Fitness Basics – a step by step guide to bodyweight exercises – Part One
04 Jun 2012 Leave a Comment
in Exercise and Fitness, Information Tags: fitness, Health, Push Up, gym, Mark’s Daily Apple, Mark Sisson, The Primal Blueprint: Reprogram your genes for effortless weight loss vibrant health and boundless energy, Daily Apple, Bodyweight exercise
So, I’ve talked a lot lately about food and nutrition but what about exercise? Everyone assumes that EVERYONE knows how to do all the main exercises but it’s so important to get the techniques right; I thought I would share some short demonstrations including the basic movements plus some variations which will take you in easy steps through to the harder version!
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Top tips to lose weight
02 Jun 2012 Leave a Comment
in Blogs from other people, Exercise and Fitness, Information Tags: Charles Poliquin, diet, Eating, fitness, Health, High-protein diet, strength training, weight loss
We all want to lose weight, and a large number of my clients want to lose it from one place in particular – their waists, stomach, midsection, abs, stomach – call it what you will it amounts to the same thing. It’s the area that weight always seems to settle and the older you get the harder it seems to shift!
So reading Charles Poliquin’s Blog yesterday he was focussing on the best ways to reduce or eliminate fat from this area in particular but, lets face it, if you are eating well and moving more the benefits are going to be felt (and seen) all over your body. With all of that in mind what then are the top tips to shape up?
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Obese People Are Not Lazy!
01 Jun 2012 Leave a Comment
in Blogs from other people, Exercise and Fitness, Information Tags: Clients, fitness, obese, overweight, Personal Training, personaltrainer, Physical exercise, training, weight loss
I came across this yesterday and I love her take on things Obese People Are Not Lazy. In particular, I love this paragraph SOOO much and I agree with the sentiment 100%
“…Trainers, competitors, fitness enthusiasts–YOU have the know-how. Don’t hoard it! Give it away! And it may not be as simple as giving someone a diet to follow. You might have to actually ASK THEM how they feel, what struggles they are having, and take responsibility for their results. My mentor Alwyn Cosgrove talks about this often – he puts it on the backs of the trainers to get their clients results. It’s convenient to simply say that our client is noncompliant and doesn’t want it badly enough – it easily takes the onus off us. But, why do we get to be off the hook? They are paying US to help them be more compliant and learn to want it. So let’s take on the challenge….”
As trainers, so often the view is that it must be the client’s fault, they must be cheating, they lack commitment or focus, they don’t want it enough and speaking as both a trainer AND a client “…They are paying US to help them be more compliant and learn to want it…” is exactly right. As a PT client, when everything is going well its great but when I am having a bad week and failing at everything I need someone to understand why, to ask me how I really feel, to want to help, to give me a nudge back on track and be there until I am. Demanding? Absolutely, but I am investing my time, my money and my trust why wouldn’t I expect 100% service?
In my opinion the best thing a PT can do to help his or her clients is to be a client themselves at some point in their career – there is nothing like being the other side of the fence to make sure you empathise with your clients, you appreciate why they think that some exercises are undignified or that they look silly, you understand why trainers need to get explanations and instructions right and you understand about motivation. There is something about changing the power dynamics that really changes the way you relate to clients – from my own experience as a client I make sure that when I train other people I always ask them how they are, find out what is going in their lives, understand their stresses and try to offer some advice.
But back to the original concept of this post! One of the key things we should all do whether we are trainers, clients, gym members, 
friends, colleagues, partners, neighbours whatever is to stop passing judgement on everyone we meet based on how they look, whether they are overweight, fat, thin, old, young, it doesn’t matter. None of us can know how or what their lives are like until, as the old saying goes, we walk a mile in their shoes so, lets all try and being a little less judgemental and a lot more supportive!
Get Fit for Summer – Week 1
30 May 2012 Leave a Comment
in Diet and Nutrition, Exercise and Fitness Tags: Creating Chaos, fitness, General fitness training, Get Fit for Summer, Health, Physical exercise, Physical fitness
Hey there everyone and Happy Wednesday!
I know its almost here but the reality is its NEVER too late to get in shape! Why not join our Get Fit for Summer challenge – follow the link for the first video workout and make sure you read The Rules! before you start.
Lets make 2012 a healthy, happy summer to remember!
What do you think? Would love to see your progress…..
Stay healthy!
