Specialising in Health and Fitness

Are you ready to be motivated?

2012-01-16T13:07:00.000-08:00

by Phill Wright

My aim for this blog is that by the end, your answer to the title will be a resounding yes. If it's already yes, then I aim to help create an even more powerful yes.

I've not always been sporty or into fitness. As a young lad, I was never the most able on the sports field. However, I did possess an ability to push myself more than that of those around me. I remember doing the 400 meters in secondary school and coming second out of 8 competitors. On ability, there is no way I should have come second in that race but those with the talent seemingly didn't share that determination. I remember breathing so heavy on the final straight that I sounded like I'd just escaped from a smoke chamber. Teachers were a little worried that I was having some sort of asthmatic episode but after a couple of minutes, I was fine. (although admittedly it look a little longer for the redness in my cheeks to normalise)

As I said though, my childhood wasn't super sporty and it was only in my 20's that fitness became more of a passion. My school and student days were much more 'normal' although all school and progress reports shared one common theme...'Phillip is persistent'.

In NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) terms, two types of motivational directions are identified. They suggest that people are either 'toward' motivated or 'away' motivated. 'Toward' motivated would be someone working towards a goal, let's say their first 10km road race. However, someone wanting to avoid diabetes would be considered as 'away' motivated. In my mind, motivated toward is a stronger and more positive driving force as in this situation, an individual would be looking and focussing forward and ahead in time.

Irrespective of this, I believe that there is much more to how we as people are motivated and ultimately, I see it is a choice, completely under our control. We decide how much effort we apply to tasks, how organised we are, how much we seek assistance when something is alien or taxing.

So how can you start motivating yourself? Now these aren't tips, they're choices. Pillars that have helped me overcome obstacles and I completely believe they apply for us all and could make a huge difference for you:

Set your goals - It doesn't need to be world conquering. This is a goal for you, no one else, you! Be SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, time bound) with it but also, check it weekly. If you're organised, be sure to schedule week on week how you'll stay on target. If you're not a diary person, just revisit once per week and decide how you're going to stay on track that week. Do it now though, don't read any further until you've set your goal and make a note of it.
Learn to be resilient - Just like the time you learnt to walk or ride a bike, learn not to give up until you get there. It doesn't matter how long it takes you or how many attempts, you will get there.
Start stretching your imagination - I'm not assuming that you haven't challenged yourself with your goal but in my experience, we tend to be a little cagey when setting goals. I want you to answer this question "Do you know what you're capable of?". Do you have any idea of where your potential lies? If I'm honest, I don't know where mine is but I most certainly will continue to step further towards it. Just because you haven't done it before doesn't mean it can't be done. As creatures, our instincts are to move forwards and we're at our happiest when we're achieving, it gives us a sense of purpose, self belief and self esteem.
Only listen to self talk if it offers you something positive - Unlike popular belief, self talking isn't a sign of madness. Well, if it is then we're all clinically nuts. Unsurprisingly, many people charge their self-comments with doubt and criticism, also known as limiting beliefs. If you're telling yourself that you can't do something, answer this "How the heck do you possibly know that you can't?, have you tried it?, tried it again? and not given up until you've figured out how to?" The answer is that you can. Thomas Edison discovered some incredible inventions but it also took him hundreds, almost thousands of failed attempts to get there. In fact, his thoughts express this point beautifully "Many of life's failures are individuals who did not realise how close they were to success when they gave up".
Be what you expect from others - In the world we live, there are so many distractions, commitments and pressures that our sense of identity can be pulled, pushed, twisted, tied in knots and forgetting who we are is so easily done. If you expect and enjoy kindness from others, be kind. If you expect helpfulness from others, be helpful. If you expect love from others, be loving. What has this got to do with motivation? Being more in line with your own values will help your sense of happiness, purpose and help you stay settled in the world you build around you.

It does take continual effort but like anything in life, the more you do it, the easier it becomes and the less you need to think about it.

I return to my original point, are you ready to be motivated?

Get Results By Being Deliberate

2012-01-05T10:49:00.001-08:00

Phill Wright, Director of Creating Chaos

No one likes wasting time. I am certainly no fan of willing time away with little outcome and I'm guessing you're of a similar mind.

In the time I've spent in the fitness industry, there has been a huge influx in the abundance of information, guidance, support and available services which is fantastic for consumers. Ultimately, more choice is available and the likelihood of people finding something they enjoy is much greater.

So why are there still so many people committing to varying types of fitness and clearly not getting the results they desire? Personally, I don't think it has much to do with actually what they're doing but more how they're doing it. I would most certainly suggest that some methods of conditioning are more effective than others but even more important than that is the approach, the way in which people select their state and execute exercise.

When you look into it, athletes, those with seemingly unobtainable bodies and levels of fitness do many similar exercises to most gym goers...squats, presses, pulls etc. Ok, the programme athletes have will be written most likely by an expert but the most significant difference is that they take it seriously. Every single repetition of every single exercise is done to the best of their ability, often quickly and with significant load but importantly, they completely focus on doing the exercise.

So here's a couple of pointers to help you get more from every ounce of exercise you do:

1. Before exercising, prepare your session and rid yourself of as many destractions as possible. (put your mobile on aircraft mode if necessary)
2. Challenge yourself. Your body benefits from exercise by adapting to the challenges that it faces. If there are no challenges, the benefits will be less.
3. Commit to improve your ability to execute the exercise(s). No matter how many times you've done it, there is always room for improvement.
4. Enjoy how much self belief you'll feel knowing that every minute you spend exercising is completely worthwhile and helping you achieve your goals

NB. With the above, I'm not dismissing the importance of enjoying exercise or social sports. This is crucial and if you don't enjoy it, try something else

2011-11-15T12:28:00.000-08:00

Jenny Wright, OutFit director

Back in August I had some fantastic news – I’m pregnant!

As well as being overjoyed and extremely excited, I also felt a little scared. What will happen to my training? Will I get fat? Will I lose all my strength? Will I have to stop doing all the things I enjoy?

When I was past 12 weeks and able to tell others my good news, the next question after “when is it due?” was “so when are you going to give up all the exercise?”

The common train of thought amongst people is that pregnant women should be wrapped up in cotton wool and shouldn’t do much more than go for a gentle walk in terms of exercise. I knew that this couldn’t be right – pregnant animals in the wild don’t stop hunting, pregnant women in the olden days continued to work and hunt, and pregnant women now in developing countries continue to do manual work, walk miles and look after their families. Why should it be different here?

Those of you who know me will know that I am quite into my training (that’s probably an understatement). I enjoy being physically fit, and typically would train 2 to 3 times a day in a variety of ways – running, kettlebells, bodyweight circuits and hockey to name a few.

When my husband and I decided to start trying for a baby, I wanted to be as prepared as possible for what was about to happen to my body, and the changes I would inevitably have to make. I am fortunate in that I work in the fitness industry and therefore I have a number of experts and resources to go to.

To my surprise however, most trainers and instructors were very cautious about advising me about training during pregnancy. And those that had studied it were men and obviously could not fully understand the changes that occur to a woman during pregnancy.

I could only find articles stating that “you should not lift heavy weights”, “you should not over exert yourself”, “you should not raise your heart rate above a certain level”, “you should not do any balance work” and so on. What about the things I could do?

So I looked overseas for my information. I found a few blogs by fellow female kettlebell instructors in America who had continued to train during pregnancy and had a trouble free pregnancy and gave birth to a happy, healthy baby. This gave me hope, although being a bit of a geek; I still wanted to know the science behind exercising whilst pregnant.

I found a brilliant book by Doctor James F Clapp called 'Exercising Through Your Pregnancy'.

In it he details the research that has been done on the effects of training whilst pregnant (surprisingly little until about 30 years ago when he set up numerous research programmes), he described the physiological changes to the body that happen during pregnancy, and the effects of exercise on the body and the effects of exercise on a pregnant woman. The benefits of continuing to exercise are numerous, and mostly positive additive benefits to those which naturally occur to a pregnant woman.

A lot of the changes that occur during pregnancy make the body extremely efficient – more oxygen intake, more efficient at getting rid of heat, better heart rate regulation. All of these changes also occur to women who regularly exercise. Combining exercising with being pregnant adds positively to these effects; it improves the supply of glucose and oxygen to the baby (provided the mum eats adequately and regularly).

The fitter, stronger and healthier you are, the easier labour may be, the stronger the baby will be, and the easier it will be to get back to pre-pregnancy size and fitness.

there are certain things that need to be said here. My body is used to, and has been used to for years, the types of training that I do. It is not a good idea to start an exercise programme or new types of training when you’re pregnant; and if you feel any pain or have any complications during pregnancy – always consult your doctor or midwife before continuing training.

The most important thing to understand is that it is not the time for pushing myself, or trying to beat personal records; I must listen to my body and if I’m feeling tired/exhausted/any pain, then I must stop or not try to train. I also must fuel my body properly – it’s not a case of “eating for two” (you only actually need an extra 300 calories a day, and this is only from 6 months onwards), it’s a case of eating healthy, nutritious foods that will enable the baby to develop and grow, but also sustain me through my training.

I am now 18 weeks pregnant, and I have continued to train most days throughout. I tend to do 20-30 minutes of kettlebell and bodyweight circuits in the morning before work, and then a long run including hills sprints or intervals with the dog after work.

If I feel too tired – I don’t train. The only thing I have stopped doing is playing hockey due to the physical nature and contact of the sport. I understand that when bump gets bigger I will have to slightly change and tailor my training to accommodate it. But unless I have any complications during my pregnancy – I will continue to do what I love doing. If I can’t train for some reason – I know that it is only for a few months, and most importantly – the baby now comes first. Nothing is more important to me than being able to give birth to a lovely healthy little boy or girl – that is something no amount of exercise can ever take the place of.

Exercise De-Mythified. Exercise is full of myths and rumours, we attempt to clear a few up here with this info graphic.

2011-10-30T13:38:00.000-07:00

Outdoor fitness Winter Guide

2011-10-25T16:01:00.000-07:00

The ridicous religion of health and fitness

2011-04-24T04:28:00.001-07:00

I'm just sat up in Cumbria enjoying a couple of days break at Jen's family home and though I'd put together a quick blog.

With it being Easter weekend, for many a time of indulgence and for others a time for reflection, I thought I'd indulge in a little reflection myself.

With today marking the end of lent, I guess for those having given something up, it's a junction point, do I revert back to where I was? It's a decision that has to come from within, certainly if we're going to stick to it as we live in a free society and have the fortunate circumstance allowing us to decide for ourselves.

It certainly appears this way on the face of things, but is it really the case?

Whilst I love working in an industry that I have a clear passion about, there are certain parts to the industry that I don't understand...and if truth be told, I feel are very shameful. Whilst health and fitness is a personal investment that everyone should prioritise, not everyone has the knowledge or expertise to support themselves and rightfully so, many seek guidance. This demand for guidance creates space for thought-leaders and role models to steer people in the right direction. The shameful truth is that many 'role models' create dependancy from their subscribers. Instead of aiming to empower followers, a stronger reliance is forged through clever marketing, material that only seems to answer only a handful of questions and a continuance in a buying and selling mentality.

Having been in the fitness industry now for nearly 5 years (is that all???), I'm still figuring things out and have a lot to learn but what is very evident is that (and this applies to trainers and consumers) there is often almost sectarian splits between ideas and what people believe and follow. Now If I'm not mistaken, everyone seems to be after the same thing, good health, reducing the risks of illness and enjoying a fit and able body. So why all the segregation?

Well, it's good to have many different routes, ways and paths, there is no right or wrong way to live. However, the negativity stems from the sometimes hostile division between paths that we choose.

No one person on the face of this planet knows the answer to every question or has the perfect plan for everyone yet some of the so called role models would have you believe this. Many modern plans discuss going back to basics and living like cavemen. Whilst there are some extremely positive principles in this idea, is it not hypocritical idealism in the sense that unless you actually fully adopt the life of a caveman, (no computers, no internet, hunting for food etc) it would be nonsensical. Life has evolved from this stage and surely this a good thing. Maybe the theory isn't actually the problem but the fact that many people take ideas or concepts to extremes and follow them as they may a religion. Almost placing role models on a pedastal giving them an iconic or unhumanly status. In my understanding, this is not a positive step as it changes the dynamics completely. What was previously sticking to a healthy plan has now become an approved way of life ruled by a grand figurehead. Fitness shouldn't be so serious. It shouldn't be judged or judgemental and should be open to change as the circumstances of life do. Keeping it fun, vibrant and explorative helps people stay enthused and excited about fitness.

An unwelcomed observation is that often those who are followed overtly display dismissal or disapproval towards unaligned thoughts? Why? Is it fear of the unknown? Surely approval would inspire a more empowered and confident approach; leaving followers much more able to explore, learn and be better placed to make informed decisions. After all, as professionals, this is what we want isn't it!!??

- Posted whilst adventurising using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Cumbria

The 80-20 Rule

2011-03-08T00:28:00.000-08:00

In the years that I've been in the fitness industry, I never cease to be amazed how people struggle to maintain a balance that keeps them where they want. That said, it is understandable. We live in a society that is jammed full of temptation and promise. A chocolate bar may well be advertised as the ultimate ticket to pleasure, feeling fantastic, sensual moments and all the rest of it but is the reality just the heightening of your taste buds. The chances are that it'll send you on a rollercoaster of feeling all great before slumping into a lull and possibly some bloatedness along the way.

There is no one super diet that fits all, regardless of what the watchers of weight may tell you or those that are clearly the biggest losers. The only way any plan will work long term is if it is sustainable and realistic for you. Exercising 3 or 4 times a day is not sustainable. Eating no carbs is not sustainable. Living off shakes is not sustainable. Instead, try and incorporate the 80-20 rule which I'm sure you've come across before. Basically, aim to be good and healthy at least 80% of the time and allow yourself treats and avoid complete abstainance of the things you enjoy. This doesn't mean becoming a binge-monster whereby you're a disciple of health 80% of the time and then spend the 20% bouncing between the king of burgers / the local cigarette factory and an off license. It sounds ridiculous but a lot of people have the midweek structure of work helping them create routine and then unleash the dragon come the weekend.

So, here's some tips that can help you get the most of the 80-20 rule:

Apply it to food. Try and cook or prepare your own meals 80% of the time and know what goes into what you eat. Vary your meals and get a balance of protein, carbohydrates and fats in each meal where possible.
Don't fully avoid the things you enjoy that maybe a little naughty. This can often lead to bigger cravings. Just be sensible with how much you have.
Think about how foods make you feel afterwards rather than during. Sometimes, the immediate satisfaction can push the knowledge of how foods leave you feeling. This can often help you avoid foods that your body reacts badly too which can link to allergies and intolerances.
Apply it to your exercise levels. Exercising all the time like some sort of robot doesn't do much more than put your body into a state of constant damage. You need repair time and recovery to benefit from exercise. Incorporate around 20% of your week to receovery.

Make sure you leave some comments and add your experiences. We all have experience that can help others

Incredible upper body conditioning circuit

2011-02-14T02:42:00.000-08:00

Whilst I'm not the biggest fan of developing fitness for the sake of aesthetics but I know this is important for most. Not only does this mini upper circuit give you a strong and stable core, it will conditioning your stomach, arms, chest and upper back like no other work out and it's only 8 minutes long. No one has the excuse to say they can't fit 8 minutes in and you don't need any equipment.

To make it a little easier, just do the same exercises with your knees on the ground and look to keep the same full range of movement although if you start with part range, look to build it up gradually.

A billion times better than doing any bench or machine weights as it's true strength relative to your body.

Enjoy and if you don't have wobbly arms after this then you're a robot!!

Top tips to keep you driven

2011-02-03T02:58:00.000-08:00

The connection between intention and the follow through is fairly crucial, I'm sure we can all agree on that. When it comes to fitness, we see a distinct dislocation so often between what people set out to achieve and what they actually do achieve.

It's only February and all those New Year resolutions seem a thing of the distant past and the old habits that have haunted start to creep back in. Let's face it, we are creatures of habit, of this there is no denying. However, you are completely in control of the habits that you adopt and need not worry about being haunted by the old and often too easy habits creeping back in.

