So following on from my post the other day about people “forgetting” calories and eating far too much food, I thought I would write a bit on the fundamentals of fat loss! Tbh this is rather quite easy, there is only one main way to lose body fat…That is eat less and move more!

You must be in a calorie deficit to lose weight….to create this calorie deficit, you can do it one of two ways, eat less, ditch the takeaways and daily chocolate bars or move more, increase your out put, walk, run, lifts weights anything!!

Having said that, there is always a few ways to make the previous easier! I understand its not always that simple….so! what I have learnt from the years and years on coaching both males and females is that the small things make the big difference.

Track all your food!

Sticking to a set diet plan is not always possible! Yes, I find sticking to the same platform and similar diet a lot easier but with some people do not, and for some people not possible to whack out a Tupperware in the middle of a board meeting! So tracking your food and knowing what calories you should be consuming will help you stay in this deficit!

Stay hydrated!

Yes, this is serious, having just a few L of water a day can help you stick to the plan, it will kerb SOME hunger! It will also help concentration, so instead of thinking about food 24/7 you can concentrate on work.

Exercise, move more, but!!!

Make exercise fun, it doesn’t mean you have to run half a marathon every other day or lift 50kg dumbbells, it simply means move, so if you enjoy tennis, go play a game, if you enjoy football, go join a team! Go play golf, dance do what ever you enjoy. Its still exercise, you don’t have to stick to the norm to lose weight.

Lastly….. do not beat your self up!

Fat loss is not linear, you have ups and downs, you cock up, you eat to much at a party, your tired and miss the gym! SO WHAT! Get up the next day and start again. 1 or 2 days will not make you fat and ruin your life. Remember health and fitness should be a lifestyle not a quick fix!!

Peace,

Jack

instagram.com/jackfitnessworx

FWX Therapy is a treatment that has been developed for those involved in physical activity to aid recovery from injury and to prevent injuries from occurring.

Sports Massage treatment will focus on the individuals’ needs. It is important that your muscles are relaxed, full of blood and nutrients. This will then ensure optimal performance in your workouts and also your daily activities.

I have worked with many professionals from different fields such as doctors, construction workers, athletes and individuals that have a desk job. From my years of experience, I have realised that anyone can benefit from a sports massage. Whether it’s relieving pain, improving posture, increasing blood flow, releasing knots and improving mobility.

There are many benefits for sports massage, below are only a few:
FLEXIBILITY / MOBILITY: Any form of exercise such as squats or deadlifts can tighten muscles, preventing them from stretching correctly. A sports massage treatment will improve muscular mobility and can correct imbalances, as well as releasing tension.
IMPROVE PERFORMANCE: More oxygen flowing to muscle tissues this will then lead to a higher quality and more sustainable level of activity. Less fatigue!
REDUCE STRESS AND PAIN: Endorphins that are released due to receiving a sports massage help to decrease anxiety, provide pain relief, improve mood and enhance a person’s state of well-being.

For anyone participating in regular physical activity, sports massage therapy every week or two may be a great addition to your normal routine. SO if you’re looking to improve your recovery and performance, reduce pain and fatigue – then book in for a sports massage today! I treat many of our coaches here at Fitness Worx so feel free to check in with them too!

See you around!

Wissam Khozoui
FWX Therapist and PT

Hello everyone! 😀

It’s been a crazy couple of weeks at Fitness Worx Warwick, so just wanted to keep you up-to-date on what’s going on…

Last Friday, we hosted Team Savage. Savage apparel is a clothing brand, and every couple of months their sponsored athletes meet up for a big training session, and we had the privilege of having them at FWX!

We had a range of powerlifters from all over the UK. Participants included Sam O’Boys, Dan Stewart, Will Newton, Brad Scott, Mark Snell, Dan Murphy (Owner of Savage), FWX’s Elliot, Jack and Matt plus the UK’s Number 1 Raw squatter, Big Sam Parker! Sam squatted a huge 365KG (12.5kg higher than his already all-time British record lift) in just knee sleeves.

