Posted on

Monday, 24th November

32 days until Christmas and many of the general public will have stopped exercising and eating healthy until 2 weeks AFTER Christmas too.

Can you really afford those extra 32 days plus another 14 on top to get even more unhealthy? Forget about being unhealthy for a moment, wouldn’t it be much better just to FEEL better, to breathe well, not get out of breath even doing the most simple of tasks? Wouldn’t it feel better to have a lot more energy in your life-all the time?

All of you must remember that awful feeling of your first workout two weeks after Christmas, the tight chest, the breathlessness, the inability to move without pain the morning after, the gloom of January and the prospect of “trying” to get fit again.

Then the “groundhog day” feeling comes of reaching the end of January and giving up again.

Most people’s exercise commitment lasts until January 28th according to recent studies, despite the fact that they may have signed up to a 12-18 month contract with a gym that doesn’t care if they show up or not.

The next 32 days are an opportunity to change all of that, because at the moment you must feel relatively okay, the Christmas parties haven’t hit yet and you are probably living your “normal” lifestyle without the excesses of Christmas usually bring.

Most of our members train throughout the year, even when it’s dark at 4pm, even when it rains and its freezing, even when it would be easier to go home and sit on the settee all night, even when maybe their work colleagues say they should give it a rest for the winter, even when they are asked “why do you even do it”?!!!

Of course we have many, many individuals trying to look better all the time, but the overriding factor I find all the time, especially at this time of year, is the desire to FEEL better in all ways.

To have the energy to function in everyday life, and usually out-perform is a very powerful reason in itself.

The “added benefits” of losing body fat, being stronger and moving without pain, having more endurance, having much better balance, not having to hide under a big baggy winter jumper all the time, all will happen, but if you focus on just having a good end to the year right now by moving more and watching what you eat more, then you’re going to FEEL much better and start next year with a real spring in your step that you may have never had before!

Twitt
Posted on

Wednesday, 19th November

Keri’s Leaner faster stronger

Seasonal and local – day 2

Is out of season food healthy or not?

Unless you live a life like Barbara and Tom from the good life, tending to your fruit and vegetables day in day out, you probably have little knowledge of seasonal food and it’s health benefits.

Since eating within the seasons is the advice given by health professionals these days, it makes you wonder if eating out of season food is in fact healthy or bad for us?

From a health perspective, food that’s not in season has been grown in huge greenhouses or shipped from warmer climates travelling thousands of miles before arriving in our supermarkets. This has many consequences for the consumer. Firstly, they are picked before ripeness so that it can endure the long distance shipping experience. This means that it’s nutrient profile is lower than a local and ripe product. Vitamin C for instance, which is abundant in most fruit and vegetables, is notoriously unstable and so would be lost in transit so to speak, making out of season food less nutritious.

Also transporting produce sometimes requires them to be zapped by a burst of radiation to kill germs. Preservatives such as wax is also added before refrigeration.

Taste wise there is absolutely no comparison. Locally grown food tastes amazing, has great texture and looks appetising. Most local food grown by farmers are also healthier due to having less pesticides and chemicals used for preservation too.

Air miles is another issue for many people. Local food usually travels only a few miles from farm to table ensuring less pollution to the environment.

Another quite interesting argument for eating seasonal is the fact that our bodies actually crave seasonal food due to the weather. Have you noticed how you fancy salads in the summer and crave stews and soups made of root vegetables in winter?

It’s all great saying that local and seasonal is better,tastier and cheaper, however how practical is it to eat like this all the time? If you lived in Italy or California, it wouldn’t be much of a problem, Burry Port however?

Unless you love pigging out on carrots and caulis for the whole winter, you are going to get pretty bored very quickly. Not many fruits are in season in cold and wet Wales in winter.

Our advice would be to try and eat as much seasonal food as you can to get a good amount of natural vitamins and nutrients, as well as getting a tastier and better value product. However supplement with imported fruit and veg as well. We have no intention of giving up bananas anytime soon as they are a great addition to the sports diet.

Seasonal food are in abundance in supermarkets these days, as they do try and cater for popular demand. Many supermarkets buy produce from farmers in Wales and the UK these days, you can usually find the grower written on the label.

Another option for tired and busy workers is frozen fruit and vegetables.

Studies show that these are actually healthier in terms of vitamins and nutrients than many fresh out of season produce, due to the fact they have been picked and frozen within hours, and so have not lost any of their nutrients. It also means you can eat strawberries for instance all year round.

