FAQ’s of Body Transformation Gym Huddersfield

Published May 11, 2012

Body Transformation Gym is Huddersfield’s only 24/7 gym. Based in the town centre in a 4000 sq ft facility the Body Transformation Gym will have it all.

  • Treadmills
  • Crosstrainers
  • Rowers
  • Bikes
  • TRX
  • Kettlebells
  • Punch Bags
  • Dumbells
  • Barbells
  • Cable Crossovers
  • Smith Machine
  • Jones Machine
  • Flat Bench Press
  • Incline Bench Press
  • Hyperextension Machine
  • Core stability Balls
  • Ab Wheel
  • Foam Rollers
  • Medicine Balls
  • Variety of Weights Machines
  • Pull Up and Dip Station

How we are different from other gyms

In a previous post I ranted about how the majority of gyms don’t look after customers as they should, and how you aren’t a gym member – you’re a figure on their profit and loss statement. I also went on to describe stereotypes and complained that the bar wasn’t set high enough for gym staff, if you want to see the rant click here.

Body Transformation Gym Huddersfield

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Members First – The Perfect 10 Policy

The Body Transformation Gym was created with the member in mind. The members sick of waiting on machines, sick of the staff not helping them because they were too busy flirting with other members or talking amongst themselves. The members sick of being treated like royalty during the sign up process and then being left to their own devices after their induction.

I’ve put systems in place to ensure that the staff in the Body Transformation Gym look after you, they will be following up on you every month or more to ensure you’re moving towards your goals. If you are doing something wrong or with poor technique, they will tell you. They will greet you as you enter and exit the gym. They will know your name and training goals. We don’t have to have the gym packed like sardines – numbers will be limited to 500 members. We will ask you to rate the gym from 1-10, 10 being the best gym you could be a member of. If we don’t score ten out of ten, we want to know how to make it a perfect 10.

 

The 300 Clause

Just like in the film 300 – 300 people can make all the difference.

When we hit 300 members the Body Transformation Gym will gaurantee a minimum reinvestment of £1000 per month, back into machines THAT MEMBERS REQUEST.

What other gym will do that? To put it in other words I present to you this scenario:

 

It’s a Monday night at the Body Transformation Gym and we have 308 members, all the treadmills and bench presses are taken up. You have a routine and you want to stick to it without waiting around. So you go and tell the staff – “You know, we could really do with another treadmill…” The next step is they tell me, I order the machine, and then call you and tell you when it’s going to arrive. Simples. No screwing around going through 5 levels of management. All you need to do is tell me what you want and if I can insure it, then I’ll buy it, it is that simple. This ties into the previous point – members first. So if you guys really want a gym that’s miles ahead of every other gym, then help me get to 300 members ;)

 

The 500 Clause

When we get to 500 members I am closing the membership. When I said that members shouldn’t have to wait for equipment I meant it. I could EASILY open membership to 1000+ people but then you’ll probably have to wait for machines. I want Body Transformation Gym to be the best training facility in Huddersfield. Not just in terms of equipment, but in terms of the ability to do supersets/giant sets and circuit training without being interrupted.

At the 500 membership mark all the Body Transformation Gym will be focusing on is refining the ultimate customer experience.

Phase 1 will be buying equipment left right and centre, equipment that YOU as a member want. We will be taking your feedback, and more importantly we will be taking ACTION on your feedback.

Phase 2 will be expansion. The building has 2 floors, initially the Body Transformation Gym is based on the ground floor. If the upstairs unit is available, then we will look at taking over that floor too. This will give us 8000+ sq ft to play with. My plans for Phase 2 will be revealed after we reach 300 members.

 

I’ve been getting a lot of questions about the gym, here are a few of them:

 

What are your opening times?

It’s 24/7. That means we never close!

 

Is the Body Transformation Gym manned 24/7?

The Body Transformation Gym will be staffed from 7am-9pm Mon-Fri and 930am-6pm Saturday and Sunday. In the night there will be no staff. People that train in the night do so at their own risk.

 

Is it Safe?

There are several points of security. One – coded entry car park. Two – CCTV monitoring and recording. Three – Thumbprint entry, no issues of sharing card or giving access codes to non members. If members let non members in, they will be banned without refund. Four – Panic Alarms are placed in the Body Transformation Gym for extra security.

 

Is it just you running it?

I work a lot, but there are limits! I will be employing staff. They have been advised that good isn’t good enough, and that I demand the best for my members. I believe I have a great team of staff and the standard of the staff will be kept high.

Is there a contract?

No. The membership is done month by month, or paid up front for the year. At a later date we may introduce a discounted rate for 12 month membership.

 

What are the membership prices?

There are various packages to suit various lifestyles.

  1. Off Peak – £20 per month
  2. Peak (7am-9pm) – £25 per month
  3. 24/7 Access – £30 per month
  4. Corporate – rates dependent on company size, please contact me on linkedin http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/kirthi-nandakumar/41/b51/727

What are the pay as you go prices?

£5 a session, this is only available when the gym is staffed in peak hours.

Will you be putting up membership prices?

There are no plans to increase the prices. If prices do eventually increase, the price increase only applies to new members. Existing members will always pay the same price that they paid when they joined. If you leave and join at a later date, you are classed as a new member.

Do you accept cash?

Not for membership. The only circumstance we accept cash is for pay as you go sessions and merchandise purchase.

Can I pay up front for the year?

Yes. We will have various deals at different times of the year.

Do you offer a student discount?

