Fun meets function in the Nike Relay Strappy Women’s Tank Top. Featuring double straps and pops of colour, this tank top has sweat-wicking fabric and flat-seams for a distractions-free fit.

Benefits

• Dri-FIT fabric to wick sweat away and help keep you dry and comfortable
• Flat-seam construction to minimize chafing
• Cut out shoulder detail for enhanced ventilation
• Body-skimming fit for reduced bulk

Additional Details

• Fabric: 100% polyester
• Reflective elements for enhanced visibility in low light
• Machine wash

PRODUCT REVIEW – Nike Strappy Vest Top by Ashleigh – R4W forum member

STYLE – Love the style, common typical vest but back detail modern. Loved the pocket for MP3 player. Score 5/5

COMFORT – Shape of vest is excellent fits well and moves when running, very comfortable. Score 5/5

BREATH ABILITY – Slightly tight under arms but overall very good material. Score 4/5

QUALITY – Excellent quality, exactly what I would expect from Nike! Score 5/5

COLOUR – Nice colour, bright but practical. Score 5/5

OVERALL – Would recommend and would buy more, loved it, best vest I’ve warn for a long time. Score 5/5

RRP: £20.00

Available from Nike

Related posts:

1. Zoca – Loose Fit Vest
2. RunBreeze Womens Performance Running Vest
3. Product Review – NIKE Zoom Elite+ 5

Breo believe that life is for living. Don’t blend in. Don’t settle for the mundane. However you want to escape the everyday, have fun. And do it in style.

The Zone fuses all the functional elements of a top sports watch with a highly stylish look perfectly incorporating both style and substance. The multifunctional digital display includes chronograph, a light, a date display, an alarm and a 15 lap memory. The watch is also water resistant to 10ATM making it the perfect sports companion for water based activities.

Features

• B-TI-ZNE2 Zone Purple Breo Watch
• Breo Zone Collection
• Purple silicon strap
• Digital display
• Alarm functions
• Shockproof
• 24 hour world time zone
• Water resistant up to 10 ATM
• Breo watch presentation box
• 2 year manufacturer’s movement warranty
• Breo Watch official stockists

Zone Purple Breo Watch B-TI-ZNE2.  The Zone B-TI-ZNE2 digital watch is one of Breo Watches most functional watches, featuring purple silicon strap, digital LCD display, shockproof, three countdown timers, chronograph with 15 lap memory, 24 world time zone selection, ultra bright backlight, five single alarms and 3 daily alarms.  The Breo Zone purple watch has a 20mm thick strap and 45mm wide case.  The purple Zone watch is extremely light and comfortable on the wrist.  This B-TI-ZNE2 purple unisex watch has a desirable sports design.  This watch is manufactured to the highest of standards. The Zone watch is ideal for teens, men or women. The purple Zone watch comes complete with a Breo Watch plastic display case. Tic Watches are authorised stockists of Breo Watches so this silicon watch comes with a Breo Watch 2 year manufacturer’s warranty.

Product Review – Breo Zone Sports Watch – R4W member

Style: Very up to date stylish watch, strap was really comfortable. Score: 5/5

Colour: Loved the colour really nice purple. Score 5/5

Functionality: Excellent choice of sports watch, really useful being water resistant which makes it ideal for a whole range of sporting activities. Really easy to use. Score 4/5

Overall: Would not have thought of Breo for a sports watch, but it is easy to use, very functional and really stylish. Would recommend this watch. Score 4.5/5

RRP: £55.00

Available from Breo

Related posts:

1. Product Review – SealSkinz Waterproof Cap
2. Product Review – SealSkinz Waterproof Beanie Hat
3. Product Review – NIKE Zoom Elite+ 5

Our bodies are comprised of about 70% water. We lose about a litre (34 ounces) of water per day under normal circumstances and when the temperature in our body rises, as during exercise, we lose higher amounts of water through sweat. It only makes sense that we need to continually replenish this supply for water is necessary for nearly every function in our body. Water regulates our temperature, supports and protects our organs, helps with digestion, transports nutrients to our muscles and helps move along waste by products.

