summer
Challenge
CHAPTER 4 fat loss NUTRITION 2 SUPPLEMENTS 6
TRAINING 8 EXTRA TIPS 15
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nutrition FOR FAT LOSS
Some examples of good quality protein
Eat Protein to Get Lean
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Salmon
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Eggs
Include a lean protein source with EVERY meal and snack.
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Veal
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Seafood
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Tuna
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Chicken Breast
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Lean Beef
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WPI Protein Powder
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White Fish
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Turkey Breast
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Pork
sources include:
Lean protein sources have several extremely positive effects on the body when consumed. Firstly, good quality protein has a thermogenic effect, meaning you actually burn energy (fat) just by eating and digesting it! It increases the speed of your metabolism, especially when eaten in smaller regular portions throughout the day. Secondly, protein is essential in the muscle tissue repair process. Meaning you need it to recover from your training, and to increase lean muscle tone. Remember, increased lean muscle tone means a faster metabolism. That’s what we want! Protein also increases feelings of satiety (feeling of fullness), meaning less chance of over eating or cravings for poor food choices. By adding high quality protein to all meals and snacks, the digestion process takes longer thus keeping your blood sugar level steadier and in that fat burning zone. Using protein wisely you will lower the GI value of every meal!
Try to avoid proteins such as: »»
Soy
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Lunch meats (ham, salami etc)
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Fatty Dairy
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Large amounts of dairy
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Fatty meats
Carbs for Fat Loss In order to maintain healthy energy levels whilst burning body fat it is very important to include the right type of carbohydrate sources in your nutrition plan. By following these rules on choosing high quality sources of carbs you can ensure to achieve maximum performance whilst training, increased recovery after training, and a super lean physique, all at the same time. You should consume carbohydrates with most meats, but always follow these guidelines »» »» »» »»
Always Choose Fibrous Carb sources – veggies, salad or berries. Always choose Low Gi Avoid grains Never eat carbs by themselves
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Always Choose Fibrous Carb sources Veggies, salad, berries and some fruit. Many people are surprised to learn that these are actually carbohydrates. They have a much lower carbohydrate content than other foods such as bread, rice, pasta, potato’s etc, with the added value of much higher levels of fibre, nutrients, and anti oxidants. Eating healthy high-fibre foods makes you feel full, so you can resist eating more food than you need to. Avoid grains Always choose Low GI over High GI The Glycemic Index (GI) is used to measure the effect different CARBOHYDRATES have on your blood sugar level. As mentioned earlier , the timing of your meals and snacks plays a huge part in fat loss. But another massive influence comes from the break down of nutrients in each meal (protein, carbs and fats). WE ALL NEED CARBOHYDRATES, but often make the wrong choices when it comes to them. High GI carbs cause massive spikes in your blood sugar followed by a rapid drop, meaning you will feel drained of energy when this happens. Refer to graph above. Alternatively, Low GI carbs gently and slowly increase your blood sugar meaning you won’t go in to that ‘Fat storing zone’. Also preventing huge crashes in energy levels. Keeping them much more constant throughout your day allowing you to stay IN the ‘fat burning zone’ and maintain good energy and concentration levels also.
Refined grains such as white bread, pasta as well as wholegrain processed foods such as crackers, pasta and wholegrains. By avoiding these you can significantly improve your bodies blood sugar management and insulin sensitivity, meaning a leaner body composition.
NEVER eat carbs by themselves! Eating any type of carbohydrate on it’s own is a NO NO for fat loss. Carbs on their own are absorbed too quickly into your body, leaving no time for them to be burnt off, forcing your body to store them... AS FAT! Even fruit, berries, vegies, salad etc should be paired with other nutrients. Especially breads, rice, pasta, potatoes etc. An example would be if you eat some strawberries as a snack, add a protein shake to lower the gi, or even a small handful of raw nuts will do the trick.
“You can NEVER out train a bad diet”
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The Glycemic Index (GI) is used to measure the effect different CARBOHYDRATES have on your blood sugar level. As mentioned earlier , the timing of your meals and snacks plays a huge part in fat loss. But another massive influence comes from the break down of nutrients in each meal (protein, carbs and fats). In order to burn as much body fat as possible, always avoid high gi carbohydrates. Examples of high GI carbs are: Regular Bread Most cereals Soft drink Fruit or muesli bars Pasta Sugar Fruit Juice Dates Rice Cakes Muffins Watermelon Potatoes Lollies Sweets Honey Instead opt for low GI alternatives such as: Vegetables Berries Low fat yoghurt Quinoa Low GI fruits Salads Sweet potato
fats Good Fats Increase good fats to burn fat. Good fats such as Polyunsaturated, Monounsaturated and some Saturated, should make up about 25% of your total calorie intake. These are regarded as healthy fats as they help lower blood cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease. Your body does not produce these so for optimal results it’s important for you to obtain them through good nutrition. Restricting good fats too much leads to your body holding on to its fat stores through fear of never getting any more in. So, through smart food and supplement choices, you can actually ‘trick’ your body in to releasing your body fat as an energy source, creating a leaner, healthier physique. Dans Personal Tip: Polyunsaturated fats are slightly more beneficial than monounsaturated as they have a greater impact on lowering bad cholesterol. Examples of these are: Polyunsaturated fats • Fish oil • Salmon • Tuna • Flaxseed oil • Omega 3s • Seafood • Walnuts • Brazil nuts Monounsaturated Fats • Olive oil • Avocado • Almonds • Cashews • Seeds
Saturated fats • Cococut Oil • Eggs • Animal Meats
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Bad Fats
Examples of these fats are:
Bad Fats such as trans fats should always be avoided. They increase the risk of heart disease and raise blood cholesterol levels.
