Keri McKibbin Personal Training

“People can cry much easier than they can change”-James Baldwin, American author.

After all the stuff i have read on here, all the stuff i have asked people this week, all the “stuff” i tend to see in the media at times, i really think most people are READING too much into their health and fitness plans!!

I encourage the actual reading part of course, but what i don’t encourage is the too much reading and not enough action part!

How many people do you know will actually do things that they are not any good for themselves, not good for those around them and not good for the long term, and yet STILL do those things?!!

That got me to thinking about how most people are sucked into advertising campaigns and marketing drives of all kinds.

We can all remember gyms that came along in the area promising to literally “change your life”! It’s not really a great slogan when those gyms are gone within a few short years, that promise seems a little hollow now don’t you think? I never like to see anyone go through, but people i think forget that the actual product must be first-class before you ever brag about it so much.

There is always going to be next “big thing” but unfortunately, they last often about as long as fish and chip paper.

Longevity in any business is to be admired and has always fascinated me. There was a famous british business owner on the other day giving a television interview. He was asked how did he survive so long, and how did he keep his marketing campaign so successful and so fresh?

The reply startled his interviewer. He replied he survived so long by giving excellent customer service, far above any of his competitors who really didn’t want to know the customers once they purchased the product, and he spent 99% less money conveying that message!

His answer on the marketing campaign was this, he didn’t have any! His marketing was looking after the customer so well, that they felt they had to come back because they were treated so well, and it was a pleasure each time they went into any of his shops. How many of you feel that way about a business? And is that the reason you go back or stay away if the experience is negative?

He went on to say that his main competitor spent 25 million on advertising one year, they actually spent 200 thousand, yet the competitor went bust the following year, they had forgotten what customer care was all about. He never sold his product too cheap, a fair price for a good product he maintained, his competitor went bust trying to stack them too high, and sell them too cheap!! 

This blog is about being consistent, about achieving longevity and giving consistently common sense advice that is likely to work time after time. You may see things change slightly over time, but the principles WILL NEVER CHANGE. I have upset people sometimes by sticking to them, and telling people like it is because i want what’s best for everyone, with no side effect, no catches and no false promises.

 The good news is that most of those people i have told straight have told me down the line (maybe 6 weeks, 6 months or even 6 years) that the advice was actually sound and wish they did at the time, and their desire to do it the “easy way” had in fact been the long way, and had made them waste so much time in their life, as well as torture themselves mentally and physically by making the wrong choices, often on promises of these marketing people, who are only after your money. Just like the example i gave you on the successful business versus the marketing rubbish, anything you learn on here should last you for the rest of your life, as the answers i give are there to be shot at, or praised so i’m putting it all on the line here, and thank you for showing interest.

This blog is here to help, to encourage and put you straight on what works, what doesn’t and how you can improve your health for the rest of your life. I sense some slumber here the last couple of days, you can be sure i am going to fired up to get you out of it the next few days and weeks!! The advice i get from the posters is highly appreciated too, i take all of it onboard!

I appreciate everyone’s comments so keep them going!!! We all learn every day and thank you!

“Let us resolve to be masters, not the victims of our history, controlling our own destiny without giving way to blind suspicions and emotions”-John F Kennedy 1917-1963

Jean has raised a valid point in her comments in her last post on day 71. She is on bit of a downer as cyril says, and perhaps it’s understandable due to circumstances.

I have done a survey of many people i train, and asked them how often do they feel like giving up, quitting, feel that the effort is overwhelming etc etc?

The answers i got back didn’t surprise me, especially those who i see at 5am in the morning.

The reality for them, especially in the winter months, there were indeed times when they were questionning what they did, was it really worth it, wouldn’t it be more comfortable to stay in bed, to join a gym, to join a weight loss club, to buy some new equipment themselves, after all they said “they knew what to do by now, as they had been training with me for years”.

