Personal Training Blog

Personal Training makes you look good and feel great. My role is to provide you with the tools for you to achieve this. If you are committed and have the desire, try your best, think outside of the box and have a bit of fun you can achieve your health and fitness goals. Live life in the active lane. Little active steps taken today, lead to giant progress strides tomorrow.

Matt

"Together we'll achieve your goals"

  • Posted on: 7 Jun 2017 - 10:08
    I  was pleased when Lexi Watkins from Reviews.com contacted me to see whether I would be interested in sharing the extensive and detailed research they had done on exercise bikes, with the aim of finding which is the 'best' one. Review.com has conducted the research by looking at 157 different exercise bikes and chosing the 16 'best' to review based on 53 features. As Review.com say "The best exercise bikes on the market deliver the functionality and adjustability most users need to get a quality workout". Review.com chose the 'best' exercise bike by focusing on: - Warranty Features (Brakes, Electronics, Frame, Labour Parts) - Display Features (Calories Burned, Distance, Heart Rate, Resistance Level, RPM, Speed, Workout Time) - Frame...
  • Posted on: 6 Jun 2017 - 16:24
    Informative, detailed and useful  infographic from A.Vogel that looks at the immune system and what can cause a week immune system and what we can do to boost our immune system. According to the infographic, Alison Cullen identifies 6 factors that can cause a weak immune system: 1) Eating a lot of Sugar 2) Drinking excess amounts of Alcohol 3) Lack of Sleep 4) Eating lots of Fatty Foods 5) Smoking 6) Being stressed and unhappy Dr Margaret Ritchie in the infographic suggests that to help boost our immune system we should.: 1) Relax 2) Drink Green Tea 3) Eat a Healthy Plant Based Diet 4) Get Some Exercise The full article and infographic from A.Vogel can be viewed here. High 5, Matt
  • Posted on: 6 Jun 2017 - 10:20
    Informative, detailed and thought-provoking infographic from ahealthblog.com which compares the calories burned across 3 levels of intensity (slow, moderate, intense) for 6 different exercise activities: - Running - Cycling - Swimming - Aerobics - Yoga - Walking The infographic shows that for all 3 levels of exercise intensity that running burns the most calories followed by cycling and swimming. Usefully, the infographic also shows a range of activities from shovelling snow to dancing to gardening and the number of minutes of activity required to burn 150 calories. According to the infographic, stair walking and snow shovelling require the least time to burn 150 calories as they take 15 minutes. Conversely, washing windows and washing a...
  • Posted on: 5 Jun 2017 - 14:34
    Informative, concise and useful infographic from Decibel Nutrition which shows some of the 'best' exercises we can do - via a visual graphic - to target different muscle groups throughout our body.  The detailed infographic shows a range of exercises for each muscle group ranging from the upper body - e.g. Chest, Triceps - to lower body - e.g. Quadriceps, Calfs - and from the front of the body - e.g.abdominals -  to the back of the body - e.g.hamstrings. The exercises are a range of both isolation (single joint movements in which only one muscle group works e.g. Bicep curl, leg extension) and compound (multi joint movements that involve the use of more than one major muscle e.g. Pull Ups, Squats). Usefully, the infographic also states that...
  • Posted on: 5 Jun 2017 - 10:24
    2 Informative, beneficial and concise infographics from Dr Axe which discuss and analyse 'starvation mode' and the impact that chronic dieting and excessive exercise can have on our bodies and what we can do to avoid starvation mode. The first infographic shows that when we enter 'starvation mode' by not consuming enough calories that our bodies need, this actually slows down our metabolism and "triggers feelings of fatigue, anxiety, depression, isolation and a preoccupation with eating" and therefore shows some of the health, mental and psychological dangers of entering 'starvation mode'. Crucially the infographic also suggests that we have a 'set-point' and a "natural weight range that the body strongly trirs to stay within by regulating...
  • Posted on: 4 Jun 2017 - 17:22
    Our metabolism is all the chemical processes that happen in our body that help to keep us alive and living and keeps our organs functioning normally, such as breathing and digesting food. These chemical processes require energy and this is called the basal metabolic rate (BMR). It is our metabolic rate which determines the amount of calories we burn. Having a higher metabolic rate means that we are burning more calories - even at rest - which makes it easier for us to lose weight and also keep it off. Our size, gender, genetics, and age play a part in our metabolic rate. However, as the infographic above from Skinnymom shows there are ways that we can control it and even maybe increase our metabolic rate. This includes: - Eating Healthy...
  • Posted on: 4 Jun 2017 - 12:35
    Great informative, beneficial and concise infographic from MyFitnessPal which looks at Carbohydrates. The infographic shows: 1) The Soucres of Food - from fruit and vegetables to breads and pasta to milk and cheese. 2) How our Body uses Carbohydrates - it is turned into glucose to provide us with energy and how glucose is used for energy during exercise and for energy for the brain and how and where glucose is stored. 3) Types of Carbohydrates - Complex and Simple. The infographic shows that complex carbohydrates are slow to digest and increase satiety, result in gradual, steady insulin increase and contain fire, vitamins/minerals and nutrients. The infographic also shows that simple carbohydrates are quicker to digest, lead to a faster...
  • Posted on: 2 Jun 2017 - 09:36
    From my experience training and working with clients, I have observed and analysed what I feel are the personal characteristics that will go some way to helping you achieve your goals. These ‘characteristics’ are not a list of what you should possess, but are merely the traits that my most successful clients (and by this I mean those that have achieved their individual goals) have. They are the attributes that I have seen displayed consistently and on a regular basis by my clients. Achieving your health and fitness goals is not just about training regularly and eating healthy (which is vital), you also have to show certain skills and qualities that will keep you on your journey. At times the going will be tough and it will be a challenge,...
  • Posted on: 1 Jun 2017 - 15:00
    Positive Health Wellness have produced a definitive guide via an infographic with images of 6 habits that prevent us from seeing results with our weight loss and health and fitness goals . This infographic was written by Karen Reed. The exercises are:  - Eating too little - Not eating enough protein - Doing too much Cardio - Fasting before and/or after cardio - Sucumbing to the scale - Taking for granted our beautiful, powerful bodies Thank you to Kelly Palmer for providing this article and infographics. Please click on the infographic image to enlarge it and see 6 habits with information and more detail. From experience both personally and with my PT clients, we too often 'sabotage' our potential to and do not achieve our health and...
  • Posted on: 1 Jun 2017 - 09:45
    Informative and useful infographic from Picklee which gives us 10 foods and drinks and almond with nutritional tips and facts to help speed up our metabolism and with weight loss. Losing weight, getting fitter and toning up is about making a few lifestyle choices and modifications and tweaks to our daily activity levels and nutritional and meal choices. As the infographic shows it's crucial to eat foods and consume drinks that work with and for our body and our metabolism and not against it. In order to live a healthy lifestyle and to lose weight it is key to consume natural and nutritious foods that benefit our bodies and provide us with the correct amount of energy that our body can metabolise efficiently and with the correct vitamins...

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"Matt is a true gentleman in his manner, a professional in his work and has an outstanding knowledge of fitness which he applies with great enthusiasm and empathy."