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REPAIRING SOFT TISSUE

Soft tissue injuries, such as muscle and skin damage, could be helped by increasing your protein intake slightly to support new cell growth and repair. You could have two eggs for breakfast, rather than one, or one and a half chicken breasts at dinner, rather than one.

BOOSTING MICRO-NUTRIENTS

Key micronutrients, such as zinc, iron and magnesium, are important for the healing and formation of new cells after injury. These micronutrient and protein demands can be met by including red meat, milk, shellfish, eggs, nuts and seeds in your daily diet.

SUPPORTING BONES

Increasing your vitamin D and calcium intake can help recovery from bone damage, such as fractures, and boost bone strength. Get exposure to sunlight every day for production of vitamin D. As for calcium, having dairy products like milk, yoghurt and cheese, will help keep calcium intake up.

EATING OUT/MAKING GOOD CHOICES

Almost everyone loves to socialise! With eating out, it can feel like a huge challenge to stay on track with your healthier lifestyle. Accompanied by a smidge of discipline, better choices are there.

SUPERTRAINER TIPS INCLUDE

Grilled meats over fried

Dressings on the side

leafy greens over the bread baskets

Sweet potatoes over fries or buttered potatoes

Give dessert the push

Just the odd tipple! Try to limit alcohol consumption, it puts the handbrake on burning fat

Our philosophy is “find your harmony”

Be healthier not a hermit!!

Authors

LEON PAUL HODGE, TOM McDAID, Will GORRINGE

Most people think of their core as just their abs. Actually it goes much deeper than that. Like strong foundations of your house you want your core to be just as dependable.

When your trainer asks you to engage your core, were you aware that part of that process, as well as other muscles, involves:

*DIAPHRAGM

*TRANVERSE ABDOMINUS

*PELVIC FLOOR

*MULTIFIDUS

*INTERNAL & EXTERNAL OBLIQUES

The main function of your core is to stabilise, protect your back and surrounding areas from injury.

GLUTES!!! These muscle are often forgotten about when talking about the core. For you to be able to perform and function properly we have to make sure these muscles activate and do the job they are supposed to do.

Glutes= in basic terms the butt muscles. Glute Max, Glute Med and Glute Min.

With more people complaining about back pain we can’t help but question the quality of their exercise or if they exercise at all. Traditionally core workouts tend to focus on the trunk muscles. However don’t neglect the Glutes as they are so important for good core stability and injury prevention to the lower back.

A strong core will help maximise force in dynamic movements also. Movements such as running, Olympic lifts and every day tasks to name a few. No matter your activity levels, fitness or sports goals, a vital part of being successful is a well conditioned core.

Authors

TOM MCDAID

WILL GORRINGE

After my first Triathlon season with two sprints and an Olympic distance under my belt and a 3rd place in my age group, plus a new PB for my half marathon of 1:56. I felt it was a successful end of season. I am very goal orientated and love having something to train for. I have decided to take a slight detour from triathlon training and am about to start in a new direction of figure competitor, this is something I have never done before, or thought I would ever do.

Nutrition plays a huge role in this goal and 6 weeks into the training, lifting heavy weights and adding in the extra calories, trying to stimulate some new lean muscle tissue and put on weight, is a completely different challenge for me. I have also reduced my cardio. No sprints, hill repeats or hours spent on my bike. No, just lifting heavy weights 4 days a week. Do I miss the cardio? No I feel less exhausted and have an extra 4-5 hours a week to now do other things, such as be very organised in the kitchen and pre-prep all my meals. Have I put on any weight? No, I never thought i’d be so sad to “not” see the scales go up…. yes… up!! I am eating 5-6 times per day of good nutrient rich healthy food, and including all three macros, carbs, protein and fats, nearly 2800 calories a day… and if no gain this week the calories go up again!!

Watch this space…..

POST BY NYREE KINGHORN & RICHARD COOPER

chocolate raspberry cookies

YOU WILL NEED (MAKES 8 COOKIES)

2 BANANAS (MASHED)
1 CUP OF OATS
6 SCOOPS OF CHOCOLATE PROTEIN POWDER
1/2 CUP COCOA POWDER
4 TABLESPOONS OF MILK
24 RASPBERRIES

HOW TO:

1. PRE HEAT TO 180 DEGREES CELSIUS
2. MIX ALL THE INGREDIENTS(EXCEPT THE RASPBERRIES) TOGETHER IN A LARGE BOWL
3. SPLIT MIXTURE INTO 8 SERVINGS AND PLACE EVENLY ON A GREASED OR A BAKING PAPER LINED BAKING TRAY
4. ADD RASPBERRIES TO THE TOP OF EACH SERVING OF THE MIXTURE
5. PLACE IN THE OVEN FOR ABOUT 8 MINUTES
6. ALLOW TO COOL AND REMOVE FROM BAKING TRAY
7. STORE IN THE FRIDGE AND CONSUME WITHIN 3 DAYS

NUTRITIONAL INFROMATION (APPROX)

181 KCAL
22g CARBS
22g PROTEIN
2g FATS

PROTEIN POWDER

WHAT IS PROTEIN?

Proteins are large complex molecules that play many critical roles in the body. They do most of the work in the cells and are required for the structure, function and regulation of the body’s muscles, tissues and organs.

WHY IS PROTEIN NEEDED?
During exercise the muscles used are slightly damaged (microscopic tears) and the body needs the protein for recovery and repair of those muscles.

