When people start their health and fitness journey it generally starts with some type of diet which doesn't last, or some crazy exercise regime that also doesn't last, i guess these are the classic examples of the stop start mentality that people are trapped in and cant get out of and is generally the newbie crowd that this would apply to but.....

But there is also another stop start crowd, those that constantly exercising, jumping from program to program, gym to gym, personal trainer to personal trainer, bootcamp to bootcamp, never ever actually sticking to any one plan or then spending any of length of time with that plan,  and these very people are always bemoaning their lack of progress, never ever their fault, always the gym, trainer, even blaming the equipment

I get it when new gyms open, they new, they have nice new shiny toys to play with, they can be cheap, offer a new marketing ploy that sucks you in because of your lack of never making any progress and this is new right, this is the time that you actually start making progress, but just check your previous history, and what is it that you keep saying you really want ? to make progress ? lose weight ? gain muscle ? be fitter ? - and lets not forget this new equipment, its going to work right .........

The fact that your like a flee and cant stay still long enough to actually do the work required for any length of time is killing what you are always telling others you want.

Ive been in the fitness industry over 17 years, the amount of people that i see doing this unbelievable, yet daily i see those that are constantly showing up, following what ever plan they are on, been consistent with what they are doing, making massive massive progress, yet those that are still constantly jumping around like said flee making zero progress, just waiting to move onto their next port of call like they have valuable life time to waste.

When we have people enrol in our Personal Training programs or Bootcamp program we make sure they understand the importance of giving time to that said project, their is no quick fixes when it comes to good health or losing weight, and the fact that you spend so much time moving around looking for it and not finding it should be all the proof you need.

January has now been and gone, all the talk of diets, clean eating and the such has now all died down for another year, but what is this obsession with clean eating actually doing to peoples already damaged relationship with food, and how many that tried the clean eating fad actually didn't lose any weight in January, yet again forcing people to be crazy restrictive in their attempts to lose weight and then crashing massively, when there was just no need to do so.

People think that there is some type of perfect diet that's going to give you perfect health, there isn't, no diet is going to do this and nobody promoting diets can claim this. What most people would be best of doing to have better health is to simply lose weight, losing weight will improve your health, especially if your heavily over weight and to lose weight you must focus on been in a calorie deficit, not focus on been obsessive with some type of eating movement.

There is no 1 way for people to lose weight when it comes to dieting, everybody will have different eating habits and in turn people will feel differently about how they wanna lose weight and what type of dieting approach they wanna use, but something that is paramount to successful long term weight loss is that you have the ability to stick to this long term, hence people will want to use different approaches, yet none are going to give you perfect health, but if it improves your health and makes you happy and that you can do this long term then this is what is needed.

This whole clean eating thing, becoming massively obsessed with food and how your eating isn't healthy, especially for your mental health, Ive spoken with people that have actually avoided social engagements because they knew that these social engagements wouldn't be catering for their clean eating practices, this is absolutely mental, after all if its weight loss you want, all you have to do is make sure your in a calorie deficit for a sustained period of time, not become obsessive or a recluse.

Ive been massively over weight, and i ended up with a terrible relationship with food after losing over 100lbs, and i can tell you this, it took time for me to put this right, going through a period of weight regain, and all the traumas that brought after losing so much weight and thinking i was going to end up back where i was, its not a nice process at all and something i wouldn't want others to go through, this is why in all of my programs we discuss in depth relationships with food,  and the importance of it for those that are over weight and are going to embark on a weight loss journey.

This is a daily occurrence inside my Personal Training program, we make what we do sustainable and healthy in every way, not just physically but mentally to, changing your mindset as to how you look at food and weight loss and making sure nobody at all goes through what i did, on the verge of having an eating disorder because of my relationship with food.

PS, the term diet was used for the masses, we don't use this terminology but that's a story for another day.

The fitness industry is built on the perfect body, it talks constantly about six packs, diets and beasting it in the gym, and that's great if that's your thing, but for many it’s about been able to move better, to have better health, never ever wanting to be like a fitness model, but that's the image that's constantly pushed.

That very image scares people, those that are overweight, out of shape, not fit and healthy are not inspired by these perfect bodies and talk of beasting themselves in the gym, its scares them that much that these very people that need help and would benefit from been inside of a gym and getting help will never ever step foot in a gym because of the image it portrays.

Inside of our Hartlepool gym we talk constantly about been healthy and what that brings, the obvious health benefits, been able to move without pain, been able to move with a level of fitness and strength, but also those that suffer with conditions and injuries, conditions and injuries that may be life long, that cause pain and affect movement, the benefits that exercise can bring are massive and massively underutilized or talked about inside of the fitness industry.

Take Katie, Katie is a mom that joined our Hit Bootcamp program, now Katie suffers with EDS Hyper Mobility, and came in pain, suffering with her movement, she asked would this be beneficial for me and would I actually be able to take part, I explained that we would adapt things that we did to be able to make progress with helping rebuild her strength, movement and fitness, and that’s what we have done with amazing results, I’ll let Katie explain the rest.

