Friday, 23rd December

Getting through workouts this time of year can be a drag to most people, but there are some excellent strategies to get through it all!

There are a tremendous amount of studies that link music with good performances in your w0rkouts. Music helps reduce the fatigue associated with exercise, and this means you can push yourself an extra 10% when previously you may have quit your workout.

It can be a trick to start off with slower music in your workouts, and when the session starts to intensity, get the faster more energising music on, and crank up the volume, if this doesn’t get you going nothing will!!!

If you find yourself getting more tired than normal after all of  this, then slow things down and go off plan in your workout. For example, try 5-10 minutes on the bike at a light intensity to get your breath back, or do something light you enjoy, maybe a bit of stretching on your back with a swiss ball?

 Chances are by the time you finish this little short “break”, you will want to get right back into your workout and get through some more higher intensity work. I have seen this work many times and is a great tactic!

There is concrete evidence  to show that if you use visualisation in your workouts, then you will likely perform better. Pro athletes have used the method of “walking through your workout in your mind” before you actually start the workout. A lot of top athletes have used this method to get the best out of themselves and there are numerous research papers on it backing the claims.

Some sports stars even play their upcoming games in their minds before the actual games kick off. Some of the most famous sports people in history have reported the huge benefits of this mind technology. Try it yourself from time to time and experience far better workouts.

These are all examples to get you through this christmas period, and get you flying into New Year in great shape!!!!

Monday 26th September

Since i have had a few texts on my last post, i think i should expand my comments on the development of the fitness industry!!

Here’s the next thing that has collapsed in the fitness industry! Those gyms and gym owners (usually chains) who proclaim to their new members (new direct debits they only see it as!) that they have the most treadmills in town, the most bikes in town and the most steppers in town!!!! Bravo i say!!!! But this is the main reason on why they are going bankrupt in their droves!!

In the states, the likes of gold gym, planet fitness, 24 hour fitness etc etc, will have been opening around 50 gyms a year with massive capacity. 50 treadmills, bikes and steppers come at a huge cost in many ways.

They forgot the fact that although they could intitially attract massive membership, those members had to get in shape. Having lots and lots of treadmills doesnt really do it!!! Lots of bikes doesn’t either!!! This is brainless fitness with programmes designed by men in suits, who had brains for figures and not how to get people in shape!

They forgot the fact that treadmills can be hugely boring, hamster wheels to some in gym speak, and only gave part of a result!

So what happened is you had everyone on treadmills and bikes, the weight room got ignored and all the stuff that really gets you in incredible shape, the medicine balls, swiss balls, dumbbells, sprints, bodyweight exercises etc were usually ignored.

Then when people realised they got bored of treadmills, they abondoned them, AND the gym AND their membership!!! Proper training WAS NOT explained!!!

The gym then realises that in the states anyway, they were paying $300 thousand a month in hire fees for all of these machines, the bottom line wasnt coming in anymore!!! Guess what happens next? They reduce their membership and so the decline goes on, then the filing for bankruptcy happens….at record pace in the states.

The same has started in this country, with a couple of the most famous chains either bankrupt or on life support.

It doesnt give me any pleasure to report such a decline but there is better news!

In the USA, 8 out of the best 10 gyms voted for by all industry magazines are performance related gyms, by this i mean they actually GET YOU IN SHAPE!!!! Wow, what a concept, they actually give you GREAT SERVICE, Wow what a concept, they actually TELL YOU WHAT TO EAT, Wow what a concept!!!!

They work with weights, medicine balls, swiss balls, things that will actually get you in shape, who’d have thought it!!!!

And guess what, you havent got the 300k a month overhead!!!!

The bottom line is that you HAVE TO GET PEOPLE HEALTHY AND IN SHAPE, just having a gym card doesnt cut it anymore, people are willing to pay, but not for rubbish!!! Human beings are INDIVIDUALS, and not robots, they are not perfect and there is a different programme for every body.

Times are hard but i know a record number of people realising this, and you are most welcome to send your questions to fitness@kerimckibbin.co.uk