PT Today

THE RISE OF ONLINE Pt, THE ROAD TO SUCCESS

experts

us ess rio n Se t Fit ou ab

Written by Personal Trainers, for you! – new & Improved

June 2019

monthly mag

BEN COOMBNER

£3.99

Bring balance to your life Embracing virtual fitness with the four elements is key to longevity...

Pages 18 –20

Pages 64 –65

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BOXING SINCE 1977

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experts

WELCOME Hello and welcome to the June edition of PT Today!

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I find myself with each issue thinking more and more about the development of the magazine, where we have come from and where we want to go.

Like many of our readers, we run a business within the fitness industry. An industry that we have born sweat blood and tears to be in, fought tooth and nail to sustain a company in and want nothing but the best for our fellow members of the industry.

As I sit here, I must confess in the local (thats The Woolpack in Ipswich for those who know the area), taking up far too much space for little old me, I often wonder at what stage of development PT Today is at, what can we be doing better? How can we change the offering, find new contributors and all importantly what do our readers what to hear. What makes their businesses tick and can we really get another 68 pages of content together for Julys issue (Which is already well underway by this point).

Well as with all good businesses these are all questions that we should all be asking ourselves every day, waking hours sleeping hours, there really is no difference. If you don’t dream about your business to the pint of nightmares about flying dumbbells and battle ropes are you actually doing it right?

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We all ask ourselves, what’s next for me? What are my next targets? How can I achieve my goals? each of our journeys is unique, we have one thing in common, its a road well trodden, its a crowded road we are all on, but is the most lonely road of them all, business.

Relax, its not one of those “deep and meaningfuls” we are well past new years resolutions, that gym body for me is only something my wonderful contributors write about while I sit at my desk and make that one inevitable trip to the vending machine that will destroy my macros for the day and I will be punishing myself for later on the treadmill. All totally the wrong way to look at things.

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I digress, Its with these thoughts and actions that I put together each issue of PT, looking at what I can bring to paper / tablet / computer / phone or email that will help our readers maximise their earning potential. Help them hopefully avoid the issues that have befallen me, help to ensure that they realise that no matter how hard it gets, there is always a way through. The sun will always rise in the morning, and we will be here for each of those days to watch it rise with you.

Ladies and gentleman of the fitness industry, we salute you. Long may you prosper taking your message to the masses. Thank you for being part of our journey, we sincerely hope that the magazine and all our other avenues of content delivery are useful and inspiring. We want to hear from more of you on your journeys, want to know what your aspirations are? What works for you? Email me editor@ptlive.co.uk and tell me your story.

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For now, I am off to finish my drink, unload my car, and prepare for a 3 hour drive to Leicester at 11pm when my parter finishes work. The things you do for love. I would ask you to wish me luck, but by the time you read this it would have been 2 weeks ago lol.

Yours in health and happiness,

Myles Davies

nutrition 44-53

editorial director

www.pttoday.co.uk

Show Partners

Magazine Partners

business 54-66

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THE

CONTENTS EXPERTS 08 Keith Smith

Over the next two months we will explore what to concider when defining your audience.

11 KAren Thomas

22-23 rooftop yoga/pilates

On 21 June, the world will celebrate International Day of Yoga 2019. Wembley park residents, however, don’t have to wait until then...

Subscribe today for just £31.92

The simple calorie deficit.

12 Darren Tebbenham

What is nutrition coaching... and what’s the deal with “scope of practice?”

14-15 ben holly

See Page 32-33

Create your own fat loss plan...

FEATURES 24-25 The rise of online personal training

Lets state the obvious, online personal training is rife, many personal trainers and fitness and nutrition coaches are moving all or a portion of their work online...

FOCUS ON 16-17 Sir bradley Wiggins

Join Britain’s most decorated Olympian Sir Bradley Wiggins as he tours the UK...

18-21 bring balance to your life with the four elements

Monte-Carlo’s first ever two-day wellness festival offers a unique experience, unlike any the French Riviera has hosted before...

23 Yeti And the fox

Finally a product which makes the morning after feel as good as the night before...

On the

COVER 28-31 how many calories do you burn during weight training Hate working your arse off in the gym to see minimal results?

Explored by expert Ben Coomber

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34-35 The Uk’s most active regions revealed...

A survey of more than 7,600 UK adults published by Decathlon in their activity index 2018.

36-37 ladies full body workshops - karen thomas

Not too many years ago, I used to think the bench was just a chest exercise, & I avoided it in most instances. But, since learning how to perform it correctly I have fallen in love with this compound lift...

38-39 how to create your own fat loss plan

The number 1 issue I find a lot of people having with fat loss nowadays is that they completely overcomplicate the whole situation...

41 kaia health’s app back pain treatment outperforms standard physiotherapy

Randomised controlled study is first to demonstrate treatment efficacy using mobile devices for self management of low back pain.

FITNESS FOCUS 42-43 veganism & exercise According to The Vegan Society, the number of vegan Brits quadrupled between 2014 and 2018...

52-53 Alterations to your diet to aid musculoskeletal pain

A lot of people suffer from musculoskeletal problems. In fact, there are over 10,000 GP consultations in the UK each year for musculoskeletal problems. For some, these issues can lead to long term chronic pain conditions.

62 adaptive work in under 3 seconds Research shows that changing the office dynamic and using a standing desk can increase productivity.

BUSINESS NUTRITION 44-47 Gosh recipes

How to make some delicious veggie meals, including Moroccan spring green wraps and Satay tofu and veggie skewers

54-55 The importance of upskilling for fitness instructors

CPD is paramount to the effectiveness of a fitness instructor. The wellness industry is constantly evolving and trends move fast.

64-65 embracing virtual fitness is key to longevity in the pt industry

Date, 2019 - it’s no secret that a digital transformation is underway in the fitness industry - and has been for sometime now.

56-57 Finding that sweet spot How to leverage technology without losing the human touch.

59 Smart textile company set to achieve lift off with european space agency 48-49 The vegan diet is it the new fad

The European space agency (ESA) is supporting British technology company and original producer of infrared textiles KYMIRA.

Many people have finished doing Veganuary, many might be continuing to do Veganuary or just following the vegan diet in some shape or form.

50-51 What should we be recommending high or low carb diets for fat loss

If we are to say that there has been one main conversation in nutrition over the last 50 years its probably this - which is the bad one, carbohydrate or fat?

66 10 minutes with amir khan...

World boxing champ Amir Khan trains for upcoming fight at Total Fitness in Bolton.

In preparation for next month’s history defining fight against Neeraj Goyat in Saudi Arabia.

BOXING SINCE 1977

60-61 Personal trainers stop getting emotional about your business Emotions are dangerous, and as a coach to other coaches, a big problem I see in people developing themselves and their business is getting emotional about every problem they face in their coaching business.

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experts

Christopher Rock

THE

EXPERTS

Within the fitness industry, if we are to truly to raise someone’s confidence, we have to show empathy and understanding and we have to convey this understanding back to them. Read more of my article on Page 7. I look forward to bringing you more great content in the months to come.

Jason Watson

Darren Tebbenham

I hope you enjoy my unique insights into the worlds of; Fitness, Business and Lifestyle Management! In my articles, you’ll discover crazy knowledge bombs based on my experience in the industry as well as my perspective on business development.

I am very happy to join the PT Today expert panel & hope to bring you all relevant information to help you achieve business success.

To get the ball rolling here is a bit about me and my experience within the fitness industry...

Ben Coomber

Karen Thomas

My journey in the fitness industry was a personal one from a battle with obesity at age 18 that spurred a keen interest in nutrition. Now a performance based individual I train and play rugby, blending my nutritional knowledge from both 1st hand experience, the science, and a potent background of coaching athletes and personal trainers.

Check Ben out at www.bencoomber.com

Just a single mumma training, baking and raising a boy. I graduated in Business but spent 13 years in Education as a primary school teacher and specializing in special needs & vulnerable children, before qualifying as a PT & nutritional advisor. Between 2012 and 2015 I was part of the England Touch Rugby Mixed squad and then decided to take myself to stage. In the past two years I have coached myself, as a natural athlete, to three British Finals.

PUBLISHERS

PLEASE NOTE

PT Live Limited

Points of view expressed in articles by contributing writers and in advertisements included within Personal Trainer Today Magazine, do not represent those of he publishers.

While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in Personal Trainer Today Magazine, no legs responsibility will be accepted by the publishers for incidents arising from use of information published. All rights including moral rights reserved.

62 Anglesea Road Ipswich, Suffolk, IP1 3PN United Kingdom

Competition T&C’s Competitions open to residents of the UK only except employees and relations of the publisher. All entries must be aged 18 year or over. One entry per person. Only complete entries will be counted.

Prizes subject to suppliers terms and conditions, and cannot be exchanged. Winners agree to have their name and town (example: John Smith, Ipswich), printed in future issues to promote the prize winners. Editors decision is final.

Editor Myles Davies myles@ptlive.co.uk

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WHO IS YOUR AUDIENCE... – Keith Smith

Over the next two months, we will explore what to consider when defining your audience, and how you might consider communicating your messages and offerings to them in order to meet your customers’ needs.

Everyone is NOT your AUDIENCE S. Godin.

With the number of facilities offering fitness growing rapidly, Personal Trainers need to explore how they can provide something distinctive, different and diverse. Something that ensures a healthy customer base.

One that encourages repeat visits, regularly.

There are a number of factors that influence the exerciser to visit more regularly and remain a loyal member or client over a longer period of time.

The aim of this article is to explore

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the possibility that the age of being all things to everybody is over.

The exerciser experience matters, the exercise offering matters, the equipment selection matters, and our choice of social media channels matter. Everything we do matters!

However, before all of this can be considered, we first need to establish who is your audience?

Knowing your audience is not something that can be achieved quickly, it needs to be researched fully, investigated and thoroughly analysed. It is however, the key to your overall success as a PT, Studio or Fitness Facility.

When we supply a service or offering for the community, we must understand who we are serving.

Who are the people who visit more

often? It is these individuals who continually give us feedback (because they care)? Often, these people will have connected demographics, motivational drivers, values, beliefs and outcomes.

Profiling your target group/client base supports the promotion of your services, improves your marketing communications (because know who you are talking to!) and enhances the overall exerciser experience.

Knowing your audience will help to validate decision making around equipment choice, exercise offerings, and gaps in training and development.

Yes, you can serve everyone, and yes you will likely attract people outside of your target audience, however it is your CORE AUDIENCE that must define the choices you make for your business.

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experts

THE SIMPLE CALORIE DEFICIT Energy in Vs energy out. This is a statement currently being thrown about by so many leading media influences, health & training professionals at the moment. If you want to lose weight you need to be in a calorie deficit and your energy consumed must be less than your energy expended.

Your macros consist of carbohydrates, fats & protein. Protein has the highest TEF of all these three. Which means that it requires more energy (20-30%) to be processed by the body than carbohydrates (5-10%) & fats (0-3%). This is a good thing especially when hitting a calorie deficit.

However, I still find the dynamics of our complex metabolic system as well as the hormones that can influence & disrupt our energy balance somewhat mind blowing.

Begin by calculating how much protein you need. I have mentioned before that 1g/lb lean body mass is generally a good place to start. Protein is crucial for muscle protein synthesis (MPS); maintaining & building new muscle tissue. Ensuring you eat leucine-rich protein sources would be hugely beneficial also because leucine stimulates muscle growth as well as prevents potential muscle deterioration. Choosing complete protein foods such as meat & eggs will provide the nine essential amino acids that the body can’t produce on its own. Leucine is one of these essential amino acids. Beans & nuts aren’t complete protein sources so if you don’t eat meat, just make sure you eat a sufficient mix to get all these essential amino acids into your diet.

Obviously, if your currently overweight or (unwilling) gaining weight, you are consuming too many calories. So, where do we begin?

Your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) is the benchmark you’ll need to establish if you plan to calculate a calorie deficit. This is unique to each individual. To figure this out you need to consider the four aspects – 1. Basal Metabolic Rate – BMR (your body’s basic requirements to stay alive) 2. Non Exercise Adaptive Thermogenesis – NEAT (non-exercise, unconscious movements) 3. Exercise activity – EA and 4. Thermic Effect of Food - TEF. No equation is perfectly matched to everyone but by calculating a BMR & then comparing it to how many calories you’re currently consuming, is a pretty darn good place to start. I think so many of us a) don’t know what our BMR should be & b) just how much that differs from our current daily intake.

If you have been ‘dieting’ for years you may have even experienced certain metabolic adaptations, which have now lowered your BMR further.

When you then apply how active or sedentary you are, you can increase or decrease your metabolic needs accordingly.

So now we’re talking about limiting our calories & consuming less than we’d prefer.

This is where macros & TEF play a significant role & making smart food choices become so important. Theory currently stands that so long as you hit a calorie deficit you will lose body fat regardless of what you eat.

However, when you are restricting your calories you will soon find out that getting the nutrients you need to remain healthy, feeling satiated & maintaining lean body mass can’t be taken for granted. Shit food choices, leads to shit results in the long term.

Protein is additionally highly satiating, which by default means you will eat less because you are feeling fully for longer.

Although there are no hard & fast rules as to how many meals you should eat in a day with regards to fat loss (so long as you hit a deficit), research shows that protein distribution to enhance muscle anabolism is actually important. By spreading your protein intake out throughout the day you are more likely to hit the protein threshold required (ca. 20g), as well as remain within the ‘cap’ of around 40g. This basically means that you may not get an anabolic response if you consume too little protein, or you won’t really benefit by eating lots more protein in one meal. A good quality protein source within this range with each meal would be a good idea for most people looking to improve or refine their diets.

Once you’ve gotten your head around your protein needs, it’s personal preference as to how you fill in your remaining calories with carbohydrates & fats. This is your chance to be creative, flexible & experiment.

You could theoretically fill in the calories with whatever carbohydrates you enjoy, BUT… certain carbs (let’s take jelly babies for example) will offer lots of calories for very little volume.

Simple (short chained) carbohydrates, like jelly babies, are broken down by the body quickly to be used as energy. Simple carbs are found naturally in foods such as fruit, milk & milk products, as well as in the processed foods, refined sugars & soft drinks you are probably already familiar with.

Complex (long chain) carbohydrates (starches) are broken down by the body to form glucose but not as quickly & don’t cause quite the same spikes / dips in blood sugar levels as simple carbs might. Complex carbs include vegetables, whole grains, potatoes & whole fruits. They aren’t striped of fiber & nutrients like processed & refined carbohydrates.

