Product Review - Biotest Z12

Hey Guys,

Today I am talking about Biotest Z12

Z12 is a sleep specific supplement that is designed to be slightly more effective than standard ZMA.

Here is what Biotest have to say about it,

The Biotest Z12 is a new product which has been developed to help make sure that athletes and bodybuilders alike all get a nice and well earned full night sleep.

The formula for this product has been specially manipulated to help make sure that you do not experience the "hangover" generally associated with sleeping pills.

This product can also be great for anyone who is need of a relaxing sleep before a big day ahead of them, for example a job interview, an athletic meet or an exam.

Travelers can also find it quite useful as they often sleep in beds that they are not accustomed to and the Z12 is great in helping to prevent an anxiety-packed day and turn it into a much more tolerable one.

And the label,

Now I am a big fan of normal ZMA and include it my own, and my clients nutritional plans simply because it has such a positive effect on sleep and recovery. I use ZMA pretty much Monday to Friday every week (I take a little break to keep it effective), so I was looking forward to trying this.

I started with a dose of two tablets and it worked pretty well. I feel asleep quickly and more importantly, stayed asleep all night. I then increased my dose to 3 caps. This is when I encountered a problem. Through the week I like to get up pretty early and make a start on the day. However when I took 3 caps I simply couldn't wake up. Even after I had coffee and walked my dogs I still felt drowsy, like I could easily fall asleep again. It wasn't just me either, my wife had a very similar effect when we upped her dose.

However if I allowed myself to wake up naturally and not use an alarm clock I felt great.

My conclusion is that the stuff is simply to effective for every day use. For everyday use I would recommend normal ZMA, however if you are looking for a longer, deeper sleep then I would recommend the Z12. While I won't have this as a staple in my nutrition, I will use it for things such as travelling or when I really need to catch up on my recovery.

All in all a decent product, however I would use with slight caution. I wouldn't want to be giving a big presentation the after a higher dose. If you travel a lot then these could be a real winner for helping you sleep and recover!

Biotest Z12 is available HERE for £35.99 for 40 servings

Stay Healthy,

Mike,

PS Don't forget that I now have some fantastic offers on the website for clothing and Nutrition Plans (MORE REDUCTIONS)

Video with Roll Supreme and yours truly...

Hey Guys,

Incisor you missed it, here is a video with your truly and Jack from Roll Supreme.

This video series is to accompany the article series that we are doing together on Nutrition Plans for BJJ.

We will be covering a lot of topics in the upcoming series and will be doing videos to match so make sure you keep checking back to see what's going on and how this can help your own nutrition!

If you have any questions about your own nutrition, please take a look at the site or ask a question in the free Q&A

Stay Healthy,

Mike

What's happening with me.

Hey Guys,

Recently I realise that I have been posting a lot of content about what has been going on at the business end of Unorthodox Nutrition but not about what has been happening with myself (people want to know for some unknown reason). So today I thought I would post an update with what I have been working on.

This year I set myself the goal of improving my athletic performance. That meant I needed to get stronger, faster and more explosive. I also wanted to do some long term metabolism maintenance (or reverse dieting as some people call it).

As regular readers will know that I am a big fan of Jim Wendlers 5/3/1. This is because while it focuses on strength it can be adapted to fit any goal. With BJJ in mind I focus on the main lifts but add in sports specific movements and a ton of work for the lower back, abs and hamstrings plus a load of shoulder mobility as I'm a broken old man. Another big component of the plan is dynamic work such as a variety of jumps and throws to help improve explosiveness.

With this programme I have been able to improve the following lifts at a body weight of 72KG,

• Deadlift from 165 - 200kg
• Squat from 100 - 150KG
• Overhead press from 60 - 90KG

While these numbers aren't going to light the world on fire, it is quite a good improvement. I only test my PRs once every 6 months and will continue to run the same programme for at least the next 6 months. After that I will be adding a lot more volume and isolation work as my wedding and honeymoon are just right round the corner :) 

The workout currently takes me about 30-45 mins depending on how much accessory work I do. Some days I'm pushed for time so I just hit the main lift and get out of there, other days when I have the time I do a lot more accessory movements.

