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Day 77 80% is enough for me!!

Another great sunday morning run done today, and the sun was out loud and proud this morning again!

This great harbour scene was overshadowed a bit by the presence of church goer’s in cloaks at burry port lighthouse having a sermon, or chanting or something really weird, they could have been devil worshippers?!! Who knows, but what i do know is half those people pretending to be christians are usually the biggest sinners in our community, you know them so i say no more!

Anyway, how’s your sunday morning going? Has there been a workout in already before you get on with easter sunday? Have you had a great breakfast packed with vitality, or is it your weekly great british breakfast? Is this a day of rest for you or is it a day when you hit several beers, as easter sunday has come to mean this for a large part of the community.

Whatever your choice, i’m cool with it as long as you keep hitting your 80% target.

80% in school used to mean you were really intelligent, were very at good exams and likely to go on to college and have a very good career.

80% as a goal kicker in rugby is phenomenal in terms of coverting penalty kicks. Johnny Wilkinson and Neil Jenkins are the best of all time, and i would doubt even these great kickers ever achieved this success record!

If you were successful in something, it could be assumed that you were doing things right most of the time, not all of the time as that is impossible, but 80% or more would be classed as being a master in your chosen field.

This 80% i keep going on about is your target with your eating and training. If you can do this, you can see by comparison with everything else, you will be highly successful without a shadow of a doubt!!

I think the problem sometimes is that people often have to go 100% or nothing! You will see some on this site at either remarkable highs, or depressing lows (for a short time only i hasten to add!!). You can see that being perfect is not only impossible, its stupid to beat yourself up for not achieving it or even close to it!

EVEN the so-called masters are not perfect, and don’t achieve perfection, or anything close to it. Their magical number is closer to 80% rather than 100%.

Johnny Wilkinson often said that his pursuit of perfection nearly destroyed him mentally. He has since become a buddhist and now has a different view on life, which he says, has helped his rugby as now he doesn’t put so much pressure on himself. He still has hugely high standards, but doing his best and what comes from that is now enough for him.

Being yourself is often frowned upon but shouldn’t it be encouraged? Your best should and always be enough in my book, and whatever the result, then so be it. You willl be happy, i will be happy and when everyone’s happy, results nearly always go up and up!

Twitt
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Day 76 Debbie does well!

Great to hear from Debbie yesterday who is doing so well, and got me inspired to write an early post today today, just after my early morning run on this saturday. I had the benefit of sun, but realise it won’t be out for long!!

What debbie says is true, and what she is doing now is realising that she CAN actually do it, and WILL actually achieve something special now that she is developing some real momentum in her programme. I will always back someone who tries and all of you who keep on trying, i will support you all the way with all the advice and know-how needed.

What about the easter weekened then? The scarlets may have lost but it doesn’t mean you have to drown your sorrows all weekend?!!

We talked about it yesterday, the dangers of easter weekend hurting your progress over the next couple of weeks, and you battling with it to get it back on track. When you battle with anything, you lose motivation and can be more likely to quit.

This is why most people go from weight loss method to weight loss method, and are doomed for long term failure. It’s easy to ignore the most tried and tested, the most common sense, the most scientifically back way to do it, in favour of faddy weight loss clubs. Of course they will try and talk you into joining their club, but they DO want your money at the end of the day, and if they can use mistruth’s to do it, then of course they will get any underhanded way to get you to join.

Debbie has illustrated the thinking person’s way to do it, and she herself is trying to understand her own body, her own emotions when it comes to fat-loss and is always trying to develop and follow a successful long term strategy. I believe she will be successful as she knows the truth now, and she has been let down by many a faddy system in the past.

When you are developing a system, you have to put your head on the block and say it will work because of A, B and C. I will do that. Debbie has a business called Zahra Sugaring in Llanelli, and is proud in what she offers, and the benefits she offers over other methods. When she does it, she does it well and people come back, that is the sign of a good business. You won’t get debbie saying one thing one week, then the next week something else. She is consistent and proud of her principles.

I try to do that too. You won’t have me on here defending “points” and green and red days because i simply don’t believe they work in the long term. Science and research also backs me up, and that research says that 97% of those who go on such diets put the weight back on and more (5% more in fact each time). Also, i have met lots and lots of people angered and fed up by their lies and “bad science”, in fact its not even science at all!

