GB Personal Training Ltd

Health, Fitness & Wellbeing

12 Exercises to Build Better Buttocks That Look and Perform Beautifully

By Greg Brookes

Build a Better Butt That Looks and Performs Better Too

Your buttocks are the strongest muscles in the body.

The main 3 buttock muscles that your need to know are the Gluteus Maximus (the main buttock cheek and strongest muscle in the body), the Gluteus Medius (sits on the side of your buttocks) and the Gluteus Minimus.

The buttock muscles are responsible for extending your hips. So when you walk or run it is your buttocks that extend your legs backwards. The Hamstring muscles also work to extend the hips but they should work as a secondary hip extensor.

Unfortunately due to incorrect exercise techniques, spending too much time sitting down and overactive thigh muscles, the Buttock muscles become lazy and the hamstrings will often do their job.

It is important to regain good activation and firing patterns of the Buttock muscles to take the work load away from the Hamstrings (often a reason for tight hamstrings) and also to use the buttocks as your primary calorie burner during exercise.

When working correctly the large buttock muscles can burn some serious calories.

Here’s a collection of Buttock exercises that will help reactivate the 3 main muscles and build a better looking and more functional backside:

Before beginning any of these exercises I recommend that you perform a simple Buttock activation exercise by squeezing your buttocks together as hard as you can and holding for 5 seconds. 10 repetitions should do the trick.

# 1 – Hip Bridge

Hip Bridge Exercise

A simple starter exercise that can really activate the Buttock muscles if performed correctly.

Lie on your back with legs pulled in and feet flat on the floor.

Place your hands by your side with your palms pointing upwards.

Next push your hips towards the ceiling squeezing your buttocks tight at the top.

Be very careful not to overextend your hips by using your lower back to gain extra movement.

Hold at the top position for 5 seconds and slowly return to the start.

Try to push from your heels throughout the entire movement.

# 2 – Single Leg Hip Bridge

Once you have mastered the Hip Bridge you can move onto this more advanced version.

The exercise is performed exactly the same as the hip bridge except this time you place one leg in the air pointing towards the ceiling throughout the whole exercise.

During the exercise ensure that the hips stay flat by using your core muscles.

You can make the exercise harder still by placing the one leg on a medicine ball or BOSU ball.

Aim for 12 reps each leg.

# 3 – Reverse Lunge

 

Bodyweight Reverse Lunge

Brilliant for working the buttocks if performed correctly.

From a standing position take one leg back and then drop the knee to kiss the ground or come very close.

It is essential that the lunges are deep enough. Failure to drop the rear knee down deep enough will not activate the buttocks correctly.

Next pull up from the front heel to the starting position.

The more you use your heels to pull you forward the more buttock activation you will achieve.

Start off will bodyweight only and progress to holding a pair of Dumbbells or Kettlebell.

# 4 – Step Ups

Dumbbell Step Ups Exercise

The step up is a very functional movement that beautifully carries over into real life.

Not only is this exercise practical but it also seriously activates the buttocks.

Find a step that is the same height as your own knee height.

Next step up onto the step pulling from the front heel.

One common mistake made during this exercise is using the 2nd leg to help push the body up into the top position.

Try to ensure that the whole movement comes from pulling will the top leg.

Curling the toes back on the 2nd leg can prevent you from pushing up with this leg. Start with bodyweight and progress to holding dumbbells.

# 5 – Mule Kick

This is a great exercise to activate the Buttocks while disabling the hamstrings.

Start by kneeling on all fours with hands under shoulders and knees under hips.

Next take the one leg backwards slowing going back and up.

Keep a slight bend in the leg to disable the hamstrings from working.

As you get to the top of the movement squeeze the buttocks tight.

Ensure not to over extend the leg and use the lower back.

The lower back should stay in a neutral spine position throughout the exercise.

# 6 – Bulgarian Lunge

Bulgarian Lunge Exercise

A beautiful exercise that forces the buttocks to work seriously hard. Start in a lunge position but with the back leg on a 6 – 12 inch step behind you.

Drop down into a deep lunge ensuring that the front leg reaches at least parallel with the floor.

Drive up from the front heel and lock the leg out at the top.

Start with bodyweight and when you can perform 12 on each leg begin holding a dumbbell or kettlebell in the one hand.

# 7 – Side lunge

Kettlebell Side Lunge Exercise

Not only does this exercise strengthen the buttocks from another angle but also will improve your hip mobility.

Begin by facing forwards and then take a big step out to the side.

Keep your weight on your heel as you bend at the hips pushing your buttock backwards and keeping your chest up.

The one leg should stay straight.

