If you’ve ran out of ideas on what to get your friends and family for Xmas then why not buy them a fitness gift? A fitness gift is practical and something that will go towards making them look and feel better, and who doesn’t want that? Below is my official guide to the Best 10 Xmas presents for ‘08’.

1. A Gift Certificate to a Health Store
Instead of buying chocolate, sweets and other junk food why not buy a week’s worth of groceries from your local organic health store? After all, who eats as healthy as they should over the Xmas period? Having a weeks worth of organic food will only improve your loved ones health.

I used to think organic foods were just for rich people and hippies but I couldn’t have been more wrong. Now I do most of my shopping at organic stores particularly when buying foods that are traditionally loaded with hormones, pesticides and other nasty chemicals. The secret is to go there with a budget, look to spend say $60 on protein, $30 on fruits and veggies and $10 on miscellaneous items.

2.) A Gift Certificate to a Sport’s Store
As far as getting the best sporting equipment and apparel you can’t beat a good sports store. It’s best to give a gift certificate because everybody has different likes and dislikes particularly when it comes to clothes.

3. A Gift Certificate to a Massage Therapist
This one is a no brainer because who doesn’t like to be pampered every now and then? Most people are super busy and stressed during the holiday season so nothing will come close to a good massage to relieve the tension.

4. Sporty Gift
If you’re buying a gift for an athlete or a sports enthusiast then getting them something that will compliment their sport or hobby is a great present.

5. Whole food based Supplements and fish oils
In all my years as a personal trainer and fat loss coach I have only ever found 3 supplements worth incorporating into a fat loss program: whole food based multivitamins, protein powders and fish oils.

A whole food based multivitamin provides the body with essential nutrients that are difficult to obtain unless your diet is 100% perfect. Even though I eat very well I leave no stone unturned when it comes to my health. Make sure you choose a whole food based multivitamin rather than the synthetic brands you see in most pharmacies and supplement stores.

Fish oils or E.F.A (essential fatty acid) supplies the body with important omega 3’s which maximizes health, performance and body composition. Research shows that krill oil is the most effective EFA.

Protein powders are a great meal for on the go snacking, when buying protein powders make sure they’re low in simple sugars and are whole food based.

Check back tomorrow for more Xmas gift ideas.

Train Hard!

Dan Clay
Dangerously Fit
Personal Training in Sydney
Boot Camps in Sydney
Corporate Fitness in Sydney

Here is the last part of this 3 part series, if you have begun implementing these strategies you should already be feeling the difference. So without further ado…

Fitness tip # 11 - Eat whole foods. Whole foods have formed the basis of the human diet for millions of years. In the last hundred or so years we have been subjected to countless foods that are totally foreign to us. Much of what we call food today (McDonalds, potato chips, sugar coated cereals, French fries) are highly processed and have no nutritional value, these foods will be stored as fat by your body. You are what you eat, if you eat wholesome foods that are full of nutrients, your body has all the raw materials it needs to keep you nourished and maintain a weight that is ideal for you. Whole foods are foods such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, beans and whole grains all of which are full of vitality. It is also a good idea to take a ‘whole food based’ supplement everyday. Click here for info on juice plus

Fitness tip # 12 - Write your goals down. On a piece of paper write down your goals, set yourself a timeframe and look at it everyday. Make sure their realistic enough for you to achieve but tough enough to make you work hard for them. Every time you reach your goals, set new goals and timeframes, this will help you stay motivated and maintain your results. Having goals gives you a path to follow and something to strive for.

Fitness tip # 13 – Be around like-minded people. Be around people that are going to give you the support you need. Research shows that people who have the support from friends and family stuck to their goals and those without support failed time and again. If you’re around overweight people that are not dieting what do you thinks going to happen? That may seem a bit tough but how many millionaires do you see hanging around with people who are penniless. Surround yourself with what you want to become!

Fitness tip # 14 – Be prepared. The majority of us are so busy with everyday life that we don’t have time to cook nutritious rich foods everyday. Preparing your meals a week in advance is the key to good food choice. Take time out to write a weekly shopping list, shop, and cook up a stack of nutrient dense food on the Sunday night or whenever you have the most time, put them in the freezer so that you don’t get caught short later in the week.

