Find Your Perfect Fit...

BLOG HAS MOVED!

2009-12-01T09:34:00.000-08:00

Hey all

Just to let you know I am no longer updating this blog - all new posts will be at one of the following:

http://www.perfectfitforlife.com/blog
http://www.outdoorfitforlife.com/blog-2/
http://www.kettlebellebody.com/blog

Or you can join the member site FREE: http://carolineradway.ning.com

Leigh Peele Launching Groundbreaking 'Body By Eats'

2009-10-08T07:00:00.000-07:00

HOOOORRRAYYYYYY!

Fat loss LEGEND Leigh Peele, author of the seminal 'Fat Loss Troubleshoot' is soon to launch the eagerly awaited 'Body By Eats'

Leigh is nothing if not original and groundbreaking with her work and she really has delivered on this one. Tons of information about fat loss, food safety, organics, pesticides, and food.

Did I mention the food? The recipes amazing! She's even including cauliflower cake, so she has taste!

She's also created an audiobook version so you can listen on your Ipod or in the car - unfortunately my Ipod has broken and my van has a rubbish cassette player only so I'm reading all the way, but hopefully you're in a better listening position than I!

If you want to hear a preview of the book you can check it out here, it's not on sale till 23rd October, but this will whet your appetite (click the image):

Gluten Free Nut Free Low Carb & Cal Bread Recipe!

2009-09-11T04:42:00.001-07:00

So, the cake has been going down pretty well! Even a few have been tricked into thinking it was 'normal' cake so all good!

The bread recipe is pretty similar:

700 g cauliflower
175g unflavoured protein powder (I used Reflex Instant Whey)
2 eggs,
Tsp baking powder
Spices to taste: Celtic sea salt and ground black pepper plus others as you like - first batch I used garam masala and lots of cumin, another batch I used rosemary. Could also add nuts, dried fruit - whatever! Let me know what you try!

Steam then puree the cauliflower while the oven is heating up to 150 degrees centigrade (whatever that is in crazy F...).
Stir in the egg (ideally let the cauliflower cool a bit so it doesn't scramble on contact!) and the protein powder and spices.
Add the tsp baking powder.

Pour into large, flat flan tins, greased lightly with coconut oil for best results (I tried with cake / loaf tins but ended up a bit too moist for convincing bread).

Place into the oven (150 degrees C) for about 30 mins, or until the colour has changed to golden brown. You can adjust cooking time to come out with a moister or drier bread to suit.

Leave to cool, or eat some straight away with butter and marmite if you have a yearning for such a thing (something from my childhood I miss without bread in my diet, so was the first thing I did, straight out of the oven, yum!)

I cut each large, flatbread into 4 quarters, then keep some in the fridge and freeze the rest individually. Then just toast on low to defrost and re-heat as you want them.

For a pizza base, you would just take the full bread out, add toppings as you like then return to the oven on 'grill'.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:

Whole recipe:

1015 cals, 47.7 carb of which 24.5 fibre, 20.4 fat, 166.4 protein.

If you split into 10 slices, therefore, its 101 cals per slice, with 4.7 carbs, 2.45 fibre, 2 g fat and 16.4 protein - a result!

Lush served with low fat goats cheese and tomato, or mushrooms sauteed in coconut oil (with a poached egg and tomato) or whatever you desire!!!

Finally, a bread alternative that isn't just bread in disguise nutritional-breakdown-wise!

Enjoy and let me know how you go with it!

Gluten and Sugar Free Cake Recipe - also low in calories and fat, and high in fibre!

2009-09-08T04:29:00.000-07:00

So, I've been playing with the recipes for my cake (and bread / pizza base) and think I've managed to nail it!

NICE AND SPICEY CHOC PUMPKIN NO-GUILT CAKE:

600g cauliflower
16 oz / 425g tin of pureed pumpkin
2 med / large eggs
200 g chocolate protein powder of choice
1 tsp baking powder
Spices such as cinnamon, ginger, mixed spice to taste.

1. Steam the cauliflower for 5-10 mins till soft enough to puree
2. Pre-heat the oven to 150 degrees C and lightly grease 2 - 3 loaf tins with coconut oil
3. Puree the cauliflower till it's smooth
4. Stir in the canned pumpkin and 2 eggs (not the shells of course...)
5. Stir in the protein powder and spices
6. Add a tsp of baking powder and stir thoroughly
7. Divide into 3 loaf tins, you want it to be about 3-4 cm high ideally so it cooks evenly
8. Place in the oven and bake for between 40 and 60 mins, till browned on the top. This does depend on how thick you fill the tins, so you may need to experiment. Also you may prefer a drier cake or a more moist cake, so this is your call!
9. Remove from the oven (be careful, its hot!) and leave to call for a few mins, then turn out onto cooling racks to completely cool.
10. Divide each loaf up as you want to! 10 pieces in total means each piece has 125 cals, 19 g protein, 2.3 g fat, 8.2g carb of which 4g is fibre. Not a bad outcome for chocolate cake, hey?

NUTRITIONAL BREAKDOWN FOR WHOLE RECIPE (using Reflex Instant Whey):

1227 cals
23.4 g fat
81.6g carb of which 40.2 g is FIBRE!
191g protein

You can of course use this as a base and play with it as you like - add nuts, seeds, fruit or whatever!

Try it out and let me know how it goes!

First, Cauliflower Pizza, then Cauliflower Chocolate Spice Cake!

2009-08-14T03:04:00.000-07:00

OK, so the fact that cauliflower was soooo successful as a pizza base got me thinking.... How about cake??!!

I've been making homemade protein bars with protein powder, nuts and seeds, but these end up being pretty calorific, and even when I eat 100% 'clean' I still need to watch overall cals (as most people do) as its sooo easy to splish a little extra olive oil here and chomp a few extra nuts here, that can easily take us out of calorie deficit!

In fact, since trying to wean myself off Calorie King, my weight had gone up a few lb, and its only going back to careful tracking and keeping my intake under control that I've easily lost those annoying lb and feel so much more in control, as I know where I'm at...

So, the cauliflower thought combined with the fact that I'm away next weekend, climbing Snowdon and staying in a B&B with healthy sounding but of course not remotely healthy 'continental breakfast' and I decided to get baking!

And, to my surprise, it worked!!!

So, check out my own invented recipe: CAULICHOCOSPICE CAKE!

1 head of cauliflower (about 700g)
Splash low carb almond milk (I get this stuff: http://www.bevital.co.uk/acatalog/Milk_Substitutes.html)
1 tin pureed pumpkin (I get Libby's - those in the UK need to order and avoid getting tempted by 'candy' while shopping: CANNED PUMPKIN, or you can just steam pumpkin or butternut squash)
1-2 tsp ground ginger
1-2 tsp mixed spice
3 large eggs
100g chocolate protein powder (I used Reflex Instant Whey for this)
Tsp baking powder (I added this, not sure if it was necessary)
Coconut oil to grease tray

Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees C.
Steam the cauliflower and puree it with a hand blender (add a splash of almond milk if you like)
Mix with pumpkin, spices, eggs, protein.
Grease 2 cake tins with coconut oil.
Split mixture into the cake tins (you may want to use 1 larger one, or could try cookie / muffin trays, up to you!)
Place in the oven and bake for 30 ish minutes (again, you'll need to experiment a bit depending on the thickness of the cake - could have done mine for longer but was nice and moist)

Leave to cool then split into 8 servings...

NUTRITIONAL INFO (based on the protein I used personally so if you use different you'll need to adjust):

Per recipe (1/8th would be a snack at around 120 cals and 15 g protein)

969 cals
25g fat
123g protein
83g carbs, of which 40g fibre.

Wisdom Tooth Extraction Leads to DELICIOUS Ice Cream Discovery!

2009-08-13T09:32:00.000-07:00

So, I had an impromptu wisdom tooth removal this morning, which led to a wonderful discovery - a new 'ice cream' recipe!

This would be perfect as dessert after the following 'pizza' (see the forum for these and more: http://carolineradway.ning.com/forum/topics/healthy-recipes). Who needs cheat meals when you have recipes like these, huh?

CAULI-PIZZA-LICIOUS:

1 cup cooked, pureed cauliflower
1 egg
Mixed herbs / celtic sea salt / black pepper to taste...

TOPPING: Up to you: Tomato puree, more herbs, slices of tomato, slices of mushroom, spinach and feta all would be good! A great (excuse the auditory pun, ha ha) topping would be a small amount of parmesan, as a little goes a long way.

As this is just veg I would definitely reccomend either topping with some fish or lean meat or having a small piece along side - there is an egg but you ideally want a bit more protein than that....

HOW TO:

Preheat oven to 200 degrees C
Spray a cake tin with non-stick spray or lightly coat with coconut oil.
In a medium bowl, combine cauliflower, egg and herbs. Press evenly on the pan.
Bake for 20-30 minutes (more if you double the recipe).

Remove the pan from the oven. Add toppings.
Place under a grill or back in the oven to heat the toppings.

YUMMMMMMM.........

Follow with the following AWESOME ice cream:

75 g frozen blueberries
10-15g whey protein (choc or vanilla is good, I use Reflex Instant whey or SunWarrior Rice Protein from Mike Mahler)
Tsp mixed spice, tsp ground ginger
50ml low carb almond milk
(Optional, some frozen spinach - ha ha, I did just make it with this and you'd never know!)

Works best in a Magic Bullet in my view, as you can eat it out of the pot you blend it in, but any blender should do the trick.

Place all the ingredients in the blender. Blend as much or as little as you want - hardly blended makes it feel more fruity, just now I did it till the thing was smooth, as was trying to get the frozen spinach blended in...

DE-LISH-US!!!

Oh yeah, and the ratios above make it 75-90 cals, depending on the protein, 10-12 g protein and 8-10g carb... Double winner. And easy to eat when you've just had a tooth out - no excuses for ice cream!

Holiday Workout

2009-08-11T01:42:00.000-07:00

I just gave a client a bodyweight workout to do on her imminent vacation and thought that I would share it with all of you, it being holiday season and all!

So, if you need something to do at home in between Outdoor Fit for Life Group Training sessions, or if you want to boost energy and vitality while on holiday (or make up for some over-indulgences!) then give this a go....

5 mins dynamic warm up, stretch as necessary.

Bodyweight Squats with hands behind head, prisoner style x 15
Kneeling press ups x 15
Single leg deadlift x 10 each leg
Triceps Dips x 12
Side lunges 15 each side
Dragon lunge walks 10 steps each leg
Dolphin x 12

Perform the circuit 1 - 3 times with minimal rest between exercises and a minute between circuits. You can alteratively super-set the exercises, pairing upper and lower body and repeating that superset 3 times then moving on to the next.

Follow with 10 mins of skipping, 30 s on, 15-30 s off (or try stair running, run up and walk back down). You can also add skipping in between exercises, supersets or circuits to up the cardio intensity throughout the workout.

CORE WORK:

Windmill x 8 each side
Bird Dog x 8 each side (hold 3 s)
Knee drop x 10 each side
Reverse curls x 15
Side plank 15 - 30 s
Plan 30 - 60 s

Then stretch tight muscle groups...

Fat Loss Freebies for You!

2009-08-10T01:45:00.001-07:00

Are you feeling like a bit of extra motivation or focus? Are you still struggling with a stubborn few lb of fat that just won't budge?

In that case, you might want to get on over to http://www.freefatlosstips.com/ where there is acccess to free fat loss tips, tricks and techniques from experts around the world - but hurry, as it's this week only!

Daniel Munday, Georgette Pann, Spida Hunter, Mark Raynsford, James Kerrison, Dan Grant, Dave Soucy and myself are all giving away goodies that will see you out of your rut and shedding bodyfat in no time - and it's all ther for the taking! Check out: http://www.freefatlosstips.com/

I'm giving away an exclusive KettleBelleBody fat loss programme: you can get this, along with all the other fat loss freebies at

http://www.freefatlosstips.com/

Make sure you tell your friends about this one as I don't want them to miss out either!

Are You Lazy? Try Meditating...

2009-08-07T03:10:00.000-07:00

I've recently been advised to start meditating (yes, I know, its been a long time coming!).

I got the advice from my coach, Mike Mahler, who recommended I try the Holosync Programme. I bought the programme immediately and found that I got immediate benefits in terms of reduced stress, increased energy and an impoved sense of wellbeing. 30 mins listening to the CD feels like a mini vacation!

CDs are a great way to get into meditation, for people (like me) who would struggle to make the time, or spend the full time meditating 'properly'. You also get the benefits that take years to get to with 'traditional' meditation, as the CDs are designed to actually take your brain into an alpha or theta brainwave state, whereas with traditional meditation it can take years of practice to get there.

I have also bought a book on Mindful Meditation (the proper, hard work version!) which I aim to try to practice alongside the CDs. But the CDs are great for making me stay in the meditation for the full 30 or 60 mins, and are also great to listen to while going to sleep at night, to put on if you wake and can't get back to sleep, and also to listen to if you wake 30-60 mins before you actually need to get up (I do that a lot!). The Holosync guys recommend you actually get up an hour earlier if you really can't find (aka make) time in the rest of your day, as the effect of the CD will be even more beneficial than the same amount of sleep!

The best time to listen to the CDs is after your workout - and I love the double endorphin hit this gives you! Not only is it a great way to feel doubly great after your workout, but it is a fantastic boost to your recovery - and its kind of nice not having to go straight into 'real life' after a hard kettlebell workout!

This has an added benefit, though. According to Mike, the typical habit of eating your post workout meal or shake straight after training is flawed logic hormonally, as growth hormone peaks 30 mins after training. Immediately stimulating insulin kills the GH response and we want to make the most of as much GH as we can! Meditation also boosts hormone balance, increasing DHEA and reducing cortisol.

I have the Holosync CDs, these are the ones Mike uses and recommends. My only gripe is that they are big on trying to upsell you to further levels, which is quite annoying! I have already received a few sales letters in the post and the initial level is not cheap, so I don't want to invest any more in it just yet! So long as you can ignore the upsells then they are great though.

I have also just discovered the Immrama Institute which offer similar CDs, these are cheaper and I'm not sure what the difference is, if there is any. I've ordered the Ocean Wave CD, so even if they have the same effect, I can change the sounds each time for a bit of variety (the Holosync is rain water and bell things, blissful to listen to!)

Each programme has a meditation CD as well as other CDs that you can listen to while studying, reading or working out, to get you into a heightened state of concentration, or 'the zone'. I've not actually used any of the other CDs yet, but will start using them - see if my articles and blog posts become better and more consistent to see if they are having a positive effect!

If you want to find out more, check out these links:

HOLOSYNC Programme
IMMRAMA CDs
MIKE MAHLER (loads of articles and resources on hormonal optimisation)

Post a comment below if you have personal experience with either of these, or if you have any questions!

Barefoot Training and Vibram Five Fingers

2009-07-17T09:12:00.000-07:00

I used to encase my feet 90% of the time in running trainers, for training, while training clients and for just general walking around, and I can see that many people do the same.

When I began to train with kettlebells I realised that running trainers were not the way forward - the soft, cushioned nature of the sole, creates unwanted instability and transmits forces to places you don't want them, increasing the risk of injury.

The general advice is, therefore, to train wearing flat soled shoes, such as Pumas - yes, the ones you buy for a fraction of the cost of running shoes, from the 'fashion' sports outlets! I used to think that anyone wearing those in the gym hadn't got a clue (which is often the case in fact) but now I realise the error of my ways!

I actually usually train completely barefoot when I can, as you are allowing the feet to do the work they were created to do! Rather than allowing over-supportive trainers to reduce our feet's need to work, we can strengthen them by training barefoot.

There are loads of nerve endings in the feet - by over-cushioning we desentise these important proprioceptors, so we are missing out of a really important aspect of training.

If you pronate (as in the arch of the foot rolls inwards), then barefoot training should encourage your glutes to work harder, which should reduce the pronation. If you need extra work to fire the glutes properly, then you need to make glute activation part of your warm up routine - most people should be doing this really. Wearing shoes that support you in this position do nothing for helping you to improve the situation - they accomodate the dysfunction, which can lead to further problems down the road, or up the kinetic chain...

To find out how you can test your own glutes and the steps you can take to rectify the situation, check out this article: http://figureathlete.tmuscle.com/free_online_article/most_recent/how_strong_are_your_glutes_really

Of course, when you are training outside or in a gym, barefoot training is not usually advised or allowed. Which is why I decided to invest in a pair of Vibram Five Fingers (see the pic!). They look kinda wierd and I was sure I'd only wear them in the relative privacy of the gym or my garden, but they are so comfortable I want to wear them all the time!

The toe 'fingers' that I thought would feel really wierd, are actually brilliant as they encourage your toes to spread, in the way you may have done at the beginning of a yoga class, but that regular shoes simply do not allow you to do. I can feel each toe becoming independent and controlled and working as they are meant to!

Try to isolate each toe (like drumming your fingers) and most people will really struggle. Some yoga teachers can do it, but most people just won't have the control. In fact, the first few times I put the VFFs on it took me ages to actually get my toes in the 'fingers' and I do go barefoot quite a lot already, as well as windsurfing / surfing barefoot. Today I managed to slide my feet in no probs - was quite exciting!

You can read all about them on their site: http://www.vibramfivefingers.com and they have a Facebook fan page too.

Plenty of runners are using the VFFs too, not just us kettlebellers and resistance training folks. Of course, you can't run as far or as fast to start with, and running in the VFFs will show you where your weaknesses are, as opposed to hiding them, but in the long run your body will be stronger, and surely that is the point of training?

For more on running and Vibram Five Fingers: http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/07/barefoot/

A recent article (I'll hunt it out and post the links in another post) likened it to jumping onto a big, soft, mattress as opposed to hard ground. Although you would think you land with more cushioning on the mattress, the body can experience more shock as the mattress is supposed to absorb it, so the body doesn't. If you jump onto hard floor, the body is forced to absorb the shock effectively itself, by flexing the relevant joints for a softer landing.

Pavel refers to it as the 'extensor reflex' that is turned off by adding cushioning to the soles of the foot (check out his blog post: here)

Would appreciate your comments - have you tried the Vibram Five Fingers? Are you still put off by the freakyness of them? Have I persuaded you to give them a go??

Operation Motivation

2009-07-16T01:31:00.000-07:00

A bit of a quiz for you - give it a go, there is a purpose, if you find that motivation can be hard to come by or elusive. If you want to get leaner and develop a body that looks good in shorts, turns heads on the beach and makes you feel totally confident - even out of clothes - then this is one quiz you'll want to take right now:

1. Do you have a diet or eating plan that you enjoy, and it's getting results for you, but you just can't seem to stay on it consistently?

for example:

* You're good all day long, then you cave in to night time munchies

* you're good all week, but on the weekends, it all falls apart (especially at restaurants or parties)

* You have a weakness to one (or more) certain comfort foods and you just can't seem to say no?

* When you travel, it just seems impossible to stay on it

2. Have you ever gotten in awesome shape - maybe even lost a LOT of fat and you felt great - but then you either binged all at once the minute the program was over, or your motivation slowly disappeared, and the weight slowly creptd back on?

3. Have you ever had a problem with skipping workouts or working out inconsistently?

4. Are you out of shape, overweight or just dissatisfied with your body and you just can't even seem to get started on any diet or workout program in the first place?

If you answered "yes" to ANY one of these questions, then you'll want to take a very close look at the information in this email... it applies especially to YOU.

If you said yes to 2 or more of these questions, then what you are about to read is nothing short of the answer to your prayers.