Everyone had a great evening at FWX Warwick, we have uploaded a video covering the event on our Facebook Page. Go and have a watch! –  www.facebook.com/fitnessworxkenilworth 

FWX Warwick Class Timetable – In the coming week, we will be releasing a BRAND NEW SCHEDULE. There will be many additions to the current time table. Keep an eye out on our Facebook page, where we will be launching it.

ONE FOR THE WOMEN – We have started a by-weekly women’s blog, covering everything from hormonal changes to mental aspects of training and weight loss plus many more ways to improve your wellbeing. This is written by Amy Lawrence, as many of you may know, used to be a Personal Trainer at FWX. She is very knowledgeable and produces some brilliant content – So keep an eye out for new content coming out soon –  www.fitness-worx.com/blog/

As you may have seen, FWX Warwick has recently been fitted with some new equipment (Monolift, Safety Squat Bar, Watson Leg extension, Rogue Ohio Deadlift Bar) and we are continuously adding new pieces of equipment to reinvest in our brilliant members. We’re always looking for ways to improve the facility, and there will be more changes to be made in the near future.

If you have any suggestions on ways to improve the facility, give me a shout, and we will do our best to accommodate it.

Thanks for reading!

See you in the gym,

Matt Gibson

FWX Personal Trainer

Last week FWX hosted the Team Savage Apparel meet at FWX Warwick, and what a success it was. Watch the video to see highlights of the Bench-presses, Deadlifts and the UK’s heaviest squat (365KG) from Sam Parker – More events with Team Savage coming soon! Thanks to all the team for attending.

VIDEO COMING SOON!

In this weeks video, Jack discusses rep ranges and the best ones to help toned muscles!

PERSONAL TRAINER ROLES AVAILABLE

Fitness Worx is an independent family run gym with locations in Kenilworth and Warwick.  As well as gym membership we provide a wide range of Personal Training, Classes, Sports Specific Training and Transformation packages.

Due to the ongoing success at both locations we are looking to expand our team of personal trainers.  

Our team works tirelessly to provide excellent service and results with our customers, are qualified to at least level 3, flexible in their working hours, friendly, able to work alone or as a team, always willing to learn, push themselves to achieve their own goals, compete at top level competitions and are able to work with and advise clients on the best way to achieve results through both diet and exercise.

More than this they are passionate, caring and have purpose within the fitness industry to deliver the best of themselves, the people they work with and their clients.

Does this sound like you?

Are you willing to work in a fun, friendly environment as part of a team of industry experts?

Are you a self-motivator willing to grow, learn and expand your knowledge and capabilities within the fitness industry?

Are you willing to go that extra mile for your clients, provide excellent customer service and help them achieve their goals?

Are you experienced and qualified to at least Level 3 Personal Training?

Are you reliable, organised and a good timekeeper?

Can you be flexible with both your time and location of work?

Can you work with and motivate clients to gain their trust, evaluate their fitness and understand their needs and requirements?

Can you design and fine-tune customer diet and exercise plans?

Do you have an outgoing, lively personality with great customer focus and communication skills?

Do you have the passion to be successful and deliver successful results?

Do you have a proven track record of successful results?

If this is you – Please send your CV to enquiries@fitness-worx.com to be considered for the role.

Allow your hormones to work FOR you not AGAINST you!

Part of being a healthy woman includes a menstrual cycle of 28 days. How we feel throughout the month changes and so do our hormones! What exactly goes on throughout the menstrual cycle?

Throughout your (roughly) 4 week cycle there is a rise and fall in the three key hormones estrogen, testosterone and progesterone. By being more aware of how the cycle actually works and how this impacts your health, behaviours and mood, you are better able to plan ahead, take advantage of hormonal benefits in terms of exercise and training and deal with any hormone challenges you might face.

Week 1 (first day of period) – day 7
Estrogen reaches low levels and then begins to steadily rise. This can cause a suppressed appetite, however once you’re past this fatigue phase you will find that the rise in estrogen will have a mood boosting effect and you are likely to start and feel optimistic again.

Week 2
A key hormone that increases towards the later part of this week is testosterone and as a result you are likely to experience a higher threshold for pain and discomforting activities. A perfect week to take advantage of a peak in testosterone levels in the gym!

