Strength And Getting Older

It is estimated that people lose around 3-5% of their muscle mass per decade after they reach 30, with this rate of decline higher in inactive individuals and accelerating in all of us after the age of 60. This loss of muscle mass and strength is a serious cause for concern, as it contributes to the overall increased frailty and reduced mobility that can strike in advanced years, both of which lead to a higher risk of falls and injuries.

Why do we lose muscle in old age?

There are a number of factors that contribute to age-related muscle loss, a phenomenon which is also referred to as sarcopenia. As we grow older, our muscles become resistant to normal growth signals (nutrition and exercise), in a process known as anabolic resistance. When studying the muscles of older individuals, we do not see the normal increases in muscle protein synthesis (the repair and growth of muscle tissues) after exercise. Although this phenomenon is more common in older populations, it is becoming increasingly common in younger people, a fact that is likely caused by our steady decline in physical activity and increasing rates of chronic inflammation (which is itself a major contributory factor to muscle loss).

Other causes of muscle loss as we age include hormonal changes, specifically of those hormones that have a role to play in muscle mass maintenance, including testosterone and oestrogen.

The menopause and muscle loss

While age-related muscle loss impacts both men and women, women are particularly vulnerable. Studies have shown that after the menopause, the loss of muscle force relative to muscle mass accelerates at a much faster pace than in men of the same age.

This is primarily due to a steep decline in the release of ovarian hormones, with the decrease in oestrogen playing a key role in the loss of both muscle and bone mass. A decrease in muscle mass exacerbates postural issues and contributes to the deterioration of bone health, both factors which increase the risk of osteoporosis (a medical condition in which the bones become brittle, fragile and prone to fractures).

The oestrogen deficiency that occurs around menopause coincides with other lifestyle changes that often appear as we approach our later years. Most notably, levels of physical activity tend to drop, causing us to become more sedentary. As fitness becomes less of a priority, poor nutrition habits may also start to creep in. Combined with the poor sleep quality and high stress levels that many of us are facing across all age groups, we have a “perfect storm” for not only muscle loss, but also fat gain. The result is the loss of muscle tone and weight gain around the middle that we often see in middle age and beyond.

Countless studies have shown that across all age groups, women are consistently less physically active than men and participate much less in resistance training, which will accelerate their already higher rate of muscle loss and place them at an even higher risk of losing muscle mass, experiencing weight gain in middle age and ultimately suffering from increased frailty due to poorer bone health in their advanced years.

Can we prevent losing muscle as we get older?

Losing muscle is generally accepted as an unfortunate, but normal, part of the aging process, however that does absolutely not mean that we are powerless to stop it. While some of the factors that contribute to age-related muscle loss are largely beyond our control (hormonal and neural changes), all the evidence agrees that it is massively compounded by inactivity and poor nutrition. Meaning that there is a great deal that we can do to maintain our muscle as we get older. Studies have also demonstrated that we can continue to build muscle well into our eighties (!) so it is absolutely never too late to start.

The importance of resistance training 

Working with weights in the gym is hugely beneficial across all stages of life, but it should remain a key part of our exercise regimes in later years. As our muscles become less responsive to normal growth stimuli, regular resistance training can help to counteract this and encourage our body to maintain muscle mass. Resistance training not only serves to build muscle, but also to burn fat, meaning that we can help to optimise our body composition well into our retirement.

When it comes to maintaining bone health, weight training again has a huge role to play, with a higher rate of bone formation associated with mechanical loading. Frost’s mechanostat theory was the first to propose that bones will grow stronger in response to stress, and stated that “the bone possesses an inherent biological system to elicit bone formation in response to high mechanical strains, thereby strengthening the bone”. His theory, which has been supported by a large number of studies, suggests that bone formation is site-specific, in other words it is increased in areas of high strain.

This kind of research is highly relevant when we consider the menopause and high prevalence of fractures caused by osteoporosis. One particular study looked at postmenopausal women and concluded that resistance training successfully reduced bone loss in the hip and spine. Hip fractures are one of the most debilitating and life-changing injuries in later life, as they almost always have a severely detrimental impact on independence and quality of life. Weight-bearing exercises that elicit physical loading to the lower limbs can therefore promote bone strength in the hip region

Key takeaways

The decline of skeletal muscle with age is one of the key causes of functional decline and loss of independence in older populations. Women are particularly vulnerable to the effects of this, primarily due to the steep decline in oestrogen that occurs around the time of the menopause, triggering deterioration of both bone strength and muscle mass.

Resistance training benefits us at all stages of life, but it should remain a key part of exercise regime in later years. As well as maintaining muscle mass and strength and promoting strong and healthy bones, resistance training has a positive effect on body composition, hormonal and stress regulation, sleep and cognitive function.

Sources

Volpi, Elena et al. “Muscle tissue changes with aging.” Current opinion in clinical nutrition and metabolic care vol. 7,4 (2004): 405-10. doi:10.1097/01.mco.0000134362.76653.b2  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2804956/

Walston, Jeremy D. “Sarcopenia in older adults.” Current opinion in rheumatology vol. 24, 6 (2012): 623-7.doi:10.1097/BOR.0b013e328358d59b https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4066461/

Edwards, Elizabeth Skidmore, and Sarah Carson Sackett. “Psychosocial Variables Related to Why Women are Less Active than Men and Related Health Implications.” Clinical medicine insights. Women’s health vol. 9,Suppl 1 47-56. 4 Jul. 2016, doi:10.4137/CMWH.S34668 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4933535/

Hong, A Ram, and Sang Wan Kim. “Effects of Resistance Exercise on Bone Health.” Endocrinology and metabolism (Seoul, Korea) vol. 33,4 (2018): 435-444. doi:10.3803/EnM.2018.33.4.435

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6279907/

Martyn-St James M, Carroll SA. Meta-analysis of impact exercise on postmenopausal bone loss: the case for mixed loading exercise programmes. British Journal of Sports Medicine 2009; 43:898-908 https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/43/12/898

The Posterior Chain

Train with a good strength and conditioning coach or certified personal trainer and you can pretty much guarantee that the posterior chain will be discussed in your first session.

When you understand the posterior chain, it becomes obvious why this is. Often referred to as ‘the powerhouse’ – the posterior chain is the very foundation of strength in our bodies. Put simply; it’s what keeps you upright.

In this highly detailed guide to the posterior chain, we’ll take a look at this important group of muscles in detail, including:

We’ll also answer some common questions about the posterior chain.

The information is this guide and the many supporting articles has been carefully put together by the team here at Fitness Lab in London. It was then reviewed by the lead physiotherapist and osteopath at our partner business – Movement Clinic. While the knowledge backing this information is exceptional – we always recommend that you seek in-person professional advice if you are facing any issues relating to your posterior chain.

The posterior chain muscles

The posterior chain includes muscles from your feet right up to the top of your neck.

In fact, the posterior chain runs from your foot, up through your calves, along the back, through your seat, lower back, along either side of your spine and finishing under your skull.

These muscles aren’t just essential for athletic performance – they’re also a essential part of keeping our backs healthy.

Primary Posterior Chain Muscles:

What does it mean to have a weak posterior chain?

A weak posterior chain simply means the muscles that make it up are not as strong as they could/should be.

As you can now see, the body’s largest and most powerful muscles and included in the posterior chain – and these muscles help to hold you upright all day long. The trouble is, most people have a posterior chain that doesn’t work as effectively as it should.

The biggest culprit when it comes to a weak posterior chain? Modern life.

Today more than ever before, we spend more time time in a seated position. As we sit for the whole of the day, the posterior chain is not exercised – and therefore goes on to cause a lot of physical problems – often in the lower back, the knees, the hips, and even the shoulders.

The most common posterior chain problem is weak glutes and mechanic movement of the hips. A weak glute, will result in the opposite hip dropping during the gait cycle (the period of time that the foot is on the floor) and can cause an increase in lower back pain and hip pain with walking or running.

Why is the posterior chain important when it comes to back pain? Well, the primary role of the glute is stabilization and extension of the hip, but to many people focus on the muscles of the anterior chain while they train (which includes the abs and quads). Also, the seated position leads us to be quad dominant.

The implications of having a weak posterior chain are numerous – so we’ve created a whole blog that looks at these issues in more detail – The Weak Posterior Chain.

Posterior chain exercises

As you’ll soon find out as you read on, there are a huge number of exercises that can go towards creating a strong posterior chain.

However, it’s useful to start with the basics.

Because of a sedentary lifestyle your glutes need a wake up call. A quick and simple lower body workout and warm-up will go a long way toward getting things moving and helping to prevent injury.

A prone hip extension will also help to reinforce the correct posterior chain firing sequence (more about this later).

Getting your posterior chain to ‘wake up’ like this is referred to as ‘activation’. With the right equipment, you can further encourage and enhance this activation. Useful activation exercises include:

Of course, these aren’t the only exercises that can help. Depending on the equipment you have available, pull ups, kettlebell swings, and the downward facing dog yoga pose can also help to activate the entire posterior chain.

The correct firing patterns for a strong posterior chain

The posterior chain should be used as “one-two-three muscle firing sequence,” – in a chain like manner.

This begins by engaging your multifidus, the deep core musculature stabilizer that attaches to your spinal vertebrae. Your glutes and hamstrings contract next – and calf muscles follow. Late-firing glutes might trigger hamstring strains and other injuries.

Before you begin any exercise – think about correct technique

As personal trainers and coaches, we’re beside our clients at all times – making sure that their technique is exactly right with every repetition.

Unless you’ve spent a lot of time working on your posterior chain, it can be hard to know whether your technique is exactly right – but to build lasting posterior chain strength and prevent injuries in the gym, you need to start focusing on the technique of each exercise.

It’s vital to work with a trainer that knows what to look for when you take part in a posterior chain workout – don’t cut corners on this one, your long term health and wellbeing depends on it.

The same is true of exercises and stretches that can be done outside of the gym.

Stretching the lower back will help short term and it will feel temporarily good but it will not solve posterior chain problems in the long run.

Many people go to yoga, the gym, start to run…  but people hunch their shoulders forwards as a result of over-using their upper trapezius muscles during yoga postures, or starting in the gym and doing too much anterior work such as bench press and shoulder press. Running is a good way to start with sport, but to many people run with the hips forward (anterior pelvic tilt) and don’t work with their glutes which then goes on to cause further problems of lower back pain.

The short version? Talk to an expert. The upfront costs might be slightly more than just signing up to a gym or yoga classes – but you’ll get to your goals far quicker with knowledge and expertise on your side.

