LOVE YOURSELF- REASON #3 WHY YOURE NOT ACHIEVING YOUR GOALS? You are not getting enough RESTORATION

LOVE YOURSELF: Reason #3 for you not achieving your goals is adequate RESTORATION.

Are you restoring yourself enough for you to adapt to your training? 

So you have set your goals, you have drawn up a detailed plan of action, and you are definitely actioning accordingly. You are really getting your head down and working hard when you need to,  but after 6 weeks you are still not making any progression towards achieving your goals? is this leaving you flabbergasted as to why this is happening? Are you also getting sick and tired frequently for no apparent reason?

The reason why you may not be achieving the results that you set out to (and you should be given the amount of effort you are making with your training) could be that you are not focussing enough on your RESTORATION sessions within your training plan. You have planned all of your training sessions out effectively and sequentially  but you have forgotten to plan adequate rest and nutrition around your training (part of restoration).  This means that your body is in constantly in fight mode (sympathetically overloaded)  rather than being allowed to recover and adapt to your training (parasympathetically activated) accordingly

RESTORATION is an essential part of your training program, especially if you want to achieve the best results. In fact the more intense your training and life in general, the more you should be focussing on the way that you recover from your training. This is especially true of life dis-stress, when you consider the many other environment and social stressors nowadays which many of us face, (which are more prevalent than ever),  such as  lack of jobs, poor job security, increased workloads and then lack of time, high priced housing,  school fees and GFC etc. All these undue stressors can create huge mental pressure and often we dismiss it,  as we can'tsee it, but unfortunately your body recognises every part any dis-stress within your life. Yes that's right! Because your body is a super dooper survival warrior, it will reflect your thoughts (distresses such as worry anxiety),  back upon it's ability to function and restore optimally.

Kinesiologists recognise that emotional stress is directly linked to pain in different areas of the body. So it's important we manage everything from a 360 degree view to stay injury free and enable a good level of progression from our training and nutrition plan.

Why does this happen? 

Believe it or not,  even worrying about life and worrying often, can force your sympathetic nervous system chronically into over drive,  hindering your ability to recover effectively from your training and thus effecting your overall health and quality of your results. This is because your sympathetic nervous system is not designed to be bashed continuously with dis-stress (continuous thoughts going on in your brain such as … hate my job, I'm running out of time to finish my work as i am trying to complete two peoples, I'm worried about paying my bills etc) . Rather;  your sympathetic nervous system is actually designed to be used in emergencies insert scenario….in the jungle running from the tiger, 'short and sharp thrust of adrenaline required please Mr nervous system' which causes your body to go into fight or flight mode.

As I mentioned above, the problem nowadays is we are subjected to deal much more chronic forms of life stress than any other day and age, making our sympathetic nervous system kick and you can sure bet that kicking it does! But chronically? That spells disaster!

WHY? Quite simply, our body is not designed to deal with this stress for these lengths

of time,  therefore continuing through high levels of dis-tress for lengthy periods means that at one time or another something has to give. Right? 

Yes! Right! Especially so because you are on mission to achieve results from your training,  you are now focussed on recovering from your training allowing you to make significant progressions. So you are going to have to find a way of taming that sympathetic bad boy, otherwise there is no chance on earth your parasympathetic nervous system (which is your body's the recovery/relaxation system) is going to comply with your health and fitness goals.  You guessed it!  Your restorative ability can only occur in parasympathetic mode, which when (and only when) we have got the sympathetic nervous system (part of the nervous system that deals with stress) under control. Also did you know … Your parasympathetic system is where you should be most of the time? So crucial that we now try and reaquaint our poor mind and body with this awesomely chilled dude friend of ours, the parasympathetic system.

How can we therefore nurture our para-sympathetic friend?

THE SOLUTION = FIND A MODALITY WHICH YOU WILL COMPLY WITH THAT HELPS TO IMPROVE YOUR RESTORATION: 

We can restore our body via a number of modalities so its important to find the one that works best for you so that you stick to it which then in turn allows for your lasting results…..

1. Meditation and diaphragmatic breathing

Meditation is a practice of concentrated focus upon a sound, object, visualization, the breath, movement, or attention itself in order to increase awareness of the present moment, reduce stress, promote relaxation, and enhance personal and spiritual growth.  Lazar et al studiedmeditation and the areas of the brain that were stimulated.

They proved that the practice of meditation indeed does activate neural structures (dorsolateral prefrontal parietal  hippocampus, temporal lobe) involved within attention and control of the ANS. Meditation has been shown to improve sports performance.  Solberg et al (1993) studied 25 elite shooters, whereby competition scores were measured with and without meditation practice. The competition results were better with the meditation intervention. The authors found that when the athletes practiced meditation it lowered their tension resulting in the better performance outcomes. Solberg et al (2000) found that meditative practice in runners improved their recovery times in comparison to a control group. The runners blood lactate concentration was significantly decreased in the runners who practiced meditation. According to Martarelli et al (2009) it may not be as in depth as meditation paractice to create a positive impaction the parasympathetic pathways. The authors found found that athletes who simply practiced breathing through the diaphragm significantly reduced oxidative stress related to exercise and as a result reduced cortisol and increase in melatonin. This lower oxidative stress initiated by breathing through the diaphragm,  could protect athletes from the long term effects of free radicals. 

Try to practice diaphragmatic breathing everyday; once before you get out of bed in the morning and once you get into bed at night. Slow the rhythm of your breathing down so that your in breath matches your out breath (which should ideally be for 4 seconds in Vs four seconds out)  Try to take really big belly breaths where you use your nose to breathe in and mouth to breathe out. Place your hands around your waist, and feel your diaphragm become active, whilst avoiding using your back to breathe.

