SIDE BY SIDE FITNESS MANAGEMENT

Bikini Boot Camp 2009

2009-06-23T23:14:00.000-07:00

We have just started a Bikini Boot Camp at The Grove which involves a fun filled three days of exercise good food and fun!

We have been doing a few press groups who will be writing about us, as more come in I'll add them to the list!

Times Online:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/travel/holiday_type/spas_and_lifestyle/article6461647.ece

The Grove:

http://www.thegrove.co.uk/leisure/bikini_boot_camp.aspx

You and Your Wedding:
http://www.youandyourwedding.co.uk/index.php/base/editorialgallery/?aid=1059845

UK Glam:

http://uk.glam.com/articles/features/bikini_boot_camp_diary/

Beauty and the Dirt:

http://www.beautyandthedirt.com/2009/08/14/bikini-bootcamp-at-the-grove/

So far its been good fun and it's nice to see yourself online and in a few newspapers/mags. Other article's were including The Metro, Watford Observer and The Times Saturday!

How can I beat Temptation?

2009-01-06T00:54:00.000-08:00

To be honest nutrition for me is the hardest part of keeping up with a healthy lifestyle. I work in a gym and training is my hobby and I don’t think I could ever stop but eating well has always been a struggle for me. I have always loved to eat everything and anything so to try to stop myself from putting on extra weight I have to really work at it and be strict. Now I find a lot of people will expect to lose weight just because they start going to the gym but if they carry on eating poorly then they will see minimal benefits. Now there are so many diets out their and some may work for a short time but never forever because if they did everybody would do them. The only way to lose weight is to eat better and exercise more but the main element that people find the hardest is the temptation of fatty foods!!!!

As I have developed as a trainer and leaned more about my body I have come to the conclusion that if you wanted to lose weight that much then you would put a lot of effort in to it. Nobody said it would be easy in fact it is very hard but you can defiantly get results without feeling staving and depleted. It’s the temptation of bad food that usually stops us from succeeding our goals and is the main reason why so many people our overweight. Everybody has a choice every time they have the opportunity to eat something, you either do or you don’t! The weak minded will give in and then feel bad about it after and the strong will be strict and will not give in and will go for a healthy option. I understand it can be quite difficult to get started as children, work and everyday life can get in the way and send you off track but the key is to be good most of the time not all to the time.

My conclusion is stop being weak minded and giving in! You’re bad food decisions are the reason why you’re overweight so your better food decisions will be the reason why you lose weight. If you want the body you have always wanted the potential is there it always was but you need to put in the work and want it. It is no good moaning about your weight and not doing anything about it. You need to think its time for a change and soon enough you will see the fat falling off and your confidence improving and it will bring a new you. You can achieve anything if you put your mind to it all you need is self belief and commitment and then anything is achievable.

So the answer to the question how do I beat temptation? is with your mind by making the right food choices and not giving in!

Diet Plan for 09!

2008-12-29T02:11:00.000-08:00

Most people decide to hit the gym in the early months of the new year to try to undo the festive seasons excess drinking and eating, but why do people always do this first?
For example, atleast 90% of people who join a gym do so to lose weight but is the fact that they havent been going to the gym the reason that they have put on the extra weight?

Well let me put it another way, If your cold what do you do? You would put on some more clothes. OK seems simple so now what if you get too hot then what do you do? You would then take some of your clothes off so it is a reverse of what you first did.
So what is the reason why people put on extra body fat? It is because they have been eating to much and to reverse it you need to start eating less, which is the reverse! The gym should be their to help get you fitter, aid in weight loss not be the answer, help make you stronger and raise metabolism etc.

So why do people automatically think 'I need to lose weight i must go to the gym'? It should be 'I've put on some extra body fat so I must start eating better and start going to the gym to help this and to stay healthy and fit' SIMPLE!

Diet Plan for 09 to get in shape for the Summer!!!

