Week 5 cycle 2 day 2 -& info on Protein for fat loss – Whey vs Casein (optimum nutrition casein)

For the last 4-5 weeks I’ve been consuming a Branded Pure Protein – IGF-1 from USN. The protein superbly packed full of vital ingredients, has excellent protein content and tastes very good (especially vanilla although I am biased towards that flavour as it has many uses: protein porridge etc)

Research shows combining whey protein with a casein protein in your diet may promote fat loss. So for the next 4 weeks I’ll be taking in an Optimum Nutrition Casein Vanilla shake in replacement of a normal whey and checking against results from the last 4 weeks. Once that initial 4 weeks with the casein has passed il then combine a casein shake with a whey protein shake in the diet (not taken together) and check results.

Below is an article on Casein vs Whey protein:

PROTEINS AND WEIGHT LOSS
It remains inconclusive whether a high-protein diet offers weight loss benefits, with the efficacy of any specific diet largely depending on an individual’s relative caloric intake and expenditure. By following a high-protein diet, such as one based on whey and casein combination drinks, you may achieve weight loss, according to a 2009 study published in the journal “Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases.” As an additional benefit, the same study found that a high-protein diet may improve cholesterol levels.

ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS
The effects of whey and casein depend as much on how you take the supplements as the properties of the proteins themselves. For weight loss, Dr. Michael A. Smith advises drinking whey and casein shakes during periods of fasting, such as during the stretch between lunch and dinner or whenever you have your longest period of fasting of the day. In addition, consuming extra proteins, alone, is unlikely to affect weight loss unless you adjust your overall diet accordingly. Reduce your intake of foods with a high energy density, or foods with many calories in small volumes. Instead, round out your protein intake with fruits, vegetables and other low energy-density options.
WHEY VS. CASEIN
Though whey and casein are both proteins found in dairy products, they have different properties when used by the human body. Whey is relatively easy for the body to break down for metabolic use. In some cases, whey powder or whey concentrate contain forms of whey that are already partially broken down, making them even easier for the body to use right away. By contrast, casein is relatively slow-acting, delivering amino acids to the blood more gradually. In addition to the difference in release times, whey and casein contain different types of amino acids.

The above article was in reference to: http://www.livestrong.com/article/554922-whey-casein-blend-to-lose-weight/

Image of Casein Nutrition facts belong to Optimum Nutrition And image of whey vs casein image belongs to: muscle chronicle which can be found here

Week 5 re-feed day (4) Nutrition, Training and Article on Tabata HIIT training

Evening all.

This morning I trained HIIT again and did 40 minutes. Pre workout grenade supplement was included and I was sweating big time come the end of the 40 minutes. It felt good. I’ve been looking at Tabata HIIT training, and below this written piece from me is a couple of articles of research and theory behind Tabata training.

My diet day is a re-feed day so naturally more carbohydrate. I’ve had porridge for breakfast with a hand full of sultanas. Mid morning I had some whole meal tagliatelle with a light pasta sauce. I halted that serving and eat the rest around 4 hours later. This evening for dinner I have sweet potato and a butcher burger, and to round off some natural low fat Greek yogurt with some strawberries. Sugars sound quite high in all of this today, but my body is craving it! Them glycogen stores will not re-feed themselves!

Below is the article on Tabata training. Have a good day!
Tabata: A form of HIIT training and uses 20 Second Body Weight Compound exercises followed by 10 seconds rest x 8 bouts = 4 minutes. Each bout should be close to maximum effort. There are various research articles on Tabata training showing different results to do with the aerobic and anaerobic system, but tere are also results showing how Tabata training can have excellent results on fat burning, which is explained below. That’s enough from me, here is the science and research behind it

If you do not know what Tabata is, I’ll explain a little bit about it. Tabata was founded in Japan by Izumi Tabata. He conducted tests on two groups of athletes; comparing moderate high intensity training with high intensity interval training.

The results were that the athletes training in high intensity interval training improved their aerobic systems as well as their anaerobic system. The athletes who did the moderate high intensity training only improved their aerobic system and had little to no increase in their anaerobic system.

Designing Your Tabata
Next, you want to begin to ask yourself what you want to achieve. Do you want to lose fat? Do you want to improve your endurance? Do you want to improve your muscle endurance? Do you want to gain size and strength at the same time improving your cardio? All these can help formulate what exercises to include. This is a sample of a simple Tabata session:

• Pushups for intervals 1 and 3
• Body weight Squats for intervals 2 and 4
• Medicine ball slams for intervals 5 and 7
• Sprinting or jumping rope for intervals 6 and 8
Before You Use Tabata
Like many other exercises and forms of workouts; you must be committed and determined to put forth all your energy in the exercise. The Tabata Training Method is an advanced form of exercise and it requires you to be fit as well as mentally strong. The method is designed so that it lasts 4 minutes long, however within those 4 minutes you have to go through 8 intervals: Each lasting 20 seconds at a very high intensity.