2. Stretching and rolling 

Yoga:Yoga is a Hindu theistic philosophy a sequence of exercises, teaching the suppression of all activity of body, mind, and for the purposes of dinstiguishing the differences between the body and mind in order to attain liberation, mental control and wellbeing.    Sharma (2015) believes that  Yoga is important for sports performance as it can play a key role in cultivating mind control and concentration which helps a

sportsperson to perform at their peak.  Aside from the improvement of musculoskeletal flexibility and joint range of motion, Yoga is thought to create a stable autonomic nervous system equilibrium with a tendency toward the parasympathetic nervous system dominance rather than the usual stress induced sympathetic nervous

 system dominance. In 2005.  Donohue et al found that a yoga intervention proved beneficial to one mile run performance when matched for a control group with no intervention. Boyle et al (2004) studied the effects of a yoga intervention on muscle soreness after a DOMS inducing step protocol. They found that women within the yoga intervention group improved their recovery times compared to the group with no intervention. In order to move better within our training we require flexibility so that we can move within our entire range. Yoga has been proven to aid ROM . There was an increase in range of motion for these movements, muscular strengths for each side of the leg and chest muscles. In their study of the effect of yoga on bilateral strength and hip range of motion, Pauline and Rintaugu (2011) found that  a12 week yoga training practice created improvements in shoulder flexion, hip flexion, hip extension and abduction range of motion. I recommend starting with a beginners form of yoga which focusses more on breathing before you move to more dynamic versions.

Of course there's my new 30 min myofacial stretch sessions which enable better movement, better performance and better results. Ask me to find out more:

3. Massage 

The mechanical pressure applied to the musculo-skeletal system during a sport massage  may increase blood flow, and can increase or decrease neuro excitability (depending on the specific techniques used by the therapist). For your recovery from

your training sessions, it is interesting to note that there are changes to the paraypathetic activity and hormones during massage and resulting in a relaxation response. (Warping et al 2005). Arroyo-Morales et al (2005) found that Massage may favour recovery in the immune system, after high intensity training sessions, Lee et al (2011) studied the effect  of applied heat and massage on stress markers in the body on 139 subjects. The subjects within this study were measured for heart rate variability, sympathetic skin response, and serum cortisol and norepinephrine levels. All these markers were shown to decrease in subjects after a two week period. the authors concluded that heat and massage applications provide relaxation to the autonomic nervous system without serious adverse effects. in their review on sports massage and sport performance Best et al (2008). found that there were moderate benefits for massage upon sports performance in several randomised controlled trials. My main advise for massage is to find a therapist in your area who has come recommended or you know is good and stick with them as much as possible, due to the fact that there is quite  a lot of variability between therapists.

4 . Sleep

Getting enough sleep and good quality sleep is an essential part of your recovery program. Halson (2014) suggests that sleep has numerous important physiological and cognitive functions, that may be particularly important to elite athletes. The deprivation of sleep has significant effects on performance effects on athletic performance, especially sub-maximal  prolonged exercise. Interestingly compromised sleep may also influence learning, memory, cognition, pain perception, immunity and inflammation.changes in glucose metabolism and neuroendocrine function as a result of chronic. Lack of sleep can influence the metabolism of the foods you eat, such as alterations in carbohydrate metabolism, appetite, food intake and protein synthesis. These factors combined can ultimately have a negative influence on an athlete’s nutritional, metabolic and endocrine status and hence potentially reduce athletic performance, so certainly we can see that making an effort to get enough sleep and good quality sleep should serve as a priority if you would lie to achieve top notch results.

5.Nutrition. 

In order to initiate optimal muscle repair and energy levels from training,  recovery nutrition should be of a paramount for any training program to be successful. The AIS suggest that recovery nutrition encompasses a complex range of processes that include; refueling the muscle and liver glycogen (carbohydrate) stores, replacing the fluid and electrolytes lost in sweat,  manufacturing new muscle protein, red blood cells and other cellular components as part of the repair and adaptation process, and allowing the immune system to handle the damage and challenges caused by the exercise bout. This is a vast topic to cover, so In order to find out how you implement nutrients for your training, download my FREE macronutrient guide.

Conclusion: Aside from sleep and nutrition (which are non negotiable for recovery),  you should choose the modalities that promote recovery that work best for you. If you are feeling tired and not achieving the results from your training which you deserve when considering your intensity of your training, it is highly advisable to review how you are nurturing your parasympathetic system, as a lack of emphasis on your recovery will stump your results significantly as well as put you at increased risk of injury. 

REFERENCES

Arroyo-Morales M1, Olea N, Ruíz C, del Castilo Jde D, Martínez M, Lorenzo C, Díaz-Rodríguez L.(2005) Massage after exercise--responses of immunologic and endocrine markers: a randomized single-blind placebo-controlled study. J Strength Cond Res. 2009. Vol 23(2):Pp 638-44. 

Best TM, Hunter R, Wilcox A, Haq F (2008). Effectiveness of sports massage for recovery of skeletal muscle from strenuous exercise.

Clin J Sport Med. Vol ;18(5): Pp 446-60. 

