My Biosignature starting point, and advice for combating stress

If you were reading the blog last year, you may remember that I had a couple of BioSignature assessments in the latter stages of my competition prep: the first one about a month out from the BNBF British Finals and then a follow-up assessment just a few days before the Final.

Well, I’m not quite that close to getting on stage yet this year, but I thought I’d go and get assessed again, so my BioSignature friend Ben could help me get good and lean again for when I do step on stage!

(Small print: which will be 12 weeks today)

Please refer to my previous BioSig blog posts (linked to above) for more information about BioSig itself (or Google it) since it’s too much to go into here. A quick explanation is that it’s a skinfold test, using calipers, which assesses 12 specific sites on the body that relate to individual hormones. The result shows your hormonal profile, and the idea is then that the practitioner can advise on nutritional, lifestyle and supplement changes to help get you healthier and leaner.

So, how did my most recent BioSig go? At 13 weeks out, I was well aware that I was nothing like as lean as last time I had the assessment done. I’ve been going through (and continue to go through) numerous “lifestyle stresses” which are severely affecting my emotions, my ability to relax and my length/quality of sleep. To put it mildly, this year’s prep has been one hell of a lot harder than last year’s. So, quite honestly, I didn’t know what to expect from this BioSig!

However, what I did know is that – good or bad – I would use the result as a starting point from which to improve. If the results were good, then great! It would give me the encouragement to carry on. If they were bad, well, hey ho, things can only get better from here! That’s how I was approaching it.

Either way, I knew I was in safe hands with Ben. He’s hugely professional, completely non-judgemental and utterly committed to helping his BioSig clients regardless of the challenges they’re facing.

I hope you can see the image (click to enlarge), which also includes the details of my previous two BioSigs to compare. Although, as Ben said, I shouldn’t let the % increases freak me out (!), since I was incredibly lean last time he took my measures.

Here’s what Ben had to say:

“The results of your latest BioSignature assessment indicate oestrogen, especially ‘xenoestrogen’ (foreign oestrogen, the hamstring site) as your main priority. What we can also see from your measurements is that the triceps (2) and pec (3) are also high on the list.

“When the pec is high on the list of priorities this indicate the person is aromatising their own testosterone/androgens into oestrogen. T,his could be caused by the presence of xenoestogens but in this case your hamstring measurement is not far of normal range so there is likely to be another contributing factor to the conversion of androgens to oestrogen and causing this hormonal imbalance.

“The lifestyle stresses we have discussed that you have been under recently and the detrimental affect it has been having on your sleep patterns and quality could be a leading factor in this process. Whenever we produce stress on the body (physical or mental) we produce cortisol, this sends our body into a catabolic state and increases the production of other hormones (including oestrogen) and decrease in the beneficial hormones (such as testosterone and growth hormone). It is likely that if you are stressed throughout the day and also if you are not sleeping and recovering properly, the amount of time spent in this catabolic state and the increase in oestrogen could be the main source of the problem.

“We will re-introduce the fibre cycle to help eliminate any foreign oestrogens and toxins, along with the ‘Methylator’ supplement to improve the excretion of the toxins and focus on trying to reduce cortisol in the evening and improve sleep. We are going to introduce two types of magnesium to help improve sleep quality ‘Uber Mag with Tryptophan’ and ‘Uber Inositol with Magnesium Taurate’. Magnesium is a ‘Yin’ mineral and contains calming properties so taking this in the evening will help you to wind down and relax, so when you get into bed you are ready to sleep. The ‘Uber Mag’ contains Trytophan, the amino acid which helps to produce ‘serotonin’ (the sleep hormone). The ‘Uber Inositol’ has ‘adaptogen’ properties, meaning it will help to rebalance neurotransmitter production, reducing those which are too high and increasing those which are too low. This is great for those who go to sleep ‘wired’ and can’t switch off.

“Hopefully with the improvement in sleep we should see less time spent in a catabolic state, reduction in cortisol, reduction in aromatisation and increase in growth hormone.”

Thanks, Ben! Here’s to my re-assessment in a few weeks time. I have a goal in mind… and I think I can get there!

Stress is something which affects many of us, not just bodybuilders prepping for a competition. So I asked Ben to give some general advice which can be used by anybody, sporty or not. I hope these nutrition, sleep and relaxation tips help:

Dealing with Cortisol in the Real World

(Ben says)

“We are exposed to so many different stresses nowadays that elevated cortisol is very common and can be the main cause of low energy, an inability to lose weight or struggles to gain lean muscle. Here are my top tips to reduce cortisol levels.

