Issue 44:

Top 5 tips on looking sexy this Summer!
Here are my top five tips:

1. Weight train!
That’s right, you need to weight train or use some method of resistance for a minimum of two times, but better off three times, per week. Why? Let’s put this in simple terms. After the age of around 30 or so, the human body will start to lose muscle mass/tone, and if you don’t provide your body a means of keeping the muscle there, you will start to get soft. Also as muscle is a very active tissue (it needs calories to keep it there) you will start to slow down your resting metabolic rate and gain body fat -not a good thing if you want to firm up! The body pump class is a great weights workout at the gym.

2. Do aerobics or cardio first thing in the morning in the sun along with a quality whey protein supplement for best fat loss. This “tweak” as I call it, is something I have recently been experimenting with some of my clients as well as myself. Basically, when you sleep all night your body will eventually start to lose muscle because you’re not supplying it with any amino acids to keep the building process going. When you first get up have a serving of whey protein, which will get into your cells quickly so you can give the muscles a kick start. Then proceed to do your aerobic training (walking, biking, running, etc.) for at least 30-40 minutes. Always perform a warm-up and cool down when finished.

3. Eat every 3-4 hours!
This is essential and probably the most important factor. You must get your body and metabolism elevated and the only way to do it safely and for the long-term is by eating more frequently. I know you may not want to hear that, but I want to give you the cold, hard truth. Eating this frequently constantly burns more calories, because you burn up calories every time you eat. If you skip meals or go too long without eating, your body goes into a breakdown mode and your blood sugar dips too low. If this occurs you will get very hungry and probably eat either too much or “junk foods” that don’t give you any nutritional value.

4. Eat your veggies, but limit high sugar fruits and fruit juices.
Yes, you heard me, if you eat green veggies a few times per day you will do a lot for a firmer body. First, they keep you feeling fuller longer because you can eat more of them and they don’t have hardly any calories. And secondly, fibrous veggies help to dampen insulin levels when you eat other type of carbs. Insulin is a storage hormone, and if too much is released from the pancreas at once you tend to promote fat stores. However, veggies will slow down the release of insulin and you will have a less of a tendency to store fat and you will have more sustained energy. Too much fruit or fruits too high in fructose will cause you to gain fat. Stick with the berry groups, pears, green apples, granny smith apples and kiwis.

5. Take an essential multivitamin/mineral and essential fatty acid.
By taking quality multivitamin/mineral supplements you will ensure your body is getting adequate nutrients. Make sure it’s dissolvable within an hour or so. Drop it in a cup of vinegar to see if it dissolves. They should be taken with food. Essential fats are fats our bodies can’t produce. Studies have shown men and women who were too deficient in fats had hormone production problems. You must realise that if your hormone levels are not normalised many times you will promote fat storage (ever heard of what too much estrogen can do)? You will also develop dry, scaly skin, brittle finger nails and toe nails, and there is a good chance your hair will fall out. Certain fats carry the fat-soluble vitamins A,D,E,K, help lubricate joints, reduce inflammation, improve circulation, and aid in lowering cholesterol. I suggest a flax/borage complex or evening primrose oil.

There are other things you can do as well, but these I feel are the most pertinent for women to truly get the results they are looking for. Keep in mind that consistency in doing all these things will yield great results, but if you go astray you will just delay your success.

Finally, get out in the sun and enjoy but make sure you wear the correct sun cream - sun burn and skin cancer are not sexy.

Thanks for all your emails requesting more photos of me, you can view them at
leeds-citydweller facebook page

Till next time, Mark

Issue 43:

10 Ways to NEVER get BORED of exercise
Want to get fit but find you get bored easily? Check out my top ten tips to ensure you NEVER get bored of exercise!

1. Do something you enjoy!
Many of us enjoy some sort of physical activity (no giggles at the back!), whether its sports, martial arts, dancing, running, cycling, yoga, skiing or gym work the list is exhaustive. If you enjoy dancing then make it a weekly activity and go with friends who also enjoy dancing. If you’ve always fancied giving boxing a go then join a club and start boxing. You won’t get bored if it’s something you enjoy! Think outside of the box and find your preferred exercises.

2. Challenge yourself!
Set targets and goals! This is truly the way to succeed in life let alone fitness. If you’re main goal is to run a 10K event then breakdown each training session in to goals. 1 goal might be to train 3 x a week. Really challenge yourself to do that. The next goal could be to run 1K under a certain time. Change the targets to suit your goals and chosen activity. Continually setting yourself challenges keeps you interested and motivated to succeed.

