Author Archives: John

Ladies….How to banish flabby arms and saggy butts!

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Bingo WingsThe dreaded Bingo wings, dinner lady arms (no offence to dinner ladies), bat wings….whatever you want to call them, most ladies hate them. With summer coming and the time to ditch the jumpers and break out the T-Shirts, summer dresses and even the Bikini’s upon us, many women look in the mirror and sigh discontentedly at the site of those “soft”, flabby and sometimes even saggy bits. It’s not just the backs of your arms, it’s your bum, your thighs, your belly and your waist…….aaaargghhh!!!

Well don’t panic you CAN do something about all of these problems and right now. Mid March gives you time to do something about all of these areas before we properly hit Summer in June.

Firstly, without wanting to sound like a broken record, you all know that what you eat and drink, your diet and nutrition generally is going to play a big part. This isn’t a diet article so i won’t bang on about it but if you can eat cleaner, cut out the processed crap, cut back on sugar, drink less alcohol and ideally also do some cardio based work then you are going to start to lose fat from all of those wobbly areas listed above that you hate.

However in this blog I’m going to focus on what exercises you can do to tone, firm up and add some tightness or even a bit of muscle to those soft bits. First an honesty alert. This is going to take some work. Not necessarily a huge amount of time, 20 to 30 minutes a day will do the job but during that 20 minutes you HAVE to work hard and it will be sore. No pain no gain is a cliché but it’s also true……Right, ready? Here we go.

Baggy Arms: Most women don’t spend much time in everyday life using their Tricep muscles which is the muscle that runs down the back of your upper arm. It is the muscle that extends your arm from a bent to straight position and are also the muscles you use when pushing things away from your body. It is this muscle that you need to work hard and tone up to avoid having baggy, saggy arms. So logically any exercises that involves pushing or better still straightening of your arm against resistance will work this muscle. Here are three you can do at home with no equipment.

Lady push ups: The push up or press up is a great Tricep exercise IF you do it right. The trick is to keep your hands no more than shoulder width apart and as you go down towards the floor keep your elbows tucked in close to your side. Aim for 3 sets of 8.

Chair Tricep Dips: Another great exercise for really isolating the backs of those arms. Initially start with the easy version which means your feet will be quite close to you. Make it harder by gradually moving your feet further away as you get stronger. Also be careful not to come down past a 90 degree bend in your arm or you may damage your shoulder. Aim for 3 sets of 12.

Overhead Tricep extension: This is a brilliant exercise that really stretches and tones your Tricep muscle. If you have access to some weights (At home or gym) just use a light dumbbell initially (maybe 1.5 or 2kg) If you don’t have access to a dumbbell then a bottle of water (500ml, 750ml or even 1 litre) will do the job to start with. Aim for 3 sets of 12 reps.  Each day pick 2 of the exercises and do the number of sets listed. Keep rest time between sets fairly low (max 1 minute). It should only take 6/8 minutes total.

Now for your thighs and bum!! Waheey, everyone wants great thighs and a shapely backside don’t they? Again though it’s not easy, your diet is very important but you also have to work hard. Your Quads (front of leg), Hamstrings (back of leg) and Glutes (backside) are some of the biggest muscles in the body and as a result need to be worked hard to change them.

Lunges: There are a number of different variations of the lunge, all of which work a slightly different part of your thighs and backside. Therefore I’d recommend doing a different one each day and rotate them. Initially start without any weight until you feel comfortable and can control the movements. Then as you get stronger add in some weight, but don’t go too heavy. It’s more important to go low when you dip down and really squeeze the muscles as you push back up. Start with 3 sets of 12 (6 on each leg) and work up to 3 sets of 20.

Squats: As with lunges there are many different variations, both with and without weights. To really strengthen and tone your legs you will need to use some weight at some point. However, initially you can do a perfectly good job just with body weight. Again try to use some of the different variations and change each day to work different parts of the leg and backside. Keep your back straight, chest up and head & eyes looking ahead and up. Push your butt backwards and lower it towards the floor, do not lean forward and topple over your feet. If using bodyweight do 3 sets of 12 to 15. If you progress to using some weights do 3 x 8/10.

