Christmas Post - What are you doing with your 2016? What's next?

Merry Christmas etc, etc.


Anyway...


2015 is almost over and 2016 is just around the corner so what's the plan? What's next? Christmas is a brilliant time to take a short break from work, reflect on the year gone by (what you did/didn't like), what you're grateful for, what you achieved and what you'd like to improve and achieve in the year ahead.


Always try to be specific with goals and bracket them into different groups with a detailed timeline for success broken down into specific actions.


For example, here are my goals for the year ahead (I have them drafted in much more detailed and specific stages than this).


WORK

• I want to continue to grow my own PT business in order to help more people lead a fuller and healthier lifestyle. This will require regular, targeted content and marketing efforts.

• I want to expand the outreach of my monthly eNews letter to reach more people and offer free fitness related content to a wider wed of people. This will require me to collate more email addresses throughout the year and also rely partly on word of mouth.

If you'd like to receive monthly fitness information, articles and promotions then please email me at: MichaelADarren@gmail.com


There are other "Business" bullet points that I won't be sharing just yet.


PERSONAL

• I would like to spend more and more time with my son, Cassius. He will be 2 in February and I am very aware that these coming years can be very influential in terms of progression for him.

Over Christmas I am going to spend some time thinking about the specific life lessons and morals that I would like to instil in him. I want him to continue to be exposed to "new" and nurture his curiosity for all things new. Now that he is more mobile and able I would also like to show him some new activities such as bouldering for children. I want him to understand that "The best things in life aren't things".

• I would like to expand my own personal knowledge and self worth. I will be reading more regularly and also taking at least 2 new qualifications in 2016. In 2015 I booked myself on to 2 courses which were both (annoyingly) cancelled!

FITNESS

• I am going to completely revamp my training structure for the week. In my on-going pursuit of leg gains I am going to focus on 2 x slower, longer gym sessions a week for my legs. I feel that my knee health is at the stage where this is now a realistic aim. I will aim for 2 further sessions each week in a circuit style gym sessions and a final movement based exercise session each week. I am also going to try and include more mobility and swimming this year (though not on a weekly basis).

• I want to get outside! At some stages while travelling and for a period afterwards I had no gym membership. I trained outside regularly whatever the weather and I loved it! I want to make sure that I'm training outside at least every other week. This is likely to compliment my pursuit of movement based sessions so it's likely to be achievable. While I'll always gravitate back to traditional gym exercises I really value outdoor training for enjoyment and clarity of thought. Hopefully it can also be combined with my tinkering's with meditation too and allow regular meditation and relaxation exercises to become a pillar of my training.

LIFESTYLE
I am going to continue to invest in memories and experiences rather than possessions. I have a theory that: many people don't truly understand the meaning of happiness, how to find it or how to embrace it. I am forever grateful for small moments of beauty and happiness: laughing uncontrollably, hearing my son laugh or achieve something that he couldn't achieve a month earlier, sites, views and experiences. Being able to spot these moments, acknowledge them and savour them is a huge part of my happiness and wellbeing. After all: "The best things in life aren't things."


So what are your specific aims and goals for 2016? Think about different subject or pillars that you can group them under.


Don't forget to follow me on: www.twitter.com/MichaelD_PT and www.YouTube.com/uer/BigMikePT

Christmas is a time for giving... Here are some free workouts

With the festive season just around the corner, I wanted to give you all something from me.

Christmas time can be a common time for people to fall off the wagon in every unhealthy way imaginable. Late nights, extra alcohol, extra food, extra chocolate or nibbles and no exercise.

I can't stop you from doing ALL of that, but what I wanted to do was offer you 10 quick workouts that you can do in or around the house.

Ideally, you would drag yourself to the gym. But, if you're not going to do that, you could at least spare 20-30 minutes to do some of these at home over the holidays.

As a promise, I'm going to do each of these as a MINIMUM this holiday just to up my activity levels.

I HOPE some of you might take these and give them a go; if you do, let me know how you get on.

I'd ALSO like to remind you of this handy article which explains how you can approach Christmas in order to limit the damage you cause yourself: Brilliant Christmas article - click and read!

