Exercise, diet and well-being – Page 3

December 16, 2017

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!

December 16, 2017December 18, 2017

Improve your posture for a better physique. 2010

Posture has a significant part in how we gain muscle and even how our physiques look (You only have to look in the mirror with your chest puffed up compared to being slouched over to realise the latter claim). It is important that you consider posture when you train so that you develop muscle in the right places, remain injury free and look your best. Below are some features and reasons for poor posture with some strategies to improve it for a better physique.
Forward head posture is a common problem in the gym. You would have noticed people at the gym who walk around with their heads slightly slouched forward, or who when completing exercises lurch their head forward on each repetition.

It usually occurs because people:

• Use momentum to complete a lot of their exercises.
• Crunch their torso forward during exercises (to stabilise their body) which can further encourage the problem.
• Have poor posture (they slouch: their spine is in kyphosis) to start with.
This over time usually leads to neck and shoulder problems. Realising also that if your head is forward and down (instead of straight and directly over your shoulders) gravity is working on it all the time. Imagine in 10 years what your posture would look like if you did nothing to correct it (you would definitely have a more hunched over look).

Internally rotated shoulders are another problem that can exacerbate kyphosis of the spine and poor posture. Often weight trainers love to train the showy muscles like the chest and front deltoids while neglecting the muscles of the upper back like the traps and rhomboids. Over time the chest muscles become overdeveloped in relation to the back causing the shoulders to slouch forward. This will definitely make your physique look narrower, less aesthetic and more prone to injury the longer you are involved in weight training.

Another reason for poor posture is the core; the abdominals, hip flexors and lower back not being strong enough (or not being used properly) to stabilise you during exercises. Most people who have kyphotic posture tend to perform exercises crunched over or leaning forward which usually means their upper and lower back muscles are not flexed properly, leaving them open to injury.

So how do we correct these common problems?

• Make sure you are aware of your own posture. Some people are more naturally kyphotic than others so assess your posture (or get someone else to) so you can select exercises that will improve your posture.
• Learn what good posture is and looks like. My students in the weight room at school are taught to stand with their chest puffed up, belly button in, feet shoulder width apart and knees slightly bent with their head above their shoulders looking straight ahead (usually this is enough to get their posture right). I also show them what poor posture looks and feels like so they are in a better position to correct themselves.
• Make sure you train with controlled movements and that you maintain a neutral head position (looking straight ahead, head over shoulders and no movement).
• Use exercises that put muscle on your upper back like:
Deadlifts, Barbell, dumbell or machine rows (rows with elbows out will generally hit them better- but experiment to see what feels the best), Low pulley upright rows-make sure you stand about a metre from pulley station (this position seems to be better on the shoulder joint and hits the upper back muscles hard), shrugs with a focus on pulling up and slightly back (not to be confused with rotating up and back).
• Put less emphasis on chest training and focus on the upper back muscles. A good rule is for every chest exercise you complete, do at least two exercises for the back. For example my Chest & Back workout at the moment looks like this:

Exercises
1. Deadlift
2. Incline DB fly press (cross between DB fly and DB bench press)
3. Bent over row or machine row (On machine rows I focus keeping my ribcage high and pulling my scapulae back and down in one fluid movement).
4. Chin up
5. DB Pullover
I naturally have a tendency to slouch a little (a combination of a slightly kyphotic spine or natural tendency to slouch, working on a computer a lot and not giving my upper back muscles the priority they needed) so training like this has helped a lot in changing my posture for the better. I have noticed that because my shoulders are not as internally rotated (because of a stronger back) it is easier for me to feel my chest exercises better as my shoulders are taken out of the movement more; as a result I am making more improvements in my chest than when I was doing three times the work!
• You can perform some easy exercises at home like locking your hands behind your back, then, with straight arms raise your hands as high as they can go slowly. Repeat 10-20 reps a couple of times a day. You can also hold your bent arms up, out to the side (parallel to the ground) and perform scapulae squeezes for the same amount of reps as above.
• Make sure you stretch your chest, shoulder and neck muscles after workouts so that the muscles do not become tight. You could also use a broom stick- rest it on top of you traps with arms wrapped around the broom to get a good shoulder/chest stretch.
• Train your core muscles by performing heavy compound movements with good form. I feel these are more beneficial than the focus on stability ball training which seems to be the rage at the moment.
• Perform a movement like the Plank where you are in a press up position on your elbows with a straight back. Suck belly button in and hold for 2 minutes +. Progress to the rollout.
• Focus on the lower aspect of the rectus abdominus by performing reverse crunch movements.
• When you are out of the gym make sure you walk with good posture, imagine the top of your head being attached to a hook, chest up and relaxed.
• When seated in front of a computer make sure the screen is high enough so that you do not slouch and take regular breaks to perform some of the exercises mentioned above.

