Tony Ellam Personal Training

The look of a man who just did 100 push ups and failed to press record!!! Today did remind me one thing (other than being useless with photos and filming) and that is I am terrible at push ups. Don’t let any of that stop you donating though. Link is in my bio and all money going to cancer research

Decided to add in another fun challenge to go along with cutting body fat and training for my running goals. This time it’s the cancer research 100 push ups per day challenge throughout November. Sure this is going to be harder than it sounds so please donate anything you can afford. All money going to a very good cause

https://fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/page/tonys-100-push-ups-giving-page-53

Not sure how I managed that!!! Initial goal was to finish in 1:45 and somehow did it in 1.39:39!!

New running shoes!! Went for something quite subtle 😂

Today I want to talk about something essential for fat loss or any physique change and that’s to do with rewards.

When training people for fat loss I have often heard them say ‘once I’ve lost this much weight I’m going to treat myself to a cake’ (hence the photo).

While this may not be the worst thing in the world as they are still dedicated to losing fat I have two issues with it.

Firstly, I feel you should reward yourself for the process not the outcome. Reward yourself for going to the gym the number of times you said you would, hitting target calories or something else you actually have control over. These will be the steps that cause the change you’re after and are the bits you can actually control. If you’re saying to yourself that if you lose 2 lbs this week you’ll treat yourself and then you lose 1 you’ll probably feel crap where actually you may have done great!

Secondly, I don’t like food being seen as a reward or a punishment. You can eat pretty much anything while losing fat as long as you track calories and I think a sensible dietary approach should include these foods already.

Instead reward yourself with something that will mean something to you. Maybe you started the process because didn’t like shopping for new clothes as don’t like how you look. Why not go out and buy a more flattering gym outfit? Put off going and doing a physical activity due to how you feel you would be perceived? Reward your weight loss targets with some sort of activity you may not have felt comfortable doing before.

These things will help reinforce why you started and what you’re gaining along the way which is far more powerful than working towards eating cake!!

Whatever you choose go out there, work hard and smash your goals!

Climbed snowdon today. Feet burning and legs tired but time for an ice cream! 🍦

So close to getting my first sub 20 minute 5k. Hoping to get it by the end of the year so should be enough time as still slowly getting leaner. What annoyed me the most was Strava putting this at 4.99k so it didn’t even count as a PR! 🤬

Back with another fitness myth to take a look at. This time we’re looking at one that I know so many people have believed at some point and it’s that eating, especially eating carbs, after a certain time will make you fat.

The thinking behind this is that when you’re asleep your body won’t digest the food and that all of it gets stored as fat. This just isn’t true! Your body is always working and what decides if your weight goes up or down is your overall calorie intake!

Also, having carbs in your evening meal can actually help you to get to sleep sooner! As we know sleep is essential when exercising as this is the time for your body to do most of its recovery.

The take-away from this is that your meal timings aren’t that important. Your overall calorie intake is what will play the biggest role in body shape changes. Try to pick meal timings that will allow you to hit your calorie targets as easily as possible. Some people prefer only a couple of meals while some prefer 6/7. At the end of the day the difference is negligible so find a plan you can adhere to!

Lovely day at the beach with the dogs. Not a bad way to spend a Wednesday afternoon!

Just finished the first training run for my next half marathon. Today I wanted to highlight the difference between exercising and training.

The main difference is that training is exercise with a focus on achieving a certain outcome whether that’s fat loss, muscle gain or in this case attempting to achieve a certain speed at a race.

This doesn’t mean just exercising for the sake of exercising is bad, just that if you want to work towards a specific goal then having a training and nutrition plan that aligns with it is essential.

If you need help with any of your training and nutrition goals DM me and I’ll be happy to help!

A few more weeks and a few more pounds off. Feeling good now I’m getting close to my target. Off to the gym again this evening! 💪🏻

Important bit behind my progress has been tracking whatever I can, whether that’s nutrition, progress in the gym or even monitoring sleep to check on recovery.

Also, although I have just been posting my weight here this isn’t actually a great metric on its own to monitor progress. If you only track your weight how do you know whether you lost muscle, fat or was it just water? If you put on weight was it actually fat? It’s much better to check your measurements and take progress photos so that you can see how your body shape changes.

If you’re not assessing you’re guessing!

It may be incredibly hot outside but the gym has air con so get to it!! 😎

On a serious note in this weather I would advise not training outside and being mindful to drink plenty of fluids! Stay safe and go get those gains in the gym instead!