+44 789 719 7818

Tag: training

BEST PROTEIN SOURCES for meat eaters and vegetarians

Protein helps you stay fuller for longer - it is the macronutrient with the highest satiety factor (over carbohydrates or fats). Protein also, very importantly, helps build and maintain lean muscle mass in your body, which is super important in keeping your metabolism high throughout your life, and helps in building and maintaining a lean body that burns fat effectively.

To oversimplify, if you are currently inactive, make sure you get an absolute minimum of one gram of protein per every kilogram of bodyweight, every day. So if you weigh 80 kg, you should aim to get at least 80 grams of protein daily. You can track your protein intake easily with an app like MyFitnessPal (by going to the nutrition section in your food diary).

 

Here's a simple list of the best protein sources:

  • Poultry (chicken, turkey...)
  • Red meat (beef, pork, lamb...)
  • Seafood (tuna, salmon, mackerel, prawns, scallops...)
  • Eggs
  • Dairy (yoghurt, cottage cheese, fromage frais, milk, cheese...)
  • Whey protein powder (not necessary, but great if you struggle to get enough protein in)

And if you're a vegetarian, here are the best foods to help with your daily protein intake:

  • Beans (kidney, chickpeas/hummus, haricot...)
  • Legumes (lentils, peas, peanut butter...)
  • Nuts (walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, cashews...)
  • Seeds (sunflower, flax, pumpkin, hemp...)
  • Milk alternatives (almond/cashew/hazelnut/soya/rice drinks etc. ...)
  • Soy/tofu
  • Whole grains (brown rice, quinoa, oats, bread...)
  • Veggies (peas, broccoli, spinach, kale etc. ...)
  • Protein powder  (hemp protein/pea protein/rice protein etc. ...)

For optimal health and best results from any training you do, try to include a source of protein with every meal you have.

 

Good luck, and make sure to join The 10 Minute Body team on Facebook where you can ask nutrition and exercise related questions.

/Erika

The best bodyweight exercise for weight loss

Let's cut to the chase here.

The number one bodyweight exercise, if you want to lose weight (and especially body fat), is the squat. King squat.

Not only does it work the biggest muscle groups in your body, all at the same time (which increases the amount of calories your body burns at rest), but it also tones up your thighs, calves and butt like no other exercise.

The beauty about bodyweight exercises (when done with correct technique) is that you can do them anywhere, (pretty much) any time. And when done correctly, they'll shape up your body fast and give you the results you want.

Altering your squat (foot) position between wide and narrow helps your shape up all areas in your lower body evenly, and keeping your core tight and chest up makes it a full body exercise that'll effectively boost your metabolism.

Squat technique tips:

  • Knees always stay in line with your toes throughout the move (don't let them bend in)
  • Stick your bum back as if you were going to sit down on a seat behind you
  • Weight stays on your heels/mid foot, never on your toes
  • If your flexibility allows, go so slow your thighs are parallel with the floor (but remember previous tip)
  • Keep your chest up and core tight (you should not be hunched over)
  • Take a deep breath in as you start to lower down to a squat, and breath out as you're standing back up.

If you're just starting up with wanting to get fitter, practice your squat first by doing just 3 sets of 15 repetitions a day. Learn to control the move, pause at the bottom of the move for a second before standing up again.

Once you've nailed down the technique, move onto a killer tabata workout - and work your way up to being able to complete a full tabata set of squats with the following structure: 20 seconds constant squats -> just 10 seconds rest, repeated for 8 rounds. (Total: 4 minute super effective fat loss workout)

I can guarantee you'll get results within a week.

What are you waiting for? SQUAT!

Use these 3 exercise machines at the gym to burn the most fat

Going to the gym can feel like a chore - especially if you’re doing the wrong stuff

—> no results

—> frustration

—> stop going to the gym

But you know what? Gymming it up can be a fantastic way to burn fat effectively and getting it done in no time at all (10 minutes is all you need for your actual workout)

The biggest mistake is going from one exercise to another and half-arsing it. Doing way too many exercises per session and never really going at it properly.

