How do I Increase the Intensity of my Workouts?

The intensity of your training is very important to producing amazing results. This is because our bodies adapt to extreme circumstances (or at least, what our bodies perceive to be extreme).

For example, if you run for an hour on end, you’ll probably feel quite fatigued if you’ve never done this before. This is because this is an extreme event. Your body will therefore adapt by repairing itself and overcompensating so next time it is better equipped to handle the long run. In other words, you become fitter.

Another example could be weight lifting. If you lift a heavy weight, then this is perceived by your body to be extreme because it struggled with lifting that weight. Therefore, your body will attempt to become stronger to handle this load more effectively next time.

This concept of “adaptation” is discussed in detail in an article I wrote a while ago entitled “The Art of Adaptation“. If you are not familiar with this concept, I strongly recommend that you read this article.

So now that we have identified the importance of incorporating a high degree of intensity into your workout, the question remains;

How do I increase the intensity of my workouts?

Great question – I’m glad you asked!

There are many ways to do this. Firstly, you can supplement with products that enhance your mental focus and energy levels. One example could be Xenadrine RFA-X. This product contains stimulants that can boost your energy levels during your workout.

To enhance your intensity, you must also ensure that your nutrition is appropriate. For, if you are consuming a low carbohydrate diet, your energy levels will most likely be low and thus your intensity will suffer.

Furthermore, your fitness can play a vital role to your workout intensity. If you are extremely unfit, you will feel tired and thus your output will diminish. This is true with both weight lifting and cardio. However, if you seek to improve your stamina, you will be able to give your workout 100% effort without your body complaining (as much).

Psychology, however, is a very important aspect to consider when seeking to increase the intensity of your workouts. If you can get your mind set up for peak performance, then you will have every chance at boosting your workout results. Ultimately your mindset will determine, to a great degree, the level of intensity of your workout.

I have just published a comprehensive article on the psychological interventions that you can employ to significantly enhance your workout intensity. The article is entitled “How to Increase the Intensity of your Weights Workout“.

It is always important to ensure that the intensity of your exercise session is appropriate for your goals, age, health and body. A doctors clearance is very important, but so too is the professional development of an effective approach to your goals. Never undertake a high intensity programme without the appropriate professional advice.

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Three Common Exercise Myths

There are many myths floating around the health and fitness industry. If you’ve been following this blog this year, you will realise how many references to exercise myths I have published – everything from spot reduction to high repetition crunches to lose belly fat.

So let’s discuss three more common exercise myths that you may or may not be aware of.

Exercise Myth #1: Weight loss during a workout is primarily fat loss

Have you ever weighed your body prior to and after a strenuous workout? If you have, you may have noticed a significant body mass decrease. You may lose 1kg in the space of one hour. It is important to note that the vast majority of this weight loss is not fat, but rather fluids.

This brings me to a good tip when focusing on your level of hydration. If you lose weight after a workout, this will most likely mean that your hydration levels have decreased. It is therefore important to drink more during your workout to ensure that your hydration remains at a healthy level.

Conversely, if your weight increases after a workout, you are probably drinking too much.

Exercise Myth #2: Training for a “pump” necessarily maximises muscle development

A pump is when muscles take up blood to enlarge the total muscle volume. If you are performing higher repetitions, you may notice more of a “pump” than when training at lower repetitions. Following your workout, the “pump” will diminish – typically 20 to 30 minutes after completion.

When you train for an increased blood supply to a muscle, you are not necessarily training for maximum muscle growth. The enlargement of the muscle is due to the uptake of blood, not:

1. Because the muscle is growing
2. Because the muscle is being worked in a way that is necessarily conductive of muscle growth

You can actually get quite a good pump performing cardiovascular work.

It may look great in the mirror, but keep in mind that a pump should not be the focus of your training if you are training for muscle development.

Exercise Myth #3: There is one approach training that is the most effective method

It is really common to hear someone in the health and fitness industry suggest that by following a specific set of training protocols, you will obtain maximum results for your goals. In other words, a “one-size-fits-all” approach to weight loss or muscle gain.

Due to the variance between individuals, this is definitely not the case. Individuals respond differently to varying training approaches. There is no single study out there that has been accepted to be “the one and only way to train”. Ironically, it is not uncommon for many naive gym attendees to approach other members and preach a particular way of training is “the only way to train”.

