Finding motivation to train: My top tips to beat the post-holiday blues

In true British style, the summer has come and gone in a blink of an eye. To be fair, we have had some fantastic sunny weather and I’ve enjoyed some long hazy days, some alfresco dining courtesy of my new barrel barbeque and have even taken up running again as it was too nice to be stuck inside the gym all the time. However, as I write this I’m looking out through the window as the rain pours down and gives me a big reminder that autumn is well and truly on the horizon.

As a veteran trainer of many years I always witness a trend in September; that it takes a while for people to return to the gym after the summer holiday season and relocate the motivation to push on with their training. Why does this happen? My theory is that the majority of training leading up to summer – pretty much from January onwards – is geared towards aesthetics, so as soon as the fear of wearing clothes that reveal lots of flesh has dispersed, then so does the motivation to exercise frequently.

The problem with this is that it is very short term and just creates a cycle of repeated behaviour every year:

So here are my top tips to break this cycle, get back in the gym and start taking a more strategic approach to your health and fitness all year round.

1. Improve your foundations to keep injury free

One of the issues you have to contend with when going through a negative training cycle is that injuries will be common, as you are over-training in short bursts to make up for months of inactivity.

My advice is to approach this autumn as if you are starting from scratch and work harder at building the foundations. By this I mean look at your posture, your mobility, muscle imbalances (speak to your trainer about how to assess this) and take time to improve your technique of all the foundation movements – squats, deadlift, lunge, push, pull and twist. Not only will you see a ramp up of improvement in your performance, but the common aches and pains you suffer with every spring and summer will miraculously disappear.

2. Reset your nutrition and learn how food can make you feel better

Transforming the way you eat doesn’t have to be geared towards losing weight. The excesses of the summer holidays – too much alcohol, too many desserts, too many meals out… well, just generally TOO MUCH of everything – can leave you feeling bloated, lethargic and unmotivated, so physically you may not be performing at 100%.

Cleaning up your diet through my favourite reset method – elimination – can help you learn about how your body reacts to certain foods and forces you to plan meals, cook with wholesome ingredients, find the most nutrient dense foods and remove all those very addictive junk foods that are just not great for your long term health.

3. Set yourself some performance goals not aesthetic ones

Take a break from trying to lose weight, reducing your body-fat or increasing how big your muscles are so you look good in your swimwear and think about setting yourself some performance goals in the gym.

It doesn’t matter what level of fitness you are, you can always hit a new personal best. For some it may be being able to run 1 mile non-stop; for others it might be to squat their bodyweight or do unassisted pull-ups. Whatever your performance goal, I can tell you that if you set out a strategic plan to achieve your goal then you will get some aesthetic benefits at the same time and without the stress of focusing on them every day. The buzz you get from hitting your targets and seeing your fitness improve month to month will keep you motivated all year round.

4. Try creating some new healthy habits

Using this period of non-aesthetic focus on your health and fitness is the perfect time to start looking at other ways to improve your total wellbeing by creating some new and healthy habits.

I have written before about how it’s actually easier and more beneficial for your health to create new habits than it is to break old habits, so I was pleased to read an article by James Clear – an entrepreneur who uses an understanding of behavioural science to succeed in life and business – agreeing with that principle, but also giving some fantastic practical tips to put it into action.

He states that you should look at the 3 Rs of behavioural change when trying to install a new habit:

Reminder – the trigger that initiates behaviour

Routine – the behaviour itself

Reward – the benefit you get from the behaviour

How does that work in the real world?

Well first of all, it’s important not to try anything too radical; just small tweaks in your habits and behaviour will give you a greater chance of success. So, if your new behaviour is to drink herbal tea every morning, then look to tie that into an existing habit.

For example: if every morning you go into Costa Coffee (other coffee shop brands are available!) to get a cup of hot sugary milk with extra syrup then your ‘REMINDER’ is going into Costa Coffee, your ‘ROUTINE’ is now ordering a herbal tea instead, and your ‘REWARD’ is whatever you want it to be. I think a non-food reward works best, maybe putting the money you saved from buying a tea (even if it’s only £1 every time) into a pot that can build up over the next few months to then buy yourself something.

Healthy habits to try could be:

• Stop eating bread
• Flossing daily
• Drink herbal tea everyday
• Watch less TV
• Cut down your use of social media
• Call your friends and family more often
• Take a daily walk

5. Book yourself into an event for charity

If none of these suggestions takes your fancy, then put those narcissistic tendencies about how you look to one side, and do something for charity.

