This week I’ve also made progress on my logo so I’m hoping that Joey will be looking bright and eye-catching really soon…green, blue & pink circles will be appearing shortly…

Other things that rocked my week included:

• finally cutting the grass which was over a foot high
• making fabulously healthy, gluten free rhubarb and apple muffins
• seeing Dexy’s (as in Midnight Runners!) on TV & hearing them on the radio the following day – took me back 30 years!
• staying in bed until 10.50am on Sunday – and then in my pj’s until 2.30pm….haven’t done that for as long as I can remember
• joining in with the boxing session at 6.15am on Monday – my abdominals have been feeling it ever since!
• and of course, seeing all your happy faces during the week

What rocked your week – other than coming to train with me, of course?!!

Sweatshop 20% discount:

To celebrate being voted ‘Best Retailer’ by readers of Running World magazine (for the 6th year), Sweatshop have an in-store discount of 20% off non-sale goods all weekend – click here for further details. Whether you need new footwear, fitness clothing or maybe a Tiger Tail it looks like Sweatshop is the place to go this weekend.

Health & nutrition blogs that I like:

I thought you might be interested in some recent blog articles which have caught my eye so I’ve shared a few links below -

• detoxifying recipes for spring from Natural Wellness Girl
• myths & truths from Chris Kresser
• wheat: opiate of the masses? by Dr John Briffa
• the carbohydrate tipping point by Metabolic Effect
• 50 bodyweight exercises you can do anywhere by Greatist

Bootcamp update:

I’ve been asked several times this week if it was really only week 2. Not sure if I’ve been extra tough on you or whether you were thinking that it wasn’t hard enough for week 2?? Either way, it really was week 2 and next week will definitely be week 3…so that means more impact, more CV & just generally more!

I’m hoping that we get some nicer weather for Tuesdays so we can do Fitness Pilates on the right day – if it’s wet I’ll swap the session to another day as we did this week. If it keeps on raining on Tuesdays I might rearrange the timetable altogether and have FP on a different day but I’ll keep you posted either way.

Here’s what you have to look forward to:

6.15am @ DCPS:

• Monday – PHA & pulse-razors (mats & DB)
• Wednesday – ME (mats & DB)
• Friday – 5-up (mats & DB)

9am @ Benenden:

• Monday – ME Transformation (mats & DB)
• Tuesday – Fitness Pilates with bands - fingers crossed for sunshine (mats)
• Wednesday – Metabolic circuit 3 (mats)
• Thursday – ME (mats & DB)
• Friday – Body shock (mats & DB)

There’s been a few absent bootcampers this week – especially at 6.15am (you know who you are!) so it would be great to see you back again next week…there was a discussion this morning about how tempting it is to stay in bed but how much better you feel when you get up and get to bootcamp instead. If that sounds familiar to you make sure you get up and at it next week…I promise you won’t regret it x

That’s all from me – I’m sure I’ll think of something later on that I meant to include, in which case I’ll sneak back on and add it and you’ll never know…

Finally, you may guess that I really like cake so here’s a fitting picture that I saw today – it’s just so true!

Have a wicked weekend – see you on Monday Jx

But on a positive note I almost didn’t get rained on at all this week so that must mean it’s nearly summer! I’m particularly looking forward to clear blue skies on Sunday so that I can attack my overgrown garden (the grass hasn’t been cut since last July so it’s long overdue…)

This week I have also discovered the joy of baked rhubarb (thanks to AB) and I’m going to try using it in some kind of cake this weekend. I will let you know how it goes.

This week I have also become a parent again – this time to 2 baby guinea pigs who have joined Hamish in the dining room/petting zoo at my house! They are still very shy so no photos yet but they are making their presence felt with their endless ‘singing’ every time a scary person enters the room…

Mobility matrix:

Following from last week’s news update I realised that I had missed out one part of mobility matrix 1 so I have added version 1a here so that you can decide which one you prefer. The first copy excluded the shoulder rolling exercises; the second copy has these in but excludes the hand & wrist mobility exercise so that I could still fit it all onto 2 sides of A4.

• Mobility matrix 1a

I’ve also created a seated version that you can do at your desk if you are office-bound a lot of the time – don’t worry if you get some funny looks from your colleagues, just get them to join in too!

• Seated mobility matrix

Don’t worry if you are getting some creaks and clicks when you are following the mobility matrix – the idea is to decompress restricted areas of the body and there will be some areas that are more dysfunctional to start with. Just make sure you are not forcing the moves – remember they should feel like hard work but not painful. They will get easier as your mobility improves so make sure you try to do them twice a day.

Healthy eating for the weekend:

Here’s a couple of recipes from www.personalpaleocode.com:

• meatballs & courgette spaghetti
• Chocolate brownie fudge balls

Hope you like them

Bootcamp updates:

From my point of view the bank holiday change worked really well this week so I would like to follow the same pattern next time if that is ok for everyone concerned? We had a great turn out (20 of you!) at 9am on Monday so there was a real buzz on the field in Benenden – thank you for putting up with all the mud – hopefully it will be slightly drier under-foot by June 4th. If you are an early bootcamper and want to keep both sessions on bank holidays please let me know.