Snack Meal 1- Protein and Low GI Carb Based
Gym- 45Min's weights and 15 min cardio interval training (1 hour max short and intense)
Snack Meal 2- Protein and High GI Based
Snack Meal 3- Protein and Low GI Based
Snack Meal 4- Protein and Vegetables
Snack Meal 5- Protein and Vegetables
Snack Meal 6- Protein and Vegetables

This sample menu is very simple and it may seem like you will be eating a lot but the portion sizes will be small. You will be eating protein in every meal to aid body recovery from your training as well as growth. The carbs are selected in the snack meals where you will be needing the most energy and not in the snack meals where you will be doing nothing. Although the meals can be moved around if you train at different times, for example if you train in the evening then that's where most of your carb meals will be so you would just switch them around a bit.
The weight training should be based around the big compound movements such as squats, deadlifts, bench presses and rows and can either be completed in a full body style programme or split depending on experience and the amount of times you wish to train per week.

Stick with this and you should be dropping body-fat in no time for your summer holiday!

British Unequipped Bench Press 2008

2008-05-31T13:00:00.000-07:00

I haven't competed in at least a year so I can honestly say I was very nervous especially that it is a British event. My weight has been an issue for the last few months but I did manage to work very hard over the last few weeks and resist temptation and record my lowest weight of 79.4kg in competition.

I opened the comp with an easy 110kg which I just passed with a 2 to 1 vote by the judges, lift two came around quick so I felt I would go for broke with a 117.5kg, which I pressed with all three judges passing it. By the last lift there was six lifters attempting 120kg and if all completed the lift then we would be separated by body weight. I had my third attempt first and pressed again with three passes to sit in 4th place in the senior category. 4 other lifters also managed to lift 120kg and I was in the middle with two heavier and two lighter. Overall a great day and I came 9th overall out of 15. More to come from me with me hopefully dropping down to the 75kg class and lifting much better. I have videos of all three lifts thanks to Sammy-Jo!!

British Unequipped Bench Press 2008

2008-05-23T07:43:00.000-07:00

I was searching the web on some powerlifting websites and found out that I had qualified for this years event through competing last year. So I thought this would be a great chance to get some practice in although it was one month away!!! So my training has changed and I have had to get used to the pauses again which I have found really hard but I have managed 120kg in training. In last years event I managed 115kg in 82.5kg class so I and confident I can Improve on this total. I have one more 1 rep max test before the comp so I hope I can nail 122.5kg, I'll post all results and my placing. My weight is going down slowly also as I'm hoping to slip into the 75kg class and I'm currently at about 81.5kg, down from 84.5kg so I hope to reach the 70's by the end of the month.

Bench Improving!

2008-04-21T13:32:00.000-07:00

Not going to go for any 1 reps for a few weeks but Iv been sticking to 3-5 reps for my flat bench while cutting. In my first week I have dropped 2 pounds in weight and my bench is improving which is great.

Usually it would stay the same or decrease, so in my last 3 bench sessions my results were....

1- 4 reps-110kg 3reps-112.5kg 3-112.5kg
2- 3 reps-112.5kg 4 reps-112.5kg 4 reps 112.5kg
3- 4reps-112.5kg 3reps-115kg 2reps-115kg

I will have four more sessions before a 1 rep attempt but hopefully in that time I will be able to manage 3 sets of 4 reps at 115kg! Then my aim will be to nail 130kg! Will have to wait and see!

Going for the British Bench Press Record!

2008-04-13T14:11:00.000-07:00

The record I will be aiming to beat is in the senor 75kg weight class and is set at 147.5kg. Im currently weighing in at 84kg and holding a fair bit of bodyfat so I will be on a slow cut until the end of the summer to get down to this weight. Hopefully it will not affect my lifting but we will have to wait and see. I will have two opportunnitys to compete this year so I will be hopefully aiming to attept to beat the record next year and become Brtish champion and record holder. I have had some shoulder promblems that hindered my progress but I just pressed a personal best of 125kg, but im sure i could get 130kg. So in the next year I need to increase 20kg so I will be hoping to increase 2 kg per month all the way until next year. I'll keep posting every four weeks as I attempt my 1 rep max.

Everybody Loves Nandos!

2008-04-13T14:01:00.000-07:00

Everybody loves Nandos I know I do, but when dieting it can be quite hard to stick to the same boring bland foods.

