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Sunday, 7th December

Those indecisive times that come in your life when you feel like you can’t exercise due to work commitments, it’s not “convenient” any more, you’re having a holiday or time off, you just can’t make it, etc .

These are called your “HOLY MOMENTS”.

These are the exact moments you either just do it, you stay with your programme or you just “don’t” do it!

I learnt this off many individuals over the years, those times when you know that something you eat will be bad for you, you know that missing your workout will not do you any good, and you can totally justify it, as you’re so busy.

If you make the RIGHT decision to not eat the junk and actually train instead of skipping your workout, then you had a “holy moment” because at that exact moment you did the “right thing” even when there was a million reasons not to.

Making the right decisions are never easy, they are very tough normally, but you have to keep making them to keep your momentum going, the progress coming and your feel good factor turned right up as high as it will go.

These decisions will define you and separate you totally from those who have “average” results. If you think about the average level of fitness in this country then you know they are not that impressive, if you think the average dietary habits, then you know by looking at others’ supermarket trolley then that’s not usually that good.

Lifting yourself up to another level and leaving “average” behind requires lots of holy moments.

Often your best workouts are the ones you didn’t even feel like doing in the first place, but are always the most important.

So when you’re stuck for time next time, your day or week may not be going for you, it’s then you have to make it happen, you better just get your kit on and go training, it WILL be worth making a much healthier meal, and you will DEFINITELY feel better right after it all-YOUR HOLY MOMENT doing the “right thing”.

Twitt
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Monday, 1st December

All the individuals we have training right now are ones highly motivated to make yet another change in themselves in the last month of the year. December is just as important as any month to us, we have never been a “January gym”, we always look

longer term and cater for those who want sustainable and long lasting results and health benefits.

These are the people who know that constantly good performances are key to raising themselves for one more measurement this year.

They know the benchmarks that they have set themselves against, and the ones they really want to overcome.

Instead of feeling sorry for themselves, because maybe a lot of people they know don’t exercise at this time of year, they are striving for more because they see so many inspirational people training next to them in the gym all the time, and encourages them to push further even sometimes they don’t even feel like it.

Nothing worth achieving was ever attained by “run of the mill” efforts, or “going through the motions”. Everyone knows now that you only get out of this what you put in.

The more you come out of your comfort zone, the more likely you are to deliver consistent, impressive and staggering results you will be proud of.

We are proud to be in a programme you never stay still, you always want more out of and when you reach one level then there’s always going to be an even better more fulfilling one again.

The first of the month is an excellent time to think big again, dig deeper and really explore what your body is capable of again, and finish the year off with a massive high.

Twitt
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Wednesday, 26th November

Pain is a sign from your body that you need to stop what you are doing, do things differently and plan how you are going to still achieve your goals, whilst still feeling good and pain-free.

Individuals come to me all the time with aches and pains before they start.

I see lots of back problems, knee issues, and joint weakness.

As you get older, you need to relent on the movements that put unnecessary strain through your body.

If you are doing movements that you know are painful for your back and knees, then you need to stop immediately. Anyone who tells you to work through pain is frankly a fool and very dangerous to you-and has no place in the fitness industry.

I see many squash players for example in later years, developing knee problems from all the stop start nature of the game and years of wear and tear. If and when this develops, you need to develop a plan to still get really fit WITHOUT putting strain on your knees.

Many of you find it hard to change your mindset from a “run will solve everything” mentality, to training more sensibly if you have knee, back and hip injuries for example.

We have many members who once played a lot of squash or tennis, took part in triathlons, were distance runners, all the way through to people who have been inactive all their lives and now have week knees, backs and hips.

This is why everyone needs a different programme to suit their current situation.

With proper care and planning, everyone can get a stronger back again, more manageable knees and flexibility in their hips which is vital.

Many people in their 40’s feel as if they are finished. Life can really start gain if you rediscover how your body really
works, and the never ending array of options you actually have.

Twitt
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Sunday, 23rd November

It’s always great to talk about being successful all the time, but often you learn more when you don’t succeed all the time, when you don’t win every time, and when you stick with it when it would be far easier to give up.

Learning from our mistakes is all important, and being able to climb out of a hole is character building, and makes you a far stronger person.

Our most successful members have a real “life story” to tell, how they overcame adversity, many hit rock bottom and somehow they managed to fight again, find new resolve, dig very deep and start climbing out of a very bad place. These individuals become leaders who constantly encourage other members.

These life stories inspire me and all of us every day, and having brand new examples on a daily basis of how someone has become successful using real life strategies helps us encourage and develop others, so they become the next real life success story.

Putting continuous effort into getting into shape isn’t for everyone, because it is hard work, often requires you to dig deep, and makes you look at yourself far more deeply than you ever thought, it’s then you really see what you are made of.

Being humble and never giving up despite everything else going on at the same time are the most valuable traits you can develop.

Setbacks are going to happen along the way in your fitness and health journey, but if you keep putting the effort in no matter what, everything soon turns around and you will always make a strong comeback as long as you keep an eye on the finish line.

We have no “show offs” or “posers” at the gym, we have no room for people who don’t want to encourage others, a very positive environment is vital to lead others to success, and help everyone fulfil their true potential to create a huge quality of life in every area.

Twitt
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Monday, 17th November

Keri’s Leaner faster stronger challenge

Seasonal and local – day 1

What is seasonal food?

For a long time now we have been hearing posh celebrity chefs and health food experts telling us to eat seasonal and local. This can be extremely frustrating since they rarely explain exactly what that means and how you go about it.

We have been brought up in a generation of supermarkets and processed foods that come in a frozen box or plastic bag. The truth is that we have, as humans lost our connection with nature and more importantly with our food and where it comes from. Walk into any supermarket aisle on any given winter’s day and you will see an abundance of every fruit and vegetable from root vegetables, to asparagus to strawberries and cherries.

However what we don’t realise or understand anymore is that most of those produce doesn’t naturally belong there. Have you ever bought a punnet of strawberries around christmas time, only to find the flesh really hard with a strange white cap near the leaves, instead of the all soft red luscious flesh you would get in the height of summer? One taste of the cardboard like flavour leaves you disappointed and unsatisfied at best. Worse of all, you have ended up spending your hard earned cash on a substandard, tasteless product brought in from abroad only to keep the consumer happy all year round, and money in the till for the supermarket.

The reason the strawberries taste so bad? They are not naturally in season in winter.

Fruit and vegetables naturally grow in cycles, and ripen during a specific season each year. When fruit and vegetables are allowed to ripen naturally, they are at their nutritional best and taste fantastic.

Cherries are ripe and juicy in June so cherries are ‘in season’ in June. Asparagus grows and ripens in spring whilst tomatoes and red berries late summer.

Modern technology means we can buy produce such as strawberries and tomatoes all year round, however this is only possible because they are grown in massive greenhouses, or flown from warmer climates such as Spain, Egypt and Israel. In this case, they are picked before they are ripe and have fully developed their flavours, making for bland and nutritionally substandard produce.

Tomorrow – Out of season food – should I eat it or not?

Eat to train,

Nicola.

Twitt