Posted on

Monday, 16th April

Are you thinking yet of food as “fuel” instead of just a way to lose weight? This is the healthier way to look at your food and health.

You’re going to need all of the good foods we talk about all the time just to get through your day, especially if you have children, have a big career or both or if you’re in any situation where performance and energy levels are crucial!!!

On top of this,  you should be looking forward to a big workout today!

If you are not eating well, then you will be probably thinking of some excuse not to train today, or an excuse not to put much effort in. It can make SO MUCH of a difference that  it will alter your mindset and really affect how active you are, and how much effort you put into it.

With Formula one back on our screens, its a known fact that they use the high octane fuels in their cars, because they are interested in just one thing, RESULTS!!!

It should be the same for your body and imagine how well you would do if you bought into the whole idea of how powerful fresh natural food would be for you!! This is high octane food  for your body.

Good foods can be termed as “nutrient dense” meaning its going to be good for you in layman’s terms!!

You should eat a small nutrient meal or snack every 3 hours to keep energy levels high, and keep you lean.

Indeed, you should eat 5-6 times a day to keep your metabolism going strong and keep you firing on all cylinders.

You should try and include a meal with protein each time you eat, to keep you feeling fuller for longer, and keeping your lean tissue intact, so you burn more calories 24 hours a day.

Eliminate processed and refined sugars from your diet, this will be key to stay lean and keep the quality of your calories good.

On this start to the week, its vital you get your “fuel” right in order to burn body fat, stay strong and perform at your highest levels!

Twitt
Posted on

Thursday, 12th April

Back pain relief is great like we talked about yesterday, and once you are allowed to exercise again in a more expanded way, you suddenly feel “free” again.

To get to this stage though, and never to go back there again, you MUST keep your core stability work up ideally for the rest of your life, or back pain can often return in the same way as before, and sometimes worse especially as you get into your “senior” years, when re-starting physical activity suddenly seems far more daunting.

As I have said many times, “core stability” work seems the most in fashion term in fitness, and has been for a while, but unfortunately most people who train and some of those who teach exercise, do not know the principles needed to work through an all round programme to engage the muscles necessary to relieve back pain, and increase power throughout the body in general!

Core stability is more than a big exercise ball and just “sitting” on it. For a beginner it will mean light exercise learning the basics, for a professional athlete it can mean aggressive powerful movements that enhance their game.

If like most of us, you are somewhere in between, there is much to learn.

If you belong to a gym that includes only machines to do exercise, then you really are not in the most efficient and “functional” place for your body and its longer term future.

If you are doing the same old routine with machines or just run or cycle every day, then you are missing out on a considerable amount of potential progress. We talk about this all the time on here.

If you have never worked out with a medicine ball, a bosu ball, a club roller, a balance wedge, balance pads etc, then you are cheating yourself out of a body and mind that could be significantly stronger. These are not compromise exercises, they are movements that will give you the edge and take you a million miles further in development!!!

All up to you and expand your mind!!!

Twitt
Posted on

Wednesday, 11th April

Causes of back pain are usually associated with familiar themes.

Lack of core stability, the muscles used in particular to support your spine are prime reasons for that often sickening pain you can get from back pain.

Being overweight though is a massive factor, and because the majority of the population are carrying too much weight, then back pain if a fact of life for the majority of people in this country.

Its not only the extra weight but in particular it’s the weight around the trunk area that makes the problem a lot worse.

Imagine carrying a chair around with you every day and you often will have the feeling that a lot of people have, it’s the uncomfortable and awkward feeling that really makes life a misery at times.

This is why exercise and eating properly really helps from day one.

The moment you start losing weight in the trunk area, your back will become stronger and more flexible, allowing you to do more in life and substantially ease that very unpleasant pain you have been having for a while.

Simply moving every day will create pain relief.

What’s the alternative of NOT moving?

Usually sitting down and this is the root of the problem. Also when you sit down you can tend to lounge and put even more pressure on your weak back.

 Poor posture when you sit even is responsible for long term back pain, the same as poor posture if you work at a computer all day, and most people have experienced a bad back on long car or bus journeys, which when you think about it is a totally unnatural position for your body to be in.

If you do just one thing every day, promise yourself that you will become just a LITTLE more active, this is the first step to ridding yourself of back problems that according to latest statistics, affect 87% of the working population at some point in their lives!!

Twitt
Posted on

Tuesday, 10th April

Great to be back after the long weekend off, and already it seems as if the people i have dealt with today are firing on all cylinders.

Despite the indifferent weather, and plain dreadful weather yesterday in particular, it seems as if most people i train have been very active most of the weekend. When you are fitter and healthier, you WANT and sometimes NEED to be more active. Having all weekend off and doing absolutely nothing doesn’t wash very well for most if not all of my clients!

Good energy levels don’t somehow “just happen”, they develop and grow by the investment in exercise and good food you have made over the years. There is a direct relation!

When your energy levels are high, you want things to happen in your life. Your enthusiasm is likely to be very high to and this enables you to plan to be active in life, its all a knock on effect when you think about it!

So if you feel a bit low and lethargic today, it may have been because of the “lack” of activity you had the weekend?!

Moving from the lethargy you may experience now and fairly regular, to a life of high energy and drive you really want and need, is really down to the lifestyle you HAVE to lead. There’s no “beating the system” with being healthy, there is no magic pills or injections to make you suddenly fit and healthy, common sense tell you that this can’t happen and deep down you know it!!!

So the big question is how you workout this tuesday? Have you got the plan in place to hit everything hard today?

Have you got a good supermarket shop in? No leaving eating to chance or you will simply pick up fast food or snack on rubbish?

Are you hitting the sack early this week? Or are you going to rely on the madness and bad side effects of dodgy energy drinks?

Keep it simple and reach the lifestyle you want with ease!!

Twitt
Posted on

Thursday, 5th April

Having your blood pressure checked regularly is one of the easiest things you can do to keep yourself healthy, or rather MAKE SURE you are keeping yourself healthy.

Most chemists these days will do it for free, and blood pressure testing is one of the most fundamental testing methods I use, usually once a month but sometimes more frequent depending on the client’s history.

Higher blood pressure which is usually a reading over 140/90 is a warning sign that you have mild hypertension and your doctor will tell you what to do next, if it is slightly over he or she will tell you that it will be monitored over the next few weeks, to see what direction it takes.

The doctor/nurse or even pharmacist should be able to tell you that a healthy lifestyle will have a direct and long lasting effect on your blood pressure.

When I see someone with a blood pressure issue, I know the plan of attack has to include the three keys to success.

I know that if I include these three fundamentals in my approach, then the blood pressure will be dramatically improved over a period of months, as long as the client is willing to accept responsibility and show some determination themselves.

After all, I am only there for training a brief period of time, the other 23 hours are down to the individual and how he or she handles and applies my advice.

Number one key is avoiding salty food, in other words processed food. Never cook in salt, never add salt to your food, throw the ready meals in the pain and get used to cooking food from scratch. This will be a HUGE difference to you and you will immediately feel better.

Number two is alcohol. Nothing is worse for somebody trying to bring their blood pressure down than booze. Until this matter is addressed and lower consumption or even eliminate until your blood pressure comes back to normal, progress will be slow.

Number three is what you should be doing most days anyway! Exercise! Working out regularly in a moderate way

Twitt