Archive for August, 2007

Rock climb your way to fitness and natural weight loss

Wednesday, August 29th, 2007

Did you know that rock climbing in one of the most natural and effective exercises for building strength and ultimately losing weight? With indoor climbing walls popping up all over the country and some great outdoor climbing opportunities available, more and more people are tying knots and clambering themselves up to a better body.

Climbing improves your balance, flexibility, strength, proprioception, alleviates stresses, and raises your metabolism.  In fact climbing has so many positive benefits that now many schools throughout Europe promote climbing from a very early age. If you choose to climb outside you also get the added bonus of fresh air and a cardiovascular workout as you make your way up to the foot of the climb.

If you want to lose weight and keep it off then rock climbing can seriously help. The more you climb the stronger you become, and the more toned you get. Muscle requires a lot more energy to sustain itself and so burns calories for you even when you are not exercising. So regular climbing sessions will certainly help reduce and keep your weight down.

Climbing is also a very natural exercise using only your bodyweight and so limits the amount of injuries that many sustain by regular visits to the gym. Think back to our natural evolution and childhoods, we all have a desire to climb trees and swing from things. Climbing feels natural and the body responds very well to it.

You may be thinking I’m not strong enough to climb or carrying too much weight but this is rarely the case. Climbing caters for all standards and routes are graded from very easy levels to very hard. This makes climbing suitable for all standards and offers great goals and progressions as your fitness improves. Visit your local climbing centre and climb yourself to fitness and natural weight loss today.

The Fat Burning Zone - Why intervals burn more fat in less time

Thursday, August 9th, 2007

My “long cardio is a killer and increases your body fat” article caused quite a stir and consequently I have been receiving hundreds of emails about the Fat Burning Zone.

Most of the fancy machines nowadays along with built in fans and cup holders tend to display a fat burning zone. It is believed that by performing your cardio in the fat burning zone, at a slow steady speed, you will burn more body fat. Let me explain why you should ignore this mass marketing gimmick.

 

When we exercise we use calories to produce energy, the more energy we need the more calories we require. At a slow speed our choice of energy comes from body fat, at higher speeds it is sourced from our glycogen stores. So it is true that as a percentage “energy used to fat burned, slow cardio is the best”. In fact if you want to take it one step further “energy used to fat burned, sleeping is best”. However, we are not concerned with percentages rather maximum amount of fat burned in the shortest amount of time.

 

Here is why my type of interval training is better than boring yourself for 60 mins on a treadmill:

60 mins steady cardio burns 50% fat of 500 calories = 250 calories of fat

20 mins interval training burns 35% fat of 750 calories = 262.5 calories of fat

So as you can see although the percentage of fat used is higher in slow cardio you use more calories with interval training and thus more calories as fat.

 

Not only are interval training routines more time efficient but they prevent all those horrible negative effects that I mentioned in my previous article eg. gaining weight, excess stress on the heart etc.

 

Want to know more then get in touch.

Getting your organic produce delivered can help you lose weight

Wednesday, August 1st, 2007

Anybody that knows me or GB Personal Training understands my great passion for good food and organic produce. Nutrition is the key to a better body, energy levels, and disease prevention.

Unfortuantely todays produce is transported from all corners of the globe and often is devoid of vital vitamins and minerals by the time it ends up on our plates. Some oranges have practically zero vitamin C. We can help improve the nutrient content of our produce by buying local and seasonally.

However, if you really want to get the benifits of fresh produce you must buy organic. Not only is organic produce free from pesticides and other nasty chemicals but it is higher in vital nutients due to the soil quality. In other words one organic vegetable is better than many ordinary vegetables.

Organic produce is not only better for you than regular produce but you can get it delivered too! This is a Godsend for anybody wishing to live a healthy lifestyle or lose weight but has a busy schedule.

As a Personal Trainer in London I advise all my clients to have their weekly produce delivered. For many people losing weight and eating healthily is a real chore and the easier you can make this the better. Delivered produce takes the trouble out of regular visits to the supermarket and also forces you to eat whatever is at hand.

Here in Hampstead I recommend my clients to use Riverford they are reliable and supply a variety of organic fruit and vegetables at a price cheaper than the local supermarket. They also include recipe ideas.

If you really want to lose some weight quickly why not try having your organic produce delivered and then stick to my Evolution Diet for 30 days. I guarantee you’ll lose more fat that you ever imagined.

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