Posted on

Thursday, 16th February, 2012

This week we have talked about not making excuses about lacking time to train, how we can really make the most of ten minutes when that’s all we have, and to make quality come first in assessment of our workouts, rather than “just working out for an hour” and that’s our benchmark and that’s it!!

Another not very time consuming tool that’s very powerful for the effort put in is self measurement.

How long does it take to measure your own waist and hips, or get someone else to do it for you?

I have talked about it many times before, if you measure yourself around once a month and see if you have come down a little bit in terms of inches, then you know you’re doing something right!

If an individual comes down 1-2 inches a month, then you would consider that great progress.

Inches off your waist are nearly always a better indication on how you’re doing than weight on the scales, which are often inaccurate due to a variety of reasons.

If you lose weight off your waist, then your clothes will feel much better, another tried and tested way to show progress.

Losing inches off your waist is one of the best ways to tell if you are fit and healthy, and to avoid serious disease.

Your waist size should always be a maximum of half your height in inches.

In other words and using simple maths, say you were 6 foot tall, that would be 72 inches since there are 12 inches in a foot of course.

So your waist should not be more than 36 inches and ideally a little smaller.

Medical science has proven that this is a very good formula for showing true health.

You secretly know too that if you are carrying too much weight on your stomach and hips, that you are not as healthy as you could be, that you will not be as confident as you could be for the summer, when you are likely to be wearing less clothes, that you are not as confident in visiting the doctor for a health check up and you won’t have as much energy as once had when you are in peak condition.

Do the waist test on yourself or get someone else to do it, and in general, you will be able to tell how much work you have to do!!!

Twitt
Posted on

Friday, 10th February

If you are exercising hard throughout this very cold period, then you ought to congratulate yourself because you are getting through the hardest time of year, this is the time for those of you who have the courage to “do”.

Not only in weather terms but you have managed to get through to February, which is longer than most of the population who often quit by now after the January surge in dieting and exercise. If you are active now, you have some serious momentum in your life.

Better times are coming with lighter nights, warmer days and even more inspiration for your training simply because “summer is coming”!

The spring and summer is the time when you really hoped you were in good shape. Most people at the end of the summer promise themselves that “next” year will be the summer they finally get into great shape,  and they will be proud to show their body off.

The reality is often quite different unfortunately.

It’s a good idea on a Friday to evaluate how you have been doing, and whether you have come close to achieving your goals? You should be able to know right now whether you have come up short, or have you over-achieved this week and actually taken yourself higher than you thought?!

If you can most fridays, deliver on the promises you made to yourself on a Monday morning, then being in shape is probably a reality for you and a healthy lifestyle an everyday reality that you enjoy.

Dieting on some crazy faddy diet is no fun, never has been and never will be. Plus they never work long term.

Living healthy by eating healthy and training sensibly and often has never been more enjoyable, given all the options we all have in front of us these days.

There is more known about exercise and nutrition these days than ever before, yet according to statistics, most of the population ignores all of this research and never gets active, and constantly fall for all the foods high in sugar and saturated fat, sad but true!

You will discover that living a healthy lifestyle is not being part of the crowd, but more of an individual journey that will develop more and more the further you travel, in age and in health terms.

Its Friday and lets be honest where you are at the end of the week.

Twitt
Posted on

Monday, 6th February

This week coincides with a lot of measurements i normally take for the month of january in terms of individual progress.

Most have been pretty good, some outstanding and a minority not up to the usual standard.

There are reasons why people get different measurements, and the truth always comes out when explaining each one.

The bottom line is when you are measured every month or thereabouts, you automatically make yourself accountable, and this is usually when lifestyle habits are examined in detail.

Unless you take this approach, then progress can be regarded as a matter of luck rather than intention.

Intention is a big word because if your intent is always there, then your lifestyle habits will always be good most of the time. If you have no goals then there is little or no intent, and there is no pressure on you eating well, training well and keeping alcohol to a minimum.

Most if not all the welsh players in the game against ireland, have been full of intention for a long time now in advancing themselves as a creditable force on the world stage, in rugby terms.

