Motivation

How important is motivation?
To us at Bodytorque motivation is the number 1 ingredient for training! Knowledge of exercises, diet and training means nothing without it. Without motivation, will you leave work after a long hard day to then go to the gym and actually train hard? Will you still put your running trainers on and go out in the rain? Will you lift that extra rep?


Now dont get me wrong, we all struggle for motivation at times, Ive been fairly quiet on this blog recently as Ive had nothing to motivate me to write, BUT...A few of my clients have forwarded me articles this week that have kept them motivated and in turn inspired me to write this. Its about finding your own motivation & drive to reach a goal that you desire. Keeping focused until you achieve what you set out for and then continue to keep going! I can motivate all of my clients to a certain extent, but the real drive and commitment needs to come from within, a deep desire to achieve a certain goal.

Now for me, I find great motivation from videos such as this : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6krLeYduBY

What these athletes can do, even though disabled, is amazing! Feel motivated? What have you done this week to push your boundaries or take a step closer to your goals?

Here is a great article that one of my clients emailed me this morning, definately taking 2 minutes to read : http://thedailylove.com/do-you-know-what-time-it-is/

Catching my drift?

Motivation isnt just something that happens, you need to look for it, find it, fuel your desire and reach your goal! Its about focusing on the next stage, taking one step at a time and always moving forward. Nobody can do it for you, ITS UP TO YOU!
Thanks for reading, I hope Ive inspired a few of you. Instead of waiting for tomorrow, or monday to come round to rejoin the gym, JOIN TODAY! The time is now! If you found our article interesting please share it with friends, family and collegues to inspire them too!

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Suspension Training

The term suspension training refers to an approach to fitness training that uses a system of ropes and webbing called a "suspension trainer" to allow the user to work against their own body weight.

Suspension exercise offers a new form of training for people of all abilities. It allows you to leverage your own bodyweight with gravity to develop strength, balance, flexibility, and joint stability simulaneously.

1. By suspending your body against gravity you create dynamic resistance, allowing you to use gravity to target any muscle in the human body.
2. By changing the angle and thereby increasing or decreasing the resistance, you can find your optimal resistance point. The more horizontal you are, the more you are lifting.
3. Suspended bodyweight training forces your body to engage your core and stabilizer muscles, resulting in a more flexible, symmetrical and complete workout.

We have put together a video at Bodytorque to showcase just a few exercises for a full body workout.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqUSr27B5Ps&feature=plcp

Chest flies

Reverse back flies

Bicep Curls

Tricep extensions

Squats

Torso Twists

Shoulder Press

Plank / Half Plank

Spider Man Ab Crunches

Alternate leg ab crunches

 Hamstring Curls

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Dietery Supplements

Now although a lot of you out there are using these in your everyday diet, some of you still don’t know why your using them or what they are for and only take them for the simple fact that the big guy on the free weights recommended them or the skinny girl on the treadmill is using them. Today I’m going to clear up a few fact, myths and dangers behind some of the most popular supplements.

Firstly, supplements are not to be used instead of elements of your diet. For example, because you are using a protein shake, don’t use this instead of eating chicken. The clue is in the name ‘supplement’, in definition means adding, so therefore just adding to your diet, not replacing. On a macronutrient level it is much better quality of nutrients in good well produced food rather than supplements. There are many different reasons for people to use supplements, a few of these include, poor diet, poor appetite, vegetarian, recovery but in my career most people are taking them only from recommendation from somebody else, or heard they should be taking it.

Protein powders – remember your body can only absorb roughly 30g of protein at any one time,  protein powders boasting high amounts of protein is unnecessary as a lot of it will be wasted or converted into fat.

Whey protein – this is the most common protein many of you will have heard of. Whey protein is the best protein to have post exercise within 15 minutes to rebuild muscle tissue as it is fast acting and quickly absorbed.

Casein protein – This is one you may not have heard of but still a great supplement. Casein protein is a slow releasing protein which is not absorbed quickly like whey, this means it is great as a shake before bed as it will slowly continue to feed your body and muscle growth throughout the night.

Blend proteins – This is also another great protein as it has the best of both, fast and slow releasing proteins which make it good if budget is tight.

Weight gainers – As a product these weight gainers normally contain high amounts of calories for athletes such as bodybuilders as it can be difficult for them to eat the amounts of calories needed for their muscle growth. Many people use these as a ‘quick fix’ to get big but many end up with excess body fat due to incorrect training. When mixed with a  good diet and good training some good muscle gains can be made.

Creatine – This is a popular supplement among gym goers and fitness enthusiasts as it appears to show great gains. Firstly rapid muscle growth, this is not necessarily muscle. Creatine has a great water retention ability to make your muscles appear bigger. Secondly, creatine is a natural substance that is already produced by your body for your explosive energy system. Creatine is only active in the muscles for 1 – 3 seconds for a lift before having to wait for it to fill the muscles again. So, good for explosive power lifters, not good for the average gym goer trying to gain lean muscle. Also creatine in excess has proven in the past to have detrimental side effects damaging the liver.

