Because Sian has helped more of her friends out by introducing them to Alpha Sian wins a FREE 6 WEEK FITNESSFATLOSS BLOCK to use for herself or give to someone of her choice! Congratulations Sian, may the results keep coming!

I have a question for you:

Q: Have you ever woken up and everything just seems to be going wrong? The alarm doesn’t go off, the shower hasn’t got any hot water, someone’s taken the last teabag, you look in the mirror and 4 years of drinking diet coke and eating cardboard ryvita’s still hasn’t caused any weight loss? Then for the rest of the day it just gets worse and you say to yourself “It’s one of those days, I’m gonna have a bad day today”. Have you experienced anything remotely close to that?
We all know this but there is now evidence showing that our thoughts are merely a pre-cursor to our actions. What do I mean by that? Well, every single action we take originated from somewhere (believe it or not!), everything we do we had to have had a thought about doing first. Every time we think a thought chemical reactions happen in our brain, some thoughts disappear some thoughts develop and manifest into what type of hormones we produce and our result in feelings and physical actions.

So if thoughts are real, could this mean then that the type of thoughts we choose to have and more importantly how we react to those thoughts determines how we feel from one moment to the next and consequently our actions? Wouldn’t it be nice to be in control of how we feel all the time?!

Let me give you an example of how real thoughts are:
Close your eyes, and imagine you have a big juicy, ripe lemon in your hand. Now I want you to imagine sinking your teeth into it and taking a great big bite out of it!

Notice anything? Any more saliva being produced in your mouth than normal? But where’s the lemon?? What has just happened is that your body has produces a real physical response to a thought of something that doesn’t even exist!

So if this is true, could it be that what we focus on determines our actions and to an extent the results we get? Have you ever met someone who always seems to have all the luck or always lands on their feet? It has been shown that people who are positive and focus on what they want more often than not achieve them. By focus I mean they keep asking themselves the right questions. So instead of:

“How come I’m so fat and nothing works?!”
They say “How can I find a better way to lose weight? Who’s been there, done it and knows what they’re doing? And how can I make it fun?”

If we ask our brain lousy questions it will answer us:
You: “Why can’t I ever lose weight?”
Brain: “Because you’re a big fat lazy slob who eats custard slices from Greggs every night!”

So asking yourself better quality questions is one way of making sure your focusing on the right things. Another way which is ridiculously beneficial and made a massive difference in my life is keeping a grateful log. Here’s how it works:

- At the end of the day write down (on paper not a computer!) five things that you are grateful for.
Writing the grateful log can instantly change our focus. It makes us think and become aware of the things that we are grateful for in our lives and the things we have enjoyed that day. I know this sounds very ‘New Age’ but when we think of the good we are so lucky to have it relaxes us, our body releases the ‘feel good’ hormones and we forget about the stress and strains that all too often fill our heads, especially around bed time (ever gone to bed with a head full of the things on your ‘to do’ list swimming round?!)

What we focus on determines our actions which determines our current state. So in short, if your current state is not your ideal one then learning to change your focus is for you. The grateful log, like prayer and journalling can really help release tension from the day which in turn allows you to relax and sleep better (anyone find this a challenge as well?!) So give the grateful log a go this week and just watch what happens…..!

Have you ever had the pipe dream of becoming a psychic? You have?! Well today my friend is your lucky day, I have a foolproof starter question that you can use and predict “YES” as the answer nearly every single time. And the question is:

“Do you feel tired in the mornings?!”

Simple eh! Only messing, but lack of quality sleep is such a widespread issue amongst people these days that you can almost guarantee it as an area to address when things go wrong. As I’m sure you’re well aware sleep is one of the few things that we cannot survive without, even a slight reduction in the amount and quality can have drastic effects (if you’ve had children you know this more than most!)

So let’s take a brief look at why it is so important. Our bodies follow many rhythms or cycles. Examples of these are:

- Annual cycles, which include the 4 seasons and the monthly
- Lunar cycle (which many of you women will know all about due to its affect on menstruation).

There is also the daily circadian cycle, or you may know it better as the sleep-wake cycle. The term “circadian” comes from the Latin circa, “around”, and Diem or dies, “day”, meaning literally “approximately one day”. When we are in tune with the circadian cycle our bodies follow the patterns of the sun. In a nutshell, as the sun rises (~6am) and creates light in the morning so our activity levels also rise, reaching a peak of activity around mid-morning to noon, then gradually decreasing as the sun sets and darkness increases encouraging winding down (~6pm-10pm) in preparation for sleep (~10pm-6am).

