I’m already noticing a difference in skin tone in both Steve and John. The healthy glow is starting to return to their cheeks. They’ve gone from drinking barely any water to drinking a minimum of 3 litres each which automatically improves skin tone, energy levels and also speeds up the detox process.

I’ve even been educating them with food documentaries! Check it out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTne_sUIq8I for the truth about food.

Here’s a typical recipe used on my detox…

Hawaiian Island Marinade

• 1/3 cup coconut milk
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 tablespoon raw honey
• 2 tablespoons fresh ginger root, finely grated
• 2 chicken breasts diced
• 1 red onion chopped
• 10 cherry tomatoes
• 1 yellow pepper chopped
• 1 green pepper chopped

Marinate the chicken with the above ingredients for a few hours and leave in the fridge. Thread the pieces onto wooden skewers with the chopped red onion, cherry tomatoes, yellow and green peppers and grill for about 10 minutes on each side until cooked through and nicely browned. Serve with a crisp green salad.

“Today has been my worst day so far as I still have a headache and also stomach pains and at the same time my cravings today have been for anything sweet or bread orientated!!! What I would do for a cheese and pickle sandwich!!! With regards to food portions I think I hit my quota on everything except protein, but the days not over yet!! Breakfast was yoghurt and fruit, lunch was a tuna salad and dinner was egg, mushroom, spinach, cucumber and red pepper. On a positive note I ate plenty of beetroot for lunch so we will see how long my transit time is!!!”  – John

The beetroot test is to determine how long it takes John to digest his food. We use beetroot as it is clearly identified when it comes out the other end, being still bright purple! In an unhealthy body this could be anything between 24 and 48 hours. After a detox this could be reduced to under 12 hours. The quicker transit time enables the body to operate at peak performance and plays a huge role in the prevention of digestive diseases. We will conduct this test again after the detox is complete.

“I woke up feeling tired and hungry but felt surprisingly satisfied after eating yoghurt with fruit and sunflower seeds. I did lots of walking, drank water all day long and had a grilled chicken salad with lemon juice for lunch. I snacked on fruit in the afternoon and then had a chicken stir fry with green beans, butternut squash and spring onion. For dessert I had yoghurt with mango and seeds. I’ve had comments from more than one person today on my skin tone improvement and am surprised how quickly this has changed. When I get a sweet craving now I just have yoghurt with grapes, mango or cherries, seeds and agave nectar which feels like a gourmet dessert” – Steve

This is the worst case scenario and depending on the amount of toxin to be shed, some people do not experience any symptoms. Any initial detox symptoms usually subside after day 3 and then you can expect better health, energy and mood than you’ve had in years!

So let’s see how they go….

“I’ve had a constant headache all day, I feel lethargic and I’m so tired and craving caffeine. Other than that I’ve eaten a lot more today and drank my quota of water. For breakfast I had natural yoghurt with blackberries, snacked on fresh fruit and then had ham, egg, mushrooms, avocado and spinach for lunch. Dinner was a chicken and butternut squash rogan josh all made from scratch which went down a treat and I had a chamomile spearmint tea and a satsuma after dinner” – John

“I’ve had cravings today for cigarettes and something sweet like biscuits but it’s manageable and I have enjoyed the fresh berries and yoghurt which filled me up a lot more than I thought it would. I’m not missing the caffeine and there are no physiological signs of withdrawal so far. It’s more psychological and I feel like I’m lacking reward as I associate certain things with an end of day wind down. I know that I’m doing my body good and I’ve now started to think about how I’m going to incorporate this into a long term plan. I’m not doing the detox to lose weight necessarily, I’m looking to get more energy and I already feel like I have loads more” – Steve

This is what Steve made for breakfast…

John’s vital statistics

• Blood pressure 115/80
• Resting heart rate 90bpm
• Height 6 ft
• Weight 14st 7 1/4lbs
• Body fat  27.4%
• Body measurements (in inches)…

Chest 41, bicep L 12.5, bicep R 13, waist 39.5, hips 41.5, thigh L 22, thigh R 22, calf L 15, calf R 15.75

 Steve’s vital statistics

• Blood pressure 136/89
• Resting heart rate 86bpm
• Height 6 ft
• Weight 16st 7 3/4 lbs
• Body fat 32.5%%
• Body measurements (in inches)…

Chest 45.5, bicep L 14.75, bicep R 14.75, waist 40, hips 44, thigh L 23, thigh R 23.75, calf L 17, calf R 17.5

The protocol

Two weeks abstinence from the following toxins;

• Caffeine
• Alcohol
• Cigarettes
• Refined salt
• Refined sugar

The detox is centred on lean proteins, essential fats, fruits, vegetables and water with the addition of natural supplements such as aloe vera and natural yoghurt to balance the body.

