Hi all

Hope you are all well and had a great week.  Well recently I have been spending alot of time in the kitchen baking and experimenting....all healthy of course!!!

I have been asked by a number of people for the recipes when I posted the pictures, so this week I am doing just that.

With it being Halloween soon, I have been using pumpkin quite alot and I must say its so versatile and tasty too, not to mention HEALTHY.

Here are few things that you may not know about Pumpkin and may get you adding it to the shopping list

Pumpkin can aid weight loss- high in fibre low in calories, keeps you fuller for longer.

Pumpkin may help prevent cancer due to its high levels of anti oxidant-beta carotene.

Pumpkin may help keep the skin wrinkle free due to the high levels of anti oxidants found in it.

Pumpkin is anexcellent post workout additive as it has high levels of potassium even more than bananas.  The potassium helps regulate the electrolytes in the
body.

Pumpkin may help protect the immune system and help ward off flues and
colds, as it has high levels of vitamin C.

Now you can use pumpkin in
sweet of savoury dishes.  I have been using them in sweet dishes and below are
three recipes that I have baked tasted and thoroughly enjoyed.

Pumpkin Oats

1/2 cup Steel cut oats
1/2 cup pumpkin
3 egg
whites
Teaspoon of flaxseed
Tablespoon of cinnamon
100ml water

Blend all ingredients in blender and cook over stove until thick, I then placed it in the oven for around 15mins.  Added some almond milk and a mixture of walnuts, almonds and cashews.

Pumpkin Bread

1/2 cup Steel cut oats
1/2
cup pumpkin
5 egg whites
Teaspoon of flaxseed
Tablespoon of cinnamon
Tablespoon of baking soda

Blend all ingredients in blender and place in bread tray and bake, checking every 15 mins until middle is firm. 

Pumpkin Pancake Low Carb

1/2 cup pumpkin
5 egg
whites
Teaspoon of flaxseed
Tablespoon of cinnamon
Tablespoon of baking soda

Blend all ingredients in blender.  Once blended, place a little oil
in a pan and add ingredients and cook like pancake.

When finished garnish with some maple syrup and shredded coconut.

I hope this inspired you to get in the kitchen.. If you make them, let me know how you get on. 


I will be away next week for a short trip to Kuwait :) so I will not have a
blog, but will be back the week after!

Take care and to all my muslim friends and clients, have a Happy Eid.

Stay Healthy 

Jill

Dear Fitness Junkies

Hope you all had a great week. 

This week
I wanted to highlight and training method called TABATA training.  In this article I will cover

What it is?
How you can do it.
Benefits.

Now some you might be thinking I have spelt this wrong, or some of you (my Clients) will know about it, heard about it and probably experienced it.


So...

What is Tabata Training?

Tabata training is a form of interval training.  It involves working at a high intense level for four minutes in total.  These  4 minutes are made up of 8 x 20 second bursts of work with a 10 second recovery in between. 

It has been deemed "the single most effective type of high  intensity interval training"
 
Tabata training was discovered by Dr. Izumi Tabata and a team of researchers 
from the National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Tokyo.

How you can do it?

The great thing about tabata training is that you can do it with anything, any
exercise whether a strength or cardio exercise can be performed as long as you
work maximally in the 8 intervals.  Great if you are in a rush, have no
equipment, or are looking to spice up your workout!

Here are some examples of exercises I like to use with clients.

Sprints
Pushups
Burpees
Clean and press
Push
Press
ViPR exercises such as lateral tilts,
threading the needle
Squat Jumps
Kettle bell swings, snatches
TRX Rip Paddle, hockey slap

You name it I have probably incorporated it into my clients and my own workouts.
 
Benefits

Dr Tabata conducted the following test on two groups of athletes and discovered the following physiological benefits
from the training.

In group one; the athletes were training in moderate intensity workouts (70% intensity) for five days a week for a total of six weeks with each training session lasting an hour.

In group two the athletes trained at high intensity for 4 days a week for a total of 6 weeks with each session lasting 4 minutes, at 20 seconds of intense training (170% intensity) and 10 seconds of rest.

Test carried out over a 6 week period.

The results are as follows,

Group 1 - Their aerobic system (cardiovascular system) had improved. However, the anaerobic system (muscles) gained little or no results at all.
Group 2 - Their aerobic systems increased
much more than group ones, and their anaerobic systems increased by 28%.


There are many more benefits to this training such as, fun, variety, fat
loss, great calorie burn in a short period of time, and the after burn effect,
increasing the metabolism so you still burn after the session

In summary, if you are looking to increase fitness levels and are pressed for time
then it is certainly worth building this method of training into you
workouts.

Thanks all.  I hope you enjoyed this little article.  If you
have any questions please feel free to drop me a line.

Until next week,
stay healthy

Jill

Hi all Happy Friday

Hope that you a have had a great week.  So this week I have had a few discussions with some members and clients about weight.  Much
to my disappointment a number told me that they weigh themselves daily and get so frustrated that they see an increase or no change at all...... :(

This is probably the most demotivating factor when it comes to someone who
has embarked on a healthy lifestyle to not see any change  the scale"

As a PT I will weigh my clients once a month but I much prefer to do girth
measurements or a body fat analysis to indicate TRUE results, and in this blog I will explain why!!!!

