Sunday, April 29, 2012

Schedule 30th April - 6th May 2012


"Stop thinking about reasons why not to. Just do it !"  

Mon 0830- 0930hrs Jalan Lembah Permai ,Tg Bungah

Mon 1830-1930hrs Crystal Point ( Bukit Jambul)

Tues : Public Holiday

Wed 0830-0930hrs Jalan Lembah Permai ,Tg Bungah

Wed 1830-1930hrs Crystal Point ( Bukit Jambul)

Thurs 1830-1930hrs Youth Park

Saturday, April 28, 2012

'Gym made me like myself again' - Health & Fitness, Independent Woman - Independent.ie

'Gym made me like myself again' - Health & Fitness, Independent Woman - Independent.ie: "Research published in the 'Journal of Strength and Conditioning' on the influence of a personal trainer showed that women self-select weights 51pc less than what they are capable of lifting. This means many females don't lift weights heavy enough to change their body shape because they lack the self-belief."

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Why you can’t ‘burn off’ a bad meal

One of the common misconceptions of new clients at Genesis Gym is that they can "burn off" a bad meal by doing some exercise after.
This is an idea driven by the negative emotion of guilt.
In this article I will explain why this method of guilt-based exercise doesn't work, and how to plan a "less healthy" meal into your week.
First let's take what I call the "pizza" example.
Let's say you go to a party the night before and overdo the pizza eating. According to Domino's website, half a regular peperoni pizza (4 slices) is 1160 calories.
This has: 135g carbohydrates and 51g fat.
Then guilt kicks in and you decide to go for a jog. "That will burn it off" you think. So you take a 100 minute jog which is way more than normal, but the thought of that pizza sticking on your love handles helps you push through the sore knees to finish the jog.
"Phew, I got rid of those 1160 calories!" you might think.
Not so fast.
Here is why this method will not work
1. Food is not just calories, food is information telling your body what to do.
In this case, the large amount of carbohydrates in the pizza stimulates the storage hormone insulin, and get stored in your fat cells. The large amount of fat in the pizza, combined with insulin also get stored in your fat cells.
2. We tend to eat bad food at night. The high fat levels lower growth hormone output which is a critical part of the fat burning, and body repair processes that we need to do at night.
3. The exercise we did with good intentions, quite possibly did burn 1,160 calories.However, it is a long, slow, cardiovascular dominant form of exercise which when done for long periods of time (needed to get rid of ALL those calories) tends to....
  • Break down muscle for fuel since amino acids are an important fuel for long activity
  • Raise stress hormones, which means fat storage especially around the tummy area, and even further break down muscles for fuel
  • Lead to an overall lower metabolism and easier future fat gain because of the increased fat and lowered lean muscle
As you can see the "burn off a bad meal" mentality doesn't work well.
So what shall we do?
1. Normal daily food should be unprocessed and "caveman" in nature. This article is a good place to start.
2. If you do eat a bad meal, try to make it more carbohydrate based with limited amounts of fats together with it. Eat it several hours before you sleep.
3. Do strength training. It builds lean mass and this increases insulin sensitivity of your muscles. Which means that nutrients from meals will tend to replenish your muscle stores rather than get shuttled into your fat cells.

BOOTCAMP SCHEDULE: 23rd - 30th April



"Commit to finish. You will never regret the journey" 

Mon 0830- 0930hrs Jalan Lembah Permai ,Tg Bungah


Mon 1830-1930hrs Crystal Point ( Bukit Jambul)

Tues 1830-1930hrs Youth Park

Wed 0830-0930hrs Jalan Lembah Permai ,Tg Bungah

Wed 1830-1930hrs Crystal Point ( Bukit Jambul)

Thurs 1830-1930hrs Youth Park

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Keep changing you program for better weight loss - by C



The problem is with fitness training once we get started we all like to do the same thing day in day out. We like to do the thing we are most comfortable with. We develop a new rationalized reality called the comfort zone and are confused why we can not shed those last few pounds. The reality is our diet or the intensity and type of training we do is the culprit.

