Like them or not, goals are what bring results. Without them you simply don’t know where you’re heading, somewhat like going on a journey without a map. Here are five goals that can be applied to any fitness regime.

Drink more water: You’ve heard it before, but how many follow this advice? Water is the most concentrated element in the human body and even small decreases in hydration will affect your health and how soon you recover from a workout. Substitutes such as sodas and fruit juices won’t provide as much hydration as plain old H2O.

Rest: Working harder and pushing the body beyond its limits won’t make you any stronger unless you get sufficient rest and recovery time. Without rest you’re breaking down muscle tissue rather than building it up and also setting yourself up for future health problems. Listen to your body and learn when to back off. Take at least one rest day per week.

A focused mind: During a workout you should be focused on how your body is working and which muscles are being used. Concentrating mentally on the target muscles will increase the likelihood of them being worked and minimalize the use of ‘helper’ muscles, thus gaining the maximum benefit and avoiding injury.

Overall health goals: To keep your motivation going you need to have an overall concept of, and commitment to, the benefits of a healthier lifestyle. Working out in the gym is just one aspect of improving your health and without a broader concept you may lose interest. A healthy diet and overall lifestyle is just as important as regular workouts.

Try a new activity every month: Don’t get stuck in a rut just because it feels comfortable. That leads to boredom and ultimately a decline in interest. Try one new activity each month or take up a new sport. Different activities work different muscles and this will improve your overall training results.

1. Running stairs- sprint to the top of the stairs as fast as you can then walk down slowly.  This is a great way to burn loads of calories.  The Rocky workout!!!
2. Beach running- due to the resistance of the sand this is much harder than running on the street.  Run barefoot on the sand and make sure it is not too hot to avoid burning your feet.  You will find running on the street so easy after this.
3. Rollerblading- this is a great way to get a good quad workout at the same time as getting a good cardio workout.  Make sure you bend your knees and go deep on each push so you really work the quads.

If you are one of my clients then you will know how great this is, high intensity interval training is one of the best ways around to increase fat loss.  HIIT is a training method which intends to burn fat in a short high intensity period.  HIIT sessions range from 10-20 mins and take the body right up to as close to maximum intensity as you can get.  Usually HIIT is worked on a 2:1 ratio for work to recovery.  In the example of running you could sprint for 20 seconds then follow that by 10 seconds of jogging, this would be repeated over and over to take up the whole workout.

HIIT interval training burns a lot more calories in 20 mins than staying in the fat burning zone of 65% MHR for 20 mins. Although the fat burning zone burns more fat calories, HIIT burns more overall calories which is what you should be concerned with when trying to lose weight.

Recently it has also been shown that HIIT improves insulin action in young men keeping them better protected against type 2 diabetes.

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Most people leave out stretching at the end of a workout but here is why it is crucial to include.

• Lengthen the muscles- after a hard chest workout for example all the muscle fibres need stretching out to ensure the chest muscles are lengthened which helps give the chest a large hanging shape which most people are after.  Most bodybuilders and weight lifters never stretch hence the crunched up hunchback like appearance .
• Injury prevention- stretching muscles out at the end of a workout helps ensure your muscles are lengthened making it less likely you will have an injury due to a tight muscle having a small range of movement.
• Better range of movement for future workouts- like with stretching prior to a workout stretching at the end of a workout ensures your muscles are lengthened giving you a fuller range of motion so you can perform exercises throughout the full rep range.
• Increased blood flow- stretching helps ensure the muscles are given a good full blood flow something very important to muscular development as the blood supplies the nutrition you need for growth.

Best luxury gyms in London

• The Peak health club @ The Jumeriah Carlton Tower, Knightsbridge – I used to be a member of this gym myself so can tell you from a members perspective this is an excellent 5 star gym.  The peak health club is based in one of London’s most luxury hotels.  The Peak health club is based on the top floor of the Jumeriah Carlton tower, so when training you can look out across London,a gym with a view like no other.  Usually during the day there is probably around 5 members in the gym so it is a peaceful environment to workout in.  The gym has a great indoor pool with hot tub and there are saunas and steam rooms both at the pool and gym.  The gym has a joining fee of around £1000 and memberships are £135 off peak and £180 on peak.  The customer service is excellent at the club, when it comes to luxury gyms I would place this right up there.

• Third Space – I have trained at this gym once of twice, this gym is based in Soho and has an excellent swimming pool, a hypoxic chamber for altitude training and a great gym and climbing wall.  What first made me go to this gym was that they had a hypoxic chamber which few gyms have, if you want to really boost your lung capacity then the hypoxic chamber will really help with this.  The gym membership last time I checked was around £100 a month.  The gym has a doctor there and an organic food and juice bar.  If you work in Soho then this is an excellent gym, if you don’t live or work in the Soho area this gym will prove awkward to get to as parking is very difficult and this is a very busy area of London.

• KX gym- KX gym is in Brompton cross, South Ken.  Kx is a luxury gym with a very small member base, so the club is peaceful to train in most of the time.  The gym membership is around £300 a month with a £1500 joining fee.  This gym although a luxury gym still caters for people serious into training as well as they have good quality weight training equipment which when I trained there I found was up to a good level.  This gym has a lovely healthy restaurant and juice bar as well as great treatment rooms, however, all treatments are extra and not included in the membership.

