How Much Water Should You Be Drinking?

Feeling tired at work and losing concentration?

Already eating healthy, but looking for an extra energy boost?

All these things may have the same solution… Better hydration.

Why water is so important

While water does not – sadly – have the power to fix all ills, adequate hydration can dramatically improve our overall health and fitness, with short and long-term benefits for energy balance, digestion, muscle performance and much much more.

Water plays a vital role in the transportation of nutrients around the body, energy levels, cramps, body temperature, concentration and mood. It is especially important to rehydrate after exercising, as a lot of water is lost through sweating and breathing. Drinking around 500mL during the 2 hours before exercise ensures you are not dehydrated and even more water is needed post-workout to replace the water lost. Drinking a reasonable amount of water after exercise also enhances rapid and complete recovery. Just be aware that drinking a lot of water during exercise can cause stomach ache and discomfort, so maybe stick to sipping on water when necessary – but this will vary from person to person.

It’s very easy to misjudge how much water we’re drinking and end up not being hydrated enough. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommends 3.7L /day for men and 2.7L /day for women – this includes liquids found in food. UK government guidelines suggest drinking 6-8 glasses every day. Low-fat milks and low-sugar or sugar-free drinks, including tea and coffee all count towards your daily hydration needs, not just water. Fruit juice and smoothies also count, but they contain free sugars (naturally present sugars) that can damage teeth, so limit these to a combined total of 150ml per day.

What about other drinks?

Drinks that are high in sugar are often also high in calories, and consuming too many calories makes you more likely to gain weight. Checking the nutrition labels on fruit juices and fizzy drinks can help you make healthier choices.

Alcohol is very high calories and regular consumption will limit results, wellbeing and has been proven to cause inflammation in the gut, as well as damage the liver.

When it comes to optimal health and weight loss, alcohol does not trigger a feeling of satiety or fullness, so after one drink, it is easy to carry on drinking. The calories consumed from alcohol are likely to lead to a surplus in calories that day. For this reason, it’s a good idea to limit alcohol consumption as much as possible.

When it comes to mood and concentration, dehydration leads to a drop in blood pressure, which reduces blood flow to the brain and leads to poor concentration and tiredness. This in turn can cause energy levels to plummet and you might also experience headaches. Drinking water regularly throughout the day will help to keep your energy levels up and stay focused and motivated all day.

Stay hydrated for optimal health

An estimated 43% of people in the UK (around 28 million) experience chronic pain (pain that lasts for more than three months), but research has found that drinking water helps to keep your lower back healthy. It does this in two ways. Firstly, it carries nutrients to and from the vertebral column. Secondly, the center of our intervertebral discs are made up of mostly water, so as you go about your daily activities the spine compresses the disc and water is squeezed out. When the discs do not have enough water, this can cause back pain and lack of mobility. Hydrating is therefore highly important for spinal health and pain-free movement.

To sum it all up, aim to make a daily habit of drinking plenty of water. A good target to aim for is  2 to 3L/day for optimal results. Keeping a reusable water bottle with you throughout the day could help you remember to keep drinking.

Water works best as part of a complete and balanced lifestyle. If you would like more advice on exercise, nutrition and how to improve your overall health and fitness, chat to your PT in your next session – as always, we’re here to help with every aspect of your health and nutrition.

Not a PT client at Fitness Lab yet? Reach out today to book in a free consultation!

The Truth About Carbs

When it comes to nutrition, there are few topics that cause as much confusion as carbs, with many people unsure what the different types are and which ones they should be eating more of. Sweeping statements made in the media like “carbs cause weight gain” or “cut carbs to burn fat” have led to all carbs being demonized, with many food companies cashing in on the resulting low-carb craze. But the truth is, not all carbs are created equal.

Carbs are not the enemy

The key thing to understand before we delve into the topic is that – despite what some women’s magazines would have you believe – carbs are not the enemy! Our bodies use carbohydrates in the form of glucose, storing it in our muscles and liver to act as an important source of energy for the body. Our brain relies on it, which explains the brain fog and lethargy that people often complain of when they embark on low-carb diets.

