Posted on

Tuesday 7th June

We talked about yesterday the ability to work around injuries, instead of working through them which tends to make the injuries worse of course. Being flexible and being able to change your programme is very important.

The other issue is recovery and how important sleep and eating well is.

If you eat a variety of fresh natural foods, this usually means you will be ingesting a lot of vital nutrients that your body needs and when your body is down, such as when you are injured, these nutrients are even more important not only to make you feel better but to heal the damage that has already been done by the injury.

The process of an injury usually starts with your twisting or pulling something quite badly, then usually depending on the severity of the injury, your point of injury will bleed internally and the damage still goes on.

This is why ice is applied as soon as possible to injuries so the healing process can begin immediately, and you don’t waste time.

The ice will also bring inflammation down quickly of course, further speeding up the healing journey.

Then when you injury has stabilised, its important to keep bringing in, as I keep saying all the time, fresh natural food when possible to enable food to have its true healing power. People may scoff at this but your cells really appreciate good food coming in all the time because then it can go about fixing the injury, and much quicker than if you went on some kind of junk food diet which will only delay the process!!!

So if you can follow these rules, sleep then becomes paramount. If you get as much uninterrupted sleep as possible, your body will be in full recovery mode and will do its very best to fix itself in record time!

Its also paramount NOT to antagonise the injury again by working through it, you need to work AROUND it and train smart not to upset the incredible healing process your body is now on.

For the record, alcohol is the worst thing you can consume, as your body has to get rid of this foreign substance before it can heal again!

Some injuries are worse than others but these principles will help A LOT every time you have the misfortune of injury!!

Twitt
Posted on

Monday June 6th

Monday starts off with a few of you struggling with aches and pains of different kinds, the big question is can you still have a successful week? The big answer must be of course you can!!!

For example, if you have a bad knee, theres a million other things you can do APART from running, which is guaranteed to put further stress on an already bad situation!! You have to work around it!

I like to totally go against the “no pain no gain” saying, in fact whoever made it up needs to be shot!!

If you have a bad knee, you should pick activities that WILL NOT put any strain on your knee at all.

Options include working on the bike on flat surfaces, or working on a stationery bike, the rowing machine MAY be okay if you can pull more with your upper body rather than your lower body.

You can do lots of weight training exercises that DO NOT put any strain on your knees whatsoever, this can be quite easy to do, and still means you can have a very intense workout, which will be highly beneficial to you of course. I have been in this situation many times and the ability to “work around” injuries will be one of the most valuable things you can have.

If you have a bad back, this tends to be tougher because your back is involved in everything you do. I would recommend some swiss ball work, which can help your back a lot and there are numerous options on this ball. If you can cycle again on a flat surface, AND you have no pain whatsoever, i would work at a moderate intensity and you WILL again get some seriously good benefits from this. I would avoid any weight training with a bad back.

The bottom line is that are numerous alternatives of training even if you have injuries, you just have to be more selective and train smarter. We all have aches and pains from time to time, but they are definitely not a reason to give up on yourself as many do.

Its not about whether you get knocked down, its whether you get up again so your choice entirely!!!

Twitt
Posted on

Thursday 2nd june

The temperatures are up and most people complain about their workouts, their intensity levels not being able to be reached and they go totally off any kind of running efforts.

If you have read this for a while, you know I never recommend long, long boring running efforts anyway, which are the last thing you probably want to do in this heat (24 degrees and upwards).

I have concentrated on mostly cycling today because it is a much cooler activity, because you have a good breeze usually, and especially when you are close to the sea of course.

The benefits are huge and the main attractive benefit you have of cycling in weather like this is the scenery, especially on days like these which are supposed to last at least until Monday.

There are a million ways to get fit so before you get too many excuses out, think long  and hard before you cancel your training efforts for the weakest of reasons!!!

In fact, the training sessions you DON’T feel like are ALWAYS the most valuable. This applies to hot and freezing cold weather.

If you want to end up like most of the population, then stay on the settee and eat whatever you want, no matter how much harm it does you over the long term.

