Storm Force Fitness

Storm Force Fitness Blog Has Moved House!

2009-06-04T04:26:00.001-07:00

Thanks for dropping by - we've actually moved the Storm Force Fitness blog to its new home at World's Toughest Workouts.

Hop on over there and jump on the subsrciber list to get on the Inner Circle for free programs.

See you there,
Jon

The boredom of fat loss

2009-05-09T05:53:00.000-07:00

Is anyone else bored of ‘build muscle, burn fat’ training?

Having spent the week training on the beaches of Thailand whilst on a fitness masterminding event, it struck me once again that the ‘build muscle, burn fat’ training programs which have infected the internet are well off-track.

I don’t want to mention specific programs but if you’ve done any searching for fat loss programs on the internet you’ll know what I mean!

The thing is there is nothing wrong with wanting to build muscle and burn fat but as far as I’m concerned it’s a very negative way to approach fitness.

Essentially all you’re doing is making good all the cock-ups you’ve made over the last few years! Good on you for taking the steps to do it, but there’s more to life than just repairing weaknesses.

Many athletes and coaches will tell you that you’re only as good as your weakest link. This may be true in some cases but if you only ever work on repairing weaknesses you’re never going to actually improve your physical abilities or become better able to take on new challenges.

Imagine yourself in 30 years telling your grandchildren all your life stories. Would you rather tell them about the time you were fat and lost 10lbs in 4 weeks or the times you climbed mountains, took on multi-terrain challenges, completed Marine style assault courses, trained in the forest with logs and trees and bears….

Okay maybe not bears.

If you’re carrying more flab than a polar bear than yes, you need to solve that problem but the key to real, long-term, mind-blowing results is to NOT focus on fat loss.

I heard of a guy who lost an astounding amount of body fat by doing just that. I think he lost about 10 stone by believing he was an athlete and living like an athlete. He got up at 5am to train before work, as an athlete might. He also trained after work. He ate like an athlete.

The guy lifted heavy weights like an athlete and performed intense intervals like an athlete.

He did NOT weigh himself everyday.

He then decided he would give Muay Thai a go once he got to a weight that would allow him to take the punishing training.

He did NOT weigh himself everyday or train for fat loss.

He trained to be a Muay Thai fighter and soon looked AND PERFORMED like one.

The key difference in finding something that you actually enjoy enough to continue indefinitely is between training that motivates you and training that inspires you.

The first is what you get with a 6 week fat loss program.

Motivation soon dwindles because fat loss in itself is not a rewarding enough goal for all but a very small minority who are obsesses with their bodies. Even then you have to question how fulfilling their life is.

You then search for other fat loss products for some reason even though the last lot bored you! This is why most people have every famous fat loss e-book on their hard drive but they’re still fat.

To find training that inspires you indefinitely, you need to find challenges with real meaning and excitement!

You may have heard of pleasure versus pain.

When you buy a fat loss product, the clever marketer has preyed on your pain and told you how crap life is because you’re fat. This motivates you.

6 weeks later you either haven’t lost weight and get demoralised, or you reach a point when you don’t need to lose fat and you lose interest in training.

Then you get fat again and the cycle continues.

For permanent results and creation of a body that looks AND performs like an athlete you need to train as if you truly believe you are an athlete, a competitor in a sports event, or even a soldier whose life could depend on their fitness.

Move yourself towards the pleasure end of the spectrum by training for experiences that will make awesome stories when you’re older!

There are infinite possibilities out there you just need to stop being blinkered by the meaningless fat loss bullshit that I really believe is ruining what the fitness industry should be about.

That’s my rant over, now I want to hear your side of the argument!

This may all seem kind of weird coming from the creator of the Fat Loss Action Blueprint but this needs to be said.

I’ll be honest with you.

The FLAB works damn well and gets great fat loss results but the only reason I wrote it in the first place was because I felt some need to jump on the internet fat loss bandwagon.

Hey, we all make misinformed choices - some are just more willing to admit them than others and do something about it!

My attitude has now completely changed with regard to fat loss and I hope this get you thinking!

Let me know your thoughts….

How has fat loss training worked for you in the long and short terms?

Have you found other ways to inspire you which have helped you maintain a long-term focus and inspired you to achieve more with your life than losing a few pounds?

Please leave your comments below!

Jon Le Tocq

More Holiday Workouts From Thailand

2009-05-05T08:58:00.001-07:00

If there's one thing that gets the vein in my head popping, it's people who think they can't workout without a gym.

What a load of crap.

I am sitting right now in my towel after a short but tough 20 minute workout in the pool at our villa.

Fortunately I am not one of the poor sods who think aqua aerobics will help them lose weight.

Instead my session went like this (in a lightning storm!)

Set the clock at 20 minutes.
Perform 10 lengths of the 10 metre pool as fast as possible.
20 push ups on the side of the pool.
10 lengths
20 burpees
10 lengths
10 one arm push ups each side
10 lengths
10 jump squats, 10 burpees
10 lengths
10 one arm push ups each side 10 lengths

The lesson of the day....I'm rubbish at swimming.

Ah well, definitely burnt off the chicken satay and fried veggies.

More holiday updates soon!
Jon

Marine workout on the beach

2009-05-03T19:26:00.000-07:00

I'm in Thailand for 10 days.

For most people this means boozy night at the beach bar, lie-ins and too much rice.

Well, after a low carb lobster meal last night, the organiser of this 'fitness mastermind' event in Phuket, Dax Moy, revealed a nasty surprise.

At 6.30 am this morning we were all up and before we could dive into the usual lucious fresh fruit breakfast, we hit the beach.

What followed was neither nice nor pretty but highly effective!

Dax used to serve in the marines so had something special up his sleeve for us.

Today dawned the Magic Hundred beach workout, which went as follows.

(Before starting, mark out a 100m strip of soft, sandy beach)

100m sprint
100m swim back
100m push ups (push ups for distance so you have to push up and forward every rep)
100m walking lunge back
100m jump squat
100m seal crawl back
100m roll
100m swim
100m sprint in water back

Descriptions:

For the seal crawl, lie on the sand and drag yourself 100m using your legs as little as possible. Imagine you have no use of your legs and you'll get it!

For the roll, perform forward rolls for the distance.

We had intended to add a 100m rock throw but couldn't find any suitable rocks or logs!

The swims were an absolute killer because it was virtually impossible to get any momentum due to constantly breaking 4-5ft waves!

So if you ever tell me you couldn't train on holiday because you couldn't get to a gym, you will get some stick!

This was fun in a sick kind of way and as you can see there was absolutely no equipment needed, yet ruined us!

Full body exercises, power endurance, strength, core strength in the waves, upper body, lower body, mental toughness, grind, but most importantly out in the wonders of nature.

Think outside the box guys, there's so much out there to inspire your fitness goals.

I'll have the video soon!

Jon

Beach workouts in Thailand!

2009-05-02T09:44:00.000-07:00

Thailand rocks!

I'm well into my fitness masterminding event just outside of Phuket and we just got back from being caught in a true Storm Force rain shower!

There's something awesome about swimming in the dark, in warm bath water being pelted by warm rain with giant flashes lighting up the sky!

What more do you want after a day of producing killer fitness product ideas and sunbathing!

However, I thought I best let you know that there hasn't been any slacking on the training as we've managed to get in a beach sprint session.

8 rounds

100m sprint on soft sand followed by a light jog or swim back to the start

Perfect interval session!

The sand provides great resistance and the soft nature of the sand whilst being friendly on the knees also forces you to develop pull from your hip flexor muscles as less force can be generated b pushing on the sand by your back foot!

Try it on your holidays this year!

Tomorrow I'm going for a double whammy of 10k beach run for Tough Guy preparation with a quick bodyweight-swim circuit like this.

Working with a partner I'll be doing the following for 20 minutes:

One person completes 10 lengths of the 10m pool at our 5 star villa.

The other person must do burpee-push ups until the swimmer is finished.

Switch and repeat for 20 minutes!

(That's the view out of our 'office')

Short, sharp and very effective.

If I can't find a partner willing to take on the challenge I'll do 10 lengths to 30 burpees continuously.

There is no reason to shy out of workouts when you're on holiday guys so stop looking for reasons not to do it!

I could easily make excuses about time (despite what you may think I'm working hard and didn't finish masterminding until 3am, last night!), the heat, the need to relax etc.

The fact is my Tough Guy race in July isn't going to change date or allow me to make excuses - it will try to bring me down no matter what!

Look for the things you CAN do when your daily routine and equipment changes!

Nature provides the best gyms I ever find and they're different every time!

Keep an eye out for more crazy workouts this week!

Jon

Butt kicking of the year

2009-04-28T04:56:00.000-07:00

Some people are asking just how tough Intense Conditioning really is going to be and wondering if they really work hard enough when they train.

Well, here's the workout I did this morning - the video is from when I did it last year.

It will answer both questions.

This very workout is in Week 9 of the Intense Conditioning program with a couple of slight tweaks.

Quite simply it will kick you in places you've never been kicked.

Guys, this is what I mean by a true metabolic weight session - the intensity when done properly is mind-numbing!

If you want abs, a lean athletic body, unstoppable conditioning, bigger muscles or anything else you need to be willing to give it everything.

This doesn't mean selling your soul to fitness or living at the gym!

However, you need to be able to zone out of your troubles for those 45 minutes when you give 100% to whatever session is in your program - and love it!!!

You also need to be following your nutrition plan all week.

By all means reward yourself ONCE per week but remember what REWARD means.

You don't earn - you don't get! Be strict with yourself.

Anyway here's the session - go on I dare you to try it.... (VIDEO BELOW)

4 Rounds of....

20 swings
20 snatches (10 each side)
20 swings
20 jerks (10 each side)
20 swings
20 snatches (10 each side)
20 swings
40 single arm rows (10 each side)
20 swings
50 push ups

Intense Conditioning workouts - more sneak previews

2009-04-27T08:16:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I get bored of talking and hearing about fat loss!

I know that sounds stupid but fat loss really is pretty simple if you just decide you want to do it!

Admit it, we're all getting a little tired of hearing about transformation contests, 'awesome abs' and magic fat loss programs!

What's not so simple, but a lot more exciting, is designing and following programs which lead to increases in strength, power, aerobic and anaerobic conditioning all at once!

So I set to work....

In just a few weeks I'll finally get to unleash Intense Conditioning.

The 12 week program takes you through a 4 week 'pain tolerance' phase whilst practicing certain strength techniques and exercises you probably haven't used or have neglected for too long!

(Oh and you'll no doubt see your body fat drop too!)

It's time to get serious about training! If you like drilling yourself into the ground - you'll love this!!!

In Week 5 we move into combined strength and conditioning training to optimise all areas of your fitness without having to focus solely on one.

If you want to be a powerlifter or pack on muscle for the sake of it, this isn't for you.

If you want to be lean and athletic it most definitely is!

You need to be ready to commit to your training though - this doesn't work with half-arsed attitudes and 'train when I have time' mentalities.

Stay tuned folks - you'll want to get hold of this........

Check out some of the previews!

Doctors are screwed

2009-04-24T03:58:00.001-07:00

Well they're not but they should be.

As as I am concerned we shouldn't need doctors.

We also shouldn't need people like me.

Why?

Because disease and illness is caused by environmental factors.

Environmental factors are caused by man.

When I went to Borneo last year, our guide told us about how all the medicines 'you Westerners' spend billions on can be found for free in Borneo, in the wild.

We were shown how termites could be used to clamp, seal and repair flesh wounds - it astouneded me.

In the good old days, nature healed all.

Here's a great video from the legendary Paul Chek on why you should never need a doctor again.

He can come across as a little eccentric at times but the point is he knows his stuff and you need to listen up!

Counting calories

2009-04-23T08:31:00.001-07:00

I just had an email from Petra in the US who got awesome results following the Fat Loss Action Blueprint.

We were talking about calories and how many calories were in a particular recipe in 'Cooking For The Fitness Lifestyle'.

I used to think calorie counting was the key to fat loss.

However, whilst it is useful as a guide especially for those who have no idea what to eat or how much for fat loss, consider the following....

Recipes

When you look at a recipe and it says it contains 350 calories how can you accurately replicate that when all eggs are different sizes?

I include calorie amounts in the cookbook as a guide but clearly it's not going to be 100% as your eggs may be bigger than mine!

Burning calories

If you have found out you should eat 300 calories 5/6 times per day to burn body fat, what happens if you walk up an extra 10 flights of stairs a few times that day because you're at a conference and the lift is broken?

What if it's 10 degrees colder and you are shivering more - should you adjust for summer and winter?

What if you have some labouring to do at home because you're doing up your porch?

What if your wife helps you with the labouring on Saturday but has to take the kids to a party the next day?

What if you play a better football team this week than last week so you have to run around more and work harder?

What if you have a physical job like a fireman? Some days you'll be sat down a lot because fortunately no-one needs you help. Other days you could be in action for 5-6 hours in a row. What do you do then? Are you going to whip out your scales and have an extra half an egg whilst you heroically hoist Mrs Jones out of her top floor window to make up for it?

What if Mrs Jones has packed on some pounds at Christmas, tripped over the fairy lights and sparked that fire. She weighs more than she did in November so it's going to require greater exertion to get her out - are you going to have to carbo load when you get back to the station?

I think you get the point!

It is physically impossible to accurately calculate how many calories you need each and every day so I really suggest you don't bother once you have gained insight into how big a meal size should be using estimates from reliable sources.

This is a perfect example of how many people spend so much time trying to create the perfect nutrition or training plan when they would be better off just getting the kettlebells out and beasting themselves.

The calories then take care of themselves!

This is the basis of the forthcoming Intense Conditioning program - worry about what matters!

Train hard.

Use high, low, no carb days in a cycle to trick your body into dropping body fat.

Eat clean, natural food.

You can't fail to get results.

Intense Conditioning is coming!

2009-04-23T06:23:00.000-07:00

Intense Conditioning will soon be released! I and a few of my trainer friends around the world have been following it for the last few weeks as well as a couple of my clients.

The program brings together everything you need to know to rapidly increase your strength, power and conditioning without needing any specialist equipment!

Too many people these days get fixated with 'kettlebells are better than dumbbells', 'bodyweight is for beginners', 'I need to be a member of gym to get results'.

Stop the bickering, stop the excuses and get on with it - you'll see awesome results!!

The truth is...

...you don't need to be doing the same exercises week in and week out
...you can increase strength without big, rusty squat racks
...you don't need to spend more time in your gym than the staff
...intense is fun!!!

I watched a program about gastric banding the other day and got really wound up at how pathetic and foolish these people are.

If you want me to feel sorry for you because you have rammed yourself full of crap foods when you knew what damage it was doing, then think again!

Too many of us make the effort to turn down the filth you have been drip feeding into your arteries and whilst you were marvelling at the stars of Eastenders we were out throwing kettlebells around and trying to figure out just what it would take to get the damn things over our head just a few more times!

I love new challenges and I love not knowing what the next workout will bring! It keeps me motivated, mentally stable and most importantly lean and athletic!

Then I realised, why worry about people like that?

There are always going to be lazy, fat people around so I need to get used to it!

I am delighted to help those who are willing to take responsibility and stop using words like 'too hard', 'like it too much', 'have to entertain a lot so can't' and 'haven't got time'.

That's what the Fat Loss Action Blueprint is for.

Instead I should be focussing on those who really love fitness for what it is, who don't have a cardiac arrest at the thought of breaking a sweat and who understand that a love of fitness and the euphoric feelings it gives you everyday!

So I will soon be unleashing Intense Conditioning, with all the workouts you need to shed body fat, increase strength and improve staying power and mental toughness!

And that's just for starters!

As you can see it's not for girls though....

Jon talks strength and conditioning with Alwyn Cosgrove

2009-04-21T12:28:00.000-07:00

Following on from my interview with Craig Ballantyne, I hooked up with world-renowned coach Alwyn Cosgrove.

If you've never heard of this guy, I strongly suggest you google him and see what you find!

I've yet to find someone who gets such strong points across INSTANTLY!

Let's see what he had to say about periodising your training, nutrition, carbs and which people influenced him throughout life....

********************

JLT: Hi Alwyn thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to chat strength, conditioning and fat loss with me. I know your straight up attitude is something a lot of people have warmed to and admire, myself included!

AC: No problem, Jon

JLT: Now, I love spending time with people who just want fast results without all the unnecessary trimmings. However, sometimes there is a need to go beyond just ‘working out hard’ all the time.

What are your thoughts on periodisation, in particular linear versus
undulating versus the conjugate model when it comes to getting an
athlete or Joe Public in top shape? Does it depend on the individual and their sport or is there one best way in your opinion?

AC: Well, it depends on a lot of variables. For the general population with general goals, usually fat loss, an alternating linear approach seems to work best. In other words Weeks 1-4 we would work with sets of 12 reps, Weeks 5-8, 8 reps, Weeks 9-12: 10 reps, Weeks 13-16: 6 reps.

For general strength, the science has shown undulating periodization to be superior, but the same researchers showed it to be less effective for muscular endurance.

The conjugate system works well for athletes who need to peak multiple times
or have long seasons, but in our experience the rate of progress is somewhat
slower and requires more recovery.

As with most things – there’s never one right answer.

JLT: Awesome thanks for that! Take note readers again we have another expert confirming that you shouldn’t be searching for that perfect program. The perfect program for your next door neighbour may not be for you.

AC: Precisely.

JLT: Moving on do you think periodisation or cycling practices should be applied to nutrition as well or do you believe you have a set of rules which must be applied all year round for top results?

AC: You may have heard me say before that methods are many, principles are few, methods may change, principles never do.

We use the same principles year round and look for 80-90% compliance to the
principles. We may add extra “rules” for weight class athletes or when
someone is peaking but it’s always the same philosophy.

(These principles can be found here)

JLT: My thoughts exactly – everyone’s always looking for ‘new’ when it’s adhering to the proven stuff that gets the job done. What are your views on carbohydrates? Do you agree with only eating carbs after training, before and after training?

AC: For fat loss it’s a very effective strategy, for hypertophy then it’s
overly restrictive as we need to be getting sufficient calories in to stimulate muscle growth.

JLT: Right so would you ever cycle carb intake with individuals such as low-medium-high days?

AC: We have used it but we don’t emphasize carb cycling too much to be
honest.

I can see the effectiveness of it, but in our experience it hasn't been that much more effective in the average client over time - and for most of them it creates too much hassle and stress. Using a 90% compliance to a set of principles allows flexibility and more "life".

JLT: So again we’re saying that compliance with a good program is better than half-hearted efforts at perfectly designed nutrition and training strategies especially in the general public looking for all-round results and fat loss.

Back to training…what are your views on deloading from training and why? For instance do you recommend every 4th week as a light week, every 6th week as
complete rest etc or do you believe simply taking enough rest during
each week is enough?*

AC: We start a new program every four weeks and we use week one as a deload
week – when we teach the new exercises.

The new stimulus is usually enough to create forward progress, so we reduce the volume and intensity that week.

It’s always worked better with our clients than deloading in later weeks.

So week one: introduction week, week two: base week, week three: overload
week, week four: shock week - then week five we start over with a new
routine but it's intro week so volume is reduced.

I like a half week off after 8 weeks of uninterrupted training.

Basically on a 3 days per week split such as Monday, Wednesday, Friday - you'd just miss one workout and then a full week off after 16 weeks.

Again on a MWF SPLIT, you'd miss Wed and Fri and get back to the gym the next monday - so it's seven days not nine days as some people do it.

JLT: Interesting – that would work well and I could see how using a kind of teaching week would be very effective especially for beginners. I like to use ‘practice days’ along the way for certain individuals and programs which give recovery time but enable you to accelerate gains on exercises you need to work at.

AC: Yes that would work too but we still need some extended recovery breaks.

JLT: Definitely, as we said earlier it’s all about the individuals especially as some beginners just don’t train hard enough to warrant long rest breaks!

Right Alwyn, once you’ve had a tough training sessions, what are your top post-training recovery methods in terms of dynamic versus static stretching, ice baths, cold showers, power naps etc. How do you make sure the individual is in top condition for the next session?

AC: Static stretching, foam rolling and post workout nutrition are going to
be 90% of the picture.

That will address the quality of the muscle tissue (the density) and the length and tension, while feeding the system.

A recovery strategy has to be built around the training strategy – it’s hard
to answer this question without a specific training regimen in mind.

JLT: Fair enough we don’t want to be putting any more generic advice out into the fitness world! Let’s move on to your career and progression.

What are the biggest mistakes you made in your early days with clients
in terms of your approaches to nutrition, training and the mental
aspects of getting results?

AC: I don’t think I made any mistakes per se.

I always worked as hard as I could and did the best I knew how. We have just learned more.

For example we all thought that high carb low fat diets were the best, aerobics was
best for fat loss, crunches were good for abdominal work etc.

We weren’t making mistakes – we just learned more!

I think of what we do similar to medicine. If you were a doctor who prescribed a drug to patients in the 80’s and subsequent studies in 2009 found a better, safer, more effective drug – then you’d change.

It doesn’t mean you made a mistake before – we just know more now. you're only making a mistake if you don't stay current.

JLT: Yeah I’m glad you said that because it makes me sad when people get so attached to a particular method that they refuse to consider an alternative no matter how long it has failed to produce results!

AC: Exactly, at the end of the day you need to keep reassessing and testing to keep improving. That rule applies to the average gym member trying to lose fat as well as us as coaches.

JLT: For sure, now your famous for your ah-ha moments amongst other things! What are your five biggest ‘ah-ha’ moments which really shaped the direction of your training philosophies?

AC: Well my Top 5 ah-ha moments can be found on T-Nation – go check them out as there’s too much to go through again here!

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance/cosgroves_five_ahha_moments

Aside from that article, the realization that I had more people in my facility on any given program than most research studies had enrolled really forced me to analyze and look at the data we were collecting. That really refined our programming over time as we were getting so much data on a regular basis!

JLT: So we should always take ‘science’ with a pinch of salt and test for ourselves?

AC: Yes, I’m not saying scientific research isn’t necessary - that would be stupid - but never just accept things as gospel!

JLT: Okay good advice! Next question…who has had the most profound effect on your career or life in general so far and why?

AC: When I was in high school in Livingston I was in Higher mathematics class. I
have no idea how I got there as I was clearly the dumbest kid in the class!

Sat next to me in the class was a guy, Keith Wilson who spent his spare time (at 14 years old) working for a company converting the program code for an arcade computer game to a home version. He used to hand in his homework on a floppy disk.

Me? I was drawing sharks on the back of my notebook.

So while studying quadratic equations, (something that has been oh-so-useful in my life...) it was clear that I didn't understand it. I asked the teacher to go over it again.

He sighed an exasperated sigh - but he went over it again.

I still didn't get it.

So I asked again. The teacher sighed loudly and said "Okay - the rest of you take a five minute break while I go over this again for Alwyn's benefit....." and then mumbled "for whatever good that will do"

Obviously I felt pretty small at that point. And of course the whole class heard him and laughed.

And I still didn't get it.

And I never asked a question to this teacher again.

And I failed the exam for the class.

This teacher was a man who had a chance to make a kid feel better and help him, or put him down and make him feel worthless. He chose the latter. Why? Just because he could. That's the kind of person he was.

Another person in my life was my Taekwon-do instructor - Derek Campbell. My Dad was made unemployed and we could no longer afford lessons. I went to my instructor and told him that we just couldn't afford lessons anymore and I'd be back when my Dad got a job.

He told me to show up early for the next class and become his assistant - teaching beginners. He would pay me with free lessons.

I went on to become a fourth degree black belt, and seven time UK national champion as a result.

This teacher was also a man who had a chance to make a kid feel better and help him, or put him down and make him feel worthless. He chose the former.

Why? Just because he could. That's the kind of person he was. He changed the
course of my life.

One person changed a kids life and made it worse. One person changed a kid's life and made it better. I remember both of them.

We have all had, and remember these people in our lives - the only question to ask is ...

What kind of person are you?
JLT: Hmmm something worth thinking about. I always think an attitude of gratitude will eventually get you where you want to be!

AC: Yeah for sure.

JLT: Okay let’s time warp. If you were a newbie to the strength and fitness game now, what three things would you prioritise to accelerate the success of both yourself as a trainer and your clients’ results?

AC:

1) Be the best.

The difference between where you are now, and where you want to be can
usually be closed by education. Who do you need to meet? Who do you need to
intern with? What books do you need to read? What DVD’s do you need to
watch? What seminars do you need to attend? Make a list and start checking
them off.

JLT: Education all the way! I think that applies to general fitness fanatics as well.

