npc blog

500 and a half!

admin — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 13:12:17 +0000

Hi, today’s session is called 500 and a half because you will do 500 repetitions of the circuit exercises and a half mile run. The way i’d recommend you do it is below but if it suits you to do the half mile (800m) first or last then that’s fine – whatever you enjoy more )

The below are the examples i’ve done but feel free to change things around as you feel fit – the idea though is to choose harder exercises at the beginner of the set (50 x plyometric press ups does not sound fun – or does it? hmm another day perhaps!) with each getting slightly easier to perform as the repetitions go up.

As normal presuming you are fit, well and injury free and that you have warmed up adequately before starting – have fun and feel free to post your times.

400m run

5 x Press ups – (the hardest version you can do – legs raised / plyometric etc – see here for ideas)

10 x Squats jumps

15 x Shoulder press – resistance bands / dumbbells / weights of other description

20 x Side ski jumps (feet together jump sideways back and forth like skiing downhill)

25 x Crunches – any version

50x Mountain climbers (total!)

REPEAT X 5 – no rest

400m run

TIME: 19:11

Do you need exercise equipment?

admin — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 15:25:25 +0000

Whilst it is quite possible to exercise with just your own bodyweight you can completely transform your exercise sessions with just a few key pieces of home gym training kit. To get the most out of the express sessions and to keep them varied / interesting we would recommend you invest a small amount of money getting yourself set up with the kit listed below. We plan to carry on with the express sessions and want to make them as effect and dare we say, enjoyable as possible – the extra kit opens up a much more varied plan and will get you better results than without it.

Skipping rope – a rope is great conditioning piece of equipment and most big supermarkets sell something quite cheap that would do the trick. You don’t need anything fancy but try and get what is called a speed rope. Average price would be less than £5

Resistance – one option is a set of resistance bands – these however do vary enormously in quality from product to product. The only types we recommend are made by Bodylastics and can be ordered through our site. They last well, have all the attachments you could need, can generate large amounts of resistance and are easy to use. Throw in a large amount of free online training videos and they really are worth getting. We carry these with us whenever we run our courses or train clients in their homes. The average cost would be between £30 and £40 depending on what resistance you wanted. Link is here: http://www.npconline.co.uk/bodylastics.html

Mat – some kind of exercise / stretch mat is going to make the floor exercises a bit more comfortable – it will also protect your floor from sweat!! Average price £12 to £15 from many online retailers / supermarkets.

Timer – A timer is a very versatile piece of kit and until you start using a good one you’d never had thought them that important. The type we use is called a Gymboss and is completely adjustable. You can use it as a simple countdown timer or make it run intervals – you can even programme in the number of intervals you want to do – very useful for keeping tabs on where you are in your session. Many smart phones now have an ‘App’ that does something similar but to be honest we only use things specially designed for the purpose. Average price is around £12 and can be bought through Amazon.

So, for less than two months average membership you could easily kit yourself out with a useful selection of kit that would enable you to do hundreds if not thousands of different workouts.

Free online fitness programme

admin — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 11:41:05 +0000

Hi, today i thought it might be a good idea to share with some other free online training programmes. I’m a big fan of Steve and Bonnie Pfiester – they are a couple from Vero beach Florida and they run some awesome boot camps, classes and free sessions. They have just released a new set of video’s on YouTube that tie in with our idea of short but intense workout sessions – have a look at the link below and give it a try – some great ideas and its FREE!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=On-AYW4fgys

Good luck and let us know how you get on…

Express session – 17-4-2012

admin — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 19:53:00 +0000

Ok, hope you are all well and rested after a day or so of no express sessions? Today’s is a little longer – around 20 mins and it’s a tough one!!

As normal make sure you have warmed up properly – we presume you are fit and well with no injuries?? Ok then…

400 metre run (can be a fast walk / skip of around 2 mins if you have nowhere to go)

8 x Renegade row (You can do this without weight and with knees down if need be)

10 x Burpees (with jump)

12 x Kettle bell swing - you can just use a dumbbell / weight plate

16 x Alternate elbow to knee

REPEAT exercises again then onto second 400 metre run…

Do 3 lots of this in total (that’s 6 sets of the exercises / 3 runs)

As normal feel free to post your times / feedback – under 20 mins is a great time!!

Whether you think you can or whether you think you can’t – you’re probably right!

admin — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 17:40:38 +0000

The above quote is one of my favourites and can be applied to all aspects of life. It was reportedly spoken by the founder of the Ford Motor company – Henry T Ford – whether it actually came from him or was simply said by someone else does not really concern me. What does interest me is how often it shows itself to be true in the field of health and fitness.

