Here’s the latest edition of my regular series of Quick and Easy Health, Physique Transformation and Sports Conditioning tips.

You can put these into action right now to Look, Feel, Move and Perform better.

These tips are organised into 3 different categories:

1. General Health & Motivation
2. Training (Fat Loss, Muscle Gain, Athleticism & Strength)
3. Nutrition

Enjoy!

 General Health & Motivation

‘Get out of your footwear as much as you can’

Shoes often restrict our range of motion and provide external stability that our feet need to develop on their own.

This is why many perform some of their training exercises barefoot.

Eliminating footwear improves ankle and foot mobility and stability, reduces calf tightness, increases activation of the posterior chain and proprioception of the foot.

However, for some reason, many gyms do not allow members to take off their footwear (don’t tell me your shoe is going to help much if you drop a weight on your foot).

So in these cases, try out some minimalist footwear (Vibram, Nike Free and New Balance have some great kit) that will provide just enough stability to prevent lateral sprains, all while helping you increase ankle mobility and stability in the foot.

Get out of your footwear (running trainers, smart shoes, or high heels etc) as much as you can, and while shoe-less, do foot and ankle activation and mobility drills to maintain good foot function.

The topic of barefoot training merits a whole detailed article in itself; for the moment, give it a try using your footwear less and feel the benefits.

 Training (Fat Loss, Muscle Gain, Athleticism & Strength)

‘Grab a deck of cards for a fun home and travel workout’

I get asked a lot about travel, or at-home workouts.

Here’s a fun answer I often give – get a deck of cards!

Assign an exercise to each suit in the deck, and let the number dictate reps for each choice (face cards are always 10).

Here is an awesome workout you can do anywhere:

• Spades: Reverse Lunges
• Clubs: Core Dead-Bugs
• Diamonds: Glute Bridges
• Hearts: Press Ups (Classic, Kneeling or Incline to suit your ability)

BONUS!

• Aces: 10 Burpees
• Jokers: 10 Jump Squats

If you have a TRX, I recommend making the Diamonds suit  TRX Rows.

If you have a Pull-Up bar, make the Jokers a do-able amount of Chin-Ups, or Chin-Up Iso-Holds in the top position for as long as you can.

Simply turn over a card, and GO!

See how fast you can make it through the deck, and try to beat your time every workout.

 Nutrition

‘Eat more fish – preferably ones that did cool stuff like this while they were still alive‘

I hope you’ve enjoyed the latest edition of my regular series and found it useful.

Thanks for reading and please do share with anyone else you know will benefit!

Feel free to post some of your own ideas in the comments section below and on RHP’s Facebook or Twitter pages, too!

Rich

P.S. – to access every installment of my regular ‘Quick and Easy Ways to Look, Feel & Perform Better’ series, click here.

Here’s the latest edition of my regular series of Quick and Easy Health, Physique Transformation and Sports Conditioning tips.

You can put these into action right now to Look, Feel, Move and Perform better.

These tips are organised into 3 different categories:

1. General Health & Motivation
2. Training (Fat Loss, Muscle Gain, Athleticism & Strength)
3. Nutrition

Enjoy!

 General Health & Motivation

‘Get a GOOD training partner’

There are random people you meet at the gym who occasionally help you with lifts, or give encouragement here and there.

Then there are dedicated training partners.

There is a big difference.

A good training partner will tell you to get your act together and train hard when you’re slacking off, or even hold you back when your body is banged up, but you’re stupidly trying to push through it. They care about your results and give good quality guidance, technical feedback and encouragement.

It’s guaranteed accountability, motivation, experience, safety, competition, and all-around awesomeness.

To be honest, I often wonder if most people get the best results working with a personal trainer/strength & conditioning coach for these factors more than the actual expertise the fitness professional provides!

 Training (Fat Loss, Muscle Gain, Athleticism & Strength)

‘Do more complexes’

Maybe it’s me, but complexes are not talked about or used nearly enough. They had a stint a few years ago or so where they were all the rage, but seem to have tailed off in popularity.

They deserve a spot in your training.

A complex is a series of exercises, done in sequence, usually with the same weight, preferably without putting the weight down.

Why I like them:

• Minimal equipment/space needed
• Time-efficient
• Help groove form on major lifts
• Easily adaptable for muscle gain or fat loss
• No running involved

Things to remember:

• They are taxing. I prefer to see them used at the end of a training session.
• If used on ‘off-days’, I prefer to see them done at a moderate intensity OR done ‘all-out’ if you are not lifting the next day. For example, if you take the weekend off lifting, Saturday would be a good spot to hit complexes.

Here are some of my favorites articles on complexes:

Complexes 2.0 — Optimize Your Fat-Loss Workouts – John Romaniello

Complexes: Different, Harder, and Better – Wil Fleming

Complexes for Fat Loss – Alwyn Cosgrove

Rebuild Yourself with Complexes – Dan John

Screw Cardio! Four Complexes for a Shredded Physique – Chris Shugart

 Nutrition

‘Base your nutritional approach around foods that you actually like!’