When it comes to setting goals and keeping yourself inline with your intentions, here are some top tips that will make your goals much smarter than those around you:

Be specific with your targets but more importantly, have an ongoing aim that runs continually alongside shorter and more specific aims. For example: I aim to always take the greener option and avoid using the car unless absolutely necessary. Unless you have back to back specific targets, once each one is done, there is no plan in place and you've all heard the 'failing to plan is planning to fail' saying. Another example may be that every year, I aim to try and learn a completely new type of exercise / activity.
Focus on your feelings more than numbers. Living in a world where statistics and quantities are all too readily available, we can often get far too obsessed with weight, body fat and other figures that can become the pinacle of self judgement. If you are going to make judgements of yourself then you'd need to be taking an unthinkable number of tests and assessments to make sure that the readings give you a fair and accurate reflection of your state of health. Make life easy and go on your feelings.
Take time on a regular basis to think about achieving and know exactly how it feels, how it makes you feel, how it looks in as much detail as possible. Make these details familiar and reflect upon them when you're not feeling at your strongest. This may be whilst reaching for a chocolate bar or whilst your struggling to finish your last press up. Strong feelings that have such positive attachement and meaning for you will work like a great weapon for you...you'll be surprised. This is similar to a rehearsal in sports and used by many that achieve on a high level. So much time is spent in preparation going through every possible detail. It may sound strange but prepare yourself to achieve.
Tell those that you love and trust. We all admire achievers and people who are driven and you'll be supported and respected for your goals...who knows, maybe you'll inspire. However, it's a bizarre human trait to feel fear of ridicule when it comes to having goals or aspirations. Know this...when we're born we have two intrinsic fears which are 'loud noises' and 'falling'. All other fears are learnt and fabricated. They don't serve a purpose!

Hope this helps and I look forward to your comments.

How To Use A Foam Roller Safely

2011-01-17T12:10:00.000-08:00

More and more people have become aware of the benefits of using a foam roller so I thought I'd put together a quick guide on how to use them to properly. There are loads of great examples on YouTube showing how to actually use a foam roller to target specific muscles in the body. Here is a good example:

Whilst they are very good, it is worth knowing a little bit more than just how to roll on certain areas. Let me explain...foam rolling is all about targetting the myofascial tissue which effectively renders it a massage. Doing this is great as it's where tension builds up and soft tissue is often responsible for imbalances in posture / tightness and soreness. However, doing it in or around exercise can be dangerous without putting a few key elements into how you do it. When you foam roll a specific muscle, done properly will switch the muscle off so it stands to reason that switching a key muscle off prior to an exercise that requires that muscle could be risky.

Here is a simple structure for when foam rolling during or around exercise:

Isolate - Target the specific muscle / muscle group that you're looking to roll and then work across the entire muscle length focussing on areas of greatest soreness
Inhibit - Work between 45-90 seconds on that area to switch the muscle off and release the tension
Activate - Reactivate that muscle by dynamic movements aimed to directly switch back on the muscle working through full range
Integrate - Now integrate the muscle into bigger movement patterns that use the targetted muscle again focussing on full range and good form.

I'll be giving some full examples of this in a host of coming video-blogs that I'll be posting. Hope it all makes sense and fire those questions my way

Exercise - Nutrition - Commitment

2011-01-11T01:21:00.000-08:00

These are the 3 pillars that we built our company on as, we knew right from the start that achieving success in health is getting the balance between the 3. Taking a stock-check of where you're at is simple and doesn't take any time whatsoever. Here are some really simple tips to make sure that the balance you have of all 3 is taking you in the right direction.

Exercise

You commit to a consistent regularity of activities on a weekly basis that includes aerobic exercise, strength activities, flexibility, core and balance. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) guidelines suggest 3-5 aerobic sessions per week and 2 strength sessions. These of course can be merged together.
You enjoy the exercise / activities that you do and there is a continual degree of progression / challenge or variation to your activities. If you become bored or feel no progression, change what you do and try new things.
The activities don't leave you feeling constantly tired and run down. Recovery is as important as the exercise and the only way that you'll benefit from it.
Your activities don't put pressure on your relationships with family, loved ones or friends. Try and compromise to include friends and family within your activities and be willing to change what you do to make it accessible.

Nutrition

How you feel with food can be one of the most telling measures of whether a particular food is good for you. If you feel wrotten after food then the chances are it's not a great choice for you. Always look to better understand which foods sit on your side of the fence.
Fuel your body with good clean foods and stick to the 80-20 rule. Eat healthy and well at least 80% of the time and treat yourself from time to time.
Drink water regularly.
Avoid lengthy gaps between meals or snacks. Fasting for long periods forces the body into a fat-storing state of starvation and unless you're looking to pile it on, try a grazing approach.
Eat slowly and balance your portion size. Slowing your eating will help you feel more in touch with when you feel full as well as help the digestion process. Eating until your absolutely stuffed is not the way forward.
Aim to vary the fruits and veg that you eat. Get a mixture of colours on your plate and avoid sticking to the same meals and foods constantly

Commitment

Without this, the other two elements will struggle. See your journey as exploring your own health and always stick to things that interest, excite and engage you.
Although how you see yourself may not seem relevant, we see commitment as mindset and attitude. Like what you see and look at the promise, potential and positives when you see yourself and everything that involves you. If you look in the mirror and dislike the reflection then don't expect weightloss or any transformation to change this fact. We can all connect image with confidence yet it's not the image but the perception of the image that influences confidence. Look at what you have and not what you haven't. Enjoy your capabilities and not things beyond. Believe in improvement.
Constantly learning will keep you fresh and vibrant. Equally, passing on your knowledge whilst helping others and teaching will help you develop your understanding.
Finally, the journey is always changing with times that are great and times that don't seem as productive. Take responsibility for yourself and everything that you experience and don't blame...not even yourself. Learn lessons, draw from experience and see things from as wide a perspective as possible. Use milestones and set goals but don't get bogged down into focussing on such microscopic details.

There is a lot of scope to make your own sense of what is written above and however that is will be right for you.

A new year - a time for change

2011-01-03T07:28:00.000-08:00

An ideal way to mark my 50th blog by starting a brand new, untapped, year with 12 months of completely unchartered territory ahead.

Being new year, typically, people make a hatful of resolutions intending to make a new start for the year ahead and wash away the last. This is often a great thing and allows people to put some new and fresh focus into their lives, however, often in my experience, resolutions are filled with negative statements that include the very thing that people are looking not to do. For example - I'm not eating chocolate! This just puts the undesired activity into the forefront of the mind which isn't such a great idea as the unconscious mind doesn't process negatives. I remember as a child living near to garages that had 'No Ball Games' signs pinned up everywhere. What do you think all the children did? ...precisely what the sign didn't advise.

Here's some simple questions that can help you make sure that your fitness resolutions are strong, well geared and easy to follow. It's best to do this when on your own and with little distractions:

Name an activity that you've either always wanted to do but have never done or you used to enjoy when you were younger and you haven't done in a while?
What would make doing this activity even more enjoyable?
Be brave and put a date to this activity. Month is fine but it's much better to specify the date
If you could select the most ideal physical condition to enjoy this activity, what would it be? (the greater detail the better)

The answers to the above questions will have given you an incredible and powerful resolution that is completely goal specific. Just put them together now and break down some simple steps to help you on your way.

By committing this to loved ones who you trust, you'll enjoy the support of those around you as well making you more committed to achieving.

How are you at handling pressure?

2010-12-23T02:56:00.001-08:00

We all have good days and not so good days and how we handle the not so good days often has an impact on our health. Sometimes it can even be a direct reflection of our state of health.

Yesterday turned out to be a series of unfortunate events for us, hence this blog. The recent extreme cold weather has been turbulant for so many and it hit us in force. A frozen pipe burst early on, then the freezer broke, then the pipes leaked in about 5 or 6 places flooding the back place and firing water in all directions and then the central heating decided to break down. Whilst it was fairly inconvenient and frustrating, panic just isn't one of my traits. Through the course of the events, there was always tasks that could help reduce the damage or make steps to a solution. In my experience, panicky people make poor decisions and tend not to think straight, I'll elaborate. I am fortunate enough to have served the country twice in the Middle East. Both visits were fairly intense times with a lot of missile attacks on our locations. It got to the point that some people became complacent that the assaults were inaccurate. To be fair, they often were as they were often poorly planned and rushed incidents. As a lead interpreter, I was given a task of showing a new 'terp' the ropes and taking them on an orientation of our base. Whilst at dinner in the mess tent, we came under heavy mortar fire with large shells landing within the camp and extremely close to our location with shrapnel ripping through the tent. The tent provided no protection whatsoever, the problem was that the tent was filled with over 100 soldiers and the exit was a single doorway. You can imagine the situation as dozens panicked running for the entrance, forgetting their armour, running back...it was chaos!

For me, the situation was my first of this kind but I managed to stay calm and get myself and the new and stunned 'terp' to hard cover quickly without panic.

I guess I'm particularly fortunate having this as an experience as I find it easy to put things into perspective. That situation could have been extremely different but I like to think I handled it pretty well.

Things go wrong, expectations get crushed, incidents happen and sometimes it's crucial to act quickly but being able to keep calm and a clear head will help you keep an awareness of what you can do. Panic is fuelled by worry which is focussing on the problem - this can really hamper reaching a solution.

You always have choice and options, make sure you use them.

I know in hindsight, the jets of water flooding our back place will become quite an entertaining story.

- Posted whilst adventurising using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Chapel Ln,Leeds,United Kingdom

The biggest mistake in Fitness

2010-12-13T03:36:00.000-08:00

As a coach, I guess you can expect me to say that the specifics of the exercise are easy when it comes to staying in shape. It really is though. Even the nutrition can be relatively straight forward providing you don't have specific requirements. If this is the case, why don't that many people seem to achieve the results they so desire? Exercising 4-5 times a week is absolutely ample to either maintain shape or make the changes you want. Yet many people who do commit to this and in many cases even more, what stands in their way of achieving?

When I started out as a coach, I was so excited with all this knowledge I'd recently taken on, all I wanted to do was help people by giving them effective conditioning programmes yet, whilst all this knowledge was great, without one very important thing being right, it wouldn't really make a blind bit of difference. It's mindset!!

I'm not going to profess to always having been the most confident and empowered person. This isn't true. I was never the most physically able at school, in actual fact, chips, gravy and sausage took it's toll on me in my teenage years and everything I'm saying comes with personal attachment.

The thing is, we've all heard about the intrinsic link between mind and body. If you're aware of it but haven't really ever taken notice of it then it may be time to stop and take note. Think about it, in sport, how much does confidence affect performance? In football, when a team concedes a goal, you see their heads go down and this completely disaffects the way that they then play the game. It takes the real leaders / management and coaches to then pick their heads back up. A losing team can often start thinking about not letting another in rather than scoring another.

The good news is, in fitness, you're not having to compete against anyone else. It's just you versus you...you're body versus your mind? Yet, strangely enough, many people have a habit of looking around themselves in a gym or a fitness class and being intimidated by someone else. We've all heard those voices "I'm not that fit / I can't lift that much / I look awful compared to them / I'm never going to be that fit" Don't get me wrong, it can be motivating to work against others in a group context but do you really listen to those voices? If you do then prepare to not enjoy the benefits you should be getting. Those voices don't inspire, make you work as well as you can do or give you the confidence in yourself that you need to be at your best.

Approaching everything you do with focus, self belief and absolute certainty in yourself will make sure that whenever you're training, you're present in not just body but mind as well. It makes a difference...trust me!

If you're interested finding out more about motivation and simple things you can do to improve your mental focus then drop me an email phill@creatingchaos.co.uk

The Ultimate Stomach without sit ups - Part 4 of 4

2010-12-07T06:21:00.000-08:00

Ok, it's been a few months since I started this series and hopefully long enough for you to have really embedded the fundamentals that I spelled out in:

Part 1 - Internal function
Part 2 - Functional stability
Part 3 - The perfect squat

If you haven't read through those then please take the time to and go through the suggested exercises.

This final step is simple. The golden rule is, use all the tips and techniques you've learnt from the previous articles and apply them to all exercises you do. It is easier to apply the principles for strength training or circuit training but you should still be able to engage them through many forms of CV training.

The most effective exercises that will really engage your abdominals like never before are compound movements that use the entirity of your body and in a variety of directions, movement types and circumstances. If you have a relatively good control over your body then why not try our own Primal Flow system. This is specifically based upon the workings of your stomach and hits every single major and minor muscle group giving you the most rounded conditioning of your stomach possible. No equipment needed. Follow to links to give them a go:

Upper and core conditioning and weight loss - Excellent for toned arms, chest, back, shoulders and one ripped stomach

Lower and core endurance - Perfect to tone legs, bum and stomach

If you find them tricky then try our free online facility which gives you the choice to select your ability level.

Please leave comments and let us know how you get on.

Safe exercises when it's snowy and icy

2010-12-01T03:31:00.000-08:00

The winter showers seem to have painted the UK white over the last few days and hugely affected peoples plans, work and home life.

If you're finding that the snow is hampering your activity levels at the minute then make sure you read the 3 top ways of staying fit despite the big white outdoors:

Get stuck in - You're never going to defeat the weather so you may as well accept that it'll do it's thing until it decides to do otherwise. Whilst it can be disruptive, snow provides a completely new dimension to training that other weathers just can't provide. Make sure you're wrapped as much as possible (waterproof gloves are best) and try some of the following. (30-40 minutes is plenty):

Make a snow man, why not make the biggest snowman/woman you've ever made and better yet, if you are near to another thumb twiddling person, get them involved. Either race to see who can make the biggest and baddest or make an almighty beast together. Incorporating deadlifting, pressing, pulling, twisting and squatting, this task hits all the major movement patterns.
Clear the path / drive of snow. It is probably best that you do this one when the snowfall has stopped to avoid frustration but shovelling your paths will not only provide you with a safer thoroughfare but it'll get you working pretty hard. Don't have a driveway? There must be a road nearby, clear a good 10-15 meters of it.
Go for an arctic hike. Make sure you are well wrapped up and take some water too. This is better and safer than running in the snow as it is not just slippy but hugely uneven and every step is a gamble whilst not being completely certain of what lies below the snow. Not only will hiking in snow get you working even harder than normal hiking with the deep surface but it'll engage your stomach more with every step having to come higher and further to the front.
If you're wanting to be a little more adventurous then try sleigh pushing. Our outfit members love these, killer exercise but don't half get your body working like never below. We use powerbags but a small badger on a sledge would prove a fantastic alternative

Do a home circuit. You really don't need equipment to get the best workout. The truth is that a lot of the fitness based equipment can distort posture, just check the following video of my brother on a pec dec for some evidence http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wWrLA_LT8s. The best tool we all have is our own bodies. Weight can be good but only once you've mastered using your body first. There are loads of programmes out there, from yoga, pilates, simple circuits and all have benefits. However, we've found that whilst each style of bodyweight training has it's own benefits, there is no single style out there that gives you strength, stability, flexibility, body conditioning, aerobic fitness, balance, power and so we put together our very own Primal Flow. Why not try one of our circuits and subscribe to our YouTube channel to receive all our coming programmes. They're short, sharp and maximise using all of your body:

Upper toning and stamina session
Lower conditioning and weight loss session
The sessions are no longer than 30 minutes including rest periods and if you need different variations of the exercises then just drop us a line info@creatingchaos.co.uk. If you find this style of circuit a little too advanced then sign up for our FREE online fitness programme which allows you to pick your level and goal for your programme.

Sort the house out. It could be cleaning, DIY or doing those jobs that you never seem to do. You'll be suprised at how much of a workout spending a morning hoovering, washing, polishing, ironing or cleaning the oven can be. Whilst at Jenny's house recently, my mother-in-law made a very true observation about the rising level of overweight and obese people. People just don't have manual jobs anymore. Spending some time on your feet doing jobs will not only kill the calories but it'll fill you with satisfaction after doing such a great job.

Hope this helps!

Avoiding looking like a Christmas Pudding

2010-11-29T01:24:00.000-08:00

Christmas is a time for celebrating, spending good quality time with family and relaxing. Having personally spent one christmas out in an area of conflict, it means so much to be able to have everyone I love in the same room and be able to just unwind.

Despite Christmas being just one calendar day, the whole festival stays for weeks if not a couple of months. It's the end of November now and Christmas decorations have been in the shops for weeks and many houses are already complete with tree, lights and more. With this early snow fall - it really does add to the magic of this time of year.

