Gym anxiety can affect everyone, newbies, gym-bros and old-hands alike. Everyone has moments of self-consciousness, but if it's putting you off your sessions, here are a few actions to take.
Gym anxiety: Dealing with nerves on the weights floor
Patience: The hardest thing to exercise in resistance training
Building an impressive physique naturally takes a long time, and one of your hardest workouts will be exercising patience with the process.
Exercise and mental health: Don’t let expectations destroy your motivation
We all know that physical activity is good for physical and mental health, but what happens when it has the opposite effect? Here are four checks to make sure expectations don't destroy your motivation.
Fasted cardio for weight loss: Is it really superior?
When it comes to losing weight, fasted cardio is a popular method, but does it work and is it actually superior to exercising after a meal?
Eight healthy treats to satisfy sweet cravings
When looking to cut down, it's helpful to have a few healthy sweet treats in the bag to get you through any cravings. Here are eight of my favourites.
Never skip leg day: Five great exercises
There's a reason #neverskiplegday is a thing on social media; lots of people do. It's one of those gym sessions most people would happily swap for back day, chest day, arms, or in fact any other upper body day you can think of. Why? Because leg day is tough.
Shoulder workout: The five best exercises
You may consider them a small part of your body, but the benefits of having well-defined and strong shoulders shouldn't be underestimated.
Are you overtraining? Why rest is key to progress
Training may act as the stimulant to growth and development, but sleep is when the adaptions actually take place. But what counts as adequate rest?
What I do when I ‘hit the wall’ in training
'Hitting the wall' is a feared term in endurance circles. But it can happen to a lesser extent in weight training as well. It's that point in training where you feel like you can't go on, where taking just one more step or lifting one more rep can seem impossible. Unless you're an elite athlete, it can happen to anyone, including me. So how do you cope?
Back workout: Five of the best exercises
It can feel like hard graft for little personal reward training a body part that you rarely see unless you're straining in the mirror. But giving your back a good workout is not only sensible from a health perspective (think good posture and core strength) but also from an aesthetic perspective, for anyone lucky enough to behold your impressive lats.
Five of the best arm exercises
The sun may be in hiding, but that doesn't mean your guns have to be as well. There are many different exercises out there that promise to isolate different areas of the arms, but the simplest exercises are often the most effective. Here are five of my favourites.
Four of the best ab exercises
Fed up with sit-ups and crunches? There are many other ab exercises that are equally - if not more - effective in building core strength and muscle definition. Here are my four favourites.
Demotivated? How to deal with your fitness demons
It's 6pm: you've finished work for the day and are looking forward to hitting the gym. You've been working hard and the results are paying off. Yet, despite all this, the second you set foot outside, your motivation starts to wane. Sat at your desk- eyes glued to an Excel spreadsheet - the gym had seemed like a welcome break, but now, when the alternative is a warm house, the sofa and a slice of carrot cake, getting sweaty suddenly doesn't seem the best option. So, is there anything you can do to tackle your demotivating inner voice?