3. Get a buddy.
Recruit a friend to start exercising with you. This means that you can catch up with your friend and still exercise. Just make sure they are well motivated and that you actually enjoy their company!

4. Join a team or club.
Make exercise a fun social event by joining a team or club. You will meet new people, make new friends and push each other to achieve your goals. Find a sport or physical hobby you enjoy and find a club. Why not join with your training buddy?

5. Change your exercise/training every 4 weeks. I find that after 4 weeks of following a program I get bored. To combat this I completely change my program every 4 weeks. That way I never get bored! You can do this with physical hobbies and by swapping your training partner too. Why not try badminton for 4 weeks, and then give squash a go for 4 weeks, then tennis and then something completely different like swimming! It’s impossible to get bored!

6. Get some new workout music!
Yes it actually works! Getting some new workout music for your iPod or MP3 really changes your mood when training. It can keep you interested. Getting the new Ibiza Annual and ONLY listening to it when you’re exercising will make you look forward to your sessions and give your workouts a new lease of life!

7. Get some new workout clothes and equipment!
I’ve recently started training with resistance bands and they are a great workout! If you’re getting bored why not try getting a new piece of fitness equipment and giving that a go? If you always use the treadmill then why not give the rowing machine a go or resistance training?

8. Try a new class at the gym!
There are so many classes at the gym nowadays there is something for everyone. Personally I recommend the ‘spin’ classes and Yoga to everyone and the body pump is great for women. Pretty much every class has its benefits and is enjoyable so try something new!

9. Schedule some rest!
You can overdo exercise and when you do your body reacts by making you not ‘feel’ like training. Schedule a low volume week every 4 weeks where you do little exercise but you do plenty of relaxing things like going to the cinema, long walks, yoga, hot relaxing baths and early nights. After 1 week of R & R you should be recovered and ready to hit exercise hard the following week.

10. HIRE ME AS YOUR HEALTH & FITNESS COACH!
Sorry I couldn’t resist a plug for my own services but it’s true! I design programs around your likes and dislikes. We work together to set you goals and targets and we work together so you achieve your goals in the fastest time possible! Hire me as your coach and you will LOVE EXERCISE!

You can check out www.mark-hughes.co.uk for more details
or contact me at info@mark-hughes.co.uk

Issue 42:

Recently I read the excellent book ‘59 seconds: Think a little, Change a lot’ by Professor Richard Wiseman. The book shares techniques that require little thought but can change your life. The exercises are all supported by psychological study evidence. The book is excellent and covers many areas. One of the areas that piqued my interest was motivation.

Motivation is essential when it comes to achieving any fitness goal. Want to run a marathon, want to get to 8% body fat, want to climb Everest? Well you better be darn motivated because if you’re not, Sky+ will win the battle of wills when you’re up against a 15 mile run, in the dark, when it’s snowing and everybody’s skiving off work to watch daytime TV.

Ironically, sometimes when you really want something it’s difficult to actually get motivated to take the steps to achieve it. So when I came across the ‘Doublethink’ technique described in the book I quickly saw its potential for fitness goals.

Gabrielle Oettingen from the University of Pennsylvania found that being optimistic about achieving your goals but also being realistic of the problems you may face is one of the most effective states of mind when trying to achieve a goal, she labeled the technique ‘Doublethink’ like the thought process described in George Orwell’s famous book, ‘1984’ . In order for your motivation to benefit from the ‘doublethink’ technique, grab a pen and paper and follow this easy exercise adapted from ’59 seconds: Think a little, Change a lot’.

1. What is your goal?
Remember to make it a SMART goal,
Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time Bound
 
2. Potential benefits & setbacks
a)   Write down one word that reflects an important way in which your life would be better if you achieved your goal.
b)   Write down one word that reflects a significant barrier standing in the way of achieving your goal.
c)   Write down one word that reflects another important way in which your life would be better if you achieved your goal.
d)   Write down one word that reflects another significant barrier that stands in the way of you achieving your goal.
 
3. Elaboration
• Elaborate your answer to question A, Imagine all the benefits that would flow from this achievement.
• Elaborate your answer to question B, Imagine how the obstacle hinders achievement and the steps you would take to deal with it.
• Elaborate your answer to question C, Imagine all the benefits that would flow from this achievement.
• Elaborate your answer to question D, Imagine how the obstacle hinders achievement and the steps you would take to deal with it.

Issue 41:

MEN's HEALTH

It’s great being a man! We don’t get PMS every month, we don’t give birth, we don’t go through the menopause and we don’t need to sit down to go to the toilet!

