Why doing situps doesn't give you a sixpack

When a lot of beginners start to workout, me included they often have goals, and the main one is trimming that belly fat and getting a six pack, which is a good target to go for. However, people will often workout the wrong way and don't see the results they want and then give up. One of the most common mistakes people make is concentrating too much on the abdominal muscle at the beginning. If you have a lot of belly fat, ab exercises will not get rid of that belly fat. You could do 300 situps a day and still not get a six pack. This is because some people think that they can target where the fat is burned from by doing specific exercises. This is wrong.

Fat is mostly deposited into what's known as adipose tissue, which is most concentrated mainly in the abdomen, which is why you get a fat belly rather than anywhere else. So you need to to burn that fat in order to get those abs to show.

Ab exercises are some of the worst exercises for fat burning as they don't burn many calories. The more calories you burn, the more fat you will lose. So the fastest way to get rid of fat is to do the exercises that burn the most calories.

There are two broad approaches to exercise; long slow cardio and short intense exercises. While long hours of cardio burn more calories during the workout, there is a crucial aspect that a lot of people don't take into account, recovery. When you do intense exercise, be it intense cardio or using weights or resistance machines you will take much longer to recover, whilst in this recovery satge, although you aren't doing any exercise, you still burn a lot of calories for hours after your workout. This is because you have to rebuild your energy stores and the muscle you just ripped by doing such an intense workout which requires energy. This is why so many exercise plans that have half hour workouts really work (eg P90X and Insanity), and also why some people don't always see the results they want.

When it comes to training in this way, you really have to commit. It's high intensity which means you have to give it your all or you won't get what's known as a big enough "after burn", even if you can't go at a ridiculous pace, you still need to go as hard as you can and limit your rest periods. Only then will you achieve the massive body transformations that exercise programmes say they can give. The pictures of before and after aren't fake, they're the results you can get if you really commit to the programme and give it 100%.

Having a symmetrical body

Practically everyone has a leg or an arm that is stronger than the other, so when you workout it's much easier to  do more reps or put more weight on your dominant arm/ leg. This often results in the weaker limb being left behind, which is not good. You'll end up being wonky and all out of proportion. Naturally you will prefer write with one hand or kick with a preferred foot, this means that you need to compensate for all that extra work the other limb doesn't do during the day. So if you are noticeably stronger with one side than another, you should get the other limb up to the same level before continuing to train your dominant arm. There's no point being able to do super heavy weights with one arm when you can't do nearly as much with the other arm.

A lot of people try to compensate for this by doing exercises that use both at once, they think that by using both arms they're working each arm in equal proportions. That is not the case, when you do an exercise that requires two limbs and one is stronger than the other, the dominant limb will take over, meaning that it takes the strain away from the weaker limb and leaving it behind. So you should actively isolate the weaker limb, this doesn't mean that you should completely ignore the dominant limb as you would be wasting the progress you've already made. For example, if your left arm is weaker than the right arm,  you should do maybe one set of bar curls and then a set of left arm only bicep curls, this way you're working both arms but putting the emphasis on the left arm in order to make it as strong as the right arm. 

If you have a limb that is weaker than the other then I strongly advise getting that limb up to scratch, not only will it make your body more symmetrical, but you will be able to go heavier/ longer in exercises that do require both limbs. 

As always, good luck

Listening to music and revision

A lot of people enjoy listening to music while they revise, and while it helps to get through those long hours without getting bored out of your mind, it won't make your revision as effective. When it comes to just writing an essay it can be helpful, but when you're reading or memorising then you should turn it off. This is because listening, reading, and your internal voice all interlink in the brain. That's why it's hard to concentrate when people are talking loudly etc.

This means that when you're trying to re-write, read or memorise something it is interrupted by the music, meaning that it can't be converted into a lasting memory as easily. Which means you're likely to forget it at a later date.

There are often recordings that you can get of your lectures or you could record yourself reading out your notes and listen to that while you go through the same topic. This way you can time your revision better and also make sure that you didn't miss anything that was said while you were taking notes in class.

The approach I have found is to record your lectures (always be sure to ask the lecturer for permission at the start of the module) and not take any notes in the lecture. This means you can fully focus on taking all the information in and understand what is being said during the lecture. You can then go home and listen to the lecture again in the evening or at a later date so you can hit the pause button while you take notes.

