Marie Writes (A Fitness Blog)

How To Structure Your Own Workout

Let me preface this by saying that, in order to get the most out of your workout it’s important to sit down with your coach or trainer, map out your goals, previous training experience, likes and dislikes, any injuries and formulate a suitable training plan that will get you results. However, this is just a short, step-by-step guide to provide a foundation that will help you get started.

Goals

First and foremost, what are you looking to achieve? Do you want to get stronger? Faster? Do you want to gain muscle? Lose weight? For examples sake, let’s assume our client wants to lose weight aka fat loss, ‘tone’ up a bit, get a bit of definition in her shoulders and legs. Sounds good? Let’s move on.

Training Experience

Is this the first time our client has ever stepped in a gym? Or are they an elite athlete? Maybe they’ve had experience before but took some time off of the gym and wanted to get back into it. In this case, our client might be completely new, so let’s say Beginner.

Training Style

Does our client enjoy traditional modes of exercise, like using machines such as the leg press and cables? Our do they enjoy progressive exercises, such as using the Bosu Ball for crunches or the medicine ball for ball slams? Let’s assume they like both those methods, so a hybrid training style. Additionally, your preference for body part split also matters. Do you prefer to target upper and lower body on different days? Or total body during each session? Let’s say total body.

Now to formulate our work out.

Start with the basics

We need to assess how your body moves, whether you have any imbalances that should be addressed or whether you have a nagging injury that prevents you from accomplishing a certain task. We start by prescribing a stretching exercise or a mobility drill so that we activate the muscles that need to be activated and address any tightness that may inhibit your movement. Let’s say you hunch over your desk a lot and therefore your back caves in, therefore your chest muscles will be overactive, tight and short whereas, your back muscles will be underactive and weak. Additionally, your lower back is tight and gives you lower back pain. This could possibly mean that your glutes are underactive and your hip flexors would be tight.

Mobility and Stretching Drills
T-Spine Mobility Drills or Thoracic Mobility drills are great. You can search for any and pick one or two of your liking.
I’m going to choose stretching drills such as, Stability ball lat stretch and the standing pec stretch.
Additionally, we’ll include a set of Glute Hip Thrusts to open up the hips and a few core drills to activate the core. Let’s do, a plank or a dead bug.

Let’s recap.

2 Mobility drills of your choice
Stability Ball Lat stretch
Standing Pec Stretch
Glute Hip Thrusts
Plank/Dead Bug
This should take no more than 5-10 minutes.

The Dreaded ‘Workout’

Ah yes, the part you’ve been anticipating. We’ll start with light weight and we’ll aim for 10 repetitions to gauge your strength and ingrain the movement pattern. We’ll work out 3-5 times a week and change the exercises when necessary. However, it’s important to find what exercises you enjoy doing. I suggest searching Youtube for the proper form for each exercise or simply contact me and I’ll send you form videos.

Dumbell bench press- 3 sets of 10-15 reps
This will help open up the chest and target the shoulders. Also activates the core.

Rest 30 seconds

Medicine Ball or even bodyweight Squats – 3 sets of 10-15 reps
Great for activating the quadriceps, glutes and hamstrings. Also activates the core.

Rest 30 seconds

Lat Pull Down Machine 3 sets 10-15 reps
Great for strengthening the upper back.

Rest 30 seconds

Walking lunge 3 sets 10-15 reps
Great for glutes and quadriceps. Remember to keep upright.

Cool down. Stationary bike for 3-5 minutes.

This should take around 30 minutes however, this is not an actual work out suggestion it’s simply a template. Remember that each movement should be performed in a controlled and safe manner. There’s no end to learning and improving yourself therefore, find what you enjoy doing and stick with it. You’ll see results in no time.

Whew! We totally rushed through that! My main aim with this guide was to make it informative (without my blabbering), quick, concise and painless. I can definitely elaborate on a lot of points in the article but let’s take this as a basic framework that will help you start.

Marie

Could Tea Be Your Magic Weight Loss Cure?

Let me paint a picture for you. You’re scrolling through your social media explore page, minding your own business and as usual, it’s just bundles of random, bright coloured images one after another. A skinny girl with abs. Another skinny girl with abs on the beach. Another skinny girl with abs holding a bottle or silver packet in her kitchen. It’s the usual instagram shenanigans. However, what if I told you, the last girl was paid a decent amount of money to promote a product that doesn’t work, would you believe me?

Some people might believe me. Others might argue that, ‘I tried the exact same product and it worked for me.’ Hmm…did it, really? Let me tell you what I’m getting at.

