Have you got your eye on the prize??

So have you set your new years resolutions yet? Have you written down your goals for the year? If you have then great, if you haven’t then sharpen your pencil and get to it! Unless you know what it is that you are heading for how can you ensure you succeed?

The true art of goal setting is being able to see the prize, imagining what it will feels like and living the moment.

This takes practice & most people struggle to start with.

Step 1 - decide what it is that you want, but be specific, I want to lose weight is not enough, I want to lose a stone just isn’t exciting. Something like I want to wear that red dress at the back of the wardrobe, or I want to wear a bikini on the beach in June, or I want to be a size 8 in front of everyone on my 40^th birthday, whatever it is make it sexy and exciting!

Step 2 - Next get an old picture of you wearing the dress, or the bikini catalogue, or a pair of size 8 jeans and stick them all over the show! Stick reminders of your goal everywhere, your mirror, your car, and your bedside – YOUR FRIDGE! Everywhere and anywhere.

Step 3 - Now you need a little imagination, where are you wearing the dress, who is with you, how do you feel? Spending 5 minutes at the beginning & end of each day keeps your goals alive.

Close your eyes and relax, now see yourself walking into the room, feel yourself standing tall, hear the music or chatter of people. What are people saying about you?

Or feel yourself slipping into size 8 jeans, doing them up easily and feeling comfortable.

If at first you find imagining the scenario difficult break it down, play it like a movie in your head. The more you practise the easier this becomes.

Step 4 – Chant your mantra, this should be a few words that sum up your goal, such as

Size 8 at 40,

Look at me now

Bikini on the beach

Probably the most famous example of this is when Kate Moss told us how she manages her weight with the mantra “nothing tastes as good as skinny feels” and she is right, think about it……

Does the few minutes it takes to devour a bar of dairy milk feel anywhere near as good as slipping on a pair of jeans, a size smaller than normal and feeling good in them? That feeling lasts all day long, how long did that dairy milk last?

Is eating a whole triple cheese pizza as satisfying as shopping for clothes and asking if they have it in a smaller size?

What’s better opening your wardrobe and being able to wear anything inside as it all fits or another bottle of wine this evening?

Step 5 – be the person you want to be NOW! Don’t wait until you are a size whatever or you weigh how much, live like the new you now. Be the thinner, healthier person you want to become. Eat like them, walk like them, talk like them – go where they go, do what they do and before you know it you will be wearing what they wear!

Lastly, keep your eye on the prize and spend time feeling your success – these techniques are used by some of the world’s most successful people from sports people feeling themselves winning and hearing the crowds as they receive their medal (Mohammad Ali is famous for his accounts of this) to multimillionaires seeing themselves closing the deal.

See it, hear it, smell it – live it!

NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Forget those New Years resolutions

So what are you going to do to make 2011 different???

“You are now at a crossroads. This is your opportunity to make the most important decision you will ever make. Forget your past. Who are you now? Who have you decided you really are now? Don't think about who you have been. Who are you now? Who have you decided to become? Make this decision consciously. Make it carefully. Make it powerfully.”

Anthony Robbins

So how do you feel about ending 2010, are you pleased with your achievements, have you reached and exceeded the goals you had this time last year? Yes, no, not quite

If not how are you going to ensure that this is the year you finally get a grip on things, the year that you stand up and start being the person you want to be.

Are you ready for success, are you really ready to do what it takes to end 2011 having smashed the hell out of the resolutions and goals.

If you want to be a winner you have to take life by the balls and make it go your way!

The first and often hardest step is making the decision to do so.

This may mean you need to learn new skills that take you out of your comfort zone, but do you know what happens when you move out of your comfort zone?

Your comfort zone gets bigger!

You have to decide that you are not going to let unfounded fears hold you back, the thought of our actions is often turns out to be more scary than the action itself - FEAR : False Evidence Appearing Real.

You have to believe in yourself and your capabilities, most of us only use a very small fraction of the power we have, and we are forever talking ourselves down and away from this power, as we grow older our inner voice that tells us we can achieve anything (remember you were going to be an astronaut when you grew up) becomes muted and damped down by the millions of negative and unrealistic messages we are bombarded with each day.

We live in a false world, a world where riches and beauty are sought over happiness and health.

The media is full of the rich, beautiful and way to thin and when we see it we want it too and when we are unable to attain these unrealistic lives we are left with feelings of inferiority, leading to a lack of confidence that can all too often end up with us accepting our current situation.

