Sneaky Peak... you lucky people. 1 video + a little home workout!

Hello Brother Gym followers!


Apologies for my short absence.. work on the site is going full steam ahead, and I am uploading videos, writing exercise descriptions, creating programs and generally getting quite a large enterprise ready to release itself from the womb. Nice.

So today, I thought I would give y'all another video, which now has the Brother Gym logo on it. These videos will be a part of each and every program. When you sign up to the site, you will fill in a details but not to onerous questionnaire and I will write you all the programs you need to achieve the goals you have expressed. As part of this you will receive videos teaching you how to do the particular exercise in your program!

Today, the Body Weight Squat. This is quite a simple exercise, but one that will become the cornerstone of your workouts as it uses the largest muscles in your body, hence burning the most calories, increasing your metabolism the most and generally making you look awesome!

So video:

You can now include this exercise in the following home circuit routine!

• Warm Up - walk up and down the street, stairs or around the home at a brisk pace for 3-4 minutes. Then move all the joints in your body (ankles, knees, hips shoulders, elbows) in some sort of movement... ie ankle raises, arm swings, leg swings etc.
• Perform 3 rounds of the following
• 10 body weight squats
• 10 half or full press ups, depending on your current strength levels
• 10 crunches
• 30 second plank
• 10 tricep dips - using a chair. To make it easier, keep your knees close in, or harder by having your legs out straight.
• If you want to supercharge your workout, then go out onto the street and do 1 minute walk, 1 minute jog, 30 seconds fast run... and keep alternating for 20 minutes.
• Stretches. Stretch all your muscles. (you can follow a guide on youtube, such as here: Stretches )

This is a great home workout for the times you cannot make it to the gym... or if you are away in a hotel somewhere on holiday. You will feel more toned and honed and have risen your metabolism sky high!!

Keep on workin'

Gettin' yourself to the gym!

G'day folks... I hope you are enjoying the beautiful rays of sun streaming through the windows this morning! So, it's all well and good talking about the benefits of exercise, how to do it and the nutrition necessary to fulfill for your dreams. But, there is one topic that is often left to one side - the issue of getting to the gym, being in top shape to have a great workout and maintaining focus and energy for 45-90 minutes! So, here are some ways of maximizing your potential in the gym - warning, you may see massive and significant gains in success...

• We all have good intentions throughout the day - oh yeah, I'll be going to the gym! But then the bell rings for clocking out time and the excuses start to kick in... I don't have the energy, my back/neck is sore, there's always tomorrow etc... Days and weeks can pass in this game of cat and gym mouse, until you notice a little softness in the bum/tum area and manage to make it as a last resort against the impending demoralisation of putting on some weight. It's a pretty simple issue though - motivation. Yes, I harp on about the M word quite a lot... but it is a key element in increasing your chances at success in the gym. When you set your goals, you need to have an iron will and a realistic method. My tip for this would be to maintain that realistic stance.... if you want to lose 1-2lb's per week, then less than 3 sessions a week ain't gonna cut it. So if you want to do this, then plan your sessions in advance and don't allow anything to get in your way. When it gets to 1730, be prepared... here's how:

Don't let clocking out time knock you out!

• Fuel - if you're gonna take your body for a spin then fuel is the vital issue here. So I recommend that you consume one of the following at any time between 90 minutes and 3 hours before the gym:

• Apple
• Oats
• Yoghurt
• Nuts
• Grapes
• Oranges
• 1 slice wholewheat toast with peanut butter
• 1/2 sweet potato
• 1/4 cup brown rice
• Beetroot
• If you don't have the time to think about this too far in advance then I recommend that 20-30 minutes prior to a workout you eat a banana or raisins and either a cup of green tea or a strong coffee to get in the zone.

You see, the issue is that by late in the afternoon, most people are either too stressed or lacking in energy levels to focus on the gym. Giving your body a source of slow releasing carbohydrates can help to level the hormones that cause stress, thus freeing your mind to think about other things. Some caffeine taken before the gym has been shown to massively increase focus, energy and power and thus giving you a better workout!

