In June 2017 we wrote a blog post about putting the “personal” back into personal training and how our identity and philosophy as a team had changed since Chris founded the company previously. We shared our new ethos, “stronger, healthier, happier” and outlined the kind of service we wanted to be bringing to our clients – one based entirely around them.

Well, over the last year and a half we have kept our clients at the centre of everything we do, with training and nutrition developed to suit every single individual we work with. While our clients were building healthier and stronger lifestyles, we were proud of them but growing increasingly frustrated with what we could deliver. There was so much more we wanted to do for them – we wanted to increase our sense of a community, we wanted to be able to hold events to boost client education around health and fitness, we wanted to be able to programme without limitations, without worrying about whether kit would be free or whether our training environment would be nice.

So, in January of 2018 we sat down as a team and made the decision to open our own private personal training studio. After years spread out as personal trainers in Summertown, Central Oxford and Botley, we wanted to create a better environment for our clients. One that isn’t intimidating or busy, one where you would never have to fight for kit. One where everyone is supporting everyone else and the entire team is professional. Most importantly, we wanted the freedom to create a cutting-edge personal training programme that delivers results. We wanted our team, our kit and our training principles.

Fast-forward ten months and by some miracle our own studio is open and operational. But what do we want going forward for our members, what does it mean for them?

We want everyone who works with us to be able to come to the studio regularly and to look forward to their sessions. We want to provide somewhere people can work on their long-term goals, ensuring they last into the future. We want a studio where everyone feels welcome, smiles at everyone else and provides that support network. We’ve only been open three weeks, but we think we can see that culture emerging already.
We know that personal training has traditionally been very expensive, while gym memberships often lack the specific guidance needed to ensure results. That’s why we’ve developed a system making personal training three times per week or more affordable, one with built-in time each month to ensure you’re always progressing, and one that ensures constant motivation from those around you. With our mixture of private, semi-private and small group personal training sessions, we believe our members can have the best of it all; more contact time for a reduced cost, with everything still tailored to them.
The last eighteen months have been a huge transition period for us. Who knows what we’ll be reflecting on in eighteen months’ time!? But for now, a huge thank you to everyone who has supported us over the last few months, and everyone who is bringing our new studio to life with their enthusiasm, dedication and hard work. We feel that we’re finally able to offer the kind of service our members should demand of our industry, and we can’t wait to put you and ourselves to the test, getting you the results you deserve with some laughs and coffees along the way.

Easter has arrived meaning we only have one thing on the brain, and that’s chocolate, lots of it!

But is chocolate as healthy as the media claims?

We decided to take a look at the science and share with you the actual health benefits chocolate possess.

Let’s take a closer look…

Currently the UK government recommends a mere 0.8 grams per kg of bodyweight, that’s a pitiful 56 grams of protein per day for a 70kg male!

Scientists have teamed up to publish large studies looking at health improvements from protein over the course of years but unfortunately, to reap a lot of the benefits associated with protein intake we need to be consuming a lot more than what’s currently being advised, and despite the huge amount of reasearch around protein the government still stands by their recommendation.

Fear not! As my team and I have been reviewing the most recent literature that’s hot off the press, to uncover how much protein is exactly needed if we wish to keep on top of our health, and our training.

We’ve pulled out all of the ‘need-to-know’ stats and figures from the research we’ve reviewed and compiled them into this handy infographic with the specific amounts you should be shooting for.

So, whether you’re an active person who loves to train, someone looking to lose weight or you’re wishing to optimise your performance and recovery, we have a protein intake that’s right for you!

It’s January, and lots of us are thinking about taking up a new exercise regime or increasing the time we spend in the gym. But it’s important not to do too much too soon, despite your best intentions. BBC Newsbeat contacted our executive personal trainer Chris Hall to talk about how much exercise is too much, and how to spot the signs of over-training. You can read his full comments below.

Q1: How much exercise is too much?

The definition of “too much” exercise will vary from person to person. If you’ve not exercised for a few months and set out to run a marathon, it’s very likely that’ll be too much, but for a seasoned marathon veteran, it’d be a normal day’s training.

