Thursday 24 February 2011

Nutrition for dummies...

Food, glorious food! Fuel or enjoyment? Or both? A lot of what I used to read in Muscle and Fiction or Bodybuilders Bible of Bullsh@t said you should treat food as fuel. Stuff to get you through the day and all that entails whether that is sitting at your desk, flying your jet fighter into the danger zone or plain old busting your ass lifting heavy stuff in the gym.
Eat your oats in the morning(I agree), 12 egg white omelette (ok), chicken and broccoli for lunch (hmmmm..), Super protein shake pre workout (ok), super mega shake post workout (ok...), chicken and brocolli for dinner, (again?), pre-bed shake (i guess). And some times I kid you not, a middle of the night protein shake, cos' you know, you might just get muscle wastage while you sleep... Next day, repeat. Keep going till you get HUUUGGEE!

I tend to think a little differently. I mean that days eating doesn't exactly inspire me. I like food. I like the tastes, the textures and everything else that good food entails.

That's not to say I eat anything and everything that comes my way. I used to, but because I'm superhuman, I didn't gain much weight at all. (Either that or it was the fact that I ran around all the time doing sports, working out and generally not sitting on my ass in front of the TV).  I eat well, I get a good amount of protein, good fats, a reasonable amount of carbs. washed down with about 3 litres of water, some caffeine and a protein shake. I like to indulge every now and again, but just enough to keep me sane, and since i'm looking to maintain my weight and not bulk or cut, thats fine for me.

But its a confusing old world out there. When it comes to nutrition, everyone has their own take on what works. Atkins, South Beach, Intermittent Fasting, even Weight Watchers have differing ideas, frustratingly for you, they all will work for someone. Because we are all different, and there are many variables to nutrition, different folks will react well to different tweaks to the ratios of macro nutrients. I mean even a twinkie diet will lose you some weight if you are in a deficit! However, if you want to fuel yourself (and enjoy your food), and succeed in hitting your weight loss or gain goals sticking to:
  • Lean proteins like chicken, beef or fish.
  • Lots of vegetables. Low in calories but nutritionally dense.
  • Fruit. Tend to be a little higher in calories, but I've yet to see someone get fat from fruit!
  • Moderate carbs - Starches rather than sugars are going to have a generally lower effect on blood sugar.
  • Fat. Thats right, fat. Everyone needs it, As long as its the right kind, and not an excessive amount.
Now some of you might be asking, "Dave, what are these and what are the right amounts?" Well, my next post is going to be a break down of macro nutrients (protein, carbs and fat), what they do, why they are important and how much is enough! I'm breaking this into 2 parts because
  1. I'm writing this before I head to work,
  2. I'm running out of time because of 1.
So, I'll be back with more later on. In the meantime, you can follow me on Twitter (b_fast) or on Facebook (dave ballantine).

Wednesday 16 February 2011

Fit and Healthy??

At the assessment I did recently, during the discussion period at the start, we were looking at the difference between health and fitness. We discussed what we thought made up health v fitness and how its more than possible to be fit without necessarily being healthy. I mean, you could probably talk any number of pro athletes, who are undoubtedly fit, but due to their lifestyles of late nights, less than ideal nutritional habits, lack of good sleep, clubs, drink etc are not the temples of health we assume!

We broke down health and fitness into what contributes to each as follows:

Health                                                                        

Immunity: The ability to fight illness and infection. This is can be linked to a number of factors, such as:

Proper nutrition: Nutrition is key to giving the body what it needs for energy and recovery. To little and you wear yourself down, too much and you get large in all the wrong places. Imbalanced and you get a combo of both of the above.


Hydration: The body can go for a month without food, it won't be particularly pleasant but you could do it. You die in a couple of days without water. 2% drop in the body's fluid levels means a noticeable drop off in performance and mental function, 5% is extremely dangerous. Yet people continually don't drink anywhere near enough fluids.

Stress: This can be anabolic or catabolic. Catabolic stress is negative, it consumes energy rather than storing energy.

Sleep: Lack of sleep, too much sleep, getting to sleep too late, all have negative effects on the body. Hormone responses are linked to sleep (as well as many other factors).

Body mass index: Weight(in kgs)/height(in metres)squared. The result is an indication of how much weight you are carrying. Now, this is a bit deceptive as it does not take into account your body fat or where you are carrying your fat. For example, you get 2 guys, both 1.8m tall and 90kg. The BMI for these 2 is 28 (rounded up). This is above the upper healthy limit of 25. So both are unhealty, right? Not necessarily, if I said 1 of these guys has a chubby 25% body fat and the other is a ripped 8%. Two completely different physiques, 2 different health profiles.