So help rid yourself of excuses to not workout by fuelling yourself properly and getting in the zone before a workout.... last tip, find some music that fills you with energy, focus and passion and you'll be pumping the weights for a lot longer...

G'day

Post-Weekend Rejuvenation

Well, it's that day that comes after the weekend... dare I say its name? I think we'll just celebrate the fact that it is more than half over! You may have woken up today feeling a little like this:

A little broken, tired, groggy, lethargic and a bit hazy about what you did over the last couple of days... The weekend is after all the time to let your hair down and you probably spent most of it drinking things like this

Delboy's Drinks Cabinet!

More than things like this...

If you did, then now is the time to help your body recoup from some of your excesses!

This is what I would do on the day 'whose name we shall not mention' to get my mojo back...

1. Run it off... if you aren't feeling your best today then the key is to sweat it off. Spend your day hydrating with a large glass of water every hour, some vegetables and fruit... then head down to the gym and get yourself on the treadmill... forget interval training today - your performance levels may be a little low. Instead, it is time to keep going for a long time whilst listening to some great music. A good 7/8 km run at a steady pace, with perhaps a little faster running near the end will help get your body ticking at its best again. Follow this with some crunches, body weight squats and press ups to boost your metabolism.
2. Be electric... Friday and Saturday night may have left you dehydrated and now your run will have used up a load of electrolytes, so fill your stores with a great smoothie or vegetable juice. If making at home, i recommend a juice of orange, carrot, ginger, apple and beetroot. Otherwise any of Innocent's great choices will help do the trick. Top this off by drinking a cup of green tea each morning to help cleanse your body and rev up your metabolic rate!
3. Keep it green... Your liver has taken a little pasting, and although the idea of 'detox' has been exploited to the max, there is something to be said for going green on a Monday in particular. My recommendation would be a piece of baked organic salmon, a new potato (with a squeeze of lime for great contrasting flavours) and a lightly oiled stir fry of cabbage, broccoli, asparagus, chili, red peppers, onion, garlic and courgette... this will be nourishing and boost your liver's performance as well as your energy!

Find this tasty Salmon dish with Okra, here.

So there we have it, 3 ways to get yourself back in tip top shape to face the week after a great weekend!

A Little Something for the Weekend

The weekend, two days devoted to the Lord, one where you clean and prepare yourself so as not to insult his gloriousness with even a speck of dust upon your prostrating body and the other where you sit in silence, listening to old men talk of old things.... or at least that was the intended purpose of the weekend. I think it is rather culturally appropriate that a fair few would now rather devote their weekend to bars, babes and beds as apposed to bibles, bishops and mass brainwashing.
If you are preparing to worship at the hedonist's altar this weekend, whether you be dandy or quaintrelle, I've got something to enhance your own, let's say, respective attributes...

For the modern dandy;

Figure.

Friday is no time for building muscle. The chances are you are not going to have the most nutritious night of the week and if this is the case then a severe workout is not going to lead to much gain as you are unlikely to refuel appropriately. I recommend a pumping muscular endurance workout, which will leave you fitter and pumped... filling your muscles with blood and oxygen for that hard, toned look...

Weekend Workout

Warm up well, nothing worse than an injury on Friday night... 7 minutes cardio plus calf raises, side lunges, knee raises, hip rolls, torso twists, arm swings, spotty dogs...

1. Body weight squat, burpee (super set, 3x12)
2. Forward lunges, tuck jumps (super set, 3x12)
3. Chin ups, press ups (super set, 5x 12 - as many chins as poss if not 12)
4. Tricep dips, bicep curls (super set, 5x12)
5. 4 x 2 minute fast runs (eg 14kph @ 1.5 % incline)
6. Narrow bench, shoulder press, leg raises (tri-set, 3x12)
7. Cable flye, seated row, tricep extension (tri-set 4x12)
8. 4 x 30 second as fast as poss (eg 16.5kph @ 3% incline)

This should leave you pumped and toned for a night out in a short sleeved t-shirt...