There is one thing to be aware of though through the festive term, watching all those little treats, chocolates, mince pies and glasses of mulled wine. Go on then...just one more!! As well as many houses maxing up with the decorations, one of the unwritten additions seems to be the obligatory tin of never ending fancy chocolates.

If you want to avoid looking like a Christmas pudding come January, here are 5 top tips to keep you on track:

3 is the magic number. As a health practitioner, I could say avoid chocolates, sweets and all those treats and replace them with fruit and nuts, but I truly don't believe in complete abstainence. It tends to result in over indulgence. 3 is a good number when it comes to fancy treats, drinks or other little festive joys. It'll give you the enjoyment without the bloated and over-indulged uncomfortable feeling afterwards. Obviously, this rule wouldn't apply with Christmas dinners...that would be OTT.
Drink water! Just because it's cold outside doesn't mean that your body doesn't need hydrating. If you're using hot-chocolate, coffee, tea and mulled wine to keep yourself hydrated then your metabolism will have left the office for the day and your energy levels may go with it. Have a glass / bottle with you an sip regularly.
Stay active. It may not be ideal running conditions and your car may be stuck to the driveway but these things shouldn't bring your activity levels to a standstill. Get wrapped up and go for a walk. A good brisk walk is great exercise and for the more adventurous, there are plenty of exercises you can do with no equipment whatsoever at home. Try one of our Primal Flows for size, it takes no longer than 20 minutes and will hit pretty much every muscle in your body. Click here to get stuck in. Alternatively, you could always sign up to our FREE online fitness membership packed with tailored exercise videos, nutritional guidance and progress tracking.
If it snows, get the sledge out! There is nothing better than zipping down a hill with a high pitched scream...expecially as an adult. You'll be surprised how many calories you burn off taking the sledge to the top of the hill again too.
Finally, don't skip meals. If you are finding yourself visiting friends and family, being greated with a handful of snacks and not being overly hungry at meal times, avoid skipping meals. Snacks are precisely that and won't provide your body with much in the way of nutrition. Moderate the snacks by sticking to the first tip and be sure to eat decent meals. Freshly cooked with good wholesome ingrediants. Here is a good article with 10 festive meal suggestions.

Please feel free to add comments with your suggestions on avoiding the pudding look.

Bootcamps and Fitness Training in Leeds

2010-11-24T02:00:00.001-08:00

I read a really interesting article in the Daily express online yesterday regarding bootcamps. You can view it via the following link:

http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/213103/Are-boot-camps-harmful-

Whilst written by a conscientious fitness professional, the article expresses the concerns of users and potential users of outdoor bootcamps. I completely agree and empathise with the points and questions raised and am taking the opportunity to answer the questions on behalf of our Outfit (www.outfit-uk.com) model but also impartially.

(I'm shortening the questions due to me having limited time

1. Is there screening or individual assessment?

Aside of this being a legal requirement, it would be suicidal for any fitness professional to coach anyone without knowing their medical history, state of fitness and goals as a bare minimum. We of course screen every member and provide an optional full body MOT to all members.

2. Is there insurance?

Again a legal requirement and completely necessary. We ensure that all groups have at least £5 million Liability cover.

3. Is there a free trial session offered?

As a consumer, it is important to try something like this without having to commit with it being a unique service. Furthermore, we feel that contracts can be far too binding and we have a flexible month by month rolling membership to our groups.

4. What are the qualifications and experience of the instructors?

As someone extremely passionate about quality, this is one of my biggest problems with large areas of the fitness industry. People delivering in areas that they are clearly unqualified in. We see it all the time and certainly military bootcamps are particularly bad for this. As a training provider through skills active, quality assurance is paramount to maintain the quality of the values that we started with. All our coaches are fully qualified personal trainers, group coaches, trained on whatever equipment used, first aid trained and have at least 2 years industry experience.

5. How many members are there to every coach?

I've seen classes where 1 instructor is working with 30+ people. In my opinion, this is both unprofessional and negligent. There is no way that even the best coach on the planet can account for that many people ensuring they follow instructions safely and effectively. We operate predominantly on a dual coaching basis giving 2 coaches to every group but even in the event of only one coach being available, we limit the class size heavily. Dual coaching allows us to lead and provide continual coaching on form and technique.

6. Are there weights involved and are the instructors qualified?

This is so important and an area that is potentially more dangerous than just bodyweight exercises. I've seen some awful examples of coaches stepping into areas they aren't trained for. We run a kettlebell instructor course and on numerous occassions, we've had trainers start the course confessing to have used them with clients and by evidence of their technique, they have no idea of how to use them properly. We ensure that all our coaches are fully trained and confident on equipment.

7. Are there alternative exercises for varying fitness levels?

Thinking that one size fits all as a coach is a common mistake and I've seen countless examples where group members are being asked to perform exercises that they shouldn't be attempting.

When classes are run, we always demonstrate with both progressions and regressions allowing members to select the most appropriate level.

8. Are new members able to speak with existing members before joining?

Whilst I've never thought about this before, we always encourage guests to speak with the members on their free taster session. This is something that we'll certainly encourage a lot more proactively as it'll allow members to ask more openly without the fear of being sold at which on today's commercially driven world, is a refreshing opportunity.

- Posted whilst adventurising using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Wellington St,Leeds,United Kingdom

The Ultimate stomach without sit ups - part 3 of 4

2010-11-15T03:26:00.001-08:00

Now that you've mastered the basics of using your stomach through breathing and core control, we're ready to step forwards to the next level. However, if you're not too confident that you've mastered these key points then I recommend that you spend some more time mastering the movements and exercises from parts 1 and 2.

Assuming that you have done those and you're confident with them, let's turn up the volume a little. You're possibly curious to know what type of exercise I'm going to suggest now to really start working the stomach. It's been such a saturated Market over the last 10-20 years aimed at stomach exercises. From electrodes being stuck to your stomach, ab rollers, specially designed clothing, bizarre footwear to hula hoops and all sorts of other weird fads. The stomach seems to be an area that we're all very conscious and sensitive of. Market history shows that we're willing to spend lots of money on solutions that take away the worry and achieve results. The good news is that you don't have to spend money on anything that will most probably end up in the bottom of the wardrobe.

It may come as a suprise that my exercise of choice for the stomach is the squat. Done properly, this exercise is incredible for the abdominal wall. Firstly, if you've been to a body pump, yoga or circuit class then you may have a very different idea of a squat than what I'm discussing. Watch this short video to make sure we're both clear and singing from the same sheet:

The best exercise for a ripped stomach
Whilst in the video, I'm using a weight (kettlebell) this isn't essential straight away.

The three essentials are the range of movement (all the way down), maintaining a strong and straight spine and finally good breathing pattern.

You may have been told only to squat to knee height or half way down before but you only have to look at any toddler, child or many people living in the developing world to see that squatting almost all the way to the ground is natural to the human body. It is crucial to work through full range for many reasons. One being that it will help prevent your hip flexors from dominating your abdoman during bending forwards and other movements. Furthermore, working any muscle properly, full range is essential. If you have knee, ankle or hip problems and you feel this would cause problems then consult a sports physio or sports therapist first.

Secondly, keep your back extended through the movement. Because we all sit down for hours, our ability to hold the spine in extension unsupported isn't generally as good as it should be. To get the most from the sromach, keeping extension and using the stomach to support this is key.

Finally, use the breathing habits from part 1 in the movement. We suggest that breathing in on the descent and breathing out on the standing phases are optimal, however, this is largely preferential. As long as you breathe and breathe abdominally, you'll be working well internally.

As you become strong and able to work through good range in this movement, look to apply load as the video shows.

When it comes to exercise, always be conscious of the internal workings of the body. Think of it like this, just because a car is moving forwards doesn't mean that it's supposed to be. It could be rolling downhill, it could have been nudged or the breaks may not be working.

- Posted whilst adventurising using BlogPress from my iPhone

Our Charity Event - Let's Take it Outside 2010

2010-11-08T04:17:00.000-08:00

Just 2 weeks ago, we ran a charity event raising money for two incredible causes in Newcastle Freeman Hospital and the CCU of Bristol Infirmary Hospital. The event marked our company's 2nd birthday but the driving force was raising money for causes that supported a very close friend, Martin Hall who sadly passed away earlier this year after a long battle with a complex heart condition.

Despite having a condition that stopped Martin from joining in many activities, he always involved himself even if it meant from the sidelines.

We were absolutely blessed with an incredible degree of support for the charity event. This came through an amazing range of prizes, donations, event support, media coverage and people giving up their prescious time to help out. I'm including some huge thank you's at the bottom of this blog for those that supported and made the day a complete success.

The event was an absolute success and everyone got stuck in taking part in the activities, challenges and many brightened up the day with some impressive face painting. We managed to raise over £700 for the charities which we're delighted with.

The results of the actual events will be going up on our main website 'Hall of Fame' very soon (http://www.creatingchaos.co.uk/) and you'll be able to see some of the blistering results achieved on the day.

Here are some photo's from our colourful day in October...

Our brutal battling rope challenge in full flight

A pirate with an egg

A colourful crew preparing for Halloween

We had the rule book stolen...may have been the pirate!

3 younger competitors dicussing how to flip the tyre

Jenny laying the law for the egg & spoon

One of the winning teams

In no particular order, I'd like to say a massive thank you to the following people:

All those that came and took part
Jonathan Hirst (Network Marketing), Ian Beaumont (BDO Stoy Hayward), Stuart Palmer (Icon Health & Fitness), Ric Moylan (Fighting 4 Fitness), Lisa Burnett (Health Means Business), Jason McCarthy (Wolverson Fitness) and all those who donated gifts and prizes for the events.
Both our families for bringing equipment, fixtures, prizes and supplied the face painting.
Jenny for being incredible

We had an absolute ball and we'll most definately be running the event next year...bigger, better and possibly a warmer month :)

Pointless exercises

2010-11-03T01:56:00.001-07:00

Having arrived slightly early for a meeting with a University, I thought that I'd use the 20 minutes to put together a blog.

Whilst down in Bath this weekend, Jen and I visited a gym on Saturday. It's rare that I visit a gym but it was actually really interesting. A hotel gym with old equipment, machinery and decor on the walls that belonged to a good few decades ago. What was also interesting was, as it was like going back in time, the diagrams of exercises on show were way out of date yet for many still form part of their work outs.

Inspired by this retro experience, here are 4 pointless but still very used exercises:

Sit Ups - probably the worst exercise for postural dysfunction and muscle imbalance. The fact is that the hip flexors which sit infront of the hips between stomach and thighs are very facilitated in pretty much all of us. This means that they are working even when they shouldn't be, lunges, squats and many lifts are all swarmed by dominant hip flexors. Doing a sit up is just saying 'come on Mr Hip Flexor, work some more!'. Sit ups also encourage poor balance within the abdominals, rarely work full range, are uni-planar and often leave people with back or neck pain. If you want to work your stomach, change your mindset. Rather than isolating the trunk, think larger movements and learn how to breathe abdominally.

Side Bends - just to clarify, I'm discussing standing up, holding a weight in pne or both hands and then bending sideways. Firstly, is this movement natural or functional? Many people do this thinking that it will eliminate love handles or the comically described muffin top. It's important to know that you can't spot reduce when it comes to weight loss in a specific area. Apart from the movement forcing supportive muscles to become prime movers which isn't great, it's just a really awkward movement. If you're looking to reduce bellyfat then the biggest single thing that will reduce this is nutrition. Combined with a healthy exercise programme with sufficient recovery and you'll be well on your way.

The third is quite controversial as many people still use these which are front or side raises. To avoid confusion I'm referring to holding a weight in one or both hands and lifting the arms out to the front or side from standing position whilst keeping arms extended. Biomechanically, you ate either abducting the arms or flexing the shoulders. Both of these movements are natural functions of the body, however, in isolation, they don't encourage balanced function. Whilst the main part and top of the shoulder (deltoid) gets a great work out, this exercise doesn't require much effort from the most crucial aspect of shoulder stabilising known as the rotator cuff. The shoulder, as a joint, has the greatest range and mobility of all joints in the body and should be treated as such. Furthermore, isolating weighted raises tends to target the upper neck muscles which are often extremely over active through using computers and sitting at desks for long periods. This exercise can contribute to soreness and stiffness in the neck. To work the shoulders more functionally, why not try kettlebells.

Finally, looking at what I've already included, I'm going to break the mould as I've focussed heavily on isolated exercises and you've most probably identified that I'm not the greatest fan of these. The final exercise I'm going to mention is doing cardio without doing any strength/conditioning work. The fact is that running, cycling, rowing and many other forms of cardiovascular exercise are heavily repetitious. For joints to move, you need muscle and for joints to move through the same paths over and over again without being injured or overwhelmed with exposure, you need strong and well supported joints that are able to absorb impact and the exposure that you're asking of them. The problem being that cardiovascular exercise is catabolic in it's nature meaning that the body is in flight mode and more likely to break down muscle tissue. To understand this further, let's think back to the hunter gatherer instinctive existence of humans. It makes complete sense. The times when we'd be working cardiovascularly would be either hunting for food or fleeing from danger. The body is a magnificant machine and thinking about both situations, there is no gaurantee of getting food at the end. To this, the body goes into a survival state of breaking down muscle for energy as opposed to fat stores. This is a slower process meaning the body can work for longer and it also means that the body will benefit from the insulation of retaining bodyfat helping it keep hold of essential energy stores and maintain body temperature. You could argue that certain types of cardio work through resistance like swimming, hill running, rowing etc. However, irrespective of this, when the heart rate is above a certain level for a consistent duration, the body will work in a catabolic state.

If you'd like ideas on types of strengthening exercises then why not enjoy a free month on our online fitness membership www.creatingchaos.co.uk. You don't need equipment or even a gym membership. These types of exercises should be combined with cardiovascular exercise giving you a healthy heart and lungs.

- Posted whilst adventurising using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Wilton St,Middlesbrough,United Kingdom

Inspired?

2010-10-28T04:10:00.001-07:00

Fitness means different things to different people and used at different times. For some, fitness is exciting, enjoyable and people look forward to it, it means confidence and pure positivity. However, for others, fitness is a judgement, fitness is not enjoyable, has negative attachment and something that people dread.

Both perceptions are completely understandable. We all know that a level of fitness is good for the body. It reduces illness, sickness, improves wellbeing, confidence and much more. However, first impressions count and for many, their first experience of exercise was at a young age, possibly in a sport that they weren't particularly great at. These experiences stick and can last a lifetime if you let them.

However, if this kind of smudge distorts your thoughts on exercise then it's worth redefining what fitness is. Well, it certainly isn't competition, losing, being ridiculed, belittled or left feeling miserable.

We've already discussed that fitness does great things to physical and psychological health. We all know this and it's no grand revolutionary statement for me to say this. We are creatures of movement, hunter gatherers and with that, we have to accept the instinctive needs of our genetics. Our bodies require exposure and expeditions. We're designed to walk, run, jump, climb, throw, twist, wrestle and much more. Our evolution has for many, taken us away from these type of activities. There is, for our survival, no longer a need to do these things. However, as much as our lifestyle have evolved, our health needs are still the same. Movement facilitates and encourages many internal functions like digestion, circulation and healthy respiration. It releases endorphines making us feel good as well as natural adrenaline.

It seems that humans are better at providing advice, care and direction to others rather than ourselves. This is reflective of our compassionate, loving and parental nature. To love and care for people is our way. We are survivors and protectors.

With everything mentioned, what advice would you give to someone that you love about fitness and health? Possibly your son or daughter? Would you suggest fitness? With your answer in mind, would you suggest the same for yourself? If your answers are different then why? Let's face it, you can't truly love someone or look after someone else if you don't look after yourself? It gives us peace of mind to know that loved ones are in good health and taking care of themselves. When this isn't occuring, we worry and have concern. If you don't look after your own health then you aren't loving people or offering them peace of mind.

Exercise doesn't have to be miserable, painful or mundane. There are so many ways to enjoy activity that you could quite literally do something different for every day in your life and you still won't exhaust what is available.

My advice to help make sure that you keep going and stick with it are that you should be able to answer 'yes' to 3 questions with whatever actovity you do.

Are you learning or engaging in the activity? If not then you won't receive that mental stimulation that we all require.

Are you being challenged? If not then the chances are that you won't receive great benefits.

