Fitnorama Magazine May 2011 issue

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Welcome to the third issue of Fitnorama magazine – packed full of health, fitness and workout information to help you achieve your best body ever! Out team of experts, with close to 100 years of experience between them, is here to guide you through the virtual minefield of exercise information. Speaking of information, there does seem to be an awful lot of often contradictory fitness information around these days. Peruse the internet, pick up any of the plethora of maga-zines available or buy the latest celebrity-endorsed fitness or diet book and you‘ll learn about how best to lose weight, get fit and build your muscles. It seems that every expert has discovered the ―one true way‖ to achieve your fitness goals. This begs the question – who is right? Is there really a single unifying system of diet or exercise that will guarantee that you achieve your fitness goals? The answer is…kind of. The thing is, so long as a training method or diet adheres to certain physiological principles, it will work. There is an old adage in fitness – ―methods are many while principles are few‖. If you want to lose weight, for example, you must create a calo-rific deficit. This can be achieved by cutting down on sugar, swapping carbs for protein, increasing your consumption of fibrous carbs, eating less fat, eliminating specific types of foods or exchanging foods for low calorie drinks. Each of these methods results in a re-duction in calorie intake and the energy deficit will be met by your fat stores. There is no sin-gle, best method – they all work to one degree or another. Exercise is no different – everything from jog-ging to aerobics classes to interval training will improve your aerobic fitness. Are some meth-ods better than others for fat burning or im-proving high-end fitness for sport? Yes- most certainly, but the thing is that the difference between method A and method B is so small that, in the grand scheme of things, so long as you do SOMETHING you will see fitness im-provements.

Now, with this in mind, there is another fitness adage - ―if you always do what you have al-ways done, you‘ll always get what you always got.‖ If you do the same workouts at the same intensity for the same duration week after week, month after month (group exercise classes are a good example of this) your fit-ness levels will stall and your energy in versus energy out balance will remain stable. In short, your fitness and weight loss goals will plateau. Whilst every type of workout can re-sult in fitness improvements, this is only true if the workout provides your body with a novel stimulus. This is why there is so much contradictory in-formation available about fitness and exer-cise. By doing something completely different to your current routine, you will restart your body‘s adaptations which will result in notice-able changes in fitness and/or bodyweight. It‘s not that your new workout is any better; it‘s merely different enough from what you have been doing to elicit the desired adaptations. Bottom line – the definition of stupidity is do-ing the same thing over and over and expect-ing different results! If you‘re fitness or weight loss has stalled, it‘s time to do something new. Don‘t just do more of the same; that‘s plain crazy. Instead, do something new! Make an about-turn and really shake things up. If you do mostly aerobics classes, try switching to strength training. If you follow a low fat diet, try going Paleo. If you always follow a four-way split routine, try whole body workouts. That‘s why we‘re here – to give you new ideas for your workouts. You‘ll find plenty of great ideas in this issue. Don‘t just try the options that are similar to what you are already doing – choose the ones that are diametrically op-posed to your current routine. It‘s the change in direction your body needs! Patrick Dale.

Editorial Contributors Andreas Michael Website: www.metrohealthandfitness.co.uk Pippa Crowther Facebook: PipFit

Hayley Kirby Contact number: 07545 372720

Del Wilson Website: www.achieverspersonaltraining.co.uk

Alan Butler

Amanda York Website: gymanda.com

Patrick Dale Website: www.solar-fitness.com Kevin Parker Website: www.kpfit.co.uk

Alex Wilson Laura Freeman Audrey Kaipio (via Ultra Fit)

Magazine Editor Patrick Dale

Advertising Sales

Andreas Michael telephone: 07950 338897 Email: ad sales

Published online only Fitnorama magazine is published 12 times a per year Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here may not be in agreement with those of Fitnorama.com and their employees. The above parties are not responsible in any manner whatsoever for any in-jury or health condition that may occur Consult with your physician before starting any exercise program.

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Cover Model: Alex Wilson Photographer credits: Liana Saadi

TOTAL RUNDOWN P6 - YOU NEED HELP P8 - BACK TO BASICS

P12 - RETURNING TO EXERCISE AFTER PREGNANCY P16 - TABATA TRAINING P18 - TURKISH GET UP P21 - THE SLED WORKOUT P26 - AFTER THE MARATHON P30 - NATALIA MUNTEAN INTERVIEW P34 - THE SUMMER SHRED P36 - HIT TRAINING P40 - CONFESSIONS OF A CHOCOHOLIC P42 - BURPEE CONDITIONING P44 - RAW FOODS FOR RAW ENERGY P46 - GYM-TASTIC YOGA! P48 - GET READY TO STRUT YOUR STUFF

P6 - YOU NEED HELP P12 - RETURNING TO EXERCISE AFTER

P21 - THE SLED WORKOUT

P30 - NATALIA MUNTEAN INTERVIEW

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P36 - HIT TRAINING

There comes a time in many people‘s lives when they take a good long look in the

mirror and realize that they may have ―let themselves go‖ a bit. Maybe it‘s be-

cause your well intended New Year‘s resolutions were all but forgotten by the 23rd

of January or your gym membership expired and you never got around to renew-

ing it or you just ―don‘t have time‖ to prepare the types of food you know your

should be eating and know the phone number and menu of the Indian takeaway

off by heart! Whatever your excuses are, and let‘s be honest here; you‘ve been

making them for a while now, it‘s time to take action before it‘s too late and you

become just another statistic in the next government census on obesity…

During your late teens and early 20s, chances are you felt like you were bullet proof. You could eat what your liked, drink loads and still manage a half decent game of football on a Saturday afternoon but, as Bob Dylan once sang, the times they are a changing. There comes a point where you body just throws in the metaphorical towel and says ―no more‖ and instead of trying to roll with the punches de-cides it would be easier for all concerned if it just lies down on the canvas and waits to be counted out. Our bodies naturally decline as we age but the speed of that decline acceler-ates significantly if you don‘t take steps to pre-serve your health and fitness.

So, we‘re calling you out. Are you going to step

up and take control of your health and fitness

levels? Are you going to stop the decline and

decay that is plaguing your once fit and poten-

tially magnificent body? If you want to turn that

Buddha belly into a six-pack, we are here to

help. It won‘t be easy but, if you really want to

turn heads on the beach for reasons other than

your ―truffle shuffle‖, it will be worth it.

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Hold on a moment If you are significantly over weight, have been sedentary for 12 months or more, are over the age of 35 or have any concerns about your health, do us (and yourself) a favor and get a checkup from your Doc before starting this or any exer-cise routine. He will probably say ―it‘s about time—get on and do some exercise you lazy so and so‖ but it‘s better to be safe than sorry…

Keeping it simple-keeping it real Yes, you could eat nothing but grilled chicken and mung beans and drink only water for the next six months while en-sconced in the gym from dawn to dusk but who wants to do that?! Whatever changes you make to your diet and lifestyle have to be sustainable—not just for a few weeks or months but for the foreseeable future. If you follow our simple tips, you‘ll already be doing 90% more than the average man in the street and well on your way to developing levels of fitness and wellbeing to be proud of.

Nutrition

Eating at Burger King on Monday, Kentucky Fried Chicken on Wednesday and Pizza Hut on Friday is not a balanced approach to nutrition. When it comes to food, simple is best. Base each meal around lean protein—beef,

pork, chicken, fish, eggs etc—and lots of vegetables and/or fruit. Toss in some whole grains like brown rice or whole meal bread and you diet is sorted. Drink plenty of water—two to three liters a day—to keep you well hydrated and make sure you eat four to six times a day to stave off hunger. As a general rule, lay off the white stuff—that‘s sugar, re-fined flour, salt and dairy. To help keep you sane, have a curry, pizza, takeaway or what-ever your favorite indulgence is once a week or so but make sure it‘s just one meal other-wise you‘ll undo all of your good work. That‘s it—simple eh?!

Get that body moving!

Before you rush off and buy a copy of ―Massive Muscles Monthly‖ and follow Mr. Uni-verse‘s biceps building blitz-krieg you need to master a few basic movements like press-ups, chin ups, squats, lunges and ab crunches. There is nothing wrong with bodybuild-ing but before you dive head-

long into an advanced weight lifting routine it‘s worth devel-oping some basic mastery over your movements with body-weight exercises. Bodyweight exercises are simple to per-form, effective and can be per-formed almost anywhere so you are less likely to come up against barriers to working out. And if bodyweight training is good enough for Olympic gym-nasts, the military, boxers and martial artists, they‘ll do the job for you. You can develop a great physique using press ups, chin ups and squats which can easily be performed at home. Crank out some body-weight exercises two or three times a week, building the vol-ume, difficulty and intensity gradually.

Do some cardio Regardless of your training goals, cardio is essential for your health as well as your fit-ness. Cardio doesn‘t have to mean running—you can cycle, swim, row, go to aerobics classes, head out on your mountain bike, strap on a weighted vest and hike, or even strap on your inline skates. Whatever activities you choose try to elevate your heart rate for 20 to 30 minutes three times a week. Don‘t worry if you don‘t have a heart rate monitor, just work hard enough so you are out of breath but still able to have a conversation. No need to go cardio crazy…even if you main goal is weight loss, 20 minutes three times a week is plenty. Weight loss is more about diet than it is spending hours doing your best hamster impression on the never ending wheel that is a treadmill.

