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Monday, 1st October

It’s monday again, and also the start of the month. It is twelve weeks today to christmas day so if there was ever a day to get psyched up about getting fit and healthy, it has to be today!

We talked friday about how important and convenient it was to train at the weekend, but for those of you who put all your workouts into the week, then today, monday, is the most important day to set the tone for the rest of the week!!!

I always view monday as a huge day, not only its the first day for me back training people, but its an important marker for me in how my own workout is going. I rarely train along anyway and haven’t done for years. I either run or cycle with someone i train, or i do the same with weight training, and i ALWAYS get a better workout training with someone than training alone, as long as that person is committed.

If there is two of you training, then both of you can push each other. Maybe one day you are feeling a bit sluggish and down, then its up to that other person to get you off your behind and push you to your normal high levels!!!

The only problem with training partners is sometimes one of you isn’t great time keeping, and this can really get people fed up i have found!

Then there are many of you i know who like to train alone, to do your own thing when you want to do it, to suit all of the other commitments in your life, i know i used to be one myself!!

So whatever your situation, be sure to get your best workout of the week in today, or at least give it one heck of a shot! Setting the right tone today is a massive indication of the level of commitment you have to getting yourself in top shape!!

Twitt
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Friday, 28th September

Training at the weekend can seem foreign and never happen for most people.

There are a couple of big advantages though for weekend training.

First of all, it can be a great time to play catch-up.

If you have missed a session or two in the week, then making up for it at the weekend is not only important, its vital for those of you who are after serious results.

Then there are those of us who train well in the week, and then still want to train Saturday or Sunday anyway! I always recommend having at least one day off a week, I personally take a Saturday off, but make  sure that  I really get a good workout in on Sunday to get myself going again and feel great.

The “feeling great” part of it is the most important part not only for myself, but for everyone else I speak to.

Hopefully you can relate to this.

If you have a weekend of overeating and bingeing on everything, have a few drinks and generally slob around, then undoubtedly you are not going to feel that great by the time Monday comes along!!! Most of us can relate to that!

This is when the importance of a Saturday or Sunday workout comes into it, and I find outside workouts in particular great at getting rid of an excesses of the weekend.

We all feel better when we rid our bodies of the toxins that have invaded our bodies at the weekend!

It makes sense if we get back to eating and exercising well as soon as possible!

So if we do this to feel better, then we know we will also benefit from losing body fat too. You can be sure if we binge all weekend without any exercise, the body fat will come on thick and fast, and we will face Monday morning with a bit of a mountain to climb!!!

You can see it makes a lot of sense to take advantage of the weekend to put your trainers on and workout!!!

Twitt
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Thursday, 27th September

These are choices that are going to work for you, these are real foods, no shakes, no bars, no faddy diets, these are real everyday choices that will strip body fat off, make you stronger and leaner, as well as keeping you very healthy on the insides too, which is vital! This is very sustainable and will positively contribute to your healthy lifestyle!!

 

Portion size for protein and carbs should be the size of your fist as a general rule, have as much vegetables as you like. This will make sure you do not overeat.

 

Try and avoid any packet or jar sauces, do not cook with salt or add salt to your meal (encourages blood pressure), and try to keep your ingredients as natural as possible for maximum results!!!

 

You can use these for lunch times, and for your evening meal.

Chicken breast with 100g pitta bread, add a serving of salsa and a serving of salsa-489 calories

Chicken breast, a serving of lettuce, 100g of boiled potatoes, 100g asparagus, plus 2 dates to finish-437 cals

A good piece of salmon, sweet potato, 100g of spinach, 10g of peas and nectarine to finish-423 finish

Piece of turkey,  50g brown rice, 100g broccoli, 100g carrots and an orange afterwards-402 cals

125g lean roast chicken without skin, 225g new potatoes, 100g butternut squash, brushed with tsp olive oil baked, 60g peas, 100g dark leafy greens, 50g home made rice, apricot but stuffing, 5tsp pan juices made into a sauce with a little wine

631 cals, 21g total fat, 4g saturated fat, 45.7g protein, 68g carbs

Thin sliced turkey breast, one tablespoon cranberry sauce warmed in small bowl for 30 secs, pour sauce over turkey. Serve with brown rice and broccoli-455 calories

I medium baked potato or sweet potato with 100g cottage cheese and tomato and cucumber-160 cals

1medium wholemeal roll, 100g tomato, good slice of 100g turkey breast plus some strawberries and low fat natural yoghurt-393 cals

Grill and lean cut of steak how you like it, squeeze the juice from half a lime over the meat and sprinkle pepper and garlic powder. Then slice and serve with brown rice and salsa-393 cals

Grill any fish with a selection of steamed veg-100 cals and that’s a ton of veg!!

