5 ways to reduce the effect of DOMS

Introduction

In my experience DOMS (short for Delayed Onset Muscular Soreness), is one of the most common factors that stop many newbies from achieving their training and transformation goals.

Usually, one of two things happen. The trainee dramatically reduces their training output, resulting in the individual not getting a great enough stimulus to force the body to adapt, or they quit training altogether.

Is training always going to make me sore BC?

Not necessarily. After the initial adaptation phase, which can last between 2-3 weeks (everyone is different), your body will start to get used to the new stimulus and you wont ache so much.

This is the main reason for starting out with a gradual progressive program that is intelligently personalised to your individual ability.

If you throw yourself into a training program that a friend or colleague has shown or told you about (or even worse, that you've found online), you're asking for trouble. Doing this could result in injury or in the best case scenario, serious DOMS.

So BC, How do I start?

The first thing that you should do is to consult a professional trainer. This seems obvoius but many try the DIY approach and either fail or get injured.

Basic Human Movements
1- Squat/Lunge
2- Press up (Push)
3- Bodyweight Row (Pull)
4- Good morning  (Hip Hinge)
5- Plank (Core stabilising)

In my opinion, if you can't perform the basic human movements, then you have no business doing any resistance machines or free weights which leads me nicely into my first way to reduce DOMS.

1-Don't run before you can walk

If you can't perform the exercises above then stop trying to do fancy kettlebell exercises,  body pump, spinning classes and the latest fad class that involves sprinting backward on a fitball in a studio that looks like a disco with the heating on 100 degrees (Ok, maybe I got a bit carried away there but you get the point).

2- A car wont run on water alone

If your nutrition is not on point you will recover more slowly. Fact... When you finish your workout you need protein and a moderate amount of carbohydrates.

I recommend that my clients eat a balanced meal of a good quality protein source, some vegetables and a decent serving of carbohydrates (all of which should come from single ingredient food items). The second best option is to take a good quality protein shake to help get these nutrients in if a lack of time/preparation is an issue.

This healthy meal should be consumed within 90 minutes after the workout to further aid the recovery process.

3- We heal in our sleep

You should be aiming to get between 7-8 hours of sleep each night. When you sleep, your body is working overtime to help your fatigued muscles to grow and repair.

Also as a side note, if you are aiming to lose fat, your body uses fat as its main source of energy when you are sleeping. If you want to get leaner or stay lean then make sure you get your sleep dialed in each night.

4- When your sore, train more

Now I don't mean that I want you to anihilate yourself when you're already in pain however, active recovery is a viable way to help your aching muscles recover. Think of it this way, blood carries nutrients and oxygen around your body (both of which help you to recover faster).

The most essential nutrient that you need to recover is protein. Protein's job is to help the cells of your body to grow and reapir. This includes your hair, nails, skin and not forgetting your muscle fibres.

Back to active recovery though, my favorite way to implement active recovery is to just move. Go for a swim, a bike ride, a walk, play a sport or use a rowing machine. The options are endless but just move. If you stay still you'll stiffen up and heal slower.

5- Eat some cherries. Yes Cherries!

Consuming a couple of handfulls of cherries after you train can help to reduce the effects of DOMS. Cherries contain a nutrient called anthocyanin which helps to increase the amount of oxygen that goes to your muscles. This will promote faster recovery and as an added benefit, the carbohydrates within the cherries will help to shuttle protein to your muscles faster because when your body is in an insulin sensitive state (post training) the glycogen from the cherries will be sucked away from your fat cells and directly into the muscles that you have just finished training.

Summary

So there we have it, 5 ways to reduce the effects of DOMS. Don't go mad when you first start training. If your experienced in training already and you still get sore try some of the above tips and you'll be sure to speed up your recovery process.

Feel free to post any questions, comments or feedback below. Let me know of any topics that you want me to discuss and I'll be sure to consider them for futere blog posts.

Stay strong, be healthy and help others. 

