Individually Tailored Programs
These are designed for you around your specific requirements.
They are both 3 month programs of exercise and healthy eating based on information you give me regarding your health, fitness levels, job, lifestyle and goals, both long and short term.
They differ in the amount of on-going support that comes with them.
If you would like to consider one of these programs e-mail me at info@workoutforlife.net.
You will receive a questionnaire which when completed will help me understand your needs and priorities.
Feel free to ammend the questionnaire to take account of everything relevant to you.
We may exchange several e-mails in the course of which I will outline my ideas for your program.
Only when you give me the go ahead to design the detail of your program will you be required to complete the transaction through Worldpay, a secure payment site.
Your program will then be sent to you in PDF format via e-mail.
The Premium Program £59.99
- A 3 month program as described above
- Additional e-mail support if and when needed
- The option to book a 30 minute coaching call over the phone for an additional fee of £30
The Platinum Program £120.00
- A 3 month program as described above
- Additional e-mail support if and when needed
- 6 fortnightly 30 minute coaching sessions over the phone built into the up-front fee
Workout for Life case studies.
1. Tim
Tim is a 28 year old graphic designer. He has worked in this entirely sedentary profession since he entered the real world of work 10 years ago.
He works under a lot of pressure; deadlines rule his life and he works long and erractic hours.
He really enjoys his job and thrives on the creativity, variety and lack of routine. He would never be comfortable in a typical nine to five job.
During the week his eating pattern is never planned or regular, he just grabs whatever he has time for and is easiest. He has a busy weekend social life and enjoys cooking for his friends.
However, Tim's health and fitness levels are suffering and he knows that now is the time to do something about it.
His background activity level is virtually nil; he walks five minutes to the tube and back each day. He does no structured exercise. As a result he finds walking up a hill or up stairs is beginning to make him puff, his muscles are getting flabby and he has gradually put on about two stone over the last two years. He often doesn't get enough sleep.
He feels that because of the demands of his job and lack of routine the time he would be able to devote to an exercise plan would be so erratic as to make it pointless. He finds the atmosphere in a gym artificial and sterile and if he could find the time would prefer to exercise out in the fresh air, with a view to eventually joining a group doing a team sport such as five a side football or hockey.
Over the next three months Tim would like to:
Lose at least a stone
Improve his cardiovascular levels
Improve his muscular strength and definition, especially in his upper body.
The problem is, he can't see how he is going to fit it all into his already full and unpredictable life.
Workout for Life recommendations.
Tim would need to workout at least three times a week covering CV exercise, core strength work, resistance training (working with weights) and stretching.
Because of his busy life, he would have to look creatively at the time available for exercise. It would not have to be done all in one session. For example he could do the core strength work at home before work, the CV work for 30 minutes at lunchtimes and the resistance training in the evenings.
None of these individual components would take more than half an hour and they don't all have to be done on the same day.
Over the 3 month period he could learn how to do a full body workout gradually focusing more on the upper body, gaining strength and definition whilst raising his metabolism. This would help with the weight loss too.
His short lunchtime sessions could concentrate on interval training techniques to build his CV levels which will also increase his metabolism and burn fat.
When he has more time at the weekends he could go for a longer fixed paced run or cycle to build stamina.
On the food front, Tim needs to be a bit more organised. Fortunately he quite likes to cook. If he spent 10 minutes each weekend working out what he'd like to eat during the coming week, based on the novel idea of eating three meals a day, from a balanced variety of food, he'd be surprised how easy it is!
Shopping is easier and more focused when you're organised. Cooking a bit more each evening to provide you with lunch the next day is really easy now that so many offices provide microwave ovens for their staff.
He shouldn't wait to be inspired, he should just get out there and do it. Motivation is all about action not contemplation!
The hardest part is always getting started.
Once he does it, he'll start feeling better almost immediately. He'll lose weight, tone up and get stronger quite quickly which in turn will motivate him further.
With his new found fitness and energy, he'll more easily find the motivation to join some group activity which he will enjoy. Finding a circuit training class might be a good start.
