The Body Planner Blog

What a Personal Trainer from Manchester knows about back pain and shopping at the Trafford Centre

By bodyplanner | July 30, 2009

Sometime in your life you are probably going to be one of those unfortunate people that complains of some form of back pain and as a personal trainer you would think that I would be different…but I’m not.

Back when I was a bit younger I used to lift a lot of heavy weights and not do enough recovery leading to a lot of muscle ache that built up and affected my posture and then resulted in a back complaint called lumbago which is sever over tightness of the back muscles leading to spasms, joint pain around the pelvis and a total lack of mobility.

These days I’m still a very strong guy and can deadlift 160kg even if I haven’t looked at a barbell in a month and squat some pretty heavy weight to.

poor posture and low back pain

The thing is that it doesn’t have to be the so called “more risky” activities that cause problems. In everyday life the most common reasons I see for back pain is excess weight and everyday posture in real life scenarios like at a desk, sat in the car, walking, lifting shopping and standing in a stationary position.

This last one especially makes me laugh and I see it every time I go shopping. Take a look yourself next time you go shopping either at yourself or others, especially the husbands and boyfriends that go shopping with their other halfs and are standing their trying to raise an interest while their better halves are going through the racks. I was in the Trafford Centre more recently and saw hundreds of people adopting this lazy style posture quite excessively. To be honest I was one of them!

When we are in a standing position we basically get very lazy and put all the weight onto one leg that stays straight while the other relaxes and goes into a bent of flexed position. This puts all the weight through the straight leg and hip and finishes in the muscles of the lower back, putting excess pressure on them. Once or twice isn’t going to matter but continuing to do it, coupled with other postural dysfunction will lead to excess soreness, usually on one side and can accumalate until something more sever happens.

Some other common forms of torturing yourself are…

Leaning forward in the shoulders and lower back when at a computer

Adopting a similar position when driving

Leaning forward and downwards excessivley when gardening or picking up the shopping backs or hoovering.

one of my personal training clients in Manchester with back pain

Now more recently I have unfortunately been through a case of lower back pain that was all muscular and have started a process of recovery. One of my favourite methods of recovery is to get a sports massage or deep tissue massage which I’m having a hard job of finding in Manchester while searching on the internet. During these searches I was pretty amazed by some of the advice that is on the internet when it comes to low back pain and also found it quite ironic that I found myself when looking for someone that could help resolve my discomfort.

I’m quite sure that if you have had back pain you will have been told to do one of these points below (I’ll let you find it and I’ll tell you later which one I have nailed as the most popular piece of advice) but it is fairly meaningless without looking at all the points together and could infact make the condition worse.

If you do experience acute or chronic low back pain I would look at all the following to relieve it and even remove it completely for the longer term.

Have a postural assessment

Continue the assessment to consider any dysfunction in the way you move

Look for imbalances in muscle tone and relative strength - Is the front of your thigh dominating all leg movement and putting stress on your lower back. Are you more dominant on one side of your body movement to the other.

Strengthen weaker muscles like the glutes and core/abdominals

Stretching short and weak muscles like the hamstrings

Stretch dominant muscles like the quads that also become tight

Check movements for firing sequence to be sure that the muscles that should be working are working sufficiently and the smaller stabiliser muscles in the lower back or not being overworked.

Participate in release techniques such as the use of a foam roller or sports massage. This is far more beneficial than the normal type of massage if you are looking to resolve muscle pain and not just having a relaxing time.

One service I recommend is having a kinetc chain assessment or something similar from a practitioner in your area. This is exactly what I was looking for but couldn’t find anyone other than myself. I’m sure there is and they probbaly didn’t have a website or great SEO but I have experiened the work done by a KCA practitioner and found it to be one of the most useful exercises I have undergone.

Stay Strong and look after your backs

Mike

PS If you have been told to stretch your hamstrings only, then you need to change your doctor/physio or whoever you see!

Are you being taken for a ride?

