Posted on

1st June 2011

The start of the hottest of months if you believe the weather forecasters, and it could be a very hot month for you in terms of overall progress if you’re prepared to fire on all cylinders. You don’t have to be an olympic athlete either to fire on all cylinders, but you do need a very positive attitude to make the kind of changes to your body deep down you really want to happen.

We always talk about fresh natural food, but as we do this, there is a very tedious debate going on in france about the “Dukan diet”. One french government nutritionist calls it a sham, the authors are trying to debate that in court. An interesting case coming up.

This diet has been compared to the famous or infamous (depending on the way you look at it) Atkins diet. Most people know it concentrated on high protein foods, with litte consideration given to the saturated fat running through a person’s arteries.

I know  most people went on the Atkins diet did lost a lot of weight, and most people who go on the Dukan diet are having similar results. Eating mostly protein will lose you weight, but the difficulty remains in  keeping it up long term.

Carbs are always seen as the enemy, but the reality is that if they are consumed in moderation, such as the size of your fist, AND they are of a more natural source, such as wholewheat or wholegrain, in terms of pasta and brown rice for example, they WILL be good for you.

New potatoes, wholemeal bread with little or no spread, wholemeal pitta breads for example will all be good for you in moderation.

The problem comes when they are consumed in much bigger quantities than you need. THEY ARE NOT BAD FOODS FOR YOU, and will offer seriously good energy levels.

The likes of the dukan diet will come and go, and make their author a fortune but where will they be in 3-5 years?

The bottom line is that there are lots of people looking to create the next big thing, the question is will you let them fool you time and time again, when a well balanced diet of more natural foods is always the answer and will last you a lifetime!!

Twitt
Posted on

27th May 2011

The issue of recovery is never usually mentioned in the press, but is always a vital factor in your development and always underrated.

I for instance, have been running with a sore toe for the last few weeks. This is now fine but those few weeks of running with a weaker toe on my right foot has caused extra strain on left leg, and mainly my calf. This has now made my running uncomfortable again, although i am getting through it.

This is very common for most people when they develop a problem with a knee, calf, hamstring, hip or just about anything. Everything must balance itself out in the end and this is all part of the process. You must give time for your body to recover or the injury will most likely to hang around for a long time to come!

The way i have been getting over it is eating very well, as  much fresh and natural food as possible, enough sleep (thats not always possible of course with two small children!), plenty of water and smart training which means not putting too much strain on the affected area, in this case my calf. The most important thing to do straight away of course is ice my calf, this should always be done for around 20 minutes and a maximum of 30 minutes. This can be done once or even twice a day if you have time, it will stop further damage and make a huge difference trust me!!! This can be done easily with a bag of frozen peas.

I have followed all of this to the letter when i got in last night at 745pm, and after getting up at 420pm today i have been able to cycle hard today, and run a little. This is not to make myself sound like some kind of hero but more like to illustrate to you that you CAN recover quickly from injuries, AS LONG as you follow these simple rules, they have worked for years for me and i highly encourage you to do the same!!!

NEVER run through injuries though if you are having ANY pain at all, the perfect advice is to make sure you recover 100% before putting through the affected area through any sustained effort in your workouts again. Simple but the smart way to do it!!!

Twitt
Posted on

May 26th Thursday

If you are developing momentum, you’re into your training, you are even more careful on what you eat, you are ultra positive on your health, you are beginning to receive compliments and life is on a roll.

Isn’t it much easier to be on a good path? There’s been enough chat on here about being on a downer,  being negative and puzzling how to get back on track. Life has changed for the better for some I am glad to report.

Being on a good track is a massive positive, and enables you to exercise without too much bother. Motivation is never a problem because you feel you’re close to the top of your game. Life is going to going to be good and you’re confidence is high. There is no better feeling.

Remember this feeling when you fall out of shape in the future, because you’re in the groove now and its easy to remember how it is right now. In fact, if you are feeling good now, it’s a good idea to write down how you feel in your diary and you can look back on how you did it in the future if you ever get  into trouble again with your health and weight, because they are very much interrelated!!!