Your optimal carbohydrate consumption will ultimately boil down to your personal circumstances - your age, gender, metabolic health & physical activity.

Fats are also broken down into their categories of saturated and unsaturated.

Saturated fats are found in meat products as well as butter, lard & coconut oil for example.

Monounsaturated & polyunsaturated fats in avocados, nuts, seeds, natural oils & fish are unsaturated. There is a lot of debate as to which kinds & how much of these fats is best to consume. Again, this does depend on personal circumstances. When filling in your remaining calories with fats the thing I try to bear in mind is that Omega 3 fats (i.e. from plant sources & oily fish) can’t be made by the body so must come from a food source.

Trans fatty acids are made by heating oils in a process called hydrogenation. Partially hydrogenating vegetable oils makes them more stable & less likely to become rancid, which is why you’ll find them popular for frying, baked goods, processed snack foods, fasts foods & in restaurants. In short, these are not good for the heart, blood vessels or rest of the body so, in a nut shell, limit your intake of these.

There are many different ways to hit your weekly calorie deficit. Find tricks & tools, which help you do this. When you’re hitting a calorie deficit, you’ll ultimately want to gain the most nutrients & feel fuller for longer on less food!

Fasting until a certain time of day, prepare meals in advance, factor in a ‘cheat’ meal or special occasions, have snacks prepared for emergencies (as part of your deficit), alcohol is not free calories, install a calorie counter app on your mobile phone, don’t go food shopping hungry… Adherence is the key to weight loss success.

Diets aren’t a punishment, & neither should food be a reward. If your new eating plan is causing you to binge eat or you dread the thought of meal prepping, then be prepared to go back to the drawing board.

Tailor your diet to fit your lifestyle.

@KARENTHOMASPT

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WHAT IS NUTRITION COACHING...

AND WHAT’S THE DEAL WITH “SCOPE OF PRACTICE”? is collaboratively working with a client to agree changes they would make to what they had for breakfast, lunch and dinner, what they had for any between-meal snacks and what they drank throughout the day, they confirmed very coherently YES such activity would be insured on their personal trainer policy.

My Guide

As a personal trainer, you will obviously need to influence your clients’ behaviours when you are not around, especially in the area of nutrition. And writing a meal plan is, firstly, no more likely to actually develop new eating and drinking habits than any of the many diet plans your clients have likely tried in the past.

Secondly, writing a prescriptive eating plan is NOT the role of a personal trainer. And thirdly, our role as a “coach” as opposed to trainer, is to empower clients to take back control of their own health, weight and fitness and dictating a set meal plan is not empowering but potentially disempowering and therefore a huge mistake. Let me explain…

As a coach you will appreciate the answers for your clients to finally eat

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and drink more healthily don’t simply come from your training, experience or capability in nutrition, but the rich collaboration between coach and client.

That is to say your client possesses important expertise about their own daily schedule, preferences, sources of support and mental resolve than you, and by working with them to create a strategy that is likely to work for them 1) will better enable lasting chance, 2) is within the remit of a fitness professional and 3) empowers clients to better own their own habits and behaviours around nutrition.

And when we talk about scope of practice, clearly influencing another’s nutritional choices both very necessary and is within our scope of practice. I personally contacted Insure4Sport to ask whether in the case of a professional trainer who is NOT writing meal plans but, instead,

1 Third party your education. Create a nutrition video or document about the important role of healthy fats and why eating fat is essential when it comes to losing fat. Include content about the role and, therefore, importance of protein and talk about carbohydrates in terms of their role as an energy source. However, outline also that when it comes to losing body fat we need to help the body burn stored fats as fuel rather than consumed carbohydrates, and hence why we might limit their consumption for a while.

2 Coach – ask to discover, ask to understand and ask to solve. In your coaching session with your client, ask about what your client most took from what you provided them. Ask about how this might show up for them. And ask about what changes they, therefore, intend to make by when. And follow up.

3 Share your expertise too. Don’t just remain passive, share through story, use of metaphors and examples of how others have better-controlled carbohydrate and sugar consumption, between-meal snacking, comfort eating and increased protein and healthy fats in their diet. Think, two experts, working towards one person’s agenda i.e. your clients. This is nutrition coaching.

It works and you can read more on www.darrentebbenham.com

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CREATE YOUR OWN FAT LOSS PLAN...

– Ben Holly with “calorie calculators” however these are very rough so take it with a big pinch of salt.

The apps are good ways to start off and find a base number to start on but don’t expect the number you’re given to be absolutely perfect, you need to take this number and again test how your body reacts to the food intake and adjust accordingly. All in all it is literally a testing phase to start with just to see what you need to maintain or lose weight, so get a rough base number and adjust accordingly till you start dropping weight at about 1lb to 2lb a week!

2. Protein intake The number 1 issue I find a lot of people having with fat loss nowadays is that they completely overcomplicate the whole situation, granted it’s not helped by all the amount of “craze diets” that are advertised these days. However, when ever I’m faced with someone who’s issue is fat loss, they tend to think it’s some magic serum that drops body fat or some hidden secret I’m not telling people about. However, it’s pretty much the polar opposite. Here I’m gonna list 4 ways to create your own fat loss plan and start your fat loss journey.

1. Find out caloric intake First of all and probably most importantly, is gonna be caloric intake. Now this is where we completely simplify the situation, losing weight is pretty much just about burning more calories than you’re eating.

No matter the food, no matter what type of exercise. You simply need to burn off more calories than you’re consuming.

Now you’re probably going to say, “okay but how many calories do I burn in a day?”

To be completely honest I couldn’t tell you. Everyone has a different bodies and lifestyle’s and will burn off more or less than the next person. It all comes down to

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a few things such as your job, your exercise routine and your metabolism generally. I’ve known people who sit at a 9-5 office job and train 3-4 days a week and have to eat 3200 calories to lose weight, I’ve also known some that have an incredibly taxing job and train the exact same and have to eat 2200.

It is literally that far of a contest; some people will naturally have to eat less than others in order to lose weight even though they may move less.

So, first of all you need to find your maintenance calories. The only real way you can do this is literally test it. Set yourself a calorie goal and weigh yourself once a week on the same day and time and see what the scales say. Now depending on how your weight reacts to the calories you will then need to increase or decrease them.

Ideally when losing weight, you’re gonna lose anywhere from a 1lb to 2lb a week.

Again, if you find you’re out of that range then increase them or decrease them accordingly, when it comes to purely fat loss that’s quite a good range to keep within as long as you’re protein is high as this will enable you to keep as much muscle mass as possible. Now there are certain apps and website’s out there which do provide you

Another important aspect of a fat loss diet is your protein intake, not only is protein the most satiating food source out there but it’ll also help you maintain your muscle and give you a lean not skinny look. When we eat protein our body will naturally break this down into amino acids and is then used for multiple different functions, in this case it also allows us to build muscle.

Now before we go further a fat loss plan is designed around the fact you want to keep as much muscle as possible whilst losing fat, a weight loss plan is entirely different. Losing weight is more commonly used for people new to the fitness scene and are more focused on purely losing as much body mass as possible. Again, as we’re talking about a fat loss plan protein becomes a very important aspect. In order to maintain as much muscle as possible during this “fat loss phase” you need to be on point with your training and also eat a good amount of protein. Now again you’re probably asking “okay, but how much?”

Now this is much easier to gauge as it’s not really person dependent it’s more down to body mass itself. Now when it comes to a fat loss diet you will need to be eating more protein than when your maintaining or bulking, this is simply due to the fact your body is trying to shred down and will get rid of any excess muscle or fat it needs. By

experts By eating enough protein and training hard you’re giving your body a reason to keep the muscle around for as long as it can, with all that in mind you’re body will then prioritise fat as it’s main source to drop cause it needs to drop weight from somewhere.

So, when thinking about protein intake

Ideally you want between 0.5g -0.8g per pound of bodyweight. Depending on how active you are a range between that amount is perfect, if you find yourself a lot more active and train regularly throughout the week then take the higher end, however if you find yourself only training a few times a week then the lower end will be more

than enough. Again this is rough but as long as you’re between this range you should be keeping the fat loss process as efficient as possible without losing any muscle!

3.

Training

4.

Consistency.

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SIR BRADLEY WIGGINS

Join Britain’s most decorated Olympian Sir Bradley Wiggins as he tours theatres throughout the UK with his insightful and at times hilarious live show. ‘Bradley Wiggins: An Evening With’ provides a rare opportunity for fans to see the fivetime Olympic Gold medallist and Tour De France winner share exclusive tales, prized memorabilia and career highlights in a unique and intimate live setting. A British household name and undeniable national treasure, Bradley Wiggins holds the iconic track hour record and is the only cyclist who has won World and Olympic championships on both the track and the road along with winning the Tour De France.

His easy charm in front of the press is legendary and he won the 2012 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award (voted for by the public), helping cycling smash its way into the mainstream.

2013 brought further success, including the Tour of Britain title, and in 2014 Wiggins added the rainbow jersey to his collection by winning the World Time Trial Championships.

Bradley Wiggins said,

Announcing his retirement from professional cycling at the end of 2016, Wiggins said, “2016 is the end of the road for this chapter, onwards and upwards, ‘feet on the ground, head in the clouds’ kids from Kilburn don’t win Olympic Golds and Tour de Frances! They do now.”

“I am really excited to get back on the road again with Icons. Cycling has always been my passion so to share my experiences, my journey and my own collection of memorabilia is fantastic.”

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The Summer of 2016 saw Wiggins win his 5th gold medal at the Rio Olympics in the team pursuit and his eighth Olympic medal overall, making him Britain’s most decorated Olympian ever and rounding off one of the most impressive sporting careers the nation has ever witnessed.

Alongside his weekly appearances on Talk Sport Radio, his podcast The Bradley Wiggins Show was such a success in 2018 that it has returned for an extended 20-episode run mirroring the 2019 cycling season. In November last year Wiggins released his latest book Icons (published by Harper Collins) taking readers on an extraordinarily intimate journey through his time in sport that made him a legend.

Tickets are on sale Friday 17th May at 10am with prices starting from £32.50 and a VIP Meet & Greet Package is available for £115 and includes: Premium seated ticket within the first 5 rows Meet & Greet with Bradley Wiggins Individual photo opportunity Bradley Wiggins exclusive gift TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE VIA MYTICKET.CO.UK

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SEPTEMBER FRI 6TH

LINCOLN ENGINE SHED

SAT 7TH

HULL CITY HALL

THU 19

TH

LEICESTER DE MONTFORT HALL

FRI 20TH

BIRMINGHAM SYMPHONY HALL

SAT 21ST

EDINBURGH FESTIVAL THEATRE

MON 23RD

HARROGATE ROYAL HALL

TUE 24TH

CAMBRIDGE CORN EXCHANGE

WED 25

TH

BATH FORUM

FRI 27TH

BASINGSTOKE ANVIL

SAT 28

NEWCASTLE TYNE THEATRE

TH

MON 30TH

BRIGHTON THEATRE ROYAL

OCTOBER THU 3RD

LIVERPOOL THE AUDITORIUM M&S BANK ARENA

SUN 6TH WIMBLEDON NEW THEATRE

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BRING BALANCE TO YOUR LIFE WITH THE FOUR ELEMENTS FINDING BALANCE IN THE ELEMENTS FIRE: your energy, action, strength and movement EARTH: your body, our planet and nourishment AIR: your life-force, faith and trust WATER: your creativity, flow and imagination

Monte-Carlo’s first ever two-day wellness festival offers a unique experience, unlike any the French Riviera has hosted before. Focusing on the Elements Fire, Earth, Air and Water to help balance your mind, body and connection to the planet.

In Your Element Wellness Festival takes place on 6th & 7th July 2019 at the stylish boutique Columbus Hotel, and one of the best equipped fitness clubs in the French Riviera, World Class Gym. Outdoor classes and workshops will also be held in the stunning setting of Monte-Carlo, an ideal setting to experience all the elements.

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The four elements serve as powerful guides on how-to live-in synergy with nature. Every breath of air relaxes us.

Fire gives us strength and energy. We learn to flow and be more fluid like water. The earth reminds us to heal and nourish ourselves. When we align with the four elements, we become more present and tap into the wisdom of life itself.

The festival has a local focus on Monaco’s principles of marine ecosystem preservation, as well as a more expansive look into awareness of waste, sustainability, and mindful eating, visitors will learn how to use the elements to elevate their lives but also how to preserve their rich natural state.

An exciting list of partners ensure guests are experiencing the excitement of Monaco as well as insight to the latest trends in health and fitness from visiting London experts. Football coaching with FMC Football Academy hosting kids of all ages; ICI Salad bars producing bespoke FIRE, EARTH, AIR &WATER salad boxes created by our nutritionists for the weekend. Practice some mindful movement at our Silent Disco on the terrace of Monaco’s iconic STARS’N BARS overlooking the world-famous port. Just some of the classes on offer over the weekend.

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OUR EXPERTS AND CLASSES BY ELEMENT

CHIARA LEWIS

Nominated by Women’s Health as one of the most inspirational female PT’s in London—musical theatre performer turned fitness instructor and PT —has trained at Psycle London, Barrecore, Third Space & 1Rebel. Chiara believes a strong healthy mind translates into a strong, healthy body and will be taking attendees through her signature class concept, ‘Total Body,’ and hosting a 1Rebel Spin Class.

KIM HARTWELL

Kim reaches great heights in the wellness world, as a climber, Yoga Expert, and travel and wellness influencer. She will teach her signature class, ‘Tone & OM.’ The program places heavy emphasis on balancing HIIT training, which is then complimented by a balanced yoga flow.

DAMIAN FISHER

JASMINE HEMSLEY

Damian is the founder of BOOST, Monaco’s number one outdoor training community specialising in group training. He will run a morning boot camp session modelled after this challenging workout program.

London-based wellness & nutrition expert, Marie Claire’s 2018 influencer of the year, TV presenter and bestselling author of the East by West the cookbook. Jasmine will share her vision of ayurvedic cuisine and wisdom behind her Eastern Wisdom for Western Wellbeing teachings, inspired by her travels in Sri Lanka and India.

FANNY RIGUARD

A highly accomplished practitioner in holistic therapies including Tui Na (Chinese therapeutic massage), and Chinese dietotherapy, as well as a student of top Chinese Medicines teachers of New York and Paris. She will teach the benefits of Chinese Medicine to help improve energy in busy lifestyles: ‘An Introduction to Chinese Medicine, 10 Things you Should Know.

