How much food should eat in a meal?......
Ideal fuel mix
Metabolic typing looks at how your body is functioning to determine what foods are healthy for you and what are not. This can vary greatly from person to person and this is the basis of why metabolic typing is so powerful and effective.
Metabolic typing is based on more than just what food to eat but also how much of it your body needs. This element is equally important for a metabolic typing programme to work.
Ideal fuel mix.
Your ideal fuel mix is the amount of protein to carbohydrates to fat your body needs at each meal to utilize the food efficiently. This magic ratio is unique to you and varies greatly between different individuals (both people of different metabolic types and within the same metabolic type).
It is vital you discover what this ratio is for your body. To do this you can play an experimental game of food portions until you find the right amount that satisfies you.
Tune into your body language
It is easy to discover the ideal fuel mix for your body by simply seeing how you feel 1-2 hours after eating. If you have eaten the ratios of each meal correctly you will have feel the positive reactions in the left hand column below. If you got it slightly wrong you will experience some of the negative reactions in the right hand column.
It is sometimes hard to pick up these signals but if you simply use this form a fair few times after eating (1-2 hours afterwards) then you will begin to feel how your body is working. If you experience negative reactions return to the meal and repeat but try changing the amount of protein, carbs and fat until positive reactions are found.
The way to do this is by increasing / decreasing the amount of meat, or vegetables or oil. Continue until you get the positive reactions only. This method exposes quickly the flaws in most nutrition plans as very often people feel hungry within one hour of easing. A clear sign that the body did not get the fuel it wanted.
Using the above guide lines you will be able to answer a portion of the metabolic typing equation. One of the other key elements is which types of protein, carbohydrates and fat should you be eating compared to other people. This is central to metabolic typing as there is no one size fits all nutrition strategy that will work for everyone.
Discover your metabolic type and identify your ideal fuel mix
If you are suffering with persistent negative post meal reactions as indicated above you should seriously consider the lifestyle course I offer. This will allow me to support you while educating you about metabolic typing and how to take control of your hunger, food, exercise and more. Please click here for more information.
Your body determines whetehr a food is healthy not the actual food......
We are all familar with the never ending controversy of foods being good one minute then bad the next. we see every day different people contradict each other with nutritional advice and research. The question is why is there no consensus?The reason is that no one allows for the fact we are each unique and handle food very differently. The one theory that has accounted for this and developed over the last 50 years is metabolic typing.
Metabolic typing
Metabolic typing is the science of personalized nutrition. It is a highly accurate system of determining the foods your body needs. Discovering your metabolic type is the single biggest health measure you can take. Metabolic typing answers the foundational questions of nutrition by telling you:
• What to eat
• How much to eat
• What foods to specifically avoid
• All other aspects of nutrition including supplements, food quality etc
To make these recommendations the science of metabolic typing has been rapidly developing from the pioneering work of many scientists throughout the last fifty years. Metabolic typing recognizes that there are ten fundamental control systems within the human body. Each of these systems determines the way the chemical reactions occur within the body. To achieve and maintain true health the control systems must be brought into balance. Failure to do this leads to faulty metabolism within the cells which is the cause of all poor health complaints.
Addressing more of the ten fundamental control systems will lead to higher and higher levels of true health. This is especially important for people who are suffering with serious health problems at the moment.
What to eat?
It is the influence of the main two control systems that determines which foods your body needs. All my clients undergo a metabolic typing test which reveals where their body lies upon these two systems. This directs us to the nutrition plan that will give you the exact nutrients you require. The results of the test means one person can be eating the opposite foods to the next person. So for you red meat may be a caution food while for the next person it may greatly help them. The same can be applied to fruits, grains and every other food including different vegteables.
How much to eat?
We all have a unique and specific amount of food to eat that allow the body to effectively utilize energy. When you eat the right foods in the right ratios of protein, carbohydrates and fat you will experience a sense of high energy and mental focus while avoiding food cravings, energy drops or loss of concentration. To discover the right amounts I coach my clients to tune into their bodies and find the answer out for themselves.
What should I avoid eating?
It is essential we ensure any food intolerance's are removed from your diet until the body can handle such sources again. Food intolerance's are very common and undermine all efforts to be healthy.
The metabolic typing test also looks at the pattern of how you store fat on your body. I am sure you have noticed how some people have fat all over, on their hands, face etc while other just on their stomach. There are other characteristic patterns and these are signs of differences within the glands inside the body, e.g. thyroid, adrenal etc. This then relates to certain foods that if eaten in excess over a prolonged period can exhaust your glands causing fat storage and poor health.
Finally, metabolic typing allows you to use the influences of your blood type to avoid certain foods that can cause problems for each type. Please note that metabolic typing is far in advance of the well known eat right for your blood type book.
Other issues
The research has also covered the effect of all the other issues surrounding nutrition and lifestyle upon the 10 systems within the body, thus allowing us to give even further recommendations to safeguard your health
Metabolic typing is the most advanced nutrition system in the world as it is the only one that effectively and accurately classifies the differences seen between people to answer what, how much and what not to eat. It is the most important and biggest health measure you can take. I am a metabolic typing advisor and specialist. To learn more visit my website and sign up for my metabolic typing, health and fitness newsletter.
Ben Wilson BSc (Hons) CSCS NSCA-CPT CMTA Dip
One2one nutrition
Rugby fitness training.com
10 most common mistakes in the gym - Part 2
The 10 most common mistakes in the gym - Part twoFollowing on from part one last week I am going to introduce to you some smaller but equally common failings in the gym.
If you are a regular gym member have a look to see if you are guilty of these common errors. I can certainly testify to making every single one of these myself in years gone by and hence desperate to educate everyone about how too they can double, triple or quadruple the results they get from the gym.
If you find these common mistakes are ones that you are making I would ask you to consider my lifestyle course, where I can teach you exactly how to get the results you deserve. A further five common errors I see (and made myself):
6) Spending too long on sit up type exercises.
Yes you want to lose that fat on your stomach, but no, you cannot do a hundred sit ups and watch it disappear. To lose fat you must eat right for your metabolic type, perform all four areas of exercise and put in place other key aspects. Each of these is covered in my courses, hence they are so successful. I apologize about breaking the news to you, but another set on that abdominal machine will simply waste your time with little benefits on actually losing weight.
7) Not doing free weights.
The benefits of free weights are unrivaled. They can help you increase bone density, co-ordination, strength, tone and many health issues. They allow weight loss to occur by the effect they have on your hormonal environment within the body. These benefits are much mor elikley to occur from free weights compared to resistance machines. This is why many people do not maximize the effect the gym can have on their life. Everyone on my courses develops the confidence to do free weights and harness the amazing benefits these exercises provide.
8) Not engaging the core during exercises.
Free weight exercises challenge the core muscles amongst others. This is why they are so beneficial. It is vital however that you actively contract these muscles during the exercises. This will greatly increase the safety of each exercise and also the effectiveness.
9) Not warming up correctly
One of the first exercise issues I teach all my clients is the power of active stretching. This tool in itself can often completely clear up muscle and joint pain. The traditional warm up of going a little easier for 5 minutes or doing a static stretch is outdated and less effective than doing a full active stretching routine. An active stretch is a movement where you take your body part to the point of comfortable stretch. Each repetition you will see further progress in flexibility. At the end of the movements you will be warmed up and loose for exercise.
10) Not training your legs
The amount of people who I meet who do not train their legs is staggering. If you want to be healthy your legs and core are the foundation of all movement. To increase muscle size or lose weight your need to alter the hormonal environment inside to get the results you want on the outside. It is total body, leg based exercises, e.g. squat, lunges etc that produces the results. People complain they are too hard, I would draw you back to point five in Part one to counteract this.
If you are a making these mistakes I would urge you to stand up and make a change. It is such a waste to see people trying hard to exercise and get results, yet fail because they did not receive adequate coaching and motivation.
My lifestyle course will teach you all the exercise knowledge to get results and includes a lifelong result producing nutrition system which I guarantee will get you looking and feeling great.
Ben WIlson BSc (Hons) CSCS NSCA-CPT CMTA Dip
One2one nutrition
Rugby fitness training.com
10 most common mistakes in the gym - Part 1
The 10 most common errors in the gym - Part 1The gym is the place where you can attain every fitness goal you desire. It certainly is not the only way to achieve the benefits of exercise but is certainly the perfect place to do it.