Boyle, CA.; Sayers SP,; Jenson BE, Headly SA, Manos T M.(2004) The effects of yoga training and a single bout of yoga on delayed onset muscle soreness in the lower extremity.  Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research

Halson S. (2014) .Sleep in Elite Athletes and Nutritional Interventions to Enhance Sleep Sports Med. Vol 44(Suppl 1): Pp 13–23

Lazar SW, George B; Gollub RL, Fricchione GL,; Khalsa G, Gurucharan BH; ( 2000). "Functional brain mapping of the relaxation response and meditation". Neuroreport 11 (7): 1581–5

MacDonald GZ, Penney MD, Mullaley ME, Cuconato AL, Drake CD, Behm DG, Button DC.(2013) An acute bout of self-myofascial release increases range of motion without a subsequent decrease in muscle activation or force. J Strength Cond Res. Vol 27(3): Pp 812-21

Martarelli D,  Cocchioni M  Scuri S and Pompei P. (2011) Diaphragmatic Breathing Reduces Exercise-Induced Oxidative Stress.Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 

Miller A,  Beisecker M,   Houser D,  Valdez R ,  S Tiller S,  Taymar T (2005).  Effects of brief yoga exercises and motivational preparatory interventions in distance runners: results of a controlled trial. Br J Sports Med. Vol;40(1):Pp 60-3;

Pearcey GE1, Bradbury-Squires DJ, Kawamoto JE, Drinkwater EJ, Behm DG, Button DC.(2015) Foam rolling for delayed-onset muscle soreness and recovery of dynamic performance measures. J Athl Train.Vol. 50(1): Pp 5-13.

Sharma L (2015). Benefits of Yoga in Sports- A Study. International Journal of Physical Education, Sports and Health 2015; 1(3): Pp 30-32 

Solberg EE, Berglund KA, Engen O, Ekeberg O, and Loeb M (1996) The effect of meditation on shooting performance. Research article. Br J Sports Med. Vol. 30:Pp 342-346 

Solberg EE,   Ingjer F,  A Holen A,  Sundgot-Borgen J,  S Nilsson S,   Holme I (2000) Stress reactivity to and recovery from a standardised exercise bout: a study of 31 runners practising relaxation techniques. Br J Sports Med . Vol (34):Pp 268-272

Weerapong P1, Hume PA, Kolt GS(2005)The mechanisms of massage and effects on performance, muscle recovery and injury prevention. Sports Med. Vol 35(3):Pp 235-56.

Young-Hee Lee, Bit Na Ri Park, and Sung Hoon Kim(2011) The Effects of Heat and Massage Application on Autonomic Nervous SystemYonsei Med J. 2011 Nov 1; 52(6): 982–989.

Reasons why you're not getting results from your training: Industry secrets to making MASSIVE long lasting change. (REASON #2/5) LOVE YOURSELF SERIES

LOVE YOURSELF BY PLANNING FOR SUCCESS

2. The second problem is:  you have made a PAN instead of a PLAN, leading to lack of, or NO progress, resulting in demotivated you!

Yes! That's right! You have made a PAN but not a PLAN. You have identified your points of

Pain (goals), you have thought about what Action steps you need to take, but you have Not made a plan that is specific, detailed and personalised towards your goals, therefore your progress towards your health and fitness goals has stagnated or remained at the goal setting stage (i.e  you have not made progress)This means that, although you have great intentions of achieving your results,  and you really do want them, unfortunately because you lack the direction, (i.e;you have not made a PLAN), you lack focus and this is very dangerous territory to be treading through,  because the lack of planning leaks momentum and drive from every single set,  every single rep, every single training session that you complete. Lack of planning means that,  instead of going to your training session with iPod on, scowl on face, tearing your way through your training session, you wing it, and you unintentionally don't work as hard. In the long term not surprisingly this makes you feel really demotivated,  from the lack of progress compared to the hard efforts, you are making, so you feel like you're back to square one on a weekly basis. 

Another massive blunder concerning poor planning is poor nutritional planning. Your training is brilliant, you have followed your program to a T, you're training hard,  yet you are still not making any progress? Guaranteed the number one reason why you are not losing body fat and getting your body tighter via muscle gain is largely to do with your current nutritional regime. You haven't planned your nutrition so you get home from having completed an awesome training session at the gym and realise you haven't been shopping yet, and therefore the only thing that's available in the freezer is is the ice-cream,  you're starving so you eat it anyway…..recipe for disaster.

The solution is to LOVE yourself, keep your focus by make a PERSONALISED PROGRESSIVE PLAN 

What is a PLAN?

A plan is Identifying the Pain/problem, Looking for the solution, create a specific Action plan according to the solution, and take the Necessary, appropriate, specific steps of action!

The point is here that,  you need to identify the solutions to your problems and then plan in accordance to your time frame and goals then take massive determined action- essentially this leads you into a highly motivated state which creates high performance and awesome results. 

TRAINING PLAN

PERIODISE YOUR PROGRAM (SPLIT YOUR TRAINING UP) TO KEEP YOU PROGRESSING AND MOTIVATED

If you are serious about achieving your goals then you need to get some serious planning

done ASAP. A good coach will help you devise a periodisation protocol, which is a trai

ning program with macrocycles, mesocycles and microcycles in accordance to your goals and will consider your desired timeframe to enable achievement of your goals precisely within your timeframe. Periodisation considers the fact that you should build and systemise your training through a specific course and recognises that your body will require a training stimulus to adapt through varying the magnitude of volume and intensity to reflect  the peaks and troughs of stimulus Vs adaptation. Periodisation planning is an essential part of any successful training program that involves transformation of body and performance. This type of plan will span over your long term goal time frame (Macrocycle) which then involves a system of focussed periods of training lasting around 6-8 weeks (Mesocycles) plus weekly and daily programs which will plan in each individual training program (microcycle). Following this type of protocol,  will keep you absolutely focussed, motivated and on track for achieving your goals. WHY? Because you will go into each training session knowing exactly what you need to do, so you enter each training session, like terminator woman on a muscle mission. Now you have your plan, you have focus, instead of being directionless, you are able to complete your  session sweating buckets and successfully leave the gym having;  no interruptions, no chit chatting, just pure 100% effort in your work and great results at the other side reflecting your all your precise planning and hard work. The monumental effects of planning are seriously motivating and that motivation can only lead to great things. Also systemising your training in this way is totally essential so that you make significant progress, by providing just the right amount of training stimulus to create your desired results.  This type of periodised planing enables you and your coach to factor in your recovery sessions. Recovery sessions are absolutely essential, as it allows your body to adapt to your Varying your training will prevent you from doing the same training sessions over and over leading to stagnation of progression due to over/under training. 