RICHIE BOSTOCK

AKA The Breath Guy Bringing the power of conscious breathing to the masses, Richie’s mission is to remind the world how to #Breathwithpurpose. He will teach breathwork classes: Breath to Purpose and Breath to Bliss, meditation and speak about the importance of a clear mind.

NAOMI BUFF

TONI JONES

Naomi is a Health Coach, Nutritional Workshop Leader, Menu Designer for The Monaco Restaurant Group, mother, and is certified in Eating Psychology. Her workshop will be focused on mind, body & nutrition with mindful cookery lessons.

The founder of the Shelf Help book club, a book club and community dedicated to self-development. Toni will be hosting a shelf help book club to dive into her concept, bibliotherapy and connect attendees with books that inspire to look at themselves in a more positive way.

KIM HARTWELL

The yoga Expert is back for another activity, where she will present another new concept which will take attendees through a Dynamic Yoga session.

DAN LUGER Dan is an ex-England rugby player and member of the squad who won the 2003 Rugby World Cup. He is a member of ‘Champions for Peace’ club. A group of 54 famous elite athletes committed to serving peace in the world through sport, created by a Monaco-based international organisation, Peace & Sport. Dan will host a panel on the mental strength you are able to develop as a professional athlete, how to get yourself in the zone, and how to translate these athletic lessons to everyday life challenges.

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REFUEL CONCEPT

Naomi Teal, who healed her personal health challenges with a greater understanding of nutritional science, teamed with Bolko— a graduate in Sports Science who trains A-List actors, musicians, as well as premier league football players—will be sharing their expertise during a mix of fitness and nutrition classes and with raw snacks workshops.

JASMINE HEMSLEY

Revisits her East to West Philosophy with a Sound Bath Healing session, focused on immersing the body in a sound frequency meant to heal the soul.

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BERNICE ROBINSON

Is a Holistic Reiki Master & Crystal Healer at The Connaught Hotel, in London-with a goal to provide complementary medical care by using the fundamental healing principles of mind-body by, incorporating natural healing.

RICHIE BOSTOCK

AKA The Breath Guy Richie’s conscious breathing practices will be explored even further, with water. Having trained under Wim Hof himself, you can expect some ice baths to make an appearance – if you’re brave enough!

PETER LEWTON-BRAIN

Peter is trained in osteopathy and ex ballet dancer, currently working with ballet dancers around the world with their injuries and alignment. His non-invasive manual therapy seeks to improve health across the body by strengthening and manipulating the muscular framework. He will bring his teachings to In Your Element by hosting an Anti-Ageing & Movement workshop.

NAOMI BUFF

Naomi shares her “Holistic, Realistic, Individual, Mindful and Compassionate” approach to wellness through physical and digital workshops. She will be hosting a delicious raw food workshop Eating for Good Skin.

ALICE HART DAVIS

Journalist and author, Alice will share her nonsurgical approach to cosmetic procedures in her talk: The Tweakments Guide to a Fresher Face TweakmentsBeauty Tried & Tested. Everything you need to know about skin and how to look your best, Alice is a wealth of knowledge in beauty and health.

TICKETS Which include access to all classes, orkshops, beauty treatments, expert talks, events and more-- are available for both days, or one, from €50 to €80, and can be purchased here: https:// inyourelementfestival.com/bring-balanceto-your-life-with-the-four-elements/#

For more information on In Your Element Wellness Festival 2019, please visit www.inyourelementfestival.com find us on social

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ROOFTOP YOGA AND PILATES MASTERCLASSES

get Tipi residents in the mood for International Day of Yoga 2019

Newest building – Alameda – designed to offer true ‘rental zen’ On 21 June, the world will celebrate International Day of Yoga 2019. Wembley Park residents, however, don’t have to wait until then to exercise their minds, bodies and spirits. Residents of lifestyleled rental homes company Tipi, in Wembley Park, can enjoy rooftop yoga classes throughout the summer months, as well as a series of special rooftop Pilates masterclasses.

The free Pilates sessions will take place on one of the superb roof terraces at Landsby, which is home to 295 apartments and a range of stunning social spaces, including a lounge, resident kitchen, private dining room and rooftop gardens.

The first class took place on 18 May, during National Mental Health Awareness Week, and enabled Tipi participants to calm the mind whilst working on improving neuromuscular development, strength, stability, flexibility, endurance, and the biomechanics of movement.

A further class, on 25 May, will train Tipi

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residents to tone their core muscles through intense but balanced exercise.

Participants in the 1.5-hour long classes each received a gift – either a soft-ball or a flex band to continue their Pilates practices at home or on the Tipi rooftop if they prefer to find their flow al fresco.

Over on the roof terrace of Tipi’s awardwinning Alto building, meanwhile, with its light-filled apartments, gym, lounge and resident kitchen, yoga classes will run throughout the summer months.

Set against the impressive backdrop of Wembley Stadium’s world-famous arch, participants will flex their minds, bodies and souls in the sunshine on the first Saturday of every month, with panoramic views of London. Each class is followed by the chance to unwind and socialise with neighbours over a healthy brunch in the residents’ kitchen and lounge.

Alameda’s soft pastel interiors and playful use of natural light and shadow, along with beautiful furniture and appliances curated through Tipi’s

partnerships with John Lewis & Partners and Samsung, will provide an oasis of calm to perfectly complement the buzz and bustle of Wembley Park. Launching in June, the apartments will also boast a signature roof garden featuring a 6m outdoor cinema screen, two BBQs with seating areas, and an incredible view of the iconic Stadium arch. Internally, the shared social spaces will include a series of cosy resident lounges and a large work-from-home area complete with free 100mb/s WiFi. When not rejuvenating their minds, bodies and souls at home, Tipi residents have plenty to occupy them in the local Wembley Park neighbourhood.

Shops range from the community of independent traders in Wembley Park Market opening soon, to the LDO, London’s leading outlet and lifestyle centre offering up to 70% discounts on brands such as Nike, Adidas and Holland and Barrett. Foodies will find delight in the global cuisines on offer at Boxpark Wembley and get to enjoy some

focus on Tipi’s focus on the impact of the rental experience on mind and body continues to develop and the resident yoga and Pilates classes are one element of that. Another is our latest building, Alameda, which will offer true ‘rental zen’ when it launches in June, with carefully crafted interiors delivering an oasis of calm in the heart of Wembley Park. – JEREMY FLETCHER, COO, TIPI

Tipi residents enjoying rooftop wellness sessions against backdrop of Wembley Stadium of the best coffee in London at Black Sheep Coffee. While culture vultures have a range of entertainment on their doorstep, including the SSE Arena, Wembley, Wembley Stadium* and the new Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre opening soon – as well as looking forward to Brent hosting London Borough of Culture 2020. Access to Central London via the tube also couldn’t be easier, with Wembley Park Station just a two-minute walk from Tipi’s superb, contemporary homes.

Apartments at Alameda are priced from £1,695 pcm for a studio, £1,825 for a one-bedroom home, £2,300 for a twobedroom and £3,350 for a three-bed. All include utilities and 40 mb/s broadband and every apartment has a generous balcony or terrace, while selected homes also feature dressing zones and walk-in wardrobes.

For more information or to book a viewing with the Tipi team, visit www.tipi. london or call 020 3151 1927. * Wembley Stadium is the property of The FA Group and run by Wembley National Stadium Limited, a subsidiary of The Football Association.

About Tipi Tipi, the all-inclusive professional rental service, is a subsidiary of Quintain, the property development and investment specialist and the team behind Wembley Park. Tipi is a ‘Build to Rent’ or Private Rental Sector (PRS) management company which builds, professionally manages and leases contemporary apartments to customers without charging agents’ fees. Unique to Tipi is that Quintain owns and operates the wider Wembley Park estate which ensures the environment surrounding the apartments is safe, controlled, clean and well connected.

added to tenancy agreements such as secure underground parking, domestic cleaning, laundry and dry cleaning services.

Private lounges and a communal kitchen are available for Tipi residents to use and include superfast 100 Mb/s broadband, Sky TV and Sky Sports, a gym and cinema room. Apartments are available to rent and move in immediately with pets welcome in selected units.

For more information on Tipi or to book a viewing, visit www.tipi. london or call 020 3151 1927.

Tipi, winner of the What House? 2018 Gold Award for Best Build to Rent Project, has five buildings in Wembley Park: Montana, Dakota, Alto, Landsby and Alameda. They offer brand new studio, one, two and three-bedroom apartments, with rents inclusive of all utility bills and superfast broadband, with the option to upgrade to ultra-fast 1Gb/s. Most apartments boast a balcony and all benefit from access to private gardens. 24-hour concierge and night security meet customers’ everyday needs and additional services can be

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THE RISE OF ONLINE PERSONAL TRAINING THE ROAD TO SUCCESS – by Ben Coomber Let’s state the obvious, online personal training is rife, many personal trainers and fitness and nutrition coaches are moving all or a portion of their work online to live a more flexible lifestyle and supplement their normal 1-2-1 income. And this is a good thing, the internet has opened up a world of opportunity for everyone, so people are taking this opportunity to use it to help more and more people.

And this is key…. Help more and more people.

Many people are using online coaching as a force for good. I hope people look at my work as an online coach and see it as good ethical nutrition coaching, but unfortunately many are not doing this.

Simply selling plans to people with no real support and no real coaching, which simply continues to fuel the yo-yo diet cycle many people are on. And this is a big problem. Please, if you are coaching online, or offline for that matter, coach people, invest in them, give them your all, selling plans and letting people crack on is rarely creating real change, people need to be re-educated and coached through that process, so whatever coaching you are doing please ensure you are coaching, compassionately and ethically.

This will also make you more successful long term, you can’t build a business long term on poor results. Awesome results come from investing in your clients and making them get truly life changing results.

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Now I’ve got my rant out the way we can focus on the pros of online training.

There are many ways to do it and many tools to help you do it. I started doing 1-2-1 online nutrition coaching focused on sports performance and gym based goals, I did this for around 5 years and built a team of 13 coaches that also did it alongside me, we then moved into online nutrition education (The BTN Academy), and in 2016 I reignited my online coaching but worked on long term building a group coaching system, which after 18 months of trial and error ended up in my program Fat Loss For Life which still runs today.

So already you can see some of your options here:

1. 1-2-1 online coaching 2. Online group coaching 3. A semi-automated coaching system (which FLFL now is) 4. Hybrid coaching

You have to decide what is right for your business, and what fits your long-term business goals. I have mentored many trainers that have gone on to do all of the above. No one system is the best, they all have their pros and cons and you need to identify your goals, the type of business you want to run, and why (something I teach extensively on The BTN Academy as part of teaching our students how to be great coaches and have a great coaching business).

1-2-1 coaching can be easily implemented and is very personal, group coaching takes time to refine and a lot longer to build as you need larger numbers to make it work financially, a semi-automated system takes a long time to build and refine (hence I spent 18 months refining it) but the rewards CAN be bigger, and hybrid coaching can be the best of both with offline coaching with online nutrition support.

So as a coach sitting here reading this right now, what is your business, where do you want it to go, and why?

All options are viable, please don’t see any as better than the other, all can be hard work, all can be made easy work, and all options can lead to you earning good money, just like offline training can. None of these options are quick and easy wins, they all take time and effort to make work long term.

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You can charge a premium for exceptional 1-2-1 online coaching and earn well.

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You could put together a high end done for you service for professionals and earn well.

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You could do a group 12 week fat loss and behaviour change program and earn well.

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You could automate an emotional eating focused fat loss course and earn well.

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You could put together a group muscle building program for guys and earn well.

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You could put together a nutrition and behaviour change resource for your offline clients (hybrid coaching) and earn well.

You could just do offline coaching and earn well.

All are options, all can work, all can see you help people and earn well as a coach. I merely chose to scale my product over time into a semiautomated program that can handle a large volume of people. The upside is I can generate a lot of revenue and help a lot of people, the downside is I have to be constantly on top of my marketing to bring in a large volume of people as the cost of the product is a lot lower, so business wise it is harder work.

So please please don’t think there are quick wins, all types and formats of programs can work.

Who is Ben Coomber?

Who is Ben Coomber? Ben is a Performance Nutritionist (CISSN), coach (S&C), international speaker and fitness educator. Ben has the UK’s #1 rated podcast Ben Coomber Radio, has coached 1000s of people in his 90 day program Fat Loss for Life, has consulted and worked with everyone from pro athletes to kids playing sport, educates the nutrition coaches of the future at The BTN Academy, has worked with companies like Sky TV, O2 and Twinnings Tea, has been a headline speaker at Body Power, SFN and Be Fit for many years, and continues to try educate and innovate in the world of fitness. This all stemmed from his journey as an obese teenager wanting to better his health, body and mind.

Connect with Ben over on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, or Instagram.

For everything else visit: www.bencoomber.com

I use 3 simple tools to make my Fat Loss for Life program work. Most of the marketing is done via social media, I use a website to sell the program, and these tools are what does the leg work in the program:

1. An automated email journey that my clients go on when they join (its 90 days of coaching followed by 90 days of support) delivered via Aweber.

2. A personalised My PT Hub app which I use as a tracking and support tool to house their progress, results and tracking of diet and exercise 3. Facebook to support my clients as they go through the 3 phases of my coaching journey and to store key videos and documents.

Whatever you are considering assess your options and do your research.

Go and look at my Fat Loss for Life program, go look at 10 other trainers programs, look at what they offer and why, consider what you want to offer and why, then start to build your future business with an online component that fits your coaching and business goals.

All are options. All can help people. All can see you earn well.

As ever in business and life, there are no short cuts, just options that fit you and your business’s goals.

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Become a Qualified Trainer • Advance Your Fitness Career Are you ready to take your Check out www.darrentebbenham.com PT business forward? Be A Better Coach - Online, UK & Spain How could you add a coaching arm to better influence clients’ nutritional choices, deal with stress or improve their lifestyle?

Business Coaching - Online & App Support Business Retreats - 4-day Intensive, Spain

What if you could become an even better coach, develop your skills in motivational interviewing and be a master of mindset management?

How could you benefit from expanding your business online?

Not yet a Personal Trainer?

