Welcome

  Welcome to the last Team Dynamix course of 2013. Last nights effort was fantastic and showed you are all fully committed to life changing results.
   You now know the basis of the diet and hopefully the cupboards have been emptied of all things on the NO list.
   I look forward to seeing you on Wednesday and I hope the foam rolling is not to painful.

  Regards

   Claire

So the question of, Why are lemons good for the alkaline levels in our body, was raised last night.  A very good question, so i've put together some more information on that topic for you below.


Lemons are particularly good for the alkaline levels in the body because their acids, such as citric acid, are weak acid and the Lemon's overall nutrients are alkaline. The End Product of Metabolism, otherwise known as Ash and it's effects on the body make it Alkalizing.

Citric Acid is a "weak" acid, meaning once it's done it's job in providing energy in metabolism it's eliminated easily via sweat and respiration. It is alkaline forming in that it stimulates the formation of calcium carbonate in the body. Calcium carbonate then neutralizes the "Strong" acids in the body, acids that can only be gotten rid of through urination, including uric acid which is the end result of protein metabolism.

In fruits such as the Lemons... the mineral content is also taken into consideration, and the Lemon's Alkaline minerals are many, calcium, magnesium, potassium, and Selenium so after the citric acid has done its job and is easily eliminated, one is left with a very Alkaline Ash (end product) from the fruit.

In a Similar way, Malic Acid (another "weak" acid) attacks Lactic Acids (A "strong" acid) making foods like Apples and it's unprocessed vinegar also an alkalizing source.

The list goes on... It's how the elements of the food, inclusive of its "acids" are utilized by the body and whether it's a weak acid or a strong acid in how it can be eliminated, and the food's nutrient content such as it's vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, etc. that a food's ash ends up being.

I hope this clears a few things up!

Mike

Into Week 2!

Well done to everyone last night! Despite the fact the intensity has increased from week 1, everyone still pushed themselves to the limit! You should be starting to feel a little more comfortable with the different exercises now as we move towards the half-way point of the course.  Continue to be very tight on your nutrition this week team, as remember, Saturday is cheat MEAL day! I imagine everybody already knows what they will be having?!

Finally, here's a little insight into the last week of the course....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRd4mEkRaC8

See you all tomorrow!

2 down, 10 to go!!

First of all a big well done to everyone so far on Team Dynamix, if the work rate and commitment shown by all guys stays at this intensity then we are going to have some great results and fun together. Lasts nights session went extremly well and I was impressed by everyones high work rate and also your ability to learn a new set of exercises.

The initial first week of Team Dynamix can be a big shock to the system, most of the kit we use you will probably have never used before and the way you move is also completly new to most of you. It takes time to learn new exercises but last night you all listened and worked really hard to pick up the technique so a big well done again. Last nights education topic was Metabolic Conditioning, this topic is key to understanding the way in which we train in Team Dynamix. The poster I went through is in the back of your manuals so have a quick look at it again and see if it now makes sense. Any questions? Don't hesitate to ask via this blog or via message to me or Mike - remember we are are here to help so use us :) Remember - intensity is more important than the duration of an exercise so work hard for a short time then rest.

I am looking forwards to seeing you all on Friday for the final session of our first week together. It is a Q&A session as well so get thinking of any questions you may have (and you all should have plenty!) Also write down a list of questions so you don't forget, we have 15 minutes to fill on Friday so got plenty of time hopefully.
Steve

Check out the link attached to find out more about Metabolic condtioning.

<a href="http://www.prweb.com/releases/bootcampworkouts/metabolicconditioning/prweb9965057.htm"></a>

Welcome to Team Dynamix! This blog will be updated on a regular basis with comments on previous sessions, and answers to any questions anyone may have, that may prove useful to the rest of the group! It's really good to see so many people wanting to make a healthy difference to their lives, and Steve and I aim to provide that to you! To those that have completed the course before; lets push ourselves harder! To those that are new to Team Dynamix; lets learn, lets exercise and lets enjoy! Mike

Well done!!

My last post is my chance to say very well done to all of you. You put everything into the course and I hope you got alot out of it. You all saw the numbers dropping in both the body weight and body fat columns. Please keep up the hard work and limit the damage that we all know can be caused over the Christmas holidays. Anthony

Eating out!!!

Tonight we will be discussing eating out and how not to ruin a good week of training and nutrition plan. I will be bringing in a few menus to look over but if you have a menu of your favourite destination then please bring it along.

Eat to sleep.

http://www.eatingwell.com/nutrition_health/nutrition_news_information/9_foods_to_help_you_sleep So following on from our discussion regarding sleep here is a website that lists foods that help you sleep. If your struggling to get your 8 hours then give a few of these a go and let me know how you get on. 4 days until final weigh in, lets keep up the good work. Anthony

Relax, Do not get stressed

http://stress.about.com/od/stresshealth/a/cortisol.htm Above is a link to an informative web based post explaing the pros and cons of cortisol. It is known as the stress hormone as it is released during periods of stress. The obvious side effect is the increase is fat receptors around the abdominal area but cortisol is also heavily involved in blood sugar control. Enjoy the post and I will look forward to seeing you in a few hours. Anthony

The Truth, does muscle weigh more than fat?

