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How To Recover Quicker After A Work Out

Kirt — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 14:46:06 +0000

How To Recover Quicker

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

- Lance Armstrong

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.

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

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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20 Minute Arms Workout

Kirt — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 20:25:22 +0000

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.

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

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

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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To enquire about personal training click HERE.

To enquire about online coaching click HERE.

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21 Day Fast Mass FREE Reports

Kirt — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 18:17:50 +0000

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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To enquire about personal training click HERE.

To enquire about online coaching click HERE.

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4000 Calorie Bulking Meal Plan

Kirt — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 08:23:20 +0000

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

100g oats
500ml organic semi skimmed milk
1 scoop Prograde protein powder
100g blueberries

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:

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

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To enquire about personal training click HERE.

To enquire about online coaching click HERE.

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Advanced Home Workout

Kirt — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 09:57:19 +0000

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

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.
30 seconds Press Up Claps
30 seconds Jumping Lunges
1 minute Tricep Dips - use a chair preferably something quite solid that won’t slide away!
1 minute Bulgarian Split Squats (30 seconds each leg)
30 seconds Burpees with a press up at the bottom.
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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To enquire about personal training click HERE.

To enquire about online coaching click HERE.

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Foods For Eating Healthy On A Budget

Kirt — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 11:09:37 +0000

Eating healthy can be expensive, it can also be relatively cheap depending on where you shop and what foods you buy, if fruits are in season they will be cheaper than if you purchase them out of season.

So I’ve compiled a brief list of foods, why they are good, and roughly how much they cost.

Canned Tuna

Good points: High protein, low fat when they’re canned in brine.

Bad points: Negative point is the salt in the brine. Mercury content may be high.

Cost: 50p to £1 per can, flakes are cheaper than chunks.

Whey Protein

Good points: High protein, quick digesting, convenient

Bad points: May not fill you up, not as good as real food nutrient wise, some have high sodium. Avoid mass gainers as a major ingredient is maltodextrin, while not technically a sugar it has a higher GI score than glucose. This will cause your blood sugar levels to rise and may lead to fat gain. The only time I would recommend sugar intake is pre,during and post workout.

Cost: Varies upon brand, and form, RRP for most 5lb tubs is £35. A brand I regularly use is reflex instant whey which has 90 servings so for me it’s good value for money, I also recommend Prograde Protein. Cheaper protein can be found at www.myprotein.com the unflavoured whey proteins are cheaper still, however the are UNFLAVOURED, so don’t complain about the disgusting taste you know what you signed up for!

Oats

Good points: Quality complex carbs that keep you fuller for longer, high fibre, has cholesterol lowering properties, and breakfast of champions!

Bad points: There aren’t really any bad points, some may not like the taste but you can chuck in some blueberries or some other fruit to make it taste better. My only issue is that it takes ages to eat, but that’s my issue because it means I need to drag my ass out of bed earlier!

Cost: £1 per kg – that works out to 5-10p per serving depending on how much you have. Mr. Scrooge eat your heart out.

Eggs

Good points: Rocky eats eggs. Good protein source. Good source of fats – go organic if you can, the omega 3 levels will be higher.

Bad points: High fat content – It’s fine as part of a balanced diet.

Cost: The value eggs start from 10p an egg, large organic eggs are around 33p, I’d advise you to go organic with eggs, they’re still cheap.

Brown Rice

Good points: Complex carbs, high fibre, and far more nutrients than white rice. Can help lower cholesterol levels.

Bad points: Needs to soak for around 30 minutes before cooking. I lack patience and time, so I end up cooking it without soaking and the texture’s off but I eat it anyway because I’m just crazy like that.

Cost: About £1.80 per kg

Frozen Vegetables

Good points: Cheap, and you don’t need to worry about quick expiry date. Good source of fibre and minerals

Bad points: Not as convenient as fresh due to defrost times.

Cost: Around £1 per kg

Frozen Fruits

Good points: Better for smoothies, fresher due to it being frozen at the peak of freshness.

