Last Friday I did a bit of boxing with Olympic Gold medalist Luke Campbell.

Yes folks, that’s how badass I am… I might have been the only one throwing punches because I made him promise not to hit me back before I got into ring, but it still counts.

I met Luke up in Hull at the Vulcan Amateur Boxing Club where he first started training at the tender age of 13.

Luke told me about how his first coach there put him in the ring to box after just a couple of months of training, and how he got beat in that first match.

Then how he got beat again in the second. And  then again in third…

But he just kept training and striving to win. And, well, as we saw in the 2012 London Olympics,   eventually he stopped getting beat and became a champion.

Luke’s a really inspiring guy. I’m not just talking about the hordes of young people who have started boxing after seeing what he’s achieved in his sport, but also to people like you and me who just want to get into our best shape. He says has a few beers and eases up on his training when he doesn’t have a match coming up, but when he is getting ready for an event, he’s totally focused. He eats the right foods, no processed rubbish. He trains hard, two to three times a day – from boxing drills, to weight lifting, to swimming. Basically Luke will do whatever it takes to get his body in the condition it needs to be in to win.

Of course, me and you don’t need to go to such extremes, but we can look at someone like Luke and know that if we apply some of his spirit to our own goals – no matter how many times life beats us up along the way, in spite of the doubts that will inevitably crop up – with commitment and graft, we can be winners too.

My trip was organised by the lovely folks at Samsung who wanted Luke and I to try out the new Galaxy S4 handset. It has some really cool features for fitness and sporty types, like the AirGesture navigation, where you can switch views and navigate by waving your hand – and keep your sweaty fingers off the screen.

It also does this quite astonishing thing called SmartScroll where it tracks your eye movements. As you read down the page it actually scrolls down for you. Plus, if you’re watching a video, and have  the SmartPause function activated, it will pause automatically if you look away – handy if you like watching vids while you workout.

There are a gazillion more snazzy features, including S Health software, which you can use to track your exercise and diet (it even monitors your sleep) and Group Play which allows you to share media with other phones without the need for wifi or a data connection. So that’d really cool if you like the idea of listening to the same music in synch with your workout bodies while you train.

For me personally, a good camera is one of the main things I look for in a phone. I’m no expert but at 13 megapixels I think the Galaxy S4 has one of the best around. Whizzy camera functions include Dual Camera, where front and rear cameras take simultaneous photos and videos – so that could be fun for taking pics during running events.

But anyway, If you’d like to know more you can read all about everything the Galaxy S4 does on the Samsung website.

Getting back to the main event, which is me pummeling Luke in the ring. Here is the pictorial evidence…

And here are some vids shot on the S4:

This is Luke teaching me a few moves.

This is where he started regretting it.

And for tech fans, here’s a quick clip of Luke having a look at the Samsung Galaxy S4 and sharing his predictions for the future of mobile devices…

…Could happen.  Luke’s mum could be getting a telepathic text message some day soon. Who knows what’s next?

With thanks to  Samsung, Luke, and Sebastian Glazer at Vulcan ABC.

The guys at Vulcan are doing great work getting young people started in boxing and providing an excellent training facility for amateur boxers in Hull, check out this cool vid.

At the time I wrote my first post on here I’d had a lot of problems with my health and a few injuries, mainly due to doing far too much long distance running, and I had just about recovered from a horrible three-month respiratory illness.

I wasn’t in bad shape or carrying hugely unhealthy levels of body fat, but I was podgier than I wanted to be, my energy levels weren’t great, my upper body lacked strength, and after many years coming down with several chest infections each winter, which were getting ever hard to shake off, I was seriously starting to worry that one day I might get one that I’d never recover from.

I’ll talk more about my adventures over the last year in the obligatory Blog Birthday post on Wednesday, but I wanted to share something with you today that I’m really happy about…

In the twelve months since I created this blog I have not been ill once. Not with anything. Not even a cold.