This is exactly why the personal training industry is flourishing – because optimal results require individualised attention.

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Training Effectively for a Competitive Sporting Event

If you are training for a competitive physical or sporting event, it is important to undertake an effective approach to exercise in order to reach peak performance. Of course in a single 700 word post, I am unable to cover the specifics of “exactly” what you should do; this would be different for every single person due to highly variable goals. However what I can do is provide you with a starting point and give you some idea’s about the approach that may be most suitable for you.

The goal is to condition your body so it is able to perform most efficiently in a particular manner. Here are three area’s that you need to focus on:

1. Brain-muscle communication (through the development and strengthening of neurological pathways)
2. Muscle development
3. Cardiovascular development

There are many other attributes to peak performance, such as flexibility, psychology, nutrition, recovery, injuries, core development etc., but let’s focus on these in this blog post (otherwise I’m going to be writing all night long!)

Brain-muscle communication

Your brain is the powerhouse for your body. A muscle contraction occurs as the result of numerous chemical reactions from an electrical impulse being sent to that muscle. Your brain also controls your balance, co-ordination and proprioreception. Further, your brain also decides which muscles are going to be recruited in a specific motion, and the degree to which they are used.

If your brain-muscle communication is inefficient, then you will be inefficient at performing a physical motion. Just as with mathematics, it becomes easier to perform a calculation after multiple attempts than on the first, the same is true with a physical movement. This is why it may be very hard initially to perform a complex motion such as a squat or deadlift.

Muscle development

Training the muscle for peak force generation and/or efficiency is essential if you are training for a specific event. An endurance athlete will train their muscles in a completely different way to a powerlifter, as the former will have a much better developed set of Type I muscle fibres (or slow twitch).

It is also important to identify that muscle development surpasses just the muscle fibre types. You will also need to:

• Develop the correct muscles (there is no use in only developing your arm muscles if your legs will be doing most of the work)
• Ensure that muscle size and muscle strength are treated independently, as one or the other could interfere with your sporting event (eg. an endurance athlete would not want large muscles due to additional body mass being carried)
• Ensure that the muscles lactate threshold is accommodated for (being the efficiency of the muscles to maintain a reasonable pH level)
• Focus on intra-cellular development, such as mitochondrial development for energy production
• …and so on

Cardiovascular development

Obviously the efficiency of your cardiovascular system is important for peak performance, as your cardiovascular system is responsible for the delivery of oxygen and other nutrients throughout your body. You can have well developed neurological pathways and muscles that are very efficient in undertaking a particular motion. However if your fitness is lacking, this will be one major inhibition to your output.

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So, where do you begin?

You need a plan whereby you replicate the motion to be performed. For example, if you are running, your primary activity will be running. If you are competing in a powerlifting event, you obviously need to practice the specific exercises you will be performing.

In nearly all cases, it is important not to limit yourself to the single activity though (such as having an endurance runner only perform running). This will most likely result in a plateau, or have you “hitting a brick wall”. You do need to ensure that you have developed an appropriate, holistic approach to training that is periodised in a manner that will put you at peak performance at the time of the event. This requires a balanced approach to resistance training and cardiovascular training.

In all likelihood, it would be quite advantageous to hire a fitness professional, such as a personal trainer. However if you are looking at developing your own programme by yourself, I would strongly recommend doing a lot of research on training for your particular sport, nutrition, recovery and periodisation.

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Gym Memberships – Are They Needed for Weight Loss?

It is widely accepted that a gym membership is a necessity for anyone who wants to get in shape – whether that be to lose weight, build muscle, tone up or just to get healthier. But do you need to have a gym membership to lose weight?

The short answer is no; no, you do not need a gym membership to lose weight. But, there is far more to this discussion than this short statement.

A gymnasium can provide you with a variety of exercise machines, including cardio and resistance based, that you would not otherwise have access to.

You will also be subjected to an environment where others are actively exercising, so this can be highly motivational when you are undertaking your training sessions.

Further, the gym is also a very sociable environment where you can meet or train with friends to enhance the enjoyment of your exercise programme. This is particularly true with the exercise classes that can provide a fun and enjoyable experience.