Try to get the one thigh parallel with the floor before driving back up from the heel to the top position.

Take your time with the first few repetitions as you warm up your groin muscles.

# 8 – Deadlift

Dumbbell Deadlift Exercise

The grandfather of all Buttock muscles.

Whenever you lift something heavy up off the ground you should be using your buttocks.

The deadlift simulates lifting something heavy up off the floor.

During this movement the thighs and Buttocks do most of the work and the back should maintain with a nice static neutral spine.

Keep your chest up throughout the movement and drive your hips through at the top.

# 9 – Single Leg Deadlift

bodyweight single leg deadlift

With this exercise you can really focus in hard on the buttock muscles while challenging your core and balance at the same time.

Standing on one leg push the hips backwards and bend the knee as you drop down towards the floor.

Keep your weight on your heels and your chest up.

Next drive back up from the heel to standing and push the hips forwards and squeeze the buttocks.

# 10 – Side Kick

For working on the side of the buttocks I like the side kick.

The exercise is called a side kick but really is more of a slow side leg press.

Start by standing tall and facing forwards. Next pick up one leg and slowly push it our sideways.

Stop when the leg is fully extended and hold the position for 5 seconds.

Next return the leg and repeat without putting the foot down.

Start off with low side kicks and build up higher and higher for a real challenge.

You will notice that the stationary hip also gets a good workout.

# 11 – Squat

Bodyweight Y Squats Exercise

Squats are amazing for developing the buttocks but you must drop down so your thighs are at least parallel with the floor.

The importance of getting the correct depth during squatting cannot be over emphasized.

Failure to reach parallel with the thighs will result in minimal amounts of activation of the buttocks especially if faulty recruitment patterns are present.

If you have big thighs and flat buttocks then the chances are you need to learn to squat deeper.

# 12 – Pistol Squat

Kettlebell Pistol Squat Exercise

An extremely intense buttock exercise that develops so much more than just your backside.

The Pistol Squat involves dropping into a deep squat while keeping one leg out in front of you throughout the whole exercise.

Once you can squat well will both legs you can try this advanced variation.

You may want to begin by holding onto something like a chair or TRX straps.

Once you have perfected the Pistol Squat you can ramp it up by holding Dumbbells or a Kettlebell.

Conclusion

Developing nice well functioning Buttocks is usually more about correct exercise technique than working harder.

Spend some time practicing each of the movements and don’t progress too quickly until you are ready.

Starting with exercises that are too advanced for you will only force your body into compensating the movement and activating the wrong muscles.

 

Have you tried any of these buttock exercises? Let me know more below:

 

Top 3 Bodyweight Exercises

By Greg Brookes

Top 3 Bodyweight Exercises

I’m a huge believer in simplicity. Keeping exercise and workouts simple is vital for success. Nothing is more demotivating than a complex workout with lots of confusing exercises.

Recently I’ve been experimenting with one exercise per day bodyweight workouts and my ‘How to Perform 100 Push Ups‘ is a good example of this.

Push Ups are great and so are many other bodyweight exercises but it’s important to choose exercises that target the whole body, this way you avoid muscle imbalances, postural problems are also increase your fat burning potential more efficiently.

So I asked myself a simple question:

“What would be the minimum amount of bodyweight exercises I could use to target the whole body effectively?”

The answer produced the title of this blog post: Top 3 Bodyweight Exercises

OK, lets not waste any more time and get straight into the 3 exercises…

Bodyweight Exercise # 1 – Inverted Rows

The inverted row is a highly underused exercise, in fact I rarely see anyone performing this exercise in a gym when I’ve been training.

I chose this exercise because:

  1. It works the posture muscles at the back of the body and counteracts sitting
  2. It works most of the pulling muscles in the body
  3. It’s the exact opposite of a Push Up
  4. It integrates all your core muscles beautiful
  5. It improves scapula retraction

How it’s done

You lie underneath a bar and keeping your body in line from shoulder to heel you pull your chest up towards the bar. It is important to keep your body straight by activating your core muscles. The more parallel your body is during the movement the more difficult the exercise will be.

My Inverted Row Tips:

  • Always keep your core engaged and body in a straight line
  • Never let your hips sag
  • Pull your sternum to the bar
  • Never reach with your chin keep it neutral
  • Breathe in as your pull up to the bar and out as you lower
  • Use a tempo of 2 seconds up and 2 seconds lower
  • Never use wrist straps let your grip improve naturally

Beginners

Start with the bar high and lower the bar each time you can perform 12 good quality repetitions.

