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February 9th 2011

Talking about improving your training efforts, here are some easy ways to achieve exactly that.

A very good start would be to keep a training record of what you do. For example, if you go for a run on monday for 20 minutes on a hilly course, write it down and try and state how you feel too, was it easy, hard, did you have to walk most of it, did you do more than planned for example?

Then the next week you can go into the same run fully aware of what it would take to improve on that. If the previous week you managed 20 consecutive minutes but had to then stop, the a run of even 21 minutes would be seen as an improvement, so set that as your goal if time exercising is your goal. A better goal would be run a little bit further, so even if that takes the same 20 minutes, its a very real improvement. Going more distance in the same amount of time is a major achievement and is much more meaningful in my book.

If your training diary says that that you only trained twice last week but planned 3 times, then work out why you didnt do it. Did you expect to do it in the evening around 5pm, but something kept coming up? The best solution for me would be to switch the workouts to first thing in the morning, you’re less likely to have so many things going on before work or even before breakfast.

Working out in the morning takes the excuses out of your life, and can set you up to have a great day. It works for many people i know and now that they have got into early morning training, they would never go back to evening training. Plus you tend to burn body fat quicker before breakfast so it can work on many levels.

The key to improving your training is your training diary, write your progress down and you will feel much more motivated to improve, putting good pressure on yourself is a great way to keep you moving forward, instead of being stuck in a rut!!!

Twitt
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It’s not enough to say “i go to the gym sometimes”!

How many times have you heard that! “I go to the gym sometimes, i go swimming sometimes, i go on my bike sometimes with the kids, i go walking with my friends sometimes”!!

Why does that word “sometimes” come up so often, in fact most of the time with most people!

So are all of those comments enough to get you in shape? Or into the shape you REALLY want to be in?

If you have been reading this for some time, you know instead of mentioning the word sometimes, i tend to use the word “consistency”. Sometimes in my book means potching, half-hearted, haphazhard, without much commitment. You know by those descriptions that if you do anything “sometimes”, you’re not going to become much good at it.

So isn’t it time you blew out that approach and stop pretending that your committed to your health and fitness. Can we stop it right there, finish it and cut the lousy attitude. That attitude may work in coffee mornings or the walk once a month brigades, but it definitely doesn’t work on here, where we tend to be far more honest and revealing on what REALLY gets you into shape!

Annette who joined last night wants to get into shape and i want to sincerely help her achieve that.

She needs to look at the exercise/workouts section and look at the ideas i have for inside workouts.

She needs to go into the eating/diet section to get plenty of eating ideas that can get her into seriously good shape.

Then, there’s a million and one blogs on here on the mind and motivation. You will know by now that if you’re not mentally with it, you’re going to struggle getting your workouts in, making sure you eating regularly and the right selection of food, getting enough sleep for example, all the essential elements if this time once and for all, you’re really going to get into shape!

Then its all back to consistency, you have to be doing all of these basics pretty much most of the time. The days of “sometimes” really have to go, and your workouts, eating well, sleeping well etc have to become your lifestyle from now on.

Annette, please send me your current schedule, in fact please post it on here, then we can talk it through and take it step by step until you’re back up and running again with some momentum in your health and fitness again.

Good luck and look forward to hearing from you!

Keri

Twitt
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Moments of change

It only takes a moment to change the way you are looking at your health.

How on earth could jean go from more or less giving up to going on a one hour 15 minute bike ride? Thats quite a reversal and turnaround!

Thats why i get annoyed when some people think about starting an exercise programme, they do exactly that only, THINK about it and usually never get started.

This usually involves going around all the shops to get the perfect workout gear, that looks all fancy as this time you’re really going to do this BIG STYLE!

Then you may think how you’re going to get fit. Do you go to a gym, and if so which one?

Do you buy one of those exercise dvd’s? If so, which one?

Do you buy the really expensive training shoes or the cheap ones?

Do you start your diet straight away or do you just start exercising and then change your diet “gradually”?

All valid questions but shouldn’t you follow someone like jean, who has more experience than most people i know. She JUST DID IT!

She didnt think about it too much, she just got on the bike and went for it. Tell me, is that such a ground-breaking thing to do? Is it rocket science or do you have to study nuclear physics to do such a thing?

I have seen lots of individuals change their lives around by taking on such an attitude.

The power of saying “im not going to take this crap anymore, this time no matter what im going to do it” is amazing! This is extremely powerful and if you do get in bit of a rage with yourself over the way you’ve let yourself slip, then that GREAT, use it as a motivational tool to get more out of yourself in your workouts!

My best workouts are usually when im pretty steamed about something, and i take it out on the weights or a run or  a cycle.

Being fed up may actually get you to do something.

Forget about prancing around fancy clothes shops, forget about talking a good game, change it around right now and get off your behind to make a massive difference to yourself.

