Tuesday 30 December 2014

DAILY DIARIES: CHRISTMAS CHAOS

This will be the final post for the 2014 version of the Daily Diaries series on this blog.

If you do want to know more about the other Daily Diaries be sure to check out the older posts, as this will help generate a feel and opinion towards the series over a far longer period of time.

Goals For The Week

It has been Christmas and my birthday back to back, so to be frank I already knew and had allocated myself some time away from my routines and exercises as I thought for once a year I could allow myself some time to relax and be goal-free- I would not have to worry about my shape and I could simply enjoy myself!

Therefore, with this in mind, I had decided to go for a pretty workout free break, I was aware that I would be unable to go to the gym at all due to the fact it has shut temporarily and I would be busy all the time (doing nothing, just lounging about with friends and family) to exercise. However I did say to myself that I would try to fit in a couple of mini-workouts here and there to ensure that I maintain some fitness over the break and so that I do not loose all that I had worked for, it is always harder to come back and perform at the same levels as your body will have changed a bit.

As for diet, I knew I would gain a few extra kilos from all the edible gifts and goods I receive at this time of year and they have to be eaten of course. On top of that, the Christmas diet is not exactly a healthy one: lots of snacking in-between meals; lots of fatty or sweet indulgences; a complete lack of healthy or nutritious foods;staying in the warm doing little to zero activity! This is obviously not the ideal healthy active lifestyle of which we should all be living but it is once a year where people come together give and receive and treat themselves to a merry end of the year- and this was my plan for the break!


What Actually Happened

Forgive me for being blunt: things went pretty much to plan! When I am trying to work on biceps or loose a bit of fat 101 problems and scenarios present themselves, but when I want to live a fair inactive life things go exactly to schedule- what's that about!
Being serious I shall elaborate, the first week of my holiday has literally flown by and I have been suffering from the worst cold and chest infection that I have ever had. Trapping in front of the television all day and night with a box of chocolates, honey filled drinks, and a few mince pies to keep me company. I think you are capable of imagining what happened next.

The second week has already been more successful today I played football pretty much all day ( I am exhausted as you would imagine and my decreased fitness levels were clearly brought to light), but this will start to do me good- exercising again. In addition I have found myself some time to do a some press-ups, low reps (30) admittedly but a reasonable amount of sets to balance this out, so things are gradually falling back into place.

Despite my poor lifestyle and diet I am yet to see too much difference in my physical appearance, yes I feel weaker and my body is drained from the cold, but the aesthetical appearance of my body is reasonably untarnished. I admit to a little extra cushioning around the gut and towards the love handles but other than that...


Next Week

I hope to continue to get back into my routines and be able to exercise again, in particular I am looking to work abs to ensure I am able to chisel a 6 pack from under all the new fat in that area. I also intend to be able to go to the gym again, I understand that I will have to take things easy there so that I do not try to do too much whilst out of practise to ensure I do not get injuries or such like.

Diet-wise I would like to start to eat fruit such as oranges that contain the vitamin C just so I can shake the back lash of this cold and be hassle free to work out and improve myself once more. Another area of which I have been deficient of late is in the calcium department so I also intend to really hit the milk to make up for this.


Morals of The Week

The only thing would be to recommend taking some time out occasionally, I know I posted on this a few days ago so I will not ramble too much. But a break allows your body time to grow and develop so it is not always a bad thing if kept in moderation, so just remember that thought


Alas this concludes Daily Diaries 2014, but it is likely to return in 2015 so if you would like to see more of this be sure to comment, contact me, plus one, following is returned as well as subscriptions, thanks for reading please check out other posts as well, more coming soon- work hard and peace!

Monday 29 December 2014

UPDATE: 30 DAY WORKOUT

I have been doing this workout for more than a month, however I did not do the workout to see results in a month- I did not expect that. If you do not know about the 30 day workout, then please check back on previous posts I have wrote about it. The workout pretty much consists of a 15 minute abs workout followed by some lifting which trains certain parts of the body.

Unfortunately, over the Christmas period ( the last week ), I have become very indulgent and have been eating without any regard to health. A lot of chocolate has entered my body, mainly because I can not refuse as there is so much to eat it can not be wasted!
I have not worked out in 5 days- which is the longest I have been since starting . I try not to think too much about what I have eaten- it is Christmas after all!

Anyway, the workout has been going well and I can start to see results in my strength- mainly I can do more push-ups now! My abs are showing more, however since before Christmas this may have changed.

I have made a few changes here and there to the workout. For Christmas, I acquired a new set of weights ( 15kg ) that I will be using for the workout. This is because I feel if I had more heavy weights my muscles would develop quicker and more effectively.

I am now performing 6 different exercises after the abs instead of four. I have managed to do this in the same time by getting rid of the breaks between sets. I did this because I felt I was not working hard and sweating hard enough. Replacing the breaks with more reps of sets was a perfect way to do this and I am feeling a lot better after a workout because of it. Occasionally, I only do 4 or 5 if I am especially tired.

The final thing to add is I have been doing a lot of dumbbell fly's instead of other exercises as I find that Fly's are the most effective at zoning in on the chest  and working it the hardest.

So there you go, the workout is going well and I recommend it at the time being!

Thank for reading, please subscribe and like (we will like and subscribe back) . Thanks again and peace!

TOP SOURCES: TEEN HEALTH

Today's post will be another in the popular series Top Sources, where I post a copy of a website or page which I think is full of useful information of which we can all benefit by reading.

By no means is this post my original content it is from the source: http://www.wikihow.com/Get-in-Shape-as-a-Teen which I highly recommend is one you have a look at.

Get in Shape as a Teen Step 1.jpg


Exercise. This may seem obvious, but some people either just don't get it, or they do but don't do it right. Start with 5 minutes of stretching, then walk around the block, do as many push ups and crunches as you can. Then cool down again by stretching. If you have trouble starting an exercise routine, you can help by just getting off your butt. Instead of spending your free time on Facebook, in front of the TV, or playing computer games, dance to upbeat music, play football with you friends, clean your room, rent workout DVDs from the library, get an active hobby or a pet! You will get exercise



Get in Shape as a Teen Step 2.jpg

Join a sport! There are so many sports out there, one must be perfect for you. If you are overweight, one of the best sports for you to get involved in is swimming. It is a gentle exercise, and exercises your whole body.

