GABA (Gamma Aminobutyric Acid) – Supplement Uses and Benefits

We have recently added GABA into our supplement store! However because we feel it imperative to provide objective information on supplements that are available for sale, within this article we will discuss GABA, and look at the benefits of GABA supplementation.

What is GABA?

GABA (the abbreviated term for Gamma Aminobutyric Acid) is a naturally occurring non-essential amino acid within the body. It is known as a neurotransmitter in the central nervous system. It is the most abundant inhibitory neurotransmitter within the human brain.

What does GABA do?

GABA is responsible for a number of functions within the human body, including:

• Stimulating the anterior pituarty, thus leading to enhanced levels of human growth hormone (abbreviated to HGH)
• As it is an inhibitory neurotransmitter, GABA aids to decrease neuron activity and thus prevents them from over-activity
• GABA plays an important role in the formation of synapses within the brain, along with proper brain function
• GABA helps in the regulation of embryonic and neural stem cells
• GABA prevents stress by reducing anxiety related messages from reaching the brain

What are the benefits of supplementing with GABA?

Supplementation with GABA has been shown to be a safe practice, since it is a naturally occurring amino acid within the body.

One very common benefit of supplementation is due to it’s profound impact on growth hormone levels. Gamma aminobutyric acid, as mentioned above, enhances HGH levels naturally. HGH:

• Aids in slowing down the aging process
• Is important in fat oxidation (or lowering bodyfat), and maintaining lower body fat levels
• Is important in muscle development

Supplementation with GABA can help stimulate HGH levels naturally and in-turn, assist with the above three outcomes. In addition, growth hormone levels also decline with age, so GABA supplementation may be beneficial.

Research conducted in one study (University of Milan) showed that ninety minutes after GABA ingestion, human growth hormone levels had increased by five times. The study had 19 subjects supplementing with GABA and compared these subjects to 18 who were consuming a placebo.

Due to GABA’s positive anti-anxiety effects, supplementation is often recommended as a form of treatment.

GABA Supplementation Recommendations

Gamma Aminobutyric Acid is most commonly taken orally and in capsule form. The Ultimate Nutrition GABA (available within our supplement store) recommends 2 capsules be consumed daily (equivalent to 1500mg). Other recommendations derived from studies suggest that 2000-3000mg be consumed daily.

Side Effects of GABA

There are minimal side effects associated with supplementing with GABA. Some users do experience mild tingling sensations around the face and neck shortly after ingestion. Some users may also experience short-term mild changes in heart rate and breathing patterns.

These side effects are mild and not harmful, but not everyone experiences these effects.

Finally, GABA can have a tiring effect after ingestion, so supplementation is often recommended prior to going to bed.

Purchase GABA

If you’re looking to purchase GABA, we have it available within our supplement store at the best price in Australia. Follow this link: GABA.

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Cheap Protein Powder – $17 Prolab WPI 2lbs!

It’s not often that I post up dedicated store promo’s in this blog, however this is one hell of a deal that I have to share.

Our supplement store has a massive WPI special on with extremely limited stock.

Simply order

Here’s the deal – order Gaspari SizeOn (any available flavour) and get a 2lbs tub of Prolab WPI for only $17!

To place your order, simply follow these steps:

1. Add into your cart 1 (or multiple) Gaspari SizeOn‘s at http://www.aminoz.com.au/gaspari-sizeon-1290g-p-138.html
2. Add into your cart 1x Prolab WPI 2lbs at http://www.aminoz.com.au/prolab-whey-protein-isolate-2lbs-p-386.html
3. In checkout, use the coupon code SIZEON-WPI – this will reduce the price of the WPI from $67.70 to just $17

If you want to order more than one WPI, please call us up to get $17 for multiple tubs (this coupon will only work for one tub). But please note, you must order the same number (or more) or Gaspari SizeOn’s as the Prolab WPI’s for this $17 offer.

No, this isn’t too good to be true. And we can guarantee that this stock will sell like wildfire.

