If you go to 10 different nutritionists you’ll end up with 10 different nutrition plans. Whoever you talk to will have a different take on what is right for you. So, what does this mean for you?
It means what you have to do is listen carefully to all advice (professional or not) (good or bad) and use you own intuition and intelligence to put together your unique meal plan for your unique body. There is one certain thing about a diet and that is we all know the things we should, at least avoid eating and drinking. Right? So that’s a good place to start. Cut right down on anything that contains sugar or fat. No more ice cream. No more takeaways. Cut the 2 dozen stubbies a week down to ½ a dozen. And so on.
Now that you’ve started it will become easier to figure out as each new change is made. So keep going on the same track. Make your own list because now you’ve fired up the willpower to do it. Next just put it into practice. That is, if you really want to change your diet you hold the power to do it in your hands. It’s all very well to follow a ‘clinically prescribed diet’ and after a few weeks you realise that it’s not happening as it was supposed to. It would seem you’ve just thrown away $100 on another useless diet plan.
If you have or are starting with a new personal trainer then you will be able to work with him/her in conjunction with your resistance training. An experienced trainer will be more knowledgeable in nutrition than most. Anyone else can only throw in a lot of suggestions based on an across the board assessment of diets in general. We all, at some stage, have gained some weight but this is you we are talking about. Not someone else with an entirely different metabolism. The fine tuning of your nutrition intake really just has a lot to do with making some sacrifices.
So what are the other factors involved that aren’t on your food plan. Top of the list would have to be lack of the correct exercise for your physical makeup. Eating all the ‘right’ foods isn’t on its own going to make you slimmer, get bigger muscles, make you fitter or have greater endurance. Psychologically it might make you feel better for a while because you think the ‘right foods’ are all it takes. Consider this; if you fill up your car with gas what happens? Nothing happens. Nothing happens until you start the engine. Right? The same applies to eating. You are filling up your body with fuel to get your motor running and unless you start the engine the fuel just sits there. And unlike your car the fuel in your body turns to fat unless it’s burnt off with the appropriate exercise to suit your needs. Nutrition and exercise, along with the motivation to succeed, go together.
When you eat then you must burn the fuel with the appropriate exercise. And to get the best from your exercise then fuel up with the appropriate food. The ingredients handled the proper way with motivational effort and consistency will give you results. Remember you won’t get far without putting some real effort in to it.
To get the nutrients into your system it helps to have a clean fuel line. Unfortunately there are things we enjoy eating and drinking in life which inhibit the absorption of nutrients from the food or supplements. Probably the three worst inhibiters are, of course, alcohol, coffee, and tobacco. Coffee inhibits the intake of Vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B9, B12, Biotin(B7), C, E, Iron, and Potassium. Alcohol does much the same thing . And so does tobacco.
That’s the very basics of it, but you could try one of two options.
1- You can think about it and do nothing which means you will stay exactly the same as you are now physically both inside and out.
2- You can think about it and at least do something which means you are half way there
COMING SOON.
Vitamin and mineral supplements
If you haven’t done any or much weight training you could perhaps, and understandably, think there is only one way to approach it. If that’s the case, the theory would be, you can just pick up a weight and push it up over your head. Not so. There is a lot more to it than that and the thing is, with weight training you need to get it right as soon as possible before bad technique results in failure, disappointment, and the likelihood of injuries.
There are four basic components to any weight training lift with either free weights, machines, or just body weight. They are Posture, Focus, Core activation and Breathing. Although the four are all equally important the first in the sequence of preparing for the exercise or lift is posture. But remember each part of the sequence is just as important as the next.
Posture
The easiest way to describe good basic posture is to stand with your feet shoulder width apart, your back is straight, shoulders back and your head is in line with your back. There can be some minor variations with different exercises to create platforms within your body to lift from. Posture is a constant, so remember, your back is kept straight, shoulders back and your head is in line with your back, whether standing or lying.
Focus
It’s about thinking the lift through from posture to the lift, without being distracted by anything, and being able to focus on each part of the lift as the lift happens. And grimacing because you are not getting the full range of the lift is not helping. You’re grimacing because the weight is too heavy. Use less weight to regain focus and technique.
Core activation.
It’s what drives the lift. You lift with the core. Your core centre is situated about 75mm below your belly button and it’s where several muscle groups come together. Hence core. Core muscles include the Rectus Abdominus, External Obliques, Internal Obliques, Transverse Abdominus, Quadratus Lumborum, Multifidus, and Erector Spinae. Core training is specific and requires its own set of exercises but there is some overlap with surrounding muscles. However when you are activating the core during weight training this will in effect, help to keep the core muscles exercised.
Breathing.
The correct breathing technique during the lift is as equally important as the other three components. The sucking in of as much air as possible, and blowing it out, at the right time is crucial to getting oxygen to the muscles, plus being focused on full range of movement, plus using only the target muscles and of course, along with correct posture. The lift requires a lot of energy and getting plenty of oxygen to your muscles is very necessary. Remember, for the big lift, it’s a lot about sucking it in hard. And blowing it out hard.
COMING SOON.
Putting it into practice with a Barbell Bicep Curl and a Cable Tricep Pushdown.