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

More Resolution Thoughts....

What do New Year Resolutions mean to you?

Do you set them every year? Do you achieve what you set out to do each time, or is initial progress soon ground to a halt as old habits kick in?

I have mixed feelings about the whole thing. Personally i like to consider the year ahead, also break it down into quarters, and sometimes set specific challenges like 100 days. I always have a sense of my targets and goals and therefore times like New Year or Birthdays etc, don't seem like such big deals. It's a constant process of awareness and improvement or challenge.

I think this is a successful approach - consistency of effort, goals and challenges seems to work pretty well for exercise and nutrition too. Rather than endless cycles of frustrating stopping and starting that tend to go no where, a constant awareness of where you are and where you want to be along with consistent effort and tweaking over time will go far!

While i will no doubt come up with what could be considered some resolutions, i think the idea of New Year Resolutions have a sense of failure built into them. Just in terms of culturally there is an assumption of badly set goals not lasting 3 weeks into January! Or maybe that's just my impression, but from what i've read the statistics on successful resolutions seem to back it up.

So why not consider resolutions of a sort - every month rather than every year? Committing to this gives you a great chance to review and reassess what you want and celebrate your successes. It gives you a chance to simply start again on something if that's what you want or need to do.

There is no way to 'blow it' because it's a constant process rather than all or nothing!

As mentioned in the previous post, to really become a goal getter check out the Magic 100 programme - Click Here

I do get a commission if you buy it through this link.

Steve
Sussex Bootcamps

It's New Years Resolution Time!

Have you set yours?

Are they just dreams or wishes or actually things you are going to do and make real?

How are you going to need to be in order to achieve what you want?

What are the reasons you might fail? How can you overcome them?

Are you dreaming too small?

On the right of this page is a link to the Magic 100 programme by Dax Moy.

It's a proven system of goal achievement and life changing action!

If you are serious about turning your dreams into reality you should click the link and check it out.

Here is the link again http://f4c69pnejrvhztfysh0pn0umxj.hop.clickbank.net/

You have nothing to lose and everything to gain!

Have a great 2010

Steve Cork

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

How Many Burpees.....?

.....Could you do if you just fixed your mind on a number and got determined to get there no matter how big that challenge seemed and how long you had to take?

Check out my effort at 100 from a few weeks ago!



Burpees are a great whole body movement that demand a large amount of energy and effort!

If you are going to do a lot of them it's worth getting very familiar with the movement first and make sure your back feels good doing them.

Adapt to your own fitness levels, take out the press up and the jump if you need to. Also, hands can be on a raised surface to make easier.

As your ability increases work harder and faster for an intense fat burning exercise!

Steve
www.sussexbootcamps.co.uk

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

Free Bootcamp Week To Help Homeless At Christmas

That's right we're stepping up to the demand from our Bootcampers and offering an extra week with a difference!

We weren't sure how to run it, we could be having an extra week off! We could be busy promoting our January Bootcamps, our charity events etc. So instead of that we've decided to offer the week of the 14th Dec for free!

People just have to register to reserve their free place and then donate some food that we can then pass on to the Emmaus Homeless charity in Brighton.

We've only just started to tell our current bootcampers about this and the response is very positive so far.

I'm sure it's easy to have mixed feelings about the homeless. Sometimes you hear people saying they have brought it on themselves or are being lazy etc.

Maybe this is true for some of the people who find themselves in this position, but i'd guess there are many who are there through no real fault of their own, who haven't been able to cope, who have had society turn it's back on them.

What we're talking about is other human beings who probably crave some of the things we take for granted at this time of year - friends, family, food and shelter from the winter weather.

If we can do a little bit to give back to those who find themselves worse of at Christmas then i think we should take that opportunity. After all there is generally so much excess and waste going on elsewhere.

So here it is - the last chance to make a difference to your fitness in 2009 and get a head start on any new years resolutions.

Reserve your place here http://www.sussexfreefitnessbootcamps.com/

We're excited to offer some turkey busting workouts!

Steve Cork

P.S. Our new venue for Bootcamps is Trading Boundaries at Sheffield Park. We start in January and we're ready to help you make 2010 your healthiest and best year ever!

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

What Did You Have For Lunch Today?

Here is a quick video for you! Ben pounced with his camera just as i was about to tuck in! (A beautiful sunny day in Haywards Heath today which is a welcome change from the floods!)

High quality protein (and enough of it) along with a good serving of veggies is how most of my lunch and dinners tend to turn out.

If it's a lower fat protein then i don't always feel as satisfied so i may need a handful of nuts at the same meal.



Steve
www.sussexbootcamps.co.uk

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

Challenging Your Fitness?

How do you measure your fitness? It could be just where you are at right now or measuring how much you have progressed.

Whether you realise it or not, i promise you this relates to your results!

You can certainly get an idea of how you are doing based on how you feel and what you are able to do. Other people may comment also.

