What is insulin and why is it important in my training?

Feel Good Personal Training 

What is insulin and why is it important in my training?

What is insulin?

Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas and is used to regulate carbohydrate and fat metabolism. Insulin causes the skeletal muscle and fat tissues to absorb glucose from the blood.

What is insulin sensitivity?

Insulin sensitivity is simply how sensitive you are to insulin. Eating carbs too often can make us less sensitive to insulin produced. This means we will have to produce more insulin then we should to keep the blood sugars stable. In the same way to if you are regularly drinking a lot of coffee of alcohol you become less sensitive to the affects.

Poor insulin sensitivity can ultimately lead to Type 2 diabetes. When we become less sensitive to insulin released in the body we have problems digesting carbs and absorbing nutrients. This will cause us to gain weight. Long term the pancreas will become exhausted and will stop being able to release the hormone properly. This is when Type 2 diabetes can occur.  Poor insulin sensitivity doesn’t only increase the risk of diabetes but can lead to all kinds of health problems such as thyroid problems, cancer and weight gain.

So, if we want to lose weight we need to become sensitive to insulin.

Below are some ways that we can keep our body sensitive to insulin and help prevent weight gain and promote weight loss.

·      Exercise regularly

·      Plenty of sleep

·      Eat less carbs particular simple carbs

·      Eat slow digesting foods

·      Fast regularly Eat cinnamon

·      Drink green tea

·      Keep body fat low

We often see clients who are struggling to lose weight. We would recommend before you start trying any fad diets look at resetting your insulin sentivity!

For more details on personal training session in Tunbridge Wells, Tonbridge and Sevenoaks please get in touch.

 www.feelgoodpt.co.uk                   07757 345 764            dominic@feelgoodpt.co.uk  

Want to improve your rugby performance?

  

Feel Good Personal Training

Want to improve your rugby performance? Here’s how!

  

Have you been inspired by the recent 6 nations to up your training and Improve your sports related fitness to put big hits in like Tuilagi or slip tackles like Mike Brown? If so this article will explain how you can do this.

Feel Good Personal has been fortunate enough to have the pleasure of working London Irish and Welsh RFC and I'm not going to tell you anything different to what I told them.The most important things in sports conditioning is to condition the movement pattern and demand on the body that your try to optimising for.

Movement patterns and demands:

Depending what position you play and your style of play your going to want to condition different movement patterns. Identify what it is that your trying to improve and then start to include some of our recommended exercises into your workouts. The main categories that you may fall into are change of pace and direction, strength and fitness. I see a lot of players going wrong by categorising themselves by their positions. A forward will generally be conditioned differently to a back, but a big hitting back like Tuiliagi will be conditioned different similarly to a forward like Chris Robshaw and a agile bck like Billy Twelvetrees will be condition similarly to a forward like Mako Vunipola who has great footwork for their size and position. This is because regardless of their positing they are putting themselves through similar demand form their style of play.

Lets talk about some of the main categories and what type of exercises you should be doing to improve your sports related fitness in them.  

Change of pace and direction

If you’re trying to improve your change of pace and direction try to concentrate on your tempo. You want the tempo to be explosive, dynamic and a similar movement pattern to the demands on you during the match. Aim for 1:1 tempo and maximal power. If you’re in a position where change of pace and direction is important remember to not neglect your hand off. To condition this perform decline bench press as the majority of hand offs will be pushing downwards. 

A few good exercises to including in your training plan are:

Speed Ladders,

Ice Skaters,

Tempo Work,

Sledge Sprints,
Jump Squats,
Cone Work,

Walking Lunges,

And Decline Bench Press

Strength

To improve your strength stick to large compound lifts that are going to work your major muscle groups. You want to be sticking to reps of 6 or less with a few carefully selected isometric holds. There are a lot of isometric holds in rugby with small eccentric and concentric contractions. (scrums, rucks, malls, ect). Try to put some isometric holds into your plan. For example when performing a squat lower yourself down gently for two seconds, hold the squat position for 2 seconds and then power up as quickly as possible.

A few good exercises to including in your training plan are:

Farmers Walk,

Deadlifts,

Leg Press,

Squats,

Decline Bench Press,
Tyre Flips,

And Prowler Work

Fitness

The best way to improve your fitness for rugby is to be playing the game. Try to speed up the rate of play by doing drills like touch rugby. Other good ways to do this is to include some of the exercises below into your training plan. When performing them don’t allow yourself too much recovery by giving yourself around 30 seconds rest. As your fitness improves try to reduce the rest period. 