Then after all of this, i had the reinforcement i was looking for. The reasons for continuing their training with me ranged from “they wouldn’t do it otherwise, or they wanted to do it the right way, they couldn’t push themselves this hard on their own, they had tried all the weight loss clubs and all it invlovled was losing the weight at all costs, then inevitably putting the weight on again. There were countless reasons, and thankfully most of them inspired me to work even harder at keeping them happy, and looking out for fresh ways to improve them.

I am training another pregnant lady at the moment, and asked why she was carrying on and had done for many years. We often had disagreements when she wasn’t doing her best, but told me that training during pregnancy was now the most important thing she could ever do, as her health and her baby’s health were now the most important thing in the world. Plus she desperately wanted to get into shape once the baby was born.

Back to Jean, she goes on about “people accepting her as she is”? I have made it plain and clear that we accept her “as she is too”! All i would say to that statement is that i really don’t think jean likes being overweight and inactive, so is that her “true self” and really “as she is”? I don’t think so. Doesn’t she want to be a good role model to her grandchildren and keep up with them into old age, surely this is just ONE of many reasons to be fit and healthy?!!

Perhaps the real jean is more like someone who REALLY ENJOYS training and the challenges it brings, and likes doing crazy physical feats at times!

Jean enjoys her food, sometimes has one too many treats and likes to overdo it when like now as cyril says “she is on a downer”!! So, its up to us to support jean when she is down like this, remind her that she is really much better than buying a cheap piece of exercise equipment and staying inside all the time, when she could be outside an enjoying herself.

 We all have the same choices, its about how we deal with the cards that are dealt to us that is the vital thing. Looking on the bright side can be a very important trait, and a habit that will save us from going on many downer’s, which often lead to weight gain and loss of the feeling of wellbeing.

So the question of someone quitting is not new to me, but its just another situation for me to help out with, and tell everyone that its natural, and that everyone goes through it. The reason why my retention rate is extremely high is because i expect you to have obstacles and challenges in your way, and if you expect  them, through knowledge and experience, we are going to be very well equipped to get over them and come out the other side in terrific shape.

I told everyone yesterday that one of the major secrets to success is keeping going even when everything or everyone says to quit. Little do most people know that ultimate success is just waiting around the corner!

Grilled fish with warm vinaigrette

2 thick white fish fillets, such as cod, hoki or haddock about 6oz each

olive oil for brushing

freshly ground black pepper

Vinaigrette: 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, 2 tsp balsamic vinegar, 1tsp dijon mustard, juice of 1/2 lemon

1 Preheat the grill to high and line the grill pan with foil. Brush the cod with oil and season, then grill for 8-10 mins, depending on the thickness of the fish.

2 Meanwhile whisk together with oil, vinegar, mustard and lemon juice. Pour the dressing into a saucepan and heat through gently.

Serve the fish with the vinaigrette poured over.

Serve will canellini beans or brown rice with side salad.

The feeling of helping individuals improve their lives is a fantastic one, and one that keeps me getting up at 4am every day.

I do rely on a certain amount of effort on the individual’s part though, and i am glad to say that everyone improves, even if some do better than others at times. Up in Cardiff today was fantastic, as i know every single one of the girls at Arthur Llewellyn Jenkins has made substantial progress, and are still excited about their improvements and their potential to do more than they ever thought possible!

I think the real secret throughout this challenge has been everyone learning that they must carry on even when they don’t feel like it. Isn’t it the same during exam time? We all have taken exams at some time in our lives, and a lot of us taken exams after we left school, i was one of them and remain commited to life-long learning.

I have trained so many people who have taken such after school exams, and they were glad they persevered when they felt like throwing the towel in many times. I felt like catching the train straight back from london when i did my exams, but glad i stuck it out or i wouldn’t be here writing this here tonight!

To get up and do your workouts each day does take more thought and effort than most people appreciate. This week for instance there is heavy rain around, there is icy weather back wednesday and the chances to workout will be more limited. Some of you may well make excuses, but you will know by now that’s its not going to cut any ice with me, if you parden the pun!!

Some people always ask me do i lose work through bad weather? The reality is that i do an awful lot of inside workouts when the weather is rough, and the quality of the workouts doesn’t have to suffer, sometimes it is even better! The only time i lose work is if i can’t get in because of the snow, and even then i always give it a good go, foolishly sometimes!

