Stop normalising sugar!

So many people struggle with their weight, and diabetes has been on the rise for many years now with no signs of slowing down any time soon.

What do I think the main (but not only) culprit is for this?

Sugar.

The problem is, it’s become so normal to eat sugar all day long that we don’t even think about it.

If someone smoked some weed or cracked open a beer as soon as they woke up, people would think they have a problem.

But if you wake up and dose yourself with caffeine (a stimulant/drug) and stick a couple of sugars in it, no-one bats an eyelid. In fact, people think you’re strange if you don’t do this?! 

Maybe you’ll have a biscuit with it, then a bowl of cereal… 

You then continue to repeat this multiple times throughout the day. Multiple teas/coffees and usually “snacks” between meals.

At lunch time it’s normal to have a little treat and a can of soda, but again, if you had an alcoholic drink on your lunch break it’d be frowned upon.

This is killing us. And not even that slowly!

And when it comes to kids – take a look around. Obesity is becoming more and more common amongst youngsters too.

Why is it ok to give a kid a sweet when they’ve had a haircut?

Why would you offer OTHER PEOPLES’ kids sweets and soft drinks by default when they come around?! (seriously, stop doing this!)

Why do grandparents (and parents) give their kids sweets daily?

…something you KNOW is bad for them?! (Though maybe you don’t know quite how bad)

Yes, they like them, but that doesn’t mean give it to them!

You’re not being kind by giving kids sweets, no matter how much they want them. You’re actually doing them harm! 

I believe it should be limited to small treats every now and then, not a regular part of their diet (this includes ALL sweets and sugary drinks). 

And the same goes for adults (ouch!).

Stop avoiding [healthy] fats (you need them in your diet), and start avoiding sugar like the plague.

If you’re at all serious about your own health, or the health of your children, you should probably have a little review of how much sugar you’re all consuming and see what you can do to reduce that.

I’d also avoid just replacing it with artificial sweeteners (“Diet” anything). They have their own issues and you’re best off just beating the sugar addiction without them.

There are so many things that you can do to improve your health, but it’s probably best to start by plugging the holes and getting rid of the things that are doing the most harm.

Sugar is one of them.

It’ll require a bit of discipline, some planning ahead, and a learning curve to master this, but it’ll be worth it.

And as for the kids, just tell them no! You’re in charge. Whilst you can control (at least in part) what they eat, why would you feed them stuff that’s bad for them?

There’ll probably be some tantrums (especially if they’re used to eating this junk every day) but it’s your responsibility as a parent/adult not to damage their health.

I realise I may receive some blowback from this, but someone’s got to say it. Don’t shoot the messenger. 

And before you say it, yes, I have kids. They have a “sweetie day” on a Friday with the occasional treat at other times, and they drink water. It’s not cruel, it’s kind, because I know that all they’re really missing out on is a lifetime of sugar addiction.

If you’re interested in getting control of your diet and lifestyle and living a healthier life, check out www.MoveBetter.Club or get in touch.

Mark

Barefoot shoes and back pain...

I was in the gym yesterday, and one of the members came and started talking to me.

He was wearing some vibram fivefingers shoes.

Apparently we'd spoken about it a few months ago and he went off and looked into it a bit more, then ordered some.

Anyway, the guy's in his late 40's/early 50's and had been suffering with back pain for a long time.

But yesterday, he told me his back pain has almost completely gone since getting the barefoot shoes!

Something THAT simple!

It makes sense though.

Your feet are your foundations. The only part of you in contact with the ground.

If your feet are out of alignment (because of shoes or for any other reason), everything above them will be out of alignment too.

Set up a Jenga tower and take out the bottom brick first... see what happens.

If you don't look after your feet, then it will affect everything.

Ankles, knees, hips, lower back, upper back, neck, shoulders...

Your foundations need to be solid and functional for everything else above to work properly.

I'm not saying your back (or any other) pain will go if you just switch to barefoot shoes, but you stand a much better chance of fixing it if you do!