HOW MUCH PROTEIN REQUIRED DAILY?
A training individual would need anywhere between 0.8-2g of protein per lb of body weight ie. A 150lb individual wanting muscle change 150 x 1.2 = 180g protein.

0.8-1.2g per lb for general fitness
1.2-1.6g per lb for weight training/muscular change
1.6-2.0g per lb for heavy weight training/muscle growth

TYPES OF PROTEIN POWDER?
WHEY PROTEIN- this the most popular protein and is easily digested to get to the muscles fast. Generally taken straight after your workout mixed with water, just shake and go!!

CASEIN PROTEIN- this is a slow digesting protein that is broken down gradually. It is often taken in the evening before bed.

OTHER TYPES OF PROTEIN SUPPLEMENTS INCLUDE- diet whey(less carbs and fat) soy protein and pea protein (for vegan).

CHECK OUT OUR DELICIOUS PROTEIN COOKIES!!!!! Recipe and nutritional information to follow ( a guilt free treat).

AUTHORS RICHARD COOPER & NYREE KINGHORN

As Christmas approached & things with me and Leon were going well I was determined not to get lazy with my diet and my gym regime. I was now at my weight goal of 126lbs! I had lost 5 stone 3lbs in 12 months & the last thing I wanted to become was ‘fat in love’ and have all my hard work go to waste.

Over Christmas I chose to enjoy the holidays and still ate a lovely big dinner and munched on festive treats with my family. I had a brilliant time enjoying my slightly more relaxed diet although I did still work out and made sure I stuck to smaller portions & only had three meals per day without snaking on poor choices unlike previous years.

I spent a week in London with Leon, heading up to new year my weight had stayed the same over Christmas. I guess I was starting to understand my body what works for me and what doesn’t. New years eve was here & we went out to a lovely Thai restaurant, we discussed our 2014 plans and decided together that we would stop drinking any alcohol from that moment onwards.(Apart from a sip of wine on Valentines day but that was allowed)

It was around this time I felt the need to share with Leon something personal, something I had come to hate about myself. I had only ever shared how I felt about this with my mum because it got me so down. With loosing the weight and my body fat percentage dropping I went from a 38E bra size to a 32B…. I didn’t even let Leon see them properly. I would often wear 2 bras, chicken […]

As the autumn approached I was 11lbs away from my target weight of 9 stone. I had worked my ass off!!! My confidence was back and I was starting to love the new body I was in. I thought maybe it’s time to meet someone?

Because of my work & gym schedule I never really had the time to meet people so I decided to try online dating. After what seemed like a swim through a sea of creatures and oddballs I stumble across a guy I thought was attractive, tall, handsome and even a personal trainer! I had every confidence at first of sending him a message but after I saw how good looking and intelligent he was my insecurities hit & I told myself he would never like me.

He messaged me!!

I was sure he was a fake; a catfish! I tried to play it cool & even asked for photos and phone calls to prove it was him! We spoke for a while & then arranged a date to meet up…. Voices in my head were constantly telling me “he won’t find you attractive not in that outfit” & “I bet he only fancies really fit girls” I was doubting all my hard work over the last 9 months.

After a few dates & weekend trips to see each other it was obvious we were together, all my insecurities were disappearing again with his help. He knew my past & how I wanted to change my body & most importantly my mentality towards fitness…

So we did

Summer 2013 had hit & I was ready to show off my new size 12 body….. I was looking forward to wearing the new clothes I had to buy. At first I was showered with compliments and continuously asked what diet I was following or what pills I was taking weight watchers, slimming world, Jenny Craig or lighter life. Although I had tried most of these fad diets in the past, I had always lost weight then gained it back PLUS MORE!!!

People just didn’t understand that I controlled what I ate & followed a workout plan. Some people didn’t believe me, some doubted me & even thought I had an eating disorder. Comments like “you don’t want to loose anymore you’ll look awful” & “men only like women with curves” I was left feeling sad rather than proud.

Those negative comments did something to me, I felt miserable but I chose to ignore them & continue on my journey….. I knew what weight and size I wanted to be and I wanted it more than anything. I told myself that I could do it and I used my emotion in the gym and I pushed myself further and harder than I ever had.

Nothing was gonna stop me!!

After being at the gym for three months and shedding two stone I noticed I had hit a plateau… I was bored with the food I was eating and the regime I was doing at the gym. The weight was slowly creeping off instead of falling off like it had been. I was fed up!!! The gym became a chore to me instead of the place I had loved for the last few months.

My get up and go had got up and gone…. My motivation to keep going had started to decrease and I was feeling tired- I kept asking myself “how long is this going to take?” & “I may as well give up, I will never be fit or feel attractive!” So for a few weeks I stopped. I didn’t workout. I ate right but I didn’t go to the gym.

I was still receiving compliments as I had dropped from a size 18 to a 14, however the constant reminders from family and friends to “keep it up” made me feel like I still had something to prove. That I still had a long way to go. I made a promise with myself that I would keep going and I would show people what I could do.

So I did………

I noticed my fitness levels weren’t good when I started the gym! Couldn’t walk more than 15 minutes on a treadmill before my ankles and knees gave in let alone run. Everything in my body told me to stop and the pain I was experiencing made me think I should stop and not power through.

I started doing spin classes where my fitness levels excelled. A month in I noticed I had lost 10lbs and was now able to run 3 miles on a treadmill and whack out 45 mins on a spin bike!!! My skin was starting to look better and my hair started to grow properly again. I really felt like I had turned a corner, I was starting to enjoy this thing I’d feared for ages but this was just the beginning. The bug had really bitten me hard on the ass!

I was ready for more…….