Posted on

Wednesday, 14th December

Making fresh goals in the run up to christmas may seem alien to most, but it may be exactly what you need!

If 2012 seems a long way away, you may be shocked to hear its only 18 days away!!! 18 days left until the end of the year!!!

If it seems stupid to look forward  until then, you may be glad you did in a couple of weeks.

Only once did i decide not to train for a couple of weeks over christmas, and i suffered like never before!

My asthma came back in a big way, i was wheezing like i was on 40 a day! My first run back nearly half killed me and i felt as much out of shape as i have ever done!!!

After that run, i decided there and then NEVER to stop training over christmas again!!!

I have spoken to many, many people since and they have been through the same thing.

I have even been running christmas day, thats not to impress you but it was more to do with my desperation  to rid myself of that wheezy stodgy feeling that comes with over-eating, over-drinking and under-exercising!!!

This is to potentially save you those horrible interal feelings of no energy, and literally no get up and go.

So whatever schedule you are on now, i would try to still keep it up to some degree. If you currently workout 5 times a week in some form, i would still try and do 3 times a week even if its light to moderate intensity. This will take care of all the excess calories and help you feel more like your normal self.

The big thing it will also give you is a flying start to 2012!!! Just when everyone else will be going through the Groundhog day of starting to exercise and eat healthy, you will already be making fresh goals from a very strong position!!!

If that sounds attractive, lets get going and keep on going!!!!

Twitt
Posted on

Tuesday, 13th December

If funds are low and you’re out of a job at the moment, then you can still get around it all and spend absolutely nothing to get fit!

I love sessions outside myself, and you have some great hills and trails all around us. If you still have a bike, get it in shape and let it take you to whatever you want to go. You can walk/cycle/run for free, so theres no excuses there.

If you’re broke at the moment, this may also suit. You will have no money for “treats” and luxuries that will harm the bank balance, this should enable you to shave a few inches off your waist no problem!

If you’re having relationship problems or family problems, then alcohol is the number one way NOT to go!! Alcohol is the number one depressant out there, so avoid at all costs! Plus it likely to pile a lot of weight on and make your situation a whole lot worse!

A better route would be to exercise and eat well, exercise is the best ANTI-despressant you will have in our life! I suggest you get an early morning workout in to manage your stress levels well and set the tone for the rest of your day!!

If you find that time disappears for you, then its time to re-assess what exercise does and can do for you in the future!

If you commit yourself to exercising 5-6 times a week for 20-30 minutes a day of quality training, your life will AUTOMATICALLY take an upturn for the better!!!

I know a lot of individuals who get anxious and frustrated if they DON’T exercise on a daily basis, this is the number one way to become a moody, snappy individual!!!

Life is full of making the right decisions, all of us will get some of them wrong throughout a lifetime, nobody’s perfect, but the ones i have mentioned today will make a hugely positive difference to you and life’s different situations EVERY DAY!!!

Twitt
Posted on

Monday, 12th December

The pressure of christmas has really started peaking with all the people i deal with, and with that comes a distinct lack of time!

This is when having a plan for your workouts becomes of paramount importance.

This is no time for “going through the motions” or your motivation levels will disappear without trace. The calls of “give it up now its too close to christmas” will become more and more acceptable, even if they are given by people not into being fit and healthy themselves!

The last two weeks before christmas need to include high quality workouts, of short duration, and of maximum intensity. Some of my best workouts tend to be the shortest! When someone is in a rush, usually that person will hit their training hard and try to get the very best out of themselves in a very short period of time, when this happens the intensity levels go through the roof and great workouts are always the result.

When you add a bit of fat and sugar to your diet, its never really a great idea. But accepting that you will over christmas, use it as a tool for the extra energy and this means going the extra mile in your training. You will burn a lot of that extra energy in your workouts as long as they are going in! That is the main point of this piece today-MAKE SURE YOUR WORKOUTS ARE GOING IN FULL STOP!!! Dont accept the fact that everyone puts lots of weight on at christmas, it really doesnt have to be that way and being active will be a prime reason you don’t!!!

So time is short for you accept that, strip down your workout to the bare bones, in other words what is ESSENTIAL to get you working towards your capacity, and all the exercises that give you great value. When you do this, you will get rid of the not so important exercises, get rid of longer rest periods, and you get a great workout in a record short period of time, and you’re talking maybe 20 minutes!!!

No excuses, lets make the most of the next couple of weeks!!!

Twitt
Posted on

Friday, 9th december

Before we go over more training methods, i would like to comment on all the feedback i had to last friday’s post of having a christmas party, enjoying the whole process but suffering terribly the next day from drinking too much alcohol!!!

Most people who have been through the process over the last week or so tell me it goes like this!

You go out on the party, drink far more than normal, have a great time, and then reality starts biting hard the very next morning!!!!

If you wake up early like me, you wake up with a vile headache and a feeling of sickness.

You need a walk to clear your head, but because of the amount of alcohol, it doesnt make the usual big difference!!!

Then you come back home and try and eat food, drink water and a coffee. Somehow this doesnt cut it this time!!!

Then you have lunch which helps a bit, and then with every meal the feeling gets a little better, but you cant wait to hit the sack the following night!!!! And early too!!

Then the next day, you expect good performance but even the next day after that you feel lousy, and getting your body to feel good is a conundrum of the highest complexity!!!

Then the next few days, you are so glad to get back to eating well, and getting your body used to exercise again, but you will notice that your body doesnt respond quite as prompty and as freely as usual!!! These feelings can go on all week long!!!

Most if not all of the feedback i have had is like this! This means that alcohol in excess SEVERELY AFFECTS PERFORMANCE and wrecks progress, and if you’re looking to keep on improving, or even FEEL normal, then heavy drinking over christmas has to be the LAST thing on your mind.

I’m glad i learned my lesson last week and dont intend repeating it any time soon!!!

Twitt
Posted on

Thursday, 8th December

The positive nature of the workout information this week is great but what allows it to happen is you being consistent, simple as that!

If you’re not eating well week in week out for a long period of time, then you are not likely to be up for these advanced workouts.

If you havent got some good training experience behind you, and you miss a week here, week there on your training, you are going to be unlikely to cope with the pace of these workouts.

If you drink alcohol more than once a week, you are going to struggle with these workouts, if you drink 3 or more times a week, you have no chance of coping with these workouts.

If you dont show responsibility by getting to bed early most nights, then you will struggle to recover and have the energy to train like this!!

Okay, glad we have got this out the way!!!

So i’d imagine you are focused by now, lets talk some more training!

So assuming you have managed to get used to training with very little breaks, and you are considerably fitter, lets move on!

Assuming you have been using lighter weights and easier exercises because of the fast paced workouts, its time to make the weights a little heavier, and make the choice of exercises a little harder.

Like the way you arrived at this stage in the first place, its a natural progression as long as you are doing the things outside the workout that we talked about at the start of this piece?

I cannot stresss enough that you shouldnt be doing these workouts unless you are advanced exerciser  and worked yourself up to this level!!!

So doing a press up will be easier than a ligh pec deck, a lunge or squat will be harder than moving your legs up and down when

on your side, a pull up on a chinning bar will be far harder than a light lat pullown.

So its down to what you can substitute your “easier” exercises for, so your workout becomes harder again!

More of this tomorrow!

Twitt