Evolution Fitness Professionals September 2011 Newsletter

Category: Newsletter  |  September 15th, 2011

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Adding Lean Muscle Mass & Muscle Growth - by Chris Tomlinson

Category: General  |  September 12th, 2011

 Hi Guys, 

While I’m not training for a fight or have any fights planned, I use this time productively as my muscle hypertrophy phase. 

“Hypertropy by definition is the enlargement of an organ or tissue due to an increase in the size of its cells.” Specifically in terms of muscular adaptation, the enlargement of muscle tissue and muscle cells.

 In simple terms it is the increase of muscle fibre size within the muscle creating an increase in overall muscle size.

Muscular Hypertrophy training benefits include;

o   Increased levels of muscle glycogen and Creatine phosphate

o   Short term increases in testosterone and growth hormone

o   Short term increase in calorific burn

There are many ways to train for muscle hypertrophy, one of the most common ways is a Split Routine consisting of 3 sets of 10-12 reps. This may be something you may have already heard of down at the gym, that everyone is doing a Split Routine. Generally this is true, as it’s the most common and often the most miss guided routine to create.  

Split routine training consists of training different muscle groups on different days. For example on Monday training, chest and triceps, Tuesday, off,  Wednesday, back and biceps, , Thursday, off and Friday, shoulders and legs. This is a typical example of a split routine that many people use for muscle growth. Although Split routines are a great method, the average gym goer will never see the results they are after as this method has to be routine and tweaked every week, and a lot of factors come into play to achieve muscle hypertrophy.

Another method of muscle hypertrophy is through volume training, this is how I am currently training so I will go into more detail and share with you my diet and training plan. Volume training programs use less exercises per muscle group but more sets to increase the workload and fatigue of the muscle. I have chosen this method as its by far more effective at getting noticeable results in both size and power as opposed to a Split Routine.

This is my current training program consisting of only upper body, or lower body days AND should not be attempted by weight training beginners.

 MONDAY

• 10 MINUTES CROSS TRAINER     ( WARM UP )

• CHEST PRESS – 10 SETS OF 10 REPS

• LATERAL PULL DOWN – 10 SETS OF 10 REPS

• SHOULDER PRESS – 10 SETS OF 10 REPS

• BICEPS AND TRICEPS – SUPERSET – 3 SETS OF 20 – EACH SET CONSISTING OF  10 REPS BICEP CURLS & 10 REPS TRICEP PULL DOWN

• 10 MINUTES CROSS TRAINER     ( COOLDOWN )

• 5 MINUTES FULL BODY STRETCHING (FOCUS ON TORSO & ARMS)

TUESDAY

• 3 MILE RUN

• LEG PRESS – 10 SETS OF 10 REPS

• CALF RAISES – 10 SETS OF 10 REPS

• WEIGHTED SIT UPS – 10 SETS OF 20

• PLANK HOLDS – 10 SETS OF 45 SECOND HOLDS

• 2 MINUTES SKIPPING

• 5 MINUTES FULLBODY STRETCHING (FOCUS ON LEGS)

WEDNESDAY

• 10 MINUTES CROSS TRAINER     ( WARM UP )

• CHEST PRESS – 10 SETS OF 10 REPS

• LATERAL PULL DOWN – 10 SETS OF 10 REPS

• SHOULDER PRESS – 10 SETS OF 10 REPS

• BICEPS AND TRICEPS – SUPERSET – 3 SETS OF 20 – EACH SET CONSISTING OF  10 REPS BICEP CURLS & 10 REPS TRICEP PULL DOWN

• 10 MINUTES CROSS TRAINER     ( COOLDOWN )

• 5 MINUTES FULLBODY STRETCHING (FOCUS ON TORSO & ARMS)

 THURSDAY

• 3 MILE RUN

• LEG PRESS – 10 SETS OF 10 REPS

• CALF RAISES – 10 SETS OF 10 REPS

• WEIGHTED SIT UPS – 10 SETS OF 20

• PLANK HOLDS – 10 SETS OF 45 SECOND HOLDS

• 2 MINUTES SKIPPING

• 10 MINUTES FULLBODY STRETCHING (FOCUS ON LEGS)