Are you enjoying it? If not then the likelihood is that you won't stick it out long enough to benefit.

It's always worth reviewing your activities periodically? Circumstances change and new experiences are what keep us ticking.

- Posted whilst adventurising using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Wellington St,Leeds,United Kingdom

The Ultimate Stomach without Sit Ups - Part 2 of 4

2010-10-25T05:56:00.000-07:00

After reading and practising the breathing patterns in part 1, you'll be embedding great habits that can support exercise but it's worth mentioning at this point that you should always be conscious about this in movement and just naturally breathing too. If lifting or performing exercises and your back starts to really hurt or dominate an exercise that it shouldn't, the chances are that your breathing has become lazy and isn't engaging low and internal abdominals.

The next step is to now start being functionally strong. Well, what do I mean by that? It's all very well being able to perform something in isolation and in a controlled environment but if you're unable to do it through natural movement or in normal circumstances then it almost renders itself as pointless. I'm aware that walking around, pushing your stomach out and then breathing out hard would feel rather strange and possibly attract a few stares so let's just take 3 natural movements of the spine and master these first.

Flexion, extension and rotation. These movements occur through every single step you take, every time you stand up or sit down and pretty much most of the time through movement. The issue is that they become lazy so it's time to get the right muscles working.

Firstly, standing up in a normal standing position, whatever that is for you, I want you to flex and extend the spine and maintain those good breathing habits. Keeping legs relatively straight, I want you to reach down towards your toes and in doing so, breathe out hard and draw your low stomach in tight. After a couple of seconds, stand up again and draw a big breath in, looking to inflate the stomach and pull your arms out to the side and back to fully open up the chest. Repeat this movement10-15 times and again, practise it 2-3 times daily to start embedding strong and positive habits through normal movement.

Along with the above exercise, we need to encourage the same good habits through rotation which is the strongest movement plane of the body and possibly the least engaged in traditional exercise. Stand facing a wall at arms length, soften your knees and engage into your hips. Reach out directly infront and place your finger tips on the wall. Keeping your hips forward facing and one hand touching the wall, pull the opposite arm back (keeping elbow extended) to behind you so that your trunk twists and aiming to rotate through 180 degrees. As you go through this movement, breathe in as before (inflating the stomach), hold for a second and then reverse the movement back to the start (whilst breathing out) and alternate with the opposite side.

Doing these two movements together will create a strong and functional neurology for your core. Mastering the basics is the key to getting the great success that you want. After 7-10 days, you will start to notice that daily movements are engaging your core much more than before. Filling your glass from the water cooler, checking your blind spot whilst driving, all these movements are becoming more functionally sound.

For video interpretations of the above movements, check out our free online fitness tool to get tailored exercise programmes, nutritional guidance and our very own personal tracking system to keep you going in the right direction.

Why runners must train for strength

2010-10-17T11:16:00.000-07:00

Running is a fantastic way to keep fit and a natural movement for us as humans to do. However, it should come with a large warning sign, it is pure impact and many runners are guilty in thinking that running on its own, done enough, is a great way to stay in shape. My question to that would be "what shape"? It will work your heart and lungs fantastically and if balanced well, a great programme will help you achieve outstanding results but all this impact will take its toll. Only a few miles is several tonnes of accumulative pressure hammering down through your ankles, knees and hips and spine.

Without strengthening your joints, musculature and tendons, the skeleton itself will bear the brunt of this repetition and impact. Movements that should be considered ideal for running are movements that are going to gain full range through potential weaker or tighter spots. Typically, the problem areas are tight calves, anterior tilt of the pelvis, hyper-mobile lumbar spine and kyphotic upper spine with forward and internally rolled shoulders. Not too much to worry about then, seriously, no matter how poor you feel your posture is, you'll always be able to make huge improvements and often simple exercises can be the most effective.

Ideal exercises and patterns are squats, lunges, core exercises and movements that encourage complete shoulder extension and mobility in the thoracic spine (upper spine). Two strength sessions a week can be enough to support even a serious club running regime. Why not try a month free with our online fitness system to get you started with some effective and functional strenthening exercises.

Why treadmills aren't that great

2010-10-17T11:11:00.000-07:00

As the most popular form of exercise on the planet, running is something that most of us have at least tried at some point. And as great as it can be, running must be respected and understood to what is being demanded of the body.

With gym machinery becoming more and more exploited as an industry that provides great and quick solutions for the consumer, the treadmill is now a household recognised term that offer an alternative to running outdoors. What many people don’t realise is that moving on a treadmill is worlds apart biomechanically from running outdoors. Notice that I didn’t use the term running but moving. Firstly, one point to note is that running, typically applies around 2 tonnes of pressure through the joints over just one mile. Therefore, it stands to reason that focussing on stability, strength and function would be a good idea prior to even considering running as an activity.
However, lets get back to treadmills and why they may not be that great. The reason I felt so compelled to write this is because, I don’t actually go into gyms that often yet on one of my last visits, I saw a queue of people waiting patiently behind 5 ‘in use’ treadmills. My gosh! So, you pay however much monthly to put your gym kit on and wait in a warmish place for a machine that doesn’t do your body many favours…insanity but maybe a little unfair as unknowingly, treadmills appear to be good. So let’s look at the differences. Treadmills have a belt that you can manually control to speed it up, slow it down and also, if you have a fancy treadmill, change the holding position of the ramp. This belt gets fed from the front, underneath the user to the back requiring the user to lift one foothold and then replace it down in the same actual place in space but a more forward point on the belt. There is no requirement to actually drive the body forwards but just lift your feet alternately and then place them back down.

We are all aware that the human body is an incredible device. It’s natural ability to adapt to situations and environments has maintained our survival over thousands and thousands of years. It does this by being efficient, streamlining it’s own need to expend energy and perform. In the above situation, this habit can encourage the body to distort the intended running pattern into merely kicking heels behind the body as the belt zips through. Without having to drive the body forwards, there is no real need for hip flexion which is an essential part of the running pattern.

So, what does this mean in bigger terms? Well, as modern lifestyle sees many people spend hours seated daily, slumped over a computer, there are many very common physiological imbalances stemming from this which lead to certain areas of the body becoming dominant leaving neglect in other areas. Treadmills don’t encourage the dormant areas to become active which can allow this compensation to just continue. These improper musculoskeletal relationships distort posture, movement even further and can lead to pain and chronic injuries. The most common areas of disaffect are:

knee instability problems
weak lower abdominals
weak hip flexors
tight and restrictive lower back extensors
immobility in the thoracic spine (upper back)
tightened chest and shoulder muscles

To add insult to injury, when muscles are being worked but don’t have optimal range or flexibility then they will not fully benefit. Running further or more or harder is not going to make the difference. The key is to get everything working properly. When your car starts making rattling noises or needs the tyres inflating, the car will not be working to it’s full potential and the body is no different.

My intention is not to fully slate treadmills as I believe they do have a place. In rehabilitation, they offer a very controllable environment to monitor and gradually progress variables to safely bring individuals back from injury, but when it comes to free moving and efficient bodies, they may not be the greatest solution.

What are the benefits of exercising during pregnancy?

2010-10-17T11:05:00.000-07:00

Mike Hendricks - NASM certified personal trainer

Why exercise? It may be hard enough just to get dressed every day if you're feeling bloated and sick to your stomach, but believe it or not, a little effort can leave you feeling energised and perhaps a bit like your pre-pregnancy self. Because exercise promotes muscle tone, strength, and endurance, it can help you carry the weight you gain during pregnancy, prepare you for the physical stress of labour, and make getting back into shape after the baby is born much easier. Before beginning any exercise programme, make sure you follow safety advice, especially now that you're pregnant.

Exercising now will: Give you more energy

Pregnancy can rob you of energy, but regular bouts of exercise, such as brisk walking will make you feel able to tackle your daily tasks. Exercise strengthens your cardiovascular system, so you don't tire as easily. With muscles that are strong and toned, you need less effort to engage in any activity, be it shopping for food or sitting through meetings at the office.
Help prepare you for the rigours of childbirth

It makes perfect sense: the better shape you're in, the stronger you'll be to cope with labour and the delivery. Giving birth is akin to running a marathon -- it requires stamina, determination, and focus. Keeping physically active during pregnancy is good preparation for the hard work of labour. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) states that weight-bearing exercise throughout pregnancy can reduce the length of labour and decrease delivery complications. Additionally, some research has shown that fetuses of women who exercised during labour may tolerate labour better than those of the non-exercisers.

Reduce pregnancy discomfort

Exercise stretches and strengthens your muscles, which helps your body cope better with the aches and pains of pregnancy. Stretches ease back pain, walking improves your circulation, and swimming can strengthen your abdominal muscles.

Fend off the pregnancy blues

Pregnancy is a nine month rehearsal for a big event -- childbirth -- and, after the initial excitement of telling everyone is over, you're left with a lot of waiting. By the sixth or seventh month, pregnancy can become downright tedious. And boredom may result from the increased weight gains and tiredness restricting your social activities. Finding a new activity appropriate for pregnant women may be one answer. "The best thing I can do at the moment to get some relief from feeling as big as a house is to do aquarobics... I find the relaxation session at the end -- when we float to music -- very therapeutic. It also gets you out of the house," says Kim.
Help you sleep better

When you're carrying all that extra weight in front of you, finding an ideal position to sleep in at night can be a real challenge. Exercise will help you work off any excess energy, and will tire you enough to lull you into a deeper, more restful slumber.
Reduce stress and lift your spirits

Pregnancy and having a child is a life-changing, momentous event which can leave you feeling ecstatic yet overwhelmed and anxious at the same time. One good way to shake the blues is by dancing to the beat of a happy tune. One study found that exercise can boost your levels of serotonin, a brain chemical linked to mood, putting you in better spirits. When you're feeling a little down, try putting on your favourite CD and kicking up your heels in the living room, or sign up for a low-impact dance class. Make sure you follow low impact aerobics and let your trainer or teacher know that you are pregnant.

Improve your self-image

Face it: your body's not the svelte thing it used to be, and although you know it's for a good cause, watching the scale creep its way up to numbers you've never seen before can be disheartening. Staying active can make you feel less frumpy. It can also help you shed weight faster postnatally.

Help you get your body back faster postnatally

This alone is reason enough for many women to embark on a pregnancy exercise regime. As Angela puts it, "I am ready to get back to an active lifestyle and reclaim my body!" If you've managed to maintain your strength and muscle tone all through your pregnancy by staying fit, your body will have an easier time bouncing back after you give birth.

What to Stretch & what to strengthen

2010-10-17T10:53:00.000-07:00

Most people make the mistake of never scientifically deciding which muscles they need to stretch and which ones they need to strengthen.

Typically, we stretch everything (or nothing) and mindlessly go down the line of exercise machines without thinking about which muscles we are working and why. Unless you have had a thorough musculoskeletal assessment, you are undoubtedly ignoring many muscles that are relatively weak and strengthening muscles that are already too strong relative to their partners working at the same joint.
For example, if you have rounded shoulders you probably should be doing fewer chest and lat exercises and more mid- and lower trapezius exercises. (Donâ€™t waste your time looking; middle or lower trapezius machines do not exist.)

Another example of an overworked muscle is the upper rectus abdominis (six pack). One of its partners, the transverse abdominis, is typically ignored. Again, not only do transverse abdominis machines not exist, but overuse of other machines will actually lead to weakening of this muscle due to lack of use.

Moreover, the greater the imbalance between rectus strength and transverse abdominis strength, the greater your chance of low back pain. Ab machines only worsen this imbalance.

We also tend to ignore some muscles that need to be stretched (if you're stretching at all) and sometimes stretch muscles that we don't need to stretch.

At best, you are wasting your time with unnecessary stretches and redundant exercises. At worst, you are exacerbating muscle imbalances that can lead to joint dysfunction, pain and chronic injury.

Since we all have to deal with the constant gravitational pull of the earth, we all have naturally occurring musculoskeletal imbalances that are caused by how muscles are designed to work.

In simple terms, there are two basic types of muscles.

Tonic muscles tend to become shortened if we do not specifically stretch them.

Phasic muscles tend to become elongated (too long is as bad as too short) and weak.

Tonic muscles are basically designed to work to maintain posture and tend to work most of the time.

For example, the psoas, the major hip flexor, works constantly while you're standing. The upper trapezius, where you may feel tightness or knots in your neck and shoulder area, works whenever you move your arm.

Phasic muscles, on the other hand, tend to become weak if not specifically strengthened.

Our muscles never work in isolation; they function in groups often termed force couples that must be balanced in all three planes of motion (saggital, transverse and frontal).

If one muscle is too tight, it dominates the force couple and disrupts the natural movement of the joint. On the other hand, a muscle that is too weak will not do its share of work. This also disrupts the natural movement of the joint and overworks the muscles that act as assistants in the movement.

A prime example is the gluteus medius, the muscle that brings your leg out to the side, commonly and mistakenly referred to as the outer thigh. When this muscle becomes weak, the piriformis often implicated in sciatica - and the tensor fascia latae often implicated in pain on the outside of the knee become overworked.

Tonic muscles tend to become facilitated, that is, they work even when they are not supposed to be working. In addition, even when you are trying to work other muscles, facilitated muscles will try to take over. Thus, you will never get rid of a muscle imbalance if you do not stretch and relax the tightened muscles before you try to strengthen the weakened muscles.

For example, if you do not stretch the hip flexors (psoas) and back extensors (spinal erectors) before you work your deep abdominal muscles, you may not get the full strengthening effect of your ab exercises. The short, tight, overworked muscles will "intercept" the nervous system signals from the weakened, inhibited muscles. This is a common reason some people feel strain in the low back while doing stomach exercises even if their form is perfect.

Just like a car with poor alignment, trouble - possibly severe is imminent if the alignment and imbalances are not corrected. In order to design a fitness program that's right for you, it's imperative that you know which muscles are which.

Tonic Muscles                                                    Phasic Muscles

Upper Trapezius (neck and shoulders)                Serratus Anterior (fingerlike muscles near armpit)

Levator Scapula (neck to shoulder blade)           Rhomboids (between shoulder blades)

Short Cervical Extensors (back of neck)             Middle and Lower Trapezius (mid-back)

Pectoralis Major (chest)                                     Triceps (back of arms)

Pectoralis Minor (deep chest muscle)                 Gluteus Maximus (butt)

Lumbar Erectors (low back)                              Gluteus Medius (hips)

Psoas (hip flexor)                                               Transverse Abdominis (deep abdominals)

Rectus Femoris (one of the quadriceps)              Rectus Abdominis - lower segments (abs)

Piriformis (deep hip muscle)                               External and Internal Obliques (abs)

Short and long adductors (inner thighs)               Vastus Medialis (inner/front of knee)

Hamstrings (back of legs)

Gastrocnemius (superficial calf muscle)

Soleus (deep calf muscle)

Remember, unaddressed muscle imbalances will lead to joint dysfunction and pain.

A musculoskeletal assessment and subsequent, logically based program of stretching the right muscles and strengthening the right muscles in the right order will lessen these naturally occurring imbalances and lead you to a better functioning and more attractive body. If you'd like to find out more about having a complete postural and functional review then speak to one of our specialists.

the ultimate stomach without sit ups - part 1 of 4

2010-10-12T12:46:00.000-07:00

There is so much talk about stomach exercises and it seems to be such a hot topic for people. The problem is that far too many people focus on the appearance of the stomach and not so much the function of the stomach. It stands to reason that getting the stomach working properly will not only improve the finished product but also ensure that your exercises don't come at the expense of your posture.

Firstly, let's get a few things straight. The stomach contains a vast set of muscles yet non are key drivers in human functional movement. This means that exercises like sit ups bear no relevance to your body and are more likely to cause pain or injury over time due to them encouraging supporting muscles to become dominant. With this in mind, get out of the habit of seeing isolated stomach movements or typical 'ab' exercises as any good whatsoever. The stomach works to stabilise the body, provide a crucial connection between upper and lower body and protect vital organs therefore conditioning the stomach in those natural situations is going to be much more functional and effective.

We'll come onto what exercises are good to condition the stomach, but first let's understand how the stomach is designed and what purpose it provides. This is more than worth understanding if you really want to have an incredible washboard stomach. It may not have been necessary as primal man to know this as our lifestyles caused us to constantly engage core muscle but our current lifestyle causes almost the opposite often leaving core lazy and weak. So, the core is made of two distinct elements known as the inner and outer units. The inner is the stabilising unit. This consists of involuntary muscles that work subconsciously to keep us upright, support spine and posture.

