Week 8, Day 1 of my 12 Week Transformation

Goal Setting - The Revolution Way

I’m now at the half way point of my 12 week transformation, and my results so far are in. My weight when I started was 89.2kg, and now it is 85.2kg so that’s 4kg lost (or in old money, 9 pounds). My body fat started at 17.7% and is now down to 14%, and I’ve lost exactly 2 inches from my waist. I’m bang on target to hit my goal of under 10% body fat and feeling highly motivated to train and eat right.

This brings me nicely on to what I really wanted to talk about in this blog post. Since Revolution opened in 2005, our company has helped thousands of people transform their bodies and achieve their goals. But why do some people totally transform their bodies whilst other people, who have all the same access to dietary advice and training plans, cannot?

Firstly, you simply have to stop making excuses. It does sound a little harsh, but it’s true. “I’m really busy”, “I work crazy hours”, “I’ve got 3 young kids”, “I’ve got a bad back”, “I haven’t got time to cook”. Believe me, over the 10 years I’ve been a personal trainer, I’ve heard them all. And if I’m honest, I’ve said at least 2 of the above myself.

Secondly, I think the reason some people who have been unable to change their bodies physically has been due to their inability to control their emotions. There is nothing wrong with enjoying a beer or a chocolate bar, but the problem comes when we find ourselves having these things when we don’t really want them. I can say from personal experience that before I started my 12 week transformation, I found myself eating high sugar snacks every night. This is a classic example of our emotions taking over our logical thoughts. We know that what we are eating is bad for us, and we don’t even want the food we are putting into our bodies, yet we still eat it.

The answer lies in our ability to set goals in a way that provides us with clarity and purpose. When we set a goal which excites us and we know exactly what we want to achieve, we stop making excuses and more importantly we get the power of our emotions working for us rather than against us.

I could write pages and pages on how to set goals, but instead I’m going to give you a fast-track lesson on how to set goals the Revolution way.

1. Know exactly what you want to achieve and over what time frame. Remember that the more clarity you have, the more likely you are to achieve your goal.

2. Why do you want to achieve your goal? The ‘why’ is the emotional pull, so don’t underestimate its power. Be really honest with yourself.

3. Asses your progress by taking a waist measurement or weighing yourself every 3-4 weeks (or any other evaluation which is applicable to your goals).

4. Visualise what you want to achieve, and if you’re someone who is not good at visualisation, then simply find a picture of someone you want to look like and put it on your fridge.

I thought I'd finish this blog post with some 'before and after' photos of a couple of a Revolution clients, Sarah and Moshe, who achieved amazing results by following the Revolution system of goal setting, training and nutrition.


Cheers,

Rob
Revolution

Week 7, Day 1 of my 12 Week Transformation

Food for the week

As I approach the half-way point of my 12 week transformation, I’d like to share some more nutritional advice. In fact what I thought I’d do today is show you a photo of exactly what I bought from the supermarket yesterday, and pick out a few selected items of the foods and explain their health benefits.

Eggs – contain 6 grams of protein each and contain all 9 essential amino acids.

Butter – naturally high in vitamin A, it also helps with the absorption of other vitamins, specifically D,E & K.

Pumpkin seeds – high in zinc (particularly important for male fertility) as well as loaded with protein.

Almonds – high in protein and quality monounsaturated fat, which helps to lower blood pressure.

Brazil nuts – contain the mineral Selenium which boosts the immune system and is vital for the production of testosterone.

Chicken – contains approximately 30 grams of protein per breast.

Blueberries – high in vitamin C and antioxidants.

Bananas – really high in potassium, which helps to regulate blood pressure.

Sweet potato – my own personal favourite vegetable. It’s as slow releasing in terms of energy as oats, and is packed full of fibre and vitamins.

Avocado – contains monounsaturated fats that help lower the cholesterol, and has high levels of fibre so you feel fuller for longer.

Broccoli – packed with vitamin C, which aids with iron absorption. Also high in fibre, which can help to reduce cholesterol.

The other foods in the photo are: natural yoghurt, Yakult, carrots, bok choy, peppers, porridge, tomatoes, brown rice, cod, cottage cheese, lemon, spinach and mushrooms.

I now feel totally in control of what I am eating and when. I will talk about the health benefits of some of the other foods in the photo later this week.

Cheers,

Rob
Revolution

Week 6, Day 3 of my 12 Week Transformation

After a week’s holiday at Centre Parcs with the family, I’m now back and feeling great about the next stage of my 12 week transformation.

While I was away I didn’t put a single pound of weight on, which I have to say with plenty of temptation around wasn’t easy. I reminded myself of my goals and that’s how I was able to say no to the ice creams, beers and pancakes (apart from on Sunday of course!). That’s the thing I’ve said previously, will-power is not some magic formula blessed to a few. Anyone, and I mean anyone , can have incredible will-power and achieve amazing results if they have a goal which excites them and a clear plan of action.

Before I talk more about my next phase if training I’d like to show you a video of one of the exercises I recorded during the conditioning phase. It’s called a jockey row, and it’s a fantastic exercise to relieve tightness in the lower back and improve posture.



