What is the Best Way to Exercise for Fat Loss?

With over two-thirds of Australian adults overweight or obese (2017-18), it is no surprise that fat loss is one of the main reasons that we exercise. For many, the physical, emotional and social toll that obesity can cause can be overwhelming. On top of the internal stressors, healthcare, supplement and exercise marketing can be extremely provoking and oftentimes manipulative of our feelings towards our own weight. ‘Quick fix’ surgeries, supplements and training schemes have become the norm in our society. They suck people into believing that weight loss is as easy as 1, 2, 3. Though if we look at the ever-growing obesity rates in our country and around the world, it is easy to see that these common interventions are simply not working. Many ‘quick-fix’ interventions will provide individuals with substantial weight loss in the very short term (1-8 weeks). Though they very rarely, if ever, keep the weight off. This is because maintaining a healthy weight long-term is about education and consistency. Habits, be it good or bad, are formed through prolonged repetition. Creating GOOD habits requires education on how a healthy weight is achieved and maintained and then putting that knowledge to work in everyday life. As many people start exercising in an attempt to lose weight, this article will look at why we want to lose fat, what fat actually is and how we can use exercise in a sustainable manner to create and maintain a healthy weight range.

Weight loss vs fat loss 

Firstly, there needs to be a distinction between weight loss and fat loss. Taken alone, weight loss is a terribly inaccurate measurement for improving health. Due to varying fluid intake, changes to our overall fluid levels lead us to experience significant day-to-day weight fluctuations. Take for example professional combat athletes such as boxers and mixed martial artists who have to weigh in for a particular weight class. These athletes can drop up to and sometimes over 10% of their body weight in the 24 hours prior to weigh-ins, before putting it all on again in a matter of hours! This shows us how quickly and significantly our body weight can shift from fluids alone. Whilst this amount of weight loss sounds impressive, it is actually incredibly taxing on the body. Staying well-hydrated is exceptionally important for physical health and losing weight through water-loss is definitely not the answer. FAT mass is what we really want to lose! Getting to and staying within a healthy body fat percentage (6-20% in men, 10-25% in women) will not only help you look and feel great, but it will also help to reduce your chance of developing type 2 diabetes, several types of cancer, heart disease and joint issues amongst other health benefits. Exercise for fat loss is what we really need, not exercise for weight loss.

Measuring fat loss

Being able to quantify progress is an important aspect of any training program. Whilst we can usually ‘feel’ when we have either lost or gained fat, actually measuring fat loss and your body fat percentage is a much harder task than it sounds (hence why we use the scales!). Even new-age technology such as DEXA scans has substantial reliability and consistency issues. Despite these drawbacks, to make educated guesses on how to progress your training and nutrition you do need to have some form of tracking. To cover all bases and provide as much accuracy as possible, we recommend using our 3-step tracking process. Firstly, you should weigh yourself a few times a week. Try not to look for any day-to-day changes, it is about trending towards your appropriate weight range across weeks and months. Secondly, measure yourself in key fat-storing areas, including the stomach (belly button), thighs and chest. If your measurement numbers are decreasing over time, it is likely due to changes in fat mass. Thirdly, document your visual appearance. Muscle definition is a great representation of body fat levels. The more definition you can see, the leaner you probably are. Using all 3 tools together paints a very clear picture from which you can draw accurate conclusions.

Body fat and energy balance

Adipocytes, better known as fat cells, actually have a number of key roles in the human body. They provide cushion for joints and organs, warmth and even send messages to other parts of the body. Though their bad reputation comes from the ability to store energy in the form of triglycerides (fat molecules inside fat cells). Triglycerides are formed when energy that enters the body in the form of food and drink is not used up during activity and bodily processes such as breathing and digestion. Whilst there are many factors that influence energy metabolism, there are two key behaviours that heavily influence our overall level of body fat: calorie consumption and activity. 

In a country such as Australia (or any western country for that matter) where energy-dense food is so readily accessible, reducing calorie consumption can be tricky! Not impossible, just tricky. Typical strategies such as counting calories require education that isn’t necessarily taught in schools. Whilst we encourage everyone to learn about calories, macronutrients and food groups (see our other articles), it is not a strategy that can be implemented right this very second. Exercise, on the other hand, can be! Therefore, increasing energy expenditure through an increase in activity seems to be the logical first step for most individuals and that is where we shall focus. 