Get in Shape as a Teen Step 3.jpg

Drink a lot of water. Believe it or not, this actually helps you lose weight, the recommended amount of water to drink is 64oz. Though this may seem a lot, really it only comes down to 4 tall glasses of water, drink one when you get up, one when you come home from school or at lunch, one at dinner, and one at night. One way to know that you are getting enough water is if your urine is clear. You also should drink before, during, and after any sort of exercise, as you need to replace the water you lose in sweat. Reduce soda-drinking to no more than one or two a week. Sodas are full of sugars and empty calories that provide no nutritional value.


Get in Shape as a Teen Step 4.jpg

Eat healthily. One of the best ways to start is by eating a big breakfast. You may not realize it but your body just went 8 or more hours without food. If you don't eat, it will go into starvation mode, and you will overeat at lunch and dinner, then your body won't use all of it and will get fat. Also eat way more fruits and veggies than breads or meat. Eat fruit in moderation though, because it is naturally high in sugar. Stay away from over-processed foods, as they contain a lot of fat, sugar, and salt, and hardly anything good. Also, if you eat your big breakfast, it will kick your metabolism into high gear, giving you lots of energy, and you burn fat!

Identify unhealthy habits. Many teens have and afternoon snack where eat things such as cookies, chocolate milk, ice-cream etc. Try to replace those foods with something healthy. Don't eat if you're not hungry.



Another source that is a great source of informative goods is the You Tube video posted in January 2014 by Six pack shortcuts- whom I am also a big fan and proud supporter of so here is that clip for you to check out as well (because I'm feeling generous).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnXfk07uPdM


Thanks for reading, before I forget there has been a new page posted on press ups so be sure to check that out as well as all the older posts you might have missed, please comment any suggestions, add the blog to your blogger reading list, plus one every thing and please follow me, all this is greatly appreciated I assure you- work hard and peace!


Sunday 28 December 2014

TAKING A BREAK

I have to start by thanking everyone for the masses of support that has been demonstrated towards myself and the blog, thank you all for reading following and enjoying. 

I am fully aware of the lack of posts over the last month and I know that some are curious to know what has been happening, we'll hear are the details

As it is likely that you know; I go to the gym on a regular basis - I target around 4 heavy duty hour long sessions a week. However due to the fact my gym is based at a local school Inhave been unable to attend any sessions due to the fact that schools in the uk shut for the Christmas holidays. During the festive break valued at two weeks, it is traditional to spend time inside in a warm environment around friends and family, it is a time when people can let go and enjoy themselves. 

I myself am guilty of endulgance at this time of year and I am ashamed to admit I too have fallen out of shape and lost my way from routine. Do I see there to be a problem with this? No! For me this time of year is very special it is the time of when many of my family ( including myself ) celebrate birthdays, Christmas, Boxing Day and New Years. So I allow my self around 2 weeks worth of rest and break from my routine and diet and promises. This is simply to allow myself time to relax and enjoy myself. 

My advise to the reader here is: what is the point in training hard if you do reap in the rewards of your new shape or form and enjoy yourself upon occation. It is good to work hard and enjoy it, but if you only ever work hard, you will only ever find your self more goals and put yourself in cyclical loop or work, you will never enjoy what you work for. It is like a squirrel storing loads of the best nuts for years and years, but never eating them or enjoying them.

Thanks for reading, posts will get back to normal and series will continue as per usual soon, please read again, comment( I love to hear what you say), share this, plus one it - work hard and peace!


Wednesday 24 December 2014

Merry Christmas

Welcome to 5.14 Fitness,


I know it has been a long time, however I have been really ill over the last week and didn't even get out of bed. So as you imagine I was incapable of posting, or doing anything at all for that matter. I am now also, because of this, not in the greatest of shape. To elaborate: I have lost weight and muscle, I have lost strength and fallen out of routine, as well as looking like hell because I have hardly eaten or moved.


Alas after Christmas I hope to be posting in more frequent function and get back into the swing of things. thanks for reading, once again apologies for delays, please follow and comment you know where to find me MERRY CHRISTMAS to all that celebrate it- work hard and peace!


Jason

Tuesday 23 December 2014

Article- HIIT Workout: What It Is and Why It Works

Welcome to 5.14 fitness,

As I have been talking about the workout program Insanity in my last posts, I thought it would be beneficial to give you the low-down on high intensity training - which is what Insanity puts you through on a daily basis. Insanity involves working at a high intensity with short breaks, Here is an article that gives you detail on what this is-


HIIT is all the hype lately. According to a survey conducted by The American College of Sports Medicine, it’s one of the two top fitness trends for 2014 (the other being bodyweight training). So what’s this type of training all about? What is it with HIIT?
HIIT, or high-intensity interval training, is a training technique in which you give all-out, one hundred percent effort through quick, intense bursts of exercise, followed by short, sometimes active, recovery periods. This type of training gets and keeps your heart rate up and burns more fat in less time. “A high-intensity workout increases the body’s need for oxygen during the effort and creates an oxygen shortage, causing your body to ask for more oxygen during recovery,” says Eric Salvador, NASM, NSCA, head instructor at The Fhitting Room in New York City.  “This afterburn effect is referred to as Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC) and is the reason why intense exercise will help burn more fat and calories than regular aerobic and steady-state workouts.”

HIIT the Spot

Not totally convinced? Here are a few other benefits from HIIT.

1. Increases Your Metabolism
Combing high intensity with interval training results in EPOC, which speeds your metabolic rate and “translates into a metabolism boost for up to 48 hours after a complete HIIT routine,” says Salvador. This means you’ll still be burning fat even after you’ve left the gym.