Trans fats • Baked products • Pies • Pastries • Cakes • Biscuits • Buns • Fast/Takeaway food
These fats will not only cause negative health effects but increase your body fat %. These fats are commonly found in many takeaway or fast foods and in all commercially manufactured products such as biscuits and pastries.
Dan’s Personal Tip: Always avoid Trans fats, they are the worst as they not only increase bad cholesterol but actually lower ‘good’ cholesterol levels in the body.
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supplements for fat loss Before getting in to this supplement section, always remember one thing: To achieve your goals, there is no substitute for clean eating and hard work. No magic pill will ever replace what a good nutritional plan and training program can provide. Lucky, our 12 week challenge Bible will provide you with all of this information. Moving forward, here are the top supplements you can use once you have implemented your nutrition and training plan:
1. Whey Protein Powder 2. Fish Oil 3. Supergreens 4. Carnitine
1. WHEY PROTEIN POWDER
Fat burning Protein has a great thermogenic effect on the body. While protein powder doesn’t have as strong of a fat burning effect as whole foods, it will always be much better than a carb based meal or snack or nothing at all. Keep protein shakes handy to keep your metabolism burning. Recovery For faster recovery from training sessions, you must ingest a fast absorbing form of protein as soon as possible. This provides your muscles with the necessary nutrients for recovery and repair. Protein powders are a super convenient and fast absorbing supplement to achieve this. Always choose WPI – Whey Protein Isolate, as it has a much superior amino acid profile and higher absorbtion rate in comparison to inferior protein powder sources such as rice, soy, egg protein etc. For best results, Post workout aim for Males – 30grams of protein Females – 15grams of protein
3. FISH OIL Unless you have been living under a rock your whole life, you may have heard that fish oil supplements have amazing health benefits. Fish oil is rated as THE MOST BENEFICIAL HEALTH SUPPLEMENT YOU CAN TAKE.
This is a great supplement to use for several reasons: Convenience Sometimes wether it be first thing in the morning, straight after your workout etc you will be hard pressed for time to cook a healthy meal. By supplementing with protein, you can avoid missing that crucial meal or snack and prevent over eating later on.
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4. CARNITINE
It will help reduce your body fat. Whilst also help you increase lean muscle. Now if these aren’t reason enough to use this essential supplement, here are a few more:
Carnitine is a potent fat burner because it is responsible for the transport of fats into the cells to be used for energy in the body. Meaning using it before training is extremely beneficial. By raising the level of muscle carnitine, you support the fat burning process, and because your body becomes more efficient at processing fuel, it will increase your energy levels.
Further Benefits include • Decreased cortisol levels • Improved hormone balance • Improved blood sugar levels • Decreased chances of depression • Reduced inflammation • Reduced risk of heart disease • Lower blood pressure • Improve arthritis and asthma When taking fish oil supplements, always choose a high concentrate variety that states the levels of EPA and DHA. Almost all fish oil capsules are 1000mg, this just means there is 1g of liquid inside the capsule, not stating exactly how strong it is. If you cannot find these levels on the package, there is usually a good reason why they are hiding it. So always try to find Fish Oil with EPA - DHA levels above 180 – 120. The higher the better. Aim for AT LEAST 6-10 grams of fish oil per day. Taken spread out across the whole day.
Dan’s Personal Tip:
It is made up of several amino acids, meaning it also prevents muscle breakdown whilst training. Other benefits also include: - Breaks down Belly fat - Improves high intensity work capacity - Increased athletic performance - Speeds your recovery from intense exercise - Make your brain work better - Prevent oxidative stress that leads to long term health problems such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and chronic inflammation
Dan’s Personal Tip:
Take fish oil with your meals to maximize the body’s utilization and improve absorbtion.
To benefit even more from the use of carnitine, make sure you are using it in conjunction with a good quality omega3 supplement as it enhances the fat burning process even further.
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training FOR FAT LOSS “The type of training you do will have a huge impact on your results. luckily you are in good hands.”
