Ultra-FIT magazine

Are you getting the results you deserve from your exercise time? Are your workouts effective, productive and enjoyable? Are you moving towards not just reaching your fitness goals but exceeding them? No? Well you aren’t alone. Many people put in their time in the gym and eat well but find themselves treading water rather than steaming ahead. Why? Exercise and eating well are only two parts of the equation – when it comes to getting into great shape, what you do during the rest of the 168 hours that make up the week is as important as what you do in the gym.

 

 

To improve your chances of success and reaching your fitness goals, answer the following 30 questions honestly, making note of any shortcomings or areas that need attention….

For each question use the following scoring system…

Always = 10
Mostly = 8
Frequently = 5
Rarely = 3
Never = 0

Look at each 10 question section individually to see how you are faring exercise, nutrition and recovery wise and then add up the score for all 3 sections, divide by 3, to give you your combined score…

Section 1 – Training

If you are taking the time to exercise, it makes sense to do it right. If you score badly in this section, make some changes so that unproductive workouts become a thing of the past!

1. Free weight/bodyweight exercises make up most of my training volume
2. Compound exercises make up 80%+ of my training volume
3. I use proper exercise techniques in all my training (minimal cheating)
4. My training programme reflects my goals and weakness
5. I change my programme at least every 6 weeks but stick with it long enough to give it chance to work
6. My programme is balanced to ensure all major muscles are trained equally and I perform not just the exercises I’m good at but also the ones I’m not good at
7. I refrain from performing low quality workouts e.g. junk miles, too much easy cardio etc.
8. My training is consistent and I seldom miss workout except when absolutely necessary
9. I perform adequate appropriate CV and flexibility work for my goals and my health

Section 2 – Nutrition

Without good nutrition not only your fitness but your health may suffer. Even if your training is perfect, without adequate nutrition your body is unlikely to benefit from exercise.  Like putting the right fuel in a high-performance car, eating a well balanced diet will ensure the machine runs smoothly and optimally.

1. I only eat junk food one or fewer times per week
2. I consume adequate quality protein according to my requirements
3. I consume adequate carbohydrates according to my requirements
4. I avoid low quality/highly refined foods as much as possible
5. I try to minimise my consumption of processed foods, sugar and trans fats 
6. I consume fruit and/or vegetables with every meal
7. I eat 4-6 quality meals a day (not just snacks)
8. I consume a post workout meal within 15 minutes of my training session
9. I keep my alcohol intake within healthy levels

10.  I drink 2 or more litres of plain water a day plus 250ml per 15 minutes of exercise

Section 3 – Recovery

To benefit from exercise, the body must be allowed to recover. For recovery to occur we need to be in a neutral state called homeostasis which means all the systems of the body are in balance. If our body is out of balance e.g. because of too much stress or too little sleep, its recovery ability will be impaired and, as a result, progress is likely to be slow or possibly non-existent. Work with your body – not against it!

1. I try to keep my stress levels to a minimum
2. I sleep 8-10 hours a night
3. I go to bed no later than 11pm
4. I get a sports massage at least once a month
5. I am on time with work tasks and/or studies
6. I take time to relax during the week – not just at weekends
7. If I drink alcohol, I do so in moderation
8. If I am feeling over tired, injured or unwell, I will refrain from training until I feel better
9. When my stress levels are high, I reduce my training intensity/volume

10.  I perform a light CV cool down post training

Add the scores for each section together and divide by 3 to give you your Success Quotient percentage…

90-100% – Excellent!
You are virtually bound to make good progress and, with continued determination and patience, should have little trouble reaching your health and fitness goals.

70-89% – Adequate
Some of your practices are maybe holding you back and whilst you may well reach your fitness goals, it’s likely that it’ll take you a lot less time if you address the highlighted shortfalls

40-69% – Poor
Your progress and ultimate success is being hampered by poor nutrition, training and recovery habits. It’s very unlikely you’ll make significant progress towards your fitness goals unless you make some radical changes to your lifestyle

0-39% – Danger!
Not only will you fail to make any significant progress, your performance is very likely to decline with possible negative effects on your health and well being. It’s time to make some radical changes for the better before it’s too late!