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Stretch and mobilize Just like any machine, your body will work bet-ter and last longer if you perform regular main-tenance. Stretching and mobilization ensures your muscles and joints stay in good condition. Don‘t go rushing off to a yoga class—unless you really want to of course—just make sure you try to stretch before and after every work-out and anytime you have been sat in the same position for a long time. Focus on your hips, hamstrings and chest as these are the muscles that tend to tighten up the most. If you want to keep your muscles loose as a goose try performing a few stretches while you watch TV or, better still, spend five to ten minutes stretching each morning and night. As well as being good for your body, stretching is also a nice way to relax.

Don‟t suffer alone Misery loves company. That‘s not to say that the process or end result of your new found exercise routine will be unpleasant but, as you‘re only human after all, there may be times when, to be blunt, you just can‘t be both-ered to work out! Having a training buddy can be really useful at times like this. Chances are that on the days you feel like your tanks are a little empty, your buddy will be firing on all cyl-inders and will drag you kicking and screaming through a workout you would otherwise have missed. Don‘t worry though—the boot will be on the other foot one day soon and YOU will be the Energizer bunny who pushes the pace and insists on that ―one last rep‖. Recruit a mate and you instantly double your training motivation and halve the chances of skipping a workout.

3, 2, 1, GO! This is our challenge to you…eat and drink whatever you like until the end of the weekend but on Monday, make sure your cupboards are devoid of junk food. Stock up of fruit, vegeta-bles, fish, fowl, eggs and meat. Buy lots of bot-tled water, some brown rice, whole meal bread, plenty of herbs and spices and maybe a Foreman grill. Perform 20 minutes of exer-

cise—cardio or bodyweight exercises—on Monday plus 10 minutes of stretching. At the end of Monday congratulate yourself for taking a mighty step forwards towards health and wellness. Make Tuesday the mirror image of Monday except if you did cardio yesterday than crank out some bodyweight exercises to-day. Have rest on Wednesday but stretch if you feel like it and use the free time to restock your fridge with healthy food. Repeat the se-quence again on Thursday and Friday and then rest again on Saturday. On Sunday start over. Continue this two days on, one days rest routine for the coming few months.

Moving on… Once you have established the exercise habit

and you are working out four or more times a

week, if you want to ―move up a level‖ you

may benefit from some expert guidance from a

personal trainer or fitness coach. These quali-

fied gym boffins can assess your current level

of fitness and wellness and design a training

routine based on your individual needs and

wants. This may be useful if you have a spe-

cific goal you want to achieve such as running

a local 10km, training for a triathlon, gaining

some meaningful muscle mass or getting a six

-pack. Don‘t go thinking this is essential

though—if you are following the tips in this arti-

cle, you‘re already in better shape than the

majority of the population so just keep on

keeping‘ on!

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I t is estimated that four out of five people aged 16 or over will experi-ence back pain at some point during their lives. For the majority of us a period of back pain will resolve with minimal intervention within 4-6 weeks if not sooner but in some instances the pain may last for a sig-

nificantly longer period of time and can be incredibly tough and frustrating to deal with. Back pain is much more prevalent between the ages of 35 and 55, possi-bly due to our environmental or working conditions though recent studies are now starting to show there to be an increase in low back pain in chil-dren between the ages of 11-18 years of age. This has increased noticea-bly since the advent of social networking sites and advances in computer technology. The back is a complex and intricate structure. It is made up of numerous bones, joints, intervertebral discs, muscles and ligaments that form the posterior portion of our trunk. Despite advances in technology, robotics re-searchers are still unable to design a life size fully jointed robot that is able to walk without falling over. The spinal column offers protection to your spinal cord. This structure is the body‘s control centre from where all movements are initiated. We then have the various articulating and fused vertebrae, the core muscles and then major muscles of the back to consider too. Given the multifaceted na-ture and complex structure of the spine it‘s no wonder that the likelihood of back injury is so high.

So what are the most common causes of back pain and how can we prevent them? Causes

Age related degenerative changes. As you get older, you lose flexibility and elasticity in your muscles. Your bones become weaker and more prone to fracture and your interverte-bral discs tend to dehydrate and be-come thinner resulting in less protec-tion. The discs in turn may leak and consequently irritate the nearby nerves and cause pain.

Occupational risks. A sedentary lifestyle, extended periods of stand-ing and poor posture can lead to muscle imbalances.

Frequent bending and twisting in-cluding the repeated lifting of heavy loads can cause a variety of different injuries.

Pregnancy causes the mechanics of your body to shift and your ligaments become looser and much less sup-portive in preparation for birth.

Obesity puts additional pressure on your lower back and spinal liga-ments.

Stress hormones increase your per-ception of pain. Your muscles tend to tighten and blood flow may be re-duced to your tissues resulting in even more discomfort as lactic acid level s increase.

Sports injury or trauma. Often caused by incorrect lifting technique or badly designed exercise pro-grammes.

Medical conditions such as osteopo-rosis, arthritis, spondylolisthesis, spi-nal stenosis etc can all result in back pain.

P osture - Poor posture will make you more vul-nerable to the development of back pain. If your

spine is not in its correct anatomical position then neither are the joints. This puts extra stress on the structures in your back and this in turn can lead to the development of postural imbalances and pain. Tight and shortened muscles will throw your spine out of its natural alignment. It is not just the muscles of your back we should consider but the muscles at the front of your hips, your quadriceps or thigh mus-cles and hamstrings located on the back of your thighs too. So what is good posture? A healthy and neutral spine will form a gentle S shape. Your spine contains four natural curves: cervical, thoracic, lumbar and sacral. There are three main additional postures that we need to consider when it comes to spine care: lordosis, kyphosis and scoliosis. Lordosis presents with an excessive curvature of the lumbar vertebrae and is often seen in pregnancy and obesity. Kyphosis describes an excessive curvature of the upper or thoracic vertebra and is commonly seen in those with osteoporosis. Scoliosis can affect either the lumbar or thoracic vertebrae and is excessive curvature to one side. It may occur in individuals with different leg lengths.

P ostural cues - When standing with a neutral spine, your knees should be slightly bent, the

back of your ears should in line with your shoulders, your chin parallel to the floor and shoulders in line with your feet. Your head is then supported totally by your spine and directly over your base of support. If your head moves forward this changes your whole posture and places an undue strain on your lower back. When seated correct posture is vital. Your knees and hips are in a constantly flexed position and your discs are under greater pressure. Your body is not designed to maintain this position for prolonged peri-ods of time so regular breaks are essential. Try to stand up and move around a moment or two every 30 to 60 minutes of sitting. Sit with your feet flat on the floor and facing forward ensuring that your knees are level with the hips and both are flexed to 90 de-grees. There should be no arching in the back. Shoulders should be back and down and chest open.

Exercise Advice to Assist in the Prevention of Back Pain. Exercise and maintaining a healthy level of fit-ness will help to sustain the segmental motion in your spine and in the event of injury will help to provide nourishment to the affected tissues and speed up recovery.

S wimming is a fantastic form of exercise, regardless of whether or not you have pain.

It is a non-impact activity and the water allows for weightless exercise while providing resis-tance at the same time. Your body can relax and muscle tension can float away. For best results, make sure that you swim with good form, keep your body level and keep abdominal muscles engaged. Always swim at your own pace.

W alking and cycling can be performed in the gym or outdoors. Intensity and dura-

tion of exercise can be adjusted accordingly. When cycling, ensure that the seat of your bike is at the correct height. When running, con-sider the surface that you run on. The softer the surface the better as running is a much higher impact activity.

Y oga and Pilates are both great! Yoga will help to create balance in the mind and

body by developing strength and flexibility

through a variety of poses. Each pose has its own particular physical benefit. Pilates will work on your alignment, core, lengthen your body and improve flexibility. For both yoga and Pi-lates, ensure that you are taught by an accred-ited instructor who will be able to adapt the class accordingly to your fitness levels and any history or predisposition to back pain.

S trength training. When performing a mus-cular, strength and endurance programme

you should pay particular to promoting balance between muscle groups. Don‘t just work your chest and arm muscles as this will lead to a rounded posture. Work on your upper back and shoulders too. When lifting heavy weights en-sure that you maintain good form at all times and also remember to lift using your legs and not your back as you collect and return your weights.

A bdominal and core work. Spinal stabilisa-tion work is vital and is a subject far too

complex to discuss in depth at this time. The importance of correct TVA activation and stabi-lising your inner core muscles cannot be over emphasised. Working on your Rectus Abdomi-nus or six pack muscle in isolation will not help to protect your spine. In fact certain abdominal exercises can predispose to injury take care in positions of extreme flexion or extension.

Prevention and Keeping your Spine Healthy. Exercise is one of the most important factors. Through movement you will be helping to maintain the strength and flexibility in your muscles, ligaments, bones and joints. If your body moves freely and with minimal stiffness then you are more likely to be able to cope with any sudden impact or trauma. Low impact activities such as walking, biking, swimming, yoga and Pilates will decrease the risk further.

Lift correctly. I.e. bend from the knees and hips and not your back. Ensure you conform to Man-ual Handling Legislation in your place of work. It is good practice to dead lift the bar or weights up from the floor. If you are not sure how to carry out this move correctly then ask a trainer to dem-onstrate. Maintain good posture at all times as this is essential in preventing the risk of back problems. Think about your posture regularly and it will become second nature. This includes when you are standing, sitting or working at your computer.