Although this only scratches the surface in terms of ways you can improve your posture, I hope it gives you a good starting point to consider what you can do to develop muscle in the right places, remain injury free and look your best.

December 16, 2017

The Positives about Negatives! 2012

Negative or eccentric training is a great training technique to increase strength and muscle mass as it can be applied to increase the weights you use, amp up intensity, increase time under tension and burn body fat!

Traditional negative training involves completing the negative aspect of an exercise with a spotter lifting the weight on the positive or concentric part of the movement (e.g. during an exercise like the bench press you lower the weight by yourself as slowly as possible to your chest then a spotter lifts the weight back to the top of the movement for you). Charles Poliquin, an Olympic and top personal trainer claims using negatives is one of the fastest ways to improve your strength. He has had great success with this technique to help both his male and female clients perform pull ups. If they can’t perform one pull up (pronated grip) or chin up (supinated grip) he gets them standing on a box high enough so they can start at the top of the movement and perform only the negative. The strength gained during the eccentric training transfers over to the concentric aspect of the repetition too. So when they can complete a 30 second negative they are able to perform a proper pull up.

Another effective variation of negatives is to load the muscle with a weight heavier than you are accustomed to using in an exercise (we can be up to 30% stronger during a negative) while having a spotter take most of the weight during the positive part to increase strength and muscle growth. To be on the safe side begin by using a weight that is 5% heavier and go from there.
Others use negatives to increase intensity and time under tension (T.U.T) by completing as many normal reps as possible then getting a spotter to help with the positive movement when they can no longer do it to increase the reps and tension time the muscle is put under. Some recent research suggests that tension times of at least 40 seconds are extremely beneficial for muscle growth. If you consider that a normal set of 10 reps usually takes around 20-30 seconds for most trainers (1 second positive and 1-2 second negative) -adding 2-3 negatives can add up to 10 seconds or more on to the end of a set putting yourself in a way better position to grow!

Negatives can be done by yourself on one arm exercises like concentration curls or one arm triceps pushdowns as you can use the other arm to help with the positive movement when the muscles can no longer complete it. You can also complete partial negatives to develop weak points in any lift too.

Although negative training has been used with great success by many top bodybuilders, the unique stress it provides (during negatives the muscles are activated like they are in fast twitch mode and it causes more muscle damage than normal lifting) can be quite stressful and put a higher demand on the body’s ability to recover and grow. As a result it is only used for short periods of time as a technique to shock the body back into growth.

A good side effect of the muscle damage caused by negative training is the increase in the body’s metabolism which means you burn more body fat- so how could we get the benefits of negative training on a regular basis without the burn out that could occur with traditional negative training?
Emphasising or lengthening the time of negatives in your normal sets has all the benefits of negative training and more! I have increased my negatives to 4 seconds with a 1 second positive on most exercises.
I have found that increasing the time of the negative aspect of my exercises has had these benefits for me:
· A better mind-muscle connection.
· Better muscle pumps.
· Longer time under tension (T.U.T); a normal 10 repetition set now gives me around 50 seconds of tension time.
· Weights used are lighter which is great for my joints. (It was actually tough mentally to drop the weights I normally lift, thinking I would shrink- but I am so glad I did as the results I have seen have been well worth it).
· I am recovering faster and can train more often (not trying to lift heavy all the time has meant my central nervous system is recovering faster and in line with my muscle recovery).
· My metabolism has sped up (I weigh more; have got leaner and enjoying eating more food!).
· I have increased vascularity and my muscles look fuller.
· Don’t need a spotter.
· I am enjoying my training even more than normal!