So, now you know what you need to do to increase your chances of success. If you need to make changes, avoid trying to make too many at the same time. Introduce a couple of changes at a time to avoid becoming overwhelmed. Lifestyle changes can take a while to “stick” so make it as easy as possible by making simple changes initially and working up to bigger changes once you have built up some momentum. Finally, make sure the changes you make fit as easlily as possible into your current lifestyle as if they don’t, it’s highly likely that you’ll soon revert back to your original behaviours.

Goal setting is an important part of health and fitness and can help keep you motivated. Exercising without a goal is like going on a journey without a map–you don’t know where you are going or why. If you are trying to lose weight, get fitter, improve your health or build muscle, setting a goal will make your actions more focused and improve your exercise adherence. When setting goals, use the acronym SMARTER, which stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Recorded, Time bound, Enjoyable and Revisited, to make your goals more structured.

Specific
What exactly do you want to achieve? Rather than generic goals such as feeling fitter, having more energy, or losing weight, set goals which are specific. For example, if you want to lose weight what you would ideally like to weigh. A specific fitness goal could be a distance you want to be able to run or a weight you’d like to be able to lift. Specific goals will help you to focus you efforts.

Measurable
Make your goals measureable. Fitness goals could be a distance you want to be able to run whereas a weight goal could be the number of pounds you’d like to lose. Health goals could include measures of blood pressure, cholesterol levels or blood glucose. Whatever your goal, try to apply a numerical value to it so you can measure your progress.  

Achievable
A non-runner setting the goal of running a marathon in 6 weeks time, whilst being specific and measureable, is not very realistic. Make sure that your goals are challenging but not impossible. Set yourself up for success by making sure your goals achievable. Enhance the achievability of your goals by trying to predict potential obstacles and devise methods to overcome them. For example, if you can’t make it to the gym what exercise can you do instead? If you forget to take your lunch to work, what healthy food can you purchase as a replacement?

Recorded
Write you goals down. You don’t have to share them but doing so can aid in motivation. Keep referring to your goals whenever your motivation starts to diminish to remind yourself what you are working towards. You may find it beneficial to stick your nutritional goals to your refrigerator or your exercise goals to your exercise bike. Taking before and after pictures can also be a motivational way to record your progress.

Time Bound
Set a date by which you would like to achieve your goal. By applying a deadline, you will be more focused. Working towards a goal without a definite deadline can reduce your commitment and motivation as there will be no urgency. However, make sure your timeframe is realistic and achievable. 

Enjoyable
Some sacrifice will be necessary in pursuit of your goals but if you find the process wholly unpleasant, your chances of success will be significantly reduced. For example if your new diet consists of foods you don’t enjoy, it’s unlikely you’ll stick with it for long.  Make sure you can enjoy the process and well as the end result.

Revisit
Periodically revisit your goals, especially if they are long term. You may find you need to revise them to account for external factors you failed to consider initially. Think of this as fine-tuning which will increase your chances of success. 

Next Step
Now you know what a SMARTER goal is, grab some paper and jot yours down. Then, look at your current training and eating and decide is your current routine taking you towards your goals or are you shooting arrows off target? Change your training and diet so they drive you towards your goals and not off in another direction. Start your new goal directed nutrition and exercise plan on Monday and enjoy the fact you are taking positive steps towards achieving the levels of fitness and health you have set for yourself!

Everyone has heard the expression “practice makes perfect”. The thing is, this isn’t strictly true – if we practice something incorrectly, all we get is very good at doing something wrong! For example, if you always perform (in other words practice) press ups with a sagging lower back; this is how you will always do them. It will become engrained and breaking this habit will be very difficult and time consuming – thus practice didn’t make perfect, it merely taught a bad habit. Really, the saying should be “perfect practice makes perfect” as it’s far better (and easier in the long run) to establish good habits in the first place, rather than have to unlearn bad habits before replacing them with better ones.

