That Doesn't Sound Like Much Fun...

For those that aren’t aware I operate a Mobile Personal Training service, conducting most of my sessions outdoors - 12 months a year. Due to the fact that we live in the UK this means that there is a strong chance at some point me and my clients end up having to do our training sessions in wet weather. This came up in conversation recently when somebody said to me that training outdoors in January “didn’t sound like much fun” and that there was “no way they would be able to do it”.

Now there’s two issues with what this person said, but I’ll deal with the fun part first. Before I go into this more I want to make it clear that I’m not an advocate for making exercise as unpleasant as possible. In fact I always do my best to ensure that my training sessions are varied, interesting and of an appropriate intensity for each individual client - Despite what some fit pros suggest exercising to the point of vomiting isn’t a good philosophy for long term success. But here’s the caveat - my clients don’t train with me for fun, they train with me for results. In my experience the problem many people have with the whole “exercise should be fun” attitude is that if you rely on training being fun to motivate you, then what are you going to do when it isn’t? Perhaps you’re tired, you’ve had a stressful day, or just not feeling it? So you decide it’s not going to be much fun and bin it off, along with your consistency which is the single most important factor for success. Answer me this - would you consistently go to work everyday if you relied on it to be fun? Of course you wouldn’t, you go to work for an outcome i.e. to get paid. Now that doesn’t mean that neither exercise nor work can never be fun, but at the end of the day your priority is the outcome and so whether you have fun or not is irrelevant. Make sense?

The second issue with what the person said was that there was “no way they would be able” to exercise outdoors in bad weather. Now there is a big difference between not being able to and not wanting to, in truth the vast majority of the time when it comes to exercise it’s the latter. I never take an issue with people when they say that they don’t want to exercise, or eat healthily because at the end of the day they are being honest and I respect that. But when people start talking about not being able to get fit, or lose weight, now we have a problem because this dis-empowers others from achieving their goals if they start to believe this to be true. In reality the best thing about health and fitness is that anybody can do anything - you aren’t limited by your genetics, or your upbringing, but rather by your choices and your choices alone.

As I said before being consistent in your training and nutrition is the key to success. So if you’re lacking a structured exercise routine and need some help getting started on your health and fitness journey, then please feel free to get in touch anytime

The Optimum Workout Split

When planning a resistance training program your weekly workout split in conjunction with your exercise selection will have significant ramifications on your results, therefore it stands to reason that the optimum workout split is often a topic of discussion among gym goers. However, the answer isn't entirely clear cut, as the optimum workout split will vary depending on individual circumstances and goals. Below I have outlined the 3 weekly workout splits that I program for my clients as well as myself.

The Total Body Split involves training all major muscle groups of the body in every session. This split is most applicable for people that are training 3 times per week or less. If you are relatively new to strength training (< 3 months experience) then I would recommend doing no more than three training sessions per week. Doing more than this when you are just starting out can lead to overuse injuries such as tendinitis. In the same way if you can only train a maximum of 3 times per week due to time constraints, then Total Body Training is your best bet because it allows you to hit every major muscle group multiple times each week. This is important if your goal is to build muscle because protein synthesis is only elevated for around 48 hours post session, so it's vital that muscle groups are stimulated more than once every 7 days. Alternatively if your main goal is to reduce your body fat then Total Body Training is the most appropriate due to the fact that you can perform more exercises in a single session, thereby allowing you to elevate your heart rate and oxygen consumption for a greater period of time and subsequently burn more calories.

The Push Pull Split is most applicable for those that have a level of prior experience with resistance training (> 1 year) and is most useful for developing overall athleticism due to the focus on movement patterns as apposed to muscles. The key when it comes to programming for athletic development is to include exercises that have the greatest similarity to the given sport, or activity in question. Most athletic actions are underpinned by fundamental movement patterns; in the case of the lower body this would be extension of the knee and hip which predominantly utilise the quadriceps and glutes / hamstrings respectively. Lower body pushing movements e.g. back squats are knee extension dominant exercises, while pulling exercises such as dead lifts are hip extension dominant. It is therefore vital that any training program designed to improve athleticism has a balance of pushing and pulling movements. This example incorporates a 4 week cycle where each week focuses more on one particular movement pattern(s).