Sleep is important in all aspects of your life but choosing the correct mattress is essential as this ensures that your head and neck are in correct alignment.

Correct footwear. Often forgotten but correctly fitting footwear is equally as important. Training shoes should have a solid base and support your foot while maintaining its natural arch. If you stand correctly then your body is more likely to maintain its natural alignment.

Are you thinking of returning to exercise after having a baby? This article goes through the different types of exercises that may suit you now that you‘ve had a baby and what groups are available so you can still workout even if your baby‘s with you.

H ow are you feeling? Hopefully you‘ll get asked this a lot and it won‘t get too annoying! It is really important when exercising

after having a baby that you do keep checking how you feel. Your body has been stretched, widened, had massive amounts of hormones flying around and ultimately been through a major event so you do have to be gentle with it - regardless of how fit you were before preg-nancy or how relatively fine you feel at the mo-ment.

B efore you start exercising you must consider the following things:

Most exercise groups/ personal trainers will insist you‘ve had your 6 week check by the doctor and been given the ok before you can work out with them.

Even though you‘ve been given the all clear to workout, exercises should still be modified to allow for the pelvis and stomach muscles to resume their natural position. This can take months and if you want a flat stomach again you have to wait until they settle back into po-sition. There is no rush to get back into shape. (I was going mad not exercising!) It takes 9 month to grow a baby and you should give yourself a minimum of 9 months to get your body back into shape. An Australian study has shown that eexercise does not affect breast-feeding outcomes at the usual levels of activity undertaken by mothers. Studies do show that excessive exercise can negatively affect breast milk production. It is not sensible to diet whilst breastfeeding, in-stead concentrate on eating a balance diet. Also remember breastfeeding burns around 500 calories a day.

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T he tummy test: After pregnancy it takes a while for your stomach muscles to return back

to normal. The process of the muscles stretch-ing is called diastasis recti and should return back to normal after pregnancy. There are dif-ferent degrees of stretching and you can do a test to determine how much your muscles have over-stretched.

Whilst lying on your back with your knees up, place your hand flat on your tummy just above your belly button.

Your fingers should point down towards your pubic bone.

Gently lift your head and shoulders off the floor as though you were attempting a sit-up, feeling your stomach muscles coming together.

It may take a couple of attempts to know what you are feeling for.

Try to judge the gap by finger width be-tween the stomach muscles. A gap of 2 fingers or less is considered normal after birth. If you measure 3 fingers or more, or if your tummy makes a dome shape as you sit up then you have over-stretched ab-dominal muscles.

The gap should decrease naturally over the coming weeks but, if it doesn‘t, ask your GP to refer you to a physiotherapist that can give you specific exercises to help you. It is important not to leave this untreated as it means your stomach muscles will be in a weakened state and can increase your chances of developing back pain as well as making it harder to regain a flat stomach.

W hat type of exercises should I be doing?

Keep doing your pelvic floor exercises! As well as gently returning to normal exercises it is important to keep up with your pelvic floor

exercises. The main pelvic floor muscle is called the Pubococcygeal (PC) muscle. This is the muscle you use to stop and start the flow of urine. Exercising this muscle helps prevent stress incontinence (the slight leaking of urine that some women experience when they cough or laugh), hemorrhoids and prolapse. Learn to isolate this PC muscle by stopping the flow of urine a few times. Use this tech-nique only to locate the muscle.

Do not exercise the muscle this way as it may lead to a uri-nary tract infection. These are a set of exercises you can do everyday to help strengthen your pelvic floor

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G et Walking Walking is a great way to start im-proving your fitness. Most push-

chairs are lightweight and easy to maneuver so you can walk/run with them. Another option is to use a baby sling. They are great to use and the extra weight of your baby will give you more of a workout. I used a Hug-a-bub (www.hugabub.com) sling until my son was walking. It‘s great because you can put it in different positions as they grow and it sup-ports by spreading the weight evenly across your back. I walked everywhere after having my son, I also did a mummy and baby weights class once a week. That combined with healthy eating ensured I shed all of my baby weight. All four stones!

E xercising with your baby Getting involved with a mummy and baby exercise group is a really good

way of getting back into fitness and it opens you up to a group of people that are all in the same boat. Here are a few suggestions of classes that are available nationwide Buggyfit (www.buggyfit.co.uk) - It‘s not just pushing prams around with other mothers. 3 – 5 miles is covered in an hourly session and the sessions also include bodyweight/toning exercises.

Mummy and baby Yoga (www.birthlight.com) - Baby yoga, which complements infant mas-sage, offers quality physical stimulation in-cluding flowing postures, holding, movement, touch, voice and deep relaxation. It induces a happy, carefree and lively parent-infant inter-action, which develops as the babies grow. Local classes – Whether they are attached to a gym or community centre you will be able to find an exercise class that you are welcome to bring your baby along too. The great thing is you can workout and the babies play in the corner. It‘s good to find a class that involves a variety of training types. My local class was a mixture of weights, boxercise and cardio. Ultimately you know your body best and what is it capable of. Don‘t push yourself in the early months after pregnancy and workout to get strong from the inside out. Exercising will obviously help regain your fitness levels but it is also proven to have a positive effect on your mental health so happy exercising!!!

Kegels

Squeeze the PC muscle for five seconds; relax for five seconds, then squeeze again. Repeat 10 times Another option is to do Flutter exercises: Squeeze and release, then squeeze and release as quickly as you can. Work up to doing 100 Kegels each day

Stomach strengthening exercise

Start on all fours, knees under hips, hands under shoulders and fingers facing forward. Pull the abdominals towards the ceiling, curling the trunk and allowing the head to relax gently forward. Hold for a few seconds and return back to resting position. Repeat 10 times

The „Lift‟ exercise

Sit on a chair with both feet flat on the floor. Imagine the PC mus-cle is a lift. Squeeze the PC muscles so the lift rises to the first floor, hold for 5 secs then relax. Then take it to the second floor, continue until you reach the fourth floor. Play around with this one, try going from floor 1- 5 and back down. It‘s a great exercise for developing control

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Ask any of my clients what is Tabata training and you'll see a face full of dread, slightly weepy eyes and the vein in their forehead puls-ing! Tabata protocol is an advanced form of interval training that, while very simple, is brutally effec-tive. A simple Tabata workout only takes a few minutes if performed as outlined below...

warm up

20 hard seconds maximal intensity work

10 seconds rest repeat 7 more times ―Easy!‖ I hear you mutter but I beg to differ. In-vented by Dr. Izumi Tabata and his team at the National Institute of Fitness and Sports in To-kyo and it's now commonly used by many body-builders, Olympic lifters and gym goers alike Tabata training is super-tough, very effective for improving aerobic and anaerobic fitness and also a time-efficient way to strip away body fat. The effects of Tabata are increased calorie utili-zation through the day and more importantly, an increased rate of fat burning in the hours af-ter training. Tabata uses both anaerobic and aerobic training systems. This is really hard work and 10 times better than using a Cross-trainer for 30+ Mins (slow and steady). Tabata works well with all body exercises keep-ing the same load and choosing exercises that won't over stress the body, a deadlift for exam-ple wouldn't be a great exercise to use due to bad form during the final rounds and grip might also be a factor.

So to start Select your chosen exercise, I

have listed some you could use which I have used with my clients. Then Perform as many reps as possible for the 20 seconds and rest for 10 seconds only. You then repeat this cycle for 7 more times. 4 minutes in total.

When to use Tabata You can use Tabatas

at the end of your regular workout as a ―metabolic finisher‖ or as a very short and time efficient stand alone workout when you are in need of a brief but hard exercise fix. I don‘t sug-gest performing them early in your regular workout because you may find you have no en-ergy for the rest of the session you intended to do.!

Progressions You could start to play with

the number of rounds and active time. Maybe adding a extra round each week and building up to 10-12 rounds, then using active time once you've reached your target number of rounds, 30secs instead of 20sec and reducing the rounds back down until you can make 10-12 again using 30sec. Another option is performing a Tabata superset. Simply pair two exercises, for example squats and press ups and alternate between the two movements. Perform 8 sets of each to total an eight minute double Tabata. This method helps keep your cardiovascular response high whilst allowing you to have a working rest as you al-ternate exercises. Try Tabatas – all the Fitnorama experts love them!

Easiest to hardest exercises

Star jumps

Rowing machine

Squat jumps

Skipping

Gliding plates running

Squats thrusts

Medicine ball slams

Squat presses (aka thrusters)

Boxing bag (hard and fast)

Burpees

Kettlebell swings

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By Del Wilson

The TGU should be learnt alongside the swing in the early stages of your kettlebell training. In fact, as outlined above, it will give you the re-quired shoulder stability you need before you ever do any kettlebell pressing movements.

So, how do you start with this terrific exercise? Initially with no weight. For point of visual refer-ence, you could use one of the discarded shoes you have already taken off in order to perform kettlebell work. Bare feet, flat soled or one of the many minimalist shoes recently coming on to the market only please! Simply hold the shoe up above you just as if it were a kettlebell. This will help you to maintain a straight arm position and allow you to fix your gaze onto something.

Perform the exercise equally on both sides and try to resist the temptation to prioritise your pre-dominant side. Once you are confident with your form and it feels assured and smooth, progress to some weight. This could be a ket-

tlebell or a light dumbbell. This exercise does translate better to dumbbells than the majority of kettlebell exercises.

