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Wednesday, 31st July

Two obsessions with people trying to lose weight that can be counter-productive, are how many calories you burn in each workout and how many calories you take in during the day.

Two examples of a workout can bring surprising results would be the following.

If you just do 300 calories of work on a stationery bike, and then you do 300 calories walking on a treadmill, then obviously this should lead to a 600 calorie workout.

If you worked out hard with weights with real intensity, and you did some boxing afterwards, you may only burn 400-500 calories.

So which one best? Both I have to say are very good for you!

In terms of OVERALL calorie burn, it is easy.

Aerobic only type of workouts such as the bike and treadmill will burn extra calories when you stop exercising for 12 extra hours.

Weight bearing and higher intensity exercise will burn calories when you stop exercising for a further 36-48 hours!!

So you can see which one gets your metabolism going higher and for longer.

The same with your food. You can eat a curry and a pint of lager a day only and take in 1200 calories.

If you take in a higher quality of food and drink, such as fruit, whole grains, vegetables, lean protein sources such as chicken, fish etc, then you can easily take in 1800 calories and still look far better, and feel better too!

So you can see its about the quality of your calorie burn, and your calorie intake will make ALL the difference!!!

Twitt
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Monday, 29th July

Due to various questions and requests I have had over the last couple of years writing this thing, I have decided to start uploading videos and showing some demonstrations on how to do certain exercises.

There is often a variety of ways to do the same exercise, and I wanted to take that doubt away from many of you on how exactly you need to be doing certain movements.

Then there has been a lot of questions about all the outside activities we do outside the gym.

I am talking about all the speed and agility we do with ladders, and what variations are best to use to get your speed improved greatly.

Then what are the benefits of running with parachutes and how to use them?

How do we use bungee ropes to their full benefit, and what combinations should you use?

Why do we use so much variety with those big tractor tyres?

What about those big girders weighing 60kg per hand?!!

What’s the correct way to sledgehammer? How high do you need to go, and which tyres do you smash them on?

What about the new Prowler 2 that everyone seems to be setting new records on? How beneficial is it and what exercises should you do on it?

What about the work on swiss balls? What are its true aims and what is the complete exercise range?

These questions are just the start so look forward to video guidance as soon as we can get it together!!

Twitt
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Tuesday, 23rd July

Now that the very warm weather seems to have subsided a little bit for the moment, its time to focus on your own personal best’s and standards you have in training.

For example, if you have managed to train through the extreme temperatures, then the first thing you will notice now is your ability to work a lot harder than usual.

I had several sprint sessions last night, and everyone seemed to be performing better than ever, even though it was hot but not quite so hot as it has been, and there was a lovely breeze last night which meant conditions were far better than at any time for the last 3 weeks or so.

The weather has cooled down a lot today, with the threat of flooding! You should look at this as a further opportunity to get back to your highest standards, and start hitting your big numbers again.

In most cases, the last 3 weeks of extremely warm weather has been about simply “surviving” the weather, now is your chance to feel the boost to your body that a period like that will give to your body is done sensibly. As I said at the time, many top athletes in the winter purposely seek out warm weather destinations so they can actively boost their performances by training in very warm weather.

When they come back, they not only feel invigorated, but they feel that their performance level has been raised considerably.

Warm weather can be a benefit and a nightmare.

It’s a benefit when you hydrate properly, be sensible about training in extreme heat, and generally get through it steadily rather than going over the top.

It is a nightmare for many when they don’t drink enough water, don’t eat enough food and do over the top efforts in extremely hot temperatures.

So see the last 3 weeks as your very own warm weather “camp”, and you should begin to see the benefits very soon in your own personal performance level.

Twitt
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Monday, 22nd July

It’s officially holiday season now for most as schools have just about finished for the summer, and many work places are going to be off soon, or more or less in shut down mode.

Personally, I have already had people who have been away and are now back from their holiday.

The biggest problem this week is the tiredness from the return journey to get themselves up for the exercise part, and to wean themselves off all the excess sugar and fat they had on holiday.

This week then is ultra-important for getting back into the habits you had before you went away.

In my experience, if you don’t get back into it this week in eating terms, then you are going to take a long time to get back to where you were before you went away.

Taste buds are always changed on holidays, and getting back to plainer foods is a real shock to the system this week, but if you don’t do it, then the next few weeks are going to be a big struggle for you. Just think that if you commit yourself to eating well just for this week after a holiday, then you will be back to your best sometimes in just two weeks. Either that or you will have the rest of the summer carrying all those extra pounds that you didn’t want, and you will be too afraid to take your top off in the sun!

This is why I try to impress upon you the importance of keeping a good structure in your eating, and how vital it is to get right back into that schedule again that you very likely lost on your holiday!

You will look and feel a whole lot better, and your performances in your workouts will soon again be top drawer!!!

Twitt
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Thursday, 18th July

We talked this week about how to eat, what to eat and how often.

What we didn’t discuss is why and what this pattern of eating will achieve for you.

If you are heavily involved in sports performance, then you will be very keen to recover as soon as possible, and prepare properly before your upcoming workouts.

There are two states your body can be in.

Anabolic state is the one where your body is thriving, ready to grow and recover quickly. This is an ideal state to be in, and for those of you looking to perform at your best, and keep on improving at regular intervals.

Catabolic state is where your body is not energized at all, your lean muscle tissue breaks down, you feel weak at times, and you will suffer from inconsistent performances. It doesn’t take a genius to say that you need to avoid this state.

Eating every 3-4 hours not only keeps you fuller for longer, it keeps your energy levels high, keeps your metabolism going at an elevated rate, and gets you into the desired anabolic state.

Eating regular will keep you away from having big binges on food, stop you overeating at certain times due to longer periods without food, and generally let you have a very healthy relationship with food, and helping you stay in control of your nutrient intake.

So you can see that having a healthy, regular pattern of food intake will make you far closer in terms of the habits of pro athletes, and all of this will help you reach your potential FAR SOONER than if you had not taken your nutritional habits as seriously.

Having a professional approach will deliver the results you have always wanted but never knew how to get!

Twitt