Here are some problems when it comes to starting a programme and my solutions to them.

Problem “I don’t have enough time.”
Solution – You do. You just don’t know how to manage your time. You have the same time as every one else. The same 24 hours that Bill Gates, Barack Obama and Warren Buffet have. You just don’t set exercise or eating healthy as near the top of your priority.
Stop, take check at your ‘time vampires’ (watching TV, nattering hours on the phone, reading trash mags) and be ruthless. Get rid of them. Make exercise and preparing healthy meals important and see the benefits.

Problem – “I have to look after other people”
Solution – try looking after your self FIRST. I call this ‘hurried mum syndrome.’ Looking after a house, three kids and in most cases a husband is a lot tougher when you are carrying around excess fat. Get rid of the fat and suddenly managing ANYTHING becomes a lot easier.

15% of your day (which works out around 2 hours) should be spent doing what YOU want to do. Reading, walking, gym, study, whatever takes your fancy. Just make it your time. Guaranteed there will be an an inner calm restored to your life.
Problem – “I have to get the (insert – proposal, project, essay) in by 5pm”
Solution – see point 1 and what were you doing before you left the house this morning? Exercise, including a brisk walk, increases productivity. Fact. That is why it is compulsory in one successful Japanese company to walk 20 minutes in the morning and 20 minutes in the afternoon.

Problem – “Eating Healthy all the time is boring”
Solution – you just need to reframe what you consider as boring. This is a challenge as ‘cravings’ normally overwhelm your rational thinking. Instead of viewing a salad or vegetables ‘boring’ think ‘boundless energy, vitality, health, strength and well-being’. And who says you have to eat healthy ‘all the time’? We call for a 90 per cent compliance on our nutrition programme. This leaves 10 per cent for those foods that you consider a ‘treat’. It doesn’t have to be about denial and sacrifice.

“But I will have to give up chocolate and ice-cream”
Solution – Really? And live like a monk or an obsessive? Work these foods into your plan. The only thing you will have to give up is the notion that you can sit on your backside and think the pounds will melt off and that you can eat everything in the cupboard and dream yourself skinny. That is just delusional.

Problem – “I can’t afford the gym”
Solution – Exercise at home, in the park or head outside. Get a good workout DVD and have some fun with it. Alternatively lower all your stress hormones by heading outside for a brisk walk. A cheap set of Dumbbells will last you a lifetime.

Problem – “I don’t have a way of getting to the gym and besides I have to take Little Jonny to Scouts”
Solution – See above and stop making overly-creative excuses.

Problem – “I am injured”
Solution – That’s ok. Injuries are what I call an inconvenience’ not an ‘injustice’ . Exercise professionals will be able to work around your injury enabling you to still work towards your goals despite your set-back.

Problem – “I don’t feel like it today”
Solution – when IS a good time? Just start! Just do something that will make a difference. The Japanese have a philosophy called Kaizen. It seems to be the buzzword at the moment. But it means gradual and incremental improvements. Each day make a positive step towards your health and fitness.

Start immediately by doing something. It could be just heading out for a walk, deciding that you will have ‘breakfast in the morning and this is what I will have’, lifting some weights for 15-20 minutes.
My point is this if you are writing to do lists all the time – stop. Stop thinking about it and just do it. Paralysis by analysis.

Problem – “It’s boring.”
Solution – Yep, so is waiting in the Doctor’s office because you are too sick to do anything. We are designed to move and eat healthy nutritious foods. As they say – prevention is better than a cure. Besides, exercise can be fun. Dance classes, group activity and meeting with friends for a good brisk walk can be fun. So can making a healthy feast for your family and seeing your four-year chomp down a plate of veggies. Victory in the battle!
Next week more excuse busting! In the meantime, place your creative energy into making solutions not conjuring up elaborate excuses

Check out the latest bootcamp in maynooth

Http://www.yourhealthcamp.com

As a personal trainer I have been meaning to write this for a while now and only this week saw the debate about Sunbeds rear its ugly head again. And we are not talking about the head of the not-so-healthy health minister here.

Typically what happens in Ireland is a rallying call from the political ranks, a cry from the special groups combined with a frenzy of over-the-top horror stories leads to the driving of a complete ban.

It's ok - it ain't gonna get ya

In this case it is not a complete ban of sun-beds but a regulatory system in particular for using tanning beds under the age of 18 and with clear warnings. Good move – but let’s get a few things straight here.

