Girls can do push ups too.

I have many pet peeves in the fitness industry, such as guys who where hats in the gym and women who read Womens Own magazine whilst using a recumbent bike (anyway…). One issue that perhaps should be considered is the use of ‘girly push ups.’

I recognise strength based training is considered a masculine pursuit and that women steer away from it for fear of compromising their dainty and feminine looks (I don’t want to digress but if you are interested check this out). However, the point is that whenever I have a guy in the gym he is often more than happy to have a go at doing full push ups, however when I have a girl in the gym they are often more than content to try a ‘girly’ variety and any suggestion of stepping it up is met with more than a little concern.

This issue has become more obvious to me over the last couple of weeks, when at my Bootcamp the weather has got decidedly wetter and colder. In warm dry weather the girls are more than happy to rest their knees on the floor and take the easier option, however when the weather gets a little worse, and involves putting their knees in the mud, suddenly I noticed that most of the girls are happy to try full press ups!

Its not that doing ‘girly push ups’ is a problem. If you can only manage the girly variety you should do that. However, if you are capable of doing a full push up you definitely should do that.

The press up, if done properly, is a great exercise for developing stability and strength through the shoulders, triceps and torso. This is good because it aids in bingo wing prevention!! It is very rare to have someone in the gym on day one, guy or girl, who can do a good push up. Fundamentally, there are several reasons why the girls struggle with push-ups more than the guys; most notably guys are typically stronger than girls. Nevertheless, with good coaching, the right progressions and a bit of practice more girls can advance onto the full variety in no time at all.

So what makes a good push up? Take a look at this video by Eric Cressey and I will fill in the gaps.

Most importantly you must get your set up correct before you get started. With your hands underneath your shoulders, or perhaps just a little wider, and in a good neutral alignment, lower your body to the floor. Try to keep your elbows tucked in a little and make sure your chest gets to the floor before your head and hips.

There is no major problem doing the knees down variety, but once you get good at it you should progress. Making the transition from half press up to full is not easy, so I like to use the eccentric press up shown in this video . You will find you are stronger in the eccentric phase of the press up (lowering), so by lowering in a full press up and pushing up in a half you can make that transition easier.

So give it a go! A couple of alternative for progressing everyone’s favourite exercise… Let me know how you get on.

Do you have the FIVE must have ingredients for successful fat loss?

There are no secret ingredients to success in fat loss, regardless of what you’ve heard. You might see advertised the latest and greatest ‘gadgets’ that target a particular area of your body or a gimmicky fad diet, truth be known they are probably a waste of time and money.

One thing that works again and again seems to be these five must have ingredients to achieving success in fat loss…

Purpose …know exactly what your goal is.
Passion …have a burning desire to achieve it.
Planning …determine how you’ll go about achieving it.
Perspiration …work hard following your plan to achieve it.
Perseverance …don’t let anything get in the way of achieving it.

One of my favourite bits of memorabilia that hangs on the wall of a local school is an autograph by Paula Radcliffe. It is an Olympic running vest that reads ‘set yourself a goal and work hard everyday to achieve it.’

As it comes into winter knowing what you are trying to achieve and why you are trying to achieve it will persuade you to get out and exercise on those cold dark evening…

You may not know your purpose right now, but if you think about it for a little while it may become clear.

A SIMPLE way to speed up fat-loss

This is not a miracle cure…

Lets be honest if you eat badly and don’t exercise this will not help you.

However, the scientific research is clear. If you consistently supplement with fish oils you can speed up fat-loss.

It works in two simple ways…

Firstly, fish oils switch on fat burning genes… By turning on the lipolytic genes, the genes responsible for burning fat, there is increased utilization of fat stores from the fat cells.

Secondly, they switch off fat storing genes… fundamentally fish oils turn off lipogenic genes.

Simples.

But that’s not all.

Fish oils are reported to have a positive effect on numerous diseases from coronary heart disease to gingivitis, they are reported to improve brain function and improve intelligence, and increase levels of serotonin (the happy neurotransmitter) so will make you happier, less anxious and therefore have less sugar cravings.

So here it is... A simple way to make you leaner, cleverer and happier!

Cut the CRAP*

*That’s Caffeine, Refined Sugar, Alcohol and Processed Foods.

Its not rocket science.

It’s fairly simple really…

If your goal is to achieve the most incredible results in the shortest possible time it’s simply something you have to do.

I’m not talking just fat loss - I’m talking health.

The foods we eat have the most profound effect on the way we look, think and feel.

