Clarity = Great Physical Results!

"Get clear on what you want" - you hear it all the time - set those goals specifically!

How about getting a little deeper and before you even worry about what you might decide would be amazing for you, ask yourself WHY? - and get as much clarity on why you are interested in creating some change. Why it's important, powerful and motivating? Why it's aligned with who you really are - or at least a big part of you?

When you get clear on your why - then you hav a pretty purposeful direction for yourself. Feel free to attach some specific goals to this also - they can be fun and provide some extra focus. But you would also be free to change direction or even fail to hit the goal and would have had a great time getting there - because you were still in touch with your WHY!

I often think people do this completely backwards. For example they hear a friend is doing a marathon, and they see lots of people out running and so they decide to run - even though they hate it and haven't prepared their body in any way for the physical stressors involved. Great recipe for giving up, injuries, and frustration!

Running here is just an example - you could insert any other activity. To extend the running example, maybe you get clear on why you want to be physically active but dismiss running for the reason that you hated it as a child. However if you gave yourself a chance to try it, maybe with some good coaching you might find you love it afterall!

Once you get clear on this stuff you can then simplify what you do and maybe eliminate some of what is wasting time when considered in light of your reasons why and your goals.

I've been spending some time getting clear on what i do and why i do what i do with the services i provide through personal training and bootcamps. It's been an interesting process and i look forward to delivering on the results.....

Alignment with your values = easier results!

Following on from my last post, i've been thinking a lot about why some people find it easy to eat healthy and others struggle. This applies equally to your approach to exercise or anything else you might want to do.

I need to start with the assumption that your version of eating healthy is at least similar to mine! For example eating in a way that gives your body enough protein and fat to be satisfied and having your hormones working for you vs screaming to be fed more sugar beacause you're still on the high carb low fat rollercoaster!

Now, when it comes to a successful approach to eating i think you have to start asking yourself some big questions.

Things like who you are, what you want and why you really even care at all about being fit and healthy? Why really?

Keep digging around until you are face to face with what is truly important.

Now ask yourself the question if eating in a way that gives you the optimum physique, abundant energy and freedom from lifstyle disease is in alignment with what you discovered above.

The more you can realise this connection and make that alignment very strong, the less struggle and the more ease you will have around the whole area.

The more eating within certain guidelines is just part of who you are, the less stress and less decisions you need to make. If 90% of the time certain choices are just off your radar or not on your menu! - then the whole thing just got so much easier.

As i mentioned at the beginning, you want to be aligning your values with a correct approach to eating, otherwise you could just make any wacky celebrity diet easier to stick to!

A 'paleo' type diet is a great approach that nourishes our body in the way it needs to be fed based on our evolution.

Once your physiology is on your side, your mental game should be that much easier.

2 Essential Ingredients - Are You Consuming Them??

Ah a nutrition post? - No!

I'm talking about passion and inspiration.

Perspiration definitely goes a long way, but it's unlikely much of that will happen over the long term unless you have an abundance of Passion and Inspiration for what you are doing!

I believe you build your physical foundations with the correct mindset and whether you have considered this much in the past or not, i'd suggest the time is now.

It's also your choice - you could think of physical activity as a necessary evil that's painful and uncomfortable, that eating the right way is somehow depriving yourself!

Many people do it this way - and then still feel bad and usually make little progress.

I've long suspected and practised a different and better way.

I suggest you find ways to immerse yourself more in what you are doing. If they seem mundane, set yourself mini challenges, ways to motivate and measure your performance. There are many movements that you can feel more mastery over if you stop and pay attention to what you are doing.

You can even learn to appreciate the enjoyment in your effort and in overcoming something challenging.

Once you put yourself on more of a journey and not simply heading for a destination, once you can enjoy the project and not just wait for the goal to arrive, then you get so much more out of the experience.

Not only that but you get to appeciate other people's achievements that much more. So often those stories or you tube video's that are most inspiring are not just something amazing being ticked off the to do list, but the struggle and investment, the highs and lows of the journey to getting there.

Tap into sources of passion and inspiration on a regular basis and it will add ease and energy to what you wish to then do.

These 2 ingredients, that many people leave entirely to chance, will nourish and sustain you like a good paleo meal!!

Looking In The Mirror and Stepping Up....

Sometimes you've just got to take that honest look in the mirror and let the truth of where you are at stare you in the face.

If you are not where you want to be, you don't have to feel bad about it (unless that helps - and lets face it sometimes it can!), but you might want to do something about it!

