5 Things to do After Your Workout to Recover Better

In fitness blogs we often talk about the training, and what you should be doing during your workouts. The part we usually neglect is what to do after your workout. These are the points that help you recover and return fresh for your next workout.

In this article I’m going to run through 5 things you can do to recover better after your workouts. These are all simple, effective and don’t require any real extensive effort. Get them into your week and your health, fitness and recovery status will benefit significantly.

Make sure you get plenty of protein in!

Training and protein are best friends! As the macronutrient responsible for cell repair and growth, it’s really important that anyone who is exercising frequently is consuming adequate protein.

A 2018 study titled Effects of Protein Supplementation on Performance and Recovery in Resistance and Endurance Training concluded...

…’based on performance and recovery effects, it appears that the prudent approach would be to have athletes consume protein post-training and post-competition.’

The type of protein isn’t especially important (although there are different qualities of protein), just make sure you get enough in. A good measure of the amount of protein you need can be found in this study. The recommendation is to eat 1.3-1.8g of protein per pound of bodyweight.

A post workout sauna

The research around the health benefits of saunas is strong, and getting stronger. Not only that, but the post-exercise benefits of sauna use are also being highlighted. Post exercise sauna use appears to benefit the body in several ways.

A 2006 study titled Effect of post-exercise sauna bathing on the endurance performance of competitive male runners reported…

‘We conclude that 3 wk of post-exercise sauna bathing produced a worthwhile enhancement of endurance running performance, probably by increasing blood volume.’

The benefits also extend to recovery. A 2015 study titled Effects of far-infrared sauna bathing on recovery from strength and endurance training sessions in men found…

‘In conclusion, deep penetration of heat during Far Infrared Sauna bathing appears favourable for the neuromuscular system to recover from maximal endurance performance. Sauna bathing is a very light loading for the body and provides a comfortable and relaxing experience.’

Aim for an accumulated 25 minutes minimum in the sauna. That doesn’t have to be in one go, it can be broken into 2-3 short sessions.

Get 7+ hours of sleep

Sleep is the bedrock of recovery. The deeper, better quality sleep you get, the better you look, feel and perform. Whilst there is a lot of conflicting research around sleep, there are a few fundamental points that everyone agrees on…

1. You need 7-10 hours of quality sleep to recover

2. Being well rested and recovered improves performance

3. Sleep helps tissue health, with reduces injury risk

In a 2019 study titled Sleep Hygiene for Optimizing Recovery in Athletes: Review and Recommendations, the importance of sleep is summed up in a couple of sentences…

‘For sports medicine providers, the negative effects of sleep deprivation cannot be overstated to athletes. Improving sleep quality however is simple and effective, benefiting not only athlete health but also athletic performance.’

Improve sleep, improve your response to training. There’s little more to say!

Get some movement in!

This might seem counter-intuitive, but anecdotal observation of hundreds of PT clients (and our own bodies) shows that post-training movement helps.

We’re not suggesting hard work, but a gentle recovery activity improvers circulation. In turn this improves the delivery of repair agents to the tissues, which helps your muscles, bones, ligaments and tendons repair themselves after training.

A gentle walk, swim or bike ride will all help. Don’t do anything crazy - the goal here isn’t to train it’s to RECOVER from training! At no point should you be severely out of breath. We’re looking to raise the pulse and breathing rate a little, that’s all!

Stretch

A lot of the advice when it comes to stretching doesn’t improve performance or range of movement. In fact, when stretching is done at the wrong time (before exercise on a cold day, when muscles haven’t been warmed up properly) it can even be dangerous.

The best way to use stretching is to improve range of movement of muscles and joints. Rather than use valuable training time to do this, I prefer to encourage personal training clients to stretch in between sessions. This means they’re able to take their time and do it at home. It doesn’t need any equipment (a mat is all you’ll need) and it can be done in 15-20 minutes.

Ideally you’ll do your stretching after you’ve been active, or have had a warm bath or shower so your muscles are relaxed and the circulation is good. This will make them more elastic.

Hold each stretch for 2-3 rounds of 15-30 seconds. These guidelines are taken directly from a 2012 article titled ‘Current Concepts in Muscle Stretching for Exercise and Rehabilitation’…

Static stretching is effective at increasing range of movement (ROM). The greatest change in ROM with a static stretch occurs between 15 and 30 seconds. Most authors suggest that 10 to 30 seconds is sufficient for increasing flexibility. In addition, no increase in muscle elongation occurs after 2 to 4 repetitions.

So use this as a framework for your stretching, and fit it in between your training sessions. You’ll then improve your muscle and joint range of movement, which will make you better at achieving optimal positions when training.

If you want help with your health, AdMac Fitness is the place to go!

We help people using tried and tested fitness approaches. Our expert team of personal trainers, based in both Bow and South Woodford can help you get a grip of your health and fitness. With our guidance you can see your health and fitness reach new levels!

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!

Our locations are…

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

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

Why the Kettlebell Could be the Most Versatile Item in the Gym - Here's Why

At AdMac Fitness we believe that training should be about life improvement, not just vanity. To achieve that measure with our personal training clients, we use a range of different training approaches. One of the pieces of equipment we use most often is the kettlebell.

In terms of versatility, there are few things that match a kettlebell.

A lot of gym equipment is single use. A treadmill can only ever be a treadmill. A chest press can only be a chest press. A bike can only ever be a bike… you get the point.

A kettlebell though, that’s a whole different world.

With a single item of equipment you can perform a whole body workout. Strength workouts, circuits, high rep workouts, HIIT workout, bodybuilding workouts. You name it, a kettlebell is suitable for the job. If you know how to use one, or have a personal trainer to guide you, a kettlebell could be the most versatile piece of equipment in the entire gym.

Here’s 5 kettlebell exercises that we use at AdMac Fitness that if you do well, will transform your health, fitness and physique.

Kettlebell Exercise #1 - The Kettlebell Swing

This is the OG of kettlebell exercises, and still probably the most commonly-used exercise of them all with a kettlebell. It’s a fantastic way of strengthening the posterior chain, which are the muscles that run from the back of the heels all the way to the top of your head.

These muscles are responsible for movement, power generation and ensuring you have excellent back health.

It’s a simple exercise, but one with huge upside!

Kettlebell Exercise #2 - The Goblet Squat

Squatting in all forms is a great exercise, but one of the best forms of squat is a front squat. The kettlebell goblet squat is a form of front squat, where the kettlebell is held in front of the body whilst your legs perform the squat.

By holding the weight in front of you, there is increased emphasis on core strength work, and there is reduced pressure on the lower back. This means the goblet squat is safe and effective for a wider range of people than other forms.

It’s also a very easy exercise to perform from a technique point of view.

Kettlebell Exercise #3 - Kettlebell Clean and Press

The clean and press is certainly a more advanced exercise, but it’s a classic example of pure versatility and functionality. The exercise combines two exercises in one, strengthening the posterior chain, shoulders and triceps. You can do it with a single kettlebell, or two at the same time.

This exercise is a perfect way to make workouts more efficient, by training a lot of muscle in one go. You can adjust the weight to make it ideal for strength training (high weight, low reps), hypertrophy (medium weight, 8-12 reps) or endurance (light weight, 15+ reps).

Just make sure you get the technique right before progressing.

Kettlebell Exercise #4 - Kettlebell Deadlift

The deadlift is a really functional exercise regardless of the equipment you use, but the simplicity of the kettlebell deadlift is a win. The close grip, the density of the weight and the good range of movement make it an excellent exercise.

To get the most out of the kettlebell deadlift you have to make sure you lift a heavy kettlebell, otherwise it’s likely to be too light to have any real training effect. Select a heavy kettlebell, keep your technique smooth and you’ll be able to get the most from this excellent exercise.

Never fear the deadlift, just make sure you get your technique right.

Kettlebell Exercise #5 - Russian Twist

When it comes to abdominal exercise with a kettlebell, many people will automatically head towards a Turkish get up. In all honesty, whilst it’s a great exercise it’s overly complicated for most general fitness populations. The other reason why Russian twists are favourable here is because of the rotation element.

Not many exercises in the gym call for rotation, yet it’s a really important movement pattern. If you can’t/don’t rotate, you’re missing out on one of the most important human movement patterns.

Take a light-medium weight kettlebell and throw some Russian twists into your workout. You’ll be glad you did!

Here are 5 exercises with the kettlebell you can use to level up your training when you don’t have access to much equipment. There are plenty more where this came from, so get your research hat on and take a look through kettlebell exercise channels, or speak to one of there AdMac Fitness personal trainers for more guidance.

If you want help with your health, AdMac Fitness is the place to go!

We help people using tried and tested fitness approaches. Our expert team of personal trainers, based in both Bow and South Woodford can help you get a grip of your health and fitness. With our guidance you can see your health and fitness reach new levels!

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!

Our locations are…

Our locations are…

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

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

Protein - How Much? What kind? When? Your Questions Answered...

Over the last few years protein has become the nutritional obsession.

In the 70’s, 80s and 90s it was fat. For at least the last 10 years though, protein has taken the ‘nutritional obsession’ slot. Where ‘low fat’ products were started to appear on shelves a few years ago, now we see ‘high protein’ products joining them. Protein milk, protein yogurt, protein Weetabix, protein bread - I’ve even seen protein WATER being sold.

So what’s the score when it comes to protein?

In this article we’re going to look in more detail at protein. We’re going to look at what protein is, how much protein we need, what kind of protein is best for us, and when we should be eating out protein in order to get the most from it.

By the end of the article you’ll be all up to speed on the scientific evidence around protein…

What is protein?