No. At Body Transformation Gym we believe that everyone should pay the same price. The only exception to this is if you join in a group of 5 students or more, then you are eligible for corporate discount.

Do you do classes?

At this moment in time we do not have facilities to run classes. When we reach Phase 2 (see the 500 clause) this is something we are considering.

Do you have a sauna/steam room?

At this moment in time we do not have facilities for sauna and steam room. When we reach Phase 2 (see the 500 clause) this is something we are considering.

Will Personal Training be available?

Yes. At the time of this post there is one personal trainer – Kirt Nandakumar who is available to do Personal Training.

Is there parking?

Yes. There is free parking for members in a private car park after 5pm

How heavy do your dumbells go?

At this moment in time we have rubber hex dumbells that go up to 30kg. You can go as heavy as you like using our olympic dumbells.

 

If you have any other questions please drop a comment below and I’ll have your questions answered.

Posted in Body Transformation | Leave a comment

The Art / Obsession of Sticking to Your Diet

Published May 6, 2012

I would say there are 3 big reasons that people don’t stick to their diet.

  • They don’t want results BAD enough

How Bad Do You Want It

 

  • Their diet is too strict (like an alcoholic having withdrawal symptoms, but in this case its junk food withdrawal)
  • Life gets in the way and they “Don’t have time” to eat at regular intervals, prepare food etc.

 

In this article today I’ll be covering the best methods of sticking to your diet through preparation. There are various strategies you can use:

  1. Hire a personal chef (If you can afford a personal chef, I hate you from the blackest part of my soul)
  2. Have a plan – if you don’t have a plan then there isn’t much chance that you’ll get good results
  3. Sticking to the plan – prepare your food beforehand otherwise if you’re making food on the day then you may not have time to make your meals.
  4. Have a realistic diet for YOU – If someone who never cooks and eats fast food all the time was asked to eat a diet which consisted of porridge, chicken, turkey and cottage cheese, it ain’t gonna happen! Start small, start with a small change, establish the HABIT, then make  improvements gradually. If you’ve dieted in the past or you have a holiday that you want to get in shape, basically if you want it BAD enough, then it may be suitable to go on a strict diet straight away. However in my experience people say they want it bad enough but when it comes to eating diet foods they soon get bored and blow the diet. I would always advise people to make small changes initially.

 

Having A Plan To Diet

“I want to lose 10lb in 4 weeks” is NOT a plan. It’s a goal. Albiet it’s a good goal, a SMART goal, but nonetheless it’s not a plan. A PLAN would consist of an exercise and diet regime to follow in order to lose 10lbs in 4 weeks.

I would advice you seek professional help (maybe a shrink, but in this circumstance I mean a personal trainer who knows what they’re on about). Failing that I would figure out your metabolic rate. Once you do that you can figure out how many calories you need, a good starting point is finding your metabolic rate then subtracting 500 calories.

 

Sticking To Your Diet

 

Junk Food

My Diet is ok - honest!

 

Sticking to your diet can be hard, as anyone who’s been on a diet knows! You’ll be suprised how much of society revolves around food, from meeting friends for a casual drink (I’ll have a diet coke), to going out for a meal (I’ll have a chicken caesar salad with no dressing, and a diet coke), to family get togethers (Why aren’t you eating? Don’t you like my cooking?!)

With strategic planning you can have a treat meal / treat day. Cheat days when done correctly can increase your fat loss success. When you go on a diet your metabolism slows down. Cheat days boost your metabolism so that overall fat loss increases. However if you have a cheat day every day, it ain’t gonna happen! To learn more about cheat days I advise you use Joel Marion’s Xtreme Fat Loss Diet. I went from 15% body fat to 10% body fat in 25 days, and that isn’t a typo. I basically ate crap every 5th day and lost fat in record time. I have to warn you that the other 4 days are very hard! There is a fast day, and protein shake only day too, so it is hard to day and requires a lot of planning but you will get incredible results, people have lost 25lb+ in 25 days on this diet!

 

Preparing Your Diet

  • Prepare food in blocks – For example Tues, Thurs and Sunday evenings. Or the night before.
  • Have an emergency supply at work, protein shakes/bars/breakfast etc. As much as you can get away with.
  • Educate yourself. If you know you need x calories, x carbs, x proteins and x amount of fats, then if you do forget to pack your lunch buy something that is as close to your diet as you can find.
  • Buy loads of tupperware, put one meal in one box, buy enough boxes so that if you’ve been lazy with washing up (me) then you still have boxes to put your diet friendly food in.
  • Meal Replacement Shakes – Have a stash everywhere! Have it at home, work, in your car. Make sure that if worst comes to worst and you aren’t prepared, then you have your shake to fall back on vs. takeaway.
  • Go food shopping with a shopping list, don’t buy anything that isn’t on your diet!
  • Following on from the previous point – Don’t go anywhere near the aisles with junk food! Stick with the fruit, veg and meat aisles

 

To summarise everything – you have to be organised and prepared.

Life will mess up your plans, you may be stressed out and want to binge but if there’s no junk in the house and only healthy foods in the house then it makes life simple.

Now for those who have kids and family, you may be thinking – “I can’t get rid of chocolates/crisps etc. the kids will want something to snack on”. If this is you, then do you realise you’re enforcing bad eating habits on your kids? If the kids want to eat crap then they can eat crap outside of the house! Trust me they’ll find a way! So they may grumble but you’re doing it for your health and your families health! Simplest option is get rid of all the junk food in the house. You will then have to physically leave the house with money to go to a store/takeaway with the express purpose of sabotaging your diet! When you think about it like that, it makes you far more likely to stick to your diet!

