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21st january 2011

Another week when the cold and ice has definitely played its part. Its been tough to get out there and run most of the time, unless you were running on some grass where there has been no frost, or on the beach of course. Even with the beach, there was frost on the areas where the sun hadn’t hit the sand!! In parts, it was like running on concrete so you had to be careful wherever you were running/walking!! I love it outside though so its my job to seek out all the best places!!!

Another issue in this weather is the cold weather when running, especially when you are putting, or trying to put in good performances! Its not uncommon to experience a shortness in breath when temperatures are so low, so i wouldn’t worry too much about putting your absolute best workout in during weather like this, unless you’re inside of course which will be no problem of course!!

A big positive sign this week has been the lighter mornings and lighter nights, its only 21st january and things are looking up already!!! The shortest day was already a month ago so you should be experiencing more and more opportunities to get some quality workouts in. When there’s more light out there, you are more encouraged to do more and your enthusiasm to do well should be returning quickly.

Another exciting way to look at things is that spring is only around 10 weeks away, the sort of time you need to look absolutely fantastic!! You really CAN make the necessary changes in your life by spring IF you decide to do it right now. This is the exact time of year when everyone seems on a diet anyway, so you may as well try and start eating healthily and starting an exercise programme.

Its all very well these presenters in the media saying taking a brisk walk, which is great, but you also need MEANINGFUL exercise with a PURPOSE!!! This is what really brings results and theres plenty of workouts in the training/exercise section. It all starts with you deciding to change and you giving it everything you have. If you can get this mindset, then you’re already halfway there so lets give it your best!!!!!

Twitt
Posted on

19th January, 2011

Most people who are overweight lose or have lost control of their eating and sometimes a long time ago.

It could be the over-sized lunch full of mayonnaise and salad cream, it could be the over-sized take aways every single night, it could be the chip shop every night, it could be the big fried breakfast every single day, it could be the bakery and special of the day (every day!), whatever it is or indeed i have met some individuals who do ALL of the above, and thats when it gets really scary and you’re totally out of control. It’s like being in charge of a car with no brakes, you know you’re out of control and the ending is not going to be good.

If you live your life like this, then heart disease, diabetes and blood pressure problems are likely to be big parts of your life.

Its very likely you have a food addiction and you have to face the fact that your life more than likely revolves around food.

This theory is supported by science in study after study.

Recent research found that people with a family history of alcoholism had increased risks of being overweight, suggesting that both conditions might be driven by the same tendency towards addictive behaviour.

A lot of researchers also believe that food addiction is the number one cause of the civilised world’s obesity ticking time bomb.

Fat, sugar and salt are such a major part of our diets these days that its no wonder more and more people are developing addictions to food.

A lot of people if not all eat too much food because they are finding comfort from other pain in their lives. Its ironic then that the massive weight gain and ill health always associated with eating in such quantities becomes the NEW source of pain and unhappiness in people’s lives. It then becomes a vicious circle and explains why despite many attempts, most people go back to the old way of eating, and also explains why most people are on a diet now, but are likely to fall off by mid-february, when life unfortunately goes back to “normal”.

You have to try and make the big leap now, get away from the life of salt, sugar and saturated fat, its only got misery for you to come if you don’t!!! Get back to plainer and more natural foods, avoid sugary drinks (the quickest way to put on weight), drink more water, don’t buy in sugary snacks (they only lead to more and more and are addictive.

The sooner you give up the junk, the sooner your life is back on track and you get close to where you want to be!!!!

Twitt
Posted on

Monday, January 17th 2011

If you have started the new year with a bang, then good luck to you but its important to keep your structure going throughout January and beyond.

For example, if you haven’t trained for a while and started off 3 times a week training, then thought if 3 is good, then 6 times a week must be much better, possibly twice as good!!!

While you may get great results for a couple of weeks doing it this way, the likelihood of you reaching a plateau will be extremely high, or even getting an injury because your body will not be used to all of the extra work, I am talking 6 high quality workouts, not 3 good workouts and 3 good walks.

If you ask most people about their training, they seem to be pre-occupied to telling you how MANY times they have trained that week., the actual performance is usually never mentioned.

We never mentioned last week about 4 minute workouts, and the possibility of going from around 5 press ups in week 1, to easily 25 press ups in week 6. This way of training has to be totally focused on performance and focus on making measurable progress, this is what creates improvement in your body.

The ability to make improvements training 6 times a week is reserved for those who have excellent sleep every or most nights, those who are extremely good with their eating and have been training at a high level for a long time. Not saying that you can’t get there, but it does take a while and a lot of dedication to living a healthy lifestyle.

Bottom line this week is to make your workouts count in a big way. I you’re doing sprints up hill and you’re currently managing 4 sprints up a steep hill and 4 sprints backwards, then that total could easily be up to 8 sprints forwards and backwards by now, if you have been consistent since the new year.

