Team Training Takes on Hyrox Glasgow

This past weekend, Team Training UK took a trip to Glasgow to compete in the highly anticipated Hyrox event. Over the course of four action-packed days, our dedicated athletes pushed their limits, set personal bests, and formed new partnerships. It was an unforgettable experience for everyone involved, showcasing the strength, endurance, and camaraderie that define our gym community.

Outstanding Performances and PBs

Our athletes delivered incredible performances, with many achieving personal bests. Here are the finishing times from our team members:

  • Paul Connor – 1:14:53 (Pro)
  • Lee Hubert – 1:14:04
  • Helen Shaw – 1:14:26
  • Gaynor Beckett – 1:50:00
  • Fern Connor – 1:13:34
  • John Winstanley – 1:20:36
  • Matthew Edwards – 1:06:31
  • Mike Hamilton – 1:13:08
  • Jodie Moulding & Ruth Arnold – 1:10:38
  • Erin Carson & Kate Flanagan – 1:12:44

Each of these times is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our members. From seasoned competitors to new partnerships, every athlete brought their A-game, demonstrating the relentless spirit of Team Training UK.

A Special Encounter

A highlight of the event was Lee and Helen meeting Hyrox legend Hunter McIntyre, a moment that added extra excitement to an already thrilling weekend. Lee also had the opportunity to watch the Elite 15 races on Wednesday evening, capturing some incredible moments of top-tier competition in action.

Looking Ahead to Barcelona

With Glasgow now behind us, our focus shifts to the next big challenge—Hyrox Barcelona on April 25. This event promises to be another incredible experience for our team, as we continue to push boundaries and support one another in achieving new milestones.

A huge congratulations to all our members who competed, and a big thank you to everyone who supported the team. Let’s keep the momentum going as we prepare for the next challenge!

Hyrox Glasgow fitness racing Lauren Weeks Hunter McIntyre Michael Sandbach Jake Dearden Team Spirit.

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Team Training Gym, Northwich, becomes Cheshire’s first & only HYROX official gym partner

Hyrox sled push

PRESS RELEASE : Global Fitness competition HYROX partner with Team Training UK

Northwich, Cheshire: Team Training UK announce a new partnership with HYROX, the global fitness competition with UK events in Birmingham, London, Manchester & Glasgow.  This partnership will help Cheshire locals thinking of entering HYROX, to have tailored competition training to have them competing at the highest levels in their chosen competition.

Managing Director of Team Training UK, Paul Connor explains, “We have always been passionate about helping our members to compete in sporting events.  We know that competing tends to produce the aesthetic goals our clients are looking for, whilst changing the narrative away from losing weight to getting stronger, fitter and faster.” 

“We were excited to learn about the HYROX fitness competitions because they give the gym community a place to measure fitness across 9 disciplines from event to event.  We have 10 members competing in Birmingham HYROX in 4 weeks and 20 entered into HYROX Manchester in January 2023.  Members range in age from 25 – 59, and all now have the fitness levels needed, thanks to our training programme, to compete in the singles competitions within their age categories.”

Paul Connor continues, “The HYROX competition is about strength, endurance and cardiovascular fitness, which are the pillars around which I based the Team Training Programme when I designed it in 2020.  All of our members, since taking on this new challenge, have achieved a significant new level of fitness, gained confidence and I am so excited to see how the TEAM exceed their expectations of themselves on their first race day in October”

The benefits of training with Team Training UK for a HYROX event include:

  • Official Certified HYROX Trainers
  • Tailored HYROX training across all 8 functional fitness movements including SLED work
  • Group Running Sessions
  • HYROX Race Discounts 
  • HYROX Race Rules Training
  • HYROX Simulation Days
  • HYROX Performance Fitness Test Days

Team Training UK was started in 2020 by Paul Connor from Paul Connor Health & Fitness.  Team Training UK is a private gym facility specialising in small group personal training in an encouraging and friendly environment.  Monthly memberships allow members to attend as many weekly sessions as they want, and give complete flexibility with no advance booking required.  The sessions combine the highest level of strength and muscle building exercises with exceptional cardio vascular training. 

HYROX is a global fitness race for Every Body. Participants from all around the world compete in the exact same format. The race starts with a 1 km run, followed by 1 functional movement, which repeats 8 times, taking place in large indoor venues, creating a unique stadium like atmosphere for all participants.

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Team Training Gym Northwich launch strength and mobility training for the over 65’s

PRESS RELEASE :

Team Training Gym Northwich, Cheshire.  Team Training UK have launched The Hundred Club, a new twice weekly group personal training initiative aimed specifically at those over 65.  The Hundred Club is designed for those aged 65+ who are in good health and want to continue their independence and quality of life. 

