Blog - Health & Fitness

Hope you are feeling great, and dominating this week! I’m still getting back into the swing of things from last weekend, and what a weekend it has been…

I received great feedback from a stand-up comedy show, which I did for the first time in my life just to test myself and break a comfort zone. Then I was competing at WBFF London fitness model show the next day, achieved a Top 5 result, and got a medal for it. Even though I seldom give myself a pat on the back due to the high standards I've set, I guess it is pretty cool after all :)

I'm glad that the judges recognised my potential, and the key thing for me has always been PROGRESS. If I see progress, I'm happy. Now it's time chill out, have some fun and reward myself for my efforts and commitment, gather feedback thoroughly, reflect, and then refocus and make some plans. One thing is for sure - I'm more motivated than ever.

If you have a body, you are an athlete. ~ Bill Bowerman, Nike co-founder

I sometimes wonder WHY do I really bother with this.

Why do I keep physically pushing myself past all limits? Continually striving to be the best I can be, giving full hundred to my training, never missing a meal etc. At the end of the day, I am not considered a professional athlete, and this is not what directly pays the bills.

Mute The Voice Of Your Inner Critic

We all have those days when our inner critic just seems to be determined to sabotage our efforts, and make us accept less than we deserve. Muting the voices of self-doubt gremlins can be quite a feat, and we must be vigilant against these thoughts while striving towards success.

The stories we tell ourselves largely affect our outlook on life. The way you see yourself will determine how you feel, and how you feel will impact what you DO.

After all, the doing part is what brings results. It is what gets us from A to B. We can read all the books in the world, we can create an amazing plan and talk about strategies all day, but we have to set the wheels in motion through taking action.

Athlete? Really??

You may not realise this about me, but I used to hate exercise. I was always the last pick for any sports team in school, I couldn’t do a single push-up, and my body type was what you may call skinny fat when I was a kid.

Back then if you asked my classmates whether I had the potential to be successful in the fitness industry, helping people achieve their goals, winning trophies, and being a sponsored athlete, they would think you’re crazy. Athlete? What athlete? Are you kidding me??

Did you know that 95% of our behavior, feeling and response is habitual? In the past we learned that certain attitudes, ways of feeling and thinking were appropriate to certain situations. Now, we tend to think, feel and act the same way whenever we encounter what we interpret as the same sort of situation.

What we need to understand is that these habits can be modified, changed, or reversed, simply by taking the trouble to make a conscious decision – and then by practicing or “acting out" the new response or behavior. A pianist can consciously decide to strike a different key, if he chooses. A dancer can consciously decide to learn a new step – and there is no agony about it. It can be done. It takes a bit of willpower, but this can be developed just like the muscles in your body.

Acquire The Habit Of Happiness

Here is a mental exercise you can practice to acquire the habit of happiness and put you in a resourceful state of mind every day. It’s from “Psycho-Cybernetics” by Dr Maxwell Maltz, one of my favourite books of all time:

Habitually, you put on either your right shoe first or your left shoe. Habitually, you tie your shoes by either passing the right-hand lace around behind the left-hand lace, or vice versa. Tomorrow morning determine which shoe you put on first and how you tie your shoes.

Now, consciously decide that for the next 21 days you are going to form a new habit by putting on the other shoe first and tying your laces in a different way. Now, each morning as you decide to put on your shoes in a certain manner, let this simple act serve as a reminder to change other habitual ways of thinking, acting and feeling throughout that one day. Say to yourself as you tie your shoes, "I am beginning the day in a new and better way." Then, consciously decide that throughout the day:

1. I will be as cheerful as possible.

2. I will try to feel and act a little more friendly toward other people.

3. I am going to be a little less critical and a little more tolerant of other people, their faults, failings and mistakes. I will place the best possible interpretation upon their actions.

I often hear this phrase from my clients, especially females, when talking about their fitness goals: "I just want to tone up". It’s a good start because in order to achieve something you must first know what you want, however, it helps greatly if it is defined in specific terms. The only way to ensure that we are on the same page, and understand what “tone up” means to them, is to talk about this in more detail. Let’s find out what is most likely meant by this expression, and what measurements can be used to track your fitness progress.

When it comes to transforming your body’s appearance, it’s not always about weight loss, even though it is a real concern for many people. It depends on the physical shape of the individual. Some may be happy with their weight on the scales, and for most of us what we see in the mirror is what really counts.

BMI – Bootless Measurement Idea

BMI (body mass index) is a commonly used formula that divides your weight divided by the square of your height. Despite the fact that it doesn’t say anything about your body composition (hence, my mock acronym), it is still one of the main measurements used by GPs. It may be interesting to look at it from a statistics point of view, but in fitness industry we don’t see it as a valuable tool to assess an individual’s health and track progress.

“A strong body makes the mind strong.” -Thomas Jefferson

You may already know that I wasn’t always “the fitness guy”. Unlike most fitness professionals I didn’t excel in sports from an early age. I remember very well the embarrassment of hanging from a bar in PE lessons, desperately trying to overcome the gravity. It didn’t help with my popularity at school, as respect often is earned by physical prowess amongst boys.

For women also strength is playing a vital role in our society. With the popularity of female athletes, and slogans like “Strong Is The New Sexy” finally it’s becoming widely accepted for women to get involved in strength exercises and not just stick to yoga and cardio machines while not getting much results.

