No Gym, No Equipment, No Excuses

For my first year of training I did short and intense workouts in my bedroom with no equipment and saw really good results and got very fit. So stop making excuses, get out in this lovely weather and start doing some burpees! Here is a sample workout plan you can try in the park or in your garden. This is a short 10 minute intense workout that will burn that fat right off your abs! You need to give it your all for each 30 second interval. Don't forget to warm up.

Set your timer for 30/30/30

 

Round 1

 

30 seconds- Jumping Jacks

30 seconds- Ski Jumps

30 seconds- rest

 

Repeat

 

Round 2

 

30 seconds- Basketball jumps

30 seconds- Squats

30 seconds- rest

 

Repeat

 

Round 3

 

1 minute of burpees

 

Round 4

 

30 seconds- High Knees

30 seconds-Push ups

30 seconds rest

 

Repeat

Food Diary May 2014

Here are some healthy meal ideas:

Quinoa Dessert Bites

Add dates, almond butter (or peanut butter), rice syrup (or agave or honey) and quinoa to a blender to mix.

 Layer into a container and put in fridge to set for an hour.

Melt dark chocolate (85%) and pour over the quinoa mix in the container and put in fridge to set for 20 minutes. Cut up into small pieces and enjoy with some greek yoghurt and cocoa nibs.

 

 

Banoffi Pie

 

Base: Add half cup of ground almond meal, half cup of desiccated coconut, 1 tbsp. of rice syrup or honey, 4 table spoon of coconut oil, 1 tsp of vanilla essence or powder, 1/2 tsp of cinnamon to a blender and mix. Add to the bottom of jar or container and put in fridge to set for 40 minutes.

Topping: Add three bananas, 6 dates, vanilla essence, tbsp. of rice syrup or honey and half tsp of cinnamon. Mix until a toffee like consistency and add on top of your base layer. Set in fridge.

Serve with greek yoghurt and cocoa nibs.

Tuna Fish Cakes

• Cook and mash your sweet potato and place in a large mixing bowl.
• Add your almond flour (1/2 cup), chopped parsley, onion, lemon juice, salt cumin, paprika, black pepper and eggs (2 large).
• Add tin of salmon (in water) and crush into mixing bowl with your hands.
• Stir until well mixed then mould into fish cake patties and place on baking tray.
• Heat a large pan and add coconut oil. Allow the pan to get very hot before adding your fish cakes.
• Cook for 4 minutes each side and serve hot.

Stuffed Chicken and Quinoa

• Stuff chicken with feta, spinach and sun-dried tomatoes. Place on baking tray and bake for 20 minutes until fully cooked.
• Boil quinoa until cooked-20 minutes.
• Chop up cucumber, peppers, feta cheese and sun-dried tomato and mix into the quinoa and serve.

 

Salmon and Quinoa

Or have it with salmon with squeeze of lemon to flavour.

Healthy Greek Turkey Kebabs

• Cut up turkey breast and marinate  in a bowl with garlic, oregano, juice of a lemon, salt and pepper.
• Add the pieces of turkey to a kebab stick.
• Grill the kebabs for 10/15 mins
• Prepare greek salad-cucumber, tomato, olives, feta cheese and mint.
• Prepare your salad dressing- 3 tbsp. of olive oil, lemon, oregano, salt and pepper.
• Serve with some pitta bread.

 

7 Day Carb Depletion

I have just come back from a week in Dubai where the food was too good to resist. Now I am suffering- I am bloated and feel like crap. When I got to Dubai I was lean, its amazing how a few days of eating badly can quickly ruin your hard work!

So this week I am going to get my metabolism back on track by doing a 7 day carb depletion diet by Wendy Chant. I did this before about 2 years ago. It was really really hard but I found it great. 

What is a 7 day carb depletion diet?

Many trendy low carb diets claim rapid weight loss but all people are losing is water. For every gram of "active" carbs you consume on a daily basis, your body will hold nearly 3 grams of water. So if you cut carbs, the scale might trick you into thinking that you are losing loads of weight. But this is water weight and not fat!

A 7 day carb depletion diet teaches your body where the fat is so you can burn it off. This is the only week where you leave out and forbid certain foods.