There are countless physical challenges that are available for people to sign up to in the name of charity; running a 5km park run, wading through muddy obstacle course races, climbing the peaks of our national parks or even attempting an amateur triathlon. All of them will require months of dedication to training and an improvement in your physical fitness and nutrition before you could complete them, so can help towards setting some long term targets to keep you motivated through the autumn and winter months.

Stay healthy!

Losing weight and leaning up: The good, the bad and the ugly!

I recently put myself through a 6 week exercise and diet plan, devised by myself and a colleague (Tony Wilson) that was geared towards losing body fat, increasing muscle and improving digestive function.  It was a successful period for me, I hit some personal goals – losing 4kg in body-weight and dropping just over 3% body-fat in that period, as well as maintaining my strength in the gym.

Those who have read my articles before will know that my philosophy in the health and fitness world is not usually geared towards aesthetics – it is more geared towards achieving a healthy mind, body and soul through understanding of behaviour, nutrition and good movement, so this was an unusual programme for me to follow. So, instead of writing a blog about HOW I have achieved my results, I wanted to highlight the GOOD, the BAD and the UGLY that comes with dedicating yourself to a focused goal and how it can affect your life and the people around you.

The GOOD!

Let’s be clear about this, there are many positive aspects of finding a goal, sticking to a plan (even if it’s all consuming) and achieving your results. I felt really pleased with myself that I got what I wanted out of the 6 weeks and am able to show my clients that I practice what I preach. What did I experience?

 More energy! 

No real surprises here, but I mainly put down the increased energy to eradicating wheat and gluten and overall reducing the amount of carbohydrate I was eating. 

It is often thought that starchy carbohydrates and whole grains are needed for energy, but I found that reducing carbohydrate intake overall and planning the amount based on my daily activity level really helped give me a boost in energy. No more sugar spikes!!

I was also keeping well hydrated through lots of water, herbal teas and vegetables which would have also been a positive factor in my energy levels, as would the improved sleep I was getting by eating lighter in the evenings.

Improved gut function! 

Again, no real surprises here. I had slipped into a few bad habits over a 6 month period and was consuming too many grains and refined sugar, which had resulted in a feeling of lethargy, bloating and weight gain (even though my exercise habit had been consistent). 

Removing wheat, gluten, dairy and alcohol for a 30 day period helped get my gut functioning better which improved my digestion, my skin quality, my toilet habits were more regular and I lost weight around my middle which is what I was aiming for.

A great sense of achievement! 

This was on two fronts – first of all it is a great feeling when you prove that you have the strength to push yourself physically in the gym past your normal boundaries and the mental toughness to tackle your diet and create new positive habits in the kitchen. Secondly there was some professional pride in my results. I spend a lot of time talking to clients about fitness, nutrition and lifestyle so it’s good to give them some recent evidence of my own success and prove that I am providing sound advice and a professional service.

 Improved motivation! 

Not just in the gym, but for life. The positive feeling I got from hitting my goals spilled into other aspects of my life and I was approaching my daily life with a new found zest and enthusiasm - even more so than usual ;-) 

The BAD!

Yes, I’m afraid that anyone telling you that these type of goals and programmes come without negatives then they are either lying, or haven’t actually experienced it for themselves. What did I experience?

Obsessive behaviours!

I was beginning to show signs of obsessive behaviour, which although were helping me form new habits and track my progress, are no good for a healthy mind in the long run. 

• I was weighing myself all of the time – shocking!
•  I was obsessed with carbohydrate content and reading food labels. 
• I was constantly thinking about my next meal and how I could plan my days around eating.
• I was beating myself up mentally if I ate too much, or slipped up on my diet, or missed a workout.

Narcissism was creeping in! 

This I guess could be highlighted as obsessive behaviour too, but I wanted to tackle it individually. I was becoming totally self-obsessed with how I looked. I was always checking my profile view in the mirror, asking my fiancé whether she thought I was looking better and looking at old photos to compare. Now, I know you’re all reading this and thinking that sounds like typical behaviour of most Fitness Professionals and anyone who lifts weights – you may be right in some cases, but it was unusual for me to do it on such a grand scale.

Becoming a bit reclusive! 

I think it’s totally normal and necessary to moderate your social life whilst attempting to challenge yourself with a fitness and nutrition goal, especially if you have an active social life and it’s 100% essential to give up booze for a period of time. But, I was beginning to avoid people so I didn’t have to make choices about food, or get hassled for doing something that they think is stupid or a waste of time. I even was happy that my fiancé went to Canada on business for a week whilst I was starting the ketogenic part of my diet so I didn’t have to think about her when it came to food (I did miss you too Emily…. I promise!). 