The squat

You’ve no doubt got a picture in your head of what ‘a squat’ looks like – but whether or not a squatting exercise work on your posterior chain depends on certain factors, including:

The most effective ways to squat to activate and strengthen the posterior chain include:

The deadlift

As a hip-dominant exercise, any deadlift variation works the posterior chain – but it’s absolutely essential that they’re executed correctly.

Have you seen people drop a deadlift because their lower back suddenly gives out? It happens a lot more than it should – and it’s all down to technique. Without control of the muscles in the back and the backs of the legs, too much energy can be forced through the lower back.

Believe it or not, the conventional deadlift is one of the hardest to master – and it’s often one that people will work up to, using variations until their posterior chain is firing in such a way that a traditional deadlift is safe.

Working up to a conventional deadlift, the best variations to focus on include:

Different ways to strengthen the posterior chain

Everyone’s circumstances are a little different. For some people, getting to a gym or personal trainer 3/4 times a week is perfectly possible – but for others, the limitations that life or physical conditions put on us mean that this just isn’t possible.

However, one thing that’s shared by virtually everyone around the world is the need for a healthy and strong posterior chain.

Calisthenics for the posterior chain

Calisthenics are highly-explosive, gymnastic-like exercises that require incredible strength and flexibility. As such, it’s no surprise to discover that they use and strengthen the posterior chain in their execution.

Since calisthenics require little or no equipment, they’re an ideal way to train if you don’t have access to a gym, studio, or any at-home equipment.

The best calisthenics exercises for the posterior chain include:

Bodyweight posterior chain exercises

If you’re thinking that bodyweight alone isn’t enough to develop and maintain a strong posterior chain, we’d urge you to think again.

Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, the team here at Fitness Lab (and tens of thousands of other personal trainers around the world) were delivering online personal training sessions to people who couldn’t access our studios. Needless to say, most people’s front rooms aren’t equipped with strength training equipment – so bodyweight was the only way to go.

Since the posterior chain is made up predominantly of hamstrings, glutes and back muscles – it’s practical to achieve excellent results using bodyweight.

Three of the best bodyweight poster chain exercises are:

Kettlebell exercises for the posterior chain

Kettlebells are a helpful addition to a posterior chain workout because they offer the ability to make more dynamic movements compared to some other pieces of equipment.

An imbalanced posterior chain can lead to issues that will hold you back – both in terms of your training and day-to-day comfort and functional movement. For certain exercises, kettlebells will help you either avoid these imbalances or help you correct ongoing issues.

The following exercises are excellent additions to your workout and will help you to strengthen the posterior chain muscles and work on putting right imbalances that may exist:

Posterior chain glute exercises

It’s commonly known that the Gluteus Maximus is the largest muscle in the human body – and with the other glute muscles (The Gluteus Medius and Gluteus Minimus) they truly represent the core powerhouse within the posterior chain.

The stronger your glutes are, the less likely you are to get back or knee pain – so training the glutes is an essential part of any workout.

Some of the most effective exercises for this muscle group are:

Posterior chain workouts with resistance bands

Resistance bands are probably the most cost-effective and practical kind of workout equipment you can have in your home. With a small investment, you can use a set to expand your posterior chain workouts significantly – but you have to use them effectively.

Some of the most effective resistance band workouts for the posterior chain are:

Posterior chain dumbbell exercises

When you read about deadlifts and squats, your mind immediately takes you to exercises that put an even force on both sides of the body – but it’s rarely both sides of the body that are exerting equal force as you work through the range of movement that’s required.

Why? Well, muscle imbalances are extremely common. They can occur for countless reasons – from the fact that we have a dominant hand right through to the shoulder that we carry a bag on.

When you work out with dumbbells, you are forced to exert the same amount of pressure on both sides. By isolating limbs with dumbbells, you’re performing ‘unilateral training’ – a way of working out that corrects muscle imbalances and can help to reduce that chance of injury.

Unilateral posterior chain exercises ensure that both sides of the body gets equal attention.

To make this happen, there are a number of effective exercises you can try, including:

We’ve created a dedicated blog called The Best Posterior Chain Dumbbell Exercises for you to explore if you’d like to learn why we chose these exercises and how to execute them perfectly.

Posterior chain cardio exercises

Look at any ‘strengthening’ exercise program and you’ll almost exclusively see workouts that are based around weight or resistance – but very little in the way of cardio.

Understandable really, impressive glutes and powerful calves are rarely seen on marathon runners – but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for cardio when it comes to switching these muscles on and getting them ready for the weight that they’re about to move.

Cardio exercises are an important part of a posterior chain workout – the right ones, programmed in the right way, will help to make sure you’re warmed up correctly before you reach for the kettlebells.

Consider adding the following cardio exercises to your posterior chain programmes to make sure your muscles are activated before you start with the resistance bands or weights:

To take a detailed look at why we’ve chosen these exercises and a step-by-step on how to do them – check out or dedicated blog: The Best Posterior Chain Cardio Exercises.

Posterior chain barbell exercises

It might feel reassuring to know that the Smith machine at your local gym will help to guide you through your squat movements – but when you use machines like these, you’re compromising some fundamental parts of using a barbell.

Firstly, a machine guides your form – sometimes for better but, more often, for worse. Secondly, when even a small part of the full range of movement is taken away, you don’t make the same mind-muscle connection in your brain – so poor form is more likely to become habit.

Barbells might look slightly intimidating if you’re new to posterior chain workouts – but don’t panic, a good personal trainer will always focus on helping you develop perfect form before you even consider adding significant weight.

Whether you’re starting out with guidance around barbell exercises or you’re familiar with the equipment and feel ready to up your weights, the following exercises are sure-fire ways to strengthen that posterior chain:

Would you like to learn more about these exercises and how they can help your posterior chain? Check out our dedicated blog: The Best Posterior Chain Barbell Exercises – we’ve got video walk-throughs for each of the exercises.

Posterior chain exercises for different goals

In this section, we’ll take a detailed look at different ways of working the posterior chain depending on your goal, your sport, or your unique circumstances.

The best posterior chain exercises for wheelchair users

Thankfully, social media and a mainstream media focus on disability sport has helped to shine more of a light on groups of people who are often overlooked when it comes to working out.

Wheelchair users are one of those groups – and, as specialist physios and wheelchair athletes will tell you, there are certain upper body strength muscle groups that require focus if you’re operating a wheelchair. The posterior chain is high on this list.

Some posterior chain exercises that people who use wheelchairs are likely to see a benefit from include:

Needless to say, everyone’s physical condition and abilities are a little different – so it’s essential that you talk one-to-one with a specialist trainer or medical professional to help you decide the best kind of exercise program for you.

The best posterior chain exercises for runners

Running is all about constant forward propulsion – and this almost exclusively comes from the muscles that make up the posterior chain.

While the muscles of the back straighten and extend the spine allowing the limbs to move fluidly, the glutes are working to extend the hips, increasing stride length. As you work your way down the legs, the hamstrings are stabilising the knees and the calf muscles are extending the ankles to help transfer force into motion.

Without a strong posterior chain, runners are at risk of a series of injuries – from torn hamstrings and calf muscles right through to debilitating knee pain that comes from imbalances in strength and stride.

At our dedicated running clinic, we often focus on posterior chain workouts – with the following exercises as fundamentals:

The best posterior chain exercises for sprinters

If you’re a sprinter or aspire to be one, you’re probably going to get bored of hearing just how important the posterior chain muscles are in your chosen sport.

Put simply, every single one of the muscles in this group is going to contribute to the explosive power you need to make you fast. Weakness or imbalance will almost certainly result in an injury sooner or later – and trust us, becoming best-friends with a posterior chain workout is infinitely better than dealing with a hamstring tear!

If you want to make sure you’ve got a bullet-proof posterior chain, you could do a lot worse than focus on the following exercises as the core of your workout:

The best posterior chain exercises for seniors

At Fitness Lab, we don’t like to stereotype – after all, there are plenty of 80-year olds that can outrun and outlift 18-year olds.

That said, our bodies do change as we get a little older – and as the most significant muscle group in our bodies, the condition and strength of the posterior chain can change drastically, especially if it’s an area that you only start to focus on as you get older.

Working on the posterior chain will almost certainly help you counteract some of the ‘typical’ signs of aging – namely, improving balance and coordination, reducing weight-gain and easing aches and pains – specifically the low back pain that’s associated with a lifetime of sitting and standing.

Some of the most effective exercises for older people looking to exercise and strengthen the posterior chain include:

The best posterior chain exercises for posture

Posture is a topic that divides opinion in the world of personal training. While some people will tell you that there’s ‘good’ or ‘bad’ postures – the truth is a little more complicated.

There are very few postures that are inherently ‘bad’ – instead, it’s useful to think of any posture that you hold for long periods of time to be unhelpful when it comes to the posterior chain and fully functional movement.

So, sitting in a chair isn’t bad – but sitting in a chair all day without exercising a full range of movement is likely to cause pain, stiffness, and stress on parts of the body that aren’t designed to be without movement for long periods of time.

As such, a ‘proper’ posture is going to depend on you and your day – but whatever that looks like, a strong posterior chain is likely to have a positive effect when it comes to the stress that prolonged periods with no movement brings.

Some of the most popular exercises for people who don’t experience the full range of movement in their day include:

The best posterior chain exercises for knee pain

You might not consider the muscles that largely make up the backside of the body to be important ones when you’re dealing with knee pain – but in actual fact, the posterior chain is equally important as the anterior chain when it comes to properly functioning knees.

Although there is often more to knee injuries and knee rehabilitation than just strengthening the muscles responsible for balance in the knees – it almost always a part of resolving any pain in the area.

Common injuries such as ACL (Anterior cruciate ligament), torn meniscus, patella tendinitis, Iliotibial band syndrome or general hip and foot pain can all benefit from the use of posterior chain exercises when the time is right.

Typically, an exercise program to treat knee pain will include a focus on strengthening the Gluteus Medius muscle.

For a detailed look at the exercises we recommend for knee pain, take a look at our dedicated blog: the Best Posterior Chain Exercises for Knee Pain – which includes video walk-throughs of to help you get your technique exactly right.

The best posterior chain exercises for jumping

If any part of your sport or training involves jumping, it’s essential that the posterior chain is strong enough to take the tremendous forces that you exert on yourself – both launching and landing.

It’s the posterior chain muscles that are on show when you see track and field athletes at the Olympics; powerful glutes, well-developed calves, and strong hamstrings.

Clearly, these are posterior chains that have been developed over a long period of intense training – but you don’t have to be a professional sportsperson to get stronger and more powerful for jumping.

Instead, focus on the following exercises:

For a detailed look at how to execute these movements and some of the rationale behind why it’s important to improve this ability, check out our blog: Best Posterior Chain Exercises for Jumping.

