I had a interesting conversation yesterday, a friend of mine who is a bit older told me he has been training hard (or at least his definition of hard) and was drinking what he described as a protein shake about twice a day. Nothing weird so for until he later went on to tell me that when his doctor completed his blood work and the results came back and he was actually pre-diabetic.

Now I am not sure what brand of so called protein he was using but he was also mixing it with skim milk – which for if you don’t know is just normal milk with some fat taken out leaving it with a higher sugar content.

As far as the protein well you must check the label and you want to find the brand with the highest protein content per 100g ideally around 85% plus. Cheaper brands and weight gain powders are usually around 50 – 75% protein with the rest being sugar all you are actually getting is a slightly higher protein milkshake which is not ideal if you are trying to drop bodyfat and increase lean muscle mass.

My advice is maybe avoid the protein shake all together use BCAA’s. If you must have a shake ensure that you can tolerate dairy then go for a WPI or WPC with at least 85% protein and mix it with water, coconut water.

I also recommend getting your doctor to run some blood tests, but I will go into that in more detail another time.

That is sad – but this can be easily avoided. What really helps clients achieve their goals is when they step back and look at the bigger picture and then see how their nutrition and lifestyle habits and choices affect their results.

There is no point busting your butt on the treadmill for an hour if as soon as you finish you skull a Gatorade. Why were you running? To lose weight? To drop bodyfat? Well guess what that drink contains more calories than you have just burned and enough sugar too suppress your immune system for 4 or so hours!

Surely you must agree that isn’t right?

To take the next step you really need to look at the big picture – that is the role of a health coach. A health coach is someone that oversees your progress. Someone to teach you about what foods you (as an individual) are suppose to eat and can help you address lifestyle factors that are currently holding you back.

It is of no surprise to me that my clients whom I train, as well as nutrition and lifestyle coach achieve results 2 – 3 times faster than training alone and maintain these results.

Having a health coach is like taking the elevator instead of the stairs – you get to where you want to go… faster.

-Anthony

I was having a conversation with someone the other day and we got on to the topic of strength training – when the words I have heard so many females say, was uttered once again “I don’t like them (exercises) they make my legs bulk up!” If I had a dollar for every time I heard that…

So again I found myself explaining that women should not be bulking up if they are doing the right exercises for their bodies – and particular posture. Before going any further I want to say that I offer my clients a money back guarantee if their worried about their legs bulking up! And to this day I have never had to refund anyone.

If you find your legs are bulking up – most of the time it is quads (the front of your legs) that are the main culprits. Your quads are prone (in most people) to overwork – which leaves them shorten and tight. We mustn’t forget that faulty abdominal training may also be contributing – if you anchor your feet during situps; this allows your hip flexors (not abdominals) to do the work. Now you have short tight quads and short tight hip flexors that pull you pelvis anteriorly (forward). When this occurs your quads progressively become tighter and continue to do the more and more work (without the glutes and hamstrings to balance them out) – and this is when you start to feel that they begin to bulk up.

So how do we avoid this?

There are several steps we must take to avoid this problem continuing and skipping leg exercises is not one of them. The best place to start is to stretch the tight muscles – your quads and hip flexors. Then we can strengthen your glutes, hamstrings and abdominals properly. Exercise selection is super important and technique is critical – poor technique = poor results.

Repetitions, Sets, Tempo, Rest and TUT (time under tension) of your exercises are also important – for some reason everyone always just does 3 sets of 10 reps? But I will have to explain all that another day.

Side note: Females don’t have enough testosterone to bulk up; if you don’t believe me ask any female bodybuilder how hard it is for them to gain muscle.

So girls if you feel your legs bulk up – look at your posture and exercise selection if your unsure seek advice… I am putting the finishing touches to my Best Leg and Butt exercises and it should be on the site next week – so look out for that.

- Anthony

Spring is about new life – gone with the old and in with the new – so that’s what we are going to do.