My energy levels are through the roof some days, my body fat is steady at 18-20%, despite taking no more than two or three days at a time off training I have had no injuries , and I’m fitter and stronger than I’ve ever been in my life.

Lucky me, eh?  Maybe. But I’m finding that the more care I take of myself the luckier I get in this area.

Obviously, I practice many habits that could come under the heading of Taking Care of Myself including eating well (and using some supplements), a well-planned varied exercise programme, managing stress and prioritising, getting plenty of sleep and adequate sunlight, etc. I’ve got a lot better at getting all of those right over the last year. But, in this post, I’d like to share four  things that, while I’m not saying they will keep everybody well and injury-free (doubtless I’ll get laid low with something again myself before too long) I do believe that most people who exercise regularly would benefit from at least some of them.

Rest
Probably the most important thing I’ve learned is to take rest when my body needs it. There’s a lot of bravado bandied around, especially on the internet, about pushing on, training even when you’re tired, breaking through “the Wall” etc. and that’s what I used to do.

And then I wondered why I kept getting ill and injured all the time.

It can be a hard message to convey to clients as a trainer, especially when they’re really fired up about getting fitter, but taking rest when you need it is just as essential to achieving fitness goals as training hard and not quitting.

If you’re someone, like me, who always likes to be striving for improvement and is not afraid of pushing yourself to exhaustion, please know that not only is it OK to take rest when you’re feeling worn down, it will often improve your fitness and health more than training would.

I’m always encouraging people to “get it done”, stop making excuses, and give workout sessions 100% effort, but always remember that rest and recovery time is important too.

Resistance training
Please don’t do what I did and constantly thrash your body with lots of cardio and no strength training. You need it for so many reasons .

Lifting weights is now a major part of my training. Apart from the fact that it’s brilliant for fat loss, sculpts the body, improves performance in every sport, increases bone density and promotes many more health benefits…  Being stronger feels amazing! Why did nobody tell me about this?

My upper body was always weak in the past, due to the fact that most of my training didn’t really work it. Now, while I’m by no means a heavy lifter, I do have some upper body strength. I love seeing my muscles pop up when I’m training now.

Knowing that strength is there and that I’ve built it through hard work and dedication makes me feel stronger and more capable on the inside too.

Yoga
I first started doing yoga about 10 years ago, but I let it slide when I was doing marathon/ultra training. I just didn’t have time for anything else. I should have binned some of the running for yoga sessions.

I believe yoga does many fantastic things for my body including keeping me flexible, strong (especially in the core), helping me to relax and – I’m not really sure how to describe this – it kind of makes me feel more aware and in touch with my body.

I usually do one hour-long yoga session per week nowadays, as well as using some of the moves/stretches in my warm up and cool down for most of my training.

Foam Rolling
Ah, the delicious agony of foam rolling. I used to have a go on the foam roller at the gym from time to time, but last year I got my own foam roller so I could use it more regularly at home.

It was well worth the investment, you should get one too.

Originally I got the 66fit Elite foam roller, which has been brilliant and I still use it regularly.

But now I sometimes like to get deeper and that’s why I got the bad boy roller in the photo.

This called the Rumble Roller and it really gets in and finds any knots and tight spots.

There’s more info on the Physio Supplies website.

Are you doing enough to take care of you? Leave a comment, lets chat.

If the answer is yes, I may be able to help you get the kind of outstanding results participants in my previous online fat loss fitness programme have achieved in just 12 weeks.

I’ve been almost overwhelmed with the amount of interest in my online programme recently (especially since it  was covered by the Daily Mail). So I’m offering the original programme one last time. I may well do something similar in the future, but it won’t be in this format and probably won’t include as much personal coaching from me, certainly not at this price range.

What I’m offering in the 12 week online programme is a rather different experience to what people will get from the book (in shops Jan ’14) I developed it for. Whilst following the programme from the book will be great for almost everyone, the 12 week online programme is not suitable for a lot of people.