The Hundred Club offers a private Northwich gym setting for groups of 8 – 10 men and women to socialise and meet new friends whilst increasing strength and cardiovascular fitness and having fun.

Paul Connor, Managing Director of Team Training UK and Paul Connor Health and Fitness explained,

“My recent research into health-span and longevity has been staggering.  The evidence that exercising 5 – 6 times per week, and in particular incorporating regular strength training into that routine, will change the health of your last 10 years of life is significant and unquestionable.” 

Paul continued, “My research also proved that it is never too late to start building muscle and strength.  So, I wanted to design a program where the over 65’s could build their strength and resilience to enhance their health-span, whilst getting them together in a fun and social environment.  Loneliness is another huge factor of poor quality of life for the older generation.  The Hundred Club is the perfect place to meet new people and learn new skills whilst keeping your body and mind functioning to its full potential.”

Features and benefits of the training programme at The Hundred Club include.

  • Improved thinking and learning skills
  • Meeting new people and having fun twice per week.
  • Strength training to develop stronger bones and help with fat loss.
  • Gaining better balance and more muscle mass can reduce your risk of falls.

The Hundred Club is available now priced at £95 per month for 2 sessions per week. The sessions take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 12pm.  For more information on The Hundred Club, visit https://teams.paymonthlysite.co.uk/the-hundred-club/

Team Training UK was started in 2020 by Paul Connor from Paul Connor Health & Fitness.  Team Training UK is a private gym facility specialising in small group personal training in an encouraging and friendly environment.  Monthly memberships allow members to attend as many weekly sessions as they want, and give complete flexibility with no advance booking required.  The sessions combine the highest level of strength and muscle building exercises with exceptional cardio vascular training.  Team Training UK is also a HYROX affiliated gym. 

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Over 65? You can still build muscle well into your 70’s and the benefits are remarkable

As we start our first ever twice weekly group personal training program for the over 65’s, we wanted to “start with why,” and explain some life changing benefits that we will be working for during this now permanent twice weekly class.

There are many people who find themselves overweight and slipping into old age far too quickly as they hit 65.  Many are happy to sit with the stereotypes that the ageing number label them with, rather than making up their own rules about what they want to be doing in their 70’s and 80’s. 

The truth is that the earlier that you start looking after your body and mind the more choices you are going to have about what you are able to do, and your quality of life in your last 10 years.

If you are healthy weight, with great cardio fitness and lean muscle mass, and eat a healthy nutritionally balanced diet, limit alcohol and sleep great, then rest assured the future is statistically very bright indeed.  

It is however, never too late to start.  This article explores how building muscle, and strength training will improve your quality of life and how even in your 60’s, 70’s and 80’s you can still make great progress and gains to your future life and health span.

Why build muscle?

As we age our muscle mass naturally decreases and unfortunately body fat percentage is likely to increase to replace the lean muscle that you have lost.  By engaging in regular strength training you will help to preserve your lean muscle mass and keep your strength in your 60’s, 70’s and 80’s when you will need it the most.

Strength training has so many benefits at every age but here are some really important ones as you get over 65.

Strength training helps to develop stronger bones:  

6 out of 10 people who break a hip never regain their former level of independence.  Studies have shown that strength training plays a role in slowing bone loss and has even been proven to build bone.  Activities that stress bones can remind bone forming cells to do their job. This form of resistance training targets the bones of the hips, spine and wrists which are often the most likely to fracture with a fall.  Strong muscles lead to strong bones, and strong bones minimise fractures due to osteoporosis.

Strength training helps with fat loss:

Maintaining a healthy body weight is proven to help reduce the risks of Cancer, Type 2 Diabetes, Cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s, and Strokes.  Couple a healthy weight with the unquestionable benefits of exercise on mental health and cognitive function and you will be bouncing into your 80’s.

The doctors advice is to “lose weight.’  But if getting the number on the scales “correct’ means the loss of the majority of your muscle then please remember that being a skinny sack of skin is not going to help you when you fall over. Losing visceral body fat is the really important goal.  This is the hidden fat stored deep inside the belly and even wrapped around your liver and intestines.

By building muscle through training with weights, you will keep your metabolism functioning at the best rate for your age.  This is because your body uses more energy when you are at rest the more muscle that you have.  The more energy you are burning the easier it is to maintain your optimum body weight, whilst still being able to eat plenty of nutritious food.

