How to break through a strength training plateau?

How to break through a strength training plateau?

Drinking down protein shakes? Regularly hitting the gym, and still not getting stronger?

- - - - - - - - - - 

Welcome to the in-famous fitness plateau. But don’t be alarmed they are ways to stop feeling 

stagnant and move forward on that fitness quest. The key? Variation/varying workouts…

Remember, as people and individuals gain strength in a specific movement, the body requires 

always new stimulus to grow. Research suggests that after anyway from 1 to 6 weeks the body will 

adapt to a typical fitness routine.

There is no one reason why gym rats may stop seeing progress from both beginners and 

professionals or any type of athlete alike, may see their strength gains start to wane/lower. One 

answer is to change things up, find below some tips below to keep making progress and keep things 

fresh…

- - - - - - - - - - 

• Add intensity - slow and steady doesn't always win the race. Try upping the intensity to continue building muscle. Swap out a long slow run with some treadmill intervals and lunges instead of walking to the next exercise machine/station.

- - - - 

• Change the moves - been sticking to the bench press? Try a push up instead. /Unconventional dead-lifts? Switch to the sumo position. This will target the same muscles in a different way. 

- - - - 

• Cross train - mixing in a variety of training styles will target different muscles while also challenging the mind. Cross training may even reduce the risk of injury as well, so always ensure you mix up your machines.

- - - - 

• Switch the order - try changing the order of strength training exercises to tire the muscles at different times. (Those push-ups will be a lot harder at the end of the work out.) Just remember bigger muscle groups should almost always be worked first, and avoid saving explosive-based training for the end.

- - - - 

• The theory repetitions - no need to stick to the same number of reps in sets for every move,switch up the number of squats and Superman’s to surprise and challenge the body. Going heavy for fewer wraps? Just be sure to increase weight gradually. Higher weight will stimulate hormones that aid in muscle growth, but adding too much weight on it once could lead to injury.

- - - - 

• Change rest between sets - there’s a big difference between resting for 60 seconds, and the time it takes to fill out an application form. To mix things up in the weight room shorten or lengthen the rest time to affect muscle endurance. Or skip the rest altogether and head into a super set or possibly a circuit.

- - - - 

• Pinpoint the problem - hear some tough love. Hating squats doesn't mean leaving them out. Identify the exercise that causes some trouble and in the words of Nike ‘just do it.’ It’ll only make the body stronger!

- - - - 

• Rest - on those days off, muscles rebuild in stronger formations. So don’t forget to take it easy every now and then, the amount of rest depends on the person really to see that strength develop.

- - - - 

• Keep on keeping on - don’t get frustrated by a lack of progress and never ever give up! Need some reinforcement? Try using a workout journal or up to keep track of workouts-and watch those new PR’s stack up!

- - - - - - - - - - - - 

Just a little change will keep the body challenged and that hard work will continue to pay off and don’t forget about the importance of diet too. What happens in the kitchen affects performance at the gym. Make sure to get enough protein, fruits and veggies ensure that you steer clear of too much sugar and simple carbs save the glazed doughnuts for a special occasion with some hard work patients, and a solid game plan, that fitness plateau should be old news.

- The Power of Now -

- - - - - - - - - - 

- The most common excuse people nowadays use is ' oh i'll start tomorrow OR oh i'll start on Monday ! ' , F*CK THAT ! - Make that Change now ! Too many people need to realize that by ' PUTTING OFF THEIR CHORES or PUTTING OFF THE GYM or PUTTING OFF THEIR LIFESTYLE CHANGES ' till the next day or the following Monday will somehow make a Difference ! I'm afraid the answer is simply 'NO!' - If your mindset knows and understands you are in need of change, yet you consciously know your saying ' hmmmmm. . . . nar i'll leave it will later ! ' this just goes to show that , 

1.) You realize , know and understand the fact you need change . 

2.) Your being ' LAZY ' and holding yourself back . 

3.) IF YOU DON'T MAKE CHANGE NOW YOU NEVER WILL 

- Nobody got where they are without CHANGE ! Make it NOW ! Their is NEVER a bad time. And Nobody is going to make that Change for you ' ONLY YOU CAN ! '...

' In Order for Change to take place , you 1st must learn to do something different to what you've never done before ! - Never put off till tomorrow for the things you can do today ! ' - 

- - - - - - - - - - 

- The Beginners Guide to Meditation , Relaxation & De-stress. -

The Beginners Guide to Meditation , Relaxation & De-stress.

Meditation has a host of health benefits--from lowering blood pressure and inflammation, helping overall Fitness & most of all mental well-being.

So how do you meditate? Do you have to say "omm," visit a monastery, or levitate? Nah, just follow these simple steps.