Please hurry – if you want a $17 tub of WPI you have to be quick as stocks will not last.

This is the cheapest whey protein isolate powder that I have ever come across before and this is a never to be repeated deal.

So why is our store selling this protein powder so cheap? Simply because we are trying to clear out room for our other brands, as our warehouse is currently full. It isn’t short dated stock, nor is it damaged stock. This is top quality internationally renowned Prolab brand whey protein isolate that is going to sell very, very quickly.

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Weight Loss Equations and Calculators – Are They Accurate?

If you search the internet looking for weight loss calculators and equations, you’ll be bombarded by a plethora of tools to calculate such interesting facts as:

1. Your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), or how many calories you burn each day if you were to sleep for 24 hours straight
2. Your body fat percentage
3. Your energy expenditure when you exercise (how many calories you burn)
4. Your predicted strength
5. How much muscle you can gain
6. Your body mass index, or BMI

…and so on.

But just how accurate are these equations?

To understand the reliability of such weight loss orientated calculations, you must first understand how these equations are derived. Having studied science at university, I had to scrutinise numerous papers that determined such equations as have been listed above.

These equations are determined empirically. In other words, they are derived based on the results of an experiment. How this is most commonly accomplished is as follows:

1. A researcher (or group of researchers) will conduct an experiment.
2. They collect the results.
3. Using the data that has been collected, they will develop an equation that satisfies this data with a line of best fit.

To illustrate this concept, assume that the following data is collected in regards to a simple money orientated experiment where the researches compared the amount of money invested to the return on investment (ROI) with 5 different people:

Looking at these numbers, the approximate ROI is equal to about a tenth of the amount of money invested. So equation for the line of best fit would be something similar to:

$ROI = $ Invested / 10

Of course, the line of best fit will be slightly different to this equation because I don’t currently have any software that will accurately calculate the line of best fit based on this data

So, using this simple example, you can see that the actual equation is accurate for only one set of data – where $1000 was invested. All the other four sets of data do not produce accurate results.

Similarly with experiments pertaining to weight loss and body composition, this is often the case. More often than not, almost all (if not all) of the data does not fit perfectly on this line of best fit. So the equation is hardly ever 100% accurate for the group of people participating in that experiment.

In such an experiment, this equation is often the average of all the usable results that were collected. The equation is also subject to any errors that may have been incurred as a result of a poorly designed experiment, or even just acceptable inaccuracies such as human error, equipment error etc.

Applying this information to your weight loss endeavours, it is important to understand that equations that have been derived from experimental data are average values only. In all likelihood, they are never going to be accurate predictors of what you are measuring.

So why is it that these equations are based on average results and therefore are not necessarily accurate for your body? A couple of key reasons:

1. Humans vary widely in their genetic make-up, lifestyle, body composition etc. There are millions of chemical reactions occurring simultaneously within your body. With so many variables at hand, it is impossible with our technology today to derive an accurate equation to predict the likes of body composition, energy expenditure, calorie consumption etc. Hence an average of a group of results is utilised.
2. Average values eliminate extreme values and will show a general trend. Thus the degree of inaccuracy is lessened.

The weight loss equations and calculators widely available should therefore be utilised as a guide. They will not predict with any degree of certainty how much weight you will lose, or how many calories you should consume to accomplish a particular goal. They can often be useful as a starting point and then you can measure your results moving forward. If your results do not equal your expectations, you will then have to reconsider what you are doing and make the necessary adaptations to your approach.

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Why it is Important to Keep a Training Journal

If you’re exercising on a regular basis, it is highly advantageous to keep a training journal of your workout results. Without a log of what you’ve done, this can inhibit you from making optimal progress.

So why exactly is it important to keep a training journal? Let’s discuss some major advantages of logging exactly what you do; whether that be cardio or weights based training.

Information & Objectivity

Training in an objective manner is of great advantage. By logging down your results, you assign figures from which you can deduce your performance and progress.