But in us all is the power to make change, the power to be the very best we can, the power to re program that inner voice and realise our true potential, whether it is health, body shape, a new job, a new partner.

The first step to success is making the decision that you will succeed.

So are you ready to step up to the mark?

Have you made your decision?

Are you ready to push through the boundaries of your comfort zone?

Is 2011 the year you realise your POWER??

Surviving the christmas socials!

First of all Happy Christmas, because it has started hasn’t it, the festivities, the winding down, the odd mince pie here and there, the Christmas do’s and sorry to be a grouch but possibly the start of the extra few pounds you could gain over the season!! Unless you are one of my Xpress campers who have decided to do the opposite and spend the next week ramping it up getting their bodies ready for the Christmas onslaught!

Either way I want to spend the next few days giving you a few last minute survival tips.

So first of all, the Christmas socials ……..

Most importantly don’t leave the house without a plan of attack you could easily find yourself consuming 2000 calories plus before you know it.

So here are some survival rules to follow:

Have a plan – decide what you’re going to eat and what you’re not going to eat before you get there.

Take your own offerings if the party is at home or in the office, such as vegetables crudities, with homemade hummus dips, , fresh fruit and nut salads

Nominate yourself as the driver – with 7 calories per gram alcohol can be a real demon in your fat burning plan. Alcohol is actually a poison to the body and therefore it will try to eliminate it immediately, metabolising those calories before burning fat, meaning it will not be able to burn off the calories you have consumed through food thus adding them to your waistline

A 550 ml can of Stella Artois contains 221 cals, 4 of them and you’ve hit your 1000 calories without even hitting the buffet, or for the ladies a 175ml glass of white wine will be 130 cals, vodka is not too bad at around 50 but then if you add coke you can also add another 70 cals, and any kind of alcopops or red bull type mixes you can be looking at around 220 per bottle.

If you are going to have a few drinks then choose wise, add soda and ice to make the drink longer and sip instead of guzzle! And have a glass of water in between each drink – your head will thank you for this in the morning as well as your waistline!

If there is a meal involved choose wisely, soup or a prawn cocktail (without the sauce!) are great starters, turkey for mains is ok, but go easy on the sauces, the sausages, roasted potatoes, Yorkshires, stuffing etc, try and fill up on the vegetables as much as possible.

A fish course can be a healthy option so can the veggie options, but watch out for extras such as pastry or cheese that top up the cals and remember you don’t have to clear your plate!

If you still have room for desert then the fruit salad will be the best option. But as it’s Christmas and if you really can’t resist then leave half of the desert on your plate, and offer the rest to someone else so it isn’t sitting in front of you!

Try to make the decision before you go that you are going to stay away from the nibbles and appetizers, these are dangerous as they are high in calories and often in bowls where you can easily dip in and out grabbing a handful here and there, 10 dry roasted peanuts are about 45 cals, so a handful can easily come in at 100 cals, and whoever has just one handful?

Do a workout before you get ready! Get yourself moving for 30 minutes and get off to a great start, it will make you feel great and get the blood flow to your muscles giving you a bit more definition and a healthy glow later try a quick run, or circuit of 30 seconds of each of these, repeat the circuit as many times as you can in 20 minutes with little or no rest

Squats Jumping jacks Push ups Skipping ( with or without rope) Plank Burpees Tuck jumps

Lastly, make sure you spend most of the evening on the dance floor and not by the buffet, dancing can burn up to 400 cals an hour, more if you throw a few head spins and windmills, so hit the floor and cut some shapes!

Snowed in workout

My snowed in workout this morning, filmed a bit off the cuff by my partner!!! Hence the poor quality. Anyway, give it a go, should keep you going if you can't get to fitcamp or the gym
Stay warm xx

2 for 1 Veggie Soup

With a winter detox on the cards next week for the Yummy Mummies and I, I thought I would give you this great soup recipe, where virtually any veggie goes.
Its easy to make a big batch and have it to hand whenever the munchies strike or you need a hug in a mug!

I don't really think to much about what i put in this soup, its usually whats in the fridge, or whats on 2 for 1 offer in the supermarket!



But it goes something a bit like this.......