- -  HOW TO MEDITATE: BEGINNING STEPS - - 

1.         Find a comfortable, quiet, & private place.

2.         Sit or lie down, front or back, whatever seems most convenient. The position doesn’t matter, as LONG AS YOU’RE RELAXED.

3.         Set a timer for 5 minutes. (Choose a soothing alarm sound)

4.         Close your eyes.

5.         Scan down your body from head to toe, think ABOUT CONSCIOUSLY relaxing each muscle. Let everything sink downward. In particular, let your face droop.

6.         Now,  FOCUS on your breathing. You don’t need to breathe in any special way. Just breathe and   notice what it feels like. Observe how the air moves in and out.

7.         Count 10 breaths, observing each one. What does breathing feel like? Does it make any sound?

8.         Let thoughts drift in and out, like lazy cats. Let them wander in, then shoo them away. They’ll be back. You don’t need to hold on to them.

9.         Observe only. Don’t judge your thoughts. There is no “should”. If you think of something, don’t think, "Oh my God I’m thinking I’m not supposed to be thinking stop thinking ahhh there I go again I suck at this!! Crap" Just think, “Hey, there’s a thought. OK, bye bye for now. Thanks for playing, thought. Shoo the lazy cat out.” If you hear a noise, or have an itch, simply think, there’s a noise or I have an itch. Make a note of it, then move on.

10.       Keep coming back to your breathing. There’s no rush; just keep wandering back to it. What’s it doing now?

11.       Repeat until your time is up. (soothing alarm sound goes off. Slowly move to turn it off)

12.       Finish with 5 good breaths to “finalize” the session.

13.       Open your eyes.

- - - - - - - - - - 

Click Video Below for Superb Relaxation Music ! Give it a Go ! 

Superb Relaxation Music , CLICK Link Below ! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3JGo5XPwWc

My 3 Personal Pet Hates at the Gym . . .

My 3 Personal pet hates at the gym,

1.)    Weight lifting belts. Why? Well to be honest I dont have a problem with them, as they actually have a purpose however, the majority of gym goers who use them, use them wrong!

The weightlifting belt is in fact only good for one purpose, to STOP the athlete from hyper extending the back when performing a deadlift, russian deadlift, squat etc... and so on. It’s purpose is there as a reminder to the athlete not to hyper-extend. 

So why do gym-users persist on using them in the GYM for things such as free weighted exercises. Inlcine dumbbell press and so on. Its useless?!  Unless. . .

For example the reason strong men use them is becuase their training consists of working consistantly at the 85% + of the their 1RM (rep max) moving such a HEAVY load from one area to the next! Or moving such a HEAVY load in a STRICT MOVEMENT!  This is exceptable.

The other reason i DISAGREE with Weightlifting belts is your back has a muscle called your fascia in which takes up most of the mid-lower back region. This like any other muscle in the body  it needs trraining, YES?  If your wearing a weight Lifting belt you are then placing the load from your back onto the BELT = no training purpose what so ever meaning in the long run if your consistantly training with your belt if you ever FORGET your belt , or chose not to use it YOU will find that

A.) You wont be able to lift the load as you could with the belt, why ? becuase you havent trained it correctly.

B.) You will SERIOUSLY put your back out! 

Lesson learnt here only use your weightlifting belt when either ,

1.) Your about to perform between 2 reps or your 1 rep max’x reminding you to enforce a straight back and to push from your heels!

2.) It’s part of your training, if your a Strongman thats fine or a Powerlifter also, etc...

2.)    Quite a simple one, yet people still dont realise the impact it actually has on their workout! I myself am guilty of this one once in a while, and when I twig on I proper have a go at myself. Number 2 is REST times between SETs, they are their for a reason.

Endurance athletes will use only 30s-1min MAX between sets. As they normally work between 55-75% of their 1RM (repmaxs)

Hypertrophy will only use 1min-2min between sets. As they train between 70% 80% & 90% of their 1RM (repmaxs)

Far too many people end up chit chatting or delaying their results as they arn’t functioning the muscles in the correct manner. Hence they never see the results as quick as they would like.

My advice if your taking your phone into the GYM use the STOPWATCH and STICK TO IT you will soon find out whether you’ve been training correctly or incorrectly.

The results will soon show. If youve been talking or not talking.

Also if your talking too much on a piece of equipment you will soon find out whether your fellow gym goers will get aggravated if your taking too long a machine if your chatting and not working.

3.)    EGO’s now this can be a touchy subject but what i mean by ego’s is whether an individual is training for the CORRECT purposes or TRAINING for the WRONG purposes i.e i can lift more then this guy that guy etc..

