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Dave Clark

How to manage stress

Stress is a body’s way to respond to a challenge. Nowadays we are under constant stress and it can come from many sources (relationship, money, life, work, exercise and so on). We cannot avoid it and we should not. Having too little stress in our life means we have no more challenges to face, to overcome and to grow ourselves, however having too much means we are working and training too hard and being in a risk of an injury.

So how can we manage it to keep ourselves challenged but not too much?
Listen to your body: if you are working too much, too hard, you will feel that you are a bit out of control. Your sleep quality and quantity drops and your digestive system does not function as good as it should. In addition, you will find it hard to push yourself more in the gym.

Get a heart rate chest strap and check your Heart rate variability (HRV) in the mornings. This is the easiest and most accurate way to identify if you are under a stress or close to overtraining yourself. (More to touch on this soon)

Meditate regularly: No, you do not have to be a spiritual guru to do it…. Simple breathing techniques will help you with this massively (Check out some Wim Hof Method workshops around you)

Yoga, another great way to manage stress. Become more flexible and be more aware of your body.

Supplements: if none of those natural ways helped you to recover then it is probably time to look at some supplements. Magnesium before sleeping etc.

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When’s best to eat during Ramadan to maintain muscle mass?

To put it bluntly, you need to eat as much as you can when you can. You only get about 5-6 hours of eating time and you need to try to maintain the same calorie intake as you get outside of Ramadan. So, as soon as you feel hungry again, eat!

Can someone experience fat loss during Ramadan?

During fasting (or using the principle of Intermittent fasting) you should not be expecting to make huge gains. Use this time to your advantage and get leaner. At the end of the 24 hour day, you’re likely to still be in a calorie deficit compared to your normal everyday routine. With that in mind, so long as you stick to a healthy/”clean” diet when you can eat, you should be able to lose fat.

What’s eating healthy/”clean”?

Eating “clean” is a term used in bodybuilding to refer to eating foods that are not junk food. For example, try to avoid overly processed foods.

Is it best to stay away from processed carbohydrates like bread and pasta?

This is a long debated subject and there’s lots of research out there. You could spend a career looking into this (people do!). However, keep in mind that everyone’s body is different, what works for one person might not work for you. Try cutting bread/pasta if you think its impacting you or try adding it in if you miss it too much! Listen to your body and decide what’s best for you.

What’s the best way to train during Ramadan to experience fat loss whilst maintaining muscle mass?

It can be very tricky to train when fasting. If you feel able to give it a go, follow these guidelines to maximize fat loss whilst maintaining muscle mass:

• Keep it light weight (and stay around 12-15 reps). You are very unlikely to make any muscle gains during Ramadan. That’s why there’s no need to train heavy (which is primarily done for muscle gain).
• Keep your workouts short, around 30 minutes.
• Train around 4-5 days a week, don’t go crazy… you’ll need more recovery time.
• Skip the cardio, enjoy weight training.

Most importantly, don’t overdo it! You don’t want to stress your body more than necessary, not eating nor drinking for long periods of time can be hard work for your body.

LISS OR HIIT

Low Intensity Steady State

Pros

• Better for those new to exercise
• Better for those recovering from injury
• Can target fat cells as fuel source through oxidation
• Easier on recovery
• Easier program to stick to

Cons

• The body will adapt to the low intensity so just like weight training it will need adjustments.
• When LISS training is removed, the body may restore the lost weight.
• Once finishing a LISS session, the body will revert burning calories at the normal metabolic rate.

 

High Intensity Interval Training

Pros

• Time saving – Only 15-20 mins
• 20 minutes HIIT = 45 minutes LISS
• Speed changes make it harder for the body to adapt and provides more variable difficulties
• Continues to keep metabolism high once session is over

Cons

• Takes a lot of energy
• Cannot be done every day
• Can cause injury if not thoroughly warmed up
• Not recommended for those new to exercise or with injuries

 

Billy Wills Fitness
Billy@billywillsfitness.co.uk

https://www.billywillsfitness.co.uk/blog/
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Buzz Gym looking to expand nationwide

Buzz Gym currently have sites in Reading, Swindon and Slough and are looking to expand nationwide.

Owner Adam Stowell comments; “Our concept is all about creating a buzz and not just another boring gym. We are shaking up the market further by combining the service and quality of product you would expect at a boutique gym, with the affordability and convenience of a budget gym. For £19.99 Buzz Gym offer 24 hour access, over 200 stations of state of the art equipment, fully loaded Olympic lifting and strength zones and over 400 free classes per month!”

The budget gym model maximises membership numbers over the available floor space, extends opening hours and minimises operational costs, particularly wages, whilst providing access to high quality equipment for a low monthly cost and with flexibility over membership.

Ticking all those boxes leads to member retention and this has been one of the key factors behind the success.

Eat, SLEEP, Train…Repeat

We would die of sleep deprivation before we die of starvation

When you add to this the hunger, mood, fat gain, hormonal issues and strength loss it becomes pretty clear that good quality sleep is paramount to all of our goals we set in and out of the gym.

During my 15 years as a strength coach, personal trainer and BioSignature Practitioner I have had clients with some pretty major issues so I feel qualified to give my lovely members some tips for quality sleep that I have seen transform sleep patterns from 2 hours a night to a solid 8 hours.

I have also held many seminars on the subject of sleep and stress at many corporate clients across town so please get in touch if you want any more assistance adam@buzzgym.co.uk.

Sleep problems are often deeper issues than we can’t cover in this article but certainly trying the below will aid sleep, promote lean muscle gains, increase fat loss and improve your whole quality of life!

1. Add a Carbohydrate into the last meal of the day – Carbohydrates activates the Orexin pathway which makes us feel sleepy whilst various studies have been done on fast or slow release carbs before bed for overall sleep my advice is a small bowl of oats with almond milk or water is one of the best choices to improve initial sleep and overall quality of sleep.

2. Eat a high protein diet, a diet high in lean meats and fish will assist the brains neurochemistry throughout the day which in turn will help regulate cortisol ideally resulting in a ‘yin’ effect in the evening allowing for a quicker switch off when going to bed.

3. Raise melatonin by drinking pure cherry juice – studies conducted showed this resulted in better sleep quality and reduced inflammation.

4. Eggs in your last meal of the day – Eggs are without doubt a superb food for general health (providing you are not intolerant) Eggs can be great for sleep as they hold a high amount of the amino acid Taurine which increases the neurotransmitter Gaba which calms the nervous system. They also contain phosphatidyl choline which assists in this process too.

5. Increase Magnesium – this is my first tool in getting clients better sleep most are lacking adequate levels especially if you train hard. One of the best ways is to use a topical magnesium just before bed!

6. Try Ginseng tea before bed – again this increases Gaba output – Chamomile also works well to calm the nervous system.

7. Try a glass of Red wine – This is my client’s favourite option! – a glass of Spanish Red wine holds lots of vitamin D and E which can keep you sleeping longer and deeper by raising antioxidant levels!

8. Think happy – if you are watching a horror film or reading a newspaper which is typically depressing news then you are raising stress levels before bed and going against the natural cortisol curve that we want to see – think happy, be satisfied and any issues you have get down on paper and out of the sub consciousness!

Sleep Well!

Adam Stowell

Advance & Buzz Gym owner

PICP National Strength Coach BioSignature Practitioner