Goal setting is of the utmost importance in training successfully. It is probably second only to not injuring yourself (which would mean that you couldn’t train at all).
The problem with most of us – the people reading this blog – is that we want to do too much. We don’t, on the whole, spend all [...]

Christmas has come early here at gubernatrix.co.uk! Coach Dan John answers your training questions below. We got some interesting questions from people with a variety of needs and goals – from military personnel to bodybuilder to rugby player. So even if you didn’t ask a question, there is plenty to think about, try out and [...]

Photo credit peterastn
A reader suggested I write about staying focused over Christmas. It’s a great idea and so I shall.
At this time of year there will doubtless be many magazine articles suggesting ways in which you can navigate the demands of the festive season, ’survive’ the office Christmas party and all that nonsense.
My take is [...]

in which our heroine muses upon her results and resolves to improve them

I’m just recently back from the World Drug Free Powerlifting Championships (sounds cool, huh?) in which I lifted more or less what I did at the Nationals seven months ago and ended up with a total which was 5kg less than in April.
So [...]

I live in Newquay, the surf capital of the UK. Every year thousands of people come down to Newquay on holiday, wanting to learn to surf. Surfing looks really cool, the clothes are funky, surfers are hot and everyone wants a piece of the lifestyle for a few days.
A typical surf lesson lasts 2 hours. [...]

Many of us here are pure-hearted strength fanatics who would carry on training even if all the mirrors in the world were broken (how many years bad luck would that make?).
That said, we might also harbour a notion of a corporeal geometry, a desired shape or look that bespeaks the things we want to project [...]

Specific vs general is a popular argument in fitness circles and can often get quite technical. But I think that for anyone who isn’t a professional athlete, it doesn’t matter terribly whether you train for something specific or for general fitness. Which mode you choose depends on your personality.
Some people respond to the challenge of [...]

It is a fact of life that some people are born with unusual physical beauty, in the same way that some people are born with a talent for writing or playing the violin. Someone else’s abilities on the violin have absolutely no bearing on yours, so why should someone else’s physical appearance have any bearing [...]

Some of you may be really gung-ho about your training. Fit and proud, you revel in being the ‘weird one in the corner’ doing crazy stuff. You couldn’t give a toss what people think about kipping pull ups and you certainly don’t give a monkeys what you look like, puffing, heaving and sweating your way [...]

I have been to many circuit classes in my time and in every class the women are allowed to do ‘girly push ups’ – push ups on your knees.
This is fine for beginners and it is a fact of life that the vast majority of women, myself included, start off with a real disadvantage in [...]