As far as diet goes I am trying to increase my metabolic threshold while staying under 75KG. This involves using a mixture of weight, performance, the tape measure and mirror to know when to increase things. I only increase my calories at about 5% a time with the marcos of choice being fat or carbs. I will keep doing this till about March when I will start to cut back a bit of the wedding etc. I will probably do a mini diet for around 4 weeks just before Christmas just to lean out a tad.

I will keep posting updates here or if you have any direct questions, comment below or use the Q&A

Stay Healthy,

Mike

Product Review - MyProtein Wrist Straps

Hey Guys,

Today I am going to be talking about MyProtein Wrist Support Straps

Wrist straps are used when lifting weights to protect the lifter from sprains, strains and other injuries. They do this by supporting the wrist, allowing it to stay in a straight line under the bar while remaining flexible.

Here is what MyProtein have to say about the product,

Product Overview

The Myprotein Wrist Wraps are designed to offer enhanced comfort and support to wrists while reducing the risk of sprains and injury during workouts.

Made from durable cotton these elasticated wraps are fully adjustable and fasten with a strong Velcro grip. They are complete with an elasticated thumb loop for added comfort and easy wrapping.

Sold in pairs, our wrist wraps are approximately 30cm long and stretch to fit all wrist sizes.

Key Benefits

• Elasticated & fully adjustable
• Supports wrists
• Thumb loop for easy fit

When I got the straps I was impressed by the look and quality of the product. However after a few uses and washes the stitching on the right hand strap started to come undone, making it impossible to use.

I E mailed MyProtein with the details of what had happened and within a few days a brand new pair of straps was on my doorstep.

I am very happy to say that the new straps stood up to numerous tests and washes with not one stitch coming loose. The wraps really supported my wrists and allowed my to push things when going for Rep PRs and trying to break actual PRs.

While many will say that your wrists get all the support they need from heavy training and devices such as these are a crutch, I use these as a precaution to protect myself from injury. As an athlete I want the majority of my focus to be in my sport and not in the weight room. Tweaking a wrist or injuring myself in a way that keeps me from practice is counter productive to lifting in the first place.

It os for this reason that I highly recommend you picking some of these up!

The Wrist Straps can be purchased from MyProtein for £7.99 (don't forget that all clients also get discount!)

Stay Healthy,

Mike

Blog series with Roll Supreme

Hey Guys,

Today I am going too introduce you to a new series that me and Jack from Roll Supreme are going to be running. The series is going to be focusing on the nutrition and training of Jack with loads of cool posts and videos.

During the series we are going to look at what Jacks goals are and how a solid nutrition plan and more importantly the adjustments of that plan will lead to him accomplishing his goals and feeling a load better.

The series will include detailed looks at,

• Training
• Recovery
• Health
• Metabolism
• Nutrition planning
• Food choices
• Adjustments to the plan (and why)
• Hints and tips
• Videos

And many more!

This is going to be a really detailed series that will hopefully give you some great ideas for your own Nutrition.

You can find the first instalment HERE

If you have any questions about the series then please use the contact form here and we will address them in later articles :)

Stay Healthy,

Mike

Great article on Injury and Recover

Hey Guys,

As many of you know, athletes get injured. No matter what sport you compete in, if you are pushing yourself to improve you're going to pick up the odd injury.

Now the problem comes when coming back from that injury. People either rush back and don't take the time to heal (bad idea) or become scared/lazy and do absolutely nothing (another bad idea).

Coming from a man that has had his fair share of set backs and a few surgeries under his belt, I can tell you that the best course of action is somewhere in the middle.

While all injuries must be diagnosed correctly (by a Doctor, not the internet) and treated correctly, there are ALWAYS things that you can do to improve. Just recently I have pulled a muscle in my back that makes pretty much everything painful. Have I just laid here and moaned about not being able to train? No (well I moaned a little to my misses), I trained what I could and looked to improve in other areas.