That answer is something called "OPERATION MOTIVATION", a simple system that provides a proven, practical and scientifically verified solution to every type of motivation problem and "Stick-to-it-ness" problem.

This isn't about a new training program or a specific type of diet plan, it's more universal than that, because it helps you follow ANY workout or nutrition plan better - and that's what counts, isn't it? ...

Read on for the details, or jump ahead to Tom Venuto's website where he explains this motivation solution, that he's offering as a gift.

Tom is the author of the pioneering ebook, Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle - that was the first ever ebook I bought, and in fact I recently discussed some of the concepts with one of my bootcampers who also has a copy: http://carolineradway.ning. com/forum/topics/your-one- burning-question. I actually have a different stance to him in several areas, which I discuss in the post, but it does not change the fact that his approach gets incredible results.

Tom also has a book on Amazon, The Bodyfat Solution, where he delves further into the mental side of fat loss - and really this is where his genius lies. So the release of Operation Motivation is well worth checking out.

Operation Motivation is a set of short lessons in ebook and special report format, that explains all the psychological skills that you need to learn in order to make permanent changes to your behaviour and your lifestyle.

Originally, this was a very exclusive 2 hour audio interview that Tom Venuto only offered to his top tier clients in his "Inner Circle"

A few days ago, that audio seminar was converted for the first time into a brief (about 50 pages) ebook, called "The Science of Goal Achievement: 10 Secrets of Subconscious mind power and 7 secrets of scientific goal setting."

This just-released, brand-new ebook is the flagship part of the programme because it teaches the most important skill necessary for motivating yourself and making lifestyle changes.

It's different than any book ever written on the subject because it approaches motivation and goal-achiving from a scientific perspective and even explains how neuroscientists have proven that these principles work (this aint psycho babble!)

Also in the OPERATION MOTIVATION package are the following supporting ebooks and special reports (7 courses in all):

* MOTIVATIONAL PROPULSION SYSTEMS: How to program your mind to automatically and habitually exercise your body (If this doesn't light a FIRE under your butt, nothing will)

* THE NEW VISUALIZATION BREAKTHROUGH: Take advantage of the mind-
body connection with the techniques sports psychologists have been teaching for decades, along with 1 new twist.

* SUCCESS SEMANTICS: The psychological explanation for how words
can enhance or destroy your health and how to turn failure talk into success talk

* THE GOAL ACHIEVER'S SECRET WEAPON: How a cheap little "tool" can install positive success programming into your mind

* END EMOTIONAL EATING: Eating to cope with stress, depression or other feelings, or eating for the wrong reasons can totally undermine the best nutrition plan. Learn the 5-step formula to stop it once and for all

* SELF IMAGE SECRETS: How the hidden image you hold of yourself in your mind is the prime reason for diet sabotage (and the same reason that 90% of lottery winners blow their winnings).

Maybe you're an emotional eater, maybe you have trouble getting started on a workout programme, maybe you've started a dozen diets before and could never stick with any of them.

Regardless of your personal challenges, there's something in this package for everyone, as each person struggles with unique issues in his or her journey to get in shape and make the lifestyle changes last.

Here's the deal:

From now until Midnight (PST), July 17th, you can get a copy of the OPERATION MOTIVATION package (in PDF instant download format) absolutely f-r--ee when you purchase the Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle e-book from this web page: OPERATION MOTIVATION

Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle is the "bible of fat loss" for tens of thousands of men and women in over 143 countries worldwide and if you don't have a copy yet, then this is a better opportunity than ever because you now get the MOTIVATION packages a bonus along with the Burn The Fat program.

You probably see a lot of promotions come along in your email for all sorts of fitness and fat loss products, but this is not only different, it's one of the best bonus values you will see in a long time, especially if you said YES to any of the "Motivation quiz" questions.

Not to mention... Tom doesn't do this type of thing very often. He hasn't advertised anything similar to this in over a year and a half.

You should especially take a look at this because of who it's coming from - Tom is one of the most respected professionals in the fat loss field; the field of fat loss science and motivational psychology science, that is, not fat loss infomercials!

This offer expires on Friday, July 17th at midnight PST and it will not be available again so I highly recommend you visit Tom's Burn The Fat website, read about the Burn The Fat program, and jump on this "OPERATION MOTIVATION" bonus offer while you still can.

Here's the link again: OPERATION MOTIVATION

I'm a bit gutted as I already have the original ebook, but tempted to buy it again just to get access to Operation Motivation... I do think he should really give it away free to all who already have the programme (I give all new bonuses and updates to my KettleBelleBody owners!) but hey...

So remember - the extra ebooks and special reports come along with the Burn The fat program as bonus GIFTS, but only until Friday, July 17th at midnight, so you do need to respond quickly. After the deadline, the only way to get these new ebooks and reports will be to purchase them separately, or become a member of Tom's private Burn The Fat Inner Circle website.

So, let me know if you get it and what were the best parts of it for you.

Have a great rest of week and weekend!

Weekday Bodyweight Workout For You!

2009-07-14T06:17:00.001-07:00

A bootcamp inspired workout for you all - do it the next chance you can! Great if you are travelling for work, or if you can't get to the gym - no excuses...

Dynamic warm up: Daily Dozen

Leg Complex:

Reverse lunge with knee drive x 10 each leg
Side / lateral lunges x 10 each side
Squats x 10
Skipping / jumping jacks 60 s

Repeat 3 times, 30 - 60 s rest between each circuit.

Upper Body Complex:

Press ups x 10
Dolphin x 10
Band row x 10 (or stick up if you don't have bands)
Skipping / jumping jacks 60 s

Repeat 3 times, 30 - 60 s rest between each circuit.

Core Complex:

Cycle crunches x 20 each side.
Windscreen wipers x 10 each side.
Reverse curls x 10

Repeat circuit 3 times, 30 - 60 s rest between each circuit.

Full body stretch afterwards, focus on tight muscle groups.

If you want a double whammy of endorphins and some extra cortisol lowering and a whole host of other benefits, then follow up with 30 minutes of meditation - I use Holosync and it is accelerating my results and wellbeing no end! I am too wired usually to even consider meditating - I struggle through 5 mins of post-yoga shavasana usually, but this is great as you put on some headphones and just listen and chill, it takes the hard work out of it!

You should also wait an hour before eating, contrary to popular belief, in order to maximise the growth hormone response. So have a shower, meditate, whatever, then have a post-workout shake.

Comments below or in the forum - let me know how you find it and if you have any workout requests then let me know!

Supplements?

2009-07-09T10:04:00.001-07:00

A Fat Burning Bodyweight Workout to Boost Your Metabolism All Day Long!

2009-07-09T01:21:00.000-07:00

OK, a fat burning, EPOC inducing (that means it's gonna raise your metabolism all day long!) and heart pumping bodyweight workout for you:

Warm Up: See Joint Mobility exercises: HERE

A1. 15 Bodyweight Squats - arms by your sides, or raise arms in front as you lower, or hold hands to head, prisoner style.

A2. 15 Push Ups - if you can't do full press ups then do kneeling or even better, elevated - using a bench (or a table if you need it a bit easier) for your hands. Make sure the chest, not the head, comes between the hands so you are engaging the chest muscles properly.

A3. Skipping / Jump Rope 60 seconds.

Repeat the above 3 exercises 3 times, 15-30 s rest (as little as possible) between the exercises and 30 - 60 s between rounds.

B1. Single leg deadlift x 10 each side (see this video of Lauren doing the KB version - do the same just with no KB - touch the floor in front instead)

B2. Dolphin x 12 (clip here - but I would suggest you drop the hips lower at the bottom than she does in this clip)

B3. 10 burpees (my Southampton bootcamp trainees' fave exercise!)

Repeat the above circuit 3 times as for the first circuit!

Finish off with a plank - hold for 30 - 90 s.

Then stretch, shower and hit the rest of your day, basking in your elevated metabolism, knowing you're burning fat all day - yay!

And for more top tips and advice direct from me, post in the forum of my community site: http://carolineradway.ning.com

On the Subject of Being Hot - Here's How Best to Warm Up!

2009-07-08T02:29:00.000-07:00

Sometimes new arrivals to my bootcamps wonder why we are gyrating around before training and not just jogging around the park. Many people don't really know what constitutes a proper warm up, thinking a quick 5 mins jogging or on the cross trainer will do the job, or perhaps a couple of light sets on the weights, or a few stretches - or perhaps nothing at all!

But, there is a better way!

This kind of warm up will not only get the temperature of the body up, but will improve mobility, work through every joint and every plane of motion, reducing injury both in the long and short term, getting you fully prepared for the training to come and also improving your mobility in the long term by consistent practice.

This way of warming up also serves as a 'rehearsal' for the training to follow - so you are ensuring you get maximum bang for your buck when it comes to the training you are about to do, which means you get a more effective and more efficient workout. Gotta be worth doing, surely?

It's referred to as a 'dynamic warm up' or 'joint mobility' and there are many variations of movements you can use to achieve the desired effect.

My KettleBelleBody book has an entire section devoted to a dynamic warm up sequence (as well as a Yoga Sun Salutation sequence that can also be used as part of your warm up, but if you don't have access to that then I can highly reccommend Steve Maxwell's 'Daily Dozen'.

This is a series of, you guessed it, 14 movements (ha, got ya there did I? There are 12 'core' movements and 2 optional ones!!) that should be performed daily - before training on training days and ideally in the morning on recovery days.

You can check out Steve's Daily Dozen here: JOINT MOBILITY WARM UP

It is also worth noting, that if you have any especially tight muscles that restrict movement (usually calves, hamstrings and traps) then it is worth stretching these statically before you train. Static stretching is otherwise NOT recommended as part of your warm up, as it actually switches off the muscles you want to work! So remember - only stretch the muscles that are over-active and preventing correct movement.

You may also want to 'fire up' inactive muscles - in most people this will be the core and glutes. Bridging movements are great for getting the glutes going - 1 leg variations if possible (if your glutes are operating as they should a 1 leg bridge / hip extension should not be a problem). A great option for firing up core and glutes is also the bird-dog.

If you have any joint mobility ideas or favourites the please list them in the comments - I like to keep my dynamic warm ups varied so always on the lookout for new inspiration!

Or head over to my new community site and chat to me on the forum there!

Are You Boiling or Just Hot?

2009-07-07T01:33:00.000-07:00

Mindset is the difference between success and disillusionment, and nowhere more so than in fitness.

We set off with all the best intentions, on an exercise or diet plan, but unless we have taken the essential first steps of figuring out WHY we want to be doing it and WHAT we want to achieve, then we often find that we flag a little, and end up veering off course, without really knowing what went wrong...

Make sure you review your goals TODAY! And if you don't have any clear goals, then spend a few minutes right now jotting down your first thoughts. What do you want to achieve? Why do you want to achieve it? We often give ourselves vague goals, but be specific! Give it a timeline - it doesn't matter if you don't quite hit that time, so long as you are heading in the right direction, so don't be afraid to set a really challenging timeframe - if you don't quite get there you will have got a lot further than if you set a less challenging goal, so 'fail forward fast'!

Think of it as a mental / emotional 'warm up', and make sure you review your goals on a daily basis. 'Warming up' in this way will ensure you are reminded of why you are choosing the healthy breakfast, why you are drinking lots of water and why you are excited about your training session. Without focus on these goals, and paying attention to them regularly, it is easy to forget why we're doing it all.

If you do forget, you may start making less good choices and finding that your great habits slip back to not-so-great habits. While it might seem that a little bit here or there won't hurt, it is the accumulation of all the little things that make the difference, and can result in great success or the complete opposite.

Those little things really do matter - watch this video to remind yourself just how much that little extra degree of effort can result in incredible results:

For more inspiring videos, check out Rocky, Randy Pausch, Aimee Mullins and more in my community site (you'll need to enter a few details to log in):
http://carolineradway.ning.com/video

And once you're in there, check out the 'One Burning Question' topic in the forum: http://carolineradway.ning.com/forum/topics/your-one-burning-question where I am answering any questions you may have on fitnes, nutrition, wellbeing, whatever! Windsurfing, surfing, snowboarding, yoga, kettlebells too...

And have a browse - there are loads of resources: nutrition guides, healthy recipes, a foam roller manual and more!

Come Join Me and Ask Your One Burning Question!

2009-06-25T13:32:00.000-07:00

In case you didn't know, I have recently consolidated all my member sites into one giant information 'hub' at http://carolineradway.ning.com.

I would love you all to join and get into the forum, where you can post me your 'One Burning Question' (feel free to post more than one!)

The aim is to keep all my 'teams' under one roof - there's loads of nutrition advice, recipes, motivation and mindset info, but there are also private groups you can join, if you are a Personal Training client, and Outdoor Fit for Life 'bootcamper', a KettleBelleBody trainee and there are more groups to come!

So do head on over and join in the fun, and ask me anything you like!

Also, you really must check out this video, truly one of the most inspiring things I have seen in a long time. Turning a percieved 'disabiliy' into something schoolkids were actually envious of is pretty incredible in my view: http://carolineradway.ning.com/video/the-ideal-woman

A Weekend Bodyweight Workout and Spot Reduction!

2009-06-05T02:45:00.000-07:00

Well, I must firstly apologise for having been absent from this blog for a while! I have been learning about Biosignature / Hormonal Profiling and assessing all my clients, so any spare moment when I haven't been training people has been spent completing detailed reports for them about why they store stubborn fat in the places they do, and helping them come up with a strategy to get rid of it!

Yes, spot reduction IS possible, but not in the way you have always thought!

Exercising your bingo wings (or bat wings) will not 'tone them up' as you cannot actually burn fat selectively by exercising that area. And usually the exercises you do to burn fat from areas like your upper arms are pretty low on the overall calorie burn, and it is the overall calorie burn that counts when burning body fat...

...So, ironically, you need to do big, full body moves, such as deadlifts, lunges, squats, presses and pulls to burn bodyfat from your upper arms (and everywhere else!).

So, how then can I be telling you spot reduction is possible?

Well, it is actually down to manipulating the hormones that cause you to store fat in certain areas.

That means correct and appropriate nutriton and training, as well as sometimes targetted supplements and addressing issues such as sleep quantity / quality and stress.

I will explain about all this in more detail in future posts and emails, so keep an eye out, but for now, I have a bodyweight workout that is designed with most hormonal types in mind:

Warm up for 5 mins - dynamic stretches, general pulse raiser and joint mobility.

A1. Prisoner Squats x 12 (squat with your hands behind your head - keep the chest lifted)
A2. Press Ups x 12
A3. Burpees x 12

Repeat the above superset / mini-circuit 3 times with minimal rest.

B1. Split squat (lunges but stay in place for the 10 reps on each side then swap sides, rather than alternating each time) or Bulgarian split squat with back foot on a step. 10 each side.
B2. Dolphin: on your forearms and toes, half way between a plank and downward dog, with your hips higher than your shoulders. Drop the hips towards the floor, bringing your shoulders forward and down, then return to start & repeat. x 10.
B3. Skip / Jump Rope for 1 minute (jumping jacks if you have no rope)

Repeat the above superset / circuit 3 times with minmal rest.

C1. Inchworm - bend forward at the hips, walk hands out to plank position, hold briefly then walk hands back to the feet and stand up. Repeat 10 times.
C2. Windmill x 10 each side
C2. Mountain Climbers x 20 each leg

Repeat the above 3 times.

Revel in the fact you have just boosted your metabolism ready for a great weekend!

Let me know how the workout goes!

P.S. Most people think they will burn more fat by doing more 'cardio' such as running, cross trainer etc. etc....

... I hope you know now that they are wrong, and workouts like the one above, along with a solid, nutritious healthy eating plan are the answer!

If you disagree, or have any questions, fire away!

Socks!

2009-05-07T09:24:00.000-07:00

Well, yesterday I ended up getting a blister on my foot, and popping a blister on my hand (as I'm on a daily mission to do 250 swings: my hands lasted to about 230 but I had to finish!)

And this reminded me about the fab anti-blister sports socks I discovered a few months ago, when a friend of mine, James Davis, sent me a pair of training and a pair of snowboarding socks that would have stopped my feet getting blisters (I wasn't wearing socks at all yesterday - d'oh)

James is an online retail entrepreneur and owns an online shop selling technical sports socks, his shop is www.buyXsocks.com. Back at the early part of this year James offered me the chance to test out some X-Socks and knowing that I would be almost the perfect person with the
amount of training and workouts I do he knew the socks would be thoroughly tested.

James kindly sent me some womens's X-Socks , these were the X-Socks
Speed One Lady Socks and the X-Socks Ski Lady Comfort Socks I had not tried X-Socks before, and although I am used to spending a lot on snowboarding socks (I was highly dedicated to my previous brand, safe to say I am now converted!) but as for training, I usually wear very basic cheap socks from Tesco, so I was quite skeptical as to the benefits of these socks - would they be worth the cost?

The x-socks arrived in lightning speed, neatly packaged and, I was immediately impressed at the presentation as the packaging tells you all about the the technical design. I was going training later that day so popped on the socks and my feet felt extremely comfortable straight away, but I thought to myself, "Good so far, but let's see what they're like when I'm training hard".

During my training my feet felt cool, comfortable and cared for and where I usually got hotspots or blisters I had nothing of the sort. What I am interested in is how these socks can improve performance: there's lots of technical stuff on the packaging but essentially it boils down to this...

...X-Socks reduce blisters, reduce overheating and reduce muscle cramps and I am sure that if you haven't got to worry about your feet you're sure going to be concentrating more on your training and after all that's what it's all about.

As a reward for all of you lucky readers, you can get a 5% discount if you check out my page on James' web site and use a voucher code - this gives you 5% off all your orders through his online shop. Yep, that means that you can order a pair now and get 5% then using the same voucher code again as many times as you like and you'll always get 5% off your orders. You'd best
check it out:

My Page at James' shop is here: http://www.buyxsocks.com/page/carolineradway

Voucher code to get 5% off is: CarolineRadway

Here's to comfy feet and no more blisters!

My only request - can you do some for hands so I can complete my 250 a day swing challenge with some skin intact please?!

Caroline.

The Best Diet Plan Ever?

2009-05-05T13:19:00.000-07:00

You gotta check this video out!

Come Join Me in the Magic Hundred - Starts in 10 Days!

2009-04-16T01:35:00.000-07:00

Those of you who were reading this blog last summer may have seen my posts about the Magic Hundred.

Well, time has come again to repeat the exercise (in fact I should have done it again since I completed the last one in November...)

The Magic Hundred really is the ultimate goal getting programme. If you want to make the next 3 months the most successful and fun of your life then you MUST join me and my bootcampers, and the thousands who are all starting the progamme together in 10 days, on April 27th.

I did this last year, in which time I learnt to kitesurf, created an ebook and launched it, read loads more than ever (usually don't get time for fiction), learnt to fish (and even fed ourselves with fresh fish) amongst other things - and I lost a bit of focus half way through so could have done a lot more! This time my goals include having the best bootcamps in the country, getting a brand new VW van and an airstream campervan, learning to forward loop, winning the KB comp that's being held in July - and I haven't really thought about the rest yet...

What would you like to achieve? You can think big and small, some things you may not get, but better to not quite achieve some goals then never set any and never achieve anything, eh?

Check it out now, and get signed up to join us in 10 days! THE MAGIC HUNDRED

Outdoor Fit For Life: Group Training in Southampton!

2009-02-17T11:51:00.000-08:00

Outdoor Fit for Life Group Training sessions - dates launched for March!