Why do it?

Glycogen is usually the secondary long-term energy storage with the primary energy stores being fats. But in modern society we have programmed our bodies to crave and be dependent on sugars instead of fat. This means that our muscles and liver are always full of stored energy (glycogen) which makes it nearly impossible to burn fat.

So if glycogen is in your body your body will use that as its primary source of energy and not fat!

The 7 day carb depletion cycle reduces glycogen levels so your body is re-directed to fat to burn energy. This usually takes about 72 hours to deplete the body of glycogen.

If done properly carb depletion sets up your metabolic foundation for balanced and healthy rapid fat loss to work for the long haul.

The Shift:

After a few days you will experience the 'shift'- this is when you energy shifts way down and you feel fatigued and dizzy, then all of a sudden you will experience an immediate shift back to high energy.


Rules

-You must count all carbs for your first week- MyFitnessPal is a good app to keep track of carbs
-20 grams or less of active carbs per day. Active Carbs= Carbs Minus Fibre
-Eat every 2 to 3 hours
-No starches, fruits or fruit juices
-No wheat or whole grains
-No alcohol
-Drink loads of water
-Eat a serving of broccoli every day
-Protein with every meal
-Increase healthy fats and green leafy veg to keep you full and to provide your body with required nutrients

Not recommended for people who restrict carbs regularly.

Proteins allowed:

• Eggs
• Cottage Cheese
• Lean beef
• Turkey breast
• Chicken breast
• Low carb protein powder
• Salmon, Tuna, Cod

Vegetables allowed:
(carb grams to each veggie for one cup of serving)

• Asparagus=2
• Broccoli=4
• Cucumber=0
• Lettuce=0
• Cabbage=1
• Cauliflour=3
• Spinach=1
• Celery=0
• Mushrooms=1
• Green beans=7
• Peppers=3
• Tomatoes=5

Fats allowed:

• Flaxseed oil
• Olive oil
• Coconut oil
• Mayo
• Grass fed butter
• Egg yolks

No seeds, nuts, nut butters or avocado.


 

 

5 Food Myths

I saw this on the paper (Metro) this week and thought it was quite interesting:

1. A calorie is a calorie, no matter what type of food it comes from

It is the type of food and not the number of calories that makes us gain weight. The amount of calories may be the same for different foods but the effect they have on our metabolic function can be quite different. A 2011 Harvard study that examined factors linked to weight gain found foods such as nuts, avocados, whole grains are associated with weight loss, while the same amount of calories from refined grains and fatty foods such as chips and crisps lead to weight gain.

2. Eating fat makes you fat

Fat does not make you fat. Sugar and excess carbs do. When you eat excess carbs or sugars, our glucose levels rise which sends a message to our pancreas to secrete insulin to break down the sugars. Insulin is a fat storage hormone- it lowers our blood glucose levels but it also tells our body to store fat. Dietary fats however do not mobilise insulin. The body requires these fats to keep its metabolism properly functioning.

3. Coconut oil is a dangerous saturated fat and should be avoided.

For years coconut oil were seen as unhealthy and contributed to heart disease due to high amounts of saturated fat. We now know that they type of saturated fat they contain is very different to the saturated fat in animal foods and that it does not cause heart disease. In fact coconut oil is now considered one of the healthiest oils.

4. Eating eggs raises cholesterol levels

While eggs contain a large amount of cholesterol, it has recently been proved that consuming them does not raise the bad cholesterol (LDL) in blood. Eggs are among the most nutritious foods on the planet-high in a number of nutrients, along with antioxidants. Including eggs regularly in diet is proved to aid weight loss. That is good to know as I eat minimum 21 eggs a week.

5. Canola oil is healthy

The food industry promotes canola oil (an oil pressed from rape seeds) as a healthy salad and cooking oil. However, few realise canola oil is a hidden source of trans fats, which raise artery-clogging bad cholesterol (LDL) levels and have been implicated in obesity, diabetes, heart disease and cancer. The food industry touts canola oil as healthy as it contains omega-3 fats known to aid weight loss. However, these fats are very fragile and their molecular structure lends for a very easy conversion to trans fats when the oil is processed and deodorised with high heat and chemicals before being bottled and sold for cooking. If you want to avoid trans fats, read the ingredient lists on your food packages and look for the term "hydrogenated oil".