Onwards and upwards – goals, plans and the future
29 May 2012 Leave a Comment
in Motivation and Positivity, My Training Updates Tags: Barbecue, BFP, Carbohydrate, fitness, Health, High-protein diet, Low-carbohydrate diet, Muscle, Neuro-linguistic programming, protein, training, weight loss
Another lovely sunny day here and there really is nothing like fabulous weather and barbecues to make to me eat LOADS of protein; have managed to eat protein three times a day for the last few days so feeling a bit more virtuous – just need to get my carb intake under control now!
I have been thinking more and more about all the things that really interest me, the things I want to achieve this year and next, the things I want to do and I am trying to be realistic and not set myself ridiculous pressure filled weeks that wipe me out. Reading, researching areas of the fitness and therapy industry, looking into training and finding role models seems such an indulgent pastime that it means I quite often don’t devote enough attention to looking forward and end up 
spending too much time looking inwards and backwards. My other failing (see I am actually admitting that I have them!) is to plan so much in that I (a) overload myself and (b) don’t allow enough space in my life to be able to process all the events and to capitalise on the magnitude of them – meaning I end up like I am now, feeling overwhelmed by the amount of information my brain needs to process!
So, using my amazing NLP timeline techniques I have been trying to visualise the next year and understand what I want to achieve and by when and trying to break it down into professional goals and personal goals – two areas I am guilty of confusing! Given how complicated this is all proving it’s probably best if I focus on one at at time so, today, its personal goals! More
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Get in Shape for Summer
19 May 2012 1 Comment
in Blogs from other people Tags: fitness, gym, Health, Magazines and E-zines, Physical fitness, Rachel Cosgrove
Short and sweet today!
I think Rachel Cosgrove is a great role model for women’s fitness and her articles are always interesting and thought provoking so it was a bit of a surprise to see her write one on the perennial subject of ”Get Fit for Summer” but as usual she delivered tackling the key areas that bother most women with some good nutritional advice.
Lightbulb moment
17 May 2012 Leave a Comment
in Exercise and Fitness, My Training Updates Tags: fitness, gym, Health, Personal trainer, Personal Training
Had a bit of a lightbulb moment last night, a revelation!
Have been having a bit of a struggle getting back on track with training, the gym etc and I suddenly realised why! I think the whole fitness, personal training thing is a bit like falling in love….
….at the beginning you are full of expectation, hope, excitement, passion. Everything is fun, you cant wait to get to the gym or see your trainer again, you are seeing results, it’s all new. Then as time goes on the results slow down, the exercise gets easier and then harder, you fall out with your trainer or you just get comfortable with each other and there you go its 18 months down the line and you are deciding “is this what I really want” or “where do you think this is going”!
Like I said just like falling in love and don’t they say that 18 months is usually the end of the honeymoon period?! So that’s it I guess, the honeymoon is over and its time to knuckle down to real life or get a divorce!! That explains why it all feels like wading through treacle, why KP irritates me so much sometimes (sorry hun I’m just not in love with you anymore!!!!), why I keep noticing all the things at the gym I would change – its like my rose-coloured glasses just fell off!
So, time to get on with real life where health and fitness is a long-lasting and fulfilling part of my life but in a different way to the last year or so; something that fulfils my goals, needs, expectations without compromising all the things that have made the last 15 months or so special.
Reality and Clarity!
16 May 2012 Leave a Comment
in Motivation and Positivity, My Training Updates Tags: fitness, Health, Neuro-linguistic programming, Personal Training, Richard Bandler
Well, apart from feeling like I am living inside a Richard Bandler-induced happiness bubble this week, its been strange but good to get back to some kind or normality!
Back to training but with a new plan and a new focus, back to a clean and lean diet and back to the day job! I do feel invigorated and have a new focus on the business though, have had a load of good ideas that I need to start investigating and developing so would hope to launch some new products later this year, which is really exciting!
Having had a week off from the day job I have loads of stuff to catch up on but to be honest, I could do with another week off to catch up on housework, family and business planning and development! Thinking about it all, I have had a really intense few months but I cannot believe how much I have achieved and how much I have squeezed into my life – I think the difficulty will be settling back into a routine and finding day-to-day challenges that excite and drive me as much as the academic ones have the last few months.
One moment of extreme clarity though is that I absolutely LOVE being a Personal Trainer – I love seeing the changes in people as their confidence grows and their fitness levels improve, its great to see the changes and know that you are helping them to get to their goals. I get such a kick out of stepping things up a notch and watching the scared face turn into an exhilarated one as they realise that they CAN do it – it really is a fantastic feeling and I know that if I can develop my NLP skills its something I can really tap into; the thought that I could help people achieve even a fraction of the stuff we learnt last week is just mind-blowing!