In short our bodies get used to the nice routine , the regularity of the workout, the comfort the surrounding , the fear of change. But the truth is you need to change your routines regularly ,work at different intensities , work in different locations and train frequently during the week to shock your body into burning more calories. Unfortunately there is no magic pill.

So the best forms of exercise and fitness program are the one that do not stay constant , they evolves they incorporate both aerobic and weight bearing exercises.By the way weight bearing does not always imply free weights & mirrors but also body weight exercises for example push ups , chin ups in any environment.

These types of workouts replicate what our body is really designed for i.e hunting and gathering , not sitting in front of a computer screen which this writer is guilty of on a daily basis.

So what should you do . I suggest you keep challenging yourself and change your program regularly , try a new workout that combines aerobic and weight bearing exercises or maybe try a new sport ( not bowling !!) , go hillwalking or possibly take up a martial art.

Remember life is for living however you you try keep your body in shape to ensure you are in good health to live for all stages of your life, be it 20 or 80.

Saturday, April 14, 2012

How to fail at working out: #007 Turning Warm-up into Workout


Turning Warm-up into Workout


There are people out there who are way too into stretching. Not intense Pilates stretches or yoga just 25 degree leans to either side while watching the gym TV. In between these stretches, and during commercial breaks, you can spot them meticulously towelling off and refreshing with massive slugs from their water bottles. Finally "loose" after a half hour, they hit the stationary bike for about 7 minutes before calling it a day. Simply being at the gym for a long time does not equate to working out for a long time. If your warm-up time exceeds your workout time, you haven't really worked out.

Source: www.shavemagazine.com

Bootcamp Schedule:16th - 22nd April 2012


There is a world of difference between knowing what to do and actually getting out and doing it !!

Mon 0830- 0930hrs Jalan Lembah Permai ,Tg Bungah

Mon 1830-1930hrs Crystal Point ( Bukit Jambul)

Tues 1830-1930hrs Youth Park

Wed 0830-0930hrs Jalan Lembah Permai ,Tg Bungah

Wed 1830-1930hrs Crystal Point ( Bukit Jambul)

Thurs 1830-1930hrs Youth Park

Dieting forces brain to eat itself, scientists claim


Dieters struggle to lose weight because a lack of nutrition forces their brain cells to eat themselves, making the feeling of hunger even stronger, scientists claim.

Like other parts of the body, brain cells begin to eat themselves as a last-ditch source of energy to ward off starvation, a study found.
The body responds by producing fatty acids, which turn up the hunger signal in the brain and increase our impulse to eat.
Researchers from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University in New York said the findings could lead to new scientifically proven weight loss treatments.
Tests on mice found that stopping the brain cells from eating themselves – a process known as autophagy – prevented levels of hunger from rising in response to starvation.
The chemical change in their brains caused the mice to become lighter and slimmer after a period of fasting, the researchers reported in the journal Cell Metabolism.




Thursday, April 12, 2012

Beware, weekend warriors!