I love the phrase ‘Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.’

People need to stop hunting for cookie cutter programs and actually learn a little along the way so they can be more adaptable.

Next?

AC:

2) Understand the mindset of the client. This is something I got from Dr Kara Mohr.

Put yourself in the clients’ shoes. Try to understand what it’s like for them in their lives to make fitness a priority. That doesn’t mean you need to coddle clients or accept excuses and rationalizations, but think about what it means for a 300 lb women who is joining your gym and this is the first exercise she’s ever done.

Signing up is a huge accomplishment – these things need to be acknowledged, supported and celebrated. Having that sense of caring and understanding can take you far.

If you’re a trainer - are you in the best shape of your life?

How many trainers reading this are in the greatest shape of their lives
right now?

How many are extremely happy with their own fitness?

How many trainers hire and use another trainer?

We know how valuable and useful a trainer can be to someone? Yet most trainers don't use one. Why? You don’t need one? Does a doctor need another doctor? Does a hairdresser cut their own hair?

Why do you think you don't need one? Think of all those reasons and understand that the prospective client thinks that too. They don't know what you know - and they still feel that "they'll hire you once they lose ten pounds".

Most trainers don't understand the mindset of the client or prospect.

JLT: Wow I like that! Fat trainers annoy me. What else?

AC:

3) Continue to “sharpen the saw” by investing in yourself on an ongoing basis
The only thing worse than not attending a seminar in the last three months is not attending a seminar and thinking that it doesn’t matter.

When you decide to stop learning (and it IS a decision) you will stop growing and you will stop earning.

JLT: Okay food for thought and I better go find a seminar to go to….

Let’s finish off with what are the three things or people you wish would vanish off the face of the fitness industry forever?

AC: Seriously? The fitness industry?

I don’t care.

I focus on doing a great job with my clients and that’s really all you can focus on.

There isn’t anything in the fitness industry that bugs me too much. I guess the
in-fighting that seems to go on bothers me a little but to be blunt, I’m too
busy to even think about that kind of stuff.

I’d like it if we could get rid of cancer, but getting rid of step aerobic instructors doesn’t really concern me.

JLT: Wise words. I think even if you’re not a trainer and you’re taking in this interview, you need to think about that. Focus on what gets you results and forget about trying to take down other people. If you’re getting good results tell people how, if you’re not, you’ve got other priorities right now!

AC: Exactly. Learn how to get results then share the knowledge!

JLT: Right let’s wrap it up there. Alwyn thanks for your time - there’s a lot to think about there for trainers and fitness fans alike. Can you tell us where can people find out more about your methods and philosophies?

AC: No problem. They can check out http://www.alwyncosgrove.com

Note - To find out more about periodization and what it means, check out Alwyn’s article

Top notch fat loss combination

2009-04-20T12:52:00.000-07:00

I had an email from Brad Pilon of EatStopEat the other day saying how fad diets were still outselling his program ten, twenty, a hundred fold.

I agree with him.....it's sad and ridiculous.

I personally follow intermittent fasting for many reasons, not just keeping my body fat under 10%.

There's the reduced food bills, increased growth hormone, mental control....

I also know many trainer friends of mine who also do it.

On top of this I have some guinea pigs trialling a new strength and conditioning program.

James this week reported being 11lbs down after 8 weeks combining the training with intermittent fasting (and the photos show it) (it's not even supposed to be a fat loss program but hey)

What's this got to do with you?

Well next week I am off for a fitness masterminding event in Thailand where I intend to fast at least once simply because I know Dax Moy and the gang will no doubt be sliding a Tiger Beer my way on various other days, between bungee jumps and hammock time!

Don't wanna be putting on body fat with my fancy new beach shorts on.....

This is the beauty of intermittent fasting! You can let go A BIT on certain days, knowing you'll make up the calorie deficit on others to still lose body fat.

No calorie counting, no protein v fat v carbs, no 'points'.

What you gonna do for me then Jon?

What I am going to do is giving you an opportunity to get hold of the two most powerful things I have used with my clients to accelerate fat loss and stave off the boredom associated with healthy food!

If you head on over to EatStopEat to grab a copy of Brad's program using this link (my affiliate link) and email me the receipt, I'll send you a copy of the 'Cooking For The Fitness Lifestyle' e-cookery book for free.

=========> EatStopEat plus 150 recipe e-cookbook combination please

Simple as that.

(If you don't want me to make any affiliate commission and don't want the cookery book just go to the normal EatStopEat link and get the e-book - that's how much I think you should start intermittent fasting if you're struggling to find a nutrition plan that fits your busy schedule)

The catch?

You have to do this by Friday 24th April 7pm GMT (London time baby!).

Why so soon?

1) Because I want to be safe in the knowledge that when I am resisting all the temptations of a 5* villa in Phuket, you'll be doing it with me.

Check out where I'm staying

2) I don't want to have to deal with too many emails whilst I'm whooping Charlotte Ord in some sprints on the white sands outside our team villa... (Don't tell her if you know her....)

3) The truth is people put so much weight on this fasting thing when it's actually easier than everyone thinks. As soon as they do it, it's almost an anti-climax because it is so easy to get through the day.

A week later you're 2-3 lbs down with no crazy, long-term starvation tactics - happy days!

I just want you to get on this as soon as possible instead of thinking about it, analysing whether it's for you and, as usual, finding excuses.

Remember, if you keep doing the same things and following the same methods and they haven't shown results yet, they never will!

So go get EatStopEat now, email your receipt to jon@stormforcefitness.com and you'll soon have an awesome combo of intermittent fasting and 150 Storm Force Fitness approved meals.

Good times people - use them wisely!
Jon

Le Tocq's Fitness Credo

2009-04-17T11:05:00.000-07:00

***Please print this and keep it with you - read it every day***

If you’ve ever read Kekich’s Credo, you’ll know it’s a set of life principles which should be on anyone’s daily reading list if they want to reach their potential in life.

These principles are generic in nature, created from the life experiences of Dave Kekich.

As I read through them I looked at each one and realised that they could be directly applied to any attempts at improving your physical fitness whether you’re an athlete, bodybuilder or Joe Average looking to shed some fat.

If you can live your life by these principles, your results will amaze both yourself and those around you.

Keep them in the forefront of your mind by reading them regularly and trust in them when it seems even willpower can’t get you through.

This is Le Tocq’s Fitness Credo (adapted from Kekich’s Credo)

1. People will do almost anything to stay in their comfort zones. If you want to see physical change you must force your body well beyond the limits you perceive. Strive to discipline all areas which effect your results – training, nutrition and recovery. This will involve applying yourself in the face of fierce opposition from both your social environment and yourself. To develop discipline 1) set clear experience based goals with challenging deadlines – in other words, visualise the event you will be able to experience once that goal is achieved, 2) find what’s really important to you by breaking goals down further and further until you have clear emotional reasons to achieve them – get to the root cause no matter how much thought and effort it takes. You may find that goals isn’t actually as important as you first thought and 3) steadily but surely replace all bad habits with positive thought and action.

2. Time is your most valuable resource. Don’t waste time messing with minor details. The best results are usually achieved by those who understand that intensity of training trumps length of workout every time. Choose full body exercises, choose intervals, choose heavy. Forget isolation exercises for burning fat, and forget drinking ice cold water, walking an extra flight of stairs and chewing gum to burn more calories. Life has far more to offer than the inside of a gym so get outside. The most important choices we make in life are how we use our time.

3. Think carefully before telling yourself that you will achieve a certain goal. Often we think we want to lose weight, run a certain distance or look a certain way because of outside influences. Promises to ourselves are the easiest ones to break but the most damaging as well. Choose your goals carefully and find the emotional reason for them. Once you have qualified yourself for that goal see it as a contract which cannot and will not be broken.

4. Real regrets come only from knowing you could have given more. The scoreboard, race times and scales will show only a number – your result. All you can do is give 100%. The lower this percentage drops, the more your results will deteriorate. If you have given 100% don’t berate yourself – it wasn’t meant to be.

5. Always be thankful for the results you have achieved and the physical abilities you have to at give it your all. Some people will never have these gifts.

6. Always re-invest your results. Do not sit back and admire yourself too much but invest your new found strength, power or lean, athletic body into a new activity which provides yet another fresh challenge.

7. You’ll be successful and see great results when you like what you are becoming but also when you have a passion for the journey. Love what you do because one day the results will fade but the memories of the journey will live on.

8. Learn from those who have gone before you with success. If someone has got what you want, ask them how they got it. They may not be willing to help you, but you’ll be no worse off.

9. Train for the best results but prepare for the worst. Pay attention to recovery and preventative measures like foam rolling, stretching and sleep. Repair is much harder than cure and the worst feeling is one of ‘I wish I had….’ when an injury happens which you saw coming a few weeks ago.

10. In competition, never show weakness. Work on these weaknesses in training but when you step on the field of play leave doubt behind – there is nothing more you can do now. Assume the opposition is better than you but also know you can beat anyone – this will make you raise your game every time.

11. Never start chasing a goal without a solid, well-researched written plan. You may let someone else do the research for you but ensure they have the credentials to do so and the evidence to prove they did it.

12. Success comes quickly to those who can engage a high level of concentration for a sustained period of time. Quick fix diets, 5 minute workouts and anything else which does not require a degree of commitment, sacrifice and dedication will reap little reward.

13. If you put in the effort the upside of training will take care of itself – results will flow. However, protect against the downside where things can turn nasty. Work on mobility, stretch, sleep, avoid alcohol and cigarettes and do anything else required to prevent you slipping up. If it’s not working, stop doing it. If it is working, let it loose!

14. The primary purpose of fitness is to feel great about yourself. Looking great helps this. Keep reading and learning so that you can increase the value of each training session.

15. Reward yourself only for results. Treat yourself only when it is deserved. Whatever you reward you get more of. Reward a ‘bad week’ and you will get more bad weeks.

16. Training competence requires knowledge. If you would not feel confident teaching another, then you do not believe enough in your training and need to go and learn more for yourself.

17. Your body does not like effective training – accept that. Intense training is the only way to force results but your body does not like the stress and will let you know. It will get defensive, forcing you to paddle upstream if you want to see results.

18. If it works, do more of it, but only until it no longer works. This will happen with every single program you ever use without exception.

19. Leverage your fitness lifestyle. Use it for more than one purpose. Get outdoors, have a great session, enjoy it, save money on gym fees and get better results all in one go. It is possible if you take the time to learn how.

20. Rationalizations for why you stopped one rep short or slowed down 20m from the end are nearly always convenient evasions of the truth. The truth is you mistakenly listened to the sensors telling you to stop, you got lazy today or you lacked mental strength.

21. Always have seemingly impossible goals which you make a life or death situation! Visualise them intensely by creating clear, focussed pictures or scenes in your mind about what life would be like if you achieved them. This will force you to use your time effectively and direct every action towards these goals. You will find new ways to achieve them because you have to.

22. The value of every fitness program diminishes past a certain point – usually sooner than you think. Measure everything so you can spot the warning signs and move on. Don’t flog a dead horse.

23. Everything you experience or think is the result of the momentum and ideas created by those who have gone before you. Surround yourself with the right people whose shoulders are worth standing on, then appreciate how far you can see when you’re up there.

24. Enthusiasm often trumps knowledge. 100% commitment to a mediocre program will often reap more results than half-hearted efforts with the most complicated, detailed super-program. Your enthusiasm will be infectious and draw others into your training circle, pushing you all further.

25. Buying cookie-cutter programs will only get you so far. Your training and life in general will be much more fulfilling if you take time to learn why certain methods work. Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish…..

26. Religiously nourish your body with proper nutrition, exercise, recreation, sleep and relaxation techniques. Do not underestimate any of these factors nor lose focus on any of them for any length of time.

27. The choice to exert effort in everything you do or become lazy but hide it well, is what determines how far you can go in life. You must make this choice every minute or every day. You will see that those who excel in training are usually those who excel in everything life has to offer. Not reaching your true potential is a waste of life and training time.

28. An active body is essential but so is an active mind. Stimulate it from all angles or you will regress.

29. Learn to communicate with yourself and those around you. Explain why you must go to the gym when they want to go the pub but learn to do it in such as way as to encourage them into your circle rather than just push yourself away from theirs. Listen to their rationalisations then talk them round based on what you know is fact from your experience of intense exercise and healthy eating.

30. Identify and replace all external authorities. You must be in control of every aspect of your life. Learn how to train anywhere, free from the constraints of commercial gyms which control how you can train. Prepare your own food rather than relying on what the local sandwich bar can provide. Be the ruler of your own timetable and take control of everything. Don’t expect others to set meaningful goals for you even if you pay them to do so.

31. Consciously make every effort to be 100% honest with yourself at all times. The higher the likely cost or reward, the more this strength will be tested.

32. Never compromise when you know you are right and have the evidence to prove it. Similarly, do not assume knowledge until you have done your research. If you know your training method works do not be talked around. If you cannot prove it will work for the person asking you questions, do not pretend.

33. If the long-term future of a program or goal is no longer viable, suitable or rewarding, walk away. Every minute you delay is a minute longer it will take to reach the next goal you set which really is right for you. Qualify yourself for every goal in the first instance then keep reassessing. You won’t want the same things forever.

34. Invest in a personal trainer, online program or fitness tool only when you have thoroughly researched it. Do not fall for deadline deals or limited offers. If your instinct rather than your quick fix radar says yes, buy it immediately. When you o make sure you read it as soon as possible and implement it without excuses about time, kids, birthdays, Christmas or any other rationalisation for the fear of hard work.

35. Stress will kill you. Learn the difference between eustress and distress. Sore muscles and lactic acid build up will benefit you eventually, injuries will not. Remove all sources of physical and mental stress and never play through a serious or potentially serious injury. Your goals will seem trivial when you cannot walk for a few months or your back hurts every time you sneeze.

36. Money isn’t as important as you think. Invest it in your health and wellbeing before any material goods. The greatest reward is longevity, and the greatest cost is not having it.

37. Mental and physical fitness are the most important elements in life. Optimising these will lead to improvements in all other areas – business, social and family. It will teach you hard work, honesty, goal setting and planning, enjoying the journey, respect, discipline, control and how to remove yourself from the trivial and place yourself in ‘the zone’ for the time you are training. This can be your escape.

38. If it doesn’t require hard work and toil it’s probably not worth much.

39. Develop a philosophy around your health and fitness lifestyle which guides every action. Don’t be reactive – this nearly always leads to negative action. Have principles and stick by them. This applies to alcohol, cigarettes, processed sugars, late night clubbing and cream cakes. This way you will never have reason not to love yourself or feel guilty.

40. That goal is not impossible. The bigger the goal the bigger the reward but the time and energy required doesn’t increase at nearly the same rate.

41. Do not try. Do or don’t.

42. Lead by example. If you want to convince people that they need to live a fitness lifestyle, show them, don’t tell them.

43. Take full responsibility for actions and mistakes. Similarly, remember to take credit for successes.

44. If you always take the path of least resistance you will walk the journey of least reward. Choose a heavier weight, put your trainers on when it’s raining and miss that fourth Christmas party.

45. Vividly visualise victory at all times whether it is over your inner demons that try to drag you back or if it is over an adversary on the sports field. Let your animal instincts rule in competition.

46. First impressions last. If you walk on to the gym floor or sports field with doubts in your mind, they will linger until you go home. Always put your best foot forward and teach yourself how you want to act. Teach people how you want them to talk to you and treat you. If you need encouragement to achieve your goals, teach them what to say and do.

47. The right thing is usually the hardest option. Self-esteem is more important than short-term losses in popularity so do the right thing and go to the gym.

48. If you let yourself get away with laziness or lack of control with your nutrition once, you’ll do it again and again and again. Set rules and live by them.

49. Respect other peoples’ goals. They may not train like you or have the same goals but don’t disrespect them. By all means explain why you prefer your methods, but if they still disagree, let them be.

50. Your own results are the ultimate form of proof.

51. Build relationships with people who help you to improve mentally and physically. Surround yourself with what you want to become. Associate with people who share your values and leave behind the naysayers. They’ll come knocking one day. Never close your door.

52. If you have no control over something, leave it be. Don’t take it personally.

53. Spend time learning about health and fitness but don’t forget to actually implement what you learn. Unapplied knowledge is useless.

54. Choose your training partner and training environment very carefully. It could be the difference between a special achievement and a wasted part of your life.

55. Enjoy your training. Treat is as an adventure. There is so much variety available that it is criminal to just focus on thing. Care about results but also love the process. Lighten up and you will live longer. Even if you don’t you’ll have enjoyed much more of it!

56. Identifying exactly what you want from training hard is a difficult process. Once you know, get your head down and charge.

57. Sheer will power, integrity and competence are the most potent force in fitness and sport.

58. Who you are, what you achieve in and out of training and sport, and where you currently stand in life is solely down to you. The reaction to any of these is what matters, not the situation itself. Every minute is another chance to change direction.

59. Desire must be a fire that burns constantly. Accept that permanent dissatisfaction is part of being a high-achiever, but learnt to manage it.

60. Your mind, body and spirit must work as one so pay attention to relaxation techniques which bring everything back into alignment. Do this on a daily basis. Do not place too much focus on just weightlifting, just cardio or just yoga. They all have their place and must be part of a holistic approach. You must take time to see how they all link up.

61. Deceive others and you will suffer yourself. Don’t lie about what you can lift, the times you can run or how good you are. It will slap you in the face eventually – the truth is always exposed.

62. If you constantly hunt for security in how you feel you will fail. Set goals well beyond ‘losing some weight to feel better’ because being secure in yourself is the lowest form of happiness and the easiest one to slip out of. Aim to shock yourself and your peers.

63. Ensure every step you take in your fitness lifestyle benefits everyone around you but accept that at times you will have to work harder than others to bring change about. Your family and friends will often be unaware of the good it will do them – keep the faith.

64. Review the philosophy behind your training and nutrition beliefs at least once a year. New research, new goals, and new experiences can all change the way you think. You don’t have to hold the same views all your life – it’s okay to develop a new perspective.

65. Don’t envy others’ results. Learn lessons from them then apply your new knowledge with vigour and excitement. Thank them for the lesson.

66. Spend nearly all of your time on what you love doing rather than seeing the brief time you get to do it at weekends as a bonus. Delegate what you don’t like and free up time for the sports and activities you love. You may earn less money but who cares it doesn’t matter. If it doesn’t give you more time to do what you love, there is no point to what you are doing.

67. The euphoric feelings of an intense workout develop self-esteem and will set you up for the rest of the day. Do the most important things early in the day before the day takes over.

68. If you ever get bored of your training or nutrition you have your eyes shut. If nothing excites you, create something. Every new sport or game was started by someone, somewhere – they were bored too.

69. There is no such thing as a great training program until it is taken from the page into the training area. E-books are useless until printed out and used.

70. For maximum training results identify what is needed to make your life exciting. Knowing what every exercise will do for your performance is the essence of inspiring your training time.

71. Seek and master the complicated aspects of fitness. The truth is that fat loss and most other fitness problems have been made unnecessarily complicated in the pursuit for greater profits. Once you find a simple solution for your greatest fitness concerns and confusions you will see all resistance you created in the past disappear.

72. Always leave your options open. Don’t tie yourself down to a particular gym, training regime or nutrition system. Options give you power and power enables you to see the truth without being blinded by marketing ploys and quick fixes disguised as solutions.

73. Preparation wins the day every time.

74. Cultivate a degree of patience. Drive is necessary for success, but so is taking time to see where best to create your next foot print.

75. Persistence wins the race in the end. No wall is too strong to be knocked down and no door will remain locked forever. Keep knocking.

76. Thinking about things for too long, trying to do things without solid action and considering every detail of every option will get you nowhere. Paralysis by analysis is a ball and chain. If you’re 80% sure a training program will work, try it. If it works really well, tell everybody else.

77. Have an attitude of gratitude. Be thankful for everything and do all you can to help everybody gain, not just yourself. There is more than enough to go around. Givers will gain. This goes for helping beginners get into exercise and nutrition when they may at first frustrate you. Remember you once wore those shoes.

78. Risks are necessary but don’t be a fool. Go for one rep max testing occasionally but way up the reward of achieving that final lift. An extra 5kg is not worth a long-term injury.

79. Don’t trample on people to achieve your goals. Succeed in sport and competition with honour.

80. Write down everything that happens in training and nutrition. Problems are impossible to correct if you have nothing to ponder over.

81. Just get started. Don’t deliberate too long. Take the first steps, then adjust along the way. It is much easier to say sorry for messing up or having to make changes, than to forgive yourself for not trying. Join whatever club you need to join, phone whoever you need to speak to. Do what it takes to start on your fitness goals immediately.

82. Ask question after question after question. Just because someone says it’s right doesn’t mean it is. Some of the top experts in every field disagree on certain things.

83. Enjoy your training and enjoy the results. If you can’t enjoy either of these, question why you are doing it. Every crisis is a chance to prove your strengths. If you need to make changes fast to achieve your goals, see it as a challenge to thrive on. You will grow.

84. You will get older. Enjoy youth, movement and activity whilst you can.

85. When it’s a matter of produce or starve, people never starve. Apply this principle to your training. Give the results such great importance that you have to find the solution.

86. Fill your every thought with positive expectation and demand the best on all fronts. Attitude and desire are worth far more than knowledge in many cases. You can learn skills any time.

87. Help others achieve their own goals and add value to their own health and fitness plans. You will see fast improvements in your own.

88. Lasting happiness comes only by creating values on which you build you principles. These principles will guide your life. Give more than you take and you will be happy. You will see many, many different ways to lose weight, shed body fat and build muscle. Look closer and you will see that the methods which work are built on a small number of matching principles. Concern yourself more with the foundations than the pretty décor. This is what will save you when times are tough.

89. Problems never go away. Sort out injuries and sort out dodgy equipment which is stopping you from giving 100%. If you’re scared of something commit to doing it regularly until the fear subsides.

90. Laugh at yourself whenever you can. Take training seriously but don’t let it control you.

91. When someone shouts too much about how great their programs or methods are, realise that they feel a need to do this due to a lack of quality in other areas. You will hear about the best from others.

92. Snowball your results. Build on success and never, ever regress to where you started.

93. The best investment in health and fitness is the one that gives you the knowledge to understand why you are doing certain things. Only then can you hope to get through the tough times when it hurts and certain things don’t quite make sense. Having faith in the principles based on the research you have gathered will see you through.

94. For every exercise you do, every weight you put down too early, every extra bite you would take, ask yourself how you would feel if the world had seen you do it. If it would embarrass you, make a promise there and then never to do it again.

95. Whatever you tell yourself you are and whatever you think about all day, you will become. Remember that moments of weakness when the fridge door is open can undo hours and hours of hard work.

96. Be sceptical of your own beliefs. Don’t just read books which confirm what you think you already know. At the same time, don’t jump from one bandwagon to the next.

97. Anxiety about your physical and mental state is usually down to feeling out of control. Take steps to learn what you need to learn to be in complete control of your results.

98. Always be alert. Watch others who are getting great results. Never assume anything is fact until you have proof in front of your eyes. Don’t let emotions rule reason in making a big decision. Don’t buy a fitness product based on the emotions the marketer stirs up in the two minutes you are reading the sales letter. Take time to check if it matches your principles and gut instincts. Observe – Study further – Test on yourself – Test on others. If all the results match up, accept it as fact and add it to your principles.

99. It takes a wise person to learn from his mistakes. If a program or diet didn’t work the last time, ask yourself why. If you really did follow it to the letter, disregard it from your methodology. It may work for someone else but it doesn’t for you. Learn from the mistakes and successes of others. This will save you a lot of time and money.

100. The purpose of a fitness lifestyle is to prolong life as long as possible but also to enjoy playing the game at the same time!

Thank you to Dave Kekich for providing the foundations of this Fitness Credo. I hope it helps guide as many people in their fitness journeys as the original.

Please forward this to everyone you think it will help!
Jon

Jon versus Craig Ballantyne

2009-04-15T08:15:00.000-07:00

This week I managed to grab Turbulence Training's Craig Ballantyne on the phone to pick his brains on fat loss and why he uses certain methods.

(Note to self - interview people in the same time zone as you next time...)

I often get asked what's better out of my own Storm Force Fitness methods (such as the Fat Loss Action Blueprint) and Turbulence Training so I thought I'd get hold of Craig and see if we could figure it out.

Now rather than give the answer that lines my pockets, I say the same things every time I get asked that question and this still rings true even after speaking to Craig.

1) They both work very well, very fast because they're based on.....

