Ben Carpenter News

Featuring in PES advertising

2012-02-15T09:29:00.004Z

I received an email yesterday from the owner of PES (www.pescience.com) supplement company to show me the design of their new poster.

This will be featured first in a South American bodybuilding magazine advert as well as being printed out to be used in shops.

The person used should hopefully look familiar to you...

Newsletter subscription and Media Feature

2012-01-11T14:51:00.003Z

For anyone who has tried to sign up for my newsletter in the last couple of weeks and has received an error I am pleased to announce it has all been fixed.

On another note I have been featured in the January edition of the Four Shires publication. It is a half page spread on what a Personal Trainer is supposed to do for you as well as some information on how to make the most of your New Year's resolutions!

Simple tips to prevent fat gain over Christmas!

2011-12-20T17:42:00.004Z

Here is an edited version of one of my posts from three years ago which has tips to help you prevent fat gain over Christmas.

Christmas is the one time of year where almost everyone accepts that they are going to be a bit sloppy with their diet (if they aren't already!) and will put on a few unwanted pounds. I myself stay strict with my diet over the Christmas period and allow a couple of planned days as a refeed rather than eating consistently poorly. Thankfully I have received an extremely generous hamper filled with high quality organic meat from a client of mine so I already have some of my Christmas food in stock!

If you want to know how to enjoy the foods you love while minimising fat accumulation here are the tips I use for carb ups. The majority of my existing client base should know these already but it is always helpful to have them on hand.

- Eat your protein first, binge later. This will lower your blood sugar response and cause less fat-storing insulin to be released.
- Save your treats for later in the day. While this goes against the grain of most advice it is important to know that usually when someone slips they slip in a big way. Saving it for later in the day is so you have a couple of cheat meals rather than an entire days worth
- Once you have binged you can limit the damage with vinegar (acetic acid), supplemental fibre, fish oil and cinnamon. There are some supplements out there which are fantastic for limiting fat gain from poor meal choices. Choosing any of these will result in less fat accumulation allowing you to have some damage control without changing your eating habits at all- bonus!

So there you have it, a quick few tips to help you over the Christmas period. Enjoy!

Discounts on Sports Nutrition Supplements

2011-12-13T22:56:00.002Z

You can receive 25% off all supplements at the website www.oneon.co.uk. Just use the following code OOCCWW45.

Low carb diets superior for weight loss. A possible preventative measure for breast cancer?

2011-12-09T11:42:00.002Z

A press release from the American Association for Cancer Research;

"Intermittent, Low-Carbohydrate Diets More Successful Than Standard Dieting, Present Possible Intervention for Breast Cancer Prevention"

- Intermittent, low-carbohydrate diets were superior in lowering blood levels of insulin, which can lead to cancer.
- Low-carbohydrate diet two days per week resulted in greater weight loss than standard daily dieting.

SAN ANTONIO — An intermittent, low-carbohydrate diet was superior to a standard, daily calorie-restricted diet for reducing weight and lowering blood levels of insulin, a cancer-promoting hormone, according to recent findings.

Researchers at Genesis Prevention Center at University Hospital in South Manchester, England, found that restricting carbohydrates two days per week may be a better dietary approach than a standard, daily calorie-restricted diet for preventing breast cancer and other diseases, but they said further study is needed.

“Weight loss and reduced insulin levels are required for breast cancer prevention, but [these levels] are difficult to achieve and maintain with conventional dietary approaches,” said Michelle Harvie, Ph.D., SRD, a research dietician at the Genesis Prevention Center, who presented the findings at the 2011 CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, held Dec. 6-10, 2011.

Harvie and her colleagues compared three diets during four months for effects on weight loss and blood markers of breast cancer risk among 115 women with a family history of breast cancer. They randomly assigned patients to one of the following diets: a calorie-restricted, low-carbohydrate diet for two days per week; an “ad lib” low-carbohydrate diet in which patients were permitted to eat unlimited protein and healthy fats, such as lean meats, olives and nuts, also for two days per week; and a standard, calorie-restricted daily Mediterranean diet for seven days per week.

Data revealed that both intermittent, low-carbohydrate diets were superior to the standard, daily Mediterranean diet in reducing weight, body fat and insulin resistance. Mean reduction in weight and body fat was roughly 4 kilograms (about 9 pounds) with the intermittent approaches compared with 2.4 kilograms (about 5 pounds) with the standard dietary approach. Insulin resistance reduced by 22 percent with the restricted low-carbohydrate diet and by 14 percent with the “ad lib” low-carbohydrate diet compared with 4 percent with the standard Mediterranean diet.

“It is interesting that the diet that only restricts carbohydrates but allows protein and fats is as effective as the calorie-restricted, low-carbohydrate diet,” Harvie said.

She and her colleagues plan to further study carbohydrate intake and breast cancer. This study was funded by the Genesis Breast Cancer Prevention Appeal (www.genesisuk.org).

http://www.aacr.org/home/public--media/aacr-press-releases.aspx?d=2649

Barbell Romanian Deadlifts from Podium

2011-12-04T18:58:00.004Z

These are barbell romanian deadlifts from a podium. They are a fantastic exercise for strengthening your posterior chain (hamstrings, glutes and lower back) therefore it is fantastic for athletic performance, strength carry over into more standard lifts like the deadlift, flexibility (as you go into a stretch at the bottom), muscle gain and fat loss. It is also a valuable tool in certain injury rehabilitation programmes.

Fish oil, fat loss and so much more.

2011-11-24T10:02:00.003Z

I was going to write a blog post about the benefits of fish oils. I started looking into studies which were worth writing about and then thought "why not just share what has been written already?" This is a concise list of why I consider fish oils a staple supplement.

If you aren't supplementing with fish oil, you are probably missing out. If you want to know which fish oil I use and recommend just send me an email with the subject line "Fish oil" and I will get back to you!

Why Fish Oils Are The Most Important Supplement by Charles Poliquin

Fish oils have been promoted as a potential cure for virtually all diseases. Some members of the medical community have inferred that most ailments can be healed by manipulating the ratios between the EPA and the DHA.

For those of us interested in positively and optimally altering body composition and maximizing our training efforts, fish oils offer sixteen possible advantages:

1. Has positive effects on any disease known to man. According to the Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database, fish oils have been shown to have medical applications in the treatment of extremely wide variety of ailments including hyperlipidemia, hypertriglyceridemia, coronary heart disease, cardiac arrhythmias hypertension, stroke, bipolar disorder, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, ulcerative colitis, Behcet’s syndrome, and Raynaud’s syndrome. Fish oils are also used orally for weight loss, asthma, cancer, painful menses, lung diseases, hay fever, Crohn’s disease, chronic fatigue syndrome, albuminuria associated with diabetic neuropathy, restenosis after angioplasty, miscarriage, preeclampsia, preterm labor, and intrauterine growth retardation. Fish oils are used for systemic lupus erythematosus, cystic fibrosis, gingivitis, renal impairment associated with cirrhosis, hyperglycemia associated with type 2 diabetes and claudication. Fish oils are also used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), dyslexia, and dyspraxia.

2. Cell membrane health. Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), insure that cell membranes remain healthy. This means that the membranes are flexible and contain larger numbers of insulin receptors that are more receptive and responsive to circulating insulin. This results in decreased fat storage in the adipocytes (fat cells).

3. Fish oils turn on the lipolytic genes. That means that the genes responsible for burning fat are activated, which means there is an increased utilization of fat stores from the adipocytes.

4. Fish oils turn off the lipogenic genes. That means that the fat storage genes are turned off.

5. Fish oils diminish C-reactive proteins. This a newly identified risk factor associated with various inflammatory diseases, including atherosclerosis, angina, coronary heart disease, heart attack, stroke, congestive heart failure and diabetes. The DHA fraction of the fish oil seems to be one most responsible for that protective effect. DHA also has best ability to reduce blood pressure.

6. Reduced inflammation from physical training. EPA has the greatest effect on reducing inflammation through its downstream metabolites known as resolvins. Resolvins may be the key to the beneficial actions of fish oil in human diseases.

7. Pain management from the reduced inflammation. While fish oils reduce pain and inflammation themselves, they are also displacing other more pro-inflammatory fats out of the cell membranes, having an additive effect. When people improve their omega-6 to omega-3 ratio, they report a noticeable improvement in pain.

8. Increased focus in training. EPA regulates blood supply to the brain which is essential in maintaining focus in weight training sessions. DHA is important in brain membranes, memory and cognitive function.

9. Fish oils increase serotonin levels(th ehappy neurotransmitter).Therefore, fish oils will decrease incidence of depression, anxiety, panic attack and reduce carbohydrate cravings.

10. Fish oils will improve your cardiovascular risk profile. Fish Oils will lower VLDL, triglycerides, homocysteine, fibrinogen and increase HDL levels. Combining fish oils with plant sterols will improve lipid levels even more than either alone.

11. Fish oils can also decrease blood pressure by several mechanisms. These include increases in the vasodilatory compound, nitric oxide, reducing vascular inflammation, blocking the constrictive elements in the vascular wall such as the calcium channels reducing blood viscosity, and inhibiting a blood vessel constrictor (thromboxane). Lipoprotein (a) is another CVD predictor that can be lowered by fish oils (a 19% reduction was seen with natural, stable fish oils and just 4% with a highly purified fish oil).

12. Fish oils are a great stress fighter .Supplementation with n-3 fatty acids inhibits the adrenal activation of steroids, aldosterone , epinephrine and norepinephrine ( catecholamines) elicited by a mental stress, apparently through effects exerted at the level of the central nervous system. Therefore, for the same amount of stress, one will produce fewer stress hormones if consuming fish oils on a regular basis.

13. Fish oils turn on the carnitine enzymes. These are the enzymes responsible for the burning of body fat.

14. Fish oils mitigate insulin response. This means that your blood sugar won’t rise as quickly and sugar is less likely to go to your fat cells.

15. Fish oils reduce arterial stiffness and increase vasodilation. This benefit, which is good for both heart health and athletic performance, has been shown to take effect in 4 hours or less.

16. Very easy compliance. Taking fish oil on a regular basis is something very easy for people to do. Nearly all obese people are depressed, so for them to take fish oil, because it raises serotonin, could be their first essential step towards a lean healthy body.

Source: http://www.charlespoliquin.com/Blog/tabid/130/EntryId/118/Why-Fish-Oils-Are-The-Most-Important-Supplement.aspx

Medium Grip Pull Ups

2011-11-17T23:06:00.003Z

This is a recording I made earlier while training at Bannatynes in Banbury. Pull Ups are excellent for back, bicep, shoulder and core strength. You will struggle to see someone out of shape doing pull ups. Is that because doing pull ups gets you into shape or because being out of shape makes them extremely hard to do?

Once gain, suitable for males and females (it is just that females are afraid of putting on muscle too quickly).

45 Degree Incline Guillotine Press

2011-11-14T20:02:00.000Z

45 Degree Incline Fat Gripz Hammer Curls

2011-11-14T19:59:00.005Z

Why you should work with a Personal Trainer.

2011-11-09T09:57:00.004Z

When people come to me to find out about my services I often get the vibe they expect me to use some kind of hard selling approach like someone looking for business would.

I have a bit of a polar opposite method. I ensure that my services are of a high enough quality where I can simply answer your questions with honest answers and if we are right for each other in a professional capacity we can work together. You will find that the greater the trainer you work with, the less 'sales' you come across- they just don't need to try and bend people's arms into working with them.

While looking through the references in another article I took a greater look into three studies that examined the role of supervised training (i.e. a Personal Trainer). To summarise the three studies here are some cold, hard facts.

- In one study the group of men who trained under supervision resulted in a greater increase in the weights used vs the unsupervised group. In short the supervised group got stronger than the other group.(1)
- In another study the group of women who trained under supervision also had greater strength increases. The female participants also started picking heavier weights for themselves as well as working harder than those who were without supervision.(2)
- A third study evaluated the behavioural change of working with a trainer and came to the conclusion that working with a Personal Trainer changed the participants attitude towards exercise and therefore resulted in greater amounts of physical activity completed.(3)

So, working with a trainer can not only improve your attitude towards exercise, it can cause you to work harder and get better results. Isn't that the whole point?

References:
(1) The influence of direct supervision of resistance training on strength performance
Authors: Mazzetti, Scott A.; Kraemer, William J.; Volek, Jeff S.; Duncan, Noel D.; Ratamess, Nicholas A.; Gomez, Ana L.; Newton, Robert U.; Hakkinen, Keijo; Fleck, Steven J.
(2) Self-Selected Resistance Training Intensity in Healthy Women: The Influence of a Personal Trainer
Authors: Ratamess, Nicholas A; Faigenbaum, Avery D; Hoffman, Jay R; Kang, Jie
(3) The Effectiveness of Personal Training on Changing Attitudes Towards Physical Activity
Author: Steven R McClaran

A calorie is a calorie?