Hip Thrusters/Glute Bridge: Hip thrusters or the Glute bridge as it is sometimes called is an excellent exercise for toning, firming and shaping your bum. Again it needs to be done correctly and the key thing here is to really focus on squeezing and engaging your Glute or Bum muscles as you push up and at the top of the exercise. Go for 4 sets of 15/16 when using both legs and 3 sets each side of 7/8 when just using one leg. Again i would choose 2 of these exercises to do each day and again it should take less than 10 minutes.

Finally lets get to your stomach and core. The truth of the matter (yes i know the truth hurts) is that if you are carrying a fair amount of excess weight and have a very flabby stomach and waist area it is pretty hard to really tone and shape it without losing some of that weight first. However you can do core and stomach exercises that will pull in and tighten your abdominal and core muscles underneath the soft tissue and simply by pulling you tighter it will give the illusion of having lost a couple of inches.

The Plank: The king of core exercises. Again there are loads of variation and the video shows a few that are all great for women and will work your entire core, ab and waist area. Initially just focus on the plain front plank until you gain some strength and then after a week or so try some of the variations. Everyone’s core strength varies but initially aim for 4 sets of 20 seconds at a time (with only 30/40 seconds rest in between). If that is too hard just do 15 seconds but the aim should be to get up to 45 seconds+ to really make it work. Concentrate on really squeezing everything tightly, your stomach, thighs and butt in particular.

The Hip Lift: This works deep core muscles and lower stomach muscles. Concentrate on keeping your legs straight above and thrusting upwards with your pelvis and lower stomach. If it helps you can slightly place your hands under the edge of your bum/thighs to support yourself. Aim for 3 sets of 10 with 40 seconds rest in between.

Russian Twists: I’ve no idea why they are called that, invented by a Russian i guess. Initially start off doing this without a weight, but again as you get stronger add some weight in. Either use a small dumbbell, a kettle bell or even just a 2 litre bottle of water. Aim for 3 sets of 8 on each side. Concentrate on keeping your feet raised just off the floor and lean very slightly back with your torso which places tension on your abs and core. As with the above choose two exercises each day and rotate them. Again this should only take 7 or 8 minutes tops. With Ab exercises try to keep rest between sets minimal for maximum effect.

That’s it ladies. 20 to 30 minutes each day and believe me in two months you will really notice the difference. Your wobbly arms will be firmer and leaner. Your upper legs and bum will definitely be tighter and shapelier and your waist and midriff will have been pulled in ad you will look slimmer. The key here is hard work. You need to push yourself. As you get better either increase the number of sets and reps or add in some more weight. Just doing the same thing day after day and not improving will halt your progress.

Take Care,

John

I need HELP….Now! – Comments, Ideas, what do YOU want?

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IdeasHello from the other side…..

No seriously, i do need your help. It’s all very well me writing these posts, offering advice and giving opinions but it’s all coming from me. What i really want to know is what EXACTLY would you like to see on a site like this, what are your ideas. When you are scrolling Facebook or Twitter, rummaging around on the web, looking at other fitness, health or diet sites, what is it that really GRABS your attention.

Tell me, i really want to know. What are your interests and what would stop you in your tracks for 5 minutes from your busy days and make you read an article. Do you want more specific training routines? Tips on losing weight? Specific diets? Ways to incorporate health and fitness into your daily routine? I’m here to help and keen to provide the information that you want.

Would you be interested in my daily routine (what i eat – good and bad-, how i train, how much booze i drink etc? Do you want tips on equipment to use, training techniques, specific exercises? Do you want more focus on alternative health and fitness themes? Give me some ideas.

This is a call to action. Please, pretty please, tell me what that one thing you’d love to see is. If you could wave a magic wand and think “if only someone could show me how to….” or “If only someone would tell me….”. Just ask and it’s yours…….well maybe, depends on what you ask, but I’ll definitely try.

The whole purpose of this is to be interactive. It’s for ordinary guys and ordinary girls who are going about their daily lives and just want to improve, to be better, fitter, healthier, stronger BUT who also do have a life and need to work around that.

