How Ready Are You? ( Meal Planning)

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How ready are you?

Preparation is a valuable key to turning any goal into reality.

Meal planning doesn’t have to take long and doesn’t mean cooking a weeks food in one go.
Simply working out what your dinners for the week ahead are based on your schedule & commitments will:

– save you time
– reduce food waste
– reduce weekday trips to shops
– save you money: food shop from your meal plan to avoid unnecessary purchases
– allow you to make extra & use leftovers for lunch
– share the cooking with housemates
– ensure your diet is varied
– reduce the risk of takeaways
– & many more

30 minutes, once a week is all that it takes us to plan a weeks food & do an online shop, saving us £ & time in the week ahead.

Happy health,

Tom’s

Back Friendly: Back Workout

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It might sound to counter intuitive to train your back if you have back issues.

However, strengthening to the muscle that support your joints is important in protecting you from further injury and can improve your stability and existing conditions. Here we go through a low impact back workout that requires no flexion of the spine, allowing you to target the major muscles of the back from a neutral spine position.

Your reps, sets & weight will be dependant on your training cycle and desired outcome.

– Pull Ups
– Lat Pull Downs
– Low Row
– Reverse Pec Deck
– Face Pulls
– Reverse Cross Overs

Enjoy…

Slow Cooker: Chicken Curry

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We’ve got a super healthy slow cooker, curry recipe for you that only takes 10 minutes to prepare.

Stick it in the slow cooker in the morning and forget about dinner for the rest of the day, it’s taken care of.

Prep: 10 Minutes
Cook: 6 hours on low
Serves: 2

Ingredients:
2x Chicken Breasts (skinless)
1 Tin of Chopped Tomatoes
1 Vegetable Stock Cube
2 Medium Garlic Cloves
3 tbsp Curry Paste
Half a Red Pepper
Handful of Mushrooms
1 Onion
80g Rice or 2x Naan Breads

Instructions:
– Chop Pepper, Onion & Mushrooms (or veg of your choice) and crush garlic and place in the bottom of the slow cooker (cut fairly chunky to stop cooking too quickly)
– Dice the chicken and place in the cooker
– Add chopped tomatoes and crumble stock cube
– Add Curry Paste & Stir In
– Cook on Low for 6 Hours
– Stir Occasionally Where Possible
– Serve With Rice or Naan & Enjoy

Your Journey to Better Health: Where to Start

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It’s that time of year again, new year, new me etc…We’ve all said it at some point…

We obviously hope that many people are embarking on a journey to a healthier life, we’ve got some tips to help get you started.

Set goals:
Without a target it’s hard to judge our progress and whether it’s working.. We use the analogy ‘would you get in your car and drive off without knowing where you’re going?’.

Your goals can be simple and can come in many forms, such as:
– drop a dress/jean size (or more)
– drop x cm/inches off your waist
– eat at least 5 portions of fruit & veg/day
– only have 1 unhealthy snack/day
– prepare lunch for work every day
– performance based goals, eg. run 5km in a certain time or squat 60kg

Set a realistic timeframe for your goals, you may want to break your long term goals down into smaller, short term goals. Don’t forget to review your goals regularly.

Make a Plan:
You didn’t get to where you are overnight, therefore we can’t expect instant change overnight, especially if we don’t plan how we’re getting there.

You need to start by identifying:
– goals & timeframes
– changes needed eg. join a gym, dedicated time for meal planning & prep, better time/stress management etc
– potential barriers to your success: old habits, belief systems, time, work, family commitments
– how you’ll overcome these barriers
– how you’ll track your progress
– set review points
– what reward awaits you when you are successful

Collect Data:
Data drives success! We take measurements with all of our clients on their 1st session, we then use regular reviews to map their progress and make changes where needed.

  • what data can you collect: weight, waist, limb circumferences, fitness tests, performance times, food diaries, £ spent on convenience foods

Data is only helpful if you respond to what you find.. Use the data to adapt your plan as you go and always question the outcomes and how you got them.