2011-11-04T22:55:00.003Z

There is quite a lot of argument between those in the industry about calories. Some people believe calories are the be all and end all of your weight loss/muscle gaining mission when it comes to food. Others believe that not all calories are created equal because of differences between calories from protein, carbs and fats.

Here is a study that showed two groups of people eating a wholemeal cheese sandwich (bread containing sunflower seeds and whole grain kernels and cheddar cheese) or a processed cheese sandwich (white bread and processed cheese).

Despite the calories being the same and the macronutrient breakdown (carbs, proteins and fats) being the same the group eating the processed meal had a significant drop in their metabolism. This would be proposed that this drop in metabolism from regular consumption of processed meals could be a significant contributor to weight gain.

Although this is only one type of meal being compared (cheese sandwich) the results are enough to make you think maybe all calories are not created equal. If you want to lose fat and look good make sure you are eating healthy foods, not processed versions.

Reference:

Postprandial Energy Expenditure in Whole-Food and Processed-Food Meals: Implications for Daily Energy Expenditure.

Sadie B. Barr and Jonathan C. Wright

Received March 15, 2010; Revised May 1, 2010; Accepted June 16, 2010.

Save Your Carbs for the Evening?

2011-10-27T13:03:00.003+01:00

This was posted on Predator Nutrition's Facebook page I follow (I have recently had an article used on their website which I will share as well). It makes for good reading.

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Greater Weight Loss and Hormonal Changes After 6 Months Diet With Carbohydrates Eaten Mostly at Dinner

Authors: Sigal Sofer, Abraham Eliraz, Sara Kaplan, Hillary Voet, Gershon Fink, Tzadok Kima and Zecharia Madar

Obesity 19, 2006-2014 (October 2011)
Abstract

This study was designed to investigate the effect of a low-calorie diet with carbohydrates eaten mostly at dinner on anthropometric, hunger/satiety, biochemical, and inflammatory parameters. Hormonal secretions were also evaluated. Seventy-eight police officers (BMI >30) were randomly assigned to experimental (carbohydrates eaten mostly at dinner) or control weight loss diets for 6 months. On day 0, 7, 90, and 180 blood samples and hunger scores were collected every 4 h from 0800 to 2000 hours. Anthropometric measurements were collected throughout the study. Greater weight loss, abdominal circumference, and body fat mass reductions were observed in the experimental diet in comparison to controls. Hunger scores were lower and greater improvements in fasting glucose, average daily insulin concentrations, and homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMAIR), T-cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, C-reactive protein (CRP), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels were observed in comparison to controls. The experimental diet modified daily leptin and adiponectin concentrations compared to those observed at baseline and to a control diet. A simple dietary manipulation of carbohydrate distribution appears to have additional benefits when compared to a conventional weight loss diet in individuals suffering from obesity. It might also be beneficial for individuals suffering from insulin resistance and the metabolic syndrome. Further research is required to confirm and clarify the mechanisms by which this relatively simple diet approach enhances satiety, leads to better anthropometric outcomes, and achieves improved metabolic response, compared to a more conventional dietary approach.

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I tend to have my carbs in the evening but not for the reasons this study post. Firstly, this only uses obese individuals, therefore caution must be used when translating it to your own training.

For me, I find eating high carb sources in the morning a sure fire way to make myself feel very lethargic. It also makes me want them for the rest of the day. If I eat a high carb breakfast, I end up craving a high carb lunch and a high carb dinner. Reserving my carb intake for the evening (despite how many times I have heard otherwise) works well for me for one main reason, compliance.

Weighted Thick Handled (Fat Gripz) Dips

2011-05-22T23:41:00.000+01:00

Barbell Romanian Deadlifts

2011-05-22T23:40:00.002+01:00

Cardio and fat loss and cardio on an empty stomach: studies.

2011-05-04T13:02:00.003+01:00

One thing I make sure I do in this industry is follow influential characters to leverage my learning. If you take 5 leaders in the field and take the best bits of what they tell you then you are essentially capitalising on hours and hours worth of studying. It is like finding out the key points in a book rather than reading the waffling in between.

One very keen learner is Mike Demeter, a fellow PICP coach. I am friends with him on Facebook because he shares more fitness information on there than almost anyone I know. I am copying this directly from his Facebook entry and giving him credit rather than editing it and pretending the research was mine. All notes are from him as well.

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(from an e-mail from Alwyn Cosgrove . .nice to have printed to show clients)

A few fat loss related studies I've been reviewing recently:

Friedenreich et al.

Adiposity changes after a 1-year aerobic exercise intervention among postmenopausal women: a randomized controlled trial

Int J Obes (Lond). 2011 Mar;35(3):427-35

This study put 320 women on a one year program.

There were two groups - an exercise group and a control group.

The exercise group was instructed to perform 45 mins of moderate to vigorous aerobic exercise five times per week (and over the course of the year, they averaged 3.6 training sessions per week or 178 mins per week).

Both groups were asked to keep their diets the same.

Results: The aerobic group lost 3.9lbs more fat than the control group over the year. (AFTER 45 min CARDIO, 5x/week for the year !! ~Coach Mike)

My interpretation/comments: no surprises to regular readers of my blog, I don't think aerobic exercise is a very useful fat loss tool.

Zakrzewski et al.

Comparison of fat oxidation over a range of intensities during treadmill and cycling exercise in children.

Eur J Appl Physiol. 2011 Apr 21.

Results: This study showed that fat oxidation was higher in treadmill exercise than cycling exercise over a range of absolute and relative exercise intensities. Which means that treadmill exercise, even at the same intensity as cycling, results in higher fat burning and could result in faster fat loss in programming.

My interpretation/comments: We've seen in calorie matched studies that weight training outperforms aerobic exercise in terms of fat loss. This is one of a few studies to compare treadmill and cycling in terms of fat oxidation (A 2003 study in Metabolism, and a 2010 study in the International journal of sport nutrition and exercise metabolism) - although it's the first one to look at children..

My interpretation is that the difference is a result of running being more weight bearing than cycling, so "weight bearing" or "ground based" activities at the same intensity will be more effective in fat loss training.

Effect of Diet and Exercise, Alone or Combined, on Weight and Body Composition in Overweight-to-Obese Postmenopausal Women.

Obesity (Silver Spring). 2011 Apr 14. [Epub ahead of print]

439 obese women were split into four groups -

diet only,

aerobic exercise only,

diet plus aerobic exercise

and a control group.

The diet group lost 8.5% of their starting weight over the course of a year. The aerobic exercise group lost only 2.4% and the diet plus exercise group lost 10.8%.

My interpretation: Diet is obviously the key factor in fat loss, and this study confirms that, and shows once again that aerobic exercise doesn't seem to provide much direct benefit in fat loss, in the absence of diet.

Adding aerobic exercise to the diet only resulted in an increase in 2.3% of weight loss over the course of a year.(REREAD THAT LAST SENTENCE .~Coach Mike)

Exercising fasting or fed to enhance fat loss? Influence of food intake on respiratory ratio and excess postexercise oxygen consumption after a bout of endurance training.

Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2011 Feb;21(1):48-54.

Two groups in a crossover study (meaning all participants did both protocols).

Food intake was the same overall, the only difference was performing endurance cardio either fasted or after breakfast.

Fat oxidation was higher after the fed training session, both 12 and 24 hours after the training session when compared to the fasted state.

"The authors conclude that when moderate endurance exercise is done to lose body fat, fasting before exercise does not enhance lipid utilization; rather, physical activity after a light meal is advisable."

(NOW REREAD THAT FOR THOSE OF YOU STUCK ON FASTED CARDIO . .)

And in the "no-s**t department":

Direct hits to the head during amateur boxing is associated with a rise in serum biomarkers for brain injury.

Int J Immunopathol Pharmacol. 2011 Jan-Mar;24(1):119-25.

My interpretation: We didn't know this? Really? Ok - Getting punched in the head isn't good for you.

45 Degree Incline Tricep Barbell Extensions to Forehead

2011-04-05T10:50:00.001+01:00

80 Degree Seated Dumbbell Zottman Curls (Biceps)

2011-04-05T10:49:00.001+01:00

80 Degree Incline Seated Barbell Overhead Tricep Extensions

2011-04-05T10:45:00.001+01:00

Seated Single Arm Dumbbell Scott Curls

2011-04-05T10:32:00.001+01:00

Why Women Can't Lose Weight Part 6: Women and Magnesium

2010-07-28T21:10:00.001+01:00

Part 6 from Charles Poliquin:

...

"CP: How are you doing this beautiful Monday morning?
HCFC: Awesome, it actually feels good to have less joint pain. Don’t tell me that only three days of fish oil does that.

CP: That would be a lie. It is actually the fact that you cut out grains and soy from your diet, those foods are pro-inflammatory. If you cut inflammation down, and introduce an anti-inflammatory nutrient as fish oil, pain will subside. What else have you noticed?
HCFC: Loads more energy and according to my peers…better mood.
CP: Yes, to be expected

HCFC: Why?
CP: It only takes a 40% drop in EFA levels to induce depression. That is Ireland, and the U.K.. have the greatest depression rates in the Western World. You cannot have optimal levels of the feel good neurotransmitter serotonin unless you have enough Omega 3s. Take this home, fat people are depressed people, like your soon to be ex-friend Debbie. I am utterly convinced that fish oil is the most important supplement to get depressed people off their duff and into the gym. That is why the U.S. Army is soon planning to supplementing its troops with 3 grams of Omega 3. They estimate it will make depression and suicide rates plummet.

The brain cannot work optimally without enough Omega 3. If you take Omega 3s while watching Jerry Springer or reruns of Gilligan’s Island, you can resist the IQ lowering effects of those shows.

HCFC: So you are telling me that being depressed is not a sign of Prozac deficiency?
CP: You are a fast learner Grasshopper.

HCFC: Thank you Sifu. Ok, what about the magnesium deficiency?
CP: Your red blood cell magnesium is 3.5 mg/dL. The range is 4.2 to 6.8 mg/dL. From experience, people score far healthier on other key health elements such as fasting morning insulin and fasting morning glucose when the magnesium are closer to 6.8 mg/dL. I actually think that the goal should be a minimum of 6.4 mg/dL.

HCFC: But my serum magnesium is within range!
CP: That means zilch. It will be only low if you are going to die very shortly or if you hang out more than 6 hours with Debbie. Catecholamines lower magnesium…

HCFC: What is the next step?
CP: You are going to take Über Mag at 4 capsules at each of the last two meals of every day. You are also going to two squirts of Topical Mag behind the knees every night, right before bed time.

Restoring magnesium levels has helped many ailments from autism to insulin
resistance. The limiting factor has always been absorption and utilization.

Over the years, I have accumulated extensive research and experience in
restoring magnesium levels, which has led to the development of Übermag,
which is a combination of four different magnesium complexes:

Magnesium taurate (50 mg)
Magnesium glycinate (50 mg)
Magnesium fumarate (25 mg)
Magnesium orotate (25 mg)

HCFC: Why those four chelates?
CP: Magnesium Taurate is not simply a blend of the two materials but rather a fully-reacted amino acid-mineral complex. Unlike other magnesium preparations, it is very unlikely to cause gastro-intestinal distress. Research shows that magnesium and the amino acid, taurine, have some interchangeable and synergistic roles. Magnesium helps to regulate taurine absorption while taurine can replace some of magnesium¹s functions when magnesium is deficient. Both taurine and magnesium are known to optimize cellmembrane function particularly with regards to regulating the heart’s
rhythm. Both nutrients exert sedative effects and lower the excitability of
nerve cells . This combination works well to calm individuals.

Magnesium Glycinate is also an amino acid-mineral complex. Again it is a fully-reacted complex and not simply a blend of the two materials. It has been shown to support ATP production, thus impacting energy levels. Magnesium glycinate is particularly recommended for improving muscle contractility and relaxation, promoting healthy nerve conduction, intestinal motility, bone mineralization, and preventing muscle cramps. This chelate has a high affinity for the liver and muscles.

Magnesium fumarate could be considered the energy production magnesium, as it is the salt of a naturally occurring organic acid, fumaric acid, which is also one of the key intermediates in the tricarboxylic acid cycle for organic acid biosynthesis. It is recognized as an important stress-fighter. Because it is involved in the Krebs cycle, it contributes to efficient ATP production. Macronutrients (protein, fats, and carbs) cannot
produce energy efficiently without this type of magnesium.

Magnesium orotate is magnesium bound to orotic acid. Magnesium orotate has been shown to support the heart¹s ability to endure and recover from chronic and acute stressors. This form of magnesium produces an effect through a variety of mechanisms such as: maintenance of normal glycogen stores, inducing protein synthesis, optimizing both ATP levels and improving contractile function. Magnesium orotate is also invaluable at mitigating cortisol response from the
sympathetic nervous system.