FACTOR IN YOUR LIGHTER TRAINING DAYS WITH YOUR KIDS AND BE A GREAT ROLE MODEL

If there are any parents out there reading this, we all know that kids can potentially put a spanner in the works to our 'original training plan;.  The truth is,  you just have to be ready for the potential spanner to come at you flying and adapt accordingly. A great idea is when your kids are around try to involve them within your training session, they LOVE being a part of

what you do,  they were born to run around wildly, so absolutely will enjoy every second of exercising with you. If you are involving your kids,  you are being such a strong role model for them, Im a complete advocate.  You might want to consider switch your lighter training days to when your kids are around and when you have an hour or so free,  for yourself that's when you may want to partake in your heavier training sessions. For all the mothers out there, losing baby weight is often a worry and cause for low levels of self esteem. Planning your training around your baby can be particularly challenging. I have designed this article here especially for you. Are you struggling to lose your post baby weight? Check out my article on this topic here to find out more on how to lose your baby body. Also for the women out there reading this article, there is plenty of evidence which suggests that you need to be factoring your training and nutrition around the effects of your hormones within your monthly cycle,  in order to achieve the best results. This should form a massive part of the plan to maximise fat loss, body tightening, and athletic performance. Click here for my tips on how you can do this. 

Above ALL things, make sure you schedule according to your own realistic schedule. All very well going into your plan scheduling 7 days a week training because you want to achieve your goals quickly,  but only do this if this is realistic for your lifestyle, otherwise you may find that you fall at the first hurdle, which defeats the whole purpose of the wise planning.  

NUTRITION PLAN

Your training and nutrition will go hand in hand with your goals. You definitely need to be make a concerted effort therefore, to plan your nourishment (nutrition) which surrounds your health and fitness goals in order to achieve the best results. If you haven't got time to plan your nutrition then I would suggest that you haven't got time to achieve your goals. Take that excuse away, you deserve better than that! I don't want you to think I take this area lightly, I have plenty of detailed information regarding optimising your nutrition planning and training, in my FREE macronutrient guide, I highly recommend that you download it here. My quick tips are: Make a menu for the up and coming week which reflects the intensity and type of your training sessions plus where you are in your monthly cycle, then base your shopping list upon on your menu. Prepare as many meals in advance that suits the business of your week, so that you avoid splurging when you are short on time. If you are going to have a cheat meal, plan this cheat meal into your week. If you are confused about how to integrate optimum nutrition for your training,  click here for my free macronutrient guide. This will give you a massive,  yet super simple insight  about how to eat properly in relation to your training.

In summary

LOVE YOURSELF BY KEEPING DIRECTION

• Formulate a specific PLAN that takes into account your goals and timeframe towards those goals. Ask a coach to help you to formulate this plan, it will be worth the investment as you will get much better faster results this way. 
• Periodise you program to help you to progress and prevent over training
• Involve your family within your fitness regime, they love to be a part of it and this can be really motivating
• Plan your nutrition and training around the hormone fluctuations that come as part of your monthly cycle AKA period.
• REMEMBER to plan your nutrition,  this forms a massive part of your transformation
• Pick something that works for you, and YOUR schedule,  that way you are more likely to stick to it. 
• TAKE MASSIVE DETERMINED ACTION….RESULTS ARE AT THE OTHER SIDE!

HOW TO ACHIEVE YOUR ULTIMATE BIKINI BODY

SPRING IS ALMOST HERE, HOW IS YOUR BODY LOOKING?

We are just 3 short weeks away from spring time here in the beautiful eastern board of Australia, which means it's coming around to that time of year where we need to be able to confidently patrol the beach in our bikini without the threat of the dreaded involuntary hale

storm marking our butt, into a colossal orange peel nightmare.

I have formulated this blog series bikini body guide especially for you, to help prevent your body exposure panic and to help you to take  take serious action (eerr like yesterday..)

showing you how to boldly ramp up your training regime, so you can confidently parade your sexy curves in time for the big sun and beautiful bounding waves.

 Naturally, you may have slacked off during the cold season, gradually piling on the Kg's and your body and mind set may not  yet be up to the bikini mark. Knowing the comforts of the extra clothes during winter who can blame you? I can tell you that this is a perfectly normal reaction to the winter season cold discomforts, however NOW is the time you will need to dust off the winter cobwebs and start marching into a body super transforming training routine, allowing you to open your spring and summer wardrobe with excitement and pride. 

 If you are a super smart cookie,  you would have already prepared your body throughout the winter months, so that only minor adjustments to your training and nutrition would be required right now in order to achieve the tight abs and firm bottom.  (Keep that in mind for next year). At all costs, you are to avoid making the dreamy mistake of starting training in summer for summer. It would be fantastic if we could all click our fingers and strip down the layers of fat with the layers of clothes, however we know that hard work, dedication and persistence are the true keys to success. Consider structuring your training like an athlete - which is year round training achieving a peak at the point in the year, where you are aiming for the best results. 