Starting 23rd March:

Monday 12.30pm
Tuesday 6.30am & 6pm
Thursday 6.30am & 6.45pm
Friday 12.30 pm

For more info and for your free session voucher visit: www.outdoorfitforlife.com

Get Fit, Burn Fat, Feel Great in Southampton in 2009

2009-01-15T01:14:00.001-08:00

More info to come, or check out the website: OUTDOOR FIT FOR LIFE SOUTHAMPTON

Make sure you sign up to the mailing list to get notified of timings (mornings and evening taster sessions at the end of Feb and running properly from the end of March if you can't make lunchtimes).

Your first session is FREE (you still need to book as places are limited) so you have absolutely nothing to lose - apart from lots of fat and that post-Christmas lethargy of course!!

Caroline

Happy New Year - To a Fit and Fabulous 2009!

2008-12-31T06:08:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year Everyone!

I hope the New Year starts with a bang for you (or a 'pop' of the champagne cork variety!).

If you're feeling a little 'excessed-out' from the party season, then help is at hand! I'm running a 6 Week 'Love Your Body' Valentine's Transformation Challenge starting on Friday - the last 'team' did amazingly well in December for the 30 day challenge (Nikki lost 31/4 inches from her waist!) so imagine what you can do in 6 week! Certainly reverse any festive damage, and then some!

Head over to Mission Slim-Possible, where you can join and introduce yourself on the forum and announce your intention to take part! More info is available there: http://missionslim-possible.ning.com/

And if you want a more hands-on approach, and are fortunate enough to be based in or around Southampton, then you will be pleased to hear that I am running group fitness sessions in Southampton Common, Mondays and Fridays from 12th Jan at 12.30pm.

To find out more check out my site: Perfect Fit Bootcamps

Even More Freebies For You! Hundred of Self-Improvement Products at Your Fingertips!

2008-12-19T14:58:00.000-08:00

How would you like instant access to HUNDREDS of self- improvement and personal development products absolutely FREE?

How?

Simple...Just click this link and get access now:
http://www.777SelfHelp.com/vip/228

That's all there is to it!

(Take a look at the site - tons of self-help and
personal development materials are included)

Head on over there now and download all these
products immediately because Henry Gold, Dr. Joe Rubino
and Keith Matthew plan on pulling the site down at
midnight on January 18th.

To Your Success,

Caroline Radway
caroline.radway@gmail.com

P.S. Drop everything right now and GRAB
your F.R.E.E. Gifts immediately. Remember:
downloading all of these products cost you
nothing - the special offers you'll see
are excellent and I recommend you check them
out. They are of course completely optional.

http://www.777SelfHelp.com/vip/228

12 Days of Fitness Starts Today - Get Your Goodies Now!

2008-12-10T05:21:00.000-08:00

Hey all

Just a reminder to head over to get your 12 Days of Fitness Goodies - today is the first day of gift giving - yippppppeeeee...................

Hollywood Fat Loss on Reality TV!

2008-12-03T02:07:00.000-08:00

I've just found out about Valerie Waters' cool new online TV show. If you don't know Valerie, she is the ultimate Hollywood trainer!

Now, usually, trainers roll out their one celebrity client or B-lister at this point, to try to impress, but check Valerie's client list out:

Jennifer Garner, Jessica Biel, Kate Beckinsale, Steven Dorff, Matt Dillon, Benicio Del Toro, Jim Carrey, Richard Gere, J-Lo, Charlize Theron, Cindy Crawford plus many others...

Pretty impressive (jealous, moi?!). So, in true celeb style she now has her own weight loss reality TV show: Red Carpet Ready TV

You can watch in 'real time' as the participants go through the struggles we all encounter on their weight loss journey - only they get to face the cravings in full view of the world!

The show airs 5pm Tuesdays PST, but you can check out the first 4 episodes right now: Red Carpet Ready TV

30 Articles in 30 Days of November Challenge - Started With 2 Days to Go!

2008-12-01T03:52:00.000-08:00

I was set a challenge to write 30 articles in the 30 day month of November. An easy task, one a day, no problem.

But I didn't actually take the challenge on until Friday! I suddenly decided I wanted to complete the challenge, as I had a client-free afternoon for once, so I set myself up at my lap top and got started!

I did calculate beforehand that I was likely to fail - logisitcally I didn't actually have enough time, and I wasn't going to sacrifice my weekend for it, I just thought at least getting 15 done would mean I was better off than having done nothing!

The concept of 'Fail Forward Fast' was on my mind - something I'd recommend you consider trying. Better to set a lofty goal and fail (e.g. aim for 30 and manage 15) than set a 'realistic' or 'achievable' goal that doesn't push you, in this case I could have set myself the challenge of writing 5 articles and easily managed it. I would have succeeded in meeting my goal, but been less successful than failing at a harder goal!

So, tip tapping away on the lap top, stopping for a KettleBelleBody training session and a meal Friday evening, I managed 15! I was really pleased, and half thought I'd leave it there and enjoy a weekend off....

But of course, the challenge hounded me in my head, and I thought I could at least get to 20... Or 25... So after training clients and a day out on Saturday, starting at about 4.30pm, I sat on the sofa and continued with the articles. I stopped for yoga and a meal, but then got back on it, and by 10.30pm (36 hours after starting the challenge!) I had managed it!

So, I now have a larger selection of articles, on a range of topics, available for you to peruse at: http://ezinearticles.com/?expert_bio=Caroline_Radway

If there are any topics you'd like me to cover in future articles, let me know! I'm going to try to write an article a day from now on (which means I need to get on and write one today!) so I'll appreciate ideas on what you'd like to read...

There's No Such Thing as a Free Lunch at Christmas?

2008-11-25T08:42:00.000-08:00

Bet you think I'm going to say something along the lines of, 'just because it's free, doesn't mean there's not a price to pay when it comes to your health' don't you?

Well, I could be making that point - we often help ourselves to extra food and alcohol when there's a buffet, or a party, as it's essentially 'free', but we do need to remeber that we'll pay the price later!

But that's not the point of this post at all!

I just wanted to remind you that there are LOADS of FREE GOODIES for you over at http://www.12daysoffitness.com!

This really is a gift-giving extravaganza, over 25o fitness pros worldwide, including me, will be giving out special gifts to make sure you can make 2009 your fittest yet!

I'm giving out a special Kettlebell Workout, that will NEVER be available anywhere else - a complete exclusive!

And I've been checking out some of the other gifts and there are some real treats, I can tell you!

You need to sign up at http://www.12daysoffitness.com and then just wait till Dec 10th when the gift giving will commence!

So, what are you waiting for?

The Starvation Mode Myth

2008-11-24T02:00:00.001-08:00

Since reading Brad Pilon's Eat Stop Eat, my views on eating 6 meals or every 3-4 hours a day have been turned upside down.

I realised that I could get by for a lot longer than that and still train hard while getting leaner, losing bodyfat but not my precious lean body mass.

As a woman, aiming for around 15-1600 cals a day, the meal size you would need to eat 6 small meals a day is so small as to be almost impossible to stick to - and for a smaller woman, needing about 1200 cals a day, splitting that into 6 x 200 cal feedings would be soul destroying!

It is such a common dogma in the fitness industry, to the extent that most people don't even question it. But when you look at the science, as both Brad and Lyle McDonald have done, extremely thoroughly, it just doesn't add up...

To see Lyle McDonald's detailed discussion of the matter, and why you no longer need to worry about getting fatter just because you are forced to miss a meal or snack, follow this link: http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/research-review/meal-frequency-and-energy-balance-research-review.html

http://www.kettlebellebody.com

Christmas Time, Mistletoe and Wine, Kettlebell Swinging Makes You Look Fine!

2008-11-19T07:11:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to remind you about your very special invite to take part in the world's largest ever fitness information gift-giving at: www.12daysoffitness.com.

An estimated 500,000 people will benefit from the combined fitness expertise of over 250 personal trainers, physical therapists and nutritionists - including me!

You will have the opportunity to download my exclusive '12 Days of Fitness Christmas Kettlebell Workout'...

...My Christmas Kettlebell workout is designed for all of us time-poor people, who need a fast, effective workout we can do at home, or anywhere, for maximum results, fast! It will help offset some of the damage that is almost inevitable over the festive season and give you all you need to whip yourself into shape in the New Year, too.

It's clearly laid out for you with step-by-step instructions, so you really can't go wrong! My main aim with the workout is to make sure you actually do it, so I've done all I can to make that as easy as possible for you.

The workout is created exactly like the many workouts provided in my book, KettleBelleBody (aimed at women, but all the feedback I'm getting is that I've narrowed my audience too far and that it's a killer for the boys too!) but it is a completely EXCLUSIVE workout, that won't ever be seen anywhere again, so you don't want to miss out!

What makes the release of this workout so special is that it's going to be part of a much bigger gift-giving bonanza - the '12 days of fitness'. Over 500,000 people will receive advice and help with achieving their health and fitness goals for 2009.

You can claim your copy of my 'Christmas Kettlebell Workout' and loads of other goodies by visiting www.12daysoffitness.com and getting your name onto the gift list.

Santa will be delivering fitness gifts worldwide from December 10th!

Feel free to forward this link on to anyone who might want some inspiration over the festive season and beyond...

Leading Fitness Experts Give The Gift Of Health To World With Biggest Ever Health and Fitness Giveaway This Festive Season!

2008-11-17T07:22:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday, December 10, Dax Moy, myself and over 250 of the world's top fitness professionals will open the doors on the World’s largest ever health and fitness gift-giving, set to generate positive health for over 500,000 people this Christmas

The program, called '12 Days of Fitness’ initially began when the UK's leading fitness professional, Dax Moy, wanted to express his gratitude to his clients and offered them a gift a day for 12 consecutive days as his twist on the 12 Days of Christmas.

Last year Moy shared this idea with fellow fitness professional Pat Rigsby and they expanded the 12 Days of Fitness to include not only their own clients but to the world at large and gave fitness gifts to over 200,000 people who signed up at the site at www.12daysoffitness.com.

This year, with the help of 250 of the world's top personal trainers, nutritionists, therapists and specialist fitness experts, the 12 days of fitness is set to become the biggest fitness gift giveaway in history with expected downloads of over 500,000 between the 10th and 22nd of December. "There’s never been another health event like this, where so many people stand to benefit from the expertise of true professionals for free” says Moy who has been working flat out to make this year’s 12 days a success.

“Fitness professionals from around the globe have contributed hundreds of e-books, reports, videos, meal plans and other free gifts in their hope of making 2009 the year that anyone, regardless or their location, financial situation or past failures, can finally reach their fitness goals and make those New Year's Resolutions a reality once and for all.”

Perhaps the best part of the 12 Days of Fitness giveaway is that regardless of a persons health or fitness goals, there are going to be gifts specifically designed to help them achieve success.

"We've received gifts designed for busy mom's, elite athletes, bodybuilders, back pain sufferers and pretty much anyone else you can imagine covering everything from fat loss to rehabilitation and everything in between.

There literally will be something for everyone this year and all of it free, making it, without a doubt, one of the most important gifts anyone will receive this year. After all, what’s more important than health?”

The 12 days of gift giving starts December 10th but those interested are urged to visit www.12daysoffitness.com right away to sign up for their free gifts.

Once enrolled, participants will get a daily email telling them how to access each of the new gifts that are being added each day as well as a reminder on how to access previous gifts.

To guarantee a healthy start to 2009, simply visit www.12daysoffitness.com today.

The Best Leg and Butt Exercise Ever!

2008-11-03T03:19:00.000-08:00

Pistol Squats are the best exercise for creating long, strong and lean legs!

This video shows you how to perform them, as well as some modifications so you can build up to them - as they are HARD!

Fatblasting for Busy Professionals - Oz Style!

2008-10-23T02:55:00.000-07:00

I'm currently on holiday on the magical West coast of Ireland, with lots of surfing, mountain biking, windsurfing and fishing - my Magic Hundred goal of catching a fish to eat was achieved the other night so happy about that!

I'm having a well earned break from Kettlebell training, but getting lots of Yoga in which is good. I hope those of you who have bought my KettleBelleBody Programme are enjoying it and getting lots of kettlebell action in, and I'll be joining you as soon as I get back - despite the yoga and all the other activities out here I am really looking forward to getting back on it with the kettlebells, nothing hits your butt in quite the same way and after 2 weeks away from them I can feel the difference already!

If you want to check it out, visit www.kettlebellebody.com. It's been getting some great reviews and the price is soon to skyrocket, so it's worth getting in there quick!

Anyway, to keep you entertained in my absence I'm handing over to my buddy in Oz, Daniel Munday. He's just launched a fantastic programme designed specifically for the busy professional. I've interviewed him about the AUSSIE FATBLAST system for you here. There are some really unique twists, such as his 'Pulse' Cardio programme, 'Blowtorch' workouts and a whole book of amazing recipes - all do-able in under 13.5 minutes, incredibly!

His nutrition approach matches mine - he has completely re-written the food pyramid in his manual, which I wholeheartedly agree with but have chickened out of doing myself for fear of backlash! But that's Dan for you, in typical Oz style he says it like it is, cuts straight to the point and doesn't beat around the bush!

Caroline: What is the Aussie Fatblast Success System and why is it different to every other fat loss product on the market today?

Daniel: The Aussie Fatblast Success System is the fat loss solution for the busy professional. I truly believe that it is different to everything else out there today first of all because it is designed around the realisation that people are so busy these days and not many people that I know of, myself included, have the time to train the traditional one hour training sessions anymore.

The Aussie Fatblast way is to give you your fat loss results in 20 minutes a day or less when done six days a week or in 40 minutes or less when done only 3 days a week.

Secondly, I call it a Success System because you will get the complete solution. Fat loss is more than just following the right training program. I address the mental side of things, with a great bonus call with a bloke who is known as the Maniac Mental Skills Coach as well as having one of the world's foremost motivational speakers Chris Widener contributing a great mp3 as well.

I also really get to the bottom of many nutrition myths and why most people just are not getting the results that want because of the misinformation that everyone is force fed these days.

Caroline: What type of nutrition myths are you talking about?

Daniel: First of all, I believe that everything most dieticians and fitness pros teach about nutrition is so far off the mark it is just not funny. We are told to eat low fat, or even worse, fat free foods which are full of so much artificial sweeteners and sugars that it is just not funny.

I also recommend that people try and eliminate as much gluten and wheat out of your diet as possible. This basically means everything that is processed. If people eliminate these foods from their diet, I will guarantee that you see changes within days. You will no longer look bloated and you will be well on your way to achieving the fat loss results that you deserve. And yes, you can still eat those foods as a cheat meal 4 times a week max.

In fact I have redesigned the food pyramid and it looks a lot different to the one that we know at present. That alone should be worth checking out the Secret Guide to Smart Eating.

Caroline: You've mentioned on your site that you've got a few secrets that can instantly relieve lower back pain in people, can you give us any insider secrets?

Daniel: Normally I'd keep these secrets for the people who invest in the system, but I can tell you they are both pretty simple tips. People need to be conscious of activating the muscles that are deep down in their midsection. Once they do this which is as simple as sucking in your belly button your back pain will ease.

Simply have a cue for doing it. Whenever your phone rings, suck in your belly. When you get an email, likewise. When you stop at a red light, suck in your belly. Make it something that happens all the time throughout your day so you get into the habit really quick.

The second tip is applicable for guys that sounds so simple that it almost sounds ridiculous, but is really spot on the money. I might keep that one under my hat for now though if that's alright?

Caroline: Sure is, I'll move swiftly on.... What 3 tips can you give to people who don't have time to exercise?

Daniel:
1) You always have time no matter how many hours a day you work. It's a cliché but it's true. It comes down to properly managing your time. So first of all, this is a non exercise tip but reduce the amount of time you spend on email each day. This will more than likely save you a heap of time. Simply block out time in the day to check emails and stick to that period only. The world won't stop if you don't reply back to your facebook messages straight away.

2) Pick the 'big bang' exercises such as Swings, Squats, Deadlifts, Recline Rows or Chin Ups, Push Ups and other multi-joint exercises. Because we are only exercising for a small amount of time you need to pick exercises that will get your heart rate up and use as many muscles as you can with each exercise. Some of my most productive workouts have only taken 6 minutes (which you will have access to in the Optimise Blowtorch Sessions bonus manual).

3) Make an appointment in your diary just like you would a meeting with your boss or important client. Exercise has to have the same priority as everything else. Once that time is in your diary it cannot be moved barring a family emergency.

Caroline: What about cooking healthy meals? Can busy people realistically cook meals in 13 ½ minutes or less as your bonus manual suggests?

Daniel: For sure Caroline. When I cook, I need the meals to be quick. If I come home from a long day training people outdoors in the hot sun I don't want to be slaving away for ages. I want to eat healthy foods that have minimal human interference meaning that they don't have a list of ingredients as long as your arm.

So I played around in the kitchen a bit and timed how long it took me to make a few different meals. The ones that are the quick ones are the ones that made this book.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not Gordon Ramsay in the kitchen (well sometimes I might use some of the same words if I burn myself!) but it is really simple steps and meal suggestions that anyone can easily follow.

From simple things like a great tasting mixed bean and vege omelette that takes 6 around minutes to breakfast options that ensure you can get a fast, healthy feed in the morning to a post workout meal and even my personal favourite banana paddle pop dessert. In fact, people have told me that I should've included more of these so I might have to make part 2 as well!

Caroline: You, like me, are also not a fan of the traditional crunches and sit ups are you?

Daniel: No. I've really stayed away from those types of exercises lately. I started doing a bit of homework and have realised just how bad they are for our backs. Basically, every time you crunch you are placing a crazy amount of stress on your lower back as you compress your spine. Times that by the amount of reps that you do them for and is it any wonder why people are getting bad backs from training?

The other thing that got me off them was that all of my clients are busy professionals who sit down at their desk or in a car all day. That, as we already know, places a huge amount of stress on people's lower backs just from sitting down at a desk that isn't always set up correctly. So I don't want to place any more stress on their already fragile backs.

The final nail in the coffin was that they are useless for burning fat. There are so many better ways to hit your abs. as I answer this question, my abs are still hurting from a tough round of decline push ups that I did 5 days ago!

Caroline: What does the Aussie Fatblast Success System include and what is the investment?

Daniel: This is where I wanted to over deliver to everyone. For a very small investment of $29.77 which is valid during the 5 day launch special ONLY.

The package contains 8 manuals that I have designed to complement each other:

* Aussie Fatblast Success Manual - the main exercise manual

* Secret Guide to Smart Eating - nutrition guidelines
* Pulse Intervals - interval cardio section
* 13.5 Recipes in 13.5 mins or less
* Optimise Blowtorch bonus workouts
* Little Black Dress program to get the girls into their LBD for that special function
* Can the Man Cans program for the fellas to get rid of their man boobs
* Beginners Body Weight Blitz Manual for someone who has never trained or been out of the game for a while

Plus bonuses from 3 other experts
* Chris Widener MP3 of the Best Test: This was a massive coup for me to get. Chris is a motivational speaker who people pay BIG dollars for. People get his advice for free
* Workout Muse Tabata workout and Post Workout recovery guidelines: This is a bonus soundtrack that you just load to your iPod and bust your butt. You don't need to look at your stop watch as the music is programmed for you to work and recover. You also get a bonus manual to help you stretch your problem areas.
* The Maniac Unleashed MP3 audio interview with Tommy Pavia - The Maniac Mental Skills Coach: My favourite interview that I have done to date. This guy got me pumped after chatting to him and I know he will do the same for you

Caroline: How long does this launch special last for?

