Something you HAVE to do to lose weight

"I don't have time to cook / prepare food"

If this is how you feel, be prepared to never lose body fat.

No matter how much you hope and pray and invest in bogus fitness scams, there will never be a way to permanently lose body fat and get a great body without preparing food.

Unless you are wealthy enough to pay someone to prepare every meal you eat, you will NEVER get rid of noticeable amounts of body fat.

And don't try to come up with excuses.

I am getting fed up of hearing excuses as to why people CAN'T do things. Why are so few people willing to accept that the reason they are fat is that their current lifestyle has caused it. It's not down to time constraints, work hours, kids or any other crap excuse. I know very busy professionals, with children, who have lost ridiculous amounts of body fat because they accepted it was solely down to them to take responsibility and take action.

Stop looking for reasons why you can't and use the resources you have available to find out how you can!

Here are my answers to the 'reasons' I hear for not preparing food.

"I don't have time"

Rubbish. You can prepare all your food for the next day when you prepare our evening meal or when you make breakast. Make more of it and stick in the fridge for tomorrow.

Alternatively, do it whilst you make breakfast. Goto bed 10 minutes earlier and get up 10 minutes earlier (you'll get abetter quality of sleep as well!)

If you really enjoy cooking, why not make a couple of hours of it at weekends, batch everything up in boxes then your set for the next few days at least.

It takes under 10 minutes to grill chicken breasts, take tuna out of a tin, take raw prawns out of a packet, steam vegetables, boil eggs, boil pasta....the list goes on.

"I don't know how to cook nice, healthy things"

There are lots of combinations on the Storm Force recipe pages, and ultra healthy ones in the fat loss pages. There are also many, many healthy cookbooks in bookstores. Once you learn how to make something you can rack it up very quickly as well!

"I don't know how much I need"

The Storm Force Nutrition system includes an automatic calorie calculator - you put your height, weight, gender and lifestyle in and it will magic up the calories! If you don't want to count calories just buy food from the Storm Force shopping list then trial and error how much you need in your 5-6 meals. We do all the hard work for you!

"I'm too tired in the evenings"

This is probably because you are not eating enough throughout the day so by the time you get to 5pm your body wants nothing but the sofa. Healthy eating will set off an incredible chain of energised days, loss of body fat and greater productivity at work and when exercising - but you have to start somewhere!

Stop making excuses and take sole responsibility for your past and current state - once you can do that you are well on your way.

If you want all the nutrition advice and training programs to shed body fat, register at Storm Force Fitness now.

And don't be afraid to ask questions!

Jon

http://www.stormforcefitness.com

Why commercial gyms shouldn't be successful

They never seem to get people the results they pay for, they cost a lost of money and they have one of the highest customer turnover rates, yet commercial gyms continue to make millions.

It's a disgrace - and I'm going to tell you what happens. Believe me I've worked in one, been the top trainer within months (mainly by treating people like clients who deserved results rather than Member No 4253), and seen it all.

Why gyms are successful when they shouldn't be!

1) They get thousands of people to sign direct debits every January. Easy money - take advantage of the post-Christmas podgers. If all these people turned up on a Wednesday night, the gym would be screwed. The truth is the average gym member goes to the gym 0.8 times per week. Generally this translates as going all of January then getting bored or sick of putting in a lot of time and effort for no results.

2) They successfully play on the innate human trait of needing entertaining. They put on new classes every few weeks with new music, new choreography or a new instructor and everyone gets excited. They add new shiny screens or new machines. If you're a keen class goer you'll have seen adverts for the latest 'BTS launch' every 3 months. Great....so you now have to listen to the latest annoying 'Cheeky Girl tricep track'. You think this will spur you on to results. It doesn't. Again. And why are you excited by machines? I've met so many girls who say "I don't want to bulk up like a bodybuilder", then I see them sitting on those machines which are all designed by bodybuilders, for bodybuilders!