Prudent sun exposure AND responsible indoor tanning is perfectly safe.

Ok it may seem a little strange to rent a video and then hop on the sun-bed or dive into some seedy parlour for a few minutes. But we are missing the bigger picture here.

I would even add it is crucial to our health here in Ireland. We should not be frightening people out of the power of sunlight.

In fact it is so important to health and fitness that we administer UVB Light Therapy in our clinic here in Maynooth.

Let’s get one thing straight here. We need sunlight.

We don’t get enough sun. Ireland lies on 50-55 degrees latitude meaning that sun exposure is minimal. Countless studies have demonstrated that those areas around the globe exposed to more sun experience less cancer!

Speaking of which let’s have a look at the connection between sunlight and cancer. In his book The UV Advantage , Michael Hollick (who just so happens to be as pale as a ghost) outlines some key fallacies that need to be considered.

Maybe not the best joke to play...

For one it is though that any and all sun exposure causes skin cancer. In essence though we can’t live without UVB rays (for production of vitamin D) nor do we understand fully the connection between non-melanoma and UVB/UVA.

Equally there is no evidence to suggest that regular moderate sun exposure causes melanoma (skin cancer). After a 1995 conference the FDA were ‘baffled’ with the link between persons who had melanomas not exposed to regular sun. This seems to point the way to the fact that the actual cause of melanoma is varied and not just rooted in ‘big-bad-sun’.

Why is it that melanomas often appear in areas not exposed to the sun? For instance they are rarely on the face or the hands. For men it is the chest, stomach and back and the women it is the legs.

Isn’t it strange that at present we spend far more time indoors working in our bat-cave offices than our forefathers yet have a steadily increasing rise in skin cancer rates? Is it wonder that they may have built up a GRADUAL resistance to the sun over the years working outside and keeping most of their body covered?

Tanned skin protects your skin. It could be argued that you run more of a risk staying out of the sun altogether. Independent research has demonstrated that those individuals who gain sun exposure ultimately are healthier due to the production of the ‘uber vitamin’ vitamin D.

Paraben Free or Cover Up

In our modern age it is the classic look. There is nothing ‘gradual’ about this. One day of sun = the next day of lobsters. Amongst the young this is a disaster and will lead to an increase in skin cancer risk.

But to state that the sun solely causes cancer is pure scare-mongering.

When are both sides of the argument actually going to be presented to us? Just like the vaccine debacle (remember that – yep – we are all still alive and well thanks).

Sun exposure may actually prevent skin cancer. That is why, if you do a search in the journals, there are literally hundreds of studies done in the Scandinavian countries who with their limited sunlight find a positive relationship between improved health and the use of artificial UVB Light Beds.

The risk in this case outweighs the benefits. Get out in the sun as much as possible. Get your ‘dose’ and then cover up. Look into clinics that provide a UVB Therapy service to get your Vitamin D levels raised. Look for paraben free sun lotions but whatever you do do not be scared of the sun. You may be missing out on one of nature’s most powerful healing agents.

Closing thought – our health messages are coming from the mouth of someone who is morbidly obese. Just ‘food’ for thought.

John Lark is a personal trainer in maynooth

Go to www.spherefitnessstudio.com and pick up your free diet plan today

Discussions around the dinner table, at work, with relatives and now even with child revolve around ‘how much you weigh / have lost / put on’ etc.

Our subconscious is primed with images of slim celebrities who ‘look fabulous’ and ultimately as a culture we now model ourselves on these body types and images.

Time to take check and propose that all is not what it seems. In fact I would argue that what the scales demonstrate is very little in terms of what state of health, fitness and ‘looks’ you are in.

For example you can be fit but not necessarily very healthy. What do I mean by this? Well, as Barry Sears author of Toxic Fat argues, skinny people may not possess a genetic disposition to store body fat in visible areas (bums, legs and tums). They do however, possess the not-so-good ability to convert fatty acids into excess free radicals that wreak havoc upon us causing us to age early, fall ill, cannibalise muscle to be used as fuel and weaken our bones.

So ‘no’ the skinny bitch can’t eat anything she likes and not put on a pinch. It doesn’t work like that. I mean think of it like this? Do you honestly think that you can-not be effected by a diet of cigarettes, coffee, skipped meals and special K for breakfast? Delusional. Mad. Call it what you want.

So, what do the scales tell us? Ultimately they tell us our weight. But weight of what? We are made up of muscle, fat, water, a connective frame that includes bone, tendons ligaments etc etc.