Übermag restores magnesium levels rapidly as it targets multiple tissues, and by its very design improves absorption and intestinal tolerance of magnesium.

HCFC: Nice chemistry lecture professor, but how is it going to help me lean out?
CP: Three main reasons:
1. You will sleep better. The less you sleep the more insulin resistant you become. Better sleep means return to insulin sensitivity.
2. Magnesium helps restore insulin sensitivity directly by influencing the number and sensitivity of insulin site receptors.
3. You will be less anxious. Less anxiety, less cortisol, less cortisol, less insulin being made, more growth being made, less cortisol, more thyroid hormone being made. So being less anxious sets up a beneficial hormonal cascade that makes you the end leaner.

HCFC: Great to hear, the last time I had great night sleep, Clinton was in office.
CP: You mean the one who came out with the expression “Close, but no cigar’?

HCFC: Before we go, why not use just more of the orals, why use a topical?
CP: The topical magnesium bypasses the GI tract system. Most people who need to lose weight have compromised guts. Making it go through the skin, in my experience, restores the magnesium levels much faster.

HCFC: What is my homework for tonight?
CP: Read:

Women deficient in vitamin D accumulate fat in muscle and are weaker
Vitamin D3: Best...Supplement...Ever!
How I Replenish My D3 Levels

Have a restful night! Before you go, give me your two take home points:
HCFC:
1. Red blood cell magnesium is superior to seric magnesium to get your real magnesium status.
2. When your magnesium is low, the more different chelates you use, on top of a topical, the faster your magnesium comes back."

Why Women Can't Lose Weight Part 5: Women and Blood Work

2010-07-28T21:07:00.001+01:00

Part 5 in this excellent series from Charles Poliquin.

...

"CP: How are you doing today?
HCFC: Actually even better than yesterday, could the meat and nut breakfast possibly help my…sleep?
CP: Yes, of course.

HCFC: Why?
CP: If you set up the right neurotransmitters in the morning which should be of “yang” nature, such as dopamine and acetycholine, it is easier to go to “yin” types neurotransmitters such as GABA and serotonin. In other words, when you set yourself up to have energy at the right time, it is easier to wind down at the right time. Plus nuts tend to have loads of magnesium in them, which could favor sleep. Plus you dropped soy from your diet, which contain anti-nutrients such as phytates, which block the absorption of minerals. So you are taking in more minerals, and you have stopped blocked their absorption, and increased your meat intake, which contains zinc, which increases the absorption of all minerals known to man.

HCFC: My friend Debbie insists that soy milk is healthy for you, and you are just some meathead taking advantage of me with voodoo science.
CP: Is Debbie fat, belong to a misery club such a divorcee church group, waste an inordinate amount of time on social media, read People magazine, and make snotty comments about you getting leaner?

HCFC: YES to ALL questions!
CP: So, let me see, she gives a compliment and an insult right after. Such as “look at you, you are getting lean, pretty soon you won’t talk to fat people like us!”

HCFC: Exactly! Are you psychic?
CP: Psychic? I am not psychic. I almost dated a psychic once, but she broke it off before we actually met. Another time, I was supposed to lecture to psychics, but due to unforeseen circumstances, the leader of the psychics cancelled it.

HCFC: So why do you think she behaves that way?
CP: Oh it is just another example of CCOJMB.
HCFC: CCOJMB?
CP: Classic case of jealous miserable bitch.
Let me explain. There are some well accepted sex specific behavior patterns. For example, for a male, when he gets lost driving, instead of stopping to ask for directions, he lowers the volume on the car radio.

Males. It is all about superiority. When a male meets another male, they instantly make a decision who is superior in that context. This is why, particularly at teenagehood, males in groups pick on one guy contextually, and bust his chops. So a guy could be at the bottom at the pack because he is fat, and it is pool party. But in the boardroom, he could be the alpha wolf because he is the smartest investor.

In females, it is all about being accepted and being part of the right group. Of course, as you well get leaner you will be pulled upwards socially. That is why she says think like “pretty soon you won’t talk to fat people like US!”. Using social validation, she wants you to know that your going to make US feel bad, and not only her. As if the number would increase shame.

It is a something you see in all cultures, all over the World. French Canadians call it Le syndrome de la grosse bacquaisse mal baisée.

HCFC: So, how should I handle her?
CP: One, enlighten her by telling her that soy milk is a waste product from fermenting soy to make tofu. You should treat it the same way you would treat any other waste product. Two, tell her that in my case flattery will get her nowhere.

HCFC: So, you don’t care about what she said about you?
CP: What she thinks about me is none of my business. And of course, that she is a fully registered, card carrying CCOJMB.

Lastly, your new diet will improve many things in your life from cognitive function to sex drive, to sleep patterns. Along comes with it new friends who are more evolved. You attract who you are.

HCFC: So far you have only given me HCL with my food. When will I go on other supplements?
CP: Actually today we are going to start with taking fish oil.
HCFC: That is it?
CP: Yes, for now.
HCFC: But you have my colleague Mary Jane on five supplements.
CP: Is that statement of yours a way to verify social acceptance? Mary Jane got to five supplements after 4 weeks of consults.
HCFC: Point taken. Soy sorry.

CP: Based on your Biosignature profile and your blood work, we are going to start with the most bang for your buck supplement for your case. The Omega 3 6:1 product.
HCFC: Why that one?
CP: Your morning glucose is quite elevated and your glycosylated hemoglobin is the one of someone borderline diabetic.

HCFC: What is glycosylated hemoglobin?
CP: When blood sugar runs high, glucose molecules join hemoglobin, forming glycated or glycosylated hemoglobin in red blood cells, termed hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c). HbA1c levels greater than 5.7% indicate long-term elevation of blood sugar levels, which has been associated with increased risk of diabetic complications. Yours is 5.5%. Basically, it is a lie detector test for carb intake, the same way the supra-illiac skinfold is in Biosignature.

HCFC: Oh my God, am I going to die?
CP: Yes, you have two weeks to live, I recommend you just eat Black Forest cake and Mojitos for your short lived life, but not with your friend Debbie, because she will say that it was the 4 days of meat and nut breakfast that killed you, even though the blood work was done before you switched diets, and that she will take good care of your husband when you die, which basically means that he is first in her masturbation parade. I also recommend intravenous solutions of maple syrup.

HCFC: You are f@#king with me again!
CP: Did you just say the f@#k word? Unbelievable, don’t you know that only f@#cking assholes swear? I am f@#king shocked.
HCFC: All right, I over reacted. Soy sorry.

CP: Indeed, but it does not make you a bad person, just a bit over concerned.
Lets just start with the Omega 3 6;1 at 3 caps three times a day, in the middle of the meal, along with your HCL. In two weeks, we will run your blood tests again.
This will help mitigate your blood sugar and insulin responses at a very appreciable rate, and reduce your inflammation. You have a lot of joint pain. This will help with that condition.

HCFC: What about the rest of my blood work?
CP: We will talk about this tomorrow.

Your homework for tonight is to read:
Fast Results with Fish Oil
Top 10 Reasons EFA's Are Essential
How I Replenish Magnesium Levels

See you tomorrow, and please tell Debbie that soy milk is indeed healthy and that she should drink 4 gallons of it a day. (That is PC, for telling someone to f@#k off).

What are your two take home points?

HCFC:
1. The goal of a great breakfast is to raise acetyl-choline and dopamine.
2. HbA1c levels is a great lie detector test for carb intake!"

Why Women Can't Lose Weight Part 4: Women and Making Time for Exercise

2010-07-26T21:27:00.001+01:00

Part 4 by Charles Poliquin:

...

"This a typical day four conversation that I have with a Health Conscious Female Client (HCFC)

CP: How are things?
HCFC: Switching to the meat and nut breakfast is doing wonders for my energy levels for the whole day, thank you. My bloating is gone, so are my mid morning headaches.
Can we talk today about what I should eat at the other meals?
CP: No.

HCFC: Why not?
CP: Because in relative terms, that is not the most important thing for now.
HCFC: What do you want to talk about?

CP: Your exercise program.

HCFC: Oh…that. Well…do you think it is possible to get in shape…training twice a week…at home?

CP: Lets me guess…you don’t have time to exercise 4 hours a week.
HCFC: Four hours a week, I would loooovvvve to have this luxury, but I don’t have the time.

CP: Lets get something straight Mother Theresa, you want a nice physique, it requires 4 hours a week. Anyone else who says you need less is a bullshit artist.
Lets me play psychic over here, you are super mom, or should I say super slave? Besides working 40 hours a week, you cook, clean, and do household work for the whole family?
HCFC: Yes (in a shamely tone)

CP: Tell you what. Any physicist worth his grain of salt will tell you that time and space are illusions, and that you can actually create time. And I will show you how to can create 5 hours of time just for you, while reducing your workload.
HCFC: Really? I have a hard time believing that?
CP: How many kids do you have?
HCFC: Three
CP: What ages?
HCFC: Moira 8, Billy 11, and Josh 13

CP: All right, from now on 8 year old Moira is C.L.O., chief laundry officer
HCFC: What !!!! She is too young.
CP: Does she own a iPhone?
HCFC: Yes, of course
CP: Then she has all the intellectual skills she needs to operate a washer and a dryer.

HCFC: What if something happens?
CP: Does she know how to swim?
HCFC: Yes?
CP: Worst thing that can happen is that she falls in the operating machine, just tell her to swim with the current.
HCFC: It is actually a horizontal one.
CP: There you go. You have nothing to worry about.

HCFC: What about the sorting?
CP: That is everybody’s responsibility. Get enough baskets to handle all the probabilities. If they put it in the wrong basket, they will do it only once.
HCFC: I don’t know if they can handle it.
CP: Don’t piss on my leg and tell me it is raining. Let me guess, each one of your kids has done that school project where you have to design a padded box to support an egg that you toss from the roof of the school and it must not break?

HCFC: Yes, they have all done it.
CP: So you are telling me, that they can rack their brains for a whole week to find a solution to that physics problem, and yet they can’t sort out the difference between blue jeans and a white t-shirt. Unless you married your brother, your kids have all the necessary intellectual skills to comply with that new rule.

HCFC: What if they screw up?
CP: They’ve screwed up, and learned from it. Enough said, you already got three hours made up for your exercise goals. What does your husband do around the house?
HCFC: It starts with the letter U.
CP: ????
HCFC: Uh-fuck-all!

CP: Classic. You are starting to sound like me. Put hubby on grocery shopping duty. You give him the following:
1. A grocery list with cute little check boxes besides each item
2. A pen
3. A kiss on the cheek, and a good luck wish
4. A kick in the ass to accelerate the process

Fairly simple isn’t it. He drives to the store, parks the car, does the groceries, come home. Voilà, at least another hour freed up.

HCFC: What about the oldest two kids?
CP: I am sure you can think of something they can do to free up time. The goal is to get to five hours.

HCFC: You told me four at the beginning of this consult.
CP: The fifth hour is for you to book a massage. You deserve it.
HCFC: I don’t know if I have the confidence to do this.

CP: If you want, we do offer a special service, payable only in cash, in a brown envelope. One our instructors is a former National Record Holder in the hammer throw, Derek Woodske. Huge tall dude. We put make up and a wig on him, he wears a bra with two halved cantaloupes in them. Organic, of course. We send him to your place. You tell your family that you just hired Über Nanny Helga Von Arschkickerfürprofien from the former East Germany. “Helga” has been known to put non-compliant people into vicious headlocks, and apply noogies to the skulls, and give the random wedgie. The most extreme that Helga went is to charbroil the husband face on the barbecue. Then again, that guy now, twice a week, wears a French Maid suit, and cleans all the toilets and showers with a tooth brush. To further increase the pressure, “Helga” listens full blast, the whole day, to David Hasselhof’s German pop hits. That is enough to crack 12 Navy Seals.

But before we send Helga, just empty your cupboards of all convenience, and go on strike for a weekend. By Monday, every body will be listening. Actually, if you tell them that it is time they help out, and you need the help, it will go just fine.

HCFC: Okay, okay, I get your point.
CP: Listen to me, you own a run a successful print shop. Using those same leadership skills at home does not make you a bad person. I will see you tomorrow and talk about your blood work."

Why Women Can't Lose Weight Part 3: Women and Why Eating Fat Does Not Make You Fat

2010-07-26T21:24:00.002+01:00

Part 3 by Charles Poliquin:

...

"This a typical day three conversation that I have with a Health Conscious Female Client (HCFC)

HCFC: I must admit, I do feel better from switching to the meat and nut breakfast. But I have a confession to make I only could stomach 2 ounces of meat the first days.
CP: That does not make you a bad person. You will find that with time, your appetite for meat will go up. I suggest you switch to ground meat first, makes it easier to jack up the quantities.