These low-carb diets are a very popular solution for weight loss, but instead of just cutting out carbs, it may be more sensible to simply choose the carbs you eat more wisely. And a simple but effective piece of advice is to focus on the colour of the carbs you eat.

Eat the rainbow

Rather than shunning all carbs, the ones to avoid are the beige ones. Think processed grains, sugary cereals, white pasta and rice, bagels and bread. These are known as “simple” carbs and have been stripped of much of their natural nutrients and fibre.

Instead, fill your plate with colourful carbs like sweet potato, veggies, fruits, pulses and beans. Focusing on these foods will provide a range of health benefits, providing your body with essential vitamins and minerals, as well as dietary fibre and resistant starch to promote a healthy gut and keep you feeling fuller for longer.

Unfortunately, though, it’s the beige carbohydrates that are the most popular, forming a large part of many peoples’ diets. One of the key problems with these foods is that they’re often high on the Glycaemic Index – a measure of how quickly the sugar in a food is absorbed into the bloodstream – meaning that eating them sends blood sugar into a rapid spike, which isn’t good news for the waistline or for reducing the risk of Type 2 diabetes.

Make healthy swaps

These simple carbs should be eaten in moderation and swapped for healthier “complex” carb alternatives where possible. These have not been processed so heavily and are therefore much closer to their natural state, with a higher fibre and nutrient content. Their chemical structure is different to simple carbs and our bodies have to work harder to digest them. As a result, they have a lower glycaemic index score, with energy released over a longer period of time. Think wholegrain bread (rye or pumpernickel is best) instead of white bread, barley instead of white rice, bran cereals instead of sugary ones, and of course plenty of green veggies and fresh fruits. Try to aim for half of your plate at each meal to be green or brightly coloured.

Oh, and one tip you may not have heard of before when it comes to making healthy carb choices – interestingly, reheating certain carbs can transform the way that they are used by the body. If you reheat cooked pasta or potatoes that have cooled down, or toast frozen white bread from the freezer, the molecules actually reconfigure themselves to become more resistant, which means they behave more like complex carbs. So, making small changes like freezing your bread before you toast it, could actually help to make your diet healthier.

Carbs are one of the three building blocks of our diet, the other two being protein and fat.

How To Work From Home Effectively

Working from home is a bit of a lark when you only get to do it once in a blue moon – but in these weird and stressful times, enforced social distancing means working from home is less of a treat. Because let’s be real – spending a lot of time in one place is NOT easy. It can get boring, and finding a routine that works and allows you to be productive can be super challenging.

However, with a bit of planning and a few simple tricks, it can be manageable. Here are the Grow team’s top tips on working from home in a way that is both effective and sanity-preserving.

Do your daily commute

Get up at the time you normally would and get ready for work. Get dressed (no pyjama days, you’re better than that!), do your makeup, brush your teeth – whatever your normal routine is before you head out to get the bus or tube, stick to it as closely as you can. When you’re ready, LEAVE your house*. Get some fresh air in your lungs and give your body some love by getting it moving. Listen to the podcast or music that you normally would on your way into work.

When you get back, sit at your desk and get working. This “fake commute” is a really simple trick to help shift from your “I’m at home” mindset to your “I’m at work” mindset. If you stay in your pyjamas and don’t leave the house, the transition from being a comfortable duvet burrito to being a productive member of your team can be pretty difficult.

* It goes without saying, but… In these unusual times, please follow government advice and when you go outside, keep your distance from other people. Stick to quiet roads and big parks where you have the space to stay away from other people. 

Set up a designated workspace

As tempting as it may be to answer emails from the comfort of your bed, try to create a clear boundary between the space you associate with leisure and the space you associate with work. Again, this is all about mindset. If possible, use one room for work and another for breaks. If not possible (hello tiny London flats), then at least set up a space that you use ONLY for work. Try not to sit in this space when you’re watching Netflix, messaging your mates or scrolling through Instagram. Save those activities for when you’re in your leisure space, or when your scheduled work day has come to an end.

Plan out your day

Chances are, when you’re in the office you structure your days using an online calendar – blocking out chunks of time so that your team knows where to find you and so that you can make sure you’re on top of your to-do list. You should still do this when you’re at home. Set yourself reminders and alarms, so that you know when to shift gears and move your attention to a different task. If your team has access to your calendar, then it can also help to keep you accountable – ensuring that you actually complete the tasks that you set out to do for the day.

