The word ‘Emancipate’ can be defined as ‘being set free from an authority or restrictive power’. Now, you might associate the word emancipate with spoilt, rich, teenage movie stars who legally separate themselves from their parents because they are sick of them telling them what to do and to save their money (anyone remember Macaulay Culkin?). But, chances are that there is some higher … [Read more...]

During my time as a personal trainer, I’ve seen plenty of ordinary people achieve extraordinary health and fat-loss results. Conversely, I’ve seen plenty of people not achieve the results they initially set out to achieve. So why is that? They all have access to the same training, the same food, the same equipment, the same weather and the same information. In my opinion, those who actually … [Read more...]

I get asked on a weekly, if not daily, basis ‘how many calories should I be burning when I train?' or ‘what should my heart rate be when I train?’ or ‘how far should I be running?’ or ‘how long does each training session need to go for?’ Folks, I’m sorry to say that none of these things really matter or should even interest you. (WHAT THE...???) If your goal is to lose fat, improve … [Read more...]

Before you join a gym, hire a personal trainer or listen to any exercise instructor to help you with your new years resolutions, make sure that they fulfill a few essential criteria. These well-intentioned but often grossly uninformed, negligent or uneducated so-called ‘fitness professionals’ may be the very reason your weight loss and health goals are eluding you. Be sure that they meet the … [Read more...]

With the arrival of this, and every new year, it’s common for most people to set some goals - usually regarding their health, weight loss and/or fitness. This is all well and good but we need to understand WHY we are setting these goals. Are your goals intrinsically or extrinsically derived? Intrinsic goals tend to be motivated by internal desires, thoughts and feelings about yourself. For … [Read more...]

We all know that this time of year can get pretty hectic. Tyring to fit in work, family, social functions, school commitments, Christmas, New Years and maybe a holiday means that your weekly routine is likely to get disrupted for quite some time. We tend to lose all CONSISTENCY - especially with our exercise and healthy eating. I’m sorry to say folks, but without CONSISTENCY, we will never … [Read more...]

Christmas and all the associated holidays, festivities and parties will soon be upon us. As a personal trainer for the last 13 years, I feel pretty safe in saying that there aren’t many people who actually manage to lose weight during this time of the year, let alone just maintain their weight! Unfortunately, most folks are still trying to drop the extra weight they gained over winter when the … [Read more...]

Quite often you’ll hear scientist, doctors and medical experts say that some people are genetically predisposed to certain conditions, addictions, illnesses and behaviours due to their genetic ‘makeup’, so to speak. With the amazing advances being made in science, you can even have your entire genome mapped out for you (for a price of course) to let you know your ’predisposition’ to … [Read more...]

In my line of work I see plenty of people who successfully lose fat, build muscle, increase their health and fitness and generally improve their quality of life. Unfortunately, I see just as many who do not achieve the results they so desperately want. There are many reasons why some people fail to achieve results, but I believe one of the key reasons is that they get too hung up on counting … [Read more...]

In Stephen Covey’s book (7 Habits of Highly Effective People), he refers to what he called “the law of the farm.” This represents the fact that all the truly good things in life take time and can’t be forced or rushed. Covey described the process of farming and alluded to how it requires patience and diligence to grow crops properly. In addition, farming requires belief in the system. The … [Read more...]