It's Monday, it's beach season, so it's time to discuss some weightlifting tips for beginners :) Weights are a key component in any fitness regime. Developing strength, stability and power in our bodies is about much more than lifting heavy weights. It allows our bodies to move through daily life much more easily, from things as simple as picking up our shopping or bags, to more advanced things such as playing sport or competing in strength competitions. When looking to develop your strength, or to introduce weight training to your routine, it is important to bare a few things in mind: - Any conditioning program should keep natural bodyweight movements at its core. Squatting, Push Ups, Lunges, Deadlift or Variant, Pull Ups and Overhead Presses should form the basis of exercises. All other movements are secondary to these. Maintaining good movement patterns in these actions will go a long way to preventing injury further down the line. - Contrary to popular rumour, lifting weights will not make women bulky. To gain large amounts of bulk and muscle size takes conscious effort in diet and training, and will not happen by accident. Training regularly with weights will help people to develop a lean and ‘toned’ physique, not turn them into the Terminator. - Strength training can focus on many different aspects of fitness. It could be used to develop size, strength, power, improve endurance, improve speed etc. All are not mutually exclusive, but different training routines can produce different results. The routines you follow may not always be the same as the outcomes you want vary over time. - ALWAYS make sure you complete and adequate warm up. If you are unsure, remember the RAMP principle: 1. Raise – Raise your heart rate through basic exercises and movements 2. Activate – Activate the key muscles and joints that will be involved in the lift, i.e. bodyweight squats and hip bridges prior to a heavy squat. 3. Mobilise – Mobilise your joints through dynamic movements and stretches. 4. Potentiate – Engage in exercises that get you ready for the key exercise – i.e. Squatting with a light weight on the bar if squatting. - ALWAYS cool down and stretch well. Weight lifting can lead to decreased mobility as we gain lean muscle, so it is important to maintain our mobility and flexibility by cooling down and stretching after exercise. - If you are completing a whole body session, or will be doing multiple exercises, always start with the most demanding exercises, i.e. the ones that work the most muscles. Generally these would be things like the Squat, Deadlift, Bench Press or Pull Up. These exercises work many joints and muscle areas, and are best done when you are not already tired to reduce risk of injury. Don’t ignore the minor and stabilising muscles. Many injuries occur in the minor muscles that are not often known or remembered. Strengthening areas such as the rotator cuffs, hip flexors, lower back and inside and outside of the hips can go a long ways toward preventing injuries. - TECHNIQUE IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE WEIGHT. CHECK YOUR EGO AT THE DOOR, All that matters is proper form and safe lifting. Lifting 100kg badly may seem brilliant, but when you need 4 weeks off because you injured your back it won’t seem such an achievement. - There are countless systems of training out there – 5x5, 10x10, 4x5, 3x10 etc. – no one is superior to the rest. Everyone’s body will react differently to training in different ways. The key thing is to find a system that works for you, make sure you contract the appropriate muscles at the right time when lifting, keep all movements smooth and controlled, and train regularly. - Putting on lean muscle is not a fast process. It is the result of months, if not years, of regular training and eating well. Don’t be disheartened if you do not get as big as you’d like quickly, it is a steady process. - Remember to keep challenging your body. Your body adapts to exercise routines every 4-8 weeks depending on the person. It is important to change your routine, even just slightly, every 4-8 weeks to keep challenging the body to adapt. - Being strong and being muscular are not the same. Strength athletes do not look like bodybuilders. If you want to look better and develop a movie star body, your training will be different from someone who wants to be stronger for playing rugby. Make sure that the program you are following reflects your goals.

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After a post-holiday slump in writing, We're back with a piece on setting goals effectively and how they can be the thing that ultimately gets you moving forward after you reach a plateau. As regular and beginner exercisers can attest, sometimes it can be hard to motivate yourself to get up and do the activity. I had a conversation about this very topic the other day with a client, we can become listless, a bit lazy with our efforts, and generally exercise on autopilot at times as our routines become stale. It can be hard to shake this, but fear not, there are ways around it! The best, and most effective, is to start setting some goals that keep you focused on the day to day tasks that will reach a long term goal. Generally, for focus, a goal that takes 4-8 weeks to complete is best as it doesn’t drag on, and allows you to change focus before it gets boring. With goal-setting, generally it is best to rely on the SMARTER system. Goals should be: Specific: I want to Squat 100kg, not I want to Squat heavy. Measurable: I want to feel fitter vs I want to be active 5 days a week. Achievable: You won’t go from walking twice weekly to