Sandbag training journal

Pre-workout:Felt great going into session. 2 glasses of water handful of walnuts 30 mins prior to workout.

Joint mobility warmup

Sandbag deadlifts 5x5 x3 fillers

Sandbag thrusters 5x5 x2 fillers 

Pull-ups 4set slow 1rep before failure

Around the worlds each direction 3x10 x1 filler

Post workout:Felt really good. Every exercise technquie felt smooth all the way through. Note:increase intensity next strength session.

Green smoothie after workout.

Saturday's workout journal

Pre workout

Mood: felt a little tired from Friday's workout 

With slight headache.

Drunk 1litre of water 1 hour prior to training with oat cakes & banana.

Joint mobility warm up 10mins

Fired up & ready for action:)

Workout

Barbell deadlifts 5x5 

100kg 120kg 130kg 140kg 140kg

Felt great after the Deadlift. Look to increase next session.

Incline Dumbell press 5x5

22.5kk 27.5kg 34kg 40kg 40kg

Right Shoulder is a little weaker from previous injury-but felt ok. Increase early set next time.

Clean & press 5x10

40kg 40kg 40kg 40kg 40kg

Just wanted to dial in the technquie first felt a little rusty so didn't want to go heavy. Heart rate pumping-felt good.

Weighted wide grip pull ups 5x5

10kg 10kg 10kg 10kg bodyweight 

Really pleased with this exercise today shoulder was fine. Tired last two sets

Weighted dips 5x5 

10kg 15kg 15kg 15kg 15kg

Smashed the first 3sets,4-5 I had to work for but overall felt strong. Increase next session.

Post workout

mood: felt really good a lot better than when I walked in. Will look to increase weight on certain exercises next week. Overall great sessions didn't feel as if I'd been beaten up afterwards either. Finished strong:) 

Yoga:sun-salutation routine stretch at home.

Your hormones determine how you feel and act everyday. Getting out of Leptin resistance with healthy nutritional choices will have profound effects on how we perform in our workouts and in life.

Last post I explained what Leptin is and how it communicates with the brain,as our energy fuel that tells us we are full. Also what impact it can have on our bodies if we are Leptin resistant.

Today let's look at how we can get out of Leptin resistance by making more informed choices about what's going on our plates and ultimately into our mouths.

Eliminate all processed junk foods as they are high in fructose. Fructose ramps up our triglycerides-high amounts of triglycerides in the body restrict Leptin from entering the blood brain barrier.. 

Sources which are high in fructose are fructose corn syrups commonly found in fizzy drinks.

Agave syrup should also be given a miss it can be as high as 90% in fructose which will elevate your triglycerides levels and keep Leptin and Insulin in a resistance state. Tip: agave is sometimes recommended because it is low on the glycemic index so keep a mental note of its high fructose content.

The key is to buy organic foods that are within your budget. If your a meat eater it's got to come from a fit healthy organic animal protein source. Consuming animal protein foods from factory farms is a  going to be detrimental to your health the animals are full of toxic chemicals and stress hormones that will create inflamation in the body. Eating meat from unhealthy animals equals an unhealthy you. 

A good ratio between low glycemic carbohydrates protein and fats is a good balance at meal times. To maximise brain health regulate inflamation and boost our cells,a good amount of essential fatty acids are needed in our food. Protein is needed to repair the body while glucose drives fuel into our brains.

To increase metabolism a breakfast high in protein is more beneficial than carbohydrates and fats. For breakfast I make a smoothie in my nutri bullet that is loaded with dark leafy greens nuts,seeds and fruit. I'll leave details of ingredients below at the end of the post. Medium chain fatty acids like coconut oil is great  for slow releasing energy which keeps your blood sugar levels optimal for longer periods of time,so you don't feel hungry 20mins after you've eaten. I find it's a great source of fuel for hard workouts when lifting heavy deadlifts squats and tough sandbag sessions.

Giving your body longer rest periods between meals is a smart way to burn fat you want to be aiming for no less than 4 hours-6 hours is better. Insulin starts to drop out of the bloodstream around 4 hours then the body starts to snack on your stored body fat. Another option is to eat more on training days and less food on days of restoration periods during the week.

To build muscle concentrate on protein and fat meals in the day then more carbohydrates post workout with dinner. 

Relax while eating your food sit comfortably at the table don't rush to get it finished no matter how hungry you feel. Chew slowly this way you will absorb more energy from your food and feel much more satisfied this will also allow you to eat less. If you eat to fast you will consume more food,less energy will assimilated from your food if it's rushed.

G I tract (Gastrointestinal tract)health is super important for gut health. The supplement glutamine 5g per day Probiotics 15-20  billion species before bed. Betaine HCL 250mg-500mg with protein meals. Digestive enzymes 1-2  tabs at dinner.

Make 1-2 of your workouts per week in sprinting this will increase your natural growth hormone and improve Leptin sensitivity by scooping up insulin from the bloodstream.

Magnesium oil is a great way to get a more efficient delivery by absorption through the skin. Added bonus is it ramps up your stress hormone DHEA 400-800mg per day depending on weight.

R lipoid acid improves the metabolism of glucose and glutathione. 100-200mg at meal times three times a day.

Acetyl carnitine drives Leptin into the brain morning and before training days  1g two times a day on a empty stomach.