The outer unit is made up of bigger and more voluntary muscles that create movement in the body. One problem is that if your inner unit has picked up bad habits, then movement in the outer unit only serves to compound the problem and embed poor neural pathways which become harder and harder to repair.

So let's start at the beginning and get the inner unit working properly helping maximise the benefits of bigger movements. It may sound like we're starting with absolute basics but breathing is the first part of getting this right. As babies we breathe from the stomach and as we develop, we tend to breathe more and more from higher in the lungs. This leaves the inner unit to become lazy and reduces the efficiency of the oxygen supply to the body. Not very good hey - so let's start to improve this situation.

Abdominal breathing exercises are an excellent way to engage inner units and work the core. Eventually, the techniques of this can be applied into exercises but nail the basics first.

Ideally, these should be done standing up. Slightly softened knees, stood tall with stomach drawn in. Take a big breathe in through the nose and at the same time, inflate the stomach. Then breathe out a concerted breath through the mouth and draw the stomach back in tight. Look to do 10 of these, 2-3 times daily for at least 10 days to start embedding the habit of doing this without having to think about it.

Refer to this training video for a demonstration, notice after how just a few days of performing this drill make you much more conscious and in control over core stabilisation and get ready for my next blog on taking this to the next level.

The Perfect Circuit

2010-10-07T03:28:00.000-07:00

After spending a great deal of energy over the last few years writing courses and programmes for various providers, a lot of good things have come out of this work, one being how to shape the perfect circuit.

If you're not familiar with circuit relative to exercise then it is simply a cluster of exercises put together to be done with short rest periods in between. This style of exercise is typical to classes and a great way to get an effective work out in a shorter space of time.

Having spent 6 years in the forces before my time in the fitness industry, I've got a great deal of exeperience of different approaches when it comes to circuits, some good and some pants. Particularly whilst developing our Primal Pattern course, we developed a simple structure for all body movements. This was intended to organise patterns that were low, moderate and high impact to help coaches clearly understand the complexity of movement upon the body. The fantastic and coincidental crossover that arose from this was that our categorisation translates to energy demands on the body for the movements making it and excellent matrix to base circuits from as you can keep a flow in the circuit whilst alternating between low and high demand exercises.

Bodyweight movement

So, how can you use this? I would start by ignoring the columns and just using the rows. Plan 3-4 circuits, each one with one exercise based upon a movement from each row (advanced being high demand, basic being low demand). Perform 3-4 cycles of each circuit before moving on to the next. 15 seconds between exercises and 60 seconds between circuits. Try the following times depending on your ability (30 seconds - beginner / 45 seconds - intermediate / 60 seconds - advanced)

For example:

Circuit 1

Exercise 1 - Press Ups
Exercise 2 - Alternate lunges
Exercise 3 - Tuck Jumps

Circuit 2

Exercise 1 - Pull Ups
Exercise 2 - Farmers Walk
Exercise 3 - 30 metre sprints

Circuit 3

Exercise 1 - Squats
Exercise 2 - Woodchops
Exercise 3 - Burpees

That is simply it! It's a simple system to keep your circuits effective, avoid pattern overload which can lead to pain, chronic pain and injury.

Why not enjoy 30 days FREE of our online tailored fitness programmes giving you completely personalised video programmes and nutritional guidance. Click here to get started.

Let me know how you get on with the exercises and fire any questions straight back

Using your body

2010-10-02T09:08:00.000-07:00

Its been a manic week of travel this week and all very exciting.

Starting some research on kettlebells with Sheffield Hallam, we've been working with some of the GB olympic strength and conditioning coaches showing them how to use kettlebells properly and discussing the training benefits.

It's very interesting working with coaches from different backgrounds as we all have very unique and different experiences as well as expertise which can often lead to very different opinions but essentially all working towards the same single goal: what works the best!?!?

If you've been tuning into my blogs then you'll already be aware of our unique bodyweight training appraoch that we call Primal Flow. We've arranged to take it to some of the national coaches who'll be giving their feedback on it which will be fantastic.

This week Jenny, myself and two very experienced coaches took on an almighty Primal Flow circuit. James Walker, a Kettlebell Master Trainer and tutor joined in as well as Ben Hockman, an MMA and kickboxing conditioning specialist who runs Martial Arts Company Beyond Fighting. Both coaches have years of both competitive and coaching experience behind them and have a wealth of experience in having sampled many different types of fitness training. With their seasoned expertise, we were keen to get their thoughts on our sytem.

The session was simple and had two waves. Both had 4 work stations each focussing on different areas - upper, lower, core and movement. The first wave was geared towards stability & strength and had 4 layers, each progressive to the last in movement and duration. The second wave only had 3 layers but was aimed at power and anaerobic capacity. Despite the session taking just 45 minutes, it was fair to say that we were all well worked by the end.

Here's what they had to say:

James Walker "A new era of bodyweight training!, takes what you thought you knew about bodyweight training and flips it on it's head..."

Ben Hockman "Having been a martial artist for 13 years, I've done a lot of bodyweight focussed training. But this is different and you have to try it! The primal movements force you to stabilise whilst also requiring far more strength than you would for the standard push-up or squat. The constant and rapid variation between exercises also ensures a great functional conditioning workout without exhausting one particular muscle group to the extent of needing days off to recover. Great system and if you still believe in the need for equipment to get a good resistance and cardio workout, think again!!!"

Very kind words and obviously, they were both well paid for that. If you'd like to become qualified as a Primal Flow specialist then look at our next course dates and if you'd like to experience this type of training then look at your nearest class of our OutFIT sessions.

Tight hamstrings??

2010-09-28T06:21:00.000-07:00

One of the main issues in posture and exercise can be tight / shortened or over active hamstrings.

It's not suprising really. We have all conditioned ourselves to sit in this very unhuman and abnormal positing of seated. As a recent creation, sitting on a chair distorts the body position over time. Normally, it wouldn't be a problem but our evolvement into creatures spending often over a third of our time in this position, ramifications ensue. If you think about it, when you're sitting, your hamstrings are remaining in a shorter than normal position with the knee being flexed. For arguments sake, we'll assume that normal is standing for the purpose of proving this point. The front of the hips (hip flexors) are also in a shortened position, the lower stomach muscles are elongated and remain redundant whilst sitting and the glutes are also stretched out.

With all of this going on, the profile of the hips, the alignment of the spine all the way into the shoulders and head position are all disaffected. So, what do you do to avoid back pain, constant shoulder ache and a weak core?

Here are some simple suggestions to help you self help if you feel the above is relevant to you or anyone you know:

Firstly, look at your habits and think how you can avoid over sitting. Avoid gym machinery, have breaks when sitting at a desk. Rather than trying to fix a symptom, think about changing and adjusting the cause.
Use a foam roller. This can release tension in soft tissues that simple stretching wouldn't get near. If you haven't seen one or don't know how to use one then visit the Creating Chaos shop and take a look at our online fitness area. Focus on releasing tension in your thighs, front of hip, side of thigh and inner thigh.
Stick to compound exercises where possible, the more of your body engaging in movement, the better and more naturally efficient your kinetic chain will become. (assuming good technique)
Wake your glutes up (your backside). By far the laziest muscle in the body but the most important. Get this muscle active, dominant and firing like a piston and you're well on your way.
Practise breathing from your lower abdominals. As babies, this is natural and we unlearn this great habit as adults. Practise daily for a few weeks before noticing how it starts to become natural. While standing is best, draw large breathe in through the nose and inflate the stomach in the process. Then draw the stomach back in and exhale whilst tightening the lower stomach muscles to the spine.
Incorporate simple motor skill exercises or balance work into your exercise. These seemingly simple activities will force your body into situations where stability through movement and function are crucial and you have to do it. It's all very good being able to hold a plank for 2-3 minutes but what use is stability if it isn't functional.

There is a lot more I could go into but this is plenty to get you started. Remember, with these things, it will only be effective if you apply change to the habit that has created the problem in the first place.

Beat the cooler weather

2010-09-16T04:00:00.000-07:00

With temperatures dropping in September and nights drawing in, there is no need to feel that you can't continue to enjoy being outdoors, active and making the most of our natural surroundings.

That said, there are some considerations that you should take into account to ensure that your experiences remain safe, enjoyable and fun:

Visibility - if you're looking to head out in the evenings or early mornings, stick to areas well lit or make sure that you are visible and that you have good visibility. This may be in the way of a head torch or some luminous clothing. If you are heading off the beaten track where traffic isn't a problem, ensure you have a headtorch or stick to areas where there is little in the way of tree canopy overhead. You'll be surprised by how quickly your eyes adapt to ambient light.
Footwear - Make sure the tread of your footwear is suitable for the surface you're on. This is something important for all year round but as the flip flops hibernate for autumn and winter, it is more important that in the more inclement weather, you're as sturdy as can be on your feet. Good cushioning for hard surfaces is crucial and sturdy non-slip tread for off-road is a must.
Warmth - If you're exercising then you should generate a fair amount of heat but in winter, it can take longer for you to feel this benefit. Thermal layers are great and the options these days are fantastic. You'll know your own body better than anyone else but it's better to have more than less. Remember this - anyone can be a cold and wet fool. Multiple breathable layers will help hugely and there are some great shower proof light jackets available that don't restrict movement.
Emergencies - It sounds like common sense and something you wouldn't need telling but think about safety. Who are you telling your route to? Are you near to any phone facilities if things go badly or will you be carrying a mobile? What time do you anticipate returning?
Fuel & Hydration - In cooler weather, the body burns more fuel to maintain core temperature. Making sure you are fully fuelled at the beginning and well hydrated is vital. Carrying water and sipping helps a lot and if you're planning a long excursion, are you going to take some additional fuel. I'm not going to promote what to have on this. We all have different preferences and requirements. If you know you can still perform whilst digesting solid food then have something that gives you the boost you need. One thing to note is that sugary foods or carb gels that sell by the bucket load absorb water and leave you with a dry sticky mouth. I much prefer some protein but this is personal preference. Don't be fooled into thinking that carbs are the only energy source. Fats and protein are just as much a source of energy and anyone saying differently is either a salesperson for carb replacement fads or doesn't understand nutrition. I'm not encouraging eating pies but of all the endurance events that I've ever done (quite a few), the best refuelling I've ever had was by eating a small pork pie midway. Not the healthiest of snacks but the balance of protein and fat was perfect for me!

Hope this helps and I look forward to your comments.

Angry exercise

2010-08-23T07:21:00.000-07:00

As a trainer but more than that, someone who has loved exercise and fitness for a long time, I've seen interesting things in gyms and certain trends that kind of summarise the types of mindsets that people approach exercise with. I'm going to cover a number of them in coming blogs but the first one and sometimes the most entertaining: Angry exercisers.

We all know that doing exercise can be a great way to relieve stress, release tension and just have a bit of a blow out. If you've been in a gym then the chances are you may have seen these types of people.

They're the people that seem to have a permanent grimace, stare into mirrors without emotion, make loud noises when dropping weights and just inject fear into other gym users. It's probably worth me mentioning that it's important not to get these confused with people that properly train with olympic lifting or power lifting. There is a need in this type of training to drop weights fast due to the training mechanics of how they're conditioning the body.

Well, if the description above rings a resonance, it may be nice to know that they're doing themselves no favours strutting their stuff in anger. Levels of cortisol in the body are higher when angry and this restricts growth, metabolism and most internal function which means muscle development is slower, weight loss is slower and it'll take them twice as long doing angry exercise than it would doing calmer and relatively happier exercise.

If the above description feels like a personal statement of your gym visits and you would like to benefit from gym visits or exercise then I'd recommend calming yourself before going? Listen to some calming but inspiring music and maybe include some deep breathing exercises into your warm up.

Having the ability to use a little mental grit within exercise is obviously useful but this should be controlled determination and not the angry teenager gene. Being able to switch it on and then off is a useful skill.

I'm stuck for time but I'll add to this - my next blog will look more at the types of people that just turn up but seem not to actually do very much.

A healthy state of mind

2010-08-15T02:15:00.000-07:00

I spoke at an event on Friday about pointers on fitness. Whilst some people agreed, I think others were a little suprised when my first and most important pointer was and is self perception.

Some may have been hoping for some little known or magical exercises to rid stomach fat (which on a generic scale don't exist - you can't spot reduce) but more important than the specifics of exercise is your self perception and your motivation. The reason being really simple, my experience tells me that being fit and healthy doesn't necessarily mean that you'll know you are and be happy. The key is to love yourself and what you are before you start, that way, you'll respect, listen to, treat your body properly and benefit so much more.

Living in a world of false ideals where glossy magazines and TV are suffocated with air brushed, overly tanned and often superficial celebrities, it's understandable to know that many people in modern society have low self esteem, poor confidence and don't like what they see in the mirror.

It's absolutely scandalous that fake idols and images can have such a huge impact on so many. As the marketing industry knows, as a people, we rely heavily on what we see. But actually, many of the decisions we make are based upon feelings. So answer this question, how do you feel when you look at those sorts of images? If the answer is not so great, then don't put those sorts of images infront of yourself.

Knowing that we make informed decisions better when we feel good it may be worth answering a few more questions:

What kind of foods make me feel good?

What kinds of activities make me feel good?

Being around who do I feel better with?

I heard a nice metaphor 'you should treat your body like you would an expensive car', give it good fuel, regular servicing, take it for a spin and generally avoid it becoming a rusty bucket.

Hope you've enjoyed my thoughts, why not leave me a comment?

- Posted whilst adventurising using BlogPress from my iPhone

Can too much fruit be bad?

2010-08-11T03:13:00.000-07:00

Although I only do limited personal training these days, I always offer to provide nutritional guidance if people want it. Some people are quite happy with what they eat and feel they know what the difference between healthy and not healthy food is. I don't doubt this for a second with most although I recently met someone that got me thinking.

We live in a society that promotes this 5 a day message on fruit and veg. Whilst the fundamentals of this are good direction, it's important to know a few things. A few months back I met someone who swore blind that they ate a super healthy and balanced diet. They never touched package food, it was only fresh, organic, regular and seemingly the kind of diet that have most of us feeling a little bit guilty and possibly inspired.

The problem was that the person in question had quite a history of tooth decay, receding gums and numerous fillings. Looking at the food diary, it was absolutely packed with fruit. In fact, most days had at least 6-7 pieces of fruit which is pretty high and eaten on their own.

On large, fruit is good but the thing to remember is that it is essentially sugar (fructose). Whilst sugar is important and vital towards cellular and brain function, excessive amounts can be extremely bad and can lead to an increased storage of fat. The best way to think of fruit is good sugar when in moderation, not to mention it's provision of fibre and other micro-nutrients.

Here are some simple tips that can help with fruit intake:

Make sure that your fruit mix is predominantly fruit from your home country. Your system is better designed to break down and get the most out of native fruit.
Drink water or eat a non-sugar based food after eating fruit to flush residue sugar from attempting to assinate your teeth
Try where possible to get your fruit from good source. The nutrients in the fruit are only as good as the soil it was grown on. Empty Harvest (Jenson & Anderson 1990) is an excellent book on this. Fruit in supermarkets can be upto 9 months old by the time you pick it off the shelf. Freezing and waxing are common ways to store and maintain longevity of the fruit post picking.
Vary the fruit you eat. Your digestive system adapts to what you challenge it and eating the same fruit will reduce the value you get from it.
Eat fruit seasonally, again supermarkets can distort and confuse what is ripe at what time of year. There are loads of online resources to help you with this. http://www.eattheseasons.co.uk/ is an easy one that is kept updated with current and seasonal foods.

Hopefully the above pointers are useful. Don't let it put you off. Fruit is excellent, brimming with goodness and a great snack that can replace chocolate or other fraudulant foods.

20 minute work out

2010-08-08T05:59:00.000-07:00

Didn't have much time on Friday and inspired by jenny's birthday work out, I decided to make the most of my time with a quick blast session.

In actual fact, it takes just over 26 minutes but working time is 20 minutes. It is a total 20 session with 20 exercises over 20 minutes with 20 seconds rest in between.

