Monday, 8th October

Shortcuts are always there for you, but you secretly know they aren’t the way to get what you want with your healthy and body.

If you cheat in an exam, copy someone else’s homework, you know its not really sustainable and your long-term progress will end up in tears.

Shortcuts end uo creating more work and ultimately more disappointment. Your long term development is always based on putting a lot of hard work in and reaping the benefits on a consistent basis.

Instead of taking shortcuts, start making yourself much more accountable.

Try training with someone of a similar level, if they’re willing to push you.

Make your goals public, and tell your closest friends and training colleagues what you really want to achieve, and you’re not going to rest until you get there! When you make your goals public, you will find that you will get more support than you ever imagined.

If you train in a supportive environment, then nothing is out of bounds and its great to talk about your frustrations, goals, disappointments, great moments with people who have more than likely been through many of those experiences themselves.

For example, i have had experiences when people have told me that they want to be pushed, that they want to achieve big things with their body and health, and for me to give it everything in order to get them to that amazing level. On every occasion, that person as long as he or she was committed to his/her training, then lofty goals were indeed achieved.

When someone wants to start training, one of my main questions is how committed they really are to achieving their goals? If they seem disinterested in the whole thing, then i am not going to waste my time on getting involved with someone who is not willing to show any committed, in fact its obviously going to be a waste of time for both parties!!

If you show commitment to your goals, and listen well, then you are 100% likely to achieve something very special!!!

Friday, 5th October

Metabolism talk rounds up our week, and if you can get this vital subject under control, and firing FOR you 24 hours a day, then you are likely to be burning fat and likely to achieve the body you always wanted, AND STAY THERE!!

One of the most unlikely tips i can give you that you wouldn’t have thought about regarding metabolism is water!

Most people don’t regard water as boosting your metabolism but they couldn’t be more wrong!!!

Water is paramount to a lean healthy physique.

Water is crucial for flushing fat out of the sytem, and is crucial for your body’s messaging system to fire correctly. And drinking water can actually raise your metabolism!

Being dehydrated can give you sugar cravings, tricking your mind into thinking you are hungry, rather than thirsty! Keeping hydrated keeps your body in balance, keeping you in tune with your body’s actual needs.

The less cravings you have, the more fat you lose because you’re less likely to make poor choices.

A recent german study showed that subjects who drunk healthy amounts of water, compared to others who didnt drink enough, BURNT around 30% more calories, and their metabolic rates were proven to increase for the same amount. This started within 10 minutes of drinking the water, and reached a peak 40 minutes after drinking the water.

The moral of the story is drink more water, and if you train hard in the gym, drink even more!!!

One minor point is to say that you should keep it to water too. If you fall for misleading information about energy/sports drinks, then you will be consuming almost pure sugar for no real reason apart from some dodgy marketing claim that has no basis. Your performance will go up 33% if you keep fully hydrated, so don’t fall for similar sports drink claims. Sports drinks are only worthwhile after 60 minutes of continuous exercise.

Time to get your metabolism working at its best levels, and make fat loss much easier than you ever thought!!!

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!!

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

Monday, 24th September

Here are some good rules to follow on your training, assuming you have some experience already, and not just starting off in your very first session (although i will go over that process soon in future posts).

1. Don’t get over-obsessed with lifting too much weight. Most people, especially males will be obsessed with how much they can bench press, how much their friends are lifting and so on. The reality is it doesn’t matter! All that matters is that you are improving regularly and you are using proper form when you perform each set, and don’t get carried away. You should feel the muscle working on every single exercise, i would go for 3 sets of 8 reps on each exercise. Doing 12-15 reps is only suitable for those with different goals and 3 sets of 8 works big time for nearly e veryone i know trust me!

2. Try resting for 45 seconds in between each set. This will enable you to keep your heart rate elevated, keep a great tempo going and is great to keep an aerobic effect, and if your lungs and heart are working well, then your heart is always going to be in great shape. You may have to drop the weight on each exercise until your conditioning rises to meet the extra challenge, but once you do, your body will adapt and you will slowly build the weight back up.

3. Use perfect form, i need to tell you again!!! If you don’t do every exercise in good form, you will suffer in many ways, you will develop a bad back, putting injury chances much higher in all areas, and your body simply won’t respond as well when you don’t use perfect form. Those who “cheat” on each exercise never get anywhere, or certainly don’t reach anywhere near their potential!!! Lighter weight done perfectly will benefit you 100 times more than using too much weight using terrible form!!

More tomorrow, there’s plenty more to come regarding doing everything the right way, saving you months and possibly years in your training journey!!!