Keeping in shape over Christmas & New Year. 2010

Christmas and New Years’ is a time to be jolly! So wouldn’t it be great if you could feel like you are having heaps of fun without straying too far from your training and physique goals. Here are six ideas to help you enjoy the festive season and stay in shape!

1. Just because Christmas and New Years’ is a holiday doesn’t mean you have to stop training. Gyms are open most days during this period. Also there are lots of body weight exercises you can complete at home. However if you want to take a break from your normal training, there are heaps of other fun activities to try, like: surfing, swimming and walking at the beach for starters. Either way if you keep active it won’t be a mission to get back into your normal training routine after the holiday break has ended. It will also mean you use up most of the extra calories you have consumed over that time.

2. A good strategy to use to eat fewer calories when all the tempting food is around is to eat your macronutrients in this order.

  • Raw foods like: carrot & celery sticks, salads. (Gets digestive juices ready for the meal to come).
  • Protein like meat (steak, lamb, venison, chicken) & fish. (You will feel satisfied quicker and keeps Glycaemic Index of meal lower).
  • Other cooked vegetables like: broccoli, cauliflower, spinach. (Provides valuable nutrients with minimal calories).
  • Other complex carbohydrates last like: rice, kumara and potatoes. (You will eat less of these if you leave these foods till last).
  • Then if there is still room have a little dessert /alcohol or bread. (I don’t bother with this- I would rather have an extra serving of protein. Remember you don’t always have to eat dessert or drink alcohol when you go out for dinner).

So at a barbeque you could start with carrot sticks, iced water and a leafy salad (try using lemon and extra virgin olive oil as a dressing-it’s awesome), followed by some barbequed meat, then finish off (if you have room) some cooked vegetables or a kumara/pasta/potato salad. Dessert/ alcohol (could be low calorie) or bread after that is optional and usually not necessary.

3. Another idea is the way in which you ingest your macronutrients throughout the day. My normal pattern of eating is to eat 5 very small meals (made up of fruit, raw vegetables, nuts and protein powder) throughout the day then overeat with a huge meal at night. So when Christmas comes along and big dinner meals are the norm my body weight and composition is not affected at all! (As long as I stick to macronutrient order mentioned above).

4. Avoid or drink less alcohol. Alcohol is a killer for maintaining your physique goals; it has empty calories (around 100-150 calories for a standard beer), it decreases your testosterone and depletes your body of nutrients. However, if you follow the food order above and have a drink afterwards (remember you don’t have to drink) then this should hopefully minimise the negative effects and the amount you want to drink.

5. Continue to use your supplements like fish oil, multi minerals, vitamins and protein shakes. These help your body function properly so don’t leave them out. Remember:

  • Protein is a great appetite suppressant and satisfier.
  • The humid weather and festivities means more alcohol is consumed and alcohol is a shocker for depleting the body of a number of vitamins and minerals.

6. The heat also means you should drink lots of water. Remember that even being 2% dehydrated can affect your mood, energy and ability to remove toxins from the body. Also, thirst is often mistaken for hunger. So when you know you have eaten enough but still feel like eating, drink 2 glasses of water first. Often this will curb any more of those (false) hunger pangs.

Give these ideas a try over the holiday period and I guarantee you can still have heaps of fun without straying too far from your training and physique goals. Yes, you can have your cake and eat it too! Have a merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

Water works Part II

I thought I would take the benefits of water a step further and explain how I personally use water for health, training and bodybuilding competition.

My usual water intake can range from 2-4 litres most days and I know if I drink any less I feel sluggish, think less clearly and fatigue easier both in and out of the gym. I start off each day with 1-2 glasses of water and half a lemon.  This helps my body to optimise the detoxification process and lose body fat.  I have also found that it helps with unblocking my nose during hay fever season. 

My water intake before and during training is vital in terms of getting a good workout.  Before training (about ½ an hour) I will drink 2-4 glasses of water with a nitric oxide supplement.  This ensures that I will get an awesome pump and be in the zone to train. During the workout I will drink steadily between sets and get through at least one litre of water (definitely more in summer). This strategy means I maintain the pump and my energy levels throughout the whole workout.  The great Steve Reeves (the original Hercules) used a concoction of water, lemon and honey when he trained and I have found it to be useful on occasion too. I feel water is just as important as protein, creatine and other bodybuilding supplements in helping me achieve my training and physique goals.

I then make sure that I continue to drink water regularly throughout the rest of the day.  Water needs to be consumed regularly as all food and supplements are delivered to your muscles in an aqueous solution.  So remember if you are not properly hydrated you will not get the full benefit of your food and supplements.