If you want to stand out and graduate with confidence as an EiF Master Trainer and Coach, find out more online.

www.eifbemore.comm Residential School of Personal Training - UK Personal Training School - The Maldives Personal Training School - Bahrain www.pttoday.co.uk 22t. 0845 0944 007

e. darren@eifptschool.com

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YETI AND THE FOX finally a product which makes the morning after feel as good as the night before Summer is nearly here and that means warm weather, balmy evenings, jugs of Pimms, bottles of coronas and glasses of Rose. Sounds great right? Well until you wake up the next morning with a mouth that feels less than fresh and a feeling of intense nausea. Well this summer, lovers of hedonism need fear such dreaded after effects not more. Introducing the new liver renewing Yeti and the Fox… WHAT IS IT? Yeti and the Fox is specially formulated capsules designed to give your liver the best chance at fighting off horrible toxins.

While we definitely don’t condone super heavy drinking, we have all had a night where we have overindulged on the prosecco and woken feeling more than worse for wear. Whilst reviewing Yeti and the Fox we noticed that it helped our bodies to break down the toxins in alcohol that normally made us feel awful the next day. This meant we work up feeling great! The capsules include the magic ingredient Glutathione which is the body’s master antioxidant and forms a critical part of the detoxification process, primarily stored in the liver. Glutathione also plays a significant role in energy metabolism, promoting optimum health and increasing energy.

HOW DO I TAKE IT? Yeti and the Fox recommend you take two capsules with water either before or when you start drinking. Then when you get back home they recommend you take one more with water before heading to sleep. This will ensure you top up your Glutathione levels, preventing you from waking up weary headed and ready to carry on living your best life.

–We have found the product you have all been waiting for, the solution to that horrible morning after feeling.

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HOW MANY CALORIES DO YOU BURN DURING WEIGHT TRAIING

This blog is a poignant one for me because I hate seeing people work their arses off in the gym to then be greeted by minimal results at the end of the month. There’s nothing worse than trying super hard, or feeling like you are, and getting nowhere. It’s disheartening, but it happens, and I think that in part this is because our expectations of what happens when you exercise don’t quite match up with reality.

Don’t get me wrong, a lack of results can be for many many reasons…

1. You might not be training as hard as you think 2. You might be eating more than you think (or not paying attention to your diet at all) 3. You might not be sleeping well, which affects a lot in the pursuit

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of a better body and improved health 4. Or it might be a combination of all of the above.

Let’s assume for now, however, that you are putting in the effort in the gym and you’re eating what you think should be a calorie deficit, but you aren’t losing fat. This is where we can talk about the training you are doing.

Recently I posted a poll on Facebook.

Over 1600 people entered and the results were interesting. Have a look: On top of this a lot of people in the comments section of the post rightly pointed out that it depends.

What about weight, height, intensity, volume, rest, sets, duration, etc etc etc…

And of course this is completely correct, although I did ask in the post what people thought they personally

burned in a session, not what they thought people burned in a session in general, but that’s not really important here…

Anyway.

The poll I did was spurred from a conversation I’ve had a few times with clients and people at seminars; in my experience people radically overestimate the amount of energy burned during a resistance training session and at least some of this is because of the popularity of activity trackers. These have become very popular of late, with it being completely normal to look at your steps, your calorie burn during training and your quality of sleep, all on a little wrist gadget. The problem is that some of this information is more reliable than the rest.

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The thing with heart rate-based calorie data is that it makes a few assumptions, namely that your heart rate being elevated correlates to additional movement and so additional energy burn, and this totally works (with a margin of error) when you’re doing continual training such as most forms of cardio.

Cardio is consistent; when you run, row, swim, or bike you are plodding along and your heart rate is relatively steady, thus it is easy to predict a calorie burn for a set time of that exercise.

But weight training is stop start. Unless you’re supersetting everything and using low weight for high reps (which isn’t really weight training but more like circuit based cardio) you probably spend as much, if not more time, resting than you do actually moving. Despite this, your heart rate will be elevated for most of the time you’re in the gym! Thus your heart rate monitor will assume that extra heart rate means continual movement, and dramatically overestimate your kcal burn.

Unfortunately, you just can’t do a set, look at your watch and expect the calorie burn based on that heart rate to be correct.

During a typical one hour workout you might only be moving weights around for up to 10-15 minutes, the rest of the time you are resting and waiting for the next set (and for many, scrolling Instagram).

Some watches and trackers are getting a lot better at recording this, but the vast majority (including the popular ones) are still pretty inaccurate, and realistically quantifying resistance training calorie load requires technology to which most people just don’t have access to, yet.

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The number of calories you burn in a resistance training session depends mostly on three factors – how much volume are you doing, what movements are you doing, and how big are you? A recent study (1) found that: • Training volume (sets multiplied by reps multiplied by weight) was one of the largest factors in predicting energy expenditure during a training session • The muscle group matters – you burn more calories squatting than doing curls • Muscle mass predicts burn, with men burning roughly 161kcal in the experimental session and women burning roughly 87, but the difference being explained entirely by muscle mass.

For those interested, the ‘afterburn’ was also less than 10 calories, so don’t think you’re burning oodles of calories sat down after your weights workout In fact, to predict your energy expenditure from a resistance training session they came up with this nifty equation (which, when broken down, isn’t as complicated as it looks). It’s not perfect as it doesn’t account for different exercises, but it’s the closest science has come to being able to answer the question we raised at the start of this blog: Total Net Kcal = 0.874 (Height, cm) - 0.596 (Age, yrs) - 1.016 (Fat Mass, kg) + 1.638 (Lean Mass, kg) + 2.461 (Total Volume [sets x reps x wt] kg x 0.001) - 110.742 We’ll go through it now. Skip this bit if you’re not interested, or see our averages below this equation (for the people that hate maths).

To go step by step, you’ll need your height in cm, your bodyweight and your bodyfat percentage (this can be a guess for now), your age and your total training volume for a given session. To work this last bit out, multiply the number of sets by the number of reps you do, then multiply that by the weight lifted for that exercise. Add all the exercises together that you to and write it down.

Step one – multiply your height in cm by 0.874. Write this down and label it as A Step two – multiply your age in years by 0.596 and label it B Step three – multiply your weight in kg by your bodyfat percentage expressed in decimal format (so for an 80kg person at 18% bodyfat, do 80 x 0.18). Now multiply this by 1.016 and label this C Step four – multiply your weight in kg by your fat free mass expressed in decimal format (so for our 80kg example, their fat mass is 18% so their fat free mass is 82%, or 0.82. They would do 80 x 0.82). Once you have this multiply it by 1.638 and label it D Step 5 – Take the total volume that you worked out a moment ago and multiply by 2.451, then multiply that by 0.001. Label this E Step 6 – Put it all together. Calculate A – B – C + D + E, then subtract 110.742. That’s how many calories that session would burn for you over and above what you would ordinarily have burned in that time, roughly.

INSERT SOME TRAINING SESSION AVERAGES FOR THE PEOPLE THAT DON’T WANT TO DO MAD EQUATIONS AND MATHS, i.e. X TYPE OF WEIGHT TRAINING SESSION BURNS X CALORIES, AND THIS Y, AND THIS Z.

on the cover That number probably isn’t all that high, and therein lies the point. Why is it that you are in the gym in the first place? If your goal is to burn calories, then your aim shouldn’t be resistance training, it should be cardio. Cardio is, minute for minute, enormously more effective than resistance training at burning calories.

So why do we recommend resistance training for fat loss? Because regardless of the modality, exercise is a TERRIBLE tool for fat loss. Cardio training, which burns the most calories by a long way, is at best associated with modest fat loss when you do a LOT of it, and the weight regain rate is really high (2).

Why? Because exercise makes you hungry and you eat more (3).

As such, the idea of exercising for fat loss is one that gets too much weight, yes it helps, but its only a small % of your overall calorie burn in a day. Instead, focus on resistance training for muscle gains and retention, and improved strength and performance, then look at NEAT if you need to increase your calorie burn to effectively lose body fat, where possible. What is NEAT? Non-exercise activity thermogenesis, the energy you burn moving about day to day.

There is only so much energy you can burn from one hour of gym training, so looking at what you do throughout the whole of your day is key. If we can get you waling more, fidgeting more, taking walking meetings, taking the stairs, playing, dancing, lifting bits around the house, just MOVING more, this could significantly improve your success losing body fat because it increases your energy burn and, just as importantly, can improve your mood and overall wellbeing in general because inactivity seems to be a massive factor in the development of mental ill health (4) as well as physical (5).

Too many people are too sedentary with modern jobs, so getting up, moving, walking, taking the stairs, and all of the other little things you can do to minimise sitting time are useful. It really is a win win, there just is no downside.

Then find and utilise other tools, namely nutrition and NEAT to manage your daily calorie balance. This will see you lose and maintain weight far more sustainably, after all, what happens if you can’t get to the gym for a week, does your fat loss stall?

Indeed, this is where we also need to consider intense training and its effect on the rest of our day. Many people train hard - so hard that later on or the next day they feel knackered, fatigued and sore. This could stop you from moving around as much. Ever done a heavy leg day and the day after you avoid the stairs, don’t want to walk much, and generally slouch about?

Don’t rely on the hour in the gym to work magic, it helps don’t get us wrong, but what’s key is the other 15 hours your awake in the day and how you move, eat and live.

While you may have had an awesome leg session and feel good about that, your next day might see you burn significantly fewer calories because you are in sloth mode.

Instead of being vibrant and walking about and generally being active, you are the king of sitting and taking the elevator.

Indeed, while there seems to be variation between individuals the evidence does suggest that participating in anything over moderate exercise reduces NEAT (6).

There is SO much inspiration and so many ideas online; people doing amazing things, people lifting mad weights and seeming super strong, people flogging themselves daily on their WOD - this is all well and good, but ensure you are shaping your training for your goals and you know the effect of that training, not just in isolation, but as a whole. Exercise is a poor tool in weight loss and it doesn’t burn as many calories as people think, but the answer to that is not to exercise more.

It’s to realise that exercise is a tool for improving your health, building muscle, making you feel awesome and boosting your mood.

Want more science on nutrition and training?

Ensure you’ve nabbed a seat on our free short course, which you can get below. 5 days to a more knowledgeable you….

References: 1. LYTLE, J., KRAVITS, D., MARTIN, S., CROUSE, S. AND LAMBERT, B. (2019).

ENERGY EXPENDITURE OF AN ACUTE EXERCISE. MEDICINE & SCIENCE IN SPORTS P.1.

GREEN, J., PREDICTING RESISTANCE & EXERCISE,

2. SWIFT, D., JOHANNSEN, N., LAVIE, C., EARNEST, C. AND CHURCH, T. (2014). THE ROLE OF EXERCISE AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IN WEIGHT LOSS AND MAINTENANCE. PROGRESS IN CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES, 56(4), PP.441-447.

3. MARTIN, C., JOHNSON, W., MYERS, C., APOLZAN, J., EARNEST, C., THOMAS, D., ROOD, J., JOHANNSEN, N., TUDOR-LOCKE, C., HARRIS, M., HSIA, D. AND CHURCH, T. (2019). EFFECT OF DIFFERENT DOSES OF SUPERVISED EXERCISE ON FOOD INTAKE, METABOLISM, AND NON-EXERCISE PHYSICAL ACTIVITY: THE E-MECHANIC RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF CLINICAL NUTRITION. 4 . ELFREY, M. AND ZIEGELSTEIN, R. (2009). THE “INACTIVITY TRAP”. GENERAL HOSPITAL PSYCHIATRY, 31(4), PP.303305.

5. VILLABLANCA, P., ALEGRIA, J., MOOKADAM, F., HOLMES, D., WRIGHT, R. AND LEVINE, J. (2015).

NONEXERCISE ACTIVITY THERMOGENESIS IN OBESITY MANAGEMENT. MAYO CLINIC PROCEEDINGS, 90(4), PP.509-519.

6. MELANSON, E., KEADLE, S., DONNELLY, J., BRAUN, B. AND KING, N. (2013). RESISTANCE TO EXERCISE-INDUCED WEIGHT LOSS. MEDICINE & SCIENCE IN SPORTS & EXERCISE, 45(8), PP.1600-1609.

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THE UKs MOST ACTIVE REGIONS REVEALED

A league table revealing the regions where people exercise or play sport the most every month has been revealed.

A survey of more than 7,600 UK adults published by Decathlon in their Activity Index 2018, which surveys levels of physical activity and participation in sport every month, revealed that the North East is the most active region in the UK. Residents in this part of the country exercise more often per month than any other, doing so a 5.20 times per month on average – compared to the UK average of 4.82 times per week.

The data also painted a picture of the UK’s most physically active person.

Men aged 35-44 living in the North East are the most active, exercising or playing sport more than those of any other age, gender or region.

Those living in Northern Ireland (5.04 times) and the South West (5.03 times) in cities like Bristol and Bath were the second and third most active in the UK. Wales (5.02 times) and Scotland (4.87 times) completed the list of the top five most active regions in the UK.

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Philippe Rebelo, UK marketing director at Decathlon, commented: “It’s interesting to see how widely spread activity levels across the UK are. There is no clear North-South divide in terms of participation in sport and exercise, but it is interesting to see how low down London is on the list – being the third least active region in the UK. “It is encouraging that it looks like, on average, British adults exercise at least once per week, even in the least active regions – but this could be higher. Playing sport or exercising needn’t be expensive – it doesn’t have to involve pricey equipment or membership fees. It can be as simple as heading out for a walk or a run. And equipment and sporting apparel can be quite affordable these days, so even when some form of padding or technical wear is required to exercise safely, it doesn’t have to break the bank.”

The research found that those living in the North West were the least active in the country.

Residents across areas such as Liverpool, Manchester and Chester take part in sport or exercise 4.47 times in a month.

The NHS advises that adults aged 19 to 64 should “be active daily” and do “150 minutes of weekly physical activity”. For more information on the NHS’ guidelines, visit www.nhs.uk

The top 10 most active regions in the UK: 1. North East 2. Northern Ireland 3. South West 4. Wales 5. Scotland 6. Yorkshire and Humberside 7. East Midlands 8. South East 9. West Midlands 10. London The Decathlon Activity Index tracks rates of participation in sport and other physical activities across the year through a monthly, national survey.

Decathlon has 45 stores in the UK and sells a variety of sports equipment, clothing and accessories perfect for those want to get active or excel their performance.

Find out more information online at www.decathlon.co.uk

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The North East, Northern Ireland and South West are the UK’s top three most active regions The UK’s most active person is a man aged 35-44 living in the North East

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LADIES FULL BODY WORKSHOPS – karen Thomas BENCH Not too many years ago, I used to think the bench was just a chest exercise, & I avoided it in most instances. But, since learning how to perform it correctly I have fallen in love with this compound lift.

