What are the key areas we need to focus on in order to maintain health and fitness?

I believe there are six key areas that, if focused on, will enable effective health and fitness maintenance.

Consistency: Whatever your health and fitness goals, you need to create a good set of habits in order to create long lasting change. In my experience, habits are built around consistently performing an action over and over again. Repetition is the mother of all skills and sooner or later your body will adapt to what it habitually does. Whether it’s eating better or exercising a certain way, it all comes down to how consistently you perform this action over a period of time.

Water: The most effective weight loss supplement in the world is a glass of water. I’m not going to go into the benefits of drinking your daily dose- it’s well publicized. The problem people have is taking action and executing that knowledge. I fill up a three litre container every day and carry it with me wherever I go. People look at me as if I’m crazy and ask me all sorts of weird questions, but at the end of the day, who cares. Get that water down whatever you have to do!

Sleep: A domino effect begins when you don’t have enough sleep- one that affects every part of your life. The human body needs to heal and replenish itself. When you’re deprived of sleep this natural healing process is interrupted and you feel tired and irritated during the day. This knocks on, leading to fatigue and missed meals (or pigging out). One study has quantified this, showing that people who have an average of four hours sleep per night are 73% more likely to be obese than those whose who have seven-eight. There is a reason that God created day and night- the ‘lesser light’ is meant for sleeping and rejuvenating the body.

Stress: when controlled, pressure can be a good thing – it’s how diamonds are made after all. Pressure forces us to take action and implement change, but it can also turn to stress when things go wrong. Stresses causes the body to produce inordinate amounts of the hormone cortisol, which inhibits fat metabolism. Cortisol can also make your life a living nightmare, both emotionally and physically.

So how can we make pressure our friends and prevent it from turning into stress.
Here are some tips:

• Improve time management and organization skills
• Enjoy regular massages
• Relax and breathe deeply
• Lighten up
• Learn to listen better
• Spend more time with optimistic people and don’t sweat the small stuff.

Regular exercise: Get out there and go for it. Exercise shouldn’t be a chore, so find something you enjoy doing. Find a walking buddy, take up a sport, take your pets for a walk or play with your kids. Schedule time in the morning before work for your daily exercise, or stop watching the news and use that hour in the evening to exercise. Don’t wait till it’s too late- seize the opportunity to get into shape now.

Food: What you eat is 70-80% of the battle. Our bodies are an ever transforming mass of complex systems which require correct nutrition in order to run at an optimal level. Every second a couple of thousand liver cells die, but the good news is that if your body is functioning well, the same number of new ones are created. Since our bodies are forever in a state of renewal, the fuel we consume is critical. Without proper nutrition the healing process breaks down.

Antony Worrall Thompson’s The Essential Diabetes Cookbook, published by Kyle Cathie, Photography © Jonathan Gregson Pot Roast Chicken with Leeks, Green Beans and Peas

A delicious simple stew that you see in many of the unpretentious restaurants in France

8 new potatoes, scrubbed and halved
55g / 2oz pancetta or smoked streaky bacon lardoons
6 boneless, skinless thighs from free range chicken, halved
750g / 1 3/4lb leeks, trimmed and washed, cut in 2.5cm pieces
8 garlic cloves, crushed
1 sprig rosemary
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons soy sauce
120ml / 4 fl oz dry white wine
4 anchovy fillets
115g / 4 oz extra fine French beans, topped and cut in 2.5cm pieces
115g / 4oz petit pois
12 cherry tomatoes
Juice of ½ lemon
Ground black pepper

• Place the new potatoes in lightly salted water, bring to the boil and cook for 10 minutes, drain and set aside.
• Meanwhile in a large saucepan spray a light coating of olive oil, add the lardoons and cook for 5 – 6 minutes over a medium heat until golden. Discard excess fat then add chicken and brown all over.
• Next add the leeks and garlic and cook for a further 3 minutes, stirring regularly before adding rosemary, bay, soy, white wine, anchovies and part cooked potatoes. Cover with a lid and cook gently for 15 minutes. Then add the beans, peas and cherry tomatoes. Cook uncovered for 8 minutes before adding the lemon juice and seasoning.
• Spoon into 4 warm bowls and serve with warm seeded bread.