WORKOUTS

WORKOUT 1 - 22 mins

Set your watch or timer for 10 minutes. Leave your house and run as far as you can in 10 minutes. Don't think too much about where you're running, just run in the most continuous and straight way you can. When the alarm goes, stop and rest for 2 minutes. After that, reset the alarm and try to make it all the way home in 10 minutes.

WORKOUT 2 - 20-25mins

Set a time to go off every 30 seconds for 20 minutes. You'll work for 30 seconds, rest for 30 seconds and carry on until you complete 4 or 5 rounds

A1) Press Ups

A2) Bodyweight Squat or Jump Squats for more advanced

A3) Mountain Climbers

A4) Plank

A5) Alternating reverse lunges while raising your arms and opening your shoulders

WORKOUT 3 - 20 mins

Set your timer for Tabata (20 secs work, 10 secs rest). Perform each of these exercises against the Tabata timer until you have completed all 8 sets of 20 secs. Then, rest a full minute and move on to the next exercise.

Exercise 1: Mountain Climbers

Exercise 2: Burpees

Exercise 3: Plank-Push Ups / Suicide Push Ups

Exercise 4: Kneeling - squat (do a squat, climb down to kneeling position, and back up, squat and repeat)

WORKOUT 4 - 21 mins

Set your timer to sound every 60 seconds for 21 minutes. Start each exercise when the buzzer sounds and rest for the remainder of the minute. For examples, if the exercise takes you 30 seconds then you still have 30 seconds rest. But, if it takes you 50 seconds for example, you only have 10 seconds rest until your next exercise. Speed is of the essence. Complete 7 rounds of these 3:

A1) 10-15 press ups and reach. As you come up from the press up extend your arm and the opposite leg and hold at the top position for a second. Change arm and leg each repetition.

A2) 20-40 Mountain Climbers & 5-10 Crunches

A3) 10 reverse lunges or 16 Jumping switch lunges

WORKOUT 5 - 21 mins

Set your timer for 30 second intervals. Complete each of these exercises for 30 seconds and rest for 30 seconds. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R819KfRrRe0 

WORKOUT 6 - 22 mins 

Repeat the 20 minute run in workout 1 and aim to run further.


Workout 7 - 15 minutes or so
Bodyweight complex - do 1 repetition of each of the exercises below in this order. Keep going until you have completed 8 repetitions of each. That's 1 set. Then rest for 60-90 seconds and repeat it again until you have done 3 sets. ie: by the time you've finished, you will have completed 24 repetitions of each exercise by doing 3 x 8 reps. Make sense?


A1) Squat
A2) Reverse lunge each leg
A3) Burpee
A4) Press Up
A5) Lower Back Extensions
A6) 8 mountain climbers
A7) A "pop up"
That's 1 rep.

WORKOUT 8 - 11mins

Roxanne Challenge: Play the song "Roxanne" by The Police. When they sing the words "Roxanne" perform exercise 1. When they sing "Put on the red light" perform exercise 2. Rest for 2 minutes and then try it with the next exercises.

A1) Press Up

A2) Up/Downs or Plank-Push Up or Suicide Push Up (whatever you want to call it)

B1) 2 x Squat Jumps

B2) Burpee

WORKOUT 9 - Ladder: As fast as you can without rest

A1) 10 Press Ups

A2) 10 Squats

A3) 10 Lower Back Extensions

A4) 10 Burpees

A5) 10 Crunches

Then 8 of each, 6 of each, 4 of each, 2 of each, and finish with 10 of each.

WORKOUT 10 - 20 mins

Set the timer for 30 second intervals. Work for 30 secs, rest for 30 secs.

A1) Press Ups

A2) Plank

A3) Squats

A4) Left Side Plank

A5) Split Squat - Left leg Forward

A6) Right Side Plank

A7) Split Squat - Right leg forward

A8) Plank

A9) Lower Back Extensions

A10) Left Side Plank

A11) Plank Crawl Outs

A12) Right Side Plank

A13) Burpees

A14) Plank

A15) Mountain Climbers

A16) Left Side Plank

A17) Crunches

A18) Right Side Plank

A19) Straight leg Raises

A20) Plank

There you have it - 10 workouts - all under 30 mins and all without equipment.

make it your challenge to do at LEAST these over Christmas. I'm going to make a start on them December 20th or there abouts to finish them this month. I'll be moaning about them on Twitter.

