Avoiding the dreaded PLATEAU

IM BACCCCCCCKKKKKKK!!!!!!

Did you miss me?

The reason for my long exile was, well to be honest no topic lit my writing fire and I didn't want to force it with babbling rubbish. I could of done the cliché review of the 2012 Olympics, writing about what an inspiration it was to see amazing results being achieved with super human efforts by the athletes. I went against that as I didn't want to insult your intelligence as you all don't need me to tell you that hard work and dedication can result in anything you want to achieve, you know that right? DON'T YOU?


Anyway back to the topic at hand which has once again got my health & fitness brain ticking..... Avoiding the dreaded PLATEAU.

The reason I've decided to tackle this topic is due to the sheer volume of people I see in the gym on a daily basis, week to week, month to month, year to year doing the exact same routine and looking exactly the same. They're in a dead rut & in need of a fitness intervention. Our body has been created perfectly to adapt to the stresses & vigour we put it under, the day after your first tough effective workout when the aching sets in is the very moment your body begins to adapt. What happens during a workout is you create micro tears in the muscles, during sleep & rest days your body begins to repair itself, the muscles rebuilding stronger to avoid the repeat of the tearing.

The ache is not a bad thing, "embrace the ache" I say, its a sign of an effective workout, you want to force the body into adaptation mode, its only then that you will see a physical transformation. Like I said earlier we are wonderfully created so the adaptation period won't last long at all, only taking 2-3weeks before the body is fully acclimatised to your routine and screaming out for a new challenge. At this moment is when plateau begins to creep in and you need to take action to continue your progress towards physical transformation. I choose not to repeat the same exact session with my clients more than twice, constantly tweaking and adding new stuff to further challenge my clients. Every time you add something different to your workout you force the body to change, keep your workout the same and face your body staying the same.

My advice to you in avoiding plateau, after 2weeks increase the intensity of your workout by 5% so maybe increasing the reps or the weights that you do. After maybe 6weeks completely change your workout, confusing the body & again forcing adaptation. So for example if for 6weeks you've focused your training on building muscle, lifting heavy weights, mix it up with starting high intensity circuit training which is more cardio based working the muscles in a different challenging way, again forcing adaptation. Vice versa if you've done 6weeks of cardio introduce some heavy weight lifting, confusion works the body best and through that you'll attain the best results.

A body transformation programme should last 12weeks minimum.

Written by

Erron Dussard

Founder 

STONEiMAGE Management

Follow me on twitter: @STONEiMAGE

Mc D's fuel for elite athletes

Errrrrrm!!! So Mc D's are the official food sponsors of the 2012 Olympics. Im not talking about food olympics where you'll find people with big bellies tucking in to a mountain of food, No!!! I'm talking about the sporting olympics where we get to see elite athletes perform super human efforts to achieve greatness.
It has been reported that there will be 4 Mc D's restaurants within the olympic village to provide the elite athletes with nutritious meals to fuel them into breaking records.

So how did this happen?

For the organisers its obviously not about the nutritional content of the food but the nutritional content of that cheque being provided. What sort of message is this sending out to our ever growing obese children? Eat salt rich fries & processed meat so that you too can run the 100m like Usain Bolt. Child obesity is not a future problem, it is here and now, I'm walking down the streets seeing children as young as 5 and 6 who probably weigh the same if not more than me. Don't even get me started on what these same children are walking & eating after school or the 4 chicken & chip shops that they have to walk past just to get to the bus stop. The Olympic should be promoting a healthier image with the aims to leaving a sporting legacy for our younger people. After the games we want our young people to be running, jumping, kicking and throwing all that they can with aspirations of becoming the next Usain Bolt, Jessica Ennis or Mo Farah. This will not be the case if every 10mins the olympics has to be interrupted for a Mc D's advertisement that their millions have paid for.

But this is just my opinion, who am I to comment, at the end of the day Money Talks, right?!

Written by

Erron Dussard
STONEiMAGE Management
www.stone-img.com

Workout to suit your body type

We all come in different shapes and sizes, therefore the results we achieve through training are different. Our maximum potentials are different and the speed in which we attain results will be different.  Have you ever wondered why your friend only needs to look at a dumbbell before he starts swelling up with muscle? Or why your sister can drop a dress size in a week just by controlling her eating?  While you fight tooth and nail just to lose a couple of pounds. It all comes down to the different body-types.

There are 3 categories known as the Somatotype which are used to describe someone’s body shape, Ectomorph (long limbs and slender), Mesomorph (broad shoulders) and Endomorph (round physique). You will generally tend to fall into one of the categories but it is not unusual to have a blend of 2. What I have done is break down the respective groups and suggest workout methods to help you achieve your goal.