Water is, in essence, the key to fat metabolism. Here’s why: one of you liver’s primary functions is to metabolize stored fat to be burned for energy. If you are dehydrated, the kidneys cannot function properly and the liver begins to take over – as a result of working overtime, the liver metabolizes LESS fat so MORE fat remains in your body.

Water is a natural appetite suppressant. Drinking lots of water throughout the day helps to keep you feeling full. If your stomach feels full – you are less likely to overeat!

Remember that alcohol and caffeine are diuretics, making you lose even more water, so be sure to compensate for the additional loss.

How to do it: You can replace the water lost during a typical day by drinking a minimum of 6-8 8 oz. glasses of water a day. Begin by drinking your first big glass of water right when you wake up. Drink a full glass of water with each meal. Keep water with you at all times.

To prevent dehydration, make sure you’re drinking adequate amounts of water before, during and after a workout. As a rule of thumb, drink 8-12 ounces of water at least an hour before beginning to exercise, 8 oz during exercise and 8 oz when finished. If you are hungry about an hour after eating, try drinking a glass or two of water- you maybe misreading thirst for hunger. If you are still hungry after 15-20 minutes then proceed with a supportive snack to tide you over until your next meal.

Related posts:

1. Weight Loss Strategies For Runners Part 2
2. You Can Drink Too Much Water
3. The Key to Weight Loss For Runners

It means the ability to go on working for hours at a slow speed, or with alternating periods of high level and low level activity. If the pace is slow, most of the energy will come from fats – and a kilogram of fat provides enough energy to run for 50 miles. Moreover, in a slow-paced event it is possible to take in high carbohydrate drinks on the move. Since speed is less important for these types of events, older athletes are not handicapped by lack of pace and may have better capacities for metabolising fatty acids than their younger counterparts.

As you get older, the elasticity of your heart diminishes and with it your maximum heart rate. The rule of thumb is that your maximum heart rate, in beats per minute, is 214 minus (0.8 x age), but consistent training slows the decline. In any case, when adopting ‘ready-made’ training schedules from a book, it is advisable to check your real heart rate rather than relying on an estimate. Other things being equal, the greater your aerobic fitness the less

stressed you will be in a strenuous sport and the greater will be your endurance.

Ageing and hormones

How much is too much exercise?

Age and Performance:

Part 1:

With age, we become increasingly prone to such ‘degenerative diseases’ as heart disease, cancer, hypertension, diabetes and bowel diseases. But most of these are preventable to some degree, with exercise – and particularly endurance exercise –playing a significant role.

It is important to realise that your body need not decline significantly – especially between age 30 and 60 – as long as you continue to make it work! Exercise has been described as the elixir of life since it can reduce your risk of a variety of ills and even slow down the aging process.

Related posts:

1. What Is Endurance?
2. Age and Performance
3. Strength Training Enhances Distance Running Performance

• 100% waterproof and breathable
• Knitted acrylic for minimum water absorption and maximum repellency
• Micro fleece lining for warmth and comfort

Whatever the weather SealSkinz hats keep your head warm and dry

Product Review – SealSkinz Waterproof Beanie Hat – by Kate R4W forum member

Style – Looks good logo very small on front which is good. Score 4/5

Comfort/fit – Well made and very comfortable beanie .Score 4/5

Freshness With all the wet weather we have been having over the last few months this beanie has been ideal and had been getting some really soakings but has kept my head very warm and dry and fresh. Score 5/5

Quality – Very good quality. Score 5/5

Overall - Very comfortable would recommend as a useful addition to your running accessories.  Score 4.5/5

RRP £25.00

Available from Sealskinz

Related posts:

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2. Product Review – SealSkinz Waterproof Cap
3. SealSkinz – Waterproof Breathable Thin Mid Length Socks

So we’re half way through the year.  Our New Year resolutions were probably made for our planned fitness regime, new diet and great health-conscious intentions, but how many people actually achieve their goals?  The answer is not many!  But for those that do, wouldn’t it be good to know how they made their plan and great to understand how they stuck to it.