The specific muscle group split should only be used by those with a significant background in resistance training (> 3 years), this is because it involves a very high weekly training volume and therefore a high tolerance to training is necessary to avoid injuries. This training split can be adapted to 5 sessions per week instead of 6, but regardless it involves each muscle group being trained to a high level of fatigue multiple times per week. However, despite this high training volume it is designed in such a way that the same muscles are never used on 2 consecutive days to allow sufficient recovery. This split is great for building muscle mass and it is the only training split where I program specific muscle isolation exercises. If you are training 4 times per week or less you are far better limiting yourself to compound exercises that use multiple muscles and joints.

So there you have it, the perfect workout split depends on what your goals are and how many times per week you can (safely) train. You may have noticed that I didn't include any training for the abs / core muscles. This is is because you should be training your core in EVERY session regardless of your weekly workout split. If you have any questions please feel free to get in touch anytime here

Steady Cardio vs Resistance Training for Fat Loss - Which is Better?

When it comes to burning fat there are a lot misconceptions out there and it can often be a bit of a minefield when trying to establish the most effective way to achieve this. If you are one of the many people that are confused about how to lose weight and tone up, or frustrated that you aren't getting anywhere allow me to enlighten you...

First and foremost before we get to onto to training I want to start by making sure that nobody is under any illusion that the ONLY way to burn fat is to be in a calorie deficit - a state where you are burning more calories than you are consuming. Now while this isn't the be all and end all when it comes to losing weight, it is the single most important factor. Essentially your fat mass is your body's reserve store of energy, so if you are eating the same amount of energy, or more than you are using then your body will never get to the point where it has to use your fat mass as fuel. There are 2 ways you can get yourself into a calorie deficit:

1) Eat fewer calories
2) Increase your energy expenditure (exercise)

The simplest and most effective way is the former, however exercise will make things a hell of a lot easier - plus you will get the accompanying fitness benefits and improvement in muscle tone. So to answer the question of which is better between cardio and resistance training as it relates to fat loss, we need to establish how effective they are at increasing your energy expenditure.

Steady Cardio
Steady state cardio is characterised by low to medium intensity exercise that is carried out continuously, often for a period of in excess of 30 minutes. On the positive side steady state cardio is great for burning calories because it keeps your heart rate and oxygen consumption at an elevated level for a sustained period of time. Most people will burn around 500 calories in 45 minutes of jogging - not bad at all considering you need to be in a 200-300 calorie deficit each day in order to lose weight. However, the benefits of steady cardio with regards to fat loss stop as soon as you are done training. Resistance training on the other hand can help you establish a calorie deficit even after you've left the gym...

Resistance Training
Resistance, or weight training involves performing repetitive movements under some degree of load and is carried out intermittently in the form of sets and reps - e.g. 3 sets of 10 reps of squats. Now while you won't burn the same number of calories in an equal amount of time as steady cardio, resistance training elevates your metabolic rate for a period of up to 48hrs post exercise. So the calorie burning benefits of resistance training extend well beyond your 45 minute training session. In addition, when you carry out resistance training on a consistent basis you will start to increase your body's muscles mass. This further increases your resting metabolic rate because energy is required to maintain this additional lean mass.

In summary, it is difficult to determine which form of training burns more total calories as this will vary from person to person. For best results I would always recommend a combination of both steady cardio and resistance training, however if you are only able to train a couple of times a week then I would prioritise resistance training because of the longer term benefit of increasing your resting metabolic rate. If you have any questions about anything I have mentioned in this article I would love to hear from you so please feel free to get in touch anytime.

Are you Training or Exercising? The difference matters...

Are you able to answer this question? If not, then like most people the chances are despite what you may believe you are doing the latter and not the former. Some people might argue that if they are going to the gym, or running every week they are clearly training, but even if you are going EVERY DAY that might not be the case. You see while training and exercise are both characterised by some form of physical activity, this is pretty much where the similarities between the them come to an end...

