(Content by Phoenix – originally published in Men’s Fitness)
Before: Contemplation phase
So we know what races through our minds when we have just made that credit card payment for our summer holiday abroad. Sun, beach, relax by the pool……… bliss and then it you have a realisation…………I’ve got to get my body out! What will the ladies think of my old “6 pack” that’s slipped into the “family pack”?
During: Action phase
Train like a man possessed. Lose 5kg of body fat and looking sharp!
After: Completion phase
Wow, what a great holiday, now I need another break, just from the holiday! I’ve put on a few kilos, or I’m still in reasonable shape but just have the post holiday blues and can think about the gym yet as I’m still in denial that the holiday is over! What am I training for now?
How can I use short-term goals to remotivate myself to train?
Short term goals are vital for success. The old saying of “just chip away one piece at a time” is vital for momentum. To have momentum you first have to start moving. If your task is too big and complicated most people are likely to procrastinate about starting as they are thinking how vast the task of the exercise is going to be. Some won’t even start at all! So plan some simple short term goals. Simple goals such as completing two twenty minute runs in the first week back is enough to get your head in the right place to start contemplating more challenging exercise goals. Another short term goal might be to visit the gym and complete one or two full body workouts each of thirty minute duration. Once completed set medium term goals such as planning, and completing, four to six weeks of consistent training (regardless of which training you choose) either in cardio vascular based exercise such as running/swimming/cycling or resistance based gym workouts. This is long enough to form a habit and get regular exercise back into your lifestyle.
How can I use long-term goals to do the same?
Long term goals can only be set if the framework is there. I.e. setting and achieving the short and medium term first. So we have started exercise again, had six good consistent weeks training under our belts and now it’s time for the long term goal. This might be an event such as a triathlon (super sprint/sprint for novices and Olympic distance for the super keen!) a ten kilometer run (of which there are many organized runs around the UK all through the year, or maybe you are looking to loose five to ten kilograms of bodyweight. I consider ten kilograms to be a long term goal as steady to slower weight(fat) loss preserves lean body mass (muscle tissue) which is vital for metabolism and elevated metabolic rate aiding you to keep body fat at bay in the future.
Do I have to start training as soon as I get back, or can I have a short break say a week?
Well, what are we having a break from? Was the exercise regime so rigorous that you feel you have to have a break before continuing? Wasn’t the holiday a break? I would suggest that the sooner you get back to some form of exercise regime the better. For a couple of reasons. First you are less likely to find it difficult to begin again and won’t procrastinate so long, and two you are less likely to loose the benefits of your cardiovascular conditioning and body shape you changed prior to the holidays. A week’s break off training is only really essential when it is part of a structured rest period during cycles of heavy training. Either heavy weight training microcycles or high performance cardio vascular conditioning periods.
I’m still in pretty good shape after my trip, what’s the least effort I can put in to stay like this?
If you are happy with your physique and aerobic capacity I would suggest a maintenance programme of three cardiovascular based sessions per week and two resistance based exercise sessions per week. If you arte really keen you can even combine the two. Start with a well structured resistance circuit (thirty mins duration) including all major muscle groups and tack on twenty to thirty minutes aerobic training at the end followed by some corrective stretching. Two to three of that type of training will be enough to keep some resemblance of you shape and keep the cardio vascular system in good strong.
I put on a few pounds on the trip, what are some of the best fat-burning moves I can do to shift the weight?
Well first look at what you have been eating. Keep a daily food diary for four days and notice what you are eating then question why you ate it? Most people are visual so this is a good stimulus to wake you up a bit after the holidays. The sooner your eating habits are back to balance the easier this is. I like to use the KIP principle
Keep It in Prospective:
This means consume fewer calories than you expend
Exercise more often than you have been (the period in which the excess weight went on)
AND
Change your behavior towards exercise and why you do it!
