TeKnical Health

🗣Let’s Talk – Protein🗣
Protein is one of the main sources of nutrients we eat from calories, known as macronutrients. In 1 gram of protein there is 4 calories. But what does protein do?
A protein is made up of a chain of amino acids (you may have heard them as BCAAs). There are 20 of them but 9 we need to get through diet as our body cannot produce them. Ingesting sufficient dietary protein stimulates muscle protein synthesis, improves recovery, can increase our lean body mass (when combined with resistance training) and helps grow our strength.
Protein is also very active metabolically, about 30% more active in digestion known as TEF, when compared to carbohydrates or fat. It also is far more satiating. Meaning you will likely stay fuller for longer when consuming higher protein quantities due to the process of its digestion. However, don’t start chucking your plate sky high full of protein in place for carbs or fats, we need a balance. Also make sure you get a wide variety, not just chicken and beef!
How much protein you need depends on a lot of factors such as age and whether we are wanting to gain or lose mass. This is because both being older and losing weight causes a greater breakdown on mass, protein allows these cells being broken down to regain nutrients to rebuild (the BCAAs we spoke about).
A good initial baseline for protein intake is 1g per 1lb of protein however, a better method would be getting your gym to give you a skinfold caliper test to determine your body fat %. Take this % and workout your lean body mass (LBM). From there 1.8g-2.2g per kg LBM is more optimal. Just make sure you get a wide variety, not just chicken and beef!
Do you need more assistance in figuring out your nutrition and some guidance to help get your journey right on track? Message or email [email protected] and arrange a free consultation today!
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💥New Service Offer💥

This new package offer is perfect for anyone wanting to kick-start their health and fitness journey but unsure of where to begin.

With so much information out there, it is difficult to understand which direction to go towards. We all want the complete package but we place ourselves at risk of either misleading information or the issue of finance. This package is designed to remove those barriers.

💢 1-1 1 hour Personal Training Sessions
💢 A 4 week exercise routine tailored to your goals and requirements
💢 Weekly check ins and progress report
💢 Nutritional guidance to give you the stepping stones forward
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The Kickstarter Package or Kickstarter Package+ are an amazing way to get your journey kick started!

Enquire now and sign up for a free consultation today!

Message or email [email protected] and let's get you started! Why wait?

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🏋️Walkthrough: Rowing Erg🏋️

The rowing machine is both a beautiful and brutal way to improve your total body coordination and CV fitness.

It's increasing popularity is obvious with the explosion of CrossFit and GB's Olympic success in rowing. However, did you know that the vast majority of people do this wrong? Even PTs are taught it incorrectly!

So let's go through it.

1) The Catch - This is the start point. Your feet should be firm on the foot panel (your heels will likely be raised), knees pushing to the front, arms loose and forward, heels driving into your bum and back straight with an engaged core. Look straight ahead and this is the perfect start. Think 11 on a clock

2) Leg Drive - Push your heels hard into the foot panel and push the rowing machine away from you and your knees down, like you're trying to get them to touch your bum. Take a big breath out at this point.

3) Hip swing - Squeeze your bum and lean back over. On a clock you would now be at 1. Keep your arms straight!

4) Arms in - Driving your elbows back and down, pulling the handle into your sternum and squeeze your shoulder blades together.

5) Arms away - Relax yourself. Let your arms float away from you, keep them straight though!

6) Hip Swing #2 - Push your bum to the back of your seat and lean over, like you're reaching for the front of the machine. Keep your back straight and take a deep breath into your stomach.

7) The Recovery - Drive your knees over your ankles, pull your toes towards your shins and drive your heels to your bum. Not the other way round, you could lose your built tension and weaken your leg drive!

And that is how to row! I've learnt this over many years, being a nationally competitive rower and Olympic GB prospect. It's hard but so rewarding.

If you want help with your rowing or cardiovascular health/fitness then don't wait and enquire today!