If you’re new to exercise or have taken a break, try training twice per week, for an hour at a time and then build up from there.

Q2: How do you know if you’re doing too much exercise?

Things to look out for include your ability to fall asleep, and your ability to stay asleep. If you struggle to fall asleep more than normal, it could be a sign that you’re spending too much time training and/or not taking enough rest days. If you’re struggling to stay asleep, it could suggest that you’re training too aggressively and may need to back off slightly from the weights you are lifting.

Another simple thing to measure is your morning heart rate. Most phones and fit-bits now are equipped with heart-rate monitors. Once you’ve established a baseline you’ll be able to see if your morning heart rate is raised. If it is, this could suggest that you’re overtraining. If you’re training too hard, your body will be working overtime to help you recover and to meet the new demands you’re placing on it, causing your heart rate to elevate. Try backing off or resting up until for a day of so until it’s gone back to its baseline.

Another sign to look out for would be overall performance. If you’re suddenly surprised to find yourself having to drop the weights that you would usually lift or, unable to keep your regular pace during those HIIT sessions then this sudden, unexplained drop in performance could be the body’s way of telling you “I’m out of gas and need some rest.”

Q3: What damage can you do by exercising too much?

The most obvious risk of over-training is injury. If you’re overreaching then you’re far more likely to be triggering old injuries to reoccur, or even gathering new ones. You’re also at greater risk of becoming ill if you’ve worked your body into an over-trained state, as your immune system won’t be working as effectively as normal.

There can also be dangers to your mental health. A lack of sleep can lead to depression and mood changes, which can then be aggravated by feelings of failure or low-self esteem if you’re not managing the workouts that were easy for you a couple of weeks ago. Exercise should be a positive experience, so if it’s something you once enjoyed and you’re now dreading it, that’s a good sign you need to take a break. Try taking a full week off, and then slowly increasing your workouts again after that.

Q4: Why is rest important?

When you ask people why they are exercising, it’s usually because they want to be healthier. It’s not uncommon to hear that people are going to go from nothing to hitting the gym or pounding the pavements five-to-seven times per week. However, rest is a crucial tool in the journey for health and its vastly underestimated. Rest is important for recovery and repair. When you’re working out, you’re actually breaking down muscle tissues, not growing them. It’s the rest time in-between workouts which allows the muscles to repair and grow. If you over-train then you hamper the body’s ability to recover, leading to the symptoms listed above.

You can read Chris’s comments and BBC Newsbeat’s full article on January health fads here.

Now, you don’t need me to tell you the benefits exercise can have on your health. If you’re reading this, then I’m guessing there’s a high chance you’re already aware of the health benefits we can reap through exercising however, are you aware that these benefits can either be enhanced or dumbed down depending on the way we are exercising?

What if I were to tell you you could structure your training (sets, reps, tempos and load) so it’s more geared towards building muscle or burning body fat; easy right?

But what if we could fine-tune this further, to let’s say designing a workout that would be more bias towards improving cardiovascular health to help lower blood pressure, or to encourage ossification (the formation of new bone) and the release of osteoblasts to help improve bone density and collagen production. Or, you may be training to help prevent cognitive decline and reduce the chances of Alzheimer’s – things now become more complex.

Believe it or not, the body is an amazing, organic piece of machinery that adapts to whatever (give or take) we throw at it, and if you know the right stimulus needed to elicit a response then we can indeed train to produce a truly specific outcome.

Take Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) for example, some people love waking up the following morning feeling sore and aware they trained hard the previous day, while others hate how sore you can get, begrudging having to go into work or be on their feet all day.

But, what if we could choose whether our workouts left us sore or not? If so, we could then specifically design workouts around people’s routines and preferences. After all, if you’re an athlete you don’t want to go into a competition or a game with severe DOMS. Like-wise, if you’re someone whose job it is to be on your feet all day, or spend time running up and down stairs then it’s probably not going to be too comfortable having to do it with DOMS in the legs.