1 large Onion
3 Carrots
1 head broccoli
3 sticks celery
1 courgette
1 clove garlic - keep the vampires away!
4 fresh tomatoes - skins removed (or a tin of chopped)
1 large dollop of green pesto
1 spoon of mixed herbs
Salt & pepper
Pint of water

then whatever else is about

put it all in a pan and boil - it smells delicious when its cooking
then blend to desired consistency

If I want to make it more hearty then I add some red lentils and have for lunch, the kids really like it too so its a great way of getting the veggies in them!

Personal Trainer Leatherhead Simple Warm up Tutorial

Stop trying to lose weight!!!!!!!!!

I am sitting waiting against my better judgement for some scales I have just purchased for my fit campers to be delivered. I feel like Marjorie Dawes!

Why, because I want to try and stop them jumping on the scales everyday (sometimes twice) so my thinking is that by me having the scales I can ration the weigh ins to once a week. But personally having been a slave to them in the past I HATE the things – they are highly addictive!

Here is the thing; you want to be thin right so you want to lose weight right? Wrong, you want to be thin so you need to lose fat – not weight. Yes if you are overweight then weighing less is going to be a side effect of losing fat, but losing weight alone will not give you’re the body shape or faster metabolism you desire.

As this picture shows muscle weighs more than fat, you can see 5lbs of fat takes up more space (volume) than 5lbs of muscle.

Someone weighing 68kgs with a body fat of 21% will look much leaner and be a lot smaller than someone who weighs the same 68kgs but has 32% body fat. So even though they weigh the same their body composition will be totally different. The person with more muscle and less fat will be smaller as muscle is a lot smaller and leaner per lb than fat.

Another thing about our 21% body fat person is their metabolism will be considerably higher than that of our 35% person as muscle is metabolically active, ie, it needs energy, even at rest and therefore burns calories – fat doesn’t! Studies have shown that a for every lb of muscle you gain your body can burn an extra 50 calories a day– that’s 350 a week which over a year could amount to a weight loss of 5lbs – without you lifting a finger.

Standing on the scales and not seeing the results you were hoping for can be gutting, how often have you got up, planned your wardrobe, looked in the mirror felt great, then weighed yourself, been disappointed at the result and felt totally deflated, fat and horrible, despite having liked your reflection 2 minutes previously (maybe you were half a kilo heavier than yesterday??)

Taking measurements or using a pair of jeans or item of clothing that you really want to get into is a much better indicator of how you’re doing than the scales. Watching and feeling your body shrink is a so rewarding and will inspire you to stick to your healthy lifestyle, eating plan and workouts more than ever.

For instructions on how to take measurements check out the video here

So now you know, scales do not give you the full picture, in fact they can be totally misleading. If you are doing the right exercise, resistance training and short intense cardio sessions your body will be changing, even if the scales aren’t.

Liberate yourself, out them away somewhere and get them out weekly if you really must, monthly even, or better still ditch them!

Deminishing Returns???

What were your goals when you first joined the gym or set out on your exercise plan? Have you achieved them? If not it could be because you are one of the many exercisers who are stuck in the rut of doing the same exercise routine over and over again and seeing no results or even worse gaining weight, losing strength and getting injuries.

When you first start exercising you will see results fast. As the body goes from doing nothing to something it is shocked into action and responding to the exercise stimulus as your heart rate rises, the blood flow increases, and you begin to breathe faster increasing your oxygen consumption.

Now the body has to adapt to the new workload, rebuilding and repairing the muscles. This all takes extra energy – hence the initial weight loss you will experience along with the increased energy levels, higher self esteem, greater strength and stamina, along with an endless list of other benefits. In short you will feel fantastic!

But at some point your body will stop adapting to the new work load and it will settle at a point where you will no longer burn the extra calories because as you become more effective at performing the exercises the energy expenditure for each movement is less. Like everything the better you become at doing something the easier it is to do. A fitter person will generally burn less calories performing the same moves as an unfit person.

Now in the same way as your body got used to NOT exercising it will adapt to exercising and try to balance the energy in with the energy out

This is where you will hit your plateau and stop losing weight or gaining strength. Research has proven that it takes about 4 weeks for the body to adapt to a new workout or exercise plan. Simply doing more of the same workouts will not bring back those initial results and could lead to injuries from the repetitive movements and strains on your joints.

Now you need to shock your body! Shaking up your routine will kick start your results again!

So here are some pointers on how to keep your workouts fresh and the results coming!