Katie - For as long as I can remember I’ve lived in pain! Taking all kinds of pain killers to try and keep it under control, lived my life as if nothing was wrong and suffered! I have something called EDS hyper mobility! Which basically means my body doesn’t produce collagen properly! This causes a lot of health problems but my main one has always been the joint pain! My joints would dislocate often! My legs would give way from under me on really bad days! I couldn't even bend down to the cupboards! Or if I did id have a hard time getting back up I got over weight and miserable! Hated everything about myself!

And then I saw a post from Ian Glass fitness! 45 minutes twice a week and I just had to join! And I’ve never looked back! Ian knew how to slightly change things for me so exercises I couldn't do for the pain I could do easily and it wouldn't hurt! Tiny changes that no one else has ever pointed out to me and they made a massive difference! I’ve been able to gain all my range of movement back! My recent blood tests show all my levels are better than they have ever been! And I’ve lost a stone! God knows how many inches and well I just feel like me again finally! 90 minutes a week has changed my life! I could be here all day telling you how my health, life and family have improved from me walking in that gym!

If you haven't noticed, group training is all the rage now, its the in thing, especially for Pt's, the very same Pt's that used to slag off anybody that did group training, they always preached about 1-1 training, that's how training should be done they said, but never giving any explanation as to why, i mean i don't even know where this notion came from, i mean its not like as humans we haven't always functioned in groups or tribes is it, no exactly, so why would you wanna take people and train them alone, and I'm on about your everyday person here, not athletes, just to be clear we on about helping normal everyday people just in case any pro pt gets all offended.

We were Hartlepool's very first fitness business to train people in groups, yes because we have been coaching local Hartlepool people longer than anybody else, but also because we understood the power of the tribe / group, and the immense benefit we could bring by helping more people using the exact same amount of time it would take to train just 1 person.

Our Hartlepool  was Hartlepool's very first, specializing in training ladies in a group setting, inside of a professional gym, not field or hall, utilizing all the training methods we would use if we were training a client 1-1, immediately bringing results to those we helped, but more than that, building something that has become very special, a place where ladies have the support and motivation of others to help them, where friendships and bonds are formed that will last a life time, where people that are lacking in self confidence can come and thrive off the confidence and support of others.

Having other like minded ladies turning up for training sessions also brings accountability for yourself, them days when you really don't want to go and exercise but you know that you have a group of ladies waiting for you to turn up, because they want to help you and see you succeed in what you say you want, there is zero point saying i want to achieve x, y & z in front of other people and then never turning up for your group class.

You will always find inspiration inside of a group, that one person that has a story that inspires you, that you look at and think i wanna do what they have done, if they can do it then so can i, that person that has improved their fitness, that has got stronger, that you look up to and think i wanna be able top do that like them, inspiration is all around you and if used correctly can be super powerful.

Plus also, there is so much fun had training with others, the camaraderie and the atmosphere in the group is just something that you wont find anywhere else, ask the ladies in our groups, they will all tell you the same thing.

So isn't it time you tried it ? You say you wanna lose weight, become healthier, happier, move with better fitness, whats holding you back ? If its fear then trust me anybody that's ever walked through a gym door has felt it, but i guarantee when you meet people inside of our fitness business it will go immediately.

So all that's left for you to do is fill out an application and you will hear from one of the team real soon

Lots of cheap gyms, all selling you space to park yourself for 40 min, not really doing much before you leave and then come back and do exactly the same thing again, that's if you can even summon up the energy to go back, that's what the majority that pay cheap gym memberships are actually doing, those that require real help and they thought signing up to the new cheap gym in town was a good idea, a first step to a new them, a healthier fitter them, they promised me loads of free gym classes and there is PT's there if you need any extra help, but the gym classes should be enough.......that's where it starts to go horribly wrong, you were taken in by the sales pitch

Listen these cheap gyms are great places for those that know what they are doing, know how to set their program up, have the basics of their nutrition nailed, understand what progress they want and have clear plan how to get it, or for those types that just like movement, don't really  understand anything about programming or nutrition but just enjoy movement and like working out, getting a sweat on, and eat relatively normal and are of a healthy weight.

But listen, we live in a small unhealthy town, hartlepool is one of the most unhealthiest towns in the UK, obesity running wild along side poor health, we have a large number of gyms, mainly all commercial gyms, so these places have more than their fair share of people signed up that's not making any progress, damn a large amount of those signed up don't even go, just seeing their contracts out until they can cancel, then they will be hit with probably a cancellation fee just to rub insult in for the lack of any help they didn't receive.

You would have been better off just using the great outdoors for some light exercise, not paying that monthly rental fee for something you didn't use, you would have saved yourself some money, probably more than enough to invest in some decent trainers and outdoor wear, that would have been a better investment.

This is the very reason that our fitness business is now a semi-private coaching facility, we were sick of seeing people join gyms and not making progress, especially those that really need to, who's health is at risk and who lives are at risk if they don't do something about their weight now. Yes the gym still has those that come in and do their own thing, we have those that use our programming subscription service, taking all the guess work out of what they should be doing in the gym guaranteeing progress, that's what we are about, we guarantee you to make progress when you are part of our fitness facility, our programs are the best around delivering results and an experience others don't and cant and we have been doing this longer than everybody else.