So week 1 has been and gone – sadly no Fitness Pilates on Tuesday but we’ll try again next week – I figure the sun has to shine sometimes on a Tuesday??

Week 2 will be action-packed and a little more dynamic but remember you need to listen to your body – if the higher impact moves aren’t right for you, take the lower-impact options – you will still get a great workout and avoid unnecessary aches & pains. Remember it doesn’t have to feel bad to be doing you good!

Next week looks a bit like this…I can’t be totally certain because the plan is sitting in my van, which is not outside my house – I’ll update this as required tomorrow when I have retrieved it.

6.15am @ DCPS:

• Monday – Boxfit (mats)
• Wednesday – ME transformation (mats & DB)
• Friday – Metabolic overdrive (mats)

9am @ Benenden:

• Monday – ME transformation (mats & DB)
• Tuesday – Fitness Pilates
• Wednesday – Partners (mats & DB)
• Thursday – ME (mats & DB)
• Friday – Broken burpees & upper body toning (mats & DB)

So that’s all for this week except to say good luck & have fun if you’re running a 10k, Moonwalking around London or cycling around Scotland this weekend. I’m off to give my bike a quick once-over and dust off my cycling shorts….!

I’ll leave you with a graphic reminder of why you need to drink enough water:

Jane x

In the words of Yoda “a great week I hope you have had”…!

Unusually I haven’t signed up to any courses this weekend so I’m going to make sure I take some time off on Saturday afternoon and try to take the whole day off on Sunday… My plans include time in the garden, a trip to Sweatshop for some new trainers, a trip to the cinema (Salmon Fishing in the Yemen) & I’m sure I’ll squeeze in a few more episodes of ER along the way! Whatever you’re doing this Bank Holiday weekend, I hope you get chance to relax and re-charge your batteries.

Mobility matrix 1 & 2:

You might have noticed this week that we have been doing some funky mobility work at the start of each session? These simple routines were part of the course I was on last weekend and I couldn’t believe how much they helped to reduce my neck & shoulder tightness so I decided to include them with every workout.

The idea is to mobilise and decompress all the joints in the body so that your body moves more efficiently when you start to exercise. Over time the joints in the body become dysfunctional as a result of repetitive movement patterns in your working day (driving, gait pattern, sitting at the computer, carrying a bag across one shoulder, wearing high heels / badly fitting trainers, holding the telephone between your ear and your shoulder, etc, etc). Although your body is able to move in many different ways, repeatedly carrying out a task in the same way will lead to muscle imbalances and joint dysfunction.

Your body is a kinetic chain, which means that movement (and restriction) at one joint will affect movement (and restriction) at another higher up or lower down the chain. These mobility exercises aim to redress the balance and get the body working better – think if it as getting all the joints in your body to shake hands with every other joint in the body, instead of just being friends with the joint next door…

You will get best results if you follow mobility matrix 1 or 2 on a daily basis so I have included them both here so that you can get started straight away:

• Mobility matrix 1 (this one requires no equipment and takes 8-12 minutes)
• Mobility matrix 2 (this one requires a broom handle & can be completed in 6-8 minutes)

Give them a try and let me know how you get on.

Nettle warrior:

This one is strictly for the slightly mad!! (This is me when I did it last – don’t be fooled by the smile on my face!)

I received an email this week reminding me of something I did a few years ago & I thought I would put it out there in case any of you fancy a barking mad fitness challenge in July?

The Tough Guy ‘Nettle Warrior’ event comprises of a 7km assault course with an optional 12km cross-country run beforehand. For assault course think barbed wire, tunnels, water, burning hay bales, electric fencing, zip wires, mud, high wires & much, much more…

Visit the Tough Guy website where you can find out all the details of the 15th anniversary Nettle Warrior. Let me know if you decide to give it a go?!

 Soft Power Education:

I had another email today which took me back 4-5 years when I was very fortunate to visit Uganda & get involved with a really fabulous education charity in Bujagali. They’ve just put together this short video about volunteering and I wanted to share it with you because a) it is a place and a charity very close to my heart and b) you might want to spread to word to anyone looking for an awesome  volunteering experience.

I hope you enjoy it.

Spring cleaning??

Abigail (one of our 9am bootcampers) has a daughter, Rosie, who is starting out as a play therapist working with children in Tunbridge Wells. She is trying to collect used toys to take to the school and would be grateful for any donations.

If you have any suitable toys (not board games) that you no longer need you can bring them to a 9am bootcamp session or email me so that I can give you Abigail’s phone number so that you can arrange to get them to her.

Why not use this as an excuse to do a bit of spring cleaning over the weekend? It’s a win:win situation - you get a tidy house and the school gets much needed support.

Bank holidays:

Following a lack of response to the question in last weeks email, we took a vote this morning on the future of 6.15am bootcamp sessions on Bank Holiday Mondays.

