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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
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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
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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
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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
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Tuesday 11th October

Obstacles to your year end targets for your health and fitness are often many, some you can something about, some you can’t.

In the can’t category are illnesses and injuries, both often fall at exactly the wrong time just when you have started getting a run of form in usually!! These happen from time to time and we just have to ride them out, resting completely in most cases but we know we will come back from them.

Then there’s unavoidable family issues that have to be sorted before you continue, but even here if you get up early enough in a day, of course you can still get some exercise in. Stress comes to all of us, and exercise will often be the best way of helping with that stress, and not alcohol or excess food as some do.

Some things you can do a lot about are missed workouts or bad time management. “Something came up” or “i had to nip into town” or “it was too cold, too wet or too hot” are not excuses that are going to cut it with anyone, and are exactly that-excuses!!!!

Your level of desire has more to do with being in shape, and this is how people who run into illness or injury usually come back very strong after it. They miss feeling fit and energetic, they miss being in shape and feeling their body a lot tighter, so they will usually do anything just to get back working out hard again.

If your level of desire is low and you simply think by joining a gym, you are somehow going to get in shape with no real plan, then you’re wasting your time.

The bottom line is that anything can be overcome and these seemingly impossible circumstances should be always seen as challenges and not insurmountable!!! Life will never be easy all the time, or even some of the time. Expect stress and a stress on your time too, just make sure you plan your workouts into your schedule, instead of finding ways not to do them!!!

Twitt