Get It Done: My Plan, Your Goal: 60 Recipes and Workout Sessions for a Fit, Lean Body. Bradley Simmonds
SOCIAL MEDIA CHANGED EVERYTHING
My first job was at Virgin Active Gym, Chiswick. I’d ride my dad’s bike to and from work every day, then train clients all day. However, even though I was working as much as I possibly could, I knew I couldn’t help everyone in the gym. But honestly, I really wanted to.
By watching people in the gym struggle with technique, fear creativity and clearly lack confidence, it gave me the idea to post fitness videos on my Instagram. That way I could help a lot more people and showcase my style of training. Some people laughed as it was such a new concept; others found it extremely useful and motivating.
My followers began to grow and I plucked up the courage to approach some more high-profile clients to gain credibility, exposure and to build my brand.
TRAINING CELEBRITY CLIENTS AND ATHLETES...
Made in Chelsea was the hit show at the time, so I contacted the female cast members offering free personal training sessions in exchange for exposure. Luckily, Sophie Hermann and the Watson sisters took up the offer and became my new clients. As my profile grew, my videos became more and more popular and people who were inspired by me and my style would tag me in their videos.
As my credibility and following increased from 20,000 to 60,000, I decided I wanted to focus on going back to my roots. It was important for me to train athletes because not only did I completely understand the damaging emotional, physical and financial repercussions of injuries on professional sportspeople, I now had a really comprehensive grasp of how to enhance their performance while preventing injury. This is when I began training John Terry and Theo Walcott.
TWO YEARS LATER...
Now, at 23, I’ve trained some of my personal sporting heroes and represented Adidas, Lucozade Sport, TAG Heuer, Women’s Health magazine, Men’s Health magazine and Maximuscle.
But even though I’ve had access to some of the most well-equipped gyms and state-of-the-art equipment, I’ve tried to stay true to my ethos that exercise can be done anywhere if you have the right mindset, and that’s reflected on my Instagram.
I’ve experienced a whirlwind of emotions in the last couple of years, from the fear of failure to the excitement of a new challenge. My journey has proved to me that with the right attitude, outlook, and determination you can turn things round. I’m proof that even if you feel you have hit rock bottom, you can get up and you can go on to achieve amazing things.
MINDSET
Before you embark on your journey we are going to focus on your mindset. You can dream of having the best body in the world every night and think about it every day, but if you aren’t focused, committed and determined to work for it, it will never happen. Not everything comes easy in life, but with a positive mental attitude you’ll be surprised at how easy it can actually be.
Exercise doesn’t have to take 60 minutes to be effective and you don’t have to give up your social life to reach your goal. The sooner you make exercise and healthy eating a normal part of your daily routine, the better you’ll feel and the easier it will be.
I hate when clients repeatedly cancel sessions or constantly moan. When it comes to your health, consistency should be viewed in a positive light, as it’s essential to maintaining your goal. Don’t get me wrong, initially it will require perseverance, but once you start noticing the changes you won’t want to be anything but consistent.
BALANCE
Another key ingredient of realising your goal is balance. It’s a word used commonly in the health and fitness industry, but often misunderstood.
For example, I used to think that because I was training every day as a footballer I could eat what I wanted. What I know now is that balance is about a VARIETY of nutrient-dense food so we get the vital vitamins and minerals needed for healthy body function, and CONSISTENCY of healthy habits. Regardless of what your goal is, the food we eat needs to provide us with more than just energy.
I love my food so much but I have to remember to occasionally rein it in because it doesn’t matter how much exercise you do – if you’re eating the wrong food, a poor diet will always catch up with you. So if you love treating yourself as much as you love sweating it out, you may have to rethink.
On the other hand, if you do no exercise at all and eat what you want (yes, even if you’re one of the lucky ones who, from the outside, seems to get away with eating as you please), you need to wake up and start caring for your mind and body. A bad diet will be putting stress on your internal organs, it’ll increase your cholesterol levels, and you’ll be experiencing manufactured energy highs followed by sudden dips, not to mention how it’ll be affecting your mood. In this book I will offer you clear guidance on how to find the right balance, depending on what it is you want to achieve.
PRIORITISING
We all have jobs, a social life, a home, hobbies and both family and friends to juggle. There’s no doubt that you’re busy, but no matter how busy you are, it’s imperative that you make time to nourish and respect your body – even if this is at the expense of other things you feel you ‘should’ be doing. Your body carries you through your hectic schedule after all! For a lot of people, exercise and eating well isn’t a priority but a chore. Put it this way: by prioritising your health, you’re allowing yourself to enjoy your life for a lot longer and the juggling will become a lot easier.
In all honesty, there is no excuse. Exercise can be done anywhere and at any time and eating well only requires a little organisation and basic knowledge. Everyone can squeeze in a 30-minute workout at home when you get in from work or before you go to bed. It’s certainly better than 30 minutes of TV, simply because of how good you feel afterwards. I’ll demonstrate how you can do this later in the book! Even clients of mine who are mothers of young babies find new ways to exercise, such as squatting with a baby carrier strapped on their fronts or going for power walks around the park pushing the buggy. It is always possible.
DON’T GET DISTRACTED
With the health and fitness industry growing faster than ever before, we as a nation are becoming better educated about the importance of a balanced diet and exercise. Nevertheless, with so many faddy diets, super food myths and new food discoveries it is so easy to get caught up, confused and then unmotivated. Just like when everyone believed a fat-free diet was the way forward (it’s not by the way)!
I like to keep things simple, realistic and to the point. I never over-complicate recipes and I certainly don’t follow the crowd. I focus on what foods are right for me and my clients and what will help us get to where we want to be.
The same goes for exercise. There are so many forms of exercise to choose from and some will help you reach your goal more quickly than others. However, it is also just as important to find the exercise style that keeps you motivated. I’ll be discussing exercise styles and finding your favourite exercise in the next chapters.
By figuring out early what foods and forms of exercise are right for you and your goal, formulating a plan and then sticking with that plan, you will feel mentally stronger and far less easily influenced.
BE HONEST WITH YOURSELF
Some of us are really good at knowing exactly where we need to improve and others get lulled into a false sense of security, telling themselves that they’re happy with how they look and feel because they aren’t quite ready to change. In my experience, most people who have got themselves out of that mindset and have accomplished their goals through training and healthy eating look back and realise they were not happy at all.
So being honest with yourself is a key factor in starting this journey. Let me ask you:
• Do you feel overweight?
•