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Measure yourself

Depending on what level your fitness is at, the more attention you pay to it says a lot.

The attitude of just doing some exercise and hoping for the best never really works because you will not be really focused on getting fitter or eating well, you will exercise simple “because its supposed to be good for you”!

Getting together a proper plan can and will make all the difference and make your health and fitness far more sustainable.

So as we talk about all the time on here, you need to do a mixture of strength work and your walking/cycling/running/swimming etc. You need to do this every week as well as eat well every week of course.

So ASSUMING you have taken all of this onboard and you are taking part in all of this, its time to raise the bar a bit and take your exercise plan a bit more seriously.

An easy way to do this is to measure your waist regularly, once a month is fine. As we have talked about before, if you are 6 foot tall then you are 60 inches. The equation should be that your waist in inches is half or less than your height in inches. This means that your waist should be a maximum of 35 inches if you  are 6 foot tall. Work on and keep it under 35 if you can, this will lead to you not only looking great but the health benefits will be endless!

The weighing scale is not always the most accurate measurement of progress but keeping a once a month check will be helpful and give you a general guideline on how you’re doing. Women should avoid weighing at their time of the month as this can easily add up to 5 pounds on that is only temporary!

If you have a close friend or family member, try asking them to do a more detailed measurement. Try measuring your neck, shoulders, chest, waist, hips, thighs, calf, upper arm, forearm. You can also buy a cheap blood pressure machine from the chemists these days starting off at just £10. Try and do these measurements once a month to keep regular checks and give you a very good indication on how you are doing.

Your health is your most important thing you can have, without it you can’t really do anything worthwhile in life. These are the options open to you without even having to go to the doctor/nurse all the time. The idea of keeping a close eye on your body has never been more valid!!!

Twitt
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Staying positive in the gloom is vital to get you through!

People doing well should be encouraged and appreciated at the moment. There is more than enough bad news in the media pretty much all the time. Some people like bad news and thrive on negativity. With the spending review of the government coming out tomorrow, there will be a lot of edgy people out there.

So it may not be fashionable at the moment, but lets try and concentrate on the good things going on and whatever bad things come, let’s promise to work our way through them as best we can.

Jean for instance, is on a roll to say the least and seems to be gathering fresh new momentum every day. This is a perfect situation for jean, as when you have momentum, you will always feel fitter, lighter and more eager to take on more and more challenges, which will automatically bring further gains.

As we discuss regularly, its not a matter of doing more and more training in terms of minutes and hours, its about keeping the quality of your training very high and making sure your body gets used to very good performances, results in being in great physical condition.

The only thing that can stop almost constant progress is negativity. If we listen to people who are always negative, then we become negative and the emphasis then is never to even attempt anything positive, because the risks are then too “negative”, there is too much of “what if it goes wrong, or what if it doesn’t work” type of talk.

If we associate with more positive people, attempting meaningful things in life becomes the norm and second nature. Its this type of atmosphere and environment we really need and can thrive in. The talk then becomes of whats really possible in life and the rewards of attempting big things in your life.

How many times do we talk about on here about positive things? Every single day is the answer because this is the only way to go, the only option available and the only way to end up truly fulfilled and happy.

You have many different choices over the week, the month and year and those moments when you are faced with tougher decisions that directly affect your health are the critical ones. Staying and getting into shape is never as easy as A,B,C, but if you face all the difficult choices in a highly positive manner, the chances of your getting and staying there will be very high.

Will start posting more workout schedules from tomorrow so see what you think?

Twitt
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Get inspired, its good for you!

Not many could not have been moved by the excellent ryder cup at celtic manor yesterday and its exciting finish. Im not exactly golf’s biggest fan but yesterday certainly excited a lot of people including me. Truly inspiring would be a fair description.

This sort of spectacle will get more people to play golf simply because they were inspired, and in my book thats always a good thing.

Many of you fail to get inspired because the day in day out nature of exercising may not be the most exciting thing in the world. The inspiration comes every time when you receive complements about your appearance, this isnt reserved just for others, it can be for you too if you put the work in, honestly!!!

This type of effort though requires you to be positive in everything you do and put health very high on your list of priorities of life.

Like we always say, its easy to be negative and not doing anything. Thats the easiest thing in the world, to become Jeremy Kyle’s number one fan and not move at all from the settee each day, except maybe into your car, another sitting down experience which wont help you in your quest for fat loss much!!

