Why Is Fat Healthy And Which Ones Are The Best?

There has long been a misconception that fat is the cause of high cholesterol, heart disease, cancers and all things evil to mankind.

Unsurprisingly the people in the world that live and breathe health and fitness have had diets high is both fats and proteins for decades!

Fat has several roles and benefits.

1.     Our cell membranes are made of fats, so the softer and healthier those cell walls are the more permeable they become for cell to cell communication

2.     This is particularly relevant when it comes to our brain. Our brains are made out 60% fat so having a diet higher in healthy fats improves our memory, concentration and even our mood. Our nervous system is also affected by fats for this reason

3.     Fat provides a vital energy source for us. By teaching your body to use fat for fuel you can in fact use fats for energy instead of carbs. (Which in fact make most people sleepy if they are insulin resistant)

4.     Fats from the diet provide two types of fats (Omega-6 and Omega-3), that the body cannot produce itself. This makes them essential fatty acids. Linoleic acid (omega 6 fatty acid) Linolenic acid (Omega 3 fatty acid). Omega 3 fats (ALA, DHA, EPA) keep our cells more fluid and increase insulin sensitivity

5.    Fat helps transport vitamins A,D,E and K

6.    Omega 6 essential fatty acids are considered “pro- inflammatory” and Omega 3 fatty acids are considered “ant-inflammatory”. In today’s diet we have a 20:1 ratio of Omega 6: Omega 3. This imbalance may explain the rise of inflammatory conditions such as asthma, heart disease and some cancers.

The Bad “Healthy Fats”

Before telling you about the best fats, make sure you steer clear of anything that contains Trans-fats. They are an artificial man made fat that occurs in man- made, processed foods. They taste great but damage your brain, decrease your IQ, memory retention, concentration and have been linked to some cancers. Think fried fast foods such as KFC.

I would also recommend steering clear of many vegetable and seed oils such as…

·        Sunflower oil

·        Cottonseed oil

·        Soybean oil

·        Rapeseed oil

·        Canola oil

·        Sesame oil

·        Safflower oil

·        Corn oil

·        Peanut oil

·        Rice bran

Why? These fats are extremely high in Omega 6 which is inflammatory. If we have too much inflammation in the body, over time we begin to oxidize or should I say rust from the inside. These can affect our moods and shut many of our bodies systems down as your body works hard to repair itself.

Avoid cooking with these types of fats and oils as you want to use fats that are stable and do not go rancid and don’t oxidize.

For more information check link 1 and link 2 which are great resources and cover this topic in more detail.

Also avoid corn flour which can be found in many processed foods. It stops the hormone Leptin, which tells you are full, from switching on which of course makes it very hard to know when you are full.

The “Good Fats”

THE BEST TO COOK WITH:

1.     Extra Virgin Coconut Oil

2.     Lard/ Full Fat Grass Fed Butter

3.     Ghee

THE BEST TO EAT ARE: 

1.     Avocado

2.     High Quality Fish Oil (Omega-3 or EPA/DHA)

3.     Nuts- Almonds, Brazil, Pine, Macadamia, Hazelnuts, Cashews, Pistachios, Walnuts (within reason of how many you have a day as it is very easy to over eat these)

4.     Grass Fed Beef

5.     Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Can be used for salads or cooked at a lower heat)

Do your best to rotate the fats you cook with. Eat too much of a few good things and this can be detrimental and cause intolerance's if consumed for long enough.

Tempo- What is it and how to use it in your exercise program

1.     What is Tempo?

Tempo training has been around for a very long time and was popularised by Strength Coach Charles Poliquin. Tempo is using a numbered system that represents how fast or slowly we move through the range of motion of a given exercise.

2.     What do the numbers mean?

Let us look at a simple example of Tempo. There are a few different systems out there, but Leaner uses a four digit tempo.