Q:Does muscle really weigh more than fat? Muscle does not weigh more than fat, any more than lead weighs more than feathers. A pound is a pound is a pound. Where the misunderstanding often comes in is that muscle is much more dense than fat, so that, by volume, it seems to weigh more. That is, a pound of muscle occupies less space than a pound of fat. In addition, because a pound of muscle burns more calories than a pound of fat, even at rest, by increasing your lean muscle tissue mass, you're helping your body burn more calories. But back to the question. If you only have a small amount of weight to lose, then you may feel like the weight training is not helping you move down on the scale. In fact, the number may even go up, but you will look thinner. This is due to an increase in lean body mass (muscle, bone, blood volume) and a decrease in body fat. In other words, even if the scale doesn't change much, you will probably see a difference in how your clothes fit. On the other hand, if you have a lot of weight to lose, you will also experience an increase in lean body mass and loss of body fat. But the results on the scale will probably be more dramatic. Nice session last night and well done to those who then took part in the santa challenge. I will see you all on Friday at 7pm. Anthony

Apparently Clare was not joking!!

So here it is some fact behind the crazy notion of chilli for breakfast. Thank you Clare. http://foodhospital.channel4.com/The-Truth-About/pixie-investigates/dr-pixie-investigates-series-2/food-hero-chilli/ Anthony

Did someone order Iodine?

So onto week 3. We all had a very successful weigh in on Friday evening which should motivate you all to puch on and get some fantastic results when we finish in 12 days. Tonight we are looking at how we can improve the efficiency of our metabolism to help us lose weight. There are three key elements we need to add into our diet to assist this. Iodine, selenium and magnesium are needed in this process. Selenium and magnesium we will discuss further this evening when I see you but below I have added a table that list sources of Iodine to help you. I use a supplement called sea kelp that contains a high level of Iodine, it also has a side effect of thicker hair growth which I am in desperate need of. Food Approximate Percent RDV* Micrograms (mcg) per serving Seaweed, whole or sheet, 1 g 16 to 2,984 11% to 1,989% Cod, baked, 3 ounces 99 66% Yogurt, plain, low-fat, 1 cup 75 50% Iodized salt,1.5 g (approx. 1/4 teaspoon)71 47% Fish sticks, 3 ounces 54 36% Shrimp, 3 ounces 35 23% Egg, 1 large 24 16% Tuna, canned in oil, drained,3 ounces17 11% Prunes, dried, 5 prunes 13 9% Lima beans, mature, boiled, 1/2 cup 8 5% Apple juice, 1 cup 7 5% Green peas, frozen, boiled, 1/2 cup 3 2% Banana, 1 medium 3 2% I hope you all enjoyed your cheat meal and I look forward to seeing you all this evening. Anthony

Water!! Whats that all about?

After discussing water last night I think the one thing that was clear was the fact theres alot more to discuss and I dont imagine for a second my blog will answer all your questions. I found a fellow blogger deep within the internet who discusses water not only comparing bottle to tap water byut also having a moral stand point when discussing worlwide availability and the over inflated prices of bottle water. Please have a read and hopefully it will inspire you to do further reading into water both tap and bottled. In the short term my advise is to drink plenty of water daily to help your digestive system but also not to drink 30 minutes before and after eating as this will limit the digestion of vitamins and minerals. Pleasure as always to blog to you and I look forward to seeing you on Friday at 7am. http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2008/jun/25/whatsinyourtapwater

Hungry Wednesday

Really looking forward to tonights session but only after I get some food in me. I made the schoolboy mistake of having my breakfast at 5 am and then not bringing enough food for the day. I refuse to break the diet though so just heading out to Tescos to find something I can have. Tonight will be a tough session and I hope you felt the increase in intensity on Monday. Our strength circuit has got longer and the cardio will only ever get harder. I hope you are over the achey muscles now and can find the motivation from somewhere to look forward to working yourself hard. I look forward to seeing you later. Anthony

Porridge.

Good morning. fantastic effort last night. I look forward to Wednesday as I hope you do also. Last night we discussed blood sugar control and its importance when losing weight. I hope you are all enjoying the article I gave you. Please research some of the foods you are consuming as to what their GL is. Below I have put two links regarding porridge. The first is from a blogger Sophie Roberts who is a dietician. She discusses the GI of poridge and the differences between porridge oats and instant porridge. The second link is regarding the gluten content. Spelt porridge is an option we discussed that contains less gluten that regular porridge. http://www.mostlyeating.com/revealed-why-you-are-not-a-freak-of-nature-if-porridge-doesnt-fill-you-up http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Do_oats_have_gluten Please enjoy the blogs and see you on Wednesday. Anthony

The always tough first weekend!!

