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Friday, 3rd August

As the Olympics slowly change to the track and field today, a new set of physical tools are required.

Special mention must go to the great performances so far, especially the cyclists who have set new highs, along with new world records thrown in against very stiff opposition.

Many people prefer track and field, and the showpiece event is usually the 100 metre final next Saturday night, with Usain Bolt favourite as long as he has recovered from his back problems.

All of these athletes specialise in one particular discipline, but this is something that you shouldn’t not do if general conditioning is your goal.

For example, if you just do cardio (cycling, fast walking, running etc), then you will lose some weight, get your heart healthier and stronger, but you wont be doing a massive amount to change your shape, or strengthen your joints to what they are really capable of.

This is where resistance/weight training is so important. Bone density is vital and weight training is a great way of improving your bone strength.

Weight training will also play a large part in changing your shape.

Using increased resistance will re-shape your body for the better, and increase your metabolic rate.

One pound of muscle burns 50 calories a day, one pound of fat burns 2 calories a day, you can see now why people carrying a lot of body fat usually stay very big and more muscular individuals tend to stay leaner (as long as they keep exercising right of course!).

This is why you need to combine your cardio AND your resistance/weight training, and this should be your fundamental training plan to get yourself in shape, and enable you to stay there once you reach your best levels.

In training terms, its always better to be an all rounder capable of a range of activities and training methods (which brings big results), rather than focus on just one way of doing things that perhaps you have become too comfortable with (which brings limited results).

Twitt
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Thursday, 2nd August

A massive performance in the Olympics yesterday, with the two ladies rowers doing a fantastic job, with one of those ladies only starting rowing four years ago!

Bradley wiggins was the rightful favourite for the time trial, but being favourite and executing are two different things. Wiggins now recognises the pressure that comes with being such a favourite and has become one of the world’s greatest athletes, and Britain’s greatest Olympian in the process!

Having pressure to perform is a good thing.

Everyone who trains with me is aware of the measuring process I put every individual through every four weeks.

This means that the individual is having constant positive pressure once a month to improve, and this is invaluable of course!!!!

My focus is always getting someone’s heart stronger, getting someone into healthy blood pressure ranges, getting an individual into a healthy body fat range, getting an individual’s waist size into a healthy range to keep potentially life-threatening diseases away if possible.

The great news is that all of these strategies WILL make you feel a lot better, and look and LOT better if you give them time.

Just like the Olympic athletes use top to bottom strategies to make them perform at their best using latest science, my goal is always not to leave any stone unturned to get the best out of an individual, no matter what the starting point, or however hopeless the situation may be to begin with!!

The likes of brad wiggins have given everything to be at their best.

Whilst I can never expect such a Herculean effort out of everyone I train, I do ask each and every individual to work hard and reach their very own version of their personal best.

If you take onboard this attitude, results will always be very impressive for you!!!

Twitt
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Wednesday, 1st August

Usain Bolt says once you come out of the blocks in a 100 metres race, and out of the drive phase, then the last 40-50 metres is quite relaxing for him, and there’s nothing he can do to make himself run quicker.

If you see quotes from most world-class athletes, they try and stay away from any great strain in their efforts and rely on great technique and even relaxing at times throughout their races/competition.

This can apply to your training too of course.

Have you noticed when you start to run, it seems so much of a strain, that you may never get to the stage when you will be able to run without straining yourself.

Then with a bit of walking, a bit of running, bit of walking, then some more running, you end up getting to the stage when you can actually run all of the time. This is extremely difficult to do and its the practice you need to get in to eventually alleviate all of this discomfort and strain.

Anyone who runs now, or who has had to go through this process will testify that all of this is true.

Then the next stage to go through can be quite a pleasant one.

When your fitness gets up considerably, you eventually get to RELAX in your running stride, and this enables you to run for much longer distances.

For many of you who can run good distances,  you will experience the ability to get some serious “thinking time” in your running. This means that you can relive your day through your run or think about a business opportunity or think about your family or anything you want, as the actual process of running is not that difficult anymore, it has become more of a regular thing in your life, and the ability to relax is absolute key for you!

These are all different processes along the way of being in your best possible shape!!

Twitt
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Tuesday, 31st July

The most depressing thing for people who really train their socks off is not getting anywhere near the shape they want to be in!

I see it all the time.

Some of the hardest exercises are often questioned why they are not in better shape, and they often question themselves that!

The problem is failure to admit that they are not eating anywhere like they could be eating. Plain chicken breast often becomes fried chicken with all the skin, plain potatoes becomes potatoes smothered in olive oil or even oven chips!

One night of alcohol consumption a week can become a small couple most nights, this is when body fat gains can come thick and fast!

Our “versions” of eating well and “clean” can be quite varied, depending on who you speak to of course.

A chicken salad for most people is around 500 calories absolute maximum.

For a lot of other people though, it can be a lot different.

By the time you add in coleslaw, mayo, salad cream and other forms of dressing, this healthy choice can soon add up to over 100 calories. So if someone tells you they live on these type of so called healthy eating choices, then all may not what it seems and this is why they continue never to be in shape, despite having impressive capabilities in pure exercise terms!

The minute they realise all of this, they have a choice on how they really want to look and how much they really want to get there!

Eating food a little plainer without all the junk dressing we have discussed, can make an enormous difference to you reaching your goals, for you to be able to perform at a much higher level and for people to finally give you some huge compliments on the way you look!

Eating right is at least 50% of the equation, AT LEAST THAT MUCH! Make the choice right now on how you want to look and feel!

Twitt
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Monday, 30th July

End of the month approaching fast and hope you are managing to get through the summer months in better shape than ever before?

If you are, then you are doing absoultely fantastic and you have undertaken regular reviews of your performance, and adjusted your training programme and eating regime to suit the goals you want to reach.

If you have been drifting, then you need to get someone to re-evaluate your programme, and then how to take it forward several steps from there.

We are all re-evaluating all the time when you think about it.

None of us have it easy and make gains without thinking about it.

Success in our physical conditioning and health requires us to think at all times in how to negotiate the twists and turns that life tends to throw at us.

If you have started missing your training sessions, and it has become a regular thing, then think about switching the time you train in the day. If something always “comes up”, then training first thing in the morning might be a great option for you, and takes all of the potential excuses out of your training aspirations.

If you can’t help picking snacks up in petrol stations or bottles of wine, we all have a favourite petrol station after all, then the simple way is to just fill up at another station where the big temptations aren’t there. This simple change will alter your behaviour if you give it just a week to get used to.

We all make associations with different things. Perhaps we like certain things in Morrisons that may not be good for us, and perhaps switching to another supermarket for a while might help you correct our bad habits/not tempt us so much with snacks that will de-rail our fat loss goals.

Nothing’s easy to get that’s worth getting, so be ready to read and react to every situation every day.

Twitt