Wednesday 23 December 2015

Christmas Break, what's your plans #Musclemassbrothers

Christmas Break and Plans





Christmas is finally upon us with that end of the year. What did we achieve through out this year. Did we achieve our goals or at least moved towards them rather than away from what we planned at the begining of it.

We always think of the New Year as a starting point. Many people think "this year I will go to gym more compared to last year". Planning for the new start of the year is great as we set our new goals towards we plan to work for the next few months. Although we do not always follow what we planned out for ourselves. Many of us just stop after first month's of the years it is proven that there is an increase in gym memberships sign up for new year, but most of those new members decide to stop within next few weeks.

We should never give up, perhaps gym is not for everyone, why not sign up for classes instead. Dancing, martial arts or team sports are great too we should not abandon our ships as we are captains of our bodies, do not let them sink.

Let's begin with the summary of what we have set ourselves last year, did we want to lose or gain weight. What did we want to achieve last year, did we or did we not get there? We need to analyse at which point we did better or worse? We might had stopped for a moment for various reason but did we try to get back into our sport routines? What worked best, maybe we enjoy running outside better than indoors or we have higher motivation when exersicing with friends? Muscle mass brothers always sit down together and talk between each other about set and met goals. Some of us did better compared to others but this should not discourage you from working out. Each one of us is different some achieve their goals faster, some get there slower but remember to stay motivated. Our body is our temple and treat it as one as we got only one body.

After asking yourself few question, we should conclude what we did well and what we can improve in upcoming new year. Let's take example from #MMB members, Alex has begin year with aim to cut down on weight and trim as much it was possible and he did achieve it as he went from around 90kg to 75kg keeping as much muscles as possible cutting on fat only. It took him at least 6 months if not more to achieve his goal but he never gave up. Right now his goal is to build up weight but with Muscle Mass only. He already changed his diet plan and training for next year. Everybody has different goal and it only depends on You how far can you go to reach your planned goal.

Why setting up goals is important ? It might sound very simple but we tend to ignore it. Our goals keep us motivated and on track. Another important key element is to keep an record of our training, so we can go back to it and improve it for the next year. What are the ways to keep track of ourselves. There are various ways, one of the easiest is to make photo each month of our body. You do not have to share it with anybody, but if you do that every month at for example first Saturday of first week in the morning you will be able to easily keep visual track of the changes we achieved. This will help you to make sure if you are aiming the right way that you planned at start. Another way is to write up a sport diary writing down things like exercises you do everyday and keep track if you can lift more or less, if you can run longer distances or which pace do you run with and measure how fast you get tied. There are plenty of ways to keep track, it all depends on you!


Check #musclemassbrothers forum, website and social media for more, ask us questions, you can always send us an email use form on contact psge.

www.musclemassbrothers.co.uk

Stay motivated for the next year never give up it is your life and your body!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Muscle Mass Brothers:
Filip, Alex, Andrzej and Daniel




#musclemassbrothers #gym #newyear #plans #summary #goals

Wednesday 16 December 2015

Fridays with MMB, Leg Day and previous Chest Day #MuscleMassBrothers

Friday legs day with #MuscleMassBrothers


Like every Friday Muscle Mass Brothers will meet to exercise together, this time doing a leg workout. We will be at Fitness First at Leyton. If you are a member of this gym or would like to come by to ask any questions and meet #MMB team you are welcome to. On Fridays Fitness First allows their members to bring buddy with them if you are not member of this gym check with your friends if they are members and come by.

Leg training

Working out your legs is really important as legs consists of some of the largest muscles in your body. Very often ignored by many people, even if you do cardio training a lot strength training is as important as any part of your body that we exercise like arms, back or chest. Important note if you are body building and want to look symmetrical do leg workout. You do not want to leave half of your body weak or weaker.

Building up your physic it is like constructing a sky scrapper you begin from the basement the fundamentals which will hold the structure standing up right. It is similar with our bodies to be strong we need to develop evenly that is why in any training programme legs will be included whether you exercise each muscle part separately or you are doing full body workout.