The holy grail of not storing excess fuel as fat, is to get to grips with eating the exact amount of food needed for your daily expenditure.  If you eat too much it is stored as fat.  The more you move the more you get to eat.  The more muscle you have the more you get to eat. The better your metabolism is working the more you get to eat.  If you want to eat more and not store it as fat then you need to do something about it.

Strength training will enhance your quality of life by:

  • Protecting your joints from injury
  • Giving you better balance which may reduce your risk of falling
  • Giving you more confidence to be independent for longer
  • Reducing signs and symptoms of arthritis, back pain, obesity, heart disease, depression & diabetes.
  • Improving your thinking and learning skills

Can you still build muscle over the age of 65?

Certainly losing muscle mass as we age is well documented.  After the age of 60 lean muscle mass decreases significantly, and the knock on effect of this is huge. The increase in falls, increased insulin resistance, and a loss of bone density is the perfect cocktail for a very poor final chapter of life.  

Why do you lose your muscle in the first place?

The reasons for the decrease of muscle as ageing occurs involves a lack of nutrients, specifically the 9 essential amino acids, and a decrease in physical activity. 

The 9 essential amino acids are involved in so many crucial bodily functions.  From helping to absorb nutrients, fuelling the immune system, growing new tissue, energy production and repairing and rejuvenating your muscles.

Meat, poultry, eggs, dairy, and fish contain all 9 essential amino acids needed for minimising your muscle loss. This means they are ‘complete’ sources of protein. Soy and pea protein are also plant-based complete protein sources.  A food containing all 9 essential amino acids is called a complete protein.

Nuts, seeds, beans, peas, and whole grains are excellent sources of protein but only form a complete protein when they are consumed together. 

Can you get your muscle back if you are over 65?

It would make sense then, to increase muscle building activity, in combination with an increased consumption of the 9 essential amino acids in enough quantity to grow new tissue, and repair and rejuvenate your muscles as you work on them.  But is it that simple as you get older?

Yes it is – you can still build muscle and strength in your 70’s and 80’s:

“Physical activity, especially resistance training, is unequivocally beneficial for elderly patients with regards to enhancing muscle mass and strength (Fiatarone et al., 1990; Dibble et al., 2006; Peterson et al., 2011; Drummond et al., 2012). A recent review found that when progressive resistance training (PRT) is performed 2–3 times a week at a high intensity, it results in improved physical function and strength (Liu and Latham, 2009). The frequency and duration of resistance exercise in elderly are recommended at 2–4 times per week on alternating days and lasting 30–60 min each; 1–3 sets of 8–15 reps at 80% of one-rep maximum strength, with a monthly progressive adjustment (American College of Sports Medicine Position Stand, 1998; Law et al., 2016).”

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2020.00874/full

Another study comparing master athletes in their 70’s and 80’s, with a group of men of the same ages who had never exercised, showed surprising results.  Both groups performed the same exercises for the same time with the assumption that the master athlete group would have the better capacity to build muscle due to their lifelong exercise habits.  The untrained older men amazingly showed the same muscle gains thereby proving that it is never too late to start strength training to build muscle.

Conclusion:

Building muscle over the age of 65 is still very achievable.  With regular, consistent strength training sessions, combined with the intake of all 9 essential amino acids on a daily basis, it is highly likely that even in the older years muscle will still be grown.  The benefits of increased muscle mass in old age will significantly improve health in numerous ways, many documented above.  Therefore building muscle in your older years is not only still possible – but if you currently have limited muscle mass,  it is going to be one of the biggest factors to helping you maintain your quality of life and continue your independence into your 80’s and beyond.


If you are interested in The Hundred Club – Group Personal Training for over 65’s or Team Training – Group Personal training for under 65’s, then please fill out the contact form below or click below to find out more information, or call or message Paul now for a free session or a chat or to get started: 07833 564139
The Hundred Club
Team Training

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    How to be consistent with your nutrition

    healthy relationship with food

    Eating healthy food long term can be a challenge for most people. With this in mind, it’s important not to feel guilty for eating fatty food as this can enable an unhealthy relationship with food. At the other end of the spectrum, restricting yourself too much or not eating enough calories will only push you to binge eat. The ultimate end goal is to create a healthy relationship with food so you can feel good within your everyday life. There are tips you can incorporate which helps you consume a more balanced diet, so you are absorbing the nutrients your body needs.