If you are a regular gym member have a look to see if you are guilty of these common errors. I can certainly testify to making every single one of these myself in years gone by and hence desperate to educate everyone about how too they can double, triple or quadruple the results they get from the gym.
If you find these are common mistakes that you are making then think about my lifestyle course where I can teach you exactly how to get the results you deserve. The first five out of the ten most common errors I see (and made myself) are below:
1) Not making improvements.
Sounds simple but the majority of gym users have not made any improvements in the last 1,2,3 4 months plus. If you do level 8 on the cross trainer today, and were doing that 3 months ago you have broken the first rule of exercise and not changed your training programme. Lifting the same weight as two months ago is another sign you have hit an exercise plateau. This totally undermines your exercise and goals. You have to change your exercise programme regularly. Change it next time you are in the gym, If you do level 8 do level 10, or usually 15 reps a set then increase the weight and do just 10. You must force the body to respond.
2) Not doing the four key areas of exercise.
In general many women do just cardio and most guys just weights. You will not achieve your goals until you get a perfect balance of aerobic, resistance, core and flexibility training. Once these are all in place it is about how you do each of these methods. It is also seen that different people require different amounts of each exercise type. For example, some people would be better served spending longer on the weights than the cardio while other people the reverse.
3) Thinking a gym session has to be a certain length of time
The reality of the issue is that as long as you do all four exercise areas in the right way you do not need to commit massive amounts of time. Too many people think they must hit their 20 minutes on the bike or the session has been a failure. Anything is better than nothing and a short bout even if just 10 minutes is better than getting out of the routine and disappearing for months on end.
4) Going too easy.
There is a certain intensity that you must reach to achieve your goals and training benefits. The key is to hit this intensity, which is unique to each person, while sticking to the principles of programme design. A sign of going too low is reading a book on the cardio machines. If this is you it would be wise to examine your training methods. Weights wise women are more likely to be guilty of lifting lighter than optimal weights as they worry about putting on bulk. A misplaced concern that just cannot happen. If you do 15 reps but could have done 20-30 reps you will be making little progress. Next time your are in the gym do not just stop at your goal number, stop when you cannot do anymore and lose your good lifting technique.
5) Going too hard
Where women are more likely to go too light the guys are more likely to go too heavy. If you can't keep perfect technique for the desired reps your weight is too heavy. Cardio wise you do not need to be at deaths door to be attaining the benefits of the training. A common mistake would be to go 19 minutes at a comfortable pace before turning into a maniac for the last minute and killing yourself. On completion that mad final spurt did not help the fitness too much and leave a nasty memory of how painful the gym can be.
Please see part two for the next five most common errors.
Ben WIlson BSc (Hons) CSCS NSCA-CPT CMTA Dip
One2one nutrition
Rugby fitness training.com
Food intolerances
Food intolerances.Many foods are touted as healthy with a new 'super food' coming along almost every week. The reality of the situation is that there is no such thing as a healthy food in absolute terms, but more that certain foods are healthy for your body and these may vary from you to the next person. This is the key basis of metabolic typing.
Food intolerances are an individual issue. A metabolic typing test can reveal the exact foods that your body chemistry needs. Within these results however certain foods that may be good for your body in theory are not helpful in practise.
A food intolerance can be thought of as any food that produces an irritation to the body from its consumption. These symptoms can include excess weight, bloating, sneezing, runny nose, itching skin, dry skin, breathing problems, frequent illness, low energy, digestive problems, exacerbation of medical issues and much more. A food intolerance is different to a food allergy though many of the symptoms are similar in nature. They can occur for a number of reasons with nutritional deficiencies within the cells being a major reason.
Any food that is consumed in excess or great regularity will be the most likely to become a food intolerance / allergy. Certain foods are also more likely than others to cause difficulty to the body. Some of the most common intolerances include:
Dairy - Pasteurized dairy is heated to ensure that all bacteria in the product is dead. This extends shelf life but removes the very things that help to digest the food. This results in so many people having difficulty processing dairy products and as a result many of the intolerant symptoms can arise.
Wheat - The most common food in today's society with many people having wheat for breakfast (cereal), lunch (bread) and dinner (pasta). This combined with some difficult to process qualities of wheat makes it perhaps the most common intolerance in our society.
Caffeine - Many people consume vast amounts of caffeine within tea, coffee and soft drinks like coke and Pepsi. The result is that body can display intolerant reactions from its consumption.
Other specific foods - Any food can become intolerant to your body for a variety of reasons. These can be 'healthy' foods such as Bananas, fruit, fish, nuts etc. The key is to identify how you feel after each meal and look for negative signs.
Spotting intolerances and handling them.
The best way to spot a food intolerance is to remove the most likely candidates for a period of seven days. This gives a chance for the body to recover from the food. On reintroduction to the diet you should be able to notice a return of the negative symptoms associated with the foods. This will tell you what is causing problems to your body.
Long term the safest way to stop a food intolerance is to continue a regular food rotation process. For example do not have wheat each meal or every day. Ensure you have different breakfast's and lunch rather than sticking to what you know best.
Once you are regularly rotating the foods it is vital you discover which foods to be emphasising in your diet. This will allow you to become as healthy as possible which greatly reduces the chances of developing and having food intolerances. To discover your metabolic type read about my course.
Ben WIlson BSc (Hons) CSCS NSCA-CPT CMTA Dip
One2one nutrition
Rugby fitness training.com
Your body shape and what it means for weight loss
Your body shape and what it means for weight lossThe areas where you store your body fat show the influence of athe subtle hormonal balance within the body. This fact can be used to predict which foods will more likely cause weight gain and diminish your health.
Fat storage patterns
Different people store their body fat in different areas. It may be that you store your fat on your stomach only, just below your waist or maybe all over your body, your hands,face included. Take a look at yourself, then have a look at the next few people you see and notice the different ways they store their fat.
In general there are four major fat storage patterns in women and three in men. This is caused by the dominance of the endocrine glands within the body; Thyroid, adrenal, pituitary or ovaries (women only). Each person has one gland that is more dominant than the others. This gland influences the main areas where you store fat
The broad patterns of fat storage are unique, see if you can spot someone who holds their fat mostly on the stomach and hips only, others who store it all over their body, some just below the waist only and finally people who store it on their back, chest stomach and hips. These patterns relate to the dominance of the thyroid, pituitary, ovaries and adrenals respectively.
Research has also found that certain foods stimulate these glands, for example caffeine, fruit, chocolate amongst others stimulates the thyroid gland. Over time you learn that the foods that stimulate your dominant gland will produce a temporary uplift in energy. The result is you learn to crave these foods when you are low on energy to give you a pick up
.
Over time relying on your dominating gland can wear it out resulting in a drop in metabolic rate and subsequent fat accumulation. The idea is to minimize these foods and replace them with a non dominant gland stimulating substitute. This will allow the gland a rest and allow it to recharge over time and thus let the body lose fat.
The cause of your cravings
The need for you to rely on the foods that stimulate your dominant gland arises because you are giving inadequate nutrients in the right amount for your body. The result is inefficient energy production and the desire to fall back on your favorite foods that will give you an uplift
This explains why when many people cut out cakes, sugars, starches and caffeine (Thyroid type foods, a common dominance in white western people) they never stick to it. As many people replace these foods with other food sources that are not appropriate for their metabolic type. The result is the body sends out signals for more energy, this gives the food craving for……….you guessed it!..... the cakes, sugars, starches or caffeine they cut out. This opens up a game of will power which will inevitably be won by the food.
Know your type before cutting out these foods.
The simple solution to avoid the above cycle is to discover your metabolic type first, then fine tune the meal ratios before minimizing these glandular foods. The process of eating in accordance with your metabolic type will almost serve to completely reduce the food craving.
Persistent food cravings with an emotional basis can of course be treated with emotional freedom technique (EFT). In combination, this will relieve the biochemical and behavioral need for certain foods and thus produce the desired weight loss.
This is why my courses comes money back guaranteed, we are tackling the issues from all angles and right at the source of the problem.
Ben WIlson BSc (Hons) CSCS NSCA-CPT CMTA Dip
One2one nutrition
Rugby fitness training.com
Learning to run
Learning to runThe ability to jog is a great asset and allows you to effectively exercise any place you may be. When done correctly it increases the density of your bones and significantly improves your health and fitness.