“When looking at reducing cortisol during the day and improving energy, food choices are the biggest factor. Breakfast is hugely important as this sets you up for the day. You want to have a breakfast that is high in amino acid ‘tyrosine’: this increases the neurotransmitter ‘dopamine’ which is responsible for attention span and drive. Food that contain high levels of tyrosine are egg, red meats and wild meats. So we recommend the ‘Meat and Nuts Breakfast’.

“Your typical breakfast of cereal will spike insulin – and, as a result, spike cortisol – and increase serotonin, which promotes sleep. That’s probably why you have low energy. Throughout the day you want to eat more lean proteins, vegetables, smart fats and avoid refined or processed carbohydrates. You can consume carbohydrates, just chose better sources such as quinoa, sweet potato, brown or wild rice and berries. In the evening you want to have more white meats or fish as these foods contain higher amounts of the amino acid taurine: this is converted to Gabba so will help with sleep. Some carbohydrates in the evening will help with the production of serotonin (the sleep hormone) but again make sure its not a refined or processed source.

“Earlier on in the day, you could add a slice of two of lime to your water: improving your PH levels can also help reduce cortisol, don’t do this in the evening though as you need to be slightly acidic for sleep.

“To improve sleep you need to help your body switch off in the evenings so that when you get into bed you are ready to sleep. Here are some ideas:

1) A ‘mental dump’: this can be something as simple as a to-do List for the next day. By writing it all down you move those thoughts to the sub conscious so when you go to bed they are not running through your head.
2) Remove stimulation. Have a certain time in the evening before you go to bed where you don’t use electrical devices, get off Facebook or Twitter, stop answering emails and text messages.
3) Create the Cave. We are supposed to sleep in the dark, that’s why its harder to get up in winter than it is in summer. There should be no light in the room so invest in some good curtains or a black-out blind. Even the standby light on your TV or radio is enough to disturb sleep. Remove things that emit radiation, this will stimulate your body and affect sleep. Put mobile phones, laptops, iPads in another room, you’re asleep anyway so you’re not going to need them!

Thank you Ben!

Ben is a PICP level 2 trainer and BioSignature Practitioner. You can read Ben’s blog – full of great advice and snippets of handy info – here and follow him on Twitter.

My Biosignature starting point, and advice for combating stress is a post from The Fit Writer blog.

Nicola Joyce – the Fit Writer – is a freelance copywriter and journalist who writes for the sport and fitness industry. Her main website is here.

Update on my bodybuilding biosignature experience

Morning! I’m up in Glasgow competing in the BNBF Final today but in the meantime, here’s a quick blog post for you all.

Remember this post, where I described my biosignature assessment with local practitioner, Ben Lauder-Dykes? I went for a retest just a few days ago to see how the final month of prep (and the changes Ben recommended) might have changed my body composition and caliper measurements.

Hopefully you can see the below – click to enlarge

Here are the readings from my first test on 13th August
Hamstring: 18mm
Pec: 3.2mm
Sub-scap: 7.4mm
Knee: 4.8mm
Umbilical: 6.2mm
Calf: 5mm
Midaxilliary: 4mm
Supralliac: 4.2mm
Tricep: 6.4mm
Quadricep: 6.4mm

All that came out at 6.7% body fat although, as Ben explained, he’d typically account for a 2% error-margin either way.

Here are the readings from my retest on 15th September
Hamstring: 7.6mm (down 10.4 – 57.8%!)
Pec: 2.6mm
Sub-scap: 6.6mm
Knee: 5mm
Umbilical: 5.4mm
Calf: 4mm
Midaxilliary: 3.4mm
Supralliac: 3.4mm
Tricep: 6.2mm
Quadricep: 5.4mm

All of which came out at 4.1% body fat (with a 2% error-margin either way).

Here’s what Ben had to say about my retest:

After the initial BioSignature assessment, the hamstring (which relates to external estrogens) was the priority, meaning Nicola needed to follow an estrogen detox protocol.

This included “multi intense” to improve phase 1 detoxification and zinc deficiency, “digestforce” to improve digestion helping to improve phase 2 detoxification, and 3 types of fiber, rotating the source every 8 days to help the body excrete the estrogen toxins. I also recommended Nicola step up her consumption of fish oils to improve E2 estrogen, improving the E2:E4:E16 balance.

Nutrition protocols included meeting the protein goal 1.98-2.18g per kg (this will improve phase 2 detoxification) and as much cruciferous veg as possible, things like brocolli, cauliflower, sprouts, watercress, kale – although Nicola was already doing both.

The screen shot shows a comparison between the 2 most recent tests. Pay particular attention to the bottom table where it details the % change of the sites.

Overall bodyfat has reduced 2.7%, hamstring reduced a very impressive 57.8%, pec reduced 18.8% and “love handles” 19%.

This again shows Nicola truly practices what she preaches and I am very pleased with the progress she has made. I look forward to hearing how well you do at the British today and wish you the best of luck, you truly deserve it. If it wasnt in Scotland I would have definitely been there to cheer you on!

