JakeDentonPT

  We all have times when we can't be motivated. And things we can't do.    But, for me, the true barriers to progress, are excuses.    I've had a few weeks of losing motivation myself, but I am back, I admit that I could not be bothered, and am moving on feeling a bit more inspired and motivated.  It is entirely normal to lose motivation for a few days, weeks and even months. It's natural that we aren't all experts at something. It's natural that life stops us doing what we want to do sometimes. And, naturally, we all come up with excuses, either true, exaggerated, or not quite true.    But self-acceptance is important!    For me, the time spent coming up with excuses, is time that could be spent doing something better.    The picture (above) from is from BBC Radio One, where Tom Hardy was interviewed. Of course, he could have said his rap career flopped due to illness, or traffic, or circumstances. Instead, he chose to recogni...

  I'm sure you are aware of the 10,000 steps a day suggestion... But, do you know what it really is and what it means? The 10,000 steps a day is suggested to be the ideal amount of steps you should aim for each day. So, why 10,000 steps? And what about individual variability?   The 10,000 steps advice was coined as an advertising ploy decades ago to encourage everyone to buy a step counter. And how much science and research went into deciding 10,000 was ideal? None, 10,000 was just a nice, round number.    Obviously, some people may be able to easily do 10,000 steps a day or more, while others may struggle with 1,000, so what really is an ideal amount of steps per day?   For me, I would say there is no ideal step count each day. On days with heavy training sessions, more steps could be detrimental, by reducing your recovery periods. On rest days, more steps can be beneficial (presuming a light intensity walk) to help improve blood flow and keep you moving a bit....

  You'll have probably heard something along the lines of 'cardio kills gains'.   But is this really true?    Mostly, no it is not true. Some people will tell you it is. Some people will tell you it's not. I will tell you it depends.    Lets look at the physiology. As we all know, to make 'gains', you must resistance train and have enough calories.  Cardio can burn a lot of calories, which is why it can be so effective for losing weight. And, why it can be tougher to build muscle alongside heavy cardio.  Muscle building from weight training generally results in increased Type 2 muscle fibres. Type 2 muscle fibres are larger than Type 1 muscle fibres, which are developed with cardio training. So, logically, to build more muscle you want to focus more on the Type 2 fibres.     However, cardio improves our heart, lungs, blood vessels and blood. This improves our bodies ability to deliver oxygen, nutrients, hormones and everything else ...

  Recovery during and after exercise is a largely forgotten aspect of training... And I am certainly guilty of forgetting the importance of recovery.    Here I discuss the two types of recovery, and their importance to exercise training.  The first type of recovery is one that is easy to recognise as rest, but is largely under valued. This is the rest period between sets or exercises. This could range from 15 seconds to over 2 minutes, dependant on your training and experience. But, do you know how long your rest should be for? Obviously, there are variations based on individual factors and fitness levels, however different training modalities require different rest periods. Commonly, this is suggested to be 1 minute, which is ideal for a hypertrophy (3/4 sets of 8-12 reps) programme. During this period, your body is able to replenish used glycogen from the muscles to ensure you can complete the next set.  For endurance training (4/5 sets to 15-20 reps or more) ...

  What really is the difference between Physical Activity and Exercise?   And how can we use Exercise and Physical Activity to improve our health and help us reach our goals? First of all - Definitions!  Physical Activity  - Any movement created by the contraction of skeletal muscles. (This could be gardening, car cleaning or walking to work).   Exercise  - Planned activity with the intent of improving an element of our health and fitness or performance. (This could be going for a run, going to the gym, or attending an exercise class).   So, what does this mean?   in effect, any movement we make can be classed as Physical Activity, whether that is walking the dog or walking to the fridge. Walking to specifically improve our cardiovascular health is exercise.      So, how do we use exercise and Physical Activity to improve our health? Physical Activity can be done anywhere and at any time. Higher levels of Physical Activity have...

  Do you struggle to stay motivated?   Do you find that you hit one minor bump in your goals and struggle to carry on?   Here we look at some psychological theories of motivation - and how they may apply to you.  There are four important theories of motivation. These are: Achievement Goal Orientation - Are we focused on mastery or the outcome? Attribution Theory - Are the factors that determine our successes and failures what motivates us? Self-Determination Theory - Are Intrinsic or Extrinsic factors our motivators? Need Achievement Theory - Are we focusing on achieving success or on avoiding 'failure'.    The Achievement Goal Orientation suggests that we are either motivated to become better ourselves (mastery) or by beating others (outcome). It argues that by focusing on improving ourselves we have better control of success and are therefore more motivated. By focusing on beating others we can easily give up, and make excuses, rather than control our suc...

  How can we improve our performance? Obviously, we can train harder or train more. But what if we focused on the little things? The 1%'s. All to often, it is easy to get caught up with the big, grand gestures towards improving ourselves. We put in the extra hours and the extra effort, but is this really the most efficient use of our time?    Sometimes, the extra hours are needed to improve ourselves, but before we put in the extra hours next time, lets check the little things are all done.    The little things will vary based on what you are aiming to achieve. But, lets say, you want to improve your squat strength (or strength on any lift). The hours you put in squatting will improve your strength, but, there is a number of little things to get right first.  Firstly, technique. Correcting your technique will not make you instantly stronger, but it will ensure a more efficient movement. And if a movement is more efficient, you will waste less energy on the ...