Example 1

Exercise = Squat, Tempo = 4010 (Commonly used for Hypertrophy)

4 seconds- When you move slowly down from the top to the bottom position with control (Eccentric)

0 seconds- When you get to the bottom, how long you pause there for (Isometric)

1 seconds- When you move from the bottom to the top position (Concentric)

0 seconds- When you reach the top position, how long you pause there for (Paused position)

Example 2

Exercise = Bench Press, Tempo = 2121(Commonly used for Hypertrophy)

2 seconds down with control from the top position

1 second pause above the chest under tension

2 seconds back up slowly and with control with a focus on squeezing the muscle

1 second pause

Example 3

Exercise = Front Squat, Tempo = 20X0 (Commonly used for Strength)

2 seconds down to the bottom with control

0 second pause in the bottom position

X second explosive movement from the bottom to the top position

0 second pause at the top

Example 4

Exercise = Dip on Parallel Bars, Tempo = 3010 with 1 ¼ rep at bottom (Commonly used with Hypertrophy)

3 seconds down from top to bottom

1 ¼ so you get to the bottom and perform a 1 ¼ rep at the bottom (think a partial rep)

1 second up fast

0 second pause at the top

3.     What are the benefits of using Tempo?

So why should you use all these confusing numbers?

Well there are several benefits.

-         The controlled movements create a stronger neuromuscular link improving coordination and performance of the exercise

-         There is less post muscle soreness and improved recovery post workout

-         A great tool to overcome plateaus in weights lifted

-         Increase blood flow to an injured area so slow movements are ideal for rehab

-         Burns more fat than normal workouts

-         Increase strength gains faster

-         Iron out any weaknesses you have in your strength curve (range of motion)

4.     How can you use Tempo?

Tempo can be used to create specific muscular adaptions depending on what your goal is.

-         If you want to get stronger? Use Explosive reps

-         Want to be more explosive and jump higher? Use plyometric methods

-         Want to get larger? Use slow reps, squeezed reps, partial reps, isometric holds

-         Want harder more toned looking muscles? Use controlled eccentric and explosive concentric  reps with heavier loads

The Major Changes that need to happen in your life to get Lean

When people talk about wanting to be healthier, fitter so they can play with their children or just see how good a condition they can get themselves into, few realise that who and where they are at that moment on their lives needs to change.

Change frightens people as it means loss and loss equals mourning… In this Blog I want to briefly touch on what main things happen with our clients that helps them achieve the goals they set out for themselves when they consult with us.

1. Change of Mind-set

Mind-set is one of the key stones for success when setting out to achieve anything. If you don’t believe that you can achieve something, or having failed before have a skeptical approach the odds of your success are limited.

Building your confidence and setting yourself actions and goals that you can achieve will create a gradual landslide of momentum that will take you exactly where you intend to go. Small victories each day will not only make you feel better, but dramatically improve your mind-set.

You will slowly change from a “I don’t have time for food prep because I am far too busy and it is too obsessive” to “I know from experience that if I do not make time to do my food prep the day before then I will end up eating food that will slow my progress down and I will feel crap.”

Go after your dreams with purpose and believe it!

2. Change of Social Habits

I always encourage clients to remain social and avoid becoming hermits, as most of them are very social and they end up becoming “time bombs” if they go from one extreme to the other.

This usually results in a huge blow out with alcohol and/or poor food choices.

Obviously if clients go out 2-3 times a week and eat out/ drink alcohol and sacrifice good sleep then these habits need to go. I have previously set out social plans for people where they do things with close friends (who are supportive of my clients’ efforts to change), such as healthy cooking classes, group gym classes or going out and sticking to water with an earlier return home than normal. It can be done, but it is not for everyone.

On the flip side, the beauty of programs that last 6/ 12 weeks is that people have a time limit in which they need to clean up their behavior. It is much like studying for an exam and staying in to study.

If you have a group of friends who go out drinking all the time, eat bad food or do not prioritize their health, then you will need to avoid these friends for a while as they will try to sabotage your efforts. It is not that they want the worst for you, but it is because your investment in your change makes them feel uncomfortable and worse about themselves.

Accept the fact that you will be more reserved socially than normal, going to bed earlier, spending time prepping meals, reading , hanging out with more gym oriented people and the journey to the results you want will be much smoother.

You can have anything you want, but you can’t have it all. Choose wisely…

3. Change of Eating Habits

80% of people’s success in changing their body shape comes from good consistent nutrition. Whether you like it or not the mantra “you cannot out train a bad diet” rings true here.

Educating yourself on what is good and bad for you can be daunting due to the overload of information available. Hire a coach, and go on information fast, keep it simple, trust your coach and follow what they say to the letter.

