Canelo Alvarez Vs Amir Khan - How much difference will the weight make?

It's fair to say that not many people saw this fight coming, but like many it is definitely one i am excited about. Having become, like many other boxing fans, quite despondent over the direction of Khan's career especially in light of his refusal to grant the UK fight fans the fight we all really wanted to see against Kell Brook, i can now say that i am firmly back on the Khan fan train and i would love to see an upset against Canelo.

However, there are some real issues and concerns regarding this fight as boxing can be quite a brutal sport. The key questions relate to the weight difference and what the affect of that could be with Canelo known for coming in up to 20lbs heavier than what he officially weighs in at. There's also the power difference too, Canelo showed against James Kirkland he can really bang and that was against a natural middleweight too. Can Khan really stand up to that power? Well with his questionable chin many believe this will be an easy night for Canelo and will be over as soon as he connects with any real venom.

Compare this to Khan who's power is questionable as well as the fact he is really coming up from light welterweight having only ever fought at 147lbs against Collazo the only true welterweight and then Alexander who was really a light welterweight and Algieri who again was really a light welterweight. This shows how big a step up this is for Khan and whilst there were concerns about him making light welterweight himself and growing in to the 147b division the question remains as to whether he can really hang with a powerful big hitting guy at the heavier weight, so far that has been left unanswered and what a fight for him to have to answer all of these questions!

Some will argue that Mayweathers speed and agility/reflexes made Canelo look flat footed, even lacking ideas and at times easy to hit but Khan is not Mayweather and he's also not shown the consistent discipline needed to strategically beat an opponent with many advantages over him. Khan's speed will no doubt be his key advantage but as with any boxer moving up in weight and going from 147b to 155b is a big jump then Khan will lose some of his speed.

From a nutritionist point of view Khan will not have to endure the lengthy dieting which can seriously affect a boxers performance, with his nutrition being more focussed on performance aspect such as strength, fitness and recovery it's fair to assume Khan will enjoy this training camp a lot more. It would be expected though that his nutritionist and S&C team have monitored him enough to be able plan out and measure progress to ensure he's not slowing down with the extra weight, the blueprint of speed being key against Canelo is there from Mayweather, Angulo and Lara. Khan's team need to ensure that he carrie more power but his speed remains. You would also expect that Khan will come in at the weight easy without the drying out process. Whilst many boxers with a good drying out protocol under the guidance of a nutritionist should not feel any negative affects from dropping up to 8% of their body weight to make the weight those who struggle or think once they've made the weight they can eat what they want are the one's who will suffer come the second half of a fight. The weight draining undertaken by Canelo has been questioned as a reason for him sometimes labouring through the final rounds of a fight.

Having worked with many boxers and understanding the key aspects of making weight the safe way as well as knowing of many who make it the wrong way my belief is that if there is a check weigh in requested from the Khan camp for the next day then Canelo may in fact slow down in the latter rounds. If Khan can keep on the move in the early rounds, make Canelo miss and catch him with counters then take control with his superior speed and conditioning in the latter rounds then he may just be able to win.

So from a nutritionist point of view this fight makes for very interesting viewing, with 13 weeks to go i'm sure their nutrition and S&C teams already have their plans in place. Ideally Canelo will make the weight comfortably and regain the weight sensibly from drying out and Khan's speed and conditioning will be improved through a less restrictive diet and we, the fans will see 2 of the best fighters around at their peaks come May 7th.

We are either going to see Canelo steamroll and KO Khan who struggled to adapt with the extra weight early or Khan will make it interesting and take Canelo in to the late rounds to see if he can hang with real speed and counters for 12 rounds.

For British fight fans i'd love to see Khan take this one and set up the fight against Brook, someone who surely only has a handful of fights left at 147lb himself.

Dieting through a training camp – Part 1

Dieting through a training camp – Part 1

Most amateur and professional boxers will have some time off between fights and once a date is agreed for their next fight they will increase their training and start their diet to make weight (heavyweights obviously excluded from this), this is the period they refer to as their training camp.

What I’m going to discuss here are some key diet and supplementation points to consider for the fighter who has to make weight, the what’s and what not’s to stress over, I’ll even brush on the dreaded but now almost essential dehydration process. Hopefully you’ll pick up some key points, which you can apply to your own training and nutrition plans. My experience comes from the boxers and MMA fighters I have worked with and all of my work is backed by science, something that should not be ignored in exchange for fad diets or self-proclaimed guru’s new methods. If the scientifically backed methods don’t work for you then it’s not the science, its’ most definitely you. Crash diets suck big time, don’t get in the viscous cycle of that being your only option to make weight. Oh and don’t bitch and moan about having to diet, if you hate it that much fight at your natural weight.