2. Quick and Convenient
Long gone are the days of not having enough time for exercise. HIIT workouts is can be done anywhere: at home, in a hotel room, in a park, at a gym, etc. And most are 30 minutes or less! Who can’t spare that?

3. No Equipment Necessary
No dumbbells? No problem! HIIT workouts generally use only your body weight, since the focus is on getting your heart rate up and keeping it there. These workouts result in “optimal muscle building and muscle retention couples with fat loss and increased calorie burn,” says Salvador.
Ready for a challenge? Try your hand (or full body, rather) at Salvador’s Do-It-Anywhere Chipper Workout. “The most beneficial use of this workout would be in conjunction with some loaded strength exercises,” says Salvador. “However, this is also an effective and extremely efficient workout that can be done anywhere when pressed for time.” Perform each exercise with 30 seconds of rest in between. Be sure to give one hundred percent effort during the exercises. Repeat every other day with the goal of completing it faster each time.

This article is from dailyburn.com, and here is the link to the full article- where you can view a high intensity workout for yourself. 
http://dailyburn.com/life/fitness/high-intensity-hiit-workout/ 

Thank for reading, please subscribe and like (we will like and subscribe back) . Thanks again and peace!

Tuesday 16 December 2014

WEIGHT LOSS JOURNEY: INSANITY ROUND 1

Welcome to 5.14 fitness,

This post is the fourth in which I talk about my journey from being very fat , to just the right weight. I went from a BMI of 27 to 19.8 in two years, and so have gone from very overweight to below normal weight. I can not really determine an exact time when I lost it all, but will tell you everything I did.

If you haven't read my introduction to this, then please do so- as it might really help you.
So, you have heard up to until I had just started Insanity. For those who can't remember ( or who just don't know ) , Insanity is a two month workout DVD that makes you burn a hell of a lot of calories, as well as build muscle. It uses high-interval training in order to make you work the most sweat- and it is extremely effective. You hardly get any rests, which increases the workload and thus means results occur quicker. It is one of the most effective and popular workout plans on the market.

I was quite fat and overweight when I started Insanity. I did it without really knowing what to expect, and I was spurred on to do it by watching an advert on TV. I recommend watching this advert, as it gives a lot of motivation to get up and exercise.
Anyway, I started Insanity and found the first day extremely hard. It made me sweat and breath so hard that I was in tears, rolling around the floor. Despite the fatigue, I felt so good at the end of it, and I felt ready to carry on going.

However, the tiredness started to kick in the following morning, and my legs hurt so much during the early stages of the day, The fatigue I felt in my body ( especially legs) was off the charts, but when I went to do the second day of Insanity, the fatigue quickly went away when I started working- so don't be worried that you will not be able to carry on after your first day!
After I had finished the second day, I experienced a massive headache- that hurt so much I needed to take pain killers for a whole night. This happened on the third day as well, and on the fourth also. But on the fourth they started to hurt less, and by the end of the week they were gone.

Along with the headaches, the fatigue in my legs also surpassed during the week. I didn't feel a thing from then on, which really signified the progress I had made in such a short time. Another sign of progress was the warm ups.
At the beginning of Insanity, I found the warm-ups very difficult, and had to rest after two of the three sets. During the week, I got better at the warm-ups- and by the end of the two months I could it with ease.

Over the next three weeks, I did Insanity every day apart form Sunday ( which was the rest day ) and I was feeling really good about myself. I was working so hard, and could see that I had slimmed down a bit, and I could perform sport like football easier and my stamina had increased. The workouts were still making me sweat buckets, but I could last for longer without having to rest or collapse to the floor in a mess.
I found it hard at time to have grip on the floor, as I was doing the workouts in bar foot on carpet. It would have been more effective wearing trainers- so I recommend doing that If possible.

Next post- Insanity month 2 and results.

Thank for reading, please subscribe and like (we will like and subscribe back) . Thanks again and peace!



Friday 12 December 2014

My weight loss journey- Insanity workout guide

Welcome to 5.14 fitness,

This post is the second in which I talk about my journey from being very fat , to just the right weight. I went from a BMI of 27 to 19.8 in two years, and so have gone from very overweight to below normal weight. I can not really determine an exact time when I lost it all, but will tell you everything I did.

If you haven't read my introduction to this, then please do so- as it might really help you.
Today post is all about the Insanity workout and what happens in it. I will also talk about how it was like for me at the beginning.
To recap, the Insanity workout is a series of DVD'S that put you through incredibly hard and physically tough workouts that aim to make you lose weight and build muscle as well. It lasts two months, but of course you can extend it to longer. The first month consists of 45 minute workouts everyday, and they are workouts that are not for the faint hearted. They make you sweat buckets, and you are exhausted beyond repair at the end.

It is high-interval training- this means you get really short breaks , and long, intense exercises in-between. This is proven to be the most effective way to lose weight and build muscle, however it is very hard. You have to have a lot of motivation to do this- and I found myself considering giving up after I found it so hard to begin with. But after a while, I started to find it easier, and I could keep up with the professional athletes sometimes.
Throughout every Insanity workout, you are instructed by Shaun.T, who is a professional in workouts, and gives you motivation throughout each workout. He is surrounded by athletes, all doing the workout alongside you. This is quite good as you can compare how you are doing to them, and also it can be comforting to see the professionals struggle to do some of the workout ( Yes that is how hard it is!) I thought Shaun T was a really good instructor, and always gave me great motivation and I liked him a lot. He got me through quite a few exercises I couldn't do,

You can download the full calender online, but here it is-

Don't be confused by the confusing names- all the workouts are quite similar. Some go purely for cardio, others work on strength more.

I will now explain what each workout is like:

You start of the workout with a warm-up. This is quite misleading, as the warm-up is very long and makes you sweat a lot- especially at the beginning of your month. It lasts almost 10 minutes, and consists of three sets of a circuit. This circuit always contains almost the same things: jogging, side steps, knee raises, 1 2 3 s etc...
The warm-up really gets your heart working, and it is quite good to recognise results with, I could clearly see that I was finding the warm-up easier with each day- which was great for motivation. Once again, you have little rest periods, just enough time to drink bit of water before exercising again.