Triceps, shoulders, back, core & my glutes get heavily involved!

I was worried that the ladies in my workshops wouldn’t want to do this one of the lifts as much, if at all, as the other compounds that we work on, but they definitively appreciate it as much as I do.

And for many of them, it’s unexpectedly become their favourite.

Before hitting the bench I make sure I open up my shoulders for several minutes with a resistance band. I also spend time doing external rotation exercises with a band & small light plates to warm up my rotator cuff muscles. These play a major role in stabilizing shoulders throughout workouts & maintaining proper positioning throughout lifts.

– Slide yourself under the bar to roughly eye level – close enough to easily unrack, but not too close so that you hit it during your bench – Then begin with your feet! These create a strong base & are where you’ll draw power from – Bring your feet as far back as you comfortably can while keeping them flat on the ground – this is how you’ll generate power from the ground & flex your quads – You are looking to create total-body tightness so that your muscles fire at their maximum potential – Squeeze your glutes to ensure a slight arch in your lower back & embrace your core – Pinch your shoulder blades together – A straight wrist provides optimal force – Grip width depends on your body type – Breath in & use that to engage your abs – Lower the bar anywhere between your top ab & nipple line

So, how do I set up for a bench press?

– Try not to let your elbows flare outwards

– Sit on the end of the bench so that when you lean back you will completely avoid hitting your head on the bar

– Tucking your elbows in slightly (but not so much that they touch your torso) will help to protect your shoulders & utilize your lats accordingly

– Forearms should remain vertical at every angle – As you push upwards tighten your glutes, drive you feet into the ground & breath out While some people may bounce the bar off their chests, I personally worry this may place extra pressure on the sternum.

Wearing wrist straps can also help keep your wrists remain vertical & thus creating maximum force.

Exercises, which I include for my clients to strengthen key supporting muscles include: close grip bench press, incline/ decline bench press, dumbbell bench press & the deadlift.

If you’ve never benched before, please get a spotter to support you & checklist all the points above. Don’t bench thrumbless & seek professional help if you are unsure how to apply correct form. But most of all, enjoy!

@karenthomaspt fortitudefitness.com

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HOW TO CREATE YOUR OWN FAT LOSS PLAN

The number 1 issue I find a lot of people having with fat loss nowadays is that they completely overcomplicate the whole situation, granted it’s not helped by all the amount of “craze diets” that are advertised these days. However, when ever I’m faced with someone who’s issue is fat loss, they tend to think it’s some magic serum that drops body fat or some hidden secret I’m not telling people about. However, it’s pretty much the polar opposite. Here I’m gonna list 4 ways to create your own fat loss plan and start your fat loss journey.

1. Find out caloric intake First of all and probably most importantly, is gonna be caloric intake. Now this is where we completely simplify the situation, losing weight is pretty much just about burning more calories than you’re eating.

No matter the food, no matter what type of exercise. You simply need to burn off

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more calories than you’re consuming.

Now you’re probably going to say, “okay but how many calories do I burn in a day?”

To be completely honest I couldn’t tell you. Everyone has a different bodies and lifestyle’s and will burn off more or less than the next person. It all comes down to a few things such as your job, your exercise routine and your metabolism generally. I’ve known people who sit at a 9-5 office job and train 3-4 days a week and have to eat 3200 calories to lose weight, I’ve also known some that have an incredibly taxing job and train the exact same and have to eat 2200.

It is literally that far of a contest; some people will naturally have to eat less than others in order to lose weight even though they may move less.

So, first of all you need to find your maintenance calories. The only real way you can do this is literally test it. Set yourself a

calorie goal and weigh yourself once a week on the same day and time and see what the scales say. Now depending on how your weight reacts to the calories you will then need to increase or decrease them.

Ideally when losing weight, you’re gonna lose anywhere from a 1lb to 2lb a week.

Again, if you find you’re out of that range then increase them or decrease them accordingly, when it comes to purely fat loss that’s quite a good range to keep within as long as you’re protein is high as this will enable you to keep as much muscle mass as possible. Now there are certain apps and website’s out there which do provide you with “calorie calculators” however these are very rough so take it with a big pinch of salt.

The apps are good ways to start off and find a base number to start on but don’t expect the number you’re given to be absolutely perfect, you need to take this number and

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again test how your body reacts to the food intake and adjust accordingly. All in all it is literally a testing phase to start with just to see what you need to maintain or lose weight, so get a rough base number and adjust accordingly till you start dropping weight at about 1lb to 2lb a week!

2. Protein intake Another important aspect of a fat loss diet is your protein intake, not only is protein the most satiating food source out there but it’ll also help you maintain your muscle and give you a lean not skinny look. When we eat protein our body will naturally break this down into amino acids and is then used for multiple different functions, in this case it also allows us to build muscle.

Now before we go further a fat loss plan is designed around the fact you want to keep as much muscle as possible whilst losing fat, a weight loss plan is entirely

different. Losing weight is more commonly used for people new to the fitness scene and are more focused on purely losing as much body mass as possible. Again, as we’re talking about a fat loss plan protein becomes a very important aspect. In order to maintain as much muscle as possible during this “fat loss phase” you need to be on point with your training and also eat a good amount of protein. Now again you’re probably asking “okay, but how much?”

keep the muscle around for as long as it

Now this is much easier to gauge as it’s not really person dependent it’s more down to body mass itself. Now when it comes to a fat loss diet you will need to be eating more protein than when your maintaining or bulking, this is simply due to the fact your body is trying to shred down and will get rid of any excess muscle or fat it needs.

By eating enough protein and training hard you’re giving your body a reason to

week then take the higher end, however if

can, with all that in mind you’re body will then prioritise fat as it’s main source to drop cause it needs to drop weight from somewhere.

So, when thinking about protein intake Ideally you want between 0.5g -0.8g per pound of bodyweight. Depending on how active you are a range between that amount is perfect, if you find yourself a lot more active and train regularly throughout the you find yourself only training a few times a week then the lower end will be more than enough. Again this is rough but as long as you’re between this range you should be keeping the fat loss process as efficient as possible without losing any muscle!

3. Training 4. Consistency

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KAIA HEALTHS APP BASED BACK PAIN TREATMENT OUTPERFORMS STANDARD PHYSIOTHERAPY IN CLINICAL TRIAL RANDOMISED CONTROLLED STUDY IS FIRST TO DEMONSTRATE TREATMENT EFFICACY USING MOBILE DEVICES FOR SELF MANAGEMENT OF LOW BACK PAIN New York, May, 2019 - Kaia Health, a digital therapeutics company, announced results from the first randomised controlled trial of its app-based therapy program for patients with non-specific low back pain. Detailed results of the study were published in the journal NPJ Digital Medicine and showed that patients using Kaia, a downloadable app for back pain, reported significantly lower pain levels compared to the control group treated with physiotherapy and online education.

“This study can help add to the growing body of evidence that generally supports the use of multimodal treatments for chronic conditions,” said Thomas R. Tölle, M.D., Ph.D., Head of Pain Medicine, Technical University Munich, Germany. “Within this study, we saw a notable benefit for people managing low back pain when delivering multimodal treatment through the digital modality of the smartphone, as is done in the Kaia app.”

Low back pain is one of the leading causes of global disability, and treatment is expensive.1,2 According to the Office for National Statistics, back, neck and muscle problems account for almost 31 million days of work lost in 2013 costing the UK economy £14 billion per year - with an estimated one-third of the UK adult population affected by back pain annually.3,4 “As a company, we want to support the improvement of the current standard of care for people living with back pain,” said Konstantin Mehl, Founder and CEO, Kaia Health. “And while these study results are promising, we will be initiating a similar U.S.-based study looking at the use of the Kaia app for self-management of back pain.”

About the Randomised Controlled Trial5 In the study, analysed patients with low back pain were treated using two methods. The first group used Kaia Health’s multi-platform mHealth app (n=42), while a second control group was treated using a standard therapy program consisting of 6 once-weekly, inperson physiotherapy sessions guided by a certified therapist plus sophisticated online education about back pain delivered to patients weekly with a motivating email (n=44).

Both groups were encouraged to live an active lifestyle and perform the therapeutic exercises at home, but the app provided three therapy modules - back pain education; physiotherapy; and mindfulness and relaxation techniques - and recommended a 3 to 4 times-per-week exercise plan that could be personalised for each user. App users also could interact with a human coach via the app if they had questions.

Both the control and Kaia app treatment groups experienced significant pain reduction over the course of 12 weeks. However, after 3 months, patients using the Kaia app reported substantially larger decrease in their back pain intensity than control group patients: 2.4 vs.

2.0, respectively, on a numeric rating scale ranging from 0 to 10 (where higher numbers represent more pain). The decrease suggests that Kaia may be an effective treatment for low back pain over a 3-month timeframe.

located in New York City. For more information about Kaia Health, visit www.kaiahealth.com.

About Kaia App

2 .MAHER, C., UNDERWOOD, M. & BUCHBINDER, R. NONSPECIFIC LOW BACK PAIN. LANCET (LOND., ENGL.) 389, 736–747 (2017).

Kaia is a smartphone-based approach for managing chronic back pain. In Europe, Kaia is regulated as a Class I medical device. Currently, Kaia is working with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to seek regulatory clearance in the U.S.

About Kaia Health Kaia Health is a digital therapeutics company that creates accessible, evidence-based treatments for a range of disorders including back pain and COPD. Working with experts in various medical fields, the company uses technology such as machine learning algorithms, to deliver individualised app interventions that aim to empower and motivate patients to take control and selfmanage their condition with digital alternatives from their home using devices they already own (i.e., smartphones and tablets). Kaia Health is member of the Digital Therapeutics Alliance (DTA), an international association of manufacturers that set industry standards for what clinical evidence levels are required to call a product a digital therapeutic. Kaia Health is

References: 1. DALYS, G. B. D. & COLLABORATORS, H. GLOBAL, REGIONAL, AND NATIONAL DISABILITY-ADJUSTED LIFEYEARS (DALYS) FOR 333 DISEASES AND INJURIES AND HEALTHY LIFE EXPECTANCY (HALE) FOR 195 COUNTRIES AND TERRITORIES, 1990-2016: A SYSTEMATIC ANALYSIS FOR THE GLOBAL BURDEN OF DISEASE STUDY 2016.

LANCET (LOND., ENGL.) 390, 1260–1344 (2017).

3. NHS EMPLOYERS. BAD BACKS COST THE UK 31 MILLION DAYS OF WORK COSTING THE UK ECONOMY £14BN A YEAR 4. BRITISH PAIN SOCIETY. CHRONIC PAIN COSTS THE UK £BILLIONS BUT RESEARCH FUNDING IS INADEQUATE (2018) 5.

TOELLE, THOMAS R. ET AL. APP-BASED MULTIDISCIPLINARY BACK PAIN TREATMENT VERSUS COMBINED PHYSIOTHERAPY PLUS ONLINE EDUCATION: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. NPJ DIGITAL MEDICINE, VOLUME 2, ARTICLE NUMBER: 34 (2019).

@KaiaHealth #kaiahealth #backpain Media enquiries HARRY CYMBLER Hot Cherry harry@hotcherry.co.uk 020 7607 2413 | 07801 289 996

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fitness focus

VEGANISM AND EXERCISE...

The facts you need to know

by Martin Hamer, Health & Fitness Tutor at The Training Room people have outlined a number of health benefits such as lowering of cholesterol, increased energy and improved mood. One common theme that occurs in regard to nutrition when following a vegan diet is protein consumption and where this protein will come from.

Protein is at the forefront of many nutritional strategies and for good reason, as it has a host of benefits from improving muscle growth and repair to assisting with muscle contraction and the transportation of other proteins and compounds within the body, such as haemoglobin.

According to The Vegan Society, the number of vegan Brits quadrupled between 2014 and 2018, rising from 150,000 to 600,000, with other reports suggesting there could now be as many as 3.5 million vegans in the UK. What’s more, sign-ups for Veganuary – where people go vegan for the month of January – doubled in 2019, with 250,000 people getting involved. In the midst of a vegan boom, Martin Hamer, Tutor for The Training Room, takes a look at how a vegan diet can be both beneficial and challenging to an individual’s body composition goals and fitness aspirations.

What’s a vegan?

In short, the definition of a vegan is “a vegetarian who eats plant products

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only.” Basically, this is someone who refrains from consuming or using animal products and is completely against any practices that may bring harm to animals.

Vegan & the fitness industry Within the fitness industry, there are many hotly debated topics, and the vegan diet is no exception. Hopefully, this article will give you opinions from both sides and allow you to make an educated decision on your own nutritional choices and practices, while also providing information and insights you can use to support your clients on their health and fitness journeys.

Pros of a vegan diet When following a vegan diet, many

The good news for vegans is that there are a number of food sources that provide all the essential amino acids required to stimulate protein synthesis (part of the muscle building process). Sources such as soy protein, tofu, chickpeas and buckwheat contain many of the amino acids to ensure the individual is keeping protein levels elevated throughout the day. I would recommend aiming for 1.5/1.8g protein per kg of body weight for basic improvements in body composition.

Another benefit of following this vegan approach is related to the biopsychosocial model for health and wellness. By going vegan, you become part of a community with other likeminded people where you have the potential to make new connections and friends. This can help improve someone’s cognitive function, mood and overall productivity.

fitness focus

A delicious whole food vegan meal Add a handful of buckwheat pasta to green salad and sprinkle with hemp seeds. Top this with strips of baked tofu and accompany with a vegan dipping sauce of your choice. Packed full of protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients, this is a healthy and well-balanced meal that I think you’ll love.

Cons of a vegan diet As mentioned, there are two sides to every story, and adopting a vegan approach to improve health and wellness is no different. The main argument here is the amount of education required on the individual’s behalf to ensure they are hitting the correct protein requirements and, more importantly, the essential amino acids. Foods such as fruits, nuts, seeds and beans are often consumed via this approach, but they fail to include all the essential amino acids such as leucine and lysine which are vital for muscular development. This results in the individual having to consume a wide variety of foods to ensure protein numbers are hit. On

the surface, this is not a bad thing, however, if they are not educated within this area, they may struggle with what combinations of foods complement each other.

For example, a diet that is incredibly high in vegetables may be limiting the essential amino acid, methionine.