Detox teas. Yes. You heard me correctly. Miracle teas have been back on the market for a few years now and some of these companies have made a big name for themselves on the backs of fit people promoting their products. However, this isn’t a new concept at all. The teas’ promises range from reduced bloating and weight loss to improving mental well being. Now, we know that there is no miracle cure for weight loss. So why pose a miracle cure to someone who’s already in a vulnerable position? Because it’s the easiest way to sell a product and get attention. It’s really that simple and that’s why these companies are doing so well. An individual looking to lose weight will try anything, especially if it means something as simple and painless as drinking a ‘special tea’.

Now back to the individual, why did it work for her? Well, weight loss teas are diuretics. They’ll make you pee until your bladder is empty and starved. They’re also famous for giving individuals diarrhea. Sexy, right? But it explains why an individuals’ bloating is reduced and why they’re a couple pounds lighter on the scale. The weight they lose is water weight. Additionally, the mental shift and clarity they feel is simply the effect of caffeine on the body. And we know that caffeine has somewhat of a fat-burning effect, but is this enough? ( assuming the individual is not already dieting and in a calorie deficit). No, it isn’t enough. However, this is the shortcut method to losing weight, it’s why companies like these are still in business and why people keep coming back for more. The big question lies here.

‘Is it sustainable, will you keep the weight off?’. Absolutely not. The moment you resume drinking water or eating you’ll gain the weight back.

‘But I like the taste of the teas’, well that’s good but do you really want the runs every time you drink it?

The danger here lies in the excessive water loss and dehydration, especially if the tea is consumed regularly. Dehydration not only makes it difficult for the body to recover, it also makes it difficult to function in day to day life. It’s the reason why physique competitors risk collapsing every time they get on stage (they may also use diuretics but that’s another issue). It’s the reason why people may even be irritable and anxious. Couple this with loss off essential minerals and vitamins, it’s a recipe for leaving your body in a compromised and vulnerable state. There’s absolutely nothing glamorous about it.

So, before you reach for the next skinny tea, or detox tea, or the next miracle cure remember this.

They’ll work. But only if you need them to work. They are simply a bandaid for a bigger issue and can open up a whole lot of unnecessary ones. They will not give you what you’re looking for which is long-term, sustainable weight loss and a healthy, happy, active body.

So tread lightly, my friends.

Marie.

How Can You Speed Up Recovery? (Part 2)

In the previous post we looked at nutrition and sleep as factors that are vital for adequate recovery. In this post, we’ll look at importance of managing training volume and different methods of recovery that can speed up the process.

Managing Training Volume

Recovery is often impacted by the frequency and intensity of your workouts. As you progress in training age you tend to recover faster and can handle higher frequency training. However, during the first few months of your training you might train at a lower frequency thus giving your body enough time to adapt to the movements, recover and build muscle. As you progress your volume should be increasing as well due to this adaptation over time. Furthermore, managing volume means making sure your volume isn’t constantly on the high end for every workout and for every week. Therefore, incorporating deload weeks and tapering volume means that you allow enough time for any built up fatigue to dissipate.

Recovery Methods

Furthermore, recovery methods include incorporating active recovery, foam rolling and possible supplementation. Active recovery, such as light cardio, increases blood flow to the muscles and helps any lactic acid build up. Incorporating light walking or biking can help to decrease muscle soreness. Recovery methods, such as, foam rolling, also helps connective tissue health, reduces muscle soreness and can improve muscle activation. It can also relieve joint stress while improving muscle imbalances and range of motion. Myofascial release techniques can also be incorporated to help deep tissue health and recovery. Additionally, caffeine intake has also shown to improve recovery. It helps to improve performance and increase the overall work you’re able to do while decreasing possible muscle soreness however, this may have implications for the overall volume you are able to recover from. Finally, stretching and massage therapy has also been used for recovery however studies have shown that they pose no significant benefits to muscle recovery or soreness. However, if you feel that they improve your recovery you can incorporate them if needed.

Finally, a big part of recovery is being in tune with your body’s signals. For example, between exercises, 2 minutes rest is usually the benchmark for enough recovery to carry out your next set. However, the rest time can be reduced or increased slightly based on how you feel. Sometimes, your working set may feel heavier than usual so this may be a cue to assess how well you’ve been recovering as well as your load. Being in tune with these signals allows you to adapt to your body’s needs and can reduce the risk of injury in the long term.

