Great year!

Well 2011 is near its end and I was thinking about how things have changed for me in the last year.

2011 started with me being reminded why I do this job, back in January my best friend and one of the most inspirational athletes I’ve ever met Rosemary Tallon was competing in the IPC world athletics championships in Christchurch, New Zealand. For both of us this was the culmination of 2 years work and training, as she recovered from major surgery in 2009 to compete in both shot putt and discus. Due to a questionable change in classification she was unable to perform at the level that had made her the world number 1 shot putter in 2010.

In February and March, I explored the first of some new training methods I was to learn last year. I have been training with kettlebells for a number of years, but this was the first time I got serious about doing some kettlebell sport training. It proved to be an interesting learning curve and pointed me in a few new directions about how I train both clients and myself. At the end of March I completed my Advanced EKI certificate, big thanks to BJ Rule for taking us through the course it only took me a week to recover so he was going easy that day.

In April I decided to take the plunge and try some I had only seen on YouTube, when I started I couldn’t quite anticipate the effect it would have or the impact it would make. So much so that it was one of the main reasons for me starting this blog. April, May and June were taken up by my Bulgarian Bag certification and that really was an amazing journey, take the time to read my experience of it. It hasn’t just lead me to new skills but has sparked a whole new attitude in my training philosophy and reminded me just how much I loved a big physical challenge. Tommy Mathews and Steve Nave were both excellent, and a big thank you goes out to everybody who made that weekend so special.

I took a holiday in July and in August I was moved to a new flat.

In September I finally decided to get a website, I had been toying with the idea for a while and finally took the plunge since its launch in mid-October it has become a great tool to let people know about me and what I do. The site is growing all the time and my site and twitter feed are getting more popular by the day. September also marked my return to martial arts training. Since I was 7 I’ve been training in one form of martial arts or another and in September I discovered a bujinkan dojo in London that suited my working hours. It has been 10 years since I trained in that art but it has probably been the biggest influence on my training the art teaches you to use whatever works best at the time and not to get set in one way of thinking, hopefully I can live up to that ideal.

In November I was introduced to power clubs and I’m really looking forward to exploring this training method more in the New Year, but first I have a little project. In December I began preparation for my Olympic weightlifting instructor’s cert. That happens the first week in February and I’m already building up to it.

2011 was an amazing year for me, my business grew, I developed as a trainer and things just keep getting better and better. I want to thank everybody who made 2011 so good. I’ve been planning 2012 already first up is Olympic weight lifting in February. There is a lot more to come in 2012 so keep watching and thank you for reading.

Happy New Year.

We really are what we eat!

I want you to think a little bit about why we eat, not what we eat, but why. I’m not talking about any psychological motivation but the most basic reasons why we eat. Food is an important part of our day, we can’t survive without it so it’s pretty vital, and in fact it’s pretty much the same category as breathing.

Most of the food we take in gets used for two things either fuel or repair and growth. Let’s start with fuel, most people will agree that your body is an amazing machine it’s a piece of engineering that surpasses anything manmade that has ever gone on land, sea, air or beyond, and when you think about machines like the space shuttle, the SR-71, a nuclear submarine or a Ferrari Enzo you suddenly realise just how incredible it really is. We have all dreamed about owning that sports car some of you may have actually owned one, so think about the care it takes. Think about how you keep it clean, keep the engine serviced, about how it feels to dive and how good it feels as you pull into the petrol station to fill up and people’s heads turn to look at you and your lovingly cared for machine. Now I want you to think about getting out of it, walking up to the pump and you have a dilemma do you go for the premium unleaded which is going to burn cleanly, keep your engine running smoothly, give you more MPG and improves its overall performance or do you reach for the petrol, that leaves carbon deposits in your engine, pumps out soot and burns off in a few miles and makes you go slower? Bit of a no brainer really.

The other main use for food is repair and growth. Our bodies go through a constant process of renewal. Bones break down and regrow, our muscles are constantly being damaged, repairing and growing and our hair and nails continue to grow for our entire lifetime.  Although we can re process some of the materials we still need more and that has to come from an outside source. That source is our diet. When you think about that for a moment you suddenly realise that the old adage “you are what you eat” isn’t so much of a cliché after all. Again think about the sports car, what exactly is it that makes it so special? Is it the shape of the body or the power of the engine or the way it makes you feel? In reality it’s a combination of everything. When we look at a high end sports car the first thing you notice is how well built it is. The quality of its parts is really what sets it apart from the standard models.

With all the money you have spent on the car and your emotional attachment to it you’re going to take care of it. After all you may have it for 5-10 years so it needs to last.

Oh hang on our bodies are designed to last a lifetime and unlike cars when something goes wrong replacement parts aren’t always an option.

Like anything in our life with our food we have choice, but that choice goes beyond taste. It affects our health, our physique and ultimately our happiness. So before you make that choice ask yourself do you want to be made from the best of everything, run on quality fuel and performing at the highest level you can, or would you rather be slow, inefficient and not really getting anywhere?

You decide!