Happy International women's day!

Today is International women's day where we celebrate women's achievements, raise awareness of bias and take action for equality.

To celebrate this day I have put together a top 10 of the most inspirational quotes I could find from top sports women, to help motivate women (and men) to be the best version of themselves and achieve their goals in life, whatever that maybe.

"Champions keep playing until they get it right." - Billie Jean King-Tennis champion.

"You have to believe in yourself when no one else does-that makes you a winner right there-Venus Williams-Tennis champion.

"Keep your dreams alive. Understand to achieve anything requires faith, belief in yourself, vision, hard work, determination and dedication.  Remember all things are possible for those who believe."-Gail Devers-2x Olympic track & field champion.

"Never underestimate the power of dreams and the influence of the human spirit, the potential for greatness lives within each of us."-Wilma Rudolph-Olympic track & field champion.

"Don't let anyone tell you you're weak because you're a woman."- Mary Kom-Olympic bronze medallist in boxing.

"Never set limits, go after your dreams, don't be afraid to push the boundaries."-Paula Radcliffe-Marathon Champion.

"I was always out to prove myself, that became a habit-just to prove to the world that my medical condition has not let my life slip away from me."-Deepa Malik-First Indian woman to win a medal at the Paralympic Games.

"A champion is defined not by their wins but by how they can recover when they fall."-Serena Williams-Tennis champion.

"I go to bed every night thinking about all the ways that I can succeed."-Ronda Rousey-MMA fighter and WWE wrestler.

"Age is no barrier, it's a limitation you put on your mind-Jackie Joyner Kersee-Olympic track & field champion.

"You have to believe in yourself when no one else does-that makes you a winner right there."-Venus Williams-Tennis champion.

"Never set limits, go after your dreams, don't be afraid to push the boundaries."-Paula Radcliffe-Marathon champion.

Happy International women's day everyone.

#BalanceforBetter

It's not your fault if you're fat-blame your genes!

Why do some people struggle with their weight, while others seem to be able to eat anything and stay thin?  Researchers at Cambridge University have recently tried to answer this question.  In the largest study of its kind they discovered that indeed thin people can be at an advantage at a genetic level compared to their overweight and obese counterparts.  

More than sixty per cent of adults in the UK are either overweight or obese and this is causing an ever increasing strain on our health and leading to record amounts of people with type 2 diabetes and other medical conditions such as heart disease and stroke.  This in turn is costing the NHS billions of pounds a year to treat these people and medicate their conditions.

Although we indeed can be a product of our own environment and in the last 25 years or so, the availability and the disgusting amount of different food choices which are high in sugar and fat has grown enormously out of all proportion it seems that some people can still maintain a healthy weight while others struggle.

There have been hundreds of genes found that can increase the chances of a person being overweight and in some cases faulty genes can cause severe obesity from a young age.

The researchers compared DNA from 14,000 people of which 1,622 were thin, 1,985 were severely obese and 10,433 were a healthy weight.  They also asked participants to answer questions regarding their general health and lifestyle. 

The study found several common genetic variants already identified as playing a role in obesity as well as discovering new genetic regions involved in severe obesity and some involved in healthy thinness.  Importantly those who were thin carried fewer genes that were found to increase a person's chances of becoming over weight.

Although this is really interesting stuff and maybe in the future scientists could use this information to come up with a plan to help combat obesity by targeting these so called 'fat genes' in some way, I am worried that this could be used as an excuse by some to take the responsibility of weight management away from them.  

I believe that we are all prone to weight gain living in this modern environment of fast foods and high fat and sugary meals and treats but unfortunately some do find it harder to control their weight than others.  However I believe we all have a role to play and can take responsibility for our weight management regardless of our genes. 

What do you think? 

Stay The Course and Reap The Benefits

Happy New Year to you all .  Christmas is now a distant memory and now the break is over a lot of people are already struggling to keep up with their new year resolutions.