Using The Tabata Training Method
Using Tabata is quite simple and straight forward. However you must be prepared for the session. The first thing you need to do is to pick the exercises you wish to include in your Tabata training. Then, you need the right equipment for the exercises. After, you have to decide which interval is for what exercise (if you have more than one exercise in your training). For example you could have one interval for one exercise and another interval for the other exercise. This is a sample Tabata training plan:

• Barbell Squats (intervals 1,3)
• Pushups (intervals 2,5)
• Chin ups (intervals 4,6)
• Sprinting in place (intervals 7,8)
• Equipment needed: Barbell with weights, surface mat for pushups and a chin up bar
Tabata Training lasts 4 minutes and has 8 intervals in total lasting 20 seconds. Within those 20 seconds however, you are going all out. Make sure you use a weight where you can successfully go all out for all 8 intervals. Also make sure the exercises aren’t too hard and aren’t too easy. The exercises should hard enough so it makes you sweat and breath during an interval, however easy enough so you can last the whole Tabata session.

Using The Tabata Training Method Effectively
As mentioned above, you must be prepared and have chosen the correct exercises so you can see improvements in your fitness. However, what I didn’t mention was that you must have proper nutrition and rest if you want Tabata to work.

3 Reasons To Do The Tabata Training Method Instead Of Long Distance Running
1. Time
One of the down sizes of doing long distance running is that it takes time to get to the area where you are jogging to and back; and time for your heart rate and metabolism to shoot up. Because it takes time, you’ll have to work longer and harder in order to see the results (losing fat and/or improving cardio).

If you don’t know already, Tabata is a four minute session. Each Tabata has 8 intervals of which you exercise at a very high intensity for 20 seconds. After 20 seconds, you have 10 seconds to rest. Tabata is a form of high intensity training and one of the benefits of high intensity training is that it can boost your metabolism and heart rate up in a matter of seconds. Long distance running requires anywhere from 10 minutes to 30 in order to get your heart rate up. Not only that but you have to maintain that heart rate for the rest of the jog to get your body to burn fat.

2. Losing Fat
I’m sure you’ve encountered various people saying that the only way to lose fat is to jog. The truth is, jogging is only one of the ways to lose fat (and the slowest). As mentioned above, jogging takes time for your metabolism and heart rate to rise. So in order to burn fat while jogging, you have to wait a bit until your body can get into the fat burning zone.

Tabata training will raise your metabolism and heart rate up in no time. Because you are performing these exercises at a very high intensity, your body will have to work much harder to keep up. This will cause your heart to pump faster and your metabolism to rise; which you want if you are planning on losing fat. Your metabolism will stay at a high not only during the workout, but after the workout as well. This means that your body will be burning fat even when you aren’t doing anything.

3 Aerobic and Anaerobic Benifits
Izumi Tabata was the founder and creator of Tabata. He conducted a test which tested two groups of athletes. The first group was ordered to train in moderate intensity exercises (this includes jogging, skipping, swimming, cycling and so forth) at 70% lasting an hour for each training day for five days a week for a total of six weeks. The result from this group was that their aerobic system improved, however their anaerobic system improved little to none.

The second group was ordered to train 4 days a week for a total of 6 weeks at a high intensity (170%) each training day lasting 4 minutes. The results of this training group was that they increased their aerobic system much more than the other group and that they had a 28% increase.

This means that the group performing high intensity training (Tabata) had much more improvements than the group performing moderate intensity.

Above taken from: http://tabatatraining.org/

Tabata method
A popular regimen based on a 1996 study by Izumi Tabata uses 20 seconds of ultra-intense exercise (at an intensity of about 170% of VO2max) followed by 10 seconds of rest, repeated continuously for 4 minutes (8 cycles). Tabata called this the IE1 protocol. In the original study, athletes using this method trained 4 times per week, plus another day of steady-state training, and obtained gains similar to a group of athletes who did steady state (70% VO2max) training 5 times per week. The steady state group had a higher VO2max at the end (from 52 to 57 ml/kg/min), but the Tabata group had started lower and gained more overall (from 48 to 55 ml/kg/min). Also, only the Tabata group had gained anaerobic capacity benefits
Long aerobic workouts have been promoted as the best method to reduce fat, as fatty acid utilization usually occurs after at least 30 minutes of training. HIIT is somewhat counterintuitive in this regard, but has nonetheless been shown to burn fat more effectively. There may be a number of factors that contribute to this, including an increase in resting metabolic rate. HIIT also significantly lowers insulin resistance and causes skeletal muscle adaptations that result in enhanced skeletal muscle fat oxidation and improved glucose tolerance.
Recently it has been shown that two weeks of HIIT can substantially improve insulin action in young healthy men. Similarly, in young women, HIIT three times per week for 15 weeks compared to the same frequency of SSE exercise was associated with significant reductions in total body fat, subcutaneous leg and trunk fat, and insulin resistance. HIIT may therefore represent a viable method for prevention of type-2 diabetes