The best posterior chain exercises for beginners

If this is the first time you’ve considered working on your posterior chain, the prospect can be a little intimidating. We’ve listed countless exercises here – all designed for slightly different circumstances or goals.

So, where should you begin with all this information if you’re new to working out or you’re just shifting your focus to this muscle group?

The answer is with simplicity and form.

Without understanding the correct way to move, you could go and grab a barbell and take a shot at your first conventional deadlift and end up injuring yourself for weeks – if not months. These complex movements become infinitely easier when you’ve started strengthening your posterior chain first – prepping it for bigger, heavier challenges when the time is right.

With this in mind, consider these exercises as the perfect way to start improving the strength through your posterior chain:

If you’d like a detailed look at how to perform these exercises – and some of the rationale behind why we chose them – explore our dedicated blog: Best Posterior Chain Exercises for Beginners

The best posterior chain exercises for back pain

Back pain is an extremely complex topic – one that some medical professionals dedicate entire careers to understanding. As such, it’s hardly surprising that the general public has some misunderstandings when it comes to the issue.

There’s a tendency to think of exercise as something to steer clear of when you experience any kind of back pain. For some people, this is the right course of action – but for others, it’s strengthening of the back that actually helps to ease pain, in more ways than one.

It’s absolutely essential that you talk to a medical professional about your back pain before you start any exercise – but, assuming you get the green light, there are some outstanding exercises that can help you overcome physical and psychological factors that are keeping your back from getting better.

Some excellent posterior chain exercises for back pain include:

Why not take a more detailed look at these exercises and our reason for choosing them in our specialist blog: The Best Posterior Chain Exercises for Back Pain?

Exercising the posterior chain at home

You hardly need reminding that we’ve spent much more time at home in the last couple of years than most of us would have liked.

This has led to an explosion in people working out from home – both because gyms and studios weren’t open, and we discovered that staying physically fit helped us keep tabs on our mental well-being – even when the world was feeling like an unfamiliar place.

Over the course of various lockdowns and restrictions, the team of personal trainers here at Fitness Lab delivered thousands of online personal training sessions. And, since very few people have an Olympic barbell in their living rooms, we’ve employed some innovative ways to exercise the posterior chain without the need for expensive equipment.

Some of the most popular and practical at home posterior chain exercises include:

For a detailed look at how to perfectly execute these movements (including some walk-through videos!) – why not explore our dedicated blog: The Best Posterior Chain Exercises at Home

Posterior chain stretches

When the glutes are weak, the glutes, hamstrings and lumbar erector spinae muscles are placed under greater stress. The main muscles which work to stabilise and extend the hip, stop doing their work and become synergist, which means that the “helper” (synergist) becomes the primary mover. The hip flexors then become overactive, and when this happens, there is marked anterior tilt of the pelvis and a lordotic curve at the lumbar spine.

Imagine a person who tries to stand straight but the seat sticks out, the hip is tilted forward. This can lead to a chronic lower back pain problem.

That’s why stretching is a great way to relax the overactive hip flexor and to correct an anterior pelvic tilt and enable greater range of motion in the hips – it’s also an essential part of keeping hip joints healthy.

Starting position: Go in a lunge position and bring your torso upright. Have one knee directly below your hip and the other leg forward with your knee directly above your ankle. Extend the hips forward and tighten your glutes. The front knee does not extend past your front foot. Hold the stretch for 20-30 seconds. Repeat 2-3 times with each leg.

Are you struggling with a weak posterior chain?

Strong posterior chain muscles are a non-negotiable when it comes to athletic movements – and if you want explosive power, these core muscles need to be in your mind with every workout and training session.

If you’d like to explore the posterior chain or posterior chain exercises in more detail, we’d be delighted to help. We’ve answered some Posterior Chain FAQs in our blog – but please don’t hesitate to get in touch with the team at Fitness Lab, who will be more than happy to answer your questions and tell you more about what we can do: hello@fitnesslab.fit

Sources

Workout Lingo – Everything You Need To Know

If you’re trying to exercise more, chances are you may be coming across all kinds of fitness expressions that you’ve never heard of before. This can be a bit overwhelming – especially if you’re only just embarking on a fitness journey – but don’t let it discourage you! We’ve put together a quick guide to help you understand what these terms actually mean.

EMOM – Every Minute on the Minute

Once you know what it stands for, it’s fairly obvious what an EMOM workout entails – you will be doing something for every minute of the workout. So, if your workout programme asks for 10 lunges EMOM, you simply start the clock, do the 10 lunges, then rest for the remainder of that minute. Then, you do another 10 reps at the top of the next minute – whether that’s the same exercise, or a different one as part of a circuit.

If you finish the exercises in 40 seconds, then you have 20 seconds of that minute to catch your breath before going again on the next minute. It may start off easy, but as you can imagine, it gets harder pretty quickly!

HIIT – High-Intensity Interval Training

High-intensity interval training, or HIIT, is a training technique in which you exert maximum effort in quick, intense bursts, followed by short periods of rest or active recovery (small amounts of movement, while predominantly resting). The aim of these sessions is to maintain a high heart rate, to promote more efficient fat burning.

EPOC – Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption

This leads us on nicely to EPOC, which is another abbreviation you may have come across. Put simply, it refers to the idea that after HIIT, the body will use more oxygen than it did during the actual workout itself. Why is this? During HIIT training, the body requires more energy than our aerobic energy system can provide, so it uses anaerobic pathways. Once the HIIT session is complete the body will seek to restore itself to homeostasis (its resting state). As part of this recovery process, the blood will be re-oxygenated, the body temperature will gradually lower and breathing and heart rates will return to normal. This all requires energy, which is why you will continue to burn calories after you’ve finished your HIIT session.

Tabata

Tabata is similar to HIIT, but follows a slightly more rigid framework, composed of 8 rounds of 20 seconds maximum effort and 10 seconds rest. This style of training is named after the Japanese scientist who developed it, after testing the effectiveness of different methods of exercising. He compared two groups of athletes, one that trained 5 times each week for an hour at moderate intensity and one that did a high-intensity workout lasting 4 minutes and 20 seconds 4 times each week. After 6 weeks, Group 1 showed marked improvements to their aerobic system, but their anaerobic system showed little or no changes. In contrast, Group 2 showed much more of an increase to their aerobic system and their anaerobic system increased by 28%.

A quick example to illustrate the Tabata method for press-ups: you would do as many as you could in 20 seconds, rest for 10 seconds and repeat 8 times. The key is to put maximum effort in for those 20 seconds – giving anything less than 100% in each 20 second burst and it’s not real Tabata, so you won’t feel the benefit!

AMRAP – As many rounds/reps as possible

Popularised by Crossfit, AMRAP workouts can be structured as a shorter or longer workout, depending on your needs. The aim, as you have probably already guessed, is simply to complete as many rounds or reps as possible in the time set.

A really simple example might be 2 minutes of press-ups AMRAP – here, you would need to complete as many press ups as possible in those two minutes. If we’re using rounds instead of reps, we might set the timer for 5 minutes and complete a round of 5 press-ups, 5 squats and 5 burpees as many times as possible before the buzzer goes off.

AMRAP is a great way to work out, because the timer is your coach, you can keep the exercises simple or modify them if you’re in the gym and have enough equipment to get creative. Plus, you can measure your progress easily, by coming back to the same workout every now and then to see how many more rounds or reps you’re able to do compared to when you started.

Try it out yourself

So now you know what they mean, how about trying them out yourself? Here are a few little workouts you could do at home or incorporate into your gym sessions, using the training systems outlined above:

EMOM – 5 minutes

Squats 15

Lunges 6 each leg

Burpees 10

Press ups 10

Plank shoulder taps 40

A minute on each of these everyday exercises with no rest may look easy – but don’t be fooled, you’ll definitely get your sweat on!

HIIT

Do the exercise for 40 seconds, then rest for 20

Goblet squat

Dynamic lunge to squat

Push to Press

Mountain climbers

Rest for a minute after the mountain climbers and repeat

Tabata

High knees

Burpees

Press ups

Mountain climbers

The workout will last 4 minutes and 20 seconds in total. You will spend 20 seconds going flat out on high knees, rest for 10 seconds, then straight into burpees and so on. Repeat the whole round of 4 exercises twice through. Dr Tabata’s experiment proved how effective this can be, so why not try adding a quick Tabata workout to your current fitness programme and see the difference it can make?

Why You Should Track Your Calories

If you’re going somewhere new, do you HAVE to use a map? No – but it helps. The same applies with calorie tracking. You can probably get to where you want to be without it, but it is undoubtedly the best and most efficient way of getting you there.

Before we delve into why you should track your calories, let’s begin with a quick definition of what we actually mean by the term “calorie”. In a nutrition setting, it’s an abbreviation for kilocalories, the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of 1 kilogram of water by 1 degree Celsius. When referring to food, it measures the amount of energy contained in the food and drink we consume. Everything we do relies on the energy that we consume in the form of calories. Ever heard of the saying, “food is fuel”? It is exactly that.

If we eat exactly the amount of calories we need to fuel our body’s metabolism, digestion and movement throughout the day, then we will maintain our weight. Once our body’s immediate energy needs are met, any excess is stored for future use – some as glycogen in our muscles, but some as body fat. Conversely, if we consume too few calories, then our body will lose weight as it turns to other sources of energy, including fat. However, to know what is “too much” or “too little” requires us to actually monitor our intake.

Disclaimer – if you have a history of disordered eating and the prospect of tracking your calories is something you know is a trigger for unhealthy behaviour and anxiety, calorie tracking may not be for you right now. At the very least, please make sure that your coach is aware and can support you in the process. 

Calorie tracking is most commonly associated with weight loss, however it can help with a wide variety of goals, including weight gain and body recomposition. In this blog, we will be focusing mainly on calorie tracking from a weight loss perspective – a process that people tend to overcomplicate. There is a mind-boggling number of different diets, each with its own tribe of loyal supporters fiercely proclaiming it to be the best way to lose weight. Keto, paleo, 5:2, IF, raw, high carb, low carb… However, if you look closely at the food diaries of people who have successfully lost weight by adhering to these diets, you’ll see that despite being vastly different, they have one crucial thing in common: they help the dieter to achieve a calorie deficit.

Which brings us to reason number 1 to track your calorie intake…

  1. To understand what your current intake is and give you a baseline to work from

Understanding where you’re at is key to getting where you want to be. As a general rule, most of us tend to underestimate the amount of calories we consume and overestimate the amount of activity that we do. Without a baseline, you have no idea what target to set yourself.

For example. You plug in your height, weight, activity level and so on into a calorie-tracking app. It suggests that you should aim for 1,500 calories per day. Sounds reasonable. However, if you have inadvertently been consuming in excess of 2,500 calories every day, then this diet will feel very restrictive and hard to stick to from the beginning. Instead, work out your current daily average, then start slow with a deficit that is more easily manageable. Once you have adjusted, you can bring your calorie intake down again. It’s all about steady, sustainable progress.

