1) Understand that a diet should be seen as a long term thing, it’s not a short period of time.
Too many of you compare your dietary structures to those who compete and plaster their Instagram with broccoli pics. I’d like to point out that those who do compete and step on stage set themselves very strict diets to the point that they have huge binge episodes and then repeat the cycle of restrict & binge. If you’re looking to sustainably be leaner for the rest of your life, don’t look to the diets of those in the extremes. 2) Don’t ban anything from your diet. There are no foods which should be banished from your diet, unless you’re a weirdo who eats glass or something. Just understand that including these foods too often will increase the chances of you being hyper caloric (that means you’re consuming too many calories). “Eat Pizza whenever the fuck you want, just not too often or you’ll get fat” A Davies 2019. 3) If you want to get better or learn, pay someone else who knows to teach you. I’ve in recent months had coaching with my lifting and can’t express how much time and hassle you save getting taught something properly. 4) Small goals, more wins. If you’re 99kg and you want to be 60kg, a good initial goal would be 98kg, not 60. Once you’re at 98kg you’ll aim for 97kg and so forth. 5) Eat more protein. Bodyweight in KG x 2, set that as your minimum for the day each day for 2 weeks and fill in your fats and carbs according to your activity level and see how you feel. (for example, I’m 101kg so it’d be 202g of Protein daily as a minimum.) 6) Do full body workouts. Unless you’re a pro bodybuilder you don’t need ‘a split’. Head into the gym, train legs, core, push pull and then any extras. It’s that simple. 7) If you need to do cardio find a means that’s enjoyable. Whether that’s running, the stair climber or listening to a podcast as you walk to work. 8) There’s more to life than your physique, don’t be afraid to put on a bit of weight now and then and when you do it’s not the end of the world, trim up for those events you want to and feel free to relax on your diet from time to time too. 9) Don’t be intimidated. Those turds on the gym floor grunting and training with their hoods up. They’re hugely insecure narcissists, they’re in there to do their own thing / show off to other men. Don’t let their grunting be off putting, although a vast majority of them appear to be class A bell ends most big bodybuilders are very nice, polite and kind people, even the scariest looking ones. So don’t be afraid to stroll over and ask them how many more sets they have left. 10) Don’t ever ‘lift light weights’. There’s no such thing. There’s lighter weights / loads to accommodate for more reps but lifting light is a waste of time. Optimal load for the chosen outcome, if that doesn’t make sense to you – pay a trainer until it does.
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Right so I want you to imagine if you will a weekly shopping van.
One that turns up at your house with your weekly shopping. This represents the amount of calories you consume each week. (FOOD IN SHOPPING VAN = CALORIES) I want you to imagine kitchen cupboards (KITCHEN CUPBOARDS full/not full = MUSCLES) I want you to imagine your freezer, where you store food. (FREEZER = BODY FAT) Ok. So here we go. When your usual weekly shop comes, you grab it from the door and take it into the kitchen. From there you’ll put it in the cupboards, find space for it all right. Cool. So, lets imagine you have a bit of a shit month with your diet. More calories than usual = bigger food shop. You come into the kitchen and plop it all on the floor, there’s not enough room in the cupboards so you have to put it in the freezer to store it. *FAT GAIN* Ok, so here’s the magic bit. Next month you’re like that’s it, I’m going to exercise more! You use your muscles more than usual, this represents the cupboards remember. So what happens is the cupboards get emptied MORE than usual. Which means when your weekly shop comes in to the kitchen. (Calories in) You fill up the cupboards, but there’s still space. So what do you do? You go to the freezer and defrost your shit and put it in your cupboards to ensure they’re full. *FAT LOSS* Makes sense right? OK, so here’s the best bit. I want you to imagine this. You decide to DECREASE the amount you buy in your weekly shop. Then you vow to EMPTY your cupboards as much as physically possible. What happens? Baron and empty cupboards, which means a lot of foods from the freezer needs to be transferred, defrosted and put in the cupboards to make ends meet. That is where you’ll find the ULTIMATE mix of dietary restrictions (reducing calories IN) and more exercise (spending calories OUT) brings you the best results for fat loss. How easy was that? So here is what I want you to do.... 1. Write an action plan for each day. I don't care how busy you are. 2. Move more day to day 3. Track calories on 'myfitnesspal' 4. Train as many muscles as possible on a regular basis 5. Drink more water 6. Check out my teams testimonials Confession: Sometimes I skip going to the gym.
