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February 17th

February 17th is a perfect day for you to set new records in your training, and to attempt things you thought you were too old for.

I could tell you of a few 70 something’s who have set new records in the last couple of weeks, and are mighty proud of their new personal bests. From running, to cycling, to mountain walking, the sky is literally the limit for some!!!

Things you normally associate with being 70 something are not necessarily true.

For example, if you are suffering from weak bones and joints, then it doesn’t have to be that way. Strength training working against resistance such as press ups done properly, and done to your own personal level, will help tremendously your shoulder joints, your collarbones and your whole upper body structure in general.

The same press ups will help your muscle tone if you’re in your 70’s. Nothing worse than having loose skin but that can definitely change, if you’re willing to undertake some strength work with weights, and change your body all over again.

You CAN re-shape your body and look a lot better for the summer, even if you’re in the autumn of your lives.

What about balance? Most people in the 70’s walk sometimes as if balance may be a problem. Working with balance exercises can make a huge difference to you, and working on proper imbalanced surfaces can work very well to improve your balance. For example, those big round inflated balls you see around the place are called fit balls or swiss balls, and simply sitting on them watching a 30 minute TV programme can help dramatically with your core (your stomach, your lower back, your hamstrings, and thighs) and create a new and much more powerful sense of balance for you.

Simply being active every day will make you feel a whole lot better and stronger.

There is absolutely no reason why you cannot improve, as there are many 80 year olds still doing marathons around the world if you take notice of everyday stories.

These tales should contrast greatly with 40 somethings feeling sorry for themselves feeling they are “too old”. The time is NOW to make a difference to yourself and get closer to the person and physique you really want to be with an abundance of energy.

Please go into the training section or the diet section or both hopefully, and pick out the tried and tested methods to be in and get into shape!!!!

Twitt
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February 16th

Whats the difference between your programme this year in february and this time in february in 2010 last year?

Have you improved at all, this may seem like a joke but its the reality for many of us? We may have full intentions to improve all the time but there may be various factors that get in the way of your goal.

The main factor i can see is the weight gained from the year before and the many troubles this brings.

 If you have steadily put weight on, then you will not move so well, sometimes getting a pull or strain that hampers your training efforts and puts you out of action for a while, such as back strains etc. Then if you have put extra weight on, the ability to suddenly eat well seems very difficult indeed, i don’t know many people who can suddenly eat perfectly, if the week before they are used to eating all the sugary and fatty foods that caused all the damage in the first place!!

This is why you should value and assess your progress from year to year, rather than a faddy month here and there. Some people have found it fashionable going to bootcamps, where they “beast” you up to 6 hours a day and give you very little to eat. It really does not take a genius to figure out that you WILL lose weight this way, but when you get back home and to reality, the chances of keeping it off are pretty much impossible. Even the people who run them know they are bad science at best, and something very dangerous at worst.

So its a serious question again, have you really made or sustained your progress since this time last year. If you have, then you have made a fantastic effort and good luck to you. However, if you are one of the many who haven’t, its time to knuckle down again and make some real sustainable goals employing tried and tested strategies.

Lets make it work!!!!

Twitt
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February 15th

Already you should be celebrating more light in the evenings and mornings, allowing you more inspiration to get into shape and actually imagine that spring might really be around the corner!

Now that we are through the new year resolutions part, its time to view 2011 as a positive opportunity.

No matter what your age is, and I sincerely mean that, it is  entirely possible to have a better year in 2011 than 2010, and its easily done.

Getting  older is no reason to scale down your programme, if you do then something shuts down in your mind and you allow yourself to settle for mediocre results which are a lot easier to attain of course.

That’s not to say that you should allow yourself to still do all of those crazy lifts you used to do when you were 18 and you’re now 65, but I have a few 65 year old’s who still train with real intensity and could put many youngsters to shame. Its always good to have safety as your number one concern, but as long as you’re doing things in good form, then the effort should never be compromised.

If you look at every week this week and approach it in a simple way, you WILL improve over the next 45 weeks or so left in 2011.

If you were prone last year to eating a sugary snack most days, how about tightening up and eating only good food Monday to Thursday at least, this means the majority of your days in the week are as close to perfect as possible.

