Posted on

Wednesday, 4th April

Finding out your deficiencies and strengths in your body is absolutely the first thing you should do when you are trying to formulate a very good training plan.

I have trained a lot of people over the years, and most of them DO have issues and problems with their body before they start to train.

Some examples include blood pressure issues, heart issues, obesity issues of all different kinds, joint problems, osteoporosis, osteoarthritis just to name a few, all of these issues need a tailored programme and with exercise, it is definitely a case DOES NOT fit all!!!

The typical general gym programme doesnt work for everyone either, and in my research over years of training, EVERYONE needs a different programme!!

Core stability work you may have heard of, but it has to be done in a proper and holistic way, something i have become to totally focus on the last few years, and develop to new levels. The number one concern for me is client safety and overall improvement free of injury.

The annoying part for me is that a lot of people have a swiss/fit ball, one of those big balls you seem in gyms or at home. The problem is that nobody is really showing you how to use them, when they can have so many benefits to you in term of core stability, relief of back pain, strengthening of the back, hip strength and flexibility, hamstring strength and flexibility, the list seriously goes on and on!

Then you come into a whole range of core stability tool, from a bosu ball, a club roller, balance pad and wedges, all of these tools are designed not only to make you look better, you will feel better, perform better and guide yourself safely and strongly into a grand old age!!

This is the current phenomenon in training and will be for years to come!!!

Twitt
Posted on

Friday, 30th March

Now that the extra hour has been more or less got used to, or certainly I have, it’s a great time to realise what gives you that great feeling you have in you right now hopefully, or at least at times this week anyway!

I was talking to a gentleman I train last night who used to lead a very unhealthy lifestyle when we first got training together, but now is perhaps one of my most studious clients, even after 15 years, when it comes to attention to detail he gives his lifestyle.

He realises now what makes him tick and what has allowed him to be so successful in exercise, health and his life in general.

He loves salads in this weather, compared to his other previous favourite steak and chips! He uses spring onions, beetroot, tomatoes and cucumber with either white meat or fish these days. This is a staple for him in this weather especially!

This array of vegetables will clean your blood, energise you and set you up for long term success with your health.

Breakfast now for him rolls in a different way too. Six different fruits cut up in a bowl, topped up with natural yoghurt first thing in the morning again makes him energised, and sends a direct message to his body that he means business and EXPECTS a big performance until the moment he gets him!!

Lunch is usually full of veg with a white meat or fish again.

All of this is washed down with regular sips of water and absolutely alcohol 6 days a week, with a little bit on a Saturday and that’s it.

The bottom line is now that he regularly has superior medicals, a far cry from what he USED to have and is now proud of his health and what he has achieved, all at the age of 62!!!

Keeping life simple works for him and this familiar message could easily work VERY well for you!

Twitt
Posted on

Friday, 23rd March

Any of you who have been away for a short break or holiday, will have on thing in common if you are a regular exerciser and practice healthy eating.

It can be ENORMOUSLY difficult to get back into good eating after you have been away.

Most of the time you will either eat in the hotel, restaurant or café and for most of them unless you specifically ask, it will mean a ton of extra saturated fat, lots more salt in every day and no shortage of sugar!!!

This can send the calorific value of each meal you eat to stratospheric levels!

Everyone expects to put on a couple of pounds from such trips, but there is an even bigger danger that you do not even think about, but seems to get everyone when they return home.

By eating every meal which is much richer than normal, your taste buds can change very quickly and by the end of your stay, richer food soon becomes the norm for you.

So getting back to normal when you get home is a bigger task than you think.

Eating plain natural foods on a regular basis suddenly is much harder again! The plain porridge doesn’t taste as nice as usual, fruit seems “boring”, the vegetables you eat taste “different” compared to the ones cooked with a lot of salt on holiday, and unprocessed white meat and fish seems a harder dish to swallow than when you first went away.

So although we promise ourselves  that we will “get right back into it” when we get back, the reality is often very different, and the get right back into it turns into a 2-3 week delay in knuckling down to good eating!!!

The holiday pounds seem much harder to shift and exercising seems much harder than normal, not a great combination.

So if I get an “early warning” out to you and tell you how its going to be, you have more chance to prepare and make the first week you get back the “hard week” in terms of getting your taste buds used to the right kind of eating that you know is tried and tested, and get you dropping fat right away as well as getting you back to the standard of performance you had before you went away!!!

This early warning system can work so wherever you go this year, be prepared for the time it takes to get back to “normal”!!!

Twitt
Posted on

Wednesday, 21st March

We talked about the value of training yesterday, and by that we meant “quality” training.

I have bumped into people today also who have talked about the importance of different types of training and activities, and how they will bring you yet more results.

This lady i train is suffering from shin splints, and i advised her to keep off the walking for the moment, even though she has a walking marathon in london in 8 weeks. She is now doing a variety of other work with me, so she gets in incredibly good shape, without straining herself.

She has become a very good cyclist in the meantime too, so her fitness levels have reached new highs even though she has an injury. On the weekend, i have told her to go to the pool and use a float again, and just use her legs to complete widths or even lengths. Anyone who has done all of this will find it incredibly tough, but will give a super workout that tests you to the limit without putting any undue strain on.

Another workout i have scheduled for her is underwater walking, which again is very difficult but will bring her some impressive fitness gains. There is ALWAYS a way around an injury, all you have to do is use your imagination and the sky’s the limit!!

Another person i saw today is a policeman, and he had to chase down a criminal this week for the first time in a while.

When he caught him, he had to wrestle and that means grappling with this criminal and using muscles he hadn’t used for a while. He found it okay if a little tiring at the time, but for a couple of days later he was incredibly stiff! Again this is down to challenging your body in a completely different way!!

 The great news is that your body will get huge benefits out of changing your programme around continuously, also it can be a lot more fun.

Give it a go and see how much you enjoy it!!!

Twitt
Posted on

Tuesday, 20th March

The number of exercises is definitely not important in your workout.

You could do 30 different exercises in your workout, yet perhaps you wouldn’t have worked out close to your potential. You could do just 4 exercises in your workout and you could have the biggest and best blast you have ever had!

It all comes down to how much you put into your workout, and good exercise selection DOES help.

If you pick the biggest and best exercises that require most effort, then you’re not going to go far wrong.

Some of the exercises invented around 50-100 years ago are often the best, and require the most work and effort. They are like the cabbage of exercises, you don’t really like it but you know its going to be good for you!

Most youngsters for example when it comes to packing on muscular size, will become obsessed with all the fancy machines and they think that in these machines lies the answer to looking like the incredible hulk!

 Nothing could be further from the truth and I often steer them away from these machines on to a tried and tested programme of 6-8 exercises, that if done regularly, will bring truly massive results!!!

When it comes to running, I try and get people away from long tedious run on concrete surfaces on to sprints up tough hills and nicer surfaces such as grass, and more demanding surfaces such as sand. The difference can be incredible!!!

When it comes to long boring swims, I set length targets designed to beat previous bests.

When it comes to cycles, I set specific courses, push for more interval training and get some hills thrown in, variety is the key here.

When you think variety and performance, you don’t have to do a ton of different exercises, its all about the effort you put in and the thought you put into your programme when you’re looking for superior results.

Twitt