Face Pull for Shoulder Health
Internally rotated shoulders are common place in the modern day. Poor posture, desk bound jobs, driving, eating, even now reading this most your shoulders are more than likely internally rotated.
Face pulls are a multi-functional exercise that will not only serve in making you stronger but is also highly effective movement for improving shoulder health and posture.
If you do lots of horizontal and vertical pressing then the Face Pull is a fantastic exercise to help invigorate your lifting whilst placing emphasis on the the external rotators of the shoulder, Rhomboids and Rear Delts.
Incorporate Face Pulls into your programme and start strengthening the external rotators of the shoulder pulling it back into a better position improving posture.
Feeling Tired….?
Tired? More often than not when I ask a client how their week is going, how they’re feeling the reply will be ‘tired today’ or ‘its been a long week’ which to be fair is usually the case given the stresses of work, commuting and colleagues this is without considering that the average daily hours worked in the City are significantly higher than anywhere else in Europe.
I see daily what tiredness can do which prompted this blog. I want to share 3 simple steps that are easy to implement and cost-effective. Tips that will not only improve your concentration and efficiency throughout the day, but more importantly benefit your health.
Hydration. This is most definitely the easiest, cheapest and quickest way to reduce the side effects of fatigue. 9 times of of 10 I know that most of my clients haven’t consumed anywhere near enough water. Dehydration occurs in stages, and it doesn’t take much to become mildly dehydrated which can impair concentration and thinking. If you struggle with water then consuming water dense foods such as Cucumber (96.7% water content), Celery (97.4%), Ice-burg lettuce (95.6%), Tomatoes (94.5%). Or buy a refillable bottle that can sit on your desk and depending on how many litres it can hold consume 2 litres worth a day.
Entering the realm of food now, and Protein is a very hot topic. Question, do you know how much protein you have eaten today? And I’m not talking grams, I’m talking portions, can you count at least 3 portions of meat or fish you have eaten today? If not, more than likely you haven’t consumed enough. A diet deficient in protein can lead to an increase in stress levels, moodiness, disturbed sleep and low energy levels. Without protein to help stabilise our blood sugar, the tendency to experience fatiguing highs and lows in mood and energy increases. Over a long period of time these high and lows can exhaust the body – couple this with poor hydration and you aren’t going to feel great.
Last and by no means least, it seems obvious as well SLEEP! During sleep our body’s go through many different processes of rejuvenation and hormone regeneration. The goal is 7 hours minimum per night, if you think you can function on 4 or 5 hours then maybe you can we are all different and know our body’s but you may be missing a trick you could be performing to even higher levels with a couple of more hours that what you’re already getting. Sleep like dehydration happens in stages from light to deeper sleeping. Its very hard for the body to get into a deep sleep if you’re sleeping less than 7 hours per night. Lastly, sleep in a dark room, pitch black if possible and try to stay away from electrical lighting before bed so the brain can shit down.
Sustainable Dieting…
Paleo, Low Carb, High Protein, Keto…and so the list goes on and on. Why is it however that you don’t read much about ‘Flexible Dieting’? Its an approach I take and its an approach I prefer my clients to take. I have seen great results from it – as have my clients and what’s more important my relationship with food is great and I don’t go to sleep at night wondering if I deserved that surprise cheat meal. Anyway ‘cheat meal’ what is that. We will save that for another day.
Flexible dieting for me is not limiting a particular macro, removing a food group or telling myself I can’t or shouldn’t eat something. Of course there does need to be common sense here, eating 10 mars bars all day isn’t at all nutritious but if I want one whose to say can’t I have one??? The industry frowns upon this kind of language.
Our relationship with food needs to change, as does our knowledge. Fundamentally every diet that you try, or we read about all have one thing in common. They put you in a caloric deficit. Low carb – its just a deficit. Of course I’m not saying going low carb doesn’t have its benefits but ultimately low carbs equal less calories.
Extreme calorie cutting be it in the form of a shake dieting or a huge calorie deficit isn’t sustainable. The other extreme I see is under eating with a proportion of calories coming from alcohol consumption which not only disrupts us hormonally it also has a negative impact on metabolism.
A few simple tips. Food labels – they will provide and calories and nutritional values. Keep an eye on sugars. Sugary foods will generally be higher in calories. Portion Control – Assess the actual serving sizes of your foods. Don’t pack all your calories into your evening meal. Output – I’m only touching on this as im focusing here more on the nutrition side. Its super simple, increase your put, burn some calories, go for a walk and move more. Your body will thank you for it.
The Bent Over Row
The Single Arm Bent Over Row - is a staple in most Back programmes and so it should be. It is a fantastic exercise for increasing size and strength through the lats, upper back and traps. Another reason why I love this exercise is that it is shoulder friendly when executed correctly. The Chin Ups and Deadlifts will give you more bang for your buck but they can really destroy the shoulders if you have pre existing problems.
Another great reason to put this exercise in your programme is that single arm work allows for a lot more focus on the concentric and eccentric part of the lift as well. Keep the movement smooth and slow and squeeze the top position then slowly back down placing more tension on the muscle.