1. Keep your body on its toes – if the exercise is getting too easy then crank it up to the next level
2. Move your body in different ways, ie, swap squats for lunges, running for rowing, weight machines for dumbbells – keep it guessing
3. Try to renew your workout every few weeks
4. Beware of overtraining as this can also cause your body to conserve extra energy leading to diminishing returns and injury! Take time to allow the body to recover
5. Alter the intensity, frequency and duration of your workouts

NEVER LET IT GET EASY!!!!!!!!!

Check out the Babes on the Run website for more fat loss tips and info

What’s the best plan for fat loss? Week 2

There is a constant debate going on about the best way to lose weight, everyone from doctors, to fitness professionals, to nutritionists to the people on the street have an opinion. Some are more informed or educated than others and some are just con artists. No one seems to have conclusive proof of the true blueprint of optimal health. Low fat, high protein, eat meat, no meat, no carbs, 3 calorie controlled days 1 binge day, eat right for your blood type, the list is endless!

Over years and years of reading and researching nutrition for various clients with health problems ranging from high blood pressure, depression, type 2 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and obesity I have become a complete fan and advocate of the Palaeolithic (caveman) way of eating.

I have seen fantastic results from a change in diet, a change that eliminates wheat and diary products and increases consumption of fruit and vegetables, and not just the 5 a day the government talks about – at least 10 a day is what we should be aiming for. It seems clear to me that this is the only way to eat, as our ancestors did. We were made to eat this way!

We are not meant to be over weight. We are all different and your natural weight is as individual as the colour of your eyes, or your height. But if you eat to be healthy aiming to nourish your body with the nutrient dense foods nature provides your body will follow your lead and you’ll find your set weight point.

When it comes to nutrition for weight loss my OPINION is this, if you eliminate any type of synthetic man made foods, (and in this I would include diary as so many of us are lactose intolerant – cows milk is meant to nurture 42 stone cows NOT humans) in time your body will fall back into sync with itself and as the blood sugar stabilizes and your metabolism settles on an even keel your body fat will drop and you will feel more in control of your body and its cravings – Don’t get me wrong a bowl of chocolate ice cream will still look good but the feeling of HAVING to succumb will not be a strong as your body will not be craving sugar – just your mind!

When the body is free of the toxins caused by artificial processed foods it can work properly concentrating on the digestion of food rather than having to process alien toxins through the gut, this causes the body to retain extra water in order to dilute these toxins, storing them in the fat cells away from the vital organs (ie on our tums, bums and bingo wings)

My clients and fit campers follow a nutrition plan that eliminates certain food groups from their diet for two weeks, these are Sugar, Diary, Wheat, Caffeine, Alcohol and anything processed – what’s left you ask?

Fresh fruits, vegetables, pulses, legumes, meats, fish, nuts, seeds, water & teas. Yes I know it sounds tough, and for those first few days it is, but when after the first week they feel energised and lighter – and when they step on the scales or do their measurements boom! The results are fantastic. By week two they are at least few pounds lighter (10 is the record) and full of energy.

Then the choice is theirs, do they want to go back to eating the convenience foods that have robbed them of their vitality, energy and slimness or do they continue down the path that leads to a healthy body at its natural weight, and a lifestyle that allows a little of what you fancy now and then without jeopardising your health or weight. For most the answer is simple – choose health! That chocolate biscuit just isn’t worth it.

No one said it was easy but in time it does become less challenging and the more you do it the easier it gets! You just have to get into the habit!

So some of my top tips would be

Eliminate refined carbohydrates (sugars) from your diet – bread, pasta, and wheat based products – even the “healthy” stuff and especially the white stuff - and the cakes, sweets and biscuits obviously!

Eliminate or at least limit dairy if you must eat diary choose the lower fat options, cottage and feta cheese – instead of full fat hard cheese – try non diary milk alternatives

Don’t eat anything if there are 3 or more ingredients and any with ingredients you don’t recognise or can’t pronounce

Eat mostly vegetables – organic wherever possible

Cook food from scratch and throw your microwave out (it nukes all the goodness in your food)

Eat smaller amounts of good quality, lean and wherever possible organic meats and fish

Eat fat to lose fat adding olive oil, coconut oil, oily fish, nuts and avocados along with other HEALTHY saturated fats to your diet will help your body repair itself and burn fat

Eat some form of good lean protein with each meal, animal or vegetable mix it up

Have Cheat meals the more of these you have the smaller your results will be, if you are aiming for weight loss keep it to two or three a week

For more info and details go to http://www.personaltrainerleatherhead.com

Yummy Mummy FC Oct 2010

How great are you ?