My favourites are Vivobarefoot - they have lots of options to choose from and they're worth the investment (and apparently, I'm out of touch with the cost of things these days so they're not that expensive compared to other, shit shoes either. I just haven't bought any regular shoes for about 10 years!)

If you use the link above, you can get 20% off your first order. On me!

I'd also sign up and keep an eye out on Sport Pursuit as they sometimes have them on there and they're the BEST price you'll find for them anywhere. I've had a couple of pairs from them as have many of my clients.

So free your feet and let me know how it feels!

Mark

P.S. A quick word of warning, if your feet are used to being in foot coffins, you may need to ease yourself into barefoot shoes as your feet will have to get used to them and strengthen up (a good thing!). So just don't overdo it straight away.

Start with short walks and wearing them (or being completely barefoot) around the house as much as you can.

Replace your squats with these...

You've probably heard me say before that squats ARE NOT the king of exercises.

Most people can't even sit into a full, deep squat so they certainly shouldn't be loading up the weight and doing it for reps.

I've seen too many awful squats over the years to count, and every time, I just wait for the "POP" and the scream, waiting for their back or knees to give out.

Luckily, I've only witnessed this once or twice, but for most, it's just a matter of time before it starts to take its toll in their bodies.

People don't tend to relate aches and pains to a particular exercise unless it happens whilst they're doing that exercise.

But that back and knee pain you have may well be from the squats you've been doing for years.

That's also a common argument: "It can't be that, I've been doing it for years without a problem"

It's a bit like someone claiming that smoking can't have caused any issues because they've been doing it for years without a problem... Or eating junk can't have caused any issues because they've been doing it for years...

You see where I'm going with this!

Just because something seems to be ok now, doesn't mean it's not adding a little more damage each time that'll build up over time.

Your body is quite resilient, but it can only take so much.

So what should you do instead of squats?

Something more natural.

An unloaded, bodyweight squat should be accessible to everyone with a little work and is definitely something to practice, but if you want to build strength or size in your legs, yes, you'll need to use some resistance.

My personal favourites for building stronger, ore functional legs, with far less risk of injury are:

• Sled Pushes (just load up a sled, and push!)

• Walking Lunges

• Step-Ups

• Multi-Directional Lunges

Essentially, pick a movement that you encounter in every day life, and add some resistance to it.

DON'T sit yourself on a machine designed to 'target' muscle groups because they almost certainly won't make you move in a natural way.

Try swapping these out in your training and replace the squats, leg extensions, hamstring curls etc.

See how you get on and let me know.

Mark

Walking is NOT enough

A lot of people think they do enough, despite not being happy with the results they're getting.

They wear a watch that tells them "well done, you've completed 10,000 steps today" and are then baffled why the weight isn't shifting.

WALKING IS NOT ENOUGH!

Unfortunately, constant 'activity' throughout the day is our baseline.

If you've done NOTHING for years, then walking may be a good place to start, but that's still just to get you back to baseline.

If you want to progress your health and fitness, you have to train for that.

 

Fitness-wise (i.e. cardiovascular health), walking just doesn't push you hard enough.

Up hill might be hard work, but just walking around hitting your step goal each day doesn't stress your body enough to need to adapt and get fitter.

If you want to IMPROVE your fitness, you have to push yourself harder.

It's the same as building muscle, your body won't build muscle in response to lifting a cup of tea a few times a day - you have to lift something heavy that challenges and stresses the muscle so that it will, in response, grow stronger, ready for the next time it faces that stress.

If you don't use your muscles enough, your body will offload any excess because it's not needed.

If you never stress your cardiovascular system, you'll LOSE fitness.

Studies have shown most people have lost about 40% of their lung capacity by age 50, and about 60% by age 80.

Why? It's not because of their age (or it'd be everyone, not just "most" people), it's because they haven't used it.

When was the last time you used your lungs to their maximum capacity? (We're talking all-out sprint for 200m+, run for your life type effort).

As soon as you're able to walk for more than half hour with minimal effort, you need to start adding intensity, not more "steps".