Equipment needed:

Yourself
A kettlebell (I used a 32 but use whatever weight you're comfortable using for the exercises)
A box step or bench
A pull up bar

1. Deadlift
2. Off set press ups
3. Reverse lunges (unloaded)
4. Pull ups
5. Kettlebell swings
6. Hand walk out
7. Lateral clubbell swings
8. Alternate kettlebell push press
9. Loaded squats (crush grip)
10. Alternate lateral hip drops from side plank position
11. Alternate kettlebell cleans
12. Astride box jumps
13. Pull ups
14. Alternate single leg squats (unloaded)
15. Press ups
16. Reverse lunges (unloaded)
17. Kettlebell swings
18. Plank
19. Alternate kettlebell windmills
20. 1 Pull up / 1 press up

Give it a go and let us know how you get on

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Birthday workout - don't try this at home

2010-08-05T09:40:00.000-07:00

It's Jen's birthday today - a grand 29 years of age and if the old lady in the cafe is right, she doesn't look a day over 40...I mean 20.

Well, Jen - over to you:

Well – it’s my birthday, so as a little treat I thought I’d try a brand new workout!

Equipment used:

16kg kettlebell

A 29 year old birthday girl

OK – so seeing as I’m 29 today, I decided to choose 29 exercise, and do them all 29 times!!

29 exercises, 29 reps of each

So here’s what I chose:-

• KB double arm swings

• Single arm KB swings

• Single arm alternating KB swings

• Cleans

• Snatches

• Long cycle

• Windmill

• Double arm military press

• Stepping lunges right

• Stepping lunges left

• Close arm press ups

• Burpees

• Squats

• Hand step ups

• Split rows (with KB)

• Up dog/down dog

• Mountain climber

• Rotational hip drops

• Single leg rotate and reach

• Leg lift with back reach

• Hip raises

• KB Figure 8 to hold

• Halo

• Round the world

• Static lunge right

• Static lunge left

• Jumping squats

• Stalk stance

• Wide arm press ups

And there you have it – only for the mad and mental to try!!

Is power training for everyone

2010-08-03T03:05:00.000-07:00

Currently, inline with our seasonal training calendar, we are currently focussing on power and conditioning and it got me thinking "is power training something for everyone?"

In my experience, I think the notion of power training has had a bad rap and be seen as something only relevant for seasoned athletes or those guys that lift ridiculously heavy weights above their heads. Well firstly, let's define power - In general terms, it is "the ability to act with force" and relative to exercise "undecelerated movement" which means that there has to be a release of energy. The best examples of this are jumping and throwing where gravity is the force that slows the energy or returns it back to ground.

Power training doesn't have to be involving weights: running, intervals, plyometrics, functional exercise, kettlebells and drills can all be ways of conditioning the body in an explosive and power driven fashion.

I would argue that power training is something that everyone can benefit hugely from and there are a number of reasons for this. Firstly, I should make quite clear that this should be done specific to the individual, their experience and ability level.

Reason 1 - The only way to truly measure the physical maximum potential of the body is to see how quick it can move, how much force it can create or how high it can jump. Besides, last one into the sea smells.

Reason 2 - As much as it isn't my own motivation, for many, being healthy is measured by looking and feeling good. Fast twitch muscle fibers, which are used in the above types of exercise are glycolytic meaning that they break down sugar for energy. Sugar is one of the biggest contributors to fat storage and so if you want to burn the pounds and look and feel great, then injecting this type of training into your weekly regime will help hugely. Be wary though, doing it all the time will go the opposite way as your body needs at least 48 hours to recover from this type of training. Overtraining will put huge stress on the entire body system and overtime result in injury and fatigue.

Reason 3 - It is fantastic for general function of the body, posture and performance. We may not all want to be athletes but knowing that when your body functions properly, you're better placed to avoid injury, burn more calories and benefit more from pretty much everything including digestion, metabolism and day to day tasks, good function becomes pretty relevant for us all. Function in terms of movement is simply the way that you do it. Asking two people to pick up a ball from ground level will probably create two entirely different patterns. Training your body to operate through safe and effective pathways makes a huge difference in engaging the right muscles at the right time.

Power isn't something to fear but to be excited about!

If you're a trainer and interested to find out more about courses then check out our trainer site http://www.teamchaosuk.com/

This week I have been mostly training...

2010-07-27T08:38:00.000-07:00

Jenny is currently setting up her own little blog to start blogging her favourite work outs. Much more practical than my ramblings but here is something to get you started:
Due to the fact that I seem to be the world’s busiest newly married 28 year old curly haired person at the moment, I only had about half an hour for my lunchtime training session.

A few years ago I would have probably panicked and spent that half an hour on the treadmill or the cross trainer thinking that lots of cardio was the only way to train hard! However, being older and wiser (thanks to Phill), I now know that you don’t need to spend hours and hours doing ‘cardio’ – in fact, I could work twice as hard in half the time.

So here’s what I did:

Equipment used = 2 x 16kg Kettlebells, 1 bench

Basic focus is mixing kettlebells with jumping and pushing patterns:

Set 1 - Double KB swings - Jumps Depth jumps over bench - Press ups

Set 2 - Single arm swings (30 sec each side) - Side jumps over bench - Crush grip military press

Set 3 - Alternating single arm swings - Jumping lunges - Press ups

Set 4 - Double arm swings - Depth jumps over bench - Long cycle (30 sec each side)
Do each exercise in order KB swings, then jumps, then presses in set then onto set 2, set 3, set 4.

Do each exercise for 1 minute with 30 sec rest in between each exercise.
I did this without an extra rest between sets, but it’s an option to increase the rest between exercises, increase the rest between each set, or decrease the time spent on each exercise.
Give it a go – and let us know how you found it

info@creatingchaos.co.uk

Has Summer Gone or have you lost your sunshine?

2010-07-22T02:57:00.000-07:00

Having recently returned from honeymoon, I could possibly be excused for feeling a little blue, especially with coming back from a very beautiful warm destination back to a pretty grey, gloomy and wet British July.

However, I really don't. I've never been as excited as I currently am with everything that is going on in my life, I'm a newly married man which is a completely new chapter. The little idea whilst walking in the lakes 2 years ago is now a growing company. I have an amazing family which is now doubled in size! I really am blessed and I won't go on anymore as it sounds like I'm just gloating which isn't my intention.

One thing I noticed on my return (and it's something that we all see / hear time and time again) is the staggering number of people complaining about the weather and almost using it as a justification for being miserable. It is something I've seen before and of course, I've complained on the odd occasion when plans have changed or weather has caused a certain outcome, yet I don't ever recall allowing a grey sky and spot of rain to send me spiralling into dark depression. It just got me thinking as I became more aware of how many people appear affected by this phenomenom.

The affliction 'Seasonal Affective Disorder' (SAD) has become an adult in terms of the growing number of unnecessary diagnoses that have sprouted in recent years. Ok, maybe this seems harsh and I am fully aware that vitamin D actually does help boost mood levels, but I do think that giving up your state of being to an uncontrollable force is pretty crazy.

Studies actually show that it isn't just sunshine that boosts mood but the combination of fresh air, sunlight, and natural surroundings all culminate towards mental state. Yet, these things aside, I believe that it simply comes down to choice. This doesn't require a diagnosis, just a decision:

We either chose to lead content lives rich with clarity over things that we have control over.

or

We submit to the uncontrollable giving our happiness to the god of weather and allow a rain cloud to wipe the smile from our faces. (even when it's sunny it is usually 'too hot'!)

Don't get me wrong - sunshine is nice and in Britain, we certainly seem to be robbed of the odd day (or summer) of sunlight. However, compared to the rest of the world, we live in a relatively stable and safe environment, have rich industry, quality of life and fantastic opportunity.

Actually, having hot and sunny days is even more special due to it's infrequency. I've spent over a year in the Middle East and everyday, 40+ degrees everyday can be pretty intense.

That'll do for my thoughts today

What the Kettlebell is that?

2010-07-14T03:23:00.000-07:00

Ok, this blog is way overdue and I'm not quite sure why. Certainly over the last 10 years, kettlebells have become a lot more recognised and acknowledged as a great tool in the fitness industry. Anyone that knows us or has come into contact with us will probably know that we are huge advocates of those great metallic lumps of iron. Why is that? Why are we constantly raving about them and why are they so great anyway? Well, I'm gonna give you a bit of a history lesson, this is something that we go more into detail with on our Kettlebell Instructor Course but it helps appreciate them a little better.

It is difficult to identify the true origin of kettlebells, although many of those who try to claim ownership include Romans, Greeks, Scots, Russians and Siberians. Having stood the test of time and been used for hundreds of years if not more, they have time and time again illustrated that they are something a whole lot more than a typical health and fitness fad.

The first recorded mention of them was in 1704 within a Russian dictionary. The Russian word for Kettlebells is "girya," and the men who lifted these weights were called "gireviks." Kettlebells gained recognition as a superb weight loss tool when they were featured in the fitness magazine Hercules in 1913. In the recent history of the Kettlebell, they have become increasingly popular within the United States thanks to a man named Pavel Tsatsouline. Tsatsouline is a globally recognised fitness author who made his name as a trainer for not only the United States armed forces but the Soviet Union forces as well. With US Forces seniors observing that their soldiers could not endure as long as their Russian counterparts within competitions, they began incorporating the kettlebell into their training routines. In 1985 a committee for the sport of Kettlebell lifting was created, and the first National Championship for Kettlebells was help in Russia in 1985 with its own set of rules and standards. Today, the Kettlebell is being introduced into the fitness routines of the public, as their benefits have proven them to be one of the most useful tools for building strength as well as a huge number of other benefits:

Rapid weight loss
Toning and strengthing of almost every muscle
Muscular and cardiovascular endurance
Supporting and improving posture
Injury rehabilitation
Sports specific performance

The list just goes on as they are such a dynamic and versatile piece of equipment. The fact that they can offer so much yet are relatively small (although sometimes heavy) means that they are not only suitable to the gym but good for home use as well as used within bootcamps or classes. Just like the picture above from our group in Leeds.

WARNING

They should come with a caveat though. Using them properly is critical. Despite them becoming more popular, the abundance of kettlebells out there is not matched with the underpinning knowledge or competency in safely and effectively using them. Just this week, Jenny popped into a gym and had a play with some kettlebells that they have for members to freely use. Not only were the members asking her for guidance but the personal trainers were blatantly taking tips from her techniques.

The associated movements with kettlebells split into 2 distinct types - swings and grinds. Because the swing patterns use momentum, they can be just as harmful as they are beneficial if done badly.

Don't let this put you off, the benefits far outweigh the potential risk and once you have got the basics, it becomes a great journey progressing your ability with them.

We're very soon posting a video on youtube that goes through all of the basic movements - worth looking out for.

Family First

2010-07-07T00:32:00.000-07:00

It's my first blog after getting married and just having spent an incredible 3 weeks away with my now wife, Jenny and firstly I'd just like to say thank you for the most incredible break ever and I'm well excited about this brand new chapter of our lives together.

Having been away, as well as completely switching off from work, I've had a great opportunity to reflect on a few things and one being something that I am very fortunate with: the support of a family.

When it comes to getting fit and healthy, I think traditional routes of becoming a gym member, joining a weight loss class or going on a super new diet can typically be lonely journeys and having a family supporting you or better still joining you makes a huge difference. It's worth me pointing out at this point that when I say family, this of course includes relatives but your circles of friends too. All the people who are close and important to you are equally as valuable in this instance.

What I'm going to share with you are a few tips to successfully encourage them to either be supportive or even come and join you. This is coming from experience and I'm extremely fortunate in now having a huge family which is very supportive but I've very much experienced moments of seemingly harmless ridicule at home of doing something I believed in yet not everyone else in the room did.

Let them know that your journey is important to you and their support is even more important. We live in a very busy culture where we are constantly being sold new concepts and ideas. It seems so obvious and simple but reminding people how important they are and that their support will make a difference and will be very well received.
Don't try and immediately become the salesman. Lead by example and your actions will speak volumes. By showing them how much the renewed sense of confidence, energy and results are helping improve your life, they'll be dying to join in with you. Once they see how much fun your having too, that'll be the straw that breaks the camels back and they'll be itching to get involved.
Be encouraging and not forceful. Sharing a house with people who lead different styles of life, there are invariably occasions and situations where there are conflicts. This could be as simple as having different foods in the fridge or having different sleeping patterns. All you need to do again is clearly illustrate the benefits that you're enjoying and maybe a little soft encouragement explaining that they too could enjoy the great benefits.
Show eagerness to both teach and learn. Whilst on your journey, you'll be brimming with new ideas and just bursting at the edges to share this with your family. Don't get me wrong, people love to learn and they'll be keen to learn more but this can come with a caveat. People don't enjoy being permanently broadcast too! By also being eager to learn from them and listening more, it'll clearly show that their advice and opinions matter to you. It'll help you see things from their perspective and be able to empathise much better and improve the level of understanding you are having. A completely win win situation.

Hope this is useful and I'd love to hear any feedback on this. It is all very common sense stuff but I'm sure that we can all agree that for some reason, family life can be hectic and common sense can often be absent.

Primal Flow - Core Endurance & Flexibility

2010-07-06T01:37:00.000-07:00

Part two of the primal flow programme. Try putting this one after Lower Endurance & Balance...

Awesome for abdominals, core, Flexibility, shoulder strength, functionality, weight loss......the list goes on

Primal Flow™ movement sequence- Lower endurance and balance

2010-06-29T07:48:00.000-07:00

This is the first of the Primal patterns we are going to be giving away free.

The Primal Flow™ is a system created by creating chaos which provides all over free body conditioning.
No equipment is needed and the flow is for all fitness levels.

If you want to make the flow harder or easier just adjust the times to suit. More videos will follow so you can combine the various flows to create all over body workouts.

Please let us know if any of you would like a version to download or a phone/iphone friendly version so you can take your flows anywhere :)

While the cats away........STRETCHING

2010-06-15T01:08:00.000-07:00

In the coming weeks and months we are going to be putting several new videos on our youtube channel ranging from simple stretch routines to some full exercise scenarios.
The first is just a taster but may be helpful if you need to run through some basic stretches to finish your workout.

If you have any comments regarding the videos please post them here or on youtube. We want to make them as easy to follow as possible so all feedback is good feedback.

We are also working to get some mobile friendly versions ;) so you can start surprise lunge people at work! or in the supermarket! Just don't get arrested!!! as we wont be held responsible

CreatingChaos Youtube Channel

Why indoor fitness and gyms just don't make sense

2010-06-02T05:58:00.000-07:00

The funny thing about what gyms are nowadays and how they started out is that there is a real separation.

The first ever gym was designed as a project to look at social interaction and motivational impact of friends and family being mustered in one place and encouraged to engage and participate in activity. That was the sole intention of the very first gym. So, bearing that in mind, can we honestly say that the gyms of today share the same values and ethics?

Certainly not in my experience. A few observations of my own would be that:

They are loud, most people have headphones in and often anti-social. Despite many gyms being packed at peak times, they can often be very lonely places which can cause increased levels of cortisol, increasing fat storage and decreasing the benefits of exercise
Most gyms are clad with mirrors. The intention is clear, to help people montior and improve form and posture through movement. However, the result is that many people distort their own form to keep looking at what they're doing in the mirror which can't possibly assist their technique. In addition, mirrors often cause people to feel self conscious which can then result in the above mentioned release of cortisol.
Gyms are filled with machines built by engineers, not biomechanical or physiological specialists. Most gym machines result in distorted patterns of the body as it is forced to work around levers, pulleys and devices which tend to isolate muscle groups. The body is a single unit and should be conditioned in that way. Not all machines are bad but generally speaking, resistance machines may produce that short term muscular fatigue and burn but long term, they can produce imbalanced function, weak core stability and poor muscular firing technique
Gyms are another air-conditioned environment that we force ourselves into. You only need to look at the rising levels of asthma and respiratory disorders to understand that some habits of modern living are doing nothing for our breathing function. The body isn't designed as a creature that is bound by four walls yet we, as a civilisation are spending more time than ever indoors. When exercising, our immune function is more susceptible to infection with our defence barriers being lowered and re-conditioned air is horrible for carrying airborne infection and disease. This just doesn't add up does it. A good dose of fresh air cannot be over-praised for it's immediate benefits to the body, internal and external.
Exercise should be fun - I'm taking a gamble on this one as I really don't frequent gyms - the only time I do is when we deliver our courses. However, I'm going to suggest that for many, the whole gym experience isn't that much fun. From my last visit, I visibly remember seeing people that looked sad, de-motivated or even aggresive in their approach to exercise. Come to think of it, it's no wonder why - with all the confusing messages within the health industry, the image focussed media and the constant re-invention of 'what's good and what's bad', their annoyance is understandable.

