I had an interesting conversation yesterday after training with a few guys at the gym. Whilst some of us were there mixing our post workout shakes in our branded shakers, a few guys questioned us on our need for them. Some stating “you should get your protein from real food” and others just saying how damn expensive supplements are!

Now, I was one of those in the protein shake camp who gulped down a strawberry flavoured post workout shake which I thought was quite yummy but it got me thinking. I was a bit of a slave to supplements early on in my training career, gulfing down as many pills and potions as I could afford expecting some miracle of  epic proportions of performance enhancement to occur but I didn’t really feel that much different.

Lately, i’ve cut down on supplement use, mostly due to financial factors. I actually feel no difference during my workouts now than I did when I took expensive NOS pre workout stimulants (though I have a very potent workout stimulant and that’s my desire to be the best I can be!). Although I cannot deny that pre workout stimulants can help give you a buzz and I do have good experiences with them, it seems as though people now a days feel as though their workouts will be total failures without them. Many supplements on the market are not essential however, I will say that supplements do have their purposes.

As I stated earlier, I did have a post workout shake. I think if you’re going to have one protein based supplement in your workout armoury, at least have  post workout shake. The reason is simple in my opinion. Firstly, after a gruelling workout, your body is screaming at you for nutrients. Your muscle glycogen will be depleted and if muscle gain is important to you then by not having something quickly, you could force your body into a catabolic state where you’ll lose muscle.

A post workout shake (A shake with high glycemic carbohydrates and fast absorbed protein along with any other goodies to aid recovery) is a quick and convenient hit! It’s not always convenient to have whole food in your gym bag and eat it right after a workout and that short window of opportunity to get your recovery nutrients in could have closed by the time you get home, get cleaned up and cook/prepare your meals. So in that instance, I would definitely recommend a post workout shake.

Supplements, as their name suggest, are there to supplement your diet. And frankly, it is hard to get all the nutrients we need especially with all the processed food around and nutrients in whole foods not being as potent as they once were if you make wise choices you can cut back on supplements and keep them to a minimum. A protein shake to top up your protein is OK as are essential fats (Udo’s oil is highly recommended) and a good multi vitamin too but if you’re training on a budget, don’t be fooled into thinking you need every supplement under the sun. Remember, supplement companies and the magazines (most of whom are actually owned by supplement companies) want you to be dependant  on them and all the latest and greatest pills and potions out there but if you eat unprocessed whole foods, quality proteins and fats you can keep your supplement use down.

In conclusion, suppements do serve a good purpose. I highly recommend post workout shakes that are designed for such purpose as it cuts down your recovery time and helps you train harder sooner, and supplements to help you meet your daily requirements of proteins, vitamins and essential fats are good if you’re not getting them from whole food but there is also a lot of hype about supplements too and lots of fads and trends that are here today and gone tomorrow so be weary and do your research!

Chok Dee!

Fahad

One of the many properties an aspiring Thai, Low Kick Kickboxer or even MMA fighter requires are conditioned shins and one of the questions I get asked frequently is just how do you condition your shins? Should I kick trees like in the Jean Claude Van Damme movie, Kickboxer? Tap them with bottles? Roll them with Rolling pins?

Well there are certainly many methods employed to getting the shins conditioned to a level where by you can fight and check leg kicks however, due to misinformation and a lack of understanding about the body, Some of these methods utilized by trainers and fighters alike actually could be detrimental to the body in years to come.

The idea that the shin can become harder, due to calcium deposits developing over the shin bone or the bone itself getting harder is somewhat of a myth. A conditioned shin comes in various parts.

1. The nerves surrounding the shin have been weakened or deadened so the pain is not as excruciating as it was before shin conditioning started.
2. A lot of it can be psychological. In a fight anyway, adrenaline will be responsible for the fact that you might not feel the shin on shin contact as greatly as you would in training. Tell yourself that there’s no pain and carry on fighting.
3. Correct technique. The way you block a leg kick can also be a factor in the amount you feel when you check.

So what’s wrong with hitting trees or tapping shins with bottles and sticks?
Well, when you hit the shins with anything that’s harder than the bone you run the risk of causing tiny stress fractures on your shin. In the short term this may deaden the nerves however, in the long term this could actually weaken the shins causing pain and injury, even arthritis later on in life.

And what about kicking trees? Hey didn’t the Thai’s kick trees back in the day? 
Before I went out to Thailand I had this vision of Thai’s just whacking away at trees. Haha how wrong I was. Nope, in this day and age, no trees are harmed in the making of a Thai Boxer however, it is true that before, Thais kicked the trunks of soft banana trees (the trunks were very rubbery and soft thus not like kicking an oak tree) The trunk of the trees they’d hit would be so soft in fact that they would make makeshift hand wraps with the strips of bark from where they kicked.