In their case, it has meant increased commitment in training, getting more out of themselves than they ever thought.

In eating terms, they have had to be even more meticulous in the preparation and timing of each meal and snack. Eating to perform at your best in sports is a big industry and nothing would have been left to chance in this vital area.

Most of the time too, you will not get these players getting trashed on alcohol every week after a game. A lot of players don’t drink so much now, and some do not even drink at all!

These players are much more professional in their outlook, their intention and delivery of performance these days.

They get measured constantly too, and this helps a great deal with their power of intention, a much undervalued way of getting the very best out of yourself at all times!

Make yourself accountable and start coming on at a much faster rate!!1

Twitt
Posted on

Friday, 3rd February

I know i have posted on a lot of different issues regarding health and fitness, there are some i tend to mention more than others.

One of the ones that is very relevant to the month of february is the fact that today in the press, a story was focusing on people’s lack of success in terms of weight/fat loss since christmas, and the lack of success in terms of new year’s resolutions too.

In fact, some papers have christened this month as “FLABRUARY”!!!!

The vast majority of those questioned had failed miserably on their plans to get rid of the christmas weight, not only that but the weight from the previous year too!! People were feeling flat, disappointed, fed up and all the usual negative feelings that leave a lot of us disillusioned.

If you have been following this blog for a while, we always examine why people do not succeed in their “get in shape” plans.

We have gone through a million reasons by now, and we have come to the conclusion that success can only come from sustainable training efforts, sensible healthy eating in smaller portions and at regular intervals, drinking less alcohol, drinking enough water, sleeping well and having a bit of what you fancy occasionally so you don’t go totally mad!!

So expect to see stories such as these in the media all the time. There is no one faddy tactic that’s going to solve the puzzle for you, its a combination of different tried and tested factors that will make the difference in the long term, so being in shape never becomes a struggle again.

Working out for life sounds like a tall order for some, but why not treat every week and day as it comes, try to do your best when you become educated about food, try and not make excuses to exercise, try not to overdo it on the food or booze, try and hit the sack at a decent time in the week and try and stay positive at all times, even when roadblocks come up and test our patience to the full!

Forgot the marketing rubbish you hear daily and let’s put the foundations in place to be very successful with your health full stop!

Twitt
Posted on

Thursday, 2nd February

Hands up who has jacked it in for this very cold spell of weather?

If you did, it probably leads to a pattern of behaviour that has stopped you getting into the shape you’re really capable of.

Did you quit last summer in the really hot spell of weather because it was “too hot” to train?

When it rains, do you find it easier to stay in the house and not do anything?

If your training is governed by the weather, then as I always say, you had better write off nine months of the year. This will be a serious obstacle to getting into any kind of good physical condition!

This type of weather usually dictates who you will see out exercising too. The coastal paths in mumbles, Swansea marina, Llanelli and burry port are always full on a nice day, full of individuals or groups dressed in the latest workout gear, and this is to be applauded.

Week’s like these though when it is brutally cold always sort out who’s serious about their training and who’s not. Im not trying to make some kind of “we are better than you because we train in the freezing cold” comment either (I actively encourage everyone to exercise as many of you know), its just that you need to realise that the weather REALLY DOES NOT and should not make a difference to your ability to train.

One less excuse is always welcome and the weather seemingly is a big excuse for many.

Your inside options in terms of workouts should really be firing on all cylinders now, and when you do resistance/strength training like you would inside, your levels of body hardness and staying lean in general should be at their highest.

What I like about inside workouts as well is that they are measurable.

5 press ups in week one can easily turn into 30 press ups in week 6, and this along can lead to a difference not only in performance, but in terms of results of course.

If you never measure your performance, then how do you know you’re improving. Most people have not got a great memory so this is why its vital you write things down, especially in your early stages of training experience.

When you write things down, your goals will become much more real and you will be focused much more on every workout, because you know the pressure will always be on to try and improve.

Use this weather as an opportunity, rather than an immovable object that stops you in your tracks!!

Twitt