I'ts time to take action today!!!!!

IT’S TIME TO TAKE ACTION TODAY, NOT NEXT WEEK, NOT TOMORROW, BUT TODAY!!!

Do you have goals? Do you want to become fitter? Do you want to lose weight? Do you want to build muscle? Well? Its time to STOP CONTEMPLATING and time to START TAKING ACTION TODAY!!!!!!.

Over the next few weeks and months I am going to be expanding my blog so what ever goals you have, what ever it is you want to achieve, I will help you towards getting there!! WHY START TOMORROW WHEN YOU CAN START TODAY!! 

I will be adding new pages to expand and categorise different goals that people might have! For example if you what to lose weight and aren’t sure how, no worries because their will be a separate page on my blog that will help you with that.

Okay, with that said a done here is something you can start and do today to become a healthier and fitter you!! 

Try this just for one week and feel the difference!!!

First up……….Nutrition – In with the good out with the bad

• Eat plenty of natural foods and avoid all junk food (takeaways, sweets, chocolate, fizzy pop, ect. You all no it’s bad!!)
• Cut out alcohol or at least cut down (drink in moderation is okay, binge drinking however is completely the wrong thing to do if you are really committed to achieving your goals!!
• Avoid white carbohydrates and replace with wholemeal or wholegrain, this will aid in reducing your body fat!
• Drink plenty of water through out the day! Drink a minimum of 2 litres. After one week of drinking water throughout the day you will feel the different in how you feel. Check out my very first post about water - http://biffa-healthandfitness.blogspot.com/2011/02/why-water-is-more-important-than-you.html
• Eat 4-6 small meals a day, this will aid in speeding up your metabolism which in turn will result in your body burning more calories!
• 5 a day? Nope 7 a day – 3 fruit & 4 vegetables 

Next up……….Exercise – Run fat boy run! Time to burn fat!! Quick!!!

Cardiovascular, Fat burning workout   

Warm up - 5 minuets slow jogging to warm up then do10 body squats, then 12 lunges.

Start workout: 10 minutes running at a medium pace, then do some sprint intervals – 20 seconds sprinting followed by 40 seconds slow jogging or walking then repeat 4 more times!

Cool down – 5 minutes slow jogging or walking. Now do some stretches to stretch out the muscles reducing soreness the next day or two (lol) Hold each stretch for 15-30 seconds, make sure you can feel the stretch.

Leave a day in-between workouts! 

Muscle conditioning workout – Circuit training (x 3 Circuits)

Reverse lunges - 20 reps, 10 each side

Press ups – maximum reps

Crunch – 15-30 reps

Jump squats – 15 reps

Berpies – 15-20 reps

Bicycles – 20-30 reps

Star jumps – 15 reps

Dorsal raise - 12-15 reps

Complete each exercise one after another without rest. After completing all exercises rest 60-90 seconds the complete 2 more circuits.

YOU NOW HAVE WHAT YOU NEED TO START TAKING ACTION TODAY!!!!!!!

Good luck!! :D

How to set your own goals and targets

Setting goals and targets is the very first thing you need to consider when trying to achieve some thing. You need to give your self some thing to work towards weather it’s a short term, mid term or long term goal.

Setting goals and targets is very important if you are trying to improve on any task or your physical well being, this might be losing weight, building muscle, increasing your weight, toning up or any other aspect of health & fitness that you wish to improve on.

First of all you need to pick your goals and targets from which you would like meet and achieve in a certain period of time, then you need to take a look at each goal and target you have set your self and see if it meets the criteria from the SMART goal setting guide which you can see below.

·        S = Specific

·        M = Measurable

·        A = Attainable

·        R = Realistic

·        T = Timely 

Specific

Your goals should be straightforward and emphasize what you would like to happen in the goal you have set yourself. Specifics will help you to focus your efforts and clearly define what you are going to do in your goal.

Specific is the What, Why and How from the smart guide.

·        What are you going to do? Use action words such as direct, organize, coordinate, lead, develop, plan, build and etc.

·        Why is it important to do at this time? What do you want to ultimately accomplish?

·        How are you going to do it? (By…..)

Ensure that your goals are very specific, clear and easy, instead of setting a goal to lose weight or be healthier, set a specific goal to lose 5lbs or to walk at least to miles every day.

Measurable  

If your can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.  You need to choose a goal that has measurable progress, so you can see the change occur. You need to be specific for the time you want to complete your goal in, for example my goal is to lose 4 lbs in one month so I am going to try to lose 1lb each week. This would be a specific and measurable goal. So if you set your self a goal just to lose weight then this will neither be specific or measurable.

