Shame to say it – any monkey can take you through a workout providing you with entertaining variations on simple exercises, leaning on your ‘empathy’ buttons between sets and whilst draining your back pocket with very little in terms of hard and fast results to show for it.

The spectrum is getting wider and here is how to spot the right personal trainer.

1. They can deliver results

More often than not you will hear about a good personal trainer through a friend’s positive experience. This is a good start. It reveals a trust and standards that your friend is willing enough to share with you.

However, it can’t stop there. Your personal trainer or Dublin Personal Training company must be able to prove that they can match your needs and deliver the results you are after.

Where are the testimonials?

2. To this end they put their money where their mouth it

In this climate, offering a guarantee for personal training services reveals true professionalism. It reveals a company or an indivudual geared towards results rather than figures. They can back this up by guaranteeing their services 100%.

3. They truly walk the walk

Your trainer will be your coach. How can you respect him or her if they are a walking sign of ill-health or stink of coffee the minute you meet them? Personal training is not a hobby. It is a lifestyle. You will not meet a more passionate and determined group of practioners who can help you with your fitness goals.

In essence your personal trainer is not your ‘friend’, more your coach there to inspire and take you to levels you never thought were possible.

4. Their Application of Knowledge stretches beyond ‘counting reps’ and ‘barking orders’

There are plenty of opportunites for personal trainers to upskill and develop their knowledge base. A good personal training compnoay will be constantly doing this within the realms of functional medicine (therefore knowing the red flags to look for in what may be preventing cloients from losing body fat and achieving optimal health), functional anatomy, psychology, nutrition and lifestyle management.

This is then imparted directly to the client.

At Sphere our trainers intern and surround themselves with some of the sharpest minds in the health, well-being, nutrition and medical field. We learn of the best so that the best is delivered to the client.

There may even be the case where we need to call upon these experts to help you reach your goals quicker.

5. Your personal trainer can deliver a tried and tested system of delivering results

It takes years of hands on experience to truly understand the profession – not a weekend of training leaving with a certificate.
Personal training is our business. We have developed a system here at Sphere that delivers a tailored health and fitness experience.

From initial assessment stages and ascertaining your needs and goals, to a tailored nutrition and health programme and finally to the implementation of methods, including training, that we feel will yield the greatest results for you. This isn’t our hobby or part-time cash add on.

You will have a programme geared to you – not the remnants of a health and fitness magazine or ‘whatever your trainer feels like doing on the day’.

John Lark is a personal trainer in Dublin, Ireland.

Visit his website – Sphere Fitness and downoad your free fat loss report

When you think about it – it is the most obvious and logical step to take when one embarks on any fat loss programme.

Drink more water.

Everyone harks on about it. And to all of us it is common sense that doesn’t need a genius to figure out.

We are 70 per cent water. At 4 – 5 % below optimal fluid intake, you could experience a 20 – 30% decline in cognitive function or encounter episodes of ‘brain fog’.

The decline in blood volume that occurs with even slight dehydration impedes the transport of oxygen and nutrients throughout the body, which drains energy hence your afternoon slump.

Even your bones are 25 per cent water.

The muscles that drive your performance are 75% water.

The brain that steers your limbs is 76% water.

The blood that carries your nutrients is 82% water.

The lungs that provide your oxygen are nearly 90% water.

So before you even worry about your calorific intake, how much protein you are consuming and even your fruit and veggie intake you need to drink up.

It is the most potent fat loss trick that you can deploy immediately. Why? Your body thrives on water. Can you imagine your car running without oil?

Your fat cells are particularly active if they are hydrated and bathing in a sea of good quality water. If they aren’t then trying to get the fat out of their comfy havens within your hips is hard work.

Unfortunately, a lot of what we drink is anti-water too. Fruit juices with their high sugar content force us to use up our vital water resources. Coffee, tea and sodas also send us in to a state of chronic dehydration.

As a guide we should be drinking good quality clean filtered water. I strongly recommend getting a reverse osmosis filter fitted.

A sharp rise in the number of men requesting breast- reduction operations is being blamed by surgeons on the effects of excess female hormones in tap water and food reported The Sunday Times in July 2005.  So, yes the quality of your water is important.

1 litre for every 18kg of body weight (which seems a lot) can be managed if you chunk it down into steps. Begin with two litres a day and a plan. Have a large glass before leaving the house in the morning. 500 ml between meals and sip at a night. Drop some freshly squeezed lemon juice into the mix.

You will develop a tolerance to this. When you do, crank the volume up.

Focusing on your water intake will take a few baby steps but like all journeys they begin with a single step.

