Exercise of the Week

Inverted Rows

Inverted rows, modified pull ups or fatboys as we sometimes them call in the studio are one of the best back exercises that will build excellent strength in the major muscles of your back along with your biceps. They're also a great postural exercise as they, like all horizontal pull exercises, work to strengthen the muscles around your scapula which often become weak from poor posture.

To perform inverted rows set up a bar in the squat rack and lay under it. You want the bar to be inline with your chest at a full arms length away. Place your feet on top of a stepper so that when you grip the bar you body will be completely horizontal.

Grip the bar with a wider than shoulder width grip with your palms facing your feet. Begin lifting yourself by bending at the shoulder and elbows until the bottom of your chest touches the bar. The aim is to keep you body as straight as possible during the entire movement. As your chest touches the bar breathe out and squeeze your shoulder blades together hard. Focus on keeping your body as straight as possible, contact you abs and don’t let your hips drop.

If you're finding it to difficult to lift yourself or keep your body straight you can regress the exercise by performing it with knees bent and feet flat on the ground.

Next week: Power Cleans.

Mike.

image courtesy: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_gEyOuw7eZkA/SAVMyva1aEI/AAAAAAAAAEU/c11OiJCzZkY/s1600-h/inv_row.JPG

Getting thrown around like a rag doll!

I have a mate who runs a the strength and conditioning at a Brasilian Jiu Jitsu and MMA (Mixed Martial Arts- if you've been watching Big Brother it's what Alex Reid does but isn't apparently very good at?!)gym in North London. The day started off with 'some conditioning' which consisted of a progressive warm up including jumps, press ups and burpees, followed by the conditioning component which was 4*6minute rounds of pain!

The 6 minute rounds were made up of 6stations where you just moved from one station to the next. The stations included:
- Bulgarian Bag Swings
- Heavy Bag Slams
- Barbell Wood Chops
- Band Pulls and Rotates
- Overhead Ball Throws
- Med Ball Pres Ups
There was no rest between the stations and each took a minute.

I was knackered by the end of the first round, by the fourth I wasn't sure if I was going to pass out, throw up or both. It took my 15minutes to regain composure, which was fine because this was when the No Gi (no pyjama suit) class started. This consisted of practising certain techniques against an opponent. This was quite advanced for me and I kept tying myself in knots.




After 30minutes of the technique session it was time for 4 rounds of sparring which were 5 minutes long each. I did OK in two of the rounds, in the other two I got thrown around like a rag doll. One of the guys was the world No Gi champion and he just easily disposed of any attempt I made to exert any type of force on him.

Overall I had a completely knackering yet enjoyable experience and I will go back for more!

I CAN DO IT ...

This week I found myself, yet again, thinking a lot about how our brains and minds work in terms of achieving what we want to achieve and getting where we want to get. I also spoke to some of you about how powerful thinking about those things is.

Thinking differently is what sets the human race apart from the rest of the animal kingdom. Frontal cortex in the brain allows the capability for finding new pathways of experience. The size of the human cortex is also the largest out of all mammals, therefore offering the mental powers of self observation and contemplation.

Now, what does it actually mean? It is pretty simple and obvious, however really hard to acknowledge for some 95% of the human population ... WE ARE ALL SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR OUR OWN DECISIONS. And even though there are certain circumstances in life such as accidents that we are not in total control of, the decision of whether we are going to live a decent life is purely down to us. And by living a decent life I do not mean being able to splash out a small fortune on things we don't really need but actually being in sync with our own bodies and minds, knowing our abilities and being aware of the fact that no one else but us can decide how we feel and what we do each day ...

It may be high time for some of us to contemplate some of the negative thoughts and pre-programmed patterns we are carrying around with us. An important thing is that SELF has no negative thoughts about ITSELF. All thoughts and feelings of anger, sadness, fear, guilt, hate etc, are past perceptions and projections of experiences we went through in our life ... it almost looks like a magic trick that whether consciously or not other people can play on us, keeping us from realising how powerful we really are.

