Posted on

Monday, 4th February

Two big sporting losses for me at the weekend, Wales of course lost against ireland with such a poor first half performance,it was scarcely credible! This left wales too much to do in the second half and so it proved.

You cannot continue to make such serious mistakes at such a high level so often and expect to get away with it!

Then the san francisco 49ers lost againt the baltimore ravens last night in the superbowl!

The 49ers didn’t really perform to anything like what they could normally do, and left the first half so far down,it seemed impossible to get back in front.

They nearly pulled it off though and finally lot 31-34 in a classic superbowl!!

This is the magic of sports,and the theatre is creates. This is why a lot of us watch it in such big numbers!!!

If wales and the 49ers were more consistent, and play like they could play, the result could have been much different.

This is exactly the same with your training and eating.

If you lack consistency with either,you are going to be struggling to perform well, lose body fat and feel as good as you know you could.

If you do not start the week off today by being consistent with a good training session and solid nutrition, then you are likely to struggle the rest of the week.

You should be concentrating on getting a lot of good food in during your supermarket shop. You will need the nutrients to power your workouts, recover from your workouts, and keep your immune system strong, especially in the cold and wet winter we are having.

Consistency will always be your best friend, and the more you practice it, the more it will seem like totally the most natural thing to do!!

Twitt
Posted on

12th April 2011

Great things happen in your body when you first start exercising. You body responds well to moving around more, and your body likes the feeling of doing things again, and you develop your confidence as you go.

Your body responds very well in particular when you adjust your food intake. Most people who go from eating processed food to more natural, fresh foods will experience increased energy levels, and an inner confidence that they are going to get healthier if you keep your habits up.

Most of the measurements i take on individuals who start an exercise programme look a lot better at the end of their first month. Progress is relatively quick and 4-6 weeks can make a good difference to anyone as long as they show commitment. Two inches off your waist will always look and feel great, and your clothes will feel a lot looser too. I always tell people if they are carrying a lot more weight than they should, that the biggest worry they will have is changing their wardrobe!!!

The trick is to keep these exciting feelings going well into the times when the novelty factor of keeping fit and healthy has gone, and make it part of your daily life and make it become routine.

This is why routines are important so you end up doing healthy things without even thinking about it, which is exactly where you want to be.

Your workout becomes “your” time when you relax, get rid of stress and you find yourself again after a long day, or even before you embark on your challenging day. If you can keep your workouts going in times of stress in your life, you know that you have fully integrated a healthy lifestyle into your life and you should already be relatively fit and healthy, and have some good ability in terms of exercise of all kinds.

A true athlete and i mean that in a broad term, should be able to do outside exercise such as running, cycling, hill walking as well as work inside with resistance workouts, and you should be able to combine them too. You should be versatile and open to new ideas, no need to spend all your time in the gym, there are endless and exciting ways to keep fit and the gym is just one angle you can use. You will learn more about your body in different environments so lets keep it varied and keep doing your best!!!

Twitt
Posted on

Tuesday 8th March 2011

You will get periods of ups and downs in your week when perhaps you could do with constant motivation to get you through slumps in your life.

Whatever your circumstances, life is going to happen for you, good or not so good. How you react to these bumps  on the road will mean a lot more than you think.

What happens if you have a new job and you have new demands put on you and overtime becomes normal, what happens to your training?

What happens if you have just had a baby and then a couple of months later, its no longer crowds of people visiting and offering support, and life becomes very hard 24 hours a day? The reality of bringing up a child is very tough and how does your training and eating fit into all of this, is it as important anymore?

You may have to move away to find a job in this harsh economic environment, and whats it like living in a small room every night and the only option is the pub every night, what happens to your fat loss aspirations then?

These challenges are every day realities for a lot of people I know, and the one thing I can say with certainty is that good nutritious food will give you energy to get through a very tough day.

Doing your workout early in the morning before everything “kicks off” will make sure you are fit and strong, and will be able to perform much, much better in your job or specific role in life, such as being a mother.

The most dangerous thing you can do is pay no attention to your food because it leads to a slippery slope.