Above taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-intensity_interval_training

Week 5 day 3 +Technogym Arke Training and todays nutrition

Afternoon all.

Trained this morning with Russell again and we did shoulders. Started with some light dumbbell shoulder presses, followed by some sets to 8 rep failure followed by front raises, side raises and rotator cuff frontal exercises. We then hit the plate loaded shoulder press machine where we did an ascending pyramid on a shoulder press.
We finished off with a few light core exercises, including using the new technogym arke training medicine type balls.

I’ve just had lunch which consisted of two oven chicken breasts wrapped in ham, with chilli flake accompanied with a 2 egg omelette with chilli. (quite chilli orientated)

@beachfitproject #beachfitproject – twitter

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Enjoy the article today on the new technogym arke range.

Below is an article from technogym on the arke range and it’s uses:

technogym arke picture here
The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) has counted functional training among its projected top fitness trends for 2011.

Functional training has already proven to be a success because asit is based on natural movements, it allows users to gain an ease of movement never before experienced in everyday activities.

ARKE – train the best possible way
For you and your fitness staff, ARKE represents an innovative approach to Functional Training, based on new tools and a method designed and tested by the Technogym Scientific Center.
For your members, it represents a journey along the development of their posture, from childhood to adulthood, and to regaining genuine physical well-being.

The ARKE tools and method will help all your members, from beginners to experienced athletes, to explore their movement potential by training in a new, effective and mindful way and achieving visible results, day by day.

Four categories – endless possibilities
The ARKE tools are divided into four categories , each named after one of the four natural elements (Earth, Water, Fire and Air) and characterized by different shapes and colours according to intensity and mode of use. The line includes three innovative pieces of equipment (Pendulum, Twin Clubs and Water 8 Ball) to revolutionise your approach to Functional Training.
Products & solutions
ARKE, the new kit for functional training

Offer your clients complete functional trainingwith Arke, the new Technogym solution for functional training.

Optimising physical efficiency means training your coordination, stability, balance, flexibility, strength, speed, agility, responsiveness, and cardiovascular & respiratory capacity.
ARKE, the new approach to functional Ttraining, is based on a newly designed equipment kit and a method designed and guaranteed by the Technogym Scientific Center

Appeals all members
From beginners to advanced users, one-on-one or in small groups, ARKE is suitable for everyone because it’s a training method that allows complete freedom of movement and involves all physical components, giving the best results with the support of a personal trainer.

What’s new
ARKE is an equipment line divided into four categories, each identified by a colour and a name inspired by the four classical elements (air, earth, water, and fire), and is composed of traditional elements as well as a few that are unique of their kind. Here they are.

Water 8Ball is a tool consisting of two semi spheres joined together, and because it is filled with water it has an unstable mass that makes it very helpful in developing balance.

Pendulum consists of a shaft with holes located at different heights, to which a sphere is attached that serves as a weight. Thanks to the holes on the shaft, the sphere can be positioned at different heights, changing the resistance that the user must supply during movement.

Twin Club is a pair of clubs with a new fastening system that allows them to be used both together and separately. Combining the two clubs in different ways, the centre of gravity can be symmetrical or asymmetrical, achieving different training results.

Complete Range
The air category consists of equipment filled with air, making the equipment suitable for throwing and for performing exercises on an unstable surface. It includes the Wellness Ball, Medicine Balls and Air Ball.

The earth category consists of Balance Dome, Kettle Blocks, Stability Disc, Balance Pad, and Foam Roller; these are all products used for performing exercises on the ground or with supports.

The water category includes equipment filled with this element, which makes the weight of the water balls and the Water 8ball dynamic and therefore unstable.

The fire category includes Pendulum and Twin Club, both suitable for warming up and strength training.

http://www.technogym.com/gb/company/news-and-events/news/products-solutions/arke-the-new-kit-for-functional-training/10552

Week 5 day 2 progress: Benefits of a cheat day explained, and why it is good for Dieting and fat loss

Morning all.

