Wednesday, 6th June 2012

The ultra-long weekend brings its own problems in terms of your health this week, and making sure you still manage to get a productive week in. Please do not waste another week in your development, because this week could easily turn into next week, the week after and maybe into a month before you know it!

Cut off that potential right on the downside right now, and turn your health into something that’s going forward, not fading back into obscurity!

Its Wednesday already and hopefully, this doesn’t mean the start of your exercise week. If it does and you rest every single bank holiday and maybe weekend, then you had better be in the mood for a big workout today at some stage!

It cannot be overstated how important regular exercise is in terms of feeling good, getting rid of persistent and niggling aches and pains, creating fresh energy for your body, making your immune system far more resilient to future illnesses and challenges to your health of all kinds.

This is why I write this thing most days, because of the need to stress to individuals that you need to become active not just because you want to look better, but more like because most people would kill just to FEEL better.

I write this to help people lay their foundation for health for the future, and all the massive benefits that come with all of this! This has to be and needs to become a priority right now for you, or you will suffer in silence for the rest of your life and sometimes in pain often due to ill health, which can be avoidable in many cases.

Most of us have the odd moan now and again they have to exercise when they may not feel like it, but you will be moaning far louder when the ill effects of not exercising/eating badly come through over the longer term.

Its early june and your chance to turn this thing all around, lets do it and make it happen right now!!!

Tuesday, 29th May

The encouragement of individuals to exercise has never been more important, and once they start, to encourage everyone to keep it up.

Its an absolutely massive step for most people to step into a gym, or even think seriously about being more active. Many gyms seem intimidating and many are full of people we would rather not socialise with, or so it seems at the start.

 The reality is often different but that “first time” nervousness needs to be overcome somehow, in order for an individual to become healthier, more active and on their journey to becoming a healthy adult or child.

Families and friends can play a vital role, and if you are an individual who is currently wrestling with the decision on whether to seek professional advice on how to start exercising, then having support from a family member or close friend can be crucial not only in getting started but in the longer term too.

This is why i believe in using as many tools as possible to keep that doubting (to start with) individual exercising. This will involve an exciting programme design full of different ideas but sound in fundamental terms.

This enables the person taking the plunge to experience a lot of fun whilst exercising. Perhaps the most important factor though will always be RESULTS!!!

This is why i measure everyone once a month, to make sure progress is constantly being achieved and after all, theres no better feeling than someone telling you that you’re looking so much better, or trying on clothes that you thought you would never get into again, and suddenly they fit easily again!!!

There have never been so many opportunities out there to get fit and healthy, deciding the right way can often be an issue for most people, and this is why results are so important.

Success with your health and fitness is waiting for you right now, so DECIDE to change your life and make it happen today!!!

Monday, 28th May

Everyone wants to get faster and stronger, and this is a common question when dealing with athletes of all sports, and juniors who really want to become professionals in any sport, or even the person who plays sunday morning football, who just wants to improve their game and take it to another level or two.

The techniques used to make this happen can be powerful, but before this takes place, the fundamentals must be in place to allow it all to happen.

For example, if an individual is carrying a couple of stone too much, then training JUST for speed is too limiting an approach, and can encourage injury.

If you are doing a speed and agility session, where explosive moves are often called upon, then if that person is quite a bit overweight, then the tensions on the hamstrings and groins can be overwhelming. The individual has to realise that when you carry too much weight, then your body mechanics don’t run as smoothly when you are carrying little or no extra weight, and its vital to build up gradually, rather than dive into a programme that puts too much strain on the body.

So before we touch on what it requires to become faster and more agile, you have to go back to the beginning.

Adjusting one’s diet so you can lose body fat at a steady rate is the first step.

Then making sure your exercise programme is sound, and you already familiar with the basics is another great starting point.

So if you are eating well and exercising properly, then over time you should achieve decent results and you should at some time be at your optimum weight, or at least fairly close to it. This would be the ideal time to step up your training onto the speed and agility stuff.

This will make sure you progress quickly still and avoid injury along your path of self-improvement to becoming a better athlete.

Tuesday, 22nd May

The warm weather is back, or should make that it has actually STARTED after one of the worst April’s and May i can remember.

Please don’t use the excuse of “its too warm now”, please DO NOT use that because you should see this weather and light nights as an INVITATION TO GET FIT AND HEALTHY!!

Compare this with mid-november to mid-march and you are right in the best time of year now to really make a difference to your mind and body. Theres every opportunity now to get your body in great shape by simply enjoying the environment around us.

If you cant get out there on the bike in this sunshine, then you ought to question your commitment to yourself. Besides all of this commitment talk, its actually ENJOYABLE, thats definitely the best way to think about it rather than seeing it as some kind of chore!! Riding a bike in this weather with all the beautiful scenery is one of the best things you can experience full stop.

Get off the roads too when you walk too if possible, and avoid all the pollution. Get up mountains and enjoy the fresh air, and the air that most people don’t get to take in. Its good for you full stop, and the often steep gradients will lift your fitness levels to brand new levels.

There are plenty of people swimming, but i happen to know a few more people now who swim outside, enjoying the different challenges that this brings. Enjoying the more natural route is always a winner for your health and is so demanding that it will often trump your inside swimming sessions! Both are good though it must be said and depends on the individual.

Personally, as you can tell, i love being outside at this time of year, as well as inside sessions. Mix them both up and reap some pretty serious rewards!!!

Tuesday, 15th May

Another myth of weight loss is that the more calories you cut, the better and the more weight you will end up losing.

One pound of fat equals 3500 calories, so a good idea would be just to get your daily intake by 500 calories, and over seven days, then you will have your magic 3500 calories (7×500).

The problem though with cutting more than that is that your body ends up in “starvation mode”. This is exactly what you do not want to do, as your body will go totally on the defensive.

This process evolved from the early days of man, when food wasnt so plentiful, and it doesnt take long  for your body to start holding on to body fat in any way it can.

When starvation mode starts, then your gets desperate for calories and will take it out of food and drink in all sorts of ways.

In order to keep functioning, your body will also unfortunaltely start to take calories from your hard-earned ultra-efficient lean muscle tissue, this is bad news because it will slow your metabolism down when lean muscle is reduced.

Muscle loss means a slower metabolic rate, which means slowing or completely stalling weight loss, exactly what you do not want to do!

Losing weight TOO QUICKLY is totally the wrong thing to do for a whole host of reasons, and this is why cutting calories too quick and by too many can help you lose more over the first couple of weeks, but will definitely lead to you piling it pack on and more when you begin to eat properly again.

This is the same old story maybe, but it  doesnt make it any less sad, and the more times i see it, the more angry and determined to get people doing their weight loss plan in the correct manner, and not falling for the totally unhealthy way of slimming clubs etc.