Q - I’m training for the London Marathon and finding it tough on my body. What should I eat after training that will speed my recovery?
A – Firstly, congratulations on stepping up to the challenge of the marathon. Whether it is your first marathon or you have completed the distance before, it always requires a high level of commitment to succeed.
Many people focus on running an appropriate amount of miles and forget the nutritional requirements to do the job. Remember peak performance nutrition includes pre and during as well as post exercise.
To avoid discomfort when eating pre training or a race leave at least 2 hours before running. If it is a morning run then porridge is ideal as it contains slow releasing carbohydrates. If your run is less than an hour then plain water will suffice. A run of an hour or more will require some kind of easily digested carbohydrate and this is why it is beneficial to find suitable sports drink that you find palatable from the variety available.
After training your body will be crying out for food. It is essential to rapidly replace the carbohydrate and protein it has used, as there is a window of opportunity, around 30 minutes, where your body will best assimilate the nutrients. For some it is difficult to eat immediately after a run, so a good recovery drink which combines carbohydrate and protein will do the job perfectly. |
Q – I work long hours and have a busy family life, which means I have little time for exercise and makes it difficult to stick to a fitness routine. What advice would you give on how to fit exercise into my daily schedule and to stay motivated when busy and tired?
A – Yours is a common problem which I hear many times over. A combination of work, children and everyday life leaves most people with little energy to exist, let alone exercise!
This is a vicious circle as without exercise and the health and fitness benefits that go with it, you’ll feel even more lethargic and de-motivated.
The simplest solution is to try and incorporate greater activity into your daily life. Don’t underestimate the difference getting off the bus a couple of stops early can make, parking a little farther away when going to the supermarket, or taking the stairs instead of the lift. All these things can have a tremendous benefit on your wellbeing.
If it’s appropriate you can always walk, run or cycle to work. It’s a great way to avoid the stress of traffic jams and you get fit at the same time!
Group activities are often enjoyable and more and more people are turning to dance classes, which not only improve our fitness but also your social life too!
If you’re still struggling to give yourself a kick-start then finding a suitably qualified personal trainer maybe the solution, as once you have made that commitment and scheduled it in your diary you are much more likely to stick to a routine. Especially if the trainer is coming to your home or workplace. |
Q – When EFT relieves pain, does it merely mask the pain and thus reduce the ability for pain to signal danger?
A - This concern is a valid one and may be linked to the use of medication which indeed often masks symptoms. By contrast EFT is not a medication and does not enter an artificial substance into the body.
I have worked with many people and no-one has reported their pain has been inappropriately blocked or complained that the pain was “merely masked”.
In my experience if EFT doesn’t solve the problem by eliminating the cause, then the physical discomfort will re-appear. This simply calls for more rounds on other aspects and / or referral to a specialist. |
Q – How do I apply EFT for performance issues (sports, sales, academics, speaking, music, acting, writing, art and more)?
A – Using EFT for performance issues is one of my favourite areas and the results are often easy to recognise. Whilst the principles I shall outline apply to ALL types of performance, I will emphasize the area of sports as a basis for these ideas.The COMFORT ZONE is a critical concept within all performance pursuits. This is the mental place where a sports person unconsciously believes he/she “belongs”. It is what keeps performance at its current level and without properly addressing it, any improvements developed for an athlete (or salesperson or musician… etc) are not likely to be lasting.The comfort zone for golfers, for example, is reflected in their scores. Interestingly improving an aspect of the golfer’s game (like putting) will not bring about an improvement in the overall score. This is because other parts of the game will suffer to allow the COMFORT ZONE (e.g. mid 70’s or mid 80’s) to be maintained. Even if they have a good day or a bad day and score outside their COMFORT ZONE, they will on subsequent rounds score once again where they “belong”. To properly enhance one’s performance, there are two levels that must be addressed
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Move the COMFORT ZONE to higher levels
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Address the specific impediments to performance
Once these areas have been addressed, greater levels of performance can be achieved. EFT is a very powerful performance enhancing technique and can be used anywhere. It is extremely east to learn and can be taught over the phone. |
Q – What can NLP do?
A – NLP works on the principle that people aren’t broken, they don’t need fixing and they already have all the resources they need. In fact they are excellent at getting the results they are currently getting. You have probably become an expert at having, say, relationship problems or panic attacks and over the years have streamlined the process down until you can do it really well!
So find out how you do it by asking yourself “what are the triggers?” Or what happens immediately before you start “doing” the panic attack? And what goes through your mind next?
The chances are you are running through the same sequence of thoughts, images, feelings and telling yourself things each time in order for the attack to happen.
This is your “strategy” for having the attack. If you change any step in the strategy, you will probably get a different result. Change what you tell yourself to something positive!
Make positive mental pictures instead of scary ones! |
Q – Why is NLP so effective?
A – It is because NLP works on the “mental mechanics” of how we operate our programmes. It does not examine how the area you wish to change developed, or how long you have had it or other such issues. The methods used train your brain to replace one set of responses with another. That’s all. It is quick, easy, effective and can be fun too! |
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