And what about the skinny work collegue? How much inflammation is she dealing with on a deeper level? ( If you would like to know how then I suggest you take a live blood analysis consultation. You will see first hand how ‘clean’ your blood is and ultimately how healthy you are)

It is disheartening to see so many of us become hung up on our weight and what the scales say. Your weight can fluctuate throughout the day. No one knows the exact why this happens. Some scientists propose that it could be to do with your fluid levels. But imagine hopping on the scales after a gym session and seeing you lost 2lbs. Great. Later on in the day, the scales creep back up 2lbs. Disappointment sets in. You may even think about quitting.

Celebrities lose weight at an astronomical weight. 7lbs in 2 weeks. 4lbs in a day with the new ‘wraps’. 40lbs in 6 weeks was the best one I heard. What is actually happening?

Lean bodies with good levels of health determined by blood tests will possess 10% of their body weight as fat in males and between 14-16% in females. Visible muscle definition will be evident.

Who would you put in this class? Models? Fitness Professionals? Celebrities? The cast of Desperate Housewives?

Well, think again. Models possess very high levels of body fat, up in around the 20% range. How can this be? Their diets that force them to eat skinny i.e. below what they would need in terms of their daily calorific amount to maintain their weight coupled with a diet rich in cigarettes, alcohol, stress and zero exercise will force them to burn fat AND muscle.

They are sick and tired. The scales say one thing, their vicious mood swings, aging skin and lack of muscle tone says another.

What about the BMI and all these Liquid ‘Get Slim Quick Formulas? An Olympic rower around 16 stone and 6 foot 4 is categorised as ‘Obese’ by the BMI. It neglects to look at body a fat level which in all cases is below 10%. Try telling 4 time Olympic Gold Medallist, Steve Redgrave he is obese!

Equally the liquid get slim quick diets are a complete joke. How can sipping away for 2-3 meals a day on a cocktail of artificial colourings, sweeteners devoid of ALL nutrients be good for you?

Fat stores are depleted from our muscles and liver. But our muscles are also depleted as our bodies, like hunger starved dogs, search for their next source of energy – your muscles and the protein that is contained within.

Try and embrace how much body fat you are carrying over what the scales tell you. A skilled exercise physiologist will be able to measure your body fat levels. Better still, just aim to get healthier. Have you ever seen a healthy fat person?

Is it as easy as drinking your food? No. Is it as easy as relying solely on the scales? No. Keep focused on your body fat levels. Have them accurately taken and then set about meeting the challenge. The bikini body is about to be unravelled and the age of the ‘skinny fat’ will be long gone.

John Lark is a personal trainer in dublin.

To make this easy I want to make this as simple as possible.

Here is a list of what I believe to be the best steps you can take this year to improve your health and fitness levels.

Take one action item from this list. Do it. Do it hard for a week or however long it takes you embed.

So without further a due.

Write down your goal. You are far more likely to achieve it.

Match your behaviours to your goals. If your goal is to run a marathon this year then you need to get running. Likewise the same goal wont be met if you are constantly in the behaviour pattern of sitting on your arse every day. Equally if you want to lose weight then pick five behaviours that you know will help you lose weight and do them every day.

Find your ‘why’. Why are you doing this? This has to be strong.

Focus on improving your health rather than shrinking your waistline. With health comes fat loss. With health comes abundant energy and balanced moods. With health comes performance in life, sport and work. Living should be fun and easy not a chore.

Keep a grateful journal. Each day spend 2-3 minutes and wrote down what you are grateful for. Turn off the news and do this. You will sleep better and wake up looking forward to the day rather than thinking about the next ‘drama’ that you have to tackle.

Improve your sleep by investing in blackout blinds. Your hormones and immune system will thank you for giving them a good night’s sleep. If you struggle to nod off hop into an Epsom Salts bath. They work brilliantly.

Eat raw foods with every meal. Stick a salad or lightly cooked vegetable soup next to your meal and eat it first.

Drink more good FILTERED water. The best thing you can do for you and your family’s health is to use reverse osmosis or water ionisers. 3-4 litres every day.

Replace your paraben-laden cosmetics with organic versions. Likewise stop spraying aluminium next to your armpits. These are carcinogenic and the health shop have excellent replacements that are in most cases cheaper. No brainer.

