Sports Drinks

Hi Peter,

When exercising and sweating heaps are sports drinks a good thing to have, (eg Powerade?)

Thanks,

Kirin


Hi Kirin,

The need for sports drinks really does depend on exercise intensity, duration, climate and individual differences in sweat rates (women sweat less than men).

Honestly most people don’t work out intensely enough to warrant the use of “sports drinks”. If your goal is to lose weight, adding 200 calories will offset the calories that you burn during an easy workout (ie walking, slow jog). In this case just have water.

Hard, intense exercise over one hour in duration is a different story. Stored carbohydrates are depleted and as you sweat you lose the electrolytes sodium (salt) and potassium which can negatively impact performance. Sports drinks are formulated to replace this CHO & electrolytes and as such extend or improve performance.

Also Gatorade contains double the amount of sodium that Powerade has, excess sodium intake promotes thirst. This can work for or against you dependent on your situation.

In summary for the most part the only people who need “sports drinks “ are athletes or people involved in high intensity, endurance type events which go on for several hours. For the general populations who are looking to lose weight or are involved is casual or moderate intensity exercise just have water.

For more information go to www.fitlab.com.au

TRAIN HARD, BE STRONG.

Improve Your Deadlift

Everyone has their weaknesses in the gym. Mine is deadlifts. I am 23, quite fit, with good upper body strength. But when it comes to deadlifts I'm way behind everyone else at my gym. I've even injured my back doing them. Any tips on breaking past my current total and finally being able to lift a decent weight?

regards

Tim


Tim,

With deadlifting as with any exercise in the gym there are many factors that can contribute to a weak lift. It may be because of biomechanical leverages, poor form, injury status, improper length/tension relationships between muscles or just plain weakness in the muscles involved.

If you want to build a deadlift that will have people staring from the four corners of your fitness club with fear as you load the bar you need to focus on building strength in the posterior chain. The posterior chain consists of your lower back, hamstrings claves and glutes.

I’ll focus on the glutes first because its without doubt the most important muscle when it comes to deadlifting as its job is to extend the hip, which is the fundamental movement pattern of the deadlift.

The problem is that due to our jobs sitting all day in a cubicle our hip flexors shorten which stretches the opposing muscle group (glutes) for an extended period of time causing them to become dormant. So when we go to deadlift they don’t activate correctly causing the hamstrings and lower back to take the load.

So I would recommend you do some corrective exercise before deadlifting with a focus on glute recruitment examples are glute bridges, fire hydrants, birddog, single leg kick backs, kneeling squats (go to youtube to find examples). Also stretch the hip flexor post work out and foam roll the quads. Do this and you can be sure that you will begin to recruit the glutes more effectively and in turn increase your deadlift total.

With glutes addressed, I will now address deadlift form. Many young lifters fall into the trap of lifting heavy with poor form, which just leads to injury or causes them to hit a wall and never progress.

• Start with the bar about half an inch from your shins.
• Grip the bar with an alternate grip (one hand over, one under)
• Arch your lower back
• Bend at the knees and the hips to take up starting position
• Keep the chest up and keep your head up during the lift
• The bar should travel up and slightly back keeping in close contact with the body all the way up to lock out.
• When you lift concentrate on pushing through the floor with the heels. This will activate the glutes and hamstrings more and you’ll feel less in the low back.
• Remember you can’t use your legs if you start with your hips too high or let your hips rise faster than your shoulders. Your lower back will be forced to do all the work.

Avoid lifting with a rounded back, have a training partner or a PT watch you and inform you if you are rounding over during the lift. If you are its likely the weight is too heavy.

As mentioned before building up the weak points in your posterior chain is vital to a powerful deadlift. There are so many ways to do this good mornings, racks pulls, cable pull through, sled work, weighted back extensions, deadlifts, glute ham raise the options really are endless.

I could go on to talk about speed and force production, grip strength and myriad of other factors but I believe I have covered the basics above, you need to master the basics before you move on to the specifics.

For more information go to www.fitlab.com.au

TRAIN HARD. BE STRONG.

Peter

Fad Diets

Dear Peter,

I have am a 38 year old female, I’m 5’4” tall and I weigh 87kg. A friend of mine recently recommended that I try either the Tony Ferguson or Celebrity Slim weight loss programs to lose weight. Do these meal replacement programs really work?

Please help!

Maureen

Hi Maureen,

When you begin a new diet the first question you should ask yourself is “Can I stay on this diet for the rest of my life?”. If the answer is a resounding “No” then simply don’t bother starting because you are setting yourself up for failure before you even begin.

Slim-Fast, Opti-Fast & Tony Ferguson shakes are actually part of the problem not the solution. They are literally contributing to Australia’s obesity epidemic. Let me explain why this is the case.

See the body has something called the metabolic rate (or total energy expenditure) that is made up of the following components:

Metabolic Rate = (BMR) Basal Metabolic Rate + (TEA) Thermic Effect of Activity + (TEF) Thermic Effect of Food

BMR is the amount of calories burned by the body at rest to maintain itself this accounts for 50-80% of your total energy use.

