Splurge on pizza and ice-cream at the weekend to help you lose weight? That’s the message we were once told. So my question to you is do you even still 'cheat meal'?

You don’t need to have those cheat meals! Tregs explains why

Well done to these lads who braved the cold to get outside and put a serious shift in. Let me know how your legs feel tomorrow! #outdoors #freshair #awesome #fitness #community #banter #nogymrequired #baltic #brrr

Now many of you reading this may or may not have heard of BMR. BMR stands for Basal Metabolic rate, but what the hell does it mean and why do you need to know about it? Well, BMR is the amount of energy expressed in calories that a person needs to keep the body functioning at rest. This means that you, as an individual will burn a given amount of calories simply existing on a daily basis with zero movement. Therefore if you just lay in bed all day, not moving (chance would be a fine thing right lads?) you would still burn calories simply by breathing and by your body carrying out its 'bodily' functions. So how do you know what your BMR is? Don't worry I got you. Head on over to buff.ly/2HLWILY right now which is a great place to very simply work out your daily calorie requirements. Type in your details such as age, height, weight sex and when it asks for your for activity levels simply select 'Base Metabolic rate' and then calculate. FYI, using myself as an example, 39 year old male, height 5ft 10, current weight 191lbs - my BMR is 1793 cals per day. So just to confirm that If I did absolutely NAFF all and lay still for 24 hours (which will never happen by the way) I would still burn close to 1800 cals. Pretty cool right? So why am I telling you all of this? Well I know a lot of you are using certain calorie trackers right now and there always seems to be a lot of blokes popping up saying how they can't believe they have burnt so many calories? Well remember that most of them are factoring in your BMR based on the stats you have given them... Simply by existing you are burning calories! I'm told the Apple watch will actually give you a breakdown of your BMR and then your active calories (burned through exercise) on top of that which is pretty cool. The Fit-Bit I’ve found can be way out by at least 500 calories (over estimating calorie expenditure). For me buff.ly/2HLWILY is a great tool for finding your BMR and then working out your daily needs based on your activity levels. FYI I put myself down as moderately active (exercise / sports 3-5 x per week) to get a clear picture of what I am burning daily through BMR and movement. So there you have it lads, Basal Metabolic Rate explained. Id love to know what your is? Let me know and I hope this gives you a better understanding when tracking cals in /out moving forward. Keep Truckin Coach Tregs

Having been in this game almost 11 years and been coaching over 30s men specifically for around 7 years, I understand I am never going to change the habits of most lads’ weekends. I’ve never been shy to admit I love a few beers on the weekend and junk food too. However we do need to be careful, especially if trying to lose weight, stay healthy and increase longevity that we don't completely over do things all weekend. Most of us can stay in a reasonable calorie deficit or at maintenance all week and then believe that because we have been good for 5 days we can go mental all weekend. I’m afraid it doesn't work like that lads. One big session on the beers and a big pizza to feed the hangover the next day can result in putting you in a major surplus - resulting in the old, 'start again Monday' mentality. I actually sat down with one client before and we worked out he had consumed almost 10,000 calories in alcohol from Friday night to Sunday evening - that was basically his calories AND SOME just in booze from one weekend putting him in a massive surplus without even adding in the food! Look, you can still enjoy beers and pizza on the weekend but you need to account for those calories and 'make the room' for them. Since becoming a fan of 'flexible dieting' around a year ago and getting better acquainted with energy in versus energy out I have felt way more capable of helping my over 30s male clients manage their weekends whilst still enjoying a social life. 2 things I tell clients 1) If going for a 3 course meal with booze on a Saturday evening, realise you are going to basically be consuming your daily allowance in one sitting. Therefore do you really need to eat a big breakfast and lunch before going out in the evening? Why not skip brekkie, eat a light lunch and be sure to bloody well move loads throughout the day (10k steps, gym, bootcamp etc) as so to really 'earn' your night out. 2) If you do go out and get pissed and over eat, the next day do something about it. Most lay on the sofa feeling sorry for themselves and end up splurging on more crap whereas if they had just bitten the bullet, gotten hydrated, got out the house, moved in the fresh air and lowered their overall calories for the day they would have probably paid back a fair dent of the damage they had caused the day before. Look guys, you CAN have your cake and eat it but you really need to be aware of energy balance. If you think being good Monday to Thursday means you can splurge Friday to Sunday then Im afraid you are mistaken. With this knowledge you will never have to worry about 'starting on a Monday again' Keep Truckin Coach Tregs

Keen to know more about what calories you burn on a daily basis? Well first you need to understand your BMR and why it’s so important.