Workout for Life coaching could help him.
Tim could usefully spend a bit of coaching time around the idea of getting better balance in his life. Whilst accepting that part of being a professional is that the job comes first, sometimes it's a good idea to work out whether you are in control of the job or whether the job is controlling you.
Carving out some slots in the week to devote to looking after his body would make him feel better on all fronts, sleep better and perform better at the job he loves without compromising on the excitement and stimulation which comes from a certain amount of chaos and unpredictability!
2. Stephanie
Stephanie is in her late thirties. She works part-time as a senior conveyancing executive in a busy law firm.
She has two young children of primary school age. She returned to work after maternity leave to the same job at the same level of responsibility in the same company but her hours are now tailored to fit around her children's school hours.
Her commute to and from work takes about half an hour and she often finds herself leaving the office late because of last minute demands made of her by both her boss and her subordinates. She often arrives at the school gates stressed, exhausted and with a brief case full of work to do at home because she cannot stay late at the office.
Stephanie likes to be active; she enjoyed gym membership before she had the children and now she and her husband try to do something with them like swimming or cycling each weekend.
She realises that doing activities purely focused around the children's needs is not really enough for her and she would like to do something more structured to promote her own fitness.
Her husband is supportive and takes his share of the childcare when he returns from work in the evenings.
Over the next three months Stephanie would like to:
- Rejoin the gym and commit to three 45 minute sessions a week to supplement her weekend activities with the children
- Improve her CV levels
- Tone up her muscles
- Get back the flat stomach she had before the children came along
- Improve her energy levels
- Improve her capacity to relax
- Reduce her stress levels
Workout for Life Recommendations
Three gym sessions per week of around 45 minutes focusing variously on:
Cardiovascular work,
Core strength exercises to help flatten her stomach,
Resistance training to tone her muscles,
A stretching program to help her relax and to prevent injury.
Whilst keeping all aspects of the program going, the emphasis could be changed each month to prevent the plateau effect and counteract boredom.
As well as using the CV equipment at the gym, she could take on an aerobics class for one of her sessions to get as much variety as possible.
The combination of all of this will certainly improve her energy levels as well as making relaxation easier.
She would have to follow a healthy eating plan as well if she wants to tackle the stomach issue from all angles, but doing some of the CV work at short bursts of high intensity will help to burn fat and the resistance (weights) work will help raise her metabolism which will also help her to lose pounds.
If she could join a gym which had a sauna, pool, jacusi, steam room etc. she would have everything she needs to de-stress.
The problem is that the way things stand, Stephanie has little or no chance of finding the time to do any of this. Attempting to fit it in to her already fraught schedule would probably produce more frustration and tension rather than less.
Workout for Life coaching could help her.
Fortunately Stephanie has a husband who is helpful and supportive. Her work situation, however seems to militate against her.
She officially works part-time but neither her boss nor her subordinates seem to understand exactly what this means in practice.
She needs to be clear about her job description and what can reasonably be demanded of her in her part-time role.
Committing herself only to what is achievable in her allotted hours, working hard within those hours and then leaving on time without taking work home is not shirking or letting anyone down.
If she sometimes takes work home because she wants to rather than because she feels she must, it will then be seen as above and beyond the call of duty!
Enjoying a relaxed evening with her husband and children and doing anything else she wants to do after work is her right.
When we feel that we have to react to unpredictable demands, our own sense of control in our life suffers. Feelings of not being in control are often a cause of huge stress.
Being clear about your own boundaries and saying "no" firmly and politely when appropriate, takes practice. But learning how to be quietly assertive can be done and once mastered makes you feel and appear stronger, as well as having a remarkable effect on those around you! We often educate others about our priorities most effectively by our actions rather than what we say to them.
Most importantly Stephanie needs to know that only she can look after herself and getting the exercise and relaxation she needs is part of her basic self-care. Creating an environment that supports her endeavours in this respect will have a knock on effect in all the other areas of her life.
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