Train to Build Muscle NOT to Burn Fat

When you go to the gym do you know what type of training you should be doing?

What are your goals, is a better definition of muscle you desire or is it just for you to lose a few inches around your waist?

Or do you go to BURN FAT? 

The type of exercising I see and hear people performing is mainly cardiovascular exercise, such as running or walking on treadmills or cycling for miles on the the stationary bike.

This type of exercise has benefits on the cardiovascular (CV) system, the heart and lungs. HOWEVER, this type of low intensity exercise does not promote a great deal of lean muscle growth and wont help in fight against fat long term.

Lean muscle is what gives our body it's definition, unfortunately it's easily covered by the layers of fat that our body stores on itself. Lean muscle is a living tissue and requires energy to survive. The energy it uses, in the form of calories, can be from the glucose from the foods that we eat or from the energy the body can release from the fat cells. 

So more muscle tissue requires more energy. If the body is in a "fat burning" environment, this means with low blood sugar levels, the muscle is able to use your own body fat for its energy! 

The goal to burn fat starts with building more muscle, to enable the body to burn more fat 24 hours a day, rather than the half hour treadmill session 3 times a week....do the maths and there's only one winner here!

Resistance training is the key to building muscle. Resistance training is exercise in the form of weight training or bodyweight exercises where there is resistance on the muscle causing it to contract. Examples of these exercise can be seen in this previous post.

The goal of the exercise is to break the muscle fibres down and then rest, recover and provide your body with all the nutrition it needs in the form of essential fats, complete proteins, vitamins and minerals. The muscle will then rebuild bigger, stronger and more calorie hungry than before.

Ladies thinking that they don't want to build muscle and look "bulky" rest assured this will not happen. To grow large muscle mass the body requires specific hormones that are a lot more prevalent in males than females. 

The theory of fat burning zones and exercising at low intensity has it's limitations. The body can only burn fat if you are in the fat burning, low blood sugar zone. It's no good having that lucozade before the hour of power walking!

Also, the low intensity exercise does not promote the the breakdown of muscle and release of muscle building hormones that can create a more defined body and calorie hungry tissue!

Start today and change the way you exercise, leave the treadmill alone and pick up the weights. 

Build muscle to burn fat 24 hours a day, 7days a week. 

What does the flight deck door and our muscles have in common?

The fight deck door and your muscles are more common than you think.

The flight deck door is built so no-one can easily break in. It's tough and you won't break in by knocking gently on the door. The crash axe on the other hand offers a much greater force and gives a better chance of breaking down the door...... it's all about the force! 

A similar scenario relates to our muscles, by gently "knocking on the door" (basically cardio exercise for long periods) we won't break down the muscle. We need force to break into our muscles, much like the crash axe (resistance training), to cause muscle breakdown and this leads to greater muscle growth.

Note:

Cardiovascular Exercise = low intensity exercise for a long period of time, for example, jogging.

Resistance Exercise = exercise that requires force from your muscle to move a resistant weight, for example, weights or bodyweight exercises.

The benefits of muscle muscle growth include:

1. Looking leaner
2. Feeling stronger
3. Having more "energy hungry" muscle to help us burn more fat

Lets look at these benefits in a little more detail:

1. Looking Leaner 

The worry about weight is over, muscle weighs MORE than fat! And we want more muscle!

Why? 

Because muscle is denser. For example, a kilo of bricks is the same weight as a kilo of feathers but they LOOK much different! The amount of bricks are smaller than the amount of feathers. The same as a kilo of muscle looks smaller than a kilo of fat. 

Building muscle defines our bodies. Muscle makes us look leaner, as it is denser and more compact than fat. 

Ladies are you worried about looking too "bulky" and muscular?

There is NO need to worry, as big muscle growth relies on hormones such as testosterone and growth hormones. You do not possess enough of these hormones naturally. Even the biggest of men take "steroids" (hormones) to allow the unnatural bulky muscle growth.

Resistance exercise will allow you to build more defined muscle and look leaner.

2. Feeling Stronger 

Through resistance training we can use enough weight/resistance that causes our muscle to produce a force intense enough to break the muscle fibres down. Through our recovery period, with the correct diet and rest, our muscle will  grow back stronger and bigger than before.

With more muscle, we will feel stronger. We are able to manage our bodies better in day to day movements such as walking up stairs, getting up from laying down and carrying our flight bag becomes easier.