P.S. We recommend this site for working out your calorie goals 

  1. To understand what eating behaviours you have that you need to modify in order to lose weight 

Tracking your calories can highlight some habits that you might not realise are hindering your progress. Grabbing a coffee in the morning, for example – you might not think this would have a big impact on your calorie intake for the day. However, depending on what you go for, this could actually make a huge difference. Some lattes pack upwards of 350 calories per serving, whereas an Americano has just 15 calories.

You may unconsciously reach for biscuits at work, thinking “Ah, one or two won’t hurt”. Two chocolate digestives, however, can add 200 calories to your day – without offering you many nutrients in return. And sometimes, the healthy options can be deceptively high in calories. Having a salad for dinner may seem like a great choice, for example, but if you’re liberally drizzling olive oil all over it, you may unwittingly be eating far more calories than you intend to. Just one tablespoon contains about 120 calories, but it’s easy to accidentally double this if you’re not using a measuring spoon. Similarly, nuts are often touted as a great healthy snack (and they are!) but be wary that they are high in fat, and not sticking to the prescribed portion sizes can cost you hundreds of calories.

“Eyeballing” your calories can often lead to you unwittingly adding on 200-300 unnoticed calories throughout the day, especially when it comes to calorie dense foods like peanut butter, oils and nuts.

For sustainable weight loss, we’re looking to create a moderate deficit of no more than 20% of your daily intake, often considerably less than this – so you can see how adopting just small changes like swapping the coffee you have in the morning and opting for a healthier snack option in the office can make a huge difference.

  1. To understand your daily versus weekly calorie balance

It is very, very common for people to stick to a calorie deficit during the week and then land themselves in a surplus at the weekend – the net result being that across the week, they average out at maintenance and therefore do not see any progress.

Why does this happen? Well, there may be a wide range of causes, but there are two situations that we see quite a lot as trainers.

Scenario 1 – moderate weekly calorie deficit undone by mild overindulgence at the weekend

Throughout the week, you adhere to a fairly moderate deficit of 200 calories per day. Despite being a small deficit, this would still generate weight loss if committed to for the whole week, seven days. However, at the weekend, the deficit of 1,000 calories (200 daily for 5 days) is almost immediately undone with a few untracked treats that tip the balance of the scale back to “maintenance” when you average out calories across the week.

A few drinks and handfuls of bar snacks may be enough to land you in maintenance or an overall surplus. And actually, it is incredibly easy to accidentally land yourself in a massive calorie surplus when you go out for dinner and don’t track your meal. Many high street restaurant chains have main meals on their menu that add up to 800, 900 even in excess of 1,000 calories. This isn’t always obvious, as portions might not look unreasonably huge, but the sauces and oils are rich and can really stack up the calories. And that’s before you take into account the bread you eat before your meal, the wine you drink alongside it, or the dessert you may decide to treat yourself too (another easy 600 calories).

A great illustration of this is shown in the below infographic from @cartergood

Scenario 2 – extremely restrictive calories in the week leads to binge-eating at the weekend

You plug in your height, weight and activity level into your calorie tracker. Next it asks you what your desired speed of weight loss is. Well, duh… ASAP, right? That’s what you click and, ouch – it gives you a startlingly low figure of 1,200 calories. Never mind, it is Monday and you are 100% motivated and committed to your weight loss target so you resolve to stick to it.

Monday to Friday crawl by and you’ve managed to stick to your stingy calorie target. Same breakfast, lunch and dinner, no thank you to the office cookies and you skipped work drinks on Friday. The problem is, you are now craving all your favourite foods that you have told yourself are “forbidden”. And now that it’s the weekend… An “all-or-nothing” mentality is triggered, causing you to binge out and savour your treats “while you can” in anticipation of another miserable, restrictive week ahead. Not only is the calorie deficit wiped out, you’re also cementing yourself in a vicious restrict-binge cycle that is detrimental to not only your physical health but also your mental well-being.

The bingeing at the weekend is not the real problem. This overeating at the weekend is a response to drastic undereating for the previous five days. So, the restrictive food habits taking place during the week that need addressing as a priority – this will then prevent you from overeating at the weekend. A good trainer will help you to put together a sustainable food plan that keeps you in a moderate, manageable calorie deficit, while still allowing you the flexibility and freedom to include your favourite treats, in reasonable amounts. Calorie-tracking will be key to achieving this.

Eating more during the week will leave you feeling more energised, which will have a direct impact on the quality of your training, your stress levels and your relationship with food. It will also prevent overeating at the weekend, helping you to create a more balanced calorie intake throughout the week – staying in a calorie deficit without depriving yourself and feeling unbearably hungry.

  1. To help monitor your behaviour and keep you accountable

So, you’ve looked at your current intake and addressed where you need to improve. The next step is simply to implement the changes, for the long-term. Tracking your calories and sending the screenshots to your trainer is a fantastic way to help you stay on top of your plan. You’re less likely to reach for an extra cookie if you’re committed to tracking your calories and know that this will tip you over and impact your progress for the week. And you’re less likely still to give in to temptation if you’re sharing every bite with your trainer!

Key takeaways: our top tips for tracking your calorie intake

  • Understand where you are before making any drastic changes to your diet
  • Set a realistic calorie target – nothing too restrictive. If you’re looking to lose 5kg or more, then you’re in this for at least 6-10 weeks. So it has to be sustainable! Prioritise realistic changes that you can maintain for life
  • Create your calorie deficit by reducing your intake of the least filling and least nutritious foods (alcohol, sweet treats, fancy coffees, etc)
  • Make room for your favourite foods instead of banning certain things from your diet. It’s all about moderation

Vitamin-D

What is Vitamin D?

Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin (a vitamin that is absorbed along with fats in the diet and can be stored in the body’s fatty tissue) and is one of the 24 essential micronutrients needed to keep the human body functioning properly. It is one of the few vitamins that humans can produce, something dependent on exposure to sunlight. Vitamin D helps keep bones, teeth and muscles healthy by regulating the amount of calcium and phosphate in the body. It also plays a role in proper immune function, preventing certain diseases, promoting good cardiovascular and reproductive health and numerous other bodily functions. Vitamin D deficiencies are common due to a lack of exposure to direct sunlight and the difficulty in consuming adequate amounts through dietary sources.

What does it do?

Bone and teeth health

Vitamin D aids with the absorption of calcium, which is critical for teeth and bone health. Together, these micronutrients improve bone mineralisation and correct secondary hyperparathyroidism (a medical condition characterised by excessive secretion of parathyroid hormone) which can cause bone disease and calcium build up in the tissues of the cardiovascular system. Low levels of Vitamin D are linked with osteomalacia, osteoporosis (both conditions that cause the weakening of bones) and bone fractures.

Muscle strength and power

Skeletal muscle is a target organ for Vitamin D, meaning deficiencies lead to weakness. A lack of Vitamin D leads to abnormalities in muscle contraction and relaxation which affects muscle force production. A positive correlation between adequate levels of Vitamin D and a reduction in the degradation of protein has also been found.

Furthermore, a 2008 study found that optimal Vitamin D levels improved the production of muscle power development and resulted in a greater jump height.

Lean body mass

Vitamin D plays a significant role in maintaining muscle and avoiding the development of fat in muscle, thereby contributing to greater lean body mass. There has been evidence to show body fat mass is higher in those with a Vitamin D deficiency, something which correlates with elevated levels of parathyroid hormone and intracellular calcium both of which are considered major factors in determining obesity. Increased calcium levels promote an accumulation of fat tissue while suppressing fat burning.

Treatment of skin disorders

Vitamin D lessens inflammation which means it can play a role in treating skin disorders such as psoriasis. Studies have shown a correlation between patients suffering from inflammatory skin conditions including psoriasis, dermatitis, dandruff, eczema, rosacea, and severe acne and Vitamin D deficiency.

Blood sugar regulation

Adequate levels of Vitamin D play a role in increasing insulin sensitivity and decreasing insulin resistance, suggesting it may be effective in countering the symptoms of diabetes. Low Vitamin D decreases pancreatic cell function, impacting insulin sensitivity due to the presence of Vitamin D receptors on insulin cells.

A 2010 study of women with insulin sensitivity (who were pre-diabetic) found that daily vitamin D supplementation resulted in significant decreases in insulin sensitivity. This followed a 2009 study that found higher vitamin D levels lowered diabetes risk.

Disease prevention

Studies have shown a positive correlation between Vitamin D supplementation and a lowered risk of Multiple Sclerosis. One study of over 190,000 women found that those who supplemented had a 40% lower risk of MS than those that did not. Low Vitamin D levels have been identified as a major risk factor in MS susceptibility and severity.

Vitamin D has also been linked with fighting a number of cancers including breast, colon and prostate. There is evidence to suggest that supplementation may combat elevated levels of an enzyme that is associated with the development of aggressive lung cancer tumors. A 2011 study displayed a positive correlation between the 5 year survival rate of patients with a high level of Vitamin D (81% compared to 41% of those with low levels.)

There is also some evidence of a relationship between low Vitamin D levels and early onset Parkinson’s disease.

Testosterone levels and reproductive health

Low testosterone and poor fertility is often associated with low Vitamin D. A deficiency in men often correlates with lower levels of free testosterone and higher levels of estrogen. Vitamin D supports testosterone production because there are  Vitamin D receptors in the cells and glands that release testosterone. Vitamin D is also though to inhibit aromatization, wherein testosterone is changed into estrogen.

A study from the University of Copenhagen found that normal sperm count and motility (the efficiency at which sperm moves) is associated with adequate Vitamin D levels. Those with a deficiency had a lower proportion of mobile sperm than those with a high Vitamin D level. In terms of female fertility, Vitamin D has been shown to have a positive effect on rates of fetal implantation in the uterus. Furthermore, Vitamin D has also been shown to play a role in proper fetal brain development.

Immune function and prevention of infections

The activation of immune defences is dependent on Vitamin D. Low levels inhibit the capability of the body’s T-cells to fight off infections. T-cells need Vitamin D to activate them to fight off harmful pathogens. Vitamin D also limits inflammation which can inhibit the body’s ability to heal. As well as preventing infections to begin with, Vitamin D may also be used to treat viral, bacterial and fungal infections.

Cardiovascular health

High levels of Vitamin D are associated with heart health, while deficiencies are linked to cardiovascular disease. The Framingham Heart Study indicated that maintaining optimal Vitamin D levels was a crucial factor in preventing cardiovascular disease, with supplementation considered to contribute to prevention. Furthermore, Vitamin D deficiency is strongly associated with high blood pressure, something which has been shown to be significantly reduced when Vitamin D supplementation is paired with calcium intake.