 This is why a proper structure in your exercise programme is vital, or you will become a “weekend warrior”. This means someone who only trains the weekend because of “lack of time”. This is still good for you but a very inefficient way of training. What happened to the other 5 days?!!! Time to get with the programme!

Three days strength work is great along with a maximum of 3 days cardio work (running/walking/cycling/swimming etc). You always need one day rest minimum, no matter who you are, the body’s need for recovery cannot be understated so let’s keep everything in proper balance.

It’s like your food, keeping everything in proper balance is vital. Don’t cut out food groups although some are tempted for short term gains. Food and natural food at that, were put on this earth for a reason, to nourish your body properly and to be enjoyed in all its full natural glory. Ready meals and low calorie chocolate bars weren’t exactly part of nature’s master plan!!!

Hope you are having a solid start to the week and welcome to week 11!!!!!!

Day 70 is pretty significant, it sounds an awful long time but it is only 10 weeks. Did you ever really believe that 10 weeks could be so long, create so much possibility and change in your life?

Or was it the other way around?

Was it too long, or is it too long already? Is it more comfortable being in a programme that promises the world in 2 weeks? Is it easier that way so you can find it out quicker that it doesn’t really work, and you can move on to the next one that wants to take your money for another two weeks?

Should we all be eating crunchy nut corn flakes for breakfast and lunch, and we would all live happily ever after? That’s what mass marketing would have us believe of course, and would those magical two weeks actually create that model’s body we see in the adverts?! Maybe not.

Society wants us to have the massive highs and lows or there would be no “wonder” products to come along and change our lives. We all secretly want a magic bullet to change things easily for us, and be able to call on that magic bullet when we want to.

If we didn’t have routines and structures in our lives, we would all love to be in the pub every night and having fish and chips on the way home. We wouldn’t get up for work the next until WE felt like it, and we wouldn’t really have to work unless WE liked doing the job. This imaginary world doesn’t exist of course unless you had the financial freedom of a lottery winner.

Lottery winners are often in the paper though saying how money has ruined their lives. How they lost all their friends and life became “boring” for them.

What they really mean is that life became boring because they had no challenges in their lives anymore. Life had no value and they aspired to nothing. When you have something to aim for, you tend to raise your game and meet the challenges that are in front of you. This gives you self-esteem and self-confidence, which makes you feel good and gives you self-worth.

I have met a few people with all the money in the world given to them on a plate, but were often unhappy as they had nothing to contribute to in life. They had no tough choices, nothing to get up for and when that moment comes, life usually takes a downward spiral.

You hear it all the time, when people retire and have no interests, they don’t usually last long. Those who have plenty going on in their retirement and are challenged usually remain the vibrant person they always were, and usually keep contibuting to the environment around them.

This programme is all about tough choices and big challenges, and getting over them creates ultimate success and a long lasting vibrant life.

Have a great sunday!

Eating a healthy way makes us hungry sometimes…………………..and in a good way.

When you try and deny yourself of food, you are doomed for failure. Eating every 3-4 hours is not only good for your energy levels, but will keep your metabolism going too. It’s all about how many calories your body burns 24 hours a day when it comes to optimum fat-loss. Our way of eating supports the healthy way of life fully.

Some diets will tell you that you can eat anything you want, every day!!!! All you have to do is cut down!

So, if i’m understanding this correctly, there is not much room for proper food and proper nutrients. One member on here previously told me that she could have her chicken nuggets, her chicken Mcsandwich etc, as long as she saved up her “points” until the end of the day, when she could “cheat” again!

If something seems to be good to be true, then it always is!

How many of you have been on that road to nowhere?

The other thing i hear is that many on these faddy diets make you stop going to the toilet so often,  your internal workings don’t work so well,  theydon’t seem to “work” as well anymore. The last thing i would want is have all that chemically-enhanced “meat” inside me wrecking my insides and staying there far longer than it should!

