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Monday, 30th January

Time is extremely limited for us all so you had better be making the most out of every workout you undertake!!!

Most of us never get around to everything we planned to do unfortunately, and a set of weekly workouts are definitely part of that category!

How many of you plan to exercise 4, 5 or even 6 times a week actually DO train all of these times EVERY WEEK?!!!

I think unless you’re very dedicated and have been training a long, long time, you are  not going to appreciate how tough it is at times to get through a schedule such as this.

This is why i always try to emphasise how vital it is to train at least THREE times a week, and working your WHOLE body each time you train.

Forget all of those “let’s do one body part” excuses for workouts, they DO NOT work and never really worked even in the 70’s and especially 1980’s when they were the in fashion thing to do! The people who did make them work were usually loaded up on drugs, therefore creating an uneven playing field.

Every time you hit the gym, or you do a workout outside, or you do a workout in your living room, you HAVE TO MAKE IT COUNT EVERY TIME!!!

I guarantee that if you do make it count each time and really hit it hard, and try to improve nearly every time you train, you will get the results that most people tend to get after working out 5-6 times a week of training moderately.

It’s a myth that the more you do in terms of duration the better, this simply is NOT true!

It’s the quality of work that counts and nothing else, but you have better make sure you are exercising the minimum of 3 times a week as i said!

Its nearly the end of january, so the end of excuses is here too and if you’re serious, set yourself the realistic target of training 3 times a week minimum, hit it hard during these sessions and let the big results roll in!!!

Twitt
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Friday, 27th january 2012

A great today for running, walking or just about anything outside, even if it is brutally cold!

You should ignore the fact that it’s cold, and simply brace yourself for the first five minutes of sheer cold, then you will soon get used to it! There is nothing like it to blow away some cobwebs!!

If you get used to these temperatures, then ANY weather is going to be okay for you. I used to get my chest wheezing pretty hard at the first sign of cold weather in the winter, i actually now find this good for me as it truly breaks me in for the winter.

If weather was a factor in allowing or stopping us training, then we wouldn’t get much training done in this country at all. If i were you, i would factor in that 9 months of the year is going to be terrible weather, and anything better is a bonus.

This gives you the mindset that you will train in any weather, as long as its not too icy and unsafe, and you will be totally willing NOT to make any more excuses about why you are not in shape.

There is nothing worse than making excuses not to train for bad weather.

My other favourites include not making it to the gym because i didn’t have the car, even though you could easily walk.

Then there’s the one about not having a “training partner” or this ficticious training partner always let you down!!!

So say for one minute anyone believe these excuses, i have given you a million ways on how to train in the house, THERE IS NO EXCUSE NOT TO!!!

If you forgot all of those lame excuses right now, and promise yourself you will NEVER make an excuse again not to train, then your mindset will take you to great heights and great shape in particular!!!

Use this weekend for getting out, whatever the weather because you know you’re going to be proud of yourself when you get back, and you’ve had a hot bath or shower.

The power of actually “DOING” is all powerful and will bring fantastic results out of you not thought previously to be possible!!!

Twitt
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Thursday, 26th January

Following on from yesterday, we talked about how to improve quality and intensity of your workouts. We said that cutting down on rest periods was important, as well as much effort you give each exercise of course.

Changing your programme around is always good for your body. So let’s say that you are still doing 6-8 exercises with your weight training, but you have probably designed this so that its mostly fairly moderate exercises each workout, then you need to start changing those more moderate exercises into more challenging calorie-burning exercises/movements that will expend more calories per workout and in particular, reduce body fat at a more rapid rate.

For example, lets say you are doing lat pulldowns for your chosen back exercise, then if you change it to one arm dumbbell rowing, then automatically you are going to have a better, more fat burning workout.

This is because each and every exercise as a “metabolic cost”. What this means is that each exercise has an energy cost and takes a certain amount of calories to perform.