People look at me with a blank stare when I point out that the first most blockbusting fat loss strategy we will put into action is to drink up.

Why?

Are we so used to the next magic bullet when all along it is staring us right in the face?

Are we so used to instant gratification that to actually work at something as basic as drinking water is a turn off?

That’s ok – stay fat Because you deserve to be.

If you have struggled with your weight for years do not expect miracles to happen in 3 weeks. You have to be prepared to work and give yourself a fair chance at this.

So use the 80-20 rule when it comes to fat loss. 80 per cent of your results will come from 20 per cent of your efforts. Stick to the nutritional strategies that will yield the most results.

That is why drinking your water is the first step. What is the most abundant nutrient in the whole body? Water. What do all of our body cells need in abundance? Water and Oxygen. What do you think will accelerate your fat loss efforts with the least effort?  Drinking more water.

You should forget about chopping your portions and finding your next magic bullet until you try a good old-fashioned glass of nature’s finest.

John-Lark is a personal trainer in Dublin City Centre

“Two steps forward, one step back” is usually a negative term to describe someone who is having trouble making progress.

But switched around, “1 Step Back, 2 Steps Forward” means that instead of grousing or feeling guilty about a misstep, you can still come out ahead if you put your head down and push forward.
And it is about this time of year that the early New Years enthusiasm begins to really be tested.
Steps back can take many forms: a family vacation, breaks in your routine, personal tragedies, injuries, or that lost weekend in front of the tube.
A big mistake people make when trying to get healthier is that when they fall off a bit or something happens, they think they “have to start over”.
Wrong! When missteps do happen, a better strategy is to simply take two steps forward. You’re still ahead of where you were before, far beyond the starting line.
In tennis, losing one point isn’t the end of the world. It happens to the best of them. In fact, if you can consistently win a few more points that you lose, you may end up in the hall of fame.
With healthy eating and exercising, as long as you’re consistently out-stepping your steps back, you’re ahead of the game. If you expect perfection (and many of us do), you’re setting yourself up for disappointment and guilt.
That is why trying to chase 100 per cent compliance is futile. We have found that 90 per cent is enough. Is that taking a step backwards? No. It is setting yourself up to take a step back allowing you to recharge your batteries and go at the diet train again the following week.
Guilt can be debilitating to your healthy habits. When you mess up (or even when things are messed up for you), it’s natural to feel guilty. At that point, you have a choice: to let that guilt plummet you into a cycle that could spit you out worse off than before, or to accept the step back and say “where do I go from here?”
Of course, consistent success is still something to strive for. You don’t want to roller-coaster up and down. That’s an “old” habit, remember? And the 1Step/2Step strategy doesn’t lessen the need to do your best. You should still work hard to keep those steps back from happening. But it helps to be prepared with a plan and a positive attitude for when they do happen.
Many times, this means a rededication, a refocusing, and a recommitment. You might want to look at your program and see why it’s allowing those landmines to stick around. Use it as a learning process. Ask how you can keep that misstep from happening again.
* Take a walk in the woods to clear your head and regroup.
* Have a personal “bounce back” motto that will re-energize you. Put it everywhere.
* Take a break if you think you’re trying too hard.
* Return to the basics. Are you making it too complicated and tough on yourself?
* Plan ahead for irregularities in your schedule, call ahead to healthy restaurants, pack healthy snacks.
* Stay aware of what you’re doing. One meal mess up can turn into a one day mess up, a one week mess up if you’re not careful.
* Remind yourself of your success so far when you need a boost.

Unlike people who run 10 miles today because they should have run two yesterday, “2 Steps Forward” doesn’t necessarily mean doing a lot more to make up for a blunder. Just make a commitment to do things as right as possible as much as you can.

John Lark is owner of Sphere Fitness and a personal trainer in dublin. Visit his web site www.john-lark.com and download yoru free report on fat loss.

When we think diet most of us would think restriction, sacrifice and denial.

We can safely say by now that habits win the race in the long-run.

Skip breakfast and you will face a problem. Likewise by not taking enough sleep, and exercising for a minimum of three times a week.

If you were a nutritional and exercise beginner you would be best to start by chipping away at one of these per week.

You will yield great results if you stick to working away at implementing habits one by one. This is definitely a long-term and successful strategy. Bottom line it works.

One of the key habits in any health and fitness programme is to implement a 90-10 rule.

What exactly does this mean?

Well as top body transformation expert Tom Venuto, author of the Body Fat Solution, states that your fat loss efforts are like a pressure cooker if you try and stick to it 100 per cent of the time. Underneath the pressure of denial and sacrifice reaches fever pitch and eventually you blow. The lid flies and the plan becomes rail-roaded.