Recreational athletes need to realize that more than anyone else, they need to take measures to prevent injuries from occurring.
AS we embark on our respective careers, sports and games, more often than not, take a backseat.
Eventually, we may start re-indulging in some sporting activity or other, albeit at an erratic pace and consistency.
Is this safe? 
The number of sporting injuries – both acute and overuse – are significantly skewed towards those who are recreational athletes. There are, however, ways not to add to these statistics and to continue enjoying your activities for the longest possible period.This is when we turn into what is called the “weekend warrior”, a term referring to recreational athletes. However, the term recreational does not make us any less competitive than the younger athletes we play with or against.
First and foremost, we need to understand and accept the fact that our body is no longer as seemingly formidable as that of a teenager’s. Simple as it may seem, this is an essential fact to remember.
Secondly, understand that every facet of sports and games evolve with time. The trick is to get everything right from the outset:
Attire
Modern sport is flooded with state-of-the-art attire extolling better performance, often with absurd prices. The prudent action is to purchase attire that is comfortable and functional.
For example, runners should ideally wear breathable and lightweight attire, which allows cooling down of the body, particularly in humid weather. This need not be an expensive exercise.
Additionally, in any sport, it is best to invest in proper footwear – sport-specific is best. Having proper socks is equally imperative. Many a time, a lot of money is spent on the latest footwear, with scant attention to the socks worn with them – the difference is potential injury!
The pre-exercise or pre-sport ‘warm up-stretching’ cycle allows for a gradual easing of the body into and out of exercise.
Additionally, be mindful that innerwear is as important as the outerwear.
Equipment
This is an elementary and crucial factor. The right equipment keeps you from harm’s way – those who play hockey without shin pads or a ball-guard will attest to this.
This is particularly pertinent in the older athlete who is less nimble in getting out of risky situations. The correct type of equipment, ie racquet, golf club or hockey stick will prevent both acute injuries and the more common injuries arising from overuse. This is particularly the case in recreational athletes.
Technique
Most weekend warriors think they have it all figured out. Whilst it is true that some of them might have been playing a particular sport for years, the techniques in most sports evolve as sports medicine brings about newer concepts in therapy and preventive strategies.
Even the playing surface has changed with the times.
Therefore, techniques have to be re-learnt. And when re-learning a particular technique, the trick is to break it down into small manageable steps and gradually moving on to the new technique as a whole. This is very effective in preventing injuries.
Intensity
Control the intensity of your exercise. Don’t try to keep up with the younger, more conditioned athlete. I promise you a visit to the clinic if you do this once too often.
This does not mean that the weekend warrior needs to just roll over and give in. It simply means that a prudent approach involving a more gradual increase in intensity and frequency can allow for a sport to be enjoyed for a longer period.
The idea is to enjoy the game and not injure yourself doing it.
Just to put a practical spin to this idea, in weightlifting, the oft-quoted protocol is increasing your load between 10-15% weekly. For the recreational athlete, it would be wise to keep this at 10% – you will ultimately get there too.
The play-rest cycle
Having a good play-rest cycle allows for adequate recovery. This is particularly effective in preventing overuse injuries, which occur during repeated activity of a body part, at non-maximal load. It is the frequency that causes the injury, and not the intensity of the load.
On the rest day, it is not necessary to stop exercising completely. However, it is advisable to carry out exercises that involve different muscle groups. This in turn introduces variety and fun in your activities.
Managing the day after sport
Particularly after a heavy session of sporting activities or exercise, the weekend warrior often complains of the body feeling sore the next day.
Soreness is a common consequence of sports and exercise. It is often said that one has to accept soreness as an inevitable part of exercising. It’s an indication that one has exercised well.
However, it is important to know that soreness after exercise usually eases off within 16-24 hours. If there is any soreness still felt thereafter, it means that you have potentially over-reached and over-exercised your current capabilities.
Here too, prevention is better than cure. Understand that the pre-exercise or pre-sport “warm up-stretching-game-warm-down” cycle allows for a gradual easing of the body into and out of exercise.
This prevents potential injury and eases recovery.
Furthermore, soreness can be negated by cryotherapy, post-exercise or post-sport. This can be via the use of custom-made icepacks, or simply, crushed ice placed in a plastic bag and wrapped in a moist towel.
Cryotherapy applications, two to three times for 20 minutes each time, every two hours, often helps in superficial joint injury in the shoulder, knee and ankle.
Stiffness felt on the morning after exercise is often relieved by the application of heat – often simply by a warm shower.
Know when to seek help
The weekend warrior, like other athletes, often understimates the severity of an injury. Signs that necessitate early medical attention include:
·The inability to bear weight on the injured part.
·Inability to move a joint through its whole range of motion comfortably.
·Feeling of joint instability.
·Severe swelling of the body part.
·Persistent pain in spite of resting, particularly with use of pain medications.
Like any other sports participant, the recreational athlete aims to enjoy his/her sport, while at the same time, hoping to avoid injury. It is best to “listen” to the signs shown by one’s body.
For example, playing through pain is never a good idea. Stop-ping when tired is often a safe decision.
Heeding such simple rules allow for the enjoyment of a sport or activity, for as long as one wants.

