THE PRAGMATIC PERSONAL TRAINER: February 2017

Saturday, 25 February 2017

TIME TO GIVE HIIT A MISS?

Since January I’m sure many of you will have started some sort of exercise regime. And just like a seaside fortune teller using their astonishing ability to balance probability, I’m going to guess that your new exercise regime is probably some form of HIIT.

HIIT is an acronym for High Intensity Interval Training whereby high intensity bouts of exercise are interspersed with lower intensity periods of rest or recovery.

Now before you marvel at my divine ability as a clairvoyance and beg me read your palm, I must confess, the reason I knew your new exercise regime was some form of HIIT is because nowadays you simply can’t step foot in a gym without someone banging on about its super powers.

Go on social media and you see personal trainers and their devout followers evangelically banging on about HIIT, HIIT and blimmin’ more HIIT. In a bid to seek refuge from this bombardment, you switch on the TV only to find another personal trainer trying to flog you a fitness DVD which surprise, surprise is all based on HIIT.

But is all this fuss warranted?

On the face of it probably yes. Search the internet for its benefits and more fitness professionals appear extolling its virtues than Lindsay Lohan has short skirts! According to renowned fitness expert Brad Schoenfeld HIIT trumps traditional steady state cardio (running, jogging, cycling at ‘lowish’ intensities) because it burns more calories and requires about half the time. (There are numerous other benefits too and I urge you to check out Brad’s website for more info on this: www.lookgreatnaked.com).

However, it would be remiss of me if I didn’t mention at this point that equally renowned expert Lyle McDonald refutes the grandness of many of these claims. (Check out his excellent website for more info on this: www.bodyrecomposition.com).

So, is there a down side to HIIT?

Oh yes, there most certainly is and it can mean different things to different people. For example, if you’re new to exercise and approach training in a balls-out type of manner, HIIT, if done in the high doses and at the frequency that many personal trainers recommend, can lead to overtraining and injury and even quitting exercise altogether.

Conversely, if you have what in polite society is described as a lazes-faire attitude towards training and you approach HIIT with the same level of motivation as a prisoner on death-row you’ll end up doing low intensity work for even less time than if you were doing steady state cardio. In which case, you may be better of sticking to steady state cardio and forgetting about HIIT altogether.

Rubbish, sprinters always perform HIIT and they don’t suffer from overtraining!

I hear this argument lots, and up to a point it’s correct – sprinters, do largely train using HIIT, and as a former sprinter I should know. But believe me, a large amount of our training was not performed using the ridiculously tough protocols which many personal trainers advocate for fat loss.

No, our training was based largely around working at ‘maximumish’ levels for anywhere between 10 – 30 seconds with recoveries of up to 3 - 6 minutes in between, so overall far less intense than many people think.

So, it’s all a question of Intensity then?

Yes, and personal preference. HIIT has many benefits if used prudently. If you’re a beginner, in a bid to stave of injury and overtraining, keep the work time relatively low and rest high, something like a ratio of 1:4 or 1:3 work: rest is generally a good starting point and as you get fitter try to reduce your ratio of rest.

But if you don’t enjoy the ‘go hard or go home’ training approach then don’t do HIIT. The key to effective training is sustainability and if HIIT doesn’t float your boat stick to the steady state cardio as there may not be that much of a difference between that an HIIT with regards to calorie burn after all.

In conclusion…

HIIT is a welcome form of training which I personally utilise a lot with my own training, but just because its espoused incessantly by social media fitness ‘experts’ it most certainly doesn’t mean it’s the only way, or correct way to train given an individual’s circumstances!

I approach HIIT with my clients in much the same way as I approach watching comedian David Walliams:

Given the right circumstances HIIT can be very effective, just as, at times David Walliams can be very funny. But unfortunately, his persona based largely on ‘is he straight/is he gay’ soon becomes very boring and hard for my head to handle, just as too much HIIT becomes too hard for many people’s bodies to handle!

If you like to train hard, and get it over and done with give HIIT a whirl, just go easy on how hard and how often you do it, to reduce the risk of injury or over training. If you approach your training with the same level of intensity as Joey Essex approached his school work, you may be better off opting for steady state cardio!