Lets Go!
There’s no time like the present so let’s get after it….REMEMBER: This is a long term lifestyle, it needs to be sustainable and it will take time to tweak…Be kind to yourself!

Happy Health,
Tom’s

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Covid-19 Update for Personal Trainers

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On the 13th May the UK government released their guidelines for the return of sports coaches and personal trainers in the UK.

The great news is that we’re now clear to work with the public face to face in a safe manor. For us this means:

  • 1:1 only
  • outside in parks & gardens accessible without entering the home
  • no equipment provided by us for the meatime
  • sanitation pre & post session to be completed by both parties
  • a minimum distance of 2m to be kept at all times

This great news can be found here:
>>>CLICK HERE<<<

We’re sure that this news is as exciting for many of you as it was for us and we hope to see you soon.

Stay safe,
Tom’s

Slow Cooker: Asian Noodle Soup

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We’ve got a super healthy slow cooker recipe for you that only takes 10 minutes to prepare.

Stick it in the slow cooker in the morning and forget about dinner for the rest of the day, it’s taken care of.

Prep: 10 Minutes
Cook: 4 hours on medium / 8 on low
Serves: 2

clean eating
weight loss
personal trainer

Ingredients:
2 Chicken breasts (Skin Off)
2 Nests of Noodles
4 Mushrooms
1 Medium Onion
2 Garlic Cloves
500ml water
2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce (Low Sodium)
1/2 Teaspoon 5 Spice
1/2 Tablespoon Fish Sauce
1 Tablespoon Ginger Paste.

Instructions:
– Chop onions, mushrooms and crush garlic and place in the bottom of the slow cooker (cut fairly chunky to stop cooking too quickly)
– Place chicken breasts on top
– Mix together the other ingredients and pour over
– Cook on medium for approximately 4 hours
– Boil noodles and add to the soup. Slice up chicken breasts
– Serve & Enjoy

Surviving Self Isolation

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With the country on the verge of complete lock down all gyms have shut and we’re being encouraged to stay at home as much as possible.

For many this will have a huge impact on their happiness and diet & exercise routines, this doesn’t need to be the case though…Although you may have adapt there is no reason why you can’t continue pursuing your goals.

We’ve got some top tips to help you stay positive & feel fit during this difficult time:

  • plan your meals & food shopping in advance (finding some foods may be difficult)
  • batch cook and freeze to save time
  • stick to a routine – set bed times & wake up times
  • have a regular eating pattern – avoid unhealthy snacking
  • go into the garden regularly to reduce cabin fever
  • open windows & curtains to get fresh air & sunlight
  • have music on instead of tv in the background
  • make a list of things you want to achieve each day
  • make time for home workouts: youtube, skype with a PT, your own workouts
  • make time for Mindfulness and mental health such as meditation & relaxation
  • call & skype friends and family
  • try a new hobby or spend time on an existing one
  • start a project
  • remember: this is only temporary

Stay positive fitness friends, we’re all in this together so let’s make the most of it,
Tom’s

 

February Motivation Check

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Hey Fitness Fans,

As January draws to a close it’s a great time to take stock of your progress this year so far and set ourselves up for the month ahead.

– Did you set yourself any goals for the new year?
– How are you getting on so far?

February is historically a cold month in the UK and can feel like spring/summer is never going to come, this can have a huge effect on our motivation and lifestyle choices. We’ve got som top tips for your to keep smashing your goals for the year ahead:

Top Tips:


  • spring is just around the corner
  • summer bodies are made in winter, don’t leave it until it’s too late to ‘get in shape for your summer’
  • small changes make big differences: save a few calories here, burn a few there & the results soon add up
  • set realistic goals
  • regularly review your goals and adapt as needed
  • make time for you and remember to have fun
  • try a variety of exercises and sports, find what works for you
  • don’t be afraid to ask for help
  • keep it simple
  • plan ahead: applies to food as well as workouts

You’ve got this!

Happy Health,
Tom’s