Centurion Blog

Welcome to the Centurion Training blog, once again I have some great information to help you take one step closer to your physique/performance goals. This week’s blog covers 10 reasons you should train in the morning.... so crack on and let me blow your mind with some fitness knowledge!

10. Builds consistency

Most people that try to train at lunch time or after work fail because of the numerous distractions that can be found whether that is lunch with colleagues or rushing home to watch glee...

That’s right I said it!

If you train first thing in the morning you can avoid all of the potential pitfalls of the work environment and also reap the following benefits too...

9. No waiting

I now exclusively perform my own training sessions at the studio or outdoors because I HATE waiting around for other gym users to finish up performing bicep curls in the squat rack.

I have found however the waiting time is much lower if you train in the morning as there are fewer fitness warriors around to take up your training equipment!

There is also something extremely satisfying about exchanging glances with fellow gym bunnies knowing you are one of the few hardcore people willing to train when others are still dreaming of protein shakes and powerplates!

8. Jump starts your metabolism

As we know, working out increases your metabolic rate and keeps it elevated for hours and hours. Why not get your engines running as soon as possible? In this way, your increased metabolism will be working and burning more calories while you are, instead of when your body is at rest. If you are like many people who sit at a desk all day, you know that this is reason enough to train in the morning.

7. Gives you energy

Did you ever notice that most disciplined forces such as the military or police forces around the world train in the morning? This is because it gives the soldiers the required energy to get through their grueling days. So, if the weather and accumulated fatigue have you feeling less than crisp lately, you might want to try hitting the gym first thing in the morning. Doing so will release endorphins and other hormones to give you a much-appreciated boost that often lasts all day. In other words, it'll give you the required energy to work all day and party all night if you desire.

6. Clears your mind

I don't mean to sound like a Jedi master, but early morning training really does help you clear your head for the day and also makes any stress throughout the day more manageable, if you’ve deadlifted 200kg or run 10k in your morning workout dealing with extra admin or that colleague you can’t stand seems like a cake walk!

Believe it or not, but there are five more reasons to take the morning train...

5. Regulates your appetite

Training in the morning will help you regulate your appetite for the day. Your meal times will become more regular and you will find that you snack less. Due to the increased regularity of meals you find that your cravings and energy levels will improve which will prevent overzealous snacking and binge eating.

4. Increases mental awareness

You may notice that after training sessions you feel alert and ready to take on the world, unless you trained so hard that you are zombiefied!

If you train before your work day begins, you'll be better equipped to deal with the up-hill battles presented to you at the office. Working out increases your mental acuity for up to 10 hours after exercise. This is due, in part, to the increased flow of oxygen-rich blood to the brain.

3. Increases discipline

It takes great discipline to drag yourself out of bed to head to the gym or head outdoors. However, including that habit and finding the courage to get to the gym can drastically improve the quality of your life. Before you know it, the discipline it takes to work out every morning will spill over into other areas of your life and you'll be as driven in your work place as you are on the cross trainer.

2. Sleep better

Working out regularly results in better sleeping patterns and better sleep quality. Your body will tell you that it's time for bed, but knowing that you have to get up to train the next morning will also help you hit the racks at a decent hour. It is very important to give your body the time and rest that it needs to recuperate from your training; it'll be difficult to build mass and improve your cardio if you don't rest properly.

1. Improves your diet

While it's tempting to think that working out before breakfast will result in immediate burning of your fat stores, it's just not the case. Actually, training before eating could shock your system and it will usually throw your body into a catabolic state (your body will burn muscle for energy). It can be tough, but try to have a low calorie snack, such as an apple or some yogurt, about 30 minutes to an hour before you train. The snack will give you the energy you need for your training and it will burn off quickly. Working out in morning will also help you eat better during the day. You'll need the proper nutrients, which will cause you to crave better foods, and you won't want to waste the hard work that you put in by choosing the cheeseburger over the tuna salad sandwich.

If you would like any advice on training, nutrition or lifestyle you can always email on Josh@centuriontraining.com

As always train hard, eat well and get results!

Joshua Mullin – Master Trainer

Diary of a cranky man – Days 2-5

Day 2 – Tuesday

After the first day I decided to regulate my diet instead of chowing down on sausages and bacon from the hotel buffet every day... all day.

My new diet plan is listed below;

                0700hrs – 5 rashers of bacon & 5 sausages, green tea, black coffee, fibre drink

                1030hrs – 2 chicken breasts

                1300hrs – 250g of turkey breast, green tea, black coffee

                1700hrs – 2 chicken breasts

                2100hrs – 2 tins of mackerel

                2300hrs – 2 pints of skimmed milk

                Note - I will also be drinking around 4 litres of water per day.