The biggest problem is that there is more and more information out there all the time, more and more people looking to make a “fast buck” out of you. The funny thing is that these people don’t last more than a year or two (at the most), as their principles (if they have any) don’t stack up. Anytime anyone promises you the earth telling you CAN eat whatever you want, they ought to be locked up where they would less dangerous!

I have been up since 5am this morning, two young children for you! Still managed a good coastal run with the dogs this morning, and had some scrambled eggs and smoked salmon, so i feel pretty fantastic writing this, with an abundance of energy ready to face a great saturday hopefully!

Have a great saturday and you can be sure i will be here every day standing up for what is right, no matter how many people try to sell you a lifestyle that is filled with false promises and bad science!

Standing up for what you believe is right will always be the right thing to do, and thanks for your support. We currently have people viewing from Sydney to the Ukraine, so thank you for all for viewing and supporting this message!

Here’s what i’m eating tonight, as friday is my treat night!

Choose a good steak, as big as you feel like, with all the visible fat trimmed off

Ingredients (a bit looser than normal as its friday)

1 rump or fillet steak

half a lemon

dash of worcester sauce

2 teaspoons of brandy

Here’s how to do it

1 Heat your frying pan until very hot and dry fry your steak until its too your taste, whether rare, medium or well done. You will need to reduce the heat slightly for the longer cooking times to avoid burning.

2 Remove the steak to a heated plate and keep warm while you deglaze the pan. Pour in the lemon juice and a dash of worcester sauce and stir well, scraping any sediment from the base of the pan.

3 Remove from the heat, stir in the brandy and pour over the juices over the steak to serve.

Crush one garlic in a teaspoon of olive oil first.

 I would fry up two thinly sliced red onions, and slice four tomatoes, and around 8 mushrooms, and fry in some olive oil until softened.

Red meat is a good source of iron but would recommend only lean cuts and once a week only.

Enjoy!

Another tough week for everyone, but a good one i hope, and even cyril will hopefully have had a milder cycle track to bike on this week!

The familiar theme is always going to be continued as we go into spring, isn’t it great that the clocks are being put forward tomorrow night?

If you are still going now at day 68, you should be standing tall right now. You have encountered all the headwinds, the self-doubt, the feeling of throwing in the towel at times, the great feeling of being able to keep on going despite thinking you would quit at any time, the feeling of your workouts getting better each week and you being proud of the amazing levels of fitness you have achieved, the feeling of clothes you can no longer wear because you have lost so much around your hips and waist, the feeling of moving on now and taking on even bigger and better challenges, the feeling that you WERE actually more talented than you ever thought and you were RIGHT to back yourself seemingly against the odds!

These are all wonderful and satisfying feelings and i love you talking about them!

The alternatives are not the ones you really want to think about if you have progressed this far. The alternatives were still being stuck in a rut not doing anything about your current predicament, going on more and more faddy diets that ultimately don’t get you anywhere, and still being negative about your health and future prospects.

A negative outlook can seemingly be justified to some at times, because doing the same old things will get you the same old results.

This programme has always encouraged change and taking action, if you do then naturally your end result will be a changed one, and usually a good one. Sometimes it takes someone with a very negative outlook many years to convince themselves to take this better road.

It’s a lot easier to be negative in life than be positive, it’s a lot easier to be a doubter than a believer. There is an old saying that the difference between a rut and a grave is the depth.

The sooner you realise that being negative and a doubter is a waste of energy, the quicker you move on.

Being a believer means that you have to seek out the very best tried and tested advice and here’s the biggest thing and are you ready for this ground breaking statement on what you have to do?………………………………..YOU HAVE TO ACTUALLY FOLLOW IT THROUGH TO ITS NATURAL CONCLUSION!! The natural conclusion is when you are finally in great shape and feel amazing.

Those of you who have actually followed this programme from start to finish will get such a feeling. I know there won’t be many of you as it take an enormous amount of guts and determination to get through this, but my guess is that if you have got through it, you’re feeling very proud and satisfied with yourself right now, and well done on that effort!

Just over two weeks left, make them your best ones!