Back in the gym this morning, cardio today though. Two days ago I had my bi-weekly cheat day, where basically I eat what I wanted (il explain the benefits of that further down this article). I had a pasta bowl with meat an jalapeños, which was fairly heavy on the calories and fat, loads of carbs and some protein (mainly from the meat). I had a chocolate milkshake, low in fat but quite high in calories as it was mainly carb based, and some protein. We then in the evening after work had a BBQ and I could have been a little worst then anticipated, I opted for the chicken off the BBQ (bbq’d breast fillets) and I also had a rump steak. Later on that evening i had 3 small pieces of pizza with the lads for the boxing and then had some Ben and jerrys apple pie ice cream (that was beautiful).

All in all it was a successful cheat day, and that has kicked in the motivation again and refuelled me which will kick me on for the next two weeks until the next cheat day.

Benefits of having a cheat day in a hard training and diet programme:
The theoretical benefits of cheat days are:

1) you’ve been working hard for the week or two weeks in my case, and you can put the diet and training aside for one day and enjoy your life, not letting exercise and diet rule you for one day
2) motivational goal factor. Gives you something to look forward to after hard bouts of training
3) some research shows that a cheat day can be beneficial to a fat loss programme (explained below)
4) kick starts motivation for the next solid hard block of exercise
5) good for your mind body and soul, and for you to relax and reward yourself.

Scientific evidence below:

1) Increased thyroid hormone output. When in a caloric deficit, underfed individuals produce less T3 and T4—both important thyroid hormones that play roles in the regulation of metabolic rate. A cheat day or strategic overfeed is used in part to increase these hormones.
2) Increased 24-Hour Energy Expenditure. A caloric surplus from a cheat day causes the body to upregulate basal metabolic rate (BMR). Some studies have shown an increase of 9% above baseline, and it’s hypothesized that more is possible.
Increased serum Leptin levels. The big one that most harp on. Leptin levels drop while in a caloric deficit (lasting as little as 72 hours), and a periodic bump in leptin coming from a cheat day has several benefits including increased thyroid output, increased energy expenditure and BMR, and overall increased thermogenesis.

The above was taken from: scientific evidence above

More below about cheat days:

Physiologically, cheats can offer many benefits. If you have been dieting pretty hardcore, it’s likely that you have low muscle glycogen levels. Along with this often comes a sluggish feeling during your workouts and less than optimal strength.

Glycogen:
Glycogen is a polysaccharide of glucose (Glc) which functions as the secondary short term energy storage in animal cells. It is made primarily by the liver and the muscles, but can also be made by the brain and stomach.

You may also find that you are fatiguing faster than normal and are not able to keep up with your previous performance.

A cheat meal or day, since it often means an excess of calories and carbohydrates taken in, will serve to replenish some of these stores, which will help give you more energy and train harder at your next workouts.

Click Image To Enlarge.
Cheats Can Offer Many Benefits.
Along with decreased muscle glycogen that goes with dieting, there is also a slowing of the metabolism effect. The body senses starvation and tries to lower the amount of energy it needs to continue to function on a daily basis.

This means you will be burning less calories just sitting there than if you hadn’t been dieting, which makes weight loss even harder.

above taken from:

Hope you enjoy a cheat day too.

Don’t forget to add me on twitter: @beachfitproject

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Off Season bodybuilding Nutrition

Off Season Body Building Diet and Nutrition Tips

Below are a series on things you should consider before making your diet real specific

1) Make sure you eat enough – if you don’t your body could fall into catabolism which will eat the muscle for fuel
2) Make sure your eating clean. Only because you want to take in the extra calories, it doesn’t mean it comes from junk foods like KFC Subway or other fast food outlets etc. The off season is time to put on the majority of muscle, not fat
3) Carbohydrates throughout the day will be an important consideration to your diet. Fast digesting carbs (simple carbs) could be taken post workout as they spike your insulin levels and drive glycogen (sugars) to your muscles giving you a fuller look. Also drive amino acids from protein shakes and sources to your muscle which obviously is going to help with the recovery of the muscle and protein synthesis
4) Make sure you do some cardio! I’d recommend 3×30-45Minute sessions per week. This will give you the improvements in cardiovascular system, which will be vital for you when lifting heavy. This could have an effect on your lifting results if your cardio is not great!
5) If you do too much cardio your body will go into catabolism and start eating muscle for an energy fuel. You obviously don’t want this. Long slow distance will cause this on a treadmill, so if you jog at a slow pace for a long period of time you’ll be going in the wrong direction.
6) Make sure you have enough rest. This is where most of your size and strength is going to come from so that gains are notable.

