You’re probably aware of the importance of protein when it comes to body composition, muscle mass and optimal health.
And for a good reason, after all, it’s the foundation of the muscle tissue we work so hard to acquire and maintain.
It’s likely you’ve even taken steps to increase the amount of protein you consume. Protein shakes anyone?
What’s less understood is how much protein is optimal for building muscle, burning fat and improving recovery, and how this might vary based on your goals.
Caffeine, glorious caffeine.
Known for its mind and body stimulating effects, caffeine is the most widely consumed drug globally.
You might even be caffeinated as you read this.
Caffeine is found in many plants' leaves, seeds, and fruits, including tea leaves, cocoa beans, and coffee beans.
You already know that yoga can improve flexibility and strength, in fact, many people are surprised after their first class at just how physically demanding it can be.
But beyond the demanding poses and modern advertising of what’s become almost a fashionable endeavour, yoga is an ancient practice that’s been around for thousands of years, and it’s not for no reason.
While Instagram reels would have you believe it’s all about extreme flexibility, there are a host of other reasons you might want to consider adding a yoga class or two into your weekly regime.
Keep reading if you want to discover some benefits of yoga that you may, and may not have considered.
As a new trainee pursuing an improved physique, strength gains are a fortunate byproduct.
But as the beginner gains curve begins to flatern, without specific intention, many athletes find their strength plateaus.
Perhaps you got into training for aesthetics, but as your obsession builds, you’re looking for a more performance orientated pursuit.
Today we’re going to discuss a fundamental principle of strength training, and how you can integrate it into your routine.
Testosterone is a hormone most men have heard of. After all, isn’t it THE hormone that makes a man, a man?
Because of its well-known links to muscle mass and sex drive, testosterone drives a lot of worry in men.
As you might expect, the internet is aware of this and is littered with potential ways to increase testosterone, often using photos of enhanced athletes in perfect lighting to lead you down a sales funnel to the latest supplement.
While some supplements can help, there are much more powerful and reliable ways to increase testosterone levels (T levels) naturally.
Have you ever woken up late for work and accidentally skipped breakfast?
Turns out you’ve also practised intermittent fasting (IF).
In fact, you are intermittently fast every day whether you realise it or not.
Let’s say you finish eating your dinner at 8 pm and aren’t eating breakfast until 8 am, guess what, you’ve just fasted for 12 hours.
While calories, macros and meal plans focus on WHAT you should eat, intermittent fasting is the practice of WHEN you should eat.
Do you ever find yourself at the end of your training session and think to yourself, damn, I should probably stretch but… nah.
Perhaps your body often feels tight and stiff, but you ain’t no yogi, you want to be jacked, strong and ripped, you wouldn’t be seen dead in the stretching zone.
But if you’ve ever experienced a serious injury, you'll remember that dealing with that can be a long and frustrating process.
If you want to minimise the chance of that happening as much as you can, this is your reminder. Today we’re going to highlight the benefits of stretching for injury prevention, and discover what kind of practice you might want to include in your routine.
So why is it important?
T-minus what seems like a lifetime until our precious gyms re-open. There’s light at the end of the tunnel for fitness fanatics, and that light shines down on the 12th April.
With just under a month until we can walk into our beloved gyms, this is the perfect time to congratulate our clients, and those yet to join Physique Academy, who have tackled lockdown head on and improve their fitness lifestyle. Those who have adapting their training programmes, completing home workouts and embracing the great outdoors for their cardio.
Unfortunately, lockdown has been the cause of many people who once loved training, neglect their fitness routines after the novelty of the Strava app wore off and the lack of access to gym equipment deterred any training motivation.
As the re-opening of gyms draws closer, we know there will be hundreds of thousands of gym goers eager to get straight back to where they left off. We love the determination, but this will do more damage than good. Here are some tips on returning to the gym after lockdown.
With a long break from the gym, your body has adapted to the reduced physical stress on your muscles, nerves and connective tissues. This means going straight into your 1 rep max after a prolonged time away from the gym is likely to cause injury and will increase your time away from the gym. For your first couple of sessions, bring back some of the intensity, reduce the weight from what you used to be able to lift and focus on your form.