If you are one of these people, don't worry as here are my top 5 tips to help you stay the course and reap all those important health benefits:-

1.) You only fail if you give up- You missed a gym session because you had to work late or you had that slice of cake that you feel you shouldn't have eaten.  So what!  Don't worry it's not the end of the world, dust yourself down, refocus and get back to it.

2.) Don't be too hard on yourself- Success or failure are just a gradual build up of many choices that we have made over a period of time.  It's up to you what choices you make.  As long as most of your choices are steering you towards your goals rather then away, then don't be too hard on yourself if you miss the odd gym session or have a slice of that cake from time to time.  Remember moderation is the key.




3.) Choose something you like doing- This may seem obvious but every January loads of people join the local gym and pay their joining fee, sort out their Direct Debit payments, attend a few times and then stop going because they hated it.  It's almost impossible to keep doing an exercise routine, sport or activity that you hate over a sustained period of time.  In order to stick to an exercise or activity long term you need to enjoy it. Choose carefully and then you have a greater chance of success.

4.) Get a training buddy- It's so much harder skipping a gym session, having that chocolate bar or cigarette if you know that someone is in it with you and you don't want to let them down.

5.) Tell others of your goals- Hold yourself to account.  Tell your friends and family of your intended goals, mention it on social media.  In this way it's far harder to give up if people know.

I hope you have found these tips helpful to ensure you stick to your goals this year and increase  your fitness and health.

Looking Back, Looking Forward

I hope you had a good Christmas and looking forward to having a healthy and prosperous new year.

At this time of the year it's good to look back and reflect on what you have achieved in he past 12 months.  This is an important exercise to do as this helps with maintaining motivation, looking at the goals that have been achieved in your lives during the year and can mentally pat yourself on the back.  Also you can see if there were any goals you didn't achieve or could improve on.

With this information you can use these as a basis for your new goals or choose completely new ones  you can set yourself for the new year.

It's important to set yourself goals in order to help stay focused and achieve what you want.  If you don't then you will just flounder around and dreaming.

The main difference between someone who achieves their goals and turns their dreams into reality and those who just dream and wish is goal setting.

Be careful not to set yourself too many goals as this won't help you stay focused and you run the risk of failing to achieve anything by the end of the year and will lead to demotivation.  Choose no more then 3 goals and stay focused.

Check regularly how you are doing and making sure you are moving forward and not stagnating.

Make sure your goals are S.M.A.R.T (see below) in order to help fully to focus you and achieve your goals.

So enjoy the rest of your holidays and here's to a fantastic 2019.

The Best Things in Life Are Not Always Instant

It seems that we are all living in an increasingly fast paced world where our patience is getting thinner each year.

I'm sure you've noticed it too, out while driving and getting beeped at the lights for not going the second the lights turn to green, or a fellow customer behind you in the shopping queue tuts when they feel you are spending too long at the checkout.

Modern technology has developed an environment now that we expect everything to be instant.  We have e-mails rather than mail, fast food delivery to our door rather than going out to a restaurant and  'Google' rather than having to wait until the library opens and look it up in a encyclopedia.

This expectation of instantness I've found has spilled over into the world of fitness and sport.  Everyone it seems wants to lose weight instantly, forgetting it's taken years to put on the weight and therefore will take more than a few days to lose, or become a world class footballer after only one session.

I see quite a few people coming to my classes and they try to do the advanced movement, even though I've offered them the easier version as well. But they don't want to do the easier version, oh no they want to do the hardest version, even though they either have never done a fitness class before or it was years ago.

Then I don't see them again as they thought it was too hard.  They didn't appreciate that some of my clients have been doing exercise for years and have 'earned' the right to do the more advanced movements as they started at a lower rate and slowly progressed to where they are now.

But some people are so impatient that they want to by pass all the hard work and the sense of achievement after so many failures and be a better and stronger version of themselves before they have even started.  Such a shame as if they realised that somethings in life such as getting fitter, takes time but it's so much worth it in the end as your quality of life increases and you become a stronger and better version of your present self, both mentally and physically. But because they give up so quickly they are greatly missing out.

