Posted on

Monday, 8th July

As I write this, it is 26 degrees and I have already experienced getting through some tough sessions this morning.

The usual protocol must be followed in this very warm weather.

Regular water intake is the most important by far, and I am talking about drinking THROUGHOUT the day and not just your workout. This will enable your body’s core temperature to stay in a healthy range, it will help you workout for longer and help you recover from your session a lot quicker.

In this weather, like when you are abroad, it will be a great idea to train either first thing in the morning or later in the evening, when it goes a bit cooler and it’s a bit more pleasant to train in.

A massive test of exercising in the heat was Andy Murray’s wonderful performance yesterday. It was said to be up to 50 degrees on centre court yesterday would you believe! No wonder murray looked as if he had already played 5 sets than the 3 he already played! He looked out on his feet when he had the winning point and with good reason.

Playing in 50 degrees is extreme and most people could never get through such a match, and this shows the extremely good condition that both players were in, and both can now be regarded as the great champions they are!

They are constantly hydrating themselves, constantly eating throughout the day, before and after the match, and sometimes taking on calories through gel’s and various products. Djokovic consumes a protein and carbs shake straight away after his match as he leaves the court for example.

Good water intake, good nutrition all round is vital for these players who often play in extreme heat, and if you adopt some of their habits, then you too will be able to train harder and longer even when it’s a lot warmer than usual!!

Twitt
Posted on

Thursday 4th July

If you ever needed any inspiration to train, then you have some very good examples at the moment to follow.

If you needed an excuse to get out there and cycle, you have the Tour de France, this is a great event to follow once you have watched it a few times, as it takes a while to get to realize what the tactics are. You may appreciate the mountain stages more at the moment, and these are usually on the weekends, and this is when most of the “fireworks” happen!

You don’t have to try and bike it up impossible mountains though, just getting out on your bike and riding for 30 minutes is likely to be a major step forward for you.

You have Wimbledon of course for tennis. We don’t seem to see many kids playing tennis anymore, but these two weeks used to the time when you would see people inspired to buy a racket and get out there and play. Tennis clubs used to put people off with the snootiness factor, but I hear they are much more welcoming these days so why not try them out!

The British and Irish lions are in the third and deciding test at the weekend, and have taken part in an enthralling series so far.

This is a great time to enjoy rugby and wet your appetite for the upcoming rugby season. I have many rugby players who are just starting their pre-season training, so a good performance on Saturday, especially with so many Welshmen in the team is bound to inspire the next generation of players coming through!

With sports being such a major fact of life and entertainments these days, and the life lessons it teaches us, use all of these opportunities to spur you on to new physical prowess, and to take your enthusiasm for sports and training to another level!!

Twitt
Posted on

Thursday, 20th June

The greatest satisfaction for me is seeing individuals do things they never thought possible.

For example, there is nothing better than seeing people overcoming the odds, and i have seen it happen time after time.

I have seen people who have never run due to certain disabilities, develop their own way of running and be successful at it.

I have seen people who haven’t run since school, then at 50 years of age run a marathon with 12 months of training.

I have seen people go from never shopping for clothes because they were a size 24-26, to shopping most weekends for clothes in “mainstream shops”, and have now become highly fashion conscious and can now literally choose any figure hugging clothes they want!

I have seen people who needed to lose 4 stone for certain operations, becoming triathletes after losing much of their weight through cycling, and developing unbelievable enthusiasm for their new found love of the bike!!

Good things happen to those who are willing to put plenty of hard work in during their exercise programme.

Good things happen to those who are willing to fill their grocery basket with good food, instead of the trash that many people choose.

Great things happen to those who stay the course, no matter what the obstacles along the way!!!

Twitt
Posted on

Tuesday, 18th June

Psychology plays a vital and all important role in everything we do.

If we think we can achieve something, then we are right.

If we think we really can’t achieve something, then we are also right.

That sounds stupid but nothing has ever been more true.

If you think you can do something, then your body and mind will do everything it can to do so. Your brain will send signals to your body to work a little harder, to engage yourself in a more positive way, and you will be likely to take constant action in order for you to get there. You will be building on positive stepping stones all the time, and you will take massive encouragement from your little successes along the way to create one big massive success!

You will hardly miss a workout, your supermarket shop will be full of good food, natural when possible and full of nutrients that will help your body become more energetic, and develop a level of vitality that you have never had before. You will make sure you hit the sack early most nights making sure you are well rested, and ready to give it another big effort the next day. Success is coming your way if you adopt such habits.

When you turn it the other and you never believe you can do anything, in fact you flat out believe you can’t do anything, then you will definitely go out of your way at times NOT to do things.

For instance, if you are wanting to get into great shape but believe there is no way you can do this, then you will practice unhelpful habits. You will start missing workouts, you will start putting junk into your shopping trolley as “one won’t really matter” when it always leads to several. You will be down on yourself frequently and this downward spiral will usually lead to you eventually quitting your programme, only to start it a few months later again and without success if you still keep the same negative belief system.

You can that whatever you believe to be true is where you are likely to head. Leave yourself one option and that’s the positive one!!

Twitt
Posted on

Friday, 14th June

A common misconception with different training methods and different exercises is that you are only “supposed” to do certain movements based on your goals.

For example, if you are trying to lose body fat, trying to increase your speed, then you don’t need to do much weight training, and power exercises are totally not necessary!!

This is the big mistake that many people walk into.

Power and speed are very closely related, and you cannot have one without the other. This is why i always put these power movements in every programme, because of the strength it gives you all over. Bodyweight exercises for example involve total power. Your core has to take a lot of the strain and will deliver a lot of power throughout your body.

Boxing requires a lot of power, and this is one great discipline for getting you a lot faster and gets you shedding body fat quicker than just about anything else. Boxing is a great addition to your training programme for speed and power without a shadow of a doubt.

People used to say that weight training slowed you down, we now know that the opposite is in fact true! If done properly, weight training can revolutionalise your speed and power.

One of the best training techniques is sprinting, and if you have done it you will realise its all about power. Why do people sprint? Because they want to get quicker of course!

Power exercises should be embedded in your programme and never leave if you want to be stronger and faster in just about anything you want to do!!

Twitt