Typical traits of an ectomorph:

•          Small “delicate” frame and bone structure
•          Flat chest
•          Small shoulders
•          Thin long limbs
•          Lean muscle mass
•          Finds it hard to gain weight
•          Fast metabolism

Ectomorphs struggle to gain weight easily so if you fall into this category and your fitness goal is to gain size then you will need to really increase your calorie intake substantially, eating loads of protein and supplementation is recommended. In terms of exercise you want to focus on compound movements working the larger muscle groups. Exercises for you are Squats, Deadlifts, Bench press, Pull ups and dips, working in a rep range of 8-12.

Typical traits on a Mesomorph:

•         Athletic
•          Hard body with well defined muscles
•          Rectangular shaped body
•          Strong broad shoulders
•          Gains muscle easily
•          Gains fat more easily than ectomorphs

Mesomorphs gain muscle easily and are best suited to weight training; the only problem is they can put on fat quickly. If your desire is to gain muscle but stay cut then I suggest you watch your calorie intake and include High Intensity Interval Training with your weight sessions. Interval sets of 1min sprints followed by 3mins jogging at a slower pace repeating for 20-30mins or incorporate a circuit session in your weekly regime also where you do a sequence of exercises packed together without rest in between, normally done by a measure of time rather than reps.

Typical traits of an Endomorph:

·        Soft and round body

·        Gains muscle and fat very easily

·        Is generally short and “stocky”

·        Round physique

·        Finds it hard to lose fat

·        Slow metabolism

Endomorphs carry the most fat so to trim down, dietary habits are important and you’ll need to do loads of cardio as well as lifting light weights doing high repetitions of 15+. A cardio exercise that is highly recommended is Boxing which is great for toning and burning the fat plus loads of fun.

Written by

Erron Dussard

STONEiMAGE Management LTD

@Stoneimage

Better health more wealth

We relate the acquisition of wealth to working hard, having an entrepreneurial mind or having a god given talent. How many of you relate the acquisition of wealth to your health?

Well its logical to think that better health means less days off sick, more work done, better appraisals leading ultimately to salary increases and promotions. Looking into it a little deeper, post exercise there is a release of endorphins into the body similar to that after orgasm which gives you that feel good factor. Those who exercise frequently benefit hugely from this natural high, so much so that when you extract exercise from the routine it is normal to feel low & depressed. Those who exercise frequently have lower stress levels than their lazier counterparts.  Your productivity levels will  go through the roof , your thirst for new challenges and opportunities will increase, your mind will be clearer of stress to be more creative and you will be far happier.


I had a phone conversation with my aunt after she done the STONEiMAGE30minCircuit, she was deliriously high on endorphins, you could hear the excitement in her voice. She said post workout that she was feeling really energised which is down to kickstarting your metabolism into gear. After 6-9hrs of sleep your metabolism slows itself down as you don't need the energy throughout the night, that is why when we first get up everything we do is in slow motion, that knocks on to how you start work and so on. A bit of exercise in the morning can really ignite your day and set you up for a real good one, TRY IT!!! Added to the biological benefits you also look better, when you look better you definitely feel better, your confidence is high and you wake up every day with a real purpose.


 The longest I've gone without exercise is 8weeks which I enforced on myself when I done the STONEiMAGE Experiment last year and those 2 months were my most unproductive months to date since I've been in business. A lack of energy, enthusiasm and motivation financially put a strain on the company and in that period I did not sign up 1 new client. I was a mere shadow of my previous self, very glum and uninspiring, I'm probably lucky to of kept my clients during that period. Once I restarted exercise again I felt rejuvenated, the spring in my step was back, I felt a lot better about myself therefore working better and being a better trainer to my clients. Within days I had signed up 2 new clients and not because I done anything different in my approach but my aura would have been better, much more approachable and enthused which led to those 2 people wanting to train with me. Exercise gives me the energy to take on new business challenges and explore new opportunities which can only be beneficial. 


To achieve all that you wish to achieve you need to be at your best both mind and body. They work in tandem  so for me, to have an imbalance in one aspect of your life it is surely to have affect on another. 


Written by


Erron Dussard
STONEiMAGE Management
www.stone-img.com

Too busy for your HEALTH

"I really want to get in shape but I don't have the time."
"I only have about 30mins training time, what effective workout can I do?"
"I don't want to sign up with a gym membership".

1st off I'm going to challenge those who say they do not have time to exercise, "like really, come on." No matter how busy you are you should afford 3hrs a week to your health. Your health is the most important thing above all, so my answer to you is make time. I question how much those said people actually really want to be fit & healthy, they're more into the idea of exercising rather than actually doing it. Exercise shouldn't be a hobby or chore but a way of life, we were made to move so get moving!!!

