Posted on

Monday 27th June 2011

Dehydration can make all the difference when it comes to having mediocre or impressive workouts.

If you are dehydrated, you can take easily 12 hours to get back to normal and feeling good again. This is a dangerous situation in this weather and would definitely explain poor workouts in this weather.

Being low on energy is different, you can make energy up with a fast acting carbohydrate in 10 minutes, and you will therefore be able to perform and feel better in a very short period of time.

Spotting dehydration is not always easy but there a few reliable indicators.

If you’re really thirsty, then dehydration has started and you need immediate fluids to feel yourself again, this doesnt mean though that you will be able to perform well straight away, as i said, dehydration can take a while to come back from.

You will see today from the tv at wimbledon that the players are regularly sipping water, especially in the predicted 100 degree heat of course. Dehydration on a day like this can definitely make the difference between winning and losing, and in severe cases cause an athlete to collapse.

Tea and coffee in moderation is fine, but you have to remember they will act as a diuretic too, which will actually take water from your body, meaning if you drink too much tea and coffee, your performance will dip sharply if not rectified with plenty of water.

So if the athletes take all of this so seriously, then so should you. If you can remember these simple rules on training days, then you will feel so much better and the hot and humid days will definitely seem less of a drag.

I know i feel better when i have a bottle of water on the go, and you don’t need the sports drinks either, unless your activity is lasting more than 60 continuous minutes. Sports drinks tend to be loaded with sugar and are often unnecessary for most workouts, don’t believe the hype on them and save your money.

Bottom line, stay hydrated and perform at your best!

Twitt
Posted on

June 21st

The thought of losing hope in your dreams to have outstanding health is totally unacceptable.

I have seen many people think of giving up on their health, and there are not many sights so sad to see. The good news is though is that the situation is entirely retrievable!!

You can turn around ANY situation you want, in ANY circumstance if you really think about it.

I don’t want to keep on about it, but i find that i can’t give up on anyone, no matter what their situation is.

 Cyril for instance, is suffering from a terrible bad back, and to say it is hampering his health would be an understatement!!!

The good news is that he is prepared to go through a session with a swiss ball, to make sure he gets back on track and he gets his body fit and well and do the things and activities he really loves doing.

Jean is going through a very tough time with a very bad knee that is hanging around terribly, but is still getting through some good work and still burning calories and fat.

When you are in this situation, it becomes  very hard to maintain your motivation through this difficult time, and this is when programmes are made or broken!!

This is when your mind becomes your most important tool, and you have to make sure you last through this difficult time, and you have to realise that there is brighter times ahead, this is just a massive roadblock along the way, and is really going to be testing you hard.

You always have to think that most people would crack, and  go on a eating binge that will always result in weight gain, and then spirals into a further lack of motivation, leading to eventually a tough situation when it becomes tough to come back from.

The good news is that im not giving up on you, and you have to tough it out and not slip back to a situation where it becomes tough to come back from!!!

Twitt
Posted on

21st June 2011

Mixing up your training is not only good for progress but good to keep you fresh.

Another good point is giving you more options when it would be easy enough to call it quits for the week!

If you pulled your calf, twisted your knee or hurt your arm, there IS another way to train as many of you are proving.

I won’t go over all the excuses i have heard over the years, but they still make me mad from time to time, make that ALL THE TIME!!!!!

My favourite or not so favourite one is the one that someone cant train because their “training partner” is not training anymore, so they can’t train anymore!!!! Have you heard anything so ridiculous in your life!!! But i have heard this a few too many times i can assure you! You DO NOT have to rely on someone else to exercise, you really don’t!!!!!!!!

So the bottom line is getting used to all sorts of training so your options become greater and greater. If your arm is a little sore, what’s to stop you cycling or running, although i will admit you do use your arms on both, in different ways but workouts are STILL possible wouldn’t you say!!!!

If your knee is bad, you can do weight training circuits that don’t hurt your knee obviously, just find out the exercises that don’t hurt so much!!!

