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Tuesday 21st December

One common goal for christmas that is very attainable is not to put weight on over the festive period and not to get that horrible bloated feeling that makes us feel at an all time low straight after christmas, lets not fall for that rubbish and get yourself going right now and be prepared for anything!!!

One way to put weight on is to drink to excess, eat to excess and not do ANY training, that will work every time! Thats a very popular strategy over chrismas apparently!!!

The realistic version is to accept the fact that your eating wont be as tight as normal, you may be drinking a bit more than normal and your motivation won’t be perhaps as up there as it normally is. Getting through some workouts is highly important, and the minimum im talking about this week and next week is 3 meaningful workouts. Im not talking about the walk on the beach with the christmas jumper either, that should be an addition. The same applies to a round of golf, a walk in the park and a long walk around the shops, they don’t really count as a “meaningul workout”!!! I’m talking about “get stuck in” workouts when theres no messing around so lets get out of this rut right now!!!

Big things happen to your mind and body when you make 3 workouts a week count. You will definitely feel better, which is a must during this week and next, then you want your body to feel tighter and harder, which may be a welcome change from past christmases!! You want to create a big bounce going into january to get rid of the oncoming doom and gloom. With rising VAT and job losses, you want to be fired up to have a successful 2011 and you’re going to be at a big disadvantange if you don’t have bucketloads of energy to create big momentum in the very first month of the year!!!!

This is not “big talk” either. Those with the best energy levels are always more ambitious, and therefore likely to create more opportunities. Life can offer a lot or life can be a bitch sometimes according to some, give yourself a big fighting chance by getting your workouts in, eating some decent food still and not destroying yourself by drinking every day, great to have a drink but when it becomes the “12 drinking days in a row over christmas”, then it becomes destructive!!

Four days to go so let’s get two more meaningful workouts in please!!

Twitt
Posted on

Monday, 20th December

A weather hit day again for most of us. Had to leave mumbles this morning at 8am to get home, such was the strength of the snow! Managed to get home okay and glad i don’t have to travel much more today thankfully!

So here we are, literally in the last week before christmas and according to statistics, the lowest week for participation in terms of physical activity.

The choice is yours what you end up doing, whether its catching up on shopping and classing that as “exercise”, starting your drinking early every day and writing off the rest of the year, whether its going totally off your diet and literally eating everything in sight, whatever it is, good luck to you, its been a tough year for most so enjoy yourself.

For those of us who still want to get some workouts in and don’t really want to put excess weight on or feel lousy, i think that may be the most important thing, “just getting workouts in” are the key words this week and the key to making us feel better through a time when most people tend to feel bloated and sluggish.

My own workouts include the cemetery hill sprints on the grass, don’t ask me how but your footings are always better uphill on grass so its perfectly safe as long as you have experience in such conditions. Also, i either do an inside workout wether its in the house or at the gym. There is absolutely NO WAY on earth i would/will miss a workout through the snow, no way at all. Getting yourself conditioned to this mindset takes a lot of years and is nearly impossible to get out of. Feeling good is hugely important for me, as well as not wanting to put the weight on. I put on weight faster than most people so i always have to work on it!!!

I also concentrate on eating a lot of protein in meals, to keep me feeling fuller because now the weather is bad, i spend more time in the house, which leads us into big temptation with food!! Eating salmon, turkey, chicken, cottage cheese, eggs etc keeps my appetite in control and means i don’t splurge too often!!!

Have a great day in the snow, unless you’re travelling of course!

Twitt
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Friday 17th December

A huge day for snow today and last night that has kept many off work today. Also, you had the usual suspects out on the road today, the 4×4’s who think they can speed past everyone just because they have a 4×4. A familiar sight this morning unfortunately again was a 4×4 going straight into the wall in front of me, then refusing help and reversing his battered car and going into the wall opposite, when will these people learn that they really are not better than everyone else and have no automatic right to stick to the road in such conditions!!! We even have a guy at the top of our road who acts like a policeman waving traffic along on the main road, just because he has a 4×4 and somehow thinks he is a combination of the AA, the Police and the Ambulance service. The radio was making such a point earlier that such individuals should stay indoors and not be causing chaos!!

