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My Top 5.5 Tips to avoiding injury.

Education through a perception of the truth.
Increasing your awareness, taking sufficient and appropriate actions and adapting accordingly is key towards self-improvement. All done in my programs. I love 💓 helping people who strive to help themselves by increasing their awareness… of the power & ❤️Itality within themselves. It’s never too late to learn and UN-learn bad gym (& lifestyle ) training habits learned in different phases of life. Photo: Former pupil – ex Australian Rugby Union Wallaby Captain – Phil Waugh embracing new knowledge. Having a Growth mindset.
Vv

I have been very fortunate that in over twenty three years of training in the gym I have not been seriously hurt in any way. I am very proud to say that in that time I have not seen a physiotherapist or chiropractor for any training-related injury.

I have always been a stickler for form and ideal exercise execution. Always. Accelerated increased awareness from the guidance from some of the best coaches in various fields such as martial arts, power-lifting, boxing, athletics, squash, soccer, hockey, rugby and resistance-training has also contributed heavily to me staying injury-free.

Mastering the basics in any physical endeavour is paramount to you excelling in and enjoying the experience while doing it. Everyone that I have ever helped over the years get educated in applying the basics of training all the time – not some of the time! This loosely applies to most worthwhile goals in life.

Getting injured is a pain. Apart from the physical pain, one has to endure days, weeks or even months of re-habilitation. It can drain one of mental and emotional energy too and be quite costly if the injury is very serious.

Hey, there are many professions that thrive on you getting injured – physiotherapist & chiropractors are two. So, if you’re stubborn in your old habits … just keep doing what you’re doing … & “open your wallets” to them.

Over the years, I have adopted certain routines with deliberate practise (habits) that I believe decreases my chances of getting injured while training in the gym.

Below are 5.5 key tips to help you lower your risk of injury:

Tip # 1: Aim for balance & symmetry.

My whole goal from the very first time I lifted weights was to build a more balanced and symmetrical physique. I believe this is one of the main key factors in me staying injury-free all these years. This is despite me lifting relatively heavy weights for most of this time (especially the two years when I trained for the World Championships in New York).

For example, a lot of people train the ‘mirror muscles’ more than they do the muscle in their posterior chain (muscles you don’t see in the mirror). This leads to asymmetry and muscle group imbalances.

Not a wise thing to do.

Focusing say, on your chest and shoulders and biceps (the ‘show-me-your muscles muscles) and neglecting your upper back muscles like the traps and rear delts and middle back can spell disaster. The most common gym-related injury for young men world-wide are shoulder injuries primarily because of this.

Muscle imbalances lead to increased risk of injury in the respective joints and muscles.

Besides, why do you want to be the strongest or biggest guy when you can build the most balanced and symmetrical physique for your frame. This is more aesthetic and more pleasing to the eye.

So, leave your ego at the door and work towards a better shape – a more balanced and symmetrical physique. If you don’t, you may regret it later.

Results with care.
Here, Brad is ‘feeling the essence’ of the exercise and inching closer to his best self.
He is in total control and ‘feels’ the muscle being worked.
Vv

Tip #2: Be aware of your breathing technique.

I believe incorrect breathing technique is one of the main contributors to getting injured when training in the gym. Keep this in mind – for:

Pushing motions (bench press; shoulder press) – exhale at the point of contraction (when your arms are furthest away from you)

Pulling motions (lat pulldowns; biceps curls) – inhale when your arms are furthest from your torso.

Breathing also helps you with the next tip.

Ex-Australian Wallaby Captain – Phil Waugh performing a set of squats.
Using good exercise technique(which includes proper breathing) is paramount to success.

Tip # 3: Focus!

Concentrating on your breathing and what you are going to do with the weight for those 15 to 45 seconds (a set) is critical to lowering your risk of injury.

Every fibre and cell in your body needs to 100% fully-focused! Don’t get side-tracked by other conversations and mentally block out all distractions. Focusing certainly aids you putting on good lean muscle. Period!

A slight loss of concentration could lead to less than ideal execution of exercise leading to increased levels of risk of injury.

I have developed quite a few formulas relating to peak performance over the years and one of the most important ones is:

“Focus = Results” (a shortened version of my formula).

Tip # 4: Always assess exercise execution with ‘risk:benefit’ ratio mind-set.

What I mean by this is that you need to increase your awareness of the exercises and work on improving your risk assessment of the exercise relating to:

Exercise choice and safety – a particular exercise that may be safe for someone may not be for another.
High-risk lifting – improper execution of certain exercises can increase levels of risk for very small increments in benefit. The range of motion of exercises need to be tied in to the ‘risk:benefit” ratio of the exercise and the trainee’s goals

Always avoid “high-risk’ lifting. This relates to variables such as excessive weights; excessive number of repetitions; excessive range-of-motion and so forth.

Tip # 5.5: Apply correct training principles.

I’ve always believed that building muscle is like LIFE. It relies on two principles:

Simplicity
Continuity

There are many principles to building and keeping muscle and after 23 plus years in the gym I have concluded that the two above and this next two principles – 3) control and 4) feel are key towards lowering your risk of injury.

All beginners and intermediate trainees or less experienced gym enthusiasts should master these before ‘going heavy’.

When you keep it simple and focus on the full range of motion of the exercise with continuous tension, you increase your ability to build good, quality muscle.

Because you are 100% focused and are using the right weight for you to correctly execute the exercise, you have better control and feel. This allows you to ‘work the muscle, not the joint’.

If you can’t control and feel the muscle being worked, you’re not building muscle, only ego.

A lot of people still aspire to the ‘No pain, no gain’ maxim but I think you should not follow this. Listen to your body: never do anything that hurts and don’t train if you hurt yourself or suffer from an existing injury.

results. Vv. “> Chris enjoying a well-deserved rest between sets.
A ‘set’ as I define it is: a continuous progression of 15 to 45 sec ‘focused moments’.
Focus + heart + visualization ===> results.
Vv.

Most injuries happen over time, through cumulative effect of muscular discomfort and micro-scopic tares and inflammation of tendons and ligaments around the joints. Most injuries are the result of an imposed force exceeding the structural strength of the involved body-part.

Don’t copy the super-stars and genetic elite who look and train the way they train because most of the time you don’t know their full story and so this may give you a false sense of direction and could lead to injuries.

Those who don’t do away with the maxim ‘no pain, no gain’ and try to train like the super-stars usually regret it, sooner or later. A better maxim to adopt is ‘No brain, no gain”.

Strive to Train SMART. What I mean by this is that I have always promoted a more conservative approach to training. My own experience and what I have learned from observing countless other trainees – has taught me that a more conservative way to training is not only the most effective but also the safest way to train not only in the short-term but more importantly for your long-term health.