Thanks for reading,

Matt

TO BOOK YOUR FREE PERSONAL TRAINING SESSION, OR TO BOOK A PLACE AT MY BOOT CAMP CLASS, PLEASE DON’T HESITATE TO GET IN TOUCH.

matt@mlrpt.co.uk www.mlrpt.co.uk 07939316401 www.twitter.com/mlrpt www.facebook.com/mlrpt www.twitter.com/mlrpt

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Sunday, 12 February 2017

ALTERNATIVE FACTS OF THE FITNESS INDUSTRY!

Remember the good old days when if you were being a little disingenuous with the truth someone would quite happily say 'Oi, stop lying'. Or if you were telling a real whopper they might even tell you to 'stop talking b****cks . Well, those days (just like Russell Brand's virginity) are long gone. For we now live in an era where fibs, little white lies or downright lies are now known as alternative facts.

And the fitness industry is no different. Unfortunately it is abound with alternative facts and in this post I'm going to reveal just a few of them:

1. Social media supplement sellers aren't all that they seem!

Unless you’ve ‘done a Chilean minor’ and been stuck underground you can’t have helped notice a Facebook ‘friend’ or two trying to sell you some sort of nutritional supplement. I'm not going to mention the names of any of the companies involved just in case the lawyers are reading but if you google the terms: scam + nutrition + companies one or two of them will probably pop up.

Now, let me be clear here I'm not actually accusing any of these companies of being a scam and would like to take this opportunity to point out that any similarities that they may have with the much maligned, often frowned upon and sometimes illegal practice of pyramid selling is purely coincidental (I think this is the point where I should insert a winking face emoji).

In most cases the individuals selling this stuff hold absolutely no official nutritional qualifications. At best, they have a misguided yet overwhelming urge to (and I quote) ‘help people become healthy’. At worst (and I’m afraid to say in most cases) they simply have an overwhelming desire to try and make a very tidy profit by selling you overhyped, overpriced products (incidentally a bit like some recent David Haye and Anthony Joshua fights!).

Now, I’m not against making a profit (unlike your average Bargain Hunt contestant) but it must be done ethically. And when these social media supplement sellers seem more intent on recruiting you to sell their products rather than just buying them, it leaves me, much like a dog who licks its own bits – with a sour taste in my mouth.

2. Industry funded scientific studies

Next up are the scientists. Not all scientist I’m hastened to add, just the ones who receive funding directly from sports nutrition companies to research their products. Unsurprisingly the results of this research nearly always prove very favourable for the paying company.

That's right guys, that scientific study which the makers of your favourite sports drink or supplement always refer to, to prove the veracity of its product might not be as authentic as it seems.

Now I’m not saying that these scientists are deliberately as dodgy as Del Boy, I’m just pointed out that there could certainly be a strong case made for a conflict of interests. After all you don’t bite the hand that feeds you, do you!

3. The government may not always be looking out for you!

In theory, our government introduces nutritional guidelines/legislation after seeking advice from experts. However, in reality big business also regularly gets involved in influencing the government too!

According to Professor David Miller at the University of Bath, big business may be so good at influencing our ministers, that our governments current nutrition guidelines may be flawed.

That's right, the governments advice on what to eat, might not be there because it's good for YOU and your health, but because it's good for BIG BUSINESS and their profits!

David Cameron and Theresa May have spoken out about curbing this lobbying-style activity but I fear we’ll be seeing Justin Bieber advertising stair lifts before this happens!

Take home message…

Just like an annoying kid question everything, whether it be the motives of a Facebook friend trying to flog you some cure-all pills, or the scientific claims made by a company on the benefits of its products. Question what’s in it for them and unfortunately nine times out of ten it will come down to one thing - money!

The problem with the health and fitness industry is that its a huge financial pie with a relatively low barrier to entry. Gaining a qualification as fitness professional is not particularly difficult and the level of scrutiny which supplements must undergo before being brought to market is surprisingly low too.

With such a big financial pie on offer it’s unsurprising, that lots of people want to get their grubby little mitts on a piece, so be very weary of where and whom you get your advice from!

Oh, I'd love to write more but I'm afraid I cant as I'm just too busy readying myself for the finals of the Mr Great Britain 2017... I'll leave you to decide whether that was an alternative fact or not!