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Healthy living is for life, not just for after christmas
You see what I did there?
OK, so a new year is often an opportunity for many of us to turn over a new leaf. Regardless of whether you advocate an annual new year’s resolution or not, a willingness to change for the better is always positive in my book. However, the real benefits are found when this change develops into a permanent habit.That no carb diet you started last week, think you can keep it up for the rest of your life?
How about that new exercise regime you’re following, going to the gym twice a day, five days a week. Will you still be doing that in eight months time?
Well done If the answer is a resounding yes. You should bottle your dedication up and sell it, you would make millions!The rest of us need to focus on developing habits that become part of our daily life and routine, ones that we do not even have to think about and will hopefully enjoy. In order to do this we need to be realistic about what we initially expect of ourselves and develop our goals further over time.
There is a lot of research suggesting the length of time needed to forge a new habit. Good advice is to start with making it past the conditioning phase of four to six weeks, but this is somewhat dependent on the habit you are trying to encourage and personality factors. Consistency is key to enforcing any habit and having people work with you on achieving yours could be vital to your success.
Do you have any friends that exercise that you could join?
Is there anyone else you know who you could journey with on improving your eating habits?
Such support can also come from sources you would not initially consider, such as internet forums for example.If we look at habits that we currently have, it is common to notice repetition in when we carry them out. For example, we wake up at a certain time each morning or we watch a TV program at a certain time on an evening. Examples such as these are ones that we may not even consciously consider, we just do them. Our lifestyles are altered to accommodate them and as a result we have become somewhat mentally programmed to such habits. It is important that any new habits we wish to adopt are given the same treatment and consideration. The time we take to exercise is a good example; upon deciding to exercise three times a week, it is also important to pay serious attention to scheduling when you will be able to carry out this exercise. Look at your current lifestyle habits, when can you permanently find the time? Do you need to sacrifice a habit to make time and are you willing to do so? Will waking up an hour earlier give you the time you need?
Start simple, make it consistent and adapt your lifestyle to accommodate it. Doing all this will set you on the path to ensuring that you are living healthy all year round and not just for January.
Thanks for reading and good luck
Adam Holtby is a Personal Trainer currently based in Hull, England with over 10 years experience in the health and fitness industry.
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/adam_
holtby
Website: www.healthdesire.co.uk -
Make a resolution you can keep this new year
Make a resolution you can keep this new year
Unless you have the discipline of a monk, it is likely that in years gone by you have a made a resolution that didn’t go exactly as you had planned. It is also likely (you are reading a fitness blog after all) that this resolution stemmed from a desire to lose some weight, live more healthily or improve your personal fitness.A new years resolution can be a very positive thing, encouraging you to make an immediate change to some aspect, or aspects, of your life. Upon achieving them, resolutions can also be incredibly rewarding. to help you make a resolution that you can keep this year, lets take a look at a few strategies to success:
1) Be specific
“I want to lose some weight” or ” I want to get fit” are not going to cut it I am afraid folks! You need to be specific about what you want to achieve. Know exactly how much weight you want to lose or set yourself a fitness target; running for twenty minutes, three times a week for example. If you are specific about what you wish to achieve, the focus you need to be successful will come naturally.2) Be realistic
This may be kind of obvious but it is highly important. Being realistic about what it is you want to achieve will ensure that your motivation remains high. If you have never ran a 5k before, please don’t set yourself the target of doing so by February 1st. You should know your limitations and knowledge of them should be enough in ensuring you are setting yourself a realistic goal. Consider your lifestyle and be honest with yourself about how much time you can dedicate from the beginning. If you are unsure of what you are capable of, discuss it with a health or fitness professional – maybe even me
3) Set a success date
Set a specific date for revelling in some type of success relating to your resolution. Although we are trying to encourage a permanent change, setting success dates along the way is valuable in building momentum. Giving up smoking provides a good example of this. Stopping smoking needs to be a permanent change, but we need to ensure we have success dates along the journey. Rewarding yourself at four weeks with a shopping trip to spend the money you have saved on cigarettes is a great example.4) Tell people
If you are comfortable to do so, telling people of your new years resolution and the success dates you have planned along the way can be useful in aiding your motivation. Making people aware of your resolution gives you a sense of added fear of failure. The fear of failure is a key drive for all human behaviour and the added motivation you will experience just by telling people your resolution may surprise you. Social networks such as Facebook are great for doing this. Update your status with your resolution and keep your friends informed of your progress, you will hopefully receive some additional encouragement along the way.Why not start right now? Comment below on the new years resolution you’ve made.