 FRIDAY

• 5 MINUTES CROSS TRAINER     ( WARM UP )

• CHEST PRESS – 10 SETS OF 10 REPS

• LATERAL PULL DOWN – 10 SETS OF 10 REPS

• SHOULDER PRESS – 10 SETS OF 10 REPS

• BICEPS AND TRICEPS – SUPERSET – 3 SETS OF 20 – EACH SET CONSISTING OF  10 REPS BICEP CURLS & 10 REPS TRICEP PULL DOWN

• 5 MINUTES CROSS TRAINER     ( COOLDOWN )

• 5 MINUTES FULLBODY STRETCHING (FOCUS ON TORSO AND ARMS)

 SATURDAY & SUNDAY – REST DAYS FOR MUSCLE RECOVERY

 My typical daily meals look like this :

7.30am	40g of porridge, semi milk (30mins after waking)
9am	Protein shake (1scoop with milk)
12pm	100g chicken breast/2 large sweet potatoes/mixed veg
2pm	50g pistachio nuts
3.30pm	Protein shake (1scoop with milk)
5.30pm	Tin of tuna/75g pasta/mixed veg
6.00pm	Mixed fruit snack (80g)
Pre workout	dextrose powder  (80g)
Post workout	Protein shake (1scoop with water)
8.00pm	100g chicken breast/75g brown rice/mixed veg
Before bed	1 pint of semi skimmed milk
	zinc & magnesium tablets

 Having a training program like this is very demanding on the body and requires me to eat often to keep my body always fuelled. The carbohydrates in my diet are all slow releasing, meaning they will keep my body steadily fuelled long after I have eaten them. You may have noticed there is a high protein and high calorie content in my diet, my body will be constantly demanding more calories and protein for muscle growth and recovery so its important I am consistently feeding it.

I hope you have enjoyed reading about my current training and have found it useful, if you have any more questions or queries for me about split programs or volume training please don’t hesitate to email me at –

christomlinson@evo-fit.com

;-)

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Good Nutrition Or Nutritional Mistake?

Category: Nutrition  |  May 18th, 2011

We were thinking the other day whilst at a nutrition conference how a lot of people think they are doing right when it comes to their nutrition, yet they are doing so wrong. So we thought we would highlight 7 points that should seriously be addressed.

NO FOOD

A big mistake that people make in order to try and stay healthy (especially people trying to lose weight) is not eating enough food. Yes limiting the intake of food to the correct energy balance would work and if trying to lose weight dropping it slightly into a negative energy balance (less energy from dietary intake than your body needs) would aid in weight loss, however ditching all the food in your day to live on carrot sticks and black coffee can be seriously detrimental to your health and echo’s poor nutrition.

TOO MUCH FOOD

On the flip side, people who are trying to gain weight (especially people trying to gain lean muscle) and stay healthy or enjoy just being plain greedy have the problem of eating in excess and again poor nutritional choices are often made. Yes it is correct that you need to eat at a slightly positive energy balance (more energy from dietary intake than your body needs) but this does not mean go crazy and eat anything and everything. Don’t forget the damage of some foods is not always seen on the waist line. Poor nutrition and eating high energy dense foods can lead to heart disease and other conditions.

REPLACMENT MEALS AND DRINKS

Big mistake is to try and live on energy/meal replacement bars or shakes. Yes they have relevance in your diet sometimes and in certain circumstances maybe, but not to the extent of living off them. The large majority contain both protein and carbohydrate which are mainly simple sugars and some nastiest e.g. sweeteners which are not great for your health.  Although many are sold as a meal replacement they are made as a convenient snack for individuals training at a moderate to high intensity level or where food is not easily accessible, if you value your nutrition stay away from the bars and shakes and eat real wholesome foods.

EATING BEFORE EXERCISE

Eating around two hours before exercise gives you the energy needed to sustain an exercise session. Generally people that do not eat within this time period before exercise suffer from headaches, energy loss and in the extreme loss of consciousness due to rapidly falling blood sugar levels. Make sure you stay healthy and stay fuelled.