Intermediate

Continue to lower the bar until your back almost touches the floor on the downward part of the movement. Once you can perform 12 good repetitions at this height raise the bar again and place your feet on a bench.

Advanced

Once you can perform 12 good repetitions with your feet on a bench and the bar as low as you can go without your back touching the floor advance to instability exercises. For instability exercises try using just one leg on the bench or swapping the bench for a stability ball. Once you can perform 12 good repetitions of these try using a TRX or Suspension Straps. You can even try one arm rows as you get really strong.

Performing these at Home?

If you are working out at home then chances are you won’t have an adjustable bar in your house. You can still perform inverted rows by lying underneath a table and pulling yourself up to the underside. Just be careful if you use this method that your table is strong enough and doesn’t tip over.

Bodyweight Exercise # 2 – Push Ups

Push Up Exercise

Everyone knows the Push Up and how effective they can be. Performing proper Push Ups is not as easy as you think and I would advise everyone to take a look at the tutorial video below to get it right. If you want to find out more about training your Push Ups then please see my 100 Push Ups Article

I chose this exercise because:

  1. It works most of the Pushing Muscles in the Body
  2. It’s the complete opposite of the Inverted Row
  3. It perfectly integrates the core muscles and strengthens the Abs
  4. It improve shoulder stability

How its Done

Face down with weight on hands and toes lower and Push Up the body keeping the body in perfect alignment from shoulder to heels. Most people will find they are weak in the core and sag at the hips, if this starts to happen stop the exercise.

My Push Ups Tips:

  • Keep the Core engaged throughout the exercise and the body in a straight line
  • Breathe In on the way down and Out on the way up
  • Ensure that the elbows bend backwards and NOT outwards
  • Contract the buttocks to stabilise the core
  • Descend down until your elbow forms a 90 degree angle
  • Pull yourself down into the exercise by rotating the arms inwards as you descend

Here’s my Complete Push Up Tutorial Video

Beginners

If a proper Push Up is too much for you then start by doing Push Ups against a wall, when you can perform 20 repetitions move on to your hands on a table or chair.

Intermediate

You are performing proper push ups. Practice different hand widths, closer will be more difficult. Also try one foot on top of the other one or tapping your opposite shoulder after each repetition.

Advanced

Practice more strength based Push Ups by raising your feet on a chair or bench. Try improving your shoulder stability by performing them with your hands on an exercise ball. Develop explosive power with clap push ups.

Have trouble with your Wrists?

Many people suffer with there wrists when doing Push Ups. If this is the case for you then try either using Push Up bars or performing the Push Ups off your knuckles (use a mat to cushion them).

Bodyweight Exercise # 3 – Pistol Squats

Kettlebell Pistol Squat Exercise

Pistols are an advanced exercise that combine the elements of both a lunge and a squat together. Not only will this exercise work the entire lower body but it will elevate your heart rate rapidly as well as improving your one legged strength and stability.

I chose this exercise because:

  1. It works all muscle of the legs and lower body
  2. It improves balance and single leg stability of the hip helping protect the knees
  3. It beautifully integrates the core and back muscles
  4. It’s hugely cardiovascular
  5. It works hip and trunk mobility often in decline due to excess sitting

How it’s Done

Standing on one leg with the other leg held above the floor. You then sit back onto your heel and drop down into a one legged squat. Next you drive back up to the standing position. At no point does the the one leg touch the floor.

My Pistol Squat Tips:

  • Keep your weight back on your heel at all times
  • Lower your body slowly keeping your knee in straight alignment
  • Keep your arms and weight forwards to counteract the movement
  • Never let your heel come off the floor
  • Breathe IN on the way down and breathe OUT through pursed lips as you stand

Here a Quick Video of the Pistol Squat

Beginners

The pistol Squat is a very tough exercise, the beginner should first master the basic lunge exercise, the basic squat exercise and finally the Bulgarian lunge which simply elevates the back foot during a static lunge.

Intermediate

Once your Squats and Lunges are strong then you can practice the lowering part of the Pistol onto a chair. Lower slowly down on one leg until your thigh is parallel with the floor. The chair can then take your weight and you can stand with both feet. You can also practice the pistol squat by using a chair, pole or strap to hold onto. Work up to 12 repetitions per leg.

Advanced

If you can perform the pistol squat for 12 reps with assistance then it’s time to go for it. You may find holding a weight in front of you helps as a counter balance. My rolling version of the Pistol Squat is also another way to practice this movement.

Here’s a Video of the Rolling Squat

Once you have the Pistol Squat perfected work on adding load to the squats either by wearing a weight vest, holding dumbbells or kettlebells.

Problems with the other leg?