I make no apologies for the fact that the online version of the programme will require a lot from you. It is tough. By following the book you will be able to extend the duration of the programme to as long as you like, in the online version we’ll get through the whole thing in 12 weeks. This means fast results for most people, but it is far from a “quick fix”.

It is only suitable for people who are ready to face up to the fact that to get the body you want you will have to work hard, push your limits and support your training with good eating habits.

The programme comprises three four-week phases and the workouts become more advanced as you progress. There will be no point at which the exercise becomes easy. If easy happens, I don’t care how fit or strong you are, you are doing it wrong! From total beginners to advanced exercisers, we’ll all be sweating together.

Don’t worry though, it’s not 12 weeks of hell. Even people in the pilot group who previously hadn’t exercised much before, or had never liked working out with weights, said they loved the workouts and I’m sure you’ll find them enjoyable too. The feel-good factor of finishing one of these sessions is hard to match and you may well experience energy levels you’ve never known before by the end of the 12 weeks.

Of course, the changes you’ll notice in the way your body looks, feels, and performs will help keep you going too.

Trust me, if you stick closely to the exercise schedule and dietary guidelines you are going to be so glad you did by the end of 12 weeks. You will not regret a single ounce of the effort you put in.

Go here to see  more Before and After photos of some previous participants.

But before you apply to take part in the programme I’d like you read the following and carefully consider whether this is the right thing for you:

•  You will be exercising for up to an hour per day, five to six days per week.
•  You may need to change the way you exercise, especially if most of your current training is endurance-oriented.
• During the 12 weeks, I will expect you to make time to exercise even if your life gets unexpectedly busy, even if that means getting up at stupid-o’clock in the morning or cancelling other engagements to do it. (Previous participants have and this is something you may have to do too.)
• For best results you will probably need to change the way you eat.
• You will be given dietary guidelines, but this is a fitness programme not a diet plan and you will be free to choose and plan your own meals.
• I will need to you to communicate regularly, openly and honestly with me about how you are getting on.
• You will need to update a journal, including food dairy and workout log at least once per week, ideally every couple of days or daily. (This will help me to monitor and support your progress.)
• Required equipment includes a set of dumbbells and an exercise ball. (You should be able to buy enough kit to get started for less than £50 if you don’t already own it.)
• This programme is not suitable for people with eating disorders.

Cost: £60 initial set-up and £30 per week throughout the programme. Payments to be transferred before the start of each programme phase (£180, £120, £120).

So, it’s cheaper than you’d expect to pay for one single personal training session per week.

It’s all done online and you can do all of the workouts at home or outside.

Starts Monday 6th May

If you are prepared to take this on, at the end of the 12 weeks I guarantee you’ll be stronger and more resilient, mentally as well as physically. I can confidently tell you that it will feel amazing.

You’ll probably become more self-motivated, ready to rise to challenges or try new things, and feel more confident, in yourself as a person as well as in regard to your body.

It can be a truly life-changing journey, as previous participants (like Becca) will tell you!

Are you ready to do what it takes?

…Still keen? I’m impressed. Please drop me an email at julia@juliabuckley.co.uk telling me about yourself and your fitness/fat loss goals. Feel free to ask as many questions you like too. I look forward to hearing from you.

Go here to see Before and After photos of some previous participants.

This something I get asked all the time. I wrote a post called How to Get Motivated to Exercise a while ago where I tried to give my answer. I usually direct people there. But often they still don’t seem to understand what I’m getting at. Looking at the post again now with fresh eyes, I think the key message might have got buried under my ramblings. So, I’m going to keep this one short and right to point…

Want to know how to get motivated to workout, even when you don’t feel like it? Want to know how I manage to get up and get it done most days? Whether I happen to feel motivated or not?

Here’s your answer:

You workout.

People feel most motivated to exercise when they workout regularly and least motivated when they don’t.

