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Monday, 30th January

Time is extremely limited for us all so you had better be making the most out of every workout you undertake!!!

Most of us never get around to everything we planned to do unfortunately, and a set of weekly workouts are definitely part of that category!

How many of you plan to exercise 4, 5 or even 6 times a week actually DO train all of these times EVERY WEEK?!!!

I think unless you’re very dedicated and have been training a long, long time, you are  not going to appreciate how tough it is at times to get through a schedule such as this.

This is why i always try to emphasise how vital it is to train at least THREE times a week, and working your WHOLE body each time you train.

Forget all of those “let’s do one body part” excuses for workouts, they DO NOT work and never really worked even in the 70’s and especially 1980’s when they were the in fashion thing to do! The people who did make them work were usually loaded up on drugs, therefore creating an uneven playing field.

Every time you hit the gym, or you do a workout outside, or you do a workout in your living room, you HAVE TO MAKE IT COUNT EVERY TIME!!!

I guarantee that if you do make it count each time and really hit it hard, and try to improve nearly every time you train, you will get the results that most people tend to get after working out 5-6 times a week of training moderately.

It’s a myth that the more you do in terms of duration the better, this simply is NOT true!

It’s the quality of work that counts and nothing else, but you have better make sure you are exercising the minimum of 3 times a week as i said!

Its nearly the end of january, so the end of excuses is here too and if you’re serious, set yourself the realistic target of training 3 times a week minimum, hit it hard during these sessions and let the big results roll in!!!

Twitt
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Thursday, 26th January

Following on from yesterday, we talked about how to improve quality and intensity of your workouts. We said that cutting down on rest periods was important, as well as much effort you give each exercise of course.

Changing your programme around is always good for your body. So let’s say that you are still doing 6-8 exercises with your weight training, but you have probably designed this so that its mostly fairly moderate exercises each workout, then you need to start changing those more moderate exercises into more challenging calorie-burning exercises/movements that will expend more calories per workout and in particular, reduce body fat at a more rapid rate.

For example, lets say you are doing lat pulldowns for your chosen back exercise, then if you change it to one arm dumbbell rowing, then automatically you are going to have a better, more fat burning workout.

This is because each and every exercise as a “metabolic cost”. What this means is that each exercise has an energy cost and takes a certain amount of calories to perform.

The lat pulldown takes less calories and effort than the one arm dumbbell row. So it shouldn’t take a genius to work out that by switching exercises, you will burn more fat and calories per workout.

If you walked the dog at a moderate pace, then swapping that for running at a moderate pace would significantly help you burn more calories and fat per workout.

This step up in intensity is only possible when you have got used to the lighter more moderate exercises and are comfortable with these. Your conditioning levels are very important and these improvements should only be made gradually.

You can increase the workout intensity on any workout plan you have.

Instead of doing steady long runs, try some hill sprints instead.

Don’t get carried away with the fact that you need to increase the time duration all the time in your workout, this is not really true and all we want is results after all isn’t it?!!!!

If you train for 45 minutes at a time for example, then this is around the maximum time you need to be training. If you find this easy, then as we have talked about the last couple of days, you badly need to increase the intensity and effort going into those 45 minutes.

Don’t get carried away with time and I know a lot of very fit individuals I train can get amazing workouts in just 20-25 minutes. Anyone who has trained with me can testify to that!!!

Train hard but make sure you train smart!

Twitt
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Thursday, 12th January

Im finding that people are now really blowing off the cobwebs in 2012, and are pushing on to new targets already.

I love getting in the first measurements in at the end of January to prove to people exactly how much progress they have made in the first month of 2012.

Having your progress assessed constantly is paramount in my book, and gives you fresh inspiration to push on to new targets for the month of February!

This January seen the best month ever for me in terms of client performance, and by that I mean my running, cycling, walking, at home, in the gym workouts have all surpassed expectations from more or less every individual.

This is what creates the adrenalin in my day and makes everything worthwhile.

I try to encourage everyone not to settle for decent results either. Of course, celebrate in the moment of good results but new targets have to set month to month, to ensure you have a great year with your health, and this ensures a fantastic quality of life!

So we have done an awful lot of talking this year, and how we are going to change things around once and for all.

The big question must be “are you the type to talk about things all year long, and waster another year, or are you the type to get things done, follow through on your promises, dare to imagine greater changes in your body and mind than you ever thought possible?””!!!!!

These are the brutal questions you should be asking yourself if you haven’t started yet, and what internally will drive you to get off your behind and get active!!!

Im here to help as usual in a truthful, tried and tested manner, even if that advice sometimes hurts your ego!!

Its 12th of January already, no time to waste in your quest for a physical transformation that will change your life!!!

Twitt
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Friday, 6th January

Hope you have made a great start to the new year, and things are working out in a very positive way for you!

If things are positive for you, then you have actually taken action and you are a DOER instead of a talker and you are on your way. You have probably realised that the DOING comes before you feel better.

When you do something, you get rid of your fear and you build a good amount of self-confidence, this is the power of it all.

So if its the fact that you are on your way and you have trained well this week, you will soon enjoy this experience and you have overcome all of your initial fears. This feels so good usually that you want to challenge yourself again and move on to the next level.

Then the fear starts all over again, and you have doubts in your mind again! This is a good sign!

You have to realise though that this fear of a new challenge is experienced by EVERYONE ELSE TOO!!!! All those people you may have admired from afar and achieved a lot in their lives were actually scared to death themselves at some stage, plucking up the courage to actually “go for it” and reach their seemingly lofty goals!

Instead of seeing fear as a massive obstacle and retreating at a rate of knots, you should see it as a sign inviting you to improve and change your life for the better!

Instead of settling for what you have now, its going to be far more rewarding for you to be fitter and healthier for the rest of your life, in terms of inner satisfaction and quality of life to name just two massive benefits!

You may ask why you would want to put yourself through the uncomfortable nature of trying to change your life, but that temporary feeling is going to be hundred times better than sticking with a lifetime of being overweight, unfit and unhealthy, and all the negatives that situation brings.

 Its time to make the change to grab the chance with both hands!

Twitt
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Friday, 23rd December

Getting through workouts this time of year can be a drag to most people, but there are some excellent strategies to get through it all!

There are a tremendous amount of studies that link music with good performances in your w0rkouts. Music helps reduce the fatigue associated with exercise, and this means you can push yourself an extra 10% when previously you may have quit your workout.

It can be a trick to start off with slower music in your workouts, and when the session starts to intensity, get the faster more energising music on, and crank up the volume, if this doesn’t get you going nothing will!!!

If you find yourself getting more tired than normal after all of  this, then slow things down and go off plan in your workout. For example, try 5-10 minutes on the bike at a light intensity to get your breath back, or do something light you enjoy, maybe a bit of stretching on your back with a swiss ball?

 Chances are by the time you finish this little short “break”, you will want to get right back into your workout and get through some more higher intensity work. I have seen this work many times and is a great tactic!

There is concrete evidence  to show that if you use visualisation in your workouts, then you will likely perform better. Pro athletes have used the method of “walking through your workout in your mind” before you actually start the workout. A lot of top athletes have used this method to get the best out of themselves and there are numerous research papers on it backing the claims.

Some sports stars even play their upcoming games in their minds before the actual games kick off. Some of the most famous sports people in history have reported the huge benefits of this mind technology. Try it yourself from time to time and experience far better workouts.

These are all examples to get you through this christmas period, and get you flying into New Year in great shape!!!!

Twitt