Training in this way allows you to assess your progress from workout to workout. This is an invaluable tool in measuring the effectiveness of your current training approach. For if you rely solely on “how you feel”, you cannot quantitatively determine your progress.

A training journal also provides you with additional information that you would otherwise not have access to. If you’re seeking to lose weight for example, you may rely on your bodyweight from week to week. But how does your fitness and strength compare? Information is power, and this additional knowledge will only assist you in making more informed decisions about your training.

Goal Setting

If you are setting a goal in regards to your strength and/or fitness, how else do you know if you are progressing toward this goal without keeping a log? In a similar way that you should monitor your weight with a weight loss goal, you should also monitor your strength for a strength orientated goal and your fitness for a fitness orientated goal. This information is obviously imperative to monitor for a goal that directly relates to your training.

But what about if your goal is indirectly related to your training? For example, you wish to lose weight – should you keep an eye on your level of fitness? Further, should you monitor your strength results? Of course you should. The fitter you are, the more energy you can expend during a workout. Same story with your strength. This indirectly will assist in your weight loss efforts. By monitoring your progress in these respects, you are able to set targets for each individual workout to keep you on track and accountable. On a micro scale, you have the ability to determine repetition targets for each set, or distance targets for each cardio workout, thus enhancing the effectiveness of the entire training programme.

Motivation

For most of us, there can be nothing more boring than going into the gym and performing the same monotonous workout day in and day out. Even if you were to vary the machines up, without keeping a log, you cannot monitor your progress. So how then do you know if the training is working for you?

By knowing that you are seeing results in respect to your workout performances, this will provide you with direction and motivation. Sometimes a workout will be tough – though if you have targets to aspire to, you’ll remain far more motivated and enthusiastic. This not only enhances your enjoyment of each workout, it also significantly assists with the long-term sustainability of your exercise regime.

Further, physical results are often slow to develop. For example, if you’re seeking to build a substantial amount of muscle, this may take years to accomplish for the average male (and even longer for a female). Meanwhile, your strength results will improve on a weekly basis, being far more exciting and motivating. The same reigns true for weight loss; although weight loss may be realised in a physical respect within a matter of weeks, keeping a close eye on your workout results will provide you with that additional “push” and confidence of knowing that your training is effective in more than one dimension.

Plus, it can be greatly motivating reviewing your progress over the past fortnight, month or year from your training journal!

So give it a go. All you need a piece of paper and a pen to really enhance your training results!

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Maximising Corporate Work Productivity by Improving your Employees Fitness & Health

If you employ people, you may be interested to know that there has been a wealth of research into the work productivity benefits of fit and healthy employees. Large international companies now pour millions of dollars into fitness and nutritional programmes to get staff eating better and working out to improve their work output. This is most prominent in the USA and Canada, while Australia is slowly following suit.

This article is an overview of corporate health and fitness.

Employees and Exercise

There are many benefits to improving your employees fitness and health. If we only consider work productivity in isolation, an exercise programme can boost employee productivity by decreasing stress levels and enhancing focus. Following exercise, endorphins are released into your body which provide a calming effect. Plus, a fitter employee means higher energy levels throughout the day, avoiding those “down” times when our natural body rhythms do not allow us to think as effectively.

However exercise extends further than just being fitter and concentrating better. Self esteem plays a key role in your employee’s confidence and achievements. When you exercise, this allows you to develop a sense of confidence about yourself by accomplishing feats that you did not previously think were possible. This has many profound and beneficial psychological effects which will facilitate improved an improved quality and quantity of work output.

Exercise can also be a highly effective bonding tool to develop team skills and improve communication. Employees can learn how to communicate to peers in a more social environment, developing bonds and improving your teams morale. This will in turn reduce staff turnover and indirectly enhance customer satisfaction.

