Food Shopping

Posted on May 31, 2011 by Barnsley Personal Trainer

There are different kinds of phone apps available these days that can help you compile a shopping list. Or there is the old-fashioned way; scribbling on a shopping list you have hung up in your kitchen. Both ways work and whichever method you use can help you save money and stick to a healthy eating plan.

If you get into the habit of filling in a shopping list as you use up your supplies it will help to prevent compulsive buying when you do the big shop.

There is no better way to shop then knowing what to buy. If you don’t buy healthy food you can’t eat healthy. It all comes down to being organised.

Finally get into the habit of choosing shopping days so you can keep stocked up with fresh foods.

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Grains Vs Vegetables

Posted on May 30, 2011 by Barnsley Personal Trainer

If you can’t see your abs try eliminating grains from your diet. Aim to get most of your carbohydrate intake from nutrient dense fibrous vegetables. Greener the vegetable the better it is. Vegetables are far more superior to grains for nutrient value and weight management. Your gut health will probably improve too.

Grains and especially refined grains can inhibit vitamin and mineral absorption. But the biggest concern about grains and refined grains for most of us is the insulin provoking effect they have. The insulin increase from eating too many carbohydrates promotes fat storage and prevents the body’s ability to burn off the fat.

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Great Core Exercise for Power, Speed, Strength and Toning

Posted on May 26, 2011 by Barnsley Personal Trainer

Here is a brilliant exercise for anyone wanting to improve speed, power, strength and athletic performance. This core exercise will benefit many sports because of the functional carry over effect. Not only that but it’s a great way to tone your abs.

How to perform the cable horizontal chop with a static lunge.

Stand in a split stance.

Hold the cable handle with the hand furthest away from the cable column and the other hand over the top.

Draw your belly button inwards.

Lower down as far as you comfortably can, rotate your torso away from the cable while simultaneously pulling the handle horizontally across your body.

Return to the start and repeat for desired number of repetitions.

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Breakfast

Posted on May 26, 2011 by Barnsley Personal Trainer


People let breakfast time screw up their healthy eating routines. I’ve heard every reason why people fail to eat breakfast. This essential time to eat good nutrients commonly gets ignored by people who want to change their body shapes. It normally comes down to poor time management or misconceptions about what to eat.

This morning before my abs and core workout I had scrambled eggs with mushrooms cooked in ghee butter and some broccoli. This may sound like a strange choice for some people especially eating broccoli at 6.30am. A mealtime is a mealtime for our bodies. Our bodies couldn’t care less about what time it is. Our bodies aren’t designed to eat certain foods at certain times. Do you think your great great grandfather had ever heard of Kellogg’s corn flakes or processed cereal bars?

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Orange Juice (and All Fruit Juice)

Posted on May 24, 2011 by Barnsley Personal Trainer

Did you know that fruit juice has about eight full teaspoons of sugar per eight-ounce glass? This sugar is called fructose and for dieters is just as bad as table sugar. Both sugars cause an increase in insulin levels. Even if you drink freshly squeezed fruit it is still a high sugar drink.

If you want to lose weight you could be making it very difficult for yourself because of the blood sugar response and the release of fat storing hormones associated with consuming sugar.

If you are overweight, have high blood pressure or high blood sugar; it would probably be wise to avoid most fruits until you have these problems under control.

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Think Big – Not Small

Posted on May 22, 2011 by Barnsley Personal Trainer

All different kinds of success and achievements are born out of a goal. Everybody needs a plan and needs to follow directions in order to get what they want. Avoid playing Russian roulette with your time and energy. Success stories that happen by chance are few and far between.

The best way is to have an end goal in mind and little goals leading up to it. The way forward is to achieve each little goal one at a time. This is straightforward but how many people set goals properly and put effort into achieving them?

Failing to do this is one of the biggest mistakes anyone can make when embarking on any kind of diet and exercise.

Never put yourself under too much pressure but don’t shortchange yourself either. Little changes turn into big changes over time.

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How Often Do You Change Your Exercises?

Posted on May 20, 2011 by Barnsley Personal Trainer

Do you perform the same exercises every week? If your progression has stalled then it’s time to shock your body.

Aim for a training response from each workout by using the method of rotating exercises frequently. Even though there are only a few movement patterns our bodies can move in there are many alternatives to the exercises you have probably been using.

It is possible to get a different response by using different tools and the way you perform exercises.

The bottom line is the more you change your exercises the less chance your body will adapt to what you are doing resulting in a tougher workout with better results.

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Thought Of The Day

Posted on May 18, 2011 by Barnsley Personal Trainer

If you are not losing weight or body fat and training hard these are the first things to check.

Are you eating the right kind of foods?
Have you experimented with your protein and carbohydrate ratios?
Are your portion sizes too big?

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Finding it Difficult to Eat Vegetables?

Posted on May 16, 2011 by Barnsley Personal Trainer

For an easier way to eat your vegetables try experimenting to see what you like best.

1. Try roasted vegetables, absolutely delicious!
2. Blend some raw vegetables and whey protein powder and make your own customised vegetable smoothie.
3. Try eating some vegetables raw they are nice and crunchy.
4. Try chopping different vegetable up into small pieces and steam them, serve with butter on top.
5. Make your own vegetable mash with butter.
6. Disguise vegetables in casseroles and stews.

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If You Want To Look Like An Athlete You Have To Live Like An Athlete

Posted on May 14, 2011 by Barnsley Personal Trainer

If you want the best results you have to stick to some guidelines. The guidelines I am talking about are the ones that are applicable outside the gym. Exercise alone can’t fix a poor lifestyle and make you healthy and look impressive. This doesn’t mean you need to be 100% pure to get good results, unless you have a competitive streak and want to win some medals that is. But on the other hand it also means you can’t shy away from what needs to be done outside the gym and make excuses to avoid certain principles.

If you think this sounds complicated or like hard work think again. I can make this sound simple because it is totally achievable. All you need to do is Continue reading →

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