1. Increase Lean Muscle To Burn Fat Faster One of the quickest ways to speed up your metabolism is by increasing the amount of lean muscle you have. The majority of people, do not do enough resistance training. This is usually the case for females especially. Resistance training, whether it be using bodyweight, dumbbells, kettle bells, TRX’s etc causes an increase in LEAN MUSCLE MASS. This in turn increases your daily BMR – Basal Metabolic Rate. Our BMR makes up about 70% of total calories burned each day. A good quality resistance training session will take your muscles to fatigue, causing the body to have to repair slight tears in your muscle fibres. Repairing them bigger and stronger to cope with the training they have been exposed to. This recovery process also elevates the body’s metabolic rate and lasts for up to 48 hours after your session. So if you’re laying on the couch at night after a good session, your body will STILL be burning body fat. “Train Don’t Drain”
Case Study - Robert A great example of this, is one of my clients, Robert. Robert was overweight for the majority of his adult life. A combination of poor diet and lack of exercise resulted in an ultimate weight 150 kgs. He finally decided that enough was enough and wanted to change his life for the better, choosing to have lap band surgery to reduce his weight. As a result of the operation he managed to lose 15 kgs. Then by adding cardio exercise Rob dropped a further 10 kgs. He began working with a personal trainer and was running 4-5 days per week. His fitness increased and weight dropped slightly, but then he reached a plateau. Persevering, he continued the running but after being stuck at 120kgs for 12 months he began losing motivation. Rob’s trainer then informed him that he was changing careers so Rob decided to find another Personal Trainer. That’s when Robert began training with me at Definition. After hearing of his weight loss so far, he then told me about his current training program and lack of results over the previous year. Motivation had dropped off dramatically as a result and he was feeling lost. We firstly improved his nutrition using the information outlined in this book but It was clear to me that a new training program was desperately needed. I proceeded to decrease his cardio volume and increase his weights training. Off we went. Rob lost 15kgs in his first 12 weeks. More than he ever imagined, he then went on to drop another 10 kgs taking his current weight loss to 25 kgs in 20 weeks.
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2. Do Sprint Interval Training To Speed Up Fat Loss. High Intensity Interval Training has been proven to improve the body’s ability to burn body fat as an energy source and preserve and build lean muscle. Short intense efforts such as these bring about a natural increase in growth hormone and testosterone in the body which in turn increases the speed of your metabolism and fat burning effect. Long slow cardio has been shown to increase the body’s output of cortisol, which is extremely detrimental. High cortisol increases stress levels and breaks down lean muscle tissue, slowing your metabolism.
3. Super charge your results - Early morning cardio for fat burning. Mornings have been shown to be one of the most effective times to increase fat burn in your body. Upon waking, your body’s carbohydrates stores are at their lowest point, meaning your body is more likely to call upon your fat stores for energy. Adding in 30-60 mins of cardio first thing in the morning is a great way to speed up your fat loss. Steady walking, jogging or interval training a few times per week (on top of your training) will help to ensure amazing results. Dan’s Personal Tip: For even better results, add green tea or black coffee and carnitine 15 to 30mins before you start as this will further maximize fat burn, speed up your metabolism and prevent muscle breakdown whilst your doing your cardio.
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4. Lower your stress levels for leaner body mass Stress levels in the body play a huge role in fat loss. When your system becomes stressed, your body responds by producing excessive amounts of the hormone Cortisol. Cortisol causes our body to STORE body fat and also break down lean muscle. Ruining all the hard work you have put in at training or in the gym. Reduction in lean muscle mass also causes your metabolism to SLOW DOWN, meaning an increase in body fat and we definitely don’t want that! Some common causes of stress can be – -Not getting enough sleep at night ie. 8 hours per night -Not drinking enough water. Being dehydrated and drinking too much caffeine can do this. -Over training. Training too often or not resting enough. Even training for long periods of time like over an hour or more can increase cortisol in the body. -Overdoing the length and amount of Cardio sessions causes an increase in cortisol. This is why interval training and resistance training is so superior for burning body fat. Tips for lowering stress levels in your body: • Try Yoga • Include Stretching in your weekly program (now you know why we offer these classes) • Learn Meditation • Make sure you’re sleeping enough and sleeping WELL (there is a difference) • Eat healthy. Especially if you are training hard, you’re body can not recover unless you are providing it with the nutrients it needs to recover and repair. YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT • Find time in your day to rest, relax and nap if you can (even 20-30 minutes is beneficial) • Take time out every week to do things that you really love. Catching up with good friends, laying on the beach or spending time with loved ones etc My Story with Stress. A few months ago I noticed my training results slowing down. Wanting to get as lean as possible, I was sitting at 11% body fat. I was busting myself in the gym doing weights, then boxing, muay thai and adding in several long distance runs every week. My progress stagnated, fitness wasn’t improving and body fat% not dropping. What did I need to do? Train harder! I decided to increase my training volume even further. Smashing myself 7 days a week, while still working big hours and barely getting 6 hours sleep a night. But still, no results. So I had my hormone levels tested. My body’s cortisol level was through the roof, stress hormone. I was over training, under recovering, not sleeping enough then doing it all over again. I cut back my training volume, changed my super long cardio sessions in to short high intensity intervals. Made sure I slept at least 8 hours per night and within 3 weeks lost 4% body fat, and was down to 7%! The leanest I had ever been.
