Asking a Question:
Whether its about equipment, nutrition or looking to find trusted training advice backed by industry professionals, we've got you covered.
Once you've asked your questions, you will get a direct response from a team member with insightful tips and insight catered directly to what you've asked for a completely personalised experience. We will then anonymously put the question and our answer below for the rest of our community to see.
If we are unable to provide an answer we will make recommendations to speak with industry professionals who can assist within their scope of practice.
Let's get started and ask us your questions.
What are some tips to stay motivated?
The BEST thing to do is get started with an Action. This will trigger a response that you know you're about to get moving. Example - putting on your runners/sneakers. The minute they are on, the first action is made, and the next action is to workout/move and nothing else. A great quote I hear a lot, "the best time to start was 10 years ago, the second best time is today.
Relate the process of working out/getting healthier/training, specific to the reason you started. Set a clear goal you are looking to achieve, and set incremental goals along the entire journey to help you be motivated each step of the way.Â
Make your "WHY" so clear cut and put reminders in place so you keep accountable, motivated and disciplined to achieve that "why".Â
The Fitness Experts Response
See below to find your questions matched with our Answers.
Fast ways to Gain Weight?
To gain weight you will be required to eat in a calorie surplus, but how do you know if you are in a calorie surplus?
You will need to find your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) and your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE). Once you have established these, you will need eat at a % above those calories (between 5 - 15% is Fitness Warehouse's recommendation).
Meaning if your BMR & TDEE comes to 2500 calories, a 10% increase would be an extra 250 calories, meaning a daily intake of 2750 would put you into a surplus.
For further assistance on this, we recommend speaking to Nutritionist, Crystal Trace from Strength lab.
How to do correct form with strength training?
Our Managing Director - Kieran put up a very insightful blog post around all things fitness, which can be found here:Â
In section 4 he recommended a book called "Starting Strength - Basic Barbell Training" which is a great place to start when it comes to learning correct form and a strength approach to training.Â
What is the Best Equipment to train Abs?
Looking at ab equipment specifically there are many great options. The Xpeed X-Series Sit Up Bench would be the ideal Recommendation. Use this 3 times a week minimum to build a strong core .Shop Here
To get an idea of what exercises you can complete on a sit-up bench, there is a blog on this showing 3 great variations of ab exercises to complete with a decline sit up bench. Click Here
How to make the most of your Treadmill?
Check Out Warehouse of Knowledge where you can find a great range of answers and information for all your fitness needs - here's 3 blogs specific to your question, to make the most of your equipment & to assist with some training!
BLOG1: Treadmill Oil - The Does and Don'ts of Lubricating your Treadmill -Click Here this is the best place to read on maximising the longevity of your equipment.Â
BLOG2: From Couch to 5k - a Basic Treadmill Training Guide -click here this would be a great place to start when finding a basic training guide for information.Â
BLOG3: A Healthy Heart: A Deep Dive Into Heart Rate Zones -Click here This is our latest blog release, highly informative to training progression in alignment with your heart rate - You can plenty of other information all within the Warehouse of Knowledge to assist you further!Â
How much water to drink when taking Creatine?
Great question! Fitness Warehouse has been selling supps for years and this is a common question
In terms of consumption, a minimum 300ml of water or liquid is best.
This should give it the appropriate amount of liquid to dissolve in.
In regards to your entire water daily intake when taking creatine for your training & health needs. Aim for 1L of water per 25kg of bodyweight.Â
This will help the creatine get to the muscles and saturate the muscle cells entirely of the creatine to optimise the results
Best Wholefood Protein Source options?
GrassFed & Grass Finished sources -
Grass Fed and Grass Finished are great options as the animal has lived stress free and given non processed food sources. Grass Fed is also great and readily accessible at all your Super Markets (Woolies - Macro Brand, Coles - Graze Brand, Aldi - its a green labelling instead of the Aldi Blue) - these brands cater for Beef and Chicken (woolies & Coles)
Eggs - Eggs are one of the purest forms of protein you can get in terms of whole food. A clean source, an incredible source of fat too with the Yolk. The best option to look for in eggs are pasture-raised and also how many hens per hectare of land. Again you can get great options from your local supermarkets, however if you want the best quality whole food source, and are from Adelaide, try Happy Little Clucker - they are located within the Adelaide Central Markets.
And if you are plant-based - Legumes, Tofu, Nuts, Seeds & Quinoa
What do I do to lose weight?
In order to lose weight, you have to follow the law of thermodynamics where you are in a caloric deficit. A caloric deficit quite simply, burning more calories than you are consuming across your day.
In terms of exercises there are many different options
A great place to start would be reading the blog about Strength V Cardio training for weight loss. You can find this hereÂ
It is important to exercise in ways that bring you joy - the more we enjoy exercising the more we are likely to stick at it.
