Monday, 28th May

Everyone wants to get faster and stronger, and this is a common question when dealing with athletes of all sports, and juniors who really want to become professionals in any sport, or even the person who plays sunday morning football, who just wants to improve their game and take it to another level or two.

The techniques used to make this happen can be powerful, but before this takes place, the fundamentals must be in place to allow it all to happen.

For example, if an individual is carrying a couple of stone too much, then training JUST for speed is too limiting an approach, and can encourage injury.

If you are doing a speed and agility session, where explosive moves are often called upon, then if that person is quite a bit overweight, then the tensions on the hamstrings and groins can be overwhelming. The individual has to realise that when you carry too much weight, then your body mechanics don’t run as smoothly when you are carrying little or no extra weight, and its vital to build up gradually, rather than dive into a programme that puts too much strain on the body.

So before we touch on what it requires to become faster and more agile, you have to go back to the beginning.

Adjusting one’s diet so you can lose body fat at a steady rate is the first step.

Then making sure your exercise programme is sound, and you already familiar with the basics is another great starting point.

So if you are eating well and exercising properly, then over time you should achieve decent results and you should at some time be at your optimum weight, or at least fairly close to it. This would be the ideal time to step up your training onto the speed and agility stuff.

This will make sure you progress quickly still and avoid injury along your path of self-improvement to becoming a better athlete.

Friday, 25th May

Apologies i havent been able to post every day the last couple of weeks, but my schedule has been crazier than ever, so even the limited time i usually get to post has gone out the window so to speak!

Anyway, just like i try to encourage you to make your exercise sessions count, i’m going to try and make my posts count too!

We have a 26 degrees day today, and although the temperature may make it hot and sweaty to train, its still important not to miss exercise just because its very warm, and some simple precautions would go a long way in making the whole process a lot more comfortable for you.

Number one is not to exercise in the middle of the day when temperatures are at their hottest. This is the time of day when it really is difficult to exercise, and totally takes you out of your comfort zone. Try early mornings and evenings as much better time slots.

Number two is to drink water throughout the day, and avoid dehydration. Sipping water at regular intervals will keep your body’s core temperature constant and keep you feeling comfortable, and be able to put in a decent workout performance.

Talking about dehydration, this can be a very serious state to get in, chances are if you’re still thirsty, then you are already in a state of dehydration and should look to immediately up your fluid intake. Severe dehydration can be seen in individuals who have white around their lips, this can lead to hospital treatment so beware.

Another key measure is to exercise within yourself and dont push it too far, in fact working slightly short of your normal performance will be a good idea, and being cautious will always lead to sound exercise habits in more extreme heat!

Bottom line is be sensible, and you can still get some good workouts in!!

Tuesday, 22nd May

The warm weather is back, or should make that it has actually STARTED after one of the worst April’s and May i can remember.

Please don’t use the excuse of “its too warm now”, please DO NOT use that because you should see this weather and light nights as an INVITATION TO GET FIT AND HEALTHY!!

Compare this with mid-november to mid-march and you are right in the best time of year now to really make a difference to your mind and body. Theres every opportunity now to get your body in great shape by simply enjoying the environment around us.

If you cant get out there on the bike in this sunshine, then you ought to question your commitment to yourself. Besides all of this commitment talk, its actually ENJOYABLE, thats definitely the best way to think about it rather than seeing it as some kind of chore!! Riding a bike in this weather with all the beautiful scenery is one of the best things you can experience full stop.

Get off the roads too when you walk too if possible, and avoid all the pollution. Get up mountains and enjoy the fresh air, and the air that most people don’t get to take in. Its good for you full stop, and the often steep gradients will lift your fitness levels to brand new levels.

There are plenty of people swimming, but i happen to know a few more people now who swim outside, enjoying the different challenges that this brings. Enjoying the more natural route is always a winner for your health and is so demanding that it will often trump your inside swimming sessions! Both are good though it must be said and depends on the individual.

Personally, as you can tell, i love being outside at this time of year, as well as inside sessions. Mix them both up and reap some pretty serious rewards!!!

Monday, 21st May

We talked last week about how all sorts of artificial food,  how artificial sweeteners etc can really mess your body up (some of them have been banned in the states), mess your stomach up and brain up because your body doesn’t know when it is full or not, and how the food industry is continuing to market foods high in sugar and fat, in fact they are fooling us so much that the government knows we are getting fatter and more overweight each year.

This makes the government think that they need to bring a “fat tax” in to make these foods less attractive to people, because they know the way that high numbers of overweight and unhealthy people in this country are crippling the NHS because of the illness and disease related side effects of these foods.

Smoking has become socially unacceptable now, which I think is a wonderful thing. Smoking is the one very worst thing you can do, destroying vital nutrients in your body.

I think in a few years, eating and drinking rubbish and becoming extremely overweight will be seen as a huge burden to the state, this is why they have to act and act now and the government is taking tentative steps.

I am not against anyone as a person and believe everyone has the right to do anything they like within reason, but when they are pressing the self-destruct button every day, then self-responsibility has to be firmly encouraged, or the burden on the whole country gets overwhelming.

Im staying positive on this and im here to help anyone out of a hole they feel they cannot get out of.

Thursday, May 17th

Talking about myths and plain untruth’s about why we do lose body fat, and why we gain body fat, here’s another misunderstood fact about our eating habits.

How many people tell us that we shouldn’t eat carbs if we really want to lose weight? This line of thought reached almost deafening proportions in the early 2000’s when the Atkins diet almost took the world by storm.

Potatoes and pasta were dirty words, and protein was king!

The realities of this diet soon hit home though and once people found out that this way of eating was not sustainable, the atkins empire crumbled quicker than shortbread under a hammer! In fact, its operations in the UK quickly went bankrupt soon after starting up.

People realised that eating bacon and egg for breakfast was not the magical cure for weight loss, and eating a diet higher in saturated fat was not a particularly great idea!

Carbs have had a reprieve since they are still misunderstood.

Refined carbs like white potatoes, white pasta, white rice, a lot of cereal box products, are not particularly good for you due to the much higher sugar content. This is where carbs get a bad name from.

Substitute those for wholegrain pasta, sweet and new potatoes, brown rice, and more natural cereals such as porridge, and you are all of a sudden on to a winning formula. Slow release energy is king in terms of fat loss and physical performance!

Portion control is vital too. You slam a plate full of carbs in front of someone every meal, and you will put on weight. If you control those carb servings to the size of your fist, then you have the perfect combination of energy and weight control. Most people find this hard, but if you balance your meal properly, its not so hard because you will be eating a healthy serving of protein and vegetables too, so your plate will already be bulked out.

Carbs are your friend and not your enemy-in moderation!!