HCFC: Is it normal that my appetite goes up?
CP: Yes, because the meat and nut breakfast provides you with the right building materials for the proper neuro-transmitters to have drive and concentration, namely dopamine and acetyl-choline.
HCFC: Can you explain further?

CP: It is very clear. The first thing you put in your mouth upon awakening…provided it is food…will set up the neurotransmitter cascade. Research done in furniture factories in Israel and Sweden has shown over 4 decades ago that a high protein intake determined the number of furniture workers did not only before but also aftr lunch. More recently at Harvard University, quality of breakfast make-up influenced in children self selection in caloric intake for the whole day.
Translation; you eat a high protein and some smart fats at breakfast, you are more productive the whole day, and less likely to binge on empty calories.

HCFC: But I must say that I have a concern…is all that fat going to make me fat?

CP: Repeat to me the two top reasons why you are here.

HCFC: 1. The last two times I went to the beach to swim I got harpooned.
2. I have gotten so repulsively fat, that even my hand falls asleep when I ... how can I say.. when I "double-click my mouse".

CP: you mean when you try to be the "master of your domain"
HCFC: Precisely!
CP: That is a case of over sharing. Lets move on.

First, you cannot group all fats under the same category. Mislabeling is far too common. For example, President Obama prefers that we refer illegal aliens as to unregistered Democrats.
Lets make it simple you need to completely eliminate hydrogenated fats.

I want to you read labels, and avoid anything that says hydrogenated fats, or partially hydrogenated fats. You will find those in most packaged foods such as; the coating or make up of most protein bars, margarine, breakfast cereals, crackers, chips, pretzels, cookies, cereal bars, microwave popcorn, and all the bullshit low-fat and fat-free snacks. There are even many packaged foods advertised as "healthy choice" that include this type of very toxic fat.
HCFC: Why is hydrogenation so bad for fats?

CP: Basically, in hydrogenation, you bombard an oil’s fat molecules with hydrogen atoms, making it more dense and raising its melting point, making the oil become solid at room temperature. This results, as an unfortunate consequence in creation of trans fatty acids.

Partially hydrogenated oil implies that the hydrogenation process stopped short of a full solid, creating creamier, almost soft, butterlike texture. This is the deal behind margarine.

When you hydrogenize fats, you create this trans fatty acids, which are linked to anything from higher cancer rates to increased cardiovascular risk.

And here's something else to think about: ingesting a lot of trans fat changes the composition of body fat -- it's harder to pinch. Ask any experienced tester. If you pinch test someone who eats a lot of French fries and chicken nuggets, his fat feels a lot different. So in that case the tester has to be very skilled and needs to have a kung-fu grip worthy of leaving the Shaolin temple.

There's a reason why the medical division of the National Academy of Science says that the only safe level of trans fat is zero: it actually changes the cell structure. Our body doesn't know what to with it.

The problem is that in the U.S., again labeling can be misleading. There is a loophole in the labeling law: If a serving has less than o.5 grams of trans-fat, the label may state ZERO. Yes, that includes 0.49 grams in a serving size even a toddler would find ridiculously too small.

HCFC: So what you are saying is that I could read the label, it would say no trans fats, and yet I could be consuming them?

CP: You have a firm grasp of the obvious.
HCFC: So, how I do I know if what I am eating has the right type of fats.
CP: Ask yourself this question before you put it your mouth: Did a caveman have access to that food:
An avocado? Yes!
Cashews? Yes!
Croissant? No!
Mars bar? No!

Pretty simple isn’t?

That is it for today, tomorrow we will address your exercise program."

Why Women Can't Lose Weight Part 2: Women, Breakfast and Soy

2010-07-22T14:55:00.002+01:00

Here is part two of this gem of a series from Charles Poliquin. Most people who recommend soy as a health food have something to sell you. It is worth noting that benefits of soy vary between fermented and unfermented products.

From www.charlespoliquin.com.

...

"This a typical conversation second day conversation that I have with a Health Conscious Female Client (HCFC)

HCFC: Thanks for education me on proper breakfasts
CP: You are welcome!
HCFC: I am not very clear on quantities, how much should meat and nuts should I eat?
CP: For a start, a side of beef plus 3 kilos of pistachios.
HCFC: Really?

CP: Just kidding. For the meat, there is a formula developed by a Japanese fan of mine, Kamenashi. It goes like this: You take your bodyweight in kilos, you divide by atomic mass of the most common earth element of your place of birth, you multiply by the numeric value of your date of birth, condensed by using standard numerology, you divide by the square root of the age in days of when your first molar tooth appeared. Just kidding again; write this down: Any nutritionist that gives you an exact number in grams for a food is either a closet food Nazi or a twirp, or a combination of both.
Listen, you have to retrain yourself to make the distinction between your mouth and a vacuum. I never give quantities in food programs. Just go by appetite.

HCFC: But my previous nutritionist told me it is crucial to count calories…

CP: Did the advice work?
HCFC: No, not really…that is why I am here…I guess

CP: Was she fat?
HCFC: Yes…very fat!
CP: Where her hips much wider than her shoulders?
HCFC: INDEED!
CP: Classic case of you are what you eat, she goes by the food pyramid, she is shaped like one!
HCFC: You are ruthless!
CP: Actually, just observant!

HCFC: What should I drink at breakfast?
CP: Any type of organic coffee or tea, and/or water.
HCFC: Can I drink soy milk?

CP: Was that part of the list of the beverages given above?
HCFC: No…
CP: There you go.
HCFC: But…it makes me feel great!
CP: So does cocaine.
HCFC: Soy milk is healthy for you!

CP: Get off your granola fed high horse. Check the ingredient list on your soy milk and you can be sure you will find a lot of sugar. It will have all sort of names ranging from evaporated, cane sugar, barley malt, rice sugar, fructose, corn syrup.

No matter the manufacturers call it, it is sugar. The most likely reason that you feel “energetic” after drinking your soy milk is that you are getting an sugar buzz.
The second reason being that the soy estrogens are stimulating your thyroid. For most individuals, this induces a mildly hyperactive thyroid with very short-term energy gain. The down side is that over the long run your thyroid crashes, sinking into hypothyroidism. That translates into poor energy levels, brain fog, loss of brain function etc.. Put it this way, the short term benefits are not worth the long term negative effects.

HCFC: But is says on the bottle that it is organic.
CP: So is elk manure. Listen up. All it means is that it will less pesticide residues that genetically modified soy. Whether it is organic and harvested by Tibetan monks, or grown GMO, all modern soy products are jam packed with anti-nutrients such as phytates, and toxins which are now linked to host of ailments ranging from brain shrinkage to thyroid dysfunction. In men, it lowers testosterone and sperm count to a point where they are 317% more likely to go shopping than to have sex.

HCFC: You are kidding again aren’t you.
CP: No, 76% of statistics are made up on the spot. Yes, I am kidding about the shopping thing, but not for the ailments brought on by soy. Regarding sperm count, Dr. Chavarro and colleagues studied 100 men who were members of couples having trouble getting pregnant. Semen analyses showed that the men with the highest levels of soy food intake approximately a half serving per day – had 41 million sperm per milliliter fewer than men who did not consume any soy. The researchers used a questionnaire listing 15 soybased foods to determine soy consumption over the preceding three months.

HCFC: What about soy protein bars?
CP: No.
HCFC: What about soy protein?
CP: No.
HCFC: What about soy burgers?
CP: No.
HCFC: What about soy chips?
CP: No.
HCFC: What about soy lollypops?
CP: Enough. If you were a male, I would have already roundhouse kicked you to the temple with steel toe capped construction boots.

Go read this article: http://www.charlespoliquin.com/ArticlesMultimedia/Articles/Article.aspx?ID=35
And will see you tomorrow.

HCFC: I'm soy sorry"

Why Women Can't Lose Weight Part 1: Women and Breakfast Cereals

2010-07-21T20:02:00.003+01:00

People always enjoy reassurance. I can't count the amount of times people have doubted my nutrition recommendations because it conflicted with what appeared in the last issue of Men's Health or Cosmopolitan.

It is funny, you can have dozens of testimonials, before and after pictures of clients and a money back guarantee but clients are still unsure with what you tell them. On the other hand they can instantly buy into the latest diet fad because it is celebrity endorsed.

So, here is my media source (if you will).

Charles Poliquin is the greatest strength coach in the world. A phone consultation with him will cost you $1000 USD per hour. He is also the creator of the revolutionary Biosignature Modulation fat loss system which has been used on Victoria's Secret models and professional bodybuilders.

He does a great job of delivering no BS information, it has a tendency to filter out those who are serious about changing their physiques and health and those who aren't.

So, here are his words! Taken from his blog on www.charlespoliquin.com.

...

"Recently I wrote a blog on the top reasons why women cannot lose weight. It was so popular, that we got over an extra 10,000 visitors to the site on that single day.
http://www.charlespoliquin.com/Blog/tabid/130/EntryId/26/Top-10-reasons-how-women-get-fatter-despite-good-intent.aspx.

One of the main reasons why women cannot meet their body composition goals is that they have been brainwashed into eating “healthy “ breakast cereals, as part a “great start of the day”, which in fact leads more to laying down serious lard, clogging your arteries, and making you pre-diabetic.

This a typical conversation that I have with a Health Conscious Female Client (HCFC) during her initial consult.

CP: What do you eat for breakfast?

HCFC: I always start the healthy balanced breakfast
CP: Enlighten me.
HCFC: I usually have a bowl of healthy cereal like shredded wheat, in skim milk of course, and half a banana sliced into it. To avoid the evil saturated fats you know I am health conscious you know. Or either a low-fat bagel with margarine and honey on.

CP: Lets get a few things straight here:

One. Saturated fats are not evil. What fits into the evil category are Hitler, Stalin, chemical warfare, reality shows and Sarah Palin.

Two. Most cereal brands have a glycemic index that ranges from 60 to 110. The glycemic index is a measurement of the type or quality of carbohydrates in a particular food, and how fast 50 grams of this carbohydrate raises blood glucose levels, (and consequent insulin secretion and effects produced by the pancreas) as it is digested.

•Porridge (Oatmeal) 60
•Muesli 60
•Special K 70
•Honeysmacks 60
•Sustain 66
•Cornflakes 76

Please note that there are no difference between Honeysmacks and oatmeal in terms of glycemic index. As a rule of thumb, when seeking fat loss you do not want to eat foods with a glycemic index of above 50.

Three. Skim milk is horrendous if you want to lose fat.

Four. Bagels are the ideal food of choice to get a butt that qualifies for its own zip code. It has a glycemic index of 72! It so good at increasing blood sugar, that a study done on long distance cyclists showed that bagels are superior to Power Bars at raising blood glucose. And they are easier to chew those poor substitutes for a hockey puck.

Five. Margarine is for dorks. It is typically good at spreading arteriosclerosis. No pun intended.

Six. Honey may be more natural than some high fructose corn syrup laden jam, it is still a simple sugar.

Seven. Bananas have a glycemic load of 12, while cherries would have a glycemic load of 3.

Glycemic Load Explained While the glycemic index classifies foods according to how fast 50g of carbs in them raises our blood glucose levels, Glycemic Load indicates how fast a standard portion of a particular food (like bananass) raises blood glucose, and thus gives an indication of glycemic and insulin response.

Eight. you are blonde and blue eyed, so the odds that you are sensitive to gluten are near perfect. So every single time, you eat your shredded wheat or bagel, your immune system and adrenal glands are under attack. No wonder, you get your mid-morning coffee fix in an IV form.
HCFC: But skim milk is low in saturated fat!

CP: So is Napalm. Skim milk certainly has a low glycemic index, but it has a high insulin index. Now when you combine a high glycemic food with a food with a high insulin load, you are asking your body to increase your cardiovascular risk factors and to age prematurely.

HCFC: But I read that breakfast cereal is part of healthy and balanced breakfast.

CP: Hey, if you believe that, you will also believe that Britney Spears read Leo Tolstoi’s War and Peace cover to cover at age 8. You want to lose fat, you got to change a few things. One, you got to go to grain less breakfast.
HCFC: What about Kashi? Isn’t that healthy?
CP: Actually the box it comes in is more nutritious. Rats fed the box, lived longer than the ones who ate Kashi.

HCFC: What if I switched to organic box cereal?

CP: Worse, yes it may have more protein, but the protein is also denatured. Hence, you are more denatured protein than it the standard one. A great way to induce more long term brain damage. Lovely!

HCFC: I am so stupid.

CP: You are not stupid, just misinformed by mass media. Being misinformed does not make you a bad person, just a misinformed one. Even Oprah gets misinformed.

HCFC: I feel so guilty.