What are some easy at Home exercises to do to lose weight?
Check out someYoutube Channels below that may be great options to follow along from home, while providing a range of variety of workouts for any experience level:
Fitness Blenders- The hosts of the channel are both Certified Trainers and have hundreds of workouts to choose from
Chloe is a significant name in the fitness influencer realm of social media.
Sydney has a range of workouts varying in experience level. Each thumbnail is clearly labelled giving you a quick and easy decision to make before starting
Are Ice Baths for Everyone?
Fitness Warehouse believes Ice Baths are an incredible tool that are increasingly popular in the wellness space, and even more so among professional sporting clubs and those really looking to maximise their recovery.
They can be brutal to do, especially in colder months, but everyone can benefit.
a Hot Tip, when you are doing a cold immersion, focus solely on your breathing. Take Deep Controlled breathes during your immersion, and the oxygen delivery through your body will help with feeling warm during the experience.
How to keep energy levels up while training?Â
Great Question & ties in really well with your first question. As mentioned, consider your carbohydrate intake before training, and if you want to, you can also add carbohydrates during your session (in the form of a Powerade, or Gatorade/ Sports Drink for example). To add to that you can consume electrolytes into your session, and beforehand, to help with energy product through your muscles and training. Lastly, you can also consider supplementation. For example a pre workout, pending on what amounts of caffeine you are able to have & if you have had one before, a pre workout is great to help support energy, focus, endurance and blood flow to your muscles too
 How fasting can help overall performance?Â
Great question, and with fasting periods becoming increasingly popular for health, one that's really worth looking into deeper. To break it down in brief:
Fasting Benefits:Â
- Improves metabolic Flexibility, by training the body to use fat for energy, reduces the resilience to carb intake.Â
- Improves Stability of energy especially during in longer sessions
- Can support the reduction in inflammation
- improve insulin sensitivity...just to name a few
Where fasting may not be beneficial...Â
- session beyond 90 minutes - you want to have sufficient fuel and carbohydrates to support that level of workout
- High Intensity interval training - ensuring you have fast acting carbs for energy is important to support the efforts you are putting into the workout.Â
- Max strength blocks - max effort training, like the sessions above, again need appropriate fuel to ensure you perform at your best.Â
what type of stretches should people do for longevity?
Great question, and to be completely honest, there are alot of benefits to many different stretches.
If you are looking for specific stretches to support longevity of training and athleticism here are a few to consider.
Hip Flexor Stretches - such as kneeling hip flexor stretch&90/90 hip rotation
Thoracic Stretch -Thread the needle stretch
Shoulder/Chest Stretch -Overhead Lat Stretch
Spine Decompression -Dead hang
Frequently Asked Question
Food and Working Out?
The most common question so far has been what food should I be eating for weight loss or for my goal; often paired with what exercises should I be doing, or how many times a week. Both great questions with high value answers for each.
Food directly is your fuel for working out, regardless of whether you're building strength, training for endurance or looking to lose weight, fueling with the right foods and the appropriate volumes is crucial to improving performance and working towards your goals.
Food and Exercise should be considered partners to performance and not opponents, exercising and appropriate nutrition will fast track your results.
To look further into the important of nutrition, read the blog "Achieving Your Fitness Goals: The Role Of Diet And Staying Motivated" - here
The Fitness Experts Response
How to lose weight and stay strong?
This is a challenging thing because naturally as we lose weight, we often lose a little bit of strength. The best way to maintain and increase strength is ensure you are following a consistent program with your training that tracks your weights and reps. Tracking your training will give you that clear outline of how to progress and where. Nutrition-wise, often when losing weight we become tired because we aren't eating a lot of food, to obviously lose that extra weight. Try consuming carbohydrates prior to your workout, that are fast acting - this will give you a spike of energy, and fuel your workouts and therefore strength.
Approximately how many hours should I train a day to gain muscle and become more fit?
Great Question! Pending on the style of training you are doing, lets make this specific to strength and hypertrophy training.
Training for 45 - 60 minutes, 3 - 5 times a week with weights is enough to build muscle, as long as you are progressively overloading across your training sessions on a weekly basis. You can progressively overloading by increasing weight, increasing reps, increasing sets and many other ways across your program.
Be sure to be consuming enough protein and calories across your day, you will need to be in a calorie surplus in order to build muscle. You can refer to the gain weight questions above to see how to eat in a calorie surplus
How many days a week should i be exercising to improve my physical health?
Training consistently is going to be hugely beneficial. As for how many times, it comes down to what suits your routine, how well you recovery and if you are following a specific program.
Fitness Warehouse's recommendation would be at minimum 3 days a week to see great improvements to your health, and maximum 5 days a week. Having 2 days rest throughout the week is going to be significant to your recovery and your ability to keep training at intensity week on week.
