The picture on the left was taken the day after Boxing Day on holiday in LA, the one on the right was taken yesterday so just over 10 weeks apart. I told myself after new year that training was going to become a priority again. When I tell people what I do for work they think I spend all my day training. The reality is, the busier I get training people in the gym the more my own training suffers. This combined with lots of social events and going out a lot towards the end of last year left me looking and feeling in the worst shape I’d been in for a long time. Since the start of January I started training with a good friend of mine 4 times a week and put the appointments in my diary as I would with my clients. Regardless of how we feel on the day we train, no excuses! I started using Martin at Nutri Fresh to prep all my meals for me as well which has saved me a lot of time and also made it extremely easy to stick to my plan. I’ve also said no to a lot more social events that will hold me back from achieving my goals and been out a lot less frequently but still enjoyed the odd night out. I am still not where I want to be but I am feeling a lot fitter, stronger, happier and a lot more focused at work which is what’s most important for me. I’ve been guilty in the past of putting too much importance on an end goal when in reality you’re not going to feel any different when you get there. Enjoying the benefits of the daily actions that lead you there is ultimately what’s most important because if you’re not enjoying what you’re doing then what’s the point?

**CLIENT PROGRESS** Andy decided to get booked in with me after piling on weight over the Christmas period. I remember texting him just prior to him starting and asking him if he was ready to commit to the hard work needed to create a big transformation. His reply was “Yes definitely! My mindset is right and that’s the most important thing.” Never has a truer word been spoken. This is still a work in progress but the results so far speak for themselves. Well done mate! 👍🏼

Something that I place a lot of emphasis on in the initial phases of a clients training is structural balance. By definition this means to correct or minimise strength and flexibility imbalances throughout the body. This could be to minimise the deficit between the left and right side of the body and also achieve balance between the anterior and posterior muscles eg. pecs and scapula retractors. The strength of the stabiliser muscles in relation to the prime movers is also something that needs to be considered, for example the lower traps and the external rotator muscles of the shoulder in relation to the pecs on the bench press. This is an old transformation of my client Carl that illustrates what can be achieved when applying these principles which took just 8 weeks. I will address some of the most common imbalances that I encounter in a follow up post as well as how to correct them along with an example program by the end of the week.

http://www.m10fitness.co.uk/articles/fat-loss/cortisol-the-stress-hormone-and-how-it-relates-to