Protein is one of the three main ‘macronutrients’. There are three of them - protein, carbohydrates and fat. Protein is the macronutrient responsible for cell repair and regeneration, which is why people who are athletic need more of it. As we train, we break down tissues that are rebuilt bigger and stronger. Protein is vital for this process.

The second role of protein is a back up energy supply. When we start running low on glycogen (the blood sugar your body uses as energy), protein is converted into energy via a process called gluconeogenesis.

There are lots of differences sources of protein, but they generally come from animal products…

• Meat

• Fish

• Eggs

• Butter

• Cheese

Then you have non-animal sources of protein…

• Tofu

• Nuts

• Seeds

• Beans

• Pulses

You can also consume supplemental forms of protein…

• Whey protein

• Casein

• Amino acids

We’ll explore these sources more as we go into the article.

How much protein do we need?

This is a source of never-ending debate in the nutrition and weight loss community. The best answer we have is that it depends on your goals and your training state. In my experience most people tend to under-eat when it comes to protein.

The International Society of Sports Nutrition released a paper in 2017 titled… International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: protein and exercise. In the paper, the ISSN says that…

‘Higher protein intakes (2.3-3.1 g/kg/d) may be needed to maximize the retention of lean body mass in resistance-trained subjects during hypocaloric periods.’

So depending on whether you work in metric or imperial, the guidelines say that you should be eating 1g per pound of bodyweight, or 2.3g per kilo of bodyweight as a minimum. This will help to keep hunger at bay, and preserve muscle mass during times when you’re eating fewer calories.

If you’re trying to lose weight, consider eating up to 1.5g per pound of bodyweight or 3.1g per kilo.

What kind of protein is best?

We all have different responses to foods, and many of us have different dietary preferences. Some of us eat meat, some are vegetarian, some are pescatarian, some of us are vegan.

Despite dietary preferences, we still all have a need to consume adequate protein.

The most ‘complete’ forms of protein come from animal sources. This means they contain a complete amino acid profile, so are used effectively by the body. Amino acids are the ‘building blocks’ of protein. There are 21 amino acids common in all life on the planet, and the human body cannot produce nine of them.

This means we have to ingest them from our diet.

When we consume foods from animal sources, we ingest the amino acids we can’t produce ourselves. If we consume a plant-based diet, we can still consume enough protein but we have to ‘food combine’ - eat certain foods together in order to consume all of the essential amino acids.

As a general rule, animal based protein in more optimal. Meat, fish, eggs, cheese, yogurt etc.

If you are vegan, you can still consume adequate protein from beans, nuts, pulses, tofu and various vegetables. You just might need to supplement with additional amino acid or protein powders.

When should we be eating our protein?

There was a lot of confusion over this topic until a 2014 study called Dietary Protein Distribution Positively Influences 24-h Muscle Protein Synthesis in Healthy Adults by Mamerow et al. 

The study looked at two types of protein intake - one where the protein was spread evenly over several meals throughout the day, and the other where all of the daily protein was consumed in one hit. The researchers found that…

‘The consumption of a moderate amount of protein at each meal stimulated 24-h muscle protein synthesis more effectively than skewing protein intake toward the evening meal.’

So there we have the issue cleared up once and for all - spread your protein throughout the day! It’s better for your muscle building, it saves you having to gorge a load of protein in one go, and it makes digesting the food you eat a lot easier for your body to deal with.

Supplemental protein

There is a huge market out there for supplemental protein. The most popular being whey protein, which is a by-product of the dairy industry. It’s incredibly bioavailable, meaning it is absorbed really well by the body. It’s also cheap to produce (relatively speaking) and is convenient to take for the user.

Casein is a milk protein and is generally absorbed over a longer period by the body. For this reason it’s a popular protein to have before bed, allowing muscle protein synthesis to carry on as normal overnight. This might be overkill (protein synthesis still occurs overnight if you consume enough in the day anyway), but it’s an extra insurance for optimising muscle building.

Amino acids are a good way for people who follow a plant-based diet to ensure they’re getting all of the protein they need. They’re also a great way for people who are dairy intolerant to supplement their protein. Most other protein powders contain dairy products.

Finally, there are vegan protein products that usually take their protein from pea sources. They’re generally accepted as a good alternative for plant-based people.

Protein - the final thoughts

There’s a reason that protein is the subject of so much research and attention at the moment - it’s because it performs an absolutely vital role in the body. In order to function optimally, we need to ensure our targets are hit. Aim for 1-1.5g per pound of bodyweight.

Whilst it’s optimal to get your protein from animal sources, it’s not vital, so explore the protein sources that suit your dietary needs best. Just do what you need to do in order to hit that target!

If you want help with your health, AdMac Fitness is the place to go!

We help people using tried and tested fitness approaches. Our expert team of personal trainers, based in both Bow and South Woodford can help you get a grip of your health and fitness. With our guidance you can see your health and fitness reach new levels!

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!

Our locations are…

Our locations are…

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

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

7 Push Up Variations to Level Up Your Workout

Push ups are an exercise that a lot pf people overlook, because they consider them too easy, too boring or not very effective. Anyone who thinks this probably isn’t aware of the different ways to increase the difficulty and intensity of them.

Give some of these push up variations a try and I can assure you that you’ll look at push ups in a whole new light. Unless you’re incredibly strong and fit, I’d bet a significant amount that you’ll be seriously humbled by some of these push up variations. They’re designed to give your chest, shoulders. core and triceps a different challenge completely.

Programme them as you would any other push up, just be prepared to be capable of a lot fewer reps than you’d manage in normal push ups. If you struggle for form, contact a personal trainer for help!

7 Push Up Variations to Level Up Your Workout…

All of these will need equipment of some form, so watch the video and check whether or not you’ve got the right kit. Also, make sure you’re warmed up properly before attempting these push ups…

Push ups on handles

This is the quickest and easiest way to increase the effectiveness of the push up. The handles increase the range of movement for the torso. It means the chest, shoulders and triceps maintain a longer time under tension, which translates directly into greater muscle growth and strength.

You can adjust the difficulty of these exercises by increasing or decreasing the size of the handles you use. A larger raise, the harder you can make the exercise potentially.

Chaos push ups

These are a type of push up that not many people have heard of, but they can be crazy tough when used at the right time. Instead of a flat surface, you perform push ups on a thick resistance band stretched between two points. The chaos push ups are so-called because the band isn’t stable, meaning the movement pattern is chaotic!

The chaos push ups are excellent for shoulder and core work, as well as chest and tricep work. Give them a go!

Weighted push ups

This is the most obvious way to make push ups more difficult… get a weight on your back and get pushing! Obviously only do this when you can hit at least 15 good quality push ups without stopping. You can increase the difficulty by adding more weight to your push ups.

Weight can be applied by vest or plate. Whatever you do though, make sure the weight you add is stable. You can’t concentrate on your form if you’re wobbling all over the place trying to balance a weight on your back!

Atomic Push Ups

The atomic push up is one of the signature exercises from the TRX training system. It’s a fantastic exercise and a way to build a genuine challenge for the core into the movement. By adjusting the position of hands, feet and depth of the TRX, you can make the exercise tougher.

Just make sure you’ve securely anchored the TRX, because you don’t want to crash into the floor mid-rep!

Slam Ball Push Ups

The slam ball push up is a variation on the tricep push up, where your hands are close together. The hand position forces the triceps to do more of the work, meaning it takes some of the pressure off the chest and shoulders. The fact you’re doing these on a slam ball adds to the instability, making it tougher.

You can add a ball slam or burpee into this if you want to make it even more challenging. Just remember it’ll fatigue you even quicker if you do.

Ring Push Ups

What happens when you take a standard bodyweight exercise and combine it with the rings? You make it much less stable, more unpredictable, more challenging and generally tougher and more effective. These reasons are why I consider ring push ups a huge upgrade on the standard version. The core, chest and shoulder engagement is significantly increased compared to the standard method.

Personal trainer tip - set the rings close to the floor (6 inches off), because if you set them too high you lose a lot of the benefit of the exercise.

Push Up to Row

This exercise is like the renegade row, but with an added element of difficulty. It takes the push and the row, then combines it. This means you’re getting the benefits of the deficit push up, with the core engagement of single limb balance. It’s a fantastic exercise for the core, chest, shoulders and triceps.

Keep the dumbbells to a medium weight, rather than too heavy. If you go too heavy, you’ll ruin your balance and the form will go with it.

Push Up Variations to Level Up Your Workout

If you use these push up variations, you’ll soon realise that the disrespect you’ve shown them over the years is completely unjustified, and that all it takes is a little creativity to take exercises to a new level.

Push ups aren’t just a chest exercise. They use your core, your shoulders, your triceps and activate a lot of the important stabilising muscles in the upper body. The allow your shoulder blades to move naturally, and this has a beneficial impact on shoulder health and movement.

In many ways, the push up is a better exercise than the bench press. It’s certainly safer and more functional, so it’s worth bearing in mind as an alternative if all you do for your chest is bench press.

Give these a go and see how you get on. My guess is you’ll be VERY surprised and impressed at the difficulty of these push up variations.

If you want help with your health, AdMac Fitness is the place to go!

We help people using tried and tested fitness approaches. Our expert team of personal trainers, based in both Bow and South Woodford can help you get a grip of your health and fitness. With our guidance you can see your health and fitness reach new levels!

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!

Our locations are…

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

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

Personal Training in South Woodford - An AdMac Fitness Update

In the summer of 2022, personal training in South Woodford was changed forever. Having established ourselves as the premier option for personal training in East London, the AdMac Fitness brand expanded into a new site, with a new concept.

That new concept was the epitome of private, 1 to 1 personal training.

AdMac Fitness South Woodford opened with a view to providing personal training clients with the ultimate personalised training space. The studio is a single-person training space, allowing the client to exercise free from all distractions, free from interruption and in a place where they’re able to personalise the space.

