Water Water Everywhere! 10 Causes of Water Retention
I have had several messages specifically regarding Water Retention. So I will try to explain what the main causes are and what you can do about it. Firstly I must state that I am a personal trainer not a doctor, so I will give you this ... Views: 38862
Aching After Exercise? Leave Time To Recover Or Power Through?
You remember John Wayne from the cowboy films don’t you? The way he used to walk after getting off his horse was like he had just done a viscous leg session down the gym!
So today you have completed an intense session in ... Views: 5331
The title of this week’s article may be a bit funny, but it is 100% true for at least one poor chap, and I’m sure there are many others just like him.
It’s a male orientated article, but wives, mothers and girlfriends out there who know someone in their family suffering from this, should ... Views: 4374
This article will tell you my top tips on how to get off your ass and out running around the streets! You will learn how to get fit safely by following these simple steps and only running two or three times per week. This is very important if you want to reduce the risk of injuring ... Views: 3471
Vegetarianism is defined as “the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat – red meat, poultry, seafood and the flesh of any other animal”. (1)
In my experience ‘going veggie’ can be a double edged sword.
It can lead to massive health benefits – when its done properly.
I have ... Views: 3392
We all know how hard it is to get into a regular routine of exercising and we’ve probably all experienced how much easier it is to slip out of the routine and get into a habit of doing nothing.
The great benefits that exercise offer are explained throughout many of the articles on this ... Views: 3123
I’m sure we all remember from chemistry in school learning about acid and alkaline. For us as humans the harmful acids and toxins are unsurprisingly things we would like to avoid.
All foods we eat once digested and metabolised release an acid or an alkaline into the bloodstream. Foods like ... Views: 3035
The last few weeks I have been really getting into and writing about the nutritional sides of things. There is so much to be said about nutrition and all of the new research and discoveries that have been made in the field; it is an exciting and scary time.
But I am going back to exercise ... Views: 2993
I’m not here to tell you which brand to buy but I am going to tell you which types of protein to buy and which times to take them because I speak to so many people who get it wrong – and it makes huge differences in your results – which is what its all about, isn’t it?
Protein is an ... Views: 2976
In order to successfully adhere to a fitness programme you need to exercise well and eat well, but all that takes discipline and will power. You need to 100% commit to succeed. I would never have made it as an elite personal trainer in Swansea if I didn’t have the right mindset. Today I will ... Views: 2954
The new year is upon us!
Being a personal trainer I’m looking forward to January, it’s always a busy time for me, meeting new people, who have set new goals and really trying to help them improve.
Many people set New Year resolutions, what do you think the percentage is of people who ... Views: 2927
Research proves that regular exercise can offer many psychological and physiological benefits. Feeling psychologically (mentally) good makes life a lot more enjoyable. A bad day at work, an argument with your partner, financial issues etc. can lead to increased levels of stress.
Stress can ... Views: 2871
As a personal trainer when I meet a new client, I would say that many of them speak of their desire for a flatter stomach and weight loss.
For the ladies many of you speak of a nice flat tummy with no visible pouch and to feel confident on holidays by the pool whereas the men out there aim to ... Views: 2767
Hi there, hopefully you have some plans to do some good work on your body and goals in life.
If you’re not progressing your regressing, remember this saying “It’s better to wear out than to rust out”.
Whenever you are out socialising or in work I know you, like me, want to feel good about ... Views: 2754
There is no getting away from the fact that many people get excited by the prospect of finishing work on a Friday and going down the pub.
I hear you say “many times alcohol consumption makes people look more attractive!” in the short term this may be true, however
In South Wales and ... Views: 2561
I was chatting with one of my personal training clients about these body transformation programmes and fast weight loss programmes. She told me she had been comparing her results to her friends. Her friend had lost two stone by just drinking shakes and eating bars and she had only lost a stone ... Views: 2162
The gym, a place of titanic struggles, epic distances, blood, sweat and sometimes tears! It is a place you go to improve yourself. As a personal trainer I put 100% effort into my workouts and expect the same from my clients when I challenge them with a workout.