After the warm-up, the stretches begin. Once again, this is very misleading. The stretches are incredibly hard, and they really hurt. Nearly all of them are like resistance training exercises, as they use your muscles . Just like a plank, the stretches requite you to pause in a stretch and hold it, causing your muscles to go into overload. This part was probably the hardest part of the workout on most days, which comes as a surprise as it is the stretch part!

After this, you spend the rest of the workout performing high-interval training. This means you are doing exercise after exercise with virtually no breaks. Of course, this leads to floods of sweat, and it pushes you to your limits, For about half an hour, you are working,working and working. Nothing but sweat and heavy breathing as you try to regain your breath. It is pure cardio and muscle work.

You have a cool down for about 3 minutes at the end, just to make sure you do not pick up injuries. This is very similar to the stretches- but not as hard.

Next post- first month of Insanity

Thank for reading, please subscribe and like (we will like and subscribe back) . Thanks again and peace!
 

Thursday 11 December 2014

What Protein Shakes Are Best ? (http://dailyburn.com/life/health/how-to-use-protein-powder/)

Welcome to 5.14 Fitness,


Whilst nosing about doing so research online I stumbled upon this website and in particular this page, so I hope you find it as useful as I do, it answers a lot of questions in ways that I could not think to word them, http://dailyburn.com/life/health/how-to-use-protein-powder/:


Walk into any gym nowadays, and you’re just as likely to hear the rattling of a shaker bottle as the clanking of weights. Powders, bars and other supplements have become so ingrained in our culture that it’s hard to imagine not following up a great workout with a shake of some sort (and sometimes even mid-workout). Protein powder is, in many ways, leading the supplement charge. Created by various sources — from whey to soy to pea — and popping up everywhere you look — from GNC’s to neighborhood grocery stores — the popular supplement has cemented its place in our minds and in our diets.
Regardless of whether you’re an elite athlete or just a weekend warrior, chances are you have a tub of protein powder sitting somewhere in your house. At the very least, you’ve gulped down a shake at one point or another — maybe even a smoothie. But, do you really know what’s inside your protein powder or how it should be used to give you the biggest advantage and best results? To help you more effectively decide how, when and if you should use this supplement, we created this beginner guide, answering the most popular questions about protein powder.

Protein Powder Primer: The Whys and What’s

Many gym-goers grab a tub and start adding shakes to their diet without first considering why or if they need protein powder at all. As Brian St. Pierre, sports dietitian and nutrition coach at Precision Nutrition, puts it, the most obvious reason to supplement with protein powder is to reach your protein intake goal for the day. However, they aren’t absolutely needed. “If you can meet your protein needs with whole foods, that’s fine,” says St. Pierre. If you find yourself taking in a quality whole-food source of protein three to four times a day, generally a gram of protein per pound of body weight, you might not even need the powder fallback. But, when you’re crunched for time, protein supplements can be your biggest ally.
Although the labels may claim otherwise, the various tubs are more equal than you think. At the heart of all protein powders is just what one would assume (or hope) — protein — whether it’s from whey, hemp, soy, or elsewhere. Still, you might see terms like “hydrolyzed” and “cutting edge” to spruce up bottles. St. Pierre argues that the pursuit of better and faster digesting protein powders may be frivolous in the grand scheme of things (research agrees). “A lot of companies will push for getting you to pay big bucks for grass fed whey or cold-filtered whey,” St. Pierre says. “These could be things that make them better, but how much better is up for debate.”
RELATED: How to Choose the Best Protein Powder for You
So, if spending more doesn’t necessarily make a protein powder better, what should consumers look for when shopping the supplement aisle? St. Pierre recommends first looking for a reputable company that has good manufacturing practices (they’ll often advertise that on the label). He also suggests buyers vet out various products using third-party certifying brands like Informed Choice. Certifying companies buy actual products off of store shelves (just like a normal buyer) and run tests to make sure the bottle contains what the label advertises.
After narrowing your protein search down to a handful of brands, it’s time to investigate the nutritional facts. While the numbers and words may sound foreign, St. Pierre recommends just looking at a handful of characteristics. He likes a protein powder that is relatively low in fat and carbs.