Treg’s guide to knowing your numbers – you can’t lose fat without knowing this!

We all know it’s hard to get motivated to exercise sometimes and the gym can seem like a chore. Listen, not everyone enjoys training, many struggle through it because they know it will make them feel better afterwards and/or take them closer to their goal. And whilst at 30plus we hammer home the importance of things like bodyweight, kettlebell and barbell training it doesn't solely have to be about that. More and more I am telling clients to go and do an exercise that they really enjoy in and around their resistance training. Recently I started playing 5 aside football again and I am loving it! Truth be told up until recently I had not played for almost 8 years as I spent time growing my fitness business and then becoming a Dad for the first time almost 5 years ago. Most games take place in the evening and for me that is non negotiable family time and therefore I've sacrificed playing, however just recently a chance conversation with a client lead me to being invited to play a 1 hour game on a Monday lunch time. Fair to say I was absolutely blowing out of my arse during that hour but because I was enjoying it so much and playing as part of a team it spurred me on and kept me going. At the end I checked my Fit-Bit stats and was buzzing to see I'd gotten through 7500 steps and over 800 calories burned during an hour of really enjoying myself. It wasn't just the calorie burn but I also met a top new bunch of lads of a similar age who are good banter and every Monday now I really look forward to playing. To be honest I can't believe I left it so long - playing as part of a team for me is a great incentive and massive motivation not to let anyone down. So I ask you, if you sometimes are finding the gym a bit of a chore remember there are many other forms of exercise that will burn calories and give you enjoyment. Get out on a bike for a cycle, take a long walk with the family, play badminton, tennis, touch rugby, whatever floats your boat, its all fun and it all burns calories! I think sometimes we can get over consumed with sets, reps, tempos and different styles of resistance based training that it can becoming a bit serious. Whist it's KEY to understand that you WILL have to do resistance training at some point to if you want to achieve a leaner more muscular body - don't underestimate filling in the gaps with exercise that you really enjoy too. Have a think about it lads - is there and old sport you could pick up once a week that’s gonna burn calories, get you fitter and be great social too? Hope this give you some food for thought lads. Keep Truckin Coach Tregs

Getting fit and dropping fat doesn’t have to be complicated or involve the gym – why not do something you enjoy?

Whatever happened to enjoying exercise? Tregs tells it like it is!

Great stuff lads, Baltic conditions, on fire from the word go. #outdoors #freshair #awesome #notscaredofthecold #fitness #banter #nogymrequired

This one might shock you but I truly believe that motivation isn’t a big factor in transforming your body…. Hear me out lads, especially if you think motivation is gonna pull you through Look, here’s what I believe for what its worth…. Motivation will play a part, in getting you started! Because when the emotional pain of staying the same gets too much, it is often the kick start to decide to change. And at the start of any programme it is MOTIVATION that is high. You tell yourself ‘This is my time” – “I’m going to change”, “I’ll show them” (often referring to friends and family etc) and you decide upon a path you will embark on. Then this is what tends to happen. Monday you have all your food prepped and you crush your gym session and all is going well. Then during the rest of the week this thing called LIFE kicks in. You may have a sleepless night with the kids, your boss might be giving you grief at work, you may even get an unexpected bill in the post; these are just a few examples. This then leads to potential missed gym sessions, a day of poor nutrition, work stress and tiredness. The motivation that you had on the Sunday night is now sucked out of you by Friday and all you can think about is smashing a few beers and a takeaway which is what you felt guilty about last weekend. The motivation has been sucked out of you by this thing called LIFE and as emotive creatures and NOT robots, we want to revert back to type and go straight back to those bad old habits. So if motivation is now gone what is it that is gonna keep us going? 1) Having a clear goal of where you want to be and a vision of how you are going to look and feel. 2) Having an adaptable plan that allows you to roll with the punches that life throws at you and ensures you don’t feel guilty for missing a session or having a poor days nutrition. 3) Having a big reason WHY you are doing this (this is a huge factor in keeping you focused on the end goal) Noticed in point 3 I said keep you focused and not motivated. Look I’m talking from experience here when I say there are many days that I don’t feel motivated due to all the reasons I have already listed above. However, having the clear goal and reason WHY helps me to remain FOCUSED even when I’m tired, stressed and all out of motivation. So there you have it lads, use motivation as a driver to get you going, understand that it will run out so ensure you have a clear goal, adaptable plan and a HUGE why to keep you going when life gets in the way. Hope this gives you some value. Keep Truckin Coach Tregs