All in all I feel happier, more positive, more alive than at any other time in my life and I wish I had had a fraction of this knowledge years ago – just think where my life could be if I had implemented these techniques a few years back. I am definitely going to sign both the children up for the NLP courses and if they can harness their potential at their young ages the world really is their oyster!
New goals, new plan, new future!
14 May 2012 Leave a Comment
in My Training Updates Tags: Bench press, BFP, Chin-up, exercise, fitness, goals, motivation, Neuro-linguistic programming, NLP, Push Up, Therapeutic use of Neuro-linguistic programming, training
Back in February I set down a list of goals and achievements I wanted by the end of the year and as the main flurry of training courses has now subsided I thought it would be useful to revisit it and assess what I have done and what is still under construction!
So starting with the academic stuff
- Pass my L2 PT accreditation exams – PASSED
- Pass my L3 PT exams - PASSED
- Complete my NLP Practitioner course – PASSED
- Complete marketing and branding for new business – DONE
- Develop website - DONE
- Start actually seeing clients – DONE
- Develop NLP therapy business as a complement to PT – UNDERWAY
- Complete NLP Master Practitioner course – NOW PLANNED FOR 2013
- Develop my own coaching and training materials for NLP courses – CANT DO UNTIL AFTER MASTER PRAC COURSE 2013
Well, I know it’s not a complete clean sweep but all in all that’s a pretty good set of achievements in just three months, something I would do as well to remember, life has been very hectic but just look at how much I have done! I am really proud of myself and how much I have accomplished but now its time to put the same degree of determination into my training and eating plan and to get the same degree of outstanding results!
Reviewing my fitness goals from February, its clear that although I have been in a plateau as far as weight and BFP is concerned, my shape has changed again meaning that at least two of my goals from back then I have already achieved. So, although I have made real progress academically I still have a way to go with fitness goals and its now time to focus on them and apply the same amount of commitment to getting things not just right, but perfect. So in the spirit of grabbing hold of life and reaching ones potential, the new plan starts today!
Time to clean the diet up, get tough on the carbs and get back to training all out four times a week – and if that doesn’t make a change to my body, weight and body fat percentage I don’t know what will!
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Introspection…..
28 Apr 2012 1 Comment
in My Training Updates Tags: exercise, fitness, Health, motivation, support, weight loss
I haven’t posted for a few days now – just life has a nasty habit of sneaking up and getting in your way – but things are beginning to feel like they are back on track again so I need to try and get back with the programme!
I think since I started training, studying, weight loss and exercise its been really interesting to try and observe myself from the outside and to attempt to understand why I do the things I do, my motivation and what causes me to swerve off track – I figure that if I can at least understand a fraction of it, it will help me to understand my clients and to be a better trainer.
How is it that I can go and buy a pair of jeans in the smallest size I have ever been and yet days later I am beating myself up because I feel fat?
How does any of that happen? Why do we have “fat” days? Why do we sabotage our own efforts? Why we doubt our own abilities, achievements, sense of purpose or attractiveness?
I know part of the answers lie in our own sense of self, our sense of self-worth and I am hoping that some time spent as part of my NLP course will help me to understand more why I do what I do; I think if I can understand and try to change my own sense of self it will provide me with the armoury to help other people. The one thing I know for sure is that I am not the only person who feels like this and I know that the majority of women feel like this at some point in their lives so if I can find a way to help the women I come across that can only be a good thing!
In a rare moment of clarity (and honesty) I have realised how unsupported I have been throughout my health and fitness journey - there are very few people who understand why I do what I do and more than that, very few people who respect me for my choices or embrace my choices for the benefits they see in me now. It makes a lonely road and it would be good to feel that I had someone to share it with, who understands how I feel and can make me feel better when life gets to me.
I think part of what I have come to realise is that I can achieve anything on my own – I have to, there is no-one else to pick up the pieces – but that sometimes I need someone else just to be on my side, to give me a hug, tell me its all ok, and to tell me I look amazing (even when I don’t!).
I’m not about to rush off and settle down with Mr Wrong (settle being the operative word!) but I need to find a really good friend, who understands me, cares about what makes me happy and wants the best for me – that’s what’s missing right now. Oh BTW I think the cheerleader has gone on holiday for a few weeks, either that or she is off hiding behind the bike sheds or something!!