Get your mercury fillings removed and then follow up with a good nutritional chelation protocol (like the one we can offer). This is another no brainer. Mercury is poisoning you 24-7. If your dentist says that this is not worth doing then thank him for his/ her opinion and find another one. He/she does not have your health at heart.

Stick to exercise at first (if you are new to this) that you will enjoy and keep at. Sweating and using oxygen  is at the heart of most beginners to exercise Nutritional and lifestyle changes will make the biggest difference so just get sweating and moving!

Use an Infra red sauna. These are great for your health. Sweat removes toxins and again makes strides to build your health.

Want power is more powerful than will power.

Learn how to weight train.

Eat les animal and diary protein. It is making you sick and tired.

Eat more fruits and vegetables. Simple. Effective. Cheap.

Buy a vegetarian cookbook and learn how to ‘dress up’ these once boring and tasteless items.

Start supplementing your diet with Sodium Bicarbonate, Lugol’s Iodine, Magnesium and Vitamin D. These are power houses and will not fail to improve everyone’s health. A year’s supply of all of these items will set you back about 100 quid. What a bargain. In fact – let’s start an experiment. Use them and see how many visits to the Doctor you need this year. Let me know in December.

I hate ‘detox’. It is far more complicated than that. Our bodies are well adjusted to deal with it. However, it needs help. Especially in this day and age. We have not quire evolved to deal with the environment that burdens us day in day out.

Do you think our caveman ancestors worried about what skin care product to use?

There is plenty here to get you going. Health comes from in to out. Stress, poor nutrition, toxic overload and lack of exercise will all be reflected on the outside. You are your own canvas.

Where do you begin and more importantly what are you aiming for or looking to achieve?

Like training and any fat loss goal, it pays to have the end result in mind.

Nutrition is goal dependent and habit based. Fat loss nutritional strategies will differ to health specific strategies. Sports nutrition will differ to aiding ladies through the menopause.

There are, however, common threads that can be applied in any strategies.

Habits underpin good nutrition. How many of us undergo a diet programme and attempt to change everything over-night? We hope to mystically transform our entire approach to nutrition over-night and follow a ‘eat this don’t eat this’ approach.

Here’s the thing – It doesn’t work.

Instead of ‘going on a diet’ think of ‘building your health’.

Why would you do this?

Well a) immediately you have taken the pressure of yourself to always be ‘losing weight’ and therefore creating unnecessary pressures and stress b) you get hooked on the feeling rather than inches, pounds and stones and c) the stick rate is much higher whilst delivering the same result.

Here’s how it works in the real world. Firstly you have to throw away the scales. These are for the pros. They are about as much use as a chocolate fire guard. Secondly, you have to use the mirror, clothes and your energy levels as a guide.

The first week you may set yourself the goal of 1. Drinking a glass of lemon water 15 minutes before each meal alongside 2.Taking time out 10 minutes every day to reflect and relax. Now do it. Each day write it down that you achieved these actions.

Here are a few more habits that should be deployed with most nutritional programmes. In an ideal world, you should consult a professional to find a nutritional programme tailored to your needs.

1. Eating vegetable and oil based breakfast with a small amount of protein on some mornings.

2. Following a Caveman approach to nutrition. Keep your foods as close to nature as possible. The further you move away the closer you move to disease.

3. Keep a journal. We all tell a few white lies to ourselves you know the ones that start with the words ‘This wont hurt’. Well it does. It all adds up particularly if you are looking to get healthy. Keep a food journal and you are 80% more likely to hit your targets. Not a bad little habit to keep.

4. Preparing your food in advance. Develop a little ritual the night before where you bring some foods with you to work or in the car. Trying to eat healthy snacks in this country is like asking finding a needle in a haystack.

5. Drinking water as your source of fluids. Consider that most of your body is made up of water and you can see how important it is to stay hydrated. Coffee, Tea and other hot drinks tend to be water-robbers. Water – pure and filtered is the best. There really is no comparism. As a guideline, consume your bodyweight in kg x 0.033 to find your ideal amount in litres. The only real exception is green tea. Shoot for 3 cups a day of this mighty beverage. As a personal trainer this is the biggest mistake I see people make.

7. Consuming veggies with each meal. Everytime you feed there should be a source of vegetables. Spinach in omelettes, salads, chopped veggies, grilled (a really great way to sweeten veggies) and stir-fry and ‘Greens Drinks’ are all great ways of getting more veggies in to your nutrition.

