Weight Training at Home: May 2012

You can not out train a bad diet

At Hybrid we only offer classes and training modalities that are going to achieve great results. How great these results are though are highly reliant on how much you want these results. Our sessions will help you lose fat, gain lean muscle mass, move better, feel better etc. but if you are going home and eating cookies, bread, cereal, drinking soda etc. then you will not see a big physical difference in your shape. Sure you may become fitter but unless you eat well you will never get the true benefits of effective exercise. YOU CANNOT OUT TRAIN A BAD DIET.

Its time for you to re-think our evaluate your fitness goals, if you want a high increase in performance, a large change in body composition (amount of fat you have against amoutn of lean muscle) then it's time to evaluate your food consumption.

For example are you eating protein at each meal? are you avoiding processed and white foods? are you taking snacks to work that are prepared by you or rely on zipping down to the shop and be tempted by high carb processed foods.

If you train hard you need to eat smart, not only to look good but to avoid lifestyle diseases like diabetes, arthitis, heart diseases etc.

At every meal and snack you have a choice of what to put into your body. Maximise you chance for success by eating right.

To help you with this we are putting together a Hybrid Nutrition guide that is designed to give you helpful hints on how to eat properly and healthy.

Food choice is up too you, join the goodies against the fight with the badies!!

Our 1st Ever "No Mere Mortal" is.......

Sunday the 20th May saw the 1st ever Hybrid Fitness No Mere Mortal Challenge. 3 testing events each with its own twist as each competitor was given a surprise card that changed the prescribed workout. The event also required contestants to dress up as a superhero which again made things all that more interesting.

No one knew what the 3 events were until the seconds before they were performed. Everyone performed admirably and can hold there heads high. I hope everyone had an enjoyable day.

After the events were over the honour of the first ever Hybrid no mere mortal went to Kate O'Mara. Kate like everyone else competed like an animal, or should I say like a superhero, and she is a very deserving winner. It was also great to see 2nd and 3rd going to husband and wife in Lisa and James. Congratulations Kate and everyone else that took on the challenge.

Big thankyou to our Judges and staff on the day, Pete, Jen, and Josh.

Stay tuned for the video re-cap on the event.

Exercise now to benefit later

Typical quadriceps MRI scan of a 40-year-old triathlete compared with the quadriceps MRI scans of a 70-year-old triathlete and a 74-year-old sedentary man. Note the significant visual difference between the SCAT and IMAT of the sedentary man versus masters athletes

The follow picture says it all really. The picture shows leg muscle mass of a triathlete at 40, a triathlete at 70 and a couch potato at 70. What is interesting is the girth of the legs are the same in both 70 year olds however the composition is anything but (ever heard me mention Skinny Fat? this picture shows what skinny people who diet wrong with out exercise are really made up off.... More on this another time though).

Ok so the 70 year old sedentary person (the couch potato) obviously does no resistance training, and no exercise and what we can see is a heap of fat (adipose tissue) has replaced the muscle that has broken down. If we do not do exercise and in particular do resistance exercise we start losing our muscle at the age of about 30, if we do exercise though we maintain this muscle and this can be seen in the 70 year old triathlete who still has all of his/her muscle mass. Great example comparing a 40 year old and a 70 year old who both exercise, the benefits can not be argued with here.

Want to be in super shape at 70? If so Come get some at HYBRID!!!

Artificial Sweeteners, substances to be avoided.

I was talking to a guy today that substitues regular soft drinks for diet soft drinks, his reason being that artificial sweetners are not sugar, have no to little calories and do not cause an insulin release in the body which would encourage excess energy to be stored as fat. My response was maybe there is no insulin release but artificial sweetners are toxic and should be avoided, just as bad as sugar.

Besides being toxic and being linked to cancer, causing headaches, diziness etc artificial sweeteners can make you fat. Yes artificial sweetners is not sugar and is low in calories but the body/brain still reacts like you have eaten sugar and it tries to store glucose that is non-existent which in turn triggers the feeling of being hungry, the body is now craving sugar and leads to you probably eating high sugar processed foods to alleviate this hunger.

So get rid of the diet soft drinks, energy drinks or anything that has an artificial sweetener, this stuff is toxic, harmful and will still result in you storing fat, drink water every chance you get.