    Eat the right amount of protein, greens and carbohydrates

    It’s simple. If you don’t eat enough of each food group, you will either feel hungry all the time or sluggish, or a combination of both. This then pushes you to eat even worse. While eating right will help you to create your dream figure, the feeling, energy and health benefits that coincide with this naturally far outweighs “the look”. The balanced plate rule is a concept that dieticians and nutritionists explain as something we should look at when we meal plan or plate up our food. One quarter of your plate should be carbohydrates, one quarter should be lean protein and one half should be non-starchy vegetables. Healthy fats and dairy can also be added to your diet too, such as a blueberry protein smoothie with peanut butter in it, or a pita bread with chicken, salad and edam cheese. 

    Eat multiple small meals throughout the day 

    Starving your body or simply being really busy and not eating enough can be extremely bad for your body. Not eating enough can be just as bad as overeating. Not only can undereating cause fatigue and other health issues, but it can then make your body feel the need to only binge eat carby and fatty food when you get the chance. Due to your body being in starvation mode, it will want to consume anything that will instantly fill them up and cure their craving. It’s instead recommended to have 5-6 meals a day to prevent your metabolism from slowing down. Ensure you also learn the minimum amount of calories your body should be eating and stick to this. 

    Allow exceptions and try find healthy alternatives for your cravings

    The all or nothing approach can have contradictory effects. Because you are trying to cut certain foods and foods you enjoy altogether, it can result in it being extremely difficult to follow a nutritious diet. When the mind constantly thinks of what it can’t have, well, it wants it more. We want what we can’t have – that’s human nature. You should allow yourself to have the foods you enjoy but within a balanced diet. You can also have these meals more frequently but with healthier alternatives. Do you research and find meals that have less calories than the usual treat meals but give you a similar fulfillment. You’d be surprised at what you can find. When you start to have your cravings, incorporate these meals into your plan.

    The Author:

    Olivia Fairhurst is a content manager for The Uniform Centre, an online uniform shop stocking workwear and work clothes in NZ. 

    Next article: How to decide on a personal trainer in the Northwich area?

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    What are the benefits of making fitness a priority over the age of 40?

    Fitness over 40

    We all know that we should be exercising regularly and eating healthy foods, but sometimes it can be hard to find the motivation to do so. In this article, we’ll explore some of the benefits of making fitness a priority over the age of 40. You may be surprised at how much better you feel – both physically and mentally after just a few months of beginning daily exercise.

    Why is your fitness so important as you turn 40?

    Making fitness a priority over the age of 40 has many benefits. It can help improve your overall health, reduce stress levels, and improve your mood.

    Exercise is especially important as you age since it can help prevent conditions such as obesity, heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. It can also help reduce the risk of falls and fractures.

    Making fitness a priority will require some changes in your lifestyle. You may need to set aside time each day for exercise, and you may need to make changes to your diet. However, these changes are worth it when you consider the many benefits of a healthy lifestyle.

    What should you do if you have never exercised and you want to start at 40?

    Despite what you may have heard, it is never too late to start exercising and reaping the many benefits that come with it. In fact, starting to exercise at age 40 can actually help improve your overall health and quality of life.

    Here are some of the benefits that you can enjoy by making fitness a priority over the age of 40:

    – improved cardiovascular health

    – stronger bones and muscles

    – better joint health

    – increased flexibility

    – improved balance and coordination

    – improved mental health

    – better sleep quality

    If you have never exercised before, starting at age 40 is a great time to begin. You can start by doing simple exercises at home, and walking or swimming. Once you are comfortable with those, you can try more challenging exercises, such as running or weightlifting and working with a personal trainer. It is important to find an exercise routine that works for you and that you can stick with long-term.

    Making fitness a priority in your 40’s can have many benefits. Here are just some of the benefits that you can expect:

    1. Improved Mental Health

    Exercise can improve your mental health and well-being. It has been shown to reduce stress and anxiety levels, and it can also improve your cognitive function.

    2. Increased Strength and Endurance

    Exercise can increase your strength and endurance. It can also help to reduce the risk of developing chronic diseases such as heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.

    3. Increased Flexibility and Mobility

    Exercise can help to increase your flexibility and mobility. This can allow you to participate in activities that you formerly could not do, such as climbing stairs or walking up hills.

    4. Reduced Risk of developing Obesity or Diabetes

    Exercise can help to reduce the risk of developing obesity or diabetes. Exercise has been shown to be an effective way to lose weight, and it has also been shown to lower the risk of developing diabetes.

    Will exercise help me to live longer?

    A study published in the American Journal of Medicine found that people over the age of 40 who exercised had a lower risk of death than those who did not exercise.

    The study looked at data from over 2 million people who were aged 40 to 75 years old. They found that people who exercised had a 20% lower risk of death, regardless of their age, weight, or smoking habits.