• Gym at the Berkley hotel - If you don’t own an indoor swimming pool but are looking for a luxury pool then they don’t come better than at the Berkley.  The Berkley pool is open air and in the heart of Knightsbridge.  The gym is a bit small, not a gym for people who are really serious about the gym but it is in a luxury surrounding.

Best hardcore training gyms in London

• Muscleworks- Muscleworks is a serious bodybuilding gym based in east London.  Muscleworks is probably the best bodybuilding gym in London.  Muscleworks has individual machines for each body part like you would find in the likes of Powerhouse and Golds in the USA.  Most pro bodybuilders in London train here and I have trained there in the past and loved it.  Muscleworks is in Bethnal Green so if you live in East London this is an excellent gym to go to but can be hard to get to if you live in West London.  Membership is very cheap, last time I checked around £35 a month or a fiver each time.

• Genesis gym- Genesis is the main powerlifting gym in London.  Genesis is in Alperton near Wembley in a trading estate.  Some of the greatest powerlifters in the world train at this gym.  Membership is around £40 a month or a fiver a time.  If you are a bodybuilder, strongman or powerlifter this is a great gym to go to.

How long should you rest between sets, is one of the most common questions I am asked as a personal trainer.  Resting has no specific time duration, it depends on the type of training you are doing, your age, your experience and your goals.  If you are trying to build huge muscles and are performing low rep sets you will probably want to rest around a minute between sets.  If you are trying to tone your muscles and lose weight you will benefit from training high reps with little rest between sets around 15-20 seconds between sets.  If you are a 75 year old man you will need to rest a lot longer than a 24 year old man as your body is older and needs a longer time to recover.  Equally someone who has just started working out their body won’t be used to the tough training regime so will need longer rests.

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If, like me, you’re an insomniac, you may have seen adverts for the Jack Lalanne Juicer on late night television.  But who is he, and why is he such a pivotal figure in the world of fitness?

Born on September 14^th 1914, Jack Lalanne has led an incredible life, leading him to earn the name of the ‘Godfather of fitness’.  As a boy, he had a powerful addiction to sugar, and junk and overly-processed food. However, after hearing a speech by nutritionist Paul Bragg, he decided to work to overcome his bad diet, and to increase his level of exercise.  With the help of the “Henry Grey’s Anatomy of the Human Body” [otherwise known as ‘Grey’s Anatomy’], Lalanne concentrated his efforts on bodybuilding and weightlifting, and quickly noticed several changes in his body and lifestyle.

After graduating high school, Lalanne attended night classes in Oakland, California in order to become a chiropractor. After graduating, he encouraged patients to improve themselves via weight and strength training. Lalanne also became a trend-setter and a leader in the fitness field by inventing the leg training machines that are seen as standard today, and pioneering the Smith Machine in the 1950s. Lalanne was also seen as influential in female bodybuilding, as he encouraged women to lift weights, despite the popular belief that it made them look masculine.

Over the years, Lalanne has performed astounding and incredible feats of strength, many of them involving swimming extreme lengths in the ocean whilst towing boats behind him; at one point towing 70 at a time. Although being a huge feat, this has since been parodied by the Simpsons [with Lalanne making an appearance], and by Lalanne himself, who, on his 93’d birthday, stated that his next strength feat would be to “tow [his] wife across the bathtub”. In reality, however, Jack Lalanne did in fact plan to celebrate his ninety-fifth birthday by swimming to Santa Cataline island- a distance 20 miles.

Lalanne, although 95, still works out every morning for two hours, spending at least one and a half hours weight training, and at least half an hour swimming or walking; in the same manner as he has since he was young, with the only alteration being the time that he starts. He also condones processed food, and advocates a vegetarian, organic diet, with fish simply for essential oils and protein.  He is well renowned for saying “if man made it, do not eat it”, and “if it tastes good, spit it out”, with he himself following these two rules of nutrition in order to maintain his healthy figure and lifestyle.  Lalanne has also stated that he does not “eat anything that comes from a cow”, including milk.

Lalanne once also had has own chain of gyms, once again portraying his willingness to create a fitter, healthier world, as well as his television production, “The Jack Lalanne Show”, which is still the longest running exercise programme on American television.

Lalanne stated in an interview that he exercises as a means to survive, as “everyone needs a discipline”.  It is completely undoubtable that Jack Lalanne is a huge inspiration in the world of bodybuilding, strength, and fitness, as well as to the general public in terms of health.

Written by Ravi

Powerball is a gyroscopic exercise tool used to exercise the wrist as part of physical therapy or to strengthen the fingers, hands and forearms.  Powerballs have electronic revolution counters on them displaying the performance data.  Akis Kritsinelis is currently the world record holder for the Powerball, he has reached with a 250 Hz NSD Powerball 16,732 RPM peak and 14,091 rpm with a 350Hz Powerball.

Hi Akis, great to have you here, I have been using the Powerball myself for the last year or so, so it will be interesting to hear from you how I can improve my score.

