Take Your Training Outside

At last summer seems to be here (for the moment any way). While the sun's out why not take your training outside. Who wants to be working out in a gym or studio when you could be training in the great outdoors.

Studies have shown that the body and mind responds well outside where you can reconnect with nature.  Also you can get some sunlight that will provide a natural source of vitamin D for maintaining strong bones and can help with improving mood.





Exercising outside will enhance the experience and help lift your mood. Try taking a jog around the local park or take a family bike ride in the woods.

Use the local park benches and playground equipment for a resistance workout such as chin ups, triceps dips and push ups.

A lot of local parks now have dedicated outside gyms so you can do the same exercises as you would do indoors but gaining the extra benefits of training outside. Why not try out a local outdoor class such as boot camp or Tai Chi- the only limit is your imagination.

If you choose to train outside don't forget to wear sun protection, hat and carry water to keep you hydrated.

Come on get out of the house and start exercising outside before it starts raining again.

5 Ab Exercises to get a Flat Stomach

Summer is here and that beach holiday beckons.  In order to take that beach by storm and get that toned, flat stomach try these 5 exercises that focus on the core muscles and will get your stomach firm and toned in next to no time. 

All these are based on the plank, which is used as a move in Pilates and I use them a lot in my own classes and PT sessions. 

1).  Traditional Plank

• Ensure your body is laying face down on the mat.
• Tuck your toes under your feet and lift your body off the mat on your forearms, with your elbows under your shoulders.
• Ensure your body is parallel to the floor and you are in a straight line from head to toes.
• Draw your belly button towards your spine and keep breathing.
• Hold for between 10-60 secs.
• Easier versions, place one knee or both knees on mat.

2).  Plank Push Ups

• Start in plank position and then place one hand under your shoulder and lift your body up, followed by the other then reverse it.
• Repeat.
• Breath out on the lift and in as you lower your body.
• Try 6 to start and build it up to 15-20 reps.

3). Walk the Plank

• In long arm plank move one hand and leg to one side, followed by the other arm and leg and then back again.
• Maintain a strong core and avoid excessive rocking.
• Easier version- on knees.
• To make it harder, add a push up each time.
• Try 6 then build up.

4). Side Plank Dips

• Turn to your side with hips facing the ceiling and mat, with feet together.
• Place hand on hip and the lower elbow under shoulder.
• Slowly and with control lower your hips towards the mat.  Just before hips touch the mat slowly lift back to start position and repeat.
• Endure you keep core strong by drawing belly button to spine and hold.
• Keep your shoulder, hips, knees and ankles in line.
• Breath out on lift and in on the lowering phase.

5). Spider Lunges

• From long arm plank you place one leg on the outside of arm.
• Keep a flat back.
• Try to get your knee in line with your shoulder.
• Bring leg back to original position and repeat on other side.
• Easier version - on knee.
• Try 8 to start and build up to 20.

Try doing these exercises in a mini circuit and rest for 30 secs before repeating.

Whose Up For A Challenge?

It's the start of another week and therefore the start of another 5 Day Eat Clean Challenge.  Really looking forward to helping a new group of people this week in eating more regularly, eating healthier and learning new skills to help improve their lives for the better.



Each day I will set them a challenge for the day ahead to help them become healthier and learn better behaviours in order to gain more energy and feel fitter in their daily lives.

This is suitable for anyone who wants to lead a healthier lifestyle and start eating better and more regularly in order to help maintain energy levels throughout the day without experiencing an energy crash.

I send them helpful nutritional advice and motivational tips to inspire them and help improve their behaviours for the better.

They start the day off with a nutritious protein shake, which contains all the nutrients the body needs to start the day.

Participants are encouraged to post their healthy snacks and meals throughout the day and are helped in choosing the right types of food, in the right portion sizes and at the right time.   All this is done on 'Whats App' meaning anyone in the country can join in.  People can choose to be in their own friends and family groups or being with others they may not know, to encourage new friendships.

All this for only £10!

Get in touch if you're interested in getting set up for the next one.