Foods that would complement this diet would be a variety of nuts and seeds. So, the main issue here is that individuals (your clients) may not possess the correct knowledge to ensure their diet is full of complete proteins. As well as this, a diet that has to be extremely varied may also have financial implications which could be another limiting factor to this approach, however, when someone feels strongly enough about something – and it speaks to their moral compass – they’ll usually find a way to make it work.

Final thoughts Veganism is becoming a huge topic within the fitness industry, creating plenty of discussion around whether or not people should begin to adopt a vegan approach for improved health and wellness. This article is just the tip of the iceberg, covering a few

basic points on the arguments for and against this strategy, but, as the famous saying goes, “methods there are millions, principles there are few, identify the key principles and you can apply any method you want.”

To conclude, here are a number of key principles for vegans to follow, regardless of whether they’re looking to pack on muscle or lose a few pounds: • Adherence is key • Keep protein intake high • Plenty of fruit and vegetables • Avoid processed foods • Adopt sleep and recovery strategies • Don’t have tunnel vision - what works for you may not be suitable for someone else Whether you’re a vegan or not, a balanced diet, dedication to your exercise and nutritional programmes, and striking a balance between work and rest, remain the key factors to fuelling a successful exercise habit.

Good luck!

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nutrition

Gosh!’s

MOROCCAN SPRING Serves 2 people GREEN WRAPS These wraps are a sneaky way of including lots of veggies without even realising it. They’re also another amazing example of how delicious and easy a plant-based meal can be. The Moroccan bake makes them ultra-filling, complimented with lots of colour, texture and flavour.

you’ll need...

guacamole

hummus

•

•

1 avocado

•

•

The juice of ½ lemon

1 can of drained and rinsed chickpeas

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Salt & pepper to taste

•

1 heaped tablespoon of tahini paste

2 Gosh! Chickpea, Courgette & Moroccan Spiced Bakes

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7-8 chestnut mushrooms

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1 carrot finely grated

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1 clove of garlic

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About 1 cup of finely sliced purple cabbage

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The juice of ½ lemon

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½ cup of sauerkraut

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½ teaspoon of cumin powder

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1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar

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Salt & pepper to taste

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1 tablespoon of lemon juice

•

2 tablespoons of tamari or soy sauce

•

1 fresh chilli finely sliced (optional)

•

A handful of spring green leaves

Method 1. Preheat oven to electric 200°c/fan oven 180°c/gas mark 4 2. Add all hummus ingredients into a food processor and blend until smooth, for about 2-3 minutes. Set aside.

3. To prepare the cabbage slaw, slice the purple cabbage as finely as you can and place it into a bowl with the lemon juice, apple cider vinegar and salt. Massage it in with your hands. Set aside.

4. To make the guacamole simply peel and mash the avocado until you have a creamy consistency. Add the lemon juice, salt and pepper, and mix well.

5. Chop the mushrooms into slices and place in a pan with a splash of olive oil, tamari or soy sauce and the chopped chilli (if using). Cook the mushrooms on a medium heat for about 5-7 minutes until all the water has evaporated.

6. While the mushrooms are cooking place the Gosh! Moroccan Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes.

7. To assemble the wrap: cut the end of the spring green leaf so you end up having a kind of “square”.

With a sharp knife de-stem your spring greens. Spread the hummus on top, add three slices of the Gosh! Moroccan Bake, add a dollop of guacamole, some purple cabbage, the cooked mushrooms and the shredded carrot. Wrap the spring green as tight as you can, like a burrito. Cut the burrito into half and serve it with the leftover hummus. Irresistible!

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Recipe credit, Happy Skin Kitchen.

nutrition

Gosh!’s

Serves

SATAY TOFU AND VEGGIE SKEWERS

4 people 5 mins

This BBQ recipe is sure to be a new favourite. Super simple to make, these vibrant tofu and veggie skewers are sure to be a crowd pleaser- you don’t need to be a veggie to enjoy them.

Perfect served with lemony quinoa and a drizzle of coconut yogurt. *ALLERGY SUFFERERS PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS RECIPE CONTAINS PEANUT BUTTER - THIS CAN BE SUBSTITUTED FOR YOUR FAVOURITE NUT FREE ALTERNATIVE.

you’ll need...

tofu

lemony quinoa

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½ block of firm tofu (about 150g)

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2 cups of cooked quinoa

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1 flat tablespoon of miso paste

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The juice of 1 lemon

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1 teaspoon of miso paste

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2 tablespoons of tamari sauce

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2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

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1 tablespoon of sesame oil

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1 fresh chilli finely diced

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1 teaspoon of peanut butter (or your favourite nut free alternative)

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1 cup of sliced cherry tomatoes

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A generous handful of fresh chopped herbs

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12 Gosh! Sweetcorn Bites

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1 large sweet pepper

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2 medium size courgettes

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4-5 chestnut mushrooms

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1 medium red onion

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A splash of olive oil

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1 teaspoon of dried mixed herbs

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Salt & pepper to taste

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A pinch of dried oregano

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Salt & pepper to taste

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1 tbsp olive oil

•

•

2 spring onions, trimmed, washed and chopped

Unsweetened coconut yogurt to serve

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4 crispbreads

Method 1. Start by preparing and applying the tofu marinade (this should ideally be done the night before). Mix together the miso paste, tamari sauce, sesame oil and peanut butter. Whisk everything together well until you have a smooth sauce – if it’s too thick, add a splash of water. Slice the tofu into cubes and pour the marinade on top.

2. Give the bowl a shake so all the tofu pieces are coated. Cover the bowl with cling film and refrigerate overnight (or for at least an hour).

3. Preheat oven to 200 °C / fan oven 180 °/ gas mark 4.

4. Once the tofu is marinated, chop the red onion, courgette, pepper and mushrooms into thick slices and place in a bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and a sprinkle of dried herbs, salt and pepper. Toss the vegetables in the bowl until they are all coated.

5. To assemble the skewers simply add the chopped vegetables, tofu pieces and the Gosh bites onto BBQ skewers. If you are not using a barbecue, place the skewers onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper (this prevents them from sticking) and cook them in the oven for 15-20 minutes until the veggies are soft and the tofu has crisped.

6. Bring a pan of water to the boil and cook the quinoa until softened 7. Combine the lemon juice, miso paste and olive oil and pour over the quinoa. Season with salt and pepper to taste and add the chopped fresh herbs and sliced tomatoes. Set to one side.

8. Serve the skewers with the lemony quinoa and a drizzle of coconut yogurt and prepare to amaze your guests!

Recipe credit, Happy Skin Kitchen.

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nutrition

Gosh!’s SAAG ALOO BITES WITH ALOO GOBI

Serves

2/3 people

you’ll need...

•

1 pack of Gosh! Saag Aloo Bites

•

1 head of cauliflower

•

1 small white onion, finely chopped

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2 garlic cloves crushed

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1 fresh chilli, finely chopped

•

1 tablespoon of mustard seeds

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1 teaspoon of turmeric powder

•

2 to 3 curry leaves

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1 tablespoon of coconut oil for frying

•

Fresh coriander and unsweetened coconut yogurt to serve

Method 1. Chop the cauliflower into florets and add them to a roasting tray with a drizzle of oil, salt and pepper.

Roast the cauliflower in the oven for 20 minutes.

2. Add the coconut oil into a large pan and once hot, add the chopped onion, mustard seeds, turmeric and the curry leaves. Cook for a few minutes until the onion starts to soften, then add in the crushed garlic.

3. Cover the pan with a lid and cook on a low heat for 5 to 8 minutes.

4. Add in the cauliflower florets to the pan and cook for another 10 minutes.

5. While the cauliflower is cooking, add the Gosh! bites to a baking tray and bake for 10 minutes.

6. Serve by placing the bites on top of the aloo gobi and season with lots of fresh coriander and some coconut yoghurt.

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Recipe credit, Happy Skin Kitchen.

nutrition

Gosh!’s VEGGIE DOGS WITH HOMEMADE SLAW

Serves

2 people

Say no to boring old hot dogs. These mouth-watering Veggie Dogs with Homemade Slaw are bound to be a big hit with everybody around the table. Healthier and happier.

you’ll need...

•

2 Gosh! Sweet Potato and Black Bean Sausages

•

2 hot dog style buns (gluten free options available)

•

1 small onion

•

1 tablespoon of coconut sugar

•

1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar

•

1 tablespoon of oil for frying

•

A pinch of salt

slaw •

2 tablespoons vegetable oil of your choice

•

1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

•

1/2 teaspoon maple syrup

•

1/4 teaspoon salt

•

3 cups thinly chopped red cabbage

•

1 cup thinly sliced red pepper

•

1 cup grated carrots

•

1/4 cup coriander leaves

Method 1. Start by making the slaw: simply place all the ingredients into a bowl and mix well. Cover and refrigerate while you are preparing the rest.

2. Slice the onion very finely and place it into a frying pan with the olive oil. Add the pinch of salt and cook slowly on a low heat for 15-20 minutes.

3. When onions are softened and golden, add the sugar and balsamic vinegar – this will start the caramelisation process. Cook onion over low heat for a further 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until sticky and caramelised.

4. Place the Gosh! Sweet Potato and Black Bean Sausages under a medium grill for 10-12 minutes, turning regularly.

5. To assemble: slice in half the bread bun, place the sausage in the middle, cover with the caramelised onion and slaw. Add as much ketchup and mustard as you fancy to finish it off.

Recipe credit, Happy Skin Kitchen.

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nutrition

THE VEGAN DIET IS IT THE NEW FAD

Many people have just finished doing Veganuary, many might also be continuing to do Veganuary or follow the vegan diet in some shape or form. I’ve just finished doing Veganuary, following a vegan diet for the month of January, and the big question on everyone’s lips I’ve spoken to is how did it go and will I stay vegan as a result?

Firstly, let’s rewind, why did I do this, and why are many other people doing this.

I decided to do Veganuary to experience what a full vegan diet felt like. As a nutritionist I had never followed this diet for such a length of time despite advising vegan, vegetarian and a variety of plant-based clients in my work as a coach. So I decided to go ‘all in’ so I could comment with more authority and experience first-hand what it was like following a full vegan diet.

It wasn’t easy, the transition to new protein sources and knowing how to cook them in interesting ways was often a challenge, so you have to be aware of how you’re going to make these changes and get more creative in the kitchen, or if coaching a client who’s vegan, or vegetarian, help them be creative and interesting with their food. Not many want to eat tofu plain!

From a gym and performance point of view I personally also felt low on energy starting out, as if I was lacking something, so ensuring I was eating enough total calories, getting enough protein in general, and getting creative with my protein sources was key. My

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diet focused a lot on porridge bowl combinations with Awesome Vegan Protein, chick pea & lentil curries, tofu in stir frys and Asian dishes, protein smoothies with fruit and awesome vegan protein powder, lots of fruits and vegetables as per my usual diet with a few meat replacements like vegan sausages and mince.

Will I stay vegan, no, but I will be meeting my normal diet and a vegan diet half way and focusing more of my future meals exclusively around plants, adopting a more flexitarian approach, if you want to coin it with a term. A mixture of tofu, pulses, nuts and meat replacements will have a larger place in my diet in replacement of some of my usual animal protein intake, likely reducing my meat and dairy intake by half, and to be frank I think many should do the same, there is no reason why not.

This brings to question is the vegan diet the new fad? In my opinion no, will people do it thinking it’s a quick fix to their health and dieting woes, of course, that’s just the diet industry and as a collective we need to be fighting the change and educating people in the right way.

The vegan diet is about a set of principal’s people believe in. That the meat industry has become damaging to animal welfare and our food network, that it is unnecessary to eat animal protein with every meal, that the food system is heavily contributing to climate change, and I have to agree with many of the arguments. There is no reason why more of us cannot eat

more plant-based foods. Before I did veganuary I would say 70% of my diet was from plants, which is why I didn’t have any radical health shifts during Veganuary, I was already very healthy from my diet, it was just my protein sources that were changing.

If we can reduce the stress on the planet by not letting intensive farming become the dominant farming method (because we are choosing cheap and processed meats), and broaden our nutrient intake by eating more plant based foods and protein sources, win win. I don’t see the downside to a more plant-based diet. Our health wins, the planet wins, and we get to see more variety on the shop shelves. I’ll still continue to eat meat and a little dairy, but it will be far less. And I think it is important for everyone to engage in this conversation as it’s the future of our health, the planets sustainability and our food environment at stake.

Want to learn more from me? We’ve got a short course that teaches the art & science of nutrition over on our website, go to btn.academy to download it now (look for the orange box).

Ben Coomber is a Performance Nutritionist, Author & Speaker with the UKs #1 rated podcast ‘Ben Coomber Radio’. Ben teaches Personal Trainers to become nutrition coaches on The BTN Academy, and owns Awesome Supplements. Connect with Ben over on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, or Instagram. For everything else visit: http://www.bencoomber.com

nutrition

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WHAT SHOULD WE BE RECOMMENDING HIGH OR LOW CARB DIETS FOR FAT LOSS

If we are to say that there has been one main conversation in nutrition over the last 50 years it’s probably this – which is the bad one, carbohydrate or fat? Of course, the question has never really been framed like that; rather there was a period of time where carbohydrates were considered ‘fattening’, then there was the low-fat period involving fat free everything and super high carbohydrate diets, and then the pendulum swung back to carbohydrates again.

Looking at either of these positions individually leads us down a rabbit hole that can and does take up entire books, but zooming out to look at the whole process over time you arrive at the question I asked above, namely “which is the bad one?”.

When framed like this you can see that there is an underlying assumption built into the question: one of them must be bad.

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This, however, is not the case. There is no evidence that fat intake nor carbohydrate intake per se leads to weight gain, heart problems or diabetes – these things need to be combined with other factors, no least of all overeating calories, before a problem is even partially evident.

It would be fantastic if it were so simple as to say one or the other is the cause of all issues; if you have a problem you need to find the solution and when that problem is caused by a metaphorical bad guy that you can get rid of, that means you have a very simple path to go down: just get rid of it.

Unfortunately we don’t have that luxury. The true cause of ill health and obesity cannot be encased in a food, a food group or a macronutrient, rather it lies in a complex web of different factors including individual food choices, other lifestyle choices (such as exercise), genetics and other factors like

stress levels and even how well you sleep.