“I’ve been in this game for a long time. From competing at 17 years old winning the Mr United Kingdom under 18s in my first bodybuilding show in 2013. Then going on to win 9 shows in just 2 years of competing. I’ve done my fare share of training and learning. I’ve found my passion for using that experience in all areas of training and lifestyle to help others achieve their goals. Physique Academy was born and I have loved every second of it. Like everything there are challenges and I wanted to share 10 things I’ve learned since starting the Physique Academy”
There are two different types of people. Those who act on their goals and strive towards what they want to achieve, they learn from their mistakes and take failure in their stride by understanding that failure is inevitable but look at this as a steppingstone on the road to success. There are also those who consider themselves as a victim, their constantly have a negative outlook on every aspect of what is happening around them, everything seems to be going wrong and they believe they have been dealt the wrong cards in life. Not only do they impact themselves through this way of thinking, but it can ultimately impact those around them to fall into this type of mindset.
When someone slips up or divert ‘off track’, do not consider this as failure. In fitness, it is not failure if you have gained a little bit of weight, it’s all about learning and using this as an experience because with fitness one weekend can be detrimental to someone’s fat loss results especially if you have a large appetite and enjoy your food. You could ruin time dedicated sticking to your training and nutrition plan but the moment you go off track is the pinnacle moment of whether you question yourself; are you going to act and get back into your routine? Or are you going to play what we call ‘the victim game’?
We see this multiple times. This is the moment when you step back and you think to yourself “what are we going to do here?”. A lot of the time, the victim game wins, especially if you have tried multiple training and nutrition programmes and have not seen the results you aim to achieve. It can be a constant battle with your goals, and it can be frustrating to keep fighting to achieve what you want to achieve. This isn’t just related to fitness, there are going to be things in life that will throw you off that track completely, but this is where you challenge your inner victim and come out stronger.
When training with Physique Academy, we can guarantee that there are going to be situations and barriers you are going to have to overcome but we nurture and enhance the positive mindset for you to wave goodbye to the ‘victim game’, the self-blame and negative thinking. We know that external factors have a factor on your fitness. Whether this is work, financial, family or friend related, these can lead to a downward spiral preventing you from staying on track with your training and nutrition. It’s vital that we work together to stop factors sabotaging your progress and continue to keep going, as this will not only continue to push you towards your goals, we guarantee this will help overturn any negative thinking you have with an alternative and fresh outlook at these external factors.
Do not worry if you have gone off track, or you have slipped up. This is not failure. Failure is letting this minor setback influence your future self and being unable to get back on that progress path you have worked so hard to get to. It has a lot to do with your emotions and how you deal with them and everyone has different ways of doing this. It may just take a minute for you to sit down, and simply tell yourself that you have slipped up and this is just temporary, or you talk to us here at Physique Academy and get the best advice on how to turn things around. We learn, overcome and adapt to these small hits, but we avoid playing the victim with positive headspace and realising what the real goals are.
If you have diverted away from your fitness goals and want to change your lifestyle and mindset then book a free consultation call with us here.
Sleep is vital to sports performance. There are numerous studies and countless professionals, some of whom are considered the best in their respected fields, that support the enhancement of physical and mental attributes associated with sleep.
Studies have shown that deprivation of sleep has a positive correlation with cravings calorie-dense, high fat foods. Those who gain the correct amount of sleep will find it much easier to make healthier nutritional choices as the hunger for junk food is much less than individuals who don’t. Getting yourself into a fixed sleep routine with enhance this even further as you will be consistently getting the ideal amount of sleep to curve those cravings.
Lack of sleep is known to effect mood and emotional health. Motivation is key to anyone’s fitness journey. It’s a main source of positive mindset that pushes you to keep going to achieve your fitness goals and reduced sleep can ultimately impact this.
Sleep facilitates the production of human growth hormones which repair damages muscles. A consistent sleeping regime in lined with a training schedule will allow for optimal performance and recovery. A full night’s sleep allows your body to recover from specific work-outs, maximising your preparedness for the following days session and reduces and potential injury problems.
