Saturday 31 January 2009
Should you workout when ill?
One question I get quite a bit, and often discuss with my PT clients, is whether you should work out when you're ill.
These views are my personal opinions, and I feel it's pretty individual to the person. If you are in doubt, I would say do not workout, until you are back to normal.
With any kind of illness, be it viral or bacterial, you're body will be working overtime to fight this infection, and so "clean" nutrition and water, is essential to help speed the bodies response, and assist your immune system.
** If you have a virus, chest infection, or temperature, definitely DO NOT WORK OUT. These are some pretty severe symptoms, and you will be doing your body more harm than good by working out. **
However, if you just have the sniffles, or a slight sore throat, and you work out regularly, then there should be no harm in doing a light workout. Certainly do not work to failure, or a challenging set of intervals!
Personally, I do not work out when I feel ill. My body tends to ache and I find that resistance work makes my muscles and body feel worse the next day, and I'd rather rest, eat and drink water, and get myself back to near 100% before returning. Also, if I'm ill and can't work, I lose money as I'm self-employed!! I always steer clear of big exercises when ill, as I've performed Squats a few times when slightly ill, and my body has ached big time for a few days afterwards - but that could just be me!!
Just remember, any form of exercise is a stress on the body, and when it is already stressed though illness, you could be doubling the effort the body is going through to rid the illness.
Often a rest from the gym can be as good as a workout in terms of recovery to the body. Plus, if you're goal is weight loss, remember the key is nutrition, so it would be more crucial to watch what, and how, you ate during this period, rather than whether you should be working out or not.
At the first signs of illness, or sore throat, I will dose up with Echinnacea and Olive Leaf extract. If I keep these running, I find the symptoms will dissapear in a few days, or if I caught it late, the symptoms will be a lot less severe than what they would have been without this supplementation. If you choose to take these, just ensure you continue for a few days after symptoms have dissapeared to ensure the virus/bacteria has been erradicated.
What are your views? Do you workout when ill?
NOTE: This is my personal view, and I will not be held responsible for any injury or illness that could be sustained from following my views above. If in doubt do not workout when ill, and contact your GP. (Mark)
Thursday 29 January 2009
Heed the warning signs!!
Driving home, the car felt, and drove no better, and part of me thought, "What a waste of £300!", but looking logically, it was overdue, needed to be done, and if it had snapped, I would be looking at a much larger bill!
If you compare this with your exercise and nutrition regime, there could be comparisons.
Sometimes you may think, "oh it won't matter if I have this cake today, or take-away meal tonight, it won't do that much harm", but if you don't pay attention to your intake on a regular basis, it WILL mount up and eventually YOU WILL pay the price!
Be it eating too many, or the wrong type of calories, or performing exercises incorrectly, or with bad posture, the bad side of things will catch with you in the end!
Wednesday 28 January 2009
Address the underlying issue for long term results
I see Kerry Katona (a very minor 'celebrity' to my readers outside of the UK!) has recently spent a reported £10,000 on liposuction and other weight loss surgery.
Quite amazing really, when she declared herself bankrupt late last year?!
No doubt a few of those shocking TV appearances, or magazine sob-story articles paid for most of it.
However, mark my words, some point this year, she will no doubt be back to the size she was more recently.
Kerry obviously has underlying issues, alcohol has been named as one, and I'll not dare guess at others, but if the underlying issue to her weight gain, unhappiness, and emotional problems are still there, then you are not addressing the root cause. She has just given herself a short-term solution, but with the underlying issues, they will fight themselves to the top, as negative issues do, and take control again.
If you are on a fat loss programme, ensure you address the initial cause first, and prepare for those obstacles.
Do you eat too much junk food or processed food?
Do you exercise?
Do you eat through boredom?
Do you eat badly through lack of preparation?
Do you just make excuses?
Seek professional guidance or help if you genuinely cannot explain YOUR underlying reason, but when you have that reason, do all you can to eliminate it, find solutions, take 100% responsibility for your actions, instill a positive "can-do" mindset and you will benefit from your newly instilled confidence and goal setting.