A few good exercises to including in your training plan are:

Rugby,

Plyometric Exercises,

Rowing Sprints,

Hill Sprints,

Heart Rate Training,

And Altitude Training

For more tips on training or nutrition sign up to our weekly news letter by emailing Dominic@feelgoodpt.co.uk.

Feel Good Personal Training offers one to one personal training sessions in Tunbridge Wells, Sevenoaks and Tonbridge and 12 week personalised online training programmes for jus £49.

Is Eating Red Meat Really Bad For You?

Feel Good Personal Training

Personal Training Services in Sevenoaks, Tunbridge Wells and Tonbridge

Is Eating Red Meat Really Bad For You?

Can You Really Have Your Steak And Eat It Too?

With all the bad press red meat has been getting in the media recently, it’s no wonder it’s one of the most controversial subjects in the field of nutrition. Over the last many decades, red meat has been to blame for every kind of health problem from heart disease to cancer, why? Because it makes for a great headline! However what the newspapers fail to mention is that there is a very big difference in the quality of red meat you can buy in your local supermarket, and that red meat, especially from grass-fed animals is one of the healthiest and most nutritious types of food you can eat!

But There Are Studies Showing Red Meat Is Bad For You!

The studies claiming to show red meat having a negative impact on your health are what are known as observational studies, these studies have many downfalls and can only show correlation between two different factors, not actually prove they are conclusively linked. The outcomes of these studies may very well be down to the fact that after the public “red meat health scare”, those eating red meat usually lead a less healthy lifestyle, are more inclined to eat junk food, smoke and drink alcohol.

Just look at our ancestors, they consumed much more red meat than the average modern man, and they still remained exceptionally healthy. Yes, the quality of meat was almost certainly better and healthier than the meat from most of todays factory-farmed, hormone induced behemoths, yet the fact still remains, they didn’t suffer from many of the health conditions that plague us today, and you can get very high quality meat, grass fed and free from all the other nasty toxins that may be pumped into our animals, just by being sensible with which product you choose.

Nutritional Benefits Of Red Meat.

Red meat is absolutely loaded with a huge variety of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, essential fatty acids, antioxidants and much more, all essential to maintaining a healthy, functioning, physiological system!

B Vitamins

Red meat is a great source of B vitamins, these should ideally be consumed through whole food and red meat is a great way to ensure you get and adequate intake. It is a rich source of vitamin B12, this is vital to ensure proper functioning of nearly every system in your body. You also receive a massive variety of other B Vitamins from red meat, including niacin, riboflavin and vitamin B6.

Vitamin D

The vitamin D source in red meat contains a metabolite 25-hydroxycholecalciferol, this is absorbed much more quickly and easily than other forms of vitamin D making it much more useful to the body. For people who don’t get a lot of sun exposure or eat oily fish, red meat is a great way to get the vitamin D your body needs.

Iron

Again the form of iron contained in red meat (heme iron) is absorbed and utilized much more effectively than non heme iron. Consuming it in your diet becomes even more important for people suffering from conditions such as iron deficiency anemia or pregnant women, as iron is crucial for the growth and development of the fetal brain.

Zinc

Zinc is an essential mineral that has to be consumed through the diet, it is a vital part of many functions undertaken by the body, a lot of westerners fail to get enough zinc in their diet as other sources of zinc such as shellfish are less common.

Other Useful Minerals

Red meat also contains a significant profile of other minerals vital to your bodies health such as selenium, magnesium, cobalt, copper, nickel, phosphorous and chromium. Red meat also contains high levels of creatine and carnosine, vegetarians are usually deficient of these nutrients which can have detrimental effects on the brain and muscle tissue.

Protein And Essential Fatty Acids

An average 100g portion of beef contains over 20g of protein, and 10g of fat! As the nutritional industry starts to realize that a diet containing a moderate amount of fats, red meat should become even more important in your diet. Essential fatty acids are just that, ESSENTIAL! Your body needs them to survive! Saturated fat is not bad for you in moderation, in fact it’s incredibly healthy and vital to life.