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tips on traning for fat loss Always include large volumes of weight training to maximize your fat loss results.. We have written specific programs, detailed below, that are designed especially to help you lose fat as fast as possible. By using several proven methods such as large volumes of resistance training, moderate to heavy weights, short rest intervals and large compound exercises, your body will produce a lot of lactic acid and growth hormone, which are vital in attaining a lean body. We have also included frequent periodic changes to ensure maximum results by continually shocking your body. Each program lasts for 4 weeks and when combined with our healthy eating plans will guarantee results! Fat loss: The main goal is of this program is fast fat loss. In order to achieve this you must keep your rest times as short as possible in between sets and also when moving between the different exercises. Doing this will ensure you increase lactic acid build up in the body, which increases fat burning. By doing this you will also maximize energy expenditure during your workout. During all exercises try to keep the lifting tempos controlled to maximize the amount of time under tension. Aim to lift for 1 second, then lower the weight for 3 seconds.
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training for fat loss | Weeks 1 -4 Day 1 A1. Deadlifts A2. Dumbell Chest Press
4 sets of 12 reps 4 sets of 12 reps
B1. Swiss Ball Hamstring curls B2. Dumbell squat and press
4 sets of 12 reps 4 sets of 12 reps
WOD 5 Rounds For Time: 10 Dumbell push press 20 Sprawls 30 Battle Ropes (Double waves) Day 2 A1. Back squat A2. Pull Ups
4 sets of 12 reps 4 sets of 12 reps
B1. Medicine ball overhead walking lunges B2. Static Lunge w Single arm dumbell row
4 sets of 12 reps 4 sets of 12 reps
WOD 10 min AMRAP (as many rounds as possible) 10 Hand release pushups 15 Situps 20 Air Squats Day 3 A1. TRX row A2. TRX Bicep Curls A3. TRX Chest press A4. TRX Tricep Extensions
4 sets of 12 reps 4 sets of 12 reps 4 sets of 12 reps 4 sets of 12 reps
B1. Single leg TRX squats to row B2. TRX jackknife B3. TRX pikes
4 sets of 12 reps each leg 4 sets of 12 reps 4 sets of 12 reps
WOD - 3 Rounds 21,15,9 (reps) Kettlebell swings Jump squats Ball slams Wall Balls
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training for fat loss | Weeks 5 -8 Day 1 A1. Deadlift A2. Pushup to Dumbell row
4 sets of 12 reps 4 sets of 10 reps
B1. GHD hamstring extensions B2. Neutral grip pullups
4 sets of 12 reps 4 sets of 10 reps
C1. Dumbell Woodchops 4 sets of 15 reps C2. Mountain climbers 4 sets of 30 reps C3. Plank 4 sets of 1min WOD AMRAP 12min - As many Rounds as possible. 20 Kettlebell Swings 10 Burpee to ring pullups 5 Deadlifts Day 2 A1. Front squats A2. Incline Dumbell Press
4 sets of 12 reps 4 sets of 12 reps
B1. Split Squat B2. Dumbell Thrusters
4 sets of 12 reps each leg 4 sets of 10 reps
Rower intervals.
30 sprint, 30 off x 10
Day 3 A1. Strict overhead press A2. Dumbell Chest Press
4 sets of 10 reps 4 sets of 10 reps
B1. Weighted Sit Ups B2. Weighted V-Sits B3. Leg Raises
4 sets of 10 reps 4 sets of 10 reps 4 sets of 10 reps
WOD. 5 rounds for time 10 Dumbell Thrusters 20 Dumbell Snatches 30 Jump Squats
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HIIT –High intensity interval training Intervals are one of the best fat burning exercises to add into your program. Below is a sample of some of the most effective HIIT training you could do. Add these to the end of your workouts and make sure to do a variety of them also. 1. Rower 6 - 8 rounds of 250 - 300m rows in under a minute with 1 minute rest 2. Running sprints Outdoor 6- 8 x 200m sprints at max effort with 2 minute recovery 3. Battle Rope Slams 10 x 20 seconds on 10 seconds off
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Alkalizing greens are also available in supplement form. You can purchase powders or tablets consisting of some of the best greens such as spirulina, wheat grass, chlorella etc.
extra tips for fat loss 1. Alkalize your body. To achieve optimum health and FAT LOSS we must maintain an alkaline system. Poor diet choices often leads to an acidic environment. Increased acidity in the body can cause low immune system, sickness and disease as well as a huge increase is stress levels in the body. Making it much harder to burn body fat and increase lean muscle. The majority of foods commonly consumed on a day to day basis can easily throw this balance out – foods such as: • white flour bread • tea sugar • rice cofee • corn fruit juices • alcohol refined salt • soft drinks artificial sweetener Animal proteins can also increase acidity so in order to restore a healthy balance, we need to eat more alkaline foods, such as: • Green leafy vegetables: • Spinach Lettuce • Broccoli Asparagus • Cauliflower Cabbage • Green beans • Berries etc
2. Eat carbs straight after a workout If you have to eat a high carb meal, make sure it’s straight after training. Directly after exercise, your body handles carbohydrates in a much better manner than at any other time of the day. Immediately after training, glycogen storage in the body is low, meaning that carbs ingested during this time are used to refuel energy levels in the liver and muscles, rather than being stored as body fat. Using this information, you can make educated decisions as to the ideal timing of higher carb meals without ruining your hard earned fat loss results. If you choose to have a meal higher in carbohydrate, always do it directly after training. This will improve your chances of a finishing the challenge with a six pack, rather than a keg.