Enjoy.

Try them out and let me know how you get along.

DON'T FORGET: You can follow me on Twitter (@MichaelD_PT) and YouTube

Christmas 2013 - DOUBLE BLOG: 10 Things to Focus On & 10 x Free 10 Min Workouts

 

So it's Christmas season and I'm feeling generous - here's a double blog to take care of you over the Christmas break and make sure you don't go completely off the boil with your health.

First up...

PART ONE: 10 Things to Focus on Over Christmas...

1) Exercise: Obvious right? My advice is just to "Get it done!" Most people will take advantage of the relaxed Christmas schedule and rise a little later than normal. But if their plan is a 10am breakfast of Cadbury's Heroes then it means you'll need to be out of the door at 9am and off exercising. One hour less sleep and you can have your workout for the day complete and be home in time to join in the usual festivities.
DON'T wait until later or plan to get it done "at some point" - it won't happen!

2) Hydration: Don't neglect the simple things. Keep yourself hydrated throughout the day and help your body to ease some of the strains you're putting on it with your week or so of excess. try to link drinks with daily events; for example: Target a pint of cold water within 10 minutes of waking, before you go to bed, and before lunch and dinner - that's 4 every day as a minimum. Add a pint of water every time you're going to leave the house for an extended period to ensure hydration and you're averaging at least 5 pints a day - make that a minimum.
DON'T leave it to chance and realise you haven't had much water today - ESPECIALLY when alcohol levels will be higher for many of you!

3) Turkey: Yep, that's right: "Target The Turkey!" My point being, go big on high protein, lean meats (turkey being one of the best for this)at meal time. It will offer you prolonged energy, aid recovery from exercise (you WILL need to exercise!), keep you fuller for longer and also curb your hunger a little before pudding shows up! Avoid taking your first few bites of any dinner from foods that aren't high in protein such as roast potatoes. If there's lean meat left, DON'T save room for pudding!
DON'T approach your days differently to your working week. have a plan for rough meal times and meal content ahead of each day. Leaving things to chance and eating "whatever's going" won't rub!

4) Sleep: Easiest one! Take advantage of the break from work (if you're fortunate enough to have one) and sleep where possible. Don't fear a day time nap - embrace it. Sleep is one of the easiest and cheapest medicines going; the value of sleep should never be over looked.
DON'T burn the candle at both ends and go back to work after your break, needing a break!

5)R&R: Following on from the sleep suggestion focus on taking care of your body. Spend some time foam rolling and stretching, doing yoga and pilates and generally making sure you feel in top notch for 2014. you might not have this much spare time or flexibility again for a few months.
DON'T waste this opportunity to really let your body recovery and repair ahead of 2014.

6) Fun: Don't take activity seriously all of the time. In fact, be creative and try to exercise elsewhere apart from your usual gym. Some of the workouts listed below don't require any equipment so why not head of to somewhere scenic and workout there for a change?
DON'T just head to the gym and go through the motions

7) Next year: Have a moment of reflection. What did you do with the last 12 months? Where did you start? Where did you finish? Are you in a better place physically than you were 12 months ago? How do you intend to improve again? What is your new "Why"? Get a focus for the year ahead and plan it out with micro plans of 1-3 months that will take you to your end goal stage by stage with no chance of failure.
DON'T just do next year what you did this year - life's too short!

8)Life: If you want to have a successful year ahead in terms of improving your health then it's important to have all other areas of your life in balance such as your work, family and other commitments. More often than not people struggle with results as their health isn't a REAL priority. They may say it is, but they're not willing to manage other areas of their life to MAKE time for exercise and living healthily.
"I didn't have time to go to the gym this week..."
"I was in a rush at lunch so just picked up..."
"I don't have time for breakfast in the morning..."
"I had to drink as it was..."
" I'm going to struggle to make the gym next week. I'm running my kids around..."
"There aren't enough hours in the day!.."
If you say these things, your health is not your priority. You need to plan in the inevitable and figure out solutions when met with barriers.
DON'T "try" to do anything next year... just do it! Plan with accuracy and thoroughness and create a fool proof regime.

