Posted on

Thursday, 26th April

Back pain often comes from imbalances throughout the body as we have talked about a million times on here.

It can come from simple things you never even thought about in your day.

From driving and reaching over the radio all the time to one side, to lounging in the chair while watching television, the causes are more simple than you thought and can be sorted out purely through behavioural change.

I have seen nasty back situations develop from reading a book in bed on one side, doing things only on one side will eventually lead to imbalances that need to be sorted and the sooner the better.

Simply by choosing to live your life with better posture habits will count for a lot when it comes to long term back health full stop. Make sure you make this vital change today.

Other back weakness can develop through working one side of the body and ignoring the other.

For example, if you only work the thighs and never work your hamstrings, then your back will eventually suffer, as well as poor hamstring strength of course, leading to injury, pain, cramping possibly at times, and you guessed it back pain!!!

Always work both sides of the body.

If you work your chest and shoulders but fail to do a range of back exercises, then it doesn’t take a genius to work out that back weakness will likely comes your way.

If you only run or just cycle, and you don’t do any strength or core stability work, then back pain is quite common amongst most participants.

These examples should really ram home the point about doing your core stability/balance work, doing the exercises we always talk about on here that you know are so good for you, and ignorance/reluctance to change is the only thing that may be stopping you have a very strong and healthy back!

Make it happen today.

Twitt
Posted on

Wednesday, 25th April

We talked about the importance of progress on here yesterday, and hope you are on a path of sustainable health and fitness improvements. In fact, this is the mission of this blog.

I’m not sure always who is reading this of course in terms of individual requirements, but i know a recurring subject on here is back pain and by bringing it up a lot, i know i will be talking to people who have experienced it at some time in their lives, often with very painful memories! In fact, around 87% of you will experience this unpleasant fact of everyday life.

Its not hard to see why either! Most jobs these days involve sitting down for hours on end, doing very little physically. Even construction these days is done a lot by machines, and there are move JCB drivers on sites these days than ever before. It’s very hard these days to name five physical jobs off the top off your head, when perhaps 50 years ago, most jobs involved burning calories and actually moving around!

Back pain can be a huge source of pain in people’s lives, and its very sad to see most of the population will go through it largely through inactivity and weight gain, and a weak core which is the central point to all of this.

 A lot of you will hhave gone to see the doctor about it, and the great news is that these days they will usually recommend you become more active, try eating a bit less to lose some  weight, and in general lead a healthier lifestyle.

Guess what they recommend for most ailments these days? The very same thing!!!

So leading a good lifestyle will help your health no end in all sorts of ways, and doctors now are preaching the message much harder, instead of dishing out endless pain killers!

More on back pain tomorrow!

Twitt
Posted on

Tuesday, 24th April

If when you start an exercise programme, you are simple shown around machines and then told basically to get on with it, you need to seriously ask WHY you are paying that gym or whatever, MONEY to help get fit?!!!

Its impossible to know how to get fit after just one session, it simply cannot happen. Its like learning a new job, it takes a while before you get comfortable with the way things work and the order you do them.

Joining a gym that is just interested in your money is very much a big gamble with your health and you should seriously think about a different approach.

Okay, lets say you get over the typical approach by many gyms, and you actually get to the stage where you know what you’re doing, then how about that original programme you were given? Has it expanded at all? Have you progressed? Or are you stuck in the same old rut all the time?

This is another BIG problem i see. People are given programmes to follow, however basic, but are never told when to move on, how to move on, IF they should be moving on!! The lack of back up support is often appalling, and this is another big reason  why people quit gyms in a big way.

You could and should look to improve your programme at least every 2 weeks, some will be able to do it every week, especially if you are new to fitness and if you respond well to exercise. The programme is always fluid and will change on the individual’s response entirely in my view.

Since i train individually, i know only too well that people respond at different rates and times, and ALL of them need maximum support when they start off, and even when they may have been training for years, they constantly need new prorgrammes, fresh dietary advice and always fresh motivation!!!!

If you are not being treated as an individual, then you are being cheated and progress for you is not likely to come quick!!

Twitt
Posted on

Friday, 20th April

If you are intent on making good progress, try and fill your shopping trolley with the following foods.

Lean protein sources such as chicken, turkey, fish and eggs always hit the mark in terms of top quality foods that serve your body very well in terms of losing body fat and being lean and hard.

Healthy starchy carbohydrates such as brown rice, brown rice and oatmeal will give you good long lasting energy that will not cause your blood sugars any trouble at all. We all need energy and these foods are the best and most effecient sources.

Lean fibrous veggies such as mushrooms, squash and broccoli can work for you in a big way, in terms of health in all sorts of ways, if you’re missing out on them, then you’re missing out on serious results.

Fibre packed fruit such as apples, berries, oranges and grapes you know contain natural sugars, and will automatically make you feel better, help in the battle against diseases of all kinds, and can be excellent additives when combined with natural yoghurt, making proper desserts or snacks, so please do not fall for all of the “light” versions of yoghurts, when in fact all they are is loaded with refined sugar, a big no no not only for fat loss but good health in general!

Don’t forget Frosties the cereal is advertised as low fat, but is full of sugar and definitely will not help you with your health and fitness goals! Don’t fall for the “low fat” advertisements because they are not giving you the full truth!

Healthy fats include flaxseed oil, walnuts, avocados, olive oil, and don’t forget the essential fats you can get from fish.

A varied diet is essential so make sure you continue to make the right choices!!

Twitt
Posted on

Thursday, 19th April

If you are a strong exerciser, or at least you consider yourself a regular exerciser, then the next question you need to ask yourself is what you are getting out of your exercise programme.

If you do the same thing, day in day out, workout to workout, chances are that you are stuck in a rut and haven’t really improved one bit for a substantial period of time.

This may be a mad statement for someone who trains regular but in my view, staying still in life is the exact wrong thing you should be doing and you should be looking at where your progress is going to come from next, instead of accepting the status quo and leaving ambition leave your life.

If you only do cardio the whole time, and by this I mean treadmill and bike maybe, with the occasional stepper session and maybe rowing machine thrown in from time to time, you are limiting your progress.

Of course you will be doing yourself a lot of good, but there’s much more in you if you think of other things to do.

For example, if you don’t do any resistance/weight training, then you are missing out on bone density improvements, a level of hardness in your body that you have never experienced before and a ton of other benefits that you never thought existed!

If you are not doing the kind of core stability work that I always advocate on here, then you are missing out on fundamental improvements on your balance, your strength at your body’s most important point, you are missing out on greater back strength, and in fact, your spine will be a whole lot healthier due to the muscles that are supporting it becoming much, much stronger and more stable.

If you have never boxed or hit a punch bag in your life, then you probably have the misconception that you “don’t want to be like a boxer”.

The truth is that the benefits again of boxing are tenfold, and if you are interested in a tighter waist, stronger back and hips, leaner arms and shoulders, and leaner stronger legs, then you need to get boxing and soon!!!

Don’t get stuck in a rut, the old saying is that the difference between a rut and a grave is only the depth!!

Twitt