You are an amazing, unique individual who can achieve ANYTHING!
Watch, share and live this !!!



Love Kim x

What’s the best plan for fat loss?

"Dieting - the practice of ingesting food in a regulated fashion to achieve or maintain a controlled weight”

Wow what a question that is! And here’s the thing, now that I’ve got you here, I don’t know the answer.

So that’s it sorry I haven’t a clue………………. ok so maybe I do have inkling. The thing is and the reason that I say I don’t know is that I don’t know you; I haven’t the foggiest idea why you’re overweight, and the answer will be different for each individual, what works for you may not work for me, you may have allergies or intolerances that cause other symptoms to flare up, you may have a thyroid problem that I don’t, or you have very high cortisol levels that will cause you to gain weight if you go for a long run, while I can run and it will fall off due to my high metabolism (which incidentally I don’t have – I am not one of the chosen few who have the gift!)

Over the past few years diets have had a bad press, and with good reason, the main one being that a diet tends to be something you “go on” and therefore something you will come off, and that’s when most people relax.

Having lost the weight they wanted or some of it they return to their normal eating habits only to find themselves back to square one a few weeks or months down the line, so they go on another diet, and so the cycle continues. But this time it is a little harder to lose those few pounds because during this cycle – known as yo yo dieting the body’s metabolism has slowed down in response to the lack of calories and therefore energy coming into the body.

So each time the process is repeated it becomes a little harder to achieve the weight loss desired. The harder it gets the quicker you give up meaning most people end up heavier than they started in the first place – not good!

What makes it harder is that everyday in a thousand different ways we are bombarded with messages from the multi billion pound food & diet industry who tell us that weight loss their way is easy and that they have the secret answer, by following them you to can have the body of your dreams.

A particular pet hate are the companies who provide energy dense bars and shakes to replace meals leaving you too exhausted to exercise and giving you the metabolism of a snail – having lost a lot of weight and feeling great in your new (untoned) body you return to eating food and expect your sluggish metabolism to cope, it doesn’t – I have never meet anyone who has kept their weight off with this type of diet – its insane!

But here is what I do know that successful diets and exercise plans work for the following reasons,

1. they involve a reduction in un nutritious empty calories
2. they are nutritionally dense
3. they use resistance training
4. and effective cardio

Nature has provided for us every nutrient we need to survive in good health. It has convenience foods of its own in the form of fruit and nuts, it provides its own metabolism boosting broccoli, grapefruit, green teas and the weight loss elixir – water! The foods it offers are low calorie and full of nutrients that nourish every cell in the body.

Nature doesn’t process foods, such as grains, stripping them of vital nutrients, it doesn’t add salt to meat and fish so it stores for longer in a tin on the shelf or add 10 teaspoons of sugar (the amount found in a standard can of cola) to water to make it taste better.

It doesn’t use trans fats or additives to prolong its shelf life, or numbers to give foods nicer colourings, or pesticides so fruit looks prettier – I could go on but you get the picture.

We have toyed so much with the foods we eat we no long have a concept of what real.
In my next blog I will tell you my view of the world’s best diet, the nutrition my yummy mummy fit campers, 1 to 1 PT and online clients follow, the same plan that has helped clients to lose 7lbs and 5 ½ inches in their first WEEK, the results they get are amazing – but if you can’t wait for the next blog and want to get a heads up just look around at the foods nature provides!

For more info check out our website at http://www.personaltrainerleatherhead.com/

Are you making any of these common exercise mistakes?

Good clean nutrition is the number 1 key to weight loss and a healthy lifestyle but if you want to see maximum results then you should be exercising at least three times a week and moving at every opportunity. Below I have written about some common mistakes that could hinder your success.

Are you making any of these mistakes?

Doing the same workout for too long

If you want to keep losing weight or getting stronger it is vital that you keep changing your workout routine. 3 sets of 16 reps with 5 kg weights may be ok to when you start out but if you want to see results you need to keep the body guessing and push yourself a little bit harder each time you workout.