Hi Robert and thank you for the invitation, it’s good to be with you as well. There are three ways to improve your score: Practice, practice and practice! Seriously though, there are no secrets or mystical formulas for this. All you have to do is keep on trying and be patient.

Where did you get your first powerball, and what did you think of it at first?

I got my first Powerball on September 2004. I was surfing on the net and coincidentally crossed by an advertisement of a spinning and glowing little blue ball, intended for arms training. I didn’t quite understand what that ball was or how it worked or how it was supposed to train my arms, however it seemed irresistible and I was very curious to find out about it. So I got my first Powerball, a Neon blue pro. When I firstly got it in my hands, I was excited. It was a superlative instrument, which exceeded my expectations and I just couldn’t put it down. And most importantly, it was doing what it was promising: it provided a great workout. Despite that I used to train my arms regularly, I was surprised to feel the burning even after a few minutes of spinning.

When did you start competing in powerball and why?

Practically, I started competing from the first day. I managed a 13k+ score then, which I knew it was quite decent, as it was only a few rpm off the Top-100 of that time. After a couple of days, I managed a 13735 score, which put me on the Top-100 for the first time, at the 75th place. After that, I was overwhelmed and inspired to improve my performance and try for higher scores. The Powerball community feeling, the friendly competition and the interest of other powerballers in my records were also very motivating.

What are your future goals in powerball?

At this point I know that it has become difficult to improve my scores, yet the effort alone is intriguing. I would love to see a 17k score of course, but in any case training with the Powerball at such intensity provides a great workout, so the effort, along with the healthy and friendly competition, is beneficial and rewarding. Furthermore, I would like Powerball to be more widely known and recognized in my country and see more Greek powerballers on the world scoreboard. I also hope to participate in more live competitions which will be hopefully organized in the future, and give my best self.

Do you train in the gym regularly other than training with a powerball?

Yes I train in the gym as regularly as I can. I’ve actually been training in the gym or at home with weights and other equipment since I was a kid, in order to feel fit and healthy. However, as we grow older, the quest of spare time and energy becomes a really hard task, therefore nowadays I can’t say that I train as regularly and as properly as I would like. Powerball training on the other hand is a lot easier. It can be done at home or while watching TV or during a break. Even five minutes can give an effective exercise in the arms.

How do you think powerball training has helped your workouts in the gym?

Powerball helps a great deal with other workouts, and also in sports which require wrist or forearm action, in many ways. It is remarkable that no matter how trained you are, or how well built you are, the first time you spin a Powerball your arms will be on fire. I have seen many well trained people who hold a Powerball for the first time, thinking that it is only a small ball which you simply have to rotate inside your hand, but when they manage to figure out the technique and do it, they are surprised not only about their low scores but also to feel their arms sore and tired. That happens because Powerball exercises your arm muscles in a way that they cannot possibly be exercised with other means. Furthermore, Powerball strengthens your grip significantly and also provides flexibility and agility. It also helps to prevent and aid recovery from various injuries, such as tendonitis or carpal tunnel syndrome. I always do some Powerball spinning before any weight training and it has definitely helped me to enhance my workout and avoid injuries.

What advice would you give to anyone starting out with a powerball?

Powerball is an excellent exercising tool. It will help you tone and strengthen your arm muscles, it will give you a dynamic workout different than anything you’ve experienced before, it will improve your grip strength, it will reinforce your regular workout, it will help you prevent injuries and furthermore it is very entertaining. If you wish to hit high scores, practice regularly (there are many exercises at the Powerball site) and remember that the “no pain no gain” rule applies here. However don’t exceed your limits and don’t forget to rest in order to allow your muscles to recover. Time after time, your muscles will be adapting to the technique and you’ll find yourself getting higher scores naturally and more easily. Last but not least, take good care of your Powerball. It’s not a toy, it’s a precise tool designed to give you plenty of fun as well as exercise, so spin it properly and smoothly, don’t drop it on the floor, keep it in good condition. Well-maintained Powerballs always give better scores.

Thanks Akis for the interview and keep us updated with your new records when you reach them, good luck.

Thank you to Robert for giving me this opportunity. I hope to see you at the Top-100 one day!

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Last Friday I did a world record ice endurance (1 hour 44 min 12 sec) that is full body ice contact endurance.  Simultaneously I coached 20 people to go into ice-water, but not before some exercises.  Everybody who partook was focused and determined to reach their goal, which is very important.  Here is how they exercised – Breath from the middle section, until you feel like you are blowing up like a balloon, then inhale and hold your breath, take the push up position, inhale completely and do push ups.  Well trained you can do more than a hundred after repetitive exercise.  You know what you felt when you first climbed up the 10 metre diving board feel that again, visualize this together with the mentioned breathing, this made them better at coping with the ice water immersion, the longest time of one was 35 minutes! Imagine, what you can do I always say, we can do more than we think, simply because we are more than thinking alone !  As these people saw the effect, now I challenged them to climb with me the Mt Blanc (4810 metres) in shorts ! They will follow my training course, but most of all, they believe they can do it !

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