By bodyplanner | May 6, 2009

A couple of nights ago I was flicking through the TV channels and stopped on one of the shopping channels because the show had health or fitness in the title so I thought I would have a look. If Eastenders had a sports day theme in the storyline I would probably record it!

On show at the time was a product called the i Joy Ride (everyone wants to put ‘i’ in their product title these days. Maybe I should start being known as the i Fat Loss Personal Trainer?) which is on sale at the bargain price of £399.

This reminded me of a story a while back with one of my clients when she was looking for good pieces of equipment to help in her bid to lose weight and get fit.

Against my advice she went and bought one, only to find that it didn’t provide all that she had hoped for and is now being used as a place to put the washing. You almost cannot see it for all the clothes that lie over it.

What is not uncommon about this story is that there are hundreds of other people right now looking for “the product” that will do more of the work for them or that their is a product out there, better than any other that will make you leaner and fitter in 6 months time.

The best tool you have is actually in your house or at the office already and that is your own body.

In posts like this one I will normally go along the route of taking said piece of equipment apart but I’m not going to do that this time because this product doesn’t actually promise something over and above what it delivers for a change.

Many products will actually lie and say they promote fat loss and get you in shape but I cannot see that the i Joy Ride does this. All it says is that it works to tone the ab and thigh muscles and makes no mention that it promotes fat loss.How could it when it only works a few isolated muscles?

What I don’t like about the product is the expense in relation to the amount of exercise that you can do with it. That and the fact it does not promote fat loss which is what most of you are searching for in the first place.

On top of that I feel like I have to make a point that there are no shortcuts but that effective exercise can promote very quick results, they just come with a price of having to work a bit harder than getting rocked around in your living room while watching Eastenders.

Personally, I want a program that is more challenging and also promotes more benefits to my all round health and fitness than simply “toning up” a few isolated muscles.

So if you want to spend £400 to get rocked around like you’re on a horse go and get one.

But if you want to tone up the same muscles and lose fat at the same time so that you can show your new shape off, get used to performing exercises with your own bodyweight that deliver even better results and can still be done in the convenience of your own home.

While the machine will get easier and easier, bodyweight exercises can be changed to make them more intense so that you never get bored and never run out of programs that challenge you to get results throughout.

Keep it intense folks!

Mike

The Body Planner

PS Get in touch if you want to try out an i Joy Ride and I’ll put you in touch with someone who will be selling one second hand soon I believe.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged iJoyRide, Mike Bach, Personal Trainer Manchester | 1 Comment

What I have, and you should have in common with Dirk Diggler

By bodyplanner | April 30, 2009

If you have ever seen the film Boogie Nights, Mark Wahlberg shoots the final scene on his comeback from becoming a coke addict and is looking into the mirror practicing his scenes on completion, whips out his pride and joy and says to himself…

“I am a star. I’m a star, I’m a star, I’m a star. I am a big, bright, shining star. That’s right.”

…zips it back up and gets ready to roll.

While he made many a bloke want to be him for a minute and a lot of women want to be with him, that’s not what I’m talking about here.

What I am going to tell you a bit more about is a process called “Incantation” that you should make a habit in your life when you want to reach your fat loss goals and get in the right frame of mind and taking the necessary action that pulls you further towards your goal.

I’m not going to start comparing myself in any other way here!

Have you ever had a goal that really motivates you and is something that you really want, only to lose that feeling that you had at the start and feel less emotion towards and start to ignore it.

You go through highs and lows of wanting that goal. When you have those high moments, you become unstoppable and every move you make is in the right direction.

In those low moments, feelings of negativity creep in and the most energy you expend is flicking the buttons on the remote control.

These low moments start to creep in more and more becasue it is a lot easier to do nothing or do something that comes into conflict with your goals than make the effort and continue with making the changes and sacrifice that feel really easy when you’re on a high but impossible when you hit rock bottom.

End result is a total drop out in what you’re doing, less action being taken and acceptance that you can’t do it or that something else is more important.

