When it comes down to it, most people can nail one or two aspects of what needs to happen to enable them to achieve their objective. Unless you are genetically lucky, you really need to nail all three aspects of the equation… if you can get all of these things working together, optimal results for your body type is just around the corner:

• Macronutrient balance of protein, Starch, starch and fats. Everything stars in the kitchen.
• Aerobic/Anaerobic Threshold Cardiovascular training. Get fitter and leaner!
• Lifting heavy weights using big compound movements. Build up your lean mass foundations.

Today brings us unto Strength and Conditioning part. Its really quite simple, by lifting progressively heavier weights, using compound movements, you:

• Demand the energy to lift the weights. Macronutrient demand will go up for output.
• By creating exercise-induced muscular damage. Macronutrient demand will go up for recovery.                                                                 

Raising your BMI

By adding more lean muscle mass to the body, you raise the body mass index (BMI). This a very positive reaction. More lean mass equates to higher demand on macronutrients around the body on a basic level not mention a high-performance level. This means that you are burning more calories at the basal metabolic rate (resting). This means that you must keep raising your caloric intake to match your increased lean mass.

NUTRIENT AVAILABILITY = THE KEY

the TRI-FACTOR in a nutshell:

• Gain control over your macro’s going into the body.
• Aerobic/Anaerobic cardio threshold training. In the shape of, post workout cardio 20-minute sessions or the big solo 40-60 minute sessions.
• Take an overloadable approach to a solid all-around strength and conditioning regime & turn up your metabolic rate with some good old exercise-induced muscular trauma.

The point I’m making here is, you can feel like you are putting all the effort in the world into this but you are simply not achieving your end goal. Take a look at your TRI-FACTOR approach and ask yourself are you ticking all of the boxes or just one or two of them?

COMPOUND MOVEMENTS FOR MAXIMUM RECRUITMENT

LEG TRAINING IDEAS: 

BACK SQUATS

FRONT SQUATS

ROMANIAN DEADLIFT (STIFF LEG DEADLIFT)

FRONT LUNGES

REVERSE LUNGES

GOOD MORNINGS

SHOULDERS TRAINING  IDEAS:

BENT OVER REVERSE DUMBBELL FLY’S (BOTH, SHORT LEVER & LONG LEVER VERSIONS)

CABLE REVERSE OR MACHINE REVERSE FLY

MILITARY SHOULDER PRESS OR FRONT BARBELL/DUMBBELL RAISES

BARBELL UPRIGHT ROWS OR DUMBBELL LATERAL RAISES

BACK TRAINING IIDEAS:

DEADLIFTS

CHIN UPS

BENT OVER BARBELL ROW

HORIZONTAL DUMBBELL ROW

HORIZONTAL CABLE/MACHINE ROW

LAT PULL DOWN (WIDE PRONATE-SUPERNATE MEDIUM OR NEUTRAL GRIP)

CHEST TRAINING IDEAS:

FLAT BENCH BARBELL PRESS or DUMBBELL PRESS

INCLINE, DUMBBELL or BARBELL PRESS

DECLINE BARBELL or  DUMBBELL PRESS

DUMBBELL SHORT LEVER AND LONG LEVER FLY’S

DIPS

To get the maximum return on your time investment, get the compound movements going and the small muscles will to a point follow suit. Once you have earned your stripes on the basic compound movements, only then should you then start to focus on adding in the isolation movements for arms etc. If you are going heavy enough on back and chest days, this should be enough to keep the biceps and triceps challenged… There are loads of simple isolation movements that can be flung in on top when the time is right. I will cover these later.

All of the movements above can be found and analysed on youtube or the net in general. There are bucket-loads of great footage out there for you to breakdown and study. You will quickly find the guys who are doing it right and the guys who are not…

Take side footage of your LiFTS and analyse yours against theirs and learn from the pro’s how to change your technique for the best… there are forums in which you can jump in and ask questions and options for professional guidance with coaching too. Don’t just fly by the seat of your pants, you will end up accumulating bad habits and even worse, injuries. Then you will stop LiFTiNG and run away with your tail between your leg saying for the rest of your life…. “yeah, I used to LiFT” … Blah Blah Blah

TRAIN HARD-EAT WELL-LOVE LOTTS-SLEEP DEEP

All the best!   