It tends to take the excesses of Christmas for us to stop over indulging. Then, the start of a new year marks the turning point for a new beginning and a new ‘you.’  Yet, after a couple of weeks in January of cutting back on the alcohol, may be visiting the gym a few times and going out a bit less, most people feel that they’ve done their bit towards this new campaign of healthier living.   The majority then slip back into old habits as the nights out are planned, the overdraft gets paid down and life gets back to ‘normal’ which usually means leading pretty much the same lifestyle as before.  It takes a very committed person to have the willpower to continue with diet and exercise goals, especially if they’re going to mean altering the way of doing things.

And this is the key to success.   Because it rests on the fact that to change the shape of your body, you need to address your lifestyle choices surrounding why your body is in the shape it currently is, and consider how you want your body to work for you in the future.

For instance, its not enough to exercise without addressing diet:  Its not enough to put yourself on a ‘diet’ without doing any exercise.  And its certainly not going to achieve any long term weight loss or change in body shape if you put yourself on a crash ‘diet’ consisting of things like chemically charged shakes and meal substitutes in place of eating and drinking healthily and in moderation. The reason for this:  You need to exercise your body properly to burn calories, lose excess weight and tone up.  And you need to fuel your body with the necessary energy producing food in order to do this.  Only then will you be able to alter your body shape and sustain it.  Yet this equation takes planning, time, effort and commitment; results don’t happen over night and a few weeks of cutting back won’t exactly have a massive impact.  And there lies the problem:  Most people want instant results, expect that in our 24/7 society, we can decide when we want a different body shape and think we can just go and get it.  Yet, to notice a real difference, you need to be in it for the long term and make a lifestyle change combining exercise with a reduction in the amount consumed, or it tends to be short term effect with little reward.

The way to make this change is to set realistic, specific and achievable goals.   If you pitch it too high, then the chances are you won’t achieve your end result.  If you expect results immediately, then you’ll probably become disillusioned and demotivated by the fact that you’re not getting instant changes.  And if you vaguely cut back on something you like to consume and occasionally do a bit of exercise, then in reality you’re not going to make much difference to your body, other than convincing yourself that you’re being ‘virtuous’ by doing something about it as opposed to absolutely nothing!

But if you set a carefully planned target for yourself which is achievable given your day to day commitments, your time available, your budget and your starting point, then you’re much more likely to embark on a journey which has an achievable destination.  By setting yourself markers along the way to check your progress, then you can tangibly see that you’re getting results and making some progress.

For example, if you set yourself a goal of keeping a food diary to enable you to think about what you’re consuming, when and how often, combined with thinking about how you felt as a result, you will soon start to see where the problems lie.  For instance, have you ever considered how sluggish you felt after eating certain foods?  Have you ever thought of various drinks being a source of excessive sugar and calories?  Or have you considered that just by substituting white processed bread for something similar tasting yet containing some fibre and vitamins, you could improve your overall health without even noticing?
And if you set yourself an exercise goal, then you’re exercising for a reason, rather than aimlessly ‘going to the gym’ or running round the same old route.  Because if you understand why you’re doing something, it tends to make ‘the doing’ a lot more focused, effective and enjoyable as you visualise the end result and see your progress.

So whether your goal is to lose weight, to change shape, to run a 10k or a Marathon, its the goal that’s key.  And whether its the fear of not being able to do something, of not being able to fit into a favourite outfit, or whether it’s the praise and compliments that you seek, identify what your goal is and how you’re going to get there.  And, perhaps fundamentally, ask yourself why you want to get there.  Once you’ve identified these key factors, as long as you have the willpower, then you’re highly likely to achieve your aim.  So, as we approach the second half of the year, why not make new resolutions for the rest of 2012 and or ask yourself how you’ve done so far.  And if you’re not on track, ask yourself  why, then decide what will make you get back out there!