.... clean nutrition which is easy to follow
.... weight training and interval methods over 'cardio'
.... intensity over duration
.... enjoying fitness and a love for training adn the feelings that follow
.... supportive communities

2) They are both created and continually improved by guys who love fat loss and fitness and have created profits from a love of what they do and not the other way around.

3) They are both great for fast fat loss if you complete the programs from start to finish and don't wander off half way through or pick out the bits you like.

4) They are both useless if you buy them and leave them on your hard drive for 'when you've got time'. Funnily enough that time never arrives.

Craig and I have very similar views on a lot of things to do with training and nutrition for body fat but it's always good to hear WHY two experts share the same views.

If they do, then maybe, just maybe it's because we know DAMN WELL that these methods work every time as opposed to the magazine writers who largely guess or create piecemeal articles from lots of different sources.

Here's 40 minutes of me questioning Craig on everything from supersets and intermittent fasting to why he doesn't listen to the peanut butter haters.

(And don't worry I specifically told him we weren't going down the no cardio route!)

We got so much covered I had to make 4 videos!

Check out the Fat Loss Action Blueprint and Turbulence Training for fast working fat loss

Are you a chubby Easter Bunny?

2009-04-13T09:38:00.000-07:00

Yes I had a Cadbury's Creme Egg AND 3 beers - what you gonna do?!

Like Christmas, Easter time usually brings banter about whether or not I am going to touch certain food and drink.

Like Christmas I let myself have a treat, control it, enjoy it, don't feel in the slightest bit guilty, then make sure I burn it off with a beasting!

It is also untrue that I got my family boiled eggs for Easter!

This Easter's beasting came in the form of a 10k cross country race. As you know I'm not a big fan of long cardio for fat loss, but I am having to do such events in preparation for Tough Guy!

Yet again though this weekend proved a few points about fat loss and conditioning.

1) I completed the course in around 43.30 - not an awesome time by any stretch but considering it was mainly grass, had some nasty hills and I only run once per week to protect my joints (and muscle mass) I was fairly happy - this keeps me on target for a circa 40 min road 10k by summer, but I know I can get more out of my legs.

The day you are satisfied with your training and your performances is the day you embark on a slippery slope - remember that!

2) I, my girlfriend and my clients who also took part beat many of the club runners who do nothing but run.

We do a combination of metabolic weight training and intense interval conditioning with one 'aerobic' run per week (if that) to put some miles in the legs and get used to the distance.

This is the video for my personal training studio showing some of the guys and girls who ran today. It'll give you some ideas as to the kinds of training you should be focussing on to lose fat whether you are a beginner or more advanced trainee.

This is how the FLAB was created - by testing and developing programs which work for real people who don't have hours and hours for training and who can't bear the thought of cardio work!

Get the FLAB before the holidays roll around ======> Click here

This goes to show that strength work does more for improving endurance running and pain tolerance than pavement pounding.

I spoke to a few people who ran good times but 'couldn't break the XXXX barrier'. All they do is run and run and run to improve it - this WILL NOT work!

We've all been chopping minutes off our run times in the past 6 weeks with no signs of slowing down by focussing more on strength work than just TRYING to run faster.

A metabolic weights workout might look something like this:

5 rounds as fast as possible of...

20 kettlebell swings
10 jump squats
10 jumping pull ups
5 renegade push up-row
250m row on Concept 2

Try this and it will smoke you taking less than 30 minutes.

3) If you are worried what one creme egg or one chocolate bar over the Easter weekend will do to your waist line, the rest of your year is seriously uncontrolled and lacks focus!

You can't undo 51 good weeks with two bad 3 day spells at Easter and Christmas.

It's when you let your poor control of your taste buds take over on a weekly basis that you're in trouble!

4) I am approaching the end of my temper with so-called international experts who send emails out saying you can get an awesome workout done in 5 minutes.

Don't be so stupid - if you believe this you are having your intelligence insulted.

Short workouts are VERY effective when done properly but '5 minute workouts to burn fat' - give me break!

That will get you another small hole on your credit card but not a lot else.

If you truly want change, you need to be prepared to FIND 20-45 mins x 4-5 per week.

Less can certainly be more but don't let the marketing hype get to the 'quick fix node' in your brain!

Jon

If you did over-indulge over Easter and have decided now is the time to rip off a stone of body fat in 6 weeks ready for your holiday, grab your copy of the Fat Loss Action Blueprint here =======> Click here for the FLAB

Get stronger without weights or getting bulky?

2009-04-08T09:35:00.001-07:00

'I want to get stronger'.

Oddly enough I seem to hear this more from girls than blokes.

Well I've been using an old technique which gets far too little use - the girls and the guys using this are getting much stronger, much faster and with no added bulk.

These are the latest guinea pigs following my Intense Conditioning 12 week program. The aim is to sky rocket stamina, endurance, strength and power all at the same time - and it's working.

This is what James said (bear in mind he has been dropping body fat at the same time)

"I started with my pair of 16kgs but after the first set of Jerks I switched to the 20kgs. I still knocked them out.

In the past, I would have done 3 dips then moved on to the next exercise. This morning I knocked out all the sets and reps like I was fresh"

Being strong doesn't mean you need to be bulky.

Many blokes are so obsessed with just getting bigger so they LOOK stronger, that they forget that, when it actually comes down to it and they are being challenged on a sports field or in an arm wrestle with their 9 year old sister, size often counts for nothing.

Don't get me wrong if you want to be superstrong (like powerlifter strong), then you're going to have to get bigger.

However, there is a oft forgetten way to increase strength and power which doesn't require any of the following:

- A gym which is deliberately kept rusty to keep girls out
- A squat rack covered in chalk
- Steroids
- Vein popping weights and chains

This is great news for those of us who just want to be functionally strong.

I'm like you - I want to be lean, strong and fast without looking like (or training like) a bulky bodybuilder.

By this I mean I want to...

...jump higher
...jump longer
...jump higher for longer
...run faster
...run fast for longer (yes improving your 10k requires increases in strength and power endurance not just another Sunday pavement plod)
...be able to perform lots of pull ups and be capable of lifting heavy weights

What is this secret?

Well as usual it's not so much a secret but more of a forgotten art.

This art form is the use of isometric contractions.

Isometrics come in various shapes and forms but essentially they are defined as 'creating tension without any change in the length of the muscle'.

Not all tension is good!

Isometrics are a great addition for those who want to increase strength without adding muscle by having to do heavy weight training such as 5 x 5 reps of deadlifts or squats, or for those who don't have access to the equipment they need.

This training essentially involves creating near maximum tension in a muscle without moving the joints in question.

This can be done either by simply tensing them on the spot or trying to move an immovable object.

Examples:

Trying to push over a brick wall

Trying to perform the action of a dumbbell shoulder press against the resistance of a partner who is stronger than you

Why do them?

Isometric contractions enable you to focus on creating maximum tension in the muscles you need to be stronger, such as the quads, hamstrings and glutes for those looking to jump higher.

This will improve the firing patterns from your brain to your muscle enabling you to recruit more of the muscle fibres.

The result is a stronger you!

How do you do them?

All will be revealed soon but my favourite method focusses on being able to generate explosive power.

It goes something like this...

For the chest

Use this to improve push up and bench press strength and punching power if you do marital arts, boxing etc.

Push with 80% of your maximum effort against a wall with both hands for 3-5 seconds.

Your elbows should be at about the angle they are at the bottom of the push up (the hard bit where you struggle the most!)

Make sure you have a strong split leg stance so you don't fall back.

Rest 10 seconds.

Repeat the wall push.

Straight away perform 8 explosive push ups off the floor. If you are just learning to do push ups you would just do normal push ups as fast as possible.

Wear proper attire when doing brick wall isometrics please!

For the legs

Use this to increase your vertical jump.

Isometrics are a bit harder to do with the legs without certain equipment but a great way is to sit in a wall squat (back against wall with knees at ninety) holding two weights.

Sit for 60 seconds creating as as much tension as you can in your legs and bum.

Immediately perform 8 jump squats getting as high as you can.

Perform 4-5 rounds of each exercise.

If you do this once or twice per week in addition to your usual training you will soon find yourself getting a lot stronger in all the exercises you find hard!

Remember all athletic performance requires stress and now you can't use the excuse of a lack of equipment!

Jon

The doctor speaks on fat loss pills

2009-04-06T01:04:00.000-07:00

Today I'm handing over my blog to a doctor I know here in Britain - we often have interesting dicussions about the state of British health!

Here's what she had to say in response to a rant I had about the recommendations MOST doctors give out being relatively useless in solving Britain's obesity crisis.

Now before I get set upon, there ARE some doctors who, because they actually train themselves and really do eat healthily, give out recommendations beyonhd the usual 'moderate exercise 3 times per week and 5 a day' rubbish!

Unfortunately these people are sadly in a very small minority.

My own doctor is overweight. (The guy below is not my doctor by the way!)

It's a disgrace and hard to see a way past it, especially when you see the problems doctors face.....

**************************************************

"Most of my overweight patients are over 40, don't possess a pair of trainers
and think that healthy eating means having salad with their third takeaway
of the week.

They take little responsibility for their own predicament, always having an excuse ready, and, if they want a solution to their weight problem (and believe me, many don't), want someone else to fix the problem for them.

The only medications available to facilitate weight loss are useless without
significant lifestyle changes, and are never something I suggest to people.

However, the pressure to prescribe can be great from those who have read articles in the latest women's magazine.

To date I have not had anyone who has lost a significant amount of weight with them, mainly because they fail to make big enough changes to their diet and exercise regime, divulging all responsibility to the medication and me.

Take a recent patient who in 6 months has lost only 10kg (9% of their original weight) despite taking sibutramine (an appetite suppressant), in comparison with my 9.5kg (14%) in under 3 months.

The perpetual excuses of parties, friends visiting and lack of motivation abound.

The new fad for gastric banding is also taking over.

I have a patient with a BMI over 50 (yes, over 50) who says she can't eat less as she has to entertain with work and it would be embarrassing to not partake in the food and drink as she does. But she would like a gastric band as that would give her an excuse to say no.
Therein lies her problem.

No responsibility and passing the buck to someone or something else.

Equally many of those I see have zero knowledge of what a healthy diet and exercise plan looks like.

People who contact you for either exercise and/or diet advice are already, by definition, aware that how they live needs changing and are taking proactive steps to make changes.

Most of the people who come in contact with me have no real insight into their predicament.

Advice has to be tailored to their educational level and level of understanding of the problem. Initial suggestions to 'exercise more and eat 5 a day' are often major progress in their lifestyle.

For someone who regards walking up 1 flight of stairs at work a couple of times a day as exercise, getting them to take a walk at lunchtime is a big step.

So, enough of my ranting. I am converted, I know what needs to be done, but persuading the unwilling masses is a task not even I can achieve."

********************************************************

See the problems the Western world faces?

I lay the blame squarely at the feet of the media and the government.

We are all programmed by what we see and hear all day so for those who have been brought up on crap magazines and quick fix media hype, can we really blame them.

To a certain extent I believe it is there responsibility to find out what they need to do but I guess it could be argued that they think they are taking that action by reading those magazines.

Is there anything we can do other than have the government impose much stricter rules on what can be advertised?

What can we expect when our own leader has more 'Chins' than a Chinese phone book?

No amount of shouting and raving from people like me can overcome the mulit-billion dollar marketing campaigns of the big firms.

Surely it should have gone through lengthy testing before being allowed to be advertised?

How do we implement this?

It's a sad state of affairs guys and we all need to start sitting up, taking notes and doing something about it.

Our doctor claims it is a big step for people to start walking each day but is it when there is concrete evidence that interval training, weight training and 95% clean diets are the only way to force life-changing fat burning processes in the human body?

How can we say it is a success if someone loses 1.5 stones but still has a very high risk of cardiac complications, diabetes and various other diseases. They will more than likely die early.

I also see problems with 'tailoring' advice to individual needs if I'm honest. It's like the failed attempts at downgrading cannabis to prevent drug use.

We pander to people rather than telling them straight "You're obese adn unless you do exactly what I tell you, you will die."

We all know gastric banding won't work in the long-term as it just gives people an excuse to start again with their crappy lifestyles.

Like the global warming issue, something big needs to happen and fast or do we face irreversable damage to the human race?

What are your thoughts?

Jon

The Fat Loss Results Ladder

2009-04-02T07:24:00.000-07:00

A few years back when I decided I was going to commit my life to ripping fat off people and getting them as close to athletic status as possible, I began to wonder if one thing was more important than the other.

See most people fail at fat loss attempts due to a perceived lack of time.

They do have time but the perception is there.

I needed a way to prioritise certain elements to deliver fast results in the short-term to buy me time to change these perceptions.

Unfortunately the world is impatient especially personal training clients.

Man they can get nasty if those pounds don't come off immediately!

I got inspired by Alwyn Cosgrove's 'Hierarchy of Fat Loss' but since then I've developed a comprehensive list of my own.

This is the 'Fat Loss Results Ladder'

A lot of these I struggled to prioritize over another as my truthful answer is 'Do them all, now!' if you want great results.

However, there is some kind of logic to this which pretty much goes...

Mental stability --- Nutrition --- Intense training --- Recovery --- Tweaking

If you are struggling for results, then work your way down the ladder, ticking them off as you go. If you hit one that you are not adhering to, sort it out immediately and you will more than likely see results. If not move on to the next and the next.

1 - Set STORM goals which have solid emotional attachments

Specific, Timed, Operations-based, Relevant, Measurable.

Have you made sure you qualify for these goals and you know exactly what is required of you?

Are you willing to pay the price for this goal in terms of finances, time and sacrifice?

Try the Magic Hundred, like I do- it's revolutionised my approach to life!

2 - Eat lean protein, vegetables, healthy fats 95% of the time

This means eliminating coffee, alcohol and all processed sugars - FULL STOP.

3 - Perform heavy resistance training and / or metabolic resistance training,
involving all muscle groups 2-3 times per week

I prefer metabolic weight training as found in the Fat Loss Action Blueprint. It's fun, it's intense and it delivers great conditioning at the same time!

4 - Perform high intensity interval training and or sprint interval training 2-3 times per week

200-400m sprints are optimal if going by distance.

Alternatively, use time e.g 1 minute hard, 2 minute recovery pace x 8

5 - Drink 30-50ml of water per kilo (2lbs) of bodyweight every single day

Water has more power than Barack Obama - it rules EVERYTHING in your body.

6 - Eat 70-120g of lean protein every day

Small ladies towards 70g, big lads towards 120g

7 - Eat a protein based breakfast at home, everyday

Use eggs where possible or a good protein supplement, but try to avoid sugarry cereals even the 'healthy' ones which aren't such as Special K.

If you don't know how to make healthy breakfasts get 'Cooking For The Fitness Lifestyle'

8 - Make sure you really are busting your butt and sweating hard in your training sessions

You should struggle to finish a session - this means not giving up at the first sign of lactic acid!

Get a training partner who is fitter than you to make this happen!

9 - Ensure you are cutting your rest, adding weight or adding reps every single week

Sessions should get harder and more intense as you progress not easier!

10 - Restrict carbs to only after training sessions for recovery

Refuel your muscles ready for the next session, then let your body feed on fat at all other times.

11 - Fast 1-2 times per week for 24 hours

I do this regularly following the EatStopEat program.

I drink nothing but water for 24 hours once per week, which minimises my body fat and helps me clear out the few chemicals which do enter my body!

You'll love this program and it may just change your life and body - that's how much I value it.

12 - Make sure you are totally focused on short and intense rather than long and moderate paced aerobic exercise

Forget aerobics and long-runs. They're so 90's (said in high school cheerleader style).

13 - Add 10-15 minutes aerobic training at the end of each session

Intense training releases fatty acids into the bloodstream. Moderate paced cardio can then help burn this instantly.

Get to bed before 10.30 at least 4 times per week

14 - Have a deload week every 4 weeks to allow muscle recovery and regeneration

Recovery is where the magic happens. Constant bashing of your body will lead to backwards steps rather than forwards

15 - Make sure you are mildly (or very) anxious before training

Your last session should have you a little nervous about the next - believe me it's good for you as you know you're training hard enough!

16 - Eat only organic food

Less chemicals in the body mean less fuzz to prevent your internal systems working as they are designed to.

17 - Add fish oil supplements

Strong evidence to suggest this can help burn fat and keep everything healthy.

18 - Forget the irrelevant stuff!

Forget about very minor issues like walking up stairs instead of the elevator, chasing the dog around the park, chewing gum, drinking ice cold water etc!

Too much time is wasted on the things that account for such a small amount of calories that it doesn't really make any difference!

****************************************************

There you have it - the Fat Loss Results Ladder from Storm Force Fitness.

If you are tempted to skip rungs because they don't suit you, you have the answer right there to your fat loss problem!

You must be willing to make changes if you want to see changes.

The key - GET ON WITH IT!

Jon

Resources to help:

Magic Hundred - Goal Getting

Fat Loss Action Blueprint

Cooking For The Fitness Lifestyle

Eat Stop Eat - Intermittent fasting for fat loss

The deal with protein

2009-03-30T07:20:00.000-07:00

When men were men and girls did cardio, protein was for those who sought nothing but arms big enough to get stuck in a cat flap.

However, times have changed and now girls do weights (if they have any sense) and cats themselves are fat enough to get stuck due to being fed the same rubbish their owners eat.

With this new found wave of girls with great, toned bodies and metrosexual men with crap hair cuts came the multi-billion dollar protein industry with everything from 'Red Carpet Body Shakes' to 'Maxi Bicep Pump Magic' with more colours than a Willy Wonka golden ticket bar.

I too got suckered into thinking more protein equals more muscle.

However, after reading Brad Pilon's Eat Stop Eat e-book which comes with 'How Much Protein?' my eyes were opened wide to some interesting truths.

1) Nearly all research confirming the need for 5-6 meals per day all containing protein, has been funded by supplement companies.

You can work that one out for yourself.

2) Having shovelled as much protein in as possible to build muscle, was I really that much bigger over a few years?

The answer is 'not really'.

Surely if muscle growth was directly correlated to protein intake I would have nearly twice as much muscle as I had when I ate three meals per day containing protein, compared to six.

Brad goes on to discuss how many of the guys we see guzzling shakes and bars as soon as they're off the gym floor rarely make noticeable progress unless they are on the 'magic juice'.

This would indicate it is actually something wrong in their training programs.

3) There is strong evidence that past eating 70-120g of protein per day, extra protein will not be used to build extra muscle. (Small females towards the lower end and big boys towards the top)

Annoyingly, these amounts are the same as what was first discovered around 1900.

That was 100 years well spent then.

Girls listen up - many of you (and some blokes) do not get ENOUGH protein. You should be aiming for 70g of lean quality protein each day if you want to add muscle and burn more fat for a curvy, lean body.

4) Much of the research 'proving' that protein intake above these amounts led to greater lean muscle tissue is actually flawed as they are based not on measuring lean muscle tissue but on positive nitrogen balance in the body.

Brad tells us that at this time, there is no way to accurately measure lean muscle tissue increase and no concrete evidence that positive nitrogen balance means a proportionate increase in lean muscle tissue.

5) There is little evidence to suggest we are able to put on more than 2-5lbs of pure lean muscle tissue (not including water) over about 8 weeks.

You really must see the review of the research that Brad provides to fully grasp these concepts!

Self-experiment

As always I had to experiment on myself before agreeing or disagreeing with any of this.

Along with the intermittent fasting of the Eat Stop Eat program (I did one 24h fast per week instead of two as I'm not looking to drop weight), I reduced my protein intake from around 170g per day to 100-110g.

Bear in mind I am doing this during a 12 week tough conditioning program which isn't focussed on heavy lifting. I'm focussed solely on improving endurance, stamina, and power-endurance during this program which includes one long run each week.

You would therefore expect a drop in muscle mass due to lower protein intake if what we thought we knew about protein was right.

However, in the last 4 weeks my weight has remained exactly the same at 79kg with my body fat reducing slightly as can be seen below.

The other benefits of using Pilon's program are four fold:

1) My food bill has gone down by 20 GBP per week (about $30).

2) It was nice to have a day without having to worry about eating times and I got a lot more done because I timed it with my busy Fridays.

3) It made me realise that a lot of my 'hunger' is merely because I and the crappy fitness magazines have programmed me to think I need food (including lots of protein) every 3 hours or I am going to waste away.

This has also been great for self-discipline.

4) It automatically creates a calorie deficit for fat loss without needing to measure portions or rule your life by food times.

Before you protein monsters dismiss this, listen up.

Anyone that knows me well enough knows that the concept of Jon Le Tocq going 24 hours with nothing but water is absurd. I am an eating machine capable of devouring obscene amounts of food when required in eating competitions.

Thoughts about doing this bounced around my head for a good ten days but I ALWAYS experiment if I think it will bring clients and readers better results when they have stuttered to a halt.

You will surprise yourself and could completely change your approach to food both for yourself and for clients if you are a trainer!

I strongly suggest you check out Brad's program as soon as possible to discover the truth about protein.

Failing that, just experiment on yourself for a few weeks - you'll surprise yourself and could save a packet!

PS Brad has some very interesting thoughts on protein supplements...

Eat Stop Eat

The single leg squat

2009-03-28T11:26:00.000-07:00

I have a love-hate relationship with this exercise!

I love the effects on leg strength and hip/knee stability.

I hate how much concentration it requires to avoid falling off a table with a kettlebell shaped hole in the head.

The single leg squat and its variations should be one of the first players on your team sheet when designing a workout if you are looking to develop leg strength and power for sport or just functional strength.

Performed properly it will do wonders for developing strength through full range of motion on one leg - something sadly neglected in a lot of strength programs when too much emphasis is put on size and the 'big three' of squats, deadlifts and bench press.

Sport is not performed on two legs or lying on a bench, so why train like that.

These exercises clearly have their place in a strength program but they are not the be-all and end-all unless you're a powerlifter.

It takes time to learn and will require patience and significant amounts of flexibility and mobility work - so don't be impatient.

Here's me wobbling through my best ever in terms of weight!

You'll see me doing it off a high table - this is a good move for tall people who may not be able to get optimal results from working on the floor. Due to lever problems from having legs like a giraffe it can become rather awkward!

The evidence for intervals trumping aerobic cardio

2009-03-26T14:32:00.001-07:00

Here's some evidence as to why interval training must be a regular, tough, sweat-fest of a session on your training timetable!

This really is just some of the piles of research I have next to me!

Let's look at some answers to sceptics, aerobics fans and those who 'don't have time'...

But I want to improve my stamina for running / cycling etc

Gibala et al (2006) compared low volume sprint training with high volume endurance (typical of running fanatics).

Both groups performed 6 sessions over 14 days.

The HIIT group performed 4-6 x 30 second intervals @ 250% of VO2 max (very hard!) with 4 min rest inbetween.

The endurance group performed 90-120 min cycling at 65% of VO2 max (moderate).

The HIIT group did 2.5 hours of training over 2 weeks whilst the endurance group did 10.5h.

The results?

Muscle oxidative capacity improvements was similar in both groups so muscle endurance capabilities will have improved at about the same rate, but the HIIT group spent 8 hours less doing it over 2 weeks!

Aerobic exercise burns fat so it's better for fat burning

5 well trained distance runners were tested at each of the following:

2 hours @ 24% of VO2 max (low intensity)
10 minutes @ 81% of VO2 max (relatively high intensity but continuous)
2 minutes on 2 minutes off @ 89% of VO2 max (high intensity intervals)

(Brockman et al, 1993)

After one hour of finishing the sessions, oxygen consumption was significantly higher following the intermittent exercise.

After just 40 minutes, oxygen consumption had returned to base level in the walking test. This means no more fat burning until you do mroe exercise.

This means metabolic rate was much higher - more calorie / fat burning whilst at rest!

I've heard you burn more calories at the time of aerobic exercise.

This MAY be true but check this study out!

A 20 week endurance program was compared with a 15 week High Intensity Interval Training program. (Tremblay et al, 1994)

Over those weeks, the endurance group burned 120mJ of energy during exercise whereas the HIIT group burned 57.9mJ.

Surely endurance wins then?

Not when you consider that the HIIT group showed more pronounced reduction in body fat!

So they trained for 5 weeks less but lost more fat - SHORTER TIME TO RESULTS!

When they adjusted the results to compare fat loss in proportion to the cost of energy of the exercise sessions, the HIIT group lost 9 TIMES as much fat.

It should be pretty clear now why I force home the point that how many calories you burn in a session is largely irrelevant - ignore calorie counters on cross-trainers etc!

