Those were the first words one of my coaches said to me when I went to study with him recently.  

He asked what training I'd been doing and as I said that I had done an Ironman 2 weeks earlier, he told me my testosterone levels would have dropped through the floor.

I wasn't offended in anyway.  He was simply stating facts.

I know that long distance triathlon doesn't do me any favours in the weight department but I like doing it.

I overcompensate on treats because I've spent a few hours out on the bike or running.  Even though I know the purpose of the long stuff is to become more efficient and require less.

Obviously there are very lean triathletes out there.  The difference between them and me is intensity.

When I'm out on the bike for a long ride, I chill out and look around, I chat to friends and stop at the pub or cake shop.  It's a social thing for me and I don't push hard enough.

As a result my weight creeps up as I train for the longer events.

I had a few weeks off training following the Ironman, then embarked on a strength phase with Sam without putting any pressure on my nutrition.  I've had a few beers and been out to eat a lot.  I also fell in to the habit of grabbing food on the go.

The result was that I changed shape a little and felt a lot stronger.

We've just entered into a 5 week block of strength and conditioning training.  This time we have dialled in our nutrition, we are experimenting with a couple of concepts I want to try with our members later in the year.

It's a good time of year to kick start your fitness and nutrition plans.  The kids go back to school and you start to get some routine back in to your life.

If you are unhappy with how your body looks and feels at the minute, now is the time to exploit the restructuring of routine.  

Add in some good habits, a walk in the morning, a new class (there's a bootcamp I highly recommend), some new recipes.

Adding habits rather than trying to restrict poor behaviours works much better.

If you are trying to improve your diet, focus on eating as many vegetables per meal as you can.  Rather than avoiding pizza, double up the vegetable toppings.

Don;t exercise to punish yourself for being "bad" or making poor choices.  Exercise to feel good, separate the two.

When you exercise to feel good, you want to do more.  If you beast yourself in the gym for hours (like anybody has the time) and feel sh!t when you leave, you aren't going to be inspired to go back.

You can train with a good intensity and still be social.  Our bootcamps are proof of that.  Ab workouts are included in the laughing and banter.  I was going to reference a conversation we had last night but it got to random and out of context would be taken the wrong way.  It certainly made the time fly past and the intensity was high.

Be honest with yourself about what you really want to achieve rather than what you think is possible.

If ou want to get rid of a bit of timber let us know.  As always we are here to offer advice and support, if you want to join our programme apply at - 

www.achievebootcamp.co.uk/application

Darren 'Lumber Jack' Checkley