Self motivation as a fitness professional isn’t always going to be all that easy. I was a member of my gym for a year before I started working there, first as a fitness instructor, then an instructor and a personal trainer, now both with responsibilities as the class studio coordinator. Being in the same surroundings for two and a half years eventually results in a little bit of apathy in regards to your own training and that is something that I have been dealing with recently.

When you are earning extra money as a personal trainer, you need a number of qualities. You need to be reliable and flexible. You need a wealth of knowledge of physiology, a little bit of psychology, a range of different training techniques to help achieve clients goals and like it or not, for a large part of it, you have to look like a personal trainer. This is a bit of a catch 22. I have seen personal trainers with arms the size of small cities, but with the brain power of a moth and I have seen personal trainers in poor shape, but with the knowledge and brainpower of a member of Mensa. Unfortunately however, more times than not, clients buy on aesthetics.

Over the past couple of months, my own training has taken a nose dive. Occasionally I would pick up a kettlebell or a dumbbell, however anything past that really hasn’t been happening. I’ve found myself getting back into old habbits with eating a ridiculous amount of crap and have steadily been putting on the pounds.

I told myself and everyone else that i’ll start again in the new year, because with Christmas I will most likely eat my own bodyweight of selection boxes, there was no real point. I am a true master at talking myself out of things.

Yesterday however I changed my mind and started fresh. The muffin effect I have stated to see when I put on my jeans must stop and I must get back to where I was a couple of months ago.

Over the next couple of months i’ll be documenting my progress and we’ll see where I end up. The program I have made for myself is intense and the diet has quite a calorie deficit. I’m aiming to drop down bodyfat and again gain muscle tone, however muscularity IS taking a back seat until the new year. 70% cardio and 30% resistance training. Before and after photos will be provided.. but not until i’m finished.

In the next blog i’ll go through the training, diet and stats.

If you’re not interested, this is gonna be really boring. However i’m using this purely as a motivational tool.

Haha. Tool.

Hello folks! Its been a long time since i’ve been in proper contact with anyone, so i’m just doing a quick update to natter on about what i’ve been doing.. if anyone’s noticed I havn’t been around anywhere in a few months.

At the moment i’m juggling two courses in Belfast Met. Sports and Exercise Science (in which my fellow classmates seem to suffer from some form of retardation and frankly it’s driving me quite quite mad) and my Certificate in Personal Training to expand on my Fitness Instructor qualification. On top of that i’ve been instructing circuit classes in Portavogey, Ulster Hospital and Ards Hospital, getting on with my own training and instructing in Culloden. It’s all been a bit hectic and apart from a brief stint at new years, I havn’t been drinking in a good few months. Hence my absence from Belfast and all of your glorious lives.

Many of you will notice that the Dangerfields are on their 10^th Anniversary Tour in a month or so and suprise suprise i’m not on the band lineup. Contrary to what I assume people are thinking, I didn’t quit this time, though I did inform Andrew that I would be unable to leave for a month and a half due to my commitments here. I did offer to play on the album, however I cant show the dedication that Jamie and Andrew can. With Jamie being a father and Andrew enjoying his journalism work, it shows a lot of dedication on their part to take so much time out for a tour. It’s very admirable, though i’m afraid if I left the country i’d lose my job, fail two courses and lose my freelance instructor work and I just cant do that.

I wish Andrew, Jamie and Sancho (?) all the very best and hope they have a kickass tour.

Bandwise, Numskull are going to be playng a few shows over the next couple of months. Very sporadic due to the limited amount of time we have (Mark is a daddy and has Snitch, Dan has Lobotomies, Jamie has work and LFL, I have half a page worth of stuff), but this lineup is killer and we had a great first gig back in December.

Other than that i’ve been reading comics and trying to ignore Facebook. Sorry for being a stranger though. Hope y'all are doin good.

I hate Marshall and love Marshall all at the same time. I hate the way every Marshall head that my friends and I have had has blown through no fault of our own. I hate the way the mains transformers are so ridiculously fragile. I hate the way the bias control seems to have a mind if its own.

I do like the sound though.