The title speaks for itself, but here’s the deal.

If you read this series regularly or have seen any of the information on the RHP Website, then you know the importance I place on making a nutrition plan ‘do-able’.

Adherence is the key to success.

When people decide they are going to ‘clean’ up their eating they often make drastic restrictions with their food choices. It’s as if what they enjoy to eat no longer matters.

Long-term, this strict overhaul often fails when willpower becomes an issue.

There is a better first step.

One that is more productive in the long run than serving up a helping of things that are ‘healthy’ but that you don’t like.

Make a list of all the ‘real’ foods you DO like.

Choose foods that you actually ENJOY eating, and also ones that the majority of people would consider healthy. Choose at least a few in each of the following categories. Here are mine off the top of my head (by no means all-inclusive!):

Protein:

• Meat = EVERYTHING
• Fish = EVERYTHING
• Dairy = Cheese, Natural Yoghurt
• Others = Eggs, Whey Protein

Fat:

• Nuts/Seeds = Any kind or organic peanut/almond butter
• Oils = Coconut, Olive
• Other = Avocado

Vegetables:

• Pretty much anything; Asparagus and Cavolo Nero always go down a treat…

Fruit: 

• Berries, Apples

Other Carbs:

• Oats, Rice, Quinoa, Sweet Potato

Now you have the bedrock of your shopping list.

From here you can search the web for recipes revolving around these items. Clients at RHP get access to more than 60 of RHP’s free, easy, healthy recipes. Finding healthy recipes that include these things will introduce you to some variety.

When in doubt, just go back to your list.

Having this – as your first step and ‘fall back’ – will greatly improve your chances of cleaning up and enjoying your eating.

I hope you’ve enjoyed the latest edition of my regular series and found it useful.

Thanks for reading and please do share with anyone else you know will benefit!

Feel free to post some of your own ideas in the comments section below and on RHP’s Facebook or Twitter pages, too!

Rich

P.S. – to access every installment of my regular ‘Quick and Easy Ways to Look, Feel & Perform Better’ series, click here.

Here’s the latest edition of my regular series of Quick and Easy Health, Physique Transformation and Sports Conditioning tips.

You can put these into action right now to Look, Feel, Move and Perform better.

These tips are organised into 3 different categories:

1. General Health & Motivation
2. Training (Fat Loss, Muscle Gain, Athleticism & Strength)
3. Nutrition

Enjoy!

 General Health & Motivation

‘Tell people your goals to set up external sources of accountability’

Whether you are trying to lose fat, gain muscle, get stronger or more athletic, or accomplish another fitness goal, be sure to tell everyone!

People tend to keep their goals to themselves; they want to quietly make changes.

While this may work for some, the more successful approach is often to tell the world your plans.

When you announce your plans to make a change you instantly set up numerous sources of accountability. You must hold yourself accountable for your actions, but it helps when you know others are also looking to see your progress.

If this is the case, you will be less likely to miss a training session (where others at the gym know your goals), or repeatedly make poor diet choices when you know you are soon meeting up with people who are interested to see how far you have come.

Other ideas include joining a site where people can track your workouts, or doing a blog or weekly Facebook post on your progress.

 Training (Fat Loss, Muscle Gain, Athleticism & Strength)

‘Make your “fillers” more effective’

“Fillers” are popular, and for good reason. Everyone is busy, and using them is a terrific way to maximise training efficiency.

So, what’s a “filler”?

“Fillers” are corrective activation, mobility, stability, and motor control drills to be performed in rest periods between sets of an exercise.

They should not be strenuous enough to detract from your program. When used correctly, they can aid in improving movement quality, outputs, and results. In order to make them most effective, fillers should be personalised to fit your body type.

Hypermobile (excessively “loose”) people should spend time getting stable, and hypomobile (“stiff”) people should spend time getting loose.

Loose people are already able to get into just about any range of motion they desire. In fact, they are generally able to get to some ranges that are not desirable. Therefore, they are better served doing corrective activation and stability based drills between sets. This will help them “own” positions better and promote better control within their ranges of motion.

Stiff people, on the other hand, need to fit in extra mobility work as often as possible. Their time is best spent working on various mobility drills, as well as some corrective activation drills. These will help them move better in general, and get into more advantageous positions when performing the exercises in their program.

The drills each population chooses can be individualised based on the needs of the person and/or the demands of the exercise with which they are paired.

Many hypermobile people need better core, hip, and shoulder stability. So, drills like Dead-bugs, Bowler Squats, Scap Wall-Slides, Bodyweight Turkish Get-Ups, and Rotator-Cuff activation drills work great.

Many stiff people could use more thoracic spine (upper back) mobility, hip mobility, and ankle mobility. Drills like ankle, hip, and thoracic spine mobilisations are solid options.