a 3-hour Marathon in 8 weeks. Make it applicable to the timeline you set. Realistic: I'm sorry to break this to you, but if you're older than 28, and have no history of athletics, you probably aren't going to run a sub-10 second 100m sprint because you started doing power training. Keep it realistic to where your potential. Timed: Time should always be a factor. Goals should have a start and end to ensure maximum focus. Evaluated: Sometimes we may progress faster or more slowly than anticipated, and we can adjust our goals or timeline as appropriate. Redrafted: Once we have evaluated or completed our goals, we can redraft them better, or set a new goal based on our progress. Now that the basics are covered, the idea of what to actually set as a goal is the difficult part. It depends on what you’re aiming for, but I’d suggest if you are looking to increase your cardio activity, you set a goal of a distance you can chip away at, i.e. walk 25km in a week, or 100km in a month. This affords you the chance to change it depending on each days schedule, i.e. you could do 8km today, and do 3km tomorrow as you’ve less time. For strength, you could focus on one lift or exercise, such as a lunge. You can find as baseline that you find difficult and want to improve, i.e. 20 lunges at bodyweight, and challenge yourself to do this with an extra 5kg over 4 weeks. Then you can break it down to doing lunges 2-3 times per week in sets of 10 + extra 2.5kg Week 1, 3kg Week 2, and eventually, 5kg for 20 reps in Week 4. If you want something more elaborate, you could try setting yourself multiple goals to improve over 4-8 weeks, i.e. improve Lunges and Push Up over 4 weeks, and also Cycle 100km and Walk 100km total in 4 weeks. The amount of goals you want to set is up to you, and don’t forget you can change your focus every few weeks. However, it is best to focus on a small number of goals and give them your focus, instead of trying too much too soon. As you progress in one area, you can set goals in other areas, and keep moving forwards. As always, if you have any questions about fitness, or would like to book a consultation, contact ian@leisureworldcork.com or icperformancecork@gmail.com

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A slightly different blog than usual today, this one focuses on charlatans, liars and miracle workers. Does it seem too good to be true?? It probably is. In the fitness industry, by far the most common type of gym user I have met is the ordinary guy or girl who is relatively inexperienced with fitness and wants to lose weight and get to a level of fitness where they have more body confidence. They may have started and stopped before, and often, especially in the case of women, have tried various diets, fads, ‘new’ types of training (usually normal ones repackaged and marketed well) and other ways to lose weight and improve how they feel. Shakes, Supplements, Pills, Detox Diets and everything up to and including the Miracle Diet Drops that appear sporadically in my Facebook feed, all promising to help you lose weight in record time through ‘science’ that is somehow too important to explain properly, so instead they just put a bunch of before and after pictures up to draw your attention. In reality, these diets usually work by restricting your caloric intake, and may be filled with stimulants like caffeine that make you feel energetic despite the fact that you are low in fuel. It is a false economy. These companies also take advantage of basic consumer psychology, and your insecurities. They know that if you spend €100 on something that is meant to make you feel great, your mind will convince itself that you feel better, simply because it has to justify your spending, and it expects results based on the marketing that was used. Our minds don’t like to be made fools of, so they will do what they can to make differences real, even if they are a fantasy. On a side note, don’t be sucked in by ‘detox’ diets either. Our bodies are perfectly adept at detoxing themselves, we have organs dedicated to this very process (liver and kidneys) that have been doing their jobs just fine for a few million years. The simple fact is, there is no miracle cure, no silver bullet for losing weight. Celebrities don’t have diet secrets, they have personal chefs/dieticians, and endorsement contracts for the companies whose products they promote. There is eating a sensible diet, not extreme in any direction, balanced between protein, carbs, fat and including a lot of variety, especially in fruit and veg, to ensure a good supply of vitamins and minerals. Eating regularly throughout the day (every 2-3 hours), having a balance of protein carbs and fat in every meal, and keeping the junk food as something that adds 5-10% of your food each day will do a lot for the majority of people. Regular activity (ideally daily), and a combination of cardiovascular (walking, running, cycling, swimming) and strength training (to maintain lean muscle) will help in the process. It will not happen overnight, but it will happen in time. Weight does not come on overnight, it should not come off overnight, our bodies aren't built like that. Balanced eating of each food group, lots of veg & leafy greens, cut back on the junk, and be active each day, even at moderate intensity, and you will get there in time. Save the money you would spend on bad products and spend it on something fun instead :) If you have any questions related to fitness, or would like to book a consultation, contact icperformancecork@gmail.com or ian@leisureworldcork.com to discuss how you could improve your fitness and bodyshape.