Your Staff and Nutrition

An effective nutritional regime can provide the employees the nutrients required to function at optimal capacity. The brain’s only source of energy is carbohydrates. Whilst many people may rely on highly processed sugars (such as lollies, pastries etc.), this may provide a sudden surge of energy and which then drops off about an hour later as soon as blood glucose levels fall. Alternatively a natural carbohydrate selection such as a piece of fruit will typically provide your employees with a sustainable carbohydrate source for 2-3 hours.

Apart from sugar addictions, caffeine addictions can also impact the quality of your staff’s results. Although caffeine may pick up energy levels, it does inhibit the brain’s natural ability to think clearly. Caffeine speeds up the natural thought processes, so the ability to think about a task laterally is decreased. Further, a caffeine addiction will decrease one’s natural energy levels, especially when it breaks down within the body.

Other Health Considerations

Your staff’s general health is essential to the operation of the business. Following a generally healthy lifestyle, which includes;

• 7-8 hours of sleep per night
• Regular exercise
• Good nutrition
• A controlled alcoholic intake
• Socialising and maintaining a healthy work-life balance
• Proper hydration
• General happiness

is imperative to obtaining the best return on your human resources investment. For, if your staff are not looked after, you’re going to be losing big bucks through many avenues including:

• Illness
• Staff turnover
• Lack of productivity
• Stress
• Fatigue
• Lack of interest

Of course, you cannot force good lifestyle habits upon your staff as this is a very personal decision. Yet, you can encourage staff by providing easily accessible solutions. This is truly a win-win situation, for if you go the extra mile and invest some of your time, money and effort into your staff, they not only reap the personal benefits, they will also be able to repay you through an improved quality and quantity of work.

Don’t Neglect Yourself

As a business owner myself, I do understand that operating a business can require long hours and a lot of discipline. If you do not look after yourself by following a healthy lifestyle, your business will suffer. Your energy levels, decision making ability, leadership qualities, efficiency, vitality and general health (both mental and physical) will all be impacted if you do not respect your body and look after yourself.

It can be tempting to work on the business 16+ hours a day, skipping meals, avoiding workouts, neglecting family/friends and not sleeping – yet ultimately you will burn out and when you do, both you and the business is going to suffer.

Practical Strategies for Physical Exercise

There are numerous ways to get you and your staff active on a regular basis as both a team building exercise and also a health orientated exercise.

A very popular implementation is performing a 10,000 steps challenge, whereby employees are provided with a pedometer and aim to complete 10,000 steps per day. This is great, because it keeps employees moving and adds a fun challenge to the workplace. We currently collaborate with a number of Australian firms and supply our pedometers (found in our store) for such challenges.

Another idea is to schedule a boot camp or team sporting event on a regular basis. This can be a fun and interactive environment for staff. Many staff will often undertake additional training of their own accord to enhance the benefits received by such programmes.

Many firms are now also hiring on-site personal trainers to meet with staff on an individual and/or group basis. This really helps to educate staff as to the importance of health and fitness, whilst keeping them motivated and accountable.

Although this is only a brief introduction to the topic, the possibilities are endless when it comes to implementing an effective corporate training plan. If you would like to discuss an solution for your business in detail, please contact us on 1300 AMINO Z (1300 264 669) and go to extension 1 for personal training.

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What is Toning, Trimming and Sculpting?

I’m sure that you have heard the terms “tone”, “trim” and “sculpt” thrown around here and there. They are very common terms used regularly to market fitness products or to communicate some form of desirable physical changes. Yet do you know exactly what these terms refer to?

Toning, trimming and sculpting are all synonymous in the health and fitness industry. These terms are very general terms and refer to a desirable physical recomposition whereby you obtain more shape and definition. Whilst this may be obvious, what is not so obvious is how this is related to your fitness, flexibility, strength and body composition.

What is toning?