As always, good luck

Beating Procrastination

In a recent post I talked about how to revise effectively, this is essentially a follow up to that post on what you should do to stop that awful beast that is procrastination. In this day and age it is very hard to focus on one thing at once, as there are so many distractions.

I tried setting myself time limits, say an hour of revision and then 20 minutes rest, but because I would have my laptop on and music blaring I would really only get about 20 minutes worth of real work in that hour I was supposed to be revising.

So, although it might be hard to tear yourself away, you need to turn your laptop/computer off. Facebook, youtube etc are killers for procrastination. So the first thing to do is turn your laptop off and put it in a different room, you need to also do the same with your phone. If you can't safely put them in a different room, maybe hide them under your bed or any place where you can't see them when you're looking at your work.

It's better to get half an hour of solid completely focused revision rather than 3 hours where you write a couple of pages of notes while only have concentrating, you won't learn anything that way.

You should also set yourself objectives, at the moment I get one lecture done between breakfast and lunch, then one in between lunch and dinner and then two between dinner and bed that way I get 4 lectures done but it splits it up over the day, so your mind stays fresh.

So basically what I'm trying to say here is that you should revise without any distractions, and then take a break where you do no revision at all rather than going for hours whilst only half focusing on revision.

As always, good luck in this exam season :)

How To Cram a Workout Into A Busy Schedule

Most of us have very busy schedules, leaving little time to get in enough exercise. However exercise is one of the most important and productive things you can do and it is often the first thing to be sacrificed in a schedule!

With revision going into full swing, most students reading this probably don't have that much free time at the moment. So here I have a few ways of quickly getting a work out in without  having to sacrifice too much revision time. Also, you don't really want to workout too hard when you're revising as you want your body to have plenty of energy so your brain power will be at it's fullest.

The first way of getting in a quick bit of exercise without revising is to go for a brisk 10-20 minute walk before eating breakfast. Don't go at a high intensity as you will start to break down muscle instead of fat.

Secondly is doing quick exercises at home instead of the gym. Try visiting www.youtube.com/sixpackshortcuts for some quick and effective workouts that I often use myself.

Try to rest less between sets, this means that you can't do as many reps but it means you'll get tired much quicker and it won't take as much time to workout.

A quick way of doing this is drop sets. This is where you do 12 reps of an exercise at a pretty heavy weight for you and rest for 8 seconds, then do 8 reps and rest 8 secs, then 6 reps and then 4 reps. This counts as 1 set. you should rest between 1 and 2 minutes and then go for another set. You should do between 2 and 4 sets, of 3 different exercises. This shouldn't take you much more than 20 minutes and you will definitely be feeling it afterwards. A second way is doing supersets, this is where you do a set of one exercise and then go straight into a second set of a related exercise without rest (eg dips and then straight into tricep extensions or squats and then into a wall sit). By cutting down on the amount of rest and doing extra sets without rest you will be able to do quicker, more intense workouts that will leave just as pumped, or even more pumped than a normal workout.

By doing short, intense workouts and eating right you should be able to keep revising whilst also maintaining your body, but this method of working out can also be a legitimate strategy all by itself. Just remember to eat enough so that your body has plenty of nutrients and your brain function and revision time won't suffer by keeping fit.

Good luck :)

What to eat while revising

With everything in life, it's important to eat healthily. The same applies to revision, so here I have a few tips about what to eat in order to get the best results from your revision. Please check out my post about how to revise properly aswell for some more tips

So one of the first things I want to cover here are energy drinks, now these are good  if say you've got a deadline for a report or something and you need to pull an all nighter, but when it comes to long term revision, you want to try and stick to a normal sleep cycle, as this helps to consolidate memories and prevents you from being groggy and slow for the next few days (for more see the previous post about sleep). So you shouldn't really be revising really late at night. Also a lot of people tend to have energy drink crashes when they finally stop drinking energy drinks, if you got an energy drink crash in the middle of an exam that could be disastrous, so try to stay away from drinking energy drinks long term (the same goes for coffee).

So what should you eat to keep you awake, alert and energised?

