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Welcome to our new website.

Kiwifit is a new personal training studio opening shortly in Sutton, Dublin.

We bring 20 years of knowledge and experience to achieving your health and fitness goals.

Watch this space for our opening date.

We will be bringing you health and fitness tips and you will have the opportunity to ask us questions on the related topics. We look forward to hearing from you.

Matt

Whey protein or protein powder is a great protein source, aids recovery, supports the immune system and aids health.

What is it?

Whey protein is a form of protein derived from milk. It has a very high biological value, rich in essential amino acids, and is also low in fat. Many athletes use whey protein for its beneficial effects on muscle growth and the strength of the immune system.

Who is it used for?

Whey protein can be used as a source of high quality, low fat protein in any diet. Individuals who also want the immune system benefits of whey protein, should consider the whey isolates rather than the cheaper concentrates.

How does it work?

Milk is made up of two major proteins – casein (pronounced kay-seen) and whey. Traditionally, whey protein refers to the milk proteins that remain after cheese is made from the casein in milk. The whey proteins are then separated from the liquid whey and purified to various concentrations of whey protein.

Whey protein has been used in a number of animal and human feeding studies, where it has shown benefits in promoting muscle gain, elevating glutathione levels (an antioxidant), and improving exercise performance. Of the two main protein sources found in milk (casein and whey) most studies show that whey protein provides the greatest benefit in terms of muscle growth and exercise performance.

Whey protein has also been shown to raise protein synthesis to a greater extent than casein. Recent research has reported that whey protein lowers cortisol levels. Cortisol is a hormone released by your adrenal glands in response to either physical or emotional stress. High levels of cortisol will lead to protein breakdown, and will slow muscle growth. Scientists think that the cortisol-lowering effect of whey protein is just one reason why it has such a significant impact on muscle growth.

There are also several different types of whey protein. These are known as whey protein concentrates, whey protein isolates and hydrolyzed whey protein. In general, a whey protein isolate will contain more protein and less carbohydrate (as lactose) and fat compared to a concentrate. One hundred grams of whey protein concentrate, for example, contains roughly 80 grams of protein. The composition of a whey protein isolate is slightly different, containing slightly more protein (90 grams of protein per 100 grams of powder) and less carbohydrate and fat. A hydrolyzed whey protein is one that’s been partially “predigested” by being broken down into smaller pieces.

When buying whey protein, check the ingredients label to ensure that whey protein isolate is at the top of the list. If you see the term “whey protein concentrate” listed before “whey protein isolate”, then the product will not be as effective as one containing an isolate as the main ingredient.

How do I use it?

Extra protein provides no benefit (in terms of muscle growth) for people who do no physical activity. However, regular physical exercise, especially training with weights, will dramatically increase your need for protein.

For best results, you should be consuming some form of protein every 2-3 hours. This creates a positive nitrogen balance, promoting muscle growth, repair and recovery. Your body responds well to whey protein consumed before and after exercise, with many studies showing that protein is more anabolic (growth promoting) at these times than at any other.

What results can I expect?

People who include whey protein in their diet usually report faster gains in muscle strength and size, a stronger immune system (less symptoms of illness or infection), and faster recovery between training sessions.

What can it be combined with?

Some research shows that whey protein combined with Creatine is more effective than either supplement taken alone. Whey protein can also be combined with most supplements that promote muscle growth, including HMB, Beta-Ecdysterone, and 5-Methyl-7-Methoxy-Isoflavone.

One of the biggest problems many of my clients face is reducing the amount of sugar in their diet to normal or manageable levels. When you have too much sugar in your diet the excess is stored as fat. Carbohydrates are broken down in the intestine and absorbed into the blood. As blood sugar levels rise, cells in the pancreas churn out more insulin, which signals to cells to absorb this sugar for energy or storage. As the cells ‘absorb’ the sugar the levels in the blood return to normal or minimum. All that sugar that you have ‘absorbed’ is now being stored as fat! By reducing the amount of sugars in your diet you can reduce the amount of fat storage and also encourage fat as an energy source for your daily activity. This will result in a change of body composition. You will loose body fat and be in great shape in no time.
So here are a few simple tips to reduce your sugar today!