 

Are you happy with how you look? If you were, then you wouldn’t be reading this. If you’re not happy then take action on it!

Kirt

Posted in Body Transformation, Building Muscle, Fat Loss, Nutrition | Leave a comment

3000 Calorie Clean Mass Building Meal Plan

Published April 4, 2012

Hey guys this is the mass building diet that I started my pre comp prep with. It’s 3000 calories, so I can hardly call it a diet but it is clean and it’s high in calories, my plan is to drop 100 calories a week until the competition (NPA Yorkshire 26th May 2012). Last year I had a lot to lose, this year I needed to lose about 6kg at the start of preparation in order for me to get to 4% body fat. The 3000 calorie mass building meal plan in this article is designed to ease me into the diet as last year I lost size due to dropping my calories too low. You may think that this is not a diet and you may be right. Regardless I am experimenting and atleast this way if I am not losing fat quick enough at least I have room and time to play with. Last year I panicked and dropped my calories too low. This year I intend to keep as much muscle as possible.

 

Bottom line is nothing ventured nothing gained. I expect to be criticised but I listened to too many people last year and my results weren’t optimal. I am going to stick with MY plan, and if it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work, simple. Without further ado here is my “diet”:

 

Breakfast

100g Oats dry weight
1 banana
200ml skimmed milk

 

 

Mid Morning Meal

100g Turkey Breast Mince
150g White Rice
 
Spices to suit – things that will raise my metabolic rate like chilli powder, cayenne pepper etc.

 

 

Lunch

100g Chicken Breast
100g Brown Rice
100g Mixed Vegetables
Tomatoes
 
One pot meal – chicken and tomato rice, easy to prep and can batch cook these bad boys.

 

Pre Workout

1 Scoop whey protein
60g maltodextrin
5g BCAAs

High GI carbs for fuel – will slowly cut out closer to the comp

Post Workout 1

1 Scoop whey protein
60g maltodextrin
5g BCAAs

High GI carbs to aid recovery and protein synthesis

Post Workout 2

1 Scoop whey protein
75g instant oats
5 BCAAs
 
Instant Oats to get a different carb source 1 hour after the workout. Again will wean off the powder carbs (instant oats and maltodextrin) closer to competition. I can cut these out quite easily without having a dramatic effect on my hunger levels.

 

Dinner

 100g Turkey Breast
1 Sweet Potato
100g mixed vegetables
 
Getting fibre in my diet will help keep me fuller for longer, the mixed vegetables are however much I feel like to be honest, they’re “free” food as far as I’m concerned.

 

Pre Bed Snack

 1 Avacado
1 can Tuna in Brine
15ml Udo’s Choice
 
Loads of healthy fatty acids EFAs. Having these just before bed will help me increase my growth hormone levels naturally. The tuna is high in salt so close to the competition I will either switch to white fish or pop some BCAAs
 
I started this diet 14 weeks away from competition, I then dropped 200 calories, to make it 2800. Then dropped down to 2200 calories. At this moment in time I am on 2100 calories and steadily losing body fat. I currently need to lose about 3kg of fat to get into competition shape.
 
I hope this helps you with your mass building efforts, or if you’ve finished a bulking phase and are apprehensive about starting a hardcore diet, I would advise this is a good way to ease into it. It worked for me and it really helped me transistion to what is now a strict diet. Next time I will post my current diet, if you have any questions please drop a line in the comments section.
 
Kirt
 

Posted in Body Transformation, Building Muscle, Fat Loss, Nutrition, Recovery, Supplements | Leave a comment

Shoulder Workout to Build Muscle

Published March 12, 2012

As stated on my facebook I promised to deliver you guys my shoulder workout which I did earlier today. The rep ranges were done in the hypertrophy (muscle building range) and they were done with short rest periods of 1 minute or less. The idea behind the rep ranges and rest periods was to stimulate muscle growth and build muscle with the rep range, and short rest periods to increase my metabolic rate to assist with fat loss.

 

For those who don’t know I’m entering the NPA (Natural Physique Association) Yorkshire 2012 show as well as sponsoring a class. In order for me to be at my best I need to lose as much fat as I can while keeping hold of my muscle. I’m training to try to build muscle, and eating to lose fat, but realistically I will probably only be able to maintain what I have as I diet, I may build muscle but that is unlikely the further I get into my diet.

 

Warm Up Before the Workout

Your rotator cuff muscles are small and help stabilise your shoulder joint, these muscles can easily be injured so I would advise you to do  a proper warm up to minimise the risk of injury and should also help you lift more.

  • Grab a weight plate and keeping your elbows straight, move the plate in a circle keeping your body still. I used a 5kg plate and did 10 reps each side.
  • Do external rotation and internal rotational movements at different angles without weight, add a light weight if necessary. These movements are hard to describe in writing, If you’d like me to put up a video then drop a message in the comments section.
  • There are others you can do but my shoulders felt fine after the warm up, so I did a couple of warm up sets on the military press before doing work sets.

Shoulder Workout to Build Muscle

  1. Military Presses with barbell behind neck. 3 sets, 6-10 reps ,60 seconds rest.
  2. Upright Rows with barbell using wide grip – 3 sets, 6-12 reps, 60 seconds rest
  3. Prone flyes – 3 sets, 12 reps, 30-60 seconds rest
  4. Lateral raises using cable crossovers – use weak arm first. 3 sets, 12 reps, as technique started to falter we used eccentrics (the other hand assisted the movement going up, then 5 seconds going down).
  5. Rear Delt Raises – 3 x 12 reps, 30-60 seconds rest
  6. Machine Shrugs – couple of warm up sets then did 3 sets of 10 increasing the weight each time, got up to 200kg for 10 reps but my training partner advised me that I wasn’t hitting full range on the last set, so lesson learnt – no ego lifting! Rubbish technique won’t help me build muscle. I’ll be dropping the weight next time and focusing on technique. This is where a training partner comes in handy – I wouldn’t know about the problem otherwise.