Bad points: May contain added sugar in the form of fruit syrup.

Cost: £1.40 to £2 per 500g, this is far cheaper than fresh fruit

Whole Wheat Pitta Bread

Good points: Good source of complex carbs and fibre

Bad points: None

Cost: 55p to 90p

Lentils

Good points: Good source of complex carbs and high in fibre, good source of protein and is low in fat.

Bad points: Low in calories so not good if you’re wanting to bulk up

Cost: £1.80 to £2 per kg

Whole Wheat Pasta

Good points: High in Fibre, high in complex carbs

Bad points: High in calories, great for mass building, not so much for dieting. Do yourself a favour and don’t eat it when dieting, I can’t limit myself to a small portion of pasta so I don’t have it at all otherwise I will stuff a pan full of pasta down my throat

Cost: 90p per 500g dried pasta

Organic Milk

Good points: Great source of protein, whey protein is a waste by-product of dairy. Milk is high in whey and contains casein too. The organic version won’t have anywhere near the amount of antibiotics and steroids and other crap that gets injected into non organic animals.

Bad points: Can cause “digestive problems”! A high proportion of the population is lactose intolerant. Cow’s milk can be high in saturated fat. Milk isn’t too good for dieting, but it is great for busy individuals wanting to build muscle but don’t have the time to eat 6 big meals. The great thing about milk is you can sip away steadily throughout the day and stay anabolic.

Cost: roughly 70p per litre

To summarise, you can get good quality foods for a good price providing you:

shop around
buy food in season
go for frozen fruit and veg

Healthier Choices are:

brown rice and whole wheat pasta instead of the refined versions
Organic Eggs
Organic Milk
Get plain oats – the packaged versions tend to have added sugar

Next article is going to be an ADVANCED Home Exercise Workout. Be scared. Very Scared.

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To enquire about personal training click HERE.

To enquire about online coaching click HERE.

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How To Build Muscle When You Are Vegetarian

Kirt — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 15:32:59 +0000

How To Build Muscle When You Are Vegetarian

Being vegetarian does not mean you can’t build muscle, it may mean that it requires more thought than the typical meathead approach to building muscle such as “Me eat steak now.” but there are several bodybuilders that are vegetarian.

Vegetarian Wanting to Build Muscle

The same principles required to build muscle apply for vegetarians and non vegetarians. To summarise:

Eat enough calories
Eat enough protein
Ensure adequate recovery
Stay Anabolic
Progressive Overload (move away from the pink weights)

That’s just a 5 second summary, I go into more detail in my free “10 Commandments of Muscle Building” report which you can download on the right.

Vegetarian sources of Protein

Quinoa
Legumes (beans, lentils etc.)
Tofu
Soy
Tempeh

Vegetarian Friendly Protein Supplements

Whey protein (If you allow diary products)
Soy Protein – I recommend Herbalife, my friend Andrew Robinson has them on his site here
BCAA’s (Branch Chain Amino Acids)

Keep Workouts Short and Intense

If you work out for too long your body starts to use protein as a fuel source. If you are vegetarian, chances are getting enough protein in your diet in order to build muscle will be harder when compared that to the ease of a meat eater. Therefore it makes sense to make things easier for yourself and ensure your workouts are short enough so that your body won’t resort to protein as a fuel source. Personally I wouldn’t recommend training more than an hour, but genetics, age, sex and lifestyle factors will determine how long it takes before your body starts using protein as a fuel source.

Prevent Nutrient Deficiencies by Cycling Food Sources

When you are vegetarian your food choice is narrower, different foods will be high in a certain vitamin, and low in another. If you keep eating the same foods over and over again (this isn’t just for vegetarians I was guilty of this during my pre competition diet) you can develop food sensitivities and defiencies in your body. Be sure to rotate your protein, fat and carbohydrate sources.