I have only recently found out to my surprise that you can buy their sauce in the local supermarkets. So I read the nutrition info on the back of a medium hot bottle and with every 40g portion there is only 40kcal, which I thought was very low. So now when I have a boring chicken salad I will use this tasty sauce to spice things up and to keep my cravings at bay.

Weighted Belt!

2008-04-13T13:52:00.000-07:00

A great piece of equipment to help increase those all important body weight exercises. You know you are getting strong when you can manage 10 reps of dips or pull ups, and the only way to keep progressing is to use a belt so you can keep adding weight.

Its very easy to use and reasonable priced, not to mention how much of a legend you will look with 30kg dangling between your legs while you rep out some wide grip pull ups or dips.

Back to Powerlifting

2008-04-09T14:59:00.000-07:00

After 9 month out and constant injuries I'm going to go back to powerlifting this year started with a bench press only comp in October then main comp in December!

My weight had increased a bit so after the summer will be aiming to cut down to 75kg. Training as been going that well since but in the last month I have had some big changes and now have some serious goals for the end of the year. This month I have managed to beat my deadlift and bench press PB by 5kg each so I managed a 195kg deadlift (nearly 200kg) and a 125kg bench. My squatting is my weak link as my knee has been playing up but I'm sure i can get it back up to 170kg.

Goals for December 2008:

Squat- 170kg

Bench- 130kg

Deadlift- 205kg

Total- 505kg

Functional Training

2008-04-09T14:38:00.000-07:00

I have been doing some of research on this and what it actually means! Functional Training is training your body related to things that you do in everyday life, training that will help you become stronger and more stable in everyday activities from getting out of a chair to lifting something off the floor and putting it on a shelf. Its main aim is to try to train people with full body movements rather than isolation movements because in isolation you become strong in a restricted range which will have no real affect on everyday strength.

A big issue with conventional training is people do to much to fast, if your deep and inner muscles cant work together properly then the exercises will be affected as you only as strong as your weakest part. To many of us pick up bad technique which in the long run will injure our body's as well as disturb our posture and body alignment.

People need to look at the bigger picture and not only train to look good but to maintain posture, stability, muscle balance2 which in the long run should keep you injury free and keep you away from muscle and joint damage in the future.

Getting a Personal Trainer!!!!

2008-02-08T12:25:00.000-08:00

In my experience its so hard to find a decent Personal Trainer or for that matter gym instructor who actually knows what they are talking about. Its so easy to get quialfied now but what the new trainers dont realise is that you must keep learning and most important learn by experience, by trying everything out there. Im not saying that Im the best in business but I try to keep an open mind and try to keep learning.

First thing to look for is apperance, if they look in good nick and train regularly then thats atleast a good start, Im not saying everybody in good shape knows what they are doing but atleast its a start.

After that the relationship is important, you must be able to get on with the person and not get to carried away with social talking, you can talk but when its time to train they must be focused (and dont worry if they lose count).

Case Study Client

2008-01-27T14:00:00.000-08:00

The perfect way to attracted new clients is to start a case study to help advertise what you can do. If you can get somebody in great shape and record their results, pictures, training info, and nutrition info then you will be taking the first step into getting a good name for yourself.

I did this in my current gym with great results, after a 3 month study I went from having 0 sessions a week to 8-15 sessions a week and this happened straight away.

The client I used was very motivated and willing to stick to the nutrition plan and training, it is so important to pick the right person as you could waste a lot of time and effort if they don't stick to everything which will then affect your results!

After 12 weeks the before and after results are as followed..........

Weight: 66.2kg 59.5kg

Bodyfat % (Machine): 34.2% 25.6%

Bodyfat %: 29.6% 21%

Waist: 30 26

Hips: 40 38.5

Arm: 11 10

Thigh: 22 19.5

Overall the results were great and she looks fantastic..... This could really boost your client base to a whole new level!!!

Update!

2008-01-24T01:47:00.000-08:00

Been so busy this January, haven't posted in a while.
Iv got a few things I have written that will be posted in the next few days when I have time!

