Eat Well and Work Out

27/02/2026

I am fascinated by the concept of ancestral health and how we have evolved...and concerned about where our current environment is taking us.

Who else wants to be the chap in the middle in the below picture?

Just for us to be born our ancestors must have been the strongest, fastest and most robust of their peer group.

Everyone weaker would have been selected against.

YOU are a direct descendant of a pretty awesome lineage.

Think of what those people ahead of us have overcome:

🦠disease
⚔️wars
💨the elements
🐗natural predators

Makes you wonder how we would measure up doesn't it?

If we lost all our creature comforts, power, water etc would you be ready to fight for your life against the Zombies?

Cheerful huh?!

Go back a few hundred years and we find that our ancestors maybe had:

-Walked upwards of 20 Miles a week

-Diet rich in micronutrients, fibre, healthy fats, with all food straight from the land

-Carbohydrates came from vegetables

-Sugar was a very rare energy source

- water from natural springs

- periods of fasting

-community

-Peace

However, wouldn't this need to be the ‘fittest’ have reduced…as we made our environment more comfortable?

Looking at the above, just maybe we have gone too far with comfort and convenience?

I'll wager that this could be a large part of the issues we see surrounding us with regards to health.

So, what can we do?

Increase your movement template: do you move in all planes of motion for a good amount of time in the day? Add in more walking, climbing, squatting and crawling...play like a child!

Lift stuff and carry it about: Walk to the shops or park further away so you have to carry your shopping further.

Get comfortable with lower temperatures: Look into the work of Ray Cronise, and the emerging body of research into cold thermogenesis. Cold showers, shiver walks and switching off the heating have massive benefits to our immune system, recovery rates, metabolism and general robustness.

Sleep well: Foundational and imperative to health Basics are get 7-9 hrs from 10pm in really dark room and quit the screens and artificial light from sundown. Going caveman on this will reset your circadium rhythm which can help with fat loss, stress reduction and increase general awesomeness!

Eat REAL food: If something has more than two stages of processing from its state in nature..don't eat it that often (never say never!)

Minimise refined carbs: our hunter/ gatherer ancestors would only have honey, fruits and berries for only a small of each year...try to emulate this.

Drink water: lots of it...and only it!

Learn satiety: take time when eating and if you find your energy levels waver across the day, get some help looking at your macronutrient (fat/ protein/ carbs) balance and calorie requirement. Surprisingly we often find that clients are not eating as much REAL food as they should do to build a strong body and keep energy high. Forget the restriction mindset that certain branded 'Diets' push on us. If you are giving your body what it needs via REAL food you will find you reach your ideal shape effortlessly with space for a little bit of what you fancy!

Spend each calorie wisely...one calorie of a veggie will give you SO much more than one calorie of a cookie! Go for value and ROI like you would with your finances.

Fasting: Emerging research suggest that this has really good benefits when used sensibly. We don't think this is for all...but can work well to reset our hunger mechanisms and teach us control.

Community: NO not online...get in front of real people, unplug! Physical contact is vital.

This is the tip of the iceberg and still a bit 'fringe' within the health sphere. I think this is massively ironic when you consider that it stems from what our ancestors did through many thousands of years

Re-wild yourself!

27/02/2026

25/02/2026

Fantastic, hands on course trained by real PT’s in a gym environment!

I have the pleasure to be teaching this course so very much looking forward welcoming everyone onboard!

21/02/2026

Whilst none of us need more ‘rules’ in our life..having a set of guidelines to aim at can be the foundation of positive behavioural changes.

Having the below ⬇️ guidelines in mind, as we reach every decision within our busy lives, can ensure we move towards our health goals instead of away from them.

- Pressing snooze, or choose a brisk morning walk
- choosing a green smoothie instead of an energy drink
- sofa, or a good stretch on the floor while watching TV

Focus on small changes with the below in mind and these compound over time to huge positive changes!

It really doesn’t need to be more complicated than this!

18/02/2026

I was in constant battle when I started on my health journey!

I used to have to force myself out to go for a run while I was doing my work to get myself healthy.

I would come home from work and get straight into my kit, make the monumental effort to avoid the sofa and then get out the door. I was exhausted before I even started!

My time window was small and my motivation was even smaller...it all hung on a knife edge day by day by day!

REALLY gradually this became easier, I messed up many times and the sofa won often, however I rolled with the punches and got straight back on the 'wagon'.

I learnt that:

The wagon NEVER leaves your side...if you mess up, get straight back on it

As I had quit smoking, started running and cut back on sugar all at the same time every day I got it right I got stronger and really felt the difference.

Each success was like peeling another layer off the darkness I had fallen into. As each step was so obvious and made me feel better I wasn't going to give that up.

