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Targeted Fat Loss Blog

Is your body ready for skimpier summer clothes?

Hugh Norley - Monday, December 06, 2010
After following winter around the globe over the past year, here at Targeted Fat Loss, we are VERY excited to be around for a Sydney summer.  

Not only are we around, we have just moved our house and training studio into amore permanent abode.  We have been nomads for the past year, so this is very exciting.  

We are settling in and brushing dust of things that have been in boxes for over a year now.  If you are anything like our bits in boxes, maybe you feel like you need to be brushed off and picked up to get ready for summer.  

Our first tip for you to get your body in shape is to get up and get moving.  In winter months, we tend to hibernate and sit around more.  If you want to shed the winter layers, get up and move.  

In order to do something long enough to make it work for you, you must like what you are doing for exercise. Let me share a bit of insight into this…

As you can imagine, Hugh loves exercise and weight training.  For the past year or so, I have really struggled to enjoy it.  The reason for this is because I love lifting heavy weights (not piddley weights for high reps).  I had lost so much muscle while I was pregnant, that it took awhile to build up again,  During that time, I was lifting lighter weights and more repetitions.  To me, I might as well be sitting watching cars go by and yawning.  I was bored.  Yet, I couldn't lift any heavier.  After having a c-section my core just couldn't handle it.   I persisted through it and have gotten to the point where I can lift heavy again (yay)!

When I lift heavy weights, my training sessions are very different.  I have more sets and less repetitions.  I go hard and go home.  Each movement takes my focus and concentration and at the end of my workout, I feel pumped and like I have achieved something.  This is what I love!  I get excited to get into the gym again.  Each time I'm there, i'm looking to break my previous records by lifting heavier each time.  I amaze myself that I am able to get better every time.  There are so many reasons I love training this way, but it's not for everyone, which is my point.  

One of my good friends and a client of ours is constantly looking at the record board and wanting to beat my records.  For her, training heavy is brutal and not something she particularly loves, but the idea of doing 500 squats seems like a great challenge to her.  To me… sounds like one of the worst ideas in the world.  (Yes, 500 squats is a record on the board by one of our clients.)

Some people like to and feel better for training for endurance and some for more short term bursts of energy.  Some people like walking, some running.

If you are struggling or bored with your weight training or if you are not getting the results you are after through the exercise you are doing, then do something different.  My workouts change EVERY TIME I train.  This is crucial for getting great results.  

If you want to learn what exercise is right to help you get your body ready for this summer, then call us today and Hugh can put together new programs for you.  Personally, if I was in a gym, running on a treadmill or lifting weights a few times a week and not getting results, I would get bored and stop going.  If you are going to go, make it worth your while.  Just a few tweaks may make all the difference.  

We look forward to hearing from you and seeing you get your beach body this summer.  

To your summer body…

Hugh and Keri Norley

PS- It doesn't matter where you are in the world, we can help you put together exercise programs to suit your needs.  We have helped clients all over the world. Don't waste another gym session, call us today on 0402 205 851 or email hugh@targetedfatloss.com.au

PPS- If you live in Sydney and want to come and train with us, now is the perfect time to call and set up a time to make that happen.

This is the beginning…

Hugh Norley - Wednesday, September 02, 2009

Well, it’s official… I am ready to lose my pregnancy weight.

I must admit, I have already started this journey, but I don’t think I ever really got my mind into the game. By the time I have started this blog, I have already released about 8 cms (3.14inches) from around my waist. Yes, I’m feeling good and I still have quite a bit to go.

Before I was pregnant I was actually lifting cars! Check it out… http://tinyurl.com/kericarlift I was full of muscle and even though I was without a 6-pack, was still doing well for myself.
 
I liked my body and felt sexy and strong. Now, even though according to my clothes, I’m smaller than I was then, I have fat in places I didn’t and a heck of a lot more of it. I have more aches and pains and a general lack of fitness.

Of course the c-section hasn’t helped. I have started back with weight training and have this weird thing where I don’t actually have any feeling in my lower abdominal muscles. I used to feel it and be able to control it. Now… nothing! So, I’m feeling back at square one.
 
