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All this good info and links below are from the ‘Modern Health Monk’ by Alexander Heyne. Many of you might know that I’ve been to see a physio, chiropractor and have orthotics in my shoes / trainers to help with a long term right lower back niggle that used to be very debilitating – now some days I forget about it all together.

I think I developed my back problem about 3 or 4 months after having our second son. I’m 6ft 2in and putting the boys in and out of car seats, changing nappies on the floors and worst of all waking up in the middle of the night in winter having to reach over and down into the deep cotbed really got it and I used to do everything on my stronger right side which is a big no no as you need to try to even out both sides.

Like with anything the more you work at something the better it gets and now my oldest son Max is nearly self sufficient which might be one reason why my back has gotten better but I also followed much of the advice in the below links which really helped and some good simple ones you can use for sitting, sleeping, lifting etc:

http://modernhealthmonk.com/fixing-lower-back-pain/

http://modernhealthmonk.com/ultimate-back-pain-guide-1/

http://modernhealthmonk.com/ultimate-back-pain-guide-2/

http://modernhealthmonk.com/back-pain-when-sleeping/

http://modernhealthmonk.com/will-a-standing-desk-fix-my-back-pain/

He has lots of other links on those pages which can take you to the areas that you need.

We’ve got just less than 6 weeks to go now to the 26.2 mile Virgin London Marathon. It took me sometime but I enjoyed planning all the training days and putting them down on paper. I will stick to that religiously and won’t let anything get in my way touch wood.

I thought I just had a few more long time consuming knackering runs to fit in but if you zoom in or can read the mileage speeds frequency volume intensity etc in the below photo that I’m going to do I’ve got lots of hard work for more 4 weeks before the easier tapering fortnight easy runs.

14 days prior and for 10 days in total I’m going to healthy FAT load.

Then I’m going to CARBO load for 3 days as based on the advice and full details in the below blog / article.

I’ll start going to bed earlier too! All roads lead to the marathon. If I don’t do sub 3 hours I won’t mind too much. Nothing will ever make me do another marathon hehe. I’m feeling quietly confident at the moment 🙂

My charity is laying on a free leg massage, wine and selection of food at the Reform Club Pall Mall ten minutes walk from my finish line. My wife and in laws will join me.

Then after that I’ll walk ten minutes towards Charing Cross Tube Station and meet some of you and my friends at the Wetherspoons Pub Lord Moon On The Mall 3.15pm onwards hopefully see you and cheers for your donations 🙂

Half term is now finished and it really is time to jump back on the horse and kickstart your fitness regime in time for spring / summer.

It has to be the mildest winter in history! The midges were out yesterday morning at 6.30am very early morning before work boot camp it was dry and 10 degrees Celsius. It was barmy. I was hot just standing around. People exercising were roasting hehe so you can’t use cold temperatures as an excuses. Even if it is cold or wet you burn more calories which is a bonus.

The mornings and evenings are getting longer / brighter and milder and March onwards it will be splendid so grab your water bottle, exercise mat and trainers and get your butt back down to the park!

No more excuses. Rome wasn’t built in a day.

You’re not going to live a longer fuller life or look or feel better by staying at home and avoiding exercise.

Exercise is great from decreasing stress and depression and can help you sleep better and especially outdoors in the fresh air in a friendly group environment you work harder and get better physiological and psychological benefits / rewards.

If you want an extra challenge jump on my super scales and do a 6 week challenge blast it out. Get the best after photos measurements and results you can. You can honestly do it with a bit of willpower.

The only person from stopping you wowing your friends, family and colleagues is YOU!

Commitment and attendance = results

Monday 17th February

Rob’s results:

Body fat 12.8%
Hydration 61.9%
Metabolic age 16* (I’m 31 years old)

I’m just into the green healthy normal zone just above […]

Source: REAL BUZZ. Let’s be honest. The appeal of shedding excess body fat is what gets many of us pulling on those training shoes and signing up for pricey gym memberships. If blasting body fat and burning calories is one of your main exercise goals, these 10 fat loss exercise tips will ensure you get the most out of every fat burning workout minute.

Don’t be fooled by the so-called fat-burning zone. This is the misguided notion that working at a lower intensity is better for fat burning than working at a higher effort level (say, for example, walking instead of running.) The harder you exercise, the more calories you will burn and it is this that really counts when it comes to losing fat.

There is no such thing as the ‘ultimate’ calorie-burning activity. Energy burned is dependent not just on the activity itself, but on how much effort you put in, how skilled you are at it, how long you do it for, and how often. So choose a fat burn exercise that you are going to do regularly and consistently. That means an activity that you actually enjoy (unless you want your workouts to involve untold misery and boredom!) and one that is practical and accessible.

Serious fat-burning activity uses the large muscle groups of the body – the thighs and bottom, chest and back. The greater the overall recruitment of muscle, the higher the calorie expenditure. So in your gym workouts, you are much better off using, say, the rower than one of those arm-cranking machines […]

You can almost smell the testosterone in the gym when men go anywhere near the weights. Some of them can be transported right back to the playground with a, ‘I can lift more than you’ mentality. But showing off in front of the mirror to no-one in particular with an impressive straight lift that causes them an injury, isn’t the worst mistake they make. Oh no. There are plenty of others…

Everyone needs a target. Whether it’s to lose half a stone or run a certain race, we all need things to aim for. So don’t fling yourself into a new hobby without any idea where you’re going with it. The reality is you will lose interest and give up after a while, because you have nothing to work towards. Women love to have a plan, from making shopping lists to targeting their wedding day and the people involved in it. Men tend to be more relaxed about life in general, but don’t make that mistake when it comes to fitness, because if you do, your gym membership or running career is destined to be short-lived.

It’s easy to get caught up in the enthusiasm of having a new hobby or enjoying a new sport. Even better if you’ve followed our advice and made a plan with proper achievable targets. However and here’s the problem – those targets are useless if they are unachievable. A lot of people say they would ‘like’ to run a marathon, but doing it is altogether different. There is no point aiming to do that, if running just isn’t for you. So be honest with […]