Sometimes it seemed like I was getting nowhere...so I took out a piece of paper and wrote down everything I HAD achieved

A strange thing happened...within a week or so the plateau 'broke' and I went down another belt hole or T Shirt size

Most quit just before they make it...I kept this as my mantra

We work hard in our jobs and get rewarded by salary and perks. However do you get rewarded equally to what you put in?

Some relationships we put in lots of effort only to be ignored or unappreciated (or so we think anyway!)?

Working hard in the gym, doing all you can to recover from an injury, or a focus on your nutrition will get a 100% return on your 'investment'.

Sometimes sets, reps, long runs, meal planning seems boring and hard work, however is this really true?

Being sick, tired, stiff and slow is really hard work!

NOT putting in the effort will have more negative effect on your mind and body than we realise later down the track.

Showing up and doing the work in whatever form of exercise has huge benefits to:

- mindset
- mood
- mobility
- muscle mass
- flexibility
- hormone balance
- stamina
- bone density
- fat mass reduction
- sleep quality

The PAIN of missing the chance to get improvements in the above should outweigh the (perceived) PLEASURE of staying on the sofa, in bed or going to the pub instead.

Paying really close attention and taking note of the benefits you gain from each work out brings your health, energy and strength to the top of your priorities.

Find PLEASURE in the results you get and be aware of how being bigger, weaker and slower than you know is PAINFUL.

We are primed to move away from PAIN towards PLEASURE
(good survival tactic right there!)

Frame this correctly and you are easily going to win the battle.

It is like spending heaps of energy paddling upstream then suddenly realising you want to go in the direction the stream is going anyway.

Turn around and go with the flow.

I did....so you can definitely do it.

03/04/2024

Not one Olympic athlete has got to the games after being entertained for four years, ever.

They get there by consistent, repetitive, progressive and attentive hard work '

Chris Sommer (ex US National Gymastics Coach)

And he is totally right.

We live in a highly stimulatory, fast past, results driven, get things NOW environment.

Our bodies need the opposite

Most of us have seen the Karate Kid where Mr Miagi gets him to practice a move repeatedly for weeks on end.

'Wax on...Wax off'

(admit it you say this every time you clean the car/ windows etc...or is that just me!)

This is a powerful message as a young, immature athlete learns about how he wants to move onto the next level, yet the wise sensei knows that the kid needs slowing down and his body and mind needs to move at its own pace.

Exercise sessions are repetitive and boring at times to us.

Again, they are NOT this way to your body as it does the hard work in the background making us stronger.

A good coach may sometimes annoy you as they seem to be 'holding you back' and you can't get 'lean' like in that stipulated time period the program you read about.

Foundationally strong, mobile and fast bodies take a LONG time to build with continuous effort...
...yet built this way they are built to LAST

Being impatient and expecting your body to do what you want in a short space of time is, to be blunt, short-sighted.

Your body makes changes every day when you keep the challenges coming..99.9% of these changes you can't see in the mirror!

I would go as far to say as you 80% of the improvements you are making now you won't see the benefit for MANY years.

The gym session this morning and subsequent sensible progressions ongoing will be what stops that knee replacement in 2025.

The boring, repetitive plank holds that pesky PT gets you to do every day could mean the difference between constant back pain from 65 onwards...or not.

Your body and mind are a system that has taken millions of years to evolve.

It is perfect.

I will say it again, YOUR body is PERFECT.

You woke up today, you walked downstairs with no pain and can smile at your kids as you know your body will give you the energy you need to be awesome all day long!

Want to keep this?

Your body is adaptive, it will build strength and power that you cannot imagine with good balanced, patient training.

It will also switch off and reduce anything you don't use to save energy.

Muscles, strong tendons and string bones are EXPENSIVE to the body

Read that bit above again^^

Use it or lose it!

If you don't challenge your body regularly it will take back the resources.

You can start now my simply moving a bit today, and then a little bit more than that tomorrow...

Hang in there, enjoy the journey and every time you feel a bit bored, disheartened and feel like it is going nowhere remember that this feeling often comes just before the next level up....

Remember the old Japanese proverb:

'Fall down seven times...get up eight'

The amazing athletes we see know this, and have the same struggles as the rest of us.

They get up again and never give up...just that 1% extra every day should cut it?!

13/01/2024

Forget the scale weight, don’t focus on those wobbly bits or worry that your nutrition isn’t on point..that will all come.

This podcast highlights the two measures that outstrip most others as regards to living longer:

- Find out your VO2 max..and then do exercise that you enjoy to increase it.

- lift heavy stuff, as many times as you can a week. (You can ALWAYS lift heavier than you think when you learn how!)

Don’t take my word for it…

‎Show ZOE Science & Nutrition, Ep How to add a decade to your life - 11 Jan 2024

18/11/2023

New Year Resolutions doom you to fail without PRACTICE first!

We have all been there..