So in essence; if you didn't start yesterday you need to start a protocol today. Even if you have those dirty excuses entering your head (i will start on Monday, i will do it when i come back on holiday, i'm not fit enough yet) STOP and think.  MMM maximal movement with minimal equipment with minimal time -with MMM,  there are no excuses.  Start TODAY because the only thing you will regret is NOT starting in the first place. Forwards is still a pace ladies!

Allow us to help you achieve a better body- If you feel keen and want to take this to the next step why not join our 90-DAY BIKINI BODY CHALLENGE? 

You might be thinking that it's  all very well to spend hours at the gym slowly sculpting the body into the bikini,  but for many of just this just might not be realistic, because possibly the damage has already been done?.  It is time for me to help you turn around the damage from sofa sprawl with comfort food, when you were supposed to be dating the squat rack at the gym. 

Eeeek! It's ONLY 3 weeks away from spring, so I imagine what you need right now is access to highly effective training routines and nutritional ideas that will strip the fat leaving you with a lean toned super fit body-right?

Here i am offering you some basic and general guidelines. Remember this is a blog series, so i absolutely will delve in deeper to each element which will allow you to achieve your best ever body- so stay tuned there are some really exciting things that are going to be happening along the way.

HOW TO ACHIEVE MAXIMAL RESULTS (your BEST beach body) IN THE  MINIMAL TIMEFRAME (for Summer)? 

In order to achieve the best possible body in the least possible time you are to address the E-ssential body basics, GOALS,  NUTRITION, TRAINING ROUTINE, RECOVERY ROUTINE

GOALS 

Remember your goals are, YOUR OWN GOALS. You're not your neighbour, your bestie or your

mum. You are you,  therefore your goals should be set for YOU. For a FREE comprehensive goal setting action plan document click here. It is super important that you set your goals properly and specifically address the WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT TO YOU. The deeper you can dig the more likely you are to stick to the plan so you achieve your goals. Setting your goals will enable you to form a SPECIFIC action plan and prevent you from wondering aimlessly. Goal setting is absolutely necessary to keep you on track and provides a purpose. Undoubtedly, there will be days where it will be harder than others to get out of bed for your training session, so establishing your goals, relative plan of action and a ascertaining the reasons WHY you must achieve your goals, will prevent you from indulging in the crappy negative habits.  This will keep you focussed on becoming the ultimate version of yourself  kicking on through all the way until the serene summer hits. So don't delay- write your goals, right NOW.

GOOD NUTRITION IS QUEEN 

A vast area to cover - nutrition. Without a shadow of a doubt,  adopting a wholesome nutritional protocol approach which firmly surrounds your training protocol is absolutely necessary for an awesome beach look and feel. Fuelling your body with the right foods, at the right times will maximise your hard efforts at the gym, not to mention, as the saying goes that 'you can't out exercise a bad diet'.  You don't want to undo all your hard work with a crappy eating regime drinking gallons of wine, which will outwit all your hard work in the gym, any day, any time.

Before your nutrition protocol is addressed,  you will need to record your current eating habits over 7 days. Click here for your very own FREE 7-day nutritional diary. It is then you will be able to determine, exactly where you can make the biggest impact in your eating, in order to maximise your results in the minimum time frame. Completing this small task, allows you to ascertain the most effective strategies you can employ to boost your results from the gym.

 Some general guidelines are:  It is paramount to eating your macronutrients (protein, carbs, fats) at the right ratio's and times during the day, whilst avoiding splurging on the bad stuff . I believe if you are eating all the nutrients you should, then you ought to be way too full to eat any rubbish. If you are craving particular foods constantly, such as chocolate, there is a chance that you could you be deficient in certain minerals within your current eating regime.

Portion sizes. Even if you are eating the good stuff, too much of the good stuff is not necessarily a good thing- this is still packing extra fuel in to your system. Ask yourself the intelligent question- is this fuel necessary for my training regime? So by all means load up on your veggies and salad, but also remember that your stomach has a size which usually equates the size of your both palms cupped. Try to eat slowly, chew on your food properly and eat when your hungry,  to avoid over eating. 

What's also worth considering is working around your meal timing  patterns. Don't feel bad that what your training buddy is doing is getting her results but not yourself- this will give the clues as to exactly what's not working for you. Remember that we are 100% individual therefore, what works for your best mate will not necessarily work for you. For example, In terms of the amount of meals per day. Are you a three meal a day girl or more of a grazer? Which strategy helps with you best with positive energy levels and helps you to avoid maintaining or gaining weight?  Once you have worked this out best to stick with your natural pattern if it helps you to avoid over- eating every kg of fuel needs to be put to use in order to get the best butt. 

Keep in mind that,  many poor food choices are made with poor preparation. Knowing that your nutrition preparation is 'Queen' invest some time each week in preparing your recipes, shopping list and meals for the forth coming days. Click here for your very own FREE shopping list and meal planner. This will prevent you from reaching for the lollies at the 3pm mark,  and piling on the pounds that you want to strip off for the beach. Your nutrition we will address in much further detail a little later,  but now let's discuss the most effective training you can do in a minimal time frame to produce maximal results.

FAT BLASTING, BODY BUFFING TRAINING ROUTINE

Once you have established your GOALS, prepared your awesome nutrition, you must super charge your training protocol so you can achieve that super sleek beach look. In order to MAXIMISE your results in a MINIMUM time frame your training routine should be progressive, fun and whole body- functional. If you have a desk job get up and move every single day.

The best body composition results come from encompassing a mix of routines over a three week period, which simply distorts your bodies idea of comfort and forces your body into adaptation mode, allowing you to achieve the results you set out to FAST. If you have prepared with your training over winter,  the good news is that you will more than likely achieve better results now as you ramp up your training protocol for the beach.