I always remember my old karate instructor telling us that nothing of worth can be learnt in an instant
and anything of any true value takes time to develop but it will be worth it in the end.

Somewhere along the line I think our society has forgotten this.

Exercise may help increase Lifespan with those with Cancer

According to a review of 71 studies researchers wrote in the British Journal of Sports Medicine that those patients who got active after being diagnosed with cancer had a higher chance of living longer than those who didn't.

Researchers conducted a meta-analysis to see the link between exercise and cancer deaths and found that patients who followed the government guidelines of performing a minimum of  2.5 hours of moderate exercise a week had a 27% lower chance of death by cancer then those who didn't.


They also studied the general population and found that performing the recommended exercise guidelines reduced the chances of dying from cancer by 13%.

The authors of the study concluded, "Our study supports that current physical activity recommendations reduce cancer death in both the general population and cancer survivors.  We infer that physical activity after cancer diagnosis may result in significant protection among cancer survivors."

Total Weight v Size

I was speaking to a client at one of my classes this week and she told me she was rather upset.  I asked her what was wrong and she told me that she'd just come from her weekly weigh in at her local slimming club and she had gained weight! 

She explained that she's been really good, eating healthily and going to the gym and classes regularly.  I asked her if her clothes were fitting better and she said that they were.  I explained to her that this meant that she was changing her body composition for the better and some of her body fat had been converted into muscle.



Because muscle is denser and therefore takes up less room compared to fat you can get two people who weigh exactly the same but one can look bigger due to more body fat and less muscle compared to the other who is carrying less fat and more muscle.

Of course because she was exercising more she gained more muscle and lost fat and therefore gained weight but was smaller.

Despite this explanation she was still upset as in a lot of these slimming clubs and in society in general I think we put too much emphasise on total body weight and not enough on body composition.

I've invited her to a 'Wellness Assessment' where I can let her know what her body composition is made up of, such as her body fat % and total muscle mass.

If there's a shift in moving from looking at total weight and moving over to body composition than I think there will be a lot more happier and healthier people out there.

Working Hours can Cause Weight gain in Middle-aged Women

According to a study published in the International Journal of Obesity, middle-aged women who worked for 35-49+ hours per week were more inclined to gain a greater amount of weight compared with those that were employed part time.

Researchers studied 9,276 women aged between 45-50 (6,108 of these were employed).  The researchers suggested that this age group were more prone to weight gain as they were less likely to spend time on healthy meal preparation and shopping and eat more convenience meals.  The report also claimed that they spent fewer hours exercising and sleeping, both of these are obesity risk factors.

The researchers concluded that as women work longer hours they are more likely to make unhealthy lifestyle choices that can lead to increased weight gain, such as bad eating habits, not exercising regularly and not sleeping enough. Government policies should be put in place to help inform the population of this health concern and support women who work long hours to make healthier lifestyle choices, which will help lead to more positive results.

Enjoy your Journey to Fitness not just the Destination

We live in an increasingly demanding world where everything seems to be instant and everything and anything can be achieved in next to no time.

It's human nature to want to find the shortcuts in anything to make our lives easier or reduce the amount of labour or time it takes to do a task.

However as our activity levels seems to reduce thanks to labour saving devices and our food intake increases thanks to bigger portion sizes and higher energy dense foods, the balance of energy in and energy out is becoming disrupted so much so that the country's body size is getting bigger every year!

I see a lot of people choosing 'diets' to help lose weight quickly, only to discover that once finishing their 'diet' they start to increase size again. In the end they find themselves heavier than when they first started and then they go on yet another 'diet' to try and fix the damage and the cycle repeats itself once again.

However it hit me the other day that why can't we enjoy the journey of getting fitter rather than focusing on the final destination?  If we break the journey down into 'bite size' pieces and begin by getting more active such as joining the gym or a running club, start enjoying the social side of this and enjoy how our body starts to feel stronger, fitter with more energy.

