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Monday, 3rd September

The school term is about to start, and with all of this comes a lot of rushing around chasing your tail.

The word “workout” may not happen for you this week, and if you expect me to agree with that statement, then you’re totally and absolutely wrong and making far too many excuses to yourself!

You need to schedule your workouts when it is possible for you to do them, there are 168 hours in every week, and 7 days, we have all have that time available to us, nobody gets more time than others!

Its how you use this time!

This is why morning workouts can be so valuable to you.

When you train early, the exercise part of your day is over, done, completed and taken care of! You may not like getting up early to start with, but the individuals who i do train and have done for many years, wouldn’t train any other time of day now, they now PREFER TO TRAIN EARLY, and often say that early is the best part of the day!

If you think you cannot get up that early to train, there is a simple solution, try getting to bed earlier the night before, that may help! I could never get up as early as i do if i didn’t get to bed early the night before, it simply couldn’t happen!!!

The people who schedule in their workouts NO MATTER WHAT are the ones i have greatest respect for. These are the people who without fail have the best results too! Not missing workouts will have a dramatic effect on your body, and its all good!

If you train most days, then this difficult school week will become far more tolerable too. Exercise is proven to effectively deal with stress very well so its a no brainer to include workouts most days of your week.

Less stress, less body fat, a stronger heart and leaner stronger body are all huge benefits impossible to ignore!! Schedule your workouts in today for the rest of the week!

Twitt
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Thursday, 9th August

So if we are looking at 1% improvement in everything we do, then we need to examine what areas we need to look at, both to increase our performance and health in general.

First thing is quality of food.

Are you eating healthy at least 80% of the time?

Are you eating breakfast every day?

Do you have mid-morning snacks and mid-afternoon snacks?

Do you have a good nutrient-packed lunch each day?

Do you have a variety of vegetables with your lean proteins and good carbs in the evening?

Do you drink enough water throughout the day?

Do you sleep enough to recover both from your training and get up for the next day’s training?

Do you keep your portion sizes sensible to make sure you’re not overeating?

So after your weigh all of these things up and you have answered of all these questions honestly, how much in percentage terms do you think that you can improve in all of these areas, or at least most of them?

I will bet that most of you can improve hugely in percentage terms in most of them.

So imagine after i have made that statement, how much does it all add up for you? I will definitely bet with any of you that it adds up to MUCH MORE than 1%, that’s for sure!!!

There should be 10, 20, 30 or even 50% improvements in there if you really put your mind to it!!!

So when we set the original 1% goal, it must amaze you how much you’re not really doing at the moment to maximise your potential!!! It’s all a matter now of really putting your mind to it and executing a good game plan, designed to fully support your nutritional needs that a demanding training programme will absolutely need!!

This should be a daily and weekly list and a great reminder for you on how to eat well, and gear you up for putting in consistent performances and add huge percentages to your overall progress!!!

Twitt
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The Longest day, 21st June

Another situation some of you may have experienced in the past is trying to keep on losing more body fat and weight when you don’t even need to anymore.

For instance, I was training a teenager this week who has literally transformed himself from someone who could be regarded as seriously overweight (he would say that himself), to someone who looks extremely athletic and powerful, and now looks the picture of health.

So he lost all his weight, is now starting to do very well in a few different sports, and is almost unrecognisable in every single area compared to one year ago.

The danger is now that he is tempted to still cut down on his food portions. This can be a common mistake to make, and can be detrimental to his future progress.

I explained to him that the focus now should switch from cutting back, to slightly increasing portion size due to the activity levels he now has in his life.

It makes sense that someone who played very little sport before, and now plays 5-6 times a week requires more energy. The weight and fat loss has put an enormous amount of energy into his life, but the stage has come that he needs even more now to increase his performance.

This is now alien to him, as cutting back has got him to a great situation. This is where relationship with food changes his again.

Seeing food as fuel is ultra-important now to this individual, as opposed to seeing food as something negative because it may put weight back on.

It wont put weight back on because the quality of the food he eats is so much better now.

I explained that one gram of protein and carbs in just under 4 calories, and that one gram of fat is 9 calories. So in theory, he could eat quite a bit more food and still not be eating the calories he was when he was a lot overweight. Overeating is still not advised, and all I meant was an increase to cover his energy requirements.

This individual has changed his life considerably, but should now be using food in a very positive way, seeing it as a very valuable tool in allowing him to perform at the highest level possible at his chosen sports.

Everyone’s relationship with food is different, but keeping it a positive one will allow you to move far more smoothly and productively through different phases in your life.

Twitt
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Tuesday, 22nd May

The warm weather is back, or should make that it has actually STARTED after one of the worst April’s and May i can remember.

Please don’t use the excuse of “its too warm now”, please DO NOT use that because you should see this weather and light nights as an INVITATION TO GET FIT AND HEALTHY!!

Compare this with mid-november to mid-march and you are right in the best time of year now to really make a difference to your mind and body. Theres every opportunity now to get your body in great shape by simply enjoying the environment around us.

If you cant get out there on the bike in this sunshine, then you ought to question your commitment to yourself. Besides all of this commitment talk, its actually ENJOYABLE, thats definitely the best way to think about it rather than seeing it as some kind of chore!! Riding a bike in this weather with all the beautiful scenery is one of the best things you can experience full stop.

Get off the roads too when you walk too if possible, and avoid all the pollution. Get up mountains and enjoy the fresh air, and the air that most people don’t get to take in. Its good for you full stop, and the often steep gradients will lift your fitness levels to brand new levels.

There are plenty of people swimming, but i happen to know a few more people now who swim outside, enjoying the different challenges that this brings. Enjoying the more natural route is always a winner for your health and is so demanding that it will often trump your inside swimming sessions! Both are good though it must be said and depends on the individual.

Personally, as you can tell, i love being outside at this time of year, as well as inside sessions. Mix them both up and reap some pretty serious rewards!!!

Twitt
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Thursday, 29th March

The positive feeling you get from exercising is an old cliché but one thing is for sure, it can never be underestimated.

If you’re just relying on the weather to get you feeling good about your life, then I wouldn’t hold out too much hope!

Exercise is something you can literally do any day of the year and it will make you feel better.

A walk up steep hills may seem intimidating to start with, but when you are able to do it and ACTUALLY do it, there is never a better feeling of wellbeing. This is both from the buzz you get from the walk AND the deep feeling of satisfaction you get from reaching such a good level of fitness. Again this example is something you can achieve ANY DAY OF THE YEAR!!

The same goes with eating well and healthy, if you have done this for any appreciable length of time, then you will know about having a lot more energy already, and I won’t have to tell you about that.

Eating well also gives you that inner feeling of wellbeing that you are doing your best for yourself internally. If you eat well then you are likely to be avoiding serious disease, your skin is going to glow and all your vital organs are going to really appreciate the good care you are giving them!

For all of this positive evidence, a lot of people still ignore this and find ways to avoid the fundamental ways of staying healthy.

I have heard virtually all the classic excuses and the way people rationalise their unhealthy lifestyles is often hilarious, and sometimes deeply saddening and even disturbing.

I started this piece off talking about “positive” feelings, and unfortunately, an unhealthy lifestyle will bring you nothing but negativity.

Food and lack of exercise will offer you the exact opposite of the positives I gave you earlier on. Most people don’t realise the chemical reaction that food and exercise gives the body, and its consequences.

The bottom line is eat and move to stay positive, eat poorly and lead a sedentary lifestyle and prepare for negative consequences over time.

Twitt