What Can You Achieve In 100 Days?

Posted on August 21, 2017 by Barnsley Personal Trainer

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We are approaching the end of the year already but there’s a positive side to this time of year. Post summer holidays are a great time to start a health and fitness regime because for many of us there aren’t any distractions until the party season starts at the beginning of December.

The difference between Christmas and holiday binging is that a summer binge can last two weeks with many weekend binging besides. From my observations these are the two times of year when people let themselves go and probably indulge more than they intend to as well as physically doing less.

The summer months are definitely more unforgiving to the waistline than a typical few days worth of excess over the Christmas period. Another downside to this time of year is that it’s harder to cover up and can make you feel more self-conscious about the way you look. Use this as an incentive to motivate yourself and plan what you want to achieve over the next 3 months and be proactive about it.

If you set a goal it will drive you towards meeting your own expectations. It can also be helpful if you write down what could stop you from achieving your goal and coming up with ways to overcome them.

3 months is long enough to make some positive changes that can last a lifetime.

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Don’t Look Back In Anger

Posted on June 12, 2017 by Barnsley Personal Trainer

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We are almost halfway through the year and many of you will be lucky enough to have a holiday booked to somewhere a lot warmer than the UK.

Did you start the year with good intentions to go to the gym regularly and lose weight and look your best in time for summer?

Time flies and it can be frustrating looking back wondering where it’s all gone especially if you didn’t stick to your best laid plans. If you didn’t stick to your exercise and diet regime try not to get too down about it. Droves of people quit the gym early on in the year because they didn’t see the results they had hoped for and it’s hard to stick to a diet longer than a month.

Although some ways are better than others I tell people there’s no such thing as the best workout or diet!

It’s the way that you do it that matters! You can be as committed as you like but if you’re not doing an exercise properly or in a way to make it more beneficial to you then all you are going to get is diluted results or potential injuries.

You can choose to eat the healthiest foods on the planet but how and when you eat them will determine if they will work for you or against you!

In my 15 years experience working one-on-one with people I have mastered what works best for different goals. My approach is an individual one. If you have serious ambitions its important to find out what works best for you! Contact me today for more information.

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Are You Getting Enough Variety?

Posted on April 16, 2017 by Barnsley Personal Trainer

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Do you think your diet and exercise programme is the most optimal way for you? What would you say if I told you most people go through life doing the same selection of exercises and doing the same workout and eating the same narrow variety of foods? Variety is the spice of life for exercise and food!

There are many factors which exercises and exercise programmes will work best for you, such as age, training experience, your ability to recover and your flexibility and posture.

There is more to just getting your daily food requirements. If your diet isn’t working for you have you ever considered what you’re not eating or what you may be doing wrong for you to stay the same?

One of the most important lessons I’ve learnt is not to be rigid in your approach even if you think its right. Being loyal to an exercise programme or diet if its not working is a waste of time. Allow room to experience new ways and reap the benefits by giving your body more variety. But be clear what you want to achieve first and make sure your efforts are aligned to achieving the outcome you want.

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Where Do You Want To Be 6 Months From Now?

Posted on February 2, 2017 by Barnsley Personal Trainer

What if I told you that, six months from now, your body will be in the exact same condition it’s in today?

How would that make you feel?

As you’re here reading my blog I’d guess that’s not what you want.

Chances are you’re working on improving the condition of your body through exercise – or at least thinking about it.

Maybe you want to fit into your favourite clothes again, or look good on the beach, or just to be able to run for a bus… Whatever it is for you, you probably have a good idea of what it is you want to see as a result of improving your fitness.

If you want to see and feel those results you’ve got do more than thinking or planning or dreaming about it, you’ve got to take action. Not just once but consistently over a long period of time.

If six months from today you haven’t got fitter, that will be because for whatever reason you didn’t do what you needed to do to get the results you wanted.

It’s that simple.

A progressive, well-planned fitness programme is essential for optimal results – I tailor exercise programmes for different people, there are different ways to get started and you can read about them on my website www.proactivestudio.co.uk

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Buy Personal Training Gift Vouchers

Posted on December 18, 2016 by Barnsley Personal Trainer

Personal Training Gift Vouchers make the perfect gift for a friend or family member.

Ideal for a new starter to health and fitness, or perhaps you know someone who is an avid gym goer but could do with some advice and motivation.

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Voucher Options

An Introduction To Personal Training £96

Includes three 1-to-1 exercise sessions and comprehensive eating guidelines. The personal training appointments will focus on exercises that will serve your goal and complement your level of fitness. The introduction involves teaching the correct exercise technique to guarantee that you get the most from your exercises and to protect you from injury.

Or buy a voucher to the value you want to spend and use as a contribution to regular personal training sessions.

Personal Training at Pro Active Barnsley – limited availability.