TEA is the amount of calories burned during movement and physical activity; this component contributes 20-30% per cent of daily energy use.

TEF is the energy you use to eat, digest and metabolise food. It contributes about 5-10% of your energy use.

Now let’s say you have current a metabolic rate of 2000 calories daily. So if you continue to eat this from day to day you will maintain the same weight all other things being equal.

Now when starting a new diet the first thing people think of is that order to lose weight, they need to eat less, the minimal amount they eat the better.

So they drop their food intake from 2000 to 1250 calories daily by cutting out meals and/or replacing them with shakes and after a month they stand on the scale and squeal with delight their weight is down.

So what has happened? Well the body over the past month has noticed that is missing 750 calories it needs to function, so it has dipped into its energy reserves which consist of stored glucose (carbohydrate) in the form of glycogen and fat to help make up that calorie deficit. It’s important to note that stored with every gram of glycogen is 2-3ml of water so when the body breaks down the glycogen molecule to use for energy is also releases water weight … making you lighter.

So the diet continues, and soon glycogen stores are depleted. Now the body needs a new source in addition to the fat from which to draw on to meet its calorie requirements, the obvious choice being MUSCLE TISSUE.

See the body is now in survival mode it is being fed 1250 calories daily when it needs 2000 to function, so it needs to adapt to the new metabolic rate in order to survive and so over a number of weeks/months it does just that.

How did the body do this? In short it lost muscle. Why?

You see every organ in the body has metabolic activity and needs a certain amount of calories to survive. 1LB of fat needs 9 calories daily to maintain it, whereas 1LB of muscle needs 69 calories daily.

Remember the body is in survival mode. It would be highly inefficient to drop 1LB of stored fat for a net loss of 9cal daily when it could rid the body of a pound of muscle to save 7 times that in maintenance calories daily.

I think you can guess what comes next …

Weight loss stagnates, no longer can this person eat 1250 calories and lose weight as the bodies new metabolic rate is now 1250.

So after some time the person says screw it, this diet isn’t working anymore and quits. But since total muscle mass which is largely responsible for the BMR has been reduced over the past few months of dieting and a new metabolic rate established. When they go back to eating the way they were before they will be eating a surplus and the body is going to store it as fat leading to the person gaining all the weight they lost back … and then some.

This is yo-yo dieting and the results are catastrophic. This is what drives people to things like lap-banding, liposuction and leads to depression, self hatred and in the worst cases suicide.

So if the above strategy doesn’t work, what does?

Simple answer, focus on building more lean tissue (muscle mass) from the start. Muscle is the best fat burner. Think about one of your well muscled toned friends, chances are they can eat whatever they like and never seem to put on weight … this is because of the metabolic activity of lean tissue. The only way you will successfully get in shape is if you increase metabolism. The BMR is responsible for 50-80% of metabolic rate daily and total lean mass, especially muscle mass, is largely responsible for the BMR … so it would be best if you started there.

I hope that is has been enlightening Maureen and stay away from the shakes.

For more information go to www.fitlab.com.au

TRAIN HARD. BE STRONG.

Training During Pregnancy

Dear Peter,

I am a 28 year old female and am very active. I train 5 days a week doing strength and plyometric/power training on alternate days. I am now, however, 15 weeks pregnant and am finding the plyometric training increasingly difficult for obvious reasons. Are there any alternate training methods that you can recommend to replace my plyometric training that will be just as effective whilst also being safe for pregnancy?

Regards

Jenny

Hi Jenny,

Firstly I would recommend you consult with a physician to be screened for contraindications and risk factors to exercise. This is because every woman is different and has special needs and risk factors that are unique to them that need to be taken into account when designing a fitness program for use during pregnancy.

Exercise during pregnancy is vital to keeping within the healthy weight range and returning to pre-pregnancy weight faster post-birth. It also assists in alleviating common discomforts associated with pregnancy (i.e. swelling, leg cramps, fatigue, aches and immobility).

Just for reference, a woman on average gains a total of 12 to 15kg throughout their entire pregnancy. However, if a woman is carrying twins or triplets, an above average weight gain should be expected.

I would suggest that for the coming trimesters your emphasis should be on maintaining the base you have developed and keeping a healthy diet. I would encourage you to continue to exercise at a level that feels comfortable, using rating of perceived exertion (RPE) as a guide.

As you have found Plyometrics will become increasingly difficult as the pregnancy progresses. In my view you should avoid plyometrics, agility work and exercises that require extremes of joint motions for now and focus more on modifying current strength exercises so you can continue to train normally. Other important things of note are that regardless of fitness levels you should never exercise to exhaustion during pregnancy, don’t perform exercises while lying on your back after 20 weeks and avoid exercising in high heat and humidity.