It is paramount to select the type of routines which are the most effective at fat stripping and build you up proportionally for an awesome aesthetically pleasing look. These tend to be a combination of  HIRT training, HIIT training and strength building, plyometric training.  Personally,  I have found that incorporating whole body routines with specific complexes provides the absolute best results in record time,  not forgetting to place particular attention to the areas of your posture and body which might be lagging in strength, definition and thus proportion. 

I will show you how you can do this later…so stay tuned.

 We want to spend as little time in the gym with the maximal effects and this comes down to cleverly designed exercise protocol. Because we are close to spring it's uber important now to be dusting off the winter cobwebs, and ramping up your training protocol significantly, in order to achieve your desired body and mind set.You must add variety to your training (a training stimulus) to shock your body, if you want to get the results. Have a serious clean up of your current routine. For example, get your mind out of only doing 3 sets of 10 (Yawn…) or only attending body pump classes for 10 years. Your body will only get certain results by following the same routine week after week. Why not go all out, and and get into some some progressive overload sweat lathering routines, yes it will be tough but at the end of the day, it's totally worth it.

Want an athletically pleasing look? Consider body proportion.  Be careful that you're not lead in to believing that females shouldn't build upper body,  this is simply will put you on the back foot.  Keep in mind that, that an awesome set of deltoids will offset the waist, well developed glutes will offset the legs. As the saying goes, a good waist line is  built in the kitchen.Try to avoid doing too many twist type sit ups as this simply will actually show as a thickened waist rather than narrowing the waist line. The best and quickest way you can define the legs is to incorporate simple plyometric types of exercises for the lower body. 

Invest in working with an an established exercise pro that will keep you accountable, you can train with a buddy or a group  to keep your health and fitness investment down. You could even try working in a new environment as a posed to the gym, you could enjoy training in the beautiful outdoors.  Include yourself in a challenge that will give you a deadline   Click here for my 90-day bikini body challenge details. 

To find out more about how to ramp up your training, join my Facebook page for more info. 

BEAUTY SLEEP (AND BREATHE….AND STRETCH)

Employing laser focus on your training PLUS your recovery will allow you to go from good quality results to a body that is ready for the beach. What strategies you choose to use during your recovery, will certainly influence the quality of your results. You should consider the following

1. Sleep- you will allow your body to recover the MOST effectively with the right amount of

sleep and quality of sleep. 8-9 hours per night plus, adopting a wind down regime so that your quality of sleep is awesome. Check out my sleep post for further info here sleep to health

3. Stretching and breathing- stretch to perform As the intensity of your training increases your recovery via stretching and breathing also increases. Your muscles need to be optimising at the correct length and tension in order for you to move properly. I like to use a number of different modalities such as dynamic stretching, foam rolling, static stretching, PNF, and assisted stretching too. Oxygen is LIFE- If you don't know how to breathe properly- chances are you may not be optimising your recovery or employing the correct breathing during your training sessions- for the type of training that you are doing. 

WRAP UP

That's a mere strip of the information to get you started. Stay tuned there is more coming your way. This is going to be your BEST summer body ever. 

Could stress be costing your looks and your life years? An investigation into stress and premature ageing.

INTRODUCTION

Upon examining the evidence, it is little or no surprise that life stress has dire effects on our health and

longevity and has been directly linked to pre-mature ageing.    Stress is associated with mood disorders such as depression, compromises the immune system (Ipel et al 2004)   and may contribute to excess vulnerability for diseases of ageing such as cardiovascular disease, diseases of the central nervous system, such as multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, seasonal affective disorder and schizophrenia plus is even linked to obesity. Tuohimaa (2009). Stress has been shown to cause and accelerate some cancers through accelerated organismal ageing. Substantial evidence also supports abnormalities in stress-related biological systems in depression.  Cancers have also been linked to stress and depression. For example; Reichea et al, 2005 found that stressors and depression are associated with the decreased cytotoxic T-cell and natural-killer-cell activities that affect processes such as immune surveillance of tumours. It has been found that the accumulation of damage on DNA and telomeres cause both aging and cancer. Epidemiologic evidence suggests that stress and anxiety may be a risk factor for the development of Conanary Heart Disease (CHD). Kunansky et al (1998) describe the effects of chronic anxiety, highlighting that this mood disorder may increase the risk of CHD by influencing health behaviours such as smoking, promotes atherogenesis (e.g. via increased risk of hypertension) and can trigger fatal coronary events, either through arrhythmia, plaque rupture, coronary vasospasm, or thrombosis. There appears to be a close functional relationship between the nervous and the immune system in the physiological adaptation to stress, which supports the concept that an optimum level of performance of these two systems is needed to attain a long life span. Guaverbas (2002)

At the cellular level, scientists have proven that accelerated telomere shortening may reflect stress-related oxidative damage to cells and accelerated ageing, and severe psychosocial stress has also been associated with telomere shortening (Tuohimaa, 2009).  Life stress has been shown to shorten the life span by over a decade!

Let's first examine stress? WHAT IS STRESS?

Stress  may be conceived of as a challenge or threat to homeostasis, which generally induces a stress response as an attempt to restore homeostasis.

There are two types of stress that could be categorised as being favourable and less favourable  These stresses can be  ‘eustresses’ that enhance function, whereas  dis- tresses’ can have harmful effects.By definition, Baum (1990) coins the term stress as any uncomfortable "emotional experience accompanied by predictable biochemical, physiological and behavioural changes.