3hrs a week can be accumulated over a few days, now tell me 30mins a day is not feasible for 6days. Still not feasible? Please click the "X" at the top right corner of the screen...........
Ok now to all those who are now sitting up in their seats paying attention 30mins a day can still be effective. High intensity training is the newly publicised form of training, short, sharp & intense. Like Interval sprints over long drawn out jogs, its all about high intensity in short bursts followed by rest periods.

There is no better form of training for this then circuit. A sequence of exercises done one after the other with no rest in between for a set amount of time followed by a short recovery period and then move on to the next sequence or repeat. High intensity is all about getting the heart up working at 80-100% capacity. There is this suggestion that for fat loss you should work in the 'fat burning zone' which is more 30-50% capacity. I agree working at that capacity is more fat burning than fitness but working at high intensity will ultimately burn more calories, improve fitness & increase your metabolic rate so even after training your furnace like body will still be burning calories at a high rate hours/days after your workout. Now why would you spend 1hr plodding along on the treadmill, bike or x-trainer when you can do a high intensity circuit for half the time, improve your fitness, burn more calories during & after workout?! With your extra 30mins now you can get back to working busily.

"ok I'm convinced, how do I devise a circuit?"

Problem solved I've devised a 'STONEiMAGE 30min Circuit' training routine that you can do. It gets even better this circuit requires no equipment & can be done anywhere (no gym membership needed), your body is all the tool that is needed. How do you get your hands on said circuit??? To get started all you need to do is email info@stone-img.com and quote 'STONEiMAGE 30min Circuit', oh yeah did I mention its FREE!!!

Circuit training is for all fitness levels, you do as many repetitions as you can in the set time. The programme will always remain challenging as the fitter you get the more reps you'll do. 30mins a day, 6days a week with 1 days rest, do this for 4weeks maintaining a healthy diet & I guarantee change (take before & after photos as proof, best results will get a prize).

Allegedly summer is around the corner, are you beach ready? What you waiting for?! Email me info@stone-img.com quote 'STONEiMAGE 30min Circuit'

Written by

Erron Dussard
STONEiMAGE Management
www.stone-img.com

Fat loss over weight loss

"I don't get it, whats the difference?"

Well yes there is a difference that many are unaware of and knowing the difference may lead you to reassessing your fitness goals. Major difference is what happens to the fat in your body, with weight loss you may follow a cardio based training programme which not only burns fat but muscle too. Whereas fat loss is all about reducing your body and visceral (internal more dangerous fat surrounding your organs) fat while increasing muscle percentage which will be created by following a weights & high intensity cardio programme.

"So if I lose fat and increase muscle I will still be the same size?"

No, muscle is a lot more dense than fat so even though weighing the same a stone of muscle will appear a lot smaller than a stone of fat. We all have muscle on our body which contracts to create movement but what makes us appear bigger or smaller are the levels of fat on top.

"But my weight is too high for my height and my BMI says I'm overweight".

BMI readings are just a general measurement which doesn't take the specific distribution of weight into consideration. An olympic sprinter for example is clinically obese using the BMI measurements, I myself have a BMI reading of 26.2 which makes me overweight as the bracket deemed as normal is 18-25. Neither myself or any olympic sprinter would ever be seen as overweight or obese and any suggestion of needing to lose weight would be laughed at.

"ok i'm beginning to understand a little, so what will happen to my body shape with fat loss?"

Ok with losing fat and increasing muscle you will be left looking smaller, leaner while creating a more defined & clear body shape. You can drop dress/suit sizes without dropping too much weight and with a more definite shape your clothes will hold better. Looking in the mirror you will look completely different even if you don't weigh much different.

Once again a blog inspired by a client/trainer conversation and I hope this article will be of useful note when setting your fitness goals. Forget the weighing scales, concentrate more on body composition and measurements of key areas arms, chest, waist (measure at point of belly button), hips (around widest area of hip) and thighs (just below buttocks). Allow your clothes to be your guide, set clothe sizes as your goal.

Fat loss over weight loss

Written by

Erron Dussard
STONEiMAGE Management
www.stone-img.com

The No Carb Diet, STONEiMAGE's verdict

Over the last 2weeks I decided to investigate the no carb diet phenomenon. To say the diet has created a lot of controversy would be an understatement but I thought, hey what the hell, if I'm going to form an opinion on the subject then I should understand it more. So here I am once again experimenting with my body (we all remember what I put it through last yr).

The benefits of eating a non-carb diet are dramatic weight loss and bodyfat reduction in a short period of time. This is because the body turns to fat as its primary energy source in the absence of carbs. Now the opposing controversial effects of a non-carb diet are tiredness & lack of concentration which is because carbs provide the energy to the brain once broken down.