Neurological health and sleep

Vitamin D enhances the metabolic process of brain neurons that protect from degenerative processes. Additionally, it promotes nerve growth and is an essential enzyme in the production of neurotransmitters, which play a key role in mood regulation. The instance of depression and other brain disorders is much higher in those with Vitamin D deficiencies.

Vitamin D also has a positive impact on sleep. Vitamin D receptors in the brain are in a large concentration in the cells of the brainstem that allows us to sleep. If Vitamin D levels are not adequate, the sleep/wake cycle is disrupted.

Sources

As mentioned previously, a key source of Vitamin D is direct exposure to sunlight. However, this is not applicable during autumn and winter months as the sun is not strong enough for the body to produce it. Furthermore, using sunscreen during the summer months may impede the skin’s absorption of enough sunlight for Vitamin D production (SPF 15 can reduce synthesis by 98%).

While it is difficult to maintain adequate levels through diet alone, certain foods do contain Vitamin D.

  • Dietary sources of Vitamin D include:
  • Oily fish (e.g salmon, sardines, herring and mackerel)
  • Red meat
  • Liver
  • Egg yolks
  • Fortified foods (eg certain fat spreads and breakfast cereals)

There are two forms of vitamin D in the diet:

Vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol): found in some mushrooms.

Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol): found in animal sources.

D3 is the more powerful of the two types, and raises blood levels of vitamin D almost twice as much as D2.

How can you tell if you’re deficient?

Widespread use of sunscreen, the strength of sunlight in certain months and limited dietary sources mean Vitamin D deficiencies are prevalent. Researchers at Oregon State University estimated that nearly 1 billion people worldwide are deficient. Certain populations, such as people with dark skin and the elderly, are at a higher risk.

Symptoms of Vitamin D deficiency can be subtle, but may include:

  • Fatigue or tired
  • Bone pain
  • Joint pain
  • Muscle pain
  • Sour mood
  • Low energy
  • More frequent illness
  • Anxiety
  • Irritability
  • Weight gain
  • Hair loss

The most accurate means of finding out if you’re deficient is a blood test. Due to seasonal differences in sunlight exposure, and Vitamin D levels as a result, testing every 3-6 months is recommended. Ideal blood levels of Vitamin D are between 40 and 80 ng/mL, with anything below 20 ng/mL considered deficient.

Should you supplement?

During autumn and winter months the sun is not strong enough for the body to synthesize Vitamin D. That means maintaining adequate levels is reliant solely on the diet. However, it is very difficult to get sufficient Vitamin D from the diet alone, particularly for those following a vegetarian or vegan diet due to a lack of plant based sources of D3.

In 2016, the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition recommended that adults and children over the age of one should take a daily supplement containing 10mcg of vitamin D, particularly during autumn and winter. Those at a higher risk of vitamin D deficiency were advised to supplement all year round.

If your blood tests show you are deficient you should supplement. If you don’t have access to a blood test but fall into a high risk category (including not getting enough sunlight) it would be advisable to supplement due to how widespread inadequate Vitamin D levels are. The amount of Vitamin D needed to cause toxicity (around 60,000IU per day for several months) means supplementation is relatively low risk.

Sources

Andres Vargas (n.d.). Basic Lifestyle Practices for Health and Longevity. [online] Biolayne. Available at: https://www.biolayne.com/articles/lifestyle/basic-lifestyle-practices-health-longevity/

Baker, P. (n.d.). Making Sense of Supplements, Processing, and “Real” Food. [online] Biolayne. Available at: https://www.biolayne.com/articles/nutrition/making-sense-supplements-processing-real-food/

Bustillo, E. (n.d.). Why You Should Probably Take Vitamin D. [online] Biolayne. Available at: https://www.biolayne.com/articles/supplementation/why-you-should-probably-take-vitamin-d/

Contreras, B. (2013). What Supplements Should I Buy? [online] Bret Contreras. Available at: https://bretcontreras.com/what-supplements-should-i-buy-2/

NHS Choices (2019a). How to get vitamin D from sunlight                –        Healthy body. [online] NHS. Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-body/how-to-get-vitamin-d-from-sunlight/.

NHS Choices (2019b). Vitamin D                    –            Vitamins and minerals. [online] NHS. Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vitamins-and-minerals/vitamin-d/.

Nih.gov. (2017). Office of Dietary Supplements – Vitamin D. [online] Available at: https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminD-HealthProfessional/.

Poliquin, C. (n.d.). 25 Excellent Reasons To Take The Wonderful Vitamin D | Poliquin Article. [online] main.poliquingroup.com. Available at: http://main.poliquingroup.com/ArticlesMultimedia/Articles/Article/1523/25_Excellent_Reasons_To_Take_The_Wonderful_Vitamin.aspx.

Poliquin, C. (n.d.). Five Essential Things You Should Know about Vitamin D to Be Lean, Strong & Healthy | Poliquin Article. [online] main.poliquingroup.com. Available at: https://main.poliquingroup.com/ArticlesMultimedia/Articles/Article/1284/Five_Essential_Things_You_Should_Know_about_Vitami.aspx

Poliquin, C. (n.d.). Five Simple Ways to Raise Testosterone Levels for Better Body Composition & Optimal Health | Poliquin Article. [online] main.poliquingroup.com. Available at: https://main.poliquingroup.com/ArticlesMultimedia/Articles/Article/934/Five_Simple_Ways_to_Raise_Testosterone_Levels_for_Better_Body_Composition_&_Optimal_Health.aspx.

Poliquin, C. (n.d.). Outsmart The Flu With Ten Natural Immune-Boosting Strategies. [online] Poliquin Group. Available at: http://main.poliquingroup.com/Tips/tabid/130/EntryId/2436/Outsmart-The-Flu-With-Ten-Natural-Immune-Boosting-Strategies.aspx

Poliquin, C. (n.d.). Sleep Better With Vitamin D: Sleep Disorders Are Linked to Low Vitamin D | Poliquin Article. [online] main.poliquingroup.com. Available at: https://main.poliquingroup.com/ArticlesMultimedia/Articles/Article/2614/Sleep_Better_With_Vitamin_D_Sleep_Disorders_Are_Li.aspx

Spritzler, F. (2018). 8 Signs and Symptoms of Vitamin D Deficiency. [online] Healthline. Available at: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/vitamin-d-deficiency-symptoms.

WebMD. (n.d.). Slideshow: The Truth About Vitamin D’s Health Benefits. [online] Available at: https://www.webmd.com/vitamins-and-supplements/ss/slideshow-vitamin-d-overview

Are All Calories Equal?

Are All Calories Equal?

‘Calories in versus calories out’ is often quoted as a fundamental law of weight loss, but in reality it should perhaps be considered more of a starting point. It is true that an energy deficit is necessary to lose weight, therefore calorie intake is relevant. Unfortunately, in practice it becomes a little more complex.

‘Calories in versus calories out’ holds true when applied to an ‘isolated system’ eg. an experiment carried out in a laboratory setting. In such a system, burning 1,000 calories of spinach and 1,000 calories of muffins would release the same amount of energy. However, the human body is not an ‘isolated system’. There are a multitude of factors that determine how our body uses the calories we consume, including (but not limited to) our activity level, body composition and hormones.

Typically when determining a person’s Basal Metabolic Rate or BMR (the number of calories needed to keep the body functioning at rest) and their Total Daily Energy Expenditure or TDEE (the BMR multiplied to account for activity level) a formula, such as the Harris Benedict equation,  will be used. While this works fine as a starting point, as a concept ‘calories in’, is incredibly difficult to accurately predict or measure. This is due to factors such as thyroid and steroid hormone status and mitochondrial efficiency making differences in food absorption hard to account for. It’s even more difficult to predict how nutrients are distributed (whether to muscle, glycogen or fat) following absorption.

The human body simply does not respond to every calorie you consume in the same way. The macronutrient balance of the food you eat can have a significant impact on your hormones which will influence how your body processes calories. For example, consuming protein can help to keep blood sugar and insulin levels steady, which releases hormones that can curb appetite. Whereas consuming carbs can cause fluctuations in insulin and other metabolic hormones, leading to hunger. Protein also requires the body to burn a lot more calories during digestion when compared to how it digests carbohydrates. Similarly, some fats stimulate the burning of calories. Omega-3 fats increase the process of uncoupling proteins, which raises the temperature of the body leading to excess calories being burned. It is therefore possible to adapt how many calories your body burns by adjusting the macronutrients you consume, without changing total calorie consumption. The consumption of carbohydrates, particularly those with a higher glycemic index, will increase the body’s level of insulin. If insulin levels become chronically elevated, cells become resistant to it. This drives up the ‘stress hormone’ cortisol, which will most likely lead to fat gain.

When considering the ‘calories in versus calories out’ debate, particularly where it pertains to weight loss, it’s worth considering a fundamental question: what drives us to eat? It’s not a trick question, the answer (on the surface at least) is simple: hunger. Eating in a way that curbs your hunger effectively is going to be a more successful weight loss strategy in the long term. Keeping your hunger, energy and cravings in check should rank as a high priority when it comes to weight management. These factors can act as an indicator that your metabolism is in balance and if it is, you’re less likely to struggle to achieve a calorie deficit.

An important factor to consider is how satiating the calories you consume are and how effectively they curb your hunger. Foods higher in protein tend to be more satiating than carbohydrates, particularly simple carbs. 100 calories of a chicken breast is likely to keep you feeling fuller for longer than 100 calories of sweets, it’s also less likely to lead to an initial spike in energy followed by a rapid crash. Refined, or simple, carbs are absorbed and digested rapidly, raising blood sugar quickly and insulin. The elevation of insulin levels causes a crash in blood sugar which leads to cravings of more simple carbs to bring things back into balance. This leads to overconsumption as the body becomes stuck in a loop- the consumption of refined carbs leads to cravings for more refined carbs.

Relying solely on calorie restriction, without paying attention to keeping your hunger, energy, cravings and metabolism in check, is not the optimal strategy for long term weight loss and management. Putting this theory in practice, the New England Journal of Medicine conducted a study wherein overweight individuals were put on a diet of 550 calories per day for 10 weeks. During this time of severe calorie restriction, they displayed elevated levels of ghrelin, which stimulates hunger, and of gastric inhibitory polypeptide, which promotes fat storage. Conversely, the hormone leptin, which suppresses hunger and promotes fat burning, was significantly reduced during the ten week period and remained that way for the remainder of the one year study. Following the ten week calorie restriction, participants lost an average of 30 pounds. However, over the course of the year, they regained an average of 15 pounds.

