The Power of saying NO!

Hi all,

The first of my New Year habit changes is to start writing the blog more regularly. Without boring you about the reasons why i had stopped, some of them are:

- Changing my laptop to an ipad

- Becoming very busy at work

- Not really having much to complain about (no ranting worth blog material)

Part of my new approach to work is to schedule in time to do the things that are enjoyable in this job; Reading, writing, planning, learning and basically becoming a better coach and now recently manager of fellow coaches. This blog is me getting a headstart on 2014.

The power of NO

If you've seen the outstanding Jim Carrey film "Yes Man" the you will know the incredible power that comes from just saying the word YES. In the movie, Carrey's character becomes almost a recluse to his friends after a divorce until he is dragged along to a 'Yes' seminar. This leads him into new adventures, promotion at work, saving a man from suicide and falling in love. If you never saw it, its worth 90 minutes of your life.

Today im going to argue the there is equal power in the word and action of NO, especially when we are involved in a diet or our recent 21 day Green/Clean eating challenge. 

"Success during a diet challenge will depend on the the things 

you don't eat rather than the things you do"

The above statement is just my own way of thinking when it comes to getting good results on a diet plan. With all the literature on fitness/health and millions of different diet books/systems available, I believe the majority of us know what it means to eat well or more accurately what we foods need to avoid to get in/stay in reasonable shape. The best way to succeed on a diet challenge is to ban certain foods from your life and set rules for a different periods of time (21 days, weekends, parts of the day, etc) to suit your individual lifestyles and schedules. 

Say NO to:

1. Bread

The problem with bread is that it contains allergens like wheat and gluten and most varieties are high GI and enter the body quickly as sugars. Bread is really not a great food to have in the diet if you are trying to drop bodyfat quickly. The other major issue is that its so readily available to purchase, easy to eat "on the go" and its cheap like most poor quality foods. 

Saying NO to bread means saying NO to the stores that sell sandwiches (e.g. Starbucks, 7/11 type shops) - staying out of these places is key to dieting success.

2. Dairy

I could probably write a whole blog on the perils of eating dairy; for a long time I've been suspect of its negative effect on clients physiques. Approximately 85% become intolerant to lactose after the age of 4 and consuming too much can cause bloating and digestive irritation.

Like bread, there are an abundance of cheap dairy products available on the high streets today including cheeses, yoghurts and a large variety of 'healthy' drinks. The contemporary cultural phenomenon of coffee houses play a huge part in the increase of the average waistline measurements. I would actually be very comfortable saying that 99% of products sold in coffee houses like Starbucks and Costa are detriment to having a good physique, and these places should be avoided to ensure better dieting success.

"99% of products sold in coffee houses like Starbucks and Costa 

are detriment to having a good physique"

3. Alcohol

Alcohol is a poison. Read that again and enjoy your pint! We routinely subject our bodies to a weekly dose of toxins through Alcohol and its making us fat and tired. Im not here to argue about the potential fun and social enjoyment you can have whilst sharing a drink with others, I'm here to say eliminating alcohol out of your life will make you slimmer and healthier, fact.

"Eliminating alcohol out of your life will make you slimmer and healthier, fact"

Over the past 8 years of watching some clients transform their physiques, i would say the biggest and most immediate changes came from those individuals who stopped drinking alcohol. Also, from personal experience i have cut down my alcohol consumption in the past 5 years and noticed a massive change in the quality of my sleep (especially on the weekends) which has resulted in better mood and energy at the start of the week.

Alcohol will effect sleeping patterns and energy 

4. Sugars

The very nature of the Green and Lean diet means there will be very low to zero sugar. There is no need for me to elaborate this point as its obvious.

The most recent experiment

Starting on November 21/2013 approximately 10 workmates, friends, clients, client's spouses started a 21 day Green and Lean Challenge, with everyone who wanted to be involved received a link to my previous blog on the subject:

http://nathanwilliamstraining.blogspot.sg/2010/09/green-faces-challenge.html

My colleagues, housemates and PT clients were involved in daily conversations with myself regards tactics and menus but for the most part we all communicated through a Whatsapp group text titled "Green 21" where we shared pictures of green meal ideas and funny stories to keep each other entertained.

Bread free burgers are pretty awesome!

The results

Here are the final weight loss totals for the participants:

NW - 77.5kg to 72.9kg (4.6kg loss; BF% loss of approx 3%)
BM - 69.9kg to 61.8kg (8.1kg loss)
DC - 81.4kg to 77.8kg (3.8kg loss)
HK - (2kg loss)
TK - (5kg loss)
SH - (7.6kg loss)
AH - (3kg loss)
OA - (5kg loss)
LP - (3kg loss)
NL - (2kg loss)
CF - (2.5kg loss)
JC - (6kg loss)
NF - (3.5kg loss)

Total KG loss was 55.3kg at and average 4.25kg per person 

Just looking at the numbers above says this was a worthwhile exercise! However, with the challenge being 21 days of 100% strict green and lean eating - Interestingly, every single person failed the challenge except one!

