Today I have been sharing with you on Twitter ten great tips to ensure you get plenty, but also start loving your fruit and vegetables… Take a look at what I recommend…
Top Tip No. 10 – Stir fresh peaches, berries or other fruit into your frozen yogurt
Top Tip No. 9 – Drink a travel-size carton of FRESH orange or apple juice on the way to work
Top Tip No. 8 – Top your morning breakfast granola with dried plums, cranberries or handful of fresh berries
Top Tip No. 7 – Pop frozen blueberries or grapes into your mouth for a sorbet like treat -everyone likes a treat
Top Tip No. 6 – Mix a bag of shredded cabbage with a little light coleslaw dressing, chopped apples or pineapple chunks
Top Tip No. 5 – Never and I mean never leave the house without a snack stash (banana, orange, apple, baby carrots, raisins, grapes)
Top Tip No. 4 – Puree fresh fruit add apple juice and freeze it into ice cubes or pops. Add cubes to your drinks to keep refreshing!
Top Tip No. 3 – After dinner place a variety platter of cut-up fruit with plenty of colour on the table for snacking in the evenings
Top Tip No. 2 – At least once a week have a salad for dinner such as Cajun-salmon Caesar salad or grilled-chicken spinach salad with mandarin oranges
Top Tip No. 1 – Ditch fruit drinks and “ades” and go for 100% orange, grapefruit, pomegranate, and pineapple juices etc. Remember moderation!
With the warmer weather season now approaching and our Summer Holidays booked in warmer climates, exercisers want to take their workouts outside and breakout of their indoor fitness ruts. But, when temperatures reach record highs and humidity levels soar, traditional outdoor workouts become less appealing. So how can you stay cool while still enjoying outdoor physical activity? One word – water. Water exercises are the perfect way to workout under the sun without overheating. You can get a total body workout without even breaking a sweat!
Aquatic workouts aren’t limited to just swimming – there are many other forms of pool exercises. You don’t even have to be a regular exerciser to try aquatic fitness. One of the great things about working out in the water is that even fitness novices can easily perform many of the moves.
It’s also an excellent fitness choice for all ages, from the very young to seniors. Water exercise is a very good way to burn calories, improve your strength and flexibility, tone-up, improve your cardiovascular system, and just get more fit overall. And, the types of workouts are practically endless. Most land exercises can be modified and re-created in water. Other benefits include:
lower injury risk
less sweating
works your entire body
challenges your body in a very different way then it is accustom to
refreshing way to workout
water provides natural resistance so no equipment is needed
can increase/decrease intensity (difficulty) simply by alternating between shallow and deep areas
good low-impact exercise choice for pregnant women
reduces joint compression and downward gravity pull (in other words – easier on the joints)
even people who can’t exercise on land can often exercise in the water
excellent rehabilitation exercise for people recovering from an injury
less stress on bones and muscles
great option for people with arthritis
Plus, water workouts also provide a fun and more socially interactive exercise option. For example, parents can enjoy time at the pool with their children while also fitting in some of their weekly workout sessions. Aquatic aerobic classes also provide a social, group-setting alternative.
Still not convinced that a great water workout will challenge your body as well as some of the more common workouts like walking or jogging. Well, try some of the sample exercise below and you’ll probably quickly change your mind. But, don’t judge the workout solely on how high your heart rate gets. Keep in mind that swimmers generate a slightly lower heart rate when compared to cyclists and runners. This does not imply that they aren’t working as hard. Experts equate the lower heart rate partially to the effect of immersion in a relatively cool environment.
So, keep this in mind when determining your target heart rate, which may be 10 beats per minute lower when in the water. Also, don’t make the mistake of assuming you are well hydrated just because your body is submerged in water. You still need to drink about ½ a cup of water about every 20 minutes of exercise.
Swim/Walk interval laps:Swim 1-2 laps (use any swim form you prefer: crawl, backstroke, etc). Walk 1-2 laps in the pool. Repeat sequence 4-6 times.
Water Squats: Stand in the water with feet about hip-width apart. Bend your knees slightly as you push your hips back as if you are sitting on a chair. Keep your knees behind your toes. Return to start position and repeat. The water provides extra resistance and makes this move more challenging.
Wave Jumps: (for those with access to the ocean or a wave-simulator): Stand in knee-deep or less water. Each time a wave comes attempt to jump over it. Note: this is a more advanced move that requires good balance and strong swimming skills. Do not attempt this move unless you have experience swimming in waves.
Water Jogging: Can be done with the use of flotation devices where your feet don’t touch the ground or the traditional way of actually jogging in the water.
Star Jumps: Perform as you would on dry land a star jump, the deeper the water, the harder this will be. The more the arms are submerged in the water, the better the water based exercise will be for you.
Foot Sliders: When standing in a pool with a tiled flooring, aim to get submerged in the water to a minimum of hip depth. The standing with your feet just slightly apart, slowly and with control, slide your feet apart as far as they can go… Then tighten your abdominals, and squueze your legs back together using the inner section of your legs – continue this for a minute, and repeat it 2-3 times.
