Uncategorized

I get asked about my opinion on weight loss injections such as Ozempic and Mounjaro  quite a bit. My opinion on them is pretty straightforward; they are a temporary solution to the problem, not a permanent one. What are you going to do once you stop taking it? Unless you plan to take it forever, you have not learnt anything about weight loss/management so will likely end up back where you were at some point. The studies support this, the average person has already put two thirds of the weight they lost back on within a year of coming off the injections.  And if you are planning on taking it forever you are taking serious risks with your health. Increased risks of certain cancers to name one risk.

But I am not a doctor or scientist so I’m not going to discuss those issues any further in this article. What I will discuss is what you can do to naturally recreate some of the ‘benefits’ these injections create. Namely suppressing your hunger.  As well as how by doing this naturally you can avoid some of the physiological pitfalls taking the drugs would bring.

How Do The Injections Work?

In a nutshell, they make you feel fuller for longer, reduce appetite and slow digestion.

After you have eaten your body releases hormones GLP 1 and GIP to signal to your brain that you are full. The injections mimic the response of these natural hormones, meaning you are likely to feel satisfied with smaller portions and feel fuller sooner. They also slow down how quickly your stomach empties, meaning you feel fuller for longer.

On the surface this all sounds great. But before taking it you really need to do your research and ask yourself whether you want to be taking something that is going to ‘mess’ with your hormones in this artificial way. There are lots of known side effects and risks. But also these injections are very new so we have no idea what longer term affects you may experience by taking them. And if you have taken any kind of medication before you will know that solving one problem may well create plenty of other problems in the process.

Can I Affect My Hormones Naturally?

Protein can act as your own hunger control hormone.  Protein also helps to stimulate GLP 1’S and GIP’s, the same as the weight loss injections do. It also has an satiation effect when you eat it, i.e. makes you feel fuller for longer.  It also helps to control grelin, your hunger promoting hormone.

In my opinion the general advice on how much protein you should eat is far too low from a weight management perspective. Its all well and good saying you only need 0.7 grams per kg of bodyweight a day. But really this is not enough to get the benefits described above. I would advise between 1.2-1.5 grams per kg of bodyweight. In my experience most people get nowhere near that.

So I would urge you to try a higher protein diet before diving into the weight loss injections. It’s safer both in the short and long term. It will help you to maintain or even gain muscle mass (most people lose muscle mass with the injections). And it will help you learn how to eat a sustainable healthy diet which means you will have a much better chance of keeping the weight off.

It’s understandable why a lot of people of choosing the ‘easy’ solution to their weight problems. But make sure you ‘weigh’ it up fully, the easiest ‘fix’ is not necessarily the best in the long run.

 

We are all looking for a ‘quick fix’ or something that you can do in a minimal amount of time that will make the most difference. Whether this is to get rid of pain in the body or make yourself healthier. Whilst there are no magic exercises, in recent times I have come across something you can spend 90 seconds a day doing that will genuinely make a big difference to your health, longevity and any ailments you may have. Its called the ‘dead hang.’

What is The Dead Hang?

The dead hang is when you hang from a bar. Don’t stop reading if you think this looks too difficult or unrealistic for you. There are different ways to do this exercises ranging from beginner to advanced, which I will explain fully later.

Shoulder Health

The shoulder is an area where a lot of people experience pain. In your shoulder joint you have something called the subacromial space. This is basically a gap between the bones in the area. As you move your arms (reaching overhead is often the most painful movement) your bones move, and therefore the space in between them changes.

Attaching every muscle to a bone is a tendon, which you have several of in your shoulder. If the subacromial space narrows over time, which it can for various reasons such as spending hours a day sitting at a desk with poor posture, these tendons get pinched, rub and even begin to fray. This is usually where the pain comes in. Inflammation or wearing of the tendon.

When you do the dead hang you can stretch the tendons in the shoulder, under the load of your body weight, without them pinching. It’s this ‘weighted stretching’ that makes all the difference. Most stretches we do are not weighted and comparatively make little difference. You are able to exercise, stretch and reshape the tendons, surrounding muscles and bones.