My cut is going quite well so far, I have had a few bad days but Im doing much better than usual, Iv lost an inch off my waist and down about 3.5kg so going well. The most noticable diffrence is the way I look as i can see I have lost weight. New picture and measurements will be up on the 31st January, 1 month after the first assessment. The only thing i changed was my training as I decided to go back to splits as I injoy training everyday I started to miss it as with a full body routine you train every other day. During a cut most people wil see a slight decrease in strength but so far most is atleast staying the same and I had a PB doing weighted pull ups :) managed 7 reps with 30kg very tough. Full update with updated picture will be on the 31st.

Powerlifting Squat

2007-12-30T12:09:00.000-08:00

In Powerlifitng you have to Squat so your hip is lower than your knee! I had always only squatted parallel but when you go that little bit lower it gets very hard to balance but practice makes perfect!

No Deadlift Grip!!!

2007-12-29T06:54:00.001-08:00

The Deadlift is the DADDY of all exercises and is difficult to master but for a lot of my clients the most difficult bit is keeping their grip with heavy weights.

People with this problem will often start using straps to take the load off their finger tips so I designed a helpful guide to beat the straps.......

First always use the Olympic style grip (Both hands over). You will be using light weight as you master your technique so for the first few weeks your grip shouldn't be a problem.
After you start to add more weight and you feel your grip starting to slip as you reach the last few reps, change your grip to one over one under which is when you change one hand position to the opposite side (one palm facing you and the other facing away from you).
If you then manage to get heavy enough for your grip to suffer invest in some chalk that you can buy from any mountain climbing shop. I love using chalk and after competing in powerlifting events this year I have found my grip staying strong after deadlifting 180kg for reps.
If all else fails buy some straps but to be honest you don't need them until you're really lifting heavy or if you have injured fingers etc.

When I deadlift I never use a belt as it will weaken the muscles it is supposed to be protecting, only ever use a belt if you're attempting a 1 rep max and please never wear one when you do bicep curls especially if your doing bicep curls on a squat rack

Happy Training

First Programme Found!

2007-12-29T06:51:00.000-08:00

I found a load of old fitness programmes and to my surprise my first ever programme written for me with the first weights I ever pushed was in there. To me there is a lot wrong with it, take a look......

The programme was a simple split Chest/Triceps-Back/Biceps-Legs/Shoulders
All Exercises consist of 4 Sets of 6-8 Reps!

Dips on Frame- Bodyweight
Bench Press- 40kg
Dips on Bench- Bodyweight
Incline DB Press- 15kg
Skull Crushers- 20kg
DB Flys- 12kg

Close Push Ups- Bodyweight
Wide Pull Ups- Bodyweight
Chin Ups- Bodyweight
Wide Bent Over Row- 20kg
Bicep 21's- 16kg
DB Single Row- 10kg
DB Hammer Curl- 12kg

Squats- 20kg
SL Deadlifts- 20kg
Leg Extensions- 20kg
Hamstring Curl (Ball)- Bodyweight
Calf Raises- 28kg
BB Jerk and Press- 20kg
Arnold Press- 8kg
Lat Raises- 5kg
Front Raises- 5kg

Now 2 years on my current workout today...................
Consists of 2 Full Body workouts every other day-
(The first 4 exercises on both workouts are compound and consist of 4 sets of 6-8 Reps, the last 2 exercises are isolation and are 2 sets of 6-8 reps)

DB Chest Press- 50kg
Close Lat Pull down- 125kg
Squats- 65kg (20 rep, recovering from pulled knee ligament was about 150kg)
DB Shoulder Press- 36kg
Tricep Pushdown- 75kg
Hamstring Curls- 70kg

Decline Bench Press- 110kg
Wide Bent Over Row- 80kg
Deadlifts- 160kg
Arnold Press- 30kg
Incline Bicep Curl- 12kg
Lat Raise- 10kg

I think you can see by looking at the first programme I didn't like to train legs. My goals haven't been to get bigger just to get into shape so some areas have had big improvements but others need attention but quite strange to look back and see what I was lifting......