Here is a list of the things that I have trained while injured,

• Stretching
• Mobility work
• Technique drills
• Isolation movements that don't stress my back.
• Movements that allow me to get blood into my back without over loading it.

I would challenge anyone who said that they cannot train at all unless they needed major spinal surgery. There is always something that you can do it improve. Not doing anything just demonstrates how all those posts about being a 'beast' and dedicated were just talk.

Training progress is measured over the course of YEARS not weeks or months. If you can move, you can train or improve.

Here are a couple of articles that I have found helpful on the subject. The first is on injuries as a whole and the second is on shoulder injury (as this is common and something that helped me a lot).

You can find them HERE and HERE

Give them a read and let me know what you think.

Stay healthy,

Mike

Product Review - Saviour Tea

Hey Guys,

As some of you will know I'm British, and as all TV shows/movies/magazines and social media will tell you, we British love a good brew.

Since this stereotype isn't a million miles away I was really happy to receive some tea from the folks over as Saviour Tea

Saviour Tea is a great new brand that focuses on helping improve your health and well being through the awesomeness of a brew.

Here is what they had to say about themselves,

In 2013, my deteriorating condition was identified as Adrenal Fatigue and I had to drastically change my lifestyle in order to regain my health. I had sustained many injuries during my time playing rugby that had never fully healed and forced me to rely on pain killers. I also had a demanding job in the nightlife industry, which involved heavy alcohol consumption. These factors were putting huge strains on my body and I became very ill. A change needed to be made so I quit my job and rugby and gave up alcohol and painkillers. I had to commit to a life of clean living if I was going to have any chance of making a full recovery.

I was advised by a health specialist to start consuming various herbs to support my adrenal glands and speed up my recovery. The easiest way to take the herbs was in tea form, however, the combinations I needed were not readily available. This led to an idea. To solve this problem I decided to develop my own herbal tea blends by contacting various specialists within the fields of herbs and tea. We developed four unique herbal tea blends that each naturally enhance a specific bodily function and I used them to support my recovery.

As time moved on I noticed something else. As I became stronger and began to exercise again, I realised that my herbal tea blends were having beneficial effects on my training and well-being in general.  I felt less stressed and more energised. I was sleeping better than ever, my training performance improved and I was starting to develop some lean muscle again.  I also discovered that I no longer needed to take supplements – my own herbal tea blends were serving as natural alternatives to these products.

My journey back to health forced me to reassess all areas of my life. I have taken up a new sport in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, developed a new training regime that allows for adequate rest periods and I stick to a nutritionally balanced diet. Every change I’ve made has driven the content of the Saviour blends to ensure they provide support for key lifestyle functions. Now I want others to experience the advantages the teas have given me.

The Saviour herbal tea range is my gift to you. I hope it benefits your active lifestyle as much as it has mine and you continue to reach and surpass your own personal goals!

They were kind enough to send me over one of their Saviour Sports Packages that contained all of their blends. This included,

ENERGY GREEN MATE, GINSENG & GINGKO TEA: TO ENERGISE This Energy Tea is a natural and pure source of mateine – a caffeine like compound. Use in the morning to kick-start your day or as an energy booster before exercise.

GREEN MATE A natural source of mateine. Users report none of the negative side effects associated with drinking caffeinated beverages GINGKO Can help to increase energy by stimulating and enhancing blood circulation through the body GINSENGTraditionally used as an adaptogenic herb that naturally increases energy levels and enhances the body’s ability to deal with mental and physical stress