Out: CRAP Foods In: Organic foods
Out: Soft Drinks In: Water
Out: Anything Fried In: Grilled
Out: Not exercising In: 30 minutes of exercise at least 3 times per week
Out: Lollies / chips / chocolate In: Nuts / fruit
Out: Your runners In: cause you need them!!!
Out: Cigarettes In: Fresh air
Out: Fast Foods In: Salads with chicken or tuna
Out: Broken self promises In: Achieving your goals
Out: Same old routine In: Fresh new you
Out: Carb dominate meals In: Metabolically typed balanced meals
Out: Feeling of anger and aggression In: Being calm & in control
Out: Skipping meals In: Eating every 3 -4 hours
Out: Not getting enough sleep In: Getting to bed by 10:30
Out: Trying to do 1000 things at once In: Time management
Out: Thinking about what you haven’t got (materialistic) In: Appreciating what you have got
Out: Working all the bloody time In: Allowing time to relax and enjoy life
Out: Not having clear define goals In: Writing your goals down and ticking them off
Out: Excuses In: Ways to make it happen
Out: Trying to impress others In: Being yourself
Out: Whinging In: Being positive and happy
Out: Being mediocre In: Stepping Up
Out: Being serious all the time In: Having fun
Out: Dreaming In: Doing
Out: The old you In: The new you

I am sure there is more… but let’s nail a few of these first.
-Anthony

So what can we do to improve our posture?

There are many ways you can improve your posture; one of the best ways to stretch your tight muscles. Some people find stretching boring, but stretching tight muscles helps to lengthen and relax them – as well as improving blood flow and uptake of oxygen. Stretching works even better when it is done in conjunction with strengthen the opposing muscles that are weak; this improves joint function, stability and balance. We call this the ‘stretch and strengthen model. ‘

Pilates is another great way to improve fantastic way to improve posture by stretching and strengthen our muscles. Pilates also teaches you to properly integrate breathing patterns into the movement patterns. Pilates focuses on smaller movement patterns and high repetitions; predominately working the body’s core and stabiliser muscles. Pilates has become extremely popular, with many specialised Pilates Studios run by Physiotherapists and also classes found in most gyms.

Some Personal Trainers specialise in corrective exercise – using the stretch and strengthen model with their clients. A well designed corrective exercise program addresses muscle imbalances, which in turn improves posture, mobility, joint function as well as core stability and strength. This then allows the integration of functional movements such as; squatting, lunging, pushing, pulling etc. This method focuses on giving you the exerciser – what your body needs to give you the results you want.

Yoga may also be something you decide to try – some of the poses can be challenging and if you have never tried it before can be a great workout. A good massage therapist can also help – massaging out all of the knots and trigger points will loosen off those tight sore muscles and connective tissues.

Don’t let old injuries and or poor posture hold you back in longer; you have a range of options. It is time to go and book yourself in for a service – your body will thank you for it.

- Anthony

Multitasking is probably a skill you listed on your resume. But is the ability to multitask really important and is it advantageous? I for a long time would have answered ‘yes’ to this question, but now I am not so sure.

Efficiency and productivity have always been important, so it is natural to come to the conclusion that multitasking is a desirable skill for those who want to get more done in less time. But are we really being more efficient or are we in fact wasting time and brain power by trying to do multiple things at once?  Are we simply adding more half finished jobs to our to-do list?

Computers are great at multitasking; they are designed to perform multiple processes like run a virus scan while we type a word document or surf the web. Most computers today have more than one CPU or brain to achieve this. I am also sure that you have noticed your computer slowing down and maybe even crashing when too many applications are running out once. We humans on the other hand only have one brain making it harder to perform multiple tasks.

There are times when humans too can multitask. We can send a friend a text message while walking down the street, or while having a bite to eat, but sending a text while driving is not a good idea and can result in a accident,(not to mention is illegal) and I am sure you have accidentally sent an sms or email to the wrong person.  I’ve done that and it can be quite embarrassing.  I am not totally against the idea – it is perfectly fine to multitask the small menial tasks, where outcomes are not always as important.

However, when it comes to big jobs, the important stuff – that major presentation or the report you’re working on – multitasking can become a distraction. An email, text message or a phone call can quickly suck you into a black hole taking with it your train of thought, from which it can take minutes and maybe hours to recover and refocus. A study done in 2005 found that workers distracted by phone calls and emails suffer a fall in IQ more than double that found in marijuana smokers.

So there it is, multitasking can be okay for the little things, but if something is really important and you want the job done properly, it must be given your 100% focus and attention.

-Anthony