Monday, 19th December

One of the first things a busy person thinks when they feel hunger pangs is “where can i find food that comes fast and is cheap”, especially in the current economic climate!!

If you are working and in the middle of a town or city, you are likely to be bombarded with fast food offers, with no shortage of places to choose. The problem is that most of the choices are going to loaded with saturated fat, sugar and salt, exactly what you don’t want when you’re trying to get in shape!!

As i said, its going to be cheap and fast so the problem is solved straight away? Not really because these habits if practiced enough will bring health problems like you never imagined!

Absolutely nothing wrong with grabbing fast food once a week, a burger here or a slice of pizza there, but when it  becomes an everyday occurrence, its then your health is likely to suffer from issues around obesity. With obesity rising still in this country very quickly (most of the uk’s population is already classed as overweight) , the chances will be that these fast food places will be full of busy people looking to get a quick fix just to fill up on empty calories.

The chances are that most if not all people in that store will know that the food they are eating is not going to be good for them. Unfortunately, its not until their health suffers that they do something about it, and that is sometimes too late. Putting off eating healthy until tomorrow has a familiar ring to it for all of us at some stage in our lives.

Heart disease and diabetes for starters, follow that with terribly low energy levels and bad digestion and you have a nasty combination of health issues that are really going to spoil your quality of life.

The good news is that it really doesn’t have to be this way at all, there is ANOTHER way and i’m here to help. Just as destructive a lifestyle this can be with fast food in your life every day, the opposite can be achieved with some small changes made in your everyday life, plus you will SAVE money!!! After all, all of that fast food was never that cheap in the first place was it? And did it ever really satisfy you?

My ideas to change your eating and life around start tomorrow on here, so see you then!!

In the meantime, click on the diet section on the right hand side for plenty of ideas to get you into all of this.

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!!!

Monday, 12th December

The pressure of christmas has really started peaking with all the people i deal with, and with that comes a distinct lack of time!

This is when having a plan for your workouts becomes of paramount importance.

This is no time for “going through the motions” or your motivation levels will disappear without trace. The calls of “give it up now its too close to christmas” will become more and more acceptable, even if they are given by people not into being fit and healthy themselves!

The last two weeks before christmas need to include high quality workouts, of short duration, and of maximum intensity. Some of my best workouts tend to be the shortest! When someone is in a rush, usually that person will hit their training hard and try to get the very best out of themselves in a very short period of time, when this happens the intensity levels go through the roof and great workouts are always the result.

When you add a bit of fat and sugar to your diet, its never really a great idea. But accepting that you will over christmas, use it as a tool for the extra energy and this means going the extra mile in your training. You will burn a lot of that extra energy in your workouts as long as they are going in! That is the main point of this piece today-MAKE SURE YOUR WORKOUTS ARE GOING IN FULL STOP!!! Dont accept the fact that everyone puts lots of weight on at christmas, it really doesnt have to be that way and being active will be a prime reason you don’t!!!

So time is short for you accept that, strip down your workout to the bare bones, in other words what is ESSENTIAL to get you working towards your capacity, and all the exercises that give you great value. When you do this, you will get rid of the not so important exercises, get rid of longer rest periods, and you get a great workout in a record short period of time, and you’re talking maybe 20 minutes!!!

No excuses, lets make the most of the next couple of weeks!!!

Thursday, 8th December

The positive nature of the workout information this week is great but what allows it to happen is you being consistent, simple as that!

If you’re not eating well week in week out for a long period of time, then you are not likely to be up for these advanced workouts.

If you havent got some good training experience behind you, and you miss a week here, week there on your training, you are going to be unlikely to cope with the pace of these workouts.

If you drink alcohol more than once a week, you are going to struggle with these workouts, if you drink 3 or more times a week, you have no chance of coping with these workouts.

If you dont show responsibility by getting to bed early most nights, then you will struggle to recover and have the energy to train like this!!

Okay, glad we have got this out the way!!!

So i’d imagine you are focused by now, lets talk some more training!

So assuming you have managed to get used to training with very little breaks, and you are considerably fitter, lets move on!

Assuming you have been using lighter weights and easier exercises because of the fast paced workouts, its time to make the weights a little heavier, and make the choice of exercises a little harder.

Like the way you arrived at this stage in the first place, its a natural progression as long as you are doing the things outside the workout that we talked about at the start of this piece?

I cannot stresss enough that you shouldnt be doing these workouts unless you are advanced exerciser  and worked yourself up to this level!!!

So doing a press up will be easier than a ligh pec deck, a lunge or squat will be harder than moving your legs up and down when

on your side, a pull up on a chinning bar will be far harder than a light lat pullown.

So its down to what you can substitute your “easier” exercises for, so your workout becomes harder again!

More of this tomorrow!

Thursday, 8th December

As we talk about interval training, the next step up from that is non-stop training!!!

I should point out that this is not for the beginner who has just started training by any means, more for someone who has already been training for a while, and has achieved a good standard of fitness.

For example, if you started off doing a circuit such as this for 10 reps per exercise-

Press ups

arm dips

squats

sit ups

squat thrusts

So after you do this exercise, that would be it for most people, they would then rest, and wait to get their breath back before moving on with another circuit.

Those people who have followed this type of circuit will know that after a while, you will  not need the rest after the first circuit, and you will be able to move on to the next circuit straight away. Its at that point you may need a rest!

Then after a bit more experience, you may be able to move on to the third circuit even with no rest. This is when your fitness levels could be considered excelllent.

Then what after that?

If you are fit and conditioned enough, then you could start aiming to piece most workouts together as non-stop workouts, stopping very rarely indeed, only making sure you stop for sips of water, which are ultra-important and help cool your body down when doing a lot of high intensity training.

Most people  i know who have got to this stage, rarely want to train another way unless they have had a break from training for a few weeks, which will take quite a bit of time to get used to again of course.

If you train in more of a non-stop manner, however long that maybe (and its usually for 30 mins or less), you will burn more fat, gain more endurance, and generally be in the shape of your life!!!