How It Works: Our Energy Tea is based on the natural power of Green Mate which contains a compound called mateine. It will help you to feel more alert, awake and focused rather than over-stimulated and won’t cause a sudden ‘crash’ like caffeine can. The Ginseng will work with your adrenal glands to help you to deal with mental and physical stress more efficiently. The Gingko can increase blood flow to the working muscles in times of need. This Energy Tea is the perfect natural supplement for your active lifestyle. How To Use: This tea is best used to naturally energise you in the morning and before exercise. It can be enjoyed up to 3 times a day. Origin: Brazil, Thailand, USA, Hungary, Italy, Poland Grown: Up to 2500ft above sea level HYDRATION ROOIBOS & ORANGE TEA: TO HYDRATE Our Hydration Tea is naturally caffeine free. Caffeine acts as a diuretic, which is useful for other functions but its absence from this blend makes it perfect for hydrating the body. Use throughout the day or specifically before and after exercise to quench thirst and refresh the body. ROOIBOS Light and invigorating, naturally caffeine free and rich in minerals and antioxidants NATURAL ORANGE OIL Delivers a pure, refreshing flavour to the blend and a dose of immune boosting Vitamin C How It Works: Our Hydration Tea is based on the power of Rooibos which grows naturally caffeine free. Caffeine acts as a mild diuretic and so its absence means the tea does not force your body to remove excess water. This is also important because it means your body retains the minerals and antioxidants found in Rooibos. The taste is very clean and coupled with the natural orange oil delivers a light and invigorating hit! This Hydration Tea is the perfect natural supplement for your active lifestyle. How To Use: This tea is best used throughout the day or specifically before exercise to hydrate or after exercise to re-hydrate. It can be enjoyed up to 6 times a day. Origin: Cederberg, South Africa Grown: 1500-2500ft above sea level

RECOVERY CAMOMILE, HOPS & PASSION FLOWER TEA: TO ENHANCE RECOVERY This Recovery Tea is a blend of traditional stress relieving herbs. Use in the evening to help you drift into a deep and rejuvenating sleep, which is necessary to help the body recover from fatigue caused by lifestyle and exercise.

CAMOMILE Traditionally used to help the body relax and recover from mental and physical fatigue HOPS Promote deep and restful sleep PASSION FLOWER Can help to calm muscle tension and relieve feelings of anxiety and restlessness

How It Works: Our Recovery Tea is based on the natural power of Camomile which has a mild sedative effect. It encourages relaxation and helps the mind and body to release feelings of stress and anxiety caused by lifestyle and exercise fatigue. The Hops also have a mild sedative effect and help to promote deep and restful sleep which is very important for recovery after a busy day or intense training session. The Passion Flower reduces muscle tension and helps relieve any feelings of restlessness caused by the effects of exercise stimulation and excess adrenaline. This Recovery Tea is the perfect natural supplement for your active lifestyle. How To Use: This tea is best used before bed to promote deep an rejuvenating sleep or after exercise to help relax the body and calm the mind. It can be enjoyed up to 3 times a day. Origin: Egypt, South Africa, Bulgaria, Germany, Vietnam Grown: Various up to 2500ft above sea level METABOLIC GUNPOWDER GREEN, HIBISCUS & POMEGRANTE TEA: TO ENHANCE METABOLIC ACTIVITY This Metabolic Tea can naturally aid weight loss when used in conjunction with a healthy diet and exercise. Use throughout the day or specifically before exercise to stimulate your metabolism and help you achieve your weight loss goals. GUNPOWDER GREEN TEA Contains high levels of polyphenols, which are known to stimulate the metabolism and enhance the bodies thermogenic fat burning activity NATURAL DRIED HIBISCUSTraditionally used as a mild diuretic to help the body remove excess water that can contribute to weight gain NATURAL POMEGRANTE OILContains minerals and polyphenols that boost metabolism and help you to burn fat How It Works: Our Metabolic Tea is based on the natural power of Gunpowder Green Tea which contains high levels of polyphenols including catechins and flavanoids – these deliver powerful antioxidant effects on the body. We are concerned with one particular catechin, Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). This polyphenol is known to enhance thermogenic fat burning activity by stimulating the central nervous system. This prompts the body into a metabolic state that uses fat for fuel. The Natural Dried Hibiscus acts as a mild diuretic helping the body to shed excess water and the Natural Pomegranate Oil delivers added polyphenols and minerals, as well as a fresh taste that compliments the bitterness of the Gunpowder Green Tea. This Metabolic Tea is the perfect natural supplement for your active lifestyle. How To Use: This tea is best used throughout the day to maintain a healthy weight or specifically before exercise to stimulate metabolic activity. It can be enjoyed up to 4 times a day. Origin: UVA, Sri Lanka Grown: 2500-3000ft above sea level

First impressions of the tea is fantastic. They come in sealed packages to keep the freshness of the herbs locked in and to stop the tea from tasting stale. The tea bags themselves are brilliantly made pyramid bags with strings and Saviour Tea labels to help the brewing process even further.