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Secret sugars in your food: From two cubes in a salad to 16-and-a-half in bottled water, what you're eating without realising it



Are you feeling virtuous about your healthy breakfast of wholegrain cereal washed down with a glass of orange juice? 
After all, it’s better than an artery-clogging fry-up. In terms of fat, at least. 

But few of us realise that a bowl of Bran Flakes plus juice will account for half our recommended daily amount of sugar. 
We all know the dangers of too much salt, fat and calories in our diet, but health professionals warn that not enough of us stop to consider our sugar intake.

There are obvious sources of it — such as the Easter eggs consumed in large quantities at the weekend. 

But the problem, experts say, is that our everyday diets are packed with ‘stealth’ sugar, sending our intake far above the recommended limits and placing us at risk of a range of diseases, including diabetes and heart disease. 
Sugar is also found in surprisingly large amounts in many savoury foods such as sauces and ready meals.

In fact, it’s highly likely to be a much bigger part of your diet than you realise, as our investigation reveals. Ironically, ‘healthier’ reduced-fat foods can actually contain more sugar. 

‘Stripping out fat from processed foods makes them less appealing to our taste buds. The inevitable consequence is that manufacturers increase other ingredients, including sugar, to recreate taste and texture,’ says Tam Fry, of the National Obesity 

Forum.We set out to find out how much sugar is lurking in our favourite foods and drinks — including those many would consider healthy. 
The results, shown below, were shocking. 
UK guidelines recommend that ‘added’ sugars — those used to sweeten food, fizzy drinks, honeys, syrups and fruit juices — shouldn’t make up more than 10 per cent of the total energy we get from food.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2127461/Secret-sugars-food-From-cubes-salad-16-half-bottled-water-youre-eating-realising-it.html#ixzz1rhsNZvIy





Saturday, April 7, 2012

BOOTCAMP SCHEDULE : 9th - 15th April 2012


Mon 0830- 0930hrs Jalan Lembah Permai ,Tg Bungah  

Mon 1830-1930hrs Crystal Point ( Bukit Jambul)

Tues 1830-1930hrs Youth Park

Wed 0830-0930hrs Jalan Lembah Permai ,Tg Bungah

Wed 1830-1930hrs Crystal Point ( Bukit Jambul)

Thurs 1830-1930hrs Youth Park

How to tail at fitness #006 Only work out Vanity parts


Only Working Out Vanity Parts


Women don't comment on brachioradiali and men don't compare rhomboids with envy. No, people only seem to care about the sexy muscles; biceps, pectorals and abs mainly. This has created a culture of people who only perform workouts that make these sexy parts sexier. The fact is, however, that there's nothing sexy about asymmetry or disproportional bodies that look as if they might topple over. Nobody's legs should bear resemblance to toothpicks shoved into the bottom of an apple.

Source: www.shavemagazine.com 

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Why dieting makes you FAT: Research shows trying to lose weight alters your brain and hormones so you're doomed to pile it on again


Michelle Underwood knows only too well the agony of failed diets. The 36-year-old mother-of-three from Woking, Surrey, has seen her weight yo-yo from 11st to 19st repeatedly over the past decade, as a succession of diets initially worked, then failed spectacularly — leaving her heavier and more desperate than ever.Michelle blames herself for her serial dieting failures, saying she lacks willpower and has an appetite for the wrong food. Last week saw a high-profile example of this common problem, when broadcaster Jenni Murray revealed in the Mail how she has piled back on the 5st she lost last year on the controversial Dukan diet.She had dropped from 19st to 14st, with the intention of losing another two. But all the hard work came undone in a matter of five weeks on an extended holiday, she said, followed by a diet-free Christmas. 
Murray has now joined WeightWatchers and believes she has finally found a diet that works for her.