I stuck with Chicken breast and brown rice, but sometimes I had turkey breast. My predominant carb source when I was dieting was brown rice and sweet potato. When it comes to my competition prep in 2012 I will be varying my food sources far more, but you’ll see that in a few months :)

Be A Nutcase

Vegetarians usually end up with a low fat diet, whether intentional or not. Mainly because most meat is usually high in fat, especially saturated fat. Saturated fat in too great a quantity can lead to various health problems such as cardiovascular diseases to other, more serious consequences such as inflated waistlines and deflated self-esteem ;)

On the flip side, SOME saturated fats are essential to maintaining your immune system and keeping your testosterone levels high (testosterone helps build muscle)

So a great source of fats suitable for vegetarians are nuts – just be careful with nuts for 2 reasons:

Nuts are very high in calories
You may be allergic – some packets of nuts warn you by saying “CAUTION – MAY CONTAIN NUTS“

If it comes as a suprise that nuts may contain nuts then I’m worried for you…

Ensure Adequate Fat Intake

Here are some great sources of vegetarian friendly fats:

Almonds
Walnuts
Flaxseed Oil
Fish Oil
Avocados
Coconut Oil

So there you guys go, there are a few pointers on how to build muscle if you are vegetarian, and also the same pointers apply to non vegetarians. If it has come across that I’ve put vegetarians in a negative light I apologise, my intentions are to overcome any difficulties people have when it comes to building muscle.

If you have something to add such as other useful tips or good vegetarain food sources that you use to build muscle, please drop a comment below.

Kirt

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To enquire about personal training click HERE.

To enquire about online coaching click HERE.

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Build Muscle FAST – How I gained 3.3kg in 14 days

Kirt — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 15:36:32 +0000

Everyone wants to know how to build muscle, and how to build muscle fast! I’ve been experimenting (not in that way!) and the gains I’ve been seeing are ridonkulous! – yes that is a word (in my world anyway). I’ve gained 3.3kg in 14 days while dropping body fat (by 0.5%). I did this naturally without any drugs, fat burners etc.

Ok enough rambling! Let’s break it down into how it’s done:

Caloric excess
New stimulus to your muscles
PROTEIN!!! (minimal supplements used)
Being bad ass (anabolic / high testosterone levels)
Recovery

So let me break it down further:

Excess Calories to Build Muscle

Must have said this loads of times but eat above your maintenance calories to build muscle fast. Calculate you maintenance calories here
Good quality calories, carbs, proteins and fats are ideal, but sometimes straight up pigging out is great ;) – If your body fat is low that is – I pigged out but there’s no way I would be that “loose” with my diet if I was tubsy.
Eat every 3 hours.
If you want to be strict shoot for 50% calories from complex carbs, 30% calories from protein, 20% calories from fats to build muscle.

New Stimulus to Build Muscle

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results -Albert Einstein
Doing the same reps and sets and frequency over and over and over again is pointless – same sh.. different day you’ll never build muscle fast this way.
Every workout should be a personal best – your muscles will be forced to adapt.
If you’ve hit a plateau either change your diet, exercise or workout.

Enough Protein to Build Muscle

Muscle is made up of protein and stores carbs. To build muscle you need enough protein
How much is enough protein? The debate is out on this one, some people say to build muscle you only need 1g protein per kg of body weight, but I personally think that too low. 1g per lb of body weight is better. I tend to shoot for 1-1.5g per lb of body weight. e.g 78.9kg x 2.2 = 173.5lbs x 1.5 = 173.5 – 260g protein every day.
Supplements – not necessary I use whey protein and BCAA’s. To be honest I’ve not been consistent with my post workout nutrition and I’ve been seeing good gains, so don’t rely on supplements too much to build muscle!

Build Muscle By Staying Anabolic

Anabolic basically means “constructive state”. Your body is either building up or breaking down.
Stay anabolic by keeping stress levels low
Keep testosterone levels high – eat enough saturated fats and cruciferous vegetables
Positive Nitrogen Balance – keep amino acids floating about in your bloodstream by eating protein every few hours, this can be in the form of meals, protein shakes or branch chain amino acid tablets.