Water Dips: A great alternative to performing standard dry land Tricep dips. Sit on pool side with your legs in the water. Slowly slide your bum to the edge of the wall, and with your hands to the side of your body and your finger tips over the edge, slowly dip your body into the water, bending at the elbows, and then lift back to the start position using your arms. The water will add a little support in this movement.
So… When you’re next in the water, have a think about some of the recent/traditional exercises you have been use to performing at Boot Camp, or at the gym, and do your best to replicate them ion the pool to create a little 10-30min water based circuit to keep you in tip top summer time condition..!
So here is the next instalment – part 3 of the absolute fitness Total Body MASH UP workout where I am sharing FREE with you a series of small workouts which you can do on their own or you can merge togther to form several other workouts, and eventually paste them all together to form the Total Body MASH UP fitness training workout..!
I will keep posting these workouts, BUT… You MUST leave me a comment either on here, or our youtube channel to to keep getting these FREE workouts to do at home or gym..!
Anyway, today I’m giving YOU Part 3 of theFREE Fat Melting Workout to do at home, or the gym, garden or park. ALL you need is a little bit of floor space the same size as your body, and LOADS of ENERGY..!
So the way this works, is to either – complete the 6 simple but highly effective exercises on this video (legs focussed), and repeat them all 3-4 times through to form a very good Leg, Bum, Abs and Cardio training session… OR, you merge Part 1, Part 2 AND Part 3 sessions together…
So on a single training plan – you complete each exercise for around 45 seconds, take a 15 second recovery, and move to the next exercise. After all 6 have been completed (6mins), take a 30-60 second rest before you start the block again.
But, if you merge the three parts together, perform Part 1 (6mins), take a 30-60 second rest, then perform Part 2 (6mins) and then perform Part 3 (6mins) taking a 30-60 second rest before repeating the full 3 part sequence again. I hope that makes sense..?
They’re all still totally body weight based, and require absolutely NO EQUIPMENT..! So you have no excuse really do you? Oh… AND the full training session will take you NO MORE than 36 – 40 minutes to complete, so within 45 minutes you are DONE!
So here is the workout…
If you have any questions regarding this workout, or any other training question, please feel free to leave me a comment.
I would absolutely love you to leave a comment both below here on the post, AND on the youtube channel. If I receive comments and feedback, I will give you many MORE FREE Workouts to help you on YOUR journey, if it seems no one is watching, I may as well just chill in the sun/rain during my down time..!! So PLEASE COMMENT…
I have ANOTHER killer fitness and fat loss workout ready for you today. This training session will hit all your muscles, boost your metabolism and make you feel absolutely great!
Once again, this session requires absolutely NO equipment, so you really do NOT have any excuse do you. AND… This session literally will take you NO MORE than 28 minutes. We all have 30 minutes to dedicate to ourselves don’t we, if it’s important enough, you can do that..!
There are so many more of these free workout ideas for me to share with you… BUT, I will ONLY do them if you do me ONE FAVOUR… Leave me a comment either on here and/or our youtube channel to to keep getting these FREE workouts to do at home..!
So todays session is an Accumulator Workout – I explain that on the video and it can be done at home, or the gym, garden or park. Infact the ONLY thing you do need is a little bit of floor space the same size as your body, and LOADS of ENERGY..!
So here is the workout…
So… Quick recap, do 30 sec per exercise, and only after the added exercise round do you get to take the 30 sec recovery:
1, 1 & 2, 1 & 2 & 3, 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 etc. etc… After Set 1, take a 90 seconds REST… Then do…
6, 6 & 5, 6 & 5 & 4, 6 & 5 & 4 & 3 etc. etc – That completes Set 2 and the workout..!
If you have any questions regarding this fitness and fat loss workout, or any other training question, please feel free to leave me a comment.
I would absolutely love you to leave a comment both below here on the post, AND on the youtube channel. If I receive comments and feedback, I will give you many MORE FREE Workouts to help you on YOUR journey, if it seems no one is watching, I may as well just chill in the sun/rain during my down time..!! So PLEASE COMMENT…
So Tuesday night I got to do what so many have already done, and so many are waiting to do, and that was to go watch the latest Take That – Progress Tour in Manchester.
Yes, it was another amazing show and yes the talent from all the performers was brilliant to watch. Before I went, I wasn’t quite sure how I would appreciate the set by Robbie Williams, I was looking forward to the whole night, but just not sure about his solo set.
Now when I have been out delivering masterclasses and training and education workshops in the past to other fitness professionals, I have often been heard referring to ‘a part‘ of our job as group fitness trainers and presenters as being one very similar to that of Robbie Williams or any other high profile ‘musician’.
Why? Because, these types of entertainers literally have the crowd in the palms of their hands..! Yes, everyone is there most likely for the same reason, to watch/listen to the artist, but then… So are you (probably)..! Most Group Exercise Instructors have their own following, people attend your classes or training sessions not only to improve their fitness, flexibility and/or strength, but also to be possibly entertained too..!
Whenever I am at the front of a group exercise class, I often feel like an entertainer (not quite as good as Robbie, but a close second I’d like to think..!), but I try to take something that these high profile professionals provide us when on a world class stage.