Daniel: It runs from Monday October 20 until Friday October 24, so 5 full days. That's not long at all really. I want to reward those people who do take massive action. They get the cheaper package, plus the 5 bonuses that are only available until this Friday.

Caroline: Wow, that's a pretty amazing package. What are the fast action bonuses that people get if they order today?

Daniel: I wanted to make your investment an absolute no-brainer so I decided to call in a few favours and throw in a couple of very time sensitive bonuses.

* A PERSONAL Food Diary Review from me where you can fill out the food diary from the Secret Guide to Smart Eating for a full week and email it back to me for a review of your eating habits.

* Benson Manento's 73 Rapid Fat Loss Tips - Benson gives some great secrets here that I begged him to let me include it as a bonus

* Ed Scow's 10 Minute Workouts Manual - the perfect companion to the Optimise Blowtorch Sessions

* The World's Busiest Dad, Chris Lopez on the Aussie Fatblast Hotseat MP3 sharing some of his best secrets to maximise fat loss results.

* UK Expert Noel Lyons Interviewed me on his hot seat about motivation and how to make things happen in your life

Caroline: Any other tips that you can give my readers?

Daniel: You have to take massive action today not tomorrow. Start doing the little things right and the big things follow. That is why I created the tips to totally redesign your eating from something to be embarrassed about to rockstar role model in only 30 days. Simple steps that put together create that rolling effect that gets you where you want to be.

If you want to check his site out straight away, and make the most of his crazy time-limited offer then you can do that HERE: www.australianfatblast.com

I Did It - Book Is Launched!

2008-10-08T01:38:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't posted here for a while, but I've been head down in my book, determined to get it launched before going on holiday, which I do tonight for 2 weeks!

So mission accomplished! It took lots of long nights and crazy early starts, but it's done, and now I can go and meet Dax Moy the day I get back from holiday, when my Magic Hundred has finished, safe in the knowledge that I took action and ticked that massive goal off the list!

So, where can you find out more?

Check it out here:

Reboot Your Taste Buds

2008-09-29T02:44:00.000-07:00

I spend a lot of my time encouraging clients to adopt 'cleaner' eating habits, cutting out the junk and processed foods and basing their diets on whole foods, as close to their natural state as possible.

This shouldn't be too hard, really, and for me I actually would far sooner have a 'clean' meal than a disgusting pre-made ready meal, even if it is from M&S... In fact, the smell of supposedly healthy pre-made meals being heated in the microwave is now a massive turn-off to me.

But this is because over time, my taste buds have been trained to appreciate the simpler things. I used to think 85% cocoa chocolate was too dark, but now if I have chocolate I can handle the 99%!

We think we have 'tastes' but in fact these are very changeable - did you used to only have coffee with sugar in it? It's pretty easy to wean yourself off it over a couple of weeks, isn't it?

The same goes for foods - many of my clients insist something is horrendous the first time they try, and while I will never force anyone to eat anything they don't like (that is a big part of how I get results with clients - ensuring the changes they make are ones they can see themselves adopting for life) I will always ask them to give it a few more tries before dismissing it out of hand. Sometimes it can just take a bit of getting used to, other times you'll just need to tweak things a little...

There is a great article from Leigh Peele, the 'Fat Loss Troubleshooter' about how you can actually systematically retrain (or 'reboot') your tastebuds if you find you are really struggling with adopting a cleaner style of eating. You can find the article HERE.

The Killer At Large

2008-09-25T06:45:00.000-07:00

Whew. Just received the link to this vid - you've got to watch it:

20kg Kettlebell Snatches - First Ever Attempt!

2008-09-21T06:29:00.000-07:00

OK, so strictly speaking this is a post for my Kettlebell blog (http://kettlebellebody.blogspot.com) but this is a first on two counts, as well as being two of my Magic Hundred Goals achieved in one go!

(If you want to make the most of the last 100 days of the year then you can check out the Magic Hundred Goal Getting Programme for yourself HERE!)

1. My first ever YouTube video!! I know it sounds crazy, but I've had a bit of a mental block about getting video footage.... Finally just (in the words of Craig Ballantyne) 'got it done'.

2. My first ever attempt at Kettlebell snatches with the 20kg kettlebell! That is why I have posted the clip even though you can hardly see anything because of the sun - I can't exactly re-film my first attempt now, can I??!!

The Truth About Abs - It Doesn't Take Any Discipline?

2008-09-17T01:58:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd post this interview with Mike Geary at Truth About Abs as it neatly expresses my feelings about discipline and acheiving your dream body. When you 'diet' using 'willpower' and 'discipline' you have to work really hard to keep going. But when you make lifestyle changes that you enjoy, it all becomes rather effortless:

"I've been interviewed a lot lately for fat loss teleseminars, radio shows, etc, and one question really caught my attention recently.

I believe I was asked how I maintain so much discipline to always eat healthy and rarely ever cheat.

Well, first of all, I don't always eat perfect, but if I do cheat, it's only a couple times a month and only when I eat out. So basically, I never keep any junk food at all in the house. And even when I do "cheat"... I still never eat french fries, soda, donuts, or candy.

But I get asked often how I stay so disciplined to eat so healthy and always bypass the fries, sodas, and other junk foods that we're all bombarded with on a daily basis.

I thought about it for a second, and my answer was that I don't really think it's about discipline for me. Instead, I have something going on in my head that makes the thought of eating deep fried food, candy, donuts, or sodas not appealing at all to me.

In fact, it even goes a step beyond junk food just not appealing to me...

My mindset is that these junk foods actually appear disgusting to me and I have no desire to eat them at all. I actually crave healthy foods instead.

So it made me think... Why do some of us see junk foods and not crave them at all (and even view them as disgusting), while others see junk foods and cannot resist the temptation?

That's a tough call...and when it comes to how our minds work, things can get complicated.

For me personally, I can say that I think the reason why junk food is so revolting to me is that I've spent so many years reading about all of the negative effects that these foods have on your body... and digging into the actual science and the negative cellular reactions that they cause within your body.

Due to the fact that I've read in such depth about what these foods do to your body, I have ingrained in my head over the years that these foods are pure evil and therefore, I have no desire to eat them.

In fact, my dislike of junk foods is so deeply rooted at this point in my life, even the smell of deep fried chicken or donuts sometimes can make me feel sick, whereas the smell of a healthy meal makes me feel energized.

I never realized during all of these years that this was the reason that I eat so healthy on a regular basis. Everyone always said I just had "discipline"... but now that I've actually thought about it more, I've discovered that it's not discipline, but rather that my brain views junk foods with such a negative view, that the thought of eating junk food almost makes me feel sick.

This is interesting indeed. I'm not a brain-science expert, so I can't explain exactly how to adopt this type of mindset. All I can say is... keep continually educating yourself on nutrition and how different types of foods are processed and react in your body.

Hopefully, by learning exactly what is going wrong in your body when you consume trans fats or excess processed sugars, perhaps that will help you to view junk foods in such a negative way that you no longer crave them at all.

Good luck!

Here are a couple additional nutrition articles of mine that might help you make healthier food choices:

Protein Bars or Junk Food?
http://www.truthaboutabs.com/protein-bars-energy-nutrition.html

Healthier Post-Workout Meals and Shakes
http://www.truthaboutabs.com/post-workout-meals-shakes.html

Energy Drinks or Fat-Fertilizer?
http://www.truthaboutabs.com/energy-drinks.html

Don't be lazy... be lean"

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer
Founder - http://TruthAboutAbs.com & http://BusyManFitness.com
http://AvalancheSkiTraining.com

Positive Eating Winning The Diet Battle

2008-09-17T00:15:00.000-07:00

Another article: ENJOYING FOOD

More of is are shunning the deprivation or 'fad' diets in favour of healthful, nutritionally charged, positive eating strategies...

In the long term this is the only way to lose the excess fat and keep it off - we need to address the cause not 'band-aid' the symptom, and this will only be possible if we adopt new habits for life!

There's nothing wrong with enjoying food! But we need to listen to our bodies - we don't really 'enjoy' junk!

Think Yourself Fat?

2008-09-17T00:02:00.001-07:00

A recent study showed that we tend to eat more calories after intense mental exercise!

THINK YOURSELF FAT ARTICLE

So stop thinking so hard about diet and fitness, maybe? And just take some action!

Burn The Fat, Feed the Muscle - My Version Of Tom's Oatmeal Pancakes!

2008-09-13T02:37:00.000-07:00

The first ever ebook I bought was the all-time classic Burn The Fat, Feed the Muscle by Tom Venuto. It was so informative that my Personal Training course taught me nothing new - he'd already taught me everything I needed! Still a classic today...

So when I was sent a link to this YouTube clip of one of his inner circle members making his infamous 'Oatmeal Pancakes' (a fat burning yet delicious recipe, perfect for a leisurely weekend breakfast) I thought I'd give it a try. I actually woke up dreaming about them (sad but true!).

I've played with various pancake recipes in the past, and while Tom's version was nice, I modified it a little, making them somewhat fruitier and creamier!

I simply added a dollop of skimmed quark (you could also use cottage cheese - it's just that I've fallen in love with quark recently - try it blended with vanilla protein powder and serve with berries for a healthy version of cheesecake!)

I also used frozen blueberries instead of apple (this does make the pancakes bright blue!) and I also blended the mixture in my Magic Bullet.

I served the pancake with another dollop of quark and a few more berries.

It even tastes gorgeous raw! I split the recipe into 2 to make 2 pancakes, but had eaten the mixture before the first one had cooked!

I also preferred the pancake a little underdone - so you get the gooeyness inside the pancake, too. Adding the creamy quark makes this work really well.

Tom's recipe does say you can add vanilla protein powder, and modify the ingredients according to your calorie and macronutrient requirements.

A really nice treat - but yet it's not really a treat at all! A nice change from a bowl of porridge, as much as I also love porridge... I love my carb days!

How can you feel remotely deprived when you're having blueberry pancakes for breakfast? Pity the poor fools eating toast or boring cereal...

Get Fatter With 14hrs Exercise A Week?

2008-09-10T13:21:00.000-07:00

Dr John Berardi from Precision Nutrition has just posted a really interesting article on his blog, regarding training and fat loss.

A while back, he wrote about a recent study that showed that exercise doesn't work for fat loss - something that maybe as a trainer I shouldn't be passing on to you guys!

However, he's not saying not to exercise, just that exercise alone is not the answer - you really need to work the nutrition too.

This is something I am all too well aware of - even when spending hours a day windsurfing or snowboarding I need to keep a tight rein on the calories or I just get fatter!

This article takes that study a step further - demonstrating how these girls gained body fat despite a gruelling workout schedule. Really worth a read: PRECISION NUTRITION FORUM

Find out more about John Berardi and Precision Nutrition HERE.

Revealed: The Number One Reason People Do Not Work Out

2008-09-09T00:58:00.000-07:00

So here's the million-dollar question:

"What's the number one reason people do not work out?"

Is it lack of money? Lack of motivation? Perhaps they lack the ideal workout plan?

Nope. It's TIME. Or rather the lack thereof.

"We know that 50 per cent of the population doesn't [exercise] and the most commonly cited barrier to exercise is lack of time." This quote comes from exercise researcher Martin Gibala, a kinesiology professor at McMaster University in Hamilton.

Gibala put his theory to the test in a study that was published in the Journal of Physiology. In it Gibala compared a group who exercised "traditionally" -- 90 to 120 minutes per day -- with another group exercising far less: Only 20 minutes per day and only three days per week.

That's a whopping one hour per week folks.

Not dissimilar from a programme I've recently discovered, in fact: Jon Benson's "7 Minute Muscle" plan. Working out for a total of about an hour a week with only five 7-minute resistance training workouts (weights or bodyweight) plus only 9 minutes cardio a few days per week.

And that actually works? I hear you cry! Yeah... you bet it does.

Guaranteed to be the fastest gimmick-free method to build lean muscle and burn fat, 7 Minute Muscle details Jon Benson's trademarked Power Density Training System. With over 30 scientific studies referenced on the subjects of muscle-building and fat-burning using short, intense workouts, 7 Minute Muscle gives everyone, from beginner to advanced trainee, the exact System of training that builds muscle faster than ever before—and at the same time decreases body fat and increases overall health.

I personally think I would struggle with so little exercise, as I do have time and love to train, but more about how I may be sabotaging my own results later...

Firstly, check it out for yourself HERE: 7 MINUTE MUSCLE: AKA TRAIN SMARTER NOT HARDER!

If you've been receiving my emails (you can sign up a the top of the page if you've been missing out!) or reading this blog, or my KettlebelleBody blog, you will know that I am not an advocate of repetitious long, steady bouts of cardio. I personally have been at my fattest when I cycled a couple of hours most days and rowed for university!

Find out more HERE: TRAIN SMARTER NOT HARDER!

Back to Gibala's study: In just two weeks both groups showed improvement in both exercise performance and oxygen uptake. (Remember, fat burns in the presence of oxygen.) The kicker is that both groups were almost identical in their improvement, despite the 2nd group training far less.

Why? Because the brief exercise group trained with greater focus and more intensity -- exactly how myself and Jon suggest you train.

This is just one of dozens of studies that confirm the benefits of shorter but more intense workouts.

However, there is a catch: Train too hard and you will shut down your fat-burning furnace.

Your body perceives over-exertion done over an extended period of time as a sign of pursuit. It can trigger an ancient hormonal sequence that says, "I'm being chased by a tiger! Horde the fat!"

The body literally shuts down what it considers to be unnecessary activity in favour of self-preservation. And guess what? Burning off those hips and love handles is not a biological necessity.

You have to learn when to hit it hard AND when to rest and recover.

This is probably where I am going wrong at the moment - I love to train, and to train hard, but still like my hour-long workouts most days! I need to take Jon's advice and avoid over-doing things... Especially as my 'rest days' are then spent windsurfing or kitesurfing....

But enough about me, back to how Jon can help you save time and get results.

As I've mentioned in posts and emails before, you have to put yourself into the proper mental state in order to see greater results in the shortest period of time. Jon actually devotes an entire chapter to putting your mind into your muscle to get results faster than ever before in "7 Minute Muscle."

You can read more here (it'll take you longer to read than the workouts do!): WORKOUT YOUR MIND AND SEE YOUR BODY TRANSFORM!

Just remember these three key points:

1. Time is the greatest barrier to fitness.

2. Workouts can be short and very effective.

3. The body goes where the mind directs.

Train smart!

Get Long and Lean Limbs With Self-Myofascial Release - Not as Scary as it Sounds!

2008-09-01T02:51:00.000-07:00

Do you have tight muscles that stretching alone doesn't seem to affect?

This is a common situation and can be relieved by one of the most unassuming bits of kit on the fitness market - the Foam Roller.

Literally, as it sounds, a length of foam, like those you play with in swimming pools or like some of the cricketers last week were pretending to bat with while watching from the bench (unlikely you noticed that one...).

You lay the foam on the ground, then lay on top of it, supporting your weight as you roll part of your body over the roller. It's like your own personal massage therapist - you find 'trigger points' (the bits that hurt, basically) and stay with them until the feeling subsides, meaning the muscle adhesion, or knot, has been eased off. You then move to another area of the body (or move around to get all areas of a muscle group).

You'll feel some discomfort as you're rolling (if you can't feel anything you need to ensure you're relaxing the muscles enough...) but afterwards you'll feel that sense of lightness and release you get after a great massage!

This is especially good for runners - the iliotibial band (ITB) is connective tissue, not a muscle, and stretching can only lengthen muscles. Self-Myofascial Release actually means it releases the fascia of the muscles - that is the connective tissue. So if you are a runner and getting 'runners knee' or hip pain, you should definitely be rollin'!

It is also great for calves - most people have shortened calf muscles and stretch all you like, if the fascia are not addressed you will not lengthen the muscles significantly through stretching alone.

This is used in the athletic world a lot, but has yet to filter into regular fitness usage. You can use the roller before your workout, to address muscle tightness in the short term to ensure you're movement patterns are 100% when you work out, or you can use the roller on recovery days, so you are well primed for your next workout.

There's a great article with descriptions and pics of all the methods of applying the roller HERE:

You can get the rollers for about £15 at most online fitness stores. I get mine from Fitness Mad (click the picture):

I must admit, I really don't use mine as much as I should, but it is so easy to use - you can roll away (not literally, unless you live on a big hill and don't hold on...) while watching TV of an evening, all you need is 5-10 mins every few days.

You will feel the benefits of one session straight away, and with regular application you will notice a longer lasting effect.

Waist Danger Zone - Is Your Waist Over 35 inches?

2008-08-30T10:30:00.000-07:00

A recent study by Tufts University in Boston shows that not only is the 'muffin top' or 'beer gut' aesthetically displeasing, but it also poses significant health risks. This has long been suggested but now there is growing research (no pun intended...) that once our waists creep up to the 'magic' number 35 (men get 2 more inches than us ladies - their major danger zone is above 37in) we are at an increased risk of heart disease, diabetes and perhaps even Alzheimers and dementia.

If your waist measurement reaches 40 ins then you should definitely be taking action to get this situation under control.

Bear in mind that if you are particularly small of stature then a lower number will represent your danger zone - for extremes of height you are better off dividing your height by 2. That is your personal danger zone - so if you are 5 foot 2 inches, or 62 inches, you are in the danger zone if your waist is 31in or more.

So why is belly fat more dangerous than fatty deposits elsewhere? Well, it indicates that you are likely to be carrying much more visceral fat - this is fat around the organs including the heart. So even if you are to all casual observers 'slim' you really do need to know this number - and if you are in the danger zone you need to take action.

My personal fat loss crusade is more health related than aesthetic - I realised this when I bought a pair of (a bit weird looking) Fit Flops today instead of replacing my trusty (and very good looking) Reef Mick Fannings with yet another pair! I don't care what I look like in them, but I know they will do me good. The same applies to eating healthily and exercising - for me the benefit of looking better is actually just an added bonus. I care a lot more about feeling good, about feeling energetic and healthy.

Anyway, back to the visceral, or 'organ covering internal fat'. There are a host of hormonal responses that increase the level of harmful fat in the blood as well as disrupting insulin balance, meaning that sugar levels are less well controlled, which is how it can lead to diabetes.

I don't want to spread doom and gloom, though! The risk is reversible and studies have shown that when you lose weight it will come from the visceral fat at the same time - in fact the layer around the heart reduced by a third when obese patients lost 20% of their body weight, so this 'danger fat' is lost in preference to external fat. Perhaps not what you want to hear when you're panicking to get into a slinky dress and the fat seems to be staying put, but this is really a lot more important in the long run.

So what can I do?

Nutrition and exercise, of course!

Essentially, you need to burn 500 cals more a day than you take in to lose a pound a week - and it really is this simple.

To do this as painlessly as possible (it may be simple, but it's not easy!) you want to focus on the most 'efficient' foods - that are going to fuel the body whilst providing maximum nutrition and fullness - so lean proteins, lots and lots of vegetables, good fats (Omega 3 - ideally krill oil), good carbs (sweet potatoes, brown rice, quinoa, sourdough rye breads NOT refined sugar or sugary foods like pastries and cakes or starchy white carbs such as pasta and white bread). Low fat dairy is also a good thing to include - there is some evidence that calcium may help with fat loss, and that food sources rather than supplements have a much greater effect.