A really important thing to realise is that that neurons that fire together also wire together creating patterns. A real life example will be if we're constantly thinking we are unable to do something, eventually our bodies will believe in that seriously limiting our abilities to achieve what we originally wanted. Second but even more important thing is that the human cortex CAN re-wire creating new wiring patterns. What that means is that no matter what you think we are able to break the pattern and start acting/thinking differently. Remember my very first blog I posted back in October when I joined ONE? There is a way of breaking the vicious circle some of us tend to get stuck in. We just need to accept that this is entirely our decision that we are 100% responsible for!

Have a look at this video and even though some of it may sound a bit like preaching, what I would like you to have a look at is how the neurons actually work, and how they can re-wire to change the old patterns.



Think about it over the weekend ...

"EVERYTHING CAN BE TAKEN AWAY FROM A MAN ... EXCEPT THE ABILITY TO CHOOSE ONES ATTITUDE IN ANY GIVEN SET OF CIRCUMSTANCES"

Viktor Frankt (holocaust survivor)


Till next Thursday

Marta :)

Thoughtful Tuesday - 22

So I'm entering in to my 4th week of this diet and to be honest I have relaxed it a bit at the weekend, because, well I wanted a bit of a life! I'm still strict during the week but the weekend I'll eat a bit more. Now my weight has pretty much leveled out which I'm not too fussed about. What has been interesting is that my arms and chest have gotten bigger while their skin folds have gone down. That's a nice little bonus as that is a clear indicator that I've put some muscle on. I'm not too surprised at that fact seeing as my numbers all round have been going up on all major lifts, bench, deadlift, squat, pull ups. That's for both repping and weight. So I'm not at all surprised that I've put some muscle on. I guess if you followed the normal way of thinking this would be impossible as I am in a calorie deficit so how can I be getting bigger and stronger?! Well I actually think that the answer to this is very simple, as long as you time your meals and macronutrient breakdowns right in order to maximise recovery and repair then there is no reason why you can't grow at the same time as losing body fat. This is hard to do for sure but it is possible.

Now on to the not so good news. Like I said I relaxed the protocol at the weekend, now I say relaxed, when throwing it out of the window would probably be a better description! So anyway, I didn't over eat or anything but the majority that I did eat wasn't the best choices and of course there was the booze. What is interesting is where this, albeit temporary fat went. I lost skinfolds everywhere except around my waist line. Now I find this interesting for a couple of reasons. Firstly it shows to me that when there is a hint of bad food/booze going in to my system it goes to my tum (and probably lower back) no surprise there. Secondly, like I said I didn't over eat at the weekend, if anything I didn't eat that much but it was all the wrong stuff, on top of that there was a fair amount of booze. So that just goes to show that you don't always need to eat too much to put on body fat in your "preferred" storage sites. It's all down to choice. Similarly you can probably over eat, in a sense, of the right foods and not put on body fat.

So it really is down to choice, just make sure that 90% of the time you make the right one and you'll be fine!

J

Joslyn's Blog Spot - An afternoon with the GB 2012 hopefuls...

Last Wednesday afternoon, I got the opportunity to meet some of the GB 2012 hopefuls and have a chat with them about their training, nutrition and their advice on how to stay motivated.

I met sprinters, hurdlers and pole vaulters, all incredibly lean, and all incredibly focused. My first, chat was with Joey Duck (200m). I think what Joey had to say stuck in my mind the most of all of the girls. With incredible focus on making it to 2012, Joey has no problem keeping herself motivated, however when I asked her what she would say to somebody who struggles to keep themselves fit, she replied "Don't do it to change the way you look...do it because you love it." It makes sense. If you love something, you have no problem doing it, and the aesthetics come as a given.



(No, I'm not jealous that not only is she an amazing athlete, but tall, pretty, and really nice to boot...truly...not jealous)

Next there was Perri Shakes-Drayton (Hurdles) who seems to take everything in her stride. Her advice to stay motivated is just to never forget what it feels like when you hit victory. She said, once you have that feeling, everything is worth it.



(Again, tall, pretty, talented...I'm over it!!)

