Answers to 'The bloat'...

Have you ever wondered why you get bloated after eating? The Answers are HERE 

FAT BURNING FOODS!!

Yes that's right, Foods that can actually melt away fat! If you want to know what they are, then just click here! Don't forget to also check out my top 5 tips for burning fat, you can do that here. Enjoy! 


For more tips and info on Health, Fitness and Lifestyle, follow me on twitter @MattThePT 

A P*ss Poor Performance

I was asked today (Thursday), by an ex client (ex because they hit their goal and no longer need my help) and now a good friend of mine: 

''Matt, when is the best time to start something new? Shall I wait till Monday?'' 

Without hesitation I replied '' Start now!'' ''Why wait till Monday to start something new?''

Then I remembered a story a director of a company (who is also a good friend of mine now) once told me.

I passed on this story to my ex client/ good friend.

He still hasn't started that something new...

Two hungry lions were stood at the top of a hill watching a herd of gazelle as they grazed. 

One lion turns to the other and says, ''What are we waiting for? Lets sprint down there right now and catch as many gazelle as we can''.

So off they went, sprinting towards the herd. 

Can you guess what happened? That's right, as the lions sprinted towards the herd, the gazelle spotted the lions and ran off safely in all different directions,  leaving the lions hungry.

The next day, the situation presented itself again. 

This time the other lion said, ''While we are sat up here, lets make a plan so we don't fail like we did yesterday.

Their plan was this:

We will pick out one Gazelle that looks weaker than the rest,

 From there, we will both sneak up on the herd from different directions, 

Once we are in position, we will pounce and chase after the targeted gazelle''.

So they did. 

The Lions ate well that night.

The moral of the story is this:

Tomorrow will come, and when it does, you better be prepared for it, because, if you aren't, you will fail! 

Sounds a bit dramatic I know, but it's true.

 What I'm saying here is you need to have a goal, something to aim for.

***You wouldn't just get in the car and drive without planning on where you're going to end up now would you?*** 

Once you have that goal, then you need to work out a sustainable plan of how you're going to achieve it.

 It's only when your goals, and plans, are down on paper should you start on your path to achieving them! 

So if you really want to succeed at anything, whether it be a health or fitness goal, securing that promotion at work or even chatting up the hottie in the coffee shop, you must do this...

Remember the 6 P's:


Perfect Planning Prevents a Piss Poor Performance.


Matt 'helping you catch gazelle' Smith

5 Top tips for burning fat..

As a personal trainer, one of the most frequently asked questions I get asked is 'What is the best exercise to burn fat?' We've all heard expressions like ''stay in the fat burning zone'' or ''you must do HIIT'' or even ''lifting heavy weights is the best way'', but which one really is the king when it comes to burning away that ugly, wobbly stuff that nobody wants or needs on their body?

Below I have listed my top 5 tips that will help melt away the fat thus revealing a new tighter, toned version of you..

However, before I get onto the tips you need to understand the following..

To Lose just 1lb of FAT, not body weight, not water, not lean mass, FAT, you need a calorific deficit of 3500 calories, What does this mean? Firstly you need to know how many calories your body is using per day (you can do that here) Once you've done that, just subtract 500 from that number and that gives you the amount of calories you need to consume per day to lose 1lb of body fat per week. I.e if you burn 2000 calories per day, you should consume 1500 calories to lose 1lb fat per week. 

Now for those tips I was on about... 

1. Raise your metabolism. You're metabolism is how many calories your body burns per day. The more calories you burn, the more fat you will lose, it's that simple. OK, ''So how do I raise my metabolism?'' I hear you ask, well that's also simple. MOVE! Every movement you make from running for the bus to typing on your keyboard uses energy (calories) the more you move, the more energy is required, the more calories you burn.

2. Raise your metabolism. Again? Yes again, but this time you're going to lift weights, big heavy ones (with good form may I add). Lifting weights will increase your bodys lean muscle mass. The more muscle you have on your body, the more calories you will burn at rest. How good does that sound, ''Burn calories at rest!''.  Ladies, this bit's for you: don't worry about lifting weights, you have less than 10% of the testosterone in your body than males, as your body needs this stuff to gain muscle, you will not (unless you're pre-op) end up looking like Arnie. So go grab those dumbbells.

3. Raise your metabolism. Can you see where this is going? So you've moved more at work, Lifted some weights, now what? Easy, the best way... HIIT! Or High Intensity Interval Training to all you non gym bunnies out there. Studies have shown that doing just 20 minutes of HIIT can actually raise your metabolism for up 48 hours after exercise. So how do you do it? Simple, all you have to do is choose 1 exercise, lets say running, then work your ass off for 1 minute,  recover for 1 minute and then repeat for about 20 minutes.

4. Raise your metabolism. This time it's in the kitchen though. Lets imagine your metabolism is like a wood burning fire (bare with me). If you throw a huge amount of wood/fuel on the fire it will either take a long time to burn or will smother the fire completely thus making the fire go out. Now lets do the opposite, not put any wood/fuel on the fire at all, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to work out what will happen now, no wood/ fuel = no fire - no fire = pile of ash and wood. So, if you haven't worked it out already, here's the best way get the fire roaring:  Put small amounts of wood/fuel on the fire in small amounts, often. In other words, eat little and often to keep your metabolism roaring.

5. No, not raise your metabolism, instead.. We're using that horrible body fat as energy! This tip is often over looked due to the fact it involves you exercising before you take on any calories whatsoever (fasted state). 
When you exercise your body uses energy from its stores, primarily carbohydrates. However if your body has no stored carbohydrates it will have to choose another form of energy, FAT! The way to do it is to exercise first thing in the morning before you take on any calories whatsoever, for about 60 minutes and at an intensity of about 6/10 or 60% max heart rate. This way your body will have no choice but to use up any stored fat as energy.  

Always consult a doctor prior to starting any new exercise regime. Alternatively, hire a personal trainer, I recommend Matt Smith. you can locate him via www.MattSmithFitness.co.uk

Once again, thank you for taking the time to read this post and please feel free to share if you think it could be of use to anyone else.