Thank you Ben, and thank you (I think!) for that final training session you put me through just a few days out from competition. I’m feeling great today and know that your advice and the training sessions we did together contributed to that. Keep an eye on my Twitter feed for updates today.

Ben is a PICP level 2 trainer and BioSignature Practitioner. He’s helped 100s of people achieve their goals, from fat loss to increasing muscle mass, competition prep to sports performance. Through experience and consistent studying, he’s learnt that changing your physique is not as hard as most people think, you just need to do the right things more often. He says he guarantees to dramatically change anyone’s physique in 8-12 weeks (if they do the right things often enough!) – in fact he offers a full money-back guarantee. He practices what he preaches, too: having reached the final of the Men’s Health Cover Model and World Sports Model competitions. “So, I know these things will work!” he says.

Ben can be contacted via BFit Personal Training Solutions or his blog, and he’s on Twitter and Facebook.

Update on my bodybuilding biosignature experience is a post from The Fit Writer blog.

Nicola Joyce – the Fit Writer – is a freelance copywriter and journalist who writes for the sport and fitness industry. Her main website is here.

My bodybuilding biosignature experience

I mentioned last week that I was going for a BioSignature assessment with a local practitioner, Ben Lauder-Dykes. It was all a bit too much information to take in and remember at the time, so I decided to wait until Ben emailed my results before I blogged about it.

In summary, I’m really pleased with what the test revealed about my hormonal profile. Quite honestly, I couldn’t have asked for a better result given my current goals. The priority area for improvement is my hamstring skinfold – and that relates to external factors rather than genetic ones or things like stress/sleep which I might find difficult to control during contest prep. The things which can affect and improve hamstring skinfold are things I’m confident I can do something about.

Here’s my BioSig result. It will mean something to those of you who know about Poliquin‘s BioSignature method. Those of you who don’t can learn more about it here and can read about what the different skinfold sites relate to here.

You can click to make it bigger, but here are the readings (not including chin and cheek which don’t relate to hormones):
Hamstring: 18mm
Pec: 3.2mm
Sub-scap: 7.4mm
Knee: 4.8mm
Umbilical: 6.2mm
Calf: 5mm
Midaxilliary: 4mm
Supralliac: 4.2mm
Tricep: 6.4mm
Quadricep: 6.4mm

Which comes out at 6.7% body fat although, as Ben explained, he’d typically account for a 2% error-margin either way.

Ben offered the following comment about my test. I promise I didn’t ask him to say any of this!

BioSignature is a skinfold test which assesses 12 specific sites on the body that relate to individual hormones. This shows us your hormonal profile or ‘BioSignature’. Using nutrition, lifestyle and supplement protocols we can spot reduce fat and achieve dramatic and lasting fat loss, body composition change and lean muscle gain. It is likely that your hormones are putting the brakes on in your race for results!

Do you struggle to lose fat from certain areas, no matter how hard you train or diet? If you answered yes then
1) it’s not your fault
2) and it can be changed!

Onto Nicola’s results

After completing the assessment the software lists the 12 sites in order of priority, 1 being of highest importance. Here are your ‘issues’, Nicola.

1) Hamstring – relates to external estrogens
2) Pec – relates to androgen levels (which relate closely to aromatisation of testosterone into estrogen)

More about the hamstring skinfold

The hamstring skinfold relates to external estrogens. These come into the body through toxins in tap water, plastics and some cosmetic products. Contraceptive pills/injections can also increase external estrogen as can belly button piercings.

The body should be able to detox these estrogens out of the body – this occurs in the liver. Phase one: the body attaches a vitamin or mineral to the toxin. Phase two: it attches an amino acid to the toxin and it is then excreted. Sounds pretty simple, but deficiencies in zinc lead to low stomach acids, poor absorption of the nutrients available in the foods we eat and inefficient use of vitamins and minerals. This all has a very detrimental affect on our body’s ability to detox. This inability to detox estrogens will lead to higher levels of estrogen and more feminisiation in both males and females. This in turn will lead to fat gain. (This is why women have higher body fat levels and find it harder to lose fat as they have higher estrogen levels.)

Pec and triceps skinfold

Increases levels of estrogen can lead to more aramotisation of testosterone into estrogen. This will mean more fat stored on the pec and triceps. This is another reason females stuggle with ‘bingo wings’, as this site is related to testosterone levels. Females can still get lean triceps – 6mm being the lowest – whereas for a male it should be 4mm at its highest.

Sub scapular skinfold

Another important site is the sub scapular. This shows us how tolerant you are to carbohydrates. A person is either genetically tolerant or not and unfortunately only approx 25% of people are gentically tolerant. If you’re genetically tolerant then the skinfold will always be 8mm or under; if not, you will never get it below 8mm. Nicola, at 7.4mm you are what we call a ‘Carbohydrate BITCH!’