It has been decided that there will be no early session at 6.15am on Monday next week. Instead, the 9am session will be a combined session for all bootcampers – spouses welcome for a free session if you want to bring them along to see how hard you work…?

The super-circuits class will take place as usual at 7pm in the Sports Hall at DCPS – the gates should be open but if not just come onto the site via the side road (and ignore the no entry signs in the school grounds).

I will review future early Bank Holiday bootcamp sessions after next week so please let me know your thoughts. I am more than happy to continue as previously if there are enough of you who still want to get up early on a Bank Holiday!

Next week at bootcamp:

Yay! You survived week 4 so next week you can look forward to less impact, less intensity (& hopefully less mud?!) in week 1.

Here’s what’s in store for next week:

6.15am @ DCPS:

• Monday – have a lie-in and come to the 9am session!
• Wednesday – ME (mats & DB)
• Friday – Core conditioning (mats & DB)

9am @ Benenden:

• Monday – ME transformation (mats & DB) – bring your spouse for free!
• please ask them to fill in my health questionnaire first & bring a set of DB if they have any
• Tuesday – Fitness Pilates (mats)
• Wednesday – low impact accumulator (mats & DB)
• Thursday – ME (mats & DB)
• Friday – Short circuit (mats)

That’s everything from me this week - I’m off to scour the internet for inspiration for my logo design…one day I’ll have something on the van to make it stand out from the crowd!

HAGW

J x

I’m going to try to be brief this week…I’m on another course this weekend so I need to get everything organised and get some food prepared ready for breakfast & lunch on-the-go both days.

In between the 6.15am & the 9am bootcamps this morning I made a quick batch of apple and sultana muffins so they are in the freezer ready to take out & defrost for breakfast on the train – they were dead-easy to make and taste great (I blitzed 4oz butter, 2oz coconut oil and 6oz organic raw cane sugar together until light & fluffy; beat in 3 organic, free-range eggs; sieved and then added 6oz brown rice flour (naturally gluten free), 2 tbs hemp protein powder & 1 heaped tsp baking powder; finally I stirred in a large handful of sultanas and 1 peeled and chopped cooking apple & dolloped spoonfuls into paper muffin cases; they took about 15-20 mins at 180 degrees C) – an easy, healthy way to start the day if you don’t want to eat anything too heavy first thing.

For my lunches I’ve got cooked chicken in the fridge and I’ll make up a big batch of salad so it’s ready to pack and go (spinach; rocket; baby tomatoes; grated beetroot, courgette, carrot & celeriac; avocado; pine nuts…& anything else I find in the fridge!) Although it takes a bit of time to plan & prepare ahead I always feel better for eating healthy meals while I’m on a course – it helps me to manage my energy levels and keep my head focused and it helps me to resist sugary snacks/cake/chocolate along the way…

Last weekend I was on a course to learn the Hypopresive Method which uses postural and breathing techniques to reduce intra-abdominal pressure with the aim of achieving involuntary contraction of the abdominal wall & pelvic floor muscles. The techniques were not always easy to master and it was a bit of a roller-coaster course for me but by day 2 I was feeling much better with it and starting to get to grips with the breathing pattern & postures. It was really exciting to be one of the first 9 UK trainers to do the course & I will begin to include elements of the training into sessions over the coming weeks, initially in one-to-one sessions, but later to my group sessions too so watch this space!

This weekend I am back in London adding another layer to the Kinetic Chain Assessment training I have done this year so I’ll be back on Monday with loads more ideas to ensure that you get the best results form your training sessions with me…I can only imagine how excited you must be feeling reading this!?!

There are loads of people in the fitness industry who have influenced me over the last 17 years and I would definitely list Rachel & Alwyn Cosgrove amongst them. Exciting news this week is that they both have something new on the market:

• Alwyn Cosgrove’s latest book ‘The New Rules of Lifting for Life’ is now available on pre-order at Amazon – the book offers a customizable-and realistic-fitness program specifically created for midlifers who want to lose weight, revitalize energy, and build habits for increased longevity. It isn’t out until September but you might want to add it to your wishlist or pre-order it now – it’s going to be a really good book.
• Rachel has just launched her ‘Sleek/Strong’ program and it is your FREE on You Tube – she has set up a fantastic video workout for you to follow at home and there will be new exercises added every week as you progress – you can check it out here.

Bootcamp update:

I’m happy to report that week 3 was not quite so wet as week 2 – although the early bootcampers had an uncharacteristically wet session on Wednesday – not that I was too bothered because I was under shelter from the roof over-hang!! If it’s any consolation I more than made up for it at 9am when we all got truly soaked…I’m now driving around with a whole wardrobe of fitness clothes in the van so that at least I can get dry again before I go on to see my next client after bootcamp. I heard this week that it’s going to rain for the whole of May – let’s hope it doesn’t start until after 10am each day??