Second 4 weeks of training - hypertrophy (improved muscle tone)
The training phase changes at this point to give the body a new stimulus. This training phase is called hypertrophy, which means using resistance based exercises to increase the body’s lean muscle and also to increase muscular tone.

For women worried about ‘bulking up’ during this phase, there really isn’t any need as the building block of muscle is testosterone and 99% of women won’t produce enough testosterone to build significant muscle. You can read more about this in the article written by Rebecca Maslin in Revolution’s July newsletter.

By adding lean quality muscle to the body, the basal metabolic rate is increased. This is the rate at which you burn calories at rest. For every pound of muscle you have, you burn 16 calories at rest per hour. For every pound of fat you have, you only burn 2 calories at rest per hour.

What the above really means is that by lifting weights and eating right, you will inevitably reduce body fat whilst also shaping and sculpting the body. Although cardiovascular exercise should obviously be a key part of any training schedule, weight training should always play an important part too. And as I have already emphasised, this is for both men and women.

I can’t finish this post holiday blog without the mention of a few classic moments with my parents. As I explained in my last post, my parents follow their own set of nutritional rules, which aren’t entirely in line with the ones I am following during this 12 week transformation. The day after we arrived, I asked my Mum if she had brought any green tea bags. She replied with “no, but I can make you a latte if you like?” Another gem was when I told my dad I was off the beers, to which he replied “Alright. I’ll just pour you a whiskey then.”

Cheers,

Rob
Revolution

Week 4, Day 5 of my 12 Week Transformation

As I come to the end of my first 4 weeks of training, I'm posting up a video that shows me performing a cross lunge. It's a great exercise when done properly to work the muscles of the glutes. When you get the glutes firing it can have the effect of easing lower back pain and also to tone those buttocks - and let's be honest, who wouldn't want that!



Yesterday, Giuseppe and I recorded 2 more exercises which I wanted to post up today, but I'm off on holiday to the exoctic location of Centre Parcs and my wife says we need to leave now! So I'll post those two videos when I return in 1 week.

I'm also faced with the challange of eating well whilst on holiday, which is made all the more difficult as I'm not only going on holiday with my wife and daughter, but also my parents. And my parents follow some of their own nutritional rules:

1) you can't go longer than 12 minutes without putting the kettle on

2) always clear your plate, as there are children starving in the world

3) a salad should always include bread, cheese and colslaw

4) an 'alcohol free day' means only have 1 bottle of wine (and maybe one or two beers)

5) and lastly, a full English breakfast is the best way to start the day!

I'll let you know how I get on.


Cheers,

Rob

Revolution

Week 4, Day 4 of my 12 Week Transformation

The Conditioning Phase of Training

So as I near the end of the first 4 weeks of my 12 week transformation, as promised I am going to review the training I've been doing. A couple of blog posts ago I broke down the 12 weeks of training into 3 different training phases. I'm going to start by explaining the first phase of training which is called conditioning.

Conditioning (core strength and flexibility) - what does it mean? And what are the benefits to me?

The majority of clients come to us when they haven't exercised regularly for a long time, or they have been exercising but are suffering from lower back pain, knee pain, shoulder pain, neck pain or any other similar condition, whether mild or worse. You don’t have to be Albert Einstein to work out that the last thing you need if you are someone who falls into one of the above categories is to push your body really hard and exacerbate the existing problem.

During the first 4 weeks of training, we design a conditioning exercise programme specific to your body’s needs. It could include squatting and lunge movements performed to fire on the glutes (posh word for buttocks) and hamstrings, and to take pressure off your back. It could include rotational movements to free up your thoracic spine to alleviate mid-back stiffness and possibly hip flexor stretches to immediately ease lower back pain.

What I have mentioned above is really just the start. The purpose of the conditioning phase is to get your body moving how it was designed to, and not only take away old injuries but also to prevent your body breaking down as the training intensity increases through the 12 weeks. The benefits then obviously become clear - if your body is moving pain-free and the correct muscles are working when required, then your chances of achieving your goal are greatly increased.

My business partner, Giuseppe, has been training me through my conditioning phase and he has given me a programme which has left me feeling great. My lower back niggle has gone, my glutes are firing on while I’m running, squatting and lunging and my posture has improved. Within the next couple of days, I will post some videos of some of the exercises that Giuseppe has had me doing during the conditioning phase. I’m now ready for my next phase of training!

I almost wrote a blog post without talking about nutrition at all, but in the end I just couldn’t resist it. During the first 4 weeks of training, some people think their bodies won’t change if they don’t flog themselves until they are sick. This is not true! What you eat is so important. I’ve lost half a stone in 3 weeks by eating clean natural foods for 6 days of the week, and 1 day a week of eating whatever I want. If you’re thinking it’s easier for me as I’m a trainer, well I’m sorry I’m not buying it.

Remember the rules:

1. Remind yourself of your goal and make sure achieving that goal is exciting to you

2. Plan, plan, plan your meals

3. Always read Rob’s blog


Cheers,
Rob
Revolution