When you attend our South Woodford personal training studio, you are free to focus entirely on your own workout. To help create the mood you want, you have complete control over the music. You can speak freely, you don’t have to wait for equipment, you can engage fully with your personal trainer and you can give your workout your complete, undivided attention.

For those people who dread the thought of other people watching them exercise, worry not - in our South Woodford personal training studio, you’re in complete privacy. You don’t share the space with anyone, other than your AdMac Fitness personal trainer.

At AdMac Fitness we’re in the business of helping our clients achieve the best results possible, which is why we wanted our South Woodford personal training studio to be different from our original site in Bow.

We wanted to be able to offer personal training clients the option to try something different. A place where they could workout in their own curated space, without anyone else around. Whilst lots of people prefer having others nearby, for some clients that’s not the case, so we wanted to cater for those people.

Our South Woodford personal training studio has been a big success.

Since our launch in 2022, we have helped scores of people achieve increase improvements in their health and fitness from the South Woodford site. We constantly hear from clients that they love the fact that they can train in a dedicated room, away from their phones, other people and all forms of distraction. It means that they can think of nothing but their training.

We know that what we focus on, we improve. That stands for training too, which is why this private studio helps us to take our personal training clients fitness to new levels.

Perhaps you could be the next success story from our South Woodford personal training studio?

If you’re in South Woodford and want help with your health and fitness, AdMac Fitness is the place to go!

We help people using tried and tested fitness approaches. Our expert team of personal trainers can help you get a grip of your health and fitness. With our guidance you can see your health and fitness reach new levels!

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!

Our locations are…

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

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

What are the Different Types of Cardio?

When they hear the term ‘cardio’, many people think about running, swimming cycling etc, usually at a constant pace for an extended period of time.

That’s certainly one type of cardio training, but the reality is the word ‘cardio’ is an umbrella term for any exercise that elevates the heart rate for an extended period of time. There are a wide range of types of cardio, so the point of this article is to explain them.

By the end of the post you’ll know all about the different types of cardio, what they’re good for and how to use them!

Low Intensity Steady State Cardio (LISS)

A favourite of the bodybuilders and those going through active recovery, low intensity steady state cardio is a way to burn a surprisingly high number of calories whilst not taxing the body much.

Whilst LISS cardio won’t get you especially fit, it will help you to lose weight, recover from a tough session and keep you active whilst not demanding much from your body. The injury risk is almost non-existent and the intensity is so low, you can carry it on for as long as you like.

What LISS is good for…

• Active recovery

• Additional calorie burn without stressing the muscles too much

Some of the best ways to do LISS…

• Walking

• Easy cycling

• Gentle swimming

Steady State Cardio

This is the type of cardio most of us picture when we think of a cardio workout. It’s usually an activity such as running, swimming, cycling, rowing etc. It’ll be performed at a medium intensity for an extended period of time - usually anywhere from 20 minutes to several hours, depending on the type of exercise you choose.

The key difference between this and the LISS is simply the intensity. This one is designed to increase stamina, burn more calories and serve as legit exercise, rather than just ‘activity’.

What steady state cardio is good for…

• Building stamina

• Burning calories

• Improving athleticism

Some of the best ways to do steady state cardio…

• Cycling

• Swimming

• Running

• Rowing

Interval Training

Interval training mixes periods of harder and easier efforts. It’s not to be confused with HIIT, which we’ll discuss in a moment. Interval training can take a number of different forms, ranging from ‘Fartlek’ (literally translating as ‘speed play’), which is a completely randomised approach, mixing different intervals of different lengths, speeds and durations, to a more rigid approach.

Interval training is a way of making cardio more interesting and varied. It helps people develop a more sports-specific athleticism too.

What interval training is good for…

• Building stamina

• Burning calories/weight loss

• Improving athleticism

• Making cardio more interesting

Some of the best ways to do interval training…

• Cycling

• Swimming

• Running

• Rowing

• Ski erg

• Air bike

• Hill sprints

• Track sprints

High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)

There’s a better-than-not chance that you’ve heard of HIIT, because for the last 10 years or so it has boomed in popularity. With good reason too - it’s proven as effective, it can be varied, it’s versatile in how you can target different energy systems, and it can be done anywhere.

There are two key differences between HIIT and general interval training…

1. The intensity. HIIT needs to be done at a very high intensity (beyond what you’d do with other forms of interval training).

2. The method. HIIT can be done with weight training or traditional cardio approaches. The important thing is that you work at a high effort level throughout.

HIIT is popular amongst people who don’t like traditional cardio, because it allows them to weight train as well. This helps to both build and preserve muscle, which has athletic and metabolic benefits.

What HIIT is good for…

• Building stamina

• Burning calories/weight loss

• Improving athleticism

• Making cardio more interesting

• Building/preserving muscle

• Adding training variety

Some of the best ways to do HIIT…

• Cycling

• Swimming

• Running

• Rowing

• Ski erg

• Air bike

• Hill sprints

• Track sprints

• Boxing

• Kettlebells

• Resistance training

• Bodyweight training

Different types of cardio - do they all have a place?

Absolutely they do. There are all kinds of different approaches to cardio, because there are all kinds of different fitness goals. You can’t assume that one type of cardio training will suit all requirements. If you want to build excellent stamina for running a marathon, HIIT or walking just isn’t going to be appropriate. Likewise, you’re not going to improve your football much by spending all of your training time running 5k.

In order to get the most from your cardio, work with a personal trainer who can advise you the best way to approach your training.

The AdMac Fitness team are experts in fitness programming, helping you to achieve your goals. Whether you want to lose weight, run a 10km race or just use cardio to improve your general health and wellbeing, the AdMac Fitness personal trainers can help.

If you want help with your health, AdMac Fitness is the place to go!

We help people using tried and tested fitness approaches. Our expert team of personal trainers, based in both Bow and South Woodford can help you get a grip of your health and fitness. With our guidance you can see your health and fitness reach new levels!

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!

Our locations are…

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

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

Discipline - Getting Back on the Wagon When you Fall Off

Weight loss isn’t always a straight line journey. In fact, it very rarely is. When you’re undergoing a radical lifestyle transformation, there’s going to be times when you face a really difficult challenge. That challenge might see you fall off the wagon, so to speak.

Falling off the wagon can take a number of different forms. Sometimes it’ll be a case of you drinking too much one night. Other times it’ll be a weekend binge. Sometimes it might be more, such as an indulgent holiday!

The point is that falling off the wagon doesn’t look the same each time.

The good news is that falling off the wagon needn’t kill your weight loss efforts. Sure, it’s a bit of a blow, but if you take steps to arrest the impact of falling off the wagon quickly, you can negate the effects in a short period of time.

Here’s 5 steps to help you get back on the wagon…

Step 1 - acknowledge it and own it!

You’re human. You’ll make mistakes. Depending on your motivation, your goals and your lifestyle history, this was likely to happen.

If you’ve spent a lot of your life indulging yourself and enjoying high calorie foods, switching your diet dramatically is going to have consequences. One of those might be an overwhelming temptation to indulge after a few weeks of restricting yourself.

What’s important is that you acknowledge what happened. Take ownership of it. Understand what, why and how it happened, then course-correct.

Is your diet too restrictive? Did you simply not exercise enough discipline? What kind of food/drink/situation was it that tempted you? Once you know these, you can make amends for them in future. You can learn to change your behaviours in future to make sure that you can allow for indulgences without it becoming too big of an issue.

Once you’ve owned the situation, it’s time to move on. You can’t dwell on it forever.

Step 2 - take action!

This is where the recovery process starts. Once you’ve identified the cause, you can stop it from happening again. If you were tempted by an unhealthy food or drink, make it more difficult to access! Take your booze to a friend’s house and ask them to keep it locked away safe! Throw your junk food out! If it was a social occasion, make plans to drive, or make it part of your calorie allowance.

The point of dieting and lifestyle change isn’t to stop having a fun time with food and drink - it’s to make sure that when you do have a treat, it’s just that - a treat.

When your treats become a daily/weekly thing, that’s when your progress begins to slide. At this point, we have to rely on our old friend ‘discipline’. That’s the reality of weight loss - it requires a degree of mental strength and an ability to say ‘no’ to the majority of the temptations you’ll come across.

We’d all love to eat chocolate and lose weight. It’s just not that likely though.

Step 3 - take quick action

The best way to get yourself back on track with your goals is to take some quick and rather large actions. This will help you both physically (helps to get your body back into movement) and mentally (you’ll feel as though you’re beginning to undo the damage your binge has done!)

The kind of change you can make depends on what you’ve done in the meantime. If I’ve had a large food binge, I like to do a training session, eat some protein and then fast for 24-36 hours. Not only does this reduce my calorie intake, it also gives my body a break from food for a while.

You’ll lose a lot of water weight that way as well. This can be a great motivator as you see and feel the changes.

If I’ve had a lot of alcohol, I’ll go on a long walk in the fresh air and drink a lot of water - I always find that helps. Alcohol is a diuretic, so it has a dehydrating effect on your body. You need to replace this water. It also impacts your sleep, so a long walk in the fresh air followed by an early night works. Low intensity exercise outside seems to help you sleep well!

This immediate action always helps you to feel better quickly.

Step 4 - get back on plan

Once you’ve taken some quick action, it’s time to get yourself back onto a sustainable plan. That might be a calorie-counting approach, a fasting approach, a high exercise approach. It doesn’t matter what you’re following, it just has to be stuck to.

If you are following a plan, it should allow room for an occasional indulgence. Real life happens - birthdays, parties, social events and so on all have to be factored in. That might mean you ‘save’ calories in the week for a big weekend, or you train extra hard in the build up to your event. As long as you’ve made a plan for the indulgence, you’re good to go.