But what if you:

• Feel intimidated in a gym?
• Cannot afford a gym membership?
• Don’t enjoy the ambiance of a gym?
• Dislike travelling to the gym?
• Prefer to exercise at home or outdoors?

Well, a gym isn’t for you. There is no point in forcing yourself to sign up for a gym membership if you’re not going to use it. There are literally thousands of people seeking to lose weight. who sign up for a gym membership yet never attend. This is a complete and utter waste of money which could be invested into something more appropriate for your weight loss endeavours  such as:

• Your own exercise equipment
• A nutritionist
• A personal trainer

Or a combination of the above.

Ultimately, it comes down to you as the individual. You need to establish an environment that is conductive of weight loss based on your body, lifestyle and goals. There is no such thing as a “one-size-fits-all” approach to weight loss, such as joining a gym.

If you are interested in reading further on weight loss, I would recommend an article I wrote entitled “How to Lose Weight“.

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Fitness & Exercise Blanket Statement Myths

A short post this evening to deal with some common fitness and exercise “blanket statement” myths.

There are many misunderstandings floating around in the health and fitness industry. Many of these come about as a result of an assumption that just because something is true in one particular circumstance, it is therefore true in all other circumstances. Because the human body is so complex, this often leads to old wives tales that are completely misunderstood.

So, here are some common myths in this industry and a brief explanation on each:

All sugar is bad

Why is all sugar bad? Well, most likely because that’s the general consencus going around the industry. Often this assumption is made because sugar is associated with a high glycemic index, resulting in a sudden “rush” of carbohydrate being absorbed. But this could not be farther from the truth! Many natural sources of sugar, particularly from fruits, have a low glycemic index! In fact, an apple which is full of sugar has a much lower GI than a potato filled with complex carbohydrates.

Of course, your diet should not be overly high in sugar. But, to avoid sugar at all costs could cause an unhealthy imbalance.

All High GI Food is Bad

High GI foods actually have an important role in health and fitness. Following a very intense workout, a sudden surge of carbohydrate is required to facilitate recovery. Unless you ingest large amounts of a low GI food, it will be very ineffective at providing a high influx of carbohydrate needed post-workout.

The Fitball is Useless for Muscle and Core Development

I know I’m going to cop some heat from the bodybuilding community, but a fitball (or Swiss ball) certainly has it’s place for many applications. The unstable nature of this ball creates a great environment for persons seeking to increase the awareness of their “core” muscles. It is such a versatile piece of equipment too, as you can use it to work practically all muscle groups!

Whilst the fitball, in my opinion, isn’t the most appropriate piece of “staple” equipment in a bodybuilding regime, it does have it’s very effective uses. I think I’ll elaborate on this more in later posts.

Weight Training Builds Muscle Only, Cardio Burns Fat Only

This has absolutely no scientific backing, but plagues the industry. Resistance training can have some very profound benefits for fat loss – in fact, it is far more effective to perform a combination of cardio and weight training for weight loss, than cardio in isolation.

Meanwhile, cardio can actually enhance your muscle development results. You may be interested in reading an article I wrote, “Cardio & Bodybuilding – Good for Muscle Growth?“

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Redbak WPI Protein Powder Now Available!

We just updated our supplement store so I thought I would post a quick article on our latest products to hit the shelves. We just got our hands on Redbak WPI Protein Powder and are offering it at the best price within Australia!

Whey protein isolate is a great quality protein for the following reasons:

1. It has an extremely rapid absorption rate relative to other protein sources.
2. Whey protein has a very high biological value (BV), meaning that it can be utilised to a high extent within the human body.

The high BV and rapid absorption rate of WPI means that this is one product to get very excited about if you are:

1. Seeking to build muscle
2. Requiring a fast recovery rate from intense training sessions
3. Seeking fat loss (indirectly, as both muscle synthesis and faster recovery will enhance fat breakdown).

Now why am I so excited about this new Redbak Whey Protein? Well, previously our largest WPI that was available was the Dymatize ISO 100 at 2.27kg for $119.70, equating to $1.48 per 28g. The Redbak WPI is $169.70 for 4.55kg, equating to $1.04 per 28g. Of course, you need to buy in bulk, but there are vast savings. (And that’s not including the additional 3% in redemption points you receive!)