Building an Activity Base

Participating in a decent level of physical activity every day is a great way to maintain a healthy body and a healthy mind. Whilst that is probably common knowledge to most people, statistics show that a significant amount of Australian adults do not get anywhere near enough exercise each week. Call it lack of time, laziness or whatever you want to label it, I believe that it comes down to not knowing where to start.

Rather than prescribing specific exercise, I simply want you to start with easy exercise for fat loss. The reason we start with easy is to build the number one ingredient to success: consistency. Consistency is what saves you from getting caught in the yo-yo trap and ensures you are healthy for life not just the 3-weeks over summer. If you can find a routine that fits your schedule and you enjoy it, you’re halfway there!

So what do YOU find easy? Is it walking 5km? Is it jogging 3km? Is lifting weights? What is it that you could do every single day to get your activity level up? There needs to be a base level of exercise that you achieve every single day. It doesn’t have to be the same thing day-in, day-out, just a dedicated amount of time per day where you are constantly moving. Let’s start off with an hour. One hour is 1/24th or approximately 4% of your day. It is a small commitment that can make all of the difference to your health. This 1-hour of activity will become your activity backbone. It will ensure that no matter what you do with your day, you have still completed an hour’s worth of exercise.

Building Training Intensity

Now whilst walking 5km a day is a great start, it definitely isn’t the most time-efficient way to burn energy. This is because the rate of energy expenditure is directly proportionate to the exercise intensity. A simple representation of the expenditure-intensity relationship is to compare walking and running. An hour walk may burn somewhere around 200-400 calories, whilst an hour run could be somewhere between 500-800 calories. Those numbers might not be entirely accurate for you and your body, though it does highlight the fact that as intensity increases, so too does energy expenditure. For the time-poor office-worker, building up your training intensity may be the answer to efficient exercise for fat loss!

Using a heart rate monitor is an easy and accessible way to gauge your training intensity. Your heart rate is a simple yet accurate reflection of how hard your body is working. Your heart will beat faster in response to the muscles requiring a greater blood flow to aid in the transport of molecules involved in energy production. Basically this means the longer we can train at a high heart-rate, the more energy we are going to burn! Unfortunately, as you probably already know (or will quickly find out), you can’t just sit your foot on the gas all of the time. This is because as we increase the intensity, we eventually move from a predominantly aerobic energy system (nice friendly breathing) to an anaerobic energy system (intense breathing). During this process, our body moves from burning fat (a slow, yet efficient process) to burning carbohydrate (fast, inefficient and limited) to keep up with the rise in energy demand. This does not mean that staying at a low-intensity is better for burning BODY-FAT by any means! Try to think of body-fat as the reserve energy that replenishes your energy systems after a workout. If we burn enough energy through aerobic or anaerobic training during our workout, it will lead to a reduction in body-fat. This means that we can use a variety of different training styles such as steady-state jogging, high-intensity intervals and even sprint intervals to burn energy as long as we end up with a similar amount of work across the session.

It is important to note that whilst energy-expenditure increases in response to training intensity, so too does fatigue. The harder you train, the longer the recovery time required. It is important to find a balance between training hard and allowing your body to rejuvenate. It may be wise to begin your training journey by building up your low-intensity training volume before moving into higher-intensity activities. This could mean focusing on maintaining a heart rate around 60-70% of your max heart rate for the majority of your session. On top of creating a strong fitness base, training at a moderate intensity can help you avoid burning out both physically and mentally. For more experienced trainers that already have a strong fitness base, it can be wise to still vary your training intensity and avoid going all-out every single day. Low-intensity sessions can be fantastic for aiding recovery between high-intensity days and still allow you to spend a decent amount of energy.

Building Training Volume

Alternatively, if you are not necessarily pressed for time or you are ready to make fat-loss your number one priority, you can increase your exercise volume. In other words, rather than increasing the intensity of your exercise, you could simply increase the time you spend exercising! This can be ideal for those of you who are just beginning your training and would prefer to start off with a low-intensity mode of exercise such as walking. Begin with one hour a day and slowly transition towards two hours. As your fitness progresses you can start to shift a portion of your time towards a higher intensity exercise modality such as weight training or running. Again, that advice is aimed at those who are literally starting from scratch! If you already have a decent fitness base you can jump into whatever type of training you like as long as you aren’t making an enormous leap! As a general rule, it is best to avoid increasing exercise output by over 20% from one week to the next. Make small increases week-in, week-out and you will be able to keep yourself on track.

