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Thursday, 13th June

The bad rap that carbohydrates have got over the last few years can be seen as totally unjustified.

You had the atkins diet some years ago banning “everything carb” related with the focus very much on protein only.

This fad lasted longer than most people thought, and at one time jacket potatoes were seen very much the enemy, and pasta was like the anti-christ!

Fortunately though, sanity prevailed and the atkins diet crashed and burned for many people, and some people had horrendous experiences from going through it.

Carbs can be a problem in weight gain if you eat too much of them and the wrong type. By the wrong type I mean the simple sugar version. White pasta for example contains a lot more sugar than wholegrain pasta does.

Brown rice will be better for you than white rice.

Wholemeal bread is a million times better for you than white bread and so on.

So the type of carbs you eat is all important in giving you the energy you need without all the simple sugars that will put weight on you.
Then the serving size becomes all important. Most people put weight on with carbs because they eat too much of them, plain and simple! Eat too much of anything and you will have a weight gain problem.

Your carb serving should be the size of your fist, so a plate full of pasta is overdoing it. This is why you should combine your pasta with a protein source, not only to bulk up your meal to keep you fuller for longer. Some vegetables chopped up will also will go very well with your meal, and give you endless benefits.

So please see that carbs are never the enemy, but it’s a matter of picking the right ones and in the right sensible
amount.

Twitt
Posted on

Monday, 3rd June

With the temperatures finally rising, there is even greater opportunity to train hard and expand your options! This is what you would think anyway.

My experience with people i bump into in general life says that people usually get diverted in the warmer weather, and the summer months are not usually the best throughout the year. My own experience with the people i actually train is that because they have a good level of commitment, and i do a lot of early morning sessions, then the weather becomes less of a factor and my summer months of training individuals can be very productive indeed.

I do a lot more cycling sessions in the summer. I run more in the summer, i even do swimming sessions sometimes in the summer! I do some hiking up mountains in the summer due to the much more pleasant conditions, and i still manage to get a lot of indoor work done too. I love the variety at this time of year due to the extra light, the better surface running conditions and generally everywhere is so much more accessible!

So the message here today is to get away from thinking that its “too warm” to train, or you could be doing “other things””, its time to be more positive and realise how many more different options you now have in your training, and have the courage of your convictions and actually do them, instead of talking a good game!

Plan your training sessions in advance, work hard when you get to your training venue, follow through on what you planned to do, drink enough water and make sure you have some available at all times, and eat well afterwards.

This is a successful way to do it, then keep planning your sessions and exactly what you intend to do.

Don’t gie up on yourself, recognise what all this nice weather has to offer and embrace it for much better results!!

Twitt
Posted on

Tuesday, 28th May

Setting yourself targets is important in your overall development.

The targets in terms of numbers will change all the time, depending of course on exactly how much you keep on improving.

A good more general target you can set yourself every year is just as important, and sets up your mindset to achieve bigger things.

I try to get individuals to improve each and every year.

This is a big target i set myself and as long as i improve, even in a small way, i will know that i have been successful in that year’s progress.

Let’s it another way that may surpise you, like it did with me the very first time i heard it.

Let’s say an individual can run for 2 miles, and can cycle 5 miles sometimes, and does a little weight training twice a week with the same weights all the time. Let’s say this happens every week, and has done for the last 5 years.

The vital thing to take out of this example is that this fitness programme is the SAME all the time. It never changes one bit, the intensity never changes, an even the weights are always the same.

I have to say right now that the very fact that this individual is exercising, and this is a MASSIVE POSITIVE in health terms, and i encourage these habits very strongly!

However, this is an example of someone who never improves, who goes through the motions too much, and has remained in the same state of fitness for 5 whole years, when if he/she changed his/her programme much more regularly, then the physical improvements would have been drastically more impressive.

You can easily change your programme every 6 weeks, at the latest every 12 weeks, and really benefit from those even subtle changes you could make.

Time to re-evaluate what you are doing, study what could improve, and aim to improve each and every year, no matter how small that improvement would be. This is a simple goal for you every year, and one guaranteed to bring a level of success that you wouldn’t have otherwise.

Twitt
Posted on

Thursday, 11th April

Moving on with the hip and back problems, there is plenty for you to do when it comes to staying and becoming more active, which is the long term answer to having good back and hip health.

Most back problems in particular are down to too much weight around the trunk area, so you can see how important eating healthily, keeping your weight under control is and staying active are when it comes to living a pain free life.

Non-weight bearing activities are the key, running for instance is your worst choice available although it can have good weight loss results. The downside risks with running with a bad back are monumental, so this is why I firmly DO NOT recommend running if you have any of these problems.

Walking is kinder on the joints, but as I said yesterday, try and make sure your trainers are never more than 6 months old, and you change them regularly. Also, don’t be tempted to wear your OLD trainers either! If you do, even for silly little things like working in the garden, doing little jobs around the hourse, they WILL cause a problem for your back and hips even on these odd occasions. They need to go straight in the bin!

Swimming can be good, but avoid breaststroke, many good physios recommend you avoid this particular stroke because it works against the body’s natural motion, and can put strain on your back and shoulders, and hips for that matter.

Weight training is recommended with only lighter weights and strict form, using benches for support when possible for your back. This will strengthen your back as long as the exercises are sensible, obviously power moves and big heavy lifts would do more harm than good so please avoid. I would try a whole body programme of around 6-8 exercises for 3 sets of 8 repetitions, this would be done twice a week with a three day gap in between.

You can see that there are many options, and staying active is key but the effort must go in on your food too, or you wont get the results you need to relieve the pain for good.

Twitt
Posted on

Friday, 8th February

A funny thing happens when you start exercising.

For example, if you went for a bike ride, a run, a weights session or just a tough hilly walk, then a funny thing happens just as you end your exercise session.

You should know by now that you feel better straight away after exercise. You have a feeling of wellbeing like never before, and this is one of the reasons why you exercise in the first place.

The funny thing that happens is when you eat or drink after exercise.

You may well feel like a big plate of fish and chips afterwards, or alcoholic drink afterwards. Have you actually tried doing this in practice?

Most people i speak to feel like absolute rubbish afterwards, due to the stodge, fat and chemicals in those products i just mentioned.

So you have just done something REALLY GOOD for you in the exercise session, and your body will soon notice that the chips or alcohol, or both rally do not agree with it! Your body is really craving GOOD food, in order to repair itself from all of your hard work!!!

You must realise by now that all of that hot and sweaty work done in your workout deserves good food afterwards, or a lot of that hard work WILL be wasted. Most of us want a good reward for our efforts so try listening to your body, don’t fight your natural instincts and really look after your body interally.

The time for having any alcohol is usually once a week and usually the weekend.

The time for having the fish and chips is a one off and again, most people choose to do it as a treat at the weekend.

This is not a piece about telling you what to do, its about allowing you to make the best choices to complement your workouts, and enable you ultimately to get your best results!!!

Twitt