Diet

1) Eat Clean up to 6 times per week, and enjoy one day of eating what you like. You could even have a day of eating 20% more calories, and the next 20% less, this will confuse the body and your metabolism will generally stay higher for longer, so you will tend to not put on as much fat
2) Your diet has to be broken down into smaller meals throughout the day.
3) Your meals should always consist of 40% Carbs, 40% Protein and 20% good fats

Sample Bodybuilding Diet For Men

Meal 1 (7 AM)
1 bowl of porridge oats with milk or water
Eggs! Get as many eggs down you as you can physcially handle

Meal 2 (9 AM)
Meal replacement or a protein powder (with around 40 grams of protein) mixed with 40 grams of carbs from liquids or in food form

Meal 3 (12 Noon)
1 cup of brown rice, or medium sized baked potato, or 1 cup wholemeal pasta
2 portions of green veg or any other desired vegetable
6-8 ounces of chicken, turkey, or lean fish

Meal 4 (3 PM)
Same as Meal 2

Meal 5 (6 PM)
1 cup of brown rice, or medium sized baked potato, or 1 cup wholemeal pasta
2 portions of green veg or any other desired vegetable
6-8 ounces of chicken, turkey, or lean fish

Meal 6 (8 PM)
Same as Meal 2
Definitely make sure that you cover at least the basics of supplementation which are a Multiple Vitamin and Mineral formula, 3 grams of Vitamin C split in 3 equal servings throughout the day, 200mcg of Chromium Picolinate, and essential fatty acids coming from either fish oils, flaxseed oil or extra virgin olive oil.

Have a look at creatine and glutamine supplements, and if your over the 25 years old bracket consider looking at some testosterone boosting supplements.

You can replace any of the following with other protein sources (if applicable) or varbs with other complex carbs.

You should consider taking some simple carbs post workout as mentioned above also.
4) ) The calories should be cycled. caloric cycling will not allow the metabolism to get used to a certain caloric level; something that leads to stagnant results.

Therefore, bodybuilders in search of just muscle mass should follow 5 days of high calories (lean body mass x 15) with two days of lower caloric intake (lean body mass x12). Bodybuilders in search of losing fat while building muscle at the same time should follow 5 days of lower caloric intake (lean body mass x12) with 2 days of higher calories (lean body mass x 15). (Note: If you build muscle and lose fat at the same time you will not gain muscle as fast as you would if you just concentrated in muscle mass.

Complex Carbohydrates:

1)Starchy: Oatmeal (1 cup dry), sweet potatoes (8 oz baked), potatoes (8 oz baked), rice (1 cup cooked), pasta (8oz cooked), corn (1 cup canned), peas (2 cups cooked). Each serving approximately equals 40-50 grams of carbohydrates.

2)Fibrous: Broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, green beans, lettuce, mushrooms, pepper, spinach. Each serving approximately equals 6 grams of carbohydrates.

Simple Carbohydrates:

Apples (1 apple), bananas (1 banana), grapefruit (1 grapefruit), grapes (22 grapes), oranges (1-1/2 orange), pears (1 pear), pineapple (3/4 of a cup).
Each serving approximately equals 20-25 grams of carbohydrates.

Protein:

Good examples of protein are eggs (I use Egg Substitute: 1-1/2 cups liquid), chicken breast (cooked, skinless and boneless: 6 oz), turkey (cooked, skinless and boneless: 6 oz), lean (90% lean) red meats (6 oz), and tuna (6 oz). Each serving size equals approximately 35-40 grams of protein.

2g of protein per Pound of bodyweight youl need for “bodybuilding”.

Good Luck, and enjoy.

Carb Cycling week 4 day 4 with pictures, and optimum nutrition casein protein review + Benefits

Evening all.

Today’s another carb re-feed day.
The weathers beautiful and yet I remain dedicated to the cause and went to the gym tonight after a course inside most of the day. Pretty useful though.

Tonight I trained heart rate sprints again but this time I could not do active recovery sprints in form of the hurricane training as the instructor that was on shift does not like a barbell to be behind a treadmill, although they were empty but still I can see his point from a health and safety point.
So I upped the pace on the sprints and added an incline to a gradient of 3% which seemed to tire me out a little, of course I was sweating like a hamster in morocco but once again the respiratory gains in breathing after the exercise are second to none.

I’ve tried to intake carbs on a steady basis throughout the day and in the opposite direction limit the fats. I trie to add a little protein to each meal on a carb day, but obviously tonight when I had pasta the only protein that was present was either the dust in the air or a little pepper. So I’m going to wait and take in a casein slow release shake before bed, and below this article il list the benefits of a casein protein, and a good recommendation which I tried the other day courtesy of Optimum Nutrition (a massive 24g of protein per serving)

As a reward for this 8 week beachfitproject I’ve just booked a week to Gran Canaria, which il be enjoying at the end of June.