All of the girls have a fantastic balance of training: circuits; sports specific drills; and plyometrics. I was most jealous of Kate Dennison (Pole Vault) who gets to do acrobatics and gymnastics as part of her training programme! Similarly, food is their fuel, and rest is a necessity.

I think what struck me the most about the girls was the sheer intensity of their drive complemented with an unbelieveably calm exterior. They know where the want to get to, so they do what they have to do to get there, it's as simple and as complicated as that.

Exercise of the Week

Overhead press

The overhead press is a great exercise for shoulder development though everything from your arms, chest though your abs, back and legs work hard to lift and stabilise the weight.

The overhead press is performed by taking a bar, placing a barbell across the front of your shoulders then pressing the weight overhead.

The following are key points on how to perform the exercise correctly.

Standing with your feet shoulder width apart, grip the bar and place on the front of your shoulders with a slightly wider than shoulder width grip and have you elbows in front of the bar.

Maintain good posture by sticking your chest out, looking straight ahead and squeezing your glutes. Your knees should remain locked out during the entire movement.

Now you’re in position the only problem to get the bar from the start to finish point is that there’s something in the way – your head. So to counter this when the bar reaches your chin tilt your head back slightly so the bar doesn’t make contact but keep looking forward. When the bar passes your forehead shift your torso forward and lower your head.

At the top position breathe out and lock out your arms, squeeze your shoulders, traps and back.
The overhead press is an excellent addition to your program if you want to see some serious gains in strength and power.

Next week: inverted rows.

Mike.

Where's my food?????

Hello everyone ...

Week two nearly done and I must say I am craving 'human' food like hell!!! Ok, ok I am exaggerating a little, but I must honestly say that I am a bit fed up with the chalky flavour of unflavoured protein shakes. They do fill me up for up to 3 hours (that is the frequency you should have them at) which is good, but gulping down my meal in less than 30 sec is definitely taking all pleasure of eating away and does my body no favours. Thank god Jamie's right next to me doing exactly the same thing, otherwise it would be hell of a lot more challenging. Still sticking to one meal a day. Must confess to having some garlic bread and a dessert over the weekend though ;). Boy it tasted good, however the after feeling was not that great as carbs fill me up way too much and make me feel uncomfortable!!!



On the training side it really depends on the day. I tend to have one or two zero energy days, when I am literally struggling to keep my eyes open. Then I seem to be absolutely ok the next day. I guess my body is still trying to figure out what's going on. Training plan consist of 3 weight sessions Monday, Wednesday and Friday and a bloody hard body weight circuit on the weekend. Some of you had a chance to taste what I had to go through last Sunday. I must say I am dreading this weekend! Had a great session on Monday but unfortunately had to give my Wednesday session a miss as my rotator cuff muscles couldn't cope as well as I would like them to. Replaced the session with a heavy leg workout for the step challenge though, so no slacking there :) Some rest and strengthening should get me back on track soon!

Measurements are looking good. Lost 11.3cm in total on the 10 sites that were measured and 11.5mm in skinfolds (8 sites).
Next measurements will be taken on Monday.

I am still intending to go all the way till 7th of Feb.17 days to go ... Will keep you posted on my progress.
Now, off to have dinner ... eeerm ... my evening shake that is!!!

Till next week.

Marta :)

Thinking about going Paleo...

It's something I've been considering for a while. I've been interested in how the body has evolved, how it is meant to move and what it should eat for some time. More recently I've become even more interested in what we ate before we started modifying our food sources.

See between the last 5-10 000 years we humans have altered are food sources so much that what we eat today is a far cry from what the ancestors of our foods were pre farming. I recently wrote about how our ancestors would have annihilated us and that this would have had a lot to do with better sources of food and more active lifestyles. So as a result of a little more research I'm going to try and go Paleo!

Now it's virtually impossible to eat completely 'wild' or 'hunter and gatherer' these days, but I'm going to give it a go. Basically I'm going to try eat whole natural foods. You see the human digestive system can't eat grains as they are, they have to be modified. Basically grains were the first refined foods. Whereas most fruits, vegetables, nuts, meats, fish, seeds and eggs can be eaten as they are. It is no coincidence that people end up with wheat and dairy intolerances as these foods are not as nature intended and our bodies will react to them.

