Frequently Asked Questions

Free weights are the hand held weights you see on the racks also the barbells, plates, kettle bells and dumbbells laying around that you’ve tripped over at least once. Free weight training is as raw as it gets, no support, no helping hand or safety pins, just you and the weight, it’s a true reflection of your strength and muscle stability.

Resistance machines are designed to support and help you lift a weight at the point where your joint is most vaulnerable or prone to injury. These are the big metal structures you see all neatly placed in line and consists of pulleys, cables and adjustable seats. You’ll also find them at the circuit area, which brings me to my next point.

Which should you be using ?

General rule of thumb is if you are new to weight training or have been inactive for a while that you start on the machines. This will give your body the help and support it needs all while getting in better shape and making your transition from machines to free weights much easier and safer.

This topic is up for debate, although I’m going to answer it out of my own perspective and what I have experienced myself and seen with my clients. What I say is not law and as you know each person is different and responds differently.
Let’s say there are two different “types” of cardio.
L I S S = Low Intensity Steady State (Long distance running)
H I I T = High Intensity Interval Training (Sprinting)
Benefits of and how each work.

L I S S – This form benefits from working within the ‘fat burning zone’ in short you burn more calories from bodily/stored fats BUT, you burn less calories overall compared to other forms. Another benefit is that your recovery is much quicker and you can perform this as often as you like.
H I I T– High intensity training however kickstarts your metabolism causing it to burn fat way faster during training as well as throughout the day, BUT it must be used in moderation as recovery is important to the process.

With that out of the way lets dig a little deeper, the thing I’ve realized over the years is that your typical session or run on the treadmill doesn’t fit in with either of them. Your HR on a jog usually will not be optimal for fat loss as you might just reach the fat burning zone and now you’re moving on from the treadmill to the next thing in the routine or you’ve decided that you’ve had a long day and that’s about enough, off to the steam room to steam the fat away…please.

On the better days your jog can sometimes be a bit too long to benefit from the wham bam, in and out style of intensive training. Fact, running can actually affect the body in a negative way when you’re not keeping track of your nutrition(fuel) and running frequently. You might risk depleting your body’s glycogen stores, forcing your body to break down muscle as energy or fuel for your workout.

So what is my take on all this ?

Both are good ways to burn calories and if you know a thing or two you’re aware that that’s the most important part. Whether you prefer to go “balls to the wall” in a 20 minute sprint session(my personal favorite) or run for hours on end. Most important part, everything in moderation and watch what food/fuel you put into your body.

None.

Now hold up. I’m not giving you a free pass here and saying eat whatever you want. The best ‘diet’ is the one that suits your lifestyle the best and doesn’t make you hate food, causing you to dream about eating junk. In short it’s the most attainable and realistic one, and the one that won’t lead you to gaining back the weight you’ve lost from starving yourself like some sort of runway model.

Before you hop on Mr google and start using some ‘copy and paste’ diet do some research about how the body works or speak to a fitness professional and pick their brain. Nutrition is the core of the weight loss process but can lead to severe side effects if you’re not getting in all the vitamins, minerals and nutrients your body needs to function optimally.

This is all up to you, this entire journey solely relies on the effort that you put in. It’s like Energade 😉 In my opinion it can be anything from 3 weeks to 6 months depending on your goal and where you would like to be. I usually prefer my clients working with me for a minimum of 3 months, following my training and nutritional guidance, again this is all in your hands. No one can do the work for you.

Well the person that previously told you this probably never read up or studied up on how the body works and you’re probably also still under the impression that every calorie you eat after 8 magically multiplies, like they sneak in a friend or something…this is all madness.

The problem comes in when one gets confused between a snack and a share box, I mean think about it ? Your body doesn’t want to digest all that food, it want’s to go to bed like you. Although your body still needs to function while you pass out it’s not the worst idea to have a small snack (under 200kcal) before bed or a protein based snack before dosing off. Other good examples include, teaspoon peanut butter, blueberries, plain yogurt or low fat cottage cheese.

Again this is worked out according to your specific goals, if you want to pick up some weight your pre bed “snack” will look a little different.

Let’s get one thing out of the way, carbs are not your enemy, they are your friend. It all comes down to how you use them or rather when and what carb you use. You’ve probably heard of low Gi and high Gi, simple way to explain it is to think of it as fuel where you need to perform at a certain stage weather it be a gym session, walk, rugby match, badminton game… If you’ve got something like this planned a high Gi carb might be a good idea before or after your workout (rice, pasta, potatoes) to fill up or replenish glycogen stores.

If you have a busy day on your feet ahead but no real exercise you can opt for a lower Gi carb in the morning or throughout the day (oats, sweet potato, whole-wheat breads) to still give you energy for a busy day but without spiking your insulin too much.

In short, use it when you need it. If you’re going to sit on your ass or have a nap, do you really need it ?

Now there is a few ways to go into this, from a medical aspect, yes most definitely. Exercise releases endorphins which make you feel happy and elevate your mood. Stress can also sometimes be seen as a good thing, depends where you go with it and where you channel that stress. After a stress full day going to the gym, kicking ass and taking names on those weights or getting upset and taking that shitty day out on your spouse or family members, you decide. On the other hand for this to actually have an effect, the person must be willing to do the work and be committed, not being forced into a workout or change. This can sometimes do more harm than good, as the person will eventually stop exercising and have a negative outlook on exercise and a healthy lifestyle.

This is the most flat headed thing I’ve ever heard. Ladies, touching a weight or doing a squat will not make you gain freakishly large muscles and arms like Arnold. The fact is that women actually have a hard time packing on muscle due to higher estrogen levels and lower testosterone levels. Testosterone being one of the key components in building muscle so, you turning into lady Hulk is not in the cards except if there are other substances involved. Women that lift weights tend to develop much more muscle definition than these who are stuck on the treadmill and have a much more toned and firm look.

Gents, same goes to you. You’re not going to lift it once and grow the guns you see on Instagram. It’s all part of the big process, lifting, eating, sleeping, do all these things for an extended period of time and I guarantee results.

There can be a few reasons for this and im going to give you my most realistic answer without offending too many people…You’re simply not trying and working hard enough. In today’s lollipop society where we’re so used to receiving an award for participation without any real effort this is quite common. My apologies to anyone that is working their ass off and has one of the following things as reason for their standstill. Most common factors inhibiting weight loss include, eating too much or too little, not getting enough sleep, too much stress, inactive or lazy metabolism and in some cases it can even be a medical condition but, this is waaayyy less common than you might think because most people self-diagnose. After all it is the easiest way out “nahh imma have that cupcake, I’m fat because of my condition.”

This is a question most people ask themselves, you might not want to admit it, but be real ?

I have even asked myself this countless times, why shouldn’t you just end the workout now, why not just skip cardio, why not just eat both muffins, because of one thing. That feeling, the one you get when the effort you put in is what you get out and seeing changes happening from your sweat and effort that you put in. People get confused and think training is the hard part but in fact, sometimes it’s much harder to say no to both those muffins than it is to get into that rack and squat for 5sets.

At the end of the day when you’ve achieved your goal, looking into that mirror or completing that race you should pat your own back and get yourself a bells 😉 because that was all you, so yes it is really worth it, every step, every rep.

The end.

Hopefully, this answer some of your questions, if you disagree with the above, feel free to fight me. I’m kidding, do not fight me just send a message and we can discuss it, I’m always open to discussion.
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