Tuesday at 8.15pm the countdown clock ticked its way down from 10 to 0 at which point the 4 members of Take That emerged onto the stage to an awesome applause and cheering, the stadium erupted, it was electric and the stadium swayed. The 50+ thousand audience broke out into Rule The World and Greatest Day singing to their hearts content. After about 4 songs or so they left the stage…
AND THEN… The roof was lifted, the crowd went absolutely bazurk, and the stadium literally shook..! What the hell happened there..? OHHHH… Robbie Williams has entered the building..!
Let Me Entertain You..! Oh, ok then Mr. Williams, if you must..! Now that is how you entertain a crowd. AND as I said above, I wasn’t really quite sure how I’d take his solo set, but pardon my french… It was bloody good!
Take a look for yourself, and take something from this obvious expert… He knows how to perform, he knows how to entertain and ‘he knows it’..!
FITPRO’s keep working hard, and remember, people follow you because they love you and they love what you do.
Welcome to part 2 of the absolute fitness Total Body MASH UP workout where I am sharing FREE with you a series of small workouts which you can do on their own or you can merge togther to form several other workouts, and eventually paste them all together to form the Total Body MASH UP fitness training workout..!
I have been overwhelmed this week not only by the huge response to our Body Transformation Boot Camps – Ultimate Fitness & Fat Loss Solution. Our June Camp is now officially our biggest ever… But also by the comments and feedback I have received by doing these short video workout clips. For as long as you want me to do them, I will keep delivering, BUT… You MUST leave me a comment either on here, or our youtube channel to to keep getting these FREE workouts to do at home..!
Anyway, today I am here to give YOU Part 2 of theFREE Fat Melting Workout to do at home, or the gym, garden or park. Infact the ONLY thing you do need is a little bit of floor space the same size as your body, and LOADS of ENERGY..!
So the way this will NOW work, is to either – complete the 6 simple but highly effective exercises on this video, and repeat them all 3-4 times through to form a very good Chest, Shoulder and Tricep training session… OR, you now get to merge Part 1 and Part 2 sessions together…
So on a single training plan – you complete each exercise for around 45 seconds, take a 15 second recovery, and move to the next exercise. After all 6 have been completed (6mins), take a 30-60 second rest before you start the block again.
But, if you merge the two together, perform Part 1 (6mins), take a 30-60 second rest, then perform Part 2 (6mins) and repeat that sequence for 6 FULL rounds (3 rounds of each). I hope that makes sense..?
They’re all still totally body weight based, and require absolutely NO EQUIPMENT..! So you have no excuse really do you? Oh… AND the full training session will take you NO MORE than 28 – 36 minutes to complete, so around half an hour you are DONE!
So here is the workout…
If you have any questions regarding this workout, or any other training question, please feel free to leave me a comment.
I would absolutely love you to leave a comment both below here on the post, AND on the youtube channel. If I receive comments and feedback, I will give you many MORE FREE Workouts to help you on YOUR journey, if it seems no one is watching, I may as well just chill in the sun/rain during my down time..!! So PLEASE COMMENT…
So this week has been a fantastic week again for absolute fitness | Cheshire. We have been holding a FREE Boot Camp Taster Week, and we have seen a huge number of ‘new’ Action Takers trying out our Ultimate Fitness & Fat Loss Solution.
What’s more, most if not all of these ‘new’ recruits have decided this solution is just too good to not sign up for the full month, so it now seems that our June Body Transformation Boot Camp will be at capacity on many of our seperate camp locations.
Anyway, that was just a quick update, the reason for this post, was to give you aFREE Fat Melting Workout to do at home, or the gym, garden or park. Infact the ONLY thing you do need is floor space the same size as your body, and LOADS of ENERGY..!
So the way this workout works, is to complete 6 simple but highly effective exercises, and repeat them all 3-4 times through.
You complete each exercise for around 45 seconds, take a 15 second recovery, and move to the next exercise. After all 6 have been completed (6mins), take a 30-60 second rest before you start the next block.
They’re all body weight based, and require absolutely NO EQUIPMENT..! So you have no excuse really do you? Oh… AND the full training session will take you NO MORE than 28 minutes to complete, so within half an hour you are DONE! (even though I make a timing mistake at the start of the video [I got excited], see if you catch me out..)!
So here is the workout…
If you have any questions regarding this workout, or any other training question, please feel free to leave me a comment.
I would absolutely love you to leave a comment both below here on the post, AND on the youtube channel. If I receive comments and feedback, I will give you many MORE FREE Workouts to help you on YOUR journey, if it seems no one is watching, I may as well just chill in the sun during my down time..!! So PLEASE COMMENT…
absolute fitness launch this fantastic, energy blasting, calorie crunching, fat melting, strength building, confidence boosting and stress relieving ‘Boxing Drills’ type fitness class at the new, purpose built Group Fitness Training Studio – Tatton House Studio in Gatley.
The fitness class officially launches on Monday 6th June 2011
This high octane training session will be one not to miss – the session will deliver truly magnificent fitness and fat loss results through fun, varied and energetic boxing drills with powerful punches and kicks using a variety of sequences and combinations.