Women say we have it easy and in some respects they’re right.

However, because we have it easy, we tend to think we don’t have to look after ourselves as much as women do. They’re always preening and fussing with their weight, diet and so on, whereas men generally just be men and get on with it.

Normally I would be a supporter of ‘getting on with it’, but when we look at the figures we see that men die on average five years younger than women with the biggest killer being heart disease, I definitely think that attitude needs changing.

Heart disease: Did you know that 1.5 times more men die from heart disease than women? And under the age of 65, three times more men than women die from heart attacks?

Cancer: 1.5. times more men die from cancer than women! Men have a higher probability of developing cancer and don’t survive as long once they’ve been diagnosed.

Suicide: Rates of suicide are, on average, four times higher for men than women. For most age groups suicide rates have remained unchanged since 1946, but for those aged 15 to 24 years the rate has increased 250% and 6 out of 7 are male. Not only are diseases trying to keep us from ageing with our women but we actually kill ourselves a lot more too!

Diabetes Nearly 1.5 times more men than women die from diabetes which is one of the fastest growing diseases in the UK due to obesity.

It’s not looking so good for all us men.

I guess the question is:
Is being able to pee while standing worth all the risks that come with being a man?

Well, I think yes!

It’s worth it because every single cause of death mentioned above can be greatly reduced by a healthy lifestyle, exercise and nutrition. Check out the facts below before you start considering that sex change.

Heart disease: a recent study in the British Medical Journal found that exercise in middle age reduces the risk of premature death from heart disease. It shows this reduction of risk from heart disease is similar to smokers kicking the habit.

People who are physically active are half as likely to get cardiovascular disease as those that are inactive. Most men know this but it’s time we start helping ourselves.

Cancer: Let’s start with the obvious one, lung cancer.

Lung cancer affects more men than women: Smoking is the biggest risk factor! If we men all decided to quit smoking we would raise our nation’s life expectancy for males in an instant. Simply ‘kick the habit’.

Prostate cancer is the second biggest cancer death rate for men, yet this month the Journal of Urology found that among men diagnosed with prostate cancer, 51 percent of sedentary patients had more aggressive cancer, versus 22 percent of those who had been mildly active (getting the equivalent of one to three hours of moderate walking per week).

Suicide: Many studies have found that exercise, more specifically ‘vigorous aerobic exercise’ reduces anxiety and depression. Depression is what leads to suicide. Other studies have found that males who participate in team sports have significantly less suicidal thoughts than non-participants suggesting that team sports that are vigorous like football are the best to stave off suicidal thoughts. It’s thought that the endorphins (feel good hormones) that are released after exercise are the cause for the effect.

Diabetes: Physical activity helps to prevent type 2 diabetes and manage the condition of those with diabetes, along with a healthy diet and weight maintenance.

A study done by the Harvard School of Public Health and published in The New England Journal of Medicine found that being overweight and obese was the single most important risk factor that predicted who would develop type 2 diabetes. During a 16 year follow-up period, study results showed that regular exercise (at least 30 minutes a day, five days a week) and an improved diet that’s low in fat and high in fibre significantly helped with type 2 diabetes prevention. The bottom line: type 2 diabetes prevention could be as easy as adopting healthy lifestyle habits.

So when you look at the solutions we don’t have it bad at all, as long as we adopt healthy lifestyles there should be no physical reason why we can not only live at least to the same age as our better halves but also feel fantastic along the way!

- Mark Hughes

Issue 40:

30 ways to improve your health with minimal effort!

I understand that most of you lead busy lives. Sometimes life can be hectic. Looking after your nutrition, training and well being can get overwhelming. After thinking about you busy folk I put together quick and easy tips to improve our readers health this month with minimal effort.

1. Take the stairs over the lift at every opportunity.

2. Buy organic, local produce.

3. Buy food that is either grown from the ground, is an animal/fish, or dairy with NO ADDITIVES.

4. Cook meals from fresh ingredients.

5. Make your own lunch.

6. Walk instead of using your car for journeys that take 30 minutes or less.

7. Use a bicycle for journveys that would take more than 30 Minutes to walk (maybe to the gym and back?).

8. Drink only vwater and sugar free teas.

9. Drink green tea with no sugar instead of coffee.

10. Stop cooking with salt and do not add to meals.

11. Fry using coconut oil.

12. Do not eat any PROCESSED FOOD (microwave meals, white bread, white rice, doughnuts, white pasta etc).

13. Eat two portions of fruit or vegetables with every meal.
14. Cut out any soda even diet drinks.

15. Get at least 8 hours of sleep per night.

16. ALWAYS EAT BREAKFAST.

17. Pack seeds and nuts for snacks to work instead of sweets.

18. Try to get some sunlight everyday, if that is not possible look in to Vitamin D supplementation.

19. Aim to drink around 2 liters of water per day. Some people may need more.

20. Do some form of aerobic exercise at least 3 times a week. Maybe skipping, jogging, circuit training or cycling are examples.

