Thank you for reading this Personal Trainer Crawley Blog.  Funnily enough, if you don't know me by now, I am a Personal Trainer, in Crawley.  I am experienced, approachable and fully in support of the success that you can be deserving of.

I have dealt with the "I can't afford it" myth.  I am now going to deal with the "I will never stick at it" myth, a.k.a. the you need to be fit to get fit double bind- in your mind!!!

You did not mean to, however, you have practised getting unfit, sub-consciously if not actively.  You have to make a conscious effort to bring the bits that you have let go, to come back together to reverse this trend and correct the unerying behaviours.  You have spent a while unsticking yourself from it, and you need to replace this behaviour and habit, with a preferable alternative.

Replacing take-outs with training sessions, junk food with healthy food, and booze with smoothies not only helps your system, but can end up costing little if any more even when PT sessions are paid for, than your present lifestyle is costing you.

Personal Trainer Crawley results are more assured if we work from a realistic perspective and understand how it all fits together, we will be fine.

David Brailsford the Performance Director of UK Cycling said after the spectacular results at the Bejing Olympics that "success is the aggregation of marginal gains.  In other words, small gains in a number of places amount to a large overall improvement.  Where can you make small gains?

One less glass of wine or takeaway?  One more walk to the station rather than driving or being dropped- a week, a day?  One more glass of water? More slow release carbs such as wholegrains with low fat meat and fresh steamed veggies? One more refusal to feel down in the morning?  One less cream cake?

What we have to work with is your mind, and your body.  What you put into your mind matters, as much, probably more than what you put into your body.  If you read my previous blog entry you can understand the power of "association" or really getting into your goals and seeing the outcome as tangible, feelable and attainable.

You did not announce to the world that you were "going to get out of condition, bit by bit, over a X year period" and then ask yourself as did David Byrne (I know, old but still great) "well, how did I get here?"  Although getting out of condition crept up on you, it probably felt as though you had been ambushed, when you awoke to the realisation that you were not as you wanted to be.  Armed with this realisation, you can address the myth of false hope and expecatations.  If you accept that it will take a while- my golden rule is one week for each year taken to get out of condtion will convince you that you can beat this thing- then those who go slowly in the early stages often build momentum rather than lose it, as they go on...

Be careful of what you try to stick at.  Going from a calorie-laden, salt/fat/sweet diet where you did no exercise to the opposite is going to result in withdrawal symptoms for most of us.  Wouldn't you say?  Unless "massive action" is your bag, and you can sustain it, better to be realistic, set achievable goals, and build on your confidence.  Q. How do you eat an elephant? A. One bite at a time.....  How do you lose and elephant?  One less bite at a time!

Your mind will need more maintenance than your body during this time of change.  If all that you are focusing on is LACK- lack of the foods you loved, the wine, the lazy Sundays, then you will move towards these things.  You should exercise your mind as often as you exercise your body. Take time to reassure yourself that success is likely/probable/guaranteed if you stick to what works.  Envisage your outcomes, the new you. as a basis to reinforce what you are doing and its value.  Focus on the improvements in how you sleep, and feel.  Welcome sometimes sore muscles and slight hunger as heradling that what you are doing works.  Building muscle or lean body mass, and shifting your system and metabolism to a healthier configuration takes time...one year/one week, a fair exchange?

Work out what it was that you did when you were as you wanted to be, as you did it at the time.  Remember it, and imagine doing it.

Build your foundations with me, on our assessment process, and then assemble your new home for your body bit by bit.  Don't beat yourself up if you slip from the path.  In fact assume you will and imagine bouncing back. Shrug, and get back on the horse.

Exercising to your strengths is a joy.  Doing what you enjoy to support your exercise regime- if we train at the gym, or at home with free (light if necessary) weights, but enjoy rambling then they are an excellent support for one another.  If you enjoy cooking then you can prepare healthy meals, and avoid shop prepacks.  Does that make sense?

With thanks, and...more soon, Hugh