You just have to remember that weight loss requires a level of denial of indulgence. It’s as simple as that. If you want to lose weight, improve your health etc, you’re going to have to say no occasionally. Saying no to booze or high calorie treats might seem like an issue, but it’ll help your weight loss goals in the long term.

Step 5 - get yourself some professional help!

When you’re undergoing a lifestyle transformation, hiring a personal trainer is the best way to do it. Having a professional who has helped lots of other people do this is a health and fitness cheat code.

When you work with an AdMac Fitness personal trainers you’ll be guided through your lifestyle transformation by the best personal trainers in East London. If you have an event coming up, such as a party or a holiday, you can chat with your personal trainer and they’ll give you strategies that mean you can enjoy yourself without impacting your overall goals!

Working with a personal trainer means you’re in good hands the whole way through your lifestyle transformation, making it easier and more successful than if you went alone!

If you want help with your health, AdMac Fitness is the place to go!

We help people using tried and tested fitness approaches. Our expert team of personal trainers, based in both Bow and South Woodford can help you get a grip of your health and fitness. With our guidance you can see your health and fitness reach new levels!

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!

Our locations are…

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

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

How Many Calories Does Walking Burn? Real Life Data!

In this article on the AdMac Fitness blog, we’re going to do something a little bit different. We’re going to show you some REAL LIFE physical data from a fitness tracker app. We’ll show you a comparison data set between a day of ‘normal’ step count, and a higher step count.

The purpose is to show you the difference walking can make to your fat loss goals.

There’s no other variables in the calorie burn you’re going to see here. No additional training, no other activity. Just an uptick in the amount of steps.

We’ll start with a basic premise…

Walking is very good for you. It helps you to burn a lot of calories. It’s a way of moving with a very low ‘cost’ to the body in terms of impact and recovery requirements. It’s easy to do, it’s accessible (you can do it anywhere), it costs nothing, there’s no kit required, no learning required and no need to go to a particular venue to do it.

Taking those things as fact, let’s look in more detail the impact that walking has on activity levels and calorie burn targets…

We’re told to hit a daily target of 10,000 steps per day. There’s reasonable appreciable science behind this, but what does that look like in real life. Here’s an example of when I hit almost 10k steps…

I burned 3,354 calories that day and was ‘active’ (as in going about my usual day, not lying on the sofa, but not training either) for just over 8 hours. I only hit 50% of my daily activity target with those steps.

Now let’s look at what happens when on the following days, I was accumulating more steps. Again, there’s no training to influence this data - this is purely making a conscious effort to walk more, and accumulate more steps…

See the dramatic difference here.

By roughly doubling the amount of walking I did, I burned an average of nearly 700 extra calories per day. I was only ‘active’ for an extra couple of hours. Remember too, there’s no additional training here. I’m just walking more. Rather than driving to the shop, I’m walking. Rather than taking a lift, I’m taking the stairs. I’m not going on a purposeful walk for the sake of it.

I’m also easily hitting my daily activity target here, without heading out for a workout.

What can we conclude here?

We can draw three major conclusions from this data. In case they don’t jump out at you, I’ll help you with them…

#1 - Walking burns a lot of calories

By increasing the amount of steps I was taking in a day, I was burning around 700 calories per day extra. That’s an intense workout, and when you factor in a calorie deficit from a diet as well, you’re looking at serious weight loss potential.

#2 - Walking is repeatable

This data set is from three consecutive days. There’s no need for an extended recovery time with walking, unlike intense running or resistance training where the tissue damage can be greater. It means you can walk even on your rest days from the gym.

#3 - Walking is ‘stealth’ exercise

This activity was during my day to day life. I didn’t have to make time for it, I just had to make a different decision. Walking over driving, stairs over lifts, that kind of thing. It was merely a consequence of my decision making rather than my training intensity.

Whilst walking will NEVER replace weight training in terms of overall health benefits, my point here is to show you how effective walking can be at helping with a fat loss goal. This could be helpful on your rest days, on days where you might not have time to hit the gym, or times when you’re injured and lifting isn’t possible, but walking is.

Try to hit 15k+ steps per day for the best results.

If you want help with your health, AdMac Fitness is the place to go!

We help people using tried and tested fitness approaches. Our expert team of personal trainers, based in both Bow and South Woodford can help you get a grip of your health and fitness. With our guidance you can see your health and fitness reach new levels!

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!

Our locations are…

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

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

20 Minute Rower HIIT Workout - Cardio When You're Short on Time

In all the articles we’ve written on the AdMac Fitness blog, I don’t think we’ve given much attention to the humble rower. There’s no reason why - it just hasn’t featured much, that's all.

Today, that changes.

The rower is a fantastic piece of cardio kit. It’s a full-body cardio workout, it’s versatile, there are plenty of different workout styles that it can accommodate, and it suits a wide variety of people. The lack of impact is great for many people who can’t run, or for those who suffer if they put too much impact through their joints.

In this article I’m going to share a 20 minute rowing workout that will raise your heart rate through the roof, burn a lot of calories and transform your cardio fitness. It’s designed to be an all-out effort in a condensed time window. If you do it properly, it’ll be one of the toughest 20 minute workouts you’ll ever do!

A lot of people are put off by the rower because they just don’t ‘get it’. They go all-out in the first couple of minutes, then they’re exhausted and have to cut their workout short.

That’s like starting your run by sprinting flat out to the end of the road and then having to walk the rest of the way!

The prevent that from happening again, take a look at this technique video from Concept2…

A 20 Minute HIIT Rower Workout

Now you know the correct technique, it’s time to get set up. The workout is an easy pattern…

Gentle warm up for 1 minute.

After you’ve warmed up, set your rowing machine computer for 100m intervals with 20 seconds rest.

• Row FULL SPEED for 100m

• Rest for 20 seconds

• Repeat for 20 rounds

This workout looks simple on paper, but if you do it properly it’s absolutely brutal. Seriously, it’s one of the toughest workouts you can do in 20 minutes. It’s super efficient, because it’s training your upper and lower body in one go.

There’s also no risk of injury here either, because you’re not enduring any impact at all. It’s a way to max out your effort, without causing yourself any damage.

Each 100m interval will take between 18 and 30 seconds depending on your fitness level. Expect them to take longer as you progress though the workout, thanks to fatigue. You should try to make each one as fast as possible, because the whole point is to gain the maximum fitness benefit you can in the short workout period.

If you want help with your health, AdMac Fitness is the place to go!

We help people using tried and tested fitness approaches. Our expert team of personal trainers, based in both Bow and South Woodford can help you get a grip of your health and fitness. With our guidance you can see your health and fitness reach new levels!

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!

Our locations are…

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

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

20 Minute Battle Rope Workout - Your Quick HIIT Blast!

One of the most frequently used excuses for missing workouts is “I don’t have the time”. At AdMac Fitness, we understand that. Lives are busier and we aren’t all blessed with 25 spare hours per week to exercise in.

But here’s the thing… Some exercise is better than no exercise.

So with that in mind, here’s the first part of an unofficial series on fast workouts. The kind of thing you can do if you only have a spare 20 minutes or so. They’ll generally focus around a single item of equipment, supplemented with exercises that will help pad out a whole workout.

The idea is that they will help you to stay active in some form, or at least get some benefit from exercise when you otherwise would have made the excuse not to.

This article is going to focus on Battle Ropes - a simple item of equipment that is often overlooked. However, when used properly, Battle ropes are awesome. A Battle rope is a superb workout tool that lends itself well to a HIIT blast.

The 20 Minute Battle Rope Workout

This workout is designed to be fast and intense. The kind of thing you can do without an excuse, because the whole thing can be finished within 20 minutes. It’s a full-body workout and you’re expected to be working almost non-stop throughout it.

Repeat each exercise in a 15 seconds on, 15 seconds off pattern for three minutes.

At the end of the two minutes on an exercise, give yourself 30 seconds to recover/set up the next exercise, then away you go.

Exercise #1 - Battle Rope Slams

This is a classic battle rope exercise. It’s designed to be upper-body specific, and it engages the arms and torso. The core is heavily engaged too. Go hard for 15 seconds, rest for 15 seconds and repeat the pattern for three minutes.

Exercise #2 - Battle Rope Burpees

A classic conditioning exercise, burpees work the entire body in a single movement. They don’t always get a lot of love, but they’re appropriate here. Again, go hard for 15 seconds, rest for 15 seconds and repeat the pattern for three minutes.

Exercise #3 - Alternating Reverse Lunge with Waves

This is a good way to get a single leg element into the workout as well. You have to keep yourself coordinated, but it’s an approach that works as long as you can keep your lunges in time! Go hard for 15 seconds, rest for 15 seconds and repeat the pattern for three minutes.

Exercise #4 - Squat Jump with Double Slam

If the lunges are a way to get the legs warm, this is an exercise that will push them hard! I’ll be honest - it takes no prisoners! The whole body is pushed hard here. Go hard for 15 seconds, rest for 15 seconds and repeat the pattern for three minutes.

Exercise #5 - Battle Ropes Russian Twists

We needed to add an abdominal exercise in, and this is one that fits the bill. It combines ab training with rotational movement, so is a double winner here. Go hard for 15 seconds, rest for 15 seconds and repeat the pattern for three minutes.

What to expect from a 20 minute battle rope workout

If you follow this workout to the letter, with the intense 15 seconds on, 15 seconds off for 3 minutes pattern, you’ll be surprised at how tough it is. The thing is, it needs to be tough, because it’s only short.

That’s the trade off.

What we want you to understand though is that you can still have a great workout in a short period of time. It might not be optimal but it’s definitely worth it! You can get rid of the ‘I haven’t got time’ excuse if you follow this kind of training. It’s a way to get a workout in even when you thought you couldn’t.