Nicola’s BioSig: in summary

You have the best BioSignature I have seen. I am a perfectionist and often a very hard person to please but I have to admit I am VERY impressed! Your dedication and application is excellent and is represented not only in your great physique but your great health.

There is a saying in bodybuilding: ‘Fit for Stage’. Most competitors step on stage looking visually incredible but in terms of overall health they are far from healthy. The increasing stresses they put on the body each competition makes it harder and harder for them to get into shape. Overall health is of the utmost importance and you seemed to have struck that balance perfectly. I think you have a lot of potential to make some very significant improvements to your physique and think you could definitely be a dark horse at the British Finals. Let me know where I can get my ticket from?!

Wow, well thank you Ben. What great feedback, I really appreciate it. I’m ready to listen to what you have to say on our follow-up appointment: let’s see if we can get that hamstring reading down!

Ben is a PICP level 2 trainer and BioSignature Practitioner. He’s helped 100s of people achieve their goals, from fat loss to increasing muscle mass, competition prep to sports performance. Through experience and consistent studying, he’s learnt that changing your physique is not as hard as most people think, you just need to do the right things more often. He says he guarantees to dramatically change anyone’s physique in 8-12 weeks (if they do the right things often enough!) – in fact he offers a full money-back guarantee. He practices what he preaches, too: having reached the final of the Men’s Health Cover Model and World Sports Model competitions. “So, I know these things will work!” he says.

Ben can be contacted via BFit Personal Training Solutions or his blog, and he’s on Twitter and Facebook.

As for those tickets – they’re actually on sale now from TicketSoup.

My bodybuilding biosignature experience is a post from The Fit Writer blog.

Nicola Joyce – the Fit Writer – is a freelance copywriter and journalist who writes for the sport and fitness industry. Her main website is here.

Busy weekend (part 1: IFBB Grand Prix)

Last weekend was a busy one! I’m going to split this blog post into two, actually. Part one covers my Saturday: I headed into London to the Excel Centre (driving from Berkshire to the Excel Centre….both the DLR and Jubilee lines were down!) where the IFBB Grand Prix was being held for the first time.

I was there primarily to meet an Editor (hi John!) but thought it would be a great opportunity to nosy round the expo, grab some free samples and immerse myself in the world of bodybuilding. I’m still so new to it, everything’s an eye-opener.

It was a fun day! Here are some photos which I thought might amuse, entertain and inform.

I met Jamie Eason, US fitness model and competitor who was on the bodybuilding.com stand. She was absolutely lovely, so sweet and seemed genuinely happy to talk to everyone who wanted a photo with her (and there were hundreds!) She asked me about my comp and gave me some sweet advice. Nice lady!

Here are a few huge chaps

This is Robby Anchant, top UK amateur bodybuilding competitor and all round nice guy. I asked him for a photo just cos he was a huge guy who happened to be walking past and I thought it would be funny for the blog. We ended up having a right giggle. I suggested we “get our guns out” and he told me he’d rather we didn’t as he was afraid I’d show him up. “My arms aren’t really my strong point,” he said. LOL! Here’s the photo we ended up with:

But I quite like this one too because of my face?!

The IFBB Grand Prix didn’t just concern bodybuilding: there was also strongman (which has always fascinated me!), MMA (no photos, but I saw Dane Bowers next to the cage – I assume he was commentating rather than fighting?!) and BMX/stunt riding.

I didn’t stay around for the actual show, which is a shame as I would have loved to watch. I must see a show before my own show dates roll around – I know I’d learn so much from watching pros and seasoned amateurs up on stage.

Oh, and here’s my stash of freebies – minus the four of five sachets and packets of stuff I’ve already consumed. Yum! Tee hee!

Stay tuned for part 2 – on the way home from the Excel, I picked up my friend and coach Kat Millar who came to stay for..er…just under 24 hours (we’re busy ladies!) and we packed two training sessions in during that time. Photos and training updates to come!

Were you at the IFBB Grand Prix? Did I say hello to you?

Group PT and posing practise

Phew, yesterday was full on! My head is spinning, full of fantastic information after meeting up with my coach Kat Millar and a female bodybuilding competitor she knows. Annie Uelese was kind enough to invite me to her house, take a look at my physique, help me with posing and finally give me her thoughts on which show/s I have the potential to do best in. So I now have some dates in the diary! Countdown to showtime is officially on!

Let’s back up a bit.

I started my day (after a tortuous time on the tube network) at Kat’s personal training studio in Farringdon, where I gatecrashed one of her Saturday morning group personal training sessions. Anna, Angela and Jess, thank you so much for letting me join your group and train with you! I had great fun and worked really hard. I love the singleminded solitude of training by myself but from time to time it’s great to train with others, and yesterday was one of those days.