So To Sum It All Up

DO NOT shy away from eating red meat, whatever these studies may “indicate”, they are not proving red meat is to blame for any modern health problems, it is just media scaremongering. Red meat is a great source of a multitude of vital nutrients that will help with nearly every physiological function in the body, and should be eaten on a fairly regular basis, and on another note, there is nothing quite as satisfying as digging into a perfectly cooked, juicy steak. So YES, You really can have your steak and eat it too!

For one-to-one personal training in Sevenoaks, Tunbridge Wells and Tonbridge visit www.feelgoodpt.co.uk

For individually tailored online personal training, online diet plans and online exercise plans visit

www.onlinetransformation.co.uk

Training With A Slipped Disc.

Feel Good Personal Training

Personal Training Services in Sevenoaks, Tunbridge Wells and Tonbridge

Training Safely and Effectively With A Slipped Disc.

What is a Slipped Disc?

A slipped disc, also known as a herniated disc, is a condition where one of the discs in the spine ruptures and the gel inside leaks out, this can cause acute or chronic back pain, as well as pain in other areas of the body.

The spine consists of 24 irregularly shaped bones, stacked on top of one another, known as vertebrae. To help cushion these vertebrae, there are protective, circular pads of connective tissue in between them, these are the discs and they help to cushion the vertebrae when you move around in day to day life. They have a tough fibrous outer case, and a softer gel like inside.

What Causes a Slipped Disc?

A slipped disc occurs when the tough outer shell of the disc ruptures and the gel inside starts protruding out of the disc, in the same way as a hernia would act in the abdominal wall for example. Running through your spine is the Spinal Cord, it contains nerves and nerve cells that connect to the brain and all parts of the body, a ruptured disc can actually cause the herniation to press against the whole spinal cord or a single spinal root. This unfortunately means you might not just be left with pain in your back, but also pain wherever the nerve is connected to!

Age is one of the biggest reasons that a disc will rupture, as you start losing your water content inside the disc, making it less flexible and more liable to rupturing. However apart from that little is known about why a disc may rupture. Although performing exercises with bad form is a sure fire way to increase the chance.

What Happens After I Have Slipped A Disc?

It is very important to keep active, this will keep your back mobile and speed up your recovery. In fact a recent study showed that patients with lower back pain who followed an exercise routine to strengthen all the muscle groups in their body, experienced a 40% reduction in lost work days. Strengthening your back and core muscles, whilst loosening the muscles in your glutes, hamstrings and calves can take virtually all the pressure off your spine, allowing your ruptured disc to heal more effectively.

So How Do I Train With A Slipped Disc?

When training a client with a herniated disc, we follow a few basic simple steps as a guideline.

1.      Improve tissue health and mobility. A tightness or immobility in one muscle group, will cause others to overcompensate, for example your lower back might be overcompensating for the fact your hamstrings are tight. We look at stretching the fascia in the glutes, hamstrings and calves, you can do this by incorporating advanced stretching techniques, consistently foam rolling and performing exercises that help elongate the said muscle groups.

2.      Before any lower body exercises, we activate the clients core and lats, a great exercise for this is the side plank with rotation, it activates your core, lats and quadratus lumborum, 3 muscle groups vital to spinal stability.

3.      Keep to low impact exercises, definitely no running. Walking, swimming, and resistance based exercises are great to incorporate in programmes. We also limit the number of unilateral leg exercises we do, a squat should be replaced with a split squat and a deadlift with a single leg deadlift for example.

4.      Whereas we normally teach clients to lift with a slower negative portion of the exercise and a faster, snappier concentric phase. This is not beneficial for someone suffering with a slipped disc, you should be lifting with a very slow and controlled eccentric and concentric phase.

5.      There are 168 hours in a week, if you work out for 4 of them that still leaves 164 hours where you need to concentrate on keeping your lower back healthy. Make a conscious effort to maintain a lordotic (inward curve of the lumbar spine) posture whilst driving, sitting at your disc, on the sofa, wherever you may be. To help with this you may find it easier to roll up a towel and place it behind your back.

The most important thing we do with our clients to start off very slow and cautiously, adjusting the training week by week on how the client is feeling and the injury is progressing. The last thing you want to do is make this sometimes agonizing injury even worse.

If you’re suffering with lower back pain, and are looking for a fast, effective and healthy way to help improve your condition, don’t hesitate to get in touch. For individually tailored exercise and nutrition plans, or one-to-one personal training in Sevenoaks, Tunbridge Wells and Tonbridge visit

www.feelgoodpt.co.uk

www.onlinetransformation.co.uk