8. Get the skinny on fat – fat can make you thin. Fact. Did you know that supplementing your diet with fish oil is a sure fire way to get those fat furnaces burning fast. Coconut oil, rich in SATURATED FAT, can also help you get leaner. Fats are your friends. Now I am not talking about those artery-clogging fat found in fried foods, cakes, biscuits and take-aways. You would be best to avoid anything on the packet that has ‘hydrogenated’ on it like the plague.
Instead shoot for fats that are rich in Omega-3. These include fish oil (pharmaceutical grade only), flax seeds, hemp oil, nuts

and olive oil. Cook with coconut oil.
9. Take your energy from vegetables and dietary fats rather than bread, pastas and starches. Have them as a treat. However, if they are appearing in every meal you may be setting yourself up for ill-health.

John Lark is a Fat Loss Specialist providing tools to help you get healthier and leaner – faster. He can be contacted at 01-5052131. Download your free fat loss report at www.spherefitnessstudio.com
**

As always it depends. It will depend on your goals – figure athlete or general health and well-being? Sports athlete or armchair athlete?

I have NEVER seen anyone get results without 5 Hours of exercise a week and 90% compliance with their nutrition.
Five hours may seem daunting at first but this can and should be made up of a variety of methods including weight training, high intensity metabolic training, low intensity training and activity.

Getting this balance and inclusion into your weekly schedule will take time. Quit making excuses. Get off your fat to burn the fat.

So how would you make sure that you are getting enough?

If you are new to the exercise game then ‘transition’ is the name of the game. Build up small steps over time. If your idea of exercise is a forward shift from couch to remote then 3 walks a week would be a good start.

On the other hand if you are seasoned veteran of the gym, knowing the staff by their first name then I would begin with weight training 3 times a week for a total of 3 hours. This will ramp up your metabolism by building muscle. Hormonally it will also bring balance to your body. Your moods, energy, motivation and well being will be dramatically improved.

The best way to do this is to learn a few of the movements that encompass a good weight training programme and work through them, without resting, for 8-12 repetitions at a time. Add weight if you feel you can do more.

In the days in-between your weight training sessions, pop out for a walk or better still perform a high intensity interval session. 2-3 walks of 60 minutes suddenly becomes the holy grail of 5 hours!

Add in taking more active roles with your kids, spouse and friends and you are well on your way.

But what happens if you are really on the quest for something special? I am talking very low body fat scores for males and females and a healthy and balanced body.

Well you had better make sure your nutrition was good 90% of the time. What I mean is that if I gave you a recipe for apple pie and you make rhubarb crumble with it then the plan is no-where near where it should be!

Stick with the rules of good nutrition 90% of the time and do not waiver! Plan for the 10% where you cheat a little.

So, if you plan to eat 5 protein, vegetable and dietary fat based meals 7 days a week that is 35 meals. 10% margin would allow for 4 meals that you either skip or forget one of the elements.

Our nutrition plans have calculated no-rules feeds that actually help you burn fat. However, the devil is in the detail.
This is the most overlooked concept of any health and fitness programme.

It is human nature to bend the rules to suit your own lifestyle. Often taking on a health and fitness programme is uncomfortable. It makes demands on your time, body and mind. But the results are huge.

You have to accept there will be sacrifice.

Unfortunately your exercise habits of 5 hours a week is not going to cut it if dramatic results are what you are looking for.

Alongside this the intensity with which you had train better be right up there.

Most athletes will train for between 10-15 hours a week sometimes twice a day.

Now before I hear you all moaning about how tough this is with kids, work and a life stop reading – this isn’t for you. And this isn’t meant to put you off starting exercising either.

I am just trying to put a touch of realism on this.

Building a lean physique is tough – really tough.

On the other hand, building health is not. The best by-product of getting healthier is becoming leaner! Have you ever seen a healthy fat person? They don’t exist – no matter how much you think dried apricots diced on special K are ‘good for you’.

It boils down to how much you want to do it. You have the same 24 hours as anyone else. What do you do with them?

It also boils down to generating momentum. One new habit leads to another and so on. The giant snowball brings giant rewards.

So start your journey now. Not tomorrow, not Monday (aaaahhhh!!!!! – my pet peeve) – now. In fact what are you doing reading this! Get moving!

How much exercise is enough? My answer to you is this – More than you are probably doing now but enough to start a wee snow-ball.