Those feelings of empowerment and committment that you had at the start have disappeared until you decide to go through the same process again.

The thing is, change can be hard and you have to get into a habit of making the right decisions and taking the right action and it is your state of mind at the time that drives this and decides whether you are going to have a good day or one of those days that suck.

A lot of these ups and downs and a long term failure of not realising your goals comes down to not getting yourself in the right fram of mind and the focus necessary on a daily basis that then makes it a lot easier to take action and make the right decisions and be very productive when you are taking that action.

One daily habit that you should try is called incantation, defined in wikipedia as…

“An incantation or incantations are the words spoken during a ritual, either a hymn or prayer
invoking or praising a deity, or in magic, occultism, witchcraft with the intention of casting a spell
or an object or a person. The term derives from Latin incantare (tr.), meaning “to chant (a magical spell)
upon,” from in- “into, upon” and cantare “to sing”.”

I’m not suggesting any voodoo, spell dropping practices to start going on around the globe to get a six pack but this is what many a successful person will do to give them the confidence, self-belief and right type of attitude that goes a long way to getting in the right mindset and achieving.

Something to try is to write down some goals or affirmations that include your habits and goals like this for example…

“I will eat and drink correctly to burn fat and have more energy”

“I will not sabotage my progress with chocolate and alcohol”

“I will exercise like a champion 4 days a week”

“I will get to a size 10 by taking the right steps each day”

“I will succeed every day and take positive steps towards my end goal with each action I take”

“I am powerful beyond measure”

You see the difference. It doesn’t have to be goals all the time but statements that help you achieve them and get you in the correct mindset to achieve them.

Rather than stop short at writing them down and reading them to yourself in your head, say them out loud. I’m not saying to shout them out loud and ring bells at the same time but hearing them out loud rather than silent reading is a pretty powerful way of getting you ready for the day and can be the difference between skipping your workout that day, having the Mars bar and losing your focus and drive and gaining momentum each and every day.

Say them out loud to yourself and get yourself to believe and be inspired.

Try writing your incantations out and see how they work for you.

Speak to you again soon

Mike

The Body Planner

Looking for an effective goal achievement strategy. Check out Dax Moys Magic Hundred for a goal achievement program that can work across all areas of your life like your health, career and finances.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Incantation, Mike Bach | Leave a comment

Why a loss of focus is the slippery road to failure

By bodyplanner | April 27, 2009

I’ve had a couple of conversations today, not for the first time with people who in their pursuit of their fitness goals will lose sight of what they are trying to achieve and start to get nowhere week after week after week.

I was speaking to one guy in particular who has a bunch of commitments with family and work and has been really keen to lose weight and lost a few pounds but then started to stagnate.

In this case there was one point above all others that highlighted his plight and that was having a focus on the goal like he did in the early days.

Back then, he did what was necessary, changing his diet and exercising on a regular basis each week.

Now though, it’s a different story. He was quite honest in saying that his environment has not changed much since he started; work is busy, maybe a bit more than usual but nothing that is making him work 12 hour days but the mindset to take action on a regular basis has.

Whereas before it was at the forefront, it is now at the back of his mind.

Motivation is good but could be better.

Some goals were reached but a lot more are far from completion.

The first thing I said to him is that you have to keep these goals at the forefront of your mind by reminding yourself about them on a daily basis.

You see, it is quite easy to lose sight of what you are trying to achieve when there are so many things going on in various parts of your life like you health, career, family and finances for example.

The problem usually comes when have no agenda as to how we are going to achieve them, what are the first steps we are going to take and what we have to focus more on in some days and periods to get things done.

My personal approach to this

Remind yourself of all your goals on a daily basis

Prioritise some more than others. Without this you can seriously get caught up in the little things that still need doing but 100% prevent you from making any headway into the goals that matter to you most and would make the biggest impact in your life.

Evaluate and measure your progress on a daily basis. You have chosen to take action on chosen goals each day but it makes no sense if you haven’t still achieved them. If you have not, be honest and explain to yourself why not. In many cases this will highlight a weakness that can be rectified as not all reasons are becasue of some emergency that could not wait.

