Ask the PT

I use York weights and now do all 16 exercises suggested on the accompanying sheet (some of them changed to use an exercise ball rather than a bench).

My 'system' is to complete 1 set of 12 reps without stopping. When I can do that, I progress to 1 set of 15 next time, then 2 sets of 12, then up to 1 set of 12 on the next weight.

It takes about 2 hours (with 15 minute warm up of sit-ups, press-ups, etc) and can be recorded in such a way that I easily see the progress I've made.

Big improvements in just 4 months - I go for three sessions a week. My only gripe is some muscles/exercise progress quicker than others. Biceps and triceps (though my arms look progressively bigger) are slow to progress.
 
Johnny Vodka said:
It takes about 2 hours (with 15 minute warm up of sit-ups, press-ups, etc) and can be recorded in such a way that I easily see the progress I've made.

Big improvements in just 4 months - I go for three sessions a week. My only gripe is some muscles/exercise progress quicker than others. Biceps and triceps (though my arms look progressively bigger) are slow to progress.
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I presume it's some sort of circuit training? Does it take your 2hours 3x a week? None of my sessions take longer than an hour.

Good that you are seeing results and sticking to it.
 
Londoner said:
I presume it's some sort of circuit training? Does it take your 2hours 3x a week?
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It's 16 different weights exercises focusing on different muscle groups - triceps, back, biceps, legs, torso, chest, shoulders. Does 2 hours a session sound too long? Bear in mind I'll stop to change dumbbells & make cups of tea :)lol:) & I generally leave a minute or so between sets.

Once I get the body I want, prob 1 or 2 sessions a week will do.

My mate raves about a book called Be Your Own Gym. Says a 30 minute session from that book (involving using just your body and various household objects :lol:) leaves him shattered.
 
Is your goal to lose fat? And retain muscle? Conditioning? Also, do you have access to a gym?

IMO fat loss workouts don't need to be any longer than 45-60 minutes long. In fact workouts for the general population (no skill training involved) don't need to be too much longer over the hour mark.

But like I said, it is working for you atm.

www.revolutionfunctionalfitness.co.uk
HKC Kettlebell and Personal Trainer Sutton
 
The goal's really just to build muscle while losing a small amount of belly fat. (TBH, I don't really see a goal, just a constant strive for improvement. :lol:)

Prefer to train at home; cheaper & more convenient. I've made a bit more time to do stuff in the garden when spring/summer comes, so that should help too.

If your workouts are an hour long, how many would you advise in a week?
 
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I recommend kettlebells for home workouts to a lot of clients - if they are learned properly (the best people to learn off are RKC's and HKC's). They are very effective when used properly.

Find what works for you. Fat loss workouts, are on the whole very intense and thus your body needs time to recover. 3-4 times a week is the best IMO. I normally workout 3x when specifically training to lose fat.

The closer you get to that desired physique, the harder it becomes to get there - your workouts need to be effective and your nutrition spot on.
 
My main problem is I like my food (& drink!) too much to adhere to a 'gym diet', and also that I try only to eat meat 4 times a week. That said, I don't eat a lot of crap (in fact, hardly any junk food or snacking between meals; boozing at weekends is my main vice), more that I don't worry about the precise make-up of what's on my plate. I probably concentrate on big portions of veg compared to protein/carbs. Like tonight's dinner is just going to be a huge veggie stir fry with noodles.

It's definitely when you get close to your ideal weight that you notice just how much an extra kg or two can make the difference between a stomach and a defined look. :rolleyes:
 
im no PT but if you wana get your diet in line with your sessions which are obviously working maybe have stir fry turkey/chicken with veg and no noodles???

in my mind makes sense to have carbs in day if u gona burn em as opposed to in evening.
(Londoner please correct if totally wrong!)
 
Thing is, I'm trying to stick to my pledge to eat less meat/fish. Carbs - I don't eat that many - just muesli for breakfast, 2 slices brown bread for lunch and a portion of potatoes/rice/etc for dinner. Anyway, steak tonight. :D
 
I couldn't imagine cutting down my meat intake. The thing is, generally, non-meat sources of protein generally contain a good helping of fat or carbs with them, and you need to consume multiple sources to get the complete amino acid profile.

My vegan client lives of pulses, tofu and vegan protein shakes.

You need to discover what's going to get you making habitual changes and not just short term! Self discovery and experimentation along with a well programmed exercise program will help massively.
 