 

Supplements-Kinectica Sports

I have had a few emails from people asking me do I take supplements and if so what supplements I take?

Even though I eat a lot of protein daily in my diet, I also need to supplement my diet with protein. I do this for many reasons:

1. Prevention of Muscle Loss

Protein helps repair and build up new muscle tissue. As I do a lot of weight training, I am tearing muscle in order for it to grow back stronger. Protein shakes allows my muscles to repair so that they can build back up stronger. If you do not take enough protein the process of rebuilding tissue will not take place.

2. Speedy Post-Workout Recovery

Protein is best taken straight after a workout. Protein is essential for a speedy recovery after workouts.

3. Strong Bones

Many of us do not get enough calcium in our diet especially if we cannot digest dairy foods properly. Most protein powders contain up to 20% of your daily calcium requirements in a single-scoop.

4. Meal Planning

As meal planning can be very time consuming if you are looking for a healthy snack keep protein powder on hand. It provides you will a well balanced meal and fills you up.

What Protein Powder do I Use?

Kinetica Sports

 

A few weeks ago Kinetica Sports Nutrition sent me some samples of their whey protein, pro-release and thermo whey protein powder to try in vanilla, banana, strawberry, chocolate, mint chocolate, smooth chocolate and vanilla caramel.

Kinetica Whey Protein

• High Protein Supplement
• Contributes to the growth and maintenance of muscle mass
• Each serving provides over 5g of BCAAs
• Free of artificial flavours and colours
• 23g of protein in every serving

Kinetica Pro Release

• High Protein blend containing fast, medium and slow proteins to support growth and maintain muscle. It is designed for serious athletes looking for enhanced performance in tandem with their training. It prevents muscle tissue breakdown and increases lean muscle mass.
• 23.5g protein with every serving

Thermo Whey

• Contributes to the maintenance of lean muscle
• Designed to aid your overall weight management goals to help you achieve a leaner, healthier physique
• Contains digestive enzyme Aminogen and essential amino acids
• Combination of advanced high proteins, ground oats, beneficial fats, fibre and researched lean actives
• 21.9g protein per serving

I have been taking protein shakes for over three years now and have tried various high quality brands such as Gold Standard, Reflex, PHD to name a few, so I have a fairly good knowledge of whey protein to compare them to.  

Packaging:

I wasn't familiar with the brand, but my first impressions were great. The packaging was professional and the nutritional information was clearly stated.

Taste

I was of the belief that there was no such thing as a good tasting protein supplement and had decided after tasting many different flavours and brands that it was just a case of holding my nose and knocking them back. However, I was pleasantly surprised with Kinetica-it is by far the best tasting protein I ever had. I even use it in my pancakes and homemade protein bars.

I have tried a variety of flavours- vanilla, smooth chocolate, mint chocolate, chocolate and they are all equally as tasty. Usually I stick to just chocolate but I must say all the flavours so far have been really good. My favourite has to be mint chocolate it reminds me of a mint cornetto or after eights! Yum!

The packaging states that the flavours are all natural which is good to know.

Quality

I mix my whey protein with water as I don't find it as heavy on the stomach as milk. The first thing I noticed about the Kinetica protein was that it was so much easier to mix than other proteins I used. There was no unpleasant lumps and no powder left at the bottom.
Usually I have to shake it for ages to mix up the protein and sometimes I have ended up spilling it all over myself.

Recovery

I drink my whey protein straight after my weight sessions. I am currently following an intense weight lifting regime where I am lifting weights 6 days a week. Within a few minutes of taking it I felt noticeably revived and after a nights sleep was recovered in time for another training session. Not only has my recovery improved but I have also noticed that I am lifting heavier weights

Price

Kinetica comes in around the mid range of the protein powders. In my opinion it is worth the money as it contains high quality proteins and contain some great ingredients. 