The lat pulldown takes less calories and effort than the one arm dumbbell row. So it shouldn’t take a genius to work out that by switching exercises, you will burn more fat and calories per workout.

If you walked the dog at a moderate pace, then swapping that for running at a moderate pace would significantly help you burn more calories and fat per workout.

This step up in intensity is only possible when you have got used to the lighter more moderate exercises and are comfortable with these. Your conditioning levels are very important and these improvements should only be made gradually.

You can increase the workout intensity on any workout plan you have.

Instead of doing steady long runs, try some hill sprints instead.

Don’t get carried away with the fact that you need to increase the time duration all the time in your workout, this is not really true and all we want is results after all isn’t it?!!!!

If you train for 45 minutes at a time for example, then this is around the maximum time you need to be training. If you find this easy, then as we have talked about the last couple of days, you badly need to increase the intensity and effort going into those 45 minutes.

Don’t get carried away with time and I know a lot of very fit individuals I train can get amazing workouts in just 20-25 minutes. Anyone who has trained with me can testify to that!!!

Train hard but make sure you train smart!

Twitt
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Tuesday, 25th January

Good workouts always come from a good night’s sleep, and you can never underestimate their importance.

If you struggle with sleep, then you are going to have to address that before you start getting the very best out of yourself.

Some people are early birds when it  comes to sleep, others can’t go to be before 11 or even midnight. As long as either get a good night’s sleep, then it doesn’t really matter when they go to bed, although going to bed earlier gives you more options when it comes to getting up earlier.

Missing sleep can always increases hormones in your body to increase body fat. Your body very much goes into defensive mode when it comes to lack of rest because it has to protect it’s immune system and not get broken down too much.

If you think of all these SAS survivial programmes, the one thing they say that breaks you down more than anything is lack of sleep, and the people who torture you will often use the method of keeping you awake to make you give in, and to even make you delirious!

Sleeping in the day for even small 10-15 minute periods can be of enormous help when it comes to making up somewhat for lost hours at night for whatever reason!

“Power naps” as most people know them can bring you added power during your evening workouts too. Athletes at all levels, and all sports use this tactic of bringing added freshness into their days and performances, and schedule them in as part of their day.

When you feel rested and fresh, you are usually capable of a lot more and you are sending messages to your body that you expect big performances out of it.

Don’t forget ever that you only improve when you rest and sleep, and not when you train. You break down your muscles and body during training, but when you recover, you heal, your immune system builds again and its only then that your body hits new heights of development.

The perfect formula of training smart, eating well and good rest can never change if you want optimum levels of health and performance.

Twitt
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Monday, 23rd January

Monday is the start of another week for you, another week of change and you wouldn’t like it any other way!

Change is inevitable and your body is changing right now. Your cells and body as a whole changes slightly every day, for the better or for worse.

Everything changes, the economy, business, technology, just about everything wants to go quickly and there’s nothing we can do about it!

When change happens, you either go along with it and do your best and look for all the benefits, or you can pretend it’s not happening and resist it, and get run over by it! Your choice but one of two things i going to happen!

You should see change as an opportunity for growth and fresh levels of health in your life.

If you eat pie and chips for lunch, doughnuts for snacks and a bottle of win tonight, then change is going to happen for you in terms of increased body fat, in terms of more body weight, in terms of lower energy and definitely make you far more irritable!

We talk about the other sort of change on here all the time, the one where you live healthy and we practice what we preach? You know that one!! You know all the benefits by now so hope i don’t have to remind you.

So if you accept there’s going to be two sorts of changes in your life that you can’t avoid, you will be fine.

The first one is the economy and weather, the economy is in the gutter right now, but will eventually get better, and the weather may be freezing or absolutely lovely, depending on time of year, you know how it is by now.

Regarding your health, that will only go downhill through your habits most of the time, or it will improve again through your habits most of the time!!!

Everything is spinning around all the time moving forward, up to you if you want to get on the bus and keep changing for the better!

Twitt