Let me point out some of the important facts we should know. Working makes you run your blood faster producing adrenakine, bigger the muscle more its produced. What it does to you is just awesome... You will feel sudden increase of energy which will push you to exercise better, harder and allow to push boundaries. For example based on standard exercise structure which most people interested in gym and bodybuilding follow is doing 2 different parts of body. Legs with your arms are a great mix as even though you will be pretty tied after good leg workout, the energy rush will make you do something more, like bicep or/and triceps. Workout it out as hard as you just did your legs you will very satisfied after gym. On the other hand based on full body workout after a warm up you will always begin with legs and move to other parts of your body just to buid up adrenaline and energy increase when your body begins to tell your brain its time to go to changing room. I can assure you working out your legs will let you finish your full body workout and push you to improve your results from last week. Check our past posts about full body workout to get better understanding of what I just talked about.

We will see you in gym on Friday at Fitness First Leyton.

Make sure you check our website & Facebook and other social media channels.

 www.musclemassbrother.co.uk

If you have any question please do not hesitate to ask, send us a message, come to our forum or just comment under social media post. I will try to reply as soon I see it. Anything about training, diet and supplements we are more then happy to help out. Would you like me to write about specific exersice just let me know.

We will post our video of leg workout soon after a training. Motivation is important. Remember to set your goals for every week.

Have a good week from #MMB

#MuscleMassBrothers #LegsDay #Friday #Workout #Gym



Friday chest day with #MuscleMassBrothers

We forgot to post before our chest day:





Like every Friday Muscle Mass Brothers will meet to exercise together, this time doing a chest workout. We will be at Fitness First at Leyton. If you are a member of this gym or would like to come by to ask any questions and meet #MMB team you are welcome to. On Fridays Fitness First allows their members to bring buddy with them if you are not member of this gym check with your friends if they are members and come by.

Chest exercise


Next Friday we will be meeting for some chest exercises. It's always great to meet up with your buddies for some gym workout. We are Muscle Mass Brothers and our motivation is the ever growing gym community and especially when we can join gym members at Leyton, London to workout. Our main objective will be chest workouts with bar and dumbells on the bench, of course begining with 10 minute job followed by arm stretches and light weights.


Continuing we will do some dumbells and bar exersices which you will be able to see soon on our YouTube channel as our next video of motivational clips will be up. Check #musclemassbrothers social media channels for an updated.

Back to the chest workouts, there are many different exercises allowing nice development of pectoral muscles. Chest is very popular and barely missed exercise. Most of the times chest exercises can be mixed with bicep pump up. We often workout more than one group of muscles that is why it's best match workouts which go well alongside each other. As there should be whole #MMB team we might be able to do only chest if you would like to us, talk to us and ask questions do not hesitate to approch us. We will have awesome Muscle Mass Brothers t-shirts.


To check for further updates follow us on social media. Check our website and Facebook page too.



www.musclemassbrothers. co.uk

#musclemassbrothers #chest #friday #gym

Have a great day and do not leave gym for the next day #mmb.

Sunday 13 December 2015

Learning more about healthy cooking with Summerill & Bishop School #MuscleMassBrothers

Learning about Healthy Eating and new food techniques:
Summerill & Bishop School 


Learning about healthy eating and new food techniques with Marcelo at Summerill & Bishop School. The welcoming and warm atmosphere of Summerill & Bishop School is one of most unique experiences which I have enjoyed as well as learned few awesome things. The idea behind the school is not just about food learning, but also an home like feel. If you ever wanted to raise cooking skills and knowledge of healthy and yet tasty food this place is one of the best picks in London. If you are a person which likes to invite friends and family I would recommend such cooking lesson, as the presentation and usefulness of simple tips and recipes will be a great show off for any guest at your house. You can adjust your diet to the ingredients Marcelo will introduce to you as well as pick vegetarian or meat version.     




The cooking lesson is also a great place to bond with your work team,friends and to network with people who have similar food interests. I assure you, the day will make you feel, look and learn to be a food pro. I have learned a lot about food preparation and how to limit ingredients to get the best possible taste, recommended 5 different ingredients. Although it was an event with the Bluebella team that I work with it was very useful event to gain better understanding about healthy and very tasteful full of flavor food. Not only the recipes were simple and really scrumptious they also looked beautiful.   