So, what's the solution - well, it is of course, get outside. Whether it's walking, jogging, climbing a hill or joining an outdoor exercise group, being outdoors will by far and away benefit your body in ways that far superceed being bound indoors.

Understanding Primal Flow

2010-05-26T01:43:00.000-07:00

After more and more interest being taken with Primal Flow, I thought I'd write a little more about about what it is, how it came about and how it can benefit.

Looking back at my coaching career so far, even from the very first courses I attended, I remember always thinking that repeating the same movement over and over again can't be that good, however, in the early days, I really didn't know any better and so just went along with the trends that were and very much still are instructed. As my confidence and understanding of the body grew, I started to experiment more with different ways of challenging and conditioning the body.

When it comes to exercise, for me, there are a number of absolute musts with any exercise or pattern:

It must be functional - if the movement doesn't serve a purpose then isn't doing the body, posture or alignment any favours
It must be safe - understanding the internal workings of the core, inner stabilising units and outer global units ensures that all the movements work with the flow of the body and not against them
It must be progressive and effective - challenging the body is the only way that exercise truly benefits, by knowing your level, ability and making the programme progressive, you can rest assured that your programme will be hugely effective
It must be interesting - exercise should never be numb, mindless or a duty. Looking at primal man, exercise was purposeful, demanded thought and deliberation and always had an objective be it hunting, building or excaping danger.

Having been working on PF for a few years, many clients will have experienced numerous sequences and flows without knowing but now, the concept is completely formed and ready to take flight.
The benefits of this type of exercise can be shaped in pretty much any direction:

Physiological - Strength, power, conditioning, endurance, balance, agility, alignment and flexibility
Goal driven - weight loss, shape, reduce body fat, increase size, build shape or tone
General wellness - Increase bone density, improve cardiovascular fitness, improve posture

The list goes on. The reason it is so effective is because it brings together all natural and instinctive movements of the body, organises them creating stability before mobility and then follows with gradual progression.

It isn't about using fancy and shiney machines but understanding your body. Machines generally speaking distort movement completely, deactivate the core and result in pain, injury and never ending discomfort. Think about it, most people can relate with a bicep curl which serves to isolate the bicep. Ok, fine, however, with over 600 hundred muscles in the body, how can you possibly achieve a balanced work out for all of them by isolating? You can't! Even if you did isolate every single one relative to their function within the body, the body doesn't operate through segmented function, it is a single unit and should be used that way.

Well, that should be enough to give you a brief understanding of the background. Our flows will be getting videod very soon so that you can watch them and have a play for yourself. Watch this space and sign up to this blog if you want to keep updated.

Phill

Check here to read what my clients think

Why morning fitness can change your life

2010-05-19T06:25:00.000-07:00

It may not be something that you've tried before but doing some sort of exercise in the morning can have major positive impact on the whole of your life.

In my years of experience; both engaging in exercise and working with clients, companies, trainers and schools I've made some very interesting observations about exercise habits, routines that seem to last and intense binge exercising that wears people down.

Out of all that I've seen, people who exercise in the morning tend to become very well committed to staying healthy and mobile and it really does stand to reason. As primal creatures, waking up would normally be followed by a need to exercise. This may have been using the dawn to take an easier catch of prey for the next meal or it may have been actually avoiding being caught or stepping into conflict. Fight or flight!

Morning exercise not only accesses and switches on the entire physiology of the body, preparing it for a full day, but chemically stimulates release of hormones that activate the internal systems, initiating metabolism, digestion and the beloved feel-good hormones endorphines. Endorphines are a body produced chemical that act as a natural pain relief, dumbing down discomfort and heightening the sense of control, power and capacity.

So, doing this right at the start of the day sets the frame for the entire day ahead. It doesn't have to be intense, or particularly long in duration, yet an amount of exercise in the morning may be just the ticket to frame your day.

Train for Life

2010-05-12T06:34:00.000-07:00

Having recently lost a very close friend who, despite his enormously challenging conditions from birth, had the most amazing attitude towards life, others and himself. It has really put me into reflection on certain things.

We all talk about needing a goal and as a trainer, it is often my role to get a specific target to aim and work towards, yet, actually, do we really need one? Is the gift of life not even to value, respect and consider with our behaviours and habits?

I'm not saying that getting rid of specific goals is a good idea. These are brilliant and absolutely help us focus, yet, constantly feeling like we need specific fitness targets to work towards can be very draining psychologically and almost de-motivating which is the complete polar opposite of why engaged in the first instance. Challenging yourself is essential, as human's, we hold an intrinsic requirement to develop and progress but this shouldn't solely be in the way of physical challenges.

Instead, looking at health and fitness as a gift, right and something that should be nurtured can help create a sustainable approach to keeping healthy.

Not everyone is born or blessed with good health but most of us have the choice of what we do with what we have. To me, the thought of exploring my own health, being confortable with it and using it to help others is all the focus I need to remember how lucky I am every single day and never become complacent with what I have.

Just a short one today

Phill

Why you should NEVER do sit-ups

2010-05-04T09:38:00.000-07:00

It seems quite ironic discussing this as less than 4 years ago, I left the forces after 6 years of active service and sit ups were and still are an exercise of choice.

I'm really not sure why they are and it amazes me that they continue to be given by trainers as an exercise. Even more shockingly, I spoke to a chap this morning who mentioned that he joined a large corporate gym some time ago and was given a programme by a fitness trainer. After explaining that he had back pain, his trainer continued to give him sit ups and further awful patterns that put pressure on the lower back.

Last week I saw a very popular military style fitness company getting dozens of paying customers to do sit ups in a field. The exact scenario that a few years ago was familiar to me - but I wasn't paying for this and neither should you be.

Let's have a look at what a sit up is actually doing to your body and why it is no good.

The movement begins with lying down, legs bent and feet flat. The significance of this is that the hips aren't fully extended meaning that you cannot fully engage in abdominal range. Any fitness professional who understands anatomy will know this. Without engaging in full range, repetitious patterns will serve to shortern and imbalance the involved muscles.
Because the starting position is resting, there is no requirement for the inner unit of the core to stabilise the hips or spine. This means that the phasic muscles causing the movement will compensate for inner instability and be put under greater stress.
The movement required is forward flexion of the spine with the extended lever of the upper torso acting as the load. This puts an enormous amount of pressure on lumbar spine. Think about people who suffer back injury, how many people 'put their back out' whilst bending over? This is the exact same movement but with more direct gravitational pull directed onto the lumbar spine.
The sit up takes you into deep forward flexion of the spine and then returns to a lying position. Because hip flexion and forward spinal flexion are often concurrent patterns, there is muscular cross over in which areas are working and creating the movements. With the hips being flexed from the start and the hip flexor group being commonly dominant just as the upper abdominals are (rectus abdominus), these areas are most likely to innovate the pattern leaving the weaker, lower stomach (transverse abdominus) completely redundant. Over time and recurrence of this pattern, these muscles will distort posture, pull hip alignment into anterior tilt, pull shoulders forwards and leave high risk of low back injury.

So, what should replace this "ab" exercise? Here are some tips that will help you avoid this problem:

Stick with compound patterns that use the whole body from standing or functional positions
Avoid machines that require you to sit down or lie down
Learn how to breathe abdominally during strength exercises (pilates or good strength coaches can help)
Look to engage your inner and outer core during all strength exercises
Come along to one of our sessions (http://www.outfit-uk.com/)

Not just back pain but abdominal herniation and herniated discs have been reported as resulting from sit ups. Remember, when it comes to weight loss, toning and conditioning your body, you cannot spot reduce weight. Good nutrition and seeing the body as a whole unit will be much more helpful to get the shape you want.

Phill

References:
http://www.coachr.org/outer.htm
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/185016.php
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B83W8-4W20Y86-D&_user=10&_coverDate=02%2F28%2F2009&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_searchStrId=1322336905&_rerunOrigin=google&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=b61dccc4049d9b6381ed91a3e6f09d98

The big debate - Vote Health

2010-04-30T03:17:00.000-07:00

With the current election and party campaigns in full swing, I thought it'd be a good idea to pool peoples opinions on exercise. For those of us who enjoy it, we all have our own preference and often are quite passionate as to why we do it.

This blog is totally designed to get as many people as possible to read and add their preference and argument for why.

I'll start with saying kettlebells are something that most people should be doing. With the static and seated nature of modern living, glutes and low abdominals are too underactive, low back, hip flexors and hamstrings are generally speaking too dominant and kettlebells help with all that as well as improving cardiovascular fitness, strength, flexibility and they're no impact on the joints when done properly.

They're not everything but can form a great foundation. Who's next?

Does state influence exercise?

2010-04-28T03:47:00.000-07:00

We all know that doing exercise in some shape or form can be great for our health but why is it important to be in the right state?

Well, there are a number of reasons. Firstly, however you are feeling will control your hormonal balance, the level of cortisol, adrenal function and this manipulates how your body creates and thrives with energy. Already, just by thinking in the right way you will make massive strides towards getting your body to deliver the right response for you whether it be weight loss, increase stamina or strength. It is true that being upset, angry or depressed increases fat storage. Think of it like this, primally, times that would stress the mind and body would be starvation or being under threat. As a coping mechanism, the body would realise this and store fat as a means of survival.

Secondly, your state dictates your mental energy, neuromuscular focus and your muscular response. If you want to go running but you're feeling lousy, worthless or upset then your body won't be operating properly. You'll have less access to energy reserves, your body will be at greater risk of injury and you'll be missing out on a heightened sense of control physically.

So, how do you adopt the right state for what you want? Well, state should be situational just like many things. By matching your state to the task in hand then you'll be setting all your internal control settings to the right coordinates. If you are wanting to stretch and increase flexibility then you should be relaxed, decresing muscular and neurological tension. If you're going to lift weights then feeling strong, decisive and engaged would help make your body alert, fired up and present.

By taking a few minutes prior to exercising and reflecting on the type of exercise in hand, you can start to identify what state is needed. Once you know the state, then think back to a time when you had this, put yourself mentally back in that state and walk with it into the new session.

Again, primally, fight or flight responses would control the mental state relative to the situation accordingly to give the body what it needs. In times of danger, being alert to move quickly, be strong and decisive would improve the likelyhood of survival. Just because modern lifestyle doesn't involve the same dangers or conerns doesn't mean that the bodies requirements aren't the same.

As a final thought, focus and engagement are important but don't ignore the importance of play. Being social, fun and interactive with movement is very much a natural thing and should be incorporated into your habits.

Phill

Why is exercising too much dangerous?

2010-04-21T00:19:00.000-07:00

It's quite strange that over the last few years my life has been shaped around exciting both trainers and individuals about exercise and movement and here I am now talking about putting a cap on the exercise you do. The two biggest trends that I see are that people either don't exercise enough or they do too much. It seems that exercise is like a drug, used in the right way, it can do wonders for the body yet used excessively, it can be dangerously harmful.

We're all well aware of the benefits of exercise and how it remains a crucial part of a healthy lifestyle yet few really understand the physiological and psychological implications of over-exercising. It's worth having a look at some of the common issues that arise:

Instead of building muscle, too much exercise destroys muscle as the body receives insufficient nutrition and recovery time forcing it to break down muscle tissue for energy.
Bones, cartilage, tendons, ligaments and joints are all under excessive pressure and often become damaged. When minor injuries aren't allowed to heal, these often result in long term damage.
Females over-exercising can disrupt the balance of hormones in their body including the menstrual cycle. Some females lose periods altogether and can suffer from premature bone loss.
Exhaustion and fatigue.
An even bigger threat is the strain put on the heart and cardiovascular system. When an individual over-exercises as well as committing to unhealthy weight loss through crash diets, restricting intake, diet pills or vomiting, the stress put on their body can be sometimes a fatal mixture.
Depression and anxiety can plague compulsive exercisers. Fixated on keeping fit completely rules lives. With low self-esteem, negative self-image and often a feeling of worthlessness, individuals can often avoid withdraw from friends and family to spend excessive time fixated to exercising.

Well, how can we help. Spotting warning signs will help identify this common problem. A person may be exercising compulsively if he or she:

Never skip a workout, even if tired, sick or injured
Doesn't enjoy exercising yet feels obligated to do it
Feels irrationale guilt or anger when missing a workout
exercises for twice as long as normal in the event of missing an exercise session
Is constantly preoccupied with his or her weight, shape and exercise routine
Doesn't like to sit still or relax for constant fear of not burning enough calories
Has lost a significant amount of weight
Exercises more after eating more believing that meals must be 'burnt off'
Skips meeting friends and family and gives up responsibility to spend time exercising
Seems to base self worth on quantity of exercise or effort levels
Is never satisfied with his or her personal achievements

Spotting them is half the battle. Remember that in your opinion, it may seem blatantly obvious that their exercise habits or under eating habits are compulsive. Yet these are part of what the individuals believes and dismissing these as excessive and ridiculing them may not be a great way to improve rapport or understanding. Be kind, loving, encouraging, listen and try to help the individual become more confident. In extreme cases, always seek professional guidance. This ideally would be with the permission of the individual but compulsive habits can be fatal in extreme cases. Let common sense prevail.

Are you sitting comfortably?

2010-04-14T02:32:00.000-07:00

Ok, the last entry was not so much of a nutshell and more a giant coconut shell so my job here is to be a little more succinct.

To wrap up the 6 key points of health I'm going to talk a little bit about recovery and relaxation. Something that seems not to be a common part of modern living. Work is hectic, home is hectic, family is hectic, having an iPhone is hectic, let's face it, life is pretty hectic...if you allow it to be!

Just as, if not more important that doing exercise, recovery dictates whether or not you acually benefit from the exercise and the healthy food that you're taking on or whether it causes stress and damage.

The key thing that drives this is the nervous and hormonal system. These things must be considered. You have probably heard the term fight or flight. Todays society can often cause people to remain in a fight of flight state for long periods of time. This can mean constant pumping of adrenaline into the body, elevated heart rate and blood pressure and the enhanced release of cortisol or other state hormones. These are the key control units that make certain things happen. For example, if you have are stressed about something, regardless of what activity you are doing (running, watching TV or eating) then your body releases cortisol.

Cortisol can be a positive input to the body when not prolonged: increased cognitive function, temporary increased energy levels, immune function and inflammatory response. However, when state isn't returned to the relaxation response then the body can suffer: blood sugar imbalances, supressed thyroid function, decreased bone density, decreased muscle tissue, high blood pressure, lowered immunity and increased abdominal fat.

There are a number of key aspects to recovery and improving the relaxation response:

Getting quality sleep - everyone is different and notice that the term is quality. Not just having enough sleep but real quality. Our ancestors used to sleep from dusk until dawn. If you're waking tired then the quality may not be there.
Clearing the mind - the conscious mind is not designed to be constantly task orientated. The unconscious mind can keep whirling whilst you refresh your conscious. Think of it like a web browser, when you open more and more windows when surfing the web, the speed suffers and becomes disorganised. This is precisely what happens with the mind. Try and clear your head atleast once daily. Whether it is music, stretching, going for a long walk, exercise or kareoke. Clearing the conscious mind is essential
Muscular Recovery - When your body has undertaken a demanding or physical task, let it recover. Long runs, intense exercise, lifting weights or manual work pull, stretch, impact and ask a huge demand of the body. The only way you'll recover is by giving the entire system time. Upto 48 hours is often necessary for the muscles to repair and as you get more and more in tune with your own body you'll learn to know what it needs to fully feel repaired, strong and revitalised. (Starting exercise feeling sore, tired and low in energy is a very clear message - your body isn't recovered, therefore it won't benefit optimally)
Nutrition - Getting the right sort of foods into your body is essential. Remember that for the purpose of recovery, your body does not store lots of readily available energy stores. When exercising, post exercise nutrition is paramount. Think of it like hunting, primal man worked hard for a catch and enjoyed the feast soon after. If your body works hard then enjoy your catch straight away. The sooner the better as your body will crave energy - if you wait over an hour then your body will have already started to look elsewhere for energy supplies (your muscles)
Hydration - As I mentioned previously, everything that occurs in the body requires the presence of water. Regular sips are best and avoid naughty disguised wannabees like coffee, cola, sugary drinks and other fluids that do not hydrate the body one iota. Also, drink water at room temperature to benefit from it more rapidly.