Volume X Intensity

If your goal is to exercise for fat loss, the single worst thing you can do as you increase your level of exercise is to burn yourself out. It is too common for people to dive in (with good intentions) and come out sick, injured and unmotivated. Burn-out is usually the result of a sharp increase in both exercise volume and exercise intensity. Going from barely exercising outside of your walk from the car to your workplace to entering a 5-day a week HIIT cycle is not going to work for most people. Your body just can’t recover appropriately at the beginning of your training! No, you do not have to build up by 10 minutes week by week, just start with 1-3 higher intensity sessions per week if that’s what you’re into. Give your body some time to adapt to the stress that is being placed upon it. As a general rule try to avoid increasing both intensity AND volume week to week. Either build on the time that you exercise OR the intensity that you are training at, not both!

Consistency: Long Term Vs Quick Fix

Want to know the secret to keeping the weight off? Build consistency! The biggest issue that comes with your typical 5-8 week intense exercise program is that it makes you believe that there is a finish line. Health and fitness is a lifetime commitment. We need to make sure that we develop a routine that is going to be achievable long-term. 45 minutes of moderate exercise every day is going to do a lot more for you than a 21-day intensive Bootcamp once a year. Focus on building something that actually fits into your life year-round and you will have no issues staying in tip-top shape. That is not to say that you cant ramp your training up for a wedding or a holiday, there just needs to be a fallback plan. When your motivation is low and you are struggling for extrinsic rewards, what will you do? Build an activity backbone and you will never have to worry. Consistent exercise for fat loss has been proven to be effective.

Nutrition

You didn’t think that I was going to write an article without any mention of nutrition, did you?

No matter the goal, nutrition is always going to play a major role in your physical results. As the old saying goes, you will never out-train a bad diet. Meaning no amount of activity is going to help you lose fat if you are in a calorie surplus. It’s just facts. It is important to have the same outlook on nutrition as you do with training, no shortcuts or quick fixes, simply build consistency in a way that works for you.

One strategy that I have personally used with a lot of success is the ‘eat-more’ method. It is a puzzling name for a simple concept. I want you to eat more protein (meat, dairy, poultry, protein shakes, bars, seeds, etc) and more fibre (fruit, vegetables, nuts, whole grains etc). If you eat more of these low-energy-density foods, you will have less room and less time for crap. Pretty simple. Your body gets hungry for a reason and it is up to you to satisfy that hunger with appropriate food. Sticking to a (mostly) whole-food diet will usually result in appropriate calorie intake and will provide you with sufficient protein and micronutrients. Tick.

Another strategy that has grown in popularity over the last decade is calorie counting. If you are really new to the concept of calories and macronutrients, I think that counting calories can be an exceptional educational tool. It will open your eyes to the different benefits and drawbacks of the various food groups and allow you to see food from a ‘numbers’ point of view. It will teach you to be mindful of what you are eating and allow you to make educated guesses on portions and overall daily intake. Of course, it is vitally important that you only ever count calories as a GUIDE! It should never be a prescription. There is actually exceptional variability in the number of calories found in food and the numbers found on the internet or on the packaging are simply an average. Add that to the variability created by the differences in your daily activity and you can see that the calculations are never going to be entirely accurate. A better option (in my humble opinion) is to create a calorie ballpark where you give yourself a 500 calorie range to fall within. This allows you to vary your eating based on hunger and circumstances without ever straying too far from the centre. Consistency over perfection!

Conclusion

In conclusion, training for fat-loss is all about building a sustainable level of exercise that in partnership with a decent diet allows you to maintain a healthy weight. Always do your best to avoid extremes and be sure to know that you always have a choice. There is no one size fits all for health and fitness!

Train hard, train smart and always have fun.

Simplify Your Diet

When it comes to dieting, one rule stands out above the rest. Keep it SIMPLE, stupid.

People LOVE to overcomplicate nutrition. They will take any small new study and twist the findings to make it seem like making this one drastic change will be the magic pill to sustained health, fitness and a shinny, olive-skinned six-pack. For 99% of you, I am sure that you know from experience that this is rarely if ever the outcome. Actually, most of you will know that it is NEVER the outcome.

99% of what we need to know about nutrition has already been well documented, it has been around for years! We know that we need to eat an appropriate amount of calories. Anything severely over or severely under starts to cause issues. We know that a relatively high-protein diet is great for muscle mass retention and controlling our appetite. We have all heard from our parents the importance of eating our fruit and vegetables and getting enough fibre for digestive health. So why is there still confusion when it comes to constructing a sustainable diet? Because everyone completely over-emphasises the little details.