Strive to stay injury-free. You’re in the gym to work on making that person you see in the mirror (you!) – better. Not for ego.

You want to still be doing this activity and off-setting the on-set of ageing (by building muscle) well in to your 80s and 90s if you live that long. It will certainly add quality to your life. Like I have said before, Muscle is the potion of youth!

All the best in your training this year.

Embrace my Triple A to self-improvement: be more aware; take appropriate actions and adapt accordingly to reach your goals in life.

Cheers and Happy January to you!

Until next time,

Just like friendship, genuine muscle requires a lot of time and hard work to be built and sustained.
You do this by adopting an ‘adaptive strategy’ of self-tuning.
Vv.

awareness, basics of training, beauty, better choices, Body shape, change management, choices, Energy, fundamentals, muscles, recreate, self improvement, shoulders, symmetry

Shoulder Boulders.

Retired rugby legend: Ex-Australian Wallaby Champion Captain & True Leader – Phil Waugh.
Setting his own standards of excellence in all areas of his life, following my framework.
Working towards improved balance and symmetry in his life.

One of the most painful sights I see on a man is small shoulders.

When I say ‘small’, I mean that he or she is genetically small on the upper torso width, and I am not talking about ‘lat width’ here. Admittedly, shoulder width is limited by a person’s clavicle width. The smaller the clavicle width, the smaller the shoulder width.

Some blokes accentuate this problem though. In the gym, they focus on their chests, arms and back and forget about their shoulder widths – the very thing that adds to the elusive ‘x-frame’ that every man strives for in shape in his life.

The elusive ‘x-frame’ is somewhat a rare commodity in the modern-day masculine shape. If a man has a narrow clavicle width, he starts out with an disadvantage but he does not have to stay that way. How could he address this problem? Well, the smartest thing to do is to lift weights and to build the shoulder muscles. And what are they?

Well, firstly – they help define (from a physical point of view) what a true man is. I know this statement is rather old fashion and somewhat controversial, but I believe it still holds true. A man’s man is partially defined according to the shoulders he has on him.

Obviously, this is not the only point of ‘being a man’ but it does contribute to the aura of what it means to be a man. Secondly, no man in his right mind would not want bigger shoulders than he already has. In my opinion, the bigger the better. Bigger is better in this aspect. Full stop!

The shoulder muscles are used every time you push or pull or twist your upper torso. That means every time you use your arms. They are some of the most used muscles in the body since you were a toddler.

The shoulder muscles are composed of three distinct muscle heads – the posterior, the medial and the anterior deltoids. All three heads need a good delicate balance throughout. This can be enhanced through weight training.

A good sequence of exercises could include:

Barbell presses.
Barbell upright rows.
Dumbell side lateral raises.
Rear dumbbell later raises.
Dumbell shrugs.

The pursuit of harmony (balance & symmetry) poses a few challenges to help us get closer to its achievement.
To achieve order and beauty one needs to strive to wade through chaos (disorder) in everything one does.

Like I said earlier, one of the most painful sights (from an aesthetic point of view) is to see a grown man with less than ideal shoulder width. Most men fall short of the ideal ‘x-frame’ width. Most men have the choice to do something about it. Most men can help build those shoulder boulders with a application of a well thought-out weight-training program.

Another important point I would like to stress is that what is most important is not that you have ‘big’ shoulders. No, anyone can have big shoulders! What is most important is to develop the ‘caps’ on those shoulders. Shoulder width is all about ‘caps’, not so much muscle meat.

So, work on your width with weights. Yes, I encourage that.

But when you do, remember to build those ‘twin caps’. Remember to ‘cap’ those delts (short for deltoids). There’s a lot more to just lifting weights when it comes to sculpturing your physique. Like I have always said, anyone can lift weights, but very few ever learn how to sculpt a physique, just like anyone can swim, but very few can swim like an Olympian.

Part of the key: Focus.

All the very best in your workouts.

All the very best in your search for balance and symmetry. All the very best in your search for beauty. As Keats said “Beauty is truth and truth, beauty. “ How true. You get closer to beauty through the search for balance and symmetry or elegance in all areas of your life.

The physique is one area/aspect. Keep it simple.

So, build those delts, those shoulders but most importantly, build those ‘caps’. It is those caps that will help you attain that elusive ‘x-frame’.

Awaken the sculpture, the artist in you. Build those shoulder boulders!

Let loose …

Until next time,

2007 World Natural Bodybuilding Championships staged in NY, USA. Represented: Australia. Placing: 4th. Judged criteria heavy on balance and symmetry.

2007 World Natural Bodybuilding Championships staged in NY, USA.
Represented: Australia.
Placing: 4th.
Judging criteria heavy on balance and symmetry.

Back Double Biceps – few days out from the Australian Natural Bodybuilding Championships
Result: 2nd in Australia.
Here, you can see the “x-frame” and shoulder boulders in action. Takes years of focused work.

adaptation, awareness, body, Body shape, body weight

Bulking up vs building up.

Using my framework to help individuals of all ages, shapes and sizes to help themselves become THE BEST they IMAGINE THEMSELVES TO BE.
Photo: an A+ pupil Phil Waugh – retired Legend of Rugby, Ex-Australian Wallaby & Waratah Captain.
Knowing is potential power. Doing is Real Power. Knowing the right time to apply both is essential to goal achievement.

I have heard many, many reasons of wanting to lift weights from people in the gym over the last 23 years. Many myths are still being propagated too.

There is one such myth that still exists regarding the approach to take to building muscle and that is – “bulking up”.

A lot of men think that “bulking up’ equates to putting on muscle. They think it is the best or only way of building up their muscles. They think that just because they have put on 5kg in a month means that they have built 5kg of muscles.

I have news for you: It does not work that way!

I see it all the time, young men (and dare I say women, too) believing the myth that if they go through a ‘bulking up’ phase, they would see extra muscles when they trimmed down.

In my 23 years of weight training I have put on close to 15kg of lean body mass – not weight, muscle! That’s just over half kilo of lean muscle per year. Not much when you view it this way aye?

Yeah, but taking the ‘tortoise approach’ to building muscle is not the key message. Building up is important, yes, holding on to the hard-earned muscle is more important. Remember this: build it up, then do everything in your power to hang on to those precious muscles.

You see, in all these years, I have not gone out and purposely aimed to ‘bulk up’. I have always seen myself as a work-in-progress and have always been (and still am) in the ‘building up’ stage even after all these years. There are just different phases of ‘building up’.

Muscle does not convert in to fat and fat does not convert in to muscle. Period!

You should not try to gain weight just for the sake of it in an effort to look bigger or ‘bulk up’. Building quality lean body mass (muscle) takes time and patience and relies heavily on genetic pre-dispositions.