‘Calories in vs calories out’ can be considered a good starting point in terms of understanding how what we consume impacts our bodies. It’s a relatively simple concept, making it easy to understand and apply to lifestyle changes for those new to weight management. However, it is something of an over-simplification. For long term progress it is important to understand the way in which calories from different sources differ in terms of how our body processes them. With this understanding, you’re setting yourself up for consistent, long term results rather than getting stuck in a cycle of yo-yo dieting.

Sources

Thomas, D.M., Ciesla, A., Levine, J.A., Stevens, J.G. and Martin, C.K. (2009). A MATHEMATICAL MODEL OF WEIGHT CHANGE WITH ADAPTATION. Mathematical biosciences and engineering : MBE, [online] 6(4), pp.873–887. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2764961/

 

Prentice, A.M. (2005). Macronutrients as sources of food energy. Public Health Nutrition, 8(7a), pp.932–939.

 

Spell, C.S. (2016). There’s no sugar-coating it: All calories are not created equal. [online] Harvard Health Blog. Available at: https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/theres-no-sugar-coating-it-all-calories-are-not-created-equal-2016110410602

 

Poliquin, C. Calorie Counting Does More Harm Than Good: Ten Things To Try Instead | Poliquin Article. [online] Available at: https://main.poliquingroup.com/ArticlesMultimedia/Articles/Article/1555/Calorie_Counting_Does_More_Harm_Than_Good_Ten_Thin.aspx

 

Poliquin, C. The Calorie Lie: Nine Simple Rules for Easy Fat Loss—Forget Counting Calories | Poliquin Article. [online] Available at: http://main.poliquingroup.com/ArticlesMultimedia/Articles/Article/1117/The_Calorie_Lie_Nine_Simple_Rules_for_Easy_Fat_Los.aspx

 

Poliquin, C. Eleven Myths and Facts About How the Body Burns Fat | Poliquin Article. [online] Available at: http://main.poliquingroup.com/ArticlesMultimedia/Articles/Article/1122/Eleven_Myths_and_Facts_About_How_the_Body_Burns_Fa.aspx

 

Schoenfeld, B. » Calories: True as a concept, futile as a law. [online] Available at: http://www.lookgreatnaked.com/blog/calories-true-as-a-concept-futile-as-a-law/

 

Poliquin, C. Why the Calorie Approach to Weight Loss Doesn’t Work | Poliquin Article. [online] Available at: http://main.poliquingroup.com/ArticlesMultimedia/Articles/Article/894/Why_the_Calorie_Approach_to_Weight_Loss_Doesn%E2%80%99t_Work.aspx

 

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Teta, J. Tip: Do You HAVE to Count Calories? [online] T NATION. Available at: https://www.t-nation.com/diet-fat-loss/tip-do-you-have-to-count-calories.

‌Teta, J. (2014). A Calorie Is Sometimes Not A Calorie | T Nation. [online] T NATION. Available at: https://www.t-nation.com/diet-fat-loss/a-calorie-is-sometimes-not-a-calorie ‌

Magnesium

What is magnesium?

Magnesium plays a vital role in keeping the human body functioning as it should. It is a key micronutrient involved in at least 800 biochemical reactions, including protein synthesis, testosterone production, insulin sensitivity, calcium absorption and the regulation of the sympathetic nervous system. Furthermore, it aids in the metabolism of vitamin D and may help treat the inflammation brought on by intense exercise. Strenuous exercise may increase the loss of magnesium through sweat and urine by as much as 20%, meaning a magnesium rich diet is of particular importance for athletes.

What does it do?

Protein Synthesis

Protein synthesis relies on numerous critical enzymes, most of which have magnesium as a cofactor (a non-protein chemical compound that is required for the protein’s biological activity). To date, around 3,750 human proteins have been discovered to incorporate magnesium into their structure. Magnesium plays a vital role in protein synthesis as it enables enzyme function in the body. Protein is used for most structural components and metabolic functions in the body, meaning if you don’t have sufficient magnesium to effectively synthesise them, the consequences can be far reaching.

Muscle Contractions and Calcium Balance

The body uses magnesium to stimulate muscle contractions and deliver oxygen to muscles while they’re working. Another mineral that plays a role in muscle contractions is calcium. Calcium is typically an exciatory cofactor (meaning it only enters the cell when it is needed for something specific eg a muscle contraction). After this function is complete, magnesium helps to pump calcium out of the cell. Insufficient magnesium may mean the cell in question is unable to flush out the calcium. When this happens it can become damaged or, in extreme cases, even die. Muscle cramps may be an acute indicator of a calcium imbalance, and therefore a deficiency in magnesium.

Inflammation Treatment

A deficiency in Magnesium has been shown to lead to increased inflammation in the body, affecting blood vessels, cardiovascular, and intestinal tissues. While the exact process by which magnesium decreases inflammation is unknown, it is considered an anti-inflammatory agent due to the fact that magnesium levels are usually inversely correlated to markers of inflammation. A recent study examined the effects of magnesium in treating inflammation in rugby players pre and post competition. It found that the group supplied with magnesium supplementation showed significantly lower inflammation markers than the control group (who were not supplied with magnesium).

Heart Health

As well as aiding in athletic recovery, it’s role as an anti-inflammatory agent in the cardiovascular system means magnesium plays an important role in maintaining a healthy heart. It acts as a natural vasodilatador (meaning it helps to open blood vessels) and anticoagulant (meaning it helps prevent blood clots). Adequate intake is inversely related to arterial calcification (the hardening of arteries) as its aforementioned role in ‘pumping out’ calcium keeps calcium dissolved in the blood. Deficiencies can lead to an increase in blood pressure as well as the constriction of coronary arteries, which decreases the flow of oxygen and nutrients to the heart. Magnesium’s role in muscle contractions also contributes to keeping heart rhythms steady.

Testosterone Bioavailability

Magnesium has been shown to have a positive association with total testosterone in men. This is because magnesium increases the bioavailability of testosterone. During the aging process (or as a result of insufficient dietary protein) sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) concentrations increae. These globulins bind with testosterone, which makes it unavailable for the body to use. However, testosterone prefers to bind to magnesium, rather than SHBG, which increases the amount of testosterone available for the body to utilise. A 2011 study measured the impact of magnesium on testosterone levels, when combined with physical exercise. The study examined 3 groups. Group 1 were sedentary men who took a magnesium supplement, Group 2 were tae kwon do athletes who took the same supplement, Group 3 were tae kwon do athletes who received no supplementation. The study found Group 2 had the greatest increases in testosterone levels, followed by Group 3, then Group 1. While the biggest increases came for Group 2 (around 24%) even the sedentary group saw an increase of 15%.

Brain Function & Depression

Magnesium plays a role in regulating a key receptor in the brain that supports memory and learning. This is due to magnesium’s role in the activity of enzymes in brain cells that control memory functions. Furthermore, the maintenance of the plasticity of synapses (the ability of synapses to strengthen or weaken over time) is dependent on magnesium content in cerebrospinal fluid. This is important because synaptic plasticity controls how effectively neurons are able to communicate with each other and send signals through the body.

Magnesium also has a role in the release of chemicals from the brain, such as serotonin which regulates mood and can help promote a feeling of calm and optimism. This means it can play a role in treating mild to moderate depression in adults.

Sleep & Stress- Sympathetic Nervous System

Adequate levels of magnesium help calm the sympathetic nervous system. It helps stabilise the membranes of nerves cells and regulate mineral concentrations used for nerve transmissions. It’s also essential for the metabolism of cortisol which is released as part of your body’s stress response. If cortisol stays in your bloodstream longer than it’s needed it has a catabolic, inflammatory effect meaning it degrades muscles as well as damaging cells and DNA. Without magnesium, your body struggles to perform the actions needed to be able to relax. This may lead to anxiety, stress or panic attacks. Furthermore, the production of melatonin (the hormone that controls sleep and wake cycles) is reliant on magnesium.

Bone Strength

Calcium is vital for bone strength. However, without enough magnesium, calcium can’t perform its functions within the body. Magnesium activates cellular enzyme activity, which allows the body to convert vitamin D into its active form. This then helps with calcium absorption and bone building. Magnesium also stimulates the production of calcitonin- a hormone that maintains bone structure and draws calcium from the blood and soft tissues to be transferred back into the bones. The parathyroid hormone, which breaks bone down, is also suppressed by magnesium.

Insulin Sensitivity

Magnesium plays a key role in the maintenance of healthy blood sugar levels and improves insulin sensitivity. Low magnesium levels decrease insulin sensitivity as it helps insulin to bind with cell receptors. It also increases the expression of molecules that transfer glucose into cells so that it may be used for energy or stored as glycogen. When blood glucose and insulin levels are high, the kidneys struggle to retain magnesium. This leads to an increased magnesium deficiency and potentially a progression into diabetes.

Sources

Ideally, maintaining an optimal level of magnesium will result from a diet consisting of foods rich in the mineral, such as:

  • Dark green vegetables (spinach, broccoli, kale, collard greens, swiss chard)
  • Fish (halibut, salmon, mackerel, tuna, pollock)
  • Nuts (cashews, peanuts, almonds, brazil nuts)
  • Seeds (pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, flaxseeds)
  • Legumes (black beans, edamame, kidney beans)
  • Avocados
  • Bananas
  • Raisins

How can you tell if you’re deficient?

If you’re low on magnesium for an extended period of time, you may develop a magnesium deficiency. However, this is rare. Symptoms of magnesium deficiency include:

  • Poor appetite
  • Nausea (sick to your stomach) and vomiting
  • Sleepiness
  • Weakness

In extreme cases, you may also experience muscle spasms and tremors.

While a deficiency is rare, there are certain conditions that may put you at a higher risk. Gastrointestinal diseases like IBS or colitis impact your ability to absorb dietary magnesium. Hyperthyroidism, high intensity athletic activity or high stress will also increase the demand for magnesium while type 2 diabetes can result in an increased amount of magnesium being excreted through the kidneys.

You can take a test to measure your levels of magnesium. However, only 0.3% of your magnesium is stored in your blood, meaning a typical blood serum test won’t give you the full picture. Accurately assessing magnesium levels would require a red blood cell test. An optimal measurement would be between 5.6 and 6.8mg/dL.

Should you supplement?

If you’re eating a healthy, balanced diet it’s highly unlikely you’ll suffer from a magnesium deficiency (unless you fall into one of the high risk groups identified above). There have been studies to suggest that magnesium can increase physical performance in athletes, due in part to its impact on testosterone bioavailability, inflammation and muscle cramp prevention. However, there are a number of steps you can take to increase your magnesium intake without resorting to supplements.