There is literally every type of diet out there. High carb, low fat. Low carb, high fat. Keto. CARNIVORE. Vegan. Paleo. Pescetarian. Vegetarian. IIFYM. The list goes on.

These are all different types of diets that have drastically different rules and are sometimes completely opposing, yet ALL of them still work for different groups of people. Why do they all work?

Because the SPECIFICS of the diet does not matter. All of these diets can be successful through a combination of the following factors:

1. Reduced calorie intake (mainly)
2. Increased protein intake

Let us take a look at each of them individually.

High carb, low fat: Almost completely removes a macronutrient from the diet that may result in fewer calories being consumed. 

High fat, low carb: See above.

Keto: Completely removes carbohydrates from the diet, which can result in fewer calories being consumed.

Carnivore: Removes carbohydrate intake and severely limits your food options, possibly resulting in an increase in protein intake and reduction in calories.

Vegan: Removes animal products from the diet, forces you to eat a higher fibre, higher carbohydrate diet. It also restricts your ability to eat many processed foods as most will contain animal products, all of which could cause a reduction in calorie intake.

Paleo: Removes all processed foods. This forces you to eat whole foods which are naturally lower in calories (per volume) and usually provide a higher protein and fibre content. 

Pescetarian: A pescetarian diet is largely plant-based with the exception of fish. Plant-based diets are typically low in calories, due to their high fibre and low-fat content.

Vegetarian: Again, largely plant-based with the exception of eggs and dairy products. 

IIFYM: If It Fits Your macros can work by forcing you to hit a macronutrient and calorie goal. Whilst there is more freedom with what you can eat, you must keep track of your exact macronutrient and energy intake.

As you can see there is nothing inherently special about ANY of the diets mentioned above. They simply make it harder to OVER-CONSUME calories by either focusing on the consumption of whole-foods, removing food groups or literally counting calories. No matter what kind of glorifying comments someone makes about why their particular diet is the be-all and end-all, it always comes back to this. Is there more to a diet than controlling calories? Of course, there is. Though there is no other single factor that has nearly the same impact on overall health. Consuming a healthy amount of calories, that keeps you within a healthy weight range is the number one, stand-alone option that we have for improving health through nutrition.

The next best nutritional intervention out there, that a lot of these diet options fail to address, is an increased protein intake. Protein is good for a lot of things! Though the main benefit is the maintenance and/or increase in muscle mass. Increasing muscle mass is important for energy expenditure, insulin sensitivity and joint health amongst a host of other benefits. If your diet is based around animal products then you probably won’t have too much of an issue with getting enough protein. On the flip side, a diet that removes animal products will typically fail to provide enough protein unless there is supplementation or a planned protein strategy. It is vitally important that those who follow a vegan diet are aware of their amino acid needs and either pair foods or supplement with a complete protein source to ensure they are getting the recommended amount of each amino acid. Pescetarians and vegetarians are at less risk of deficiency, as long as they do include either fish or eggs/dairy on a daily basis.

Okay, so which diet should you choose?

YOUR OWN.

Eat whatever YOU like, as long as you do not over-consume calories or under-consume protein. It is that simple, I promise you. If you have ethical issues with eating meat, that’s fine, don’t eat meat. Just make sure you still hit your protein intake. If you like to eat take-out and include sweets in your daily eating habits, that’s okay, though you should count your calories to make sure you know exactly how much you are actually eating. If you want to just eat meat like a carnivore (why you would give up pasta is beyond me), that’s fine as well. Just know that there are a lot of good foods that come from plants too. 

Otherwise, if you are less extreme and a little lame like me, you can just combine all of these different options and simply eat a balanced diet that focuses on protein, low energy wholefoods and overall food satisfaction and you will be just fine.

As always, the BASICS get you the results, everything else is simply something to talk about!

The Strength and Size Formula

There are people who want to be strong without the size, others that just live for the pump and then there are those that get greedy and want to be the biggest guy in the gym with the lifts to match. This article is about what you need to do, to be option number 3.

Let us start by looking at what you need to do to build SIZE vs what you need to do to build STRENGTH.

BUILDING SIZE

If you have read any of our other articles about building muscle, then you will know that there are a multitude of methods that can produce high-quality results. You can lift light-ish weights (~30 reps) to failure if you like to blow your muscles up, you can stick to traditional bodybuilding ranges and use around 70% of your max weight for 8-12 reps, or you can go down the powerlifting pathway and play around with some 5×5’s if you feel like moving some heavier weight. Of course, these are not the only options you have for building muscle, there is incredible variability in the methods that different people have used to build fantastic physiques.