It is important to be measurable in your goals because it keeps you on track so you can reach your target dates.

Attainable

When you identify your goals that are most important to you, you will begin to figure out the ways in which they can be achieved, your goals will become much more clear and achievable.

If you set goals that are to far out of your reach it is likely that you will not commit to them even if you start the goal to the best of your intentions, subconsciously you will no that you have set your goal to far out of reach and therefore you will not be working your 100% which will result in certain failure. So it is important that you make your goals attainable so you don’t fail your goals.

The success from achieving your goals will keep you motivated and wanting to work harder and harder.

Your goal needs to stretch you slightly so you can feel that you can attain your goal, which will need real commitment from you. For example if you set yourself a goal to lose 20lbs in one week then obviously it is not attainable but if your set your goal to lose 1lb then when you have completed that try to lose a further 1lb. this way your goal will be easily attainable.

Realistic

You need your goal to be realistic so the skills and knowledge you have are able to complete the goal, the term realistic does not mean that your goal should be easy, it means the goal should be Do-able. Your goal should push you but it should not break you.

Your goal needs to be realistic to you at this present time so for example if you could only lift 10kg in a bicep curl by setting your goal to be able to lift 15kg would be un-realistic.

Your need to set your goal so that it takes some effort for you to complete. Set your goal to high then you will fail, set your goal to low then you will send the message that you are not very capable. You need to set the bar high enough for a satisfying achievement.

Timely

You need to set a time frame for the goal: By next week, in three months, at the end of my second year at university. Putting an end point on your goal gives you a clear target to work towards.

If you do not set a time to complete your goals, your goals will tend to happen in your own time when you feel like it. With out a time limit there is not urgency to start taking action now.

Time must be measurable, attainable and realistic.

So if your follow the smart guide to setting your goals and meeting your targets the benefits will show and your motivation and confidence will continue to grow, you will feel and look good and will continue improving.  

When setting your goals and targets out, write them down in big clear writing on a piece of paper. Put your goals in a place where you can see them every day to ensure that your goals and targets are always in view. Always ensure that when you have completed your goal or target that you give you self a new one.

Finally I’d like to say thanks to everyone who has been checking out my blog. If you have any suggestions don’t hesitate and message me, Grazie J 

Nutrition and weight guide

A quick guide on nutrition and weight maintenance.

Daily intake of Calories should be split up into three parts, Fats, Carbohydrates and proteins. Although the below percentages would change for different goals.

-          Fats – 30%

-          Proteins – 10-15%

-          Carbohydrates – 55-60%

Now that we have the percentages, which will divide our daily calories up into Fats, Proteins and Carbohydrates, we can now find out how many calories and grams we should be aiming for to achieve these percentages.

Example target weight = 60Kg

Step 1 calculate your BMR (basic metabolic rate) This is the number of calories your body will use as fuel for maintaining basic life functions such as breathing, circulation, brain and nervous system function, body warmth, etc. To calculate your BMR you need to times your desired body weight in Kg by 25, the calculation for the example target weight (60Kg) is below.

BMR calculation - 60 x 25 = 1500Kcal per day

Step 2 calories for your daily activity level – Now we need to add our daily activity level onto our BMR.

Sedentary Life style            + 20%

Moderately active life style + 50%

Very active life style            + 100%

BMR, calorie intake = 1500Kcal

Activity level = 50% - 1500/50% = 750 +1500 = 2250Kcals per day.

BMR + Activity Level = 2250 Kcal Per day

We now have the amount of calories you should be aiming for per day, so let’s now find out how many calories per Fat, Protein and carbohydrates this would calculate to.

-          Fats                    – 2250 x 30% = 775 Kcal                  

-          Proteins              – 2250 x 15% = 337.5 Kcal

-          Carbohydrates    – 2250 x 55% = 1237.5 Kcal 

Now we have worked out calories per Fat, Proteins and Carbohydrates, lets find out how many grams we would need to consume.

-          Fats                    - 775/9 = 86g

-          Proteins              - 337.5/4 = 85g

-          Carbohydrates    - 1237.5/4 = 309g

Now you know what calories/Grams to intake per day for Fats, Proteins and Carbohydrates, all that remains now is to track the food you eat daily and ensure that you try to meet your daily intake requirements, as closely as possible.