If you have been cycling and had to keep it flat cycling, then it won’t be long before you’re strong enough to attack some hills, in the process becoming a much better and stronger cyclist.

If you have been doing some circuits in the gym or at home, then not only will they feel a lot more comfortable but you should be looking at adding some extra weight to a few of the exercises, creating a much more intense workout.

Assess your progress in training terms once a week, and look to make small gains every week, however small, and try not to get in a rut and don’t go through the motions.

Improving can become a very good habit, just as staying the same can become the norm. Always look to change things around and keep your body guessing. Keep your programme fresh and you will become a much better athlete full stop!!!

Twitt
Posted on

January 14th 2011

Negativity is all around us especially in a tough economy and there’s not much money around. The trick is to either let it bury you so you become as negative as everyone else, or you use it as a tool to burst out of the quicksand you may be in right now.

The question is will you listen to the doom and gloom merchants about your progress, or you will shut them off from your life and concentrate on all your goals and ambitions.

Try and work out the issues that distract you from getting to where you want to be, and then you need to work out ways on how to eliminate them. Of course you can’t eliminate your husband, wife, family and work colleagues rom your life. Start by making a list of the people who distract or even stop you from reaching your goals, and list those who help you reach where you want to be.

Then you need to go back over old ground and start keeping records on your food again over 7 days. There have been a lot of studies showing that those individuals who record in detail everything they eat and drink periodically, say once a month or 6 weeks, the more successful they were in their fat loss goals for example.

You can do the same thing with your exercise, i go on about all the time the importance of trying to make progress in your training, are your numbers going up, sideways or down? Is your strength going up or down, is your endurance better and how’s your enthusiasm for training? All valid indicators that will determine how well you’re really doing, keep a close eye on all of these, you don’t need to do it every week but once a month will be very valuable if progress is important to you!

Another powerful way to make sure you’re successul is to make your private goals and ambitions public, this makes the whole thing more real and you will find that a lot of people are going to be supportive. They will know you’re on a stricter eating plan and not offer or make you high calorie meals/snacks, maybe someone will ofer to come and exercise with you and push you harder when they are out with you on a run or example.

When you make your goals public, you put your reputation on your line and you are showing the world that you can really make this thing happen. You may get some negativity but as we said, we need to ignore all that “noise” and concentrate on those who are going to help you get where you want to be. Its not tunnel vision, its called doing everything in your power to feel and look your best!!!!

As long as you use the number one secret-consistency, then you should advance very quickly!!!

Twitt
Posted on

Thursday 13th January

As there continues be a lot of press for brief workouts and in particular the 4 minute workouts this week, I have had a lot of questions on how to start them off in terms of ideas of workouts.

 I posted the original 4 minute solution blog some time ago as most of you know so lets go through the basics again.

For example, if you did this, it will give you a good start to exercise, but you CAN SUBSTANTIALLY improve from there, the 4 minute solution is not the end, its more the beginning of how you can progress and reach your potential.

If you started off with around 4-6 exercises, then you should be able to get through this workout very quickly, especially If you’re new to fitness and a complete beginner.

If you did an amount which was comfortable of the following

Press ups

Arm dips

Squat thrusts

Sitting on a chair and then standing up

Sit ups

Then this shouldn’t take you more than 4 minutes, and to progress from there in a fast way whilst still maintaining very quick workouts in terms of time, you need to think in the following way.

For example if you started off with 5 press ups in this workout, and did the workout on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday, then week 2 you need to aim for say 8 press ups Monday, Wednesday and Friday, then  week 3 aim for say 12 press ups for the Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Anyone who has ever trained with me will know that its entirely possible to get from 5 press ups in week one to at least 20-25 press ups in week 6.

If you applied this to every exercise, then you may start off on 10 squat thrusts and maybe graduate to 50 squat thrusts in 6 weeks, which is quite impressive in everyone’s language.

If you stick at your programme and progress in this way, and there’s no reason why you shouldn’t, then after 6 weeks you should easily attain progress that you have never had before.

The results will mean less body fat, usually a couple of inches off your hips and waist, much better energy levels, better sleep, a leaner harder body and this would be just the start!!

As I said earlier, please treat the 4 minute workout as just the start of your journey to achieving anything with your health. I have seen individuals truly go from these type of workouts to climbing some of the most famous peak’s in the world, to running marathon to dropping at least 10 dress sizes, the opportunities that will present themselves are limitless, all you need is a plan and consistency with your workouts and food.

Please try and have a look at my original 4 minute solution from last year, as well as the workouts section which explains all sorts of workouts. The site may not be the best organised as I have limited time,  but these pages are all about tried and tested quality information, its here for you so its your choice how well you use it.

Any questions either subscribe for free or email me on fitness@kerimckibbin.co.uk

Twitt