With the goal of bulking up, it would highly likely be that a high percentage of your bulk weight would come from unwanted fat. Yes, you will put on bulk and weight but you will look ‘smooth’ and fat deposits will settle on areas of your body that you may not be happy about.

When you have a mind-set of ‘building up’ your muscle density, you encourage your body to become more metabolically efficient because every hard-earned muscle ounce you build becomes a ‘fat-burning dynamo’! Your engine room or metabolism (the rate at which your body burns energy) gets bigger and bigger. I could liken it to a small car engine (say a 1.8L) compared to an 8.0L or a V8.

Fully focused!
A true warrior & champion.
Focusing on making every repetition of every set of every exercise as ideal as possible.
Practise does not make perfect – Perfect practise makes perfect!
Photo: Retired Champion Ex-Australian Wallaby & Waratahs Captain and player in action under my watchful eyes.

More muscle equals more engine power (even at rest)!

Huge difference in energy consumption and power output. Huge difference in body composition and ultimately body shape. The mirror would reflect this.

You feel better, you look better and you wear your clothes better. You make the clothes ‘look good’!

Working out with the goal of building up a physique is far safer and a smarter way to go about your weight training than simply aiming to bulk up just to trim down later. You don’t have to work hard to lose what you put on in the first place.

So, focus on building up rather than bulking up.

Keep your training continuous and simple. Aim to put on good, quality, lean body mass (muscle). It might take longer but it is better. So what does it take? It takes vision (of a better you), a workable plan and the work ethic (discipline, consistency and persistence) to execute, with patience.

We all know that life is not a dress-rehearsal. Do you live every day like it was your last? Ask yourself: Have you got what it takes?

To build muscle, remember to leave your ego at the door of the gym and remind yourself that it is body-shape, not body-weight that matters.

Compare, say, a 75kg person with 15% body-fat than a 75kg person with 35% body-fat. They both weigh the same, but they will have totally different body-shapes and the latter person would more than likely have higher health risks.

This is why only focusing on your body-weight and not your body-shape (body composition) does not give you the full picture. Always aim to increase your muscle : fat ratio.

So, aim for building up rather than bulking up and help yourself manage one of your physical health and life risks.

Build up that engine room. Build up that ‘revving power’!

Then ….

Drive safely through the roads you decide to take as you journey through your life.

All the best!

Until next time,

Side triceps pose.
Contest: Australian Natural Bodybuilding Titles.
Placing: 2nd.

With another woman, backstage.
A fan.

All B&W photos by: Robert Walsh of Robert Walsh Photography. Visit: “www.robertwalsh.com.au” and see how this great artist may be able to help you. Vv.

action, awareness, belief systems, Beliefs, body, choices, Energy, game of life, Imagination, life, long-term perspective, mind, muscles, perspective, planning, respect, self-image, truths, workout, you

Top 3 Keys to a successful workout. Key #2: Elegance.

February 2015.
At my old school gym, just about to do a set of barbell biceps curls or
what I would sometimes refer to as ‘loading the guns with ammunition’.
Hope you’re wearing your bullet-proof vests, take cover!

One of the many things I have learned early in life is that the “big truth” will always beat the “big lie”. The truth is we are more than meets the eye – but having a physique sure makes a difference in how people treat and react to us.

What is that saying that we’ve all heard growing up – “Don’t judge a book by its cover”.

Well, it is lovely and idealistic but the truth is we all do. The whole world does, every single day in everything we do. Matter of fact it is how one of the many public games is played on this planet. That is one of the many less than ideal characteristics of most human beings – we all judge things we ‘see’ by how they ‘look’.

That is just how we are wired.

Packaging for products is vital to the successful sales as it directly influences consumer purchasing behaviour and ultimately the ‘bottom-line’. Manufacturers know this and marketers get huge dollars for helping them do this.

Now, another thing I have learned in over 23 years in the fitness industry is that Self-perception or how we see ourselves, greatly determines how we look.

You see, “Inner image creates outer image”. Now, I know there are some idealists that may disagree, and that is fine. On the whole, this statement runs true for all of us. But here is one of the interesting things, one of the encouraging possibilities – it is one’s perception of one’s self that creates greater possibilities.

Drop your past when need be, when it does not serve you any longer. Let go of beliefs and belief systems that does not add any value to your current phase of life. Remove beliefs that limit you, beliefs that do not allow you to reach for your best self.

In my experience, another key element that makes up a successful workout is – elegance. I think this is attained if you’re natural and genuine, searching for an artistic approach (sculpturing as opposed to just lifting weights) and having a great appreciation for “balance and symmetry” (another definition for beauty).

Not many people ever get to this level and truly experience the ‘essence of each and every rep of each exercise’. Just as not all golfers ever play as effortlessly as a Tiger Woods or a professional on a golf course, instead with constant frustration of under-performing handicaps.

Just because you can hit a ball with a club does not necessarily mean that you will hit it in the direction of the hole. This is the same as lifting weights in the gym for the majority of people – you see, anyone can lift weights but only a few ever learn the art of body-building and choosing the right exercise (club) for the right moment (set etc).

Elegance in your workouts or the ‘search for balance and symmetry’ is hard to describe but I find it easy to recognize when I see it. You see it when top sports-persons play for example – Roger Federer gracefully hitting returns on the tennis courts or Jonathan Thurston having all the time in the world to kick in rugby league and effortlessly creating a play out of nothing. Or Maria Sharapova gliding across the courts or Usain Bolt bolting like lightening on the 100m track.

It is sheer beauty, ultimate elegance displayed before your eyes. Very few things can beat the feeling you get from witnessing ‘elegance in action’.

Making elegance part of you or what you do is a reflection of attitude combined with aptitude but taken to the HIGHEST LEVEL with the ambition of being the BEST. To achieve this takes the gifts of Energy and talent harnessed with a magnifying focus towards BEING THE BEST YOU CAN BE.

It requires hours and hours of not just practise – but deliberate practise with sustained FOCUS over many years.

Elegance fascinates me because I believe there is something eternal about it.

So, a successful workout for me is elegant (efficient, effective and a little sophisticated). This is similar to what we call –

FREEDOM … in dancing
SELF-EXPRESSION … in relationships
Being in the ZONE … in sports
EXCELLENCE … in work
NATURAL … in family
Looking HOT … in Sex
MAKING A DIFFERENCE … in Society
Getting the JOB DONE …. in business

So, there you go. After 23 years of working out in the gym, and my love of reasoning from and making deductions from patterns observed, my 2^nd key to achieving a successful workout is simply: Elegance.

Strive for this if you haven’t already done so.

It is more efficient, effective and reduces the risks of injury giving you longevity and more years of enjoyment.

Learn to learn, again.

Strive towards the new man (or woman) that resides in you, with elegance in mind.