One of the most neglected parts of weight loss and fitness is what a person’s attitude to any given challenge is – do they think what they are trying to do is achievable or do they think they have little if any chance at all? Chances are if they don’t believe it can happen then it won’t.

Now, before we get carried away, I’m not suggesting that simply wishing something to happen will make it come true – this is the real world after all, but whether or not you think you can achieve something has a very significant impact on the final outcome.

I’ve seen people look up at a mountain when we have been on our residential courses and instantly decide whether or not they will be able to reach the top – yes, to a degree it comes down to a persons fitness and physical limitations but I’ve seen people that are carrying significant amounts (10 stone+) of extra weight and that have very little physical fitness experience decide that they can do it and they are going to give it their best shot. Unfortunately at the bottom of the very same mountain I’ve also seen a number of people decide that there is no way they are going to make it to the top –no prizes as to which group tend to fair better! I feel other obstacles aside such as injuries or other physical barriers; it comes down to having the right attitude – “I’ve got a chance at this” rather than “I’ve got no chance”.

Above: View from the top – Corrour estate – location for our holidays

Which camp do you fall in to? Are you someone that thinks they’ll drop the ball and then promptly does so, or are you the type of person that will slowly but surely plod all the way to the top of the mountain and get the view and sense of achievement because you know you can?

A little of both perhaps? As and when you have those moments of doubt an easy and tested tip is to simply stop and question the facts – there is little point in examining why you think you will fail – instead is there any chance you could succeed? If there is a chance of success how might you get it? What would you need to do? Is there anyone that could help you?

Everyone has different tools, skills and experiences that can be called upon – it’s just a matter of framing the problem or obstacle in a way that you can apply the expertise you have in the best possible way. If you are looking up at a mountain it might just be a case of taking each step literally one at a time – enjoy what is going on around you – talk to the others, soak up the experience – before you know it you’ll be at the top.

Whatever the situation if it can be done, it can be done by you – if you believe you can do it you can plan out how it can be done – before you know it your half way there – at that point what you have achieved acts to reinforce how well you have done which you can then use to keep you marching forwards.

If you catch yourself doubting your ability maybe the last words in this post should come from someone other than me:

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us, it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

Today’s exercise session

admin — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 07:25:33 +0000

Right then, hoping you got on ok with yesterday’s little circuit – today let’s loosen those legs off with a quick 1.5 mile run / walk. The task is easy – complete 1.5 miles (use this simple tool to workout your route – link) in as quick a time as you can.

The idea is that by focusing on intensity rather than duration you can really change the way you run – the 1.5 mile distance is used by lots of military and security forces as part of their fitness tests – the Royal Marines and other elite forces aim to do it in around 8 mins 30 secs!!!

As normal make sure you are warm, well and injury free!!

If you like stick your time up by replying to this post – good luck

NEW Express exercise sessions

admin — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 15:29:05 +0000

Hi – some of you may have become aware of an emerging fitness trend known as Cross Fit. The idea (briefly) is that each day a new exercise session is posted for other ‘Cross Fitters’ to have a go at, they then post their time on the blog / daily page.

We like the idea for two reasons – the first is that the sessions tend to help people get fitter in a very wide variety of disciplines. You might be running one day and then having to lift big weights the next – then next day it may be simple circuits – we feel this builds a well rounded fitness individual and does not favour any one type of ability or set of skills.

The second reason is that it is quick to do – each workout is less than 30 mins total time – some much shorter – we feel anyone can find the time for quick workouts and done often enough they can have a hugely positive effect on a persons fitness.

It’s not all great though – unfortunately like a lot of fitness trends it is becoming a little full of itself and grandiose. We feel that by keeping the exercises more simplistic and not aiming them at elite level individuals it could be much more enjoyable for many more people.

With that in mind we are going to be posting our own version of this type of training – it will be different in a number of small ways but the concept of short, frequently changing exercise sessions will be the same. We can’t promise that there will be new workouts everyday but we aim to post up at least 4 a week – all less than 30mins total time and all requiring little or no equipment to carry out. We’d love to hear how you get on trying them so feel free to reply to the post when we put them up – feel free to add times as well if you want to make it a little more competitive!

DISCLAIMER: We need to say that you should be warmed up prior to trying these sessions – something quick such as: 20 x Heel flicks / 20 x Squats / 20 x Jump jacks / 2 mins skipping / pretend skipping. We also presume you are fit, well and have no injuries or health problems – all good? Then give the first one a go!!

First quick session – do the below 5 times and try to complete it as fast as you can. (click highlighted link for example)

5 x Surf ups
10 x Burpees
15 x Press ups
20 x Crunches
25 x Jump jacks

Have a quick stretch to cool down – what was your time – anything under 10 mins is good, under 9 is the target!