So, what is toning, trimming and sculpting? In terms of physiological processes, the specific definitions that these words take on will vary from person to person. However as a general statement, they generally refer to two separate processes:

1. Muscle gain
2. Fat loss

The primary reason as to why these terms vary between individuals is because we all have different body compositions. So:

• For a large bodybuilder, to tone up may require muscle loss
• For someone who has an above average muscle mass, yet is overweight, they would require fat loss and minimal (if any) muscle gain
• For someone who is underweight, toning may require muscle gain and possibly fat gain too

Of course as you can infer, to tone up is a very subjective term and will vary from person to person. In a general sense, most people seeking to tone will require some muscle development and some fat loss. So let’s discuss this aspect to toning.

Muscle tissue, fat tissue and toning

It is important to understand that muscle tissue is a completely separate tissue to fat tissue. Muscle cells (responsible for force generation and structural balance) perform completely different functions to fat cells (responsible for insulation and energy storage). So to tone, you cannot convert fat into muscle. You must treat both tissues separately by reducing fat mass and increasing muscle mass. In a sense, assuming that you can concert fat to muscle tissue is comparable to alchemists converting other compounds into gold.

Building muscle to tone

In order to develop muscle tissue, some form of exercise will be required. The most effective way to build muscle tissue is to perform some form of resistance based training (or weight training). When you have a focus on toning, your goal is not going to be to bulk up (or build large amounts of muscle). Toning requires a small amount of muscle development to provide the desired shape and definition of a toned body. Fortunately, muscle growth is a very slow process (slow for men, even slower for women due to hormones), so anyone seeking to tone can undertake a resistance training regime without the fear of becoming too bulky.

Losing fat to tone

The other side to the equation is fat loss, which is accomplished most effectively through the implementation of cardio in conjunction with weight training and an effective approach to nutrition. All three of these aspects are (by far) the most effective way to lose fat tissue.

It is a common misconception that you can lose fat from a specific area of the body to tone that in isolation. For example, to tone up the back of the arms or to tighten your stomach. This leads us to believe that tricep exercises (back of the arms) can reduce fat tissue stored in this region and that abdominal exercises (eg. Crunches) can reduce belly fat. However, this is not true. Whilst these exercises may develop muscle mass, you cannot choose an area of the body from which to lose fat. This myth is known as “spot reduction”. It is quite acceptable to go for a run and lose more fat from your arms than your legs (even though the leg muscles are doing all the work!).

Some other toning misconceptions

Due to the amount of confusion with terms that are regularly used in the health and fitness industry, this has lead many of us to believe that toning can be affected by your strength, flexibility and fitness. This is not necessarily true:

Strength: Your strength is a consequence of the effectiveness in which your muscles are able to develop force. Interestingly, strength is not an indication of how large your muscles are. You may be very strong, yet have minimal muscle mass. Thus, your strength does not indicate how toned your body may be.

Flexibility: Flexibility refers to how far you are able to stretch a muscle. When you perform stretching movements, you aim to enhance the flexibility of a muscle (or a group of muscles). Your flexibility has no bearing on your physical appearance. Though flexibility is important for recovery and injury prevention, it has no direct relationship to toning.

Fitness: You can be grossly overweight and quite fit. Your fitness refers to the efficiency of your cardiovascular system and it’s ability to deliver oxygen throughout your body. As a result, your level of fitness does not indicate how toned you may be.

Toning in summary

I hope that this article has cleared up what exactly “toning” refers to. To tone is to shift the fat and muscle balance within your body. Both are individual tissues and thus both need to be considered independently in order to accomplish a toning goal.

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How to Win the BodyBlitz 12 Week Transformation Challenge

So, you’ve made the decision to enter BodyBlitz? Are you looking to win the monthly prize…or even the yearly grand prize? If so, you’ve come to the right place.

In 2005, I won the male Australian BodyBlitz competition, run by Australian Ironman. Australian Women’s Health & Fitness run the female version of this competition (both magazines are owned by the same company, Blitz Publications). To give you an idea of my change over 12 weeks, here are the before and after photo’s:

Jay's Winning 2005 BodyBlitz Transformation Photos

Yes, these photo’s are legitimate and were good enough to play a role in winning the 2005 title. So how do you obtain a similar result to give yourself every chance at being crowned winner?

