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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
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Monday, 13th September 2010

Those who finish off strong in the next couple of weeks deserve all the rewards this year. The classic put weight on before christmas is here right now, and its entirely your choice whether you want to fall for that one again this year or not!

Its no excuse to say that there’s too many temptations around this year either. One party on saturday is not going to do too much harm. Having a bit of whatyou fancy in terms of chocolate, cakes etc is not going to pile on too much weight. What will put on the weight is the having a lot of what you fancy every day or certainly most days.

 The excuse “all i have to do is look at chocolate and i put on weight” is not really going to cut too much mustard here i’m afraid!! I have heard many people say such things, yet drop 4-5 dress sizes when they have put their minds to it!! Chocolate must have been in the room at times then, yet somehow it didnt come piling on then! Most people have their excuses already prepared, and if you’re on of those, its time to get real and get out of that horrible rut you’ve got yourself in!!!

Once you take the excuses out of your life, you will stop right then looking for excuses and get on with the hard work for a change. Indeed, the effort of looking for excuses would be much better spent starting your workout,making a decent meal for yourself or drinking some water instead of opening yet another bottom of wine!! If you judge your efforts simply on looking to feel better, then this attitude will take you a long, long way, thats the way i work anyway and its a great start for most of you to look at things again.

12 days to go, hopefully you remember me saying there was only 12 weeks to go and it would fly, well it certainly has now! Those 12 weeks were also an opportunity for you to get in shape too. If you havent done so, then theres always another 12 weeks so lets start by finishing off 2010 strong, to enable you to make a much better start in 2011!!!

Twitt
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Friday, 12th December

The big news is you have the opportunity to get outside again and get out and run, cycle, walk, swim whatever you want to do. Swim may be a joke for most of you but there are people who swim EVERY morning i know in burry port and in langland and caswell. I couldn’t do it myself but some people feel amazing doing it and all credit to them for doing it!!

I have had 3 runs today and feel a lot better for it. The last two weeks have been extremely tough staying inside for workouts so i fully intend to make the most of outdoors from right now. Don’t believe the doom and gloom merchants, its not going to be freezing by sunday at all. Its going to be 7 degrees saturday and 4 degrees on sunday, which is like being in the mediterranean compared to whats been going on with the temperatures lately!! Anything with clear surfaces free of ice is a bonus for me and it allows safe and freedom of movement, which is all important.

Think of all the fresh air going into your lungs too. You’re not living in the middle of the city, you live in areas which are exercise friendly and healthy friendly too. You have amazing views when you’re training, you don’t have to be stuck inside all your life moving from an office or factory, then stuck inside again at home. Your home is a great place to sleep and have food and relax, but the fun should really start when you get outside and do things that involve you being more active.

Don’t be one of those who only goes out for a walk on boxing day with their christmas jumpers and gloves, theres more to fitness than that!! Those people should realise that you need to get out in the fresh air MORE THAN ONCE a year looking trendy!! Thats something i really hate! Let’s get out and there a few times a week and do some meaningful exercise and get a sweat on!!! It will make you feel so much better and get out you of the rut you’ve been in for the last couple of weeks of sub-zero temperatures!!

Exercise is not about being trendy or wearing special jumpers walking on the beach looking the part, its about DOING so lets get out there and do it and feel your best!!!!!!!!!!!

Twitt
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Wednesday 8th December

The biggest mistake over Christmas I try to avoid is letting all the condiments come into my life again, which give me a shortness of breath, a lack of energy, make me irritable and get my sweet tooth back, plus the inevitable weight gain of course. Making myself and you aware of it is half the battle when we all start buying the “party” food etc in for Christmas.

Tomato sauce, mayonnaise (full, half or reduced fat versions), salt, salad “seasoning” products, salad cream, brown sauce, branston pickle, full sugar pasta sauces, anything under party food banner’s wreck my breathing, anything with added sugar in their product (corn syrup etc).

Also the chickens in indian sauces or ”hot  and spicy” chickens get me breathing heavy.

I also find if I have too many days of drinking alcohol, my discipline with food goes out the window and my choices become far more questionable! A familiar pattern  for you maybe?

So when does the point come when you say “that’s it I’m starting back after Christmas”! The sooner that point is reached, the more weight you are likely to put on over Christmas for sure, and the harder it is to come back strong after Christmas.

Party food for the most part has nothing to do with quality and more to do packaging of low or NO nutrient food up as something you would be “boring” not to go for! Unless you had a trolley full of “party food”, then you are the biggest stick in the mud there’s ever been and you’re not “enjoying” Christmas! The Ken Barlow of Christmas shoppers maybe!!

Personally I would say that there’s nothing more boring that gorging yourself all of December and drinking nearly every day, then complaining about your heartburn, your clothes never fit you anymore and after Christmas, going on YET another diet. This may be the most boring version of Christmas ever? The time everyone rolls their eyes at you because its like Groundhog Day all over again!

Wouldn’t it be far more refreshing and less predictable this year to keep on buying good food this year right up until new year. Don’t buy all that rubbish and “party food” that you throw out anyway after Christmas. A fresher and more energetic version of you is far more appealing to everyone than the complaining, irritable, boring version of you come January? Is that the case or am I over-exaggerating?!!

Keep having your treats over Christmas, you deserve to enjoy of course you do, but you don’t have to totally destroy yourself from now on in and make the start to 2011 totally miserable!

Moderation works as long as you have your basic foundation in place.

Twitt