For many people holding the other leg off the ground can be a problem. In this situation you may need to work on your hip mobility. Practice spending time in the bottom position of the squat and opening up your hips, you can hold onto a post for support if needed.

To continue to develop strength while your hip mobility improves you can practice your pistols by standing on a box and letting your free leg hang over the side. Using this method allows the free leg to not touch the floor as you squat down.

Putting it all Together into a Workout

Now you understand my Top 3 Bodyweight Exercises you can now work on putting them into a workout.

There are 2 basic options that I have used successfully:

Workout # 1 – (One Exercise per Day):

You chose one exercise per day, for example:

  • Monday: Inverted Row (12 reps, 60-90 sec rest, 3-5 sets)
  • Tuesday: Pistol Squats (6 reps each, 60-90 sec rest, 3-5 sets)
  • Wednesday: Push Ups (12 reps, 60-90 sec rest, 3-5 sets)
  • Thursday: Inverted Row (12 reps, 60-90 sec rest, 3-5 sets)
  • Friday: Pistols Squats (6 reps each, 60-90 sec rest, 3-5 sets)
  • Saturday: Push Ups (12 reps, 60-90 sec rest, 3-5 sets)
  • Sunday: Rest

Workout # 2 –  (3 Exercises per Day):

Here you perform all the exercises in one day but you have more days off:

  • Monday: Inverted Row (12 reps), Pistol Squats (6 reps each), Push Ups (12 reps), Rest 60-90 sec rest, Repeat 3-5 sets
  • Tuesday: Rest
  • Wednesday: As Monday
  • Thursday: Rest
  • Friday: As Monday
  • Saturday & Sunday: Rest

Workout 1 is going to be a lot easier and allows for more focus on just one exercise. It will however overload that exercise each day so you will get strong fast this way. You also only perform each exercise 2 x per week compared to 3 x with Workout 2.

Workout 2 will be more cardiovascular as you perform more exercise and target more muscle groups per workout. So I would chose this option more for general fitness and fat loss. You also have 4 full days off for total body recovery.

With both of these workouts you will want to work through your progressions so start at whatever level you feel comfortable (Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced) and look at improving over the weeks, not days!. Most importantly keep the quality of each exercise high and NEVER sacrifice numbers for quality.

 

Have you tried any of these bodyweight exercises? Let me know more below:

Kettlebell Complex Flow Using Over 600 Muscles

By Greg Brookes

Kettlebell Complex Flow

Today’s workout is for all those Kettlebell Fans out there.

This Kettlebell Complex takes just 4 exercises and puts them together into a nice flow.

The beauty of Kettlebell Training is the ability to take an exercise and then seamlessly move into another exercise without having to put the kettlebell down. Using this flowing style of workout ensures that you keep your heart rate elevated while hitting all the muscles of the body.

The following workout is demanding and very cardiovascular. You could use it as part of your Cardio training program rather than traditional running methods.

Ensure you have a base level of Kettlebell Skill before attempting this Workout.

The Warm Up

Run through the following warm up 2 times. If you find this warm up too difficult then the warm up is your workout and you should not proceed on to the following workout.

All exercises are performed with bodyweight only except the Turkish Get Up.

The Kettlebell Workout

Complete the following exercises in order, try not to put the Kettlebell down until the whole sequence is finished. Feel the flow!

Finish the exercise on both sides before moving onto the next exercise.

(Click to watch videos of each exercise)

The Numbers

Start by getting used to the flow of the exercises, don’t worry about times and repetitions at this stage, just practice. When you are comfortable try the following repetitions:

Stage 1

Perform 5 repetitions on each side before moving onto the next exercise. Rest for 1-2 minutes at the end and repeat 1-3 times.

Stage 2

Perform 8 repetitions on each side before moving onto the next exercise. Rest for 1-2 minutes at the end and repeat 2-4 times.

Stage 3

Perform 12 repetitions on each side before moving onto the next exercise. Rest for 1-2 minutes at the end and repeat 2-4 times.

Have fun with this little workout and really get into the flow of the transitions as you move from one exercise to the next.

Quick tip: take a rest at the top of the Snatch if needed!

How Often?

As with all training your recovery will be dependent on your lifestyle, nutrition and occupation. As a guide I would recommend at least 1 days rest between this workout and the next.

If you like this workout then you will enjoy my Kettlebell Workouts website

What Babies Can Teach Us About How We Should Exercise

By Greg Brookes

What Babies Can Teach Us About How to Exercise

Have you ever noticed the postural similarities between a baby and the elderly?