As for exercise, interval and resistance training has been proven to increase belly-fat burning due to the hormones that are produced when you exercise at a high intensity. Given the fact that intervals and resistance also increase fat burning after you have finished exercising, in a way that steady state cardio does not, you are onto a winner. You should do a combination of resistance training and intervals 3 times a week for optimal results.

You absolutely cannot spot reduce the belly fat with sit ups! Contrary to infuriatingly popular 'wisdom' crunches do not equal flat abs or a six pack! The only way you get that is to reduce body fat and you only do that by referring to my earlier point of consuming less than you expend, consistently.

For a killer abs programme check out Craig Ballantyne's Turbulence Training for Abs - not a crunch in sight and as a bonus you get the best nutrition info out there, from natural health expert, Isabel De Los Rios (or you can check her programme out directly: HERE).

If you're wondering about how you can drink alcohol on a fat loss programme, Tom Venuto has some hard hitting advice, and compares the calorie content of most alcoholic beverages (I say 'most' - if you want to spend your free time drinking blue WKD then you're reading the wrong blog!). If you're looking to lose the beer belly, though, a clue to what you may need to get rid of to get rid of it is in the title!

Get Your Head in the RIght Place for Fat Loss

2008-08-28T22:16:00.000-07:00

I am absolutely loving the audios Scott Tousignant has got together for his 21 Day Unstoppable Fat Loss challenge.

I've saved them all to my Ipod and I've only actually listened to a couple, but the information is so powerful that I've learnt loads already! Sometimes it's just the one or two key points that can cause us to reach a 'tipping point' to take action where before there was inaction, or a tip that makes the difference between renewed success and continuing aimlessly down the same path.

The great thing about these audios are that they don't focus on the specifics of exercise or nutrition at all! Apart from Tom Venuto's brilliant nutrition guideline of 'Lean, Green and Marine' the focus is on how to get the mindset in place.

Until we have the right thinking going on, any changes we make are going to be hard work and usually temporary, If we see exercise as something we don't enjoy, we will stick with it while our focus and willpower are there, but the first obstacle or disruption will mean the new programme gets left behind.

Kevin Gianni had a fab way of helping you to change your mindset, as of course it's not that easy to change your way of thinking! Saying to yourself; 'I am the type of person who....'. It seems simple, and it is, but it's very powerful. If you are struggling to lose weight or eat well, you are probably subconsciously telling yourself that you're the type of person who can't lose weight, or who will always be fat, or who hates exercise.

If you simply start adding more positive phrases, such as 'I am the type of person who likes being active' or 'I am the type of person who feels better when I eat healthy food' you can create the right internal environment in your head, that will allow the required actions to follow naturally.

There are so many little tips and tricks, so I won't bombard you with them all now. But give this one a try. Catch any negative self talk when you notice it (we are so good at this we often don't even realise we're doing it!) and switch it round to something more positive, and notice the amazing effects!

Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining

2008-08-25T14:26:00.000-07:00

I had a slightly major disaster befall me last week, as I managed to spill water over my laptop and kill the whole thing, hard drive included!

Lesson No 1: back up data more often... I have an external hard drive but it's a bit bulky and a bit of a pain so I don't do it as often as I should - the last back up was 2 months ago, before a major overhaul of all my client's programmes with this really cool Excel tool that took me bloody ages to create... I also spent the whole of the day before doing my accounts which I have now lost - luckily the last lot were pre-back-up!

Lesson No 2: Don't leave water bottles unopened near laptops. In fact, there's one right by my lap top as I write this, I clearly have my work cut out for me on this one...

As soon as it happened I took it to the Tech Guys at PC World and at first they thought they could salvage the data so I was a little encouraged - as I was desperate to replace my annoying, slow lap top anyway! As much as it was an expense I could do without so soon after spending £600 on my van and just before spending £500 on kitesurfing equipment, it was nonetheless a cost I would need to incur at some point, and in fact, the time spent wasted on my slow lap top would mean it was kinda saving money to spend it sooner!

It turned out that they couldn't save it, however, so my precious data was lost forever! More stressful was the amount of precious time I had lost, due to wasted effort and the effort now needed to re-do everything I had lost!

But then I wandered over to the Mac section - it is in fact one of my Magic Hundred goals to get a Mac, so this incident had actually made this dream a closer reality! If I had not killed my old lap top I would have not been able to justify the expense of a new one, especially as my 30th is coming up and it would have probably been a present from a few of my family. But my birthday is AFTER the Magic Hundred is over! So if I waited to receive one as a gift I'd be failing on that goal!

When I saw that they were selling a £1200 Mac Book Pro for £850 I just couldn't keep my eyes off it! Although I couldn't really afford it, I realised this was too good to miss, so after some discussion with my boyfriend I went ahead and got it. And suddenly the loss of time, data and money was immaterial! The Mac takes a bit of getting used to, and I have to fork out for the Mac version of Office, but I love it so much! It works and can handle the work I am doing on it, doesn't go into meltdown when I have multiple tabs open and has a load of cool creative stuff, meaning the YouTube vids I need to get round to creating will be all the better (and easier).

You will think I am really sad now, but the worst thing was that I lost all my Fit Day data! I've been logging my food intake since Jan and for some reason even though I had backed up 2 months ago it seemed to lose everything from Feb! Really annoying - but even more annoying is that Fit Day is not Mac compatible!

However, I discovered CalorieKing.com which costs a bit more (which is probably why I didn't get it first time round as I didn't know if the logging would stick) but as I know how lost I felt without FitDay I realised I'll be logging my food for a long time to come so it was worth it - and again, it has been a blessing in disguise as I love it even more! It allows you to copy entire days easily and as I tend to eat similar things on a regular basis this will save me a lot of time. The look and feel is nicer too, and fits with the Mac better, whereas FitDay feels more Excel-ly.

So why have I told you all about this? Well, really just to say that the obstacles in our path are only obstacles if we perceive them to be. We have the choice to deal with situations in any way - I chose in this case to make it as productive as possible and not dwell on what I had lost.

In fact, I've treated it like a fresh start - there was a lot of junk on my old lap top and it really felt like a forced 'de-clutter' and it has made me feel lighter and less bogged down!

Sometimes we need to let go of things, especially the past, and take steps forward into the relative unknown. Just because we have always had cereal and toast for breakfast, it feels safe. The idea of 'losing' that safety net and moving forward can actually be a lot more scary to us on a subconscious level than we might appreciate.

If we look at life as a series of opportunities, rather than of obstacles, we will achieve so much more and enjoy life so much more!

Are You Getting Enough (Broccoli)?

2008-08-20T02:58:00.000-07:00

Here's the science bit: "Activation of NF-E2-related factor-2 reverses biochemical dysfunction of endothelial cells induced by hyperglycemia linked to vascular disease." [Diabetes (Journal), 4th Aug 2008].

This means nothing to me either, so don't despair! It took translation by the BBC on 5th Aug for me to realise that my addiction to broccoli may be even more beneficial than I had realised (I get concerned looks in the supermarket as I could single-handedly cause a local shortage!): "Broccoli may undo diabetes damage."

This fascinating study looked at the phytochemical, sulforaphane. It appears to help produce enzymes that protect blood vessels by reducing tissue damaging substances triggered by high blood sugar. It also appears to activate genes that regulate protective antioxidant and detoxifying enzymes in the body.

Vascular disease is a major complication of diabetes, leading to heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, damage to small vessels of the eye (resulting in blindness) and reduced circulation to extremities (sometimes requiring amputation).

Of course we're heard loads about the benefits of broccoli and for good reason. In 2006, another broccoli compound was found to help boost genes that prevent damaged genetic information from being passed on to future generations of cells, thereby offering potential reduction in cancer risk. In 2007, a nutrition study of men who had prostate cancer showed that a weekly serving of broccoli cut risk for the aggressive form of the disease by 45 percent. In 2008, researchers found in an animal study that sulforaphane in broccoli protects the heart from damage when it is deprived of oxygen (such as what occurs when a coronary artery is blocked by a clot).

What makes the diabetes study so compelling is that it seems to actually identify mechanisms triggered by sulforaphane in broccoli that may allow an actual reversal of high blood sugar damage.

All of the studies point out the need for generous servings of vegetables and fruit on a daily basis - the general mantra is '5 a day' but aim to double that! You really can't go wrong with veggies so get chopping and load up those plates!

Even if you're not as enthusiastic about the appeal of broccoli as I am you can get similar benefits by including 'related' veg - Broc (my affectionate term, we're pretty close now...) is a member of the Brassica group in the mustard family - here's a few alternatives you can start to include in your 10 a day habit:

Root vegetables -- swede, turnips, kohlrabi
Leafy vegetables -- cabbage, Brussels sprouts, kale, rapini, collard greens, bok choy, napa (Chinese cabbage), mustard greens
Flowers -- cauliflower, broccoli, broccoflower
Seeds -- mustard seed and sprouts

We really are what we eat - the question is, do you rate yourself highly enough to feed your body with vibrant goodness, or are you happy to chuck in any old junk and get by?

I know what I'm doing! Broccoli all the way... (Plus lots of other lovely veggies, plenty of lean protein, eggs, fish oils, nuts, oats, sweet potatoes, berries and other fruits and the odd glass of vin rouge and super-dark chocolate of course...).

Lightning Bolt

2008-08-18T01:38:00.001-07:00

I just couldn't resist it - such a perfect surname for the fastest person in the world!

If you haven't seen Usain Bolt's world record winning Olympic sprint from the weekend then you really must check it out - http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/olympics/athletics/7565572.stm

He annihilated the field, broke the world record, and jogged the last few metres in 'celebration' mode!

The thing that relly hit me about Usain is that he is not 'built' to be a sprinter! Sprinters are classically relatively short - under 5'10". Usain is a staggering 6'5" which would usually prevent 100m success - the long limbs are usually less able to co-ordinate and build up the required pace over such a short distance. Taller sprinters are usually diverted to the longer distances such as 400m.

But Usain and his coach decided to defy 'convention'. Against all odds they made it possible to get max speed out of his long limbs over the 100m, and as a result he has surpassed his shorter rivals.

He could have used his height as an excuse - I'm too tall for the 100m....

But instead, the challenge and adversity is what made his amazing success all the sweeter...

The same applies to you in your fat loss and fitness quest. You are busy and have forces pulling against you all the time - but rather than letting these forces take you down you can win despite this disadvantage. And when you reach your goals it is your challenging circumstances that will make success all the sweeter!

We all look at celebrities who are whipped into shape a week after a baby or a 'fat' movie and we don't usually have that much admiration for their achievement as we know they have had it all 'on a plate': an on-call Personal Trainer, perfectly proportioned and delicious 'rations' delivered to them daily and the extreme motivational push of worldwide press coverage to keep them on track.

When we see 'real' people with real challenges we have much more respect and admiration, and when people achieve 'against the odds' we rate their achievements far higher.

It is our response to our unique challenges that determines our success, and usually it is the challenge that makes success more likely.

You may think that others who have the results you would like may 'have it easy' but usually this is not the case! I personally struggle with weight but because of that I have made fitness and good nutrition into a way of life - and I am glad about that! If I had always been naturally slim and athletic I would not be as fit and healthy as I am now, and would in all liklihood probably not be a trainer doing a job I adore.

So let's relish the challenges! And don't let anyone tell you you're just 'not meant to be' anything. We can all be slim and fit and healthy - and we all deserve to be!

Wanna Be Unstoppable?

2008-08-13T02:29:00.000-07:00

For those of you on my mailing list you'll know I've just entered Scott Tousignant's Unstoppable Fat Loss Contest.

This is truly unlike any other transformation contest out there - all of which deal with the external. Scott, meanwhile, has created the Unstoppable Mindset approach - providing you with the tools to create internal change that will enable you to take action towards your goals with more inspired clarity and will mean you effortlessly shift from achieving to maintaining results as the habits have been permanently created and part of the fabric of your life.

The mind is so powerful - if you believe you can acheive, but most of us hold lingering self doubts: Can we acheive? Can we maintain that success or will it be a permanent uphill struggle? These thoughts hinder our progress as we subconsciously self-sabotage: a sneaky snack here, a missed workout there, it won't matter?

To enter you simply download the audios (and you get loads of bonuses, such as workouts for a year!) and will recieve more instructions from there. It's currently at a bargain half price and most of the bonuses are only available until midnight tonight, so if you are keen to make the most of the last few weeks of summer then get to Scott's site ASAP - CLICK HERE FOR UNSTOPPABLE FAT LOSS!

I do also know it's a perfect time to be doing something like this - I'm sure you're as inspired as I am by the focus and determination of the Olympic athletes in Bejing! But rather than looking at them as exceptions to the 'average Joe / Jane' rule we should use that inspiration to make positive changes in our own lives - we don't need to be going for gold in China to acheive excellence and continual improvement in our own lives.

Anyway, you can find out more about the challenge through Scott's site: UNSTOPPABLE FAT LOSS TRANSFORMATION CONTEST. I've signed up and looking forward to hearing more about what's going on tomorrow!

If you're interested, the plan I'm following, nutrition and training wise, is one I only discovered over the weekend - Nick Nilsson's Metabolic Surge. It's not for the fainthearted and not something I would recommend for beginners at all as it involves strict manipulation of macronutrients and specific (and intense) training protocols on set days, but I like testing these kinds of things out! Of course I've modified the programme (under Nick's guidance) as I'm using kettlebells and his programme is more gym-based. It promises amazing results so we shall see - I'm committed to it for the next 48 or so days and going to be strict with it so I'll be able to blame the programme if it doesn't work! Will post here with updates every now and then...

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Fat Loss

2008-08-11T04:03:00.000-07:00

I've been listening to the audio of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People in the van recently, as part of my Magic Hundred goal to learn stuff and make the most of otherwise wasted time spent driving between clients.

There is a lot of useful stuff in there and pretty much all of it can be applied to fitness and fat loss:

1. Be Proactive

We have to build our own momentum, so it is essential to take the initiative to get of the sofa and TAKE ACTION! No-one will do it for us, so if we want to achieve anything in life, professional or personal, we have to accept responsibility and get moving!

2. Begin With The End in Mind

We can start a fitness or fat loss journey randomly, but my taking time to really consider our goals and get a real understanding of how we will look and feel and behave when we get there, we make the journey more focussed, and also ensure we are going in the right direction! In the book, Covey uses the example of a businessman who single-mindedly climbs to the top of his career ladder, only to realise upon looking back down, that is was up against the wrong wall!

Make sure your programme fits your goals and you maximise your time and effort by having a clear goal in the first place!

3. Put First Things First

Don't run before you can walk and don't buy a fat-burning, metabolism boosting pill until your diet and training are sorted (if at all!). If you are not training at all you may want to run into things head first with two feet (not sure that's physically possible, but you get my point..) but you will end up burning out or causing injury. Work up at a sensible rate and ensure you are setting a good foundation for more advanced exercise.

With nutrition, this is why fad diets will fail - the actual diet will cause you to lose weight but in the long run it is the daily lifelong habits that need addressing.

Adding exercise into an already hectic schedule may also be a challenge and then exercise is the first thing to go when something takes the schedule into overdrive. Instead, look at time-management first - you may have some dead time or time spent micro-managing that with a little alteration could be delegated more effectively.

4. Think Win-Win

'Win-Lose' is the mentality that to win in your fat loss mission, those around you must 'lose' your time or output. 'Lose-Win' would mean that for your family to 'win' or get time spent on them as they require, you have to 'lose', martyring your workout time to the good of the family.

A 'win-win' mentality is the only one that we should strive for (or a 'win-win or 'no deal' as Covey discusses in more detail!). And it very much applies to getting healthy and fit in many ways. For example, if you are fit and happy within yourself, you have more energy and more positivity to share with your family.

You may spend time on your health (but who would deny you that? Certainly no-one who loves you..) but that will be repaid many times over in the quality of the time you do spend with your family. It is well known that offspring of unhealthy parents usually end up overweight themselves - if the cupboards are ful of healthier foods and it's the norm to eat more healthily your whole family will benefit in the short and long term.

And fitness and activity can so easily be integrated into family life. Most kids love moving and have more energy than us adults can usually handle! If you play with them or take them biking or whatever you are getting quality time together while both getting fit and feeling great!

We need to alter our mindsets to truly get a handle on the fact that just because we 'win' doesn't mean someone else has to lose - and that we should always strive to make any situation 'win-win'.

5. Seek First to Understand Then to Be Understood

The way I have related this one to fat loss and fitness is more from my own perspective as a trainer. Many trainers will 'prescribe' the same training programme or nutritional approach to all their clients, regardless of who they are and what their unique needs are.

I laughed when Covey used the illustration of a guy who goes to the optician to get some glasses. When he explains that his sight is failing the optician pauses, hands him his own glasses, and says 'here, try these, they've worked for me for years'!

When the guy protests 'but these make things worse!' the optician dismisses his concerns, telling him to 'try harder' and 'think positively' as they must work - after all they worked fine for him.

This is all to often seen in the fitness industry! I screen my clients for postural issues and weaknesses etc before starting with the training. I spend the hour long consulation finding out about their history in exercise and about them as a person. All this feeds into the approach I take which is different for every client - what works for one will make another worse!

Nutritionally this is really important too. I thrive on what most people consider a low carb diet (it's really a moderate carb one though!) but I will not make my clients follow it because it works for me. Some people need to make big drastic changes in order to stay motivated and fired up whereas others need to take it step by step so they don't freak out over all the change and revert back to where they started.

Listening to yourself and understanding how your own mind works is just as useful, then you can more easily identify the approaches that will work for you and the ones that don't.

6. Synergise

Diets don't work? Or do they? Diets essentially do work but they have to be implemented correctly by the dieter. And this involves the steps above - making sure you have a goal, ensuring you are choosing the right programme for you in the first place etc.

Plus it is the synergy of mindset, training, nutrition, rest and recovery that get results - the total is definitely very much more than the sum of its parts. Exercise for a while, give that up, try a diet for a while, give that up - nothing is going to work on its own. Implement all in a steady, progressive way and you will get results, and keep them!

7. Sharpen The Saw

Well, I'm not onto this chapter yet! Will see how I interpret it with regards fitness and fat loss and update you all soon!

Shhh... Don't Tell Anyone What's In This Healthy, Delicious, Low Calorie / Fat / Carb Dessert!

2008-08-11T03:43:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted any recipes on here for a while, my intent to post a weekly recipe has certainly slipped! Partly because I tend to buy healthy ingredients and throw them together most of the time - keeping things simple can actually be a godsend when you are watching what you are eating and the added extras in many ingredients often lead to added calories.

However, I have had a huge tub of vanilla protein powder that I just haven't really been using for a while, as I prefer my Promax Diet shake, blended with ice, coconut milk and some hemp protein powder at the mo. I also started buying Fat Free Quark instead of cottage cheese as I have been overdoing the cottage cheese and it does contain a fair amount of sodium that I wanted to cut down on, and the Quark is similar protein and carb content just with virtually no fat.

So, after a particularly enjoyable and hard kettlebell workout I realised time had flown and I was in a bit of a rush so couldn't really have lunch as I had planned, but I didn't really fancy a shake on its own. So I randomly decided to try blending 20g of the vanilla protein powder in with 125g Quark and a few frozen blueberries and raspberries in my Magic Bullet blender (the best blender in the world - thanks to John Berardi for bringing my attention to it!).

The Quark is thick so it took some shaking and mixing up with a spoon (the design of the Magic Bullet makes this pretty easy though) but the result was incredible!

