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November 4th 2010

How many of you could fill in the calendar this year every week, every month and claim to have trained every week without fail? At least three times that is a week?

Not many I would guess and here’s how lack of activity affects your progress and momentum in your health and fitness.

For every week you DON’T train, it usually takes 1-2 weeks to get back to the level before you stopped. If you take 4 weeks off, it will take 4-8 weeks to get back where you were, if you take 12 weeks off or 3 months, then it takes 3-6 months to get back where you were.

You can see from this that having lay off’s from your training are very hurtful indeed to your progress, in fact they can write off long periods of time for all of us.

The only situation when a lay off IS beneficial is when you are ill or when you go on holiday, when a week or two off is actually going to refresh you and help you build up your reserves again.

If you’re still have these lay off’s, you need to look at yourself in the mirror and re-discover how important your health and fitness IS to you.

If you say to yourself that you have OTHER things to do, and health is something you will get round to at a “later date”, then you could be accused of being delusional and not honest with yourself.

Once you do become honest with yourself, you have to tell yourself that unless you do three workouts a week, then you WON’T get good results out of this.

You have to realise that you have to give at least a TWELVE WEEK commitment to this if you want to achieve noticeable and excellent results out of this that you can be proud of. I’m talking about the kind of results that your clothes don’t fit you anymore, the kind of results when people stop you on the street and ask you what the heck have you been doing because you look so unbelievably good, the kind of results when you feel so good, so self-confident and so energetic that you can’t wait to wake up the next day because EVERY day becomes exciting because of the endless possibilities!!!

This can happen and it DOES happen every day a lot of people’s world because they have believed in themselves and used a tried and tested programme.

What are you waiting for!!!

Twitt
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This is when the work is done!

A dull day in november it may be in terms of weather anyway, but days like today are exactly the type of days when you need to be putting all the hard work in if you really want to look fantastic coming up to christmas!!!

The most  important sessions are the ones you never really feel like doing, and once you remember that mantra, you will be much more motivated by days like today. Days like today are also days when you think of summer believe  it or not! It seems way off but the hard work is really put in now for next summer, as there’s no such thing of overnight success in this game, and every bit of progress you get is definitely well-earned!!!!

This time of year is also about finding out how tough you are, and whether you have desire and determination needed to change your body, change your energy levels and change your ambitions so you can be in superior health!!

Another reason to feel a bit smug with yourself this time of year is that finding out you are one of the few who actually exercises outside this time of year. If you are running, walking, cycling etc on a day like this, you are guaranteed not to meet many people out on the way!!! This shows to me and it should show yourself that YOU ARE committed and dedicated to changing your appearance and really focused on looking and feeling good.

This feeling inside alone is enough to brighten up the most dreary of days! You are investing in your future right now, today the 3rd of november if you get out there today and do a workout or stay inside and do a workout. You are really setting yourself apart from the crowd who would have thrown in the towel by now. You are different and you should celebrate that fact!!!

When i said there was 12 weeks to christmas a while ago, some of you probably laughed and thought it was a long time away. Now the facts are that its only SEVEN weeks away and how much close are you to your health and fitness goals!!! If you havent taken it seriously, you STILL have time so lets not waste another minute!!!

Twitt
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Five simple things!

Making health and fitness programmes complicated and hard to follow is the biggest mistake you can make when it comes to getting into seriously good shape.

When most of us entered gyms, fitness centre’s, fitness classes etc, many of us were intimidated by those wearing the fancy training gear, those talking a good game and those who thought they had the divine right to tell us what to do and when to do it.

This situation was and is my pet hate. The great news is that these “know it all’s” don’t really know anything, and can often set you back  a long way because of their lack of credible information.

You don’t have to follow the crowd, there is another way and it works, it’s also every simple, just ask any sensible doctor and ask them if this is faddy or is it truly a tried and tested way to get into very good shape and achieve great health internally!

It just comes to doing around 5 things every day and you will be successful beyond your wildest dreams, you don’t need the trendy workout gear, the trendy (but ultimately useless) diets or the rubbish exercise equipment in all those ads!

First of all, try and do your workouts 3 times per week minimum, and two more walks wouldn’t go amiss too. This would be a total of 5 times a week but is totally achievable, 3 inside workouts, twice outside, not too much to ask!

Second, eat well. 80% of your shopping needs to nutritious and good for you, eat smaller portions ever 3-4 hours maintaining steady blood sugar levels. You wont go wrong.