Whilst there is freedom in the methods that you can use to build muscle, the underlying principles remain the same. Firstly, it is quite clear that we need to provide our body with a stimulus that challenges the body. In the case of hypertrophy (fancy word for muscle growth), the challenge needs to come in the form of mechanical loading. We need to challenge the body with either total load (heavier weight) or volume of load (increased sets/reps) and usually a combination of both. Unless you are a complete couch-dweller and haven’t exercised in months, you will also need to use a weight that you cannot lift for more than 30-40 reps or else you’re probably just doing a fancy version of cardio.

BUILDING STRENGTH

Training for strength is both simple and exceptionally complicated. In terms of developing MAX strength, countless coaches and scientists have shown that training near maximum (1-5 reps) provides the greatest increase in 1-rep strength for any given exercise. This largely comes down to the SAID principle which states that there are “specific adaptations to imposed demands” and what this really implies is that the more we practice a particular movement with a particular load, the better our body is going to get at performing this specific activity. Therefore if you want to get better at heavy deadlifting, best believe that you should be performing heavy deadlifts, and/or using exercises that have a similar movement pattern and similar neuromuscular demands.

This does not mean that all you should do is lift as heavy as you can! There are many other factors that go into building maximal strength. Whilst training with heavy loads (1-5 reps) is great for improving several neuromuscular components that influence strength, this method isn’t optimal for all aspects of strength development. Muscle size is one of the key ingredients for developing maximal strength and it has been shown that using very high weights for very few reps is not ideal for stimulating hypertrophy. Therefore it is important to make sure that your training is designed to cover all bases of strength development.

THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS

As you can probably conclude, size and strength go together like cheese and crackers. The bigger you are, the more potential you have to lift heavier weights. So how do we increase muscle size in a way that is MOST beneficial to max strength? 

We try to stick closer to the strength end of the hypertrophy-continuum. Using a rep range somewhere around 5-15 is going to stimulate muscle growth whilst being MORE SPECIFIC to max-strength than higher rep ranges. The neural and structural adaptations are going to be closer to those created during heavy lifting and are less likely to produce OPPOSING adaptations that can be seen with very high rep, endurance-type exercise.

To maintain maximal strength, it is important that you continue to include some specific strength work (>80% 1RM) in your program at all times. For general strength, try to cover all of the key movement patterns each week (upper body push, squat variation and a pull variation) without going too overboard on volume or frequency. 3-5 working sets using 1-5 reps should do the trick!

Due to the high neural and bioenergetic requirements of heavy lifting, it is best to begin your session with maximal strength work (after your dynamic warm-up of course!). We want to ensure that the body is fresh and ready to perform at maximal capacity for each working set. This means that there will need to be an extended break of 2-4 minutes between sets to maximise recovery. Once you have completed your strength work, you can then move onto your high-rep, high-fatigue hypertrophy sets. We always suggest reducing the complexity of the exercises as fatigue increases across the session to avoid a breakdown in technique.

Of course, there is always more to it and the information provided here is simply an overview of what you need to consider when designing your own size and strength training program. As we have mentioned in several other articles, the effort you put into your training must be matched by your recovery and your nutrition if you want to get the absolute most out of your training! 

Train hard, eat well and keep moving forward!

Catchy heading right?

Everyone in health and fitness seems to get a kick out of debating over every little aspect of training and the poor old squat is no exception. Most people are either extremely pro squat or will avoid them at all costs, very rarely will people talk about the situations in which the squat is going to be an appropriate tool. Therefore this article aims to distinguish who should squat, why you should squat and some of the considerations you should make before determining whether this exercise should be a staple in your training regime.

History of the squat

The squat is one of the most basic, fundamental human movements. We can squat as soon as we can stand. As we become older, anatomical changes can hinder our ability to sit in a perfect deep squat, though the vast majority of us still have the ability to do so. Most of us, if not all will squat in some sort of manner every day.

In modern times, squatting weight as an exercise became popular in the early 19th century, yet it has more than likely been around for centuries. Over the last 50 years, the development of powerlifting and bodybuilding has led to the movement becoming almost synonymous with weight training. A quick google of the word will provide you with thousands of articles (including this one) picking apart every aspect of the squat movement.

Why is the squat so popular?

I believe that the squat and its variants are popular for 3 major reasons.

Powerlifting/ a display of full-body strength

Squatting is a skill, used within a sport that requires repetitive practice to master. If you wish to be a competitive and successful powerlifter, then you must squat!
For those that don’t compete, it is still an astounding show of strength. Usually, it will be close to, if not the highest amount of weight that a person can move and many people like to use the squat as a marker for full-body strength.

