Get in Shape

Whether you're a rugby player, a runner, a dancer, a bodybuilder, or just someone who wants to look and feel great for your summer holidays, your wedding, or just because you take pride in your appearance, low body fat is always desirable! Words such as ‘lean’, ‘toned’, ‘defined’ and 'cut' are all terms associated with the perfect body, and having a low body fat level not only looks great, but improves sports performance too.

Get in Shape Training

Train with weights

When you train with weights, two things happen; first by positively stressing your muscle through exercise, you stimulate growth of new muscle tissue. This results in you burning more energy, which means you also burn more calories. Secondly the body will burn additional energy to maintain the muscle tissue that is being regularly stressed.

Many women worry that by weight-training they'll get big muscles - this is not the case. By weight-training, you'll tone, tighten and shape your physique! You can find some training advice here.

Do cardiovascular exercise at least twice a week

Low to moderate intensity cardiovascular exercise plays an important role in any fat loss program. Of primary importance, low intensity cardiovascular exercise stimulates the release of fatty acids from tissue. This has two benefits: Firstly, you're actually burning fat, secondly, your body will up-regulate the enzyme systems necessary for burning fat more efficiently. So you’re burning more fat and you’re burning it faster.

The second reason why you should perform regular cardio work is that it helps protect your heart. Good cardiovascular health is vitally important to your long term condition and longevity. Take care of your heart and it will take care of you.

Tips to get you Started!

It takes a lot of hard work and discipline to achieve an enviable toned body. But with a some basic nutritional knowledge you could achieve your goals faster than you thought. Getting the right balance of food, exercise and dedication may seem a hard task but putting your mind to it is the first hurdle. For starters, try following these eight essential nutrional tips

• Eat more often!
  That's right. By spacing out your meals to every 2.5 - 3 hours you will actually help yourself lose weight. Instead of eating 3 large meals a day, divide this into 6 smaller meals. Not only will the more regular flow of nutrients into your body help raise your metabolism (and burn more fat in the long-run), you will also feel less hungry. Try some of USN's meal replacement shakes!
  
• Don't forget breakfast!
  Research has shown that people who miss breakfast find it harder to lose weight. Breakfast, in short, is the most important meal of the day and is essential for getting your metabolism firing. Let this be your biggest meal of the day - after all, you've starved yourself for at least 8 hours whilst sleeping.
  
• Take your time
  It can take up to 20 minutes for your brain to register that your stomach is full after you have finished eating. Don't rush your food and savour every mouthful. The more slowly you eat, the fuller you're going to feel
  
• Eat protein at every meal
  Put simply, foods high in protein make you feel fuller quicker and for longer. Choose meats such as chicken, turkey, or low fat mince, or any type of fish. Protein is also essential for muscle growth and repair
  
• Cutting the calories
  To lose a pound of bodyfat, you must burn the equivalent of 3500 calories- now how many packets of crisps is that? If you cut your daily calorie intake by 500 calories a day (about a chocolate bar and a bag of crisps), you'll be losing 1 pound a week. Do this for 3 months and you've lost almost a stone! You don't need to become a calorie counting junkie- just remove foods from your diet you don't really need (however tempting). Increasing the amount of cardiovascular exercise will also help burn the fat. Start off slow and build up - try running for 30 minutes 3 times a week and if you've got more energy, try longer/more regular intervals.
  
• Carbs are good
  As much as you may have heard about the infamous Atkins diet, carbohydrates are NOT the enemy. We need carbohydrates for energy whether for short burts or long-sustained energy sources. Without carbohydrates our bodies may find it hard to adjust to this inherent energy deficit. You may have heard of the glycemic index. Without going into too much detail, the GI is a ranking of foods based on their immediate effect on blood sugar levels. Higher GI foods (i.e. more sugary) are required after exercise to replenish drained sources and lower GI foods for the rest of the time. As a rule of thumb, stick to complex carbohydrates which take a long time to digest and have a more prolonged release of energy. Foods rich in complex carbohydrates include vegetables, whole grains, and beans.
  
• Drink Enough Water
  Water is a fundamental part of our lives. It is easy to forget how completely we depend on it. Aside from aiding in digestion and absorption of food, water regulates body temperature and blood circulation, carries nutrients and oxygen to cells, and removes toxins and other wastes. Among its other benefits, water plays a major part in weight loss. Since water contains no calories, it can serve as an appetite suppressant, and helps the body metabolize stored fat - it may possibly be one of the most significant factors in losing weight. If you find yourself getting hungry quickly, trying drinking a pint of water to curb your appetite.
  
• Try not to eat before bed
  If you're trying to lose weight, this is an excellent method to shift the pounds. Clearly our energy levels plummet whilst we sleep hence it is harder for our bodies to burn the excess calories eaten during the late evening. This is often a simple mistake 'dieters' make early on. Save your food for when you're awake
  

An active lifestyle is above all the most important factor in losing weight!

