Posted on

Monday, 17th October

We always go on here about the preference towards short intense workouts, rather than long drawn out low quality sessions when it comes to big results.

Still though, there seems to be resistance to it, especially when it comes down to time more than anything else, or supposed lack of it!!!

A remarkble stat hit me this weekend that blew me away.

We apparently spend an average around 7 hours a month on facebook alone!!! SEVEN HOURS!!! That’s incredible and some of these people are the ones who say they have no time for workouts!!!

I suppose this is not including the rest of the time spent on the internet, so the amount of time spent on the net could indeed end up mind-boggling!!!

Time management is everything when it comes to being in shape.

The worst time managers are the ones who give me the biggest excuses and they are usually the ones who have the LEAST amount of responsibilities!!

If you don’t schedule a time for your workouts every day, then you are doomed to miss out on the work you need to do. Something will “always come up” and you’re likely to wonder what could have been!!

If you have a workout scheduled and your boss asks you to do something unreasonable and you end up missing workout after workout, then you have to learn to say no. If you for example finish at 5pm every day, and your workout is 530pm, then being forced to work on every night is never going to work. Offer to work earlier as long as you can still finish at 5pm if the extra hours are required.

Saying no gives you freedom too and will make you feel good. Nobody likes being pushed around and standing your ground will give you respect for yourself and from others. Most bosses i know actively encourage exercising anyway, and will often support your efforts to the hilt!!!

Your exercise must be part of your day if you want to be in shape for the rest of your life, and making everyone aware of that in a nice way will help you. If work hours are still impossible, then try working out BEFORE work, this way will be guaranteed to get training done first thing and is a sure way to fit everything in.

Twitt
Posted on

Friday, 14th October

Promising to get onboard an exercise programme and committing yourself to a lifetime of being in shape is what everyone wants but not everyone is prepared to go through the essentials every week for that to happen.

Lots of people want to do it, but never get around to it.

For example, i know lots of people who went to australia, then came back and then promised to fill in all the application forms and go there for life. The reality is that it never comes off and they talk a good game the rest of their lives, or at least a few months. Good luck to them if they do go but i also know a ton of people who come back after finding out that the grass is not always greener the other side. Life is not all neighbours and beer unfortunately!!!

So as we approach this friday, i take it you have got through some well-executed workouts, really given your best, haven’t spent too much time on the treadmill, you have got on with the really tough alternatives that actually work.

This welsh rugby team currently regarded as possibly the fittest in the tournament don’t spend too much time on treadmills either, they are looking for the exercises instead that will give them more bang for their buck.

If you have never worked out with a medicine ball, then you’re seriously missing out on big results.

If you thought a swiss ball was just something to sit on or look good under the stairs, then you’re missing out on your best results.

If you have never done a bodyweight exercise, then go ahead and carry on working on those fancy machines, and live a life of mediocrity!!!!

Its the end of the week, wales have their biggest game ever tomorrow, literally, so try and put a huge friday workout in, and possibly an even better early morning saturday workout in, you will be GUARANTEED to be inspired and finish off the week in a perfect way!!!

Twitt
Posted on

Thursday, 13th October

A story in the newspapers yesterday has brought many questions and may be needlessly so, but they must be answered so here goes.

RUNNING MAKES YOU FAT! Was the headline in at least The Independent and probably the daily mail (the most sensationalist paper of the lot! And interesting to know that they supported the nazi party before world war 2!).

The bottom line of the article was that many people been interviewed were complaining that they never lost weight for years despite their running efforts.

They developed bad knees and backs, sometimes weak ankles and the results were never worth it!!!!

The stories kept on coming in like people obsessed with distorting the truth.

If you carry too much weight, you WILL be putting a strain on by running on hard surfaces and longer distances. This will affect your joints and back and the pain will be magnified that much more if you wear poor trainers.

A 200 pound runner will put 600 pounds of pressure through their joints because of the pounds, so its important to do everything right.

The biggest thing I haven’t mentioned here is FOOD INTAKE.