This of course was all a means to an end, but I guess the reason I have highlighted it as a negative is because if it goes on too long you may find your friends don’t want to invite you out anymore. So, keep your periods of extreme goals relatively short.

The UGLY!

Haters are going to hate!

What I mean by this is there are some people out there who are never happy for you – or happy for anyone probably. When you put yourself out there in the public domain and let people know you are trying to achieve something, even put out pictures and updates to help keep you motivated and on track, there are always going to be people who criticise you. You haven’t lost enough, you could do more, I can’t see any difference, you’re mad for doing it, it’s not normal etc etc.

So, if you’re taking the brave step of pushing yourself physically to the next level, you will have to deal with haters in some form. If you can thicken your skin and deal with it, then you’ll have no problems, if you are a sensitive soul, my advice would be to keep your goals private and don’t tell too many people.

To sum up, I found the whole experience inspiring and despite a mix of positive and negative feelings throughout the process I felt it was 100% worth the effort. Even if your long term goal is to maintain a healthy existence I urge people to get out of their comfort zones and try to push those mental and physical boundaries and adding in some tough, short term challenges.

Stay healthy!

Nothing is achieved in your comfort zone!

If there is one thing I can guarantee, it is that as a coach or trainer nothing is achieved in your comfort zone. Let’s put your training to one side for now and look at some other things you may come across in life.

If you want to get promoted at work, you wouldn’t expect it to happen by sitting in the corner not getting noticed; you would go the extra mile, work harder and take on extra responsibility to show that you are capable of more. 

If you wanted to start a business, you wouldn’t wait around for it to happen; you’d take a risk by borrowing money or investing your savings into the project, knowing that you are going to have to be uncomfortable before you succeed.

The same is true of your training and nutrition goals – sometimes you need to suck it up and put yourself in a place that you know is going to take extra effort and preparation, is going to need sacrifices and at times is going to take some mental toughness to succeed. But if you have a goal that is intrinsically important to you, the overwhelming positive feelings that come with reaching that goal will far outweigh the temporary pain along the way.

I’ll give you an example. I am currently putting myself through a regime of training and nutrition with the goal of reducing body fat. Those who know me, or have read my articles before, will know that I am not usually bothered with aesthetic goals. However, recently I have slipped too far into my comfort zone and my training has been purely based around things that I enjoy – picking up heavy things for low reps. My nutrition has also slipped into comfort and I have allowed myself too much variety, which has ended up with me overeating for a number of months, resulting in 3kg in extra weight (not all muscle) and a general feeling of sluggishness.

To get myself back on track and firmly step out of my comfort zone, I have done the following:

• Written myself a fitness plan that includes higher volume and more conditioning work – or in lay terms: things I find difficult and don’t enjoy.
• Put myself on a regimented nutrition plan with restrictions and a process to follow. This curbs my natural enthusiasm for variety and will instil some discipline over a set time period (I am still allowing variety in what I eat, but am planning it in advance – even self-inflicted rules can provoke rebellion in me!).
• Set myself a body composition goal. This is totally different from my usual performance goals.

This of course is all personal to me and I would never suggest that my goals should be your goals, but here are a few things you could look at to help you break out of your comfort zone and revamp your training goals. 

Work harder. Are you coasting through your workouts without really breaking a sweat? If so then you need to ramp up the intensity of what you are doing and make sure you are coming out of the gym knowing that you pushed out every possible rep.

Change routine. If you have got used to doing exercises a certain way then change your routine. This doesn’t always mean completely new exercises, but could mean changing rep range, shortening rest periods or using different forms of the same move (front squats instead of back squats for example). If you like gentle cardio sessions, then try some high intensity work. If you like body building, try some calisthenics instead. The choice is yours.

Go public with your goals. Nothing makes people more uncomfortable than pressure from your peers. Tell people what you are going to achieve and put a time limit on it. Saving face is enough to make sure you achieve your goal.

Try an elimination diet. An elimination diet puts you more in touch with how you feel about food. Many people have forgotten what it’s actually like to function at 100% and do not even realise that common ailments such as fatigue, headaches, skin rashes, blocked nose, excess gas, feeling bloated – to name a few – are most likely caused by what you are eating. An elimination diet removes the most common contaminates from your diet (wheat, gluten, dairy, alcohol and processed food) over a period of 30 days and allows the body to reset and become energised naturally. It’s hard, but totally worth it!