Water is often seen as the enemy to bodybuilding competitors trying to get as shredded as possible onstage.  My experience over the last 10 years is that the times I have tried to restrict water it was because I wasn’t in decent shape in the first place. Restricting water intake always made me look smoother, flatter and I felt terrible! How many times have you heard a competitor say I was holding too much water when in actual fact they were just not lean enough? (Some bodybuilders can have hardly any water 2 to 4 days before a show-sometimes even longer which I feel is a very unhealthy practise!)  Natural athletes need to maintain their water intake as much as possible leading up to a show- remember your body is around 55%-75% water, so if you are dehydrated your muscles will be flat, you will be tired and you will not look your best.

The Monday before a show I will increase my water intake slightly to around 4-5 litres and maintain that all the way to Thursday.  On Friday the day before a show I will drop my water intake to around 2-3 litres and on the day of the show I will sip water whenever I feel I need to.  This strategy has always worked for me and it works because the body thinks it will continue to be supplied with a plentiful amount of water so it only holds onto the bare minimum. If you have been limiting water over several days which appears to be common practice for a lot of bodybuilders then your body tries to rebalance very quickly(about 1-2 days) by holding onto water so that normal body functions can still take place properly.  Also everyday detoxification is compromised and this can also contribute to water retention on the day of the show.  It will also mean you have difficulty getting a decent pump backstage and will be more prone to cramping up when posing.
Straight after the show I have 1-2 litres to replenish the water lost during the pump up backstage and posing under the lights.

Obviously being as lean as possible and looking your best for competition is a difficult feat to accomplish and requires a lot of knowledge, hard work and dedication but if you can see that water is your friend in the pursuit of looking your very best then try some of the ideas here, fine tune them for you and look forward to better health, energy and success onstage!

Make sure you take your Vitamins and Minerals 2012

Vitamins and minerals are micronutrients in foods that are involved in countless body processes that can help us gain more muscle and improve performance in the gym.  They can help our bodies utilise macronutrients like proteins, carbs and fats better, optimise hormones like testosterone and growth hormone and even help us to relax and feel good.
A lot of nutritionists advocate getting these chemical elements from foods alone, however, I think there are some situations where supplementing is a necessity. Intense training has a huge impact on the amounts of vitamins and minerals our body uses.  As I have mentioned before in a previous article your lifestyle can also have an effect on the amount of micronutrients your body needs (these can be quite specific to the individual).  For example when I get extremely busy or stressed I will increase the dosage of or add certain supplements like Vitamin C, B vitamins, magnesium, zinc and calcium.  When I do this I am able to cope with the demands asked of me by my job while still being able to get in productive workouts.  Another reason is that you may not have the time to cook and eat all the foods necessary to meet your micronutrient requirements.
Why do we need some vitamins more often than others?  Some are stored in the body’s fat stores (fat soluble vitamins-A,D,E,K)  so they can build up within the body whereas water soluble vitamins like Vitamin C and the B vitamins are not stored in the same manner and require constant replacement.
So what vitamins and minerals specifically help us to increase muscle and improve our performance in the gym?  In short all of them!
Vitamins A, D, E, K can:

  •  Encourage growth of healthy muscle tissues in the body.
  • Act as antioxidants having a protective effect on our muscles.
  • Have a positive impact on your nervous system and immunity so you can handle the effects of hard training better without getting sick.

Vitamin D (which can be generated in the body from our skin being exposed to sunlight) also encourages optimum insulin production which is beneficial in making sure nutrients are shuttled into our muscles for growth.
(Vitamin A can be obtained from fruit, veges, dairy and fish)
(Vitamin D can be obtained from sunshine, cod liver oil)
(Vitamin E can be obtained from almonds, kumara, and sun-flower seed oil)
(Vitamin K is manufactured in the body. It may require supplementation).

Vitamin C can:
·       Dilate blood vessels which can definitely aid in getting a pump during a workout.
·       Help repair muscle damage from intense workouts.
·       Help absorb our nutrients better, especially iron.
(Vitamin C can be obtained from a range of fruit and veges).
The B Vitamins (B1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 9, 12) have so many roles to play in the body that it is beyond the scope of this article to mention them all; however, here are some of the benefits:
·       They help us utilise nutrients from the foods we eat.
·       They give us energy and a better feeling of well-being.
·       They help deal with stress and have a calming effect which has a positive impact on testosterone production.
·       They are involved in producing hormones which are necessary for growth and normal body function.
(B vitamins can be obtained from meat, nuts, veges, fruit and cereals.)