Changing from your old lifestyle to an active new lifestyle full of vitality isnt as hard as it sounds.

All it takes is daily action and taking every day one at a time.

You have every chance to do it too because its all about you. Unlike a team sport, theres nobody esle to rely on, really theres not. Every single thing you put into your programme, you will get 100% out in terms of results. If you let yourself down by not exercising or eating badly or both, its your fault and you cant blame anyone but yourself.

I think there is the individual in all of us, this is your chance to finally become successful with your health. Some days even a walk in the fresh air will be considered a success, especially if you were only going to lay on the settee and be a slob for the evening!

Doing things outside your comfort zone will be the difference between having a million complements and having medicore results. Its easy to slob in front of the tv every night, deep down though you know thats not right and you’re wasting your life away.

Its tuesday so we have all week to send a new trend in your life!!!

Twitt
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Two women on a charge!!!

Different levels of fitness requires different levels of effort.

Achieving those different levels though is a gradual process as member Annette is finding out, and she sent me this message last night.

“My first week of training went quite well.

  I am definitely feeling more alert and my diet is much better although I could probably still improve on it.  Drinking loads of water which is making me feel less tired.  I have stuck to my workouts, even when I went camping because I don’t need to use any gym equipment.

 I can do them anywhere plus they are pretty short which is always a bonus for me!! 

 Cardio workouts are the ones I look forward to most but feel absolutely lousy while doing them ( I am soooo unfit).

  Never mind, I’m sticking with it no matter what!

Annette”

Annette is clearly on a path to where she wants to get back achieving big things once again. She knows she has to work through different levels before she is anywhere near where she was before. She knows she will get there though as long as she sticks with it!

She also knows that she can do her workouts literally anywhere, and shes not tied to a gym and the limitations that can bring.

Debbie is clearly back in the swing this week, and enjoying something new that has done a lot to stimulate her interest and reawaken her passion for health and fitness again.

She also has great experience with injuries, and has the know how on how to avoid any pain in her workouts.

These are people who have done it all before, who have been at their peak and for various reasons, have slid back a bit in terms of their fitness and maybe body fat, and want to experience the big high’s they had from being at their best.

They both know though that they have to experience those different levels on the way before being ready to make the jump up, one level at a time.

The good news is though that because of muscle memory, their bodies remember where they’ve been before, and the rate of progress this time is likely to be far more rapid than first time around.

Once your body has experienced big highs of low body fat, a leaner harder body, more energy, more self-esteem, more self-confidence, looking great in clothes, having more enthusiasm for everything in life, an all time level of health and vitality etc etc, you really want to get there again and once you start believing again, you know you will want to get there as soon as you can, and to me that’s a great thing!

So what are you waiting for? Let’s finish the week on a high, and get ever closer to your best condition and the way you feel. No slowing down now, lets go and get it!

Twitt
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Monday’s the driver

I go on about it now and again, but isn’t it so that monday is your number one driver for a new week?

Here we are again, we are right here again, right at the heart of your decisions on whether you’re going to have a good week or not. That is correct, your “decision” on whether to have a good week or not!

It’s not somehow “beyond your ability” to have a great week is it? Of course not!

I may sound repetitive here but monday is so important to your week and good week”s make a good month, which means SUBSTANTIAL progress. This is what we’re after at the end of the day, so your momentum starts right here for the next 5days right up until friday night.

If you stop your excuses right now, you could be well on your way this week to making a substantial dent in your body fat, to a more impressive hard body, to lots and lots more energy, if you want to be one of those people who seems to attack life head on and get results, then you have to get out there today/tonight and get a great workout under your belt.

Then you have a shower, you have a meal of good protein such as chicken, turkey, lean beef, any kind of fish, with some good carbs such as wholewheat pasta, brown rice, sweet/jacket/new potatoes, with a wide variety of vegetables. Then you have a well-earned sleep and wake up on tuesday feeling well-rested, full of energy and full of wonderment on what your new day has to offer.

REALLY THIS CAN HAPPEN!!

If you manage to have a week full of these habits, you are on course, you are on the road to amazing health and fitness. Does this sound far-fetched, hope it doesnt because you are very capable of doing it.

 As jean says, its about moderation so have a bit of what you fancy at  the weekend, as long as it doesnt turn out to be one huge blowout!!

Anyway, back to right now and the job at hand, its monday and lets make it happen, a big future awaits for you if you do!!

Twitt