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Friday, 18th January

Had to take the morning off today, most people in wales are affected this morning, and i don’t really fancy doing damage to the car as i did in heavy snow a couple of years ago, or spinning up and down hills!!!

Anyway, the options for workouts today may seem limited to you, but theres a lot more than you think.

Walking in the snow (when it stops) is very tough and can give you a great workout! Your legs will be working overtime to say the least, and you will be very glad you took time out of the house to get some fresh air, especially when you are likely to be spending more time in the house over the next couple of days!!!

The house option is always viable with a typical inside workout.

Think a simple group of 5-6 exercises.

Press ups

Arm dips

Plank

Sitting up and down on chair

Alternate squat thrusts

Do your best on these exercises for a total of 3 times. This will make a big difference and give you a top quality inside workout!

Another good reason to train is to straighten out your eating.

I have found time after time that people never eat as well if they are stuck in the house all day, AND when they don’t exercise!

You have these two potentially weight gain situations happening today, so a workout of any sort should be very welcome in your day!!

We hav zero or sub-zero temperatures the next two days, so the same principles will apply, if you want to stay in shape that is!!!

Some people love the snow, and there’s no reason to let it destroy your workouts and good eating though!!

Twitt
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Thursday, 17th January

I am overwhelmed by the good success stories this year.

Never before, and i have been doing this a lot of years, have i seen the enthusiasm for training and eating as i have seen this year, and this is truly uplifting!

I think the big plus is that before anyone starts training with me, they know right away that they are going to be on a programme that is sensible, is measured and makes us both accountable. The know there won’t be any eating short term fixes, there won’t be any workouts that will destroy their joints, there won’t be a lot of shouting and screaming, they won’t have to take painkillers just to recover from their sessions (believe it or not that goes on i’m told regularly), they won’t be on any shakes and bars, they won’t be starving all the time and the bottom line is that they WILL be using a LOT of common sense.

The good news stories include a lady who hasn’t exercised for 40 years, and despite life-threatening disease in the very recent past, she is moving better than ever and has followed her pre-christmas efforts to bring her waist down by 10 inches in just 4 months.

How about the the gentleman who is now playing three different sports? Squash, football and badminton, despite never played sport in school, just because all the other kids used to make fun of him because of his “man boobs”!! This very difficult and potentially destroying experience has now become overcome, and he is having a new lease of life………..at 42 years of age!!!!!!

I want to hear good human stories all the time, and its even better when you’re involved in them each and every day i can tell you!!!

January 17th may be the dark time of the year, but these inspirational stories will always bring a lot of light into people’s lives!!!!

Twitt
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11th January, 2013

We are already hitting friday, and hopefully you are actively participating in a programme, and that you are following at least some of the tips i have shared with you this week.

So we have gone over the fact that you need to shop well for your weekly food, we have talked about why you need to have the right running shoes, how you need to fundamentally understand the whole process about getting fit and healthy, and yesterday about the importance of actually performing well, and trying to improve your programme regularly.

Okay, so you are here thinking what comes next?

After telling you yesterday that you need to keep it simple, then you not be surprised if i tell you that you need to keep doing the basics well, and again, and again!!

The actual basics are the hardest thing to do regularly! Anyone will tell you the same!

How many people do you know that actually train 3-4 times a week, they eat well almost every day without fail, they get to bed early every night in the week, and usually only have one late night, they only drink alcohol in moderation once a week, they have a bit of what they fancy in eating terms just once a week, and when you see their shopping basket in a supermarket, it is likely to contain mostly natural produce that you know are going to keep you in great shape!!!

How many people do you know like that?!!!!

Not many i’ll bet and this is why-it is difficult to be that consistent and this is why not many people will look and feel that good.

The good news is that if you stick with it, and i’m talking week after week, YOU WILL get used to it, you will think this is normal life and you WILL become one of those individuals who is ALWAYS in shape full stop, no arguement!!!

Twitt
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Thursday, 10th January

So moving along, assuming you have got your diet right, you are building up your exercise schedule at a nice steady rate, then its definitely time to start thinking about exercise targets.

Improving your exercise performance is the easiest way to improve everything about your health.

For example, if you are able to do 3 press ups when you first start off, then it shouldn’t be too hard to imagine you doing 20 press ups within 6-8 weeks. When you are able to do 20 press ups, then it should stand to reason that you are able to perform better and therefore be in a lot better physical condition!

If you are able to work for 10 mins on a stationery bike at a very low intensity to start with, then within that same 6-8 week period, you should be able to work for at least 20 mins on a much higher intensity.

These assumptions assume that you are still eating well, that you are not over-indulging in alcohol, and that you are sleeping well!!

These are simple assumptions, but as you may know, they are not always so easy to keep up, leave along do well, so you can be sure that im always going to preach the importance of doing the basics well.

The most successful individuals i train are always the ones who keep it simple, they eat simple but well, they exercise in a straightforward manner but always at a higher intensity, and they are pretty religious about getting a wonderful sleep, especially in the week!!!

So rather than trying to get you on some kind of complicated plan that you are unlikely to keep up, i like to introduce people to plans that they CAN KEEP UP!!!

The keep it simple principle has never been so important and results-orientated, so we’re going to concentrate hugely on this during the year!!!

Twitt
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Wednesday, 9th January

So we’re in the first proper week of the year regarding exercise, and its vital you keep doing the right thing at the right time.

So assuming you’re still full of enthusiasm and you’re still in the stage of “this time i’m really going to do it”, then you need to stop looking far ahead and go through your training sessions in a more methodical way.

One common mistake to start with is trying to over-complicate your workout, you try to do too much too soon and these factors often lead to injury and frustration.

If you haven’t exercised for some time, please remember that a professional athlete for example, every week they have off from training, it will take them 1-2 weeks to get back to normal. So if they have had 6 weeks off training, then it could possibly take them 12 weeks to get completely back to normal-and this is a pro athlete!!!

If you have had a year or two off for example, then it doesn’t take a genius to work out that it’s going to take you a good while before you approach anywhere near your former levels!

This is not a piece to put you off, its urging you to seek professional help when beginning a new exercise programme, and also urging you to proceed with caution, giving your body time to adjust to your new schedule is of paramount importance.

This is why you should take one step at a time, take one week of training at a time, and set your goals by the week.

It shouldn’t be too hard to improve BY THE WEEK if you have a good plan. If you allow your body to adjust slowly, then you are still capable of improving greatly in 6 weeks, and very impressively in 12 weeks!!!

Hopefully, you are now engaged in a solid plan, just focus on showing up for your workouts and executing them well. Then look forward to getting good results on a weekly basis, if you are not then please look again at the programme you are on and are you really getting good advice?

Twitt