After warming up with medicine balls and kettlebells, we did a lot of partner work with medicine balls, some agility work as a group and even some fun “games” with press ups etc as forfeits, none of which would have worked by myself. I’ve been focusing on slower lifting work in the gym recently, so the series of bunny hops, fast step ups, jumps and running was a (good) shock to my system.

We finished off our hour’s sweatfest with partner-assisted stretching which was a real treat. Thank you, Angela, for the help with stretching (all 55kgs of you!) and for the mini back massage which you threw in for free!

Jess, Anna and Angela are all obviously working very hard with Kat and I wish them all the best with their individual strength, nutrition and fitness goals. Hopefully I’ll see you again soon, ladies! Train hard! XX

From there, Kat and I made our way to NW London to meet Annie Uelese, Kiwi figure competitor. You know how you always meet someone in every sport who is willing to give up their time, knowledge and experience to help out a stranger? Annie is one of those people. She filled my head with helpful information, suggestions and practical ideas and let me hang out at her house for hours asking her questions about bodybuilding and figure.

She took at a look at me and told me which class of bodybuilding/which federation she thought I was best suited to, explaining the subtle differences. She then took me through all the poses I’d need to do, tweaking my technique and manipulating me into the right position. Posing is really hard work and very precise, and Annie’s help was incredibly useful (even if I am aching today – yes, from posing!)

So, I now have a couple of shows earmarked, dates in the diary and – of course – a countdown! That’s what I’ve been missing and needing, and I know the weekly countdown is going to give my training and nutrition an even sharper focus.

Here they are:
- 3 July BNBF show (figure class)
- 17 July NPA show (figure, possibly physique class)

and, as plan Bs (just in case):
- 7 August BNBF show
- 15 August NPA show
- 12 Sept NPA show (I may do this one anyway, as it’s in Kent – my homeland!)

So, that gives me 16 weeks to keep on building size and symmetry before cutting down to reveal all my hard work! Oh, and to practise posing, develop some stage presence, and…and…and…

Thank you so much to Annie for your generosity, time and insights. And thank you as ever to Kat – great to train with you and the ladies at your group PT session in London. May the groups go from strength to strength, it’s a brilliant way to train!

Do you have a mentor in your sport? Do you do group personal training?

Group PT and posing practise is a post from The Fit Writer blog.

Giving it a tri

I hope you’ve had a nice weekend. I had lots of family over today, including my Auntie Rose, who has decided to take up triathlon. Now, it’s terribly rude to talk about a lady’s age but, if I tell you that I’m 33, you can probably work out for yourself that my Auntie is not quite a teenager. So I think it is fantastic that she is training for her first triathlon.

Auntie Rose and my little sister 20+ years ago yesterday – sorry both of you, ha ha!

Auntie Rose is no couch potato – she’s a good swimmer and plays tennis (very well, I’m told) regularly. But triathlon is quite a challenge for anyone.

Before lunch, she picked a few products from my cardboard boxes of items I’ve kit tested for magazines (PRs, if you want them back, please just ask – Auntie Rose has only borrowed them). And, over lunch, she picked my brains about the mysteries of brick sessions, transitions, race belts and lock laces.

I’m thrilled to be able to help her out and can’t wait to cheer her on in her first race. And I’m delighted to have someone else sporty in the family!

I’ve asked her if she’ll do a few guests posts on this blog as her training progresses. If there’s any part of the learning curve you’d like her to write about, please let me know.

Did you take up a particular sport later on in life? Would you ever consider doing a triathlon?

I’ve got an exciting day lined up tomorrow with one big bit of kit to test and a talk to give at an industry event. I also owe you a blog post about fitness kit I’ve tested this week – some interesting stuff! I’ll blog again soon…

Giving it a tri is a post from The Fit Writer blog.

Guest post: Lisa Loves To Run on injury prevention

Today’s guest post is from Lisa of Lisa Loves To Run. Lisa left the corporate world to pursue studies and a career in sport, health and fitness. She is about to graduate this year in Sport Therapy FDSc. Her real passion lies in injury rehab and conditioning. She’s also a Level 7 football referee (and tells me that, yes, that does include refereeing 22 men during senior matches!) With many of you training for spring marathons and the upcoming triathlon season, I asked her to write about injury prevention.

Over to Lisa.

Nell McAndrew and Lisa at the Jane Tomlinson York 10k in 2010

Running is like hand writing; we all have our own style. Having said that, as a runner myself, a couple of things do stand out as linking us all: the thought of getting injured and the effect it would have on us.

Whether you’re running for the first time or an old hand, you need to take several factors into account. Here’s my advice.

