In this short episode I discuss the current high rate of private health insurance policy cancellations and why it's advisable to save the monthly figure required in your own personal bank instead.

Add to this a lifelong exercise routine and good nutrition and you will effectively be engineering your own private health insurance policy.

Doing this leads to increasing your quality of life and decreasing the possibility of poor physical and mental health, which left unchecked will almost certainly speed up the dreaded call to your health insurance provider.

Often health insurance providers find loopholes or micro print T&Cs to reduce the expected pay out, or in some cases not pay out anything, with ambiguous emails explaining why you don't qualify for any form of renumeration.

The best you can hope for given the fact that these providers are in the business of collecting money from you and not giving it back, is paying an excess sum upfront, when making a claim, followed by a lower payout than expected.

So...what to do. Consider saving the monthly figure yourself in a separate easy access bank account, which could be used to pay for private medical attention, without the stress and uncertainty of applying for insurance policy pay outs.

Here's an equation based on current 2026 policy figures.

Aged 50, a monthly payment is approximately £92, or £1104 annually, or £11,040 over 10 years. Factor in increased amounts demanded by your health insurance provider every year or two and you are now looking at enough money to invest in a personal trainer, physical therapist and or a dietician.

This alternative way of insuring yourself can be far more beneficial, as you will be educated in personal self care, by way of weight management, musculoskeletal strength, cardiovascular fitness and mobility / flexibility. These are elements of physical health you can enjoy into your 80s or even 90s, given a regular exercise habit and adequate nutrition.

Something to think about folks?

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In this episode my guest Sarah Washbourn of Yellowbelly Photography joins me for an in depth discussion on her trials and tribulations in running.

Sarah shares how, why and when she started running, from personal family tragedy and alcohol issues, to physical and emotional challenges.

Her honest and open discussion is entertaining and at at times possibly even a cautionary account of how to balance exercise with work, rest and family priorities., all of which culminated in finally securing an entry to the 2026 London Marathon.

We also get to here about her passion for pictures, leading to an award winning profession in photography, covering real estate, pets, weddings and events.

Sarah has over fifteen years of photography experience, in the newspaper industry and now licensed to fly drones to capture incredible pictures of properties for sale or commercial buildings.

My thanks goes out to Sarah for joining me on the podcast and I wish her all the best with her Marathon event and photography services.

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In this short discussion I look at why its important to self assess, regarding your poor health habits.

During client personal training consultations and subsequent one to one exercise programming, we cover the clients habits from alcohol consumption and excess calories, to sedentary lifestyles and pharmaceutical dependency.

If you can identify which long term bad habits are halting your progression to a healthier body, its now easier to achieve both short and long term goals, as you have essentially decluttered your mind, body, workplace or home from the offending articles and influences.

Think of it like selling your home....we declutter, clean and finally present it to perspective buyers, in the hope of achieving the best sale price possible.

Now think of it in a body composition sense, we decide to get fit and healthy, then we empty our kitchen of processed foods and fat / sugar laden snacks, then we work on our physiological presentation.

Remember, a long term (chronic) habit has taken a long time to develop, of which its highly likely to take months, if not years to completely stop and never return to.

This is part 1 of 3 episodes I'll be delivering on the subject of habits, so stay tuned for 2 more to come soon.

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In this timely episode I look at the current state of poor physical and mental health, as a result of habitual watching of tv streaming channels....in this case NETFLIX.

Let's consider the following statistics, regarding Netflix subscribers.

The current average UK subscription costs £9.50 per month, equating to £114 per year. Given the average unbroken subscription time of 4 years, this stands at £455 minimum, rising higher as the costs will inevitably increase.

Now, the average watch time sits at 1.5 hours per day, equating to 546 hours per year.

This is separate from additional sedentary time spent watching other streaming channels, of which often households are locked in to at least one more (Amazon, Disney, Sky, HBO, Paramount, HULU) to name a few.

Consider the calories consumed whilst binge watching Netflix and you have a slow but guaranteed health decline, by way of excess weight gain, increased body fat levels, increased visceral fat, decreased muscle mass, decreased skeletal strength poor posture, poor eyesight and low levels of natural serotonin.

If we invested the lost time and money to Netflix and spent it exercising, sleeping well, learning new healthy cooking skills and enjoying the great outdoors, we would become healthier, fitter, stronger and possibly 'happier'.

What's not to like? Well Netflix is far easier to start and become addicted to, as the company spends millions on tracking our watching habits and therefore gives us more of what the algorithms suggest.

Starting to walk everyday, swim, lift weights, cook healthy meals and go to bed earlier is far more daunting than the 60 seconds it takes to download Netflix and subsequently there is the instant gratification of watching a 24 hour supply of tv, compared to the time served, long process of losing excess weight and improving our diets.

My advice as a professional personal trainer is to take some time out from watching tv subscriptions and do what it takes to get yourself fit and healthy.....THEN, when you have achieved your goals, perhaps go back and enjoy a Saturday night movie with your loved ones.

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In this discussion I look at why its important to monitor your alcohol consumption, for health reasons.

A unit of alcohol is classed under the following ratings, of which can vary in different parts of the world.

8mg / 10ml of ETHANOL (half a pint of beer or lager) or (25ml of vodka, whisky, gin) or (50ml of wine, port, sherry).

Consumption of alcohol is widely known to be detrimental to your physical, mental and emotional health. An alarmingly high percentage of the UK population drink alcohol, in not only social events, but also at home and or the workplace.

Both sedentary and active people alike drink alcohol as either a mild relaxant or even to give an ill advised anti depressant effect. However, it's actually a depressant, of which leads to acute, then eventually chronic dependency, as our mind and body crave the initial buzz, followed by the temporary high, then obligatory comedown the next morning.

