Posted on

Thursday 23rd June

There is a “miraculous” story in the paper today from the world famous Havard university saying that………………………………………………………..are you ready for this?

Its not the calories that are so important, it’s the QUALITY OF FOOD that’s vital in terms of weight loss. Believe it or not, they said that lean proteins, fruit and vegetables, good carbs and portion control were the overwhelming and long term weight loss!!!!! Nuts in moderation were considered great for you because of their essential fats, wholegrains were considered vital and one amazing fact was……………………another drum roll, alcohol they said was a massive factor in putting weight on!!!!!!

Okay, the sarcasm stops now but hopefully you get the point.

We bang on here every day going on about the same thing all the time, but it just so happens that this “same old thing” happens to be true, and needs to be hammered home until people get it, and don’t waste all their money on faddy diets, and faddy exercise equipment!!!

Im not pretending to be a know all in anything, but I do tend to know what works and what doesn’t, I tend to know when someone or some organisation is trying to scam you out of your hard earned money!!!

So the Harvard university study comes up with all of this after a big budget thrown at it and it makes front page news, and nobody, and I mean nobody could be happier than me!!!

This is the time to embrace it all again, the time to realise it’s the quality that counts and not tediously counting everything. Of course if you DO EAT too many calories, you WILL put weight on even if you are eating quality food.

This is how rugby players get a lot bigger of course and develop a lot of muscle for example.

The reality is though if you eat sensible portions the size of your fist, you will look and feel fantastic over time, this is finally a fact and check put the front pages to prove it!!!!!!!!!!

Twitt
Posted on

June 21st

The thought of losing hope in your dreams to have outstanding health is totally unacceptable.

I have seen many people think of giving up on their health, and there are not many sights so sad to see. The good news is though is that the situation is entirely retrievable!!

You can turn around ANY situation you want, in ANY circumstance if you really think about it.

I don’t want to keep on about it, but i find that i can’t give up on anyone, no matter what their situation is.

 Cyril for instance, is suffering from a terrible bad back, and to say it is hampering his health would be an understatement!!!

The good news is that he is prepared to go through a session with a swiss ball, to make sure he gets back on track and he gets his body fit and well and do the things and activities he really loves doing.

Jean is going through a very tough time with a very bad knee that is hanging around terribly, but is still getting through some good work and still burning calories and fat.

When you are in this situation, it becomes  very hard to maintain your motivation through this difficult time, and this is when programmes are made or broken!!

This is when your mind becomes your most important tool, and you have to make sure you last through this difficult time, and you have to realise that there is brighter times ahead, this is just a massive roadblock along the way, and is really going to be testing you hard.

You always have to think that most people would crack, and  go on a eating binge that will always result in weight gain, and then spirals into a further lack of motivation, leading to eventually a tough situation when it becomes tough to come back from.

The good news is that im not giving up on you, and you have to tough it out and not slip back to a situation where it becomes tough to come back from!!!

Twitt
Posted on

21st June 2011

Mixing up your training is not only good for progress but good to keep you fresh.

Another good point is giving you more options when it would be easy enough to call it quits for the week!

If you pulled your calf, twisted your knee or hurt your arm, there IS another way to train as many of you are proving.

I won’t go over all the excuses i have heard over the years, but they still make me mad from time to time, make that ALL THE TIME!!!!!

My favourite or not so favourite one is the one that someone cant train because their “training partner” is not training anymore, so they can’t train anymore!!!! Have you heard anything so ridiculous in your life!!! But i have heard this a few too many times i can assure you! You DO NOT have to rely on someone else to exercise, you really don’t!!!!!!!!

So the bottom line is getting used to all sorts of training so your options become greater and greater. If your arm is a little sore, what’s to stop you cycling or running, although i will admit you do use your arms on both, in different ways but workouts are STILL possible wouldn’t you say!!!!

If your knee is bad, you can do weight training circuits that don’t hurt your knee obviously, just find out the exercises that don’t hurt so much!!!

Swimming is a good exercise if you have aches and pains, because like cycling, it is non-weight bearing and will actually help your body improve, instead of slowing recovery down like other forms of exercises can do.

Nothing wrong at all with walking too if you have a pull in your arm or upper body, the bottom line must ALWAYS be if it hurts, then DO NOT do it. If there is no pain and makes you feel good, then it will be fine and you always need to use this rule, the saying “no pain no gain” is absolute hogwash, train smart and thats means training carefully!!!!

Lots of options out there and that means no excuses!!!

Twitt
Posted on

Monday Continued

Chris L asks about his circuits on thursday’s post last week, is 3/4 enough or should he put some cycling and running in?

The truth is he should do both. Alsways remember when you are doing circuits, aim for 3 circuits of around 6-8 exercises per circuit, have a little water and aim to complete all 3 circuits as soon as you can, whilst still doing every exercise correctly and with good form, no point in cheating on every exercise and pulling your back out just so that you “can finish earlier”!!

As you have kids, try and hit the bike ride hard too, going flat out for 20 minutes rather than one long one done at  low to moderate intensity, which will not bring you the same kind of results, same principle with the running, aim for sprints or interval running to achieve maximum results in a very quick period of time, no point being out there plodding all day on a main road inhaling all the fumes. Pick some steep hills and bring your training to a swfit conclusion, but be prepared to put on ton of work in when you do go for it, and aim to improve every week, this should be easily achievable!!!

Stick to your plan of working at a higher intensity in your running, cycling and inside circuits, train with urgency and don’t hold anything back!!! Let me know how it goes!!!

Twitt
Posted on

Monday, June 20th

If you’re looking for your big start to the week, then you need a fundamentally good start to the week and it all begins with some solid eating plans!
 
 
Nothing wrong with up to 3 cups of tea or coffee a day, but you do need plenty of water on top of that, 8-10 glasses a day or around 1.5 litres if you are consuming by the bottle.
 
 
Breakfast is always going to work best when its a natural choice, weetabix are always fine, and porridge can be a great selection giving you a nice long steady supply of energy to start the day off. Dried fruit can be a great sweetener.
 
 
If you are having some fruit juice in the morning or at any other time, its always an excellent idea to dillute it as you wont be consuming as much sugar as a whole glass of juice, therefore saving on needless calories too.
 
 
Fruit is usually a matter of personal taste, some people like certain fruits and tend to stick on the same ones. Its always good to mix them up a bit so you get different nutrients, but the bottom line is that fruit of any kind should come in on a daily basis.
 
 
Vegetables are a must have in anyone’s day, a lot of people ignore these at their peril, because they provide a lot of what your body needs when it comes to supporting good health.  Again try to keep it varied and your body will feel all the better for it.
 
 
Your protein selections should be the lean choices, such as white meats and fish, and if you keep to this, you will feel full and your calories consumed will be relatively low, red meat is fine but only once a week.
 
 
One of the biggest mistakes people make with carbs is portion sizes, and if they are bigger than the size of your fist, then everything you eat will be putting on body fat rather than giving you energy.
 
 
Portion size for some people is one of the most difficult thing to change, but once you do get used to the smaller amounts, then your appetite gets smaller, and your ability to eat big meals goes down, which means a smaller and flatter stomach of course.
 
Put in a great workout today and add of all this great food, and you’re off to a flier early on in the week!!!
Twitt