Our body also needs an array of different minerals to function at its best. Minerals like calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, phosphorous, chloride, chromium, iodine, copper, iron, manganese, molybdenum, selenium, and zinc all have their part to play in our quest for more muscle.

Here is a very quick look at the benefits these minerals have in helping us improve our muscle gains and performance in the gym: (I will add some foods that contain these minerals as well).

Calcium & Phosphorous: both are involved in allowing us to contract our muscles properly during workouts and they also buffer acid build up during a hard set.
(Milk, almonds, broccoli, sardines for calcium) & (milk, porridge, nuts, sardines, meat for phosphorous)

Magnesium: Is my favourite mineral- It does all of the above plus it helps us to absorb and use nutrients from our food, helps with energy production and relaxes the mind and body.  Whenever I think I may struggle to get to sleep I take some magnesium.
(Brazil nuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds)

Sodium, potassium, and chloride: are important for regulating the water and chemical balance in our body. Although we are often told to limit our salt intake, a certain amount is needed to make our muscles contract properly and make them look as full and lean as possible.  Potassium is also directly involved in the formation of new muscle tissue.
(Salt for sodium chloride)  & (meat, fruit and veges for potassium)

Chromium:  helps us use sugar and assists in the production of insulin which is needed to shuttle nutrients to our muscles for growth.
(Scallops, kiwifruit, bread).
Iodine:  Helps with energy production and optimises our metabolism so we can burn fat. (Kelp, fish, iodised salt).
Copper: Helps to maintain the elasticity of our skin (important for those who bulk up during off-season) and is involved in the formation of our muscles, arteries and skin. (Cashew nuts, paw paw, liver, oysters, pumpkin seeds).
Iron:  Is important for energy levels and building new muscle as it helps our bodies absorb and use protein from our foods. (Paua, oysters, beef, liver, pumpkin seeds)
Manganese:  Is involved in making hormones like insulin and testosterone. (Pecan nuts, silver beet, muesli cereal)
Molybdenum:  Helps our body use copper and iron properly.  It is involved in testosterone production. (Eggs, rice, chicken, haricot beans, lentils, liver)
Selenium:  Is an antioxidant and helps maintain the elasticity of all tissues in the body. (Brazil nuts, snapper, eggs, lentils-supplement may be required as it is deficient in NZ soils).
Zinc: Another favourite mineral of mine; it is an antioxidant, helps us digest and use food, improves our immunity, is involved in testosterone production, helps us relax, assists in healing, helps in eliminating toxins from the body and more!(oysters, beef, lamb, pumpkin seeds).
As you can see we need all these amazing micronutrients (in the right balance) for our bodies to function at their best and maximise all the hard work we do in the gym.  Also it must be said that deficiencies in these vitamins and minerals can cause an array of health problems.  Our foods are valuable in obtaining them, however, supplements are necessary to make up the shortfall for when our bodies are under stress from training or our lifestyle, our foods are deficient in them or if our diets are not on point.  I think a good multi-vitamin and mineral supplement is a good insurance policy in making sure your quest for more muscle and improved performances in the gym are realised.

Fat is good! 2015

Over the years fat has been given a bad rap.  Now don’t get me wrong there are good and bad fats.

Fats like vegetable oils (really they are seed oils that have been often created through use of harmful chemicals), margarines and the fats used in processed and fast foods are in my opinion bad.  Good fats, the ones our bodies have been using for hundreds and thousands of years are the ones that naturally occur or require very little processing, these are: fish and fish oil, olive oil, fat in and on meat, the yolk in eggs, butter and ghee.

A myth that has perpetuated for decades is that saturated fat increases cholesterol which leads to heart disease.  Research now is suggesting that it does not raise bad cholesterol (LDL), but the good cholesterol (HDL) thus improving the cholesterol ratio within the body.  We actually need cholesterol to optimise hormone production in both males and females.

Another myth is that fat is the reason people are obese- it is the inflammatory, low nutrient and insulin producing sugar and processed carbs that are the real culprits to our modern day obesity epidemic.

Before I discuss the benefits of fat I would just like to say that the quality of the fat will be determined by the manner in which it is processed and fed.  For example olive oil should be extra virgin and cold pressed.  Animals used for meat should be pasture fed or be able to eat their natural diet so that the fats are high quality and contain higher levels of omega 3.  That is why lamb is my favourite meat.

So what are the benefits of fats?