Blood Pressure: Persistent high BP is one of the risk factors for strokes, heart attacks, heart failure, and is the leading cause of chronic renal failure. Even moderate elevation of arterial pressure leads to shortened life expectancy.
Low pressure can cause confusion. Hypo-tension is a medical concern only if it causes signs or symptoms, such as dizziness, fainting, or in extreme cases.
Body fat%: As mentioned above, body fat % is indicative of health. Essential body fat is around 2 - 5% for men and 10 - 13% for women. Less than that is too low for the body to function. Too high and the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes etc increase.

There other factors that influence the health of an individual, but these are probably the main factors that can affect your health.

Fitness

Factors that relate to physical fitness are:
Muscular strength - the ability of a muscle or group of muscles to exert a maximal force in 1 contraction. ie. 1 rep max.

Muscular endurance - the ability of a muscle or group of muscles to contract continually for a period of time without fatigue. the cross over from strength to endurance is around 10 reps.

Cardiovascular fitness - the ability of the heart and lungs to provide oxygen in the production of energy. ie. being able to drag yourself around (running, walking, cycling rowing etc) without feeling like you are going to pass out from gasping for air.

Motor skills - this is a cover-all term for co-ordination, balance, agility, reaction time etc.

As you can see, the factors that make up health and fitness are varied and not limited to what I've written here. The ability to be fit is possible for many people, however to be truly fit, you have to be far more disciplined outside of the gym environment when it comes to all the listed factors above. So eat well, drink lots, sleep well, chill out, get a check up from the doc and do the necessary to get healthy and fit!

Sunday 13 February 2011

Assessed and corrected...

This Saturday just passed, I was down in London for an assessment on my abilities as a trainer to assess a client. It went well and I passed with flying colours. Yay for me!

The real benefit for me was how much I realised how much I still need to learn about how the body works and how it all links together. Throughout the assessment talk through I made sure to ask what I think were fairly intelligent questions and was able to answer anything asked of me. Throughout the assessment I was asked a load of supplemental questions on the results I was finding and I answered all well and was rewarded with more questions! It was good though, and I've learned so much about the way the assessment results affect the programming for a client and how important the screening and assessing of a client is. 
With this in mind I realise that I'm on the right track with all the reading I'm doing over and above the course notes. The notes, while they give the basics of what needs to be known, are in no way comprehensive.  All the info Ive gleaned from the anatomy books, coaching books and various sites was invaluable on the day.

It also shows just how much more I still need to learn on all aspects of training, nutrition and recovery in order to become the kind of trainer and provide the kind of service I want to be able to offer. So every day I'll continue to read everything that I can to improve my level of knowledge in preparation for my next assessments (coming in March...)

In other news, training is coming along well. I've just completed the 2nd week of Maximum Strength by Eric Cressey. I'm loving it. Feeling good with the way that it is progressing and feeling like I'm starting to key in my technique on all the lifts involved. Early days yet, but I will keep you posted on how the gains are coming along.

Nutritionally, I've been a little lax so I'll be tightening it up again this week. The key is not to deprive myself but limit my cheat meals a bit more and be a little smarter in my choices.

Thursday 10 February 2011

Assessment day is coming...

D-day is coming... On Saturday I am going to be doing one of my assessments on my way to becoming a Personal Trainer. The assessment is "Client Lifestyle and Fitness Assessment." Basically, how to go about assessing a new clients current lifestyle and fitness and use that information to develop a programme incorporating that info.

The fitness assessment is based on 3 criteria:
1.  Appropriateness - based on the clients needs and ability.  Obviously this is what we are trying to determine, but generally with, say, a heavily overweight client who is out of breath climbing a flight of stairs, you aren't gonna run them into the ground on a bleep test. This isn't the Biggest Loser you know!


2. Accuracy - validity of the tests used, reliability of the equipment used, environment, timing and client. The accuracy of the equipment is important on say body fat calipers, or blood pressure monitor etc. faulty or inaccurate equipment will give readings that will be wrong, which will lead you down the wrong path when it comes to programming. Client, environment and timing will all have effects on the outcomes of blood pressure, resting heart rate and even on performance of some of the fitness test used.

3. Customer care - empathy, code of ethics, rapport. How you communicate and how quickly you can build a rapport with a new client will also effect the clients results on a number of tests.

The first part of the appraisal of a new client is screening. This is the process of asking various questions of the client in order to:

1. Identify medical conditions which may place the client at risk when performing certain activities.
2. Identify possible contraindicated or potentially dangerous activities.
3. Assist in the selection of exercises and design a programme including any modifications needed due to certain conditions.
4. Ensure the Trainer has followed the correct procedures in terms of legal responsibility.