We all say that we wish we were 21 again, but no all of us were in amazing shape at 21. I know lots of people I train are in better shape at 51 than 21. I have many individuals who would certainly out-perform most 21 year olds, and I have some 60 year olds entering marathons and triathlons for the first time ever!!

People are living longer these days and with a far better quality of life. The ingredients will always be eating as much healthy and natural food as possible, and training smart with a real purpose. Throw in plenty of good sleep and a good amount of water every day and you have the perfect formula.

You may deviate from it from time to time, be sucked into faddy weight loss methods/clubs from time to time, but you will always need to come back to this perfect formula so why waste time?!!!!

Twitt
Posted on

Tuesday, May 24th

I sense individuals are on bit of a high lately, there is little if any complacency and there is a desire to improve. This is a great place to be as the only way is up.

Belief is high, there are not many negatives on the horizon and there is a positive nature in everything we do.

This state of mind is usually when your best training efforts are done. New highs can be achieved and your past physical peaks can be revisited, and who knows, even surpassed.

This is the state of mind that reminds us that age is not really the deciding factor after all, and I have seen this time after time. I have seen 60 year olds in great shape, looking 45 and I have seen 35 year olds looking 55!!! This is a true statement and not a joke or an exaggeration.

I have heard stories about 70 year olds having a good love life, and I have heard 30 something’s dead and buried on that front!!! These are real life stories again.

Its Tuesday today, and most people try to survive Tuesdays, they call them boring and just another week day to “get through”! To me and many others though, its much different.

Tuesday offers a great chance to get your best training session in because training should have no interruptions to worry about.

Tuesday is a day when you usually don’t have a night out, its usually early to bed and usually there’s no alcohol involved either. Good healthy food should be consumed and this should automatically make you feel better and perform better.

When you look at it rationally, Tuesday is in fact one of the best days of the week in training and health terms. Tuesday creates the foundation for a fantastic week and a good Tuesday will make a very powerful statement of intent!!

Good Tuesdays mean you want to be living life to the full, you want to be healthy, vibrant and full of energy, THIS is the life you want to live and the endless benefits and rewards that come with it.

It’s a great positive start to the week so make this Tuesday a new high in your development, push harder even when you want to give up, dig down deeper when you know you’re not quite there and do your best to finish this day off super-strong!!!!

Twitt
Posted on

Monday, 23rd May

What a monday already, wet and windy and what happened to the heatwave promised?

Anyway, we are already into a great monday when your body has been working in many ways already.

You may know already that you work your “core” in every single movement.

Your core in general terms is your stomach, lower back, hamstrings and thighs and these muscle groups control every movement in your body.

You could be making a cup of coffee, and the turning side to side to get the milk, coffee etc works your core, okay in a small way but still works it.

Reaching for a product in a supermarket also works your core, picking a child out of a car works your core, lifting anything works your core, just about anything works your core, and its VITAL your core is strong for any activity in life.

Anyone who has ever worked out with me will know that practically EVERY exercise will work your core with me, and you can always tell by the next day because you will be a little stiff in the most important area on your body!!! It shows that we are going things right and safely, which is always important to me and it should be to you too.

And you can forget about any fancy machines too, they claim to work your core but they don’t offer the flexibility that free motion and more natural movements offer. When you are on a machine, you are always in a limited range of  motion, and your body will therefore be limited in the way it can move. Anytime this happens, it means you are not getting the full benefits you should be out of your workouts, and therefore not going to be improving in the way you know you should be!!!!

I have found that with machines, they offer limited success and i am always more in favour of free weights, and much more free and natural movements you can do with a medicine ball and the fit ball (the pumped up big ball you see in gyms etc) of course.

The bottom line, stay away from these fancy machines who promise the earth, and stick to tried and tested methods that will safely deliver big results every time!!!!

Twitt