21. Aim to relax for 30 minutes per day. Suggestions include, reading, reflecting, meditation, listening to calming music, having a massage or sauna.

22. Try to have a more positive mindset from day to day. See problems as challenges.

23. Arrange to meet up with friends at least once per week. Maybe cook them a healthy meal.

24. Limit your alcohol intake to a maximum of 1 small drink per day. A maximum of 7 per week, spread throughout the week.

25. Drink red wine for it’s antioxidant benefits rather than any other alcoholic drinks.

26. Wear comfortable shoes day to day to prevent joint dysfunction.

27. Work day to day to improve & keep good posture.

28. Have oily fish at least twice a week for the omega 3s fish oils.

29. Eat a varied diet of different coloured vegetables.

30. Limit caffeine intake to less than 200 mg per day. Even better, go on a caffeine fast.

Well what’s more important than your health? Without your health what do you have? It is difficult to enjoy life when your health is failing. These are easy ways to improve your life instantly while potentially extending your life span! Why not start now?

Issue 39:

The Fastest Way To Get InTo Shape Guaranteed!

An important, but often over looked aspect of health is Rest & Recovery (R & R). Most people have heard that you should have around 8 hours sleep per night but do any of us know why? According to the American Sleep Association, most of us need around 7-8 hours sleep per night. I find that people who are doing a lot of exercise generally need 8-9 hours sleep for optimal recovery.

Studies suggest that sleep deprivation affects the immune system and physical performance in detrimental ways. Not great when you are doing lots of exercise. Intense exercise is very stressful to the body and can also lower the immune system. If you are training hard it is especially important to get the correct amount of sleep or else you will be leaving yourself open to colds and the flu. Deep sleep coincides with the release of growth hormone in the body. Many of the body’s cells also show increased production and reduced breakdown of proteins during deep sleep which from an exercise point of view means more muscle growth and faster recovery. People trying to lose weight will be interested in growth hormone because the hormone also encourages fat loss. When you are sleep deprived your body releases stress hormones which encourages your cells to store fat! So whatever your goals, adequate sleep is very important!

Regarding recovery, I am often asked how much exercise is too much and how long should you rest between exercise days? The general consensus is to leave 48 hours rest when training specific muscle groups. For example, if you train your upper body with weights on Monday, leave it to the same time on Wednesday to train upper body again but you could train the lower body on Tuesday because those muscles have not yet been worked. 48 hours allows for muscles to refuel, repair and build. For cardiovascular exercise, low intensity exercise (walking, light jogging etc) can be performed pretty much everyday without the need for a complete rest. Medium intensity work like cycling or running can be performed 5-6 days a week but intense exercise like sprints or squash should be limited to around 3 days a week to ensure adequate recovery.

The bottom line is to listen to your body, if you feel like you need a rest have one but again don’t use recovery as an excuse when you know you are just being lazy! Go to www.mark-hughes.co.uk for your own personal workout and nutrition program expertly designed by Mark to make sure you achieve your goals.

Issue 38:

‘It’s that time of the year again!

People are getting ready to go on their holidays or to enjoy the beautiful weather we are forecasted this year in the UK! Fingers crossed!

I LOVE THE SUMMER...
However, every year when the sun comes out it, magically, so does the FAD DIET! Desperate to lose weight quickly and look ‘good’ in a bikini, or with their shirt off most people go on one of these diets in an attempt to lose the excess ‘timber’ put on over the winter months. It is understandable, but it is also DANGEROUS. FAD diets generally work for the first 4 weeks, they may even work for the whole summer! The trouble is, when you go back to your normal diet all of a sudden you pile all that weight back on PLUS MORE!!!

WHY IS THIS?
There are a number of reasons. Pretty much ALL FAD DIETS like the Lemonade diet (just drink lemonade with cayenne pepper and syrup in…..or perhaps NOT), the cabbage soup diet, south beach diet and all the rest of the FAD DIETS work by actually STARVING THE BODY SEVERELY. That’s right, you starve your body by not really eating anything and voila, as if it were a miracle, you lose weight! Spot the sarcasm.