Of course they did not FAIL as such, with most reporting 95% adherence throughout the 21 days... and this number seems enough to get a great result.

Did we learn anything new?

Looking at the 21 days and group as a whole i believe the following points are worth mentioning:

- You can actually create some fantastic meals during this challenge
- Creating a social group will result in better success when dieting
- Modern day social living/pressures have made it almost impossible to get into great shape
- We now see food as entertainment, this is a major issue when on a diet
- Hard boiled eggs are a easy, fantastic daily snack to stay on track with a clean, healthy diet

- From my own 3 weeks, i created a delicious new shake that i will continue to use as part of my diet. Here are the ingredients:

- Handful of raw nuts (cashews, pistachios or almonds)
- Splash of organic coconut oil
- Scoop of Pea protein (Vanilla)
- Avocado (half or whole)
- Dash of Cinnamon

Mix with cold water and ice for thick delicious shake.

What now?

After speaking to the majority of the group post-challenge, the major theme and lesson seems to be that of HABIT CHANGE. Most or all of them have committed to following the principles in some form, with a few promising to to revisit the 21 day challenge in January to start the new year when UFIT launch a massive GREEN and LEAN 2014 weight loss challenge.

Join UFITs Clean and Lean challenge in January!

For everyone who is interested please visit the UFIT facebook page for details or contact Becky@ufit.com.sg

I definitely encourage all readers of this blog to try it along with our group in January, however the Diamond can only be won by Singapore residents who can commit to the weekly weigh-ins at our Amoy street studio on Saturday mornings through January.

Thanks for reading and i will hopefully see you for the GREEN and LEAN CHALLENGE on January 6th.

Have a great Xmas Break and a fantastic start to your New Year!

The blog returns!

Hello strangers!

After a 3 month break from the blog im back. and this time im pissed!

Only kidding. I'm actually in a better place in terms of lifestyle, energy, mood and work.

My happy face

The last area being a key factor in the receny changes. Ive moved to a company called UFIT and its been a great first 6 weeks. I have much more social interaction at work, making some great new friends and that i realise has been a key ingredient that was missing previously. Also, i have been lucky to have a great new client base, who are keen to put the work in and listen to my ideas on tarining, nutrition and lifestyle change. I have awesome new bosses/managers who listen to ideas and are involved on the studio floor everyday. Its a brilliant environment to be creative and ive rediscovered the passion for training again. long may that continue!

I may also have an input into UFITs relaunched blog and share writing with general manager Darren Blakeley - I will use this as a chance to write about 'in the trenches' issues that i see in the gym each week, while this blog will remain wide topic around health and fitness as usual.

Todays blog is about Environment.

Not the really, really important of our planet and one that we seem to want to destroy, but the personal environment we can create daily and the environment/s which we put ourselves to enrich our lives and generally get along in life.

1. Creating your own environment

One of my favourite phrases in any book is in Jack Canfield in "The success principles":

"You are 100% responsible for your life"

Think of every time you have blamed something or someone else for your personal situation. Was it really you that caused that problem. Most times its really down to yourself when things go wrong. Lets take weight loss and personal training for example. Ive met clients who have claimed their previous trainer was not good at their job and they did not get results. Months later those same clients are claiming im no good at my job because they havent got any results.

The key fact missing here are that the client was unable to make significant changes in their own lifestyle outside the gym, yet they convince themselves that paying money for training would ensure weight loss and its the trainers fault. this is just one example... but i digress.

Is your environment stopping you in life?

Action. Review everything you do and identify where changes can be made. Are the practises you use working? If not modify them. Are you always late for appointments? Plan your time better. The list is literally endless. The biggest example i hear everyday regards health is food intake at work.

You say "There's nothing healthy to eat at work?"

I say. Create your own food.

"I dont have time to make my own food"

I say. Create or buy snacks that take little or no time to prepare.

The 2 negative statements above are easily solved problems that people use as excuses everyday NOT to get in better health and better shape.

Almonds are a perfect snack for 'busy' folk

2. Working environment

We spend 1/3 of our lives at work. Thats actually pretty depressing reading if you hate your job?

Im not writing this and saying you should quit your job if you dont like it, absolutely not. What im saying is that i find it amazing how people will spend decades of their lives in jobs (and relationships) that sap their energy, soul and purpose in life.