John Lark is a personal trainer in ireland

As pioneering health and medicinal Doctor Antoine Bechamp once wrote, it is the ‘terrain’ rather than the ‘germ’ that makes us ill.

Meaning, we are surrounded by germs, moulds, bugs and nasty creepy crawlies that make us ill. If the inner terrain i.e. our body is sick then these critters will be sure to take hold and wreak havoc. If we are healthy they don’t.

Think of it like this – if you were to leave food in the fridge, turn it off and leave it for weeks then I am sure you will all know what you would be faced with if you dared to open the door!

Your food was ok going in but it somehow degenerated into a rotten mess without any help from the outside. The inner environment essentially changed the way it looked, tasted and appeared!

This philosophy allows us to take control of our health rather than be a victim of circumstances.

So take back your health with these really simple health boosters. Enough to give you a wee booster coming into the silly season

Keep hydrated with a minimum of 3-4 litres of quality mineral water every day, male and female. Pee yourself healthy! Keeping hydrated keeps us in full working order. We are 70-80 per cent water. Bear this in mind before you care about how many vegetables you are getting in at meal time or how much protein sits on your plate.

It is like driving around the car with little or no oil. Would you let that run dry? Yet it seems strange to me that we would happily let ourselves run dry. Do you care more about your car?

Choose Alkaline Foods over acidic foods. We are alkaline by design meaning that the body will do anything to retain the neutral status of our tissues and the fluid that we are made up of. So give it what it needs!

Too much acid foods and drinks in the form of animal and dairy proteins, sugar, coffee, tea and fizzy drinks will drain the life and the health reserves from you.

You are robbing Peter to pay Paul. To buffer this excess acidity that you are consuming the body will draw on its alkaline mineral reserves to neutralise this. Ladies and Gentlemen I introduce you to fatigue, brittle bones, dry skin and disease!
To help the body give it the alkaline environment that it needs. Commit yourself to salads at lunch and dinner with your meal.

The more life in your food, the more life in you.

Take Vitamin D. Vitamin D is a powerhouse vitamin that helps with everything going on in the body from uptake of calcium to driving its way into the cells of your body allowing them to unlock the key to your true health potential. Over 63 studies have shown its ability to prevent all forms of cancer too.

The two viable options are artificial UVB and supplements. If visiting an indoor tanning salon, be sure to ask for the booth with the highest UVB to UVA ratio since only UVB produces vitamin D. UVA is useful in producing a browner tan.

Dietary sources of vitamin D are generally insufficient to produce optimal levels of this vitamin. Milk contains only 400 I.U. of vitamin D3 and at a basic levels 800 to 1000 I.U. per day are probably required. You may need more depending on a blood test.

However, using a supplement is the best option for those with lack of daily sun particularly from October to March.

Taking regular daily exercise as a means of getting oxygen into the body and the heart rate up is a sure fire way to give your body a real kick start in the health game.

Disease thrives in low oxygen acidic environments. Otto Warburg, discoverer of cancer, said this in the 1930s.  So get outside! Take a walk in the parks, cycle, swim or play sport. Do something most days of the week.

The point is exercise is different to training. Do something in these winter months. Training requires intense effort and a goal. Exercise should not be intimidating. There is a difference.

You will fight and be flu-free if your mind-set is set to become as healthy as possible over the months rather than ‘fall victim’. Stack the above suggestions and you will fast be on your way to a nice-cosy winter devoid of Kleenex and cough bottle.

John Lark is a personal trainer in dublin.

John Lark, a personal trainer in Celbridge, Co.Kildare outlines how we can take lessons from the Obamas when it comes to health and fitness. You don’t have time….reallly? Read on…

When Michele Obama emerged from the aftermath of her Husband’s inauguration the world was heard muttering words of encouragement about the first lady’s physique.

In particular her toned arms were marvelled at and suddenly a wave of Internet and media followers c. 40-year-old age bracket were taking encouragement from her looks.

Reportedly she arises at 5.30am to train with her husband and a personal trainer three times a week. She trains and consumes a ‘clean diet’.

This is only matched by her husband who on his campaign trail awoke at 5.30 in the AM to workout at gyms that had been closed off to accommodate the Premier.

So what is ‘her secret’? What is separates her from the masses of women who struggle with ‘the bingo wings’ or ‘dinner lady arms?’

Of course the perks of the job come with all the trimmings of an in-house chef and personal trainer. However, do you think that her physique is the result of a magic bullet?