 These chelsea tractors should carry a government health warning for idiot drivers in the snow! I hasten to add that not ALL 4×4 drivers are idiots and not all are mad enough to go out on days like this. I used to go out on days like this and £1000 of damage later over the last 2 years has finally pursuaded me not to!!!

Anyway, back to the question of working out and eating right! Today is the perfect day to stay in and put lots of weight on!! Or not?

I find a valid strategy is to concentrate on eating proteins, such a chicken, turkey, lean beef, ham even. The problem with eating bread for most people is that you can eat way too much of it on days like this. You are constantly within a few feet of the kitchen and always tempted, usually eating once an hour!!! Or more for some of us!!

This should be the strategy for christmas week too, concentrating on the proteins will mean you get fuller quicker, stay fuller for longer and be less prone to make some serious errors of judgement or going on a binge even!!!

Also, a perfect time to do inside workouts, as your living room floor is unlikely to have snow or ice on it and the temperature is likely to be very warm!!! No excuses as usual, relax a lot because its nearly christmas but keeping some fundamentals in there can be very valuable!!

Have a fun day in the snow!

Twitt
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Thursday 16th December 2010

The true sign of where you are right now, 9 days before Christmas is are you capable of getting your best workout done right now this week? The best conditioned people are. Im not talking about Olympic records, I’m talking about your fastest or best bike ride, your best run up a mountain maybe, your best weights session, your best indoor home workout that brings you great numbers etc.

If you manage to do this or a standard in the same range, you will know you’re finishing off the year VERY strong and you should be very proud of your achievements. You will know that Christmas will not be a problem for weight gain and because you’re probably the type to do workouts throughout the Christmas period anyway, the likelihood that you start 2011 very strongly is high!

Its not too late for those of you who threw the towel in during December either. There’s still time to turn it around and feel better about yourself again! Its around 3 weeks until you feel sorry for yourself, that you will have put weight on throughout Christmas and may be fearing starting the seemingly impossible task of losing weight in January. Please don’t be a slave to that system that weight loss clubs are waiting rubbing their hands at the prospect of YOUR money coming into their grubby little hands! It cannot be Groundhog day again in January 2011 can it? Surely not!!!

Bottom line is its never too late to turn it around, however old you are or however much you may think you’re a “hopeless case”. Your advancement at the moment is only held back by your mind. The same is true for those who “expect” a good or even great workout every time they train, they have conditioned themselves for success and are willing to repeatedly do what it takes to stay there.

Lets finish the week off strong and aim high.

Twitt
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Wednesday, 15th December

We always talk about avoiding treats and high sugar, high fat foods on here. Christmas is a time when its unrealistic NOT to have something you fancy.

A guy I train yesterday allowed himself sausage, beans and chips for first time in 5 months. He said it was absolutely beautiful and enjoyed it a lot! He knows it wasn’t an every day occurrence or even every week occurrence, so there’s absolutely no problem with that of course, it may actually help his body a bit, and make him yearn for healthier foods for the rest of the week.

It’s the same with people I have who consumed quite a bit of alcohol at the weekend. They said the first couple of drinks were fantastic and they felt great. Then they found their capacity had decreased so much, by the fifth drink they were struggling. Also, the worst part was the hangover the next day!! They had forgotten what a hangover feels like and this had put them off drinking for a while again!

Chocolates are a big part of Christmas for many people. Unless a significant part of the weekly budge is spent on Christmas chocolates for some people, there is a panic to rival the student marches in London!

When you have usually gone without chocolates for a long time though, you will find it impossible to get through that huge amount the next year. Also, if you DO manage to do it, you will usually felt rotten afterwards and regret the indigestion and weight gain to follow!

We are all the same Christmas time, some bigger eaters than others and trick is how many and in what quantity you eat the chocolates, beer/wine, junk in general. Eat a lot and you put weight on and your desire to exercises gets less and less. Eat in moderation and everything’s fun and no damage done!

Your choice.

Twitt