Schedule breaks

While we’re on the subject of planning your day – make sure you carve out time in your schedule for regular breaks. Studies have shown that most of us tend to lose focus if working on a specific task after 45 minutes, so you could think about setting a timer every three-quarters of an hour for a quick 5-10 minute breather. In the long-run, this can help you to boost productivity by ensuring that the time spent at your workspace is time you actually spend working.

When you take a break, take it AWAY from your workspace. Wander into a different room and have a 5-minute stretch to loosen up your neck and shoulders. Go to the kitchen and grab a cup of tea. Step outside into the garden to take a breath of fresh air. Choose a comfy spot in the lounge and check in with a friend (it’s important to schedule social breaks – work can be lonely without those regular coffee breaks with workmates).

Try where you can to make your breaks “high efficiency” – mindlessly scrolling through Instagram and eating a packet of crisps is probably not the best option! Instead, prioritise moving your body, getting in some social interaction, and fuelling your brain with some healthy snacks (tip: prepare these in advance so that they’re ready and waiting).

Figure out what schedule works for you

Some of us work jobs that require us to stick to a pretty rigid 9AM-5PM schedule, even if we’re working from home. However, if you can afford to be a little flexible, it can be worth establishing a WFH pattern that allows you to be your most productive.

Motivation naturally ebbs and flows throughout the day – so do a little bit of self-analysis and use it to make your work days as productive as they can be. For instance, if you recognise that you have bundles of energy in the morning, but tend to lose focus and momentum in the afternoon before having a second wind in the evening – capitalise on this knowledge. Schedule your most challenging tasks for the time when you know you’ll be in the right headspace for them. And plan easier tasks for the hours when you know you’re not quite on your A-game. If you are able to, schedule a break for the time when you know that forcing yourself to sit at your desk will not yield your best work, and come back refreshed and ready to smash the rest of your tasks for that day.

Remove distractions

You: *typing furiously, being super productive, #unstoppable #MondayMotivation* 

Phone: PING! 

You: Oooh hey thingy just posted on Instagram, lemme check that reeeeeal quick and I’ll get right back to this…. 

And suddenly you’re 30-minutes deep scrolling through puppy photos on Instagram – how did that happen?

Sound familiar? If you know that you’re easily distracted by social media, do yourself a favor and turn off the notifications from your favourite apps while you’re working. Allow yourself to focus, and only check-in on social media when you’re on one of your scheduled breaks.

Lists are your friend

At the end of each day, write a to-do list for the next day. Consider which tasks are urgent and require your full attention – schedule these for when you know you’re going to be able to tackle them most effectively. Identify which tasks you might need help with and reach out to your team so that you can schedule in some time to talk things through. Schedule what you’ll be working on, so that tomorrow – when you get back from your “commute” – you’ll have your day all planned out already and you can hit the ground running.

Key takeaway

Working from home can be super productive – but you need to be disciplined in creating a separate workspace and cultivating habits that help you to transition easily from “you time” to “work time”. Regular breaks for movement, social interaction and a change of scenery are all incredibly important. Need more advice? Chat to the team!

Why Hire A Personal Trainer?

Why it’s important to hire a personal trainer

 

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. Even if you’re an experienced gym goer, working with a trained coach can be incredibly helpful.

To drive meaningful, long-lasting 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.

To improve your body composition

When you’re looking to hire a PT, make sure that you hire one who can help you to measure and track your body composition. This is especially important if your goal, like many of us, is to “tone up” – because this involves a change that cannot be measured by looking at weight alone. In fact, you might find that your weight stays the same, but due to a change in muscle mass and body fat, your body shape changes entirely. It’s not always easy to keep track of this progress, so hiring a coach who can help you to see and understand these changes is incredibly important.

They should be able to advise you confidently about both your training and your diet – it is by combining strategies to improve the two that you will make meaningful progress when it comes to your body composition.

To fully understand and learn correct technique

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.

To work through an injury

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.

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 Grow, 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.

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 Grow 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!

Interested in Personal Training? Book in for your free consultation with the team by shooting an email to hello@fitnesslab.fit