CP: Feeling guilty is useless. My lawyer David Horowitz once told me that guilt was invented by the Jews, and perfected to a science by the Catholics. My Jewish colleague Moshe Berkowitz was born Jewish and raised Catholic. He used to bring an attorney to confession. I am a recovering Catholic myself, so I know how you feel. Please do know that feeling guilty is forbidden in my office. Lets move on.

HCFC: What should I eat then?

CP: Very simple, before our meeting tomorrow, do me a favor, and go on my website and read the following article on the meat and nut breakfast:
http://www.charlespoliquin.com/ArticlesMultimedia/Articles/Article.aspx?ID=270

If you need more information on insulin load, glycemic index, glycemic load etc… please go to http://www.mendosa.com/.

Rick Mendosa does an impressive job with keeping current with all the information surrounding those topics."

Writing for Bodybuilding.com

2010-04-18T09:35:00.003+01:00

My article on losing the love handles is now available on www.bodybuilding.com.

You can read it here; http://bit.ly/cibnwD

This is the first article of mine that is featured on this website. As far as bodybuilding resources go, this is the biggest out there with a huge fan following of almost 2,000,000 forum members.

I like writing articles for different companies to make sure that it hits all of my target audience. For example, this article on love handles conveys the strategies I use for any clients with this issue. Bodybuilders or fitness models looking to compete right through to middle aged women who just want to fit into smaller jeans.

Women who don't 'bodybuild' in the way most people perceive it are very unlikely to read articles on this website which is why I also write for an online fashion magazine where bodybuilders are very unlikely to go!

PICP 3

2010-03-31T17:16:00.002+01:00

As those who train with me are well aware, a lot of my work is based on strength and conditioning not 'entertainment' type exercises. I choose to study from the very best in the field so I can expand my knowledge as fast as possible.

I learn a lot from Charles Poliquin. He is regarded as the world's most successful strength coach which makes him the most obvious choice of people to study.

Charles has designed programmes for olympic medallists in 17 different sports and world record holders in 10 different spors.

I have done numerous courses with Charles and have registered for the highly prestigious level 3. The PICP 3 (National Coach) is a course with a difference. To ensure that only the best coaches can succeed in this programme there is additional criteria that have to be met.

I have to train at least one athlete who has participated in a national championship and finished at a performance level representing 90% of the average of the first 3 competitors.

So, I am looking for athletes who need help with their training. If you are looking for a strength coach to help you succeed in your sport express interest by emailing ben@bcpersonaltraining.co.uk.

Barbell Deadlifts from a Podium

2010-03-28T11:37:00.003+01:00

This exercise is a more advanced version of the regular deadlift. You will notice that the 20kg plates used were all smaller versions and not the larger metal ones. This keeps the bar closer to the floor and means you have to pull the bar from an increased stretch position.

The fact you have improved the range of motion (ROM) on your lift means you are getting more of a hormonal response than you would with a regular deadlift. This will result in more muscle being built and more fat loss. It is very demanding in terms of hamstring and glute flexibility.

Improving the strength in your posterior chain (hamstrings, glutes and lower back) is a vey effective method for increasing sprinting speed and explosive power and therefore should be a familiar exercise to footballers, rugby players and sprinters etc.

This is an exercise which can be used by either gender, despite the fact that women tend to look at this type of lift as a male exercise.

How to Stick with Your Diet Plan: Tip 2

2010-03-20T15:00:00.003Z

As I have mentioned before, the biggest factor influencing dietary success is compliance. So, what do to make sure you stick to your diet without making it so rigid that the chances of you sticking with it longer than a few weeks are slim?

Let's take a typical scenario;
You look in the mirror and decide to make a change with your physique. You are unhappy with the way you look and start by cutting the junk out of your diet. You get rid of crisps, beer and fast food but decide to keep one luxury. It might be a bar of chocolate a day or something along those lines. This is not the most effective approach to fat loss despite having good intentions.

The alternative is sticking to a diet plan 100%. It can result in falling off the bandwagon when you go and see friends and they are all eating a chinese takeaway, you feel rude asking for something else so you eat with them. You have already broken your healthy eating habit for the day so decide you may as well make a meal of it and add in dessert and alcohol.

Do either of these sound familiar? They are extremely common.

How do you stay strict while having enough wiggle room to ensure you create a long term change?

You plan your 'cheat meals' in advance and stay strict for the rest of the time. One cheat meal every five days actually has beneficial results in terms of fat loss, especially in low carb and paleolithic diets.

This allows you to concentrate on the task in hand and rewarding yourself with a more relaxed meal. You can put your chocolate off until Saturday when you permit yourself to be more relaxed and to eat more than you would on a normal day.

Think about it logically, you have the odd bar of chocolate every day or eat none and compound it together in one big sitting. Here are some advantages;
- You will undoubtedly eat less of it than you would if you ate it every day.
- You will stay much stricter for the rest of the week/few days.
- After your cheat meal you will tend to not want to eat it again for a while as you will be more inclined to overdo it.
- By the time you think about eating it again it is already approaching your next cheat meal.

Simple! This is the approach I use with myself and with my clients so you can rest assured that this works.

How to Stick with Your Diet Plan: Tip 1

2010-03-13T18:41:00.003Z

The biggest factor that stops people getting results from their diet or nutritional plan is compliance. The clients who get the fastest transformations are always those who stick with it, no excuses.

Making excuses is too easy. At the end of the day, you either want it or you don't.

So, what can you do to help you stick with it? In my opinion the biggest factor is planning in advance.

You can have the best intentions to stick with your healthy eating but something can always get in the way. If you plan in advance and have food cooked in preparation then it doesn't matter if your train is running late or your meeting finishes later than expected because you already have something to eat.

Going to work with nothing to eat already takes the control away from you and forces you to settle with the next best scenario. It may be a sandwich, it may be a muffin. That might be all that is on offer.

Look at the nutritional plans of any cover model or bodybuilder going into a competition and there is one common rule. They are strict and make no excuses.

Do they carry food with them? You can count on it.

It isn't coincidence that they have the lowest levels of fat. They get into shape because they take control of the factors that influence them.

So, if you want to get into the best shape of your life take a lesson from those leading the field and always know what you are going to eat. Leaving it to chance is leaving room for error.

Functional Medicine Testing

2010-03-05T11:22:00.004Z

Personal Training has many crazes and trends and is consistently adapting and moving forward. It is important to stay ahead of the game and offer the greatest service possible.

As all of my clients know, I am results driven. I do not take clients who I won't be able to deliver results with or don't want to work with.

As such I am offering an extended service to clients, functional medicine tests.

This is way beyond the scope of your average PT and is a premium service. Essentially functional medicine is looking for the root cause of the problem, not the symptom.

This is the type of test that you would take if you wanted to improve your health from the foundation upwards. Improve energy levels and hormone levels.

Some of the tests include;
- Digestive analysis to look for parasites, yeast overgrowth, bacterial imbalances, inflammation, leaky gut and more. These are things that can cause you to absorb less nutrients, lead to bloating or abdominal pain. It could boil down to you wanting a great six pack but cannot get it because your stomach is constantly distended.
- Cortisol levels. This checks your 'awakening' hormone. If this is out of check you can experience morning fatigue, constant fatigue or lowered testosterone. This impairs your natural hormone levels and can slow down results. High cortisol is associated with fat around the middle.
- Testosterone levels. Analysis to test for total and free levels of testosterone. Low levels will hinder your ability to gain muscle mass and lose fat.
- Estrogen ratios. Imbalanced levels of good:bad estrogen can cause fat storage on your legs and on your pecs.
- Vitamin and mineral profiling to assess for deficiencies.
- Many more...

These tools allow identification of core problems that can stand in the way of you and your goal and can identify underlying causes of diseases and risk factors.

It is no longer about guesswork. Many people blame genetics when they cannot get results and do not know how to look any deeper. Women who cannot lose the fat on their legs or men who think they are doomed to having a beer belly for the rest of their life.

Why would a Personal Trainer offer this? If something stands in the way of your fitness goal it is important to be able to remove it.

If you are interested in ordering any of the diagnostic tests please send me an email through the enquiry form.

Homemade Treatment for Blood Sugar

2010-02-25T11:46:00.001Z

My clients will know that a crucial part in fat loss is lowering high blood sugar levels. I came across this on Charles Poliquin's website and thought it was important to spread the word. It is by far the cheapest insulin supplement you will be able to buy. I have been using a variation of this (minus the sodium bicarbonate) for a while. This is a quick and dirty trick if ever I have found one!

"According to C. Leigh Broadhurst, PhD, in her excellent book on diabetes, the best way to use cinnamon to help lower blood sugar and improve type 2 diabetes is to put 3 rounded tablespoons of ground cinnamon and 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of baking soda (less if sodium is a problem for you) in a 32-ounce (quart) canning jar. Fill the jar with boiling water and let it steep at room temperature till it's cool. Strain or decant the liquid, discard the grounds, put a lid on the jar, and stick it in the fridge. Drink one 8-ounce cup of the tea four times per day. After one to three weeks you can drop down to one or two cups a day. Type 1 diabetics can use it too, but should start with only one or two cups per day and increase by one cup per week, monitoring blood sugar closely."

An excerpt from “The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth”by Jonny Bowden, PhD, CNS.

Quoted from http://www.charlespoliquin.com/

Product Spotlight: Carnitine

2010-02-21T10:00:00.005Z

Carnitine is a nutrient which is naturally found in the body. Lower levels are found under certain conditions depending on dietary and lifestyle factors. It is directly involved in the metabolism of fatty acids as well as carbohydrates and is essential in energy production. It is therefore very commonly used by people with low energy levels or those looking for weight loss.

There are different forms of Carnitine. The Acetyl-L-Carnitine form is used in cognitive cases for it's improvements in brain function.

Here are some of the facts;

L-Carnitine has been studied extensively for it's ability to promote fat oxidation and therefore increase fat loss. In a study on obese people, those supplementing with L-Carnitine achieved much faster weight loss than those who didn't. It has also been shown to be able to lower LDL cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar.

For males L-Carnitine supplementation has been shown to increase sperm concentration, count and motility in infertile men.

In athletes L-Carnitine has been shown to increase V02 max scores in cyclists and long distance walkers. It has also been shown to decrease the levels of delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) in untrained athletes. Adequate recovery is crucial for those exercising. You are not going to the gym to get weaker, you are going to get stronger, leaner, more muscular and fitter. All of these are the adaptations to exercise. The faster you recover the more you can increase your training load and improve. Poor recovery rates result in poor improvements.

In vegetarians carnitine deficiencies are even more common (or those with low amounts of meat in the diet). Supplementation is used to raise the levels of carnitine in the body.

Carnitine has also been studied for it's beneficial effects on the cardiovascular system and has proposed therapeutic uses in the treatment of congestive heart failure.

In most cases supplementation is up to about 5g (although it can go higher). This can depend on many things including bodyweight. It can be used to potentiate the effects of fish oil in one tenth of the dosage.

My favourite carnitine supplement is Carniclear Supersaturated Liquid by Designs for Health. It is from the Swiss manufacturers Lonza who have a unique way of processing the product ensuring it is free from harmful D-Carnitine. 1 x 5ml teaspoon of the liquid equals 2.5g of pure carnitine. Compared to a cheaper product available in a common health food store where 1 x 15ml tablespoon only contains .5g of carnitine you can see where the cost is saved!

Carniclear by Designs for Health is a very high strength product and like all DFH products it is only available via a practitioner to ensure products are taken in the recommended dosages. If you would like to purchase this product via myself as the practitioner email me on ben@bcpersonaltraining.co.uk.

Does Your Personal Trainer Make These Mistakes?

2010-02-19T21:20:00.003Z

Personal Trainers are like any service in this world- you get the good, the bad and the ugly. Here are some simple tips to see if your PT is worth the money you give them.

1) They talk the talk but do not walk the walk. Does your Personal Trainer actually look like they are in a position to give you advice? Fat trainers giving advice on leaning down for a competition, skinny trainers talking about bulking up. Take advice from someone who looks like they can do what they are telling you. On a side note it is very common for PTs to take steroids. Some of the most out of shape trainers I know do. This doesn't mean they know nothing but take their advice with a pinch of salt.
2) They don't write anything down. They should be recording your exercises, weights and reps at the very least. Without knowing this they are missing crucial information they need to design your programme.
3) They don't time your rest intervals. This is extremely common and mostly comes down to them not knowing why they would need to. You can shift a lot of workouts from strength training to muscle building to endurance workouts simply by changing the amount of rest you have. This can't be overlooked.
4) Exercises are based around what looks good. Trainers getting clients hopping over benches with twists or medicine ball reaches on a bosu ball often attract attention. Some people actually use this to try and get business. The vast majority of entertainment exercises are simply that, entertaining at best.
5) They talk to you during your set. Your time in the gym is precious, you need to get the most out of every set you can. Your Personal Trainer chatting to you off topic (not counting reps or tempo) is a hindrance.
6) They talk to you about their personal problems. Knowing a bit about them can build up rapport but there is a very fine line! You are paying them for a service and are not there to sympathise with them.
7) They check their phone/talk to friends while they are with you. You are again paying them for their time, it needs to be on you.
8) They don't have a track record of delivering results. I am sure that if potential clients had the chance to meet previous clients it would make a huge impact on their decision to use the trainer. I frequently meet people who have spent months (even years) with a PT and have nothing to show for it. Literally no sign of improvement at all. In my opinion these people should be granted a refund.
9) They don't work on nutrition or lifestyle. These factors can literally make or break your success in the gym. A poor diet can render your training efforts useless! Why would your Personal Trainer not go through this with you? Can you afford for them not to?