Conclusion

Kinetica has a variety of different supplements to suit your goals. I enjoyed all of the above products and particularly enjoyed the Thermo Whey as it is combines high quality protein with a digestive enzyme and essential amino acids which allows you to achieve lean muscle.

I will be definitely buying this again!



 

Age is not an Excuse

If it is important to you, you will find a way! If not you will find an excuse!

Ten months ago, I decided that I was going to help my mother get fit and healthy. As she is one of the most important people in my life, it is important to me that she is healthy and more importantly than she is happy!

At the beginning when I tried to persuade her to follow what I eat and how I exercise she thought I was mad! "Mary do you know what age I am?" " I couldn't do any of that" "That is only for young people".

Ten months later my mother has lost 3 stone, looks amazing and is more happy and confident than she has ever been.

 

How did she do it?


The biggest factor was change of diet. She did this by making small changes each week. It is easier to sustain clean eating if you make small changes each week rather than changing it drastically.

• eat more protein
• cut out processed food
• planning meals
• preparing healthy snacks for work
• Not eating carbs late in the evening
• Cutting out bread

Within the first 10 days she lost nearly a stone.

I used to get my mother to email me everyday so I could see exactly what she was eating and tell her where she was going right and going wrong. It's that much easier when you have someone supporting you. Well............... she might not call it support I think she was afraid of me! 

After about 2 weeks of eating clean my mother didn't require my assistance anymore she had it sussed!

Exercise also was a big factor. My mother's exercise routine consists of walks in the evenings and I even convinced her to try out weights.  She has learned basic weight exercises that she can do in the sitting room using dumbbells and she is also starting a pilates class. It took a lot of convincing for her to try weights but they are a great way to tone up if you are trying to lose weight.

I am so proud of my Mam and I hope that she can inspire others that if you put in the hard work, no matter what age you are, it pays off!

I am not telling you it is going to be easy, I am telling you it is going to be worth it.

 

Week 4 Day 4

Legs

3 x 10 reps

1 minute rest

NO CARDIO

1. Leg Extensions

2. Walking Lunge

3. Wide Leg Barbell Squat

4. Single Leg Barbell Deadlift

5. Leg Curls

6. Standing Calf Raise

Week 4 Day 5

 

Abs & Shoulders -Last Day

 

 

3 x 10 reps

1 minute rest

NO CARDIO

1. Seated Dumbbell Press
2. Rear Delt Cable Flyes
3. Dumbbell Front Raise
4. Dumbbell Lateral Raise
5. Seated Bent Over Rear Delt Raise

2 rounds 30/30

1. Flutter kicks
2. Scissor Kicks
3. C Sits
4. Heel touches
5. Reverse Curls
6. Star jump Crunches

 

Week 4 Day 3

Chest and Triceps

 

3 x 10 reps

1 minute rest

NO CARDIO

1. Wide push ups

2. Incline dumbbell press

3. Flat bench flyes

4. Decline flyes

5. Tricep Bench dips

6. Lying EZ bar tricep extension

7. Overhead Two  hand tricep extension

 

Week 4 Day 2

Back and Biceps-FINAL WEEK

 

3 x 10 reps

1 minute rest

NO CARDIO

1. Narrow Grip Pull Ups

2. Bent over Rows

3. Back extensions or supermans

4. Barbell Rows

5. Barbell Curl

6. Incline Dumbbell Curl

7. Alternate Hammer Curl

If I want to lose weight should I avoid Carbs?

NO you should definitely not avoid carbs. If you eat carbs in the right way you can actually enjoy carbs and lose weight. Research has shown that eating carbs can in fact speed your fat loss when done at the right time.

There are two times of the day that ideal for eating carbs.

The best time is in the Morning:

After an overnight fast your glycogen stores (you carb stores) have depleted, so the carbs you eat the next morning at less likely to be stored as fat. Research shows that carbohydrate tolerance and insulin sensitivity are highest in the morning and only get worse as the day goes on. So try avoid carbs in the late evening hours and try eat your starchy carbs in the morning.

The second best time is after your Workout:

The only time that insulin sensitivity and carb tolerance is higher than in the morning is immediately following a workout. So eating carbs after an intense workout is a great way to refuel your energy stores and replenish your muscles without storing fat.





