benefit isn’t there.

Types of stretching

There are essentially three types of stretching - active, passive and isometric.

Active stretching is where you progressively move the limbs to achieve a stretch. This can be anything from a small ‘bounce’ to a more aggressive, high speed movement known as ballistic stretching.

Whilst there are certain movement pattern benefits to these movements, as a tool designed to improve flexibility in athletes, they don’t get muscle support in the research. The injury risk is higher than other types and the benefits just don’t stack up.

Passive stretching is more commonly known as static stretching, where you stretch the target muscle and stay in that position for a given amount of time, often practiced in yoga. Research suggests passive stretching is an effective tool for improving flexibility, but doubts are raised over its effectiveness for athletes (especially pre-event) given potential reduction in muscle force generation associated with passive stretching.

In English, if you want to be more flexible, it’s absolutely fine - just don’t do it close to a sporting activity because it makes muscles temporarily weaker.

Isometric stretching is a form of stretching that involves tensing of the target muscle whilst it is in a stretched position. The muscle itself doesn’t change length dramatically – the length of the stretch isn’t increased. The effectiveness comes from the fact that whilst contracting in a stretched position, the muscle overrides the ‘stretch reflex’, allowing it to extend beyond its normal range of movement.

This is known as ‘Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation’ or ‘PNF’ stretching. It has been shown to both improve performance and flexibility, so is commonly used in sporting context.

Is stretching worth it?

This is the million dollar question and there’s no right or wrong answer - the best answer comes from the use case. Why are you stretching and what are you looking to achieve?

The evidence is clear that if you want to improve your flexibility (and you probably should - flexibility is a useful thing to have), then stretching is the best way to achieve it. There are other ways (massage, foam rollers, relaxation techniques etc), but they aren’t as targeted and effective at pushing a muscle and connective tissues to end range.

What you have to be careful of is how and when you stretch and the basic advice is this…

1. NEVER stretch a cold muscle. Always warm it up first - whether that’s a hot bath or shower, exercise or a sauna. Just raise the temperature and improve blood flow.

2. If it’s before exercise, use a PNF stretching approach.

3. If you’re not about to train or compete in sport and are literally just doing some flexibility work, static stretching or yoga is very effective. Just make sure you’re warm first.

Whilst there’ll always be experts who love the click-bait, outlandish claims about stretching being useless etc, the evidence simply doesn’t back this up. There’s certainly uses for stretching, you just have to pick the right type and do it at the right time.

Follow the advice in this article and you’ll do just that!

If you want your health and fitness journey to be guided by the best personal training team in East London, get in touch with us at AdMac Fitness. We operate from our private personal training studio in Bow, E3. Contact us on 07921465108 or email us at admacfitness@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you.

8 Steps to Preventing the Post-Christmas Weight Guilt...

If there’s one thing we know from working in fitness for so long… it’s that every year people will guilty for weight gain over the Christmas and New Year period. We always try to be reassuring, but sometimes those messages aren’t listed to very well.

In an attempt to try to get you to not worry about any weight you’ve gained, we’re going to give you a 8-tip list to help you drop the weight quickly and start feeling back to your best again…

Re-establish a sleep routine

This may seem like an odd one to start with… what does sleep have to do with weight loss? A lot, actually. Way more than you think. A good sleep pattern helps to regulate everything - hunger hormones, recovery from exertion, mood etc. Research shows that good quality sleep helps us to make better choices around food.

It’s easy to fall into weird sleeping patterns at Christmas - naps in front of the TV, late nights, long lie-ins etc. To help get back to normal, try to regulate this as well as you can.

Reduce the salty carbs

Much of the Christmas weight gain we suffer from can be linked to water retention. Two of the biggest culprits when it comes to water retention are salt and starchy carbohydrates. By reducing the intake of salty carbs and replacing them with high fibre foods (fruit and vegetables), you’ll watch the weight drop quickly.

Expect to be going to the toilet a lot as well - that retained water has to go somewhere!

Get moving!

This is an obvious one, but it’s important. At this point, you don’t need to kick the crap out of yourself - simply get moving. Get yourself up, start with some walking, perhaps some light cycling. A basic gym workout. Whatever you need to, but do something. My suggestion is you don’t go nuts from the off - start basic, build up from there.

Think frequency over duration and intensity here. Go for 30-45 minutes every day, rather than a 2 hour beasting then missing 5 days.