Have a great saturday, have a great workout if you’re doing anything and catch you tomorrow!

Twitt
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Day 73 Being around for the long term!

After all the stuff i have read on here, all the stuff i have asked people this week, all the “stuff” i tend to see in the media at times, i really think most people are READING too much into their health and fitness plans!!

I encourage the actual reading part of course, but what i don’t encourage is the too much reading and not enough action part!

How many people do you know will actually do things that they are not any good for themselves, not good for those around them and not good for the long term, and yet STILL do those things?!!

That got me to thinking about how most people are sucked into advertising campaigns and marketing drives of all kinds.

We can all remember gyms that came along in the area promising to literally “change your life”! It’s not really a great slogan when those gyms are gone within a few short years, that promise seems a little hollow now don’t you think? I never like to see anyone go through, but people i think forget that the actual product must be first-class before you ever brag about it so much.

There is always going to be next “big thing” but unfortunately, they last often about as long as fish and chip paper.

Longevity in any business is to be admired and has always fascinated me. There was a famous british business owner on the other day giving a television interview. He was asked how did he survive so long, and how did he keep his marketing campaign so successful and so fresh?

The reply startled his interviewer. He replied he survived so long by giving excellent customer service, far above any of his competitors who really didn’t want to know the customers once they purchased the product, and he spent 99% less money conveying that message!

His answer on the marketing campaign was this, he didn’t have any! His marketing was looking after the customer so well, that they felt they had to come back because they were treated so well, and it was a pleasure each time they went into any of his shops. How many of you feel that way about a business? And is that the reason you go back or stay away if the experience is negative?

He went on to say that his main competitor spent 25 million on advertising one year, they actually spent 200 thousand, yet the competitor went bust the following year, they had forgotten what customer care was all about. He never sold his product too cheap, a fair price for a good product he maintained, his competitor went bust trying to stack them too high, and sell them too cheap!! 

This blog is about being consistent, about achieving longevity and giving consistently common sense advice that is likely to work time after time. You may see things change slightly over time, but the principles WILL NEVER CHANGE. I have upset people sometimes by sticking to them, and telling people like it is because i want what’s best for everyone, with no side effect, no catches and no false promises.

 The good news is that most of those people i have told straight have told me down the line (maybe 6 weeks, 6 months or even 6 years) that the advice was actually sound and wish they did at the time, and their desire to do it the “easy way” had in fact been the long way, and had made them waste so much time in their life, as well as torture themselves mentally and physically by making the wrong choices, often on promises of these marketing people, who are only after your money. Just like the example i gave you on the successful business versus the marketing rubbish, anything you learn on here should last you for the rest of your life, as the answers i give are there to be shot at, or praised so i’m putting it all on the line here, and thank you for showing interest.

This blog is here to help, to encourage and put you straight on what works, what doesn’t and how you can improve your health for the rest of your life. I sense some slumber here the last couple of days, you can be sure i am going to fired up to get you out of it the next few days and weeks!! The advice i get from the posters is highly appreciated too, i take all of it onboard!

I appreciate everyone’s comments so keep them going!!! We all learn every day and thank you!

Twitt
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Day 72 Keep going!

Jean has raised a valid point in her comments in her last post on day 71. She is on bit of a downer as cyril says, and perhaps it’s understandable due to circumstances.

I have done a survey of many people i train, and asked them how often do they feel like giving up, quitting, feel that the effort is overwhelming etc etc?

The answers i got back didn’t surprise me, especially those who i see at 5am in the morning.

The reality for them, especially in the winter months, there were indeed times when they were questionning what they did, was it really worth it, wouldn’t it be more comfortable to stay in bed, to join a gym, to join a weight loss club, to buy some new equipment themselves, after all they said “they knew what to do by now, as they had been training with me for years”.

Then after all of this, i had the reinforcement i was looking for. The reasons for continuing their training with me ranged from “they wouldn’t do it otherwise, or they wanted to do it the right way, they couldn’t push themselves this hard on their own, they had tried all the weight loss clubs and all it invlovled was losing the weight at all costs, then inevitably putting the weight on again. There were countless reasons, and thankfully most of them inspired me to work even harder at keeping them happy, and looking out for fresh ways to improve them.

