Nowadays we are blessed (and maybe cursed) with an overload of information. Thanks to the internet, we can Google any topic and have thousands of articles, blogs and websites within seconds. Having access to vast amounts of knowledge has many…
Any time we make big changes in our lives, it’s natural to be a little bit nervous. Starting a new training programme isn’t quite as dramatic as buying your first house, getting married or having your first baby. But…
Pre-workout nutrition can cause a lot of confusion. One question that I get asked on a very regular basis is “What should I eat before training?” And the very clear, unambiguous answer is: It depends. There are 2 important factors…
Getting in shape or becoming stronger or fitter is actually relatively straightforward. The problems arise when we start to over-think the process, and then suddenly it can appear quite daunting. Simply getting started is the hard part for most people.…
When it comes to improving sports performance, strength or fitness, as well as reducing body fat, most athletes and coaches are very aware of the importance of a good training programme. There’s also a growing recognition of the importance of…
At some point in time most people who have tried an exercise or diet plan will have experienced something along the following lines: The initial part of the programme which is characterized by great enthusiasm and a lot of…
At Body & Mind Fitness, approximately 90% of our clients are working towards improved Body Composition/Weight Loss. As I’ve mentioned previously, this is a fairly simple process. At its most basic level it’s a case of “Eat Less, Move More.”…
We’ve gone over the basics off a good diet on numerous occasions and they’ll still get the best results: Lots of good quality, lean protein, tons of vegetables lots of clean water, some fruit, nuts and seeds and little or…
It is human nature to constantly seek ways to improve our standard of living. Over the centuries this has led to invention and innovation in the areas of medicine, architecture, engineering and agriculture.
In the last twenty years the rate of change has increased at a mind-blowing pace, and technology is now moving so fast that phones and laptops seem to be out of date within weeks of being purchased.
The health and fitness industry has also been affected by this continuous evolution. It feels like we are bombarded on a weekly basis by claims that somebody has discovered the “ultimate” diet, exercise programme, or weight-loss supplement.
There have undoubtedly been huge improvements in training and nutrition strategies, especially at elite athlete level, but I sometimes feel that the constant search for the Holy Grail of weight-loss or training leads us to overlook what has worked in the past and will still work today.
In order to get better results for my clients – and because I’m a bit of a training/nutrition geek – I read lots of books, articles and research papers and attend many seminars and training courses. While most of the subject material is the very latest research, I also like to go “Old Skool” every now and again and read about methods that were employed by previous generations.
There is a story that is attributed to Mahatma Gandhi and which may or may not have actually happened. However, as a parable it works well and is a very good example of practicing what you preach. The fact that it addresses the issue of excessive sugar consumption is also very helpful to me.
Allegedly, a mother brought her young son to see Gandhi because she wanted the Mahatma to tell him to stop eating sugar. After hearing her story, Gandhi sent them away and told them to come back in 2 week’s time.
2 weeks later the mother and son returned, and Gandhi said to the boy: “Stop eating sugar”. The mother was a bit annoyed at having to make 2 journeys to hear this basic instruction and asked him why he could not have said this to the boy 2 weeks ago.
Gandhi replied “Because 2 weeks ago I was eating sugar”. Even if the story is not 100% accurate, I believe that if you “Talk the Talk” you have to “Walk the Walk”.
Today, I’ll go through some aspects of training, nutrition, motivation and lifestyle that have worked for me over the years but, most importantly, I am using them now.