Waking up with heaps of energy is positively correlated with a good night’s sleep. This will enable to you take on your training schedule with peak energy levels. A lack of sleep will decrease your stamina and will negatively impact your training, in some cases rejecting any training at all. Increasing your stamina levels by being well rested will impact your fitness goals.
HIIT training stands for High-Intensity Interval Training. This form of training consists of a combination of short bursts of a verity of exercises, usually paired to target all areas of the body with limited rest periods. Pushing your body to go harder in a shorter period of time has a multitude of benefits compared to your conventional training session or a steady state workout.
HIIT is a form of cardiovascular training and implementing a HIIT workout into your training regime will improve your fitness and stamina levels.
The result of training at high intensity in a shorter period of time challenges your body to work harder. Burning fat requires oxygen and the more oxygen you intake, which is increased with a HIIT workout, the more fat your body burns. This form of training also impacts the recovering and repairing of fatigued muscles, resulting in burning more body fat and calories post workout than you would from a steady state workout. Pushing your body’s repair cycle means you will burn fat for 24-48 hours after interval training.
Studies have shown that in the 24 hours after a HIIT workout, the body produces more human growth hormone than a steady state workout, encouraging your body to build and reserve muscle mass whilst targeting the removal of fat.
HIIT workouts can be adapted to all kinds of fitness levels. This can be done by reducing the number of exercises within the workout or extending the rest period to allow for optimal performance. HIIT workouts are also extremely versatile compared to your standard training session. You can change and modify these types of workouts to remain motivated as you are ultimately not getting bored of a repetitive routine.
Cutting back your calories can be detrimental to your fat loss results. We get it, you want to get fast results and achieve your results in the quickest time possible. A lot of the time, it’s really difficult to sustain a calorie intake that is pushing you both physically and mentally because when you cut back your calories your energy levels will decreased leaving you feeling lethargic, drained, fatigued, ‘hangry’ and will see an ugly side to yourself then when you were on a healthy and rigid diet tailored to your body. We’ve all been there; hunger can stir up emotions like anger and agitation. When you are on a fat loss journey and you cut your calories back too much too soon, these are the emotions you will feel frequently on a daily basis and is not sustainable.
These diets are not enjoyable and will end up hindering your quality of life for yourself and others around you. When you are trying to speed the process up too much and cut corners it never works. It’s rare that we see people go on a very strict low-calorie diet, get amazing results and then sustain it. Usually, the case is people cut back too much to speed up this process as a quick fix to look good but don’t consider the physical and mental implications. Essentially you cut back your calories and are left with no energy to train to your full capacity, you don’t enjoy the food included in your diet, you ruin relationships within your support system because of your mood and you are more likely to fall into an unhealthy regime. So, unless you are willing to completely suffer then you want to think about the long game and enjoy the process of training, eating the foods you enjoy and getting better results because of this.
This is journey for a reason. Take your time and trust the process and most of all enjoy bettering yourself, your lifestyle and your mindset. There is no such thing as a successful quick fix, it’s all about adopting those healthy habits and implementing a routine to allow you to enjoy the journey and relish in the results without suffering.
At Physique Academy, we guide every client on their diet and training to ensure they get optimum results whilst enjoying every second of the journey. We supply the tools every step of the way on the right time to alter specific parts of their training, whether this be cutting calories, adding certain food groups, increasing training to benefit each individual.
At Physique Academy, we constantly push our clients to implement, perfect and continue a specific routine. An effective routine result in consistency, and consistency effectively gets results. We promote a sustainable routine not only for the physical and fitness benefits, but in many ways building the foundations of a specific routine can enhance other areas of your life.
As humans, we are creatures of habit and good habits in the form of a well-structured and organized routine promote health and wellbeing. A routine can be applied to all areas of your life; the time you wake up, making your bed, morning steps, ensuring you eat breakfast, training and eating at certain times, going to bed. All these elements carried out each day, every day will form your routine and when you factor a routine into your training and nutrition, this is where we see the best results.
Training and nutrition aside, as we mentioned earlier a well-structured and organised routine promotes both health and wellness:
A daily routine has the ability to eliminate stress levels and can lead to better mental health. Having no routine can cause anxiety, leaving people feeling they can’t get things done because of the lack of organisation.
