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Tuesday, 14th August

The Olympics continue to make the headlines for all the right reasons, and when you delve into the successes some more, you can see why a lot  of these athletes have improved so much

Any athlete who wants to be at the top of his/her game, now has to work harder every day, every week, and every year if they want to become successful in the next Olympics in Rio in 2016.

If you apply the same level of detail to your own training as previously discussed, then of course you can reach new highs and fairly quickly.

For example, you don’t need to accept that just because you are getting older, then the famous, or make that infamous “middle aged spread” will definitely happen! This is not the case.

While it is indeed true that you cannot eat as much and as uncontrolled as you did when you were 18, with a bit of thought and a bit of control, you will be able to control new successful strategies in your life that will offer healthy low levels of body fat and increased workout performances.

This is true of ANY AGE, not only do I see it in the “middle aged spread” category, but I see it with teenagers and senior’s in the 70’s.

If your diet is all over the place at the moment and you lack direction, then its time you stopped putting up with this lack of strong mindset and re-programmed yourself for success.

You don’t have to be this incredible Olympian either to do it! All you have to do is start paying more attention to the way you live your daily life. Model yourself on those who are successful with their weight, their body fat levels and their performances.

Whilst Jessica ennis will likely be very, very strict on her diet, and has been for many years, you can create a stricter version of yourself which will automatically take you up several different levels if you give it some time to work.

Consistency of eating well and training hard and regular can never be underestimated and is the true secret of champions.

Twitt
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Monday, 13th August

The Olympics have ended which brings a big gap in TV viewing for most people over the next week or so! Most people have been addicted to it, and some more obscure sports have found plenty of new-found respect from the general public. If it encourages more people to exercise, then this will be the true lasting legacy for me.

The problem  comes from where to start for most people.

Most people don’t automatically run down to their local athletics track, and suddenly ask to become the next Mo Farah, unless they are usually 11-15 years of old and already a pretty good runner!

Many people feel that most athletic events are beyond them, especially when they may be 40-60 years of age, and perhaps they haven’t exercised since school!!! This is part of the important generation to get exercising again, the generation that may have totally given up on themselves, and without any major action now will become more prone to serious disease and ill health.

This is why starting an exercise programme should be done with caution and safety as the number one concern.

If one goes at it like a bull at a gate, then injury will surely follow. Most people will realise that they can’t do what they did when they were 16, but some don’t realise this and go at it so hard that they get injured, and then their ego gets so crushed that they never try and exercise every again. This is a sad situation but so true of many people i see.

If you listen to good solid advice, and do indeed start off slow with a good plan, then you are HIGHLY LIKELY to succeed if you give yourself enough time and set some short term goals that are attainable. 1-2 pounds a week would be realistic, instead of the 5-6 pounds a week that faddy diets often promise. Also, don’t make the scale your number one indicator, this is setting yourself up for failure.

A plan that is sustainable that develops all the time is what you need and we will talk about this the rest of the week!!!

Twitt
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Tuesday, 7th August

The success of the olympic cycling team and indeed, the Sky cycling team has one important philosophy.

They aim to improve 1% every week, and if they can do that, then they have calculated that they are going to become very successful.

1% at their level can be pretty monumental, and 1% for anyone once a week can be spectacular over a period of a few months.

Remember when i always talk about improving every four weeks, and this is why we measure this way without fail? This is the reason!

If i try to get everyone to concentrate and improve just one per cent every week, this will already lead to a 4% improvement each and every month. To tell you the truth, in the beginning stages of any programme, most people are capable of more than 1% a week with a sound training programme.

This is why most people i know are capable of staggering progress if they stay consistent with their eating, training and rest.

The 1% figure was an illustration of elite athletes at the very highest level! So can you imagine the effect that a well-designed professional programme would have on the average person?!!!! This is when results get really interesting and this is why people  never stop surprising me with the levels that they are capable of attaining!

If you think of yourself when you started training, and assuming you have been training for a while now, then you should be significantly further down the track than when you first started! This is a more than 1% improvements and its important to remember that!

So if the pro cycling teams can get that 1% improvement out of every area of their performance, this is why they have done so well for so long in the olympics and now the tour de france of course. The last statement said it all, a 1% improvement out of EVERY AREA OF THEIR PERFORMANCE!!! This is what we will talk about tomorrow and how you can achieve the same improvements in relation to your own ability!!!

Twitt
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Friday, 3rd August

As the Olympics slowly change to the track and field today, a new set of physical tools are required.

Special mention must go to the great performances so far, especially the cyclists who have set new highs, along with new world records thrown in against very stiff opposition.

Many people prefer track and field, and the showpiece event is usually the 100 metre final next Saturday night, with Usain Bolt favourite as long as he has recovered from his back problems.

All of these athletes specialise in one particular discipline, but this is something that you shouldn’t not do if general conditioning is your goal.

For example, if you just do cardio (cycling, fast walking, running etc), then you will lose some weight, get your heart healthier and stronger, but you wont be doing a massive amount to change your shape, or strengthen your joints to what they are really capable of.

This is where resistance/weight training is so important. Bone density is vital and weight training is a great way of improving your bone strength.

Weight training will also play a large part in changing your shape.

Using increased resistance will re-shape your body for the better, and increase your metabolic rate.

One pound of muscle burns 50 calories a day, one pound of fat burns 2 calories a day, you can see now why people carrying a lot of body fat usually stay very big and more muscular individuals tend to stay leaner (as long as they keep exercising right of course!).

This is why you need to combine your cardio AND your resistance/weight training, and this should be your fundamental training plan to get yourself in shape, and enable you to stay there once you reach your best levels.

In training terms, its always better to be an all rounder capable of a range of activities and training methods (which brings big results), rather than focus on just one way of doing things that perhaps you have become too comfortable with (which brings limited results).

Twitt
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Thursday, 2nd August

A massive performance in the Olympics yesterday, with the two ladies rowers doing a fantastic job, with one of those ladies only starting rowing four years ago!

Bradley wiggins was the rightful favourite for the time trial, but being favourite and executing are two different things. Wiggins now recognises the pressure that comes with being such a favourite and has become one of the world’s greatest athletes, and Britain’s greatest Olympian in the process!

Having pressure to perform is a good thing.

Everyone who trains with me is aware of the measuring process I put every individual through every four weeks.

This means that the individual is having constant positive pressure once a month to improve, and this is invaluable of course!!!!

My focus is always getting someone’s heart stronger, getting someone into healthy blood pressure ranges, getting an individual into a healthy body fat range, getting an individual’s waist size into a healthy range to keep potentially life-threatening diseases away if possible.

The great news is that all of these strategies WILL make you feel a lot better, and look and LOT better if you give them time.

Just like the Olympic athletes use top to bottom strategies to make them perform at their best using latest science, my goal is always not to leave any stone unturned to get the best out of an individual, no matter what the starting point, or however hopeless the situation may be to begin with!!

The likes of brad wiggins have given everything to be at their best.

Whilst I can never expect such a Herculean effort out of everyone I train, I do ask each and every individual to work hard and reach their very own version of their personal best.

If you take onboard this attitude, results will always be very impressive for you!!!

Twitt