The casein I tried was a sachet of Optimum Nutrition Vanilla Casein. Wow, it was gorgeous. Was superb mixed with 300ml of water, no bits, just a cracking honest great tasting shake from Optimum. I’d definitely recommend it and will be recommending to the lads in the gym where I work. Is super as well if you have a sweet tooth, thick and creamy!
Here’s the article on Casein Protein, taken from live strong; which most of you will know associated Lance Armstrong – and what a hero that guy is!

Protein has been shown to improve weight management, muscle growth, immune function and exercise recovery. It is derived from a variety of different food sources including; rice, egg, milk, pea and soy. Casein protein is the predominant protein found in milk. It makes up about 80% of the protein in cow’s milk, while the remaining 20% of protein in milk comes from whey. Casein protein is extracted from the milk through ultra filtration, without the use of chemicals. The key benefits of casein protein are that it is slow-digesting, has an excellent amino acid profile and enhances muscle growth.

SLOW DIGESTING PROTEIN
Casein protein is a slow-digesting protein that forms a gel in the gut. Amino acids are then steadily released into the blood stream over the course of time. Unlike whey protein that peaks absorption in forty minutes, casein protein takes 3-4 hours to reach peak levels in blood amino acids and protein synthesis. The body can continue to absorb casein protein for up to seven hours.

MUSCLE GROWTH
According to Slooten, muscle growth is dependent on the balance between protein synthesis and protein breakdown. The goal is to increase protein synthesis and decrease protein breakdown. Casein protein is considered to be a muscle-sparing protein. Since casein protein slowly enters the blood stream, it has very little impact on protein synthesis, but it has a powerful effect on reducing protein breakdown.

USING CASEIN PROTEIN
To take advantage of casein proteins effectively, you need to use them at the optimal times of day. Casein protein is the best and only protein to take before going to sleep. Since casein breaks down steadily over time, it will continue to allow the body to absorb muscle-sparing protein throughout the night.

Casein protein may also be used if you are going to go without food for more than three hours or are using a protein shake as a meal replacement. Ideally, a 50/50 blend of whey and casein is your best choice as a meal replacement. This blend will give you a quick shot of protein and a sustained release of protein to carry you until the next meal.

REFERENCES
“Men’s Total Fitness;” Casein Protein: The Slow Digesting Protein; Travis Slooten, 2008
“Precision Nutrition” All About Protein Powers; Dr. John Berardi, 2007
Article reviewed by MER Last updated on: May 3, 2011

Article above was taken from:
live strong casein protein article

Optimum nutrition casein protein Image taken from above website

Week 4 day 2 Diet Summary with Pictures

Evening all,

This morning I trained with Russell, and trained chest. The majority of sets aimed for 8-12 rep failures, and trained quite hard and intense for a good hour solid.

Today’s diet has been fairly accurate again. Aiming for the majority of energy source coming from protein and fats you can see the calorific breakdown of what I eat today.

If you want to know more specifically what I eat today including protein intake from isolate whey, find me at @beachfitproject
on twitter for more info

Il also be adding photos from
Body power 2012 in the next few days

Todays Training Summary: MMA Hurricane training and HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training)

Morning All,

In this article il sumarise todays training at the gym, and explain the benefits of what I did and why.

 

Before I start with todays article: this post has a few references from external references with links, so if you don’t want to read all, you can obviously just skip through.

This morning I did the vast bulk and majority of the exercise doing HIIT Training with Activity Recovery MMA Hurricane training in between sprints.

The benefits of HIIT training are summarised below:

HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) is cardio  performed at such an intense level that your body will spend the rest of the day  expending energy to recover.

This is commonly  referred to as EPOC (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption) and it means that  you consume a great deal more oxygen recovering from the exercise bout than you  would have if you’d just done a steady-state workout. This means that  you will be burning up to nine times more fat while sitting on the couch later  that night than you would have if you’d spent an hour on the treadmill at a  moderate pace

When you perform long-duration, moderate-intensity exercise, you can actually  put yourself in a catabolic state in which you will start losing muscle mass – some of that hard-earned muscle will start degrading itself in  your quest to get lean.