So anyway, if you are interested in purchasing Redbak whey protein, please click on that link and it will take you to our online store.

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How to Continue Losing Weight on the Long Weekend

The long weekend is officially here! It’s just after 5PM on Friday afternoon and I am looking forward to heading away for a few days for some much needed down time.

Personally, I am focusing on reducing my body fat composition at this point in my training. So, over this long weekend, I do plan to adhere to a lifestyle that is conductive of achieving this goal.

Here are my goals over the long-weekend:

• Continue eating sensibly. I may have some wine (as you do when you’re on holidays), but I’m not going to be going overboard.
• I will perform at least 2 high intensity interval runs, as I will not have access to a gym. My fingers are crossed that it doesn’t rain too heavily and if so, I’ll have some boxing gloves as a backup!
• To go on a few walks and enjoy being outside, away from the city.
• and of course to relax!

I do believe that it is important to find a happy medium between lifestyle and achieving your weight loss goals. It would not be much of a holiday if I were to subject myself to six workouts, a highly structured eating regime without any flexibility to go out for dinner or have a glass of wine. But having said that, I wouldn’t find it much of a holiday if I didn’t exercise at all and ate like a pig (for I would feel disgusting, lethargic and tired).

Enough about me – what about you? If you are going away on a short holiday, it is important to continue with your weight loss endeavours in a smart and realistic manner. Do not expect yourself to adhere to a strict weight loss approach unless you are doing so for a particular reason (12 week challenge, upcoming competition, doctors orders etc.).

Further, don’t stress out if you miss a workout if you won’t have access to a gym! Just do Monday’s workout on Tuesday and shuffle your days around. It’s not much of a holiday if you begin stressing about the exercise that you cannot do.

Having said that, do try to move around as much as possible. You’ll feel better and also encourage continued weight loss. You would be amazed at how much weight you can lose just by walking around all day long and enjoying the outdoors. Plus, if you can actually get a workout in, you will feel great as soon as those endorphins kick in afterwards!

Always remember – the body does not take a holiday just because you are on one. So if you laze around and eat an excess number of calories, expect to gain weight.

Now the irony of this post is that anyone going away for the long weekend has probably already left! So next time I will make a note to post up an event specific blog post before the actual event

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Why You Should Keep a Training Journal or Exercise Diary

I remember first stepping foot into a gym and boy was I overwhelmed. Machines everywhere and I had no idea what to do or how to use them to get into shape! I’m sure you would be able to relate, as most of us do experience some degree of “gym jitters” when you are a complete newbie.

I was fortunate to have my own personal trainer who provided me with a sheet of paper to be used as my training journal, or exercise diary. On here, all my exercises were listed, along with spaces to fill in my weight lifted and repetitions completed.

Ever since receiving that piece of paper, I have kept a log religiously. In fact, I still have my training results from over seven years ago…back in the day when I was dumbbell chest pressing 15kg dumbbells for 8 reps to failure! (True…but we all have to start somewhere). Still to this very day (yes, including today’s workout), I keep an exercise diary because I strongly believe in the benefits. I also advise all my personal training clients to do the same.

A training journal, or exercise diary, can be so useful when you are striving to achieve your health and fitness goals. Let’s run through the major benefits of keeping a log of your exercise habits:

Keeping an exercise diary is motivating

Why is it motivating? Because you can see the progress you have made and set clear, measurable and objective goals to accomplish in subsequent workouts. Without these numbers recorded in an objective manner, how do you set yourself a goal to work towards in an effective manner?

Keeping an exercise log keeps you accountable

Have you ever gone into the gym not feeling like giving your workout 100%? If you know that your performance is going to be written down and judged upon the conclusion of your workout, then that, in itself, is going to keep you fairly accountable.

Recording your results in a training journal allows you to assess your progress

Assessing your progress is important. If you do not keep a training log, you cannot possibly identify, objectively, your progress over a period of weeks, months or years. Sure, you may be stronger, but how stronger? How much fitter have you become?

Furthermore, by assessing your progress, you can understand what is working and what isn’t. Without these figures in front of you, you do not have access to the raw data needed to make any informed decisions with regards to the effectiveness of your training.

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