Absolute Fitness

26/03/2026

🏃‍♂️ Running more… but not getting faster or feeling better?

Most runners don’t have a running problem.
They have a strength problem.

Weak glutes =

less power
poorer control
more stress through knees and hips

Over time, that’s where:

niggles start
injuries build
progress stalls

This exercise here is a glute-focused reverse lunge, set up to keep tension exactly where we want it.

Notice:

the back foot stays off the ground
the front leg does the work
balance, control, and strength all challenged together

That’s what carries over to running.

Not just doing more miles…
👉 actually building the strength to support them

25/03/2026

Not all protein is created equally.

Ladies, I know you don't care about spreadsheets like us males. But we all care about our waist and cash.

People just hear “eat more protein” and assume all sources are equal.

They’re not.

👉 Some proteins are easier for your body to use
👉 Some come with far more calories
👉 Some are cheap but less filling
👉 Some are nutrient-rich but inconvenient

But before anyone jumps in… This isn’t a hard rule.
Not all meats are the same
Not all plant proteins are the same
Not all shakes are the same

🍗 A lean steak and a fatty cut behave very differently
🌱 Some plant proteins are decent, most are still pretty poor
🥤 Some shakes are basically junk, others are genuinely useful

This isn’t black and white, which is the point most people miss. There’s no perfect option. Only trade-offs. What may be perfect for one person, may not work for someone else.

🍗 Meat gives you quality and fullness, but costs more
🥚 Eggs are cheap and balanced, but not the most convenient
🥛 Dairy sits somewhere in the middle for most things
🥤 Whey is cheap, high quality, and convenient, but not very filling
🌱 Plants bring nutrients, but often fall short on usable protein

Where people go wrong? They pick based on one thing.

Calories
Price
Or what sounds “healthy”

But results don’t come from picking the “best” protein. They come from picking the right one for your life.

👉 Your schedule
👉 Your budget
👉 Your appetite
👉 Your ability to stick to it

Because there isn’t a perfect protein.

Just better trade-offs.

24/03/2026

💉 Thinking about using Ozempic or Wegovy?

Or already on it?

Here’s something most people don’t realise…

👉 Not all weight loss is fat.

📊 Typical breakdown of weight loss:

❌ Without resistance training (and/or enough protein)
Around 25–40% of the weight you lose can come from lean mass (muscle)

✅ With resistance training + enough protein
That drops to roughly 5–15%

—

👉 Just to be clear, this isn’t a post about whether these medications are right or wrong.

We’re not here to get into medical discussions.

This is for people who have already decided to use them, and want to make sure they get the best possible results.

—

👉 We’re not anti GLP-1 medications.

They can be a useful tool and for some people, they make a real difference.

But they’re not a complete solution on their own.

Used without strength training and enough protein, they often lead to losing the wrong kind of weight.

—

That difference changes everything.

Because muscle is what:
• keeps your metabolism higher
• helps you look “toned” instead of just smaller
• supports your joints and reduces aches
• keeps you strong as you get older

Lose too much muscle and you don’t just get lighter…
👉 You get weaker
👉 You feel flatter
👉 And you’re more likely to regain the weight

👉 This is where lifting weights matters.

The medication helps you eat less.
Strength training helps you lose the right weight.

And in some cases, if it’s done properly…
👉 You can even build a small amount of muscle while losing fat

So instead of:
❌ “I’ve lost weight but don’t feel great”
You get:
✅ “I feel stronger, leaner, and more confident”

17/03/2026

“Dan, how do I stretch my back?”

I get asked this all the time by non-gym goers.

And most of the time…
👉 Stretching isn’t what you need.

Why?

Because that tight, stiff feeling is often your body trying to protect you, not something that needs loosening off.

👉 It’s guarding

What is guarding?

Your body tightens muscles around an area it thinks is under threat.

Not damaged.
Not torn.
Just… overprotective.

A common example

You sit most of the day.

Your back starts to ache → you move awkwardly → maybe tweak it slightly.

Your body reacts by tightening everything around it.

Next day it feels:
• Tight
• Stiff
• Painful to move

So you assume it needs stretching.

👉 It doesn’t.
It feels “tight” because it’s protecting.

Where people go wrong

❌ Stretch harder
❌ Push into pain
❌ Try to “loosen it off”

That often makes it worse.