Marie

Cheung, K., Hume, P. A., & Maxwell, L. (2003). Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. Sports Medicine, 33(2), 145-164. doi:10.2165/00007256-200333020-00005

Donnelly, A. E., Clarkson, P. M., & Maughan, R. J. (1992). Exercise-induced muscle damage: Effects of light exercise on damaged muscle. European Journal of Applied Physiology and Occupational Physiology, 64(4), 350-353. doi:10.1007/bf00636223

Finkelstein, N. B. (n.d.). The effects of massage therapy on delayed-onset muscle soreness after unaccustomed exercise for healthy, sedentary adults. doi:10.25148/etd.fi15101402

Gray, P., Gabriel, B., Thies, F., & Gray, S. R. (2012). Fish oil supplementation augments post-exercise immune function in young males. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 26(8), 1265-1272. doi:10.1016/j.bbi.2012.08.002

Herbert, R. D. (2002). Effects of stretching before and after exercising on muscle soreness and risk of injury: Systematic review. Bmj, 325(7362), 468-468. doi:10.1136/bmj.325.7362.468

Hurley, C. F., Hatfield, D. L., & Riebe, D. (2013). The Effect of Caffeine Ingestion on Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 1. doi:10.1519/jsc.0b013e3182a99477

Lane, J., Kripaitis, D., & Spina, M. (2017). The effect of Foam Rolling (FR) on recovery from delayed onset muscle soreness. Physiotherapy, 103. doi:10.1016/j.physio.2017.11.212

Macdonald, G. Z., Button, D. C., Drinkwater, E. J., & Behm, D. G. (2014). Foam Rolling as a Recovery Tool after an Intense Bout of Physical Activity. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 46(1), 131-142. doi:10.1249/mss.0b013e3182a123db

Recovery in Training. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.unm.edu/~lkravitz/Article folder/recoveryUNM.html

The Recovery Principle for Sports Training. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.sports-training-adviser.com/recoveryprinciple.html

How Can You Speed Up Recovery? (Part 1)

When training hard and frequently we know that it’s virtually impossible to progress without giving ourselves adequate time for recovery. Managing recovery on a short and long-term basis is important if we want to see results. But what does recovery mean and how important is it? Let’s look at the different factors that impact recovery and how we can better facilitate recovery so that our performance and progress isn’t negatively impacted by fatigue over time. The first part of this post will address the importance of nutrition and sleep. The second part will look at training volume and methods for recovery.

Recovery, in terms of training, means that individuals who undergo training require enough time to recuperate between exercises and between training days. Therefore, recovery includes nutrition, different methods for recovery and sleep. Without adequate recovery, fatigue increases and performance decreases thus impacting muscle gain and fat loss. This highlights the need for adequate rest, managing training volume and ensuring you’re getting proper nutrition on training and rest days. Furthermore, delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is often thought of as an indicator of muscle damage however, soreness doesn’t always indicate muscle damage and vice versa. Simply doing exercises you’re not usually accustomed to or targeting the muscle differently can also cause soreness without necessarily causing muscle growth. Thus, it becomes important to periodize your training and incorporate deload weeks (a week of reduced training volume after a certain amount of consistent training weeks) so that your training and progress isn’t negatively impacted by sudden bouts of fatigue and stress.

The importance of Rest

When training a muscle group, 2 to 3 times per week is usually the minimum frequency that facilitates enough volume to induce muscle growth and allow for enough rest. Therefore, rest days are days between training days that allow you to recover and how well you recover indicates how much you can progress. Proper nutrition and sleep on rest days is just as important as those on training days, if not more. This means getting enough food in relation to your goals, including adequate protein, as well as a minimum of eight hours of sleep per night can help muscle growth. On the other hand, not incorporating adequate recovery management can decrease performance and increase the risk of injury. It can also impact stress hormones thus slowing down rate of progress. Additionally, how well you recover and the speed of recovery also depends on your age, sex, how long you’ve been training, the exercises done and whether you’re in a gaining or fat loss phase.

Nutrition and Sleep

When it comes to diet there should be some room for flexibility concerning macronutrients and the tools that you use to get to your calories. Even though you may have less flexibility in a calorie deficit the range of tools you use can make life a bit easier, whether this means calorie cycling, intermittent fasting or carb cycling. I bring this up because some individuals encourage the idea they should have different calories on rest days and training days, which means calories on training days and decreasing calories on rest days. However, this may have implications for recovery and may complicate calorie tracking since there are a lot more mechanisms at play that influence our calorie intake and expenditure. Furthermore, when in a fat loss phase, being in a consistent calorie deficit will make it easier to measure your progress, although your recovery will be slower you’ll still be able to recover with a slightly reduced volume. Alternatively, being in a gaining phase means that on your rest days you have a greater opportunity to get the calories you need to recover and to facilitate muscle growth as well as to support your daily activities. It also means having enough food to fuel your next workout since your energy levels will also improve.

In terms of macronutrient ratios having enough protein during rest days and training days ensures that your protein intake is enough to facilitate muscle growth. This is usually around 0.8 g/lb to 1.5 g/lb per pound of bodyweight. Additionally, carbohydrates and fat intake depends on your individual preferences but the overall calorie intake should fall within a range of your calorie targets.