There are a whole host of hormones that help with this process. As we rise in the morning the stress hormone cortisol along with the ‘feel good’ hormone serotonin rise to help us carry out our activities, these then fall as the day goes on allowing the ‘sleepy hormone’ melatonin and other growth & repair hormones to rise as illustrated in figure 1.

The Sleep/Wake Cycle

Figure 1: Natural sleep/wake cycle.
Many of our hormones are produced in tune with the cycle of the sun. Stress/activating hormones are produced as the sun rises and peaks around mid-morning. As the day progresses, the levels of the stress hormones decrease. The body then begins to increases production of growth and repair hormones as the sun goes down. Our bodies are designed to wind down from sunset till about 10 pm when sleep and physical repair should begin. Psychogenic repair takes place predominantly from about 2 am to 6 am.

Unfortunately though, for many of us a typical day for many involves elevated levels stress levels, resulting in increased levels of the stress hormones throughout the day, resulting in decreased levels of growth and repair hormones. Although a healthy body can bounce back from intermittent circadian stresses, chronic (long-term) circadian stress often leads to depressed immunity, illness and chronic fatigue.

So when our bodies follow the patterns of the sun our sleep quality improves drastically. After a busy day working, digesting, playing, basically changing the world our bodies need a break. Sleep provides the ideal opportunity for the essential rest & repair to take place. As seen in figure 1 the body uses the hours of 10pm-2am for physical repair (muscles, joints, organs etc). So for every minute we lose after 10pm, another minute is lost of reparation time for our physical body. This can attribute to achy joints, decreased injury recovery time, decreased ability to burn body fat and general tiredness.

So how have we got so far out of sync with the cycles?

Artificial light – As you have learnt by now most of the hormones are ‘light dependent’, which means some are activated by light (the stress and activating hormones) and some are activated by darkness (the sleepy and repair hormones). With so much artificial light in today’s society our body can get confused very easily, tricking it into thinking its morning when it could actually be the middle of the night!

Work patterns/nightlife – The ‘advance’ in technology has also lead to work being 24/7 now, so night shifts and late night events are very common, resulting in the 10pm-6am rest and repair pattern turning into a shift pattern! Vigorous exercise late at night can also skyrocket your

activity/stress hormones, leaving the body ‘hyperactive’ and unable to wind down for long periods post activity, well into your 10pm-6am-recovery time.

Eating habits – Also, if your organs have been working flat out all day for you (digesting, eliminating etc) the sleep you get between 10pm-2am is very important for their recovery. Eating a big meal late at night (just as they’re looking forward to a bit of hard earned R & R) gives them yet more work to do. Imagine how you’d feel nearing the end of a crazy day in the office and the boss comes in 2 minutes before you clock out and issues a whole new assignment that has to be done by the next day…. The words ‘bunny’, ‘happy’ and ‘not’ come to mind. If you haven’t had the chance to eat much food that day eating late at night is sometimes unavoidable, simply aim to eat what you need earlier in the day and give your liver a sympathetic thought before you dive into the mid-night munchies!

The type of food and drink you have has a bearing as well. Stimulants like sugar, caffeine, grains, alcohol, energy drinks raise cortisol (stress) levels again tricking your body into thinking its morning! I touch more on the effects of stimulants in the ‘Give your body a deserving break by reducing the amounts of stimulants and refined carbohydrates in your diet’ article.

Electricity – This is another product of the new era. Every electrical product gives off an electromagnetic field, which can severely impact the quality of our sleep. Have a look around your bed and see how many electrical devices there are within ten feet? In my own personal life I have found a major difference in my morning energy levels when I switch from watching television to reading last thing at night.

So, what simple steps can we take to improve the quality and quantity of our sleep?