The goal should be to create more space (in the subacromial space) for those tendons to move and operate. If you can achieve this you stop the pinching and rubbing and stop the pain. If this sounds like it applies to you I would strongly recommend you read Dr John Kirsch’s book ‘Shoulder Pain. The Solution and Prevention.’ He goes into a lot more detail about how and why it works. As well as plenty of case studies showing scans of the changes in patients subacromial space achieved by following this technique.

Back Health

This technique has also been shown to be highly beneficial for your back/spine health. Most of our daily activities compress the spine. Sitting for long periods being the prime example. Dead Hanging decompresses the spine, i.e. undoes the damage your lifestyle may have created. The technique basically realigns the body and corrects any imbalances that may have been involuntarily created. It opens up the space between your bones, discs and joints.

Grip Strength

An overlooked area for most people. Improving grip strength will help you with your weight training, but also with every day tasks such as opening jars. And in fact good grip strength has actually been linked to greater longevity in certain studies such as this one. So it’s well worth it.

How To Do It?

Basically hang from a bar! Grip the bar about shoulder width apart, and hold on as tight as you can. Make sure you keep your arms straight and your back straight.
It’s absolutely fine to use your feet on the floor to start with while you build up your strength. Just make sure you keep your body fully extended and over time reduce the weight you are taking through your feet until you feel ready to lift them totally off the floor.

Aim to build up to 90 seconds a day. But it doesn’t have to be in 1 go. Take as many efforts as you need with a short rest between each. But I would recommend starting with 30 seconds a day and add 5/10 seconds a day until you get up to 90 seconds.

Conclusion – Is the ‘Dead Hang’ the answer to longevity, shoulder and back pain?

Of course on its own nothing is ‘the answer.’ But making this part of your daily routine will make a significant difference to the health of your body, the pain you may be experiencing, and even your longevity.

Shoulder pain, otherwise known as shoulder impingement when lifting weights is a pretty common issue. It could be just when in the gym doing exercises such as bench press, shoulder press or others. But it can also transfer to daily life making what you previously viewed as simple tasks you took for granted, either painful or impossible. And can get to the point where you get a nagging pain in the shoulder pretty much all the time (I have been there myself). But hopefully after following these steps you will o longer have to experience shoulder pain when lifting.

What is Shoulder Impingement?

Shoulder impingement is a nagging pain in the front or down the side of the shoulder. The good news is this there is usually no serious damage caused. At worst there may be some slight fraying/wearing of the tendon, but usually it’s just inflammation of the tendon. This does not mean you should ignore it and it will go away by itself. You need to modify your posture when lifting to stop this happening.

What Should I do About It?

For the purposes of this post I am going to assume your symptoms are minor and you are addressing this issue early. If however the pain is more severe, or you make the following changes and it doesn’t improve you may need a more advanced approach which I will link to.

However I usually find the following solves the problem for most people experiencing mild issues.

As you move your shoulder, we’ll use the bench press as an example, the bones that connect into the shoulder all move. And this means the tendons all move, because tendons are what connect the muscle to the bone. Some of these tendon pass through a relative small gap between the bones. Depending on how small that gap is you may experience rubbing/wearing of the tendon over time. That tendon then becomes inflamed/worn and that’s where the pain comes in.

The good news is there is a simple thing you can do to increase the size of the gap the tendons have to pass through. Retract your shoulder blades and tilt your scapula back. So think about squeezing a golf ball between your shoulder blades. That is retracting your shoulder blades. And if you assume your back is usually straight, try to tilt your back a little. So you are essentially leaning back with your upper back.

The reality is most people do the opposite both in their daily lives and when training. They round their shoulders forward closing up that gap for the tendons to pass and increasing the chance or rubbing occurring. Think about your posture when sitting at your desk or driving. Is it rounded? If so I almost guarantee you will be doing that in the gym as well.

Conclusion – Should Pain When Lifting – The Solution!

So before you do any exercise retract your shoulder blades and tilt your scapula back. It will create far more space for the tendons to move and should fix your shoulder impingement/pain problems.