I hope Kerry can do the same.
Tuesday 27 January 2009
Pills and diets - Just an empty void
I decided to post, to try and give a professional, experienced view, and let these people know that the questions above have no VALID answer, or more correctly, are not even valid Questions.
The problem is though, people want results, and they want them yesterday.
But what about the damage you are doing to your body, internally, where you can't see it? Damaging organs, your hormones, your metabolism?
To the "Which diet pill?" question, I simply posted, "There isn't one - if there was, every overweight person would be using it, and everyone would look lean, and slim!", to which the reply came, "Actually product X has been shown to inhibit fat absorption by your body from the food you eat!"
It is not eating fat that makes you fat, it is excess calories! Be this fat, carbohydrates or protein, the basic facts are, if you're eating more calories than your body needs, or is burning off, you will gain weight.....period.
90% of people that "go on a diet" put that weight back on or more, 3 months after finishing it. Plus the phrase, "Going on a diet" means at some point, you will be "coming off of it". Do you really want to be trying this, then that, then this, all your life?
Stick to something that is sustainable. Please don't endanger your health with diets, pills and potions. Stick to regular exercise, healthy, natural foods, and you will not only lose fat, but you'll get healthier, and fitter at the same time.
Surely this is what you want, especially long term when you want to be playing with your children or grandchildren?
Saturday 24 January 2009
MRPT BootCamp comes to Godalming!
You may have joined a gym as a New Year resolution, and are starting to realise that you're left on your own after your induction, with no nutrition advice, and a lot of useless equipment?! Click here for my YouTube video describing the number of useless machines at the gym that you're often inducted on!
However, with my BootCamp you get my MRPT Nutrition Plan which is gives proven results with my Personal Training clients, free of charge, you get exercises which work, and advice which will help your achieve your results. Follow these guidelines, and you could be dropping a dress of trouser size in just 4 weeks!
Signup here for further BootCamp information;
If you still want to carry on at the gym, or even exercise from home then put your details into the box below and I'll tell you if the exercises you are doing are wasting your time and effort, and advise you on those that will get you results!
I hope to see you at BootCamp!
Wednesday 21 January 2009
"Can we do some stomach exercises?!"
Tuesday 20 January 2009
How hard is it to get Help?!
You either have to pay for it up front, or there is some hidden extra, and you will pay, in some form, somewhere down the line.
I'm currently marketing my upcoming BootCamps. Shouldn't be hard I thought, choose a park, get some leaflets, emails, blog and web information up and get planning.
WRONG!
Not only do I have to pay the local parks to use them, I've since found that the initial cost they quoted me will go up after 4 weeks! So much for trying to get some use out of our under-used parks, and helping the local community get fitter and lose some weight?! (I'm off to Australia in February, and their parks are over-run with children, adults, playing games, exercising etc. Sure the weather helps, but when they put up basic exercise equipment such as pullup stations, hurdles, bars etc, they are actively encouraging people to use them)
Today, I decided to go and visit some of the local shops in town, and see if I could distribute some leaflets. Again, another barrier! The only ones who were really interested in helping were the small, privately run businesses, who know how challenging marketing can be, and were only happy to help out with displaying them.
Even the local library, a 'community' establishment, wouldn't put a leaflet up, because I would be making money from the business! Very supportive of your local work and businesses!
Anyway, I'm an upbeat person, so I won't let this get me down (just a quick off the chest moment!!), I'll continue to look for additional locations, areas to market, and ensure that I get a positive outcome.
BUT! If YOU would like something for FREE, visit my Fat Loss and Fitness Forum here, where you can signup in 1minute, and start asking me and other members questions, post up workout information, get FREE advice and help, and get those 2009 goals on the right track!
You have to pay for most things, so why not make use of those that you don't!
Monday 19 January 2009
Situps and Steady pace Cardio - The route for minimum results!
Quite often, people will go from the treadmill to some situps and then home! To them, that is their workout done!