100g haddock 81, mackerel 220 canned salmon 153, try with lemon and potato

Smother a grilled, skinless chicken breast with a freshly squeezed lemon, either a jacket potato or boiled potatoes with it-303 cals

Brown rice salad with beans and asparagus-263 cals

In small saucepan, mix one can of chicken broth, a sliced grilled chicken breast, a 50g portion of cooked barley and a handful of your mixed veg. heat for 5 mins.-400g

Tuna salad-drain a can of tuna in brine, place tuna in bowl and mix one tsp of very light mayo if you have to and some juice from a lemon. Pile tuna on top of lettuce and serve with a portion off fruit. This is a light meal with plenty of good stuff throughout the meal.

Pasta and tuna salad-50g of wholemeal pasta, 100g of carrots, 100g of tomatoes, 100g cucumber, a can of tuna in brine and apple to finish-373 cals.

For further information please go to www.kerimckibbin.co.uk

Or telephone 07968 980808

Twitt
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Wednesday, 26th September

As time goes by, technology allows us to do everything faster, more conveniently, and achieve a lot more in a record amount of time!

This has been proved to me yet again by two completely different training clients this week.

One is a 16 year old boy, who has already been training 5 years with me, and has gone from a very overweight young man, hating sport, to someone who has become very accomplished in exercise terms, is now very lean and pacy, and has reached national level in one of  his chosen sports, he plays three different sports now, and none of them rugby or foootball!!!

He has become very organised now, and now keeps training diaries and records of everything he does.

He told me the other day that he finds this whole process fascinating, purely because of the staggering progress he has made over the 5 years. He was shocked to see how he is training now, compared to the light and basic programme he had to start! He now realises that he can get in shape in a very quick period of time! He trains 5 times a week for 25 mins a time, and that’s it!!

This is how technology can work for you!

Then the other individual is someone who used to be fit and healthy, but now has several issues with his health and life in general.

He tried to get fit on his own, doing the same things he did when he was 20. It turns out he can’t do any of those things anymore, and he came to me in desperation, realising  even at 45 years of age, his body couldn’t move in any way like he used to, and he panicked about it!!

Six weeks on, he feels alive again! He is moving better, stronger, leaner and finally getting control of his diet, realising that whatever goes into his body will have a direct effect on the way he looks and feels!!

Best of all he says, exercising 4 times a week for 40 mins a time suits his lifestyle, and all the new moves and exercises are a tiny sacrifice to get him feeling young and healthy again.

Exercise doesn’t have to be all grunt, using your brain can make the whole process a lot more enjoyable and dramatically speed up your process!!!

Twitt
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Tuesday, 25th September

Good comment from jean last night about my piece yesterday on training.

Yes, you should (if fitness allows) aim  to work more in a non-stop fashion, and jean certainly knows the value of this!! This level of conditioning can be only achieved though after a lot of training and a lot of efforts already in the bank, in other words you only move on to this more advanced form of training when you feel ready, and this usually involves more traditional forms of training first, which will be slower in nature with much more rest.

Then there is the question, what happens if the session gets easy? It only becomes easy if you do the same thing all the time with the same amount of weight and reps. You can EASILY change this around and make things far harder for yourself, and that means far more beneficial too!!!

You change it in a couple of different ways. If you are doing a set of exercises, and its usually 6 with a maximum of 8, then how about substituting some or all of those exercises with viable alternative. Tricep pushdowns could become arm dips on a bench or vice versa.

Press ups could be substituted for bench presses, lateral raises could become front raises or upright rows even, so you can see the choices are bigger than you thought!

This will create an immediate effect for the good!

Then there is the rep rane, i always love 8 as a rep number, but nothing wrong with changing that to 10 or 12 now and again, to get a different stimulus that will only benefit your body.

Then when you need to change again, and your weights become very light, how about increasing your weight slightly, this will create an immediate difference in intensity levels, as long as you can do 8 reps minimum per exercise, if you go under this rep range, then the exercise doesn’t become anywhere near as effective!

Always aim for good intensity levels and never let your workouts become run of the mill!!!

Twitt