Drinking more water is another simple way to improve your balance. An interesting fact is that some foods that are acidic in taste, actually help your body become more alkaline! For example, tomatoes and citrus fruits. Try drinking a glass of water with lemon juice a day to help alkalize your body.
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4. Cooking Methods Avoid cooking in oils, even good oils are turned into bad fats when exposed to high temperatures. Instead opt for healthier cooking methods such as steaming, grilling (barbecue or oven), baking, boiling or pan frying with a very light spray of oil. Use herbs and spices to increase the flavour of your food such as garlic and chilli. Be creative. Choose no dressing especially when eating out. Instead, use vinegar and balsamic or lemon juice or a small amount of extra virgin olive oil. Beware of high fat dressings and sauces on food. Caesar dressing, gravy, creamy pasta sauces, bernaise sauce, hollandaise sauce, seafood sauce etc.
3. Portion Sizes In order to make this a lifestyle change that you can maintain this challenge does not involve weighing food, counting calories or restricting your food intake. As a general rule of thumb, keep your protein portions to around the size of your hand. For people wanting to greatly increase lean muscle, use the full hand as a guide, or if your goal is mainly to reduce body fat %, stick to the palm of your hand as your guide. Salad and vegetables can be eaten in abundance allowing you to always feel satisfied. Keep fats under control by always choosing good fats and sticking to only small but varied servings.
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5. Include Anti-Oxidant Rich Food
6. Eat More Raw Food
Research has shown the many benefits of anti oxidants on our health. From strengthening our immune system and preventing disease to slowing down the ageing process, the list goes on. One of the most important benefits in relation to this challenge is the fight against ‘free radicals’. Free radicals are atoms in our body with an odd number of electrons, they are formed as a results of poor diet choices, high stress levels but also from high intensity exercise! These free radicals cause damage to our healthy cells and increase in fat storage. By including a range of anti oxidant rich foods in our diets we can prevent cell damage thus improving health and increasing the body’s recovery and fat burning processes.
One of the greatest ways to ensure maximum benefit from the food we eat is to consume it in its raw form. Exposing food to high temperatures breaks down some of the most important nutrients, vitamins and minerals. Freshly squeezed vegetable and berry juices are an awesome way to guarantee highly nutritious additions without the high sugar intake from fruit. Eating sashimi (raw fish) if you like it, is another great example. Salads are one of the easiest ways to include raw vegetables in your day, even snacking on carrot, celery or cucumber sticks for example is another great way to maximize the benefits or raw food.
The following are examples of foods or drinks high in anti oxidants: • Green tea • Blueberries • Strawberries • Goji berries • Blackberries • Coffee • Red kidney beans • Spinach • Red cabbage • Cinnamon • Oregano
7. The benefits of Coffee – It’s better than you think. There has been increasing research in to caffeine intake and athletic performance with more evidence being produced to support it’s benefits. Used at the right times – before training - caffeine can help get more out of your workout and greatly improve your results and body composition. Taking higher doses before training will have several positive effects as well as allowing the caffeine to be burnt up during your session. Avoid 1. Coffee elevates fat burning Caffeine can increase your metabolic rate so you burn more calories, and it can help shift the body to burn more fat rather than use glucose for energy. In addition, coffee regulates blood sugar and improves insulin sensitivity which will positively effect how we store body fat.
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2. Caffeine increases Motivation and Performance Taking caffeine before training will increase motivation levels and positively influence your performance. This can be extremely beneficial for early morning workouts when your body is still just waking up and also of an afternoon after a long day. 3. Caffeine increases Strength & Power Higher doses of caffeine before training improves the body’s Strength and Power output by stimulating not only your muscles but also the nervous system. This can be especially beneficial if your goals are maximum athletic performance leading to greater results.
8. Emergency Food Whether its at your office desk, or in your work lunch box always keep an emergency supply of healthy snack food. It can be as simple as keeping a protein shake, raw nuts or cans of tuna nearby to prevent you missing those all important meals and snack times. This trick will also prevent you from reaching for all that sugar and fat filled crap we are so often surrounded by.
4. Antioxidants Caffeinated drinks such as coffee and green tea provide a rich source of antioxidants. These antioxidants have several beneficial health benefits from increasing recovery, improving cholesterol levels, reducing muscle soreness and strengthening your immune system.
Dan’s Personal Tip::
Stick to caffeine BEFORE training. Drinking coffee or other caffeinated drinks after training can inhibit your recovery process. The caffeine elevates coritsol, the stress hormone that you want to clear and reduce as quickly as possible. Take 3grams of vitamin c after training to assist in clearing cortisol faster and improving your recovery.
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summer
Challenge
CHAPTER 5 muscle gain NUTRITION 21 SUPPLEMENTS 23 TRAINING 26 EXTRA TIPS 30
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muscle GAIN
nutrition FOR MUSCLE GAIN It is a common misconception that in order to build quality lean muscle, you need to go through a ‘bulking’ phase in which you make huge increase to your calorie intake and lift super heavy weights. This is usually just a great excuse for people to eat as much crap as they like and not do any fitness work at all. Then, there is also the misinformed who will tell you that you cannot reduce your body fat and increase fitness while building good quality lean muscle at the same time. Well, they are both wrong. By combining expert nutrition and specialised training, you can greatly increase your lean muscle mass whilst at the same time maintaining lean body composition or even lose MORE body fat. In this section, we will provide you with in depth nutritional and training information on exactly how to do this.