So next week we’ll be into week 4 and the Annihilator is back for some of you…

6.15am @ DCPS:

• Monday – 50>10 with laps (DB & mats)
• Wednesday – ME transformation (DB & mats)
• Friday – The Annihilator (DB & mats)

9am @ Benenden:

• Monday – ME transformation (DB & mats)
• Tuesday – Fitness Pilates with bands (mats)
• Wednesday – The big 5-0 (mats)
• Thursday – ME (DB & mats)
• Friday – Power 50/10 (mats)

Bank holidays:

Previously bootcamp sessions and super-circuits have run as usual on bank holiday Mondays so that you do not lose any sessions over the summer. However, as there were so few attendees for the 6.15am session last bank holiday (and as so many early bootcampers came along at 9am instead) I wonder how you would feel about me offering only one bootcamp session in Benenden at 9am on bank holiday Mondays from now on? I figure that it would give all of us a chance of a lie-in but still give you the opportunity to exercise. I would still run the super-circuits session at 7pm so you could also come to to that if you were unable to come along at 9am?

If you have a strong view either way, would you perhaps let me know so that I can confirm it with you next week. Thanks.

Finally…

A few weeks ago I pre-ordered a greens drink which is brand new to the market, and it arrived yesterday! So if you see me drinking something slightly weird next week, it’s not swamp juice it’s ’Lean Greens’ – I’ll let you know how I get on with it over the next few weeks.

I’ll also be repeating the Nature’s Sunshine healthy starter pack cleanse program next week so watch out – soon I’ll be bursting with health & vitality

Whatever you’re doing this weekend, have fun!

Jane x

Never have I wanted to run bootcamp less than on Tuesday morning at 9am. Now I honestly quite like being out in the rain, but even I wasn’t excited about bootcamp on Tuesday! I drove there certain that no-one would show up in that weather and wondered where I might go for a coffee (green tea) to kill an hour before my next client. In spite of the hideous weather I was secretly delighted to see 3 dedicated bootcampers prepared to get very, very wet in the name of fitness – I salute you ladies! You know who you are!!

As for the car/van…one has a rather detached engine and the other has a leaking fuel line One doesn’t matter but it would have been a useful back-up next week – the other will hopefully be fixed (at least temporarily) within the next hour or so… I love cars when they work – but isn’t it tedious when they don’t?! (Update: van now happily back outside my house, leak stopped for the time-being – thanks to DW!)

The course is yet to happen – who knows it might even be better than the cake… This weekend I will be learning a technique called ‘hypopresives’ which concerns the diaphragm and pelvic floor. I might need some bodies to practice on next week….!

Gadget of the week:

I bought myself a ‘Tiger Tail’ a couple of weeks ago. It’s basically a cross between a rolling pin and a foam roller and it’s great for releasing fascial knots and trigger points. The muscles of your body are wrapped in fascia and all the fascia link to connect the whole body (think of the muscles as sausage meat and the fascia as the skin).Tightness in the fascia can cause pain around the body and stretching will not help because the tissue is often knotted rather than just being taut. Think about what happens if you stretch a piece of string with a knot in the middle of it…that’s what happens when we stretch knotted tissues in the body.

These knots, or trigger points, can cause dysfunctional movement patterns, pain, limited flexibility and impaired performance & quality of life. The easiest way to deal with knots or trigger points is to roll them out over a foam roller, but many people find this uncomfortable and cumbersome to do, and a foam roller takes up quite a bit of space.

The Tiger Tail is a hand-held roller which you can use on yourself or on others and it is an ideal way to target fascial tightness. If you are suffering from any tightness around the body (which almost everyone will be) I recommend that you invest in this handy gadget. You can find out more information here or visit www.tigertailUSA.com for details of this and other products in the range. It is available on Amazon and from Sweatshop online if you would like to buy yourself one.

Dehydration:

I touched on this a few weeks ago but it kind of goes with the subject of fascial tightness so i thought I’d add in another reminder. Ideally we should drink 1 litre of water per 50lbs of body weight per day. If you also drink coffee, tea or alcohol, all of which are diuretic, you will probably need to drink more water than this to keep your body hydrated.

A hydrated body provides a healthier environment for the billions of cells from which it is made and it will also help to prevent fascial tightness. If you don’t believe me try this simple trick if you have tight hamstrings:

• lie down on your back and extend one leg towards the ceiling, bringing it as close to your torso as you can without lifting the hips or bending the knee
• observe what range of movement you have and how the leg feels
• drink a litre of water (you can stand up first!!) and then repeat the same test

Did you get a different result? Did the stretch feel easier? Could you increase the range of movement the second time?

Try drinking at least 1/2 litre or water before your training sessions for the next few weeks and see if you notice that your flexibility and muscle tone increases.

If when you start to increase your fluid intake you notice that you are running to the toilet too often, try adding a tiny pinch of sea salt to each glass as this will help you to absorb the fluid more easily – you should not be able to taste the salt!

Bootcamp next week:

We are moving into week 3 so things may start to get a little more dynamic. Please remember that you should always take things at your own pace - what’s right for another person will not necessarily be right for you so listen to your body regardless of which week we are on.