Set big goals; ones that get you excited and emotional and are more likely to bring action.

Say your goals out loud to yourself. Personally, I can’t just read them to myself and believe in them. Sometimes you have to take more action and make yourself believe in them.

Start using these steps on a daily basis and I assure you that you can forget the times when days and weeks were lost to history and no further progress was made in your quest for rapid fat loss or fitness or the six pack.

You may have to put in a bit more work on a daily basis to make these principles work but I didn’t say they would just happen. While believing in something is important, thoughts alone will not bring your goals to reality.

Speak again real soon. I’ve been off the radar recently due to a big project happening soon but my goal is to write a post each day this week. Wonder if I’ll do it?

Laters

Mike

The Body Planner

PS Dax Moy has released a new version of his Goal Achievement program, The Magic Hundred and I’ve just got my copy today. The initial version sold over 600k copies in first 48 hours and this version has lots of new information so I’m expecting a lot of demand. If you want to take advantage of a special discount on the system, go to The Magic Hundred now before the offer runs out by end of Tuesday. Not only does it cover health and fitness but all other componets of your life as well like relationships, career and finance.

Posted in Goal Achievement, Goal Achievement 2009 | Tagged Goal Achievement, Goal setting, The Magic Hundred | Leave a comment

The difference between eating for fat loss and pasta

By bodyplanner | April 17, 2009

I am a believer that pasta is not the best food in the world when it comes to healthier living and a successful fat loss diet. In fact it is rubbish and more likely in my experiences to help you put weight on.

Let me explain this in more detail by telling a story that could be used for over a hundred of my own personal clients and many others that I have met and spoken to who have been manipulated by restaurants like Pasta Hut to name one and what they have seen on TV and magazines.

As part of any fat loss program I will ask a client to tell me about their current eating habits and perhaps complete a food journal prior to making any changes. Either way, I am being told that “I eat pasta” or “have pasta instead of chips” or something along those lines with the understanding that the pasta being consumed is a healthy option. I will also ask them to review their energy levels in relation to their eating habits and normally the answer will be fatigued more often than not and sometimes bloated.

In time, we have decided to eliminate pasta and replace with (more) vegetables and perhaps potatoes and rice and over time not only have we increased energy levels but also lot more weight than ever before. While a sound exercise regime would also be incorporated there was sufficient evidence to show that removing pasta from the diet was a very successful method in kick starting results again and improving all round energy levels and performance.

So why is this? Here are several reasons why pasta is harmful to your chances of getting in shape.

1. It is wheat based. This means that it is indigestible to some degree or places more stress on your digestive system than you should have to leading to a more sluggish metabolism that does not burn fat well. We all need a high metabolic rate to be able to burn fat tissue effectively. This doesn’t mean you have to have some form of disorder to be intolerant to wheat. More of us are susceptible to wheat based products than we think and can also be the cause of fatigue, bloating and more often than not produce weight gain.

2. It is part of the traditional Carbohydrates (CHO) family that we eat too much. CHO are the main source of energy in our diet and come in 2 forms, one being starchy CHO that include pasta. These type of foods are particularly calorie dense for the amount eaten which leads to weight gain. Compare any meal with pasta in relation to your meat (source of protein) and vegetables (source of CHO, vitamins and minerals) and you will see that the ratio of pasta to the other foods is a lot higher. Just because pasta is not high in fat does not make it better for you. A large part of the western epidemic of obesity is connected to high CHO diets as much as having too much fat in your diet.

3. It has a higher GI value meaning that you create an insulin response when blood sugar gets too high. When this happens the energy from the food will be transported into the cell tissue at a higher rate which can lead to a build up of more fat tissue. The overriding concern is definitely the amount eaten but the insulin response does not help.