It is a popular comment that running is bad for the joints. This is not the case if your body is working efficiently. However, if your muscles are not activating as they should or you perform to much running for the health of your body it can indeed be detrimental for your joints and body.
To avoid the negative effects of running you need to ensure you have addressed your posture and muscle strengths across the body so you can handle running. To this you should use very gradual increases within your training program.
The key though is listening to your body. Joggers are perhaps the most stubborn of all sportsmen, up there with racket sports players for ignoring all their aches and pains and causing more significant damage as a result.
Many people want to run yet find this mode of exercise difficult to conquer. The key is to start off easy and slowly progress it:
e.g. to build to 3km jogging.
Week 1: 500m (Yes, just 500m)
Week 2: 750m
Week 3: 1000m
Week 4: 1500m
Week 5: 2000m
Week 6: 2500m
Week 7: 3000m
Week 8: 3000m
Please note the distance increases are examples and you should tune into your body to tell you whether you can increase the distance and by how much from week to week if at all. If you have any undue pain e.g. shin, calf, foot etc you will need to halt the increases in distance until the pain has passed
Another way to begin running is to introduce periods of slow jogging and walking. This method assumes you have the aerobic fitness to achieve your goal session time walking at a good speed and that your posture and muscles are in a state to support jogging injury free and without pain. If not focus on the other areas until your body can handle jogging.
The first goal is to set out a maximum time period or distance to cover you can realistically perform a few times per week, maybe in your lunch hour, before or after work etc. Then build towards it
e.g. to build to 30 minutes jogging.
Week 1: 26 minutes walking 4 minutes jogging
Week 2: 24 minutes walking 6 minutes jogging
Week 3: 20 minutes walking 10 minutes jogging
Week 4: 15 minutes walking 15 minutes jogging
Week 5: 10 minutes walking 20 minutes jogging
Week 6: 5 minutes walking 25 minutes jogging
Week 7: 0 minutes walking 30 minutes jogging
Week 8: 0 minutes walking 30 minutes jogging
If you do at least a couple of sessions a week these goals should be fairly attainable depending on current fitness. The key is to let your body give you what it wants, so progress may be quicker or slower. Please ensure you monitor for pains and injuries. There is no need to run with pain. Instead back off the training and examine what is going wrong. Remember when jogging the rate or perceived exertion should not go past 15 out of 20. (where 5/20 is easy, 10/20 is comforable, 15/20 is hard and 20/20 is collapse)
Ben WIlson BSc (Hons) CSCS NSCA-CPT CMTA Dip
One2one nutrition
Rugby fitness training.com
Core training
The Core - how to flatten your stomach and end back pain.The core is a term for the sets of muscles that surround the spine and hold it in place. An efficient core will flatten your stomach by naturally pulling it tight and minimize back pain by holding the spine stable.
The core muscles relate to amongst others the deep transverse abdominal (below the main abdominal's) pelvic floor muscles (muscles that stop you going to the toilet) deep spinal muscles and the gluteus muscles (buttocks). Through ensuring these muscles are correctly working then improving their strength the body will become stronger and healthier.
Activating the core
Many people have trouble activating the core, you must learn to do this before you can strengthen it. The problem comes because the core muscles easily become sleeping muscles through poor posture, wrong food choices, tight muscles, pain and many more factors. These factors must be addressed before the core muscles will work naturally. The first step you can take is to learn to hold a neutral spine.
Neutral spine
This refers to standing with correct posture and thus ensuring all the joints are optimally aligned. To find your neutral spine:
Stand with your heels, buttocks, shoulders and head against the wall.
With one hand feel how much space there is in the arch of your lower back.
A neutral spine should have just enough room for one hand to slide into the arch of the lower back while the heels, buttocks, shoulders and head remain touching the wall.
If you cannot get your hand in the arch or there is room for much more than one hand e.g. your fist. Your posture needs to be adjusted, this will come from following the correct stretches and strengthening exercises.
Whenever possible try to reposition your body into the neutral spine position. This should be held for all exercises and even when not exercising e.g. when standing in a queue, sitting in the car etc.
Engaging the core
In the neutral spine position you can then activate the core muscles. To do this you need to consciously:
1. Contract the pelvic floor muscles, by stopping yourself going to the toilet at the back then the front.
2. Draw the stomach area below the belly button into the spine as closely (hard) as possible. Imagine you are trying to pull on a really tight pair of trousers and must get them over your lower stomach.
In addition to activating the core. It is also necessary to use the larger muscles of the buttock and midsection.
Core exercises
Once you can activate the core you can begin to do exercises that will flatten your stomach and reduce your back pain. Core exercises are those that stress these ,muscles by making you hold body in place with a neutral spine. An example exercise would be the plank, often seen in gym classes, see picture on my site.
To flatten your stomach, stop joint pain and feel the healthiest you have ever you need to be doing core training as part of a healthy lifestyle. If you want to stop your back pain, flatten your stomach and achieve your health potential I would urge you to seriously consider doing my lifestyle course. .
Ben WIlson BSc (Hons) CSCS NSCA-CPT CMTA Dip
One2one nutrition
Rugby fitness training.com
Aerobic training - How hard do I need to go for results?
Aerobic training - How hard do I need to train to get results?The most fundamental key to aerobic activities is getting out of breath. It is essential you examine your exercise to see if it is achieving this. In my experience I have met many people who do hours of swimming but never get even slightly out of breath, or play hours of tennis but say to me they cannot lose weight.
These two examples show how exercise can be misleading. When swimming, your technique may limit you from being able to reach an intensity to achieve the real health benefits of exercise. Tennis, by nature of its design is stop start and very often does not challenge the aerobic system at all. i understand it takes 2 hours to play a match but more often than not the exerciser is spending considerably more time standing around than running.
The above examples are not a criticism of tennis or swimming but rather just making you aware of what really is an aerobic activity and what is not. For your health to be maximized you must reach an intensity that you are breathing more deeply than usual for a prolonged amount of time.
In the gym it is also very common to see people on machines but not reaching the required intensity level. If your body can handle level 10 and you are gong at level 3 it is going to struggle to really make gains in fitness and health. However, do not be mistaken that level 3 is useless. It is still exponentially more beneficial than the person who never does any aerobic activity, but more often than not will not get you the results you desire.
To gauge how hard to do exercise you should use the rate of perceived exertion scale (RPE). This is a subjective measure you ask yourself about how hard the exercise feels, from easy to very hard. Once you have learnt this you can set the intensity on the machines to equate to this exertion level.
RPE scale:
****************************************************
20 - About to collapse the exercise is so hard, gasping for breath,
15 - Hard effort, could do 3-5 minutes max, breathing deeply.
10 - Comfortable, could do 15 minutes at this level, breathing a more
deeply than usual
5 - Easy, could do 30 minutes at this level, very slightly out of breath
0 - At home watching telly with the feet up.
***********************************************************
The aim is to build up to be able to do more exercise at the higher exercise intensities. You should aim to exercise at between 13-16 out of 20.
Please note you DO NOT need to go into the 17 - 20 end of the scale, you are not Olympic athletes just yet, so you do not need to train like them. Regular exercise at 17-18 out of 20 is difficult to maintain long term.
What happens instead is that your perception of what a 15 out of 20 feels like changes so further down the line you are working at a harder effort level but you perceive this as easier than an untrained counter part.
Using this scale allows you to control your exercise intensity and maintain motivation. The key is to find that 15 out of 20 level and then use different training techniques.
For example a 15 out of 20 for a 4 minute sprint may be at speed 13 on the treadmill, but at 15 out of 20 for a 20 minute jog may be at speed 11.5. Using different stimulus for the training will increase your fitness levels and maintain motivation.
See my article on hitting an exercise plateau for more on how to vary your training programme.
Ben WIlson BSc (Hons) CSCS NSCA-CPT CMTA Dip
One2one nutrition
Rugby fitness training.com
Exercise plateau - Are you exercising but not getting fitter?
Exercise plateau - Are you exercising but not getting fitter?The main reason I wrote my book, Rugby fitness training: A twelve month conditioning programme, was from the fact I kept meeting so many rugby players and keen exercisers who were training hard but not making improvements.
It is such a frustrating place to be, I would know, as I spent three years training but not getting fitter before I discovered the secrets to breaking this tiresome cycle. I decided to share my knowledge and wrote the book.