 

Week 4 Day 1

 

 

Well done you are now on your final week of bulking!

3 x 10 reps

1 minute rest

NO CARDIO

1. Leg extensions

2. Wide legged barbell squats

3. Single leg Barbell Deadlift

4. Barbell Walking Lunge

5. Standing Calf Raise

6. Barbell Plie Squat
 

Week 3 Day 5

Shoulders and Abs

 

 

We are up to 5 days this week! We are finishing the week out with shoulders and abs!

 

3 x 10 reps

1 minute rest

NO CARDIO

 

1. Standing Dumbbell Press

 

2. Dumbbell Front Raise

 

3. Seated Dumbbell Press

 

4. Dumbbell Lateral Raise

 

5. Seated Bent Over Rear Delt Raise

 

30/30 x 2 rounds

 

1. Flutter Kicks

2. Scissor Kicks

3. Reverse Crunches

4. C sits

5. Heel touches

6. Star Crunches

 

 

 

 

 

 

Week 3 Day 3

Chest and Triceps

 

3 x 10 reps

1 minute rest

NO CARDIO

1. Push ups-wide

2. Incline Dumbbell Press

3. Flat Bench Flyes

4. Barbell Chest Press

5. Tricep dips

6. Lying Tricep Extension

7. Tricep Kickbacks

8. Overhead Triceps Extensions

Week 3 Day 2

Back and Biceps

3 x 10 reps

1 minute rest

NO CARDIO

1. Narrow Grip Pull Ups

2. Barbell or Dumbbell bent over rows

3. Back Extension or Supermans

4. Renegade Row

5. Barbell Curl

6. Incline Dumbbell Curl

7. Alternate Hammer Curl

Week 3 Day 4

LEGS AGAIN

 

The reason why I do two leg sessions a week is because I find legs the hardest to see real results compared to my other muscle groups. If you have a weak muscle group that you would like to work on, try to have two sessions working this muscle group a week. With legs you need to ensure you recover properly so you would need at least 2 to 3 days in between sessions.

3 x 10 reps

1 minute rest

NO CARDIO

1. Leg Extensions

2. Barbell Squat

3. Walking Barbell Lunge

4. Dumbell or Barbell Deadlift-single leg

5. Standing Calf Raise

6. Plie Squats with dumbbell
 

Week 3 Day 1

 

Week 3 means we are lowering the reps and increasing the weight.

3 x 10 reps

1 minute rest

NO CARDIO

LEGS

1. Barbell Squat

2. Barbell Walking Lunge -big steps

3. Single Leg Dumbbell Deadlift

4. Plie Squat with Dumbbell

5. Bulgarian Split Squat

6. Standing Calf Raise

 

Week 2 Day 4: Bulking

Today we are working shoulder and abs. Final weights session for this week. Give it your all!

You know the rules:-

3 x 10 reps

1 minute rest

NO CARDIO

1. Seated Dumbbell Press

2. Side Lateral Raise

3. Front Raise

4. Seated bent over rear dealt raise

5. Shoulder Push ups

6. Side Plank Dips (L)

7. Side Plank Dips (R)

8. V Abs

 

Week 2 Day 3: Legs

Leg Day

 

 

3 x 12 reps

1 minute rest in between sets

NO CARDIO

1. Leg Press

 

2. Leg Extensions

 

3. Barbell Squat

 

4. Barbell Lunge-small steps

 

5. Barbell Calf Raises

Alternatives:

• Plie Squat
• Bulgarian Split Squat
• Donkey Kicks
• Dumbbell Step Up

 

Bulking: Week 2 Day 2-Back and Biceps

Back & Biceps

 

 

3 x 12 reps

1 minute rest in between sets

1. Wide grip Pull Ups

2. One Arm Dumbbell Rows

3. Pull ups using Equaliser or TRX

4. Dumbbell Alternative Bicep Curl

5. One Arm Dumbbell Preacher Curl

6. TRX bicep curl or barbell bicep curl

Alternative Back exercises:

• Supermans
• Renegade Rows
• Barbell Row

Alternative Bicep exercises:

• Dumbbell Bicep curl
• Hammer Curl