NPC Performance Centre

admin — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 09:15:12 +0000

We’ve been asked to put up a little more information about the plans for our future fitness facilty. To be honest we are still at the planning stage at the moment but we thought a little taster of things to come might be nice – below is a PDF of what it is all about – click on the link to open the file, have a look and any questions just ask!

NPC Performance Centre information

Congratulations!!

admin — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 08:42:30 +0000

Well done to the guys at the top of the world!! Yesterday lunchtime the 6 ordinary men completed their challenge to trek unaided to the North Pole. Despite temperatures as low as minus 42 degrees C they have battled on to reach the top of the world – i can’t imagine how pleased they must have felt to get there after days of freezing conditions and long hikes.

Please have a think and see if you can afford to pledge a little money towards their chosen charity – SPARKS (children’s charity) and help them reach their target of £250,000 – it really is for a great cause and every pound donated goes to the charity – they funded the expenses for the whole trip themselves – some £25,000 each!!

The simplest way to give is by texting to Text SMNP66 (then your amount) to 70070

What are you training for?

admin — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 08:34:14 +0000

The above question is something that a lot of people should ask themselves to help them choose the right type of exercise plan to follow. In the vast majority of cases the answer relates to they way a person looks – sometimes takes a while to get there but ultimately we are mostly shallow creatures!

DISCLAIMER: Now, before i get a barrage of abuse for the next part what i’m talking about is here is cosmetic related NOT performance / sports related )

When i look around the typical modern gym i see people endlessly doing large amounts of steady paced cardio activity as though they are in training for some sort of long distance event – why? If this is you perhaps you can answer me? Are you actually training for some kind of endurance event or – like the vast majority of people around you – are you simply trying to change your body shape? The answer more than likely is that in order to change your shape you’ve been led to believe it is all about this type of training. I’m afraid it is time to shed a little light on this and inform you you’ve been misled…

Steady paced cardiovascular (the clue is there in the name) activity is best for building the fitness of the heart, respitory and circulatory system – not for changing your body shape. In fact in order to change your shape the number one priority should be to have a good look at your diet – there is little point putting in all that effort if you are going to ‘reward’ yourself with a massive cake or just not bother keeping tabs on the amount of calories you are consuming each day. BUT, lets presume that you have got that part right but are still frustrated as to why you have not seen a change.

Chances are you need resistance – lot’s of it! It can be in the form of weights, bands, machines or even just your own bodyweight – the keys are that it is HARD and INTENSE. You can forget all this ‘light weights / lots’ of reps for toning’ stuff that is pedalled in your local gym - muscles need to be pushed until they give in or fail in order to elicit the best response (cosmetic). Now, we need to keep in mind both your level of experience and how safely you can use the equipment BUT once you have gotten the hand of it it needs to be intense!

Exercise feels hard – simple – i still don’t look forward to some of my sessions – it’s not about the session but the results that i can gain from that session – that is what keeps me going. I lift weights because i like the way it makes me look and feel afterwards – simple.

“But I don’t want to get big I hear you shout!” Let me tell you – it is not easy to put on lean muscle - i’ve worked with all manner of people over the years that have had that one thing as their main goal and it takes a lot of hard (very specifically designed) work, large amounts of food and many intervals during the day (and night) and the right level of chemicals (both naturally found and sometimes not!) to make significant gains in just lean muscle. Yet, most people i begin working with are convinced that they will be the exception to the rule and begin bulking up – not happened yet in all the years i’ve been working with mainstream clients!!

So, your still with me so how do you get into weights? The simplest way to get into resistance training is to ask at your local gym – you might need to fight your way past the occasional meat-head but trust me – it is worth it! Get the instructor (please choose one that actually looks like they have used weights in the last 5 years!) to show you the basic machines – don’t worry about listening too much to the part about “high reps for toning” etc – just concentrate on learning how to use them properly.

Ok, now you know what you are doing and you know your leg press from your seated row begin with 3 sets of around 8 to 10 reps – this needs to be hard enough that by the third set the last 2 are a real struggle to complete – if not they were too light so use more next time. Choose around 8 machines if possible and aim for a mixture of upper and lower exercises. Aim to do this no more that twice a week and keep pushing up the resistance as soon as you can. After a while you will be confident enough to start adding some free weight movements into your weights programme – again ask for help – any instructor worth their salt will be pleased that you want to progress and should be keen to show you – if not find another! After around 6 weeks (maybe less) you should start to see some serious improvements in how the muscle looks and feels – keep at it though – this is the stage that people level off – remember if it does not feel hard for the last few repetitions then it ain’t working – put it up!

The above is intended to get you into resistance training not as a full plan – feel free to ask for any extra tips or advice but just taking the first step is the most important part – go on have a go and see the difference it makes!!