Month: October 2015

The importance of sleep, with regards to creating a healthy balanced body, is often overlooked and underrated. A good night’s rest is essential for muscles to recover, the body to detoxify, and to replenish your mental state for the forthcoming day.

 Often getting 8-10 hours of sleep is a great step in the right direction but here are 5 quick tips to improve the quality of your rest.

1. Remove electronics – By removing all electronics from the room you sleep in, even when a device is charging or on standby, you can improve the quality of sleep. Electronics emit a frequency that disrupts the deep stage sleep which either wakes you up during the night, or doesn’t allow you to get into a deep stage sleep.
2. Reduce the light – 2 hours prior to sleep, begin to dim the main room lights and/or use bedside lamps. Our bodies have a natural sleep rhythm known as the circadian system that matches the daylight hours. Darkening the room with blackout curtains will drastically improve the quality of sleep. The rule of thumb is that you shouldn’t be able to see your hand approximately 20cm away from your face.
3. Eat more Protein during the day & prioritise Carbohydrates at night – Studies have shown high protein diets promote longer and more sustained energy levels, whilst the fast absorption of carbohydrates spike our energy levels and taper off suddenly, therefore prioritise whole food carbohydrate meals in the evening. In it’s most basic form, eating carbohydrates activates the orexin pathway which makes us feel sleepy.
4. Use Chamomile and Ginseng before sleep – These are both known in forms of teas as they have a relaxing and calming influence on the brain. Try to opt for the supplementation in the form of extracts or capsule for a specific concentrated dosage.
5. Make a note of your thoughts – There is nothing worse than trying to get to sleep with a million important, and less than important issues on your mind. Write down the issues that make you anxious, the ideas that you may forget, and the tasks you need to do the next day. Another holistic approach is to list something your thankful for.

Sleep is an important and difficult part of the day to balance. The usage of various supplementation such as Magnesium, Taurine, Thiamine or Inositol will promote healthier sleep patterns. Visit your local pharmacy, health store or talk to me about further options to improve your sleep and sustain a healthier body.

For more information, contact me on max.barrow.27@gmail.com or for more training tips follow me on Instagram at maxfit_pt.

Welcome to our Beginners Guide to Meal Prep

There are no excuses, we have 168 hours in the week.

4-5 workouts a week would take 4-5 hours out of that 168 hours, leaving you 163 hours. Subtracting 40 hours for work gives you 123 hours left. Deducting a minimum of 56 hours a week for sleep and you have 67 hours left. Surely can you take one hour out of whats left of your week to do some meal prep?

Want to get healthier? Want to lose weight? – Try prepping at least your lunches. It is so easy and takes so little time to prep some chicken and veges for your lunches. Try these simple ideas for a healthier lifestyle.

Bake 5-6 chicken breasts for 20-30mins in the oven with some garlic and spices, no oil needed and there you have 5-6 lunch or dinner staples that you can mix up with different vegetable and carb sources.

To prepare vegetables, do the same. Dice some different veggies and bake for 20 mins at 180C. We recommend trying pumpkin, kumara, asparagus, broccoli, carrots, onions and any other hearty vegetables. Try mixing it up by eating them cold in a vege salad or heating them up for a warm meal with your chicken.

Meal prep doesn’t have to be complicated. You can just have a lunch box of veggies and a lunch box of chicken in your fridge for quick lunches or dinners. This great tip saves you resorting to an unhealthy option and is also an inexpensive way to stay on top of your diet.