Alpha Action Points:

- Aim to wind down gently from around 6pm onwards, working your way at getting to bed around 10 – 10.30pm. There are many ways to do this; dim the lighting (candles are a personal favourite!), gentle music, fictional/positive/religious reading, massage, journal keeping (writing down what you’ve enjoyed that day and are grateful for)

- Aim to decrease the amount of stimulants (sugar, caffeine, energy drinks, alcohol, grain based foods etc) ingested after mid day

- Unplug electronic items in your bedroom and keep them as far away from you as possible

- Turn your bedroom into a cave! As mentioned, most of the hormones discussed are light-dependent so making your room as dark as possible during the night can really improve your chances or a good night’s sleep

When I first looked into sleep-wake cycles (which was caused by the fact that I looked like a farm animal deposit and felt even worse pre-11am) I thought there was no way I could get to bed by 10pm, but as with anything, you can entrain your body into any habit you wish, good or bad (the 21 day phenomena!). As it becomes an engrained part of your lifestyle you will be pleasantly surprised at the ease of waking, the increase in your morning energy levels and how redundant your horrendous beeping alarm clock becomes.

On the alarm clock front, I have personally been using a natural light simulator alarm clock that has really made a difference. They slowly light up the room and simulate a sunrise, which wakes you up more gradually leaving you energized and refreshed. As opposed to my previous air raid signal, which caused my stress levels to think a certain German was back in town.

N.B. The usual concern is that a light will not wake you in the initial stages which can be true so keep your usual alarm clock alongside for the first few weeks just in case!

And remember, as with all these tips don’t worry about it if you don’t do it perfectly first time. Take your time and enjoy yourself, knowing that these steps will improve your health and allow you to do the things you’ve always wanted to do. So in this instance, instead of instantly trying to change the time you go to bed from 1a.m. to 10p.m. aim to go to bed half hour earlier each night. And of course these are just guidelines, not meant to demand you never have a late night ever again. An interesting factor you be pleasantly surprised with however is, the healthier your body is the quicker it will be able to recover from the days off or the late nights that inevitably happen!

Hi my name is Adam Coates and I’m going to share a little know fitness and fat loss secret with you.
Despite all the “misinformation” out there and what the “experts” say, you don’t need to suffer through strict diets or spend 3 hours a day in the gym to look and feel amazing.

And it doesn’t have to take several months or even years to drop those pesky pounds that are keeping you from fitting in
your “skinny jeans” as they sit in your closet collecting dust.

In fact you can vaporize pounds of fat in a matter of WEEKS not YEARS.

And I’m going to prove it to you with the amazing FitnessFatloss classes at Alpha.
It’s a small group workout and “non-diet” food plan designed for fast fat loss.
Mention this flyer and the good friend that obviously cared about you enough to pass this on to you and you will get two weeks FREE.

There are FitnessFatloss classes located in Llanelli and Cardiff. To find out where the nearest location to you is click here http://www.alphapw.com/fitnessfatloss/

So if losing weight and getting real results real fast is for you, then this is a match made in heaven.
But as much as we’d like to, due to the sessions limited to 6 people per class (to keep quality high) we simple don’t have very limited space, so stop what you’re doing and secure your spot right now by calling 07852 – 492299 before they’re all gone.

Dedicated to your health,

Adam Coates

Alpha Performance & Wellbeing
Tel: 07852 492299
Email: fitnessfatloss@alphapw.com
Web: www.AlphaPW.com

PS. An interesting point: 30 days from now you’ll either be a month older and possibly a few pounds heavier, or, you can be a 7-9 pounds lighter and 14 days closer to your fitness goal. You decide which one you would rather be 14 days from now. Make sure you make the right choice and call 07852 – 492299 and start your 14 Day FREE FitnessFatloss trial now.

As you know Dan, Robbie, I and the rest of us here at Alpha are quite passionate about what we do and believe in it so much that we want as many people to hear about it as possible. And you guys have proven to be far better at doing this then we ever could be. So starting today begins a contest to see how many people you guys can refer to Alpha (either the FitnessFatloss classes or personal training in Llanelli or The Vale Resort, Cardiff)

It will run as follows:

- Contest ends September 30th
- Anyone can enter! You don’t have to be a current member of Team Alpha to enter this competition
- Make sure you let the Alpha trainer know you have referred someone so they can add it to your score!