So how exactly do you condition your shins?
The tried and tested method is to basically kick the bags and pads AS MUCH AS YOU CAN!!!

The harder the pads and bags, the better the conditioning however, you must start at a level where by you are not feeling as if you are damaging yourself. After all, what’s the point in hitting the bags that are so hard that you are all bruised and battered and then can’t hit for at least a week?

Sure you will feel some pain on your legs after training but with the right treatment (Massage, Ice etc) you’ll be good to go for the next training session.

In Thailand I would see fighters train on the bags kicking away at them morning and afternoon, continuously kicking with one leg for over 3 rounds then switching to the next leg. This amount of kicking is the correct way of conditioning your shins. Along with patience and perseverance (Hey, it’s not going to happen over night in fact it could take at least 6 months of training like this)

Kicking leather Thai pads should also be placed as a mandatory training drill in your shin conditioning regimen.

What about sparring?
Sparring is a great way to condition shins and get used to blocking but it must be done with shin pads on as stated above, you must try not to strike your own shin with anything as hard as or harder than except of course for in a fight.

So It’s all about deadening nerves?
Not entirely. As stated above it is also a psychological process. Another thing to help condition shins is to condition the muscles that are surrounding the shins. These muscles are usually worked out from the intense amounts of running and skipping a Thai boxer will do. The Thai style of running, whereby you strike the road/floor with the ball of your feet and stay on your toes, works the Calf muscles which in turn builds the muscle defenses on the side of the shin. As is the same with skipping.

So remember ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, Train hard but train smart and train safe!

Keep your guard up and Chok Dee!

Protein seems to be a big buzz word in the vocabulary of anyone interested in their fitness or sports nutrition and rightly so as it is one of the macronutrients alongside fats and carbohydrates (Yeah, alcohol is a macronutrient too but you don’t need that to survive so we won’t mention them as an essential)

Cynics amongst us may think that too  much emphasis has been given to protein in order for supplment companies to sell us more of their wonderful protein powders and ready to drink shakes and potions but let’s see what protein’s all about and why, as a fighter or someone interested in fitness in general, a diet rich in protein is a good idea!

So what exactly is protein?

Every cell in our body is made up of protein and the protein we consume is made up of amino acids. Our bodies use the amino acids which are digested from the protein we eat in order to build more protein help repair cell tissue and help them regenerate.

Now our bodies can generate some amino acids itself which are "non essential" but the rest have to come from food and these are called "essential amino acids" These can come from a variety of sources including:

• Meat
• Fish
• Dairy products
• Supplements
• Beans, Legumes, Pulses
• Soy products

Some of the sources above are better than others. "Complete protein sources" provide all of the essential amino acids and are usually found in meat, fish and supplements whilst "incomplete protein sources" do not have all essential amino acids and are typically found in vegetable protein sources.

Protein aids in the building of muscle tissue which is extremely important for a fitness lifestyle because lean muscle mass is good!

Why do you need it?

Like I just said, Lean muscle mass is a good thing but put it this way, When you work out or put your body through strenuous activity, you’re putting your body through stress which means cells and muscle take a beating and need to be repaired. Ever had that achey sore feeling a few days after a gruelling workout? That’s called Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness or D.O.M.S. for short which are micro tears in the muscles from over use. Protein helps rebuild the muscle tissue and help generate new muscle tissue too so if you’re looking to gain muscle mass, adequate protein is required. So it’s good for gaining muscle and recovery. It is also beneficial for rehabilitation from injury.

How much should you take?

Mostly, this depends on your body and your activity levels but an active person should have, in my opinion, between 1-2 grams of protein per lbs of lean muscle mass per day. It should also make up around 30-40% of your total caloric intake but this again depends on your requirements and a more in depth approach should be taken.

If you’re not too active and are just interested in healthy eating or weight loss, I would still recommend eating up to  1 gram of protein per lbs of lean muscle mass.

It helps you lose weight!

Imagine that your metabolism is like a furnace, a fat burning furnace (or at least a calorie burning one). Lean muscle mass keeps that furnace working harder thus making it burn more calories. Therefore the more lean muscle mass your body is comprised of as opposed to fat and water, the more calories you can burn even during resting periods. Since protein helps with muscle synthesis, it will help you lose weight. Also when you’re trying to lose weight, chances are you’ll lose some muscle which means a weaker furnace but making sure you’re getting adequate intake of protein will keep you from losing much muscle.

Hi everyone!

Just a quick note to sy thank you for your patience and bear with me as I renovate my site! Thank you!