My sweet tooth is nagging me a little in the evenings - however a mix of sugar free jelly and Reflex chocolate casein protein seems to actually be doing the trick!
People always seem to ask me "how to get abs" - I personally do not train mine more than once or twice a week for 10-20 minutes, a mix of weightless crunches/raises/sit ups/ball tucks, bicycles etc. I used to be a gymnast and a dancer so luckily my core is fairly strong. However abs are far more about the food you consume and i believe that it is vital to educate yourself about why something works. More understanding leads to greater compliance - hence why with all my clients everything I do I explain to them why we are doing it - for both exercise, nutrition and behavior changes. There is a lot of information out there and some is airy fairy so it is vital to ensure anything read online is taken with a pinch of salt unless its from a valid source (strongly evidence based or from a reputable author).
My personal top tips for getting visible abdominals are:
1. Be consistent - even if you are not seeing changes immediately ensure that you commit to x amount of weight training and x amount of cardio sessions every week. Book it in your diary and stick to it!
2. Modify your abs routine - change it up every so often, dont let your abs get lazy! Think of it like you are driving a car - if you drive the same way every day your brain doesn't really have to work as hard to get you to your destination, similarly, muscles have a memory so changing your routine will surprise them and activate different fibres.
3. Stay hydrated - in order for optimal fat burning to occur the body must be hydrated, so by drinking 6-8 glasses a day this prevents any dehydration.
4. Do not starve yourself- speaking from experience this does not work. Regular meals - ideally 5-6 times per day will ensure your body knows that it will be fed regularly and therefore will not desperately cling onto its fat stores in preparation for "starvation".
5. Carbohydrates are not the devil - when I started training this was my opinion and I immediately thought if I popped them into my diet I would get fat. LIES. Adding carbs in small amounts into my diet ensures I don't break down too much muscle and it gives me the energy I need to train hard. The big carb to avoid is sugar (although some find this beneficial post workout!) - especially when together with fat e.g. chocolate. Sugar spikes insulin which allows muscles and liver glucose stores to be refilled, but once they are full the liver processes them (I won't go into all the biological details right now), to fats which are stored in adipose tissue (fat!). So include carbs such as oats, sweet potatoes and wholegrain rice but save sugar for the occasional treat.
6. Self believe - results will not be instant - it takes time and effort but believe that you can do it, educate yourself, experiment with different healthy recipes and stick at your training and you will get there.
Today has been really tough actually - my little man has been poorly so I am a little sleep deprived and due to work had to have my main workout this morning. So trained back on only one meal - where as I would normally of had 4 by the time its turn to hit the weights. So it was as struggle!!
I have bruises all over my legs, and ulcers in my mouth and my skin on my hands is so dry - I am basically really attractive right now! Iv doubled up on my vits and omegas so hopefully that will help me look and feel a tad better!
Food diary:
06.00: 30g oats, 6 egg whites
Workout - back
09.30: 30g oats, hydrolysed whey
12.30: 100g raw weight chicken, broccoli, 20g almonds
15.30: 100g raw weight chicken, spinach, 20g almonds
Cardio 30 mins
20.30: 100g raw weight chicken, asparagus, broccoli,
21.30 casein, sugar free jelly
Workout:
Lateral pull down machine --> straight arm lat pull down cables
12 --> 12 x 6
Wide grip pull up - 5kg - 8 x 4
Seated row
12 x 6
30 minutes cardio
No comments:
Post a Comment