By eliminating caffeine, refined sugar, alcohol and processed foods from your diet for just 30 days you will reduce the amount of toxicity your body has to deal with and therefore improve the way it functions.

Try replacing the CRAP with rice, vegetables and meat (i.e. clean and nourishing foods) and avoiding the above offenders and experience the difference. You should also avoid dairy and wheat - although I couldn’t think of an acronym for that!!

After 30 days try reintroducing certain foods and see how your body reacts.

This simple protocol has lead many of my clients to report everything from weight loss, inch loss, improved sleep, elimination of joint pain, better temperament, healthier looking skin and even improved mental clarity.

Just a word of warning… The first week is tough!!

Let me know if you try it and how you get on.

Burn Fat Faster - Sleep!

I can regularly be heard to talk about the benefits of a good nights sleep in the battle against the flab and now I present some scientific evidence…

Research this week presented in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that when dieters got undisturbed sleep they lost more fat than their sleepless counterparts.

I’m not saying that sleeping will get you slim… although I wish it were that simple!! In the battle against the bulge eating properly and exercising are clearly most important, BUT if you want to speed up your results and burn fat faster evidence suggests getting to bed on time is clearly very important.

The researchers also found that after a disturbed night sleep the dieters produced higher levels of the hormone ghrelin – a hormone that triggers hunger and reduces energy expenditure – not a good combination!

So… what counts as adequate amounts of sleep?! In the case of this study one group got 8.5hrs sleep a night in comparison to the 5.5hrs in the other group.

I realise for some people with young children getting a full night sleep is not an option, BUT for everyone else there is no excuse.

If you want to burn fat and stay in shape get to bed five times per week before 1030pm.

For tips on how to get a good nights sleep check this out: http://stevekeywoodspersonaltraining.blogspot.com/2009/07/o-sleep-o-gentle-sleep-natures-soft.html

Client of the Week

This week my shout out goes to Paul Hull.

I’ve actually known Paul for a long time and when he called me in February and said that he needed to get into shape for his wedding I had my reservations.

Having worked with Paul as a labourer whilst studying I was aware of his unhealthy lifestyle and that he enjoyed the odd beer or two…

When Paul reported to me back in February its fair to say he was in bad shape.

Weighing in at in excess of seventeen and a half stone, and with a BMI that put him in a morbidly obese category, I made it clear to Paul that if he wanted to work with me he had to change his lifestyle. I realised that Paul initially had some reservations but these were soon put to rest after a couple of simple exercises proved quite how unfit he was.

Since that first session Paul has made the most incredible changes.

By following my recommendations, Paul has lost more than three and a half stone. His improvements in strength, flexibility and general fitness have been astounding.

Not only did he look great on his wedding day, but also in the lull that followed such a fantastic day he made great use of his time, and set his sights on running a 10k.

This weekend, after eight weeks of training, Paul competed in his first 10k in the most treacherous of conditions and even beat his target time by two and a half minutes to finish in 57minutes.

I’m incredibly proud of Paul’s effort and can’t wait to see him get his feet muddy in the grim in December. In the meantime I will keep kicking his ass on the boxing and he will no doubt continue to claim that I quit before he did J

Congratulations Paul and keep up the good work!

Seven Reasons Why Sugar is Making You Fat

Your body cannot process too much of it
So simply it gets stored as fat. Plus it also makes fat burning even harder – if you eat sugar everyday, all the gym sessions in the world cannot help you. Remember, you cannot out exercise a bad diet!

Sugar is also addictive
So once you start eating it, it’s very hard to stop. This is why you very rarely find a pack of half-finished biscuits. Stop the cycle by not starting it.

Sugar causes exhaustion
Sugar leaches your body of vitamin B – as does any mental, physical and emotional stress – which causes exhaustion. Add sugar on to the end a stressed out day, and you get a double whammy of vitamin B depletion.

Leads to faster fat storage
Burning body fat is a lot to do with controlling insulin levels. Yet, consuming sugar raises insulin levels, leading to faster fat storage and this is the real reason why so many in the western world are overweight and obese. So sugar, not fat, is making us fatter.

Sugar lowers energy levels
Processed sugar causes damaging increase in your blood sugar levels, giving you a quick burst of energy, which is soon followed by a long, hard crash, leaving you tired, hungry and eventually, fat.

Sugar wears out your organs
It forces organs to cope with changes in your body chemistry which means your kidneys and pancreas can become worn out long before you stop needing them.

Depletes vitamin and mineral stores
Too much sugar depletes vitamin and mineral stores in the body, which may impact on the immune system. So you’ll become ill more frequently and for longer.