Mob:- 07764 791982
email:- jasonduckherbalife@gmail.com

Sun's Out Guns Out

So the sun has finally made an appearance and those vest and muscle tops are being pulled out of the wardrobe for a summer airing but wait a moment, over the winter your arms have turned to match sticks!

Don't panic help is at hand. Here's my top 5 tips to getting those arms looking fuller and meaner in next to no time.

1.) Don't just concentrate on the biceps- remember the triceps make up a large part of the arm and so when training ensure you don't neglect this important part of the arm.  Well developed triceps will make the arms look fuller and bigger.

2.) Mix it up- if you've always done standing bicep curls, followed by hammer curls, followed by incline seated curls then STOP.  The body adapts very quickly and so in order to stress the muscles out and encourage them to grow, you need to keep changing it up.  Change the order of the exercises, reps, sets, try a completely new exercise in order to 'keep the body guessing' and keeping them in a state of perpetual growth.

3.) Allow 48 hours rest between arm workouts- allow at least 48 hours to elapse before working those same muscles again, as it will take this long for the muscles to rebuild and recover.  If you do it before this you're only making them smaller!

4.) Have the right nutrition- it's no good working hard in the gym and then going home and eating a Big Mac with large fries.  Nutrition is so important and if you're not getting this right you can kiss those guns good-bye.  Aim to eat every 2-4 hours in order to keep your metabolism revved up and burning body fat and giving the nutrients the body needs to pack on the muscle.  Eat plenty of protein rich foods such as fish, chicken, beef , pulses and tofu along with some carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, potatoes and wholemeal bread and an array of colourful vegetables to get plenty of micronutrients that the body will need to help grow and repair.  It's important to have some protein after a workout as the muscles need it to help grow bigger.  The quicker you can get it into the muscles the better as less of the protein will be able to be absorbed by the muscles as time goes by. The best form of protein is whey, as it's the preferred form of protein the body needs, so choose a protein shake that has whey protein in it.  Herbalife's Rebuild Strength is perfect as it contains this important protein and can be easily mixed with water when needed after a workout.

5.) Get plenty of rest and sleep- you've only got enough energy stored in your muscles and liver for about 1-1.5 hours.  Unless you take on more nutrients then the body will quickly use up its reserves and will start stripping down muscle for an energy source instead.  So instead of building muscles you'll be tearing them down. During sleep the body repairs the muscles that have been broken down during the training session and  hormones responsible for growth such as testosterone and HGH are released during sleep and so if you're not sleeping for between 6-8 hours you'll be missing out.

So follow these top tips and you'll be putting that muscle top on in next to no time!

How much Exercise to Burn Off that Big Mac & Fries?

Everything we eat consists of a certain amount of calories and each item of food contains different amounts. Depending on what type of food it is and how it is cooked decides how many calories each one contains.

Our bodies need a certain amount of calories a day, on average men need 2,500 and women 2,000. If you exercise a lot you may find you need to consume more then this, however if you consume too much then what the body needs, then these extra calories will be converted into fat and stored.

A lot of junk food 'restaurants' are now showing customers how many calories are in each of their foods, so customers can make an informed choice and hopefully start to think that these types of foods should be eaten sparingly instead of being a main part of the staple diet.

Here I present a selection of some of our nation's favourite foods, how many calories they contain and also more importantly how much time needed to exercise to burn such meals off.

Full English breakfast (698 calories) - you will need to walk the dog for 3 hrs 41 mins or swim for 2 hrs, 2 mins to convert these calories to energy.

Fancy that bacon sandwich? Or McDonald's egg Mcmuffin that will be 280 and 290 calories respectively and you will need to swim for the best part of an hour to burn it all off!

Fancy having a Gregg's steak bake for lunch? That's another 420 added to your daily calorie intake and you will have to do nearly 2 hours of gardening or 2 hrs, 13 mins, walking the dog.




A pepperoni pizza will be 970 calories, that's the best part of half the total daily amount of calories for a woman! You're need to do 5 hrs , 7 mins of walking that dog or nearly 3 hrs of swimming to avoid it adding to those hips.

