Cardio Explained

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So you’ve most definitely heard in the gym the word CARDIO, if you’re not familiar with fitness terminology, then it is short for Cardiovascular which is to do with your heart and how blood is pumped around your body. Enough of the science though, now into the real stuff….

What is Cardio?

Well its one of the general terms used in fitness it could be a combination of running at 60 – 70% MHR and 30 seconds on and 30 seconds off on the rowing machine.
Cardio is aimed to improve you aerobic endurance aka stamina.

Why is cardio important for general fitness?

Cardio helps to improve heart function and increase your overall fitness. To maintain a healthy lifestyle cardio is one of the most important components of your overall fitness and more importantly health.

Is cardio hard and time consuming?

If you’re just keeping fit then it doesn’t have to be neither hard or time consuming as long as you maintain a HR of 60 – 70% MHR. Even if you just go for a 30 minute fast walk or jog you will feel amazing benefits both mentally and physically

 

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Why is fitness important?

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The average healthy person should complete at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise each week or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity each week. Most people don’t reach this target and this is one of the main reasons why obesity is on the rise.

Why fitness is important:

Well it helps all kinds of things in our everyday life and can helps us avoid future illnesses. Getting up to 30 minutes of exercise has been proven to lift your mood and reduce stress. Light cardio can reduce your chance of having a stroke, heart disease, metabolic syndrome, and diabetes, so surely its a must for you to get at least 30 minutes of light exercise a day…

What activities can you do?

There are many activities that you can complete each day to keep your body healthy and fit, some of these include:

  • Swimming – reduction of future joint pain or injury due to zero resistance from the water.
  • Running – can be done almost anywhere, however road running is hard on the knees and can cause joint pains and arthritis in later life.
  • Walking – easy to do and can be very relaxing if in the right environment such as walking along the beach or through the countryside.
  • Tennis – its a great pulse raiser and increases blood flow, its also fun and there are tennis clubs which you can join and make friends.

These are only some of the activities you can take part in.

Healthier state of mind

Many studies have shown that exercise helps with depression, some people believe these are some of the reasons for this:

  • Exercise may block negative thoughts or distract you from your daily life and worries.
  • Increased fitness may lift your mood and improve sleep patterns.
  • exercising with others gives you the opportunity for increased social contact.
  • Exercise will also increase the amount of chemicals in the brain, such as serotonin, endorphins, and stress hormones.

So get out there and start exercising for at least 30 minutes a day even if its just going for a walk!!

 

 

 

Whey Protein VS Natural Protein

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So when you’re at the gym they temp you into one of their amazing protein shakes, they taste good however are they really as good as natural protein. In the post we’re going to weigh up the pros and cons of each protein:

Whey Protein:

Pros:

  • Allows you to consume an adequate amount to build muscle, as it meets the needs to increase your metabolism that increases muscle mass.
  • They are very convenient and on demand allowing to consume it almost anywhere and anytime.
  • More readily absorbed compared to natural proteins such as chicken and beef.

Cons:

  • Whey is derived from milk. This therefore means stomach cramps and bloating for anyone sensitive to lactose.
  • It is processed which means other macros are drained from the mixture.

Natural Protein:

Pros:

  • They contain all macros and allow you to take in multiple macros at once.
  • Keeps you full which curbs cravings and prevents snaking whilst dieting.
  • Produce amino acids which trigger your muscle building metabolisms.

Cons:

  • They are not very convenient and require preparation and are not on demand.
  • Require a strong appetite to consume an adequate protein for building muscle.
  • Hard to reach fitness goals whilst trying to build muscle on a diet.

Weighing up the pros and cons of both Natural and Whey protein we have come to a conclusion. If your goals are to build muscle and you’re dieting then you should consume whey protein. However if you’re lactose sensitive or are just looking for a more natural choice then natural protein is the best one for you.

The Importances of MACROS in your Diet

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At the start of each and every year everyone says the same thing, ‘new year, new me’, but 90% of people who say this quit within the first month. Most people go on ‘Diets’ however they don’t see results because they do not pay enough attention to what is inside the food.

Protein – the building block for brain cells, muscles, hair and nails. This is found in meat and plant based foods, such as legumes, seeds and grains.

Carbohydrates – provide fuel for the brain, central nervous system and kidney. They are found in grain foods such as bread, rice, pasta, crackers and barley.

What are macronutrients?

Well they are fats, proteins and carbohydrates. They are the foundation to your diet, if you do not get this right then you are not going to make progress.

So i bet you’re wondering what do these nutrients do? well when you start to diet the first part of weight loss is burning off excess fluids from your body, so you want to intake more protein than fat and carbs to allow your body to burn this fluid. These macronutrients must be balanced to have maximum effect, if they are not then you will see no positive change, for instance if you are on a weight loss diet and you intake a higher percent of fat than carbs and protein then it is going to have a negative effect on your body.

How to achieve the right balance?

Depending on your body composition goals, the general percentages to aim for are:

  • Carbohydrates – 45-65% of calories
  • Fats – 20-35% of calories
  • Proteins – 10-35% of calories

By following this guide it should help increase your diet productivity.