A lot of the time you will see the dumbbell being swung from the floor to almost over the shoulder which in my opinion is completely wrong. As if the upper traps aren't already overworked! Next time you're in the gym training Back, work on a tempo of 3131 and see how you get on.
The Egg Explained
There is certainly a mythical stigma surrounding eggs and there supposed positive and negative benefits to our health. Fear not, the egg is our friend.
Eggs are a fantastic source of protein providing us with nutrients that help stimulate the brain, to easily digested amino acids and other vitamins that assist with our wellbeing.
Eggs have the second highest concentration of Leucine which is the most important amino acid for building muscle. Not only are they great for assisting in the building of muscle, the amino acid profile eggs contain aids in the preservation of promoting bone health.
Furthermore - they're cheap and readily available.
Take Control
Today I was asked by a client interested in accelerating the process of reducing body fat and what I would recommend. Shall I cut out carbs? Should I skip breakfast? The answer is simple, no. Why?
Ultimately its come down to one thing, well actually lots of things but for the purpose of this blog lets just say its one thing. Energy balance. When starting out in this industry I got massively caught up in the paleo (which has its place) then carb cutting which made me feel lousy then I would crash and go crazy on carbs having completely neglected them for as long as humanly possible. Fat-loss doesn’t have to be difficult, I take a flexible approach, I don’t restrict a macronutrient, feel bad if I finish a pot of hummus. I train hard during the week and I take a relaxed approach to tracking calories. MyFitnessPal which I wish more people would use is a great tool for this as well as providing information on what the food I am eating contains.
Energy Balance for those who don’t know it energy in (calories) and energy out (calories we burn daily). If we consume too many calories we put on weight, essentially stored ad body fat, if we are in a calorie deficit we lose weight. Its not carbohydrates or fat causing us to gain weight, its simply eating too much of anything.
One variable I always look to change first is output. Moving more throughout the week, whether its increasing cardio, walking from underground stations, increasing weekly gym sessions or swimming at the weekends.
The BB Bench Press
The Barbell Bench Press: A staple for most looking to increase size and strength through the chest. And rightly so. Studies have shown that the Bench Press is one of the best exercises for eliciting a high level of muscle activity in the Pectoralis Major. This exercise will also recruit the arms and shoulders.
Tips:
- Feet flat on the floor
- Shins vertical
- Squeeze your Lats and Glutes
- Point you knuckles to the ceiling
Don't push the bar to much too often though. Mix up grips and use Dumbells.
The Benefits Of Coconut Oil
Coconut Oil may be one of the most misunderstood of the more readily available dietary fats/oils.
The main difference between coconut oil and other forms of saturated fats and triglycerides is the much shorted length pf the fatty acid. Coconut Oil is actually a medium chain triglyceride (MCT), 6 to 12 carbon lengths long. This smaller chain length makes it much easier for the body to absorb, digest and process as its breakdown requires less energy and less enzymatic action that what is usually needed for the longer chain triglyceride.
Once broken down into medium chain fatty acids and absorbed in the body, they are then delivered to the liver where they are used as a primary source of energy, which in turn leads to an increase in metabolism, ultimately resulting in an improvement in blood lipid profiles.
Interestingly in eastern Asian cultures where coconut oil is a significant source of fat, rates of atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease are lower than their western counterparts.
Coconut Oil contains high levels of antioxidative compounds which help protect it from oxidation and degradation. Coconut oil has been proven to improve levels of testicular antioxidants, thus suggesting a protective role in reproductive health and increased levels of testosterone.
Furthermore, supplementation of the oil has also led to a significant improvement in bone density, volume and structure.
Effective Fat Loss
There is nothing more confusing or controversial than the hot topic of nutrition. Read this, do that, lose weight. Fad dieting which often works in the short term rarely works in the long term with yoyo results demotivating thousands when nutrition can be made easy and simple. The single best advice surrounding diet is that the best diet is the most consistent diet. It doesn’t have to be complicated, calorie counting bewilderment. It needs to nutritional good, by that I mean anything that once lived or grew usually cuts it.
If you find yourself deep in the aisles of a supermarket you’re probably in the wrong place. Supermarkets generally keep the fresher produce on the outside aisles. The further in you get the more refined, processed and tinned food will get.
My Top 5 commandments for and effective nutrition plan;
- Protein, Protein, Protein – Aim to have a portion of protein with each meal. Protein provides the building blocks to essential muscle recovery and building through the breakdown of amino acids, you will also find yourself less hungry.
- Green is Great – Vegetables should be the foundation to each meal. Get creative with different varieties and colours the more the merrier. You’ll burn more calories consuming this stuff as well.
- Avoid Alcohol – I don’t need to explain why
- Consistency – Start as you mean to go on, plan ahead, shop ahead and be prepared.
- Quality – If possible eat lean, free range, high quality grass fed meats. The animals are leaner themselves and the meat much better quality. Farmed Salmon for example contain up to eight times the level of carcinogens as their wild counterparts.
If you have any questions on nutrition, training or programmes please do not hesitate to contact me at [email protected].