Becoming more organised through the help of a routine will ultimately lead to better health. Routines will enable you to free up more time ensuring you don’t miss that meal, you don’t skip that training session and you don’t slip into unhealthy habits. Healthy diets and training require advanced planning, by having no routine you are not planning ahead which can force last minute unhealthy nutrition decisions and lack of training.
Contrary to the title of this blog, no morning steps are not a miracle, but there are plenty of reasons both physically and mentally why you should boost yourself up and get active first thing in the morning with a step routine. Getting to the gym first thing in the morning for some may be impossible to due opening hours, commute, working hours and family commitments, but morning steps are the perfect alternative to maintaining your fitness and hold some fantastic health benefits.
Morning steps are a perfect way to kick start your daily routine. We’ve touched on the topic of why implementing a fitness routine is vital for success.
Getting outdoors for your morning steps has proven to be a natural energy booster when compared to indoor walking. A study showed that adults who walked for 20 minutes outdoors experiences more vitality and energy than those who walked indoors.
A morning walk has the ability to improve cognitive processing, meaning you can think more clearly and creatively throughout the day.
Completing exercise as your first task of the day will certainly lift your mood. As previously mentioned, morning steps can improve mental clarity, this can also reduce stress levels and anxiety towards daily jobs. Walking has proven to help release endorphins and serotonin, especially in an outdoor environment. These are your body’s natural mood and self-esteem enhancers.
Meal timings and frequency, are they important? So, in terms of timings, the most important timings for your meals we would say (if you’re training that is) is pre and post workout. The reason why that is you need to fuel your body to allow for optimum performance. Using carbohydrates before your training will give your body the energy to train at maximum capacity. Therefore, pre workout is extremely important for meal timing as is post workout to replenish your muscles.
In regards to meal frequencies, this is all dependant on your goal, a discussion and plan that we here at Physique Academy will specifically plan for your body, training plan and your objectives. If you’re aiming to build muscle, 4/5 meals will be much more beneficial than a few small meals a day or one enormous amount of protein meal per day. You’re going to be getting the best results by eating more frequently in a 24hr time period. Let’s say you’re every 2 to 3 hours, your body will constantly be getting those protein hits and this will build more muscle, enhance strength and improve performance. Your body will be in that state of growth and recovery instead of not having the effective amount of amino acids to build the muscle because you won’t have been fuelling your body with the correct amount of nutrients at the most effective times.
To keep it simple, if you’re trying to build muscle and maintain this muscle then 4/5 protein hits per day is going the be the most effective. If building muscle isn’t your goal, then get in touch with us here at Physique Academy for a FREE consultation call and let’s discuss.
After being knocked back from various football academies around the UK, George turned his attention to fitness as the age of 14. Gaining advice on both nutrition and training from a local Bodybuilding gym, George started competing at 17 years old and won the Mr United Kingdom under 18s in his first bodybuilding show in 2013. After which he went on to win 9 shows in just 2 years of competing. After taking a step back from competing, George found his passion for helping others achieve their fitness goals by sharing the expert advice he gained throughout his own journey. Coaching clients at all levels became his main goal and thus, Physique Academy was born.
At 14 years old, I started weight training in my garage. My brother Harry and I worked out with limited weights; a bench press, rusty dumb bells, a few kettle bells and an EZ curl bar. We then joined the local gym in the space of a year as we needed more equipment, but I will always thank that garage gym for opening my eyes to fitness and fuelling my passion for it.
I have two achievements I consider my greatest. Firstly, winning MR UK Body Building show at just 17 years old. Secondly, this is an unconventional achievement but overcoming a 4-year battle of injuries. Not only did this time period away from training to my full capacity took its tole on where I wanted to be physically, but also pushed my mental capability to the max. Fitness is my passion and injuries hindered this, but I managed to put my focus in helping others and getting back on track.
It has helped to build discipline, structure, relief stress, good habits and developed my mindset to push through difficult situations. These are they key elements I push on our clients, adopting a structured fitness routine will 100% help you in other areas of your life.
Let’s face it, going through your fitness journey as an individual can be a challenge. Going through the process alone will test your levels of dedication some days and there is nothing wrong with relying on support to keep you on track. In fact, we encourage it!