You can play around with the length of your negatives to see what works for you. Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson (x-rep.com and American Ironman magazine) promote negative accentuated (NA) sets that have a 6 second negative and 1 second positive aiming for 7 reps (49 seconds tension time and believe me it is TOUGH!). On most sets they use a 3 second negative and 1 second positive for 10 reps so they hit 40 seconds (T.U.T) on most sets. The progress these two have achieved with this type of training is impressive as both have amazing physiques (both are drug free too!).

If you haven’t tried negatives before give some of these variations a try. Who would have thought that focussing on the negative could have so many positives!

December 16, 2017December 18, 2017

Your natural Bench Press, Squat and Deadlift potential 2012

Have you ever wondered how much weight you should aim to lift in the Bench Press, Squat and Deadlift as a natural trainer for your body weight? Casey Butt Ph.D from WeighTrainer.com has devised equations that utilise data of world record raw lifters from the 1940’s all the way up to 2010. He suggests that these equations are quite accurate predictors in regards to raw & drug free world champion lifts and that attaining these would put you up there with the very best in the world. Although this may not be realistic for most he says that typical trainees and hard gainers may reach approximately:

Typical trainer	Hard gainer
67% of predicted bench result	53% of predicted bench result
72% of predicted Squat result	58% of predicted Squat result
72% of predicted Deadlift result	58% of predicted Deadlift result

Casey puts it in context when he says that you need to “accept yourself for who you are and never stop trying to improve yourself – that’s the real measure of success, not only were you ultimately go, but where you came from as well”. Remember we all have our own genetic limitations and strengths so if anything I think this is a great tool to get you motivated to get stronger and push yourself to reach your potential with real numbers to aim for. So here are the equations:

Bench Press = 2.6536e-5 x BW^3 – 0.02590 x BW^2 + 8.7356 x BW – 439.90

(Lowered to the chest with no bounce).

Full Squat = 2.5122e-5 x BW^3 – 0.02993 x BW^2 + 11.2575 x BW – 676.60

(Upper leg lowered to parallel or below).

Deadlift = 1.6940e-4 x BW^3 – 0.12449 x BW^2 + 30.3879 x BW – 1776.51

(Conventional or Sumo style allowed)

(You can use a belt with all lifts- no straps for deadlifts).

Now these equations require you to convert kilograms into pounds before putting it into the formula. Here is an example of how I used it to work out my bench press, squat and deadlift. There are 2.2 pounds per kilo. I weigh 67 kilos so 67 x 2.2 = 147pds. Then you replace BW in the equation with your weight in pounds.

Bench Press = (2.6536e-5 x BW^3) – (0.02590 x BW^2) + (8.7356 x BW – 439.90)

(0.000026536x147x147x147) – (0.02590 x 147 x 147) + (8.7356x147 – 439.90)= 281.77 pd

Now I have to convert this back to kilos- 281.77/ 2.2=128 kg.

Typical would be 128 x 67%=85.67 kg

Hard gainer would be 128 x 53%= 67.84 kg

Full Squat = (2.5122e-5 x BW^3) – (0.02993 x BW^2) + (11.2575 x BW – 676.60)

(0.000025122x 147 x 147 x 147) – (0.02993x 147 x 147) + (11.2575x 147-676.60)= 411.3 pd

Convert this back to kilos- 411.3 / 2.2= 186.95 kg

Typical would be 186.95 x 72%= 134.6 kg

Hard gainer would be 186.95 x 58%= 108.4

Deadlift = 1.6940e-4 x BW^3 – 0.12449 x BW^2 + 30.3879 x BW – 1776.51

(0.00016940x147x147x147)- (0.12449x147x147) + (30.3879x147-1776.51)=538.5pd

Convert this to kilos-538.5/2.2=244.7kg

Typical would be 244.7 x 72%= 176.2kg

Hard gainer would be 244.7 x 58%= 141.9kg

At this body weight my best lifts are:

Bench: 110kg

Squat: 160kg

Deadlift: 200kg (with straps)

Although I am no elite lifter by any stretch of the imagination I am very happy with the numbers and progress I have made over the years. If you are interested in seeing where you are in relation to elite, typical and hard gainer lifters punch in your numbers and see where you stand- then use your results as a positive tool to motivate you to bigger numbers in the weight room!

December 16, 2017

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.