When to Mix It Up

So, you’ve done your research and brought home a tub of high-quality protein powder. What now? Figuring out the best times to supplement can be difficult. Here are the two most common uses for protein powder during the day and specific applications for each.
1. Meal Replacement
When you’re rushing out the door late for work in the morning, the last thing you have time for is to make a quick breakfast to kickstart your day. That’s one scenario where protein shakes can come in handy. In general, St Pierre recommends adding in a source of vegetables, a serving or two of fruit and some healthy fats alongside a scoop or two of protein powder. In fact, he and the team at Precision Nutrition have coined a term for these massive meal-replacers — “super shakes.” These shakes can be used in place of a meal or in addition to a regular meal when trying to gain weight. Here’s their recommend recipe for both men and women:
Men2 scoops of protein powder
1-2 cups of vegetables (like spinach, which doesn’t affect the taste)
2 handfuls of fruit (fresh or frozen)
2 tablespoons of healthy fat (a nut butter or seed for example)
Mixer (almond milk, regular milk, water — your choice)
Women1 scoop of protein powder
1 cup of vegetables
1 handful of fruit
1 tablespoon of healthy fat
Mixer (almond milk, regular milk, water — your choice)
These recipes bring up another topic of concern — gender differences. Workout supplements are often viewed as a male-dominated industry, but protein powders are also effective for women. St. Pierre points out, however, that women have different nutritional needs than men. In general, they need less protein per pound of bodyweight (primarily due to differences in body composition). For that reason, St. Pierre initially recommends for females to use one scoop instead of two. However, he’s quick to admit that the “cut in half” lesson isn’t the definitive solution. “It’s not that women need exactly half as much as men…Ultimately, it’s just giving you a framework to start something. You can adjust it from there based on your needs,” says St. Pierre.
Gender differences aside, if these shakes are so nutrient-dense, why shouldn’t you just blend up a shaker bottle for each meal and ditch cooking (and dirty dishes) for good? St. Pierre cautions that although the shakes are great, they still aren’t the same as whole food. “There is more nutrients inherent to whole foods then there ever will be in a powder,” he says. You can also sometimes lose nutritional value drinking your nutrients and vitamins instead of eating them. For that reason, he recommends supplementing with no more than two shakes in one day (even that is pushing it). The key is to use shakes in a pinch and rely on whole food sources for the rest of your meals.
2. Post-Workout
With the advent of the post-workout window — a thin slice of time to intake nutrients after a workout for the biggest benefit — protein shakes and shaker bottles became a necessity for a gym trip. If you didn’t slug a shake before you walked out the door, the notion went, you were compromising recovery time and crippling the benefits you could reap from your workout. Protein supplementation post-workout has been shown to be beneficial, particularly in helping individuals recover after a tough session and potentially increase muscle and strength gain. However, the post-exercise window may have been a bit overblown. St. Pierre acknowledges that post-workout nutrition is important but not as much as you may have previously thought. “Basically, it’s not a bad thing to have a shake right after you work out, but you don’t have to” he explains “Don’t drive yourself crazy thinking that you’ve wasted a workout because you didn’t have a shake right after working out.”.
So, how should post-workout shakes fit into your nutrition? It’s really up to personal preference. Previously, protein shakes were thought to digest faster in the stomach than whole foods providing muscle-building nutrients to the recovering muscles quicker. St. Pierre explains that new research indicates this isn’t the case. Now, he advises clients use whatever is most convenient. “If you want to have a shake, that’s cool. If you want to make a whole food meal, that’s more than OK, too. Either approach is valid, so it’s personal preference,” says the coach. Stomach sensitivity may also play a role as well. Some individuals have a harder time taking in whole food directly after a workout. In those cases, a shake would be a proper substitution to get in a quick dose of protein.
Protein powders have seemingly become a necessity for an active lifestyle right alongside high-tech fitness trackers and cutting-edge footwear. Although protein shakes may be a convenient way to take in calories, it doesn’t mean that they’re always the best option. Whole food sources are still your best bet for getting vital nutrients. The takeaway is to build your diet with a base of solid food and use protein powder as a — you guessed it — supplement when it’s healthy and convenient.
To try Fuel-6 protein powder, head to store.dailyburn.com.


So this is now my content again, please tell me if you like me to show you more useful resources I will start to build a compilation, thanks for reading all following is returned remember any comments are appreciated greatly- work hard and peace!


Jason

Wednesday 10 December 2014

Press Ups (and their variations )

Press Ups





Press ups one of my absolute favourite exercises, similar to sit-ups, they can be done almost anywhere  (however, I prefer to my press ups on surface with some resistance like a carpet, due to the fact that it stops you from slipping about as much) . They are one of the best ways strengthening many muscles in the upper body, this is probably why they are so popular and well known. Primarily they improve your definition in yours arms, but like all weight free exercises they take a lot time to make any real . This is because you are doing a simple movement with no added resistance to the muscles (weights) so you are only moving you body mass worth of resistance.


Press ups are great for working many parts of the upper body, again this is partly why they take a long time to see any results as all the weight is spread across these muscles. The muscles that press ups work include:
  • Pectoralis major
  • Deltoids
  • Triceps brachii
  • Serratus anterior
  • Abdominal muscles
  • Coracobrachialis


  • So as you can see press ups are a good way to get toned as they work many muscles with a light weight so it burns a lot of fat in these areas. Sport stars also do press ups as they strengthen the upper body adding to weight and power, which will help the performance of the competitors


    How to do a push up


    There are types of push up related exercises you need to be able to do in order to perform and do push ups and there variations at a workout level.
    1. The first: (I know it can be sexist to say, but it is simply what I have learnt it as and it is traditionally the female version of the exercise) The Girl Push Up or The Knee Push Up. For this exercise you simply get down on to your hands and knees, with your legs crossed and feet elevated in the air. Next you bend your arms and gradually lower your self down and back up, if you cannot go back up yet do not get put off, keep practising and it will come.
    2. Once you have mastered the first stage and can do about 25 reps, you should move on to a elevated push up. This is the same motion but only standing, leaning forwards, with your hand on an elevated surface such as a park bench instead of the floor. Again bend you arms, lower yourself and attempt to go up and down, if you cannot get up just go as far as you can.
    3. The final stage is a full press up its self, you then go to the floor after mastering the second step, get into the first position but extend your legs back and keep your feet on the floor. You then lower your self up and down by bending your arms.
    Tips


    A few tips I would recommend would be to work on form rather than speed, it would be better to do 5 really good push ups than 25 rushed ones. Essentially this means get your feet central, back straight, go nose to the floor, keep shoulders square and lower your self evenly. Another tips would be lots of low sets are best for building size, I intend to hold a push for about 2-3 seconds.


    Variations


    • Triangle base- hand form a triangle shape and are played under belly button on the floor. These target the triceps a lot more and are a lot more difficult to complete
    • Single hand (supported and unsupported)- move the arm doing the push up directly under the opposing arms shoulder and grab the wrist with free hand, then lower yourself spread legs wide for balance. For the unsupported method is the same other than the free hand on wrist, so all the weight is on that targeted arm. These add move weight to one arm as they are not having to share the weight.
    • Press ups and turn- after each push up rotate to one side, put one foot on top of the other and lift the arm on the same side as free leg into the air and extend other arm, then do the same on the other side. These add bulk to the exercise and work to tire the muscles further.


    This Post will also become added to the pages in the exercise series so be sure to check it out there for future reference.Thanks for reading, if your new or old please check out the older posts to see if there is anything you have missed or if something catches your eye. If you like what I am doing please drop a comment, plus one this post or the blog, add the blog to your reading this and follow me on google plus, if you have any suggestions or ideas do not hesitate to contact me or leave a comment.  More posts coming soon so please read again - work hard and peace!