I can think of a million reasons to never use a Marshall head again and in all honesty, I have no intention of ever buying another one, however, at the same time, I wouldn’t say no if someone offered to let me play through one. It’s a serious love-hate relationship. The kind of relationship in which I have been broken hearted so many times before through breakdowns and repairs, but somehow find myself going back again and again and again (this also seems to be a common pattern throughout my life).

So, I borrow Dan Bastards’ (Lobotomies, Numskull, x-Dangerfields) guitar head, a Bugera 6260 for a Dangerfields gig, and naturally, as I had already predicted, I get a “What the hell is that?” from Andrew. Unfortunately if something doesn’t have the Marshall logo imprinted on it several times, this ageing and balding gent looks upon it with distain and disgust. A lot of people are like this though.

Is this immediate jump to conclusion valid?

Well, he can justify it I guess, last time I used a non Marshall head, a Peavey Windsor, it cut out after about the 5^th second of the gig. This was due to the input cable, though still, it happened. Through the mix during sound check though, the head sounded great. I really liked it. Though with no Marshall approval, it was destined to be shot down.

I had used this Bugera before for Psycho 78 and already knew that it was a powerful loud bastard child of an amp, so I just kept my mouth shut during the brief questioning. Though Jamie Delerict (Dangerfields bass player) was impressed with it immediately. As I predicted though, through the soundcheck and through the gig, the Bugera 6260 ripped. There was no need what so ever for a booster for lead solos, there was no need for tweaking other than having to turn it down slightly because apparently at level 2 it was too loud. The head at just a slightly tweaked 5-5-5 for bass mid and treb (you can tell how good a head is if you have 5-5-5 and it sounds great off the mark) was the exact sound I wanted.

People after the gig commented on how The Dangerfields had never sounded better. I say that this head had a huge part to play. There was no mocking it for not being a Marshall from the second I plugged it in.

Do we really need to spend such a retarded amount of cash on Marshalls? They say you get what you pay for, but do you really pay for a head that wants to break down every couple of months? Yes, the Marshall has a great crunchy recognisable and legendary sound. But fuck it. It’s a cliché. It’s overused.

Guitar gear snobs can fuck off. I don’t need Marshall. I wanna find something newer. I wanna find something better.

First off, I no longer really class myself as a runner. I have spent the past month in the gym building muscle volume and mass through hypertrophy training and will continue to do this through to January when I will return to working on cardiovascular endurance, however I have noticed that more and more people seem to be taking up running and I thought i’d throw some advice their way and for anyone who might be interested in the best way to get good cardiovascular endurance – fast.

There’s a number of different techniques:

Interval training – running at a high intensity for a given period of time increasing your heart rate and slowing to a comfortable pace reducing your heart rate generally at one minute intervals. This should be strictly structured.

Fartlek training – No real structure and mixed continuous and interval. Running at any given speed for any given time, reducing and increasing your intensity whenever you wish.

Continuous training – running at a set speed for a prolonged period of time.

Each of the above types of training should have their place during any training programme, however for real results, you have to work to overload.

I’ll explain: You’re training to be able to endure a decent distance without putting too much stress on your heart and muscles. To be able to do this, you’re going to have to push your body and get your heart used to pumping more blood to your muscles for a longer period of time. This is a given for any aerobic activity. You should therefore start off your training aiming for a continuous technique, rather than Fartlek and interval.

During continuous, over a short number of days (or weeks depending on how often you train), your body will grow used to the higher heart rate. Your blood will be able to absorb more oxygen. If your blood can absorb more oxygen, it’ll enable higher continuous production of ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate – the only energy source your body actually puts into production). When all of these things are combined, it means that your endurance levels are going to pick up quickly and over a reasonably short period of time, you’ll feel comfortable running a good distance.

In order to do this, you don’t have to run at a fast pace at all. I’d advise you to take it easy and jog lightly at a pace you’re comfortable with for 20-25 mins, however always push to overload and increase your intensity or duration each week or whenever you feel appropriate. If you fail to push yourself, you’ll end up at a plateau and no improvements will be made.