If you want help with your health, AdMac Fitness is the place to go!

We help people using tried and tested fitness approaches. Our expert team of personal trainers, based in both Bow and South Woodford can help you get a grip of your health and fitness. With our guidance you can see your health and fitness reach new levels!

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!

Our locations are…

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

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

Muscle Building - Helping You Age Better and Healthie

There are a lot of aspects of health and fitness that are important, but the single most important thing you can do for your health is build muscle.

There has been a lot of debate over the years about how to improve quality of life, longevity, disease resistance, insulin sensitivity and the like. The evidence repeatedly points to the same thing. The most important aspect of your health and wellbeing is building and maintaining a healthy amount of muscle mass.

At this point it’s important to say that I’m talking strictly from a general health point of view, and not a pure sporting one. If you want to run marathons, there’s little need for a lot of muscle!

The need to build and maintain muscle mass increases as we age. The research shows that there’s an alarming rate of muscle mass loss past thirty years of age…

‘Muscle mass decreases approximately 3–8% per decade after the age of 30 and this rate of decline is even higher after the age of 60’.

Thankfully, this can be arrested and even reversed when you apply strength training principles and adequate protein into your diet. Research into the benefits of strength training in older adults by Churchward-Venne in 2015 provided an interesting conclusion…

‘We conclude that there are no nonresponders to the benefits of resistance-type exercise training on lean body mass, fiber size, strength, or function in the older population. Consequently, resistance-type exercise should be promoted without restriction to support healthy aging in the older population.’

The research showed that the longer the strength training went on, the greater the impact on the muscle mass and health of the participant. We can reliably say then that long term strength training is a worthwhile endeavour regardless of the age of the participant.

Importantly, the need to build and maintain muscle mass isn’t just an opinion either. It’s heavily-supported in the research. We know that research from 2009 focussing on muscle mass in care home residents concluded that…

‘The present study suggests that among community-dwelling old–old subjects muscle mass may be positively related to functional performance and survival.’

The evidence that muscle mass is important for longevity is huge. We don’t just want a long life span, we want a long health span. Your ability to enjoy old age is largely determined by your health and fitness level. Maintaining muscle mass is key to this process.

Building and Maintaining Muscle Mass in Older Age

In this section we’re going to outline the broad principles of building and maintaining muscle mass in older age. We’re going to look at the exercises you should be doing, the frequency and the repetitions. This is a very basic programme, but one that will serve you well.

It’s 5 exercises long and will take less than 40 minutes. Repeat it 3-4 times per week. Supplement this daily walking or gentle cycling and you’ll great!

Make sure your diet contains 3-4 good sources of protein per day, such as lean meat, fish, eggs, dairy, nuts, pulses or a protein shake.

Perform 4 sets of 10 on each exercise.

Exercise 1: Squats

Exercise 2: Dumbbell Shoulder Press

Exercise 3: Trap Bar Deadlifts

Exercise 4: Dumbbell Bench Press

Exercise 5: Chest Supported Row

This is a very basic programme - you can add more to it as you see fit. It’s also important to make sure that you perform these exercises safely and effectively, which is where a personal trainer is so valuable.

At AdMac Fitness we have a personal training studio in Bow, and a personal training studio in South Woodford. We have a range of personal trainers with different specialities and approaches, so we can ensure we match you with the perfect personal trainer for you.

We don’t try to baffle you with useless information. Our approach is clear and simple, built over years of successful fitness instruction. We’ve worked with a huge range of personal training clients, so we can help you too!

If you want help with your health, AdMac Fitness is the place to go!

We help people using tried and tested fitness approaches. Our expert team of personal trainers, based in both Bow and South Woodford can help you get a grip of your health and fitness. With our guidance you can see your health and fitness reach new levels!

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!

Our locations are…

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

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

Autophagy - Your Secret Health Weapon

What is autophagy?

As the power of fasting is becoming better known, the additional benefits of the approach are coming to the fore. Arguably the most powerful one is autophagy - your body’s natural repair system that goes into overdrive during a fast.

The research around autophagy is powerful, leading many people to believe it might be one of the most important health behaviours we have.

Autophagy is a process by which cells recycle their own internal components, such as proteins and organelles, to maintain normal cellular function and survival during times of stress or nutrient deprivation. It is a stress response, but what that enhances our physical condition.

During autophagy, the cell forms a double membrane structure called an autophagosome, which engulfs the targeted materials and fuses with lysosomes for degradation and recycling. Autophagy is key for cellular homeostasis and has been linked to various health benefits, such as increasing lifespan and reducing the risk for diseases like cancer, neurodegeneration, and aging-related disorders.

How do I create autophagy?

Autophagy is a natural cellular process that occurs in the body and can be induced through fasting or exercise.

The preferred approach is through short-mid length fasts. Logically this approach stimulates autophagy and doesn’t create waste products and tissue damage that the body has to repair first. It also removes and possibility of reactions to food.

You can also stimulate the process with some very gentle exercise. Something like walking is ideal - it doesn't change you hormonally and is easy to recover from. It stimulates physical changes in the body and burns calories without demanding much of you.

Finally, it’s a very simple and binary approach. You don’t have to make any decisions about what you should eat to stimulate autophagy… you just don’t eat anything at all!

How long into a fast does autophagy start?

Autophagy typically begins after 12-16 hours of fasting, depending on factors such as age, sex, and overall health. It can increase significantly after 24-48 hours of fasting, and may continue for several days or even weeks depending on the duration of the fast.

Anecdotally, the best feelings from autophagy kick in beyond the 48 hour marks. At this point body tends to have cleared many inflammatory markers and the tissue renewal is working well.

What evidence is there in support of autophagy?

There is a growing body of scientific evidence that supports the importance of autophagy in maintaining cellular homeostasis and preventing various diseases, including cancer, neurodegenerative disorders, and age-related conditions.

Here’s some of the main benefits of autophagy…

1. Cellular stress response: Autophagy is activated in response to various forms of stress, such as nutrient deprivation, DNA damage, oxidative stress, and infection. Autophagy helps to remove damaged proteins and organelles, prevent cell death, and maintain cellular function.

   It’s effectively your body spring-cleaning itself. Breaking cells apart, re-using the useful bits and clearing out the junk!

2. Regulation of metabolism: Autophagy plays a crucial role in regulating cellular metabolism by recycling damaged mitochondria and other organelles to produce energy and nutrients. Dysregulation of autophagy has been linked to metabolic disorders such as obesity and type 2 diabetes.

   This is your body’s way of recycling itself and making the most of the good bits, essentially!

3. Aging: Autophagy has been implicated in the aging process, as levels of autophagy decline with age. Some studies have suggested that boosting autophagy may help to prolong lifespan and prevent age-related diseases.

   This is particularly powerful and is repeated across the research base. It’s more than likely a by product of the first two benefits…

4. Cancer: Autophagy can have both pro- and anti-tumor effects, depending on the context. In some cases, autophagy can promote cancer cell survival by providing nutrients and preventing cell death. In other cases, autophagy may act as a tumor suppressor by removing damaged proteins and organelles, and promoting cell death.

   There’s a strong suggestion in the research that autophagy can both help to prevent cancer, and be a big ally in cancer treatment. This could be huge, given cancer rates.

5. Neurodegeneration: Dysregulation of autophagy has been implicated in the development of various neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and Huntington's disease. Autophagy dysfunction may contribute to the accumulation of toxic protein aggregates and neuronal cell death.

   What the research shows us is when autophagy is disrupted, it can speed the onset of neurodegeneration. By stimulating it properly, we can help to maintain brain health.

Overall, the evidence suggests that autophagy plays a critical role in a wide range of cellular processes. It’s a physiological process, but one that most people will never be aware of because it requires a fast in order to get the most out of.

If you’re in good health, and you’re looking for a little extra boost then why not give a 48-72 hour fast a try? It’ll really help your body, and the evidence base in support of the approach is rock solid. You can’t medicate your way to many of these benefits. The power of autophagy is accessible to anyone if they simply fast.

A water fast is the best way to go. That way your body isn’t dealing with coffee etc. It can just get to work quickly on its spring clean!

If you want help with your health, AdMac Fitness is the place to go!

We help people using tried and tested fitness approaches. Our expert team of personal trainers, based in both Bow and South Woodford can help you get a grip of your health and fitness. With our guidance you can see your health and fitness reach new levels!

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!

Our locations are…

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

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

Fitness for Running... Preventing Running Injuries With Effective Strength Training

Now the weather is improving, the days are getting longer and the temptation to get outside is increasing, you might be tempted to get outside and start running again. As personal trainers, we’re all for this - the cardio you do outside leaves more time for us to focus on technical work in the gym!

But… We have to give you some advice, because if you don’t approach it correctly, running can be a one-way ticket to injury. There’s a bit of a saying in fitness…

‘You should get fit to run, not run to get fit’

That’s not to say running is bad - far from it. Just running if you’re not physically prepared for it can be a big problem for people. In this blog post, we’re going to give you advice on how to prevent running injuries with an effective strength training approach.

It’ll prepare your body for running, and will help you stay injury free as you get outside and rack up the miles!

Frequency of running injuries

When studied, researchers found 20.1% of recreational runners will suffer a running related injury. Further research suggests around 7.7 injuries per 1000 hours spent running.

These injuries were generally found in the connective tissues of the ankles and knees, so we have to look at protective measures for these areas. It means we have to focus on exercises that build stability and offer a level of protection under fatigue.

We know that strength training can be very helpful when it comes to mitigating the landing forces in the knees. This increased stability through training has an impact through the rest of the body as well, because limbs work in chains, with the joints forming those links. If you prevent impact in one of them, you help them all.