When is the best time to take Creatine?
A common question and a great one!
There is multiple researches that have conflicting results, of whether pre workout or post workout is best.
Some suggest pre workout, for quicker absorption with your pre workout drink, others suggest post workout with a protein and carbohydrate source so it gets delivered to the muscle faster.
Fitness Warehouse's Recommnedation - taking the recommended daily dose of 5g, at whatever time is best for your routine. Why? because in order for creatine to be effective and have full saturation, you will need to take it daily, regardless if you train on the day or not. So taking it at any time that suits your routine, is going to ensure your daily requirements are met.
Top Tips for staying motivated and engaged with your fitness routine from home?
The importance of an engaging workout is going to help you be motivated and disciplined, so thankyou for your question!
Fitness Warehouse's number 1 Tip for this would be find exercises and workouts that you enjoy, whether its body weight, cardio, strength training, the exercises you enjoy the most, as the ones that you will find most engaging and most motivated to do.
How can I build a sustainable fitness routine that fits into a busy lifestyle?
Life is busy, from the 9 - 5 work life, family, friends, social life and more, it can be challenging to build sustainability into your routine that also matches your goal. The routine is going to be completely dependent on your goals. Whether you're building strength, improving cardio or looking to be more functional across the board; there's a variety of routines that may be suited to you. An important thing to remember, is that while movement and exercise is important, training 5 - 6 - 7 times a week may not be sustainable & also doesn't allow you to rest. You can get great results with 3 - 4 days of training a week, and the sessions don't need to be longer than an hour.
How to lose fat and gain muscle?
There is a very fine line on completing this effectively.Â
- Our tips would be to consume enough protein in your diet (1.8g - 2.2g per kg of bodyweight).
- Consume your carbohydrates around your training for energy support and glycogen replenishment.
- Ensure you are training strength based and with weights, ensure you are progressively overloading your training by increasing reps, weight lifted, and other techniques along these lines. 3 - 5 times a week of strength training is a sweet spot.
- In order to still lose fat you do have to be in a calorie deficit, to achieve both you are best sort out to have your caloric intake as close to maintenance as possible while hitting your macronutrients. A deficit of 250 calories per day is ideal for building muscle and losing fat at the same time.
Do you need pre workout?
Pre Workout is a supplement and is not 100% necessary to support your training.
You can however, use a pre workout to help support your training during times you need an increase in energy. Beyond the caffeine and energy support, a pre workout will further support your focus, power and endurance with a blend of different ingredients that scientifically activate cells and blood flow differently to support throughout your sessions. So while a pre-workout is not necessary, they definitely play their part in getting the most out of a workout.
What’s the best morning routine for overall health
A great question, and one that is really broad to answer. The best routine is one that you can stick to consistently each and every morning, based on what your day and schedule may look like. To elevate your morning routine here are a few things that you can implement, where you see fit, in order to energise your day.Â
1 - Electrolytes / Hydrate upon waking. It's common for many people to wake up and have a coffee first thing in the morning (me included at times), a great point of action would be to wake up and have 600ml of water with a scoop or sachet of electrolytes mixed in, to support your hydration and energy production throughout the day.Â
2 - Breakfast - Pending on what your goals are, waking up and fueling your body is a great way to start the day for overall health. A high protein meal to start will keep you satiated and feeling fuller to start your morning.Â
3 - if you can brave it! Cold exposure, whether that's an ice bath, or a cold shower, starting your morning with cold exposure is a great way to boost your dopamine, reducing stress, inflammation while boosting your mood.
How to motivate yourself?
Great question again, and one that I think everyone struggles with at some point of their journey. For me personally, what keeps me motivated is small incremental rewards when achieving a goal. Consistency is obviously super important, so for example if I was on a weight cut/weight loss journey, I typically set small incremental goals of 3 - 5kgs to help keep me motivated. Once I achieve 1, I will reward myself with some "sometime" food, like some cookies, a donut, as a reward.However everyone is motivated by different factors. So reflect on your why, what's the purpose for you working on the goal, use that every day as a reminder. When the days get hard, you will relate back to that why, and get it done
What are the most effective ways to recover and prevent injury while training?
To keep this one simple but provide you something high value! We have just released a completely FREE 139 page E-Book which covers everything you are talking about. This is called "Wellness: A Full Comprehensive Guide" and you can get your copy here - When you land on the page, drop your email and confirm your email, and the email we send you will have a direct download link to the guide for you.Â
Looking for more knowledge bombs?
Warehouse of Knowledge
Check out the large range of Blogs that covers all of your health and fitness needs. From training tips, equipment insights and updates from our beloved Director himself, it really is a Warehouse full of Knowledge.