How to do it:

(For the purpose of description, I am describing a right handed TGU)

1 . Lie on your back with a kettlebell posi-tioned to the right of you and roll round to your right to face the kettlebell. Grasp with two hands and then roll

back bringing the kettlebell to a position above your head. Once it‘s steady remove the left hand. From this point on, keep the arm locked, do not take your eyes of the kettlebell and keep a strong straight wrist.

2 . Bend your right leg and place your foot on the floor as close to your back side as possible. Keep the left leg straight and try to lengthen it as much

as possible. Now actively pull your shoulder back into its socket by retracting your shoulder blade.

3 . Now Imagine you have a pole project-ing out of your opposing hip, in this case the left. Sway the arm towards this pole to produce some momentum.

As you do so attempt to get up on to your left elbow using abdominal strength. Get it right and it should be fairly effortless. Remember to not allow your right leg to collapse inwards as you do this, keep it strong.

4 . Once up on your elbow, push up onto your left hand. This should be at an an-gle of 45 degrees to the ground.

The benefits of the TGU.

The TGU is a highly functional movement re-quiring all the muscles of the body to work together as one unit in order to complete the task. It will give you:

Greater strength, mobility and stability in your shoulders

Full body strength, working your legs, glutes, shoulders, core, back, triceps, and forearms

Improved flexibility

Cardiovascular endurance

Increased coordination and propriocep-tive skills.

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5 . Now push your hips upwards as high as possible. You should have a straight line from the kettlebell right down to the opposing hand that is in

contact with the floor. From this point, sweep your left leg round and back underneath you, finishing up on your knee. The knee should end up in a position whereas you are able to so perform a lunge. Then simply straighten up your body. You should now be in the lunge po-sition. Your eyes should still be focused on the kettlebell.

6 . From here, squeeze the handle of the kettlebell hard. As you rise, exhale and maintain high intra-abdominal pres-sure. Stand up with the kettlebell,

bringing both feet together. Lean back into the kettlebell as you stand. At this point which is the completion of the upward part of the move-ment, your eyes should be looking straight ahead. Pause and prepare to reverse the movement.

7 . To reverse, drop back down to your left knee. Then place your left hand down.

8 . Raise your hips and then move your left leg back to the starting position. Drop, carefully back down to a sitting position, then your elbow and finally back down to a lying position.

9 . From here adopt a two arm grip on the kettlebell and roll back round on your side to release the kettlebell. Re-member the lift is not completed until

the kettlebell is properly rested on the ground.

As with all single kettlebell exercises, remem-ber to maintain the work load equally between the two sides. It‘s OK to get the technique down on one side first but be sure that once you‘ve done this that you switch to working both sides equally. You should never get to the position whereby you are lifting a 24KG with one side and only a 16KG on the other.

Progress slowly with this exercise. You should

be able to perform multiple reps before at-tempting a new weight. There is no benefit in increasing the weight at the expense of correct form. This will inevitably lead to injury and a loss of training time.

Incorporating the TGU into a workout.

I will often incorporate this exercise into a mixed kettlebell session. For example:

Perform a single TGU on either side and then, with no rest, 1 minute of swings. Then 2 TGU‘s followed by 2 sets of swings with 30 seconds rest between each swing set. Then continue in this fashion until you are up to 5 sets. Then, if you are feeling up to it, come back down the ladder until you hit 1 repetition again.

This is a great little combination, working the two of the best kettlebell exercises in a mini circuit.

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Helpful tips

Always start with minimal weight. Take off your shoes (you shouldn‘t be wearing them anyway) and use one of them as an object to focus on.

Constantly keep your eye on the kettlebell except for at the very top position. This will help prevent the kettlebell going wayward.

Have a good sized workout space and be prepared to let the kettlebell go if you feel as though you are about to lose control of it so if you are worried about your parquet flooring then perhaps you could try it outside.

Remember to keep your shoulder pulled down into its socket at all times.

Keep a straight wrist and do not allow it to be pulled into hyper-extension.

Start with a maximum of 5 reps per side and increase as and when your strength allows.

As you move into each position, ask yourself, Could I sit here for a minute? If not, shift your position until you can.

How To do the TGU

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The weighted sled provides a number of training opportunities for developing many facets of fitness, from low level cardiovascular conditioning when performing power walking to anaerobic conditioning when performing sprints to muscular endurance, hypertrophy and strength work. All you need is a good level surface (grass, tarmac or concrete work best) and up to about 60kg of free weights and you have sufficient resources to perform a sled workout regardless of your outcome goals.

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The Sled Workout

Model: Richard Scrivener

Sled Sprints

Sled Crawl

Give your whole body a workout

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Exercise Sets/Reps Rest

Sled Sprints 5 x 20meters

1-2 minutes per set

Sled Crawl 5 x 20meters

3. Rower a. Burpees

5 x 20meters

Sled Lunge extensions

5 x 10meters

Sled back peddling

5 x 20meters

Sled forward Push

5 x 20meters

Sled Lunge extensions

Sled forward Push

Sled back peddling

Give your whole body a workout

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What should I do following the marathon to help my recovery? When should I start running again? Your recovery is as equally as important as any other area of your marathon training and should be planned accordingly. A good re-covery strategy can help you recuperate bet-ter and come back stronger. The recovery process can be broken down into four differ-ent stages:

Stage One –The first 24 hours after crossing the finish line Keep moving – This will probably be the last thing that you will feel like doing, but it will help you warm down effectively and will help remove some of the lactic acid from your muscles. Take a gentle walk for a few min-utes after finishing the race or try a slow jog if you have the energy. Hydrate – No matter how much liquid you took on board during the race, your body has probably lost essential fluids which need to be replaced. Sip slowly on cool water to re-hydrate and also sports drinks to get those electrolytes back into the body. Maintain this approach to drinking for the rest of the day. Stretch - Stretching all of the lower body muscle groups (quadriceps, hamstrings, calves, hip flexors, adductors, gluteals) for at least 30 seconds, will help to get the lactic acid out of the muscles and reduce muscle soreness. Have a massage/use a foam roller – Many marathons offer post - race massages, which

You‘ve done it! You‘ve crossed the finish line with a smile on your

face and fatigue in your legs! The medal is around your neck and

you‘ve posed for your official photo, feeling like a champion. Months

and months of planning, training and effort have paid off. You have

achieved your goal and feel euphoric, excited and proud. But what

do you do now? Fitnorama looks at the most common questions

which are asked post-marathon.

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can really aid your recovery. Some races also offer the use of foam rollers, which can also assist with removal of lactic acid from the muscles. Have an ice bath – Immers-ing the lower limbs in cold wa-ter after a race can help cool the deep tissues, reduce in-flammation and flush harmful toxins out of the body. Coastal events such as the Brighton Marathon have their own ready-made ice bath, as plenty of runners have a well earned dip in the sea after the race! Having a cold shower or bath will also aid recovery. Eat something – You may not have much of an appetite, but replenishing the calories and minerals that have been lost is an extremely important part of recovery. Try to eat something within half an hour of crossing the finish line. There are normally goody bags which are handed out after the race with food sup-plies, so this is a good start. Refuelling with carbohydrates will help replenish your energy stores whilst protein will aid muscle repair. Eating a salty snack will replace sodium which has been lost as sweat. Within a couple of hours, try to eat a substantial, well bal-anced meal containing good quality carbohydrate and pro-tein.

Stage Two – The day af-ter the marathon until Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness Subsides. Rest - During the week follow-ing a marathon, probably the most important factor to help

your recovery is to rest. Run-ning 26.2 miles has pushed your body to its limit and you will undoubtedly be suffering from serious Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) as a result of microscopic tearing to the muscle fibres. Avoid running and cross training un-til this soreness subsides, which could be anything up to a week after the race. If you feel like you need to do some-thing, taking a gentle stroll can help both physically and mentally, even if you are walk-ing like John Wayne! Look after yourself – This week is a time to take care of your body. Keep well hydrated and ensure that you get plenty of sleep. Apply ice to any ar-eas that need may need at-tention and take ibuprofen (if you are able to) to help ease muscle inflammation. Stretch all of your lower leg muscles every day, along with your lower back and pectorals. Us-ing a foam roller will also aid recovery here. Eat a well-balanced diet – After finishing a marathon, there is a temptation to eat whatever you like and go crazy. Having a few treats is fine - you certainly deserve it! However, the month after a marathon is the time when immunity levels are at their lowest, so it is advisable to try to be sensible with your diet. Consuming foods rich in car-bohydrate and protein will help to restore glycogen (energy) levels and help mus-cle repair respectively. Taking vitamin supplements may also assist in raising immunity lev-els.

Treat any injuries. Were there any niggles that hin-dered your marathon training? Should you really not have run because of an injury, but felt you had put in so much work that you couldn‘t miss it? Now is the time to get such injuries looked at. A minor niggle could develop into something more serious with-out proper treatment. It may be that you need to rest for a while or you may need some physiotherapy. It is better to take some time out and come back stronger than to carry on with an injury which may only get worse.