  • Reduce intake of coffee, alcohol and soft drinks. These drinks can increase magnesium wastage and reduce its absorption.
  • Sodium competes with magnesium for ion channels (protein molecules that span across the cell membrane allowing the passage of ions from one side of the membrane to the other). Therefore, reducing sodium consumption will positively impact magnesium levels.
  • Reduce consumption of processed food, as heavy processing is likely to reduce food’s mineral content.
  • Soak beans and grains before cooking to reduce phytic acid, which interferes with magnesium absorption in the gut.
  • Steam raw greens like spinach and chard to reduce oxalic acid, which also interferes with magnesium absorption.
  • Opt for organic greens were possible. Artificial fertilisers are often poor in magnesium, leading to reduced magnesium content in the food they produce.

If you do choose to supplement, pay attention to the contents. Ensure you opt for a magnesium that is bound with one of the following: citrate, malate, glycinate, threonate, taurate, fumarate, or orotate. These are more easily absorbed and are less likely to negatively impact bowel function than cheaper options like magnesium oxidate.

Sources

Gurley, T. (n.d.). Tip: The Mineral for Chronic Muscle Soreness. [online] T NATION. Available at: https://www.t-nation.com/supplements/tip-the-mineral-for-chronic-muscle-soreness

Harvard Health Publishing (2019). What you should know about magnesium – Harvard Health. [online] Harvard Health. Available at: https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/what-you-should-know-about-magnesium2.

Luoma, T. (n.d.). Tip: Get More Magnesium. [online] T NATION. Available at: https://www.t-nation.com/supplements/tip-get-more-magnesium.

Magnesium.ca. (n.d.). How magnesium works – What magnesium does fundamentally. [online] Available at: http://www.magnesium.ca/how-magnesium-works/.

Magnesium.ca. (n.d.). Magnesium deficiency – What does magnesium deficiency look like? [online] Available at: http://www.magnesium.ca/magnesium-deficiency/

Poliquin, C. (2013). Twelve Benefits of Magnesium | Poliquin Article. [online] Poliquingroup.com. Available at: https://main.poliquingroup.com/ArticlesMultimedia/Articles/Article/669/Twelve_Benefits_of_Magnesium.aspx

Poliquin, C. (n.d.). Eight Signs You Need More Magnesium | Poliquin Article. [online] main.poliquingroup.com. Available at: https://main.poliquingroup.com/ArticlesMultimedia/Articles/Article/1335/Eight_Signs_You_Need_More_Magnesium.aspx

Poliquin, C. (n.d.). Five Reasons You Need More Magnesium. [online] Poliquin Group. Available at: http://main.poliquingroup.com/Tips/tabid/130/EntryId/2428/Five-Reasons-You-Need-More-Magnesium.aspx

Shugart, C. (2017). Tip: The Mineral That Treats Depression & Anxiety | T Nation. [online] T NATION. Available at: https://www.t-nation.com/supplements/tip-the-mineral-that-treats-depression-anxiety

St Pierre, B. (n.d.). Magnificent Magnesium. [online] T NATION. Available at: https://www.t-nation.com/supplements/magnificent-magnesium.

WebMD. (n.d.). Magnesium for Health. [online] Available at: https://www.webmd.com/diet/supplement-guide-magnesium#2.

Benefits Of Personal Training

New to fitness and don’t know where to start? Been going to the gym for ages without seeing results? Bored of your workouts and need a new challenge? Whatever your reasons for considering Personal Training, it has lots to offer!

Results

By tailoring a programme to suit your goals and individual requirements, your PT will be able to drive better, lasting results. If you’ve ever been in the gym by yourself, you’ll no doubt have caught yourself feeling unsure of how to structure your workout, how to perform an exercise, how many reps to do it for, what weight to use, what tempo to follow, how many sets to do… There are lots of things to think about! And many people don’t actually know what exercises they need to be doing to achieve their goals, which can make progress frustratingly slow. Working with a PT can eliminate this problem.

Proper goal-setting

All too often, people set themselves unrealistic targets to achieve within a too-narrow timeframe. This can lead to the adoption of overly-restrictive diets and brutal training regimes to try and achieve their goal as quickly as possible. This is unlikely to yield the results you want – after all, good things take time! The disappointment and frustration that may be triggered as a result of what is perceived as slow progress may cause someone to abandon their attempt to get fit. This can lead to cycles of short-term effort, without seeing much in the way of results.

Any short-term results that do come from very restrictive eating and intense training are unlikely to last, simply because this sort of regime just isn’t healthy or sustainable in the long-term. What’s more, this short-term, all-or-nothing approach to fitness is pretty unsafe and can lead to burnout or injury due to pushing your body too hard.

A good PT will sit down with you, discuss your goals and help to map out exactly how to achieve them within a realistic time frame. And if you have a specific event that you want to train for (e.g. running a marathon or completing a climb for charity), your PT can work closely with you to optimise your training, identify weak areas to work on and make sure you’re strong and ready.

At Fitness Labs, our attitude to training is that long-term consistency wins over short-term perfection. Every time. Focus on fostering good habits that will lead to sustainable, long-lasting progress.

Expertise

There is a LOT of misleading information out there. From magazines claiming every other day to have found “the best new diet”, to social media influencers flogging booty guides that promise to completely transform your body with just a resistance band and a few weeks work, it can be overwhelming at times trying to separate fact from fiction and credible sources of information are hard to find.

A good Personal Trainer has the knowledge to provide clarity, not only on exercise but also nutrition, as the two go hand-in-hand. They can maximise the time you spend in the gym, ensuring efficiency as well as effectiveness, plus make sure that you are doing the right thing outside of the gym, too. No more wasted time. No more BS.

Reduced chance of injury

We cannot emphasise enough how crucial it is to get your form and technique correct when working out! Not only does it mean that you’re actually working the muscle that you want to work, it is also key for avoiding injury. Your Personal Trainer will maintain hawk-like attention on your form throughout every session and progress your exercises and weights when they know that you are ready and capable, not any sooner.

What’s more, you’ll always get a proper warm up, cool down and stretch when you work with a PT – something that, despite best intentions, often gets neglected when people train alone and is another factor that can lead to injuries.

If you already have an injury, or are worried about an old injury recurring, your PT will take this into account when programming for you, ensuring that they strengthen weak areas and avoid any exercises that could niggle troublesome joints or muscles.

They’ll challenge you

When you work out alone, it can be tempting to take lots of rest, pick up the lighter dumbbells when you knoooow you can go heavier, or fib to yourself that sure, you’ve probably worked out hard enough… Skipping that final round is OK, right? But the reality is that what doesn’t challenge you will not change you. Your PT will be right by your side to give you that little push to keep driving through extra reps when it gets tough. They’ll make sure that you’re working your muscles properly and safely, and will identify the right time to pick up heavier weights and challenge yourself further.

Support

There’s no getting around it – getting fit is hard, not just physically, but mentally. It takes a huge amount of effort to establish a new routine and stick to it, deal with new challenges (not to mention DOMs) and keep the effort going for the long term.

PTs have been there – they understand the toll it takes, especially in the beginning stages, and are there to help you, both within and outside of the sessions. They’ll be with you every step of the way to help you establish new, healthier habits – not just in terms of exercise, but in terms of lifestyle, nutrition and anything else that can help you to become a healthier, happier you.

Greater commitment

Let’s be real – if you’re paying for your workout, you’re less likely to bail. Skipping a session that you’d planned to do by yourself is a hell of a lot easier than cancelling on your PT, who you’ve paid, who has planned a session for you and who is waiting for you in the gym. Investing in one-on-one training and booking in a regular slot means that you’re accountable to someone other than yourself and the commitment level is much higher.

Build your confidence

This is something the whole Fitness Labs team is massively passionate about. Helping someone get fitter and stronger is amazing, but what really gets us up in the morning is seeing how this helps to build people’s confidence up. By helping them to set realistic goals and achieve them, expanding their knowledge about fitness and nutrition and by providing a deep level of support throughout their fitness journey, PTs can really help to transform someone’s mind as well as their body.

Fun

Last but not least – you’ll have fun working with the right PT. They’ll take the time to get to know you and create a programme that is not only effective, but enjoyable. Working out and getting fit should be rewarding and something to look forward to – not a chore that you dread and delay!

If you would like to book a session with one of our coaches here at Fitness Lab, please give us a call or email us to book your free consultation.

Zinc

What is zinc?

Zinc is an essential micronutrient that plays a considerable role in keeping the human body functioning optimally. It is involved in numerous vital functions including processing macronutrients, creating new cells and enzymes and wound healing. It also plays a major role in maintaining reproductive health, hormone function, maintaining testosterone levels, cardiovascular health and the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins. Zinc is excreted through urine and perspiration, which means it is particularly important for athletes to maintain adequate levels of the mineral. Low zinc levels have been shown to exacerbate the impact of stress on the body and accelerate the aging process.

What does it do?

Enzyme Function

Zinc is required for the activity of over 300 enzymes. Enzymes are molecules (typically proteins) that significantly speed the rate of most chemical reactions within cells. In proteins, zinc functions either as a direct chemical catalyst or plays a role in maintaining protein structure and stability.

Wound Healing

Zinc plays a regulatory role in every phase of the wound healing process. This process includes membrane repair, oxidative stress, coagulation, inflammation and immune defence, re-epithelialization (the reconstruction of skin cells) and scar tissue formation.

Immune System Function

Multiple aspects of the immune system are affected by zinc. It plays a crucial role in the normal development and function of cells mediating innate immunity (the defensive mechanisms within the body), neutrophils (white blood cells that lead immune system responses) and NK cells (white blood cells that play a role in rejection of tumours and virally infected cells).

Zinc also functions as an anti-oxidant meaning it plays a role in the prevention of free radical-induced injury during inflammatory processes.

Sense Of Taste and Smell

The ability to taste and smell is dependent on an enzyme called carbonic anhydrase which requires zinc to function. If zinc levels are inadequate, this enzyme is able to function correctly or may not be created in adequate amounts leading to a loss of the ability to taste and smell. People with low zinc levels often don’t enjoy eating a variety of foods, with protein being particularly disagreeable. In contrast, starchy foods tend to be more palatable. This is due to low zinc impacting the body’s ability to burn fat, which means it requires a constant influx of carbs to raise blood sugar.

Testosterone and Reproductive Health

Zinc is vital in maintaining normal testosterone status. A 1996 study showed that young men with normal testosterone levels experienced a drop of over 50% after 5 months of a low zinc diet. In the same study, older men who had low testosterone doubled their levels after zinc supplementation.

Low zinc has been shown to increase estrogen receptors and decrease androgen receptors and may increase the aromatization (or conversion) of testosterone to estrogen.