When you don’t eat anything you lose weight because you ARE STARVING. The quick drop in weight experienced in the first few days of the diet is pretty much down to water loss (carbohydrates in your body hold about 3g of water per 1g of carbohydrate, so when you don’t eat any carbohydrates your body loses this water causing weight loss) and glycogen depletion (the energy stored in your body). This makes you look and actually be lighter very quickly. After the initial weight loss you generally lose more weight steadily which is a mixture between fat loss and muscle loss. This is disastrous! Not the fat loss of course. It is the muscle loss that is a worry.

When you lose muscle via a FAD DIET, aka STARVING yourself, it actually slows your metabolism (the rate at which your body burns energy) making it more difficult to burn fat in the short and long term. FAD DIETS are not concerned with this. They do not distinguish the difference between muscle loss and fat loss. They just care about weight loss. That is why they generally contain no protein for your body to repair or maintain muscle tissue.

When you lose muscle it makes it much easier for the body to put FAT on as your body can’t burn as much energy as it used to do before the FAD DIET due to the muscle loss. On top of this, the mere fact that you are eating much less slows your metabolism. Metabolism chases intake so your weight loss starts to slow as you go further in to the chosen FAD DIET. Muscle weighs more than fat so if you are losing more than 2 lbs of body weight per week, you are probably losing MUSCLE.

Ever noticed that all of a sudden you STOP losing weight? This is because your body realises YOU ARE STARVING TO DEATH! Your thyroid hormones (the hormone the controls the rate of energy usage in your body) drop significantly when on a calorie restricted FAD diet, slowing things down further to protect the body.

SO, WHAT’S THE CONCLUSION?
Simple, DON’T DO A FAD DIET! Nothing compares to a consistently healthy diet combined with exercise. You can lose weight and look great by doing this instead of looking ILL. If you do want to lose weight relatively quickly try eliminating starchy carbohydrates in a couple of meals each day for a few weeks while increasing your vegetable intake. Even better, if you need to lose weight fast, see a professional to help you and ask them how they are going to protect you from piling the fat back on after the summer is over!

ENJOY THE SUMMER!!!!

‘The Fastest Way to Get Into Shape Guaranteed’

Whether training for performance, looks or just general well being. Keep in mind this simple formula.
80% Nutrition + 20% Training = Success

Nutrition is the corner stone to every healthy goal. It is the foundation of building a great physique. There are a million things I could write about health & fitness but I want to start with the absolute basics.

YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT
So eat well and often. Processed foods are everywhere in our lives. Every food store, newsagents, train station and work place is full of junk food.

YOU GET OUT WHAT YOU PUT IN
You wouldn’t put diesel into a jet engine. Only the best will do for performance. If you want the best for your body’s performance and aesthetics you need to put the best in!

Go for foods that are UNPROCESSED and ORGANIC if possible. Clear out the crap food in your home! You know what I am talking about! Those mayonnaise pots, the white bread, the fizzy pop, the biscuit tin and all the rest of the junk that does nothing positive for your body. Swap your sugary breakfast cereal for organic eggs or no added sugar muesli. Swap your subway sandwich for a fresh chicken salad. Exchange your cheap vegetable oil for Extra Virgin Olive oil. Banish your chocolate bars and eat fruits and nuts instead.

UPGRADE YOUR FOOD, UPGRADE YOUR BODY, AND UPGRADE YOUR LIFE!
Follow these habits to ensure great nutrition and health:

1 Always eat a nutritious breakfast, an omelet is my favourite
2 Eat every 2-3 hours - NO MATTER WHAT
3 Eat vegetables with every meal. Limit fruit to 1 or 2 meals a day as the simple sugars in the fruits are easily converted to fat.
4 Eat a source of protein with every meal. That’s right; protein helps build lean muscle but also burn fat!
5 Eat carbohydrates only after training or sometimes for breakfast. Yes, I really did say that.
6 Ensure you eat plenty of healthy fats such as nuts, seeds, avocados and olives.
7 BANISH CALORIE CONTAINING DRINKS! Drinks containing calories like fruit juice, fizzy drinks and everything else in between encourages fat storage. The sugars in these drinks are very quickly absorbed into the blood stream and can cause a sugar spike. When the sugar spike is detected the excess sugar is turned into fat and you can get an ‘energy crash’.

www.mark-hughes.co.uk • Email: info@mark-hughes.co.uk