They have interviewed three ‘health and well being Gurus’ and asked us what are the 10 things we can’t live without. Of course mine included my Power Plate, Nike trainers and Green and Blacks Organic Chocolate (a little bit of indulgence never did anyone any harm!)

I hope you can pick up a copy SOON. Remember it is the March issue with Cat Deeley on the front!

Enjoy!

At last Bedford has it’s very own Power Plate training centre!

If you haven’t been to my studio yet and want to come and try a one to one or group training session then please call me or press the ‘contact’  button on the right hand side of the screen. I look forward to welcoming you here!

The studio will be situated in North Brickhill and will have a Power Plate, TRX suspension training system, swiss balls, bosu balls, dumb bells and lots lots more so you can have an amazing quick workout! All of your sessions will be conducted by a REPs level 3 Personal Trainer on a one to one basis so you can get the most out of every session and reach your goals FAST!

To book your first session then please call me on 07877 876905. Start the New Year with a bang!

You can build your own personalised workout based in your goals, then you choose 1 of 4 trainers (I’m one of them!) and we will take you through over 80 different exercises dependant on your level and goal. The best part is that it will also guide you through your diet too. NewU teamed up with You Are What You Eat  and they have created personalised diet plans to follow with your workouts including ones with Gluten/Wheat/Nut intolerances.

VISIT WWW.NEWU.ME FOR A VIDEO PREVIEW!

The game is launched this week and is available to buy at all good game stores and online at www.amazon.co.uk. With every game purchased you received a Free 5-day pass to Fitness First and a 5 point health check.

So go out and buy it! I hope you enjoy it and please feel free to give me your feedback!

Alan Holl is the National Personal Training Manager for Fitness First and an International Presenter.  He has many years experience in Personal Training and Personal Training Management making him a leading authority in his field.  Alan’s passion lies in getting people to achieve their goals, even when they don’t think they can themselves!!

He has somehow managed to answer the question that we have all asked at some point…Why do I crave chocolate so much?

As a man writing this you would think that I would just say that women have no will power and that they have no self control, these are true to a certain extent but not in this case….

Research suggests that sweet food cravings are caused by hormonal and chemical imbalances in the brain and the nervous system. This occurs particularly in women as the Uterus wall is constantly repairing and even more apparent during the time of a woman’s period.

The reason being when a woman is pre menstrual, levels of the hormone Progesterone rise and the body becomes deficient in Magnesium as the body is working overtime to repair the Uterus wall. Chocolate is very rich in Magnesium and women use it as a way of controlling the chemical and hormonal levels in the body. One study revealed that 91% of chocolate cravings associated with menstruation occurred between ovulation and the start of menstruation.

So in summary, ladies you have a scientific explanation to your cravings, although this could be controlled by taking a magnesium supplement its not half as tasty and certainly not as much fun!!

It's my pleasure to introduce my dear friend Bobby Cappuccio....

Occupation: Passion Pilot

Where are you from/where do you live now? New York City Currently residing in San Diego

How do you keep yourself fit?

Integrated circuit training. As Dr. John Ratey of Harvard puts it ““...it now appears that this motor center also coordinates thoughts, attention, emotions, and even social skills...When we exercise, particularly if the exercise requires complex motor movement, we’re also exercising the areas of the brain involved in the full suite of cognitive functions. We’re causing the brain to fire signals along the same network of cells, which solidifies their connections.”

Not only does integrated training with a cardiovascular component increase the effectiveness in which the neural networks in the brain function, it can actually create new neurons that when coupled with novelty of experience and an insatiable appetite for learning, substantially supports cognitive function. That’s why I have a mind like a...a...what’s that thing called...anyway....

What’s your favourite fitness tool/piece of equipment?

There are many great pieces of equipment out there today (I’m sure that there is complete crap as well) but when you consider versatility and my own personal goals it has to be the Vipr. The vipr offers strength training, with a cardiovascular component and a variety of literally thousands of micro-progressions that challenges the sensory motor system in a way that not only can help me move better, but when supported by other factors in my lifestyle think better. You are the sum total of your thoughts, you can feel better, look better, but in my opinion if you truly desire to be better, you must also think better.

If you could change one thing about the fitness industry what would it be?

