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Monday blues

How many of you rely on your monday morning workout to get you going in the week?

It certainly gets me going and sets the tone for the week, it dictates the way i feel and dictates the energy levels all week long. If i eaat well all day and get a great workout in, i feel like doing more of the same all week long.

The other option for most people is to do nothing and sit in the chair on monday, but what kind of message does this send to our bodies. Does it say that sloth like behaviour is the new “us” and being active is a thing of the past?

If we dont get monday off to a great start, are we saying that we are somehow too old for all of this, and we should give up on ourselves?

Most of us  will feel a bit rough on monday morning and for the first time this week, it was pitch black when i got up! Plus i have to put on the full lights on the car, as the longest day now has gone and the mornings are drawing in very quickly. I found it harder to get going today because of the light at 4.15am, it was a little colder and the thought of a huge day wasn’t as appetising as usual!!!

Now i feel much more into it, and already i feel i have some great momentum in my day. I have just had a small break and about to get right back into it trying to guide people through their own version of monday blues!!

This is why i always consider monday as my most important day for training, and getting a great session under my belt makes me feel as good as im going to feel. If i dont train today, i wont feel like myself and its like playing catch-up the rest of the week.

Let’s get out there and have a great workout today, you will feel amazingly good after a bath/shower and feel much more ready to face the week’s challenges to come!

Twitt
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Rafa gets even better!

Congratulations to Rafael Nadal, the man gets even better and is he going to be beaten in the next 10o years?!!!! Well, 5 years at least!

There was a nice story behind the scenes on how hard he has worked to overcome his knee problems, and come back faster, stronger and even more durable as he claimed his second title at wimbledon, and moved his major titles to eight, joining the ranks of the great fred perry, andre agassi and rod laver.

This determination to succeed even when he seemingly couldnt go further is sometimes alien to us in this country.

When we get someone who gets to the top in a sport, we cant wait to knock him/her down again.

Nadal is on his own personal pursuit to achieve greatness maybe on a par with roger federer. When you saw the Wimbledon winners list the last few years engraved in the trophy, you saw plenty of federer and it seems as if nadal will be writing his own chapter/chapters in history, he has done that already but much more to come surely?!!!

Jean was bang on throughout the tournament, nadal is already at the top of everest looking down at the rest of them, at this rate he will join the space race!!

Twitt
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Take the bull by the horns…………like rafa!

Nice to see the end of  the tennis semi-final yesterday, and whatever side of the fence you stand, you will either be happy or a little sad this morning. Sadly i have to say that rafael nadal stirs far more passion in people than andy murray. I think its not only nadal’s great play and almost inhuman supply of energy, its the way he pulls off seemingly impossible shots when the odds are all in his opponents favour.

Murray on the other hands seems to like beating up the also rans but seems to have a mental block when it comes to federer and nadal on the biggest occasions.

Does he take the risks needed to win these mega-occasions?

Has he the bottle and nerve to use his emotions to destroy his opponent?

Does he now do more punching of the air than tim henman ever do?

The bottom line now seems like nadal is on another planet, and whether murray can make that next step up seems in doubt? Then again, i don’t think that anyone else can make that step up to the standard that federer and nadal have created!!

So hows your training going? Are you going for it like Rafa does or are you still talking a very good game?

Taking  the bull by the horns is heck of an attitude if you can get into this mentality!

Showing no fear, not caring what ANYONE else thinks is a very powerful state of mind and will take you to places you never thought possible, doubt is a killer for anything you want to ever try. If you can take the doubt element out of things, and just simply have a go anyway, you may be pleasantly surprised how good you actually are.

As we discuss all the time, showing up, going for it, doing it, making an attempt, believing in yourself, thinking big, are all the most valuable ways of achieving the success you originally out to do.

Lets have a big weekend, the great outdoors is waiting for you!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Twitt
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Getting it?

Okay, a big welcome back to cyril, who has obviously been very busy, but has fallen off some of his excellent habits. Doing the stuff in the garden though remains a very tough job which burns lots of calories and works different muscles so well done on that cyril.

The facts don’t change when you want to keep measuring your progress and keeping yourself on an even keel, or even progressing.

So if im looking at my week, i look at it and ask myself have i done my all over weights workout twice a week?

I then look have a done some cardiovascular work and for me that includes cycling and running, for you it may include walking, swimming or anything that gets your heart rate up for an extended period.

I then look at my weekly eating, has it been quite tight with a good structure or have pizza’s and alcohol slipped in there somewhere, after all it was the world cup wasn’t it?

So if i indeed manage to do all of these then thats great, i am at least staying healthy and probably improving my health.

So what’s your story? Do you have week’s like these and if you don’t, what do you do the following week? Do you start exercising again or do you lose motivation already and by mid-week promise to start “next week” or “next month?

All of you tell me that you feel like death warmed up when you dont do your workouts, when you dont eat properly, and when you have poor night’s sleep. or you start drinking in the week and more than you should.

This seems like the eternal battle, is it going to be the good, well structured week or the bad, haphazard week’s that can lead to a pretty hefty downward spiral for some of you?

When this “eternal battle” ends, and you make working out and eating well totally part of your lifestyle, and exercise an absolute must in your life, THIS IS TOTALLY WHEN YOU GET IT!

Like yesterday’s post, “showing up” is 80% of the equation when you want to be successful so the minute you start analysing your week’s honestly and ask yourself how committed you truly are, that is exactly the time you progress.

Twitt
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Showing up or kidding yourself?

Now the muggyness has gone a little bit from the weather, hopefully all of you are stepping up your workouts?!!!

I admit I have been a bit sluggish for around a week or so, finding it harder to get the same standard out of myself. Those of you who have got through this week should applaud yourself getting through the hardest of times, and push on to new levels when it gets cooler.

Nice to see gareth davies posting in a previous topic, he is keen to get back into his training after a break, and that’s exactly what he needs, to show up and get back into it as hes a strong lad and can achieve an awful lot is he shows up 95% of the tine.

This is always the theme through the blog, the “showing up” is proving to be the hardest thing for most of you.

Most of you have had breaks, whether intentionally or not but most of you miss your training and when you DO get back into things, you realise how much you missed your workouts, and the great way the training made you feel.

None of us are perfect and doing the workouts are not always the first things on our minds but getting through them 50 out of 52 weeks a year would be a monumental achievement I can tell you.

We all look for short cuts now and again, kidding ourselves that there really is this short, easy and magical way to get into shape, but isn’t it the case that the longer we kid ourselves the easy way exists, the more overweight and unfit we become.

Workouts shouldn’t become like walking in quicksand either, you should always start off slowly working within your limits, and don’t try to be ultra-ambitious too soon. You need a good foundation in your physical condition before you look to break your outer limits.

So what’s your situation this week? Have you had a great week’s training? A fine week’s eating? Or have you given up your training for the world cup or wimbledon, or both even?!!!

Surely I don’t have to tell you that you can easily fit your workouts in around these great sporting events, if you cant spend less time watching TV or spend less time in bed and start getting a grip on what you need to do, because every possibility is out there for you, life is waiting for you to take advantage of the opportunities you have.

If you have any questions, please click on subscribe and ask away.

For the rest of you, lets finish off the week strong and look to have a huge weekend!

Twitt