Fat burners – although these tablets will burn fat, they can be extremely dangerous to your health. They work by raising your heart rate to elevated levels using stimulants such as caffeine, this is extremely bad for your heart as it is not designed to be under pressure for consistant long periods of time. Users have reported side effects such as, chest pains, stomach cramps, headaches and tingling in fingers and toes.

Multivitamins - Eating enough food that will supply your body with the recommended daily value of nutrients your body needs is possible.  Although we all know this can be difficult if you’re on the go. A good multivitamin will have your RDA to allow you to recover, boost your immune system and help your body to function.

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What is Strength & Conditioning?

So guys, I know we bang on about this quite alot and its importance but we have only recently realised that we havnt really explained the concept of S&C to you.

Strength & Conditioning at Bodytorque helps athletes and non athletes alike to become, faster, stronger, fitter and generally better at their chosen sport.

Scientists specializing in exercise have identified nine elements that comprise the definition of fitness. The following lists each of the nine elements and an example of how they are used:

• Strength – the extent to which muscles can exert force by contracting against resistance (holding or restraining an object or person)
• Power – the ability to exert maximum muscular contraction instantly in an explosive burst of movements (jumping or sprint starting)
• Agility – the ability to perform a series of explosive power movements in rapid succession in opposing directions (zigzag running or cutting movements)
• Balance – the ability to control the body’s position, either stationary (e.g. a handstand) or while moving (e.g. a vault or gymnastics stunt)
• Flexibility – the ability to achieve an extended range of motion without being impeded by excess tissue, i.e. fat or muscle (executing a leg split). Flexibility can be further broken down into: static passive, dynamic and static active
• Local Muscle Endurance – a single muscle’s ability to perform sustained work
• Cardiovascular Endurance – the heart’s ability to deliver blood to working muscles and their ability to use it (running long distances)
• Strength Endurance – a muscle’s ability to perform a maximum contracture time after time (continuous explosive rebounding through an entire basketball game)
• Coordination – the ability to integrate the above listed components so that effective movements are achieved.

Conditioning by definition is the bodies ability to work easily and/or with lessened stress while performing a chosen activity. Example: When you learn to do something new it can often be difficult and uncomfortable, but the more you persist at it the easier it becomes, until it is a task that can be carried out with ease or almost instinctively.

 

All energy systems are to all be trained equally for a good rounded level of fitness in sport. We will go into a little more detail in our next post.

Our Strength & conditioning class’s at Bodytorque provide perfect training for all of these catagories and elements of fitness. If you really want to step up your tempo of training with qualified experienced coaches then why not come and try one of our classes for FREE? Please contact us at info@bodytorque.org.uk quoting BodytorqueBlogS&C.

Classes are £5 for non members and are on :

Tuesday at 6pm

Friday at 7.30pm

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Tony Moran trains for CFC light heavyweight title

We would just like to apologise for the delay in any blog posts recently, we'v been really busy with a number of different athletes for numerous competition in the next month or 2. One of these athletes is Tony Moran.

Before taking up mixed martial arts, Tony was a professional boxer who fought for World, Commonwealth and British titles, even competing in three bouts which were named in the top ten fights of their respective year.
Moran took this experience to the cage and has now carved out a successful career in MMA, using his outstanding striking game and reach to defeat a plethora of opponents. Whilst he may be known for his devastating combinations and headkicks, Moran is no slouch on the ground either and is comfortable wherever the fight may go.
Former training partners Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Michael Bisping, Cheick Kongo and Tom Blackledge all speak highly of Moran and fully expect him to do well at the highest level.

Pro Record: 9-3-0
Height: 6ft 7″ (200cm)
Weight: 205lbs (93kg)

Tony has been with us for a while now working in his aerobic training phase keeping him at a good base fitness ticking over waiting for fight dates. Now he has a tough opponent in former UCMMA heavyweight champion Ben Smith for the CFC light heavyweight title on June 30th.

We have now stepped up Tonys training to encorporate more explosive work to train his anaerobic energy systems. Exercises such as explosive pull ups, press ups with claps and tyre flips.

He is working each exercise directly after one another for 5/6 minutes, to replicate the demands of an MMA fight round. He then has 1 minute rest before repeating a furthur 2 rounds. Were doing this with Tony 3 times per week and another 2 sessions per week focused entirely on cardio respiratory training including hill sprints, interval sprints and fartlek training,



Tony is a great fighter and great guy. Sacrifices alot, like many other fighters, to chase his dream and we are confident we can help him achieve his goal.

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Heavyweight prospect Paul Taylor trains for challenging fight

Background

Pro Record: 2-2-0
Height: 5ft 10″ (178cm)
Weight: 250lbs (113kg)

A heavyweight fighter from Birmingham, Paul “The Terror” Taylor started his career in mixed martial arts by jumping in at the deep end. With a professional record of just 1-1, Taylor stepped up and faced a huge challenge in UFC fighter Jeff Monson.
Even though Taylor lost the fight, he earned the respect of everybody in the MMA community with his resilient performance.