Yeah lots of science but does it work for real people?

Testimonial shots from normal people following http://www.fatlossactionblueprint.com

http://www.fatlossactionblueprint.com

The reason you're failing

2009-03-25T02:25:00.001-07:00

I've seen this so many times, it's time to write an open and honest letter to those who are getting nowhere.

Look, I love you guys and I love the emails I get asking questions but sometimes we all need a slap to wake us up, so that's what I'm delivering today!

I have had personal training clients, mentor clients and FLAB followers say something very similar to this....

"Hi Jon, I've hit a plateau and not really losing any weight. Can you help explain it? I'm not sure this program is working"

The answers are invariably the same on all fronts.

1) You say you're following the nutrition guidelines then I find out from your food diary that you're.....

...still having 4-5 glasses of wine per week
...staying out late on weekend nights
...having high levels of carbs for breakfast when you're not training until that evening if at all
...not drinking nearly enough water
...having far too many treats
...still drinking coffee because you mistakenly believe it helps your energy levels
...you're still eating bread and milk because you like it

(Bonus tip - don't post photos of you getting pissed on facebook then act confused about lack of results...)

If I ask you to eliminate ALL processed foods and eat clean, healthy foods ALL the time, this is what you must do.

Doing it 80% of the time will get you nowhere.

You are either following guidelines or you are not.

Consequently you are either getting results or you're not! It's that simple.

If you are overweight, and then embark on following the Storm Force Nutrition Blueprint or any other clean eating plan, you WILL lose body fat unless you have some serious medical condition.

Even then it will more than likely still work very well.

Yes these changes may be difficult at first but that's the way it is.

Noticeable results require noticeable changes. You must accept this, immediately not in 4 weeks time.

2) Not MAKING time to get 4 or 5 intense metabolic weight training sessions done each week.

Doing one, even if it is personal training is not NEARLY enough and won't make the slightest bit of difference.

Don't think that by having taken the step to get a trainer or mentor you are about to discover some magical method which brings results.

Yes it is a huge step but only if you do EXACTLY what you are told.

I don't waste time with people by giving out exercises like bicep curls and tricep extensions for fat loss.

Everything you are told to do is for a specific reason so if you don't do it regularly, as a priority and with intensity which leaves you needing you recovery time, only mediocre results will follow if at all.

Even when I train myself I doubt whether I can get through some sessions but I am so focussed on my goals that I push my limits as much as I can.

This FORCES your body to change - it literally has no choice.

And no pilates, yoga, golf and taking the dog for a walk do not count WHATSOEVER.

These may be done in addition to prescribed programs but DO NOT replace what you should be doing for your fat loss / muscle building training.

3) You keep altering your program because of social events or not having enough time.

You need to start making time to get all of the required training in every single week.

Chopping the intervals in half because you had to meet your friend is going to chop your fat loss results in half if not more.

If you want life-changing results, you need to start living the lifestyle required, not just do it for 2 weeks whilst motivation is still high.

You need to develop mental strength through solid goal setting so that you can do it day in, day out.

You need to learn to turn down social invitations if you are too weak to avoid alcohol when you're there.

Also, blaming your work schedule is not productive. Yes I'm sure you do have lots of appointments but if you want results you need to MAKE time.

Many people have done this with great results and they are busier than you!

If you're not willing to do this, please don't blame the program.

It is your fault and YES, you DO have a choice you are just not willing to make it.

Every moment is a chance to start again.

If you messed up last week don't dwell on it but take the necessary steps to stop it from happening again!

So have a think and be honest with yourself whether you're on one of my programs or someone elses.

Are you REALLY doing it 100%?

Jon

PS If food boredom is killing you get the Storm Force cookbook

How to structure a training week

2009-03-23T02:52:00.000-07:00

This post is no doubt going to leave me open to those who disagree and tell me that you should have a clear linear periodisation plan that first builds strength then converts it to power etc.

Put your toys back in the pram and your periodisation textbook back on the shelf. Science is great, real world results are better.

Just to prove how powerful this can be, I yesterday ran 8.25 miles in 58 minutes which included 8 x 50m STEEP hill climbs up and down on grass at half way and a fairly steep road hill at about 7 miles.

Whilst this is not anything that special to a 'runner' I run once per week because I have to get ready for an endurance event I am doing in July.

I hadn't run until February.

I have also maintained my muscle and kept body fat at about 7% rather than ending up like a stick thin Sunday Shuffler / Pavement Pounder.

I can also...

- Deadlift 2.5 times my bodyweight
- Squat 2 x my bodyweight
- Perform a single leg squat with a 32kg kettlebell
- Perform 15-20 single arm push ups

This isn't a brag and there are many people who could outperform that, however the point is that people tend to believe that you can only have good endurance OR be strong OR maintain muscle.

Consider that I also have kind of bodytype which qualifies me for the Grasshopper Olympics and has had me labelled 'lanky streak of ****' by my Grandad and 'gangly' in local newspaper sports reports.

If you want to be the BEST at any of the above, then no this training isn't ideal, but the vast majority of us out there want to be capable of many things all at once - it makes life much more enjoyable and gives us much more potential!

My training philosophy is to build lean athletic bodies which, whilst they won't win bodybuilding competitions nor half-marathons, are capable of holding their own in ANY competition.

They are capable of sprinting faster than most, running 10k faster than most and looking better than most.

Clearly the need for such abilities will fluctuate but the point is you have a great base of everything so that you can be ready to specialise for any event as required.

So what does a training week look like for me at the moment?:

Monday - Anaerobic Conditioning

A challenge such as 5 rounds as fast as possible of:

30 extreme kettlebell swings
15 burpee-pull ups
10 kettlebell jerks
10 sprints across my studio
No rest

Repeat until 5 rounds are complete

Tuesday - Strength

Dumbell snatch
4 x 5 reps 45 sec rest

Superset of 1 leg squat with 2 kettlebell press
4 x 5 each side 60 sec rest after press

Superset of 1 arm push up with pull up (using weighted vest)
4 sets stoppping 1 rep short of failure

Wednesday - Anaerobic conditioning

Hill 'sprintervals'

Treadmill on steep incline (or find a nice hill outside - I live in the city centre!)

8 rounds of 45 seconds at high speed - 90 seconds rest between each interval

15 minutes steady run at 75-80%

Thursday - Rest

Mobility and flexibility work )e.g foam rolling and developmental stretching

Friday - Strength

1 arm dumbbell clean and press

Superset of barbell front squat with weighted pull up
4 x 5 reps - 60 seconds rest after pull up

Superset of 1 arm dumbbell chest press with single arm row
4 x 5 reps each side - 60 seconds rest after pull up

Glute-ham raise
4 sets to 1 short of failure

Saturday - Rest

Mobility and flexibility

Sunday

Long run (at the moment due to requirements for Tough Guy event)

*****************************************

This is just one week.

4 times per week is core work using varied sets, reps and exercises.

Each week certain variables will change.

I might do one arm pull up strength practice or side-to-side pullups.

I might do kettlebell snatches instead of dumbbells.

I might use isometrics and complex training (not complexes) to increase strength and power.

Sometimes I'll do more strength and less conditioning.

Please do not take this as a 6 week program or anything like that, it is purely to demonstrate how to mould strength training with conditioning without burning out.

What if I can't train that much?

If you only have time to train three times per week you might do 15 mins heavy strength work at the start of a session followed by 20 minutes conditioning.

There is no set way of training so don't get caught up in performing the same sessions every week just so you 'get better at it'.

If it hurts, makes you sweat, is balanced in terms of muscles used and gives certain energy systems enough recovery time, it will work.

And don't forget to eat well!

Jon

Best fat burning exercises or best exercises for burning fat?

2009-03-20T00:43:00.000-07:00

I often get asked what are the best fat burning exercises.

It's a good question!

We all want to know how we can get the most from our time and burn the most fat without having to spend hours in the gym.

The truth is there is a big distinction between these two questions:

What are the best fat burning exercises?

What are the best exercises for burning fat?

Sound the same?

They're not!

Fat burning occurs from the following actions:

1) Creating an oxygen debt in your training.

In other words your training must cause significant increases in body heat and lactic acid so that a much higher intake of oxygen than usual is required to help remove the lactic acid (a toxin) and cool your body down to it's preferred temperature.

The result is a greatly elevated metabolic rate as these processes occur as fast as possible to return your body to homeostasis ('the norm' - the level at which your body is comfortable and doesn't feel threatened in anyway)

2) Building lean muscle or at least maintaining a good level of lean muscle.

Muscle burns calories, so more muscle burns more calories.

3) Consuming less calories than you burn

We all know that to lose fat you must eat and drink less than you burn through your base metabolic rate (what you burn just to keep your vital organs working), daily activities and exercise.

Most people grossly overestimate what they burn in the gym and what they eat at meals. Half the time they actually forget all the little things they nibbled on.

This can be very frustrating if youw ork hard at the gym and see no results but it's VERY common.

Those three points are the simple truths behind fat loss.

The problem is that everyone focusses on what happens in their training and so ask the question "What are the best fat burning exercises?"

The answers are not squats, deadlifts, thrusters or anything else because if you are not performing them with high intensity they STILL won't have an effect because you have not created an oxygen by working hard enough!

So the best exercises for fat burning are in fact:

1) Train with a partner or team who will push you beyond your mental limits and get you much closer to your physical limits. This will create huge levels of oxygen debt and ramp up your metabolic rate for anything up to 36 hours after your training session.

Yes these exercises should be based around squats, deadlifts, lunges, pull ups, chin ups, push ups, burpees, sprints, kettlebell swings, kettlebells snatches, dumbbell swings, dumbbell snatches and bent over rows.

However, if you are not working at at least 80-90% when performing them and getting very hot and uncomfortable, your results will be severely limited!

Use supersets, circuits, timed challenges and anything else which maximises work rate and physical stress and minmises rest time.

This must be done 4-5 times per week for at least 20 minutes each time.

2) Write out a food diary for just one week and count the calories consumed - you'll be shocked.

Then make sure 95% of your diet comes from lean protein, vegetables and small doses of health fats.

Combined with Point 1) this will create a calorie deficit.

3)Ensure you also perform heavy strength training to build or at least maintain lean muscle tissue.

This will not burn fat as you perform it but it WILL elevate your metabolic rate for a good while after and give you a better body shape.

There you have it!

The best exercises for burning fat.

Jon

Don't forget today is the last day to get the Storm Force Fitness fat loss cookbook at 40% off

5 reasons to love metabolic weight training

2009-03-17T08:04:00.000-07:00

I used to be one of those kids who blindly bundled into the local leisure centre gym with a list like this from Page 19 of Men's Health Issue 116.

Squat (with bad technique) 3 x 10
Leg press - hamstring curl 3 x 10 superset
Dumbell press 3 x 10 with small dumbbells
Bent over row (with bent back to contribute to spine fracture) 3 x 10 or until lower back hurts
Bicep curls 3 x 10 supersetted with tricep extension 3 x 10

You get the message....

This was before a 30 minute 'fat burning' run on the treadmill in front of 'A Question of Sport' on the TV.

Needless to stay I stayed skinny and never really saw any improvements in ANYTHING!

All I got was overuse injuries, boredom and flack from my Mum for taking so long at the gym that I was late for tea.

10 years on I am the world's biggest fan of metabolic weight training.

Why?

1) It involves weight training

Weight training which goes beyond pink dumbbells and aerobic-style step up and press manouevres, builds lean muscle tissue.

Lean muscle tissue burns calories so the more you have the more you burn!

2) It is also based around interval training

This not only causes a release of growth hormone to help with muscle growth but when done for short, near maximal bursts of 20 seconds, it uses mainly fast twitch muscle fibres which grow thicker and faster than the slow twitch fibres which domintate in steady state cardio.

Again this means more muscle and a greater metabolic rate at rest.

Also the anaerobic nature of well-performed interval training creates an oxygen debt. In other words, your metabolic rate will increase in order to haul in more oxygen for all the necessary repair processes including cooling your body down and removing lactic acid from your muscles.

It can take around 24 hours for full restoration to occur. String three of four such sessions together over a week and you have a recipe for a permanently elevated metabolism!

The beauty of intense, anaerobic interval based training, either in traditional cardio style or using weights (I love kettlebells!), is that if you work hard enough during the intense burst, your heart rate will fall between intervals but still be high enough to be within the 'aerobic zone' as people like to call it.

So you can see how anaerobic training can improve aerobic performance but NOT the other way around.

3) It is exciting and can be based around time challenges, repetition challenges etc

This means every sessions can and should be different - the key is intensity!

The variety means you are much more likely to stick to such a program.

4) You can perform such sessions anywhere and with any equipment.

Again the focus is on intensity rather than the monotonous repetition of having to perform 3 x 10 barbell back squats with 5kg more than last time, every week for 8 weeks.

5) You are more likely to develop different elements of fitness by combining power and strength work with anaerobic endurance thus becoming more athletic than the guy who may have big thick muscles but can't jump over a stray cat due to poor agility.

You may not become a specialist in any of them but you will have low body fat (if you're nutrition is right) and be a much healthier and athletic individual!

You'll also find that your aerobic endurance capacity gets ramped up at the same time with no real focus on it!

If you want to be a champion 10k runner you need to do long runs - fact.

Those who want a lean, atheltic body need metabolic weight training - fact!

What you thought you knew isn't working to have a think about opening your mind!

Cycling nutrition

2009-03-16T09:53:00.000-07:00

Go to any gym and you'll find some know-it-all telling you about how he does 4 weeks on high repetitions, 4 weeks on 8-12 reps to build muscle and, 4 weeks on pure strength with reps of 3-5.

Now whilst that guy is well behind the times in terms of what works for building muscle and burning fat, Big Jimmy Four Chins has one thing going for him.

He understands that performing the same kind of training or worse, the same session, for more than a few weeks at a time will result in a plateau and no further progress.

This is an all too common site in gyms.

However, many people do understand (to varying degrees) that you need to mix things up on the gym floor to see results and keep your body, guessing, adapting and ultimately, changing.

This is great but what about nutrition.

Why do we all agree that training variety is required for change to take place, yet we all settle into a nutrition pattern and do it on auto pilot?

Before I go on, this does not mean that you ladies who start a new crash diet every time Heat magazine comes out with the latest 'baby seaweed cabbage soup hypo-caloric breast implant' sensation, are doing the right thing.

The message today is not to get into too many habits no matter how good or healthy you think they are.

Again, your body will adapt.

Eat a high carb diet because you are training for a long-distance event and your body will become more efficient at utilising carbs and therefore less fat will be burnt so don't expect any improvements in body fat for a long time should that become your focus.

Go on a high protein, low carb, low fat diet to lose fat and you will eventually become more efficient at utilising protein as a fuel source. Later attempts at building muscle are likely to take much longer as your body readapts to using other sources for fuel leaving the protein for muscle building purposes.

Your body will do whatever you ask of it, whether you know you're asking the questions or not.

The key to success is rotation of different PROVEN nutrition systems.

My favourite method for fat loss is to follow the lean, clean, 5-6 meals per day, complex carbs only after training plan I use in the Fat Loss Action Blueprint.

After 4-6 weeks, switch things around and be less strict on meal timings and regular protein doses and use Intermittent Fasting (24 hour periods of nothing but water)which helps increase insulin sensitivity.

It also helps easily create a calorie deficit over the week without having to worry about anything on 'normal' days.

So long as you are not overeating to begin with and you can get your head around it mentally, this is an easy way to drop body fat without worrying about carbs, protein, fat, calorie counting or any other annoying inconveniences!

The best resource I've found on this topic is Brad Pilon's EatStopEat program which also provides some shocking evidence about how much protein you should be eating.

(Boys it's no where near what you thought!)

Don't get stuck in your ways but keep challenging your body.

Results will follow!

Jon

Get on the FLAB

Read EatStopEat

Programming the brain for results!

2009-03-15T01:21:00.000-07:00

These seven concepts are adapted from an age-old mind-guidance system and help illustrate the conflicts which can arise between your conscious and subconscious mind.

They are all interlinked so you must understand them!

Every thought causes a physical reaction.

For instance, if being nervous or stressed causes you to reach for the biscuit tin, you must address the cause of the thoughts which make you need comfort food rather than simply trying to stop eating biscuits. You may need to take action to increase your self-confidence or relax yourself at the end of the day.

Your imagination is more powerful in determining your actions than any knowledge you have gained.

Any ideas which have emotional attachments are almost impossible to change through logic alone. For instance, if you constantly read magazines which fill your brain with images of ‘size zero’ models who seem to possess everything they could ever want, you begin to imagine yourself in that situation.

Unless you program your subconscious mind to realise that this is not the way to live, it doesn’t matter what you read elsewhere about how bad it is for you because your subconscious mind still attaches the perfect lifestyle to being a ‘size zero’ and will cause you to act accordingly.

Conflicting ideas can’t last for long – one will eventually come out on top.

For instance, you know that eating cakes is not good for your fat loss plan and yet every time it comes to decision time on the office cake round, you decide that one cake won’t hurt. Unless you get it crystal clear in your head that you cannot eat cake under any circumstances it will always be very difficult to resist.

If you allow emotions to rule for long enough, they will eventually cause real changes to occur.

For instance, your friend borrows your favourite shoes and ruins them in a night club. You pretend its okay but secretly you stay angry at them for a few months. Eventually this will become a physical reality in the form of an outburst related to some other event or another form of retaliation.

This is similar to the old saying “never let the sun go down on an argument”. It will only serve to make it worse because it becomes part of your subconscious being. The same applies to food. If you are unable to alter your emotional, subconscious state, you will soon get to a stage where the action of eating is the only way to solve the problem. You know the solution won’t last long but nevertheless you have brought the emotional build up into reality.

What you expect to happen tends to become reality.

We’ve all heard that we should practice ‘positive thinking’. This is because if we can convince ourselves something is going to happen and we genuinely believe it, the physical reality of the idea tends to take shape right in front of our eyes. Obviously, this can be a bad thing because if you keep telling yourself you’re going to fail, it’s more than likely to come true! For instance, if you keep telling yourself you are fat and you’re going to stay fat, guess what…..you will!

Once an idea is developed and accepted by the subconscious mind, it will remain there to guide your actions until a new idea replaces it and becomes the new guide for your actions.

This is why habits can be so hard to break. It doesn’t help to try and give up smoking by just trying not to open the packet. You must create a new ideal in your subconscious mind by visualising what your smoke-free life would be like. Going back to our biscuit example, if you can’t find an alternative to eating biscuits to reduce stress levels, your subconscious mind is going to remain programmed to demand biscuits to cope with the problem.

Each thought which you act on makes it much easier to act on future thoughts of a similar nature.

For instance, you may have to really force yourself to say no to dessert when out with friends, but once you have done it once and you realise your social world will not crumble as a result, it will become easier and easier to do it in future. Again, this is because you spend less time thinking about doing it and just let your subconscious mind take over – “Would you like dessert?” “No thank you.” End of story.

Now you should realise that it is crucial to program your subconscious mind to be on exactly the same wavelength as your conscious mind if you are going to prevent yourself going around in circles and never really making progress.

The key is to keep talking to yourself and those around you about how you are achieving your goals.

"I am losing a stone because...."

"I'm on target to run under 40 minutes in the London 10k race"

"I'm hitting single digit body fat by the start of May"

This constant talk will program your brain to see that as reality and consequently you'll find yourself taking whatever actions are required to get you there even when you aren't actively thinking about it!

It's not magic but it works really well so make sure you do this on a daily basis!

Focus on anything but fat loss to lose fat!

2009-03-09T14:07:00.000-07:00

We've all done it.

We set ourselves a fat loss goal and commit everything to achieving it.

Well, most people don't even do that - they think some half-arse effort at eating like a rabbit for 4 days before the next office cake round will do the trick.

If that doesn't, the 20 minutes spent watching Eastenders whilst on the cross-trainer will do it.

It would have been 30 but Sarah from Accounts just arrived so they had to have a natter about the conversation they never finished 45 minutes ago on leaving the office.

Anyway, that aside, focussing solely on fat loss rarely brings the desired result.

The reason is because despite what you might THINK, fat loss isn't really your ultimate goal.

You ultimate goal is more likely to be one of the following:

- You want to lose 2 stone so that you can finally run 10km without stopping.
- You want to get to 5% body fat so you have a rippling six pack to impress the girls on the beach in Marbella
- You want to get down to a Size 10 so that your confidence levels shoot up and you can wear what you want with your head held high.
- You want to lose 3 stones because you still remember the bullying when you were 16 and it hasn't got much better, there's just no bog flushing at the office.
- You want to improve your appearance so that you present a better image to prospective employers or clients.

I could go on all day.

The point is that you need to do some real soul-searching to find the EXACT reason you want to achieve that fat loss goal.

If you then train and eat to achieve THAT goal, the fat loss will literally take care of itself.

The reason this happens is that when you can place a deep emotional reason on a particular goal and keep talking about that goal to anyone who will listen, your brain is much more easily programmed and will make you act in ways that take you towards that goal.

The same process applies to earning money.

Everyone says they want to earn more but few really know why.

Once you can place an experience based goal above the goal of earning say $75,000 per year, every action you take suddenly has a much greater purpose and meaning to it and you will find yourself naturally gravitating towards the goal.

This doesn't mean it simply becomes easy but you will be much more inclined to say no to the things / people that move you further away from your goals and push you to take the actions you must to be who and what you want to be.

Shift your focus and you'll soon shift up a few gears in the goal-getting race!

Jon

http://www.fatlossactionblueprint.com
http://www.fatlosscookbook.com

Sample recipes from my new cook book

2009-03-08T12:37:00.001-07:00

In the next 2 weeks I'll be releasing my new fat loss cook book!

I'm getting a bit bored of the old chicken and rice with spinach and olive oil and decided something needed to be done!

So as usual I wrote a book!

This will bring you 150 recipes which whilst still fitting in with the principles of the Fat Loss Action Blueprint, are very tasty!

Here's some samples for you lifted straight from the book!

Garden Frittata - breakfast

Makes 1 serving

1 tablespoon olive oil
30 grams mushrooms, sliced
1 teaspoon minced jalapeno pepper
30 grams chopped roasted red bell pepper
1 green onion, sliced
2 teaspoons fresh chopped cilantro
3 eggs, beaten
Pepper

In a medium nonstick sauté pan over medium high heat, heat the oil. Add the mushrooms, jalapeño, bell pepper, green onions and cilantro and sauté until soft. Add the eggs and season with pepper. Cook the mixture, stirring and lifting the eggs to help them cook evenly, until they begin to set. Continue cooking until nearly firm in the center.

Calories: 300 per serving

Pear and Chicken Hash - For the meat eaters!

Makes 4 servings

2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
100 grams chopped onion
2 medium pears, peeled, cored, and finely chopped
1 large sweet potato, baked, peeled and cubed
200 grams chopped skinless, boneless boiled chicken breast
1 teaspoon chopped fresh sage
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon paprika

Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and pears; sauté 7 minutes or until mixture begins to brown. Spoon into a large bowl, add potato and remaining ingredients. Toss well to combine.

Heat remaining oil in pan over medium heat. Add pear mixture, and pat into an even layer in pan. Cook, without stirring, for 2 minutes. Stir gently; cook an additional 2 minutes or until potato begins to brown. Serve immediately.

Calories: 226 per serving

Potato and Parsnip Bake - lots of recipes for the veggies!

Makes 4 servings

1 teaspoon chili powder
2 teaspoons mustard seeds
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon garam masala (optional)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
750 grams sweet potatoes, sliced
350 grams parsnips, peeled and sliced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Preheat oven to 220 degrees C.

Combine chili powder, mustard seeds, and coriander seeds in a small nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Cover and cook 2 minutes or until seeds begin to pop, shaking pan occasionally. Remove from heat; let stand, covered, 1 minute. Stir in cumin and garam masala.

Combine spice mixture, olive oil, and next 3 ingredients in a roasting pan coated with cooking spray; toss to coat. Bake for 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender, turning vegetables after 10 minutes. Sprinkle vegetable mixture with cilantro; toss.

Calories: 252 per serving

2009-03-06T06:28:00.000-08:00

I'm getting so excited about this!!

I get so annoyed about people saying you can't enjoy healthy food so I thought...

"Let's make a cookbook to go with the F.L.A.B!"

Here's a sneak preview of the photos of the contents - should be ready in a week or two!!

Are you in the Itchy Feet Brigade?

2009-03-04T04:01:00.001-08:00

I have identified a breed of fitness enthusiasts which I have decided to name the Itchy Feet Brigade.

See if you fit this group.