Attendees will benefit from group format training sessions using pads and gloves (provided – and available to buy) and leave you feeling like you really have had a workout.
PLEASE DO NOT waste any more of your time doing something that DOES NOT get you the results you deserve. Power Punch will deliver outstanding fitness and fat loss results through the high energy training format designed with YOU in mind!
Please Note — Places on this saught after Fitness Workout are strictly limited, so to GUARANTEE YOUR Place, please BOOK NOW!
Payment Options — Pay for each session as you go (£4.00), or BUY a 10 session discount card (£35.00).
Well, this last weekend, I spent my 3 day weekend pretty much locked in a room with a huge group of other awesome Fitness Professionals and World Class Speakers, and on a number of occassions the analogy of facing walls or obstacles came up, and ways in which to overcome them in whatever situation was discussed.
But this time, I want to just highlight an issue to those people exercising, or training in fitness for a certain goal and when it’s really important, infact its imperative that you finish AT the Wall, infact you need to work so hard you SMASH into it..!
When I was younger (I know it’s hard to believe I’m a little older than I look), I was an International Modern Pentathlete, and competed in other National and International Tetrathlons, and Equestrian events. For those that don’t know what Modern Pentathlon is, it’s an Olympic sport which includes Shooting, Swimming, Horse Riding, Fencing and Running.
Now, when I use to train, especially in my early morning and evening swimming sessions, I can recall on a number of occassions my swim coach at the time drilling the issue of ‘FINISHING AT THE WALL’..! Why I hear you ask..!!??
Well, I was one of those lazy ones you see, if I was asked to to a particular drill, whether it was; a 50m drill, or a 400m drill (or longer), I would complete my drill as requested and to the very best of my ability (and sometimes more as I use to compete with my fellow team mates even when we were training).
BUT… when it came to the last 10m of the swim, I would ease off, and even ‘glide’ into the wall, often not having the propulsion to even reach it at the very end, meaning I fell short of the ‘finish’. I would then stand up, and walk the last metre or so..! I WAS SUPPOSE TO BE SWIMMING..!
So why is this important..? It’s more than important! My coach taught me to finish strong, stronger than I had started in fact, it was in the last few metres of the race that WINS the race, that’s the bit that makes the REAL difference between winning and coming in second or even third.
So, so often do I see my training clients, both private, and boot camp falling short of finishing strong and AT the WALL..! I can set a timed drill, and this can be as short as a 20 second work segment, and they will still only complete 15 seconds of it, as soon as the 5 second countdown starts, they ease off, and even STOP!! NO..!!!!
I want you to finish at the very earliest at 0, not 5 or even 1, I’d even like it if you pushed an extra repetition out in order to gain that edge, it’s the edge that will give you outstanding results.
Normally, when we train, we are so use to easing off or stopping when it becomes uncomfortable, or we get that ‘heavy’ feeling, but it is at this very moment in exercise when we should push through that little further, as this is when the largest gains in health & fitness improvements are found.
So next time you’re training, and you can see the finishing line, or the wall, smash yourself through it, surpass your expectations, go further than anyone else is prepared to go, this is where you will find the biggest steps of improvements, and results will come your way. Don’t be the one that fell short and finished in second or third..! Be the winner YOU know you CAN be..!
So after my relatively successful completion of last weekends Bupa Great Manchester 10km Run on Sunday, I thought this week I would start my new fitness regime.
Sunday was a great day, I understand there may have been around 38000 runners taking to the streets of Manchester to complete the increasingly popular north west based road race. Many thousands of these runners will have been doing it for charity, as was I… This year I decided to run on behalf of The Children’s Adventure Farm Trust (CAFT), a charity which provide holidays for terminally ill, disadvantaged and disabled children across the North West.
You can get a feel of the great atmosphere at the start during the warm up here:
This is only one of the 5 waves of runners heading out on to the 10km track.
I completed this years run in 54:35min, which to be honest with you I am quite happy with considering my preparations (or lack of!!!), no where near my best, or norm, but good nevertheless.
This is a quick clip of the finish line, and the mass of happy faces as they cross the finish and complete their own personal challenge.
So after this accomplishment on Sunday, I decided I was going to mix things up with my training as of this week. I gave myself Monday off, with the intention on starting yesterday, but that plan was soon trashed after my only 1.5hr slot was filled with a client with a last minute booking…
So I reserved my own time slot in my diary today, and away I went… And OMG..! It was tough today…
I blitzed my chest and back, with a variety of exercises hitting every section of the upper body. These included a variety of press ups (normal, super wide, diamond, declines) and a variety of pull ups too to hit my back and shoulders. I used weights for a few exercises too, and the session was a complete beasting of my chest, back and arms..! But I totally loved it..!
This is me at the end of my workout, with day 1 under my belt..!
My plan is that over the next 30-60 days to transform my shape, excellerate my metabolism to be burning fat all day long, and blow torch any unwanted fat stores away as well as see major changes in my fitness, strength and let’s face it… my physique too! I’d like to look great this summer too you know..!
So keep a check of my progress as I will be updating regularly with news on how I’m getting on… It’s time to shred the unwanted fat, and get lean and strong and for no other particular reason other than, I just want to..!