Furthermore, sleep is a huge part of recovery since it helps reduce stress hormones, blood pressure and any accumulated fatigue. It also plays an important part in muscle building and fat loss. On the other hand, not getting enough sleep can result in muscle loss and can negatively impact recovery and performance. Although recommendations suggest a minimum of eight hours of good quality sleep per night not many people are able to get those eight hours. Therefore, trying to sleep earlier, having a few hours of extra sleep on the weekends or incorporating power naps can make a significant difference in your progress.

In the next part we’ll look at the different methods of recovery and how our training volume and frequency is impacted by recovery.

Marie

Dattilo, M., Antunes, H., Medeiros, A., Neto, M. M., Souza, H., Tufik, S., & Mello, M. D. (2011). Sleep and muscle recovery: Endocrinological and molecular basis for a new and promising hypothesis. Medical Hypotheses, 77(2), 220-222. doi:10.1016/j.mehy.2011.04.017

Vyazovskiy, V. (2015). Sleep, recovery, and metaregulation: Explaining the benefits of sleep. Nature and Science of Sleep, 171. doi:10.2147/nss.s54036

Are Supplements Necessary To Attain Your Dream Bod?

Whether you’re gaining muscle or trying to lose body fat there’s a supplement being marketed towards you. The supplement market is massive and preys on every type of consumer. Products, such as weight gainer shakes, fat burners and branch chain amino acids (BCAAs) are often targeted to people who are uninformed or those who want quick results. Supplementation isn’t necessary to achieve your goals. However, there are a few well-known substances, like caffeine and creatine, that has proven to be beneficial.

Although considered a drug, caffeine is proven to improve alertness and increase stimulation, while reducing any pain induced from activity. It also has metabolic impacts that can improve performance in the gym (2018, Helms). It’s easy to see why one of the main ingredients in many fat burners and pre-workout supplements is caffeine due to its metabolic impacts. Therefore, it can be extremely useful during a weight loss phase. However, it is vital that individuals manage their intake timing since caffeine can negatively impact sleep quality. It’s also important to consider taking a dosage relative to what you’re accustomed to since taking too high of a dosage can cause negative mental or physical effects, thus impacting your recovery.

Protein is another common supplement that is by no means required, but is usually taken for the sake of convenience. It’s also useful for individuals who struggle to meet their protein requirements. Whey and Casein protein powders are two of the most common and easily available protein powders. There are also numerous vegan protein powders, such as pea protein and brown rice protein that can also help vegans and vegetarians meet their protein requirements. The problem with Whey and Casein is that many people find that they are intolerant and develop allergic reactions when ingested, however they are the cheapest protein powders on the market. Additionally, many vegan protein powders have been questioned for their amino acid profile and run the risk of being ‘incomplete’ proteins. Although the topic of incomplete proteins has been up for debate for what seems like forever, it’s still something to consider.

Furthermore, supplements, such as Branch Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs), have grown in popularity over the years because of the understanding that taking them during your workout facilitates muscle growth and repairing. Unfortunately, BCAAs do not to provide any significant benefits. What is more important is consuming your protein throughout the day. Unless your workouts are strenuous, high-intensity workouts that last more than 1.5 hours intra-workout supplementation isn’t really a requirement.

On the other hand, creatine is a naturally occurring energy system within the human body that can help increase energy and improve performance. Even though we can get creatine from food sources the amount our body utilizes is minimal compared to the amount we actually need. Therefore, individuals, including women, vegetarians and vegans, can benefit from creatine supplementation in both mental and physical ways, as long as it does not cause any adverse stomach issues. I won’t go in to too much detail since there has been a lot of extensive research published but I will link a few articles for those interested.

What about multi-vitamins and fish-oil supplements? Based on individual needs multivitamins can help meet your daily vitamin and mineral requirements if you don’t see yourself ingesting enough of them through whole foods. Fish oil supplementation can also be beneficial for reducing inflammation in the body. However, both supplements have been called into question since fish oil can have adverse effects on some individuals and multi-vitamins may not be required at all. Therefore, individuals should consult their physicians before adding supplements to their diet.

Remember that supplements are called supplements for a reason. They shouldn’t make up your diet nor are they required. Many a time it’s difficult to even say what a supplement contains because of how they’re manufactured. Therefore, there’s always a risk of spending money on products you don’t know will be beneficial to your goals. As it is the vast majority of supplements are grossly overpriced, if you do end up buying supplements buy it from a reputable company that shows the profile of the supplement and the reasoning behind it.