Understanding the development of the human body will help you realise why certain exercises are great for your posture and why others are destroying it.

Later I’ll be showing you what exercises you should focus on but for now lets look at what human development teaches us.

It Starts with Pronation

When a child is born, and even prior to birth, they adopt the fetal position. In anatomical terms this is referred to as being in pronation.

During Pronation the arms and legs are turned inwards and the body is in flexion or bent forwards.

It is also interesting to note that this position is adopted as a defensive position during times of danger, it’s comfortable and protects the vital organs. Shock most people and they will instinctively move into pronation.

Moving into Supination

As time passes the body starts to open out like a flower in spring. The spine begins to straighten and the limbs, through the development of muscle, start to turn outwards. The body moves from Pronation into Supination.

Finally we get to a position, all being well, where the body is fully upright. The spine develops its natural “S Curve” and the strength of our back muscles and Buttocks keeps us upright and open.

Maintaining an upright and Supinated position signals to the world that we are strong, confident and mean business!

Ends Back in Pronation

As we age gravity starts to take its toll. Muscles start to weaken and the body, slowly at first, and quickly towards the end brings us back down towards the fetal position.

Just like a wilting flower the body starts flexing forwards and the limbs begin to travel inwards.

Elderly people in their final years struggle to straighten their limbs and spend most of their time looking at the ground 🙁

How to Prolong Your Healthy Posture

The way you exercise will have a huge impact on how your body looks and reacts.

If you want to maintain your upright posture and stay in Supination rather than moving back into Pronation then you need to take action.

Exercising to improve your posture is not as difficult as you may think. All you need to do is promote more Supination within the body.

Here are the 3 key areas you need to address:

# 1 – Extension

Rather than spending all of your time on Flexion based exercises like Crunches that take you further into the fetal position.

Work on exercises that promote extension like: Back extensions, Cobras, and Sky Divers.

Here’s an example of the Back Extension exercise (note how it counteracts forward flexion)

# 2 – External Rotation

Have you ever seen someone running and flicking their feet outwards at the back?

Take a look next time you are in your local park and you’ll be surprised! When the knees come in and the feet flick out at the back that is usually due to weak external rotation of the hips. In other words, their buttocks are too weak to keep their legs in a straight line. The legs are being pulled into a pronated position.

Question:  What is the biggest problem with feet today, and hence why the orthotic industry is booming? Answer: Pronation of the feet! Strengthen your External Rotation Muscles or Buttocks and the Pronation of the feet will more times than not disappear.

Work harder on exercises like: Bridges and Single Leg Deadlifts

Here’s a Tutorial video of a the Single Leg Deadlift:

# 3 – Supination

Most kinds of pushing exercises will put you into Pronation, or in other words fold everything inwards. Most kinds of pulling exercises will put you into Supination, or open everything outwards.

So hours spent on Push Ups and Bench Press Exercises will only help to promote bad posture, and turn the body inwards.

It’s ironic that most people work on their chest muscles to increase the appearance of their chest when they are actually only turning their posture in on itself and hiding their prized possessions. If you really want to reveal a good chest then work on exercises that lift the chest and open the body out like a beautiful flower.

Work harder on Pulling based exercises like: Rows, Deadlifts or Cable Pulls.

Here’s a video of an Single Leg Dumbbell Row:

Conclusions

We all only have a finite amount of time on this earth. We start off in a Pronated position and end in a Pronated position but how long you remain strong and upright is up to you.

You can either work hard to destroy your posture or you can work hard to improve it. With any luck you will work hard to maintain a beautiful flowing posture well into your twilight years.

 

 

21 Quick Actions That Will Radically Improve Your Health

By Greg Brookes

21 Quick Actions that Will Radically Improve Your Health

#1: Drink a Pint of Water as Soon as you Wake Up

We all know the importance of water, right?

We evolved from water. Our body is made up of approximately 70% water. We are basically a walking, talking, big mass of mostly water.

First thing in the morning your body is dehydrated from 7+ hours of no water. Drinking a pint of water before you do anything else will give your body the top up it needs to start the day.

In Dr. Batmanghelidj famous book “The Body’s Many Cries For Water“ he explains, in great detail, the importance of drinking water. He believes that often we are not hungry but thirsty as the body confuses signals for water.

Drinking 2 litres of water per day is a good starting point for most adults. Performance, concentration and sickness are all symptoms of dehydration. Your intestines will also squeeze and extract water from your feces if you are really dehydrated and nobody wants their body made up of that type of water, do they?

#2: Start a Workout Habit of 7 Minutes a Day

It doesn’t take long to form a new habit, usually in less than 30 days.