Rest and Being Lazy to Build Muscle

Muscle grow when they recover, if you’re training them all the time then they won’t recover and you won’t see any / optimal muscle gains.
Growth hormone is release when you sleep – this hormone will help you build muscle, but sleeping all day and never training won’t get you hench ;)
Chill out – stressing increases your cortisol levels. Cortisol promotes fat storage, and breaks down muscle. So chill out to keep your testosterone levels high and to build muscle.

The Workout to Build Muscle

I’m a geek, nerd, dork etc. I read up on a lot of peoples info and workouts. I try these workouts and I adapt them to suit my needs. I applied knowledge gained from:

Vince Delmonte’s No Nonsense Muscle Building
Vince Delmonte and Lee Hayward’s 21 Day Fast Mass Programme
Tim Ferriss – 4 Hour Body
Stronglifts.com
My personal trainer qualification of course!

Ok now I’ve paid dues to the masters here’s the breakdown of what I am doing:

Occam’s Protocol – In Tim Ferriss’s book the 4 hour body, he recommends a whole body or 2 day split routine. I went with a 4 day split routine, chest, back, legs, shoulders & arms. Occam’s protocol is very low volume of work, it’s ok for beginners but I’ve added more exercises than necessary. You pretty much do one exercise per muscle group, 5 seconds up, 5 seconds down, 7 reps. Total Time Under Tension is 1 min 10 seconds. Next workout you increase the loads. This is explained in a lot of detail in Tim Ferriss’s book – “4 Hour Body”.

No Nonsense Muscle Building and the 21 Day Fast Mass programmes taught me how to eat big and hormone manipulation (through diet strictly no drugs whatsoever – 100% natural baby). I’ve been timing most of my calories around breakfast and the pre and post workout window. I was actually one of the test subjects for the 21 Day Fast Mass programme. Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been getting a LOAD of simple carbs pre, and post workout. Normally simple carbs will make you chunky but use them pre and post workout to give you energy to workout and help you recover quicker.

GOMAD – I found this on stronglifts.com One Gallon Of Milk A Day. Brutal yet effective. I’ve been quite busy with my networking meetings, gym shifts, PT clients, and my own training so I’ve been slack in optimising my diet. So for me to get enough protein carbs and calories in my body I GOMAD – One gallon is roughly 4 litres of milk. 8 pints. Not easy to get through but very time effective, I can guzzle it down during my PT sessions although it may piss some of my clients off that I’m having all those calories while they’re dieting!!!

Recovery – I’m only training 3-4 times a week and the workouts are 30-60 minutes long. This is very little compared to what I’m used to. I could improve my recovery by sleeping more but I’ll sleep when I’m dead ;). You can also improve your recovery by ensuring your post workout nutrition is spot on. Read this article on post workout nutrition here.

I hope you find this information useful, and more importantly I hope you apply this info to see some serious gains. If you’re wanting to build muscle, please, please try this for 2 weeks and see if you can set some personal records for yourself!

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To enquire about personal training click HERE.

To enquire about online coaching click HERE.

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15 Minute Home Workouts

Kirt — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 10:27:44 +0000

Home Workouts

You may be wondering why I’m talking about home workouts… One of my PT clients wanted a workout that she could do at home that she could do without it affecting her (ace) performance during our PT sessions. I’m also very lazy by nature and will avoid any unecessary work! That’s why I’m killing 2 birds (mmm… chicken) with one stone, and doing this blog post, enjoy!

Why Home Workouts Are Bad Ass

Personally I prefer the cold harsh touch of a barbell but it’s hard sometimes to drag yourself out of bed and get to the gym, you can exercise without leaving the bedroom… just make sure you don’t go back to bed straight after!
Spartans did bodyweight exercises, I don’t think I need to argue my point further but I’ll concede that most people aren’t as obsessed with the 300 film as I am.
It’s free
It’s convenient
You can do it anytime
Boosts your metabolism

Why Home Workouts Are NOT Bad Ass

It’s free – you don’t have any money invested in it, if you were paying for a gym membership then you’ll probably be more likely to work out consistently
You can do it anytime. Anytime being tomorrow (aka never)
Lack of accountability – no one will know if you’re working out or not, unless you have a stalker. Oh by the way you look cute when you’re sleeping, please don’t tell the police!