One must admire her optimism and wish her luck. But scientific evidence increasingly points to a far deeper problem that confronts dieters: cutting out calories changes your metabolism and brain, so your body hoards fat and your mind magnifies food cravings into an obsession.Slimmers have often feared this was somehow true, but now science confirms this cruel fact of nature. New research shows dieting raises levels of hormones that stimulate appetite — and lowers levels of hormones that suppress it.
No-win situation: A new study has shown that dieting raises levels of hormones that stimulate appetite, while causing your brain to magnify food cravings
No-win situation: A new study has shown that dieting raises levels of hormones that stimulate appetite, while causing your brain to magnify food cravings

Meanwhile, brain scans reveal that weight loss makes it harder for us to exercise self-control and resist tempting food. Worse still, the more people diet, the stronger these effects can become, leaving some almost doomed to being overweight as a result of their attempts to become slim.And as research lays bare the dangers of yo-yoing weight, some experts argue it would be better not to diet at all.

Michelle’s story epitomises these problems. Until she was 25 she weighed around 10st, a normal weight for someone 5ft 8in tall. She stayed slim even after the birth of her two sons — now in their teens — but when she and her partner, Paul, 37, moved in together in 2001, the weight piled on.

‘I have increasingly developed an appetite for the wrong foods,’ she says. ‘I go all day without eating, then Paul comes home late from his job as an NHS estates officer and we get a takeaway. That’s despite having gone to the supermarket to buy food to cook.’

Within a year she weighed 15st, going from a size 12 to a size 18. After the birth of her daughter in September 2003, she weighed 16st. And so began a depressing cycle of diets, weight loss then gain.

No success: A high-profile example of failed diets came to the fore last week when broadcaster Jenni Murray (above) revealed in the Daily Mail how she has piled back on 5st after trying to controversial Dukan diet last year
No success: A high-profile example of failed diets came to the fore last week when broadcaster Jenni Murray (above) revealed in the Daily Mail how she has piled back on 5st after trying to controversial Dukan diet last year
Over the next nine years she tried a variety of diets, including homespun regimens and hypnotherapy. She lost up to 6st a time, only to regain it within less than a year. ‘Holidays are my downfall,’ she says. ‘Especially package holidays where all the food is included.’

At one point, in 2008, with the help of WeightWatchers and Lighter Life, she lost 6st in less than five months. She was thrilled. ‘When I’m eating healthily, I feel better and sleep better. I also feel more confident,’ she says.But Michelle’s diet foundered again in 2009 while on holiday. ‘I got fed up feeling weak and light-headed. It affected me psychologically; I felt obsessed with food.’

Michelle now weighs 19st — the heaviest she’s been — and is desperate to lose the weight once and for all. ‘When I’m overweight, I don’t want to go anywhere or meet new people. I won’t even take my daughter swimming, even though she wants to go, and the leisure centre is right by our house.’