You need to create the stress for your body to adapt to.

What's the other thing we lose rapidly as we "age"? 

Strength.

So if you want to remain able-bodied as you age, this is the other thing you HAVE to be training.

Again, stress your body so it keeps hold of the muscle and strength it has, and also builds new muscle tissue and gains strength, instead of losing it as you get older.

YOU DO NOT LOSE STRENGTH OR FITNESS BECAUSE OF YOUR AGE - YOU LOSE IT BECAUSE YOU DON'T USE IT!

So to get the results you want, you just have to find or make the time and get it done.

Make sure you're doing the right things.

Look at the things people tend to lose as they get older (strength, speed, fitness, mobility) and work those! It's that simple!

And if you're already lagging in any of those, then get to work asap!

MoveBetter.Club can help 

The 2nd most common question I get asked...

Once people know what I do for a living, the immediate question I always get asked is...

"How do I lose this" (*usually pointing to a belly or bingo wings)

The standard answer that everyone believes to be true is to “eat less and move more”, but unfortunately, it’s not that simple anymore.

When we lived a natural lifestyle, and everything else was as it should be, then yes, eating less and moving more would have been all it would take to lose some excess weight and be healthy. 

A simple calorie deficit. 

That said, if we were living a natural lifestyle we wouldn’t have any excess weight to lose – there’s a lesson there!

These days there’s a LOT more that needs to be done to ensure health as well as weight loss.

For starters, focussing on “weight” isn’t the way to go. It means very little by itself.

ALWAYS measure body fat percentage alongside weight, otherwise you’ve got no idea what it is you’re weighing.

It’s body fat we want to lose, not weight.

The trick is to make sure that the “weight” you’re losing is coming from excess body fat and not muscle tissue, and for that, you need a bit more than a simple calorie deficit.

Eating junk ‘as long as you’re within your calorie target’ is not a good way to go. (So curly wurly’s and jelly aren’t good just because they’re “low points!”)

Neither is “Dieting” without strength training.

Those are two sure-fire ways to make sure you keep hold of body fat and lose muscle (and the strength that comes with it). Your “weight” might go down, but you’ll still look (and feel) soft with no definition. Certainly not “toned”.

On top of that, because weight loss doesn’t automatically equal health, there are other factors you need to consider to ensure better health alongside your fat loss.

Rest, recovery, sleep, hydration, daily activity levels, stress management, macro- and micro-nutrients, breathing and other lifestyle factors should all be taken into account and optimised.

Here are my top 5 tips for healthy fat loss:

1.     Strength Train – You won’t get big and bulky, but you’ll maintain muscle tissue and strength. Don’t avoid the weights in favour of cardio.

2.     Focus on Body Fat Percentage, not weight – As I mentioned above, this is what you really want to lose, not weight. So unless you’re measuring your body fat, you’ve got no idea if you’re making progress or not.

3.     Create a reasonable, but not excessive calorie deficit – A few hundred calories a day below your Total Daily Energy Expenditure [TDEE] (you can find a calculator online to find this out) is enough. Any more and you risk losing more muscle and less body fat.

4.     Sleep well – Create a sleep routine that gets you 7-9 hours of quality sleep per night.

5.     Hydrate – Make sure you’re fully hydrated with water!

 

There are plenty of other things you can (and should) do, but these will get you started and it’s a lot better than just “eating less and moving more!”

Remember, if you focus on “weight” loss, your health will likely suffer, but if you focus on health, you’ll lose “weight” (bodyfat) along the way.

I cover everything you need to do in order to drop body fat whilst improving health at www.MoveBetter.Club check it out for more details.

 

 

Mark

The most common question I get asked by strangers...

The most common question I get asked by strangers (seriously, this happens at least 2 or 3 times a week!) is this:

"Martial Arts?"

Sounds weird I know, but because I train differently to everyone else in the gym (i.e. not going from machine to machine), people automatically assume I must be training for something specific. 

Well...

I am.