The ME transformation sessions seem to be going down well & I’m glad that you are all pushing yourselves through this intense version of the class. However, please remember it is ‘rest-based’ training – meaning that you will get best results if you strive to push yourself to the point where you need to take quick rests throughout the class. I know this is still an alien concept to some of you but your fitness and fat-burning capacity will improve if you can push harder and rest more rather than coasting through the whole class at a comfortable pace with comfortable weights. I’ll leave that thought with you…

So next week looks like this:

6.15am @ DCPS:

• Monday – whole body accumulator (DB & mats)
• Wednesday – ME (DB & mats)
• Friday – Partner workout (DB & mats)

9am @ Benenden:

• Monday – ME transformation (DB & mats)
• Tuesday – Fitness Pilates with bands (weather permitting…..!!!)
• Wednesday – 45/15 circuit (mats)
• Thursday – ME (DB & mats)
• Friday – CV 40/20 (mats)

Don’t forget that super-circuits runs every Monday evening (7-8pm @ DCPS) if you are interested in an evening  class instead of your usual bootcamp or to make up any missed sessions.

Picture of the week:

Haha! Especially for my 9am ladies today – although I’m sure you all share the sentiment?!

Have a lovely weekend

Jane x

PS LAST CHANCE! Don’t forget to sign up this weekend if you want to spring clean your body!

Apologies for late post this week – sudden onset of illness on Thursday evening took a massive chunk out of my week and I’m only just starting to catch up!

I thought I’d get loads done while I was at home on Friday but actually I spent the day crying over very emotional (season ER, playing a silly game on my phone (unblock my car) & generally moping about the house in my PJ’s…not good at being poorly

I’m feeling much better now – thanks for all your messages. I’m eating again – not my usual diet at all as I’m craving sugar so I’m just giving in and eating what I feel like…so far today that means:

• several cocoa orange Nakd bars
• Lindt milk chocolate with caramel crunch
• grapes
• chicken, spinach & tomatoes
• scrambled eggs
• turkey breast
• loads of chamomile tea

Bit of an odd mixture but I promise it wasn’t all on the same plate!! I’ll start getting back to normal over the next couple of days…

Just before I was ill I had a great meeting to discuss design ideas for the tmf van & I’m super excited – can’t wait to get the design finalised and get it put on the van over the next couple of weeks. Watch this space – you won’t be able to miss me!

Active Living program:

I’ve had some enquiries this week about what my cleanse and weight-loss package entails.  The next course starts on 30th April so that you can spring-clean your body and look great for the beach this summer. Here’s a few details for you:

• the weight-loss program is all delivered online so you can access it whenever it suits you
• you get permanent access to the information so that you can repeat the program whenever you feel like you need a boost
• you don’t have to start on 30th April – pick a date that is best for you
• the package includes
• daily emails
• my online Active Living manual (delivered in week-by-week sections)
• daily meal plans including recipes and shopping lists
• your 28-day herbal cleanse pack from Nature’s Sunshine
• email & online support from me
• a weekly Skype call with me
• access to my facebook support group
• your whole family will be able to eat the same meals as you – their bodies will benefit too!

If you want to have more energy, improve your health & feel fantastic as well as seeing a drop in your body fat levels, make sure you find out more & sign up here by 20th April so that I can order your pack and get everything to you in good time.

Please let me know if you have any further questions.

Bootcamp:

I’m so sorry I had to cancel Friday’s bootcamps – I wouldn’t have done it if I hadn’t really needed to stay in bed & I also didn’t want to risk passing anything on to you. I will find a way to make it up to you…not sure how, but I’ll think of something!

Special shout out to Debby who did her own bootcamp in the back garden on Friday morning – I’m sure the rest of you did too…??

This week it’s week 2 so here’s what’s happening:

6.15am @ DCPS:

• Monday – CV & deck intervals (mats)
• Wednesday – ME transformation workout (mats & DB)
• Friday – Awesome arms & abs (mats & DB)

9am @ Benenden:

• Monday – ME transformation workout (mats & DB)
• Tuesday – Fitness Pilates (mats)
• Wednesday – alternate high/low tabata drills (mats)
• Thursday – ME (mats & DB)
• Friday – whole body accumulator (mats & DB)

That’s all I’ve got for you this week.

I’ll just leave you with this simple graphic which illustrates why your body needs Pilates…see you on Tuesday??

Hope you’ve had a great weekend – see you next week

Jane x

I hope you have all enjoyed your week off? I feel that I’ve crammed in quite a lot but not really achieved everything I set out to do…I’ve collected my van from Scotland, but not done any exercise; I’ve taken a few days off work but not caught up on any sleep; I’ve spent time with friends and family but not taken any time to study…but as they say, a change is as good as a rest & I feel raring to get back to normal from Monday.

