Quick and Easy Chicken, Chickpea and Salsa Salad

This easy to make recipe is high in protein, low in fat and perfect for workout fuel. Makes enough for one person.

Ingredients 

• 1 piece of Chicken Breast
• 10 Cherry Tomatoes
• ½ a Cucumber
• Shredded Lettuce Leaves (or Baby Spinach) 
• Thyme or Mixed Herbs
• Juice of ½ a Lemon
• 200g Can of Chickpeas – drained 
• Salsa

1.     Preheat Grill to 180 degrees. Sprinkle the thyme or mixed herbs on top of the chicken and grill the chicken breast for 15 minutes or until fully cooked. 

2.     Whilst waiting for the chicken to cook, slice the tomatoes in half and cucumber into small chunks and shred the lettuce leaves or baby spinach.

3.     Drain the chickpeas, place in a bowl and add 1 desert spoon of salsa and a little bit of the lemon juice, mix well.

4.     Once the chicken is cooked, slice into small chunks, and mix with another desert spoon of salsa.

5.     Mix all of the ingredients together, add the rest of the lemon juice and serve!

6.     Extra salad ingredients such as pepper or sweetcorn can be added if you wish!

 Gymtrition

 Gym.Training.Nutrition

Review: Grenade Thermo Detonator

There are many companies that now offer fat burners that have a thermogenic effect on the body in order to support training and increase metabolic rate. Grenade Thermo Detonator is a pre workout supplement made to "Declare war on fat". The main ingredients included in grenade supplements are Green Tea, Bitter Orange Powder, Caffeine Anhydrous, Cayenne and Green Coffee. The benefits of Green Tea have been discussed previously in the 'Going Green' review available from Gymtrition. Each two Grenade supplements contain a huge 500mg of Green Tea, the equivalent of drinking around 6 cups of Green Tea. In every two supplements there is also 420mg of Bitter Orange Powder, which is a much higher quantity than found in most other fat burning supplements. 

All of the ingredients in the supplements mixed together make a powerful fat burner! Cayenne Pepper works to produce heat in the body, supplying a thermogenic effect and working to increase metabolism.  Caffeine is an ingredient found in most fat burning products, due to it's ability to liberate fat from cells to enable them to be converted to be used as energy by the body. 

The recommended dosage of Grenade Thermo Detonator is two capsules on an empty stomach upon waking with water and then two capsules again 30 minutes prior to lunch with water. Alternatively, take two capsules prior to training. Grenade's guidelines state that individuals should not exceed four capsules per day.

Tried and Tested: What did we think?

In comparison to other fat burning supplements previously tried, Grenade's Thermo Detonator seemed to have extremely positive effects. As a pre workout supplement, Grenade works effectively in supplying explosive energy enabling an effective training regime. If you are lacking motivation to exercise, taking Grenade can give you that extra energy boost you might just need! The fat burner also worked extremely well in doing exactly what it states it will do...fat burning! The combination of Green Tea, Cayenne and Caffeine is extremely effective in providing a thermogenic effect and helping to burn fat as energy. 

The Downsides:

Firstly, Grenade is fairly pricey in comparison to some other fat burners. It costs £29.99 for 44 capsules or £44.99 for 100 capsules. This doesn't sound too bad, but when you consider the fact you will be taking 4 capsules a day, it needs replacing pretty quickly! The 44 capsule pack lasts only 11 days! Secondly, the caffeine content is fairly high! For me, this made me feel quite shakey and sometimes left me feeling slightly sick, even several hours after completing my workout. 

Overall Verdict:

Overall, I believe this product is one of the best fat burners out there! Despite the price, it is an extremely effective supplement that can be implemented into most training plans. If you are looking to burn fat fast, this product will most likely be very beneficial to you. Although the caffeine content is high and this will have some side effects for some people, you are likely to find the same problem in most if not all fat burning supplements that you take. Overall, I would highly recommend this product to those with fat burning as one of their goals!

Grenade Thermo Detonator is available at:  http://www.grenadefatburner.com/products-page/grenade-product/

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Gym.Training. Nutrition

Keeping Track of Progress: The Benefits of Keeping a Workout Journal

I've mentioned in previous posts about the importance of being specific with goal setting and having measurable goals in order to track your progress. One of the most beneficial ways to track your progress is by keeping a workout journal. This can be as simple as jotting down your daily workout activities and nutrition in a normal diary, or can be as complex as recording precise nutrional details, calorie intake, heart rate intervals and % of heart rate max, as well as an exact detailing of the workout(s) you complete. 

