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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

Faye’s emotional story: More calories = incredible fat loss boost

Progress so far on Faye's emotional journey:

Day 1: Body fat 32.5%, daily calories below 1,000.

Day 39: Body fat 28.7%, daily calories above 1,500.

 

Faye's metabolism was completely messed up when we started PT just over a month ago. She'd been consuming under 1,000 kcal per day for absolutely years, which is very unhealthy and makes the body store as much fat as it possibly can (because it thinks it's in danger of starvation).

I knew we had a big task ahead of us to completely change the way Faye eats and thinks about food - the biggest challenge for her being an emotional one, because she truly thought that anything she eats will 'make her fat'.

It's not uncommon in the world these days to have twisted views on food and alongside a twisted body image.

Faye is now on her strong road to recovery (i.e. a healthy attitude towards food). So far she's only a month into her journey, she's eating nearly double the amount of calories from what she used to, and she's lost 1,2 kg during her first month despite the increase in her calorie intake. These results are astonishing, and I've told her from the beginning that first we'll need focus on fixing her metabolism up and only after we've managed that we should start worrying about fat loss. Getting on the scales in general is forbidden.

I wasn't expecting such dramatic results - but it just goes to show that sometimes you have to eat more to lose weight. We've gradually increased her calorie intake which has at times brought her to tears ("I feel like I have to force the food down when I'm not hungry").

Faye's diet now consists of healthy real foods such as lean proteins (e.g. chicken, turkey), good fats (e.g. half an avocado a day) and different sources of fibrous carbohydrates (great for energy, e.g. wholewheat pasta). Now it's time to start looking at having treats as part of her new healthier lifestyle, which I'm sure will be another emotional struggle (how could it possibly be good for you to have things you truly enjoy every now and again and not feel guilty about it?). I've told her to stop wasting hours at the gym, and instead focus on quick, effective resistance based workouts. During our PT sessions we lift weights. Because only that will result in a beautiful, shapely body and help burn fat while she's not training.

Faye's feeling very shy about her body image still, so I'll not publish any pictures of her just yet as she doesn't feel comfortable with the idea.

If you (or any of your close ones) suffer from lack of energy, being obsessed about your body image, not knowing what to do at the gym to make workouts effective or worst of all, are used to constant dieting without lasting results, maybe it's time to do something about it.... Once and for all.

I'm over the moon for Faye for taking a positive step in her life and being on her road to recovery, a fit body and mind. Girl, you rock xxx

 

/Erika Helsinki

 

Testimonial: From borderline anorexic to a fit chick

Khelda's arms before
Khelda's arms before
Khelda's arms after
Khelda's arms after

Khelda used to "forget to eat" when stressed out at work, which made her worryingly skinny. Now she still gets stressed out but manages her lifestyle on a whole new level. Khelda's been my PT client for around 6 months now and she's also become a keen climber through the Fit as Hel climbing club :-).

To me it sounds ridiculous that Khelda has had two PTs before me and neither of them have told her to EAT MORE. We're upping her calories constantly so that she can actually look and feel great.... and get results from training! Also, I've banned her from doing cardio outside of high resistance classes ;-). It's all about the weights, baby. Being functionally strong. And healthy. And amazing. Let's keep sculpting that body (and add a few lean KGs in the process)!

 

Thank you so much Khelda for your lovely testimonial - you're the one who does all the hard work!!

 

TESTIMONIAL

"Name: Khelda S

Your specific weight/fitness/lifestyle related goals when you started personal training with Erika Helsinki: My weight was 7stone 9lbs when I started training with Erika.
I was moderately active at work up and down stairs and I walked my dog.
I was in the past an avid gym member but had not been for 18months or more and wanted to regain a more fit and healthy lifestyle. Tone my body shape.

What have you achieved since starting your sessions with Erika? Since I began my sessions I have achieved an amazing amount.
My posture and core is so much more stronger I walk head held high and with so much more confidence. My skin is glowing and I eat a huge amount more than I ever did. I enjoy healthy food I was just not eating enough . My body looks healthy no longer skeletal gaining muscle and definition. It's not the physical change it's the mental transformation the confidence to try and push yourself to do more try harder. The results speak for themselves.

Your PT session experiences summarised: My favourite day of the week !!!

Everything is bespoke to your individual need . I have learned so much regarding resistance / functional training . Erika explains everything in easy to understand language , demonstrates each task how to use the resistance machines / gym equipment and what you should feel and how to improve technique and get the best result and outcomes. I always leave exhilated and invigorated learning new things keeping motivated and fresh.

