Tag Archives: gains

Sweet potato the ” super carb”

19 Sunday Apr 2015

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Sweet potato is by far my favourite carb to eat. It has so many great nutritional values and gives your body tons of slow release energy. I tend to eat sweet potato along with a high protein source such as lean steak/chicken breast or fish. Getting in your sweet potato fix before you workout is key! They are also super easy to prepare and cook. I tend to boil them for around 25 minutes then mash them with some milk. Or If mash potato isn’t your thing you can always cut them up into strips and eat them as fries. Whatever you do with them just make sure they are in your diet plan.

Nutrient Profile (rough)
Serving size 3 1/2 oz raw (1 1/2 cups shredded)
Amounts Per Serving % Daily Value
Calories 140
Calories from Fat 0 0
Total Fat 0g 0%
Saturated Fat 0g 0%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 24mg 1%
Potassium 195mg 5%
Total Carbohydrate 6g 2%
Dietary Fiber 2g 8%
Sugars 3g
Protein 1g
Vitamin A 15%
Vitamin C 47%
Calcium 4%
Iron 2%

Pre & Post workout meals

23 Monday Mar 2015

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Many people have no idea when it comes to what to eat prior to a workout or afterwards. Getting the right kinds of nutrients into your body is vital at the best of times but even more so on a day of intense exercise. Usually before a workout you would need some high carb&protein foods. Taking in carbs and protein before you workout will give you the vital energy boost your muscles need to get through your workout.

Similarly, after your workout you are also going to need to intake carbs to help you regain your energy but this will vary depending on what kind of diet plan you are following. You also need to get in as much protein as possible to help your muscles recover and grow back STRONGER

Here are a few different pre/post workout meals that are perfect for anyone looking to make progress.

1.)  PRE – Oats & banana & coffee

2.) PRE – Protein shake & Brown toast topped with wholemeal peanut butter

3.) POST – Veggie omelette with advacado

4.) PRE – Dried fruit and coffee

5.) POST – Chicken breast & Brown rice

6.) POST – Lean steak & Sweet potato

7.) PRE/POST – Poached egg on brown toast

8.) POST – Protein shake & sea bass in salad

9.) PRE/POST – Homemade recovery shakes

10.) PRE – Granola with mixed nuts & 1pint water

 

Fat burning circuit

14 Saturday Mar 2015

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This circuit should be done FOR TIME. Please try and have little no rest between exercises to keep the intensity up. Make sure prior to this circuit and stretch off all major muscle groups.

X1

  1. 2k treadmill run
  2. 20 pull ups
  3. 20 burpees
  4. 20 push up
  5. 20 Jump squats
  6. 20 shoulder press with bar
  7. 20 jumping lunge
  8. 20 Dips
  9. 20 Mountain climber
  10. 20 hanging leg raise

High rep leg workout for girl

10 Tuesday Mar 2015

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Here is a great leg workout aimed at women thats going to really help you sculpt your legs and build some good strength too.

Don’t be scared that this involves weights and told be fooled into thinking that lifting weights will make you bulky! Notice that all these exercises are high repletion based because this lead to lean and sculpted legs opposed to bulky thick legs.

warm up & Pre stretch

  • Warm up – 5 minutes treadmill 
  • Pre stretch: 
  • Standing quad stretch: 10-15 second
  • Standing Hamstring stretch: 10-15 second
  • Standing calf stretch: 10-15 second
  • Adductor stretch: 10-15 second

 

Jumping lunge: 3 sets of 50 reps 

Box jumps: 3 sets of 15-20 reps 

Barbell squats: 3 sets of 20 reps 

Hamstring curl machine: 3 sets of 20 reps

Calf raise machine: 3 sets of 20-30 reps

Cool down – Bike 5 min

*Repeat pre stretches for post stretches

Ab roller for 6 pack abs

26 Thursday Feb 2015

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The ab roller is a classic piece of kit but rarely gets used by your average person in the gym. Not only does it hit hit your abs like you’d never believe but it also works your entire core and results in total body strength. If your gym does not have one handy for you to use then you can easily pick one up online or most fitness stores for a very reasonable price. Another reason why its such a great piece of kit is because its so portable and all you need is a matt or cushion for you knees and a flat floor and your ready to go!

There is a few different ways you can use the ab roller/wheel but the most basic and the most effective is the kneeling ab roll out.

Kneeling ab roll:

1.) Start in the kneeling position with the ab roller in front of you.

2.) Grip either side of the ab roller with your hands firmly.

3.) slowly begin to roll out whilst keeping at tight core until your body is in a straight position.

4.) pause at the bottom then slowly roll back to the start position.

Try 3 sets of 10-15 reps (or what ever you can get)

*Be sure to warm up and stretch of your whole body (especially your back)

Monster traps

22 Sunday Feb 2015

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Building thick traps are key when it comes to completing your upper back and shoulders. They are one of the most noticeable muscle groups if they are formed correctly. This being said, alot of people tend to neglect them or don’t train them properly at all. When it comes to the trapezius muscle, many people find that hitting them with as much weight as possible works really well. I tend to superset trap workouts to really up the intensity and get as good of a pump as possible. Not only do they look great but they also massively help with your posture, If your one of those people that tend to slouch your shoulders or you sit at a desk all day, forming well rounded/strong traps are a must. You don’t need to spend hours on end shrugging but along as you get them in at the end of your back or shoulder workout (or both) once or twice a week, you will soon see some great progress.