Stage Three – Easy run-ning Listen to your body – Do not attempt to run again until DOMS have completely sub-sided. Use the reverse taper method – Just as you eased down your training in the weeks before the marathon, you should build up your run-ning again in similar fashion over the next three weeks. Start with short runs, of no more than 30 minutes and build up the mileage and fre-quency of your running gradu-ally. Do not do any long runs or speed work during this pe-riod. Cross train – Interspersing your running with cross train-ing such as swimming, cycling or rowing can rest running specific muscles, whilst still working the heart and lungs.

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Take your time - You may feel like you are able to run further during this stage, but your body is still in recovery and an attempt to go for a longer run will probably lead to you running out of energy after a few miles.

Stage Four – Structured training Within a few weeks of gradu-ally building up your mileage and frequency of running and other cross training, you can start to re-commence more structured training. This could include long runs, interval or hill work. Like the previous stage, this should be intro-duced gradually in both fre-quency and intensity. I was so happy when I fin-ished the marathon. I had achieved my goal and you couldn‟t wipe the smile off my face. But a few days later, I feel lost, empty and don‟t know what to do with myself. Why is this? What can I do about it? It is not uncommon for runners to get the ‗Post Marathon Blues‘ within days of achieving their goal. For months, your running has more or less ruled your life. You followed a struc-tured programme which told you when to run and what to do. You also probably had to be more mindful of what you ate and drank so that it could complement your training. Your main focus was to ac-complish your goal, whether it was to finish the race or to achieve a certain time. The day after the race, this organ-

ised structure no longer ap-plies. For a couple of days, this can seem like a positive thing. No more early morning or weekend runs, having to fit in that punishing interval ses-sion after work or having to worry about eating complex carbohydrates the night before a long run. But as the battle scars of not being able to walk down the stairs properly sub-side, so can the elation which comes with finishing an endur-ance event. It can feel like there is a void which cannot be filled. So what do we do with all this spare time now? Embrace your achievement - Make sure that you take some time out to celebrate and ac-knowledge what you have ac-complished. This could be anything: Going for a meal with friends and family, having a massage, going on holiday or just having a few days off. You‘ve put a lot of time and effort into this so you‘ve earned it! Appreciate your leisure time – Remember all of those as-pects of your life that you might have neglected because you were too busy training? Now you have the opportunity (and time) to amend this. Take some time to catch up with friends or to work on out-standing items on your ‗to do‘ list. Or just appreciate that you have the time to relax if you want to! Reflect upon your accom-plishment – Take time to think about your recent achievement and ask yourself some questions about it. Were

you happy with how your race went? Would you do it again? What have you learnt from running a marathon? Would you change anything about your training? Was it too much of a commitment? What did you enjoy or dislike? Answer-ing such questions can help in setting yourself a new goal. Don‟t act on impulse - In the euphoria of crossing the finish line and the subsequent hours, you may think that you would be foolish to contem-plate a challenge such as a marathon ever again. Simi-larly, you may want to sign up for another event as soon as you get home. Don‘t trust your emotions at this point. Take at least a few days to think about what you would really like to do and whether it is a realistic aim. Set a new goal – After some time out to reflect, set a new goal for yourself. This may be to run another marathon next year (perhaps beating your previous time), to concentrate on shorter distances, to do a triathlon or to focus on another area of your life. Make sure that your goal is SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achiev-able, Realistic, Time-bound) Whatever you decide to do, you can use your marathon training experience as an ex-cellent base for planning and implementing your new goal. Plan one step at a time with short targets which will even-tually lead to your overall goal. Having something to focus on will beat those post marathon blues!

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Expert Andreas Michael from Fitnorama had the unique opportunity of interview-ing Natalia Muntean a well known per-sonality within the fitness industry across the globe. Natalia has many prestigious world class fitness tiles un-der her belt, which include:

Ms. Bikini Universe Fitness Model World Champion Ms. Bikini Florida

Natalia is also a certified personal trainer, fitness writer, model and author of ―Butt and Thighs Training Manual for Every Woman‖.

AM: Natalia, first of all thank you for talking the time to talk to me about your exciting achievements within the health and fitness industry to date, with I‟m sure many more to follow. How did your career in health and fitness industry begin, and have you always been an active person? NM: Thank you for having me here! I am very honoured. I have been always active and participated in all kind of sport activities as a child. When I was 16, though, I started to rapidly gain weight due to my unhealthy diet and stressful life cir-cumstances. I couldn‘t get it under control until I completely changed my eating habits and started to follow a healthy lifestyle. It took me years to really be comfortable with it, but the truth is that there is no training routine that can over train a bad diet. I‘ve been modelling for a long time in fashion and beauty industry, but my health and fitness career started after my first fitness competition in 2008. I didn‘t know it then, but every step I was making lead to a completely new career and new lifestyle that truly enjoy. AM: You‟ve already have a full and still ex-panding career, what would you say is your proudest career achievement to date? NM: I had some great moments in my career that made me very happy. One of them is win-ning the title of Ms Bikini Universe. I‘ve trained for it by myself in my own living room without anybody‘s help, no trainers, no nutritionists, no stylists, nothing – just me and two rusty dumb-bells. So winning for me wasn‘t just another trophy, it was a solid proof that I can do any-thing with smart plan and hard work. Very happy moment.

AM: You‟ve got some pretty impressive fit-ness titles to your name, how did you begin to compete? NM: By walking on the beach one night and deciding that I wanted to build my name in the fitness industry and inspire people. I chose to compete in order to show myself in front of people and to test my abilities. So, June, 2008 was my fitness debut and I had no idea how successful it would be. I had no idea what I was doing and how should I train for it, just reg-istered for the biggest competition in the world (I found out that later) and wanted to learn about this industry through the process. I placed 3rd and it was my humble beginning.

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AM: How did it feel to be crowned Ms Bikini Universe and how did you begin to prepare for it? NM: Right after my first competition after plac-ing 3rd, I felt that I had a potential to win so I came back home and created a blueprint full of short-term and long-term goals. I bought dozens of books on training and nutrition and dove into it. I‘ve educated myself and even got certified as a personal trainer. I wanted to know what I needed to do in order to change my diet, transform my physique and improve my lifestyle for good. I continued training by myself, I kept my train-ing full of different routines, nutrition full of vari-ous healthy recipes and I kept studying any-thing I could find in order to win. While I was getting ready for Ms Bikini Universe 2009, I wanted to practice (warm up) , so I‘d com-peted at Ms Bikini Florida and won, then 10 days later I was competing in Ms Bikini Amer-ica and took 2nd place losing just by half of a point! So when I went back to Miami, June 2009, for Ms Bikini Universe 2009 I held nothing back, I went there to win. I won with the biggest gap between 1st and 2nd places in its history by 17 points. I didn‘t want any doubts, ties or antici-pation I went for a clear win. I was mentally and physically prepared. AM: If you could give any advice to some-one looking to get into Bikini modelling what would it be? NM: Get in shape, if you are not already in shape, and stay in shape. Find your best an-gles by practicing a lot! You can start taking pictures casually and just try to model the best bikini models out there. While you‘ll be model-ling others you‘ll find your own unique style, stick to it. Stay away from sleazy photography that is going to stay on the net forever, don‘t be in a rush to shoot nude or implied. I am all for showing a beautiful and fit body, I think it‘s natural, but make sure it‘s going to benefit your career and not just another perverted photographer. Make sure you know your rights and don‘t sign tricky copy releases. Be prepared and learn

the basics of modelling, such as makeup, hair and wardrobe styling. There is so much to it, I could write a whole separate article, but the principles are simple – be in shape, be always ready to shoot (nails, grooming, and well rested appearance, etc.), constantly practice and NEVER act like a diva.

AM: Maintaining a healthy diet plays an im-portant role within your life, what tips would you offer to people who are looking to improve their diets? NM: Diet is 80% of your fitness success; you just can‘t out train a bad diet. First thing you can do in order to improve your diet is to get rid of all the sugar and processed ingredients from your kitchen. Just don‘t even buy it, don‘t create any temptations around you. Eat clean, clean of sugar and saturated fats food; it‘ll prevent your body from collecting all the toxins and empty calories that end up as fat and cellulite in your problem zones. Stay away from processed foods and keep it as

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natural as possible. Smoking and alcohol are obviously a ―no-no‖. I am against smoking in any way, shape or form, and when it comes to alcohol, I occasionally (2-3 times a year) may allow myself a glass of red wine with dinner and glass champagne. Also, I wouldn‘t‘ restrain from a cheat meal once in 10 days or so. It helps keeping your taste buds and shocks your body with a change in your regular nutrition routine. But after that get right back on track and follow a clean and healthy diet, full of colourful vegeta-bles, crunchy fruits, water, lean meats, fish and whole grains, etc. It‘s all about balance when it comes to nutri-tion; make sure that your diet is full of various things, quality clean foods. AM: Tell us about your “Butt and Thighs Training Manual” what advice could you give to our readers that are looking to lift and firm their glutes? NM: My ―Butt and Thighs Training Manual‖ is all about glutes and thighs training. It‘s full of great exercises, workouts for different levels from a very beginner to a very advanced. Video demos, healthy and delicious recipes, top cover model beauty tips and skin care se-crets, nutrition plan and much more. It launches in May, so make sure you visit me at www.NataliaMuntean.com or www.BodyByNatalia.com and subscribe to my free newsletter to stay updated on my latest news. If your goal is to lift and firm your glutes you have to revise your diet, pick up the weights and start resistance training, also, combine with good night recovery and proper cardio. These are the essentials of great glutes I live and train by. AM: What does your exercise routine entail on a weekly basis, and how many times a week do you currently train? NM: I train 4-5 times a week and I train very instinctively so I feel stronger today I will add more intensity to my routine and if I am weaker I‘ll reduce it a bit. I want my training to ener-gize me not to drain me.