There are a lot of people that feel comfortable starting off with interval training. It’s not bad way to get started if you feel comfortable that way, however the sad thing is that it’s going to take much longer to notice any improvements in speed and endurance. This is because you’re only pushing your heart rate for a short period of time and returning to a resting pace soon after. Your heart isn’t getting used to working hard over a long period of time. If you’re doing this, try to move more towards continuous training – even at a slower pace and i’ll guarantee you’ll see better results much quicker.

Fartlek training is really in the same boat as interval. Both have their place, however should be used at 90% of your maximum ability during the repetition and then returning to a jogging pace when resting. Both Fartlek and Interval are fantastic for building up speed if used at high intensity.

Finally, to notice any improvements it’s advised to train for a minimum of about 20 mins three times a week. Remember to take a couple of days off to let muscles repair and take in a good amount of protein to help with recovery.

So there we go, there’s my spiel for the day. Look at me. All knowledge n all.

I’ll be back running in January. Anyone who wants to train with me then, gimme a shout.

So here I am. Adam Sims. Formally drunken hairy guitarist in the Dangerfields and Numskull with his freshly shaved face, 6 stone lighter and hair neat and tidy (not true, it looks like it’s about time for my tri-monthly hair cut) entering the doors of Belfast Met for the second time in as many months for my full time course - Sport and Exercise Science.

I’m not altogether sure why, but when i’m feeling a bit nervous or anxious, getting me to say a word is like slamming a large stone against your face; pointless and a bit painful. So therefore me in a room full of 16-20 year olds, i’m pretty much guaranteed to sit there by myself with my wee folder and pens in stone cold silence while the kids talk about what shit band they are now fans of, what t-shirts they are wearing, pussy moaning overpaid dickhead footballers or the nearest location of fake ID’s.

That’s right baby, it feels like Simsie is back in school.

My first day full time started yesterday. In traditional tech style, our tutor didn’t turn up and unfortunately we had a 3 and a half hour break in between classes, so I took this opportunity to travel up to the Upper Malone Road to visit the ever pregnant Saz for the intention of ranting about the small children that have been pissing me off, forgetting that she will soon have a child that will most likely frustrate her just as much.

The afternoon session was in the Falls Leisure Centre and consisted mainly of football. I do not give two shits about this particular sport and if you’ve known me for a reasonable amount of time and have had the pleasure of hearing my rant about it, you will understand why.

I left a bit disheartened, but I knew that it was most likely just the first day blues and it’ll all be ok.

I returned today and was much happier. Anatomy and Physiology. Fuckin right, an actual class. It felt so much better. I learnt a lot about Anatomy and Phys during my Fitness Instructor course, so I was flying but still picked up another thing or two. We were also told that this course is 100% coursework based, so I made sure I scribbled down like a madman.

I think my biggest challenge is gonna be trying to stay calm while my class mates... well... act their age. After today I do feel an awful lot better though. I think i’m gonna like it.

First thing’s first. I am now phoneless. If you have my home phone number, work away and use that. If you don’t, you can get it from me if you ask real nice. Should have it sorted by tomorrow anyway, so no worries.

Last night was interesting. For the first time in over ten years, I listened to a BB King album. Now, when I was younger, I listened to BB a few times, however just didn’t get it and never really got all that into it. I guess as you get a little older, you start to appreciate things a little more, because when I was listening to his newest One Kind Favor album, it was like the first time I really appreciated punk rock. I immediately sat in complete silence with a cheesy grin on my face and listened to the album again and again and again. Afterwards, I dug out the BB album I bought when I was a kid and continued like this until about 3am (then got up at 6 which would explain why I am so fricking shattered).

The no crap, straight raw honesty in blues is something I immediately appreciate and that no bull style is what i’ve done with all of my songs over the past few years. BB might be an incredibly talented guitar player as well as singer, however he keeps it straight forward and the simplicity, feeling and passion in just a few notes hits me like a brick wall.

