Fitness Friday: Fitness on Toast

• Faya is a Swedish personal trainer and fitness blogger based in London’s West End. She offers new motivational training ideas and tips to fuel your body with nutritious and unusual recipes, both before and after your workout! People tend to have an increased thirst for knowledge – mental training to completing the physical regime. Gym goers want to know what they are doing and why, and the same goes for eating well. With that in mind, here are her tips on how to get going and stay on track:

1. CONSISTENCY – Planning & organisation is the key. By physically putting your intended sessions in your diary, making them a priority, and then ‘consuming’ them on schedule, fitness will automatically become part of your routine meaning that you won’t have a reason NOT to train. Avoid leaving things last minute or to chance.

2. CARVE OUT THE TIME – Set a realistic time period by which you want to deliver your goals (e.g. a 3 month window) Then break it down into weekly targets.

3. NUTRITION – This is more than half of the ‘beach body’ trick, and as the cliché dictates, ‘abs are made in the kitchen’! Plan out when you are going to eat by adding it into your diary. Include plenty of lean protein, healthy fats and don’t forget your vegetables! Also, use herbs & spices on your food to fill out the flavour! You don’t have to eat bland foods to get results!

4. STAY HYDRATED – 70% of our bodies are made up of water, and it is responsible for most of the toxin-flushing, so staying hydrated will make a noticeable difference after a few weeks!
– Buy a 2 litre bottle & mark it out with a sharpie pen by drawing lines along the bottle at 200ml increments, each line labelled 9:00, 10:00, 11:00 etc. This way you’ll know how much to drink every hour. The body can only absorb c. 200ml per hour, so it’s key to stay optimally hydrated throughout the day.
– Need your caffeine kick? Green tea is the answer as it’s less dehydrating but with far less caffeine – it’s a far healthier ‘pick me up’ option!

5. SLEEP IT OFF – Find a routine, and aim for at least 7 hours sleep. It’s the best place for muscular and mental recovery, which will compound your ability to perform better during your next session.

6. OPTIMISE – It’s not ‘all or nothing’, but it is ‘as often as possible. If you have a chance to walk to work or get off the bus two stations earlier – do it! Take the stairs, power-walk to get your salad at lunch, & generally keep moving!

7. STRETCH – It makes such a huge difference to the physique. It aids recovery, balance and releases built-up tension/stiffness, whilst creating the beautiful ‘lengthened’ muscles that women classically seek.

8. KEEP TRACK – There are many ways to keep track of your progress. The obvious one is feeling healthier, more energetic and fitter, but here are a few additional milestone checkers;

• Write down your workout so you don’t end up doing the same weight every week
• Keep your body guessing as the unfamiliar means muscles burn more calories when challenged with something they’re not used to!)
• Take weekly photos (always with the same lighting, at the same time of day)
• Use a simple measuring tape or have someone check you body fat percentage using a ‘skin fold’ test.

9. SHARE THE LOVE – Sweat with a friend to make it a bit competitive, which also ensures dedicated commitment.

10. GO VIRAL – Follow health & fitness blogs, Instagram personalities, Twitter pages, Facebook groups for added motivation and to help inform yourself ever more on training and nutrition.

Check out www.fitnessontoast.com for some more motivation, don’t wait till Monday!