The mineral also plays a role in the development of male sex organs, individuals who are deficient have been found to have low sperm counts and under-developed testes. Some studies have also suggested a correlation between zinc deficiency and erectile dysfunction. In women, zinc plays a role in the growth process of the oocyte (or egg). Deficiencies can impede ovulation.

Exercise Performance

Insufficient zinc may lead to extra soreness after workouts and delayed recovery. This is due to the fact that this condition can lead to higher elevations of blood lactate levels during exercise. This will lead to greater fatigue and decreased power output. An inability to produce key performance hormones (like testosterone) will delay recovery from exercise.

Cardiovascular Health

The maintenance of healthy cardiovascular cells requires adequate zinc. The endothelium is a thin layer of cells that lines the blood vessels, playing a key role in circulation. Low zinc can lead to a deficiency in the endothelial barrier, leading to high cholesterol build up and inflammation. This in turn increases the risk of heart disease.

Insulin Health

Zinc binds to insulin so that adequate pancreas stores can be maintained and released when glucose enters the bloodstream. It also improves the insulin sensitivity of cells, meaning that the cell in question is receptive to insulin. It also makes up a component of the enzymes necessary for insulin to bind to cells, which allows glucose to enter and be utilised as fuel. Finally, zinc works as an anti-inflammatory, it helps to remove substances that cause inflammation in cells, preserving cell health and insulin sensitivity.

Neurological Health

The metabolism of melatonin, a key hormone for sleep, is dependent on zinc. It also plays a vital role in neurotransmitter function and cognition. It works as part of an enzyme that is necessary for the anabolism of fatty acids in the brain, meaning the brain is able to get the nutrients it needs to function.

Absorption of Fat-Soluble Vitamins

The intestinal absorption of fat-soluble vitamins- A, D, E and K is dependent on adequate zinc levels.

Dietary sources

Ideally, maintaining an optimal level of zinc will result from a diet consisting of foods rich in the mineral, such as:

  • Shellfish (oysters, crabs, lobster, shrimp)
  • Beef
  • Pork
  • Chicken
  • Dairy products
  • Oatmeal
  • Seeds (e.g particular pumpkin, squash, pine nuts, chia, flaxseeds)

Legumes and nuts are also high in zinc, however they are also high in phytates which reduce your body’s ability to absorb the mineral.

How can you tell if you’re deficient?

Chronic zinc deficiencies are uncommon, however zinc levels that would be deemed ‘inadequate’ are surprisingly common in the developed world. It is more widespread in areas where the population eats a large amount of cereal and grain proteins. Research suggests up to 25% of American adults over 60 may have inadequate zinc levels. The figure for the total population could be as high as 40%. Certain lifestyle factors can increase the likelihood of a zinc deficiency. The mineral leaves the body through sweat, therefore athletes (who have a greater requirement for zinc to start with) are more at risk. In particular athletes who follow a high carb, low fat diet may suffer from inadequate zinc stores. Restrictive diets, such as keto or paleo, may lead to a lack of dietary zinc. Vegetarians and vegans are also at risk for this reason.

Taking certain medication can produce a deficiency, women taking birth control pills or undergoing hormone replacement therapy are at a greater risk.

Common symptoms of zinc deficiency include:

  • Diarrhea
  • Hair loss
  • Eye and skin conditions
  • Impotence, low libido or infertility
  • Poor memory
  • Slow wound healing
  • Chronic fatigue
  • Altered sense of taste (leading to cravings for saltier or sweeter food)
  • Loss of appetite
  • Weight loss
  • Frequent illness (due to immune system weakness)
  • Delayed recovery from exercise

The most accurate means of checking for a zinc deficiency is to get a red blood cell zinc test.

Another option is a zinc taste test. This involves placing a zinc sulfate product on the tongue. If it tastes like water you are likely deficient, a metallic taste may indicate zinc inadequacy. However this method is less reliable (particularly for those with a moderate deficiency) due to other factors that can affect taste.

Should you supplement?

The daily amount of zinc required is roughly:

9.5-11mg for adult men

7-8mg a day for adult women

It is possible to maintain adequate zinc levels purely from dietary sources, however as mentioned above there are certain populations that are more susceptible to deficiency. Before supplementing it’s important to assess your current zinc level as excessive consumption has a number of potential side effects.

High doses of zinc can reduce your body’s ability to absorb copper. This can lead to anaemia and weakening of the bones. It can also result in compromised immune health and reproductive function (just like a deficiency).

There are a number of dietary changes you can make to help maintain adequate zinc levels without supplementing.

  • Avoid consuming phytate rich foods alongside zinc-rich foods. Phytates are compounds found in plant foods like cereal grains, legumes and nuts that inhibit zinc absorbtion.
  • Choose protein sources that are rich in zinc. Foods like oysters, beef, lamb, chicken and pork are high in zinc but do not contain phytates. Furthermore, they also provide fat which improves zinc assimilation.
  • Soaking, sprouting and fermenting grains can increase the bioavailability of zinc from these sources.

If you do choose to supplement zinc, ensure you keep monitoring your zinc levels to ensure you are not at risk of toxicity and choose a high quality supplement. Avoid those that are cut with calcium as this prevents absorption.

Sources

Avila, E. (n.d.). Tip: Maximize Testosterone with Two Minerals. [online] T NATION. Available at: https://www.t-nation.com/supplements/tip-maximize-testosterone-with-two-minerals

Bustillo, E. (n.d.). A Straightforward Approach to Improving Mood. [online] Biolayne. Available at: https://www.biolayne.com/articles/inspiration/a-straightforward-approach-to-improving-mood/

Caulfield, L. and Black, R. (n.d.). Chapter 5: Zinc Deficiency. In: Comparative Quantification of Health Risks. [online] World Health Organization. Available at: https://www.who.int/publications/cra/chapters/volume1/0257-0280.pdf?ua=1.

Contreras, B. (2010). How to Eat Like a Man! [online] Bret Contreras. Available at: https://bretcontreras.com/eat-like-a-man/

Contreras, B. (2013). What Supplements Should I Buy? [online] Bret Contreras. Available at: https://bretcontreras.com/what-supplements-should-i-buy-2/.

Rothermel, A. (2019). The Impact of Exercise on the Male Sex Life | Biolayne. [online] Biolayne. Available at: https://www.biolayne.com/articles/research/the-impact-of-exercise-on-the-male-sex-life/

Norton, L. (2012). Anabolic Eating for Your Age | Biolayne. [online] Biolayne. Available at: https://www.biolayne.com/articles/nutrition/anabolic-eating-for-your-age/ [Accessed 1 Feb. 2020].

Luoma, T. (n.d.). The Mineral Deficiency Epidemic. [online] T NATION. Available at: https://www.t-nation.com/supplements/the-mineral-deficiency-epidemic [Accessed 6 Aug. 2020].

NHS Choices (2019). Vitamins and minerals. [online] NHS. Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vitamins-and-minerals/others/.

Poliquin, C. (n.d.). Five Superior Supplements for Optimal Athletic Performance | Poliquin Article. [online] main.poliquingroup.com. Available at: http://main.poliquingroup.com/ArticlesMultimedia/Articles/Article/1039/Five_Superior_Supplements_for_Optimal_Athletic_Performance_.aspx

Poliquin, C. (n.d.). Top Ten Benefits of Zinc | Poliquin Article. [online] main.poliquingroup.com. Available at: https://main.poliquingroup.com/articlesmultimedia/articles/article/812/top_ten_benefits_of_zinc.aspx

Prasad, A., Mantzoros, C., Beck, F., Hess, J. and Brewer, G. (1996). Zinc Status and Serum Testosterone Levels of Healthy Adults. Nutrition, [online] 12(5), pp.344–348. Available at: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.551.4971&rep=rep1&type=pdf.

Jess Alford

Jess came to us just over a year ago now and has been one of Fitness Lab’s greatest personal training success stories all through her own desire, hard work and dedication to her fitness journey.

As someone who would admit herself, the gym was somewhere Jess always found intimidating. Working nearby in Soho just around the corner she had walked passed our personal training studio; Fitness Lab Soho on countless occasions and last August finally made the decision to book a free consultation.

 

Deciding to commence personal training twice per week on Tuesdays and Thursdays Jess started her journey with Jack.

Now it might be easy to think that Jess jumped straight into gruelling workouts, with her heart rate through the roof and being left led on the floor in a pool of sweat after every session because of the way it is perceived you have to train to get results with personal training. However this wasn’t and isn’t the case. Since starting last year there have never been more than 6 main exercises in one of Jess’s workouts.

The first thing Jess worked on was:

  1. Increasing daily step count to 10k per day everyday and sending a screen shot of the numbers to Jack everyday.

An image detailing a clients step count

These screen shots are still sent everyday even now.

The second detail introduced to Jess

  1. An individualised calorie target to hit every day / week.

For around 5 months these were the only two things set to Jess.

With these in place she consistently lost on average around 1kg per week, purely down to her dedication and consistency.

There was then a small plateau in weight loss and so this is the time to change some thing slightly. All that happened next was to increase her daily step count by 5k to 15k per day.

From this point forwards the weight loss continued back to her incredible average of 1kg per week being lost.

During the corona virus lockdown Jess continued her personal training with Fitness Lab through our remote personal training service, still training twice per week on her favoured Tuesdays and Thursdays at the same times.

Again, the only tasks set to Jess throughout this whole period have been a daily step count plus a weekly calorie target. The calorie target has not changed since the original one set in August of last year.

With the effects of COVID-19, Jess purchased a bicycle in order to use for transport. A new activity target was introduced – a week accumulation of 50km per week on the bike.

Jess to this day still religiously sticks to her routine of her training sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays and is as consistent as ever with any homework set to her and never fails to hit her two targets of calories and steps.

Through these simple steps and through Jess’s incredible dedication and consistency she has lost an incredible total of: 40kg / 88lbs / 6.5 stone.

However, the numbers on the scale aren’t the only successes Jess has achieved.

In her own words:

“This time last year I nervously walked through this door and down the stairs for my first PT session with @jack_coxall and boy am I glad I did!

I may have almost cried doing banded hip thrusts in that first session (to be fair I almost cried today with double lunges) but last week I was doing weighted hip thrusts of 110kg & 65kg deadlifts 💪🏼🏋🏼‍♀️ so that’s definitely some progress!!

It has truly become my happy place and seriously, if you told me this time last year that I’d be 4 sizes smaller, several bra sizes down, quite a few stone lighter, walking at least 15k steps a day, cycling 50km a week and not to mention just being considerably healthier, happier and stronger I would have quite simply told you to f*#k off.

It’s a humble brag but one I’m unbelievably proud of.

Thank you Jack and all the brilliant team at @fitness_lab_official for being so wonderfully supportive through this little journey of mine which I honestly can’t wait to continue.”