The Full Time Worker's Guide to a Good Physique

The Full Time Worker's Guide to a Good Physique
How to keep fit despite a hectic lifestyle.

Dom Thorpe

Dom Thorpe
Managing Director and Principal Trainer

Wednesday 28 December 2011

Dom Thorpe’s Top 10 tips to get in shape in 2012



1. Set yourself a goal



Don’t try and go into to the New Year exercising blind. Take 5 minutes to sit down and work out exactly what you want to achieve. “Get Fit” isn’t a good goal. Neither is “Lose Weight”. Be more specific about what you want to achieve, so that you can monitor it effectively. Try targets such as “Increase my bicep measurement from 15 inches to 16 inches” or “Shorten my 5k time buy 2 minutes”. If weight-loss is your goal, suggest a realistic weight with a realistic deadline. A good goal would be based on losing 1lb per week. So to lose a stone you’d be looking at setting your target date of 8th April. That way you can check progress on a weekly basis and see if you need to work harder, or if you can slack off a bit. Use S.M.A.R.T Goals. They should be Specific, Measurable, Action Orientated, Realistic and Timelined. For more info on setting effective fitness goals read my previous article here.



2. Book regular exercise sessions into your diary



Without planning your exercise regime it’s very easy to find yourself at the end of the week thinking “Oh dear, I didn’t go to the gym this week”. And if you keep doing that there’s no way you’ll reach your goal. Set specific training days and times so that you know when you are meant to be working out. If, for whatever reason, you can’t make a session, reschedule it for later in the week-but ensure that you fit your specified number of training sessions into your week. Don’t go too hard if you’re just starting out. Three times per week should be sufficient. It also provides room for error. If for example your programme says Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 6.30am, but you oversleep on Monday, you can shift the whole thing back a day and go Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Alternatively reschedule your session for later in the day. Whatever you do, make sure you stick to your target number of sessions.



3. Introduce the phrases “I’ll be a bit late as I’m going for a workout first” and “I can’t tonight, I’m working out” in to your vocabulary.



To meet your goals you need to prioritize exercise. No doubt you’ll receive invitations to do other activities which won’t help you get in shape, but try to not let these replace your workouts. The two can go together easily. One method, which works for some, is the Friday evening workout before the pub. If you’re planning to train after work but your boss requests that you stay late and you don’t think that “I need to hit the gym” is a suitable excuse perhaps you can try the phrase “I’ve got a meeting with my trainer and he’ll charge me if I cancel at short notice”.



4. Find an exercise companion



If you can’t afford a personal trainer who’ll charge you if you cancel, then find a friend who shares a similar goal and try to motivate each other. It’s far easier to motivate yourself to get up and exercise if you’re meeting someone else for a workout. It may even add a little competitive edge to the process-which will have a positive effect on both of you. If you don’t have any friends who are interested in sharing your fitness goals then try a training buddy site such as http://www.sportpartner.co.uk/. You can specify your location and sporting interests but remember, it’s for training buddies not bedtime-buddies!



5. Kick start your regime with a “Dry January”



One way to seriously reduce your calorie intake is to cut out alcohol. If a “Dry January” is too much of a challenge for you then perhaps you can try to abstain during the week and only drink alcohol on Friday and Saturday. Not only will this lower your calorie intake but more importantly, it’s far easier to motivate yourself to exercise if you aren’t suffering from hangover, and have had a decent night’s sleep. I probably don’t need to highlight how many days have been written off due to a stinking hangover, and when that happens, the exercise often goes out the window too.



6. Cut out sweets and snacks during January.



Another quick way to massively reduce your calorie intake is to cut down on your sweets and snacks. For many of us, these make up a high percentage of our daily calorie intake. Try to knock your routine trips to the vending machine on the head by bringing some fruit into work with you. I often have a cup of tea with one sugar when I have a craving for something sweet as a teaspoon of sugar contains around 20 calories which is far better than my preferred option-a 500ml Dr Pepper with a Cadbury’s Double Decker (485 calories!). Alternatively try a diet drink. They contain no calories and should help satisfy a craving for something sweet.



7. For early morning workouts, try putting your exercise clothes out ready beside your bed.



January is one of the coldest months of the year and if you plan to get up before work to exercise it can be extremely challenging to get out of the nice warm bed when it’s super chilly in your room. Take 5 minutes before you go to bed to get your exercise clothes out and keep them beside the bed. That will remove one barrier in the morning. If the thought of getting into cold clothes puts you off, then pull them under the covers and snooze for ten minutes. By the time your next alarm goes off the clothes will be at body temperature which will make getting out of bed a whole lot easier. Also, setting the timer on your heating accordingly makes a huge difference. If the room is warm when your alarm goes off, getting out of bed shouldn’t be a problem.



8. Go to bed earlier



Don’t try and be a super hero. If you’re getting up to train before work, you need to adjust your bedtimes accordingly. As a Personal Trainer I get up at 5.20am most days. If I don’t get to bed by 10:20pm this early morning wake up becomes a huge struggle. I work on a 7 hours sleep basis but for some, eight hours is preferable. Whatever your perfect number of sleep hours is, work backwards and make sure you get into bed with enough time to get a good night’s sleep.



9. Don’t over-train.



One thing which can put a stop to your training regime is an injury. Injuries are very likely if you start your regime with too much intensity or at too high a frequency. A very common problem is associated with running because typically you feel like you can do it every day. Your cardiovascular system and your muscular system can tolerate a daily run however your bones and joints can’t. Bones, ligaments and tendons take longer than muscle to grow stronger and can break down if too much stress is put on them. Always have a rest day between workouts unless you’re following a well designed split programme in which case you may train two days in a row. Go too hard and you’re leaving yourself open to injuries such as shin splints, tendonitis or even stress fractures, and once you’ve been caught by one of these, your fitness regime will break down.



10. Use an electronic food diary to monitor your calorie intake



Often we think we are eating healthily yet we rarely factor in the quantity of food, which can often be much higher than it should be. It’s not as simple as “women need 2000 calories and guys need 2500” because it is all related to our height. Short people should consume significantly less calories than tall people. As a 6’1” male I’d need to have a net calorie intake of around 1950 calories to lose 1lb per week, where my net total is my intake of food and drink minus the calories I burn through physical activity. A 5’2” male however, would need to consume a net total of around 1400 calories to achieve the same goal. Keep track of your daily intake by using tools such as http://www.myfitnesspal.com/ in order to gain a realistic hold on what you’re putting in vs. what you’re putting out. It will work out what you should be eating and tell you when you are above or below that figure. You can use this as an app for your smart phone or online through their website and I guarantee it’ll reveal some surprising data about what you’re eating. I found that after a few weeks of using this tool I had a much better idea of what I needed to consume on a daily basis and didn’t even need the diary any more.



Hopefully these 10 ideas will help you on your way to a healthier and fitter lifestyle for 2012 however if you think you need extra help why not try a free taster session with a Personal Trainer from DT Training? We’ll send a mobile trainer to you at whatever location is most convenient, where they’ll deliver a full consultation and take you through an hour of one to one fitness training. Thereafter session prices start from as little as £42 per hour for a fully qualified trainer to help you achieve the body you want.



If that’s out of your budget you may be interested in our new company Personal Trainers in Training where we offer a similar service with fitness instructors who are working towards their level 3 personal trainer qualifications. You still benefit from a trainer who comes to you however, sessions start from as little as £25 per hour.