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muscle GAIN
High protein diet
Boost your good Fat Intake
Research has consistently proven the benefits of consuming high protein levels to produce lean muscle gains. This also assists greatly in burning body fat. In order to provide your body with enough protein each day, aim for at least 2grams of protein per kg of bodyweight, each day.
Today’s society is greatly mislead as to where the majority of our daily calories should actually come from. If you look at your average so called ‘healthy food pyramid’ you notice that it recommends up to 13 servings a day, of bread, pasta, cereal, rice etc while restricting good fats such as avocado, nuts and oils.
So, if you weigh 90kgs x 2grams = 180grams of protein per day. You can then further plan your daily nutrition by dividing your daily feeding times by the total amount of protein desired, to give you a rough breakdown of each meal, so: 180grams / 6 meals = 30 grams of protein per meal. Remember this is a minimum, so if you are training hard and want to build muscle but also recover faster, an even higher intake is beneficial – about 2.2g/kg/bw.
Carbohydrates for muscle gains In order to achieve a low body fat percentage whilst building lean muscle it is very important to control your carbohydrate sources. As mentioned above eating huge amounts of high gi, starchy carbs is a great way to get a pot belly, not a muscular physique and ripped six pack. You should stick to the same guidelines outlined in the fat loss section such as keeping your carb sources to unprocessed, low gi and fibrous varieties such as mainly salad, vegetables, berries and some low gi fruit, but with slight larger portions with each meal or snack.
The huge problem here lies in the fact to achieve better body composition, the pyramid should be turned upside down. We humans evolved eating wild meats, (which had a much higher omega3 level than the commercially farmed meat we consume today), raw nuts, eggs, avocados, seeds etc. These are the foods our bodies are designed to thrive on. So adding HEALTHY fats to your diet each day will improve your chances of a leaner, stronger and more muscular physique. A good rule is to consume some form of healthy fat in every meal, except your post workout shake. (see page 94 for recipe)
Dan’s Personal Tip: For faster lean muscle gain and fat burn, add a capsule or two of high strength fish oil to every meal you have. Yep, that’s 6-7 servings per day.
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muscle gain
supplements for muscle gain We must start this section with a few rules: Firstly, Supplements are exactly that – a SUPPLEMENT. They should only ever be used to ADD to an already well balanced nutrition program, never as a replacement for real food. So make sure your diet is spot on before spending your hard earner money on supplements to make sure you’re not wasting it. Secondly, despite what the guy at the supplement store says, you do not need to take every supplement under the sun to gain muscle. So, with that out of the way, here are the top 6 muscle building supps, with no bullshit.
1. Protein Powder
2. Carbohydrate powders
Without a doubt, the most important supplement to maximize your growth and results from training is protein. If you want to build muscle and recover as fast as possible, it is hard to provide your body with enough protein, at the right times through solid food alone. This is where protein powders come in. A huge benefit lies in the absorbtion rate. Protein ingested through food, firstly requires digestion and breakdown in order for the nutrients and protein to be extracted and used. Whey protein powders are much more easily and quickly digested leading to faster results. Whey protein is definitely superior to other protein powder sources such as • soy protein • rice protein • egg protein
Whey contains a superior amino acid profile and higher leucine content which will maximally stimulate muscle building. For this reason it should always be your choice of protein directly after training. The other type of protein you will benefit from is casein protein. Casein is also a milk protein, however when consumed it’s amino acids are slowly released in to the body. This makes it the perfect choice to stimulate overnight muscle recovery. Your body does the majority of it’s repair and growth at night when you are sleeping. For this reason it is very important to supply the body with a good source of nutrients just before going to sleep. Taking a casein shake just before bed will ensure there is a slow but steady supply of protein to the muscles, throughout the night, to enhance the building process as much as possible.
When you train, your body uses up all glycogen stored in your muscles for energy. If there is inadequate fuel for energy, your muscle become the next primary source of fuel. In order to prevent this, it’s absolutely vital to replace muscle glycogen as soon as possible after training. This is the only time of your day when you want to spike your blood sugar, creating a spike in insulin which drives nutrients – your carbs and protein and creatine directly in to your muscles for faster growth and repair. Carb powders provide a perfect delivery of easy to use high gi carbs. Dextrose is the best source. Ingest 1gram per kg of bodyweight directly after training mixed with your protein and creatine. Read on to find further information on post workout shakes.
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muscle gain
3. Fish Oil
4. Beta Alanine + Creatine
You simply cannot be in an anabolic (muscle building) state in the absence of high doses of Omega 3 fish oil. Fish oil is an absolute essential for gaining muscle and burning body fat. Good quality fish oil is definitely worth the money. If there is one supplement you should spend a bit more on for quality, this is definitely it. Along with muscle growth gains, fish oil provides huge amounts of health benefits such as: • Reducing body fat • Reducing cardio vascular disease • Lowering blood pressure • Improving hormone and blood sugar levels • Reducing chances of depression • Help with asthma, rheumatoid arthritis and prostate cancer
This is a scientifically proven supplement blend that increases anaerobic capacity whilst improving recovery time and building lean muscle.