Muscle and strength development

The use of the squat as an exercise to build the muscles of the lower body and back is probably the most popular reason for squatting. It has been shown in many studies to develop strength and size in the quads, glutes and pretty much your entire body.

Simplicity

As mentioned earlier, the squat is a basic human movement. Therefore it makes sense that it is used in a variety of ways for physical fitness. I am sure that many people will argue that a ‘good’ squat is not simplistic, though realistically if it is used with kids through to the elderly, from beginner stage through to elite weightlifting, it can’t really be considered a specialised skill.

Who absolutely HAS to squat?

If squatting is a part of your sport, aka you are a powerlifter/Olympic lifter, then you definitely need to be performing squat variations regularly. Just like with any sport-specific skill, repetition is a key ingredient to mastery. You aren’t going to step up to the plate in your first ever powerlifting meet and work it out as you go, now are you?

Who SHOULD NOT use a traditional back squat?

Those in pain

Let us start with the obvious. If squatting with a bar on your back causes significant pain, you should not be back squatting. Repeat this statement using any other exercise and you get the same answer. Whilst minor pain isn’t always an issue, pain during an exercise is rarely, if ever, necessary and it is extremely detrimental to motivation and performance. There are always ways that we can modify an exercise to reduce or eliminate pain, whilst training for the same outcomes. In most cases, minor pain will be a reflection of mobility limitation, weakness and/or overuse (usually a combination of all) and therefore a thorough examination of all relevant muscles and joints is required before deciding on the best course of action.

Those with mobility limitations

There is a certain amount of mobility that one must possess to be able to squat without disfunction. Limitations at the shoulder, hip or ankle can cause a host of up or down-stream issues in common areas such as the lower back and knee. Often times you may need to work specifically on mobility in the 3 key areas before you are able to get in a comfortable squat position. If there are long-term limitations to mobility such as shoulder surgery, you may find that using an alternative variation such as a safety squat bar can allow you to continue working on your prime movers (quads and glutes), without placing detrimental stress on the recovering area.

Those with anatomical limitations

Whilst many mobility issues can be alleviated through specific training, many people are faced with anatomical limitations that inhibit their ability to perform a picture-perfect, full-range squat. An example is a person that has extremely long femurs (upper leg) and limited ankle range of motion. Their squat is going to look more like a hip hinge, than a squat. This is where it is important to step back and have a think about WHY you are performing the squat. If you are using a squat to try and develop quadricep strength through a full range of motion, a traditional squat will not be the answer for this specific person. Again, the only reason you HAVE to use the squat is if it is used within your competition. 

Those with muscle imbalances

The squat is a bilateral exercise, it requires the use of both sides of the body. As humans we are naturally asymmetrical, meaning that for 99% of us, we are stronger and more coordinated on one side of the body. Significant strength differences between the lower limbs can cause a heavy reliance on the dominant leg during bilateral exercises. Not only will this continue to widen the strength gap, but it can also lead to dysfunction in other areas of the body. It is important to recognise any major strength differences and work on unilateral exercises such as a single leg squat before progressing into heavy bilateral squats.

Those with poor motor control

By now you have probably got the idea that position is everything. How a squat is performed will determine what is actually gained from its inclusion in an exercise program. For young children, growing teenagers and many sedentary adults, coordination isn’t always a strong suit. Before participating in any weight-loaded exercise, a person must be proficient with their own bodyweight. It is never a good idea to place weight on the back of someone who cannot perform a bodyweight squat with control through a full range of motion. Mobility and coordination should always come before load!

Those with weak supporting muscles

Most people would agree that the squat is an exercise used mainly to develop the quadriceps and the glutes. So what happens when the strength of the spinal erectors is the reason you can not lift any more weight or perform any more reps? Are your quads and glutes really getting the stimulation they need from this exercise? The answer is probably not. In this case, it could be beneficial to perform an exercise such as the leg press for quad and glute strength whilst using specific back exercises to build up the erector muscles. Alternatively, if you really want or need to work on your squat pattern, you could continue to squat (improving the skill component) whilst using accessory exercises to strengthen your weak areas.

Who CAN or SHOULD squat?

If you are strong, healthy and coordinated, you can squat however you like! There is no reason that you should not use the squat to develop or test lower-body strength and/or to build muscle mass.