Marie

References:

BCAA Supplementation does not help in maintaining lean body mass in during fat loss phases: https://jissn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12970-016-0128-9

Creatine Supplementation: https://examine.com/supplements/creatine/

Omar Isuf and Eric Helms: Everything you need to know about creatine

The Case For Protein (Especially If You’re A Woman)

When trying to gain muscle the first building block that people often think of is protein. Adequate protein intake is super important for maintaining lean body mass during fat loss phases and increasing satiety. Many men usually don’t think twice about incorporating protein in their diet and generally, enjoy eating it. On the other hand, women are less likely to incorporate protein in their diet and if so, don’t consume nearly as much as they should. Women are also more likely to be vegetarian and vegan. Although it is possible to lose fat or gain muscle on a plant based diet it’s also easy to underestimate your total protein consumption. However, the key point here is consuming enough protein is necessary regardless of your goals.

Studies have shown that a good protein benchmark for men and women should be 0.8 g/lb to 1.5 g/lb of bodyweight, with 1.0 g/lb being the average recommended protein intake. However, protein intake should increase when in a calorie deficit. It also increases as you become leaner and your activity levels increase. Additionally, when women are in a calorie deficit they’re more likely to cut calories too much and too fast, without increasing their protein intake and usually without incorporating weight training. This has the potential to make dieting unsustainable and can result in loss of lean body mass thus, negatively impacting body composition. However, dieting in general can be a bit more complicated when it comes to women but when done so properly can yield impressive results. This includes, managing your calorie deficit, protein intake and training, as well as being conscious of your body’s response to stress and recovery.

Furthermore, in a gaining phase one could aim for protein intake of 0.8 g/lb of bodyweight to 1.0 g/lb. Meal timing is also something to consider in terms of making sure you’re getting enough protein during pre-workout, post-workout and before bedtime in order to maximize muscle gain.

Finally, adequate protein intake is also something to consider since vegans and vegetarians are less likely to eat enough protein since plant proteins are not absorbed as easily as animal proteins. There have been studies on the myth of ‘incomplete’ proteins however, vegans and vegetarians are less likely to get adequate amounts of leucine, lysine and branch chain amino acids that are easily available from meat sources. However, it isn’t that plant based diets cannot provide adequate protein but, that individuals need to make sure that they’re still hitting their protein targets through protein rich food sources while still keeping within their other macronutrient targets. Additionally, this is where protein supplementation may help since increasing protein when in a calorie deficit becomes difficult without increasing carbohydrates and fats. Although there are variances among individuals, it is important to observe how responsive your body is to certain protein sources (i.e. how does your body feel after eating red meat versus chicken breast) and thus, change or maintain your protein sources accordingly.

Marie

References

Entezarjou, A., Morales, A. E., Nuckols, G., A., Wheeler, E., C., & B. (2018, July 07). Plant Gains? Advice to the Vegetarian and Vegan Athlete. Retrieved from https://www.strongerbyscience.com/vegetarian-and-vegan-athlete/

McDonald, L. (2015, August 16). Protein Intake While Dieting – Q&A. Retrieved from https://bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/protein-intake-while-dieting-qa.html/

McDonald, L, (2017, October 31). Women Training and Fat Loss. Retrieved from https://bodyrecomposition.com/announcements/women-nutrition-fat-loss-teaser.html/

Trommelen, J., K., R., S., Nuckols, G., Anderson, S., . . . Carlos Ramos. (2017, July 17). Perfecting Protein Intake in Athletes: How Much, What, and When? Retrieved from https://www.strongerbyscience.com/athlete-protein-intake/

Is Cardiovascular Exercise Necessary For Burning Fat?

The short answer: sometimes. I know, who wants to hear that? Let me explain.

Anyone looking to lose body fat can do so simply through a calorie deficit i.e. consuming less calories than you expend over a period of time. However, if your calories are already very low cardio can increase that deficit without dropping calories even further. Fortunately, most people don’t have to worry too often about the latter occurring. Let’s focus on what cardio is, what are its benefits and if cardio is even necessary for fat loss!

Cardiovascular exercise includes low, moderate or high intensity aerobic exercise. It has shown to be beneficial for increasing cardiovascular health, improving blood pressure and even improving recovery, among other things. Many people assume that they cannot lose fat without doing cardio. Let’s make it clear, you don’t need to do any form of cardio to lose fat.

Additionally, if you’re trying to make up for an extra piece of cake or trying to shed fat solely through cardio, it simply isn’t efficient. I know what you’re probably saying ‘But I don’t wanna cut calories! I like food! Wouldn’t it be SO much easier to just be more active!’. It might be easier but trying to cut fat through cardio alone will take you a heck lot longer than simply eating less (assuming your not already eating bird-sized portions).

People assume it’s necessary to do a certain amount of cardio every day or x hours of cardio a week, which ultimately, can deter even the most active of people to work out. Although cardio has its benefits, very rarely is it ever prescribed as a stand-alone approach to weight loss. If anything, cardio isn’t necessary for burning fat at all because fat loss is a result of adjusting your calorie intake according to how much you’re burning. Therefore, putting yourself in a calorie deficit means that you’re more likely to see the majority of your results from the deficit alone.