Found out that my left side is weaker than my right, this is common for most people but in the past I did unilateral training to address my imbalances. It would seem that with me putting on a lot of muscle (around 20lbs) it appears that my strength isn’t equal on both sides anymore, this tells me I should incorporate unilateral training back into my training soon. When my strength is equal on both sides this should help me build muscle as my body will be more in sync.

Good Points of the Shoulder Workout

  • Compound Movements used – this will help increase testosterone and growth hormone levels naturally and help build muscle.
  • All angles hit – trapezius muscles, anterior delts, medial delts, posterior delts all hit effectively.
  • Lots of volume – Bodybuilder style workout to help build muscle.
  • Only took 40 minutes including warm up. This gives me enough time to train abs or do cardio without making the workout too long, I try to keep workouts 1 hour or less to prevent cortisol levels rising too much.
  • My shoulders were PUMPED!

 

 

Bad Points of the Shoulder Workout

  • Lots of volume – not really ideal to develop strength and power
  • Short rest periods – to build muscle I would recommend 1-2 minute rest periods.
  • Not intense on the lungs – I sweated lightly, I’m training for fat loss, I feel like its a better workout if my T shirt is drenched, I should look into adding supersets and tri sets into the workout to increase the effect on raising my metabolic rate and calories burnt.
  • Heavy on the anterior deltoid – I felt my performance was affected due to anterior deltoid fatigue, I should probably do prone flyes after the military press, then do upright rows, then do posterior deltoid raises to give the anterior deltoids a bit of a rest while the posterior exercises also give it a passive stretch.

Take home message is that there are lots of variables you can manipulate to get the desired effect for YOUR training goal. If you want to build muscle I would advise a slightly longer rest period, or superset non competing body parts. I’ve given an honest review on my shoulder workout. So remember if you hit a plateau and you want to keep the same split routine, within your assigned body part training you can alter the following to stimulate your body with something it hasn’t adapted to:

  • Number of Reps
  • Number of Sets
  • Amount of Rest
  • Order of Exercises
  • Exercises used

So if you’ve been doing the same old workout for months, mix it up, try changing one thing first, if you change a lot of things all at once you won’t know what’s helping you break the plateau. And remember your body needs a new stimulus to build muscle, so make sure you change your workouts every 4-8 weeks depending on how advanced you are.

 

Current Stats

Weight: 82.9kg

Body Fat: 10.2%

74 days to go before competition.

Posted in Body Transformation, Building Muscle, Fat Loss | Leave a comment

What’s New at Misguided Muscle / Rant at Rubbish Gyms

Published February 20, 2012

It’s been 3 weeks since my last post so far that I apologise. It has been for good reasons though, I’ve been working on a lot of things behind the scenes, things like online coaching, I’ve mentioned it a couple of times but I’ve got a few coaching clients, been doing a LOT of networking. I’m working on something that is big and will change the way people will train in Huddersfield – that’s all I can say about that at this moment in time.

 

I got in this industry to help people and I’m doing it through various avenues such as:

  1. Personal Training
  2. Sunday Bootcamps
  3. Online Coaching
  4. This blog
  5. Working on the gym floor

 

What I’ve realised over the past few months is:

  1. I limit the people I can help by only doing Personal Training in Huddersfield
  2. A lot of people want help with a diet and getting meal plans sorted for them
  3. I’ve been neglecting my female readers by posting a lot of info on muscle building and not enough on fat loss
  4. Being in employment helped me get the word around about myself and I helped a lot of people while employed, however although where I was working helped me start my career and gave me experience I was limited and restricted to how I helped people and I couldn’t give people as much value and help as they deserved
  5. Corporate gyms are after the bottom line and filling gyms like a tin of sardines to get more money. They are overcrowded and members get unhappy when they have to wait for machines. I would rather make fewer people 5 times happier and sacrifice some profit for member satisfaction.
  6. After quitting employment my business has improved.

 

My promise to everyone reading this:

  1. I will be helping a lot more people very soon. I will do this through great content on the blog, online coaching, joint ventures with complimentary businesses locally.
  2. I will be doing more fat loss articles – but not on here, I will be making this site targeted towards males that want to build muscle. I will be creating a new company that is a lot more female friendly and it will have a lot of fat loss and fitness and diet articles on there, this site will have a  different primary purpose (all will be explained in time) and the fat loss blog will be on there as a way of adding value to customers.
  3. In business I will stick to my core values and put the customer first. I will rather have 500 people chuffed to bits with my service than have 2000 customers who receive mediocre value.
  4. I have been approached by several supplement companies to promote their products, I will not promote supplements of inferior quality or where I don’t see value for money in their products. There are companies out there with excellent products which I have used and promoted, but if I don’t see value for money in their products then I will not be a sell out and promote them. There is a lot of money to be made selling supplements but I’m not in it for greed, it will have to be a good product with value.
  5. Corporate gyms vs Independent gyms – I will always root for “the little guys” they have that personal touch and aren’t surrounded in red tape, they are more likely to listen to members and give them what they want. I will be working on something that will raise the bar in gyms in Huddersfield. There are preconceptions on fitness instructors not doing anything apart from flirting and chatting with each other. There are a lot of decent qualified gym instructors out there that can’t get work because useless gym staff are taking their hours. I’m not referring to any particular gym in any particular city but sadly that’s the stereotype of instructors. It’s time things changed and it’s time good staff have an opportunity to progress and get rewarded for their hard work. Again all will be explained next month.
  6. I will never compromise on quality. My clients deserve the best and they will get it, it may take a long time for me to acquire quality equipment but I don’t cut corners.