AWT: I’m a leg man but if you prefer breasts please feel free although I don’t believe they will be as juicy.

Why you won’t get results!

We all know one (I definitely know a few), those people out there that are ‘kidding themselves’. They blame other people; they don’t take responsibility for their actions and have enough excuses to fill a book. Let’s be honest, we’ve all been there before. I used to be a big time blamer but then I realised something.  I wasn’t going to get too far if I kept doing it, and those of you looking to take your health to the next level aren’t going to get there if you don’t accept responsibility!

Dr. Robert Resnick, a psychotherapist in Los Angeles, makes it easier to understand. E+R=O or Event + Response = outcome. At some stage in our lives we are all in very similar positions. Whether it is our weight, our relationships or our financial situations we all come across these hurdles, the difference is our response.

Having been in the health industry for 9 years I’ve heard every excuse under the sun. Most of them are as poor as the one we used at school – ‘sorry miss, my dog ate my homework’. As a trainer, we are constantly thrown excuses from people who aren’t willing to accept responsibility for the way they look and for the poor results they have achieved, BUT every now and then you get a gold client.

14 months ago Nicole Rodgers started personal training with one eye firmly fixed on her weight loss goal and the other on her target date, her friend’s wedding. Like all other clients with strong goals I was hoping that Nic would do all I ask and that there were no excuses.

Without any excuses Nic started her push to achieve those realistic but challenging goals she had set. Each goal setting session we had she would come back to me with her homework complete and the scales showing the benefits of it. There were no ‘ifs’, ‘buts’ or ‘sorrys’, just high fives all round as she got closer and closer to her goals. Living in the eastern suburbs of Sydney has brought about some interesting experiences for me. I once had a younger client who wouldn’t pay $6 for car parking to come and train, I didn’t waste much time with her.

Nic’s situation wasn’t easy, she had just started a new job, the job was based on the other side of the city, she was spending her spare time trying to find somewhere in Sydney to live, her starting salary made personal training a tight squeeze and on top of all that she was travelling from the Blue Mountains every day! That’s 3 hours of travelling! Nic’s commitment and dedication to the tasks that I had set for her was incredible. Every trainer has had one of these clients at some stage, a client who doesn’t blame anyone else, who doesn’t make excuses, a client who just gets on with the job. Nic is one of mine.

If you’re serious about being successful, not only in your health but in all areas of your life, assess them every three months. Which area of your life is the weakest? What do you need to work on? If you don’t think you can be honest with yourself, ask 3 people that you respect most for their opinions:

• Health – Do you need to lose weight? Do you have bad skin? Stomach problems? If you don’t have a flat stomach, both male and female, then I would say you need to lose weight.
• Friends – Are you being a good friend? Do you call your friends regularly? Are you there when they need you?
• Career – Are you where you thought you would be? If not, why? Are you going to blame your boss?
• Financial – What’s your financial position like? Are you struggling to pay the bills? What are you doing about it?
• Recreation – Do you have down time on the weekends? Are you ‘chilling out’? Are you hanging out with your friends?
• Family – Do you have strong bonds with your parents? Brothers and sisters?

It’s likely that some of you will conclude that everything is fine. Get real. There is always an area of your life that can be improved. Take responsibility.

Now that you have your ‘list’ the next step is to do something about it. This is where it all begins. You are in control of your own destiny. Where you end up is a result of the choices you make right now. Good luck.

› Continue reading…

By now you’ll be coming to the end of week 2 on the detox and should be starting to bounce of the walls with energy, which I’m sure is slightly different to the first few days when your energy might have been a little low! You’re now ready to start thinking about what comes next and what you can do to make the detox even more effective. There are a range of supplements that you can get from your health store that will help you with the detoxification process and allow you to re build the body inside out while getting your results faster!

Below are some supplements that should interest you!

Amino Acids are needed by the body as they are essential in making cells, hormones and enzymes and help to repair muscle tissue and nerve fibres.

Glutamine: (one of my favourites when I spent three years rebuilding my body!!!) important for muscle growth and stopping muscle breakdown. It also helps in the repair of a damaged digestive tract and helps balance the alkaline/acid levels in your body.