Progress in training needs to come from lifting a heavier weight, resting less between sets, performing variations of key, functional exercises, eating better and becoming more flexible. Anything that forces your body to adapt will bring results - new music won't!

3) They play on the 'burn factor'. Most gym goers wrongly assume that if they ache and can't move after a class and they 'felt the burn' it must be working. Whilst this may be true in some cases, generally the 'burn' in gym classes comes from a build up of lactic acid from high repetition exercises. Whilst this may improve your lactic acid tolerance slightly, you can keep dreaming about lower body fat! Body Pump for instance is a shocking, dangerously unsafe, and grossly ineffective way to lift weights. I won't go into it here or we'll be here all day - just trust me! I've seen (and felt) the results.

4) Most people have no idea how to exercise outside of the gym. They wrongly assume 'the gym' is the training meccah of their local borough, completely blind to the much more effective, cheaper and more exhilirating ways to train at home at outside. The poor, unsuspecting members get into a routine of going to the gym after work, so that's the way it is!

5) They rely on the fact that people think if they keep trying a particular way of getting fit it has to work eventually. "If I just keep banging my head on this brick wall it will eventually break...even though there is a sledgehammer on the other side of the wall"

6) Good gyms are busy gyms - there are some around! However, busy gyms become annoying gyms because no equipment is free. Good gyms then become bad gyms.

7) They give you what you want. Surely that's a good thing? Yes and no. You THINK you need treadmills with heart rate monitors, cross-trainers, steppers, weights benches and aerobics classes. So the gyms give you all of the above so you don't quit. They don't educate you on what you really need to get fit otherwise you wouldn't stick around! You don't get results but it's not a problem....see Point 5!

I could write all day about this topic but it should have given you food for thought.

Take time to stop and take stock of what results you are getting for the time and money invested in your health and fitness. Once your eyes have been opened, seek a different way or you will be stuck forever in the putrid, crowded, recycled air of the local gym!

I know one, and the growing member list do as well - Storm Force Fitness

Calories - to count or not to count?

I keep getting asked about calories so here goes...

Some people live their life by them, others 'don't have time'.

Some people will say calorie counting is unnecessary, some will say it's vital for fat loss.

What's the truth?

As always there are different 'truths' depending on your personal situation.

It is true that you can lose body fat without counting how many calories you are eating each day.

However, I have found this only to be true for those who are very controlled about their eating and have gone through a lot of trial and error to get there!

I have heard many people say that they don't need to count calories but when they finally get annoyed at not losing body fat and give it a go, they find out they are eating far too many calories (once all the cheeky snacks and fizzy drinks are noted!).

Alternatively, some find they are undereating so much that their bodies go into starvation mode and start to protect body fat as part of an age-old defence mechanism.

It is for this reason that I created a nutrition system which uses an automatic calorie counter (at Level 3 of 5) to tell you how much you should be eating each day based on your height, weight, age and lifestyle. That way the 'trial and error' has already been done for you to save you time!

Once you have done this for a few weeks, you soon learn how to control portion size to keep you in the calorie deficit which is definitely, undeniably, without question, required for fat loss.

It's a bit like driving a car. For the first few weeks or maybe months, you have to concentrate really hard on doing everything right. However, you soon find yourself able to do it with ease - to the point that it doesn't take you any longer to prepare food than it did when you poured anything down your throat!

But the results will be much more spectacular!

So how many do YOU need?

Today I'm going to open up the calorie calculator page of the Storm Force Nutrition system - all you need to do is stick in your stats and it will immediately show you how many calories you need for fat loss.

Once you've done that, count how many calories you eat for a whole day and see what the difference is.

Beware, you may be shocked!

Don't forget, as a Storm Force Fitness member you only go to the level you feel is appropriate for your lifestyle and the results you want to achieve. You might choose to still avoid the calorie section and still get impressive results, by using the carb rotation and healthy recipe section!

The training, flexibility and abs systems work exactly the same so they work every time!

You get out of life what you put in!