Im certainly not qualified to give expert advice in this field but i have recently experienced a positive change in my working life. I moved because i wasnt happy. The reasons i wasnt happy could not be changed, so i had to try to make a change to make me love my job again. It worked.

Closing thoughts

Not too long a blog today but i just wanted to briefly share the last phase of my own life/career and try to get some people thinking about their personal and working environments. There are always areas to improve and i believe (in my own opinion from experience) small changes will result in massive positive shifts in other areas in life. Take a look at every area in your life and try to make small changes that will make things better for your family, your relationships, your business, etc.

Passion requires energy, If your daily routine is zapping your energy then you will have passion for nothing.

On that deep note, im off!

Good to be back, share with friends/facebook and lets get the hits back up!

see ya!

Topics coming soon - Intermittent fasting, Resistance Band training, Flipping tractor tyres & revisiting the 10kg in month program!

The hierarchy of training Part 1

Hey all,

Ive been writing this blog on/off for the past month thats why i havent written in a while. Not the fact ive been taking it easy with life and being a lazy-ass.

Me during the past month or so

Ive also bought a new puppy (who demands all our spare time) and decided to call time at my current job, but nevertheless... onward and upward.

If you have ever studied business in your younger days then you would be familiar with Maslow's hierarchy of human needs: physiological, safety, belonging, esteem, self-actualization. Maslow believed that there was an order to human needs for self improvement and personal success. Well, I believe there is an order/system which best suits physical human performance, thats what this blog is all about.


As always i have inspiration for my writing and this blog is no different. Currently there is a trend in gyms and training. All over the internet im seeing crazy-tough circuits, killer  work-outs, etc.


Great! That is if your fitness levels are excellent and its a particular phase that you're working on. Otherwise, going 'balls-to-wall' every session as your training style in not a good long term strategy *IMO. What happens when you start to burn out? Because you will. Before a rant starts i will get back to my inspiration.


*IMO (in my opinion) safeguards me from ever being wrong BTW (by the way).


Im seeing young/inexperienced guys doing exercises they have no experience and 'clocked hours' in. i.e Newbies deadlifting 100kg with horrible form. If you see this anywhere in the world, there is somebody responsible for that action. Someone in a position of influence has no real idea of the strengthening process and has pressured the weight/movement on a younger person. It could be an eager trainer or stronger, more experienced friends. The result will be bad injuries and bad experiences in the gym.

Bent spine lifting day at AssholesGym today

I speak of my own journey with weights here when i say that everytime i thought about 100kg or above in any lift, i shit myself (not literally, that would have been disquisting) but it was a big deal. I'd put the time in, i'd got to that level, i was nervous and showed the iron total respect. I was ready (or not on some occasions), but i had a progressive plan and everytime i arrive at a (close to) max lift, its because i was prepared. Today i'm seeing young boys/grown men with sub standard functional movement, talent, strength and technique regularly (and terribly) hitting these weights. Why? because its cool and 'in'. Punishment is the order of the day and everyone seems up for it... regardless of ability and experience.

To give a quick example, check out this 'fashionable' circuit:

Deadlift 100kg x 5
Row 500m
Elevated push ups x 15

20 minutes AMRAP (that stands for 'as many rounds as possible'). I just made that circuit up in 10 seconds, (you could too) look familiar? Its everywhere you look on the internet. Sure its tough and would make the training mutants roar in approval, but my question is:

What if your lower back isn't that strong?

                                                           The training mutants gasp! 

If you have poor core or lower back strength, the above session demands a lot of those areas and is a horrible choice of workout. And thats the problem, people are picking exercises and training systems they have no business attemping; So what im suggesting is that there is an order, a system of physical improvement that needs addressing.

Q: What should we target first when thinking about our own general fitness goals?


Answers on a postcard please.

You all know where i got the idea from (above), here are some classic examples of when people who use the gym are just not quite getting why they are there:

- Heavy Deadlifting (okay good so far) with a) no warm up/activation (bad), too much weight (bad) and tragically bent spine (so bad).

- Training clients that say "Why are we doing (squats/lunges/deadlifts) again?"


Because they are effing awesome and your not.

- Overweight gym users using decline and incline bench variations


Why worry about muscles you cannot see?

- Overweight gym users with horrible running form on a flat treadmill setting


Running is a terrible choice for overweight people to use to lose weight.

- Guys with massive upper bodies and zero lower body development


Train your damn legs, its 70% of your total mass!

- Average ability gym members performing Crossfit training routines (badly)


You're not talented or conditioned enough for this yet, start smaller.

- Ladies performing multiple sets of tricep extensions


Bigger triceps will give you bigger arms if you dont address fat loss.

- Gym users using the foot setting on the TRX with caved-in core


Advanced core exercise which are not suitable for people with weak core strength.