We all choose our daily priorities and they either lead us to the kind of results and life we want or they don't.

So, how about looking back at the year so far and how you've got to where you are at today? Can you do it, can you be completely honest with yourself?

I truly hope you are happy, fulfilled and excited with where you are at - and when i say look in the mirror i'm not just talking about the looks - how about what you can actually do!

If this isn't the case the cure is largely action - correct, consistent, committed action, physically and nutritionally.

But, inspired action is even better - as in knowing your personal reason why you want to do what you are doing.

Get under the surface a little and discover the fuel that can really take you a long way.

Then go for it! And remember to re-visit that 'mirror' on a regular basis..

We Now Have A Sussex Bootcamps Blog!

Yes, i will still post on here from time to time, but our bootcamp website has a blog attached to it at last.

This will be where most of my content will be added on a regular basis.

I'd love to see you over there at Sussex Bootcamps!

http://www.sussexbootcamps.co.uk/blog

Have a great and active weekend!

Steve Cork

10 Minute Outdoor Fitness Session With Some Fun Toys!

Rush hour traffic in Haywards Heath left me a little late for a planned workout on Whitemans Green.

Rather than miss out altogether, Ben and Katie joined me for a 10 minute blast and then carried on while i taught a kettlebell induction.

We just went with some big bang movements for maximum effect - the best way! Tools for the job were kettlebells and ViPR's.

Kettlebells you have no doubt started to hear about, but ViPR's are pretty new on the scene. This are rubber tubes which come in different sizes and weights which have some handles for different use.

They are a great tool for loading some athletic and multi-dimentional movements, and are really nice to use outdoors.

Anyway, first round was 30s of kettlebell snatches per arm, 30s rest and then 1 min of a ViPr move - step with an uppercut.

Then it was back to KB Snatches, then a ViPR shuffle and shovel movement.

Last was 50s per arm of clean to push press, followed by ViPR flips.

This added up to a great 10 minutes that left my whole body feeling good. Ben and Katie carried on to a point that maybe they started to not feel so good!!

The kettlebell induction was followed up with a great session. People are really getting the hang of the bells and finding them to be a great complement to bootcamp.

These sunny evenings have been awesome to get some outdoor exercise and Whitemans Green in Cuckfield provides a fantastic view to enjoy at the same time.

Steve Cork
www.sussexbootcamps.co.uk

I Love It When A Group Comes Together!

Yes, we had a new bootcamp start this week and i do love the way our Bootcamp groups take on the challenge and achieve their goals.

I have a new appreciation of this from being on the 'other side' several times in recent weeks. Being in various group training situations gave me a fresh perspective on the atmosphere, expectation, camaraderie, and energy available.

It also gives me a good look at how someone else is teaching which is always valuable to reflect on.

Personally i've always loved teaching groups, and yet i've always spent the big majority of my own training time alone. I guess part of this comes from having very specific goals and ways i want to achieve them, which are not always compatible with other people being around!

In recent months i've enjoyed spending more of my training sessions with other people involved. Even more recently i took part in several practical sessions at a youth fitness convention, at an athletic training gym, and a weekend on a kettlebell instructor course.

There is a lot to be said for rising to the challenge as part of a group, and if you're lucky enough to be surrounded by people of a good standard or a lot better than you, then you have some great examples and maybe targets to aim for.

Many people on the kettlebell course commented they wouldn't have completed a particularly challenging sequence of squats if it hadn't been for doing it with a group.

I commented on this kind of thing on our members forum today and it seems they agree, this is a very valuable part of bootcamp.

Are you using this to your advantage?

What results might you achieve if you did?

I've been using kettlebells for years now, and this was my 3rd different instructor course. Look out for our kettlebell group sessions coming soon in Haywards Heath!

Steve
www.sussexbootcamps.co.uk

Time Is Ticking!!

We're already a chunk of the way through the year! Well January at least.

Have you kick started your health and fitness programme, did you set those resolutions?

I really hope you have and have had some great successes already.

Getting started right can set you up for a successful year - and it can make it all easier too. What once might have been a struggle has become part of the routine.

This is true of individual sessions also - just give yourself the permission to get started and chances are the full session you had planned will take place anyway.

If i've got a workout scheduled but i'm wondering if i have the energy, or if i've recovered enough from previous exercise i'll always do it. I figure that if i'm trying to decide whether or not to do it i'm actually ok.