This is not your fault. You do need to plan for the 10 per cent though.

Any plan will work if you a) maintain a calorific deficit and b) keep it at 90 per cent compliance leaving you the 10 per cent to slip away, deviate away or let the lid off the pressure cooker.

Here are a few basic ground rules before you give yourself a ticket to demolish a whole pizza washed down with a gallon of coke and topped with a strawberry sundae ‘cos you earnt it’.

In 99 per cent of the cases I deal with you haven’t even come close to earning it.

Firstly you need to track exactly what you are doing. If you are following a plan, are you following it 90 per cent of the time. You will need to write and record your efforts on paper, measure your portion sizes (if youstruggle with losing weight) and write down if you exercise that day or not. A journal is a great idea.

The devil is in the detail now.

3 meals a week over the course of 7 days is 21 meals. Stick to the rules for 19 of these meals and you are on course scoring 90 compliance.

If you hit the gym 3 times a week for 4 weeks you can afford to miss 1 workout in that month.

If you skip breakfast for 2 mornings (or deviate outside of what is laid out for you) then great stuff you are on course.

If you set out the simply record your food intake for 3 days a week over the course of the 4 weeks then you can afford to miss 1 or two of these days.

Anything can be measured according to this principle.

You may notice Oprah falling flat on her face again with her diet and finally admitting that she doesn’t want to be lean and would rather be ‘healthy, lean and strong’.

She blamed a low-carb diet for her failures. The only thing was that her skipping meals, ploughing into 2-300g of carbohydrate on the odd day is not following a low-carb diet.

Her compliance was rock-bottom and the overriding reason for her failure. It is like taking a recipe for apple pie and making rhubarb crumble with it.

You have to earn your 10 per cent and plan for it. If you know that your night out with your partner is on the cards for Saturday then factor this into your week. This is particularly the case if you are on a fat loss programme.

Outside of this you have to work hard. The odd biccie here and there does hurt. You have to earn the right to cheat. Is it tough – yes. Are the results worth it? Of course.

Get in, get out. Do not lumber around trying to lose body fat. Set a deadline, a specific date to work towards.

Measure, stay strong, keep tough, have a support system in place and be accountable to someone.

If on the other hand you want to try and implement a habits based approach go ahead. This works well too.
However, if you think you can wing it without a plan. Think again.

John Lark is a Fat Loss Specialist and personal trainer in dublin. Visit his web site and pick up Free Report – The 7 Most Effective Ways of Burning Fat at his web site www.john-lark.com

Here are the top ten and most succint reasons why (courtesy of www.charlespoliquin.com):

1. Fish oils, rich in the Omega-3 fatty acids may help prevent depression, stabilize the moods of maniac-depressives, and alleviate symptoms of schizophrenia.
University of California’s Johnsson Cancer Center, Los Angeles, CA health.com

2. Fish oils is one of the few substances known to lower concentrations of triglycerides (fatty substances) that pose a cardiovascular risk, in the blood.
J Raloff Science News

3. Increasing the amount of Omega-3 fatty acids has direct effects on serotonin levels.
Andrew Stoll M.D.1999 Archives of General Psychiatry

4. Fish oils, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) help prevent heart disease, depression, and cancer.
Hans R. Larsen, Msc chE “”Fish Oils: The Essential Nutrients”" International Health News

5. Research has shown that supplementation with fish oils can markedly reduce interlukin-1beta production and results in a significant reduction in morning stiffness and the number of painful joints in rheumatoid arthritis patients.
Darlington, L Gail and Stone, Trevor W. Antioxidants and fatty acids in the amelioration of rheumatoid arthritis and related disorders. British Journal of Nutrition, Vol. 85, March 2001, pp.251-69. Oilofpisces.com

6. Several clinical trials have concluded that eating fish regularly or supplementing with fish oils can reduce the risk of sudden cardiac death by as much as 50%.
Bigger,J. Thomas and El-Sherif, Tarek. Polyunsaturated fatty acids and cardiovascular events: a fish tale. Circulation, Vol.103, February 6, 2001, pp623-25 (editorial). Oilofpisces.com

7. Researchers at Mayo Clinic report that supplementation with fish oils, EPA and DHA is highly effective in slowing down the progression of IgA nephropathy, a common kidney disease.
Donadio, James V.,et al. A controlled trial of fish oil in IgA nephropathy. New England Journal of Medicine, Vol 331 November 3, 1994, pp1194-99
Van Ypersele de Strihou, Charles. Fish oil for IgA nephropathy? New England Journal of Medicine, Vol 331, November 3, 1994, pp 1227-29 (editorial). Oilofpisces.com

