Sean Mcilroy PT

Miami Beach or the blacklands? What’s better?

Both have got containers, gyms and celebrities.

Also who has a better tan? Me or the gentleman to my right?

P.s I think I was the only Scotsman that stepped foot in the gym other than my brother to take this picture 🤣💪🇺🇸🔥.

The Small habits done consistently and well will get you the results. There is no rocket science to it but you have to be disciplined and repeat many of these habits daily to get where you want to be.

5 habits are listed below 🙌💪

The frustrating thing for most people is that they do these things a few times, don’t see a difference and give up and look for the quick fix.

It’s a bit like the washing, when you put £10 away every day it isn’t much at the end of the week, Infact it will probably struggle to pay your shopping but over the course of a year if you save it every day you’ll have £3650 in your pocket. Fitness is a bit like that, you might only progress a little every day, sometimes that little you can’t even see it. It’s not until you get a few months down the line you or people who know you notice these changes.

Small habits add up like this and then become the big things in your journey as without these your gains or progression wouldn’t happen.

1. Habits that will add up over time - working out for at least 20 mins per session. The more intensely you train the less you have to do but even if it’s not very intense it will all add up over time like your money.

2. Drinking 2 litres + of water per day - ensures your blood is thin enough to circulate your body without working too hard, keeps you hydrated, your skin fresh, prevents the mistake of hunger pangs and aids in food digestion.

3. Getting your steps in - it might seem trivial but if you only get 1-3000 steps per day you’ve got to eat so much better and train a lot harder to get in as good shape as someone doing 7-10 thousand steps per day. So it all adds up in the long run. The consistency is more important than intensity here as well. Instead of doing one high day so you can show everyone make sure you are doing a good amount each day to help you on your fitness joirney, along with this will come cardiovascular benefits.

4. Getting your sleep in - this allows you to feel fresh, have energy for your work, training and general life. It also allows your body to repair better than anything else. Without sleep a fit person can feel extremely uniform and their legs can feel like lead.

5. Protein consumption - this ensures your body feels full when you take in calories and also assists in building and repairing your muscles when injured or recovering from training. Especially when taken naturally through food.

UPM Caledonian Paper Health & Wellbeing Initiative

Over the last few months I have been working closely with UPM on a health & wellbeing initiative. UPM are a very successful global company who are based here in Irvine. A company who wants to take care of their staff and help them live a healthier lifestyle.

I brought in my tanita body analyser scanner each day whilst delivering one on one personal training sessions and setting each individual up with a tailored gym program for the onsite gym they have made for staff.

It was an extremely enjoyable initiative where everyone seemed keen to learn, try their best and looking for ways to improve in their lifestyle. I’d like to say a massive thank you to Sajal in particular who arranged everything, the staff who took part and sorted out my key cards etc and the people who gave me directions 🤣🙌.

I hope all who took part at least picked up something of use and if you need any further help, don’t be afraid to get in touch.

My ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) Rehab

11 months ago (top) v last week (bottom)

4 years ago I badly injured my acl and as you’ll see my quad muscles severely deteriorated. I’ve been building them over the last 11 months with football and weights but still have a bit of work to do as my non injured leg (left) is still much more muscular. According to my Tanita body analyzer my right leg which was injured has nearly 1% more fat in the right leg and 0.4kg less muscle but this is the first I’ve seen progress photos side by side and I’m happy with the change in my legs and know where I’ve got to improve.

Last year I used to strap my knee up like stone cold Steve Austin to play a game and now with the added muscle on my legs I no longer require it.

Have you had an injury you need help recovering from? Get in touch.

Free Giveaway!

Win 1 month of free circuit classes for you and a friend.

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New Trainer at SMCPT

Meet Arran 💙💪

He has a wealth of experience In health, fitness & great with nutrition. He also does online coaching as he done course over the weekend.

If you’d like to train with him get in touch 🙌💪💙.

Kayleigh’s Success Story.

Kayleigh contacted me in the last few days of October last year,her goals were to get fitter, lose weight and pass her Category A assessment for Amateur Jockeys.

Out of all the tests I’ve trained people for this was certainly the most demanding, it included things like planking for 3-4 mins, wall sit with weights for over 3 mins then balance on small wobble boards in a squat position for roughly the same time. Probably the most difficult one out of all of them was a hold between 60-90 seconds in a push up position with your chest one inch off the ground.