Choosing frozen also means less wastage for the family too. No more shrinking yellowing broccoli lurking in the back of the fridge, which everyone forgot about!

Here is a list of what’s in season in November, helping you to make good seasonal and local choices in the supermarkets and small local shops.

Eat to train,

Nicola.

Twitt
Posted on

Sunday, 5th July

By the time people come to us, I am used to individuals saying that “nothing is working”, “ I will never get in shape” and “this is my last hope” or “I will never play at that level because I am too slow or not talented enough”!

A proven plan that will make you realise its best to throw away the weighing scales takes some getting used to, after all you have been told for years that the weighing scale is king? Changing people’s minds on this can be difficult to start with, but becomes easy once they see their clothes fitting better and eventually becoming way too big.

“Getting the body you want now” has become sort of a cliché and many times these false promises have led to several blind alleys? I think all of us can relate to those disappointments.

Do u dream of wearing the clothes you love on the hangers in shops, but never imagine that you will be actually wearing them in reality because you permanently avoid tighter fitting clothes because they “show the bumps” more?

This time it’s different.

You are going to be very fit, you will build lean muscle which is vital for your body to work better in all ways, your metabolism will be firing better than it ever has, your energy levels will go through the roof, you will sleep much better than you ever have, you will constantly raise your standards, you will receive compliments on your appearance and how healthy you are looking, and your performance levels will be huge and you’re never too old to turn back the clock.

We are not a short term gym, results take time and you had better be committed for the long term, this is what making a “healthy lifestyle change” is all about after all. You really need to change for life

Our biggest achievers have taken months and years more like to look and perform that good.

They are always on hand to learn off and inspire you, we are all about getting fit and healthy the right way, no over the top pain that lasts for days, no stress on joints, no faddy diets that often uses dangerous advice that can wreck your health, no feeling sick of dizziness during/after sessions and putting together sessions that reflect YOUR ability and nobody else’s!

Twitt
Posted on

Wednesday, 25th June

Many trainers are in the business of exhausting their clients, more and more reps just for the sake of it, no plan, no purpose and definitely no progression. Don’t forget that anyone can stand there and try and destroy you with exercise, but it takes true skill and experience to build you up gradually, so you become a much better athlete.

Understanding proper programming, and making sure the individual you are training EXECUTES your programme is of paramount experience, and this is why you see me running around a lot, things HAVE to be done properly no matter what, and we have to get through certain workouts every week like it or not.

Results are vital, and there has to be a plan on how to get them.

The variety of exercises we use in with one purpose in mind, to make you a better athlete full stop!

Hopefully, the goal of the individuals I train is to look better, feel better, and feel stronger and healthier.

We are the opposite of places who train you like you have to be worn-out sore, and feel like they have been crushed. This will likely lead to injury, and over-stress your central nervous system which means your body will break down sooner rather than later.

You need to train hard, but to learn new skills too. You need to get your body to adapt to new movements, then get it to recover with good nutrition, so it’s ready to do those movements easier next time you do them.

Please don’t fall for the rubbish you need to exhaust yourself every time. If you are continually getting stronger, a little bit faster with more endurance, then you are in a great place and you are likely to see incredible results in a far more pleasant and more enjoyable way!

Twitt
Posted on

Thursday, 19th June

Most people hit their initial training with enthusiasm.

After all, they are usually keen to make a change to their body and will be consistent with their initial workouts.

This “honeymoon” period does pass though, and it’s important you have a range of workout options to keep things fresh and productive.

I have started a lot of individuals who wanted to train 7 days a week if they could. This is never sustainable though.

The importance of having at least one day off to recuperate and rest can never be overstated though.

There will be some weeks when you feel like having an extra day off if you feel particularly tired that week, never be afraid to take that extra day off.

There are plenty of occasions when spending less time in the gym and focusing more on quality will benefit you more.

If you do less sometimes, but really focus on hitting the big important movements really hard, you won’t get burnt out or feel exhausted, and sometimes you get a much better workout and you will feel the movement that much better.

Make sure you don’t sacrifice quality for quantity.

Always record your progress in your training.

Are you getter better steadily each week or slipping back in certain exercises?

Are you feeling fitter each week or constantly feeling tired?

You will always get fitter if you take enough time to recover from your sessions, eat enough good food and get enough sleep in general, that is always the magic combination.

If you are not getting stronger regularly, do less workouts but this time really start concentrating on the movements you are doing, and really start doing them with perfect form so you really start feeling it again.

Sometimes less is more.

Twitt