Depening on your training you should NEVER feel imtimidtaed of feel demeaning, by others. A great friend and mentor./teacher of mine Chris Ranshaw told me one of my favourite quotes “ We train together, we leave out ego’s at the door, as long as your working to YOUR 100% thats all you need!” . . .  And he’s right forget about others Train the correct way. You should never be hyper-extending trying lift a million Kg’s instead focus on the HYPERTROHPY of the muscles.

Ensure you are getting the correct pump and contraction of the muscle fibres to ensure GROWTH. Instead of trying to move such an enourmous object you will end up putting mucle on in the WRONG places as your body incorporates other MUSCLEs into the contraction to move the weight!

Your body is basicly saying I CAN’T MOVE this so i will bring this muscle into the movement, and so on. YOUR ARE NOT training to TRAIN LIKE STRONGMAN, so DONT DO IT !

I could talk for 1000’s of words on this subject but i’ll leave it at that.

If you’d like to any information on anything just let me know.

JLH-FITNESS.

- A Guide to Basic Supplements & More ... -

Due to demand find below a BASIC GUIDE to some of the major, vitamins, antioxidants, whey, amino acids, glutamine, protein, etc. . .

- Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAA’s) –

These are the most critical aminos for building muscle. Not only do they boost insulin, but they also turn on muscle-protein synthesis, the process of building muscle. BCAA’s provide your muscles with more energy and stall fatigue by tricking the brain into thinking you’re still fresh and strong. Plus they blunt the catabolic hormone cortisol, which could increase muscle breakdown, and limit both testosterone production and function.

- Caffeine –

This central nervous system stimulant is probably the most popular drug in the world! It is also should be the most popular bodybuilding supplement because it enhances fat loss, aids focus and drive, and can immediately increase strength. That makes it a great morning pick-me-up or pre-workout boost to get you through a tough session.

- Calcium –

In addition to its bone boosting effects calcium is also important for muscle contractions and it even aids fat loss. But calcium may boost testosterone, too. One study found that subjects taking 16milligrams of calcium per pound of bodyweight (about 3,000mg for a 200pound guy) had higher testosterone levels during workouts then subjects not taking supplemental calcium.

- Carnitine –

This amino acid like compound transports fat into the mitochondria of muscle cells to be burned for fuel. Research show that Carnitine taken before exercise helps the body burn more fat and decrease fatigue. It has been found to enhance blood flow to muscle, aid muscle recovery and increase the amount of androgen receptors in muscle (to which testosterone binds to stimulate growth.)

- Casein Protein –

Casein a fraction of milk protein provides a steady stream of amino acids over a long period of time.  (Such as during sleep or between meals.) The body digests and absorbs it more slowly than whey, the fast digesting milk protein. Research shows that adding casein to a whey shake post-workout can better enhance muscle growth than taking whey without casein. In addition, casein has been shown to provide about 16% greater metabolic availability of key sulphur-containing amino acids compared to soya. Look for protein powders that include casein in the form of miceller casein, calcium caseinate, sodium caseinate or potassium caseinate.

- Creatine –

The undisputed champ for adding size and strength. It enhances mass by releasing muscle cell volume and aiding molecular pathways that stimulate growth. It boosts strength by increasing the level of Creatine phosphate in muscle cells, which is used to supply a quick source of ATP (the energy source muscles use to contract.)

- Dextrose –

The sugar has the same structure as your blood sugar (glucose). That means it requires no digestion and basically gets absorbed straight from your gut into your bloodstream. This helps spike insulin production, opening tiny doors on muscle fibres that allow nutrients to rush inside.

- Glutamine –

This amino acid aids muscle growth by increasing the levels of leucine in muscle fibres. It also helps decrease muscle breakdown and fatigue, boosts immune function and even helps to keep metabolism elevated. In addition, research shows that glutamine supplementation significantly boosts GH levels. Researchers believe this may be due to the ability of glutamine to stimulate arginine production. That makes glutamine a good supplement to stack with arginine.

- Green tea Extract –

Green tea extract is the perfect fat-burning supplement. It contains the active antioxidant compound epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). This inhibits the enzyme that normally breaks down norephinephrine (a neurohormone that raises metabolic rate and enhances the release of fat from cells).

- Omega-3-Fatty Acids –

Omega-3-fatty acids fight muscle inflammation, which leads to better recovery. They help the body retain the amino acid glutamine, which has been shown to play an important role in immune support. Generally, when glutamine levels fall the immune system takes a hit, which can negatively impact on recovery. Omega-3’s can make receptors located on muscle more sensitive to the effects of the hormone insulin. This can lower insulin levels in the body; lower insulin levels encourage the body to remain in fat burning mode.

