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Everyone makes mistakes... The best learn from them!

What is Overtraining and Overreaching?

What is "metabolism"?

High Intensity Interval Training

What is your intensity level?

If it's easy, you're doing it wrong!

As of when I am writing this blog, the vast majority of adults in the UK & Ireland have received at least one dose of their COVID-19 vaccine and most are also fully vaccinated. Unfortunately, questions remain regarding what exactly this means in terms of returning to pre-pandemic activities. Part of that confusion stems from the governments confusing decisions on the recovery roadmap, not to mention personal choices made by individual business owners. Couple all of that with personal preferences regarding when and where to wear masks and maintain social distance and you have a recipe for confusion. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released guidelines for individuals who are fully vaccinated. According to the CDC, if you are fully vaccinated, “You can resume activities without wearing a mask or staying 6 feet apart, except where required by local laws, rules, and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance.”

The first thing we must consider when we talk about a fitness and diet routine we can sustain is actually the meaning of the word sustainable: Sustainable NOUN “The ability to be maintained at a certain rate or level.” So now that you know the meaning of the word sustainable What is this trend that you hear so often called sustainable fitness? It is my life that sustainable fitness is a mindset matter more than It has to do with your gym programme or what diet you follow. When a person has the right mindset to go after what they want, that is often the difference between success and failure. Your mindset is something you can practice for life, at any phase, at any age, at any fitness level. If you want a sustainable fitness plan, you must be in it for the long term. This is not about a quick fix and it is most certainly not about 6 week abs. It’s slow and steady versus a quick fix. It’s reasonable and maintainable over the long haul. It’s fitness you can stick to and get lasting results with. As the old saying goes you need to work hard but you also must work smart. Just because we are talking about taking the sustainable road and playing the long game doesn’t mean you can be stage ready. In fact it means quite the opposite. Rather than a programme that promises 90 day abs, You are building a physique over years and months that won’t disappear as soon as you take a few days off for your summer holiday If I asked you, would you rather get ripped in 90 days? You would probably bite my arm off to work with me! The problem with that is what happens after the 90 days? Programs that promise you these results are often extreme and usually the results are never sustained as the client never knows how to come off their ridiculous diet and exercise regime. If the program claims to be insane, it probably is. My advise is that you should take the time to find an approach that works for you and that you enjoy, this can often take some time but it is definitely worth the effort. The potential for achieving your goals grows exponentially once you figure it out. Until you figure out exactly what it is that works for you here are my suggestions for things to focus on while you search: 1. Consistency Is the King Looking after your body should be enjoyable and something that is the highlight of your day rather than a chore. The problem is that when you begin to do nothing but train and eat foods you hate, you start to hate everything to do with fitness Keep a schedule that is manageable with your lifestyle. And once you find it, do your best to stick to it. 2. Progress is never linear You will have bad days, maybe you went on a chocolate binge or you just couldn’t make it to the gym. The important thing to realise in the long run, 1 day is not an awful lot. Progress will not be linear but if you look back in several months time and you have been consistent, you may just shock yourself by how far you have come. I understand that doing the basics and staying the course with the same training plan and diet can be boring but guess what? It works! We all have bad days but the problem only comes when you let that one day run into a few days or weeks. When that happens, stop worrying or pitting yourself, Just move on and get back on your sustainable regime! 3. Small actions done regularly are no longer small actions It is important to celebrate the small wins you have. You are playing the long game, stop worrying about the end result and start celebrating when you made your steps for a full week or you hit a new PB on the bench. You are in this for the long haul. Little changes add up over time and compound. Similar to money invested in the stock market, your strength will build over time. Short term gains might be easy to attain but those gains can be quickly lost if you don’t sustain them. Add a little bit extra to challenge yourself each week and watch yourself get stronger. 4. Work at a pace you can sustain. If you are going into every workout and absolutely pushing yourself to the max, you are never going to keep that up in the long term. That is not to say you should never go all out and push limits. However, the majority of your workouts should be reasonable and not leave you so sore that you have to take days of rest to recover. 5. Keep It Simple Stupid I have mentioned this earlier but your main focus should be on doing the basics and most importantly doing them well so they become a habit. One of the biggest issues today with sustainable fitness is the social media fitness influencers attract you try try every new training programme they tell you got them ripped in weeks. Just stay focused with mastering the basics and stick to what works.That doesn’t mean you should repeat the same workout forever, but mixing things up all the time doesn’t allow for progression. 6. Understand Where You are If you have never picked up a weight before then seek guidance from a friend or fitness professional. Don’t try to jump into a fitness challenge that you are physically not ready for. Build up to it. 7. Respect Your Limits Something you did in the gym ten years ago may not be relevant today. If you are getting over an injury or getting back to the gym after a long hiatus, start where you are at the moment, not where you were in the past. Be honest and patient with yourself. 8. Be More Active If the global pandemic has shown us anything about the fitness industry, it’s that not every workout needs to take place in the gym. Take a walk, a bike ride, play a sport, or just do mobility work. Everything adds up. Over time, just simply increasing your daily movement can have a huge impact on your results, especially if it’s fat loss you’re chasing. 9. Have a Community If you are embarking on a serious change then it is extremely important to have a support system who keep you going when times get tough. Unfortunately our family and friends don’t often understand why we do things and so you must find likeminded people who do. At my gym Elite Health & Fitness we are huge on community and we always ensure our members know we have their back for anything they need. 10. Pay Attention to Nutrition and Recovery. Exercise is just one part of the equation. Don’t ignore everything else. The most important thing to keep in mind while finding your sustainable fitness is to be flexible. Remember that life will throw challenges at you and you need to adapt. If you stay true to practicing the above, you will have the tools you need to be able to navigate anything life throws your way. Mark. G

Usually when you read about sleep, it tends to talk about lack of sleep and how it can effect your performance and results. I want to address something slightly different in this article, I want to talk to you about sleep extension and how it can impact you. It is widely accepted that sleep is a key aspect to performance and recovery. You would think knowing this, many would prioritise sleep, however over half of the population are still sleep deprived. Government recommendation is that individuals should sleep between 7-9 hours per day to get optimal rest.