For the past 6 years i’ve basically had a diet of pop punk (with some big beat, rap and rock thrown in.. but not a lot of it), but I learnt from this one night of sitting in and listening to music that there’s so much more and a lot more that I want to experience, listen to and try and replicate. I might be one of these people that hates sitting in by himself, however on this occasion, I rediscovered something with feeling, something with guts, something important.

Hello peasants!

It’s been a week or so since I have graced your screens with my presence, however this is really because i’ve been a busy busy boy!

There’s been a lot fitness wise i’ve been getting up to, but i’ll bore you with that another time. The past week has been the “Keep Simsie occupied please” week. During which I have hung out with my friendly faced idiots, played music and gymed it up to high balls.

Got a call from Mark Numskull at the start of the week to say that his bass player cant make a gig and if I could learn the songs and play for Snitch on Saturday night. This would be fine, though I had to play another gig on Saturday evening with the Dangerfields in Derry, so driving back and everything on time proved to be a challenge.

Both gigs proved to be an awful lot of fun though. We’re demoing some more songs with Andrew F in the coming months for the new DF album. Hopefully i’ll have had a chance to use my new endorsement with ENGL and get some new shiny gear. Snitch was also great fun. Mark and I are both the most talented dancers in Northern Ireland. Perhaps even the world. “Capitalism. More of that sort of thing”, “I love the police”, “I had a McDonalds the other day. It was fucking amazing”, “This song’s for Nike” were just some of the quotes aimed towards the hardcore punk crowd. It was wonderful.

Other than that i’ve been pretty quiet, though it’s all gonna change soon.

It’s all fun and games – that’s all that matters!

What a fuckin rollercoaster. It’s all been a bit hectic at my end my good people, but I just gotta take a step back, ask what’s next and get on with it.

There’s a lot of stuff coming up that i’m looking forward to. The DF’s hit the fine city of Derry on Saturday. From the lineup, we’re on first mind you and it looks a lot like i’m gonna have to head back immediately after. Also might be playing bass for Snitch! that evening, so it’ll be a close one. Also Halloween fun once again!

I’ve always loved playing music, though the way my head works i’m never completely settled. Every few minutes, I want to try something new and write in a different way. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that, I’ve just got a lot of song ideas in my head in a load of different styles at the one time.

I’m happy with my pop punk with RB/The Beatoffs (yes, we might change our name to The Beatoffs), i’m happy with the lead guitar madness in the DF’s, I have an acoustic gig in October, I still wanna learn to play big beat industrial stuff in the style of Crystal Method and I still wanna form a straight up ubber dirty rock band in the style of the Dwarves and Turbonegro. Dunno if I want to front it. If anyone wants any part of it, let me know.

I suppose this blog has no real purpose apart from random thoughts in my brain at the moment.

If you’re still reading this, you should really find something more productive to do.

Cheque please.

Success!

I am a delighted happy maniac. I passed my Fitness Instructor course without any hitches yesterday and am now fully qualified. Just have to wait for my Certificate to come through and my REPS (Registry of Exercise Profesionals) Number and i’ll be all sorted!

Now I play the waiting game to find out if enough of us passed to warrant putting on an extra Personal Trainer course in September. If not, it’s a long wait until February for the next one. I really want to get it done in September though. I really loved the course and am excited about learning more and becoming PT qualified.

I was gonna write a bit about weight training and me getting back into it, however i’m not sure anyone wants to read about muscle microfibers, so instead i’ll talk about Danzig.

I was getting a load of Samhain albums together for Claira as although she’s a big Misfits fan as well as Danzig fan, she’s never heard Samhain. This made me think about it a little and to be honest, it’s really quite common for Misfit and Danzig fans to be completely oblivious to Samhain. Why is that?

Now don’t get me wrong, if I had to chose between the three of them, it’s be the Misfits every time, however Samhain in my useless and unvalued opinion are hugely underrated and without thinking twice, Samhain would come up above Danzig in my musical choice. It’s great. Yeah, the recording quality might be equally as crap as the early Misfit recordings, but it’s got such a fantastic mix between Danzig era Misfits and the clear progression to what he did later in his musical career.

So for anyone who doesn’t listen to Samhain, get November Coming Fire, Intrium, Unholy Passion, and Final Descent now.