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6 ways to come out of lockdown better than you went into it

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by Henrietta Street Gym

6 ways to come out of lockdown better than you went into it

By Neil Perkins

6 weeks down, 6kg lost – has it been that bad? I’d like to think that if I looked back in years to come that I enjoyed my lockdown as a time for a mental reset, to understand priorities and reflect. Judging by the huge financial losses I’ve suffered, don’t go thinking that it will be ‘easy’ when we come out as business will be under pressure and people will be apprehensive. You owe it to yourself to come out of this better than you went into it. Businesses will have to work smarter, if you are employee and you are not adding value to where you work your comeback will be short lived. That might scare some people, I look at it as a fight – and I love a fight. Here are six ways that you can survive lockdown and come out as better person.

  1. Establish a routine and rituals

When you have nothing to get up for, late nights and late mornings can soon become routine. You need to establish a routine that includes personal development, physical exercise, something productive and yes, some down time. You can form habits now that you’ll take into life when this all blows over. A good strategy is to work out when your day needs to start and when your day needs to end – everything else in the middle will take care of itself. Get up at a set time and go to bed at a set time. Form a morning and a bed time routine and a set rituals that you do each day (we’ll look at rituals in a later blog).

2. Eat nourishing foods

The supermarkets are filled with fresh produce – kale, spinach, nuts, seeds, broccoli – all the things we know we should eat. Eating a nutrient dense diet will improve your health and metal clarity. Going back to the grind with your waist narrower and your skin glowing with vitality will improve your outlook no end, imagine walking back into the office and everyone saying ‘you look good’ – customers, colleagues and competitors will see your ready for whatever is thrown at you.

When choosing foods remember these two rules

  1. Did it have eyes?
  2. Did it grow out of the ground?

3. Move your body

You body is designed to move, we are a hunter gatherer. Your morning ritual could be doing 10 squats and 5 press ups before everyone else in the house gets up. If you want to try some Yoga? Get the laptop out, plug in YouTube and get moving, so what it looks like are playing Twister in the front room – who is watching? Not everything has to be ballistic, sweaty and ‘balls to wall’. Grease the groves of your squat with some body weight squats, hinge your hips with some Glute Bridges (slow and controlled not Salt n’ Peppa style). Make sure you move every day, maybe then put two to three days aside if you want for real ‘balls to wall exercise’ – stuff that makes you sweat and vomit. Your body and your mind will thank you for making this a priority in your day.

4. Meditate

I was told by a business coach in 2017 to mediate, I never really took it on board. If there was one thing I’d say that has enabled me to keep a check on the cloudy future during lockdown it’s been meditation. Like many of mans best things, it started in a dark room on my own and developed from there as I got better at it! (on a serious note, forming habits of falling into google holes or an hour an day on Pornhub is going to do little to make you a better person – I’ve tested both theories extensively) Mediation doesn’t have to be a £2,000 course, a good friend Bob Spour got me started with a very simple 10 minute breathing ritual. Find a quite space, ideally facing a wall. Sit facing the wall on cushion so that you are sitting tall, visualise a string coming out of the top of your head pulling you up towards the sky. Focus on the middle ground between the wall and keep thinking about nothing but your breath. Your mind will wander – just bring it back to the breath and keep thinking about the breath. Do this once or twice a day for a 2-week period and see how much more mental clarity you have. The ability to focus on one task at a time will be valuable for you, especially when the alternative is the uncertainty that is the world.

5. Be someone else’s superhero

In life there are sheep and there are shepherds – which one do you want to be? We all get a little bit scared and apprehensive, be the person that listens and engages with people – open your ears for people who need to vent and become a good listener, be empathetic towards their concerns, anger and frustrations – no matter how insignificant they seem to you. If you have children, nieces, nephews, grandchildren or younger siblings, never show fear in front of them. Listen to them and reassure them – the world must be a pretty scary and confusing place for them? Be their superhero.

6. Be ready to be first out of the blocks

The world will be slow to get started and the sheep will stay in the pen, the shepherd will show people the way. Work better, love better, engage more, keep focused and be positive – you can contribute to the world becoming a better place. Set you rituals, prepare your body and inspire those around you. Now is training camp, the fight begins when we are allowed back out. If nothing else I hope this blog has inspired, you to set your alarm and get up tomorrow.

HSG 8-Week Photoshoot Transformation

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by Henrietta Street Gym

HSG 8-Week Photoshoot Transformation

Get yourself in the best possible shape and record your transformation with a professional photoshoot with Simon Howard (SNHFOTO) at the premium space that is Henrietta Street Gym. Partake in an experience of a lifetime, gain confidence, achieve happiness and join the list of top fitness models and athletes who’ve utilised our space to capture un-paralleled images of their physique looking at its best.