The Itchy Feet Brigade are those fitness enthusiasts who invest a lot of time and money on fitness and all it's offshoots yet never seem to get anywhere as they are constantly running between different concepts and methods.

The IFB have bought most fat loss and nutrition programs on the internet such as Turbulence Training, Fit Yummy Mummy, the Elimination Diet and my own Fat Loss Action Blueprint.

However, each time they are not quite satisfied and email the creator of the aforementioned programs asking how they can fit in with the other aforementioned programs.

This is why they do not get results or take much longer than others.

They don't realise that the best programs are designed in a set way for a specific reason.

Combining them often results in cancellation of the positives leaving you with little but a sore head from scratching it trying to figure out why the hell they're still fat!

They are the internet version of the suckers who have tried combining Weight Watchers, Slimming World, thermogenic fat loss pills, eating 5-6 meals per day, no fat nutrition and low calorie diets all at once because they got attracted by sales pitch after sales pitch.

I will stand by my Fat Loss Action Blueprint every time because everyone who has followed it 100% and ignored all other 'advice' has lost shed loads of body fat with the photos to prove it.

However, that is not to say the other programs don't work - they do.

The point is that you need to find a decent program by assessing...

1) Does the trainer practice what they preach?

2) Are they even a real-life trainer or an internet marketing genius?

3) Do they have proven results?

4) Do they use the style of training you like?

5) Does it fit into your weekly schedule or will you have to change this and change that meaning you are in fact no longer on that program but making up your own?

6) Do they offer ongoing support as on my free community (you can join and follow that even if you don't buy the Fat Loss Action Blueprint

Once you find this program, commit to it. 100%

Don't be a prat and try to create your own super-dooper-all conquering program - that's why we get paid to do this and you don't!

My FLAB came about from experience in my own training and nutrition which I then road-tested on real life, busy people (kids, jobs, travel etc) in my real life PT studio in Nottingham, England.

I then road-tested further on people I had no contact with other than by email and it still produced clear, obvious results with photographic evidence.

(It's a tough life having to marvel at girls in their bikinis after stripping off the wings and muffin tops, knowing you helped create the new them but I'm going to battle on! The blokes pictures get reviewed with admiration too....)

I now sell it, safe in the knowledge that those who follow the Nutrition Blueprint, Training Blueprint and all the encompassing goal setting and accountability advice, will get results.

Importantly they are longer be a member of the Itchy Feet Brigade but part of the Storm Force Unit and continue to progres even after the official 6 week program - that is because this program changees your mindset and lifestyle not just temporary changes in your love handles!

Ask Jason...

If you want to leave the Itchy Feet Brigade and join my growing army of FLAB'ers then go get it the Fat Loss Action Blueprint

Body fat down....energy levels up!

If not then PLEASE just stick to one of the other programs!

Jon

How to get your glutes working (most trainers don't know this)

2009-03-01T00:42:00.000-08:00

This video has brought some really positive feedback from trainers, clients and friends alike!

You see lots of people are into this 'functional training' idea which is great in theory.

However, what does functional mean?

Surely it means that the exercise being performed does the job you want it to?

Does it build the muscle you want? No? NOT FUNCTIONAL

Does it help burn more fat? No? NOT FUNCTIONAL

Does it use the right muscles or are you compensating for weak muscles by using others? No?

DEFINITELY NOT FUNCTIONAL!

This is the key to this video about exercises designed to work / tone / strengthen / build the glute muscles (your bum!)

As explained, most peoples' glutes don't even work!

This means that no matter how many squats and lunges you do, all you will do is work your legs more making the imbalance even worse.

Consequently, you will NEVER see improvements in your glutes - how annoying is that going to get after 6 months of performingthe 'functional' exercises?

Here's some secrets most trainers don't know....

Please post your comments below!

Cutting carbohydrates

2009-02-26T23:28:00.000-08:00

I was a guest on BBC Radio Nottingham today and managed to turn the conversation to how if you're fat it is your responsibility.

I don't care if the 'F' word is no longer politically correct.

No doubt this was dreamt up by one of the many fat politicians who think it is okay for the UK health service to dish out gastric banding and other cop outs for fat people.

Yes Gordon Brown you are fat and you should be setting an example. (Obama's better than you at this so why don't you play sheep as usual but for something positive this time??)

The point is 99.9% of the time it is........YOUR FAULT!

You choose to not eat breakfast, go to a party instead of the gym, drink alcohol as a treat when you have nothing to reward yourself for and you also choose to eat too many carbs which you DON'T need to 'stop you getting hungry'

At the end of my Metabolic Circuit Class last night at the studio, I overheard one of the regulars say they had cut out carbs so my ears pricked up!

On further investigation it emerged he was cutting out carbs because another of the group had lost around a stone since Jan 1st doing it (the 'other' being one of my personal training clients who is a machine - or will be by the time I'm finished....)

It reminded me that people STILL insist on picking bits out of other peoples' diets, weights routines etc and often end up worse off as they don't have the full story.

This client in question has not 'cut out' carbs but instead follows one of three variations of carb cycling I use depending on the goal, the person and what we have found works for them.

I would never recommend cutting carbs 100% a la The Atkins Diet as this will results in a slowing of your metabolism and greater difficulty in shedding fat in the future.

In the Fat Loss Action Blueprint I use one variation of carb cycling which works really well for fat loss whilst maintaining muscle. This involves only eating carbs after exercise.

Another variation is to not eat complex carbs for 3 days then have a high carb day.

Another which I am personally using at the moment is eating complex carbs BOTH sides of my training as I am more about performance at the moment and feel I need the carbs beforehand to 'fuel' up. I want to get the most out of my workouts in preparation for Tough Guy but also want to keep body fat down.

Today's food plan looks like this:

0700 Live biopot yoghurt with nuts, blueberries and dates plus protein supplement
1000 Grilled chicken breast, spinach, olive oil
1230 Salmon, wholegrain rice, tomato, olive oil
TRAIN HARD!
1530 Boiled eggs, wholegrain rice, spinach, olive oil
1900 Lean minced beef and chopped tomato, herbs (chili con carne style) with asparagus
2100 Nuts and peanut butter

Another important factor is when you cut something out you often need to increase something else in order to avoid swinging the other way.

This will involve eating more lean protein, more vegetables and/or more healthy fats such as flax oil to avoid being too low on calories.

Go too low on calories for more than 2-3 days and your caveman instincts will kick in, slow your metabolism and often leave you 'skinny fat' (the technical term used to describe those who drop weight but maintain their semingly treasured muffin top...) and low on energy.

This will effect your productivity at work as well as in the gym!

So today's message is stop taking snippets of nutrition plans, training plans or anything else and make sure you get the full story and understand what you're doing and why!

And yes IT IS your responsibility to go and get the full story - don't wait for someone to read it to you!

What are your thoughts on carbohydrates?

I want to know what works for you and wasn't doesn't!

If you don't know you need to learn!

Jon

Fat Loss Action Blueprint

Jon's Holiday Workouts

2009-02-24T08:05:00.000-08:00

I spent the end of last week back home in Guernsey with my family who I don't get to see nearly enough.

However, I went through the usual frustrations which include....

- Why when you have a gathering of people with diabetic conditions, impressionable kids and two world class athletes does the host choose to put out twiglets, cake, cheesy Wotsits and caramel shortbread?

You reckon I'm fit? One cousin runs 10km in under 29 minutes, has broken a 4 minute mile and should be selected for the World Cross Country Championships.

Another is the World Touring Car Champion.

Neither can do as many burpees as me though....

- I want to be back on the cliffs and forests of Guernsey out in the fresh air, breathing in the sea and just feeling alive. People in cities are literally half dead and they don't even know it. Why won't they just open their eyes?!

- That damn hill on the headland never gets any easier. Especially when you do it 10 times.

- My grandma is 85 and can touch her toes in standing yet half of the under 35's in the world can't because they're fat and lazy and sit in offices too much. Why can't they see that in 50 years all the money and the hours worked will count for nothing?

- The same faces sit at the same bars talking the same old crap about how bad life is. Get up off your arse and change it then. That goes for everyone not just the old Guerners in the Ship and Crown!

As I had no access to the gym I had to improvise as usual - here's what I cooked up for myself and my girlfriend...

Session 1

Hill sprints on grass (30-45 secs each). Very steep, very hard, very good for leg strength and fat burning! Much more effective than boring cardio in stinking gyms.

Session 2

One person does 3 rounds of 15 burpees and 15 push ups as fast as possible while the other boxes on my punch bag in the garage then swap with no rest.

Rest 1 minute after doing both activities then repeat.

Do 5 rounds of each.

Again great conditioning and fat burning in about 30 minutes - the pressure of the other person waiting for you really kicks your ass!

Session 3

Cliff run - about 4 miles.

Yes it's cardio but more of an interval session as it's all up and down steps which kills!!

Plus I just wanted to get out in the fresh air and enjoy nature!

Try any of these sessions if you can, instead of your gym workout - you'll never go back!

Jon

Two hot fitness trends for 2009

2009-02-15T06:55:00.000-08:00

There are two things you must be doing if you're going to optimise your fitness levels in 2009. If you neglect either of these key elements you can expect further frustration at why everyone else seems to be able to burn body fat easily and enjoy their exercise, but you can't.

The first is to establish a solid base of social support. One of the easiest ways is to join an online community which shares your goals, ambitions and favourite methods of training. Such communities are sprouting up everywhere and you will soon be able to find one which suits your goals. Most also have transformation contests which will keep you on track for the duration!

Don't forget to look close to home though. Whilst your partner or friends may not be too interested in their physique, if they are good friends they will do all they can to help. Sit down with them and explain what you want to achieve and that you need support rather than temptations which could lead you astray!

Close relationships can be very powerful in helping you lose body fat. If you can rope your friends into a mini fat-loss challenge, you stand a much better chance of succeeding and so do they. The person you actually live with will be the key however because they may well prepare your food or at least share it with you. Being on the same wavelength will make compliance with a nutrition and workout regime so much easier.

The other side of the coin is that if your friends only ever try to bring you back to their fat, lazy levels, your life will become very difficult. Consider carefully what you surround yourself with as it is more than likely you will become the same. This can be both a positive and a negative!

Do not be afraid to issue challenges to people close by. It can make life much more exciting and give your relationship a new lease of life! Workplace challenges are also very popular so throw down the gauntlet to your colleagues and see what you can achieve together!

The second hot fitness tip to help get you fast fat loss results in 2009 is the use of challenge workouts. These workouts involve racing against the clock to complete a given workout, trying to get as many rounds as possible of a circuit in within a set time, or trying to beat the number of repetitions you managed last time round. This is what is known as Escalating Density training and is a simple but challenging way to ensure progress!

When you combine the use of a social support and challenge workouts you have an powerful recipe for losing your belly, dropping the cellulite or simply shedding body fat. Whatever your goal is, you require challenges and people to push you towards your goals!

You can join my free Fat Loss Actions community. No charges, just info and fitness challenges!

How to improve on pull ups

2009-02-11T11:11:00.000-08:00

Many of my new female clients laugh at me when I tell then they'll be able to do full ups in a couple of months.

Here's one of the tricks to use to build up the strength in your arms and back.

Don't just see pull ups as an arm exercise! If you can get your back involved you'll put all the bicep curling, pink dumbbell girls to shame and have a much better physique.

Also because this will enable you to use more muscles, you'll burn more calories doing your workout.

And most importantly you can make your boyfriend or husband look an idiot when you're walking in the forest and go past a conveniently placed tree.....

Do this 2-3 times per week and watch your pull ups materialise!

Is nutrition or training the most important?

2009-02-05T14:33:00.000-08:00

The dawn of the internet seemed to signify the beginning of instant access to all the best fitness advice the planet could deliver.

Unfortunately it didn't bring the 100% fat loss results across the globe that should be possible! Instead we just had greater access to Britney Spears' private life, anonymous marketers selling products they never tried simply by adding a link to their blog and a Nike desktop dancer on your laptop.

None of these cleared up the issue of whether training or nutrition makes the biggest difference in a fat loss program!

So here are the arguments in black and white.

There are quite a few arguments for nutrition being the most important factor. The increasing levels of anorexia and other eatinng disorders highlight why it is so important.

You cannot out train the dinner table.

An extremely hard workout lasting an hour may burn around 800 calories if you really have the drive to push yourself. A typical evening meal can easily account for that nevermind the rest of your meals through the day, leaving you flabby and frustrated despite working hard!

The thermic effect

Certain foods can increase your metabolic rate significantly and as you eat food all day (or you should) many changes will occur inside and outside of your body when you switch to a diet consisting largely of lean protein, healthy fats and vegetables. These will help keep you satisfied, maintain muscle and stimulate your metabolism without piling in excess calories.

Fuel in the tank!

You cannot train properly without the right fuel! By manipulating carbohydrates so that you have enough to fuel your workouts and recover afterwards, your energy levels, body composition and training performance can improve almost instantly!

High energy

Sustained energy levels can only be achieved through a clean diet with very few additives or added chemicals. Without consistent energy levels, all elements of your lifestyle will suffer leaving you down in the dumps and exercise will be the last thing you want to do! Pour sand in a Ferrari and it won't move very fast!

Poor nutrition leads to bad sleep

Eating the traditional big family meal in the evening is likely to leave you bloated and with digestion problems which will prevent you getting to sleep as your body will be in work mode! The added sugars in many processed foods will also give you an energy high just at the wrong time!

Too little food can also prevent sleep though! Going to bed hungry may well leave your brain short of sugars to keep functioning so you are likely to keep drifting in and out of sleep as your brain keeps reminding you it needs some fuel!

No excuses!

Nutrition can still be done well when you're injured. That means it has more potential long-term.

Illness prevention

Finally training may not matter when your nutrition is likely to leave you with heart disease, diabetes, cancer and immune system deficiencies anyway. If you're just fighting a losing battle there may not be much point hitting the gym everyday!

There are a few arguments which support training as the most important factor. Consider them carefully!

More muscle, more calorie burn!

The right kind of training - weight training and short intervals - will build muscle. More muscle means a greater metabolic rate both during training and at rest. This will make the fat burning process much easier and faster!

Training burns calories, simple as that. Or maybe not. Intense weight training can leave your metabolism elevated for 24-36 hours after the session whereas low intensity cardio won't, so the choice of training method is important!

Heart strength

Putting pressure on your heart will cause it to adapt and become stronger. The use of interval training in particular will help prepare your heart to cope with the sudden ups and downs of daily life. If you die of a heart attack due to a weak hard, surely the nutrition doesn't matter?

Feel good baby!

Exercise gives you the feel good factor and will generally encoourage people to eat better as they don't want to undo all their good work in the gym! An enthusiasm for health and fitness is what prevents short-lived January fitness kicks!

Physical ability

Exercise gives you strength and physical abilities, if done correctly, which nutrition won't. A weak body is no fun and could leave you depressed as you feel incapable of doing anything without getting tired quickly. This is likely to lead to comforting eating, ruining any carefully planned nutrition regime.

Skinny minny isn't nice!

If you only eat healthily and don't exercise, the chances are you will just end up skinny. Having low body fat is great but having no muscle to go with it can make you look ill despite having an apparently healthy lifestyle.

Posture

Training used the right way can improve your posture and prevent niggling back aches and injuries. Such issues can put an fat loss routine on hold. Poor posture can also affect internal functions which will play havoc with your fat loss attempt!

Anti-ageing

Our bodies need strength training throughout life to prevent the effects of ageing. No amount of vegetables can prevent a stooped posture and loss of physical capabilities. This should be considered!

It is clear that this argument could rage all day.

The truth is that there is a very simple solution which we all know but few actually implement in their life as a regular habit.

You must do both! Yes you know that but you're not doing it!

There is always some excuse for why you couldn't eat properly or get to the gym.

The more I progress as a trainer and coach, the more I see that great results can be achieved with short exercise sessions so long as they are intense enough. However, these sessions can't be maintained week after week without a solid nutrition plan which is carried out every single day, bar the odd blip!

If you truly want to see your body change for the better, you must accept that a clean diet and well-structured, challenging exercise routine cannot be mutually exclusive but must be part of a holistic approach.

With as little as 20 minutes exercise 4 times per week and 10 minutes per day preparing food you could see your entire life change for the better. You just need to make the commitment today!

Jon
http://www.fatlossactionblueprint.com

The power of 6 inches

2009-02-05T01:45:00.000-08:00

I'm in the process of writing a new system to ensure every single client at my personal training studio achieves impossible things.

I can't bear the thought of being average and I want to make every client exceptional too.

Obviously some of this relates to training and nutrition but that's the easy bit to be honest.

It's the two inches above your eyes that count the most and that's where everything else starts so we are working hard to develop a process to ensure our clients experience 'deliberate success'.

Here's part of the system which I hope can help you guys who don't train here as well.

*******************************************************
To maintain purpose of action, simply follow this rule all day, everyday.

Question every action with

“How does this action move me towards my experience goals?”

If it doesn’t why are you contemplating doing it?

Usually it will be peer pressure, habit, or uncertainty about where you want to be in life.

At first, this can be a frustrating process as you’ll have all sorts of voices shouting things at you! However, you will soon see how effective this can be.

You will be making a highly important transition from having to resist things to not even contemplating them because the subconscious part of your brain already knows the answer!

This is why cravings will disappear fast and you will feel yourself rising above the mindless, unproductive drivel that dominates most of Western society.

It’s the difference between watching Big Brother and hitting the gym for half an hour.

It’s the difference between being another overweight office worker who is first on the cake list at work and passing with a ‘no thanks'

It’s the difference between spending an hour on Facebook everyday but complaining of no time to exercise, and seeing your body transform.

It’s the difference between stopping when your legs hurt a bit and pushing through your limits and having a great body to show for it.

It’s the difference between running in the rain and cold, and having to look at your flabby body in the mirror.

It’s the difference between average and exceptional.

It’s the difference between them and us. We all have a 'them' we don’t want to be like and yet who constantly try to drag us down.

This applies to all areas of your life, not just training and nutrition.

Question everything and the answers will astound you.

You face a future of clarity and purpose of action and many incredible experiences!

******************************************************************

I love Al Pacino's quote from Any Given Sunday about life being about the next 6 inches.

Question what the 6 inches in front of you will do for your life (no rude comments....)

Put all the inches together and soon you have a life of achievement.

Check out Big Al here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WO4tIrjBDkk

(Please note there is a little swearing in it)

Let me know what your next 6 inches are going to involve.

Today mine will be whether I get the deadlift bar to the top or whether I quit 6 inches from the top.

That bar will get up don't you worry.

Jon

http://www.fatlossactionblueprint.com

10 rules which will change your life

2009-01-25T12:41:00.000-08:00

I spend a lot of time on personal development and making sure I live every element of my life to the max. This goes for fitness (obviously!), business, and doing things I never though I would do.

Admittedly at times, certain elements take over (because I get obsessive about things in the interests of perfection!) but all with the overall goal of enabling me to live the life I want sooner rather than later.

A life free from the constraints of modern, hectic lives filled with little but money concerns, stress, lower back pain, rising fuel prices and a constant pining for Friday evening, only to feel rock-bottom when the alarm pipes up on Monday morning.

I constantly read and implement new ways to improve myself so I guess by tomorrow this article will be somewhat outdated. However, the underlying principles of these 10 lifestyle rules will literally change your life if you choose to implement them and stick to your guns under even the most intense scrutiny and pressure.

1) Witness the choices you make in every moment

Think about every action you take. Will it be a positive action and carry you closer to your goals or will it only have negative effects on you and those around you. Sometimes things won’t go your way and you’ll want to lash out to make you feel better or munch on a big cream cake but try to look past the immediate ‘benefits’.

Firstly, these benefits tend to be of very little value and secondly the long-term fall-out of action too much on impulse can be very damaging to long-term plans or targets

2) Accept people and situations as they occur

Don’t worry about what just happened. It’s not going to change, hindsight is pointless, and the chances are you will simply stress yourself out and make the situation and the immediate future even worse.

I’m a firm believer in “what’s meant to be, will be”.

Try to look at whatever crappy thing just happened to you in the grander scheme of things. If you get injured, don’t focus on all the things it means you can’t do now. Instead, focus on how you can train around the injury so when you’re ‘fixed’ you’re in a much better position to crack on with your long-term goals.

As I write this I am, 90% recovered from a partial shoulder dislocation following a biking accident. When it first happened m mind was spinning thinking about how it would affect m job as a trainer, how my own training regime would be ruined and how it meant I couldn’t perform the charity session I had planned.

Once the intense pain had numbed and my rational brain was thinking again, I realised that despite my dislike for long, steady runs, I could do that in order to better prepare for the running section of the Tough Guy event I have entered, which was now around 5 weeks away.

Keep your eyes on the bigger prize and accept things as they are. So long as you live by all the other lifestyle rules, your life will move in the direction you want it to. This is a hard rule to live by especially as you may experience a string of bad things (they always happen together), but if you stay strong you will soon hit another purple patch.

Learn from bad experiences rather than bitching and moaning about them and you will experience great personal development.

3) Take responsibility for your situation and the solution

At first glance, this lifestyle rule may appear to contradict the one above.

However, accepting people and situations as in Rule 2 does not mean you should just never put your mind to anything or try to achieve anything due to a belief that cosmic ordering or some other force will just guide you in the right direction.

You need to take responsibility and guide your life in the direction you want it to go. Unless you have some evil, sadistic goals which will harm a lot of people along the way, you will find that constantly working towards your goals and being proactive in making things happen will have profound effects on where you are in 1, 2, 5 or 10 years.

Taking responsibility means not blaming others when things go wrong. If you’re not losing weight, it’s your fault and it’s your responsibility to find the solution.

If anything in your life is depressing you or making you unhappy, you have to get a grip of yourself and figure out how you are going to get from where you are now, to where you want to be. Again this goes back to our old favourite ‘goal setting’ as discussed in Fat Loss Action Blueprint .

If you don’t like your job, don’t blame your boss. You took the job and it’s your decision whether you’re going to keep sitting at that desk or get up off your lazy backside and find a better one. This may require jumping out of your comfort zone whilst you find a new job and settle in but it’s up to YOU whether you value the end result more than being comfortable but unhappy as you are now!

Your friends DIDN’T make you have that bottle of wine and you DIDN’T need to have a cake because everyone else in the office did. Everything that happens in your life is your responsibility. Yes, unfortunate events / accidents will happen but it is then your responsibility to determine how positive your reaction will be.

The flip-side to this is that you should not feel guilty in feeling proud. When you set yourself tough, life-changing goals, you’re in for a tough, life-changing time. That’s the only way it can be.

Consequently, you should take responsibility for your successes. Don’t palm off compliments as if you got lucky. You worked hard, damned hard and you’re reaping the rewards. Enjoy it.

Take responsibility for your successes and mistakes and you will move forward at dizzying pace!

4) Make a list of all your desires

This one does what it says on the tin.

Make a list of your desires then set about telling everyone (only if you’re comfortable doing so), researching how to achieve them and using every minute of everyday to move towards them.

What can go on your list is infinite. My personal goals are likely to mean very little to you and vice-versa. This is not wrong but positively right! They must be your desires. If all your peers drive Porsches, this does not mean it should be on your list of desires. If you really do want a Porshce then go ahead and list it.

However, think carefully as to whether you would actually rather save £20,000 pounds buy getting cheaper car, giving you the opportunity and loose change to set up your own internet site which may enable you to leave your mind-numbing office-job and go travelling to experience all the countries and cultures you read, and consequently dream about.

This list may stay the same for the next 50 years until everything is crossed off or it may be a constantly evolving piece of mental artwork which continually challenges you mentally and physically and guides you on all sorts of paths to personal achievement.

It’s your list of desires – do you as you will.

5) Factor in uncertainty as a necessary part of life

Many of us like our comfort zone.

We like the fact that the dog’s always at the door when we get home. We like knowing exactly how much will be in the pay packet each month. We like going out at the same time, with the same people, to the same pub every Friday.

The rest of us want something more.

We want excitement, we want challenges, we want the adrenaline rush of never knowing what’s coming next.

If you try to control every single element of your life you will a) fail and b) become very boring and paranoid.

Don’t get me wrong – planning is the cornerstone of any great achievement whether it be in business, on the sports field or renovating your new house. However, no matter how hard you try to be in control, ‘sh*t happens’.

Pardon my direct nature and crude language but no phrase sums it up better. People will act in unexplainable ways, the weather will ruin your great day out and sometimes you won’t lose weight on a particular week and you won’t know why.

