Quick fire questions!
Quick fire! Time to answer some questions that have cropped up in the last few weeks from clients and the postbag
If you could pick one exercise what would it be?
Definitely the trap bar deadlift. The trap bar deadlift recruits nearly ever muscle in the body and is an excellent choice for power and strength gains. The position of the trap bar makes the weight far more in line with the angle of force than the conventional deadlift and so makes it a far safer exercise.
If I can only afford one supplement what should it be?
Fish oil is the supplement of choice not only for the athlete but the everyday man. It promotes a healthy immune system that can take a knock if you’re pounding your body with training. The vitamin D content in fish oil is unsurpassed. Not only that fish oil can help reduce cortisol levels in the blood that can cut down on belly fat and over training syndrome. Don’t forget the anti-inflammatory and cardiovascular properties and you can see why this is my favourite. I wouldn’t bother with the caps though buy a bottle and have it from the spoon morning and night- it doesn’t taste that bad and you’ll get three times the amount each day.
How long should I stick with my current training program?
If you’re making good gains still and you haven’t plateaued then keep on it! If gains in fitness, strength or muscle are stagnating then change it up a bit. Don’t throw out your complete routine though small changes are enough. For instance if you’re doing incline barbell presses maybe change them to incline dumbbells- this kind of small change will be enough to keep it fresh. If its cardiovascular gains the make sure you are following a proper periodised regime so that your gains don’t diminish. Generally I find that after 6 weeks my strength gains on a certain exercise diminish so that’s when I change up and make small changes to each of the exercises in the routine. Changing the order can also keep things fresh especially for strength and hypertrophy.
What’s the best way to lose fat- cardio or dieting?
Without a doubt diet is the most important factor in weight loss however dieting needs to be combined with effective resistance training for real improvements. If you diet without resistance training a higher percentage of the weight lost is muscle mass as well as fat. Resistance training gives your body a reason to hold on to the muscle while dieting so that more fat is shed. I don’t really use cardio as a fat loss tool unless it’s either in the form of short hard interval training to promote a metabolic shift.
How will I know if I’m overtraining?
If your nutrition is tip top and you’re gains have stagnated, you’re run down and your immune system is battered, you may be over training. Other signs include depression, insomnia and a feeling of apathy about training. Don’t confuse this with laziness though! If you’re only training every other day its unlikely that your overtraining. If suffering with these symptoms but not training every day or even twice a day more likely your nutrition is not in order. Make sure you’re getting the fish oil and vitamin D every morning without fail and that you are consuming a good quality multi vitamin and enough broccoli and green veg to start a small allotment and things will usually right themselves