Theres an old saying that ‘the old ones are the best’… but there’s also another old saying, ’use it or lose it’ which, has been known to motivate some people to do as much as they can, while they still can. Theres an old saying that a ‘good young one (in this case I’ll say new) should beat, or be better than a good old one’.

So in the good old, out with the old in with the new New Year fashion, I’m pitching ‘USE IT TO LOSE IT’.

The ironic thing is that we can sit about and preach until the cows come home about ‘the best’ ways to achieve a certain result but I’ll stand up and say that just because its the best way, it doesn’t mean its right for you. The same reason (and anyone who knows me will undoubtedly tell you this is true) the latest car, with the latest gadgets and tech may be the best car out there, but that doesn’t mean its right for me. There are countless examples but driving, and vehicles are a go to example because the majority of us drive, and our preferences are all different for different reasons. Living a fit and healthy lifestyle is absolutely no different. There are countless combinations out there, to suit every subject group out there.

With all that said, the combination of taking on some exercise, and leaving out some calories in your day to day life is the best way to change your body composition. I know reading this right now, might seem a contradiction to what I’ve said about something not mattering too much whether its the best or not but the very fact that we all like different kinds of exercise, and different kinds of food allows us more than enough variables with in diet, and lifestyle alone to optimise our body compositions, which ultimately, whoever and wherever you are is going to allow you to use what you’ve got going off, to lose what you don’t want.

We’ve spoke about countless trends, fads and the hook line sinker cowshizzle ‘BEST DIETS’, or the latest action film training programs which are all sold as ‘The Best’ but constructed for people, who have few physical limitations, no barriers and who’s financial and time budget are literally of no concern to those individuals. The harsh reality for many is, this may be the best, but its no good to the many who buy into it because when they should be bench pressing at 11.15 on Thursdays program they have Diane in for a cut and colour. They’ve got kids to taxi around later on, they’ve meals to make for a small army and nine times out of the ten it isn’t what’s on the diet sheet they’ve just paid an arm and a leg for. Ultimately, the combination (the best one) they’ve bought is going to fail them and it’ll be weeks or months before they try ‘the next best way’ again.

Now, we’ve seen this countless times, its no exaggeration and we don’t want you to make the same mistakes. Being more successful in your quest to change your body composition and achieve measurable results that are sustainable is going to come down to yet another combination. It’s going to be a combination of managing your own expectations, taking into account your own limitations and barriers, not eating as much as you have been, and moving more than you have been. The variables within those four points are more than enough to provide an interesting diet, that’s going to nourish your body fully, and fuel you to train effectively, in a way that you enjoy, don’t find monotonous and actually see the changes in your body composition take place.

The way to judge how good an ‘old way’ is or was, is to see which ones are still about today. Strip back the trends, the fads, and the fashion in the fitness industry and all of the brands and you begin to see that the poster people we see, or the people who inspire us only have access to the same things we have access to. Body weight, Dumbbells, Kettlebells, Barbells, Plate Weights (basically free weights), Cardio machines (anything that gets HR up can be classed as Cardio) the list is endless, it just comes down to how its presented and unfortunately (its the world we live in) THAT, is what people are buying into.

It is well evidenced now across the board that where body composition is concerned, a calorie deficit is required along with some form of activity. We can’t achieve this with doing just one thing. It takes a variety of things as I mention above and thankfully we’re able to find that variety in the foods we need to eat, and the training we need to do, to achieve the result were looking to achieve. I’m not one for pulling other ways down or naysaying because I can look at a program and see it as a program, and as a program it may work well. But I have to stress that a program is systematic. It follows a structure. You do certain things along the way on that program, because the things you’ve done so far have prepared you for such.

I know I shouldn’t name pop but you all know who I mean when I say Shmeleton, or Shnordic Trac, or my favourite Meh-schelon… are all providers of fun, interactive, fully inclusive ‘class style’ sessions where you the consumer can select what you want to do, and naturally you’ll select something you enjoy, but ultimately the repercussion is it isn’t going to be as productive as you think. It’ll satisfy your mind but almost certainly won’t create the stimulus you need to force a change. The advert for the former annoys me so much. The fella’ wants half one thing, half another thing, and only half hour to train. All of which leaves me the trainer, with questions, and says absolutely nothing for what he NEEDS to do to achieve what he wants.

The bottom line with this is, don’t go at your goal one sided. Don’t try to burn fat by diet alone, don’t try to get fit and healthy by exercise alone because neither will work long term. You can’t out train a bad diet. However, by taking onboard a little insight with your food, and becoming more active whether its lifting the next weight up in your sessions, or aiming for two more reps each exercise you’ll significantly tip the scales in your favour. Overcome the things that have held you back previously, and say no where you need to. Whatever you decide… Use it to lose it.