Posted on

Friday, 24th February

With the big game in Twickenham tomorrow, on show will be the biggest collection of professional rugby players ever assembled.

If you compare these players to the 70’s, then you will be comparing chalk and cheese. The physical development of the players now would make mincemeat of the players back then.

I have to qualify this statement by stating that the players back then didn’t have the access to the training knowledge these days, the nutrition strategies that are commonplace these days, the different mindsets these days, the recovery advances that are very visible now.

We also have to realise that the players back in the 70’s were strictly amateurs, working a full time job and showing up for training a couple of times a week.

Weight training was often viewed negatively.

Eating a lot of protein was thought of as mad.

Training methods were very behind the times, and very unlikely to develop champion athletes.

Make shift gyms (if they had them in the first place) were remarkably poor and often unsafe, and nobody really knew what they were doing!!!

So it would be safe today to say that the likes of Gareth Edwards would likely still be fantastic players today, allowing for the fact that they would be right in the midst of all this training and eating knowledge, they would just be bigger, faster and stronger versions of what they were around 40 years ago!

The exciting thing is now that i really believe that any youngster can be developed into a professional athlete or at least semi-pro athlete given the right access to training, eating well, resting well and someone believing in them.

Many people don’t get as far as they could because they do not get enough professional help, i see many potential athletes every day coming through, and all they need is some encouragement, tried and tested advice based on science, and belief in themselves!!

More on this next week!!!

Twitt
Posted on

Thursday, 23rd February

We talked about injuries yesterday, but the main aspect that needs considering the most is injury prevention. If you don’t develop and care for all of your supporting muscles, your tendons and ligaments, then something or other will catch up with you in time, and this is if you exercise or not.

Indeed those who do not exercise are likely to have worse circulation, more joints aching, bad backs and more colds, flu etc. Also not exercising is one of the major risk factors when assessing one’s health.

People go on about all the time about alcohol, smoking, various diseases, but inactivity is a real risk to everyone in terms of future health expectations.

We talked about running and walking injuries yesterday, but the one legged squat is an excellent exercise to fit into your health and fitness twice to three times a week.

The sooner you learn the importance of proper balance the better. I try to take it several steps further by using various pieces of cutting edge balance equipment that are purposely created to make you more balanced, help you develop very strong core strength, and in general help you prevent the normal wear and tear injuries that most people are likely to get.

There is a thing called gait analysis, which videos you the way you run, and in particular the way you land on the surface as you run or even walk. This can help you decide which training shoes would be best for you.

The facts are that most people over-pronate, which means you tilt over ever so slightly when you hit the floor. Over time, this will create minor niggles to bigger more worrying injuries.

Again this is exactly why I try to concentrate on you AVOIDING and PREVENTING injuries by strengthening your fundamental strength in your body.

If you research more into it yourself as well as reading here, it will confirm the steps you need to take to fulfil your physical potential and avoid the nuisance of needless injury!!!

Twitt
Posted on

Wednesday, 22nd February

We go on all the time about doing the right things, at the right times in order to be successful, and that will always remain the most important factor in your success. Hopefully, i try to break it down in an easy to understand way, taking the mystery out of it all.

Another big factor that affects everyone during the training lives, and especially if you don’t even train, is INJURY.

Injuries come in all different forms, and can happen to any area of your body as we all know. I think back injuries come out on top, and are likely to affect 87% of the working population at some time in their lives.

Another topical injury at the moment for many with the London marathon not so far away, various triathlons, 10k’s and 5k’s, is running injuries.

Also, i have individuals doing the Moonwalk up in London, which is basically a walking marathon for Ladies done overnight,

Anyway, i come across running and walking injuries quite often in the general population, fortunately though not many people i train as i like to do a lot of core stability and injury prevention work.

One simple exercise i recommend to people who are having any such injuries is first to try and balance on one leg. If your leg flares out to one side quickly and you struggle to balance, then you need to address these issues as soon as possible.

For example, if you have a foot problem, then the way you walk or run could be the problem.

