Here at Stoke Park, we are committed to helping you reach your goals. Our expert personal trainers have collated some of their top insider tips just for you.

Losing Weight

There are two key factors you need to address when losing weight – Nutrition and Exercise.

Nutrition:

• Diets just don’t work – restricting yourself to an unsatisfying and often a poorly nutritionally balanced diet will not help you lose weight in the long run. A few treats now and again can help avoid slipping back into an early relapse. Skipping meals will lower you metabolic rate, reducing the rate at which your body naturally burns calories, making it harder to loose fat. Eat 3 regular meals a day with healthy snacks to keep those cravings away.
• Keep a food diary – for two weeks, keep a record of everything you eat along with its calorific value. Remember to include the milk and sugar in your tea, this all adds up too. Once you know how much you’re currently consuming, you can make weekly realistic goals on your intake to steadily reduce it to the desired level.
• Watch the Portion Size – eat the foods you like just reduce the portion sizes. Simply use smaller plates and regulate how much you serve.
• Eat at least 5 servings of fruit and vegetables per day – not only are they packed with fibre, antioxidants and the vitamins you need for a healthy body, they fill up your stomach whilst being low in calories with no saturated fats.
• Watch the drink - Alcoholic drinks are very calorific, a pint of beer has 200 calories, so a night on the town can really damage your weight loss efforts. Remember that juices and fizzy drinks are also high in sugar, which is deposited as fat if the energy is not used up. Try drinking at least two litres of water a day, the hydration aids your body to burn calories, whilst helping you feel full.
• Cook and eat fresh – processed and convenience foods are often higher in salt and saturated fats then fresh food. Prepare a home made lunch for work instead of eating out, this also helps you keep a record of exactly what you are eating.

Exercise:

• Go steady – resist the temptation to do too much too soon. For optimum weight loss, you need to be doing 30-60minutes of exercise a day, however gradually build up to this level to avoid injury. Always seek a doctor’s approval before carrying out any new activities.
• Walk away - Walking is one of the easiest ways to lose weight. A brisk stroll for just 45 minutes a day, four times a week, could help you lose two pounds a month. That adds up to 24 pounds over a year. Build this into your daily routine, whether it’s walking more around the office or walking to the gym.
• Join a class – unless you are highly motivated, solo exercise can become a chore. By joining a fitness class, not only do you receive expert tuition, but can benefit from the support of other individuals with the same goals as you.
• Challenge yourself – as you begin losing weight and getting fitter, you must continually challenge yourself to keep improving. Add weights into your work out routine to help replace fat with lean muscle. Training for a particular event such as a charity bike ride or fun run can help your motivation and thus performance.   

Building Muscle

Nutrition and exercise are equally important in building muscle. Follow these key tips to help you reach your peak.

Nutrition:

• Train hard, eat harder – there is no point in training rigorously if you are not getting enough nutrients into your body. Aim to eat 2 grams of protein per kg of your body weight. Good sources of protein include lean meats, beans, eggs and fish. Whole grain breads, cereals and muffins work well for carbohydrate and fibre intake, while potatoes, rice and pasta are the most stable and popular sources of carbs.
• Never get hungry – hunger is a sign that your body is in need of nutrients. Eat 6 small meals throughout the day, and keep extra food at work, in the car or gym bag so you’ll never get hungry again.
• Don’t cut it out – we need some fats when building muscle, but the right ones. Avoid saturated fats found in chocolate & processed foods, these will only help grow your stomach, not your muscles. Include non-saturated fats found in olive oils, peanuts and fish along with plenty of fruit and vegetables to create a balanced diet.
• Supplements – these are practically essential to aid you reach your targets quickly and safely. A whey protein shake will provide 25g of pure protein, whilst creatine can help deliver more energy in your workouts. Sports drinks are useful in longer sessions as they replace the carbohydrates and glucose lost during physical activity.

Exercise:

• Set your sights – ask yourself what exactly do you want to achieve? Whether it is a six pack for your summer holiday or to improve your rugby performance, set a target and develop a weekly plan on how to achieve it.
• Big moves, big muscles – many people make the mistake of just working on a few muscles at one time, for example just doing a bicep curl. Biceps only account for 3% of an average male’s total muscle mass. Incorporate compound movements into your routine, for example a squat into a bicep curl. Now this exercise is working the quads, glutes, abs, back and biceps. Remember the further you move in an exercise the more muscles are worked.
• Keep changing – by sticking to a set routine for too long, your muscles just adapt to that set of exercises, meaning you think your stronger than you actually are. Change your routine at least every six weeks to ensure a wider range of muscles are being targeted.
• Shock to the system – in order to keep growing in size and strength, occasionally shock your body. This can be done by changing the number of repetitions you do in your routine. Try 10 reps of your normal weight one day, then 5 reps at a much higher weight the next session, with 30 reps at a lower weight the next time. This will keep your body guessing and always ready for action.
• Bedtime – all muscle recovery and growth happens when you sleep. Ensure you are getting 8 hours of sleep daily for maximum results. A lack of sleep results in less energy during the day, a weakening of the immune system and ultimately slower muscle growth.