First things first – if you are serious about winning Bodyblitz, you need to give this 12 week period one-hundred percent effort. As a fitness professional, I do not recommend this approach for just anyone. If you have struggled with your weight for years and cannot adhere to a basic exercise/dietary routine, it may be wise to opt for a less demanding and sustainable approach. By all means, you can still enter the BodyBlitz challenge as a powerful motivational tool. However actually winning the competition means that you need to put in that little bit more to surpass the transformations of everyone else.

One hundred percent effort requires dedication to both an effective exercise and nutritional programme. It requires you to remain accountable to yourself and give every workout everything that you have. It means intensity, dedication and consistency. This is very important to understand before you begin the BodyBlitz challenge. If you enjoy a challenge, then this approach is for you!

In addition to this, you must also understand that there is no particular “way” to win BodyBlitz. The prior winners (myself included) have all followed an approach that is optimal for their own body’s. This article is not about what exercises you should perform, nor what foods you should eat; as this will vary from individual to individual based on your goals, preferences, genetics, training experience etc.

Now that we have established the premise of this article, we can discuss how you are actually going to win the competition. I would strongly recommend that you obtain at least some training experience prior to embarking upon this challenge. It is important that you understand how your body works, how to exercise safely and effectively. This is not a necessity – many winners have had no training experience in the past. I do however feel that this personal experience will only aid you in your endeavours.

It is also important to determine your specific goals. It is not sufficient to think that you want to lose some weight. You need to be specific and measurable when developing your goals. Furthermore, you need to write them down and set a deadline. You may be interested in reading an article that I published on goal setting.

Next, a plan is necessary. How are you going to accomplish these goals? Over a 12 week period, you have a very limited amount of time. You cannot afford to waste a single workout, so you need to ensure that every cardiovascular and resistance based workout is fine-tuned for maximum effect. You also need to plan out your dietary approach to ensure maximum results. Also, how are these plans going to change over the 12 week period? Of course you cannot plan every little detail out before you begin the challenge (plans change and you need to be flexible), though it is important to have some idea of how your training and nutritional plans will be adapted over the course of the BodyBlitz challenge.

Part of planning is planning your supplementation strategy. For maximum results, you may consider the basics; protein powder, creatine, dextrose and vitamins. Glutamine and weight loss supplements may also assist you in accomplishing your goals. Ensure that you purchase all of your supplements prior to beginning the challenge – there is nothing worse than running out and minimising your results! Of course, these are very general recommendations and your supplementation strategy will vary greatly depending upon your goals.

As you progress through your challenge, you need to measure your progress objectively. Measure and weigh yourself weekly. To compliment your measurements, take fortnightly photographs and assess your physique visually as objectively as possible. If the figures are not changing in the desired manner, you need to make some changes to your approach. You must also analyse your progress with your resistance and cardiovascular results. If you are stuck in a plateau, there may be something wrong with your training and/or nutritional approach.

Ultimately with the BodyBlitz challenge, it comes down to your photo’s and your essay. If you do push yourself during this period of time, I promise that you will learn A LOT about yourself. The changes that your body undergoes will be a physical manifestation of how you matured on the inside. This will show through in both the photo’s and the essay.

If, after reading this post, you feel that you are ready to give the BodyBlitz challenge a real serious go, then I would strongly recommend that you read my book, written as a “how-to” guide for the BodyBlitz. The paperback book spans over 200 pages and discusses every aspect to this challenge. For more information, please check out How to Transform the Average Joe in 12 Weeks.

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Handy Workout Accessories and Exercise Tools

There are a number of workout accessories and exercise tools available on the market to assist you in accomplishing your health and fitness goals. These range from something as common as an iPod, to something as simple as a piece of paper to write down your results.

Within our supplement store, we have a range of workout accessories and exercise tools to help you in enhancing your results. Here are a few of our most popular accessories!