"The Situp"
Yesterday at the gym, I saw some overweight men, huffing and puffing on the treadmill, who then moved to the matted area and wrenched out a few variations of the situp. Each repetition looked strained and performance wise, would have been ineffective.
Let me state here and now, Situps WILL NOT REMOVE BELLY FAT .... period! If you're doing situps in an attempt to lose that belly, then I'm afraid you're fighting a losing battle. It takes 3,500kcals to rid just 1 pound of fat, how many calories do you honestly think some situps will burn?!
If you have say a stone or more to lose, and you're hoping situps will rid that tummy, think again, no matter how many you do.
You will be better off performing BIG exercises, like the Squat, Pressups, Pullups, Deadlifts etc. Learn the correct form and each of these exercises will burn more calories, use more muscles, and work your core at the same time.
"The Treadmill"
Again, if the treadmill is your choice of exercise for Fat Loss, then you need to re-think your workouts.
Sure the occasional run is fine if you enjoy it, but if you are doing multiple runs a week to try and lose weight, there are so many better routes to take.
If you are just going to run for say 30mins, sure you will burn some calories, maybe around 400kcals, but that will be all, after you finish your heart rate returns, and you've burnt off 3-400 kcals...wow! A sandwich or latte later, and you've re-instated those calories.
However, if you were to perform say 15-20mins of interval training, combining a period of intense running, backed with a period of recovery (even walking) you will burn a greater number of calories, both during the workout, and for up to 36 hours later, because of your EPOC, or Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption.
When performing strenuous exercise, your body has to process oxygen throughout the body at a much higher rate, resulting in your metabolism being highly elevated, and your body working overtime to replenish energy stores, rid by-products which have been produced, and generally return the body back to a "recovered state." This system requires calories to work, and therefore your body will be burning those additional calories for hours after your workout.
Throw in some full body resistance or bodyweight exercises after your intervals, and you have 'ramped up' your body and it's metabolic state, big time! You will leave the gym knowing you've worked out!
Compare this to a laboured run on the treadmill, and 2 strained sets of 15 on the ab cradle or situps, and hopefully you can now see the benefit!
As I aways relay, exercise and results is about INTENSITY. Only with INTENSITY, and a clean diet, and commitment, will you get worthwhile results.
Saturday 17 January 2009
What excess weight are you carrying?
Thursday 15 January 2009
A touch of humour to lighten your day!
Laughter, and comedy are great stress relievers, and should be integrated into your week to relieve stress, lighten the workload, and to lift your spirits and positive attitudes.
I received the below via email, I hope some of them make you laugh!
To Maintain A Healthy Level Of Insanity
1. At Lunch Time, Sit In Your Parked Car With Sunglasses on and point a Hair Dryer At Passing Cars. See If They Slow Down.
2. Page Yourself Over The Intercom. Don't Disguise Your Voice.
3. Every Time Someone Asks You To Do Something, ask If They Want Fries with that.
4. Put Decaf In The Coffee Maker For 3 Weeks . Once Everyone has Gotten Over Their Caffeine Addictions, Switch to E spresso.
5. Skip down the hall Rather Than Walk and see how many looks you get.
6. Order a Diet Water whenever you go out to eat, with a serious face.
7. Specify That Your Drive-through Order Is 'To Go'.
8. Sing Along At The Opera.
9. Five Days In Advance, Tell Your Friends You Can't Attend Their Party Because You have a headache.
10. When The Money Comes Out The ATM, Scream 'I Won! I Won!'
11. When Leaving the Zoo, Start Running towards theParking lot, Yelling 'Run For Your Lives! They're Loose!'
12. Tell Your Children Over Dinner, 'Due To The Economy, We Are Going To Have To Let One Of You Go.'
And The Final Way To Keep A Healthy Level Of Insanity -
13. Pick up a box of condoms in the pharmacy, go to the counter, and ask where the fitting rooms are.
Wednesday 14 January 2009
Gym Users - Don't waste your valuable time and money!
Most of the equipment you will find at the gym, and most likely are inducted on, are a waste of time, and will get you minimal results.