So one week down and the first weekend over. Weekends are when we all struggle, we socialise more at the weekend and social events are normally food and drink lead. This is the only weekend on the course where we do not have a cheat meal and the reason for that is the importance on being 100% clean for the first two weeks of the course. I hope you all made good choices and feel energised for the week ahead and our mid course weigh in on Friday. After plenty of discussion about my Sunday morning rosti I actually did not cook up that culinary treat. Instead I had smoked salmon and poached eggs (which I attempted to make using a vortex, It did not go well) which was delightful. This morning I was back on the yoghurt and cranberries with a chicken soup for lunch. I look forward to seeing you all later for another tough session with the intensity increased from last week. Regards Anthony

Interval training, you know you want to!!

Interval training is a commonly used term around gyms but what does it actually mean. To give its exact definition interval training is a type of discontinuous physical training that involves a series of low- to high-intensity exercise workouts interspersed with rest or relief periods. The high-intensity periods are typically at or close to anaerobic (Without the use of oxygen) exercise, while the recovery periods may involve either complete rest or activity of lower intensity. You can see the similarities with this definition and the structure of our training on Team Dynamix. Both the resistance and cardio sections have periods of high intensity to periods of complete rest. Of course there are a number of ways to set up interval training within the gym itself, below I will put some very basic interval training programmes that you can put together to make a longer more intense workout. Remember the reason behind interval training for weight loss is to burn off our stored muscle glycogen as quickly as possible so we can start burning body fat. Low intensity training will only take longer to achieve the same and slow down the rate at which you will see your results. Session 1 TRX legs. 20 minutes This session involves the high intensity periods followed by full periods of rest. As the legs start to fatigue the rest starts to feel shorter. TRX Squats 30 secs Rest 30 secs TRX Single leg squats Rest 30 secs TRX Single leg squats Rest 30 secs TRX Double leg jump squat Rest 30 secs TRX Single leg jump squat Rest 30 secs TRX Single leg jump squat Repeat 4 times Session 2 Stepper 15 minutes (level dependant on fitness levels) The stepper is an under used machine in my opinion. Its challenging so it gives you more control of peaking your heart rate and achieving those high intensity periods. This session is referred to as a stepped interval as it goes through 3 stages of progression and at no point do you recover fully. 30 seconds level 5 30 seconds level 10 30 seconds level 15 repeat 10 times Session 3 TRX and Kettle Bells 22 minutes 30 seconds TRX Jump squats 45 secs Kettle bell clean and press 45 secs Rest 45 secs TRX lateral jump squats 45 secs Kettle bell clean and press 45 secs Rest 45 secs TRX Split jumps 45 secs Kettle bell push press 45 secs Rest 45 secs TRX Crossover jumps 45 secs Kettle bell push press 45 secs Rest 45 secs Repeat once more The session has the full recovery period but it combines both lower body and upper body exercise which will make your heart work harder due to it having to pump blood from one end of the body to the other. Try these sessions out soon on your rest days and let me know how you get on. Anthony

Smorgasbord anyone!

Good morning and welcome to day 3 of Team Dynamix. You will probably have a few achey muscles today and will be looking forward to our foam rolling tonight. After our little discussion regarding quinoi and its effect on blood sugar I thought I would research a little further. I found some work by Anne Tourney who writes for the livestrong charity foundation, she discusses how its the qulaity of the carbohydrate thats important and states quinoi has a Glycemic Load of 13 which is considerably less than breads, pastas, potatoes and rice and due to it being high in fibre and protein offers you a lot more. I have attached the link to the article for you to enjoy. http://www.livestrong.com/article/258598-quinoa-the-glycemic-index/ Well when choosing my dinner choices last night I thought I would be inspired by my Swedish sister in law and make myself a Smorgasbord. This included chicken, salmon, peppers, cucumbers, houmous and my favourite mackarel. And to round it all off I had some watermelon. Earlier in the day I had my usual yoghurt cranberries and pumpkin seeds and for lunch I had a rather delightful butternut squash soup. I hope you are feeling a little inspired in the kitchen, if not I am willing to share my rosti resipe. Have a great day and see you at 7.30pm this evening. Anthony

No rosti today!!

Good morning all. Thank you all for last night, The effort you put in gives me a real positive feeling about the course. We have a good group and as long as we implement those food prnciples we will all get some great results. Our first cheat meal will feel along time away but stay strong and be clean for these first two weeks and give yourself the best opportunity. Yesterdays menu. Breakfast - Yoghurt with dried cranberries and pumpkin seads. Lunch - Chicken and Mushroom soup Dinner - 2 Roasted chicken thighs (skinned) and a mixed bean salad. I look forward to seeing you all on Wednesday with the delight of foam rolling on achey muscles. Anthony

New course 19/11/2012

Welcome to everyone for joining the new course of Team Dynamix. Over the next 4 weeks I will look to test you physically but also to help you learn about nutrition and accelerate your results. Please follow my blog as i look to take you deaper into the facts. Anthony