If i really am stuggling or overtrained then it's going to be more obvious and there won't really be the debate!

Want to know how to get started the right way and then stay on track?

Get along to our charity events - the first of which is this Thursday night. Drill Hall, Denne Road, Horsham, 7-9. Remember this is for the Dame Vera Lynn Trust. Please register your place at http://www.sussexbestever.com

We're sharing all the best health and fitness tips and secrets in our talks and free prizes. We're raising money for charity, so it's going to be a great, positive evening all round. My business partner here at Sussex Bootcamps, Ben Davis - will be among the speakers.

Spaces are filling up fast - this really is going to be a great Horsham event.

Looking forward to seeing you there.

Steve Cork
www.sussexbootcamps.co.uk

Did You Engage With Your Effort Recently?!

I was enjoying a final week of a 12 week training programme last week. It was a good variety of whole body movements, but loaded pretty heavy (for me at least).

I've always enjoyed this sense of challenge where you are literally stepping up to the bar - and hopefully raising it!

It's all there in black and white - the numbers that have been done before. The inner conversation, the rallying cries shouting out any doubts, bringing emotion to the cause.

There can be beautiful moments of heightened aliveness and really zoning in on just the task at hand.

And at times there are the defeats that can seem crushing for a short while, but soon enough i look forward to testing myself again and simply offering the best i have. It's all i can ask of myself. The best i have on this day, engaging with the sense of effort, giving it my all.

If i can do that, then deep down i know i've succeeded, i've not hidden from the challenge, i've not settled for warmth, comfort, television, hot tea and sweet chocolate! Not for that hour anyway!

I'm stronger for trying, for embracing my strength ritual.

I shared with a friend that i felt a certain fear in the final week. I had already done 2 weeks of similar work, established some bench marks and targets, and knew deep down the effort required to produce them. That final week is my chance to at least match the previous weeks efforts and hopefully exceed them.

It's usually possible to realise an improvement on something, and i think it's important to attempt to do so. But this won't happen by going through the motions. You need to get stuck in - mentally and physically.

Engage with the effort, look it in the eye, feel the joy and the emotion of using your body the way it was meant to be used - again and again and again.....

Is it time you brought your inner athlete out to play?

Steve
www.sussexbootcamps.co.uk

End Of Year Reflections - How Did You Do?

It's great to use this time of year to look back on the past year and how much of what you wanted to achieve actually got done.

This can obviously be appied to your fitness, nutrition and health, but also the other areas that make up your life.

As for training, this is one reason i love to keep training diaries. It's great to look back on the past year and even previous years to compare what i have done, what has lead to success, what challenges needed to be overcome etc.

I do feel training diaries lend themselves best when you can attach some numbers to what you are doing, for example weights lifted, repetitions, time taken, distance covered, average speed etc. This just makes it easier to compare training sessions and the results from them.

Even without much of this quantification, i'd still recommend keeping track.It's like looking at a roadmap of how you got here!

I feel i had a good year overall. I trained hard and consistently with a well rounded approach. I did suffer a pretty significant injury, but i was able to work around it so it didn't slow me down too much! I set a goal of Deadlifting 200kg's earlier in the year. As i got to the final months of the year i knew this would need to be revised slightly.

So last Sunday i managed 192kg's - a good personal best and exactly 2 and a half times my bodyweight!

If you didn't have any friendly challenges to look forward to this year, how about setting yourself some for next?!

Time for the Bootcampers to step up to the challenge once again on Monday 4th January. Still some spaces available - http://www.sussexbootcamps.co.uk

Steve

Party Season Is Here! Fat Gain Or Loss??

Yes it's December! And if you haven't already seen an increase in your social life then it's probably happening from this week. And let's face it, that can be great and it can also be a disaster for fat loss and fitness.

What happens often is training sessions are dropped, calories are increased, especially from alcohol, fat and carbohydrate! Sleep is reduced, stress levels can be higher etc.

This all adds up to quite a challenge for your body to be a lean, mean fitness machine!

So, let's be as practical as possible about this.

Commit to still exercising. Do your normal days and times if possible, if not simply try to make a different time on the same day. If you can keep some regular habits going this will all be easier to stick with and fully resume once life is more back to normal.

If you have to, simply cut down the time you are exercising to avoid missing it out altogether. Make up for this by working harder, cutting down on rest times etc. If you are spending more than an hour exercising then you are probably not working hard enough anyway!