- SOYA –

 Soya Protein contains all essential amino acids, more than four times the arginine as whey and almost twice that of casein, making it a great pre-workout protein. Body builders tend to avoid it because of its phytoestrogens, yet several studies now prove that soya protein promotes muscle growth just as well as whey and doesn’t alter levels of testosterone or oestrogen in males. Research also shows that soya’s antioxidant content helps improve muscle recovery following exercise. This fact, not to mention that soya digests almost as fast as whey, makes it a great choice for after workouts.

- Taurine –

This amino acid is critical for maintaining both strength and endurance within muscle fibres. It enhances muscles ability to contact, which means more strength, and it prevents fatigue so you can perform more repetitions with a given weight.

- Vitamin B12 –

Known technically as cobalamin this B vitamin plays a critical role in numerous biochemical reactions in the body including the production and utilisation of energy from dietary fat and protein during exercise. This means that it not only enhances energy levels but it also prevents fat gain.

- Vitamin E –

Vitamin E is an antioxidant that is especially protective of polyunsaturated fats and body tissues. Vitamin E also prolongs the life of red blood cells and is necessary for the proper use of oxygen by muscles. Vitamin E acts as a preservative that prevents many substances such as vitamin A, from destructive breakdown by oxidation in the body. Most multivitamins don’t contain enough vitamin E so it’s a good idea to take a Vitamin E supplement in addition to multi.

- Whey Protein –

Getting protein into your body before and after workouts is critical to maximising muscle mass. One of the best protein sources pre- and post-workouts is whey protein. As a very fast digesting protein, whey quickly delivers its amino acids to muscles. This results in a rapid boost in protein synthesis (the biochemical process that leads to muscle growth) at the most crucial time of day – immediately following workouts.

- Zinc Magnesium Aspartate (ZMA) -

This potent combination of zinc and magnesium Aspartate plus vitamin B is supported by strong clinical research. ZMA increases anabolic hormone levels including free testosterone and IGF-1, which could otherwise be suppressed in hard-training athletes. ZMA also improves the quality of sleep. Enhanced recovery from work-outs due to improved sleep efficiency, increased hormone levels and greater gains in muscle and strength and power are the ultimate benefits of ZMA supplementation.

- Common Protein Shake Recipes ! -

A Common Question I get asked…

Have you got any good protein shake recipes as I find drinking them tasteless and uninspiring and want something to liven them up?

Answer

Yes, protein drinks can be boring, so, as well as making them more tasty and enjoyable to consume, why not add some extra nutrients to bump up carbs and vitamins and minerals? Here are some of my personal favourites.

- - - - - - -

WEIGHT GAINER

Ingredients

• 500 ml skimmed milk
• 4 tbsp skimmed milk powder
• 2 scoops (40 g) whey powder
• 3 scoops (120 g) maltodextrin powder
• 1 banana, or 145 g mixed berries

Method

Blend all ingredients in a blender until smooth.

Information

- - - Serves 1. Per serving: 462 kcal, 27.8 g protein, 
85 g carbs, and 
1.5 g fat. - - -

- - - - - - - -

CHOC PEANUT SMOOTHIE

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp peanut butter
• 250 ml cold water
• 3 tbsp chocolate protein powder

Method

Blend all ingredients in a blender until smooth.

Information

- - - Serves 1. Per serving: 195 kcal, 
30 g protein, 6 g carbs, 8 g fat, 
1 g fibre.- - -

- - - - - - -

APPLE CINNAMON SMOOTHIE

Ingredients

• 250 ml water
• 1 scoop whey protein powder 
• 1 apple, peeled and chopped
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 4 ice cubes

Method

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend well.  

Information

- - - Serves 1. Per serving: 181 kcal, 
28 g protein, 21 g carbs, 0 g fat, 
4 g fibre. - - -

- - - - - - -

TROPICAL SMOOTHIE

Ingredients

• 80 g mango, diced and frozen
• 80 g pineapple, diced and frozen
• 250 ml water
• 1 scoop whey protein powder 
• 1 tbsp honey
• 2 tsp sliced almonds 

Method

Combine all ingredients except almonds in a blender and blend well. Serve topped with almonds.

Information

- - - Serves 1. Per serving: 305 kcal, 
31 g protein, 43 g carbs, 5 g fat, 
3 g fibre. - - -

- - - - - - -

WELLNESS SMOOTHIE

Ingredients

• Cup of green tea made with 1 green tea bag and 200 ml boiling water, cooled
• 115 g quark or 120 ml natural low-fat yoghurt
• 150 ml freshly squeezed orange juice
• 1 scoop whey protein powder
• 2 tsp flaxseed oil
• 1⁄2 tsp ginger, finely chopped
• 1 tsp honey

Method

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend well.

Information

- - - Serves 1. Per serving: 245 kcal, 
32 g protein, 20 g carbs, 6 g fat, 
0 g fibre. - - -

- - - - - - -