Thursday 4th August 2011

The constant grind of being in shape or getting into shape may be off-putting for you but you’re missing the point.

If you WERE in shape and most  of you can remember a time in your life you actually were, then it wouldn’t be a grind AT ALL.

When you’re in shape, you want to improve and definitely preserve what you have.

When you are overweight, it makes most people unhappy because they secretly know they can do better with their bodies, but sometimes will find company with like minded people who often hilariously say “one life you have, eat and drink what you want”!!!!!

They say misery loves company and that’s true!

We do only have “one life” but the best way to maximise a better life and higher quality of life is to be lean and energetic surely.

When you are overweight, you move around slower and you have less energy, and usually, not always, but usually your ambitions are set a little lower.

I have seen huge transformations in people and their mental state always goes from often despair to an overwhelming urge to live life in a way they have never experienced before.

How many people have you seen who were heavily overweight, then lost the weight, look great and much leaner, and then suddenly look and feel much more attractive? That makes for a happier life.

How many people have you seen who have to lose 3 stone for an operation, then realise how much better they feel and go on to lose another 2 stone? I know a few and they are thrilled with their new life!!!

How many people do you know who were afraid to play sports because they were overweight in schools, yet go on to become very impressive athletes? I know lots!!!!!

These are the facts and I have many examples to prove it. Im  not saying for one minute that these people are somehow better than anyone else, neither do they pretend to be!!

What I am saying though is that now they ARE living a better life in their eyes BECAUSE they have changed their body and maximised the health benefits!!!!

There is nothing more exciting.

So back to that tired old saying “only one life you have”?

Make your choice on what quality of life you want to live and realise that if you exercise and eat well, you will get there every time as long as you commit to a healthy lifestyle that will always bring results.

Wednesday 3rd August

The pre-season for sports is happening for all the traditional winter sports right now across the country, and some are having greater success than others.

If you want to make sure you have a very good season in sports, its absolutely critical to have a good pre-season conditioning period to set you up nicely for the coming months.

Players and sportsmen of all kinds who think they don’t need it or could do without it, are really living back in the 1970’s as sports conditioning has moved on light years since that attitude existed.

So if you are new to it or doing the same old stuff every year for your chosen sport, then its time to open your mind and change.

Long slow runs for a few miles are well and truly gone, and hugely intense sports specific workouts are in big time, and have been for years, it just takes a while for the message to get through. Where in the past 2 hours was normal, now it can be 30 minutes if you know what you’re doing and you’re willing to give total commitment.

Long runs that put strain on your body have been replaced with lots of short sprints, both on flat and up hills. There is forward running and backward running, lots of work for your core (stomach, back, hamstrings and thighs), and flat out lung busting work!!!

If any of this sound familiar its because you know thats the way i like to train because im always after maximum results!!!

I don’t tend to go from the team playbook when it comes to workouts or follow the pack. I want to do whats right and what works, and if the team training i have seen over the years is anything to go by, im glad i have sticked to my guns and given the best possible workouts to my clients and specific to their needs, not long boring runs that require little or no thought!!!

I will give you the example of the junior rugby international i was training in the 90’s, he was given jam sandwiches as a snack suggestion by the welsh rugby union!!! I ripped into that suggestion then and will have a go at any nonsense that still comes out now.

Its tried and tested all the way for me when it comes to training and eating properly, lots of ideas on here so lets make it happen!!!

Tuesday 2nd August

We are now into tuesday already, and hope you have had a great start to your week already.

What makes the difference between an average start and an amazing start to your week?

The bottom line is that you can train as hard as you want on a monday, but if you don’t follow that up with some excellent eating habits on monday night and all day tuesday, then you are going to be compromising some of those huge training efforts.

We say all the time on here that its actually MORE important to eat well after a good session and its criminal to eat just a pile of junk after training.

You have to realise that your body gets rid of and uses an awful lot of nutrients when you get through your hard training sessions. These will need replacing and if you don’t, you are compromising your body’s recovery powers. This means your ability to get back up and do it all over again will be compromised a lot.

This will lead to not so frequent training sessions, or definitely compromise your ability to get through top level training sessions.

I have seen tremendous differences between individuals who train just as hard as each other, but eat different diets. The one with the better diet will ALWAYS perform AND RECOVER that much better and quicker. This leads to a succession of events that will lead to long term success.

The person who eats a poor diet will always struggle to perform well consistently, and will likely lead to up and down results, as they are trying to do things the hard way.

Make life easy on yourself and train hard AND eat well and just watch the amazing results!!!!!

Monday, 1st August

Monday is perfect to hit your hardest workout and really get stuck into your own personal improvement programme. Nothing should be in your way now if you have had a good summer of training.

 Nothing or nobody is ever perfect though and I understand some of you have had big blows to your training because of injury.

 Monday though is the best way to give your best and nothing beats that tired feeling you get after a great workout, a shower and a good meal afterwards.

 This assures your body that’s its on a good course, you are more or less assured of a good night’s sleep meaning that you have the perfect set up for another great day on Tuesday!

Have a good Tuesday and Wednesday and the rest of the week becomes exciting because you know you’re going to be in a very good place indeed!

If you are following this blog most weeks and taking action each time you read it, and I stress those words in bold TAKING ACTION, you should be in a very good situation yourself today, and be very pleased with your progress. Just as this information I am giving you is upbeat and we can all pat ourselves on the back, the other side of the coin can make you downbeat to say the least and send you in a vicious circle.

 If you don’t or cannot train, then no fat or calories will get burnt.

 On top of that you won’t have the incentive to eat well.

 On top of that, you will likely to throw the towel in and no longer consider yourself “an athlete” in any sense of the word.

These are the two sides of the coin that face you, and both offer very different results of course, that’s why training in any way possible and starting your week off in the best possible way are so important!

Friday 29th July

If you are in control of your food, then thats fantastic and you should be proud of your appearance and performance lately.

If you’re not, then you need to back to where you were when you first started.

Most of us remember that feeling when we finally made the plunge to eating healthy the rest of our lives. It was intimmidating at first, but over time it became easier as the weeks went by, and even easier again when we started showing some really good results!!!

So if you are at a halfway house right now, by that i mean sometimes eating healthy and sometimes eating badly, then you need to go back to the start to enable you to move forward!

When you go to the diet section on the right hand side, there is a repetitive but valid theme on there. It goes on all the time about the importance of having a healthy breakfast and gives you many examples. A doctor would back this up.

It encourages you to graze and not gulp huge amounts of food down in one go, this means it is better to have smaller meals and snacks but regular and often to sustain energy and kickstart your metabolism, this is a proven way for fat loss and lean muscle retention. Your doctor would encourage this too.

The meal ideas on there are packed with variety, and all the foods are nutritious and are going to heavily contribute to you being in outstanding health! A nutritionist would tell you the exact same.

Water is vital to life, as well as good health, how many of you have forgotten that? Did you know its also a contributory factor to fat loss? Did you know its going to be better than some much-vaunted face creams for your skin’s appearance? I haven’t got another hour to write down all the extra benefits but you should be getting the idea by now!

Bottom line is the basics ARE the bottom line!!!! Face facts and go back to the start and remember how well you used to eat!!!