What actually helps

You don’t need to force length.
You need to restore confidence in movement.

🔄 How to deal with it

You don’t fix guarding by smashing through it.
And you don’t fix it by doing nothing either.

👉 You rebuild trust in movement.

1. 🧊 Reduce the threat

• Find comfortable positions
• Slow your breathing
• Use heat if it helps

👉 Tell your body “you’re safe”

A simple place to start

👉 90/90 position (feet up on a bench or wall)

• Lie on your back
• Feet elevated, hips and knees at 90°
• Breathe slowly

This helps:
• Take pressure off your back
• Reduce guarding
• Let your body relax

👉 It’s not about stretching
It’s about calming things down first

2. 🔁 Move gently

• Small ranges
• Low or no pain
• Repeat the movement

👉 Movement is the signal that it’s okay again

3. 📈 Build back up

• Add load slowly
• Stay just below flare-up level
• Progress gradually

👉 You’re retraining the system, not forcing it

Bottom line

If your back feels “tight”…

It might not need stretching.
It might need reassurance.

12/03/2026

💡 An often overlooked exercise that can be great for shoulder health

One of the most common things I see in the gym is people struggling to properly activate their lower trapezius.

The lower traps sit on the lower half of the shoulder blade and help control how the shoulder blade moves when the arm lifts overhead.

When they don’t contribute properly, other muscles tend to take over, usually the upper traps and neck.

Exercises like this help train the muscles that control the shoulder blade:

• lower trapezius
• mid trapezius
• rear deltoids
• serratus anterior
• rotator cuff

For many people the challenge isn’t strength.
It’s simply learning how to recruit the lower traps properly.

A few things that often help:

• use lighter weight than you think you need
• keep the arms long with only a slight bend in the elbows
• think about reaching the arms up rather than shrugging the shoulders
• focus on the shoulder blade rotating upward and back

When done well, exercises like this can help people build better control of the shoulder blade and improve how the shoulders move over time.

11/03/2026

🤯I asked AI what the best strength exercise would be if my goal was to live as long as possible. My idea of fun is a little different to most people’s.

The trap bar deadlift.

Everyone training at AF just collectively rolled their eyes. I love putting this one in people’s programmes and couldn’t be happier with AI’s choice.

The trap bar deadlift trains one of the most important abilities we have as humans: the ability to safely pick something up from the floor.

That might sound simple, but losing that ability is one of the fastest ways people start to lose the ability to move well as they age.

Researchers consistently find that people who maintain higher levels of strength tend to live longer and stay healthier.

So exercises that train a lot of muscle at once become incredibly valuable.

Do I do it myself? No.

I train about five times a week and work in a gym, so time isn’t really a limiting factor for me.

That means I can split movements across things like split squats, RDLs and hip thrusts.

When time isn’t a constraint, these can sometimes be better options because they fatigue the system less, allowing me to train specific muscles harder and more often.

Most people can realistically train once or twice a week.

If that’s the case, the trap bar deadlift is incredibly hard to beat.

It trains a huge amount of muscle and transfers really well to everyday life and sport.

Running, skiing, football, tennis, padel… they all rely on producing force through the hips and legs while keeping the spine stable. That’s exactly what the trap bar deadlift trains.

That’s why it shows up in a lot of our members’ programmes.

Everyone training at AF just collectively rolled their eyes.

My love for teaching this one is no secret.

One lift.
A lot of muscle.
A lot of benefit.

04/03/2026

⏳ Longevity isn’t built in six weeks.

It’s built in what you repeat for years.

At Absolute Fitness we help people:

💪 Build muscle
🔥 Reduce body fat
👀 Improve how they look

But here’s what actually determines whether that progress lasts:

1️⃣ Can your joints tolerate load?
2️⃣ Do you move well enough to train consistently?
3️⃣ Are you following structured progression, or random workouts?

Muscle without good movement eventually breaks down.

Fat loss without structure eventually reverses.

That’s why our focus isn’t just “harder workouts.”

It’s:

🏋️ Strength that protects you
🦵 Movement that keeps you training
📈 Structure you can sustain

Because the real goal isn’t short-term change.

It’s staying strong and capable as you age.

www.absolute-fitness.je

02/03/2026

💬 It’s not too late.