According to psychology.org.au, when we face a stressful event, our bodies respond by activating the nervous system and releasing hormones such as adrenalin and cortisol. These hormones cause physical changes in the body which help us to react quickly and effectively to get through the stressful situation. This is sometimes called the ‘fight or flight’ response. The hormones increase our heart rate, breathing, blood pressure, metabolism and muscle tension. Our pupils dilate and our perspiration rate increases.

While these physical changes help us try to meet the challenges of the stressful situation, they can cause other physical or psychological symptoms if the stress is ongoing and the physical changes don’t settle down.

These symptoms can include:

• Headaches, other aches and pains 
• Sleep disturbance, insomnia 
• Upset stomach, indigestion, diarrhoea 
• Anxiety 
• Anger, irritability 
• Depression 
• Fatigue 
• Feeling overwhelmed and out of control 
• Feeling moody, tearful 
• Difficulty concentrating 
• Low self-esteem, lack of confidence 
• High blood pressure 
• Weakened immune system 
• Heart disease 

STRESS AND PREMATURE AGEING

 JOB STRESS? Is it worth your wage to potentially reduce your lifespan by over a decade? Over-working can cause undue stress and premature ageing, particularly within the

female population.   Irie (2001) investigated the relationship between work-related factors, including psychological stress, and the formation of a type of oxidative DNA damage, 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OH-dG). 54 healthy workers (27 male and 27 females) in a company were investigated for 8-OH-dG levels in the peripheral blood leukocytes at the time of a questionnaire survey regarding several factors, such as working hours, workload, fatigue, sleep, psychological stress and the prospect of alleviating it. From the results of this study, the authors that,  psychological stress and perceived overwork appear to be related to the pathogenesis of cancer via the formation of 8-OH-dG, particularly in female workers.

Chronic stress has been shown to have catastrophic effects on mood, and can lead to depression. In fact,  It has been known for over 40 years that stressful life events are associated with an episodes of major depression (Kindler et al 1999). 

Depression is highlighted as a mood disorder which accelerates the ageing process in individuals so is certainly worth considering when investigating the anti ageing topic. Depression has been conceptualised as a dysregulated activation of the generalized stress response (Chrousos 1998; Raison and Miller 2003) and can damage your body over time. Chronic activation of stress response mediators, although adaptive in the short term, can result in chronic “wear and tear” to tissues or organ compartments (Chrousos 1998); McEwen (2003) has elegantly modeled mood and anxiety disorders as chronic stresses with chronic biological adaptations that result in long-term biological damage.

Wolkowitz and Epel (2010) found that  depressed individuals have a higher incidence of various diseases of aging, such as cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, metabolic syndrome, and dementia. Chronic exposure to certain interlinked biochemical pathways that mediate stress-related depression may contribute to “accelerated aging,” cell damage, and certain comorbid medical illnesses

Simon et al (2006) suggest that there is substantial evidence supports abnormalities in stress-related biological systems in depression. Accelerated telomere shortening may reflect stress-related oxidative damage to cells and accelerated aging, and severe psychosocial stress has been linked to telomere shortening. 

In their study, Reichea et al, 2005 found that the persistent activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis in the chronic stress response and in depression probably impairs the immune response, contributing to the development and progression of some types of cancer.  Reichea et al, 2005 discovered, both stressors and depression are associated with the decreased cytotoxic T-cell and natural-killer-cell activities that affect processes such as immune surveillance of tumours.

WHAT ARE TELOMERES?

Telomeres are repetitive DNA sequences that cap and protect the ends of chromosomes; critically short telomeres may lead to cellular senescence or carcinogenic transformation.  (Parks et al 2009). Telomeres prevent end-to-end recombination and thus serve a critical role in the maintenance of chromosomal integrity (Black-burn 2000, 2001).

Inside the nucleus of a cell, our genes are arranged along twisted, double-stranded molecules of DNA called chromosomes. At the ends of the chromosomes are stretches of DNA called telomeres, which protect our genetic data, make it possible for cells to divide, and hold some secrets to how we age and get cancer. Telomeres have been compared with the plastic tips on shoelaces, because they keep chromosome ends from fraying and sticking to each other, which would destroy or scramble an organism's genetic information.Yet, each time a cell divides, the telomeres get shorter. When they get too short, the cell can no longer divide; it becomes inactive or "senescent" or it dies. This shortening process is associated with aging, cancer, and a higher risk of death. So telomeres also have been compared with a bomb fuse.

TELOMERES STRESS AND AGEING

For the purposes of this article, It is particularly interesting that telemere length and attrition is linked to our psychological and physiological response to stress. Geneticist Richard Cawthon and colleagues at the University of Utah found shorter telomeres are associated with shorter lives. Among people older than 60, those with shorter telomeres were three times more likely to die from heart disease and eight times more likely to die from infectious disease.

please see this link for further details:

http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/chromosomes/telomeres/

During the last few years it has become evident that telomeres and telomerase are main components of the stem cell “ignition” mechanism, providing a way to restrain cancer and delay ageing (Flores and Blasco 2010) Epel and colleagues (2004) recently demonstrated that the chronicity and perceived severity of psychosocial stress (caring for a chronically ill child) was directly associated with accelerated telomere shortening. 