9) Alcohol: Don't focus on drinking it; focus on being aware of when you're most likely to drink it. For example, if you're planning your exercise regime for the week then consider social occasions too. Don't plan an early morning sprint session on a day when you'll be recovering from a family gathering where you might drink. Likewise, don't drink "because it's Christmas" - you're not a child; have some self control. Sure, you may drink more than normal but remember, you don't HAVE TO drink! Try saying "no", then wake up the next day and workout - you'll be glad you did it. Just be realistic with your plans and don't instantly let lose on the alcohol.
DON'T see Christmas as a green light for daily drinking!

10) Embracing your surroundings: In my opinion, there is no better time of the year to get outside look around and listen to what's around you. Reflect on the year gone by, think about the year ahead and be grateful for what you have and how fortunate you are. Go for a walk, discover somewhere new, enjoy scenery and spend time absorbing your surroundings. Life can be very go-go-go... stop... be aware!
DON'T sit in all Christmas eating chocolate and watching repeats of Christmas films or playing with your newest toy!

PART TWO: 10 x 10 min workouts...

NB: ALWAYS take time to warm up first though with either a lower intensity of the exercise you're about to do such as tempo runs before sprinting or a mobility flow such as the two on the links below before doing resistance work. The warm up may last only a few minutes but it's necessary to get the most from your 10 minute workout.
Mobility Flow 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1cpIOjiVs4
Mobility Flow 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cnMTfq_ON4

WORKOUTS: 1) 10 x "1 minute 100's" : Run 100m in 15-17 seconds, turn and immediately jog back to the start in the remainder of the minute (ie: 45 sec jog if the sprint took you 15 secs), try to keep an eye on the time so that you make it back on time. When the second minute starts, turn and sprint again. Do this 10 times - much harder than it sounds.

2) Tabata Push and Core: Set your timer up for Tabata Intervals: 20 secs work, 10 secs rest x 8 (4 mins total). During the 20 second working periods alternate between these exercises:
A1) Push Ups and Tuck (as you perform the push up, during the upwards "push" motion lift one knee and raise it towards the wrist on the opposite side of your body, drop into the nxt push up with both feet on the floor and this time, as you push raise othe other knees under the body and across to the opposite wrist) Similar to exercise 3 here (link) but with push ups in between
A2) Plank and Reach https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAzQqEF50PE

B1) Shoulder Press Push Ups (push ups with your feet standing nearer your hands to create an upside down "V" shape with your body. Lower the top of your head towards the floor rather than your chest) Exercise 10 here (Link)
B2) Frogs Exercise 12 here (Link)

3) Short Running intervals: Set your GymBoss or interval timers to sound every 15 seconds. Simply run as fast s you can for 15 seconds, walk for 15 seconds trying to slow your breathing as much as possible in that time. It might be necessary to break this into 2 x 5 minute blocks with a short rest between.

4) Tabata Pull and Core:
A1) Pull Ups or inverted row under a bar or tree or climbing frame A2) Side Plank on your left side
B1) Heavy Deadlift (find something heavy and pick it up with a flat back, heels planted flat and feet either side of the object. be creative: plant pots, logs, old Christmas trees anything "heavy".) B2) Side plank on your right side

5) Broken 1000m Row: Row 100m - Climb off and do 10 x heavy Kettlebell Swings - repeat for 10 rounds

6) Tabata - Legs and Core:
A1) Squats or jump squats (add weight if accessible)
A2) Laying Leg Raises

B1) Alternating Reverse Lunges
B2) Crawl Outs - (Link)  

7)10 x Minutes of 5 x exercises: 1) Push Ups, 2) Squats, 3) Plank 4) Walking Lunges, 5) Burpees - Twice Through with minimal/no rest

8)Tabata - Conditioning
A1) "Up/Downs" or "Suicide Push Ups" (start in a push up position climb down to a plank and then back up again as fast as you can as many times you can without your knees touching the ground) Exercise 21 here: Link
A2) Animal Crawl 2-3m Forwards and Backwards (Link)

B1) "Pop ups" - (Link)  
B2) Mountain Climbers (Link)  

9) Short variation of "Cindy" (it's a Crossfit workout"): 5 x pull ups, 10 x push ups, 5 x bodyweight squats - 10 minutes. Aim to do a round a minute every minute and you'll be doing well.