I love lifting and getting sweaty just as much as the next gym enthusiast, but sometimes I just really, really don’t want to go to the gym. We’ve all been there; even those who identify as gym-junkies and fitness fanatics have had periods when going to the gym was the absolute last thing we wanted to do. Sometimes that feeling is a message: It could be time to rest, recover, or reduce the intensity with which we exercise. But other times it’s just… resistance. It’s just a matter of fighting that resistance, making things more realistic, and removing obstacles that stand in the way of us and our workouts. Thankfully resistance can be overcome; here are four simple strategies to assist you in doing so. 1. ACCOUNTABILITYThe oldest tool in the anti-resistance toolbox is also one of the most effective: Ask other people to hold you accountable. This can be done by signing up for a class that you’re expected to attend, having a gym buddy, or simply asking a loved one to hold you to your intentions. With the wonders of modern technology, we can look to devices and online communities for accountability. Exercise trackers such as FitBits and Facebook groups are effective and alternative methods of increasing accountability. If you say you’re going to do something and other people are counting on you to do it, you’re more likely to actually do it. 2. THE PATH OF LEAST RESISTANCEIf resistance is the issue, it makes sense to take the path that involves as little of it as possible. • If evening exercise is the aim, keep your gym bag in the car so that instead of going home after work, you go straight to the gym. • If early morning exercise is the aim, pack your bag and lay your gym clothes out the night before. • Try to find a gym that’s close enough to your home or place of work that getting there isn’t inconvenient. If you can create a situation that involves fewer external obstacles, you’ll increase your likelihood of overcoming resistance. 3. MINIMUM EFFECTIVE DOSEPart of what keeps so many of us from committing to a consistent fitness routine is the misunderstanding of what that has to entail. You were probably led to believe that workouts need to be long and comprehensive in order to be effective, allow me to disprove that myth. While it’s nice to be able to commit to a long training session when time allows, this isn’t always possible. Further, we fall into the trap of thinking that if we can’t do said training session, we might as well not do it all. Incorrect on all counts! Minimum effective dose is the smallest or shortest amount of something you can do while still eliciting a positive response. So rather than commit to hour long workouts, consider 30 minutes or even less. If all you’ve got is 10 minutes, use those 10 minutes to move—because yes, it counts. And here’s why: when it comes to fitness (and just about any other positive habit), consistency is more important than perfection. If perfection is the goal, we’ll rarely-if ever-reach it. By setting ourselves up to only go to the gym if we have plenty of time, we’re setting ourselves up for failure. What happens when we’re slammed with work? Up all night with an infant or sick kids? Traveling and pressed for time? If we set out to move consistently, regardless of the length of the workouts, we’ll be more likely to create a sustainable, long term habit. Along this same vein, consider that not every workout needs to be “hardcore.” A brisk walk or just 15 minutes of yoga can be highly effective when consistency is the intention, because the more consistently you move, the more movement becomes your norm. 4. REFRAME YOUR REASONSWhen we stress and obsess over the reasons behind our pursuit of fitness, it can often be difficult to step into a space of ease and adaptability. We wind up making things feel very serious, and in the process can bump up against a mountain of resistance. But if we learn to move for the sake of movement, to view fitness as a means of self-care and a method of respecting our bodies, we can begin to overcome this resistance. Take the “shoulds” and the “musts” and the seriousness out of fitness, and ask yourself instead: What do I actually enjoy? What makes me feel alive? With the right tools and a willingness to adapt, resistance can be overcome. Fitness doesn’t have to be so serious! It can be something that adds a tremendous amount of value and meaning to our lives. LET’S OVERCOME RESISTANCE TOGETHER & BOOK IN FOR A CHAT WITH ME 1) Always shave 30-45 seconds off everything you microwave, let's be honest, it's always too hot.
2) Understand that people who eat 'left handed' actually do it right. You put a spoon in your right hand when you eat ice cream, why change the rules when a knife comes in to play. 3) You don't need to 'eat clean' to lose fat, it helps though. 4) Whenever there is traffic turning left off a roundabout, just go in the right lane, round the roundabout a full rotation and all that traffic will have to give way to you, saving you queue time. 5) The amount of meals you divide your food in to does not affect fat loss. 1 meal vs 6 meals does not affect fat loss, muscle protein synthesis sure, but not that much. 6) If you don't have a good squat, you can always lunge. 7) If you're ever wondering which side you put petrol in to your car, look at the petrol pump sign, universally there's a little arrow to remind you which side it is on. 8) Ketogenic diet offers no benefits to fat loss vs traditional deficit. 9) Whey protein used to be a waste product before bodybuilders wanted to get their hands on it, the price hikes are marketing ploys, it's filtered milk. 10) There are no requirements to 'cleanse' or 'detox' your body. More sleep and a better diet would do 10 fold. 11) Caffiene does not help with fat loss, it helps with making you more alert, which burns more calories, which can play into your energy deficit. It on its own won't burn anything if you eat too much shit. 12) Statistically the toilet cubicle closest to the bathroom door is the least used. 13) Fake it til' you make it. 14) Get up early, it doesn't get any easier, but life gets better as you get used to it. 15) Write down your goals. 16) Better to be an hour early than a minute late. 17) Fruit is not bad for you. 18) Don't be obsessed with body fat percentages. 19) There is no such thing as a 'bad food' just a bad diet. 20) "The only thing worse than a bad workout is no working out." Incorrect, listen to your body, sometimes skipping a workout is the best workout. 21) If you want someone to like you, let them do the talking. 22) Not many people think things are possible until they happen. 23) The opposite of happiness is boredom. Absorb those and you'll do well! Is it better to go first thing in the morning?
Do you burn more fat if you train in the morning? Does it even matter? Well let's put it into perspective. If you are someone who struggles to get up in the morning and I set you a workout programme you had to do 4 mornings per week how consistent would you be? My guess is not very. Sometimes getting hung up on such small details isn't worth it. Unless you are a professional athlete I think you should set your training to work around you. If it suits your schedule to train in the evenings then train in the evenings. If it's in the morning before work then do that. Finding what works for you as an individual is key. It will increase the chances of you being consistent Which in the long run is going to be more important than worrying about the smaller details. To my knowledge there isn't any evidence strongly supporting greater fat loss or improved body composition by training in the morning. Don't be that person who doesn't end up going to the gym at all because you got hung up on smaller details that are not more important than consistently turning up. |
Andrew DaviesI aim to inspire, motivate and educate my clients for long lasting results Archives
April 2019
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