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Friday, 27th June

If you are start off in school in year 1 and you start learning basics, then it’s a natural progression to move on to new stuff pretty much year in year out, and often from week to week even, all of which are stepping stones to your development.

If you use this analogy in relation to exercise, then it should work the same way but often in practice it never does. Most gyms are not accountable to their members, because most people’s experience of gyms is being shown around the gym in broad terms, given a sheet of paper they give to everyone, and then forgotten about and left to their own devices once the direct debit is signed.

How many people do you know when they begin to exercise keep on doing the same old thing at the same level of intensity (or lack of!). It’s heartbreaking when you see this going on for long periods of time, and these individuals never progressing the way they should.

Proper exercise technique can take a lot of time, not only to show it but make sure good form continues to happen.

It’s human nature to go back to old ways, and when you exercise going back to old ways can mean sloppy form and potential injury, and definitely no progress.

It’s also human nature to find the easiest way of doing things.

Going through the motions in gyms is what most people do. Picking the more difficult movements, which require a high amount of energy just to do them are unfortunately what most individuals avoid, leading to mediocre results and a lack of general fitness. You commit to spend time in the gym, so why not make it as productive as possible?

Your programme needs to change regularly if you really want to seriously change the way you look and perform regularly, you need a few different types of workouts that will challenge your body to adapt, and you need to totally get out of your comfort zone, because your body requires a different stimulus all the time to keep on progressing.

See your training as a constant progression, and not just training and getting through it for the sake of it. It makes the difference between being a constant success story or just drifting through your programme without any kind of meaningful results to show for it.

Twitt
Posted on

Tuesday, 24th June

Everyone gets great training days, but there are also times when things don’t go exactly to plan either.

You may have had a poor night’s sleep, the kids may have been up all night, work pressures may be getting you down, relationship stress may be spoiling your concentration, or your body may need a rest full stop, whatever it is you have to take the rough with the smooth.

As long as you are having more good days than bad days, then that’s going to be a victory and you are likely to progress quickly still.

There are ways to minimize bad days though.

1. Make sure you have enough sleep on a regular basis. Staying up late in the week just watching TV and then missing out on the sleep you need will compromise your training efforts full stop. Getting to bed early helps your performance just when you need it most

2. If you are training every single day, 7 days a week, then you need to stop right now and have at least one to two days off. Your body needs to rest and recover and too much training can be overkill. You will feel better with more rest too, and come back after your day off with renewed enthusiasm.

3. Change up your workout. If you train for a long time in your usual session, then try to stay in the gym less but work harder. If you normally do an hour or more, then try cutting it down to 45 minutes but hit everything harder and bring a new intensity into your training. Ask me for ideas.

4. Make sure you eat right. When you train hard, your body cannot sustain these big efforts UNLESS your nutrition is right. Also, you won’t recover quickly if you don’t put enough good food into your body, which is screaming out for good food right after your workout, the need for good nutrients is extremely high for those of you who are training really hard.

These should make a big difference, but if they don’t then of course I want to hear about it as your whole programme may need a fresh look.

Twitt
Posted on

Thursday, 19th June

Most people hit their initial training with enthusiasm.

After all, they are usually keen to make a change to their body and will be consistent with their initial workouts.

This “honeymoon” period does pass though, and it’s important you have a range of workout options to keep things fresh and productive.

I have started a lot of individuals who wanted to train 7 days a week if they could. This is never sustainable though.

The importance of having at least one day off to recuperate and rest can never be overstated though.

There will be some weeks when you feel like having an extra day off if you feel particularly tired that week, never be afraid to take that extra day off.

There are plenty of occasions when spending less time in the gym and focusing more on quality will benefit you more.

If you do less sometimes, but really focus on hitting the big important movements really hard, you won’t get burnt out or feel exhausted, and sometimes you get a much better workout and you will feel the movement that much better.

Make sure you don’t sacrifice quality for quantity.

Always record your progress in your training.

Are you getter better steadily each week or slipping back in certain exercises?

Are you feeling fitter each week or constantly feeling tired?

You will always get fitter if you take enough time to recover from your sessions, eat enough good food and get enough sleep in general, that is always the magic combination.

If you are not getting stronger regularly, do less workouts but this time really start concentrating on the movements you are doing, and really start doing them with perfect form so you really start feeling it again.

Sometimes less is more.

Twitt
Posted on

Tuesday, 17th June

Most people will support you in your efforts to become fitter and healthier. You will have likely have had great results, and with this comes great momentum and you will automatically be feeling much better.

Now and again though, you will have the odd person that tries to put you off and bring you down, usually down to their own unhappiness and lack of direction in their own life.

A rude comment here and there can ruin a good mood. Don’t take it personally though as rude comments usually say more about the person making them than you.

Here are some of the comments I hear off people I train that were said to them over the years.

“Why do you have to train so seriously”

“You are so lucky to be in good shape”

“I don’t know how you stay so disciplined”

“Why can’t you just enjoy life more and forget about your training”

“You have lost too much weight, isn’t it time now you gave it up?”

“If you train that hard all the time, you will end up looking like a man”

“It’s not healthy to eat well all the time!”

“I can’t wait for you to stop training and eating healthy so you’re “normal” again!”

“Once you stop training, all the muscle will turn to fat”!

“You lost all your boobs when you lost weight””

“Why don’t you just walk a dog like most people do”

“You are obsessed, all this exercising can’t be good!

“A week or two from the gym isn’t going to kill you!”

How many of these statements from so called friends or work colleagues are supportive and positive? None of them of course!!

If you let negative people get under your skin like this, then you won’t keep on being successful like you are.

Use negativity and harsh comments as the fuel that’s going to drive you on further and further to new heights! Appreciate the progress you have made, and think of the positivity that has brought into your life.

You aren’t striving to meet the standards that others set for you, it’s all about you creating your OWN standards, and never allowing others stop you achieving what you have set out to do!!

Eat and drink a bit of what you fancy now and again, it’s never going to hurt and keeps you mentally fresh, as long as most of what you eat and drink is good normally.

Have a day off here and there from the gym when you feel you need it, this will freshen you up at times too.

Only do this though when YOU feel like it, and never feel the need to conform to others’ expectations just to fit in!!

Expect the odd bit of negativity now and again, but always look at the person saying it in the first place and their motives, and appreciate where YOU are right now and how far you have come.

Twitt
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Sunday, 15th June

One of the best results you can hope for with your training is to actually change your body, and not just lose weight and get smaller.

Most people who train with us getting a different sort of question asked to them once they make dramatic improvements.

People don’t just ask if they have lost weight, they ask IF THEY HAVE BEEN WORKING OUT! Looking as if you train means that you have put a lot of hard work in, have eaten right and you have kept on improving over a long period of time.

This is a very pleasing question because you will know at that precise moment that you are looking healthy and fit!

Looking athletic for the first time is not only a great achievement, actually “feeling fantastic” usually goes hand in hand with being in this kind of great shape.

Another great benefit is your favourite clothes will become “wearable” once again.

Everyone has their favourite jeans or their favourite dress or suit, that most of you may have given up on wearing ever again.

That feeling of being able to wear that special item again is a big confirmation of your progress, and a very strong sign that you are back to your best shape once again.

Your new found shape and fitness will always transform into daily life too. Developing “real fitness” means that the way you move every day will become better. Anything physical will become no problem, you will have unbelievable energy levels meaning you will want to do much more with your day, you will sleep much better and you will have a far more positive outlook on life.

This is why its always better to train to improve your performance, and not simply go through the motions.

It will be a lot of work, but follow through on your plan and you will find out that anyone can do it with enough support and sustained effort.

Twitt