Monday: Legs + sprints Tuesday: Shoulders + abs Wednesdays: Plyometrics Thursday: rest Friday: Glutes + abs + cardio Saturday: Biceps + Triceps + Back + Plyometrics Sunday: rest

AM: I always ask everyone this question, and pretty much everybody‟s answer is dif-ferent, what is your favourite exercise and why? NM: I have many favourite exercises, really, it‘s hard to choose. ―Burpee‖ is one of them, because it targets your whole body, burns a lot of calories and is always challenging. AM: If you could go back and start all over again what would you do different? NM: I don‘t think that I would change anything. I am who I am because of everything that hap-pened in my life, so if I remove one link it‘ll cre-ate a completely new chain of circumstances, people and it wouldn‘t be the same. I guess, because I am happy with my life, I wouldn‘t change anything. AM: what are your plans for 2011 and the future? NM: Where should I begin? Haha! I have so many plans… Well, I want to successfully launch my manual very soon and firm up as many butts as I can! I‘m working on a couple of National TV pro-jects that will come to fruition later this year. I also am working on a fitness product line that is going to help a lot of people! AM: Natalia I would like to take thank you once again for your time is there a way our readers can keep up-to-date with your pro-gress and future developments? NM: Thank you for having me; it‘s my great pleasure to be interviewed by you! www.NataliaMuntean.com www.BodyByNatalia.com

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Easter has been and gone, and summer is just around the corner. I‘d don‘t know about you, but even for me the thought of wearing a bathing suit sends shiv-ers up my spine. Yes, even those of us who work in the fitness industry still have the same insecurities when it comes to letting go of our winter woollies and showing off our bikini body. Well have no fear, there are strategies you can do to dial in and feel more confident on the beach. I even use these strategies myself to prepare for my fitness competitions. So take note these are serious tips I am giving you, and even better some of these tricks will work immediately. DIET The key to feeling better fast is to drop the extra layer of water you may be holding that makes you feel bloated and squidgy. Obviously, you also want to lose fat but you can only safely lose 1-2 pounds of fat per week. Overall, your diet should be squeaky clean and healthy 90% of the time to start seeing that bikini body coming through. The following strategies will increase your fat burning potential but will also give you a quick fix in that you will drop the layer of bloat quickly. And in turn this will make you feel better immediately.

Drink lots of ICE COLD water. This will

make your body work harder to warm it up burning more calories. To get rid of your bloat you have to flush your body with wa-ter. You should drink at least half your

body weight in ounces each day. If you like, add sliced lemon and cucumber as these are natural diuretics.

Consume other natural diuretics such as

asparagus, vitamin C rich foods and green tea. If you want you can also supplement your diet with vitamin c and green tea ex-tract.

Get rid of any processed, starchy carbohy-

drates such as bread, pasta, cakes and cookies as they cause you to hold water. Avoid sodium and preservatives that also cause water retention. Instead opt for fresh, natural foods such as fruits, vegeta-bles and lean protein.

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Eat vegetables at each meal along with at

least 1-2 pieces of fruit a day especially ones high in carotenoids, beta carotene, alpha carotene and lycopene which are proven to equal smaller waistlines. These include kale, spinach, strawberries, toma-toes, carrots, sweet potatoes, cantaloupe, lettuce, broccoli, watermelon, and apricots.

Reduce your consumption of alcohol. If you

are used to having your nightly tipple, cut back to only having 2-3 glasses a week at the most. And when you do enjoy it alter-nate it with a glass of water.

If your diet is uber clean and your working

hard in the gym you may want to consider some fat burning supplements as a finish-

ing touch. Those stubborn fat stores won‘t know what‘s hit them. For example caffeine supplements increase thermogenesis (body heat) enhancing your ability to burn more calories. Capsaicin is the compound found in chillies that makes them spicy. Again, this increases thermogenesis and so your metabolism increases. You can either take it in the form of a supplement or add it to your food.

POSTURE

Improve your posture. Standing up taller and engaging your core will make you look slim-mer without even losing anything! Get into the habit of standing up straight and holding eve-rything in.

BODYWEIGHT METABOLIC CIRCUIT This circuit will challenge your body, requires no equipment and will certainly crank up your heart rate. It can be performed anywhere whether it‘s the park, gym or your back yard. It‘s done interval style. Go all out and com-plete one circuit and then recover. This is the most effective type of fat burning you can do. Push yourself as hard as you can. Your heart

rate should be at a level where you are breathing hard and you can barely talk. Doing these exercises in the morning will get your metabolism revving for the rest of the day. Perform the exercises one after the other with no rest. Aim for 10 reps of each exercise the first time you run through it and progress to 20 reps of each. Time yourself and however long it takes you to complete a circuit, give yourself the same amount of rest and then repeat four to six more times.

Body Weight Squat (10-20 reps)

Stand with feet shoulder width apart

Bend knees, keeping back straight and knees pointing forwards

Lower until thighs are parallel to the floor

Extend knees and hips until legs are straight

Alternating Walk-ing Lunges (10-20 reps each side)

Stand tall and step forward into a lunge with the left foot and contract the right glute

Alternate by stepping forward into a lunge with the right foot and contract the left glute

Continue alternating for prescribed repetitions and maintain upright posture throughout

Jump Lunges (10-20 reps)

After lunging forward your going to explosively jump into the air

Switch legs before you land, and go straight back into a lunge

Alternate from side to side exploding into the air

Jump Squats (10-20 reps)

Cross your arms in front of your body and perform a low squat

As you come out of the squat, jump straight up into the air as high as possible

Transition immediately into the next rep

Burpees (10-20 reps)

Adopt a push up position

Jump both legs in towards your chest and stand up and repeat

Tuck Jumps (10-20 reps)

Jump and get as high as you can while bringing your knees into your chest

Minimise floor contact time and repeat immediately

When you land, bend your knees to soften the landing

Use your arms to give you momentum to get higher

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Mentzer, now sadly deceased, was a dogmatic (same say quite mad!) proponent of high inten-sity training and according to mighty Mike and a number of experts including Arthur Jones who was the giant brain behind Nautilus train-ing equipment, Ellington Darden who was Jones‘s number two and numerous other train-ing experts, it is intensity and not volume that is responsible for muscle hypertrophy and, up to a point, I think they make a good case. In the words of Mentzer, it only takes one bullet from a gun to kill someone and it only takes one set of sufficient intensity to trigger muscle growth. While I‘m not sure about the imagery, Mentzer did have a point about training vol-ume and intensity and while you can train hard or you can train long, you can‘t do both. So many guys spend far too long doing every exercise known to man for a particular muscle group that their training intensity is so woefully low that they never get any stronger and/or bigger. Look around the gym and watch the skinny little guy with no appreciable muscle mass do barbell curls, dumbbell curls, preacher curls, concentration curls, cable curls

and then maybe some reverse curls to finish off his ―guns‖ (very small caliber guns at that). In his effort to train his biceps from every angle (don‘t get me started on that idiotic idea) he has to use very light weights otherwise he‘ll tire out too soon to do the 24 sets of triceps he‘s going to do after his biceps workout. If volume training was all it was cracked up to be he‘d be MASSIVE but instead he‘s got arms like knots in cotton!

So what is HIT? HIT is the common acronym of high intensity training. HIT is a system that has been adopted and adapted by many but is essen-tially a style of training that involves taking your work sets to absolute failure and only per-forming one or two exercises per body part. HIT proponents stress that, despite the very low volume of each workout, you must strive for ever increasing intensity by increasing your weights and/or reps every workout – or at least trying to. Mentzer stressed the need to de-velop a ―gun to the head‖ mentality to make sure you always take your sets as far as possi-

How many sets do you do per muscle group? 10? 8? 6? According to the late,

great, Mike Mentzer, if you are doing more than 1 or a maximum of 2 sets per

muscle group you are seriously overtraining and undermining your potential for

gaining Olympian size muscles. Mentzer should know— as one of the best

bodybuilders never to be crowned Mr. Olympia, Mike is the only man to ever

have scored a perfect 300 in the Mr. Universe bodybuilding competition.

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ble. Mentzer‘s own brand of HIT was called Heavy Duty and included the use of training systems such as pre-exhaust, supersets, negatives and drop sets although other HIT-ters do not use these intensifying methods. If you have doubts about the validity of HIT as a legitimate training method, shame on you for doubting me AND check out the Colorado ex-periment. Back in 1973, Arthur Jones took bodybuilder Casey Viator from a bodyweight of around 180lbs to 240lbs in four weeks using HIT. Admittedly Viator was coming back from injury and also was probably on a few daily drops of vitamin S (steroids to you and me) but the results of his transformation are jaw drop-ping, especially when you consider that Jones trained Viator a total of 14 time over the 28 day period of the experiment for an average of 33 minutes per training session. I actually spoke to Viator about 10 years ago about the Colorado experiment and he confirmed that the results were exactly as Jones published them. Take a look at http://www.musclenet.com/coloradoexperiment.htm for more info on the Colorado experiment.