So come on, take 2 minutes, hit the comment button or email me. Tell me “what you want, what you really really want” (Ok no more song jokes i promise).

I’m sitting at my laptop waiting, DON’T disappoint me!

Take Care,

John

6 Exercises that Build Muscle Fast!!

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ArnoldOk so maybe we can’t all look like Arnold, but we can dream right? The summer is coming, T-Shirt season is upon us and most guys would love a little extra muscle in the parts that show. However it isn’t quite as easy as just grabbing a couple of dumbbells and doing curls until your arms fall off. There is some theory behind gaining muscle and particularly in trying to gain it quickly.

Firstly a little bit of science. In order to gain muscle or at least to shed some fat and show off the muscle underneath, you need to eat right AND get your body, it’s metabolism and hormones working the right way to produce that muscle. To do that you need to do a few things. Concentrate on eating high protein, lean foods such as Chicken, Turkey, Fish, lean red meat, nuts, beans and lots of vegetables as well as good carbs such as Sweet Potato and brown rice. Cut back on Acohol, ditch sweet/fizzy drinks and restrict white carbs such as bread, pasta, potatoes etc. Not only will eating this way provide your body with the right nutrients to build muscle but it will also help fire up one of the most important hormones in your body, Testosterone. If you can increase your Testosterone levels naturally it becomes far easier to both gain muscle size AND shed fat.

The second way to boost your T levels and therefore your muscle building potential is to do the RIGHT exercises, ones that will stimulate your entire nervous systems and FORCE your body to produce more testosterone and grow muscle. So what are those exercises? Well I have listed 6 of the best weight and body training exercises below that if you can hit hard 3 times a week for 2 to 3 months you should be in great speedo shape by the time the weather finally warms up. (This assumes you live in England like me).

They key thing here is to focus on “compound” exercises. Those are exercises that use multiple body parts at one time and force your nervous system, muscles and metabolism to respond. I know the temptation is to focus on your arms but believe me, if you follow these lifts and steer clear of isolation exercises like curls you will gain more muscle, more quickly than you thought possible. If you go to the Gym three times a week do all 6 exercises for only 3 sets of 8-10 reps at as heavy a weight as you can manage for that number of reps, you will gain strength and size very quickly. Don’t do more, you will only injure yourself or overload your system.

Click on the links highlighted in red for demo’s of the exercises. Forgive the cheesiness of a couple of these videos.

The Deadlift: One of the best exercises you can do. It works your entire back, your traps, Your legs, glutes (butt) and hip flexors. However, be careful. It is a complex exercise and if done wrongly can damage your lower back. Take it slowly, use strict form and use a weight that is heavy but manageable. You are not trying to break world records, just build some muscle.

The Squat: I love squats, no idea why, i just enjoy doing them. Squats will again work your entire lower body, thighs, glutes etc but will also actively engage your core muscles meaning you’ll improve your abs without even working them directly. Again focus on good form and use a weight that will allow you to squat as deeply as you can. The closer your arse gets to the floor the more muscles you will engage and it is also better for your knees. Squatting also gets you blowing and is great for cardio and your metabolism.

Bench Press: Everyone loves the bench press right? Well not necessarily. The bench is famed for building chest size and strength but actually that is not what it is best for. A barbell bench press actually works the triceps and deltoids (Shoulders) almost as much as the chest. However it is included here for precisely that reason, it is a compound movement that uses a number of muscles.

Military Press: This is a fantastic exercise to add shoulder size and width, grow your triceps and also builds great core strength which stabilises your body as you push the weight above your head.

Bent Over Row: This works your entire back as well as biceps and will help give you that deep wide looking back that fills T-shirts as well as promoting overall body strength. It will also work on bicep strength and size which I know you all want. You can use an overhand or underhand grip but do not go with too heavy a weight and keep strict form.

Pull Ups/Chin Ups: This is a fabulous but very tough exercise to conquer and build up any volume on. If you can use it correctly, do it regularly and start to do some decent numbers it will give you fabulous Lats to create that wide V-shaped, narrow waisted look that we all want. It is also one of the best exercises you can do for biceps but is often overlooked. Wide grip pull ups work best for a wide back and chin ups for your biceps. If you are new to this exercise a good way to do it is to do sets of just 2 to 3 reps and aim for 5 to 6 sets with only 30/40 seconds rest in between, then build up to longer sets and more reps as you become stronger.

