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

Sports Performance and Injury Prevention

It seems obvious, but your sporting performance is linked directly to your general conditioning, your diet and your ability to perform functions that are key to your sport.So why do so many amateur AND professional sports people fail to address any or all of these in their training? A lot of team sports - football and rugby in particular - are very high risk in terms of causing injuries. Now, if you can do something to minimise that risk and extend your playing career, or remove niggles that prevent you performing at your best, that's going to make you enjoy your sport that much more.

I've trained a lot of rugby and football players who felt they needed to improve their conditioning and strength to ensure they could last a match, or to push through into a first team. Kettlebell work in particular translates well into rugby - there's a lot of single arm and single leg work, which matches up well with a lot of the in-game movements your body will make.

I've trained cricketers who need to improve their bowling speed, and their batting average. Most people don't realise how much the back and core is involved in sport, and once this strength and flexibility is improved, it's no surprise that the performance at the sport also improves.

Whatever your sport, supplementary training is essential to get the most out of it. Even if your sport if just a hobby, additional training will help you get more out it - after all, professional sportspeople don't simply practice their sport, they also train around it to improve.

Injury Prevention and Rehab

Most sporting injuries are simply accidents - things that can't be avoided. However, it IS possible to insure yourself against minor, and sometimes major, injuries by strengthening areas that are more likely to be damaged.

For example, strengthening hamstrings and calf muscles helps to stabilise the knee joint, and means the knee is less likely to suffer ACL strains, or even tears. Even if you do injure the knee, having strong supporting musculature means the rehab and recovery period will be very much shorter.

The vast majority of injuries in team ball sports, are to the knees and ankles. Yet many people simply do not do any leg training at all, and assume that simply playing the sport is enough - it really isn't. Directly working on areas that are exposed to the most risk, minimises that risk of injury. It sounds simple, but is so often ignored.

Similarly, I get many, many clients who come to me with 'bad backs'. People generally assume that they have some kind of defect, that their back is a problem area and needs to be protected. Most of the time, it's quite the reverse - their back and abdominal area is simply weak, and the spine is being forced to do all the work that the muscles should be doing. It's no coincidence that the VAST majority of back problems simply disappear after a few weeks of training the lower back, and the core. If you've suffered with back pain for years, but never done any training, try it - you could be pain free in weeks.

I have direct experience of rehabbing knees, shoulders, backs and ankles - so whatever your injury, the chances are I can help you get over it in a safe and progressive manner.

If you would like more information on training to improve your sport performance, or working to prevent or rehab injuries, feel free to contact us.