The Fine Print

However, there are some exceptions. Maybe you like going for your one hour walk or 20 minute HIIT session*. It skyrockets your energy levels and you outright find it enjoyable! That’s your queue to go for it! Another exception would be if you find that you’re performing better in the gym or you’re recovering better.

However, here’s the even finer print.

We’re assuming that these cardio sessions aren’t causing more stress to an already stressed out body. What happens here is that frequent, high-intensity cardio sessions throughout the week can increase fatigue and makes it exceptionally difficult for your body to build muscle and recover effectively.

More on Fat Loss: ‘The treadmill monitor says I burned 2000 calories!’

Here’s the thing, the calorie burn from cardio is extremely difficult to estimate. You may look at your Fitbit monitor and see 2000 calories burned in 90 minutes but, unless you’re inputting your height and weight, the number is probably off by a substantial amount and even if you are, the number is still off. Additionally, the amount of extra calories burned on top of what you would have been doing otherwise is a very small amount in relation to the effort exerted, regardless of whether you’re at a desk job versus jogging for 30 minutes.

Another factor to consider if you depend on the ‘calories burned monitor’ is that you should be using the same monitor every time you perform your cardio for the sake of consistency. (now this isn’t a problem for some people but if you’re constantly using different machines, it can throw your numbers off by a lot!)

So what type of Cardio should I implement?

Low intensity steady-state cardio places minimal stress on the body while providing substantial cardiovascular benefits, promoting recovery, and can be somewhat enjoyable (or atleast not completely awful) so it can be a better option for many people. That means going on long walks or bike rides of maybe 45 minutes to an hour 1-2 times per week can still be meditative while still providing a range of cardiovascular benefits.

If you decide to incorporate cardio, do it because you enjoy it and you want the cardiovascular benefits.

Marie

Short Side Note:

A cardio exception (and I’ll touch on this VERY briefly) would be High Intensity Interval Training aka HIIT. For some reason, people LOVE HIIT. They really do! Sometimes for good reason. An example of HIIT would be, going 70% – 90% on the stationary bike for 1 minute and resting for 1 minute, then repeating that sequence for a total of 10 to 15 minutes. The benefits of HIIT are substantial.

It’s super quick. You can finish your cardio in 15 minutes tops which is great for people on a time crunch or those who just want to get in and get out.
It burns fat. Although it wouldn’t be substantial, it adds up over sessions, especially if you’re someone who doesn’t have that many calories give up. Additionally, the after-burn effect would also be present since it increases your metabolism for a few hours once you’re done.
It preserves muscle. This is self-explanatory. HIIT is great for preserving muscle versus traditional steady state, moderate intensity cardio which can have the opposite effect.
However, HIIT can be quite stressful for many people and can also increase stress on your body. I suggest starting off slow or having someone monitor you. However, HIIT isn’t necessary and you don’t have to implement it if it’s not something you’re comfortable with or if it’s something you don’t really want to do.

Why ‘No Pain, No Gain’ Could Be Hurting Your Progress

My gym has this motivational phrase plastered along the walls ‘No Pain, No Gain’. I’m sure you’ve seen it along a wall or two as well. Along with this being a typical ‘gym-bro’ mentality it puts forth the idea that you can’t achieve your goals without some level of discomfort. The truth to that lies in the fact that what contributes to your growth often lies outside your comfort zone. However, what people often think it means is that you should push yourself, regardless of what’s manageable for you to do at the time. This happens when people carry out their training just so that they can end up feeling like jelly after every exercise and session. In terms of dieting, some level of discomfort is expected but, in no way should it be excruciating. Both of these circumstances completely disregard the body’s internal signals and can lead to issues in the future. First let’s start with why more isn’t always better.

There’s a belief in the fitness community that, in order to see progress, you should push yourself during every session throughout each exercise, or else you’re not working hard enough. It is important to push yourself, however every workout session should not leave you feeling exhausted and beaten up. You shouldn’t go to the gym 4 times a week and think that you’re going to obliterate x body part during each session. It’s unwise to do so, especially if you’ve been consistently adding more weight, sets and reps during each session. You’ll often see individuals grinding away at the gym for years but ultimately, they will hit a point of overreaching where their training volume is no longer effective and there are negative returns, i.e. they’re working hard in the gym but they’re actually seeing a negative turn in their health and physique (there’s a lot of technical jargon here so I’m not going to bore you on that but, if you’re interested in it let me know and I’ll elaborate).