Instead, I’ve chosen just three exercises for you to complete in your session

They’ll work ALL of your muscle groups

= start saying bye to bingo wings, thigh fat, belly fat, you name it. These work on ALL of them.

AND best of all, using so much muscle in your workout will make your body burn extra calories (& fat) for 24 hours AFTER your workout too.

PLUS they’ll raise your BMR (basal metabolic rate) when you keep doing them for a few weeks (2-4 times a week), meaning your body will automatically burn more calories on a daily basis than it’s now burning.

Fantastic, right?

Here are the three machine based exercises you should be doing at the gym (machine work is best especially for beginners and people with previous injuries):

Exercise machine 1: Leg press. This exercise is the biggest fat burner as it uses the biggest muscles in your body. Go heavy and deep - a wider stance works your butt the best.

Exercise machine 2: Chest press. This is particularly effective for slimming down your bingo wings and toning up your arms as it uses your triceps. Your pecs (chest muscles) will also be at work, helping your boobies be perkier ;-)

Exercise machine 3: Seated row. I can’t emphasise enough how important back exercises are for everyone. Make sure to squeeze your shoulder blades together tightly when doing the seated row - this’ll improve your posture and make you appear taller and slimmer instantly. Back exercises also help reduce back pain now and in the future.

Remember though!!!!!

Diet is 90% of your success, so make sure to track your foods to guarantee great results.

What are you waiting for? Get these three exercises done, you won’t regret it.

/Erika

P.s. Join the mailing list for a freebie—>

Why doing gym classes is a MISTAKE

It’s heartbreaking, but it’s true

I worked from a big commercial gym before… Sometimes taking 5 classes in a 5 hour shift!! Fucking crazy. Did I lose weight? No I didn’t. More importantly, did the members who took part in those classes lose weight? NO, THEY DIDN’T. I saw hundreds, if not thousands of regulars who were desperate to lose weight not get anywhere… And it’s not because they didn’t try, it’s just that they were looking in the wrong place.

Doing gym classes rarely give you the results you want

You get frustrated, because you don’t really know how much more you can do when nothing seems to work

Gym classes help you burn calories, YES

However…. You get home, and those extra calories burnt make your body that little bit more hungry… You “eat normally”, without even realising that you had a little more than you normally would’ve had.

This balances out your body’s maintenance calorie needs (calculate yours here) and you won’t lose any weight. With some luck, IF the class is resistance based (ie you’re actually needing to use your muscles rather than just bouncing around getting a little sweaty) it might help you build a bit of muscle - in other words, you’ll get a little more toned. This won’t change the reading on the scales though.

If you want to actually lose weight, you need to change the game you play.

You CAN still attend those gym classes, but ONLY if you truly enjoy them.

And what do you need to do?

Track….. Your….. Mofo’n….. calories.

If you want to lose weight, you MUST eat less than what your body burns.

And the ONLY way to know if you’re doing that is by tracking everything that goes down your throat

Food, drinks, EVERYTHING.

This is also a fantastically educational thing to do, because if you’ve never done it before you WILL be surprised at how calorific some of the stuff you eat/drink are.

If you want to lose weight you HAVE TO take responsibility

NOBODY else can do it for you…. Just you.

Doing yet another diet won’t work, because you’re not taking responsibility

Going to some more gym classes won’t work, because you’re not taking responsibility

Being an adult is fantastic, because you can take complete responsibility for yourself

That means that if you want to, you CAN lose as much weight as you want

As long as you’ve got the right tools

And my mission is to give you them

Start using MyFitnessPal TODAY — just download it on your phone and start logging

Get to know what you’re eating

You can do the 10 day challenge that I created (it’s free for a limited time only) - to get you used to the flexible dieting shizzle, and the most effective home training protocol in the world

Just whatever you do, you can now stop hoping that those gym classes will eventually work…. Trust me, they won’t

Unless you control your nutrition

So get on it!

—> 10 day challenge <— (if you encounter any problems or have any questions just drop me a message)

 

Best of luck,

Erika xx