Hypermineralise

This is a trick used by athletes in a weight cutting sport - when they’re in the final stages of cutting weight, they need to give their body all the help they can by making sure it is full of vitamins and minerals. The simplest way of doing this is with a simple multivitamin every day.

Add to this plenty of fruit, vegetables and water, a bit of sun exposure (or vitamin D supplementation) and you’ll be well on your way.

Cut out the booze

We like a drink as much as the next person, but if you want to feel better quickly, one of the most important things you can do is get rid of the drink. Alcohol impacts sleep quality, makes you crave junk food, reduces motivation to train and generally doesn’t make you want to do much.

Not to mention the calories… there’s a reason they call it a beer belly!

Get rid of the temptation

Willpower is a limited resource - faced with temptation, it’s a matter of time before you give in to it. Rather than fight against yourself, just remove the temptation. Give away any treats you have left over. Throw stuff in the bin if you can’t find someone to take it from you.

If it’s not there, you can’t eat it. It’s as simple as that!

RELAX!

The final tip we have is to relax - Christmas is a short period of time and life is about balance. Yes, you may have gained a little bit of weight, but who cares? You can get rid of it quickly. Life would be dull if you tracked every calorie for 365 days per year. Every now and then you should be able to relax and enjoy yourself. Just make sure 3 or 4 days of indulgence doesn’t turn into 3 or 4 weeks of it!

Once you’ve committed to your mission again, get your head down and keep grinding!

Seek Help!

If you want your health and fitness journey to be guided by the best personal training team in East London, get in touch with us at AdMac Fitness.

We operate from our private personal training studio in Bow, E3. Contact us on 07921465108 or email us at admacfitness@gmail.com. We’ve helped literally hundreds of people from all walks of life achieve excellent health and fitness results - we can help you too!

The Timely Winter Immunity Boost... Getting it Right

How to Boost Immunity – Practical Tips and Advice

Let’s be straight - there’s a lot of nonsense written about immunity - usually because people are selling some ‘immune-boosting’ product. At AdMac Fitness we don’t do that - we believe in evidence-based advice and guidance and the blog is no different.

In this article we’re going to address immunity, cutting through the noise to tell you what works. We’ll show you the evidence behind each one of our claims, so you know this isn’t an opinion, it’s a fact backed by scientific research.

Whilst we can’t promise you’ll be immune to everything in the world by following this advice, you’ll certainly be giving your immune system a massive helping hand!

Immunity is an ever-changing picture

We know that immune responses to disease fluctuates depending on a number of factors. These include the viral ‘load’ (frequency and duration of our exposure to infection), the state of our immune system and the time of year. That’s why supplementation, sleep and food choices can and should vary throughout the year.

Whilst there are undoubtedly seasonal variations in illness (for example peak transmissibility of covid and the common cold is at lower temperatures), the reality is we’re exposed to a lot of potentially harmful bacteria and viruses all year round. 

We tend to experience ‘seasons’ of viruses because of some these factors. Take ‘flu season’ for example. In the winter we have closer contact with others through being indoors more, which increases frequency and duration of exposure to bugs. This increased viral load is part of the reason colds and flus can spread quickly and easily in the winter months.

We’re also likely to have lower vitamin D levels during the autumn and winter. This has the effect reducing immune function. There’s also other lifestyle factors over the winter such as Christmas parties, higher stress levels and reduced sleep can also make us more vulnerable generally.

What we should be looking to do is maintain a highly functioning immune system all year round, making us less vulnerable generally. 

Lifestyle factors that weaken our immune function

We look at immunity back to front. Rather than seek to enhance our immune system, we should first look to reduce the factors that weaken it. By giving our bodies a rest and not exposing it to immune-compromising elements, we at least give ourselves a fighting chance against illness

Here are the fundamental aspects of reduced immunity…

Excess Alcohol Consumption

It’s quite an obvious point to make, but research is clear that excess alcohol consumption has a negative effect on immunity and recovery rates from illness. In practical terms this means not only are you more susceptible to illness in the first place, you’re also less likely to recover quickly from the diseases you catch.

It’s important to note also that it’s not just chronic alcohol consumption that affects immunity – binge drinking can do just the same. You may think “it’s only a few parties, it doesn’t matter”, but it’d be wise to dial up other means of protection in the before and after of the parties.

