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Tuesday, 8th January

Following the theme of getting right back into it this week, let’s move on from the importance of getting a good shop in to preparing yourself for training.

Once you have decided which way you are going to get fit and healthy, you had better avoid these pitfalls which are guaranteed to disrupt and sometimes stop your progress completely.

Make sure you wear clothes that are not too tight to bend and move around in, wear training clothes that you are comfortable in, rather than trying to follow the latest fashions.

Wear good running shoes-even if you have no plans to run! Not wearing the right footwear or wearing training shoes over 6 months old can lead to a series of problems. Many knee, ankle and back problems can be traced to poor footwear choices. I recommend running shoes purely because they offer the most protection, they tend to receive the most research in terms of money spent on them by big companies, and will generally do a great job of protecting you.

Buy a decent pair but you don’t need to spend too much. Last season’s pair will be fine and usually greatly reduced. When you buy them mark off on the calendar when you need to change them next, always 6 months from the date of purchase. This will become an excellent habit for you and help you avoid needless injuries that can seriously derail all your hard efforts to get into great shape!

Drink enough water throughout the day. Not keeping hydrated is a dangerous practice when you want to get into shape. Sip water throughout your day and you won’t be going to the toilet all the time. Your body will feel better, maintain its core temperature better and actually make you feel like training because your awareness and energy levels will be right up there. Drinking water through your training session is vital too, it will keep you cooled down and help you perform much better.

One big no no is iced water! You wouldn’t put freezing water into your car engine and putting freezing water into your body whilst exercising can be extremely dangerous! Your body likes working out in a healthy temperature range, it doesn’t like to heat up too quickly or cool down too fast!

More tomorrow!

Twitt
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Friday, 14th December

For more uplifting cycling workouts that you may or may not have time for this year, it’s time to get specific about your cycling efforts and with it you can save a bundle of time!!

Most pro cyclists will work at a specific revolution per minute. When you see the rpm screen on a bike machine for example, try and work out your intensity by concentrating on that particular part of the screen.

The desired number you need to look for is the magic figure of 80. If you can cycle at this intensity, then you know you should be getting some good workouts in. It doesn’t really matter on the difficulty level on the bike, that level has to match your ability to keep 80rpm up full stop!

It may seem easy or relatively easy for the first minute, but i guarantee that you will start feeling it far earlier than a normal workout!!! Keeping at the 80 rpm is extremely difficult after a while, but if you practice working at this level, you are likely to become a far better cyclist.

Another tip to become a good cyclist is work heavily on your core. Work with the swiss ball three times a week working on a mixture of back strengthening and flexibility exercises, this will enable you to cycle harder up hills and to keep up an intensity level up for longer.

Most people do not realise the amount of work that goes through your back when you cycle especially up inclines/hills of all kinds.

Working on your core is the number one to increase power, endurance and explosive strength for your cycling efforts so i wouldn’t keep ignoring this very valuable piece of training advice. Most of my programmes now put a heavy focus on all sorts of core exercises, due to the fact that you should consider internal benefits of exercise, and not just the cosmetic side. Look after your insides and your outsides will look after themselves.

Twitt
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Thursday, 13th December

Since it is an icy time of year, then its more important than ever that you have other options when you run, rather than running on icy pavements.

One place that is usually a lot kinder to you than a pavement is a rugby pitch, and this type of pitch contains the perfect spread of lines in my view for top quality running workouts.

This is a quick workout that will work in a big way and definitely get the job done.

Start off on the try line and do 5 press ups, then run to the 25 yard line and then run backwards to the try line where you do 5 press ups, then run to the 10 yard line, then run backwards all the way back to the try line and do 5 press ups.

Then run to halfway line and backwards to try line and again too 5 press ups.

Then the next line and backwards and do 5 press ups.

Then the last but one line and run backwards to the try line and do 5 press ups.

Then its one big long run to the opposite try line and run backwards, again do 5 press ups.

By this time you will be absolutely shattered!! The record is 3 minutes 6 seconds.

Anything under 5 minutes is very good indeed.

This is a quick way of having a quality workout, getting the job done in super quick time and really a great test of strength and endurance!!

Give it a go and be interesting how you get on!!

Twitt
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Tuesday, 11th December

A very relevant question today is from a lady who is wondering if she cannot get to the gym before christmas, will the weight come piling back on after making outstanding progress lately? And is there any alternative?

First of all, in replying to this, i have said many times that i think it is an extremely bad idea to stop exercising before christmas for all sorts of reasons that have been well documented on here. So let’s get that out of the way and i don’t want to keep repeating myself!!

Anyway, let’s look at the solution so you don’t put the weight on.

Option number one is trying to make your sessions no matter what! 15 minute blasts are far better than wondering what might have been! Anyone who has done them with me will know their value.

Option two is if you really can’t make the session, then you should workout at home no matter what!!
How long does it take to put a pair of shorts on and tshirt, and just go for it.

The workout

Just pick 5- 6 exercises.
Example

Press ups

Arm dips

sitting up and down on chair

alternate squat thrusts

plank

try your best on each exercise for a maximum best

So if you do 20 press ups, then your workout figure should be 10 when doing 3 lots of it.

For example
Press ups max-20
then workout number should be 10

arm dips max-10
then workout number should be 5
and so on

So you do the workout by doing all the exercises one after the other, have a rest, then do the other two lots for a total then of 3 lots.

This should last for around 20 minutes in total.

This time investment should be available to everyone, and will also have the added benefit of making you eat better, because you will not want to blow all that hard work!!

Hope this helps a lot of people in the same situation!

Twitt
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Thursday, 6th December

All of us get in a rut from time to time,but we have to make sure we get right back out of it!

First of all, one of the best ways of changing is to change what you do.

For example, if you ideally do 8-10 reps of each exercise and have done for years maybe, have 4 weeks of doing 12 reps per set. You will have to reduce the weight of course, but the extra reps will bring your body a new challenge and you will be pleasantly surprised at the results!

If you do a split routine, in other words you may be doing chest and arms in one workout, shoulders and back the next and then you do this twice each which means 4 days a week with this type of training, then i always find it beneficial getting individuals on whole body workouts that can be done just twice a week with a three day gap in between. This is well proven to bring some spectacular results in a short period of time.

Do drop sets! Say you do a set of curls with your best weight, do 8 reps and instead of ending there, pick up a lighter weight and hit another 8 reps, then pick an even lighter weight up and do 6 reps with that. This will absolutely crucify your muscles and you will find that if you pick just four exercises to do this in a workout, then that will be enough to get the job done in super-quick time!!!

When is the last time you kept an eating diary? This is one of the most overlooked things i see every week, and often explains why many of us don’t get into the shape we really want! Unless we realise how much we eat, what we eat and when, its tough for us to find out whether we are sticking to our plan or not?!!

No time for getting stuck in a rut, reaching a plateau or getting medicore results, you have the chance right now to turn it all around!!

Twitt