To understand how you can get to a stage where you are training, but not getting fitter, this is called being stuck on a plateau, you must understand how your body improves fitness. This is explained by the theory of adaptation.
The theory of adaptation.
The theory of adaptation states that when the you are presented with a new exercise stimulus, e.g. running 2 miles, lifting an 80 kg weight etc, the body is shocked by what it experiences and reacts by changing itself so it can cope with this stimulus if it is encountered again in the future.
The body changes the physical ability that was stressed during the exercise e.g. in response to jogging, increases occur in aerobic fitness; through lifting an 80kg weight the body adapts by increasing strength and muscle size. This response to exercise is the underlying theory used in designing exercise programs and why we do exercise.
When the body no longer perceives the exercise you are performing as a new stimulus it will not change to adapt to the exercise. Your body will stay at the same level of fitness. At this point exercising will not produce any fitness improvements, you are said to be at on a plateau.
In my experience this is where 80% plus of regular gym users are and the reason why so many people join gyms and leave a few months down the line. The problem is when the body gets bored the brain follows not too long afterwards. At this point you find your exercise enthusiasm disappears and many people drop out or begin just suffer the boring exercise.
Periodization
The solution is Periodization, the all encompassing theory of how to design training programmes to optimize performance. Used by every professional athlete the basic principles must be employed by anyone who does exercise or tries to keep fit.
It can be summed by the statement 'structured variation'. It is the way to change your training programme from week to week and month to month to ensure that the body does not get bored.
A simple example of this would be to change your training programme every four weeks. Another method would be to change the reps you perform or the level you use, for example if you normally do 15 reps on the weights, try doing 10 reps for the next 3 weeks, then drop down to 5 reps for the three weeks afterwards and take a weeks recovery before returning to 15 reps once more. You will now be at a higher weight than where you were at the beginning. For cardio try introducing interval training.
The concepts of periodization is a corner stone of my courses to ensure lifelong exercise success.
Ben WIlson BSc (Hons) CSCS NSCA-CPT CMTA Dip
One2one nutrition
Rugby fitness training.com
Part 2 -Diets explained - The pros and cons of every diet possible
Diets explained - The pros and cons of every possible diet plan - Part 2Following on from part one yesterday I continue to overview the other possible diets.
Junk food diet
Eating whatever food comes your way and not caring what it is.
Pros - None
Cons - Decreased health across the board
Average western diet
The average western diet is somewhere between a healthy eating diet, a junk food diet and following your foods cravings.
Pros - Very few benefits
Cons - Any possible benefits of a 'healthy eating' diet are usually off set by the Junk food or reliance on food cravings. This eating style is much worse for certain body chemistries than others.
Juicing diet.
Using a juicer to make any number of juices and smoothies.
Pros - Can obtain significant amounts of nutrients if done correctly
Cons - Normally lacks fat and protein amounts for good health. Reliance on fruit juice can be troublesome for many people. Does not account for the different nutritional qualities of fruits and vegetables, grouping them all together as good. Whether a food is 'good' is dependent on your body chemistry.
South beach diet
The book recommends very little in reality but for removal of heavily processed foods and avoiding certain carbohydrates which stimulate insulin production. It is a mix of Atkins diet and the Mediterranean diet with far less restrictions
Pros - Recommends reducing processed foods which is of benefit to anyone as is controlling certain insulin rising foods
Cons - Doesn't account for individual differences and allows people too many foods that will be wrong for certain body chemistries. Sold 5 million copies but also holds the title as the having the most money spent on the marketing of any diet book.
Blood type diet
This bases food recommendations on your blood type which is said to indicate your genetic needs from our ancestors.
Pros - Acknowledges the fact we all have different nutritionally needs and focuses on whole foods.
Cons - Recommendations have no bearing on the person's nutritional needs with the majority of his evidence criticized. Does not account for actual differences seen in the real world or changes during your life.
Blood analysis and diet recommendations
Food recommendations are based on results from your blood test.
Pros - Acknowledges the fact we all have different nutritional needs, and uses analysis to make recommendations.
Cons - Only uses a blood test to give recommendations. Blood is just one systemic level within the body. Put simply because you have high or low levels in the blood does not indicate whether you have high or low levels in the cells where it is needed.
Food combination / variation diets
Based on the fact that different foods secrete different enzymes which can upset digestion. Advises not combining certain food groups
Pros - Can help people's digestion if it is already severely weakened.
Cons - Can be dreadful nutritionally as the body needs protein, carbs and fat at each meal. Does not address the cause of poor digestion or identify different nutritional needs between individuals
Zone diet
Advocates a diet of 40% protein and 30% carbs and 30% fat.
Pros - Excellent for a proportion of the population
Cons - Does not work for the majority of people who's nutritional requirement varies from the recommendations.
Mediterranean diet
Based on what is commonly consumed in the south of Europe. The emphasis is on consuming unsaturated fats and carbohydrates.
Pros - Can work well for certain people.
Cons - Does not account for the variability between different people's body chemistry.
Glycemic index (GI) / glycemic load (GL) diets
Makes nutritional recommendations based on the ability of the food to raise or lower insulin within the body (glycemic index/load).
Pros - Aims to reduce the glycemic foods you consume which will benefit almost everyone.
Cons - GI is only one minor factor amongst other variables and thus should not be used to determine what to eat. Does not account for individual difference in food requirements or the other contributions and factors in nutrition.
The most effect diet you can do is a metabolic typing diet. Click here to learn more about how to get started.
Ben WIlson BSc (Hons) CSCS NSCA-CPT CMTA Dip
One2one nutrition
Rugby fitness training.com
Diets explained - The pros and cons of every diet possible diet plan - Part 1
Diets explained - The pros and cons of every possible diet planThere are more diets and styles of eating out there than is imaginable. Year after year new diets sweep into the market place. I have written this article to give you a better understanding of how, why and when diets will or will not work for your body.
Definition of a diet 'working'
Many people say that a diet worked for them. What this means varies for each person. It may be they lost a few pounds or felt more energetic.
My definition of a diet working is a long term and maintained improvement in health symptoms with accompanying weight loss (or gain) if needed.
My viewpoint is losing half a stone to find you have put it on again 6 months later is not a sign of a diet working. Neither is losing 4 pounds but still suffering many negative health traits such like frequent illness, rashes, digestive pains, low energy etc.
Types of diets
I have tried to classify the major diets here but there are endless variations both within the main ones and the main types of diets so I am sure I have missed some but the information should give you a fairly clear idea of what is happening nutritionally. I have covered:
Atkins, Metabolic typing, Healthy eating, Following food cravings, Junk food diet, Average Western diet, Juicing diet, Blood type diet, Blood analysis diet, Glycemic index, Glycemic load diet, Food combination, Zone diet, Mediterranean diet, South beach diet, Low fat diets, Weight watchers
Metabolic typing diet
Uses physical, dietary and psychological traits to classify the body along fundamental systems. This allows the specific foods and nutrients to be discovered for that individual person.
Pros - Accurately determines nutritional requirement and is specific to your own body chemistry. It allows for individuals to change nutritional requirements during their lifetime as seen in the real world. Encompasses a large variation in recommendations for different people which parallels what is seen in the reality. Head and shoulders above any other nutrition system and its scientific basis and results cannot be argued.
Cons - Can be complicated and difficult to understand if following on your own and you need to use a trained advisor to get a level of analysis powerful enough to create long lasting changes
Read more
Atkins diet
Requires the person to eat greater amounts of protein through meats and to use fat liberally. Suggests obtaining carbohydrate intake from vegetables, seeds, nuts and berries. The overall effect is a high protein, high fat and low carob diet.
Pros - Suggests removing grains from the diet which can benefit most people. It ensures you obtain adequate amounts of fat soluble vitamins and promotes consuming organic foods and vegetables. Will work for certain people short term but very few on a long term basis.
Cons - It does not account for the fact that people vary greatly and a low carbohydrate intake, especially to this extent, can be disastrous. It does not separate different form of meat and vegetables. It does not allow people to change nutritional needs over their lifetime
Low fat diet / Calories restriction
Many combinations of diet follow this theme, with the main emphasis on low fat, higher carbohydrates and controlled calories. Founded frommis-interpreted fat studies in the 1950's. Forms the basis of Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig and many more diets.