Day 1

“The first day was easier than I thought it would be although withdrawing from caffeine has made me feel very tired. I thoroughly enjoyed the food on the plan today but need to work on increasing the amount so that I cover my nutritional needs.  So far so good, I haven’t even thought about having a cigarette. After the weigh in tonight I’m looking forward to seeing the pounds drop” – John

“I woke up feeling strangely comfortable about starting the detox. I had a little bit of trepidation the previous night when I put out my final cigarette and finished my last drink. The day has gone far easier than I thought – not even craved a cigarette. I went to the pub to meet a friend and had the lads laughing at me but asked for a sparkling mineral water with fresh lime. It actually didn’t affect my enjoyment of being in the pub. I’m feeling pretty confident but a bit worried this is the lull before the storm as it’s been a bit easy so far. I honestly thought I would be climbing the walls by now!” – Steve

http://content.yudu.com/Library/A1pb0n/CombatNetworkMagazin/resources/index.htm?referrerUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.yudu.com%2Fitem%2Fdetails%2F224901%2FCombat-Network-Magazine—Issue-4

Split Squat

Advanced Push Up

Hurdles

 Body Row

Measuring your resting heart rate (or pulse) when you’re at rest is a good way to assess your cardiovascular fitness because the stronger your heart is, the fewer times a minute it has to pump to send blood around your body.

Do this test first thing in the morning so that the results won’t be affected by physical activities or stress and avoid taking stimulants such as caffeine or nicotine before doing it.

Take your pulse at your wrist for 15 seconds, using your finger. Now multiply the number of heartbeats you counted by four to get your heart rate in beats per minute (bpm).

If you’re running regularly, you can expect your resting heart rate to drop by one or two beats per minute every one to two weeks. If you’ve trained well, after six months you could be looking at a drop of between 10bpm and 15bpm. However, your heart will only drop a maximum of 20 beats.

Test 1: Resting Heart Rate

Measurements

By measuring different parts of your body, you’ll be able to keep track of how you’re firming up and the way your body is changing as the fat melts away. Your waist measurement can be a very valuable way to assess your health risks as where you carry your extra weight can have a big impact on your health.

People who carry most of their weight around their hips and thighs are healthier and live longer than those who carry their weight around their stomach. It’s thought that this is because having a lot of fat around your major organs negatively affects the way they function.

Use the tape measure to take the measurements (in either inches or centimetres) of the following parts of your body and fill them in on the chart. For you to chart your progress accurately, it’s vital to take readings from the same place on each body part each time.

• Chest: place the tape measure around your chest so that it runs across  your nipples.
• Waist: Place the tape measure around your waist so that it runs straight across your tummy button.
• Hips: Place the tape measure around your hips at the widest point.
• Thigh: Place the tape measure around your leg at the highest part of your thigh, where it meets your groin.
• Upper arm: Place the tape measure around your upper arm so it touches the highest part of your armpit.

A waist circumference of over 80cm (31 ½ in) in women and over 94cm (37in) in men indicates excess abdominal fat, which is a greater health risk than fat stored around your hips and thighs. The other four measurements will help you track your weight-loss progress – and provide a constant source of motivation.

Test 2: Measurements 

Warm up jog/ cycle for 10 minutes

Squat jumps – find a park bench, bottom of the slide, anything that requires a bit of a jump to get onto (make sure it’s stable!) and then perform 20 jumps, landing in a deep squat on the ground and a perfectly balanced squat on the object.

Push ups – place your hands just wider than shoulder width apart on the bottom of the same object and perform 20 push ups in solid form. Try and go as fast as you can without sacrificing good form to keep the intensity high.

Swing jackknife – put your feet on the chair of a swing and walk your body out into a push up position. Your body should then be parallel to the ground and draw your feet (and swing) towards you and then back into start position. Your body should form a pike position as you draw in and then flat, plank position as you return to the start. Perform 20 fast reps in good form.

Chin ups – find the monkey bars and perform 20 chin ups making sure you lift your chest to the bar and don’t hunch your shoulders round at the top. If you can’t do a chin up, perform a ‘negative’ where you jump up and really slowly lower yourself down. This is the important phase of the exercise.

Hamstring curl – then it’s back over to the swing, lying on your back on the ground this time with your feet up on the swing seat. Raise your body into a plank  – your body should be held up in the air by pushing your feet down on the swing seat, keeping your legs straight and supported by your shoulders and head which are still in contact with the floor. Another 20 reps.

Go for a sprint around the playground  and then get stuck into the second set of the above 5 exercises. Do 3 sets in total or 4-5 if you’re used to training in high volumes.

Call for further instruction of the exercises and I’ll send a picture to help demonstrate…Enjoy!

http://www.pukkaherbs.com/file/18493d0dce9126383774a3dc1327277e/discover-your-ayurvedic-type.html

The results of this test will give you an idea about how balanced your health is at the moment. You will probably be a mix of each of the dosha but it is likely that one will dominate. Each of the dosha have some advantages and some disadvantages. Ayurveda helps you to understand your body’s needs according to your dosha so you can make positive changes in your life to help you feel balanced.

Ayurveda is an ancient system of healing still used throughout India and is becoming increasing popular in the Western world. It has many important lessons that we can learn and apply to our lifestyle. I’ll help you decode it all and tell you how you can use this to make changes to your diet and lifestyle.