There are loads of options available when it comes to purchasing a workout diary. There are simple diaries focused on general fitness goals, or specific diaries that allow you to focus on reaching specific training goals. These are a few of my personal favourites:

The workout log from Fitness Guru comes in two colours, black and pink. At the top of each page it allows you to record general details such as date, gym and training partner, along with more specific details such as weight, timings, motivation and sleep. 

There is then a section for nutrition. This allows you to record food and drink intake as well as pre and post training supplements.

The main focus of the page is then on recording your training routine in detail. Firstly there is a section for recording cardio, and has space allocated for distance, time, speed, intensity and calorie expenditure.  The second part of the page has space allocated for recording strength exercises. Including several columns for kg/reps. Lastly at the bottom of the page there is a notes section, where you can record any extra details of your training or nutrition for that day.


The workout log from Fitness Guru costs £14.90 and is a very good price for the detailed content it involves. If you have never kept a workout diary before, I would highly recommend this as a good way to get started! It's simple to use but allows you to keep track of all of the information you need to stay focused on achieving your training goals!

Another alternative is the Body Minder Workout and Exercise Journal. This journal is easy to follow but allows you to keep a more detailed account of your training. It includes both daily records and weekly schedule forms to enable you to keep track of how you are progressing from week to week. On each day, there is space for specific exercise details, including equipment settings, sets and reps, heart rate, muscle groups used and much more! It also has space to record non specific daily activities such as walking the dog or playing sport. This really is a fantastic way of tracking your progress! The more specific you are with your details, the more you have to compare and the more you will be able to notice your progress! The weekly schedule forms also allow a much easier way to track progress rather than just comparing everyday. Comparing weekly will enable you to see real progress, in comparison to the small changes that may seem insignificant if you are comparing everyday. 

There is also space available for recording nutrition. The Body Minder Journal allows you to record your meals as well as nutritional supplements and vitamins taken. The best thing about the Body Minder Workout and Exercise Journal that really makes it stand out is all of the additional extra's you get with it! It provides heart and blood pressure range charts to enable you to understand your results, even if you are a complete newbie to fitness analysis. There are also food counts on over 100 different foods, progress charts, personal game scores and fitness expenses as well as space at the back for holding notes. If you want to be detailed and specific, and really track and monitor your progress, then this is the workout journal for you! The only downside is the price. At £25.95 it is a lot more pricey than the workout log from Fitness Guru, however, for the detailed content it includes, I would highly recommend it and agree the price is worth paying!

Lastly, the other alternative is keeping your own workout journal. You can take inspiration from other workout journals when deciding what to include and can purchase a simple day to day diary to record your details. This is beneficial if you want a diary completely specific to you! It is also a good idea if you want more space to record details! You can purchase a diary with a whole page a day, giving you plenty of space to record every detail each day. However, it is a lot more time consuming to make, and in my opinion a lot harder to stick to! If you know you have to write up all of the details everyday it may put you off and lead to you giving up with tracking progress. The workout journals above are easy to complete, and the perfect size to fit in your gym bag and carry round with you at all times! If you have never completed a workout journal before, then now is a good time to start! Make it your new years resolution to complete a workout journal all year, and at the end of the year you can look back at how far you have progressed and really notice the changes!

The Workout Log from Fitness guru is available at : www.fitnessguru.com
The Body Minder Workout and Exercise Journal is available at: www.biovea.net 

Gymtrition

Gym.Training.Nutrition 

The Start of the 2014 Chapter!

"Success is not final, failure is not fatal, it's the courage to continue that counts." - Winston Churchill

Happy New Year everyone! For us, this year will see the launch of Gymtrition, a website committed to giving you the latest updates on everything in the fitness industry! We hope you start 2014 with ambitions, goals and plans to make this year your best year yet. Everyday is another chance to change your life, and what better way to start than on the first day of the new year!

If you have a goal set to achieve by the end of the year, break it down. Set yourself different goals to reach by the end of each month! That way you can track your progress and step by step notice how you are one step closer to achieving your goal for the year. Specific and measurable goals are an important part of being successful.

Aim high and be proud of yourself for what you accomplish! Happy 2014!