So, 1st January 2016 came. I woke up feeling positively mediocre, which -  based on the incredible party we went to the night before - was way beyond expectations.  

At around 2pm, I battled the urge to crawl under the duvet and won; instead undertaking a protracted plod around Clapham Common.  

Then, on January 2nd, I woke up feeling slightly perplexed to be facing the day without some very expected things: 

• the ubiquitous NYNY (New Year, New You) list; 
• a slightly manic feeling that I needed to get cracking on everything on said list simultaneously;
• a single utterance of the word ‘resolution’.

That feeling you have when you’re exercising regularly, eating great and sleeping well is something money cannot buy.  But then, from nowhere, the not-so Holy Saint of Sedentary will stealthily tap you on the shoulder and, like the Pied Piper, coax you off course turning you into a cake munching couch potato...  when you have that dreadful realisation that you’ve ‘let yourself go’, my advice is to let IT go.  Instead, brush yourself down and concentrate on this stuff instead...

Nestled in between Monday mornings and the Tube, I think the beastly Burpee probably makes the top three list of 'Wicked Weekly Events' for a high proportion of my clients.

But, no matter how much they groan or swear at me, I keep making them do it.  Is this a sign that I am a fitness sadist at heart?  Of course not (well, not ALL the time!).  It’s simply because the burpee is an incredibly efficient exercise that gives your body massive return on investment. 

Still not convinced?  Here are five fantastic reasons to put 'burpees' up there with 'breakfast' on your daily To Do List:

So, it's my turn to host Come Dine With Me this weekend.  I've reluctantly accepted it's a lose:lose situation.  I can either lose the 2lb I had planned to by Sunday and cook something involving brown rice and a courgette, or I lose the stupid competition.  I hate my foodie friends."

A down-in-the-mouth client does not a good session make.  Thankfully, on this occasion, I swept in and rescued them with a metaphorical cuddle, a hardcore circuit and some champion recipes. 

So, I say to you what I said to her:  I am about to give you the greatest low fat, low calorie, dinner party menu in the world.  Ever. 

If ever there was a day to be thinking with your heart and not your head, it’s today.  And no, that’s not an excerpt from Corbyn’s pre-speech pep talk...  

Today is Tuesday 29 September and it’s also World Heart Day.  

With heart disease causing more than a quarter of all deaths in the UK - around 1 every 3 minutes - the health of our hearts should be pretty high on our personal agendas.  That means getting out and being active, eating well and preventing the stresses of daily life from consuming us.  

"All well and good, but try telling that to my boss” you say.  So start small; here are 4 ways that you can help your heart stay strong on any given day of the working week...

So why do so many of us see it as a session bolt-on? 

You’ve done it, I’ve done it.  You finish 50 minutes of the allocated training hour before thinking “Right, that’s the REAL work done, now I’ll do a few crunches in a futile attempt to finally bag that elusive six pack… Ouch, wait a minute, that's hurting my neck! Hmm, think that’ll do for today.” 

Let’s not focus on the choice of exercise here or issues with form.  Instead, let’s focus on this - of all the exercises in all the world, those that work your core matter most - for your fitness, for your performance, for your strength and for your general wellbeing. 

I'm looking at the window right now and it's not just pouring down; there's a man out there getting violently assaulted with apocalyptic water bullets.  And, in 30 minutes, me and my trooper of a client will be joining him.  Great...   But I am here to tell you that you should embrace the slop, get down and dirty, and enjoy it - training in the rain is refreshing, cathartic, and what's more,  it's darn good for you!