As for the tea it was all fantastic. I loved every flavour apart from the Energy Tea. The rest of the flavours tasted fresh, fruity and was very refreshing. My personal favourite was the Recovery Tea. I had this just before bed and slept like an absolute baby each time, highly recommended! 

This isn't to say that the effects of the other teas aren't there. Each of the teas contain ingredients that have been highlighted as effective in many peer reviewed studies. However it would take a slightly longer use to see the full effects.

I can highly recommend this product, especially to people who want a low calorie, healthier version to normal tea and coffee.

The Saviour Tea Sports package (containing each of the 4 blends) can be purchased HERE for only £34.95

Stay healthy,

Mike

Great Article on Contest day Eating for Strongmen

Hey Guys,

Today I want to share with you an article I read the other day for competition day eating for strongmen.

While being a competitive strongman isn't that popular with the general public, the following article has some great tips for those that participate in day long events where the athlete has to compete a number of times (like grappling and combat sports for example).

You can read the article HERE

Please share the article with anyone you think would benefit and let me know what you think!

Stay healthy,

Mike

A bit more on what i'm doing.

Hey Guys,

The other day I mentioned my goals for the foreseeable future and what I was going to do to try and achieve them.

I just thought I would throw up some short musings on how things are going with me and hopefully you can see how things are starting to take shape.

This will be in bullet points and relate back to the previous post so please give it a read.

Here we go,

• As I add more and more carbs to my workout nutrition I really start to value the importance of them. Especially as I get older my recovery becomes more of a focus and this helps no end.
• Jumping and throwing do wonders for guard passing. Wish I knew this before.
• Lower back and ab work is essential for any combat athlete. It cuts down on injuries and does great stuff for scrambles.
• Red meat plays a big factor in how I feel. More I eat, the better I feel. This isn't true with all fat types.
• Peanut butter is dangerous if I keep it in the office.
• As my training volume and intensity varies week to week (only with grappling, not with weights etc), so my results can vary to. Therefore it is important not to make massive changes in my nutrition but try to reflect intensity with increases.
• As body weight is a factor for me it is important to keep it within a specific range. This means that some weeks it will climb and others it will drop. Because of this it is sometimes better to make no changes and wait for things to average out.
• You can't always add calories to improve metabolism and sometimes it pays to increase one macro while lowering another (mostly playing with fats and carbs).
• Mobility work MUST be done often. 10 mins everyday is easy for everyone and helps more than I can say.
• Same goes for stretching.

That's enough randomness for one day. I will post more stuff as they pop into my head.

Thanks for reading,

Stay Healthy,

Mike

How to Reduce Soreness in BJJ

How to reduce soreness.

What is the biggest limiting factor on how often you train?

Time?

Money?

Or the ability to recover from your training?

For most people (especially when they pass that 30 year mark) it’s the latter. There is no doubt that BJJ can be harsh on the body. Many people get sore from most training sessions, especially when they contain hard sparring.

So how can you reduce or even eliminate the soreness and pain that you get in muscles and joints?

In this article I will look at certain foods, supplements and tactics that you can use to limit the amount of soreness that you get and improve your over all recovery. After all, the better you recover, the more you can train, the better you get!

Before I go any further, this is the part of the article where I tell you that good nutrition beats everything. If your nutrition sucks then your recovery and training will suck. Nothing that I mention in this article will make up for poor nutrition. In many cases having a well thought out nutrition plan will sort 90% of recovery issues. If you’re not sure on how to set up a good nutrition plan then please speak to your coach or a professional.