Pros - Can work for some extreme metabolic types. Any recommendation to reduce trans-fats is beneficial.
Cons - Disastrous for the vast majority of the population as depletes fat soluble nutrients and increases hunger. It does not allow for individual variance between people or for changes in nutritional needs over your lifetime.
'Healthy eating diets'
As recommended by the government food pyramid and all general healthy eating guides. Is also incorporated into the popular diet schemes e.g. Weight Watchers etc
Has an emphasis on lower fat and higher carbohydrates and obtaining fruit and Vegetable in good amounts.
Pros - Any diet with emphasis on increasing vegetable intake will improve many peoples health. Eating lower fat and higher carbohydrate will work for some people's body chemistry.
Cons - Does not separate out individual differences in food requirements, meaning such recommendations can be disastrous for many people. The advice does not cater for changes in nutritional requirements during your lifetime. Grain consumption is also linked to the majority of present day health issues and thus would not be good advice, except for certain people's body chemistry.
Following your food cravings
Many people say their body knows best and thus it is only right to follow what it wants.
Pros - Works well if you are very in tune with your body and accurately following a metabolic typing diet and so would know that you are obtaining your exact nutritional needs.
Cons - Food is addictive chemically and emotionally and in 99% of cases food cravings are confused and nothing to do with nutritional needs. For example your body will crave a cigarette if you have a few, but that does not mean it is needed. The more sugar or bread you eat the more you crave them also. Food cravings also drop back to your dominant gland and thus can lead to exhaustion if the stimulating foods are over consumed.
See Part 2 for the other diets.....
Ben WIlson BSc (Hons) CSCS NSCA-CPT CMTA Dip
One2one nutrition
Rugby fitness training.com
Preventing falls
Preventing falls in five stepsI decided to write this article after seeing a man, roughly 40 years old jogging to jog to catch a bus. The man tripped, fell and lay injured on the floor. He soon got up with a look of pain stricken all over his face.
The occasional fall is bound to happen. However I would say that you could almost completely eliminate falls if you followed the techniques below. I would point out that age is irrelevant, the fact the older you get the more likely you are to fall is more to do with allowing the body to become sedentary rather than physiological reasons.
Follow these tips what ever your age to help improve your ability to avoid falling. If you know someone who is always spraining their ankle send them this link also.
1) Stretch
An active and static stretch routine in combination are so powerful that it will make the chance of you falling almost impossible. Active stretching improves coordination, flexibility and balance while static stretching improves posture. This enhances your core and overall body strength through efficient mechanics and operation of the muscles. Everyone should be doing this regularly.
2) Brush your teeth on one leg.
So many falls happen as the ankle rolls over thus causing the person to come tumbling down. This is more likely to happen if you have done this same accident previously. The reason it is more likely is that the proprioceptors (sensors in the ankle) that tell your brain where the foot is in space lose their sensitivity.
The results is the brain gets the signal you are about to fall over when you hit the floor! A bit too late you may agree. Standing on one leg, with your eyes closed if necessary will greatly reduce your risk of falls. Do this when brushing your teeth is much more of a challenge. Children love this too, makes brushing your teeth fun.
WARNING: Do not shoot yourself in the foot by falling over when doing this exercise. Take it steady and begin gently at your own pace.
3) Learn to engage your core.
Balance comes from within. More specifically the muscles that hold the spine rigid. To improve your balance you can therefore look to reactivate the muscles of your core and ensure they are working and helping you.
Here is an experiment, stand on one leg, note how you feel. Now repeat, but first stop yourself going to the toilet at the back and front, then pull your lower stomach in like you are putting on a tight pair of trousers. Now see how much more balanced you feel.
The extra balance in the second test is because the mid section is now stable. Practice engaging the core in this way whenever you can.
4) Develop all over strength and coordination
Taking the above point further, many falls occur because you are unable to hold (through lack of strength) your body in a certain position or perform a correct movement pattern. This causes you to lose balance and fall. Tripping is a good example, when you trip a lot of weight is forced onto the other leg. If this leg is weak you will be guaranteed to go down. A strong leg could push you back up and allow you to regain balance.
5)Discover your metabolic type.
As strange as it may seem the nutritional status of your body affects your fall rate. Eating in accordance to your metabolic type will increase your reaction time, allow greater responses from training and ensure the joints are healthy and better prepared to take any falls that do occur.
Check out my lifestyle course and see exactly how you can reduce your chances of falling to zero at the same time as enjoying exceptional energy, health and prosperity.
Ben WIlson BSc (Hons) CSCS NSCA-CPT CMTA Dip
One2one nutrition
Rugby fitness training.com
Exercise in a nut shell
Exercise in a nutshellExercise is simple to do and if done correctly perhaps the most beneficial thing you can do for your mind and body.
The four areas of exercise
Exercise is a broad term. There are four distinct areas of exercise each of which brings specific benefits. You should be doing all four exercise areas to enjoy all of the benefits it has to offer.
Cardiovascular (aerobic) training.
This refers to repetitive movements performed over an extended period of time, such as running, walking, rowing, and cycling. Such exercises cause an increase in heart and lung activity. The result is an improvement to your fitness levels. Aerobic exercise will increase not only your fitness levels but also your energy and overall health of your body.
The key element of aerobic exercise is ensuring your are getting at least slightly out of breath and varying the training programme to ensure you continue getting fitter. Performing aerobic exercise uses up calories and can positively aid fat loss, if done as part of a complete exercise and lifestyle programme.
Resistance training.
It can be described as performing a movement for between 1 - 20 repetitions so that fatigue is induced. These exercises can use body weight e.g. press-ups, squats, dumbbells and weights machines.
The benefit of such training is improved muscle tone in women, increased muscle size in men and positive effects on bone density. An unpublicized benefit is its long term effect on increasing your metabolic rate (the number of calories burnt per day). This corresponds to the amount of muscle tone you have.
The key area of resistance training is ensuring the weights you use induces fatigue (makes you stop) between 1 - 20 reps. To this you must also keep perfect technique In general women use too light a weight and men lose their technique. Finally you must rotate the number of reps you lift a weight for.
Flexibility training.
This refers to the different stretching and is a key element in both preventing and rehabilitation after injury. It also plays an important role in creating good health by removing toxins from the body. When you are flexible you are much more likely to want to be active. Flexibility comprises static stretching, the traditional holding movements as seen in yoga or when cooling down.
Active flexibility is a series controlled movements to loosen up the body and increase muscle length before exercise or the day ahead, e.g. arm circles, upper body twists, leg bends. This type of exercise is common place in Japan before they start work.
The key to static stretching is discovering which muscles are tight and focusing on them, rather than stretching just every muscle. Active stretching is reliant on it being performed regularly and doing it without forcing the movements.
Core training.
This is the strengthening of the muscles that support the spine. A type of resistance training, it is classified on it's own due to its importance to your overall health. A strong core is the basis of strength within the body. It allows optimal movement patterns to be used which prevents injury and promotes well-being.
It is essential to ensure that the core muscles are both working correctly and then ensuring they are strong.
The key to core training is establishing a neutral spine (perfect posture) and learning to contract the core muscles correctly.
Perform all four areas to enjoy the full benefits of exercise.
To optimize your health you need to be doing all of these exercise types every week. It does not require vast amounts of time, nor much in the way of equipment.
Ask yourself how your exercise routine is set out at the moment. If you are just beginning on a routine, maybe start with one training type at a time and introduce the others as soon as possible.
Rotating your exercise - The reason people fail to get results
Rotating your exercise is the key to getting results. Even the best made training programme will become fairly obsolete after 3- 6 weeks of starting it because your body becomes bored and reaches a plateau.
The failure to change your programme is the main block preventing you getting the results you want from exercise. The way round this is using a theory called periodization
Periodization
Periodization is the key to exercise and is used by every professional athlete. Almost no one outside of this circle has heard of it however. The science of periodization was developed in the USSR and former eastern block countries as the system to design exercise and training programmes for their athletes.
The principles are based on the fundamental way that the body responds to exercise. As we all respond similarly the principles must be used for everyone's training programmes and not just that of the elite athletes.
Periodization can be summed up as structured change to your training programme
How to use it - The simplest way.
The very simplest way to employ a low level of periodization is to change your programme every four weeks.