Have you ever thought about what being strong really means? And why it should be high on your list of desirable characteristics? I’m talking about being physically powerful, and also having great force of character, will, morality, or intelligence. Because true strength manifests itself in many different forms, and improvements in physical strength will also show in the mental side, and vice versa.

In the early civilisations strength wasn’t optional. It was a matter of survival. We don't NEED to be as strong as our ancestors. We get food from the supermarket instead of hunting and gathering. We drive in cars, we have all of our medical needs quickly met, and jobs that require physical labor are of the least paid and least valued in our culture.

So why would you want to get stronger?

No surprise that the average person gains about half a stone in December. It seems like someone is shoving food in your face at every turn: at your kids' school, at the office, and of course at family gatherings. Treats like cookies, cakes, pies, frosted things you can't identify, chocolate covered things of unknown origin, as well as the usual massive holiday meals.

There are parties and feasts right and left and we all tend to overeat. We are also faced with a lack of time, as the holiday season can be extremely busy and stressful. Sound familiar?

There are some simple and effective strategies that will not only help you "survive" the holidays, but you may even emerge in the New Year leaner and fitter than you are right now, as long as you fit in some exercise around the celebrations.

Be Prepared

As Winston Churchill said, “He who fails to plan is planning to fail”. When on the move, I always have some food with me year round, but it becomes even more important during the holidays. Do everything in your power to know where you are going, what time you are going to be there, what time will you leave and (most importantly in this case) what food will be there. This is often easier said than done, but that is why we always must be prepared. Have a plan and even a backup plan in place. When you have a plan you are much less likely to indulge in all the sugary stuff. Help yourself with a high quality protein bar, whey protein shake or some almonds when you don’t have access to real food.

Last weekend I competed at the biggest physique contest ever taken place in the UK. What a show!! WBFF certainly know how to cater for their athletes and the audience. I wish I could show off a trophy or medal, but this time luck wasn’t on my side.

My category “Fitness Model Tall” at WBFF London was stacked with some incredible physiques – there were almost 50 guys in total. I could say “the more the merrier” as the atmosphere was brilliant, and it was great catching up with lots of competitors I have met in the past. But also it meant that I was compared to many more athletes, diminishing my chances for a placing. Moreover, as the week leading up to the show was quite hectic, I may have made some mistakes in my preparation, my condition wasn’t razor sharp, and posing wasn’t rehearsed enough. There are certainly lessons to be taken from this, if I decide to compete again.

When it doesn’t unfold the way you had envisioned it, the worst thing you can do is to see it as a failure. In reality there is no failure, only feedback. While competing over the years, I may have built an unhelpful expectation to always be rewarded for my efforts. After all, in my 6 previous contests I have always placed in top 3, and last year I managed to win. The outcome of my recent endeavor must be seen in perspective, in order to maintain a resourceful state of mind and utilize the feedback I have received.

Just over 7 weeks until my next show - WBFF London fitness model competition. I still refuse to get consumed by it. Does it mean that I'm not focused? Oh, I've not been focused like this for a long time. It's an absolute priority. However, it doesn't mean that everything else gets thrown out of the window. I can still get my work done, give excellent service to my clients,  read / listen to books, have fun, socialise, keep my mind active and share ideas. My intention with this competition is to prove that you can achieve an amazing physique without sacrificing everything else that's important to you.

Would you really want to hear about EVERY single workout, all my early morning cardio sessions, packed Tupperware containers, stacks of supplements... I think it gets quite boring after a while. The average person with a day job and family to feed got much more important things to worry about. All I want to do is show that great things can be achieved with commitment, consistency and positive attitude towards life.

To me it's about making art and creating your legacy. You can affect many areas of your life in a positive way through undertaking a risky adventure, and I'm definitely up for the challenge. It's about the strength of character that gets built while on this journey. I wouldn't like to be consumed by an external outcome by putting pressure on myself to reach it by all means. Instead, why not focus on the person you want to become, and the virtues required to achieve this goal.

You can have a look at more info on WBFF or book tickets to watch the show in London O2 on 9th November here.

Big thanks to my sponsor Optimum Nutrition, don't know how I would do it without you guys! Here is a video blog, showing some ON Platinum PRE- powered training footage, I'm talking about things to consider when undergoing a body transformation, and also an interview with my good friend fitness model Jay Benedetti.

When was the last lime you tested your willpower? It seems like some people manage to resist their temptations and make the right decisions without a great deal of effort. Almost like it’s some sort of genetic gift. But then we also see lots of radical transformations and lives completely changed; hence, it must be a learnable skill. The truth is that it’s much more complex than that. We should explore our habits to understand how to develop self-discipline and make it consistent. Let’s have a look at this fascinating experiment.

DON’T Eat The Cookies!!

Everyone who walked into the room where the experiment was being conducted at Case Western Reserve University agreed on one thing: The cookies smelled delicious. They had just come out of the oven and were piled in a bowl, oozing with chocolate chips. On the table next to the cookies was a bowl of radishes. All day long, hungry students walked in, sat in front of the two foods, and submitted, unknowingly, to a test of their willpower that would completely change our understanding of how self-discipline works. Sixty-seven undergraduates were recruited and told to skip a meal. One by one, the undergrads sat in front of the two bowls.