I'm training for LIFE.

Better movement and movement-based training is NOT reserved solely for athletes training for a specific sport.

YOU ARE AN ATHLETE.

You need to be able to move your body well, with balance and strength, all day every day, for the rest of your life.

And if you're not training for that, then you're only going to get worse at those things as you age.

You don't "get old" because of your time on this planet, you get old because you stop moving like a young person.

Your chronological age doesn't have to dictate your ability to do stuff.

But if you're not doing those things, you will lose the ability to over time.

Use it or lose it.

Training on machines will build strength in those specific exercises - you'll get strong "on that machine", but that doesn't translate to being able to move and function well.

If you train movements, human movements, then you're strengthening the movement patterns that you use in every day life.

Think about it - what use is your 100kg bench press if you can't climb the stairs?

What use is a 200kg Deadlift if you can't kneel on the floor to play with the kids?

How are your tricep push-downs going to help you carry the shopping in one arm and a child (your own child, I hope) in the other?

Stop training "exercises" and start training movements.

That's my aim. I'm not training for martial arts (although many years ago that was my main hobby), I'm training for better movement and resilience.

That's also my aim with my coaching business. I help people improve their health and Move Better

If you want to get started with training like a human, get in touch and we'll get you started.

It's also the primary focus of MoveBetter.Club, so if you're not ready to invest in coaching just yet, I'd definitely recommend you check it out to get started.

To better health and movement!

Mark

"To know and not do, is not to know"

Here's the thing...

Everyone knows they should do more.

They know what they need to do (supposedly).

YOU know.

...but do you do it?

For most people, the answer is NO.

That's what my job is.

My job is, essentially, to get people to DO what they know they should be doing.

So many people refuse to hire a coach or get help because "they know what to do" or "it's too expensive", but the reality is, they just place higher priority on other things.

They'd rather binge on Netflix than go workout.

They'd rather have the newest iPhone than pay for a coach.

They'd rather follow a free plan that's not working and kid themselves that they're doing the right things (even though it's not working???)

Fancy cars and clothes... going out every weekend... takeaways multiple nights a week... everyone's different, but mostpeople will happily drop £100's every week/month on stuff that's unnecessary (and even damaging their health!), yet they won't spend it on their health.

Then they drive around in the fancy car, wearing the fancy clothes, getting their hair and nails done, lips pumped full of crap or buying other stuff to make them look/feel better, still unhappy with the way they look, because they'll do everything but the most important things - eat well and train.

So the message here is simple:

If you're not getting the results you want, because you're either not doing what you should be, or you're doing the wrong things - you need a coach.

...and I'd love to help you.

If you're ready to:

• Invest in yourself, not "stuff"

• Improve your health

• Lose some excess weight

• Move better

• Feel better

• Put in the effort

And you need help with:

• Knowing what to do (the right things)

• Staying on track and accountable

• Working around a busy schedule

• Troubleshooting issues as they arise

• Support along the way

Book in for a quick call with me (no charge), to see how/if I can help you.

Just fill out the form here and I'll be in touch.

I really do want to help! I've spent 20 years learning this stuff and it goes to waste if I don't share it!

So fill out the form and let's chat. Then you can decide if you want my help or not.

Fill it out.

Mark

10,000 steps... really?

I know you've heard it: You need to do 10,000 steps a day.

But is it true?

Basically, no.

Here's why...

Firstly, the "10,000 steps a day" was a number pulled out of thin air as an advertising campaign to sell pedometers back in the 60's.

No science to back it up. Just a clever marketing tactic.

Secondly, everyone is different. 10,000 steps for someone who's overweight and struggles to walk is not the same as 10,000 steps for a skinny teenager. And the fitter you get, the easier it becomes and the more efficient you get at it.

Thirdly, not all steps are equal. This ties in with point 2 really. 10,000 steps carrying extra weight (be it bodyweight or an external load) is MUCH harder than walking unencumbered.

In the same way walking uphill is much harder than walking on the flat.