Well guess what,  you can adapt your workouts in such a way that the exercises and their execution can bring about varying degrees of muscle soreness to suit your personal ‘pain tolerance’ – a little like choosing how spicy you like you curry, and here’s how:

Sports and Exercise scientist Professor Ken Nosaka, is the leading researcher in the field of muscle damage. He’s conducted numerous studies and found muscle damage to be at its greatest when a muscle is trained eccentrically for repeated bouts of effort and intensity. Prof. Nosaka found DOMS to be at its greatest when a muscle is trained in the last third of its lengthened range and trained to the point where there’s a forty percent drop in intensity (load).

So what does that look like in the real world?

If we take the hamstrings, and compare the seated leg curl to the lying leg curl you’ll find a greater amount of DOMS when using the seated leg curl as compared to the lying leg curl. This is because the seated leg curl works more of the lengthened portion of the range for the hamstrings placing it more into a stretch. The same would also apply when comparing a Romanian deadlift to the lying leg curl. Again, the like a seated leg curl, the Romanian deadlift places the hamstrings into more of a stretch/lengthened position – this is one way to ensure DOMS (Nosaka & Sakamoto, 2001).
The second factor is looking at weight drop off i.e. how hard you push yourself. Let’s say you start off with a weight of 100kgs for your first set and decide to perform five sets. If across those five sets you’ve had to drop the weight by 40 percent (a 40kgs reduction) this reduction in ‘drop-off’ would be enough to cause DOMS (Nosaka K. 2008).

Finally, if the above isn’t enough and you’re left wanting more, then adding an isometric contraction pause at the bottom of the lengthened position of the lift will guarantee to induce some serous muscle damage and with it, DOMS.
Now, this is all well and good if you’re wanting to induce muscle soreness but, what if you’re someone who really doesn’t like being left sore, how can we train to prevent it?
Well, the diagram I’ve put together below gives you a sliding scale ranked from minor to most severe based on the type of training you perform relative to inducing muscle soreness.

Factors Influencing Muscle Damage and Soreness

(image based around prof. Nosaka’s research over the last decade)

As you can see, if you’re wanting to limit the amount of DOMS in a muscle then focusing on the concentric part of the lift and keeping the weight relatively low (>60% of 1RM) will limit muscle damage and subsquently muscle soreness. However, age, gender and training experience also have a contrubiting factor towards muscle soreness; with females and younger trainees experiencing lower levels of pain (Lavender AP, Nosaka K, 2006).

Knowing what we now we can truely tailor our workouts around the way we are feeling and wish to feel after the gym. If you’re someone who loves to feel pain for several days after a workout then you can now train towards that however, please don’t go away mistakenly thinking just beascue you’ve induced muscle soreness that it’s a sign of a good workout or for growth – as we already know from one of our previous blogs it’s not always the case.

Does garlic protect against vampires?

With Halloween only a few days away, we haven’t long to prepare ourselves against the creatures that go bump in the night.

Luckily, I’m well prepared and have taken appropriate steps to protect myself against witches, monsters and the creepy-crawlies that may all try to get through my front door in the night.

However, possibly the one I’m most fearful and less prepared against are vampires. Vampires are feared everywhere especially in the Balkan region so I’m weighing up the options to see which protection method would be the most reliable.
I’ve considered many of the popular options:

• A simple stake through the heart – common in Southern Slavic cultures however, the Russians only found this to work when the type of wood was Ash [1] and I certainly don’t have any stake shaped ash lying around.

• Decapitation – this is the preferred method amongst Germans, decapitating their head from their body, which is great in theory but probably not as easy in practice.

• Holy water – we could drench them in Holy water as this is thought to burn their skin [2]. Oh wait, unless you’re a Priest you’re unlikely to have access to that…

• Mirrors –  mirrors have been used to ward off vampires when placed, facing outwards, on a door and was used by Bram Stoker in Dracula. However, not all vampires have a reflection and sometimes do not cast a shadow [3] so it’s probably not our best or most reliable option.

Despite these all being great options, I’ve concluded they’re either too difficult to implement or to resource, which leads me to one (last) possible option – garlic! It’s easy to get a hold of and very inexpensive. In fact, Bram Stoker himself suggested the use of garlic to ward off vampires.
Now this seems to work in the movies however, I want to be certain so as luck should have it a group of researchers back in the nineties explored the hypothesis behind garlic’s apotropaic effect against warding off vampires and this is what they found:
Firstly, due to the lack of participating vampires the researchers we forced to use blood-sucking leeches instead – ok, so they’re not as scary, but they still love to drink your blood.
The researchers then allowed the leeches to attach themselves to one of two hands; a garlic-smeared hand and a non-garlic hand.
The results
To their surprise, two-thirds of the leeches preferred the garlic-smeared hand over the non-garlic hand. In fact, leeches who took to the garlic-smeared hand took 14.9 seconds to attach themselves compared to 44.9 seconds for the non-garlic hand [4].
As we can see from the results of this study, the traditional belief that garlic has apotropaic properties could likely be wrong, and the reverse may in fact be true, garlic does not protect against vamipres! I suppose this now means that my pot of garlic is futile and we shouldn’t believe everything we see on TV.

I guess the only real option we have is to wait the night out until sunrise; unless of course you get one knocking at your door in which case refusing them entry will keep them away from your home and out of harm’s way [5] – a much easier option if you ask me.

Good luck and Happy Halloween!

References:
1. Alseikaite-Gimbutiene, Marija (1946). Die Bestattung in Litauen in der vorgeschichtlichen Zeit (in German). Tübingen. OCLC 1059867.
2. Burkhardt, “Vampirglaube und Vampirsage”, p. 221.
3. Spence, Lewis (1960). An Encyclopaedia of Occultism. New Hyde Parks: University Books. ISBN 0-486-42613-0. OCLC 3417655.
4. Does Garlic Protect Against Vampires? An experimental study. Tidsskr Nor. N. Laegeforen (Sandvik H, Baerheim A) 1994.
5. Spence, Lewis (1960). An Encyclopaedia of Occultism. New Hyde Parks: University Books. ISBN 0-486-42613-0. OCLC 3417655.

As those of you who follow this blog series will know, we learn new things about fitness every month. As personal trainers its crucial we stay up to date with all of this research so we can keep making sure our clients are receiving the best possible support. So what have we learned from the latest research this month? Our fab trainer Elliot, a personal trainer at Trimnasium in Cheltenham, has trawled it all to bring you five gems.

1. Volume isn’t always king
Performing just about every exercise known to man during your session is common practice for many gym-goers, it almost seems like a good idea to exhaust a muscle of everything it has and to be limping out of the gym…
Although even though it seems the norm, is it really more productive to go above and beyond?

If you’re finding yourself particularly sore after training, feeling as if you’re not quite recovering and not able to really push hard, then the amount of work you’re doing in the gym may be doing more harm than good.
A recent study was done to compare the physiological response to a high volume workout to the response to a high intensity workout with lower volume.
What they found may have you re-thinking your next workout… Even after 72 hours, the power output of the athletes who trained with high volume hadn’t returned to their initial baseline, while the athletes who trained at high intensity had returned to that level. Not only that, but markers of muscle damage were significantly elevated following the high volume workout.
So rather that thinking about how much you can fit in during your workout window, strike a good balance between volume and intensity to ensure you’re at your peak whenever you get in the gym.

2. Low carb, high fat or low fat, high carb?
I personally feel as if this question has been asked for as long as I’ve been in the industry and I feel as if it always will be… We are all individuals and will all respond in different ways to different macronutrient ratios, so you’ll hear a lot of ‘this works for me!’ But what does the science really have to say about this…
In a study carried out on a number of overweight individuals, some were assigned to Low Carb, High Fat (LCHF) diets and others were assigned to High Carb, Low Fat (HCLF) diets. Both groups saw significant reductions in both body weight and waist circumference, however the LCHF group saw the greatest changes in both.
Does this give us a definitive answer on which is superior? Maybe, maybe not…
Unfortunately, the subjects were not monitored 24/7 and were not forced to specifically eat certain meals with certain calorie contents. So there are quite a few drawbacks to this study and the LCHF group may have just eaten less and done more activity, unfortunately we’ll never really know.
My opinion: find what suits you the best and stick to it; also understand that science suggests that the LCHF diet may be superior (and science never lies…)

3. Are knee sleeves worth the investment?
If you’ve watched any type of powerlifting competition, strong man event or even if you watch the guy who squats the most in your gym (certainly not me), then you’ll notice that they are probably wearing knee sleeves. What are they for you might be wondering? San they help me squat as much as those guys? And are they really worth the £50-60 pound some of the more reputable brands are selling them at?

The answer… Potentially, but not entirely…
When assessing the powerlifters using knee sleeves, researchers found that knee sleeves seem to improve balance and proprioception, increase knee flexion and reduce knee adduction.
If you’re a keen powerlifter who wants to get as strong as possible in the squat, then they may be worth the investment. Anything that helps increase stability, especially in such a demanding lift, will certainly be of benefit and even more so when handling such heavy loads.
But if you only visit the squat rack on the odd occasion and your main goal isn’t to be the strongest squatter in the gym, then you should be just fine without them.

4. To beet or not to beet?
If you know anything about me, you know I love a good health food fad. I’ll try anything once if it supposedly has a positive effect on your physical or mental wellbeing, my latest venture is apple cider vinegar but that’s another story for another day…
In this study, they tested something that I’ve heard great things about but have never personally tried – ‘beetroot juice.’ They simply wanted to see if it had any benefit over a generic energy drink when it comes to recovery.
The subjects were separated into different groups and consumed different drinks, they all had to participate in a workout specifically designed to produce exercise-induced muscle damage…
What they found was neither the beetroot juice nor the generic energy drink could reduce the loss in strength, however beetroot juice was effective for reducing PWO muscle soreness.

Maybe this will be next on my list!

And last but certainly not least…

5. How long does it take to recover from an intense contest prep diet?
As a physique competitor and someone with a great interest in the endocrine system and the effects it can have on our physical and mental health, it was inevitable that I would delve head first into this study. Most of us may never compete, but if you are dieting or are planning on getting into a very lean state this may also interest you. Considering that for the most part it’s usually anecdotal evidence we hear, it’s nice to see some research done on this topic.
You’ll quite often hear competitors say that the sport is not healthy, but how much does it really impact our hormones?
The study takes a look at a natural male athlete over the course of the 8 months during his competition preparation period. What they found was pretty notable; his testosterone had dropped by almost 70%, his thyroid hormones (T3,T4) were both significantly reduced and his cortisol (A.K.A ‘stress hormone’) was up.
So, as you can see the prep took a huge hit on this athlete, however they continued to monitor the athlete following his competition prep, and after five months of recovery the athlete was able to return to his baseline numbers.
So this is certainly something to bear in mind if you’re in the thick of an intense diet, especially considering not everyone will respond the same way and return to their previous baselines like this athlete did.

References:
1.     Bartolomei, S., Sadres, E., Church, D. D., Arroyo, E., Gordon III, J. A., Varanoske, A. N., & Hoffman, J. R. (2017). Comparison of the recovery response from high-intensity and high-volume resistance exercise in trained men. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 1-12.
2. Zinn, C., McPhee, J., Harris, N. K., Williden, M., Prendergast, K., & Schofield, G. (2017). A 12-week low carbohydrate, high fat (LCHF) diet improves metabolic health outcomes over a control diet in a randomised controlled trial with overweight defence force personnel. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism.
3. Sharif, N. A. M., Li, G. S., Usman, J., & Safwani, W. K. Z. W (2017). Biomechanical and functional efficacy of knee sleeves: A literature review. Physical Therapy in Sport.
4. Clifford, T., Howatson, G., West, D. J., & Stevenson, E. J. (2017). Beetroot juice is more beneficial than sodium nitrate for attenuating muscle pain after strenuous eccentric-bias exercise. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism.
5. Pardue, A., Trexler, E. T., & Sprod, L. K. (2017). Case Study: Unfavorable But Transient Physiological Changes During Contest Preparation in a Drug-Free Male Bodybuilder. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, 1.