So today I will cover

What is total body weight?
Factors that effect fluctuation in weight?
What are girth measurements and why I feel they are a better indicator of fat loss.


What is total body weight?

When you jump on the scales the full weight that you are seeing is everything in your body from, bone, muscle, tendons, ligaments, organs, fat and water.  Much to some clients surprise!!!!

Factors that effect fluctuation in weight.

Experts believe that fluctuations of up to 5 pounds in a single day are  perfectly normal and has more to do with food and liquid intake than anything  else.

Our weight changes during the day for various reasons.  Here are a few

Dehydration- Weight usually increases when water consumption is low and salt intake is high,  as these two factors lead the body to maintain liquids in as a preservation  method.
Time of last
meal.
Exercise- you will weigh more after exercise as the muscle will have
expanded due to increase blood flow to perform the exercise.

Menstruation- women tend to weigh heavier when they are due their
period.

What are girth measurements and why I feel they are a better indicator of fat loss
When I assess my clients I will take girth measurements and what that means is that I will use a measuring tape and measure the circumference of their
Chest,
Waist,
Hips
Thighs,
Calves
Arms.

Lets look at what happens when your body starts to take shape and how it effects the scale?

1. You lose body fat
2. Muscle grows,

This results in a loss of cms as muscle is more dense than fat and it takes up less space, so adding muscle could increase your scale weight, even though you're slimming down

I am not saying not to use the scale however I feel that girth measurements are a better way of tracking progress.  I have had clients losing up to 30cm but only 1KG in weight!!!

TOP TIPS

Go with how clothes are feeling, if the scales are the same but the same pair of jeans that were tight are now baggy.... that's a result.
Use the mirror, are you seeing change?
Avoid daily weighing.
If you do weigh yourself make sure its at the same time, scales, dress and ideally not around time of menstruation.

Well I hope you enjoyed ths blog.  If you have any questions please do not
hesitate to contact me.

Until next week

Stay Healthy

J

Hi all

Happy Friday, hope you all had a great week so far.
 
Today's Blog is all about SUPPLEMENTS!!!!

We all know that correct nutrition and training is vital for looking and feeling great, but really with all the powders and pills available it can be mind boggling to know which one is best for you!

So I will cover

What is a Supplement and its purpose ?
  
The actual definition of a supplement is- Something added to complete a thing, make up for a deficiency, or extend or  strengthen the whole.  So to put it simply if your diet lacks a certain vitamin or mineral etc then it
makes sense to add that particular item to you diet by using supplements that
will help your reach your RDA (recommended daily
allowance).
 
Name and explain the benefits of the main supplements you
may have heard about.
 
If you walk into your local health store you will see shelves of
tablets, powders and liquids and you may think all these supplements where do I start!  Well I would be saying the same that's why I am going to highlight the
ones in my opinion, that most people can benefit from and ones that I would
recommend my PT clients to take to help them perform better, have better energy levels, and improve recovery.

So here is a list of the main ones that I would recommend and have taken, or currently take.
 
Protein powders-

Probably one of the most popular supplements that you will
see.  You may feel that you can get plenty of protein in your diet, but protein
powder has other advantages: It's convenient and generally lower in calories
than an entire "high protein" meal. Drinking a protein shake after workouts
speeds muscle recovery and supplies your body with the amino acids needed for muscle growth.
 

Creatine-

Creatine is an energy source
produced by the body and stored in the muscles and is used to power you through exercise.  Creatine supplements are used to
help speed recovery and the growth of lean-muscle mass after a workout. Creatine helps build muscle mass by supplying extra energy to the muscles when they are being worked. 
 
BCAAS- 
 
Branched chain amino acids- there are approximately twenty amino
acids that are necessary for the human body to properly synthesize protein, but
only eight of them are considered “essential”, meaning, they cannot by made
naturally by our bodies. These eight essential amino acids are: Isoleucine, Leucine, Lysine, Methionine, Phenylalanine, Threonine, Tryptophan, and Valine. People who don’t eat meat may not get enough of the essential amino acids in their diet, although cereals, grains, nuts, seeds and legumes all contribute part of the necessary amino acids.


Coenzyme Q-10-
 
CoQ-10 is an enzyme that may help lower your blood pressure and increase our levels of ecSOD, an  enzyme thought to protect blood vessels from
damage. CoQ-10 may also increase fat burning during exercise.


Vitamin D-
 
Vitamin D is a hormone that helps your bones absorb calcium. Also it is linked to reduced  levels of depression, reduced risk of colorectal cancer, and less chance of a  heart attack.  People that don't get regular exposure to sunlight may benefit from taking this supplement.

Fish Oils-
 
Fish oil can reduce  triglycerides, boost HDL (bad cholesterol) cholesterol, and lower blood pressure, they can also reduce inflammation and  improve cognitive performance, and may lower your risk of colon and prostate  cancers.

Vitamin C
 
Vitamin C helps protect your cells from tissue damaging free radicals that are released during exercise,  it can also help heal wounds, steer away colds and flu and it is key to the production of collagen found in ligaments and tendons
 
Glucosamine-
 
Glucosamine is a building block of cartilage, can relieve pain and inflammation in  joints.


Magnesium-
 
Magnesium regulates the absorption of calcium for bone development, also helps regulate blood sugar levels, promotes normal blood
pressure. 


I hope you enjoyed this article and until next
week.
 
Stay healthy
 
Jill