Nutrition Made Easy!

2007-12-28T09:13:00.000-08:00

Key points to a healthier diet that can be used for weight loss or muscle building:

Ø Eat plenty of Fruit and Vegetables
Ø Eat plenty of Lean Meat & Fish
Ø High protein and High Fibre
Ø Balanced Diet including Fat
Ø Plenty of Water
Ø Controlled Portion Sizes
Ø Small Alcohol Intake
Ø 4 to 6 small meals a day

Eat plenty of Fruit and Vegetables-

Fruit and vegetables contain important vitamins and minerals that your body requires to function properly, without them it will not function as it should to its full potential. Also take note that vegetables don’t contain many calories compared to other foods so you can eat a lot more of them.

Lots of lean Meat & Fish-

Lean meat and fish contain high amounts of protein, which help repair and build your body and low amounts of fat. Please note your body still needs fat to work sufficiently.

High Protein and Fibre-

Protein takes longer to digest than carbs and fat so if you eat high amounts of protein you will feel fuller longer, also high fibre foods will make you full up for longer as fibre isn’t digested and helps with digestion.

Balanced Diet including Fat-

Fat is a very important part of a diet and we all need a small amount, omega 3 and 6 types are very important and can be found in oily fish like salmon and mackerel.

Plenty of Water-

Water is used in every system in the body and is vital to a healthy diet. 80% of muscle is made up of water so if your looking for bigger muscles make sure you drink enough. Keeping yourself hydrated is also important when trying to lose weight.

Portion Sizes-

Portion size plays a very important role in weight loss. Sometimes when you serve food on a plate you don’t realize how many calories are in the food. For example 100 grams of wholemeal pasta uncooked has 316kcal in it which is a lot considering if you had a medium size bowl of pasta you could have up to 300 grams which is nearly 1000kcal more than half of your daily requirements and that isn’t including the sauce or meat. So its important you make sure your portions are reasonable so you don’t over eat.

Alcohol Intake-

Also linked with portion size, for example instead of having two large glasses of wine have to small glasses of wine and always sip and take your time to make the drink last longer.

Try eating 4 or 5 Small Meals a day-

Eating small and regularly has many benefits including raising the rate at which you burn calories at rest, as your body will be working all day digesting the food. When done correctly it also takes away the feeling of hunger, which will then stop you over eating at meal times or between meals. This will then improve overall maintenance and running of the body.

Helpful Tips:

Ø Eat Slowly and chew food properly, there is a chemical in your body that tells you that your full. This chemical takes between 10 and 15 minutes to be released and gives you that feeling of fullness so if you eat more slowly than usual you won't eat as much.

Ø When eating a meal always have a drink of water with it, after every mouthfull try sipping some water. This will increase the time of your meal and fill you up quicker as you will be drinking more water than usual. Or maybe try using a smaller plate to trick yourself into eating a smaller portion.

Ø Only eat when you’re hungry never out of boredom. If you do snack try eating fruit or nuts.

Ø Try reading nutrition labels on food to help find out what you are actually eating and try to stay away from processed foods that are usually loaded with saturated fat (Bad Fat) and high amounts of salt and calories.

Push Weights or Go Home!!!

2007-12-27T13:38:00.000-08:00

As I have said the hardest part of my job is trying to persuade new clients to stop doing endless amounts of cardio work and hit the weights to start building some more metabolic tissue known as Muscle. The first comment I am always given is 'Well I don't want to because I don't want to look like a bodybuilder and I don't want guns like yours' ha ha.......

The easiest way I have found to explain it is.......... I will ask the client 'OK now when you were in your late twenty's what sort of shape were you in?' (now again some people are big some are small as teenagers but the point is the difference from then and now) "I would say 8 times out of 10 they will say I was a size 8-10 and could eat and drink what I wanted without putting on any weight" and if they did somehow put on a few pounds a short few weeks in the gym would put that right.

The second question I ask is "OK what has changed since?" usually the answer will be "Well Iv had a few kids" or "Well now I'm getting older is hard to keep off the weight"

So here comes the speech that will hopefully open their eyes to the real reason for the weight gain and even if they don't end up using my services at least they may be a bit wiser and change the way they have always trained to see if what I say actually works........