Divide your plate into veggies, proteins, and carbs

To maintain balanced meals you should aim to ensure that all your meals are divided into veggies, proteins, and carbs this will allow you to reach your goals quicker.

1/2 veggies, 1/4 carbs, 1/4 protein,

Thanks for reading this post i hope it helps you on your weight loss adventure.

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Why sleep is important to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

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Everyone hates going to bed early, however what you didn’t know is that going to bed early has some surprising health benefits. Read more to find out some of the health benefits:

What happens if we don’t get enough sleep?

Not getting enough sleep can cause an increase in body fat mass as sleep deprivation increases your appetite therefore leading to a greater likelihood of obesity. Not getting enough sleep can also lead to a decrease in your sexual appetite due a decrease in the number of sexual hormones released.

More importantly not getting enough sleep can increase your chances of developing diabetes, heart problems, and psychiatric conditions.

How do you increase your quality of sleep?

I know it sounds like to sort of things you say to your kids, but it is one of the most important factors of getting a good night sleep. You need to go to bed at the same time every night (if you can) and then wake up at the same time, this allows your body to build a habit of getting the best rest in the time that you are asleep.

A good quality mattress and pillows are one of the key elements to a good night sleep, they allow your body to achieve and maintain maximum comfort through the night allowing your body to achieve maximum rest. It allows your heart rate to lower which means that your body can recover from the exercise or work you that has used all your energy.

Keep technology out of the bedroom, technology has ruined our sleep patterns tremendously, as we receive notifications every minute, calls or even texts, they stop us from sleeping a getting a good night’s rest. Also try not to use your phone in the 30 minutes leading up to your bed time as phone screens emit a blue light which messes with your circadian clock rhythm, this basically means that the artificial light cause your internal clock to become confused and act like it is day time meaning it takes you longer to fall asleep.

Follow these tips and it will help you sleep better and be more productive.

Remember to follow us on instagram at: @fitnesshubuk

Overtraining Explained

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A majority of people think that the more you train the fitter you get, this is correct to a certain degree, however when you train too much overtraining comes into play causing injury which can reverse all of your hard work due to a long recovery period.

Plan session before starting them

Plan out the routine that you will complete during your training session to ensure that you do not over train, this is a common mistake amongst beginners and experienced fitness fanatics. If you do not plan your session, you can overtrain certain muscle group due to repetitive exercises without rest, potentially leading to injury. Also you can train for too long if you are not prepared.

Take breaks

When you workout aerobically (with oxygen) your body intakes oxygen and when oxygen debt occurs after long periods of training, your body starts to respire anaerobically (without oxygen) causing lactic acid to build up, if you do not take a break and recover you can cause injury due to your lack of stamina (if you are training this component specifically then do not train for too long). By taking a break you allow your body to recover, this also helps your body to perform better and reach goals quicker.

Heavy weights

When lifting heavy or moderate weights you should be extra careful as lifting weight that are heavy for too long can lead to ripped muscles, nerve damage, fractures or dislocations, ect. To avoid this start off lifting moderate weights and build you way up, adding 5-10kg after each set, this therefore reduces the chances of overtraining and reduces the chance or injury. (ensure that you do not lift the heaviest weight when you get into the gym as this can lead to serious injury)

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Benefits of Morning Exercise

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Everyone dreads them early mornings, getting up for work or school, let alone getting up to exercise. I know what your thinking you must be mad to get up at 5:30 am to exercise! However it actually has some surprising health and productivity benefits, I will explain these below:

Your fresh and ready to go!

The first benefit of training early in the morning is that you are fresh and you have just had a revitalising sleep. morning-person-mental-tips_0Exercising at this time in the morning will wake you up for the hard day ahead. So get out of bed and start exercising.

They enhance your metabolisms!

Excess post-exercise oxygen consumption is a big term used in the fitness industry. This basically means that your body burns more calories after your workout, even if your sitting at a desk or driving your car, therefore boosting the overall efficiency of you workout.

A study showed that participants burnt an extra 190 calories in the 14 hours after exercise when compared to those who didn’t exercise at all. This should work perfectly with your exercise or healthy lifestyle routine, as you can get up out of bed and get moving right away and then start eating whilst still burning the calories you are intaking.

Consistency

Exercising in the mornings makes it easier to maintain consistency as there are minimal things and distractions that may disrupt your workout. Also at the end of a long day you may feel very tired therefore putting you off exercising a breaking your consistency.

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Other things can interrupting your day can eliminate your chances of staying consistent.

Helps to develop strong self discipline

Waking up early in the morning enhances self discipline. Just like any habit it doesn’t just come overnight, it takes time and as you develop the discipline to get up and exercise it only gets easier as the time goes on.

More importantly this discipline may spread to other areas of your life, also if you’re going to such lengths to get up early in the mornings to exercise, it only makes sense to incorporate healthy eating into the routine.

Allows you to reach your fitness goals faster

Working out early in the morning requires sacrificing sleep (one thing no one wants to do), therefore prompting you to work harder to get the most out of the workout, look for other ways to support your exercise results, and help you commit to the process over a longer period of time.

Challenge

Try this out for 1 week and i can promise you that you’ll see results.

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