That’s it. It seems too simple to you I’d imagine but believe me if you do this full routine 3 times a week and push yourself as hard as you can in every session as well as eating the right food you will shed fat and grow muscle like you wouldn’t believe. To finish each work out I’d add in 3 sets of hanging leg/knee raises super setted with 3 x 45 second planks. Then do 5 minutes of HiiT (High Intensity Interval Training) on either the rowing machine or running machine. Basically go as fast as you can for 30 seconds then as slow as you can (or stop) for 30 seconds and repeat for 5 minutes.

The whole work out should take no more than an hour max. After 2 to three months you will probably get bored and need to add more variety into the routine but by then you will have added an inch to your arms, 2 inches to your chest, have a wider back and shoulders, jeans busting thighs and will have lost 2 to 3 inches from your waist. 

Have fun, take care and remember i really would welcome any comments or questions,

John

PS: I realise that this is called Ordinary Guy Fitness and that many of the people in these video’s are very far from Ordinary guys or girls but that’s the nature of the internet and YouTube. It doesn’t change the fact that you, as an ordinary person can do all the same exercises that they can.

Daily Eating Tips to Guarantee you Lose Weight!!

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Scales

Yep that’s right, if you follow most of these tips I Guarantee you will lose weight. I’m going to stick my neck out and personally promise you that if you follow this guide for 4 weeks you will have lost weight, possibly even a significant amount of weight depending on your starting point.

Firstly, to allow me at least some chance of being right, there are a few rules here that you need to stick to.

  • You MUST exercise. By that i mean at least twice a week you need to do some form of energetic exercise that gets you blowing hard and works your muscles. That could be running, a weight session in the Gym, some form of exercise class, or even just a vigorous home work out. The other 5 days you need to do at least 20 minutes of some form of activity that raises your pulse and brings on a mild sweat. That could be a brisk walk, a 20 minute home circuit as detailed in one of my previous posts here, or a quick session with some dumbbells in your garage.
  • You MUST attempt to eat healthily and stick to the plan for a minimum of 4 days and ideally 5 days of each week. If you go to less than 4 full days you will negate all the positive effects and to be honest may as well not bother (I will cut you some slack if you have a lot of social activity but for one week only)
  • You MUST be hardcore about cutting out the big evil in your kitchen…..SUGAR! That means on your good days, No biscuits, No chocolate, No fizzy drinks (or any other juice or sugary drinks) and if possible cut out or definitely cut back drastically on any alcohol from Monday through to at least Friday evening.

Got That? Gonna stick to it? Of course you are. So here we go…

Breakfast! We all know that old saying “The most important meal of the day”. Well i hate to break it to you but that ain’t necessarily true. Many people now believe that intermittent fasting (going for lengthy periods without food, or only eating at certain times) is the way forward. I have to say that i do believe it works but it’s probably a bit unfair to drop you newbies straight in at the deep end. So here are a few simple ideas for breakfast that will satisfy your overnight cravings but won’t break the Calorie bank.

A boiled egg, or two if you insist (No soldiers to dip in it), followed by a banana. Black coffee, no sugar.

A medium sized bowl of Greek yoghurt or Skyr yoghurt with a large helping of blueberries thrown in. Drizzle with some organic honey if you need a hit of sweetness.

A small bowl of oats and nuts with the same yoghurt as above, again with some honey to sweeten.

A small portion of scrambled eggs (2 eggs is fine) with some flakes of smoked salmon broken into it. Add pepper and you have a breakfast for kings.

One slice of wholegrain toast smeared with Nut butter/peanut butter and if it floats your boat also add sliced banana on top.

That’s it. 5 breakfasts and I’m sure you can conjure variations on these themes. The key is not having big volumes and avoiding crappy sugar filled cereals and loads of bread. So what about lunch?

Lunch to some degree depends how active you are. If you hit the gym in the morning or have an active job that involves physical exertion then you are allowed a little bit more. If not then be good and stick to the plan and remember it’s only for 4 to 5 days.