 Grabbing food when you can always means eating ready meals or fast food of some kind, things that cook quickly in the microwave soon become the core of your eating programme, and this long term abuse of your body will possibly lead to blood pressure problems, heart problems, and ill health issues of all kinds. If you constantly put rubbish full of chemicals into your body, then don’t expect good things to happen.

So even if you are in one of the groups I mentioned and your life is stressful, then see HEALTHY EATING AND EXERCISING AS EVEN MORE IMPORTANT FOR YOU.

You can train first thing in the morning, you can have an array of healthy food around you and you can do your best and develop a body and health you can be proud of. Buy the food in, get rid of the rubbish and commit yourself to a training plan.

If circumstances are tough, then chances are a lot of people are relying on you and you being healthy is an absolute must!!

Lets do it.

Twitt
Posted on

March 4th 2011

SO how are you finishing off the week?

Is it really hard to keep this thing up as cyril said?

Is it getting easier with the lighter, more steady and sunny weather?

Are you in charge with your food?

Are you in control of your workouts?

Are you managing your time really well, or are you letting your life control you?

Do you give in easy when someone tries to put you off exercise and eating well? Or are you determined to get through this thing very strongly and reach new levels of physical conditioning? Are you your own person or not?

Life is all about decisions because every decision will shape who you are.

For example, if you like to call in the pub every night after work, then you are unlikely to be very active in your life, nobody i know could ever train after alcohol, unless you train first thing in the morning of course, but in general, the habit of drinking straight after work can lead to blood pressure problems, diabetes, coronary disease and all sorts of nasty things that could go on with your body. Everyone needs to give themselves a fighting chance, and the drinks after work thing will destroy any fighting chance you have got!!! It may be trendy for some, but putting yourself at risk of serious disease has never been cool in my book!!!

These may be harsh comments, but its my experience of training and observing many people live their lives over many years. Its best to say it how it is, rather than pander to anyone to be popular!!!

So if you want to be really fit and healthy, please avoid alcohol in the week and keep it to once a week, then theres no reason to get trashed on that once either. We have all done it of course, including me, but having the next day wiped out is not an option for me anymore. I try and treat my body with a lot more respect, and sundays i have to contribute to family life, not sleep on the settee or go to be all day, thats the ultimate selfish way to live your life in my view.

The same goes with eating, has that magical 80% been reached yet in terms of 80% of what you eat being good quality food? If it hasn’t, then you need to stop messing around and get with the programme if you want to be and stay in shape!!!

Have a great weekend and theres no excuses to enjoy the great fresh air and scenery!!!

Twitt
Posted on

March 2nd

Your progress doesn’t mean much unless it impacts your life in a positive way.

It also doesn’t matter much if you feel that nobody cares about your progress. Having someone interested in what you do is a very underrated factor in your progress and confidence.

This is why people join diet clubs and gyms, its nice for people to talk about their progress with like minded people.

The weekly weigh in’s with diet clubs are a ritual for some people, and the pat on the backs or lets pull your socks up attitude seems to work for some people.

I’m definitely in that line of work too, a serious part of my job is not only constantly analysing an individuals performance and pushing them onto new highs, its also about motivating the individual and pushing the right buttons, especially when things are not going their way.

You can do it another way. You could ask a friend to help you out and witness your progress. That could be from measuring your waist with a tape measure once a month, to witnessing your weigh in’s every week, or just once a month.

Having a friend you can trust to help you can be very valuable with your training too. If you have someone who will become a training partner of yours, then you can keep pushing each other to new heights. Perhaps on one day, you will not feel great and your training partner will be able to push you to get through the workout, then on another day you will feel top of the world, and you will be able to get the best out of your friend.

This is why its always good to share your progress, it matters heck of a lot more when you share success, unless you are a very private person and like the rewards of purely individual pursuits, and don’t need to share it with anyone else.

Whatever works for you, then use it and keep using it time after time. The only thing that matters is sustainable progress and you being in great health. You always have to think about your health and fitness programme and change your approach from time to time. Life never stays still and you have to change to keep up with it, but as long as you train a minimum of 3 times a week and eat well 80% of the time, you’re going to be doing well!

Twitt