Don’t try to do too much too soon. Start by just developing an exercise habit rather than killing yourself at the gym.

Using my Daily 7 Minute Workouts is a great start:

1. Choose one movement pattern for each day of the week (Monday – Friday)

2. Movement Patterns include: Squatting, Pulling, Lunging, Pushing, Bending

3. Try to perform as many of that movement pattern as you can in 7 minutes

My advice would be to run through your 7 minute workout nice and early before breakfast. Early workouts work in tune with your hormonal system and leave you not thinking about exercise for the rest of the day.

Start your 7 minute exercise habit today and before long it will feel as natural as brushing your teeth!

#3: Ditch the Table Salt and Start Eating Real Sea Salt

The majority of people are still overloading themselves with processed salt.

Salt isn’t actually the problem, it’s the type of salt that matters. Did you know that human blood has the same salt content as sea salt?

Table salt is highly processed, often using chemicals, that leave it clean, white and absent of all those precious trace minerals. Most table salt resembles something you would find in a science lab rather than in nature.

There are lots of great unprocessed sea salt brands out there. Look for sea salt that is slightly grey in colour. My favourite is a French sea salt is called “Gros Sel de Guerande”.

Buy a good brand of sea salt and it will last you for months.

#4: Set Up an Organic Food Delivery

Eating seasonal food is important. The more local seasonal food your eat the less time it has spent in transit and the more nutrients the food will have. Fresh fruit and vegetables lose nutritional value from the moment they are picked.

To ensure you get the most seasonal and local food I recommend you sign up with a Local Organic Food delivery service like Riverford (the one I use) or Abel and Cole.

Organic Delivery is great because:

1. You get fresh fruit and vegetables delivered to your door weekly

2. You get to try some weird and wonderful foods that maybe you have never tried before

3. Organic food is not drenched in nasty pesticides and other chemicals

4. It actually works out cheaper than buying from the supermarket

5. It saves you time and effort of shopping each week

Set up an Organic food delivery today and you will be amazed at some of the great food you will be eating!

#5: Start to Breathe Deeply Through Your Belly Again!

Stress causes shallow breathing through the upper chest and neck. The more shallow you breathe, the more of a stress response you get.

Have you ever watched a baby breathe? They breathe deeply through their bellies right? As we get older and stress starts to creep into our lives we start to take that breathing from the belly and shift up and into the chest and neck.

Shallow breathing causes headaches, upper back and neck tension! As well as keeping you highly charged and your hormonal system on overdrive.

Learn to slow down your breathing and take your breath to your belly. Deep breathing through the diaphragm stimulates the “Parasympathetic Nervous System” and causes the body to relax.

1. Try taking 10 deep breaths counting to 5 on the IN breath and 5 on the OUT breathe

2. Push your belly OUT as you breathe IN and pull the belly IN as you breathe OUT

3. 2 thirds of your breath should come from your belly and 1 third from your chest

Take some time each day and learn to breathe deeply. It’s a wonderful stress reliever!

#6: Re-Assess Your Medication and Make Some Changes

The sale of Drugs, whether over the counter or via prescription is a multi-million pound industry. Many people are far to easily convinced to take drugs based on TV ads or Doctors recommendations.

The truth is, ALL drugs are poison to the body. It takes a lot of energy for the body to process drugs and most drugs have side effects.

If your are suffering from a sickness or disease then start to question what may be out of balance in your life. Are you stressed out, eating dead foods, dehydrated, lacking in quality sleep?

If you have been taking medication for a long time then book an appointment with your doctor to reassess your situation. Don’t just reach for the drugs every time you have a headache, backache, constipation etc. Start to question the source of the problem rather than addressing the symptoms every time.

#7: Eat More Living Food

If you want to bring life into your body then you need to eat live foods. Dead foods only equal a dead body!

So think about what foods you are eating. Do you eat fresh and seasonal foods (see action #4) or are you eating packaged and processed foods?

The fresher the food the better. Try steaming or eating some of your foods raw to get the maximum nutrition from them. Boiling vegetables only leaches all the vitamins and minerals out into the water. So if you do boil vegetables make sure you use the water to make soups and sauces.

#8: Get to Bed by 10:30pm, it’s When, Not How Much Sleep that Counts

The human being operates on what is called a circadian cycle.

We evolved from nature and have always been influenced by the fall and rise of the sun. In the mornings the hormone Cortisol is stimulated, this prepares the body for action. In the evenings Cortisol levels should be reduced and Anabolic hormones are released to stimulate tissue regrowth and repair during sleep.