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We're back with another post, this week looking at fear and the gym, especially in new users: The gym can be a scary thought for most people. The idea we’re sold by the media, social media etc. is that the average gym looks like an indoor muscle beach. Women that look like Scarlett Johansson and men that look like Arnold Schwarzenegger walking around in tight clothing, admiring themselves in mirrors, trying to drop that bodyfat down to 7% just to give the abs a little extra show-time. The fact is, nothing could be further from the truth. The average gym is packed with people like the ones you see on the street on a day-to-day basis. People of all sizes. Some are overweight and are looking to lose some weight, some are thin and looking to gain weight, and most are somewhere in between. People have many different training goals, and may feel more comfortable using some equipment than others. Men and women may have preferences for both weights and cardio, and their bodies reflect this. If you are thinking of getting started in the gym, then there is no reason to be afraid. Everyone that uses a gym was a novice at some point. Nobody walked into a gym looking like an Olympian, squatting 150kg and running 20k treadmill sessions. It is a good thing you are doing for your body and mind, never lose sight of that. Everyone is in the gym for the same reasons: feel better, improved health, look better, more body confidence. The rare few are there to increase sport performance too. Everyone in the gym understands this, and acknowledges that others are in the gym for the same reason. Unless you are doing backflips around the gym, or are using a piece of equipment they want to use, it’s likely they too will be too self-conscious to pay you much attention. Of equal importance to remember is don’t feel you have try to match the more experienced gym users. Instead, start simple, small, and build it up gradually. For a totally new gym user, 5-10 minutes on a few pieces of equipment (Elliptical, Rower, Bike) and some basic conditioning and movements (Squat, Push Up, Row, Overhead Press and Core) are a good place to start. Don’t worry about weights split-routines or Tabata training, just get moving, and as your body adapts and starts to find it easier, start to increase the difficulty. For someone new to fitness, or someone deconditioned, 2-3 days a week is loads in the gym (try to stay active other days by walking etc.). By keeping it simple, improving gradually, and going at your own pace, you will become the experienced gym user a novice is looking at some day, and you won’t even notice it has happened. It is also important to note that as a new gym user, you may be unsure of uncomfortable using equipment. This is normal, especially if you are a total novice. Don’t be afraid to ask for help from staff. It is far better to get instruction and do things properly and safely than do it badly and have an accident. The staff want to help, want to make sure everyone is safe, so never be afraid to ask. You may get the motivation, structure, help and confidence you are looking for from simply saying hi, and asking for help. The gym can be intimidating to people, it is the unknown, and the image we’re sold of gyms on TV, in movies and general media is far from the reality. Everyone who lifts weights isn’t a bodybuilder, everyone who uses a treadmill isn’t a marathon runner, but rather, they are regular Joe’s and Jane’s, there with the same goals as you, and the same insecurities about their bodies. If you want to start in the gym, give it a go today, I promise it will be far more rewarding than it is scary. If you need help making a start, contact ian@leisureworldcork.com or icperformancecork@gmail.com to book a session or a training package, and see what we can do to help you get started on improving your fitness.

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Stress is linked to increased weight gain, weight retention, poor cognitive and body function, and poor sleep. Today we discuss stress and things we can do about it: • The first thing to remember is that stress is not always a negative thing. • Stress can be caused by factors that are: social, emotional, physical, financial, work-related, relationship-related, or personal (i.e. over-weight, appearance etc.). • People can react differently to stress – some people explode in rage, some people go quiet, some people implode and give out to themselves, others may try to avoid it and act in strange ways, others may turn to a range of mood enhancers – from chocolate and caffeine to alcohol or drugs. • Stress can affect everything we do – sleep, mood, appetite, ability to concentrate, energy levels, confidence and digestion. In some people the effects may be more obvious – i.e. sweating + shaky hands, and in extreme cases, panic attacks may ensue. • Sleep can affect our hormonal balance too. Acute stress, i.e. being given a sudden shock, can affect our bodies’ short term by giving us a dose of adrenaline. This will increase muscle power, focus, mental processing, attention to detail, speed and endurance, and increased heart rate (so we can get more nutrients to the muscles) but only lasts 60-90 minutes. Long term, acute stress does not have a very negative effect on the body as our bodies adapt to stressors that once caused the release of adrenaline, which is why we find scary things less scary each time we do them. Long-term stress, chronic stress, causes the release of Coritsol, which can have different effects on the body. Cortisol can cause retention of weight, mood swings, reduced willpower, and affect production other hormones, causing a more widespread impact on the body than if it worked on its’ own. • People often aren’t even aware that they are under stress, or of the cause of their stress. As humans, we adapt well to our environments and their stresses, often subconsciously, but our bodies will always present the worst or long-lasting stresses in physical ways as mentioned above. The question then, is what can we do about stress? How can we reduce its’ effect on us? 1. Make sure you are getting enough good quality sleep. Sleep is vital for our health. It affects everything from appetite to muscle recovery to academic ability. Every person has different sleep needs depending on the activity levels they have intellectually and physically every day, but on average, people should aim for at least 8 hours of good quality sleep daily. The room you sleep in should be dark, quiet, at a comfortable temperature, and have a comfortable mattress and pillows. Ideally, people should have a pre-bed routine that helps them to relax. Meditation, reading (hardcopy or Kindle, not a screen) or a bath are great ways to wind down at the end of a day. TV’s, laptops and phones should be avoided at least 30 minutes before going to bed as their screens can have a stimulating effect on the body. Try to stick to a regular sleep/wake cycle every day of the week. 2. If you have the time, take up a new hobby. You will learn new skills and may meet new people, and these alone may help to increase your confidence and reduce your stress. Taking up a relaxing or very engaging hobby, such as painting, may also help to relax you and distract you from your stress. 