Thirdly, drink enough water during the day, 1.5-2 litres a day is fantastic and will make you feel amazing, plus help you digest food better and help you lose body fat at a quicker rate.

Fourth, get some sleep in! Getting to bed at a decent time every night, apart from Friday and Saturday maybe, will make you feel refreshed, boost your energy levels unbelievably, help you recover well from your workouts and life’s daily stresses and bottom line make your body function as well as it possibly can!!

Fifth, keep things in moderation! If you want a drink, then have one but try to keep it to once a week and don’t get trashed if you can. Plus you will wake up the following morning a lot better!!! Just like food, if you fancy a bit of what you fancy, have it  but no need to go on an almighty binge, moderation really works and keeps your sanity intact as you’re not denying yourself too much.

Does all of this sound simple and achievable? I hope so and let’s keep putting it into action!!!

Twitt
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Secrets to burning more fat

The real deal with healthy eating is not often explained properly. Most people are repelled from healthy eating sometimes because they are TOLD what to do! Nobody likes being told what to do like they are little kids, and will rebel often and do the complete opposite of what they are supposed to do.

There are government campaigns on food all the time it seems, but most people i know havent taken much notice about them.

There has to be a reason deep down for that person to change, and it has to be a strong one, or the self-discipline and determination to get a programme started will soon go by the wayside.

When you eventually change to the healthy way of eating, its important to keep your protein in most meals and of a healthy nature, your carbohydrates in limited amounts (about the size of your fist per serving) and of slower release in terms of energy, keep your healthy fats coming in through fish and a small handful of nuts, and keeping a variety of fruit and vegetables coming in is ultra-important in the winter months to come, keeping your immune system strong and your body functioning well.

Another overlooked point when it comes to eating is how many calories you burn simply by digesting your food.

To cut a very long story short, you will burn a lot more calories for instance eating wholemeal bread than white bread. It takes longer for your body to break down the wholemeal and wholegrains than it does the rubbish you often get in white bread.

I always recommend protein in most meals, and there is good reason too. It takes a lot more calories to break down the protein you consumer in meals than just eating carbs. Protein takes longer to go through your system, creating a nice long calorie burn without you working too hard!

The process of eating and the way your stomach breaks down your food is often forgotten, and its heck of a bonus that the healthy way of living is the most calorie and fat burning too.

Next time you do your shopping, make sure you pick the foods that will help your metabolism burn calories at a fierce rate. This is an easy to follow secret to burning fat and you dont have to do any work for it so keep it up and have a great start to the week!!!

Twitt
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End of week assessment

How’s your  end of week looking just before halloween?

Is it full of hope and progress or is it full of a lack of action and disappointment?

The great thing about it is  that this ship never leaves the port completely and leaves you stranded. We are always here to help you, even if you have bad week, if you have made a pig of yourself on food and drink, or if you just “down in the dumps” again, thats the way things are sometimes!

So if we plan for no longer than a week, i am going to be encouraging you at the start and end of every week. This is because not only am i an eternal optimist, but literally ANYONE can change their lives around ANY week of ANY year!! It’s that easy to get going, all you need is to make that first vital step. I may have the odd rant in the week sometimes because im frustrated at something, but in the main, everything on here will be positive to get you going again, and to give you that vital leg up when hopelessness takes over sometimes.

So how’s your strength work going and inside workouts? Don’t forget one pound of muscle burns up to 50 calories per day and one pound of fat burns a pathetic 2 pounds a day! The leaner you are carrying a healthy degree of lean muscle tissue, the quicker your metabolism is 24 hours a day, that’s the true secret to fat loss and being in the shape YOU really want!!!

Have you experienced the joys of being outside this week? From the low’s of the freezing conditions at the beginning of the week to the wilder winds of today, this ever-changing climate will often give you four seasons in one day but one thing’s for sure, it’s NEVER boring!! You have every chance to get out there the weekend too, no excuses for saturday and sunday as you should have enough daylight hours to get some quality work in. There are numerous routes to train on all the way throughout the area as previously discussed, all of them different and a lot of fun!! 

NOW is the time to do it, not everyone has the attitude to get out there in all weathers but now is when you really progress and make the big gains. That’s why you don’t see many people training in this weather, and they will never make sustained progress either. If you want to be different and make a tremendous difference to yourself you can be proud of, get your trainers on tomorrow and lets have a big weekend outside!!!

Twitt