 

It may sound like a rant and in a way it is, it’s time things changed and people weren’t so greedy and they focused on customer care and the ultimate customer experience rather than having a management structure with 5 odd levels of managers and manager salaries to pay for, and they pay for their salaries by cramming facilities to the brim and not reinvesting enough money back into the gyms. I may get in trouble for this but (and sorry for swearing) fuck it. I’m here to get people results and keep them happy. It’s time some gyms remembered that. I would like you guys to like and share this article with as many people as you can. It’s time that gym members stopped “settling” and putting up with overcrowded gyms and having to wait for machines and dealing with poor staff that don’t have a clue or are too busy chatting up the members.

 

If you agree then please share this article and show me some love and support :)

Kirt

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

How To Recover Quicker After A Work Out

Published January 30, 2012

How To Recover Quicker

 

“Recovery is the name of the game… whoever recovers the fastest does the best”

- Lance Armstrong

Lance Armstrong King of Recovery

 

Regardless of your goals, whether they are sports specific, muscle building or fat loss, recovery and knowing how to recover quicker can help you acheive your goals. The quicker you recover the more often you can train. For muscle building this means the quicker you recover the quicker you can stimulate more muscle growth. For fat loss the quicker you recover means the more often you can train and therefore the more calories you can burn. For sports it means the more often you can train to improve in your chosen field. So recovery and quick recovery is vital for anyone who is serious about achieving their goals.

Ways to improve recovery time

  • Adequate calories
  •  Good quality carbs, proteins and fats in your diet.
  •  Nutrient timing – having high GI carbs + whey protein, before, during and after your workout. Learn more here
  •  Stretching
  •  Using a Foam Roller
  •  Contrast Showers
  •  Massage
  •  Get enough sleep – shoot for at least 8 hours
  • Supplements

 

Ensure You Eat Enough to Recover Quicker

During a workout, your body’s stores of glycogen (a carbohydrate that is stored in the muscles and liver) is depleted. If you don’t replenish them, your body will take longer to recover properly and your performance may suffer during your next workout. I’d advise you stick with complex carbs and sufficient amount of protein throughout the day and go with high GI carbs and whey protein post workout, but I’ll run through it in more detail under nutrient timing.

Foods that help you recover

 

Stretching to Recover Quicker

Benefits of stretching include:

  • Faster recovery
  • Reduced risk of injury
  • Reduced DOMS (soreness)
  • Bigger range of movement in joints
  • Increases circulation

Stretching To Help You Recover

 

Contrast Showers to Recover Quicker

If you don’t know what contrast showers are then I’ll explain, if you do – skip this paragraph, life’s too short ;)

Contrast showers are basically alternating the shower from hot to cold and keep alternating it. Contrast showers facilitate the circulation of blood and lymph fluid in the body. This helps clear out toxins like lactic acid that can develop when exercising. By using contrast showers after a workout it can help you recover quicker by reducing lactic acid levels.

You can read more about contrast showers and recovery by reading this article.

 

 Foam Rolling and Recovery

Foam rollers are basically a foam tube. It has loads of benefits such as fascial release (the connective tissue), improving your posture and flexibility and all sorts. I won’t go into to much detail in this post but I will do a full article on foam rolling in the future. It looks like a swimming pool accessory and the first time I used it I yelped like a little girl (no disrespect to little girls but a grown man yelping – not attractive). The “discomfort” I felt was when I was stretching my ITB – the bit between your quads and hamstrings, this was very tight and painful for me to roll on. However most stretches are not painful it’s probably just me being a wuss.

Foam rollers are an excellent tool for personal use, however mine is getting a bit squished, maybe it’s because of me and my clients all using the same foam roller, or it can be attributed to 2 words: OFF SEASON aka tubster! In all seriousness I’ve had it a while now and I could do with something a bit more durable and harder now that I’ve loosened up somewhat. For other Personal Trainers and gym owners who have alternatives please comment below, I’m considering a grid foam roller, or a rumble roller, your opinion will be appreciated.

I will be posting a video or two in the future on how to use foam rollers, but in the meantime you can watch this video here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lLw81kGeXg

If you go to 2:40 you’ll see the exercise that made me squeal! Only difference is I had both legs off the ground to add more pressure on my ITB. One of many mistakes I’ve made in my life.

 

Manipulating Nutrient Timing To Recover Faster

 

In a previous article I’ve stated that after a workout you can recover quicker if you have high GI carbs and whey protein within 20 minutes of the workout. The article is HERE.

To go into further detail I’ll first explain what happens when you work out.

When you exercise your body burns energy. This energy can be in the form of fats, carbs and proteins. Your muscle contains water, protein, carbs and small amounts of fat. At low intensities of exercise your body predominantly burns fats. At higher intensities the majority of calories burnt comes from carbohydrates. You will also break down protein (from your muscle) when you exercise.

So if your carbohydrate stores and protein stores (muscle) are depleted and in need of replenishment, it makes sense to “top it up”.  When you exercise your body is in a destructive state aka “catabolic” what you need to do is to take your body from destructive “catabolic” to constructive “anabolic” as soon as possible. The quicker you go from catabolic to anabolic the quicker you can recover.