Hope this is useful. Just about to get our new outfit site launched - exciting times. http://www.outfit-uk.com/

Phill

Exercise in a nutshell

2010-04-03T00:34:00.000-07:00

Well, here is me trying to wrap another huge subject up in a very short effort. Exercise is one strange topic and I honestly don't feel like it is truly understood at all. In general terms, people seem to do far too much of it or not enough. So, how can we get it right? Just like many things - unfortunately, we're all completely different machines and therefore cannot operate by the precise same guidelines. Understanding your own body will help you move towards finding out how best to service it.

If you look at modern lifestyle, it is so far completely removed from not just a few thousand years ago but a few hundred years ago. Firstly, we spend hours in a sitting position, this just isn't natural and causes no end of damage from a functional perspective. In short, hip flexors become hypertonic, shortened but weak, glutes become phasic, lengthened and inhibited which then causes the stabilisers of the hips, spine and organs (the core) to then become inhibited which forces lower back muscles to take over in holding your torso up-right. We are animals and if you look at the animal kingdom, I'm sure we could all agree on a number of instinctive priorities which reside over most carnivores: hunting, forraging, building home, maintaining home, procreation and upbringing of young. Well, many of those still remain relevant but some have hugely evolved. Hunting and forraging is done mainly in supermarkets, online, over the phone and at the nearest fast food spot. Building home is done by builders. Maintaining is done with a vacuum cleaner, a feather duster and some Mr Sheen. Ok, you get the picture, I could go on. The fact is that whilst lifestyle has evolved massively, the body's requirements haven't and the clear evidence of this is that obesity levels have never been so frightening, back pain, chronic injury, RSI, disease, are all terms that scarily we can associate with close friends and family.

Here are some simple pointers that can help you make the right decisions when exercising:

Mix what you do! The body is designed to move and function in all manner of ways. By mixing steady controlled movements with higher intensity, you'll support your body by achieving greater stability and not just lots of mobility. Repeating one specific pattern like cycling over and over again can cause problems. Include as many different patterns as you can into your exercise: extension, flexion, squat, lunge, push, pull, hold, roll, jump, walk, crawl, run, bound, abduct etc. Not only will your body benefit more, your exercise will be heaps more interesting.
Work out and work on! Since the 80's Jane Fonda revolution, many people seem to believe that exercise has to be fast tempo, sweaty and constant hard work. As I've already mentioned, the body is designed to do all sorts of key functions, working on your posture and alignment is just as important as getting moving. Having an efficient kinetic chain (your musculature and skeleton) will help you get the most out of everything you do.
Commit to things you enjoy! If you don't enjoy something, don't kid yourself and find something else. Using running as an example, many people don't like it yet force themselves with grimace and all to put on the trainers and take to the streets. Going for a long and brisk walk would be just as, if not more beneficial.
Include more social activities! You may be in a minority and not enjoy the company of others but we are social creatures and right to a genetic level, we need interaction, support and social engagement. Not only will the time seem to pass quicker, but you'll learn more, have more motivation and statistically, you're more likely to stay with it.
Make time for recovery! Think of it like this, if you were having to hunt for food and you just had made a really tough but great catch which took the wind out of you, then you won't need to go hunting immediately. We hunt because we have to and the eating and recovering part are essential to your body for it to actually benefit. Remember that exercise is stressing and damaging that body. The only reason that we benefit from it is through the repair that occurs afterwards. If this is non-existant then so is the benefit.

Hope this is useful and I'll be adding more to this rather large topic in future blogs.

Phill

Nutrition

2010-03-24T05:17:00.000-07:00

Probably the biggest and yet least understood topic when it comes to health, fitness and wellbeing. To try and summarise it in a blog is a big challenge so I'm going to avoid specifics and instead, look at some common sense principes that can help.

Well, firstly, correct me if I'm wrong but the general perception of food now is luxury, comfort and taste but essentially food is fuel and should be seen as this. The problem is that we've developed as a race to now modify taste, growth, genetic make up and pretty much any aspect of food stuff for the benefit of convenience and satisying seemingly sweeter tooth.

Don't get me wrong, food should be enjoyed but also understood. Like the body of any other creature, the human body is a machine. And just like a machine, it requires the right types of fuel and nutrients to operate properly and effectively. The mystery of nutrition breaks down into not just figuring out what foods work well for you, but also when to eat and how. I'm not suggesting that we all eat like primates but looking at the eating habits of animals helps understand how the body is intended to take on fuel. With food being overly available nowadays (certainly in the western world) it can be a challenge to know when to eat. Generally, the wild habit of a creature is to hunt, eat and sleep. This just doesn't really equate to modern lifestyle as checking emails and blogging doesn't fit into this. However, we can draw from these principles. One key is that eating comes after the hunt which in modern terms is exercise and any efforts that expend considerable amounts of energy. Food is there to refuel, repair and revitalise. This in my experience is one of the biggest problems with many people's nutrition. It seems to be a common belief that doing exercise just burns calories and so eating afterwards would be crazy as that was the entire purpose for exercising. It doesn't work like this. The body can only store a very limited supply of readily available calories and with exercising essentially being damage, without replacing, refuelling and repairing, proteins and nutrients are taken from muscles and other body cells which then leave the body open to all kinds of problems.

Just like you wouldn't try and fuel your car on lemonade, you wouldn't knowingly want to try and run your body on something that just did it harm. Well, maybe this is something to think about when putting items into your trolley. Here's a few simple suggestions to help get the right foods for you:

Only eat things that were once living (I know Mars is a planet but that's no excuse)
Don't go to the super market when you're hungry
Eat fresh as much as possible
Plan your meals - bored of eating the same foods? google foods beginning with...(go through the alphabet)
Make you plate as colourful as wonka-land with fresh foods
Don't leave huge gaps between meals
Continually sip plenty of water
Sit down to enjoy your meals and try to eat in company when possible

It is a few pointers and Jenny would be happy to give you more specific support if you'd like to find out more jenny@creatingchaos.co.uk

Phill and Jenny

Drink your way to a thinner waist line

2010-03-17T02:56:00.000-07:00

I must apologise for the constant reference to weight loss, I'm just very aware that when talking about health related things, relating it to something that people want really helps people engage in what is being said. In the world that we live in, weight loss is by far the biggest goal on a fitness level for most people. You only have to pop to your nearest newsagents to see that many front pages on tabloids and publications make direct reference to weight loss, some amazing super pills, a current celebrity who has either put weight on or been on a journey of weight loss.

So, back to the article. Well, firstly, I'm not talking about wine so put down the bottle. I'm purely talking about water. It's a remarkable mineral and no matter how much the human race evolves, it's importance will never leave us. As I have previously mentioned, the body is made up of almost 70% water. Every reaction and process that takes place in the body relies on the presence of water. This includes repair, growth, metabolism, digestion, detoxification and heaps more.

One of the problems is that nowadays, although many drinks seem to be water based, they contain so many other additives, chemicals, diuretics that can almost completely inhibit the benefit of what the water would provide. Diuretics are one of the most common problem chemicals that swarm common beverages. Coffee, tea and cola all contain the diuretic caffeine. This elevates the rate of urination and serves to attack hydration on a cellular level meaning your cells start to dry up like prunes.

Even if you eat a seemingly healthy diet or do a reommended amount of exercise, not being hydrated means that you won't benefit like you could do. Cells won't have the water levels to execute cellular repair and the break down of fat and sugars to create energy will be pretty sluggish.

How much water is recommended? As a rough guide, a daily intake of 1 fluid ounce of water for every kg of body weight will keep your body sustained. Further to this, 1 litre for every hour of exercise.

The easiest way is to have a bottle of water with you at all times. Having cups and glasses of water now and again can be difficult to monitor but if you have a litre bottle and look to drink two bottles worth through the day (depending on your bodyweight) would be easier to manage.

Regular sips and actually drinking water at room temperature will also benefit you as your stomach won't need to actually warm the water up prior to it being used throughout your body.

Headaches, tiredness, lulls in energy and even migraines can often be symptoms of dehydration.

Breathe your way to a great core

2010-03-08T13:55:00.000-08:00

Ok, now we've looked a little at state, I'll move onto breathing. That said, I will come back to state as it is incredible how much it controls.

Working in this industry for a few years, I have had more strange looks when I tell clients we're going to get them breathing properly than anything else.

There are a number of things I'd like to go over with breathing, initially the function of it within most adults and also, ideal application of breathing within exercise.

As I mentioned in an earlier blog, as babies, we all breathe from our stomachs, this is the natural habit as trends go, we unlearn through adolesence into adulthood. The problem being that as we breathe higher in the lungs, the usual recruitment of the lower abdominal area becomes completely redundant. In an area that, due to prolonged periods of sitting down is already very dysfunctional, this almost completely confirms the need not to engage within low trunk (inner core units - transverse abdominus, mulitifidus, pelvic floor, diaphragm) and subsequently, the upper stomach, thorax, chest and shoulder areas become overly involved in respiration. Again, these areas, due to postural dysfunction are highly overactive and become more and more tonic leading to further postural issues.

It's probably about time that I gave some ideas on how you can improve breathing. Well, before I mention an exercise, it is worth knowing that when embedding a new pattern of movement or habit to the body, it can take around 2,000 repetitions. However, when trying to correct a faulty pattern or habit, it can take in excess of 5,000. Needless to say, practice makes permanent and is very necessary to achieve automacy (unconscious competency).

1. Lying on your back, knees bent and feet flat, relax all shoulder, neck and back muscles.
2. Inhale through nose and simultaneously inflate the stomach.
3. Once stomach inflated, draw stomach by pulling naval back towards spine
4. Expire breath through the mouth and look to achieve a stronger abdominal contraction through expiration
5. Look to encourage the lower abdominals doing the work throughout steps and return to step 1. Repeat for 3-5 minutes

A really simple exercise that is designed to encourage this habit within function and movement and not just isolation. It is crucial initially to isolate this pattern as attempting into movement immediately involves a huge number of stressors and deomands.

Finally, what I'm going to mention is awareness of breathing. We all develop habits of breathing which are usually done at a subconscious level. One is specific to running. Many runners at some point come into contact with niggles and small injuries that can be tough to shake off. Many that are associated with impact but difficult to accurately pin down. As we have already illuded, expiration is a contraction and when breathing out whilst running, a certain amount of pressure is created. Most runners breathe out whilst stepping onto one side only during running and over time, this increased pressure can cause significant problems within the musculoskeletal system. If you want something to occupy your grey matter in your next run, try alternating the side that you breathe out on whilst running.

That's probably enough to take in for now

Phill

Getting fit and staying fit

2010-03-03T15:00:00.000-08:00

Further to the first blog, I've decided to break down the key stages that I mentioned as the key steps to fitness.

Fitness is quite a subjective term. It's pretty vague and only has true application for the activity in question. In my short experience, I've seen how rapidly people can become very focussed on health and wellbeing and equally, how rapid can lose the desire completely. The real driver when it comes to consistency is thoughts and whether you like the notion or not, it is always a decision. We all have the choice of whether we eat fast food 5 nights a week or whether we cook from fresh. We all have the choice of whether we finish working out at the first spot of a perspiring brow or whether we push ourselves further than before.

Having personal experience of working towards a very specific event, I feel confident that I understand the level of commitment needed to start and stick to a journey of fitness. The actual doing of exercise is a pretty small part of the process. One of the greatest key points is being in control of your life! It is worth answering this question for yourself:

Are you responsible for your life, your success and your failure or do you feel that you're often a result of bad luck and suffer due to the actions and behaviour of others?

The reality is that we all have the capacity to control our own lives, it is merely deciding to do so that makes the difference. As a child, I always noticed that on one level people fall into two different brackets: they're either spectators or participants. I'm sure we can all resonate with the type of people who constantly talk about the lives of others, passing opinion and commenting on situations, sometimes positively and sometimes not. Finally, there are those that just get on and do! They're busy, organised and constantly engaging in the fruits of life and commonly it is these types of people that are successful. Deciding which side you are and which side you want to be is merely a choice.

It's all very well me writing a simple classification and effectively becoming a spectator in that but how can you improve your ability to become a do'er?

Well, in my experience, it is a science. There are certain trends that successful people tend to follow. Some of these we've all done in the past and often without really knowing that we're doing them. Hopefully this makes sense and although I'm writing it specific to getting and staying fit, it is very much a frame that can be employed against pretty much any field.

You may be aware of the SMART goal setting. Just to recap - Specific, Measurable, Agreed, Realistic and Timebound. A great and simple structure for embarking on any fitness journey. It's essential to have a specific goal that is attainable, set to a date and true for you. However, there are a couple of things that aren't in this system which are possibly the most important. When making decisions, we are all tied with emotions. Emotions are the most powerful drivers in the body and knowing this allows us to employ them for positive results. What I would suggest is using a SMARTER system to embark on a journey. The additions are Emotional attachment / enjoyment and Reward.

Emotional attachment is understanding why the goal is important to you and you can do this on your own. If your goal is weight loss, ask yourself 'for what purpose'. You can repeat this question until you get to an answer which has some emotive weight within you. You are the only person who will know this and knowing this helps you understand the real intention behind your desires. As you understand the intention, you'll be able to remind yourself more frequently of the true intention. Further to this, enjoyment is crucial and again, you are the only person that knows whether or not you enjoy something. When it comes to exercise, there are so many options out there that there is never a need to drag yourself through 60 minutes of boredom or anger. Test, adjust and figure out what you enjoy. Don't give up looking until you are absolutely convinced that you truly enjoy whatever you are committing to.

The final part of the acronym is Reward. The competitive nature of modern living has somehow removed the skill of self-gratification. Acknowledging your own achievement is a crucial aspect to a balanced mentality. Make sure that when you embark on a journey, have something clear that will be the reward to mark effort and commitment...and stick to it.

When I decided to run 7 marathons in a week, my driver was 3 weeks in New Zealand. On day 2, having tripped and twisted my knee, the last thing I wanted to do was get up and run another 5 and a half marathons. However, the emotional driver that I had and the reward were so great that I actually don't remember focussing on my knee for the rest of the week.

The mind is a powerful tool, direct it towards the things you want and have an awareness of the things that you don't.

Phill

the secret of weight loss

2010-02-22T23:38:00.000-08:00

As it is something that almost everyone seems to have some level of interest in, I thought it be a great topic to begin the blog. Weight loss is something that is sought after and branded as a necessity for keeping up with the jones's. Staying at your fighting weight, stripped to the bone almost seems to be marketed as a positive thing and whilst I don't necessarily agree with this, I appreciate that it hits a lot of buttons for a lot of people.

The problem in my opinion is that people purely look at the result 'weight loss' and rarely at the what actually delivers this. The easiest and quickest options are rarely the most long standing but to achieve sustainable weight loss, it's crucial to look at the whole picture as ultimately, all you're asking is that the body starts working properly. This would make sense as the body is an incredible machine and working properly, it wouldn't be natural for it to be in overweight state or obese. The body is designed as a hunting, gathering and functional unit that is born to survive. When it comes down to it, all weight loss effectively is getting to body to work properly. For this to happen, there are 6 key functions that need to be working properly, many of them, we're comfortable with but it's crucial to go back to basics. Modern lifestyle is a million miles away from what the body requires. So, what are these steps?

State - how your thoughts control your life or how you control your thoughts
Breathing - Breathing from the lower 3rd of the stomach and not the chest (most adults breath shallow from the chest)
Hyrdration - Upto 70% of the body is water so it stands to reason that being hydrated is crucial to the internal function of the body. Indeed every occurance within the body requires the presence of water
Nutrition - What a huge topic - the simple rule is, if it wasn't living, don't eat it
Movement - Stability is crucial before mobility, and then comes strength, endurance and all the other more goal orientated drives
Relaxation - Often ignored and seen as a luxury, a crucial focus that should be as important as any other regular fixture

I'll be putting more and more onto the blog with some videos and pictures but this should hopefully drive a few thoughts

Phill