I’m back with another in my 5 minute workout series. Same format as usual; do each exercise for 20 seconds and take 10 seconds to get ready for the next. Do the exercises 1 through 5 and repeat the circuit twice. Try this total body home workout!

1/ Y-Squat
2/ Half Press up -arms forward
3/ Front Lunge
4/ Front Lunge
5/ Half Plank – alt arm/leg raise

Y-Squat

Position:
Stand in upright position with knees slightly bent and feet hip with apart. Brace stomach and have both hands up in the air in a Y shape.

Technique:

Squat down towards the ground, pushing your hips back and bending your knees.
Lower yourself as far down as you can before pushing back up through your heels.

Points To Remember:

Make sure your weight is through the heels of your feet at all times.  Ensure your knees don’t go forward further than the end of your toes. Make sure you back remains straight.

Half Press Ups – Arms Forward

Position:

Kneel on floor with hands just over shoulder width apart out in front of you.

Technique:

Lower your body down as far as you can so your head goes over the line of your hands.

Push back up to starting position.

Points to remember:

Lower you head over the line your hands not your chest.
Brace your stomach whilst performing the exercise.

Front Lunges–1

Position:
Stand upright with knees bent and stomach braced.

Technique:

Take as big a stride forward as possible with 1 leg.
Bend the knee as you make contact with the floor and push back up through the heel of your foot.
The more you are able to bend the knee the more difficult the exercise becomes.

Points To Remember:

Keep your back upright and straight throughout.
As you bend the front knee, ensure it does not go further forward than your toes.
Make your stride forward as far as possible for maximum benefit.

Front Lunges– 2

Repeat above on opposite leg

Half Plank – Alternate Arm/Leg Raise

Position:
Kneel on all fours on the floor.
Rest on your elbows and knees holding your body up.

Technique:

Slide your knees back until your back is flat and you can feel your core (stomach) muscles working.
Hold position still.
Raise 1 arm and opposite leg up alternately.

Points To Remember:

Make sure your back remains flat, i.e. your hips don’t sag down, raise up too high, or tilt to 1 side.
Make sure your elbows stay directly beneath your shoulders and don’t slide further forward.

Conclusion – Total Body Home Workout

You work all major muscles in the body in this workout. And with no equipment and minimal space needed. Give it a go!

‘Finding the time’ is the number 1 excuse I get for people not exercising enough. You don’t have to spend an hour exercising to get the benefits or results. Short, intense workouts can be seriously effective if done right. Try the workout below. Do each exercise for 20 seconds and take 10 seconds to get in position for the next. Do each exercise twice. Try this intense home workout.

1/ Wall Squat Hold – 1 leg
2/ Wall Squat Hold – 1 leg
3/ Tricep Dips
4/ Side Plank
5/ Side Plank

1 Leg Wall Squat Hold- 1

Position:
Stand with your back flat against the wall, feet slightly forward and hip width apart.
Life one leg up and slide down wall so your supporting leg is bent and you feel your quad (thigh) muscle working.
Technique:
Hold position as still as possible.
Slide as far down the wall as you can.
Points To Remember:
Keep head flat against wall.
Don’t let you knee goes further forward than the end of your toe.

1 Leg Wall Squat Hold- 2

Repeat same on other leg.

Tricep Dips

Position:
Squat in front of a chair with legs forward and place hands on a chair behind you.
Walk your legs forward slightly.
Technique:
Bend your elbows and lower your body as far as possible before pressing back up.
Points To Remember:
Squeeze elbows towards each other during the movement.

Side Plank- 1

Position:
Lay on your side with legs straight and your elbow directly beneath your shoulder.
Place one foot over the top of the other.
Technique:
Push hip off the floor, resting on your feet and elbow.
Squeeze the hip as high as possible and hold position still.
Points To Remember:
Keep your body straight, i.e. don’t lean forward or backwards.
Make sure your elbow remains directly beneath your shoulder and doesn’t slide forward.

Side Plank- 2

Repeat on other side

Conclusion – Intense Home Workout

Don’t use lack of time as an excuse not to exercise. If you work hard you can get a lot of out short, intense home workout.