Instead of having 2-3 days per week drinking in the week, make it just that ONE day, this will make a surprising difference to you for all sorts of reasons, 2011 automatically becomes a better day for you when you do this.

Promise yourself that in your workout programme, you will push and test yourself at least ONE day a week when you will try and do better than the week before. It may be one more rep in a weights exercise, it may be 10 more squat thrusts in a set in your indoor workouts, it may be a little sprint at the end of your run instead of just coasting it in, it may be one extra hill on your bike ride, or attacking that hill a little bit harder than normal, attacking a hill sounds a lot better than just “lasting it out” doesn’t it?!!!!

2011 is all about attacking and improving your programme, which leads to much better body fat levels, more energy and better health in  general.

Twitt
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Valentines day-resolutions collapse day!

Hopefully, you are having a great valentines day, and you have managed to keep at least one person happy today, some people buy into it more than others, so if you do then thats great for you!!!

Im trying to stay very positive indeed today even though my headline is all about new year resolutions and how they are about to collapse today!! Or so the latest research tell us. This is partly because once you embark on these resolutions, you need an actual good solid plan to take you where you want to be.

Its amazing after the weekend how content most people are to pay a gym membership and simply not improve during 6 months or even year. “If it makes the wife happy even though she doesnt improve” is NOT a valid reason to just “last out” a gym membership bought for christmas. The question of results from a gym membership seems to be beyond a lot of people.

The attitude seems to be that if you go training, you somehow will reclaim your youth and somehow look pretty amazing again. Not many people seem to know how that magical transformation actually happens. Is it smoke and mirrors? Is it magic portions or magic broth? Do you have to wear certain colours or certain clothes that make you look smaller and leaner than you actually are? Surely we have come out of the 18th century?!!!!

So if you’re one of those again this year that new years resolutions havent happened for, dont despair, there is another way and all it takes a different attitude that doesn’t put up with any of that rubbish anymore, please don’t fall for it!!!

It would make heck of a difference if this week you worked out with weights this week monday, wednesday and friday. It would make a huge difference if you got out in the fresh air running/walking or cycling this week. You will feel a hundred times better….minimum!!!!!

Go and do a proper shop tonight, and don’t put all that fatty and sugary food in your trolley, SIMPLY DON’T DO IT if you want to turn the corner right now and smash those new year failures once and for all, if you’re in the mood for not taking it anymore, right here is the right place to be so what are you waiting for?

The time is now february 14th for change, and a chance to start loving your body and feeling great. Its only by doing this you can help others so lets stop being selfish and lets go for it!!

Twitt
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Feb 11th

Friday is usually seen by many of you as the last workout of the week, and often the best for some of you!

Just before the weekend is a time to measure up your gains, and if you’ve stayed off alcohol all week, a good session should wait.

Let’s get over this “eating well is boring”!!! That’s absolute rubbish and you know it!

Eating healthily is really not about eating the same old stuff all the time, its really not.

If you’re struggling to make healthy eating “exciting” or other such adjectives, then theres plenty of ideas in cookbooks around the world on how to cook healthy AND interesting!! In fact, you don’t really have to buy any books if you don’t want to, although they will be handy to get out whenever you want. There are literally thousands if not millions of recipes on the internet, and most of them are free!! So there is really no excuse to eat badly, or to eat processed food out of a freezer out of your local supermarket, or to eat takeaways every night, or to eat on your way home in the local petrol station which often doubles now as a min-supermarket too!!

I’m all for having occasional treats, it keeps you sane after all, but the frequency and the quantity are key elements in the equation and you have to keep getting it right. One bar of chocolate doesn’t have to turn into two or three, your version of chocolate could well turn to green and blacks, which is famous dark chocolate made from the finest Trinitario cocoa beans for an intense taste, or so the packet says anyway!!!

 This is a more guilt free way of eating chocolate, not to everyone’s taste of course but less fat and sugar, far less sugar than most chocolate in fact, which is great news in not expanding your stomach and hips of course!!!! The most guilt-free options are often valid substitutes for the more well-known brands, which are of no nutritional value at all, and definitely no help to your ttraining, the worst of both worlds then!!!

Have a great end to the week and a great weekend of training, saturday and sunday is when most people have got more time so one less excuse to worry about!!!

Twitt