The importance of eating before you train

Hi Everyone, hope we have all had a good week training hard,eating clean and (after last week) keeping our ego in check whilst in the gym;)

I have recently started a new session of Bootcamp and with this 8 wk program I am also running a nutrition component. Basically I have gotten all the girls involved to keep a food diary and each week we have 45-60minute session addressing problems and giving them better guidance so that they can reach their full potential in their goals :)

We had our first session this week and during the session whilst the girls were posing questions I was again reminded just how much uncertainty there is when it comes to good nutrition and the “right” things to do. One of the issues that came up was eating before they come to Bootcamp(6am) of a morning. It was interesting for me to discover that not one of them ate before they come and trained for that hour on an empty stomach, only to eat when they had breakfast after.

It was there I decided that even though I have discussed fuelling your body to train before that maybe I needed to re-iterate its importance.

I know it can be difficult for some people to stomach food at such an early hour of the morning but no matter what time of day you train your body still needs the right fuel to do so, otherwise you won't be able to perform at your full potential nor will you reap the full benefits of the session. Our bodies work much like a car. Your car isn’t going to run efficiently if you don’t continue to put petrol in it is it? No. Similarly if we don’t put food “fuel” in our bodies we are not going to be able to function efficiently in the gym.

Before doing any kind of strength or high intensity cardio(bootcamp contains both) you need to be consuming some form of carbohydrate and protein. Why? The carbohydrate gives your body the energy it needs to perform as carbohydrates are the easiest of the 3 nutrients (protein, carbohydrates and fats) to break down into energy form. The protein will help to build and repair the muscle which is essential when strength training.

Some people think that if they don’t eat then it will be better as the body will use their excess fat as energy and they will lose weight. THIS IS NOT TRUE! Yes your body will use some of your fat stores but fat is harder to break down then carbohydrates and once the body uses what it can it will start to try and break down protein stores in the body which results in the loss of lean muscle. Not something we want! The best idea for fat burn is light to moderate cardioon an empty stomach when your first wake up and this is something that I have incorporated into my daily routine.

Now depending how long before you train you are eating will also depend on what is best to eat. As I have mentioned before I am someone who usually trains fairly early and therefore I need something that is prettyeasily digested before I train so that I don’t have to get up even earlier.Bananas are a great source of energy for early morning sessions as they are easily broken down (a simple carbohydrate). I usually have just half a banana,a few strawberries (while in season) and some yoghurt for a source of protein.  This is something simple, not too filling, yet enough to give me energy within 20-30 mins to carry out a hard session.

I will admit that in the past I used to be a culprit of training on an empty stomach. Now that I have started eating before a weights session and have noticed the difference it makes in my performance and results there is no way I would go back. For someone who also once found it hard to eat so early my body has now adjusted (in the amazing way our bodies do) to accommodate this new routine.

So even if it means getting up 10 mins earlier and justeating half a banana and a few spoons of yoghurt or even just half a banana,don’t miss out on reaching your full potential. Give your body the fuel it needs to perform and watch the changes unravel.

Eat CLEAN, train MEAN, live LEAN :)

 

Fit FREAK of the week!

Well it has been awhile since I have shared a fit FREAK with you all. This week’s was suggested to me by my friend Kate and after doing some research it’s easy to see why this chick should be regarded as a fit FREAK and an inspiration to female weight trainers.

 

TAMIKA WEBBER is a successful Fitness model as well a trained emergency paramedic and emergency trauma nurse and has been involved in sport since a young age. Being in the job she is, Tamika sees a lot of trauma and for her the gym began as a way to relieve stress and as many of us can relate to she became addicted to the results.

In 2007 Tamika was diagnosed with several digestive issues including a twisted and ruptured bowel and polycystic ovaries also known as PCOS syndrome. This syndrome affects the body’s insulin and blood glucose levels which usually results in excess fat stores. Most people with PCOS suffer obesity.

Tamika experienced extreme levels of bloating as you can see in the pictures below.

 

But Tamika was determined to compete and after finding a pill that helped control her hormonal imbalance she worked hard training and following a strict diet to first compete in 2011 and since then has placed in several sports modelling and ANB competitions.

Because of her job being shift work Tamika is often limited for time in her training and therefore she follows the analogy “work smarter not harder.” She trains weights on a four day split and combines this with a mixture of HIIT and low intensity cardio.

Her diet is very clean combining plenty of lean protein, healthy fats, and a good mixture of fibrous and starchy carbs. An example of a typical day is outlined below.

·       Meal1: Untoasted Cinnamon Muesli (approx half a cup) added Bran for Fibre and Coconut for healthy Fats mixed with one scoop of Chocolate Proto Whey Protein

·       Meal2: Cottage Cheese, together with Salmon on Rye Crisp Bread with Cracked Pepper

·       Meal3: Grilled Chicken and Fruit Salad including; Skinless Chicken, Diced Apple,Walnuts and Feta combined with mixed Lettuce and Apple Cider Vinaigrette

·       Meal4: Celery cupped with Sour Cream and Cherry Tomatoes

·       Meal5: Grilled Barramundi and Vegetables combined with Sweet Potato, Peas and Corn

·       Meal6: Proto Whey Protein shake mixed with Blueberries

Tamika's body part she takes most pride in is her abs and why wouldn’t she after the hard work she has clearly put in to get them!

 

 

 

For more on Tamika you can check her out on Facebook or I recommend watching her interview below.  

 

 

 

Checking your EGO before you enter the Gym

Well another week has passed and hopefully you have all set some SMART goals and have started working towards them :)

Today’s post has been brought about by a series of things all in which have related to people accumulating an OVERINFLATED ego when it comes to the gym and training. Everyone has an ego, it is described by Cambridge dictionary as “one’s opinion of themselves, how they rate their self-importance.”