3. Take up Yoga or Meditation – Yoga and Meditation may seem daunting at first, but they truly are wonderful things to practise. They can help to reduce stress, increase our ability to focus, improve mood, reduce blood pressure and heart rate, help us to become more self-aware (i.e. the effect of our thoughts), can allow us to enjoy a few moments of peace in our days, and strengthen and stretch our bodies. 4. Do something active – Run, Walk, Dance, Swim, Yoga, whatever you enjoy doing, get up, get the body moving and let go for a little while. 5. Enjoy some ‘me’ time – Listen to music, read, watch TV, watch a movie, get a haircut, get a massage, get your nails done, go to a Spa, go to the gym. Enjoy some time for yourself; it’s important we don’t forget that we need some time to be ourselves away from everything. 6. Take it step by step – Some things may seem daunting, almost insurmountable, but in reality they are a series of small things that one-by-one are more than manageable. Try to focus on the small things and forget the bigger picture. Focus on the day to day tasks that help you to deal with the stress, or to reduce it, and the rest will take care of itself. 7. Get outside – We are designed for life in the great outdoors, it’s why we have waterproof skin! Spend some time in a park, by a lake, river or the sea. No music, no phone, just listen, feel, see, take everything in. 8. Try to be mindful of your thoughts – Be mindful, try to live in the present, being aware of what you’re doing and thinking each moment. It’s very easy to get lost in our heads, in imagined scenarios or imagined difficulties. By focusing on the present moment, and being aware of what we are thinking, without judging ourselves for our thoughts, we can help to reduce stress. 9. Avoid negative people – Some people can increase our stress by being irritable and difficult, or by panicking in stressful situations, and decreasing our own calmness. Try to avoid these people as they can bring you down before you realise it’s happened. As the old saying goes, ‘some people bring joy when they arrive, some only when they leave’. 10. Eat well – Bad food can reduce our energy, cause poor sleeping habits, negatively affect our mood, our ability to focus, and may also increase our likelihood of developing a series of illnesses. Eat well, with as much variety, colour, and fresh food as you can. Try to avoid processed foods, and keep it simple, using as many natural ingredients as you can. You’ll likely eat better, sleep better, feel better and have more energy. 11. Spend time with loved ones – When we spend time with loved ones, our bodies release serotonin, dopamine and oxytocin, which make us feel good and safe and loving. Spend time around your nearest and dearest, have fun and create memories, and these will help to improve your mood and give you nice memories to think on when you are at your most stressed. 12. Forge a strong identity – Success and failure do not define who we are. Nor does circumstance. Spend time thinking about what you stand for, what you believe in, what you enjoy doing and learning about. Try to develop all aspects of who you are, working, sporting, spiritual, emotional and creative. Do not put all your eggs in one basket i.e. success at work; be greater than any success or failure you may encounter. 13. Be proactive – plan your days – food, travel, meetings etc. Don’t find yourself rushing about from one thing to another; take ownership of your day every day. 14. Talk it out – Don’t bottle up your problems inside. Let them out, talk about things, how you feel, with someone you trust. A partner, friend, family member, religious leader, counsellor etc. IT will help you to get perspective, to clarify your thoughts, and lighten the load. 15. Get help – Never be too proud to ask for help or take it if it’s offered. It could be the thing you need.

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Diaries, not just a favourite of teenage girls, but one of the most useful (and cheap) things we can do for our fitness and health. Diaries are a well-documented method of keeping us on point, improving adherence to exercise and eating schedules, tracking progress over short- and long-term time periods, and a simple way of keeping our minds focused on the small, daily habits that will make a big difference overall instead of getting lost in the more complicated big picture. It takes discipline to continually fill out a diary, but it will help to keep your food and activity goals to the front of your mind and make it easy to tick them off as you achieve them. The main thing to remember with a diary is that it is primarily FOR YOU, not a trainer or any other person. For a normal gym-goer, two types of recordings for each day should be plenty. A good example would be to use a small notepad for recording activity, and an app like My Fitness Pal for recording food intake. What goes into a diary you say? As much as is relevant, but as little as is needed! The following will highlight basic information to enter daily into an: Activity Diary 1. How did your body feel before you started? This is important to highlight patterns where you may need to reduce intensity, better plan food (i.e. no long food breaks before exercise) or change your routine to avoid injury and maximiz e effort. 2. Activity – What did you do? A swim, a cycle, a run, or some weights? 3. Time/Reps/Weight – How long did you exercise for (cardio), or how many reps/sets did you do of each exercise and at what weight 4. Intensity – On a scale of 1-10 how difficult did you feel the session was? 1 = Easy, 10 = Can’t Speak. 5. Did you reach your goals for the day in relation to the above? Food Diary 1. What meal is it? (i.e. Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Snack) 2. What time did you eat at? 3. What did you eat? Depending on your love of detail, this may be amounts in grams, or spoonful’s/cupful’s. 4. What did you drink? Usually measured in litres or cupful’s. 5. Did you stick to your goals for the day? (i.e. eating better portions, less junk food, a regular amount of meals). If you would like any advice on fitness and healthy living, or to book an assessment and start a fitness journey from just €35/hour, contact icperformancecork@gmail.com

Photos from IC Performance Cork's post

Monday is here, ready to go for the week ahead! Today we are discussing what being 'fit' actually is: If I had to commit, I’d say the most often phrase is hear in the gym is that people want to be ‘fit’, or they want to ‘tone up’. We, fitness professionals and the general public, use these phrases all the time, yet we never give a thought as to what they mean. Who is fit? A rugby player? A weightlifter? A swimmer? A footballer? A distance runner? A recreational gym user? All do well in one area, but most would be considered out of shape in any other sport. Their bodies are trained towards the specific goals of their sport. A weightlifter must be strong, mobile and powerful, but there is no demand for them to be light on their feet or agile. Similarly, a rugby player needs to be both powerful, relatively heavy, quick and agile, but not to the same extent as a footballer, and certainly at a much heavier weight. Both may be lean, but their bodies are totally different. Compare that with a swimmer or marathon runner, who needs to flexible, ideally have long limbs, endurance and have a top notch lung capacity. The pictures below of elite competitors in each sport demonstrate the difference between all their bodies, but yet by any standard, all these people would be considered ‘fit’ given their competitive level. What does