Posted on

Strength for everything…….even golf!!

Its interesting watching golf’s ryder cup and not only because of the scorelines, and whether europe or USA are going to win.

The physical demands on golf are now far more demanding than they used to be.

In years gone past and not so long ago, the sight of an overweight golfer was all too regular down the fairways of the world. It all changed though when the fitter, stronger, leaner athletes started coming along and started dominating the landscape in a big way!

This trend was led of course by Tiger Woods and started busting the myths about strength training not mixing at all with golf. The facts are that Woods trains harder than most athletes and the results are there for all to see in the game.

This was followed by Sergio Garcia, the spaniard who took strength and fitness training to brand new levels, and a collection of some of the world’s most important golf titles followed quite quickly.

The list of titles in world golf is now shared by the fittest athletes and results mean that the training methods of these guys are proven to be right.

Not only are results coming thick and fast, but injury prevention is working really well too. The fitter and stronger you are in key areas, the less injuries you are likely to have and if you do get an injury, the quicker you are likely to recover.

You may hear a lot about core muscles on your body and they are important to golfers more than anybody.

Your stomach, lower back, hamstring and thighs have never been so important on the fairway for all sorts of movements, especially rotation on the fairway. Golfers who train the correct way also tend to hit the ball further, around 30-40 yards according to latest research.

There are all sorts of reasons to workout hard if you are a golfer, and the champions will all back it up!!

Twitt
Posted on

Less of the why, more of the “do”!

One common question i get asked quite a lot is “how long do i have to keep this up?”, or “do i have to keep this up for ever and how can i  possibly do that?”!!

Okay, perhaps two or three questions there but they are more or less the same things. Some people don’t just get the fact that you must change your lifestyle for good and are often puzzled on why!

There is really too much thinking going on there and really not much “doing” going on. How many people do you know start fishing for example and buy all the waders, the expensived rod and tackle etc, and go out fishing a couple of times and never go out again.

Lots of people start any sport, any activity and never keep it up. Nothing wrong with that of course but when it comes to looking after your body, its best not to try and trash it too much, and its much better to look after it a bit better than you possibly do now.

Its like the person who keeps their car in pristine condition, shining it every week, taking it for a service regularly and then smoking and drinking every day, and taking no exercise and deriding anyone who does. Is that the meaning of irony i dont know!!

The fittest people i often see are the ones with the oldest workout gear, dont care how they look when they train but they DO care about HOW they train and the intensity they give to their workouts! Its this kind of no BS that i like in people.

These are really the people who DO, they get on with their lives, don’t brag about their workouts all day long to all and sundry, and usually are in pretty good physical condition.

Workouts are part of their daily life and very important for them to look and feel their best. Once feeling good about yourself is important to you, its then you will realise how important training well and eating well is to that very important goal.

You can’t plan every day for the rest of your life, you never know what is ahead, but what you can do is make yourself as prepared as possible for any eventually that comes your way. If you’re fit and healthy, thats a great place to be and gives your life solid foundation so lets get out there and do it!!

Twitt
Posted on

Time flies

So its 12 short weeks to christmas and have you got into your pre-christmas regime yet?

Seasons and years pass you by in an instant seemingly and this year has been no different. Many things have probably happened to you this year, some good and some not so good probably, but you’re still here and you’re in a great position to make a lot out of yourself by the year end.

Its time to forget the cards you were dealt. We all now have the same tools when it comes to getting in shape.

We all have the same access to the same supermarkets or shops for food. We all have the same access to the outside to train, or use our living room to train, this is entirely possible and this cannot be argued.

We have the same opportunity to get a good night’s sleep and get energised for the next day’s exercise. This is possible isn’t it?

So you don’t have to be rich or be born into the right family to be fit and healthy, that has to be correst doesn’t it?

So what more excuses have you got not to be in shape and getting excited about feeling good about yourself again?

The facts are that time really does fly and christmas and the end of the year WILL really come along, that is a fact. What you do from now until then will dictate the way you look, the way you feel, your self-confidence and self-esteem, in a nutshell all good things will happen from this day on as long as you commit yourself to 12 weeks of really good eating, really good training and a healthy lifestyle when feeling good becomes paramount.

Some people rely on alcohol to feel good, some rely on drugs, some rely on negativity etc etc, you could be relying on the natural and best way of doing it. Good natural food, simple natural training and plenty of sleep will take you a very long way!!

12 weeks saturday is christmas day and time flies, what are you waiting for?!!

Twitt
Posted on

Confidence boosters

Every time i measure someone and they have showed they have made great progress, the confidence boost that gives cannot be measured easily. That inner pride and feeling that you have achieved something cannot be beaten.

We all need confidence boosters and none of us can operate very well unless we have some confidence in our ability.

Some of us are more confident than others but the great news is that i’ve seen people who would have all the talent in the world, yet would constantly put themselves down for seemingly no reason. The great news is that these people have often turned their confidence and self-esteem levels around dramatically! They have seemingly transformed into different people because they have brought belief into their lives because they have measured themselves at monthly intervals, and this has focused their minds.

If you are training on your own, ask a trusted friend to measure you once a month and make it easy. Get them to measure your waist and hips, and to weigh you on a reliable scale too. From this data, you should easily be able to tell whats working for you and whats not. This will also give you confidence and inspiration to not only keep up your training, but to add more and more ambition to your training and eating.

I promise you that once you prove to yourself that you can achieve big things with training properly and eating well, there will be no holding yourself back in terms of the transformation you’re capable of making to yourself!!

Use that trusted friend to confide in too, your inner worries and doubts whether you can still keep on improving, make sure though that you pick a friend that will boost you continuously. If you pick someone who is constantly on a downer, this will only drag you down too, so associating with like minded positive people can work wonders for you.

The best friends to have are the ones who truly have your wellbeing at heart, and if you can find them, then please hang on to them. They will pick you up when you are down, but be honest with you when perhaps you are not trying hard enough!!

Have a great day and lets keep praise coming into your life!!

Twitt
Posted on

Let’s get it on!!

The success or failure for most of you to get it on in terms of training is the reason why most of you are either successful or failing most of the time.

I did a group measurement today for a workplace session, and it was clear to me they didn’t achieve the big things they normally do. After further questionning, it  became clear that those who hadn’t had a great month were missing some of their normal workouts they did without me. It was clear that they had lost their momentum and missing workouts was becoming “too easy” again. Its always surprising to me how quickly people pick up bad habits and how things can change very quickly.

This is why constant monitoring is vital and doesn’t allow anyone to slide their way into medicority.

This is why i bang on about that dreaded word “consistency”! Its an old subject but maybe it should be a new subject for some of you because some of you may not be getting it?!!!

This is the most common problem i hear time and time again, missing workouts for various reasons, none of them more convincing than the last!

Most people who have jobs have a set job description to get through and if they don’t, they get reprimanded because they are not doing their job properly. If you are missing a couple of workouts a week more often than not, you should really look at yourself again to see how committed you are to your health and fitness programme.

The failure to be honest with yourself is a big hurdle to get hold of, and this is when a false sense of reality sets in. It is good to congratulate ourselves on big achievements and dangerous to congratulate ourselves when we reward ourselves for the slightest effort.

One rule i set for myself many years ago was that if i am feeling physically better year in year out, then i will have been successful. Simply allowing myself or others to get old before our time is not acceptable when we have a whole host of tools to really slow down the effects of old age, yes of course it can be done!!!

One thing i ask this week is to PLEASE make the effort on your own, DO your workouts, EAT good food, SLEEP well and DO your best. Not too much to ask if you want to be your best!!!

Twitt