Arginine: It’s known for it’s ability to increase lean muscle mass, burn fat, lower cholesterol, boost the immune system and speed up the recovery from surgery and injuries by promoting wound healing. You’ll find it in nuts and seeds, poultry and seafood.

Antioxidants are a necessary part of our diet because they help to fight off free radicals that affect the bodies cells. Research also states that they slow the aging process and may reduce cancerous cells.

Green tea: helps reduce high blood pressure and lower cholesterol as well as fight viruses to help slow the aging process. Some studies also believe it speeds up your metabolism.

Echinacea: Anti- viral, anti-bacterial and an immune system booster!

Milk Thistle: Helps protect the liver and kidney from toxins and pollutants. Its also good for gall bladder problems and boosts the immune system. Not a bad supplement to have before and after a couple of sneaky drinks to help your liver process the toxins.

Zinc: This is essential for the growth and function of the reproductive organs. It is also known to protect the body against acne, assists with the formation of collagen, wound healing and strengthening of the immune system. There are high levels of zinc in eggs, nuts and seeds and whole grains.

Digestive Aids (one of my favourite groups) These supplements are designed to move food along the digestive pathways, and help prevent issues such as constipation, diarrhoea, flatulence and bloating.

Charcoal: It works by capturing unnecessary materials and gas and then carries them out of the digestive system. It’s perfect for those with bloating, diarrhoea and flatulence.

Peppermint: helps regulate digestion. It calms the muscles of the digestive tract and is useful to help with headaches, indigestion, nausea, IBS and stomach spasms.

Psyllium husk: (brilliant for anyone with constipation) laxative, high in fibre and will move things along nicely in your digestive tract.

Liver nutrients: Most of you are doing some serious damage to your liver so it’s important that you support it!

Fruit and Veggies with anti-oxidants: Foods such as carrots, celery, beetroot, apples and pears

Methionine: a sulphur rich amino acid important for the bodies detoxification. It is found in legumes, eggs, seeds, meat and fish.
Along with supplements, juices are a great way to combat some of those ‘issues’ that you might be experiencing!

A large number of you have shops nearby that make juices! Perfect!

My personal favourite is: beetroot, apple, carrot, celery and ginger. Now before you turn your face up at it, which is the standard response, I too didn’t really enjoy it the first time I tried it but knowing that it takes your body 11 efforts to acquire a taste I stood with it! If you decide it’s not for you here are some other options for your symptoms.

Bloating and flatulence: ginger, cumin, fennel, celery
Liver cleanser (my favourite) as above
Constipation: celery
Gastric hyperacidity: celery, spinach and carrot
Headaches: celery, carrot, coconut milk, celery
Poor digestion: beetroot, ginger and carrot
Immune system booster: carrot, ginger, garlic and wheatgrass.
Now get juicing!

As we come out of summer, our training motives may shift slightly from aesthetic towards those of health and vitality. Through winter, it is a good idea to begin preparing for your summer fun by combating the very effects that modern civilization is having on your energy levels. Modern civilization, in all of its glory, has had a detrimental effect on our posture, and is therefore having a big impact on our energy levels. The lynch pin of posture is, of course, the spine, and your lack of energy at the end of each day may be directly related to how well your body can stabilize this hub of movement.

Correct posture can be understood as a balance between strength and flexibility of both large and small muscles, which limit the stress placed on our joints and allow optimal efficiency from our body as a whole, resulting in minimal energy expenditure for any required movement.

Unfortunately, the posture of your spine is constantly affected by outside stressors, such as hunching at your computer, limited physical activity and incorrect recruitment of our muscles to perform any given task. The body’s will to compensate leads us to the internal tug of war between opposite muscles that we know as incorrect spinal alignment, or poor posture.

This attempt from the skeletal system to correct itself, contributes to faulty movement patterns at your limbs, and simple movements are usually performed by a much bigger muscle than is required, increasing the risk of injury and draining the body of more energy than it should. Such compensatory mechanisms within the body are known as energy leaks.