Did you know that a massive ... Views: 2144
What Can I Do?
Ok so you have been doing really well, losing weight, exercising, getting in better shape, then……its all stops, the scales have not shifted for a while…..what can you do?
I know ….cut back on food and do more exercise……another two weeks pass and still no weight loss, and ... Views: 2137
Do you feel tense? Maybe you feel tight across the upper back between the shoulder blades, or perhaps it’s more of a stiff lower back, hips and legs.
Tight muscles create numerous problems throughout the body from aches and pain to reduced oxygen and blood flow to the tight area.
Soft ... Views: 2098
The first few steps from a sedentary lifestyle to exercise are the hardest. For many people activities such as walking to the chip shop can be seen as daunting and difficult. So to change that attitude from lounging round the house watching TV mixed with a bad diet of fast foot and to an ... Views: 2071
Today I will explain how and why cellulite takes hold and what you can do about it.
The bane of some women’s lives it can make skin look less attractive, and from what I have been told, forcing some women into changing which clothes they choose to buy and wear.
Cellulite causes bumps or an ... Views: 2060
This is a question I have been asked so many times being a personal trainer.
In order to be a good personal trainer I need to make sure that the advice I give my client’s is as accurate, effective and up to date as possible. In my experience I get nearly as many questions from my client’s ... Views: 1985
A guide to core strength training
Poor posture is one of the biggest problems facing people's health in modern life. However, regular core stability exercise can improve your back muscles and your posture. Here's the realbuzz guide on getting started in core strength training exercise.
How ... Views: 1971
It seems many people in the western world are tired & stressed out.
Are You Burnt Out?
I’m going to ask you a few questions and I want you to answer honestly:
Do you struggle to get up in the mornings? Still feeling tired even though you have been sleeping all night?
Do you often ... Views: 1932
I took on a new personal training client earlier in the summer, and she point blank told me that she “hated exercise, and everything to do with it!”
She said she had slogged away in the gym for years, up to 90 minutes, three times a week and hated every minute of it, and seeing very little by ... Views: 1827
People have always been interested in being “forever young” and today’s society is no different. We want to resist the ageing process.
The speed at which we are ageing can be measured – its called biological age, or how old your body really is.
The area of study which is now called ... Views: 1813
Times are starting to evolve and people are starting to move away from the conventional one size fits all government eating guidelines such as the food pyramid or more recently the food plate.
I am proud to say that I do not follow this kind of advice(anymore), the broad advice given by the ... Views: 1812
My parents told me, once upon a time all food was naturally organic, then “they” (the 'evil' food companies) started using pesticides and preservatives and they said “you can eat fruit all year round” and “this stuff is better because it lasts longer”, and charged us more for it.
Now they ... Views: 1797
We have everything at our fingertips.
The information available to us from books, magazines and TV, is just astounding. There is so much information out there, especially on the internet.
The thing is a lot of the things on the internet come from people’s educated or not so educated ... Views: 1774
I think I speak for every one of us when I say; we have all experienced negative thoughts during exercise, we question whether we can finish the session, why we are doing it, what are we going to achieve etc. This is a crucial time and it takes a lot to push through and block out the negative ... Views: 1757
Today I will talk about the main types of stretching, and how and when you should use each. You will learn up to date methods and the reasons for the change in previous approaches. This change was actually made at the elite level over 10 years ago! However I still see people touching their toes ... Views: 1749
As a big advocate of fish and fish oils I was surprised to see a research study all over the media recently saying – that omega 3 fatty acids (like the oil found in fish) can cause prostate cancer in men.
I feel the need to respond and clear up any confusion.
Today we will look a little ... Views: 1741
Organic eating can be more expensive than eating normal, so this list of foods in this article will be a lot easier on the pocket.
Plus you will be safe in the knowledge that eating these foods won’t harm your health.
The list of foods below will contain the least amount of pesticide ... Views: 1734
The westernized world is pretty unhealthy. I come from Wales and more than a quarter of all over 40’s are obese. We are also an ageing nation, with around 45 per cent of us being over 45 years old.