    The benefits of exercise go beyond preventing death. Exercise has been shown to improve your mood, reduce inflammation, and increase lifespan.

    Can you begin exercise if you are over 40 and really overweight?

    When it comes to getting fit, people over 40 have a few things going for them. First, they tend to have more time available for exercise. Second, they often have more experience with exercising – they may have been exercising regularly since their younger years! Finally, they’re generally more motivated than younger people to take care of their bodies.

    If you’re over 40 and really overweight, don’t be discouraged! There are still plenty of benefits to be had by making fitness a top priority in your life. Just start small – start by making a commitment to exercise for 30 minutes each day and see how that goes and maybe start with walking or sitting on a stationary bike. You may be surprised at just how good you feel after a month or two of consistent exercise!  When you are feeling stronger mentally then taking the plunge to work in private with a really experienced personal trainer may be the next step in getting back to fitness. Do remember if you are really overweight or have been ill recently to consult your doctor before undertaking a new exercise regime. 

    Conclusion

    As we reach our 40s, it can be easy to let our fitness levels slip as other areas of our lives take centre stage. However, making fitness a priority does not have to mean ditching all else in order for us to get in shape; there are plenty of benefits that come with keeping up regular exercise habits into our late 40s and beyond. Not only will we look and feel better, but we will also reduce the risk of developing chronic diseases down the road. So what are you waiting for? Make fitness your new mantra and see how great you feel on the inside and out! Maybe even come to see us at our kickstart back to fitness course.

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    Simple Tips to Change your Lifestyle in 2022

    easy ways to live well

    If this January, like last January you are feeling rubbish, then surely there is nothing simple or easy about living a healthy life?

    Certainly January 2021 was the month we emerged from a difficult first year of Covid, many of us, with an extra stone or two we needed to lose. If you have spent the last couple of years praying for vaccinations and boosters thinking that it is the only way to keep yourself safe, then do also have a good long think about your exercise and overall health. Yes, this option may take some work and new lifestyle habits, but we have got some really great suggestions in this article of easy ways to live well and simple changes that you can make, that might just get you heading in the right direction before the spring.

    Working Out

    • Find Something to do that you enjoy. You don’t have to go to the gym and wander round machines in order to look good and feel fit. In fact quite often if you take that approach in January it’s likely to make you more miserable as the place will be very busy and you might not get to use what you want to. Lots of other options are available like taking up a sport, Zwift bike riding/racing, home workouts with a kettlebell or get rucking in the countryside with a weighted backpack at the weekends.
    • Get the Most Bang for your Buck: Far too many gym based fitness programmes focus on working individual body parts. This is fine if you’re a full time bodybuilder or figure competitor that has 8 hours to train every day but the real world doesn’t allow for that. To build muscle mass quickly and burn more calories, try to choose exercises that involve multiple muscle groups such as deadlifts, squats, cleans and snatches. A question we often ask in our group sessions is to count the number of joints you are using; the more joints used, the bigger the exercise and more muscles are used. 
    • SPRINT! Jogging/Running is a very popular choice for New Year fitness campaigns but it all too often ends in tears with abandoned campaigns. If you’ve failed to keep up a running programme then you don’t need me to tell you this. If you are determined to run then try sprinting once per week as part of your routine. A session such as warming up first then running 10 sets of 3 lamp posts as fast as you can with walk back to the start for recovery can leave you feeling strong, powerful and with a high revving calorie burning body for several hours after.

    Motivation

    • Join an Exercise Group. This is a really good way to keep motivated and become accountable for your workouts. Every evening we send a group message to the people in our Team Training group to ask who is attending the next day. Once you commit then there’s no going back! What’s more, the encouragement you give and receive can be enough to cement meaningful friendships with people on the same mission as you. This change can be a really easy way to live well for the long term. As the friendships grow, the gym becomes your social and not your chore.
    • Buy Yourself Some New Fitness Kit. Anything goes here from a £5 skipping rope to a £10,000 bike. Buy it with the money you’ve committed to save from the nights off the booze and food and make sure you’re up to use it in the morning. Get so much use from it that you can look back in years to come and remember this “thing” was the turning point. 
    • Workout 1st Thing of the Day! There’s literally no time to find excuses. Life is constantly changing and where we think we might have more time because of labour saving devices such as smartphones and delivered shopping, research shows we have less and less because we are taking on more tasks. So many times we have known people to abandon an exercise session because something “more important” has cropped up but that won’t happen if you put your trainers on 1st thing. The best bit about working out the moment you get up though is that you will feel amazing and be far less likely to make poor choices with food and drink for the entire day. 