These new behaviours are for the rest of our lives and not just for short term.  The only 'diet' anyone should be on unless you have some serious medical condition is eating a wide range of food from all of the major food groups regularly and in the right portion sizes.

It may sound boring but just eating healthier and cutting down on the high sugary/fat foods and moving more so there's less energy going in and more going out, then your body composition will start to change for the better.

This will take longer but the chances are you will lose body fat and have a better chance of keeping it off for good.

Think of The Hare and The Tortoise and remember who won the race in the end.

If you start to enjoy the journey to fitness then you will eventually arrive at your destination rather then it always being just out of reach.

How to Reduce the Christmas Fat

This is the time of year when all that hard work done in the gym can come undone with all those Christmas festivities. But it doesn't have to be like that and you can still enjoy Christmas if you make a few alterations here and there. Below are my top 6 tips on keeping (fairly) healthy during this seasonal period.

1.) Don't allow Christmas to last too long:- enjoy yourself eat what you want (in moderation)but only for 3-4 days. Don't allow to stuff yourself for over a week, which can easily happen if you just sit there and eat on Christmas day and go through to the new year and beyond!

   2) Eat some nuts:- Walnuts, cashews, Brazil nuts and almonds are all a great source of calcium, which helps build strong bones and teeth. The British Heart Foundation recommends we eat a handful a day and there's evidence that they can even reduce cholesterol. Just ensure they are the unsalted variety and don't have too many.

3) Get Dancing:- With the success of 'Strictly' there's never been a better time to go dancing. Ballroom, disco or salsa it doesn't matter what it is as long as you move that body. Depending on intensity and your weight you can burn over 400 calories dancing. If you're dancing you consume less booze and party food as well. Now the party season is here, why not take advantage and burn some extra calories on the dance floor.





4.) Don't overload the plate for your Christmas dinner-you want to leave room for pudding, and you will comfortably feel full not feel like an over-stuffed turkey!

5.) At parties and Christmas tea choose more natural foods such as sea food, lean meats and chicken/turkey rather then sausage rolls, spring rolls and pizza which are higher in carbohydrates and saturated fats and lower in good quality proteins.

6.) Stay Active- During the slump between Christmas and New Year's Day, why don't you keep active and go for a walk, jog or a bike ride to burn off some of that Christmas dinner, rather then sitting in front of the t.v. and going through yet another box of chocolates This will make it much easier to restart your fitness regime in the new year rather then having two weeks off and doing nothing.

I wish you all a very merry Christmas and a happy and healthy new year.

Lose Weight & Boost Your Testosterone

According to a study of nearly 900 over weight, middle aged men with boarderline diabetes, weight loss can reduce the prevalence of low testosterone levels by almost 50%. Because overweight men are more likely to have low levels of testoserone, researchers studied the effects of weight loss on the subjects testosterone levels. The study showed that with lifestyle changes, the prevalence of low testosterone levels decreased from about 20% to 11% and after one year to 46% The men in the lifestyle modification group lost an average of 7.8 kg during the one-year study. The increase in their testosterone levels correlated with their decreasing body weight and waistlines.

A Healthy Diet May Help Women's Mobility In Later Life

According to a study conducted by researchers at Brigham and Woman's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts and published in the Journal of Nutrition has linked how following a healthy diet can help reduce the risk of  developing  impaired mobility and physical function in women as they age.

The study looked at 54,762 women over a period of nearly 30 years from 1980 to 2008.  Every 4 years they got them to complete a questionnaire on their diet and every 4 years from 1992 to 2008 their physical function was also measured.

When the questionnaires were compared with the women's physical function, those who had followed a healthier diet over the years fared much better compared with those who had followed a poor diet.

Not really surprising the study showed that consuming a higher intake of fruit and vegetables, a lower intake of sugary drinks, salt, foods that contain trans fats, such as cakes and biscuits and a moderate intake of alcohol were each significantly associated with reduced rates of impaired mobility and physical function.