The way this screening process is performed is through the use of a PAR-Q (Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire). Answers are usually yes/ no types with space for explanations as necessary. If the client answers yes to any of the questions, then typically they would be required to get their doctors advice before starting an exercise programme.
The questionnaire also helps identify previous conditions/ injuries which may affect the performance of the client.

PAR-Qs will contain questions on the following areas:

1. Lifestyle factors:
- Diet and understanding that caffeine, sugar and pop tarts are not the underpinnings of healthy eating habits.
- Exercise history over the past 6 - 12 months. The longer time frame gives an indication of their commitment to exercise, and the more recent time frame give clues to their current fitness level.
- Alcohol consumption and whether the client smokes or has done so in the past.

2. Medical Factors:
- History of the individual including:
- Cardiovascular conditions,
- Pulmonary conditions,
- Orthopaedic conditions,
- Other illnesses/ conditions,
- Medication,
- Other factors.

3. Any other factor not listed that may affect the participation of the activity being screened for i.e. pregnancy.

Any participant who is over the age of 35 and is not a regular exerciser (defined as exercising twice a week for at least the past 12 months) should get medical clearance before commencing an exercise programme.

After the completion of the screening process and, if necessary, the gaining of medical clearance, the next step is to have the client perform fitness assassments to supply further information as to their current level of fitness. These assessmentsindicate the areas that need improving and can be a useful tool for assessing the progress of the client. This in turn can be helpful for programme adherence.

The assessments used on the client can have both advantages as well as disadvantages. On the plus side, they can help identify health risks such as high blood pressure, obesity, high hip : waist ratio etc. They can allow goals to be set, using the areas identified to be worked on, and setting a baseline to monitor progress against. They also allow a tailor made programme to be written and help to educate the client.

On the down side though, they can have disadvantages such as possibly embarrassing the client, placing undue stresses on the client and poor results can have a negative effect.

The tests covered in this course syllabus are as follows:
Anthropometric measurements - height, weight, hip: waist ratio.
Body compostion - using skin fold calipers and bio-electrical impedence.
Resting blood pressure - using manual and electrical sphygmomanometers.
Range of movement analysis - assessing range of movement at each of the main joints
Standing postural analysis.
Cardiovascular fitness - Astrand bike test and YMCA 3 minute step test.
Muscular fitness - Abdominal crunch test and 1 rep max testing.

I'm not going to be going into all that these tests cover, I'm tired and its getting late! However I do feel that the cardio and muscular fitness tests are a bit outdated. If for example, you get a client who is a swimmer, and you put them throught the bike or step test, chances are that they won't perform as well as they would expect. Their body is conditioned to swim. Not ride a bike or step up and down on a box repeatedly. Cardio fitness doesn't cross over, just ask Lance Armstrong!
 As for the crunch test, there is a great deal of evidence the crunches and other spinal flexion exercises are detrimental to the spine. Why test the core that way and not use the plank instead. I think this would give a better indication of core strength and endurance. But maybe I'm wrong!


That, in a nutshell, is what I'll be getting assessed on on Saturday. Wish me luck!

Sunday 6 February 2011

Long time, no see....

I'll admit it...I've been slacking with posting on here. Its been a busy week but that is no excuse. I just haven't taken the time to write on this. I'll do better. Promise!

Since it's been a while since my last post, this one might (then again, it might not!) be a little longer than previous entries and I'll be back with another entry soon.

Last week I completed another section of my theory study for my REPS level 3 course, I did the mock theory exam online and scored 80 %. Not bad, but I want to do better. I'm now working through more of the course work building towards my theory exam, practical assessment and program design assessment in March. So I'm reading lots and just working to get as much knowledge into my head as possible. So far, so good!

Training has been  going well too. I've just completed my first week of Eric Cresseys "Maximum Strength". It's progressing well, although I haven't done upper/ lower splits as used in the book for a while in my training. I've been enjoying the challenges so far. Leg days suck though! But its been an interesting week. Onto week 2 this week, so I'll keep updating on how its going... I put up my current lift maxes a couple of posts ago so it will be interesting to see how they improve.

Some links that I've found interesting/ funny/ useful:
Precision Nutritions' John Berardi explains what elite level coaches do.

Some interesting stuff from Nick Tumminello on pre- and post-workout nutrition. 

Bret Contreras answers a question on quad:hamstring strength ratio


Chris Beardsley puts up some great links...

And then I saw this and laughed a lot...
So you want to be a Personal Trainer???

Anyways... I'll be back soon, and I promise that I'll be more consistent at posting....

You can contact me (if you want to!) on facebook - dave ballantine, or on Twitter B_fast