Swimming is a good exercise if you have aches and pains, because like cycling, it is non-weight bearing and will actually help your body improve, instead of slowing recovery down like other forms of exercises can do.

Nothing wrong at all with walking too if you have a pull in your arm or upper body, the bottom line must ALWAYS be if it hurts, then DO NOT do it. If there is no pain and makes you feel good, then it will be fine and you always need to use this rule, the saying “no pain no gain” is absolute hogwash, train smart and thats means training carefully!!!!

Lots of options out there and that means no excuses!!!

Twitt
Posted on

Monday, June 20th

If you’re looking for your big start to the week, then you need a fundamentally good start to the week and it all begins with some solid eating plans!
 
 
Nothing wrong with up to 3 cups of tea or coffee a day, but you do need plenty of water on top of that, 8-10 glasses a day or around 1.5 litres if you are consuming by the bottle.
 
 
Breakfast is always going to work best when its a natural choice, weetabix are always fine, and porridge can be a great selection giving you a nice long steady supply of energy to start the day off. Dried fruit can be a great sweetener.
 
 
If you are having some fruit juice in the morning or at any other time, its always an excellent idea to dillute it as you wont be consuming as much sugar as a whole glass of juice, therefore saving on needless calories too.
 
 
Fruit is usually a matter of personal taste, some people like certain fruits and tend to stick on the same ones. Its always good to mix them up a bit so you get different nutrients, but the bottom line is that fruit of any kind should come in on a daily basis.
 
 
Vegetables are a must have in anyone’s day, a lot of people ignore these at their peril, because they provide a lot of what your body needs when it comes to supporting good health.  Again try to keep it varied and your body will feel all the better for it.
 
 
Your protein selections should be the lean choices, such as white meats and fish, and if you keep to this, you will feel full and your calories consumed will be relatively low, red meat is fine but only once a week.
 
 
One of the biggest mistakes people make with carbs is portion sizes, and if they are bigger than the size of your fist, then everything you eat will be putting on body fat rather than giving you energy.
 
 
Portion size for some people is one of the most difficult thing to change, but once you do get used to the smaller amounts, then your appetite gets smaller, and your ability to eat big meals goes down, which means a smaller and flatter stomach of course.
 
Put in a great workout today and add of all this great food, and you’re off to a flier early on in the week!!!
Twitt
Posted on

Wednesday June 15th 2011

The best way to get in shape for now, and for life is to stop everyone scamming you out of your hard earned money and do the things you KNOW that will work.

I really think that some of latest diet books really think we are stupid, that we have too much money and we want to give it to them, or they may actually believe that some of their stuff actually works in a short term faddy type of way despite the longer term consequences?

Someone asked me about the dukan diet again this morning, you know the one which advocates mostly protein in your diet. The great news is that this diet DOES work to lose weight, just like the atkins diet works and its a simple principle they use. One gram of protein has around 4 calories just like one gram of carbs has. One gram of fat on the other hand has 9 calories.

So you can see if you eat mostly protein and not in huge quantities, you will be ingesting less calories every day and therefore be successful at losing weight. Also, protein in no bad thing and will make you feel full for around 4 hours at a time, which is a good thing.

The negatives only start some way into the diet.

 What happens when your energy levels eventually go down? Your training suffers due to your lack of energy and therefore endurance? What happens when you have problems going to the toilet (it had to be said) due to you eliminating certain food groups? Are you really never going to eat carbs ever again? And what happens if you do? Are you going to have some almighty splurge on bread and potatoes or chocolate and chips? Going mad on carbs because you haven’t eaten them for so long? Nobody i know has successfully eliminated carbs long term without any side effects!

So if you want to be healthier in losing weight, trying eating healthy proteins such as fish, chicken etc with plenty of vegetables, for lunch and evening meal, eat fruit in moderation as well as a small handful of nuts, drink more water for added fat loss and keep your carbs under control, its all about portion sizes the size of your fist, that includes rice, pasta, and potatoes, and wholemeal and wholegrain versions too.

Everything in moderation and a wide variety of foods, this is the best and most SUSTAINABLE way to lose body fat AND firm up!!!

Twitt