So here’s the official tmf van – he’s looking a bit naked at the moment but will soon to be branded with tmf logo & colours:

My other, not so thrilling, activity over the past week was to buy my first ever reading glasses!! So here I am with them sitting on my nose – still haven’t got used to them but at least the headaches seem to have stopped – just need to get used to feeling old I guess?! Happily you won’t see me in them anytime soon - I think I’ll be ok to read my bootcamp notes without them!!

Another purchase this week was a set of ‘Correct Toes’ foot spacers to improve the alignment of my big toe and thereby improve my foot function. Here they are in action…

They can be worn bare-foot and inside shoes and gradually correct problem feet. If you are interested in finding out more they are available exclusively in the UK from Sam Murphy via her website: http://theemperorsnewshoes.bigcartel.com/. I’ll keep you updated over the next few weeks…

Spring clean your body:

With Easter soon to be out of the way, it’s time to start thinking about the summer months & the exposed flesh that comes with it! You can make sure that your body is beach-ready with my online cleanse and weight-loss program.

The February group have just finished the program and have all enjoyed fantastic results – one client has lost 8lbs and over 12 inches from around her body & another client has lost 8lbs in weight & 8.5 inches from around her body. Here’s what one client had to say – “The Active Living program was really easy to follow, with loads of information included and support given through the daily emails. The meal plans were great, it was just a case of being organised for the start of each week. I had minimal cravings and was never left feeling hungry. My old habits are gone and I’m continuing with what I have learnt over the past the 28 days.”

If you want to enjoy results like these, the next 28-day course starts on 30th April (or later to suit you) and all the details are available here – please share this page with any friends or family that may be interested.

Bootcamp changes:

I’ve just planned out the next four-weeks at bootcamp and I’ve made some changes to the format for the 9am sessions – I hope you’ll like the new layout:

• Mondays will now be ME transformation workouts – this is a great way to kick-start your week and get your metabolism fired-up
• Tuesdays (weather permitting!) will be Fitness Pilates sessions, which will get progressivley more challenging as the weeks go by, sometimes using equipment and sometimes not. As the weather gets warmer it will be great to do these sessions in bare feet?!
• Wednesdays & Fridays will be varied bootcamp sessions
• Thursdays will be classic ME sessions to give your metabolism another boost before you head into the weekend

I haven’t scheduled any Fitness Pilates for the 6.15am sessions but if you are an early bird and you want some ‘FP’ please let me know and I will add it for you. Wednesdays will stay as ME sessions at 6.15am but we will alternate between classic ME & ME transformation sessions each week (weeks 1&3 being classic ME).

Bootcamp next week:

Here’s your line-up for the week ahead. Don’t forget we start again on the Bank Holiday Monday and you are very welcome to bring your other half along (FOC) if they want to know what you get up to at bootcamp or super-circuits. Just ask them to fill in my online health questionnaire first.

So it’s week one – a great time to get back into it if you have missed some recent sessions and a great time for friends to come for a free trial if they think they are interested in joining us on a regualr basis…

6.15am @ DCPS:

• Monday -  low impact 30/30 (DB & mats)
• Wednesday – ME (DB & mats)
• Friday – Short circuit (mats)

9am @ Benenden:

• Monday – ME transformation workout (DB & mats)
• Tuesday – Fitness Pilates 1
• Wednesday – 5 BX (mats)
• Thursday – ME (DB & mats)
• Friday – Laps (DB & mats)

So that’s all from me for this week – see you all from Monday onwards.

If you’re eating chocolate this weekend (I’ve almost finished mine already!!) make sure it’s good quality, high cocoa solids & organic if possible.

Happy Easter from me & Hamish (my Easter house bunny)

Jane x

Apologies that I didn’t get this out to you yesterday – I got slightly side-tracked by collecting Hamish the house bunny from the vets (minus his manhood!) and then spent all evening fretting over him! Happy to report all is well now – he’s finally eating and poohing again so all is good!!

So this is going to be very short and sweet because I’m just back from day 1 of my level 2 KCA course and I’m also conscious that there’s an hour less than usual to sleep before I go back for day 2 so I thought I’d share with you some of the key things I’ve picked up today (in random order as they come back to me because my file is still in Islington)…

• I’ve learned some great new foot/ankle mobilisation techniques which I will be trying out on some hapless victims next week. I have also had them applied to my own feet with much pain and loads of tears just in case that makes you feel any better?! My feet feel so much nicer now so the pain was definitely worth it – I think!!?
• the single most important thing we can do to improve our health is to improve our diet – tbh I already knew this but thought I’d drop it in as a subtle reminder for you
• inflammation anywhere in the body (caused by dietary insufficiencies) will affect every part of the body including the ability to lose body fat or gain muscle because the body will be so busy trying to deal with the inflammation that it is unable to do anything else
• artificial sweeteners & MSG are ‘excitotoxins’ which are able to travel directly to the brain without going via the normal digestive processes in the body; they over-stimulate cells in the brain causing cell damage – which is why ‘diet’ foods and Pringles are so bad for you. In a bid to preserve my brain I’ll be trying extra hard to give up my love of sugar-free mints from now on
• adding a small pinch (not enough to taste it) of sea salt (or even better Himalayan pink crystal rock salt) to your drinking water will help to keep you hydrated for 2 reasons: a) your body can absorb the water better because it is closer to the saline levels of bodily fluids & b) when you drink water without any salt not only will it pass straight through you but it will also cause you to lose additional water from your body, leaving you even more dehydrated than you were to start with – give it a try and see how you get on.