What was common throughout these stories was that none of them had really changed their diet. They were still eating lots of sugar and lots of saturated fat.

Another common factor was that they would have a big “treat” if they did well on a run, and that often included a trip to a fast food outlet, or to the cake shop!!!

It could be an excuse to drink more alcohol or to eat a fried breakfast.

The story continued to run and this was the recurring theme. People really thought that they could run off anything, and they deserved to be in shape despite eating badly.

The fact is you cannot “run off” a bad diet, the calories will be too overwhelming. Say you have a great run and you burn 400-600 calories, that can easily be outdone by a couple of beers of glasses of wine, you can easily eat 1000 calories at McDonalds!!!! Or more!!

Unless you change your diet to good fresh natural foods, you’re always going to be one of those who may complain that “running makes you fat”!!!!

Change today and get the results  you really deserve!!!

Twitt
Posted on

Wednesday, October 12th

The issue of alcohol and training has never been emphasised more than with the current welsh rugby team.

When I spoke to sports coaches of all levels years ago, as well as sports stars of the 70’s, 80’s and 90’,  and suggested that sports teams needed to abstain from alcohol especially in times of sporting competition, I was ridiculed as being unreasonable and “the players had to have a drink for god sake”!!!

David Beckham at the time was abstaining and resulted in him being in his best shape and extending his career even after an horrendous injury.

It turns out years later that avoiding alcohol in tournament play and a while before that, is HAVING MASSIVE benefits.

Wales look fitter and sharper than anyone else.

They are more powerful than most teams and the last 20 minutes of their games is a strength for them now, instead of being a weakness like it used to be.

This will I believe give them an edge again for this Saturday and hopefully propel them to the final!

With your own training, you will surely see a massive difference when you abstain even for a couple of weeks?

Your body will get tighter, your energy levels will improve a lot, Sundays won’t be “hangover” day and you will feel far more lively, your performance will be hugely improved all week long, and your recovery will be far stronger in between sessions.

A big one is sleep.

Most people think that sleep is enhanced with alcohol but the opposite is in fact true, sleep can be destroyed through alcohol.

There are 120 sleep disorders and 80 are to do with alcohol, a mind blowing statistic so if you are having problems with sleep, this may be a good place to start?!!!!!

If you want maximum performance and want to look your best, the alcohol has to go. It’s a free country so your choice!!!

Twitt
Posted on

Monday 10th October

Saturated fat is always the bad boy when it comes to having a bad rap in the press, and with good reason. If too much of that stuff blocks your arteries, you can have a heart attack anytime unfortunately, and is always a danger when consumed at regular intervals.

The other bad twin of the food family is refined sugar and its existence in a lot of foods, this is why i always try to encourage you to eat well! If you consume a lot of products packaged up too much, you can bet your life it has regined sugar in it.

Most cereal boxes are loaded with refined sugar, this is a fact and far from being your best start to the day, it can end up your most sugary start to the day and really trip up your day before its even started. Fruit and fibre for instance is loaded with refined sugar when examined in tests, but tries to mention “your healthiest start to the day” all over the box. Porridge is always a better choice, giving you an excellent slow release of energy and avoiding the temptations of yet more sugar!!!

Anyone who has had to do a diabetes test and carried that thing around when you prick your finger and continually test your blood sugar levels after food, will definitely know what im talking about!!!! Refined sugar is in a lot of foods, too numerous to mention here and the usual suspects contain the most, white bread, biscuits of all kinds, sweets and most man made food, if not all!!! That test is very valuable and any chance you get to take it, the eye opener you get will be extremely revealing and educational for sure!!!

There are refined sugars in fruit of course, and this is why even fruit should be eaten in moderation.

This is also why i always recommend you dillute your organge juice, instead of having a big glass, this brings your refined sugars down substantially while still containing the benefits of the juice.

So its saturated fat and REFINED SUGARS, they are the real bad boys of your food intake, guaranteed to stop fat loss in its tracks and deprive you of any sustained energy!

Twitt