8. Epidemiological studies have shown that populations with a high intake of fish oils have a lower incidence of inflammatory diseases such as asthma.
Dry J. and Vincent D. Effect of a Fish oil diet on asthma: results of a 1-year double bind study. Int Arch Allerguy Appl Immurol, Vol.95, 1991,pp.156-57. Oilofpisces.com

9. Researchers at The University of Tromso now report that fish oil supplementation lowers blood pressure significantly in people with hypertension and has no effect on glucose control even in people with mid diabetes.
Toft, Ingrid, et al. Effects of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on glucose homeostasis and blood pressure in essential hypertension. Annals of Internal Medicine, Vol 123, No 12, December 15, 1995, pp 911-18. Connor, William E. Diabetes, fish oil, and vascular disease. Annals of Internal Medicine, Vol 123, No 12, December 15, 1995, pp950-52. Oilofpisces.com.

10. Medical researchers in New Zealand provide convincing evidence that an increased consumption of fish oils helps reduce the risk of developing prostate cancer.
Norrish, A,E, et al. Prostate cancer risk and consumption of fish oils: A dietary biomaker-based case-control study. British Journal of Cancer, Vol. 81, No.7, December 1999, pp.1238-42”

The almost blanket nature of fish oil to address most ailments is  staggering. But then perhaps not. It is our gatekeeper nutrient allowing the trillions of cells to get what they need by providing the raw materials for our cell’s membrane – fat.

John Lark is a personal trainer in dublin. Visit his web site for access to the forum and make sure you pick up your free report on fat loss.

If you have a list of things to improve and set about trying to achieve with the heading ‘My New Years List’ then I suggest you stop what you are doing.

Lance Armstrong, seven-time winner of the Tour De France and Cancer Survivor has a great saying;

‘Lance doesn’t have a to-do list, he just does’

By all means have that burning desire, that was probably festering away over Christmas to get fit, healthier and trimmer always lingering in the back of your mind.

The problem with most resolutions, if not all, is that they are focused solely on the outcome rather than the ‘how’ of getting there.

Case in point – lose weight. Great. But how?

Most of us don’t know how to. We set the first outcome based step in motion i.e. joining a gym but fall at the next hurdle. A crash diet sends us into the realm of moody, irritable and tinkeing with our metabolism or a faulty exercise programme yields NO results.

What then?

You can apply this to almost any scenario. Spend more time with the family –great but what’s your plan? Eat Healthy – great but what is your plan? Have a dream home – great , but what’s your plan?

It is great knowing what you want but the ‘how’ is where it is at.

In our case of health and fitness our behaviours must match what we want to achieve.

If they don’t then well-intentioned goals will fall by the way-side. Life-long dreams will last till March.

In other words it is all well and good trying to ‘eat healthy’ but if your behaviours include a cigarette at breakfast, lunch and tea-time washed down with 10 cups of coffee then there is work to do.

So how DO we go about making sure resolutions stick?

Well don’t set them for a starter. Make every day a New Year. It is like the dreaded Monday Morning

Syndrome or MMS for short.

‘I will start on Monday’

How about starting NOW.

That is the difference between those who succeed and those who faulter – speed of implementation. First step is to find someone who has been there before, made the mistakes and gained the necessary information that you want.

Then it is a case of chasing the rabbit. Not chasing 10 at a time and catching none. One rabbit, one rabbit with a 100% catch rate!

Let’s have a look at this in terms of ‘getting fit’. We all know what this means to us as an individual. For some it means running a marathon, the six-pack, toning our tum and bum. So getting fit has to become more specific.

Now let us pick 10 behaviours that a trusted individual has outlined that you need to do get you from where you are now to where you need to be.

You may need to start exercising for a total of 5 hours per week, eat more vegetables and more fish, take a fish oil supplement with every meal and look into managing your stress with Yoga.

See – now you have some direction and focus.

Each and every day you need to work at implementing these habits. Sure it is tough. But it works. The reward is in the journey.

So without sounding too much like a New Age Spiritualist make the decision now to ‘just do’. Sure you need a plan. But what are you waiting for?

If you are fat, do something about it. If you are unfit, get off your backside and move. If you are not happy with your current situation, what are you going to do about it?

The ball is truly in your court.

Visit John Lark’s website at www.john-lark.com and download your free report on the ‘7 Most Effective Ways of Burning Fat’ including a free sample workout and meal plan.

Silly season has officially kicked off and I can guarantee the front-runners for the premiership drinking and festive cheer title are gathering full steam. As a personal trainer here in Dublin, I see body damage that is beyond belief.