Thanks for reading and good luck
Adam Holtby is a Personal Trainer currently based in Hull, England with over 10 years experience in the health and fitness industry.
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/adam_
holtby
Website: www.healthdesire.co.uk -
Personal Trainer in Hull and east Riding of Yorkshire – New website
Personal Trainer in Hull and east Riding of Yorkshire – New website
Adam Holtby a personal trainer in Hull and the surrounding area’s has now released a new
website. Please take a browse on http://www.healthdesire.co.uk to view the newlook.
Stay fit and healthy.
Adam H
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Gyms can be Scary Places
I can sometimes take for granted how intimidating the gym can actually be. It is a common occurrence that certainly has awareness within the industry, but I cannot help but feel that some of the major health club chains aren’t doing enough to make their clients more comfortable.
Granted, induction processes and staffing in general have improved in health centres. I would hope that many of you feel confident that you are gaining the correct advice suited to your goals, and that the staff at your facility are approachable and friendly. I do feel however that the industry as a whole needs to pay greater attention to the needs of members.
I have recently joined a new gym in Hull. As part of a recent re-development of this centre an interactive computing interface was installed alongside the centres resistance and cardiovascular machinery. This system is linked into 2 central computers that contain masses of information on various exercises and progression tracking tools. Upon joining the club you are granted a unique user identification code. With an instructor you can develop an
exercise program that can be stored to your user database and accessed via this code.
Inevitably this means you can turn up for a gym session, log into a central terminal then head to your first exercise, the leg press for example. You then enter your pin code into the terminal at the leg press and in front of you is an interface that advises you how much weight you need to be lifting, how many times you need to lift it and even the speed by which you lift it. Once you have completed the information, the data is sent back to the central computer
which logs what you have done.
This technology is easily understood and very user friendly. It represents a positive shift in the industry in my opinion. It will certainly encourage more phobic exercises by providing them with more on-demand knowledge, this will in turn increase their motivation and exercise adherence.
It may be expensive, but I am confident that such systems will become more widely recognised in the industry over the next few years, in large part due to their likelihood of increasing membership retention.
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Little and Often exercise
It is believed by many that in order to achieve those long lasting results we all crave that an exercise program must be long, certainly in excess of thirty minutes.
My belief, unsurprisingly, is a little different.
I have long been of the thinking that exercise is as much a mental task as it is a physical one. Boredom and lack of motivation will inevitably come and it is important to strategise and plan for this.
A workout that lasts 45 – 60 minutes is not only strenuous on the body, but also on the schedule. This will inevitably contribute to a lack of motivation in my opinion.
I propose something that may seem radical, but will certainly encourage long term motivation exercise adherence:
Ten minutes of varying exercise at varying levels, everyday!
Sixty minutes of exercise is inevitably more beneficial in the short term than ten minutes, but as I alluded to earlier, we must also consider our motivation approach.
Picture the scenario,
You return from a tough day at work. You have an endless amount of “home” stuff to do and the tasks seem to be adding up.
Would you want to exercise for sixty minutes? If so, well done you is a Spartan amongst humans and have the will of steal!
If not…then read on, I can help.
Remember – 10 Minutes each day, no more, no less!
Day 1: CV (Bike, treadmill, run, jog on the spot etc) – High Intensity “Make it tough”
Day 2: Resistance – 30 Squats / 30 Push Ups / 30 Shoulder presses / 30 weighted pulls – repeat when complete and do not stop until the 10 minutes are up (If you are unsure of how to do these activities, Email me for the videos)
Day 3 : CV (Bike, treadmill, run, jog on the spot etc) – High Intensity “Make it tough”
Day 4 : Abs and Lower Back (Vary the exercise and take 20 seconds rest after each minute)
Click here for a list of abs exercises you could try
Day 5: CV (Bike, treadmill, run, jog on the spot etc) – High Intensity “Make it tough”
Day 6: Resistance – 30 Squats / 30 Push Ups / 30 Shoulder presses / 30 weighted pulls – repeat when complete and do not stop until the 10 minutes are up
Day 7: CV (Bike, treadmill, run, jog on the spot etc) – High Intensity “Make it tough”
The key to ensuring you get the most from this program is that of ensuring that you are consistently trying to develop the intensity. Push yourself every session and results will follow.
Thanks
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No Gym? No Worries!
As a personal trainer, inventiveness when it comes to exercise programming is essential. I see the Majority of my clients in Hull away from the gym, usually in their own homes. This requires a certain level of experimentation when it comes to developing an exercise program that will deliver results such as weight loss or increased fitness.
It is worth noting that your body adapts to an overload that is placed upon it. In the gym this overload is usually fancy resistance machines or expensive treadmills. In developing a home exercise program the principals are the same, but the equipment different.