So how many steps should you be doing?

Really, it's a range not an exact number target, but actual research suggests there's a lower limit of around 7,000 steps a day.

That's enough activity to lower the risk of all-cause mortality.

Humans are meant to be moving for the majority of the day, not sedentary, so the more active you are, the better your health, and for most people and those who don't "train" recording your steps is the most obvious measure of activity levels.

Is there an upper limit?

Yes.

You see, there's only so much energy your body can produce each day and that energy is needed for recovery, repair and immune function as well as activity. So if you're using it all up on excessive amounts of activity, those other processes will suffer as there's not enough energy to go around.

You'll end up feeling exhausted, even just from walking.

The Metabolic Ceiling

It's been shown that there's a limit to how much energy your body can produce in a day, and when studied, those who did more activity didn't actually burn significantly more energy.

So you can overdo it.

The limit of how much energy you can burn in a day is actually around 2.5x your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate).

You can obviously exceed this if you do more activity than the upper limit, you won't just grind to a halt like a car that's run out of petrol, but it'll have a knock-on effect to your recovery and health.

It's hard to figure out your upper limit "steps"-wise, but you can use HRV to monitor your recovery levels and base your daily activity on that.

Essentially, if you feel tired and lethargic, and lacking in energy, or are getting ill more frequently, you're probably overdoing it.

It's a good idea to simply alternate between your lower and upper limits on a day to day basis (and ideally, base it on your recovery each day).

Also remember that it's not just steps that count (and that not all steps are equal).

Your best bet is to track your energy expenditure across all modalities ("steps", strength training, general movement and/or whatever other activities you do each day).

So, basically, you don't need to do 10,000 steps a day, however, that can be a good target to begin with if you're not doing any other training.

But as I've said before, given the choice between 30 minutes of walking or 30 minutes of meaningful exercise (resistance training), I'd almost always opt for the latter.

Don't sacrifice gym time in order to "get more steps in!"

Sign up at MoveBetter.Club for MY preferred training styles, especially if you hate the idea of hitting the gym and lifting weights like a bodybuilder!

Reach out if you want more help :)

Mark

Sleep to Lose Fat

Please don't misunderstand me - sleep is NOT the magic pill to losing weight, BUT it does have a huge impact on your fat loss efforts.

You see, in a study aptly named "insufficient sleep undermines dietary efforts to reduce adiposity", they ran some tests.

Essentially, they took a group of overweight people, gave them the same amount of food and the same activity levels (mostly sedentary, and we'll get to that in a moment).

The only difference was, one group spent 8.5 hours in bed, and the other group spent 5.5 hours in bed (actual sleep times were about 7hrs 25mins and 5hrs 15mins respectively).

By the end of the study, BOTH groups lost about 3kg in weight (makes sense since the calorie deficit was similar across all participants).

BUT...

The group who slept only 5.5 hours lost 80% of that 3kg from muscle tissue and only 20% of it from fat mass.

The 8.5 hour sleep group however lost about 50% of the weight from muscle tissue and 50% from fat mass.

If you're in a calorie deficit, you can always expect to lose both muscle tissue and fat mass, but the ratio between the two is what makes all the difference.

In simple numbers, the 5.5 hour group lost about 0.6kg of fat, whereas the 8.5 hour group lost about 1.5kg of fat - that's nearly 3 times the amount!

Not to mention that losing muscle tissue is NOT something you should be striving for as it'll hinder your ability to burn more fat going forwards!

So, if body recomposition is your goal (losing body fat and gaining a bit of muscle), then SLEEP is your best friend!

Remember, these guys were on the same diet and activity levels, the only difference was the amount of sleep they were getting.

If you still think sleep isn't important for fat loss, I don't know what else I can do to convince you!

This also highlights why tracking just bodyweight is an absolute waste of time.

You could be destroying your muscle tissue and keeping hold of most of your fat, yet still think you're making progress because the number on the scales is going down.

Please, track measurements and body fat %, NOT just weight.