Great and Simple Recipes:

Salad with Quinoa, Roasted Vegetable (Beetroot and Pumpkin) Goat Cheese and Chicken

Served with Pomegranate Dressing - recipe below

2 chicken breasts poached and sliced
200g cooked quinoa
500g pumpkin (chopped and roasted in over 180C
 for 15 minutes with tablespoon of olive oil)
200g of beetroot pre-cooked (chopped and roasted in the over 180C)
for 10 min with a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar) 
200g soft goat cheese
50g pumpkin seeds
Rocket salad
1/2 lemon
Salt and pepper
Chicory leaves

Combine the quinoa, the roasted vegetables and the rocket in a bowl and mix. 
In a large serving bowl mix the salad leaves with the chicken, the pieces of goat cheese 
and the pumpkin seeds, toss it all in the dressing.

Pomegranate Dressing

100g pomegranate seeds
100ml olive oil
50ml white vinegar 
Salt and pepper

Combine all the ingredients together, season with salt and pepper.

The recipe is simple yet tasteful and very beautiful in a bowl. Great for balanced diet, parties, dinners and any events where you would like to astonish your guest. Layer each ingredient on top of each other so when you pick it up you and your guest can enjoy all of the products. 

Chicory leaves & walnut pesto

1 packet of chicory leaves
100g grated Parmesan
4tpsp of olive oil
1 clove of garlic 
50g walnuts
Half a bunch of basil leaves
Sal and Pepper

In a mortar, grind the walnuts and garlic together with the basil leaves. Crush until it becomes a crunchy paste. Add the olive oil, parmesan, salt and pepper, and mix.
Place the chicory leaves on a decorative plate 
and serve with 1 spoonful of the walnut pesto placed on the top. 

Non Baked Apple Crumble

2 grated Granny Smith or Bramley apples
100g apple puree
1 vanilla pod
1/2 packet of ginger or digestive biscuits - crushed
20g toasted almonds
Cognac
100g ground almonds
50ml melted butter
2tbsp of brown sugar or moscavado sugar

Mix the apple puree & grated apple together. Scrape the seed from vanilla pod and add to the apple mixture. Put into the individual glasses, filling the bottom third.

In a bowl combine the crushed biscuit, ground almonds, sugar, a splash of cognac and melted butter, to make a crumble. Cover the apple mixture in the glass with the crumble.

Serve with Creme Anlaise - recipe below

Creme Anglaise

1/ Vanilla pod
2 eggs yolks
100g sugar
100ml milk
100ml double cream
1 tspn cornflour

In a saucepan bring the milk and cream to boiling point.
In a separate bowl beat the eggs yolks,
sugar and vanilla seeds (scraped from the pod) together, then add the cornflour.

Slowly add the cold ingredients to the hot milk mixture, return to the heat and simmer 
until it starts to thicken, take off the heat and let it cool down before serving.

Really yummy to wrap up the evening, not too sweet yet satisfying and pretty healthy like for the desert. 

Check Summerill & Bishop website and social media sites for more informations about the classes and the shop.


@summerillandbishop

Marcelo is leading our weekly schedule of local, seasonal cooking classes and is also coordinating a curriculum filled with exciting in-the-know experts on everything from viticulture, to flower arranging, table decor and more.  
On Tuesdays and Thursdays throughout the day, Marcelo will be teaching food prep courses with a healthy tone, based around local, seasonal ingredients and popular dishes and cuisines.  
We offer a range of class times, listed below:

Tuesdays 
10:00 - 11:30 am
1:30 - 3:00 pm

Thursdays 
10:00 - 11:30 am
1:30 - 3:00 pm
7:00 - 8:30 pm

 All our classes require booking, with a maximum of 10 people per class.
Prices from £70 per class.


#MuscleMassBrothers #Diet #Healthyfood #summerillandbishop




Sunday 6 December 2015

Why is it importance to exercise? #Musclemassbrothers

Importance of exercising 





  Everybody knows exercising is important because of the news and media campaigns we see when traveling to work, school or  any other place. It's not that hard to remember it, it is hard to do it when you exhausted after work or school where perhaps you spend 8 hours at desk, which is eating your energy up. We need to keep our bodies healthy to avoid deceases however some might say, I know people who were fit yet has got ill or got disease which was inherited. Sometime we can not avoid certain things. However think about keeping healthy and fit as a way of improving your life experience. You not only feel better when exercising you are more likely to experience  better things in life like sports, exploring even holidays. Been fit allows you to be more active and engaging with the life events that we encounter we also gain many attributes like confidence. 