Fitness tip # 15 – Eat slower, smaller portions. Research shows that if you eat slowly you’ll eat less. There is a signal that goes off in the brain after about 20 minutes of eating that tells you you’re full. Be sure to chew your food completely and take breaks in between bites. Reduce the size of your portions, even if your eating quality food, too much of a good thing can make you put on weight, remember weight loss tip # 6, you need to create a calorie deficit. Eating more than you need will cause you to store fat.

Fitness tip # 16 – Positive mindset. You are what you think you are, visualize yourself walking round looking and feeling exactly how you would like to and then take the necessary action. Every time you look in the mirror visualize what you want to look like and ask yourself what you’re going to do today to become that person. Things may not always go your way, losing weight can be tough, if you think it’s too hard you’ve already lost the battle, stay positive and focused and you’ll succeed.

If you have any questions please feel free to comment below.

If you missed part 1 click here… Fat Loss Tips
If you missed part 2 click here… Fat Loss Tips

Till Next time.

Train Hard!

Dan Clay
Dangerously Fit Personal Training
Personal Trainers Sydney
Boot Camps Sydney
Corporate Health Sydney

It might be the holiday season but that doesn’t mean you can let bad eating habits slip in, use these 7 diet tips to keep you fat free this Xmas.

There are many things you can do to control your waistline at Xmas time, use the 7 strategies below to prevent over indulgence.

1. Fill up on good food first.
Just because it’s Xmas that doesn’t mean you can gorge yourself on anything at the table, begin every meal by eating wholesome nutritious food such as fruits, veggies, fish and nuts. This way by the time the dangerous high calorie foods come out youll be to full to do too much damage.

2. Intense workouts before or after a big meal.
This doesn’t really fall into the category of diet tips but definitely needs special mention. Within 30 minutes before, or up to 3 hours of intense activity your body craves higher calorie/carbohydrate meals. Look to fit some high intensity activity into this time, even a 20-30 minute steady walk will help limit the damage.

3. More water please!
Drinking water limits the amount of space in your stomach and can help reduce your appetite. For every plate of food you eat, drink between 1 and 2 glasses of water. With 1 liter of water and a plate full of food in your stomach you might just pass on desert.

4. Please sir can I have some more!
Eat slow and chew your food more, research shows that after 20 minutes of eating a signal goes off in the brain telling you you’re full. Try eating only half of any unhealthy foods on you plate, half the potion means half the calories.

5. Never eat junk first thing in the morning or last thing at night.
Eating sweet food first thing in the morning will send your blood sugar levels loopy for the rest of the day resulting in more sweet food cravings and uncontrollable hunger. On the other end of the scale eating a high calorie meal just before you go to bed will result in a ton of unused energy which will end up being stored as body fat.

6. Stay away from empty liquid calories and Alcohol.
One of the fastest ways you can put on weight is through drinking empty calories. It’s possible to consume over 1000 calories per day just from liquid calories alone. This means that in just one week you will gain 1kg of body fat just from fluids. Stay away from juices and soft drinks and opt to eat wholesome solid foods that will fill you up and provide your body with the nutrients it needs. Alcohol is full of empty calories and with no real nutritional value which will therefore increase fat storage. Drinking too much alcohol reduces the amount of fat your body burns for energy and while the liver is metabolizing alcohol you’re unable to metabolize fat.

7. Don’t starve yourself before a big meal.
Starving yourself before a big meal will lead to overeating. Not only that but you will crave foods that are high in sugar, fat or both. Starving yourself forces your body into survival mode, your body will anticipate a famine state so much of the incoming food will be stored as body fat (survival energy) in anticipation that it won’t see food again for another long period of time. Eat every 2 to 4 hours just as you normally would and stop yourself from becoming a human garbage disposal.

Till next time.

Train Hard!

Dan Clay
Dangerously Fit Personal Training
Sydney Personal Training
Sydney Fitness Boot Camps
Sydney Corporate Fitness

Here is part 2 of your 3 part mini series ‘16 Fat Loss Tips You Can Use Today, by applying these strategies to your lifestyle you will instantly look better, feel better and be on your way to reaching your full potential.

If you missed part 1 you can view it here… Fat Loss Tips

If you have any questions please feel free to comment below.