It is important to manage training volume (i.e. the reps x sets) so that you are able to recover before the next session you train that body part. Although you can handle the discomfort or ‘pain’ in the moment, it doesn’t always mean you should carry through with it. Ideally, the last three reps of an exercise should be the most difficult to complete. You can even go to failure on the last few exercises of a session, however, what isn’t a good idea is going to failure during every exercise and making every session a high intensity (very heavy weights), high volume workout (high reps and lots of sets) (assuming you’re training more than twice a week). This is because it takes time for the body to recover and, in order to recover effectively, nutrition, sleep and stress all have to be managed or you risk fatigue building up over time and thus, increasing the likelihood of an injury occurring. Furthermore, since recovery is so often overlooked people forget that managing how much you’re doing each session helps you progress over the long term by managing adaptations.

However, pushing yourself is necessary. How else would you know what you could actually accomplish? This is where being intuitive helps. Even if you are following a training program it helps to listen to your body. Some days 20 lb dumbells feel like 50 lbs so it might be better to pull back and possibly go lighter during that exercise, or even during that session. On other days, your heaviest weight might feel surprisingly light and you think to yourself ‘I could totally 5-10 lbs heavier’. However, the important aspect of this is listening to your body and giving it what is required. Unfortunately, as mentioned previously, being overzealous can work against you. Therefore, it’s important to keep in mind your long-term goals versus short term gratification. You may find that going 50% heavier in one session will leave you incapacitated for the next week and eventually learn that it may not have been the smartest decision since it negatively impacts your long term training.

In terms of dieting, it sucks some times.. However, if you’re near starvation every single day it’s probably not a very sustainable diet. When dieting, you expect to feel hungry but if you have no energy to work out, your concentration is poor or your stress levels are high it probably means you should re-evaluate. None of this should be excruciating or painful. However, what it should be is challenging and motivating.

Marie

Why Your Gym Anxiety Is Holding You Back

I can be an anxious person at times. Sometimes for a good reason and sometimes I’m just an irrational baby. However, regardless of how long I’ve been training, I still get gym anxiety. If you’ve never had to deal with that I’m already envious! Gym anxiety is just like regular anxiety but it’s extended to a gym setting. No really, it’s when you don’t even want to step in the gym because you’re worried about how crowded it will be and whether you’ll be taking up too much space or whether the equipment you want to use is available. It’s being so self-conscious and wondering whether others are staring at you. It’s constantly questioning your program and your form and being in this state of overthinking.

The thing is, like regular anxiety, gym anxiety just prevents you from doing the things you know you should be doing. It’s saying,

‘Hey, this is your comfort zone. But there is where you should be’.

No growth happens in places where you’re comfortable. It’s scary to put yourself out there in any way, shape or form. Especially in a setting where everyone is vulnerable. However, every individual is there to better themselves and what it should come down to is ‘How much better am I becoming’ versus ‘Others are judging me’. This brings up the issue of ego lifting and putting yourself at risk for injury in worst case scenarios. However, what’s just as bad is not stepping foot in the gym because of how scared you are, sometimes without reason. What may feel just as bad is stepping in a setting where there’s predominantly men that are two times your size or where there’s so much equipment that you don’t even know where to go so you feel lost, overwhelmed, confused, judged and every other emotion that doesn’t belong in a space for growth. I’m here to tell you that it doesn’t matter how long you’ve been training for and who you are. Whether you started yesterday or 3 years ago or whether you’re a certified personal trainer (like I am) or a casual gym-goer, anxiety still comes and goes. Understand that it’s normal and it’s only a problem if it stops you from doing what you should be doing.

Want to know something completely honest about me? For the past few months, I would only go to the gym at 5:30 am because that was the time that there were fewest people taking up equipment. If I wasn’t able to wake up at 5:30 am I wouldn’t go. How defeating does that sound? Every part of me loves going to the gym and I’d set my alarm every morning but just the thought of seeing people I don’t want to see would deter me from doing what I want to all because I woke up an hour too late.

Therefore, I’ve found that mindset is hugely important in many of these cases. It’s important to realize that it’s always you versus yourself. No one else matters. There’s only you who’s looking out for yourself and working to do better than you did yesterday. Whether you started training yesterday or you’ll start tomorrow no one is going to hold you accountable for your actions besides yourself. Additionally, the thought of being constantly watched can make you feel self-conscious and may stop you from doing certain exercises because you’re afraid that you may be doing them wrong or you’ll look silly doing them. However, it may help to focus on your music, wear a hat/developing tunnel vision or realize that other people in the gym are not against you. That last point is super important. In the fitness industry and life in general, we’re always competing. However, please remember this. People are almost always willing to help, regardless of their background, training, goals, etc. If anything, people are kinder in the gym because there is some commonality established between everyone i.e. you all are there to work out and improve yourself. You know those girls with the resting b*tch faces who look like they don’t want to be disturbed? (Many a time they don’t and that’s ok). However, there are also many of them that immediately light up when people ask for assistance because they genuinely want to help others. At the same time, things change when you’re as willing to help others as they are willing to help you. You start to become more open to error and learning while being less rigid and focusing on perfection. Remember, it’s the small steps that count. It doesn’t matter whether you only did one exercise and left. What matters is that you did something and didn’t let yourself be held back by fear. I think that’s especially commendable considering how debilitating anxiety can feel at times. But all that matters is that everyday you’re better than you were yesterday.