All the best in your journey.

Until next time,

Side Triceps.
Australian Natural Bodybuilding Championships.
Lost by 2 points.
Final placing: Runner-up.

With my friend and coach at that time – 2 x World Number 1 (natural bodybuilder).

action, awareness, body, Body shape, Energy, Goals, habits, long-term strategy, mind, muscles, planning, respect, risk, workout

Take care of your “set of wheels”.

2007 World Natural Bodybuilding Championships staged in NY, USA.
Represented: Australia.
Placing: 4th.
Repeated this in 2008.

Now, I know some of you may love your cars and affectionately refer to them in many ways, including a ‘set of wheels’, and I am sure many of you take good care of your set of wheels. Let me tell you a story about the first time I heard that phrase.

One day, early on in my body-building years, during a break from my ‘set’, I gazed out the window and down at the cars parked on the road (the gym was on the 1^st floor), when the owner, came up to me and said –

“Son, you’ve got a good set of wheels there.”

I said “umm, no none of those cars there are mine. I jogged to the gym”.

He laughed and said that he wasn’t referring to the cars as he looked down at my legs. He pointed to my legs and said –

“those wheels – you’ve got a good set of wheels!”

I was a little embarrassed about the mis-understanding but I thanked him for the compliment.

Over the last 23 years of training with weights in the gym, I have managed to invest more time in those wheels he was referring to and the other body parts, with the goals of – balance and symmetry in mind. Sculpturing the most proportional physique that my genetic potential would allow. This harmony of the ‘flow-of-muscle’ has helped me represent Australia twice at the World Natural Body-building Championships and placed in the top 4 in consecutive years.

In all this time, I can proudly say that I have managed to stay relatively injury-free and have not seen a physio or chiro in that time for any serious injury. One of the contributing reasons is that how much weight I lift has been close to irrelevant to building my muscles and being considered one of the best natural body-builders in the world. What matters is QUALITY not QUANTITY. I have a ‘safety-first’ approach to training that does not hinder me or my client’s achieving the goals they desire.

I have never allowed the amount of weight I lift to be a critical factor of my progress. What mattered to be me has always been two things:

Control
Feel

If I am not feeling the muscle and am not in control of the weight I am lifting then I am not building muscles in the most effective way. I am not maximizing my muscle growth potential. I always believed that to build good, quality muscle, one has to ‘leave ones’ ego at the door of the gym’.

I have seen it since I started lifting weights all those years ago and I still see it today, sadly, in increasing numbers amongst youth today – people using too much weight.

Aiming to build better wheels by using too much weight for movements like squats is like trying to bench too much, bouncing the bar off your chest and generally with very poor form. Not good at all. Flat Bench pressing with too much weight has been the primary reason that shoulder injuries is the most common injury sustained by men world over.

Not worth it, not good.

Why would you want to do that – overestimate how much weight you can lift or perform countless repetitions of a particular exercise with very bad form and for no particular purpose? Most people unfortunately use a scatter-gun approach to training and hope that what they are doing will get them to their goals.

So, back to my set of wheels analogy story, unless you just happen to have very strong legs and can train with huge poundages easily and copy the mass monsters you see on you-tube, there is just no need to try to squat 600 to 800 pounds.

As with any other body-part, use the appropriate amount of weight for the set/rep scheme you’re using, no more and no less. You need to remind yourself that you’re in the gym to train the muscle, not to impress the people around you with how much weight you can lift.

I have always said you should aim to “work the muscle, not the joint”.

So, it follows that if you’re aiming to build muscle and a more aesthetic, pleasing physique, remember that the actual amount of weight you use is irrelevant. You’re body-building, not power-lifting or weight-lifting or any other modern-day activities that are “off-shoots” of body-building, where measurements and numbers play a pivotal role. Knowing how much weight you can press or how many repetitions you can perform is how millions of weight-training enthusiasts all over the world, injure themselves.

Work on your set of wheels and build them with control and feel, with continuous tension and simplicity. Maximize muscle and minimise risks to knee joints.

Take care of your set of wheels, don’t damage them beyond repair. You don’t want to have to replace your knees and hips too early in your life.

Build your brawn with brain. Remember: You’re in the gym to help yourself, not hurt yourself.

Train hard. Train SMART.

Until next time,

Back lats spread a few weeks prior to the Australian Natural Bodybuilding Titles.
Placing: 2nd in Australia.

A slight variation on the compulsory "Front Double Biceps' bodybuilding pose. With this one ... I'd say you reach for the stars. Contest: 2007 World Natural Bodybuilding Championships held in NY, USA. Ranked: 4th Best Natural Bodybuilder in the World.

A slight variation on the compulsory “Front Double Biceps’ – a signature pose of mine.
Contest: 2007 World Natural Bodybuilding Championships held in NY, USA.
Ranked: 4th Best Natural Bodybuilder in the World.

action, awareness, Body shape, dreams, Energy, game of life, Goals, Imagination, muscles, risk, workout, you

The BEST workouts – the fusion of chaos and structure.

Relaxed with dumbells.

After 23 years of gym training, I would define my best workouts as what the subject heading states.

The best workouts are the ones that ‘flow’. It is the fusion or culmination of chaos and structure.

You want your workouts to be a continuous progression of 15 to 60 second ‘focused moments’ within a rough plan. Chaos and structure fused together. You want a workout to hang together like a champion team with many muscle parts moving along cohesively as ‘one’ with one objective.

So, how do you make your workouts more orderly and have structure? How do you go from the myriad of workout possibilities and the chaos of research and conception to the necessary order of the actual workout? How do you choose between low reps or high reps? Which is better? Should you use heavy weights or moderate weights or feather weights? How long should you rest between sets? So many questions, so many answers.

Its neither in the questions nor the answers. Its in the intention. Your intention.

It can all get quite confusing and overwhelming, so much so that it would stop well-intentioned beginners in their tracks enough to quit even before they get started. Very sad indeed. They have so much information, most of which contradicts one another and so it leaves them with a feeling of not knowing where to start.

What I have always tried to do in almost all areas of my life is to manage my funnels better, to keep things simple. This includes my approach to my gym training. Keep this in mind.

When it comes to muscle, building quality muscle it is very similar to life itself. It builds on two principles:

1. Simplicity
2. Continuity

Here’s what I find helps:

1.Visualize and simulate.

In other words I try to arrive at my completed workout (in my mind) before I begin it.

I always have a ‘rough plan’ in mind. Here, a rough plan is like the scaffolding of a non-existing building, its there and provides structure and a bit of security but I don’t usually stick to it like glue. Nope, most of the time I do something completely different.

So, I have a rough plan – but I don’t stick to it!

“Why have a plan?” you may be thinking.