As a performance athlete making weight you really must do all you can to protect your metabolism, there’s no doubt as bodyweight and fat stores drop the so will your metabolic rate, however you need to protect it and make sure it is not magnified. This is your key tool to making weight the easy way. Crash dieting and bingeing after a fight are a sure fire way to metabolic damage, now the science is not vast on this area (check out the seminal Minnesota Semi-Starvation Study for good info on metabolic rate decreases) my experience with athletes is that every time you binge and add fat it becomes harder to shift that fat each fight, compounded by alcohol and age. I’ve worked with many fighters who through a combination of steady state cv, low calories and then bingeing after a fight just find it harder each time to make weight and the calories have to go lower for longer. Soon enough you’re left with nowhere to go and end up living on barely any food and using stimulants to get through training sessions, that is not a good place for increasing performance coming in to a fight. what’s really happening in this situation is your testosterone levels, nervous system output and thyroid drop through the floor and yet cortisol levels sky rocket, this is a bad environment for performance, recovery and fat loss, albeit somewhat inevitable when you do this, limiting it is key.

I have seen fighters eating sub 500kcals for 2 full weeks prior to the weigh in, this is a crucial time and using stimulants to carry you through training brings about the other real issue of adrenal fatigue. So at all costs protect your metabolism, to do this you need to be sensible and here are the techniques I use with clients who have suffered with this:

·      If you have a lot of weight to drop then drop it at the start of training camp, don’t leave it until 4 weeks out where you have to starve yourself

·      Don’t binge after a fight if you’ve starved yourself, your body is not a position to handle a huge influx of calories from sugar and processed foods you will have been craving

·      Increase your carb intake after fights slowly 25g increments per week

·      Don’t stop training after a fight, you may want a break but you cant eat all you want and not train, you’ll just get fat quickly, so just keep in your s&c sessions and your hiit conditioning work if you wish to cut back

·      Start your dieting early, get the bulk of the weight off quickly and then slowly eat and train your way in to your weight

·      Keep protein high. Protein has been shown to help increase metabolic rate.

·      Don’t steady state cardio as your calorie burner – not only will those long runs damage your knees and joints but too much of such activity has been shown to slow metabolic rate, I hear of current world champions going for a steady run to burn off the calories every night. We’ve all seen the overweight guys walking for an hour on the treadmill in the gym, saying he’s burnt 1000kcals off at a steady pace barely breaking a sweat, the fact is he’s not and he’s still overweight

·      Finally don’t worry, permanently screwing your metabolism up is pretty much impossible, what’s important is making the changes to make things easier so you can concentrate on your performance rather than constantly worrying about making weight, stress is not good for your metabolism either.

You’ll notice that I advise to strip weight quickly at the beginning of a training camp, the reason for this is two-fold: firstly it will leave you to concentrate on what should be the most important factor which is your performance as the fight gets closer, secondly, dragging a heavy body around the treadmill is hard work, you need to increase your power: weight, this is basically the speed at which you can move with keeping your heart rate in the 90%+ zone, the higher the speed the better, after all speed is a key performance component for fighter. If you’re trundling round the treadmill at 14kph at over 90% hr you need to increase this and you will see a marked improvement in your performance in the ring, which is ultimately what you want.

The single best way to do this at the beginning of a camp is a ketogenic diet. This is a far from ideal style of dieting for performance athletes, although recent research out of Italy showed performance not to be affected on a 1 month ketogenic diet it is in my experience not optimal long term for an athlete. Although carbohydrates are not actually an essential macronutrient they are essential for fuelling and recovering from gruelling twice a day workouts, however a ketogenic diet alongside a steady increase in training intensity will drop the weight off you quickly, most of which will be water/glycogen to start with but there will be some fat loss too, this method allows you to bring carbohydrates back in around training to fuel and recover from workouts quickly as well as being closer to your fighting or pre dehydration weight. 3-4 weeks should be the longest timeframe to use a ketogenic diet, if you’re doing longer than this then you’ll notice your performance either dropping or plateauing. You may also start to feel like you are overtraining as by this time your training intensity should be peaking. This is the exact tactic I have used many time with fighters, the fact they’re eased back in to training allows for this type of harsh diet.