Under the tutelage of leading body transformation coach Nic Edgerton, you will be guided with personalised training plans and nutrition plans for you to attain the body of your dreams. You may not have the knowledge, but if you have the desire, we will make you achieve. These plans and this journey will engage our community vibe as we’ll support you to transform your physique over an intense 8-week period. We will nurture you throughout and ensure that you stay consistent and achieve your goals. This is not aimed at Fitness Models, this transformation if for everyday people who lack the knowledge and motivation to achieve their goal of a dream physique. This journey will peak with a premium professional photoshoot at our amazing gym.

Your package will include.

  • Personalised Nutrition Plan with adaptations
  • Personalised Training Plan with adaptations
  • Unlimited on-line support Q&A
  • 3 weekly Facebook live chats per week where any questions you or the other competitors have are answered in detail.
  • A full photoshoot at Henrietta Street Gym (we usually charge a minimum of £200+vat for a half day non-exclusive shoot)
  • Images taken from leading fitness photographer Simon Howard (SNHFOTO) (Minimum charge of £250 per shoot)
  • The option of discounted Personal Training from Nic Edgerton if you’d like that extra push through your programme – sessions from £30 per hour exclusive for photoshoot clients.
  • Transformations will be judged by leading fitness model TBC. We also have one of the many leading fitness clothing and/or supplement brands who’ve used the gym donating huge prizes for the best transformation (not the best physique)

Cost

  • Henrietta Street Gym Elite Members: £297
  • Regular Members/ Online clients: £327

This shoot is open to non-members, you do not have to train at Henrietta Street Gym.

Please note enrolment does not include access to Henrietta Street Gym. Only persons with a gym membership can use the facilities for their training regime.

Last enrolment on this transformation is June 9th. Training programmes and nutrition plans sent across on WC June 10th, the 8-week transformation begins Monday 18th June, with the photoshoot taking place on Saturday August 11th from 10am till 6pm.

Sign Me Up

Signing up to this couldn’t be easier. Fill in the contact form attached and then proceed to the payment screen.

I have a few questions first?

We understand that this is a big commitment. Please email Nic on nictdedgerton@gmail.com and he can either return email or schedule a call. Once you’ve committed, your fee is non-refundable.

Henrietta Street Gym as a shoot location

Our Javelin Block built space with reanimated and recycled features and industrial look has proved popular as a shoot location. Birmingham based clothing company P&Co had a small shoot to promote a new range of hipster style clothing prior to our opening. It was the P&Co promotional shoot that caught the attention of leading fitness photographer Chris Bailey. Chris was due to work with top Men’s Fitness Model Ryan Terry who was due to compete at the Arnold Classic. He contacted us and arranged for a promotional video shoot. Ryan won the Arnold Classic – the video went viral, people in the fitness community where impressed with the space and we became inundated with requests for shoots. We regularly hold shoots at Henrietta Street Gym

Fitness Models Who’ve Shot At HSG

Ryan Terry, Obi Vincent, Sergi Constance, Michelle Brenan, Tom Coleman, Joey Swoll, Ross Dickerson

Brands/ Companies

Gym Shark, Apple, VQ Fit, P&Co, The Gadget Show, USN, Nocco,

 

Sign Me Up

Signing up to this couldn’t be easier. Fill in the contact form attached and then proceed to the payment screen.

I have a few questions first?

We understand that this is a big commitment. Please email Nic on nictdedgerton@gmail.com and he can either return email or schedule a call. Once you’ve committed, your fee is non-refundable.

About Simon Howard SNHFOTO

Simon is a leading fitness photographer who has shoot a scope of fitness models from virtually every leading fitness brand across the UK.

Website: http://www.snhfoto.com/

Nic Edgerton personal shoot with SNHFOTO

Nic’s Transformation client with shoot SNHFOTO

Sign Me Up

Signing up to this couldn’t be easier. Fill in the contact form attached and then proceed to the payment screen.

I have a few questions first?

We understand that this is a big commitment. Please email Nic on nictdedgerton@gmail.com and he can either return email or schedule a call. Once you’ve committed, your fee is non-refundable.

Transformations By Nic Edgerton

Ash in prep for a fitness show

Sagona looking for rapid weight loss. 24lbs in 8-weeks!

Kyri dropped 25lbs in 8 weeks

 

Nilufar 8-week show for the bikini masters (40+) category

Farooq in show preparation for ‘Men’s Physique’

Tracy’s Transformation

Sign Me Up

Signing up to this couldn’t be easier. Fill in the contact form attached and then proceed to the payment screen.

I have a few questions first?

We understand that this is a big commitment. Please email Nic on nictdedgerton@gmail.com and he can either return email or schedule a call. Once you’ve committed, your fee is non-refundable.

Back in the apprenticeship game, same problems different time.

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by Henrietta Street Gym

Back in the apprenticeship game, same problems different time.