Now its time to see what foods we should be eating, first let’s start with:

Carbohydrates:

-          Wholegrain Rice

-          Wholegrain Bread

-          Potatoes

-          Wholegrain Pasta

-          Fruits

-          Vegetables

Fats

-          Non-saturated

-          Polyunsaturated

-          Monounsaturated

-          Oily fish (salmon, mackerel, sardines or tuna)

-          Extra virgin oil (for cooking with)

-     Nuts

Proteins

-          Lean meats

-          Chicken breast

-          Eggs

-          Fish

-          Milk (Low or non-fat)

-          Ham

-          Beef

-          Turkey

Now finally an example of a daily food diary;

7:30 AM – Breakfast – scrambled egg (1 whole egg 2 whites) with wholegrain bread and porridge (50g oats, 180 – 200ml Milk)

10:30 AM – Small snack – Coffee and Banana

13:00 PM – Lunch – wholegrain rice 250g, 1 – 2 chicken breasts, vegetables and a small salad.

15:30 – Small snack – Piece of fruit or veg and a couple of Brazil and pecan nuts.

18:00 – Dinner – Boiled potatoes, vegetables and fish.

20:30 – Small snack – small bowl of no added sugar alpen 45g

Water – drink at least 2ltrs a day. 500ml before bed to speed up your metabolism and when you wake up.

Remember the above food diary, is an example, so following this diary, might not equate the calories for Fat, Protein and Carbohydrates that you require.

It may take a week or two; to get your food diary to the point that you are getting as close to your daily requirements as possible, so don’t panic if, within the first week you are not hitting these requirements, it’s all about trial and error. 

Next post I will put up what percentages of carbohydrates, protein and fats you should be aiming for if you have a goal in mind. Ciao!!!!

6 Pack workout guide

6 Pack workout guide

3^rd Blog post

Ciao my friends, following up from my last post, I am going to give you a simple easy to follow 6 pack workout guide. It will consist of a stomach workout, cardiovascular workout and a muscle conditioning workout.

Stomach workout

First up is the Stomach workout. This will consist of 5 exercises that will be completed one after another (no rest) with 2 circuits. After you have completed the first circuit of 5 exercises rest 60 seconds then repeat the circuit again.

Sit-ups – 15-30 reps

Crunches – 30 reps

Reverse crunch – 20 reps                             

Bicycles – 30 reps

Leg raise – 20 reps  

After we have completed the 2 circuits rest 60 seconds then we will finish with sit-ups. This will be completed once all the way through with no rest (focus on crunching your abs keeping a controlled movement, support your feet if you are not able to control a sit-up with good form). On the final rep as you are coming back down from the sit-up, hold your position halfway down and contract your stomach and hold for 10 seconds.

Sit-ups – 20 reps (On 20^th rep hold your position halfway down, 10 seconds)

               15 reps (On 15^th rep hold your position halfway down, 10 seconds)

                 10 reps (On 10^th rep hold your position halfway down, 10 seconds)

                  5 reps (On 5^th rep hold your position halfway down, 10 seconds)

               Max Reps (now finish with as many as possible)

Do this stomach workout 3 Times a week at a minimum.

Cardiovascular workout

Time to hit the treadmill, not! Come on why use a treadmill when you can do it outside! If you really want a six pack then do your cardio outside. The cardio workout I am going to give you is Sprint interval training (also known as HIIT, High Intensity Interval Training). For this work out you will be sprinting for a set amount of time then going into a jog for a set amount of time then back into the sprint then back into the jog until all intervals are completed (1-5 intervals)

Warm up – 5–10 minutes slow paced jog

Dynamic Stretches – Squats 10 reps, lunges 10 reps each side, calf raise 10 reps.

Static stretches – quadriceps stretch 10 seconds hold each side, toe reach hold for 10 seconds (hamstring stretch).

Re-warm – 2 Minutes slow paced jog

Interval 1 – 10 seconds Sprinting, followed by 50 seconds slow-medium paced jog.

Interval 2 – 15 seconds sprinting, followed by 45 seconds slow-medium paced jog.

Interval 3 – 20 seconds sprinting, followed by 40 seconds slow-medium paced jog.

Interval 4 – 15 seconds sprinting, followed by 45 seconds slow-medium paced jog.

Interval 5 – 10 seconds Sprinting, followed by 50 seconds slow-medium paced jog.

Cool down – Slow paced jog 5 minutes

Static stretches – Hamstring stretch hold for 15-30 seconds each side, quadriceps stretch hold for 15-30 seconds each side, Forward lunge hold for 15-30 seconds each side.

