B2B's Top 5 Personal Training Secrets

There are certain techniques that a Personal Trainer likes to keep up their sleeve. Tried and tested bits of info that can mean the difference between fat and fit and that can generate astounding results when implemented. Well we've been sharing our own personal favorites with each other at b2b HQ and now we've decided to share them with you beautiful lot. Here's a list of some of the best.

The 20-minute cardio rule

You probably don't know this but during the first twenty minutes of exercise the energy that you are predominantly using comes from fat, after 20 minutes however your body favors carbohydrate in the form of glycogen stored in your muscles. Although you will still burn fat after 20 minutes the percentage used per minute is less. With this in mind I personally like to use this to my advantage by doing a 20-minute fat burning jog morning and evening. The added benefits are three fold; firstly you are burning fat, secondly it's easy cardio so nothing that is going to intimidate you throughout the day and the thought of getting up at 5am to do a twenty minute slow run is far more friendly than a sprint session for example. Thirdly because you are not using all of the glycogen in your muscles you will have plenty left for your main workout of the day, be it a Bootcamp or weights session. This technique over time will shred fat and really compliment your main session, giving you results even quicker.

Train until failure

What do we mean by failure? It means lifting a weight until the point of not being able to lift it any more, not to the point of it feeling uncomfortable, or until you feel the burn, but to the point where if someone offered you a million dirhams and an instant 6 pack for lifting the weight one more time you could not physically do it. A majority of the population needs more muscle. Why? Because it's muscle that burns calories and it's muscle that makes you look toned and sexy. Training until failure is the quickest route to building muscle. If your body can already lift a weight for ten reps, then why would it adapt to be able to lift more? Exactly it won't. You need to push your muscles to the point of failure in order for them to grow quickly, and so if you have been lifting the same weight for the same reps for more than a couple of weeks it's time to up the weight or the reps or both...and yes ladies this includes you.

Don't overthink it

We as human beings are natural problem solvers. We wouldn't have evolved as well as we have if we weren't. You should always aim to reduce everything to its lowest common denominator to keep things very simple go b2b (back to basics). This couldn't be truer with regards to diet. Unless you are a pro body builder or Olympian things really aren't that difficult.

The portions coming up are for a woman, men just double it.

I want you all to visualise an empty dinner plate. Now add one fist-sized portion of protein to that plate (chicken, beef, fish or eggs) - Good. Now add one fist-sized portion of carbohydrate to the plate (Sweet Potato, Quinoa, Oats or Basmati Rice) - Very Good. Next I want you to add one handful of colorful vegetables to your plate (Spinach, Carrots, Kale, Peppers, Beetroot etc.) - Excellent. Last but not least add half a thumb of good fats to your brimming but nutrient stacked plate (Avocado, Olive Oil, Nuts,) - Bravo!!! All you have to do is eat this three times a day and you will lose fat fast. Once you've reached your goal weight add a meal. That's all you have to do. Stop asking questions and just eat it and for gods sake don't believe anything you read in a magazine that isn't written by a qualified pt or dieticians. The only things fitness magazines are qualified in are entertainment, sales and oh yeh, bullshitting.

Sleep to lose fat

Sleep is definitely an unsung hero when talking about fat loss. Ok so you've nailed the diet, you're training like Rocky but you're just not getting the results that you deserve. Sleep or lack of it could be the reason. There are several negative things that happen to you on a physiological level when you choose to watch that extra episode of Suits instead of going to bed.

Firstly you're stress hormones (cortisol, norepinephrine & adrenaline) increase during the next day. This can lead to tissue breakdown, hunger hormones to be released (not good), a feeling of anxiety, increased fat storage (particularly visceral fat surrounding your organs) and chronic sleep issues can actually lead to an increase in heart disease. Not only that but your gym performance is definitely going to suffer, meaning more lethargic workouts due to low energy levels and insufficient sleep means insufficient muscle recovery.

Avoiding Injury

Proper warm-up and recovery is key to staying injury free. It's no good being 100% dedicated with training and diet if you're not looking after your body properly. Thorough warm ups are key to ensuring consistency and recovery from training. This is why all of our trainers will conduct a tested 10-15 minute dynamic warm-up such as concentrated lunging, hip mobility exercises as well as twisting and load baring exercises for the upper body. This will ensure proper flexibility and blood flow to all necessary muscles as well as increasing the lubrication of the synovial fluid in the body’s joints. After your workout, incorporate recovery techniques like foam rolling, massage and stretching to ensure the body remains supple and to reduce the risk of pain or soreness.

Lastly but very importantly, maintaining correct posture during exercise will ensure the recruitment of the intended muscle groups, as opposed to recruiting the wrong ones. Muscles are built around your skeleton, so if you are hunched over whilst conducting certain exercises your muscles will build around your poor posture, enforcing the wrong outcome and leaving you with multiple imbalances. The good news is that it works both ways, so if you workout with your posture in a neutral position, you can fix postural imbalances too and won't end up walking around like Quasimodo.