4. Contains less fibre meaning it is not so filling and leads to more overeating.

Pasta isn’t so bad if you are a big time runner or other type of athlete, they are actually expending more energy than a normal person would dream of and are not concerned by trying to burn fat tissue and only on their performance. I think a large part of this myth that pasta is okay comes from sports as well but their activity levels are high and one of their requirements is to get energy into their bodies as quickly as required for their purpose.

So what should you eat instead?

1. Vegetables. Don’t forget that CHO is your primary source of energy. We are not talking high protein diets with no carbs or other silly fad type programs. Vegetables are higher in fibre and will keep you fuller for longer while also giving you the energy you need to function well. Green ones are the best like broccoli, spinach, kale and cabbage to name some.

2. Potatoes and rice. A word of warning, these are much better than pasta because they are not wheat based and if you need more energy than vegetables can provide then these are good alternatives. Do however be wary of portions as they are still calorie dense.

3. Protein. By eliminating pasta and cutting down on starchy type CHO overall the ratio of protein to Carbs should be higher but increase slightly if necessary. Proteins enable you to stay fuller for longer and burn more calories through intake than carbs.

Use these tips for starters if you are serious about getting leaner or to maintain a certain shape or take up professional sport if you want to continue downing pasta like it comes out of a tap.

Laters

Mike

The Body Planner

Posted in Fat Loss, Nutrition | Tagged Fat Loss, Mike Bach, Nutrition, Pasta, Personal Trainer Manchester, Wheat | Leave a comment

Batgirl or Batwings?

By bodyplanner | April 15, 2009

When it comes to losing weight I am a big supporter of calling it fat loss because that is what any person is trying to lose rather than just weight on the scales for the sake of it. When it comes to removing fat from the body it is normal to look at and target some areas more than others simply because it is either more visible or you can become fixated on the troublesome area. From experience, one area that comes up more than most is the back of the arms and what is called either bingo wings or bat wings when there are fat tissue deposits there.

: Fake Batman?

Traditional approaches that do not work well but are there in abundance over the internet are using small weights and performing several hundred isolated tricep exercises like kickbacks and extensions. I’ve even seen so called experts suggest the use of water bottles in replacement of small dumbbells using the same exercise approach.

The root problem with this type of approach is that the muscle under the fat tissue is not working hard enough, the muscle tissue in the body as a whole is not working hard enough to burn fat tissue and the anatomy of the muscle not being considered.

I’ll explain these in more detail as I now cover the 3 tips to lose the bingo wings.

1. Perform all over body routines instead of concentrating your time and effort on kickbacks and extensions. While the muscle tissue around the problem area has to be considered as part of your training routine, there are over 600 muscles in your body that need to be exerted to create a usage of energy that can correlate to burning enough calories that amount to 1lb and then 2lb of fat tissue and so on. By working one muscle group (the tricep region contains 3 of these 600 plus muscles) you will not burn the calories required. Use exercises that work more muscle groups including the tricep region or not to burn more calories that will then target fat tissue across all areas of your body. Some examples are squats, deadlifts, squat to press and push ups.

2. Use more weight or resistance, the small dumbbells and water bottles will not cut it. Following on from the above point, the muscle tissue has to work hard to create a disturbance in the body that amounts to the burning of fat tissue across the whole of the body. If the muscle is not worked sufficiently it is harder to promote an energy deficit in the exercises being performed and calories from fat tissue will remain stored. Instead of endless reps over 20 try performing reps between a range of 8 and 12 with a weight that challenges you come the end of the set.

3. Perform larger push type exercises like dips and horizontal pushing movements. Exercises that work several muscles at once and tax your system more or known as compound movements whereas exercises like the kickback are isolated. As previously mentioned it is imperative to perform movements that work more muscles in the body but as far as specific upper body and tricep work is concerned those larger compound type movements will also work all 3 heads of the muscle region while many of the isolated movements work 1 and maybe 2 at best. So as well as creating a more positive energy disturbance, you will also target all muscle tissue in the problem bingo wing region.

