Hi Everyone

Those of you who have received my newsletters for some time now will know I talk a lot about metabolic resistance training (i.e. “cardio with weights).

From what I see each day in the gym, many people are still stuck doing long duration, low-intensity cardiovascular exercise!!!

Quite simply, if you’re looking to achieve maximal benefit from the time you put into your workouts, then long duration “slow-go” cardio is NOT the way to go, and for many reasons.

Here are my top 5:

1. Minimal calories burned — 45 minutes on the treadmill may burn a whopping 300 calories if you’re lucky, the equivalent of ONE TENTH of a pound of fat. Exercise ten hours a week and you might just lose a pound!

Which brings me to my next point:

2. Way too much time involved — I don’t know about you, but I don’t have hours and hours of my time to pour into working out each week. In fact, very rarely do I ever exceed three hours of exercise weekly, and you know what? That’s ALL you need.

Beyond that, slow-go cardio is:

3. BORING — Sitting on an exercise bike staring at the wall in front of me for 45-60 minutes? No thanks.

But perhaps even worse is the fact that slow-go cardio provides:

4. No prolonged metabolic benefit — did you know that with higher intensity exercise it is possible to continue to burn calories for up to 48 hours post workout? It’s true, and I’ll talk about this “afterburn” effect in another newsletter very soon.

But you know what else is true? Long duration, low intensity cardio provides virtually NO prolonged elevation in metabolism. In fact, with slow-go cardio, metabolism returns to baseline almost IMMEDIATELY following the exercise session.

And finally, the reason that trumps all the others:

5. Minimal fat loss — Minimal calories burned during the session and virtually no additional calories burned afterward = minimal, if any fat loss results. And let’s be honest, the only reason anyone is doing cardio is for the “result”.

So if slow-go cardio isn’t a great solution, what is?

Short duration, high-intensity exercise. Less time, faster results — THAT’S what it’s all about.

And keep in mind, “high intensity” is relative to you. I don’t care if you’re already in great shape or if you’re 5 stone overweight, you can still exercise with intensity.

So what about you? Are you stuck doing slow-go cardio or have you embraced the benefit of much shorter, higher intensity sessions?

Give me some comments and I’ll be back to talk about short duration, high intensity exercise in more detail soon.

Summer deadline

Hi Everyone,

Well it’s here, summer has arrived. The sun is out (mostly), the England football team is disappointing us all in a major football tournament (again) and we’ve all probably been to at least one BBQ so far.

It’s also the great “unveiling” when the shirts come off, the swimsuits go on and the entire world knows exactly how good or bad your diet and exercise has been for the last 3-4 months.

Are you ready? :)

If not, you have one more BIG weekend this Summer to make a huge difference to your physique!

Goal Setting

I drone on about this all the time but stay with me here. Goal setting is all about setting S.M.A.R.T. goals, and T stands for “Time line”. Athletes peak for National Championships, Trials and World events. Just because you’re training for fat loss or to look better naked doesn’t change the fact that DEADLINES are extremely effective tools.

So we’re going to set one this summer.

Your next goal is 31st July, just 6 weeks away.

With a combination of a kick start plan, a solid workout and nutritional support program and a healthy dose of motivation you could easily be 1 stone lighter and considerably leaner by then. So if you’re looking a little flabby this Monday afternoon, or feeling a little embarrassed about your body you can still make amazing changes. You really can. You have to believe that. It’s never too late.

This is an opportunity for you to look great while we still have some sun to enjoy.

But you need to start NOW.

Here’s the fat loss basics to help you:

You need to create a caloric deficit – no two ways about it – you must burn more than you consume. But that doesn’t just mean eat less.

The most effective way to create that deficit is to use a combination of diet and exercise.

Your diet should consist of lean proteins, fruits and vegetables. Keep starches and refined carbs to a minimum.

Keep your fluid intake high (water only), and try to eat at least 4-5 small meals per day. This will help maintain blood sugar levels and keep you from blowing your diet.

Exercise – interval training and metabolic resistance training will provide the most bang-for-your buck. Steady state aerobic training just doesn’t burn enough calories for your goals right now, and a body part training split will be less effective than total body training for fat loss.

Try to exercise at least four to six days per week – two to three days of interval based cardio and two to three days of resistance training.

Supplements: there is almost nothing that will make a difference. Sorry. Certain supplements can boost metabolism, or increase your energy somewhat and these may be useful but in terms of real world “pounds of fat lost” I have yet to see anything that really made a difference. A multivitamin and a fish oil supplement are vital though – but more for your overall health. A protein shake can be useful for convenience but are no replacement for high quality food.
Get started now!

If you want a fast program that tells you exactly what to eat, and what to do to maximize your results in the next four weeks then e-mail me now and we’ll get going.

Here’s to the rest of the great British summer.

Don’t be lazy, be lean.

Come on England!