The deep muscles of your trunk and core are known as your inner unit. They are responsible for making the spine rigid enough to provide your outer unit (the muscles that generate large movements) with an energy efficient, strong platform.

The inner unit is made up of transverse abdominis (TVA), a belt like muscle that should anticipate movement and act like a corset to add rigidity to your spine and allow maximum strength from your limbs; your diaphragm, which should drop down to the top of TVA as you breathe and your pelvic floor that should engage from underneath your pelvis at the bottom of TVA. All three should come together to provide a solid cylinder that stabilizes your torso and spine. Supplementary to these is multifidus, a muscle that sits within the cylinder, and attaches to the spine to hold your vertebrae in their best position for function.

If you want your body to perform, it is essential that your inner core activates efficiently, as it is much less taxing for these small muscles to stabilize your spine, rather than requiring much bigger energy sapping muscles to over power it and take away from your base of movement. A strong spine, in combination with good posture is a true natural remedy to beating ‘three-thirty-itis’, and it will provide you with more gusto to perform well both at work and in the gym!

For most of us, the New Year signals a time to put our festive indulgence to rest and our fat loss resolution into action. While consistent training and a good diet will provide a solid base for your ‘War on Weight loss’, here is the ‘what’, ‘why’ and ‘how’ behind why Afterburn is the perfect artillery.

Afterburn is otherwise known as Exercise Post Oxygen Consumption (EPOC), and to understand why it should be present in your fat loss year, we first need to look at resting metabolism. Resting metabolism is the rate at which your body burns energy at rest, or, how much energy your body requires to carry out every day activities. It should be responsible for the largest amount of calories that you burn each day. Afterburn is a disturbance which occurs post workout, and produces a dramatic increase in your resting metabolic rate. However, its employment and effectiveness will depend entirely on the type of workout that you have endured.

Your metabolism increases a lot during any workout, due to the high energy expenditure that occurs. When training for fat loss, the value of the different training methods should be judged by the time it takes for your metabolic rate to return to normal after your workout or, in other words, how long your ‘afterburn lasts’. It can take around 30 minutes for long aerobic training (e.g. using a piece of cardio equipment at a steady speed) or (according to studies in Alwyn Cosgrove’s ‘The Hierarchy of Fat Loss’) in excess of 30 hours for high intensity resistance training.

During resistance training, your muscle fibers tear, causing repair to take place over the next 24-48 hours. This is so that the body can over compensate, in order to perform exercise better in the future. This process of repair, requires your body to burn more energy, for a prolonged period of time, especially if you’ve managed to tear muscle fibers throughout the majority of your body. Considering this, it becomes evident that high intensity circuit resistance training that includes a squat, lunge, bend, upper body push and pull exercises will be most effective for fat loss.

Performing these movements in sequence at a high intensity, followed by a brief rest period, will get your heart rate high enough to produce a large metabolic disturbance during your workout. The break down of muscle fibers throughout the whole body are also guaranteed and the very process in which the body will require more energy to repair itself has been triggered, increasing the rate at which you burn energy while you rest, befriending your fight against fat!

Each and every one of us will no doubt have over indulged in recent weeks. This article is designed to highlight some of the traps we often fall into at this time of year; to underline in explicit detail the dangers but most importantly making some recommendations on how to get back on track.

Shielding the Six Pack!

It is a common misconception that a build up of body fat around the mid section is a direct cause of over eating or making poor dietary choices such as deep fried or fast food. These certainly could be contributory factors but this fatty build up is actually your body sending you a “cry for help”. The human body was not designed to consume artificial, chemically engineered products. Processed poor quality foods that are full of additives, chemical emulsifiers and colourings can be tolerated by the body for a finite time but there comes a point when your intestine becomes intolerant. Over time the frequency of “CRAP” (Caffeine, Refined processed foods, Alcohol and Pasteurized milk) we consume can cause irreparable damage to the digestive system and these waste chemicals that the body can no longer break down start to seep through the gut wall and get deposited around the waist as body fat.

Unwittingly consumers buy so called “healthy options” pre-packaged produce that is crammed full of additives and preservatives and loaded with poor quality ingredients that cannot be digested. Then they wonder why they can never get the six pack they have been striving for even though they exercise regularly, don’t over eat and think they are making healthy food choices. Over Christmas and New Year the volume of artificial foodstuffs we consume escalates well beyond manageable levels and at times this is out of our control with eating out and parties at a premium over the period.