In my personal opinion it is good to have self-confidence and if there is one thing that I have built (more than muscle, strength and fitness) in the gym I would have to say it’s my own personal confidence levels. But there is a BIG difference between being confident and being over confident just like there is a big difference between having an ego an having an OVERINFLATED ego.

One of the most common pieces of advice I have heard when it comes to the gym is “Check your ego at the door” however every gym has at least one person who comes in every day, thinking they are the next Ronnie Coleman,lifting super heavy weights for a couple of reps every 5-10 mins with poor form and then spending an hour or so flexing in the mirror.

Sure it might feel great saying you hit a new PB (personalbest) of 150kg on the bench or 500kg on the leg press, but if your form is poor, you can't actually complete a set or if your spotter is having to do half the lifting for you than what have you REALLY achieved? Other than giving your ego another (FALSE) boost.

A problem I see a lot of the time with ego’s in the gym is with the people who are competing against the other people in the gym. “Oh that guy over there just did 20’s in shoulders but he looks smaller than me so surely I can do 25’s”. Fact is that other guy may be smaller but he’s probably going to end up twice the size of "Mr Ego Lifter" because he is doing the smart thing, focusing on form and gradually increasing his weight. He’s also not worrying about what everyone else is doing which is the second reason he will more than likely succeed. Why?Because he’s competing against HIMSELF, which is another great piece of advice I have heard been given in the gym “stop competing against others and start competing against YOU.” 

 At the end of the day your goals are your own and only you can achieve them and only you are going to be disappointed if you don’t. You are your biggest competition because you should be striving each day to be better than the person you were yesterday.

The people who are going to succeed and progress the most in the gym are those who “check their ego at the door”, who don’t worry about what anyone else is doing, or how much they are lifting etc. They aren’t worried about the ridiculous face they might pull pushing out that final rep, just pushing out that rep is their onlyconcern. They focus on their form and progress their weight in a realistic manner. They don’t worry about the ego lifters because they know that in 6months they will be 6 months ahead of them in their progress. These are the people who will succeed because they have the right amount of confidence, the right amount of knowledge and most of all the right attitude.

So next time you head to the gym make sure to check that ego at the door and enter the gym for you and no one else.

Fit FREAK of the week will be coming tomorrow, in the meantime as always eat CLEAN, train MEAN (without too much ego) and live LEAN :)

 

 

Be SMART with your goals this year

Ok so I promise my slackness from the holiday season is overnow and I’m back to bring you mostly weekly posts so we can all keep on trackwith our health and fitness goals in 2013 :)

Hopefully by now being halfway through January everyone has thought about what they want to achieve in 2013. I don’t believe in New Year’s resolutions but I am a big believer in New YOU goals. Goals that you can commit to and that aren’t going to fade out by February or March!

This week, at a course, I was reminded of the best way to set goals in order for success and I thought I would share them with you all just in case some of you are struggling trying to come up with the best way to achieve them or have set goals in the past and failed and aren’t sure why.

The best achieved goals are more so than often set under the SMART principle. Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic/Relevant andTimely. Let’s look at each one more closely.

Specific- The goal you are setting needs to be specific otherwise it becomes harder to achieve. If you just say “I want to lose weight”are you really giving yourself something specific to get to? How much weight is going to make you happier within yourself? Is it really the kilograms you want to lose or is it body fat? Or if your goal is wanting to build muscle you need to then get more specific. Where you want to build muscle? Are you looking to build strength as well or do you just want more definition e.g. the “toned” look?

Measurable- The next step is making that goal measurable.  So if gaining muscle in say your arms and chest is your goal then you need to take measurements of these areas before you begin so you have a baseline to refer back to when you reach the time period you have given yourself to achieve that goal.

Achievable- One of the biggest factors that stop people from achieving goals in my opinion is when people set unachievable or unrealistic goals. So for example, Katy has set out to make her goal of losing weight specific. She wants to lose 10kg and 15% body fat. She has taken her measurements and done a weigh in. She gives herself a month to achieve this goal. Do you think she will succeed? I can guarantee you if for some reason she manages to then it will not be through sustainable methods and she will gain that weight back within the following month. In this case Katy should set herself specific mini goals in achieving her overall goal of 10kg loss. The healthy amount of sustainable weight loss is 0.5-1kg per week.

Realistic/ Relevant- If Katy’s goal is to lose 10kg she needs to be setting smaller,realistic and relevant goals that will help her achieve this. So for example her saying “I will exercise twice a day 6 days a week” when she hasn’t previously been exercising probably isn’t that realistic. If she says she will start with 3 sessions a week this is going to be more realistic and relevant to her goal and she is less likely to quit after a week when she is exhausted.

Timely- You need to make sure that you are giving yourself a time limit on achieving the goal so that it can be measured and you can be held accountable.

If we are to put all of these things together into a SMARTgoal it would look something like this. Katy wants to lose 10kg and 15 % body fat. Her current weight is 70kg and 30% body fat. Katy is going to aim to lose a kilo a week by beginning with 3 sessions of cardio/weights and modifying her diet by cutting out added sugars and fats. Katy would like to have lost the weight and body fat by 3-4 months. 

It’s specific, measurable, definitely achievable if she stays focused, realistic and timely. It’s SMART.

If you are struggling or have struggled at achieving yourgoals in the past why not give this method a try. As I always say if you need some extra help get a trainer, or if you can’t afford that then why not try a bootcamp or group exercise session to get you started. No goal is impossible if you are SMART about it.

Make 2013 the year for a new and better you :) If you have any questions about the SMART principle leave me a comment otherwise until next post keep eating CLEAN, training MEAN and living LEAN :)