this mean for the average person you say? Well, when you are thinking of starting a gym program, it is important to consider how you want it to go. You may want to lose weight, but would you rather end up looking more like a model or just a trimmer version of yourself? Do you want to get the ‘beach body’, or just feel more energised? It is important to consider these things as they will inform how you proceed with your fitness. I know many of these are extreme examples, but in reality, ‘toning up’ means building some lean muscle, and losing bodyfat. For the women who still doubt using weights for training, you don’t generally have the required testosterone, and you would need to consciously try to get muscular in order to get where you fear you will end up. Weights are a necessary part of any training program. Looking 'fit' isn’t really a matter of weight loss as such, more changes in body composition people should aim for. Always start from the ideal end goal, and work backwards. Would you like to be more muscular, or thinner? Do you want to look better and feel more confident, or just be a little leaner for improved health and energy? Here are a few tips to help you move closer to your ideal: 1. Visualise your ideal physique. This may be thin, muscular, designed for a specific performance (i.e. a sport), designed mostly for show, or just better adapted to the demands of daily life. 2. Work backwards to where you are now and decide what you must do to change this. If you want to run, but are inactive, start with walking a few days a week and slowly build to a run. If you are thin but want more muscle, start with a simple weights program (a split routine may cause injury if you jump right in). In both cases, progress gradually to reach your goal week by week. 3. Get help. Ask a professional for help if you are unsure. There is a lot of information on the internet and various apps, some of good quality, some not so. It is always best to get some advice from a qualified and experienced professional. 4. Consider the things in your life that may hamper your progress. Poor diet, bad sleeping habits, time management, other commitments (i.e. family, work). These need to be addressed in a clear manner. There’s no point in being in the gym 2-3 times a week if you feel guilty for not being with your children, or working hard at your fitness only to eat pizza for dinner. 5. Try to maximise your diet, but don’t fall for any marketing tricks. For an average gym goer with a balanced diet, a protein shake probably isn’t necessary. For a person who is looking to build large amounts of muscle, or training at a high intensity, it will probably be needed eventually to ensure adequate protein intake and recovery. Moderate amounts of carbohydrates, protein, and lots of fruit and vegetables will serve an average person well. Don’t fall for well-constructed marketing, a well-balanced diet is plenty for most people, it is only the more serious exerciser that needs additions to their diet.

Thursday has come, the weekend is near, and everyone is looking forward to that weekend sleep-in :) Today, then is an appropriate day to speak about sleep, a vastly under-utilized health and fitness booster! So many people rush to get more and more training in each week or fret about which supplement to buy in order to get ‘dem gainz’ that they forget to take care of their overall health first. A huge part of this is sleeping. On average, people should aim for 7-9 hours of sleep each day, but many do not reach this goal. So what’s so great about sleep you say? You sleep only 5 hours a night and you feel and look ok! Well, let’s look at some body basics that benefit from improved sleep, and matter far more than the brand of protein you buy: a) Hormone Regulation – All other things being equal, sleep helps to restore our bodies to a more natural state. If we lack sleep, production of various hormones can be reduced, affecting everything from digestion to wakefulness. b) Improved Energy – Both mentally and physically we suffer when we have slept poorly, even if we have actually been asleep, but it is of poor quality. Concentration, problem-solving, memory and general physical energy are decrease as sleep does. c) Improved Mood – Rest, hormone regulation and fully functioning body systems allow us to feel rested and recovered, and help to improve our mood as a result. d) Improved Muscle Recovery – Much like other things listed, our muscles need time to recover and repair, and the 8 hours you are lying peacefully are ideal for this. e) Improved Appearance – Good quality sleep helps to give us clearer and brighter skin, eyes and general appearance (including posture). A rested, relaxed person is also more likely to exercise, which also enhances this effect. f) Improved Willpower – Did you ever notice that the times you are most likely to binge eat are never when you feel at your most alert? Reduced sleep causes decreases in peoples’ willpower, and hence their ability to say no to temptation and stick to their routine Here are some tips you can use to improve your quality of sleep to get the most from it: 1. Avoid caffeine, alcohol, nicotine or other stimulants for 4-6 hours prior to sleep. 2. Set the scene – make sure your bedroom is dark, comfortably cool, quiet, and that your mattress is comfortable. ‘White Noise’ appliances (such as trickling water) or ear plugs may help if there is a lot of outside noise. 3. Have a routine – ease into the transition to sleep by establishing a routine. Take a bath, read a book, watch TV (not right before sleeping) or do some relaxation exercises that you do daily and in a set sequence. 4. Go to sleep when you’re truly tired. If you go to bed and don’t feel tired, or aren’t falling asleep in 20 minutes, get up and do something in another room until you’re tired. Read or listen to music, but try to avoid bright screens as they have a stimulant effect. 5. Don’t stare at the clock or worry about the time. This can cause your body to become more stressed as you worry about not being to sleep, keeping you up longer. If you find yourself doing his, try to relax with some reading or listening to music. 6. Use light to your advantage. Light is a natural regulator of our sleep cycles, so make sure your bedroom is dark at night, and open the curtains when you get up in the morning. Let the light in! 7. Keep a consistent sleep/wake schedule. Try to stick to the same bed time and waking up time every day (including weekends) to keep the body’s ‘internal clock’ working well. 8. Nap early, or not at all. Whilst naps have been proven to aid productivity and maintain energy levels throughout the day, try to nap before 5pm each day to avoid any effects on your night time sleep. 9. Lighten up on evening meals – Try to avoid eating heavy meals for a few hours (1-2) before you go to bed. A pizza at 10pm will not help sleep! Everyone is different, so try to stick to snack foods that don’t disturb your sleep before you go to bed such as nuts or seeds. 10. Balance fluid intake. Try to drink enough fluids so that you are not badly dehydrated in the morning, but try not to drink large amounts of fluids late at night that will wake you to go to the bathroom. 11. Don’t exercise too late at night. Exercise stimulates our bodies, and exercising too late in the evening can leave the body restless when we go to sleep. 12. Keep it consistent. Everyone is different. If you find a sleep schedule that suits you, stick to it.