And that’s it! So start thinking to see if there are any people you care about that you feel would benefit from a reduction in body fat, or they have a special event to get ready for, or are struggling with health issues or energy levels or just need a safe, fun, social environment to get fit in! For every person you refer you will still get the usual prizes (half off your next block for Vale guys, half your monthly fee back in cash for Llanelli guys, or a free session for personal training/BioSignature clients)

Now with any contest we need prizes, so here we are:

First place (choose any one from the following):
- Any spa treatment of your choice from a choice of spa locations
- 3 free personal training sessions from an Alpha trainer of your choice
- A free month/6week block of FitnessFatloss sessions
- £50 in cold hard cash!
- Personalised Hoody, sweatpants and training shirt package from the Alpha clothing range
- Meal for two from a choice of restaurants

Second and third place:
- A free personal training session from an Alpha trainer of your choice
- Any piece of clothing from the Alpha clothing range
- Meal for two from a choice of restaurants

To help you as much as possible with this, available on the website are flyers, posters, video trailers, testimonials etc giving all the info about the services here at Alpha so you can either print them off or just send your friends there so they can find out more! www.alphapw.com

Now don’t worry if you think you don’t know anyone! For those who think they can’t think of anybody that could benefit we will open up a contact detail option aswell. For every 10 names and numbers/emails you get this qualifies as one referral, so you can add it to your score! Each week we will then put the league table on the blog and see who’s on top!

SO BRING OUT PEDRO AND THE MASSAGE OIL!!!

Our bodies are designed to move. You own the most amazing, technical, advanced, high tech, intricate piece of machinery ever seen. Your body is the only piece of equipment that actually gets better with more use!
Unfortunately as technology has “improved” we have created things that result in us moving less and less. Our jobs are now more sedentary and our hobbies and past times are requiring less and less activity. You only have to note the declining rates of health and increasing rates of modern diseases like heart disease, obesity and diabetes to see that this has obvious detrimental effects.

This phenomenon is typified by the explosion in the number and use of gyms with all their exercise machinery. Because of our lack of activity and need to move we have created the scenario where we go indoors and run on a moving belt that goes nowhere to replicate running outdoors! It’s quite amusing when you think about it.
So improving or maintaining the right amount of movement our bodies need can have massive benefits to our health and give our bodies the best chance at preventing those ‘modern diseases’ developing in us which are in some cases becoming a matter of ‘when’ not ‘if’ for those who don’t move.

So what type of movement is right for me and what burns the most fat???!!

As I explain in the ‘What type of movement is right for me’ article there are different types of movement that suit you at different times. Because decreasing body fat is top of the list for most people we will discuss the best types of movement for that goal. First of all, any movement is better than no movement. As I say again and again any step in the right direction no matter how small is a good one. As with everything though there are methods which produce faster results than others. The type of exercise I have found to get the quickest results in the way of improving body composition (decreasing fat and increasing ‘tone’) is to perform one resistance or weight training exercise followed by another in a small circuit format with short rest periods. For example:

10 Squats straight in to 10 pull ups straight in to 10 shoulder press. Rest for 30 seconds and repeat 3 times. (by resistance it doesn’t have to mean weights, your body weight is sometimes more than enough resistance like in pull ups for example).

Now many people especially women become very worried when weight training is mentioned due to the perception that resistance training is only for the big, grunting, moody men at the gym and that weight training will give you that muscley, bulky look. This myth has so many holes in it it should be in church. To achieve large increases in muscle size high amounts of the hormone testosterone is needed and the female body simply doesn’t produce enough of this. Female body builders have to spend hours and hours a day in the gym and sometimes import some interesting substances from far off lands to get any kind of muscle size increase!

So what are the benefits of weight training?

- Put simply, muscle eats fat to survive so resistance training improves the amount of muscle we have increasing the amount of calories we burn at rest (like the sound of that!)
- One of the best predictors for longevity of life is strength, so as we age the amount of strength we have becomes all the more important. Resistance training can improve this dramatically. Improving your strength will also make day to day tasks like carrying shopping, lifting up children, moving heavy objects at work a lot easier.
- Resistance training improves the ‘tone’ or ‘shape’ of your body. Have you ever seen people who lose weight very quickly who haven’t exercised? Loose skin isn’t the word! Resistance training helps you lose the body fat and increase the tone and definition of your appearance.

What about cardiovascular training?

The benefits of cardiovascular training are that it raises your heart rate and causes your heart and lungs to respond by becoming more efficient (which is a very good thing!) The beauty of performing weight training in the format I’ve mentioned (one exercise performed after another with small rest periods) is that it also increases your heart rate therefore giving the benefits of both, in essence you get double the results in half the time.