Let's forget the X-trainer, stepper etc for now, I'm talking about the 'fixed range of motion' gym kit/machines that take up most of the gym floor space. Born in the 70's and primarily designed for Bodybuilders, these pieces of kit will do nothing to shape your body, and assist you in losing body fat.
Take the machine in the picture above for example, the shoulder press. Firstly you are sat down, so all the muscles from your hips down are switched off - already you are using less muscles and calories than you could be. Secondly, as you push the handles up, to work the "shoulder muscles", the arms will only move in 1 fixed, plane of motion.
Therefore, every time you use this machine, you will use the same group of muscles, in the same fixed movement.
Swap this to an everyday functional movement, such as lifting a box up or down from a top shelf - that box isn't going to move straight up and down is it?
The load will shift, it might wobble to the left or right, it might even start to topple backwards, but because you have trained your shoulder and tricep muscles to work straight up and down, you will not be in a strong position to correct the imbalance, and re-adjust to push that box up, or bring it down safely. Basically, you are not working additional muscles such as you core, and assistor muscles to the primary moving muscles.
It is just not a functional movement.
On the other hand, if you perform a kettlebell, dumbell, or sandbag overhead press, it will NOT move in a straight line, it WILL be more challenging, and therefore will use more muscles, will burn more calories, and fat, and will shape your body in a quicker time compared to static, fixed range machines.
I would go as far as to say 80% of the machines in gyms are a waste of time. Click here to see my video, and comments on the machines at my gym!
Get people carrying and supporting their bodyweight when exercising, get them moving and using multiple muscles and calories, get them moving in a functional way that will help them in their daily lives, but will also get them results, in a reasonable time frame.
Use bodyweight exercises, cable machines, dumbells, barbells, sandbags, kettlebells etc, all external resistance which will move erratically and challenge the body further.
If you want further ideas for workouts, and places to talk about exercises, workouts and nutrition, come and join my Fat Loss and Fitness Solutions forum, it's free, as is the information, and my aim is to help you get your results!
No wonder, so many people give up early when joining a gym, they don't see results, they lose motivation, they lose interest, and most of this is because of such inductions and exercises.
Signup below for my 'controversial' list of Exercises that WORK and DON'T WORK at the gym!
Then feel free to comment about what you have seen and read, or your thoughts?!!
Friday 9 January 2009
The Fat Loss Secret for Success!
The post below is taken from Craig Ballentyne's Turbulence Training Blog. If you read it, digest it, and keep it at the forefront of your thoughts, you can succeed at anything!
//////////////////////////
"You want the secret to fat loss?
Well, you're not going to like it.
It has nothing to do with Green Tea, acai berry gummy berry juice, or the Master Cleanse.
Instead, the secret to fat loss is a state of mind. Once you're in it, you can't fail.
So here it is...
"Once you accept how HARD it is to lose fat, then it becomes easy."
Do you understand what I mean?
It's like saving money.
Once you understand and accept how much discipline is required to save money then it's easy, and becomes 2nd nature to do so. You understand the difficulty but just do it automatically.
It's the same with fat loss.
Once you understand that you must...
- Plan, shop, and prepare your meals in advance...
- Do three high-intensity workouts per week...
- Keep yourself active on off days and keep your butt off the couch for at least 30 minutes...
- Develop rituals that help you avoid night-time eating...
- Take time to set goals and to plan solutions for every obstacle that gets in your way each week...
Only then will fat loss become 2nd nature to you, so much so, that you couldn't get fat if you tried!
Seriously, once you "get it", you literally couldn't get fat if you tried, because your mind is on autopilot to stop you from binge eating or from skipping workouts.
So work on that...apply that secret mindset and you'll succeed.
You'll lose as much body fat as you want.
Heck, you can apply this to any aspect of your life and you'll experience success beyond your wildest dreams.
If only you accept the reality of the situation.
