Men’s Fitness UK – October 2019

1010 OCTOBER 2019OCTOBER 2019

NEWS

Photography

Shutterstock

| Tips courtesy of Elliott Upton (@elliottupton),

personal

trainer

at

Ultimate

Performance

Marbella

BE AT

THE

HEAT

LOOKAT THETRAINTIMES

If youtrainin themiddleof

theday,orevenlateronin the

evening,thechancesarethe

gymis goingto behotand

theenvironmentisn’tgoingto

bea pleasantplaceto train.

Thinkaboutswitchingyour

sessionsto earlymorningwhen

temperaturesarelowerand

thesunhasn’treachedfull

strength.Theadditionalbenefit

of trainingearlyis thatyou’re

lesslikelyto skipthegym– a

realriskwhenthesun’soutand

thetemptationof beersand

barbecuesis trickyto resist.

SWITCHTOA COOLERGYM

Trainingin theheathasactually

beenshownto bestowpositive

physiologicaladaptations

onathletes,andimprove

cardiovascularfitness.However,

formostregulargym-goers

trainingin hotconditionswon’t

bea pleasantexperience.If

youfeeltheheatwillimpair

yourperformancein thegym,

oryoujustdon’twantto end

upa sweatymessbutyourgym

doesn’thaveanykindof air

conditioning,maybeit’stimeto

lookforanotherplaceto train

untiltheheatsubsides.

TRAIN MORE EFFICIENTLY

You don’t want to be putting

yourself through long, drawn-

out training sessions at the best

of times,leastof allin theheat.

AtUltimatePerformance,we

findworkoutsof between45-

minutesareoptimal,before

intensityandperformancetails

off.If youfollowa straight-sets

workout,youmightwantto

considerlookingat a training

protocollikeGermanBody

Compositiontraining,which

utilisesupper/lowerpaired

setsorsupersets.Thebenefit

of thisprotocolis thatyoucan

effectivelygetmoreworkdone

in lesstime,bypairingupper

bodyexercises,likea pull-up,

withlowerbodyexercises,like

a splitsquat.

STAYHYDRATED

Dehydrationis responsible

fordownregulationof nearly

everycellularprocessin the

body.Muscleproteinsynthesis

canalsobeaffectedandeven

threepercentdehydrationcan

impactyourstrengthandpower

outputin training.Foranyone

with a fat-loss goal, the liver

will metabolise less fat because

it has to take over some of the

functions of the kidneys when

dehydrationsetsin.Wealways

recommendclientsdrinkat

leastonelitreof waterduring

trainingandthreeto fourlitres

overthecourseof theday.

Equallyimportant,however,is

to ensureelectrolytes– like

sodiumandpotassium– lost

throughsweatarereplaced

withanelectrolytedrink.

GET THE RIGHT GEAR

When it’s hot, the last thing

you want to be training in are

skin-tight t-shirts, baselayers

or long-sleeved tops. Wearing

light, loose-fi tting or breathable

clothing is a must if you want

to better regulate your body

temperature and not end up in

a puddle of sweat. Something

like a singlet and shorts is an

ideal choice, but wear whatever

you feel most comfortable

in that is going to keep you

relatively cool.

HOTWEATHER TRAINING TIPS

FROM ULTIMATE PERFORMANCE

WASH IT OFF

One great trick to keep cooler

in the hot weather is to take

a cold shower before your

workout. Taking a cold shower

for several minutes before you

work out is going to help lower

your body temperature from the

start so you don’t overheat as

quickly. ‘Pre-cooling’ is a trick

professional cyclists use, but it’s

just as useful for the average

gym-goer. The bracing shock of

a cold shower is also a good

way to get yourself feeling fi red

up if you’re lethargic.