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The big story today is about just 4 kids in 10 aged 7 years getting enough exercise.

This is a terrible statistic and one which will have dire consequences for those upcoming generation expecting the already overloaded NHS to cope with the upcoming problems with obesity, blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, arthritis etc etc.

The government response is to cut more money from the sports and leisure budget, charge kids a lot more to use playing fields, and the news is that the leisure centres in wales are unsustainable losing on average £500, 000 each year!

I will give you an example of government priorities on health.

The council said months ago that there was money to improve your premises.

We put in for it as a gym that had a huge junior membership.

We found out this week that they gave a lot of the money to a local pub, encouraging people to drink more alcohol and eat more fatty food. Now that sounds like a GREAT investment!!! Pubs are closing in alarming numbers so a great future investment there too!!

We were told that they would give the money to people who are taking the town forward.

Great idea again! Let’s make people even more overweight and let’s strain the NHS even more!!!

Apparently, our gym which helps an enormous amount of kids and people of all ages out, was NOT the way forward!!!!!

Nice to see your hard-earned tax is going to support an ever-increasing obesity problem, and they wonder why our population is getting more and more unhealthy!!!

Great sessions don’t happen by accident.

What I would give a seasoned athlete would be very inappropriate for even a very fit person in general terms. The seasoned athlete reached that wonderful level through hard work, a very good diet, lots of regular sleep , and a fierce will to succeed at a very high level. There would have been no letting up of that effort.

The very fit person in normal gym standards would have also put a very good effort in most of the time, would be capable of impressive feats and would have a good diet.

The difference between them and a seasoned athlete who competes regularly would be the intensity of how hard they approach things.

The seasoned athlete would hardly have a break from their diet, weigh their foods constantly, hardly ever drink alcohol and be religious about their sleeping patterns.

The very fit person compared to normal gym standards would eat well most of the time but have occasional treats, like a drink at the weekend sometimes overdoing it, and sleep well in the week but often go without it the weekend due to over-indulging.

These patterns by both individuals dictate what type of session I would give them, how often and how much intensity would be involved in each session.

The very fit gym person could maybe hang with the seasoned athlete for a one off session, but the difference would be that the true athlete would put up with those sessions EVERY session, have great recovery powers through their lifestyle habits and experience, and this is the KEY DIFFERENCE.

This is an exciting time of year for many because it is starting to signify the changing of the seasons. Not only that but the premiership football season starts tomorrow too, and we have many sportsmen who are already playing their pre-season games and looking to open the season with all guns blazing!

For those of you who have been on holiday, you will be anxious to get right back into it and lose any body fat you would have likely gained on your time having fun whilst away.

Although it is still close, there is definitely a chill in the air at times so this should signal to you a fresh opportunity to get into great shape in slightly cooler conditions which are my own personal favourite training conditions!

Food starts to change at this time of year too, from the lighter foods a lot of people gravitate to the heavier foods, more of the “dinner” variety rather than the “salad” options.

So if you had a pretty all over the place summer, the upcoming autumn will give you structure once again. The new structure will help you set goals, your body will feel a lot more at home with regular workouts and regular good foods, all done on a more normal working schedule or school/college schedule.

I for one, am determined to get big results for everyone I train this upcoming autumn, so set yourself up for success by shopping well for good food, and getting some great nights of sleep for the massive workouts to come!

Not having a strong foundation in your training is a problem that will catch up with you sooner rather than later. Many people just look at certain magazines or internet sites and assume that they can too exercise like the model used in the photograph or video.

Most people don’t realize a couple of things that are hugely important!

1. The exercise being shown as a wonder exercise may not be the right thing for them.

2. Re-creating that exercise without proper instruction is much harder than imagined, with injury a very real possibility.

3. The exercises shown are never explained in the context of how they fit into your programme, in a workout or a week full of workouts.

There are many other reasons but no need to go on and on about the lack of suitability of these methods in photos and videos.

The whole point of this piece is to re-enforce the importance of training hard but properly for a substantial period of time. This will indeed give you the foundation on how to train hard, efficiently, make progress and very importantly, NOT GET INJURED!

This site is all about doing things the RIGHT way and stopping you waste time on faddy exercise programmes, both in print and videos online. Not all are bad of course, but a substantial number are after a cheap buck produced by charlatans of the highest order.

It’s vital to get proper instruction especially when you begin and exercise programme, and when you are ready to make that next step up so don’t be afraid to ask a qualified professional!!

Catherine’s question about “do you need protein shakes” and does it depend on who you are and what you are doing in terms of activities to justify drinking these shakes, is a very interesting one and a question I have heard more and more over the last couple of years in particular.

The real truth of the matter is that IF you are getting enough balance of protein, carbohydrates and fats, then you do not need all of these extra supplements including protein.

If you are skipping meals though, and have trouble getting enough protein into your day, then protein shakes can be handy, and in the case of certain athletes, much more necessary depending on their chosen sport, which we will talk another time about.

The lean protein sources from natural foods include chicken, turkey, lean beef, fish, cottage cheese etc.

If you feel you cannot get most or any of these into your day, then you either need to look at your planning and preparation, which means making your next day’s food the night before and putting it in the fridge ready for your next working day, or you can make it first thing in the morning to make it even fresher!

OR

If you have a job that involves very little time for eating for whatever reason, its this situation that can be perfect for the convenience of protein shakes, and will make sure you get regular meals even if they are in liquid forms for 1-2 meals a day.

It must be remembered that food supplements are exactly that, SUPPLEMENTS and not REAL FOOD. So real food is the first choice but protein shakes can be a substitute when no other food option is available.

Protein shakes only all day are seen by many as a quick weight loss tactic, unfortunately this is another short term method that will set you up for longer term failure.

Protein shakes can be very useful when used properly and when used to suit whatever lifestyle you lead.