Its not too warm, its not too humid, if it is then get out there early tomorrow morning and JUST DO IT!!!

Your moment of change is right here, time for action!

Twitt
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Day 56 End of week 8!

End of week 8 would you believe! 8 weeks at the start probably didn’t sound that long, but now you know it can be quite a long time to get your eating right, your training going well, and the most important part probably, get your mind right in order to give the effort required.

Had my first sunday morning run for a while today, as the demands of two small children over the last few weeks have taken over. Back to normal now that the first 6 weeks of a new baby are over, and this was the best sunday morning in some time, and the temperature was good enough to run in a t-shirt and shorts, the first time since last summer! The run felt great, and once you get a run in for the first time in a while, you realise how much you missed it!

The temperatures in january and february just gone will have actually done us good, however icy and snowy they may have been! If we can find a way to get our workouts in during the coldest time of the year, and the coldest temperatures in the last 30 odd years, then the current weather will only allow more activities, and it should be a breeze from now on to get more workouts in exactly when you want to.

This challenge started during the most demanding time of year, and working in the toughest times gives us more skills and discipline that we ever thought. Most businesses i know have had the toughest times since the Great Depression, but most of them are coming out of this recession leaner and meaner, and better equipped to handle a change world and economic environment.

The same should happen with you, we have a lot of ups and downs from most of you in the past 8 weeks, and from that you will have developed your very own strategies on how to overcome the challenges that life always throws at you. Once you develop these skills, you won’t miss so many workouts, you won’t use the same old excuses to eat sugary/fatty food, and you won’t write whole week’s off anymore, you will tend to recognise bad habits beginning sooner than you did before, and you rectify your habits before they become destructive.

Sunday is always a great time to get out and about, and a means of making sure you start off your new week with a bang. We talked about hangovers yesterday, and now’s a great time to get rid of it, eat some decent food, drink plenty of water today and get back to feeling your old self. I never see sunday as a “let’s break some records day”, i see it more as a relaxing, and gather your thoughts kind of day, and a morning run is a key element in that process for me.

I’m looking forward to the start of week 9 tomorrow, and a big last month from all of you!

Twitt
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Day 35

Just got home from a great run in sandy water park. Despite the snowy predictions,  we managed to have two of the sunniest and clearest days of the year. This makes the running experience even more enjoyable of course, and seems to bring a smile out in everyone.

The person i was running with hopefully really enjoyed too, and she commentated that the environment down there was always an inspiration to her. She went on to say that you never found that inspiration in the gym, or the freshness if the air that was all around. Having a fresh start on sunday morning was the perfect solution to a late night out!

When talking about nights out, one of the most common questions i get is about what drink should be consumed. Most ladies seem to go to vodka because of the relative low amount of calories. I have said it many times before on here that wine would be the best solution.

Although wine is double the calories, it will be kinder to your body inside and pass through it without incident. The vodka on the other hand is a much rougher product for your body, and is well documented for causing longer term problems for your body, when consumed in excess.

The sooner everyone stops looking at the “less calorie is good” way, the better. The sooner everyone thinks about the food they consume on each meal/snack, that’s exactly the moment you’re going to start winning the war with your body and giving it the nutrients it deserves, more natural foods are the way to go.

Don’t fall for all these “low-fat” versions of higher fat/higher sugar foods. There is no “free lunch” if you pardon the pun!

Why is it a battle with your body anyway, is it because there is so much “mis-information” out there in the first place, destined to confuse you even more, and ultimately  take some more hard-earned money out of your bank account? Surely you can’t still be falling for that any more?

Doesn’t it all come down to the basics every day? And not some diet based entirely on shakes and freaky eating habits?

You know the basics by now too, and your all natural shopping list doesn’t really have to change that much over time. Of course, your choices will vary from week to week, but those people who say that natural food is somehow “boring” surely have never bought a cooking book for fresh ideas, or it’s all free on the internet? Cooking fresh and healthy can be highly inventive, as well as highly rewarding. You will be feeding yourself and family foods that are going to look after their insides for the rest of their lives! Surely that must be exciting?!!

So how does this sound for simplicity and an achievable lifestyle?

Make your shopping list minimum 80% natural products, have some treats here and there and a bit of what you fancy, have a drink when you want to, but not more than once a week, do your strength training 2-3 times per week, get outside at least twice a week, sleep well most nights and drink water throughout the day. Does that sound too difficult?

Either do that and achieve ultimate long term success that will last a lifetime, or fall for the lastest “new faddy diet” that will always come over the horizon with a huge marketing campaign, promising you the world?!! What’s it going to be?

Strong principles and desire to always do the right thing will always serve you well, people will always try to put you off and that’s why this road is always the road that fewer people travel on. Remember it’s always in your times of indecision that your destiny is shaped!

Twitt