Well, I have found over the years that a rough plan will serve you better than an elaborate one or none at all when it comes to getting the best experience and results from workouts. You see, workouts generally have a way of making itself up as you go along due to the many variables you are faced with when you are in the gym within a rough plan.

Some variables you may likely experience is fluctuating energy levels, unavailability of machines, lack of focus, lack of sleep, rude patrons and so on.

2. Know what your goals are: be specific and then stick to it!

Whilst a rough plan is ideal, knowing what your specific training goals are is critical and will serve you much better than a general, loose one. You need to know what it is you’re trying to achieve before you go lift any kind of weights. What are you striving for – strength, power, endurance, better shapely physique? For example, if you want to train for strength then training like a marathon runner in the gym will highly likely end in disappointment.

Know where you stand and where you mean to go and be very clear about it. A workout is also not meant to be a walk in the park or sleep walk!

3. Dream it before you lift it.

Workouts are usually more enjoyable and shorter when its been thought through first. That is what I have concluded in my over two decades of deliberate practice of contracting and extending skeletal muscles in my entire body.

I ask myself questions – what am I trying to do here with this set of this particular exercise? What am I trying to achieve? How well am I doing each rep of each set of each exercise? What am I trying to feel after doing it? What am I looking for? Unless you’ve got answers to those questions, you’d better keep your hands away from those weights or don’t rush in to it or you may increase your risk of injuries. Better still, seek help from a suitably experienced professional.

Whilst training goals and a rough plan gives you structure and order the danger is that you can spend all your time planning and doing nothing. The truth is we discover weight training through training. Its that simple. You do your hardest training doing the training, the actual physical lifting – not in your mind.

A workout process gives you that sense of achievement at its completion among other things. Out of the process of its own unraveling. Out of the process itself chaotic – the thinking of the sets of the exercises and the order of the exercises that make up each workout and then the execution of the actual physical workout.

.. the road ahead ..

It is through trial and error and deliberate practice over time that a genuine gym enthusiast discovers what it is he or she is really trying to achieve and how he or she needs to bind it together in some order – some framework. He finds his or her muscle success formula.

You may find you asking yourself how each set you doing of a particular exercise contributes to your physical goal. I know I have always done so and still do.

If you’re diligent enough you may find yourself getting to the end of each set doing it rhythmically, economically and competently and moving progressively towards your specific goals. This is ideal.

You may find yourself feeling one of the best feelings you could feel in your lifetime, a feeling that only a few gym enthusiasts feel. I have trained people that have trained for over 30 years and have not felt this feeling.

This is a feeling that is as elusive as the Tasmanian tiger. You see anyone can lift weights but not many people get to learn to lift weights the right way and really ‘feel’ what you’re meant to feel in the worked muscle and your whole body. All my clients past and present feel it in their workouts. Its a gift from me to them.

A feeling that all bodybuilders refer to as the ‘pump’.

A feeling that I call the ‘essence’. A feeling that is climaxed through the ideal reps of the ideal set which makes for the best workout – the fusion of chaos and structure in and out of the gym. Its almost like daily living in some ways.

… but that essence ain’t vanilla essence!

You friend in muscle and body transformation success,

Until next time,

adaptation, awareness, balance, better choices, Body shape, body weight, choices, diet, eating, game of life, habits, happiness, Imagination, life, muscles, needs, responsibility, self discipline, self-respect, you, your life

Eating Right actually takes less time than you think. Tip # 6: Eat more snacks!

Educating a top national sprinter of the importance of proper nutrition for recovery & growth for optimal performance

Eating more snacks

How good is that?!

Eating more snacks, that is. It makes us all feel good just reading that tip. Gives you some mental peace of mind, a release valve when you’re on a ‘slimming diet’ program or just contemplating the thought of going months on end saying ‘no’ to all the good food you’re used to eating.

It can be quite difficult for many to create what I refer to as your own self-imposed ‘purity bubble’ when everyone around you is consuming everything. In abundance. Yes, indeed, it can be very difficult.

Your saving grace is your imagination.

The more vivid your imagination is of the image you visualize yourself to be, the less difficult it is to maintain that purity bubble. Your desire and need for this has to be greater than your need for instant gratification from temptation in the short-term. You goal (image) could be to ….

… To look and feel better about yourself at Christmas, say.

My tip of eating more snacks will assist in your journey towards this goal. Phew, finally, a nutritional tip that agrees with the majority of us! Finally, a tip that we all want to do more of and yes, the more snacks you consume, the better.

But not too fast now … there are conditions though.

There is a definite ‘mind-muscle’ connection. Train your muscles to train & exercise your brain and help it release all those necessary life-affirming hormones to flood your body … needed nutrition for the cells and soul. Try it.

there are conditions

This tip should take you less than 4 minutes flat!

Add that to the running total of my previous Top 5 Tips which was thirteen minutes.

Sum of estimated time taken to perform the Top 6 Tips = 17 minutes. A whopping 17 minutes (or 1020 seconds) out of your busy day with the goal of eating right.

Just to remind you that these Top Ten Tips to eating right also has another goal and that is to demonstrate to you that it should take you less than 30 minutes (1800 seconds) out of your day to eat right. And why is this important to you and worth your body, mind and spirit’s time? Because it is important to provide the best ‘mix’ of raw materials to the being, the machine, the energy-ball that is – YOU.

I am not going to go in to why snacking is important. I have elaborated on this in a previous blog “snacking. The more, the better”.

What I am going to do is give you a list of some good snacks you should carry with you every day before you leave the house for work, play or socialize. Whether you’re a vegetarian or an omnivore, we all still get most of our protein from the three main meals – breakfast, lunch and dinner. And, before you get the wrong idea, by snack I don’t mean cupcakes and fries!

Nope, I refer to a well-composed small meal on the run.

Your life is a continous journey of setting, failing and succeeding in goals … until you …
kick the bucket!
Keep moving forward, I say!

The choice of what you eat is always yours

Whilst food is analysed to shreds keep this one fact in mind for simplicity’s sake: once any form of carbohydrate is eaten (whether its fast burning or slow burning), your body converts all carbohydrates to sugar. So, from that standpoint all sources of carbs are equivalent. However, what is different from the types of snacks I will be listing below and junk choices are essential input the body needs.

Essentials such as fiber, the vitamins and minerals and some cancer-fighting phyto-chemicals found in vegetables and fruits.

At the end of the day, the choice of what you eat is always yours, but so are the level of risks attached to those choices and the consequences likely to occur to your health. Your life.

Choose wisely.

Carbohydrate (Carb) comparisons examples:

1 marshmallow = 1 medium raw carrot = 7 cups mushrooms = 420g (3 ½ cups) of broccoli = ½ cup melon = ½ orange = ¼ very small potato = 1/7 Mars Bar = 1/3 medium banana = 7 jelly beans = 14 cups fresh lettuce = 3 french fries!