It's important to make the point that there isn't necessarily a right or wrong answer to whether you should be training or exercising - it all depends on your desired outcome. But before we get to that lets first establish the difference between training and exercise. To put it simply exercise is movement for movement's sake (again there isn't necessarily anything wrong with this), whereas training is characterised by some key features that give it a number of advantages over exercise. You may find some slightly different definitions of training depending on where you look, but in my opinion these are the three most important principles of training:

1. Specificity
Regardless of whatever form training takes, be it running, weight lifting, swimming, or Pilates it must be specific to the goal in mind. E.g. if your goal is to lose weight then activities that allow you to burn the most calories are the ones that you should choose, so in this instance dong yoga three times a week isn't going to be the best option. Furthermore, if you are trying to improve your athletic ability in a given sport then performing exercises that are the most similar to the movement patterns executed during play are going to be the most appropriate. So if you are a football player then focusing primarily on lower body over upper body movements is going to be preferable. If you don't plan your training sessions accordingly, or if you aren't sure which exercises are the best for your chosen activity, check out the Online Personal Training section of my website to find out how I can help you.

2. Progressive Overload
In order to make progress whether you are trying to get stronger, fitter, or more flexible you have to generate a stimulus strong enough to force your body to adapt. Note the word force here - your body won't spend valuable resources to change itself unnecessarily. Over time your body will get used to a given stimulus and won't adapt anymore, this is characterised by a plateau in improvement. To ensure your continual progress you must gradually increase the training stimulus over time. You can do this by increasing the intensity, volume, or frequency of your training sessions. However, the crucial thing here is that you track your performance in each session. If you don't know what weights you lifted, or how far you ran in your last session how will you know what to do next time? To put it simply if you aren't recording what you are doing in each workout then you are NOT training.

3. Individual needs
The third principle links to the first and is so often the thing people forget about when it comes to their training regimen. It is incredibly important to take into account what works best for you because this can vary from person to person, if you have dodgy knees then doing tonnes of burpees and tuck jumps isn't going to be ideal. This is the downside to exercise classes, as to get the best results your training sessions should be based around YOUR individual fitness level and no one else's.

In summary, while exercise is great for burning some spare calories and maintaining good health, training is a far more strategic approach to achieving your health and fitness goals. Therefore, if you are trying to get into the best shape of your life then exercise simply isn't going to cut it. But if you are just trying to stave of the inevitable slow down of your metabolism as you get older and avoid gaining half a stone each year, then exercise will do the job just fine.

I am NOT Motivated to Train...

No the title isn't a typo - I'm not somebody that is motivated to train, even though it's essential to my job as a fitness professional. But yet I still manage to do 5-6 training sessions every week pretty much 52 weeks of the year. How does that make sense you ask? It's simple - I'm not motivated... I'm disciplined and there's a MASSIVE difference.

I often hear people say that the problem they have when trying to kick start, or maintain a health and fitness regime is that they lack motivation, this is often the reason my clients first look into personal training. I'm very honest when it comes to what I can and can't do as a PT and one thing I categorically cannot do is motivate anyone enough to achieve their goals. At this point most people will be wondering what on earth the point of hiring a PT is if they can't motivate anyone, but hear me out. While I can offer encouragement and support ultimately I only spend a MAXIMUM of 3 hours per week with any one client, meaning that there are 165 additional hours people must rely on themselves to do the right things when I'm not around. This is where relying on motivation becomes an issue...

The problem with motivation is that it is fleeting, here one minute and then gone right when you need it most. It is often attached to temporary extrinsic factors such as a holiday, or a wedding which, once they have passed provide absolutely no incentive to train, or make the right choices about what you eat. So instead of motivating my clients, I instead teach them to be disciplined. In contrast to motivation, discipline does not rely on extrinsic factors and is a skill that can be learned and perfected over time, but you have to be willing to challenge the way you think and prioritize your life. It all comes to down to mindset - we are motivated to do things that we WANT to do, whereas we are disciplined enough to do the things we HAVE to do. For example, while I love my job and wouldn't change it for the world, I like everybody else go to work because I HAVE to in order to get paid, regardless of whether I'm motivated or not. In order to be disciplined when it comes to training and nutrition you must apply the same mindset.

Learning to become disciplined takes time, especially if you are taking your very first steps on your health and fitness journey. So be patient, you can't expect to suddenly have the will to go to the gym every day when you've spent the last how ever many years living a sedentary lifestyle. The key is preparation and consistency, think about how many times per week you can realistically train right now and start with that - and if you are thinking of waiting for the right time to start, forget it because it doesn't exist. The best time to start is today so if you need a hand to take that first step I am always here to help. - more info here

Excuses...