Common running injuries affect the knee area. The balance of muscle strength between the quadriceps and hamstrings is crucial to injury prevention, as these two groups go some way to supporting the knee.

That old saying “prevention is better than the cure” is one that I truly believe in. This is why a training plan will help prevent injury.

How? A training plan will take into account your training season and goals you may have and break them down into smaller, manageable chunks. Additionally, it will help you to consider the type of training you should undertake: the intensity rate, the duration and rest periods. Not only that, it’s such a simple tool!
A training plan can be quick and easy to put together, so use your diary, kitchen calendar, iPhone or anything you fancy so you can remember and keep track of your performance. The objective is to write down a structured plan that will enable the goal to be met.

As we already know running uses the legs, but how much thought do you give to your core?

Not only should your training plan include cardio work to either improve distance or speed, it should also include some core work. This will help decrease lower back injuries, running posture, alignment and balance.

Rest and recovery are crucial to any type of training plan. There are in fact two types of recovery: Passive Recovery and Active Recovery. Passive is as straightforward as just taking the day off. Active, however is simply exercising but doing something a little different, like working on those hamstrings with a Swiss ball, strengthening the quads by performing some sets of lunges, swimming or a class at the local gym. Studies have shown that the latter will accelerate recovery more than passive.

Active recovery, adequate rest and core strengthening, all pencilled into a wider training plan which will give you an overview of your race season. Putting a plan like this together is easy, yet so effective, and is a great injury prevention and performance enhancing tool.

Thank you, Lisa, for sharing some of the expertise you’ve gained from your studies. I know I’m guilty of not stretching enough and, although I always like the sound of active recovery, I never seem to have the energy. Perhaps your post will give me a nudge in the right direction!

Guest post: Lisa Loves To Run on injury prevention is a post from The Fit Writer blog.

How to get the most from remote personal training

Have you ever considered working with a Personal Trainer or sport-specific coach in an online or email capacity? Perhaps with the New Year upon us, and the start of the race season a few months away, you’re looking for some accountability, structure and expert guidance. A professional trainer or coach is a fantastic investment, but sometimes there’s no-one local who quite does it for you.

That’s where a “remote” coach or PT comes in. By that I mean someone who offers coaching, training plans, perhaps nutrition guidance and emotional support, but by email (and usually telephone and Skype, too).

I worked with a remote PT at the end of last year during my 8-week gym challenge. Kat offers regular one-on-one PT and small group PT. I knew of her from reading her blog, and had a hunch that she’d be the perfect PT for me, but I don’t live in London, so I had to work with her over email.

I found the process to be very helpful. So helpful, in fact, that Kat and I are now firm friends as well as PT/client. Here’s a pic of us having, like, the most fun eva,….cooking veg last weekend on Saturday night. It’s a good illustration of how important it is to find a PT who has the same sense of humour and outlook as you!

When we weren’t cooking, talking or training, I interviewed her about remote/email PT and how she feels a client can get the most out of this kind of training.

Whether you’ve just signed up to work with an online coach or are considering it for the future, I hope you’ll find this Q&A helpful.

The Fit Writer: In what circumstances might a client find remote personal training useful?
Kat Millar: If someone can’t find the type of coach or PT they need in their local area, or at their regular gym, they can work with anyone they want. They don’t even need to be in the same country. Remote PT offers great value for money, too. The instantaneous support is really helpful: a client can be sitting at work, feeling tempted by the biscuit barrel, and quickly fire off an email or a text to me and I’ll reply with a few motivating words. Just having that accountability helps. Clients know they have someone’s eyes on what they’re doing. Most people have to be in some system of accountability to have success with fitness or fat loss goals, and a remote PT offers just that.

TFW: Are some clients better suited to remote coaching than others?
KM: Well, it helps to have the ability and willingness to be completely honest with their PT. It has to be real; there’s no point just telling me the good bits or the things they think I want to hear. Clients shouldn’t feel bad about reporting less-than-perfect meals or training sessions. If they tell me everything – good and bad – we can see why they’re getting the results (or not) and take it from there. Honesty is key.

TFW: How can clients help the remote PT process work for them?
KM: It helps if they come to me with a really specific goal. And then, even though they’ve asked me to help, they have to take a lot of responsibility for the process. They need to be honest with me and with themselves and stay “on it” between our calls and emails. I like clients to ask me really direct, specific questions and encourage them to do so. Tell me clearly what they’ve done or not done, give me feedback on the training and nutrition plans I put together for them, and use me for the resource I am! No client should battle on in silence if something about the process isn’t working. Tell me and I can fix it. All personal trainers want to give their clients what they need to succeed. Oh, and progress photos are great!