Eat a balanced diet each day

To exercise consistently, you need to provide a good supply of high-quality energy to your working muscles. The easiest way to achieve this is to eat a balanced breakfast and continue eating a variety of high-quality foods throughout the day.

 Several hours before your workout 

The pre-exericse meal will vary depending upon your exercise style. If you workout in the evening, lunch should include easily digestible foods high in complex carbohydrates, such as wholegrain bread, pasta, fruits and vegetables. A big salad with a small amount of protein works well. Select a small amount of lean meat such as chicken or fish, and experiment with what works best for you.

If you exercise first thing in the morning, you’ll probably feel best if you eat a light breakfast of fresh fruit or eggs. Again, everyone is different, so experiment with what works best for you. Regardless of what you choose to eat, you should drink plenty of water before and during a morning workout.

 Thirty minutes before your workout

Depending upon the type and duration of workout you do, you’ll want to eat a small snack and drink some water a half hour before you get going. Trail mix is great for aerobic workouts over 60 or 90 minutes, but if you are going hard for thirty minutes, you probably only need a banana or a small handful of dried fruit. For a shorter workout, you may not want to eat anything at all, but can get a few calories from drinking a glass of fresh juice.

You should also start drinking water before your workout so you’ve consumed about 250-300ml in the hour before your workout.

 During your workout

Proper hydration during exercise depends upon the intensity and duration of exercise, the fitness of the athlete, and weather conditions. In order to simplify the recommendations, a good starting point is to drink about 250-300ml of water every 15 min during exercise.

If exercising longer than 90 minutes, drink 250-300ml of a sports drink or fresh juice mixed with water (1:1 ratio) every 15 – 30 minutes. Exercising for more than about 90 minutes usually requires that you replenish lost carbohydrates. If your workout is less than an hour, odds are you don’t need to consume anything extra.

 Hydration after your workout

After your workout, drink enough water to replace water lost through sweat. The best way to determine this is by weighing yourself before and after exercise. For every pound of body weight lost, you’ll need to consume about 3 cups of fluid.

Another way to determine how much liquid to consume is to check the colour of your urine. Dark, concentrated urine may indicate dehydration. Your urine should be relatively clear in colour.

 Eating after your workout

The post-exercise meal should be eaten within two hours of a long or intense workout in order to replenish glycogen stores for continued exercise. While research shows eating 100-200 grams of carbohydrate within two hours of endurance exercise is essential to building adequate glycogen stores, eating a combination of both carbohydrate and protein seems to be an even better option. Studies have found that a 4:1 ratio of carbohydrate to protein seems to be the ideal combination of nutrition. And although solid foods can work just as well as a sports drink, a drink may be easier to digest making it easier to get the right ratio and meet the 2-hour window.

Firstly, you need to decide what you want your sports drink to do. This will depend on intensity, duration and environmental conditions, for example, if you’re going for a half an hour jog around the block, there’s little use in a sports drink and just plain old water will do the job. If you’re thrashing it out in the boxing ring though and sweating buckets, especially if you’re exercising for longer than 60 minutes, you’re going to need a bit of a booster so you don’t just collapse for the rest of the day. I know, it’s happened to me before!

So, here it is. An easy breakdown on how to select your home-made drink. The drinks are split into 3 categories: Hypotonic, Isotonic and Hypertonic.

 Hypotonic drinks

Hypo or “low” means that these drinks contain low levels of dissolved substances. They are designed for quick fluid absorption, rather than to provide energy. They can be drunk before, during and after exercise. They typically contain 2-3 grams of carbohydrate per 100ml i.e. 2-3%

Recipe: 250 ml fruit juice , 750 ml water, 1g-1.5g (pinch) salt

Isotonic drinks

Iso or “the same as” means that the concentration in these drinks is the same as in the body, giving fast fluid absorption and a top-up of carbohydrate fuel. They can be drunk before, during and after exercise. They typically contain 5-8 grams of carbohydrate per 100 ml, i.e. 5-8%

Recipe: 500 ml fruit juice, 500 ml water, 1g-1.5g (pinch) salt

Hypertonic drinks

Hyper or “high” means that the drinks contain a high concentration of dissolved substances. They are designed to provide carbohydrate for repletion of glycogen stores, i.e. for energy rather than to provide water for hydration. These drinks should only be taken after exercise as they can lead to dehydration and could cause stomach upsets. These drinks usually contain more than 10 grams of carbohydrate per 100 ml i.e. more than 10% carbohydrate solution.

Recipe: 1 litre fruit juice,  1g-1.5g (pinch) salt

Commercial brands will use varying combinations of glucose, sucrose and fructose to make it’s solubility level high i.e. how quickly you absorb it, but in the interest of keeping things natural as always, I opt for fresh fruit juice without hesitation. 

In each recipe be sure to use rock  salt, not table salt which is destructive to the body. The salt encourages faster and better hydration. An excellent choice of fruit juice is pomegranate juice which has a high level of naturally occuring antioxidants that help neutralise free radicals – the harmful molecules (that you create loads of in training) which cause cell and tissue damage.