These figures, combined with the continued downward trend in activity levels, makes Wales a ... Views: 1695
Quite a strange name for an article title a few of you may be thinking?
For those of you that don’t know ‘Getting your ducks in a row’ basically means when someone wants to get all of the small details right – before proceeding with a new project, such as losing some weight.
I think this ... Views: 1688
The title of ‘Number One Exercise’ is a pretty big one but hopefully after reading this article you will only be able to agree with me.
There are thousands of exercises you can do to give you great results but in my experience this exercise yields the BEST results.
This exercise is the ... Views: 1681
Health markers such as high cholesterol, being overweight, having diabetes, smoking, being stressed out, being inactive or having high blood pressure(BP) are all signs (indicators) that you’re at risk of developing problems with your heart and brain later on in life.
It seems obvious, but the ... Views: 1665
We all know that in order to make physically improvements we need to train outside of our comfort zone. If you did the same session day in day out your body will eventually get used to it and it would become easy and lose its benefits, you may have improved leading up to this point but without ... Views: 1644
I have some very exciting news for all people in their 40’s, 50’s and 60’s.
As many of you are aware, getting into shape does not simply come down to exercise and a healthy diet, there are other factors to consider. Our hormones play a huge part in our internal physiology, and if out of ... Views: 1641
I have spotted some new IMPORTANT stuff I wanted to share today.
I'm trying to remove the confusion which seems to surround the whole area of exercise and nutrition.
This has meant that I have spent a lot more time reading – researching books, scientific journals and the internet.
Every ... Views: 1640
There was an interesting article I read recently online titled: Saturated Fat Heart Disease ‘Myth’.
It is great to see the truth about saturated fat finally making the news.
If you have read some of my previous articles you might know that I am a big advocate of eating all types of natural ... Views: 1615
Have you ever heard the story about the chimp and the peanut? It's very interesting and relates to us all in some way.
Allow me to share the story…
Once upon a time a researcher observed the behaviour of a group of chimps.
I’m not sure why, but the researcher provided the chimps with ... Views: 1604
If you have elevated cholesterol and or take statin medication, you need to read this.
Mostly we all think cholesterol is bad for us, this is because it’s what we have been told over the last 50 years or more.
Cholesterol is often described as “artery clogging” and is used as an indicator ... Views: 1602
Being a personal trainer I am aware that many people struggle to find time to get to the gym as much as they would like, or they would like to add something extra around their gym routine but can’t fit it in. Well I would like to give you a bit of advice and tell you how to incorporate mini ... Views: 1586
I was on the internet the other day having a little read, you know what it’s like. You start reading something, click a link to something else and then for the next 30 min you are going link to link reading about various different things!
Well during one of these sessions I stumbled across ... Views: 1585
Relaxation…without drugs or alcohol.
When I was growing up in my teenage and student year’s people would relax by taking drugs of some sort, prescribed, legal and illegal.
I want to differentiate between natural relaxation and chemical relaxation
Most evenings people have a routine ... Views: 1578
I have been personal training clients from Swansea for over 15 years and have never seen such good results as I have on my latest detox diet plan.
Detox can create a number of symptoms in your body as your body goes through the process of purifying itself and eliminating toxins. Some common ... Views: 1564
In this article I will give you 27 different foods which you should aim to eat organically as these foods are worst affected by pesticides.
Today I will look at the foods with the highest pesticide residue and other toxic chemicals.
These 27 foods have been picked due to the large amounts ... Views: 1549
One of my friends called in an expert trainer for one of their dogs last weekend. He told me there’s nothing particularly wrong with the dog, he’s just got a few things he’s scared of and ends up over-reacting. He was telling me what the trainer did with the dog. He was fascinated by how the ... Views: 1538
People tend to want and demand cheap food, and now scientists may have come up with a solution.
I’m not sure how many of you heard this in the news a few weeks ago but a beef burger has been grown in a laboratory in the Netherlands by a team of scientists. The burger was then cooked by a ... Views: 1536