Crack 2 eggs into a small bowl, sprinkle some salt, add a fair bit of pepper and microwave for between a minute and minute 30 seconds. Get a spoon and eat. It’s surprisingly filling and has lots of protein and not many calories.

Get a ripe avocado, mash it up with a little olive oil, salt, pepper and some chopped chilli until you have a rough paste. Spread it on a piece of wholegrain toast or ryvita, drizzle with lemon. Job done.

If you are training hard and want something more substantial try this. I make a batch up on a Monday and it lasts me 3 days. Boil a decent amount of brown rice for 20/25 mins (until soft). In another pan fry (coconut oil) some chicken, onions, peppers, carrots, Garlic and a LOT of fresh chopped ginger. Mix the rice in with the chicken, give it a good stir and drizzle with some light soy sauce as you stir it. Let it cool down, put in some Tupperware and stick in the fridge. Microwave for 2 minutes when needed and easy to take to work with you.

How about a chicken drumstick – cooked or cold with a mix of salad leaves , drizzle of Olive Oil and some balsamic vinegar. Again just use your imagination, stick to meats, proteins, veg, eggs or maybe small portions of cheese and you’ll be fine. The idea of lunch is just to fill a hole and fulfil your nutritional needs, NOT fill you up!

Right, most people’s main meal….dinner. Here you have a new best friend….salads! “Whaaaat? Salad, that’s rabbit food”. Not true. You can supercharge salads and make them hugely enjoyable. Use  the standard ingredients and then add the extra’s that add flavour. These include blue cheese, feta cheese, parmesan, walnuts, grapefruit (yep), basil, coriander, olives, chopped/sliced chilli, chopped/sliced ginger. Exciting dressings using lime/lemon juice, different types of vinegar, a drizzle of soy sauce. You can easily have a variety of salads 3 to 4 nights a week. Don’t panic though because alongside the salad you will have one of the following: Grilled or pan fried chicken with whatever spices and herbs you fancy, sweet chilli turkey breasts, a couple of lamb chops, grilled or pan fried salmon, mackerel or pretty much any fish you fancy.

Or if you don’t fancy a salad one night how about some chicken, turkey, fish or pork, a big serving of Brocolli and some sweet potato mash with added spices, olive oil and loads of pepper.

What about snacks? Well if possible try to avoid them but we all know that ain’t gonna happen. So have a bag of mixed nuts in the cupboard and grab a handful a couple of times a day. Always have banana’s on hand and peel one if you feel the need. A bag of carrots in the fridge and grab one (unpeeled) to munch on whenever you want. Of an evening 2 or 3 squares of genuine full cocoa dark chocolate won’t break the bank.

The other key as I’ve said is what you drink. Wherever possible it’s going to be water (add lemon, lime, mint, ginger if you need some flavour). Otherwise black coffee, a glass of milk a day is fine and if you really must a glass of red wine a couple of times a week is also fine of an evening.

Then what happens at the weekend. Well that comes down to you. It would be stupid to spend every weekend deliberately cramming bad things down your neck. Try to be good. Avoid the processed crap we have talked about, try to stick to good snacks and not bad ones, but otherwise reward yourself. If you want a few drinks, have them. If you are going for a meal, have what you want, fancy a good breakfast, have a healthy fry up. The key is to be sensible. If you go for a big curry and beers on Saturday night, why not skip breakfast on Sunday. You’re a grown up (hopefully) so just be sensible and stick to what you know is right. Enjoy your weekend and reward yourself for your sacrifice in the week, but unless its a big event keep thinking about the long term goals.

There will be a lot more recipe’s and details on food and eating patterns in the weeks to come. As always, any questions or comments please fire them at me, I’m ready and willing to answer.

Take Care,

John

Healthy Eating for Weight Loss – What, when, how…..

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Healthy Lean FoodThe title makes it sound so easy and to some extent it is BUT you must come to terms with the fact that this is not some quick fix. You can’t lose some weight then go back to eating what you were eating before, it just doesn’t work that way. This is a lifestyle change……forever!   “Whoooah!!” I can hear you thinking, “I’m not sure I’m up for that, who wants to go on a diet forever?”