Reducing running injury through core strength

The core is integral when it comes to strength, health and fitness. Almost all exercises, movements and performances have a heavy core involvement, so we need to make sure it’s strong in several planes and directions.

The problem is core training is often done really poorly, with no real thought or process behind it. Here’s what Bliven and Anderson, the authors behind this piece on core stability training had to say about making core training effective…

‘A multifaceted approach is recommended utilizing tests for muscle recruitment, endurance, neuromuscular control, and fundamental functional movement patterns. Core stability should be trained in a progressive fashion, beginning with local muscle recruitment, moving to core stabilization in a variety of postures, and then transitioning into total body dynamic movements.’

You could summarise this by saying keep your movements progressive and varied. Crunches alone just won’t cut it!

Strength training exercises to prevent running injuries…

These are exercises that will help you to prepare your body for running. You’re not looking to build outright strength and size here, so focus on hitting good form and reps for time. I’d suggest 30-60 second long sets of each…

Dumbbell Step Ups (30 seconds per leg)

Side plank clamshell (30 seconds per side)

Calf raises (30 seconds)

Kettlebell swings (30 seconds)

Front squats (45 seconds)

Swiss ball roll outs (30 seconds)

Perform these exercises in a circuit 2-3 times per week, and build up your running mileage gradually, adding around 1/4 of a mile per week in your running distance length. Start with an amount you can comfortably do, then build up. This slow approach might make you think it’s taking too long, but you’d rather that than get injured!

If you want help with your health, AdMac Fitness is the place to go!

We help people using tried and tested fitness approaches. Our expert team of personal trainers, based in both Bow and South Woodford can help you get a grip of your health and fitness. With our guidance you can see your health and fitness reach new levels!

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!

Our locations are…

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

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

Improving your Squats - Helping You to Maximise Range of Movement on Leg Day!

For the most part, time under tension isn’t a problem with a lot of exercises. There’s one exercise and body part where it really does become an issue though… SQUATS!

The amount of people who seem to struggle with hitting great squat depth is huge. As personal trainers, we see it all the time. Sometimes it’s an inability to achieve proper squat depth because of poor flexibility. Other times it’s a lack of confidence that you’ll be able to get back up. In a few isolated cases, it’s just because people aren’t aware of how deep you should be going on a proper squat.

With that in mind, we’re going to run through a few ways you can improve your squats. In a couple of cases, we’ll add in exercises that you wouldn’t always consider. There’ll also be some advice on improving your range of movement without making drastic, complex changes.

These suggestions are all tried and tested ways to increase range of movement on leg day…

Step ups

The first tip is to switch out the exercise for a different one! I know that sounds completely counter-intuitive, but go with me here.

A change is as good as a rest. When it comes to squats, sometimes a pattern interrupt is the best thing you can do. By changing the movement for a similar one, sometimes you can improve the original. Step ups are a perfect example of this.

If you’re struggling to hit parallel with your squats, setting up a step where the height of the step forces you to drive through a full range of movement is a superb alternative. It’s also a great way to isolate both legs, preventing over-use or domination of one leg over the other.

If you look at the image below, see how the thigh is parallel to the floor at the start of the movement. This forces a long range of motion and increases the time under tension for the leg muscles…

Use Heel Wedges

If you don’t want to invest in weightlifting shoes, you can always gain some of the benefits of them by using a heel wedge.

By elevating your heels when you squat, you do a few things that help squat depth…

• Prevent tight calf muscles from limiting your range of movement

• Allows you to maintain an upright torso throughout the squat

• Open up the hips, helping to lower squat depth

A heel wedge is a simple intervention - you place it under your heels when performing squats. As opposed to weightlifting shoes (which are still excellent, by the way), they are temporary so you use them whilst you’re squatting, then can put them away again and carry on with your workout.

The practical difference between a heel wedge and a weightlifting shoe is that the weightlifting shoe isn’t designed for anything other than squats, clean and jerks and snatches, so they’re awful for anything involving running, jumping etc. If your workout contained any of these movements, you’d have to change your shoes if you wanted to do them effectively.

Perform Split Squats

A split squat is a great way to isolate a single leg. Not only that, the elevated rear leg helps you to get a full range of movement with the squat too.

I particularly like the elevated rear leg for people who have tight hip flexors, because it really helps you to stretch them as you lift. If you take a look at the video below, you’ll see how deep the front leg should be squatting. It’s easier to break parallel with this exercise, because you’ll be lifting lighter weights and you have the support of your back leg.

The spilt squat is one of the best leg exercises around, and some high profile coaches even look to use these instead of traditional barbell back squats, for all of the reasons mentioned in this section. If you don’t use them, give them a try and see how you get on…

Spanish Squats

Most often used as a rehab exercise, Spanish squats are an excellent way to fully engage the quad muscles as you work through a squat pattern.

If you aren’t familiar with Spanish squats, here’s what they look like…

The band behind the knee offers structural support as you squat. This allows you to get to a greater depth, because you have something to support your legs. More importantly, it offers this support without making the exercise ‘easier’ - it’s still a seriously tough exercise to complete.

The benefits of the Spanish squat aren’t just potential squat depth, they also help knee health, range of movement quality and squat technique.

You can make the Spanish squat harder by using a kettlebell or dumbbells to add weight to them.

Improve Your Flexibility

The final and arguably one of the most effective ways to improve your squat (and therefore range of movement) is by improving your flexibility.

A lot of the limitations in technique (across many exercises by the way, not just squats) is through a lack of flexibility and mobility in their muscles and joints. This is addressed by working the muscles through a full range of movement during exercises, but also engaging in a thorough stretching and mobility approach.

One of the more effective ways to engage in a mobility practice is through yoga.

The reality is most people won’t spend an hour or so per week on their flexibility, so if they attend a class where the focus is on flexibility and mobility, they’re more likely to engage. This in turn will provide the benefits you’re looking for. This won’t be a quick fix, so it’ll involve at least one class per week for 2-3 months in order to see any benefit.

If you are particularly stiff, a hot yoga practice can be helpful, because the additional blood flow will help to increase elasticity of the tissues. If you don’t fancy getting sweaty, a Yin Yoga practice will be helpful - it’s a much slower type of yoga, with classes lasting upwards of 90 minutes. In Yin Yoga you stay in poses for several minutes at a time, really stretching the muscles out.

You can still get the benefits of stretching by doing a general stretch and foam rolling practice at home (or in the gym), but you’ll have to commit to it.

Something like this done daily will be really helpful…

If you want help with your health, AdMac Fitness is the place to go!

We help people using tried and tested fitness approaches. Our expert team of personal trainers, based in both Bow and South Woodford can help you get a grip of your health and fitness. With our guidance you can see your health and fitness reach new levels!

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!

Our locations are…

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

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

Practical Ways to Increase Your Time Under Tension on Exercises

One of the most important things to consider when resistance training is the time under tension.

The longer your muscles are working against resistance, the more strength and size they’ll develop. It’s something that has been well studied, and is generally accepted in the research. It makes sense as well, logically. The more work your muscles do, the more benefit they’ll gain.

It isn’t just a case of performing more sets and reps of an exercise though, because that’s a limited variable. Where do you draw the line? 10 sets? 20 sets? 50 sets?!

In this article we’re going to look at practical ways to increase your time under tension on exercises.

There are a few ways to increase the time under tension…

• You can slow down the rep speed, so you take much longer to perform a rep. Think 5 seconds to lift a weight, and 5 seconds to lower it. This is SUPER tough! These are sometimes referred to as negative reps, especially when the lowering section is elongated.

• Another one is to perform a paused rep, where you hit a position of high contraction and hold it. This was an approach that gained some traction and popularity in the 80’s, but didn’t last. It’s really boring, that’s why!

• There’s a high rep set, where you perform. lot of reps of an exercise. More reps = more time under tension. The problem with this approach is its slow-twitch training heavy, so won’t build massive strength.

• In my opinion the best one is to increase the range of motion of an exercise, so you are working against resistance for a long period of time. This improves flexibility and mobility as well as pure work time.

When you use one or a combination of these approaches, you can improve your time under tension significantly. This will translate into improved results in the same amount of time, making your workouts more efficient.

Increasing time under tension improves technique

When we train to increase time under tension, we have to really focus on the movements we’re executing. This means that the technique improvement is dramatic - especially with exercises such as curls, push ups, pull ups etc. You are slowing down the movement and working through a full range. That eliminates the chances of cheating through reps.

When you do this, you also reduce the chance of injury. A lot of soft tissue injuries in the gym are a result of poor form and rushed reps. The reality is that although muscle tissue is relatively elastic, connective tissues such as tendons and ligaments are much less so.

Rushed reps can result in the tearing or straining of these connective tissues, because they’re forced to deal with much greater ballistic forces than they’d normally have to. This is especially true if you’re exercising the cold, where tissues are stiffer, less flexible and more liable to damage, so outdoor training such as winter bootcamps should be performed with additional care.

Increasing time under tension can damage egos though!

Before I leave you, I want to issue you with a warning…

When you change the way you train, increasing your time under tension, your ego is going to be destroyed. I mean, properly kicked in the stomach.

You’ll have to reduce the amount of weight you lift by anywhere between 10 and 50% depending on the approach you take! When you slow down your reps, work through a full range of motion, increase the amount of reps you perform or pause your reps, you’ll have to change the weight you lift. It’s simply not possible to do these properly and keep your weights as high as they were.

You’ve been warned!

If you want help with your health, AdMac Fitness is the place to go!

We help people using tried and tested fitness approaches. Our expert team of personal trainers, based in both Bow and South Woodford can help you get a grip of your health and fitness. With our guidance you can see your health and fitness reach new levels!

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!