Below is a home program I have devised. You should always consult with a qualified medical professional prior to beginning a new exercise regime.
This program has been developed with the focus of increasing lean muscle tissue and in turn increasing your metabolic rate. It should take no longer than thirty minutes to complete.
Sugar Squats:
Grab two bags of sugar (or anything else that is reasonably heavy) and hold them by your sides. Keeping your back straight and looking forward bend your needs as if you were sitting down in a chair. Keep your arms hanging and return to an upright position when the bags of sugar reach your shins. Complete 20 repetitions then rest. Repeat for a total of four sets.
Press Ups:
Facing the ground position your hands shoulder width apart. Keep your knees or feet in contact with the ground (depending on how strong you are) and press your whole body up as you breathe out. Return to the starting position but do not rest for 20 repetitions. Repeat for a total of four sets.
Sugary Shoulders:
Grab those sugar bags again. Sit cross legged on the floor and raise your arms to right angle at the elbow so the sugar bags are in line with your ears. Push the sugar bags into the air extending the elbows. Just before your elbows lock out, return to the starting position and repeat. Make sure the sugar is tightly sealed J and complete 20 repetitions over four sets.
Put Your Back Into it:
Grab those sugar bags again. Stand up and keep your knees bent. Lean forward being careful not to arch your back and keeping those knees slightly bent. Let your arms hang and maintaining good exercise posture pull the bags of sugar into your hips. Slowly relax to the starting position and repeat for 20 repetitions over four sets. -
Your Guide to a Flatter Stomach, Weight Loss
Without a doubt on of the most popular goals expressed by many clients is that of a flatter, leaner stomach. There is a much fiction regarding the best methods to obtaining a stomach as flat as your ironing board, but what are the facts?
OK unless you have a bodyfat percentage of at most 15%, those 200 sit ups that you do at the end of a gym session will be pretty useless in giving you that six pack. Imagine a layer of fat around your waist (beer belly). Now the thicker this layer of fat, the less visible are your abs. Makes sense so far? Now think about what would be more effective in reducing this thick layer of fat, 20 minutes on the treadmill or 200 sit ups? If you answered the latter then please leave the room now…only kidding, keep reading.
The point I am trying to make is, unless your body fat is at a certain level, sit ups are all but useless in providing you with a flat stomach. It is in this instance far more beneficial to follow a balanced cardio-vascular and nutritional plan.
Below is sample cardiovascular plan that will help get you on your way to that flat, summer stomach:
Day 1: Treadmill 20 Mins / 70% Maximum Heart Rate
Day 2: Balanced Weight Program (email me) followed by 10 mins rowing
Day 3: Treadmill 20 Mins / 70% Maximum Heart Rate
Day 4: 20 Mins Cycling / 65% Maximum Heart Rate
Day 4: 20 Mins Interval Training on Bike or Treadmill
Day 5: Balanced Weight Program (email me) followed by 10 mins rowing
Day 6: Rest
Day 7: Balanced Weight Program followed by 20 Minutes run 75% MHRAs for progressions on the above, email me for a personal-e-trained session. Just £10 we can discuss a specific nutritional and exercise plan. We can also determine your bodyfat percentage and heart rate training levels. All this can be done via skype or msn messenger.
For more information please see my website www.healthdesire.co.uk
or email me: adam@healthdesire.co.ukSee you soon folks
Adam
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The warm up is the first step to success
Following the below phases within a workout will ensure you are working to correct practice, that will aid you in your development towards your overall result.
Warm Up Phase
The warm up phase of your workout should last 5 – 10 minutes, and consist of low intensity large muscle group activity. For example, if you run during your main conditioning stage on a treadmill your warm up phase would consist of a brisk walk.
The warm up phase aids in increasing core body temperature which will in turn elasticate the muscles and increase the blood distribution to the active muscles. This will result in an increased efficiency during the resistance and aerobic conditioning phases.
The likelihood of injury is also greatly reduced due to the implementation of a warm up pre conditioning phase. Flexibility training can also be implemented during the warm up phase.
Recent studies have shown that pre conditioning phase stretching will not facilitate flexibility to the extent that post conditioning stretching may.
Conditioning Phase
The stimulus conditioning phase is made up of three major attributes that complement the overall conditioning of an individual.
The attributes that should be isolated are listed below:
Cardio vascular conditioning
Muscular Conditioning
Flexibility conditioning
The share of which we work these attributes is dependent on the client’s goals and targets.For example if a client was focussed on improving their cardio vascular fitness the share of the Cardio vascular conditioning would be greater as opposed to that of the flexibility conditioning. It is recommended that all the conditioning stages have a share within a workout as they can al complement each other indirectly.