Well the brain only uses one source of energy, glucose, which we can derive from many sources but the best two are sugars and carbohydrates. By sugars and carbohydrates I mean natural sugars and light, slow burning carbs are the best, but sweets and chocolate (dark in particular) are a good choice too, just don't go overboard. Examples of these are pasta, bread and other wheat based products (try to avoid heavily processed foods though) and fruit and veg make a great source of natural, healthy sugars (not sweets and red bull). These foods will keep you full without eating really heavy meals. Try not to eat massive meals but eat a lot of small meals throughout the day, this helps to prevent that groggy feeling you get after eating a big meal and keeps your energy levels more constant throughout the day.

There are also other foods that can also boost your brain's performance, such as fish, leafy green vegetables, berries, milk, nuts, seeds, beans and even chocolate can all help to increase brain function. Supplements are also an option but to be honest the way that the digestive system works means that hardly any of the nutrients actually get absorbed, so it's much more cost effective to eat right instead.

However, probably the most important thing you can do when revising, is drink lots of water. Now it's recommended that you drink about 2 litres or 8 full glasses of water every day, but that doesn't account for individual differences and lifestyle, so what you should do as a general rule of thumb is the obvious, drink when your mouth is dry or as you begin to get thirsty. This not only helps brain function, but helps you feel full and helps to flush out toxins more effectively. You'll probably need to pee a lot more often but the benefits are worth it.

Finally what you shouldn't do is drink alcohol. It can really impair memory as well as cognitive function and of course, if you're hungover there's no way you're going to want to revise anyway. So try to cut down as much as you can, if you absolutely have to drink then try to only have one or two and be sure to eat plenty of carbs and drink lots of water when you get in.

So in summary, don't drink too many energy drinks, don't drink alcohol, do eat fish, veg, fruits, seeds, berries and carbs, have small but frequent meals rather a few massive meals and definitely drink plenty of water.

Good luck :)

How to Revise effectively

Why is it that some people can remember things really easily and others can't?

well it could be that they have a better memory, but that doesn't mean that you can't improve your own memory when it comes to revising.

Some people seem to just read over their notes and that's it, done, I've remembered it. Others can read over their notes 6 or 7 times and still not remember it a couple of days later. This is not because they have a bad memory, they're just revising the wrong way for them.

Memory is connected to your senses, that''s why you might be reminded of a certain event when you smell or hear or see something. When revising you can take advantage of this by using multiple senses when learning something, making the memory a lot stronger

So here is the ideal way of revising. Use as many parts of your brain as possible when revising. The most concise way of doing this is by reading a line of your notes once or twice, close your eyes and imagine it in your head, then write it down whilst saying it as you write. This way your brain is using 4 different brain areas at the same time.

Now if this seems a little extreme then at least try one of them. Try rewriting your notes, or reading them out loud. If you have a strong imagination, you can also try making a mind map and remembering the locations of the information on the map. The more brain areas you can use during revision, the more connections between that memory and the rest of your brain will be made. You may find that one way of revising is much more effective than others, it's best to experiment to see which method is most effective and try to incorporate it into your revision.

Revising for a specific exam type: Memory is very context dependant. So say you have an oral exam, the best way to revise would be by speaking out loud, as when you speak during your exam it opens the same neural pathways as when you were revising, so you'll remember better, so say you have to write a timed essay, it's best to write out your notes etc etc.

You should also try to time your revision with when your exam is, as again you're more likely to remember something when your internal environment (in this case your body clock) when you're learning is the same as when you're remembering it.

Essentially what you should do is try to make your emotions, needs (hunger, thirst), body clock when you're revising the same as when you have your exam.

And finally, take regular breaks when revising, not long breaks but say take a 5-10 minute break every 20-40 minutes, this way your brain has a chance to rest and you can consolidate what you've learnt. Try lying down closing your eyes during your break and try to recall what you just went through. If you can remember at least the gist then you're going at the right pace, if not then you're going too fast as you aren't converting the short term memories to long term memories, they've been pushed out of your head by the new information coming in. Which is another reason why you should take regular breaks.

A good way of testing how well you understand a subject is explaining it to someone else. If you know the subject well enough to explain it to someone else, even a pet will do, then you understand the subject at a high level.

The best advice I can give is don't leave it all to the last minute, you can never start revising too early, the sooner the better. I generally start properly revising about a month before the exam but any later than that and you're starting to rush it. If you haven't started revising 2 weeks before a big exam then might struggle if you have multiple exams.


Follow these tips and hopefully you'll get the results that you want. Best of Luck!!