You’re absolutely right, no-one does and that is exactly the point, this is NOT a diet. A diet implies something you are doing. You are going “ON” a diet. That implies a beginning and an end. So what happens when it ends? You just go back to eating loads of crap again and the weight and health issues all return. This is not like that. This is about making fundamental changes to the way you think and live for ever more, BUT it will still allow you to eat many of the things you love and enjoy, still have a few drinks and even enjoy a major blow out now and then. Read my previous post about consistency which outlines how being consistent in your eating and fitness allows you to still have fun.

So let’s cut to the chase. What do i need to eat, how do i need to eat and when etc? I will post a series of articles going into a lot more detail as this is and can be a very complex subject and much of it will depend to some extent on what your goals are ie losing a lot of weight or toning up and building muscle. For now let’s just cover some basics.

My personal philosophy and what works for me is to try to be good around 80% of the time. The way i do that is i eat as clean as possible from Monday through to Friday evening. Then depending on what’s happening socially i relax everything and eat/drink more of what i enjoy from Friday evening to Sunday evening. That doesn’t mean i go out of my way to binge, eat crap, shovel chocolate and crisps down my neck or drink gallons of beer. I’m still careful, but it just means if I’m going for a curry i eat what i want and have a few beers, or I’ll have a big Sunday roast with all the trimmings, possibly even an egg and bacon breakfast sometimes. If you cut everything out 7 days a week you simply WILL NOT stick to it. Don’t set yourself up to fail. By treating yourself a bit each week it makes the “being good” days much easier.

So what to eat and what not? Generally speaking it’s very simple and you all know the answer without me telling you. Eat fresh food as much as possible and avoid anything processed wherever it is possible. If it’s in a packet and you have to read the ingredients, calories, fat levels etc, it’s probably best to avoid it all together. Even if it says “low fat” or “low sugar” on the packet, trust me, it won’t be good for you.

When trying to lose weight you obviously need to cut your calorie intake and also limit the amount of Calorie dense and nutritionally poor foods. Packaged food always contains chemicals, preservatives, hidden sugar and bad “trans fats”. Simply by cutting out processed or packaged food as much as possible i guarantee you will become healthier and lighter. As much as you possibly can avoid sugar at all costs. Not only does it contain huge amounts of calories per weight but recent research suggests that refined sugar is possibly a direct cause of cancer as well as other illnesses such as diabetes. Just cutting your sugar intake by 75% will have a dramatic impact.

The good news is that the old belief that fat is bad for you has been proven to be wrong completely. In fact fats are essential and help you to shed calories faster and also converts to muscle quicker than other types of food. Generally speaking you need to increase your protein intake, increase your good fat intake and cut back a bit on Carbohydrates. In simple terms that means:

Good foods: Fresh meat- Chicken, Turkey, Pork, Lamb, some cuts of Beef. Fish – pretty much all fish is fine but also include some oily fish such as Salmon, Mackerel, Sardines etc as they contain Omega 3 oils which are very good for you. Egg’s – a few eggs a week are definitely something you should include in your diet. ALL vegetables and salad stuff but especially Brocolli, Cauliflower, Kale, dark leaved salads, Beetroot, Peppers, Tomato’s. Advocado is another MUST. Not only is it versatile and taste great but it contains loads of very healthy fats. On top of these pulses and beans such as lentils, kidney beans, black beans, Cannelloni beans etc are all good. Nuts of all types (almonds, brazil, cashew, walnut, hazelnut, peanut). You can now buy great organic Nut butters (variations on peanut butter) which contain a lot of calories but in small amounts are also really healthy and they are good calories. Use virgin Olive Oil for salad dressings and Coconut oil or (believe it or not, proper old fashioned full fat butter) to cook with. Cheese in small amounts is fine and real live yoghurt is also good. (Warning- read the labels in supermarkets. You will often see Greek “style” yoghurt. That is not the real thing). I use Skyr the Icelandic high protein yoghurt. In terms of fruits Berries (especially blueberries) are all good, apples and banana’s etc.