Go to the calorie calculator (this is only available until Tuesday 26th August 18.00)

Live life in the fast lane,
Jon

Why quitters suck

Apparently one of my friends has decided to quit athletics as he doesn't think he can ever be as good as the two top guys in his team.

That kind of attitude sucks!

The truth is unless you are super-talented and have the work-ethic of a shire horse on speed, there will always be someone better than you.

There will always be someone thinner, leaner, faster, stronger or more muscley than you.

That doesn't mean you can't stand out.

That doesn't mean you can't achieve great things.

Harness competition rather than quitting.

If something is worth doing, or worth having, there will always be competition for the prize on offer.

The fact is there is never just one prize on offer and second and third place usually carry massive value as well.

Ladies, if you're a Size 10 and have body fat of 15% you may not have quite as good a body as a Size 8 at 12% body fat but you'll still look damn good!

So use competition as a benchmark and a target to aim for but never, ever, ever quit until you have tried everything!

Live life in the fast lane,
Jon http://www.stormforcefitness.com

Fitness and the Rubix cube

I've been on holiday this week back home in Guernsey.

I've managed to get in:

- my Storm Force bodyweight workouts (20 minutes in the garage - it didn't need to be any longer believe me!)

- two laps around the island on my bike (I'm going for my record after I send you this)

- walks on the cliffs to break in my boots for Borneo (although I usually end up sprinting up stairs as I get bored walking!)

However, while the 'summer' weather has kept me indoors at certain points I found myself playing a game which is a cross between a Rubix cube and a 3-D jigsaw.

Basically, you have to get 10 oddly shaped pieces back in the cube shaped box to make a perfect cube.

So, so much harder than it sounds and I've yet to complete it!

More annoying is that I appear to have done exactly what I tell you guys NOT to do...

After throwing the box down in disgust after yet another failed attempt I noticed that you can find the solutions on the internet.

Which got me thinking.

Why spend time going around in circles with no plan as to how to get the task at hand complete, when a step-by-step solution is there at the touch of a button? A few clicks and you're off and running with the EXACT solution!

I also then realised that I had just joined the millions of people out there who I have been trying to educate about time-efficient, effective fitness solutions.

Okay it's fun to try things on our own at first and 'give it a go'. However, after a short time, if you haven't found the solution, it can only be your stubborn nature which makes you try over and over again to use the same failed 'solution' to your problem.

Why do we do it?

I don't know to be honest.

What's even more surprising is we (or at least most of us) don't try to fix our cars, we don't pull our own teeth out, we don't administer injections against illness, we don't fix our own dodgy plumbing, yet everyone thinks they can fix their shocking fat levels because they heard what Geri Halliwell's trainer said in 'Hello' magazine or they read the latest, greatest 'get ripped' workout in Men's Health!

That's either arrogance in our own abilities, ignorance of what's available or stupidity!

I think most people fall into the third category unfortunately - you know where to get all the information now so it should be a question of when and not if you are a member of Storm Force.

The amount of time and money that is wasted on 'fitness' products in Britain is astonishing, especially when a solution based on real experience with people just like you, is just a few clicks away!

You guys know by now I love a challenge which is all very well when you are looking for something to fill time. If you're looking for something to SAVE time, then you need to get on Storm Force Fitness, stop messing around and thinking too much and start getting results!

Jon - Storm Force Fitness

My Top 5 Olympic lessons

A timely reminder was given this week in the build up to the Olympics.

British boxer, Frankie Gavin failed to get down to the required weight for his event and consequently found himself on the plane home.

I found this pretty disgraceful to be honest! How can a sportsman with all the support mechanisms Frankie had, end up 1.36kg overweight?

This is not really my point today though. My point is that it goes to prove that the the best goals can be shot down at the last minute unless you are totally focussed on what needs to be achieved and when. I could be wrong but it seems that someone messed up badly in planning what weight Frankie needed to be by certain dates in the months and weeks leading up to the Games.