Ok, with that in mind, let’s look at how we can maximise recovery and reduce soreness.

I’m going to split this into two articles. One that looks at specific recovery techniques while the other on diet and supplementation (coming next month).

Firstly let’s look at specific recovery.

Recovery is hard for BJJ athletes. If they aren’t training then they want to be doing kettlebells, running hills, drilling, jogging, doing hot yoga etc etc. The fact is that most athletes would benefit from doing nothing in between sessions and making sure they get the right amount of sleep. There are however a few things that you can do to maximise recovery.

While I know that many of you will already know about the following things mentioned, I would bet that you don’t do it with any kind of regularity. Hopefully this article will serve to remind you to do these things, rather than giving you some new knowledge that will change your life forever (cool if it does though lol).

Baths

There are many baths that fall under this heading from ice baths, contrast showers, Epsom salt baths and just hot baths.

In my experience the best two that I have found are contrast showers and hot baths. Most people choose not to do contrast showers (no one likes the idea of standing under a freezing shower for a few minutes) however they are by far the most effective in reducing soreness and lactic acid build up in the muscles.

The second is just lying in a VERY hot bath then taking a short nap. I’ve found that this technique works better for the slightly older BJJ athlete however women also seem to favour it.

Foam Rolling.

I don’t think that there are many people out there that don’t know about foam rolling and it’s benefits. However those benefits are so great that it is well worth repeating.

Do your damn foam rolling!

Foam rolling is one of those things that you only realise works when you stop doing it. Get into a habit of doing it (ideally) every day or at least after every session.

A quick youtube search will yield the best movements for your tight areas.

Stretching and Mobility work.

For some strange reason stretching seems to have fallen for favour in the BJJ world.

I have no idea why.

Being able to move better and being more flexible is a massive advantage in a sport where you end up looking like two pretzels trying to kill each other. Not to mention that if your muscles are supple and flexible, they will be able to perform better and therefore recover better.

For Mobility work I recommend doing DeFranco’s agile 8, and for stretching I would recommend on focusing on the hips, hamstrings, groin, chest and back.

Massage.

Lastly I will mention massage. Not the one with a happy ending but a proper sports massage.

While a well done sports massage will be a little painful to get, most people will confess that they feel ten years younger after one. Having one of these done every month or so will keep you in good shape to recover quickly and will help keep your muscles feeling supple rather than tight or achy.

Chances are there is already someone in your gym that does this for a living. However if there isn’t, then other members of your gym will probably be able to recommend a local one.

This is a very short list of techniques and practices that will help you recover quicker and help reduce soreness and pain that normally follows hard training.

Next month we will look at certain things that you can add to your current nutrition plan to help the recover purpose further.

Stay healthy,

Mike

A BIT MORE ON SUPPLEMENTAL LIFTS AND PROGRAMMING.

Hey Guys,

As most of you will know I have been posting vids and articles about weight training for athletes recently.

While I strongly believe that weight training is incredibly important for athletes (especially combat athletes), most people are flat out doing it wrong.

Most people are either doing to much, doing to much to often, or doing a programme that has zero carry over to their sport.

In this VIDEO Dave Tate of Elite FTS talks about how to programme the main lifts with the most carry over and then accessory and supplemental exercises to gain the best results. While this video is aimed at power lifts, it's easy to apply this to pretty much any sport with a bit of creative thinking.

I'm hoping to post some more specific stuff very shortly.

Stay Healthy,

Mike

Recovery.

Hey Guys,

Today I just want to share a great video from dave Tate on recovery.

You can see the video HERE

This is a really interesting video for athletes as it goes over your ability to recover from certain things such as ploy work to heavy singles.

This is really important as how many guys do you know that max out on squat or deadliest then  go and hard spar?

This is something that is holding everyone back and its something I'm going to look at more in future posts.

Hope you enjoy the video.

Stay healthy,

Mike

PS I still have the offer for a 4 week nutrition plan for ONLY £25 on the website!!