For the last 2 weeks my diet has mainly consisted of 4 eggs a day, nuts (various), fish, berries and salad and I feel good for it.

Now I'm not going to become a food hermit and I will eat foods that our outside of what is considered 'Paleo' occasionally but most of the time I'm going to eat like a caveman!!

Thoughtful Tuesday - 21

So another week down on the crazy diet and another week to report. So I'm glad to say that I'm still going strong, and also glad to report that I have some numbers this week to back things up with. So a quick breakdown of the numbers are:

11/01/10
Neck : 37cm
Left Arm (at highest peak) : 41cm
Right Arm (at highest peak) : 42cm
Chest (at nipple) : 102cm
Waist (at belly button) : 85cm
Hips (at greater trochanter) : 105cm
Left Thigh (at half way down) : 56cm
Right Thigh (at half way down): 59cm

Skinfolds
Tricep 9.8mm
Bicep 5.4mm
Subscapular 17.8mm
Supra-illiac 12.8mm
Umbilicus 10.8mm

18/01/10
Neck : 37cm
Left Arm (at highest peak) : 41cm
Right Arm (at highest peak) : 42cm
Chest (at nipple) : 101cm
Waist (at belly button) : 81cm
Hips (at greater trochanter) : 103cm
Left Thigh (at half way down) : 58cm
Right Thigh (at half way down): 58cm

Skinfolds
Tricep 8mm
Bicep 4.2mm
Subscapular 17mm
Supra-illiac 11mm
Umbilicus 9mm

Now all in all I'm pretty happy with the results so far. My weight is also starting to hover out at around 86kg, give or take half a kilo or so. Now the measurement I'm most impressed by and also at the same time quite ashamed of is my waist measurement. It dropped 4cm give or take. Oh and if you haven't guessed that isn't me to the right, just thought she looked a bit nicer than me! The shear fact that I let it get that big in the first case really annoys me but also brings me to a nice point. It's very easy to make excuses for yourself and to not notice your body changing, often for the worse. We all do it so don't feel bad but at the same time don't be surprised when it happens. I over indulged over Christmas and it happens. Does that mean it's not going to happen again? Nope, I'll probably do the same thing this year, but I shouldn't be surprised or upset when my body changes for the worse. I'll be honest with you, the main reason I train is so I can look at myself in the mirror and not be horrified, I like to look good nekid, period. Call me vain, I am, it also just so happens that a side effect of the reason I train is that I am also (in general) very healthy. I used to have slightly high blood pressure, I don't now, in fact it probably a little on the low side of perfect, my resting heart rate is in the 50's. So whatever your reason is for training it doesn't matter as long as you stick at it and work hard, you'll get your results.

Joslyn's Blog Spot - The day after, the day after!

It happens to us all. You haven't trained in a while, you set foot in the gym, and two days later your sentences are peppered with expletives due to every move you make hurting like hell! Welcome to world of DOMS ladies and gentleman - Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness! It's the whip that cracks the day after, the day after!! You wake up the morning after a workout and feel pretty good, and then the next day BAM...you can't walk!!!

So what are DOMS and why to we get them? The jury remains slightly out on this one but the most recent and most plausible argument suggests DOMS is due to micro-tears we get in our muscles when we train. Just a quick note on muscle breakdown. Tears in the muscle might sound a little traumatic, it's not at all. As we train, our muscle fibres do indeed get micro-tears, but grow back stronger, giving us strength increases. So, essentially our muscles breakdown, and then rebuild. However it's not this breaking down process that causes the pain (as you would obviously feel it whilst you train - erm that's a different type of pain). The soreness we feel are the muscle fibres rebuilding. We can feel DOMS at any point from 24-48 hours after a workout.