Annie Jacks

www.personaltrainingworks.co.uk

Related posts:

1. Setting Short and Long Term Goals
2. New Year, New You…….Really?
3. Running That Perfect Half Marathon

8. Give yourself enough travel time

9. Assemble your gear.
Assemble all you running kit the night before, pin your race number on your vest and lay it out ready for the morning, seeing this on waking will motivate you. Pack a bag with Vaseline, extra safety pins, toilet paper and bottled water and make sure you have any food supplements that you need prior and / or during the event. Don’t forget a small snack for after the event. If it helps, make a list and simply tick the boxes.

10. Get enough rest.
It is very important to get a good enough rest before the race and to go to bed at the normal time. We become conditioned to awakening at a certain time each morning, and this time is not influenced by how late we go to bed. Athletes who go to bed late at night thinking that they will simply awake later the next morning are wrong. They will wake at the same time and will therefore sleep fewer hours. It is especially important to go to bed very early the second-last night before the race and to sleep as many hours as possible that night.

11. Wake up right.
• Avoid using an alarm clock with a loud and jarring ring. The idea is to be nudged awake by a gently alarm or by a quiet knock on the door.
• Make your drink of choice so that you can wake up gradually while enjoying the sensory pleasure of drinking.
• Repeat some positive statements about how well you feel, what a beautiful day it is, and how excited you are about the race.

12. Eat a Pre Race breakfast
Provided you eat dinner the night before a 10 or 21km race, you do not have to eat breakfast before a morning race. But if you are accustomed to eating before running in the morning, you should not feel compelled to change. The reason eating breakfast is not essential before races of up to 21km is that such races do not cause muscle or liver glycogen depletion, making hypoglycaemia an unlikely cause of fatigue at these distances. The main effect of the pre race breakfast is to restock the liver glycogen stores that have been partially depleted by the overnight fast and to prevent hypoglycaemia from developing.

13. Warm Up.
Having prepared both mentally and physically, it is time to take to the road. Check in early at the race start and leave yourself at least 30 minutes for adequate stretching, a gently warm up, and a final mental tuning. Stretching is essential to overcome the overnight tightness and inflexibility that will have developed in your most trained muscles; the calves, hamstrings and back muscles. Set aside about 15 minutes for this. Once you have stretched and warmed up, with 5 minutes to go before the race start, drink between 300 and 500ml of cold fluid, preferably the carbohydrate containing solution of your choice.

14. Run a good race.
You will soon learn that, next to your running shoes, a heart rate monitor with a digital stop watch is you most critical companion in any race, and the more so the longer the race. Having recorded the time that you actually crossed the start line, your immediate priority should be to achieve the correct running pace as quickly as possible. For novice runners this is often difficult to get right. The only way to correct this is to calculate the running pace over the each of the first two kilometres by calculating your actual running time at the first and second kilometre marks, not you total elapsed time from the official start of the race. If you fail do make this correction you will calculate that you are running slower than you actually are and may therefore be tempted to speed up.

Pacing
The goal of pacing is to run the race at an even pace – the pace you feel you can complete the race in should have been arrived at in the days leading up to the race. It is vital that you first kilometre is run at your proposed race pace or slightly slower. For the novice runner this is usually impossible so the only thing to do is to check your first kilometre time and make a concerted effort to slow down.

Drinking
Drinking and sponging is relatively unimportant in races which take less than 60 minutes. In contrast, in longer races, it is important to start drinking at around the 3k mark. It is important to start drinking early, as the rate of fluid absorption from the intestine continues at a constant rate and cannot make up for time lost if the stomach stays empty for some time after the start of the race.

Mental imaging
Once you have settled into the race (usually after a few kilometres) and are running at the appropriate pace, start associating if you wish to race at your best possible pace. The key to associating is to concentrate on precisely what you are doing each step of the way and to exclude the distractions of all the runners surrounding you.

Late Race problem solving
Near the end of any race, regardless of its distance, fatigue becomes a real issue. After completing their first 5k, novices want to run 10k or 21k a distance for which they are not yet properly prepared.
The result is that the last third of these races will probably cause a feeling of progressive fatigue and growing despair. The solution is to adopt the associating form of mental imagery and to segment the remaining distance into manageable segments, usually of 1km. You then focus all your efforts on getting through the next race segment without any concern for the total distance remaining. At first, almost imperceptibly, the remaining distance starts to shorten until quite suddenly, it becomes manageable.