 

 

 

It’s sometimes quoted that (in terms of exercise performance) that it takes around 500 repetitions to learn a new technique and for it to become automatic but 5000 to unlearn an old one and that assumes that all 5000 are performed faultlessly! This is one of the reasons that at Solar Fitness Qualifications, we strive for good form in all our exercises from the very beginning of our courses. We know that, for every day we let our students perform exercises with poor form, there will be a whole lot of extra work required to prepare them for their assessment time both for the students, trainers and the assessors alike!

This leads nicely onto something called the “Learning Ladder” which describes the process we go through when learning a new habit or skill. The learning ladder can be applied to just about any behaviour but this article will focus on things health and fitness related…

Unconscious Incompetence
On this rung of the learning ladder, the individual doesn’t realise they have a negative habit. This could be a gym goer who always does lat pull downs behind the neck without realising the dangers to his or her shoulders or a dieter who skips meals to help them lose weight, not knowing that this behaviour could disrupt their metabolism and stall their fat loss. People who are Unconscious Incompetents would benefit from education and explanations to teach them why their behaviours are not the best way forward in achieving their goals. 

Conscious Incompetence
“If at first you don’t succeed, try try and try again!” goes the old saying.  This sums up the Conscious Incompetent. They know what they should be doing but often fall “off the wagon”. This could be the dieter who just can’t say no to cakes when it’s some ones birthday at work (and there are a lot of birthdays at their office!) despite the fact they know it will hinder their fat loss or the weight trainer who, more often than not, misses their Friday leg workout because the guys on the football team convince him to skip training and have a few beers down the pub instead, despite the fact he knows this will unbalance his weekly training programme. Conscious Incompetents need help with motivation and assurance that the new habits they are trying to develop will be of long term benefit. Tools such as goal setting and decision balance sheets can be very beneficial for this type of person.

Conscious Competence
To an outsider, those that have reached Conscious Competence may seem to have it easy but the reality is that, despite the fact they eat what they should and exercise regularly, it’s a struggle. They’d love to skip a workout or two or relax their diets and eat some junk food but they just won’t give in to temptation. Periodically the gravitational pull of the sofa, the lure of the pub or the thought of sugary foods can get to the point where they feel like it would be easier to just give up and indulge but they stay focused and stick with it – but it’s not always easy to do the right thing. For this person, positive affirmations can be very useful to help maintain focus and as a reminder that all the hard work is worth it.  

Unconscious Competence
At this level, exercise and eating well are a part of everyday life. No external stimuli are necessary as habits are now just a fact of life and it would be unthinkable to not exercise regularly or eat well. For this type of person, adherence to regular exercise and good nutrition are easy which, ironically, can make them less than ideal as mentors to those people who find sticking to their new healthy lifestyle choices a struggle. It’s possible they may lack empathy as it’s been so long since they found exercising frequently and eating well a struggle. Ideally, we should all strive to reach this level of self-mastery but the reality is that very few do which is probably just as well or personal trainers and nutritionists the world over would soon be out of a job!

Regardless of your current level on the learning ladder, keep at it, and keep striving for improvements. It IS worth it in the long run. It’s not always an easy process and there will be times where you’d rather stay in front of the TV or buy a take away instead of cooking a healthy meal at home BUT…they payoff every time you resist temptation you will be one step closer to your health and fitness goals. And remember, perfect practice makes perfect!

New Year, New Fads

2011 has started with a bang, so what new fads will the leisure industry have in store for us? 

Pilates has grown stronger year by year with new studios and teachers now teaching. We have had spinning (in-door cycling) classes, Les Mills body system classes and now Zumba is at the forefront. Will these continue to be popular in 2011?  Only time will tell but one thing is for sure time moves on and fads change. 

The one fad I would like to start is Accountability!  By this I mean everyone from the medical profession to the gyms, the trainers and clients we should all be accountable.  Let me put it this way, you take your car in to be fixed, you get it back and all is well.  Great.  Then 5 miles down the road you break down.  I would expect you’ll be on the phone back to the garage.  Why then do we all say this New Year I’m going to get into shape, change my eating habits, stop smoking, cut down on alcohol, the list sound familiar?  Even according to recent statistics 50% of those joining gyms over this next month will leave within 5 to 6 months, why is this?  As trainers we need to look at our service, our knowledge, are we giving our clients what they need or a generic programme?  Are clients motivated properly or are they giving up before they have even started? 