Our vital organs are sent into a physiological panic, as the alcohol enters our bloodstream, with a varied time scale before the effects actually take place on our brain. It can take up to one hour for a single unit to have its full effect on our cognitive skills, heart rate and digestion, of which usually we have had more units within this time frame, compounding the long term effects to come.

In this episode, I list signs you may have alcohol dependency, so please take some time to consider if any of the warning signs resonate with you?

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In this short episode, I remind you to keep your new healthy nutrition plans simple.

We are only seven weeks into the new year and subsequently some are still contemplating making changes to their diets / eating habits.

Nutrition is a vast subject, of which would take a multitude of episodes to barely scratch the surface. With this in mind, as a personal trainer, I often suggest clients keep their weight loss or body fat reduction plans simple, when it comes to the early stages of nutrition changes.

It's tempting for new clients to over analyze their weekly food shop, with the influx of internet trends and social media marketing of the next 'superfood' or 'magic formula supplement'.

My advice is to avoid overthinking and make a relatively small list of foods to buy and consume on a consistent basis, at least until you have made inroads into weight management.

Factoring in your preferences for taste or any allergies, its way easier to maintain a healthy diet, given less options, rather than too many to chose from, which can lead to stagnation and even resorting back to poor choices.

As you become disciplined with your nutrition, its okay to add a cheat meal or dine out once a month to enjoy eating, as you now course correct instantly and continue with your basic calorie consumption.

Regarding supplementation, always ensure your actual food intake habits are dialed in before purchasing exotic sounding drinks, pills, tablets and potions, promising to make you look and perform better.

Money is often wasted on supplements, as its far more exciting or time saving, than food shopping and preparation, given our hectic lifestyles and schedules.

Take into account, you are still relatively new to a healthy diet and subsequently your body may be slow to change, as we all respond differently, given our starting points (weight, height, shape, sex, professions and sleep habits).

Supplements can be addressed at a later stage, as you'll now be more aware of your physiology, through basic, safe and consistency in the kitchen.

Should you give in to temptation and load up on supplements too early into your new healthy diet, it can create confusion as to what makes the most changes and perhaps lead you down the path of searching for your next fix of fat loss pills or slimming wonder drinks.

Make a list, add your tuna and bananas and get to it. Trust me you'll develop a healthy relationship with food, rather than becoming obsessed over too many choices.

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Remaining clam is both a natural physiological state and a chosen way of mind, so to speak.

Our temperament and or emotional states are subject to a barrage of factors, which in laymen's terms can be extrinsic or intrinsic, meaning external or internal.

From our relationships with people and where we live, to our personal self care, by way of sleep, nutrition and exercise, achieving levels of calm can for some come easy and others, not so much.

Upon visiting four countries in Asia, South Korea, Nepal, Japan and China I saw how the use of candles of all description, are implemented into daily rituals, for holistic purpose. I myself enjoy the calming effect and smell of candles, in the home, allowing for a sensation of nervous system balance.

With the advent of technology devices, increased working hours, ultra processed foods and physical inactivity, we are constantly putting our nervous system under pressure, which in turn can lead to a sense of anxiety or unease.

Regular strength training and cardiovascular exercise are some of the best antidotes to stress induced states, as increased blood flow and oxygen uptake help to trigger our parasympathetic nervous system, post workouts.

Coupled with quality nutrition, by way of whole foods, low sugar intake and hydration, our ability to control our nerves, emotions and even behavior is improved.

We can add extrinsic solutions to help us calm down, through relaxing music, plants, a decluttered home / work environment, regulated ambient temperatures and even color pallets.

Finally.....last but by all means not least, sexual intercourse or intimacy is a sure fire way to destress and calm ourselves down, so get to it folks and thank me later.

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In this episode I discuss the dilemma / decision regarding training when unwell and or injured.

Throughout our fitness journeys we are predisposed to a multitude of ailments, through poor technique in the gym, contact sports, overtraining, inadequate nutrition, sleep deprivation and even poor genetics.

Coupled with respiratory illness, musculoskeletal disfunction, hereditary disease and self abuse, by way of alcohol consumption or narcotic dependency, we are bombarded with unwanted aches, pains and symptoms, which left unchecked can give rise to chronic fatigue syndrome, when also playing sports or fitness training.

But....all is not lost, as there is usually an alternative route or approach to continuing with your training.

Example - You have tennis or golfers elbow, with long term moderate pain to acute severe pain, whereby it's easy to concede and stop exercising, thinking the rest will speed up recovery. Now you're in a rut of exercise avoidance and possibly gaining weight / body fat, as you continue to consume your normal calorific intake, whilst missing workouts.

Solution - Train your legs, abdominals and lungs, with running, swimming, walking, hiking. You can also still hit the gym, allowing for neutral grip during pulling movements for back are rear shoulder strength exercises.

Try using lighter weights with higher repetitions instead, until your elbow / forearm pain is reduced by at least 75%, with time and remedial treatments.

Should you fall victim to cold or flu, my advice is light exercise and complete bed rest respectively.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is not to be taken lightly, as it can take months to fully recover, with not only musculoskeletal issues, but also jeopardized immune and or nervous systems.

Look for early warning signs, such as erratic sleep, over eating, under eating, emotional imbalance, lowered libido (sex drive), poor decision making and of course poor results in the gym or sports field.

Take five to seven days off from weight training every eight weeks, but still continue with short walks, quality sleep and nutrition.

Go back to training feeling more refreshed and possibly less strain on your muscles, ligaments and tendons.

Watch the full episode on YouTube or listen on Spotify and Amazon.

Thanks for listening.