BC

There's more to Personal Training than Grueling Workouts

Introduction

When I first started Personal Training (Over 16 years ago) I wanted to help my clients to exercise safely, make their training more effective with the new knowledge that I had gained for my personal training courses and help them to improve thier lives in the fastest possible time. I had no idea at that time, the knowledge I had gained wouldn't come close to preparing me for the job that I had ahead of me. 

The lessons that I have learned over the last 16 years have completely changed the way that I think about training and life.

"The best way to learn is to teach." Frank Oppenheimer

When I qualified I passed all of my exams with the best possible grades, flying colours you might say. You could even say that at the time I was a little big headed about my latest achievement and even though on paper I was a qualified PT and had many years of training myself under my belt, in reality I was still an 18 year old young man who had no experience in working with the public or helping people achieve their personal goals.

Time to Grow

Over time I improved my people skills, my business skills and the ability to research newly released training data on the most effective methods to help my clients improve both safely and quickly. This personal growth turned into increased PT sales, improved relationships with current clients and an authenticity that can't be faked by just a good sales person. I have and always will practice what I preach meaning, if I ask you to do it, you can bet that I will have practiced the new exercise technique, intricate details of an exercise (a different way of doing the same exercise) or dietary method many times before I ever mention it. 

The clients that I train and the great results that my clients get, allowed my confidence to grow. I was no longer big headed about how good I thought I was. I have improved with the understanding that I will never have learned it all but the self-assurance that I can help the vast majority of clients to be physically more advanced and have a better education in nutritional techniques to achieve many different goals.

"The more you learn, the more you'll realise how little you know." Joe Abercrombie

I am always humble about the results my clients get and I make a point of giving them any credit for the results that they achieve. I am only a guide on their journey and the client is the person who must walk the path to the top of the mountain. I feel an overwhelming sense of pride when my clients break through their training, nutrition and self-development goals.

Training isn't always the answer!

Sometimes the right thing to do when trying to keep your clients on track, is to not train them (hear me out before you get out the torches). I have had many clients over the years that have come to their training session in no fit state to train down to personal circumstances (sometimes out of their control and sometimes within their control). 

It could be one of a many different reasons that prevent them from being able to train and in my sessions, if you aren't in the right frame of mind to train, you shouldn't train (risk vs reward must be in favour of reward). I have taken clients out for a walk or just found a quiet space for them to vent, cry or shout in these circumstances.

Short term, this may not contribute to a client achieving their goals on this given day but in the long term, if life situations gets ontop of them, this can hold back their training more than missing a day of training. Sometimes taking a small step backwards to allow for future steps forwards is a necessary action. 

Different Perspective

I have a different perspective on this subject to many trainers. Too many trainers believe that their job is simply to train and advise their clients and when the hour is up the client isn't thier problem until the next session. Sadly, this is all too common. The trainers I have known over the years with this attitude don't stay in this industry for long. I am fortunate to have been in the presence on a regular basis of a diverse and intelligent group of PT's that share similar views to myself (Iron sharpens Iron!).

More than a Personal Trainer

The thing that they don't teach you when you are learning to become a PT however, is that as a PT, you are obliged to do whatever it takes to get your clients to stay on track. This is where I believe many fall short on service to their clients.

Whether you like it or not, you will build up a relationship with each and every individual client that you train and on top of a trainer, you will become a friend, counselor, roll model and a pillar of support for some if not all of your clients. There is so much more to being PT than gruelling workouts, diet advice and a few scripted encouraging words.

Please feel free to add in anything that you feel I have missed out in the comments below. I would love to hear your comments on your own PT experiences.

Until next time, be healthy, stay strong and enjoy life.

BC

Resolutions- How to stay on track

Introduction

Setting your resolutions for new year is the easy part but staying on the right path to achieve them is slightly more challenging. I want to share with you an easy technique that will almost guarantee success in whatever you goals are.

This technique can be applied to almost every aspect of life from training to nutrition, business, friends and family. The technique is so simple that it almost doesn't seem worth talking about at first glance but if you read this article the whole way through, you'll see that it is worth your investment of time.