Interesting calorie to volume ratios relating to just a small sample comparison, isn’t it?

The snacks below provide approximately 5g or less. If you’re hitting the weights in the gym, add a protein shake (with low carbs or no carbs) to these to ensure that you’re getting adequate levels of protein for muscle repair and growth. A serving should give you between 20g and 30g additional protein.

½ medium avocado = 1 medium carrot = 1 cup frozen spinach = 1 medium tomato = ½ cup diced eggplant = ¼ cup blueberries = ½ cup strawberries = ½ cup snap beans.

Other snack options:

Sandwich (light bread, 30g meat) P:C = 7g:7g

Apple/cheddar slices (1/4 apple/30g cheese) P:C = 7g:1g

Cottage cheese (1/4 cup) P:C = 7g:2g

Hard-boiled egg (1 large) P:C = 6g: 0.6g

Lean meat slices (30g) P:C = 7g: 0.1g

Walnuts (30g) P:C = 4g: 5g

Macadamia (30g) P:C = 3g: 4g

An exhaustive list of ideal snacks? No. Rightly so.

Homework for you: try to become more aware of what you’re consuming. Start measuring the food you eat. We measure everything else – how much money we spend; how much time you spend at work; what size coffee you want; buying a new pair of shoes or trousers.

Measuring is part of our every-day life. We’re constantly measuring. Why not start measuring your food intake. Buy yourself a food scale and measure your foods. Make it habit. To make it habit, repeat to remember and remember to repeat. Like a good pair of shoes, make your food ‘mix’ fit right. For you – the YOU, you want to be (in a few months perhaps).

There you have it, my 6^th Tip of my series of Top Ten Tips to a better you, this summer.

If by some chance, a part of you, a part of your goal is to lose excess body fat – and for most people who suffer from insulin resistance, it is – this tip, along with the previous five and the next four will be good for you. It will offer you one of the easiest and most effective system available (through the power of habit) for doing that quickly, safely and sustainably.

Two common questions I have heard from the many hundreds of people I have helped over the last two decades is:

How quick can I lose weight and how long will it take to reach my goal?
How much food can I eat each day?

Before you seek answers to this, my tip to you is try adopting my Top Ten Tips in to your daily life. Work it in to your lifestyle. The metabolic adaptations that occurs in your body as a result of falling insulin and the increased sensitivity achieved triggers off many good things.

Your improved sensitivity to insulin will in turn increase the rate at which you burn calorie (even at rest) and you will find the new you, sooner than you think.

Act.

Adapt.

…. And give you a little bit more peace of mind.

Good luck in your choices.

Until next time,

Do the Right Thing, ALWAYS.

action, adaptation, awareness, Body shape, diet, eating, habits

My Top Ten Tips to ‘trimming the fat’ off your meals in your day in a matter of seconds.

Re-engineering your body to where you want to be is hard. Matter of fact it can be very difficult for some. It can be like asking an amateur golfer to play in the Pro Ranks and win! One of the reasons that it can be especially difficult for some is that there are so many conflicting information out there.

People get confused. And confusion leads to inaction at worst. You see, everyone has a little bit of information and knows a little bit of everything but very few know exactly how everything, every piece of the jig-saw puzzle is put together. In an efficient, effective and above all – safe manner.

Fat intake, for example is one variable that delays the search for a better you. Below are ten habits I carry out in my daily life that helps me maintain or lower my fat levels and which does not take much time at all to implement. Try working these jig-saw puzzle pieces in to your daily life.

Today.

1. Choose only one. When eating cheese or cheese products (say a plate of assorted cheese and biscuits), choose only one cheese variety and stick to this during your ‘snacking’. You can change the biscuit but only choose the one cheese. My favourite is Blue Cheese. So, choose well.

> Calories saved (approx.): anywhere between 400 and 1000 cal.

2. Spice things up! I use hot chillie powder or whole chillies on almost every meal I have during the day. Has a thermo-genic effect (or heats up the body which in turn forces the body to burn more energy, even at rest). People mostly add sugar to their cereals in the mornings. You may not want to burn your tongue and taste buds with chillie so try substituting cinnamon on your foods. We all need a bit of spice in our lives! My wife, Cathy loves adding cinnamon to her breakfast meals. Your food or drink will taste just sweet but without the extra sugar calories.

> Calories saved (approx.): 15 cal per teaspoon.

3. Choose soft over hard. Choose versions of butter, cheese or cream if you use these on your breads for meals. There is less calories per serving in soft versions than the dense-packed hard ones. I like using cottage cheese or ricotta cheese on my crackers and breads. Has a better protein to fat ratio.

> Calories saved (approx.): 150 to 200 cal per 30g (serving)

4. Slice and dice. Applies if you enjoy eating sandwiches or wraps. Finely slicing and dicing cheeses can cover the same amount of space (and taste) with half the quantity (and calories). Less quantity is less fat storage on your body.

> Calories saved (approx.): 100 to 150 cal.

5. Pizza please! My wife makes pizza with our kids once a week at most. They enjoy making it. We keep it simple. A nice thin base with a touch of tomato paste and simple topping. Make your pizza for you and your family … and eat it too! Less is best when applying cheese. Also, the choice of cheese is important. Regular pizza cheese has more calories so go for feta cheese of goat cheese. Refer to tip # 1. Less topping on pizza is best. So, add one or two vegetable toppings to add volume and make you fuller sooner.

> Calories saved (approx.): 200 to 300 cal.

6. Eat cold. Try eating your cooked lean meat cold. Yep, cold. I take my meals wherever I go. I tend to eat a lot of my meals cold. I have found that eating food for its functional value and at a lower temperature makes you eat less. Try it if you’re serious about losing unwanted fat. I know, I know, food is more enjoyable when it’s hot but keep in mind that this tip is to trim off fat – also done by reducing calorie intake per serving. This is what happens when you eat food cold.

7. Eat your treats. Sometimes, it is very difficult for people to give up all the treats that they love to eat with their foods when asked to do so. I have found that a big reason for people not undergoing or not sustaining any body transformation program is the ‘thought’ or ‘idea’ of giving up things they find pleasurable for any length of time is torturous. I understand. Pleasurable things like – food, for example. I totally understand. That is why this tip is about ‘whining off’ the treats like a baby is to its mother’s milk.

> Strategy: try halving or even reducing down to a third of every portion of treat you currently taking. That includes all condiments on foods – tomato sauce, cheeses, salts, humous, jams etc.

8. Soak it up. If you’re like me and you like eating fried food – in olive oil, then do so. However, after applying oil on the pan, use a paper-towel of sort and soak and spread it around the pan. Here’s the next important thing: place the fried chicken, beef and other lean meat on to paper towel. This further soaks up the fat. Less in you. Less chance of putting on unwanted fat.