    Joseph Ralph 

Like us on Facebook: Lift Gym

If you wanna build or get those WASHBOARD ABZ OUT FOR SUMMER!?… then it all begins with getting your preparation in the kitchen  SPOT ON?

I use the very common rule of thumb that works very well generally speaking for most people. Aim for circa, 1-1.5 grams of protein per kilo of body weight.

So if you are:

1. 100 kg then you aim for circa 100-150gram of protein over your day’s meals,
2. 55kg = 55-77.5 grams of protein.

As you can see, by the pie chart which simplifies the macronutrient breakdown at a glance for you to easier understand.

MACRONUTRIENT BREAK DOWN

DIFFERENT ENERGY OUTPUT DAYS

MACRONUTRIENT BALANCE / DEFICIT

1. OPTIMAL HIGH ENERGY STARCH INTAKE – POWER, STRENGTH & HYPERTROPHY

MALE:                                                    FEMALE:

Protein -100g-= 400 cals                       Protein – 55g = 220 cals

Starch – 100g = 400 cals                         Starch – 55g = 220 cals

Fatty acid -11g = 100 cals                        Fatty acid – 5.5g = 49.5 cals

Bringing you an even ratio of Starch to Protein. They are both matched in caloric value. The Starch will break down into energy first to aid the breakdown and distribution of the Proteins. Once the cal’s run out from the starch, you will now have the cal’s from the fatty acids from the meal. This is awesome, your body starts to utilize fats off of the meal and when they run out… Ketosis is next. (You will use the body’s fat stores for fuel to keep you moving till the next meal)

2. MEDIUM ENERGY STARCH INTAKE WEIGHT LOSS & HYPERTROPHY

MALE:                                                      FEMALE :

Protein -100g-= 400 cals                          Protein – 55g = 220 cals

Starch – 66.6g = 266.6 cals                       Starch – 36.6g = 146.6 cals

Fatty acid -11g = 100 cals                           Fatty acid – 5.5g = 49.5 cals                    

This ratio gives your body a deficit of 1/3 fewer cals of Starch to Protein. The Starch will be used up faster with 1/3 less,  so this means that the fat from the plate is up next EVEN FASTER, bringing in the holy grail of fat burning… again, EVEN FASTER… Ketosis is next. (You will use EVEN BIGGER amounts of the body’s fat stores for fuel to keep you moving till the next meal)

3. LOW ENERGY STARCH INTAKE WEIGHT LOSS

MALE :                                                   FEMALE :

Protein -150g-= 600 cals                        Protein – 55g = 220 cals

Starch – 33.3g = 133.2 cals                     Starch – 18.3g = 73.3 cals

Fatty acid -11g = 100 cals                       Fatty acid – 5.5g = 49.5 cals

This ratio gives your body a deficit of 2/3 fewer calories of Starch to Protein. The Carbs will be used up even quicker now to break down the Protein, so the fat from the plate is up EVEN FASTER AGAIN! then, EVEN FASTER AGAIN… Ketosis is next. (You will use EVEN BIGGER again amounts of the body’s fat stores for fuel to keep you moving till the next meal)

As the carbohydrate defecate becomes bigger against the ration of Protein macro’s the Ketosis (use of the body’s fat as direct energy) becomes BIGGER.

MEAL SCHEDULING

For optimum nutrient availability, aim to eat between five and six meals a day. Six meals a day is what a bodybuilder or a serious athlete would target. Shorter gaps in between meals are always going to be better for your results across the board, with getting leaner, bigger and stronger.

. Examples of meal scheduling:

• 06.30hrs ‐ 09.30hrs ‐ 12.30noon ‐ 15.30hrs – 18.30hrs – 21.30 hrs.  ?

• 07.00hrs ‐ 10.30hrs ‐ 2.30pm – 17.30hrs – 21.30 hrs. ?

• 07.00hrs ‐ 13.30pm – 19.30 hrs.  ?

The bigger the gap in between meals will always have an impact on your optimal results in your weight management, hypertrophy & strength goals, not to mention your direct energy levels.