Michelle’s story is an extreme example of a problem that seasoned dieters know only too well — the heartbreaking curse of the ‘rebound pounds’.
Now a swathe of scientific evidence points to a disheartening fact for the 25 per cent of Britons trying to lose weight at any one time: our basic human biology is the greatest enemy of committed slimmers.
Researchers, including Joseph Proietto, a professor of medicine at the University of Melbourne, have uncovered one of the main possible reasons. Two years ago, his team recruited 50 obese men and women, and coached them through eight weeks of an extreme 500-to-550-calories-a-day diet (a quarter of the normal intake for women).
At the end, the dieters lost an average of 30lb. Proietto’s team then spent a year giving them counselling support to stick to healthy eating habits. But during this time, the dieters regained an average of 11lb. They also reported feeling far hungrier and more preoccupied with food than before losing weight.
As the researchers reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, the volunteers’ hormones were working overtime, making them react as though they were starving and in need of weight-gain. Their levels of an appetite-stimulating hormone, ghrelin, were about 20 per cent higher than at the start of the study. Meanwhile their levels of an appetite suppressing hormone, peptide YY, were unusually low.
Furthermore, levels of leptin, a hormone that suppresses hunger and raises the metabolic rate, also remained lower than expected.
Proietto describes this effect as ‘a co-ordinated defence mechanism with multiple components all directed toward making us put on weight’. In other words, the body had launched a backlash against dieting.
The team’s landmark study reinforces a belief among biologists that the human body has been shaped by millennia of evolution to survive long periods of starvation.
The human frame contains around ten times more fat-storing cells in relation to its body weight than most animals (polar bears, which have to endure long stretches when prey is unavailable, are similarly fat-rich).
Our calorie-hoarding frames have strong mechanisms to stop weight loss, but weak systems for preventing weight gain. If you manage to lose ten per cent of your weight, your body thinks there’s an emergency. So it burns less fuel by slowing your metabolism.
The body learns to function on fewer calories, resetting your metabolism. The problem is if you then stop dieting and start eating more again, those extra calories are stored as fat. 
This effect kicks in after around eight weeks of dieting — and can last for years. Studies by Columbia University show this metabolic slowdown can mean that just to maintain a stable weight, people must eat around 400 fewer calories a day post-diet than before dieting.
Why would this be so? Muscle samples taken before and after weight loss show that once a person drops weight, the fibres may change to become more fuel-efficient — burning up to a quarter fewer calories during exercise than those of a person at the same weight naturally.
How long this state lasts isn’t known, though some research suggests it might be up to six years.
It’s also thought the brain changes in the way it reacts to food. This wilts our willpower, according to Michael Rosenbaum, a researcher at Columbia University Medical Centre who studies the body’s response to weight loss.
‘After you’ve lost weight, there’s an increase in the emotional response to food,’ he says, adding that there is also ‘a decrease in the activity of brain systems that might be more involved in restraint’. 
Nature lets us down: Our calorie-hoarding frames have strong mechanisms to stop weight loss, but weak systems for preventing weight gain
Nature lets us down: Our calorie-hoarding frames have strong mechanisms to stop weight loss, but weak systems for preventing weight gain
In 2010, Rosenbaum and his colleague, Joy Hirsch, a neuroscientist at Columbia University Medical Centre, scanned the brains of people before and after weight loss while they looked at objects such as grapes, chocolate, broccoli and mobile phones.

After losing weight, the scans showed a greater response in the areas associated with reward and a lower response in those associated with self-control.

And last year, scientists at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York discovered that when starved of food, brain cells actually consume each other. This causes the release of fats, which in turn results in higher levels of a powerful brain chemical that stimulates appetite, the journal Cell Metabolism reports. All bad news for dieters, as going without food could make them even hungrier.All of this helps to explain why an analysis of 31 long-term clinical studies found that diets don’t work in the long run. Within five years about two-thirds of dieters put back the weight — and more. The researchers from the University of California found that dieting works in the short term, with slimmers losing up to 10 per cent of their weight on any number of diets in the first six months of any regimen. But after this, the weight returns, and often more is added, says their report in the journal American Psychologist.

The analysis concluded that most volunteers would have been better off not dieting. Their weight would be pretty much the same and their bodies would not have wear and tear from yo-yoing.This backfire effect is worst among teenagers: people who start habitually dieting young tend to be significantly heavier after five years than teens who never dieted.

This mix of biology and psychology translates into a sobering reality: once we become overweight, most of us will probably remain that way.Certainly, we should all be worried about what dieting does to our health. Restricting calories may increase the risk of heart disease, diabetes and cancer, according to a study from 2010 in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine.

Ultimately, of course, we should be more wary of piling on the pounds, than relying on diets to reverse the damage. As Tam Fry, chairman of the National Obesity Forum, says: ‘The way that the body protects itself against weight-loss diets is quite incredible. Putting on weight is for most people, sadly, a one-way street.’


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2134162/Research-shows-trying-lose-weight-alters-brain-hormones-youre-doomed-pile-again.html#ixzz1tRQNztwT