Workout Accessories and Exercise Tools: Pedometer

Not long ago, we introduced our own exclusive pedometer for $7. The beauty about this little gadget is that you can monitor your activity objectively throughout the day. You no longer have to guess how active you are – it’s there in black and white. This not only assists in facilitating weight loss, but it also enhances the services that a fitness professional can provide to you with this additional information at hand.

Workout Accessories and Exercise Tools: Shaker Bottle

If you’re seeking to build muscle, you need a shaker bottle. This is actually one of our best sellers because a shaker bottle avoids those unwanted clumps in your protein powder.

It is particularly important to consume your protein powder immediately after your workout. If you exercise in a commercial gym, this is quite difficult to accomplish with a drink bottle. A shaker bottle is much easier – pour in some water, put in your protein, put the lid on, shake and drink!

Better yet, this is less than $5!

Workout Accessories and Exercise Tools: Body Fat Calipers

Body fat calipers can be extremely handy in assessing your level of body fat. The main reason why we introduced this range into our store is because body weight in isolation is a very unreliable figure to assess body composition. How do you know if you’ve gained muscle or gained fat? Sure, you can consider girth measurements, but there will still be some degree of guess work involved here too. For less than $20, these are a bargain!

If you’re looking for a premium design, we also feature an accurate set of digital body fat calipers.

Workout Accessories and Exercise Tools: Body Measurement Tape

A very popular accessory is our body measurement tape which makes girth measurements very easy relative to your conventional measuring tape. This great accessory allows you to clip the tape measure in so you don’t have to hold both ends of the tape whilst measuring.

Then, press the button that allows you to maintain a constant tension. The true advantage of this is that you won’t obtain inaccurate results from varying degrees of tensions!

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How To Win a 12 Week Transformation Competition/Challenge

So, you’ve decided to participate in a 12 week competition to lose weight, tone up and/or build muscle. Let’s discuss exactly how to go about winning one of these 12 week challenges.

Before I proceed with some tips on how to win your own 12 week competition, I do feel it necessary to provide my credentials in this particular area. In 2005, I won the Australian Bodyblitz 12 week transformation competition and since then have become a fully qualified personal trainer and the owner of Amino Z. Consequently, I have both professional and personal expertise in this area.

Before you even consider submitting your 12 week challenge entry form, you need to have a clear idea of exactly what you want to accomplish. In other words, you need goals. I recommend you refer to a previous post of mine on goal setting for weight loss, muscle gain and fitness.

When you know exactly what you wish to accomplish, you can then develop a 12 week plan. Trust me, if you want to win a 12 week transformation competition, you NEED a plan. Exercising and eating in a healthy manner for twelve weeks will not get you into the finals. You need to be very specific about your approach and have a clearly defined structure to your training regime.

Apart from being an appropriate and realistic plan, it also needs to be executed effectively. You need to put this plan into practice because ultimately you are responsible for your own transformation. This means eating effectively, exercising regularly, recovering as required, sleeping well, avoiding junk food and so on. Every time you waiver from your plan, you are sacrificing results. If you are unable to adhere to the plan, then it wasn’t a realistic approach in the first place and thus requires revision.

I could not recommend more highly hiring the services of a personal trainer throughout your challenge. A personal trainer will be able to advise you on the viability of your goals. He or she will also be able to develop an effective plan for you to accomplish these goals. If you have minimal experience in the health and fitness industry, leave this work to a professional.

With nearly all 12 week competitions, you will have some before and after photo’s to submit. It is important to create a contrast in between these two photo’s for a real “WOW” factor. Here are some ways to accomplish this:

1. Use a professional photographer for your after photo’s
2. Take your initial photo’s later in the day when you are more bloated
3. Use poor posture in your initial photo’s
4. Learn what angles you photograph best at for your final photo’s
5. Groom yourself well for the final photo’s
6. Of course, train intelligently and effectively throughout your 12 weeks!

These are some very, very generalised suggestions. My weight loss book, “How to Transform the Average Joe in 12 Weeks” deals with all of these concepts in much greater detail and will provide you with a step-by-step plan on how to win your own 12 week competition. If you are seeking to win your own 12 week challenge, I do recommend that you grab a copy.