9. Freeze it. Freezing cooked meat allows separation of the excess fat. You could also cook food in advance and in bulk. Leave just enough in the refrigerator for the day and put the rest in the freezer for the following days. It will save you time and save you calories as you will have food available to eat almost immediately when you feel the need to eat.

10. Be the surgeon you know you are. Every man is a doctor or specifically a surgeon (you see it in action around the bbq) out there. Yes, all you men out there – whip out the best knife you’ve got and perform surgery on the piece of meat(s) you have ready in front of you to cook. Slice off the fatty parts of the meat like the best surgeons in the world. Slice off fat that is hanging off the bone, clinging to the meat, parts that is obvious to the eye, normally the skin of chicken and the side portions of steaks and pork cuts. Be the best surgeon you’ve always wanted to be. Slice away, meticulously and slice away unwanted fat from entering your mouth in the first place. Remember: less in the mouth equates to less time spent exercising in the gym.

> Approx. time (depending on size of meat): 30 to 60 seconds.

There you go, my current Top Ten Tips to a less fatty YOU. I can almost guarantee that with the right attitude and desire for a better you and the consistent implementation of these tips, you will not only stop putting on unnecessary fat but also lose fat. Lose fat around the gutt (for men, maybe even aim for a ‘6-pack’ but not of the beer variety) and arms (for women) and butt (for both men and women).

Make it habit.

Obviously, there are other variables like exercise etc but try putting in action these top ten tips to trimming fat and see how you look in a month or two.

This is meant to make your life easier. So, don’t waste any more time. Set your goals and start sailing towards your destination. Now.

You are now Aware. Apply Action and most importantly Adapt yourself to a changing life-style choice.

All the best in your journey towards a better, more improved YOU as you head through the last quarter of 2015. All the best to you in your endeavour to closing the gap between how you imagine yourself to be and how you actually look in the mirror.

Focus!

Until next time,

In the heat of competition.
Pose name: Abdominal/Thighs.
Place in contest: 1st.

adaptation, Body shape, body weight, habits

Eating Right actually takes less time than you think: Tip # 5.

I like this hat.

Tip # 5: Make one equal half.

There are many ways to lose weight.

Many.

You could do it the healthy way or you could do it the unhealthy way. Your definition of ‘healthy’ may differ from mine, as I have found over the many years I have assessed clients’ diets.

A big part of successful body re-engineering or transformation is ensuring that you are on a ‘healthy’ diet which is aligned with your end goal in mind. Typically, before I am even given a chance to assess peoples’ diets, they usually say something along the lines of “… oh Paul, you know, I eat healthy … “ or “ … no problems with my diet. I eat healthy all the time.”

Your life. Your choice. I understand that. I accept that I cannot help everybody, but I will do my very best to reach out to the many readers (like you) around the world who take the time to read my blogs. Hopefully, each one you read adds some value to your life.

A wise man told me this over five years ago now, when he saw that I was upset for a client who sabotaged their own progress by giving in to temptation.

He said “ Paul, don’t be upset my son. You cannot save everyone. Especially those who don’t want to be saved.”

I have never forgotten that. You can only do so much.

Something that we all need to remember as we serve those around us, and particularly if you’re lucky enough to be doing what you love to do. A big bonus indeed. But, we must continue to love to serve those who love what we do, to the best we can perform them, without prejudice.

Until proven wrong.

That is just an integral part of life’s journeys. Each and every one of us’s – JOURNEY: CHOICES.

Most weight loss diet programs work. Yes. And how do we know this? Well, a pictorial representation of “ before” and “after” is normally displayed as proof of success, with a bucket load of testimonials. Wow!

Healthy? Some are. Many, are not.

There are many unhealthy ways of losing weight, too. One should not just focus on the scale and make decisions on the change of scale weight when undergoing body transformation programs. It could not only be mis-leading but also unhealthy, especially if you’re not including resistance training or weight training a pivotal part of your journey.

I’ll give you an example: I lost 5kg in absolute terms when I went on the ‘drip’ for four days when I was admitted to hospital in 2007 for a complication. Was it a healthy way to lose weight? Nope!

The worst part of losing weight in an unhealthy fashion is how it made you feel. I felt this feeling when I was in hospital for almost a week. You lose that sense of vitality. You feel weak. You don’t feel like your usual self. Essentially, you feel like cr#p!

Yes, I know this is an extreme and abnormal circumstance but the point I am trying to make is that it is not a ‘healthy way’ to lose weight. Just like so many fad diets that have come and gone over the years. Losing weight just for the sake of losing weight should not be the goal as it is body-shape (your muscle to fat ratio) and your ‘waist-to-hip ratio’, not body weight, that matters.

The scale does not know that. The scale still tries to make you feel better by indicating your loss of weight. The questions you’ve got to ask yourself is:

Is this good for me? What is the risk/benefit ratio?
Is this sustainable? (Can I work it in to my life-style?)
What is the opportunity cost? Short-term and long-term?

Now, I want to get to the gist of this latest tip – Top Five of my Top Ten Tips to eating right and proving to you that it actually takes less time than you think.

Every day.

So, you’ve got this far with your body transformation. You’re either implementing my last four tips (if you’re serious about learning) or you’re still eating the way you’re eating. And wishing the excess blubber (weight) you’re carrying around your waist and butt and thighs and arms (those ‘tuck-shop’ arms ladies) would just melt away.

Melt away before summer. Before you hit the beach. Melt away so that you can fit back in to those summer shorts you wore three years ago. When you were a little smaller, perhaps.

Well, you cannot do that by sitting around and wish the excess will just ‘melt away’.

Wishful thinking!

Can you spare 2 minutes?

Well, if you’re still eating the same way and find it difficult to adopt a more ‘green’ approach. Fine. This tip requires you to just halve all meals you are currently eating. Specifically – cutting your carbohydrates in half. Yep, that’s right, half!

What are some typical sources of carbohydrates eating for breakfast, lunch and dinner and snacks, I hear some say? Examples include – bread, pasta, rice, biscuits, wraps, potatoes. Put simply, if it white-powder based, halve your consumption of it.

Easy, right? Wrong.

It will be a challenge. It won’t be easy. Why? Because habits, especially, bad habits, are very difficult to break. We now know that habits cannot be eradicated – it must instead be replaced by another (good) habit. The hard part with this intervention is the first 5 to 7 days. Allowing your body (and mind) to adjust and adapt.

Your stomach ( a smooth muscles, which also contracts and extends like other muscles) needs. You need to be strong. Its one thing having the discipline for the physical. Its another having the mental discipline to stay focused. Your stomach will shrink and you will eat less. Over time.