 

Ok so I’ve blabbed enough about the scientific reasoning behind getting the nutrients back into your system. Now I’ll explain how you can time your nutrient and caloric intake to increase your energy levels and recover quicker.

 

  • Have all/most of your carbs at breakfast, pre workout, during workout and post workout
  • No fats pre/during/post workout
  • High GI carbs with fast acting protein around the workout
  • Caloric excess around the workout, caloric deficit for the rest of the day to build muscle and lose fat at the same time.

 

Supplements That Help You Recover

  • Glutamine
  • High GI Carbs – Glucose, Dextrose, Maltodextrin, Vitargo, Karbolyn
  • Whey protein – preferably Isolate
  • Prograde Workout
  • Creatine
  • Beta-Alanine
  • BCAA’s – Branch Chain Amino Acids – also known as “magic pills” or “smarties” (inside joke)
  • Multi Vitamins
  • Antioxidants

 

L – Glutamine- Glutamine is a non essential amino acid. What this means is that the body can make this amino acid from other amino acids. Glutamine helps your body secrete growth hormone, helps minimise muscle breakdown, helps recovery and lots of other benefits.

High GI Carbs- High GI means quick digesting, high GI carbs will tend to result in a spike in insulin levels, normally this is bad as it can lead to cravings and increase the likelihood of weight gain as the body may not be able to handle all the sugar, if it can’t burn off the sugar it will be stored as fat. HOWEVER if you have high GI carbs during and after the workout the body can use those carbs as fuel during the workout and then after the workout those carbs will go into your depleted muscle stores and less likely to be stored as fat.

As a general rule of thumb avoid sugars except post workout. For those wanting to maintain or build muscle mass, through in a pre workout shake 30 minutes before the workout. If you are still struggling you can throw in a shake during the workout, but make sure you work hard enough to earn those calories!

Whey Protein- Preferably Whey Protein Isolate, Isolate is the purest form of whey and is quickly digested which is ideal after a workout.

Prograde Workout-  A good “all in one” product containing carbs, protein and BCAA’s designed to help you recover quicker.

Creatine- Helps you recover quicker and also reduces Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS). Creatine also increases strength and endurance.

Beta Alanine- Helps buffer the pH of your muscles, allowing for shorter rest periods between sets. Avoid taking creatine at the same time as creatine will weaken the effects of beta alanine.

BCAA’s- Branch Chain Amino Acids helps you recover by reducing the catabolic state of your body, it can also increase the production of testosterone, growth hormone and insulin. BCAA’s also helps reverse glutamine loss – aiding recovery further. Branch Chain Amino Acids also help with protein synthesis, in English – build muscle.

Multi Vitamins- 

  • Vitamin B – Anti-Inflammatory
  • Vitamin C – Antioxidant
  • Vitamin D – Reduces inflammation
  • Vitamin E – Reduces exercise induced muscle damage

Antioxidants-

Antioxidants remove something called free radicals from your body, contrary to what it sounds like free radicals are not hippies. Free radicals cause aging and other health problems, and they are created when you exercise. So it’s important to ensure your body gets enough antioxidants. You can get antioxidants from food, or supplements.

Here are a few sources of Antioxidants:

  • Berries
  • Grapes
  • Pineapple
  • Kale
  • Chillies
  • Cayenne Pepper
  • Cinnamon
  • Spinach
  • Pecans
  • Walnuts
  • Oats

So basically eat fruit, veg and spices.

 

Recovery and learning how to recover quicker is quite an in depth subject so I’ll be addressing each aspect in further detail in future articles. If you have any questions please drop a comment below…

 

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Kirthi (Kirt) Nandakumar is a Personal Trainer based in Huddersfield. Kirt is based in the Misguided Muscle Personal Training studio in the Town Centre of Huddersfield. Kirt guarantees results with all his services, whether it’s personal training, buddy training or online coaching.

To enquire about personal training click HERE.

To enquire about online coaching click HERE.

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Posted in Body Transformation, Building Muscle, Fat Loss, Fitness, Nutrition, Recovery, Supplements | Leave a comment

20 Minute Arms Workout

Published January 15, 2012

Rushed for time? Never enough hours in the day? No more excuses! I present to you a 20 minute Arms workout

 

Arms Workout

Before we get into the meat of the workout, I want to make it clear that arms does not equal biceps! Triceps can take up to 60% of your arms, so when you are doing an arms workout ensure that you are training your triceps just as hard, if not harder.

Biceps and Triceps Arm Workout Image

The Arms Workout / Routine / Programme… Whatever you want to call it

 Arms Workout Warm Up

1-2 sets hammer curls

1-2 sets standing dumbell skullcrushers

When warming up use 50-70% of the weight you’d normally train with.

 

Arms Workout

The arms workout will consist of 3 supersets. If you are not that conditioned then you don’t have to do supersets, but acknowledge that the arms workout may take longer than 20 minutes.

Pull Ups & Tricep Dips Superset 1

3 sets of 6-12 reps

Little fun fact, if you’ve not done pull ups in a while and you’ve gained weight you will find it harder to do so. May sound like common sense but the last time I did pull ups for higher reps I was at competition weight, when I tried it again I was 16kg heavier, this lead me to the eureka moment when I said

16kg heavier? Oh THAT’s why it’s harder!