Using girlie weights

Woking out with weights that are too light is just a waste of time, once you are confident that you know the move are have good technique then go for the heavy stuff, seriously don’t be afraid of using the big weights, choose something you can do 8-12 reps with. You will be surprise at how heavy you can do.

Working in your fat burning zone

Forget the little charts on the cardio machines in the gym, the belief that working in your fat burning zone which is typically 60-70% of your maximum heart rate will get you burning more fat is wrong. It is true that when working in this zone a higher percentage of the calories burnt come from fat, but in fact you will burn a lot less calories in this zone, making the overall percentage smaller.

The table below is based on 30 mins activity

Activity	Cals Burnt	% of Fat Burnt	Cals used from fat
Rest	100	60%	60
60-70% MHR	300	50%	150
75-85% MHR	450	40%	180

Therefore the harder you work the cals you burn the more results you will see.

Skipping the warm up

No matter how short on time you are preparing the body for exercise is vital. Warming up improves your performance and decreases your chance of injury. Spending 5-10 minutes gently mobilizing the joints and increasing the heart rate will enable you to go for longer and be stronger.

Not stretching

There is currently great debate in the sports and fitness world about the effectiveness of stretching and when to do it, some say not before exercise, others say not immediately after exercise, but no one is saying don’t do it at all. When we exercise we are contracting the muscles causing them to tighten and shorten which if left can then cause postural imbalances in the body as the muscles pull the skeleton out of place.

Stretching allows the muscles to return to their natural length and the joints to be put through its full range of motion, keeping the cartilage nourished and healthy.

You may feel fine now but from the age of about 25 our flexibility begins to decline ( along with everything else!) performing regular stretches will help you keep the flexibility you already have. Stretch at the end of your workout when the body is warm and hold each stretch for 30 seconds.

Over fueling after your workouts

There is no doubt that a good workout will leave your glycogen stores low and in need of a refuel, however, for the majority of us a small snack is enough to keep us going. Energy bars and high calorie sports drinks could end up leaving you consuming more calories that you have burnt off in the workout. A banana, fruit with a few nuts or lean protien snack is an ideal after workout energy booster and will be plenty to keep you going until your next meal, which should be soon after.

Have a plan make sure you have a clear idea of what your plan for each workout is and what your end goal is. Going into the gym, to a fitcamp or for a run with no end goal in mind means you could find yourself wasting time and letting yourself off the hook when the going gets tough.

No pain no gain is not how you should be working out, if you are feeling pain other than DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) then something is wrong. When working out your should feel a tension or "burn" in the target muscle area but the joints should not hurt. Again get a pro to check out your technique, or use a mirror.

If you want something to get you started send me an email at www.personaltrainerleatherhead.com telling me a bit about yourself and I will send you a free gym workout.

Lifestyle Change - the key in the battle of the bulge

Firstly, an apology as technology has turned on me (as usual!) and I am unable to load the video that accompanied this week’s original post - 3 top abdominal exercises – so I will re film it for you to post later.

So instead, I have to let something out because after watching a program on channel 4 last night I was so angry I could not sleep for the ranting in my head!

The program was an experiment that plotted two weight loss experts against each other, one a personal trainer to the stars and the other an alternative hypnotherapist to see who could “help” two ladies each weighing 21 stone lose the most amount of weight in six weeks using either exercise or behavioural change.

Exercise without nutrition....or behaviour change without nutrition will never get results, the best route to weigh loss is a change of lifestyle, incorporating both “experts” methods. When I have a client who is in need of a large weight loss we use all three approaches, and work towards changing their current lifestyle.

Whatever your weight loss goals are, that spare tyre you carry is made up of choices, and it is all about changing those choices to positive instead of negative ones. It was an unhealthy lifestyle that made you over weight in the first place, and that is what needs to change to get you out of it.

You have to be prepared to change, to make different choices, sometimes hard choices, but the more you make the right choices the more they will take over from the bad choices!

It’s about habits, changing the bad habits into good ones, going for a quick workout on the way home from work instead of coming home and switching on the TV or having a few nuts and seeds in your desk draw for snacking instead of chocolate biscuits. It is choosing nutrient packed eggs and spinach for breakfast instead of the sugar laden cereals you start the day with, it’s saving your nightly glass of vino for a treat (and not then demolishing the whole bottle and undoing your weeks good work!)