Home Workouts – Beginner Workout

Squats
Press ups (use variations depending on your ability)
lunges
dips
mountain climbers

Do the above exercises for one minute each, and repeat 3 times, take 1-2 minutes rest between the circuit if needed. That’s it. That will do for most people. I haven’t included abs in here because most abs exercises burn minimal calories. You can do 15 minutes of crunches if you want but that’ll be a huge waste of time if you’re wanting to lose fat.

How to Progress a Home Workout

Reduce the rest periods / eliminate them
Increase the duration of each exercise
Make the exercises harder, e.g. change mountain climbers to squat thrusts
Increase the number of exercises
Increase the number of sets

More Advanced Home Workouts

Dead Hooker Workout – John Romaniello

500 workout -Craig Ballantyne

There you guys go, quite a few excuses to stay inside in the warmth, Let me know if you want to see more bodyweight exercises on here and I’ll happily oblige.

Kirt

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To enquire about personal training click HERE.

To enquire about online coaching click HERE.

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How To Get A Six Pack – Part 2 – Six Pack Workout

Kirt — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 16:02:57 +0000

Six pack – we’re not talking about beer, we’re talking about the holy grail of the human physique.

In Part 1 of How To Get A Six Pack, we covered

When your six pack will become visible
How to get a six pack
Dieting to get a six pack

Here is the link to the previous article: Part 1 of How To Get A Six Pack

How to Work Out to Get A Six Pack

There are dozens and dozens of ab exercises you can use. There are probably hundreds of different “six pack workout” products that are out there. This workout below is my personal routine which I use to bring out my lagging areas. The focus of this six pack workout is to get my abs bigger so I don’t need to get my bodyfat ridiculously low just for my six pack to appear!

The ab workout itself doesn’t last long, I always prefer training smart to training long. Without further ado, here is the workout:

50 calories treadmill – 5 mins warmup
superset 1 -Hanging leg raises – feet all the way up to my hands aim for 3 x 10 reps
superset 1 -Kneeling weighted crunches 3 sets of 6-12 reps (going heavier each set)
Weighted leg raises (Dumbells between feet) - 3-4 sets of 6-12 reps (going heavier each set)
superset 2 -20 swiss ball crunches + 20 swiss ball knee tucks, repeated 3 times with no rest (rest is for the weak!)
15-20 mins with 20kg vest. Either do hill walking or intervals.

WARNING! Before you do this six pack workout:

Warm up
If you haven’t trained abs recently DO NOT do this routine
DON’T do this routine if you are a beginner
Ask someone qualified to show you the technique if you are unsure
The weighted vest is optional – just be careful you don’t get arrested as someone in Leeds actually did (the vest makes you look like a suicide bomber)

Again this routine is not for beginners so make sure its a level suitable for you. I’ve not put obliques on there – mainly because it’s not a priority for me, also if my obliques become big I could lose my “V” shape.

Frequency of the Six Pack Workout

You may be wondering how often to do this workout, some people train abs every day, but abs are still like any other muscle group and they do need to recover so I wouldn’t recommend doing THIS workout every day. Another school of thought is to train them bodybuilder style once a week (most people tend to split their body parts to train each body part once a week). I would recommend doing this workout as often as you can providing you recover and you are getting stronger (as I mentioned earlier the main purpose of this six pack workout is to increase the size of my abs).

If you like / want to train your abs every time you go into the gym then you’ll probably be better off with another ab routine which I have used successfully in the past. Here is a link to the higher frequency six pack workout: Click HERE

If you have any questions on how to make this workout easier or harder, drop a comment below!

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To enquire about personal training click HERE.

To enquire about online coaching click HERE.

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