I do hope that this has provided you with a general overview on a 12 week competition. It requires much more than just “training hard and eating well” for 12 weeks. Rather, it requires a planned and intelligent approach to ensure that you have every chance at success. Good luck!

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How to Reduce Stress Naturally

Stress is a growing problem in our society. With longer days at work and more things to worry about, stress can begin to take over your life. So, let’s discuss some ways to reduce stress naturally.

Quality and Length of Sleep

I once read an article on stress that referenced a study quoting the fact that a century ago, we used to sleep on average 10 hours a night. Nowadays, many of us barely manage 6 hours of quality sleep! I personally have a number of personal training clients who are up all hours of the night working their butts off (sometimes to 2 or 3pm!). No wonder life is so stressful if there aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done!

It is recommended to obtain 7-8 hours of high quality sleep each night. In doing so, you will significantly reduce the impact that stress has on your life. Sleep should be one of the most important aspects to your life, for without sleep, you run into many problems including:

• Increased stress levels!
• Lack of concentration, productivity and general brain function
• Inhibiting recovery from exercise
• Increasing the frequency and degree of food cravings
• Creating chemical imbalances that affect mood, fluid retention, metabolic pathways etc.
• Placing stress on your cardiovascular system and increasing the risk of various diseases
• Just burning out!

When you consider that sleep is often sacrificed to get work accomplished, yet lack of sleep will significantly inhibit your ability to focus and produce good quality, efficient work, sacrificing sleep isn’t always the most appropriate action to take. Yes, there are certainly times when this cannot be avoided, but as soon as sleep deprivation becomes habitual, something seriously needs to be changed (if not for your work output, for your general health!).

Sleep is a key ingredient to recharging your batteries and reducing stress naturally.

Quality Nutrition

A healthy dietary intake is essential for the normal functioning of the human body. Food provides your body with the nutrients required to maintain a healthy chemical balance. Of course, a well balanced diet affects your stress levels.

Food greatly affects your brain function. Whilst all nutrients are important (including water, proteins, minerals etc.), here are three very important nutrients for correct brain function:

• Carbohydrates
• Omega-3 Fatty Acids
• Vitamin B’s (particularly B6 and B12)

Carbohydrates are the only source of energy that your brain can utilise to function, so it is imperative that you obtain a healthy intake of carbohydrate throughout your day. Aim to consume plenty of low-GI carbohydrate sources. This can be sourced from many whole-grains, fruits and dairy products.

There is a reason why fish has been termed “brain food”, it’s because of the high prevalence of omega-3 fatty acids. Both omega-3 fats and vitamin B6/B12 have profound benefits on correct brain functioning. It is imperative therefore that you ensure that your diet is sufficient in these nutrients. Aim to consume plenty of fish regularly, alongside a variety of vegetables for optimal micronutrient supply.

Exercise

Exercise can be so therapeutic to reduce stress naturally. During your workout, exercise is a great way to “pause” all your thoughts and just focus on yourself. Turning off your brain for a half hour can be greatly beneficial to give you that much needed mental break.

One very profound benefit of exercise is the endorphin secretion that happens upon the conclusion of your workout. That “high” that you feel following a vigorous workout is actually the result of chemical compounds released from your brain. These endorphins are greatly beneficial in reducing stress naturally.

Try exercising first thing in the morning before you go to work and see what effect an intense exercise session has on your day.

Mental Rest

No one can focus indefinitely – we all need a mental break aside from sleep and exercise. Here are some general guidelines extracted from Brian Tracy’s “21 Ways to Double Your Productivity”:

• Take at least 1 full day off per week
• Take at least 2 full weeks off per year as a holiday

Give yourself some much needed downtime and this will come back to reward you immensely.

I do hope that these general tips assist you in reducing stress naturally. Of course, there are many lifestyle factors to consider, but these four aspects can certainly have a profound effect upon stress.

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