Regardless of your body type, choose variations that don’t compete too heavily with the exercises with which they are paired.

Furthermore, choose variations that hit areas which need extra attention for YOU, or that will aid in YOUR ability to reach good positioning with the exercise in focus.

 Nutrition

‘Use a food diary to aid in weight loss’

I recently came across this Science Daily report on a study from The Journal of The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

The study found that women who used a food diary to monitor daily intake “consistently lost 6lbs more than those who did not”.

It’s always great when research backs up something that you’re already doing.

You see, one of the first things we do with every client for improving nutrition at Results Health & Performance happens before our first session.

Each client fills out a 3-day food diary detailing everything (food and drink) that they consume. This takes less effort than you would think and more often than not, this alone helps raise people’s awareness of how much they are consuming, and of what quality that food/drink is. It never ceases to amaze me how unaware people are until they actually take the time to write it all out.

While the act of filling out a food diary will help initially, in order to use this tool for constant progress I recommend a few key pieces of advice. Likewise, Anne McTiernan PhD, MD, and her colleagues asked the same of the 123 women participants: “Be honest — record everything you eat. Be accurate — measure portions, read labels. Be complete — include details such as how the food was prepared, and the addition of any toppings or condiments. Be consistent — always carry your food diary with you or use a diet-tracking application on your smart phone…”

Pay close attention to being honest, accurate and complete. Many diets fail when people are unaware of extra calories coming from condiments, dressings, or inaccurate portion estimates.

Using a food diary is certainly not something one needs to continue for an extended period of time. Simply keep an accurate journal long enough to help you know what “right” looks like and it will kick-start your nutrition progress.

I hope you’ve enjoyed the latest edition of my regular series and found it useful.

Thanks for reading and please do share with anyone else you know will benefit!

Feel free to post some of your own ideas in the comments section below and on RHP’s Facebook or Twitter pages, too!

Rich

P.S. – to access every installment of my regular ‘Quick and Easy Ways to Look, Feel & Perform Better’ series, click here.

Here’s the latest edition of my regular series of Quick and Easy Health, Physique Transformation and Sports Conditioning tips.

You can put these into action right now to Look, Feel, Move and Perform better.

These tips are organised into 3 different categories:

1. General Health & Motivation
2. Training (Fat Loss, Muscle Gain, Athleticism & Strength)
3. Nutrition

Enjoy!

 General Health & Motivation

‘Focus on less’

People often do too much in the gym.

Also, many jump from program to program, or change exercises too frequently.

Make it a point to do two things.

1. Pick a few big movements that you can execute correctly, and continually work to become great at them.
2. Decide on a specific outcome for your training. Are you trying to lose fat, gain muscle, or get strong? While your approach may have elements that address all of these, prioritise one for an extended period of time.

Allowing yourself time to get better at your main movements, and eliminating competing demands from your program, are both great ways to maximise your efforts and results.

 Training (Fat Loss, Muscle Gain, Athleticism & Strength)

‘Try this simple programming tip to add more volume to your assistance exercises’

This is a great way to ensure that you do more work in an exercise over a four-week period.

I use it all the time for a sets and reps scheme on the assistance exercises in a program.

Let’s use a DB Reverse Lunge as the example:

Week 1: 3×8
Week 2: 4×8
Week 3: 3×10
Week 4: 4×10

The key is to set your best set of 8 in week 1 and then use that same weight all the way into week 4.

By increasing volume through the addition of sets first, and then through the addition of reps and sets, we are able to do more total work both overall and in a single set.

This is the benefit of ‘progression’; a recipe for sustained progress week to week.

The bigger the movement, and the stronger you are on it, the more challenging it will be to make this a reality. With that in mind, stick to this scheme for your assistance work.

 Nutrition

‘Use avocado oil for a change of pace in the kitchen’

Recently, my Mum introduced me to avocado oil (thanks Mum!).

I’ve been using it in the kitchen, and I love it!

It’s definitely worth trying out as another option to complement mainstays like coconut and olive oil.  In addition to tasting great, it offers some other really good benefits.

For starters, it boasts a very high cooking temperature – over 500 degrees to be exact – so it remains chemically stable and doesn’t oxidise easily. This means less risk from ‘free radicals’ which can contribute to cancer.

It’s also got a solid fatty acid composition, which is great news for our cardiovascular system.

Lastly, it not only boasts a plethora of antioxidants itself, but actually helps absorption of nutrients in other foods as well. In fact, this study showed that adding avocado oil to a salad boosted carotenoid (a powerful antioxidant) absorption up to 400%!

I hope you’ve enjoyed the latest edition of my regular series and found it useful.

Thanks for reading and please do share with anyone else you know will benefit!

Feel free to post some of your own ideas in the comments section below and on RHP’s Facebook or Twitter pages, too!

Rich

P.S. – to access every installment of my regular ‘Quick and Easy Ways to Look, Feel & Perform Better’ series, click here.