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nick@platinumtraining.co.uk

Diet Tips & Nutrition

Below are some free tops tips from Platinum Training:

Tip 1

Don't do the same workout over and over because your body only changes when you force it to and it's remarkably quick to adapt to new stimuli. If you repeat the same workout every training session even for a month, your body can probably handle it without producing an adaptive response. If you feel like your progress has reached a plateau, that's probably what's happening. The best way to avoid plateaus is by periodising your training, which simply means arranging it according to discrete phases designed to achieve different, albeit related goals, including muscle growth, strength and definition. That's also the best way to avoid over training.

Tip 2

Your drinking water target should be at least 2 litres per day, day in day out.

Tip 3

Most guys need to consume an additional 2,500 to 3,500 calories a week to gain one pound of muscle each week. You can pump iron until you're blue in the face, but if you don't augment your training efforts with enough food and fluid, the laws of human biology and simple mathematics dictate that you won't get any bigger. "When it comes to gaining muscle, the most important thing is eating enough calories to fuel both your exercise and the metabolic processes needed to build muscle," says Susan M. Kleiner, Ph.D., R.D., author of Power Eating. "Most guys who have trouble gaining weight and strength simply aren't eating enough."

Tip 4

The best rep range for gaining size is 8 to 20. "The optimum results for muscle growth come from lifting a weight that's between 60 percent and 80 percent of what you could lift for one, and only one, rep," says Tudor Bompa, Ph.D., professor of theories of training at York University in Toronto. "At 80 percent, the average person can do eight to 10 reps; at 60 percent, he can do 15 to 20. Most people say anywhere from six to 12 reps is best for muscle growth, but six would be more than 80 percent."

Tip 5

Between The Sets. Many people don't know how much time they need to rest between the sets. Other people think that they know, and finally there are some people who do know. So we will try to explain how long you have to wait before you do your next set. There is no certain amount of time as some say. You might hear numbers such as 20 seconds break, 40 seconds, 1 minute. However, every single person, every single body is unique, therefore you have to feel if you have rested enough, usually it's somewhere between 1-2 minutes, but it also depends on how intense your exercise is and how many reps you do. When you put your weight down after the set, listen to your heart beat, check how fast you are breathing, how tight your muscles are at the moment. And rest till your heart beat decreases a little, till you are not breathing as heavily, and your muscles are not so tight anymore.

Tip 6

Stretching Time. There are a few different opinions on when you should stretch. Most of those opinions will say that you should stretch right after work out to avoid soreness the next day. But all of us gym addicts know that if you work out regularly, you almost never get sore. In our opinion it's not a good idea to stretch right after work out and here is why:

• The muscle is composed of subunits called fascicles. Fascicles are bundles of individual muscle fibres. Each fibre is one elongated cell that may extend for the length of the muscle. Each muscle fibre cell has several nuclei (unlike most cells, which have only one), and is segmented into distinct sectional bands. Within each muscle cell are numerous myofibrils, which also extend for the length of the muscle cell. Sarcomeres are the basic contractile subunit of myofibrils.
• A muscle cell does not necessarily go back to complete relaxation right away. It can remain contracted through a series of stimulations. This process, called summation, increases the total force of muscular contraction. When the stimulus is great enough, many sarcomeres in many fibres are "recruited" and the muscle as a whole contracts. This is why we can lift or push varying amounts of resistance, more or less cells are recruited, and to a greater or lesser extent. At the end of your work out. your muscle is very tired, you feel that you can't lift for a much longer time, or your muscle will just fail. Muscle failure occurs at the point where the maximum number of fibres are being stressed to their limits.
• And now imagine that right after work out you are stretching the fibres that are already pretty much stressed to the limit.
• As a result you might end up slowly damaging your muscle tissues, instead of benefiting them with a good stretch.
• Stretch before the work out, but make sure you warm up properly first. Stretching "cold" muscles is not a good idea. You can stretch after workout, but you have to let time pass a little. About 2 hours is enough. So you want to stretch, perfect, excellent, great - Stretch BEFORE or about 2 hours and more after work out.

Tip 7

Drink Water. A young male athlete's body is about 75% percent water, while a young female athlete typically boasts about 70% percent. Nearly two-thirds of the water shows up in the muscles, while the rest can be found in the bloodstream. Both men and women may find themselves "in a constant state of dehydration." Generally, athletes wait for their sense of thirst to signal that it's time to drink. However, thirst is sensed only after dehydration has started. More importantly, once you are dehydrated, it may take as much as 48 hours to properly re-hydrate. This is why so many athletes, unknowingly, are in a constant state of dehydration. As blood volume becomes diminished, blood flow along with oxygen and other nutrients to the muscles is significantly reduced, rendering them less functional. So, DRINK A LOT OF WATER!

* The latest research showed that water dissolves sodium that your body needs to support muscles and bones, so now it's recommended to drink sport beverages, which don't dissolve sodium in your system. It's mostly true for drinking during work out, but we still prefer a little of regular water.

Tip 8

Eat 1 hr to 1 hr 30 minutes before a work out to get the best results.

Nutrition

Included in a personal training session is free nutrition advice if required. Many people think just exercising is enough to get the so-called 'perfect body' but that is not the case. A well-balanced diet and exercise together are the keys. Together with Platinum Training you will break down your daily food intake. We will go through your weekly diet and arrange a new diet to suit your needs, your new exercise programme and your lifestyle.

We will also keep in touch with you via a fantastic new e-mail and text service which is absolutely free for the first three months to make sure you stick to your new programme.

We give all our new clients a free diet guide based on your lifestyle and update your diet guide free every 3 weeks.

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