The chances are that if you are reading this, you DON’T want to end up like most of the population! You DO want to be fit and healthy and you should be willing to employ every strategy under the sun to make it happen.

For instance, if you think its too hot to train the weekend, get up early and hit the bike before 7am on Saturday morning, believe me there is no better feeling!!!

If you think im crazy suggesting that, perhaps you have to raise your commitment levels and attitude.

The reason I suggest 7am is because it’s the coolest time of day in predicted very warm temperatures, plus you have the rest of the day to do all the other things you wanted to do.

There is a way around everything and anything, and all you have to do is open up your mind to it. Lets cut out any narrow  mindedness and lets get your training in to make big things happen in your health and life in general!!!

Twitt
Posted on

31st May 2011

Make the grade with your workouts and eating this week and you’re going to be off to the biggest flier ever after a bank holiday weekend!!!

The monday workouts i talk about being the most important transfer to today. This now becomes a very important tuesday and one which will set the tone for early june and make a huge statement of intent for you!!! You need to be fired up right now to achieve the best results possible going into flaming june, or so its called anyway!!!

I know personally today that i have already had a few very good runs, and i feel ten times better for getting out there in the fresh air. The fresh air can have a very powerful effect on everything, not only wellbeing and feeling good, but will encourage excellent sleep of course. Sleep is always one of the most important factors in getting into great shape!!!

How many of you have spent all day outdoors and NOT had a great night’s sleep? Thought not!

 Fresh air is the best sleeping aid i know, its always best not to go down the sleeping tablet route if possible and rely instead on the natural alternatives. The good thing about staying outside is that it encourages fat loss because you’re going to be moving around a lot more too. Have you noticed how you never sit still when you’re outside? You will sit still all day long watching the television at home, but outside you’re going to be far more active and burning calories without even thinking  about it!!!

If you can’t spend anytime outside in this weather, then you’re seriously missing out!! Its great to do workouts at home or at the gym of course, but there is ALWAYS a place for the great outdoors, and if you live in the area there will be multiple opportunities to sample the beautiful scenery!!

A great day for swansea city getting in the premiership yesterday of course, and this will encourage many more visitors of course into the area, brendan rogers the manager said yesterday that wales doent end when you get to cardiff and that swansea and surrounding areas such as the gower was among the most beautiful areas in the world, and that spreads all the way down to llanelli, and burry port/pembrey too, where the millennium coastal path is renowned for its stunning beauty.

Take your opportunities for a great start to the week, and use the great outdoors to help you in that quest!!!

Twitt
Posted on

27th May 2011

The issue of recovery is never usually mentioned in the press, but is always a vital factor in your development and always underrated.

I for instance, have been running with a sore toe for the last few weeks. This is now fine but those few weeks of running with a weaker toe on my right foot has caused extra strain on left leg, and mainly my calf. This has now made my running uncomfortable again, although i am getting through it.

This is very common for most people when they develop a problem with a knee, calf, hamstring, hip or just about anything. Everything must balance itself out in the end and this is all part of the process. You must give time for your body to recover or the injury will most likely to hang around for a long time to come!

The way i have been getting over it is eating very well, as  much fresh and natural food as possible, enough sleep (thats not always possible of course with two small children!), plenty of water and smart training which means not putting too much strain on the affected area, in this case my calf. The most important thing to do straight away of course is ice my calf, this should always be done for around 20 minutes and a maximum of 30 minutes. This can be done once or even twice a day if you have time, it will stop further damage and make a huge difference trust me!!! This can be done easily with a bag of frozen peas.

I have followed all of this to the letter when i got in last night at 745pm, and after getting up at 420pm today i have been able to cycle hard today, and run a little. This is not to make myself sound like some kind of hero but more like to illustrate to you that you CAN recover quickly from injuries, AS LONG as you follow these simple rules, they have worked for years for me and i highly encourage you to do the same!!!

NEVER run through injuries though if you are having ANY pain at all, the perfect advice is to make sure you recover 100% before putting through the affected area through any sustained effort in your workouts again. Simple but the smart way to do it!!!

Twitt