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Tuesday, 7th August

The success of the olympic cycling team and indeed, the Sky cycling team has one important philosophy.

They aim to improve 1% every week, and if they can do that, then they have calculated that they are going to become very successful.

1% at their level can be pretty monumental, and 1% for anyone once a week can be spectacular over a period of a few months.

Remember when i always talk about improving every four weeks, and this is why we measure this way without fail? This is the reason!

If i try to get everyone to concentrate and improve just one per cent every week, this will already lead to a 4% improvement each and every month. To tell you the truth, in the beginning stages of any programme, most people are capable of more than 1% a week with a sound training programme.

This is why most people i know are capable of staggering progress if they stay consistent with their eating, training and rest.

The 1% figure was an illustration of elite athletes at the very highest level! So can you imagine the effect that a well-designed professional programme would have on the average person?!!!! This is when results get really interesting and this is why people  never stop surprising me with the levels that they are capable of attaining!

If you think of yourself when you started training, and assuming you have been training for a while now, then you should be significantly further down the track than when you first started! This is a more than 1% improvements and its important to remember that!

So if the pro cycling teams can get that 1% improvement out of every area of their performance, this is why they have done so well for so long in the olympics and now the tour de france of course. The last statement said it all, a 1% improvement out of EVERY AREA OF THEIR PERFORMANCE!!! This is what we will talk about tomorrow and how you can achieve the same improvements in relation to your own ability!!!

Twitt
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Monday, 6th August

There was a survey out in one of the online newspapers at the weekend, asking the readers if they had been inspired to exercise on the back of the british achievements in the olympics.

76% said no, 23% said yes and 1% didn’t know!

A surprising result you may think but one that doesn’t surprise me as i have seen studies like this for many years.

Unfortunately, it usually takes a massive jolt for someone to get going again and exercise, and this jolt isn’t always a pleasant one.

A doctor telling you HAVE to lose weight is no fun at all, and can be devastating to an individual’s already perhaps fragile ego.

Just when you think you’re at rock bottom, then someone comes and kicks you when you’re down!!

The good news is though that out of desperation can come inspiration.

When we have a strong reason to do something, we usually do it and get the job done when it all hits the fan!

This is my experience anyway, and almost all of the people who have ever started training with me have wanted to lose body fat, gain strength, change shape, get off blood pressure tablets, or whatever their particular problem was-FOR A VERY STRONG REASON!!

Let’s face it, you are unlikely to do anything unless you have a good reason to do it.

I don’t get up at 4am most mornings because i find it some kind of pleasure! I get up at that time because someone needs me to help them out, and i am deeply committed to making big things happen for them!! This is what makes getting up early really meaningful for me and the person who i am training.

The same reason keeps me going for my last session, finishing around 7pm. If i was half-hearted at ANY of my sessions all day, my business would collapse. The thrill and satisfaction keeps me going every session and every day, this is when performances can remain very high and why job satisfaction stays sky high, its a two way street so lets keep the motivation huge and start the week off in a big way!!!!

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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Tuesday, 31st July

The most depressing thing for people who really train their socks off is not getting anywhere near the shape they want to be in!

I see it all the time.

Some of the hardest exercises are often questioned why they are not in better shape, and they often question themselves that!

The problem is failure to admit that they are not eating anywhere like they could be eating. Plain chicken breast often becomes fried chicken with all the skin, plain potatoes becomes potatoes smothered in olive oil or even oven chips!

One night of alcohol consumption a week can become a small couple most nights, this is when body fat gains can come thick and fast!

Our “versions” of eating well and “clean” can be quite varied, depending on who you speak to of course.

A chicken salad for most people is around 500 calories absolute maximum.

For a lot of other people though, it can be a lot different.

By the time you add in coleslaw, mayo, salad cream and other forms of dressing, this healthy choice can soon add up to over 100 calories. So if someone tells you they live on these type of so called healthy eating choices, then all may not what it seems and this is why they continue never to be in shape, despite having impressive capabilities in pure exercise terms!

The minute they realise all of this, they have a choice on how they really want to look and how much they really want to get there!

Eating food a little plainer without all the junk dressing we have discussed, can make an enormous difference to you reaching your goals, for you to be able to perform at a much higher level and for people to finally give you some huge compliments on the way you look!

Eating right is at least 50% of the equation, AT LEAST THAT MUCH! Make the choice right now on how you want to look and feel!

Twitt