    Jason

    My weight loss journey - Insanity begginning

    Welcome to 5.14 fitness,

    This post is the second in which I talk about my journey from being very fat , to just the right weight. I went from a BMI of 27 to 19.8 in two years, and so have gone from very overweight to below normal weight. I can not really determine an exact time when I lost it all, but will tell you everything I did.

    If you haven't read my introduction to this, then please do so- as it might really help you.
    Carrying on from my last post, I was at the beginning of my journey, and I had just discovered about Insanity: the workout DVD that really packed a punch. I was ready to go, start this exercise daily, and get fit,however; I had to cross a bridge that was difficult to get across. I had already managed to overcome the laziness and disbelief, and decided to do the workout. Now I had to tell everyone else I was doing it...

    This may not be the same for you, but I live in a family where I feel embarrassed quite easily. I have two sisters who will tease me, and a dad who will tease the most. Despite the fact it was my family, I did not know how to tell them I wanted to do Insanity. I felt to embarrassed to say so, and really didn't know the reaction that will happen. For me, it took a lot of guts to go and tell them.
    So this is how I did it: my sisters were doing some dance video in the lounge, it was some sort of fitness DVD for dancers.  I was lucky, because this meant someone else was doing what I wanted to do- so I wasn't alone.
    Just to add, I was going to do Insanity in my living room, as that is the only space big enough in my house to do it.
    Anyway, I suggested I wanted to do Insanity, and went and did the first episode ( the test ) with my sister. Surprisingly, I started doing Insanity without anyone really asking me why or teasing me about it. This was really good as it made me relaxed when doing it, and now I had started, I couldn't bail out.

    So Inanity is about £100 and you get about 10 DVDS in the pack, as well as free gifts and bonus videos. Despite this, I decided not to pay £100 , and streamed the videos on my laptop, which I then plugged into the TV. This meant I got it for free, and all I did was type which Insanity video I wanted into Google.
    Here what the creator of Insanity, Shaun T, says about it:

    When I created the INSANITY workout, I knew it would produce insane results in 60 days, but I wasn't sure if anyone 
    was brave enough to try it. Turns out...there are a lot of crazy people out there. Crazy enough to actually enjoy doing 
    the world's most insanely tough workout. To like the feeling of being drenched in sweat...of going balls-to-the-wall for 
    a full 45 minutes of muscle-searing exercise. Is INSANITY hard? Oh, yeah. It really IS the hardest workout ever put on DVD. It's totally crazy...but it's going to get you crazy-good results.


    I started Insanity with a fit test, where you jot down various result to see what kind of fitness level you are at. Things like push ups and so on. I performed these quite badly the fist time, but I may have done better, as I had no other results to compare mine with. 
    After the fit test, I had the first day of high- interval training to complete. It was going to be tough, and it was going to hurt. But I was going to do it...

    Next post - my first week at Insanity

    Thank for reading, please subscribe and like (we will like and subscribe back) . Thanks again and peace!


    Tuesday 9 December 2014

    Why We Need To Know How To Size Down

    Welcome to 5.14 Fitness,




    So this post is again to be on something that I have not really touched on before: sizing down. We spend all our time trying to get bigger and stronger, but when do we want to get smaller and weaker.


    Why do we want to put on size? To make us look more aesthetically appealing or attractive. To get stronger to be able to perform better in sports or activities. It could also be a pass time hobby, some people exercise or try to get bigger simply because they enjoy the challenge.


    How do we put on size? We lift heavy weights, doing many sets of  low reps. This works on power as the muscles are being asked repeatedly to explode against a heavy resistance. We also eat lots of high calorie foods to provide us with the energy and fuel that our muscles require to grow and complete the exercises set.


    So why am I talking about sizing down? How could this ever be desirable? Have you ever seen an sport star that has retired and has got fat? Examples lots of (real) footballers such as Alan Brasil or Paul Mercer others include a lot of former American footballers or rugby player, boxers etc. It is often sport stars that relied on power and required size to perform to their maximum throughout their career.


    It is often the case that if you do not size down efficiently after you have finished with body building you will get fat. And you will have to stop body building at one stage for one reason or another; whether it be old age or injury etc. So to be able to size down properly, you need to have practised. You need to have the knowledge to be able to work down and cut down on size.


    In the next posts to follow, I will explain exactly how to size down. Check the pages for some new ones as I am also planning to add some more parts the series I have started. Remember to check out other posts, all following is returned, please plus 1 and add the blog to your reading list. In addition all comments and suggestions are appreciated. Thanks for reading please come again- work hard and peace!


    Jason

    Monday 8 December 2014

    My weight loss journey - introduction and beginning

    Welcome to 5.14 fitness,

    Today's post is the start of a few that chronicle how I lost  a lot of weight over the past couple of years. I thought that writing this down would give those who want to lose weight a look at what really happens to an everyday guy - not some body-builder who 'claims'  he lost 10 kg in 1 month, This is really for anybody who wants to see a genuine weight loss journey, what I did, and how I did it.  This is real, and is not fake. Just to add, I did not go on a diet at all through this process.

    To begin with, I will give a low down on what happened. About two years ago, I was very overweight, and did not look good at all. I was definitely 'fat', and I had a very big belly that you could see in whatever I was wearing. I would say my BMI was around 27, which is quite deeply in the overweight category , and 3 away from obese.
    Over the next two years, I did more exercise, eat more healthily , and now I am a lot different.

    To start with it, I am now at a normal weight, and I have a flat belly, as opposed to the big belly I had before. I now have a BMI of 19.8, which is a vast improvement from 27 or so. I now need to put on more weight to become healthier, and my BMI is in the low end of normal weight, which is very good.
    I am now bombarded with people telling me how thin I have become, and demanding I tell them how I became "so thin" . Personally, I feel they over- exaggerate a bit, but I am very self concious so I Ill never really know.  There are still some people out there who call me fat, but all of them are people who knew me back then. Maybe they are still trying to use the leverage they used to have over me, or maybe they are just trying to make me feel like I have made no progress.
    Nevertheless, I know, and I am constantly told, that I have lost a lot of weight, and the facts back up the point that I am now at a very healthy weight.

