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Friday, 8th November

It’s normally this time of year that things are starting to get really busy in terms of everyone’s individual commitments all the way up to Christmas.

I see some kids have exams starting one maths exam Monday, I know there’s a build up to the main exams before Christmas, and I know there’s plenty of exams after Christmas.

I know of many mother’s in the gym who are getting stressed by the run up to Christmas, school plays are happening in three weeks or so, and there’s plenty of other commitments.

Then you have the usual pile up of sporting commitments with games called off because of the non-stop rain. This adds to the stress of non stop games needing to be played. This can interfere a lot with everyone’s commitments and training.

The main point here is TIME or lack of it!!! This is why I have to convince people that even 20-30 minutes sessions are still very valuable, especially when you are time-crunched!

The goal should be to make time to exercise, however short. What matters really is what you do in that allotted time, and great workouts can easily be achieved.

What you need to have is a proper plan, set out over the week and implemented with commitment.

These are the most popular workouts I do this time of year so I will give you much more detail next week!

Twitt
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Thursday, 7th November

Making changes to your programme must happen from time to time, many successful athletes go on 12 weeks blocks of training, and then this is part of a 12 month plan when training changes every 12 weeks.

This is because they are usually competing in a certain athletic event, that allows them to peak for that event gradually, and afterwards they will taper their training to recover from all that effort.

The changes that you should make should be a lot simpler unless you compete in regular events of course.

For example, if you are sticking to the same programme week in week out, for the whole 12 months, then obviously you need to change because your progress may be stuck in low gear! You are probably bored, you go through the motions and exercise is something you probably “just do from time to time”, rather than something you enjoy and excel at.

I try to break it down to 4 week intervals when assessing an individual’s training through regular measurements. When you assess someone so regularly, you quickly get to know them very well. If they put on body fat over 4 weeks, then there is a significant problem straight away. Things need to change usually across the board and quickly. This arrests a potential longer term decline, and sorts the situation there and then.

This is a big reason why we measure every 4 weeks, and don’t let it drag on fearing bad news. Most people do well every measurement, but when you go the wrong way in terms of waist size and body fat, then its time to fix it right now and set your programme and dietary plan accordingly!

This is why we have stepped up the email support too. Constantly reminding individuals what is expected of them, and most importantly what they expect of THEMSELVES, is vital to make sure that RESULTS are the top priority, and going through the motions is totally unacceptable!!

www.kerimckibbin.co.uk

Twitt
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Friday, 1st November

The half term week confuses a lot of people when it comes to exercising.

Routines are all over the place, kids are off school, Halloween has thrown a lot of people off their normal good choices, and exercise has usually ended up in last place for many this week.

So if your overall goal is progress and you regularly take part in our measurements, then this week will have been a write off for some of you with children.

One of the key answers would be to shorten your planned workouts, select key exercises that will get the job done in double quick time, and maybe shorten the frequency too, after all doing a little bit is far better than not doing anything!

So for example, if you typically train Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, for an hour each time, then if you really have no time, then just commit to three workouts for 20 mins a time, surely you can do that?

Those 20 minutes HAVE to count though! To make the most of your time, warm up before and after the 20 minutes.

For example, today I just did a 20 minute blast of using the prowler, batting ropes, boxing and swiss ball core work.

There is a nice variety in this work, making different demands on your body in double quick time!

Picking 4 exercises in a row can work very well for you if it TAKES INTO ACCOUNT your current physical condition.

You do not need to overwork, all you need a higher intensity workout than normal to SUIT YOU and nobody else!

Please consult a fitness professional before doing high intensity workouts.

So shorter high quality workouts can solve the problem of having no time to exercise.

Just make sure you are handled with care and WORK TO YOUR OWN PERSONAL LEVEL!

Twitt
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Tuesday, 29th October

With all the volatility in weather terms, avoiding storms, huge amounts of rain falling, temperatures rising and then falling quickly, this is an ideal time to become acclimatized to the upcoming very cold winter temperatures to come.

Instead of waiting until January to experience the unpleasant shock of your lungs not going to be able to inhale the very cold air, now is the perfect time to experience a more gradual change in the weather.

So instead of disappearing from the colder and wetter weather by taking up permanent residence on the settee, its surely time to get out in the fresh air even more and expose your lungs to all the changes to come.

Another good reason to do this would be to keep yourself in the shape that you worked so hard to get in during the summer. Don’t go through the agony of putting all of that hard work in, and then pile the weight and body fat all back on again.

We have 8 weeks left to Christmas and this is a perfect time frame to allow yourself to put a very good training period in.

The weeks before Christmas are often more important than the ones afterwards, because going into Christmas IN shape will feel fantastic, and allow you to avoid the torture of battling the bulge after overdoing in the Christmas holidays!

So it all starts here, keep doing your running, your cycling, your sprints etc, its all going to be much more valuable than you think

Twitt
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Monday, 28th October

Monday is a recurring theme in terms of the need to get off to a good start in your week, especially on here when we always like to discover what it takes to be in your best shape.

The need for a big workout is obvious.

What we don’t always talk about are those snacks or meals that can give you a bundle of energy that will power you through a workout.

That time of day when you may need it the most is around the 4 o’clock time when you may have just finished work, you are rushing around everywhere, and the last thing you need is going into your workout with zero carbs inside you.

For instance, don’t worry about eating a second bowl of porridge at this time too, even if you have had one for breakfast earlier in the day.

Porridge is the ultimate slow release energy provider, giving you real energy just when you need it.

If you don’t get enough energy in at this time, not only will you have a poor workout, but you are very likely to overeat in your evening meal, because just think of the time you have left it without a meal. Lunch at say 1pm, then an evening meal at 730pm is far too much of a gap!

4PM has become a crucial time for many people I have found in your 7 day eating diaries, so start filling in the gaps and you will perform far better, and lose more body fat in the meantime!

Twitt