How about coming up with a challenge to give you something to measure your fitness against? There are many ways you can do this depending on what is meaningful for your to measure.

This could be how long it takes you to complete a certain number of a particular movement or combination of movements. How many times you can move a particular weight, how heavy you can lift, how fast you can cover a distance etc etc.

Every month we issue a challenge to our Bootcampers to test a slightly different aspect of their fitness, and it's great to witness the efforts and see the improvements when we re-test at the end.

Most people seem to enjoy taking on the challenge and competing with themselves (or maybe against others but that's not what we emphasise)! It's simply a chance to raise the bar a little and focus efforts in a particular area.

Not everyone enjoys competing, even just with themselves so there really is no pressure. It's much like the challenge of turning up each day and completing the regular session, just with a number attached.

Personally, every training session is a challenge - i strive to improve on something, because those small consistent improvements add up to great results.

Some people shake their heads when they hear us reading out the challenge but nearly everyone surprises themselves with what they can do.

We've got a massive age range of people completing the challenges every month, age and fitness level are no barrier.

We're looking forward to witnessing the progress when we re-test in 2 weeks. If you want to enjoy the same sense of satisfaction, improvements in your fitness, fat loss, and muscle tone, join us for the last Bootcamp of the year, starting Nov 16th.

We'd love to see you there.

Best Wishes,

Steve
www.sussexbootcamps.co.uk

Restoration - Rest Week or Simply Back Off Week??

Last week after what was a good 7 or possibly 10 weeks training (don't have my diary in front of me to check), it was time for some recovery.

A couple of ways you can approach this and the choice really depends on what you've been doing and how you are feeling.

Firstly you could take a week completely off any training - a good option if you have not done this for a long time and are feeling a bit run down or beaten up from heavy training. Obviously light activity is going to be good.

A back off week can also be a great option. If you are still feeling pretty good but know it's going to be healthy to have a bit of a change, then go for it. With this, you are still going to do some training, perhaps with less volume, less intensity, less duration, different activities etc.

I like the back off week to get in some play time. Some of the things i never get around to doing enough of when i'm in the middle of a more focused and potentially draining routine.

I was actually feeling pretty good. I'd had 4 weeks of 2 strength sessions instead of the usual 3, some different exercises, and then 3 other conditioning sessions. So, my body had already benefited from a bit of a change.

Looking at the back off week, i'm wondering if it was more than many people's training weeks! I managed to fit in:

- A brief, fun, and challenging 2 kettlebell workout, simply stinging together some great whole body movements.

- A brief session of barbell complexes which become very hard very quickly.

- A circuit session which involved a 100 burpee challenge, sprints and pull ups.

- A hard spinning class. A mini core emphasis circuit.

- A heavy lifting session, just with less sets and fewer exercises than normal.

A few of these sessions were pretty short. A big change is taking off any mental pressure to improve anything specific. It therefore feels less intense even if a lot is still being accomplished.

One thing i'd do better at next time is a few less late nights which can make all the difference in actually feeling rested after a 'rest' week.

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

Changed Things Up Recently?

When did you last shift the focus of your training?

I'm not talking about jumping on the bandwagon of the newest shiny gadget or the latest celebrity 'must be seen to be doing'!

I'm not talking about radically changing from one type of exercise to another.

Simply a shift of focus, which might actually be quite subtle.

My reps and therefore loads have been changing every few weeks for much of this year. I find it a nice approach - keeps things fresh and focussed.

Now i'm going to give my format a bit of a change. There will still be a couple of specific lifting days, one heavier, and one faster. 3 more days will contain sprint intervals, circuit training, some weighted and bodyweight challenges etc.

Some of these sessions will be pretty brief but the intensity will be pretty brutal.

I'm hoping to at least maintain my strength (improving it in some areas), and drastically improve my general conditioning and endurance.

Looking forward to a challenging 4 weeks of this.

How about you?

Our bootcampers started their next 4 weeks today also. They have the benefits of their focus being changed for them. Can't wait to see their progress while enjoying my own!

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

Adding More Life And Years!!!

Why do we do this? Put ourselves through all the hard work, the effort, the sweat, the healthy eating?

Well hopefully you derive some sense of pleasure from the act of training, pushing yourself, challenging yourself, spending time more 'in your body' etc.

Possibly you just love the way you feel and look as a result of training?

My hope is that working hard at fitness touches every aspect of your life and improves it, literally allowing you to experience more life!

If you have friends that like to be active, guess what you can participate in whatever they are doing. If you have kids, hopefully they are active and being encouraged to be so. Nothing to back up that encouragemant like being active yourself! Then you get to join in with what they are doing and play a more significant role in their lives, not needing to sit out and miss out!

Same applies for grandparents. How many years do you want to be able to play an active and independent role in your family's life?

A good level of fitness and health is going to enhance all of this in a way that you can't put a price on.