Fitness tip # 6 - Calorie deficit. Through proper diet and regular exercise create a calorie deficit. This simply means burning more calories than you’re consuming. Keep a journal and get a calorie counter, you can record your diet for free at www.fitday.com. How are you supposed to know how many calories you’re putting into your body if you’re not keeping track of what you’re eating and drinking? By creating a calorie deficit you’ll be using energy from your energy stores (body fat). The trick is not to create a calorie deficit that’s too high or your body will think its starving and will begin too slow your metabolism down, your focus should be on losing fat, not necessarily weight. A too high calorie deficit can also cause a reduction in lean muscle mass making it harder for you to lose weight.

Fitness tip # 7 – Weight training. Muscle is the only tissue that is metabolically expensive. Therefore increasing muscle mass will elevate your metabolism at rest, you’ll burn more calories sitting behind your desk and whilst you’re asleep, you will also burn a considerable more amount of energy whilst you’re exercising through greater energy demand from the increase in lean muscle. Perform exercises that will give you the biggest return, compound exercises such as deadlifts, squats, pushing and pulling exercises and use a variety of combination lifts and circuits. Use drop sets and superset’s and keep the rest period in between exercises to a minimum.

Fitness tip # 8 - Consume more protein. Eating protein will keep you fuller for longer, meaning you’ll consume less overall calories in a day. Eating protein also makes your digestive system work twice as hard as eating carbohydrates and fat, so by eating more protein you’ll be burning more calories through digestion (this is known as the thermic effect). One of the biggest mistakes people make when dieting is that they lose muscle as well as fat, which will in turn slow down their metabolism. By eating plenty of protein and following a suitable weights program this will ensure you maintain your muscle tissue. If you have trouble consuming adequate amounts of protein, try supplementing with a ‘whole food based’ protein drink.

Fitness tip # 9 - Interval Training. Interval training is the #1 cardiovascular exercise for weight loss. It includes high intensity exercise (for10-60 seconds) broken up with periods of low intensity exercise. The good thing with interval training is that you burn more calories in a shorter amount of time. So there’s no need to spend hrs pounding away on a treadmill, you can be done in 20-25 mins and that’s including your warm up and cool down! This form of training will keep your metabolism elevated for up to 24 hrs after you’ve finished training, through E.P.O.C (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption), so you’ll be burning calories even while you’re sleeping.

Fitness tip # 10 - Include a cheat day once a week! Keep your body guessing and have a cheat day once a week. This will stop your body from hitting a plateau and stop your metabolism from slowing down. A cheat day is a good time to eat the foods you’ve been craving throughout the week. No-one can eat perfectly 100% of the time without cracking, so hold off any foods that aren’t in your nutrition plan until this day. Having a cheat day will allow you to be good for the other 6 day’s of the week, (just don’t go too mad)!

Be sure to check back in a few days for part 3 of this mini series.

Train Hard!

Dan Clay
Dangerously Fit Personal Training
Sydney Personal Training
Sydney Fitness Boot Camps
Sydney Corporate Fitness

In this three part series I’m gonna give you some great tips that will help kick start your weight loss regimen and put you on the road to living a healthier life. Obviously these are just are a few of the many things that you can do to help you lose weight, but if you apply and make these changes to your daily lifestyle, you can be free from the hype and B.S and be on your way to a new you.

Fitness tip # 1 – Eat low GI foods. Eat foods that are low on the GI index. Put Simply, The Glycemic Impact Index (GI) of a food tells you whether the carbohydrate in the food is fast or slow releasing. Eating foods that have a high GI rating causes your insulin levels to rise, it’s a known scientific fact that your body has trouble burning fat when your insulin levels are elevated. Foods that are low GI will give you longer lasting energy whereas high GI foods will give you a short burst of energy, leaving you feeling hungry shortly afterwards. Avoid simple sugars which are found in sweets, soft drinks, cakes, bread, bagels, white pasta/rice and juices. Limit alcohol consumption. Instead get the majority of your carbohydrates from fruits, vegetables, beans and brown rice.

Fitness tip # 2 – Healthy Fats. Not all fats are bad for you, the right kind of fats are essential for optimal health and help reduce the risk cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s and a host of other illnesses. Foods that are high in saturated fat, which are found in animal based foods and Trans fats which are in processed foods should be kept to minimum. Totally eliminate fatty meats from your diet (bacon, sausages etc). If you do eat meat, make sure it’s a lean cut. Make sure you eat plenty of seeds, nuts, avocado’s and fish and be sure to take an omega 3 supplement.