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🗣️Lets Talk – Calories🗣️

Simply put a calorie is an energy source but how does it work? Imagine a seesaw, the actual seesaw is our metabolism which is a chemical process of the entirety of our bodies and ultimately dictates our baseline level of calories required known as our TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) or maintenance calories. On one end of the metabolic seesaw we see caloric intake through nutrition, the other end is our energy expenditure through our daily processes. If the metabolic seesaw tips towards caloric intake then we will gain mass, known as anabolism, which could be gaining muscle or fat or something else and is called a caloric surplus. If it tips towards caloric expenditure then we go through a process of catabolism, or the breakdown of mass, which again could be in the form of ideally fat but perhaps muscle or something else.

The calculation for our TDEE is = BMR (Basic Metabolic Rate) + NEAT (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis) + Exercise + TEF (Thermic Effect of Food). The reason for thermo in the names is simply because burning energy causes heat, hence ‘burning calories’.

To assist this we can calculate our fat mass (FM). You can ask your gym to help you with this, as all Personal Trainers are taught how to measure FM. We need to know this because our FM burns fewer calories than our lean body mass (LBM) and our fat mass is something we want rid of! If you weigh 80kg and have a fat mass of 20% then you have a LBM of 64kg.

To give you a starting point you can simply search for ‘TDEE Online Calculator’. My preference is calculator.net/calorie. However, the calculator may not be correct so it is important to stick at the TDEE calculation for 2 weeks, measuring daily. If the 1st weeks average measurements are the same as the 2nd then we are at TDEE. If not then adjust your calories respectively. If you wish to gain or lose mass, then I recommend +/- ‪300-500‬ calories off your TDEE total. This will give you sustainable results for the long term.

Interested in how TeKnical Health can help you with your nutritional and/or training needs? Let me go through the technicalities to provide you with the simplicities and enquire today!

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£15 - 30 minutes 1-1 Personal Training Sessions

Time is of the essence in today's day and age but it often gets confusing when really trying to understand how to get the best bang for you buck. So why not let me help you and really bring the heat to your sessions with this new offer!🔥

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Sign up for a free consultation today!

Message or email [email protected] and let's get you on the road

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🏋️Walkthrough: Lat Activation🏋️

This is one universal tool that will help every single person in their compound lifts, particularly those with a barbell: Understanding how to activate your lats.🤔

The lats (latissimus dorsi) are a huge muscle group of the back. It connects the upper arm to the spine and the hips. Activating them gives more back and hip stability, giving you a stronger base to push through heavier loads.💪

Before you get yourself under the barbell there are 3 important keys to follow:

1) Open The Door/Hide Your Armpits: Envisage you're trying to open a door handle or somebody is trying to tickle your armpits and you're squeezing them tight. Basically point your elbow crease to the top of your head, directly straight. This is called medial rotation and is the initial movement of the lats. It sets your lats in place and ready.

2) Squeeze The Shoulder Blades: Retract your shoulder blades, trying to get them to meet at your spine. This causes stiffness from your traps and rhomboids, helping the lats with upper back stiffness.

3) Put Your Shoulder Blades Into Your Back Pockets: Drop your shoulder blades down, allowing your shoulders to drop a little, all the way down to your bum. Your back should feel incredibly tight at this point. This creates an almost isometric contraction of your lats through its movement of shoulder extension. Keep this tension and movement patterns in your head throughout the lift.

4) Bend The Bar Into A Circle: This only really makes sense if you stick with a pronated (palms facing away from you) grip. Envisage the bar is very flexible and you're trying to bend the bar into a big circle. This wrapping is keeping the first point but also adds an isometric element of the final lat movement of adduction, you're trying to bend your arms into you. This creates an enormous stiffness for all movements. For example, these 4 steps will do something a lot of fitness experts talk about for deadlifts which is 'taking the slack out of the bar'.

Now you know how to activate your lats🙌

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DM or email to take your lifestyle to the next level now!

Just a taste of what TeKnical Health can bring to your new lifestyle!

Let's go Chris, we've only just started😏🙌

Member Spotlight 🤩

Chris came to JD Gyms Hull looking to improve his health after a recent diagnosis of Type 2 Diabetes and he wanted to avoid taking medication.

We recommended Tom (TeKnical Health) as a Personal Trainer to help Chris. After an assessment it was mutually agreed that 3 sessions a week with dietary guidance would be the best way forward.

After 12 weeks of lifestyle intervention, assisted by Tom, Chris has lost a total of 12.5kg and 7.5 inches around his waist, but most importantly his Type 2 Diabetes is now being reversed!

