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Thursday, 8th December

As we talk about interval training, the next step up from that is non-stop training!!!

I should point out that this is not for the beginner who has just started training by any means, more for someone who has already been training for a while, and has achieved a good standard of fitness.

For example, if you started off doing a circuit such as this for 10 reps per exercise-

Press ups

arm dips

squats

sit ups

squat thrusts

So after you do this exercise, that would be it for most people, they would then rest, and wait to get their breath back before moving on with another circuit.

Those people who have followed this type of circuit will know that after a while, you will  not need the rest after the first circuit, and you will be able to move on to the next circuit straight away. Its at that point you may need a rest!

Then after a bit more experience, you may be able to move on to the third circuit even with no rest. This is when your fitness levels could be considered excelllent.

Then what after that?

If you are fit and conditioned enough, then you could start aiming to piece most workouts together as non-stop workouts, stopping very rarely indeed, only making sure you stop for sips of water, which are ultra-important and help cool your body down when doing a lot of high intensity training.

Most people  i know who have got to this stage, rarely want to train another way unless they have had a break from training for a few weeks, which will take quite a bit of time to get used to again of course.

If you train in more of a non-stop manner, however long that maybe (and its usually for 30 mins or less), you will burn more fat, gain more endurance, and generally be in the shape of your life!!!

Twitt
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Tuesday, 6th December

Following on from yesterday’s example on interval training, you soon will be convinced that this is the way to go. All the best sessions are forms of intervals when you think about it?

I have one client who is doing the moonwalk event in London next year, and is helping her friend to get through it too.

The problem has suddenly appeared with the friend of the person i train. She has run into shin splints, and can barely do much training at all, it also doesnt help she is around 4 stone overweight, which is compounding the problem of course.

Rather than keep on the same training methods they started, which consisted of lots and lots of walking on the flat, which always resulted in pain for the shins, i recommended working on hill sprints, and hill walking.

This has now transformed the situation from one of desperation to one of hope and big achievement next year!

Due to the severe nature of the hill, the sprints are making both of them work hard and really get out breath. Getting out of breath never really happened on the flat, therefore both of them are getting fitter and because you don’t need to spend as much time training, the shin splints injury is subsiding and the boredom has disappeared.

Any time you do interval training, you work hard for a short time, then you get a short rest, then work hard again  and so on until you cant  do much more.

This, as i said, can be applied to any form of training, whether its weights, cycling, running or even walking.

Lets face it, nobody can go 90-100% for long, so its important to have small breaks, and this will allow your body to go further and therefore get far better results than if you employed the boring, low intensity sessions that seem to last for hourse!!!

Interval and high intensity training gives you focus and much needed results every time if done correctly, try it sometime!!!

Twitt
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Monday, 5th December

So if you have already lost the battle of good eating in the run up to christmas, all is not lost!!

High calorie food can be addictive, as well as nights of heavy alcohol for some. This is exactly the time to do something about it then!!

One great way to bust all of this wide open is to get stuck into interval training.

In recent studies, students who completed 7 workouts over a 2 week period had amazing results through high-intensity interval workouts.

They upped aerobic capacity by 13%, fat burning capacity by 36%,  and boosted key aerobic enzymes by 25%!!!

The programme consisted of 10×4 minute high intensity cycling blasts, they went at 90% of capacity with 2 minutes rest in between each set. This is a lung buster of the highest order as many of you could imagine!!!

Long term studies confirm that high intensity cardiovascular workouts increase fat burning DRAMATICALLY compared to low intensity traditional work on bikes and treadmills.

Most people still perform the low intensity stuff because thats all they have ever known.

With the higher intensity workouts, you tend to use mainly carbs in the workout for fuel, but the rest of the day you set your body up for using fat as a fuel, which is ultra-important when it comes to the most important thing, getting rid of the fat!

So high intensity interval workouts ARE harder work, but they are SHORTER in duration and you can use a ton more variety in your workouts! I talk all the time about doing interval workouts with weight training and trying to attain more of a non-stop tempo.

This is the stuff that really gets you fit and healthy AND quickly!!!

The easiest way to start interval training is to walk one minute on treadmill, then run much faster than normal for a minute, then walk a minute, then run faster again for a minute and so on. You may find that ten minutes of this type of interval work is more than enough!!!

Its all about quality rather than quantity so give it a shot!!!

Twitt
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Friday, 2nd December

Finishing off a week should always be a celebration, and a big one for us tonight with a big gym christmas night out!

Its time of the year to celebrate with all the christmas festivities and get in the mood for christmas!

Its important to recognise those people who have trained hard all year long, have shown up in cold, rain and all of those times when a lot of people seem to throw in the towel.

Most people who train hard all year will also realise the importance of going for a run, cycle or long walk tomorrow morning after a few beers and a big meal!!!

Most hard trainers will realise the folly of staying in bed all morning after a big night nursing a hangover!

The best way to get over a hangover is to make sure your last drink is a pint of water, dehydration will cause much of your hangover so this is an excellent strategy!

Then the following morning, get your kit on straight away around 7am or earlier and get out there and exercise!!!!! I mean as simple as that too!!!!

These tactics will clear your head completely-after around 5-10 minutes of pain first of all with all the booze and sugar working its way out of your body!!! Then after ten minutes, you will even begin to enjoy your workout and its all downhill from there!!

You should even begin to ENJOY your workout from there and i usually feel like doing a bit more than i had originally planned, and i hear a lot of other people saying the same thing who have got up and used this ultimate hangover cure!!!

You get back to feeling yourself straight away when you get back in for a shower and a good breakfast!!!!

So good luck to everyone who is out on a big night out tonight and remember saturday morning can be used as the perfect cure to your headache!!!!

Twitt
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Thursday, 1st December

A great chance meeting this morning with a gentleman Roger Rees, a 65 year old pensioner who has always like a pint (or three!), liked a smoke every day and thought exercising should be banished from society. He always believed that somehow things would “turn out okay” in health terms.

Then after being diagnosed with blood pressure problems, he was prescribed blood pressure tablets for which he stayed on for a couple of years.

Then he decided to exercise!!! It was sort of a “light bulb” moment and he discovered the massive benefits of exercises.

He has taken to exercise like a duck to water, although he has stuck to cycling as his first love.

Since he bought a bike, he has had the best 12 months of his life he says!

His blood pressure tablets have gradually come down, and with the doctor’s approval, has literally just been signed off medication as his progress has been so remarkable.

He had a big weakness for bacon, he now says he cant remember the last time he had it.

He drunk a few times a week. Now he has a couple of pints once a week, and he says he enjoys it this way far better, and doesn’t wake up with a hangover anymore!!!

His smoking is a bad memory from a distant past he says. He says it was the worst thing he ever did, but since he is now smoke free, his lung capacity is far more impressive which has been backed up by all the tests hes been having with the doctor.

The bottom line is that hes changed his life completely with exercise and eating well.

 Hes lighter than hes ever been. Hes far more energetic than I have EVER seen him and all of this shows exactly what can be achieved by a healthy lifestyle change!!!!

Twitt