Simple workout challenge: 10 minutes to do as many as you can

Long arm chin ups

Press ups

Both exercises have got to be done with perfect form every rep. All the way up and all the way down. Break up the sets however you like. Scratch up your scores and let me know how you do.

A small island out in the Atlantic; a cold blustery January Saturday morning 9:30am and a few hardy local residents turn up for Boot Camp. Half an hour running outside followed by some circuits in the community hall. Braving the weather was also the new recruits for Junior Boot Camp. Well done everyone for a really great workout, it was good to see such a range of ages all enjoying being active on Tiree.

Later on the same day we did a 5km run along the reef; this is the first in a regular end of the month challenge leading up to the Tiree 10k in May. Well done Andrew, Becky, Anne and Fiona for rising to the challenge despite grim conditions. Personally I enjoyed the hot chocolate whilst doing the ‘timings’ from the car.

Saturday night was Indian night with some amazing food and a quiz organized by the tapestry group. A great evening and thank you to all involved in putting that together.

And lastly, I failed to get any photos of the above activities, so here is my best effort at inspiring you to eat healthily. This is Ironman food, quite literally. A steak, broccoli, spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes and in case that wasnt Iron rich enough it was washed down with a glass of Guinness. I challenge anyone to beat that.

Have a great week of training everyone. Remember, you’ve got till friday to register your 5k. Get to it!

So, it’s coming up to the end of the month. As agreed that means it’s time for the 5km trial. You can run, jog, walk or a mixture of all three. Nothing else counts; no bikes, horses, cars, piggy backs. This is a good workout and is a great measure of fitness for anyone training for the Tiree 10k.

The route is as follows: Crossapol, start at the cattlegrid near the garage. Go along the reef to the surgery junction where you turn around and come back to finish at the cattle grid where you started. This is compulsory for all gym clients and it’s got to be done by next friday (3rd Feb). Let me know your time so we have something to compare when we do the same again next month.

There will be a group doing the 5kms tomorrow (Saturday) at 4pm so come along if you can. If you cant make it, do it in your own time and let me know how you get on.

Tiree was back to blue sky sunny days today. An hour and a half out and around the island to loosen off the legs ready for a few more intervals tomorrow. Boot Camp is on tomorrow as usual; 9:30am at An Talla. It’s a special Junior Boot Camp tomorrow with some kids coaching activities on the beach followed by some circuits. New recruits for Team Tiree!

First hill session of the year done; 6 reps up Ben Hynish, the ride was made complete with some lovely rain and sleet, it really made my day. Looking forward to circuits later.

Tonight was the kick off of the new circuit classes: 1 hour a fitness training plus some daily homework for next week. The homework is on the Personal Training page so print it out and put it somewhere you’ll see it every day so that you dont miss a day. The challenge is simple; you do the work and you will see results. All you’ve got to do is come to circuits every Thursday, do 20 minutes exercise every day and as long as you’re eating healthily you will see real results. So no excuses. Go to it.

New classes coming up in January:

Thursday 19th January 6pm at An Talla – Tiree Fitness Power Hour

Over 5 weeks you’ve got the opportunity to kick start your New Year health and fitness. It’s 5 weeks going for maximum results. Come along and sign up and see what you can achieve. All ages and abilities welcome.

The Return to Mount Hynish

Well the first ride of the New Year is done, and a pleasant one it was too. Just a single ascent of Mount Doom and then a loop around the island and back home for a fried egg sandwich. Things are going to start getting a bit more serious now as the winter training gets up to speed.

Team Tiree is regrouping with the old Brick session on Monday and hopefully some team rides coming up soon.

So Happy New Year to everyone and all the best for 2012. I’ll see you on the road.

Today a few members of Team Tiree ventured out on the bikes. It seems like ages, in fact it is ages since we were last on the bikes, a combination of cold, colds, gales and X Factor have prevented us from donning the Team Tiree kit and getting out for a spin. Anyway, today will hopefully prove to be one of the many winter rides and although it was a long wait it was a stunning day, the snow covered mountains in the distance provided a beautiful back drop. Training sessions will continue to be ad hoc depending on weather conditions and cafe opening times.

Amazing descent from Col de Braus to L'Escarene

We’re just back from Nice in France. Great place to go on holiday, we were fortunate to be able to spend 2 weeks there. The sea was warm so swimming without a wetsuit was a welcome change, perfect set up for swimming and calm clear waters stretching for miles along the coast. But the cycling was more what it was about, as a venue for a training holiday I would recommend it. Once out of town the hills really start and there’s plenty of mountain passes 1,000m plus with some good descending on smooth dry roads. The climate in October was perfect, low 20s most of the time. Plenty of villages to stop for a coffee and the roads were quiet with a few other cyclists about. Loads of options for short and long days, I did two 100mile rides and two 50′s and certainly the most climbing I’ve ever done. On each of the longer rides the last 10miles were a blast along the valley floor back to the coast which was a welcome finish to the day.

The mountain village of Contes

We stayed in the Old Town in Nice which was full of cafes and restaurants, great atmosphere and very lively. It was a good trip, but now we are back so work begins…

Cycling through some gorges

The gym is open, circuits start this Thursday and we should have a good few weeks of fitness training before Christmas. If you’re new to this then now is a great time to get on the road to a fitter and healthier you – dont be a turkey this christmas, come to the gym, come to circuits, join the Team and get in the best shape of your life.