Why you need a personal trainer..

Many would be in agreement that our greatest gift in life is health. Regardless of this, many perceive working with a personal trainer as a luxury rather than a service that aids in achieving personal goals that you’ve been finding hard to achieve.  Whether your goal is to lose weight, gain muscle, get in shape for a specific event, decrease your risk of heart disease then working with a personal trainer may be what it takes to get the job done. As a personal trainer, the goal is to cater specifically to each individual’s needs, goals and abilities to tailor a programme for them.

I believe people may know why they aren’t reaching their goals;

1.      Motivation.

This is a huge reason why people may fall short of achieving their goals. Have you ever not made it to the gym or failed to get up early for that run? This is where a personal trainer comes in. When you’re not in the mood to work out or feel like you can’t give any more, your trainer is there to push and motivate you to ensure you reach that one extra rep or extra 5 seconds on a run. These mini victories add up over time and you will see the difference.

2.      Accountability.

Making sure you stick to a programme or workouts is half the battle, as something always seems to crop up. However, scheduling your sessions with your trainer will force you to commit that time and effort towards it 100%. Additionally, with regular contact and progress checks before and after sessions, your personal trainer will ensure you have continuous improvement and you will remain true to your plan.

3.      Education.

The fitness industry is always coming up with new and exciting workouts that people love to jump head first into and try. As a trainer it’s our job to understand all the new pieces of equipment or new workouts and decide if they will be useful to maximise the results you are looking for.

4.      Time management.

Do you ever feel like you’re in the gym for hours and not sure what different machines do, or how long to do certain exercises for? Well a personal trainer will provide targeted, effective workouts that can halve the time needed in the gym, ultimately giving you time back.

At F.W.F Training I am committed to making sure I adhere to my client’s needs and deliver those desired results, whilst having some fun along the way!

Nothing worth having comes easy, but through sweat and determination I can honestly say my clients love the end results!

LADIES LIFT! DONT WORRY YOU WON’T BULK UP

Whenever I ask my female clients about their fitness goals the answer is usually the same, “I want to tone up and lose weight”. They also say, “I don’t want to bulk up so I don’t want to lift too much or do heavy weights.

Firstly I want to clarify that women will not bulk up by doing weight training. The reason behind this is testosterone. Testosterone is responsible for building muscle, women have 15-20 times less testosterone than men, and therefore women are not as well equipped to gain muscle and will not gain muscle as a man does.

The side effect of the fear of bulk-up is that most women don’t do strength training, and instead mainly focus on cardio. Cardio is good for your heart, lungs and endurance etc, but it is a only a part of what should be your total workout. It is very hard to tone up arms, legs, abs or any other part of the body and lose fat without weight training. Strength training is one of the healthiest thing anyone can do, especially women.

Here is the main benefits of strength training for women:

• Strength training increases your metabolism and BMR (basal metabolic rate) so that you burn more calories 24/7. Calculate your BMR here http://www.myfitnesspal.com/tools/bmr-calculator

·       Increases lean muscle tissue which builds strength and endurance

·       Losing fat and toning up.

·       Strengthens your bones reducing your risk of developing osteoporosis

·       Improves posture

·       Increases energy levels and mood through the release of brain - chemicals that reduce anxiety and chronic illnesses.

So ladies do not feel intimidated by the weights area, by mixing up your training and adding in weights you will start to see results quicker than just doing cardio. I personally run a Circuit Class in Fleet every Wednesday that involves a series of different weights and bodyweight movements that are perfect for helping men and women gain fitness and muscle.

Start your day off right.

Starting our day with a good breakfast is one of the best health decisions you can make. Breakfast literally means ‘breaking your overnight fast’. Remember it could be up to 8-10 hours since your last meal, so it is important to re-fuel your body for the coming day.

The next time you rush out the door in the morning without something to eat, think this; skipping breakfast can set you up for overeating later in the day. A healthy morning meal on the other hand, can give you energy, satisfy your appetite, and keep you focused throughout the day.

Eating in the morning, and what you eat, is important for setting your blood-sugar pattern for the rest of the day. If you eat something that is whole grain and has some fat and protein to it, your blood sugar is going to rise slowly and go down slowly. If you eat something refined, like a sweet cinnamon roll, that’s the worst thing you can eat, you get an insulin spike, and then your blood sugar drops too low so you get hungry again. This is why people get into a cycle of overeating junk.

To ease your body into a more consistent blood-sugar pattern, try some porridge, whole-wheat toast with almond butter, or an omelette with spinach and avocado. These examples of different breakfast meals contain a good balance between carbs, fibre and protein which our body needs.

A lot of people eat fortified cereals such as corn flakes, frosties or special k as an easy way of eating breakfast. However, these are packed full with sugar and offer our body little to no nutritional value, so personally I’d say ditch them completely. Fruit is also high in fructose (sugar) so on its own can lead to insulin spikes, however if you combine fruit with some natural yogurt and a handful of nuts you will then have a nice balance of vitamins, fibre and protein.

