Chris J Brown PT

Tip of the day:

If you can't lift a weight comfortably and you're jerking it up and struggling to do a full rep then you are lifting too heavy. I am seeing this way to often in the gym.

That's not to say you will never lift that weight, it just means you haven't got to that stage YET. It's all about progression.

It's not a competition, me lifting 35kg/78lb may feel heavier than you lifting the same weight and vice versa.

For example: if you lift 20kg/44lb on the bicep incline curl but struggle to do 1 full rep then you're lifting too heavy.

What you should then do is drop the weight to say 15kg/33lb then try doing a set at that weight, if you can do maybe 8 full reps at that weight and struggle on the last 2 reps then stay at that weight until you can do a full 10-12 reps (whatever your chosen rep range is) and can do it comfortably, then you up the weight on your next work out to say 17.5kg/38.5lb, it's all about small incremental changes to help you progress.

Normally I do an early January through to may-june full body detox, where I cut out: -

💥all take aways and other fast foods
💥all non essential sugars
💥all alcohol
💥all other non-essential things not needed.

But this year I start it slightly later, as it is my last few days in my 30s 😭😉 tomorrow I turn 40 I mean 25 again 😉 lol

Back end of 2022 I chose to cut out alcohol altogether, 369 days not a drop has passed my lips, I chose fitness don't get me wrong I have always been quite fit, but this was more of a personal goal to myself to push my body's boundaries to see just where I could go.

I am now probably the fittest and in the best shape I have been in probably since my teens lol but my next goal is to go a step further and cut back on my beloved sugar, no alcohol but had extra biscuits, cakes and chocolate instead 🤣😭lol

40 is the new 20.

Fitness is getting there slowly. 40 is the new 20 😉

Three years of issues with injuries and health and what ever else life has thrown at me, but now I am finally getting somwhere.

Its all about balance, what works for me will not necessarily work for you, my favourite go to resistance workout is German Volume Training (GVT) and anyone who has tried it knows how taxing it is on your body but it works 💪and if I am looking to put on size, I limit my cardio, but at the moment I am just building all round fitness.

Currently I train 5 some weeks 6 days a week doing 20/20 workouts, 20 minutes resistance training but lifting heavy with incremental weight increases week on week remember it's all about progressive overload, then I follow this with 20 minutes cardio and considering only months ago I couldn't even run 10 minutes at any pace due to injury, health and inactivity I can see I am finally making progress.

Next target is to improve the distance and the times on each, never stay the same!!

*consistency is 🔑
*always look to improve.
*everyday is a school day
*hit your protein, carb and fat goals. (Remember not one macronutrient group will make you gain or lose weight it is all about moderation)
*keep hydrated
*keep fibre at recommended levels
*Remember YOU need to find what works for YOU and YOUR family worklife balance, no two circumstances are the same and no two peoples bodies will always respond to same training progamme, what works for one will not always work for the other. Its all trial and error.

Some people run for time, some people run for distance.

I run whatever my body allows me too, before the PLANdemic I was smashing 5k in under 20minutes regularly.

Today my target was to see what I could run in 20minutes, or until my body tells me enough is enough.

Considering it is first distance run in over 3.5years I am a happy man. Yes i have done some running but they have been short sharp sprints.

Today this is all my body could take considering I am hitting that magic number of 40 too 🤣😭 I cant complain.

Next target is to improve the distance and the time, never stay the same

*Always listen your body.
*consistency is 🔑
*always look to improve.
*everyday is a school day

I am not quite at the strength and all round fitness levels that I was at before the CONv£d scamdemic, but I am getting there. Always improving.

Sometimes it isn't always about swapping and changing routines around to keep the body guessing, sometimes it is just about going back to basics and to keep the progression needle moving in the correct direction and bettering yourself each week.

How to do this? : -

*Increasing the weight, but remember if you cant do a full rep at said weight then you are going to heavy (likely to cause injury), if this is the case then decrease the weight and stay at that weight until you are comfortable at doing all reps correctly and comfortably then increase weight.

*changing rep range, instead 4x10 maybe try 5x8 or 3x15 and so on

*if it takes you 40minutes to say do a 5k run, then the next time you run you need to run it in say 38 minutes, then 35 minutes, always keep moving and improving.

*CONSISTENCY is the key though!!!
- Consistency with your eating
- Consistency with protein intake
- Consistency with fibre intake
- Consistency with water intake
- Consistency with sleep
- Consistency with daily routines
and building things into daily life
- Consistency with steps

You only get out what you put in!! If you're struggling with time but you want something hard enough i.e fat loss, muscle definition, size etc you will find time, you WILL have to make changes somewhere.

Go get it!!

I have been a bit quiet on here for a while, whilst I have been getting my own health back on track.

2022 had many ups and many targets have been smashed especially with some of the things the kids have achieved that we never thought possible, but 2022 did have a few downs as well especially with my own health problems, but🤞all that is behind me and I move on.

Today I have: -

💥Smashed my training
💥Smashed my steps around Swansea Bay
💥Smashed in my Calories and Macros
💥Smashed in my Protein
💥Smashed in my Fibre
💥Smashed in my Water, Water is my Prime 😉

💥Daily goals ✅️ completed it mate