Friday, 1st March

If you have had an inside dominated programme all winter, then that is totally understandable given the cold, wet and icy weather we have had this year.

Doing the same kind of training though all year round is a recipe for getting stale, getting medicore results, and not reaching your potential.

I love to mix all of my training up, and give a nice split between inside and outside training, both of these have their big advantages.

The inside training means you can always get a session in, no matter what the weather in a safe, usually warmer environment.

There should be a range of options available inside too, at the gym in burry port we have lots of different options, and we are exactly the opposite of the traditional gym where you either to cardio on a treadmill or bike, then maybe a little bit of weights.

Of course, we love to do weights still, and we love traditional cardio too. Now though, we love to mix it all up, throw in some rope work, medicine ball work, bosu ball exercise, a range of aggressive and rehab work on roller’s and other balance related exercises.

Then the gym moves outside, especially this time of year with tyres, sledges, and a whole range of speed and agility work with some sandbags thrown in too.

This time of year is absolutely perfect to start if you haven’t yet, to get the fresh air into your lungs again, to appreciate what it feels like training outdoors and the intoxicating feeling that can bring.

By changing this around, you will freshen everything up, be working with the latest science of training, and getting incredible and never seen before results for your body.

March 1st should signal the start of a new challenging but rewarding period in your physical development.

Thursday, 24th January

We have talked a little about training differently, such as bosu balls, medicine balls etc.

This is a highly productive form of training, and will guarantee good results as long as you know what you are doing.

Now its time to re-visit traditional cardio.

I’m talking rower, treadmill and bike. We also have a device called an Ultraslide at the gym, a wonderful platform that not only gives you a great workout in 5 or so minutes, but i can add substantially to your speed and agility.

So going back to the rower, first of all its important just to get used to it, rowing properly wth good form. Once you are able to row for 12-15 minutes, then its a great idea to set some targets.

2000 metres and 2500 metres in particular are my favourite targets.

These distances give you something to aim for, set your standards at and constantly let you know where you are in fitness terms. These are more intense rowing efforts, and will be far more challenging than just rowing at one easy pace.

I would row these distances just one a week maximum. They will take a lot out of you if you are putting your best efforts in. So once a week, even once a fortnight is always a good idea, and designed to keep on improving you!

Same with bikes, don’t enlessly try to stay at one boring pace. Set targets!

Keep your revolutions per minute at 80. RPM is the measurement on the bike. This has been proven to be the most efficient level to ride bikes for maximum results.

I also like to put clients on spin bikes, encouraging them to stand up on the bike for intervals.

So that could be 60 seconds sitting down and 15 seconds standing up, 60 seconds down and 15 seconds up and so on until you feel as if you have had enough. This is a very effective form of training, and as you get fitter, you can stay up riding for longer.

More on this tomorrow!