There are much deeper issues and lessons at play here and ones that can help you strive for greater achievements.
Take for instance the issue of consistency. No matter what, Obama trains three times a week. They make time. They find time.

For them 5.30 in the morning is the only time they can make. So be it. If the most powerful couple can find time to do this, do you think you can too?

Then there is the issue of public accountability. Do you think that the pressure of millions watching your every move is enough motivation to get you hit the gym rather than pulling your duvet over your eyes? Or what about the tin of biscuits that is regularly visited by your hands? A global audience would certainly scupper that visit.

Accountability is a hugely successful tool in fat loss. It makes celebrities work their backsides off to drop baby weight, help extras from Eastenders make fitness DVDs.

Making this work for you however is simple enough. Tell people about your plans. Tell your friends, family and co-workers. Tell them specifically about your plans.

I had an assessment this week with a female client and she rightly pointed out that the Irish are ‘negative’ in their comments.

She was dead right. I stated that the best way to respond to this would be to feed off this. Let it drive you to greater achievements (as a side note – she did awesome with a 10lb loss achieved with a steely determination to prove her group wrong).

When making yourself accountable step out of your comfort zone. Stick your neck out. Why not set up a weight loss blog on the Internet? It has driven some individuals to amazing losses in weight. Why? Because suddenly you are making yourself accountable to a global community.

Take home point –find your social support group / individual and check in with them frequently.

Then there is the issue of the nature of her training. Michele Obama did not get arms like that lifting the pink dumbbells for 2 sets of 30 repetitions or poodle on the cross trainer for 60 minutes counting the calorie dial.

To create a toned physique you need to step up to the heav(ier) forms of weight training. Swap the plastic dumbbells for chin ups, press ups, squats and Deadlifts and be prepared to lift heavy!

If you couple this with a clean diet rich in vegetables, fish, water and good fats you will literally watch your fat disappear to reveal toned slender muscles.

I was in the gym the other morning watching as some poor trainer was lambasted with comments such as“If walk at this speed then how many calories have I burned off” and “If I put this incline up, will I burn more calories”

In other words ‘have I worked off last night’s dessert yet?’

Stop concerning about the petty details. Get in the gym, remain consistent with your behaviours and your results will follow.

John Lark is a personal trainer in celbridge, co .kildare. His personal training company, Sphere Fitness can be found in Maynooth, Kildare

First exercise is what it is. A superb way to provide you with longevity, health, vitality and energy. If you do it right you may even lose a bit of weight when combined with a sensible eating plan.

However, if you want results that you have defined with a clear goal whether it be ‘get rid of the tummy’ or ‘shift the tyre’ or ‘tone these legs’ then you will have to step it up and stop sugar coating what is needed for you to achieve this.

Yes, you will have to break sweat. No, you can’t drink yourself silly. Yes, you will have to make sacrifices with your time. No, you can’t eat that and think it wont effect your results and yes you may have to spend some money.

When you chase something hard enough you will have to TRAIN for it.

Sure exercise will be beneficial but actually stepping up the intensity and taking yourself out of the comfort zone is the ONLY way to get the body you deserve.

To bring change you must change.

Don’t let the media water this down for you. Personal Trainers get a bad cop by bringing this change out of you by probing where they need to go. Unflinching and determined levels of motivation to make change are driven by your emotions. Not fads. You may detest what you look like in the mirror. You may be sick of the comments that are flown your way.

In my years of experience personal and group training and coaching individuals to reach their health and fitness goals I can firmly say that the tendency to sugar coat what they deem as exercise is still going strong.

Even our safe haven of the health and fitness world the gym is laden with Machines geared towards sitting on for the ride and providing about as much exercise as lying down.

So, no, reading a magazine whilst cranking out a set of leg presses is not a good idea.

Step out of your comfort zone and find the reasons why this is important to you. One or two reasons such as ‘I want to look great’ or ‘I want to fit into my jeans’ is not going to cut it and drive you to reach unparallel heights.

Look deep within and do a bit of soul searching. Shed a few tears if necessary. Whatever it takes, find those reasons. You will need them.

We are designed to move and function like our hunter gatherer ancestors. Indeed according to Dr. Loren Cordain, an expert on Paleo (Caveman) Nutrition our genetic make-up is still 99.9% the same.

In ancient times we ran, sprinted, carried and lifted heavy carcasses. Our movements were determined by the need to build, hunt, scavenge, and catch. This is not to say we should sport our finest leopard skin briefs and pop down to the local supermarket, spear in hand, to hunt for wild boar. It was tough living back then!

