Posted on

Tuesday 28th June

What we have forgotten about lately is some basic measurements, and the importance they really have in our development.

Some of us search the internet for the latest “must have”, the latest faddy dvd, the latest diet book that may or may not work, the latest whatever, but the situation rarely changes with all of these quick fixes.

A great leveller, a great measurement and a great honest way of assessing yourself is measuring your waist.

That old measurement i gave you a while ago tends to work for all sorts of reasons.

Its the one where you measure you waist, and then compare it to your height.

So say your height is 6 foot, then that in inches would be 72 inches (6×12 inches).

So your waist should be 36 inches maximum or less ideally.

This is proven to be supportive of many benefits to health.

Better blood pressure, better chance of avoiding diabetes, better chance of having a strong heart rate, better chance of avoiding serious disease, better everything really in terms of health and fitness, and this is what this site is all about surely!!!

When you have a smaller waist, you tend to have better definition too.

Your arms will look better, your back will look better, your legs will look better, your shoulders will look better, just about everything will look better!!!

When your waist is bigger, everything goes a little more blurry and everything on your body will look softer and feel softer, so a smaller tighter waist makes perfect sense to all of us.

Alcohol, sugar and saturated fat are the enemies of your smaller waist, so all of these should be consumed sparingly if you really want to be the best you can be.

I like short and to the point posts so get measuring and it shouldnt take a genius to work out what you need to do to improve!!!

Twitt
Posted on

Monday 27th June 2011

Dehydration can make all the difference when it comes to having mediocre or impressive workouts.

If you are dehydrated, you can take easily 12 hours to get back to normal and feeling good again. This is a dangerous situation in this weather and would definitely explain poor workouts in this weather.

Being low on energy is different, you can make energy up with a fast acting carbohydrate in 10 minutes, and you will therefore be able to perform and feel better in a very short period of time.

Spotting dehydration is not always easy but there a few reliable indicators.

If you’re really thirsty, then dehydration has started and you need immediate fluids to feel yourself again, this doesnt mean though that you will be able to perform well straight away, as i said, dehydration can take a while to come back from.

You will see today from the tv at wimbledon that the players are regularly sipping water, especially in the predicted 100 degree heat of course. Dehydration on a day like this can definitely make the difference between winning and losing, and in severe cases cause an athlete to collapse.

Tea and coffee in moderation is fine, but you have to remember they will act as a diuretic too, which will actually take water from your body, meaning if you drink too much tea and coffee, your performance will dip sharply if not rectified with plenty of water.

So if the athletes take all of this so seriously, then so should you. If you can remember these simple rules on training days, then you will feel so much better and the hot and humid days will definitely seem less of a drag.

I know i feel better when i have a bottle of water on the go, and you don’t need the sports drinks either, unless your activity is lasting more than 60 continuous minutes. Sports drinks tend to be loaded with sugar and are often unnecessary for most workouts, don’t believe the hype on them and save your money.

Bottom line, stay hydrated and perform at your best!

Twitt
Posted on

June 21st

The thought of losing hope in your dreams to have outstanding health is totally unacceptable.

I have seen many people think of giving up on their health, and there are not many sights so sad to see. The good news is though is that the situation is entirely retrievable!!

You can turn around ANY situation you want, in ANY circumstance if you really think about it.

I don’t want to keep on about it, but i find that i can’t give up on anyone, no matter what their situation is.

 Cyril for instance, is suffering from a terrible bad back, and to say it is hampering his health would be an understatement!!!

The good news is that he is prepared to go through a session with a swiss ball, to make sure he gets back on track and he gets his body fit and well and do the things and activities he really loves doing.

Jean is going through a very tough time with a very bad knee that is hanging around terribly, but is still getting through some good work and still burning calories and fat.

When you are in this situation, it becomes  very hard to maintain your motivation through this difficult time, and this is when programmes are made or broken!!

This is when your mind becomes your most important tool, and you have to make sure you last through this difficult time, and you have to realise that there is brighter times ahead, this is just a massive roadblock along the way, and is really going to be testing you hard.

You always have to think that most people would crack, and  go on a eating binge that will always result in weight gain, and then spirals into a further lack of motivation, leading to eventually a tough situation when it becomes tough to come back from.

The good news is that im not giving up on you, and you have to tough it out and not slip back to a situation where it becomes tough to come back from!!!

Twitt
Posted on

Monday Continued

Chris L asks about his circuits on thursday’s post last week, is 3/4 enough or should he put some cycling and running in?

The truth is he should do both. Alsways remember when you are doing circuits, aim for 3 circuits of around 6-8 exercises per circuit, have a little water and aim to complete all 3 circuits as soon as you can, whilst still doing every exercise correctly and with good form, no point in cheating on every exercise and pulling your back out just so that you “can finish earlier”!!

As you have kids, try and hit the bike ride hard too, going flat out for 20 minutes rather than one long one done at  low to moderate intensity, which will not bring you the same kind of results, same principle with the running, aim for sprints or interval running to achieve maximum results in a very quick period of time, no point being out there plodding all day on a main road inhaling all the fumes. Pick some steep hills and bring your training to a swfit conclusion, but be prepared to put on ton of work in when you do go for it, and aim to improve every week, this should be easily achievable!!!

Stick to your plan of working at a higher intensity in your running, cycling and inside circuits, train with urgency and don’t hold anything back!!! Let me know how it goes!!!

Twitt
Posted on

Monday, June 20th

If you’re looking for your big start to the week, then you need a fundamentally good start to the week and it all begins with some solid eating plans!
 
 
Nothing wrong with up to 3 cups of tea or coffee a day, but you do need plenty of water on top of that, 8-10 glasses a day or around 1.5 litres if you are consuming by the bottle.
 
 
Breakfast is always going to work best when its a natural choice, weetabix are always fine, and porridge can be a great selection giving you a nice long steady supply of energy to start the day off. Dried fruit can be a great sweetener.
 
 
If you are having some fruit juice in the morning or at any other time, its always an excellent idea to dillute it as you wont be consuming as much sugar as a whole glass of juice, therefore saving on needless calories too.
 
 
Fruit is usually a matter of personal taste, some people like certain fruits and tend to stick on the same ones. Its always good to mix them up a bit so you get different nutrients, but the bottom line is that fruit of any kind should come in on a daily basis.
 
 
Vegetables are a must have in anyone’s day, a lot of people ignore these at their peril, because they provide a lot of what your body needs when it comes to supporting good health.  Again try to keep it varied and your body will feel all the better for it.
 
 
Your protein selections should be the lean choices, such as white meats and fish, and if you keep to this, you will feel full and your calories consumed will be relatively low, red meat is fine but only once a week.
 
 
One of the biggest mistakes people make with carbs is portion sizes, and if they are bigger than the size of your fist, then everything you eat will be putting on body fat rather than giving you energy.
 
 
Portion size for some people is one of the most difficult thing to change, but once you do get used to the smaller amounts, then your appetite gets smaller, and your ability to eat big meals goes down, which means a smaller and flatter stomach of course.
 
Put in a great workout today and add of all this great food, and you’re off to a flier early on in the week!!!
Twitt