Weight loss is not complicated, but it can be hard, I’m not going to tell you different, changing the habits of a lifetime are never easy and it is certainly not as simple as just doing a bit more exercise, or cutting out one food group, its about making changes that will benefits you and last forever. Get it right and the rewards are vast, including,

increased energy, decreased waist line, feeling healthy, confident, and ALIVE!!

Changing your habits by exercising on a regular basis, eating clean nutritious food, eliminating processed, sugary junk full of trans fats and additives, and using the power of your mind with some great behavioural techniques will blow your weight loss efforts out of the water.

I was appalled by the complete lack of care the trainer showed and was surprised that someone from our industry would take part in such a ridiculous experiment. The way he spoke to his client was an absolute disgrace and showed a complete lack of understanding for the real issues involved in weight loss.

As he bullied his client to tears after loosing only 6 lbs on her “Hollywood (starvation fat free) diet” at her 2 week weigh in my blood was boiling.

As a fat loss coach I can tell you each journey is different, but one thing remains the same clean nutrition, exercise, education, behaviour change are all part of the process and need to be worked on together. A good personal trainer will understand that and work on a program designed specifically for you that’s fits in with your lifestyle. And if he mentions the Hollywood diet – get the hell out of there!

Lastly for those of you who saw the program please do not think that all personal trainers are like this. We are nice people, people who have really care and who want to empower you to be the person you want to be!

Stop Wishing Start Living

Find more weight loss tips, workouts and info at www.personaltrainerleatherhead.com

Lets get ripped !!!!!

So you want amazing abs and you’re religiously crunching away but seeing little or no results.

I’m often asked why I don’t get clients to perform endless crunches as part of their abs conditioning, and I have several answers.

First and foremost the standard crunch works rectus abdominus, those ab muscles in front and on top of the torso, which although being just one muscle has bands of fascia over it that gives that much sought after six pack, however, in order to reveal that definition the abs need to be free of the layer of fat that so often covers them.

So answer number 1 is that you can crunch away all you like, you already have a six pack its just covered by a layer of fat!

But what about the other core muscles, external & internal oblique’s, transverse abdominals, and muscles in the lumbar and pelvic areas. These are some of the most important muscles in your body; they are constantly working to ensure you have balance and stability. Strength in these muscles is of upper most importance, as it is these that keep you injury free and it is often weakness’s here that cause the backaches so many of my clients complain of when they first come to me.

So reason number 2 is that crunches do NOTHING to help these important muscles and can in fact cause tightness down the front of the trunk exasperating postural problems and backaches.

By training the torso as a whole we can improve posture, and this is where the real magic starts. The TVA (transverse abdomins) is the bodies corset, it goes around the stomach area, primarily to compress your vital organs and stabilize the spine and pelvis. By training this muscle to hold taught it will stop those organs flopping out, avoiding that pot belly women often have.

Answer 3 crunches WILL NOT flatten your stomach (performed incorrectly as I have so often seen they can actually cause you belly to protrude!)

The abdominal muscles need to be trained together, and the real results come from clean nutrition, effective cardio and the right ab exercises. My Yummy Mummy fit campers don’t do any isolated abdominal exercises and they can easily loose up to 3 inches from their waistlines in their first 2 weeks.

So, here are three of my fit camp favs – the essential ab exercises that my Yummy Mummies love - without a crunch in sight!

Firstly with all exercises the shoulders blades (scapula) should be engaged, holding the shoulders back and down – imagine you are trying to hold a £50 note between them. The abdominals should be braced, ie held in, imagine you are doing up a tight pair of jeans and hold the position (don’t forget to continue breathing though!)

The side loaded squat or suitcase squat – I have used a barbell to demonstrate this exercise as trying to hold the bar steady adds extra emphasis, however you can use a kettlebell or dumbbell instead if you are at home. The main thing is keep your spine upright and straight, don’t let the weight pull you over to one side.

The plank – Have your elbow at 90 degrees directly under your shoulders, chin tucked in, abs braced and bum squeezed. You should be straight like a plank! No sagging or elevated hips.

To increase the intensity take your elbows in front now and bring them into the centre so they are closer together.

You can also try this with your arms straight, again to increase the intensity move the hands further in front of the shoulders and closer together –ouch!

Seated Russian Twist – this next move is great for the entire core and by adding some rotation to your workouts we target the obliques also. It can be performed without weight at a beginner’s level and then the difficulty can be increased by using a medicine ball, dumbbell or a kettlebell as I have.