The secret doesn't come in a pill, potion, or powder"
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I would just add that anything that you want to achieve needs to be one of the most forefront of you thoughts. If you are thinking about the task, and have planned for it, then you are prepared for any obstacle that may occur. This doesn't just have to be fat loss again, but any task you have set for yourself. When you 'buy into the whole package', as talked about in this previous post of mine, you are fully focussed on the task at hand, and there should be nothing but a successful outcome. It's again the old favourite of "Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail"!
Thursday 8 January 2009
Madonna - good or bad body at 50?
In the paper at the weekend was an article with Tracy Anderson, Personal Trainer to Madonna, Gwyneth Paltrow and other celebrities. Some of the quotes pulled from there were, about Madonna, "I want to keep her body looking like it's 20 years old ".
Now, I know a lot of people actually dislike Madonna's body! Fair play to her for exercising regularly, but when veins start popping out of arms, well, I haven't seen that on a 20 year old! Author Fay Weldon put's it as "Madonna does not have the body of a 20 yr old. She has the body of a 50yr old who is well-exercised and half-starved!"
"Using her training system, The Method, Anderson uses low weight (only up to 3 pounds) but high reps - 60 for most people, but 100 for Madonna. She exercises with Madonna for 2 hours per day, 6 times a week".
- COME ON! Up to 3lb weights?! How is that challening? Though the fact she probably eats so little, could make that challenging?! What is 3lb going to do for anyone?! And 2 hours a day?! No wonder, the weights have to be so light!
Do yourself a favaour, lift heavy/challenging weights, keeping reps under 12, keep workouts under 50mins, and 3-4 times a week is more than enough! I have a client who is 51, and I've trained for 5 years now. She has a much better look to her body than Madonna! We will often Deadlift 45kg, DB Press 15kg DB's, 25 full pressups, Bodyweight rows etc. She would have words to say if I handed her a pair of 1kg weights!
"When Anderson first met Paltrow and Madonna, they were horrified by her junk food diet. I had gotten cocky about the fitness programme I designed and I was eating 4 cupcakes a day, cheeseburgers, dunking Oreo's in processed icing. But I had such a serious sweet tooth, and because I got such good results from my fitness regime I could get away with it!"
The lives of celebreties are there for us to read about! To follow, or emulate their lives would be wrong, and not very practical!
Tuesday 6 January 2009
Are you a "Can DO!" or a "I Can't Do That?" person?!
Sunday 4 January 2009
Talk to one of the world's TOP Fat Loss Trainers!
Here's your chance to ask Craig any questions you may have, about his TT system, or health and fitness in general. Post your questions in the comments section of this post, or email me at Mark@Markspt.co.uk, and I'll select the best ones.
The interview will appear on here in the next few weeks, so bookmark, subscribe to this blog and get ready for some of the most important facts about fat loss and exercise!
Saturday 3 January 2009
6-pack Abs or 6-pack Flab?!
Friday 2 January 2009
Celebrity 'Fat Loss' Dvd's? Don't waste your money!
It's that time of year when 'celebrities' bring out their magical 'fat loss' and fitness DVD's, promising you that pounds, even stones of fat will drop off it you just follow their DVD!
They will even have a before and after photo of themselves to make the choice even easier!
Errr......no. If people could get those results from following a step DVD, or a 30minute dance class that has you shuffling, tripping, and mostly stopping to rewind and re-watch the last moves, Personal Trainers, BootCamps etc would be out of business.
Please don't be fooled by this marketing and 'celebrity' tag, they are just using their profile to sell something that;
May get you a little bit fitter / May get you moving a bit, but WILL NOT help you burn fat!
The one thing you will need to do, that these DVD's often don't advertise is to CHANGE YOUR DIET. It's the food that you have eaten that has made you fat, not the fact that you have been without their DVD for all this time!!
Save your money, lay off the wheat, the dairy, the alcohol, and start eating more natural foods and then you Will start to lose regular weight.
Why not take advantage of my FREE online training offer posted below or at http://www.markspt.co.uk/?
You could also look to buy my combined Nutrition and Exercise ebook coming out in the next 6 weeks!! :-)