Digestive enzymes improves food digestion and helps assimilation of nutrients around the body. 1-2 tabs at meal times.

B vitamins. Stress is a contributing factor in reducing our B vitamins so keeping B vitamins in optimal levels is important. B vitamins also improves our energy production and assimilates protein effectively.

CoQ 10 Ubiquinol crucial for cellular energy and heart health.

Green tea ramps up our metabolism and it's a great antioxidants for the body. A good 3-4 cups a day.

For more information on hormones checkout mikemahler.com

Breakfast smoothie

Organic food is also best if you can afford it but don't worry if you can't just wash the food thoroughly.

Organic kale 1-2 large leafs

Organic Spinach/Chlorella powder

Organic Walnuts large handful 

Organic Flaxseeds 1-2 tbsp

Organic Coconut oil 1-2 tbsp

Banana 1-2 depending if training day

Blackberries/Blueberries handful/Rotate

Almond milk or filtered water

Blend enjoy.

Can't shift stubborn fat-tired all the time? Could be Leptin resistance.

The hormone Leptin is located in our fat cells they are directly correlated to our brain to give the signal that we've had enough energy from food. If Leptin is operating efficiently it's our bodies fuel tank that tells us to stop eating so we can avoid an overflow of nutrients in the body.

If this overflow of nutrients occurs our muscles,liver,cells are replenished and the excess is stored as unwanted bodyfat. 

Leptin communicates with the hormone insulin when we are full.

Our aim is keep Leptin sensitive this encourages our metabolic rate to stay high which allows the body to have large amounts of bioavailable energy to burn fat create more muscle tissue and provide our sex hormones to thrive. 

Men's testosterone increases along with Dhea,for women their progesterone and estrogen will be at optimal levels also. When Leptin is sensitive the right amount is released so the  brain receptors have adequate Leptin to function properly.

When Leptin is in an resistance state the brain gets confused and the receptors don't operate correctly this poor signalling brings about problems within the thyroid which then shuts down into survival mode. A slow thyroid sets our metabolism at a low rate this is a sure sign of Leptin resistance.

People who are Obese are Leptin resistant their bodies pumps out large amounts of Leptin due to consuming empty high calorie junk food that is nutritionally poor. The brain doesn't receive the message from Leptin correctly so our metabolic rate is operating low. Instead of torching fat and thriving our bodies become sluggish fat hoarders.

Large amounts of Leptin in the bloodstream also causes high inflammation which is directly associated with chronic disease. Cortisol the stress hormone is released to counteract the high levels of inflammation this is also accompanied by somatostatin an inhibitor of growth hormone it's induced when we have low ph levels and the body is acidic. Lowering growth hormone is something we need to avoid as its highly effective at burning fatty tissue,improving a healthy complexion,recovery from training workouts,promotes longevity.

Resorting to a fadey low diet or restricting your intake of macronutrients isn't the way to go either. Leptin isn't receiving sufficient fuel from food so this message is then sent to the brain your metabolism slows down the energy needed for burning fat and creating our sex hormones is now non existent. Your hormones are no longer in an optimal state. 

Next post I'll be explaining what we can do to get out of Leptin resistance with healthy foods-not prescription drugs! So we can take back the power of our health and not leave it in the hands of our unconvincing health service.

Improve your sex drive & fat loss-its a no brainer!!!

A whole foods plant base diet helps to lower high blood pressure by increasing our natural nitrate oxides in the body.

A whole foods plant base diet helps to lower constipation due to high volumes of fibre.

A whole foods plant base diet can help to lower the risk of prostate cancer due to healthy blow flow running through our arteries.  

A whole foods plant base diet helps to lower inflammation in the body due to the antioxidants in plant food.

A whole foods plant base diet can help lower the risk of colon cancer due to non animal proteins in the body-which trigger the initial stages of cancer.

A whole foods plant base diet Improves sexual function in male & females this is due to healthy strong blood flow to all major arteries. 

A whole foods plant base diet improves erectile dysfunction. 

A whole foods plant base diet has an increase in nutritionally dense foods.

A whole foods plant base diet has less chemicals & hormones in its food unlike animal or processed foods

A whole foods plant base diet promotes weight and fat loss with highly dense nutritional food that the body needs for energy and is naturally lower in calories.

Health benefits from eating Plant food rather than standard western diet.

A whole foods plant base diet helps lower the onset of Alzheimer's this is due to high amounts of vitamin E within the diet.

A whole foods plant base diet improves a healthy bright skin complexion.

A whole foods plant base diet helps lower acne this is due to non processed ingredients.

A whole foods plant base diet help lower risk of ear infections this due to boosting the bodies immune system.

A whole foods plant base diet helps lower risk of heartburn due to alkaline foods.

 A whole foods plant base diet Promotes healthy sustainable weight loss.

A whole foods plant base diet helps lower the risk of lung cancer as animal proteins are not present in the body. 

A whole foods plant base diet helps lower and in some cases reverse the risk of breast cancer as it helps protect the body from harmful carcinogens found in animal protein.

A whole foods plant base diet helps lower & reversal of heart disease due to high levels of natural nitrite oxide in plants.

A whole foods plant base diet helps lower the risk of obesity due to high density nutrition & high fibre.