Personal Trainer Steven Holmes at Precor Fitness, London Hilton Park Lane, takes us through the next month of turning busy Executive Richard Curson into a lean, mean fat burning machine.

What a difference a month makes!

The biggest change in Richard I’ve seen is his outlook on his exercise and eating habits. Before he started, Richard had a reluctant acceptance of what he ‘thought’ he needed to do. Willing and keen, yes – but I could sense the dread and fear of the unknown in his eyes!

Gone is the natural bewilderment in this strange world of machines and pumping body parts, and in, is the eager excitement of getting another ‘burn’ and feeling those natural highs after a good workout.

I have seen plenty of this natural fear over the years, but it is important to create that opportunity, keeping it realistic, having moral support and setting out some long term goals.

Once that first barrier has been broken down, it is important to have a sense of direction and longevity. Strict diets and extreme workouts bring quick results – however - 9 times out of 10 they are short lived and people revert back to the old bad habits. These ‘fad, or yo-yo’ diets are not actually very natural or healthy on the bodies systems and also can bring negative feelings of failure or lost focus. The body needs time to adjust and adapt. Even after years of training we should always think of adding variety or changing our fitness program every 6-8 weeks.

In other words, don’t aim the bar too high, too soon. Enjoy the experience, enjoy the exhilaration in your body after you’ve finished your first run and enjoy the positive “I can” attitude when you’ve achieved your first goal. Exercise and diet is a choice we all have – a choice of a better lifestyle, a choice to look younger for longer and feeling fitter for life.

With Richard, I have been focussing on strength and conditioning in our workouts. He seems to like ‘chasing’ that burn or taking the next high repetition set to failure. This is a really nice way to use light weights, with good technique and control, to get the maximum results. It is excellent for toning and shaping muscles as well as maximising the way our muscles work during exercise. In other words, being fit doesn’t mean lifting heavy weights – it’s what we do and how we do it! (remember – Posture, Breathing, Technique).

I know Richard is working hard during the rest of the week, so to ensure variety and a real focussed workout I tend to concentrate on 1 or 2 particular body parts during the workout. This means we can work on good technique and get a really good intense effort on individual muscles. A great way to feel the muscle and feel the change. It seems the more we do every week, the more Richard wants to come back and work even harder! Ironically, the hardest part of my job is to make sure Richard isn’t doing too much and that every session complements each other. It is also important that Richard has incorporated this new routine into his lifestyle - the transformation couldn’t be greater – what a difference a month makes!

Richard is learning loads of new exercises and I will be sharing some of these with you over the next few months. Whether you exercise regularly or are new to exercise, an Exercise Ball is a really versatile and non-expensive piece of kit that you can have at home. You can actually work out your whole body using one, and there is nothing better for improving your core strength, balance and posture.

Roll Out

Kneel on the ground with the exercise ball in front of you. Lean slightly forward and place your hands on the ball (fingers entwined). Tuck your elbows in close to your sides. Keep your feet resting on the floor.

As you exhale, slowly roll the ball forward as your elbows push away from your body, contracting your abs and keeping your back elongated. As you inhale, pull your elbows back in toward your body to roll the ball back into the start position.

Side Plank

Kneel on the ground and lean sideways over the ball so that it is positioned under your armpit. Extend your top leg out and push into the ground. As you lift your hips, extend the bottom leg out so that both legs are extended – you can position your feet one above the other, or tuck one foot just behind the other.