I tasted some straight from the blender (in fact the bit that gets stuck in the actual sharp bit but it was worth the risk) and it was truly divine. The vanilla protein powder added sweetness and vanilla flavour to the Quark without tasting remotely of protein powder (this will depend on your chosen brand to some extent as some are gross regardless...) and the frozen berries made it fruity and chilled.

I served this with a few more frozen berries and enjoyed every mouthful! Plus it worked out at under 200 cals! Bargain... You could add some chopped walnuts or other nuts if you wanted and had calories to spare, or you could make it into a cheesecake-type dessert using chopped almonds to make a biscuit-style base!

That's what I love about healthy food - it doesn't have to be hard work following recipes and buying ingredients! You can just see what you have and throw it together and see what happens...

Would love to hear from any of you who try this and let me know if you like it. Will post a photo next time I make it - if I can delay eating it for long enough to get a shot that is...

Mission Slim-Possible Update

2008-08-06T07:44:00.000-07:00

Mission Slim-Possible is still going strong - but is evolving so here's an update for you. There are 4 of us involved and one of them is me, so if you join us the chances of getting a prize are pretty high!

In case you think you've missed the boat, it is designed to be a rolling thing - you can start your Mission at any point - the key thing is to focus on staying committed to your mission, however big or small, for the whole time.

And in fact, small is better! The concept has evolved since I had the idea and I realised that I had been too strict with myself - so I took the executive decision to re-plan and update my mission. This may seem like a cop-out but the kilos I had added during my holiday (and the post-holiday blues I came back with) dropped within a couple of days (obviously just water / fluid retention) so I decided that action did not need to be so drastic.

It is more important to focus on a few key changes for the entire period (or even just one), then repeat the process adding more changes each time. This means you can create new, healthful habits without having to be too strict!

I have also decided to make it a 4 week process! As it is a rolling process this means you can layer more healthy habits each month, meaning you're constantly evolving and improving.

I was planning to fast twice a week, as per Eat Stop Eat, but although I really enjoyed the first fast, the following four were a real struggle. So I made the call to stop doing that - it is always important to be able to identify when something isn't quite right for you at a certain time. It was a hard decision as I had made my 'pledge' but it would have been counterproductive to keep going regardless.

This decision to change tack did come at the same time as I read Vince Del Monte's incredible new programme though, and I think it was reading his programme that made me want to jump ship. It's called Your 6 Pack Ab Quest and I was so overwhelmed with the amount of info he's included - such as 12 hours of DVD footage where he shows you exactly what to do on the training front - that I couldn't believe it didn't cost way more than it did (it's on half price at the mo too!). The story behind it is he basically got this guy, Peter Carvell (who 6 months ago was told by his doctor that he was clinically obese & on the verge of developing type 2 diabetes) to lose 276 lbs and gain a 6 pack!

Now I'm not interested in any of his workout advice as I am far too hooked on my kettlebells, but the whole package was worth it for me just for the nutritional advice. He has a real no-nonsense, no-excuses approach and it was just what I needed to hear! Of course I know the nutritional approaches that work, and he wasn't teaching my anything I didn't already know, but what it did do was focus my attention on the important things and make me realise that a few of my food choices mean I am 'sitting on the fence' with regards to my final couple of kilos and not making the absolute best choices.

He's got a half price offer on at the moment but if you want to make the most of it you had better be quick as it runs out at midnight Thursday (and I'm never quite sure when midnight is when we're all on different time zones - better to be safe than sorry!).

You can get more info here: Your 6 Pack Ab Quest

Magic Hundred Update: Day 27!

2008-08-06T07:35:00.000-07:00

In case you thought I'd given up on my Magic Hundred Programme I thought I'd give you a bit of an update!

I'm gradually checking things off my list - although some of the more boring 'housekeeping' goals have taken a bit of a backburner to be honest! I set a goal to 'do my accounts' but really I should've set a goal to 'always do my accounts on the last day of the month' as having 100 days to get it done has actually helped me to put it off till nearer the deadline!

That is one of the things I have noticed about having 100 days - there is some law that states that 'a task expands to fit the time allocated to it' that explains why most of us leave things to the last minute, and although I am regularly reading my list (not as much as I should) I find that as there are so many goals it's easy to neglect the boring ones in favour of the fun stuff!

Which aint no bad thing, is it? The Magic Hundred is meant to be about the fun stuff anyway! So last weekend we finally learnt to kitesurf*! It is a classic case of something that has been put off because of silly excuses (it costs too much, we don't have time, they wear stupid shorts over their wetsuits) but that we really should take up - we're windsurfers but windsurfing doesn't get interesting until its about force 6, so we are often sat at the beach feeling a bit miserable in the summer when all the kitesurfers are cruising around in a force 3 and glorious sunshine!

It was the Magic Hundred that got us taking action, and while the financial excuse is still there - we can't really afford to buy the kit - once we've bought it we will just have to cut back on other things for a while...

(*The pic is me on day 1 by the way...)

Yoga of Eating - Free Report From Peggy Hall

2008-08-04T12:39:00.000-07:00

Peggy Hall is an avid surfer and a certified yoga instructor, personal trainer and nutritional consultant, who has written dozens of articles on surfing, fitness and nutrition for publications such as Oxygen and Cooler.

Peggy was actually my motivation for giving up the 'day job' and persuing my dream of becoming a trainer! I regularly practice the fantastic Yoga for Surfers DVDs she created and it was during the blissful relaxation at the end that Peggy's soothing but motivating words really hit the spot - my decision was made. She then became a role model for me, providing me with a real source of inspiration and motivation - I still want to make my own Yoga (and Kettlebell) DVDs and write for the major fitness magazines!

The Yoga for Surfers DVDs are brilliant for everyone - you really don't have to be a surfer. Great for you guys who think yoga is for girls too, as surfing legend Tom Carroll (see pic) is there showing you how it's done (on the yoga mat as well as on the water!).

Peggy has offered you, my lucky readers, the chance to receive a free report on the 'Yoga of Eating'. In this crazy world of nutrition rules and fad diets this is something we can all learn from and bring into our daily lives (me included...). You can sign up directly here:

The Most Inspirational Video I Have Ever Seen

2008-07-31T14:06:00.000-07:00

This is one of the most inspirational YouTube (or any) videos I have seen in a long time, if ever. It shows how determination can win over pretty much anything.

It's not about never falling, it's about getting up every time you fall....

You gotta check this out.

I love that it's yoga that helps him achieve this incredible transformation, too. More exciting yoga news to come soon...

Did Your Weekend Derail Your Fat Loss Efforts?

2008-07-28T04:16:00.001-07:00

It's a classic scenario - great all week then the temptation of the weekend kills or even reverses all the gains (or losses) you've made over the week!

Especially in the summer - all the BBQs and the ever-tempting refreshing glasses of beer or wine to cool you down in the sunshine!

If you are feeling a bit 'worse for wear' after a weekend that was heavy on the cals or booze and light on the exercise then make sure you remember this feeling - and try to invoke the memory next weekend - if you can improve your choices over the weekend you can still enjoy yourself at the weekends without messing everything up!

Also, use this feeling to get you super motivated for the coming week. Don't let yourself go further down the spiral, but start afresh and get back on the clean eating and quality exercising as soon as you can!

If you want to up the ante a bit and actually get great results over the next 6 weeks (rather than letting the weekends mess things up every time!) you might want to join us on the 6 Week Mission Slim-Possible! I've set up a specific site for anyone who wants to get that bit more focussed so check it out and lets get into a 'No Excuses' frame of mind!

http://missionslim-possible.ning.com/

This might be to resist certain treats at the weekend, to limit the alcohol or to ensure you train before you go out - it's up to you, but what I do want you to commit to is sticking to your plan for the entire 6 weeks! I started this last Monday so Monday 1st Sep is my deadline, but you can start whenever you like, it will be a rolling thing! You can even re-start with some new pledges each 6 weeks, building new habits progressively with each 6 week phase!

By signing up you will get one to one advice and guidance from me, to help you choose the best training and nutrition plans for you.

Get signed up now: http://missionslim-possible.ning.com/

Join Us! Our 6-Week Mission Slim-Possible...

2008-07-24T07:27:00.000-07:00

Well despite being pretty healthy on my recent holiday (we were camping and I still made a tuna and cottage cheese salad for lunch every day and had spinach with my morning eggs and loads of veg on the BBQ every eve!) I still came back a couple of kilos heavier than I left!

I really must have the 'fat gene' as I really was pretty good diet-wise - not even a single cream tea despite being in Cornwall, or a proper 'fish and chips'! (Did have a 'gourmet' version at a posh restaurant but didn't quite hit the spot...). Windsurfed or surfed every day, walked loads and was generally active (no kettlebells though - gave them a vacation too!) but I did have more wine than usual and shunned my usual FitDay logging and just generally enjoyed life so I did expect the creep I guess...

Most of us experience this with every major holiday or even long weekend. Depsite being 'good' most of the time, the cumulative effect of these indulgent periods will really make a huge impact on the waistline if some action is not taken to immediately get back on track. This is one of the big reasons why people gain weight each year - without getting back to where you were each time you can easily keep gaining and gaining weight without even realising it.

As an athlete has 'seasons' it makes sense that losing weight can work that way too. We don't need to be super strict all the time but by alternating maintenance periods with structured dieting phases we can actually get even better results. The key is to ensure the phases are distinct: structured and focussed effort at intervals, interspersed that with 'maintenance' periods where your body can adjust and you can give yourself a break.

So, what's Mission Slim-Possible all about then?

Well, I was training one of my superstar clients on Monday morning (one of the best times of the week to work out!) and she was feeling that her progress had stalled, due to the fact that I had been away as well as the added stress / chaos of extended family having been staying and her focus had wavered a little.

This is a client who is super-determined and had amazing results over a 6 week period (look out for her results in future posts) losing inches and pounds and looking great. However it is often at that point that we hit a bit of a plateau.

This is actually due in part to the 'treat creep' effect - without realising it we are so pleased with our results we think we can ease off a little, or end up rewarding ourselves with a few 'extras' here and there. This is a very common occurance and can go unnoticed, so being able to identify this stage and break through it with a concerted effort is definitely a good plan so you do make it all the way to your final goal! Once we lose a bit of weight and increase out fitness levels we often feel so much better that it does become harder to stick to the 'rules' that were easier to stick to when we feel really fat and unfit.

Anyway, back to the Mission. Caroline really wanted to get that zest and focus of the first 6 weeks back, in order to bust through this plateau and reach her ultimate goals. I was also feeling that I could use a bit of a boost to lose the holiday gain and also that last couple of kilos I've been half-heartedly wanting to shed (again, I'd hit that stage where I was perfectly happy where I was so lost the drive to give it an all-out effort, given that my training and nutrition is good anyway). For me, the holiday gain has been enough to get me motivated again!

So we made a pledge together to get fully on it - a 6 week 'No Excuses' focussed effort to get at least 8lb off! We both train pretty hard already, but we made some tweaks to the programme for maximum effect. I've been a little slack on the interval front since my knee op on the one hand but have also been giving myself too little rest so I've reworked my training to include short interval sessions more often and on alternate days to my main full-body resistance workouts (will post workouts in a future blog if anyone's interested...).

Nutrition is the key, though (you can't out train a bad diet, remember!) and that is what we are both focussing on.

I had been following Brad Pilon's Eat Stop Eat and just as I got close to my goals actually stopped doing it for a while, but now he's launched his Advanced Audio Files - they arrived just as I returned from holiday which was perfect timing - I got back onto the programme before even listening to them and it was great to listen to them as they renewed my focus and understanding of the programme - I was re-motivated as began to truly understand how the programme works and also the many health benefits to his controversial approach which weren't so apparent in the book alone.

So, we are both following Eat Stop Eat, but also combining that with a few extra rules. One of the key parts of Eat Stop Eat is to actually avoid too many rules and losing the Obsessive Compulsive Eating habits that the 'eat 5-6 small meals a day' mantra encourages. However, I personally find that I can easily let the calories creep up unless I have rules (it's just the way I am!) so I have banned peanut butter and cottage cheese (they are great foods but ones that I can easily add a few extra cals to my day with so figured it was an easy way to eliminate the excess) and also limiting myself to 1/2 bottle wine a week. I was thinking we should go completely dry, but then we decided that we can have a little joy and it will make the whole thing much easier to stick to. That can mean a glass on Friday and Saturday evenings which is nice and civilised and we can't possibly feel deprived. We all know that moderate alcohol intake is good for us and I'm going to stick to red wine which is even better... But that is our one treat!

As for the rest, no starchy, junky carbs at all (I don't eat those anyway, my indulgences tend to be larger portions of healthy foods such as cottage cheese, fruit and nuts! Sad but true...) and general portion / calorie control (I log every thing on FitDay so keeping my cals to 1600 - 2000 a day) and just the normal focus on eating loads of lovely salads and veg!

So, are you in? If you want to join us in Mission Slim-Possible then comment here or email me (via my website: http://www.perfectfitforlife.com/) and we can discuss the guidelines in more detail. As detailed above we have actually both set our own parameters as I would never condone a 1-size-fits-all approach. I have guided Caroline to her plan but if she wants to include more carbs than I do then that is fine, so long as the overall diet is sound (essentially any diet will work if you are consistent!). As we are following Eat Stop Eat the rest of it is all about keeping the nutrition factor high by eating good quality stuff!

So you can decide your plan, email it to me and then I can advise on how best to adjust it for maximum results based on your personal preferences and circumstances. I can also advise you on workouts you should be following to maximise chances of success.

You can email me your results and I can update the blog with your progress, or you can create your own blog (posting in public increases your success!) and we can see who gets the best results! I'll even give a really cool Kettlebell Workout Bonus to the winner (hmmm, that means I can't win... so at the moment my client, Caroline, is bound to win as it's just us in the race! But that does mean your chances are pretty good too...).

I've set up a little exclusive 'members only' club so we can share our experiences and success - you can sign up and post your personal mission plan and stats here: http://missionslim-possible.ning.com/.

Really hope some of you feel inspired to join us. Whatever you do, we'll be on our way to losing those stubborn pounds! Take control and take action!

Get Abs Like These!

2008-07-22T03:45:00.000-07:00

Can you believe that this guy spends most of his time at a desk or travelling?! But then he is Craig Ballantyne, creator of Turbulence Training, the system designed for busy men and women to get fit and foxy without having to sweat it out for hours on end in overpriced, overhyped, sweaty gyms!

He's offering us all the chance to get shredded abs like these: Turbulence Training For Abs, his unique, CRUNCH FREE speedy way to get the abs of your dreams!

The first 100 copies come with his extra special gift for you worth $59.85... but that has probably already gone as the promo started Monday (sorry for not letting you guys know sooner!). But so long as you get it by midnight Wed you'll get loads of bonus goodies:

Craig's new program that features 5 new TT for Abs workout programmes including...
1) The 4-Week Beginner Introduction to CRUNCH-FREE Ab Workout

2) The 4-Week Intermediate Level ANTI-CRUNCH Ab Workout

3) And THREE Advanced 4-Week Home Abdominal Workouts

PLUS, you'll get...
4) The "TT Abs 300" Workout Challenges (including one for beginners,intermediate, and advanced fitness levels)

5) The Bodyweight Abs program that you can do anytime, anywhere,without a single piece of equipment. (This program comes withbeginner and advanced versions too!)

All that, AND STILL MORE... The TT for Abs Home Abdominal Workouts also comes with...
a) The Advanced Ab Nutrition Meal Plans for Men & Women (this is really brilliant - this alone is worth buying the whole lot for IMO)

b) The 5 Motivational Secrets to STOP Cheating on Your Diet and Never Skip Another Workout Again

PLUS, the first 100 men and women to grab their copy gets a 3-month TT Basic Level Membership to the TT forums and workout of the monthclub (at the time of writing there's only 7 of these left!)

AND FINALLY, he's added THREE more 4-week programmes to sweeten the deal and keep you burning fat for another 2-3 months. When you grabyour copy before Wednesday, July 23rd at midnight, you'll get:

1) The NEW "Hot Zone TT Fat Loss Workout"......showing you how 4 simple exercises hit all the fat burning hot zones of the body and help you boost metabolism and burn more belly fat.

2) "Bikini Ready Abs"......from America's #1 Fat Loss expert for Mom's, Holly Rigsby, giving you another "IN-HOME" fat burning abdominal workout you can do with minimal equipment.

3) The Big 5 Fat Burning TT Circuit Workout......revealing one of the most popular and innovative fat burning workouts Craig has ever put together. If you love burning fat with circuits, you'll love this simple 5 exercise solution to getting rid of stubborn belly fat.

WHEW!

That's an incredible offer, but its only here for 3 days...

...So That You Can Burn Belly Fat and Work Your Abs in the Comfortof Your Own Home...
As you can see by HIS PHOTO (he's looking hot that's for sure!) on his new site, he knows how to get abs without doing crunches or long, slow boring cardio. And he'll show you all NEW workouts to help you do the same.

Check out Craig's new program HERE:=> Turbulence Training For Abs

But remember...

1) Only the first 100 copies get the extra bonus worth $59.85

2) The "Bikini Ready Abs", "Hot Zone Fat Loss", and "Big 5 Circuit Workout" are only available as FREE GIFTS for the next 3 days. They are gone after Wednesday, to be put back in Craig's workout vault for Platinum TT members only.

WHY IS HE DOING THIS?

Because he knows you can't wait any longer to get working on yourabs...summer is here and passing us by - and so are your chances toimpress everyone with a new body on the beach, at concerts, or at BBQs.

Check out TT for Abs for all of the details on this Limited-Time Special Offer: => Turbulence Training For Abs

So save time and money by grabbing your copy today. But hurry, this Special Offer expires and VANISHES - Poof, just like your belly fat will - at midnight on July 23rd.

Get started with the all NEW Turbulence Training for Abs Home Abdominal Workouts here: => Turbulence Training For Abs

Helping you look great this summer!

Caroline

P.S. The bonuses are gone after July 23rd. In fact, only the first 100 copies get the 3-Month TT Membership bonus.

So get your copy now: Turbulence Training For Abs

Reverse The Aging Process! (Don't Forget Your ID Even Though You're Almost 30!)

2008-07-20T10:54:00.000-07:00

OMG! I am utterly flabberghasted! I have been asked for ID to buy a bottle of wine for the 4th time in a row! Here in the UK, you have to be 18 to drink and I've been 'getting served' since the tender age of 13 (I had a bit of a wayward youth...) but suddenly, at the tender age of 30 minus 100 or so days, I am getting asked to prove I am over 18!! How can this be?

Well, I have lost weight - discovering kettlebells, amongst other things, has helped me shed a few kilos that I've had for most of my 20s (nice to get to 30 looking better than I did at 21!) and I eat an extortionate amount of veg and get plenty of protein and good fats etc, but all of this has been pretty typical for me for quite a while so can't be the only explanation.

Resistance training actually reverses biological markers of aging too, but again, I've been training with weights for ages...

The only thing I can think of that is new in my life is the intermittent fasting, thanks to Brad Pilon's Eat Stop Eat programme. I've been doing it on and off for the past few months and have found it a great way to control the calorie intake without having to obsess about food (something I am very prone to!). Brad has just launched the Eat Stop Eat Advanced Audio Files and I was actually listening to them yesterday on the way to the supermarket in question as he was explaining all the benefits to not only your waistline, but also your health, and explained the scientifically proven anti-aging effects of fasting. So when I was asked for ID I found it amusing as it did seem to be anecdotal evidence that it was having that effect on me!

