NEXT YEAR RUMBLE!!

So we rapidly approach new years, and I've not had a lot to say, however I have learned a LOT and since new years day is heading towards as at a fast pace, now more than ever people consider their health.
I'm going to push the blog into 5.0 and if you know ANYTHING about this blog then you'll realise that will bring a new feature or two, a new logo and a new feel. The reason this blogs face changes so often is to reflect the changes we make in ourselves. 5.0 is going to be awesome!!

Before I continue I feel I might refresh and go over a few VERY important things.

I'd like to go over something I find amusing, NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS.

While I personally approve of people wanting to make changes in their lives very few indeed ever make them (Myself included). This is down to many reasons but most importantly is the approach.

For example when I eventually quit smoking it wasn't the time I told myself "Today I'll quit" it was the day I thought to myself, I don't want to die before my time and at that moment threw a almost full pack of 20 into the bin. It sounds simple but you have to really want the changes if you expect them to last.

In the Gym, well in any Gym, just after Christmas the place gets packed with people unhappy with Christmas weight or just because it is their new years resolution. But this isn't your choice, not in the abstract.

You only thought about losing weight because on a specific day you're expected to make a resolution. This isn't your own thought, and since it's imposed onto you it feels more like a challenge than a option.

For you to make ANY changes in your life, be them giving up alcohol or losing weight, they all require some basic principals:

• You must WANT the change and not feel forced.
• You must ACCEPT that the changes will not happen quickly.
• You must DEVOTE yourself to the new cause, making sure to give it the attention it deserves.  
• You must LOVE the idea of actually accomplishing the goal.
• You must ENJOY doing the activity, I enjoyed every month I was smoke free, and I enjoy everytime I look in the mirror and see my changes.
• You must ACHIEVE a positive state of mind, don't look at a gym session as a hour and a half of pain, look at it as a hour and a half closer to being the person you wish to be.

Simple to remember really, WANT, ACCEPT, DEVOTE, LOVE, ENJOY, ACHIEVE.

AVOID THE PITFALLS OF FITNESS RIGHT HERE!!!

The single most important thing is that you DO NOT NEED A GYM.
Gym prices and deals are very attractive during the new year and there is a very good reason for it. The Gyms do NOT want guys like me that use the gym 3-5 times a week. They want the person who has made a new years resolution, go's for a week or two before quitting. Why? Well almost all Gyms require at least a 3 month contract, you'll be paying them for 3 months and only using the equipment for a week or so, the winners are the gym. Gyms will always have regulars like myself who sustain the buisness.

So let me weight up the advantages and disadvantages to a gym, and then I'll provide you with a very cost effective solution.

PROS:

1. A range of quality equipment and facilities.
2. A good atmosphere for exercising.

3. No space in your house required for the same equipment.

4. Expensive cardio machines like a treadmill.

5. On site professionals for advice.

CONS:

1. Costs an enormous amount of money in comparison to alternatives.

2. Queuing for equipment.

3. Witnessing bad form, and maybe thinking it's the right way to do an exercise.

4. Working out in front of other people is not easy for people who are unhappy with their body or shy.

5. Travel to the gym costs money unless you live close to one.

6. Meat heads who aren't always great to be around and the attitudes some people have to fitness.

SOLUTION:

If you have a lot of disposable income, do not care to waste your money and live close to a gym, then by all means use one. If not, do the following.

HOME SET UP!

• Buy two adjustable dumbbells (ones in which you can put different weights onto) and buy a good range of weights so that you can get around at max 40KG on a single dumbbell (should be the max amount you want to life on a dumbbell eventually, not what you can lift now)
• Buy a yoga mat, this will make a lot of exercises more comfortable and also yoga is fantastic for you anyway.
• Buy a Bar to do pull ups and dips on, you can get ones that fold and rest onto your door frame.
• Either buy a bench or just get a strong piece of wood to rest between two chairs as a bench, remove a chair for an incline bench, this will be used in a lot of exercises.
• For cardio, either use a bike or just run outside, no matter where you are this is always the best option for cardio unless you're prone to knee injury's, in which case I'd suggest buying a elliptical Cross trainer, low impact high cardiovascular, the cost of one would be about the same or less than a year at the gym anyway.
• If you have the space and a strong floor you could also get an olympic barbell, but this is optional.

Once you have these items you will be able to do everything most gyms can offer, free weights ALWAYS beat machines. Why? Because machines take out the balancing some of the smaller muscle groups provide when handling free weights.

Ok I've run out of time, I'm going to expand on this a lot more over the next few weeks, and go over how just how easily you can make those lasting changes and not just phase out after a week or so.

Best of luck readers, I've missed you!!