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Wednesday 27th July

The weather has hit new heights again, making harder training sessions more and more difficult.

The first obvious change you need to make is either workout first thing in the morning or in the evening, this will be the biggest temperature difference you can make to enable you to have a more pleasant training experience. There can be real advantages to this and i prefer an early morning slot myself, but its all down to personal choice.

Number two obvious thing to do is up your water intake on the day you train, being dehydrated on a day like this is not only undesirable but its plain dangerous! Also, remember to drink water THROUGHOUT your workout with little sips and often, as well as afterwards. This weather is not just about putting a decent workout in, its about doing things in a safe and sound manner.

Number three is to keep your workouts shorter than normal and in a shaded area if possible. There’s an old saying that says that “only an mad dogs and englishmen go out in the midday sun!!”. We have already talked about avoiding midday workouts if possible and you need definitely to limit your time in the sun. Don’t worry about the shorter workouts, simply doing a workout is very valuable on a day like this.

Number four is not to write off the day unless absolutely necessary. Most people will write off workouts on days like these, but hoepfully you’re not like “most people” anymore. You still want good results whatever the weather, and you will be willing to work around any hot or freezing weather, its just another challenge that you need to work around and you will be fine.

If you follow the first three guidelines, then you should be able to put a good short workout in, have a nice shower and get on with having a great day!

Twitt
Posted on

Tuesday, 26th July

The issue of post workout nutrition has never been so important.

If you are currently going through a tough pre-season for sport for example, what you put back into your body is going to be of extreme importance.

If you train very hard and then don’t care what you eat, then you’re not making things very easy for yourself at all.

There used to be a saying in the 80’s, 90’s and still sometimes today, that “as long as you train hard, then it doesn’t matter WHAT you eat afterwards”!!! What rubbish but what’s even sadder is that some people believe this!

Let’s look at it logically.

When you train hard, you break down your body.

You will lose a lot of nutrients out of your body.

You will break down muscle tissue down.

You will disrupt the chemical balance of your body and lose vital nutrients that need to be replaced.

So does a takeaway really cut it as an after workout meal?

Does the chip shop meet all your needs?

Is a bottle of wine really going to help you replace what you have taken out?

Is a couple of pints of lager going to repair your immune system or help destroy it?

So let’s get one thing completely straight. YOU CANNOT EAT EXACTLY WHAT YOU WANT AFTER A TOUGH WORKOUT IF YOU REALLY WANT TO GET IN SHAPE!!!

Okay, i’m glad i have got all of that off my chest.

So what should you eat?

White meats, lean red meat once a week, any fish as long as it hasn’t got batter, eggs, cottage cheese are all EXCELLENT protein sources!!!!! These are vital!

You don’t need a bucketload of carbs after either.

A moderate amount, the size of your fist will do and avoid white bread, white pasta and you will be fine.

Vegetables will provide a lot of the nutrients you need to replace in your body, you will be so much better off by having a good variety of veg in your meal after training for all sorts of reasons. This along with proper hydration will be vital in your athletic goals.

I have tried to make it plain and simple, lets just do it!!!!

Twitt
Posted on

Monday 25th July

This is probably a very quiet period for a lot of people, certainly the next two weeks are known as “stop fortnight” when a lot of factories and businesses shut down to go off on their summer holidays, as well as schoolkids all over the country of course.

In terms of exercise, it shouldn’t really make a difference if you are at home and not on holidays, there is no reason to give up on progress and write off your improvements to come.

When we talk about the year in general, we flag up certain times of year as hotspots for exercise and eating well. January is a famous one straight after christmas. Spring is another one where people want to get into shape for summer, and then you have a bit of a surge in late november for the christmas parties.

Apart from these times, you would assume that most people the rest of the year have “normal” weeks when it comes to exercise wouldn’t you? Well not according to my experience!

There is no such thing as a “normal” week in my book.

Individuals have good times and bad times, people have injuries and aches as well as times with no aches and strains. People will eat well and eat very badly. They will drink too much and sometimes not at all.

There will be very hot weather periods as well as the coldest  weather we have ever experienced such as december last year, the whole month in fact!!!!

Twitt
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Thursday, 21st July

Knowledge is power and stops us wasting endless hours, days weeks and even years in trying to get in shape.

If we try to go too fast too soon, we sometimes get injured and more often than not, lose all the enthusiasm we had at the start.

This is because we don’t stop to learn the basics, we try to go through a programme that someone far more experienced is doing, such as some athlete in the magazines or something very advanced we see online, both are likely to be unsuitable.

Many magazines are filled with information, but a lot of it unfortunately is targeted at those who have been training for many years, and not those who are beginners or need a helping hand.

The best way to start off or pick up where you left off is to simplify matters.

Select a whole body programme where you work just one exercise for each body part, work up to doing 3 sets of each exercise over a couple of weeks, and aim to do this programme 3 times a week. That’s it, nothing complicated, nothing that will confuse you or your body, just plain old solid routines that will work each every time.

As i keep saying, unless you’re a professional athlete, please, please, please DO NOT waste your time by working one or two body parts each time you go to the gym.

There are two things going on with that last statement.

Are you really up for having fantastic results? Or are you listening too much to your friends and following their programme that’s usually very poorly designed with the no end goal in sight?!!!!

So back to the point, knowledge really is power IF applied properly and its time to start applying it properly. Think what programme is going to WORK FOR YOU!!!!! Its about YOUR progress and YOUR body and keeping it simple is the way to go, just show some effort with your training and the sky’s the limit!!!!

Twitt
Posted on

Wednesday, 20th July

Being a good cook doesn’t mean using the traditional things that most chefs use in their cooking.

Lashings of butter, sugar and cream are not going to suit your efforts to get into great shape.

The only individuals who can keep their weight constant with such cooking methods are those who eat incredibly small portions.

One lady I train used to work amongst the rich and famous up in London, and was amazed at how small the portions were for some people she cooked for. The food would typically full of cream and butter, but the servings would be painfully small.         This did result in weight control though for the individual concerned.

The problem was that not only that most people can’t eat in these tiny portions, but the food quality is going to be high in saturated fat, and this means of course that its not going to be that good for you anyway!

We like to concentrate on what’s good for you on here so again, the cream, butter and sugar added to various dishes shouldn’t be an option for you in your cooking.

This is why most people say vegetables and plain fish and chicken are horrible, they HAVE to have it cooked in a rich way!!

This shows that their taste buds are not given much of a chance. Eating plainer food can take some time to get used to but will definitely be worth it in the end!!!

The benefits will include actually TASTING your food in its natural state for the first time! Trust me, you will not go back to your old ways of eating once you start feeling hugely better from your new more natural way of eating.

Also, then there is the obvious point of you drastically reducing your calories which will lead to fat loss, more energy and you finally getting your life back in order.

Being in control feels good, and it all starts with your food and the way you cook it!!

Twitt