*Make sure when performing these exercises that you maintain form and take a slow/ controlled pace throughout the repetition. Also make sure your going through the complete range of movement.

*Neck must be stretched of prior to this workout.

Here’s a great workout that is going to help you on your way to ‘ monster traps’.

EZ curl bar upright row – 3 sets of 8-10 reps

Barbell forward shrug – 3 sets of 8-10 reps

Barbell rear shrug – 3 sets of 8-10 reps

Dumbbell backward circle shrug – 3 sets of 8-10 reps

 

New mass gainer back workout

07 Saturday Feb 2015

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Here is a new back workout that is going to really help you add some good mass and gain strength at the same time. There are tons of isolation exercises when it comes to training your back but here I’ve focusses on the main compound exercises that you can incorporate into your workout. Notice how i haven’t added many of the isolation exercises like the single arm dumbbell row or any kind of isolation rope pulls. The reason for this is because the exercises i have chosen are the most effective when it comes to building thick mass and strength. You can do this workout every other week, one week try and throw in some isolation exercises and aim for some higher repetitions and the next give this a go.

Weighted pull ups: – 4 sets of 6-8 *go heavy

Close grip lat pull down: – 4 sets of 6-8 reps

Bent over barbell row: – 4 sets of 6-8 reps

Cable seated rows: – 4 sets of 6-8 reps

Deadlifts: – 3 sets of 4-6 reps

 

 

Reverse rep bench press

29 Thursday Jan 2015

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The reverse rep is my favourite way to bench press! It completely shreds all your muscle fibres in your chest and you gives you an amazing pump. The reverse rep technique is great for anyone who is trying to overcome a plateau or maybe your simply bored of your usual chest routine.

How to:

 

For those who are unfamiliar with the reverse rep, its basically when you get in the starting position on the bench as you usually would. You then lower the bar very slowly until the bar touches your chest, then your spotter will take the weight and bring the bar up for you or give you alot of help. You then lower the weight again slowly and repeat the same procedure. It should take you about 10 seconds for the bar to be completey touching your chest on the eccentric phase of the rep and then about 2-3 seconds to lock out on the concentric upward phase. The spotter should take about 70-80% of the weight when they help bring the bar up.

I usually do this every other week when i train my chest, For example on week 1 i will do my usual chest routine then on week 2 i will mix it up and add in the reverse rep presses. Note that you will have to drastically reduce the weight. So don’t try and press your usual weight because you struggle. I would also advice to completely stretch your chest of and warm up before trying this to avoid damaging any of your muscle as this technique is pretty advanced.

Give it a go and see how you get on x

Bicep and tricep superset workout

25 Sunday Jan 2015

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Bicep and tricep superset workout
The fastest way to growing muscle on any part of your body is to hit it as hard as possible with high intensity. This workout will hit every angle of your biceps and triceps, exercising them back to back will also give you an amazing pump!

Dumbbell bicep curl x Close grip bench press – 3 sets of 8-10 reps per exercise

EZ curl bar bicep curl x EZ curl bar skull crushers – 3 sets of 8-10 reps per exercise

Sinlge arm isolation dumbbell curl x Sinlge arm dumbbell kickbacks – 3 sets of 8-10 reps per exercise

Tricep rope extensions x Bicep rope hammer curls – 3 sets of 8-10 reps per exercise

Weighted chin ups x dips – 3 sets of 8-10 reps per exercise

Keep in compound #TOP5

14 Wednesday Jan 2015

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When it comes weight training you need to forget all the fancy exercises you see on youtube and remember that these 5 exercises are the best when it comes to building strength and muscle.

1. Bench press – This exercise is probably the single most effective exercise when it comes to building muscle and strength in your upper body. Not only will you feel it in your chest but you will also make strength gains in your shoulders and triceps too. If you already have this incorporated into your workout then try some bench press variations like using drop sets of even super setting it with another chest exercise to really help burn out the upper body.

2.) Military press – Barbell military press is another great compound exercise which works mainly your deltoids but again helps with strength gains in other areas. If your using this exercise in your shoulder workout i would recommend doing this as your very first exercise. Then go into targeting the smaller areas or your shoulders after.

3.) Squat – Many people just assume that squatting will result in strong legs but the squat will help you build strength in every area of your body. Not only that but when you squat your body releases testosterone which is a natural growth hormone that your body needs for muscle to grow. So using this exercise in conjunction with everything else is great.

4.) Bent over barbell row – This exercise is one of my favourite when it comes to training my back. Its physically demanding but its one that will really help pack on the muscle. Be sure to keep good form when doing this exercise and ensure your back doesn’t begin to bend.

5.) Deadlift – This mainly targets your lower back but like some of the other exercises I’ve talked about its also great for your entire body. For me, this is my favourite exercise because its one that i feel really pushes my whole body to the point of exhaustion. I sometimes spend a whole session just focussing on this exercise and perfecting my technique. Its extremely important that you warm up before deadlifting and also do 1 or 2 warm up sets. Its so easy to get injured if this exercise is performed incorrectly.