Since the fight with Monson, Taylor has joined Bodytorque affiliate Sapphire MMA. Bodytorque have also taken responsibily of Pauls Strength and Conditioning to sponsor him for his next fight fight against Scott Saward at UCMMA.

Training

Pauls currently training 3 times a day to keep well rounded in all aspects of his game. 1 of these sessions is the responsibility of Bodytorque to make sure Paul is at his most explosive and conditioned peak on the day of the fight.

Even though Paul was already very fit and explosive before he came to us, we have been using numerous techniques to improve his ability as a fighter.

As a warm up we start Paul off with gentle jogging and then move him onto some light footwork drills on the agility ladder to keep this heavyweight fighter light on his feet.

After Paul is fully warmed and stretched we start him off on his circuit. Each station is 45 seconds with no rest inbetween.





Battleropes are used as a great full body conditioning tool. Used for muscle endurance and interval cardiovascular training.

Barrel lifts and slams improve Pauls explosive power. He needs to squat, bring the barrel to his chest and then stand up to extend his arms before slamming the keg as hard as he can on to the tyre.


 Squat Press - Increase strength and explosive power in pauls legs, hips, low back, abdominals, shoulders, and arms.


Tuck jumps holding a kettlebell. Great for Pauls cardio
and plyometric power on his legs


 Double arm 28kg kettlebell swings - without going into to much detail this one of the best exercises any athelete can do and one we also recommend to every person that enters the gym. For great muscle endurance, power, strength, fat burning propertys and muscle stability this is one of the best exercises we recommend.

We finished off with Paul having to pull a small car for 100 yards as fast as he could, turn around and push it back as fast as he could. ! minute rest and repeat 2 more times. Added power and endurance on his legs will help with controlling his opponent and driving through him for takedowns.

With the fight being so close we are not pushing Paul for longer than he needs to as he has to be carefull to not burn out so close to his fight. The whole session will last 20 mins, only 5 minutes more than his fight time but is 100% effort for the full 20 minutes.

Paul is a great guy and great fighter, he has a fantastic work ethic and refuses to train anything less than 100% for his sessions. Were confident in Pauls ability as a fighter and look forward to helping him make his way to the top.

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Glycemic Index and Exercise Performance

When it comes to talking about carbohydrates and their role in enhancing performance, it seems all carbohydrates may not be the same. Even distinguishing between sugars and starches may not be enough. Glycemic index of a food represents how quickly a food is digested and how high your blood glucose (or blood sugar) will rise after you consume that food. The higher the glycemic index, the higher the rise in blood sugar. To accurately test the glycemic index of a food, one would need to ingest a small serving of a carbohydrate food, and then measure the glucose in the blood over a two hour period. The glycemic index is given in terms of a percentage. Pure glucose results in the highest glycemic index: 100%.

So, if a food results in a glycemic index of 80, this indicates that eating a small serving of that particular food results in a rise of blood sugar which is 80% as great as consuming the same amount of pure glucose. There are many factors that can influence the glycemic index of a food. These include: the structure of the carbohydrate, the absorption rate, what and when you ate previously, and other substances within that food, like the amount of protein and fat.

So, how can this affect athletic performance?

If athletes consume lower glycemic index foods throughout the day and up to 1 1/2 hours before sports activity, they might experience the following positive effects: 1) they might not have a drop in blood sugar prior to training/competition; 2) they might have a higher concentration of fat in the blood to use for energy which will then "spare" their muscle glycogen (stored carbohydrate); "sparing" muscle glycogen usually results in less fatigue and better performance. Conversely, consuming moderate to high glycemic index foods after exercise might help to promote muscle glycogen storage, which is good, since muscle glycogen is required for energy.

Here is a list of some high glycemic index foods (greater than 70%):

waffles, bagels, white bread, rice cakes, graham crackers, Cheerios, watermelon, baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, carrots, jelly beans, Life Savers, honey.

Here are some moderate glycemic index foods (50% to 70%):

orange juice, Gatorade, rice, oatmeal, Grape Nuts, wheat crackers, whole wheat bread, pineapple, raisins, bananas, grapes.

Here is a list of some low glycemic index foods (less than 50%):

Whole meal pasta, peas, chick peas, lentils, baked beans, peanuts, pears, oranges, sweetened yogurt, apple juice, skim milk.

* depending on digestibility, low glycemic index foods may be able to be consumed up to 30-60 minutes before sports activity.

To Summarize: High glycemic index foods may enhance performance in athletes and can be useful during and after work-outs or competitions. Low glycemic index foods may be helpful prior to sports activity. However, research is controversial; so, high and low glycemic index foods may not be beneficial for all athletes. If student-athletes want to "experiment" with different types of carbohydrates, encourage them to do so during practices not competition.

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