Trust me I've heard them all at this point - "it's not the right time of year", "I'm too busy at the moment" etc. etc. The truth is that there will never ever be a perfect time to start getting in shape, if there was then people would probably never put on weight in the first place. Because all of those reasons people give for not making positive changes to their eating and exercise habits are all barriers that THEY put in the way, in order to justify their inaction.

For those that aren't aware I operate a mobile Personal Training service. That means that unless my clients have a space indoors where we can train, we do our sessions outdoors usually in a local park. Yes even in winter... come rain, wind and bitterly cold conditions we still train - no excuses. Now some people might be reading this thinking that my clients must be mad, but they are more than likely the people that use the same excuses every year about why they haven't made more of an effort to lose weight. Because if you are going to let something like the weather dictate whether (no pun intended) you achieve your goals or not, then you're already screwed.

In addition to being cold and miserable at the moment this is also around the time that many people will give up on their 2019 health and fitness goals, despite the fact that we are only just approaching October. I've personally already heard numerous people talking about how 2020 is going to be the year they finally lose weight. Let me do you a favour - it won't be. Because unless you are prepared to take action right now, then you never will. Simple as that.

The good news is that if you stop relying on your environment and pictures of people with infinitely better genetics then you on Instagram to motivate you. You will find that making small changes like stopping drinking Monday-Friday and doing 10,000 steps a day are much easier than you think. From there only you can decide what is possible if you just stop making excuses.

Exercise Is Your Super Power

As a Personal Trainer there's one comment that I receive from nearly 100% of my clients after our first session together - "I just FEEL so much better". Now I'm not suggesting that my clients are instantly able to run a marathon as a result of a single training session, BUT it is possible to feel more invigorated, focused and motivated in all other aspects of life. THAT is the power of exercise, allow me to explain how...

Ever heard of endorphins before? These are the chemicals that are released by our bodies when we exercise triggering positive feelings and reducing our perception of pain - both emotional and physical - similar to the effects of morphine. Some people even go as far as describing the feeling after a workout as "runners high" due to the feeling of euphoria that they experience. But it doesn't stop there because these feelings often carry over and manifest themselves in an overall more positive and enthusiastic approach to life - ALL as a product of exercise.

So now we've established how and why exercise is your superpower. Lets get a little more specific... Research shows that any form of exercise leads to the release of endorphins and the positive feelings associated with them, however the more intense the exercise the greater the effect. High intensity interval training and heavy weight training appear to have the most significant impact on mood and I can personally vouch for this. It could very well be that I need to get out more, but to me there's no feeling like the one I get after spending for 45 minutes to an hour literally moving heavy objects out of the way in order to achieve my goals.

So by all means do whatever you enjoy the most, but my advice would be to do at least some form of resistance exercise. 3 sets of 8-12 repetitions of exercises that involve big muscles and multiple joints such as back squats, deadlifts and bench press would be a great starting point. Be careful not to overdo it at the beginning (like I and so many other have done), otherwise while you may be feeling fantastic on the inside, the objective isn't to render yourself immobile for the next few days. If you're unsure then I would recommend getting a trainer to help you design a program that works for you.

You've probably heard this before, but low self-esteem is the single most common reason people do not pursue theirs dreams and aspirations, therefore barring them from success in both their careers and personal lives. But what if that didn't have to be the case? What if you could feel stronger, more confident and self-assured? Well you absolutely can - and maybe just maybe exercise holds key for you.

The Sweatier the Better? Does Sweating Equal Weight Loss?

You've probably seen this in the gym - some poor soul putting themselves through torture, peddling their ass off on the spin bike wearing a tracksuit and hoodie in July; all in the pursuit off greater caloric burn and weight loss. Sadly in reality only one of these is actually achieved and it isn't even in the way most people would hope...

Does sweating more equate to more calories burned?

In a word - No. The amount you sweat during a workout does not represent how many calories, or how much fat you are burning. Sweating is merely a sign that your body's core temperature is beginning to increase and your homeostatic mechanisms are kicking in to dissipate some of this excess heat. Neither is sweating a sign that you are necessarily working hard... For example most of us won't sweat a great deal during a heavy strength training session, but will perspire significantly more when doing some very low level continuous cardio. This is because we only produce heat when we are actually exercising. So even though the intensity of the strength training is higher, the amount of time you are working for and subsequently the time you are producing heat is very short compared continuous cardio.