Since every gym in the country is absolutely rammed with everyone trying to get themselves in shape at the moment, this post is aimed at the ones who are starting out and are new to training. The best piece of advice I could give to any new gym member would be to not copy what others are doing in the gym in order to “learn” how to train. Working in a commercial gym this is something I am very aware of and seems to be a habit of most new gym goers. The problem with this is that possibly 90% of the people you see training haven’t a clue what they are doing, often doing very questionable exercises which in some cases are potentially quite dangerous. Does this mean to say that these people won’t see any results from their training? Absolutely not! It just isn’t optimal and ultimately anyone training in the gym should want to get the best possible return for their efforts. You only have to look around arguably any commercial facility and you’ll be hard pressed to find people doing things right, rather than the opposite, which is what should be the case. As a complete novice to training your body awareness will likely be very poor and things such as hingeing at the hip without bending at waist will be quite challenging. Therefore the best place for most of you to start is with machine based exercises. For example opting for seated cable rows rather than the much more advanced bent over barbell row. In this case you will find it much easier to place your lat muscles under constant tension as well as minimise your chance of injury. The more muscles you have activated doing a particular exercise, the less neural drive there is to each individual muscle, this means less tension on the target muscle. Now for a beginner you can see where this might be detrimental if they already struggle to feel a muscle working whilst doing a particular exercise. More complex movements will therefore diminish the amount of stimulus the muscle receives. Compound (multi joint) movements as anyone will tell you are the way to go in order to maximise your results in the gym. However, this does not mean that everyone should squat, deadlift and barbell bench press when they first enter a gym. Although these are all brilliant exercises when performed correctly they all require high levels of strength, coordination and mobility and pose a high risk of injury when done incorrectly. It’s very rare that I will ever prescribe any of these exercises to a beginner in the onset of their training and often some clients won’t end up doing them at all. Remember, there is no individual exercise that is essential for your development in the gym. Investing in a skilled coach could really save you a lot of time and frustration trying to work things out on your own. From my experience of working with clients, the one thing they all want to see in the onset is some kind of progress or positive change. Seeing this early on can really have a positive effect on a clients mindset and motivate them to progress further in to the program. Having someone take away the guess work for you will ensure your commitment fully maximises your potential to be the best you can be. There are plenty of gym goers who think they know it all and that they are more knowledgeable than the trainers in the gym, trust me they’re not! To put things in perspective, I am very nearly approaching my 6th year as a self employed PT, as well as having worked in gyms and studied for many more years on top of this. During this time I’ve invested thousands in to my education and continue to do so every year and despite all this I am still nowhere near where I want to be in this industry. I am going to assume that most people reading this are in the gym to improve their body composition (build muscle / lose fat) as is the case with most, if not all of my clients to varying degrees. Here’s my top 7 tips for anyone new to training wanting to maximise their time spent in the gym: ✅ Whatever program you decide to do you will need to stick with it in order for it to be effective. Hopping from one workout to another will kill your progress as you won’t make significant strength gains on any of the exercises in your plan. My advice for a beginner would be to work for at least 6 weeks on any given training program. ✅ Make each workout lasts no longer than an hour excluding your warm up. If you’re hanging around in the gym for 2-3 hours you’re simply not working hard enough. ✅ Leave your ego at the door! This one applies mainly to the guys. Your goal should be to contact your muscles against resistance not to just move the weight from A to B. It’s the opposite that tends to be the case with female trainees. I read a great bit of advice in an article by Nick Mitchell saying that most men need to take 10% off the bar and most women need to add 10%. ✅ For whatever exercise it is you’re doing make sure you feel the target muscle working through the entire range of motion. My clients will often hear me say “If you don’t feel a muscle working during a particular exercise then the chances are you’re not working it”. HOW you execute your program is just as important, if not more so than WHAT that program entails. ✅ Learn how to overload each muscle you work in its most shortened position. This is where you are weakest and will therefore have the greatest potential for growth. If you don’t know what this means already or how to apply it then learn, it’s really not that complicated. Any competent coach should be able to explain this to you. ✅ Learn to understand tempo and how to apply it to your training. Your muscles are not aware of how much something weighs, they respond to tension. The amount of time the muscle is under tension will dictate the training response. This is probably one of the most under utilised training variables and arguably one of the most effective for a beginner. To learn more type “tempo +Charles Poliquin” in to a google search. ✅ To conclude, make sure you’re eating in line with your goals. Keeping things super simple, if you’re looking to gain lean mass then you’ll need to be in a calorie surplus. On the other hand, if you’re looking to lose body fat then you will need to be in a calorie deficit. Like, share and tag anyone you feel will benefit from the information in this post.

New business flyers are looking good thanks to @mattydobbo for the excellent job he’s done with these. My new website won’t be far off now either. It will be featuring lots of great content on training, nutrition and mindset as well as a members area with exclusive content and an extensive video library for clients and online clients.

Off back to L.A in May for 8 days of studying with one of the best @strengthsensei1 at the Ultimate Performance gym. Can’t wait for this! Getting up to date with all the cutting edge methods in programming for my clients. Anyone in the industry who hasn’t taken any of Charles’ seminars in the past I advise you do, the knowledge gained is invaluable. The more you learn the more you earn!

To follow on from yesterday’s post about food prep, one of the most common things I hear from clients as to why they can’t do it is that they don’t have enough time. Now food prep doesn’t have to be that time consuming and for most it’s a case of not prioritising their goals enough rather than genuinely not having the time although there are exceptions. For the vast majority of people looking to get in shape 4 meals a day is enough or even just 3 and a couple of healthy snacks in between. Take an example of someone working a typical 9-5 job, you have breakfast at home so that’s one meal taken care of and you’re back in the evening at a reasonable time so you can cook your evening meal. That leaves just 2 meals for you to prep to take to work with you which shouldn’t be too difficult. You can even have the same thing for both meals to save prep time and change the meal you have each day. Now you might be reading this and thinking yeah that’s great but I work 12 hour days and literally only have time to work and sleep so what do I do? You pay a skilled chef to do your food prep for you. This is something I personally do for a number of reasons... 1. I am shit at cooking. 2. I work unsociable hours and the last thing I want to do at 10pm when I get home is cook. 3. Cooking bores me. 4. I feel I can use the time more productively to work on my business. So whether you’re busy, just can’t be arsed to do it yourself or you just don’t have the cooking skills then using a food prep service can really make the difference when it comes to achieving your goals. I use Nutri Fresh for my meals and the quality of meals and service is brilliant. All my meals are made exactly as requested and weighed out to the gram, as well as being delivered to me daily at work. For more information contact Martin Keenan or visit the Nutri Fresh page who are both tagged in the comments section below.