To be continued, hopefully/obviously...

Total Body Development Online Transformation Package

Online transformation package

What is it?

The Total Body Development online transformation package is a step-by-step training and nutrition plan for you to follow to achieve your fat loss goals. This is a way for you to receive guidance from me to achieve your goals at a fraction of what I would charge for my personal client services.

Who is it for?

Anyone who wants to get in shape but doesn’t know where to start or has become a little lost with his or her training. You can view it as a kick in the right direction as you will be eating healthier and training smarter, which will lead to great results in only a short space of time. Alternatively if you’re trying to get in the best shape you can as quick as possible you will also benefit from this package

What will you get?

In short a fool proof plan to get you in shape, no fad diets or ridiculous exercises, just a plan that works. This is a full step-by-step nutrition; supplement and training plan to follow along with support from both myself and other respected trainers and health professionals. You will also receive encouragement from others who are taking part in the programme as well as many of my past clients.

What can you expect?

Encouragement, sweat and results above everything else. You will be pushed hard to do the best you can but I also understand we all react differently to dieting and training hard, I’ve witnessed many people succeed but also many people fail, so I know what to look for and how to push people to get the best results they can.

What does it cost?

For the initial 6-week programme the total cost is £150, if after this period you wish to carry on with guidance then you can do so for £50 per month. In comparison to my 1:1 client packages, which cost in excess of £1000 this is a great way to utilise my knowledge and experience to help you achieve your goals. If you stick to the plan and are not happy at the end then I will refund you your money back, I am that confident that this work, simply because I have used it with so many people now.

What next?

To get started simply send me a message through my Facebook group
Total Body Development Page and I will send you the getting started questionnaire

Final Point…

If you’ve been a member of a gym or using a PT for some time but the look in the mirror and number on the scales doesn’t seem to be changing then this is a sure fire way to change that and give you the knowledge to be a healthier, fitter, stronger and above all else look better. This is Total Body Development.

Remember if you’re not happy with the results I will give you all of your money back.

Know your macros

Know your macros

Here’s a quick article on the key benefits of each macronutrient for your training. Many people get hung up on eliminating certain macronutrients however the reality is they have their place in everyone’s diet, the key thing is to find which ratio suits you and your body type best to assist with your training to achieve your goals.

Protein – the building blocks of muscle, protein from the diet increases protein synthesis within the body and also improves recovery from training. Also worth noting for when dieting is that protein is thermogenic meaning it causes greater fat loss. Increased muscle mass, improving performance and recovery are the key benefits of protein from the diet.

Carbohydrates – the single most affected macro when dieting, to cut or not is usually the question and as outlined this depends on the individual, no one size fits all. The role of carbohydrates is to increase muscle glycogen for energy and also spare dietary and muscle protein from being used as energy so they can be used for their main role as outlined above, after all to create a physique to be proud of you need to let protein do it’s job, carbohydrates allow this to happen optimally.

Fats – the main role of fats in the diet is at cellular level and for energy, again it is protein sparing but is also key for all the hormonal responses created through your training. EFA’S also need to be consumed, as they cannot be synthesized in the body.

Make yourself a winner - As featured in Alpha Fit issue 4

There is nothing particularly different about the kind of nutrition you need to become a super athlete. It’s just a case of having the willpower and following David Stache’s four golden rules.

I am often asked what the differences are between the diets I write for elite athlete clients and those of the average gym user wanting to perform or look better. The truth is the same foods work for both – there are no secret foods that elite athletes are eating, nor are there any supplements they have access to that your average gym user cannot get access to. However there are differences between elite and non-elite that I see too often when it comes to nutrition. Here is an overview of those differences.

1. Consistency is the key
This is the number one difference and without doubt the biggest issue when it comes to diet. Eating consistently well brings results – there is no doubt about that. Sticking to a diet requires willpower, but when that diet brings you results that earn you a living, the willpower struggle diminishes. If your salary depended on eating the right foods and sticking to a diet, I’m sure you would.

2. Understand how food works
Either the athlete or their nutritionist they work with will have a good understanding of why they are eating specific foods, why their meal timings are set out as they are and what the implications are of straying from the diet. I’m not saying you have to have a qualification in nutrition, but an understanding of at least what foods are needed and when will improve your performance. [Keeping up with AlphaFit should be a good way to start if you are not sure – Ed.]