    Mental Health

    Often the New Year can leave us feeling low. The high of Christmas is over, we’ve spent too much money, we’re stuck in the same job and relationship and it’s still dark and cold. 

    • Sleep: sleep is the foundation for everything that is good in life and when anyone joins the Team Training group the first book we advise them to read is Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker. Get yourself 8-9 hours every night (how you do it may be a challenge but if you achieve it you will not regret this) and try to get to bed and wake up at the same time every day including weekends.
    • Get Outside and Walk Every Day: January is the thick of winter and we will rightly spend most of our time indoors because it is dark and cold. Make it a priority to leave the house or office in daylight hours for at least 15 minutes a day to go for a walk. Just the fact of exposing our skin and eyes to daylight and feeling whatever the weather of the day is releases chemicals in the brain that will make us feel happy. Happiness is something unobtainable from food, drink, smart phones or tv and the happier we are, the less we will crave the others. 
    • Be with Positive Upbeat People: Positive upbeat people are usually found exercising first thing in the morning so once again this is advice to get up, get your PE kit on and get physically active with other people. More and more of us are working from home these days and if we go through an entire day without leaving the house or seeing anyone it only has dire consequences for our mental health. We always tell our home based workers to get in the gym for the early sessions as it’s often enough to make them feel a lot happier for the rest of the day once they’ve had a laugh with others. 

    Building Fitness Resolutions 

    • Set Realistic Targets: Yes you’ve heard that a million times but it’s true. If you’ve tried big resolutions and failed then you know aiming big immediately doesn’t work. Examples of realistic targets could be:
    • If you know you need to reduce your alcohol intake then reduce it – don’t ban it! If you currently get drunk out of your mind 3 times a week, try getting drunk out of your mind twice per week. Once you’ve adapted to that, try for once! You must see it through though.
    • Forget trying to lose 3 stones in weight, go for half a stone. If you get there, aim for another half stone and so on. You will see so many positives and successes rather than a huge misery if you fail to reach the big number. 
    • If you are new to or resuming exercise then hitting hard ferocious workouts every day will not end with the body of your dreams, it will likely end with injury. Try for a day on day off approach until you feel strong enough to add consecutive days. 

    Gym Myths

    • Men – Stop Bench Pressing for a Big Chest: If we had a pound for how many times we have seen men make a beeline for the barbell and bench in a quest to obtain dinner plate pecs… An impressive torso and chest requires so much more than that exercise alone. It requires a distribution of effort all over the body and very importantly it needs exercises like deadlifts and squats in the programme to create a bigger anabolic response. Deadlifts and squats though? Yes because they require hard work and people that work hard are more likely to have impressive pecs!
    • The Treadmill Won’t Make You Lean: Ever since the marathon boom in the early 80’s we have believed that jogging slowly for long periods of time will make us thin because that’s what marathon runners do and they are skinny. Running long distances won’t make you skinny – skinny people like running long distances! Being in a calorie deficit will make you lose fat and although the treadmill can help, basing your entire hopes of a stunning body on persistently running a long way is not where the answer lies. Vary your workouts but spend most of your time in the weights room creating lean defined muscles which will look fantastic if given the right nutrients to grow. 

    Nutrition

    • Don’t be too restrictive. If you have spent the last 4 or 5 weeks eating whatever you like and want, changing to eating just salad is too much too soon. In January it is really difficult to not have any comfort foods or take aways. So be kind and allow yourself some foods that you love, just eat less of them. If you increase your exercise then you are still progressing. You are just making changes that are more sustainable.
    • Try to focus on making all of your meals full of nutrients. So if cutting out all sugar, carbohydrates, fat and basically everything that you have ever read in a food article is bad for you, is too extreme, then don’t do it! It might be that if you are completing more regular exercise, then swapping out some of your favourites treats for healthy options might be a gentler way to start your health journey. Think about swapping your Saturday night takeaway for a nicer nutritious homemade meal.

      Swap your fish and chips or curry for home made burger and chips. A high meat content burger is full of filling protein. Make your chips from sweet potatoes and olive oil which are full of healthy fats and vitamins. A good portion of peas will once again provide vitamins and protein as well as carbohydrates to get you to the gym the next morning or out on a nice Sunday morning hike. You can even go crazy and still have a wholemeal bun. Think about making an enjoyable meal that gives you nutrients, but will be ten times better than a take away. It is changes like these that are more likely to become good habits because they are not too extreme.
    • If you are determined to lose fat then it really is a matter of calories in versus calories out. Move more, burn more calories and eat less. Please though, do not reduce your calories too quickly. If you cut down to 1200 calories per day, you will lose weight quickly for sure, but it will be really hard to keep eating so little. Once your body gets used to surviving on so few calories, you will need to eat even less to continue the weight loss. Start off with a health 1600 – 2000 calories per day. See how you feel after a week or two. If you are not losing around 1 pound per week, then reduce or increase your calories by 100 per day.