Lets begin with things that we know and yet we sometimes ignore.

Fighting Obesity:

National Association for Sport and Physical Education recommends that elementary school students have at least 90 minutes of gym per week and almost four hours a week for middle and high school students. Fighting obesity has become a main objective in UK. It has begun with schools now as we can get lots of sugar and saturated fat at our youngest age with half a price of healthy and nutritionally valuable food. For kids and youth it is simple choice, pick something that is fast and cheap. Similar habit follows us to our adult life when we do not have time as been busy working all day. What we can do to fight it ? 

- Exercise 
- Diet
- Plan your or your kids day
- Learn and Teach about healthy food and exercise

It is important to learn our selves and than to tech our youngsters how to live healthier and at the same time fighting off the obesity problem. It is important that we teach about good and healthy habits otherwise we and our kids will follow bad ones. 

   Developing Healthy Habits

As mentioned before we need to develop healthy habits. Those habits we can pass on to our family and friends, improving our life may be the first small step but huge jump for future. To develop healthy habits is best to learn from people who you know that exercise and understands healthy eating. On the other hand it is useful to read blogs, articles, videos and magazines about health, exercising and diet. Follow #MuscleMassBrothers for motivation, tips and educational information about gym, exercise and dieting. If you have any questions comment or message us.


What are the benefits of exercise and diet ?


  • Exercise increases energy levels
  • Exercise improves muscle strength
  • Dieting and Weight Loss
  • Mind Healthy and Memory Skills for more information.
  • Exercise is good for your heart
  • Regular exercise lowers your risk of developing type 2 diabetes
  • Exercise enhances your immune system
  • Active people tend to sleep better
  • Exercise can be fun! 


How Much Should you Exercise?

You should get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week. 
These recommendations can be achieved through 30-60 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise (five times a week) or 20-60 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise (three times a week) or a combination of both types. One continuous session combined with multiple shorter sessions (of at least 10 minutes) is also acceptable.For those starting out, gradual progression of exercise time, frequency and intensity is recommended. You are more likely to stay on track and avoid injury if you start gently. Even if you can't reach these minimum targets you can still benefit from some activity.

Resistance Exercise

Resistance exercise is concerned with working the bodies muscle groups and building strength.
It is recommended that adults train each major muscle group two or three days each week using a variety of exercises and equipment. Very light or light intensity resistance training is best for older persons or previously sedentary adults new to exercise. Two to four sets of each exercise will help adults improve strength and power. For each exercise, 8-12 repetitions improve strength and power, 10-15 repetitions improve strength in middle-age and older persons starting exercise, while 15-20 repetitions improve muscular endurance. It is recommended that adults should wait at least 48 hours between resistance training sessions.

Moderate vs Vigorous Intensity

There are a number of different ways to classify the intensity of any exercise, some based on heart rate, some on perceived exertion and some on how the exercise affects your metabolic rate. Moderate-intensity activity should raise your heart rate, make you breathe faster and make you feel warm enough to start to sweat. Vigorous intensity exercise will make you breathe hard, increase your heart rate significantly and make you hot enough to sweat profusely. The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans suggests that moderate-intensity activity allows you to talk but not to sing, whereas more vigorous activity results in an inability to say more than a few words without pausing for a breath.



Examples of moderate intensity exercise include:

  •     Brisk walking (100 steps/minute)
  •     Dancing
  •     Swimming or aqua aerobics
  •     Gentle cycling (5-9mph)
  •     Badminton or doubles tennis
  •     Volleyball


Examples of vigorous intensity exercise include:

  •     Running
  •     Power walking at 5mph or more, or walking uphill briskly
  •     Cycling fater than 10mph
  •     Aerobics
  •     Martial arts
  •     Competitive sports (football, basketball, rugby etc.)
  •     Skipping/jump rope
  •     Rowing

Some information has been based on this source.



#MuscleMassBrothers