Well it doesn’t have to be that way this year! 

When this doesn’t happen who is accountable? US!  We made the New Year promise and didn’t meet it.  You can make a difference this time.   A client of mine, who is now 76, gave me a gift on her birthday.  When I asked why her answer was that with my help she was still able to do the things that she wouldn’t have been able to do otherwise.  I must admit, my client puts many younger than her to shame.  She places her trust in me and I hold myself accountable for exercise prescription and my on going education.  She inspires me and others to learn and do more.  Just today, one of my clients came in on crutches after she broke a bone in her foot, not my doing I may add!  Being accountable for her own health she still made it to the class and did all that she could.  No excuses.  These two clients are not professional athletes or multimillionaires.  They are average Joes who have taken action and know that they are accountable for there own healthy and independent future. 

So this year let’s be accountable in all the New Year wishes we make.  Be the one who pays and uses their gym membership, go to a nutritionist, learn to cook, go to the NHS and get help to stop smoking, drinking less alcohol and more water or maybe not watching as much TV.  Carry this through: we are accountable to make this happen and we can.  Don’t allow it to be a Fad and fade away in February only haunt like ghosts of Christmas passed.  

Let’s make ‘accountability’ the biggest fad in the leisure industry.

 

Nigel Stagg is a popular and experienced Personal Trainer, Pilates Instructor and Biomechanics coach and can be contacted at www.purebodysolutions.co.uk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Patrick Dale continues to motivate you to exercise, this time he blogs about getting your friends to help you

4) Recruit a network of supporters. Why suffer alone!?!? Ask friends, neighbors, family and friends to assist you in your goals. Seek out like minded people to act as training partners, get support from those closest to you, join one of the many web based groups that can offer both support and information to help you on your way (www.ultraifitmagazine.co.uk  is a great place to start!). The main point is that you don’t have to “go it alone”. For some people this might mean hiring a personal trainer, or joining a group exercise class or it could just mean you work out with a neighbor. Whatever support method you choose, your efforts will be easier with someone else in your corner.

5) Keep accurate training and diet logs. Write it down! Nothing motivates like success…but to judge success we need to see where we started. By keeping track of workout performance, dietary trends and physical measurements we can see when we improve. Sometimes we fail to see our improvements because they are, on a day to day basis, so small but overtime, these small improvements will add up to noticeable changes in body composition, bodyweight, fitness levels etc. Often, someone who hasn’t seen you for a while will comment on your dramatic weight loss or improved muscle tone – they haven’t seen you in a while so the changes seem great whereas to you, seeing yourself in the mirror on a daily basis may not have spotted much in the way of changes at all.

6) Don’t be afraid to fall off the wagon. Even with the very best planning, goal setting and support network sometimes things just go wrong – life gets in the way. The key when this happens is to not let it phase you for too long and to pick up where you left off as soon as possible. These disruptions in routine are not failures, nor are they enough to undo all of your previous good works but unless you jump back on the wagon as soon as possible, they can be the start of the slippery slope back to our previous physical state and a lot of hard work wasted. Learn from whatever caused this disruption to your planned routine and take measures to try to minimize the chances of a similar disruptions happening again. Its kind of cheesy but some say that to FAIL is the First Action in Learning and so long as we take something positive away from a failure, then it was not a wasted opportunity.

 7) Choose things you like. By using the above 6 points, we can make exercise adherence much more likely, but if we choose activities we don’t enjoy or foods we don’t like, it becomes increasingly doubtful we will succeed in reaching our fitness or diet goals. There are many options for us to choose from and it is vital we chose things we are going to enjoy as much as possible. Why make things harder than they need to be? The old saying “it doesn’t have to be hell to be healthy” is a good one to adopt as a diet and exercise mantra. So…don’t like running? Try cycling. Not so keen on the gym? Join an exercise class. Don’t like fruit? Make fresh fruit smoothies or juices. There are many ways to skin the proverbial cat, so spread you net wide and select activities and foods that slot as seamlessly into your lifestyle as possible.