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Monday is here, and it's time to get started, and to make this week a better week than last week :) This weeks post focuses on motivation. Many people report motivation, or lack thereof, as a key factor in stopping an exercise routine. Motivation and inspiration can get us started, however, there is no magic bullet here, and in the end it comes down to personal choice and discipline to keep us going. There are some things we can do though to improve our discipline: 1. Never forget, it is YOUR body, it is YOUR responsibility to keep it the way YOU want it. Nobody can do the work for you to improve your health and fitness. Never forget this. 2. Avoid the scale. Try instead to live better, and the weight will manage itself. 3. Pay the price – Add a value to each time you successfully complete a workout, eat well for an entire day, avoid junk food, and basically are successful in working towards a better lifestyle. This may be €1 or €10, but it has to be set out clearly at the start. Rewarding yourself for succeeding at the small things is much more effective than punishing yourself as a motivational tool (i.e. taking money away). Each week use the money you earned for something you want, or will enjoy. 4. Record your workouts. Be honest and record the details: reps, sets, times, resistance, intensity etc. This will give you many areas to focus on when you exercise, and means that there will always be somewhere you can make progress even if you have reached a plateau in another area. It also allows you to see where you are progressing much more fully. 5. Train for something. Having something to train for is always a good motivational tool. It gives a deadline, a definitive goal and a reason for the effort. It could be a goal you set yourself (i.e. Squat 100kg), or a fun run you sign up for and train towards. Then break up your training into much more manageable segments that will get you there, as you can train towards each deadline one at a time and put your energy and focus into that. 6. Get a gym buddy. Training alone can be difficult and monotonous. We are social creatures, and having a buddy can help us to compete, motivate each other when we have had a bad day, make us accountable to the other for turning up, and generally make the time exercising more enjoyable. It is best to train with someone who challenges you, but isn’t vastly fitter than you. 7. Change it up. Try to vary your routine regularly (at least every 6 weeks) to stave off boredom, mentally and physically. Our bodies can adapt to most things, and are especially adept at adapting to physical challenges. After 6 weeks your body will need a new challenge, a new routine, a new pace, a new challenge. This can also help to renew our interest as we try to master something else. If you run regularly, try adding some cycling or swimming. If you have been working toward improving your Squat, try focusing on your Bench Press for a while. Try to keep your routine fresh and engaging with regular changes. 8. It seems obvious, but do something you enjoy. Whilst it is great to get some gym time in to work on different fitness aspects, it’s not for everyone. If you don’t like the gym, try surfing, swimming, a martial art, hiking, horse-riding etc. There are literally thousands of ways to exercise, some that require no equipment, some that require very specialized equipment. Try to find something you enjoy, and do it with people who share your interest, and you are much more likely to maintain the habit. 9. Make it challenging. Have you ever played a game like Angry Birds and wondered just why you couldn't put it down? As humans, we love to be challenged, to think and act, and we respond best to feedback on the way to a challenge. Set yourself goals that are challenging, but also realistic. A sense of progress is huge in the battle with inactivity. If you are getting better, and challenging your limits (safely and progressively), then you are more likely to persevere. For more information, or to book a session and see what you can achieve, contact: icperformancecork@gmail.com or ian@leisureworldcork.com

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Thursday again, nearly the end of the week, and often the last day each week the recreational exerciser is seen at the gym ;) This Thursday, we’re looking at the mental side of health and fitness. It is, obviously, the most important part of the journey. Everything we do starts and finishes in our brains, with our own personal experiences, attitudes, experiences, and biases. People overeat for a variety of reasons: emotional, stress, boredom, convenience, ignorance (of the amount of calories), apathy (i.e. they think they can do nothing about being overweight so ‘give up’), and they under-exercise for similar reasons: apathy again, time-restrictions, stress, laziness, fear (of being judged or getting hurt), lack of knowledge, or lack of support from peers or loved