So if HIT is so great, why doesn‟t everyone do it? Good question and I‘m glad you asked. Fol-lows of HIT are often referred to as Jedi. So strong is their belief in HIT that they will never stray from the HIT path and will often label the non-hitters of this world as idiots or, worse still in their minds, non-efficient exercisers! The thing is, HIT is hard and I mean REALLY hard. One set to failure might sound easy enough—it is just one measly set after all—but the real-ity is that it‘s going to hurt and, next week, it‘s going to hurt even more as you try to better your workout performance. Psychologically this can become very wearing. I remember do-ing a 20 rep HIT squat programme that, while it had me gaining strength and muscle quite visibly on a weekly basis, literally gave me nightmares. I‘ve never been as scared about an upcoming workout as I was with HIT squats—you could literally small the fear…or maybe that was the cheap protein I bought? Too long ago to say for sure…anyway, my

point is that there is only so long you can con-tinue adding an extra rep or loading a little more weight on the bar before your forward momentum grinds to a halt and you hit a wall.

When‟s a good time to HIT it? If you‘ve been training traditionally for a few

years and fancy a change, maybe it‘s worth

considering HIT. If you are finding it hard to

get to the gym for as long or as often as you‘d

like, maybe HIT could be the answer. Perhaps

you just fancy seeing if HIT is all it‘s cracked

up to be. Regardless, HIT workouts are short,

tough and fun – especially if you define fun as

seeing just how much pain you can tolerate

while you work out! You‘ll probably experience

some notable gains in both strength and size

because HIT is the polar opposite of high vol-

ume training and, often, a dramatic change in

training style can result in some new spurt of

progress. Is HIT training the one true way that

the HIT Jedi proclaim it to be? Is it heck! But,

like any good training system it has its value in

a well rounded periodized training plan. It‘ll

challenge your muscles in a new way and the

extremely brief workouts are over in 30 min-

utes or less. In fact, because I love to see you

suffer, I‘ve provided you with a six week HIT

(high intensity training) programme you can

use to bridge the gap to your next, more tradi-

tional, workout.

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I challenge you…. In fact, I double challenge you to do this pro-

gramme for six weeks. It‘s not just the work-

outs that are going to be hard, it‘s also going

to be tough for you to turn up, do your workout

and then be on your way home while your

buddies are still on their first set of bench

presses. Don‘t worry, have confidence in the

programme and strive to do as many reps as

possible—don‘t just stop because you reach

your usual rep cut off point…do as many reps

as you can and then try to get one more. If you

feel like doing more than the prescribed exer-

cises…don‘t! Treat this as your very own Colo-

rado experiment. If you want to include some

cardio over the next few weeks try performing

Tabata sprints (20 seconds of maximum effort

work/10 seconds of recovery for 8 to 10 sets)

on the days in between your strength work-

outs. Don‘t be surprised if you feel more ener-

getic than usual—the shorter workouts mean

that you‘ll have a lot more energy for non-gym

related activities. Don‘t tell the wife though or

she‘ll have you mowing the lawn every other

day!

Monday Wednesday Friday

Week One Workout 1 Workout 2 (squats) Workout 1

Week Two Workout 2 (dead lifts) Workout 1 Workout 2 (squats)

Week Three Workout 1 Workout 2 (dead lifts)

Workout 1

Week Four Workout 2 (squats) Workout 1 Workout 2 (dead lifts)

Week Five Workout 1 Workout 2 (squats) Workout 1

Week Six Workout 2 (dead lifts) Workout 1 Workout 2 (squats)

Workout A – Upper Body

1 Bench press 2 Chin ups 3 Seated dumbbell press 4 Chest supported row 5 Parallel bar dips 6 EZ barbell curls

Workout B – Lower Body & Core

1 Squats (alternated with dead lifts each work-out) 2 Leg extensions (drop set) 3 Leg curls (drop set) 4 Standing calf raises 5a Stability ball plank 5b Stability ball crunches 5c Cable Russian Twists

To warm up, perform 5 minutes of light cardio and one

or two sets of bench press and lat pull downs. Make

sure you have a spotter handy as you‘ll be training to

failure and I don‘t want to getting squished by a weight.

For chins and dips, feel free to add weight by hanging a

dumbbell around your waist if you‘re reps are going

above 102 As a general rule, work in the 8 to 12 rep

range but don‘t worry if you go outside of this range –

focus on maximal intensity rather than some randomly

selected number.

This workout requires that you alternate squats and dead lifts on a workout by workout basis. The squats and dead lifts are going to be performed as 20 rep sets. I want you to perform a single set of 20 reps of each exer-cise (after your warm up of course) using the heaviest weight you can manage. Keep the rep count at 20 but add a little more weight to the bar every week. Use rest/pause technique to complete the set and don‘t worry if you need to lie down after the set is completed—this is quite normal although if you need more than

10 minutes I suggest you need to work on your cardio. I also want you to perform drop sets after leg extensions and leg curls—two or three drops will be sufficient. The core work is a one set to failure tri-set. Hold the plank for as long as possible before rolling over and bang-ing out as many crunches as you can and then finishing up with a set of cable Russian twists to the left and right. Job done! Your six week workout plan should look like

this…

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Q - I‘ve just started doing karate once per week and wanted

to ask what are the best exercises I can do in the gym that will help me develop and perform better at karate. I cur-rently go to the gym twice per week for about an hour, but

can do longer. thank you Posted by Jason

Submit a question via our website and you could

be in the next issue of Fitnorama magazine

A - Hi Jason,

As you progress through your training you will find that ka-rate encompasses many disciplines: Kata and Kumite

(sparring) are the two main areas.

You can often find me in the gym with a set of dumbbells in my hands practicing basic blocking tech-niques and punches, heavier weights when going slow to keep the muscles under tension and lighter weights such as 3kg when practicing for speed. Core exercises such as: Russian Twists, Dorsal Raises, The Plank, and Oblique Crunches form the basis of all martial arts techniques. Rowing will help as it is a whole body exercise it will improve both fitness and power. Squats have proven to be one of the most beneficial exercises to my training, as it is good for developing the explosive power needed and the endurance to stay sitting low in your stance. However squats are only a single plane movement. Karate makes you move in multiple directions, so it is vital to practice multi directional

movements. Clock lunges are ideal as they mimic the movements and stances used when sparring.

Practicing the Kata‘s slowly with a set of dumbbells in your hands will make you ―sharper‖ when you

come to do them without. Sounds strange but it works

Below is a workout that I have used a lot over the years and it is still as effective as it ever was. This

work out formed part of many of my gradings and was always a challenge.

3 rounds of 1 minute just punching 3 rounds of 1 minute just kicking

3 rounds of 1 minute both punching and kicking

• Rest if needed for no longer 15 seconds after each complete circuit

• Increase the duration of each round as your fitness level improves

If you give me a copy of your gym routine I will have a look at it and suggest some exercises to fur-ther your training. I wish you well with your karate, and hope it brings you as much satisfaction and enjoyment as it has

me.

Alan

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I am a healthy 35 year-old, mother of two little girls, exercise regularly, eat mostly fresh vegetables and fruit, and rarely drink alcohol – yet I can‘t get my weight below 80 kilos or get my dress size down to a 12. The reason is be-cause I can‘t stop eating chocolate. I confess I am physically, psychologi-cally, completely addicted to it. Dark, milk or white, I‘m not a chocolate connoisseur and so therefore not very fussy, except it has to be simply chocolate. I‘m never really interested in cake or biscuits despite my obvious sweet tooth, I am a purest but as I un-derstand it most addicts are. If it‘s in the house I‘ll eat it, and if its not then I‘ll find an excuse to go out to buy it. I‘m currently on a bar a day, and to be honest it‘s a struggle some days to limit it to this. My low this month was having brought two large cute chocolate chicks for my two young daughters for Easter, I then accidently on purpose dropped one on the floor so I could eat one of the smashed pieces before my 18 month old noticed. So I book an extra Personal Training session this week in hope to redeem myself, at least physically. I make a pact with myself that I‘ll even run, in-stead of walk, to the park to meet my fitness trainer – in order to burn off some of the extra calories I‘ve con-sumed. However as I have a tendency to reward myself after a hard work out with a bar of chocolate I understand my plan is very much flawed! By Laura Freeman

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As you can see, burpees do indeed work virtu-ally every muscle in your body. Perform them beneath a chin up bar and crank out a pull up after each jump and you have a time-saving cure-all that will train your entire body in one awesome exercise. If you are new to burpees you can miss out the press up and/or the jump. This reduces the difficulty of the exercise significantly so as soon as you are able, add the press up and then the jump so you are completing ―real‖

burpees.

Burpee Workouts Now you know how to perform a burpee, let‘s look at some burpee workouts. As with any kind of workout, make sure you warm up with some light cardio and dynamic stretches to minimize your risk of injury. Scale the work-outs to suit your individual fitness levels and always perform your burpees using perfect form to avoid hurting yourself.

How to Burp‟ like a Pro If you have never done a burpee before…shame on you, but here is how you go about performing this king amongst bodyweight exercises. 1. Stand with your feet together and your

hands by your sides 2. Squat down and place your hands on

either side of your feet, hands facing forwards

3. With straight arms, jump your feet back and adopt the press up position

4. Perform a single press up 5. Jump your feet back in between your

hands 6. Leap into the air 7. Land on slightly bent knees 8. Repeat, repeat, repeat!