Yes, yet another month has flown by, and for some people, it’s ‘passed them by’!!
Why? Simple… this month we have had yet another great number of Action Takers, all committed on changing their lives for the better by attending our results orientated Fitness & Fat Loss Boot Camp programme. For others, they may have ‘thought‘ about attending, but didn’t take the necessary steps in dedicating just 28 days to achieve some amazing results for themselves.
Now, results are coming in from our 8 Boot Camps around the Manchester, Tameside and Cheshire areas, and once again, they are phenomenal! So, those people who were ‘thinking about‘ coming will probably now be kicking themselves for not coming.
This time of the month is when results come in from our team members, and it makes all our early get ups, and evening training sessions all be worthwhile. This is why we do it, to see the weight drop off, to see our waistlines narrow and the inches get shed off our bodies. The fitness results are just another thing to shout about and be proud of!
There isn’t really ever a month go by, where we test and re-test our crew members fitness statistics, and they don’t improve, and that goes for some people who are still training with us after months of their first ever Boot Camp.
This month saw a few people drop 5kg and 6kg in the 4 weeks from one of our camps, a female member shed 10 inches in 1 WEEK… 1 WEEK!! Can you believe that??! Another shed a total of 21 inches over the 28 days programme.
Now these are great results right, but they are not alone… Everyone who commits themselves to the programme sees these kinds of results, and sure yeah, they differ from person to person. But average inch loss results over the month are 7+ inches, and people tend to always drop a whole clothes size (or even TWO!!)
Great yeah? I agree..! If you could a price on these kinds of results, what would it be?
If someone told you, they would give you the necessary tools in your inbox, motivate you to deliver in your training sessions, guide you through a proven programme that gets results, be there every step of the way (and more), create an environment where you can work with people in the same situation as you, wanting the same things… Would you take the opportunity??
What about if they said, that if you did all this, and then for some silly reason, you didn’t achieve the results, that they would give you all of your investment back, so you had in fact trained and got all this knowledge for NOTHING! Would you get involved..?? Sure as hell yeah! (If not, then you’re probably a bit mad [and I probably wouldn't want to work with you anyway])!!
So… for me, this time is always the best time of the month, as it makes my job, oh sorry, should I say, my passion so much more worthwhile. It’s why I love to do what I do. So, a heartfelt thank you to everyone that makes it a real pleasure to own and operate absolute fitness – Boot Camp | Personal Training.
If you would like to be involved in our next Boot Camp, then check out our Boot Camp Schedule to check the start date of the next one coming your way soon.
So what look are you going to be showing off this summer?
Go on, be honest… Do you wake up in the morning, check yourself out in the mirror, turn from front to back, side to side to see if you’ve lost anything over night? Do you pinch your waist and wish that inch (or two) just simply wasn’t there?
Well, there is something you CAN DO about it before our summer really does kick in.
This last weekend saw some great weather, the sun was well and truly out and I’m sure it meant that most of you who had the opportunity threw on the short sleaves, vests, shorts… damn you may have even chucked your bikini on and lounged around in your back garden catching the Vitamin D and turning yourself into a little lobster…
But when you did this, did you wish that muffin top, or those man boobs ‘moobs’ were a thing of the past..?
So this was a taste of things to come… If we are lucky enough and get another great spell of decent weather, or if you’ve got a summer holiday planned abroad, the sun will be out, and the skin will be on show… surely you will feel so much more confident if you have been working hard to tighten up your waistline, and tone up your moobs? I know I would..!
Simple, yet effective training methods can help this. Remember, it’s been proven that sticking to long winded cardio exercises simply won’t crack it! Neither will performing hundreds of sit ups every night before bed! Short, intense interval training will strip the fat, blast away the calories and keep you as a fat burning furnace for a longer time after your workouts.
Simply inherit some of our Boot Camp training protocols into your daily exercise routines for amazing results. Start today, and you could be looking even hotter this summer..!
A proven training method (which we use regularly in our results guaranteed Boot Camps), is a method known as Tabata Training. This is simply 20 seconds of full on, hard effort follwed by a 10 second recovery. If you plan to do two exercises back to back in this format it can fire up your metabolism so much it burns fat calories for hours after your workout has finished.
Try doing Press Ups & Jump Squats back to back, 20 on, 10 off for a total of 8 rounds (4 each), followed by a quick 30sec – 1min rest, and then complete Renegade Rows & Reverse Lunges in the same format, followed by a 1min rest, and then finish off with a set of Burpees & Standard Plank. This session will take you no more than 15 minutes to complete, and could be a perfect ‘Active Rest Day’ session in between your absolute fitness Body Transformation Boot Camp session… Stay ahead of the rest by doing just a little homework, and YOUR results can and WILL BE A***Mazing..!
So… what are you waiting for? Trim down, tighten up and get your self looking a feeling slim, sexy and hotter than ever this summer… wear that beach wear with pride!
Our next Boot Camp kicks off our Summer Programme and starts on Monday 2nd May 2011… It would be great to see you there..!