Another simple way is to change a certain element every few weeks, e.g. for weight training do 15 reps per exercise for three weeks, then change to 10 reps for 3 weeks afterwards followed by three more weeks at 5 reps. Return to the start and repeat. Each time the reps change increase the weight so fatigue is induced by the target rep number.
Using interval training the same can be applied to aerobic training while core training can be applied using similar process as for weights.
More advanced exercisers can use more advanced periodization techniques
All this is covered in much more detail with the short cuts to achieving the look and physique you desire within my very successful course
Ben WIlson BSc (Hons) CSCS NSCA-CPT CMTA Dip
One2one nutrition
Rugby fitness training.com
Sleep yourself fitter.
Sleep yourself fit and healthyWhen it comes to losing body fat and gaining muscle most people are obsessed with calories they consume versus calories they have burnt. Sadly it is not that easy, if it were the obesity rate would be significantly lower.
As I have said numerous times throughout this site the way to lose weight is to increase the health of the body. To do this you must provide the cells with the right nutrients and stimulus, e.g. exercise.
Equally important to this is allowing your body the chance to rebuild the tissues with nutrients you have provided. The majority of this is done while asleep.
When sleeping your body goes through a cycle of hormonal secretion which facilitates muscle and tissue rebuilding. These healthier tissues will allow you to lose fat, increase health or build muscle.
How much and when?
The exact amounts of sleep for each person can vary. The general recommendations of 8 hours per night are a good estimate to start. The most important element is time you get to sleep. The body has a natural internal clock. At around 10.30 the body is primed to start releasing anabolic hormones. These will help to rebuild tissues and increase the health of your body.
However, the anabolic hormones will and can only be released if the body is in a state of rest and asleep. Therefore staying awake later than 10.30 is reducing the time that the body releases these vital chemicals. At around 2 am the body finished releasing these chemicals as part of the natural daily cycle. So it's crucial you are asleep early to maximize this window of opportunity.
Quality of sleep
The amount of sleep is linked also to the quality. The following tips can help you to greatly increase the quality of your resting hours.
• Turn all lights off in the room - The room should be as pitch black as possible so turn off the clocks, stand by buttons and ensure the window is fully blacked out
• Turn off all electric devices - Ensure the room is free from electro magnetic radiation. This can be done by switching the plugs off in every part of the room.
• Avoid stimulation pre bedtime. - Avoid chemical stimulants such as caffeine. Avoid getting the mind worked up by watching TV or even reading. Do not exercise within a few hours of bedtime as this stimulates the body and mind further.
• Use EFT to quiet the mind - If thoughts are occupying your psyche and thus preventing sound sleep EFT is an excellent technique for calming your thoughts. Meditation can also be used pre bedtime to further enhance the quality of sleep
Following the above guidelines should increase the quality of sleep to allow this vital component to support your health. This is one of many aspects covered in my courses
Ben WIlson BSc (Hons) CSCS NSCA-CPT CMTA Dip
One2one nutrition
Rugby fitness training.com
Active stretching - A great tool for injury prevention and staying flexible
Active stretchingActive stretching refers to a type of flexibility aimed at increasing the functional movement of the muscles. It relates to the distance you can actively move your limbs and stretch your muscles during a movement. It is different from traditional stretching (static stretching) because you are not holding the postures for any duration nor using any external object for support but your own muscle strength.
An active stretching routine increases your flexibility by developing your nervous system to allow greater degrees of movement. This routine on it's own can often clear up many aches, pains and stiffness. Done first thing in the morning it can greatly increase your energy and desire to be active throughout the day. Active stretching is popular in the work places within Japan where employees do this before the days work. Give it a go and see how you feel
The example routine shown includes a few basic exercises used as part of a full body routine that effectively prepares the body for the day or exercise session ahead. Do not perform any of these exercises if you have any undue pain or they hurt during the movement.
Do 10-15 movements per exercise and ensure they are comfortably controlled to the point of a gentle stretch.......Click here to see photos of active stretching exercises
Ben Wilson BSc (Hons) CSCS NSCA-CPT CMTA Dip
One2one nutrition
Rugby fitness training.com
Fats - Why low fat can be dreadful for health and performance
Fats - The truth about saturated fats and cholesterol.Fats are perceived as the root of all evil these days. Saturated fat is considered especially dangerous. 'Healthy eating' focuses on low fat products. Despite this focus on low fat products obesity is at its highest point in history as is deaths from cancer or heart disease.
The low fat theory stemmed from mis interpreted studies in the 50's which the media latched onto. They did this way before the science backed it up the theory.
The reality is that fats are natural, essential and very beneficial to your body. The best example of this fact is that as a population today we eat far less saturated fat levels compared to people 50 years ago yet heart attacks, obesity and cancer rates are through the roof.
Japan as a country is one of the biggest consumers of cholesterol within their diet yet lead the world in life expectancy despite smoking significantly more than the western countries.
Studies for and against fats
Many studies supporting the fat is bad theory are inherently flawed or do not account for other factors. Tribes throughout the world who are free from heart disease all consume far greater mount of saturated fat than we do. This was shown by the research of Dr Weston a price.
Breast milk is almost 50% saturated fat. Surely Mother Nature has not got it wrong. Fat causes a problem within the body when rancid fats such as Trans fat are consumed. These are created by heating an unsaturated fat. This changes the chemical structure and causes havoc in the body. This is the real reason why fats can be dangerous.
It is therefore advised to focus on consuming only saturated fat such as coconut oil, palm oil, butter etc or stable unsaturated fats such as olive oil. You should avoid all vegetable oils and minimize the heating of fats and oils.
Structure of fats
Fat stored on your body, the stuff you can grab is not just fat, it is a large carbohydrate molecule attached to three chains of fat. The body can convert protein, carbohydrates or fat into the 'fat' you can grab.
Fats are classified as saturated or unsaturated; this is due to their chemical structure. There are numerous sub divisions within these. An important note about fats is Omega 3 and Omega 6. It is important to get fairly equally measure of both these types of fat. However our diet normally consumes far greater amounts of Omega 6 over Omega 3. This can cause health issues.
Cholesterol is a natural substance within the body and essential to artery health. Unheated cholesterol is a beneficial substance to the body. However, excessive heating of it can cause rancidity which creates Trans fats and thus the cholesterol becomes unhealthy.
What to do with this information
The key to eating fats is choosing a safe fat that will not cause problems with in the body. To do this you should avoid all unsaturated fats which have been subjected to heating.
It is then advised to find quality fat sources e.g. coconut oil, palm oil, raw butter to provide you with your required fat soluble vitamins and fat calories to form your ideal fuel mix and thus optimize energy production within the cells which will give you the results you desire.
Metabolic typing and fat consumption
Metabolic typing determines your unique nutritional needs. This results in different nutritional requirements from one person to the next. Therefore some people require significantly higher proportions of fat than others. It is essential you determine your metabolic type to find out how much fat you should be consuming
This subject is covered as part of my on line course designed to get you in the best shape possible by addressing your approach to health through exercise, nutrition and psychology.
This article is written from extracts from an article written by Sally fallon and Mary Enig Phd. To read the full article please Click here
Ben Wilson BSc (Hons) CSCS NSCA-CPT CMTA Dip
One2one nutrition
Rugby fitness training.com
Preventing knee, back and hip pain
Preventing knee, back and muscle pain.Today almost everyone seems to be walking around with some sort of pain, ache or general issue with one body part or another. I get no better satisfaction than quickly clearing up injuries. If you have been suffering with a pain for a while now I would urge you to make a stand and vow to get over it. The majority of pains occur because of a mixture of four main factors:
Tight muscles
In all injuries you will find one or more the muscles in the area are tight, this pulls on the joint and subjects it to undue stress. The resultant effect is a nagging pain and injury. The effect of tight muscles is often seen in knee pain, if for example you took a blow on the knee, say in a fall, you would be temporarily out of action. The result is that the muscle stiffens up (outside thigh muscle), it is then this stiff muscle that become the cause of the pain. I often meet people who blame their injuries on a fall two years ago. Unless there was actual damage to the bone structures involved the actual pain is infact from the muscle tightness that they failed to address.
The good news is stretching the tight muscles can rapidly bring relief in such situations. Back pain is the same, but there are more muscles that could be tight and in need of balancing
Weak or sleeping muscles.