Just remember, breakfast is the most important meal of the day, don’t skip it!!

Fad diets - Herbalife, Juice Plus, Weight Watchers.

These products really annoy me! Sorry to be blunt, but that is how I feel. These money making schemes encourage a continuous spamming of our social media to get us to buy into a belief and waste our money on their ‘weight loss’ gimmick.  Half the people selling them don't know, or really care, what is in the product and are just looking to make money quickly. Before you continue, this blog may seem like a rant however I do have some worthwhile advice in here, promise!

Firstly, meal replacement drinks are not a healthy or a sustainable way to lose weight. Yes you will lose weight in the immediate future, but who wouldn't if you just had a drink all day rather than a healthy balanced diet! As soon as you then start eating again you will put weight back on, if not more than you started with.

There is no quick fix or magic pill that will suddenly make you lose weight. Sorry. I wish there was, but there just isn’t.

The three things that I personally guarantee work to lose weight healthily and efficiently are;

1) Hard work!! There are no shortcuts to losing weight, every time you exercise  ensure you give it 100%

2) Nutrition - This is key if you are to lose weight. Ensure that not only are you eating the right food, at the right times but also be aware of your portion control. Losing weight is 80% nutrition and 20% working out.

3) Consistency -  Anyone can stick to working out and eating healthily for a day, two days or a week but you will need to ensure you are consistent to really see your body change.

Nothing will ever beat a lifestyle of healthy eating and regular exercise.  I can help you achieve your goals as a committed personal trainer who takes pride in helping people make these changes in their lives.

HIIT vs Steady State Cardio

As a trainer I often get asked “what is the best way to lose weight - is it cardio or High Intense Interval Training (HIIT)?” Here we will discuss the pros and cons of both, and hopefully you will leave with a clearer idea of what style training will suit you better.

Steady State Cardio

Let’s start with steady state cardio. Steady state is exactly what it says, any form of cardiovascular/aerobic activity that is maintained for a period of time. Generally, steady state cardio is performed at a low-moderate intensity for 20+ minutes. This can be anything from walking at an incline on the treadmill, a 5km run, even up to a marathon!

Pros:

It’s Great for beginners. For those just starting a fitness program, I would suggest leaning toward steady state cardio to allow yourself time to build up endurance before performing any HIIT. I say this because if you are a person with limited fitness or starting over after an injury then the key to success involves doing the right moves, at your own pace. HIIT should be intense, but pushing too hard, too fast can result in injuries and a loss of motivation so ensure you always listen to your body and seek advice as to how to complete moves with proper form.

Steady state cardio can be performed more often: This style of training has a relatively low impact on the body, enabling you to train on frequent basis, it is also used by athletes and body-builders to lean up and lose excess body fat, so it’s proven to be a great way to shed the pounds.

Cons:

Overuse injuries: Activities like running place quite a bit of stress on the joints, especially when repeated over a period of time so as I said before, always make sure you listen to your body.

Time - Steady state cardio takes time, time that some people don’t have in their busy lives. Simple tricks to get more steady state cardio into your day are walking that extra tube stop, taking the stairs or even going for a walk with your partner after work for an house before settling down to a night in front of the telly.

Now let’s talk about HIIT.

HIIT is a short period of intensive, all-out effort activity, followed by a period of rest. It should be at such an intensity that you cannot continue to perform the activity any longer than 20 minutes. You can perform HIIT on a treadmill,  or you can use equipment such as  ropes, kettle bells, sleds, barbells, jump ropes, or even just your own bodyweight.

Pros:

Short duration: All that is required is 5-20 minutes of exercise, easily squeezed into your day be it from example before work or in your lunch break! HIIT training will get your heart rate up in to its 90%-95% which is where you really start to work in your cardiovascular zone, this is where you will see great increases in your fitness levels as your heart is having to work that much harder.

Fat-burning:  Essentially, after you stop working out, your body will continue to burn through calories for hours after the exercise has finished as you go about your day. On top of this, your resting metabolism increases, and your body becomes more efficient at using fat for fuel.

Cons:

All-out effort: Yes, you may be working out for a shorter period of time, but these intervals hurt, a lot. This is maximum effort, 110%, I want to cry when I’m done. If you sell short when HIIT training and think you’re getting the same benefit, you’re wrong. You must push your body to the limit (90% of your HR Max), or you might as well just stick with steady state cardio.

Not for beginners: as I mentioned earlier, HIIT is so demanding and intense that for a person who has not used to exercise and is making the first steps on their fitness journey that it may make them feel demotivated and cause injuries.

Less is more: Unlike steady state cardio, HIIT should only be done at the maximum, every other day. 2-3 times a week will get the job done.

So hopefully this will give you more f an understanding of the two types and you can now make an informed decision on what you think will work best for you.