Haiti Earthquake Appeal

2010-02-08T10:55:00.002Z

Today is the first day of my two week open period. Between the dates of the 8th and 21st February I will be opening my books to everyone and donating 100% of the cost to the earthquake appeal.

You will be enjoying my usual service of a very high standard. Nothing will be diluted.

This is applicable to private clients that will train with me in person.

To those of you who live elsewhere I will be offering telephone consultations in 30 or 60 minute slots and distance fitness programming (sent via email).

You can make leaps towards your physique goals and help an extremely worthy cause in the process.

Contact can be made via the main website or via Twitter @bdccarpenter.

Optimum Sleep Patterns for Faster Results

2010-02-07T10:57:00.003Z

Sleep is absolutely crucial for optimising your gym efforts. It isn't a sexy topic and most people tend to overlook it without a second thought.

- You recover from your workouts in your sleep
- You build muscle while you are asleep
- Sleep is crucial to optimise every fat burning and muscle building hormone in your body.

So, if you aren't sleeping well then you aren't recovering well. If you aren't recovering well what is the point of exercising in the first place? You go to the gym for a result and poor sleep will hinder that result.

I bring this up with my clients in the initial assessment and when I tell someone it looks like they have a problem with their sleep (from their body fat assessment) most say "no my sleep is fine" and expect me to leave it at that. When I go through further questions all gets revealed. Play along yourself;

1) Do you fall asleep before 10:30pm every night?
2) Do you wake up at the same time each day?
3) Do you sleep without noise or light?
4) Do you have 8-9 hours of sleep per night?
5) Do you fall asleep without medication?
6) Do you sleep continuously without waking (even for the toilet)?
7) Do you wake up without an alarm?
8) Do you fall asleep easily?
9) Do you wake up easily?

Answering no to more than one question indicates a sleep deficiency and should be addressed. Sleep governs your circadian rhythm (your bodily cycle) and heavily influences testosterone levels, cortisol levels and even blood sugar levels.

If you want to get lean, muscular or simply feel good and minimise your risk of disease then sleep is absolutely crucial.

Standing Good Mornings

2010-02-02T13:09:00.003Z

Here is another variation of the exercise I have featured recently. Used a lot by powerlifters to strengthen their posterior chain for deadlifts and squats. It also very works well for anyone improving sprinting speed such as footballers or rugby players.

Ignoring those then it does a great job at toning females glutes. Step aside hip extension machine and swiss ball hip extension exercises. This will get you there in less than half the time!

Do NOT do this for the first time if you have an athletic event in the next week as you will be walking funny for days.

5 Major Fat Loss Mistakes

2010-01-31T11:18:00.005Z

Following my last post about mistakes that can ruin your chances of getting your perfect physique here is one which is more specialised. Here are some mistakes specifically aimed at fat loss i.e., ignoring them will slow your chances of getting your six-pack or shatter them completely.

1) You cut calories. Once considered necessary for burning fat this backdated method is only useful for temporary changes. Cutting calories can only be a temporary method and you increase your chances of having a weight rebound. Your body is not designed to thrive on a deficit. Skipping meals is not an optimal solution either.
2) You use the same nutrition plan that lean people use. The plan that you can use once you are lean and the plan that get you there are not the same. Someone who is below 10% body fat is more likely to lose muscle tissue and can afford more treat meals than someone who is 20%. Get lean first, treat yourself later.
3) You follow the low fat fad. This tends to be hugely controversial, especially in female circles and those following weight-watchers or slimming world. Fat is crucial for cellular and hormonal health to name just two benefits. Some people function better on low fat diets but this is estimated to be no more than 25% of the population. Keep in mind that many of the people on the low fat craze are thin, not lean. A size 6 doesn't automatically make you lean and many people who have put themselves through this notice dramatic reductions in weight while still having problem areas of body fat.
4) You rely on thermogenic fat burners. Thermogenic fat burners are those that speed up your metabolic rate (usually through a CNS stimulant like ephedrine, guarana or caffeine). While there can be a place for this type of product I have had clients and colleagues whose fat loss has stalled while they were using this type of product and resumed once they have stopped it. In my opinion the increase in metabolic rate should be through exercise as much as possible.
5) You still use steady state cardio. I pull this one out a lot. For most people the though of losing a few pounds makes you immediately think of running or cycling. To use a very common example, a typical marathon runner has higher levels of body fat than a sprinter. Although they are of a smaller frame the sprinter will be much more defined. If you want a six-pack or simply more muscle definition you need to be focusing on intense work. Anything you can do for 30 minutes has to be a lower intensity as you physically cannot sprint for that long.

Haiti Charity Appeal: Lets Help the Cause

2010-01-27T20:25:00.002Z

Following the disaster in Haiti recently I have decided to make a donation to the charity in the hope of being able to repair the country quicker.

It is a huge cause and requires huge man hours and finances.

Between the 14 day period of 8th - 21st February I am donating 100% of new session fees to the cause. This means that anyone who I am not currently training can book in and do sessions (whether for the 14 day period only or for longer) and all the costs will be donated.

This applies to private clients I see personally as well as telephone consultations and online programme design. It also applies from Personal Training to Biosignature Modulation to Metabolic Typing to Massage Therapy. Anything in my business arsenal that I do with clients is up for grabs and for a very worthy cause.

I have set it far enough in advance to get as many bookings as possible to make the biggest donation possible. If you are interested in taking me up on this offer please get in touch. If you have any friends or family who would like to participate in this please pass them onto me.

It may not be a lot of money to us but genuinely will help change the lives of those sufferering in Haiti.

5 Training Mistakes

2010-01-27T12:26:00.003Z

There are a huge array of advice to make you achieve your physique results as fast as possible. Some people like to read studies, books, articles etc. I personally learn first hand from the best in the industry so have spent thousands of pounds on courses to learn even quicker.

On the other hand some people just like to get by and only change their routine when they know they are doing something wrong rather than searching for the best way of doing it right. Here are 5 BIG training mistakes which hinder your progress massively.

1) Not having a training goal. I don't like training with clients who don't have one, that is how important it is. If you don't know where you need to be and by when you have no idea when you are progressing at the right pace.
2) You don't have a routine. This one absolutely kills me! I ask people what they are training today and they say "erm, a bit of legs and shoulders maybe?". This makes any success in your routine purely coincidental.
3) Not keeping a workout log. You need this to assess your progress and to ensure you are actually moving forward. Upping the weight and lowering the reps doesn't not necessarily do this on it's own.
4) You use someone elses routine. A huge amount of people get their routines from magazines. A lot of the time the routine is for a world class bodybuilder who is taking more than the cutting edge protein powder they endorse. If you have very different circumstances using their routine a very bad idea.
5) Guesswork cardio. How common is it on a Monday night in the gym to see dozens of people slaving away on whichever piece of CV equipment is free at the time. This falls in with number 2, you don't have a routine and therefore cannot assess your progress properly. If you do any form of CV work it should involve timings and speeds at the very least.

The Cost of a Personal Trainer

2010-01-23T16:14:00.003Z

Personal Training can get a bad reputation in gyms. It is not surprising when the standard of trainers can be so diverse. Some people think we are there just to count reps and shout motivational slogans! For some trainers this is actually all they do. Selling session by session and having no contact between. It therefore isn't surprising that some people cannot afford the luxury of a PT.

I have spoken to people in the gym who have worked with a trainer for months at a time and got no visible results. I usually tell them to ask for their money back as the result which was discussed was over promised and under delivered.

Other people can train for years with no major improvements. Although they may not have a PT this is also very costly. I for one wouldn't be happy exercising for 5 hours per week for 12 months without getting results in return. Let alone factoring the cost of supplements and gym memberships.

This is self-evident by the fact I have spent tens of thousands of pounds investing in my knowledge and physique.

I like working with clients who know what they want and go out and grab it. I am not a 'cheap trainer' who takes money for individual sessions but books blocks of sessions to get results. Contrary to many, I don't work with everyone who wants to work with me as I only want to work with the people who will get the best results.

Many clients have seen more progress with me in two weeks than they have training for months on their own. The financial cost of this seems small for what they are getting.

Personal Trainers are NOT created equally and your money and time can go a long way with some and thrown away with others.

Does your trainer walk the walk and look the way your PT should? I personally wouldn't take fat loss advice from a fat nutritionist irrespective of qualifications.

Do they have clients who have achieved your result before? If you want to get a cover model physique you can't go with a trainer who hasn't managed to do this with anyone else.

The cost of a Personal Trainer can be expensive but if you choose well the financial outlay will be well worth it.

Seated Good Mornings

2010-01-19T12:23:00.003Z

Anyone who trains with me will know that there is no room in my programmes for exercises that look better than they are. If someone is working out for 5 hours per week, do they really have time to waste performing exercises that yield no muscle building or fat loss results?

If you want the fastest body composition results you need to perform exercises that have a high metabolic cost (how much it speeds your metabolism up). These will be the ones that burn the most fat and build the most muscle. Even if you only want minor results it is better to use these and get there quicker rather than performing single leg bosu front dumbbell raises and take all year!

This exercise is brutal! It works your posterior chain (lower back, hamstrings and glutes) very hard making it extremely effective at improving sprinting speed, deadlifting strength or simply toning up someones bum.

How many of you have done this?

How to Lose Fat Quickly; Shorten Your Rest Intervals.

2010-01-12T18:59:00.003Z

There are a lot of reasons that can stand in the way of people losing fat. Most peoples gym sessions do not even resemble a fat burning workout! So, when you need a complete overhaul to your workout where do you start?

You reduce the rest intervals between your sets (assuming you are doing weight training in the first place).

If you bring these down so they are short enough even the easiest of workouts will become tough and result in more fat loss.

You can also make a very advanced workout extremely easy by taking a 5 minute break between sets.

Being able to transform the difficulty of a workout by altering your rest interval makes it a very powerful tool to have at your disposal. You can also use it for strength training increases by lowering the rest between sets but accomplishing the same weight and reps. This makes it absolutely crucial to time your rest intervals if you are serious about your results.

Do you time your rest intervals or even know how long you are resting? If you don't the chances are you are resting for longer than is optimal for fat burning.

So take this as a first step to transform your workouts, cut all your rest times down to 60 seconds as a starting point and see how much of a difference it makes.

Dumbbell Split-Squats

2010-01-08T11:45:00.001Z

Goal Setting from a Personal Training Client

2010-01-02T13:38:00.002Z

Ask any good Personal Trainer and they should be able to tell you that they are picky about who they work with. After all, each client is a walking business card for their services. If you progressively get fatter over the coming months it would hardly be a great advert for your trainer.

Even after the filtering process you will always get those who are more dedicated than others. Denise definitely falls into that category and follows my advice in and out of the gym. She is a fantastic advert for my business as her results continue to come and she puts a lot of effort into her gym sessions (it also helps that she talks to anyone who will listen about me!). She has been rewarded with a staggering 35lb weight loss in 13 weeks of training with me.

What is most impressive about this is she has put on lean muscle mass so her total fat loss is much greater- she is actually the heaviest she has ever been at her current size (this is a great thing).

Here is one of her blog posts about her fat loss regime with me as well as how she manages to stay so dedicated. Trust me, you could learn from her.

"As we come to the end of the year I can review my progress against my health and fitness goals - I'm fitter than I ever expected to be, and I've lost 2.5 stone (35lb) in 13 weeks which is bang on target.

People ask me how I've done this and I tell everyone that it hasn't been easy, even though I've a substantial amount of weight to lose, but I set myself goals, monitored progress and got advice and guidance from an expert.

So many people say 'I want to lose weight' but they aren't specific. They don't say how much and by when and they don't monitor progress. So whilst I have an overall goal (to be able to comfortably weigh size 12 clothes) I have set myself a series of targets - so I have a target of 2lb a week but also work towards a series of goals, I'm 6lb away from the weight I was when I got married (as a fat bride L) and then 2 more stone and I'll be the weight I was when I met my husband, then just 2 stone to go! At that point I may seek to lose more but as Ben, my personal trainer tells me it's the size I am that's more important than my weight and I'd certainly rather be fitter and heavier than thin and unhealthy.