TFW: What’s good about working this way?
KM: I like the fact that working on email with someone enables me to react to things as they come up. I can offer support, answer questions and give motivation whenever it’s needed, rather than waiting for an alloted hour every week. Very often, email clients end up telling me a lot about their lives and personal challenges, so the relationship becomes very special and we have heart-to-heart chats. The bottom line is that, by working with an coach via email, clients don’t have to take some random training plan off the internet or out of a magazine. They’ll get a personalised plan. Working this way with someone often gets them to use a PT when otherwise they wouldn’t have considered it. And I think everyone should have access to professional support and guidance when it comes to their health and fitness.

Thanks Kat!

Email personal training definitely works for me. Do you have a “remote” coach, PT or mentor? Does the process work for you?

How to get the most from your remote personal training is a post from The Fit Writer blog.

Away for New Year? Keep training!

Every year, we go away with a group of friends to a big old house somewhere for New Year week. In many ways, it’s a bigger deal than Christmas (there’s certainly more food and drink!) In the face of all the beer, wine, port (and cheese), nibbles and massive portions of dinner, you could be forgiven for thinking we might give up on exercise altogether for the week. Not us!

Amongst our party, we have two mountain bikers, one runner-turned-mountain biker and one Personal Trainer. Oh, and me. So I thought it might be useful to show you how we keep a balance (a kind of “detox/retox”, if you will) and keep training whilst we’re away from our respective gyms and out of our routine.

1: Bring bikes, running kit and other outdoorsy stuff

Even if all you want to do is go on long walks with the dogs, make the most of the fact that you’re somewhere different. We always end up somewhere pretty remote and very beautiful, and running/cycling/walking is a pleasure. So it would be a shame to find yourself with no kit. Pack the running shoes!

2: Pack indoors exercise kit

I brought my kettlebells, Personal Trainer friend Jo brought her Z-Trainer (a suspension trainer – review to come soon) and more kettlebells, and Gliders. I put a few exercise DVDs in my bag I’d been asked to review. It’s all stuff we’d rarely use at home, but being away from the gym and running a totally different routine is the perfect time to experiment with other bits of kit. And, of course, having a Personal Trainer on hand is too good an opportunity to pass up!

3: Plan your exercise

I know, this sounds terribly dull. After all, we’re away for the week with friends and meant to be enjoying ourselves. But our group of friends do enjoy training, so it’s no hardship. We have all day to do whatever we want whilst we’re here, so 30 minutes here and there making up a new routine with kettlebells is all part of the fun. The rules are there are no rules, just the opportunity to train if you want. Two of our party don’t exercise and really aren’t interested. That’s OK, we still love them Every day, one or more of us will be heading out for a run or a bike ride, or heading to one of the larger rooms to do some indoor training. Anyone can join in, but no-one has to. It works for us! (And it makes that first beer of the evening taste all the better….)

My friend Jo (one of the group I’m away with for New Year) is a Personal Trainer. Here’s her advice on training whilst you’re away from home (she’s the PT):

“Keep it simple: you really don’t need a lot of time, space or kit to stick to an exercise routine whilst you’re away. Don’t forget that you carry the best bit of gym with you all the time – your body! Put together a routine of simple, compound bodyweight exercises (any kind of full or modified squats, lunges, press ups, planks, triceps dips, step ups) and work hard – job done!

“Write down what you want to do every day so you have a plan to stick to which can become part of your day. That way you’re less likely to find that the day has flown past without you getting your exercise session in.

“If you’re training for something, don’t panic that you might not be able to get your regular training session done. You won’t lose any fitness or strength in just one week. It’s far better to do something than nothing at all, however short and however different to your normal training it might be.”

I’ll do reviews of the various bits of kit and DVDs we do whilst we’re away this week.

Oh, and a note to all the burglars reading: yes, we’re away from home but neighbours are keeping an eye on the house and popping in from time to time!

Away for New Year? Keep Training! is a post from The Fit Writer blog

The Fit Writer meets Matt Roberts (The Workout Mix 2011 review)

Do you train with music? When I just ran (and swam), before I was a member of a gym (imagine!), I used to be sniffy about training with earphones in. “But what about the beautiful sounds of nature?” I’d ask. “Why not lose yourself in the silence?”

Nuts to that. I can listen to nature when I’m walking the dog. Nowadays, the only training I do without music is cycling and swimming, both for rather obvious safety reasons (although I have reviewed a number of waterproof MP3s for triathlon magazines, but the old-school swimmer in me still thinks swimming to music is a bit…radical )

It’s a sad day for me when my iPod runs out of charge partway through a gym session or a run. Whether I’m listening to podcasts (great for long, steady runs) or the warblings of Beyonce and co, I find that having something to listen to really does motivate me to keep going or to try harder.