For some this may mean a total change in attitude towards exercise and routines that are not so comfortable and can be done while watching TV. They will require more exertion but as well as burning fat effectively, you will get big gains in your fitness and all round performance as well.

: Batgirl

I’ve encountered a number of women especially that have changed to this approach with considerable success as part of a balanced diet also. Not only has it worked for anyone overweight but also for those that are in an accepted weight range as shown by BMI scales but with an undesirable amount of body fat and visible in problem areas like the thighs and back of the arms.

Use these tips in your exercise programs now and it will make a difference.

Speak soon,

Mike

The Body Planner

Dream, Act and Succeed

Posted in Fat Loss | Tagged Batwings, Bingo Wings, Mike Bach, Personal Trainer Manchester | Leave a comment

Achieving Your Goals Faster

By bodyplanner | April 15, 2009

One question that gets asked a lot about goal achievement and success….

“When Should I Begin?”

Believe it or not, it’s a really common question!

People are of the belief that there is some special ‘buildup’ they have to go through in order to achieve what they want or that they have to ‘prepare’ or ‘get ready’ or have all their ducks in a row before they can finally go after what they want.

They tell themselves they’ll start to pursue their goals…

…tomorrow
…next week
…next year
…when the kids get out of school
…when the kids go back to school
…when there is more time
…when things settle down
…when there are less bills
…when there is more money
…when the moment it right

And all the while they delay the pursuit of those things that would make them happiest because of… something. Some ‘reason’ for why they couldn’t possibly go after their goals right here, right now.

What is the answer?

(I think you know it already) : )

Start right here, right now with whatever resources you have at your disposal to build the life that you most dream about having.

You see, you can carry on dreaming about the things you want or you can do something about them.

You can let the daily routine of your current life run the show or you can make the changes you want to see.

You can keep putting off and delaying your happiness until ’someday’ or you can begin doing the things you know you are capable of doing TODAY!

The choice is yours.

You have the power to choose.

You see, it’s all too easy to fall into the same old routine of saying to yourself ’someday I’ll do it but right now I just have too much on my plate’.The truth is, you will ALWAYS have tons of things to do, tons of people to see, tons of places to go, chores to be done and bills to be paid.

That’s life for us all, right?

But if you don’t at least START building the life of your dreams, regardless of how busy, tired, stressed, broke you are then you stand zero chance of ever getting there don’t you?

So start today my friends.

Start today.

You don’t have to do much. You don’t have to change the world in an afternoon. Just change one thing. Do one thing different to how you did it yesterday and you’ve begun to move your life on a different course. This is the REAL ’secret’ of goal achievement.

It’s taking action.

But you knew this already, right? : )

Mike Bach
Your Personal Trainer from Manchester

The Road to Goal Achievement

P.S - What one action are you committed to taking TODAY? Write it in the comments area… I dare ya!

Posted in Goal Achievement 2009 | Tagged Goal Achievement, Mike Bach, Personal Trainer Manchester, The Magic Hundred | Leave a comment

Aerobics and talking metabolics?

By bodyplanner | April 7, 2009

As part of any fat loss program it is important that your protect your metabolic rate?

What’s is this?

The metabolic rate is simply defined as the rate at which your body burns calories. If you have a high MR then you are going to need more calories to preserve yourself at your current rate. A slow MR will mean that you do not need that many calories to preserve your current weight.

The advantage of a higher MR over a low one is the ability to lose weight and fat tissue. I think a lot of people will understand a high metabolism allows you to burn more energy and in doing so lose weight successfully without over cutting food intake and pretty much starving yourself.

That is why you could actually be heavier than another person but actually need less calories consumed to maintain a weight because your MR is not as fast.

Not my main focus of this topic but an interesting point nonetheless if being overweight makes you think automatically that you need more food.

So what factors influence your metabolic rate and increase your chances of fat loss?

The amount of muscle that you have is accountable for a higher MR as this is the “energy tissue”. Whether you are a regular person or bodybuilder muscle tissue is what keeps you going so the more of it you have the more energy you need.

