Hi - Its SPRING NEXT WEEK however I don’t hold out much hope of fine weather, my mum is visiting (whoops she’s 71 not 73 like I said in last newsletter) and EVERY time she comes we have snow or sleet and the weather is not looking fabulous!!! Sorry everyone! However on the positive side it’s only FOUR WEEKS to go till daylight savings, it’s lovely and light in the mornings, the daffodils are opening, and thats got to be something to SMILE about.

It’s been an interesting week in the GYM - with awesome successes in the TESTING that we completed. How far could you row in a minute, how many burpees could you do in a minute (limited to 12 female, 17 male including press up) how long can you wall sit for limited to 2 minutes, how many ab jumps can you do in a minute (limited to 25 female and 30 male) how many knees to elbows could you do in a minute; limited to 40 and finally how many box squat jumps can you do on a 2 level box in a minute (limited to 30 female and 35 male)!!

ALMOST 100% of the time we hit a new best or we maintained our FITNESS levels so CONGRATULATIONS I’M wrapt to see this result.

On the interesting side, I was asked about what do I take on board when doing measurements of clients and the measurements are the same or slightly raised and I answered I’m ok with this. Realistically I take it hard. I try really hard to keep everyone motivated and moving in the right direction. I feel I give all I have to give and when it doesn't go according to plan I feel I’ve let you down.

However, I then read an article and it reminded me of a few things:

A - We can plateau at some stages when wanting to achieve weight loss

B - It has been winter and although we exercise we often do additional exercise in the summer just because it’s warmer. We also eat more dense foods because its cold, so maintaining rather than adding weight is a good thing

C - If we move away from the 80/20 way of eating and aren’t honest with what we are eating and have a few weeks of 60/40 then this puts a strain on what we can achieve.

So although I’d like to see more “centimetres” in the results this week, generally we should be pleased that we have achieved what we have. We also can’t look back and must look forward as what we are actually trying to achieve is a HEALTHIER FITTER LIFE.

If we are achieving this then we should be PROUD OF OURSELVES as HEALTHIER AND FITTER is better than UNHEALTHY AND NO FITNESS. Consider this sentence above for a moment and think are you these TWO THINGS, then if you are SMILE as this is a much better road to be on than the one you may have been on in the past. Choosing this path and putting effort (money into a PT and clothing) and time into it, will always PAY OFF in the long term.

RESULTS can be slow to show but they will in many ways such as increased ENERGY LEVELS, BETTER SKIN, BETTER OXYGEN UPTAKE, HAPPIER, SLEEPING BETTER, ABILITY TO ENJOY MORE ACTIVITIES, AND also FITTING CLOTHES BETTER.

I hope that you feel the above and SMILE! I’ve attached exercise ideas for inside as it maybe wet this week, however it may also only be drizzle and therefore a light coat may protect you from that! Embrace the outdoors and check out the daffodils. Keep trying to 80/20 and see you in the gym soon! x