Marie.

I Messed Up My Diet! Now What?

If you haven’t read my previous post already then I suggest you head on over and give it a gander (who even says that anymore? ugh). We talk about the beauty of 80/20 and how it can be the shiny silver lining to a diet. However, here’s another take on it.

Do you ever find yourself giving in to cravings and spend the next day feeling terrible about yourself? Maybe the food physically made you nauseous because you ate a bit too much? Or maybe you beat yourself up because you thought you had more self-control than this? Here’s a different approach: temptation makes life just bit more exciting. You gave in not because you’re weak but, because you wanted a break from the routine and that’s OK! How you deal with that break in judgement is what matters a lot more than giving in. Here’s why.

People often expect the most out of themselves and become overly ambitious when aiming for new goals. Focusing on being perfect all the time adds up to exhausting willpower that could be used elsewhere. After all, our willpower is limited so why not use it on things that matter more? However, there are a few things to think about before you get too negative on yourself:

Is your diet/meal plan sustainable for your lifestyle and behaviour? Do you feel energized and satiated? An unsustainable diet is one that you can’t adhere to and one that does not take into account your preferences or what you enjoy eating.

Are you stressed out/not getting enough rest? Higher stress levels can increase hunger and can also lead to emotional eating.

When we’re following a meal plan we might be depriving ourselves of the things we want and that can be a recipe for disaster. For example, having episodes of binge eating, falling off the meal plan completely, starving yourself afterwards, etc. can all have negative long term effects. What you don’t want to do is take one mishap as a defeat. The problem with trying to follow a plan 100% 24/7 is that it just isn’t realistic. Life happens. Some things are out of our control and thus, we’re left to adapt to the circumstances. Therefore, following an 80/20 approach, and even IIFYM, enables us to be flexible in our choices. If anything, flexibility is as important as the meal plan itself. Now that we’ve cut ourselves some slack, let’s think about our next step.

Firstly, eating a pastry every now and then isn’t a problem. It’s only a problem if the one pastry turns in three and you don’t even remember eating the other two. Having flexibility in your meal plan means that you can eat the one or two pastries guilt-free without it impeding your progress. Unfortunately, individuals often think that they can combat the calories by doing extra cardio. This is a bad idea because 1) you’re wasting time doing cardio that could have been spent doing something you actually enjoy and 2) it’s difficult to accurately estimate how many calories you burned doing cardio (yes, even with your fitbit).

Therefore, a better way to approach this is my seeing your calorie budget over the week. If you overate by 500+ calories on one day, take it with a stride and continue with your diet the next day as though it never happened. By giving it less importance and focusing on the bigger picture, you show more self-compassion and realize that it isn’t a make or break situation. What you do tomorrow matters as much, ,if not more than what you did today.

If you ended up eating at a surplus of 1000+ calories, the second option is to acknowledge that it happened and lower your calories to account for the surplus over the next few days. That means maybe eating 250 less calories for the next four days on top of your deficit. This will minimize total fat gain.

Alternatively, if you know that you’re going to eat a lot or drink alcohol you can fit it in before hand. For example, if you’re going to an event on Saturday and know that you like to indulge, lower your calories by a hundred or so a week before hand so that it fits into your calorie budget. Although this will be an estimate your progress will not be affected drastically and you can enjoy yourself without any feelings of guilt.

Furthermore, if you’ve been dieting for a couple months and think you’re going crazy consider taking a diet break for a week. This enables you to eat at your maintenance calories and helps prevent any adaptations to your deficit calories so your body will be more responsive when you cut your calories again. Even though this could mean your progress will be stalled it helps with long-term adherence.

We see that diets that are consistent with the preferences and behaviours of those following them, and not ones that follow a cookie cutter approach, are more likely to yield results and prevent individuals from regaining the weight once they’re no longer in a calorie deficit. After all, no one wants to diet forever. Once the weight is off there’s a greater chance of it staying off if the habits you followed were consistent with what you like to do.

Additionally, I made the assumption that people are tracking their calories because it becomes immensely difficult to troubleshoot the problem when you haven’t a clue how much you’ve overeaten. Even though it happens to everyone at some point in time, there’s no harm in estimating. However, tracking your calories/macronutritents gives you the power to adjust them according to your lifestyle and gives you quantitative measures for hitting your goal weight. Following an 80/20 approach also enables you to be more flexible in your choices. Therefore, what’s important is that you’re making the better choices 80% of the time the other 20% can be left up to good fate.

Marie