Here's what Chris had to say:

'Tom has been my PT for 12 weeks. As an overweight nearly 60 year old, type 2 diabetic I wanted a change. I’ve now lost nearly 2 stone in weight, my fitness has improved and my blood sugar levels are classed as normal!! Thanks Tom for the time and effort you have put in. I’ve enjoyed my sessions and you have shown me the way to a healthier lifestyle.'

Chris has been an exemplary client, putting in real effort with consistent determination, well done! 💪

Did you know only 5% of people actually maintain the weight that have lost? Did you know 1/3 of people also end up putting on more weight than their pre-diet weight despite initially losing a significant amount?

Think about the amount of times you have tried a diet and felt like you've just ended up where you've started or thought "I can't wait for this diet to stop" or "I don't know what to do once I've finished this diet."

Most diets fail not because they do not show you how to lose weight but because they do not show you how to sustain the weight you have lost.

There's a multitude of reasons for this from money making schemes to impatience to personal beliefs.

A lot of people try to fit a circular peg into a square hole. If you can't see yourself sustaining your diet for longer than a year then you probably need to rethink your diet.

There is no quick and easy fix, it is a long sustained process. That doesn't mean it'll be boring! Thankfully the internet now allows us to share lots of 'healthier' or 'low calorie' meals that means we still can eat similar foods at the same quantities but lose weight!

If you feel you need some more help and assistance with this then don't hesitate to contact me either through message or email [email protected] and let's get you on the right path!

Let me go through the technicalities to provide you with the simplicities!

💥New Package Offer - LIMITED💥

A lot of the time when we make our New Year's resolutions of getting healthy we do so with good intentions but fall off because we do not know where to go! Let me help you keep on top of those first baby steps with this limited time offer!

It is the perfect way to enter 2022 to gather the understanding of how to take your training forward for the rest of the year and beyond!

Do not worry about doing this alone either. I know a training partner adds all the benefit, so why not bring a friend, family member or partner along and give each other the support and mutual education to kickstart your 2022 the proper way!

You can absolutely smash 2022, make it your best year yet!

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For more information please send over a DM or email [email protected]

🗣️Let's Talk - How To Lose Body Fat🗣️

🗣️The most important thing in losing body fat is to understand that calories matter. We will only lose body fat if we are in a caloric deficit through diet and/or physical activity. Our Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) needs to be higher than our Total Daily Energy Intake (TDEI).

🗣️The easiest method is to track our food and drink intake against a caloric deficit target. This can be found through online calorie calculators, the best one in my opinion is the calorie calculator on calculator.net. However, there are no king/queen methods though, all diets will work for you provided it is in a caloric deficit! Find what works best for you!

🗣️Keep our protein levels and micronutrients high. This allows our muscles to still undergo adequate repair whilst not providing it the amount of food we once did. Protein is the most satiating macronutrient which means it keeps us filled for longer than carbohydrates or fats. Protein at a level of 1-1.2 per lb of bodyweight is a safe bet for most people

🗣️But where does it go? Well when we lose fat what actually happens is pockets of stored energy within our fat cells, known as triglycerides, are released into our blood stream and to our liver and muscles to be used to for energy. This process also gives a by-product of CO2 and water, which we breathe, sweat and urinate out. Around 84% of our fat is lost as CO2!

🗣️Although it's not a fast solution. Losing fat requires time, patience, endurance and balance. To lose fat optimally we need to be in a prolonged caloric deficit that has come from a controlled and sustained dietary adherence, lifestyle changes and exercise! If you are losing >=2kg a week chances are you're losing not as much fat as you think you are but instead a lot of water and a bit of muscle, which is not what you want! There are no natural cheat codes to losing fat. It's all about creating balance to allow yourself to sustain a new lifestyle you're building for yourself. Accept you may have a few slip ups but that is okay! You'll be so much happier, I promise.

🙌Email or DM me! Let me go through the technicalities to provide you with the simplicities🙌

💥New Package Offer For 2022💥

Why not transform your new year with this new package deal?

This new package deal is aimed to provide you with the most bang for your buck. It is intense, it will make you sweat and work but it if you stick with it, you will get results!

Get your hands on these deals whilst they last!

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