Back to about 4 years ago when I first met my husband and he started teaching me about weight training. Back to when I had nothing. Where it once was… I can find it again!

Here I am at the beginning, and today I start by confessing my addiction to chocolate. I eat it everyday! This is ok in moderation, but when losing weight or being healthy, eating lots of chocolate that is poor quality is not the way to go about it. SO… I will talk to my hubby today and tell him what’s been happening for me and get ready to quit this addiction. Anyone else with me?

Can you lift a car?

Hugh Norley - Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Evolve Your Health Ok, so this one is a little more 'extreme' than most exercises. At least that's how it may appear.

Here's Keri setting our women's car lift record ...

This is an amazing exercise for burning fat, and getting incredibly strong. It uses so many muscles in such an intense manner, it can be the most intense workout you'll ever do.

This is an activity that exercises your mind as much as any other part of your body. In this exercise, we start to look at how what you think (on a very physical level) has an immediate impact on your physical performance.

Later in the article, you'll read what went through Keri's mind when she first learned to lift the car. This is a little 'trick' that few athletes even know about, but will enable you to get incredibly strong, incredibly quickly.

First I must stress that before you even think about doing this exercise, you must have a strong core and a healthy back. Please only do this exercise if that is you.

*** This Is An ADVANCED Exercise.

Do This At Your Own Risk***

To learn to do this exercise, I highly recommend using a harness, to start getting used to the heavy weight that you will be subject to.  It helps to distribute the weight over more of your back than you could with a bar, and also allows you to stand straighter as you lift the car. Having a straight spine, means that your structure takes the weight rather than your muscles -  it is a lot safer.

I use 2 loops of 2" tape that I picked up from the climbing shop. A word of warning though, even with a towel underneath the harness it can leave a bit of a bruise, depending on how tough your skin is. Then I hook the harness to an eye-hook that I bolted to the tow-bar with a caribiner. Easy.

Next step is to understand the logic behind what you need to THINK to get the car in the air;

The first thing to know is that your brain sometimes sabotages our performance to keep us safe. Like, if you go to punch a brick wall (don't do it - it hurts!) and you think "this is really going to hurt" then your brain will help out by delivering less power as you punch. The same thing happens if you are lifting heavy. If you think there is something super heavy on your back, then your brain helps out by delivering less power to your legs/back/butt. But that doesnt' help get the car in the air does it? So DON'T think that!

Now, if you want to get the car in the air. What should you think to make it easy for yourself?  What is it you're actually doing? You're standing up. That's all your doing. But if you think that you've got something heavy on your back, its going to be more challenging to get it up and you've gotta psyche up to get that thing in the air, so what do you do?

Well, think about this, when you stand up, what is actually happening? Your butt comes forward, and your knees come back (a little) - as a result you stand up.

There's no heavy weight in front of your hips, nor behind your knees. So all you need do is think about moving your knees backwards and your hips forward. Actually you really only need to think about pushing your hips forward.

So now you know what to think, you gotta apply it. Find yourself a car (preferably a small one to start with) and hook an eye bolt to the tow-bar, then with your harness hooked up its 'simply' a matter of coordinating what you're thinking with what you're doing.


How to lift a car

 

  • Make sure you are well and truly warmed up before you attempt a working load.
  • With your feet slightly wider than shoulder width apart hook yourself in to the hook on the car.
  • Get your spine as straight and vertical as possible, then take  a deep breath in. Then squeeze your butt forward and up  (lift the car) as you breathe out. Keep your lips pursed as you breathe out- it keeps the pressure in your core so that your spine doesn't collapse. 
  • What goes up, must come down. The joy here is that cars have suspension, so you can drop it (make sure to avoid your shins/knees/ toes or anything else that could get in the way). When you're looking for that  extra edge in your training, do the 'negative' part of the movement as well. 

 

It sounds pretty simple - and it is. Once you get over the mental hurdle, car lifting becomes a walk in the park.

If you're after more of a "cardio' workout - give this a go;

30 seconds of car lifting, 30 seconds of rest, repeat until 5 minutes has passed. If you're not struggling for breath by the end of that, throw a dead cow in the back of the car and go again.

 

Happy lifting:)


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