I get clients coming to me looking for the maximum return on their time and financial investment. We quickly take things to the next level with just a little bit of extra focus. With some good forward planning, you will get the optimal results you are looking for ONLY if you put the effort into some good food preparation.

If you are not already in possession of food weighing scales, you will need to obtain a set to get yourself into the regime of weighing your macro’s. At first, it will be a bit of a punish. Before you know it, the scales won’t be needed, you will get most of the weights spot after a month of using the scales.

TRAIN HARD-EAT WELL-LOVE LOTTS-SLEEP DEEP

All the best!   

    Joseph Ralph

Like us on Facebook: Lift Gym

We are at that point in time of the year, where I get that same old question fired at me… “Jo, what’s the best way to lose weight for summer?” YIP!…

Let me help you drop that last few stubborn winter kilos by taking a three-pronged approach. I will over the next three weeks post a blog on each different approach that I believe all add up and complement each other in achieving the best possible result to obtain the leanest YOU.

The AEROBIC THRESHOLD-Cardio approach

Generally speaking, the thing that I see stopping people the most from achieving prolonged weight loss goals is that they don’t stay in their aerobic threshold long enough to have any impact of utilizing their fats from the body’s abundant fat stores as energy. They get all excited on the endorphins that are created when you get Anaerobic and get off track. Or they believe all the latest HYP about THE NEW WAY… and how intervals are V for VICTORY as far as the fight against that FLAB!!

The latest fad diet and the latest and greatest fat blast sprint technique… YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST FOLKS…!!! It’s all just designed to get the consumer buying these magazines or downloads and APPS. People sure know how to stimulate there own economy by creating, THE NEXT BEST THING!

In my mind, the guys who get their body fat % down to insane levels to a point in time, are BODYBUILDERS… you really need to know what you’re doing to get down to 4-6% body fat… do you ever recall seeing them doing interval training to get there… Ehhhh NO. You see them stick the treadmill on level, inline six and walk for an hour every day. don’t get me wrong though, they are taking a 3 to 4 pronged approach at it, but still, the facts remain the same, Aerobic over Anaerobic any day of the week, wins every time! I’ve had many many clients pay me lots and lots of $$$ to get achieving their fat % goals over many years of coaching… Focus on the low-intensity stuff, where the direct energy source is fat from the body. Here it is definitely: less effort = LEANER.

1. Get yourself a nice 5 minute warm up.
2. Take your heart rate to around 70% of your maximum heart rate.
3. Maintain that for 45-60min.

Nice and steady wins the race here guys. You will find that there will be a lot of sweat! A big chunk of every fat molecule is water, so when you are dripping wet and wondering why as your work rate isn’t that high, the fats are breaking down into energy and one of the bi-products is water (SWEAT).

SWEAT IS FAT CRYING, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!!

1. Aerobic threshold training = Energy comes from Air and Fat.
2. Anaerobic threshold training = Energy comes from Carbs, Fats & PROTEIN.

CONSISTENCY IS THE KEY

Stay between the 65-75% of MAX HR. I tell my clients to sit at 70% just to make sure. (why?) The Anaerobic threshold is around the 75%MAX HR mark, as this 1. differs in everyone depending on fitness levels. We really are making a calculated guess in this regard and where the Aerobic threshold and Anaerobic threshold actually meet, so by staying that little bit lower means that you definitely stay in that FAT MULCHING ZONE!!!….

As soon as you head over that 70-75% of MAX HR, you start going into the “grey area”, energy systems start changing over from body fats to Carbs.

To roughly identify your maximum heart rate & work out your 70% of max:

Women = (220 – your age)
Men = (224- your age)
I am 46 yrs old male. The equation works like this: 224-46 = 124.6bpm

A pragmatic approach:

1. 1kg of fat tissue equals 3500 calories.
2. 1 hour of aerobic threshold cardiovascular = 600 calories.Unless you’re using a
Cybex- Arc trainer at LiFT gym, then an hour would look more like 800 calories.
3. 6 days of aerobic training in this threshold = 3600 calorie deficit you are looking
for… this equals just a fraction over a kilo of fat in calories.