A weak muscle usually comes hand in hand with a tight one. When a muscle is weak it cannot hold the joint in place. In knee pain it is the weakness in the muscle just above the knee, on the inside thigh that causes the pain to continue. Often knee injuries can be cleared up by simply strengthening this one thigh muscle.
Sleeping muscles are often a problem in injuries. When a joint or area is injured the muscle nearest to the area is down regulated by the body in an attempt to protect the joint. The idea being if the muscle is not working correctly the joint will not be moved as much thus protecting it from further injury.
This is seen a lot in the knee and spine where the muscles that hold these parts in place (tear drop thigh muscle and the core) are switched off by the pain in the area. Sleeping muscles are a catch twenty two because you need them awake to stop the pain. To reawaken them you must restore posture and muscle lengths through stretching. You will also need to concentrate on getting them working. It is also possible to use touch sensitivity, touch the muscle you want to use, while exercising to wake them up.
Nutrition
The nutritional state of your body greatly affects the health and degree of any pain in the joints. Often sleeping muscles around the spine are caused because of your digestive system has become irritated. This may be from eating poor food choices (non metabolically appropriate). Other joints are affected greatly by the general nutritional state of the body. People are always very keen to take a glucosamine supplement for their joints but not so enthusiastic to get their metabolic type and nutrition sorted. A much greater factor for joint pain than any supplement.
Emotional and energy issues
The mind is connected to the body, in this day and age we do not readily accept that as fact but joint pain can be a great case in point. Since I have introduced emotional freedom technique into my practice I have seen time and again amazing results just by addressing the persons energy system. This works like acupuncture in re balancing the energy points within the body but not with needle, instead with your fingers and a few other techniques. If an emotional block is causing you pain the only way to really treat it is to remove this using EFT
If you have been suffering pain for months, or even years it is time to stop it in it's tracks. You are suffering unnecessarily and you can dramatically make improvements with just some of the simple issue I have raised above. My course teaches you everything you need to know about flexibility, strengthening and reactivating muscles to end pain. The nutritional and emotional perspective are also covered to guarantee results. I would say it is a must for you to achieve these things, and the best time to start is now.
Ben Wilson BSc (Hons) CSCS NSCA-CPT CMTA Dip
One2one nutrition
Rugby fitness training.com
HOw to develop muscle and muscle tone
How to develop muscle and muscle toneIncreasing muscle is a wise goal for both men and women alike. Increased muscle will give you a more toned look (in women) or a more muscular look for men. Beyond the cosmetic benefits the increase in muscle will also accelerate your metabolic rate while protecting your body from injury and increase many aspects of health e.g. bone density,
A common concern women have about weight training is it will make them bulky. Muscle gain with fat loss will make you toned. Women cannot develop much muscle mass in general however hard they change due to hormonal difference. As a results the muscle growth will be limited compare to men.
Either way, if you turned into a hulking bloke overnight (which is impossible) you could simply stop lifting weights and your muscles would shrink back to what you were over time.
To build muscle you must do two things. Provide the body with a stimulus to build muscle. This comes from resistance training and then give the body the nutrients it needs to build muscle.
Eating to build muscle - eat right for your metabolic type.
Unless you are providing the right foods in the right amounts building muscle will be difficult. Metabolic typing is the system that identifies what foods and nutrients your cells need to function efficiently. When this happens your body can build new muscle.
Metabolic typing addresses different aspects of nutrition which when put in place will greatly increase the ability to build muscle. These are:
Eat the right foods for your body
This varies greatly form one person to the next. There is no one food that is healthy for all of us. Not everyone should use protein shakes, nor does every one need red meat while other have to have it. You must discover what foods you need
Eating the right amounts of food
Everyone has an ideal fuel mix to consume at each meal. This is a specific amount of protein, carbohydrates and fat per meal. When you consume this your cells will efficiently build muscle and function well.
Avoiding food intolerances
If you are eating foods your body has difficulty processing you will greatly reduce your ability to build muscle. This is because you are too busy fighting the food you are eating rather than spending this energy on muscle growth. The most common food sensitivities are to Wheat / oats (Gluten) and Dairy.
Obtaining large amounts of the right vitamins and minerals
To build muscle the cells need their vitamins and mineral in optimal amounts. To do this you first must learn which vitamins and minerals are low within your cells. This is done through a metabolic typing analysis. Then you can optimize the amounts of the nutrients you need by eating plenty of certain vegetables (not any old ones) and by taking specific supplements formulated for your body.
Resistance training to build muscle
To build muscle you need to be lifting weight. However simply going down the gym or doing a couple of exercises in your home will not guarantee muscle growth. Instead you need to follow a few key principles.
Intensity
Intensity refers to the weight you are lifting compared to the heaviest possible weight you could lift. It is vital to use the right weight so that you induce fatigue by your target rep number. Using too low an intensity will prevent your getting any real results.
Failure
For building muscle the more sets during an exercise session you take to the point where you 'fail' - can't lift anymore. The better the effect on your body for muscle gain. DO not sacrifice ay part of your perfect exercise technique in favour of another repetition. As you tire you will be tempted to bend, twist or swing your body to finish the exercise. DO not do this! It is pointless, if the muscle cant lit it…stop!
All body training
The key to getting muscle growth is not just feeling some burning in the muscle you want to develop but it is challenging the whole body to adapt. This is best done by having high focus on the all body leg exercises. This will give you the greatest development hormonally which will allow you to build muscle well.
Split routines versus all body routine
To build muscle you must hit each muscle group at least twice a week. Therefore you can only use a split routine e.g. upper body one day, lower body the next if you are training at least 4 times per week. Any thing less than this you use an all body workout. Whatever split routine you use your legs must be challenged, via all body exercise e.g. squat, dead lifts, lunge etc at least twice a week.
Sets, reps and rest
There are different ways to build muscle. In general the parameters can be said to be, though not exclusively as:
Reps: 5 - 15
Intensity: To failure
Rest : 30 second - 3 minutes
Sets : Instead of worrying how many set you have done, ask how many sets have you taken to failure (cant lift anymore). When this is done using large all body exercises you will find the number of sets per muscle group can reduce to maybe just 1-2.
Periodization - how to vary your training
The key to long term gains is how you vary the above parameters from week to week and month to month. For this you must use Periodization principles otherwise you may make gains just for 4 weeks and then plateau.
To build the muscle you having been looking to gain consider signing up to my highly successful course. Within this you will learn how to eat right to gain muscle and how to train right for rapid results.
Ben Wilson BSc (Hons) CSCS NSCA-CPT CMTA Dip
One2one nutrition
Rugby fitness training.com
I am never hungry - What does this mean?
I am rarely hungryWhere many of the population are ravenous all day long and searching for food there are an equal number of people who look at them in bemusement asking why are they always eating?
Everyone has a unique internal body chemistry that determines their nutritional requirements. This is the reason that for every person who is hungry most of the time there is someone who is not really interested by food.
A lack of hunger can be equally as troublesome as having too much desire for food. The body functions on the right nutrients in the right amounts. When you are not so concerned with eating you will find that it is easy to forget to try and get as many of the right nutrients into your body as possible.
I often see people who are overweight complain that they do not eat many calories a day and why haven't they lost weight? The problem is the body adjusts it's calorie needs to whatever you eat by stopping non essential functions which accumulate over time to create many problems in the body. They cannot lose weight because nutritionally they are malnourished. I see this even with people who eat a lot of veg but not the right types for their body.
A big issue for you to consider is ensuring every time you do eat you have the exact foods your body needs. Please note that these foods are very different from someone who is hungry all day as their nutrition routine is designed to halt this.
It is essential to get the right amount of protein to carbohydrates to fat in at each meal. The amounts to consume are unique to each person. The only way to truly find out what works is to try and tune into your body language signals post meal. this is especially hard for people without hunger as this relies on tuning into energy levels and mental aspects post eating.
Using the above guide, once you become used to actually noting these feelings is one of the most powerful things I teach in my course. When negative feeling are felt after a meal e.g. a drop in energy or lack of a ability to concentrate etc It is a clear sign from the body. Maybe it is saying I need more fat, more carbohydrates, more protein………or a different type of protein etc.
Your hunger can also be used to help you gauge progress. If eaten correctly you should naturally become hungry at meal times maybe not starving but naturally fancy some food. Ignoring your negative reactions post meal is the worst thing you can do nutritionally as it signals the body is unable to effectively extract the energy from foods within the cells even if the food you are eating is ideal for your body.