If you don't believe me google the negative affects on artificial sweetners, I am sure you will be suprised, actually shocked at the harm they cause.

In reality not so sweet for the body and brain

Chai Seeds - a super food

You have all been advised on the benefits of Omega-3 fats, Omega-3's are essential fatty acids, your body can not produce them you need to get them from food, if you aren't familiar with the benefits, just a few include;

stimulation of blood circulation
reduce blood pressure
reduce blood triglyceride levels
reduce risk of heart disease
reduces inflammation and helps lower risk of chronic arthritis

So you can what the fuss is about with Omega-3's, if you do not get enough symptoms of omega-3 fatty acid deficiency include fatigue, poor memory, dry skin, heart problems, mood swings or depression, and poor circulation.

It is recommended that fatty fish (mackerel, sardines, tuna, salmon) are a great source of Omega-3 fatty acids but another plant based food full of Omega-3's is the Chai Seed.

Chai Seeds are actually the highest known plant source of Omega-3, it actually has around 6-8 times more than salmon. Not only is it rich in the essential fatty acids it is rich in Vitamins A, B12, C and also very high in protein and fibre.

And problem the best news is that Chai Seeds are easy to use, all you need to do is sprinkle them on your foods you are already eating. You can put them on just about anything as they are tasteless, on top of youghurt, in smoothies, in salads etc.

Chai Seeds were hard to get hold of a few years ago but with the unleashing of its health benefits and mainstream society learning of this you can now get them anywhere, I get mine from the health food section at our local coles.

So if you don't eat Chai seeds next tiem you are at the supermarket grab some, it truely is a superfood.

Well Said Jim

Every good gym has great mentors, We use what we learn from these mentors and pass that on to our clients. Sure we have our own ideas and philosophies as well but we take great notice in what great trainers/fitness professionals say around the World. People like Gambetta, Boyle, Sonnon, Cook, Baker, McGill, Ferrugia, Wendler, Everett etc are just a few that I personally have read a great deal of articles and books on, however these are just the tip of the iceberg. If I am not writing programs, thinking of strength and conditioning ideas I am usually reading about it. Every night is spent reading, researching concrete info (not watching so called you tube experts with little qualification or experience behind them, but thats a whole other blog!!)

OK so my point here!!, today I came across a great article, ( I posted it to facebook - the link is at bottom of this article) and I came across a guy named Jim Smith who I had never heard of. I was impressed by what I read, honesty and a no bull crap message on fitness and wellbeing. Turns out that I will learn a heap more about Jim Smith, he is a certified strength and conditioning coach (just like all the trainers at Hybrid) and owner of Diesel Strength. Read below what he wrote, very much the philosphy we operate by at Hybrid.

Jim Smith, The Life Changer
The fitness industry is very unique. It has a staggering failure rate, yet still grosses billions of dollars per year. So why aren't people reaching their goals when they are clearly spending their hard-earned money to support every new fitness fad that hits the market? Achieving your fitness goals and the getting the body you want doesn't have anything to do with the latest fancy gadgets or today's most popular workout routine - it all depends on YOU. Our daily lives are filled with negativity from going to a job we don't like, allowing negative people into our circle of friends and from trying to escape our past. These roadblocks and self-imposed self-doubt can many times prevent us from achieving any goal we set for ourselves in and out of the gym – and from living the life of our dreams.

If you ever want to achieve great things in your life, you must first start with belief in yourself. This small spark can turn into a raging fire that can burn down the bridges to your past and help you eliminate the obstacles that you face every day. Once you have this belief, you will become unstoppable if you also take action. Focus on small progress every day and live every moment - and don't fear failure. You don't have to be perfect, just persistent. Realize that every second that you are not taking action is another day living the life you so desperately want to change.

Simple Really

I see people post pictures of inspirational images, words and sayings. If used the right way they are a great tool for motivation, focus, discipline, and inspiration. Just like training and diet though the best images/sayings may be the most simple ones. Here is a picture I came across from a NZ weightlifting competiton, the picture in the background sums it up perfectly. If this is what you inspire to be you will be on the right track, the track to success. Simple really but hard to put in practice. Every time you do something or attempt something make this your motto.

BE THE BEST YOU CAN BE!!!