You are going to mess up from time to time and that is ok. A good coach will factor that in, but minimize slowing down your progress by making mistakes from tips you read on the internet that do not fit in with your coaches plan.

The trick with nutrition is to be boringly consistent, measure your progress, tweak the plan if necessary then rinse and repeat. It is as simple as that. It is not easy, but it is simple. Things will get more complicated as you get leaner.

4. Training properly

Most people despite "going to the gym" do not know how to train properly. By that I mean, having a properly programmed plan, knowing basics such as exercise order, rep ranges, tempo, rest periods and the tricks to get more out of reps that good coaching and hard earned experience teach you.

I have been fortunate enough to get educated by many world class coaches and learned many tips and tricks from them that you can't learn in books. One of my favorites was Milos Sarcev, a very famous body builder in the 90's who now coaches many world class physique athletes. He talks about "finding the pain and staying in the pain".

The results his style of training achieves is astounding and it takes that extra motivation from a good coach to mentally condition you to that sort of intensity. The rewards are well worth it and it's incredible how quickly the human body adapts.

Once you get conditioned to training properly and learn how to push yourself, the process of getting your results goes far more smoothly.

5. Using Habits to build the foundation of your success

One thing that our clients learn very quickly is that will power, is like a muscle. Every change you make and things you mentally resist will all drain energy from your will power reserves. Will power eventually runs out and when people have an emotional food or social "blow out". Obviously going for the hard core “all or nothing” approach is unsustainable for most and is the cycle many people go through when trying to lose weight. Choosing a select few things to work on will and making changes more gradually tends to fare better in the long term.  It can’t be too slow as people get bored, but must be just the right balance between really going for it and making changes that last for life.

One if my favorite books on productivity is called "The One Thing" by Gary Keller. His takeaway question from that book is "What's the one thing, such that by doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary?"

It's a great question. Research tells us that it takes 66 days to form a habit. A habit being something we do on auto pilot and consumes zero will power.

Every new habit requires some will power to sustain, but will require less the more we repeat the habit.

Leo Babauta the author of "the power of less" (another great read) says that in his experience when he tried to adopt one new habit he had an 85% success rate. More than one habit and that dropped to 35%. This is a substantial huge gap.

Choose the three most important habits for you and attack them one at a time. The most common health related goals we focus on first are, the basics of nutrition, training at the right intensity and how to rest and recover properly.

The Best 5 Exercises to build Strong and Toned Quads

1.     Front Squats

Tips for the Front Squat

1. Make sure you create a strong shelf with your elbows, keeping them high throughout the movement. This will work the scapula stabilizers and core.
2. Focus on keeping your weight on your heels throughout the movement on the way down and back up. 
3. Use a stance that is hip width or just narrower and think about folding up and sprining back out again,

2.     Back Squats

Tips for the Squat

1. For a regular squat, keep your feet just a touch wide than hip width apart, to allow your pelvis to drop between on the way down. 
2. Tuck the elbows under and imagine you have a torch shining from the middle of your chest. Keep that imaginary light shining against the wall in front of you and avoid it shining at a 45 degree angle or worse still at the floor. 
3. Keep the weight on the heels on the way down and up
4. Allow the hamstrings (back of your legs) to fold over your calves and then spring back out of the movement on the way up for maximal glute and hamstring recruitment. 

3.     Deadlifts

Tips for the Dead lift

1. Allow the body to stiffen up and get a strong grip on the bar
2. Bring the bar under your shoulders
3. Before you lift up, ensure your back is straight, and create some tension on the bar before lifting it. This helps you avoid "Ripping" the bar off the floor which can create a wip lash like effect if the weight is too heavy
4. Use the hips and lower body to lift the bar and stand as tall as you can to extend the hips and recruit the glutes.
5. Slide the bar back down your legs, ensuring that you shoot your bum back first and allow the rest of the body to follow.
6. Keep your back as straight as possible and keep a tight upper back throughout the movement.

4.    BB on Back Split Squats

Tips for the Split Squat

1. Ensure you have a stable stance with the front foot open 5 degrees and the back foot slightly wider, but internally rotated.
2. Keep the weight on the front heel and descend at  a 45 degree angle in an escalator like fashion
3. Exaggerate the chest and tuck the elbows under and you descend and ascend 
4. You should feel the stretch through your opposite hip flexor and the contraction through the glute, quad and hamstring of the front leg.