Seeing as this is the time of year everyone is jumping aboard the health and fitness bandwagon I thought I’d share with you my top tip for achieving your goals. This picture was sent to me earlier today from my client @fleurharker of her meal prep. From my years of experience working as a PT I’d say making this a habit and being consistent in doing so is the difference between my clients achieving their goals and not. If you want to achieve your maximal potential and get the best possible results then your preparation has to match. Relying on getting your meals on the go when you’re out and about just won’t cut it. It is of no coincidence either that Fleur is one of my highest achieving clients, achieving results in a fraction of the time it takes some gym goers. Perfect Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance 👌🏼

Excellent transformation so far from my client Ric. Still a work in progress this as he has not yet reached his goal but already seeing some great results. This is what he had to say about his journey so far... "I just want to say a massive thanks to Ryan for helping me transform myself. The journey is far from over but this past four months I’ve seen and made progress which I never thought was possible. Even now seeing the pictures I still can’t believe how far I’ve come. His expertise and guidance in nutrition and training methods speaks for itself and I have learnt so much over the past four months. I’ve always been a bulky kind of guy, and was quite into weight training a number of years ago until circumstances got in the way, and after a good few years out I got myself back into it. However, I just always felt like I wasn’t getting anywhere no matter how hard I tried or how strict I was, and it pained me to see other people who just seemed to progress a lot quicker and easier than me. I just couldn’t seem to get any shape and the belly and other stubborn fatty parts of my body just weren’t changing. It was at this point I thought I’d take the plunge and speak with Ryan, and since then I haven’t looked back. I look forward to every session (well, leg day is sometimes a different story haha but...), Ryan is a fantastic trainer who is dedicated to his clients' progress. He is always available at the end of the phone aswell which can be a huge help. If changing yourself is your aim and you have the self belief, determination and drive then Ryan is your man. Roll on the next phase." Ric Caesar

Great transformation and testimonial from my client Sarah who achieved these amazing results earlier this year for the group Photo shoot at Gymworks with Matt Marsh "I've been training for about 2 years now and always did a bit on the weights and a bit of cardio and ate pretty healthy but never really saw massive changes in my body! It was frustrating and to be honest felt like I was wasting my time. It wasn't until I started training with Ryan did I notice huge changes. He set my own unique training program with a new nutrition plan that made me accountable for what effort I put in. He was consistent in his coaching and asked weekly for diet plans and updates on training. He also did regular review sessions to track my progress with my body composition and to highlight areas which I needed help with. He advised on vitamins and supplements which would help me reduce stubborn fatty areas and also improve my overall health! I have to say I have never looked nor felt better in my life!! If you are serious about getting fit and changing the way you look you need to engage with a good PT who knows theirs stuff and Ryan certainly does! I am working mum of two who suffers with loose skin having had two pregnancies and ryan helped me reduce the loose skin and tone my stomach ! He also made my nutrition plan and training program to suit my lifestyle! It wasn't easy to cut out alcohol and sugar but my hard work coupled with the ongoing support and guidance from Ryan made it worthwhile and rewarding! If you are serious about making changes to your lifestyle and your physique you need professional advice and support!! Massive thank you to Ryan and his knowledge, you gave me the health and the physique I've always wanted! Super PT!!" Sarah Reilly If you are interested in achieving results like these and are ready to take the first step to feeling and looking your best yet then get in touch today to book your free consultation.

Amazing transformation this from my client Szilvia.. "Last September I started training with Ryan in a bid to lose some of the stubborn fat around my waistline, my legs and generally tone up. What I achieved with Ryan's help was far more than this! I am amazed now at what I can lift, push or press! I think the difference between the before and after photo is showing the results 😊Using weights and various exercises, following Ryan's recommendations on nutritions and keeping to the eating plans my overall strength and fitness improved so much in a short space of time that I was able to perform exercises I would never have attempted on my own. Each workout, nutrition and eating plan is tailored to you, to you can achieve exactly what you have discussed. Ryan has a very good way of getting more out of someone! I have benefitted by becoming stronger, leaner and have much better posture. Ryan has a vast knowledge about nutritions, he is very dedicated and he's keeping up with the latest educational courses to give the best to his clients. I can’t recommend him enough! Thanks Ryan Garnett! I'm looking forward to work with him again for a longer period of time." Szilvia Huszar