Fitness tip # 3 - Drink plenty of water. Two thirds of the human body consists of water, which makes it our most vital nutrient. Water is necessary for the transportation of essential vitamins and minerals as well as carbohydrates. If your water intake is low you lose the ability to transport nutrients through your body and substances such as urea, uric acid, ammonia and other nasty matter begin to accumulate, leaving you feeling lethargic. If you don’t drink enough water your body will actually store more water because it’s not sure how long it will have to wait for you to drink again. So by drinking more water it’s actually possible to lose 1-2 kg of bodyweight of stored fluid. Drinking a glass of water before your meal can also help control your appetite and stop you from overeating.

Fitness tip # 4 - Eat 5-6 meals times a day. Eating at regular intervals will keep your metabolism burning strong throughout the day. You’re also less likely to binge eat, will have stable energy levels and will burn more calories through increased meal consumption (digestion burns calories). If you have trouble eating 5-6 meals a day, try adding a meal replacement to your diet, make sure its ‘whole food based’ so it has genuine nutritional value.

Fitness tip # 5 - Eat more fiber. A diet that is high in fiber will aid in fat loss whether you’re eating less calories or not. Fiber assists weight loss by releasing sugar into the bloodstream slowly. High levels of sugar in the bloodstream cause an insulin spike which will slow fat burning. Good sources of fiber are found in whole grains, lentils, beans, nuts, seeds, fresh fruit and vegetables. Avoid refined and overcooked foods.

Be sure to check back in a few days for part 2.

Train Hard!

Dan Clay
Dangerously Fit Personal Training
Sydney Personal Trainers
Sydney Boot Camps
Sydney Corporate Personal Training

As a personal trainer and boot camp owner I’ve helped countless people with their weight loss goals. I’m going to share with you some of my favourite exercises that you can use in your own workouts to breakthrough any training plateau. They are the same exercises I have used to help hundreds of people lose thousands of kilos of fat.

I’ll try and keep this simple, the best exercises for increasing muscle are also the best exercises for losing fat. All these exercises have one thing in common: they work many muscles at once and are very challenging to the body.

Scientific research and real world experience shows that total body workouts are the most effective form of training for fat loss and muscle gain. But lets go one step further…

Your results can be substantially increased by using total body exercises within a total body workout! For example, squats are one of the best exercises for building lean muscle whilst shedding unwanted fat.

So what if we took the squat and combined it with an upper body movement like a shoulder press. Now this exercise becomes unstoppable for getting you the great results. Its plain to see that by incorporating your upper and lower body into one movement youll reap even greater rewards.

Heres The Fantasy Body Equation:

more muscles worked = more calories burned + more lean muscle = more fat loss + more muscle gained

To be totally honest I have a big love hate relationship with the exercise Im about to show you. Firstly I love them because of their ability to burn unparalleled amounts of fat and secondly for their muscle building properties that keep me in great shape. On the other hand I hate them because they break me every workout (but in a good way), be warned these exercises are not for the weak minded.

So without delay, let me present my top 7 exercises for shedding fat and building lean muscle.

1. Olympic Lifts: Dumbbell or Kettlebell Cleans, Snatches, High Pulls or a combination of all.

2. Wood Chopping exercises: Dumbbells, Kettlebells, Med Balls, Bands, or Sandbags

4. Press Up Combination Exercises: Press ups with knee raise, Push up with Row, Push up with burpee etc..

6. Med Ball Snatch with Slam Combination

7. Squat combination exercises: Squat and press, Squat and row, Squat and curl etc.

If you incorporate these exercises into your workouts I guarantee you’ll see better results faster.

Train Hard!

Dan Clay
Dangerously Fit Personal Training
Personal Trainers Sydney
Boot Camp Sydney
Corporate Personal Training Sydney

With all the Xmas parties, shopping and catching up with friends and family the holiday season can be a busy time, don’t let yourself get into bad habits and fall into the trap of missing workouts.

Missing workouts and losing the lean muscle mass you worked so hard to develop is a big mistake.

The reason…

Less lean muscle equals lower metabolism, muscle accounts for the bulk of your daily calorie burning (between 65-75%).

This means that you’ll be burning less and less calories 24/7 putting you in grave danger of piling on unwanted body fat through the holiday season.

It gets worse…

The loss of strength will mean your training has regressed - a rude awakening on your first day back to training.

But…

There are a few clever strategies you can use to maintain or even increase the number of calories you burn everyday.