💪 Not too late to get stronger.
🧍‍♂️ Not too late to walk into a gym and feel capable.

After 50, many people assume they’ve missed their chance.

You haven’t.

You just haven’t had the right starting point.

That’s why we created 50 STRONG.

A simple, structured introduction to strength training for adults 50+.

For £50 you get:

✔ 2 weeks
✔ 2 coached sessions per week
✔ Personal guidance every session
✔ A safe, supportive environment

No experience needed 👍

By the end, you’ll better understand what you’re doing, and feel noticeably more confident walking into the gym.

You can start straight away.

To keep this manageable and properly supported, we’re limiting this enrolment to 8 spaces.

Enrolment is open now and closes 2 April.

If you’re 50+ and ready to start properly follow this link Or comment STRONG for more info.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1IHQ1T8iL8bBWKwDhMnaT10dvZCIOCRiMbhuau0JxxdI

🌐 www.absolute-fitness.je

Personal information

10/02/2026

A good question to ask at every meal:
👉 “What protein is here?”

Many meals technically include protein.
Pasta is a classic example.

Not because pasta is the protein,
but because the chicken or meat is often a small add-on, not the main part.

That’s where most people get caught out.

Pizza was once a big one for me.
I’d order a meat pizza, as if the small amount of meat somehow cancelled out
the huge amount of calories on the plate.

It doesn’t work like that.

Instead of building meals around carbs and sprinkling protein on top, try this 👇

🍽️ Start with the protein
Eggs, yoghurt, fish, chicken, steak, tofu, shakes.
Choose that first.

🥣 Then build the meal out from there
Add carbs and fats after, not instead of.

“I just can’t fit it in”
That’s usually because the plate is already full.

Swap some carbs or fats for protein and you often get the bonus of fewer calories too.

03/02/2026

💪 Why strength matters for mums

Motherhood doesn’t make you weak.
But it does change your body.

Strength training is how you rebuild stability, confidence, and control.

• Fewer aches and niggles
• Stronger hips and backs
• Better posture for feeding, carrying, pushing
• Easier lifts, off the floor, into the car, through the day

🚫 It’s not about “bouncing back”
🚫 It’s not about smashing yourself

It’s about feeling solid in your own body again.

Cardio keeps you fit.
👉 Strength keeps you capable.

That’s what we focus on at Absolute Fitness.

www.absolute-fitness.je

01/02/2026

✨ Strong AF Mums – New mixed classes to reduce planning stress! ✨
💙 New for 2026

We’ve made a small but important change based on feedback from mums.

👶👧 All Strong AF Mums sessions are now mixed age.
Babies and toddlers welcome in the same session.

No more wondering which session you “should” be in.

💪 Strong AF Mums
Weekly strength sessions for mums. Join anytime.

👶 Train with your little one in the room with you
🤝 Real coaching + real support (not a big class)
💛 A calm, friendly space designed for mums who still want to feel strong, capable and like themselves again

Coached by Alysha, mum of two, who genuinely understands this stage of life.

💪 Strength that fits the season you’re in, not the one you wish you had time for. Small, consistent sessions = big difference to how your days feel.
Being strong doesn’t compete with being a mum… it supports it.

📅 Session Times
• Mon 11:30
• Tue 10:15 & 11:30
• Wed 11:30
• Thu 10:15 & 11:30
• Fri 11:30

⏱️ 1-hour sessions
👥 Capped at 6 mums

💷 Pricing
• 1 session per week → £135 / month
≈ £31.15 per session
• 2 sessions per week → £210 / month
≈ £24.23 per session
Suitable for mums completely new to exercise.
Life happens: sessions can be swapped, changed and banked when unforeseen moments arise 🙂

📲 Sign up here:
https://docs.google.com/.../1IHQ1T8iL8bBWKwDhMnaT10dvZCIO..
Dan@absolute-fitness.je
07700341343

www.absolute-fitness.je

27/01/2026

We’re looking to add to the team at Absolute Fitness.

We’re currently looking for someone to support the gym with a few hours in the mornings and evenings.

This would suit someone who:

Enjoys being in a coaching environment

Is reliable and organised

Hours are flexible and can fit around other work or study.

If this sounds like you, or someone you know, drop me a message.