For athletes, there is definitely an extreme performance upside to having a strong squat. In fact, squat strength has been shown to have very high correlation with vertical jump height, acceleration and overall lower body power amongst a host of other physical benefits. This does not mean that you must squat to become a good athlete! It simply means that the attributes that lead to someone having a strong squat (lower-body and torso strength) tend to benefit several areas of athletic performance. Can you use the squat as a TOOL to develop strength? Of course. Just don’t leave this article thinking that it is specifically the squat that causes increases in performance. Focus on building lower body and torso strength through whatever exercises suit your body and your situation.

In conclusion, there is never going to be a one-size-fits-all exercise. Play around and find out what works for you. If you really enjoy squatting, try out all of the many variations and see which one feels best for your body. If you need to, make sure to take the time to address your limitations and focus on developing the key ingredients that lead to a strong and healthy squat. At the end of the day, exercising for aesthetics, performance and wellness all have one thing in common, injury is the enemy. Stay healthy, have fun and enjoy your training!

Eating on game day

For athletes that are serious about their sport, game day nutrition is a major piece of the success puzzle. Many athletes will go to extreme lengths to ensure they are physically prepared for a game, yet somehow forget about the cornerstone of all movement, energy.

Energy is the fuel that allows us to run, jump and tackle. Having a large energy tank and using it efficiently is what allows us to repeatedly perform at a high level.

As humans, we source energy through the breakdown of protein, carbohydrates, and fats. The rate at which we can access the energy carried in these macronutrients is not equal, so it’s not just about filling the fuel tank, it is vitally important that we do so with the right fuel at the right time. Using a slow release fuel such as fat is not going to cut it when called upon during the numerous intense efforts throughout a football match.

Aside from energy, meal size and digestion rate must be acknowledged. I’m sure you all agree that you do not want to be playing with a full stomach. Once you are up and running, your stomach drastically reduces its ability to digest. That means the closer we get to a game, the faster the meal must be broken down.

Most proteins, fats, and fiber have slow digestion rates. Whilst this is a great thing for minimizing hunger, it is not great for game day performance. That is why in the examples below, you will see meals that are mainly carbohydrate.

Before moving forward I must stress that the following rules and examples are applicable for GAME DAY and do not necessarily apply to training days or rest days.

RULEBOOK

If you already understand nutrition and energy metabolism, here are the key rules that I want you to implement on game day.

Pre-game:

1. Minimize fat and fiber intake.
2. Consume some protein with breakfast.
3. Eat low GI carbohydrates up until 2 hours before the game.
4. Do not overeat.
5. Do not excessively drink (you should be hydrated from the days prior).

In-game:

1. Consume high GI carbohydrates.
2. Consume water.
3. Consume some sodium.

Both the carbohydrates and sodium can be found within a Gatorade or any major sports drink.

Post-game:

1. Shower, relax, then eat.
2. Eat lots of protein and carbohydrates.
3. Replace any weight loss.

Without going into the specifics of exercise metabolism, it is important to understand that carbohydrates fuel high-intensity exercise. Our muscles and liver can only hold so much glycogen (energy), so ensuring our tank is full, and topped up regularly throughout the match, is very important.

If all of the above meant absolutely nothing to you, that’s ok!

Just follow the recommendations below.

Meal plan

For a 2pm start

Breakfast (8 am): Yoghurt, muesli, and berries or Weetbix with milk and a protein shake.

Lunch (11 am): 2 wholemeal sandwiches (no salad or meat) or medium bowl of fried rice/ pasta (do not over-consume!!)

Pre-game: 1 banana.

In-game: 1 Gatorade.

Immediately post-game: 2 scoops of whey protein and 1 Gatorade or soft drink.

Within 2 hours: large serve of meat with pasta, rice or potato.

Later that night: another 1-2 scoop whey protein shake.

For those starting at 12 pm, I would simply take out the lunch meal and have it post game.

For those playing at 10 am I would have a small breakfast at 6:30-7 am and then still have the banana at 9 am if hungry.

Hopefully, this information can help take your game to the next level in 2019!

In a recent paper titled ‘Kombucha: cooler than black tea’ scientists found that actually showing people you are consuming kombucha increases its ability to protect against common cancers and heart disease.

It was also found that regardless of your position in social hierarchy, the common and extremely cheap black tea, could provide similar, if not greater health benefits than Kombucha.

This was met with significant outrage from several instagram personalities who claim that black tea packaging isn’t half as hip as kombucha.

