2nd Article on Monster Supplements

Just had my second article posted on 'Monster Supplements FitMag', its based on full body workouts that stick to compound exercises!

Take a look and comment if you have time.....

http://monstersupplements.com/resource/2011/10/full-body-training/

Personal Training Article Up!!!!!

Sorry I haven't been posting much this month, I have been on holiday and have brought a house so have been so busy...........

Anyway my personal training article is now up and it gives a good insight to what personal training is and what it could do for you!

Enjoy!!!

http://www.thegrove.co.uk/spa/sequoia_spa_membership/sequoia_members_news/october_2011/marks_gym_blog.aspx

First Article on Monster Supplements Fitmag

Here is a extract &link to my first article on Monster Supplements Fitmag,

It isn’t everyday that you get to here from a very experienced personal trainer who has worked with the ”stars”! However, at FitMag you can enjoy this pleasure because we make things happen to benefit you! May I introduce Mark Alexander, a leading personal trainer who Adam Campbell brought to the team...................................

http://monstersupplements.com/resource/2011/09/10-ways-to-improve-your-workout/

My 3rd Published Article

Here is the link to my third published article, its about basic nutrition and gives you a good understanding on how you can slowly change the way you eat and reach your weight goals without a drastic dieting. I have tried to make it easy to read and understand so you can take on board the information easily.

http://www.thegrove.co.uk/spa/sequoia_spa_membership/sequoia_members_news/september_2011/marks_gym_blog.aspx

If you have any questions about this article please either comment at the bottom of this post or drop me an email on mark@ptwith.me

My Second Published Article

I have just had my second article published, its called 'Perfect Holiday Fitness Program' and will give you fitness tips for when you go on holiday!

Click on the link and have a read and tell me what you think!

http://www.thegrove.co.uk/spa/sequoia_spa_membership/sequoia_members_news/members_news_june_2011/sequoia_gym_blog_june.aspx

Good Fats

Good fats are a very important part of our diet, in recent times we all see fats as the enemy and try to stay well clear of foods with a higher content. Now I can agree if the foods your picking are processed and very high in saturated fat which can cause high cholesterol in your blood, but if you pick foods containing unsaturated (good) fats you will be gaining many health benefits.


First and foremost good fats help lower blood cholesterol, provide you with efficient energy, are important for cell function, help absorb certain vitamins, helps produce hormones, makes food taste good and are great for your skin and hair. I could go on all day listing the benefits so here is a list of foods containing high amounts of good fats...

Oily fish like salmon or mackerel
Nuts
Eggs (Yolk)
Oils that have not been heated (Olive, cod etc)
Omega 3 fish oil tablets


The ones I have selected are very common and can be easily added to your diet, please make sure you read all nutrition info on the labels and make sure you use the correct portion control for your body weight. As stated these foods contain high amounts of good fats but eating to much of them can add a lot of extra calories to your diet. So in general a 10ml spoon of oil drizzled over your salad, 100g of weighed out fish or a small handful of nuts would be a good start.


With supplements like cod oil tablets you should use them if your finding your not getting enough fats from your diet. I usually have 6 tablets throughout the day when my meals are lacking in good fats and each tablet will contain 1 gram of fat (9 calories). Its the same as using a protein product to increase your protein intake, if your not getting enough protein I would advise you to use a supplement product. Food should always come first then look at supplements if needed.


Conclusion...


So don't be scared of fats they are very important but in moderation, try adding fish a few times a week, eggs a few times per week and a few handful of nuts. Hopefully you will see some of the benefits given. If you need any advice drop me an e-mail and I can help you with any problems. Overall as long as your eating protein, carbs, some good fats and plenty of veg you cant go wrong.

My First Published Article & Bio!

Great news this week! The Grove Hotel In Hertfordshire have published my first fitness article on 'Common Health & Fitness Myths'. I will be writing once a month for at least a year so I can get some of my stuff out & hopefully get some good feedback!

Here is the link for my article;

http://www.thegrove.co.uk/spa/sequoia_spa_membership/sequoia_members_news/sequoia_gym_blog.aspx

Also I have a 'Personal Bio' out with a bit of back ground information of my health & fitness career!

Here is the link for my bio;

http://www.thegrove.co.uk/spa/sequoia_spa_membership/sequoia_members_news/sequoia_spotlight_june.aspx

Please take a minute to look and let me know what you think.........

Common Myths

1.  Abdominal exercises will flatten my stomach

You simply can’t choose to spot reduce fat on a specific part of your body, it doesn’t work like that.  If you have excess fat stored on your stomach, no amount of abdominal exercises, eg. sit ups, will flatten it; you might build some muscle, but you will not see it under the layer of fat covering it.  By understanding the importance of nutrition and cleaning up your diet, you will lose some of the excess fat from the areas where it is stored in the body.  For exercise, stick to weighted dead lifts and squats which work your core muscles better than anything else including sit ups.

2.  Doing weights will give me big muscles

Ladies do not produce enough testosterone to build large bulky muscles.  While dropping body fat you want to keep hold of your muscle, so weight training should be your number 1 priority as muscles assist in maintaining a healthy metabolism rate especially as we get older. Body pump does not count as weights it is a endurance class!

3.  I only want to tone my muscles not build them

Tone is ‘a state of a muscle at rest’, we can only work to build muscle or lose muscle.  Doing high reps will not tone a muscle, it will build muscle-endurance. To obtain a ‘toned look’ you need to drop your body fat and then your muscle definition shows through.

Remember: Lower Body Fat = Lean = Toned!

4.  I need to go to the gym to burn off my body fat

Although you may have been going to the gym regularly, if you have eaten too much over a long period of time, you will still put on weight if you are not burning off the excess calories consumed.

In addition to going to the gym, you need to clean up your diet.

5.  Cardio just burns fat

Everybody is different, but doing too much cardio can burn muscle in addition to fat, as muscle is an active tissue and burns calories just to stay alive so your body would much rather burn muscle to conserve energy.  Loss of muscle will lower your metabolism and make further weight loss much harder. Keeping your muscle mass is a pivotal point to healthy weight loss.  Some cardio combined with weight training is key.

6.  It’s harder to lose weight as you get older

Our metabolism slows with age, so the main reason why people find it harder to shift body fat when they get older is due to a declining metabolism caused mainly by muscle wastage.  Regular weight training to maintain muscle density is key to maintaining a health metabolism as we age. So if you maintain your metabolism it will not be to much harder to lose weight as you get older.

7.  We shouldn’t eat late in the evening

Your body burns calories all day every day, even when you sleep! It all depends on what type and the amount of food you eat that counts so be sensible.  A meal of protein and vegetables eg. a chicken and broccoli, would be a better meal choice than a heavy carbohydrate meal like pasta followed by a stodgy dessert.

Hopefully, you no longer believe these common myths as you now understand the full facts!

By Mark Alexander