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

Why should women lift weights?

Introduction

For fat loss and muscle tone at least, the thing that I hear many women ask is, "what's the best thing that I can do to achieve this goal?"

Is it cardio? Are classes better? How about abdominal training because thats the area I want to lose my 'weight' from?

STOP!!!

Allow me to shed some light on this topic;

1) Doing cardio alone will help you become smaller than you are (under the assumption that you are creating a calorie deficit with a combination of food and exercise) but that's all it will do! You won't look anymore toned, you won't necessarily be able to see shape on your abdomen and you will likely become what's know in the industry as skinny fat. You will become a smaller version of your not toned self unless you have exceptional genetics in terms of muscularity (which is uncommon).

2) Depending on the class, you could see a benefit if they incorporate some weights and HIIT training. Sorry guys but Zumba, Legs, bums and tums and yoga classes aren't going to help with the outlined goals of losing fat and achieving a more toned physique. 

If you do like the classes then do them but do them for fun, not for a specific training goal as they are generalized not designed specifically for you. I will always encourage keeping active and doing exercises that you enjoy. 

3) Training abdominals for fat loss without having a structured nutrition and resistance training plan in place is like having a large pizza to yourself with a salad on the side. Its pointless...

So how do ladies lose fat then?

Both the males and females burn fat and improve muscle tone by being in a deficit of calories and performing resistance exercise that allow you to grow or retain muscle whilst being in a calorie deficit.

The only difference being, that women naturally have higher estrogen levels than men, which can make it a little more difficult to achieve fat loss as fast as their male counterpart. It is still very achievable though and it can be done with a few little tricks.

There are three ways to burn fat

1) I'm going to sound like a broken record here.... Be in a calorie deficit!

2) Manage your insulin levels. Don't let them spike too sharply and try to keep them stable throughout the day.

3) Increase the size of your overall musculature.

How do we do that?

1) Simply burn more calories than you consume. There are lots of different ways to track this however, the easiest way is to just eat very slightly smaller portions and gently over a period of 2-3 week's increase your activity to 30-45 mins per day with 1 day per week of eating a little more than the other six. This allows for balance because you should have everything in moderation including moderation.

2) You stop your insulin levels from spiking by limiting the amount of processed foods that you consume, cutting sugar out of your diet and eating a variety of foods that have a low glycemic index whilst increasing your protein and healthy fat intake. Protein, fibre and fat cause no insulin response. You can consume your food in the order of veggies and salad, then protein followed by carbohydrate. This reduces the insulin spike from the carbohydrate, helps to manage your blood sugar levels and will balance out your hormones.

3)To build muscle, we need to have a training routine in place that is based around resistance training. Now that doesn't mean that you will end up looking like the hulk. In fact, this is a myth for most women (and most men quite frankly) and is very frustrating to those that know how hard it is to gain muscle without gaining too much fat.

One of my favourite analogies for using weight training to achieve fat loss is;

"If you put a steak onto the barbecue what happens? The steak goes from being soft and and large with a higher fat content, to the steak shrinking, getting firmer and the fat drips out."

This is what happens when you do weights. Your body will shrink because you'll lose fat and your muscles will become firmer and more toned. 

Having more muscle will speed up your metabolic rate (the number of calories that you burn each day) and maks it easier to achieve a deficit of calories.

Summary

When you combine the three methods above you will achieve a steady fat loss and long term success. There are many 'fad' diets out there that promise fast results and some do deliver what they say.

If you want long term fat loss and a toned physique, then follow the advise above and you'll be sure to make an improvement.

Always remember that when embarking on any exercise routine you should always have a health check with your doctor first and consult a trained professional who can advise you on how to safely perform the correct exercises to help you achieve your goals.

Stay strong, be happy and enjoy your journey.

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