A longer workout does not mean a more effective one, despite what many people still think. Depending on what you do and what your goals are, a hard 30 minute session can achieve more than 90 mins of easier or less effective work. What are you more likely to be able to fit in?

The bottom line is you are going to feel so much better for staying active. Your body will also more effectively deal with the calories it takes in and keep your metabolism raised for more of the time.

In terms of eating, go for the leaner meats, fish and vegetables first. Fill up on the good stuff and hopefully there will be less room for the not so good!

If you are going somewhere with only snacks available, again try to eat well before going out to avoid over doing the snack calories.

There will be meals where you no doubt do go overboard, and that's ok! Just be a little better to yourself on the other meals you have that day or week. Again, good meats, fish, vegetables and some fruit as the basis for your eating will go a long way to minimising the negative effects of the big party meals.

If you are out a lot, choose to make some nights alcohol free, or offer to drive to make sure that happens. It is your choice and it will still be plenty of fun!

So, to sum up. Keep exercising - you'll, fee, function, and no doubt look better for it! Eat right most of the time, and enjoy yourself when you don't! Stick with this for the next month and you could continue to lose fat and/ or get fitter while enjoying a busy social December!

Steve
www.sussexbootcamps.co.uk

P.S. Our free week of bootcamp is filling up very fast. Have you registered? www.sussexfreefitnessbootcamps.com

What Size Are 'Normal' People Anyway?

What size and shape are we meant to be?

What are the average's - is that what we want to be?

What are the images we are bombarded with of the 'perfect' body?!

I'm most aware of these questions when shopping for clothes - which doesn't happen that often! I can only imagine the trouble professional athletes have to go through to get clothes that fit!

Now for those of you who don't know me i am far from large framed, i grew up doing long distance running and martial arts - always just a regular or lean size and shape.

Even today with lots of strength training i'm certainly not at all stocky.

Thererfore it always surprises me when jeans are tight around the thighs and bum. Shirts are often tight around the back and neck.

Surely people are meant to move, exercise, and have their body's adapt accordingly!?

It seems that if you are active enough to actually cause some positive changes in your physique you may find yourself out of the current norm. I think part of this is still the popular culture's obsession with the super skinny.

Or we have the opposite side to this:

Sussex Bootcamps are off to the Bright FM awards this evening to present one of the awards and therefore need to be dressed up.

I went to hire a suit from Broadbridges just around the corner from us in Haywards Heath, which was great. On going back to collect my order they had my order slightly queried, as the size of my jacket 'should' have accompanied trousers 4 inches bigger than i need for my waist!

This is relevant to our bootcampers experiences as we often hear of people noticing clothing fitting differently. From the reassuringly baggy, to the concerned tighter around the legs!

If someone, particularly a woman is experiencing areas getting larger from something like a bootcamp, i'm going to suggest 1 of 2 things are happening. 1, they are possibly not being too good with nutrition and this is simply some weight gain, or 2, if it's actually lean muscle tissue then they were under muscled in the first place.

This may not be what individuals want to hear but if a small amount of muscle tissue (and it can only ever really be small doing what we do) is added this is simply a healthy and positive response, so don't let old clothing sizes or media images convince you you are not actually looking better!

More soon from the front lines of fitness and fashion!!

Steve

10 Minutes, Maybe 5 Minutes To Ultimate Fitness...

This is a post for those of you who just can't get started, or are sporadic in your efforts!

Ulimate fitness (whatever that is) can't be built without fitness. In other words you have to get started, you have to lay the foundation - Stephen Covey said "you can't cram for a marathon by training the night before!"

What you need to do is get some momentum going, make a deal with yourself to do a certain amount of something to achieve some success and energy around your goal.

You can sneak up on something by taking baby steps - what success coach Michael Neil calls "starting small".

Here is an example for me right now. I'm trying to be better at keeping on top of my flat being clean and tidy. Typically this gets put off until it starts to become difficult to move - then i take some action!

I really don't like this approach - or the results - any similarities to your current exercise regime?!

So i made a deal with myself. I can do 5 minutes tidying everyday - there is absolutely no excuse to not do this, and it's not at all daunting to me. I also know that once i'm simply allowing myself to do 5 minutes, the chances are i'll do a bit more than this and before i know it, things are going to be looking different around here!

Apply this to your fitness training right now. Will 5 minutes exercise get you the body of your dreams - possibly not, but you will be far better off than not putting those short efforts together. They will also likely turn into longer efforts and build a successful habit which will equal the body of your dreams!