Are you happy with your results? YES YES YES

How has Erika helped achieve your goals? It's the encouragement , seeing you as an individual and listening to you. The goals set are stepping stones and Erika guides you along. The food diary and blog has been inspirational to me it aids me to look at my self retrospectively . This has been great insight to my diet and eating patterns, I love the different ways to train and it's exciting . Introducing me to new things - climbing wow as a middle aged woman stepping out of your comfort zone is terrifying now I just go for it if I fail I try again or I may not like it but I gave it a go.

What do you still want to achieve regarding your weight/fitness/lifestyle? I want to continue to gain muscle and definition . Climbing beat my green nemesis wall . Go on trying new things I am loving having more energy looking good.

Would you recommend Erika Helsinki as a PT to others? Why? Anyone looking for a PT would be insane not to want Erika. I have PT in the past and have never experienced the dedication previously. Erika is a fantastic teacher and mentor her patience and guidance has given me the the strength and confidence to keep going when times are hard. Not just the motivation in the gym and fitness but when work or life gets you down.

Any other comments? Erika is brimming with new and exciting things to keep all her clients motivated. Masterclass in Deadlifting , nutrition - recipes posts . My favourite and the one I use more than anything her community created on social media - clients helping each other through the rough patches and parsing when goals have been reached.

Erika you are a inspirational

Thank you words do not do you justice."

Rachel G. body fat test results (progress in 4 weeks)

I'm passionate about training two kinds of personal training clients;

1) People with a dieting past who want to lose body fat effectively and keep the results in the long term &

2) People who want to learn to learn to train for maximum aesthetic results - a nicely toned body (vanity, ha) -- usually women who want to primarily start using weights/resistance equipment in their training and to learn to train safely and effectively.

All training is based on getting optimal fat loss results FAST.

Rachel on incline chest press yesterday (tricep definition starting to come through!)
Rachel on incline chest press yesterday (tricep definition starting to come through!)

I've trained Rachel G. for the past month - she's a "type 2 client". I just did her body fat analyses (caliper method) yesterday as we'd reached 4 weeks of training together. We couldn't believe the results - increased lean mass (=increased BMR=her body is now burning calories more effectively) and a lower body fat percentage while her weight has remained the same (she's got no weight to lose). Details below:

 

Body fat%: Was 26.3% ---> now 24.4%

Lean body mass: Was 38.3 kg ---> now 39.3 kg

Fat mass: Was 13.7 kg ---> now 12.7 kg

BMR (basal metabolic rate): Was 1197 ---> now 1219 kcal/day

 

So proud of you, chick!! Let's keep rocking those weights :-)

 

/Fit as Hel fitness coach Erika Helsinki

 

P.s. Rachel had pretty much NO upper body strength a month ago!! She's so much stronger now and definition is starting to show.

P.p.s. If you'd like to enquire about personal training (currently available in North East England), text me on 0789 719 7818 anytime :-)

Workout structure for optimal results (gym based)

For optimal results at the gym, use the following time template for your workouts:

1) 5-10 mins warm up
2) Max 30 mins resistance
3) Max 10 mins cardio
4) 5-10 minute cool down

IN THAT ORDER.

Keep it efficient. Efficient is effective. No more time wasted.

This shit works.

You’re not trying hard enough

Remember last week when I posted about Mel who'd lost 4 lb in her first week with me? Well now after 2 weeks she's lost another 3 lb!! Oh my fucking god!! You can totally see the difference as well - her face is thinner, stomach tighter and she's feeling full of energy...

WOOOOOOOOOOO!! Go Mel!!!

Mel and her buddy leg press
Mel and her buddy leg press

Yesterday in our PT session she estimated to be able to leg press between 36 and 52kg. I said bullshit. Apparently she'd managed the latter last week in the gym on her own, doing the program we'd designed for her.

I said she could do 90kg EASY. She wouldn't believe it. So I made her try.

Try harder than ever before at the gym.

Lifting weights and doing resistance training is all about psychology. People around the gym (particularly women) rarely try hard enough when it comes to resistance training.

You can never know how strong you REALLY are unless you push your boundaries.

Don't get comfortable. Comfortable = no results. Start trying. And I mean trying so hard your heart is racing and you're getting a proper sweat on. So hard you have to make awkward faces. So hard you can't breath quietly. That's when you start getting results.

So yeah, Mel pressed 107 kg on her third ever session, and upped her max by over 50%. That's what I call trying.

And that's why she'll end up with astonishing results. Go Mel!! Prouuuuuud!!

Happy week to all!

/Erika

Mel's stack
Mel's stack