Yes, I am a dumbass! But I still know how to train, so back to the arms workout, after the pull ups, get straight onto doing tricep dips. After that superset get an EZ curl bar, and a flat bar to attach to the lat pulldown, or the cable machine. Then proceed to superset number 2

Standing Barbell Curls & Flat Bar Tricep Pushdowns Superset 2

3 sets 6-12 reps. Increase the weight with each set, you may start on 12 reps but increase the weight providing you can do a minimum of 6 reps per set.

 

Incline Hammer Curls & Rope Grip Pushdowns Superset 3

Set the bench to a 30° incline, and hammer curl. Get a full stretch at the bottom and squeeze at the top, use a slow tempo so no momentum is used.

Incline Hammer Curls Arms Workout

Incline Hammer Curls Arms Workout

For the triceps part use the rope grip, and separate the ends away from each other at the bottom.

 

Rope Grip Triceps Pushdowns

Rope Grip Triceps Pushdowns


In order to get the whole 18 sets out, you’ll need to move FAST! Get in the gym and get out before anyone (else) gets hurt! This 20 minute arms workout will leave your biceps and triceps pumped up and burning when done right. This workout can easily be done in 30 minutes, you gotta hustle if you want it done in 20 minutes. Give it a try and give me your fastest times!

 

Get Hench or Die Tryin’

Kirt

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Kirthi (Kirt) Nandakumar is a Personal Trainer based in Huddersfield. Kirt is based in the Misguided Muscle Personal Training studio in the Town Centre of Huddersfield. Kirt guarantees results with all his services, whether it’s personal training, buddy training or online coaching.

To enquire about personal training click HERE.

To enquire about online coaching click HERE.

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Posted in Body Transformation, Building Muscle | Leave a comment

21 Day Fast Mass FREE Reports

Published January 2, 2012

If you have ever been interested in building muscle in as little time as possible (without fat gain that normally goes along with bulking) then DOWNLOAD these two free reports and READ EVERY WORD!

 

“The Death of Bulking”

DOWNLOAD >> Death of Bulking

“The Anabolic Ampifier Effect”

DOWNLOAD >> Anabolic Amplifier

 

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Kirthi (Kirt) Nandakumar is a Personal Trainer based in Huddersfield. Kirt is based in the Misguided Muscle Personal Training studio in the Town Centre of Huddersfield. Kirt guarantees results with all his services, whether it’s personal training, buddy training or online coaching.

To enquire about personal training click HERE.

To enquire about online coaching click HERE.

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Posted in Body Transformation, Building Muscle | Leave a comment

4000 Calorie Bulking Meal Plan

Published December 26, 2011

4000 Calorie Bulking Meal Plan

 

In order to build muscle you need sufficient calories, sometimes sufficient = stupid amount of calories, if you are an ectomorph you’ll have a high metabolic rate, and therefore require more calories, this article covers a 4000 calorie bulking meal plan. If you’ve gained a few lbs of muscle, that will shoot your metabolic rate up too. A common mistake that people make when mass building is that although they’ll progress their training, they may not think to progress their eating / fork lifting. If you’ve gained 20lbs of muscle of course you’ll need more calories, but if you’re still on a bulking meal plan that you used when you were 20lb lighter, then your chances of success are small.

That’s where a higher calorie bulking meal plan comes into play. I’ve already put a 3200 calorie bulking meal plan and a 3500 calories bulking meal plan on here. Now we’re in the big boy leagues, here we have a 4000 calorie bulking meal plan for your viewing pleasure:

4000 Calorie Bulking Meal Plan

This plan is scheduled around an evening workout, let’s lay out a scenario for an office worker working 9-5 and then goes to train after work.

Bulking Meal 1 – 7am

Calories – 754.3
Protein – 53.6g
Carbs – 93.8g
Fats – 18.3g

 

Bulking Meal 2 -10am

  •  200g Chicken Breast
  • 100g Brown Rice
  • 200g chopped tomatoes (canned)
Calories – 573.6
Protein – 49g
Carbs – 80g
Fats – 6.4g

 

Bulking Meal 3 – 1pm

  •  200g Lean Turkey Breast Mince
  • 100g white rice
  • 200g chopped tomatoes (canned)
Calories – 587.3
Protein – 54.6g
Carbs – 83g
Fats – 4.1g
 

Bulking Meal 4 – 3pm

  •  50g Mixed Unsalted Nuts
  • 300g Tub of Low Fat Cottage Cheese & Pineapple
Calories – 571.9
Protein – 32.7g
Carbs – 34.9g
Fats – 33.5g

Pre Workout – 4.30pm

Prograde Workout Drink

Calories – 180
Protein – 14g
Carbs – 31g
Fats – 0g

 

During Workout – 5.30pm

Prograde Workout Drink

Calories – 180
Protein – 14g
Carbs – 31g
Fats – 0g

 

Post Workout – 6.30pm

Prograde Workout Drink + 1 150g Banana

Calories – 330
Protein – 15.8g
Carbs – 65.8g
Fats – 0.5g

 

Bulking Meal 5 – 7.30pm

  •  1 can Tuna in Brine
  • 100g Pasta
  • 200g Dolmio Light Bolognese Sauce
Calories 548
Protein 43.9g
Carbs 85g
Fats 3.6g
 

Bulking Meal 6 – 10pm

  •  50g Mixed Unsalted Nuts
Calories – 322.5
Protein – 9g
Carbs – 4.9g
Fats – 29.6g
 

Points to Consider in this Bulking Meal Plan

  • Make sure you don’t jump into this straight away if you aren’t eating near this amount of calories, for example if you’re currently eating 2000 calories, try the following plans before this one:
  1. 3200 Calorie Bulking Meal Plan
  2. 3500 Calorie Bulking Meal Plan
  • After you’re used to the higher amount of calories, then you can proceed to this bulking meal plan, as long as you’re not getting fat on the lower calorie bulking meal plans.
  • The quantities of food mentioned above are their dry / raw weight
  • Complex carbs are used at all times except around the workout
  • On non training days you can get rid of the shakes, you’ll still have 3500 calories, this will help you cycle calories so that your body doesn’t get used to handling 4000 calories every day.
  • Another reason not to have the shakes is that they cause an insulin spike which is useful around a workout as the carbs will be used as fuel, if you aren’t working out and your insulin levels spike the chances are that you’ll store the carbs as fat.