Staying on track

Take care of the day, don't look too far ahead at your end goal. Now this seems a very simplistic approach to achieving your goals and aspirations but it is very relevant. Most people will be so fixated on their long term goals that they don't look after today. In order to achieve your goals you will need to set yourself micro goals. Micro goals are daily tasks that you will need to complete in order to keep you moving forwards.

An example of this from a nutrition perspective is to concentrate on each individual meal. Yes, you have a certain number of calories and percentage of macros to achieve each day but the end figure is a result of each individual meal being on the right track.

A second example of taking care of the day from a business perspective is to know what individual tasks you need to do today that will help you to achieve your long term goals and success. It is no good concentrating on your long or medium term goals if you haven't addressed the tasks that need to be done today in order to get you to your medium and long term goals.

A third and final example from a family perspective is to make time in your schedule to do things together each day. If you have children and you are reading this then please don't miss the daily opportunities that are right in front of you slip away without enjoying them. You will already know that your children grow up so fast and before you know it they wont be dependant on you anymore. Nothing is as important as your relationships with each other because after all, life isn't all about how much money you earn (although money is relevant in this day and age), or the latest gadgets or designer clothes (which are a nice luxury but they aren't a necessity), it's about having a positive impact on the people that you really care about, it's about giving to others without the expectation of receiving anything back in return and its about showing your love for the people in your life that mean the most to you every single day.

Summary

In summary, you should create a list of daily tasks to complete that will help you to achieve your long and medium term goals. If you work on today, tomorrow will be a little brighter, you'll never lose momentum and you'll stay on track to not only achieve your goals but to surpass them. Make sure that you the take time to spend with the people who you care for the most each day.

Until next time, look after the day and each other.

BC

Get through Christmas without feeling like you've blown your diet & training

Introduction

During the Christmas period many people that are health conscious, exercise regularly and pay attention to their dietary requirements worry about what they are going to do on Christmas day itself. Some questions that you may find yourself asking are;

Am I going to blow all of the hard work that I've put in over the year on Christmas day by not sticking to my diet? 

Is my body fat or physique going to change for the worse by not sticking to my diet on Christmas day? 

What things can I do on Christmas day that will help me to counteract some of the bad food that I will inevitably eat?

Tip Number 1- Relax

On Christmas day the best thing that you can do is to just enjoy the day for what it is. Christmas day is about spending time with family, friends, and loved ones. If you don't eat perfectly on this one particular day, it is not going to negatively affect all of the hard work that you have put in over the last year.

Instead, focus on enjoying the little time you have with the people that you care about most. You will be able to resume your diet on Boxing Day or the day after and you will quickly realise, that there was no need to worry in the first place.

Planning for days like this is part of a healthy lifestyle. I would however recommend, that in the week leading up to Christmas that you are particularly clean with your diet in order to counteract the bad foods that you will inevitably eat on the day, which is fine by the way.

Tip 2 - Don't be inactive

Instead of lounging around in the morning, once you have exchanged gifts with your family and friends, take the children over to a park for them and you to burn off some energy, go for a bike ride on that new bike that you may have gotten, you could take the dog for a walk, or you could follow a local trail for gentle morning stroll. Just try to keep active (it doesn't need to be intense)as this will help to reduce snacking between meals. If you aren't at home in front of temptation you won't be tempted. Another plus for being active is that you can counterbalance some of the excess calories before you eat or drink them.

Tip 3 -Go easy on alcohol

Whilst we may enjoy a drink at this festive time of year, try not to go mad with alcohol on Christmas day. I'm not saying that you shouldn't have a drink or two or even three over the period of the day but I would recommend that you don't go overboard. Remebmer that balance is a key factor in living a healthy and happy life.

It works both ways, you don't want to live a life that involves you getting completely drunk, eating processed unhealthy foods every day and you don't want to completely abstain from ever eating anything that isn't good for you as this would make life boring and is an unrealistic expectation.

