I can’t believe that it’s only five weeks away until I head off to Premier in Trowbridge, Wiltshire for 10 weeks to do my diploma in personal training.  I remember back in January when I put down my deposit (and weighing in at 282lbs (20st and 2 pounds) thinking that I had a life time to wait.

Now it’s nearly upon me! In the fat loss department I am happy with my progress so far, as for the muscle department I wish my gains were better than I have now, and finally the study department is going ok, I have completed all the pre-course (online) material and I am continuing to take 2 to 3 eClasses per week.

I think the heaviest thing on my mind at the moment about going is having to say good-bye to my wife and son for 10 weeks!

Since my wife and I have been married we have only spent one night apart! My wife couldn’t sleep and my son was wondering where I was, and I didn’t sleep either

I know that getting this diploma is so huge for my little family and I, and the time of separation will be well worth it; but it’s not going to be easy!

But then thinking about being a qualified personal trainer by the end of 2010 is going to be an awesome achievement, if I do say so myself

Lets be reminded of the basics, gosh they make it sound so easy!

We have come to the hump of the week again, COME ON KEEP GOING! You are doing great!

If you have planned (goal setting) then you need to relax and take it easy! Enjoy the process, believe in the process!

Most of you know I am a fan of the SMARTER principle for setting goals, basically because it works!

If you haven’t seen the SMARTER principle before then check it out and use it to shape and give life to your dreams!

• Specific

• Measurable

• Achievable

• Responsible

• Targeted

• Empowering

• Revisable

SPECIFIC

The goal should be specific. Wanting to “put on 7lbs of muscle in 6 months” is a specific goal, but if you say “loose some weight”, or “put on some muscle” it’s not a specific. Sharpen up your goal, what exactly do you want to achieve?

MEASURABLE

Your goal should be measurable. How are you going to keep track of your progress? Some of the ways that you can measure fitness/weight loss goals are; waste-to-hip ratio, weigh-ins, using body fat calipers, step-up test, push-up test, running a mile and retesting this in 2 months, etc you can really get out the box with the amount of tests that you can do to measure your progress.

ACHIEVABLE

Making goals that you can’t achieve will just add to that catalogue of past failed attempts that you have had. Setting goals like “losing 10lbs in 1 weeks” will only cause you to fail, you should only be trying to lose about 2lbs (maybe 3lbs per week). Losing weight is already a tough thing without making it mission impossible!

RESPONSIBLE

Be responsible with your life. Maybe your going to set fitness goals and maybe your not, but remember that there should be a balance to your life; you have family, friends, your faith, other hobbies, life responsibilities that cannot (and should not) be shelved when you are working towards your goals.

TARGETED

What are you doing to reach your goals? If it is to lose 2lbs per week, then what are you doing to make this happen? Hire a personal trainer for a month and they will educate you in nutrition and exercise to be able to make this happen, go on that finance course that will equip you with the knowledge to pay off your loans and own your own home, etc. You need to be targeted and put into action things that will lead you to your goals.

EMPOWERING

The journey to your goals should be empowering and enrich your life and those close to you. It should be an enjoyable journey (I didn’t say it won’t be difficult), where you learn and grow.

REVISABLE

Goals should grow and change with you, especially a fitness goal! As you are getting stronger, faster, more confident; then your goals should also adapt to you.  Don’t be afraid to change your goal. If your goal to lose 50lbs was too much then change it to 25lbs and then who knows what will happen when you reach this goal.

This is what I have been using to lose 74lbs and I am also getting stronger, have more endurance, have more power, am increasing in my knowledge of nutrition and exercise and am becoming much more confident and driven. I encourage you, use the SMARTER principle to achieve your goals and live your dreams!

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I thought that I would share a little about the spinal column for the second Study Nugget as I am really trying to have this solid in my memory; to be able to discribe its make up.

There are 5 parts to the spinal column;

• Cervical (with 7 vertebrae)

• Thoracic (with 12 vertebrae)

• Lumbar (with 5 vertebrae)

• Sacral (with 5 vertebrae which are fused together)

• Coccygeal (with 4 vertebrae which are fused together)

So there are 24 vertebrae in total and each vertebrae has a spinal canal which the spinal cord runs through.

The 220lbs goal that I set myself up for on January 2008 is so close now I can smell it coming! This week was tough, and I had to work hard for the 4lb mini goal that I had set myself for this week as I wanted to get to 16 stone (224 lbs) by today’s weigh-in…….. And that’s what I lost 4lbs! So I am now clocking in at 224lbs (16st), with 4lbs more to lose to reach my initial 220lbs (15.10st).

Four pounds is a lot to lose in one week, I am still going to train hard and eat right this coming week but if I don’t reach my 220 goal by next weigh-in (Sunday 18th July) I won’t cry, I’ll get there the following week

HIGHS

This week was a total high, as I was saying I was training hard because I was with personal trainers  Jennifer Almiento (Monday’s workout) and Alan Strachan (Wednesday’s and Friday’s workout) I also increased my running from a normal 5.4 miles , but this week I ran 9.24 miles AND I have been working hard to improve my pace so always trying to run faster.