The best way to get rid of DOMS is to keep moving unfortunately, increased blood flow to your muscles means reduced time spent walking like ants have infiltrated your pants. Try the following for a little relief:

1. Move more, a 20-40 minute cardio session will increase blood flow to the area and speed up recovery.

2. A hot bath, followed by a good stretch.

3. A massage, also to encourage blood flow to the area.

Exercise of the week

The Back Squat

This week we are going to focus on the back squat, arguably the most effective strength training exercise. The squat is essentially a basic movement, you lower yourself into a sitting position and then stand up. Though there are a few things to keep in mind when performing this exercise to maximize safety and ensure you get maximum benefits.

To start set the bar up inside a squat rack just below shoulder height. Squat down slightly and place the bar across the muscles of your upper back, make sure it’s secure. Squat up and take a step back so you’re in the middle of the rack. Begin the down phase of the squat by pushing your bum back, not by letting you knees come forward. Your knees should be inline with your toes but don't let them come past as it will put too much pressure on your knees. As you squat down make sure you look straight ahead and keep your chest up to maintain a straight back. When your thighs are below parallel with the floor (the lower the better) keep you hip muscles contracted and drive your hips forward by pushing through your heels and squeezing your glutes as hard as you can all the way to the starting position.

Bodyweight and dumbbells squats are a good way to progress to the back squat. Then once you've mastered them theres fronts squats, overhead squats...

Mike.

An ode to Mr Anonymous...

Hello everyone! Me again ... :)

This week's blog has been inspired by Mr Anonymous's comment under Jamie's liquid diet blog from last week. As you all probably know I am a big food girl and love my natural and organic meals more than anything, trying to stay away from all artificial stuff at the same time. Strangely I have decided to test myself and experiment a little on my own body, therefore I have also embarked on the liquid diet boat on Monday. Four days into it and I must say I am already seeing changes in my body. I am attempting to go for the full 28 days it is meant to be done for and I will be finishing on the big day - 7th of Feb when we are running up the Gherkin.

Why am I doing it in the first place? I have never done anything like this before and was very intrigued by the claims beyond it. I also need a kick start for my New Year's training plan as the last 3 months have been a real struggle since my body was refusing to get used to getting up at 5am ... And finally, how am I supposed to talk to you about supplements, protein powders and all that stuff if I have not used it myself? I must say I am not a big fan, however in some types of training they do help, but you need to know what, when and how to take to make it work for you rather than against you.

Mr Anonymous rants about having 6 small healthy meals a day and all that... Well oh well! Don't we all know it! To start with, there is an important question to be asked: Would I recommend doing this to any of my clients? Unlikely!!! The original plan was taken from a body building website and ... are the body builders healthy? Rarely ... Do I want my clients to be unhealthy? NEVER! It is a hardcore thing to do! And the original plan tells you to have ONE, yes one meal a week (not one a day like me and Jamie are having)! We are not claiming we are doing this as a health trick, no way! We are both testing and experimenting with not only our bodies but also psyche and will power. Also Mr Anonymous, there is no real evidence there is a major difference between having 3 larger and 6 smaller meals a day. The only real benefit is that you tend to have more varied diet and eat bigger variety of foods. Another thing is that not very many out there actually know what HEALTHY eating is. And I must admit that in my 'previous life' before becoming a personal trainer I thought my diet was extremely well and healthy stuffing my face with low fat, sugar free 'food like' fake produce. Boy was I wrong ... !!!

To finish off for today a bit about what I've actually experienced so far ...
First thing. The taste of all the supplements is more than unpleasant, you get used to it though. My brain has been suffering due to lack of carbs and my body getting used to using other stuff as energy sources. After only 4 days it really made me appreciate real food and even though I have been looking at food as one of my best friends rather than enemies for quite some time now I only now truly realised how important is its role in our lives! Just as Jamie I am not craving any processed rubbish at all! The most pleasurable part of my day today (apart from training you of course) was getting myself a beautiful lean, organic fillet steak and some green veg and vine tomatoes to have with it. Mmmmmmmm ... bliss! Just look at it ... isn't it beautiful? Trust me it tasted lush!!!



Remember guys, eating is not only about fueling up your body. It is a major social and emotional part of our existence! Knowing that I will only get to eat 2 meals over the weekend there is an awful lot of preparation going on to make it as special as possible. And I think you should all follow suit and STOP to think about it! Take time to make your kitchen messy, invite your friends and family and treat them to a special meal. GO get cooking!!!

