Author: Keri McKibbin

The willingness and the feeling to do something physically should never be taken for granted.

Once you get fit and healthy, we feel as if we want to do something that gets us in a sweat most days, and we are happy that we are capable of doing it.

However, if you have time out from exercise, no matter how fit you were, then the longer you leave it, the harder it becomes to just even get started again.

The brain controls everything we do, but once you don’t exercise, it’s not receiving the chemicals off your body through activity that it was once used to having. Exercise is proven to sent positive chemicals to your brain which sparks off a feel good feeling, that can keep you wanting to keep on being active.

If you haven’t exercised for a while, instead of having a jolt every day to get going, the stimulus your body is now having is completely different. There is no spark, no encouragement off your brain to get going, and it only gets worse the longer you leave it.

If you once believed in your ability, then that can fade fast if you environment doesn’t support positive thoughts and action. When you are exercising in a gym, you are likely to be around positive people, because they are feeling good too. This will rub off on you and positively influence your actions.

If you suddenly hang out with those who do not exercise, they will back you up when you say you don’t exercise anymore, convincing you to stay inactive for longer.

They will tell you “what’s the point”, and you may as well “eat what you want” even if you know deep down this is false. Again, this rubs off on you and will very much NEGATIVELY influence your actions this time.

The true spark that eventually gets you back active will need to be a deep down reason. Perhaps it will be the realisation that you’re out of breath doing the slightest thing with your kids, it could be that you’re sick of feeling terrible, or unfortunately could be a health scare that finally gets you into action.

Whatever the reason, if you get active again, your body will reignite your brain again through the chemicals released. You will begin to remember how great it feels to feel fitter again, to feel well, and to feel alive again.

Never take your health for granted, keep taking action every day to stay in your mental “happy zone”, and if you are currently not active, then your first step could be a short walk in the fresh air right now and build up from there.

You won’t regret it, and the incredible impact it will have on your life.

Having “skin in the game” is very important when you are trying to give advice to individuals who are looking to get the best out of themselves.

As I am in business and run gym in particular, if you give someone the wrong advice it could have a severe affect on the health. We had better get it right every session every day.

It’s vital not to fall for what’s “trendy” now, if you don’t believe it’s going to serve our members really well. You must have a passionate belief in what you are doing, and the massive positive impact it will have on everyone’s health.

All our advice has our name all over it so it had better be tried and tested.

Telling new members the truth and the commitment needed to transform their health is of paramount importance. You won’t see fads and gimmicks with us, but you will see rock solid programmes that will change you radically if you give them enough time, and you eat right. If you don’t eat right, no programme will serve you really well.

There’s no “secret” exercises or marketing machine behind us, what nobody can argue with though is the relentless results so this is why you will never see any advertising from us. Our members are our only adverts and they are fantastic, each and every one of them.

Its vital to tell anyone who walks through the gym door that even though we will start slowly and gradually, it will be hard work over the long term, and you need to show up at least three times a week to get meaningful results.

You have to lift weights to change your body, to build bone density and make your body fundamentally stronger. Strong foundations come first.

You must challenge your heart and lungs regularly so they strengthen, so you can be fit for “real life” too.

You must add variety to your programme not only to keep you fresh mentally, but variety will challenge your body to adapt constantly, and this will bring you results a lot faster. We coach every session for a reason, its tougher that way but our members demand great results and this is what we do.

Real fitness means it adapts easily to real life. If we sold fads, gimmicks and “wonder programmes”, we would have been out of business a long time ago because they never last.

Commit yourself to putting your own “skin in the game”, take responsibility for your efforts, and commit to a healthy lifestyle and love the results YOU will have EARNED. The more work you put in, the more you will get out simple as that.