ones. What is indisputable is the link between exercise, even very moderate exercise, and improved mood, immune function, stress management, mental ability and focus. Our bodies are designed to move, mind and muscle, and respond together also. This starts in the mind however, with our attitudes and our beliefs towards fitness and exercise. So what can we do to help ourselves to stay on track and motivated? Try some of the following tips: 1. Remember it is not a short-term fix, but a lifestyle change. Be under no illusion, losing weight drastically inevitably has a response, and people commonly put back on more weight than they lost, meaning the crash-diet did more damage than good. Changing what we eat a little at each meal, reducing the portions, or adding more veg and less treats, has a better effect on our health and weight than any low-calorie diet, no matter how often you read how a celebrity lost her baby weight in 2 weeks. 2. Start every day with the right attitude. We often talk ourselves out things without realising it. We tell ourselves we are tired, or we’ll do more the next day, or that it’s been a bad day and we should just start again tomorrow. These things can slowly creep into our minds, and turn us against doing activity in favour of watching TV or something else. Start each day by saying to yourself that you are going to exercise, and remember how great you always feel afterwards. Repeat this every time you get a negative thought about activity throughout the day. 3. Set simple goals that help to build your discipline. Don’t try to change from one lifestyle extreme to another, which only results in difficulties. Aim to make two smarter food choices every day, and exercise 2-3 times each week at the start. As you get used to this and it becomes easier, start to add more and more to it every week or two. Keep the steps simple, and progress slow, and the habits will slowly start to build their own rewards. 4. It doesn’t have to be extreme to be effective. So many people have been fooled by the bodybuilding image portrayed on Facebook of ‘train extreme to look extreme’, ‘be a lion not a sheep’ etc. That is simply rubbish. Firstly, the guys in the pictures don’t go around looking like that every day, and secondly, activity should be fun, and rewarding, not punishing and extreme. Good eating, and regular activity will see your body change. Each session doesn’t have to be a sweat-dripping, muscles-aching session. Nobody can maintain that intensity long-term, and it can become tough to stay interested (and injury free) if your body is always pushed to its limits and you need to ‘psych up’ with music or pre-trainers. 5. Exercise should be a release from daily life. The way modern life is, we are in constant contact via smartphones, and spend long hours working, commuting and worrying about keeping up with our neighbours’ lives as we become more aware of them through social media etc. Exercise is a chance to forget all that, put down the phone and focus on one thing for 30-60 minutes, listen to music, and test our bodies a little bit. Make sure you are doing something you enjoy, and not something that is causing you extra stress, either from travel or the actual activity. 6. You, and you alone, are responsible for yourself and your own body. It is not anyone else’ fault that you may be overweight or deconditioned but your own. You have to make the choice between eating well in appropriate amounts or eating badly, and between sitting in watching TV or going for a walk, doing a few push ups, or some other activity while you watch TV. You are responsible for your own food, cooking, planning, and maximising your budget, whatever it may be. It all comes down to you as an individual. There will always be temptation in food and other forms, but you have to make the choice that’s best for your overall health. 7. Reward yourself for good habits, ignore the bad ones. Humans respond better to rewards than punishments in habit-building, so don’t punish yourself for every time you don’t reach your goals, instead reward yourself every time you do. Improving your lifestyle is about progress, not punishment. Every goals reached is another step upwards. 8. Think about your relationship with food. If you eat a lot of junk food, why do you think that is? Is it a reward to make you feel better after a long day? Is it comfort food for stress or unhappiness? Is it because you haven’t got good cooking skills? We cannot be addicted to junk foods as such, but to the rewards they give us (i.e. improved mood from a sugar or fat high). If we can find other ways to get this buzz, such as exercise, then we can start to address the other problems in a better manner. The unhappiness-junk food cycle is a downward one, as we eat it to be happier, but then we are unhappy because we put on weight as a result, and in order to alleviate this, we eat more junk food. The mood and confidence effects of regular exercise can help to break this cycle.