After your race
After races of 10 – 21km, all runners will be mildly dehydrated and should drink sufficient liquid to correct any dehydration and sodium chloride loss incurred. The best drinks to correct this dehydration are those that you usually favour and that you will therefore drink in the required volumes.
The body can only correct its water losses after exercise if the sodium chloride losses are replaced at the same time. The body, as it were, concerns itself with correcting the sodium chloride losses and allows water deficit to be restored only when the sodium deficit has been corrected.

Related posts:

1. Race Preparation -Part 1
2. What Happens on Race Day?
3. 10 Ways to Avoid Those Race Day Hiccups

Many girls say they enjoy exercise, but not PE or sports

“Schoolgirls are being put off exercise and sport by their PE lessons,” The Daily Telegraph has reported. Apparently, many young girls feel self-conscious when exercising or unhappy about the activities on offer.

These news stories are based on a report from the Women’s Sport and Fitness Foundation (WSFF), which looked at the views girls and boys hold about physical activity, sport and PE lessons. The report found that only 12% of girls aged 14 get enough physical activity each week – roughly half the number of boys at the same age. The report found that girls do want to be active, take part in physical activity and remain healthy, but the researchers attribute the lack of participation to girls feeling they don’t have a suitable outlet.

The report also highlights just how big a problem physical inactivity has become in the UK, with overall physical activity levels for 11 to 15-year-olds lagging behind those of many other developed countries. Child obesity rates are described as “particularly worrying”, with almost one in three overweight in England. Physical inactivity among children is associated with a range of negative outcomes including obesity and low self-esteem.

Overall, this report reveals a gap between the types of activities girls want to do and the ones on offer. It suggests there needs to be careful consideration of new ways to help children stay fit and to encourage children to take up different types of activity. The result would be not only to encourage them to keep fit now, but also to help them find fun activities that can keep them healthy as they grow into adults.

What did the report examine?

The report explored the views girls and boys hold on physical activity, sport and physical education (PE) and looked at the influence of schools, friends and families. The research was carried out between September 2009 and August 2011 and included interviews with parents and PE teachers. The researchers wanted to offer some explanation for the low levels of activity generally seen among girls.

The Women’s Sport and Fitness Foundation (WSFF) commissioned the research, which was carried out by the Institute of Youth Sport at Loughborough University in two parts. In the first part:

• Just over 1,500 boys and girls in the UK (341 from primary school and 1,166 from secondary school) were surveyed to investigate how and when girls turn away from an active lifestyle, and why they do so.
• Thirty-six focus groups involving 169 young people (101 girls and 68 boys) discussed participation in physical activity from pre-school to their current age. Eleven teachers were also asked to answer brief questionnaires on their experience of the barriers to participation in sport and PE.

In the second part, 16 further focus groups explored experiences, thoughts and opinions relating to three key aspects of sport and physical activity:

• competition and fun
• family and friends
• identity

Six teacher interviews were also carried out to explore teacher opinions and a small number of questionnaires were also completed by parents of the girls involved, although take-up of this was very low.

Are girls getting enough exercise?

Although some girls will be getting enough exercise, the simple answer based on this report is no, girls are not getting enough exercise. The health survey conducted in England showed that only 12% of girls aged 14 do enough physical activity to benefit their health. This figure is supported by a national survey carried out in collaboration with the World Health Organization, which showed that only 15% of girls aged 11 to 15 years participate in the recommended levels of physical activity.

What do girls think of sport?

Findings from this report suggest that, despite low levels of physical activity, girls want to be active, take part in physical activity and stay healthy – 76% of 15-year-olds say they would like to do more physical activity.

However, despite this desire to be more active, attitudes to sport and physical activity are mixed. The report found that girls become less positive about sport and physical activity as they get older, with a greater decline compared with boys. Furthermore, it found that girls are concerned with having some choice in the activity available, having fun, being with friends and enjoying sport rather than competing and representing their school. Girls also see some aspects of being sporty as unfeminine.