Till next time

Marta :)

Bring on 2010!!

Happy New Year peeps!! I didn't get a blog out last week as I'd just gotten back from snowboarding over New Year in Switzerland. The trip was great and the week off was even better. It's left me refreshed, rejuvenated and rearing to go this year.

As you've probably already noticed we've set up a few challenges for all of our clients and the team this year. The team are doing the City Step Challenge which Marta has already blogged about, and we're organising the Yorkshire 3 Peaks in May and the British 3 Peaks in July. More information will be coming shortly.

The City Step Challenge is a race up the Gherkin. We commenced our training together this afternoon which included plenty of lunges, step ups, squats, jumps and running up and down the 106 stairs we have in our building 3 times. The Gherkin has 1070 stairs so we're well on track with our training to give it a proper crack on the 7th of February. It's for the NSPCC so if you want to support us and/or incentivise us to do it fast please sponsor us.

On a personal note my training has started well and so too has my eating. I'm giving Paleolithic eating a shot. It's how our ancestors would have eaten pre-farming 10,000 years ago, basically how our bodies are designed to eat. I'll keep you updated on my progress.

Until next week.....

Thoughtful Tuesday - 20

Hey guys so just an update on how things are going from my end. I am glad to report that the early stages of finding it hard only lasted a couple of days. By Wednesday I was really in the swing of things and have been finding it relatively easy since then. Having the meal a day really helps and I find myself really looking forward to getting in that meal. Now that not surprising in the slightest but what is surprising is the fact that I'm craving good wholesome foods for when I do eat. Almost the smell of processed food makes me feel a bit ill. That is a nice side effect of this.

As for results so far, well I've dropped half a stone, now I think that a fair amount of that will be water weight so I'm not expecting anything that dramatic from now on. Some steady decreases will be nice, I don't have much to lose but a bit more would be nice. I didn't take any other measurements when I started which was a mistake but I took some yesterday so I shall see what they are like next week. What I can say is that my abs are now fully visable again (they had gone hiding!) and I feel that my lower back in particular has got smaller.

All in all I'm pretty happy with the first week. The weekend was a little tough, and I must confess that I had a couple of meals on Sunday but they were still very good, healthy meals, not too big, so nothing lost there I feel.

Until my next update!

J

Joslyn's Blog Spot - Did Somebody Say Detox?

Of course they did, hell that word is flying around every workplace in January, as people politely refuse a biscuit with their tea (decaf of course!) and are opting for a salad at lunch rather than a sandwich, and you better make sure they have had their berry juice, you can't let a little antioxidant fuel escape at a time like this!!

Yes we are all on the virtuous path of detoxing after the holidays when we sat and ate, and erm ate some more!! But why detox? What are the benefits? Read on...

By removing foods and liquids that make your digestive system work hard, you are really giving your body an opportunity to thrive. A thriving body means that it responds better to exercise, and you feel pretty damn good!

So what foods make your body work that little bit harder?

Wheat (bread, pasta, pastries)
Caffeine
Alcohol
Processed sugar
Dairy
Red meat

Not all of these are bad for you like dairy and red meat, but nevertheless a little break from them will give your body a boost.

The problem however with detox diets is that they often just tell you what you can't eat! Yawn, tell me what I can eat!! I need detail!! I've done the Patrick Holford 9 Day Liver Detox Diet and really like it as he really focuses on what you should be getting in each day as you detox. He suggests you get the following in every day to enhance the detoxification process.

