Thursday, 2nd August

A massive performance in the Olympics yesterday, with the two ladies rowers doing a fantastic job, with one of those ladies only starting rowing four years ago!

Bradley wiggins was the rightful favourite for the time trial, but being favourite and executing are two different things. Wiggins now recognises the pressure that comes with being such a favourite and has become one of the world’s greatest athletes, and Britain’s greatest Olympian in the process!

Having pressure to perform is a good thing.

Everyone who trains with me is aware of the measuring process I put every individual through every four weeks.

This means that the individual is having constant positive pressure once a month to improve, and this is invaluable of course!!!!

My focus is always getting someone’s heart stronger, getting someone into healthy blood pressure ranges, getting an individual into a healthy body fat range, getting an individual’s waist size into a healthy range to keep potentially life-threatening diseases away if possible.

The great news is that all of these strategies WILL make you feel a lot better, and look and LOT better if you give them time.

Just like the Olympic athletes use top to bottom strategies to make them perform at their best using latest science, my goal is always not to leave any stone unturned to get the best out of an individual, no matter what the starting point, or however hopeless the situation may be to begin with!!

The likes of brad wiggins have given everything to be at their best.

Whilst I can never expect such a Herculean effort out of everyone I train, I do ask each and every individual to work hard and reach their very own version of their personal best.

If you take onboard this attitude, results will always be very impressive for you!!!

Wednesday, 1st August

Usain Bolt says once you come out of the blocks in a 100 metres race, and out of the drive phase, then the last 40-50 metres is quite relaxing for him, and there’s nothing he can do to make himself run quicker.

If you see quotes from most world-class athletes, they try and stay away from any great strain in their efforts and rely on great technique and even relaxing at times throughout their races/competition.

This can apply to your training too of course.

Have you noticed when you start to run, it seems so much of a strain, that you may never get to the stage when you will be able to run without straining yourself.

Then with a bit of walking, a bit of running, bit of walking, then some more running, you end up getting to the stage when you can actually run all of the time. This is extremely difficult to do and its the practice you need to get in to eventually alleviate all of this discomfort and strain.

Anyone who runs now, or who has had to go through this process will testify that all of this is true.

Then the next stage to go through can be quite a pleasant one.

When your fitness gets up considerably, you eventually get to RELAX in your running stride, and this enables you to run for much longer distances.

For many of you who can run good distances,  you will experience the ability to get some serious “thinking time” in your running. This means that you can relive your day through your run or think about a business opportunity or think about your family or anything you want, as the actual process of running is not that difficult anymore, it has become more of a regular thing in your life, and the ability to relax is absolute key for you!

These are all different processes along the way of being in your best possible shape!!

Friday, 29th June

The end of the week already and hopefully, you have have found it one of your most productive ones!

This summer so far has resulted in the lowest number of running sessions i have ever had-purely because of the weather!

This has made me much more inventive though, and by developing more and more programmes indoors to create fresh excitement and enthusiasm!

Anytime you create new programmes, you had better make sure that the new exercises had better work!!

There is a million gadgets and faddy exercise products on the market, and i have hopefully managed to navigate these choppy waters and come out the other side with some solid programmes that are guaranteed to bring some good results.

When measuring a good programme, i have to consider two very important factors.

The first will always be safety, if a programme doesn’t have caution at its heart, and the emphasis of proper form as its cornerstone, then the programme will fall flat on its face, because either injury to the exerciser or a lack of results will be certain to be the outcome!

The next vital element is intensity and “energy value” to the individual who is training.

If you have a scale of 1-10, 1 is sitting down and 10 is going absolutely flat out, then i tend to encourage people to work at least to a 7 or 8, and sometimes even a 9. This is a sensible and productive way to manage exercise programmes, where results are important but safety and long term development are always key considerations for me.

So you shouldn’t be put off by this weather one bit, you should open yourself up to new programmes, new ideas, and new ways of doing things full stop.

Time moves on and so does the way we exercise!

Wednesday, 11th January

“None of us can change our yesterdays, but all of us can change our tomorrows”

Colin Powell, Former secretary of State of the US

Most people who never succeed with the health and fitness plans usually dwell too much on their past experiences.

If you go through life with something heavy weighing you down emotionally, you’re always going to struggle to move at the speed you’re really capable of.

If you hang on to the past too much, negativity and doubt will influence all of your future decisions.

Anger, resentment, hurt, fear, regret are all emotions that will tie you up to the past, instead of letting you achieve great things in the future.

Resentment is a particularly destructive one you often see in people.

Here a great quote from Nelson Mandela

“Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies”

If anyone had reason to resent people, surely it was him?!!

2012 is where we are right now and the best time to let go of your past mistakes and unfortunate experiences, and move forward to all the possibilities that a healthy lifestyle offers.

If you drunk too much alcohol in 2011 and past years, then training sensibly and eating well will encourage you to drink less, get your body on track and energy back in your life. You will be improving yourself and others who had to put up with your drinking in the past.

If you smoke too much now, and promise yourself that you will exercise SOME DAY once you give the fags up, then stop making excuses right now!! Exercising and eating well will give you every incentive to give this destructive habit up once and for all.

If you were really overweight in 2011 and years before maybe, use 2012 as the year you’re going to finally do it, and the great news is that im here to help you the whole way!!!

Whatever your situation, leave the past behind, start with a clean slate and lets see how much you can achieve in 2012!!!

Tuesday, 13th December

If funds are low and you’re out of a job at the moment, then you can still get around it all and spend absolutely nothing to get fit!

I love sessions outside myself, and you have some great hills and trails all around us. If you still have a bike, get it in shape and let it take you to whatever you want to go. You can walk/cycle/run for free, so theres no excuses there.

If you’re broke at the moment, this may also suit. You will have no money for “treats” and luxuries that will harm the bank balance, this should enable you to shave a few inches off your waist no problem!

If you’re having relationship problems or family problems, then alcohol is the number one way NOT to go!! Alcohol is the number one depressant out there, so avoid at all costs! Plus it likely to pile a lot of weight on and make your situation a whole lot worse!

A better route would be to exercise and eat well, exercise is the best ANTI-despressant you will have in our life! I suggest you get an early morning workout in to manage your stress levels well and set the tone for the rest of your day!!

If you find that time disappears for you, then its time to re-assess what exercise does and can do for you in the future!

If you commit yourself to exercising 5-6 times a week for 20-30 minutes a day of quality training, your life will AUTOMATICALLY take an upturn for the better!!!

I know a lot of individuals who get anxious and frustrated if they DON’T exercise on a daily basis, this is the number one way to become a moody, snappy individual!!!

Life is full of making the right decisions, all of us will get some of them wrong throughout a lifetime, nobody’s perfect, but the ones i have mentioned today will make a hugely positive difference to you and life’s different situations EVERY DAY!!!