In the goal setting section of Storm Force Fitness, I teach you how to set long-term goals based on a series of short-term goals. If you simply have a long-term goal in mind, its easy to lose focus in between then suddenly panic because you're not ready when the big day arrives.

The big day might be the London Marathon, the Olympics, your wedding day or just a date by which you said you would lose a stone.

The Olympics teaches us many lessons but here are my Top 5:

1) Those who succeed and are able to revel in the results for the rest of their lives are those who are prepared. Luck rarely plays a part in the Olympics - any failures can usually be traced to a lack of preparation somewhere along the line. I don't believe anyone can be 'better on the day'. They prepared better and got the result!

2) Overnight success occurs over a number of months or years. If you are trying to lose weight you will go through difficult times where the only person who cares about your goals is you. Unless you remain strong and focussed you will never achieve your goal. If you do, on that 'big day' everyone will suddenly notice and the times you doubted yourself will fade into history while the memories of success live with you forever! Britain wasn't aware of Sir Steve Redgrave's 5am rows or 5 hours a day training, but we sat up amazed when he got his 5th Olympic gold and when the Queen honoured him with a CBE.

3) Nothing good comes without hard work. If it sounds easy and too good to be true, it is! If you constantly look for magic solutions you will spend a lot of time and money with little in return.

4) We want to see in others what we never had the balls to go for ourselves. Everyone loves the Olympics! The pain, the effort, the glory, the national pride, me included. But why do we revel so much in others achievement when we are all capable of setting our own goals. At some point in the lives of champions they were just another person with an impossible dream. What's yours?

5) If something means enough, you will do anything to achieve it and surprise yourself at what you are capable of. Speak of what you want, then take many, many small steps to get there.

Join those who are already working towards their dreams at Storm Force Fitness and you will find a community to talk with, learn from and who will help keep you on track!

Stay strong,
Jon

Storm Force Fitness is launched!

The day has finally arrived.

Storm Force Fitness has been launched! Phew!

For me it's a combination of relief (after thousands of hours of research, design and stressful weekends), excitement at being able to change the lives of thousands of people around Britain and the rest of the world, nerves from not knowing where this unique website will take my life and pride. It's hard not to be proud of yourself when you finally achieve a dream which has consumed your life for the last 18 months!

I believe Storm Force Fitness will provide everything you need to finally break the constraints that have stopped you from having a body your not just happy with, but delighted with!

Having seen the systems work wonders with my personal training clients, I know that the only thing that will stop it working for other people is their commitment and desire to achieve the goals they set themselves.

This is finally my chance to drag people away from the soul-destroying, fruitless commercial gym mentality and create a community which thrives on achieving personal goals and seeing visual changes which amaze themselves and those around them!

Ever since qualifying as a trainer, I have strived to find ways of training and coaching people both mentally and physically. I was seen as rather disruptive at my first job in a commercial gym simply because I refused to accept the practices employed which were designed NOT to get people results as advertised, but simply to bulk up membership numbers.

As a person who thrives on challenges and ambition, it became impossible to work in such an environment watching people blindly wasting hours with training which would never, ever get them anywhere near the body they were hoping for.

Fast forwarding 18 months and I find myself at a major turning point in my life! Where Storm Force Fitness will take me is in my own hands I guess. I don't believe in luck - I believe if you have good intentions behind everything you do then you will achieve the success you deserve!

This mentality forms the very spirit of Storm Force Fitness. If you aren't achieving your health and fitness goals whether it be weight loss, 10km running or anything else, a lack of results is down to you. Don't look for excuses why it hasn't happened - look to future and find reasons why it CAN.

The only thing left to say at this point is get straight to Storm Force Fitness and have a look around. Keep coming back to the blog where I promise to post nothing but the truth when it comes to fitness. If it works, you'll find it here. If it doesn't work, I'll tell you why. Right here!

Good luck with all your goals - you know who to ask if you have any questions!

Jon Le Tocq