For the female dandies:

female dandies

I imagine there is nothing better for a woman than to go out on a Friday night feeling glowing, slender and confident, so this is the workout interpretation of that feeling...

1. 12 mins treadmill (walk 2mins, then run for 10 - alternate 1 minute fast with 1 minute medium pace)
2. Leg raises - 4x12
3. Bridge - 4x12
4. Stomach crunch, on or off swiss ball - 5x12
5. 12 mins elliptical (as fast as you can for 12 minutes, take a 30 seconder slower breather in middle if necessary)
6. Bicep curls, single arm rows(super set, 4x12)

Single Arm Row - great for toning the back

7. Tricep extensions, lunges (super set, 4x12)
8. Treadmill, 12-20 minutes depending on time (this time alternate 1 minute intervals, hill walk>jog>fast run)

There you have it, a great workout to make you glow and feel tight in all the right places...

Enjoy your Friday, and drink responsibly...

Start your weight loss journey today!

I'm gonna guarantee you today that the number one reason people start exercising is to lose weight! I'd bet my savings on it. I'd also guarantee you that the number one reason people stop exercising is because they have not seen the weight loss that they would like to have seen... this is a simple and easily altered state of affairs. Brother Gym believes that everyone deserves to be happy, and if part of that happiness comes from the confidence of a decent body and great health then we want to bring it to the masses...  Soon you will be able to sign up to the Brother Gym website, which is going to give each individual a bespoke training program for a very affordable fee so that you can make the most of the precious time you spend at the gym or at the park. Today, I'm going to give you a little guide to kick off your weight loss journey.

Everyone can make a massive change, starting now!

• This is your journey.... do not rely on this change to make you a happy person. Losing weight is a fabulous way to change your life - you will become fitter, more energetic and feel more confident. But, do not become obsessed or expect this to be therapy. Losing weight - the result and the journey - can help you sort out things in your life, but if you are happy the way you are then there is no need to be extreme. Your appearance is no judgment on who you are, so stay fit and healthy but don't feel the pressure to be lean and skinny!
• Find out where you are... you can't start a journey without knowing your own position. If Brother Gym is going to be your sat nav in this journey, we need to know where you are and where you want to go. So, my first tip is to weigh yourself today and set yourself a goal. See here to read up on the best way to set your goals.
• Be affirmative... nothing gets moving without a little energy and determination. Be decisive, know what you want and go out there and get it. If you are going to use a gym, go and join it today; if you are going to change your eating patterns, then detox your kitchen cupboards today! Every day before you start this journey only gives you more distance to go.
• Find out what you like... it is all well and good for Brother Gym to prescribe 30 minutes on the treadmill 4x per week, but if you know that there is no hope in hell of you doing this, for whatever reasons, then you will get nowhere. Everyone gets to places in different ways. If you like skipping up the road for fun, then tell us when you join up. We'll prescribe skipping through the park 3x per week - it's all doing the same thing in the end, burning calories and making you fitter and leaner.
• Don't be too hard on yourself... ok, so your diet may have been pretty awful for the first 25 years of your life, but we can all change at any given moment. Your past does not cement your future into a certain pattern. And, once you start this new lifestyle, don't beat yourself up if you give into a binge with the ice cream tub. Everyone needs a cheat meal now and again and beating yourself up only causes stress that will release fat loving stress hormones. Be confident in yourself, accept your human fallibility and keep moving forward knowing that you can jump all the hurdles in your path.
• Always remind yourself of your destination... if you forget where you wanted to go when you started on this journey, you will end up getting lost. Find a way to chart your journey and keep in mind what you have left to do. 

Brother Gym welcomes you all...