Five steps to get you back on your fitness journey

So, lockdown has finished and you have stood in the mirror and barely recognise the person in front of you.
Sam Davies and Emma Brand will be giving their fitness tips over the coming weeksSam Davies and Emma Brand will be giving their fitness tips over the coming weeks
Sam Davies and Emma Brand will be giving their fitness tips over the coming weeks

We all started lockdown with the best of intentions to improve our health and, for the most part, that just hasn’t worked out and now comes the uphill battle to not only get back to normality, but to get our health back on track.

The problem is that doing nothing for a long time makes us comfortable.

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We like the feeling of relaxing and watching Netflix, this is down to our body’s reward response system.

Sat watching your favourite TV show while having some crisps and chocolate can feel amazing for a short while but we know deep down it’s not good for you

BUT it feels so good, right?

Not when the your favourite jeans won’t buckle up, or your ‘fat day’ top ( we all have one ) becomes a little tight.

So how do we break the cycle?

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Eat, rewarded by our brain, crash, feel rubbish, eat again, reward, crash etc.

So, over the coming weeks, I, Sam Davies, a black belt kick-boxer and qualified personal trainer who has spent a lot of his life, although fit, very overweight (once 26 stone) and my partner, Emma Brand, also a black belt kick-boxer and qualified yoga instructor who once carried too much weight, are going to bring you tips to getting your mind and body back on track.

So this week we would like to bring you the five steps to get you ready to start your journey.

Step 1: PREPARE FOR BATTLE

Not only the physical battle of working out but the more important MENTAL battle that you’re going to have EVERY TIME you have to get off the sofa.

This will become the most important part of your journey.

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Not for the first week or so because you are going to be pumped about doing something new. We normally see this in January. New Year’s resolutions, sound familiar ? ‘I’m on it’, ‘new year, new me’. Two weeks later “not tonight, I’ll go tomorrow.”

Next thing you know you its been five months and you’re throwing away money on a gym membership you have no intention of using.

Hush the voice in your head by saying to yourself “I’m doing this regardless of if I want to or not so shut up and kick on.”

Step 2 TRY DIFFERENT THINGS

I know working out gives impressions of ‘clanging and banging’ in a gym. Lifting heavy weights or running on a treadmill for an hour. That may not be your thing.

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Try something you have always wanted to try. Maybe you have always wanted to play tennis or netball. Maybe a martial art. Maybe it’s rambling over the Downs.

Once you find a hobby you enjoy you wont even notice you’re getting in shape because you are having so much fun.

Step 3 MAKE YOURSELF ACCOUNTABLE

Find a work out buddy. Someone you have to to turn up for. That way even when you don’t want to go you HAVE to otherwise you’re going to let them down.

Also, ( and this works for me and Emma ) someone to compete a little with. Friendly of course but you will find bouncing off someone else will help you and your partner progress.

Step 4 GET MOVING

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While you are looking for your ‘thing’, start to move more. Take stairs, go for walks, jog on the spot...just MOVE more.

We will cover more on this in the next column.

Step 5 MAKE SMALL GOALS

This is one of the most important steps. Make sure you set goals and make sure you REWARD yourself when you achieve them.

You absolutely MUST have goals, this gives you focus. In martial arts we have a grading system and this helps give you a constant goal, something to work towards ALL THE TIME.

So make your first goal to try out some things you have always wanted to. Find your ‘thing’.

Once you find it you are off to a flying start.

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The last thing I want to say this week is GET OUT OF YOUR OWN HEAD!

You are not too fat or too old, you can find time, stop making excuses, you can achieve anything you want to, you just have to want to.

With these crazy times we are in, please remember that the best defence is a strong immune system (eat right), Vitamin D (get in the sun more), keep the lungs strong (exercise )

Get these things down and you have the best shot at fighting off viruses.

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Sam Davies is owner and chief instructor at Titan Kickboxing and realised in lockdown he and a lot of his students would be unable to earn a living and afford classes – so he decided to provide them for free.

Davies is a 5th degree blackbelt and holds a 1st degree black belt under martial arts legend Bill “Super Foot” Wallace.

He has been inducted in to the MAI hall of fame twice, is a formernational and British heavyweight champion and has had the honour of training other fighters and helping them on their way to southern area and British titles

Book a free class at Titan Kickboxing Eastbourne by phoning Sam on 07549847700 or email [email protected] or [email protected]

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