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Monday, 30th January

Time is extremely limited for us all so you had better be making the most out of every workout you undertake!!!

Most of us never get around to everything we planned to do unfortunately, and a set of weekly workouts are definitely part of that category!

How many of you plan to exercise 4, 5 or even 6 times a week actually DO train all of these times EVERY WEEK?!!!

I think unless you’re very dedicated and have been training a long, long time, you are  not going to appreciate how tough it is at times to get through a schedule such as this.

This is why i always try to emphasise how vital it is to train at least THREE times a week, and working your WHOLE body each time you train.

Forget all of those “let’s do one body part” excuses for workouts, they DO NOT work and never really worked even in the 70’s and especially 1980’s when they were the in fashion thing to do! The people who did make them work were usually loaded up on drugs, therefore creating an uneven playing field.

Every time you hit the gym, or you do a workout outside, or you do a workout in your living room, you HAVE TO MAKE IT COUNT EVERY TIME!!!

I guarantee that if you do make it count each time and really hit it hard, and try to improve nearly every time you train, you will get the results that most people tend to get after working out 5-6 times a week of training moderately.

It’s a myth that the more you do in terms of duration the better, this simply is NOT true!

It’s the quality of work that counts and nothing else, but you have better make sure you are exercising the minimum of 3 times a week as i said!

Its nearly the end of january, so the end of excuses is here too and if you’re serious, set yourself the realistic target of training 3 times a week minimum, hit it hard during these sessions and let the big results roll in!!!

Twitt
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Friday, 27th january 2012

A great today for running, walking or just about anything outside, even if it is brutally cold!

You should ignore the fact that it’s cold, and simply brace yourself for the first five minutes of sheer cold, then you will soon get used to it! There is nothing like it to blow away some cobwebs!!

If you get used to these temperatures, then ANY weather is going to be okay for you. I used to get my chest wheezing pretty hard at the first sign of cold weather in the winter, i actually now find this good for me as it truly breaks me in for the winter.

If weather was a factor in allowing or stopping us training, then we wouldn’t get much training done in this country at all. If i were you, i would factor in that 9 months of the year is going to be terrible weather, and anything better is a bonus.

This gives you the mindset that you will train in any weather, as long as its not too icy and unsafe, and you will be totally willing NOT to make any more excuses about why you are not in shape.

There is nothing worse than making excuses not to train for bad weather.

My other favourites include not making it to the gym because i didn’t have the car, even though you could easily walk.

Then there’s the one about not having a “training partner” or this ficticious training partner always let you down!!!

So say for one minute anyone believe these excuses, i have given you a million ways on how to train in the house, THERE IS NO EXCUSE NOT TO!!!

If you forgot all of those lame excuses right now, and promise yourself you will NEVER make an excuse again not to train, then your mindset will take you to great heights and great shape in particular!!!

Use this weekend for getting out, whatever the weather because you know you’re going to be proud of yourself when you get back, and you’ve had a hot bath or shower.

The power of actually “DOING” is all powerful and will bring fantastic results out of you not thought previously to be possible!!!

Twitt
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Thursday, 26th January

Following on from yesterday, we talked about how to improve quality and intensity of your workouts. We said that cutting down on rest periods was important, as well as much effort you give each exercise of course.

Changing your programme around is always good for your body. So let’s say that you are still doing 6-8 exercises with your weight training, but you have probably designed this so that its mostly fairly moderate exercises each workout, then you need to start changing those more moderate exercises into more challenging calorie-burning exercises/movements that will expend more calories per workout and in particular, reduce body fat at a more rapid rate.

For example, lets say you are doing lat pulldowns for your chosen back exercise, then if you change it to one arm dumbbell rowing, then automatically you are going to have a better, more fat burning workout.

This is because each and every exercise as a “metabolic cost”. What this means is that each exercise has an energy cost and takes a certain amount of calories to perform.

The lat pulldown takes less calories and effort than the one arm dumbbell row. So it shouldn’t take a genius to work out that by switching exercises, you will burn more fat and calories per workout.

If you walked the dog at a moderate pace, then swapping that for running at a moderate pace would significantly help you burn more calories and fat per workout.

