VIRGIN TERRITORY.....TIME TO STEP OUTSIDE YOUR COMFORT ZONE.

Firstly I must point out that today's blog has nothing to do with the vestal virgins of ancient Rome, fascinating though that maybe, no, today I am concerned  about how so many people stick to their tried and tested routines be it yoga, tennis, running, swimming, cycling or gym workouts and never change what they do. They do the same thing nearly every time and though the consistency of any fitness routine is paramount it is the variety of effort within the routine that will give you the most benefits. I have talked before of 'bang for your buck' or more eloquently, 'minimum effective dose' exercise routines, yet for many people who are trying to get fit or lose weight they sadly assume that what they do a few times a week will be enough.... and then are surprised to learn that it doesn't work. They will then go on to make sweeping assumptions that the reason is due to hormonal imbalances or the wrong kind of genes... or it's not in their DNA make up.... whatever that means.

   If you make any positive change to your routine be it in
what you eat or in how much or in the type or intensity of your exercise routine then you will see a difference. You have to step outside your comfort zone, you have to extend your horizons...

                       A man's reach must always extend beyond his grasp.

I remember about 25 years ago running virtually the same route month after month, I was fit but I never lost weight or got quicker or increased my muscle mass. I assumed, as many people did at the time, that this was the way to train, much like years ago the standard nutrition for football players and marathon runners was pasta. I too went along with this believing that by stuffing my face with pasta the night before a big run would do the trick, I'am afraid its not quite that simple.
 Often I see overweight people jogging along the road and its great that they are trying to do
something about their health however after a few months their weight loss will decrease and sadly they may become demotivated and give up. This is a normal pattern and is often associated with poor diet, which is always the real culprit of their obesity. The point though is that they have been brainwashed into believing that jogging will cure their obesity. It won't and never does.

Remember exercise will keep you fit and healthy but it is only a small part of the weight/fat loss equation. It is your diet that is the key....always.

It all depends on your goal. If you wish to run a marathon then its common sense to train for it by running frequently. If you want lose weight or cut fat then you must train and eat accordingly. Likewise if your goal is to improve your figure or acquire a lean muscular physique then eating and exercising has to be even more targeted and specific.There are many varied factors and all will require a different training and nutrition protocol. One size does not fit all.
Very often people are slightly motivated to do one of the above or would like to lose weight but I find that often they are not prepared to make the changes necessary. The older I get the more I notice that very few people are prepared to make the sacrifices that are needed. They just can't be bothered. Its far easier to sit in front of the TV and have a glass of wine and a bag of crisps! These days I refuse to train anyone who has not already made a decision to step up and sort themselves out. Its no point me pushing and motivating them if they do not have the will to carry it through.                             
The reason is simple because if it is not a 'must' for them and its just a vague hope or a nice idea then they will not succeed and no amount of motivation from me will alter this. I would not waste money on a personal trainer if you have not made a decision to follow through with your health goal until you succeed.

Any change you wish to make in your health and fitness will involve stepping outside your daily routine and current comfort zone. I believe in making dynamic positive changes, some people such as Precision Nutrition (PN) preach small steps and though I understand this method I rarely use it. They are a great organisation and have excellent results and although I agree with many of many of their nutritional guidelines I tend to go for big lifestyle changes and total immersion in your new health goal. You see much faster results and psychologically that motivates them and me into pursuing the person they want to become.You could be someone new to training or an experienced athlete, either way you have to shake outthose bad habits, we all have them. I prefer to recognise them and deal with it on a multilevel approach. Specific nutrition and targeted training methods are what a Personal Trainer should be giving you otherwise its just maintenance. Now there is nothing wrong with maintenance if you are already at a high level of fitness and health but to be truthful we all can improve and do better.

 Consistency is the first step but after that I prefer to break new ground and
move into more virgin territory. Its remarkable what changes the body and mind will make when you test yourself in a new area. People love feeling healthy when before they were not. Personally I like to change things all the time. One day I'll do a 10 k trail run and another day a hard 50 minute strength session. The variety is hugely stimulating.
For example:-
The other week I did  20 minute high intensity session of 500 varied body weight reps and the next day an easy jog along the river. Then I did nothing for 2 days and then my son, Alexander, suggested a routine of just press ups and flys. Very simple but tough. We did 9 press ups rested for 20 seconds then 1, then 8, then 2, then 7, then 3, then 6 etc and continued all the way down to zero and then reversed back up to 10.
Basically 200 press ups followed by 5 sets of 10 flys. We were just hitting the chest and back..... I had DOMS for about 5 days but I still did a 5k tempo run on the 7th day.

This might seem excessive but the total time training for that week was around 2.5 hours which is less than 2% of the hours in a week, hardly excessive but as you can see it's extremely varied and the body is constantly shocked into having to make adaptations. This will keep you fit lean and well conditioned which is my personal goal however this is still only a small part of the equation because it is my diet that will have the greatest effect. If I go eat a pizza after each session or have half a bottle of wine then I might as well not bother. You need to vary your nutrition with a variety of healthy foods, this takes a little planning so you must shop with the next 3 days in mind as you want fresh vegetables/salad with every meal with good sources of protein and some nuts, seeds and slow release carbs. If you don't eat this way then your health goal is going to be far more difficult to achieve and take an awful lot longer.

Virgin territory in Andalucia.

If you wake up every day with the same body composition and fitness despite doing 'regular exercise' its because you are not doing what I have just outlined, it has nothing to do with your genes or whether you are big boned ..... or even if you're descended from a line of hippo's!
Its time me to step up and break out of your ineffective routine and get serious.

Speaking of virgin territory and comfort zones, a few weeks ago I took off into the Andalusian hills in southern Spain, it was a tough rocky trail in the middle of nowhere and after running into a family of wild boar, a bit nerve racking but a few a few hours later I felt tired but exhilarated.
 If you can become passionate about health and fitness then the rewards are never ending.