With a lot of blood sweat and tears, dedication and consistency I am delighted to say Kayleigh has just went and passed her Catergory A Assessment for Amateur Jockeys Permit at the first time of asking. You should be proud of yourself Kayleigh well done.

Coming from parents who were both successful jockeys and working for one of Scotlands most successful race horse trainers in Jim Goldie it was really important to Kayleigh and her career to get this passed and move on to applying for her jockey permit in the coming months or year.

If you need any help passing a fitness test, I have helped many different professions achieve their goal with a very high success rate no matter how far off they were to begin with.

Well done Kayleigh, onto the next challenge 💪

Here’s what Kayleigh had to say “I feel like I have much more confidence and knowledge with training and fitness since joining. Passing the fitness test was really important to me and I’m so happy I passed, without the guidance from the gym I would have really struggled. Now I have passed the test I can apply for my licence to ride as an amateur jockey in flat races in the UK.”

Didn’t meet your Hyrox expectations this year at Glasgow?

That’s ok, it’s not the end of the world, you’ve always got next time or maybe it’s something else. Hyrox doesn’t define fitness. Just because you couldn’t do it, when you thought you could or didn’t get as fast as you thought you would, that doesn’t mean you are not fit.

A lot of people tend to think that if you are fit, you can do any sport or fitness challenge to a high level and you’ll hammer everyone especially if you are a pt or athlete. However we all have our strengths and weaknesses like anyone else. Yes sometimes you’re just underprepared and not fit enough but sometimes it doesn’t suit your fitness and your strengths.

There are various forms of fitness, for example you could be the best 100 m sprinter in the world like Usain Bolt, one of the best athletes ever and he might not be able to do a Hyrox because usually he competes for 9-20 seconds maximum in a race and Hyrox lasts over an hour. He is an incredible anaerobic athlete but may not be the best endurance athlete which he would probably tell you himself, hence why he never barely ran a 400 m in his life.

So don’t be too harsh on yourself and don’t let the popularity contest which is Hyrox at this minute determine if you are “good enough” or “fit enough” it might just not be your event.

There are many extremely talented and fit athletes out there that Hyrox doesn’t suit. Yes it’s good to see everyone competing, keeping fit and healthy and cheering everyone on, that’s excellent but jus because you got 5 mins slower or never got that on, don’t let that define you, it’s just an event, there’s more to life.

There’s strength, speed, endurance, cardio, flexibility, agility and balance & then there is the skill sets that people possess. Hyrox you need to be a good short distance endurance runner and if you’re not you have zero chance of winning it. It’s mainly a cardio event with at least ten of the 16 events being purely cardio ( 8 x 1km runs, 1km row & 1km ski erg) and many more cardio heavily required with a combination of muscle endurance, speed and strength.

Well done to everyone who achieved what they wanted from the games and if you didn’t, get fitter and try again, improve on the skills that let you down or try something else but don’t let it define you or your fitness.

All the best

Sean 💪

Long Term Consistency Beats Short Term Intensity

Going hardcore at the gym and full on with your diet might get you the fastest results but it’s not the best way to keep results. Most people just as quickly put it all back on. That’s why it’s got to be a lifestyle change rather than a quick fix.

Small changes in your life that you are capable of realistically doing are a much better way of making your life a healthier fitter one.

It is ok however doing an initial more disciplined and unrealistic change for the short term just to get yourself a head start but then it needs to return to more realistic measures that you can maintain or else it’s a matter of time before you implode and go back to your old ways.

Trying to be perfect for a set period of time is exceptionally hard especially when you are used to living a very imperfect life regarding your nutrition, health and fitness. It’s even harder to do over a long period of time.

Into the bargain the body hates being uncomfortable and will therefore always seek comfort when the going gets tough, making the mental side of it just as tough.

It is tough to get fit and even tougher to be fit and healthy In a country that loves its junk food, take aways, alcohol and whatever else is bad for you. Hence why Mounjaro is so attractive at the minute, it’s the magic pill that provides the results without the effort or without the right foods however that-doesn’t make it the right choice for everyone. It’s the easiest but quite often the hardest path is the right path.

It’s like when people talk to me about steroids, I know I would be much stronger and much more muscular on steroids but I want to get in the best shape naturally, it’s not for me and neither is Mounjaro. Everyone is entitled to their opinion but I’ll always defend the natural way and the more healthy way for your overall health and well being. With it comes a mental strength and a knowing that you have achieved it on your own that no pill can ever replace.
Doing things the right way often requires a lot of patience, effort and discipline, a lot more than any quick fix, but it’s worth it.

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