Identifying those around you who support your fitness goals, promote a positive mindset, and have similar interests and goals can improve your dedication and focus to achieving the lifestyle you aim for. We call this your ‘support system’ and choosing those to include can enhance and improve your fitness goals. Take a moment and think about friends and family, who are those who will encourage you to stay on the right path? Who are those who will congratulate you on your achievements? Who are those who will join you on your journey? These are the people you want to surround yourself with during this process.
This system usually includes friends and family but reaching outside your inner circle to groups who share the same interests and goals as yourself, can offer an extra level of support and can open new avenues of achieving your goals.
Immersing yourself with the right support system has both phycological and physical benefits. The physical benefits show in your results as the positive support system keeps you on your fitness journey, which in time will show physically. Also, choosing individuals who share fitness interests can help with the actual activity of training. You no longer have to go to the gym, run, cycle, walk (or whatever your training method) alone as you have your support system there to train with. As we mentioned, reaching out to other groups can introduce you to alternative training methods that can keep training from getting repetitive and keeps you motivated.
The psychological effect of having the right support system is vital to upholding a positive mindset. Your mindset is your greatest asset and surrounding yourself with people who encourage a positive outlook will influence your dedication. The social aspect of having a support system is also great for your mindset. Discussing training regimes, nutrition, exercising with those who share the same goals and interests will improve your focus and will allow yourself to enjoy the process more than going it alone.
We have covered how balancing calories in, and calories out is essential to weight maintenance. To lose weight, we must enter a calorie deficit and consume less calories than you output. Our bodies burn calories naturally because we burn calories when we use energy, predominantly through movement.
When we associate movement with weight sustainability or weight loss, it’s a common perception that a gruelling HIIT class is the only way to burn these calories and this can lead to people turning away from a changing their lifestyle because they feel the only way to lose fat is through this method. Yes, a HIIT class will burn more calories in a shorter amount of time, but there are small changes to your lifestyle that can contribute to your fitness goals.
This is where NEAT comes into play. NEAT stands for Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis – this relates to all the physical activity you do throughout the day that wouldn’t be considered as conventional exercise. Implementing some changes to your lifestyle can therefore increases NEAT as a simple way to lose weight.
Activities related to NEAT include:
When it comes to fitness, Social Media plays a huge part in shaping perceptions on how people should look, how they should train, what they should eat and even what they should wear to the gym. It’s a highly influential platform that has both negative and positive attributes and it’s important for those who are either wanting to start or are currently on a fitness journey, to use this tool effectively.
We recently discussed how choosing the right support system is essential to successfully achieving a healthier lifestyle and mindset, and this is the same model you should assign to your social media. Utilise the easy access platform to positively support your goals by choosing the right people to engage with.
Comparison can be detrimental to your progress. As social media can be such a good platform to inspire and motivate you, it can also destroy self-confidence and impact your progress. This aspect comes into reflection when you identify accounts to follow to inspire you. Let’s be serious here, those influencers that showcase incredible genetics and physiques have that have taken years of extreme training to achieve. No promoted 4 week ‘ab blast’ course can get you those results, contrary to what their paid ad comment may say. We are in no way throwing offense at these types of accounts, their physiques are aspirational and their dedication to achieving those results are nothing but admirable. But if you compare those level of results to your own journey, this can impact your self-confidence and may deter your progress by perceiving your achievements negatively. By all means, use these accounts as part of your support system if you control the level of comparison you align with your own goals. This method can be applied to all areas of your life; family, financially, career and socially.
Identify those accounts who have similar interests, fitness goals and are on a similar journey to yourself and engage with them. As part of the Physique Academy programme, we promote both physical and mental changes to your lifestyle. Follow accounts that promote a healthier lifestyle and positive mindset.
It’s important to realise that as you are subject to influencers on these platforms, but you also have the power to influence. Show your support to those on the same journey as you, share your progress and educate those with the knowledge you have gained throughout your journey. Look back to when you firs started your journey, did you have others support you through social media? If you did, how effective was that on your confidence and motivation to get to the next level. If not, then be that person for someone else and promote that support message.
