MRPT BootCamp comes to Godalming!

For those of you that want to get fit and lose fat this year, whilst exercising in a fun, group environment, MRPT BootCamp could be the answer! Based in Godalming, Surrey, it is already attracting interest from people in Guildford, Haslemere, and surrounding Surrey towns!

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!

"Can we do some stomach exercises?!"

If I said to you, "what exercises work your core, or your abs or your stomach", what would be your thought?

Crunches? Situps? Plank? Ab Rollers?

Sometimes I get asked at the end of our PT sessions, or have over heard at the gym "Can we do some stomach work?!", or "we haven't done any stomach exercises, let's do some now!"

I give the same answer, til I'm blue in the face, but it still keeps happening!!

"You know those lunges with overhead press, the pullups, the renegade rows, the pressups, the mountain climbers, the squats? You know I keep reminding you, pull that belly button in, brace your core?!"

Well hey! Guess what?! You've worked your core, your abs, your stomach, and a hell of a lot more muscles, with all of those functional exercises!! If those muscles didn't work during the exercises, your hips would have sagged, your lower back would have folded like jelly, your hips and knees would have buckled, and you would be a mess on the floor!

Your 'core' is always working! It is your central pillar, that keeps you upright, and assists with balance. By focusing on the above exercises, and bracing your abs/core further you are engaging those muscles to further support you, and whether you know it or not, they are getting a great workout!

It's only people who aren't in the know, who feel they have to finish, or sometimes even start (which is worse, as your core acts as a stabilising set of muscles for your body, and if they are fatigued at the beginning of your workout, you will not be very productive and risk injury!) their workouts with "abs" exercises, like situps, more situps and 'specific abs' exercises.

Sure, if you want to hit your core further, add in some cable rotations, wood chops, sledgehammers etc, but make sure they are at the end, and aren't the main focus of your workout.

How hard is it to get Help?!

How hard is it to get help nowadays?!

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!

Situps and Steady pace Cardio - The route for minimum results!

It never amazes me when at the gym, how many times I see the 2 exercises above being performed. The "situp" and the "steady Treadmill run".

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?!

Agreed, to a degree, situps or crunches will be strengthening the muscles, but if there is a huge layer of fat overlaying them, it's pretty pointless.

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.

What excess weight are you carrying?

The other day I was talking with one of my PT clients, as we were setting his goals for this year. His target was to lose a stone, and at that stage he asked, "What does a pound of fat feel/look like?!"

I said, "Let's forget a pound, let's look at the bigger targets!" and picked up a 7kg dumbbell.

"There you go, that's about a stone of FAT!"

Now, to those of you that workout, you will know that a 7kg Dumbbell is quite a weight! Imagine that as excess FAT that you're carrying. Imagine even further if you're targets are 2, 3 or 4 stones of fat?!

That is quite an extra load you are carrying around, and your joints have to support.

For your interest, the picture top left is what just 1 pound of fat looks like, and the picture at the top right, is just 5 pounds of FAT. Pretty gruesome, and quite a size, when you think what most people are looking to, or need to drop.

Start eating sensibly, workout regularly and with intensity, and you will drop fat.

Who wants Fat like the above in their body?

Everyone wants abs, a flat stomach, shapely arms and legs, but without shedding the fat you won't see, or get those results.

Make the choice, make the effort, and make the change.

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.

Gym Users - Don't waste your valuable time and money!

To people using gym's or planning on joining a gym - "read this post to ensure you don't waste your time, money and effort!"

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!

This evening while training one of my PT clients at the gym, I saw an induction being carried out, and every exercise the instructor gave them was on a static gym machine. The Chest Press, the shoulder press, leg press, leg extension..... the useless list went on!

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?!!