How to beat a weight loss plateau Bodybuilding Exercises Training Methods by admin - 10 March 20188 March 20180 You’re doing everything right but your weight loss has come to a grinding halt? We asked nutritionist, trainer and founder of Balance Fitness & Nutrition to share her insights on how to get results again. Signs: Weight loss plateaus can be frustrating, particularly if you are closely following your nutrition and training plan. Despite eating and moving well, signs of a dieting plateau include: » Weight loss stalled or an increase in weight » Feeling hungrier » Low energy levels » Poor recovery and/or sleep quality Causes: Essentially, dieting plateaus are caused by our body’s ability to adapt to the way they are fuelled and moved. Usually plateaus occur due to: » Undereating and/or inappropriate macronutrient profile to meet your training and daily energy requirements. » Overtraining and/or consistently moving your body in the same way, regularly. » Inadequate rest, recovery and stress: when we don’t get enough sleep our bodies produce cortisol, which leads to fat retention and storage, lethargy and irritability. During weight loss you impose a caloric deficit, either by increasing exercise or decreasing food intake. Through this deficit you begin to lose body mass – and when muscle mass declines, so too does your metabolism. These are indicators that energy supply is low and your body adapts to energy restrictions accordingly: there is a decrease in hormones that promotes anabolism, energy expenditure and satiety (fullness) and a rise in hormones that promotes catabolism and hunger. How to get results again: Keeping your body guessing is key, as our bodies crave efficiency. Mix up your meals. Do you have the same meal at the same time every day? Try carbohydrate and/or calorie cycling of higher, moderate and lower days. Opt for a higher carb day when you train legs or perform HIIT and lower carbs, higher fats on LISS/rest days. Rotating food choices helps ensure your metabolism doesn’t adjust to a specific diet regimen; because there is no sustained calorie restriction, your body doesn’t adjust its metabolism or start catabolising lean muscle tissue as it would on a sustained low-calorie diet. Increase your calories: A calorie deficit is generally needed to lose weight, but not in all cases. You may actually need to increase your overall calories to continue burning them in order to preserve muscle mass and your metabolism. Your body will learn that food is abundant and won’t try to hoard it for starvation mode. Prioritise protein: Up your protein intake or incorporate a source of protein into each meal. This macronutrient has a higher thermic effect than fats and carbs, so your body has to work harder to digest it. Protein assists in the retention of lean muscle mass (metabolism), protein synthesis, satiety between meals and muscle recovery. Training – shake & strengthen it up: Studies have found that strength training helps people shed more fat than cardio while boosting their metabolism by increasing muscle mass. Aim for a minimum of two to three strength sessions each week. If you already strength train, mix it up by using a combination of supersets, tri-sets and circuits to keep the intensity of the sessions high. Overall duration should be short to moderate and serve as a HIIT-style resistance workout. If you run 5km every day, try adding in a day of sprints. Keeping your sessions short but intense helps to utilise your anaerobic training zones and leads to greater excess post-exercise oxygen consumption. Rest and recovery: If overtraining is the cause of your plateau, it may be time to add in a taper week or two. Prioritising sleep will help balance insulin resistance, regulate cortisol, and decrease leptin. Check your portions: Are you really consuming the serving sizes you thought? Try and be more mindful of how much you are putting on your plate. Plateau or happy place? Lastly, consider whether you have REALLY plateaued and whether your training and nutrition has been as good as you say it has. If you feel you’ve reached one, take time to reflect, but also consider whether it is a plateau or, rather, your ideal weight. The numbers on the scales may have stalled, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t improving on areas of your strength, fitness and mindset. Try using a combination of how your clothes fit, measurements and fitness checks (60 second max tests or a simple 3 minute AMRAP) to track and re-check your progress. After all, the scales are just a number. {nomultithumb}
Are you addicted to exercise? Bodybuilding Exercises Training Methods by admin - 21 February 201815 February 20180 Exercise is great for the mind, body and soul, right? But what happens when it starts to take over your life? PT Marisa Branscombe ponders the dangerous effects of too much exercise Exercise is generally accepted as a positive behaviour associated with enhanced physical and psychological wellbeing. But is it possible to do
How to make the most of beach circuits and boot camps Exercises Fitness Models Training Methods Weight loss by admin - 15 February 201815 February 20180 The benefits of outdoor training “Circuit training is an excellent way to frame your workouts regardless of whether you are working to time (i.e. 30 seconds on, 10 seconds off) or reps (i.e. 8–12 reps),” says personal trainer and owner of Flow Athletic Ben Lucas. “You can tailor a circuit workout to suit your
Hormone check: why you may not be losing stubborn fat in problem areas Bodybuilding Exercises Weight loss by admin - 20 September 201720 September 20170 Hormone check: why you may not be losing stubborn fat in problem areas How do your hormones affect your ability to move stubborn fat? We turned to head trainer Alexa Towersey for her insight.Why we store fat where we do is a product of our hormones and their interaction with the environment – a combination of nature and nurture. Our hormones either work for us or against us, and when even one is out of balance, it has a domino effect on the rest. Any kind of hormonal imbalance can make losing weight an uphill struggle.Hormones are in constant fluctuality and are affected by all our training, nutrition and lifestyle choices: how long and how hard we train, what we put in or on our bodies, when we go to sleep, how much water we drink and how much we stress.
10 online and app-based training programs Exercises Training Methods by admin - 1 July 20171 July 20170 10 online and app-based training programs Can’t get to the gym during the week? A new breed of web and app-based training programs takes the excuses out of the busy.Whether you do best with a real-life traininer to keep you accountable, learn best from demos or written instructions or prioritise tracking tools, here are 10 pocket gyms to suit those who don’t have access to a gym.1. trainingonline.comHIT: Devised by a qualified trainer, the customised programs on this free site answer goals such as weight loss, strength conditioning and general fitness. The fitness library contains more than 200 exercises complete with video demonstrations, iPod-ready instructions and printer-friendly versions perfect for lunchtime sessions.