So the last 2weeks have been enlightening for me as I have carbs with every meal normally. Oats, Pasta, Rice, Potato, Bread & Fruit were all off limits. I pretty much went to the extreme of having chicken morning, noon & night literally with babybel's cheese being the snack of choice. The 1st 5days were the toughest with headaches, tiredness & dehydration being the main effects. Up to lunchtime would be fine but by the early evening I found myself feeling really tired & with the headaches I found myself becoming a bit ratty (luckily my clients didn't realise as I concealed the feeling, the fact they see that as my normal behaviour is a bit alarming. Maybe I am an evil sadist). Anyway back were the days of afternoon naps like a baby very similar to what was needed in my last experiment, 1hr would normally do the trick. On another note, no amount of water that I drank would seem to quench my thirst always feeling dehydrated (some days drinking over 3ltrs) & with a horrible dry taste in my mouth, mouthwash was never far away to freshen up. As I began to get annoyed with the constant tiredness & headaches there it was, the silver lining. I had Just finished a light workout (I didn't have the energy to muster anything else) and I was about to go in the shower when I glimpsed my reflection (vein much?!) my abs were showing quite a bit more than before & with just 5days gone even if for a short moment all the negative feelings towards the 'no carb diet' disappeared. Now I know to start with my stomach is fairly toned but the more you get into training the more you look to improve & fine tune the minute of details, so to see this little improvement was something of an achievement. "This no carb malarkey isn't half bad", I allowed myself to think but that all came crashing down at my track sessions on Sundays at Ladywell Arena, Catford, 11am, all are welcome (had to plug it a little). Luckily for me the weather or for whatever reason had resulted in no one turning up. I was there on me tod and quite relieved as even though it was morning I had already felt tired, so I planned a light sprint session. Rocking up about 15-20mins late came my cousin to join in the fun, there & then I knew I would have to work harder than planned. So the structure of our sprint sessions goes 3x150m, 3x100m & 3x50m all ran flat out at maximum effort. The 1st 2 150's I got through with relative ease and I guess the ego got the best of me as we started to stagger the starts and as they usually do, for the better I must add it got a bit competitive. I now decided that I would have to run down my cousin who had a head-start and therefore run 2 or 3 times harder. After the last 150 and 2nd 100m sprint I began to feel so light headed and nauseous that I thought I would faint (don't worry I'm not expecting any sympathy). With my blood sugar already low from the dieting I was doing myself no favours working at 90-100% capacity. When working at such a high intensity your sugar stores are usually burned up so quickly and the fat reserves are called in to use as a secondary energy source, that's why intensity training is the latest thing to be encouraged, short & high energy. So with no carbs in my system and presumably my fat stores running out I was running on empty like a Ferrari without fuel and we all know what will happen if you drive without fuel, eventually the car will breakdown. Luckily my cousin didn't push through with a request for 3x50m at the end which is surprising as when the roles are reversed I am not so forgiving which I'm sure a lot of you can vouch for. After session I was literally craving for sugar like a crack fiend and broke my diet to have a banana, believe me it was really needed. Home, eat & sleep was the order of the day after that. I've only ever felt that bad once and that was again at track but in searing heat.

Week2 it seemed that my body had become accustomed to the lack of carbs and without any high intense training I was getting through the days without needing sleep. I even went for a 10km run on Tuesday even though I ran at a slower than usual pace & it was only then the light headed feeling and rattiness reappeared. Physically I was looking even more toned & in just 10days I had lost 2kg and 2.5% of bodyfat.

Pre no carb diet 9.5% bodyfat

Post no carb diet 7% bodyfat

So now today, the end of the experiment & I cant wait to introduce carbs back in to my life after the exile. Conscious that craving the carbs my body will become like a sponge, absorbing and storing the carbs as fat I will re-introduce gradually. This is the mistake many make and end up putting the weight plus some, all back on hence the term yo-yo dieting.

The verdict.........

My thoughts are while I may in my opinion look better, I don't feel as good as I look and it leaves me to pose the question, "No carb diet, vanity over health, is it really worth it???" I'd have to say no, I love my crazy high intensity workouts and I can not operate normally training my clients to the best of my ability during a no carb diet when I feel lethargic. What I will change in my eating is the amount of carbs I have no longer eating carbs in the evening when the sugar isn't needed as I'm not as active (carbs not used up turns to fat). For a short period of 10days before a holiday, wedding, etc I can see the appeal as the results are amazing and very instant. All I would advise is its a false look as you cannot maintain eating that way for a long time and will resort back to size or gain more once you re-introduce carbs. So if you must, do it for only a short period, this is not a healthy long term solution. Its simple exercise, work hard & eat a healthy balanced diet.


Written by

Erron Dussard
STONEiMAGE Management Ltd
www.stone-img.com