Our locations are…

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

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

5 Important Exercises Using Resistance Bands

Resistance bands are great. They’re not just useless bits of elastic that you do a few warm up exercises with - they’re a legitimate training tool that can completely change the effectiveness of an exercise. Used properly, a resistance band can provide varying degrees of resistance to a variety of exercise. It can also help improve technique.

Finally, it can be used to gain a therapeutic benefit from an exercise, helping it to cure an injury.

So before you overlook a resistance band as something you get from the physio, or only use in a warm up, take a look at these 3 important exercises using resistance bands. I guarantee you that if you add them into your training, you’ll be fitter, stronger and less prone to injury.

And that’s a promise.

Resistance Band Exercise #1 - Lateral band walks

This is a class ‘oh my god I can’t believe how hard this is’ exercise. It’s a great way to strengthen the glutes, the hips and make the quads engage. When these muscles are strong, you help to eradicate problems such as IT band issues, runners knee and hip problems. You also improve your knee stability for exercises such as squats and lunges.

You can use lateral band walks as a primer before squats, a warm up exercise or even an exercise on their own. I like to use them as all three, depending on the context. Simply use a thicker, stronger resistance band when using it as a ‘proper’ exercise.

Here’s how they’re done…

Resistance Band Exercise #2 - Side plank clamshell

If you want to see your core training taken upon several notches, you need to get some side plank clamshells into your workout. They hit several points… They’re a side plank, so you have a lateral core and oblique engagement. When you add the resistance band, you make it a hip and glute exercise as well. This makes it a really effective prehab/rehab exercise.

The side plank clamshell isn’t just great for core and hip training - it’s also a really effective way of strengthening the lower back. This is helpful when you’re doing deadlifts, kettlebell swings, the olympic lifts or even heavy lifting at work.

Here’s how they’re done…

Resistance Band Exercise #3 - Standing abdominal crunches

As a rule, I’m not a fan of crunches for most people. It’s not that they’re inherently dangerous, they’re just more risky than they need to be for most. The reality is a lot of us don’t have especially good lower back health and strength, so creating a lot of spinal flexion doesn’t help. If you’ve had disc issues especially, they’re not a great idea.

Where you can perform spinal flexion in a safe, healthy position is when you’ve got a thick resistance band to work against. You can be on your feet with your torso straight. This helps to limit spinal flexion, but the thick resistance band adds an additional challenge.

Here’s how they’re done…

Resistance Band Exercise #4 - Spanish squats

The Spanish squat is a phenomenal exercise, and I don’t even mean that as a joke. It’s one of the best out there. It’s a really simply exercise, but it isolates the quads better than almost any other squat. Not only that, it helps to rehab knees really well, so if you’ve struggled with your knees, Spanish squats maybe the way to go. You can make them more difficult by adding extra weight.

In the Spanish squats, you can control depth really easily, and the thick resistance band stops the knees travelling over the toes (which is the essence of the Spanish squat - that’s how they isolate the quads so well). You only need a strong resistance band and a solid anchor point.

Here’s how they’re done…

Resistance Band Exercise #5 - Shoulder pull aparts

Shoulders are up there with lower backs as one of the most vulnerable body parts when it comes to injury. A big part of the problem comes from the fact that modern life see’s us in a forward-leaning, internally-rotated position in the shoulder. This leads to a tight chest, weak upper back and rounded shoulders. Over time, this becomes painful and can restrict strength and movement.

One of the ways to combat this is with exercises for the upper back and rear deltoids (back of the shoulders). By strengthening these areas, you correct your shoulder alignment, strengthen the important muscles in the neck and back and ease the issues you were suffering. All you need is a good resistance band.

Here’s how they’re done…

When you add these exercises into your workout, not only will you be a stronger, fitter person, you’ll also be a healthier and more injury-resistant one. These exercises will elevate your workout significantly, and help you to get more out of your training.

If you want help with your health, AdMac Fitness is the place to go!

We help people using tried and tested fitness approaches. Our expert team of personal trainers, based in both Bow and South Woodford can help you get a grip of your health and fitness. With our guidance you can see your health and fitness reach new levels!

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!

Our locations are…

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

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

5 Push Up Variations to add to your Workout

Believe it or not, the push up is one of the most effective exercises there is. Whilst we may think of it as a boring bodyweight exercise, it’s actually so much more.

The push up is a way to improve chest, shoulder and tricep strength. It involves core stability, shoulder blade stability and a large range of motion at the shoulder and elbow. You can increase the difficulty by increasing weight, changing the hand position and the body position.

It’s my belief that a push up, or a variation of the push up has a place in almost every personal training program that exists.

To increase the effectiveness of the exercise, here’s a list of 5 push up variations to add to your workout…

Decline push ups

The decline push up is the quickest way to increase the difficulty of the push up. You make the exercise harder by taking your feet higher than your upper body. This means you end up lifting a greater percentage of your body weight. The higher the feet, the harder you make the exercise.

You can raise your feet any way that provides you with stability. That can be via plates, a bar, ply box etc. You can adjust the height to make it more or less challenging, depending on your fitness and strength levels.

Here’s how they’re done…

Push ups on parallettes

I really like this exercise, because it’s a way to increase the stretch at the chest and shoulders. This is because the parallettes allow your chest to drop lower than your hands, which opens the chest. This increase in the range of movement at the joint increases the time under tension as well, making it a much tougher exercise than the standard push up.

The higher the paralletetes, the harder the exercise can be. You can perform the exercise with a range of different handle heights though, which allows you to increase the difficulty of the exercise somewhat.

Here’s how they’re done…

Ball push ups

You may already be familiar with the diamond push up, or the tricep push up. Well this belongs within the same group (if such a thing exists?!), but it’s much, much tougher. You’ve got three different factors at play here…

1. You’re dealing with a close hand position, which is tougher than a wider one

2. You’re on a ball, which is unstable

3. You’re working at an incline, which challenges the muscles more

This trio makes the exercise so much harder than you’d expect, so give them a go and see how you get on. I like to use a slam ball or a med ball because they’re both grippy and unstable. Here’s how they’re done…

Push up to row

This is a great way of combining a push up with a row. It means you’ve got the increased range of movement from the dumbbells, the added shoulder and back training from the row and the added core and shoulder stability element of being off balance during the row.

When you do these properly, you’ll really feel the benefit throughout your entire upper body. It’s why they’re an exercise that makes for a more efficient upper body training session.

Here’s how they’re done…

Atomic Push Ups

At AdMac Fitness, we’re big fans of the TRX suspension trainer. It’s a great way to add an element of instability to any exercise. There are a few different variations of push ups you can do on the TRX, but one of the best (and toughest) is the ‘Atomic Push Up’.

It’s a combination of a decline push up and a pike, which makes for a really tough exercise. If you can hit 30 or more of these in a row you’re a pretty legit trainer!

Here’s how they’re done…

If you want help with your health, AdMac Fitness is the place to go!

We help people using tried and tested fitness approaches. Our expert team of personal trainers, based in both Bow and South Woodford can help you get a grip of your health and fitness. With our guidance you can see your health and fitness reach new levels!

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!

Our locations are…

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

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

Fish Oil - Beneficial or a Waste of Time?

One of the most commonly-suggested supplements around are fish oils. They’ve been a popular recommendation ever since research suggested they were effective against cognitive decline, heart disease and arthritis.

What does the research say about fish oils though? Are omega 3’s a good thing to take, or are they a waste of time? Let’s take a look…

What is fish oil?

Fish oil is derived from oily fish such as mackerel, herring, salmon etc. It’s similar to (but not the same as) cod liver oil, which is derived directly from cod liver. The reason for taking them both is largely the same though. This means although they’re not the same product, they have similar benefits to health.

The main purpose for taking fish oil is to increase the amount of omega 3 fatty acids you’re ingesting. The reason you need to take in omega 3 fatty acids are because your body doesn’t have the ability to make them itself.

You can get omega 3 fatty acids from non-animal sources as well. Vegans for example could consume flaxseed oil, nuts of vegetable oils for the same benefits.

What does fish oil help with?

The purported benefits of fish oils are numerous. They include helping with heart function, brain function, joint health, reducing inflammation, helping control cholesterol, boosting mood and several others.

Not all of the benefits of fish oil are strongly backed by the research, so we’re going to take a look at the success rate of the supplementation. By the end of the article, we’ll have more of an idea whether or not fish oil is beneficial or a waste of time.

Does fish oil benefit cardiovascular health?

There appears to be credible research that suggests yes, there’s a credible link between fish oil intake and heart health. These benefits are repeated over several studies, so they are worth giving serious consideration to. We can see there’s benefits in people with higher risk of cardiovascular disease, so if it runs in your family, I’d consider it an important supplement.

Research published in 2001 concluded… Dietary supplementation with n-3 PUFA (polyunsaturated fatty acids) led to a clinically important and statistically significant benefit.

A later review (from 2012) titled Fish Oil Supplementation & Coronary Artery Disease: Does It Help? concluded… PUFAs have cardiovascular benefits with a possible reduction in the incidence of all cause cardiac mortality in CAD.

Based on this research, there’s a definite case for consuming fish oils regularly.

Does fish oil benefit brain health?

The general belief for many years was that fish was ‘brain food’ and vital for our brain health. It was also linked to preventing cognitive decline, and credited with helping to improve mood and mental health.

More recently, research has cast some doubt on these claims. A review study from 2015 titled ‘Long-chain omega-3 fatty acids and the brain: a review of the independent and shared effects of EPA, DPA and DHA’ concluded that… ‘Overall, a greater understanding of the individual roles of EPA, DPA and DHA in brain health, protection and repair is needed in order to make appropriate dietary recommendations and targeted therapeutic interventions.’