In terms of Carbs, you definitely still need them, it’s just how you get them that is important. Try to cut back on Bread as much as possible (weekends only and opt for a brown or wholegrain type). Similarly with pasta, you can still have it but cut back. Rice, again if possible opt for brown or wild rice, if you don’t like it you can still eat white but cut back the portions. Potatoes just now and again although sweet potato contains a lot of protein and is fine. Vegetable contain lots of carbs and are a great, low calories way of getting both fibre and carbs into your diet so load up on Brocolli, Cauliflower, Kale, Cabbage etc.

Finally to add some flavour and zing to all that fresh produce you definitely need to stock up your spice and herb cupboard. Garlic and Ginger are both great for you. Spices like Turmeric, Chilli, Cinnamon, Black Pepper are all great for you and add not only flavour but have all sorts of fantastic health benefits. I add many of the above to almost everything.

If you’ve just read the list I’m sure you’ll agree, it isn’t rocket science. We all know that fresh, non processed food is good and processed and packaged food is bad. You just need to change your mind set and approach to them.

A final warning note. Just as important as what you eat is what you drink. It is very very hard indeed to find drinks that don’t contain a huge amount of sugar and loads of chemicals that you just don’t want in your body. If you have 4 or 5 cups of tea/coffee a day with a couple of sugars in each one and a can of coke then that is hundreds of worthless calories in one day. Wherever possible avoid ALL fizzy drinks, either cut the sugar you have in tea and coffee to a minimum or just cut back on the number of cups per day. The same goes for alcohol. I love a drink, especially a glass of wine with a meal. Not long ago my wife and I were drinking a bottle of wine a night most nights and added beers and extra wine at the weekend. I’m not saying don’t drink but Monday to Friday try to avoid it as much as you can. It will save you thousands of calories a week AND is better for your health all round. Drink lots of water, 4-6 large glasses a day and if you find it boring squeeze some lemon in it or add some mint or ginger to change it up a bit.

I’m aware that this post is dragging on now so rather than prolong it my next post will go into some detail about how to actually apply this knowledge practically. What you can do on a day by day basis and will give some examples of the types of meals you can eat.

I’d welcome your comments and am happy to answer any questions you have.

Take Care,

John

20 Minute Home workout that BLASTS Calories and Tones Muscles!

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20-minute-full-body-workoutYour life is busy, you have become the taxi service of Mum & Dad, you are unfit, over weight and don’t want to be seen at a Gym……(Yet!)

Do any of those descriptions fit you? Do you think that unless you hit the Gym 4 times a week and pound away for at least an hour that you can’t make any difference to your life? Well I’m here to tell you that just isn’t true. Here is a 20 minute work out that you can do at home, in your garden or even your front room with very little equipment at all.

Do this every day for the next 4 weeks and I PROMISE you that there will be noticeable changes. You will be fitter, should lose weight and will also be stronger. This is not a routine aimed at people who are already pretty fit, it is aimed more at the beginners who want to kick start their new fitness regime but it will also be effective as a maintenance routine for those who just need to do something, anything other than sit on the sofa.

So here goes. Do all of these exercises for the stated number of repetitions (or time) without any rest between the exercises. Then when you have finished the cycle stop and rest for 1 minute or a maximum of 90 seconds. Keep going for the full 20 minutes and see how many cycles of the routine you can do. Keep a record and try to beat it each day.

10 x Goblet Squats. Ideally use a dumbbell with a weight you are comfortable with (5kg, 10kg) or if you don’t have access to a dumbbell find something you can use at home (4kg bag of rice, large bag of potatoes etc). Keep your form nice and steady, squat as low as you can and concentrate on contracting and squeezing your thigh and butt muscles as you move up and down.

10 x Press ups. Keep your arm just wider than shoulder width. Lower yourself until your nose almost touches the floor and then push back up. Concentrate on trying to squeeze your upper arm and chest muscles together as you push back up and extend at the top. If you are either very heavy or are a lady and can’t manage full press ups yet, then lady press ups where you rest on your knees are fine until you become stronger.

Jump back to your feet and do 10 x forward lunges, 5 on each side. Concentrate on stepping forward in a controller fashion, bend your trailing leg until the knee touches or almost touches the floor, then push up firmly with your front leg. Again, squeeze your thigh and butt muscles on the way up and down.