Money.., Time.., Work.., Family.., Energy.., Exercise Virgin.., On Your Own.., Children…
I hear so many reasons people give me for not taking part in a physical fitness programme, or not leading a more healthy, active lifestyle. But are they ‘real’ reasons, or simply just excuses your making to stop yourself before you even give yourself a chance to get started..?
Inspired by my recent trip to Disney World, Florida…
“The only way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” – Walt Disney
One thing that bugs me sometimes, is some of these reasons people give me after enquiring about our services, be that Personal Training, Group Training or Boot Camps… The fact that they have in the first point enquired into doing something, so the initial thought is there, and then a whole spiel of reasons or excuses come spilling out stopping them in their tracks before they even give them self a chance to succeed.
I empathise with many that time is precious, work can get in the way, family time is important and money can at times be limited or scarce… However, we all have 24 hours in a day, a seven days a week to plan and live our lives, it simply is prioritising what really is ‘important to us’ and what bit of investment will give us the best returns.
If being in the best shape possible, and living a healthy, ill and injury-free life means investing in some extra time, money, energy and commitment, then surely this should be listed as a priority, and many of the reasons/excuses should be blitzed to oblivion..?
I like action takers, those who know what they want, dedicate the time and energy into go getting what they want instead of procrastinating and twiddling their thumbs for months on end.
Of course, I know the stages of change model and that it takes sometimes several attempts before finally succeeding. But I honestly think we really should take a reality check sometimes in our lives, and think to ourselves, am I just simply creating excuses and road blocks making it more difficult to find my way on the right path?
This applies to all fascias of our lives, so whatever part of your life you continue to create excuses for… STOP! Find a way to continually move closer to your goal, and don’t lose sight of it, just keep on moving forward..!
Quick reminder… It starts at 10am sharp, so please get there a little earlier so you don’t miss the warm up. The session is 1hr and is open to anyone, so remember to encourage your friends to come with you in the name of Charity..!
If you have never been to an absolute fitness session before, please do come earlier, so that you can fill in your participation form (must be completed before you can train with us)
The Camp Training sessionWILL be outside, and we are now going to be on the grass/(kind of) area by the right side of the Hotel – PLEASE do come dressed therefore for this condition (YOU WILL get dirty – sorry – but hey, that makes it that little more fun, and worth the while for Charity!) Please DO NOT come dressed in your BEST trainers and gym clothes..!
We ask everyone attending to donate a minimum of £5 towards Comic Relief as we have a big target of £2000 to reach (we are nearly 50% there) – this can be done by donating directly to our sponsor page: http://my.rednoseday.com/absolutefitnessbootcamp or if you can not do this, please bring your donation in cash tomnorrow and hand to myself or one of our Trainers.
We do also have Exclusive Red Nose Day BOOTCAMP T-shirts available to buy for £3 or £5 for 2 – all proceeds go to Comic Relief – PLEASE BUY ONE OF THESE AND WEAR WITH PRIDE! You will have earned it afterall!
So, that’s it… (I think) – I hope you enjoy it, I hope you can bring some friends to participate or at least watch… and I hope we are able to raise a lot of money for Comic Relief – Thanks for YOUR help, it’s much appreciated…
REMEMBER – wear old clothing, or stuff you are happy to get dirty, as YOU WILL be outside…
So Tuesday evening, I was training with one of my clients just before the Boot Camp session started, and I had a session planned around using the Kettle Bells. If you have never seen or heard of these before, they are simply a weighted ‘cannonball’ with handles attached.
They provide an awesome workout, boosting fitness levels to an all time high, whilst increasing the metabolism, improving strength, and hitting the cardio vascular component of your training too. They’re also a killer on the calorie burn out… so all in all, a great piece of kit to use.
With that, they are also quite good fun, and highly addictive, as it gives resistance training a new dimension (literally) – it allows you to work one side at a time, meaning you rely heavily on core strength, balance, co-ordination and stability. I think it makes resistance work far more enjoyable, as lifting weights and especially being sat on machines, just doesn’t really float my boat! It just makes people look like they’re doing soimething half the time!
So, on Tuesday evening, after a full body warm up, and dynamic mobilisation – I took my client through an exercise pattern muscle memory routine – simply teaching her six basic KettleBell exercises. After this, I popped a new disc in the CD player, which I have now started using for some of the boot camp sessions, and away we went. The music is brilliantly automated in the timing sequence, so I was able to just concentrate on her technique, coaching and motivating her to stay on track. By the fourth round, she so wanted to stop…
The final routine was 45 seconds work, 15 seconds rest between exercises for 4 Total Rounds, the exercise list consisted of:
Two Handed KettleBell Swing
Right Hand Clean
Alternating Swing
Left Hand Clean
Goblet Squat & Press
Russian Twists
After each round of 6 exercises, there was a short recovery, before the next round started. As I say, after round 3 she was really starting to feel ‘the burn’, and the training effect took place… I thought it was a cracking session, and all credit to her for smashing her training out the park…
For more Kettle Bell exercise ideas and technique demonstrations, take a look at our Training Guide TV’s…
So absolute fitness have decided to do something crazy this year for Comic Relief. After our recent success of delivering our awesome results driven FitnessCamps, where we have our Team Members dropping clothes sizes, and shedding inches left, right and centre (literally), we thought it may be a good idea, to arrange a BIG Red Nose Day BOOTCAMP all in aid of Comic Relief..!