10) Walk. The easiest option going but if you at least walked every day that's streets better than the majority of the country. Add variety to it though - whether you add in some intervals, hill sprints, bodyweight exercises, combine walking lunges between regular walking, race a friend, take a dog and sprint around with them, whatever you do, just try to be active.

So there you have it - 10 things to focus on and 10 EASY to fit in workouts. You're telling me you can't sacrifice 10 minutes from your day?

You must REALLY want to be fit and healthy! (sarcasm intended!)

PRIZE for anyone that does all of the 10 workouts above and shares evidence of it with me (pictures along the way). I mean it - I'm offering to reward you for putting aside 10 minutes of your day! How easy is THAT!?...

Hope you found this useful. Feel free to share with your friends, family and networks.

Have a lovely break from Christmas... but not from life! Until next year....

Don't forget to follow me on Twitter  @MichaelD_PT and YouTube

"Have yourself a very merry (healthy) Christmas..."

It's that time of year again, your house is lined with chocolates, your fridge stuffed with food and the cupboard over-flowing with alcohol.

What can you do about it? Go completely without and constantly say "No thank you." ?... Unlikely.

While the heading of this blog might be a little misleading ("healthy"?..) here's a few ideas that you can try to focus on to make sure that all of your hard work in 2012 wasn't a complete waste of time. Remember, "Even when you're being bad, be good."

EXERCISE:
Lets get it right - you should NOT stop exercising over Christmas! In fact, you probably have more free time and rest time than during your normal week. Get outside, get moving and be active. Even if it's a long walk over varying terrains one day, be creative. Many gyms will close for Christmas so you'll need to use your imagination. Get outside, wrap up and at least do some interval running and bodyweight exercises: If you're working with just your bodyweight here's 21 exercise ideas: 21 BODYWEIGHT EXERCISES 

Or if you live anywhere near a kids park, here's a decent workout you can try:
PARK WORKOUT

DON'T leave it until late in the day. Something will come up, a film will come on, a family member will come round, a game will come out, you'll drink alcohol, you'll get too comfy at home or you'll fall asleep. Get it done early and spend the rest of your day enjoying yourself with family.

BREAKFAST:
So there's a packet of celebrations already open in the morning - this is no excuse. Don't fall at the first hurdle and head for chocolates - start your day right. Make sure every breakfast has 20g + protein content as a starting point. If you want to join in with a nice cooked breakfast that is being shared in some format, load up on the meat and eggs portions and avoid toasts, cereals and fruit juices. No one will even notice but you can be safe in the knowledge that you're not spiking your blood sugar levels and encouraging fat retention from the get-go.

SNACKS:
Stock up for the winter - before it gets too near to Christmas I'd recommend stocking up on protein powder and small snack protein bars. PhD diet whey bars are tasty, deceptively filling and will give you a little taste of green tea and CLA to help keep fat cells mobilised and minimise fat storage (not to say it's a free for all and you should eat as you please). Also a "blend" shake can be a great way to get a sweet fix, add nutrients to your day and keep you full while maintaining energy levels. Eating chocolate will add sugar, give you peaks and drops in energy levels, encourage fat retention and also take a long time to fill you up meaning you continue to reach for more. A blend shake will give you a chocolate fix but digest over a longer period to avoid these issue.

CHRISTMAS DINNER:
No issues with loading up on Turkey and other meats. Use self control for portion control when it comes to: Potatoes, stuffing and other High GI carbs. Drink water before and during your meal - not alcohol.