Cutting down on meat is basically out of ethical/enviromental/health concerns. I've been down to (generally) 4 portions a week since the beginning of 2011. If it means I won't have the same muscles as someone who eats meat/fish at every meal, then so be it. I could live with a lean, muscly look rather than being massive. And when I do eat meat, I usually want the tasty bits of meat with fat and skin. :lol: You're right, though, that I don't want to over compensate with too much nuts/eggs/cheese, as that'll just add extra fat.
 
Question: What's the best way to get more protein in to my diet while still watching what I eat? I'm trying to lose weight, and tone up as well.
 
If you're worried about calories - then low fat fresh meat will be your best bet. Things like turkey and chicken breast are low in fats and contain roughly 30g of protein per 100g of meat.

Things like oily fish and fatty cuts of meats will have higher calories, and also contain less protein pound for pound.
 
I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the pull ring no drain required tins of tuna fish contain virtually no fat / carbs and are a delicious snack in place of biscuits etc, plenty of pepper, splash of vinegar:D (each tin contains 120g);

NUTRITIONAL INFO (PER 100G)
Energy kJ506
Energy kC 119
Protein(g) 27.6
Carbohydrate(g)
TraceSugars(g)
TraceFibre(g)
TraceFat(g)
1.0Fat(g) - 0.3Polyunsaturates(g) -Omega-3(g) -Sodium(g) 0.4
 
WeLuvIbiza said:
I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the pull ring no drain required tins of tuna fish contain virtually no fat / carbs and are a delicious snack in place of biscuits etc, plenty of pepper, splash of vinegar:D (each tin contains 120g);

NUTRITIONAL INFO (PER 100G)
Energy kJ506
Energy kC 119
Protein(g) 27.6
Carbohydrate(g)
TraceSugars(g)
TraceFibre(g)
TraceFat(g)
1.0Fat(g) - 0.3Polyunsaturates(g) -Omega-3(g) -Sodium(g) 0.4
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Forgot to mention the tuna as well.

The more whole natural food you eat and the more frequent you do, as well as exercise - you will not crave the crap. If you can't pronounce an ingredient on the packet, don't eat it. If it didn't live or grow on the earth, don't eat it.

Processed food is slowly but surely poisoning us - mentally and physically. Treat yourself every now and again, but don't make it your staple food.
 
New question:
how long does it take for calories / energy to be stored and when you exercise does your body use the most recent reserves or what?

ie if you eat a big meal then go for a 10k run the next day will you mainly be using the energy from that meal or older reserves? i accept this might have so many variables it might be hard to answer
 
MiniMarc said:
New question:
how long does it take for calories / energy to be stored and when you exercise does your body use the most recent reserves or what?

ie if you eat a big meal then go for a 10k run the next day will you mainly be using the energy from that meal or older reserves? i accept this might have so many variables it might be hard to answer
Click to expand...

Quite a tough question to answer Marc. It is all to do with gastric emptying. Fatty foods and low G.I carbs take longer to be digested and stored by the body, where as high G.I. carbs are digested fairly quickly.

Say you have eaten a sugary drink such as lucozade pre-exercise, your body is likely to utilise the energy from the drink as it is in it's simplest form and the glucose will be in the blood stream/

If it is the day after the big meal, your body will utilise the stored energy, as most of that meal should have been processed by all the organs.

And what type of energy it uses will depend on your type of exercise. Walking or slow running will predominantly utilise fat to create energy, where as sprints and heavy lifting will utilise muscle and liver glycogen stores predominantly. (note, this doesn't mean walking is a more effective means of burning fat than sprinting or heavy lifiting). So if you have not restored your glycogen levels, and then you go sprinting it is likely that you will fade pretty fast.

Personally I have a protein and low G.I carb meal 2 hours before a heavy lifting session or kettlebell workout that will last 45mins - 1hr.

And a good point to bring up about the food eaten the day/night preceding exercise. Poor nutrition the day before can seriously affect your workout the day after. Little calories and poor food choices can make the next days workout hellish.

Sorry I can't give a definitive answer on this or may have gone off on a tangent there.
 
Marc / anyone, if you are into running, an excellent book that covers the minutia of energy burning / delivery / muscle function etc etc; "The Lore of Running" T D Noakes. Approx 900 pages of amazing insight into every aspect of running. Bought it recently and cannot put it down for more than 20 minutes!
 
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