Does sweating result in greater weight loss?

Yes it does, but only in the short term. The weight you lose through sweating during a workout is simply a consequence of losing water. Water is quite dense and given that it makes up around 60% of the human body, it makes sense that when you lose water through sweating your body weight can drop quite dramatically. However, as soon as you re-hydrate after a training session that weight loss will be negated.

In short, if your goal is to burn fat when you workout then you need not concern yourself with how much you sweat. Instead focus your attention on the actual content of your workouts and more importantly what you are putting into your body when it comes to your diet. If you need help with either of these then I would be happy to assist. Feel free to contact me anytime.

Too Much Sugar in Fruit?

This topic comes from a conversation I had with a client last week about sugar intake and how if you are trying to lose weight it's something to pay attention to... They asked me "what about all the sugar in fruit? Isn't that bad for you?" Now this is a perfectly reasonable question as on the surface you would be correct in assuming that fruit does contain a large amount of sugar, however it's important to understand that not all sugars are created equal - Allow me to explain...

The sugar that is naturally contained within fruit is unrefined and has a low glycemic-index meaning that is broken down by your body slowly. Conversely, refined sugar i.e. cane sugar is broken down very rapidly causing a spike in insulin and blood sugar levels. When you consume large quantities of refined sugar throughout the day your blood sugar will be chronically elevated. This often leads to weight gain because your body has no choice but to store any more sugar that is digested as fat. Whats more is that your body will require more and more insulin to cope with the excess sugar in your blood which puts you at risk of type 2 diabetes. In addition because refined sugar is digested so quickly you never really feel satisfied, that's why it's so easy to get through a giant bag of Haribo in one sitting despite the massive number of calories you are consuming.

Our population now consumes more refined sugar that any generation before, largely due to the high amount contained within processed foods. Making matter worse processed foods contain much fewer of the vital nutrients that our bodies need to be healthy. Fruit on the other hand contains essential vitamins and minerals, plus it's full of fiber which keeps you feeling fuller for longer.

In summary if you are trying to lose weight or just generally trying to eat more healthily, don't concern yourself over eating too much fruit. The best rule to follow is to consume as many natural occurring sources of food as possible and you will be fine. If you need any further guidance on how to improve your diet and nutrition, I provide tailored meal plans as part of my Personal Training service, please get in touch anytime to find out how I can support you in achieving your goals.

Cancer Research's New Campaign is "Fat Shaming"

The fat shaming police are at it again...

The charity Cancer Research has come under recent criticism over it's latest campaign highlighting the growing obesity epidemic in the country. Their crime? Stating that obesity has now overtaken smoking as the leading cause of bowel, kidney, ovarian and liver cancer. Billboards like the one below display the word obesity on a cigarette packet to make the point, but apparently these facts have upset some people.

My problem with this mentality is the prioritization of people's feelings over reality, because unless we face up to this issue nothing will be done about it. In truth the current obesity crisis is a symptom of the wider problem - people are making poor lifestyles choices i.e. sedentary behaviour and being greedy when it comes to food. Generally speaking people don't refrain from behaviours they enjoy unless there are severe consequences. I think most people would agree that cancer is a pretty bad outcome and so bringing it to people's attention may actually make them get off their arses and stop shoveling tonnes of s*** food into themselves on a daily basis.

What's more there is evidence that it works, take alcohol consumption for example. Over the last 15 years there have been an ever increasing number of campaigns encouraging people to drink responsibly, focusing on the negative consequences of failing to do so. Despite the apparent prevalence of binge drinking culture, a study from 2005-2015 revealed that the number of young people that chose not to drink alcohol rose from 18% to 29% during that time - a coincidence? I doubt it...

At the end of the day the prospect of a better outcome isn't enough to change people's habits - telling people how much healthier they could be, or even worse telling them they are fine the way they are when they are en route to an early grave isn't going to help them. As someone who makes a living out of motivating people to change their lives, I can tell you that we all need something bad to run away from just as much as we need something good to run towards and while sometimes the truth hurts, it's the truth after all and shielding people from it does them no good.

If you are looking to get in shape and change your life then contact me here