Watch this video to learn all about the types of cardiovascular exercise that get double the results in half the time!

http://www.alphapw.com/alpha-intervals/

To get the quickest results in my experience 3-4 sessions/week of resistance circuits is the way to go. Please though do not take this as a be all and end all. If you enjoy going out for a run with your friends, playing sport with a local team, chasing your dog until neither of you can breathe any longer please carry on doing this because if you enjoy something you are more likely to keep it up and as I have mentioned any movement is better than no movement! I simply like to let people know what I feel to be the method that gets the quickest results (as we all want to get the body of our dreams yesterday!)

Alpha Action Points: Putting together your week
- Construct your week of movement. Book in your schedule the days and times when you are going to exercise.
- Book yourself in with a trainer, a class or with a partner (a game of tennis, gym session etc). This way you are more likely to do it. Many people start off with all the best intentions but it is all too easy to give it a miss if you are only accountable to yourself.

And remember, as with all these tips don’t worry about it if you don’t do it perfectly first time. Take your time and enjoy yourself, knowing that these steps will improve your health, make you more efficient on your journey, get the result you want and allow you to do the things you’ve always wanted to do!

One of the hormones that has been impacted and is very important not only to male health but women as well is testosterone. Many of you may know testosterone for its important role in reproduction, but it also has crucial roles in muscle and bone development (so very important for osteoporosis). Here are 3 quick areas you can address naturally to help boost levels:

Sleep:

- Growth hormone (potent fat burning and testosterone peaking hormone) peaks around 10pm. So the closer to 10pm you get to bed the bigger impact it has.
- Make your bedroom like a cave. Any kind of light (even the red standby light on your TV) can make your body think it is time to get up, therefore hindering your sleep quality. The darker the better and with as little electrical devices switched on as possible.

Exercise:

- Use exercises that use big muscle groups (squats, deadlifts, pull ups etc) in a superset/circuit training fashion with small rest periods (less than 60seconds). Get someone who knows what they are talking about to design you a program.

Balance your fat intake:

- Increase omega 3 intake (high quality fish oil, wild meats: venison, boar, cold water fish etc)
- Reduce trans-fats intake (check for the words hydrogenated, partially hydrogenated oils on food labels)
- Aim to increase intake of grass-fed cattle and decrease commercially fed animals/fish as these are a lot higher in omega 3’s.
- Start your day with a good quality high protein breakfast. Combine with leafy green vegetables to help with digestion and all the fantastic nutrients they possess. Eat as much of these as you like (eggs are also a great source)! Having these foods instead of the usual grains, cereals, sugars, processed dairy and soy-based products will reduce the allergic reactions going on in your body giving your body the nutrients it needs helping to improve testosterone levels and body composition.
- Eat foods as close to their natural state as you can. Locally sourced and organic where possible.

When we give our body what it needs not only does it give it the building blocks for hormones, tissues etc it reduces the amount of stress on the body. Wouldn’t you be stressed if you weren’t given the right tools for a job you had to complete by tomorrow?!! When we are stressed our body releases a hormone called cortisol, which if we are exposed to long term can really hamper our ability to burn fat effectively and have adequate levels other hormones like testosterone.

Here is the best fish oil that I have found:

http://www.alphapw.com/biosignature

For more great info: http://www.charlespoliquin.com/Blog/tabid/130/EntryId/564/9-Steps-to-Rebalance-Your-Fat-Intake.aspx

Give yourself the gift of the worlds most valuable, energizing and free substance….Oxygen!

When asked what are the most important substances to humans for survival the usual answers are food and water. How long do you think you could last without food? Actually hang on, let’s re-phrase that. You are stuck on a desert island (not in the middle of the chocolate aisle in tesco!), how long do you think you could last without food if you had to? A few days? A week maybe? Depending on a few different factors the body could last without food for about a month and could last without water for a couple of days.

So yes, food and water are essential to body, but there is another substance that is even more crucial. And this can be demonstrated very easily, how long do you think you could survive if you held your breath, a couple of minute’s maybe? I would not like to see a plethora of bodies lying across the floor as a result of reading this article so for safety reasons please do not try this! Cells in our body actually start to die when we starve them of oxygen for as little as 3 minutes. But you get my point; oxygen is the world’s most valuable substance for us earthlings.

