The Principles of Reversibility: dictates that athletes lose the effects of training when they stop working out. Conversely, it also means that detaining effects can be reversed when they resume training. In short, If you don't use it, you lose it.
So I'm going to give you some top advice on first how to get lean and second on how to stay lean. So I'm going to stagger the blog in order of importance highlighting 3 main key area DIET, TRAINING & RECOVERY.
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Diet.
OK so there are many ways we can approach this one but I'm going to the one i get most success with my clients and also personal success with and that is CARB CYCLING. Carb cycling is as the name suggest we cycle carbohydrate levels in order to shock you metabolism into burning more fat for fuel and in essence giving you a leaner tighter look. Carb cycling works by giving your body the fuel it needs to increase your metabolism and create a calorie deficit to increase fat loss. Days are rotated between high-carb days and low/moderate-carb days and in some cases no carb days.
There are typically three types of days when carb cycling- Notice some will not go “NO carbs” but instead follow a low to moderate and then high rotation.- High Carb
- Low/moderate Carb
- No/low Carb Days
Generally, if you do three days the three days are rotated, or cycled, equally, but there are many ways people set up a carb cycle. You can also do low/high or low moderate high. I'm going to go middle of the road and give you a diet that works for the average person with a 3days low and 1day high. There are many other factors such as protein and fats to consider so these have also been taken into consideration.
Example of carb cycling, follow for 3 days before doing a high carb day (below)
Example of carb cycling, follow for 3 days before doing a high carb day (below)
8am Meal 1
40g oats & tea spoon honey
Skimmed milk
Skimmed milk
Multi vitamin
Flax seed oil
Flax seed oil
10.30am (Post workout)
2 scoops whey protein
with water.
12pm Meal 2
lunch 1 chicken breast/tuna fillet/steak/turkey/any white fish(No carbs)
3pm Mid afternoon snack
Handful of cashews
2 scoops whey protein with water
6pm Meal 3
dinner 1 x Chicken breast/tuna fillet/any white fish/turkey steak
Unlimited veg or salad
9pm Meal 4
tub of cottage cheese
Example of a high carb day, after 3 low days do 1 high carb day before returning to 3 low carb days.
8am Meal 1
60g porridge oats
Skimmed milk
Multi vitamin
Flax seed oil
10.30am (Post workout)
2 scoops whey protein
with water.
12pm Meal 2
lunch 1 chicken breast/tuna fillet/steak/turkey/any white fish
250g wholemeal rice
3pm Mid afternoon snack
Handful of cashews
2 scoops whey protein with water
6pm Meal 3 dinner
1 x Chicken breast/tuna fillet
Unlimited veg or salad
150g sweet potato
9pm Meal 4
tub of cottage cheese or handful of nuts (Brazil,cashew,walnut)
The key is to keep your body guessing, as opposed to letting it get accustomed to one particular nutrient intake day after day. Just as you need to change things up in the gym for continued gains in strength and size and to avoid plateaus, you mustn't let your body get too comfortable with the foods you eat. This is also why the occasional cheat day is considered productive for people on strict diets—it's all about shocking the system to elicit a positive response.
Training.
Moving onto training I'm going to give you some general parameters in which you should be working in order get maximum benefit from your training. Ideally you want to be training 4-5 a week to get the full effect. We always want to focus on large compound (multi joint/muscle) movements to get the maximum results. Think dead lift, squats, bench press, rows & military presses. You would only need isolation if you was looking at detail and this does not apply for general populations. I'm going to give you a example of the kind of split you should be doing with C.V work in the way of H.I.I.T (high intensity interval training)
MONDAY: Full chest routine HIIT x 6
TUESDAY: Full leg routine slow walking x 20 Min's
WEDNESDAY: OFF
THURSDAY: Full back routine HITT x 8
FRIDAY: Full shoulder routine HITT x 10
SATURDAY: OFF
SUNDAY: OFF
HIIT
So as the name suggest its intervals with periods of high intensity. There are pros & cons with this method, the pros are it WORKS the cons are it HURTS!! HIIT also helps you to maintain your sanity by getting you done with cardio quicker. I can't think of anything more monotonous than being stuck on a treadmill, StairMaster, stationary cycle, or elliptical machine for a good 30 minutes straight! With HIIT the intensity bursts may be more gruelling, but they are short and challenging. That makes the workout more "fun" and completes it quicker.
How it HIIT done?
There are many ways you can do HIIT in respect of what apparatus you a can use treadmill, rower, x-trainer, bike, skipping. The most important point is that when you are doing the high intensity it is you MAXIMUM effort and nothing less! In the rest period you drop the intensity to a very slow pace but still moving, think active rest.
Example of HIIT
Beginner
1min slow walk
30 sec maximum sprint
repeat 6 times
Intermediate
45sec slow skipping
45 sec max speed skipping
repeat 8 times
Advanced
30sec slow rowing
1min max speed rowing
repeat 10 times (ouch)
Recovery.
Most gym people know that getting enough rest after exercise is essential to high-level performance, but many still over train and feel guilty when they take a day off. The body repairs and strengthens itself in the time between workouts, and continuous training can actually weaken the strongest of gym goers.
Building recovery time into any training program is important because this is the time that the body adapts to the stress of exercise and the real training effect takes place. Recovery also allows the body to replenish energy stores and repair damaged tissues. Exercise or any other physical work causes changes in the body such as muscle tissue breakdown and the depletion of energy stores (muscle glycogen) as well as fluid loss.
Sleep deprivation can directly hinder your gym or sports performance In general, one or two nights of poor or little sleep won't have much impact on performance, but consistently getting inadequate sleep can result in subtle changes in hormone levels, particularly those related to stress, muscle recovery and mood. While no one completely understands the complexities of sleep, some research indicates that sleep deprivation can lead to increased levels of cortisol (a stress hormone), decreased activity of human growth hormone (which is active during tissue repair), and decreased glycogen synthesis
Client of the month.
Charles Jacobs
I'm sure you will agree that Charles has done fantastic here with over a 2stone weight loss, he achieved this amazing result by following my very strict exercise routine and personalised diet plan. A huge well done to Mr Jacobs, would you like to get these same results? simply drop me an email and i will give you more information..
Final thought.
You dont have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.
(Zig Ziglar)
Sleep deprivation can directly hinder your gym or sports performance In general, one or two nights of poor or little sleep won't have much impact on performance, but consistently getting inadequate sleep can result in subtle changes in hormone levels, particularly those related to stress, muscle recovery and mood. While no one completely understands the complexities of sleep, some research indicates that sleep deprivation can lead to increased levels of cortisol (a stress hormone), decreased activity of human growth hormone (which is active during tissue repair), and decreased glycogen synthesis
Client of the month.
Charles Jacobs
Final thought.
You dont have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.
(Zig Ziglar)