Aim to do this Interval workout 2-3 times a week. This is an intense workout so if you don’t exercise much and have never been jogging then I would suggest swapping this sprinting with jogging and the jogging with walking so you can get your body used to this type of training.

Muscle conditioning workout

This will be 10 minute non stop workout, working the full body. You will have to carry out a specific exercise for a set amount of time then move straight onto the next exercise for a set amount of time and so on until your 10 minutes of hell are over.

Stretch your full body before doing this workout.

Pre stretching – hold stretches for 10 seconds.

Press-ups for 1 minute

Tricep dips for 1 minute

Squats for 1 minute

Star jumps for 1 minute

Jogging on the spot for 1 minute

Press-ups for 1 minute

Tricep dips for 1 minute

Forward lunge for 1 minute

Jumping squats 1 minute

Wall squat hold; hold for 1 minute

Post stretching - Now stretch off, hold stretches for 15-30 seconds.

Do this conditioning workout 2 times a week.

That’s it you now have what you need to be well on your way towards getting your six pack, a healthier body and better looking physique, But remember your Diet is very important, with out a good diet your six pack will be hard to achieve.

The final thing to do is to give you is a workout diary example:

Monday – Stomach workout & Sprint interval workout

Tuesday – Muscle conditioning workout

Wednesday – Stomach workout

Thursday – Sprint interval workout

Friday – Stomach workout

Saturday – Muscle conditioning workout.

Sunday – REST

This is the way I would suggest doing these workouts, but you can set it out to fit into your schedule if needed.

Thanks for reading, hope you found my post useful, any problems just comment the post and ill be glad to help. J 

Why water is more important than you think!

Why water is more important than you think.

Water is a nutrient that can be easily overlooked, but is arguably one of the most important nutrients our body needs in order to survive. Without water our body would only be able to survive a few days, this is because out body is around 60% water.

Vital functions of water:

·        All the chemical reactions that occur in our body take place in the medium of water. The water in every individual cell and the whole body must be kept constant so that all our body functions and our metabolism, remains efficient.

·        Water helps keep our body temperature regulated. It distributes heat around the body from the place where it is produced. Water can evaporate from the skin to try to cool down the body, this is known as sweating.

·        Water is the transportation system of the body. It moves everything around the body to the places it is needed and also takes waste products to excretory organs.

How much water should you drink?

Water output

Water is continuously lost throughout the day from sweating, excretion of waste and breathing. If you have a sedentary lifestyle, your body’s water output will be around 2.5 litres a day; this loss is through, urine, faeces, skin evaporation and respiration.

Water input

It is very difficult to accurately estimate how much water we should consume on a daily basis. Some of our water will come from the food we eat through out the day; for example, vegetables and fruit contain high amounts of water. Through a healthy and well balanced diet it has been estimated that we will consume around 1-1.5 litres of water. This still leaves our body needing more water; this is why you should drink around 2 litres of water throughout the day.

If you are exercising you will need to increase the amount of water you drink, even walking. An hour of exercise could lead to a further water loss of around 1-2 litres.

Water is the best fluid you can drink. Water is free and almost as good as any sports drink for hydration. All you need is a bottle to fill up with water and you’re good to go. You can buy bottled water, but there is not much difference between bottled and tap water, both will hydrate your body exactly the same.

The consequences of lack of water (Dehydration)

Lack of water can very serious. Loss of water is measured as a percentage of our body weight. 1 litre of water weighs approximately 1Kg.

·        A loss of 3% body fluids will reduce your blood flow and blood volume, inefficient kidney function and will cause dry mouth and headache.

·        A 4% loss will result in the capacity for hard muscle work to reduce by around 20-30%.

·        At 5% fluid loss heat exhaustion will occur, leading to medical attention.

·        A 7% loss will cause an individual to start hallucinating.

·        A 10% loss with lead to heat stroke, cause you to collapse and even death.

How can you assess your hydration levels?

Thirst is not a way of analysing your water needs, thirst is a response to dehydration. By the time you feel thirsty it is already too late, you are already dehydrated. This can be sufficient enough to effect performance.

A good way to know if you are hydrated enough is through the colour of your urine:

Clear                                 Hydrated

Very pale yellow              Hydrated

Pale yellow                       Hydrated

Yellow                              Mild dehydration

Dark Yellow                     Dehydration

Water is clearly important in our day to day life, simple changes such as drinking more water throughout the day will keep you feeling refreshed, hydrated and energised.

Next time you go out, remember to take a bottle of water with you, stay hydrated, feel the difference.