THE ALCOHOL THING:
Firstly, do NOT mis-read this and think the following suggestions are "good for you" - we're talking damage limitation. If you're intent on having a drink then these are the less "bad" options. NOT "good for you" options. Bloody Mary, Vodka & Soda and Guinness made this list - 9 drinks options here: http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2012/07/the-nine-healthiest-alcoholic-drinks/

FURTHER DAMAGE LIMITATION:
There are a few supplements available that are designed to keep your immune system strong, limit damage caused to the liver by alcohol, minimise fat consumption from food and keep bodily functions working full throttle in order to maintain energy levels and digest food efficiently. Multivitamins, milk thistle, CLA, electrolytes and plenty of water usually come top of the list.

SELF CONTROL AND PLANNING:
The main two things that you'll need in order to not let Christmas ruin your hard work is self control and planning. You might not be able to eat what you want "because you fancy it". Instead being aware of what you're eating and what you're likely to eat that day should impact each meal. ie: If you have a big Christmas dinner coming up and friends coming over for a drink, be aware of this when selecting snacks and lunch choices.

Likewise, planning in your training, planning meals and structuring your day rather than just seeing what happens is the only way that you'll be able to stay on track in some form. Look ahead and plan the Christmas period. When do you have social engagements? When are you likely to be out all day or with visitors? When might you feel a little tired or worse for wear? These will all impact your training structure for the week. If you're pushed for time, don't be afraid to go for a quick 20-25 min interval run or some form of bodyweight circuit at home.

SLEEP:
As I have said in many blogs, the importance of sleep is heavily under-rated. Christmas can be a great time to get an early night, or lay in, or nap during the day. Try out short naps at various times and see what impact they have on your mood, appetite and energy levels. You may uncover something that you want to try and use regularly during the year - even if it's only practical to do so at the weekends.

SNACKS:
If your home is anything like mine then there will be more chocolates around your home than every before. You might find yourself enjoying a mini chocolate at breakfast time but try to create some simple, tasty and more nutritious snacks that you can eat while everyone else is reaching for the chocolates and snacks.

EASY RECIPE:
- 2 x cups of oats
- 3 x scoops of chocolate whey
- 1 tbl spoon organic crunchy peanut butter
- 1 cup water
- handful of raisins
- large sprinkle of flaxseed (optional)

Stir well in a bowl, move into baking tray and place in freezer for 2 hours + for a cheeky chocolate oat and protein pieces - great snack for a little protein and keeping you full between meals but still getting your chocolate fix.

Christmas time is a time when families and friends are much more readily available so it can be easy to completely neglect your lifestyle of clean eating and exercise. Planning and structuring your days ahead of time is the only solution.

BUT... make sure you enjoy it - Christmas comes but once a year.

Follow me: www.twitter.com/MichaelD_PT

www.Youtube.com/user/BigmikePT

MAY: It's my birthday - Top fitness gift ideas...

("Surprise Present Man" - *NOT ME*)

So this month I turn twenty.. something. *COUGH* Anyway... according to my own mother, I'm notoriously difficult to buy for.

I figured, this must be the case for lots friends and family of those interested in exercise when birthdays, Christmas and other days come around. SO.. here's my top 13 ideas for fitness related gifts, for those fitness people in your life.

NOTE: This IS a hint for presents for my birthday. ALSO NOTE: I have all of the below :-) Think again!

TRX - A great way to add variety to your workouts, train anywhere you want to and add a core strength and joint stability aspect to any exercise. Endless exercises and exercise variations if you're a little creative. A great way to take your training anywhere - inside or out, as anyone who has read my blog before will know from my "Working Out Abroad" section...

Gym Boss - Smart little interval timer which allows you to add intensity to a workout and get a short and effective session. Can also be attached to your shoe and vibrate so that you can still wear your headphones as you train - neat!