Which is why I was happy to go along to the press launch of a new CD. Now before you think “what’s going to be great about this?”, bear with me. First of all, this CD (well it’s three CDs actually) is far more than just music. It’s a really good deal and I’d probably buy it if I hadn’t been given a promo copy (thank you, Leila). Secondly, it’s been done very cleverly, with folk like you and me in mind. Let me tell you about it.

The Workout Mix 2011 is 3 CDs of current music (original artists) mixed to give you 45-60 minute playlists which gradually ramp up the BPM to suit your workout – building, peaking and then giving you time to bring the pace down. There’s a bonus feature in the shape of a downloadable 30 minute training session from “PT to the stars” Matt Roberts, and you also get a free Fitness First gym pass and access to a training plan. It’s a great package, I think, and will be very reasonably priced. Two of the CDs are for cardio workouts and the third is for strength work or endurance sessions. I’ve been listening to them for the past couple of weeks and really really like them.

I met up with Matt Roberts, the personal trainer who was involved in the creation of the CDs and the bonus extras. We chatted about training, music and motivation.

The Fit Writer: Why do you think music helps so many people with training and mental performance?
Matt Roberts: I think it’s an instinctive thing; we move in time to the cadence and rhythm of music. Without realising it, music can help you speed up. On the other hand, some music can flatten your performance and decrease your motivation. So choose your tunes wisely! It goes right back to music being used in gym classes, but it works for running and solo gym workouts in just the same way. The music builds until it reaches an overload point where it helps you push harder, go faster. With these CDs I’ve made sure the tunes build up really naturally, then peak, then decrease gently. They’re between 45-60 minutes, ideal for most workouts, and there’s stuff in there too for interval training (see the website).

TFW: How does the bonus feature – you motivating the listener during their session – work?
MR: I’ve done a voiceover which motivates you, keeps you going and pushes you a little, whilst giving you useful tips. It’s essentially like having me there doing some PT except I’m just in your ear! I’ve taken everything I’ve learned about what motivates PT clients and put them here: we know that clients work harder with me (or whoever their PT is) talking to them and working alongside them. The idea is that it will give you a lift and bring something to your session which you might struggle to find if you were going it alone. It takes what I do with my own clients and puts it onto a download for anyone to access.

TFW: You’re from a sprinting background, aren’t you? How do you manage to fit in your own training these days? What sort of thing do you like doing?
MR: I always make time to train – partly because I have to (I couldn’t be a PT and not train myself) and partly because I absolutely love it and really miss it when I don’t do it. I feel much more energised when I train. I work from 6am to 8pm most days and am really busy, but I just make time for my own training. I try to get a session in at least 4 days per week, and I make sure I work really hard during that time.

TFW: And what’s on your playlist?
MR: All sorts! I have a very eclectic mix. Kings of Leon, Coldplay, Black Eyed Peas, David Guetta… I make lots of playlists, particularly for running. And, yes, I do use the CDs myself! The music is all really current and it’s a fun mix.

TFW: I blogged about fitness trends recently. What do you think will be big in 2011?
MR: The TRX and other suspension trainers are brilliant and will continue to be a hot bit of kit next year I think. They’re suitable for anyone and can be put to so many diverse uses: home, the gym, hotel rooms – you don’t need much space. You can use them to get a really decent full body workout in and they’re a brilliant fallback if you are pushed for time/space/kit. I also think everyone should have a good HRM with GPS: it gives great feedback and is a good motivational tool. There are a lot of apps out there which I think will be huge once they’re perfected. None are quite there yet but I think apps in general will be the biggest thing in the industry in the near future.

TFW: It’s really cold today. I hate being cold. How do you get around training outside when it’s snowing and icy? Or is it tough luck?
MR: (laughs) There’s always something you can do, regardless of temperature and weather, and that’s what I tell my clients. It’s important to do cardio outside if you’re training for a specific event which demands that kind of training. But, of course it’s OK to head inside and replace that session with something else. A gym gives you that flexibility. And you know what? If you can’t get outside to run, don’t worry about it. Just relax, enjoy an extra bit of rest, or come up with some other way to move. Your fitness isn’t going anywhere in just a couple of days. Having said that, I used the recent snow to give my clients some really challenging sessions. Doing drills in the snow certainly shakes things up! So I’d say, if possible, adapt and get on with it. Get the correct kit and clothing and off you go. I bet you’ll be glad you went once you get out of the door.

Thanks for your time and advice, Matt. It was nice to meet you.

Tell me about your MP3. What’s your favourite playlist? Which podcasts do you listen to? Does a really funny song ever come on whilst you’re in the middle of a workout (This happens to me loads, I swear I don’t even put those songs on there in the first place…)

The Fit Writer meets Matt Roberts (The Workout Mix 2011 review) is a post from The Fit Writer blog.