What about challenging times or even emergencies. Do you think fitness is going to make a difference here?

I spent a day learning to surf while on holiday as you can just about make out in the picture above. On that same day another person in the water got into trouble and i ended up going to their rescue. Problem is we were then both in a bit of trouble!

After making the stupid decision to swim for it, getting hit by a big wave and swalling too much water, i had a moment where i almost felt and remembered everytime i had ever pushed myself, fought to keep going, pushed against a seemingly immovable weight etc.

It was like drawing strength from all my training experience in a moment of panic, and thankfully it wasn't too long after that we found ourselves close enough to shore to not be pulled out to sea any longer.

So the message here as far as i'm concerned is fitness will enhance your life, it will be there in the times where you can enjoy it, and hopefully in times where you may need it to get you through a situation!

I believe fitness and health will also contribute to the quality and quantity of your life.

Are you realising the bigger picture in your fitness and health?

Next Bootcamp starts Sepember 7 - i'd love to see you there,

Steve

Let's Get This Started Again...

Ever find yourself saying that about your fitness?

Most people probably do at some time or another - whether from injury or ilness, holiday or a rest week - or just simply getting out of the habit.

It's not just fitness either - it happens across the board for our various tasks and behaviours - like writing a blog for example!!

One thing i've always liked to do is frame exercise and fitness in a different way - hence the term 'everyday athlete' and my encouragement for people to see themselves as athletes.

Taking this a step further and you get to training as a ritual - something espoused by Chip Conrad and his awesome facility Body Tribe - see http://physicalsubculture.com/blog

I've recently enjoyed the DVD produced by these guys and tapping into the concept of training as a ritual is something that strongly resonates with me.

It's a practise, a way of being, a moving meditation, the act of which enhances your life!!

Far from just random movements for the sake of some possible future reward - it's here and now.

If something is a ritual that enhances your life do you think there will be much resistance, much putting off to another day?

How can you infuse what you do with more meaning? It's worth some consideration.

I've been getting things started again today. Not just this post, but after a great week away last week, my routine of training (working on the ritual part!).

I recommend time out from heavy training every 6 - 10 weeks or so, but i've realised that i totally neglected and undervalued time out from the work routine, yep a holiday!

Some stories from that to follow.

For now, time to enjoy the slightly sweeter taste of life after some good time out!

Steve

http://www.sussexbootcamps.co.uk

Is It Your Mind Or Your Body?....

I’m often amazed and intrigued by the interaction between mind and body (can they really be separated?) and physical activity. We have an idea of what it is we want to do or be like, but what happens after this and what will most likely lead to your success?

Establishing some kind of routine is going to be a big help in achieving success. That is, you don’t really have to plan when you are going to fit exercise in – it’s part of your daily or weekly routine so it’s very likely to be achieved. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for example, you know you are going to be fitting in some specific exercise at a certain time.

If you have this mentally or physically in your diary, successfully completing such sessions becomes far more likely than starting with a blank canvas each week for when you are going to do what. Similarly just waiting until you feel like being active may not work out.

Another aspect that is going to set you up for success is your sense of commitment to the task at hand. How often do you communicate a lack of commitment to something (either to yourself or to others) with words like ‘try’, ‘do what I can’, ‘see what happens’ etc? If you imagine you are connected to a positive result by a chain, how many little things like this create weak links in that chain?

You have no doubt had times in your life when you have been extremely determined and resolved to do something no matter what. You need to vividly remember such feelings when it comes to considering your task at hand; otherwise when the going gets tough, your mind is likely to give up well before your body.

Having this incredibly strong ‘I’ll stop at nothing’ attitude doesn’t mean you then throw caution to the wind, but it does mean the little things will not get in your way.

Think about it, almost all of the same excuses are going to affect those who succeed and those who fail, but which group listens to the excuses and changes their plans? Which group counters or ignores the excuses and carries on?

How about you? If you stop for a moment to consider something you really want to achieve and further consider what you think will be necessary to achieve it. Now notice what barriers or get out clauses jump out! Is it a couple or a couple of hundred!?

Some people have so many reasons why they are likely to miss the mark on what they want to achieve that they are basically set up for failure. Is it past injuries, past results, demands of family or work, your age, the weather, the exercise, the type of food, money, equipment etc, etc.

If the last part of this article sounded a little negative then I want to assure you it’s not meant to be. Because the act of hearing an excuse, recognising it for what it is and moving forward is extremely positive. Every time you strengthen that muscle of commitment, resolve and determination it is a great thing.

Set yourself up for success with the routine, commitment, and the resolve to keep your mind on your side. We all have moments of doubt or negativity. When you start to listen to such thoughts and what you choose to do next is your choice - how exciting is that!


Come along to the new drop in Saturday Circuit class - http://www.sussexsaturdayfitness.co.uk

Next 4 week fitness bootcamp - June 22nd - http://www.sussexbootcamps.co.uk

Steve