Just looking back at that lot, apart from the foot mobilisations, you might be thinking that I’m on a nutrition course this weekend - which I’m not! It just goes to show how much impact nutrition has on overall health and the body’s ability to move well.

Tomorrow I’ll be learning all sorts of assessments for the rest of the body – knees, hips, backs & shoulders – and you can rest assured I’ll be feeding some of my new tricks into your sessions over the next few weeks.

Here’s a quick rundown of bootcamp sessions next week before I jump into a hot bath, change the clocks and take my weary feet to bed.

It’s week 4 so I’ve planned loads of energetic sessions for you this week – remember that you have a week off to recover from 2nd-8th April!

Both sessions on Friday will start with a quick re-run of the fitness test. Don’t worry if you haven’t done it before I’ll keep a record of your results so you can compare them next time around. Remember it is non-competitive – just measuring your performance now with the previous test, rather than comparing you to anyone else.

6.15am @ DCPS:

• Monday – Power 50/10 (mats)
• Wednesday – ME Transformation (mats & DB)
• Friday – Fitness test & 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 (mats & DB)

9am @ Benenden:

• Monday – Weighted metabolic circuit 4 (mats & DB)
• Tuesday – ME (mats & DB)
• Wednesday – High intensity Tabata drills (mats & DB)
• Thursday – ME (mats & DB)
• Friday – Fitness test & 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 (mats & DB)

Don’t forget that after our week off, we start back again on the Bank Holiday Monday (9th April) & as my ‘Easter egg’ to you, you are very welcome to bring your other half along to your usual bootcamp or super-circuits session on that day – assuming they want to come?! If they want to join you please ask them to fill in my online health questionnaire and submit it at least 24 hours beforehand, to make sure I get it in time.

Final reminder in case you pick this up tonight – you need to change your clocks forward by one hour tonight. Spring is here!!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend – see you on Monday

Jane x

Easter holidays:

In case you are not yet aware I thought I’d best let you know that I am taking a week off from 2nd-8th April (inc) so there will be no bootcamps, super-circuits or personal training that week. My aim is to get out and run every day and I’ll also be packing my skipping rope – but you can have the whole week off with my blessing!

Everything is back to normal from Monday 9th April which is the bank holiday Monday so please include bootcamp and super-circuits in your schedule for the day if possible. As my Easter egg to you why not bring your other half along to bootcamp that morning (6.15am or 9am) – that way they get to see how hard you work and you get to spend some time off together. Better still it will cost you nothing! If you would like to do this could you email me so that I can send them a health questionnaire in advance – it will save time of the day as well as saving a few trees worth of paper.

Butt appreciation week:

Some of my bootcampers have been talking about this (you know who you are!) and I wasn’t sure it was real but I just Googled it and found a blog post which made reference to it…so maybe it is?!

Either way, as promised following last weeks article on inhibitory stretches I have put together some exercises which focus on your glutes. Remember these muscles are hugely important as they link the lower and upper body together, giving support and structure to your skeleton. If your glutes aren’t firing properly your hamstrings, quads and lumber erector muscles will be working over-time resulting in dysfunctional movement patterns and pain.

Follow the link below to see my article on butt exercises:

• Butt exercises

Do you want a six-pack as well??

Actually you’ve got one already because it is simply the structure of the Rectus Abdominis muscles which are the most superficial layer of your abdominal wall. The problem is that we don’t get to see it unless we work really hard on finding the right balance of nutrition and the right type of exercise to target belly fat. Click here for a great article from Dr Jade Teta (of Metabolic Effect) which includes a sample meal plan and workout schedule specifically aimed at this problem area.

So that’s your butt and your belly sorted…what’s next?

Hamstrings:

If you struggle with really tight hamstrings have a look at the short videos below and try these two ‘ninja’ soft tissue release techniques. You will be amazed at how much difference they make.

Before you start, lie face up and see how far you can lift your leg off the floor (keeping it straight) and notice how your hamstrings feel. Repeat this after the soft tissue release and let me know how much better it feels…

Even if your hamstrings are not too tight, you will still benefit from these releases if you spend a lot of time at a computer or driving or if you clench your jaws while concentrating or grind your teeth at night.

Bootcamp next week:

I had a really good week at bootcamp this week (hope you did too?!) – starting with Fitness Pilates in the sunshine at Benenden on Monday and finishing with Boxfit in Cranbrook on Friday – fabulous energy all round so thank you for that.

This week is week 3 – already so soon! You can expect more cardio-vascular work more impact, more intensity & much more fun than week 2…or you can continue to pace yourself and work at your own level.

