Posted on

Thursday, 10th May

Adjusting your eating in the first place to become a healthier, fitter person is one of the hardest, most uncomfortable processes we go through.

Although most of us show great enthusiasm when we say we will and want to change our lifestyle, the actual knuckling down to it all can be much harder than we thought.

Most people who are overweight and unhealthy exist on a diet of high refined sugars and high in saturated fat. This is the ultimate double whammy in becoming the most unhealthy version of yourself, and the bad news is that this way of eating can take a lo of getting used to.

Not only that but those of you who eat a lot of “bad” and “empty” calories (in terms of nutritional value), will usually be prone to drinking a lot of these worthless calories in too.

If you see someone carrying a big bottle of coke or pepsi down the road for instance, then its fairly reasonable to expect them to be overweight.

If you see someone who “calls for a pint” every night or every other night in the pub, then is usually guaranteed they will be overweight, and if not, certainly unhealthy inside which can be even worse.

Since most people who live this lifestyle have been on it most of their lives, then of course it is going to be very difficult indeed to get off this path.

The great news is though that once you leave the path of making yourself extremely unhealthy over the long term, the changes can start happening fairly quickly, and happen much quicker again when you start exercising properly, or just even moving around more.

As I said, the hardest decision is often to change your diet in the first place and get on the right road. I don’t consider the right road to be slimming clubs either, they are the quick path to yo-yo dieting and ultimate failure and self-confidence destruction (scientific studies say that 97% of dieters put the weight back on and 5% more).

Im talking about eating healthy, eating fresh when possible and eating foods as much in their natural state as possible. This is the right road that will eventually take you to ultimate health and a strong standard of fitness.

Twitt
Posted on

Wednesday, 9th May

Are you one of those who is feeling very tired after the long bank holiday weekend? If so, then you are not alone!!

Most people who have not exercised at the weekend will automatically feel more tired yesterday in particular, and maybe today too.

This shows that if you do not move around on a regular basis, then you are not helping your energy levels one bit. Some people think that if they sit around all day, somehow they will have more energy and that exercise is somehow “counter-productive” to their day. This is the ultimate in negative thinking and does by those who are usually way out of shape!

If you listen to the anecdotal evidence from those who exercise on a regular basis, then you will have heard energy only comes from exercising and eating fresh natural food. Most people who exercise regularly are more positive than their sedentary counterparts.

So if you have been one of the more inactive individuals at the weekend, then you should know what i am talking about.

Hopefully, you have got a great workout in over the last two days or even got two workouts in, chances are by now you feel 200% better by now!

Energy is earned by your body and not a god-given right!

Your body will look after itself if you look after it, this is always something to remember the next time you think you should “retire” from exercise. This lack of ambition will get you nowhere, and its time to make that  “SOMEDAY” happen today in terms of getting into shape, and dumping all that rubbish refined sugar loaded food straight into the black bags and head them straight over to the rubbish dump!!!

Actions speak louder than words so lets make sure you make it happen!!

Twitt
Posted on

Tuesday, May 8th

The revolution in training goes on and some remarkable changes have happened the last few years in particular.

The return of bodyweight training, and the rise and rise of functional training (exercises that have real life meaning) has been fantastic for me, because it what i have done for many, many years and its great to see a lot of people embracing this style of training!

I spoke to an equipment supplier last week and he told me what i already thought-that steppers, cross trainers, treadmills even were on the way out, and that steppers were totally out, and on the way to joining the dinosaurs!!! A lot of companies dont even make steppers anymore!!

I have been banging on for years that these machines should not form the foundation of your training. Steppers in particular don’t offer much value in terms of results, and are an example of a machine doing a lot of the work for you, plus wasting a lot of money.

Treadmills have their place if you are forced to exercise inside, but there are a million other options thats for sure!

If you’re fed up about me talking about  medicine balls, bosu balls, swiss balls etc, then tough! This is the way you should be training for all kinds of amazing results. If you want a strong back, then this is for you. If you want a strong tight stomach, then this way of training is for you, if you want great balance, then this way will work big time for you.

Bottom line is that if you want to be fitter, stronger, better balanced and healthier in every single way, then you have to learn how to handle your own bodyweight and really “find” your body again and its true source of power. This isnt some kind of mystical thing either, its entirely possible and its about time you made it happen!!!

Twitt
Posted on

Friday, 4th May

Moods can sometimes dictate your workouts.

I find i have to change my workouts to suit an individual’s mood many times.

For instance, if someone has been all-consumed with work pressures for a week or so, and has a lot on their mind, then a longer run on the beach getting a lot of fresh air will work particularly well for them.

If someone has had a terrible day and comes to our session in a nasty, angry mood, then i find its great to get them hitting sprints on steps, doing a lot of resistance work and hit things at 90 miles an hour! This really gets the job done i find and relieves tension and anxiety like nothing else!

Other types of stress can be relieved with strong bike rides on the coast due to the abundance of fresh air, and relatively low concentration levels required, although its always best not to leave your mind drift too far on a bike!!!

Moods can develop for all sorts of reasons, but if your diet isnt very good, then you are likely to develop moods for NO REASON!! Food can have a very negative effect on your mindset, and foods high in refined sugar in particular will have you up and down like a yo-yo!! Don’t forget that all of these ups and downs will play havoc with your blood sugar too, which is bad news for diabetes of course if carried on for a longer period of time!

Most people i train who eat very well tend to have less dramatic highs and lows than those who do not train and eat poorly.

Managing  your moods is more within your control than you thought!

Twitt
Posted on

Thursday, 3rd May

Getting out of your comfort zone regularly when it comes to your training should be your number one priority but most people are either scared, cant be bothered or don’t know how to change the programme they initially started with the first day they were shown how to train.

This is almost a “silent killer” when it comes to progressing year after year.

Do this experiment-think of all the people you know who regularly exercise and perhaps they have been for many years.

Then think of in terms of a percentage, how many of them have actually IMPROVED year in year out over those years.

If you get 20% you would be lucky.

Then, another experiment for you to try!

If you know a couple of these people well enough to ask, then trying questioning them on how they train, and then ask them on the last time they actually changed anything substantial with their training?

I’m not talking about one or two exercises, I am talking about their speed or tempo of their workout, their rep ranges, the workout frequency, whether they just use weight, just do cardio, mix them both up, and do they do any core stability work, and what lengths do they go to in the core strengthening?

Do they use medicine balls, bosu balls, swiss balls for example, and what variations of these exercises do they use?

If you carry on with this line of questioning and they soon get agitated or fed up that you want to know, or just dismissive saying they are on the “best programme and that’s that”!!! Then you know they are becoming all defensive and they know deep down that they are now unwilling to change at this “late stage” seemingly in their “training career”.

The truth is that everyone needs to change regularly and test themselves in different ways. This not only keeps things fresh and fun, but will give you the regular results and health benefits we are all looking for!

Twitt