Doing it comes first.

If you don’t feel like exercising the best way to make yourself feel like it is to exercise.

Exercise first and then you will feel motivated to exercise.

Workout today and you will want to workout tomorrow…

I could write this same point many more ways, but hopefully you’ve got it now.

And that is it people.

Sure, there are lots of other things you can do to pump yourself up – thinking about your goals, looking at inspiring images, entering events/competitions, etc. But, for sustained motivation, the above tip is The Money. Remember it and get it done.

Even. When. You. Don’t . Feel. Motivated.

Because that’s when it counts the most.

I subscribe to so many blogs my RSS reader is on the verge of meltdown, so I’m going to split them into categories and just publish one Best Blogs post per week.

First up, here’s a rundown of 10 of my favourite UK female fitness bloggers.

Each of these bloggers does a great job of injecting her own unique personality into her posts, so I’m not going to rank them, they are all awesome in their own way. So, in no particular order*:

• Jog Blog

• The Fit Writer

• Warrior Woman

• Spikes and Heels

• Lunges and Lycra

• Lazy Girl Runner

• HelsBels

• From Snickers to Marathon

• Be Pretty Fit

• Ali Croft

If you’re the wonderwoman behind one of these blogs I’ll be dropping you an email today with the above lovely badge attached, which you can pin on your blog if you like.

By the way, if you’re a UK-based female blogger who I haven’t listed on here, I hope you won’t be offended. It doesn’t mean I don’t like your like blog, I might just not be familiar with it, or maybe I didn’t think it fit with the criteria this time, so please feel free to leave a link in the comments.

Next week I’ll list British Fitness Blokes’ Blogs.

Lots of great reading there – enjoy!

*I thought about listing them in alphabetical order, but as someone with a surname close to the start of the alphabet I know only too well that alphabeticising does not equal fairness. Have you got any idea how annoying it is to have to go through life being called up as either one of the first or one of the last for everything? Sure, it has it’s advantages sometimes, but often it’s a proper pain in the buns. For example, being the first to get vaccination jabs when I was at school. That happened a lot. Except when, occasionally, as a special treat, they’d do it in reverse alphabetical order. So that was great, surely the only thing worst than getting it done first is getting it done last! …Sorry. Wow, where did that come from?!

I’ve been through a few low points over the years, but it’s not like I’ve had a horrible life. So I knew this was a problem with my thinking, rather than there not actually being any pleasant moments for me to recall.

It was getting a bit of a worry, so in attempt to see if I could fix it, a couple of days ago I decided to sit down with a pen and paper and write a list of all my favourite moments.

It took a while. I wasn’t able to list many at first, but I kept coming back to it throughout the day and by evening I’d filled a page.

I now have a page and a half of fond memories that I can pull out of my desk anytime I need a reminder of good times. And isn’t that something we all need sometimes?

Possibly even more valuable than that is being able to see the key ingredients that feature in my favourite memories. I probably should have expected this, but the way one overriding theme stood out so clearly came as a revelation – the vast majority of my happiest moments involved being active and/or being outdoors.

It’s great that this reaffirms my love of exercise and the countryside and reassures me that my life is going in the right direction. But what’s really wonderful is that I now have a much clearer idea of how to create more happy memories to add to my list.

How cool is that?

I know it might sound a bit of a weird thing to do. And maybe you even feel a bit  daunted by idea of distilling your happiest moments to a single list or delving back into your past to look for them. I know I was a little scared that I might struggle to fill a few lines and was worried about how that might leave me feeling. But once I got started, the memories came flooding back and I’m still adding more things that pop back into my head now. It wasn’t an easy thing to do, but it was absolutely worth it. I’ve reminded myself of good times that I haven’t thought about for years.

I’m so glad I made my list and if just one person does this for themselves as a result of me publishing this (to be honest, quite difficult-to-write) post, then my time here will have been well worth it too.