I go to the gym and work out with weights 4 times a week, and do cardio once or twice a week as well. People have asked me what I'll do when I reach my goal - duh! I'll set another one! I do not intend to go back to old eating habits and to stop going to the gym, this is a lifestyle change that will ensure I'm in great health and looking better than ever.

With goal setting it really is important to set SMART goals. So think about your own goals

Are they SPECIFIC? Do you know what it is that you want to do?
Can you MONITOR progress - you need to know where you are now and where you are going and how you are doing
Is your goal ACHIEVABLE? We can lose weight, we can gain muscle but we can't make our self grow 6 inches in height, so we must ensure it is something we can achieve if we put our focus there
Is it REALISTIC? My goal of 2lb a week weight loss is achievable, but to aim for 5lb a week is not - better to take a bit longer and get there then be disappointed as you fail to reach an unrealistic goal
Finally is it TIME BOUND - when do you want to achieve it by. You need to have an end goal to focus on and a time to complete not a vague I want to lose 30lb with no clear reason why.

As we move into 2010 I know I'm going to meet my fitness goal this next year and I'll continue to monitor progress. What about you? What goals are you going to set for yourself? What will you look back on this time next year?"

Quoted from Denise Taylor, www.amazingpeople.co.uk

Christmas Fat Loss Advice

2009-12-24T13:13:00.002Z

Christmas is the one time of year where almost everyone accepts that they are going to be a bit sloppy with their diet (if they aren't already!) and will put on a few unwanted pounds.

If you want to know how to enjoy the foods you love while minimising fat accumulation here are the tips I use for carb ups. The majority of my existing client base should know these already but it is always helpful to have them on hand.

- Eat your protein first, binge later. This will lower your blood sugar response and cause less fat-storing insulin to be released.
- Save your treats for later in the day. While this goes against the grain of most advice it is important to know that usually when someone slips they slip in a big way. Saving it for later in the day is so you have a couple of cheat meals rather than an entire days worth
- Once you have binged you can limit the damage with fibre powder, fish oil and Fenuplex/Fenugreek Plus. Choosing any of these products will result in less fat accumulation allowing you to have some damage control without changing your eating habits at all- bonus!

So there you have it, a quick few tips to help you over the Christmas period. Enjoy!

Christmas Damage Control Supplement

2009-12-20T07:40:00.002Z

For those of you who are planning to let your hair down over Christmas and let your nutritional habits slip you may be wondering what you can do to help limit the damage.

There is a supplement which I use regularly for clients who need to support blood sugar levels and inevitably carry fat around the middle. Binges at Christmas will put fat on as you increase the amount of glucose in your blood.

'Fenugreek Plus'/'Fenuplex' www.metagenics.com/products/a-z-products-list/Fenugreek-Plus is the best supplement for this problem I have ever used. It helps regulate glucose levels and therefore is very effective at nutrient partitioning. This means your sugar is more likely to go into muscle than into fat cells. It is one of the most effective fat loss supplements out there.

In fact, it is so effective that in the first 7 days of taking it post workout I put on 2kg and lost fat simultaneously.

You can use it in two ways. If you are a lean individual <10% fat for men and <15% fat for women you would take 3 post workout with your high carb and protein shake. If you have higher amounts of fat than this you would take 2 capsules 3 times daily. If you have a carb binge you can have another 3 capsules to help limit the damage.

I use them religiously for every post workout shake and every high carb meal and have continued to get leaner without further effort.

As these are professional strength products and not available in health stores they are mostly available via a practitioner.

If you would like to know more about this supplement or order the product contact me at ben@bcpersonaltraining.co.uk with 'Fenugreek Plus' in the subject box.

New Years Resolutions!

2009-12-17T10:43:00.003Z

It is that time of year again when most people accept they are going to put some weight on over Christmas and coincidentally will hit the gym hard in the new year.

New years resolutions are a good thing, I like the write my goals out for the coming year as it makes a huge difference to my motivation levels. I would encourage you to do the same thing.

I was recently reading a couple of books from the 'Rich Dad, Poor Dad' series from Robert Kiyosaki and he said something that really hit a chord with me in how it applies to clients.

He actually said a lot of things which I could quote but this one really hit home.

He said that the "why is more important than the how". You need to know the why well enough so the how falls into place. What he means is that you need to know why you are doing something before you decide on how you are going to do it. You need enough motivation from you "why" column before you have a chance of succeeding in your "how" column.

I use this with clients but have never phrased it like this. If someone isn't motivated enough for my training programme there isn't much point in me taking their money to work with them. They won't get the best results and in turn won't promote my business as well as my other clients.

Whys; I hate the way I look, I enjoy looking toned, I prefer the attention I get when I am in shape, I want to fit into size 8 clothes, I want to look good on the beach etc etc.

If you are going to set resolutions on January 1st and actually want to stick with them (unlike the majority of people who don't) make sure you have a big enough 'why'. Without this the how doesn't matter as you won't stick with it long enough to find out if the how really works.

Squatting Flexibility

2009-12-10T15:26:00.002Z

While I have been in Thailand it is amazing to see the differences in Eastern and Western culture. Of course things like industrialism, food and environment spring to mind but one of the things I really enjoyed seeing was the difference in flexibility.

Over here it is standard for people to sit in squat positions while preparing food, having conversations and even eating. Just like babies and young children do.

In our culture flexibility is appalling! With all new clients I will do flexibility and mobility assessments, they may not know it as sometimes it can take all of 10 seconds for me to get a good idea on what is going on. The best way of assessing this is for people to squat as it takes good mobility in all three major joints in the lower body. If you cannot squat to full depth comfortably then you have issues that need working on as you will not be getting the most out of your training.

Out of every 20 people I assess only 3 or 4 will be flexible enough to do a full depth squat, just like children do i.e., sitting on your heels with your feet flat on the floor.

Try it yourself, sit down as far as you can and you will probably be able to tell if you could hold it for 5 minutes plus or if you have insufficient mobility. You have to do this on a flat floor and without trainers as the heel lift in some trainers is enough to make improve the squats of the least flexible person.

Last day of Thailand

2009-12-10T15:11:00.004Z

Well, tonight is the last night of my holiday in Thailand.

I am pleased to say that it has been a fantastic journey and also wonderful to spend some time in the sun! I am also looking forward to coming home and getting back into the swing of things. It will be nice to add some variety to my food again as the majority of meat here is chicken, beef or pork so I have been a bit restricted.

While I have been here I have recorded some exercise videos of what I did with my own training over the last two weeks, hopefully it will spur some people on to exercising when they have no gym equipment handy (hotel rooms, business trips etc). I will keep you updated on this as and when I finish them and upload them. On that note, if you are good with online video editing and want to lend a hand please let me know!

On a seperate note I am now writing articles and fitness tips for a brand new online fashion magazine called ESVIE. It is the creation of Sabrina Ventriglia and has a fully functioning blog with website pending. For work that is exclusive to this site (you won't find it on any article hosting or company websites) go to http://www.esvie.wordpress.com/. Needless to say that with any venture I do, I will do so to a very high standard.

Greetings from Across the Pond!

2009-12-05T02:11:00.003Z

Morning all! It is 09:15 here in Thailand and I am writing this prior to my workout. As it hits 35 degrees in the day with high humidity it makes sense to train before midday. I have had to do it in the afternoon a couple of times and it turns a hard workout into a gruelling one!

While I was tucking into my breakfast of chicken, cashews and tomatoes I was talking to one of the staff who look after us at the villa.

He said to me "it is not normal for Thai person to eat cereal, we only use it for European". This really hit home with me, if you are one of my clients chances are you have asked me what you have to eat for breakfast at some point.

As cereal is one of my pet peeves it is my last choice for what I would give someone everyday, especially first thing in the morning. In a part of the country where the majority of their diet revolves around natural food sources foods like chicken, beef and fish their breakfast fits the same criteria.

It puts it into perspective, a lot of people I train say they can't eat these for breakfast, they are so used to cereal or toast, "eating meat or fish is just weird!" Is it? If you look at cultures where the sheer quantity of food processing isn't as high as it is in the UK or US high protein breakfasts are the norm and cereals are "only for European!".

Looking around, I have not seen one obese person so far. There are a few overweight people who tend to eat waffles and pancakes at the stalls on the side of the road but the incidence is far lower than in England.

Whose diet is weird now?!

Tips for Success: Have a Deadline

2009-11-08T21:37:00.002Z

I have talked a lot about goal setting. I believe it to be paramount for someone who wants to get the best results. Sure, it may not be compulsory for someone who exercises without an aim in mind but I assume that you are not one of those people, otherwise you wouldn't be taking the time to read this.

To get the best results you must have a deadline in mind, something that makes you stick to the right track without deviating. If you have a wedding in two weeks or a beach holiday coming up then you will stay focused and do what it takes to get into your best shape for it.

The problem is, most people set one deadline a couple of weeks before spontaneous events each year. Keep a deadline that makes you stick to it ALL the time, not just when it suits you.

For me it is a job and a lifestyle- staying on the bandwagon is easy because clients rely on me to look the part so my business is heavily dependent on it even if nothing else is. Fortunately I pursue modelling goals as well therefore I have even more reason to stay in great shape year round- not just good shape.

Imagine how easy it is for me to say no to chocolate cake! Do you have the same drive?

Modelling Shoot

2009-11-08T21:28:00.003Z

As some of you are aware I was at a photo shoot last weekend with a photographer I have previously worked with.

The photos came out really well (from the select few I have previewed) and it was nice to see how much leaner I am from the previous shoot four months ago.

Following the shoot I have been accepted onto the books for a modelling agency so hopefully I will be coming to a media source near you soon!

Tips for Maximum Results: Goal Setting

2009-10-19T11:35:00.002+01:00

Goal setting is one of the most under appreciated factors in your fitness conquest and one of the most important. It is also fair to say that it is one of the less sexy topics of conversation. It would be much more entertaining to find out just how to "get an instant six-pack" in this months fitness magazine. It isn't a catchy topic and a lot of you will switch off just reading the title. This is fine- after all if you can't read about this kind of thing then you probably don't have the discipline to get in your best shape ever.

I have to be blunt when it comes to goal setting because it is a make or break situation for you.

Do you want to achieve your perfect physique?

If you do you NEED to know what your perfect physique is. If you don't know then you also don't know if you are on the right track!

If you do know then you also know if your current training and lifestyle plan is being successful and if it needs fine tuning.

Let me break it down. You know your goal- to reach your perfect physique you need to drop 10% body fat in 2 months. You know your current weight and body fat percentage so now you can choose a programme that best fits that goal. You can also measure every week to see if you are on the right track. If you are then you keep going. If you aren't then you can change it until you achieve the desired effect.

I set an example by testing my body fat regularly. It enables me to work out if the last supplement I added into my plan did it's job and how effectively. I have tested clients who have added in a typical 'fat burning' product only for their fat loss to stall.

They were losing fat beforehand and when they stopped taking it they continued to lose it. If I hadn't measured it then their progress would have stayed static as they finished off the bottle- wasting 30 days of their results.

You start to see what I am getting at.

Look at it like this. Nobody ever stumbled across the perfect physique. You don't have a fitness magazine cover worthy body by eating whatever you want and squeezing in an exercise routine once per week.

You NEED to have a goal if you want maximum results, it is that simple.

Decide your goal and write it down. You must know it firmly! "Weight loss" is not a goal. A week on laxatives would give you weight loss- would you be happy with the result? Probably not.

It has to be specific and it has to have a time frame. You can always start your training routine next week. If you have written goals then you also have an urgency and this urgency allows you to stick with it.

If you have got to the end of this post and are going to implement my recommendations then I applaud you for being one of a very small percent who will EVER achieve what they want to. You will be one of the people who I will know has the dedication it takes to work with. When I interview the type of person who didn't care enough to read this entire post I will know they are likely to fall off the wagon as they don't take it seriously.

Those are the type of people I choose not to work with and refer elsewhere.

Entry for World Sports Model

2009-10-19T11:26:00.002+01:00

As many of you know I have entered into W Athletic's World Sports Model competition.

This is a big event with many huge sponsors and therefore has attracted over 600 entries from around the world.

It acts as a chance to get spotted by the biggest sports modelling company in England.

To vote for me go to www.worldsportsmodel.com search for my name, click on me and put in your name and email- that's it.

I am sincerely grateful for all the support I have had from colleagues, friends and clients so far. Please keep it up!

Improve Your Physique- Minimise Stress

2009-10-07T12:36:00.004+01:00

Do you store fat around your midsection? The answer is almost inevitably yes. Even if you have visible abs and obliques it is still probable that you want to get that bit leaner. Irrespective of your current level of conditioning, the following information will apply to you.