Diet and Nutrition

Eat the right types of food

In order to build lean muscle mass you need to combine an adequate calorie intake with a solid muscle strengthening program. A large number of calories are needed to fuel both workouts and muscle tissue building. Whilst eating enough calories is important, it is also important to eat the right kind of calories.

Carbohydrates

This is the predominant energy source for strength training. Stored as glycogen in the muscles, it is the fuel used to supply energy for short, intense bursts of power or long duration exercise. Consumption should be around 2g per 1lb of bodyweight. You can find out more about carbohydrates here.

Proteins

This is the basic building material for muscle tissue, and is critical for anyone engaging in high-intensity resistance exercise since increased amounts of protein become necessary to support muscle growth. Try to eat at least 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight daily. This daily requirement can be easily achieved by supplementing your diet with protein supplements.

Essential Fats

After taking care of your carbohydrate and protein needs, there is a little room left for healthy, essential fatty acids. The right kind of fat is an essential nutrient, however, you only require a small amount of it to remain healthy. Less than 30% of your total daily calories should come from unsaturated fat sources.

Eat Several Small Meals A Day

Eating this way ensures you are providing your body with adequate nutritional support. Frequent, small meals provide a consistent supply of nutrients for efficient muscle growth, and also helps maintain a faster metabolic rate. To gain muscle, you should be consuming at very least, about 500 calories above your daily requirements.

Commitment and Focus

Try to visualise your goals and work towards them each time you train. Set realistic short and long term goals with rewards as each goal is accomplished. Thinking positively can also enhance the muscle-building process in a number of ways. Quality of training will improve if one is able to approach each session with confidence and an expectation that you will achieve your training goals.

Training Guidelines and Tips

1. Training Journal
   Write down the daily routines and weights you used. Pick a few every week to improve on, not only in weight, but in any of the above training principles. Routines that put unnecessary strain on weak areas, like the back, can then be eliminated.
2. Eat several small meals per day
   Glycogen production and supply depends heavily on the constant supply of carbohydrates, and a constant supply of carbohydrates boosts the metabolism. Constant flows of amino acids ensure nitrogen retention and muscle repair. Water-soluble vitamins constantly leave the body and need to be replaced to fulfill its synergetic function. A good exercise routine will not counteract poor eating habits.
3. Vary your Program
   Vary the order, and type of exercises you do, also switch the muscles you train on the same day. This created muscle confusion which leads to renewed gains.
4. Increase the Weight
   Eventually, you also need to increase the resistance which forces muscle to compensate by renewed growth.
5. Train Smart, not Long
   45 to 90 minutes is all you should spend in the gym, longer than that you either waste your time, or you over train. Limit time between sets so the body "thinks" the whole exercise is one long set. Rest roughly two times the time it takes you to complete a set. Focus on your form, you can rather use a smaller weight, but do it with great form, no swing, no cheat, high intensity, and work on the negatives/eccentric (going down). If your next machine is occupied, proceed to the next and come back later, don't hesitate to ask how many sets a person has left.
6. Aim at a complete physique
   Concentrate more on the parts of your body that lack, and less on your strong points. Abs, calves, and shoulders are common weak points. If you have excess fat, work a cardio session into your routine, it's no use having a good physique under a camouflage of fat!
7. Isolate the applicable muscle
   Do the exercise in such a way that it is not as easy as can be, but that it strain the targeted muscle as completely as possible. Like when you do a bench press, lower the weight slowly to the end of your chest as close to your throat as possible, turn the elbows as far out as possible, pause at the bottom to stretch the pectoral muscles through its full range of motion. Finish the movement at the top by pushing all the way up to fully contract the pectorals.
8. Breathing
   However you choose to breath, exhale on the up or down movement; never hold your breath against force. This causes an increase in the blood pressure in the brain and poses a danger to health.
9. Do not lock
   Keep constant tension on a muscle by avoiding the lock at the top of a lift. This "resting time" interrupts a set.
10. Peak Contraction and Range of Motion
    Always squeeze at the point of fullest contraction, and move through the whole range of motion to the point of maximum stretch.
11. Rest
    A muscle should rest for 72 hours after a strenuous training session.
12. Cross-train Legs
    All of the muscles on the upper body get the chance to cross-train with other muscles, like when you do chest, you also use triceps and front delts, and when you do shoulders, the chest and triceps work hard too. The legs however very seldom get the change to cross-train, which is the main reason why most men have under developed leg muscles compared to their upper bodies. Work in an extra set of heavy lunges on another day.
13. Positive Muscular Gain vs. Negative Skeletal Strain
    Each person differs, many routines may suit one person, but not another, but don't decide a routine doesn't suit you just because it is working on your weak point. There is a healthy trade-off between positive strain on the muscular system, and negative strain on the skeletal system. Routines like Squat, Dead lift, and Stiff leg dead lift must only be done by advanced athletes involved in a sport where it forms a critical part, like Power lifting, Weight lifting, Strongman etc. Otherwise the negative skeletal strain outweighs the positive muscular gain.

Get in Shape related Articles

• The 4 Components of a good Fitness Program

USN Products to Get in Shape

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