If you go to bed too late then you miss out a large portion of the the Growth and Repair cycle which usually runs from around 10-2am. From 2am to 6am most repair is mental rather than physical.

We are creatures of the earth and need to work with our hormones rather than against them.

It’s not necessarily how much sleep you get that matters but more when you sleep that counts!

#9: Take Your Shoes off and Start Earthing

How often to you touch your bare feet on the grass or earth?

Earthing is based on the principle that we have lost our connection with the earth. If you think about it, do you ever walk around in bare feet anymore? Our ancestors used to have constant connection with the earth and this is something that has been lost today.

There is lots of research coming out now that shows positive reasons why we should all get out there and dance on the grass or paddle in streams.

Just connecting your body to the earth will give you lots of natural energy.

So get out there today for 5 minutes and get connected back with nature.

#10: Avoid Wheat for the Day, You Won’t Regret It

Wheat is a major problem and probably the most influential food action your could take today.

It’s not actually the wheat that is the problem but the wheat’s protein Gluten that is the real nasty. The sticky protein Gluten is a big irritant to most peoples gut.

Being Gluten intolerant doesn’t just mean having gut problems like wind and a bloated stomach. Gluten can also cause an auto immune response from Leaky Gut Syndrome resulting in: Arthritis, Headaches, Back Pains, Depression and more.

Gluten is everywhere so be careful. Common foods include: Breads, Pasta, Sauces, fillers in Sausages, and Cereals.

You can take a food sensitivity test to find out if you are Gluten sensitive or you can avoid Gluten for 30 days and see just how amazing you feel without it.

#11: Free Your Mind With 5 Minutes of Meditation

Stress is the number one killer. Meditation offers you a chance to take your mind away from the daily grind and be with yourself for a few minutes.

There are many ways to mediate, here are 2 of my favourite methods:

1. Sit quietly and breathe deeply through your belly. Concentrate on your breath as you breathe through your nose. Count each breath and see how high you can count.

2. Again sit or lie quietly and breathe through your belly. Concentrate your vision on an object about 10 feet in front of you. Keep your eyes relaxed and focus on that object ONLY.

If you do start to think about your worries and problems don’t give up just accept them and refocus on your meditation.

Start with 5 minutes and work up to 30 minutes per day.

#12: Avoid Drinking Caffeine in the Afternoon

Coffee and Tea both contain caffeine which adds extra stress to your body and mind.

The stress that caffeine causes effects your nervous system. With every cup of caffeine your adrenal glands release hormones that fire up your system and prepare it for action. As the system gets fired up glucose is released into the body to give it energy. This energy response all dates back to our survival days when we needed energy to fight or run from wild animals. We don’t usually need this energy anymore so it gets stored in the liver or in the fat cells for later.

The roller coaster that the blood sugar levels are put on due to caffeine intake and subsequent cortisol and insulin responses is very damaging to the body. Adrenal fatigue is all too common these days, as is Insulin Resistance and Diabetes.

Caffeine really does get on your nerves so take a break from it as much as you can, especially in the afternoons when you should be winding down.

#13: Choose BIG BANG Exercises and Save Time

If your goals are to improve your fitness and lose fat then you shouldn’t waste your time with small exercises.

Small exercises only target small muscle groups, like the biceps or triceps. To get a quicker response from your workout you need to focus on big exercises that hit large muscle groups.

Here’s my list of top 5 Big bang exercises:

1. The Lunge – a basic movement that not only works most muscles of the body but improves your balance and movement skills

2. The Row – pulling your hands towards you is excellent for recruiting most of the muscles in your back. Perform this exercise standing up and you will use the legs and core muscles too!

3. The Squat – uses most muscles in the body but in particular the buttocks and thighs

4. The Push Up – avoid the bench press and stick to the push up. The push Up targets the chest, triceps and core muscles and you can do them anywhere.

5. The Deadlift – again uses most of your 600 muscles but heavily works the back of the body so great for posture

Put these exercises together in a circuit in the same order as above and you have a quick and highly effective workout.

#14: Take a Walk in Nature

There is nothing more natural and uplifting than taking a walk in nature. If your mind is busy, you are feeling the pressures of the day, or you simply need a break from the office. Taking a quick stroll through a park, fields or woods, is great for the soul.

Walking in nature can offer you some active meditation. A time to let yourself go and reassess your situation. Remember we all come from nature so get out there and reconnect.

#15: Plan Out Your Meals for the Week

OK, don’t turn your nose up at this suggestion. A little planning can go a long way.

There is nothing worse than opening the cupboards and finding them bare. Empty cupboards usually means eating and drinking things that you know you shouldn’t.