To give you an idea of how good it is for you, checkout the following tip:
Dan’s Personal Tip:
If you want to make some serious progress, up your fish oil intake per day to match your body fat percentage. So if you are currently 20% body fat, up your omega 3 intake to 20 grams per day, and watch the results come quicker than you have ever seen in your life. Then as your lean muscle goes up and body fat comes down, decrease your dose accordingly. Enjoy.
Combining Beta Alanine with Creatine (which is already done for you in this product) has many benefits. These include an increase and strength of muscle contractions whilst training. Meaning you can use heavier loads to increase lean muscle gains faster. Research has also proven beta alanine to aid in faster muscle repair post workout resulting in less muscle soreness after training. In a study conducted on athletes, not only did an increase in strength and power output occur, but also a significant improvement in body composition. Meaning that Beta alanine supplementation not only improves performance, but also enhances fat loss. Ideal use of beta alanine and creating is pre workout. Use 3-6 capsules 30 minutes before training. Start with the lower dose of 3 and increase by one every 3 days up till 6.
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muscle GAIN
5. Poliquin – BCAA’s High doses of BCAA’s have several positive effects on body composition and performance, including: • Increasing strength • Supporting anabolic muscle building • Improving high intensity endurance • Increasing fat burning • Speeding recover and reducing muscle soreness • Reducing inflammation • Increasing natural growth hormone production During training, the more BCAA’s present in your muscles the more they will be used for energy, slowing the breakdown of muscle cells and preventing catabolism. The prevention of muscle breakdown also promotes body fat to be used as energy meaning a leaner, stronger and more muscular physique. For optimum gains, use BCAA’s before, during and after training. To find your dosage, times your bodyweight by 0.44grams. This will give you your total dose per workout, then spread it across the whole session, before during and immediately after.
Dan’s Personal Tip:
If for some reason you ever get stuck for over 2-3 hours without a healthy food source, use a serving of your BCAA’s to feed your muscles. By sipping on BCAA’s, you can prevent the breakdown of any of that hard earned muscle until you can get some quality food in.
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muscle GAIN
training FOR MUSCLE gain Greatest muscle hypertrophy from training can be attained using scientifically proven training guidelines. The following program is designed to pack on some serious muscle. Here’s how you’re going to do it 1. Use tempo training to increase time under tension and muscle gains 2. Vary your program regularly to prevent adaptation plateus 3. Use varying rep ranges to hypertrophy both the slow and fast twitch muscle fibres 4. Increase weight used by lowering rep ranges to increase strength and muscle growth First we need to go over some details of how to understand the programming. If your main goal is to gain lean muscle, the lifting tempo (seconds it takes to complete each part of the lift) is extremely important. Lifting Tempos during working sets should be controlled in order to increase recruitment of more muscle fibers which in turn increases the growth of more muscle fibers. This will also increase the time under tension which will help build quality lean muscle faster.
Dan’s Personal Tip:
Never forget this one. You build more muscle on the eccentric (lowering) phase of an exercise than you ever will on the concentric or lifting phase. Now read that again. Weeks 1-4: Aim to keep the tempo to 3 seconds eccentric (lowering phase), 1 second pause and 3 seconds lifting phase. This will be hard, but extremely beneficial. Weeks 5-8: Tempo is focusing a lot more on the lowering or eccentric phase of the lifts, because this will build the most amount of muscle in the shortest amount of time. Tempo is 5 seconds down, 1 second pause and 1 second up. Make sure you strictly follow te tempo to gain maximum muscle.