Focus. We are and will become as an industry what we focus on most of the time. In the past the focus has been on who’s right, rather than what’s right for the client. If you were to randomly ask ten fitness professionals what is it that a trainer does, at minimum eight will respond by detailing the tasks that make up personal training. They will respond with things like “I assess movement, design programmes, implement exercises, progress and regress based on...”, that is how we do what we do but the essence of what we do. What we do must be centered around the outcomes our clients desire. Very rarely will you here a trainer state that he or she “helps others to expand their potential of possibilities in their life and then provide them with the resources/tools to realise those possibilities.” When the focus becomes on a methodology or a guru, then we are closed off to tools and insights that may be of enormous value. What we need in this industry is a commonly shared mission and vision. Then it will be easier to look at all of the leading presenters in the industry and ask “where does this information fit and where?” With clarity of purpose I believe we will find more points of alignment than of contention. The beauty of this industry is that we have so many brilliant educators in this industry and many of them disagree with each other to varying degrees. What is the value in having numerous intelligent people who all thing the same and share the same methodology? With the growing levels of dynamic complexity in our industry what we need is a common goal coupled with innovative thinking. Innovation is largely dependent upon differentiation.

What is your number one tip to help people stay motivated with their exercise programme?

Internalize the why! When an individual finds a why he will find a way. It is never the goal but the consequence of the goal and the ensuing changes that will result in a person’s life, affecting the way he or she feels that drives behavior. Shakespeare said that “...Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds, Or bends with the remover to remove: O no! It is an ever-fixed mark that looks on tempests and is never shaken...”

Find what or who someone loves and how the achievement of their goal helps them to get more of what they deeply love in their life, and they will be intrinsically motivated. We do not have the ability to motivate someone. Motivation is simply a reason for doing something or behaving in some way. Some of our clients’ behaviors support them; some hinder them from having the life they want. What we believe influences what we thing, what we think influences our perceptions, our perceptions influence our actions and our actions affect our outcomes. If someone desires a different effect, they must set different causes in motion. That requires understanding their motives on an emotional level. If someone were to achieve a certain goal, why would that be important? What would be different in his life? Or, if someone didn’t make the changes she desires, what would they lose in life, why is that significant. It’s possible that much of what we do in life is to either experience more love or avoid losing love, either of ourselves or from others. If the intention that drives behaviors becomes our anchor to everything we do with our clients, we increase the chances of keeping them intrinsically motivated. According to the self-determination theory of behavior, it’s only when people do things for their own reasons that a positive behavior pattern is likely to persist.

Our first interview is with Fraser Quelch....

Name: Fraser Quelch

Occupation: Director of Training & Development, Fitness Anywhere (ww.fitnessanywhere.com)

Where are you from/where do you live now?

I grew up in Southern Ontario in Canada but now live in Banff in the Canadian Rocky Mountains

How do you keep yourself fit?

As I've gone through life I've acquired many physical passions that have kept me in pretty good shape. My problem is that once I get into something I have a hard time letting it go which means it gets to be pretty hard to stay focused. If I had to pick only one I'd have to say that my greatest passion is for climbing, rock, ice, alpine - I love them all. I went through a phase of Ironman Triathlon racing and I still love to run on the trails around my home, road ride and mountain bike. I grew up playing ice hockey and basketball and while I only get out on the outdoor rinks now and again to shoot the puck around, I do play in a competitive basketball league every winter. On top of that I of course supplement my activities with regular strength training.

What’s your favourite fitness tool/piece of equipment? 

In my position I would be remiss if I did not say the TRX :-)! Quite honestly in my career I have never come across any one tool that could do so much. Beyond that I think there are a lot of great tools out there. Amoung my favourites are kettlebells, medicine balls, the Tornado ball and good old fashioned barbells and dumbbells. I also know there are some very cool new things coming down the pipe that are being developed by some of my colleagues for people to watch for.

If you could change one thing about the fitness industry what would it be?

Guru following - I think that if as a professional you get stuck adhereing to only one set of ideas, one line of thinking that you limit yourself. No single school of thought is right to the exclusion of all the others. The reality is that everyone gets results so the broader our understanding is the more robust of a tool box we have to draw on. Additionally I would add that no matter how cool of a new training idea or philosophy or system we are using, if we don't connect with our clients passions they will not adhere to what we're doing and as a result they will get disillusioned and drop off having not achieved what they set out to do.

What is your number one tip to help people stay motivated with their exercise programme?

Own your goals and your results. It is discipline, adherence, sacrifice and desire that gets us what we want. Your trainer can only guide you but it is up to you to do it. The hardest thing is to get it in each day. When you own your results, own your process and take on that responsibility is when results happen!

There are many different types of balance training but here I have used a Bosu ball to develop a traditional yoga aeroplane pose. This of course can be done without the Bosu.

For the ultimate challenge....close your eyes!