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Monday, 13th August

The Olympics have ended which brings a big gap in TV viewing for most people over the next week or so! Most people have been addicted to it, and some more obscure sports have found plenty of new-found respect from the general public. If it encourages more people to exercise, then this will be the true lasting legacy for me.

The problem  comes from where to start for most people.

Most people don’t automatically run down to their local athletics track, and suddenly ask to become the next Mo Farah, unless they are usually 11-15 years of old and already a pretty good runner!

Many people feel that most athletic events are beyond them, especially when they may be 40-60 years of age, and perhaps they haven’t exercised since school!!! This is part of the important generation to get exercising again, the generation that may have totally given up on themselves, and without any major action now will become more prone to serious disease and ill health.

This is why starting an exercise programme should be done with caution and safety as the number one concern.

If one goes at it like a bull at a gate, then injury will surely follow. Most people will realise that they can’t do what they did when they were 16, but some don’t realise this and go at it so hard that they get injured, and then their ego gets so crushed that they never try and exercise every again. This is a sad situation but so true of many people i see.

If you listen to good solid advice, and do indeed start off slow with a good plan, then you are HIGHLY LIKELY to succeed if you give yourself enough time and set some short term goals that are attainable. 1-2 pounds a week would be realistic, instead of the 5-6 pounds a week that faddy diets often promise. Also, don’t make the scale your number one indicator, this is setting yourself up for failure.

A plan that is sustainable that develops all the time is what you need and we will talk about this the rest of the week!!!

Twitt
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Friday, 10th August

Another friday and a very good one because its 25 degrees and sunny-for a change!

Hope you’re not one of those to write off your workout for the day just because its warm? I’m all for slacking off a bit in performance terms during this weather, and cutting some time off your workouts, that’s only sensible advice, but cancelling all together is definitely not on in my book!! Especially if you’re after great results, this weather should be seen as part of the challenge and should be embraced!

Look on the positive side, if you lived in certain parts of australia for example, this would be a nice winter’s day!!! And what excuse would you make then?!!!

The positives are that a day like today requires very little warm up, your muscles are already warm and the workout will be over fairly quickly!

Another great way of working out in this weather is to combine it with your day out of beach/mountain activities.

Playing games on the beach is always fun, and all of that running around can be draining, but a great workout. All you have to do is make sure you take onboard plenty of water to make sure you don’t get dehydrated!

I know plenty of people this year who have been on tent or caravan holidays, and there are usually plenty of trails this time of year to trek on, full of ups and downs that can and will test you to the limit, whilst taking in some great sights along the way! Don’t forget the terrain under foot will also test you further, due to the soft sand in places and uneven surfaces, it also burns a lot more calories!

Another key tactic in this weather is do try and workout your hardest first thing in the morning, or in the evening obviously because its a lot cooler, this simple thing to remember will save you a lot in terms of feeling far more comfortable when you train.

All in all, no excuse to skip your programme, embrace the nice weather as another challenge on your journey to being in your best shape!!!

Twitt
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Friday, 3rd August

As the Olympics slowly change to the track and field today, a new set of physical tools are required.

Special mention must go to the great performances so far, especially the cyclists who have set new highs, along with new world records thrown in against very stiff opposition.

Many people prefer track and field, and the showpiece event is usually the 100 metre final next Saturday night, with Usain Bolt favourite as long as he has recovered from his back problems.

All of these athletes specialise in one particular discipline, but this is something that you shouldn’t not do if general conditioning is your goal.

For example, if you just do cardio (cycling, fast walking, running etc), then you will lose some weight, get your heart healthier and stronger, but you wont be doing a massive amount to change your shape, or strengthen your joints to what they are really capable of.

This is where resistance/weight training is so important. Bone density is vital and weight training is a great way of improving your bone strength.

Weight training will also play a large part in changing your shape.

Using increased resistance will re-shape your body for the better, and increase your metabolic rate.

One pound of muscle burns 50 calories a day, one pound of fat burns 2 calories a day, you can see now why people carrying a lot of body fat usually stay very big and more muscular individuals tend to stay leaner (as long as they keep exercising right of course!).

This is why you need to combine your cardio AND your resistance/weight training, and this should be your fundamental training plan to get yourself in shape, and enable you to stay there once you reach your best levels.

In training terms, its always better to be an all rounder capable of a range of activities and training methods (which brings big results), rather than focus on just one way of doing things that perhaps you have become too comfortable with (which brings limited results).

Twitt
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Thursday, 2nd August

A massive performance in the Olympics yesterday, with the two ladies rowers doing a fantastic job, with one of those ladies only starting rowing four years ago!

Bradley wiggins was the rightful favourite for the time trial, but being favourite and executing are two different things. Wiggins now recognises the pressure that comes with being such a favourite and has become one of the world’s greatest athletes, and Britain’s greatest Olympian in the process!

Having pressure to perform is a good thing.

Everyone who trains with me is aware of the measuring process I put every individual through every four weeks.

This means that the individual is having constant positive pressure once a month to improve, and this is invaluable of course!!!!

My focus is always getting someone’s heart stronger, getting someone into healthy blood pressure ranges, getting an individual into a healthy body fat range, getting an individual’s waist size into a healthy range to keep potentially life-threatening diseases away if possible.

The great news is that all of these strategies WILL make you feel a lot better, and look and LOT better if you give them time.

Just like the Olympic athletes use top to bottom strategies to make them perform at their best using latest science, my goal is always not to leave any stone unturned to get the best out of an individual, no matter what the starting point, or however hopeless the situation may be to begin with!!

The likes of brad wiggins have given everything to be at their best.

Whilst I can never expect such a Herculean effort out of everyone I train, I do ask each and every individual to work hard and reach their very own version of their personal best.

If you take onboard this attitude, results will always be very impressive for you!!!

Twitt
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Wednesday, 1st August

Usain Bolt says once you come out of the blocks in a 100 metres race, and out of the drive phase, then the last 40-50 metres is quite relaxing for him, and there’s nothing he can do to make himself run quicker.

If you see quotes from most world-class athletes, they try and stay away from any great strain in their efforts and rely on great technique and even relaxing at times throughout their races/competition.

This can apply to your training too of course.

Have you noticed when you start to run, it seems so much of a strain, that you may never get to the stage when you will be able to run without straining yourself.

Then with a bit of walking, a bit of running, bit of walking, then some more running, you end up getting to the stage when you can actually run all of the time. This is extremely difficult to do and its the practice you need to get in to eventually alleviate all of this discomfort and strain.

Anyone who runs now, or who has had to go through this process will testify that all of this is true.

Then the next stage to go through can be quite a pleasant one.

When your fitness gets up considerably, you eventually get to RELAX in your running stride, and this enables you to run for much longer distances.

For many of you who can run good distances,  you will experience the ability to get some serious “thinking time” in your running. This means that you can relive your day through your run or think about a business opportunity or think about your family or anything you want, as the actual process of running is not that difficult anymore, it has become more of a regular thing in your life, and the ability to relax is absolute key for you!

These are all different processes along the way of being in your best possible shape!!

Twitt