The humble burpee might just be the best exercise you aren‘t doing. For those in the know, bur-pees are a full body exercise that can be performed in a wide variety of ways to make even the fittest, toughest ex-Marine (me!) cry into his beer. Is the burpee the ultimate exercise? Maybe that accolade is best awarded to the mighty power clean or the ass-to-grass barbell back squat but when it comes to conditioning, the burpee is hard to beat.

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Workout 1 – Partner Burpee Challenge

You perform one burpee

Your partner performs one burpee

You perform two burpees

Your partner performs two burpees Continue alternating and adding reps until you reach your pre arranged maximum e.g. 10 or, better still, one of you collapses in a heaving, sweaty heap and the other declares him or herself ―Burpee King‖!

Workout 2 – Burpee Intervals Perform the following mini-circuit every 2nd minute for 20 minutes to total 10 laps

5 burpees

10 press ups

15 squats

20 mountain climber (single leg squat thrusts)

Burpee Workout 3 – The Prisoner Workout This brutally effective workout can be performed in next to no space hence its name. Perform 20 burpees Rest a few seconds Perform 19 burpees Rest a few seconds Perform 18 burpees Rest a few seconds Continue until you get down to 1 On completion, collapse in a heap, note your time and congratulate yourself on doing 210 bur-pees. To celebrate my 40th birthday, I did 40-1 to total some 800 plus burpees. It took me just under two hours and yes, I really made the most of my post workout insulin sensitivity by con-suming my own bodyweight in birthday cake!

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Food today does not resemble what humans are meant to eat. We are a nation being brain-washed by misleading advertising and food labels; ‗diet‘ this and ‗low fat/sugar/salt‘ that. Use your common sense when choosing pack-aged foods. The smaller the list of ingredients, the better. If you don‘t recognize the name of an ingredient, it‘s probably not good for you! Try to establish a taste for fresh, organic pro-duce then all else will taste like innutritious chemicals or cardboard, which it mostly is. So how and why Raw? When you eat, your food is digested and bro-ken down in to simple chemicals to be used throughout your system. The nutrients are ab-sorbed in to your bloodstream where they are transported to each of the 100 trillion cells that you‘re made up of. The nutrients are then as-

similated in to the cells and used for energy and various processes. The food you eat is the fuel on which your entire being runs. Shouldn‘t we therefore be more mindful of what we eat? We are natural beings but technology, manu-factured foods, products and the environment have evolved dramatically which means we have to go back to basics and back to nature to create our best health. Grow and dig up your own nurtured veg, leaves etc. If you are not lucky enough to have a garden, leaves can be grown in trays on window sills. Organic is the way forward! ‗Raw‘ means food that has not been cooked or tampered with. This is not always practical so if you cook below 118 degrees F using a steamer or slow-cooker you‘ll retain the critical enzymes in foods required for health.

Nomads ate what they found without cooking it. Plant-based diets are great for

longevity as raw plant life consumed by humans not only kills and attacks dis-

ease but contains high quality minerals and proteins which will energise the bio-

system of the body as well as keeping it clear of waste allowing for efficient hor-

monal system function.

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This subject is very personal to me in a way I feel I have to share to inspire. Imagine this, be-fore setting off on a six month trip travelling Australasia I thought it wise to ‗MOT‘ myself. Doctor, Dentist etc. At the Opticians I was sent me straight to the eye hospital where I was bluntly told I had a ―one in three‖ chance of de-veloping Multiple Sclerosis. This shock and worry wore off after a few days of travelling and I settled back in to my hedonistic ways with even more gusto. Even when I returned to Lon-don I ignored the pain behind my eye and odd symptoms until I started losing vision. Further investigations revealed Optic Neuritis, a pre-cursor to MS where the immune system at-tacks itself, this time my Optic Nerve. This, for me, was wake-up time! Sometimes ailments will keep knocking on our door louder and louder until we listen and take action. In addition to my problems I had long-term IBS, Adrenal Fatigue and suffered nerv-ous exhaustion. Not good for a fitness fanatic. I gave up my job to take a Personal Training course, took up yoga and ditched late nights, clubbing, adrenaline sports, over-training, junk foods, my sugar addiction and slowly began to mend myself, particularly through diet to make me more regular, to reduce inflammation and acidity and therefore become less toxic. A Raw Food Chef course was the major turn-around along with attending lectures at the Col-lege of Naturopathic Medicine where cancer patients shared their stories about recovery fol-lowing a raw food diet and drinking greens. Prevention is definitely better than cure which is why we must all consider investing time and effort in our health. Looking after your immunity through proper rest, exercise and nutrition should be your number one priority in life. Any shortfall in one single nutrient can affect your immunity. The main things to consider are the intake of at least four portions of veg or salad and two portions of fruit per day along with a balanced plate of carbs, proteins and good fats. If you‘re feeling run down, blocked up, fatigued of have dietary concerns then it‘s time to start being more mindful about the fuel you‘re load-

ing up on at each and every meal. Make small changes which will become a daily habit and perhaps embark on a de-tox day, weekend or week at the change of each season and en-sure that you‘re obtaining a good range of phy-tochemicals from a plentiful variety of colourful fruit and veg each day. With food being the main theme that brings us together and defines cultures, this article is not suggesting that you quit meat or starchy carbs etc as nutrition is a very personal subject that should be tailored to suit your lifestyle, training schedule and metabolic type. However, from my own personal journey of recovery through eating well and taking better care, I do highly recommend consuming as close to nature as possible using the highest quality foods avail-able, choosing seasonal, fresh and organic produce, cutting out junk and reducing man-made sugars. If we make food choices from a place of love and awareness we will nurture ourselves with the foods our body really needs as we are in-vesting our love and attention into the care and support of a beautiful creation - OURSELVES It‘s true that it is more expensive to eat this way but it should be seen as an investment. There is no more valuable investment than an investment in your health. Eat Clean, Feel Clean, Look Clean. It‘s never too late to make a difference.

SUPREME RAW FOODS LIST Almonds, apricots, asparagus, avocados, ba-nanas, barley, brazil nuts, broccoli, brown rice, cabbage, melon, cashews, chard, cheese, chicken, chickpeas, coconut milk, cod, cottage cheese, cucumbers dark green leafy veg, dried apricots, dried fruit, eggs, garlic, ginger, grape juice, green veg, hazel-nuts, kale, kidney beans, lentils, mackerel, mango, miso, nuts, oat bran, oats, oily fish, olive oil, onions, oysters, parsley, peaches, peanuts, peas, peppers, pineapple, plain live yoghurt, potatoes, poultry, pulses, pumpkin seeds, quinoa, salmon, sardines, seaweed, sesame seeds, soya products, spinach, sun dried tomatoes, sweet peppers, tomatoes, walnuts, wheatgerm, whole grains

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Now that Spring is in full swing we can marvel at the infectious energy of children playing frivolously outdoors with as much energy as the sun; giggling almost hysterically as they bounce, hang, cartwheel, fall down/jump up, spin, twist and backbend their way through the day. How enviable their supple bodies and carefree nature! As adults there‘s no reason why we can‘t en-joy the same antics to stay strong, long and jovial. After all, when did you last hang out with your legs, say ‗hi‘ to your toes, salute the sky or view the world from a different angle? The benefits of twists and inversions are end-less; from bringing fresh oxygenated blood to the brain and cells to just giving your heart a rest. For centuries, Yogis around the world have believed that keeping your spine supple and strong is the secret to youth and longevity.

With these inspirations and the imminent Lon-don 2012 Olympic Games, I set free my inhi-bitions to bring you the following user-friendly gymnastic themed yoga sequences. Practice a few times per week wherever you fancy; in the privacy of your garden, first thing in the park, or public parkour-style, to obtain pre-summer toned arms and legs, a strong spine and core, to realign joints and correct imbalances and to open your mind and body for a lovely sense of liberation. Ensure you‘ve mobilized your joints and

warmed your muscles before practice and re-

member to breathe in and out deeply without

straining and to remain mindful of your mind,

breath and body united throughout each as-

ana to keep you in the present. This useful

skill acquired during these more challenging

asanas can be applied to stressful or unpleas-

ant situations in life. Breathe through life.

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Warrior I (Virabhadrasana I) Step R foot back so that L leg bends with knee behind toe and L thigh parallel to ground, hips and shoulders face forwards, raise arms to sky on inhale. Gaze up keeping good neck alignment and chest lifting away from hips (Beginners: lessen bend in front knee and arch of back and keep hands on hips)

Arrow Transferring weight on to L foot, straighten L leg with soft knee and raise R foot to create T-shape, palms face body, fingers point directly to toes. Gaze at ground. Feel the energy running from crown of head through spine and along leg to back foot (Beginners: rest hand on L leg keeping it slightly bent)

Transition Step feet together, bend knees planting hands be-side feet and spring back in to Plank landing softly (Beginners: step alternate feet back in to lunge then plank)

Plank (Khumbakasana) Gaze at ground, rotate shoulders outwards bring-ing elbows inwards, push equally through hands under shoulders and feet hip width (on knees for beginners). Bend elbows lowering torso to ground then push up pulling bellybutton in for flat back to banish the bingos

REPEAT ALL OTHER SIDE IN VINYASA (‗flow‘) UP TO 8 TIMES

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