Sennheiser Headphones - Seeing as I just mentioned them, these are my choice. They really block out other sounds, music or people trying to talk to you but mainly of use in the gym as they wrap around the back of your head out of the way and fixed so that they can't fall out - real handy!

iPod Shuffle - On the music front, if you like your own music in the gym or need a really easy way to workout and not let your music get in the way, here's my suggestion. This thing is about the size of a USB stick and stores thousands of tracks so you won't get sick of your "Gym Playlist". Neat little clip allows you to attach to any item of clothing neatly out of the way - no need to wear one of those iPod arm straps either...

Bobble Bottle - It's a water bottle. But, not just ANY water bottle. It looks slinky and modern but also contains a funky little carbon filter. this means that you can get filtered water on the go. Just fill it up and let it filter as you drink it. They last around 300 uses so a comfortable 6 month and at around £12 for the mid-sized bottle thats a HUGE saving when compared to shopping for bottled water. Colourful too! I have a few and most of my clients do too - I love them! (the bottles that is)

Resistance Bands - I've gone for BodyLastics as I like that you can attach all of the bands to one pair of handles. You can gradually add them and create a very significant level of resistance. BodyLastics also come with a convenient carry bag, exercise ideas and a lifetime warranty. They can be taken anywhere, used for home training and also added to existing gym workouts for variety...

Heart Rate Monitor - There's plenty of options out there and and they range hugely in terms of what they're capable of and also their cost. Most popular brands are Garmin and Polar. Depending on which model you choose, your watch can count the calories burnt during a workout, tell you the distance you travelled during a run, compare your performance and effort level between workouts and much more...

Gripads - These are a great little addition to your workout if your grip ever lets you down. Useful for any pulling and back exercises and handy to avoid calluses. The sticky front also makes them much better than many pads I've seen before (though it can tear slightly on rough/olympic bars). DON'T wear them for every exercise though, it's not necessary. Plus the stickiness will actually have a negative impact; there's something to be said for getting a real "feel" of the weights. Stick to just the "pulling" exercises...

Nike Free Run Trainers
Now I'm no runner. Nor do I claim to be an expert on footwear. In fact, I like to wear no shoes at all lots of the time in and out of the gym. But... what I do know is these are some of the most lightweight and comfortable kicks I've ever owned. Think they look decent too. That's all...

Weighted Vest - This is my best purchase of 2011... actually it was a present but that's not important. Adding a weighted vest makes any body weight exercises instantly harder. Also great for added resistance during circuit training and any outdoor, gym free workouts. TIP: Though they can be a little more expensive, try to get one with elasticated to avoid movement restrictions or breaking the vest (it's possible, trust me)...

Powerbags - To most people these will look like a sandbag. But, if your loved one has been exercising for a while (particularly with a sports background) they will hopefully have some ways that they could use one of these. Great for outdoor workouts again but also a great way to perform a number of full body exercises. If you're unsure, there's plenty of ideas and information on YouTube. They range greatly in weight so what you plan on doing with them and your strength level will determine what weight you need. Don't expect to use the same weight as you would with a regular barbell...

Kettlebells - Not the 4kg one though yeah? - To look at them, it's not immediately obvious how these would offer you one of the most effective methods to build dynamic strength, burn body fat, improve coordination and use full body exercises. But learn a little and they really can. There's nothing "new" about kettlebells, but they are becoming more and more mainstream. Avoid plastic/rubber ones - the metal ones won't hurt you (once you master the technique). Try to get the big ol' colourful "competition kettlebells" as shown below...

FatGripz - Grip is one of the keys to a successful workout and, in many exercises such as pull ups and deadlifts, surprisingly grip can be the determining factor for failure. If you don't have a strong performing exercises to your potential is just not possible. Plus, if you take part in a number of sports, strong forearms and grip can have a huge benefit; anything from rugby, wrestling, cricket, tennis, golf... loads! Out and out forearm/grip training can be a little dull. So, simply chuck a pair of FatGripz on any bar, dumbbell or grip/attachment and instantly add an advanced grip element to any any exercise...

 

So there you have it, my top 13 fitness figt suggestions. Not based on advertsing or hearsay. These are all great products that I've purchased myself, found great use from, enjoyed and will continue to use myself and with clients.

Don't forget to follow me on Twitter (@MichaelD_PT) and subscribe to my videos on YouTube