1. Team Work makes the Dream Work
As many of you well know, these past few weeks there has been a bit of a challenge throughout the members here at the Fit Shop where personnel had the opportunity to win big prizes through a couple of methods. Now we all know many of us have a highly competitive streak, which is great, whilst others are happy to take whatever the competition throws up, which is great too. Either way, as it progressed, what we seen more and more of was that not only that this competitive edge took a more friendly face, but people within their teams and with each other became more and more supportive. It is this attitude and willingness that we as a team were hoping would be harnessed and I feel that it was this spirit that made it such a success. I think through many of the write-ups that you kindly entered this was really a stand out feature for you too. Hopefully it kick-started many of you back into your fitness in this tough winter period, and that many of you has now built friendships and have a support network that may be necessary for you to carry on with what you have started. Nice work all!
2. What’s in your Breakfast?
Whilst were on about the challenge, as a trainer I was able to take a deeper look into many of your nutritional diaries. On the whole these were fantastically encouraging, with only minor tweaks necessary for many of you. However, what was really a stand out feature for many was people’s dietary choice when it comes to breakfast and that morning period as a whole. What we noticed was a large intake of store bought muesli’s as well as lashings of fruit, dried or otherwise and a distinct lack of protein. Now I don’t want to go on a ‘fruit is the devil’ or a ‘oh no! Not carbs!!’ type rant, but a hell of a lot of you is consuming nothing but carb-laden products throughout your morning. As we should know by now, whilst these certainly have some place in your diet (dietary balance people!), for those that are trying to achieve weight loss or reduce fat a carb-heavy diet may not necessarily be the best thing. Replacing your breakfast with a protein however would certainly help you towards your goal, maintaining a slow and steady rise of blood sugar throughout the morning, which will be increase your satiation periods. It has also been known to increase energy and focus of those who do it. Pairing this with nuts, as recommended by one of the world’s leading strength and conditioning coaches allows the blood sugar level to remain stable, thus discouraging that mid-morning sugary snack.
For more information on the meat and nuts breakfast, please follow this link: http://www.strengthsensei.com/the-meat-and-nut-breakfast/
3. When it comes to the Gym, Programming is Better than Random
Here at the Fit Shop we have just completed our first ever round of programming for those that take part in Semi Private Training/PT, and by all accounts the feedback we have been getting has been wholly positive. As we enter a new phase developed by our master-in-chief, I thought it would be appropriate to reaffirm the benefits of such concept Semi Private Training/PT's, these are as follows:
By noting down what weights you are doing, and for what rep/sets, this takes the guessing out of what you did last week and allows you to see for yourself the actual progress you are making.
You can actually get better at doing the exercises. By doing a sustained period of a certain exercise, for example, a push-up, believe it or not you may actually get better at doing them. If you’ve ever said that ‘practice makes perfect’ to your kids, it applies to the gym too.
It can provide balance to your training. I know, some ladies hate upper body day, and some guys attendance on leg day can be somewhat diluted. However, by following the well designed and well developed program will allow for you to ensure that all body parts are covered, and should hopefully help you get better in those areas that you deem as things you need to work on.
People like structure. Ok, this may be a little controversial as I know many of you enjoy the variety that you can achieve through the boot camps. But if you turn up on a Monday to a class you know what you are going to get – you’re gonna get HIIT. The same applies to your Semi Private Training/PT sessions. This allows for you to prepare correctly as well as plan for the remainder of your week.
