Consistency is King!

I've trained a large number of individuals now, and over forums/email probably given advice to hundreds more. Over this time, I think I've worked out the vital component that has meant some people have succeeded in their goals, and some haven't - consistency.

I have yet to meet anyone who has had success training once a week. Of course, as a personal trainer I do take on and work with some clients once a week, but I stress from the start that they will NOT make progress if they only train when I'm there. They need to put in the work in between our sessions. Make no mistake, I can tell who has put the work in over the week, and who hasn't.

Many people say they've been training 'on and off' for years. Well, sorry to break it to you, but if you train for a couple of months, then have a month off, then start again, then take another break - well, you may as well not bother. Exercise isn't for you. You don't have the focus, willpower or desire to make differences to your body. I appreciate that may sound harsh, but it's true. Just give up and find something else you enjoy, because stop-start training and yo-yo healthy eating is pointless. In fact, it probably does you more harm than good, certainly psychologically, because of the constant re-enforcing of the fact you've failed again.

Within reason, ANY half-decent training plan or dietary approach will get you results, if you stick to it. I've seen people get great results from training plans I wouldn't touch with a barge-pole, but the fact is the person stuck to it, put in 100% effort, and didn't give up after 4 weeks.

This may put some people off before even starting, but to make significant changes to your body, that people around you will notice, will take at least six months of hard and consistent work and effort. Not one month of hard work and then two weeks of nothing because 'work was busy' or 'I had a lot on' or 'there were lots of Xmas parties I had to go to'. If that sounds familiar to you, then you need to recognise how much of your time and effort you are wasting.

Unfortunately, the phrase 'use it or lose it' is 100% applicable to strength and fitness. In particular, you can lose your CV fitness almost as quickly as you gain it. In other words, a hard months worth of effort increasing your ability to run for half an hour can be entirely wiped out by a month of making excuses and doing nothing. You'll end up back at square one. What a waste of effort, eh?

Stop-start training and stop-start attention to nutrition does not work. It's as simple as that. If you want success, be consistent in what you do. It's the only way to make a difference.

"The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will." - Vincent T. Lombardi

Fitness for Fat Loss - Rebecca Conlin, PT @ RWF

A subject I am very passionate about! You don’t have to spend long arduous hours on the bike or treadmill! It has been proven in recent research that a combination of high intensity interval training (HITT) and a specific weight training programme yields the greatest results for losing body fat and weight. By working at a higher intensity for shorter periods you will not only burn more calories you'll also benefit from the ‘afterburn effect’, a boost to your metabolism meaning you burn calories at a faster rate for the rest of the day, even after you've finished your work out.

Why stop there? An effective weight training programme aiming to gain lean muscle will permanently increase your resting metabolism. More muscle means you burn more calories whilst doing…NOTHING! 

For all the ladies worried about bulking up, STOP! It is almost physically impossible for you to bulk up because women don’t produce enough of the hormone responsible for muscle growth, testosterone. Putting muscle on for ladies will only achieve that long, lean and athletic look most women strive for.

Finally, diet and nutrition are of vital importance and half the battle. Fad diets aside, now is the time to change to a permanent, new healthier lifestyle that is sustainable over long periods. Real World Fitness personal trainers are experts in diet and nutrition and would be happy to advise you on the perfect nutrition specific to your body’s needs.

Failure is only a fact when you give up. Everyone gets knocked down, the question is: Will you get back up?

The Yo-Yo Dieter - by Rebecca Conlin, PT @ RWF

Looking at what I have achieved now it’s hard to believe that only a few years ago I was overweight, unfit and extremely shy. In fact growing up in a family who put health and fitness last I was uneducated on what being healthy meant.

It was a visit to the doctors aged 13 which led to me being in the career I love today. Walking into the surgery with a knee injury, the doctor examined me and then to my horror weighed me…13 stone! I weighed the same in stone as the years I had been alive. The diagnosis was childhood obesity; my growing bones were being put under too much stress making my knee joints painful.

Firstly, I want to put an end to the excuses. You are not overweight because you have the fat gene. You are not overweight because you have big bones. You are overweight because you eat too much and/or you don’t move enough. I know this because if anyone should be using these excuses, it is me. All my family are overweight, I myself was overweight, I was ‘big boned’ and it was ‘genetic’… it made me feel a little better, but I was lying to myself. 

Immediately disgusted that I weighed so much I cut out all junk, did not eat after 6pm and if my weight loss wasn’t going as planned I wouldn’t eat at all. This is where my yoyo dieting and disordered eating began. I lost and I gained, I went up and I went down, I had good days and I had bad days. The amount of diets I have tried and ultimately failed, I would need more fingers and toes to count on.  The heaviest I have weighed is 15 stone.

So why do people yoyo? How many times have you heard, or said, 'I did lose weight but I put it all on again'? First of all the word ‘diet’ has a certain stigma to it.  The word ‘diet’ automatically makes people defensive.  Diets typically give you a set of strict rules to what you are or are not allowed to eat, and if you deviate from the plan you have jeopardised it all. What happens when you follow the diet word for word, you step on the scales and… nothing, zero weight loss, despite all your efforts? Reducing the amount of food you have eat so much so that you can’t possibly reduce it anymore?

What if I told you to lose weight you needed to eat more?

Almost 15 years later I am a stable size 10 weighing 10 and a half stone. I eat more often, I have a constant supply of energy AND I’m happy and confident.

Why?

1.      Eating smaller meals more often is believed to keep your metabolism running at the optimum level. After 3 hours your body detects that you haven’t eaten for a while and responds by slowing the metabolism to make your energy last longer. Eating every 3 hours can help prevent this.

2.      The main bulk of my diet comes from unprocessed foods, lean meat and fish, fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grains, herbs and spices, nuts and most importantly lots of water. Keeping your diet as close to nature as possible, the way we were built to eat.

3.      My diet fuels my workouts making me perform at my best in every session. In addition to diet, combining high intensity interval training with a specific weight training programme will allow you to sculpt your body into your ideal physique.

My advice is to ditch the excuses, ignore fad diets, break the chain passed down from parent to child and get educated to what healthy actually means. I have given some basic guidelines based on personal experience and my work with clients but by no means is this a comprehensive guide.