“High Intensity Interval Training is all about speed. Speed during exercises – it’s intense. Speed during workouts – usually they last less than 20 minutes and speed for results – an hiit workout will lose up to 9 times more fat than a similar cardio workout. It is mostly used for individuals trying to lose weight but the rate at which it can make you fitter makes it valuable for all types of exercise. It has a number of distinct goals and differences which make it unique” – Cited from: http://www.intervaltraining.net/hiit.html

The hurricane training I performed was only a touch on what the real thing is:

I sprint on the treadmill for almost full exhaustion for 45-60 seconds, get off and do a full body compound exercise for 10 reps, then active recover until my heart rate reaches a particular rate again, upon which I perform the cycle again but this time change the compound exercise in between:

you can see below how to make your own hurricane plan courtesy of Mens Health Magazine:

http://www.menshealth.com/fitness/simple-fat-burning-exercises

Simply pick one exercise from the options (a, b, or c) listed in each group.  Then do all five exercises in the order shown, without resting. That’s one  round. Rest for 2 minutes between rounds, and then repeat up to 2 more times.  Use this plan twice a week, on the days between your regular workouts.

Exercise #1  (select one)

Option A. Jump rope Skip or jump at the highest  intensity you can maintain for a total of 60 seconds.

Option B. Treadmill run Go at the fastest pace that you  can maintain for the entire 60 seconds.

Option C. Shadowboxing Throw punches at an imaginary  opponent—alternate hands, and mix jabs and hooks to the body and head—while you  dance and duck as if you were in the ring.

Exercise #2  (select one)

Option A: Stepup Place your left foot on a bench and  push your body up until both feet are on it. Step down with your left foot, and  then your right. Repeat, this time starting with your right foot. Continue to  alternate.

Option B: Bench jump With your feet shoulder-width  apart, dip down and jump up onto a bench. Step down and repeat.

Option C. Scissor bench jump Place your left foot on a  bench with your right foot on the floor. In one movement, jump up and switch leg  positions in midair. Continue to alternate to the left and  right.

Exercise #3 (select one)

Option A: Medicine-ball crunch Perform a classic crunch  while holding a medicine ball against your chest.

Option B: Medicine-ball Russian twist Sit holding a  medicine ball in front of your chest. Lean your torso back slightly and raise  your feet off the floor. Now rotate the ball to your left and then to your  right. Move back and forth quickly.

Option C: Medicine-ball pike Lie on your back with your  body straight, holding a medicine ball behind your head. Now simultaneously  raise your legs and arms until the ball touches your  feet.

Exercise #4 (select one)

Option A. Pushup Keeping your body rigid, lower  yourself until your chest touches the floor. Repeat as many times as you can in  60 seconds, even if you have to stop—just rest and start again.

Option B: Chinup Using a shoulder-width, underhand  grip, pull your chest to the bar. Repeat as many times as you can in 60 seconds,  just as you did on the pushup.

Option C: Dip Lower your body until your elbows are  bent 90 degrees. Repeat as many times as you can in 60 seconds, just as you did  on the pushup.

Exercise #5 (select one)

Option A: Walking lunge Step forward with your left  foot, lower your body into a lunge, and then bring your right foot forward. Now  push your body back to a standing position.

Option B: Squat thrust Squat and lean forward so that  your hands are on the floor and you’re on the balls of your feet. Then kick both  legs back into a pushup position, reverse back to a squat, and jump as high as  you can.

Option C: Jump squat Stand with your feet  shoulder-width apart, lower your body until your thighs are parallel to the  floor, and then jump as high as you can.

Read more at Men’s Health: http://www.menshealth.com/fitness/simple-fat-burning-exercises#ixzz1vDFj72Xe

 

Today’s Nutrition and Training Summary with Pictures

Today my dietary goals were almost met to around 100%. I exercised a lot today so naturally to keep up my metabolism I had to intake more.

My carbs were at nearly the 100G mark and protein and fat levels were high, although I would have liked the sat fats to be a little lower, which they may be as the diet App I use is not 100% accurate and cannot its values for a true reading, although it does give a good estimate as you can enter or change existing or new values.
my carb levels are low for a reason, so my main nutrients has to come from
Proteins and good fats. Don’t be afraid to eat fat in your diet!

Carb cycling is all in the mind! Once the initial stage of cutting down on carbs is overcome your body will be able to adapt no problem at all.

I will be increasing the vitamins in my body, as I could perhaps do with a vitamin that levels out blood sugar and insulin levels. This will come with a vitamin D tablet and perhaps something spicy like a tablespoon of cinnamon.

Tomorrow is the re-feed day which I’m looking forward too, to get some good quality carbs down me.

Enjoy the pictures below, any questions you can find me at:

@beachfitproject – twitter

Diet myths and Body Power 2012

Looking forward to body power 2012 at the NEC this weekend, should be a very cool event and il be taking lots of snaps and hopefully getting some pictures with some big names and stars.

