Taking your measurements

Taking measurements is by far the best way to keep track of your changing shape as you get fit.
Weight on the scales can sometimes show little change, or even go up if you’ve swapped some fat mass for muscle, or taken on more water that particular day – meaning that they really don’t give an accurate reading of how well you’re doing.
Also, it can sometimes take a while for these training effects to take place, so weekly “weigh-ins” can sometimes dishearten many people, and cause them to give up.
By taking measurements and keeping an eye on how your clothes are fitting, you can see exactly how well your efforts are paying off and even where you’re losing the “weight” from.
For accuracy, you must ensure that you’re taking the measurements at exactly the same places each time or you will get mixed and inaccurate readings.
Again though, be aware that everyone’s different. You may see results faster than you expected, or a little slower. Either way, stick to the programme and eventually things will even out.

Below are some tips on how to take your measurements.
Neck – Standing, measure your neck at its largest girth (right over the Adam’s apple for men).

Chest – Men: Standing, measure around your chest at nipple height, with breath out.
Women: Measure under your breasts but as high up as you can go, keeping the tape measure parallel to this line when you reach it around your back (with breath out).

Bust (Women) – Don't squish yourself -- measure all the way around your bust and back right at your nipple line, and make sure the tape measure is not lower.

Waist – Standing, measure at the navel line/belly button.

Hips – Measure at “the biggest part of your bum”, standing with feet together -- even if that is so low that you are almost on the top of your thighs.

Thigh – Standing, measure at the “gluteal fold” (or in English, the crease at the bottom of your backside!).

Calves – Standing, measure where they are the biggest.

Upper Arm – Measure at the largest point above the elbow, with arms relaxed at your sides.

Avoid pulling the tape measure too tight when taking these measurements. It should lie flat against the skin and level all the way around without pinching.


You may also want to take some pictures as these also provide an easy way to gauge your progress (it's difficult to see the changes day by day, but comparing pictures a few weeks apart you'll see exactly what changes are taking place). Wear as little as possible for these, or fitted clothes. Baggy clothes won't show anything!

Underwear or swimwear is the ideal.

Take pictures from the front, sides and back. And stand normally - don't try and pull anything in or puff anything up. Honest pictures work best!

I strongly encourage you to throw away your scales and start using these methods to track your progress.

10 reasons why the Gymboss is still the best training tool I’ve ever bought

The Gymboss is an interval timer – the same one I use in my Bootcamp classes, with Personal Training clients, and in my own workouts.

Here's why I like it so much: -

1. It makes interval sessions easy.

2. It keeps rest periods strict – no slacking off; which means harder work and better results.

3. You don’t have to keep looking at the clock during interval sessions or circuits– just wait for the beep.

4. You can easily time challenge workouts to the second (i.e. how long it takes to complete a workout) with the stopwatch function.

5. For AMRAP style workouts (as many rounds and reps as possible in a certain time limit), you can just start the timer and get going. No need to check the time, just set the timer to the desired time and it’ll bleep when your time is up.

6. EMOTM (every minute on the minute) workouts. These are tough! Set the timer to a 1 minute interval, to repeat for the desired number of rounds. Then get going.

7. Perfect for fighter training. Set the interval to a 3 (or any other number) minute round, followed by a 1 minute rest period (or any rest period from 2 seconds to 99mins), then repeat for a set number of rounds, or just keep going...

8. Intervals can be set to any time from 2 seconds to 99mins 59secs

9. AMRAP and timed workouts are perfect for tracking your progress and increasing fitness, as well as a great motivator.

10. It’s small, easy to use, water and shock resistant, and you can just clip it to your shirt, trousers or arm band. Plus, you can take it anywhere to get a great workout.


You’ll struggle to find a good interval timer, and the Gymboss is by far the best I’ve found.

Follow the link to get your timer now - Gymboss Interval Timer

Worth every penny. It'll revolutionize your workouts!


Mark

My Breakfast Experiment

Yesterday I decided to do a little experiment. I hadn't been shopping and the cupboards were pretty empty, so breakfast options were limited.

Now I don't really have a particular problem with wheat or dairy, although many people do, but instead of my usual breakfast of eggs or bacon or a super-smoothie, I decided to have Weetabix. A power breakfast, no?

So, 8am, breakfast: 4 weetabix with milk and a small sprinkling of sugar (what most people seem to think of as a healthy breakfast!)

The Result: Well, not only was I hungry again in about half an hour, but by the time I was set to have my workout at about 11.30, I had NO energy. I felt weak, lethargic and had no motivation whatsoever to drag my arse into the gym.

Is this how people feel day in, day out?!

No wonder everyone doses up on sugar-filled junk and caffeine!

If you "don't have the energy to train" or are "too tired" after your day's work, then maybe, just maybe, it's NOT that you've worked hard (let's face it, unless you're a labourer, you don't work hard - sat at a desk all day), but that you've been feeding your body crap and it's telling you it just 'aint good enough!

If you're feeding your body the fuel it needs, you'll have better energy levels throughout the day and have plenty left over for a workout at the end of the day.

All without having to dose up of coffee and sugar at regular intervals.

You may not have made the connection between the s**t you're eating and your apparent lack of energy, but trust me, this is EXACTLY what the problem is.

So tomorrow, instead of having your cereal with milk, and cup of tea or coffee, try having something different; scrambled eggs and a couple of rashers of grilled bacon, maybe with some grilled tomatoes. And at least a pint of water.

Give it a try and see if you feel any different.

Then later on, when (or if) you get hungry, have another glass of water first, then a handful of nuts with a cup of berries.

Try this for a couple of days and if you don't notice the difference...
(then you're probably still pretending you "can't go without your cup of tea in the morning")

Give it a try and let me know how it goes.