1. Eat a green leafy vegetable every day (cabbage, broccoli, spinach etc.)
2. Have a carrot juice every day (this can be blended with other juices)
3. Take a fish oil supplement every day (it's the fat that helps you burn fat, you need this one! Get it in the form of EPA)
4. Drink 1.5-2 litres of water a day to flush, flush, flush
5. Sprinkle ground seeds on your breakfast or salad
6. Dose up on vitamin C...a miracle worker (I like the powder form taken twice a day)

Here's a little plan that would be great to do for two weeks:

Breakfast:

Porridge made with water, with some blueberries and ground seeds
Poached eggs on toasted rye bread
Smoked salmon and scrambled eggs
Wheat-free muesli and rice or oat milk
Boiled egg and an apple

Mid-morning snack:

A handful of almonds and an apple
An oat cake and some houmous
Carrot sticks and houmous
Walnuts and some berries

Lunch:

Spinach salad with chicken and grapefruit, and a small portion of rice
Tuna nicoise
Puy lentil soup
Tuna salad with a small portion of rice
Mackerel salad with spinach and green peas
Lemon chicken with wheat-free pasta

Mid-afternoon snack:

A handful of almonds and an apple
An oat cake and some houmous
Carrot sticks and houmous
Walnuts and some berries

Dinner:

Grilled salmon and colourful vegetables
Stir-fry turkey and colourful vegetables
Baked cod and salad
Baked chicken and salad

Happy New Year to one and all!!

Joslyn

Winds of cha(lle)nge

Welcome back after a somewhat nice and long break! HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE :)

And here we go again ... New Year, new resolutions, new challenges ... HA! That's what it's all going to be about today. Having discussed all this in the studio extensively in the run up to Christmas we have decided to take part in the Step Change and run up the City's mighty Gherkin. That's 38 floors, 1037 steps right up to the top! Crazy you might think, but hell no! It's all in a good cause. We are raising money for charity - the Child's Voice Appeal. The event is taking place on the 7th of February and we are all in the process of getting ready for it. We need to raise £1.5 per step to hit our target so dig deep and help us get there. Here's our donation web link:

http://www.justgiving.com/Onepersonaltraining

Big THANK YOUS go to all of you in advance!!!

And now watch this space as we have something ready for you too. We have planned two hiking/trekking events for this year that you can all get involved in.

We are hitting the Yorkshire 3 Peaks in the third weekend of May. Leaving London on the 14th to have a good night sleep before trekking the hills on Saturday. This should take about 8 hours before we can retire to a pub to have a pint (of water of course!). We shall be returning to London on Sunday 16th.

As we return from the Yorkshire adventures we start training for the next event which will take place in July (the weekend of either 9th or 16th ). This will be the 3 National Peaks Challenge. Flying up to Glasgow on Friday night we will hit Ben Nevis (1344m) early Saturday morning, then catch a coach to Skafell Pike (987m) followed trek up Mount Snowdon (1085m). Again well deserved rest in a nice pub somewhere to re-hydrate our tired bodies. Coming back to London on Sunday.

Both hiking challenges are open to all of you who are training with us here at ONE Training so if you are interested give us a shout and speak to your trainer to get involved. More details will follow soon.

Get those boots out and let's get walking!!!

Marta :)

Thoughtful Tuesday - 20

Okay so here we are, start of a new decade! Woohoo, bring on 2010!!

So new year new diet to crack it off. Why not start off with a ridiculous torture treatment eh??! Right so I've decided to do my diet of shakes and 1 meal a day. So this basically consists of about 5 shakes of varying amounts of protein, carbs, fats and fibre and 1 nice, healthy proper meal. At the moment I'm doing dinner as my meal but that might change, we'll see. So I started this yesterday, happy to report I stuck to it! It was a bit of a shock to the system and today is going a bit easier. I think the main problem yesterday was that I got up earlier so I had my first shake very early and so I had to pace them out a bit differently. Anyway, so far so good today, having my 4th shake of the day and it has all gone pretty smoothly. We'll see how it continues!

As for my workouts they are pretty much staying the same, might throw in an extra circuit session for some extra fat loss but that will be about it on that front. Still lift heavy and often to negate as much muscle loss as possible. As long as I keep lifting heavy I should be fine. The body doesn't care, as long as it has to lift heavy, it will hold on to the muscle to lift that weight.

Oh yeah and probably more importantly booze has been knocked on the head for a few weeks. New Year pretty much killed me off on that front! ;-)

So that was a quick one, hopefully I'll have a bit more to let you guys know next week and hopefully a drop in weight and a better reflection! Lets be honest, that's why I train, just an added bonus is that I'm also healthy because of it

J