- Guys with terrible posture performing heavy push exercises


Why build the muscles that are already dominant? thats right becuse you are clueless

- Gym members flaking out in group exercises classes


Entered a training system that is too demanded for their ability

- Gym members with terrible form in Bodypump class


Have not learned the basic functional movements before deciding on class format.

and on and on and on it goes...

You should get the picture by now, believe me the list could go on and on into the longest, most boring blog i've ever written. People are getting it wrong.

Dont be like Homer... get it right

The weird thing is... If YOU were on this list you either:

a) Wouldn't admit to it

b) Wouldn't even know you were on it

So if you do one of the above, please stop today and ask/pay someone to help you through it. It would save me some hair!

Ok, onto the training components. Obviously this is not THE definitive order of how to do things as people have different goals, abilities and physiques. But lets say i had a human lump of clay and i wanted to mould that person into the best version of themselves i could... this is how i would do it.

1. Flexibility (muscle condition)

People have (generally) very poor muscle condition, Modern day humans are a totally stressed out, under-nourished and Immobile group. Im always amazed at the lack of flexibility and general co-ordination of basic movements from my initial client gym assessments. Its honestly like some people have been curled up in a box (does this sound like you and your desk job?) for a decade and then decided that they want to be in amazing shape by the *summer. 

*BTW its too late for that this year - you should have started in January. Waaah!

Instant flexibility just wont happen if you have neglected your body for months and years so there must be an immediate daily strategy towards undoing this from day 1.

Action 1: Stretch every morning and/or evening

Only when you begin to address the length and quality of your soft tissue will you be able to start to move and feel better.

...A word on foam rolling, read this


Final word on flexibility: Im reading/hearing the latest research/info says that stretching is a waste of time. Can i say right here i completely disagree with this. If you have ever worked with clients whose muscles are so tight and movement unco-ordinated - you would know that stretching is the very first stop to improving this and getting some authentic mind body movement connection. So there may be new research out there and it may be true of folk who are already flexible, but i really think its BS.

2. Mobility (joint health)


For the past 5 years mobility and corrective drills have dominated every warm up in every program i've written. The reason? Because basic (pain free) human movement should be the goal of every person and cornerstone of a well-written program.

If you have pain on moving joints (e.g) shoulder circles then you really shouldn't continue strenuous exercise until that is dealt with. Pain is a signal that something is wrong and its an early warning of future injury. Listen to the signals and deal with weak areas before moving on. If you have severe shoulder pain and still have a bench press day... honestly you're an idiot. But i forgive you. Sort the shoulder out or your kids will be doing your garden for you when you retire.

Action 2: Move your body more, circle joints every morning or find a light daily activity that allows freedom of movement (i.e. Swimming, Dance or Yoga)


You may not like what i'm going to say next but if step 1 and 2 are major issues for you, then seriously reconsider you're next training phase. You should be devoted exclusively to 'improving muscle condition and movement'.

"You should 100% NOT head straight into a volume based strength program or even a Crossfit style program with these fundamental flaws"

3. Primal patterns

Primal patterns are the natural movements of the body. Think Squat, Bend, twist, lunge, push, pull.

If you have addressed flexibility and mobility issues you should have pretty decent form on all of the above primal movements. Here are some common issues:

Toes raised while squatting
Upper body folds forward when squatting
Lack of balance when lunging
No hip extension when lunging and folding forward of torso
half-depth push ups
Limted movement on rotation

There are a whole host of technqiue flaws to be observed on just these basic movements, and this is something that everyone needs to get right before loading the patterns with extrenal weight.

"Why do dumbbell lunges when you can bodyweight lunge correctly?"

 It makes absolutely zero sense to do that, but i see it every day.


Action 3: Practise bodyweight movements (in the mirror) everyday as part of your training/movement/lifestyle.

At the very least, your health and fitness journey should result in you being able to execute these basic movements without pain or flaw. If they aren't - i would suggest you move back a few stages and build your foundation on better movement.

Ok im done for now. I know what you're thinking, This training is pretty easy? Dont be fooled by the ability of advanced bodyweight exercises and combinations to severely kick your ass. My recent inclusion in all my clients sessions has been a tabata timing (20s hard, 10s easy x 8) bodyweight for specific movements of each client. apart from being an amazing 'warm up' for strength training, the fitness element is excellent to.

And thats just 4 minutes... i have 30 minute bodyweight session that could finish an athelete of any level. If you have neglected this effective (and free) form of training, i recommend you start ASAP and reap the benefits.

Martin Rooney uses a heavy bodyweight base in training MMA athletes, you should too!

Check out Part 2 of this blog which will cover the remaining components of my training hierarchy

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