This step up in intensity is only possible when you have got used to the lighter more moderate exercises and are comfortable with these. Your conditioning levels are very important and these improvements should only be made gradually.

You can increase the workout intensity on any workout plan you have.

Instead of doing steady long runs, try some hill sprints instead.

Don’t get carried away with the fact that you need to increase the time duration all the time in your workout, this is not really true and all we want is results after all isn’t it?!!!!

If you train for 45 minutes at a time for example, then this is around the maximum time you need to be training. If you find this easy, then as we have talked about the last couple of days, you badly need to increase the intensity and effort going into those 45 minutes.

Don’t get carried away with time and I know a lot of very fit individuals I train can get amazing workouts in just 20-25 minutes. Anyone who has trained with me can testify to that!!!

Train hard but make sure you train smart!

Twitt
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Thursday, 19th January

Educating individuals on how to eat well and maximise their potential is always difficult, depending of course on how much they know already, some people know a lot already and some know absolutely nothing.

It’s worth sticking at it though because of the enormous benefits that will come with a proper eating plan. Hopefully you are reading this every day for a no nonsense way to improve your health, so I have to lay it down to you as straight as possible!

I have met so many people who have transformed their lives by switching their fast food diet over to fresh natural foods. If you want better skin instantly, a stronger leaner tighter body, a much stronger immune system and an amazing level of energy, then make the move now!

I cannot overstate the results you are likely to get from throwing away your past life of eating empty calories which can lead to ill health and low energy levels, to one full of rich nutrients that will energise you to a much higher quality of life. This is no gimmick and there are no faddy diet clubs in sight, this is real and WILL work!!!

People always say that its hard to eat healthy all the time, but that statement is totally false. This pack of lies is usually told by people who are not really committed to turning their lives around.

The hardest part is the first week when you make the initial switch, there can be headaches, irritability, light headedness etc all in the first few days, but give yourself a few weeks of eating right and how can you go back to feeling the way you did before?!!!

You will be in the fast lane of development, I have met some people who only ate crisps and chocolate all day for whatever reason, then they changed to white meats and fish, wholegrain and whole wheat pasta, new, sweet and jacket potatoes, brown rice, lots of fruit and vegetables and a steady supply of water, and they made a transition of such magnitude, that people thought it was scarcely possible!!

People all the time will tell you theres a million ways to do things, but if why not keep it to the most sensible, tried and tested and as it happens, the most SCIENTIFIC way of getting it right with your body.

January 19th and still not too late to get into great shape by spring, only you can decide to do it!!!

Twitt
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Wednesday, 18th January

With the weather a bit up and down, or mostly down this time of year, you have may have been faced with inside options most of the time this winter!!!

This is not always a bad thing and it will help hammer home the importance of strength training, using resistance works full stop for a million and one reasons.

I was dealing with an individual today who has had a snowboarding accident and badly damaged his shoulder.

You may think that strength training is out of the question in this case, but its never been more important for him.

We can still work the legs very hard, and this often helps bring a weak area up for most people because you can give it much more of a concentrated effort.

The shoulder has calmed down a lot now, so i have introduced some fantastic shoulder exercises. This gentleman can normally use 30 pound dumbbells for his shoulder work, i have stripped it down now right to 5 pound dumbbells! This allows me to concentrate on building up the strength of the tendons and ligaments around the shoulder, and very gradually build his strength up again.

You can never be over cautious in this type of situation, but its imperitive to get back the strength and integrity of that shoulder joint!

Contrast this with an elderly lady i train who is looking at the same five pound dumbbells, but using them in a lot of different exercises to develop her strength, and she is well into here 70’s. She is getting tremendous benefits in every area of her life now from being fitter, stronger and healthier!!!

I am not going to put an exclamation mark after that because i find these days my clients in the 70’s are usually stronger than most 40 year old’s i know, and thats no exaggeration!!!

I try to treat each and every person on their individual abilities, and not discriminate against anyone on their age in particular!!!

Whatever their age, strength training will remain paramount in my plans for them!!!

Twitt