Why do all of these things matter? There are a lot of reasons, but when we look at obesity and ill health from the perspective of nutrition we see that food choice, lifestyle choices, genetics and all of the other factors play in to two very distinct things:

1 – ENERGY BALANCE 2 – NUTRIENT SUFFICIENCY Energy balance – calories in compared to calories burned at rest, plus calories burned while exercising, plus calories burned while fidgeting, plus calories burned during the digestion of food is THE ONLY thing that governs whether or not you gain or lose weight. Sure, if we want to

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be particular about it we can also include water in that equation, but you get my point. We need to eat in a manner that helps us to achieve a healthy weight, and that involves choosing foods that fill us up, foods that provide dependable energy and foods in appropriate portions. We then need to make sure we are somewhat active (that doesn’t necessarily mean formal exercise, and could be better looked at as minimising sitting/sedentary time during the day), and we also need to pay attention to our daily stress and sleep levels – both of these things can alter our hunger. To be clear, 70-80% of the difference that nutrition can make to your health is due to its impact upon your weight.

Then, nutrient sufficiency is achieved by eating a well-balanced diet containing protein, carbohydrate, fat and a wide array of colourful vegetables and fruits. Protein

should be an important part of each meal (even if you’re not bothered about looking like Arnold!) but after that some people may prefer more carbohydrate, some more fat. So long as you are eating 8090% whole, unprocessed foods in line with your calorie needs it doesn’t matter all that much for either health or body composition which way you go so long as you avoid the extremes.

And as a final point on eating whole foods - that doesn’t mean you need to minimise or even THINK about sugar – sugar intake will go down as a side effect of consuming a whole foods diet, but it’s not the primary concern. If you worry about sugar you start worrying about fruit, sweet potatoes and plain yoghurt, and that missed the point entirely. Forget sugar, think about the diet as a whole. Opt for unprocessed foods in a

calorie-appropriate manner and you can’t go too far wrong.

So…should we recommend low fat or low carb? To be honest, I don’t think that’s even the right question.

Want to learn more from me? We’ve got a short course that teaches the art & science of nutrition over on our website, go to btn. academy to download it now (look for the orange box).

Ben Coomber is a Performance Nutritionist, Author & Speaker with the UKs #1 rated podcast ‘Ben Coomber Radio’. Ben teaches Personal Trainers to become nutrition coaches on The BTN Academy, and owns Awesome Supplements. Connect with Ben over on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, or Instagram. For everything else visit: http://www.bencoomber.com

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nutrition

ALTERATIONS TO YOUR DIET TO AID MUSCULOSKELETAL PAIN For vegan diets, make sure you’re eating enough pulses (lentil, beans, and soya products). There are protein supplements out there too in the form of drinks and snack bars.

Keeping tabs on calorie and carb intake...

Choosing to eat a lot of unhealthy foods is a sure fine way to increase your calorie intake. This can then lead to excess weight carried around the waist and obesity — both of which can make musculoskeletal pain worse.

This is due to extra pressure on joints and inflammation.

A lot of people suffer from musculoskeletal problems.

In fact, there are over 10,000 GP consultations in the UK each year for musculoskeletal problems. For some, these issues can lead to long term chronic pain conditions.

Common conditions that fall into this category include osteoporosis, back pain, and osteoarthritis. Although these conditions may never be fully cured, there are some things that can help such as medication and gentle exercise. And when it comes to diet, what changes can reduce musculoskeletal pain?

the intestine (where what you eat is absorbed). They then act as building blocks for compounds that help with pain relief.

Foods rich in protein...

• Decreasing inflammation — Protein containing foods such as fish and green vegetables contain antiinflammatory properties, lowering experiences of pain.

For cases of chronic pain, diets that are high in protein are recommended.

According to one paper, four reasons for this are: • The body’s pain relievers derive from proteins — Amino acids make their way into the bloodstream through

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• Muscle-cartilage needs protein to grow — Amino acids are needed to build muscle which can go on to protect your bones and build strength.

• The activation of glucagon — Glucagon increases blood glucose levels and blocks glucose storage as fat. This can prevent a rise in insulin levels, carbohydrate cravings, and pain flares.

How do you implement a generous amount of protein into your diet? Add foods such as beef, fish, and eggs to your plate to up your protein intake.

What is inflammation? Generally speaking it’s a localised condition in which part of the body becomes reddened and painful in reaction to an injury or infection. But, there are cases when inflammation doesn’t shut down — this becomes chronic inflammation. It is this which is the underlying cause of many diseases, health problems, and pain.

In addition to an abundance of calories, refined carbohydrates, saturated fats, and trans fats can cause inflammation too.

Keeping on top of calories intake and eating the appropriate amount can therefore lead to weight maintenance or weight reduction which could help musculoskeletal issues. In fact, one study found that weight reduction of more than 10% has the potential to lead to important changes in pain and function.

Omega-3 fatty acids...

Our bodies unfortunately don’t produce this, so we have to source it

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from our diets, as they’re essential to our health.

In particular, research has shown that high doses of omega-3 can provide some relief from painful arthritis conditions. Again, this is an antiinflammatory which deals with the issues mentioned earlier.

What foods contain Omega-3?

Omega-3 can be found in oily fish (such as salmon and tuna), calamari, olive oil, and some plants and nuts. A mixture of these things should ensure that you’re getting enough of the fatty acid.

Making sure you have enough vitamins...

Ensuring our diets have the necessary amount of vitamins is an important requirement for everyone— they each have their own benefits that keep us healthy. But some musculoskeletal conditions are a result of vitamin deficiencies, and certain vitamins can keep pain at bay.

Vitamin D provides us with the calcium we need to ensure bones, teeth and muscles are growing at their normal rate.. Eggs are a great source of vitamin D and are easy to incorporate into your diet. Another way to up your intake is with safe levels of sun exposure.

Vitamin K plays a large part in cartilage metabolism and is a promoter of cell

survival — both important processes in the body that can prevent musculoskeletal issues. Get your intake of vitamin K through green leafy vegetables such as lettuce, spinach and beans.

Vitamin B helps keep the body’s nerve and blood cells healthy and helps make DNA, the genetic material in all cells. High levels of this could be linked to lower bone density and therefore musculoskeletal issues.

Increase your intake of vitamin B through chicken, turkey, fish, oats, and more.

There are many more ways that your diet can reduce musculoskeletal pain. Always speak to your GP and nutritionist before changing your diet and for more advice on how the foods you eat can ease chronic pains.

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THE IMPORTANCE OF UPSKILLING FOR FITNESS INSTRUCTORS CPD is paramount to the effectiveness of a fitness instructor. The wellness industry is constantly evolving and trends move fast, leaving those not up to speed or aware of the latest developments, behind. In order to stay relevant and stand out to clients, trainers must ensure their service is as impactful, innovative and effective as possible. The best way to do this is through investing in your own personal brand, developing industry knowledge, safe practice and interpersonal skills along the way.

When choosing CPD courses to attend, it is essential that trainers look beyond the standard modules on technique and coaching points.

We all know that the majority of clients do not return because of their instructor’s wide range of squat exercise variations. They return because they felt a strong connection, had a memorable experience and trust in their trainer to deliver results.

Les Mills, leading group exercise provider, believes the most valuable CPD courses are ones that focus on developing inter-personal skills like connection, engagement and motivation. The best trainers come alive on the job, showing their innate love for what they do, have great communication skills, intuition and empathy. They connect with all motivational needs, providing on-going education and support, so clients feel a sense of belonging and trust.

Geared towards instructors teaching Les Mills group exercise classes, the Les Mills’ latest Advanced Training programme places an emphasis on bringing natural talents to the forefront, encouraging instructors to teach from

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a place that is completely authentic.

They look at personality profiling, leadership styles, how to connect and bring out your own enjoyment to in turn create an inspiring experience.

The aim of the training is to enable instructors to feel more fulfilled and derive more enjoyment from teaching.

The result is an improved member experience which keeps clients coming back week on week.

On top of developing a personal brand, it is paramount for PTs to build up their skillset, focusing on on-trend topics to ensure they appeal to clients in this day and age. Currently we are seeing a huge shift and interest towards topics like mental health, nutrition and digital technologies. These are key areas trainers should look towards.

One in four people experience a mental health issue but symptoms can be broad, subtle and not easily spotted. Anxiety and depression are the most common and the better you know someone, the easier it is to spot changes in their behaviour that may indicate a decline in their mental wellbeing. With PTs on the frontline, close to clients, the right training is of paramount importance. PTs should look for courses that will help them understand, empathise and spot the signs of mental health issues. The Active IQ Level 2 Mental Health Awareness Award helps to improve knowledge and understanding of mental health, change attitudes, get people talking about mental health and reduce stigma and discrimination associated with mental health issues.

Another key area for PT upskilling is nutrition. Traditionally a minefield within the industry, PTs who really

know their stuff will stand out. Active IQ has partnered with highly-acclaimed fitness professional Ben Coomber and his BTN Academy to create the industry’s first Level 4 Certificate in Nutrition Coaching. The qualification provides learners with the knowledge and understanding necessary to help clients improve their nutritional habits through personalised coaching comprising individualised, nonprescriptive and evidence-based advice to those with whom they work.

As the digital age continues to grow, many clients are increasingly wanting to receive training updates and ideas via their phones, smart devices, wearables and social media. The most savvy PTs will look to upskill themselves to capitalise on this form of coaching.

Active IQ has a CPD course to help PTs stay ahead of the curve, comprising a series of videos and supporting resources to help individuals add online training and coaching to their skillset.

Overall, if PTs are to stand out in a crowded market, they need to understand what is on trend and how they can enhance their skills to appeal best to clients. People are more focused than ever on areas like nutrition and mental health, and the best trainers will have the skills to hone in on these topics. Similarly, trainers need to understand the importance of developing their personal brand, seeing the value in building their interpersonal skills, rather than just their ability to provide excellent technique. If you’re a trainer looking for more information, don’t hesitate to get in touch with either Les Mills or Active IQ and they can provide support.

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FINDING THAT SWEET SPOT HOW TO LEVERAGE TECHNOLOGY WITHOUT LOSING THE HUMAN TOUCH

Incorporating software & technology into gyms and studios will lead to better business and increased custom, according to the latest advice from business management software for the wellness industry, MINDBODY. From online bookings to interactive check-ins, technology has become an integral part of the fitness industry, for both businesses and their customers.

Recent YouGov data reveals that twothirds (66%) of those who have been to the gym in the past week agree that “technology changes their life for the better”1, and the 2019 Edelman Trust Barometer found that technology was the most trusted sector, with over two-

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thirds (68%) of Brits trusting tech and its services above all else2.

Furthermore, MINDBODY’s consumer research3 recently found that over three quarters (77%) of 18-24 years old use technology as part of their fitness routine and nearly a quarter (23%) of those who do Pilates (the third most popular workout4) said technology improves access to classes.

Although we’re seeing technology increase its presence and ability to service the fitness industry, should it fully replace human interaction?

Well, research by Places for People Leisure found that the smaller the fitness centre, the easier it was to achieve a higher NPS

(Net Promoter Score that indicates the loyalty of a firm’s customer relationships).5 This is perhaps due to the service being more personal, and the staff having a more direct relationship with customers.

In light of this research, Charlotte Newton, Senior Manager Marketing at MINDBODY EMEA, offers her top three tips on finding the ‘sweet spot’ that combines tech with the human touch for better business: Make the booking process easier “Recent research from Sports England found that one in five adults have been put off playing sport because it was too difficult to book online. What we’ve

business seen from our own booking data from 2018 is that MINDBODY app users across the UK booked over 280,000 classes and appointments each month – a 29% increase year-on-year7. These figures show using an app or online booking process can really help make it easier for customers to browse and book classes, ultimately driving more custom.

studio. This is because they can utilise key features that send automated messages to customers, either preworkout to remind them that their class is starting soon or post-workout to ask what they thought of it. This is a good example of how technology can step in where you can’t and extend the personal touch to customers, whilst also encouraging repeat custom.”

“However, it’s important to remember that one size doesn’t fit all and while some people may prefer to use an app to book classes, others may not have access to technology or may just prefer to book in person. As a business owner, it’s advisable to make sure the two options are available to your customers.”

Help clients track results

Interact with customers “Gym and studio owners who use a booking software to power their business, or an app to facilitate booking, are at an advantage when interacting with customers beyond the

“One of the most popular uses of technology in the gym is wearing a fitness tracker. Data from YouGov shows that 70% of UK adults who have exercised in the past week agree that wearable devices encourage them to be healthier,8 while MINDBODY research revealed 15% of people use technology to motivate them and keep their fitness goals on track3.

“We’ve seen this in action with the tracking features within FitMetrix, where live leaderboards can be displayed in a class to give participants

a view of their effort throughout the session, whilst encouraging some healthy competition.

Introducing technology that allows your business to track client progress will give you crucial insight into their workout habits, which can ultimately allow you to tailor a personalised service.

“It’s important not to dismiss technology straight away, because it’s there to enhance your service and product offering, but if you’re not ready to wrap your arms around it you can implement features like the above. Technology is a huge sector that will continue to grow, and businesses both big and small should incorporate it into their fitness offering when they can. Technology won’t be able to replace human interaction completely, but when used well, it can offer a personal touch and it’s a great way of making life easier for your existing customers and helping to drive new business at the same time.”

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SMART TEXTILE COMPANY SET TO ACHIEVE LIFT OFF WITH THE EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY

The European Space Agency (ESA) is supporting British technology company and original producer of infrared textiles, KYMIRA, to launch the development of its smart cardiac monitoring t-shirt.

This is being done through an ESA ‘Kick-Start activity’, which provides both funding and support to companies for the development of new Space enabled healthcare services.

The news follows KYMIRA’s successful application for ESA’s “Big Data in Health” activity, which promotes the utilisation of space technology to improve health services. KYMIRA will make use of ESA’s data processing software, developed for space operations, to automatically process large amounts of data and to detect deviations and anomalies, in order to advance and improve its Electro-Cardiogram (ECG) t-shirt.

KYMIRA aims for the first iteration of the

ECG top to be commercially available in 2020. The garment wirelessly transmits the wearer’s heart rhythm to a mobile device, and can accurately identify an unusual heart rhythm that could presage a sudden cardiac arrest. With the added machine learning capabilities, the future ECG top will be capable of establishing a wearer’s “normal/baseline” ECG, identify anomalies as they arise and predict how these may progress.

Identifying potential health problems before they develop into aggravating issues is an important goal for the healthcare industry, which is under more pressure than ever before. Improving outcomes and cutting costs are crucial. Fortunately, big data is helping healthcare providers to meet these goals in unprecedented ways.