I have found that during the first two days my energy levels have dropped massively as my body starts to burn my muscle glycogen. I also feel that my sleep is being negatively affected but that could also be due to the fact that I’m sleeping in an airport hotel for a week! I have also found that I am talking like a zombie and even the shortest, simplest sentences take deep consideration before speaking. I am irritable and also getting enraged at inanimate objects like the television in my room!

I feel half asleep most of the time and this is compounded by my lack of concentration which is not good when I am listening to lectures all week!

Day 3 - Wednesday

The mornings on no/low carbs are the worst time of day... as I’m in hotel for these carb deprived five days, walking past the buffet every morning is rather difficult I find myself loitering menacingly by the toast and croissants and wanting to wallow in the orange juice! However my will is strong and I make it through breakfast with my colleagues eating starchy mounds of food whilst I eat piles of bacon, scrambled eggs and sausages.

One bonus of eating ridiculous amounts of protein is that I feel fuller for longer which helps when it hits break time in our seminars and people are eating sugary/starchy goodness all around me.

Although it may not sound like it my sugar cravings are nearly non existent and my energy drop from the preceding two days has started to level out. YAY!

Day 4 – Thursday

Yesterday was a good day as I was feeling energetic and not craving any carbs.

Until the afternoon...

As part of our training week for my role as a tutor, we had to run through four hours of boxing! During the session my energy levels never dropped off as they normally would which was a nice surprise however after the session has finish I could obviously not replenish my muscle glycogen so I was ridiculously fatigued afterwards.

I was a terrible sight... lying on my bed, eating bacon out of a tupperware tub ... in my pants...

After about an hour of feeling exhausted, I had eaten and drank a coffee and green tea and was back to my perky self.

Overall from day one I have found that my mental faculties are not 100% (more like 10%) and this is affecting my marking and the rest of my work. However by day four I sound coherent again and my body seems to be getting used to no carbs and my body is adapting rapidly.

I feel leaner and less carb bloated, I have more definition and my training has only suffered slightly.

Day 5 – Friday

As of Friday evening I had decided to carb up as I was assessing level 2 students all weekend which means I had to be on the ball and also I would be on my feet all day and didn’t fancy passing out J

So far I am very impressed with my week of no carbs and how it has affected my body. Although the first 2-3 days were pretty rough, after my body adjusted I felt really great. You can see my body weight drop below!

Starting weight – 106kg

Finishing weight – 98kg

Total weight lost- 8kg/17.6lbs

Please remember that this is not a long term weight loss solution however it can be used when cutting weight for an event or if you want to give your weight loss a kick up the bum before starting a new nutrition plan such as the Paleo diet. Don't forget if you need any advice feel free to email me - Josh@centuriontraining.com

 Joshua Mullin - Master Trainer

Diary of cranky man! Day 1

Recently I have has been doing a lot of research into the benefits of having an occasional NO carb week as a kind of detox for the body.

As a serious trainer I would say that my typical diet is very carb heavy and that I may have become to over reliant in carbohydrate consumption in everyday life.

This is where my personal challenge came in.... After debating it for a while I decided that when I had a week living in a hotel for work (I tutor people for a personal training course) I would eliminate all carbohydrates from my diet for seven days!

This is my account of what happened over the next seven days. I warn you some parts might be shocking and even frightening as I turn into a porridge loving person into a cranky even downright rude human being stripped of even the smallest snickers or bowl of pasta... for that I am sorry...

Day 1

It all began on Monday the 2^nd of January, I had decided that as I was living away for a week I could live carb free without the temptation of such cupboard goodies such as chocolate, oats and pasta that I had become so accustomed too!

On day 1 I consumed the following foods;

0900hrs - 3 whole eggs scrambled, black coffee

1200hrs – 2 whole eggs scambled, 2 rashers of lean bacons

1400hrs – 2 packs of chicken breast approximately 300g

1700hrs – Sausage and burger whilst travelling

2100hrs – 4 chicken thighs, 2 black coffees

2300hrs – 2 pints of skimmed milk

I found that throughout the day I wasn’t as hungry as normal and that I was handling the carb cravings quite well. I felt that my mental faculties were still on point and I even managed to write a few articles and advise a few mentoring clients without sounding like a zombie!

However... when it got to about 2200hrs after a long day of travelling and carrying my huge bag around my thought processes were beginning to suffer and I was starting to talk like a zombie! I felt tired but I think that could be attributed to travelling to Birmingham on the train rather than the lack of carbs.

Overall I felt really, really good and don’t really miss carbs as much as I thought I would.

Please check back tomorrow to see if I am still coping and if anyone has been killed by a cranky man (me!).

Josh Mullin – Master Trainer