Good footwear is always vital, change your trainers every 500 miles or 6 months in general.

There are those who recommend barefoot running, stating the natural benefits. According to worldwide authorities, running barefoot is only recommended if you gait is perfect, this means you land perfectly, and your hips and knees are all in alignment, in most people’s experience, this DOES NOT HAPPEN, so run barefoot with GREAT CAUTION, personally i wouldnt bother and science DOES NOT back it up!

A very good test is to do one legged squats, try and keep your knee and hips in alignment, your hip should not flare out, and your knee shouldnt come in too much, this is a sign you need to do more balance work and correct these issues, or longer term injury may come your way.

More on this tomorrow!

Twitt
Posted on

Tuesday, 21st February

Eating on a budget is one of the topical subjects that needs to be addressed, and just about everyone has thought of, or probably already taken action on, given the very harsh economic climate.

There is good news though, and there are many options. Being careful with your money usually means that you cut out the little treats in your diet, the things loaded with sugar and fat, guaranteed to wreck your energy levels and pile on the body fat over time.

So if you are cutting back financially, the junk snacks need to go right now.

I always encourage everyone to eat plain and more natural, if you’re cutting back, then this needs to happen and again, your biggest beneficiary will be your waistline and hips.

So start off the day with plain oats, which are very cheap if you go for the big bag the supermarket sell, around 75p a kilo. Add water or milk to taste, and this will give you up to 4 hours energy!

Try getting your fruit and vegetables from like likes of Aldis and lidl’s to save money, but they are actually nicer in my experience., and you save a fortune!

If you’re looking at pasta, try the big bag of wholegrain pasta, which keeps it slow release energy, again eat in moderation and you will lose body fat, try making your own tomato sauce for flavouring. Throw a tin of fish in there, mix it up and you have a great meal, and very low in cost compared to the first class nutrition you are getting.

Stir fries are great to make with all that veg, and with a piece of chicken, lean beef or any fish.

The cans of fish are still really cheap, and I consume them a lot. Mackerel, tuna, salmon will fit well into any meal and are a first class protein source you need in main meals.

Drinks are often a source of needless calories and things like diet drinks need to be avoided too, they cost money and not good for you internally. Plain old fashioned water will be zero calories for you, help you actively lose body fat, and give you up to a third more energy, a win win situation.

Don’t bother with supermarket sandwiches, high in fat, salt and sugar, expensive for what you get. Try making your own filled pitta bread wholemeal options. Vegetables and a protein source of your choice will work brilliantly and work perfectly for lunch.

 With a bit of thought, you can eat very well and economically!

Twitt
Posted on

Monday, 20th February

Losing can often teach you more than winning, or so the saying goes in sports.

The same goes for your health and fitness programme.

How many diets have you crashed and burned on?

How many times have you tried to exercise and thrown the towel in?

How many times have you said “this time i’m going to do it no matter what” and still failed?

If you have been through all of these, and most of us have if we are honest, then they can become very valuable experiences believe it or not!!!

As long as we remember where we went wrong, then perhaps next time we will learn and not do it again?

If someone suggest we join them in a weight loss class, that we know that didnt work last time, and probably never well, isn’t it madness to go through the same useless process again?

The programme we did in the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s may not have worked out too well, because some of us didnt train too smart, and got obsessed with doing cardio all the time maybe for example. We know that doesn’t really work and we need to mix it up with weights/resistance work.

So we have all the knowledge now on how to train effectively, so you would think that most of us would do it right, having failed so many times before? It is madness to go through the same process time and time again and expect a different result!!! But still some peope do it believe it or not.

Would you attempt an exam in school or college and say you only had 40%, then the next time you had 41%, the time after 35%, wouldn’t it be time to change your approach and work in a far more effective manner? Unfortunately a lot of people don’t get this and never get the very most out of their training, when sometimes all the solutions thhat they need to achieve their goals are right in front of them!!!

Learn from your past mistakes, and as long as you do, you will find the right approach and achieve great results faster than you ever thought possible!!!

Twitt