Your primary stress hormone in the body is called cortisol and is present all the time. It is responsible for regulating levels of inflammation as well as sleep and waking patterns (low at night so you can sleep and high in the morning so you wake up).

So what's the problem? Well, stress in this day and age is more prevalent than ever before. Alarm clocks, deadlines, traffic jams, late nights, nagging partners- it's all on the rise. We live in an age where people want things straight away.

Single pack breakfast cereal so you can eat on the train, food stalls on every busy corner so you can grab something while on the go, supermarkets open 24/7 and liposuction for people who want that fat loss right now. The list goes on.

What happens is that cortisol levels go up and stay up consistently rather than returning to their normal level. The problem with this is that high levels of cortisol makes you store fat more easily. Not only that but where does it store it? On your stomach!

High levels of cortisol also puts you at risk to a whole host of degenerative diseases but that is a whole other topic.

Suddenly things start to make sense. It might be why endless hours of training and healthy eating have left you in better shape but still carrying that bit too much around the middle. If you want the best results in the shortest space of time it is crucial that you do not ignore this.

So, what can you do? It is a big topic, stress can cause other ailments ranging from fatigue to poor circulation. Botanical herbs and other natural supplements can do wonders for modulating your cortisol levels and lowering abdominal fat. These need to be recommended on a person-to-person basis as individual circumstances must be taken into consideration.

Apart from that here are some tips;
- Your workout should be limited to 60 minutes (excluding warm up and cool down (these do not mean and extra 30 minutes of light CV!))
- You should sleep and wake up at the same time each day
- Train at the same time each day as training raises cortisol so you should get into a pattern
- Step away from the caffeine in a can drinks as these only perpetuate the problem
- Cut out processed foods
- Avoid steady state cardio sessions. These are one of the worst culprits for stressing your adrenal glands and considered old and inferior methods of losing fat.
- Deal with mental stress. These involve the same hormones so if your business is hitting a busy point or you are arguing with a family member it will do the same thing.

This gives you some good guidelines to get started. If you obey the above but still carry it around the middle then you must look deeper.

Rule 1: Get a Programme!

2009-09-21T10:44:00.003+01:00

Ask any Personal Trainer what is the worst thing they see in the gym and I guarantee you they will be able to rattle off a list of pet peeves and grievances.

When consulting an athlete it is very rare that they have all their bases covered and know exactly what they are doing. It seems strange- whether it is just the weekend warrior or a professional sports person there is always something that they seem to miss.

If you want results fast then you need to know that what you are doing is going to deliver.

It seems straight forward enough, right?

Well, it is rare that I come across someone who has an actual programme, written down and recorded. This person must have an absolutely fantastic memory or doesn't realise what they are missing out on and I will tell you why.

An absolutely crucial factor that you must have in your training is progression. After all, if you want your body to adapt then you must give it something to adapt to. If you have never exercised and go for a 10 minute jog, your body will see this as a stress and adapt to it. If you are still doing 10 minute jogs 3 months later you have not given your body anything further to adapt to. This means your progression has stopped almost as soon as it started!

If you don't have a programme in the gym then you are guessing at your progress, end of.
- You won't have any logical progressions to ensure you are getting results.
- You won't be able to track your progress.
- You can actually regress by changing your programme too much.
- You won't be able to identify which systems work for you and which don't.

This is the absolute bread and butter of exercise. One simple mistake and you can literally stop your progress dead in it's tracks. Get them right and you can make sure you are always going in the right direction and faster than you were doing before.

When you get a programme it should cover (for optimal adaptations);
- The exercises you are doing
- The order in which you do them
- The rep/set scheme of each
- The rest intervals between exercises
- The tempo of each exercise
- The frequency in which you perform it
- The progressions you are supposed to make (do you increase the weights, decrease the rest, lengthen the tempo? Do you know?)

Missing any one of the factors above leaves room for error. In the current day and age where almost everyone has "too little time" for exercising in the first place. Do you have enough time on your hands to waste it with a programme that yields no results?

Do something about it, if you have no structure to your training then it is imperative that you rectify this should you want to make quick changes in your physique.

Good luck!

Return from Dublin!

2009-09-06T12:39:00.003+01:00

Well, it has been a busy couple of weeks!

I came back from Bulgaria for a couple of days before setting off for my Biosignature 2 course in Dublin.

For those of you who don't know what Biosignature is yet, find out! It is a revolutionary system that identifies hormonal imbalances from where you store your body fat, this means that there is finally a way for you to reduce those 'stubborn' areas of fat which you could never shift before. While making fat loss easier and faster, the imbalances it identifies can tell you what is happening inside your body and therefore predict if you are in a high risk group for certain diseases.

Biosignature is taking off a lot more, it started very underground as a concept because people had never heard of it. Naturally there is a huge demand as people always want to lose fat! This has caused more and more people to go down this road and become a Biosignature practitioner.

Level 2 on the other hand is still extremely rare, most areas of the country have very few (if any) level 2 coaches.

So, what did it involve?!

It allowed us to grasp an even deeper understanding into how to make you lose fat faster. This enables us to troubleshoot clients who have not been able to lose fat in the past. Covering internal organs such as gut and liver dysfunction.

Did you know that toxins you have picked up over years from pesticides and herbicides in food, cigarette smoke, exhaust and factory fumes etc can make it hard for you to drop body fat? Well, it can and in a lot of cases- it does.

We then had a very intense medical day which looked at a huge amount of diseases which can be caused or aggravated by food intolerances. Some amazing case studies were put to the class where people had literally reversed some chronic diseases which had previous medical practitioners stumped. A couple of the most amazing examples that stuck out to me were lesions in the brain and females who couldn't get pregnant. We saw statistics which showed how many times more likely you are to die from some diseases if you ignore a gluten intolerance. Needless to say the day was intense and left our jaws hanging on the floor more times than we could count.

On the final day we had a crash course in muscle testing. This is one of those things that starts with everyone being at least partially sceptical until you see it in practice. Bob who was doing it was phenomenal and has a business in America where he gets people with illnesses the Doctors cannot identify. We learned how to cross references imbalances with our standard Biosignature testing as well as being able to create optimum supplement protocols with clients. This will help make Biosignature testing more efficient and more effective- a crucial tool for anyone in the industry that wants to be taken seriously.

All in all it was a fantastic three days, taught by the brightest minds in the industry and attended by some of the top professionals in this country as well as international practitioners. I can assure you that any of the clients of the guys on this course will make even faster progress from now on.

Gym thoughts

2009-08-22T08:08:00.004+01:00

I am going away for a week so I am going to put one last post in before I go. I could say I am going to study weightlifting in Bulgaria but I will only be studying that if it is going on right in the middle of the beach! This one is recreation only. Then I am back for a couple of days to squeeze in some clients before going to Dublin for Biosignature level 2.

This week in the gym the same thing has been coming up over and over again. I may as well put my answers on here as it could save me a lot of time.

If you are going to the gym to get into shape you are doing well and are way ahead of most of the people who have already stopped turning up BUT please keep in mind that going to the gym is only half the battle and you don't get results from just being there!

You don't get into fantastic shape by accident, as with anything in life it takes dedication and hard work to achieve what you want so do yourself a favour if you want to get there quicker by utilising these tips.

1) Have a workout routine! This sounds silly but it is amazing to see how many people go to the gym and make it up as they go along. Think of it like this, you want to get a physique so good that anyone who sees you notices it, right? That will put you into the top 1% of the population when it comes to looking good. If we change scenarios for a moment to get some perspective. Lets say I walked on Dragon's Den and said I was going to be in the top 1% of the wealthiest people in the world and when they asked me what my plan was I said "I just make it up as I go along" I would get laughed off the set!. You NEED a plan! Powerlifters have them, olympic lifters have them, bodybuilders have them and fitness models have them.
2) Take a workout log- you should record what you do in the gym so you can assess your progress, understand when you need to change your routine to avoid a plateau and use it as a motivational tool by seeing how far you have come.
2) Time your rest intervals. One of the least utilised parameters in weight training. If you don't understand how to use rest intervals to your advantage then use them for this only- they stop you being lazy! No more 10 minute breaks while you text someone on your phone. You can start by keeping everything at two minutes or less. Chances are two minute rest intervals will already be less than what you are doing at the moment and your new workout will be much harder and better and burning fat and building muscle.

Simple Tips for Faster Fat Loss.

2009-08-03T21:24:00.004+01:00

If you want to lose fat faster than you are doing at the moment here are some simple and straight-forward tips you can implement. I won't give the reasons or science behind them but welcome you to contact me should you want to talk them through.

- Lower your rest intervals between sets.

- If you eat processed carbohydrates, eat them in the evening and make your breakfast higher in protein (yes, even against all other recommendations!).

- Improve your sleep quality by making your bedroom pitch black.

- A coffee 45 minutes prior to training has been shown to improve the rate of fat loss from your session.

- Train at least two opposing body parts per training session and alternate your exercises between them.

- Consume BCAA's during training.

There, simple, quick and very effective!

Organic food in the news!

2009-08-03T21:09:00.002+01:00

I saw on the news that there was a study which 'proved' organic food has no more nutritional value than the non-organic varieties.

For anyone who was surprised by this I wanted to clear things up!

- The minerals in soil are typically lower than they have been, this is one of the reasons that the levels of nutrients in fruits and vegetables are not as high as they used to be.

- The main reason for buying organic is avoidance! Buying certified organic produce is to avoid consuming chemicals including pesticides, herbicides and hormone injections that are allowed to be used in non-organic produce.

I always recommend organic, the only arguments I have heard against it are the ones above. If you don't want to consume chemicals then it is necessary to make this choice. If you don't think that your budget extends to it then you can select the products which have the highest incidence of spraying such as dairy products, coffee, peppers and tomatoes.

What do Personal Trainers actually do?!

2009-07-28T22:15:00.002+01:00

I wanted to write this because you won't understand what a good PT does for you until you have one. They are NOT there just to count reps!!! If this is all your PT does for you then I would recommend changing straight away.

- A good PT will write an effective programme for you, the programme is the most important bit. After all- if you are doing a crap training routine, it doesn't matter how nice they are- you won't get results. This is vital for you to make progress.
- A great PT will look at the other factors that impact your success, after all if the programme they design you is fantastic but they neglect that you drink 8 pints of lager a night you won't get the results you want. Sleep, stress and nutrition are all factors that need looking at. Ignore these and you will already short-change your success.
- A fantastic PT will guarantee their results. After all, you want them to be confident in what you are doing. If you bought a car and it didn't work like they said it would in the showroom- you would be very annoyed, this is no different!

My tips are; find a trainer who has a track record of getting success with your goal (weight loss, muscle gain etc etc). If you want to get in great shape, it makes sense to choose one who is in great shape! They help motivation but their jobs do not end there.

Training with a PT makes you more likely to achieve your gym goals. If you want medical advice you see a doctor, if you want legal advice you see a lawyer, if you want gym advice you should see a trainer, even if it is just to ask them a few questions. After all, you aren't in the gym just for the sake of it, you are there for a purpose. If they help you achieve that purpose in record time then it should be looked at as a very worthy investment.

Upcoming Product

2009-07-12T20:21:00.002+01:00

I wanted to give you a quick update to one of the products I am creating, this is because I like to let you know what is going to happen before you hear it elsewhere.

I am writing my first eBook!

The book is going to be a complete guide of hints and tips to build a better physique. The kind of things that you usually only hear about if you spend significant amounts of time with a top-quality Personal Trainer.

I cannot go in to any more detail than that because I am trying to sort out a couple of surprises regarding it.

Anyway, for those of you who are interested in reading this before it is released I am going to allow some private sales at a discount price, think of it as letting a trial group buy it at a lower price and acting like a focus group. I need to know what you think!

Regarding sales, I cannot divulge the price as I am not going to be the only person selling it, therefore other people may choose a different one to me. Needless to say, you will be getting it for less than anyone else can sell it for- don't worry!

If you are interested in being one of the first few to read it, send me an email at ben@bcpersonaltraining.co.uk.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Ben

Greetings and blog news!

2009-07-10T20:29:00.002+01:00

Hello and welcome to my blog!

Both the blog and website are completely new and have only just got off the ground and have already received a lot of interest and enquiries so I would like to thank you all for the surprising amount of attention in such early stages.

I am going to use this to post news, updates, reviews, tips and anything fitness related.

To get this show on the road with a bang I am welcoming any questions you have and will answer them on here. So, if you have anything to ask about weight training, fat loss, muscle building, strength training etc etc send me an email and I will answer it, in detail on this blog and free of charge!

Think of this as your chance to receive one-to-one advice without having to pay any consultation costs.

So, get the ball rolling!

I look forward to hearing from you.

Ben