EATING AFTER EXERCISE

Eating within an hour after exercise is essential. This is not only for the growth and repair of the used muscle fibres but to regulate your blood sugar levels. Not eating after exercise even if you are trying to loose weight is a big mistake. Generally you should be eating lean sources of proteins for growth and repair and good solid carbohydrates to regulate blood sugar levels and replenish lost muscle glycogen, just be very careful not to over eat at this point.

FLUID INTAKE

Here is where a lot of people go wrong, they stumble at the simplest part of a healthy diet, drinking enough water. Water is the soup of life. How long can you go without food? How long can you go without Fluid? This says it all, it is essential that we keep our fluid balance right. Fluid in your body is a coolant, protection, regulation and delivery system it would be a total neglect of your health to not stay well hydrated.

YOYO DIETING

People believe they are doing right by jumping on the new craze they have seen on Television or in a magazine. Jumping from one diet to another simply just doesn’t work, and can be very detrimentally to your health, remember Dr Atkins? Need we say more! Look at the research and some of the diets out there past and present and make your own sensible judgment.

 

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Tips To Balance Your Nutrition

Category: Nutrition  |  May 6th, 2011

 

• Always eat breakfast to kick start your metabolism. This is the most important meal of the day and should be eaten within an hour of waking this is the corner stone of good nutrition.

•  Eat regularly throughout the day, helping maintain a high metabolism and regulate blood sugar levels. Avoid snacking on to many sugary and fatty foods and consciously think about the portion size you have in front of you.

•  Get in touch with your body, eat slowly and taking time to enjoy your food. You will find you will eat less, stopping yourself over eating as your body will stop when it has had enough.

•  Don’t confuse thirst for hunger!

•  Stay hydrated. Drinking water is the best way of keeping your metabolism moving and allowing the chemical reactions in your body to function correctly. Drink on average around 2 – 3 litres of water a day and if you find it difficult to get away from fizzy drinks, replace them with cordial for a splash of flavour and stay away from caffeine!

•  Remember don’t consume too many sugary foods – sugar can be dangerous if surplus to requirement, resulting in unwanted weight gain and premature aging. Consume more complex carbohydrates to balance your energy levels.

•  Eat a large variety of foods, have a mixed plate of good fats, proteins and carbohydrates. Pick fruit and vegetables that are in season and deep in colour to provide some of your vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and phytonutrients.

 

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Chris 'The Tank' Tomlinson Category: MMA  |  April 12th, 2011

 Im a 21 year old lad from Prescot, Liverpool. A 70kg semi-pro mixed martial artist and sponsored by Evolution Fitness Professionals and trained at Sapphire MMA.

I was first introduced to Martial Arts at a very young age of around 8 or 9 when I tried Karate and Judo at my primary school. After enjoying this I followed my new hobby to a karate school in a local town hall where I stayed and progressed to my green belt. Being young and my friends leaving the school to do other things I lost interest in the sport and found other interests in football and other various sports. 

            Over the years I thought about boxing and other martial arts but didn’t want to go to any class’s on my own being young and not having the confidence.

  It was when I first went to college and met English kickboxing title holder Danny Horton. He than took me along to his training camp (Tmas St Helens) and under Aan Deesamer I trained Muay Thai for 2 years until the class stopped in 2008.

   I maintained my fitness and found interest in weight training until I learned of a new MMA gym in St Helens (GoldenGloryUK). It was here I really discovered MMA and trained Luta Livre under Mark Scanlon. When training here I had 3 white collar MMA fights (no judges, if no submission or knockout there was no winner) in Liverpool Olympia. After 2 draws and a loss I decided to step up my training and move to a more local gym (Sapphire MMA, Huyton), it was here where I have really found my love for MMA. Being  pushed to train harder and with a great team behind me and great coaches I found my technical ability growing along with my confidence.

 

Training & Fight Camp

When Im not training for a fight I usually use this as my strength training phase. I will use this time to increase my strength, size and power, although I do still attend class’s, sparring and keep my cardio at a high level.

My fight camp usually consists of 10/12 sessions of training a week for a minimum of 6 weeks before a fight. This will be 5/6 class’s a week and 5/6 cardio, circuit training or power training sessions. Working in a gym I am lucky to be able to train during my breaks to do my cardio or weights sessions.