Our fitness facility proves that you don't have to have tens of thousands of sq feet filled with brand new machines, but you do have to have the ability to help people and that's something that we excel at, you have big space we have big results, i know which i prefer.

Are you one of the many that have started yet another diet this January after been on and off a diet all of last year, massively over eating at Christmas with the promise to yourself of putting it right in January with yet another diet, only this time you will stick to it because your motivated, this is the year that you find a diet that works and that you can stick too. 

The only problem is to most the word diet actually means that your going to be be crazy restrictive, eat in a manner that's so foreign to you that you cant understand it one bit, going to eat foods that wanna make you cry because its so bland, boring and repetitive, you already know your not really gonna stick to this diet so what you even trying for ?

What does your eating habits look like now, do you know that your over weight or gained weight because you have over consumed food, taken in way too many calories. Does how your eating right now look the exact opposite of how you used to eat, so you have switched to eating chicken & broccoli, when you used to eat burgers, chips, ice cream. What if i told you that to lose weight all you had to do was reduce the burgers, chips and ice cream ? Would that not work better than trying to eat at the other end of the scale that's so far away from what was normal to you, do you think that there is going to be more chance of you sticking to your weight loss goals by simply reducing or by eating chicken and broccoli till you wanna cry ?

The fitness industry is obsessed with clean eating, eating healthy, telling everybody that they should all be eating natural foods, meal prepping, its crazy, do you honestly think Mr & Mrs Smith that are over weight, don't eat any where near what people describe as healthy are honestly just gonna change years of bad eating habits, and over consuming, by switching to eating chicken & broccoli, really ? have you ever been over weight ? Trust me making grand gestures with how you eat isn't going to last. As an industry if we keep telling people to clean eat, eat healthy and its failing massively do you think we should just shout this message louder ? Or maybe we should  try something different, try to understand where people are now, have them make sense of where they are now, simply advise them to cut back a little, maybe move a little more, does this sound more sustainable ? Do you think this is far more realistic approach for Mr & Mrs Smith ?

I can tell you personally that when i was way over 300lbs of fat, and i started on my own personal weight loss journey, i completely ruined my relationship with food and messed up my metabolism, not to mention many a failed relationship because of the way i was behaving, by trying to fit in with what the fitness was preaching, yes i ended up extremely low body fat, looked amazing on the outside, but it certainly was never gonna last and didn't last, i gained a lot of fat weight back, spent many years fighting that  voice that said your meant to look a certain way because your in the fitness industry, the fitness industry portrays that ripped look, preaches that chicken and broccoli meal prepping mentality, the only problem was that its not sustainable, its certainly not how i wanted to life my life, a life full of restrictions and terrible relationship with food, oh its a lifestyle they say, its not a very good lifestyle when its held back by stupidly restrictive practices that people don't wanna talk about, and its not even close to the majority of people like Mr & Mrs Smith that are over weight, obese, unhealthy, the very people that the fitness industry really needs to start doing more to help.

Lets stop with the diet mentality, its not working, its time for a different approach.

Had a couple of guys start back up doing some Personal Training this morning and after we were done we were sat in our shop talking over some nutrition with a couple of guys from our gym business that had also finished their training at the same time. We were talking about what its gonna take to change, to create change and not just talking diets as you would imagine most trainers do, Ive been training people a long long time so i know that it takes way more than just putting somebody on yet another diet, we were talking about the process involved and how everybody thinks that they should immediately stop eating, surviving on fresh air and then they wonder why they fail.

Anyway we were talking about how Pete likes a few beers and he asked if he was still gonna be able to have them even tho we want to lose weight, i explained that we are not removing anything that he enjoys and didn't want to go without, as long as the few beers remained a few, we can control them and they not gonna lead to binging, if he could stay accountable to what he said he was going to do then there isn't a problem at all.

Pete commented that, "this is why i pay you the big money" to be able to get me results without it been stupidity restrictive, to be able to explain to me how it works, to keep me accountable and not make this whole trusting the process complicated, what you tell me to do ill do and then just leave the rest up to time and trusting the process, that makes this easy for me. Pete is not paying for training sessions, that's like an added bonus that helps us get results faster.

Ive spent tens of thousands on coaching, to become better coach, better person, to have more knowledge and understanding to be able to help others at a higher level, i have decades of experience of helping transform and help change people, this is what your really paying for, its never about i will pay you to train me, its about i will pay you to change me.

Way too many trainers are making everything way too complicated, from unsustainable dieting practices to over complicating training, talking about advanced programming with people that just wanna lose some weight, be healthier and feel fitter, you can guarantee that these trainers are throwing people into complex movements straight away, we started this morning with an over view of their health, a very basic fitness test and worked on some basic movements, these same basic movements we will drill and drill and drill, we don't stop doing the basics, the very stuff these trainers call boring we call learning basic movements  solid foundations, something that when your building something new, must be in place.

So the next time your looking for a personal trainer or any type of help for that matter, ask yourself what you really want, coz those that go looking for trainers and coaches that are going to transform them, they don't look for training sessions or diets, they look for the results they want.