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Thursday, 28th June

We always talk about how to get more out of yourself, and being the best version of yourself is something that most of us are aiming to get to at some stage.

All of this talk is fine, but can be more than a little off-putting for some individuals I have found.

Not everyone wants to be some kind of high-achiever that is focused on giving 200% every time he or she trains. In practice, that is not often possible anyway!

The way I get around this is to give people little and often exercise sessions.

If I told an individual that they had to constantly do a complicated exercise programme, then I know a number of individuals I train would shy away from that and find it very difficult in reality!

The approach to use is to give someone a fairly simple (but still very productive) exercise programme that lasts them around 20-25 minutes maximum.

Then to include no more than 6 exercises in their programme so things never become in any way complicated, or difficult to remember.

Most people have complicated lives as it is, the last thing they need is a headache when going through their workouts.

For example, cleaning your teeth is one of the most simple things you do, pretty straightforward for everyone you would hope.

The result from all that brushing?

Good mouth health and hygiene, your teeth and gums in good shape and when done twice a day, you tend not to have too many painful visits to the dentist!!

The same should be true about your exercise programme, keeping it simple encourages a lot more participation and regular exercise. Get the actual exercises right and your results will become strong.

No need to over-complicate unless you’re training for something very specific. To the average exercise, simplicity is always best!

Twitt
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Wednesday, 27th June

Heart strength has got to be your most vital reading whether you exercise regularly or not.

If you do not exercise in any way, your heart rate and strength is likely to be weaker than it could be and this is a negative factor when it comes to assessing overall health.

If you DO exercise, then you should know all about the massive benefits of having a strong and healthy heart.

Your heart is a muscle that needs to be trained and conditioned like every other muscle on your body.

If you do exercises that require larger amounts of oxygen, this is called “aerobic” types of exercise, or “cardio” as is often mentioned by people who go to the gym.

Aerobic by definition is defined as “with oxygen”, which shows how important this type of work is.

Running, power walking, swimming, cycling just to name a few could be described as the best examples of aerobic training or cardio as is much more trendy a term to use these days.

These types of exercises should be included prominently in anyone’s programme, and are highly beneficial.

Most people are unaware that you can achieve this state of training that requires high amounts of oxygen by weight training/strength training.

The trick is to keep the tempo of the workout quite high and this will get you working harder and you will need to take in deep gulps of oxygen throughout.

This is achieved usually through cutting your rest periods in between sets right down. For example, if you usually rest 3-5 minutes in between everything you do, then cutting it down to one minute would be a start and immediately get you working harder.

When you get to a decent level of fitness, try getting to a stage of picking 6-8 exercises in a row, and having NO rest in between. You will need to cut your weights down in terms of kilos/poundage, but the effect will be dramatic and terms of heart benefits.

I train most people using this philosophy now, and have done for  many, many years. The benefits across the board are huge, and will make sure your heart will be very strong and in tremendous health ready for anything!

Twitt
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Tuesday, 26th June

We talked about the value of using the height/waist relation in measurement terms yesterday.

The value though gets magnified several times when you start making yourself accountable every four weeks.

Every four weeks is certainly enough time to make some good progress with your body, and your health in general.

If you have this four week timeframe permanently ingrained in your mind, then you will always think that little bit more about what you eat and drink.

You will become a little more guilty about missing workouts, and the effect of not exercising regularly.

Let’s face it, most of  us hate going to the doctor or nurse for a variety of reasons, but if we can get in the habit of self-testing, then this will alleviate some of the nervousness and embarrassment factors for sure.

Your monthly measurement can help you change your programme more regularly too.

If you do a measurement and you do not improve in any area, then either your training programme or eating regime needs to change, or more like both!

By making yourself accountable, the change will likely come a lot sooner and you will be on the road to progress that much sooner.

When you measure regular, you also become more enthusiastic. You will perform better and look for more little ways to improve yourself.

You will end up buing new clothes or at least fitting into your best clothes again because your dress size/waist size will come down considerably if you are on the right mix of good exercise form and excellent eating habits.

This is all about being repititive in a GOOD way!

The more your habits are consistent, the better your results full stop!

Keep measuring or get someone to do it for you, you will not look back trust me!!!

Twitt
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The Longest day, 21st June

Another situation some of you may have experienced in the past is trying to keep on losing more body fat and weight when you don’t even need to anymore.

For instance, I was training a teenager this week who has literally transformed himself from someone who could be regarded as seriously overweight (he would say that himself), to someone who looks extremely athletic and powerful, and now looks the picture of health.

So he lost all his weight, is now starting to do very well in a few different sports, and is almost unrecognisable in every single area compared to one year ago.

The danger is now that he is tempted to still cut down on his food portions. This can be a common mistake to make, and can be detrimental to his future progress.

I explained to him that the focus now should switch from cutting back, to slightly increasing portion size due to the activity levels he now has in his life.

It makes sense that someone who played very little sport before, and now plays 5-6 times a week requires more energy. The weight and fat loss has put an enormous amount of energy into his life, but the stage has come that he needs even more now to increase his performance.

This is now alien to him, as cutting back has got him to a great situation. This is where relationship with food changes his again.

Seeing food as fuel is ultra-important now to this individual, as opposed to seeing food as something negative because it may put weight back on.

It wont put weight back on because the quality of the food he eats is so much better now.

I explained that one gram of protein and carbs in just under 4 calories, and that one gram of fat is 9 calories. So in theory, he could eat quite a bit more food and still not be eating the calories he was when he was a lot overweight. Overeating is still not advised, and all I meant was an increase to cover his energy requirements.

This individual has changed his life considerably, but should now be using food in a very positive way, seeing it as a very valuable tool in allowing him to perform at the highest level possible at his chosen sports.

Everyone’s relationship with food is different, but keeping it a positive one will allow you to move far more smoothly and productively through different phases in your life.

Twitt
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Tuesday, 19th June 2012

There is a great programme on at the moment investigating why we get fat, and all the cunning ways that food businesses of all kinds try to fool us into consuming much more fat than we need to, and certain kinds of “dangerous” fats.

The inventor of corn syrup (which is extremely big in the food industry and is in most foods to sweeten it up) was scrutinised and was blamed for bring obesity levels to epidemic levels that are in existence today.

The problem is when you get used to foods with a lot of sugar added, as is mostly the case, it is extremely difficult to “get off” these foods, due to sugar being addictive.

Fats in foods are always given a bad rap, and most of the time deservedly so, you have to remember though of course that there are “good fats” that are vital for our bodies from foods such as fish (eg salmon, mackerel etc), nuts (almonds, cashews etc) and oils such as olive oil, flaxseed oil for example.

So if saturated fat is getting this terrible name, then sugar very much is the “evil twin brother”!

Sugar according to many leading nutritionists is in fact worse, due to its addictive qualities.

You can see it when kids eat, you try giving them a sugary breakfast cereal, and then change it back to something more natural and less sugary, you will have a major job on your hands!!!

Cutting sugar out of your diet is extremely tough, but the sooner you make the big jump, the sooner you will “come off it”, and the urge to eat and drink sugary products will fade sooner than you think.

One instant benefit is you immediately lose weight and body fat, you start performing better and you will be getting more sustainable energy, rather than the up and down type you get from sugar.

The sooner you make the change, the better!!!

Twitt