So on Saturday 12th March at 10am from The Village Hotel & Leisure Club in Ashton, we are are aiming to put 100 people through our Boot Camp paces with the session being delivered by our 4 Top Boot Camp Trainers. The session is open to everyone (on a first come first served basis), and will be an ideal opportunity to ‘try’ out what all this Boot Camp fuss is about. The session will (possibly) have a little extra fun than normal as it is for Charity, but not only will you be doing a good thing for you that day, but you will also be helping to raise vital funds for a very worthy cause and help transform many other peoples lives too.
We are aiming to raise around £2000 through the event – which we will hope to achieve by having all attendees pay £5 to train, holding a BIG BOOTCAMP Prize Draw, with some great prizes on offer, we have Special EXCLUSIVE 2011 BIG Red Nose Day BOOTCAMP T-Shirts available to buy too, and much more…
We are therefore also looking for businesses to possibly donate prizes towards our raffle, so if you have something worth giving away, please do get in touch..!
I’m sure the 1hr special Boot Camp with absolute fitness will be a great experience, and the Trainers are really looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible on the 12th March… Go on, do YOUR bit for Charity, and get involved with this years BIG Red Nose Day BOOTCAMP in Ashton.
Last Sunday (20th Feb 2011), I spent my whole day down in London. I was down there educating other fitness professionals on Boot Camp and Circuits for the group fitness environment.
I was up at about 4.15am, and out on the road by 5am with a long drive down to our capital. On my journey I went through a number of albums including the new Adele (19) one – I didn’t think too much of it personally, a bit too slow and depressing for me, but soon perked up once my Rocky IV album came on. And with perfect timing, as I was only 10 miles away from my destination and not long after was passing the new development site of the 2012 London Olympic Park (very apt I thought)! Seeing that, got me really excited about my day ahead, and even topped it off before it had started.
Anyway, the day was filled with some great fun, with loads of ideas being shared amongst the 28 attendees and myself. We pretty much got stuck straight in with an hour long Circuit based Master Class, with some brilliant tunes being blasted out mixed by my Boot Camp Music Partners – Global BootCamps.
It’s got to be said, the team worked very hard. I always enjoy pushing other fitness professionals, they seem to work hard (most of them) and sometimes have a little point to prove, but it was great seeing them dripping with sweat at the end of that one.
So we settled down, and went through some theory, exercise programming, business development, marketing etc, and shared loads of great ideas.
After finishing off the day with some session planning, motivational discussions and personal development plans being sorted, we wrapped up the day, and all headed home. Myself, settled in my car, with a few extra CD’s all prepped up, I set off for one more view of the future Olympic Stadium (maybe next year, I’ll be working there as a volunteer..?), and a 4 hour trip back home..!
All in all, a fantastic, productive and effective day was had by everyone. So, here is to the next one (Date TBC) – I Just Love What I Do..!
If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook or know me in a real in the person sense, you’ll have heard me talk about Bootcamp.
I’ve been doing Bootcamp now for 3 weeks. Bootcamp runs at my local gym, the Unit, in Glossop. It consists of 45 minutes of exercising on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and is lead by Heidi Wood and Richard Marsh.
I’m pleased with myself because it starts at 6:30am and I signed up to it. And I don’t mind it. And I haven’t missed one (apart from one when I was away on holiday). People who know me well will understand what a feat this is. I don’t have kids so waking up at 5.50am isn’t something I’m very used to.
I’ve definitely started to change shape and I’ve lost some centimeters according to the tape measure.
Weight loss isn’t something I’ve been focusing on. I don’t really lose weight unless I’m really careful of what I eat and it fluctuates so much I can’t say what the results are right now. Usually for me exercise makes little difference to my weight. What exercise does for me is it focuses my mind on overall fitness. To be better able to cycle up hills and put the running miles in I need to be leaner. Boot camp helps me to focus on eating healthily. When I try to lose weight I’m careful nowadays not to lose more than one or two pounds per week, so I’m not expecting or hoping for huge losses (I’ll write a blog post soon on how you can achieve that).
What is most useful for me is getting up at 5.50am. For a while during the summer I was trying to get up at that time in an attempt to get more done with my days. I couldn’t stick to it very easily, but with Boot camp to go to I can. Getting out of bed at 5.50am is a great benefit to me. I really get so much more done with my day.
One of the best things about the sessions is that they are varied and fun. It’s not about being screamed at in a military style, more about encouraging you to get the most of the session. There’s usually a little game involved which helps to wake you up and enjoy the exercise. Each day we do something different. Generally the same type of exercise, but in a different way. There’s a lot of burpees, crunches, squats, lunges and that type of activity. Because there’s variety, you don’t get bored. If you’re interested, Richard has produced an Ebook of boot camp workouts that are available for purchase online.
A further bonus point is that the people in the class good craic. We have a laugh (but take the exercising seriously obviously!)