LOWS

Errrrr……. not really anything I can remember, I had a bit of a hunger attack yesterday (but that’s a Saturday standard with everyone I think ) and I am getting good at waiting out the 20 minutes.  20 minutes? They* say that hunger cravings last for about 20 minutes and then go away and I find I have been practicing holding out for the 20 and I am now becoming conditioned to this and having success in this area. So this low ends in a high, so a great week really

* = the smart people with lots of alphabet after their names.

I was in the gym and I noticed someone on the treadmill who was dressed like they were about to go on an Arctic trekking expedition.

When I see someone doing something in the gym that’s going to hurt themselves (going mad on a weight machine, dangerous form lifting free-weights, etc) I really want to talk to them and help them, but I still don’t have the guts to do so; come on I am still a chunky chap, what right do I have?!

But this person I felt was really going to do themselves some harm, overheat and faint or something like that.

So I thought that I would just vent out my frustrations here if you don’t mind

So this person obviously thought that the more they sweat the more weight they are going to lose, maybe the thought that sweat is actually the way fat is burnt and expelled out of our bodies, and this my friends is a load of crap

Lets look at sweating.

Why do we sweat? Two reasons; sweating (perspiration) is our body’s way of regulating body temperature (thermoregulation).  So your body gets hot, then you sweat (made of water and various dissolved solids) from the pours in your skin, the sweat runs over the skin and then it cools down in the hope that this will cool the body down.

Another reason why we sweat is due to being nervous and can occur on the palms of the hands, feet and head.

So this is why we sweat!

This poor misguided person on the treadmill should have stripped down into their t-shirt and then their body would have been cooler and they would have more energy to push to burn calories.

So when you are working out wear enough clothing but not too much so that you overheat and sap your energy and rob you of results.

On the other hand if that person was training for the Marathon des Sables (a 6 day marathon across the Sahara Desert in Morocco) then dressed like this would be a way to replicate how the body can perform while over headed.

Let’s talk supplements. It takes a lot of convincing me to take supplements, I have to really do my research and then I read up on mountains of reviews for the brands that are available.

Currently I am taking whey protein, the brand I currently use is Optimum Nutrition. Whey protein is a by product of cheese production.  Why do I take it? I take it because it is digested very quickly; and this is what assists my post-workout recovery.  I take my whey protein within 5 min after my workout, along with some carbs, normally a banana.

I also take Cod Liver and Omega 3 oils in capsule forms. The reason for the cod liver is for joint health, in the hope that this will keep my doggie hip as healthy and strong as possible.

I will be adding Creatine and a specifically designed sports recovery supplement to my list.

The creatine that I will be using is from Gold’s Gym. Creatine is an organic acid that occurs naturally in the body and it helps to supply energy to the muscles.  So I am hoping by adding this it will improve my strength and assist my muscle gains.  I will mix this with a whey protein shake (made with water) and take it as a pre-workout drink.

I will be replacing my current post workout shake with Gold’s Gym Sports Recovery.  This supplement is designed for recovery after training and contains a blend of carbohydrate, whey protein, creatine and amino acids. This balance will be better than my current whey shake and banana.

As this is the first time that I’ll be using Gold’s Gym so I will be reviewing these so check this space!

Ok so maybe you have been suffering a plateau, who hasn’t?!  Plateau can cause a lot of people to throw in the towel as they may not have lost any weight in 3, 4, 5+ weeks.  And you are right it is heart breaking, especially when you have been giving it a whole-hearted 110% effort in your diet and with exercise.

Here are my top 2 plateau busting tips but before that one thing that you must adopt is a new mind-set that a plateau is a season that you will go into and eventually come out of, you need to trust the process of a sound diet and exercise and you will come out of the plateau.

1. Have a lot of variations in your workouts; this year (2010) when I have felt myself nearing a plateau I have challenged my body with something unexpected, I ran over 6 miles on a treadmill, my normal running routine is about 2 miles, another thing I did was to cycle 26 miles. I cycled a route to my parents house that was virtually an up hill all the way for 13 miles and then I said to myself “It’ll be ok, that means 13 miles of a decent all the way home” but I hit a head wind for those 13 miles home and it was worse!

2. Keep on your nutrition; make sure you have a proper nutritional program.  Make sure that you are eating enough and that you are eating the right things.  Remember it’s not just about calories. Those calories have to have value and help fuel your body and the processes involved in fat loss and muscle gains.  A trap that I have made sure that I don’t fall into is the temptation to eat too little, this could be why you are in a plateau. Your body will go into starvation mode and work against your fat blasting efforts. My nutrition model is simple;

1. BREAKFAST: carbs, protein, fats & fibre

2. SNACK 1: carbs & protein

3. LUNCH: carbs, protein, fats & fibre

4. SNACK 2: carbs & protein

5. DINNER: carbs, protein, fats & fibre

6. SNACK 3: protein

I hope this helps, but don’t give up the fight. Keep pushing on and you will work through that plateau on to further fat blasting success!