"Take me to the next level"

...Not my words, but the first welcome words of atleast 3 of my clients this week.

Hi all,

What a start to the new year, well its was good, lets not overdo it. I personally started a new training plan which im testing and mentioned before so will update later and in future blogs. Also, a few of my badass clients stormed in the Gym, pushed past all the fat people stretching on the mats, grabbed me by the collar of my tight-fitted gym shirt and yelled:



"quit f*cking around... take me to the next level!"

Im slightly exaggerating (pushing fat people off the mats is totally true) of course but improvement does seem to be the common trend of my guys this year. and so it should be!

Adopt Shark theory... Move forward or die!

So im taking time away from my beginner salsa lessons and writing my guide (for normal gym users and PT clients) to "take it to the next level", hope you enjoy it, use/agree with the advice or identify where you are and what you need to do to make a step forward in the gym.

Step 1: Nutrition

Seriously am i still asking you to eat better? Kids eat rubbish then they grow up. The angry Nath doesn't even want to say anymore but 'kind 2012 buddhist-reading' Nath says 'show them the way'.

Ok, this is the basics...

A) Stop eating Carbs if you're not moving around. Earn your carbs people! Eat according to your daily needs. If you dont train and you work in an office, guess how much carbs you need per day to 'fuel' your body? NOT MANY AT ALL

People always ask me about rice... "can i eat rice?'  "i cant get rid of it' or 'all my family eat rice'

"If you cant stop eating rice then you better start competing in regular triathlons"

Rice is popular around the world because it low in price and energy dense, great if you have zero money and no options to survive, not so great (in fact, lets be frank - its shit) for fat loss! The other problem is what rice is served with. Unless you're some bland-food loving moron then you gonna need sauce and other nasties on that white, hip-maker. DONT DO IT, simples.

B) Eat more veggies. veggies can fill your plate and are low in calories, they combine well with all foods and there is great variety. If thats not enough for you they are full of vitamins and minerals and in my opinion (when it comes to losing weight/fat) far superior to fruit.

C) Liquids. Keep it simple, keep it sugar-free. Black coffee, Green tea, herbal teas and water. Think thats boring? your waist-line and the girlfriend/wife/mistress or all three will disagree in about 6 weeks time when you're undoing smaller trousers..... better stop there.

DO NOT frequent starbucks for white mocha frappacino's. I only use that example because thats my once-a-month treat. I really do enjoy it but im not stupid enough to go back every day and pretend im not eating a liquid dessert, because thats what your doing. 1000 calories in 5 minutes - cheers!

If it looks f*cking unbelievable, then its probably high in calories!

Water intake. How much do you drink? i would say 90% of people could drink more. Its healthy for the body and will fill the gaps that you have kept for dirty snacks. Get into water. If you dont drink any... you are a mong and deserve to fall over.

No water... No live

Step 2: Alcohol (think anti-nutrition)

In James Duigans "clean and lean diet" he says the following:

"As a rule of thumb i advise my clients to avoid alcohol until they have reached their target weight"

Simple and amazing advice and sort of a cool challenge? Dont allow yourself a drink until you've reached a target weight loss for that month - that would definately get people working hard and eating better.

If you cant give up Alcohol then i cant be accountable for any fat loss results you want to achieve. I can certainly help but i 100% cannot gaurantee results. Thats my own version i tell clients.

Alcohol is possibly the biggest de-railer of them all

Ok, Half time. Lets re-cap:

Step 1: Nutrition - are you on top of that? Its kind of important. Sort it out quickly or the rest of this list will not matter at all.

Step 2: Alcohol - could you go a month without drinking? Try it. If you have been drinking for the past 15 years (i have) then i dont see the issue with having a small break in destroying your liver? im not being all holy, its true. Bars and pubs will still be there next month and more than happy to take your money in return for a headache.  If you cant stop, dont expect dramatic change quickly. Alcohol is anti-progress for all things in the body, plus it makes you want to eat toxic foods - double bummer!

Step 3: Activity Levels

How many hours a week are you training? ok up that to over 5 hours right now.

How are you training? If you are doing 5 hours per week and still overweight, honestly ask yourself why you think that is. I watched a very overweight person walking at 3kmph on the treadmill last year. And before you tell me "well atleast she is in the gym" I disagreee. She could have spent that time working out a great food shopping list and got better results. Why should walking slow in a gym be classed as good? its really not.

My point is if you aren't changing your gym shirt every time you train then you probably haven't worked hard enough. Be honest and put some hard work in. After all the heart rate testing we have been doing, its amazing the difference in heart rates when you try hard instead of just going through the motions. Put it in. If you dont then you'll be re-reading this next year and trying to kick-start yourself again after another failed year in the gym.

Step 4: Buy a heart rate monitor and be accountable for every minute of every session.

I did a standard 'bodybuilding' session with one of my clients last week as a change-up. I burned 217 calories in an hour - lifting decent weight, upper body exercises (superset fashion). I was shocked at how low that is, its really not enough. So doing that workout 5-6 times a week (max 1500cals burned/week) and eat a shitty diet and you can see why most guys in the gym are big shoulders-big waist. Worrying about muscle size when your waist is around 38" is stupid.

I think the next quote sums it up nicely. I would love to say its mine, but i saw it on facebook last week:

 "Dont Look at the sacles, look in the mirror. Bitches dont ask what weight you are when you take you're shirt off!"

Yeah grandma, i just said 'bitches' - deal with it

Step 5: Change the way you train/exercise

'If you always do what you always do, you will always get what you always got'. There are other similar quotes but you catch my drift? Im always surprised when people tell me they've trained the same way for years and still aren't in the shape they want. success leaves clues. If it was the best way to train you would be happy. Is it time to look at another method?

Always done weights? try some cardio once in a while

Love taking classes? Maybe try a sterngth and conditioning program.

Always doing the same style/intensity training? (shameless plug) Maybe its time you hired someone who knows better or buy a well-known program that will get help you get to your goal.

Recently i changed styles, moved away from what i thought was best from me and towards something new - the results have been amazing! Try something different or try harder at the things you do now. Both will work.

"Everything you ever wanted is waiting for you outside your comfort zone"

Step 6: Consistency

Put the work in and be patient. Commit the next 6 months in the gym to reverse about 10 years of your life. If you think you can cheat your body into getting into great shape then you've been watching too much shopping channel infomercials!

Check out the youtube video of the 'tug-toner' - pretty funny!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMs-4fUZd-k



Trust if it vibrates... need to tread carefully here... its not gonna melt the fat off your trouble areas. Fads which require little or no effort for amazing results are music to fat, lazy people's ears. Get real and DO WORK.

Final thoughts

If you're ready to really step up the fitness efforts this year:

- Commit to eating foods that will improve your health and decrease your waistline

- Drink only liquids that are sugar-free, preferably herbal teas, black coffee and water

- Cut out alcohol until you hit a target weight

- Up your physical activity to 5 or more hours per week

- Buy a heart rate monitor and be accounatble for every second of your training efforts

- Change the way you train or seek out ways/people that will optimize what you are currently doing

- Be in it for the long haul. Its 6 months until summer - see you on the beach! speedos not welcome.

Happy new year all, share this blog with Facebook friends or via email. spread the word :)