    So, there was a bit of information about how I was then, and how I am now. The change was quite big, and , to be honest , there was not a certain thing that I did that was the reason I lost the weight. In other words, I cant find out what really made me lose weight, but I will tell you everything that I did. There was also never a time that I realised I was not fat any more- it was a very gradual process.

    The first thing I did was gather hope. I had been on diets before, and they had never worked. I had cut off from chocolate for 4 months ( God knows how I did it ), and that did not work. So I knew I had to do more than just eat better- I needed to go be active. I needed to get up and do some exercise- whether it was strenuous or not. I needed to eat healthier food, not eat less.
    So hope was key in spurring me to do these things. I need determination, something that would let me believe that I could do it - I could lose weight. This epiphany came to me whilst I was watching TV, and I saw some Teleshopping. A workout DVD was being advertised, and it persuaded me easily to go and start it. It gave me promises, that I would lose weight by the end of it. It gave me a clear view of what I would be doing. It also could be done in my house, which was the only place in which I had room to do exercise. Outside, the world was there and people I knew- so I didn't want to start jogging or cycling.. The workout DVD offered everything I wanted- results, weight loss , and the feel good factor.

    This workout DVD was about to change my life, and cause me to start losing weight and becoming healthy. It would take up an hour of my day, everyday. This workout DVD was "Insanity".
    Insanity is the name of the DVD, and it involved two months of incredibly high intensity exercise- hence the name.

    In the next post, I will carry on my journey, and tell you all about insanity and what happened whilst I was doing it.



    Thank for reading, please subscribe and like (we will like and subscribe back) . Thanks again and peace!


    Saturday 6 December 2014

    Eating To Suit Your Needs

    Welcome to 5.14 Fitness,







    So over the last few weeks I have been suffering from a touch of what is internationally renowned as Man Flu , consequently I went to see a doctor just as a precautionary measure to be prescribed with medicine etc.  However, I was told simply to eat oranges as these were the best things for some one in my position ( they contain a lot of vitamins with will help fight the cold ); and this got me thinking...




    We need to eat to help us perform the activities/tasks that we do as it provides us with energy that we need to: move and to think.


    So if I was a long distance runner why would I eat fatty foods? Correction ideally I would not eat a lot of this food group. What is the point. I am a long distance runner which means I need lots of slow releasing energy to help me run for a long period of time; it also means I need to thin and light in order to be able to run with as little resistance as possible, this is what is meant by optimum weight (see previous post on body types for more detail). Fatty foods, as you might have guessed are high in fat, which again is common knowledge that the more fat you consume the fatter and heavier you become, however as we have established you need to light to be a long distance runner so this is no use for me.


    In fact the ideal food for a person who does long distance running is something like pasta or cereals as they contain lots of carbohydrates which do release energy slowly for a long period of time. Therefore carbohydrates are ideal for long distance running or any sport that requires muscular endurance or cardio vascular fitness as they are perfect for, to put it simply, keeping you going.


    The moral of this post is to think carefully about your activities/lifestyle and diet to see if they match. Think about what skills are required for your sport and see what food group/groups provide the best answers to your tasks. A model for this is a car: you need to find the right fuel to put inside your car, there is no point in putting petrol in a diesel car after all. So your sport would be the car and the fuel is food, make sure you pick the right fuel. This is proven to improve your sporting performance as you have all the correct nurturance to do what you need to do.


    Thanks for reading, if your new or old please check out the older posts to see if there is anything you have missed or if something catches your eye. If you like what I am doing please drop a comment, plus one this post or the blog, add the blog to your reading this and follow me on google plus, if you have any suggestions or ideas do not hesitate to contact me or leave a comment.  More posts coming soon so please read again - work hard and peace!

    Jason
     
         

    Friday 5 December 2014

    Article- Does Exercise Really Make Us Smarter?