You have the choice of either getting upset by it (remember how hindsight is pointless) or deciding how best to move on and deal with it so your long-term goals aren’t affected.

In fact, the best plans make room for the inevitable cock-ups, mistakes and unexplainable crap.

It will happen sooner or later. Deal with it!

6) Believe what no-one else does

This is not a religious quip but one of mental strength.

The more ambitious you are in business, fitness and life in general, the more people will doubt you. It is nearly always those who have never achieved anything worth mentioning and probably never will. They find it easier to try to drag you back to their level than to allow you to drag their sorry into your new found bubble of success.

The greatest inventions or ideas were at one time, ridiculous. If the person responsible for that stupid idea had listened to those around them, many of the great things which have revolutionised the face of the planet would never have been seen.

Unfortunately, the average person in modern Western society is fat, mentally weak, unambitious and lives for the weekend like the rest of the sheep. If you’re reading this as a member of Storm Force Fitness, you’re better than that. You’ve already taken your first steps to your best body ever.

The concept behind Storm Force Fitness will never be complete as it will continue to evolve and improve as you should. Whether you come along for the ride is entirely your choice. It will be a horrible, challenging ride at times but the results are what you want and results you will get if you hold on tight and believe when no-one else does.

If I had listened to the people who questioned my first steps into the fitness game when I took on a £5.77 per hour gym job I would probably be sitting in a bank back in Guernsey working over time to pay off my new Porsche which I never really wanted. And I would never have helped some any people shed body fat with Fat Loss Action Blueprint .

7) Don’t always look for the path to follow

If you’ve ever been out walking in a forest or some random fields somewhere in the country you’ll have seen the paths already trodden by those who have gone before you.

Similar to believing when no-one else does, you should look to tread new paths whenever you can.

Don’t always rely on what has been done before for the answer to your problem. Don’t believe everything you read and don’t listen to everything you hear, unless it comes from very well qualified sources and most importantly you have tried it and proved it works. Sometimes trial and error is the best way forward!

We are all built differently, think differently and want different things from life. Decide where you want to end up and then tread the fastest, most exciting path to get there.

By all means learn from others but if you just copy others, it will either not work for you or worse, the result won’t be anything like you had hoped because someone has already been there and done that!

Tread your own path – it’s far more exciting and rewarding!

8) Realise that most of the people you cross won’t understand the difference between obsession and dedication

Try telling your friends that you’re doing well over in England but you’re currently working about 80 hours per week building your personal training business and spending most of your life savings creating a website to provide everything anyone could need for permanent fat loss and attempts to go against the grain and cut through a lot of the crap read in popular magazines!

You’ll hear things like…

“Don’t burn yourself out”
“Make sure you think carefully before doing that”
“Don’t get carried away”
“Aren’t you going a bit far?”

Only when you have an unfaltering belief in what you do and what you stand for, and you truly believe immense benefits can be gained by yourself and all those who work with you, you will understand the difference between obsession and dedication. Many of your friends and family won’t but quite frankly, who cares?

9) Thinking will only get you so far

I guess this relates quite closely to the point made earlier about being paranoid unless you know exactly how every minute of your life will pan out.

You can think all you like and plan all you like but whatever your thinking about will never happen unless you act.

Goal-setting, planning, debating, re-thinking, starting over, re-evaluating….

Where does it end?

All of the above are necessary for long-term progression but at some point you need to draw a line under your complicated drawings and tables and take the dream into the real world by acting.

I figure if I look back on my death bed and can say any of the following phrases, then I’ve missed out on something…

“I was going to say that”
“I thought about that but thought it might not work”
“I was going to, but…”

Maybe I was or I did. But I didn’t. Someone else did.

Learn to take action once your plan is solid enough – don’t wait for perfection because it will never happen. If it goes wrong remember one thing…

“Never regret the things you did. At one point it was exactly what you wanted.”

10) Be better today than you were yesterday

Much to my disappointment, when I reached the age of about 22 I realised that I can’t be the best at everything despite valiantly trying in everything I did as I grew up.

Instead I now have an even more powerful belief that I can always, always, without fail, be better today than I was yesterday. This can have infinite meanings. You might lift more weight, have lower body fat, make progress with your business, be more patient with family and friends when they annoy or frustrate you etc etc.

It can be physical or mental but either way it will set you up for better results in whatever you are currently focussed on.

Whatever it means, find a way to be better today.

Sometimes this will be a giant leap which changes the direction of your life for the better. Other times, no one will notice except you. This doesn’t matter so long as you make positive steps along the newly trodden path you have created every single day without fail.

Unemployment, fitness and how to fight back!

2009-01-21T07:25:00.000-08:00

To follow on from my post about obesity affecting employment chances, the BBC has now announced that unemployment levels in the UK have now hit nearly 2 million.

Crap. that's not good.

Unfortunately there is no magic solution and no-one really knows which way to turn.

However, as ever we need to keep focused on the positives in to get out of this rut as soon as possible!

It won't be easy and will require effort and a radical change in thinking and approach for many people.

Unfortunately it takes times like these to give people the kick up the backside they needed!

It's human nature to get comfortable! We always act in ways which make our life easier and seek the easiest route wherever possible!

There's nothing wrong with this but as always, when the tide turns, those who have not built themselves on solid foundations are the ones who come crashing down first.

At times like this, pretty much everybody suffers but those who have crystal clear goals, beliefs and mindsets about who they are and what they want to achieve.

This helps them not to panic but stay on the same path.

It may require slight detours to cope with the dramatically different scenarios they face but essentially they are headed in the same direction.

The same applies to your fitness.

You will suffer injuries, illness, bad days, good days and wonder if you are making the progress you want.

Only with clear goals and a rock-solid plan can you answer that and make any necessary changes to ensure you are.

Don't expect an easy ride or for everything to go well all the time - as we are finding out in these times, life doesn't work like that!

On a personal level I follow the Magic Hundred program which has been fantastic at keeping me focused on specific goals in business, fitness, health, education and relationships.

Every time I get frustrated I check through my Magic Hundred list of goals and it soon becomes clearer what decision I need to take to keep moving forward.

Next thing, you can be assured something good comes my way and I continue to move forward rather than sitting in a big hole wondering which side to try climbing up!

If you are in a situation where you have no idea which way to turn DO NOT just try to fumble your way out.

You will be left frustrated and having wasted a lot of time, you'll probably be in even more of a panic.

Start with the best goal setting program I've ever found and the rest will simply slot into place.

Just trust me on this one!

Jon

PS I can't recommend this enough honestly. The Magic Hundredhas got me laser-focused and steaming forward with all areas of my life!

80% results from 20% work?

2009-01-19T07:24:00.000-08:00

I've just paid for my flight to Thailand in May to be part of an exclusive, 10 day, application only Fitness Masterminding supercamp with Dax Moy.

I have to say I feel like a kid waiting for Christmas! The supercamp is designed to bring together some of the brightest minds in the fitness game and make us better able to get the highest quality of work done on projects in supersonic time (as well as a bit of scuba diving, bungee jumping and chilling on the white sands but that's not important....)

If you're like me, you will admit that you waste a lot of time procrastinating on lots of different things!

It's often hard to just knuckle down and focus and get the important things done.

We choose the easier things which don't really bring any extra value to our lives.

It's the same with fitness - some people don't believe me when I say you can train more effectively in 20 minutes than in 60 because surely more is better?

The truth is if you look at any walk of life there is a magic rule which nearly always applies, known as the Pareto Rule (google it if you've not heard of it)

80% your productivity comes from 20% of your time.
80% of revenue in your business comes from 20% of your customer base.
You might have 50 friends but you'll find you spend 80% of your time with 10 of them.

Why is training any different?

You will more than likely find that the same rule applies to your exercise week.

For instance a heavy set of squats will do more for muscle building and fat burning than all the bicep curls, tricep extensions and wobbly gym ball nonsense put together.

Past a certain point extra reps and sets and exercises deliver little extra benefit because you're too tired to perform them with high intensity. You'd be better to go home and come back stronger the next day.

Take a careful look at what you've been doing and what results you've seen - were all the extra curls, sit ups, tricep pushdowns and slow cardio worth it?

Or would 20% of the training performed with greater 'oomph' delivered the same or better due to more recovery time?

Remember what Einstein said "Insanity is doing the same things repeatedly but expecting different results"

Apply to you?

Jon
Fat Loss Action Blueprint

PS If you know any good places to party in Phuket let me know!

***ATTENTION LADIES***

I've put together a free special report on 'why most women are fatter than necessary' and an audio interview with top female trainer Charlotte Ord . I know it will get me in trouble with some people but the truth needed to be told...

Get it HERE

Could your weight cost you your job?

2009-01-12T03:00:00.000-08:00

Unless you're a professional canoe tester you may well have already dismissed the title of this post.

Hold your horses and listen up.

I was doing some research over the weekend into how keeping fit and healthy can help entrepreneurs and business people.

What I found didn't completely shock me as I guess I knew this already but I felt I HAD to share it with you.

Some people may get upset, some may panic.

I'm not in the business of making friends by being nice and telling you what you want to hear!

I'm in the business of changing lives through health and fitness and I happen to specialize in fat loss. That's how I make and keep friends who hang on my every word! I like it that way, it works.

Please don't panic though. Just sit and think about this.

Then please, please act if it applies to you.

Anyway, back to the video. PLEASE LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS AT THE BOTTOM.

http://www.fatlossactionblueprint.com

The secret powers behind my goal getting

2009-01-08T02:58:00.000-08:00

I was in the bank yesterday and two kids next to me were discussing some story about cash machines and identity fraud.

One turned to the other and said "You know it's true though because it was on the news and they're not going to get wrong are they!"

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

The news is possibly the last thing you should ever watch. If someone can think of something positive they get out of watching the news (and you need to REALLY think about that before you attack me) I'd like to hear it.

I mean something which enables you to have a better experience in life, enables you to be more positive about being on this earth or enable you to help other people.

After all is that not the three most important things?

Anyway, my point is that there is so much cr*p out there you need to be focussed and surround yourself ENTIRELY with what you want to become.

This means reading books by people you want to emulate.
This means watching programs which will encourage you to have life-changing experiences.
This means being around people who won't encourage you to get drunk, eat junk food, skimp on training or do anything which doesn't stimulate you to be the best you can be mentally and physically.

I've been reminded of this as I follow two things which are having a huge impact on my life right now.

1) I am following Dax Moy's Magic Hundred Goal Achievement program. It is absolutely kicking my butt into getting more in all areas of my life - health, education, finance, my career and in my personal relationships.

I'm training harder, working smarter and enjoying life a lot more largely because I am around people in the forums (and Dax of course) who push me to be better

2) The guys who are competing in the Global Fat Loss Battle have come together and actually formed a really supportive team!

It is working a treat because no-one wants to fall behind the others. They push each other, encourage each other and as a result they are all making excellent progress in the contest even though we're only a day in.

Some have already done things they didn't think possible.

You can follow their fledgling blogs on my free community.

As a subscriber of mine you've taken one step by reading my emails.

You'll either unsubscribe and keeping going round in circles or you'll let me kick you through 2009 with passion, drive and a demand for better in your life!

The problem is my words are useless. They have no value.

My forums and websites are equally lacking value.

Once people act on them though. Well, I've seen the results and so have a lot of other people!

Words are nothing. Action is everything.

More on my Magic Hundred progress soon!

Surround yourself with what you want to become,
Jon

PS If you want to get on the Fat Loss Action Blueprint and start your own blog this is your chance to join the family and let them drive you to the goals you keep promising!

PPS Or join me on the Magic Hundred program and we can push each other to achieve all we want this year.

Join my Fat Loss Actions community

2009-01-04T06:28:00.001-08:00

Back to the future or stay in the present?

2008-12-30T09:25:00.000-08:00

We all like to reminisce a little.

Recently loads of photos have been popping up on Facebook of my 18-20 year old years when I was out on the town every weekend which was funny in a way remembering my university years but also reminded me of many frustrations!

1) Slogging it away in the gym and wondering why I never got anywhere as I didn't realise just how bad alcohol is for fat loss and muscle gain.

2) Training for more than 45 minutes when I went to the gym - what a waste!

3) Having no solid, specific goals in life other than 'make lots of money', 'get a six-pack', and impress girls with the first two.

Looking back I wasted a lot of time and effort on things which didn't matter but that's life. Making mistakes is good for you. Failing to learn from them is when it becomes a problem!

I also look back and see years of sporting achievement, university degrees etc.

However, there comes a time when constantly looking back at what you used to be capable of, what you used to look like and how you used to feel becomes a massive road block.

Constantly looking back stops you looking forward so you fail to make any progress. How many of our parents still live on past glories on the sports field despite now being overweight and having the movement potential of a one-legged tortoise?

However, the other side of the coin is that constantly talking of what we will do or want to do in the future can have similar 'road block' potential. If you always see your dreams and goals in the future, that's where they will stay! You might make a little progress but you will never actually reach out and grasp hold of that dream and see it materialise.

Finding a balance between the three is the key to success.

By all means remember what you have achieved.

It's also critical to have goals which require you to push yourself.

But spare a thought for the present.

Live it, enjoy it and celebrate it.

I am terrible at never rewarding myself! I always feel I could have done better and never take time to realise that I have already come a long way since those drunken university days!

That will change from today and I'll take time to celebrate small successes as I know lots of these will lead to big things for me both mentally, physically and financially.

I'll keep looking to the future though and aiming high in everything I do.

Below is my new baby niece Ella. (I was blinking...)

To give me inspiration and even more motivation to succeed with my fitness businesses I have given her a Christmas present with a difference.

From January 1st 2009 until Ella's 16th birthday I am going to put 1% of all my Storm Force Fitness profits into an account for her, then when she hits 16 I'll teach her what to do with it and teach her the value of hard work so it won't be a handout!

I've set myself a target to hit, I know the date, and I know how I'm going to achieve it. That's the key to effective goal setting!

If you want my free 3 part goal setting reports GET THEM HERE.

If you want to be my mate on Facebook add me - I want to get to know you better! Just search 'Jon Le Tocq'

If you want to see how I train when I can't use my private studio, check this out...

New Year, Same Failures

2008-12-29T02:36:00.000-08:00

New Year means the usual bout of lying to yourself about what you'll accomplish this year.

Whether you lie to yourself about money, fitness, fat loss, love or anything else you need this 3 part goal setting series of reports to take you through the process step-by-step.

I want to make sure you set goals that are both challenging and achievable and that you stick to them for 12 months rather than 12 days!

Get the report series here for free (no sign ups or anything like that!)

http://www.stormforcefitness.com/article.php?pid=314

Jon

1 girl, 2 kids, 1 month before Christmas

2008-12-21T08:24:00.001-08:00

For the last 4-5 weeks I've been running an experiment on Guinea Pigs.

Not real guinea pigs but humans to see what they could achieve in 4 weeks following the Fat Loss Action Blueprint.

The boys were awesome and got their abs popping out in just 4 weeks.

But would it work for a girl? A girl with 2 kids to work around.

Weight 8 stone 10…..8 stone 3
Waist measurement 29 inches…..26 inches
Hip measurement 34 inches…..32.25 inches

"Having done little to no exercise for several years I always knew any sort of exercise regime was going to be an uphill struggle so the short intense workouts appealed to me as I knew I would be pushed for fitting in exercise time with 2 kids.

When I first saw the exercises on paper I wasn't totally convinced they would push me hard enough but I was wrong. The first week was the hardest as was really aching from the exercises, had thrown myself into the nutrition plan and was getting headaches from caffeine withdrawal! However by the second week I was really into it and could start to push myself that bit harder with the workouts.

Overall I have felt more awake and energetic, I used to skip breakfast but I this plan has made me realize that getting up 5 minutes earlier means I make time for breakfast and am not snacking come 10.30am!

The nutrition plan and exercises are easy to follow and the regular e-mails pull you back in if you are losing will a little bit!

I wasn't convinced before that it would work but the results speak for themselves.

I think anyone would benefit from following this programme. If I can do it in the month up to Christmas I am sure anyone can do it!"

Lorraine

**********************************************

I guess it does work for girls.

You could be next! Just get the Fat Loss Action Blueprint

Have a great Christmas - but be ready to transform yourself in 2009!
Jon

10 ways to beat the Christmas bulge

2008-12-18T09:56:00.001-08:00

My mum makes without doubt, the best roast in the world. I will argue with you about that until Christmas 2009! As for the Rhubarb pie and custard. Good Lord....

But I also know I need to be controlled.

I prepare myself by training double hard in the weeks leading up to the feast and keep it going THROUGHOUT the Christmas week.

Yes it is possible.

I'm going to give you 10 things to make sure you do over Christmas to dramatically reduce the after effects (the depression, the flabby bits, the lethargy etc)

One of them is an actual 10-12 minute bodyweight session to do on Christmas morning!

1) Don't cook for an entire army

Why do you cook enough for 20 people when there's ten then complain about the left overs? Plan carefully and cook more than enough without going stupid - if it's there you'll eat it and you know it! If it's not you'll find you don't actually miss it and Christmas is still awesome!

The same applies to buying chocolates - by mixed nuts and dried fruit instead (dried fruit is still high in sugar but better than chocolate filled with caramel!)

2) Every third drink, have a pint of water

This is a highly effective tool for family get-togethers and Christmas parties! No one will give you grief and if they do you'll be able to go and wobble their jelly-belly in the office on January 5th.

Yes it's always the chubby ones who take the mickey.

3) Make best choices

The fruit salad over the cheesecake.

The small glass of mulled wine to sip over the 6 pack of lager

Extra lean turkey over fatty sausages.

Boiled potatoes over the roasties.

4) Schedule cheat meals

You know Dec 25th is going to be cheat meal time.

December 31st probably will as well.

Maybe squeeze one more in over the festive period.

Plan them in, expect them then expect to be good the rest of the time.

If you try to freestyle it and decide as and when required, you WILL crack!

5) Stick to your exercise plan

You might not get on in on Christmas Day but the rest of the days you should still be able to perform a good session.

If you're away from the gym routine get some bodyweight training in - short, hard, intense, no more than 20 minutes. That way you won't feel guilty that your missing out on any of the fun - you can do it before everyone else is up!

You need to plan exactly when you will exercise otherwise there will always be unexpected things cropping up to corrupt you!

6) Don't deprive yourself but don't pig out

I tell my clients that if they've worked hard and achieved good results, they DESERVE to have some extra stuffing and a bit of cake!

Just be sensible. It's not as hard as you think!

If you try to go full on and say no to everything, you will either get miserable, feel left out or end up caving to a huuuuge binge. None of which are good for you.

7) Steam your vegetables

Roasting veg causes them to soak up lots of the fat from the meat so steam them and save yourself and your family hundreds of calories!

8) Use a roasting rack for the meat

Again, avoid the soaking of cooking fat into the meat. A simple roasting rack will elevate the turkey over the fat dripping off chopping hundreds of calories from your meal!

9) Do some exercise BEFORE lunch

People tend to go for a walk after lunch to 'burn it off' when they're too full to make it a decent effort (or they fall asleep as the body shuts down everything else bar the digestive tract!)

Take everyone out while the meat is cooking for a brisk walk, or if you can go for a quick run or bodyweight blast outback.

This will increase insulin sensitivity and elevate your metabolism before you eat thus forcing all the sugar you eat into you muscles rather than having it floating in your blood stream ready to be depostied where you don't want it!

10) Do one of these on Christmas morning

5 or 6 rounds with 45 seconds rest. This will take around 12 minutes max but make you feel much better about shovelling that chocolate cheesecake in your face!

BEGINNER

INTERMEDIATE

ADVANCED

Top fat burning exercises

2008-12-15T03:09:00.000-08:00

The question on everybody's lips come January is 'What are the best fat burning exercises to get rid of the belly I created over Christmas?'

My usual response is "why did you let yourself go so much - you didn't need that extra cheescake did you?!

However, it's going to happen the world over so below is a video of how to respond as fast as possible! Start them today and get a headstart on the food to come!

There is one catch though. Unless your nutrition is up to scratch and you're eating clean, healthy food every single day these exercises won't magically give you a six pack.

It must be a combination of heavy weights, interval training and clean nutrition!

You will not get anywhere near your potential with boring cardio work, crappy eating habits and bicep curls!

Bang out a few sets of these and resist the leftovers and you're on your way to a flat stomach!

Jon

Can my powers travel through time and space?

2008-12-08T12:09:00.000-08:00

No time to talk.

Must show you this!

Read, look, be inspired! Either just look at the pics or read how they found the Fat Loss Action Blueprint experience.

I LOVE results! Can't wait to see the girl at the bottom by Christmas!

They're going to have a much more guilt-free Christmas! Wooo yeah I love this stuff!

****************************************

They had just 4 weeks to transform themselves.

They received no help other than the email support which all F.L.A.B subscribers receive and came from all areas of Britain! The Channel Islands, Coventry and Derby so that they could have no face to face contact with me!

Could the ‘Guinea Pigs’ really achieve anything in 4 weeks with 20 minute sessions and by following the step-by-step nutrition plan?

Guinea Pig 1 - Jez

Weight 12 stone 5…..11 stone 8
Waist measurement 36 inches…..32 inches
Hip measurement 39.5 inches…..36.5 inches

“I work in an office and have 3 young boys aged 7, 9 and 10 so am very busy with both work and family life. The boys are very much into their sport and have weekly activities in Athletics, cross country, cricket and football so I am busy taking them around and coaching the football. I am in charge of the whole of the Mini's football section at Rovers where there are about 250 kids and I coach the under 12's so this takes up a lot of my time.

I have struggled with bad knees for a lot of my playing career and have been trying to get back to playing for the past few years without any success as the knee pain has been too much. Since doing this program for the past 4 weeks I have noticed a big difference in the strength of my legs and this has helped stabilise my knee.

I went for an MRI scan last week and am awaiting the results of this as I am likely to need another knee operation so have not been able to attend football training but I was at the club on Saturday after training the kids and the 2nd team coach was there and was struggling for players so I offered to sit on the bench for him as I felt fairly strong after my 4 weeks of training. In the end I played the whole of the 2nd half and had no after effects the next day so am over the moon with this as this will now give me further encouragement to keep on the gym program and try and get back to football, this would not have been possible without the 4 weeks of following this program.

I am much more alert and don't have energy dips at any time and has hugely assisted with my sleep patterns. I used to get to sleep no problem but then woke up 3 or 4 times per night sometimes waking up at like 2 or 3 then not being able to get back to sleep. This has now changed, I am getting to sleep fine albeit a little bit later as I am so much more alert and then sleeping right through, which is great.

People have noticed my weight loss which is great so I have referred them to the website straight away!

It was very easy to follow, I read it all through a couple of times at the outset then just had to refer back a few times for specific subjects. I kept the printout with the exercise routines with me all the time and found the photos explaining the exercises very useful as you need something like this when the trainer isn't actually with you. The videos were also very good as they showed you what to do but also motivated you as well.

The e-mails were great as they kept you on track and made you more determined to make it work, the more you got into it the more you were looking forward to the next e-mail as you are learning all the time.

The ‘Better Burgers from the recipe book were really nice as well!”

Guinea Pig 2 - Tom

Weight 76.9 kg…..68.0 kg
Waist measurement 93.5 cm…..82 cm
Hip measurement 98 cm…..93.5 cm

“I am a pretty busy person, I work as the head of business studies in a city centre comprehensive school. Time is pretty tight, my evenings are taken up with school work. I have always struggled to get my weight below 74kg. It generally swayed between 74 to 79kgs. I am over the moon that I managed to get my weight below 70 kg which is a first for me.

The training has been a bit different! I’ve been used to long work out sessions in the past. I tried to do the work outs at least three times a week and played quite a lot of football. I definitely will be maintaining these short impact sessions they are much more time efficient.

I have had much higher energy levels, which has been great for the last few weeks leading up to Christmas – I’ve managed to stay focused enough to complete most of my marking before the Christmas break! I’ve also had lots of comments from colleagues and students saying how much weight I’ve lost.

I found it really easy to follow, although I did every week have at least one minor slip up – but the results still came!

I generally kept to eating a lot of turkey and salmon and eat lots of vegetables. I tried to experiment with my herb and spice collection which was a successful ploy and I spent less on food by preparing my own!”

Guinea Pig 3 - Lorraine

At the time of writing Lorraine had been a ‘Guinea Pig’ for the F.L.A.B for just 1 week.

She was called in with no preparation time due to the first Guinea Pig getting flu!