You will find that postural changes will also occur during pregnancy that will require correction. Some examples are as follows:

Use the above table as a guide to help identify common postural imbalances and improve function.

All the best with the pregnancy Jenny.

For more information go to www.fitlab.com.au

TRAIN HARD. BE STRONG.

Aerobic + Training = Useless

Peter,

Q: I’m a 28 year old female looking to tone up for the summer. My trainer advised me to undertake 45 minutes of jogging on the treadmill every second day of the week to increase fat burning and toning. But I came across the Tone Up section of your website and you express that people should avoid long slow distance running like the plague. Why? I’m confused, can you elaborate?

Thanks

Emma


Hi Emma,

There is no legitimate reason why anyone should do 30-45 minutes of continuous aerobic type training if their goal is to look or perform better; it is quite simply one of the most ineffective methods for this purpose, not to mention a poor use of time. Although aerobic training is necessary if the sport requires it, i.e. training to compete in a 10000m race.

Aerobic training should ONLY be used with beginners for the first 3-6 weeks to establish a base so that they can become fit enough to undertake anaerobic (interval) type training. To continue long distance training after this is achieved is a waste of time.

Why then do people continue to undertake long slow distance training? I have no clue.

Go into any gym and take a look around. The first thing you will notice is the most overweight and unhealthy people will be almost exclusively confined to the treadmills and group exercise classes. The people with the bodies they dream of are almost always under the bar. Yet people seem to completely overlook this FACT and continue to do what they have always done... with zero results.

Which brings me to my next point: Your metabolism is a function of how much muscle you carry. Aerobic work does nothing to build muscle; it raises stress hormones like cortisol in the body that do exactly the opposite. It doesn’t raise your metabolism at rest either you only get the benefit while you’re doing it.

Aerobic training can actually lead to you burning even less calories as you get fitter. Let me explain, as the body adapts to aerobic exercise over time and becomes more efficient, and the energy required to complete the same aerobic activity will become less and less, thus burning less calories overall.

In addition to this Aerobic work has an upper limit; eventually you reach an intensity that will have you doing anaerobic work (interval training). So if you have to stop aerobic work at some point to get the benefits you seek, why not train using anaerobic work to begin?

Hope this has cleared things up Emma,

For more information go to www.fitlab.com.au

TRAIN HARD, BE STRONG

Supplements for Cramps

Peter,

Q: I am a 34 year old lawyer based in the Brisbane CBD. I have been active all my life, but lately I have been experiencing cramps in my lower legs during the night which can last for number of minutes and can be excruciatingly painful. Can you recommend any exercise and/or supplementation protocols to alleviate this?

Thanks

Graham


Hi Graham,

Cramps are a common problem in today’s population and can occur in any muscle, but the muscles of the calf and foot are particularly prone.

The exact cause of a cramp is unknown, but risk factors can include mineral and electrolyte imbalances and the fatigue state of a muscle. Cramps are more likely to occur in fatigued muscles placed in a shortened position (flexed). Exercise can also increase the likelihood of cramps.

In my experience the cause is a deficiency in magnesium, calcium and/or potassium. These are the minerals involved in regulating of muscle activity in the human body.

Low magnesium is the most common issue, as opposed to low calcium as your bones usually provide sufficient amounts of calcium needed to maintain optimal levels in your blood. Equally, low potassium is rarely the cause as optimum levels can be obtained by eating a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, bananas are particularly high in potassium.

The supplement protocol I would recommend for cramping would be as follows:

500 milligrams of magnesium glycinate split into 2 daily dosages – one dose just before bed.

Stay at this level for a fortnight to build up the level in your tissues.

If cramps persist add 500 milligrams of calcium citrate to the mix and continue this for another week.

I would also recommend getting deep tissue massage targeting the lower limb area once per month.

Follow the above and I would be confident that your nighttime cramps will be a thing of the past Graham.

For more information go to www.fitlab.com.au

TRAIN HARD, BE STRONG.

Ask Peter @ Fitlab

Send questions to ask-peter@fitlab.com.au

This weblog is dedicated to answering any questions you may have about bodybuilding, toning up, strength development, nutrition and supplementation. I will periodically post answers to questions here, so check back regularly for updates.

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When you send a message, you must include your full name, e-mail address and subject matter in the bar.

For professional reasons I will not answer questions regarding:

1) My opinion of specific training systems (HIT, GVT, Max OT, Westside etc...)

Reasons for this is that all programs work (just not forever) and you can’t argue with results. Remember this saying “Methods are many; principles are few. Methods always change, principles never do”. It’s much more important to understand the underlying principles that make training effective than to debate methodologies.

2) Anabolic steroids and other drugs.

3) Complete program critics: Program analysis can take more time than writing a new program. Furthermore programming is a paying service that I offer so it wouldn't be fair to my paying clients.

4) Injury questions: I feel that it is irresponsible to answer specific injury questions without being able to assess them first.

5) My opinion of other coaches in the field.