But being honest in our efforts to build up a bit of a sweat on most days of the week is crucial to achieving your health and fitness goals.

And it goes back to our attitude –the quick fix, sugar coated mentality.

The mentality that drives us mad if the lift doors don’t close quick enough. The mentality that drives us crazy crossing the road.

I bet you press the button to make it go faster?

Why does everything have to be so easy? It is tough reaching your goals. It is hard work training and eating right. It is hard sacrificing sweet foods for veggies and lean protein. It is hard cutting back on the booze.

But that is where the reward lies. If climbing Everest was easy we would all be booking our seats at the Table Top Restaurant to admire the view.

The truth is there is no table top restaurant because only the strongest, most determined and most prepared climbers ever make the summit.

I get tired of trying to make exercise out to be ‘easy’ and ‘fun’ with all the smiles and pearly whites seen on a Jane Fonda or the latest pathetic ‘before and after’ videos from our celebrities.

The truth is it isn’t.

I train people who want results and want them pretty fast. This comes at a price. You have to put the work in. There is no easy way round it. There is no sugar coating the gardening and dressing it up as exercise.

Now rant over – cup of green tea anyone?

Visit John Lark’s web site www.john-lark.com and pick up a free copy of the ‘Fundamentals of Fat Loss’ including a sample workout and menu plan

Compare this to Organic Wild Salmon. It doesn’t even get a mention in Reader’s Digest.
If you are looking to shrink your waistline and reduce your level of body fat then keep things simple and prevent falling victim to the marketing hype.

For example, the ‘low fat’ label that is attached to most, if not all, ‘healthy’ products is misleading and just scandalous.
How can a cereal bar packed full of sugar in its flimsy 100 calorie frame be anything more than a recipe for waistline disaster?

First of all, products like this that are ‘low in fat’ are also low in nutrients. They are devoid of vitamins and minerals that provide with life, vitality and energy.

Compare the Jaffa Cake to the humble Orange.  Both are low in calories. Yet one has more nutrients – can you tell which one?

Yoghurt is healthy enough without an added 2 teaspoons of sugar, masked with all the health benefits of healthy bacteria that is good for your gut.

If you want healthy bacteria then take a supplement. A quick swig on a pot that wouldn’t feed a toddler isn’t going to do it.
The problem with the ‘low fat’ staples is that they are just that – low in fat.

Food manufacturers remove key nutrients from the food to make it taste better. Ever wondered why you just can’t stop at one biscuit?

Biscuits, cakes and other processed ‘low fat items’ are also rich in things like inverted sugar syrup, glucose-fructose syrup and such like. These are as bad, if not worse, than consuming sugar. Take sugar, distort its chemical make-up and bingo you have the main part of what is your cereal bar.

We need fat. Good fats. The fats you find in nuts, seeds, oils such as avocado, walnut, hemp, olive and fish oil.
We even need saturated fat. The fat that comes with good old coconut oil and raw butter.

If you can imagine your body being nothing more than a complex network of cells that make up  our organs, skin, hair and body parts then you will see why.

Each one of these cells has an outer wall called a membrane. This membrane is made up of fat. All sorts of bodily reactions are dependant on this membrane doing its job. It must allow hormones in to allow a reaction to occur inside the cell. It must allow

substances out too, like the release  of body fat from adipose tissue.
A diet that has a sensible mix of fat will ensure that this membrane does its job. Stuff comes in, stuff comes out.

Can you imagine if it didn’t? Hormones, nutrients and fluids would not be allowed in (or find it very tough) and other substances would find it hard to get in too.
Becoming a fat-phobic will do nothing for your waistline or your health.
However, the devil is always in the detail.

If you are on a calorie controlled nutrition plan then you would be wise to ensure that you don’t use this to splurge on your favourite double cream.

Instead work it into your calorie budget. If you know that you can maintain your weight on 1800 calories then think before you use these up in one feast of steak and raw butter.
Rest assured you will get fat if you eat over your calorie allowance, even if it is considered ‘healthy’.

It is, however, not surprising that once you remove all the processed and packaged foods from your calorie budget how much you have room for the foods that provide you with all the tools necessary to reach your health and fitness goals.

Fish, good quality meats, vegetables and good old-fashioned healthy fats.

John Lark is a personal trainer in maynooth. Contact us now for your no obligation assessment.