Take 5 minutes and write down a list of meals for the week. Once you have your meals jotted down, split each meal up into ingredients required. You then have your shopping list for the week.

This is a simple technique that only has to be done once a week, but the time and aggravation it saves is well worth it. Also, once you have written down a few weekly lists you can combine them to save even more time.

#16: Follow the Rainbow Diet

It’s a fact that different coloured vegetables contain different nutrients.

Next time you are out grocery shopping try and choose as many variations of colours as you can find. The brighter and more colourful your shopping basket the better.

#17: Dream about What You Really Want

Do you know what you really want out of life? Have you ever taken the time to think about it?

Setting goals and taking control of your life is important for your overall happiness. There is something very intrinsically rewarding about achieving a goal. Generally the harder and longer a goal takes to achieve the more rewarding it will be.

The subconscious mind has a clever way of finding solutions for you but you have to set it a goal first. Dream big and don’t worry about how you will get there, just let your subconscious take care of it.

Here’s my proven goal setting technique:

1. Close your eyes and dream about what you want your life to be like in 5 years. How will it look and feel?

2. Now ask yourself what skills you need to achieve your dream? List them down.

3. Next work backwards and plan out your pathway to your dream. Where will you need to be in 3 years, 2 years, 1 year, 6 months, 3 month, 1 month, 1 week?

4. Write out your road-map and stick it on the wall. Tick off each week as you progress towards your 5 year dream.

This technique is highly effective. Don’t sweat over the small stuff, it will sort itself out. As I said before trust your subconscious to find a way. Take control of your life and you could be living your dream in only 5 years!

#18: Spend More Time Standing

For some people the idea of standing more often terrifies them but the truth is sitting down is not very good for our backs.

When we sit down huge amounts of pressure is transferred to the lower back, far more than when standing. It always amuses me when people say their back hurts and so they need to sit down. If you have a bad back you are better to either lie down or stand up.

I’m sure you know that we live in a sitting world. We sit going to work, at work, going home from work, and finally at home in the evening.

Try to spend more time on your feet. One simply technique to prevent prolonged sitting at work is to set a stopwatch on your computer. Every 50 minutes take the time to get up, move around, drink some water and look at something other than the computer screen. You will be amazed at how much more productive you will become by using this simple method.

#19: Turn the Lights Down and Chill Out in the Evening

Dig out those candles, dim the lights, and play some soft music. In the evening it’s time to relax and work with your hormones not against them.

I mentioned earlier how we are influenced hormonally by the sun and how these hormone levels change throughout the day. Well, in the evening we should be winding down and preparing to sleep. Bright lights and stimulating TV will activate the cortisol hormone. High cortisol levels should naturally occur in the morning when its time to wake up and get going, and not in the evenings.

So in the evenings try to avoid all stimulants, relax and wind down the right way.

#20: Limit Your Fruit Intake to 1 Piece Per Day

What? I know what you are thinking. Reduce fruit, I thought that was good for me?

Fruit is good for you but only in small doses. Fruit contains high amounts of sugar. I know it’s the natural sugar Fructose but it’s still sugar.

Sugar is the largest cause of obesity today. No its not fat, its sugar. Sugar consumption has drastically risen over the last 50 years and fat consumption has drastically dropped, but we are all in worse shape than ever. We have more gyms, medical practitioners and health carers than ever before but we still can’t stop the obesity epidemic. Stop sugar and it all goes away!

Here’s my quick guide to Fruit and Sugar:

1. Avoid all Sugars including syrups and artificial sweeteners (they are even worse than sugar).

2. All ingredients that end in “ose” are a sugar. For example: Sucrose, Glucose, Fructose, Maltose etc.

3. Limit fruit to one piece a day. Only eat seasonal fruit. Fruit is not a meal.

Fruit has changed a lot over the years. Our ancestors would have eaten fruit that was much smaller and more sour. They would have only eaten it when it was in season and usually to fatten up for the winter.

Be very very careful with fruit and sugar!

#21: Do Something Different

Remember the feeling you last had when you did something different? We are creatures of habit and although most habits keep us safe they don’t always challenge us.

Have some fun by changing a habit and doing something you haven’t done before. It can be as simple as taking a different route to work or waking up in the middle of the night and looking at the stars. The challenge is to experience something new.

Spend 5 minutes looking through Google for something new. Try a new sport, join a new club, start a new business, try a new hobby, reconnect with an old friend, go to the theatre, book a weekend break.

Life is short. It’s amazing what happens when you try something new. With new experiences come more new experiences. Without change you get the same results so get out there and explore.

 

How many of these Quick Actions will you take today?