10 x Reverse Tricep Dips. Use a stable chair or low ish table top. Place your hands on the edge of the chair at shoulder width apart behind you and your feet comfortably just in front of you as you lean back very slightly. Bend your arms to roughly 90 degree’s and lower yourself down. Push yourself back up by straightening your arms. Concentrate on squeezing your tricep (back of your arm) as you straighten back up.

20 x Jumping Jacks. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart and hands by side. Do a slight jump and push your feet out to the side to wider than shoulder width apart. As you do this fling your arms out to the side and bring them up into a clapping motion above your head. Do 20 reps.

Finally get down into a Plank position. Rest your wait on your forearms. Have your feet at shoulder width and your body should be held in as straight a position as possible (no sagging in the middle). Once you are aligned squeeze your stomach, thighs and butt and hold the position for a count of 30.

That’s it. As described, take a rest for a minute or 90 seconds if you must. Then repeat as many time as you can in the 20 minutes.

As you get fitter and stronger simply decrease the rest time between sets.

TOP TIP: click on the red highlighted words to be taken to demonstration videos of these excercises. The videos are not mine but give you an idea of how to perform them correctly.

This routine will work for both guys and girls and if you combine with healthy eating (see future posts) it will help you to shed weight, improve your fitness and strength AND improve heart and lung function.

In a few weeks I’ll post some more 20 to 30 minute exercise routines that you can do at home.

Consistency….A Boring word that can have an amazing effect.

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flipping-calendarI’m in the process of writing a book and below is a brief snippet of one of the most important chapters. It focuses on your mindset and outlook when it comes to what and how you eat, your diet and your training. The first thing to mention is that I’m not advocating bad eating habits, being lazy or continually blowing the positive steps you are taking out of the water. What i am saying is that by being consistent over a long period you can gain some freedom to enjoy yourselves now and then. See what you think and I welcome your comments. It is slightly out of context as it is sliced out of a bigger chapter so I hope it still makes sense. If it doesn’t just tell me I’m a berk…

Consistency.

This is the single most important concept in the whole book. Remember I just said that you are not going “on” a diet, that what you are doing is changing your life. Well consistency lies at the heart of that. You need to be consistent in all that you do. I can picture you wincing as I say that. “urrgggh, that’s my big problem, I can’t be consistent, I can’t stick to things” you say. Wrong, wrong, wrong. As I keep saying your mindset is everything. Consistency makes things easy, consistency gives you freedom, consistency allows you to drink beer and have fun. How? Why?

Well as we already discussed this is not a diet. If you are on a diet and with a fixed timescale and rigid eating regime you feel locked into that. If you fall off the wagon for whatever reason you feel terrible, find it difficult to get started again and more often than not everything grinds to a halt and you go back to your old guilty habits.

This is different. This is the new you. This is not a 3 month plan, this is forever. What that means in real terms is that if you have a bad weekend (Stag or Hen do, big birthday celebrations etc), go on a 2 week holiday to Thailand and can’t resist the food, or always go for beers with the boys after football every couple of weeks…….so what. A few days, the odd night, even a week or two of being bad mean nothing in the grand scheme of things. 14 days or even 28 days in 365 days a year won’t cause too much damage in the overall long term process you are adopting. If you are being consistent in your new good habits over the weeks, months and all the following years then you can allow yourself to really enjoy the odd blow out. It won’t matter, its mathematics. If you are being good 80/85% of the time then the other 15/20% won’t harm you too much and not only that you can really enjoy yourself. Can you see? By being consistent and by aiming for the long term you actually give yourself the freedom to cut loose and misbehave now and then.

That’s why this concept is key and is so powerful. If you can really embrace that this is your new life and you are going to be totally consistent in adopting it, then it allows you to do what the title says. You CAN drink Beer AND get fit.

However a small word of warning. You can’t abuse this thought. Consistency is what it is. You MUST be consistent. Having a week on and a week off doesn’t count and definitely will not work. You need to be aiming for an absolute minimum of 70% good behavior and ideally 80% plus to see real and outstanding results.

Take Care,

John