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Monday again, so that means another post! This week, we start with the warm-up. How can you make it work best for you: The warm up, the most often skipped or half-assed part of any workout, especially in a gym session. We watch on TV as our athletes regularly spend up to an hour warming up their bodies and minds to perform, and then when we reach our own exercise sessions we think ‘3 minutes of a jog, be grand, I know my body!’. However, the warm up is about much more than just a nominal few minutes of moderate activity before the real deal. It is designed to maximise our ability to move or lift, prevent injury, and improve the elasticity of the muscles. We should spend at least 5-10 minutes warming up before each gym session, even if it only lasts an hour, to ensure that we can give our full effort and get the most back from it. How then should we warm up? A very simple method to follow is the RAMP protocol: 1. Raise – The first stage of a warm up is to slowly raise our body temperature, our heart rate, our breathing rate, our sweating (to cool ourselves), and our body’s ability to generally cope with the demands of exercise. This should start slowly, so if we are going for a run we could begin with a walk or light jog, and move gradually up to a moderate level of effort (this will vary per person). 2. Activate – We want to activate all muscles relevant to the exercise(s) concerned. If you are going to do a legs session, then you need to activate the legs and core in particular. As an example, if you are planning to squat, you may warm up with general cardio for 5 minutes, then proceed to activate the glutes, quads, hamstrings and core by doing exercises such as bodyweight squats, hip bridges, plank, glute kickbacks etc. The idea is to get the muscles warmed, increase the blood flow specifically to these areas, and ensure that when you need them to work at their best they are already awake. 3. Mobilize – This part can be added into the ‘Activate’ section if possible, but the idea here is to help your joints to move through as full a range of motion as possible, gradually increasing the ability of each joint to move through a full range of motion. We need to activate the soft tissues in our bodies to allow us to move freely and smoothly, decreasing the risk of injury and increasing the return from our workout. General dynamic and multi-joint movements such as Inchworms serve best. Foam-rolling should also be added in here on all major muscle groups for soft-tissue work. **Static Stretching, i.e. holding a stretch for a few seconds, is not recommended as part of any warm-up unless specifically stated by a physiotherapist or other medical personnel** 4. Potentiate – A fancy term for a very simple concept: You are working up towards a specific goal of exercise, so to potentiate means to maximise your exercise specific warm-up. If you played a sport this would be where you do drills to increase coordination, such as a small-sided game of passing in football. If we go back to the squatting example, you may do a set with a small amount of weight on the bar (10-20% of your expected lifting weight). You are specifically preparing your body for the movement and load-bearing to follow. This is a very simple description of a warm-up, and depending of what you are doing, the activities and movements you do could vary considerably, but it is of huge benefit to prepare your body for each exercise session. This will increase your performance, and as a result, your return from each session, getting you that bit closer to where you want to be For more information, or to book a 1:1 session, contact icperformancecork@gmail.com or ian@leisureworldcork.com. Look out for the next post on Thursday

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Today, we discuss the importance of getting a good start, and how you can improve on past efforts to improve your lifestyle: A good start is half the battle according to classical wisdom, and in a way that’s true. Starting is one part of the battle we all have with our weight, fitness, or lifestyle. Old habits die hard, and changing them can be difficult, especially when we are tired and groggy in the early morning or late evening. We can however learn from our past mistakes and move forwards a little smarter. If you have decided the time has come to start with a better lifestyle, one that will benefit your health long-term, then the following steps might help: 1. Start with why: Why do you want to lose weight? Is it for you, your confidence or health? Is it to set an example to your children? Is it just to prove someone wrong? Whatever your reason, write it down and put it somewhere you will see it when you have doubts to remind yourself of why you are doing this. 2. Make a plan: Think about where you want to be in 1 month, 6 months, a year, 2 years etc. Use this to inform your steps towards a goal. Use the SMARTER system of goal-setting. Goals should be: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Have a Time-Frame, Evaluated at Milestones, Re-written if necessary. Then, based on where you want to be in 1 month, 6 months etc., set your goals on a daily and weekly basis. This could be to eat a certain amount of calories, exercise a certain amount of times a week, cut back on cigarettes each day, or whatever is relevant to your goal. The daily habits will make the biggest difference, so these must be prioritised. 3. Remember the extra things: When you consider your goals, don’t forget to add in the small things. Your social circle has a large influence on your lifestyle, especially those you live with. Make sure they understand your goals and that they are comfortable with them. Your partner or family may have different expectations for you based on past experience, so it is important they support any changes, notably in food as there may additional financial or time costs. Plan your meals or training sessions well in advance so you are ready for them. Make sure you have the equipment required and that it is in good condition – i.e. good runners for running, a food processor for making healthy snacks etc. 4. Get help if you need it. Many people are either too proud or too anxious to ask for help from people, especially professionals, to achieve their goals. Professionals, i.e. fitness trainers or dieticians, want to help you. Never be afraid to ask for help. It may help to give you that extra boost, and will keep you working in a safe and effective way. The ‘guy or girl down the gym who is in great shape’ will likely only know what worked for them, and it may not work for you. 5. Start slowly and build up speed: Far too many people try to make wholesale changes in the pursuit of weight loss of improved fitness. They go from eating a poorly balanced diet to a very strict one, or from inactivity to trying to run every day. Your body can adapt to almost anything you throw at it, but it takes time to adapt fully. If you try to change too much too soon it will break down. If you are currently inactive and want to run a 10k race, start by walking 2-3 times a week. Build that up to 4-5, and as you get more comfortable, start to run for short intervals, and eventually you will get there. Our joints, bones and muscles need time to adjust to prevent injury, but if we give them that time, they will reward us. 6. Reward yourself: Many people punish themselves for eating badly or missing sessions once they have started an exercise program. They work extra hard after a missed session, but you can't 'make up' for missing a session, only regain your consistency. This, however, creates the wrong association with activity. You should not feel guilt for missing it, you should feel happy BECAUSE YOU DID IT. Instead of punishing yourself for missing a session, reward yourself for each one you do. Put a set amount of money (or something else you value) aside for each time you complete a daily goal, be it food or activity related, and as you are complete your goals, you will see the reward from this pile up to something you want. 7. START!!! Many people make great plans but never see them through. Get started as soon as you can. Don’t wait for a Monday, or the first day of a month. Weekends are a man-made idea, every day is the same to our bodies. Don’t wait to start, make it happen! If you want help with your fitness goals, lifestyle, or both, contact: 'icperformancecork@gmail.com' or 'ian@leisureworldcork.com' to discuss what we can accomplish together :)