Tuesday, 6th November

The US election takes centre stage today for most of the world, and the effects could be dramatic for the strongest and most powerful nation on the planet.

Unfortunately, that last statement has less and less truth in it as the years go by.

Too many people have become disillusioned with any government to make a real difference in people’s lives-and this is very sad and makes too many in society give up hope.

Of course some people have to rely on the government for help, often with good reason, not everyone is a “scrounger” as perhaps the daily mail/express would have you believe. Government is a good backstop for many people that society chooses “not to help”.

When it comes to becoming healthier, we in the UK and in the US of course, have a tremendous obesity problem that is a ticking time bomb for our NHS and ObamaCare in the US.

Despite the government trying to help through public health campaigns which are admirable, the obesity percentages seem to be continuing to skyrocket!

The plain simple facts are that it is almost all down to us as individuals to be healthy, to get in shape, to turn our lives around and to eat well.

We secretly know if we are overeating, a year in year out weight gain will show us we need to eat less and food less in refined sugars and saturated fats.

If we are then aching from all of the extra bodyweight we have accumulated over the years in terms of aching joints and limbs, then isn’t it time we took responsibility for our own actions and got an exercise plan together?!!!

Every single person i have ever trained who has been in a deep hole to begin with, has benefitted IMMENSELY from taking on a healthy, active lifestyle, has usually lost quite a lot of weight, has reduced significantly their body fat, have strengthened their heart rate considerably and from all of this, have become a much more confident and energetic person that have gone on to set and usually achieve much bigger goals in their lives!!!

So the election doesn’t really matter so much anymore, its about what responsibility you take on, and how you responnd to my/your own challenge to finally take control of your own health!!!

Monday, 5th November

Benchmark workouts are a major consideration when it comes to all sorts of situations in your life.

Life isn’t always the same, things crop up, trips happen overseas, layoffs can happen for whatever reason, and the last thing you want to happen is not know where you are in physical and health terms full stop.

Easy ways off checking your health including buying a blood pressure machine, i like to do it every 4 weeks for everyone i train, sometimes more frequently for those who i am really concerned about.

In physical terms, you can measure your waist and hips once a month, you will need to be alarmed if your waist does go up, and then you can alter your diet and training programme to bring it back down.

The “benchmark workout” idea is one which i use every week on most people, and this lets us know straight away exactly where we are.

Someone i train who has been touring america for 3 months got his first workout in today. I put him on one of HIS benchmark workouts, and the results were quite staggering!

Bear in mind that this workout is one which he normally gets through without too much of a problem. It consists of around 300 press ups total in the workout split into 20’s at a time, some step sprints, some backward running up hills etc.

Today, he found it extremely tough indeed!

He has been used to doing 3 shows a day, which is demanding physically of course, but got used to the sugary cereals and breakfasts in the states, and the lack of genuinely plain, sugar free nutritious food that he was accustomed to has hurt his energy levels now he’s back to normal.

This has led to him becoming not so energetic now he is back home, and the benchmark workout reminded him exactly where he was!!!

If you don’t have standards you can measure against, then you will never know or appreciate where you are!!!

This is something to consider when you work out what level you want to be at!!!

Thursday, 18th October

Another underrated part of good nutrition is making sure you eat and drink after your workout, no matter how late it is!

Your body needs carbs, protein and other nutrients to fill back up your energy stores and make sure your body recovers after training. If you miss this meal, it will definitely delay recovery and leave you feeling sluggish the next day.

As long as you don’t overeat, these extra calories won’t turn into fat!

Try and consume the majority of your calories and nutrients earlier in the day if possible, especially if you workout at 5-6pm, which is popular with a lot of people.

If you exercises normally at that time, you should have had a good breakfast and lunch, and a mid-morning snack and mid-afternoon snack too. This should give you enough energy to put in a good training session.

Straight after you train, try and have a drink immediately, either water or diluted fruit juice (which keeps your simple sugars lower), then a lighter meal as soon as you can.

A jacket potato with tuna or cottage cheese will work well, chicken salad with rice, pasta with a lighter natural sauce, you could try baked beans with tomatoes on toast, that would work well too.

This meal is essential after training to speed up the recovery process greatly! If you did a bit of planning beforehand, you would make sure these ingredients are easily at hand and it would be quick to make these meals.

This makes sure you’re not tempted to eat fast food, anything too sugary or your worst nightmare-ready meals after your workout which is a big no-no of course!!!

Other examples of meals to get your energy levels back after workouts include;

Lentils with rice and vegetables

Mashed potato (without butter) with grilled salmon and salad

More naturally made chicken curry with rice and vegetables

Chilli with rice and green vegetables

Lasagne with salad

Pitta bread with protein source and salad

Bean and vegetable soup with wholemeal bread

Jacket potato, chicken breast, broccoli and carrots

Fish pie with cauliflower and cabbage

Any more information, contact www.keri mckibbin.co.uk

07968 980808

Wednesday, 17th October

Besides handling a lot of workouts from a lot of different individuals all week, one of the biggest challenges is handling all the different emotions that all of these different people experience on a daily basis, affecting their moods, affecting their workouts, and definitely the way i approach them in the workout.

If you have someone who is in a mightily bad mood, then you can be sure there will not be much conversation going on early in the workout! Then usually, because much of the stress is relieved during exercise, there tends to be a far happier person at the end of the session, both of us in fact!!!

If you have someone who is particularly jolly, then you know you are likely to achieve a huge amount that day, and its time to take advantage of the situation by trying to reach fresh highs in terms of workout performances, which will naturally bring on better results, which at the end of the day is something we are all looking for!!

Then you will get the individuals who are the “undecided” how they feel, their moods could go either way, they can be a litte up and a little down, these are the people who need the most emotional support that day!

I always point out the positives to these people on how far they have come, and by the end of the session, the mood usually is massively positive, because once you explain the details i have taken every 28 days for the individual, the blood pressure improvement, stronger heart rate, less body fat, tigher waist and hips etc, the evidence is overwhelming in dictating that this individual should be very pleased with their progress, after all the measuring equipment never lies!!!

So you can there are a lot of emotions to handle all day long, but thats what makes my job so great, and re-affirming an individual’s progress is always very powerful and gets that person well and truly back on track!!!

Monday, 1st October

It’s monday again, and also the start of the month. It is twelve weeks today to christmas day so if there was ever a day to get psyched up about getting fit and healthy, it has to be today!

We talked friday about how important and convenient it was to train at the weekend, but for those of you who put all your workouts into the week, then today, monday, is the most important day to set the tone for the rest of the week!!!

I always view monday as a huge day, not only its the first day for me back training people, but its an important marker for me in how my own workout is going. I rarely train along anyway and haven’t done for years. I either run or cycle with someone i train, or i do the same with weight training, and i ALWAYS get a better workout training with someone than training alone, as long as that person is committed.

If there is two of you training, then both of you can push each other. Maybe one day you are feeling a bit sluggish and down, then its up to that other person to get you off your behind and push you to your normal high levels!!!

The only problem with training partners is sometimes one of you isn’t great time keeping, and this can really get people fed up i have found!

Then there are many of you i know who like to train alone, to do your own thing when you want to do it, to suit all of the other commitments in your life, i know i used to be one myself!!

So whatever your situation, be sure to get your best workout of the week in today, or at least give it one heck of a shot! Setting the right tone today is a massive indication of the level of commitment you have to getting yourself in top shape!!