Below are some changes you should think about:

• Consider the labels of the foods you are choosing to buy: the longer the shelf life the more artificial ingredients it is likely to contain.
• If the label comprises more chemical compounds, e-numbers and unpronounceable words than genuine ingredients, the chances are your digestive system will have the same trouble in processing them as your brain did in deciphering the contents.
• Wherever possible go natural and organic and if you have the time, aim to prepare and cook your own meals with wholesome natural ingredients.
• Be selective about where you get takeout food from; ask what kind of ingredients they use and whether they are fresh, wholesome or organic.

Breaking those bad habits and bringing back the balance

It’s very easy to continue with some of the unwanted eating habits developed during the period of festivities; especially when the cupboards are still brimming with leftover goodies. Consider the content of your fridge versus the content of your cupboards. This should indicate the ratio of short shelf life produce to packaged and processed CRAP. Most of the CRAP in your cupboards will be not only full of artificial chemicals and preservatives but also high GI (Glycemic Index).

High GI foodstuffs have a very ready usable energy source, the body converts such produce to glycogen (blood sugar) very quickly. The result is a powerful immediate impact on the metabolism in the form of a blood sugar spike – a massive surge into the blood stream; a “sugar rush”.

The sensation is an immediate high, an abundance of energy caused by the stimulant. Consider, however, that every action has an equal and opposite reaction: the crash is equally as pronounced as the high. As such the body is left in a state of craving for the next high (similar to drug addiction in many ways) and the eating and drinking of sugary snacks and drinks continues as the body is tricked into believing it needs another sugar hit.

This self perpetuating cycle will take on a snowball effect causing your metabolism to endure a sequence of peaks and troughs that in the end it simply cannot cope with. Ultimately it is precisely this type of eating behaviour that has directly influenced the massive upsurge in type ii diabetes and obesity in Australia and the rest of the developed world in recent years. Australia now lays claim to the unwanted label as the most obese country in the world per capita!

So what should we do?

• Opt for a balanced diet; every meal should consist of approx 40 – 45% protein (ideally meat, poultry or fish) 40 – 45% carbohydrate (preferably lower GI complex carbohydrate i.e. dark green veg such as spinach, broccoli or silver beet rather than high GI starchy potato, pasta or rice) and 10% fat (preferably unsaturated non trans fats – i.e. avocado, nuts and fish oil etc).
• A balanced diet has a combination of easy, medium and difficult to convert sources of usable energy and is therefore the perfect answer to delivering a constant steady release of energy throughout the day.
• Consuming up to 6 small well balanced meals and snacks a day allows you to keep energy levels at a constant and your body does not feel the need to store usable energy as fat. (Be careful in changing your meal plan from 3 – 6 daily – do not double your daily intake!)

Treat your body like a high performance car; provide it with a regular supply of good quality fuel and service it regularly for optimum results. I hope this provides some food for thought in your quest to regain your fitness in 2010!

Luke Walsh is an excellent role model for people aspiring to adopt the discipline of a fitter & healthier lifestyle. With a smile and warm personal manner Luke will guide you down the path through nutrition and exercise allowing you to achieve the goals set out. Luke gives 100% and expects the same from his clients. He is a qualified Master Trainer and Personal Trainer achieving Certificate III & IV at the Australia Institute of Fitness graduating at the top of his class.

Having spent many years involved with motor, snow & water sports he now specialises within these fields. Offering training to better your hand eye coordination, lateral awareness, endurance, core strength & stability. All of which help to make you stronger better faster.

Training under Luke’s guidance offers the prospect of written goals, nutrition plans, exercise progress reports and all to ensure clients stay on track to reach their goals. All with a smile and warm personal manner.

GOALS FOR 2010

How many of your friends and family came up to you on New Years Eve and gave you an insight into their plans for 2010 after they had knocked back one too many drinks? ‘Bobby, I’m going to lose 20 kilos!’ or ‘watch out, I’m going to run a marathon!’.