The increment of the training stimulus is essential. What does this mean you ask?
Its simple, the body is a very clever machine. It adapts to the stimulus we place upon it.
Adaptation is often a subject not addressed by many health professionals, my perception is it is one of the key elements in providing progression and ultimately results. Through adaptation the body becomes accustomed to the stimulus we place on it. The below example should make this statement a bit more relative.
You have been visiting the gym for almost a year now, you saw great developments within your initial 4 – 8 weeks of working out but you feel now that you are simply achieving nothing.
Why are you not achieving results? When one answer maybe that you are not asking your body any new questions. What do I mean by this? Well the body is very clever. Whenever you complete a gym session your body kinda evaluates. It assess the stimulus you have placed on it and adapts accordingly. If you have lifted some heavy weights than that which your body is used too it will adapt. It will prepare for the same to happen again and in doing
so it will increase your strength.
The body did this as through lifting a heavier weight than what you normally do, you asked your body a new question. Now through the days of recovery away from the gym your body will come up with an answer, it will adapt to the stimulus you placed. So what do we need to do now? You got it, we need to ask it another new question.
If we don’t keep asking the body new questions and improve in every gym session the body has no reason to adapt, it doesn’t need too. Think of going to school and being taught the same lesson over and over again, this is what we are doing to our body if we do not try and improve our performance every single gym session.
So how can you improve? Well I will keep my response gym relative but many of the strategies listed can be adapted to exercises you may do at home.
Relate to a treadmill, there are three main progressions or new questions we can impose on the body on this piece of equipment. If we where to increase the speed or increase the incline we would be asking new questions. We could also spend longer on the treadmill to which we are used to, this would also merit and adaptation by the body. These progressions can be implemented on every piece of cardio equipment you may come across in a gym.
Concentrate on increasing either, the speed, incline or resistance, distance or time spent on the equipment every single session.
The resistance training is self explanatory, through increasing the weight, sets or repetitions you are asking your body a new question and requiring an adaptation.
The quality of these adaptations is absolutely vital to the progressions the body will make. If the quality of the questions is not sufficient you will not see the results you desire. If this occurs, simply ask more of your body. Develop the stimulus through any of the above methods to a greater extent to that which you would consider normal.
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Gym Warm Down Phase
Ok we have worked up a sweat and given the gym everything we have. We have asked new questions of our body and we really feel great. We are done right? We can go home and chill out?
Not yet!
The cool down phase is often overlooked and neglected by many gym users as they would much rather spend the last 10 minutes of a gym session sweating it out on a bike or chatting with their friends. In reality the warm down phase is an essential part of an exercise routine.
During the past 40 – 50 minutes the blood has been on a rollercoaster ride, Driven by the heart it has been pumped from the muscles in the legs to the arms to the chest and so on. If we where not to regulate this blood flow by gradually decreasing our activity the heart would still be distributing the blood around the body as if we where still giving it our all on the treadmill when in truth we finished on the treadmill 3 minutes ago. So why is this bad??
Well due to us not cooling down the heart is pumping blood to the legs which is simply not needed, This results in excessive amounts of blood in the legs also know as blood pooling. In truth this blood needs to be somewhere else.
We warm down to let the heart know that our exercise session is ceasing. We must take 5-10 minutes on a cool down similar to the warm up. Again this activity needs to be of low intensity and can consist of a simple 5 minutes on the treadmill at walking pace. Countless times I have had experiences of people just hopping off a treadmill after running flat out at a speed of 7 – 8 mph, believe me this is incredibly detrimental to your health, and can result in cardio vascular complications. Take the time to bring the speed down gradually, even if this means cutting some time from your main conditioning stage.
After gradually decreasing our heart rate we can now focus on developing our flexibility. My relative education has taught me the post exercise stretching is more influential in improving ones flexibility when compared to pre exercise stretching.
Our post stretching can be classified as development stretching (develop flexibility) and maintenance stretching (maintain flexibility). Aim to stretch the major muscles of the legs, chest, back, shoulders. I tend to recommend working from the bottom of the body upward beginning with a stretch for the legs and finishing with a stretch for the upper part of the back, this again aids in blood distribution. Hold each stretch for a minimum count of fifteen seconds, rest and then progress onto another muscle group.
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Recent Posts
- Healthy living is for life, not just for after christmas
- Make a resolution you can keep this new year
- Personal Trainer in Hull and east Riding of Yorkshire – New website
- Gyms can be Scary Places
- Little and Often exercise