Getting the nutrients and health you need
If you are suffering with persistent negative post meal reactions as indicated above or feel you may be suffering poor health from obtaining too little of the right nutrients then you should seriously consider the lifestyle course I offer which will allow me to support you while educating you about how to take control of your health weight and happiness through food, exercise and more Please click here for more information.
Ben Wilson BSc (Hons) CSCS NSCA-CPT CMTA Dip
One2one nutrition
Rugby fitness training.com
A holistic approach to weight loss
The holistic approach to weight lossIf you are looking to get into shape then ask yourself what approach will you take.
How do I lose weight?
We all talk of losing weight but please note it is fat you are trying to lose. I have seen many clients lose considerable amounts of inches and clothes sizes yet the scales have shown a very poor change. If you are just monitoring yourself on the scales it is very easy to become disheartened with minimal changes even though you are getting results because the inches are shrinking!
The only way to try and lose 'weight' is using an approach that covers all bases of your health and produces long lasting results. This can be summed up as:
Nutrition
If you have been reading this newsletter you must know by now that the only approach to nutrition you can use is through metabolic typing. There is no such thing as a healthy diet per se but only a healthy diet in relation to your own individual body. This can vary greatly from you to the next person. It is essential to learn what food is healthy for our body as these foods will allow you to lose weight.
Metabolic typing is the only nutritional system that can identify exactly what foods will allow you to lose weight. It is the most critical factor in allowing long term weight loss to occur.
Metabolic typing allows you to identify exactly what foods you need to eat, how much food you need to eat at each meal and specifically which foods you should avoid. This is all done with the intention of improving the health of the body without being hungry or being unsustainable. This means long term weight loss becomes a real possibility.
Exercise
Exercise is composed of four main types of activity, each of which improves your health and thus each has a direct influence on losing body fat.
Aerobic training
Activities such like walking, jogging, swimming etc the point of aerobic activity is to increase your fitness. Do not worry about amounts of calories burnt or minimum time
Of performing the activity. The sole aim should be to continue to increase your fitness long term. This can be come a problem after you have been training a while.
Resistance training
Lifting weights if done correctly allows you to change the internal hormonal environment so that you become a better fat burning machine. To add to this it increases bone density, reduces injuries and improve muscle tone. It is an essential activity for both health and for losing body fat.
Core training
Core training focuses on training the muscles that will give you a flat stomach. This flatter stomach will also protect your spine and reduce aches and pains. This technique is often performed using the big bouncy gym balls.
Flexibility training
An underrated technique for losing fat but it is fundamental to health and therefore getting into shape. Through restoring ideal posture the body and organs can work efficiently. Stretching will also prevent and rehabilitate injuries allowing you to do more of the above techniques.
All this can be done very easily and manageable within most people's schedules. The common mistake people usually make when trying to exercise to lose weight is spending ages on the aerobic training and not focusing on increasing your fitness. This is unnecessary and comes as a detriment to your overall effort.
The Mind
Underlying everything you do be it nutritionally or within your exercise routine is your mind set. You must look to ensure your mind is in the right place so that this attempt becomes your last and not another step in a seamlessly endless cycle of attempt after attempt.
Losing weight often involves significant changes in the way you view who you are; this brings with it many subtle changes that conflict within your subconscious. These often conflict so that you do not achieve your goal. This is why studies estimate over 90% of dieters fail long term.
Emotional freedom technique has given us a tool where you can personally address your mind set so that you finally achieve your long term goal weight.
My free health and fitness newsletter covers all these topics and more. Sign up for this here
Ben Wilson BSc (Hons) CSCS NSCA-CPT CMTA Dip
One2one nutrition
Rugby fitness training.com
Hunger and what it means for your training results
Hunger is a clear sign from the body that it wants something. It is not a sign of weakness, poor will power or something to fight against as many people mistake it for. What hunger gives you is a good indicator of whether the foods you are giving your body is what it needs.
Too many people battle hunger as they follow a ‘healthy’ diet. The persistent hunger feelings or need to eat shows that the meals you are giving the body is not exactly what it needs
After eating we should not feel hungry for at least 3-4 hours if you have consumed the right foods in the right amounts. If you experience hunger within this time frame, more specifically with two hours of eating you have not provided the body with nutrients it desires.
Ideal fuel mix.
Using metabolic typing it is easy and enjoyable to find the exact foods your body needs. Once there it is then necessary to discover the right amount of protein, carbohydrates and fat needed within each meal. This is different for each person.
To do this you can play an experimental game of food portions until you find the right amount that satisfies you. It is easy to discover this when you know your metabolic type and allows you to take control of food forever afterwards.
Using the above guide you will soon become used to actually noting these feelings. at this point you have one of the most powerful techniques for control over your nutrition. When negative feeling are felt after a meal e.g. feeling hungry just 45 minutes after eating it is a clear sign from the body. Maybe it is saying I need more fat, more carbohydrates, more protein ………or a different type of protein etc.
Ignoring your hunger signs and all other negative reactions post meal is the worst thing you can do nutritionally as the body is unable to effectively extract the energy from foods within the cells even if the food you are eating is ideal for your body.
A way round hunger which many people use is to eat very large portions to totally override the body as it takes a while to process and digest. Though this may keep hunger at bay it is not an effective way to be healthy as invariably many other negative reactions are given off and the cells are unable to effectively process the energy. A classic example of this is seen in many people who have to eat a large bowl of cereal to keep them from getting hungry in the morning. This is simply covering up for the fact that the cereal does not provide all the nutrients the body actually needs.
Remove hunger forever
If you are suffering with persistent negative post meal reactions as indicated above you should seriously consider discovering your metabolic type. This will allow you to control hunger and improve your training results.
Metabolic typing - The sports nutrition system of the future
Sports nutrition - Metabolic typing
Metabolic typing is the science used to identify your unique and individual nutritional requirements. These can vary greatly from one person to the next.
When you eat in accordance with your specific nutritional needs you will find you recover from training faster, build muscle more easily and get better results from the efforts you put in to each training session.
Eating in accordance with metabolic typing is the perhaps the single biggest health measure you can take. It will allow you to attain your goal body fat levels and greatly improve your overall health.
Metabolic typing tells you
- What to eat
- How much to eat
- What not to eat
- All other issues surrounding foods
To make these recommendations the science of metabolic typing has been rapidly developing from the pioneering work of many scientists throughout the last fifty years. Metabolic typing recognizes that there are ten fundamental control systems within the human body. Each of these systems determines the way the chemical reactions occur within you.
What to eat?
It is the influence of the main two control systems that determines which foods your body needs. All my clients undergo a metabolic typing test which reveals where their body lies upon these two systems. This directs us to the nutrition plan that will tell us the exactly the nutrients your body requires and which foods will provide these.
We all have a unique and specific amount of food to eat that allows the body to effectively utilize energy. When you eat the right foods in the right ratios of protein, carbohydrates and fat you will experience a sense of high energy and mental focus while avoiding food cravings, energy drops or loss of concentration. To discover the right amounts I coach my clients to tune into their bodies and find the answer out for themselves.
What not to eat?
It is essential any foods that you may be intolerant to are removed from your diet until the body can handle such sources again. Food intolerance's are very common and undermine all efforts to be healthy by draining the resources of the immune system.
The metabolic typing test also looks at the pattern of how you store fat on your body. I am sure you have noticed how some people store fat all over, on their hands, face etc while others just on their stomach. There are other characteristic patterns and these are signs of differences within the glands inside the body, e.g. thyroid, adrenal etc. This then relates to certain foods that if eaten in excess over a prolonged period can exhaust your glands causing fat storage and poor health.
Finally, metabolic typing allows you to use the influences of your blood type to avoid certain foods that can cause problems for each blood type. Please note that metabolic typing is far in advance of the well known eat right for your blood type book.
Other issues
The research has also covered the effect of all the other issues surrounding nutrition and lifestyle upon the systems within the body, thus allowing us to give even further recommendations to safeguard your health
In summary, metabolic typing is the most advanced nutrition system in the world as it is the only one that effectively and accurately classifies the differences seen between people to answer what, how much and what not to eat. It is the most important and biggest health measure you can take.
Please see my rugby fitness training web site or my one2one nutrition site for more metabolic typing.