The suggestion was that although there might be links between low levels of omega 3 fatty acids and poor cognitive health, nobody is sure how strong they are. They might be coincidental.

The mental health benefits of fish oil supplements are inconclusive as well.

Does fish oil help to control inflammation?

This is where things get interesting. There appears to be good quality evidence supporting the role of fish oil and a reduction of inflammation. These benefits are reported across a wide range of health conditions, suggesting there are benefits in ways we hadn’t previously considered.

A review published in 2004 titled Omega-3 fatty acids and inflammation concluded…

Clinically important anti-inflammatory effects in man are further suggested by trials demonstrating benefits of n-3 fatty acids in rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, asthma, and inflammatory bowel disorders. Given the evidence relating progression of atherosclerosis to chronic inflammation, the n-3 fatty acids may play an important role via modulation of the inflammatory processes.

This research shows the benefits of fish oil will extend across many different aspects of health where inflammation plays a role.

Fish oil - what’s the verdict?

Based on the available evidence, there’s still enough reasons to take fish oil regularly - especially if you’re training frequently or suffer from cardiovascular disease. There’s also a case for taking it if you come from a family where cardiovascular disease is prevalent.

Whilst it appears fish oil isn’t the wonder substance many people thought it would be, it’s still a very useful supplement to take and one that we’d recommend.

If you want help with your health, AdMac Fitness is the place to go!

We help people using tried and tested fitness approaches. Our expert team of personal trainers, based in both Bow and South Woodford can help you get a grip of your health and fitness. With our guidance you can see your health and fitness reach new levels!

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!

Our locations are…

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

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

Are Protein Shakes Worth Taking?

Of all the supplements in the world, after multivitamins the most popular and commonly used is a protein shake. Look at gyms the world over and you’ll see people mixing their post-workout shake, shaking bottles and glugging it down.

But is it actually doing anything, or are these people just wasting their money?

In this article we’re going to look into protein shakes, taking an overarching view to see if they’re actually worth it. We’re going to look at the science of protein requirements, find out if there’s an optimal time for taking these shakes, and more fundamentally… should we bother with them at all?!

Protein - what’s the score?

Let’s start by explaining what protein is and it’s important to us.

Protein is one of the three main macro nutrients. The others being carbohydrate and fats. It’s most prevalent in animal sources such as meat, fish, eggs, offal, milk, cheese etc.

It’s also present in vegetable and legume sources such as nuts, beans, pulses, tofu. The animal sources are a ‘complete’ protein (they contain a complete amino acid profile), whereas the vegetable proteins don’t contain a complete amino acid profile. That means you have to combine different types of vegetables to consume the complete protein.

Protein is responsible for the repair and regeneration of tissues. It’s why people who exercise a lot need more of it, because they’re breaking down their muscles with exercise, which then rebuild themselves bigger and stronger.

Protein also acts as a secondary energy source when carbs (stored as glycogen in the body) run low.

Finally, a high protein diet is very helpful when it comes to weight loss, because high protein foods are usually very filling, and protein only contains 4 calories per gram.

What are our protein requirements?

We need to look at the science here, because much of the nutritional information that makes the mainstream comes from supplement companies, who have an agenda to sell you more protein powders!

Instead of looking at what the supplement companies suggest you should be consuming, let’s look at what the nutritionists and scientists are saying. Research published in 2016 by Wu made the following protein intake observations…

Recommended Dietary Allowance of protein for a healthy adult with minimal physical activity is currently 0.8 g protein per kg body weight (BW) per day. To meet the functional needs such as promoting skeletal-muscle protein accretion and physical strength, dietary intake of 1.0, 1.3, and 1.6 g protein per kg BW per day is recommended for individuals with minimal, moderate, and intense physical activity, respectively. Long-term consumption of protein at 2 g per kg BW per day is safe for healthy adults, and the tolerable upper limit is 3.5 g per kg BW per day for well-adapted subjects.

So these suggestions show that the recommended protein intake varies depending on your goals, activity levels and protein intake history. If you are training hard and are looking to build a lot of muscle, you can hit 2g per lb of bodyweight.

If you are generally active, stick to around the 1-1.5g per lb of bodyweight mark.

How much protein exists in popular foods?

Not all protein is created equally, so when a food label says ‘30g protein’ on the back, it doesn’t mean you’re going to get all of that 30g. It depends on the quality of the protein, the way it has been cooked, the source etc.

Here’s a table outlining some protein quality rankings from protein research published in 2004…

You’re looking for two things…

The protein digestibility corrected amino acid score. This is a rounded measure of the quality of the protein. The score is capped at 1.00, so the closer to that figure, the more protein is used by the body.

The net protein utilisation score - this is how much of the administered protein is used by the body. The closer this figure is to 100, the better.

A combination of these will give you the best overall proteins.

If you can eat protein, why supplement with it?

There’s a couple of reasons why people will supplement with protein…

Convenience: It’s far easier to drink your protein straight after the workout than it would be to eat it. You don’t need to warm a protein shake like you would a meal. It can also be consumed much more easily when on the go. It’s easier to drink a protein shake whilst driving that it would be to eat protein in another form.

Protein type: The vast majority of protein sold is whey protein. You can see from the table above how good a protein it is - arguably the best of the lot. However, you’re very unlikely to eat whey, so the best way to consume it is via a supplement.

So, are protein shakes worth taking?

The million dollar question…

A short answer would be yes, absolutely. They’re convenient, they offer additional vitamins and minerals, plus research shows they help with performance, recovery and muscle synthesis. There’s zero doubt in the research whether or not they benefit you by now. The answer is a resounding yes, they do.

However…

You don’t need to take them. If you’re able to consume enough protein in your diet then there’s no absolute need for protein shakes. They’re just really beneficial and easy to consume. If you have the time to eat your protein in food form though, that’s every bit as good. Arguably cheaper too!

Let the AdMac Fitness Personal Trainers help you build muscle!

With personal training studios in South Woodford and Bow, let the best personal trainers in East London help you to build the body you’ve always wanted…

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!

Our locations are…

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

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

Can You Overtrain? Exploring Overtraining Syndrome...

In certain circles, the concept of overtraining has been in constant debate. The two schools of thought are pretty simple - they either say yes, you can over train and there’s a genuine condition as a result. The others argue that it doesn’t exist and that any ‘overtraining syndrome’ can be solved with some extra rest.

In this article we’re going to look at overtraining syndrome (OTS), exploring the research around the condition and seeing what the latest thinking on the subject is…

One of the problems with a condition such as overtraining syndrome is that it’s notoriously difficult to diagnose. The human body is a complex system, so how can we be sure that training is responsible for any perceived over-stress?

The reality is, we can’t. At a physiological level, all stress looks the same. The physical symptoms are the same whether the stress is emotional, financial. physical etc. According to work done by Chu et al on stress, published in 2022, the symptoms of stress essentially look like this…

• High heart rate

• Higher blood pressure

• Increased breathing rate

• Raised stress hormones

• Impaired sleep

• Compromised immunity

• Lower energy levels

When people reportedly suffer from overtraining syndrome, these symptoms are exactly what they’re describing. In fact, look how closely this description matches one from work done on OTS by Kreher and Schwartz in 2012…

OTS appears to be a maladapted response to excessive exercise without adequate rest, resulting in perturbations of multiple body systems (neurologic, endocrinologic, immunologic) coupled with mood changes. Many hypotheses of OTS pathogenesis are reviewed, and a clinical approach to athletes with possible OTS (including history, testing, and prevention) is presented.

The only conclusion we can draw here is that there’s a difficulty in diagnosing training as the problem, when the waters are muddied by the similarities of the symptoms between general stress and training stress.

So does that mean there’s no such thing as OTS? Is it just stress?

No, that’s not necessarily the case. It’s just difficult to diagnose in a complex system. But there are cases when we can make a case for overtraining syndrome being the problem…

Imagine a person who has all of the major wellness boxes ticked. They’re sleeping well, their nutrition is absolutely on point - they’re eating well and their supplementation is effective. They’re sleeping well, not drinking, smoking etc. They have low stress levels. Nothing has changed in their environment - home life great, no financial or work issues. There’s on exception though…

An uptick in training intensity, load and duration.

If that person begins to suffer the effects of overtraining syndrome after 10-12 weeks, then we have to start looking at their training schedule. If there’s nothing else that has changed, or nothing else that is an obvious factor in how they feel, we’ve got to start considering the possibility of overtraining.

We could take a break from training for 7-14 days and see what happens. If the symptoms begin to disappear, the smoking gun is with the training.

Avoiding overtraining - practical tips

We’ve already discussed that the body is a complex system, and all stress looks the same from a physiological point of view. What this means is that your body can’t really tell the difference between stresses. So, if you’re under high stress at work, you’re under stress at home etc, really consider whether or not you should be going super hard in the gym.

Next up, research suggests that a big part of overtraining syndrome is actually an inability to recover sufficiently quickly. So, if you are training particularly hard, you’ll need to up your recovery game at the same rate. That means better nutrition, better sleep, no alcohol etc. Give yourself a chance.

A healthy diet may not be enough. You might have to increase your intake of immune-boosting vitamins and minerals as you train hard. Think multi-vitamins and minerals, vitamin D and fish oil.

Have your exercise programmed for you. By working with a professional personal trainer, they’ll be able to programme an appropriate amount of training for you. The guys at AdMac Fitness are experts in body transformation and have worked with hundreds of clients over the years, using exercise as a tool to improve lives.

If you want help with your health, AdMac Fitness is the place to go!

We help people using tried and tested fitness approaches. Our expert team of personal trainers, based in both Bow and South Woodford can help you get a grip of your health and fitness. With our guidance you can see your health and fitness reach new levels!

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!

Our locations are…

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

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