Sleep Deprivation

Again, this one is unlikely to surprise many, but the evidence around sleep deprivation and reduce immunity is simply too powerful to ignore. Chronic sleep deprivation has been shown across multiple studies to have an immediate and significant impact on immunity, making us more susceptible to infection. 

Sleep deprivation can also reduce the effectiveness of vaccines, so there really isn’t a get out here. We have to sleep effectively to have any chance of maintaining a healthy and effective immune system. There’s plenty of reasons why a lack of sleep makes you feel like crap it would seem…

Stress

Your exposure to stressful situations can have a marked effect on your immunity. In this meta-analysis of 30 years of research on the topic, researchers concluded that stress and exposure to stressful situations reduces immunity and disease resistance. There is no doubt that based on the overwhelming body of evidence, long term exposure to stress will reduce immune function.

At a cellular level, all stress looks largely the same. Taking steps to actively reduce stress, whether that is through meditation, time with friends, counselling etc will certainly be helpful.

Dietary Deficiency

Anecdotally there has been a lot of advice around diet and disease for millennia. Thanks to more modern approaches to research, we can be far more specific. Where many people advise a blanket approach to vitamin and mineral supplementation, what research is showing is that Vitamins A and D are particularly useful when it comes to supporting immune function.

A lot of people don’t believe in taking a broad-spectrum multivitamin supplement, but on balance it’s worth it mostly because of the minerals which have been shown to boost immunity. If nothing else it offers a back stop level of insurance nutritionally.

Boosting your immunity - evidence based advice

There is a lot of advice around boosting immunity, much of which is actually fairly robust from a scientific standpoint. There’s also a lot of nonsense, one of the most famous being to drink a ‘hot toddy’ to see off a cold. What we’re going to do here is look at how we can boost immunity with practical tips. 

Exercise

Add this one to the ‘obviously’ column. There are very few physiological processes that aren’t enhanced by exercise. There is a word of caution here though – prolonged exposure to extreme training loads have been tentatively linked to compromised immunity, so whilst exercise is great, manage your training loads and don’t overtrain. 

Don’t rush back after illness, or if you are around people who are (or have been) ill, don’t go hitting the gym super hard.

Dietary Advice

Here you have to follow the obvious advice – plenty of good quality protein, lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, a lot of water and little booze. Nothing mind-blowingly new to report. What is important (and possibly new to you) is that if you live in an area with low winter sun exposure (basically anyone in northern Europe), vitamin D supplementation has been shown to boost immunity.

If you’re able to get away, a bit of winter sun will do you the world of good - both mental and physical.

Sleep More

If you’re not achieving a solid 7 hours most nights, it’s time to address your sleep habits. Reduce exposure to bright light before bed, cut down caffeine consumption, don’t exercise too late and try not to go to bed straight after a large meal. All the obvious tips, but make sure you follow them!

If we know that impacted sleep reduces immunity and makes us unwell, take steps to improve your sleep.

RELAX!

We know stress is a huge factor when it comes to immunity, so incorporate some kind of stress-reduction practice to your life. Whether that’s an exercise, a hobby, a mindfulness practice or even buying a pet, do something to reduce your stress levels. Doing so will keep you healthier.

Reduce Viral Load

This one is a huge step to avoiding illness. Viral load is essentially the amount of exposure you have to a virus – the higher the viral load, the more likely you are to pick up a bug. 

A good analogy is the candle one - you can run your hand through the flame of a candle quickly and not suffer any damage. Hold your hand immediately above the flame for a while and it’s a completely different story. Viral load is a similar thing.

Spread yourselves out in offices, work from home if you can, reduce public transport use, try to walk more. All good tips.

Boosting Immunity – Concluded

Where there’s a lot of nonsense around immunity, by following a few practical and simple tips you can reduce your chances of catching a virus or disease dramatically. At a time when health and disease is at the forefront of our minds, maybe now is the time to start boosting your immune function.

At AdMac Fitness personal training studio in Bow, E3, we operate under strict health and safety protocols. We clean all of our gym equipment daily, we’re respectful of space, we have sanitiser around the gym too.

We do everything we can to keep our personal training clients safe and secure in the gym.

If you want your health and fitness journey to be guided by the best personal training team in East London, get in touch with us at AdMac Fitness. We operate from our private personal training studio in Bow, E3. Contact us on 07921465108 or email us at admacfitness@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you.