3. Having more "energy hungry" muscle to help us burn more fat

Muscle is a living tissue and requires energy to survive. We need to feed our muscles. If we eat the real foods suggested throughout the flight crew health and fitness blog, it allows our body to burn body fat for energy. 

If we need more energy because of more muscle, we can burn more body fat, look leaner and feel stronger!

The flight deck door is always locked and so are your muscles, break them down with resistance exercises.

Check out this post on my top 5 hotel room exercises to find out what resistance exercises you can do today without going to the gym!

How I Burn Fat Snacking and Flying

Snacking is probably the worst habit all pilots and cabin crew have to endure and it's not our fault! In this post I'll cover the reasons why flight crew snack, how we can deal with snacking and how I snack to help burn fat!

I love this quote used by Zoe Harcombe:

"You are not a cow, stop grazing"

Zoe is a leading UK obesity expert working against the worlds obesity epidemic. This quote details the "normal" life of 3 to 6 full meals a day that would be welcomed into any healthy lifestyle. However, the days of the 25 minutes turn around are here to stay, with just enough time to catch our breath, a "sit down" meal eaten slowly and enjoyably is unlikely to happen (unless you are in the long haul business then reason #1 below is more likely your snacking excuse).

So, snacking will be part of our daily lives as Flight Crew and there are several reasons for this:

1. Boredom

2. No time to eat a "sit down" meal

3. Living out of a suitcase 

4. Commuting to work

5. Unnatural body clock due to work pattern

Let's be honest, there's only so much monitoring of the instruments and the blue yonder outside we can gaze at before our tummys rumble and a subconscious hand movement leads us to the food bags! Boredom is definitely the #1 reason we snack. Even in the cabin, a quiet passenger load or not so talkative crew can lead to boredom at 30000ft!

But how can we overcome this? Or should we accept this will happen and prepare ourselves for our bodies drive to keep us entertained and supply us with nutritious foods?

I don't want to fight against my body or my subconscious mind, there's only one winner in the long term. With so many things going on around me I won't win this battle, so this is what I do....

PREPARE! PREPARE! PREPARE!

The 5 P's - Preparation Prevents P**s Poor Performance is the key!

I know the day I am about to live, my roster tells me this. I know the meals I have available to me, my roster tells me this and I know I will want to snack as my roster tells me this. Through examining your roster you will see the eating pattern that you are likely to follow that day. 

Prepare your snacks before work and you won't let your unhealthy subconscious mind choose your foods!

My top 4 foods for snacking are:

1. Nuts and Seeds

I always carry a bag of my favourite nuts and seeds : almonds, cashews and pumpkin seeds.

These are wholesome foods providing essential fats and proteins. 

I avoid peanuts as a snack, even if they are unsalted, as the way the body digests peanuts is different to other nuts and results in a less fat burning effect! 

2. Vegetables 

All vegetables apart from potatoes are good snack foods.Carrots and Celery are easily carried in ones flight bag and can be eaten raw. Vegetables provide fibre and carbohydrates to your diet without the extra sugar content of fruits, so this is my preferred choice of snack. Don't limit yourself these foods will fill you and not your fat cells!

3. Dark Chocolate 

That's right ... Chocolate! Dark chocolate with cocoa content of 70% or more will satisfy your chocolate cravings without the added sugar content of normal chocolate bars. 

4. Mackerel 

The tinned version of this healthy oily fish is ideal for snacking. However,you may find problems with airport security so please check your airport. The fish is high in omega 3 fats and high in protein. Perfect for the car or commute to work. The tinned mackerel normally has a pull ring to easily open the tin. 

Thats my top 4 snacks whilst on the move. All are low in sugar, with mackerel, nuts and seeds providing valuable nutrition to our bodies with their proteins and essential fats.
This nutrition allows our bodies to burn fat and not store it.

The daily life of pilots and cabin crew is not the "normal life". We are unable to eat 3-6 healthy meals a day with the disruption we have to endure. So, don't fight against your body, work with it. Snack on healthy foods and be happy not hungry!

Try it today:

Prepare these nutritious snacks in your flight bag and never go hungry on the move again!

G

Best 5 Exercises For Your Hotel Room

Exercise is something you do to achieve your specific goal and HOW you exercise should be aimed at achieving that goal.