Hold the upper body about 45 degrees from the floor with the knees bent and feet on the floor. With a straight back stay looking forward whilst holding the weight in both hands at arms length, now twist your torso from side to side letting the weight touch the floor but remain looking forwards using your abs to control the momentum of the weight

For more info check out this vid x

http://

Surrey PT Kim Raine reveals her three top exercises to rip those abs! from Kim Raine on Vimeo.

And finally, the best way to a flat stomach? Lose weight! Burn that belly blubber by cleaning up your nutrition, doing effective high intensity fat burning workouts and training regularly.

The absolute key to a thinner you is clean nutrition, for more info about the best fat loss plans around check out my website now for some exciting info

And remember if you want the best body you can possibly have, wishing for it simply isn't enough - you have to take action and massive action will produce massive results

Stop Wishing Start Living

Bye for now

Kim

Early morning PADBox session

Early morning boxing workout with an awesome client - shes bionic!

Starting your exercise program

Starting exercising can be a daunting prospect, with so many options available where is a girl (or guy) to start?

Setting a target plan of 4-6 weeks is a great way to encourage yourself because in this time if you stick with the right plan you will see your arms getting more toned, your booty looking bootiful (see what I did there?) and your strength increasing.

If you really want to see results then aim for 4-6, 30-45 minute workouts a week, if that sounds too much then go for the minimum of three, with two being strength training sessions. Bottom line is if its results you want then the more you move the more toned and trim you’re going to look. But that said if you are totally new to exercise give your body time to recover before the next workout.

In 2-3 of those 45 minutes I want you to use some form of resistance, (a dumbbell, kettlebell or your body weight).

The best way to burn fat is to build muscle, think about increasing your strength; if you train to get strong you will build muscle and start to burn more fat – even when you’re sleeping! Don’t be afraid to go heavy with the weights, even the ladies!

Cardiovascular exercise (the stuff that gets you out of breath) will give you the best results done in short sharp bursts, going to the gym and boring yourself senseless on the treadmill for 45 minutes everyday is not going to give you’re the fast, body transforming results you are looking for and you could die of boredom before you see that fat come off!

Aim for 2-3 cardio sessions a week, these should be interval based workouts, that last no longer than 30 minutes. If you’re new to HIIT (high intensity interval training) then 20 minutes may well be enough in the first few weeks.

A simple beginner’s strength training session would look something like this

A Squats A Press ups

B Deadlifts B Barbell Chest press (or dumbbells)

C Lunges C Bentover rows

Alternating between the two exercises with the same letter, until three sets of each are complete. You should aim to complete between 8-12 reps of each exercise.

Each rep should be preformed at a slow pace in a controlled manner. Ladies use at least 8kgs of weight when doing these moves, Men, use as much as you can without compromising technique.

A beginner’s cardio workout may look something like this

Aim to do 8 sets of 30 seconds hard work & 90 seconds rest; this could involve any of the following

Skipping with an active march for 90 seconds in-between, Step ups on a bench, Running to one side of the park and walking back, Star jumps with marching as recovery Kettlebell swings

Again it all depends on your fitness levels, sprints are great for fat burning, but you need to get your fitness up first.

Remember to do a steady warm up and cool down afterward, and if you are new to exercise or very over weight speak with your doctor first before starting a program like this.

Quality over quantity is the key with any workout program, if you feel tired or are really struggling stop, you don’t want to over do it, however, on the other hand, you should feel that you are pushing yourself with every workout, when doing your 30 second interval you should be working as hard as you can, unable to hold a conversation, but able to speak. The idea is that at the end of the session you are whacked out – your tank is empty and you couldn’t do another interval!

Do cardio sessions on alternate days to your resistance training not the same day so you are ready to maximum effort into each workout.

Ideal workouts, to enhance metabolic conditioning and increase your fat burning potential are kettlebell or boxing classes, these are great ways to keep your workouts from getting stale and ensure you get maximum results. Bootcamps are a great way of doing this as they mix everything up and can give awesome results

If you live in the Leatherhead area and want to enhance your training and results then you may want to think about our Yummy Mummy Bootcamp as a way to burn fat, transform your body and have fun at the same time.

As always let me know how you get on, or mail me any questions

Take care Kim

mail@personaltrainerleatherhead.com

http://www.persoanltrainerleatherhead.com