Weight 8 stone 10…..8 stone 7
Waist measurement 29 inches…..28 inches
Hip measurement 34 inches…..33.5 inches

“So far have lost 3 lbs in the first week - not bad considering I had the first of 2 Xmas nights out with work where I had already pre-ordered some 'bad' food before I knew I was doing this trial. Also had a trip to the Good Food Show on Sunday but was relatively restrained there with all the freebies!

Overall, the first few days were most difficult (had headaches from detoxing I think) but finding it much easier with keeping to the food now and finding it easier to say no to any naughty snacks. Have been drinking loads of water and have been preparing my healthy snacks for the day at the same time as doing the kids packed lunches. Feeling more awake and definitely feeling the burn from doing the exercises!”

The Fat Loss Action Blueprint will be available VERY soon!

Jon

7 things which must be present for you to get a leaner body.

2008-12-04T04:39:00.001-08:00

Unfortunately there are many people who are desperate to achieve a lean, athletic looking body but just lack the knowledge.

The willpower is there, they don't allow themselves to make bullsh*t excuses about time, kids, work etc, and they put in the effort.

But they don't see the rewards to justify their efforts.

They get frustrated.

Simply because they are still using methods which have been shoved in their face by the media and unscrupulous marketing companies.

Clear your mind of everything you thought you knew, then ensure you include EVERY SINGLE action listed below.

You WILL see results.

1) Perform weight training three times per week. Ensure every muscle is worked and include some form of squat and / or deadlift movement in every session. This will help build and shape muscle and ramp up your metabolism.

2) Eliminate all food and drink which comes in a packet or is processed in any way. This includes, chocolate, crisps, biscuits, cakes, takeaways, shop sandwiches, alcohol, coffee, tea and bread. The further it is its state when off a tree, out of the ground or off the farm, the more it will hinder your progress.

Be ruthless or be fat.

3) Forget long, steady state cardio. If you want to run, cycle or swim, use intervals. Try running at 80% of your top speed for 30-60 seconds depending on fitness levels then recover for 1-2 minutes. Repeat this 6-10 times.

You won't last much longer!

4) Have ONE treat meal per week. If your body fat has not come down that week you don't get the treat. Treats are rewards for achievement. The fact that you had a bad day at work and feel a bit down or someone made you feel a bit bad because they shouted will not be helped by being fat.

Get over it and get lean. A great body and the happy hormones from exercise will increase your confidence, improve your ability to deal with stress and make you realise that there are better solutions than the 60 seconds of pleasure that Mars bar gives you.

5) Set a clear goal timeline then backtrack the steps you need to take to get there. Take time to create vivid images of how you want your life and your body to be. You will gravitate towards these images.

For this reason, constantly thinking about being fat and not having time to exercise will gravitate you towards....being fat and nto havnig time to exercise.

Be ambitious with your goals.

Achieving 50% of a 3 stone weight loss target is better than achieving 100% of a 1 stone target!

6) Involve other people. Either make sure you have someone to keep you accountable (a mentor, a personal trainer or a friend) or become part of a group which trains together. This might be a group of friends or a group fitness class.

7) TAKE ACTION. No one ever lost weight by talking about it or worrying about it. Don't wait until Monday, January 1st, the day after your birthday or any other meaningless moment in time. If you won't do it now it's because you don't want it enough and this will NOT change on New Year's Day.

Find the motivation and the means to achieve your goals TODAY and just start taking action.

Don't fall for the trap of searching for the perfect diet or training plan either. If you don't want the help of a professional just get going and adjust it along the way!

Falling down and making mistakes isn't a problem, so long as you keep falling forward!

Jon
http://www.stormforcefitness.com

How to make a healthy breakfast quickly

2008-12-02T01:32:00.000-08:00

If you've been following me for a while you'll know that not eating breakfast is one of the best ways to slow your metabolism down, breakdown muscle and put yourself on an energy rollercoaster at work.

This nearly always culminates in eating chocolate bars or crisps.

This video will show you how you can make a quick, healthy breakfast with healthy fats and protein in - both critical elements in a fat loss plan!

(Do not watch if you are offended by half-naked men who have just crawled out of bed)

CLICK THE LINK BELOW...

Show me the silly half-naked man making breakfast in stupid slippers.

The Guinea Pig Trial Week 2

2008-11-28T03:51:00.000-08:00

As you many know my triallists for the Fat Loss Action Blueprint are into Week 3 now.

They are performing short, intense workouts between 20-30 minutes long and eating clean, healthy food.

They are all busy people with no time for hours in the gym.

These are the latest results

(A new lady started this week so we'll see how she gets on next week!)

Jez

Weight 12 stone 5.....11 stone 11.75
Hips 39.25cm.....37.5cm
Waist 36cm.....33.5cm

Tom

Weight 79.9kg.....73.1kg
Hips 98cm.....96cm
Waist 93.5cm.....85.5cm

Jon

Weight 82.8kg.....77.2kg
Hips 102cm.....97.5cm
Waist 100cm.....91cm

Can't argue with that.

The programs out soon, so keep an eye out!

Jon

PS If you want free fat loss advice join my community at http://www.fatlossactions.ning.com

The scales don't matter

2008-11-25T04:15:00.000-08:00

Bathroom scales are one of the reasons ladies never get better bodies. Chocolate-fuelled Sex in the City marathons are another.

Unfortunately I cannot think of a good enough article to stop you fantasizing about the lives of four American city-dwelling man-hunters. (Actually I can – it will be out soon)

The truth is every lady in the history of modern society has had minor (or major) heart palpitations at the sight of the small red hand whizzing up and around the bathroom scales.

It seems that to many this is the only thing that matters in life. Now I am not about to tell you that I believe the human mind is actually the most important thing and that true beauty is on the inside.

Whilst this may be true to a large degree, it won’t help you attract men in a bar.

The truth is that focusing on your weight can be a fast-track way to making your body look and feel even worse than it does now, no matter what state you’re in.

When you step on the scales, what you see is how much your body weighs. But consider the following:

- How often has a man come up to you in a bar and asked how much you weigh? They don't. They look at your face, your bum and various other parts!
- When you look in the mirror, are you thinking "Oh dear I weigh 2 stones too much" or are you thinking "I look fat".
- When you see a great looking model waltzing around the red carpet outside the Batman premiere, do you think "Oooh she weighs about 8 stones" or do you think " I wish I looked like her" or " I wish I had a bum like that!"

You should be seeing a recurring theme here. The word 'look'. How much you weigh should not be the focus.

It's all about how you look. For many, health and fitness is about how they FEEL. Looking great usually makes you feel great too.

The point is that what the scales say is a small, often irrelevant chapter in a much bigger story.

I am a man who likes ladies. I am attracted to ladies with good bodies (plus intelligence, humour and personal drive before I get the feminist brigade on my back!).

I am attracted to girls who weigh 7 stones and girls who weigh 10 stones. I couldn't care less about how much they weigh as there are many 'weighs' to look sexy and attractive.

Let's be honest here. If you are concerned about your body image it is because you want to be more attractive to the opposite sex (or same sex in some cases).

Your key concerns in improving your body image should not be the scales as an absolute end but your body fat levels, muscle tone and circumferences (waist, hips, upper arms etc)

It is possible to lose weight and look worse. Similarly you can lose only a little weight but look so much better.

Let's say you weigh 60kg and have a body fat percentage of 35%. This means you have a lean body mass (muscle, bone etc) of 39kg and fat stores of 21kg.

You crash diet, do lots of boring cardio and your weight drops to 55kg. Job done, yes?

No.

If you have been starving yourself and performing lots of cardio and no weight training you will have lost mainly muscle and water. So if out of the 5kg you lost, 4kg is muscle and 1kg is fat, your numbers will now look like this.

Lean body mass of 35kg. Body fat 20kg. This means your body fat percentage is now 36.4%.

So you have lost weight according to your scales but you are actually fatter than before! Not only will you look slightly fatter and feel flabbier but, because you have lost muscle, your metabolism will have slowed down.

This means you have to work harder and harder to lose more weight. So you do more cardio. You lose more muscle. Your metabolism slows down further.

You get the picture.

The girls with the great bums and tight arms and stomachs have sculpted those using weight training and sensible eating. There is no other way.

Cardio has its place but not long, boring runs. Short, sharp interval training will help you burn fat without losing muscle and you'll have a much better shape.

If this means your weight hasn't gone down much but your body fat is 10% lower allowing your newly toned muscles to pop into view, what's the problem?

If you believe eating less and exercising for longer each time is getting you a better body you're wrong.

People are probably commenting that you look stick-thin. Either that or you still look like you did a year ago but your metabolism is slower.

We all know the lady in the office who does every diet, talks about it, starves herself and ends up looking fatter 6 months later.

You can choose to be next by focussing on your weight or you can get smart, eat properly, train in short, sharp bursts using cardio and weights together.

I know which one will get more attention from the lads!

PLEASE LEAVE ME A COMMENT BELOW WITH YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE MATTER!

Train hard, eat clean.
Jon

What lies beneath

2008-11-21T02:33:00.000-08:00

I'm part of a great online fitness pro community and spend a lot of time interacting with the guys and girls on it.

The leader of the community Dax Moy has challenged us all to write a blog about our true beliefs and our own intepretation of where we are headed.

I think if EVERYONE did this from time to time, the world would be a much happier place and there would be a hell of a lot more successful people.

So here goes Jon Le Tocq's view on the world...

1) The more I practice, the luckier I get.

I stole the quote from Gary Player but it's so true. There is no such thing as luck in my eyes. What many perceive as luck is where days, months or even years of preparation meets an opportunity. I have been told on many occasions I'm lucky to have my own studio in the city centre of Notts and lucky to have my own business doing my dream job at 25. Generally it's the same people who told me I was nuts to leave the financial security of Guernsey for a 5.77 per hour gym instructor job; the same people who questioned why I worked 60 hour weeks at the gym.

You get what you deserve.

Maybe not today or tomorrow or even this year, but you get what you deserve.

Overnight successes take years.

2) Don't focus too much on yourself in order to progress my life.

I have made mistakes in the last two years focussing too much on what I wanted and what I wanted to do and how I thought it should be done. Yes goal setting is imperative but I now realise that the key to individual success is other people.

Help other people, teach other people, learn from other people, follow other people, use other people as a guide to what you do or don't want to be.

Success will follow.

3) Burn your bridges and you will force yourself to move forward

It's so easy to cling to the security of the past but if you never let go, if you never force yourself out of your comfort zone and if you never take risks but always leave yourself the option to take backward steps that is exactly what you will do.

4) It's all about you.

This may seem a contradiction to me saying that success is all about other people but it's not. My point here is that the world is in the state it is in because it is always 'someone else's fault'.

- The economic crisis in Britain is America's fault.
- I'm fat because my friends make me drink lots.
- I'm poor because I don't get paid enough

All of the above are b*llocks.

We are all responsible for our actions.

I don't mind people celebrating their own successes whereas other people see it as boasting or gloating. These are usually people who are able to accept that their mistakes are also just that. THEIRS.

Only when we become accountable for everything good and bad in our lives can we become better people.

5) There isn't as much of a difference between success and failure as people think.

There is actually very few differences between the great men and women amongst us and 'Joe Average'

The key difference is this.

Successful people manage their fear.

They realise fear doesn't actually exist. Two identical people can be in the same situation but experience opposite outcomes because one allows fear to control them and the other accepts it as part of the experience. The physical situation is no different for either person but the outcome is MASSIVELY different because one stepped through the fear and the other walked backwards away from it (see Point 3).

6) Experiences are everything.

I believe that philosophies about life can be summed up in one snigle sentence.

When you are lying on your death bed, will you be able to say "I did everything there was to do"?

I have been very bad at this up until now. I missed the point of success and earning money.

This is changing.

7) I believe I am on the verge of greatness.

I have gone through the school bullying for being a hard worker.
I have gone through very difficult months at university feeling like I didn't fit in (because I couldn't control my fear of new situations)
I have left a comfortable life and stepped into the unknown in a very different environment.
I have left my friends and family behind in search of great things.
I have invested lots of time and money in things which may or may not work.
I have spent many weekends holed up worrying about things but trudging through it with the support of my family.
I have nearly quit on many occasions.

But I am still here. I am stronger. I am ready. I am ready.

I. AM. READY.

Why?

Because I am destined to do great things in this world.

I know I have the intelligence.
I know I have the drive.
I know people are starting to see me as a leader.
I know I have prepared and am ready for the opportunities when people will say I am lucky.

When the world is ready for what I have to tell them...

I AM READY.

Bring it on.

How to do cardio at home

2008-11-19T07:43:00.000-08:00

Let's face it.

Not many people like gyms.

They're expensive and the average person gets no noticeable results.

They're also about as much use as a chocolate fireguard when you're always away on business.

So I like to teach people how to train at home or anywhere else for that matter.

One of the most underestimated ways of shedding body fat and dramatically improving your stamina levels and coordination is skipping.

A decent rope will cost you about 8-10 pounds (don't go for cheap options because they will break very quickyl trust me!)

Here's how to get better at it...

THIS is how you shed body fat for fun!

2008-11-17T13:31:00.000-08:00

I am quite literally astounded.

For just 7 days my Fat Loss Action Blueprint guinea pigs have been performing 3 lots of 20 minute sessions with either bodyweight, dumbbells or kettlebells, interval training if they have time and eating clean.

I had hoped they would lose 2-3lbs each but was somewhat nervous about them letting me and themselves down.

It appears I was very, very wrong on many levels.

I seem to have underestimated the power of not only the systems they are using but also the power of being under some friendly pressure from me and the hundreds of people reading this!

These are the changes in vital stats I received today. I will do weekly updates on this blog then after the 4 week trial they will send in their photos (so if they are lying we'll expose them at the end...) ;-)

Jez (High level finance job, kids, too busy etc)

Weight change: 12 stone 5.....11 stone 13
Waist circumference: 36 inches.....34 inches
Hip circumference: 39.25 inches.....38.5 inches

Comments:

It is surprising how much more energy I have already, I am not feeling
half as tired in the evenings but I have always had real problems
staying asleep, getting to sleep was fine but just used to wake up loads
in the night, thinking about things too much but this seems to be
improving as well.

At first when I started the workouts I looked at it on paper and didn't think that it would work me hard enough because of the amount of time it was due to take, how wrong I was! This woke me up to the schedule and think the work outs are great, short, sharp and really hard work, depending how hard you want to push yourself.
Can't wait for the next week as have lost almost half a stone in the first week.

Tom (teacher, wanted to fit in social football, has to have lunch meetings filled with crappy foods, likes a Saturday night curry and a beer)

Weight change: 76.9kg.....73.5kg
Waist circumference: 93.5cm.....86.4cm
Hip circumference: 98cm.....96cm

Comments:

Looking back at the past week I have managed to fit in a lot of training around the work day. I’m making sure that I get in at least one piece of solid exercise a day; also I am making sure that I walk to work each day.

On the food side I have managed to eat well for the majority of the week. I had two sort of cheat meals due to training days at work (curry with all trimmings/ pie and chips). Apart from that everything else is going pretty well. I’ve started to eat cherry tomatoes are a snack through out the day, instead of other forms of snack. I’ve also found that because I’m planning my meals out that I am reducing my shopping bill, as I question what I put into my basket.

All in all I feel really alert, am sleeping well and have a lot more energy. Cravings have generally gone, the weight is dropping off and I look forward to what challenges this week puts in front of me.

Jon (I'm not sure what Jon does at present but he's a busy boy!)

Weight change: 81.8kg.....79kg
Waist circumference: 100cm.....95cm
Hip circumference: 102cm.....99cm

Comments:

Jon couldn't be contacted for further comments!

Sara - Currently can't be contacted - hopefully have an update soon.

*************************************************************************************

So there we have it.

Many of you have been slogging it out on treadmills or aerobics classes for over a year and not achieved those results.

So far, the guinea pigs have lost shed loads of weight in just one week and none of them live anywhere near where I work!

This is likely to slow down to 2-3lbs per week. Still not bad eh? ;-)

The best thing is they are all reporting higher energy levels. Fad diets are usually associated with torturous days trying to resist the urge to eat the office pot plant!

It's time to rethink EVERYTHING you thought you knew about fat loss.

DON'T FORGET TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE BLOG SO YOU GET UPDATES AS THEY HAPPEN.

The Fat Loss Action Blueprint will be released soon!

Eat more, weigh less

2008-11-13T13:36:00.000-08:00

If you are the average female (and I say this not in a sexist way) you will have a fear of the dreaded calorie. (Despite ramming chocolate in your face when Take That reveal they are splitting up again and won't release another corker.)

I have further proof that eating more is often the key to losing body fat.

Clearly this is more good quality, clean, unprocessed, natural food with no red wine involved to wash it down.

It is very hard to overeat calories if you eat grilled meat and vegetables. You'll feel full yet won't be inhaling calories faster than a Dyson (or all other good vacuum cleaners).

I have a client who was losing weight already but then stalled one week.

It was then revealed in the last 36 hours she had eaten a banana and a protein shake and was scared of over eating calories and undoing her good work.

This would equate to about 300 calories at a push.

Bearing in mind your body needs over twice this amount to function properly (brain, lungs, digestive system etc), we are talking about putting yourself in starvation mode. This is a defence mechanism we got from our cave dwelling ancestors.

When our bodies are put in severe calorie restriction they begin to STORE body fat in case another meal is not 'caught in the forest' for another few days. So by being on a very low calorie diet you can expect your muscle to diminish and your body fat percentage to go up.

This client of mine then introduced a small bowl of porridge for breakfast every day. (Oh yes CARBOHYDRATES!!! Shock horror...) and a few healthy snacks here and there.

She waltzed on to my scales 7 days later weighing 3 pounds less.

Now we still have a way to go to create a top-notch diet but that tells a story.

Yes a calorie deficit (more out than in) is essential for fat loss.

However, going as low as you can bear is a very, very, very bad idea.

The longer this goes on the harder it gets to convince your body to start shedding fat again because as far as it is concerned you might starve it again so it will hold on to body fat just in case.

This is one of the reasons those who go on crash diets usually end up fatter when they finally crack and binge. The body stores all the calories they then dive into!

It is also the reason fat loss can take a week or two when you finally sort your life out.

Give it time - you got yourself in this mess so have the patience to wait a week or so for the results!

Still luv ya though!
Jon

PS That particular client has lost 11 lbs in 5 weeks of training. We targetted a stone in 6 weeks so 3 lbs this week and that's mission accomplished! It could have been you!

What lies behind motivation?

2008-11-12T04:20:00.000-08:00

I often get asked what keeps me motivated.

What makes the difference between those who DO things and those who think about things?

We're all human.

We all have a brain and a soul.

The difference is shown in these three videos.

The way I see it, the difference lies in what you want to see when you look back on your life.

Do you want to have worried about money all the time and never experienced anything?

Do you want to have drunk yourself stupid every weekend and never achieved anything?

Watch all the videos as they'll all give you a different message.

Everyone has their own reasons for doing what they do and accepting certain challenges.

I am humbled by these guys as the challenges I have taken on so far are nothing compared to what they endure.

You are stronger beyond what you can ever believe. The problem is that we only ever find out when we are put in extreme circumstances.

If you never get out your comfort zone and put yourself in such a position, you will never find out.

So the videos...

1) Thanks to my friend Dax Moy who posted this on his personal trainer community site. The guy is phenomenal - his name's Nick Vujicic if you want to search more on him. Make sure you ahve the sound on.

NICK VUJICIC VIDEO

2) An all time favourite of mine and one you may have seen before if you've subscribed to my emails for a while. Make sure you have the sound on.

TEAM HOYT VIDEO

3) A classic song. Labi Siffre came out of retirement to stand up for what he belived in and against oppression of his heritage and beliefs.

LABI SIFFRE VIDEO

Take up a challenge,
Jon

Five key elements of goal setting

2008-11-10T13:16:00.001-08:00

My heart sometimes sinks when people come to me as a personal trainer and say 'I'd like to lose a couple of pounds' or 'I just want to tone up a bit'.

Where's the ambition?

Where's the challenge?

Where's the drive for a total transformation?

What's happened to "I don't know if I can achieve this but what the hell let's go for it."

Come on guys, get yourself out of all this depression and 'life's a bitch' attitude!

You all have it in you to make big changes, but you have to believe YOU are capable, not just those you see making a success of their lives.

We all have tough times, me included - suck it up and get on with it.

It has to begin with setting clear goals. My guinea pigs have already done that using the STORM process.

Your goals must be...

Specific - Exactly what do you want?
Timed - When by? Set a day
Operations based - How? What's the exact plan?
Relevant - Does it really matter or is it something you feel you should do to keep someone else happy?
Measurable - Can you clearly measure it to see if your plan is working?

Shape goals based on the above and your half way to achieving them - seriously!

On that note some moron made a comment to me on Facebook a few weeks ago implying that it was easy for me because I had probably never been fat and I somehow didn't have a right to then try to help people!

He's right - I've never been so lazy and lacking self-rspect to let myself get into that state in the first place.

However, the conversation turned to him implying you can't improve your body shape without bodybuilding exercises and machine based workouts for optimum 'burn' (yeah people still use that stupid word.)

So I embarked on an 'up yours' quest.

A quest which for beanpoles like me is tough and requires hard work and desire - to get bigger not smaller!

This guy clearly doesn't know me like you do. He didn't understand it would result in a backlash and a point proven.

3 weeks later....I rest my case your honour.

And for those who for some reason doubt my testimonials are valid, you know this is real as it's a picture from my recent Borneo trip.

Stop looking for reasons why NOT. If you want something enough, it's yours.

This guy gave me all the motivation I needed. And he's still fat.

I show you this for no other reason than to prove my genuine commitment to inspiring people to search for more, want more and achieve more.

PS This is not fake tan it's our dodgy studio energy-saving light bulbs!

Get outside and train!

2008-11-09T03:37:00.000-08:00

I don't know why people find exercise so hard!

I just got out of bed an hour earlier than my usual Sunday rising to meet a couple of clients in Wollaton Park, Nottingham for some sprints, kettlebell work, burpees and whatever else we felt like.

Despite a minor back issue on my part this was awesome and just what I needed!

It's so good to just get out in the crisp November air amongst the grass, trees and aggressive deer who apparently are in rutting season.

It's left me feeling ultra-creative and ready to hit my latest projects.

The last couple of days I've felt a bit stale and needed something to clear the tubes and open up the brain wave channels again!

You'll be amazed what exercise, especailly exercise in nature will do for your fitness, wellbeing and mental peace.

Try it next Sunday. You'll be amazed!

Jon
PS If you want lots of workouts you can do in the park at home or anywhere else you fancy, join up at http://www.stormforcefitness.com

Top 10 things to increase daily energy levels

2008-11-04T09:07:00.000-08:00

Everyone has crap days.

Everyone has days when they feel like there's lead weights on their eyelids!

It doesn't have to be like this.

Unless you can't be bothered to make changes.

If you're not interested you wouldn't be reading this.

So we know you want to know.

What we don't know is whether you want to spend a bit of time IMPLEMENTING things.

Don't read this if you have no intention of changing your days into energy-fuelled productivity machines.

Here's the Top 10 Energizers for you.

1) Do not drink ANY caffeine. It will have the opposite effect. What goes up must come down. In this case you come down further than you go up!

2) Get some exercise for crying out loud! Exercising early in the morning will have you buzzing (if you do an intense session not a mediocre jog which is enough to put anyone to sleep!). It's a vicious circle which will see you energy levels spiral so you want to exercise more resulting in higher levels of energy and 'happy hormones'!

3) Eat 5-6 small meals per day with carbs and protein in. Small meals like this take 5 minutes to eat because they're small. Use a protein supplement as a last resort if you only have time to knock a milkshake back - you'll be amazed at the difference. This is critical.

4) Get to bed before 11pm. Get up when the alarm goes off. No snoozing. It won't help but WILL make you feel drowsy all morning.

5) Eat breakfast. The excuse of not having time is absolute rubbish and you know it. It's a pathetic excuse because you could just go to bed 10 minutes earlier and get up 10 minutes earlier, you're just too lazy and it sucks!

6) Have a plan of jobs to do in the day. When you are doing little bits of everything it will stress you out more and mentally drain you - I'm still practising this but it makes a big difference. Taking 10 minutes to plan in the morning will make you ultra-productive and more up for getting everything done!

7) Mid-afternoon is normally the worst time because people eat big lunches then experience a similar come down to coffee at 10am! Try to exercise outdoors at lunch time then eat half you lunch straight after and the rest about 3 hours later so your energy levels are constant. It also means when you're knackered at 5pm you don't have to think about the gym. The natural light outside will do wonders for you as well!