Far from me to live like a monk and not enjoy the holiday season.

But let’s face it, most of us will do some serious damage to ourselves paid for in the waistline, the pocket and the head as we nurse the mother of all hangovers.

One piece of cake that can be savoured becomes the whole thing. A couple of glasses of wine turn into the whole bottle – every night.

Don’t get me wrong. I love good food, a bit of cake and a tipple. But instead of using it as an excuse to devour every morsel including licking the plate, I taste and savour the experience. Very quickly it is back to where I want to be – lean, strong and healthy.

If you are smart then it can become easy to avoid seeing the scales fly up over the Christmas period.
Like all programmes the only magic bullet that works in all scenarios is having ‘strategies’. Without them well-laid plans fall by the way side and motivation plummets.

Here a few tried and tested strategies to help you through the silly season.

1.    Begin your exercise programme in earnest now. If you are training already – do more for a total of 14 days before cutting back for 5 days over Christmas. This period of extending yourself above and beyond what your body is capable of handling will allow you to then take a well-timed breather over the break. You may even find yourself lighter and fitter after your rest! Train hard and lift intensely

2.    Make sure you consume an alkaline rich diet over this festive period. Plenty of fish, veggies and low-sugar fruits such as Grapefruit, Lemon, Limes, Tomatoes and Avocado. This will effectively balance the acidity of rich foods, alcohol, stimulants, late nights and ensuing stress.

3.    Before you head out to a party eat a snack of a boiled egg and some almonds. This will stop any sugar crashes and the ‘must eat now’ and ‘would eat my friend’ feeling that you can guarantee will happen if you let your blood sugars drop.

4.    Make sure you eat a protein rich breakfast with a liberal serving of veggies and nuts. This will ensure that your sugar levels remain on an even keel throughout the day Studies have shown that you will consume far less food too. If you don’t have enough time in the mornings then a) get up earlier or b) have left-overs from the night before

5.    Take fish oil. If you are not doing this then why not?

6.    Cat-napping is a great idea. Ideally an hour but no more. This will not affect your body’s natural sleep cycle. Take time out for yourself each day at the every least. Sleep will allow your hormones to recharge their batteries and give you the energy you need!

7.    Take a Magnesium supplement before you go to bed.

8.    Try this energising protocol for your water. Slip a scoop of barley grass, wheat grass or another greens product into a litre of water with a ¼ teaspoon of Himalayan Salts. This will alkalise you, keep you hydrated, build your blood and provide a great environment to thrive in the party season. 3 litres a day should be a minimum – thanks go to Nutritional Consultant, Phil Richards for this one.

9.    Alcohol and a lean physique don’t mix. If you are going to drink know how much is enough. Equally plan to cheat rather than let yourself become carried away like a runaway train.

10.    It will be impossible to be 100 per cent compliant with anything over Xmas. However, 90% will allow you a few cheat meals and nights out over the course of a week. Deprivation is never a nice word! So if your 10 per cent cheat involves a drink or two then go for it! Shoot for red wine over beer too whilst alternating an alcoholic drink with a water.

Most of us take time to reflect this year too. So take the time now to write your goals and cement them on paper.

With this exercise comes a definite step in the right direction. You are more likely to achieve them when they are there in black and white.

Avoid scrabbling for last minute excuses come January 1st.

John Lark is a personal trainer in Dublin. Visit his web site to pick up your complimentary report on fat loss, health and nutrition

Finding a good personal fitness trainer may be a task in itself let alone part with the overall cost of personal training.

Here are three good ways of finding yourself a good fitness trainer:

1.    Is your personal trainer a walking business card? Do you believe he can take you to your goals? In other words does he walk the walk? I have seen plenty of trainers hide behind baggy tracksuits and elevated body fat levels. This should raise your eyebrow immediately.

2.    What type of fitness courses has your trainer attended? A good starting point is a degree in Sports Science but then along side this ask your fitness trainer what type of continuing education have they undertaken. Good courses that we recommend at Sphere include PICP, CHEK and the NSCA (National Strength and Conditioning Association).

3.    Can your physical trainer provide any evidence either visually or some form of guarantee?  At Sphere Personal Training, clients are normally referred. However, your photos and client testimonials are a great way to start.

These are three quick and easy steps you can take in choosing a personal trainer that is right for you. Take your time, include the three options above and I am sure the right result will follow.

John Lark is a Personal Trainer in Dublin. He is based at The Sphere Fitness Studio in Maynooth, Co.Kildare and Dublin City Centre locations.

Visit his web site for a complimentary report on fat loss