Use the strategies below to avoid stacking on the holiday kilos…

1. Reach Your Totals. Your body cannot differentiate between 100 squats all at once versus 100 squats performed in a day. If you honestly can’t fit in a 10-20 minute workout during the day, look for little chunks of time where you can get in a certain number of reps a day that will work your entire body.

Got a spare few minutes before the turkey has to come out of the oven, then crank out 12 press ups, 12 bodyweight rows and 15 squats. Using this system will soon add up to large number of reps by the end of the day that will burn just as many calories as if you did all the exercises at once.

Its important to recognize that this system should only be used as a backup to performing your usual exercise routine of total body workouts and interval training which are scientifically proven to burn 9 times as much fat as traditional exercise (click here for fat burning workout).

High intensity exercise and short rest periods provide the body with the best hormonal environment for muscle gain and quick fat loss.

Be sure to choose large compound exercises that work as many of your bodies major muscles in the shortest amount of time i.e press ups, chin ups, bodwight rows, squats, lunges etc.

Use the routines below to “reach your totals”, adjust the rep range according to your current level of fitness.

There’s no need for any fancy pieces of equipment, just use your bodyweight and if you have them dumbbells or barbells.

Perform the program every other day ensuring you rotate between routine 1 and routine 2, you can either reach your totals by performing one exercise at a time i.e 100 squats (with rest breaks until you reach your total) or by performing the exercises as a circuit i.e 20 press ups, 20 bodyweight rows and repeat 5 times throughout the day until you reach your total.

Reach Your Totals Holiday Program

Routine A

Press ups: 50-100 total
Body weight Squats or reverse lunges: 100-200 total
Bodyweight Rows: 50-100 total

Routines B

Walking Lunges or Hip Extensions: 100 total
Bodyweight Dips: 50-100 total
Dumbbell or Barbell rows

2. Be More Active. Technology has made us a lazy and overweight society, during these holidays be more active. If you need to go to the shops and it’s 15-20 minute walk then leave the car at home, take the stairs instead on the escalators and elevators. All these small steps add up to burning more calories at the end of the day.

3. Perform a minimum of one strength training session per week. Studies show that by performing just one strength session per week you can maintain your current level of lean muscle mass. So to be certain of maintaining your muscle mass perform at least one intense strength workout per week to avoid the dreaded regressions in fitness levels. For optimum results try to perform 3-4 total body workouts per week with interval training.

Train Hard!

Dan Clay
Dangerously Fit Personal Training
Personal Trainers Sydney
Boot Camp Sydney
Corporate Personal Training Sydney

Struggling with losing those last few kilos? I often get asked the same questions about fat loss and after reviewing their nutrition and exercise log I see the same mistakes made time and again.

Here are a few of the most common mistakes I see people make and how you can solve them…

1. Not calorie counting. To lose weight you must create a calorie deficit through exercise and nutrition. A calorie deficit basically means you burn more calories than you consume. You can’t out train a poor diet, you need to know how many calories you’re consuming on a daily basis – otherwise how are you supposed to know whether you’ve created a calorie deficit? Everyday keep a nutrition log of your diet.

2. Not training consistently enough. When training for fat loss you need to increase your metabolism, the higher your metabolism the more calories you’ll burn. If you don’t train consistently enough your metabolism won’t increase to desired level. Consistent training has a cumulative effect resulting in more calories (fat) being burned. Train a minimum of 3 times per week.

3. Drinking too much alcohol. This one ties in with fat loss mistake number 1 but deserves special mention. Alcohol is full of empty calories with no real nutritional value and will therefore increase fat storage.

Drinking too much alcohol reduces the amount of fat your body burns for energy and while the liver is metabolizing alcohol you’re unable to metabolize fat. If you’re trying to lose fat – you need to completely cut out alcohol.

1 glass of wine (average): 130 Calories
Regular beer: 150 Calories
Pre-Mixed Smirnoff Raw, (all flavors): 230 Calories

4. Not changing your exercise program regularly enough. Ever wondered why you hit a plateau? Typically you need to mix up your program after every 6 exposures. Once you’ve performed the same exercise for 6 times or more in a row you need to;
a) Change the exercise
b) Change the reps
c) Change the sets
d) Change the tempo (lifting speed)

If you have any questions please feel free to post a comment below.

Train Hard!

Dan Clay

Dangerously Fit Personal Training
Personal Training Sydney
Boot Camp Fitness Sydney
Corporate Fitness Sydney