8) Eat clean food. All the preservatives and chemicals in processed food is really hard to digest which means higher body fat and more energy wasted on digestion. It will slow you down and make you sluggish. Avoid anything that comes out of a packet. Don't 'cut some out' - eliminate it.

9) Drink lots and lots of water - more than feels normal. I'm taling 5-6 pints of water each day at regular intervals. Flush out your system and everything will function better giving you a spring in your step and keeping you brain functioning properly.

10) Take time out to recharge the batteries. This is something I've always been bad at but this year's really hit home that I am not invincible and need to sit back and watch the world go by sometimes. Turn your phone off after 8pm, turn the TV off after 9 (the lights and noise will stress you out) and just read a book or listen to music (I like ministry of sound chill out tunes personally!). Gather your thoughts then come out the blocks in the morning (as soon as the alarm goes off - remember no snoozing!)

If possible put the kids in a cupboard and lock the door - they'll get over it.

Jon

Beating the Big Freeze (with no cardio or equipment)!

2008-10-29T02:59:00.001-07:00

Survive the Big Freeze!

Stop your boring cardio outside in the cold and do this indoor fat blaster - no equipment needed!

Do as many rounds of the following circuit in 15 minutes as possible.

20 split squats (beginners) / plyometric split squats (advanced)
20 bodweight squats (beginners) / jump squats (advanced)
10 push ups (beginners on knees)
20 mountain climbers (beginners) / burpees (advanced)

It's that simple.

If you don't know what these exercises are just pop along to my youtube site to see exactly what you need to do. (Just search for the exercise you want).

http://uk.youtube.com/user/StormForceFitness

These kind of 'time challenges' form the basis of the Storm Force Fitness programs so if you like it come and join us at http://www.stormforcefitness.com !

Try it then post how you get on here!
Jon

What happened in London?

2008-10-27T03:47:00.000-07:00

I was in London this weekend on an awesome fitness marketing course to help me spread the word about http://www.stormforcefitness.com and for a cheeky beer with friends.

(Yes I do drink the odd pint BECAUSE I EARN IT)

Three things happened which really made me think about how what is true and what our perceptions are, can be VERY different things!

1) One of the presenters on the course, Dax Moy is renowned for his inspirational methods and motivation techniques.

Now I'm not exactly short on motivation to get what I want in life, but Dax takes things to a new level and knows how to deliver a kick up the backside and I learnt a lot!

At lunch time all the attendees grabbed their food and sat down with each other to discuss business and what they had or hadn't done with theirs to that point. I stood there and thought why go through the discussions of 'maybe this' and 'we could that' and went a sat with Dax, who proceeded to open my eyes to many ways to help people better and develop myself and my business.

LESSON - Why struggle with ifs and maybes when you can go straight to what or who you know will get the job done?

2) I was in the Oxo tower in London being treated to a meal. I was sat next to a lady who struggled to fit in her chair.

She proceeded to tell her date / friend / husband how she was 'trying' to lose weight by walking to work each day. This was between mouthfuls of the 12oz sirloin with curly chips and garlic bread.

She then struggled to stand up, turned to me and said 'Excuse me can I get through?'

To which I nearly replied, "I doubt it"

LESSON: Trying to lose body fat involves trial and error. Actually losing body fat simply requires listening to those who are professionally qualified and can provide exact programs and systems which you KNOW will work.

3) I finally did something in London which has been on my mind for 3 years and caused many nights of upset! It's a personal thing and something which will stay between myself and I (as is often the case with the biggest challenges in life).

I also got the ball rolling on a top secret project which could change my life and those of the people who get involved within the next year! You will hear more as it develops but it has never been done before. Oooh the excitement!

LESSON: You need to take risks and persevere for the things which you value most in life and which pose the biggest challenges to you whether mental or physical. Sometimes the unknown will scare the life out of you as you can never be sure what the result will be. The risk will seem immense, but if the reward is enough, everything that goes into it becomes insignificant!

Jon, Storm Force Fitness

PS If you're ready to finally accept the challenge of not feeling flabby at Christmas....

Ladies - http://www.stormforcefitness.com/article.php?pid=213
Gents - http://www.stormforcefitness.com/article.php?pid=214

Amazing new fat loss research...

2008-10-23T02:09:00.000-07:00

I heard some real ground breaking news today on the radio news.

Some no-doubt very well-paid scientists and researchers have found that eating your food too fast may well lead to weight gain.

I thought we knew this ten years ago.

And if we didn't, surely it's pretty damn obvious!

Stuff your face fast and you don't have time to feel full. As is usually the case with fat loss, it's a simple process.

The science behind is that we have a hormone which is released from our brain telling us we have eaten enough food and are full. This hormone usually takes around 20 minutes to be released so if you take time to chew food and digest it slowly over a good conversation you will realise you have had enough and stop eating.

Could this be the reason countries outside the western world don't have such high obesity rates?

They see meal times as a time to converse with family and relax rather than shovelling in food and drink like the Simpsons.

Another more complex reason I would suggest is that it is an all-round philosophy.

In the UK and Britain we are always stressed and rushing around. There is never enough time. Those who 'haven't got time' to slow themselves down and eat slowly are usually those who don't prepare food either (due to supposed lack of time) which leads them to eat processed, crappy ready meals.

As a trainer I always, always promote a new lifestyle rather than just a new diet or new training program because without an all round philosophy you will continue to struggle with many aspects of weight management.

Mess up on one and the rest will come tumbling down too!

Jon

Health, fitness and the credit crunch

2008-10-17T04:21:00.000-07:00

Apparently there's some kind of financial crisis going on.

I generally try to ignore such doom and gloom and fortunately my digibox broke last week so it's been no TV since.

What a blessing - it's been nice just reading, studying and listening to music!

As far as I'm concerned these things are largely a self-fulfilling prophecy - the more we talk about them the worse they get.

But what can you do if you do need to start saving some cash but you don't want to give up on your fat loss and conditioning plan?

1) Buy in-season fruit and vegetables. Supply and demand economics mean that those which are not in-season and must be imported will cost more. You'll also do your bit for reducing the negative effects of transportation and to support the local economy!

In-season fruit and veg: Apples, pears, figs, pumpkin, leeks, sweetcorn, broccoli, potatoes, kale and onions (there's lots more so do your research!)

SAVING - APPROX. £30 PER MONTH

2) Go to your local fruit and veg market about 15 minutes before closing. They will literally throw produce at you for next to nothing.

SAVING - ABOUT £30 PER MONTH IN CONJUNCTION WITH POINT 1.

3) Perform bodyweight training (or use dumbbells and kettlebells if you have them) at home. It doesn't cost you anything and let's be honest, how much have you achieved through your gym membership in the last year? Sprint up hills, ride up hills on your bike, lift heavy things you have at home - just get rid of your gym direct debit!

SAVING - ABOUT £40 PER MONTH PLUS REDUCED TRAVEL COSTS

4) Stop buying health and fitness magazines. Again, if you need to keep reading them, they haven't taught you much so far so why keep buying them?!

SAVING - ABOUT £4 PER MONTH

5) Stop smoking and drinking alcohol. Old news, but you still do it. This will save you hundreds and hundreds of pounds and your family can save on having to pay for your funeral until this 'crisis' is over.

SAVING - ABOUT £180 PER MONTH (BASED ON 20 CIGARETTES AND 7/8 DRINKS ON A FRIDAY)

6) Stop going to Starbucks (and other coffee shops) everyday. If you buy a coffee on it's own everyday of your working week (not including that muffin) you're throwing money away for something which most of the time contains a pile of calories and will only wake you up for half an hour!

SAVING - ABOUT £40 PER MONTH

So if you do all of the above, you could be saving over £300 per month.

Of which £50 could get you membership to http://www.stormforcefitness.com/ which will instantly show you how to fulfil Point 3.

Are you creating your own credit crunch....?

Weight training will make women bulky....or will it?

2008-10-15T00:27:00.000-07:00

Many ladies shy away from weights because they 'just want to burn fat and not bulk up'.

This is one of the girls I train as a group of 4.

She has trained with me once per week for about 3-4 months, eaten well but not obsessively and done a couple of sessions at home each week.

A picture does indeed tell a thousand words.

Enough said my friends.

Oh and don't forget Jemma.....!

Jon v Dean Macey at Survival of the fittest

2008-10-14T03:55:00.000-07:00

I raced an ex-Olympian on Saturday.

He didn't know I was gunning for him from the moment I heard he was taken part in the inaugural Men's Health Survival of the Fittest race in Nottingham, but I was!

When I spoke to Dean Macey (ex-Decathlete) after the race he said something about having not done too much training since he retired a couple of months ago.

But that was Olympic level training, and whilst he kept saying how he had never run more than 8km, as you know I hardly ever go running because of my dislike for joint-shattering, fat preserving aerobic exercise.

So what happened?

12.5km interspersed with assault courses, cold water, rope climbs etc. is what happened.

Would our training methods stand up against the 'Dean Machine' and the numerous triathletes who train specifically for running?

Final results (out of 882 finishers)

1 387 0:54:57 Simon Griffin
37 1142 1:02:50 Jon Le Tocq
113 1140 1:08:30 Dean Macey

Now I don't know about you but looking at those results and bearing in mind most people find 'cardio' boring, I'd rather train like we do at BodyClocq Personal Training and at http://www.stormforcefitness.com , with shorter, more intense, fun sessions!

Mix up your sessions, make yourself work hard, and forget what you thought you knew about exercise and life will become so much more fulfilling!

If you want to win running races then yes you will need to run.

If you want to enjoy fitness, become a great all-rounder and be able to perform well in random fitness challenges of any sort, you know where to come. With some running training the difference between myself and the winner would have been much smaller but I have no interest.

I don't know why people make themselves use training methods they don't enjoy! It's a recipe for long-term failure.

You can either start listening to and working with people who have proven results, or you can keep reading about wonder diets and magic exercises in magazines.

I hope you're still filling in your nutrition diary from Friday - the weekend is always interesting when it comes to food and drink!

Jon

See me and Big Dean..
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=844351&l=027cc&id=511307969

3 pounds lost with no exercise?

2008-10-10T05:53:00.000-07:00

Today I have a challenge for you and a friend.

It's so easy a 4 year old could do it.

Yesterday a new client of mine walked in 2 weeks after her initialc onsultation with me.

I had asked her to do one thing.

Write down everything you eat and drink until the first 'real' session.

She did. She lost 3lbs of body fat.

Unfortunately, handwriting is not the perfect fat loss solution sodon't get all excited and rush out to Wilko's for a set of 10 biro's.

The key is MONITORING.

Simply by becoming aware of what was going in her mouth, this lady became more controlled and stopped eating cr*p (or so much of it;-) )

I've told you over and over again - if you're not recording stuff(training, food etc) you will not lose weight unless you get lucky.

Now imagine what could happen when we get some good ol' short,sharp exercise sessions going on.

A stone in 6 weeks? Probably.

This stuff works EVERY TIME.

So write down everything you eat and drink until next Friday.

Get your friend to do it as well.

Swap diaries each day.

See what happens.

If you want to do it on your own, post you daily consumption under this blog entry in the comments - whatever makes you take control and be accountable.

Just try it - you'll be amazed.

Always here to help,
Jon

3 mistakes

2008-10-06T14:53:00.000-07:00

Did you try the curry recipe I sent on Friday night?

Over the weekend I received quite a few emails asking for regular recipes so it must have tasted good - unfortunately I can't give away all the good stuff as that wouldn't be fair on my members at http://www.stormforcefitness.com/ !

They have access to Burrito breakfast, Egg pot, Moroccan chicken, Turkey and apple burger, Amazing meatballs, Beef tacos, Tuna and kidney bean salad and many, many more recipes - and everyone of them is low in calories and VERY tasty!

So what mistakes are often made?

1) Did you enjoy the curry then got frustrated on Saturday because you were rushing around after the kids trying to get food ready? Why did you not just make more of the curry then have a healthy meal already prepared for the next day?

You can do this EVERY evening as a Storm Force member ensuring you don't have to buy salt-laden, fatty, mayo smothered sandwiches or pasta dishes from Marks and Spencer (or other good stores :-) )

2) You assume healthy food has to be boring. I've proven my point. I must admit I didn't have the curry - instead I knocked up a vegetarian roasted vegetable dish (with a sirloin steak) in 30 minutes from chopping board to plate!

3) You didn't have time to cook the curry because you spent over an hour in the gym after work then were too stressed out to relax and cook a nice meal. Why didn't you perform one of the 20 minute fat-blasting sessions on Storm Force Fitness then you could have done both AND got more results from your session?!

I really, really wish the people in this world who claim they don't have time to be healthy would just open their eyes!

For a one-off fee (less than a good night out and probably less than you spend at Starbucks each month) you can have access to the fastest, tasty, healthy recipes and the most time-efficient training I use for myself and my clients.

You get noticeable fat loss results, eat healthier food, can exercise at home in private or in the gym if you do like it AND have more time to enjoy life, showing off your new body to anyone who will look!

But hey, what do I know?

Jon - 5.5% body fat and never has to train for more than 45 minutes!

http://www.stormforcefitness.com

Let's all have a curry on Friday

2008-10-02T08:08:00.000-07:00

It's Friday tomorrow, which for me means treat night!

I train and work hard all week (especially today!) so I deserve a meal when I can go a bit nuts.

Last week I had a not-so-healthy pizza. But I earned it - that's the key. It helps keep me on track.

There's a MASSIVE difference between caving all the time and earning a treat.

Today however, I am going to give you a curry recipe which can be ready from scratch in under 20 minutes and is actually really healthy!

Enjoy....

Chicken Masala(4 servings)

Ingredients:

1 chopped onion
6 fresh green chillies
6 chopped garlic cloves
2 tsp grated fresh root ginger
1 tbs ground coriander
2 tsp ground cumin
1 large bunch of fresh, chopped coriander
150ml water
2 tbs olive oil
400g chicken breast cut into strips
250ml chicken stock

Preparation:

Blend vegetables, herbs, spices and water until a smooth paste is created

Heat olive oil in large, non-stick frying pan, add the paste and fry stirring constantly for around 1 minute

Add chicken to frying pan, stir for around 3 minutes then add chicken stock

Mix well, cover and cook on low heat until tender (around 10 minutes)

Remember there's plenty more where that came from...

http://www.stormforcefitness.com/article.php?pid=216 (scroll down to the recipe section)

Why Michael Phelps is a disgrace

2008-09-30T09:40:00.000-07:00

You know my thoughts on fast food.

You know my thoughts on sporting heroes.

Hate one, love the other.

But I feel really let down today.

For two weeks in the summer I marvelled at Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps as they showed the world that the impossible is in fact sometimes easily done.

However, today I have lost all respect for Michael Phelps afterfinding out that he has chosen to endorse McDonald's and Kellogg'scereals.

Phelps, you're a disgrace and you've sold your soul to the devil.

Whilst he may be able to get away with eating 12,000 calories perday swimming for 6 hours to go with it, this is just going tocompound problems for the next generation of kids.

Kids copy heroes. McDonald's and Kellog's know this.

So now kids are being led to believe that to be the best in theworld you must eat cereals full of sugar and additives, and as forMcDonald's food?

Well we all know that story.

Even 'healthy' Cornflakes contain as much salt as a pint of sea water.

Unfortunately common sense and acting in the interests of future generations has yet again taken a massive kick in the knackers.

We need to fight this. You need to fight this. I don't have children - you do.

You need to pass on good habits or you're as bad as the rest ofthem.

Stop leaving it to someone else and blaming it on cr*ppy schooldinners, a lack of time or the fact that 'they'll burn it off'.

They might burn it off now but then they'll hit 17, be lazy and like bad food and discover beer.

Soon your child is fat, unhealthy and no longer burning it off because they don't do any exercise and no longer enjoy running round like headless chickens and being active because they've grown up with their arm attached to a Nintendo Wii which has given them reptitive strain injuries.

This needs to stop now.

Apparently by 2050, 9/10 adults will be obese.

Why?

Because YOU let it happen when they were children.

Free hotel room workout

2008-09-25T14:14:00.001-07:00

I often get asked by clients and friends "What should I do when I'm away on business / holiday"

Often if it's a holiday I will tell people that if they have been training hard enough the rest of the year then they deserve a rest!

However, if you regularly go away on business and are staying in hotels, what can you do to get a fast, effective session in without much equipment?

Today I've posted a 'Hotel Room Points Challenge' workout at Storm Force Fitness.

THIS IS AVAILABLE TO NON-MEMBERS AS WELL SO PLEASE SEND THE LINK TO ANYONE YOU THINK WE CAN HELP!

http://www.stormforcefitness.com/article.php?pid=253

I am desperate to get people out of the 'I need a gym to exercise' mindset so have this one on me!

Yes I know it's becoming something of an obsession but I've seen the devestating effects bad information can have on a person when it comes to exercise.

Don't forget you don't have to be in a hotel! You can do it at home as well!

Enjoy!

Please send this link to all your friends if you think they could benefit - the more people we help the better!

Jon

Was I good enough?

2008-09-22T09:03:00.000-07:00

Standing on top of the world at 13,000 ft watching the sunrise?

Spending a week with like-minded people who understand the life-changing effects of attempting things when you don't know you can complete them?

Being at one with nature in it's purest form?

I really don't know where to start with my tales of Borneo - it was the most amazing week of my life and no matter how I tell the stories and the photos you see, you still won't understand the emotions involved.

I figure the best thing to do is tell it in bits and what I learnt from each day.

I want to start with the cycling because I'm still buzzing from what happened at the end.

10km from the end of a gruelling day of endless hills in 35 degree heat, Yami (the Malaysian cycle guide and 3rd best mountain biker in the country - see photo above) issued me a challenge.
Could I beat him to the hotel we were resting at that night?

Me? Having done just 5 cycle rides in preparation. Against one of Malaysia's best?

This after climbing Malaysia's largest mountain 2 days before.

With 45 miles of undulating terrain in the baking heat under my belt for the day, it seemed a stupid idea.

So I accepted.

The sunglasses went on, and I necked what water I had left.

There wasn't going to room for error or pitstops.

A quick gear shift and a nervous look back at Yami's rippling leg muscles and it was time to put the kettlebell training to the test.

I knew Yami had the endurance capacity of a Duracel rabbit on speed so I was going to have to find something else in my locker.

The only way to get close to Yami would be to take the pain levels through the roof and see if he could take it.

And off we went.

Flying along the open roads with just the noise of the local wildlife to distract us.

Small Malaysian children waved and cheered at us as we sped through their villages.

7km left.

Yami wasn't even breathing hard yet. I was!

Past rice fields and random cows in the middle of the road, the hot sun beating down.

I realised that although I was trailing sweat as it poured off my chest, I had never felt so alive.

Yami shouts that there's 5km to go.

My legs are burning (as well as my suburnt shoulders).

Yami cleverly stayed behind me in my slipstream so I couldn't see if he was hurting as much as me!

Yami shouts that we're burning along at around 30mph now. Not bad considering we're on mountain bikes with tyres like a monster truck.

The sweat started stinging my eyes and the leg burn was cutting in. My chest was heaving so hard I thought my lungs were going to blow.

"Yon, Yon 3km left - you're doing well"

This was it. Play time.

I let rip.

2 minutes later I lifted my thumping head expecting to see Yami laughing at my attempts.

Nothing.

I looked behind and saw his red shirt 100m back.

He'd been dropped with 2km left.

I nearly burst into tears (again - I'll tell you about the mountain soon).

When you go beyond what you think possible and justify the hardwork which has gone before, it's hard to control emotions.

I wish I could have bottled that moment up and kept it. Writing about it gives me goose pimples.

All the pain and the suffering in training had paid off in a challenge I didn't know I would face until 30 minutes earlier.

I always promote 'random fitness' when training people. The ability to call on your body to be faster, go for longer, be stronger or whatever else the random situations in life call upon.

This is why I don't admire bodybuilders or those who train purely for long-distance running. They usually fail miserable in anything other than their specialist subject.

Having done little cycling training I was able to beat a top cyclist albeit over a relatively short distance.

Clearly I don't claim that if you want to be a top cyclist you don't need to ride a bike, but on that day, mentally and physically, everything came together for me and I have never felt so much at peace with myself or with nature.

The effects of out training methods were spelt out loud and clear.

This is how life should be lived.

Where physically you are ready for anything and mentally you are at one with yourself and the natural environment.

Unless you were on that bike with me, flying through rural Borneo with the bursts of warm tropical air racing over your body, you'll never quite grasp the adrenaline surge experienced in the making of this story.

But it's my story and it will live with me forever.

You have the power to create your own life-changing stories you just have to want to do it enough.

Next up....climbing Mount Kinabalu.

Remember if you want to start developing the type of fitness which makes you ready for anything (as well as roasting body fat) sign up at http://www.stormforcefitness.com/ . You could be writing your own story soon.

The biggest mistake you're making

2008-09-11T13:04:00.000-07:00

As you should know by now, I am currently in the middle of Malaysia probably mountain biking so hard I have a sore bum.

I also promised you wouldn't hear from me for ten days.

Then I realised I was making the mistake that many of you are making.

The mistake millions make every year.

The reason people go round in circles and never get results withtheir fitness.

The reason?

I didn't plan ahead.

I assumed once I had left for Borneo, that was it.

I couldn't continue to help you until I got back.

Then I thought more and PLANNED BETTER.

I set up this email the night I left.

It is simple reasons that stop you getting results.

And to be honest this applies to everything in life not just fitness.

But fitness is my specialty and I see people continually failing to get anywhere because they don't have a plan.

They think they can turn up to the gym and just 'do a workout' and the fat will disappear.

Sorry it won't.

Set goals then 'reverse engineer' the goal.

In other words, plan backwards step by step from where you want to be (e.g 1 stone lighter) then work it back to where you are now.

These steps should be challenging but manageable.

I cover this goal setting process in more detail at http://www.stormforcefitness.com/article.php?pid=139 using my proven process.

All goals must be...

Specific
Timed
Operation-based
Relvant
Measurable.

Plan properly and you will be amazed at what you achieve!

Having problems breathing when running?

2008-09-07T09:23:00.000-07:00

I've noticed on a brief return to running (to prepare for the Mens Health Survival of the Fittest Race) that I have a habit of panic breathing when the going gets tough towards the end.

So I set about finding a way to regulate it.

The technique described here will work well for anyone who finds themselves wasting energy and generally becoming uncomfortable with the whole breathing thing when under intense physical pressure.

It has been used to help train fighters and marital artists in particular who need to remain calm in the face of danger and panic.

It really is quite horrible and requires a lot of self-discipline and will power but works a treat!

The method and the exercises are open to adaptation depending on your sport's requirements / skill levels / fitness etc but the principles remain.

The idea is that in you control how much rest you get between sets of a particular, full body, exercise. Full body exercises are required to rapdily shoot your pulse and breathing rate upwards. You perform 10 reps of a given exercise then rest for 10 breaths. How long the rest lasts depends on your ability to slow your breathing and remain calm!

You then repeat but with only 9 reps and 9 breaths. The process continues until you perform 1 breath and 1 rep!

Below is a sample session I have personally used. Obviously the weights used should be adjusted according to the individual. A good guide for weight selection is 40-60% of your 1 repetition max for the exercise in question - you should be able to move the weights quickly.

Push jerk with 2x24kg kettlebells 10 reps, 10 slow breaths, 9 reps, 9 slow breaths etc down to 1

As above using 60 kg barbell front squat

As above using 2x28kg kettlebells swing

Pre-requisites for this type of 'panic training'

- High level of competence in the exercises to be performed
- Will power and pain tolerance
- A partner may be useful to prevent sneaky extra breaths!

Don't expect an easy ride on this one and make sure you're fresh before trying it!

The 1000 rep challenge!

2008-09-01T11:47:00.000-07:00

Phew it's over.

I finally completed my 1000 rep kettlebell challenge for charity.

The aim was to do 1000 reps in under 45 minutes.

The pain went something like this...

20 swings, 20 snatches, 20 swings, 20 jerks, 20 swings, 20 snatches, 20 swings, 40 split rows, 20 swings, 50 push ups

Four times.

Brutal but glad I did it and we raised some more money for my charity.

Thanks to everyone who supported me and took part in the Kettlebell Olympics afterwards - everyone was awesome and there were some cracking performances - but you can do better next year.... ;-)

Jon

Something you HAVE to do to lose weight

2008-08-29T12:35:00.000-07:00

"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

2008-08-26T12:11:00.000-07:00

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?

2008-08-25T00:25:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-24T01:50:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-22T00:11:00.001-07:00

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