Summary

These three tips should help to put your mind at ease as we are heading into the last few weeks before Christmas. Keep thing's clean with your diet these coming weeks and then enjoy your time with friends, family and loved ones this Christmas. 

Do some gentle exercise even if it's just going for a stroll in the morning and don't go over the top with alcohol.

I hope that all of my readers have an amazing Christmas this year and I look forward to writing my next blog after the big day.

Stay strong, be happy and have fun.

BC

5 convenient and healthy snack ideas

Introduction

Finding a convenient and healthy snack nowadays can be hard if you don't know what you are looking for. Our newsagents and supermarkets are full of sugary, processed and bad fat containing items. There are a handful of farm shops and stores that do cater for the health concious and there are options within your local supermarkets and convenience stores that you can select if you know what to look out for.

So, what should I look out for?

Let's define the word snack to start with. "A snack is a portion of food, smaller than a regular meal, generally eaten between meals."

Usually when we talk about a snack a person that is not health concious may think of a chocolate bar, a packet of crisps or maybe a biscuit. A health concious person may think of a piece of fruit, a cereal bar or a smoothie drink.

Noticed the pattern?

If not, have you fallen into this trap before yourself?

Education is key in making better choices 

Over the years I have noticed this pattern emerging time and time again from my own clients. When you mention a snack the majority will suggest a carbohydrate source. The only trouble with this is that when you consume a carbohydrate at the wrong times of the day, your body can potentially be insulin resistant.

What does that mean?

Insulin resistance is when your body doesn't absorb the carbohydrates into the muscle storage sites all over your body, but rather shuttles the carbohydrates towards the fat cells.

For snacking at least, I prefer to advise my clients to eat items that have low or no carbs in them and lean towards healthy fats or protein as a more healthy option.

Let's talk about fat

Items that are higher in fat can be a great option for snacking because fats cause no insulin response. Insulin is released by the pancreas when we consume carbohydrates. Insulin makes glycogen form carbohydrates which is the only source of carbohydrate that can be stored in our body. The glycogen is then shuttled into our muscles or fat cells depending on whether we are insulin resistant or insulin sensitive ready to use when we move our body for both exercise and day to day chores or to store as fat for a later date.

Nuts

Nuts are a great snack option for most (as long as you aren't allergic to them). They are full of healthy fatty acids, vitamins, protein and fibre. This snack will keep you feeling fuller for longer than a carbohydrate based snack. Just be careful not to over eat them. As with all fat based foods, they tend to be high in calories Vs other lower fat options like lean meats, protein bars and eggs to name a few.

Coconut

Coconut is also a great snack option because it contains MCFA's (Medium Chain Fatty Acids) and these fatty acids are easier to digest than LCFA's (Long Chain Fatty Acids). They are not readily stored within your fat cells and they are processed by the liver, which means that they are immediately converted to energy and they aren't stored in excess.

Cottage Cheese

Cottage cheese has proven health benefits that include a good supply of protein, B vitamins, healthy fats and it has also been proven to lower the risk of developing breast cancer cells. If you aren't eating cottage cheese and you aren't lactose intolerant, maybe you should consider adding it into your weekly menu.

Home made protein bars

Home made protein bars are easy to make and they are convenient to carry with you during the day. They can be made in under 5 minutes using certain recipes. There are lots of recipes online and video tutorials on YouTube that can be followed. The biggest benefit of making your own protein bars is that you know exactly what you are eating. Many shop bought bars contain words that most struggle to even pronounce. If you can't pronounce it you shouldn't eat in.

Avocado

Avocados are my last suggestion but they are definitely not my least favourite. They are packed with healthy fats that help to lower cholesterol and triglyceride's. They are high in fibre and low in carbohydrates and they contain more potassium than a banana. If you can eat them, you most certainly should.

Summary

So there we have it. My list of 5 healthy and convenient snacks that are full of goodness. If you want to find out more information about nutrition, training or you have an event coming up that you want to look and feel your best for feel free to send a message to Ben's PT Essex on Google and I will personally get in contact with you to offer my guidance. 

Stay strong and keep healthy

BC