Did you congradulate them for the challenge they had set themselves? Or have a laugh and tell them its impossible? Whether you have the belief or not, anything you say and challenge yourself to in 2010 is possible but it won’t just happen (unfortunately). People tend to come up with brilliant goals on that one night of the year, but for most, by the time they come down from that massive high with a splitting head ache the thought of striving for that goal is well and truely forgotten with the memories from the nights celebrations.

If you work on your goals on a daily basis, no matter what goal you set, you can achieve it if you really want to!

Here are 7 steps to MAKE SURE you reach your goals for 2010:

1) Have your goals in writing. We are all very busy these days and for your goals to be at the forefront of your mind they need to be in sight, so write them down. My clients and I do monthly goal setting and each are asked to print out their goals for the month and post them somewhere visible to see each morning. Either in their bedroom, bathroom or on the fridge… You will NEVER achieve CHALLENGING goals if they aren’t at the forefront of your mind.

2) Be specific. There are goals…..and there are specific goals. Stating that you want to lose weight is a goal (in my eyes, a weak goal). A more specific goal is ‘I want to lose 10 kilos by the end of July’. Make it specific. Give it a due date and a benchmark.

3) Who knows. Tell your friends and family! Personally if I make a statement to friends or family I’m slightly embarrsed if I don’t achieve it. Share your goals with your friends and have them inform you of theirs. Maybe even put a wager on it to give it a little spice!

4) Break it down, down, down. When you prepare for a marathon you don’t think about the 42 painful kilometres you are about to run, you break it down and work on the first 5 kms. Once you’ve past that benchmark you address the next block of 5kms. One of my clients is going to lose 25 kilos this year which is a lot of weight, but her January goal is to lose 2 kilos, a target that is a lot easier for her to manage.

5) Who is pumping you up and who is deflating you. At one point or another every successful person would have had someone doubt their ability to succeed. If you’re going to let people tell you it cant be done, guess what….. it can’t be done. Don’t listen to them, your belief in chasing your dream is all that matters. If they say it cant be done, it can’t be done… by them… but you can.

6) Reward yourself along the way. If you have a long term goal that is broken down into smaller bite size goals make sure you reward yourself a long the way. If you’ve looking to lose 20 kilos this year and by the end of March you have lost 6 kilos treat yourself to a massage or a treatment… You’ve done well, you deserve it.

7) Identify habits that need to be created in order to achieve these goals. Creating habits is the single most important thing in helping you to reach these goals. Each habit that you create should be worked on for 21 days before it will be ingrained into your lifestyle. DON’T try to take on too many goals/habits at once because you won’t succeed! Depending on how busy you are will vary the amount of goals you should be able to work through. The busier you are the less habits your likely to be able to work on at any given time.

WHATS NEW!

Raw Solutions has two new trainers with a third (Luke Walsh) joining the team in the coming weeks.

ANTONY CUTRUPI

Anthony began in the fitness industry six years ago, training Rugby League players in strength and conditioning and muscle gain, and also friends and family in weight loss and weight management. His passion for sports has seen him represent Australia in Rugby League (2008) and have the privilege of spending some of his boxing time being trained by Olympic boxing coach, Geoff Peterson.

His fascination with the mind, and enjoyment that he gets from working with people led to further study, resulting in a powerful combination of these two interests and a force in assisting anybody with their health and fitness goals.

ALEX HINCHCLIFFE

Alex is a certified Master Trainer; qualifying 1^st in his class and winning the award for all round excellence at the AIF (Australian Institute of Fitness). The Master Trainer course comprises Certificate III (Fitness Essentials, Gym Instructor & First Aid) and Certificate IV (Personal Trainer). The AIF is the country’s most renowned and well respected independent Registered Training Organization (RTO) in the fitness field. Alex also has a first class honors degree in Public Relations.

Alex is more than a fitness trainer he is a health professional – adopting a holistic approach to health and wellbeing. Through a genuinely attentive and thorough approach Alex takes the time to fully understand an individual’s training requirements. He will devise a bespoke training program to accommodate the client’s needs and wants whilst also delivering fun training sessions that ensure the goals are achieved.