By Neil Perkins

In 2007 I established Fighting Fit City Gym, ten years have passed and I encounter the same problems then as I do now. At Fighting Fit City Gym we had a great reputation for our class and one-to-one session delivery. My initial team consisted of clubmates from my old boxing club, coupled with a few ex clients. As they had either come from the same training background as me or trained under me, they understood my ethos, ethics and approach to training. As my brand grew, this became problematic – I couldn’t find trainers with my mindset. I despair at the fitness industry – personal trainer courses churn our ‘PT’s’ who have a low knowledge of what it means to be in shape and have even less of an idea to get someone else to achieve their goals. The reality is that the fitness journey is very often taught and delivered from ‘experience gained from within the trenches’ not taught on a level 3 diploma.

I was aware then as I am now, that your brand is only as good as the person representing it. I may have ‘Britain’s Coolest Gym’ but a dumbbell is a dumbbell and a treadmill is a treadmill and the heartbeat of the gym is the staff who engage with my members, that enabled Fighting Fit City Gym to survive and thrive and evolve into Henrietta Street Gym. Now more so than ever, I realise the value of getting the right ‘heartbeat’ running through the business. In 2011 and after several failed attempts to bring on freelance trainers with ‘industry experience’ I took the brave step to employ trainers and apprentices and teach them my brand values.

  • They would need my integrity and be honest to openly evaluate what it would take someone to achieve their goals and how they could achieve it – very often that means less not more sessions per week.
  • They would need to give guidance on how clients could achieve their goals, looking at lifestyle including nutrition, sleep and mindset strategies. When employing young boxers, this is very often lessons they’d have learnt themselves.
  • They’d need to stick to basics – training isn’t hard. Simple movements and simple strategies. Boxing is best executed with basic techniques, HIIT training is effective with simple moves paired together and key movements such as squat and deadlift are the basis of strength training.
  • They’d need to be the motivator and push people through sessions when they lacked the energy to train.
  • They’d need to believe. Not only in the plan, advice and sessions they’re implementing, but in the client.
  • They’d need to have fun. Make their sessions enjoyable and openly engage with their clients….they are a PERSONAL trainer.

I don’t know if my first six trainers we’re spoiled by me or if I was spoilt to have found them? The values, ethics and integrity I helped nurture within them has stood them in good stead, not only as personal trainers, but as members of society and athletes.

The Super Six

Anthony Rogan: Still a key part of the team today. He has stood on stage as a fitness model, boxed competitively and this weekend competes in a CrossFit competition. He offers clients guidance and has a track record of success.

Luke Paddock: Luke is looking to go full time with his professional boxing. His fun and motivating sessions made him a popular addition to the team.

Matthew Hannigan: Matthew is the only one of the ‘super six’ not in still involved with fitness. I bumped into him walking his dog to discover he has full time employment, a long-term girlfriend and a mortgage.

Kieran Quinlan: Kieran has seized life’s opportunities. He jumped on the body transformation package that the gym launched and made it his own. An excellent motivator who sucked up knowledge and is evolving all the time.

Tom Breese: I gave Tome Breese more warnings than I’ve ate hot dinners! I always knew he had a winners mindset and belief. This has seen him rise through the UFC rankings, where he remains a top fighter.

Tommy Langford: Tom was a pleasure to manage and always worked diligently. He offered expert guidance to his boxing clients and now British and Commonwealth Middleweight champion, it is good to see him doing well.

Left to right. Neil Perkins, Tom Breese (hiding) Luke Paddock, Tommy Langford, Kieran Quinlan, Nico Ogbeide, Jamie Cahill

I am ten years older that when I started my gym in 2007 and six years older than when I employed my first team. I am not looking to take on six staff members – but I am adding to the team. I sometimes joke ‘I HATE STAFF’ but for those of you who really know me, I love people. Training, nurturing and evolving my team is something that I embrace and I’m looking forward to getting stuck into. I have the best looking gym in the UK, now it’s time to get the right heartbeat going and ensure that the right brand values are been portrayed. We will start two new apprentices in August, I look forward to these exciting additions to the team.

Vegan Diet? This may change your mind, 3 reasons to go Vegan.

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by Henrietta Street Gym

By Neil Perkins

I recently watched the documentary ‘Cowspiracy’ and coupled with my existing knowledge, changed my perspective on Veganism and my view towards it. I don’t think I am quite ready to give up my steak yet, but I’d encourage anyone to watch it to see the way we produce food and the effect it has on the planet. Humans are pretty resilient creatures and documentary experiments have shown us that we can ‘survive’ off MacDonald’s alone (watch Super-Size me) but the effects on your energy levels and performance are quite frightening. Working in the fitness industry and running a gym has reinforced my belief that ‘getting fit’, ‘losing weight’, ‘toning up’ and ‘feeling better about yourself’ are both physical and psychological gains that a gym alone won’t solve. They need to be integrated with changes in lifestyle and nutrition. People want to look, feel and perform better, the fuel we use to nourish our body greatly affect this. Here are 3 main reasons why you’d become a Vegan

  1. