Working behind the scenes at a personal training company means I am constantly surrounded by a team of incredibly fit, determined people. It also means that I hear the struggles their clients are going through to achieve their dream results, and the expectations of people who come to Hall Training looking for support.

I had hoped that being surrounded by this uber-fit team would mean some of their dedication would rub off on me, that all clients would find it super easy to achieve their dream bodies, and that people turning to the team for help would realise how hard ‘being super fit’ actually is. Unfortunately, this hasn’t been the case!

At Hall Training our focus is nearly always on health over aesthetics, and on sustainability over sudden, drastic changes, unless of course a client comes to us with a tight deadline such as a holiday or wedding. On other personal training websites, it’s common to see pictures of incredible transformations, from overweight to six pack in just 12 weeks. But how realistic is this, how much do you sacrifice, is it worth it? Well, I’ve decided to find out.

For the next 12 weeks (well, 11 and a half now you’re reading this!) I am going to try really hard to stick to the workout and nutrition plan that the team have set up for me. That means no weekend wine (huge sacrifice), no snacking on the yummy food in the office (more for my colleagues!) and a lot of early starts.

I am going to write a short blog every week so you can see how I get on. I promise now not to sugar coat anything – the highs and lows will be here for everyone to see!

So far, it’s day 4 of 84 and things are going well. Other than underestimating how many grams of carbs were in the sushi I grabbed on the go on Tuesday, I’ve managed to stick to my nutrition plan perfectly. It’s actually quite tough to get the calories in when you’re in diet mind set! I’ve only done one workout so far this week, the other three are all scheduled over the next few days. My hamstrings still hurt from that one, so we’ll have to see how the next three go…

We hope that this blog will make it clear exactly how much hard work a client and their trainer have to put in to make a big difference in a small space of time, but also show what can be achieved if you really put your mind to it. On a personal level, I’m just really hoping that I can stick to it and also that I end up feeling a bit more like ‘me’ again at the end. I can make all the excuses in the world – a new job, two house moves, stress at work – but I am hoping to find that the truth is, if you plan and make time, it is possible to achieve your health and fitness goals and have a life, even through Christmas party season! If everything goes to plan, my last day will be the 8^th January, and fingers crossed I will be a better version of myself by then!

Until next week…

With the release of last week’s budget, it seems everyone is talking about the sugar tax. Over the last few days I’ve read several opinions on whether this is a good idea and ultimately, whether it will help to halt the obesity crisis – the million-dollar question!

The Government’s new tax on sugary drinks will be split into two bands: the first for total sugar above 5g per 100ml, and the second for when total sugar exceeds 8g per 100ml. To give you some context, Coca Cola contains 10.6g of sugar per 100ml, while your typical orange juice has 8g.
The tax won’t be placed on pure fruit juices or milk based drinks. But in an effort to drive down childhood obesity, is this the right approach?

There’s no denying it: our consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) has risen in recent decades, and there is evidence to suggest that this increase is having an impact on obesity and the rising number of cases of type 2 diabetes (Hu. 2013). But sugary drinks alone are not the root of the problem.

The number of articles, statements and scientific studies linking sugary drinks to weight gain makes it easy to point the finger, and come to the conclusion that sugary drinks should be eliminated. In theory, this makes a lot of sense, but when you compare the theoretical data with the observed data, you can see that the actual weight gain associated with sugary drinks is in fact ten times less than was originally theorised, and actually, less than 2% of weight gain can be attributed to drinking sugary drinks (Kaiser 2013)!
It’s only in the last ten years or so that sugar has been demonised for our increasing waistlines. Interestingly, our total consumption of sugar in the UK has actually fallen by 20 per cent in the last 30 years (Barclay. 2011)! In fact, it is our eating patterns as a whole that are to blame. If you look at the most recent data on calorie consumption, we are both eating more (approximately 445 calories more) but also moving less than we were 40 years ago (Church TS, et al). 

Out of the additional 445 Kcals we’re now consuming only 10 percent are from caloric sweeteners

Interestingly out of the 445 extra calories we’re now consuming, less than 10 percent are from sweeteners/sugar; that’s only 45 calories! The remaining calories can be blamed on our increased consumption of refined grains such as french fries, potatoes, crisps and baked goods, along with fats and oils .

Now, placing a tax on sugary drinks does indicate that the Government are realising the extent of the obesity crisis and starting to do something about it. But let’s be honest, the price isn’t going to increase so dramatically that it will force those who buy them to find a healthier alternative. In fact, a lot of the ‘healthier’ alternatives are probably going to have just the same impact (if not worse!) than if you were to choose a sugary drink.
Milkshakes, flavoured waters and off-the-shelf cold coffees can contain nearly as much sugar, if not more, than your average can of soda and they tend to be higher in calories! In fact, if you compare a standard 471ml bottle of chocolate milkshake to a can of coke you’ll find the milkshake has an extra 203 calories. Yet these drinks are exempt from the tax!

If we are serious about tackling childhood obesity, then we must not be naive enough as to think that pushing up the cost of fizzy drinks is going to have a noticeable impact. It is more important to focus on the issue of over-eating in general, and reducing our consumption of delicious but unhealthy foods such as refined grains and fatty foods (Choo 2015). It’s also crucially important that we remain active and encourage our children to put the iPad down, get up off the sofa and out into the fresh air. Only then do I believe we’ll stand a fighting chance of tackling the obesity crisis.

A few possible solutions:
Drink sugar-free alternatives: Now I can understand your immediate reaction to this – “diet drinks cause cancer!” – Well, we now know from the science that unless you’re drinking close to 5 litres of diet soda a day or you’re born with a rare inherited disease (phenylketonuria) you needn’t worry. In fact, there’s emerging evidence to show diet drinks may actually reduce the risk of obesity and weight gain, increasing satiety and reducing food intake. You can read our blog post on sweeteners and diet soda here.

Reducing screen time: The amount of time kids (8-18 year olds) are exposed to electronic devices or lit screens has increased by almost 2 1/4 hours from its level 5 years ago, taking the average amount of time children are exposed to electronic devices to nearly 8 hours per day (Kaiser)! For at least some of that time, they could be being active.

Get kids moving more: The Department of Health recommends at least 1 hour of moderate to vigorous exercise per day, of which only 24 percent of girls and 32 percent of boys (among 2-15 year olds) in England are achieving. One benefit of taxing fizzy drinks is that the money raised will be going towards sports equipment for schools, which should help encourage kids to be more active on a daily basis.

Any move to tackle the obesity crisis must be praised, but the issue is much more deeply rooted in our lifestyles than what we drink. Any serious attempt to tackle the crisis must face up to this fact, and make real efforts to encourage change.

About Chris Hall
As the founder of Hall Training Systems, it is my mission to provide you with the very best personal training experience. I set up Hall Training Systems as Oxford’s leading personal training service in nutrition, performance and weight loss, ensuring I can deliver the very best in training techniques. You can find me on Facebook, Google+ or why not even give us a Tweet @Hall_Training 

With it being Eating Disorders Awareness Week, run by national charity beat, I thought it would be an ideal opportuinty to invite in a guest writter to tell us all about her story and how weight training helped her recover.

With nearly three quarters of a million people in the UK affected by one of these illnesses [1], with around 80 percent of anorexics and 50 percent of bulimics presenting with exercise dependence [2], it’s not uncommon for personal trainers to come across unwell individuals. Three years ago I met a young lady who was struggling to recover from anorexia and bulimia, which she’d suffered from since her early teens, so for about seven years. Here, she shares her story, showing how personal training and correct nutritional guidance helped her overcome her illness and regain her health and happiness.

“In September 2012 I decided that I needed to finally kick my eating disorder – every last bit of it. Although I was just about managing to go about my normal life it still influenced me constantly, every day, and I finally managed to decide that enough was enough. I needed to learn how to nourish by body and how to make is strong, but at the same time know that my weight wouldn’t spiral out of control. It was time to remember to feel alive. I went to the gym and sat down for a consultation with Chris. 

In my consultation I explained my situation very honestly. I was told I’d need to eat meat to put on some muscle mass and put butter on my vegetables. I’d been ‘vegetarian’ for four years, purely because of my eating disorder. I left the consultation feeling overwhelmed, and that I couldn’t possibly do what was being asked of me. I decided not to sign up.

Two days later I found myself in my first session with Chris. Somehow my desire to get better had beaten my desperation to cling to my eating habits. I had decided, shakily, to commit 100% to the nutritional advice I was given. No personal trainer aims to make their client fat or unhealthy, so I told myself constantly it was safe. I needed to take a leap of faith to recover, so I threw myself in at the deep end (and had chicken for dinner that night with only a few tears).

Three years later, resistance training has become a huge part of my life. I’m very aware that in some ways this is a way of controlling my body and my food, but it is entirely different to the control exerted by anorexia and bulimia. At first perhaps, there wasn’t too much difference. I used my excessive willpower and applied them to my gym regime, but as exercise has become an established part of my life I’ve relaxed. I try and eat well but am occasionally tempted by some treats, and I’m no longer plagued by guilt if I eat a carbohydrate or, god forbid, some chocolate. I am now in control of my food choices, rather than them controlling me. 

It hasn’t always been plain sailing. I still find it difficult to be weighed by somebody else, and a body fat reading that wasn’t what I hoped can make me wobbly for a couple of hours, but that used to be days or weeks. It took a while to get used to a curvier and more muscular appearance, but now you couldn’t pay me to go back. Once, I nearly relapsed when somebody told me my bum was massive, now I’m quite proud of the muscle I’ve managed to put on and the occasional admiration! 

Going to the gym gave me a new focus. Rather than trying to drive the number further down the scales, I am trying to push the weight on my lifts up. Rather than spending all day crying over calories, I spend all day living my life. I love the time I spend in the gym but it’s not the be all and end all. I am healthy, happy and strong, and this new life couldn’t be a stronger contrast to my life with an eating disorder.”

If you or anyone you know has been affected by an eating disorder, or if you wish to talk more about Georgey’s story and how we helped her and others like her, please feel free to send us a message confidentially, or visit beat‘s website.

sources:
1. https://www.b-eat.co.uk/about-beat/media-centre/information-and-statistics-about-eating-disorders
2.  Davis C, Claridge G. The eating disorders as addiction: a psychobiological perspective. Addict Behav. 1998;23(4):463-75.

It’s breakfast week, otherwise known as ‘Shake up your wake up’ – and this is a campaign we’re fully behind, as it emphasises the importance of our favourite meal of the day! When faced with the choice between getting up a few minutes early to eat or hitting the snooze button again, spending longer in bed can be really tempting, but it could make it much harder for you to achieve your weight loss goals.

At Hall Training, we always encourage our clients to make time for breakfast, and here are just five of the reasons we think it’s so important:

1. A higher protein breakfast may improve weight loss. A recent 12-week study [1] saw three groups eating either a high-protein breakfast (38g), a low-protein breakfast (13g), or no breakfast at all. The study showed that eating a low-protein breakfast was better than eating no breakfast, and that even those with a low-protein breakfast remained the same body fat. But those on the high-protein breakfast ate less calories per day in total, lost body fat, and stayed fuller for longer.

2. Breakfast could stop you (or your kids) eating so much during the day. A recent study [2] found that students (aged 14) who ate a high-protein breakfast (48g) reported they felt fuller and satisfied for a longer period than students who skipped breakfast or ate traditional, higher-carb breakfasts.They also freely chose to eat 130 fewer calories at lunch than the other two groups. Their hormonal profile indicated better appetite control and regulation of metabolism than the students who ate the regular pancakes as well.

3. Eating more calories in the morning could help you lose weight. A study [3] conducted in 2014 found that eating a higher amount of calories (70 per cent) in the first part of the day could help you lose fat mass and improve your insulin sensitivity, as opposed to eating 55 per cent of your calories at the same time. You can find more information about the study and information on calorie-timing on another of our blog posts: How the timeing of calories may be important for weight loss

4. Eating breakfast could help your concentration. A study [4] conducted on children found that 3 hours after eating a low-GL (Glycemic Load) breakfast, their memory and mood improved. Even the day after eating the low-GL breakfast, the children were still processing information faster and showing improved spatial memory, suggesting that the benefits of a low-GL breakfast are accumulative. 

5. Breakfast could help you be more active. An American study [5] looked at the activity levels and number of calories burnt by two groups, one who ate breakfast and the other who didn’t. The results showed that eating breakfast encouraged the participants to engage in more physical activity, and thus burn more calories. The total number of calories burned by those who ate breakfast was 851 per day, compared with just 442 by those who didn’t. 

Although the research isn’t always very clear or consistent, it seems to suggest that there are some advantages to having breakfast, and if you are having breakfast then a high-protein looks to be better than a standard breakfast. 

So, in celebration of Breakfast Week, here are some of the recipes we use to make sure we get plenty of protein at the start of the day!

Sources:
1. Leidy, Heather J., et al. “A high‐protein breakfast prevents body fat gain, through reductions in daily intake and hunger, in “Breakfast skipping” adolescents.” Obesity (2015).
2. Leidy, J., Reki, E. The Addition of a Protein-Rich Breakfast and its Effects on Acute Control and Food Intake in “Breakfast-Skipping” Adolescents. International Journal of Obesity. (2010).
3. Lombardo M, et al. J Am Coll Nutr. 2014 May 8:1-8. [Epub ahead of print.]
4.Young, Hayley, and David Benton. “The effect of using isomaltulose (Palatinose™) to modulate the glycaemic properties of breakfast on the cognitive performance of children.” European journal of nutrition (2014)
5. Betts JA, Richardson JD, Chowdhury EA, Holman GD,  Tsintzas K, Thompson D. The causal role of breakfast in energy balance and health: a randomized controlled trial in lean adults. Am J Clin Nutr. (2014)

About Chris Hall
As the founder of Hall Training Systems, it is my mission to provide you with the very best personal training experience. I set up Hall Training Systems as Oxford’s leading personal training service in nutrition, performance and weight loss, ensuring I can deliver the very best in training techniques.
You can find me on Facebook, Google+ or why not even give us a Tweet @Hall_Training

If you’ve spent the last few weeks scoffing mince pies, drinking mulled wine and missing out on the gym, don’t worry – you’re not alone. The festive season can play havoc on our healthy routines and mean that we soon pile on the pounds. However, the average weight gained over the Christmas break isn’t as bad as you may have been led to believe. There aren’t many high-quality studies that look at body weight and fat changes over the Christmas period but, one study [1] looking at British adults showed an average increase of only 1kg weight gain over a 2-week Christmas break with a maximum weight gain of 4.4kg.
Whatever the weight you may have gained it doesn’t have to be hard to beat the festive bulge and get back in shape.

Set Goals
Having a goal will keep you focused as it allows you to monitor your progress. When we work with clients I will always try to set up two goals.
1. A long-term goal: what they wish to achieve long term i.e. 8-12 months.
2. A short-term goal: what they wish to achieve in the next 1-month or even week on week.

If weight loss is your primarily goal then it’s important to have an end goal weight in mind i.e. 2 stone, to then break this goal weight into smaller targets i.e. to lose 2lbs per week. This way you’ll be able to monitor your progress and track how well you’re getting on, increasing your chances of success.
As a general rule of thumb we tell our clients to expect and aim for between 0.5 percent and 1.7 percent of total body weight loss per week. This would usually be around 1lb – 3lbs per week depending on the individual. Also, it’s important to note that women tend to lose weight 40% slower than men.

Eat Smart
There’s much debate over ‘what diet is the best?’ with certain groups of people favoring low carb diet and others favoring low fat. Personally, I don’t think there’s a straightforward answer as it’s so dependent on the individual.
However, if you’re trying to shift some of the post Christmas pudding, then I do suggest following a low carbohydrate diet for several weeks. Studies [2] have shown that initial weight loss from a low carb diet is slightly superior to that in low fat across a three to six month period. After this time, both diets seem to produce similar results when it comes to weight loss. Christmas is usually a time where we over indulge on fine foods, alcohol and an excess of carbohydrates. Going on a low carbohydrate diet after Christmas will really help to get you back on track and in the habit of selecting sensible and more healthier food choices. When I talk about low carb I don’t mean zero. I would aim for about 20% of your total daily calories to come from carbs or anywhere between 50-70g of carbs per day.
For more information about this take a look at our Pre-Christmas Damage Control post.

HIIT It Hard
HIIT or, high-intensity interval training is a training technique in which you give an all-out, 100 percept effort through quick, intense bursts of exercise, (working the anaerobic energy system) followed by short, sometimes active, recovery periods.
HIIT is neither better nor less effective when comparing it to weight training but is a tool that defiantly has a lot of advantages over long duration cardio.
For example more people tend to stick to HIIT as less time is needed to perform it. Given that the main reason people don’t exercise is often because of a lack of time [3], HIIT is a really great tool to overcome this.
Research also suggests that greater fat loss is witnessed with HIIT as compared to regular steady state long duration cardio. One study [4] compared a group of people taking in 20 week of endurance work with a group of 15 weeks of HIIT as found that the latter group lost nine times more body fat and 12 percent more visceral fat than the group doing regular endurance work.
HIIT had also shown to both reduce the cravings for carbohydrates by 35 percent [5] and promote muscle glycogen uptake (ability for a muscle to store energy from carbohydrates) by 28 percent compared with only 17 percent seen by people who do regular endurance work [6].

Metabolic Resistance Training
Metabolic Resistance Training or MRT is a combination of intense, efficient cardiovascular and muscular training involving a combination of circuit training, supersets, speed work, compound lifts, all with very little rest, all designed to increase the body’s capacity to burn more calories day to day. MRT is effectively circuit training either pairing a agonistic exercise with antagonist exercise e.g Squat into Leg Curl or a compound lift i.e deadlift into a speed/cardio exercise such as burpees all with very limited rest between sets and between exercises.
MRT is mainly performed in a circuit fashion ideal for people who don’t have a lot of time and training this way has been estimated to burn around 7 kcal/kg/hr [7]. With the energy expenditure approaching around 600Kcals over the course of a workout!

Creating A Habit
In January everyone starts out with tbe best intentions but in reality the average New Year gym enthusiast will give up after only about 8 weeks.
Science [8] has shown it takes 66 days to form a habit and after this time it becomes a part of you’re daily routine. Making fitness part of your daily life will help keep your fitness levels up and your weight constant, far beyond the New Year and even in to the following one!
If you don’t want to be another New Year gym drop out this year then turn your regime into a habit, work out with a personal trainer or friend – it’s said that you’re 80 percent more likely to achieve your weight loss or fitness goal by training with someone as it makes you accountable to someone other than yourself. Why not join a local running club, sign up to a boot camp or a couple of gym classes, link up with a friend or hire a personal trainer?

All of these tips will serve as a great way to kick off the New Year in a smart and efficient way when losing weight and feeling fabulous is concerned.
From everyone here at Hall Training, we wish you a very Happy and Healthy 2016!

Sources:
1. Reid R, Hackett AF. Changes in nutritional status in adults over Christmas 1998. J Hum Nutr Diet.1999;12:513–516. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-277x.1999.00205.
2. Johnston BC, Kanters S, Bandayrel K, et al. Comparison of weight loss among named diet programs in overweight and obese adults: a meta-analysis. JAMA. 2014;312(9):923-33. doi: 10.1001/jama.2014.10397.
3. Inelmen EM, Toffanello ED, Enzi G, et al. Predictors of drop-out in overweight and obese outpatients.International Journal of Obesity. 2005;29(1):122–128.
4. Lysholm J, Wiklander J. Injuries in runners. The American Journal of Sports Medicine. March 1987 1987;15(2):168-171.
5. David T, et al. Obese but not lean adolescents spontaneously decrease energy intake after intensive exercise. Physiol Behav. 2013 [epub ahead of print]
6. Gibala MJ, Little JP, van Essen M, et al. Short-term sprint interval versus traditional endurance training: similar initial adaptations in human skeletal muscle and exercise performance. J Physiol. 2006;575(Pt 3):901-11.
7. Wilmore JH, Parr RB, Ward P, Vodak PA, Barstow TJ, Pipes TV, Grimditch G, Leslie P. Energy cost of circuit weight training. Med Sci Sports. 1978 Summer;10(2):75-8.
8. Lally P, van Jaarsveld CHM, Potts HWW, Wardle J. How are habits formed: modelling habit formation in the real world. Euro J Soc Psychol. 2010;40:998–1009.

About Chris Hall
As the founder of Hall Training Systems, it is my mission to provide you with the very best personal training experience. I set up Hall Training Systems as Oxford’s leading personal training service in nutrition, performance and weight loss, ensuring I can deliver the very best in training techniques.
You can find me on Facebook, Google+ or why not even give us a Tweet @Hall_Training

With Christmas lurking round the corner I often find people ‘freak out’ about what to do when it comes to eating, and worry about bouncing back and regaining the weight that they’re recently lost. I can tell you now, you needn’t be worried, as I say every year:

 “It’s not what you eat between Christmas and New Year that makes the difference, but what you eat between New Year and Christmas!”

I wish I could claim this as my own but have been quoting this for several years now when I first heard it at a fitness convention out in the States. Since then it’s one of the few words of wisdom that’s really stuck with me and they are definitely words to live by! You see, the amount of fat a person can gain over a week will be such a small amount that you shouldn’t let the fear of it stop you from fully getting into the festive spirt. It’s funny, as I find people are far too worried about what they’re going to be eating between Christmas and New Year rather than worrying about the other 51 weeks of the year.
Anyway, for those of you who have done well on transforming your body this year and may be worrying that Christmas may undo all the hard work, then here’s a great plan to limit the ‘Santa Bulge.’

We’re almost 10 days away from the big day, leaving just enough time to go strict on a 10-Day carbohydrate depletion phase. This phase is the key and will ensure you get to enjoy all the food and drink (ok, within reason) over the Christmas holidays with minimal fat gain however, it’s not going to be an easy 10 days…

The Day-10 Carbohydrate Plan
Days 1-10 require you to be strict on your carbohydrate consumption. The only carbohydrates you’ll eat will be in the form of green vegetables and nuts. All major and popular carbohydrate sources are to eliminated, these include: bread, pasta, grains (rice, buckwheat, spelt, millet, oats etc.), beans and pulses, cakes, sweet, chocolate, root veg, most condiments and sauces and alcohol!  Yes sorry, for the next 10 days it has got to go! Your total daily intake of carbohydrates will be between 30-50g from only green vegetables and nuts. With the elimination of almost a whole food group you now need to fill its gap; protein and fat will do just that.
You need to make sure your consumption of protein is at least 1.8g per kilo of bodyweight or ideally 2.0-2.2g per kg of bodyweight. After you’ve set your protein intake you then need to set dietary fat. This will usually be between 0.7g-1g per kilo of bodyweight and dependent on your total calorie intake.
Over the 10 days you’ll also put yourself into a calorie deficient. I tend to find men do well on around 1600-1800 Kcals and women on slightly less, 1200-1400 Kcals. With this in mind if you take a 60kg female with their protein set at 120g (480 Kcals) and a carbohydrate intake of 30g (120Kcals) the calories from fat would want to be around 600-800 Kcals or between 65 and 90g of dietary fat. Now that you’ve set up some real numbers it’s time to plan your meals.
The majority of meals will consist of the following:

• a protein source – fish, poultry, red meat, eggs and/or full fat greek yogurt.
• green vegetables – spinach, kale, brussel sprouts, broccoli, green beans, peppers, asparagus etc.
• a source of dietary fat – handful of nuts, 1/2 avocado, fish oil, olive oil/oil based salad dressing, oily fish i.e mackerel, salmon, sardines.

The 10 days are designed to help deplete the body of its glycogen stores, so come day 11 and 12 (Christmas day/Boxing day) and throughout the Christmas week you’ll then help to replenish this ‘lost’ glycogen through good eating and drinking. You’ll find you’ll be able to consume all mannerer of foods without it having a detrimental impact on your body fat and composition. Win, win!

What to expect over the next 10-days
During the first few days it’s quite normal to experience the following: headaches, skin breakouts, tiredness and fatigue, irritability, brain fog and weakness (especially in the gym). These should all subside after 5 days of being of going low carb. If after 7 days you’re still suffering then check the following:

 1. Protein may be too low – check how much protein you’re ACTUALLY eating against what you NEED to be eating, if it’s too low then take it up

 2. Increase salt intake – Proteins needs to digested into their individual amino acids before being absorbed by cells. In order for these amino acids to be absorbed, sodium is needed, so higher protein diets do require a higher sodium intake. If you’re feeling tired then take a look at you salt intake, you may find it’s too low. It’s one reason I recommend the nuts, as salted nuts can really help with this. Also try adding sea salt or himalayan pink salt to foods.

 3. Increase fat intake – If you can rule out the two points above and you’re still feeling miserable then take a look at your fat intake. If you’re on the lowest intake (0.7g per/kg/bw) then it may be worth increasing to 0.9-1g per/kg/bw. This will also help give you a few more calories which you may well need.

With regards to results; it’s not uncommon for most people to drop 1-2.5% body fat and 2-4kgs across these 10 days! So, good luck, stay strict over the next 10 days and then you’ll be free to let your hair down and enjoy Christmas for what it’s realy about; sharing good food and drink with close freinds and family.

From everyone here at Hall Training, we wish you a very Merry Christmas!

About Chris Hall
As the founder of Hall Training Systems, it is my mission to provide you with the very best personal training experience. I set up Hall Training Systems as Oxford’s leading personal training service in nutrition, performance and weight loss, ensuring I can deliver the very best in training techniques.
You can find me on Facebook, Google+ or why not even give us a Tweet @Hall_Training

We’ve all heard of the ‘dad bod‘ phenomenon sweeping the media recently. In fact we’ve published an article about it in this months’ edition of ShortList magazine, but what exactly is it and how can we avoid it?

The first definition of ‘dad bod’ says that ‘the dad bod is a nice balance between a beer guy and working out.’ It could be somebody who no longer has time to keep up with a rigorous gym routine, and enjoys a weekend full of good food and a few beers, or somebody who has always been in okay (but not fantastic) shape. The general consensus seems to be that a man with a ‘dad bod’ has a visible trace of muscle hidden under a layer of fat. Think Leonardo Di Caprio 2015 as opposed to 1999.

How does it happen?
There are many reasons somebody could develop ‘dad bod.’ Perhaps they’ve never achieved that chiselled six pack and have always carried round a bit of excess podge. The most likely explanation though is that the demands of adult life takeover from a younger commitment to the gym. Guys in their early 20s often have few commitments and limited financial pressures. If they want to spend their weekend in the gym working on their muscle definition, or spend £60 per month on supplements, then they tend to have the freedom to do so. As the years creep by and responsibilities pile up, this can become more difficult. Childcare and family commitments, trips to IKEA and social events all take over, and finding time to fit in gym sessions can be tricky.

Unhelpfully, men often store fat in their stomach area, meaning the abs are the first muscles to disappear. Stress, inactivity, poor nutrition and alcohol all contribute to a build up of fat. While carrying excess fat generally increases health risks, a great deal of research suggests the fat around our abdominal region is even worse. This type of fat, known as visceral fat is hard to monitor, as it’s located underneath your abdominal muscles and surrounds your organs. Visceral fat is associated with insulin resistance (meaning the body cannot handle insulin well) it’s also a strong predictor for stroke and heart disease, and is much more important to keep under control than subcutaneous fat, the fat that we can see and pinch. Thankfully, visceral fat is the easiest to lose and is often the first type of fat to go when you start an exercise regime.

If we don’t want it how can we fight it?
People often underestimate the amount of work needed to get a well-defined six pack. The most important factor is diet. Any excess calories we eat are usually stored as fat, and will immediately start to mask muscle definition. Male fitness and underwear models devote an extraordinary amount of time to exercise, meal planning and food preparation – an amount that most of us can’t afford to spare!

If you are serious about beating dad bod, cutting your alcohol consumption down (or preferably out) would be a great place to start. A large-scale European study found that men who had one drink a day increased the risk of greater belly fat, and those who drank beer rather than wine had substantially more belly fat. Men who were heavy drinkers, consuming more than four drinks a day, were significantly fatter and had more belly fat than those who drank less. They also found the men who drank more also had a larger caloric intake from food [1].
It’s also important to find the right balance of macronutrients (protein, carbs and fats) for you. I find clients often overeat on sugary, high carbohydrate foods while under eating on protein. Try to reduce your intake of sugary carbohydrates in favour of a higher protein intake, healthy fats such as avocados, and unrefined carbohydrates such as rice, sweet potato, rye and amaranth. When it comes to protein you should aim to be eating between 1.2-2.0g per kg of bodyweight depending on your goal and activity levels.

For more information on protein and just how much you need take a look at our Protein 101 seminar or download our protein infographic.

You can save the ‘dirty’ foods such as cakes, chips, pizza and alcohol for special occasions, or your kids’ birthday parties!

When it comes to the gym, time is of the essence. As a busy dad you probably don’t have a lot of time to yourself so short, intense workouts would be best. Try and incorporate a mix of both HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) and strength based circuits into your weekly routine.  Ditch the long steady state cardio and do sprint work instead. Both HIIT and circuit training can be done in no longer than 30-minutes and have a better effect on fat loss than regular steady state training.

Looking for some inspiration? Check out our Holiday Workout blog for a video demostration of a short HIIT session.

If you hate cardio machines, try using battling ropes, kettlebells, jump ropes or sled work to really fire up your metabolism and burn some fat. I try to encourage the dads with young kids who aren’t able to hit the gym as much to get up and out the house for some fresh air. Going on a family cycle, playing a game of squash, taking a dip in the pool or having a simple kick around in the local park – anything that will help to elevate the heart and burn off some of those excess calories.

A note on abdominal work!
Although isolated abdominal work will help to develop the muscles of a six pack, it won’t necessarily help to show it off. It’s better to lose the gut first by focusing on the techniques above before wasting endless hours performing 100 crunches back to back.

Sources:
Bergmann, M., Schutze, M., et al. The Association of Lifetime Alcohol Use With Measures of Abdominal and General Adiposity in a Large-Scale European Cohort. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2011. 65, 1079-1087.

About Chris Hall
As the founder of Hall Training Systems, it is my mission to provide you with the very best personal training experience. I set up Hall Training Systems as Oxford’s leading personal training service in nutrition, performance and weight loss, ensuring I can deliver the very best in training techniques.
You can find me on Facebook, Google+ or why not even give us a Tweet @Hall_Training

It was last week I headed down to Hotel Chocolat in Covent Garden for a chocolate making experience. Chocolate is my Achilles Heel, I can’t resist it, so I was really excited to find out some more about how it is made and what exactly goes into it.
I thought it was only fair that I shared some of this knowledge with you, as whenever I ask clients which foods they feel they need to cut out, chocolate is pretty high on the list. While this can be sensible (we all know how hard it is to stop eating it once you’ve started) it’s not all bad news for chocolate lovers. Chocolate, especially dark chocolate, has some fantastic health benefits.

What I learnt yesterday is that there are only three types of cocoa beans in the world. They are the noble Criollo, the common Forastero and a hybrid between the two, the Trinitario. Criollo and Trinitario are often referred to as fine or flavour cocoa beans, while Forastero is considered the ordinary or bulk bean and provides 90% of the world’s chocolate!

Once the beans have been collected, fermented and roasted, the shell is separated from the bean itself, or the nib. I hadn’t appreciated how simple the chocolate making process actually is: the chocolate nibs are ground down. They turn from beans into a liquidy paste, and separate from the fat they contain: cocoa butter. This is skimmed off, then, for dark chocolate, sugar is added to the paste. If your chocolate is 70% dark chocolate, then 30% of it is sugar. For milk chocolate, sugar and milk power are added. This most important part of the process to be aware of nutritionally. The darker the chocolate, the more health benefits and the less sugar (i.e. additional calories) you are consuming!

Once the sugar has been added, manufacturers (should) add cocoa butter. This is the only fat which melts at body temperature, hence why good quality chocolate melts in your mouth. Many manufacturers sell this off to beauty companies for use in cosmetics, and replace it with less healthy fats such as vegetable oils. Always check the back of the packet to make sure you know what goes into your chocolate and to see whether it contains vegetable oil or a fat subsitute! This substitution of fats is especially common in warmer countries, where the chocolate would melt on the shelves if it melted at 37 degrees.

If you’re eating good quality chocolate, with at least 70% cocoa content, there’s no need to feel too guilty, especially when you consider all the good it can do your body and mind! Here are my top five surprising health benefits of chocolate:

1. It boosts your mood
Good quality chocolate contains phenylethylamine (PEA), which is the hormone your brain creates when you’re falling in love with somebody. PEA works by encouraging your brain to relase the nerotransmitter dopamine, helping to lift your mood.

2. It’s packed full of minerals
Many people suffer from various mineral deficiencies. It’s amazing how many of these missing minerals a 100g bar of dark chocolate can contain. It’s full of zinc, magnesium, potassium and iron. A 100g serving of dark chocolate contains 76% of your daily recommended allowance of zinc and a whooping 146mg of magnesium! Given that 57% of the US population does not meet the US RDA for dietary intake of magnesium; chocolate could be a very simple source of obtaining an adequate amount of this mineral.

3. It improves brain power
As well as minerals, chocolate contains Flavonols, which act in a similar way to anti-oxidants. One of their roles is to improve circulation and blood flow to the brain. A 2009 study asked participants to count backwards in groups of three from 999. When they’d consumed cocoa they did it more quickly and with less mistakes, and better still didn’t find it so tiring!

4. It helps your body work better
Cocoa has numerous benefits on the body. It can help to reduce strokes, lower cholesterol, limit the risk of cardiovascular disease, and makes arteries more flexible.

5. It can help with weight loss
A neuroscientist called Will Clower claims that melting a square of dark chocolate on your tongue twenty minutes before you eat triggers the hormones that tell you you’re full, thus reducing the amount of calories you consumer over all.

While I wouldn’t recommend guzzling a whole bar of chocolate every day, the odd square of dark chocolate here and there is certainly nothing to worry about, and may even improve your health!

About Chris Hall
As the founder of Hall Training Systems, it is my mission to provide you with the very best personal training experience. I set up Hall Training Systems as Oxford’s leading personal training service in nutrition, performance and weight loss, ensuring I can deliver the very best in training techniques.
You can find me on Facebook, Google+ or why not even give us a Tweet @Hall_Training

Our social media feeds are full of pictures of healthy food and six packs, encouraging us to live a more active and healthier lifestyle. At first glance this sounds great – being healthy is good. But it is possible to be too healthy. There is a worrying trend emerging, with individuals becoming so obsessed with eating healthily that they are damaging their mental health. The line between healthy eating and an eating disorder becomes blurred.

Orthorexia Nervosa involves an intense compulsion to stick to a concrete set of rules for food consumption, often eating healthy, ‘clean’ foods, with complete avoidance of foods perceived to be unhealthy. Although it is not clinically defined as an eating disorder, it is a growing phenomenon, with increasing numbers of people showing orthorexic tendencies. It is more common among those who regularly exercise.

This obsession with healthy foods could come from a number of sources. Environment is massively important – if those around you are obsessive about the quality and type of food they eat, you are more likely to pick up similar habits. Social trends are becoming more of a problem, particularly with the prevalence of food and fitness bloggers on social media setting excessively high standards. The number of wheat, gluten and lactose free foods available, and the publicity surrounding certain diets is another causal factor. People may hear from a nutritionist or a celebrity that wheat is bad, and then cut it out of their diet for example. Although orthorexics seem to be driven by healthy motivations, underlying reasons such as a desire for control, using their eating habits to create an identity or social standing, and poor body image are more likely to be the driving factor. Orthorexia is also associated with OCD.

In the drive for health, some orthorexics can end up limiting their diet in such a way that it becomes nutritionally unsafe. Cutting out meat and pulses can cause a protein deficiency, while eliminating dairy limits the amount of calcium available to the body. Avoiding gluten often means avoiding wheat-based products, which have a high fibre content, often leads to a low fibre intake, and a lack of B vitamins.

All of us who are interested in nutrition or training know that it’s important to have a high protein intake, but less of us know why?
There are two types of protein:

1. Structural proteins: these proteins make up our muscles, organs, bones, skin, hair and nails.
2. Functional proteins: these proteins contribute to the day to day running of our body.

They have various roles, manufacturing enzymes, making up parts of the immune system, and transporting various substances around the body – these are just a few examples!

The human body can’t exist without protein, and it can’t synthesise all the protein it needs itself. Protein is made up of amino acids – these are the building blocks of our bodies.

Complete and incomplete proteins
A ‘complete’ dietary protein contains all the different amino acids we require as humans. An ‘incomplete’ protein doesn’t. You’ll often hear people say that a lot of vegetarian protein sources, like lentils and bens, are incomplete proteins – meaning they lack some essential amino acids. This is a bad way of looking at it. Different proteins have different combinations of amino acids, meaning that some are better than others at specific things. Vegetarian protein sources aren’t necessarily worse than their meaty counterparts!

For example, grains have very little of the amino acid Lysine, but have lots of Methionine, while beans are low in Methionine and high in Lysine. If you ate these foods together, they would contain all the essential amino acids and be a ‘complete’ dietary protein. Any vegetarians out there should concentrate on getting high Leucine foods into their diet – soy, cottage cheese and kidney beans are great examples [1].

How much protein do we need?We need to take in protein because the body can’t store amino acids. Proteins are constantly broken down and recycled through a process canned protein turnover. About 300g of protein is turned over each day. In a normal person, about 4% of protein will be lost and need to be replaced through diet [2].

There are lots of factors that affect how much protein a person needs. These include age, stress levels, general health, gender, activity levels and existing body composition. The end goal is also important!

The recommended daily allowance for protein in the Uk and US is between 46 and 56g for adults, depending on gender, or 0.8g/kg of bodyweight [2]. This calculation works for about 95% of us, assuming that those 95% are eating good quality protein, not exercising, and eating enough calories.

If you’re on a low calorie or low carb diet, exercising a lot or are already lean, you need to increase your protein intake. Use the sum 2.3-2.8g/kg/day [3].

What about the anabolic window?
We’ve all heard the old-wives tale that its best to eat little and often, and I often heard this said about protein too. Actually, research shows that there’s no advantage to this technique! One study split its participants into two groups with different protein timings. One group was given a pulse meal pattern with 8/80/4/8% of their protein per meal, and the other group had 25% of their daily protein at each sitting. After six weeks there was no significant difference in their fat free body mass [4].

Most of us also rush to have our protein shakes after a workout, trying to cram them in during the ‘anabolic window’ – the time after strenuous exercise when protein consumption can supposedly help with muscle synthesis. Actually, there’s not enough data to back this up [5]. The only exceptions are if you’re:

• Unable to eat for 3-4 hours before/after training
• Training in a fasted state
• Use your shake as a reward after a strenUous session
• Struggling to hit your daily protein target
• An athlete or competative bodybulider/figure athlete

Rather than worrying about the anabolic window, focus on meeting the ‘Leucine threshold’ for the day. This is the point where muscle protein systhesis (MPS) is raised, meaning you’re like to put on more muscle! If you don’t train, the leucine threshold for triggering MPS is thought to be 1g in younger subjects and 2g in older subjects [6]. In a trained state, you will need 2-3g of Leucine [6], to maximise MPS. In practical terms this means gtting in 20-40g of protein per serving.

So! When you’re thinking about protein intake, whether it’s for body composition, recovery and repair or for general health, it’s key to make sure your body is getting as much high-quality protein as it needs. The timings and sources of that protein should be second on your list to think about.

Learn more about protein in our nutritional seminar – >> WATCH NOW <<

Calculate how much protein YOU need!
Use our infographic and follow the steps below to find out how much protein you should be eating on a daily basis. You can also calculate the amount of protein you need post-exercise too.
Note: Women require less protein than men and would typically begin on the lower end of the given recommendation.

Sources:
[1] http://nutritiondata.self.com/foods
[2] http://examine.com/faq/how-much-protein-do-i-need-every-day.html
[3] Lemon PW. Effects of exercise on dietary protein requirements. Int J Sport Nutr. 1998;8(4):426-47.
[4] Adechian S, et al. Protein feeding pattern, casein feeding, or milk-soluble protein feeding did not change the evolution of body composition during a short-term weight loss program. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 2012 Oct 15;303(8):E973-82.
[5] Aragon AA, Schoenfeld BJ. Nutrient timing revisited: is there a post-exercise anabolic window? J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2013 Jan 29;10(1):5.
[6] Norton LE, Wilson GJ: Optimal protein intake to maximize muscle protein synthesis: examinations of optimal meal protein intake. Agro Food Industry Hi-Tech 2009, 20:54–57.

About Chris Hall
As the founder of Hall Training Systems, it is my mission to provide you with the very best personal training experience. I set up Hall Training Systems as Oxford’s leading personal training service in nutrition, performance and weight loss, ensuring I can deliver the very best in training techniques.
You can find me on Facebook, Google+ or why not even give us a Tweet @Hall_Training