Xmas and NY over, so starting January with all the best laid plans to hit the gym, start running, eat healthier, be a better parent/ partner/ employee/ boss/ family member/ catch up on work from the break…

Anyone else see how long that list is?

Why then, do we try and then overlay joining a new gym or starting a new class or regime on top of this?

Remember our first day at school?

- strange faces everywhere looking at you
- unfamiliar surroundings
- feeling a bit lost
- attempting to level up but finding it overwhelming
- losing old friends to new ones
- tired from the extra cognitive load of all of the above

It’s like that when you start something new now, just the same. New job, new class, new team, new coach.

Don’t put it all on yourself all at once. Take your time and let yourself settle in..exactly what you would tell a friend or child!

So, why not start NOW?

You have 5 weeks to New Year..in that 5 weeks you could start something new on a scaled down level.

- Just aim to get through the door of that new gym and have a stretch while you suss out the surroundings and get used to the new faces.

*As a side note, I’ll wager if you ask that gym that is spamming you with January offers to start a bit early if you join today they will let you have that discount! 😉

- Just have a taster session at that new class or with that new PT

- Just try that new type of nutrition plan for a day a week

- Just try eating only REAL food for a day a week.

Imagine how much more confident you will be when that sun rises on the first day in January 2024?

How much easier will it be to shake off the Xmas excesses, brain fog from all the down time and as you fight yourself out of bed on that dark, crappy winter morning?

MUCH easier! There will be less overwhelm, less fear of the unknown and, the best bit, you will already be part of the new community..not one of the ‘January Newbies’!

The most important thing to focus on..how much further will you be along when Summer hits!?

Just get started!

01/11/2023

Your most powerful part of your anatomy....is an open mind!

To make any changes we have to be able to recognise and interupt detrimental patterns and cycles that are deep rooted in our subconscious.

How can we improve ourselves in any way if we hold onto outdated beliefs, worries and behaviours that work against the results we want?

Personal Training is not all about asking clients to lift stuff and run about, it is mainly being there to guide a client as they change. We are 'Change Managers' who's sole purpose is to pattern interupt negative habits and guide towards more positive ones. A little secret here too...we get loads personally from it as well!

To rewire our subconscious, we need to become imaginative and think really deeply about the person we wish to become. Grab a piece of paper, and take 10 min out of your day to write down your answers to the following questions:

how does this person look?
how do they dress?
what makes them happy?
what do they like to do?
what makes them successful?
how often do they work out?
what do they eat?
and the best question of all..what does their day look like?
Are you ready to become that person?

If it's a 'hell yeah!' then you need to open yourself up to new experiences and above all take ACTION.

Got some news for you...you have that person inside. If you can imagine them, then you can BE them!

Use imagination to put yourself in that place. The more you visualise this person you wish to become the more you create new behaviours and thoughts that guide you in that direction. Napoleon Hill in his book 'Think and Grow Rich' talks in depth about how we can absolutely make things happen if we open ourselves up truely to believing we will get there. It is true and it works.

Provenance favours ACTION takers.

Be mindful of every thought you have and take a detached view on it. Imagine you are watching yourself from a distance as you act, speak and think at all times. If you are not behaving like the person you want to be, apply the breaks and start again.

Stay Improving..

29/10/2023

Imagine forward..

If you carry on the current trajectory for the next few years..where will you be, how will you feel and are you thriving in life?

How do you feel now?

Think back a few years. Did you have more energy, less aches and pains and how was your general health and mood?

Plot a line between the three points:

- back then
- now
- future

Are you on a positive upwards trajectory, or the opposite? Of course it won’t be a straight line..but is the general trend in the right direction?

Success on your health journey will correlate exactly to how much you can delve into the above points in your life. How much energy and focus you can apply to really see where you are heading.

If you had more energy, and felt healthier back then than you do now, imagine forward to where you will be a few years from now.

If you are feeling healthier, stronger and have more energy than you did then. Take this moment to appreciate the work you have done!

We move away from pain and towards pleasure. When we can clearly see a future that worries us or can imagine the health issues that could come our way in the future..this causes pain.

Those that achieve success on their health journey use this pain daily:

-It gets them out of bed on a cold morning

-It gets them off the sofa to get out for a walk

-It gets them past their fear or nervousness in the gym

-it ensures they take control of their choices in life to the positive

And the best bit. The more we push past a barrier the stronger we get.

Small course corrections every day add up to ensuring you thrive in life. Get after it

Be imaginative!

24/10/2023

Move..move…then move some more!

Mechanotransduction is a relatively new theory.

It is the mechanism by which EVERY cell in our body responds to movement and loads resulting in an adaptation.