Researchers discovered that overall diet quality was more important than focusing on individual foods which have been found to help reduce the risk of developing impaired physical function, such as walnuts, oranges and romaine lettuce.

Kaitlin Hagan ScD MPH, the main author of the study said, "We think a lot about chronic diseases, cancer, heart disease and tend not to think of physical function.  Physical function is crucial as you age, it includes being able to get yourself dressed, walk around the block and could impact your ability to live independently."

The study concluded that further research had to be conducted in the future to better understand the dietary and lifestyle factors that impact on physical function and mobility.

Exercise Can Be Better Than Keyhole Surgery On Knee Injuries

A study published in the British Medical Journal has shown that patients with a meniscal tear at the knee joint can find a better improvement in reducing pain and improving knee function in middle-aged patients following an exercise programme rather than having key hole surgery at least in the short term. 

According to this study in the UK each year 150,000 knee operations are completed at a considerable expense to the NHS. 

The Meniscus is a piece of cartilage in the knee that cushions and stabilizes the knee joint, protecting the joint from wear and tear.  However all it takes is a good twist to cause an injury by tearing it.  In some cases a piece of the broken cartilage can break loose and catches in the knee joint, causing it to lock up!

Meniscal tears are one of the most frequently occurring cartilage injuries of the knee.  This type of injury is common in contact sports such as rugby as well as noncontact sports that involves jumping and changing direction quickly while running such as football.

Older athletes are at an increased risk of getting meniscal tears as the meniscus weakens with age.  It is believed that more than 40% of people 65 years and over have them.




The trial involved 140 adults and half were assigned a supervised 12 week exercise programme comprising of 2-3 sessions per week and the other half were given key hole knee surgery followed by simple exercises to be performed at home daily.  All patients were followed up on at 3 months and thigh muscle strength was assessed and self reported knee function was recorded after 2 years.

At the 3 month stage the exercise group showed an improved thigh strength over the key hole surgery group and at the 2 year stage there were no serious problems found such as deep vein thrombosis or infection in either group, meaning that both methods were equally safe among a population of this age.

The authors of this study concluded that, "Supervised exercise therapy showed positive effects over surgery in improving thigh muscle strength at least in the short term.  Our results should encourage clinicians and middle-aged patients with degenerative meniscal tear and no radiographic evidence of osteoarthritis to consider supervised structured exercise therapy as a treatment option."

Want to stay Young then Eat your Greens

According to a recent published study, eating plenty of foods high in a compound called Nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) such as broccoli, cabbage and avocado maybe able to slow down the aging process among older people. 

Studies on older mice that were given the compound slowed down physical aging and gave the mice increased metabolism.  It helped strengthen their muscles and bones, improving liver and eye sight function and reducing body weight and increasing their physical activity levels.

Health in humans depends on our ability to be able to manufacture and use energy but as we age our cells' ability to produce energy decreases.  Although scientists are unsure why this occurs they suspect the steady decline in the body's energy supply is a key driver of the aging process.

In this study it showed that NMN helped in compensating for this loss of energy production.

Mice of different ages were given NMN but only the older mice showed noticeable improvements.  This is because in young mice they still produce plenty of  NMN on their own so don't need anymore.  However in older mice as their body's ability to produce NMN declines then getting this important compound from another source becomes much more important and the benefits show up.

Dr Shin-ichiro Imai, of the Washington University School of Medicine in the U.S. said, "We have shown a way to slow the physiologic decline that we see in aging mice.  This means older mice have metabolism and energy levels resembling that of younger mice.  Since human cells rely on this same energy production process, we are hopeful this will translate into a method to help people remain healthier as they age."

The study also discovered that those mice given NMN gained less weight with aging even when consuming more food probably due to the increase in their metabolism which in turn gave them more energy to perform physical activity.

Those behind these findings hope that this will path the way to clinical trials for a human study and a stepping stone to help slow down or even halt the aging process.