Create some new habits. Breaking habits depletes will power and is an inefficient way of changing behaviour. Creating new habits on the other hand has been shown to be a really successful way of entering into a change cycle. Watching new TV shows; getting your news from a new media outlet; trying new foods; starting a new hobby – anything that makes you fire up some new brain activity is going to be mentally healthy for you and will enrich your life and have a positive effect on your overall motivation levels.

 I’m going to leave you with one of my favourite quotes that sums all of this up nicely:

“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”

Albert Einstein

Stay healthy!

5 power packed, highly nutritious breakfasts.

When it comes to changing the way we eat habits are tough to break. This is especially true of breakfast. We are told from an early age that it’s the most important meal of the day, and for many of us our staple diets were a bowl of breakfast cereal and milk. Or as I like to see it these days, a bowl of processed sugar and skimmed milk! Seriously, you will probably find more nutrition in the cardboard box they come in. The marketing job that the major cereal companies have done is outstanding. Just think if all that commercial acumen was dedicated to spreading the word of good health then I and thousands of other Fit Pro’s wouldn’t need a blog (although I’m sure we’d find something to write about!).

We haven’t just been conditioned to expect a certain type of food in the morning, but we’ve also got used to the low preparation time of just mindlessly pouring cereal into a bowl and pouring on milk.  Then there are the people who stopped eating breakfast in their late teens/early twenties. This is either due to being obsessed with weight loss and calorie restriction, or due to working patterns that mean they eat too late, drink too much and have no time or appetite to think about breakfast as they’re rushing out the door to start their commute to work. Either way, these people will end up stuffing their faces mid-morning with high sugar foods from vending machines, coffee shops or the staff cafeteria once the hunger pangs kick in.

Below I have listed 5 power packed breakfasts that I often eat myself and use at different times and for different circumstances. Some of these breakfasts are low carbohydrate and some are high, but all of them contain a good protein portion and are packed full of healthy fats, so will give you lots of energy to start your day. Not only that, all of them are nutrient dense, they are made from scratch, are not complicated to make and can be adapted to suit your own particular macro-nutrient protocol.

If you are worried that they are going to take too long to prepare in the mornings, then GO TO BED EARLIER so you don’t need to snooze your alarm.

Banana and nut Loaf	Method
Ingredients for 1 loaf (10 slices) 100g raw pecans 100g raw almonds 2 large bananas  4 medium eggs  2 tsp coconut oil  1 tsp honey 1 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp nutmeg ½ tsp baking soda  ½ tsp cream of tartar	Ground nuts in a food processor until they are a fine powder. Add to a mixing bowl, then stir in nutmeg, cinnamon, baking soda and cream of tartar.  Add eggs, bananas, honey and coconut oil into a blender and process until smooth.  Pour mixture into dry ingredients and stir in until.  Line a loaf tin and pour in mixture.  Bake in oven at 180⁰C for approximately 40 minutes until golden brown.  Allow to cool for 5 minutes before turning out.
2 slices with spread with almond butter: 386Kcal, 18g carbs, 17g protein, 40g fat
Good for people who struggle to get their heads round a meat or a fish breakfast.

Bacon & Spinach Omelette	Method
2 free range eggs              2 slices organic bacon 75 g raw baby spinach 15g organic butter ½ small onion Seasoning	Slice up the bacon into small cubes. Finely chop the onion.  Whisk up the eggs. Add the butter, onion, bacon, spinach and seasoning to the pan until bacon is browned.  Add the eggs and cook until the bottom is formed into an omelette. Finish off the top under a hot grill. Serve with salad.
414 Kcal, 9g carbohydrates, 26g protein, 29g fat
Perfect for those who are on low carb diets or on a fat loss programme.

Avocado, smoked salmon and poached egg on rye toast.	Method
1 slice of toasted rye bread   ½ large avocado 50g smoked salmon 1 large poached egg	Crack a large egg into a poaching pod and boil until egg is poached to your liking. Spread the avocado onto the toasted rye bread. Add the smoked salmon, then the egg on top. Season to taste.
368 Kcal, 23g carbs, 23g protein, 19g fat
Great for a weekend to impress your partner with a healthy cooked breakfast.

Protein porridge	Method
50g gluten free oats   1 scoop of Sun Warrior vanilla protein powder 1tbsp ground flaxseed  Drizzle of honey 80g frozen berries Water	Mix the oats, protein powder and flaxseed powder into a saucepan. Pour in enough water to just about cover.  Stir under heat until simmering.  Add the berries and continue stirring until a thick paste. Add the drizzle of honey and serve.
419 Kcal, 50g carbs, 11g fat, 29g protein
Really quick to make, perfect for high carb days and as a pre-workout meal.