There you have the key to weight management through Aerobic cardiovascular threshold training. Move your body for one hour a day, an hour a day six days a week is definitely 100% commitment. Be sure to give yourself a day off in the middle.

STANDBY
You should definitely be getting your weight management sorted out through a triple-pronged approach:

1. Aerobic threshold training.
2. Proper nutrition plan.
3. A good all-around strength and conditioning regime.

By taking this approach, you should be able to strip two kilos per week of sustainable, healthy weight loss.

You must set out a weekly goal and commit to achieving it or you will not hit the mark and fall short of your goal… DON’T BE  THAT GUY or GALL!!!   

Simple sugars are not always taboo; we can take advantage of them after we train. By emptying the muscle of energy and damaging the tissue through, i.e. LiFTiNG heavyweights, endurance training, if the muscle uses preferably, all of its energy, we can take advantage by stimulating insulin levels. By taking high amounts of sugar post-training, we stimulate the proper function of the Pancreas/Insulin levels. Insulin is a hormone that is even more anabolic (growth‐promoting) than testosterone. True story!

Insulin’s job is to deliver the nutrients straight to where they are needed most. There are enzymes that do the same job, however, insulin beats them hands down. It is an excellent practice to consume a big mix of complex carbs and between 40‐70 grams of simple carbs, i.e. sugars. Do not forget protein to obtain the best results and recovery from your training. And remember, insulin is more ‘anabolic’ than testosterone.

Cons

If, however, you are not training and are in no need of the sugar for fast energy replenishment or storage of blood/muscle glycogen levels, the body’s insulin levels will rise to do its work and yet there will be no stores that need replenishing. There is, therefore, nowhere for the energy to go but to your fat stores, so the insulin will deposit it all around your body’s fat stores because there is no need for it anywhere else.

Common sugar types

Just to make things harder, there are many different types of sugars, so let’s just leave them all together to make it as easy as possible. Some of the main types of sugars you will come across:

Glucose, Dextrose, Sucrose, Galactose, Lactose, Honey

The higher rating on the Glycemic Index the better for more effect on the Pancreas, stimulating more Insulin and making you more effective in recovery, giving you better results for your efforts.

To get the LiFT gym, Nutrition & Training principles Pdf’s FREE just go to http://liftgym.com.au/education/

Get reading… EDUCATION IS KING!

Hey Guy n Galls!!

Simple sugars are very rarely going to do you any good. If you were to take the population’s obesity numbers, I don’t think I would be wrong in saying that sugar would be responsible for the biggest percentage of damage being done here. It is due to the mass sugar consumption that more and more of the worldwide population is developing diabetes and obesity. We have an epidemic on our hands.

One of the ways the Pancreas works is to (when stimulated) move the macros around the body to deal with Carbohydrate/blood sugar distribution inflammation, repair, around the body. This is an awesome function when the stockpile in the Liver and the muscle cells are at the max… then that is when the fat storage begins. If you are stimulating your Pancreas to do its job without knowing it and the bod has all these full reserves then all you are doing is adding to the fat reserves, works well if you’re in the Arctic and you are a Polar Bear… Different body types will respond differently to simple sugars, but the majority of the population will simply stack on the fat!

The really cool thing is that if you start leaving them out of your calorie intake, you will obtain instant results. Simple sugars are in just about anything you get your hands on, especially that which is processed. If it tastes nice, I can pretty much guarantee that it has at least 5‐20 grams of sugar in it. Surely you’ve noticed the trend whereby advertisers market ‘healthy products’ that are 99% fat-free. To be quite honest, they are scams that take advantage of people not being educated. These products generally contain 20 grams plus of sugar. They produce a huge impact on the insulin levels every time! So it is good practice for a healthy lifestyle to leave the sugar out!

For more information on Nutrition and even training principles FREE… http://liftgym.com.au/education/

LIFT GYM is unique in what it offers and what we promise is, you don’t have to deal with the usual crazy atmosphere when you are in the gym getting the job done.

Boutique, stylish without going over the top and most importantly, members only.

Hope to hear from you soon.

All the best!

LIFT GYM