Your list doesn’t have to be full of earth-shattering moments of enlightenment and ecstasy. I didn’t grow up in a wealthy or particularly adventurous family, but I think it’s those simple innocent moments from childhood that mean the most.

A few items on my list from when I was little include picking blackberries with my mum and dad and brothers, riding my bike, going to the seaside with my grandparents and earning my 1 mile swimming badge.

The same goes for adulthood really, for me anyway. Some more recent good times include a holiday in Cornwall, swimming in the sea, various landmark moments in the gym, finishing my first marathon and many walks and picnics in the country with people I care about.

Just goes to show what’s really important doesn’t it?

I’m pretty sure I’m not entirely unique here. Watching tv, playing video games, eating, drinking, etc. can all be fun, but I doubt those things would dominate many people’s favourite memories lists.

Is it time you did more of what your happy memories are really made of?

I hope you’ll make your own list soon. If you’d like to share some items from it in the comments, or maybe just your experience of writing it, that would be lovely.

I have been honoured and delighted recently to see this blog appear on several lists of top fitness blogs by social media experts.

There’s this one from social media and search agency Tamar.

The PR and media experts at Cision were kind enough to put my blog at Number One on their top ten fitness blogs. They have awarded me this lovely badge.

And I’m ranked #28 in Top Influencers and #22 in Top Outreachers on Kred’s Top 50 Fitness Bloggers list – that’s worldwide! They also reckon I’m in the top 1% of influencers on Twitter.

I’m absolutely blown away. It’s so great to know that I’m helping and/or inspiring lots of people to get fit – that’s pretty much what I live for. I’m so honoured to be listed alongside many of my favourite fitness reads, like Jog Blog and The Fit Writer, to name just two.

I had hoped to create one of Britain’s favourite fitness blogs when I set this up last year and that seems to be becoming a reality. I also set out to make this a friendly place where even total beginners could come for down-to-earth fitness advice and where I could talk openly about my own thoughts and opinions. I love the independence writing here gives me and I’m finding myself increasingly drawn towards spending more time on the blog where I am free to “speak” my mind, in a way that is often difficult when I write articles for magazines and other websites.

I’d like to say thank you very much to everyone who was involved in selecting me for those lists, but most of all, thank you for visiting the blog and helping to make this happen for me, especially if you have ever hit any of the share buttons or mentioned my blog anywhere on (or off!) the web.

Now my book is finished I will have more time to post more often on here, so hopefully I’ll be able to reach even more people over the coming months.

Big smiles here.

Just over a week ago, my second online 12 week Fat Loss Fitness programme came to an end. I worked with a much smaller group this time than when I ran the pilot programme (mainly because I was busy finishing my book), but what they lacked in numbers they certainly made up for in enthusiasm and focus.

Once again the results were outstanding.

I don’t want my blog to be all about promoting my programmes or blowing my own trumpet, but I think it’s worthwhile sharing some of the Before and After photos here, it costs nothing to be inspired by others’ success after all.

So, here are my latest fat loss heroes. Please bear in mind that (as last time) these are real people, all with  busy lives either working full time or raising families. Their ages range from 20’s to 50’s.

They took the photos themselves in their own homes just 12 weeks apart.

As is obvious, they all lost a lot of fat and with they all reduced their weight by impressive amounts. But I’ve decided not to go into exactly how much weight they lost because that would be misleading, as explained here. Instead I’d rather let the pictures illustrate the changes to their bodies and how much better condition they are in now they have completed the programme.

The last row of three photos are of Becca who has been writing some really inspiring blogs about her progress. Have a read, her blog rocks!  She’s well worth a follow on Twitter too.

Everyone has decided to run through the programme again and they’ve already smashed a week of their second round. I’m really excited to see how they get on, one thing I know for sure, if they continue with the same focus and commitment they’ll all be looking hot by summer!

Of course, the changes in them are not only cosmetic – hugely improved fitness levels, boosted confidence, and a feeling of regained control over their bodies are just a few of the additional benefits they have reported.