The report found that girls also perceive more barriers to being active than boys and that the barriers increasingly include body image issues as they get older. Additional barriers reported include a lack of family support, insufficient choice of activity, a feeling that only the talented are encouraged and fewer role models for girls.

How can girls be encouraged to exercise?

The report points out that, as well as traditional activities, there are many other ways that young people can build physical activity into their lives. Choosing activities that the individual finds enjoyable and trying to include activity in their daily routine are important ways to encourage participation. Findings from this report also suggest that families have a large impact on children’s activity levels and, where possible, parents should act as positive role models and encourage their children to participate in a range of activities that suit their child.

Despite some of the negative opinions raised in surveys, the authors of the report say that schools are still an ideal place for physical activity to take place, as activity is timetabled and participation can be measured. However, it is important that schools offer a range of activities that appeal to more than just the ‘sporty’ types, and that they are offered and delivered in a way that is appealing to both sexes, say the authors.

How much exercise do people generally need?

The amount of activity you need to do each week depends on your age, but young people aged between five and 18 years need to do at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day. This activity should be a mix of:

• moderate intensity activity such as brisk walking or playing in the playground
• vigorous intensity activity such as gymnastics, dancing or running
• activities to strengthen muscles and bones, such as push-ups and running, perfomed on three days a week

Young people should also minimise the amount of time they spend sitting watching television and playing computer games. Where possible, walking or cycling instead of travelling by car is encouraged.

There are many ways that young people can build physical activity into their lives. Including physical activity into a daily routine, for example walking or cycling to school, can be an easy way to become more active. Encouraging children to do activities they like is also a good way of making activity fun and enjoyable rather than a chore.

Article courtesy of:

www.nhs.co.uk

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One of the attractions of running is that it is possible to prepare properly for a race and be fairly certain of the outcome. Chance plays only a small role in running; what happens is predictable on the basis of the runner’s physical endowment, recent race history, and training history.
Therefore, to be successful – which means running to the limit of your particular ability within the constraints imposed by your environment, including work, study, family responsibilities, or all three – you must follow certain rules in both training and racing. These rules ensure that the time you spend in training is not wasted and that it produces your best possible result.

Here are 13 steps you should take when preparing for a race together with information on what to do after a race:

Step 1: Run Progressively longer races:
Before attempting races of 10km or longer, start running some longer races three to nine months before your planned race. Doing so helps you become accustomed to the distractions that accompany long races.

Step 2: Acclimatise to Heat:
Another problem faced by many runners is that most of our training is done in the cooler times of the day, either in early morning or late evenings. The result is that most of us are not adequately acclimatised for exercise in the heat because we have not trained sufficiently in warm conditions. Therefore the wise runner will undergo a period of heat acclimatisation consisting of running in the heat for five to eight sessions leading up to a hot weather race.

Step 3: Taper Your Training:
It is important that you do not carry your hard training right up to race day. It is advocated that for at least 7 days before the race you cut your training by half.

Step 4: Decide Your pace and effort:
During the week before the race, you need to think about your race tactics. There are essentially three ways to run a race: According to your body, according to your heart rate monitor, or according to your watch. When running according to your body, you monitor effort; when running according to your heart rate monitor or stopwatch you monitor either heart rate or pace, or perhaps both.
For the first few races, it is best to run according to your body and allow the “governor” (this is your in built pace regulator) to take charge. Start every race very slowly at an effort that the “governor” will allow you to maintain for the entire distance. It is disastrous to start too fast in any race, but especially in your first longer race. The golden rule is that the effort for both halves of the race should be as close as possible.

Step 5: Eat Healthy foods:
Ensure that you eat a healthy diet with moderate to high carbohydrate for the last 48 hours before the race. Eating breakfast before the race and ingesting carbohydrate during it will ensure that your blood glucose concentration does not fall during the race, impairing performance.
A disconcerting experience for any runner is to have the race interrupted by an unscheduled pit stop. The emotion of the moment, combined with half an hour or more of hard running, will shake loose even the most resolute bowels. One way of avoiding a pit stop is to ensure the that the intestine is empty before the race. To do this, eat only refined, low bulk carbohydrates which leave little residue (white bread, sweets, rice, potatoes)

Step 6: Prepare mentally:
With regard to competition, the important features are to control your anxiety and arousal levels before the race and to run the race in your mind as often as possible before you attempt it in reality. It is also advisable to store creative energy by avoiding all demanding creative activities in the last few days before a race.