    If you haven’t let yourself go over Christmas then make sure you do in the future! It is a time for consuming more and sharing good times with friends and family. Enjoy yourself, it’s not a crime. Come the New Year though, it is time to do the work.

    If you are struggling with your fitness and health and don’t know where to start then get in touch. We have the support network and expertise to help you make the changes this year, that will see you feeling far better next January than you do now. A warm private gym awaits so what are you waiting for?

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    Lose a Stone in a Week – January Weight Loss

    lose a stone in a week

    Be afraid – be very afraid – if you read this title and thought “lose a stone in a week – brilliant – I’m going to try whatever they say!”  Please have a serious word with your logic brain, and really think about the consequences or the sense of anything that gives you even the slightest chance to lose a stone in a week.  The scary thing is though that 3600 people searched for that phrase on Google last week.

    Every January we tend to write a similar article.  One that champions the slow, achievable, and sustainable lifestyle change, rather than an all or nothing starve yourself, beast yourself, look good for 4 weeks, then get fatter than you were before approach. 

    Funnily enough every year it is the same.  The body transformation coaches suck in the most January clients for that golden 6 or 12 weeks of restriction.  However, we tend to get clients all year round at the same rate, and when they come, they tend to stick around for the long term because what we do is fun, enjoyable and becomes part of their life.  Friendships are made and lifestyle changes stick.

    Lose a stone in a week – January Weight Loss top tips – what’s new?



    This January, as usual magazines are churning out the same old articles rewritten for 2022.  The supplement companies are in full force with detox plans, and the fitness industry is coming up with new post Covid offers for you to join their shiny gyms packed with socially distanced and disinfected facilities and lots of classes to attend. It’s the same every year, with a twist on the latest angle or fad. This year we sense the trend is for a big dry January possibly after the nation drank its way through Covid for the last 2 years.

    When we searched for detox and weight loss tips and found hundreds, nothing we read is anything you don’t already know. Here are a few examples…

    • Drink more water
    • Eat more vegetables
    • Cut back on sugar
    • Cut back on carbs
    • Exercise more
    • Walk 10,000 steps every day

    We could go on and on but there won’t be one thing we list that you don’t already know, and it is lists like these that make health establishments like us (if we choose to promote their worth) look like idiots. What do you want to pay a personal trainer or lifestyle coach for help for? It’s all common-sense stuff and all you need to do is have the willpower to stick to it right?

    So why do you always fail?

    Or why do you never ‘maintain’ the initial weight loss you initially achieve?

    When someone books to see us at the Northwich gym, there is nothing that makes us happier than when we sit with a potential new client, and they tell us that they are thinking about their long-term health; that they are willing to invest time and effort to achieve a life that is full of energy, confidence, strength, fitness, and happiness. A life that is pain free without medication and an expectancy to reach a minimum age of 100 years old! That’s when we know we are sat with someone who’s got a chance, someone who might achieve a six-pack without even chasing one! Our heart does genuinely sink when we get ladies wanting to get back to 8 1/2 stone, hoping that happiness will finally be theirs at this magic number. Come and train and compete in a competition with our ladies – and we guarantee not only will you look amazing in your dress, but along the way you will change your attitude, outlook and mindset.

    Over recent years we have come to despise the current approach to weight loss & fitness. It is a shambles and a con and it largely delivers no return for the little work you are expected to put in. We see many phrases designed to entice us like…

    • Drop a Dress Size in 4 weeks
    • 6 Week Body Transformation
    • Rock Hard Abs Whilst Still Enjoying Takeaways
    • A Six Pack for just 20 Minutes per Day
    • Big Biceps in a Month
    • Lose a stone in a week (There are 260 people searching for this term in the UK right now!)

    Yes, you may achieve some of the above if you stick rigidly to the instructions set out in the detailed plans, but we can tell you now 100% that the day the programme finishes you will be sliding back to your old self faster than you can order a Pizza Hut delivery lying on your settee watching reality tv. Unless you are a movie star or athlete needing to make weight for a film or competition those plans are of no use to you.

    Why? Because you want LONG TERM results. Movie stars and athletes look 100% great for a short period of time, but you want to look 70-80% great ALL of the time, yes?

    All these plans are a farce that are focused on short term misery and deprivation which asks nothing of you to challenge your inner self or purpose in this world.