For example, if to run a marathon is your goal then expect to do a LOT of running! 

However, if your goal is to improve your health, lose some unwanted inches and just tone your body then resistance training is way you need to exercise to achieve this.

"But how can I train with resistance in my hotel room" I hear you say, and this is what many flight crew, pilots and cabin crew question.

I'm going to give you my top 5 resistance training exercises you can do in your hotel room or ANYWHERE really! So there's no excuses, turn off the TV and let's go.......

*Always warm up properly before exercise*

1.Squats

The squat uses your larger leg muscles predominantly quadriceps (thigh) and glutes (butt). 

Technique:

1. Arms extended in front of you or overhead

2. Squat until your bum is below your knees

3. Rise back up

4. Keep your knees behind your toes, your weight on your heels

5. Keep back straight while you squat

2.Lunges

The lunge is again another exercise that targets the larger leg muscles giving you more "bang for your buck"! You'll be using quadriceps (thigh), glutes (butt) and hamstrings (back of the thigh) during this move.

Technique:

1. Keep your upper body straight, with your shoulders back and relaxed and chin up (pick a point to stare at in front of you so you don't keep looking down). Always engage your core by holding your tummy and lower back muscles tight.

2. Step forward with one leg, lowering your hips until both knees are bent at about a 90-degree angle. Make sure your front knee is directly above your ankle, not pushed out too far, and your other knee doesn't touch the floor. Keep the weight in your heels as you push back up to the starting position.

3.Press Ups

An upper body move that targets your large chest muscles, the pecs, and also works your shoulders and triceps (back of the arm). 

Technique:

1. Get into plank position, with your hands under but slightly outside of your shoulders. 

2. Lower your body until your chest nearly touches the floor.

3. As you lower yourself, tuck your elbows, pulling them close to your body so that your upper arms form a 45-degree angle when your torso is in the bottom position of the move.

4. Pause, then push back to the starting position as quickly as possible. Keep your core tight the entire time.

For beginners use your knees instead of your feet to hold the initial plank position, as shown below:

4.Bent Over Row

You'll need your crew bag for this one to work your lats (back muscles), shoulders and biceps (front of the arm). Targeting your large back muscles challenges more muscle in just one move, with the extra work being performed with your smaller shoulder and bicep muscles.

Technique:

• 1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
• 2. Bend your knees and lean forward at the hips, not the waist.
• 3. Your back should be straight and your neck in line with your spine.
• 4. Let the bag hang straight down at around knee level.
• 5. Retract your shoulder blades and tense your core muscles (tummy and lower back) to stabilise your body.
• 6. Squeeze your shoulder blades together and pull the bag into your chest.
• 7. Lower the bag slowly to the start.
• 8. Hold your torso steady throughout the move.

5.The Plank

Let's not forget your core muscles. Your tummy and lower back is what we are here for right! The plank causes tension in all your abdominal (tummy) muscles and lower back muscles, whilst using all other muscle groups to stabilise you. A fantastic exercise to end the session on!

Technique:

1. Hold yourself in the following position, concentrating on holding your tummy and lower back muscles tight together and parallel with the floor.

Thats a full body workout for FREE and you've not even left the hotel room!

The key to making the most of the exercises is to concentrate on achieving the perfect technique. This will ensure you work the muscle groups that the exercises are intended for and most importantly AVOIDING INJURY.

Happy Exercise,

G

Food Made For Man or Man Made Food?

Welcome to your local supermarket...

A labrynth of food, drink, genius marketing and mis-leading information aimed all at one thing.....PROFIT!

I want to make the food shop simple for you. Let's look at the food we shop for in the most basic terms.

Let's use only 2 types of food and drink:

1. Food Made For Man

2. Man Made Food

Food Made For Man

Do you think Mother Nature is trying to kill us? As a species human beings have  survived and thrived for thousands of years, until now...

We are one of the most sick and ill species on the planet and the increase in obesity related illnesses, such has type 2 diabetes, has increased immensely over the last century, to the extent that the UK NHS forecasts that it will be unable to service this demand for healthcare.....so let's take us back to why we are here today, as human beings.

Food Made for Man is food that is provided to us from the planet not from a factory. It's just REAL FOOD.

This Food has been grown (fruit, vegetables, nuts & seeds), the food that has swum (fish & seafood)  and the food that comes from animals that walk (red meat, poultry, eggs, milk &  butter).