The audios are really informative - even though its a really simple concept we are continually bombarded with soundbites such as 'you must eat every 3 hours or you will go into starvation mode' etc, and Brad neatly unpicks all the nonsense in a really unique and wonderful way! There is quite a lot of 'sciency' stuff in there, but he does explain it well so you don't feel too bamboozled by it all. I'll definitely listen to them a few times to properly understand it all, but the key messages are loud and clear - this is a system that works.

Brad has just turned 31 and is in a similar boat to me - looking better and stressing less now than he did 10 years ago! As a birthday bonus he's launching the audios and throwing in a free copy of the original book, so you should get hold of your copy now here: Eat Stop Eat - Audio Files and EBook

You'll find out that most of what you read is a waste of your time, and how to control calories without dieting or stressing (while saving yourself a lot of time and hassle in the process!)

Free Fat Loss Tips: 14 Experts Share Their Secrets!

2008-07-19T11:51:00.000-07:00

Well I have been very slack on the posting front, but I am trying to give myself 'technology free' time and after the last post the rest of my holiday was blissfully lap-top free! Lots of sunshine and surf and plenty of relaxing - and we got back to a weekend of sunshine and windsurfing on the South Coast of the UK which is always nice!

To top it all off, I've been selected as one of the world's premier fat loss experts and have been asked to contribute my closely guarded secrets to the rest of the world! The Free Fat Loss Tips website is where 13 other experts from Australia, the United States & Canada join me to share our secrets - and the best part, of course, is each of us has decided to give up these secrets for free! The site is now live: http://www.freefatlosstips.com

So, who are the experts?

Daniel Munday, who specialises in short, intense workouts for busy people who usually don't have time to exercise. He is giving away the Aussie Fatblast Secrets Revealed audio and eBook special report.
Dave Soucy, a women's fat loss expert, who has a great Busy Women's Fitness Solution eBook. This 50 pages of jam packed, results producing info is aimed at women sick of trying fad diets and boring treadmill workouts.
Ed Scow, the author of Fat Loss To Go, who is giving you 3 hot secret reports on the best ways for men and women to lose that body fat.Mike Grafstein, is a Youth Soccer expert who has some great interval fitness programs if you have any kids that play the world game.
Caroline Radway (that's me) - to get a copy of my free report 'The Perfect Ten' then just use the sign up form at the top of the page!
Stephen Cabral, a renowned media personality, who is offering The World's Most Powerful Weight Loss Interval reportDan Grant, magazine contributor and body transformation coach who will teach you his Degrees of Change system to accelerate your fat loss results
Dr Kareem Samhouri's ground breaking, year long, Lift Hard Play Hard program is one of the internets premier online training solutions.
Eddie Enriquez, who has created the MyTrainer.com website to allow users free access to some of the best fitness videos and audios on the planet. This is You Tube for fitness.
John Fell, a Sydney based trainer to the stars who is offering you 3 months online training with access to mp3 workouts, education, and his sought after motivation and support methods.
Ben Warstler, runs successful boot camps in small town Vermont and is sharing with you his 4 Secret Hot Spots for fast and effective fat loss.
Susan Hill, a renowned personal trainer of the year winner, and author of the Bikini Butt Workout for all the women wanting to look their best in their swimsuit this summer. Susan will give you the best tips for picking the right swimsuit.
Jeremy and Alissa Nelms, creators of the revolutionary Mid Year Resolutions Program which is a teleseminar series that addresses your fat loss, financial and relationship success. Jeremy interviews over 20 experts and you can gain access to this for free!
BJ Gaddour, a successful real world fat loss expert who has a revolutionary online membership site with audio workout programs to maximise your fat burn. BJ is offering a free, downloadable, cardio workout.

As you can see, it is a comprehensive list of accomplished and successful Fat Loss Experts and a whole lot of information waiting for you to get stuck into. You really don't want to miss the boat on this one - these trainers charge upwards of $100 an hour for their time and you get to get inside their heads for free!

Once again, the place to get your freebies is http://www.freefatlosstips.com

Do tell all your friends about this - we can all do with a nudge in the right direction - even I'm signing up to find out what all the others are offering!

Fishing For My Magic Hundred!

2008-07-13T05:28:00.000-07:00

Well we've begun the Magic Hundred journey - although the list hasn't been fully written yet and we've not actually read the whole book (as you have to do the tasks at each stage before moving on) the Magic has started! It even took us to a castle on a hill for a gorgeous Lebanese meal on our first night in Cornwall, completely randomly!

One of the things on my list was to learn to fish. We go to Ireland all the time and every time we go I say 'one day we should...' and that is the exact phrase the Magic Hundred wants you to get rid of! It's so powerful, too - every time I catch myself doing that I now switch my thinking and decide to 'just do it' instead! So we bought a fishing rod and all the accoutrements, walked to the end of the beach, clambered over the rocks to find a potentially suitable spot, cast the line and within a second the line had got completely tangled and we lost the float and hooks! We spent about half an hour untangling the line, then clambered back to the van and bought our dinner instead - gutted (or not, in this case...)

Day 2 was far more successful - off the pier in St Ives. I learnt how to cast, but that was about it. I'm blaming the huge seal that was lurking around, scaring all the fish!

So I've got about 97 days left and need to catch 20 fish to meet my goal! Luckily the last week of the Hundred Days we'll be in Ireland so if I don't manage it by then, we'll be in a perfect place for it... Think of all those omega 3s....

Spinning Around Like A Crazy Kid To Lose Weight?

2008-07-09T03:17:00.000-07:00

Well this is a new one on me, but I kinda like the crazy stuff so thought I'd give it a go! Basically, Jen Jolan has a tip gleaned from studying the (slim and youthful) Turkish Whirling Dirvishes - spin around on the spot a few times, and repeat a few times a day, to increase fat loss! It has something to do with cellular energy, and while I'm not sure of the science of it, it's fun and strangely energising! Not sure if spending your day a bit dizzy means you forget about food, but she has tried and tested it on loads of her clients so I'm going to give it a try and see what happens. In fact I had a go yesterday and my Kettlebell Renegade Rows went from 16kg x 6 each side to 8 each side, which I've been trying to get to for ages... All in the mind, maybe, but who cares if it works?

To find out more Jen has a downloadable report for you at her site: Weight Loss For Women (but you guys can give it a go too!).

Lunchtime at the Beach

2008-07-07T11:16:00.000-07:00

Well here in the UK summer seems to have turned to autumn, which is bad news for most people, but as a windsurfer I'm absolutely loving it! We had really good wind and waves, as well as sunshine and warm(ish) water on Saturday at Overcombe.

So where's the fitness and fatloss relevance, I hear you say? Well, it's all to easy to turn to junk foods when you've had a hard (and cold) day on the water and most windsurfers feel the need for junk to keep their energy up. A lot of the guys (and it is a very male dominated sport) can get away with it, but I know I have to keep my nutrition tight regardless of the activity I do (and squeezing into a tight wetsuit on a regular basis is enough to give anyone a complex...) so I make sure I arrive well prepared and make sure that my healthy fare is sustaining and delicious enough to keep me energised and happy!

The picture shows the gorgeous salad I treated myself to while sat on the beach after a great session - a huge mixed salad with chicken and cottage cheese, topped with a dollop of pesto and drizzled with balsamic vinegar, yum. I stored it in a coolbox in the van so it was chilled, fresh & ready for me when I needed it - no queues in busy beach cafes or waiting to be served for me - and no paying through the nose for it either. Trying to eat healthily in cafes when you are as hungry as you are after a day on the water is a nightmare, too. As you can see, it may be a salad but it is certainly a lot more than you would ever get served in a restaurant (it's a v. big container!).

A win-win situation I think... As it is if you do the same and prepare your lunch to take to the office - if you have a tub of salad this big you can split it into 2 or 3 to keep you energised throughout the day (as recommended by Simon Lovell in his Lunch Box Diet).

This is part of a 'no excuses' strategy that I use myself and recommend to my clients. If you set your mind to it you can find ways to outfox all the fat-loss obstructing hazards that are always lurking somewhere and get awesome results. If you want to find out more then make sure you sign up to my mailing list using the form at the top of the page!

Precision Nutrition Tip of the Week by Dr. John Berardi: Fish Oil Rules

2008-07-04T14:40:00.000-07:00

Fish Oil Rules by Dr. John Berardi:

"I consider fish oil to be an essential supplement for fat loss. Data from the University of Western Ontario shows that fish oil supplementation increases lean body mass (during non-dieting conditions), increases BMR (by up to 400kcal/day), decreases inflammation, and improves the ratio of fat/carb oxidized (sparing carbs, burning fat). Recommended dose: Start with 6-10g per day of total fish oil (assuming 30% EPA and DHA)."

SEE ALSO: This tip is sponsored by Precision Nutrition - my pick for the best nutrition and supplement resource currently available. Containing system manuals, gourmet cookbook, digital audio/video library, online membership, and more, Precision Nutrition will teach you everything you need to know to get the body you want - guaranteed.

Order Precision Nutrition now and get $50 off!

Vince Del Monte Interview

2008-07-04T14:23:00.001-07:00

Vince just sent me this email and I thought I'd share it with you guys. As with the Mike Geary / Truth About Abs interview, audios are a great way to transform otherwise 'dead time' into a highly productive learning experience!

"Lately I've been getting interviewed almost 3-4x a week and the questions are usually the same thing you've already heard me talk on.
But after 60 minutes I WAS UTTERLY IMPRESSED with the conversation that just went down and the depth of information that Jim Katsoulis sucked out of me.
This call is not for you if you just want me to preach on reps, sets and rest periods...... this is by far the most honest and revealing interview into my private life, my mindset and belief system. Don't worry... if you listen carefully you will learn a few gems that that make you "that guy" or "that girl" at your gym that turns heads!
We go pretty deep here... so get ready for the ride!
I really WANT you to hear this call. Especially if you're struggling with motivation and getting your physique to the next level.
Click here to listen to the interview: http://www.theelitebody.com/liveteleseminar/
I believe Jim is letting you listen to the call for free and then there will be a fee - download it now and listen to it before your next workout."

Jim is running a teleseminar series called 'The Elite Body' with a tremendous line up of speakers - check it out at this link: The Elite Body Teleseminars

The Truth About Abs - Interview

2008-07-04T14:17:00.000-07:00

If you want to make a boring trip to work or round the shops a little more inspiring then check out this interview: Mike Geary shares his tips for getting six pack abs and losing stubborn belly fat faster than you'd imagine* (while still enjoying delicious food and having a LIFE!). Just save it to your MP3 player and transform a queue into a classroom!

http://www.truthaboutabs.com/lose-fat-get-flat-abs-audio.php

*the fat, not the tips, going faster than you'd imagine...

Could It Be Magic?

2008-07-02T22:53:00.000-07:00

I have just signed up for Dax Moy's Magic Hundred programme and I'm so excited! I was listening to an interview with him as I was driving yesterday and was so inspired I decided to sign up as soon as I got home.

Essentially, it involves setting 100 goals and taking action towards achieving those goals over the next 100 days. I've seen the programme before but always let the 'realist' or the 'doubter' in my mind stop me actually doing it, by telling me I couldn't possibly achieve 100 things in such a short time span! I literally let the opportunity pass me by as I couldn't face the idea of facing my goals head on, I guess fear of failure made me ignore it and carry on as I was. Listening to the interview was enough to inspire me - even if you don't achieve all you set out to at least you are a whole lot further down the road than you were when you started!

It's not so much a goal setting exercise, more a goal getting exercise. These don't need to be 'SMART' goals in the normal sense - you are encouraged to think big, not limiting yourself to ones you think are 'Achieveable' or 'Realistic' - but the ones you think right now are pipe dreams - you will surprise yourself, I'm certain of it!

As I mentioned yesterday, I'm rapidly approaching 30 and want to get there being able to say I've achieved certain things, but life can so easily just cruise on (July already?!) and you realise you've not found the time for all those plans. This has come at an absolutely ideal time for me - I have 120 days of my 20s left! I almost didn't get it straight away, as I have a few other projects going on at the moment and thought I'd complete those first, but then realised that was pure prevarication, so bit the bullet and took action number one and signed up.

I am going to get all my private clients to sign up to the programme as I want to share my goal-getting journey with them, and I would love it if all you you guys did too! You can even create a Magic Hundred Blog and share your progress. I'll be charting my progress here!

Come and join me on my journey!

Recipe of the Week - Something for the Weekend!

2008-07-02T22:01:00.001-07:00

Well, we can hope for some more glorious sunshine this weekend, and if so, a BBQ may well be on the cards for some of us, so a few recipes to help you make it a healthier experience!

Low Fat Houmous
1 tin chickpeas
200ml fat free / low fat plain yoghurt
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1 tsp chopped garlic
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground cayenne
100ml lemon juice

Blend in a blender, you may want to adjust the proportions to taste and add black pepper and Sel de Guerande unprocessed sea salt...

Serve as a starter with carrot, celery, peppers, cucumber etc. or add a blob to your burger or salad rather than mayo! Yum...

Spicy Peanut Sauce
Generous tbsp Peanut Butter
50 ml Water
2 tbsp Lime juice
1 tbsp Soy sauce
1/2 tsp Lime zest
1/2 tsp Garlic
1/2 tsp Ginger
1/2 tsp Thai chili paste

Mix by hand if you want to keep it chunky (using crunchy PB rather than smooth...) or blend. Great smeared onto chicken before you BBQ or used as a dip...

Mayonnaise Style Dressing
150ml low fat yoghurt
1 tbsp herb mix: dill, parsley, basil, thyme.
1 tsp finely chopped shallots or spring onions
1 tsp roasted garlic paste or a chopped clove of garlic
1 tsp capers
1 tsp whole grain mustard

Combine in small bowl and whisk or shake. Can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 days so use whatever's left to turn tuna into a healthy version of tuna mayo - be inventive!

Turkey & Apple Burgers
450g ground turkey breast (can also use lean mince)
1/2 tablespoon coconut oil
5 mushrooms, finely chopped
1/2 small onion, finely chopped
Clove garlic, chopped
1/2 apple, finely chopped or grated
1tsp lemon juice
1 egg
1/2 tsp Sel de Guerande unprocessed sea salt
Black pepper to taste

Heat the coconut oil and fry the onion until brown, then add the apples and mushrooms and stir-fry for another 4 minutes.

Place all of the ingredients into a large bowl and mix thoroughly. Form into patties and chuck on the barbie! Should be about 6 minutes each side - the burgers are done when the juice runs clear after being pierced with a fork.

You can really be inventive with burgers - no need to buy the pre-frozen ones that have loads of added junk. Use lean mince and add an egg and then any herbs and spices you like (a bit of Marmite or mustard adds a great little kick - my boyfriend's secret ingredients I believe!)

Act The Part

2008-07-01T05:57:00.000-07:00

I've just been listening to a fab audio interview with Siren from American Gladiators. The interview is available at http://www.midyearresolutions.com/siren/ and well worth listening to. She has a pretty inspirational story and had loads of motivating advice to share. One of the things I really liked was her point about believing you are already successful in your chosen goal and then acting the way you would if you were already there, which makes actually getting there for real a lot easier and more likely.

Just moments earlier I was listening to a Vince Del Monte interview where he said pretty much the same thing - it's so important to 'Act the Part' when you are striving for something. He reminds his clients that if they want to build muscle or get 6 pack abs you have to eat and train as if you're already there. This has a double effect of creating the right behaviours as well as creating a positive mindset and meaning you are more vividly visualising the end result. He also suggests, as many do, that you should surround yourself with people who are where you want to be - if you want to be succesful, surround yourself with successful people - their habits and success will rub off on you!

I love the Mid-Year Resolutions concept and it's certainly got me thinking about what I planned to achieve this year and reminded me there's only 5 months left in which to do it... I'm going to be 30 at the beginning of November and there's a lot I want to have done by then, too, so this has been a great gentle reminder that there is still time, but action is needed now!

My 10 Day Holiday Countdown - A Few Pounds Lighter for the Beach!

2008-06-30T12:53:00.000-07:00

I'm off on holiday in 10 days, and my goal was to be 63kg in time for the beach! Unfortunately I've stalled a bit at 64/5kg so need to give myself a turbo boost to be feeling like I've got a bit of leeway to enjoy my holiday. So getting this email from Craig Ballantyne today couldn't have come at a better time - it's his 10-14 day body-blitz approach to losing those few extra pounds, and as 10 days is what I have, I'm going to be following them. I know any advice from Craig is worth listening to and bound to get results, so going to put my faith in the programme and prepare to hit my target for my trip:

How To Lose the Last 10 Pounds
By: Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Turbulence Training.com

Here's some of the tips we used in our plan to help the 3 brothers lose that last ten pounds of fat in the last 10 days of the transformation that helped them get featured in Men's Fitness magazine with their ripped abs. Here are the guidelines we've come up with to lose the last 10 pounds.

NOTE: The brothers were only going to follow these guidelines for 10-14 days. So if you choose to use this plan, don't follow it for more than 2 weeks. That's the maximum time for this advanced plan. After that, ease up on the restrictions a bit - and enjoy your advanced fat loss physique you've attained.

Advanced Nutrition Tips:
1) Start your day immediately with 2 cups of water, 3 fish oil caps, and 20g of lean protein, as part of your normal breakfast.
2) Eat 1 cup of broccoli at lunch and dinner (in addition to what you normally had planned).
3) Eat only protein, almonds, and raw vegetables between meals.
4) Elimiate all pasta, rice, potatoes, and carbohydrates from a bag or a box.
5) Don't go to bed full. Eat only a small protein snack in the evening to keep hunger at bay and to provide the body with protein before sleep.
6) Drink 6 cups of green tea per day (3 in AM, 3 after lunch)

Advanced Exercise Tips:
1) Add 10 seconds to each interval
2) Add in some bodyweight circuits (10-20 minutes per day) done in the morning or evening (if you do your regular workout in the AM, do your bodyweight circuits after dinner; otherwise, do the bw circuits first thing in the AM, and then do your regular workout at lunch or later in the afternoon or evening)
3) Add one set to the first superset you do in each workout.

Use these strict tips for no more than 2 weeks before returning to normal exercise guidelines and carbohydrate intake.

Train hard but train safe and you'll lose the last 10 pounds.

About the Author:

Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men's Health, Men's Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times in Men’s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit Turbulence Training.com

TT BW 1000 in 33 mins 42 s... Still alive and kicking...

2008-06-28T02:52:00.000-07:00

Well I didn't do the TT Bodyweight 1000 last night as planned, as my boyfriend called me as he was leaving work to say it was windy so we went for an impromtu windsurf at Avon Beach instead, which was nice, but I was a little gutted not to do the workout as I was fully psyched up for it! It was too late by the time we got back from the beach, but first thing this morning I gave it a go and completed it in 33 mins 42 s! The close grip push ups near the beginning are an absolute killer - I could only just manage the 100 in sets of 10, v hard indeed! Thought I was going to fall at the first hurdle...

Had to modify slightly as I have a pull up bar but no low bar, so instead of inverted rows I did single arm KB rows with the 16kg (I did extra reps to compensate though!)