Nick Appleyard, Head of ESA Business Applications and Space Solutions, said:

“This is an example of how space can add value to the healthcare industry in all sorts of unexpected ways. ESA Business Applications and Space Solutions is ESA’s support programme for space-related innovation in all fields of society. In this context our mission is to ensure that investments in space deliver benefits to all, by applying space technologies and know-how to everyday life.”

Tim Brownstone, CEO and Founder at KYMIRA, said: “It is great to gain ESA’s support for the work we are doing at KYMIRA. ESA is an internationally renowned institution at the forefront of space technology and so this is an exciting opportunity for us to benefit from their expertise and co-funding. KYMIRA will work hard to continue building on our innovative ECG top and we hope to maintain a strong relationship with ESA over the forthcoming years.”

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PERSONAL TRAINERS STOP GETTING EMOTIONAL ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS...

Emotions are dangerous, and as a coach to other coaches, a big problem I see in people developing themselves and their business is getting emotional about every problem they face in their coaching business.

business plate and swing the bat of business.

The reason this is such a problem is when emotions get high, many people get paralysed, and because you feel emotional about it your head spins in 3000 different directions struggling to get a clear outcome for the problem. And if you do end up making a decision and taking action, it’s often not the right one.

I was chatting to a trainer today and he felt he got an exercise wrong with his client, he prescribed something that he shouldn’t of, and then when this was pointed out to him he got paralysed, got emotional, and it ruined the quality of his sessions for the rest of the day as he was far from his best self, he just wallowed in self-pity feeling self-conscious and a failure because he got an exercise wrong.

Then you just get more down about your business because you are taking everything personally, thinking you are not enough and cannot provide a good service to your clients.

What if you stopped thinking like a friend to your clients, and started thinking like a business owner?

After all, you’re a business owner, right?

You need to stop throwing around emotions and get practical and tactical about your business of being a coach.

Now if this trainer thought like a business owner, with a growth mindset, he would take this advice on board as just that, advice, and learn from it, grow from it, fix the error and move on with improvements to his business and his delivery with his clients.

Imagine if every problem Richard Branson had at Virgin he took personally?

Every day I have to approach my business as a business. I have problems daily in my business, but every time I get thrown a curve ball I stand back and say “Awesome, this is a chance to improve and do things better next time”. If I got emotional about the problem by taking it as a personal attack to me, I’ll just get paralysed and make bad decisions.

He’d be paralysed, he wouldn’t even get out of bed to face the day, it would be emotionally crushing.

Part of this problem is we are comparing ourselves to everyone else all the time.

So what’s the answer here?

And we don’t look across or down, we look up.

I run a business with 7 staff, 3 companies, over 20 product lines and more activity in one day than many see in a week in their business.

Imagine what would happen if I took every issue in my business personally?

The answer is to step up to the

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The problem with always looking up is

the people above you are often more experienced and have failed many times over at the stuff you are failing at.

This is only going to set off a state of paralysis.

As someone who has been a personal trainer and is now a business owner of an online nutrition education company, a supplement company and a thriving personal brand, I look above for teaching and inspiration.

I don’t paralysed about what I’m not good enough at (yet), because anyone can look above and get pissed off they’re not there yet, but that’s just cause you’re not there yet, it’s as simple as that.

If I get annoyed and emotional about what I’m not doing well enough, it will only lead me to inaction, because it will make me feel unworthy.

Personal trainers and coaches are forever comparing themselves to people that are ‘crushing it’ online, that’s great, learn from them, be inspired by them, take teaching from them, but come back to reality and treat those learnings as a business move, as a way to improve, that way you will grow, rather than fester in frustration that you are not good enough yet.

The problem with this is you are not coaching the people above you, you are coaching your clients, who are below you (in terms of knowledge and understanding of fitness, that’s why they have come to you). Yet many are comparing coaching their clients to coaching their elders, the people they are looking up to.

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Your clients know less than you, they are less fit than you, they are not as healthy as you, that’s why they are your clients.

This means you can help them, a lot, if you see the relationship for what it is, and not compare what you are going to do with them as if you were coaching me, or someone else whom you might look up to.

We can do this if we are objective and treat our business as a business, and not get emotional involved with every issue and the potential outcome.

That’s why I wrote ‘How to be an Awesome Personal Trainer’, to make trainers think of their coaching business more objectively and treat it as a business, and stop getting so lost, confused and emotionally involved in the process of becoming a better coach.

You can help yourself, but it starts with putting on your big boy (or girl) pants and standing back and being 100% objective with the problems

you face in your business.

I take everything objectively in my business and take the time to process it properly, often taking a few days to write stuff down and reflect on it, nothing good often happens when you make decisions and try to be objective when you feel emotional about something, so practice taking time to make decisions and grow from them, then practice over time for this to be your default process, to think like a logical business owner about problems rather than an emotionally driven coach permanently attached to the outcome of the problem.

You and me are no different. I am developing as a coach just like you are, so don’t think my situation is different to yours, it’s not. I just choose to treat my business, the business of coaching others, as a business, because it is, and only when you think like a business owner do you make objective and strategic decisions.

But you still need to think like a business owner to make business progress.

Want to learn more from me? We’ve got a short course that teaches the art & science of nutrition over on our website, go to btn.academy to download it now (look for the orange box).

Ben Coomber is a Performance Nutritionist, Author & Speaker with the UKs #1 rated podcast ‘Ben Coomber Radio’.

Ben teaches Personal Trainers to become nutrition coaches on The BTN Academy, and owns Awesome Supplements.

Connect with Ben over on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, or Instagram.

For everything else visit www.bencoomber.com

You’re not just a coach, your business owner, the business of helping others.

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ADAPTIVE WORK IN UNDER 3 SECONDS

Research shows that changing the office dynamic and using a standing desk can increase productivity in the work place by up to 46%. A sit-stand desk can get you from sitting to working whilst stood in under 3 seconds. Using a standing desk is a lifestyle choice that should be embraced long term.

Although many benefits start straight away, you need to stick at it to gain the best benefits.

Highlighting the benefits a standing desk. Gregory Garrett M.A, a public health doctoral student and head author of the study, explains: “we began to see larger increases in productivity with the stand-capable groups as they became habituated to their standing desks.”

With many companies concerned about the cost of standing desks, it is easy to decide to buy as an increased level of employee productivity over time will more than offset these initial expenses.

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In an alternative study, a group of 10 office workers used a standing desk for 180 minutes after lunch and found this reduced blood sugar spikes by 43% in comparison to sitting for the same amount of time. The same study results also showed that alternating between sitting and standing every 30 minutes throughout the day reduced blood sugar spikes by 11.1%. Sitting for longer amounts of time also contributes towards a greater risk of developing heart disease. A study found that jobs such as bus conductors who stand all day had half the risk of heart disease, compared to their colleagues in the driver seats, showing the benefits of standing more at work.

More research has found that using a standing desk effectively increases mood and energy levels, while stress levels reduce and signs of fatigue decrease throughout the day. Keeping that positive attitude alive and thriving couldn’t be easier with a standing desk. The desks help to promote a more positive working environment for all in the office, with fresh thinking and

new ideas. Using a standing desk can help decrease body discomfort caused by prolonged sitting, by more than 75%. This is an issue in many working offices today, and some go about their day to day lives in severe pain.

Varidesk comes ready to unbox and ready to use, a sit-standing alternative that provides support at any height.

With a simplistic and hassle free design it couldn’t be easier. Effortlessly made to fit perfectly into any workspace no matter your requirements. Choose from the Pro Plus 30 for just £275 ideal for the use of 1 monitor or the Pro Plus 36 for £365 a larger desk to accommodate 2 monitors. Both available with a two-tiered design to keep the mouse and keyboard separate, so you can decide what works best for you.

Varidesk are so confident you’ll feel the beneifts that they offer a a full refund and free return if you aren’t happy after trying it for 30 days. For more information and please visit UK.Varidesk.com

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EMBRACING VIRTUAL FITNESS IS KEY TO LONGEVITY IN THE PT INDUSTRY Date, 2019 - It’s no secret that a digital transformation is underway in the fitness industry – and has been for some time now – but instead of seeing it as a threat, personal trainers (PTs) must look to evolve along with the latest innovations, is the view of The Training Room, the UK’s leading fitness education company.

Advancements in technology have led to a variety of new gadgets and digital trends hitting the fitness market in recent years, as well as alternative methods to perform and prescribe exercise. Probably the most pertinent to the world of personal training is the rise of the online fitness coach, as Darren Doak, National Field Manager for The Training Room (TTR), explains:

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“The rise of virtual fitness is certainly the biggest threat to the livelihood and income of the traditional, gym-based PT, and a new breed of online fitness coach has made the PT industry more competitive than ever – but it also presents opportunities if embraced.”

One company looking to take hold of the ‘virtual coaching’ space is Peloton, which, since its UK launch in 2018, has been trying to impress potential customers with its cool, pop-up stores and shiny, big-budget ads. With the tag line, “a private indoor cycling studio in your home,” the at-home, on-demand indoor cycling company gives exercisers a vast selection of live and recorded classes with Peloton’s elite, qualified instructors – making it

possible to go from sofa to spinning in just a few steps.

As you would expect, many other companies would like a slice of the pie, from fitness retailers to fitness clubs.

In April this year, Anytime Fitness, one of the UK’s largest fitness operators, launched its ‘Anytime Coaching’ app, which enables its PTs to communicate and share bespoke workouts with their clients. Likewise, Reebok and Gym Cube have partnered with the Register of Exercise Professionals to develop an app which enables UK fitness professionals to earn money as online coaches while upskilling.

With gamification another rapidly emerging fitness trend – and an area that’s tipped to experience significant

business growth – Nintendo, too, is trying to get in on the action, with their game, Fitness Boxing for Nintendo Switch, which has a (fully customisable) virtual trainer giving you instructions as you complete the exercises – while also offering you the customary perks of a video game, such as unlocking outfits for your trainer to wear as you hit certain milestones.

Recognising the digital disruption that’s occurring, TTR has taken measures to ensure it provides trainees with the very best education available, enabling them to succeed in this fast-paced and ever-changing industry. By beginning to integrate ‘digital’ subjects into its PT courses, TTR’s aim is to equip its students with the most up-to-date skills and insights, while remaining at the forefront of fitness training.

Most recently, TTR has added a section to its syllabuses on ‘how to advertise yourself on social media and the importance of marketing yourself online’ – which has proven both valuable and popular with students on its Level 2 and 3 PT courses.

With a goal to create confident, robust and versatile PTs, TTR also encourages its expert tutors to suggest ways they could add value to its courses – meaning other digital topics are sure to appear in future teaching materials,

as new technologies continue to emerge and influence the way we exercise.

Darren comments: “Everything is going to be about tech moving forwards.

Trying to fight against it is like trying to hold back the tide coming in. It’s impossible to do. Tech is coming thick and fast, so if you can’t advance yourself and get yourself up to speed with virtual and online training, and understand how to build a market around it, then you could struggle.

“Traditional PTs have to adapt themselves to achieve longevity in the business and need to get involved with virtual personal training to have the best chance of success moving forward.”

In TTR’s opinion, virtual and gymbased personal training should not be seen as two separate and competing entities, but simply as different aspects of the same profession, which – if embraced – can be beneficial to all PTs, as Darren explains: “In my view, there’s no such thing as an online and offline PT – they’re all just PTs, giving advice and coaching people towards their goals; you can do that online or in the gym. Instead of seeing them at opposite ends of the spectrum, at TTR, we believe that virtual and traditional personal training can

greatly complement each other, and by looking at the positives on both sides, all PTs, no matter their age or experience, can identify areas of the online and offline worlds which can benefit their practice.”

Darren adds: “If you’re a gym-based PT, a good way to strengthen and grow your client base is by offering them the option to engage with you online, through closed, community groups on Facebook to live, streamed classes.

Likewise, as an online PT, you can never usually get any of that individual, face-to-face contact as you would with a person one-to-one in a gym, so if you can use your online presence to drive demand for ‘real-life’ classes or boot camps and get several of your clients together at one time, that’s an additional perk you can be offering – and the potential for further income and exposure.”

According to TTR, it all boils down to that famous phrase, “survival of the fittest.” Those who ignore ‘virtual’ versus those who embrace it. For the PTs willing to adopt and adapt to the latest tech innovations and turn the threat of online coaching into an opportunity, the rewards are there for the taking, and it is TTR’s mission to support them on that journey through world-class education.

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10 MINUTES WITH....

AMIR KHAN

Paul McNicholas, Operations Director at Total Fitness, comments: “It’s great to welcome Amir at our Bolton club and support him with his training and conditioning for his forthcoming fight. A boxer’s fitness is multifaceted and with our diverse offering we’re the perfect venue to help him with his preparations.

“He’s definitely been getting the most out of our facilities, particularly our extensive functional area with battle ropes, prowler track, Vipers and TRX, which help improve strength, muscular endurance, power, agility and timing, all critical fitness components for a boxer.

“Khan is an inspiration to both staff and club members and we’ll be backing him all the way in his fight against Goyat!”

World Boxing Champ Amir Khan trains for upcoming fight at total Fitness Bolton In preparation for next month’s historydefining fight against Neeraj Goyat in Saudi Arabia, two-time world boxing champion Amir Khan has been spotted training at Total Fitness, Bolton.

Now a regular at the Bolton health club, Khan has been embarking on an intense training programme at the club with his new training team putting him through his paces ahead of next month’s big fight.

Following a gruelling workout, Khan greeted Total Fitness club members, posed for photos and spoke about his preparations ahead of next month’s big fight.

Khan comments: “I’m currently undergoing one of the most gruelling fitness programmes of my life. I’m working with a new team of trainers who are whipping me into shape and showing no mercy as I prepare to take on Goyat.

“I’m choosing to train at Total Fitness because it has a boxing ring as well all

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the equipment I need under one roof to facilitate my strength and conditioning programme which is getting me into the best shape of my life.

“Knowing how to throw the perfect punch isn’t enough, you’ve also got to have the highest level of all-round fitness and agility to stay at the top and this time I’m taking no prisoners.”

Total Fitness is the leading mid-market health club in the north and provides more ways to get fit, stay in shape, and more support to keep members focused.

With 17 health clubs across the North of England and Wales, Total Fitness provides a full-service fitness offering; guided by knowledgeable and supportive fitness teams, the brand works hard to meet the individual needs of its members.

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