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Not Progressing? Switch The Programme!

Posted on November 12, 2016 by Barnsley Personal Trainer

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When you do the same workout over and over again the body has no reason to change. If you want to change your body shape and increase your strength and fitness you have to challenge yourself and push beyond what your body finds comfortable. Try and get away from the routines that you feel most comfortable doing and mix it all up.

Your goal and experience should determine how often you should rotate your exercise selection and rep range, number of sets and workout frequency. Not forgetting the tempo you use and the time you spend resting between sets and the structure of all your workouts.

Does this sound confusing? If you aren’t thinking about all of these factors and putting them into practice than you are cutting yourself short and risking the speed of your progression. If you need help please get in touch.

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Don’t Get Put Off About Thinking You Need To Be A Health & Fitness Purist

Posted on September 11, 2016 by Barnsley Personal Trainer

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How many times have you worried that an upcoming event will ruin all the effort you’ve put in at the gym and with your diet?

It’s surprising how common it is for people to think an all or nothing approach is required to look a certain way or to reach a desired level of fitness.

This kind of thinking could put you off beginning a fitness and healthy eating plan or give you a reason to quit because you may think you are wasting your time.

If you exercise frequently doing the right kind of workouts to support your goal and follow a healthy and balanced diet that suits your body you won’t need to worry about nights out or straying from your eating guidelines. Doing things right 80% of the time will give you enough vitality for the other 20% when you’re not doing things right. Train yourself to cope with nights out and meals that don’t support your goal and you will move forwards instead of backwards.

The most important question is how quick do you bounce back into your routine afterwards?

In my 14 plus years experience working one-on-one with people the most common mistake I see people make after a drinking session or a cheat day with their diet is not getting back into their dietary routine immediately.

Your next meal should be one that is part of your plan. If it’s not, your night out could cost you 2-3 days. The shorter the excess the easier it is to bounce back and the better you will feel. If you want to look your best it’s no good waking up on a Sunday morning after a night out and eating a McDonald’s and spending the rest of the day eating chocolate and ice cream to help you feel better. It would take you another day after that to pull yourself together and start eating right again and that’s before you would feel like doing any kind of exercise. You would quickly develop a hate of exercise and find it easier to eat junk food, sound familiar?

Being healthy is all about doing the things you want to do without it making you feel worse. Learn to take control and you will reap the rewards with less effort than you realise.

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Are Your Gym Workouts Failing You?

Posted on July 13, 2016 by Barnsley Personal Trainer

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The activity of lifting weights burns calories in itself, not to mention what happens after. The more lean muscle you carry, the more calories you’ll burn – even at rest. So if you want to be burning calories 24/7, get lifting!

Muscle is active tissue – it requires energy and calories to sustain it. Fat, on the other hand simply hangs on you. Just remember – cardio exercise can burn fat effectively if done in a certain way, BUT it doesn’t have the large-scale benefits resistance work has.

Women who are worried about looking masculine if they lift weights shouldn’t be worried because THE TRUTH IS lifting weights burns fat. You will only increase muscle size like a bodybuilder if you dedicate yourself to that particular goal.

Your training programme should support whatever goal you might have for your body and your fitness. A properly designed exercise programme is the only way to get the physique you want or you risk developing a disproportionate physique and the failure to be able to lose body fat.

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Are You On The Right Path To Getting And Keeping The Results You Want?

Posted on May 30, 2016 by Barnsley Personal Trainer

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What I have learned over the last 20 years is that there are many ways of optimising performance and achieving body goals that the general population and even most athletes don’t know about. The good news is they are perfectly natural, do not include any banned substances and most of the time doesn’t cost anything at all.

Living out of balance and trying to compensate with more exercise, low calories and poor quality supplements is a common mistake I see all the time. It is often addiction to the wrong approach that is the main challenge. The right application of diet, exercise and lifestyle factors are the only real ways to get optimal results that lasts a lifetime.

This is what I teach my clients and what allows me to exercise at almost 42 years of age and move and feel better than I did at half my age.

Applied knowledge is power!

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Have You Tried The Holistic Approach?

Posted on April 24, 2016 by Barnsley Personal Trainer

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A holistic approach to health and fitness highlights the importance of the whole being and the significance of its parts. We recognise that what affects one part or system affects the whole body. A holistic approach to health is multi-faceted and mindful of the consequences of our daily habits and actions.

Would you like to discover YOUR individual needs and learn how to address issues that may be preventing you from looking and feeling your best?

I have a four-step programme that can help you look and feel your best.

Step 1. Fill in the Questionnaires.
Step 2. Develop a Unique Eating Plan for YOU.
Step 3. Build a Personalised Exercise Programme that Fits YOUR Needs.
Step 4. Fine-tune a Healthier Lifestyle that Fits YOUR Routine.

Contact me for more details.

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