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Tuesday, 20th November

I continue to get questions on food supplements.

How much creatine should i take? Does it actually work?

Should i be taking vitamin C in vast quantities? Should i be taking it at all?

What about calcium tablets? Do they really strengthen my bones and joints?

I could go on and on with this one, as most people still ask about so called wonder cures?!!!

If you consider this, the european until wants to ban 70% of the supplement industry in europe, at least 70% that is!!

It’s not that they consider all of it dangerous, it’s just that that according to lengthy studies, they have found that most of them have no positive effect whatsoever!!! That statement pretty much sums up my attitude on the supplements already mentioned, if they work for you then fine, but there is little or no scientific evidence to back ANY of their claims.

Then you come to one of the most popular supplements on the markets, the “fatburner”!!!

I seem to have more questions on this than anything else.

The scientific answer is again that they have little or NO effect on your body whatsoever in terms of fat loss. However, the negative impact includes raising your heart rate including putting extra stress on your heart (which is of course very dangerous).

Sports drinks are only beneficial after 60 minutes of CONTINUOUS exercise, which is why i don’t recommend them for most people. For most people, they only end rotting your teeth and putting unwanted body fat on. Drink water, lose body fat and get just as much energy full stop!!

Then you have the other energy drinks, such as the ones full of caffeine. I have been against these for years, and i will mention that right now that one big company in the US, is facing a massive law suit and being accused of causing death by heart attack after consumption. There are several cases in the US right now, so i think that says it all but make up your own judgement!!

You can see that a lot of the supplement industry is based on false claims, pure lies and downright dangerous ingredients.

Fresh natural food and plenty of water will take you a long, long way!!!

Twitt
Posted on

Monday, 19th November

Five weeks tomorrow is christmas day, but the biggest mistake you can make is taking your foot off the gas, and “settling” for nominal effort in terms of workout efforts, settling into poor eating habits already way before christmas, and drinking alcohol much more, just because the “festive season” is almost upon us!!!

If you fall into any of these categories, then i urge you to re-think your habits right now and set yourself new targets for year end, rather than worrying about how much weight you are likely to put on!!!

You don’t have to make it complicated either.

Keep it simple by making your performances better.

For example, if you are running a mile in 11 minutes, then your aim over the next 5 weeks would be to bring that down to 10 minutes and 30 seconds, this would be a big achievement!

I would look at a 6 second reduction per WEEK, and you should be able to get there. Plus when you’re able to run that mile 30 seconds quicker over a 5 week period, then you are bound to be in better shape, your body fat will be less and you will get leaner.

The same can be applied with cycling, inside or out. 5-10 seconds off your time every week can make a big difference to the way you look. Not only that, but your view on food choices and drink choices will change too. Will you really want to blow all of that hard work christmas time? You will of course cheat on your diet but studies show that those who train with improvements in mind all the time, will usually eat a lot better than those who have given up, or lost complete interest in their training!!!

The basic message is train hard, look to continually improve by setting shorter term goals and the whole run-up to christmas will be far more productive for your body than usual!!!

Twitt
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Friday, 16th November

The checklists mentioned yesterday are very valuable, the trick is to make them second nature in your life.

Doing things naturally will make exercise feel less of a chore, less of something “you have to do” and make the whole process a lot more enjoyable.

Most if not all the people I know in top physical shape consider their daily workout as something “they just do” and enjoy the instant rewards they get from doing it.

Most of you have heard about the “exercise high” and this is largely true for anyone who takes part in meaningful exercise.

This “high” can be further enhanced if your exercise programme is constantly improved, in terms of performance. As human beings, we take pleasure in learning to do something for the first time. We take even greater pleasure if we eventually get to do it well!!

This is a major part of what this site is about, getting you do exercise and eat well, leading to a much higher quality of life across the board.

So if it seems like we talk about similar things all the time, then that is exactly right. I try to impress upon you that it only takes a few fundamental things to get right on a daily basis for superior results.

The problem being that a lot of people fail to master the fundamentals.

We always talk about how exercise should be something more natural and something we do most days, just like brushing our teeth. If we don’t brush our teeth properly, we can get gum disease and eventually our teeth full out.

Im encouraging you to exercise properly and regularly. I really want you to eat little and often, and make it fresh and natural where possible.

Practice makes perfect so get use to this repetition and you will get the massive benefits we always talk about!!!

Twitt
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Wednesday, 14th November

Not appreciating how far you have come is a surprising trait amongst many individuals I deal with.

This is the due to the negative kind of mental conditioning that weight loss clubs have given many of us in the past.

For example, if an individual who has been training for 4-6 months, and they are not a tiny person in terms of waist size, then I would consider 4-8 inches off their waist as a totally conservative estimate.
Some people achieve even more but I’m trying to offer you the least/bare minimum I see individuals achieving in this time frame.

So if during this time they training consistently, eat pretty well most of the time and don’t overdo it on alcohol, you would assume that most people would be happy with this kind of impressive progress?

The problem I often see with those who have gone to weight loss clubs for years is that they still rely on the scale as their true measure of progress, and this is where the negative thinking and problems start.

So if I give you an example of someone I have trained for one year, and has lost 12 inches off their waist, you would have to accept that this is a truly inspiring and wonderful achievement!!!

Then what would you say if that same individual was still a little bit unhappy because they had only lost “15-20 pounds off the scale”, and why wasn’t it 3 stone because she had come down 4 dress sizes and 10 per cent body fat after all, and she had lost 3-4 stone in the past!!!

This is an example of not accepting the scientific approach to weight/fat loss, despite the fact that the same individual was looking incredibly better right now than she had EVER LOOKED, and especially better now than when she lost 3 stone because she was now toned, had a lot more energy and her waist and hip size now allowed her to fit into clothes she had never been able to even think about wearing before.

Its time to throw out those negative images and heresay given to you by these dubious weight loss clubs, and use the latest science to get your fat loss plan correct. Don’t put up with false claims of these clubs, and weight loss plans that are according to every single study over the last few years, to not only put the weight back on, but another 5% on top!!!

The science is here, if I were you I would use it wisely and not waste a penny more of your money!!!

Twitt
Posted on

Tuesday, 13th November

We talk about the struggles of getting into shape here all the time.

It is often difficult to keep going when “life gets in the way”, and definitely even harder to keep your performances at their peak for any length of time.

There are different ways to overcome this and i recommend the following.

First of all, make your weight loss, fat loss. muscle gain, endurance efforts whatever you are looking for in other words PUBLIC!! Tell you close friends that this is the path you are on, and you would appreciate their support when times get tough, because you’re definitely going to need someone who bats for you in your corner!!

It may be something like your closest friend measuring your waist every month, and hips too.

You know by now hopefully that i do not consider the weighing scales a true record of your progress.

Put up a calender in your kitchen and mark off your workouts AS YOU DO THEM!! If you start skipping your workouts, make yourself accountable to your friend, and ask them to kick your behid if you start slacking!!!

Try this old classic, put a photo of yourself on the fridge, you know the old photo when you looked terrific!!! That should be a constant daily inspiration on how you really can look!!!

This getting in shape “thingy” is an ongoing process, and you need a structure right behind you thats going to help you in the tough times, as well as pat you on the back all the fun, fat loss get in shape moments start to happen!! These times are just as important!!!!

By making yourself truly accountable to yourself and at least to one person you trust and respect, you are far more likely to achieve those goals you promised yourself in the first place!!!

Twitt