With our HQ in the city, we thought we’d best round up all the fitness events in Oxford that are happening in October. Looking for a new challenge? We’ve found plenty that will test your limits this month!
Saturday 7th October, 10:00am
Fancy yourself in Game of Thrones or Robin Hood? The Oxford Archery Training Centre’s autumn term kicks off on Saturday 7th. The term consists of five structured workshops, and you can attend all of them, or just those you fancy. It’s open to all ages!
Saturday 14th October, 12:00
This one’s a bit further away from our usual Oxford stomping ground, but it sounded so good we just had to include it! Windsor Brewery is hosting a 5k and five mile fun along the River Thames, but best of all its followed by a brewery tour, a beer and a food festival – what’s not to like!
Saturday 21st October, 11:30am
For any of our Oxford University student members, the university Polo Club is running taster sessions on the Saturday and Sunday of this weekend. For £30, you get transport, nibbles and drinks as well as time to practice polo swings. Could this be your next fitness pursuit?
Saturday 21st October, 10:00am
Love Halloween, love being outside? Then you’re in luck. Thames Valley Orienteering Club have arranged a spooky orienteering session at beautiful Waddesdon Manor. There’s no set path to follow, you’ll have to make your own way around the 3k or 5k course, and there will be plenty of spooky surprises!
Friday 28th October, all day
If you fancy something with a bigger thrill, Newbury’s Zombie Run is returning at the end of the month. It’s a 5k inflatable course, complete with zombies. Don’t fancy the run? You can even enter as a zombie to infect the runners!
Various times throughout October
Every Saturday at 9:00am, Oxford’s park run sets of from Cutteslowe Park and Sunnymead Park.

It’s the end of your session, you’ve had a great workout and feeling on top of the world; and then out of nowhere you suddenly feel as though you’re going to drop into a coma as all of your energy is being zapped from your body.

I’m probably guessing you’ve had some experience of this rather strange and unexplained drop in energy a few hours (or even munites) after training, something we refer too as, The Post Workout Slump (PWS).
Why does it occur?
There are many reasons why we can end up feeling tired and mentally fatiuged after training:

• Intensity of the session
• Sleep the night before
• Illness
• Blood sugar levels
• General mood
• Hormonal

These can all contribute to our energy levels during and after exercise however, these are most likely to effect our physical energy, and aren’t the main reason for why we can sometimes suddenly feel whacked mentally.
Tryptophan is probably the main cause for the sudden onset of tiredness as it has been shown to promote fatigue after exercise (Meeusen R. 1996).

Tryptophan is a protein – the precursor for the neurotransmitter called 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HTP) which is involved in fatigue and sleep.

When we exercise we increase the amount of tryptophan in the bloodstream (Ishikura K. Et al. 2013) increasing it’s availability to the brain within as little as 30 minutes (Blomstrand. E 2005). Once we finish our session the circulating tryptophan is then taken up by the brain and converted to 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HTP) – minutes later and 5-HTPs effects present themselves as we’re left feeling whacked.
So, is there a way to combat this?
Well I’m glad you asked, as yes there is! Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAA’s) have been shown to combat tryptophan’s effects and prevent PWS (Blomstrand et al. 2006). They do this by competing with tryptophan in a race to see who can reach and be taken up by the brain first; and guess who wins… the amino acids!
These then force tryptophan to admit defat and reside back in muscle and other tissues. (Blomstrand et al. 1995, 1997).
So, if you’re a person who suffers from the Post Workout Slump after exercise try adding 5-10g of BCAA’s into your water to sip on while training, I guarantee it’ll help you!
You’ll also find sipping on 5-10g of a carbohydrate solution during training also helps to prevent tryptophan to exert it’s fatiguing effects (Davis JM 1995).
BCAA’s have also been show to be particularly beneficial in raising energy in people who are overly stressed or, who suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) (Castell LM. et al. 1999).

So there you have it, if we can keep a lid on the amino acid tryptophan from coverting to 5-HTP we can reduce, or even eliminate the need for a nap post exercise. It is worth noting however, that 5-HTP isn’t all bad, and if you’re someone who struggles to curb their carvings for carbohyrdates when dieting then 5-HTP may just become your trusted ally.

Take a look at one of our past fun facts on Tryptophan – The secret to carb cravings!