I’m absolutely brimming with pride for each one of them. My work definitely has it’s frustrations, but at times like this, when I reflect on the massive difference I’ve helped people make to their lives, I can’t think of anything else I’d rather do. (Well, maybe rockstar, but I’ll settle.)

Want In?

Word seems to be spreading rapidly about my programme and I’ve been a bit overwhelmed with people contacting me, so I’m really sorry if you’ve been in touch and I haven’t replied yet. I’m currently planning the launch of my next programme and I’ll get back to you with details very soon. If you’d like to get an email alert about this please pop your address in the box on the right to add yourself to my mailing list (I won’t spam you or pass your address and you can unsubscribe at any time).

Have a look here if you’d like to see more Before and After pics (those are from last time I ran the programme).

Considering we had no special lighting and only my very limited make-up skills to make me look half-presentable I think he’s done an excellent job.

This also gives me a chance to feature a few pieces of fitness clothing I’m loving working out in at the moment. So here are the details on the kit I’m sporting above:

Moving Comfort Urban X-OverCrop top/Bra £30 – Super comfy, great support without restriction and gorgeous design.

Moving Comfort Flow Burnout Tee in Fiesta (pink) £30 – My current favourite fitness top! Looks great with a colourful crop top/bra underneath because of the semi-see-through fabric. Feather light, flattering cut, with cinchable side hem.

Moving Comfort Urban Gym Sweatshirt in Grey Heather £50 – Softest sweater ever!  I totally love this jumper, snuggly and cute, just right for slipping on post-workout,  or you could even wear it casually with jeans.

USA Pro Cycle Shorts in Charcoal £17.99 – These are really comfy and the length is flattering for most shapes. Best of all, I just noticed they’re currently on offer at £4.99 so grab a bargain!

More pics and reviews coming soon.

Of course, I knew writing a whole book would require a lot more work than the articles I’m used to working on, but I wasn’t quite prepared for the sheer number of hours of graft it would take to complete.

It was a bit like when I first decided to run a marathon. I knew lots of other people who had done it and, despite being used to runs which were a small fraction of the marathon distance, I excitedly signed up thinking I’d find some way of getting myself ready by race day.

Me in my first marathon. Halstead and Essex 2008. One step at a time.

As with that first marathon, I discovered that writing a book was going to demand far more from me than I’d naively anticipated, but I learned some invaluable lessons along the way and the satisfaction of finishing was immense.

My experience of long distance running helped a lot actually. Completing marathons and ultras teaches you a lot about how journeys which at times may seem impossible can be completed if you just keep putting one foot in front of the other. Step by step, you get there.

My gym training came in handy too. You don’t need bulging biceps to type out thousands of words, but all those times in training when I’ve had to convince myself that “I can” when the voice of doubt kept whining “I can’t” conditioned me well to overcome the many doubts, blocks, and anxieties my path was pitted with.

I love the way that fitness has these amazing benefits which carry over into all areas of our lives. Seeing and hearing about how getting into shape has enhanced the life of my clients and readers in so many ways is possibly the most fulfilling aspect of my work.

It’s amazing to share people’s delight when they achieve the body size or shape or fitness goals they’ve been working towards. But the enormity of the difference fitness has made to their lives really starts to show through when their improved confidence, tenacity, energy and drive leads them to land their perfect job, or get into a wonderful relationship or leave a bad one, or take that trip they’ve always wanted to go on, or start their own business, or to finally reach out and grab whatever it is they’ve been dreaming of. Or sometimes it’s simply a moment when they realise, for the first time in years, that they’re truly happy in their own skin. That is what really gets me up in the morning.

I hope my book is going help lots more people get to that stage… Actually, I know it will. And I’m hugely excited about it!

Have you experienced any crossover benefits of fitness in your life? Leave a comment and let me know, I’d love to hear from you.