The study was published in the journal Cell Metabolism.

5 Things to Do To Reach Your Level 10

We should all be seeking to self improve in order to become a better version of ourselves.  Life is always better if we are continuing to learn and improve ourselves and the environment around us.  Here are 5 tips that have helped me to continue to strive to reach my Level 10 and become the best possible version of myself:-

1.)- Have a plan and set goals- as an exercise instructor I'm used to setting fitness goals for my clients but I found early on that in order for me to get the most out of my life it was important to set my own goals, in order to progress and avoid stagnating.  Set yourself a short, medium and long term goal.  The timeframe for short should be 4-6 weeks, medium 12 weeks and long term 1 -5 years.  As you reach your short and medium term goals add new ones to help you keep focused.  Keep checking to ensure you're reaching those goals.  Setting yourself goals holds you accountable and you can see where you are heading and if you are on target or not.  My business started to improve only when I started setting myself goals as I could see if my business was moving forward rather then stalling.  Setting yourself goals will allow you to see where you're going right but more importantly where you're going wrong, so you have the chance to change it for the better.

2.) Take a Power Hour- Take some time out for yourself.  All work and no play makes you a dull boy/girl.  Choose some down time in order to help you refocus and come back fresher, stronger and faster.  Try some exercise, meditation, reading, shopping, sauna, massage, listening to some music or whatever will help you relax and unwind.




3.) Eat well- In order to perform at your ultimate best then what you eat is truly important. Ensure you eat plenty of fruit and vegetables of different varieties in order to get all the nutrients that your body needs to perform at it best.  Ensure all meals are balanced, which includes protein, carbs and micronutrients and that you eat every 2 - 4 hours, in order to keep your energy levels topped up and avoid an energy crash.  I always choose a Herbalife breakfast shake in order to get all the best nutrients my body needs first thing in the morning.

4.) Do things outside of  your comfort zone- Try something that isn't in your comfort zone.  If we always stay where we feel safe and secure then we stop growing and stagnate.  If we venture out of our comfort zone then this forces you to learn new things and forces you to grow and become a better person.  Doing something outside our comfort zone is where the true magic happens.

5.) Don't Be Afraid To Fail- A lot of people give up before they even begin due to the fear that they may fail.  They listen to that inner negative voice telling them that they shouldn't try something new or they will certainly fail.  Don't be afraid of failure because this is all part of the learning process.  It is rare that we succeed long term without experiencing some form of failure beforehand.  The foundation of success is built upon many failures and you will learn much more through failing then you ever would through success.  Nobody learns from success this is the end of the journey after many failures that came beforehand.  You enjoy success rather then learning from it.  When you read about an 'over night sensation' if you look deeper you will always find that the person has been around for many years, learning and crafting their talent, experiencing many failures along the way but each time learning from them until they reach a level of expertise that enables them to become successful. 

I hope these tips have been helpful and help you and others to start or continue your journey to become the best version of yourself possible and reach your Level 10.

Reach your Level 10 with Herbalife

I'm so excited to announce that I've just put some of my clients onto this competition to help them keep their focus and reach their own Level 10.

The competition is aimed for anyone who wants to achieve their best shape ever, which is their Level 10.

They will do this by following a nutritional program using Herbalife products, eating healthy balanced meals and exercising regularly.

New clients get a FREE consultation, which includes nutritional advice and a full body composition examination which uses state of the art technology to work out their total body fat %,  muscle mass and how hydrated they are among other things.





These results are than sent to off to the competition website with a present photo and 90 days later their new improved stats will be taken with another photo and these are sent off as well.

Winners will be chosen whose successfully lost the most total body weight, or lost the most body fat % or gained the most muscle.

There are cash prizes to be won and so you could be winning pounds by shedding the pounds!

You will have the opportunity to see me regularly to take your stats to check that you are on the right track and meet others that are in the competition as well to help support each other.

The present competition is now open so if you want to reach your own Level 10 than contact me now to start your journey.