I am training another pregnant lady at the moment, and asked why she was carrying on and had done for many years. We often had disagreements when she wasn’t doing her best, but told me that training during pregnancy was now the most important thing she could ever do, as her health and her baby’s health were now the most important thing in the world. Plus she desperately wanted to get into shape once the baby was born.

Back to Jean, she goes on about “people accepting her as she is”? I have made it plain and clear that we accept her “as she is too”! All i would say to that statement is that i really don’t think jean likes being overweight and inactive, so is that her “true self” and really “as she is”? I don’t think so. Doesn’t she want to be a good role model to her grandchildren and keep up with them into old age, surely this is just ONE of many reasons to be fit and healthy?!!

Perhaps the real jean is more like someone who REALLY ENJOYS training and the challenges it brings, and likes doing crazy physical feats at times!

Jean enjoys her food, sometimes has one too many treats and likes to overdo it when like now as cyril says “she is on a downer”!! So, its up to us to support jean when she is down like this, remind her that she is really much better than buying a cheap piece of exercise equipment and staying inside all the time, when she could be outside an enjoying herself.

 We all have the same choices, its about how we deal with the cards that are dealt to us that is the vital thing. Looking on the bright side can be a very important trait, and a habit that will save us from going on many downer’s, which often lead to weight gain and loss of the feeling of wellbeing.

So the question of someone quitting is not new to me, but its just another situation for me to help out with, and tell everyone that its natural, and that everyone goes through it. The reason why my retention rate is extremely high is because i expect you to have obstacles and challenges in your way, and if you expect  them, through knowledge and experience, we are going to be very well equipped to get over them and come out the other side in terrific shape.

I told everyone yesterday that one of the major secrets to success is keeping going even when everything or everyone says to quit. Little do most people know that ultimate success is just waiting around the corner!

Twitt
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Day 71 Start of week 11!!

The feeling of helping individuals improve their lives is a fantastic one, and one that keeps me getting up at 4am every day.

I do rely on a certain amount of effort on the individual’s part though, and i am glad to say that everyone improves, even if some do better than others at times. Up in Cardiff today was fantastic, as i know every single one of the girls at Arthur Llewellyn Jenkins has made substantial progress, and are still excited about their improvements and their potential to do more than they ever thought possible!

I think the real secret throughout this challenge has been everyone learning that they must carry on even when they don’t feel like it. Isn’t it the same during exam time? We all have taken exams at some time in our lives, and a lot of us taken exams after we left school, i was one of them and remain commited to life-long learning.

I have trained so many people who have taken such after school exams, and they were glad they persevered when they felt like throwing the towel in many times. I felt like catching the train straight back from london when i did my exams, but glad i stuck it out or i wouldn’t be here writing this here tonight!

To get up and do your workouts each day does take more thought and effort than most people appreciate. This week for instance there is heavy rain around, there is icy weather back wednesday and the chances to workout will be more limited. Some of you may well make excuses, but you will know by now that’s its not going to cut any ice with me, if you parden the pun!!

Some people always ask me do i lose work through bad weather? The reality is that i do an awful lot of inside workouts when the weather is rough, and the quality of the workouts doesn’t have to suffer, sometimes it is even better! The only time i lose work is if i can’t get in because of the snow, and even then i always give it a good go, foolishly sometimes!

 This is why a proper structure in your exercise programme is vital, or you will become a “weekend warrior”. This means someone who only trains the weekend because of “lack of time”. This is still good for you but a very inefficient way of training. What happened to the other 5 days?!!! Time to get with the programme!

Three days strength work is great along with a maximum of 3 days cardio work (running/walking/cycling/swimming etc). You always need one day rest minimum, no matter who you are, the body’s need for recovery cannot be understated so let’s keep everything in proper balance.

It’s like your food, keeping everything in proper balance is vital. Don’t cut out food groups although some are tempted for short term gains. Food and natural food at that, were put on this earth for a reason, to nourish your body properly and to be enjoyed in all its full natural glory. Ready meals and low calorie chocolate bars weren’t exactly part of nature’s master plan!!!

Hope you are having a solid start to the week and welcome to week 11!!!!!!

Twitt