So, in conclusion: set goals, note down decision change pros and cons, make a plan and stick to it, recruit a support network, keep food and training diaries, don’t worry if you make mistakes (try, try and try again!), and choose foods and activities you enjoy. Following these simple guidelines won’t turn you into an exercise addict overnight but will help you to become a habitual, self motivated exerciser and lead you towards a long and productive health & fitness lifestyle.

Why you should write a pros and cons list to help you become a regular fitness trainer

2) Write a pro and con decision list. What have you got to gain versus what have you got to lose. If you ever feel your resolve waning, revisit this document and remind yourself what you have given up in return for all the benefits you are working towards, e.g.

Pros	Cons
Look better	Half an hour less sleep
Lose weight	Have to be organized
Feel fitter	Drink less alcohol
Have more energy	Eat plainer foods

After reviewing the above lists it should be apparent that the minor cons are outweighed by the greater pros and should serve as a reminder that the decision made is a worthwhile one.

3) Make a plan and stick to it. Getting fit is a journey, and to successfully complete a journey you often need a map. By planning how to get from A to B, we can prepare for change and give ourselves a route to follow which will allow us to progress along our chosen path without having to worry about losing our way or getting distracted. Remember the old adage – “prior preparation prevents poor performance!” To help keep on the straight and narrow, consider the following points…

Plan your workout times – treat them as appointments and stick to them.

• Have a back up plan in case you are unable to exercise at the time you wanted to – if you cant go to the gym, what can you do instead? If it’s raining, where else can you workout? Cover your bases! Have alternatives ready to cover as many eventualities as you can envisage.
• Plan your weekly food intake and shop accordingly. One of the truths of diet and nutrition is that if you have junk food in your cupboard, you will eat it. As a result, make sure that you have plenty of healthy food in your cupboards and that includes snacks.
• Make sure you carry adequate food and water with you so you don’t have to rely on grabbing a snack at work – prepare much of your days food the night before
• Tell other people about your plans so they don’t accidentally interfere with your efforts to adopt a new healthy lifestyle.

More tips in part 4…

Everyday, there are things I would rather be doing do than sweating it out in the gym or panting out on the road, like watching TV, reading, sleeping, meeting my friends or just chilling out eating junk food…but the difference between me and a non-exerciser is that I “just do it” to quote Nike. Oh, that’s exercise, and not the other things I mention! Exercise has become a habit and a vital part of my day just like eating, sleeping and breathing.

The hardest part about exercise is getting off the couch, or getting out the front door, or away from what ever place you are drawn to by an invisible gravitational pull designed to stop you being fit and healthy. Once you’ve broken away from that place – the rest is easy…or relatively anyway!

So – how do we establish a routine that will eventually become a habit? Well, I have a number of suggestions which may help.

Remember, it takes 3-6 months of concerted, regular effort for something to become habitual, so don’t go expecting any quick fixes but with some application of effort and, dare I say it, discipline, exercise adherence is a real possibility and developing the skills to be self motivated are yours for the taking…we just need to get through that first few months…

1) Set goals. Why do you want to get fit? Is it to lose weight, look good on the beach, drop a clothing size, be healthier? get stronger? What ever it is, write it down. Show it to people, tell people about you goal, explain what you are trying to achieve. The point of this exercise is to give you focus. Every workout missed or every day off your healthy eating plan puts you a day further away from achieving what you want from your time spent exercising. Make sure your goals are realistic and achievable in a reasonable time frame. If necessary break your main goal into “micro” goals that you can tick off on a regular basis. For example, lose a pound a week rather than think about losing 20 pounds in total. A pound a week is a much more realistic goal than focusing on that big figure (pun intended) of 20 pounds.

In part 3 I tell you why you should write a pros and cons list.

I am a life long exerciser – I can honestly say that I have been exercising all of my adult life (some 20 years) and for a fair amount of my childhood too. During that time, my efforts have been consistent, regular and productive. As a result I have achieved a reasonable level of success in many sports ranging from rugby to trampolining, to athletics to rock climbing.

The one thing that has been a constant companion throughout this long training career is I have always needed to find ways to motivate my self. It has never been easy to drag my self into the gym at 6am, or out to run at 10pm but somehow, almost every time, I have done it.