A typical week looks roughly like this, depending on work and other commitments: 

Monday – 10am – Fighters No-Gi BJJ

                    6pm -  Full body weights in work or Beach-Fit 

Tuesday – 10am – Private Muay Thai

                      6pm –  Interval hill sprinting on treadmill

Wednesday – 6.30pm –Fusion Fitness Bootcamp or Beach-Fit

  8.30pm – MMA

Thursday – REST AND RECOVERY WITH SPORTS MASSAGE

Friday – 10am – Full body weights

                  7pm – Muay Thai sparring

Saturday – 10am – Fighters No-Gi BJJ

                      12pm – MMA sparring

                      3pm – cardio mixed with body weight movements

Sunday  - REST, RECOVERY INCLUDING LIGHT STRETCHING

 

When training to keep well rounded I need to keep all my techniques at a good level, so making sure if I train standing up (Muay Thai) I do equal time grappling (bjj or submission wrestling).                                                                                                             Aswel as all my training, rest and recovery is just as important, this is getting proper restful sleep, maintaining correct nutrition and specific sports therapy for my sport.

Phil at Evo-Fit looks after my sports therapy, with sports massage and injury physiotherapy my recovery rate has accelerated so when I train I can push myself harder and with more confidence. I have learned it is as much about education and practice that maintains and increases my confidence in my self and my skills as a fighter.

Nutrition is a key factor when training to maintain my body is fuelled and the ability to recover quickly without overloading with heavy calories.

 

I use 3 different supplements along with my diet-

·      BSN Syntha-6: As a Protein supplement this has everything I need, taking 3 scoops a day in 3 different shakes. 1 pre-training, 1 post-training and 1 before bed.

·      SCI-MX: Test boosters which aid in fat metabolising and accelerated recovery.

·      Multivitamins to help keep my immune system high. ()

 

My daily meals when training generally consist 6 small portions of balanced protein and carbohydrates, along with 3-4 litres of water. I vary my specific intakes in accordance with the daily sessions of training. Jim at Evo-Fit Has refined my Diet in accordance with my training, and he monitors me very closely when I have to make a certain weight.

 

Chris Tomlinson  VS  Dean Ford

This was my first test as I stepped up to the semi-pro ranks, although confident in myself and my training I was still nervous. Walking around at my resting weight of 72kg I needed to drop 2kg for this fight. The weigh in was at 3pm on the same day as the fight so cutting water wasn’t an option as I would be dehydrated. Instead the day before the fight I only consumed slight sips of water and protein shakes while snacking on nuts, this then allowed me to eat more on fight day to get my energy up.                                                           

I weighed in at 68.6kg and Dean weighed in at 70.1kg giving him an extra 1.5kg advantage over me. As soon as the weigh inn’s was complete we headed straight to the restaurant where I was greeted with a bowl of pasta carbonara. I then over the course of the day forced down me chocolate (sugar for energy), power aid (electrolytes for dehydration) and LOTS of water to keep me hydrated.

 

The Fight

Walking out to my entrance music and hearing the crowd is the best buzz a fighter can have, although still nervous there was nowhere else I would rather be. Watching Dean come out and having the home crowd behind him chanting his name gave me an extra motive to beat him.

We touched gloves and the opening round bell rang. Noticing he was a southpaw I moved round to my left and low kicked his leading leg. He then moved forward and with a fake right-cross moved in for a take down which I then exchanged with a left hook and guillotine choke.

We fell back against the cage wall and eventually to the ground where he got out and moved into my guard. From here he decided to stand back up and backing away from me I hooked his leg with my foot to attempt a rolling knee bar.

I was stood back up where we circled until I backed him against the cage and executed a double leg take down to which I was in his guard. Posturing up and landing some hard right body shots Dean defended well by bringing his leg to protect his ribs, noticing this I hooked his ankle and fell back to submit him with a straight Achilles lock, winning the fight.  

 FIRST ROUND...FIRST MINUTE...Id say thats Pretty Good.

 

All in a days work really, showing my training and fitness had paid off and all the help I got from Sapphire MMA and Evo-Fit leading up to the fight was well worth all the hard work, and its as much of a credit to them as it is to me!

Thanks Guys, Now Ive Gotta Get Back To Training

    Chris T ;-)

 

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