In its raw form this is the food we have spent thousands of years evolving and designing ourselves to eat....Do You Really Think This Food Is Making Us Sick and Fat?

As examples your shopping list should contain a selection from the following list of foods * this is not a complete list of foods just some ideas :

Meat - steak, chicken, liver, pork, lamb, free range eggs 

Fish - salmon, mackerel, white fish, crab

Dairy - milk, Greek yogurt, butter NOT margarine 

Fruit & Vegetables - green vegetables  are best and colour variety is great. 

Limit or avoid white potatoes and fruit juice.

Nuts & Seeds - almonds, walnuts, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds are good examples. 

Limit or avoid peanuts and dried fruit.

Man Made Food

So you have seen the list of foods made for man, "real food". You should consume these as part of a healthy lifestyle and you know what you are going to buy at the supermarket, am I right?

Unfortunately marketing teams are way ahead of us at the moment, so beware of the man made food marketing.

Firstly, anything packaged tends to be man made. Essentially produced in a factory. 

Tinned foods, ready meals, pizza, crisps, *chocolate, sweets, drinks other than water and milk are man made.

*as chocolate is such a craving for a lot of flight crew it can be enjoyed as part of a a balanced healthy lifestyle. I recommend you consume chocolate as near to 100% cocoa as possible to minimise the sugar content*

Labelling of products is so confusing, "low fat", "high in fibre", "added vitamins" are all seen as foods that are "healthy"....be CAREFUL and stick to the raw foods where most won't have labels, such as broccoli.

I set a challenge for you....

This week at the supermarket, shop around the outside aisles first, as this is where most of the REAL FOOD that is "Food Made For Man" is positioned. 

The inner aisles contain the packaged foods made by man...Limit or Avoid!

Conclusion

As flight crew we all aim to be that little bit healthier, fitter or slimmer most of te time. Knowing what types foods to eat is key to maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

REAL FOOD should be the majority of food you consume and although the MAN MADE FOOD is not off the menu it should be managed and consumed in limited quantit your goals for your lifestyle will depend in how disciplined you will need to be with these foods. For example if you want a fitness model body then man made food is totally off the menu. But if you strive for an improvement in your health or just an inch off your waist then just eating MORE real food may work for you!

Understanding which foods are good and why some foods are not so good for us is a complex picture when we are surrounded by so much mis-leading marketing and information aimed predominantly at profit. 

Throughout the blog I aim to break down this complex information, so as flight crew you can become the experts and make fantastic food choices. Whether you are at home, on a nightstop or even eating crew food!

Take it easy,

G

Flight Crew Health and Fitness - a healthy lifestyle?

Life above the clouds, is flight crew a healthy or unhealthy lifestyle that is the question?

Let's look at it this way......you are placed in a metal tube closing in on the speed of sound, with just enough room to swing your arms around. The crew food is filling the gash cart or otherwise your filling yourself with the gash crew food, either way these are choices we have to make everyday!

And I've not even started on the 5am report time yet.....anyone for coffee! Sugar and milk? Decisions, decisions and you are still half asleep.

I have worked in the airline industry for nearly a decade now and I am currently a Captain in the UK, flying Domestic and European routes whilst doing my fair share of night stops. With a 90 minute commute to work each way I spend a lot of time on my backside these days, with the addition of crew food this is not a healthy lifestyle by any stretch of the imagination.

HOWEVER....

Through personal experience, research and education (Loughborough University BSc Sports Science), I find myself feeling healthier than I was in my teens and twenties, where I was playing professional and semi-professional football, training up to 2 times a day 6 days a week! I have found ways to reduce illness and injury, feel more alert and awake, mainly through understanding food, nutrition and exercise.

Many health and fitness programmes do not fit the lifestyle of pilots or cabin crew, and the flight crew fitness plans out there are just aimed at fitness. My philosophies are based on health and wellness which will allow you to become "fit" in any form of fitness you choose. The basics are the same.

My idea behind the Flight Crew Health and Fitness blog is to provide you, the flight crew of our skies, the information to help you achieve your health and fitness goals. Whether it's losing a few pounds, training for a marathon, protecting your medical certificate and flying licence, or just making yourself feel better you'll find something here!

If you have any topics in particulars you would like the blog to cover please let me know in the comments below.

Take it easy,

Remember.... Rome was not built in a day

G