To make things worse, the 5.5 hour group also experienced more hunger, so if you're in the real world this would likely lead to more snacking and poorer food choices further hindering your fat loss efforts.

Now, as I mentioned earlier, the participants in the study were mainly sedentary - there was no real exercise protocol in place.

Since we know that resistance training will also affect the ratio between fat and muscle breakdown (in favour of more fat being used and muscle tissue retained) in a calorie deficit, it's fair to say that both groups would likely have had better ratios if they'd been training properly too.

It's unlikely that you could stop ALL muscle tissue being lost, but the ratios would be even better for the 8.5 hour group!

Going back to your fat loss efforts, it becomes clear that the key take homes here are:

1. You need to be in a calorie deficit to lose weight
2. You need adequate sleep to ensure more of that weight is coming from fat rather than lean tissue
3. You should be resistance training to further tip the scales in your favour in terms of where that "weight" is coming from

So no, sleep is NOT the magic pill, but it sure as hell will help in your fat loss efforts.

Check out my other posts for tips on how to improve both your sleep quantity and quality for the best results.

Reach out if you want more help :)

Mark

www.MoveBetter.Club

Training for recovery?!

This may sound counter-intuitive, but you can (and should) use workouts as recovery.

Yes, a workout can actually help you recover faster than just resting!

It's not all about massages, foam rolling and breathing exercises.

For some people, they never train hard enough for this to be an issue (those people need to start adding in a couple of high intensity sessions per week), but for others, ALL of their workouts are high intensity, and that's a problem.

Not all workouts should be high intensity

"Go hard or go home" is the mantra of the steroid-infused bodybuilder with a lack of blood flow to the brain!

A light workout the day after a heavy/high intensity workout can:

• Help the body shift into a recovery state (that's when the body grows and adapts in response to the hard workouts)

• Stimulate blood flow to the muscles (which will help them recover faster)

• Help build resilience (you need to be able to function after heavy workouts and this will build your capacity to do so)

• Improve breathing and movement quality by keeping you moving and not allowing you to stiffen up as is often the case in the days after a hard workout

• Make you FEEL better - it should give you more energy, not make you feel drained after the workout.

So, how do you do a recovery workout?

Just follow these simple rules:

• Keep it short - a 2-hour run isn't recovery, it's more stress. Aim for 20-40 minutes

• Keep it light - if you're doing "cardio", keep your heart rate reasonably low - about 60-75% of your max HR (think walking uphill at a reasonable pace or a light jog)

• Mix up your movements to work mobility and get every joint mobilised, and get blood flow into all muscles

• Spend a bit more time on any areas that feel like they need it - anything that feels particularly tight or sore

1. Start with some light mobility work and focus on your breathing as you do

2. Then aim for 10-20 minutes of light work - a circuit of easy exercises is probably best, just remember you're aiming for movement and recovery, not as many reps as you can in 60 seconds! Keep your heart rate in the target range and if it goes above, take a rest and dial it back a bit.

3. Then add in 2-3 sets of power or strength work to keep the nervous system stimulated (but not too much). A couple of sets of 8-10 reps per side of something like a standing cable rotation or med ball side throw would be perfect.

4. Finish with a few minutes of breathing exercises - just lay on the floor and focus on breathing as slowly as possible to get your heart rate as low as you can.

If you can alternate high intensity workouts with these recovery workouts, you're setting yourself up for success. Over-training shouldn't be an issue and that means better results long-term.

Don't train hard for days in a row, but you also shouldn't really need any days off - just do something light to aid recovery.

Be smart with your workouts. Use some to stimulate growth and adaptation (i.e. challenge yourself), and use others to aid in recovery, because recovery is where all of those adaptations occur.

No recovery = no adaptations. Which means all those hard workouts back to back are hours wasted and will actually make you feel worse!

The key to progress is to push yourself, then let your body recover. Rinse and repeat.

This will get better results for strength, fitness, muscle gain, fat loss and health.

If you need help getting some structure to your training, get in touch and let's talk.

Mark