Avocado, banana and berry smoothie	Method
400 ml coconut milk 1 medium banana   ½ large avocado  1 scoop of Sun Warrior vanilla protein powder  1tbsp ground flaxseed 100g mixed berries	Add all ingredients to a blender and process until smooth.
1 large glass: 521 Kcal, 51g carbs, 22g protein, 23 fat
Simple to prepare, great as a pre-workout meal and for those with low appetites in the morning

Stay healthy!!

How a fitness enthusiast does Valentine's Day

Valentine’s Day is fast approaching this weekend and couples are frantically booking up romantic meals for two at restaurants full of over-priced food and hitting the high street for novelty gifts and second rate boxes of chocolate. As a fitness, nutrition and lifestyle enthusiast (maybe even stretch to labelling myself as an aficionado),  I’ve always had a slightly different approach to preparing for the sexiest day of the year. So I thought I’d share my tips on how to celebrate Valentine’s Day without compromising your healthy lifestyle.

Pre-date workout

You can’t go on your date without having a workout first. It de-stresses you, clears your mind, it gets you in the zone and more than anything it makes you feel confident before putting on your evenings outfit – and we all know that CONFIDENCE = SEXINESS.

Guys, I like to call this workout “the party pump”. It’s the only time I ever purely focus on aesthetics when I’m working out, but if I don’t feel like my t-shirt has been sprayed on after this upper body blast then I haven’t worked out hard enough. Here we go:

Push-Ups X 10 – Pull-Ups X 10 – Incline Push-Ups X 10 – Parallel Bar Dips X 10

Repeat: 10 rounds followed by 100 bicep curls with a light barbell!

Ladies, I haven’t forgotten you. Getting your booty firmed up and ready to look drop dead gorgeous in a pair of slim fit jeans is a must before your date turns up. So follow this classic legs and bum blaster:

Dumbbell Lunges X 10 – Bar Squats X 10 – Hip Raises X 10 – Dumbbell Bench Step-Ups X 10

Repeat: 8 – 10 rounds followed by 100 front kicks (50 each leg) on the heavy bag.

The main meal

Let’s state this loud and clear; EATING HEALTHILY DOESN’T MEAN EATING BORING! In my opinion there is nothing more perfect for a Valentine’s meal than a good slab of grass fed protein packed beef steak (I prefer rib eye) – I mean who doesn’t find the marbling of a prime cut of steak sexy? I like my steak medium rare, seasoned with salt & pepper and accompanied by the well-known aphrodisiac and antioxidant-rich super-food asparagus (pan fried in coconut oil), and a glass of Sardinian Red wine, which is famed for its life-preserving and anti-ageing qualities.

The indulgent dessert

I mentioned earlier that there are many second rate boxes of chocolate out there, but if you or your partner are health, fitness and nutrition enthusiasts then you haven’t lived until you’ve treated yourself to some Booja Booja chocolate truffles; they are organic as well as gluten, dairy and soy free and are absolutely delicious! If the steak and asparagus hasn’t hit the spot, then these indulgent delicacies will seal the deal for you.

Post-meal mood setting

You’ve eaten some good food, you’ve drunk some good wine, maybe even sipped a few glasses of champagne and most likely sat through a light hearted Hollywood chick flick, so now it’s time to set the mood for love. So is there a better way than treating your other half to a hot detox bath?

Here’s my fool proof bath recipe that will cleanse their skin, relax their muscles and with the right essential oils, ramp up their hormone levels a notch!

Fill your bath tub with hot water adding 1 kg of magnesium rich Epsom bath salts, a small handful of bicarbonate of soda and a generous drizzle of Lady Sclareol oil (a mix of ylang ylang, geranium, rosewood, jasmine, clary, sage and sandalwood oils) which is the perfect sensual oil.

Soak in this for 20 minutes to really let the oils and salts absorb into the system and take effect. If you’re feeling particularly sensual after this bath then maybe use the oil to treat your partner to a back, neck and shoulder massage in the bedroom – careful not to use too much oil or you’ll soon be slipping off the bed.

Evening cardio

Now this is the part of the evening we’ve been working up to. You look good, you’ve shown off your culinary skills and are feeling great after a hot detox bath, now’s time to show off your skills in the bedroom as well as proving that the gym has been good for something, by opting for a more adventurous and physically demanding position from the Karma Sutra.

Here’s one for the guys to make use of that upper body party pump; Stand and deliver!

Ladies, you’ve worked on those pins and booty for hours in the gym, now it’s time to show off those strong legs with the erotic accordion.

So, to all you lovers out there, have fun and…

… Stay healthy!