3. Plan, plan, plan
Lack of planning: After consistency this is the biggest issue I see for results not coming quick enough. If you don’t plan your foods out and take the time you will stray from your diet. As a good friend Chris Evers – one of the most committed gym members I have – commented: “The engagement with food and the time and the effort you have to put in has to go up if you are to be the best you can be.” To really be the best you have to live the life in the kitchen too.

4. Don’t forget about micronutrients
So often I see how yoing guys are using a protein powder, creatine and a pre-workout formula but completely ignore micronutrients either from their diet or from supplements. At the very least you should use a multivitamin. Other micronutrients such as zinc and Vitamin D are excellent for both body composition and sports performance, yet these are often ignored too. Contrast this with the elite and they will at the very least be covering all bases either through food or supplementation. I recently ran my own mini-research in to zinc deficiency of 37 males who bought a tub of protein. Some 28 were deficient in zinc, yet only four bought zinc supplements. Begs the question: why did they bother with any supplements?

There’s nothing radical there. All these are just behaviours which elite athletes adhere to and that is what sets them apart in terms of their diet from the average gym user.
So what does it take to be the best? Well, apart from genetics and great skill, the importance of nutrition is not to be underestimated. If you’re not planning out your diet then you won’t ever be the best you can be as you will never see where you could improve. This is integral to constant progress.
So try and implement the above key differences for three months and you will be surprised how much progress you will make.
Follow David on Twitter @totalbd or on his website www.totalbodydevelopment.co.uk.

Writing your own cutting diet

This is version 2 of this article, I originally wrote this for people wanting to drop weight for summer however as now is a time where a lot of people are looking to lose weight and get fit and healthy I have added a few things. This is not just about losing weight though at the end you will have been eating healthy foods and exercising for 12 weeks that is enough time to make a dramatic change to anyone’s physique and health.

As summer is the time most people want to look good, now is the time to think about just how good you want to look in that bikini or those pair of speedo's..... the earlier you start the diet and training routine the easier it will be and the better the results, crash dieting 2 weeks before a holiday will leave you feeling flat and by the 2nd day of your holiday you'll look no better than before you started.

However giving yourselves a good 12 weeks will leave you looking and feeling a lot better. Here's a quick guide of how to plan your holiday diet:

start with getting your bodyweight in LBS and times by 13 for a starting point of total calories (Why 13 you ask? Well most online calorie calculators will give you a figure close to this and obviously they are all backed by science!), then use a simple macro split of 40/40/20 (protein/carbs/fats). Protein should come from lean sources, carbs from complex sources and fats should be healthy fats. Sugars and alcohol should be significantly lowered. The odd treat is fine but drinking every weekend will slow your progress down by up to a 3^rd, that means you would have to do an extra 6 weeks to get the results!

Weeks 1-2 – drop all junk food slowly and switch to 3 meals and 2 snacks each day over the first 2 weeks, include more fruit and veg, especially green fiberous veg (broccoli, green beans, spinach etc)

Weeks 2-4 – keep your diet the same and hit the gym, 2-3 times a week with a mix of weights as a full body strength routine and cardio (intervals and sprints for up to 20 minutes will yield the best results). Also adding SSCV at the end of weights for 15 minutes will help burn fat.

Weeks 4-8 – each week lower your carb intake gradually, if you start on 300g of carbs per day then each week drop your daily intake by 25g you should only be consuming complex carbs by this point. At this point you could add a couple of steady state morning cardio sessions. By week 8 you will be on 200g Carbs per day.

Weeks 9-12 – again lower Carbs by 50g a day (200kcal total) each week this is when it gets hard in theory but once at this stage you should be well and truly seeing results which will spur you on. Keep training the same, 3 times a week with weights and at least 4 cardio sessions a week: SSCV either AM or post weights or Intervals/sprint sessions. By week 12 you will be on 100g Carbs each day.

Your weights routine should be progressive if you find you are losing strength too quickly then hold the Carbs at the same amount for a week or 2 and ensure you are fuelling your workouts correctly. CV should be in the form of Intervals/sprints and be up to 20 minutes, where you put this is up to you but away from weights would be best.

There's your quick guide to getting your diet started, feel free to write one up and post it on the wall for us to have a look at.