Consistency is one of the keys to fitness and health. Even if you are focussing on some short term target or result, have some concern for the long term too so that you can sustain the benefits for the rest of your life!

Steve Cork
www.sussexbootcamps.co.uk
Fitness Bootcamps - Personal Training

Pumpkin Workouts For Fat Loss And Fitness?!

It's a bit of fun and something a little different! Our Bootcampers enjoyed this experience last year so we thought we would do more of the same this year.

We're doing 2 different pumpkin workouts this week and most people seemed to select the right size for them - something around 3 - 8 kgs depending on strength and ability seems ideal for what we have been doing.

The great thing is i've had loads of comments today about how the Bootcampers are really feeling the work they did yesterday!

As they are only used to doing mostly bodyweight movements, adding some load soon makes a difference. Having said that people were able to translate their good technique and core strength easily to working with a load.

One of the favourites seemed to be the pumpkin burpees and pumpkin planks (feet on top)!

Watch out, we may include more useful tools in the future! In fact we've just ordered some brand new kit to try out thouroughly to see if it can enhance our boot camp sessions.

More on that soon.

Speaking of fitness and fat loss, i'll be posting my 100 burpee challenge as soon as i've got the time!

Enjoy your fitness and health,

Steve

My Fitness Classes Disappearing.....

I've been teaching a variety of fitness classes at the local 'Olympos' Leisure centres for years and years - as well as many other fitness centres and health clubs.

With Sussex Bootcamps taking off in a big way i've needed to adjust and re prioritise my working week.

Every one of the classes that i've had to make the hard decision to move on from has been very difficult. I really enjoy teaching and i love the people that come to my classes - they are most often motivated fitness enthusiasts who enjoy some intelligently applied hard work.

Ultimately there comes a time when just continuing to do the same thing becomes thinking too small - and i want to do more right now!! I guess i can value my time, energy and experience more than the places i have been teaching at!

Building my business where i have more control of the experience from start to finish means i can ultimately help more people and deliver a better product.

While we are offering a different level and type of service currently in terms of Bootcamps, we will be expanding and offering services to more of the Sussex community in due course. Specifically, there will be a Youth Fitness service, Boxing fitness and Kettlebell classes.

We are going to continue to offer the best fitness services in the area with the best instructors.

If you are local to Haywards Heath and Burgess Hill, i still have a Monday and Wed evening drop in class that are not going anywhere soon.

I look forward to being of service to more people, in bigger and better ways.

In Fitness and Health,

Steve
www.sussexbootcamps.co.uk

Do you run or not run? Do you think of yourself as a runner or non-runner?

Does the idea of running fill you with fear or freedom?

Are you built for speed or distance?!

Whatever your current stance, we enjoyed providing the warm up to the fun run and walk at St Peter's and St James Hospice on Sunday in Wivelsfield Green.

It was a great morning, beautiful weather, and a great atmosphere; from the kids doing their run and families doing the walk, to the more serious runners.

It almost made me want to join in! But with a bit of a cold i'd have done myself no favours.

I don't consider running to necessarily be the pinnacle example of fitness, (that's a personal decision and choice for you to make) but it's nice to know that if you need to or want to, you can.

If you enjoy running or decide to challenge yourself, then it's nice to be able to do well and improve your ability.

People are often surprised when their running improves from non-running activities, yet we see it time and again. This often occurs in those who are already running to an extent and then add the type of core strengthening and total body fitness that we provide.

This is especially true for the lower body strength and power training that we do. This kind of approach where runners have included more explosive or dynamic movements into their training has been studied and shown to improve performance.

It seems that running economy is improved as muscles and other structures improve their ability to handle the forces being demanded.

The other area that often gets improved dramatically in the runners we see is in their anaerobic fitness. This occurs when people work at a higher intensity level for a shorter period of time. Adding this to the longer slower work that is typical of many runners can make a great difference to general fitness, running fitness, and body composition.

Our Bootcamps never involve too much running, but we use it to improve the above mentioned aspects of fitness and hopefully do enough for people to gradually get better.

I'd suggest most other activities could be improved by enhancing the fitness qualities we emphasise at bootcamp.

The last time i did a 'long' run was quite a few years ago when i was training for the London Marathon. I was up to about 17 miles and decided not to continue with the preparation as i was getting knee and ankle problems.

After Sunday, i'm now quite tempted by the South Downs Marathon next year!

Have a fit and healthy week,

Steve