Macronutrient Breakdown of Bulking Meal Plan

Calories: 4048

Protein: 286.6g protein = 28.3%

Carbs: 509.4g = 50.3%

Fats: 96g = 21.4%

 

In this meal plan you’ll notice a few things:

  • No fats around the workout as fat will slow down digestion which is what you don’t want around the workout window.
  • Complex carbs to minimise insulin spikes (apart from around the workout).
  • Meals are predominantly Proteins + Carbs, or Proteins + Fats. The reason for this is that your body can only process carbs or fats in one meal, if it processes the fats then the carbs may not be used as fuel and will then be stored as fat. Also combining fats and carbs will lead to a big insulin spike.
  • Protein with every meal.
  • Nuts are the main source of fat – high in healthy fats. If you don’t like nuts try a EFA supplement like Udo’s Oil or Krill Oil.
  • You need saturated fat to maintain a healthy immune system, the majority of fats in this bulking meal plan is in the milk and nuts.
  • There aren’t vegetables included – add greens to the plan whenever you can, if you can’t be bothered (like me) supplement with a greens product and multivitamins.
  • EFA’s are processed better last thing at night before bed, if you’re concerned with the amount of calories in the nuts thinking you won’t be able to burn it off, try a EFA supplement like fish oil, or Udo’s.
  • Macro-nutrient sources are rotated (Protein, Carbs, Fats). This is to prevent food sensitivities. All sources are only used once a day with the exception of nuts and the workout drinks.

Ok ok, I’ll wrap it up, basically this is a LOT of food, eating veg will make it harder to get the food in due to its high fibre content and the long time it takes to digest. The plan is quite scientific and a lot of thought has been put into making it an optimal bulking meal plan. I appreciate that the timing of the meals will not suit everyone, but make sure you adjust it to your lifestyle. If you can’t eat at work, try making some meal replacement shakes, maybe the one in my 3500 calorie bulking meal plan. Either way get it done!

 

Get Hench or Die Tryin

Kirt

——————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Kirthi (Kirt) Nandakumar is a Personal Trainer based in Huddersfield. Kirt is based in the Misguided Muscle Personal Training studio in the Town Centre of Huddersfield. Kirt guarantees results with all his services, whether it’s personal training, buddy training or online coaching.

To enquire about personal training click HERE.

To enquire about online coaching click HERE.

——————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Posted in Body Transformation, Building Muscle, Nutrition | Leave a comment

Advanced Home Workout

Published December 22, 2011

It’s the holiday period and you may be out of town visiting friends and relatives, you may find it hard sticking to your exercise regime without your gym. So what can you do? Relax, pig out and get fat? Don’t do that – that’s my plan ;) A while back I included a basic home workout . I posted a workout for you guys that you can do anywhere – Check it out HERE. What I have for you today is something much, much harder. Here is an Advanced Home Workout:

 

Advanced Home Workout – The Warm Up

 

Warm up first, 1 minute bodyweight squats, 30 seconds press ups (this is an advanced home workout so 30 seconds press ups shouldn’t be too hard), 1 minute alternating lunges, 1 minute Single Leg Toe Touches.

 

 The Advanced Home Workout

 

  1. 30 seconds Jump Squats - The guy in the video uses weights, you don’t need to use any weights but you can progress to this if needed.
  2. 30 seconds Press Up Claps
  3. 30 seconds Jumping Lunges
  4. 1 minute Tricep Dips - use a chair preferably something quite solid that won’t slide away!
  5. 1 minute Bulgarian Split Squats (30 seconds each leg)
  6. 30 seconds Burpees with a press up at the bottom.
  7. 1 minute Garhammer Raises

 

There you go, 5 minutes of hell. No rest in between exercises. 1 minute rest maximum after each circuit. Do the circuit 3-5 times for a workout that will take 20-30 minutes of your time. There is absolutely no equipment needed whatsoever, and therefore absolutely NO EXCUSES! Get it done!

 

How to Progress your Advanced Home Workout

 

  • Increase time of the exercises
  • Increase the number of sets
  • Add weight to the jump squats, jumping lunges, dips, split squats and burpees
  • Instead of Press up Claps try my “Mr.India” press up variation – video coming shortly

 

Short and sweet, an advanced home workout that you can do whenever, wherever. I think this is what Shakira had in mind when she was singing this song:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weRHyjj34ZE&ob=av2e

 Have a great holiday period

Kirt

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Kirthi (Kirt) Nandakumar is a Personal Trainer based in Huddersfield. Kirt is based in the Misguided Muscle Personal Training studio in the Town Centre of Huddersfield. Kirt guarantees results with all his services, whether it’s personal training, buddy training or online coaching.

To enquire about personal training click HERE.

To enquire about online coaching click HERE.

——————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Posted in Fat Loss, Fitness | Leave a comment
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