Give it time. Have patience.

I have found that people generally work very hard at maintaining their bad habits or habits that are less than ideal. If they only took that same focus and work and apply to the adoption of good habits that are aligned with their life goals. Maybe, just maybe, the successful attainment of their goals may be more forthcoming. It is difficult, I know – replacing habits and then sticking to it.

One of the major reasons that replacing habits does not ‘stick’ is that it is NOT ENOUGH just to REPLACE A HABIT. Nope, not enough. This is where belief comes in. You must believe change is possible. Real, sustainable change. That is one of the critical components of my unique body re-engineering programs. The power of belief. No belief, no nothing. In the photo below is an example of the successful habitual change in the successful achievement of a pupil’s physical transformation goals using the principles in my programs.

Change CAN HAPPEN. I know that because I have seen many examples over the years. Alcoholics can stop drinking. Smokers can quit puffing. You can stop ‘snacking’ at work with less than ideal snacks. Perennial losers can become champions (change can be applied to companies, clubs – like the recent NRL champions – South Sydney Rabittohs, winning a premiership after 43 years).

So, if you’re eating 4 pieces of bread for breakfast, reduce it to two. Add more of tip # 3 (eat more greens) to fill you up a little more.

There you go, a running total of 13 minutes (11 minutes from past 4 tips and add this two minute tip) to adopt these Top Ten Tips so far in your day. Can you spare thirteen minutes of your day to eating right. Do you have the time?

You bet you do!

Help yourself. First. This allows you to become more useful and a better servant to others.

Amen.

Good luck,

Until next time,

Me and one of my students who did excellent in her physique contest. In ten months, this mother of two young children went from not training for 8 years to number 2 ranked physique competitor in New South Wales, Australia. Consistency and persistence and focus daily habits helped her achieve such great results.

Me and one of my students who did excellent in her physique contest a few years ago. In ten months, this determined and disciplined mother of two young children went from not training for 8 years to number 2 ranked physique competitor in New South Wales, Australia. Very proud of her achievements. Consistency and persistence and focus on daily habits helped her achieve such great results. Her podium finishing results demonstrates the power of habits (aligned with goals).

ageing, body, body weight, diet, eating, Energy, game of life, habits, life, risk, time, you

Eating Right actually takes less time than you think: Tip # 3.

Relaxed.

Tip # 3: If its green and not a frog – eat it!

And what class of foods would fall in this group – yep, you’re not wrong: vegetables.

This includes all the green vegetables, all shades of green. Some good examples include – broccoli, spinach, asparagus, cabbage, long beans.

Obviously, the darker green it is, generally, the better for you. I should also include fruits that are in the shades of yellow to orange in this tip also.

Total estimated time so far (previous top 2 tips) = approx. 8 minutes.

Add: green vegetables (this tip) = approx. 2 minutes.

Estimated time taken out of your day = approx. 10 minutes!

Why is eating greens (or yellow or orange fruits) important to your life? What value could it possibly pass on to you?

Well, besides being natural sources of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and other nutrients, they tend to keep you fuller – for longer. This helps you curb your appetite throughout the day and from snacking on ‘junk food’. Yellow, orange and green fruit and vegetables offers your body and mind multiple nutritional benefits.

Educating a top national sprinter of the importance of proper nutrition for recovery & optimal performance

Lets have a look at a few of these fruits – bananas and oranges for example. Their yellowish-orange pigmentation have been shown to slow down the ageing process and also reduce risks of some types of cancers. Bananas are loaded with potassium and magnesium which reduce the risk of muscle cramping.

This is especially important for anyone who trains with weights in the gym. Potassium and magnesium assist in the muscles extending and contracting properly and are essential for maximising muscle performance.

Obviously, not all yellow-orange fruits and vegetables have the same sugar content and don’t all have the same impact on your insulin levels. Lets keep it simple, if your body transformation goal is to lose unwanted fat around the butt and belly then:

** stay away from high – sugar or High Glycemic Index (GI) fruits and vegetables.

Some examples include: pineapples, yams, corn and carrots.

Instead choose options which include low to moderate GI, that is foods that have more complex carbohydrates and does not ‘spike’ your sugar levels and keeps your insulin steady. Some examples include: grapefruits, mangoes, oranges, paw-paws, peaches, pumpkin, capsicum and tomatoes.

A good teacher is hard to find but finding a good student is even harder.
Plan the work – to work the plan.
Photo: discussing fine points of one of my programs with retired legend of rugby – Phil Waugh.

We need to work with our bodies, not against it.

Eating in a way that does not encourage fluctuations in sugar and insulin levels is critical to body transformation and weight management. Like I have mentioned before, the key to body transformation is hormonal management – specifically, insulin management.

Make time to eat properly

When insulin is under control, your body’s drive to store fat is minimized and under control too.

So, there you have it! Tip # 3 of my series of Top Ten Tips to being in Tip-Top Shape come summer. The awareness of these top 3 tips is one thing.

Application is the other pillar. Adaptation is yet another. The philosophy of my blog.

So, as you can see, to implement these top 3 tips, it should not take you any more than 10 minutes out of your day. Now, of course you can spare 10 minutes.

My goal is to not only inform you but also to show you how Eating Right actually takes less time than you think. Matter of fact, one of my goals is to show you how the application of my Top Ten Tips should not take more than 30 minutes or 1800 seconds out of your busy day.

Make the time to eat properly.

It might not only add years to your life, but along with consistent weight training and regular cardiovascular training, may just add more life and zest in to your years.

Its your choice. Your life, after all.

Good luck in your decision.

Until next time,

Cheers & ahoy!

The old Cap’n Viking Pirate Muscled Prophet … & eating well and time

Planning my meals and cooking meals in advance (in bulk( allowed me to build a Physique worthy of standing against the best in the world.
Efficiency in the preparation and timely consumption of meals is critical to achieving the physique your aim to create.

World Natural Bodybuilding Championships.
Side Chest pose. Managing your meals allows you to build the best physique you can. Attention to detail and time, matters. Placing: 4th.

Changing lives. Empowering people. One life at a time.

Triple A to Life: Awareness. Action. Adaptation.

Tag Archives: Body shape

My Top 5.5 Tips to avoiding injury.

Shoulder Boulders.

Bulking up vs building up.

Top 3 Keys to a successful workout. Key #2: Elegance.

Take care of your “set of wheels”.

The BEST workouts – the fusion of chaos and structure.

Eating Right actually takes less time than you think. Tip # 6: Eat more snacks!

My Top Ten Tips to ‘trimming the fat’ off your meals in your day in a matter of seconds.

Eating Right actually takes less time than you think: Tip # 5.

Eating Right actually takes less time than you think: Tip # 3.