Flores and Blasco (2010) reported that Increased cellular turnover in the presence of stress-related oxidative damage,  exacerbates accelerated telomere shortening and ultimately causes replicative senescence and organ degeneration because stem and precursor cells can no longer replicate and maintain homeostasis (balance) 

Telemore length has also been shown to be positively correlated with quality of life. In a large biracial population-based cohort, Njajou (2009) tested the hypotheses that elderly persons with shorter Telemere Length (TL) in peripheral white blood cells have poorer survival, shorter life span, and fewer years of healthy life (YHL).  The results of this study showed that Telemore Length , was positively associated with more YHL Findings from this study suggested that although Teleomere Length may not be a strong biomarker of survival in older individuals, it may be an informative biomarker of healthy ageing. Epel et al (2004) investigated the hypothesis that stress impacts health by modulating the rate of cellular aging. Epel et al (2004) provided evidence that that psychological stress; both perceived stress and chronicity of stress, is significantly associated with higher oxidative stress, lower telomerase activity, and shorter telomere length, which are known determinants of cell senescence and longevity, in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from healthy premenopausal women. The results of their study showed that, women with the highest levels of perceived stress have telomeres shorter on average by the equivalent of at least one decade of additional aging compared to low stress women. These findings have implications for understanding how, at the cellular level, stress may promote earlier onset of age-related diseases.

Irie et al (2003) performed a cross-sectional study of 156 workers to investigate cancer risk dueto psychological stress, particularly depression, and its underlying mechanism, using a biomarker of cancer-related oxidative DNA damage, 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OH-dG), in human leukocytes. Interestingly, Irie et al (2003) found that there was a positive correlation between the percentage of neutrophils and the 8-OH-dG levels in females. The authors concluded that Psychological depression was related to cancer risk due to oxidative DNA damage in females, possibly via neutrophil activation.

Parks et al (2009) performed a cross-sectional study examined relative telomere length in relation to perceived stress and urinary stress hormones in a sample of 647 participants (n =647), a cohort of women ages 35 to 74 years who have a sister with breast cancer.  Women with higher perceived stress had somewhat shorter telomeres, but telomere length did not decrease monotonically with higher stress levels. Shorter telomeres were independently associated with increasing age, obesity, and current smoking. Significant stress-related differences in telomere length were seen in women ages 55 years and older those with recent major losses , and those with above-average urinary catecholamines. the authors concluded that although current perceived stress was only modestly associated with shorter telomeres in this broad sample of women, the findings from this study suggest the effect of stress on telomere length may vary depending on neuroendocrine responsiveness, external stressors, and age.

AGEING INTERVENTIONS

According to Flores and Blasco 2010, one way to preserve telomere integrity would be elongating telomeres by activating telomerase; another non-exclusive way would be inhibiting telomere attrition indirectly by slowing-down the rate of stem cell division.

The good news is that, natural interventions and drugs have been shown to activate telomerase. Specifically, physical activity, healthy diet and stress management has been proven to augment telomerase activity in middle-age men and old women  Ornish et al (2010). 

All the risk factors can be used to illustrate the elements for preventing premature ageing. Although further research is needed within this area, quite simply following a consistantly good nutrition regime,  exercise and stress reduction all come into play to prevent disease. 

REFERENCES 

http://www.psychology.org.au/Assets/Files/StressTipSheet.pdf

 Carney RM, Freeland KE, Miller GE, Jaffe AS (2002) Depression as a risk factor for cardiac mortality and morbidity: A review of potential mechanisms. Journal of Psychosomatic Research Vol 53, (4),  Pp 897–902

Epel EE,  Blackburn EH,  Lin J, Dhabhar FS,   Adler NE,   Morrow JE, 

and Cawthon RM (2004)  Accelerated telomere shortening in response to life stress. Biological Sciences - Psychology. Vol 101: (49)

Flores I,  Blasco MA (2010) The role of telomeres and telomerase in stem cell ageing. FEBS letters Vol: 584, (17), Pp 3826–383

 Guayerbas N,  Catalán M,  Vı́ctor VM,  Miquel J, De la Fuente M (2009). The Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Vol. 114: (1–2), Pp 78–84

Irie M, Asami S, Nagata, S, Miyata M, Kasa H (2001). Relationships between perceived workload, stress and oxidative DNA damage. International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health.  Vol. 74 (2), Pp 153-157

Kendler KS, M.D;  Karkowski, LM and Prescott CA, Causal Relationship Between Stressful Life Events and the Onset of Major Depression. Am J Psychiatry 1999;156:837-841.

Njajou OT1, Hsueh WC, Blackburn EH, Newman AB, Wu SH, Li R, Simonsick EM, Harris TM, Cummings SR, Cawthon RM; Health ABC study(2009) Association between telomere length, specific causes of death, and years of healthy life in health, aging, and body composition, a population-based cohort study.Vol; J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. Vol 64(8):Pp860-4. 

Parks CG; Miller DB; McCanlies EC; Cawthorn RM, Andrew ME; DeRoo LA; and Sandler DP  (2009) . Telomere Length, Current Perceived Stress, and Urinary Stress Hormones in Women. Vol 18: Pp 501. Cancer Epidermiol Biomarkers.

 Simon N, Smoller JW, McNamma KL, Masser RS, Zalta AK, Pollack MK, Nierenberg AA, Fava M, Wong KK.(2006). Telomere Shortening and Mood Disorders: Preliminary Support for a Chronic Stress Model of Accelerated Aging. Biological Psychiatry . Vol 60, (5) 

Reiche EMV, Nunes SOV, Morimoto HK. Stress, depression, the immune system, and cancer. The Lancet Oncology. Vol 5 (10) Pp 617-625

Tuohimaa P.  Vitamin D and ageing. The Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Vol 114, ( 1–2) 2009, Pp 78–84

Tuohimaa P,  Keisala T, Minasyan A, Cachat J, Kalueffc A (2009).  Vitamin D, nervous system and aging. Psychoneuroendocrinology. Vol 34, (1), Pp S278–S2

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