This was the plan and what I actually did:

100 jumping jacks
100 close-grip pushups
25 jumps
25 pull-ups -overhand (I had to run up 2 flights of stairs to get to the pull up bar from the garage too!)
100 bodyweight squats
25 stickups
50 bicycle crunches (I did 50 each side, so 100)
100 pushups
50 underhand inverted rows (I did sgl arm KB rows 16kg x 25 each side)
50 Swiss ball leg curls
100 bicycle crunches (50 each side)
50 decline pushups
25 overhand inverted rows (again, I did sgl arm KB rows 16kg x 25 each side)
50 mountain climbers (I did 50 each side)
50 bodyweight squats
25 chin-ups - underhand (again, I had to go up 2 flights of stairs to get to the pull up bar from the garage...)
100 jumping jacks

That should give me a nice metabolism boost for the weekend! Off windsurfing now, and it's sunny!

The TT Bodyweight 1000 Challenge

2008-06-27T05:24:00.000-07:00

100 jumping jacks or skipping
100 close-grip pushups
25 jumps
25 pull-ups (overhand)
100 bodyweight squats
25 stickups
50 bicycle crunches
100 pushups
50 underhand inverted rows
50 Swiss ball leg curls
100 bicycle crunches
50 decline pushups
25 overhand inverted rows
50 mountain climbers
50 bodyweight squats
25 chin-ups (underhand)
100 rope skips or jumping jacks

I've just decided to do this for my workout today, not really sure why but felt I needed a kick up the proverbial during my training yesterday and this may just do the job... Similar in format to the 300 workout posted earlier in the week, 1000 reps total, aim to complete the entire circuit in the minimum time. You are meant to build up to this using the 6 week Turbulence Training programme designed for the purpose - so I am not recommending you try this at home without the pre-requisite conditioning!

This is actually a perfect 'park workout' - the bars in the kids area are super handy for the pull ups and inverted rows... Of course you'll need a swiss ball, too.

Will keep you posted on progress, or rather whether I have survived it or not... May take me a week - in the clip above Craig said it took him 45 mins the first time he tried, and I can only do 6 pull ups in a row at the mo.... Eeekkk.... Pressing the 'post' button means I am committed to doing this now... What have I let myself in for???

Weekend Workout For You!

2008-06-26T12:59:00.000-07:00

If you've not managed to get your 3 workouts in this week, don't despair! You can redeem your week by getting some good quality exercise in over the weekend, so I thought I would give you a free workout programme that takes you through a great fat-burning workout, step by step!

Just go to my site and you can download your free pdf. The report explains everything - giving you all the exercises with full descriptions and pictures.

Of course you're not limited to the weekend for this one - if you enjoy it you can use this for up to 6 weeks, performing the workout 3 times a week (it should take about 45 mins) for maximum results. You can of course use it for longer than 6 weeks (it's not a self-destructing pdf as far as I know!) but ideally you need to change workouts on a regular basis to keep your body guessing to prevent plateaus and ensure you stay excited about your workouts.

If you want a female specific programme or advice, you get a free e-book with a metabolism boosting (e.g. fat burning!) workout if you sign up to the Turbulence Training for Women mailing list. I've signed up!

Recipe of the Week - Moroccan Chicken Tagine

2008-06-26T09:25:00.000-07:00

For those of you who are on my mailing list, you will know that the Recipe of the Week has been moved here, to my blog! This means you can delete my emails and just visit the blog whenever you want to find a recipe...

This week's dish (or is that another feature...?) is from Alex Whittaker, a client who consistently inspires me to prepare more exotic healthy meals than my usual fare!

Moroccan Chicken Tagine (10 mins prep, 40 mins cooking time, serves 4...)

400g chicken cut into strips / chunks

1 tbsp coconut oil

1 red onion, chopped

2 ripe tomatoes, chopped roughly

500ml light chicken stock

100g chick peas, rinsed and drained

100g sweet potato (or try butternut squash) peeled and cut into chunks

2cm fresh root ginger

2 cloves garlic, crushed

zest & juice of 1 orange

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp saffron

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground allspice

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 tsp Sel de Guerande salt (you can get it in the artisan / deli food section in most branches of Sainsbury's and it's grey and unprocessed.)

Handful chopped fresh coriander leaves, for garnish

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Heat the coconut oil and add the chicken, cooking until browned. Set aside in a casserole dish.

2. Saute the onion with the garlic and spices (except the saffron) until softened. Add this to the casserole dish, along with the orange juice / zest, stock and saffron.

3. Bring to the boil and simmer on low for 15 mins.

4. Add the sweet potato, tomatoes and chickpeas and cook for a further 15 - 20 mins.

5. Season as required, cooking a little longer as required to reduce the sauce.

6. Scatter with coriander and serve - ideally with a load of steamed green veggies, or salad, and if you want additional starchy carbs, quinoa or cous cous would be ideal.

Women are From Mars? (AKA Are You Human?)

2008-06-25T06:33:00.000-07:00

I just got an email from the 'Abs Man' Mike Geary, and being the lazy soul that I really am deep down, I thought I'd add it here rather than think of something of my own to say today! Joking aside, his email really hits the spot: he's articulating a frustration of mine in the fitness industry. I train a lot of women and invariably the ones who push it and go heavier with the resistance / intensity are the ones who get the best results. (And as an aside, I beat all the boys, including the instructor, on my Personal Training course, not only in all the exams, but also in the press up test, he, he! Yorkies may not be for girls, but push ups certainly are!)

So, back to Mike: "This is one of my biggest pet peeves in the fitness industry... So many men and women "think" they need to workout drastically different from one another.

For example, many women think they need to do 20 or 30 reps per set of every exercise with little pink 3 or 5 lb barbie weights, because if they actually lift heavier weights, they falsely believe they will "bulk up".

Also, many men think they need to do 1-rep maxes to build muscle... this is simply not true... overall training volume and a caloric surplus builds more muscle than does 1-rep maxes... although I'm not saying there isn't a time and place for 1-rep maxes.

One of my biggest frustrations over the years when I was training lots of females and I would show them the workout I wanted to take them through... they would say something like... "I don't want to do those exercises. That looks like a man's workout!"

And they would go back to their little pink 5 lb dumbbells and endless cardio routines and keep getting NO RESULTS at all for months or years.

However, the females I trained that were open-minded enough to trust me that if they used heavier weights they would not "bulk up" (as long as their caloric intake was in the correct range), always got tremendous results.

As a matter of fact, some of the leanest females I've trained over the years were the ones that actually trained with the heaviest weights. I had a few female athletes that could deadlift 175 lbs and they were VERY lean, and NOT overly-muscular. In fact, they had very feminine, but lean bodies.

They lifted HEAVY weights in relation to their size and they NEVER bulked up.
Another example is that the majority of females that I trained thought they couldn't use more than 5 or 8 lb dumbbells for an overhead dumbbell press or a dumbbell chest press. However, when they were open-minded enough to actually try to train their body under more resistance (and thereby create a REAL stimulis for change), most women were almost always able to press 20 or 30 lb dumbbells instead of the 5's or 8's they were used to using.

So my rant in this email is for us all to please stop with the insanity of thinking that we all need to train so radically different whether we're a man or a woman, but rather realize that we are all HUMAN BEINGS.

I don't care if you're a man or a woman... the laws of exercise physiology will always show that variations of squats, lunges, deadlifts, presses, and rows are some of the best exercises for humans, regardless of gender.

And this applies whether your goal is fat loss or muscle building! Yes, even if your goal is just fat loss and not muscle building, you still need to train your body under progressively heavier resistance (relative to your current strength) to stimulate your body to actually want to change over time.

*Note - when I say "heavy training", I mean heavy resistance in relation to your individual strength level. For example, a heavy resistance in a particular exercise such as a deadlift or squat may be 300 lbs for one person, and only 60 or 70 lbs for another person. All that matters is if the weight that you use is challenging for you.

Now I will concede that I use slightly different styles of training whether the goal is fat loss or muscle building (notice I said different styles, not different exercises per se), but the bigger factor is actually your caloric balance...

Creating a caloric deficit for fat loss or creating a caloric surplus for muscle gain, while still training intensely for either goal.

So I say let's all stop training like men or training like women, and let's all start training like human beings in order to get RESULTS!"

Too right, Mike, couldn't have said it better myself!

Back to Mike for a plug: "If you haven't already done so, you can gain access to my extremely effective training program for HUMANS for a special $4.95 trial offer at this page:

http://truthaboutabs.com/trial-offer.html

And you will see why over 100,000 humans, both men and women, have gotten tremendous results by following this program.

Don't be lazy... be lean.
Mike GearyCertified Nutrition SpecialistCertified Personal TrainerFounder - http://truthaboutabs.com

PS - if you liked todays article, feel free to fwd this email on to any of your friends, family, or co-workers that would enjoy it."

Drive Slow, Train Fast!

2008-06-24T03:16:00.000-07:00

I was cruising down the motorway this morning at my new slow speed of 60mph and I realised just how similar I am to my van! I used to always drive as fast as possible as I always want to get where I'm going as fast as possible, but recently I read an article that showed just how much money you waste on fuel in a single journey at 80mph compared to 60mph so decided to slow it down and take my foot off the accelerator!

Of course, it makes perfect sense. Driving slowly, even if it takes a bit longer, is much more energy efficient. You get more miles per tank (I have almost got it to 5oo miles and its still not on the red - the last time I tried to get it to 500 miles I ran out of fuel on the M4...). The absolute worst way to drive for efficiency is to accelerate and brake repeatedly, as you cane through the fuel like there's no tomorrow.

Hmmm, where have I encountered that before? Exercise, maybe?? Long, slow cardio may get you further on a 'full tank' but do we want to be efficient??!! No, not at all! We want to cane through the fuel tank (fat stores) as much as possible! Stopping and starting, AKA intervals, is energy inefficient, so we burn more fat!

So leave the fast driving and stop-and-starting to the training sessions, and chill out on the motorway! There are some flaws to the analogy of course - you can find out more about how your cardio programme may be sabotaging your fat loss success by reading the article: The Dark Side of Cardio...

300 KB Workout...

2008-06-23T08:48:00.000-07:00

Well, I've just done the kettlebell workout my boyfriend did on Saturday, and I did it in 13 mins 9 s! I did the following, with as little rest as poss:

25 V Sits 16 kg KB
50 Swing Snatches with 14kg KB (was working on technique as I've been doing a hybrid snatch all this time and only realised on Fri I need to learn the swing snatch and the power snatch not a half-and-half as I had! Did 10 each arm x 2 then 5 each arm to complete 50)
25 Push Ups
50 Swings 16 kg KB
50 Burpees
50 KB Clean and Presses 14kg KB (these were a bit more clean and jerk / push press than strict presses... Did 5 on each arm to complete the full 50)
50 Mountain Climbers (50 ES)

I did all the exercises as one long set rather than splitting into smaller chunks, but you could split so do 5 x 10 burpees rather than 50 all in a row...

Fun, pretty intense workout and I beat my boyfriend, he he... In fact, back to Tiger Woods, it was only after the first few burpees I realised they probably aren't on my knee rehab schedule for just yet, but I had to complete the workout and the knee had no problems with them, so I did!

Although it was only 13 mins (after a warmup of my physio exercises) I have definitely worked out! You really don't need to train for hours to get results - intensity is the key! If you want to find out more about short, intense workouts for time-efficient results then your best bet is Turbulence Training and / or The Bodybot.

Precision Nutrition 8 Day E-Course

2008-06-23T06:07:00.000-07:00

If you want more tips and advice from Dr John Berardi and the Precision Nutrition team you can sign up for a free 8 day e-course. You will get an email a day for 8 days packed with simple but powerful advice to keep your nutrition and mindset on track. This includes 3 really useful quizzes that will help you pinpoint where you may be going wrong at the mo, so where you need to focus your efforts for best results.

Sign up for the free e-course here.

Precision Nutrition Tip of the Week #1

2008-06-23T05:49:00.000-07:00

Tip #1
Eat Pasta... Carefully
by Dr. John Berardi

"As a God-fearing Italian, I have to admit that I love pasta. But, as a gut-fearing weight lifter and athlete, I definitely have to choose the lower GI, nutrient dense whole-wheat variety. During training phases that require or allow for higher carbohydrate intake (higher volume training) I'll eat one whole-wheat pasta meal per day. During other phases (like where I'm trying to lose fat), the pasta stays on the shelf in favor of a higher lean protein, good fat, and fruit and veggie intake."

SEE ALSO: This tip is sponsored by Precision Nutrition - my pick for the best nutrition and supplement resource currently available. Containing system manuals, gourmet cookbook, digital audio/video library, online membership, and more, Precision Nutrition will teach you everything you need to know to get the body you want -- guaranteed.

Order Precision Nutrition now and get $50 off!

Tiger Woods 'n Me!

2008-06-23T04:40:00.000-07:00

Well, as expected it was windy yesterday so the Killer 300 KB workout my boyfriend did on Saturday will have to wait till this afternoon! It was also SUNNY, I felt like I was back in Egypt, not on the Sarf Coast of England...

Cruising along in the sunshine I remembered that the last time I actually windsurfed was over the Bank Holiday weekend, which was less than 3 weeks after my most recent knee op, despite the fact that I was told to be doing not a lot for about 8 weeks! And I thought about Tiger Woods, who has obviously been suffering a lot with his knee at the mo (he's had similar work done to me, and listened to the docs about as much as me: I had a major knee op where I was meant to be off sport etc for a year, but in 7 months I was in a National Wave Sailing competition in Tiree (the Inner Hebrides!) for the Tiree Wave Classic.

Despite being diagnosed with a stress fracture to his left tibia three weeks ago and advised to take three weeks on crutches followed by three weeks of rest, Wood's response was "I'm playing the US Open and I'm going to win." And win he did.

So why am I wiffling on about Tiger Woods and trying to make like I have anything in common with him at all? Well, Tiger battled through the pain to succeed at all costs. He had his goal in mind and was going to reach that goal whatever it took. It meant more to him than the pain of the knee (and while I'd ALWAYS recommend you give injuries time to heal, I think often we are over cautious in this area: bubble-wrapping injuries is not the answer and can create more problems than it solves.) But my main reason for mentioning this at all was how Tiger's attitide is applicable to fat loss, especially post-baby.

So many of my clients are women who want their bodies back after having babies. But time and time again I hear the almost accepted mantra: 'of course I'll never get my flat abs back', but this is simply not the case. If you need proof, check out the abs on the fittest yummy mummy around, Holly Rigsby. She puts most pre-baby abs to shame (mine included!) and is living proof (along with her army of FYM supporters!) that you do not need to listen to the doubters and the naysayers. There are countless stories of people who recovered from injuries 'against all odds' - perhaps the odds are as they are because most people don't have the focus, drive and committment to succeed. If you do, then anything is possible, whether that be getting six pack abs or becoming a Fit Yummy Mummy or both!

The Underdog and a Hardcore KB Workout

2008-06-21T14:16:00.000-07:00

My boyfriend is a bit of a footie fan, so I am currently a Euro 2008 widow - he will literally watch any sport, especially footie, that is on so is not bothered that England failed to even qualify.

I don't really mind, it keeps him occupied so I can cook a delicious, healthy curry extravaganza for our dinner and allows me to come and tell you guys everything without him moaning at me for being stuck to the laptop as usual!

And Russia have just won - as did Turkey last night - and I do love the rise of the underdog. It just goes to show how far passion and drive can supercede 'genetics'...

Back to the boyfriend: pre-footie he found a great workout on YouTube - I was yoga-ing upstairs (it's my day off training today whereas he's been a lazy git all week - including a night on the lash on a MONDAY NIGHT, no sympathy whatsoever for feeling fat and unfit there, I'm afraid...) and could hear him grunting in the garage so must have been quite hard! It was a KB 300 Workout, along the same theme of the Bodyweight 500 and 1000 from Craig B's TT programme...

25 V Sits (no KB prescribed, I'll do it with the 16kg KB)
50 Snatches 16kg+
25 Push Ups
50 Swings 16kg+
50 Burpees (ouch)
50 KB Clean & Press 14 / 16kg KB
50 Mountain Climbers (= 25 ES)

I'm going to give it a go tomorrow, although I'm a windsurfer and tomorrow is looking to be super windy (v. exciting for a weekend in June!) so might be bu66ared by the time I get round to training - might stick to a recovery yoga session then try this Monday.... Am I prevaricating???

If anyone fancies giving it a go, let me know how long it takes and we can post the 'winners' up here! Oli took about 20 mins, but the record (with a 24kg KB...) was under 12 mins - eeek....

No Time To Eat Healthily? The Lunch Box Diet To The Rescue!

2008-06-21T02:01:00.000-07:00

While I'm on the 'time' theme, one of my clients' biggest complaints is that they feel they don't have time to prepare healthy food. One option is to prepare double at dinner time and save the rest for lunch, which means you are actually SAVING time as you don't need to queue for a soggy sarnie at the canteen! But if you need more inspiration, the Lunch Box Diet is the answer.

The plan is based around filling a huge tupperware pot full of gorgeous, healthy, nutritious and delicious foods, then savouring at regular intervals throughout the day. Simon Lovell, a Trainer based in Exeter, guides you through the process, with lists of foods to choose from and several ideas that take no more than 5 minutes to prepare!

This is a great diet for people on the go, which really is most of us. You will be surprised at how many people at work comment on how delicious your lunch looks compared to theirs - plus they'll be watching your physical transformation with envy that they can't manage to be as organised and successful as you.

What with the 4 minute BodyBot workout and the 5 minute meals for the day, can you really say you don't have time to be healthy?!

No Time To Workout? BodyBot To The Rescue!

2008-06-21T00:15:00.000-07:00

Now there really is no excuse! The important part of the fitness equation (Frequency, Intensity, Time and Type) is not time, but INTENSITY! You really don't actually need a lot of time, you just need to make sure you work out hard in the time you have...

Of course that may seem easier said than done, especially if you don't know where to start, which is why people end up mindlessly plodding away at the machines in the gym, 'multitasking' by reading a magazine...

The BodyBot is set to change all that! In fact, you might as well cancel your gym membership now as you really don't need all those machines that just distract you from the task in hand - getting a quality workout.

All you need to do is download the BodyBot to your computer, follow the simple instructions to drag and drop the selected exercises into your workout (you get to choose what you want to do from a selection of the only exercises you'll ever need!) then choose your music (!) and press go.

Each circuit takes 4 Minutes!! Yes, Madonna and JT were onto something - you only need 4 minutes to save your body! You may be sceptical of a 4 minute workout, but believe me, it will be long enough. You can build up to linking a couple of circuits together or you can sprinkle them throughout your day.

I'll post some of my workouts on the blog soon if you want some inspiration, and feel free to post your own in the comments!

I forgot to mention, the 4 minute workout format is a scientifically tried and tested approach that has amazing fat loss effects - called the Tabata Protocol. You will be burning fat long after the 4 minutes are up...

Hello and Welcome!

2008-06-20T10:49:00.000-07:00

Hi there

I have decided to set this blog up to help sort through the world of fitness info, to help you find what you need to reach your goals - to find your Perfect Fit!

I spend half my life reading about fitness on the internet and reading fitness books, as it's part of my job (well, that's my excuse, I find it fun too...) but the problem most of my clients have is lack of time! So I thought I would share my opinions on various sites, ebooks etc so you can make an informed choice, without all the effort!

I hope you enjoy and find this useful! If you want more info about my One-to-One Personal Training then you can check out my website: http://www.perfectfitforlife.com/ and feel free to contact me directly if you have any comments or specific requests!

Looking forward to seeing you here soon...

Caroline

Yes, I'd like instant access to my FREE copy of "The Yoga of Eating" article and video clip.
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