Store creative energy.
In the week before the race, runners wanting to run a good race should devote some time to mental preparation. The first priority is to store creative energy; running requires mental energy and if this energy has been exhausted in other pursuits, there will be insufficient remaining to run a good race. There are at least three ways in which runners can harness their creative energy before a race:

• Reduce training loads.
• More sleep.
• Avoid any new creative activities at work (not always possible!)

Mentally rehearse.
Run the race in your mind. Set realistic goals and then divide the distance into manageable segments. Clearly these skills are not acquired overnight and take practice. Your task is to imagine yourself running each of these segments in turn, in the times that you have set yourself. A special priority is know where the hills are on the course, especially those in the last third of the race. The reason for this is simply that near the end of any race, you are so tired that an unexpected hill can be discouraging

Related posts:

1. Race Preparation Part 2
2. Heart Rate Monitor Training – Part 1
3. Marathon Training Advice – Part 3

Daily energy expenditure consists of 3 components:
1. Resting metabolic rate (energy required for basic living) total of 60-70%
2. Diet induced Thermogenesis (energy required to breakdown food) 10% of total
3. Energy cost of physical activity 20-30% of the total.

1. Question:

If we create a caloric deficit of “X” amount – we will lose “Y” amount of fat? (i.e. the calorie deficit = fat loss, a 3500 calorie deficit = 1 pound)

True or False?

False!

In a study of meal frequency, it has been show that a group eating 6 meals per day lost more fat than a group eating 2 meals a day, despite the calories being equal. The study showed that adults who were accustomed to eating 4 meals per day switched to 3 meals a day actually gained body fat and weight despite the calories remaining the same.

2. Question:

A calorie is a calorie. With the same meal frequency, as long as we adjust the “calories in v. the calories out” we will see the same fat loss; that is proteins, carbohydrates and fat (macronutrients) do not really matter.

True or False?

False!

At the same calorie intake a low carbohydrate diet resulted in significantly greater fat loss than a low fat diet.

Summary:

Low carbohydrate, high protein diets favourably affect mass and composition independent of energy intake

So what Should We Be Doing?

• Increase meal frequency.
• Eat meals at regular times.
• Lower carbohydrate intake/increase protein.
• Moderately reduce calories.

3. Question:

The addition of aerobic (jogging/gentle running) exercise to a caloric deficit (through diet) will increase calories burned and therefore increase fat lost.

True or False?

False!

In a 6 month study of 2 groups: 1 on diet only and 1 on diet plus aerobic exercise (50 minutes 5 days per week) There was No additional effect of aerobic exercise on body composition that is to say, adding aerobic exercise had no effect over dieting alone.

4. Question:

If diet (total caloric and macronutrient intake) is a constant, then the more calories you burn during training, the more fat you will lose.

True or False?

False!

A group was divided into 2 smaller groups:

• Group 1 exercised for 15 weeks doing 20 minutes of interval training per session 3 times per week.
• Group 2 did 15 weeks of 40 minutes steady state aerobic (jogging) exercise per session 3 times per week.
• Both groups burned the same calories over the 15 weeks and ate the same diet.
• The steady state group actually gained on average 1lb of fat.
• The interval training group lost 5.5lb of fat and increased lean mass.
• The interval group also increased aerobic capacity more than the steady state group.

So NOW What Should We Be Doing?

• Increase meal frequency.
• Reduced carbohydrate diet.
• Interval training – this should only become part of your training programme once you have developed a foundation of steady state running.
• Resistance training – introduce a controlled well planned weight training programme.

Related posts:

1. The Key to Weight Loss For Runners
2. Weight Loss Strategies For Runners Part 2
3. Nutrition Tips