    Welcome to 5.14 fitness, 
    I came across an article when surfing the web which really caught my attention. It debates and answers the question that is - does exercise help us become smarter? I thought I would share it with you- as it is very interesting to read.   The article comes from the New York Times, as part of the 'well' section. 
    Enjoy!
    Exercise seems to be good for the human brain, with many recent studies suggesting that regular exercise improves memory and thinking skills. But an interesting new study asks whether the apparent cognitive benefits from exercise are real or just a placebo effect — that is, if we think we will be “smarter” after exercise, do our brains respond accordingly? The answer has significant implications for any of us hoping to use exercise to keep our minds sharp throughout our lives.
    In experimental science, the best, most reliable studies randomly divide participants into two groups, one of which receives the drug or other treatment being studied and the other of which is given a placebo, similar in appearance to the drug, but not containing the active ingredient.
    Placebos are important, because they help scientists to control for people’s expectations. If people believe that a drug, for example, will lead to certain outcomes, their bodies may produce those results, even if the volunteers are taking a look-alike dummy pill. That’s the placebo effect, and its occurrence suggests that the drug or procedure under consideration isn’t as effective as it might seem to be; some of the work is being done by people’s expectations, not by the medicine.
    Recently, some scientists have begun to question whether the apparently beneficial effects of exercise on thinking might be a placebo effect. While many studies suggest that exercise may have cognitive benefits, those experiments all have had a notable scientific limitation: They have not used placebos.
    This issue is not some abstruse scientific debate. If the cognitive benefits from exercise are a result of a placebo effect rather than of actual changes in the brain because of the exercise, then those benefits could be ephemeral and unable in the long term to help us remember how to spell ephemeral.
    Studying this issue, however, is difficult. There is no placebo for exercise and no way to blind people about whether they are exercising. They know if they are walking or cycling or not.
    So researchers at Florida State University in Tallahassee and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign came up with a clever workaround. They decided to focus on expectations, on what people anticipate that exercise will do for thinking. If people’s expectations jibe closely with the actual benefits, then at least some of those improvements are probably a result of the placebo effect and not of exercise.
    The scientists had seen this situation at work during an earlier study of video games and cognition. Past research had suggested that playing action-oriented video games improves players’ subsequent thinking skills. But when scientists in the new study asked video-game players to estimate by how much the games would improve their thinking, the players’ estimates almost exactly matched the gains seen on cognitive tests after playing. In other words, the cognitive benefits of playing video games appear to be largely a result of a placebo effect.
    For the new study, which was published last month in PLOS One, the researchers repeated this experiment but focused on exercise. Recruiting 171 people through an online survey system, they asked half of these volunteers to estimate by how much a stretching and toning program performed three times a week might improve various measures of thinking, including memory and mental multitasking.
    The other volunteers were asked the same questions, but about a regular walking program.
    In actual experiments, stretching and toning regimens generally have little if any impact on people’s cognitive skills. Walking, on the other hand, seems to substantially improve thinking ability.
    But the survey respondents believed the opposite, estimating that the stretching and toning program would be more beneficial for the mind than walking. The volunteers’ estimates of the likely cognitive improvements from gentle toning averaged about a three on a scale from one to six. The estimates of benefits from walking were lower.
    These data, while they do not involve any actual exercise, are good news for people who do exercise. “The results from our study suggest that the benefits of aerobic exercise are not a placebo effect,” said Cary Stothart, a graduate student in cognitive psychology at Florida State University, who led the study.
    If expectations had been driving the improvements in cognition seen in studies after exercise, Mr. Stothart said, then people should have expected walking to be more beneficial for thinking than stretching. They didn’t, implying that the changes in the brain and thinking after exercise are physiologically genuine.
    Of course, this study was small and involved a self-selected group of people who happen to like completing online surveys. Some said they exercised, others said they did not. None claimed to be familiar with the science related to exercise and the brain, but it is impossible to know if people were being forthright.
    Still, the findings are strong enough to suggest that exercise really does change the brain and may, in the process, improve thinking, Mr. Stothart said. That conclusion should encourage scientists to look even more closely into how, at a molecular level, exercise remodels the human brain, he said. It also should spur the rest of us to move, since the benefits are, it seems, not imaginary, even if they are in our head.
    Thank for reading, please subscribe and like (we will like and subscribe back) . Thanks again and hope you enjoyed the article!

    Tuesday 2 December 2014

    30 day workout- rest of week

    Welcome to 5.14 fitness,

    HI, today I am posting about the rest of the 30 day workout. If you do not know what I am talking about, the check out the previous post all about it.
    This post will round up the workout plan, and give the full plan at the end.

    For Friday, I repeat the Monday workout , as it works the chest, arms , abs and shoulders. It is a good all-round workout, and it is my favourite out of all the workouts. I do the workout the same as I do it on the Monday.
    For Saturday, I repeat the Tuesday workout,however; sometimes I can be quite busy on a Saturday, in which case, I do it on the Sunday.

    So there it is- the full workout plan for the month. I will post weekly about how the plan is going, as I am in the second week at the moment. I can see results in my abs already, although I might just be imagining it! The plan should be done 5 or 6 times a week, but doing it for 5 is fine- the plan on bodybuilding.com does actually say to do so.
    Remember to do cardio for 6 days, whether it is just walking or running.

    So here is the full plan-

    Monday:

    Abdominals:
    Long arm crunch
    3 sets, 12 reps

    Reverse crunch
    3 sets, 12 reps

    Janda sit up
    3 sets, 12 reps

    Jackknife
    3 sets, 12 reps

    Extended plank
    3 sets 45 seconds

    Rest of workout:


    Dumbbell bench press:
    3 sets, 20 reps , 60 second rest
    Incline Dumbbell press:
    3 sets, 20 reps, 60 seconds rest
    Bench dip:
    4 sets to failure, 60 second rest
    Seated Bent-Over Rear Delt Raise:
    4 sets, 15 reps, 90 second rest

    Tuesday:

    Abdominals:
    Long arm crunch
    3 sets, 12 reps

    Reverse crunch
    3 sets, 12 reps

    Janda sit up
    3 sets, 12 reps

    Jackknife
    3 sets, 12 reps

    Extended plank
    3 sets 45 seconds

    Rest of workout:

    Dumbbell bent over row
    4 sets, 12 reps, 1 minute rest

    Bench press
    3 sets, 20 reps, 1 minute rest

    Straight arm dumbbell pullover
    3 sets, 12 reps, 45 second rest

    Dumbbell shrug
    4 sets, 12 reps, 30 second rest

    Wednesday:

    Abdominals:
    Long arm crunch
    3 sets, 12 reps

    Reverse crunch
    3 sets, 12 reps

    Janda sit up
    3 sets, 12 reps

    Jackknife
    3 sets, 12 reps

    Extended plank
    3 sets 45 seconds

    Rest of workout:

    Bench press
    3 sets, 20 reps, 1 minute rest

    Bench dips
    4 sets to failure, 60 second rest

    Hammer curls
    3 sets, 12 reps, 60 second rest

    Preacher curls
    3 sets, 12 reps, 60 second rest

    Thursday:

    Abdominals:
    Long arm crunch
    3 sets, 12 reps

    Reverse crunch
    3 sets, 12 reps

    Janda sit up
    3 sets, 12 reps

    Jackknife
    3 sets, 12 reps

    Extended plank
    3 sets 45 seconds

    Rest of workout:

    Bench press
    3 sets, 20 reps, 1 minute rest

    Dumbbell squats
    3 sets , 15 reps,  60 second rest

    Flat bench lying leg raise
    3 sets, 15 reps, 60 second rest

    Incline dumbbell press
    3 sets, 20 reps, 60 second rest

    Friday:

    Repeat Monday workout.

    Saturday:

    Repeat Tuesday workout

    Sunday:

    Rest day



    Thank for reading, please subscribe and like (we will like and subscribe back) . Thanks again and peace!