In view of this and the fact that I’m improving my fitness levels considerably, I’ve signed up for another month. I’ve asked other people if they’re interested and the usual answer is, “you can f**k right off!”. Ha! I know it’s not for everyone, but It’s great, seriously. I’ve honestly really enjoyed it.
If 6.30 is too daunting, there are 09.30 am times too. But I’m sticking with 6.30 – even though the option to go at 9.30am is there.
Here are some of the stats of my losses since November 2009 (before bootcamp, but since I started exercising and reducing my calorific intake). It’s been slow, but there is definite progress.
Chest
Waist
Thigh (measured since Oct 2010)
Neck (measured since Oct 2010)
15cm
14cm
4cm
4cm
In terms of weight since November 2009 I’ve lost about 2.5 or 3 stone. It’s not a huge amount, but I’ve not been trying as hard as I might with the food. I had lost a further 7-10lbs more before Christmas, but I went off the wagon a little.
I heard about the “fat burning zone” a while back and then largely ignored it as another item of confusing weight loss/exercise advice. As you may know I’m on a mission to lose 35lbs before the end of March 2011 (Starting at the end of September 2010). So far I’ve lost 8lbs.
I’m determined to avoid faddy short-term diets even though it is very tempting to find a quick fix. I’m sticking to a reduced calorie diet and I’m trying to eat wholesome, balanced, well proportioned meals. It works – very slowly – but it works. I’m also focusing on exercise; I try to do at least one hour of exercise per day and much more at the weekend. So there’s a lot of calorie burning going on and few calories in. Still, the actual loss is minimal.
The Fat Burning Zone
I started to look at the fat burning zone. I’ve no real choice when riding up hills. Cadence up, heart rate down? I wish. Even in the cycle-fit or spinning classes at The Pilates Studio Glossop I push myself to go over 80% as this ensures that my calorie consumption is as high as possible. According to the fat burning zone theory, Fat burning zones are around 60-70% of maximum heart rate. That’s where I should be exercising because that’s where I’ll burn fat. So if someone could come and steam roller all of these hills from the High Peak area, that would be perfect. I investigated the fat burning zone a little further….
Racing Weight and High Vs Low Intensity Workouts
I’ve been reading Matt Fitzgerald’s Racing Weight : How to get Lean Peak Performance. It fits my requirements as it’s a healthy, wholesome and balanced approach to eating and I’m hoping to do 1/2 and full marathons next year. There’s a section in there which explains the fat burning zone, and explains why there are fewer benefits to fat burning zone over high intensity workouts than we’ve been led to believe.
Here’s why. I have taken the following from pp162 – 177 in Racing Weight.
“exercise within the fat zone is an effective way to burn off excess body fat, but it isn’t necessarily more effective than exercising at higher intensities, where carb burning is greater and fat burning less.”
The premise of low intensity workouts is that when you exercise in the the fat burning zone your energy is taken from your fat cells. High intensity work outs take energy from your muscle glycogen stores. And fewer fat cells is good…. right?
Well, after low intensity workouts, few of the calories that you consume will be used to replenish muscle glycogen (or muscle carb) stores because they are not tapped into during a workout. Calories will be used instead to replenish the fat stores used.
On the other hand, high intensity workouts result in calories replenishing depleted muscle glycogen.
Burn Burn yes you’re gonna burn (Calories)
If you burn fat mostly during a workout you will store mostly fat after. If you burn mostly carbs during a workout you will store mostly carbs after. So, to get leaner it doesn’t really matter which you use. Both result in calorie burning.
The important thing is the number of calories used and more calories are used during high intensity work out. And.. the more calories used, the more likely it is that you’ll experience loss of fat.
Benefits of Both Approaches
It’s important to note, as Fitzgerald says, that one benefit of low intensity fat burning workouts is that it’s easier to do more at a low intensity. So if your fitness levels are not so high, you’ll be able to burn more calories for longer and thus more calories overall. High intensity workouts burn calories faster than moderate exercise but of course you need to be pretty fit to start with to do enough of the high intensity stuff.
A further benefit is that, “training at high level increases ability, faster”. Which also makes sense. Training at higher level will most likely push you to exhaustion which after recovery allows you to develop muscle and become stronger and better at your sport of choice.
Interleukin-6
During high intensity workouts there’s a release of an immune system compound called interleukin-6 (IL-6) this is released in response to declining glycogen levels during exercise and triggers increased fat burning. As Fitzgerald points out, “IL-6 not only increases fat burning during workouts but also triggers adaptations that increase the athlete’s general fat burning capacity”.
So if you do high intensity workouts, you’ll improve your chance of just being leaner because you’ll be better at burning fat generally.
Ideally you’d do exercise that leaves you more or less exhausted. “High intensity increases fat burning and glycogen storage and increases capacity and movement economy. They make you a faster and leaner athlete.”
Don’t overdo it!
If you’re just starting out, do low intensity and focus on fat burning. You need to build up slowly. Don’t completely annihilate yourself with high intensity workouts and don’t forget to rest. There’s a place for both. But… in the words of Cherry Baker (my local and related fitness professional) the idea that high intensity workouts will stop you from losing weight is simply “bollocks”.