“Anything that costs less than $5 a bottle cannot be good for you” Proclaimed aspiring fitness coach Charlie. “For anything less than 50c a cup it has to be filled with GMO’s” He added.

Recently we interviewed local PT Stephen for a couple of pointers on how he manages to stay in amazing shape year round.

“Calories are fake news” he says. “All that matters is following a sugar-free, gluten free, dairy free, organic, plant-based diet”.

“There’s nothing else to it really, just follow these few simple rules and you’ll never put on weight.”

We asked Stephen if he had any data to support his claims that eliminating such food groups was important to weight maintenance.

“Mate, take a fucking look at me”

“I am the product of THE perfect diet”.

Whilst the laws of thermodynamics clearly prove the importance of calorie intake on changes in body mass, Stephen still believes the absence of “nasty metabolites” will negate any chance of putting on weight.

“It’s all about the healthy fats, you know. Avocados and peanut oil are bulletproofing my stomach against calories. It’s the nasty sugar that has been holding people back for years.” He insists.

Once questioned on his obvious large intake of designer steroid hormones and the possibility this may skew his results, Stephen was unavailable to comment.

We will be back with more from Stephen.

December 20th.

Recently we surveyed the local weight area in Florida USA on their attitudes towards cardiovascular training. It’s fair to say that the response was overwhelmingly one-sided. The response we received from one Florida man was particularly concerning, although not really surprising.

“HAHAHA” said big Aaron, a Florida local man.

“I wouldn’t even look at a treadmill” he said, flexing his pecs.

After catching his breath following a 5 rep deadlift set, Jason found enough oxygen to add his thoughts. “Mate, why would I do cardio? Don’t you think I get enough of that at home” followed by a surprisingly awkward chuckle.

Dave, Jason’s training partner was quick to shut this statement down “Jase you haven’t thrusted anything other than a bar in 5 years”.

Which brought the whole area into hysterics.  “Nah but seriously, anything over 6 reps is pretty much classed as cardio. Anything over 12 reps is eating into my gains. What would be the point of training?” Dave adds.

“The only sort of running we go here in Florida is away from the Gators, that shit is life and death really”.

Dave produces a very valid point. There is clear evidence that suggests we can only train for one physical trait at any point in time. I mean, look at crossfit, martial arts and rugby, they’re all skinny little dweebs that couldn’t curl the 10’s.

One prominent local personal trainer Jenny, has today announced on her Facebook & Instagram pages that there is a surprising amount of calories in alcoholic beverages, citing an overused, terrible resolution infographic.

One of her top clients George commented: “I just had no idea that a sugar-filled cocktail had more calories in it than a G&T. This explains a lot tbh, I’ll be watching out for this now”.

It has been confirmed that one Espresso Martini is nearly as bad for your health as downing 10 vodka Red Bulls, Jenny told us based on anecdotal research she had done. Just one cocktail is equal to approximately 10 shots of straight vodka in terms of calories. This revelation is truly shocking for many of Jenny’s clients, “they don’t quite like straight alcohol tbh, but I’ve told them to get plastered on straight, rather than enjoy cocktails with sugar”.

The local personal trainer has been making a real effort as of late to bust myths, and tell ‘hard truths’ to their client base. This seems to have mostly come in the form of copy & paste Google search results that support her claims thus far, although we’re confident there will be more shocking content to come.

Experts within the fitness industry have for decades hypothesized over the debate of correlation vs causation, specifically in the case of somewhat fit men aged 18-24 removing the word ‘the’ from their vocabularies. It seems that only men within this age bracket, who aren’t unfit but also aren’t notably, fit seem to be unable to use this word, both in written and verbal forms of communication.

It wasn’t previously known why only males with a mediocre level of fitness within this age group would utter phrases such as, ‘let’s go gym’ or ‘let’s go city on weekend’, but scientists now understand that this form of communication is actually caused when rapid muscular growth occurs, followed by a period of doing exactly the same exercise routine for 6 months. “These rapidly growing muscles begin to steal valuable nutrients away from the brains pathways responsible for un-cringeworthy communication” states fitness scientist Frank McDonald, “our research shows that these young males aren’t able to cognitively recognise the fact they are making anyone over the age of 50 reminisce about the good old days of proper grammar”.

Whilst it was previously thought that a steady and well thought out exercise regime was needed to achieve notable levels of fitness that could propel one to the status of “instafamous”, it turns out that consistently viewing this same not very creative + strangely specific picture can be just as effective.

“The increase in LBM was astounding from our initial results” said Merton, “these types of images will likely be banned soon, get in whilst you still can”.