Think of yourself like a car. The bigger engine of the Hummer and the solid build it has means it guzzles a tank pulling out of the drive.

But the more economical Smart car can use the same amount of fuel (energy) to drive across the US probably.

In physique terms very few of us want to be bodybuilders but we do want to be able to use more energy and consequently have a higher MR and can do so by creating a more solid framework (notice that I don’t say heavier) that holds either more muscle tissue or a good proportion of muscle tissue in relation to your total weight.

In exercise, that is why it is so important to use the muscle tissue and at least maintain it and in some cases even build on it slightly to create a fat burning machine that builds a killer body.

How do you do this?

Not by performing loads of aerobic type exercise like walking, jogging and aerobic classes.

These can help you lose weight but in the process do not use the muscle tissue enough for many resulting in loss of muscle tissue and a slower MR. So while you have lost weight and need fewer calories accordingly, the loss of muscle tissue means that you need even fewer calories than the weight lost dictates.

That is what then makes it so hard to continue losing weight when your MR gets too slow and becomes inefficient and burning energy. You now become the car that won’t go anywhere, bit like my old Ford after giving it no oil!

This can result in weight being put back on because your MR has dropped lower than it should, the exercise is failing to have an effect and you can’t reduce your calorie intake for the rest of your life.

Not a result you want after a few weeks and months of sacrifice and hard work.

While even fat loss will mean that your MR decreases over the long term, offset it by using the muscle tissue more in intense resistance exercise and anaerobic cardio conditioning and protect the muscle tissue you have.

After all, whenever anyone talks about getting a toned shape, it is the muscle tissue that provides it so why would you want to lose it? Remember that it is possible to be the recommended weight for your height but not be in the shape you want. That’s when you have too little muscle tissue and too much fat tissue.

Changing it around doesn’t mean you will grow big arms and shoulders. You probably couldn’t if you tried unless you ate like a bodybuilder and had testosterone flowing through your body.

Laters

Mike

Your Manchester Personal Trainer

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Aerobics, Fat Loss, Metabolic rate, Mike Bach, Personal Trainer Manchester, Resistance training, Turbulence Training | Leave a comment

Go Hard in less than 20 minutes…

By bodyplanner | March 26, 2009

I was writing on my Twitter profile earlier where the message was something like this ….

“Had 20 minutes to spare, performed 100 KB Military Press (50 each hand), 100 Cleans, 50 Tricep extensions and 50 hammer curls (both with towel round the handle with 24kg Kettlebell.”

At the end of it I felt great, heart rate going hard, muscle tissue pumped and couldn’t have continued much if I wanted to.

I got a couple or so replies congratulating me in one fashion or another for the sheer intensity and effort put in as well as the method and it got me thinking…

How would your fitness and physique be (or of those people you know) if you used those little windows to perform some kind of intense, speedy workout. Put a few of those together each week and you would be getting better all the time, no doubt about it.

That was my routine, I just grabbed a kettlebell out of the car and went and did it outside the house. Find something you can do that exerts both your muscle tissue and your lungs to get max effect. There’s so many ways to perform quick routines, it doesn’t always have to include some advanced form of program design and all the knowledge of how to execute. Just get active!

As I’ve shown there is always time, sometimes you just got to realise that and get on with it. Like I said, put a few of those together and think about the progress you will make versus the decline if you wait for the perfect break to execute a typical gym workout.

Imagine the buzz you get from that sense of achievement of getting a workout in and how it affects your energy and mood for the rest of the day. Beats slugging it out painfully at the office or watching TV again.

Again, I ain’t advocating this as an ideal program to follow, it suited me, at least before I finished it but pick a length of time and see what you can incorporate into that time that gets your metabolism into overdrive.

Laters

Mike

The Body Planner

PS Check out T urbulence Training for a full online program of quick effective workouts. My friend Craig has helped thousands achieve leaner, fitter bods with his program and free newsletter. He also provides a couple cool freebies.

PPS If you’re not yet on Twitter, you can find me there at Mike Bach