Fancy a pint, than that will be 200 for a bitter and 158 for a shot of Jaegerbomb, have a few of those ....and you can do the math on how much exercise you will have to do to avoid storing these empty calories as fat....a hell of a lot!

Of course all that drinking will make you hungry again and you will need to get yourself a take-away. That KFC box will set you back a whopping 1080, that includes the diet coke and you will have to do just over 3 hrs of swimming or 5 hrs , 40 mins walking that dog again.

The classic Donner Kebab that will be 642 and will need 1 hr, 52 mins of swimming to burn off.

Oh and that Big Mac, that contains 492 calories and that's before you add the milkshake(490) and large fries (510), that's a gut busting 1,492 calories! To burn that lot off you'll need to walk for 6 hours or cover 9.5 miles!

These types of food are ok in moderation and can be part of a well balanced diet but as you can see if these foods are consumed too often then those calories will soon add up and get out of control and the only direction they will be heading for will be on you as fat! 

The Running Costs of Exercing

I was saddened to see on the news this week that Stoke Gifford Parish Council voted to charge the organisers of Park Run a fee to use their park.

This is a world first for a council to do this and may set worrying precedence for other strap cashed councils to use Park Run as a way of making some extra money.

The council voted last Tuesday, a majority of 6 to 4 to charge the fee.  They justified this by saying it was, "unfair to expect non running residents to pay for the path up keep."

They say they would be charging the organisers and not the runners.  But as we all know chances are  the cost would eventually be passed over to the consumer.

This decision has caused the weekly event, regularly attended by around 300 runners to close.

Park Run UK is run by volunteers who give up their time to help encourage others to run because they have a passion for the sport and want to see others take up the exercise, which has been found to have many health benefits.




Park Run holds weekly 5 km timed runs around the world in local parks, where it is free to join and run.

This decision goes against Park Run's ethos which is for the event to be free and open to everyone.

There's been strong criticism of the decision on the internet with the likes of Paula Radcliffe voicing her concerns and branding the council 'short sighted' and for the event remaining free for everyone, always.

I would have thought that the upkeep of the park's pathway would be covered in the council tax and so why should runners be paying twice for this? What's next dog walkers to be charged to walk their dogs or a fee to let children play in the play ground?

The counsellors who voted in favour of this are truly indeed short sighted as encouraging people to exercise regularly will reduced the risk of developing diabetes type 2, heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity, mental health problems, such as stress and anxiety and certain cancers.  These medical conditions cost the NHS millions of pounds each year and if more people exercised then there would be less people needing the services of the NHS and therefore money could be saved and used elsewhere.  But all these counsellors are concerned about is making money rather then encouraging people to get fitter.

Updated Government Nutritional Guide Lines

The Government has recently updated their nutritional guidelines to reflect the growing public concern of having too much saturated fats and sugars in our diet.

Gone is the 'Eatwell Plate' with the knife and fork either side as feedback from the public was that some believed what was on the plate was what they needed to consume at each meal, rather then using it as a guide for total daily food intake.

The 'Eatwell Plate' depicted the different food groups that made up a well balanced diet, such as fruit and vegetables, protein, carbohydrates, diary products and fats and sugars and the bigger the section the more foods we should consume from that food group.



It's now been changed to the 'Eatwell Guide' and the most striking change is that the section that housed total fats and sugars, including cakes and biscuits have been taken out, as this isn't considered an essential food source and is now segregated outside of the main food guide.   A tiny slice is now in its place, reserved only for cooking oils and spreads. 

Also gone is the inclusion of fruit juice in the fruit and vegetables section and now it's placed outside the sections and recommended that no more then 150ml should be consumed per day as the amount of sugar it contains would be too much.

Also what's new is other useful information such as total calorie in take for the average man and woman and the recommended amount of water one should consume per day.

For further information take a look at the link below.

https://publichealthmatters.blog.gov.uk/2016/03/17/what-is-a-healthy-balanced-diet/