Here’s how the week will look:

6.15am @ DCPS:

• Monday – CV drills (mats)
• Wednesday – ME transformation (mats & DB)
• Friday – Bodyshock 3 (mats & DB)

9am @ Benenden:

• Monday – 5-up (mats & DB)
• Tuesday – ME transformation (mats & DB)
• Wednesday – High intensity accumulator (mats)
• Thursday – ME (mats & DB)
• Friday – Ladders & shuttles (mats & DB)

Final mention goes to anyone who is waiting for their KCA report. If I have recently carried out an assessment of you (you’ll know because I’ll have taken pictures of you standing next to my home-made plumb line!) I will try my very hardest to get your report written up and sent out this week…I have had loads of pictures taken this week showing you stretches and exercises you’ll need & I’ll be setting up a page on here showing all the corrective stuff you’ll need. Sorry it’s taken so long…but hopefully it will be worth the wait!

Next weekend I’ll be going on the level 2 KCA course so I’ll have loads more ninja tricks to share with you all soon; in the meantime I’ll leave you to release your masseter, work your butt and search for your six-pack…

Jane xx

PS if you just can’t live without chocolate make sure you only ever eat this – it is absolutely AMAZING! Thank you to Anna for introducing me to it

Welcome to you if you are new to tmf – this is my weekly blog that I put together every Friday (sometimes Saturday!) and send out so that you can keep up to date with what’s going on in with taylor-made fitness.

Exciting news this week is that there will soon be a tmf van – very, very excited (so excited I have to keep stopping to clap my hands with glee as I’m typing this!!!!) Slightly less exciting news is that it’s in Fife so I have a little road trip coming up at Easter…. Once I’ve got it home I want to get it branded so I’m thinking lime green with my logo on the sides & back. If anyone can recommend a good local car re-spraying/sign-writing company I would be very grateful – and if anyone is awesome at design and wants to throw some ideas my way that would be an added bonus?!

I saw this photo a couple of weeks ago and thought of you…!

(I don’t often like photos of myself, but I think this one looks okay – haha - I wish!!!!)

As I said last week if you can get your feet and your butt working well everything else will pretty much take care of itself (slight simplification maybe, but just to emphasise how important your butt is).  The primary muscles in the bottom are your gluteals, made up of:

• gluteus maximus which joins onto the pelvis, sacrum, coccyx and the iliotibial band which runs down the outside of the thigh to the knee
• gluteus medius which runs between the posterior upper edge of the pelvis and the top of the femur
• gluteus minimus which lies deeper and runs between the posterior lower edge of the pelvis and the top of the femur

The primary function of your gluteals is to extend and externally rotate the hip although they also play a role in abduction (leg moving to the outside) and adduction (leg crossing in front). If the gluteals are weak or dysfunctional the muscles around your lumbar spine, your hamstrings (back of the thighs) or your quads (front of the thighs) will take over and try to do their work. This in turn overloads these muscles and further weakens your glutes – it becomes a vicious cycle which can result in postural problems, knee pain and back pain.

So how can you look after your ass?

First you need to switch off any over-dominant muscles by stretching them. If you have tight hamstrings or quads try stretching them at the start or your exercise session so that they allow the glutes to kick in. I’ve included several examples here for you to try – find the one which feels most effective for you.

• Taking care of your ass!

If you want to be super-effective at loosening tight muscles, do trigger point release first (see last week’s tmf news) and then stretch…

Next week I’ll show you some great butt-boosting exercises to compliment your stretching program.

Bootcamp:

It’s been another great week at bootcamp – in spite of the nasty weather at 9am on Wednesday – and there’s more in store next week!

Week 2 brings with it the option of a little more impact and a bit more cardio-vascular output – but of course you can work at your own pace so don’t be scared…

You’ll see below that there is a new ME session – ME transformation. I snuck this in a couple of weeks ago to see what you thought and have decided to make it a regular feature. It uses the same ME ethos – ‘push til you can’t, rest til you can’ – but is structured slightly differently. You will perform each move for 1 minute (resting as necessary), repeating the whole sequence 4 times, followed by an intense cardio booster. There will be 2 rounds per session with a second cardio booster just before the stretches at the end.

As with the standard ME class format, the aim is to get your hormones switched over into fat-burning (instead of fat-storing) mode, but obviously you will increase your strength, fitness and muscle tone at the same time…AND you get to rest whenever your body says it needs to! What’s not to like??

So here’s the plan for next week:

6.15am @ DCPS:

• Monday – mixed toning 50/10 (mats & DB)
• Wednesday – ME (mats & DB)
• Friday – boxfit (mats)

9am @ Benenden:

• Monday – fitness pilates (mats) – the forecast is good but if the weather is foul I will swap this to later in the week!
• Tuesday – ME (mats & DB)
• Wednesday – CV drills & thrills (mats)
• Thursday – ME transformation (mats & DB)
• Friday – lactic legs and pulse razors (mats)

That’s all I’ve got today…have a relaxing weekend

Jane x