Who is going? Tweet me at @beachfitproject

Today I’m on the third day of the carb-cycle and tomorrow is the re-feed day.

This morning I trained chest at the gym with Russell again. I then went to teach an easyline air based resistance circuit to a few older people, which I got involved with and also worked up a little sweat!

Training is going well at the moment and so is the diet.

Have a read below:

I went online and looked up articles on what a typical RD eats on a daily basis. Here are some of the results I found:

Breakfast: 1 cup black coffee, 2 cups Bran Flakes OR 1-2 slices whole wheat toast with 2 tablespoons peanut butter, 1 cup skim milk?

Snack: Blueberry non-fat yogurt?

Lunch: 2 cups carrots or raw veggies or salad with ½ cup 2% cottage cheese OR 1/4 cup hummus OR 2 tablespoons dressing (or, sometimes a small sandwich). 1 cup fresh fruit (strawberries/grapes/orange/melon)?and 3 tablespoons nuts (peanuts or almonds) or?Triscuits or Granola Bar.

Snack: Apple?

Dinner: Broccoli with cheese, fish or poultry (no red meat), salad, whole wheat dinner roll or brown rice, diet soda. Microwaved frozen veggies in a Ziploc steam bag.
Night Snack (some days): Varies. Light ice cream, fudgesicles, yogurt, nectarines, clementines, graham cracker goldfish, flavored seltzer.

If the average American follows this meal plan, they can expect the following:

-Body composition of 25-30% body fat
-Inability to build muscle tissue
-Poor energy levels
-Poor sleep
-Hunger and cravings between meals
-Impaired detoxification pathways

This diet is excessively high in processed foods, carbohydrates and sugar, and totally deficient in protein, quality fats, fiber, and antioxidants. So even though it’s not fast food, eating this way long-term will leave you just as malnourished and unhealthy. Let’s take a good look at four simple ways to make over this meal plan and improve the health of our people.

1. Quit cold cereals and starch-heavy breakfasts. Charles Poliquin is king of the meat and nuts breakfast, and for good reason: it works. Eating protein and nuts at breakfast gradually increases the body’s energy levels and mental focus by raising neurotransmitters throughout the morning. Adding quality fats like raw nuts provide trace minerals that help stabilize blood sugar. Balanced blood sugar means sustained energy all day long—without the dreaded 3pm crash or nighttime cravings. It’s not only adults who benefit from this; children who eat this way will enjoy improved cognitive benefits and live (relatively) tantrum-free. Rotate your proteins and nuts to avoid potential food sensitivities down the road and keep life more interesting.

2. Eat protein throughout the day to support adrenal function and detoxify the body. The detoxification pathways in the liver are based on a two-phase system that requires amino acids to work. Phase I requires glutathione, N-acetylcysteine to function; Phase II requires glutathione, glycine, glutamine, methionine, taurine, glutamic acid, and aspartic acid. Inadequate levels of these amino acids from dietary protein means decreased liver function and detoxification. Detoxification is essential for hormonal regulation, deep sleep, balanced biochemistry and digestive wellness.

3. Do not use a microwave and never heat foods in plastic containers. Microwaving is a controversial topic. A 2010 study showed that microwaved vegetables retained more phenolic compounds than boiled vegetables, because nutrients were leached out of the water they were cooked in. On the flip side, a 2007 study in the Journal of Food Science showed that microwave heating induced acrylamide formation- a carcinogenic compound that can damage the nervous system. Adding water can greatly accelerate the loss of nutrients when cooking any food, so methods like steaming or low-heat sautéing will enable vegetables to retain their antioxidant status.
When cooking foods, use a chemically inert container like stainless steel, enamel-coated cast iron, glass, or clay pots. Plastic containers, especially when heated, leach harmful Bisphenol-A—a hormonal disruptor that mimics the effects of estrogen and gets stored in fat cells.

4. Eat dark green leafy vegetables every day. I hail to kale at least three times per week because it is one of the mostly nutritiously verdant vegetables you can eat. Kale is alkalizing in the body, and facilitates the liver’s ability to eliminate environmental toxins. You can enjoy kale two simple ways:

Kale chips- Tear one head of kale leaves into small, bite-size pieces. Toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar. Spread on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes.

Kale smoothies- In a Vitamix, toss in ½ head of kale, 1 cup almond milk and ½ cup water, 1 tablespoon cocoa powder, 1 scoop chocolate whey protein, and ½ cup fresh blueberries. Blend on high for 10 seconds.

References

Yuan Y, Chen F, Zhao GH, Liu J, Zhang HX, Hu XS. A comparative study of acrylamide formation induced by microwave and conventional heating methods. J Food Sci 2007 May;72(4):C212-6.