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muscle GAIN
muscle gain | Weeks 1 to 4 DAY 1- LEGS A1. Back squat 4x8 A2. Romanian Deadlifts (straight leg) 4x8 B1. Split Squats B2. GHD Hamstring Extensions
4x10 4x10
DAY 2-CHEST AND BICEPS (Note: no rest between A1, A2 and A3 just quickly lower the incline 1 level each time) A1. 60° Incline Dumbell Press 3x8 A2. 50° Incline Dumbell Press 3x8 A3. 40° Incline Dumbell Press 3x8 B1.Chest Dips B2. EZY Bar Curls
3x8 3x10
C1. Incline hanging bicep Dumbell Curls 3x10 C2. Hammer Curls 3x10 DAY 3-BACK AND TRICEPS A1. Wide Grip Pullups A2. Neutral Grip Pullups
4x8 4x8
B1. Seated Cable Row 3x10 B2. Tricep Bar Extensions 3x10 C1. Tricep Rope Pushdowns 4x10 C2. Close Grip Bench Press 4x8 DAY 4- SHOULDERS AND ABS A1. Arnie presses 21’s 4sets A2. Weighted V-Sits 4x10 B1. Barbell upright row B2. Leg raises
3x 8 3x 10
C1. Cable Face Pull from low position 3x 8 C2. Weighted sit up 3x10
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muscle GAIN
muscle gain | Weeks 5 to 8 DAY 1- LEGS A1. Back squat 4x8 A2. Single Leg Hamstring curls 4x8 B1. Front Foot Elevated Split Squat 4x8 B2. Deadlifts 4x8 C1. Single leg squat C2. Stiff legged Dumbell Deadlifts DAY 2- CHEST AND BICEPS A1. Decline Cable Press 4x8 A2. Chest Dips 4x8 B1. Flat Dumbell Press 3x8 B2. Alternating Dumbell Curls 3x8ea arm C1. Supine Grip Pullups C2. Straight Bar Curls
3x8 3x10
DAY 3-BACK AND TRICEPS A1. Wide Neutral grip Pullups 4x8 A2. Bent Over Dumbell Row 4x8ea arm B1. TRX row 3x8 B2. Straight Bar Pushdowns 3x8 C1. Tricep Bar Extensions 3x12 C2. Tricep Dips 3x10 DAY 4-SHOULDERS AND ABS A1. Seated Dumbell Shoulder press A2. Dumbell lateral raise
4x 8 4x 8
B1. Single arm Cable Lateral Raise B2. Kneeling Cable Ab crunch
4x 8 4x 12
C1. Dumbell front raises 4x 8 C2. Barbell Shoulder press 4x 8 C3.GHD Situps 4x 10
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HIIT –High intensity interval training Intervals are one of the best fat burning exercises to add into your program. Below is a sample of some of the most effective HIIT training you could do. Add these to the end of your workouts and make sure to do a variety of them also. 1. Rower 6 - 8 rounds of 250 - 300m rows in under a minute with 1 minute rest 2. Running sprints Outdoor 6- 8 x 200m sprints at max effort with 2 minute recovery 3. Battle Rope Slams 10 x 20 seconds on 10 seconds off
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extra tips for faster lean muscle 1. Use the post-workout anabolic window:
For the greatest results from your post workout nutrition, always choose a shake made up of liquid protein combined with a powder carbohydrate:
If you want to grow, don’t wait! Always take advantage of the anabolic window presented to you directly after every workout, if not, you’re missing out on valuable muscle gains. By ingesting a protein and carbohydrate shake immediately post-workout you can ensure that your muscles are being provided with the fast absorbing source of fuel and nutrients they need to repair and grow, as soon as possible. During this time the most important nutrients are protein and carbs, this is the one time of the day you want to avoid fats completely as it slows down the absorbtion of nutrients in to the muscles.
a. Liquid Protein Whey is the way to go. This is definitely the most important nutrient to ingest as soon as humanly possible after your workout. You should down a good quality serving of liquid protein before the sweat from your session has even had a chance to dry. Any longer and you are starving your body and slowing down the muscle growth and repair process dramatically. Whey protein is your best bet as it is the fastest absorbing protein along with having the highest amino acid profile. Aim for about 0.4-0.5 grams of protein per kg of bodyweight. b. Powder carbohydrates Dextrose provides a fast absorbing energy source perfect to kick start muscle growth and repair after training. Add 1g per kg of bodyweight So if you weigh 75kgs x 1g = 75 grams of carbs added to your post workout shake and watch your muscles grow!
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2. Reduce Acidity: High protein diets can greatly increase acidity levels in the body. High acid levels can negatively effect fat loss, muscle growth and recovery.
By using these tips, you will be able to maintain a healthy acid/alkaline balance in the body ensuring greater fat loss, muscle growth, faster recovery and a stronger immune system.
So, it is very important to balance your levels out by increasing your intake of alkalizing foods and supplements. Here’s a few great tips on how to maintain a super high protein diet to build muscle without increasing acidity: 1. Counter your acid levels from high protein by eating truck loads of dark green coloured vegetables and berries such as spinach, kale, lettuce, leek, broccoli, root vegetables, tomatoes, black currants, cherries, blueberries and kiwis. 2. Avoid grains as they increase acidity 3. Avoid cheese as it’s one of the highest acid producing foods and limit dairy 4. Add lemon or lime to your water to make it alkalizing 5. Use a glutamine supplement as it will alkalize your system further 6. Use a supergreens supplement as an effective source to easily add high levels of alkalizing greens to your day
In summary, to build lean muscle • • • • • • • •
Maintain a high protein diet at least 2g/kg/BW per day Keep your carbs to mainly low gi, fibrous veggies, berries and fruits but plenty of them (with the exception of post-workout) Include high levels of healthy fats each day, especially Omega 3s Always take a protein, carbohydrate and creatine shake immediately post workout Use amino acids before and during training Ingest a casein shake before bed Take a greens supplement Alkalize your body
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summer
Challenge
keys to maintaining your success 1.
Avoid all sugars
2.
Eat every 2-3 hours
3.
Include lean protein source with every meal/snack
4.
Include healthy fats (omega 3s etc)
5.
Keep carbs low GI
6.
Resistance train and include cardio interval training
7.
Avoid alcohol and added salt and processed food
8.
Have a maintenance weight. Keep yourself accountable and if you start to creep up, take action.
9.
Find exercise that you like. Train with friends or try a sport you enjoy to keep active. It is important to enjoy your training so you can maintain it for the long term.
10. Restrict trans fats
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f it is not a
estination it’s a
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