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

Tyres & tears in Guernsey

The art of motivation

So you want to lose your body fat, you want to tone up, you want to feel better in your clothes, you want the wow factor – you want to be a BABE! And you want it more than anything, you really do, you would give anything to be a size 10, to wear the latest fashions, to walk on the beach this summer with your head held high rather than awkwardly trying to slide out of from under your maxi dress whilst lying down so that no one sees the spare tyre that used to be your abs.

You know what to do, you have read enough magazines and articles to know that in its simplest form it’s all about, eat less move more. If your still not sure there are a host of books, DVD,s, websites and gyms out there loaded with info to get you results – with today’s abundance of information not knowing the how part of loosing weight is really not an excuse.

But despite all the info and desire another month has past and your still no closer to the babe you so want to be. So what’s missing?

In a recent opinion poll the main reason for failure to be that person was lack of motivation, despite the often intense desire to succeed some thing gets in the way, and no matter how you say it or what form it comes in the word for it is excuse, whatever the reason is that you didn’t do your workout this morning, or you finished the children’s dinner this evening (whilst preparing yours) it is an excuse, and its stopping you get results.

If you want results the ability to motivate yourself is vital. One of the main reasons people come to me is that they need motivation! But motivation has close friend willpower, and if you put the two together boom – you can do anything!

Motivation often begins extrinsically, ie you want to lose weight for a wedding, to look good on holiday or to seek revenge on an ex partner, this is when motivation can be hard, despite the desire being great. The key is making that motivation intrinsic, ie you start to do it because it makes you feel good and you enjoy it – you have unwittingly created a habit and habit is the key to a healthy lifestyle.

So below are some tips to help motivate you in to motivation!

Start with the end in mind goal setting can help here, and visualisation. Knowing and seeing what you want. If it is the workouts you are struggling with think not of the reasons and excuses that will stop you going but how you feel at the end of the workout, the body you will have and the skinny jeans you will be able to wear to that party. If it’s the evening chocolate bars then ask yourself, is the 2 minute taste of that chocolate bar going to be as good as being a babe on the beach feels?

Play mind games if you’re really short of time or motivation tell yourself you’ll just do a quick 10 minutes, I guarantee you once those endorphins kick in you’ll be going at it with full gusto and won’t want to stop. Grab your Ipod loaded with your favourite tunes and go for it.

Ditch your friends having an exercise or weight loss buddy CAN be great, but it can also be detrimental to your efforts, is your “goal buddy” a good influence on your goals, do they enthusiastically keep every exercise appointment, share the healthy eating plans that are working for them, or do they have an idea of something better you can do than workout, like coffee and donuts?

Beware, these people do not want to see you reach your goals, it will only remind them of their failure, your in this together so you must fail together – I say kick them to the curb girls!

Stick with people you admire spend time with the people you want to be, did you know that you end up becoming the personality of the 5 people you spend most time with, so again choose your friends and company carefully. Ditch the life suckers! Go to motivational seminars and join groups of people working towards the same goals as you. This is why bootcamps are so successful – a group of people on the same journey motivated towards the same goal.

Have a can do attitude you cannot do what you can’t do, so forget it. Dwelling on it will not get you anywhere; instead look at what you CAN do.

Maybe you cannot get out of going for coffee with the group of cake shovelling skinny minis, but you CAN decide to enjoy the coffee and company but forgo the cake.

Maybe you can’t get to the gym everyday for an hour or afford a Personal trainer 3 times a week, but you CAN decide to join a running club or make appointments of half an hour 3 or 4 times a week to workout at home. There are some great at home workout plans about.

Find what it is the motivates you if your not enjoying it then its highly unlikely your going to feel motivated to do it. Exercise comes in many forms, if you find the treadmill tedious (like the rest of us) then forget it, there are loads of options, get outdoors, join a bootcamp, try boxing, swimming, climbing, the list is endless.

Try try and try again one bad day or one stray biscuit does not ruin the whole previous two weeks of focused effort. It happens, life happens – don’t worry, back to your CAN DO attitude. Dust yourself off and try again.

Have your goals to hand and everyday do something to
get you closer towards them, whatever it is.

Whatever you do, do something! Don’t let life pass you by stop wishing and start living!!!!!!

Starting the day the right way

Why are western breakfasts so carb dependent? Cereals, toast, pancakes, croissants, pop-tarts, crepes, waffles, muffins, hash browns, porridge, oatmeal, breakfast bars, breakfast squares, and now even breakfast “cookies, a bowl of biscuits repackaged as a nutritional start to the day!

Many of my clients find the first meal of the day the biggest challenge and get stuck on non carb breakfast ideas, the idea of cooking or chopping first thing in the morning is just out of the question for most of us, who end up rushing out of the door still trying to dress ourselves, wiping the kids faces and going through the day ahead’s list of jobs, so here are some easy ideas

The number 1 breakfast option has to be eggs, boiled, poached, scrambled, fried, in omelets, or pastry free quiches, however you like your eggs, there is no denying they are a great source of protein and really versatile, hard boil the night before for a quick brekkie you can eat on the go.

Or you can bake eggs with vegetables such as, mushrooms, onions and peppers and either meat or fish in a crust less quiche that you can keep in the fridge ready to grab in the mornings.

A smoothie is another quick idea, fill a blender with berries, ½ banana, natural yoghurt, ice and a little soya milk – then just hit the button and drink. Add a tablespoon or two of flax seed for some healthy omega-3s.

Good quality protein shake, add a couple of scoops to water or non dairy milk, add ice and blend.

Leftovers, ok this option may take a bit of getting used to, mixing up the whole dinner, breakfast thing but meat, fish and veggies are actually the ideal start to the day.

I’m sure our ancestors would have started the day with the leftover kill from the night before. To slowly get used to these ideas try adding some uncooked veggies, such as spinach, tomatoes and avocado as a side to your eggs in the morning.

Breakfast salad, add hard boiled egg and shredded bacon to fresh spinach leaves. Throw in some apple slices or nuts. This can be made the night before, then add olive oil and balsamic vinegar in the morning.

My favorite breakfast is mixed fresh fruit – whatever is in season, (mangos are beautiful right now, as are kiwis) with a handful of nuts and seeds, topped with live yoghurt - if it’s the weekend I treat myself by adding a few organic porridge oats to the top ( I know crazy hey?)

Berries are great at the moment as well and a low GI option full of anti oxidants.

Then about an hour later I would have a boiled egg to add more protein, or a protein shake if I’m going to be working out

When I have a little more time I chuck a few eggs and some smoked salmon in a pan, then serve with tomatoes and mushrooms – yum. To be honest the whole thing cooks in the same time it takes to make a slice of toast.

Preparing food the night before will help; either cook an extra piece of fish at dinner (goes great with spinach in the mornings), chop some fruit and leave in the fridge (bananas aren’t great for chopping in advance).

This is probably a new way of eating to most of you, and is all about retraining the pallet back to the ways and taste of our ancestors. I know that this can take some getting used to and is the area that tends to prove the biggest challenge for those looking to make the change to a healthier lifestyle.

It may not happen over night but taking steps to eliminate the highly refined, cheap, processed carbohydrates (sugars) that make up such a high part of the western diet from our breakfast tables will take you closer to optimal health, and a slim waist line.