That aside there are some very effective fat burning routines that will light your furness in the gym. You need to make every session in the gym the most fat burning and productive as possible. Start with the BIG Burner exercises such as the ones that require big neuromuscular co-ordination and many muscles firing together to do the movement. You can even make up some hybrid movements. Such exercises and movements are
1. Squats – to Bent over Barbell Rows – to pushups
2. 5 mins on the row machine
3. Deadlifts – to Hang Cleans – to Overhead Barbell Press
4. 5 mins on the cross trainer
5. Dumbell lunges – to Cleans – to single arm overhead Dumbell Press
6. 5 mins run on treadmill
7. Prone cobra exercises and abdominals (plank/Russian twists/ball crunches)
Sets of 12 reps and 2 circuits of the 7 stations is plenty!
Speak to a personal trainer for advice on your technique on the BIG exercises
I’ve spanked too much cash on holiday and I can’t afford a personal trainer, how do I remotivate myself on my own?
I would always suggest you budget to see a good personal trainer. I’m a personal trainer and I have one! We all train more effectively with someone pushing your to get that extra bit. Put some cash aside each week and see a PT once a fortnight or month! Now that you are back from holidays you won’t be drinking and eating our as much right? Obviously I’m biased! Seriously though, if cash is tight you will have to rely on planning and good old internal motivation. Start by writing your exercise sessions as appointments in your PDA, Blackberry, or paper diary! If you have a daily task list or “To Do” list you can then tick off each session once done. It will only take a few non ticks before you feel guilty enough to get to the gym or out for a run etc. Treating your exercise like everything else in your life gives it a value. Then work on it becoming a priority!
Will training with mates or my girlfriend help?
Training with mates always helps! Having someone else to turn up for will more than likely get you there. When training on your own it’s easy to skip a few sessions and think nothing of it. If you know you have someone else meeting you there you are letting yourself AND someone else down. Training with the girlfriend can be interesting…..never assume they will enjoy you shouting at them to do one more rep! Make an agreement from the start that you are both there to enjoy the exercise and not make it a competition! You are helping each other stay accountable to the goals you have set.
What type of training should I do (i.e., circuit, interval etc) and why?
Circuit and interval training have there place in any structured exercise plan. Circuits can involve a mix of cardiovascular and resistance based exercises usually one after such as the routine above. Interval training can involve a mixed amount for aerobic based activities at a high enough intensity that aerobic becomes anaerobic .
Interval training has been shown to be very effective at bodyfat reduction by the way it has an effect on your exercise recovery. It actually raises the level of EPOC (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption) or how much oxygen you need post session to recover. This is very important as it allows your metabolism to remain higher after the session, thus, allowing the body to effectively burn fat at a faster than normal rate (in recovery). Interval and circuit training should be a part of a well planned and periodised routine that involves other traditional exercise modalities. A great ten week programme is as follows.
Week 1-3 Circuits
Week 4-6 Full-body workouts with 1 minute rest periods
Week 7-9 Split body part routines with low intensity cv work
Week 10-12 Interval cardio workouts with 30 min resistance sessions
Week 13 Rest or light cardio
What can I do next year to avoid this situation?
The answer lies with your “state” of mind. This may be a little deep but we need to be aware of how our states can affect our decisions to exercise or not.
Your state is defined as; the sum of your mind-body emotions, mood and emotional condition, or in other words, all neurological and physical processes within an individual at any one time.
Your state alters all the time and we experience a range of states of awareness.
Let’s do a comparison of two opposing states.
“I should go for a run today”
One state is self-esteem (if I go for a run I will feel better about myself)
Another state is self-contempt (if I don’t go for a run I will feel unfit, unhealthy, fat, and maybe a failure).
People take action in only two ways. One is simply to gain pleasure, and the other is to avoid pain or further pain. When faced with an action pay particular attention to the internal language you are using. Is it more towards moving away from pain or is it more moving towards gaining pleasure? Keep it towards gaining pleasure and it will be a lot easier to avoid the situation next year!
Rob Burr is a Certified Master Trainer and Performance Coach. He is a Director of Phoenix Exercise Professionals based in London. His team of trainers are mobile and travel to where the client is based. Phoenix also runs successful thirty minute one on one Personal Training sessions for 37° Health and Fitness based at Tower Bridge.
To contact Rob or any his team you can visit www.phoenixcoaching.co.uk or www.thirtysevendegrees.co.uk