Now through your adolescence your body is growing at a very quick rate as you start the process of turning from a child into an adult. Your body needs food (calories) to grow, so as long as you eat a reasonable healthy diet you shouldn't put that much body fat on by the time your body has finished growing (Obviously this is not always the case for everybody as everybody is different and have different body shapes). So at this time your metabolism is very high, you have bigger muscles than you had before, so what happens???

If you don't stimulate your muscles through some kind of weight training your body decides "If it is not being used then it is not needed" Now as you slowly lose muscle your metabolism slowly drops, (1 pound of active muscle tissue could burn somewhere between 30 to 50 calories per day) which means your burning less calories throughout the day, which over time will build up and the excess calories will be stored as fat. Now lets just say you lose 2 pound of muscle every 5 years, so between the ages of 20 and 30 years you would have burned (364daysx5yearsx60kcal per day) 109200kcal less than you would of if you kept hold of it which will translate into about 31 pounds of body fat. This is if you eat your daily calorie maintenance, so if you start to eat junk and binge drink the pounds will start to add up to greater numbers. Just think you could have had a basic full body exercise weights programme and maybe put on a few extra pound of muscle which would have increased your metabolism further, made you stronger as well as keeping your body fit and healthy.

This seems to either go in one ear and out the other or make people open their eyes about where they have been going wrong because if you think about it it makes perfect sense.

After this I will tell them there are only three things you must do..........

Eat regular (4 to 6) clean meals on a nutrition plan i will design for them

Only train with weights 3 times per week for a maximum of 1 hour

Give 100% in all of there training sessions

If they stick to these three rules they will see results!

I would always start a client with a basic full body workout consisting of 5 compound exercises

Leg exercise (Leg Press, Squat, vibration squat)

Chest exercise (Chest Press)

Back exercise (Row)

Shoulder exercise (Shoulder Press)

Back exercise (Lat pull down)

I usually put two back exercises in because everything nowadays is forward. What I mean about this is sitting at a computer desk or driving a car your posture is pushed forward which will tighten your chest and loosen your back muscles. So the back exercises will help to improve posture alignment a bit and help tighten peoples upper back muscles.

There will also be no isolation exercises such as a bicep curl as they will be a waste of time when you could do a back compound exercise which will be more productive by hitting more muscles etc.

My first client I did this training programme with for only twelve weeks in early 2007 had very good results and is the main reason I'm so popular at the moment and because of my manly good looks, I will post her results so you can judge for yourself...........

Thanks

Mark Alexander

Opening Post!

2007-12-27T13:14:00.000-08:00

As this is my first post I think it will be best to tell you a bit about myself and then what this blog will be all about........

My name is Mark and I'm a Personal Trainer working in a 5* Hotel in Hertfordshire. I was fully qualified in July 06 but have been working and studying Sport and Fitness since 2001. For the best part of 2007 I have been building my clientele as well as training and competing in various Powerlifting events around the country. I have been training since July 2005 with some great overall strength and size gains. The most important thing I feel I have done is try to experiment with various training methods in order to find out what is the best training methods for me to reach my specfic goals!

I feel I'm very lucky to be working in the gym that I do as the opportunities are endless. Its very exclusive and my clients ranged from ladies of leisure to celebrities and potentially I could do very well. When I first started in July 2006 Personal Training was unheard of (well maybe 1 a week) for all the trainers. Since being there I've managed to hit about 15 clients a week at £45-£50 a session which from none is quite an achievement especially as my training consists of all weights and no cardiovascular work which seems to be the hardest thing for my clients (especially the ladies) to take in. As everybody seems to think cardio is for burning fat and weights are for those big men that grunt in the free weights area. I'm slowly changing people's opinions about changing the training that they are used to but I must say that is most defiantely the hardest part about my job......

Now I will be posting everything from information about myself, client results, training programmes, nutrition advice, exercise videos, pictures, and anything regarding fitness they may help somebody out there reach their dreams!