So why is it so crucial?

Oxygen is a crucial part of nearly all the chemical reactions that take place in our bodies enabling us to live. Oxygen fuels energy production, allows us to burn fat, decreases stress levels, detoxify, help us think clearer and many other things. So when we deplete our stores of oxygen we deprive our body of one of its most important building blocks placing great stress on the body.

As you already know we receive most of our oxygen from the air when we breathe. So all these benefits can be attained simply by breathing. Now I know what you’re about to say…

“But I breathe all the time, how can I be depleting my body of oxygen?!”

Good question. The answer is that unbeknown to most there are many different ways to breathe. If you watch a baby or an animal breathe you will see that their abdomens inflate as they breathe in and deflate as they breathe out. This is called breathing through the abdomen or diaphragmatic breathing and increases greatly the amount oxygen our body receives (the diaphragm is a muscle below the lungs that assists in breathing by opening up the rib cage). As we grow up many of us change the way we breathe until we are doing the complete opposite, instead of our belly expanding when we inhale it goes inwards. This ‘shallow breathing’ is not as beneficial as diaphragmatic breathing for a few reasons:

 As the name suggests, during shallow breathing the lungs aren’t fully utilised so the body receives a reduced amount of oxygen. This leads to a reduced capacity to perform all the aforementioned benefits (ability to burn body fat etc)

 Instead of fully using our diaphragm to help us breathe shallow breathing incorporates other accessory breathing muscles such as the muscles around the neck and shoulders. These muscles then get tight over time and can lead to a lot of soreness around the neck and shoulders and even tension headaches (the tight muscles can restrict blood flow to the small matter of your brain!)

 Have you ever noticed what happens to your breathing when you become frightened, stressed, anxious or really cold? The next time you experience it notice how you start to tighten up around the shoulders, your breathing rate starts to speed up and become a lot shallower. This is a survival mechanism built into us to cope with stressful situations. So if this is the way we breathe all the time our bodies constantly think we are in a stressful situation, placing more stress onto the body every time we breathe!
So why diaphragmatically breathe?

Diaphragmatic breathing has a completely different effect. Have you ever heard of the ‘count to 10’ method of stress reduction?! This works not because it improves our maths but because it forces us to reduce our rate of breathing and breathe more deeply. When we breathe slowly and deeply our bodies associate this with relaxation. Many things are then allowed to happen:

 Stress hormone levels are reduced allowing our body to repair itself more effectively. So recovery from injuries, exercise sessions and stressful situations among others happens much quicker. This can lead to better sport performance, increased muscle size/tone, increased energy levels, fat loss and much more. Your body cannot burn fat when it is constantly stressed.

 Oxygen can flow around the body so energy levels are more consistent.

 Increased ability to relax de-stress and unwind from a hectic day!

 Increased mental clarity increased productivity (you always think clearer when relaxed!)

 Better quality sleep. Have you ever had the feeling where you are exhausted yet can’t get to sleep? When we are constantly stressed we are pretty much running on empty. Our body still thinks we are running from a lion so stress hormones are still high yet we are exhausted so we experience the feeling of ‘wired and tired’. Diaphragmatic breathing allows the body to relax and therefore improves the quality of our sleep.

 Improves our pH balance further increasing our bodies ability to fight disease and burn body fat

So how do we diaphragmatically breathe?

- Stand or sit nice and tall
- Breathe in through your nose, relax your shoulders and let your belly expand.
- Breathe out and gently draw your belly button inwards

Tip: imagine there is a balloon in your stomach that your inflating with the air you breathe in so expands then deflates when you breathe out.

As I mentioned most people have conditioned themselves to breathe the other way so it is completely normal for this breathing technique to feel very strange at first. But stick with it the benefits are simply phenomenal

Alpha Action Points

- Find a nice quiet spot and treat yourself to five minutes a day of deep, slow diaphragmatic breathing

- Aim to increase it by 1minute a week

- If your mind races when you try to relax play your favourite gentle music while you do it.

- Note: You may feel a few strange benefits after your breathing session including energy increases, sense of calm and slight light headedness (this is because more oxygen is getting to your brain, it is actually used as a way to get ‘high’ in some night clubs!) Enjoy