  • It reduces food cravings.
  • It helps the body assimilate nutrients from food better. For ladies that means better digestion of calcium and other nutrients necessary for healthy bones.
  • It helps your body utilise fat soluble vitamins too.
  • It optimises your hormone levels- for guys that means more testosterone!
  • Your brain has a high fat content-fat helps our brains to function properly which in turn can improve your mood, concentration and motivation.
  • It helps you lose fat easier.
  • It will improve eye health and hair condition.
  • It decreases inflammation in the body- especially omega 3.
  • Animal fat and ghee handle cooking and high temperatures well with no oxidisation which can cause inflammation in the body.
  • It can reduce the rate and amount of insulin being released so you don’t store body fat as easily.
  • Omega 3 fats have been used to change behavior in children with ADHD.
  • Some fats like coconut oil (caprylic acid) have antifungal properties which can improve gut and immunity.
  • It tastes really really good!

I suggest you get at least 2-5 grams of omega 3 in your daily diet. I personally have used higher doses of 10-20 grams in the past with great results.  Increasing your Omega 3 content so that it is higher than omega 6 is the goal with a ratio of 2-3 to 1 in terms of omega 3 to 6 intake being optimum. Also get some saturated fats in every day.

So add some good fats to your diet, reduce your intake of processed carbs and you will not only have a myriad of health benefits come your way but a better physique to boot!

Intermittent Fasting & Meal Frequency- What one suits you? 2015

As fitness enthusiasts we all tend to believe that eating 5-6 equal sized meals per day is the gold standard for meal frequency to get in shape, feel good and be healthy.  However, if you have tried this and failed to get in shape or felt hungry the whole time then maybe a different pattern of eating would suit you better.

Enter IF or intermittent fasting which was first made popular by Ori Hofmekler with the “Warrior Diet”.  It involves either fasting or under eating for 20 hours and having a four hour eating window. This is the version of IF I have used for competitions over the last 6 years.  I eat very little during the day and have one main meal at night; this is what it generally looks like:

Meal 1:  WPC 30g, fish oil, vitamin & mineral supplement

Meal 2:  small serving of raspberries or blueberries or cranberries or small handful of nuts-almonds/macadamias or carrot.

Meal 3:  WPC 30g

Meal 4:  small serving of raspberries or blueberries or cranberries or small handful of nuts-almonds/macadamias or carrot.

TRAIN

Meal 5:  WPC 30g

Meal 6:  Main meal- Lamb or Chicken or Fish and unlimited vegetables- A least 80% of my calories and most of my carbs for the day are in this meal. I often add butter to the meal after it is cooked too. This meal makes me feel like I’m not dieting and helps me sleep way better.  I will also have nuts or 30-60g of WPC if I still feel hungry.

Another IF protocol I have found useful in the off-season to keep in shape is Martin Berkhan’s “ lean gains” approach where you fast for 16 hours and have an 8 hour eating window with 2-3 meals.  Basically it is as simple as missing breakfast.  This is how I have used Martin’s approach in the past:

Meal 1: 11 am- 30-60g WPC, fish oil or fish (salmon/sardines/monkfish) or lentils

4-5pm Train

Meal 2:  5 pm- Main meal- Meat & unlimited vegetables

Meal 3:  7pm- Snack- nuts/fish (salmon/sardines/monkfish) /30-60g WPC

Martin also advocates 7-10 g of BCAAs or a serving of WPC before training. I have a serving of WPC ½ an hour before training.

At present I am eating two substantial meals a day at 2-3 pm and 7-8pm.  So a water fast for 18-19 hours and a 5-6 hour eating window.  Funnily enough I am never hungry, I feel good and am still making progress in regards to my training goals.

There are other versions of IF out there but these are the 3 approaches I have found that work for me in terms of getting lean and adding muscle.  The other benefits for me are:

I get to eat bigger meals- I enjoy eating!

I am never hungry- I don’t feel like I am dieting!

I think and feel better

I have more time to do things (less organisation needed for meals/ not having to stop to eat during the day)

I digest my food better.

However, before I go I must say this is not for everyone – a lot of people do need to eat every 2-3 hours to make gains, feel good and maintain their health.  Also females tend to do better with shorter fasting periods of no more than 14 hours.

If however, you are considering it and not sure how it may affect you, break in to it slowly- for example- shorten the eating window over time so your body can get used to it.

So if the traditional dietary approach of 5-6 meals a day doesn’t suit you give these meal patterns a try or experiment and come up with your own meal frequency that suits you.  Eat less often, feel less hungry and get in shape-who would have thought!