Week 3
We can think of this as a ‘pre menstrual’ week. You may experience less intense PMS symptoms e.g. Irritability, fatigue and low mood. However, another hormone that is on the rise this week is progesterone, this can make you feel sleepy, mentally foggy and triggers cravings for sugar and ‘comfort’ food.

Week 4: For (approximately) the last 6 days of the cycle both estrogen and progesterone hormones decline quite rapidly which can trigger the common PMS symptoms of moodiness, sadness, tiredness, muscle aches, insomnia and headaches. This will differ from person to person and other factors will have a impact too, i.e diet, stress, nutrition, exercise, health, medication etc.  However it’s not all bad, as libido and energy should return this week making you feel more clear headed and back to a ‘normal’ state. Ready for it all to begin again!

It can be really frustrating to think that you’re not ‘training hard enough or well enough’ when this time of month comes around. It’s easy to fall into this trap and beat ourselves up about it thinking ‘but I could do that last week’ and fall into a failure mentality.

Personally, for two weeks of the month I feel awesome, strong and really upbeat in and out of the gym. The third week (around a week before my period) PMS symptoms start to kick in, this can vary from fatigue, stomach cramping, bloating, headaches and in terms of lifting ‘heavy’ back pains can be experienced with certain lifts.

Just by being more aware and not so fixated on a ‘one plan fits all’ mentality, you are able to better adjust exercise and training to suit your needs throughout the different stages of the cycle.

I love talking about this stuff, being more open about it and maybe if it was discussed more openly as a topic in school, activities such as P.E would have been more enjoyable back then!  I’d also encourage women to be more open about it to allow them to get the best out of their training and reach their goals.

Weekly Blog feature

Credit: Amy Lawrence

Amy’s FaceBook page: www.facebook.com/inspiredbyamy.co.uk

Amy’s website : www.inspiredbyamy.co.uk

Food prep can seem like an endless task, given it can be, boring and likely to produce rubbish tasting food sometimes; and let’s face it – it doesn’t take 15-20 minutes! The FWX Team have put together 6 tips to help you prep and progress towards your goals.

• Keep it varied; – The same meals quickly become boring and lose their taste – especially cold lunches and dinners. Buy ingredients that force you to prep a few different meals each week, as even a little variation is bound to help you stick to your diet better than a conveyor belt producing only the same flavours, textures and smells!

• Get decent tupperware, and enough of it! – This may sound simple, but not having enough or good quality tupperware can be a nail in the coffin of any promising health drive. This can lead to no container for your food, or even worse – food prep finding its way out the container and on to or into your belongings in your bag.

• Be smart, be lazy – cook double portions of dinner! – Double up on your dinner portions; serving half, and placing the other half in Tupperware, before allowing it to cool, sealing it and refrigerating it. This is a terrifically easy way to prep your food, and prevents a marathon or late night cooking session (followed by the even later night, bad-tempered washing up).

• Keep it colourful – This is mainly in regards to vegetables, where aiming for a variety of colours and textures will help you increase the range of vitamins and minerals you include in your diet. More vegetables also helps bulk out a meal, increases fibre and water intake, and adds to the flavour in most cases. Try roasting vegetables, raw vegetables or frozen vegetables that you microwave, in order to increase portion sizes without increasing prep time.

• Microwave products to the rescue! – Express grains such as rice and quinoa are all great, as are the marketed healthier microwave meal options. We often simply prep the protein and vegetable portion of our meals, and add the grains before eating. To keep these from drying out the meal, low fat mayo and green or red pesto are all good sauces.

• Prepare to fail. – Fitness bloggers and Instagram accounts may have all the time in the World to cook each meal and prep on the daily, but for those of us who work taxing, arduous, time-consuming hours we are inevitably going to fail to prep perhaps once or twice a week. The key is not to beat yourself up about this, but in this situation, the key is to prepare to fail. Note the healthy eateries in your vicinity at work, combos of foods from supermarkets and even lower calorie options at fast food chains. As long as you know the caloric intake (roughly), you can stay on track with your diet overall knowing one lunch won’t have a negative impact.

Thanks for reading this weeks FWX Blog!

FWX offer a wide range of pre-ready meals from our partner “Simply Prep Meals” – If you would like further information, please contact us via the website or ask at a FWX reception! 

The Fitness Worx Team