Q: What are the 10 principles?
A: Eat protein with complex carbs – the perfect combination is 40% protein & 60% complex carbs.
Eat variety of foods
Stay hydrated
Fuel up frequently – Eat right foods little and often
Eat breakfast
Exercise is essential
Make time to eat
Avoid sugar – many foods contain natural sugar.
Follow 80:20 rule – be correct 80% of the time.
Eat fat to lose fat – Certain essential fats contribute a grate deal for the body to function properly.
Q: Is it okay to replace my two weekly workouts with one that's double the length?
A: If you lead a hectic lifestyle, it's a tempting thought. But don't let a Personal Trainer hear this kind of talk. To keep improving your fitness you need repeated, regular workouts. During periods of inactivity your body starts reverting to its pre-training level. Besides, you can't sustain the same level of intensity or technique for 90 minutes as you would for 45, particularly when you're doing resistance training. It's quality not quantity that counts.
Q: I'm thinking of starting a low-fat diet, but a friend says this isn't good for you. Is this true?
A: Yes. Without a certain amount of fat in your diet, you lower your intake of vital nutrients such as Vitamins A, D and E, and miss out on essential fatty acids which prevent or control all kinds of ailments and conditions, such as heart disease, cancers, arthritis, PMS and menopausal symptoms. The Department of Health recommends women keep their fat intake above 50g a day. But if you do want to reduce the fat in your diet, the healthiest way is to reduce saturated and trans-saturated fats - found in cakes, biscuits, pies and other heavily processed foods - and replace them with essential fatty acids and monounsaturated fats, such as those found in nuts, olive oil, avocados and oily fish
Q: How can I prevent stiffness the morning after exercise?
A: Several factors cause your post-exercise stiffness, the most common being muscle fatigue and subsequent rebuilding of the structure of the muscle. During a workout, your muscle tissue is subject to physical trauma which can cause minor damage as you rupture microscopic fibres in the muscle. The muscle also produces lactic acid as a by-product of the exercise and it is a combination of the two that produces aching and stiffness the following morning. After a hard workout people frequently just stop the activity and go straight to the changing room. The body at this point would benefit from some gentle stretches and warm down exercises to get the blood steadily flowing though the muscles, washing away some of the lactic acid.
Q: When I go running, I seem to hit a wall of pain and then stop. Should I carry on however much pain I am in?
A: If you are aiming to run for a relatively long period of time then you should reduce the speed you are running at to ensure you don't experience that pain and can keep going. Alternatively you can run hard for perhaps three minutes then jog or even walk for three minutes to recover and repeat that for the desired total time: this will also boost your endurance. Pushing your body past what is comfortable is certainly necessary to cause adaptations in the body, but a 'wall of pain'doesn't sound productive or very pleasant to me!
Q: Regular running seems to cause me constant minor injuries why?
A: Little injuries and niggles are fairly common while runnin, there are a number of possible causes and identifying the problem can be a process of elimination. Inappropriate, old or worn running shoes are often the cause of impact-related injuries. Suddenly increasing the frequency and duration of your training sessions can also cause adverse reactions. A physiotherapist or sports injury practitioner would be able to identify other potential causes, such as instability at the pelvis or an imbalance in the flexibility and/or strength of the muscles you use when you run.
Q: Soya - what's all the fuss about?
A: Soya products have been popular with vegetarians for years because of their high protein content. Recently, though, its appeal has become widespread, mainly because of the health claims and the fact it is a non-dairy alternative to milk. Research has shown that eating Soya can lower cholesterol. It may also have benefits relating to heart disease, breast cancer, the menopause and osteoporosis. Watch out, though - Soya is one of the most genetically modified foods around, so buy organic where possible. There is also some evidence to suggest that Soya products can have detrimental effects on the body, such as breast growth in men, so it might pay to do your research before you choose to change over!
Q: Are vitamin pills a good substitute for fruit and vegetables?
A: Some people don't know if they're getting their daily requirement of five portions, so they take vitamin tablets," says nutritional consultant Ian Marber. "This is fine, but unless your diet's very limited - say you dine on fish and chips every night - you shouldn't really need them. Also, most fruit and veg contain loads of extra goodies - including cancer-fighting anti-oxidants - that supplements don't offer and are full of fibre. If you do resort to supplements, be aware that one nutrient can affect the absorption of another. For instance, increasing your calcium or zinc intake can reduce your body's absorption of iron.
Q: Should I workout when I have a cold?
A: Nobody wants to mess up their fitness routine over a trifling illness. Stop exercising at the first sign of a cold, be it a sore throat, headache or tickly cough. When under attack from infection, your body needs to use its energy resources appropriately. The more exercise you do when you're ill, the less energy there is to fight bugs. If you continue to exercise, at best, the cold will take longer to clear up and at worst, your condition could deteriorate further. So, when the sniffles start creeping up on you, we advise you to sit back and get down a healthy dose of Vitamin C, Echinacea and garlic.