Without realizing it, I made exercising a lifelong habit and now enjoy the fruits of those endeavors – above average muscle mass, lower than average body fat, sufficient strength for all everyday activities, muscular endurance which allows me to perform physical tasks for prolonged periods of time, adequate CV fitness that allows me to run about as far as I will ever want to, not to mention lowered incidence of illness and disease compared to my peers, high energy levels and the luxury of knowing I will probably enjoy these benefits long into my twilight years.

People often say to me, “Oh but it’s so easy for you!” but I can assure you it isn’t. Training never gets any easier – that’s a fallacy! You merely get fitter and work harder. I feel the same discomfort as a beginner exerciser, get out of breath in the same way an unfit person would and weights feel heavy to me as they would to a person with less strength. I just have a greater work capacity that allows me to work at higher levels of output – however, it’s still as hard as the first time I ran around the block as an eight year old training for my first sports day. And yes – that feeling of sore muscles beginners get after starting a new exercise routine (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness or DOMS) – I get that too … at least a couple of times a week!

I’ll tell you what you can do to follow an active life and get as fit as you can in part 2.

Patrick Dale

Question – Do you find that men and women need different motivation from instructors to make their workouts successful?

Mr T replied…

“From goal setting to programme design and exercise adherence to motivation during a workout – training clients of different genders can require different approaches.

The genders often have different training goals e.g. for female clients weight loss and improved muscle tone are often primary goals whereas for males muscle hypertrophy is often the raison d’être for working out. Because of this, it’s sometimes necessary to employ different strategies for making clients workouts effective and successful.

In terms of exercise choice, many male clients tend to gravitate towards free weight exercises especially exercises that allow for significant loads to be used and often become overly focused on “mirror muscles” i.e. those on the front of the body however female clients may well be more inclined to use cardio machines and resistance machines and shun the male dominated free weight area. Ironically some exercises deemed as being masculine e.g. the deadlift and barbell squat are amongst the best for improving the typical female problem areas of the thighs, hips and bum and most guys would benefit from doing more flexibility training which is often seen as being “a bit girlie!”. It’s up to the instructors to convince their clients of the benefits of cross gender exercises!

Male clients often are less definitive about their exercise goals and say things like they “want to build up their arms” or “lose their beer bellies” whereas female clients are more specific and have an ideal weight or clothing size in mind for their end goal.

During workouts it is my experience that female clients respond best to positive encouragement with the instructor focusing on how an exercise should feel and its specific benefits where as male clients often respond better to a firmer form of encouragement and respond especially well to being challenged to exceed previous workout performances.”

Question – Do you find that men and women need different motivation from instructors to make their workouts successful?

The Fitness Vixen replied…

“Men and women think and behave very differently in many situations and this is very evident when they start exercising. As an instructor, it is essential to treat all clients as individuals from the beginning and get to know your client, their interests and their reasons for starting exercise. A female client may want to be in a size 12 dress for a friends wedding in 3 months time but a male client might want to get fit to play football with his friends in a local soccer league. Trying to convince a female client that using weights will help her achieve her figure goals more effectively and quickly than cardio alone, or to explain to a male that stretching his hard worked muscles will actually help improve his game is a different matter altogether!

Females on a whole are less interested in the amount of weight they are using and get the impression that using big weights will make them overly muscled. It’s likely they will probably be more interested in how many calories they have burnt during a session and will relate this to the food they have eaten. Males however will want to see the pin going lower down the weight stack, more plates going on the Olympic bar or the speed on the treadmill going up so they can record their success in their training diary.

Group exercise can be a great motivator for both men and women and can help add variety into a training programme. Men tend to find a circuit based class a great way of adding variation and an element of competition into their workouts whilst a group exercise class like aerobics or step classes will keep female clients coming back for more as they enjoy the social aspect.”

Basheerah Ahmad – our issue no. 20-3 cover model and profiled in issue no 20-4

Basheerah is a former Miss Black America, holds two masters degrees and trains Holloywood celebs such as Jordin Sparks and Vivica Fox. See Basheerah in action in the clip below.

Find out more at:

http://www.sportygirlfitness.com