1. Throw away your breakfast cereal! That’s right, throw it away! You will find that most breakfast cereals will have the equivalent of your daily sugar requirements in one serving. My recommendation is to try eggs, cottage cheese or Salmon for breakfast. Oats are al a better option than wheat as it is a slower releasing sugar, also there isn’t nearly as much sugar in it.

2. Drink water, and water ONLY! Diet or sugar free drinks are a joke! They have even been shown to increase your body fat!

3. Substitute your muesli bar for real fruit! Some muesli bars have extra sugar added to make them tastier and also make them more addictive! Although fruit has natural sugar, fructose, atleast it has natural vitamins and minerals. You will also find them more fulling and they have more fibre!

4. Make it from scratch. By making your meals from scratch you can be certain that there is no added sweeteners in the ingredients. This is especially relevant to sauces!

5. Minimise the white stuff. Yes bread, pasta and rice! These white foods will send your blood sugar through the roof! Eat salads and fresh foods for lunch.

Consistency is the key. It will take your body about three weeks to adjust to the reduction of sugars and for the cravings to go away. if you are consistant for the first three weeks you will notice a drop in body weight and body fat. Surprisingly too, you energy levels will increase and your mental focus will be sharp!

Monday and Wednesday: 7pm at Kiwifit in Sutton.

CONDITIONING FOR MEN

Get the six pack back!!! This conditioning class is for guys that are serious about getting into shape. We cater for all levels of fitness, and you can expect to be at a different level when you finish the course!

6 week block beginning 16th July

Booking Essential

€100 for all 12 classes or €10 per class.

Call Eoin 0868475622, 018325756 (Mondays)

or Cian 0872272438, 018325756 (Wednesdays)

For bookings and enquiries.

Chins by Eoin Cashen

It’s not uncommon to walk in to any commercial gym at peak times and see a queue for the Lat pulldown machine. However at the same time the chin-up bar is gathering dust. The reason is simple, CHINS SUCK. Why? Because they are hard! Chins however, are possibly the best exercise you can do for your upper body. Regardless of your training goal chins are the key to success. Chins target the lat’s primarily, but they also hit the biceps and the core muscles as well as the muscles of the upper and middle back. Research has also shown that the pectoral muscles are also worked when doing chins. Ideally the correct term for chin-ups should be chest ups because that essentially is the movement. When you lean back and bring your chest up to the bar you really target the lat’s and squeezes every ounce of benefit from the exercise.

So, how drag yourself away from the lat pulldown to the chin-up bar. To start we need to correct any weakness we may have in the back. A good exercise for this is the Hanging Scapular Retraction. This exercise will help train you to keep your shoulders down and back which will give you better posture. It is also the first part of the movement of the chin-up. If you can hold the retraction for a minimum of 10 seconds then you have decent strength in your back to correctly perform chins.

Once we are happy with our back strength its chin-up time. To start, we will use a neutral grip (palms facing) as that is the easiest to begin with. Then we will begin with negative reps or eccentrics (for you boffins out there). A negative rep means that we will pull or jump if necessary up to the bar and slowly lower ourselves back down. We should be aiming for 20 seconds from top to bottom. 6 sets of about 3 reps is a good starting point.

Right! Time to move on to reps, to begin with you may only be able to do a few. So to increase our reps we are going to use a tempo of 4110 to build on the rep range. This means that we are going to pull ourselves up in 1 second, hold for 1 and lower ourselves in 4 seconds. As soon as we can complete 12 reps we will progress to a shoulder width palms facing or supinated grip. The aim is to increase your reps by 1 every training session. In my next article I will show how to progress your chins and will include some variations to challenge you. Remember Red bull doesn’t give you wings, Chins do!!