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Thursday, 8th December

The positive nature of the workout information this week is great but what allows it to happen is you being consistent, simple as that!

If you’re not eating well week in week out for a long period of time, then you are not likely to be up for these advanced workouts.

If you havent got some good training experience behind you, and you miss a week here, week there on your training, you are going to be unlikely to cope with the pace of these workouts.

If you drink alcohol more than once a week, you are going to struggle with these workouts, if you drink 3 or more times a week, you have no chance of coping with these workouts.

If you dont show responsibility by getting to bed early most nights, then you will struggle to recover and have the energy to train like this!!

Okay, glad we have got this out the way!!!

So i’d imagine you are focused by now, lets talk some more training!

So assuming you have managed to get used to training with very little breaks, and you are considerably fitter, lets move on!

Assuming you have been using lighter weights and easier exercises because of the fast paced workouts, its time to make the weights a little heavier, and make the choice of exercises a little harder.

Like the way you arrived at this stage in the first place, its a natural progression as long as you are doing the things outside the workout that we talked about at the start of this piece?

I cannot stresss enough that you shouldnt be doing these workouts unless you are advanced exerciser  and worked yourself up to this level!!!

So doing a press up will be easier than a ligh pec deck, a lunge or squat will be harder than moving your legs up and down when

on your side, a pull up on a chinning bar will be far harder than a light lat pullown.

So its down to what you can substitute your “easier” exercises for, so your workout becomes harder again!

More of this tomorrow!

Twitt
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Thursday, 8th December

As we talk about interval training, the next step up from that is non-stop training!!!

I should point out that this is not for the beginner who has just started training by any means, more for someone who has already been training for a while, and has achieved a good standard of fitness.

For example, if you started off doing a circuit such as this for 10 reps per exercise-

Press ups

arm dips

squats

sit ups

squat thrusts

So after you do this exercise, that would be it for most people, they would then rest, and wait to get their breath back before moving on with another circuit.

Those people who have followed this type of circuit will know that after a while, you will  not need the rest after the first circuit, and you will be able to move on to the next circuit straight away. Its at that point you may need a rest!

Then after a bit more experience, you may be able to move on to the third circuit even with no rest. This is when your fitness levels could be considered excelllent.

Then what after that?

If you are fit and conditioned enough, then you could start aiming to piece most workouts together as non-stop workouts, stopping very rarely indeed, only making sure you stop for sips of water, which are ultra-important and help cool your body down when doing a lot of high intensity training.

Most people  i know who have got to this stage, rarely want to train another way unless they have had a break from training for a few weeks, which will take quite a bit of time to get used to again of course.

If you train in more of a non-stop manner, however long that maybe (and its usually for 30 mins or less), you will burn more fat, gain more endurance, and generally be in the shape of your life!!!

Twitt
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Monday, 5th December

So if you have already lost the battle of good eating in the run up to christmas, all is not lost!!

High calorie food can be addictive, as well as nights of heavy alcohol for some. This is exactly the time to do something about it then!!

One great way to bust all of this wide open is to get stuck into interval training.

In recent studies, students who completed 7 workouts over a 2 week period had amazing results through high-intensity interval workouts.

They upped aerobic capacity by 13%, fat burning capacity by 36%,  and boosted key aerobic enzymes by 25%!!!

The programme consisted of 10×4 minute high intensity cycling blasts, they went at 90% of capacity with 2 minutes rest in between each set. This is a lung buster of the highest order as many of you could imagine!!!

Long term studies confirm that high intensity cardiovascular workouts increase fat burning DRAMATICALLY compared to low intensity traditional work on bikes and treadmills.

Most people still perform the low intensity stuff because thats all they have ever known.

With the higher intensity workouts, you tend to use mainly carbs in the workout for fuel, but the rest of the day you set your body up for using fat as a fuel, which is ultra-important when it comes to the most important thing, getting rid of the fat!

So high intensity interval workouts ARE harder work, but they are SHORTER in duration and you can use a ton more variety in your workouts! I talk all the time about doing interval workouts with weight training and trying to attain more of a non-stop tempo.

This is the stuff that really gets you fit and healthy AND quickly!!!

The easiest way to start interval training is to walk one minute on treadmill, then run much faster than normal for a minute, then walk a minute, then run faster again for a minute and so on. You may find that ten minutes of this type of interval work is more than enough!!!

Its all about quality rather than quantity so give it a shot!!!

Twitt
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Friday, 2nd December

Finishing off a week should always be a celebration, and a big one for us tonight with a big gym christmas night out!

Its time of the year to celebrate with all the christmas festivities and get in the mood for christmas!

Its important to recognise those people who have trained hard all year long, have shown up in cold, rain and all of those times when a lot of people seem to throw in the towel.

Most people who train hard all year will also realise the importance of going for a run, cycle or long walk tomorrow morning after a few beers and a big meal!!!

Most hard trainers will realise the folly of staying in bed all morning after a big night nursing a hangover!

The best way to get over a hangover is to make sure your last drink is a pint of water, dehydration will cause much of your hangover so this is an excellent strategy!

Then the following morning, get your kit on straight away around 7am or earlier and get out there and exercise!!!!! I mean as simple as that too!!!!

These tactics will clear your head completely-after around 5-10 minutes of pain first of all with all the booze and sugar working its way out of your body!!! Then after ten minutes, you will even begin to enjoy your workout and its all downhill from there!!

You should even begin to ENJOY your workout from there and i usually feel like doing a bit more than i had originally planned, and i hear a lot of other people saying the same thing who have got up and used this ultimate hangover cure!!!

You get back to feeling yourself straight away when you get back in for a shower and a good breakfast!!!!

So good luck to everyone who is out on a big night out tonight and remember saturday morning can be used as the perfect cure to your headache!!!!

Twitt
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Thursday, 1st December

A great chance meeting this morning with a gentleman Roger Rees, a 65 year old pensioner who has always like a pint (or three!), liked a smoke every day and thought exercising should be banished from society. He always believed that somehow things would “turn out okay” in health terms.

Then after being diagnosed with blood pressure problems, he was prescribed blood pressure tablets for which he stayed on for a couple of years.

Then he decided to exercise!!! It was sort of a “light bulb” moment and he discovered the massive benefits of exercises.

He has taken to exercise like a duck to water, although he has stuck to cycling as his first love.

Since he bought a bike, he has had the best 12 months of his life he says!

His blood pressure tablets have gradually come down, and with the doctor’s approval, has literally just been signed off medication as his progress has been so remarkable.

He had a big weakness for bacon, he now says he cant remember the last time he had it.

He drunk a few times a week. Now he has a couple of pints once a week, and he says he enjoys it this way far better, and doesn’t wake up with a hangover anymore!!!

His smoking is a bad memory from a distant past he says. He says it was the worst thing he ever did, but since he is now smoke free, his lung capacity is far more impressive which has been backed up by all the tests hes been having with the doctor.

The bottom line is that hes changed his life completely with exercise and eating well.

 Hes lighter than hes ever been. Hes far more energetic than I have EVER seen him and all of this shows exactly what can be achieved by a healthy lifestyle change!!!!

Twitt