5.     Step Ups

Tips for the Front Step up

1. Keep the weight on the front heel throughout the movement
2. Keep a tall proud chest and avoid tipping forward on the way up and down
3. When lowering down, do it with control as if you are landing on a floor of egg shells, keep your weight on the top legs heel throughout.

An Example of a Workout to build great quads

A1- Front Squats, 6 Reps, 4010, rest 10 seconds (Heaviest- 80% of your 1RM)

A2- Back Squats, 12 Reps, 4010, rest 10 seconds (Lighter- 75% of your 1RM)

A3- Leg Press, 24 Reps, 2010, rest 120 seconds (Lightest - 60% of your 1RM)

Repeat 4 times

B1- BB on Back Split squats, 10-12 reps each leg , 3010, rest 60 seconds

B2- DB Step ups, 10-12 reps each leg, 3010, rest 60 seconds

Repeat 2-3 times

5 Facts about the Importance of Hydration

      1.     Improve Performance

Water is critical in balancing all of the body’s systems including the brain, heart, lungs, kidneys and muscles. Just a 2-3% drop in hydration can lead to shrinkage of the brain which impairs neuromuscular coordination, decrease concentration and cause slow thinking.

Common symptoms of this are daytime fatigue, dry skin, constipation, irritability and lack of focus in menial tasks.

Water helps form the structures of protein and glycogen, and if you have insufficient water your body will lose too many electrolytes and cramp, decreasing your strength and endurance.

Get plenty of water and electrolytes to optimize performance.

2.     Improves Fat Loss

If your fat cells are well hydrated your body will be primed to use the fat cells as fuel. Water will also suppress the feelings of hunger if you don’t really need food. Drinking water at room temperature is also best for optimal absorption as opposed to ice cold water.

Drinking sufficient amounts of water will help the body process and transport nutrients and excrete any waste products once they are metabolized

3.     How much water Should you drink?

Your Body weight in kg x 0.033= the amount you should drink daily

For example, a male who weighs 80 kg should drink a minimum 2.5 Litres of filtered water a day. If he is active it will be at least 1-2 Litres more

This does not include exercise, so you may need a more depending on how hard you train, and how hot your environment is. Some recommendations go as far as increasing your water intake by 4.5 Litres (1 Gallon) on the days you have intense training sessions.

However, Dr Mercola, believes that too much water may be dangerous due to its links with hyponatremia which is a condition where your cells swell with too much water. This can cause your brain to swell which is dangerous.

The recommended amount for people is 8 glasses of water a day. This is usually not enough for most people. Some top health professionals advise 3-4 Litres of filtered water a day.

Gradually increase your intake of water over 2-4 weeks. A glass every couple of days is a good start. This allows your kidneys time to adjust to the increase in fluid.

When the body gets less water, it sees it as a threat to survival and begins to hold onto every drop. Drinking enough water is the best treatment for fluid retention.

We believe you need to listen to your body. If you are thirsty then you are already dehydrated, if your urine is of a dark yellow colour and has a strong smell then you are also dehydrated.

4.     Replenishing Electrolytes During your workout and after workouts

Many people make the mistake of using sugary sports drinks to replenish their electrolyte levels. Unfortunately this has a nasty effect on insulin levels and gives you a big up and equally big downer, which can compromise your performance working out.

Pure coconut water is probably the best option for you to use as it is full of essential electrolytes that will help replenish you and avoid the big sugar induced crash that sugary sports drinks give you.

Another tip is to use pink Himalayan salts. Just a pinch in a Litre of water will provide your body with 84 minerals that your body needs to function optimally. You should not taste the salt in the water.

5.     Improves the way your muscles look

As optimal hydration improves your performance in the gym, you can push for better workouts, which over a number of sessions will start showing in terms of more developed muscles.

As muscles are primarily made up of water, hydrated muscles look better, improve muscle contractions, reduce sagging skin and the water will fill out the skin, resulting in healthy, resilient looking skin.

Fitness models and body builders commonly load with extreme amounts of water before contests and then dehydrate to look in the best possible condition.