This adaptation can affect us:

Positively:

Loads applied in the correct manner such as lifting, climbing....in fact any natural movement, creates a response in the cells affected such as more energy, better removal of waste products and increase in strength (as in muscle cells)

OR

Negatively:

Unsupported loads, poor posture and incorrect movement patterns create adaptations that are detrimental. Sedentary lifestyles also reduce load, therefore the adaptation is to switch off development of the cells...why would the body use energy on what you aren't using?
Image
It really is use it or lose it.

Still water often stagnates, running water keeps fresh.

It is the same in our bodies....we NEED to keep in flow

When we move we stimulate our bodies to improve.

It doesn't have to be 'exercise'....we just need to move as much as possible.

Our circulation also needs movement to move nutrients in the blood to all of our cells.

The heart does the bulk of this, however it has to work really hard to supply a body that is not moving.

This is maybe the reason why bed sores occur and why someone bedbound needs manipulation?

Think through the movements you do across the day:

Could you do more?

Do you climb, walk, crawl, sit on the floor, squat, lunge enough?

What could you commit to adding to your movement for the day?

Everything you do across the day...think about how you can add different positions, movement patterns and more walking.

Compared to our pre-industrial ancestors we are very sedentary. Remember they didn't do the 'gym', go for a run or even lift weights.

Their bodies were a product of their lifestyle

Gathering food, building shelter, hunting prey and sitting/ squatting on the floor meant they moved 8+ hours of the day.

Not a chair in sight!

Thinking we need to go all out in the gym for an hour a day isn't necessarily the answer.

Of course exercise is important and the gym is a good place to do it, however it is movement across the whole day that keeps us growing.

walk
run
flap your arms about
wrestle with your kids
climb a tree
roll down a hill

'we don't stop moving because we get old...we get old because we STOP moving'

Move like you did as a child.

We all note how quickly they heal and bounce back from illness....maybe, just maybe this is down to the huge amount they move?

Wait for the science to catch up with all this and read about it in the media in ten years ...or take a chance and get moving more now?

04/10/2023

Build muscle!

Sarcopenia is the loss of muscle mass as we age.

According to studies we lose between 0.5% and 1% of our muscle mass every year past 30 years of age and we lose 12% to 15% of strength per decade!

As we've discussed before, muscle is youth.

Muscles help us move, obviously, however they also:

-help us balance against the loads we are under throughout the day

-balance and support joint movement so we don't wear away cartilage or bone

-create and store energy in the form of glycogen, this is what our bodies create from carbs consumed so the more in the muscles, the less in the blood and liver

-muscle is metabolically active, it uses calories and balances hormones

-help us maintain good posture (when we keep them mobile)

-muscles are denser that fat, therefore the more we have the less 'wobbly' we are

-fight off the effects of osteoporosis and aging

and the most important thing...the stronger we are the easier life is!

The better we move the more we will want to.

The stronger we get the more we can do.

Holding onto your muscle mass is a guarantee on your activity levels when we are older.

Work all these years to build a retirement fund?

How is your muscle fund doing?

So, what can we do:

-train: use it or lose it! Research has shown that it is never too late to build some bulk. Studies on age ranges shows that a 70 year old can put on muscle at the same rate as a 20 somethings (they just need more rest in between!). 20 to 30 min, three times a week is enough

-DAILY mobility work and stretching keep our muscles full of blood, supple and soft. Do you want muscles like beef jerky or a juicy steak? (yum)

-Protein: 30g a meal of good quality source of fish, meat, eggs etc. 30g is much more than you think. Protein also satiates you well so this can help stave off grabbing those naughty snacks

-Get your Omega 3's: Omega 3 fatty acids provide more building blocks to maintain and build muscle. Salmon, walnuts and omega-3-enriched eggs give you a nutritional powerpack as you get omega-3s and muscle-building amino acids. Flaxseeds also give you a hit. Eating 4 ounces of cooked salmon plus 1/4 cup of walnuts a day is about all you need to reap the benefits. A good fish oil such as Eskimo also helps.

-Vitamin D: We often find people are deficient in this substance. Vit D is used in a VAST amount of process in the body as it is a hormone pre-cursor so worth keeping topped up. Get tested and if needed get plenty of sun or supplement in winter.

-Move lots: It isn't just about pumping iron. ANY movement uses our muscles, again, use it or lose it!

-Hydrate: we are 70% water so keep yourself topped up.

Ask anyone who is trying to add muscle and you will find out that it is hard. We need to challenge ourselves every day just past the level we did previous.

You need to be consistent, it can be monotonous and it is uncomfortable at those times of extra effort. You just have to keep at it..forever!

It is SO worth it though. Every rep, stretch, extra kg added in improves your body.

EVERY effort reaps a reward.

Better return than my pension that's for sure!

Every time you move a limb, stand up or run for the bus, take a moment to be grateful for all those muscles that performed for you.

Did some not feel right or not perform as well as you needed? This is where you need to do the work then 😉

Get out there are grow those beautiful lumpy bits!