    Have you got what is needed to make a permanent change and step away from the fad diet or plan?

    None of these plans ask you to question the life that got you to the state you are in before you started. None of them are interested in where you see yourself in ten years’ time and none of them educate you about your physical and mental health. And if that sounds a bit spiritual then you’d better get used to it because we will tell you now, you won’t achieve anything from your effort unless you are prepared to work on self-development too!

    We tell you something else about these quick fix “lose a stone in a week” style fitness and diet programmes; they’re easy! Yes, easy! Getting up at 6am to go for a run or hit the gym followed by a scam powder juice that tastes like garbage, a salad for lunch, followed by a low fat, low carb, low whatever ‘sensible’ meal in the evening and finally another scam powder juice that tastes like garbage before bed six days a week for six weeks is easy! EASY!

    Anyone can muster up the willpower to stick to this scheme for 1-3 months because there is an end date, and it is on that end date you are set free! Free to do all the things you used to do and because you know you have achieved it once; well, you can achieve it again. Tell me something though – just how easy is it to achieve again? If you don’t know yourself then it’s not difficult to find somebody who has lost a ton of weight but regained it all and more within five years.

    Personal trainers who showcase their success stories are ten a penny but the job they have often done, any old monkey could do. Instructions to jump up ‘n’ down followed by burpees, press ups and God knows what else followed by instructions to have a dry January is the easy stuff. Get any of those trainers (if they have even been in the industry long enough) to show you their success stories after five years and it is likely to be a worse picture than the one that initially came to visit them. We are very confident in saying that.

    You know what’s not easy? What is difficult? Facing up to the fact you need to make some wholescale changes to your life that are permanent.

    Why to lose a stone quickly can’t be continued indefinitely – the willpower conundrum

    Facing up to the realisation that you need to look at the bigger picture and your lifestyle. We all know those standard fat loss tips and every one of them is correct, but we have to study WHY we don’t stick to them. It is not a case of willpower. Willpower is a very interesting topic if you study it and the most significant point, we will make about willpower is that it is not an infinite resource. For example, if it’s taken you all your willpower to get to the gym four days this week, you probably will run out of willpower to stop drinking wine every night or whatever else it is that is your weakness.

    Just like strength in the gym which doesn’t last all day – neither does willpower!

    What is challenging is facing up to the real issues centred around why you are failing to adhere to the real weight loss tips which might be…

    • Exercise 3-5 per week, EVERY week for the next 50 years.
    • Start walking locally or hiking or even better get rucking!
    • Vastly reduce alcohol consumption for the rest of your life.
    • Vastly reduce sugar consumption for the rest of your life.
    • Stop watching so much television and scrolling social media.
    • Get to bed by 10pm every night.
    • Read books that will help you develop all areas of your life.
    • Visit a local counsellor to work on those issues you know are unresolved.
    • Get rid of your loser friends.
    • Meet new people to expand your circle socially and professionally.
    • Quit your job that you hate.
    • Start the business you’ve always wanted to.
    • End the toxic relationship you are in.
    • Forgive those you still carry hatred for.

    That’s the challenging stuff! Facing up to that lot is what will give you a fighting chance of achieving a six pack that’s here to stay. That’s the stuff ‘they’ don’t tell you about because that’s uncomfortable to hear. Best to do the things that let you pretend you are making a difference like going to Weight Watchers or joining a soulless corporate gym for £15.99 a month, then when you fail you can lay the blame on their advice or your lack of willpower. But we are afraid that ultimately………

    IT’S ALL DOWN TO YOU! YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS TO YOU…

    and if deep down you know that you are only going to achieve long term success by addressing those issues, then addressing those issues you must! 

    If you can keep it up for a year then it would be the best money you ever spent

    So will you leave this article and continue to search for that rapid 1 week weight loss? One of the main reasons that we set up Team Training was not to help someone lose a stone in a week of course!  It was to help our clients with their willpower and changing their lifestyles in the long term. Once you establish new healthier friendships, regular exercise habits:  lifestyle changes start to become incrementally easier. We want people in the team forever – not just for 3 months before they go on holiday and eat and drink themselves bigger than they were before they came to see us.  

    Imagine this January finding that support network and healthy group of friends and still hanging out with them and doing this next January.  Imagine completing a whole year of regular exercise and healthy eating.  Imagine next January, feeling fit and full of energy. With the support of one of our amazing personal trainers in the private gym, or with the fun and welcoming Northwich team training group, you will have the best chance of achieving the goals that you have set yourself this year be they mental or physical.

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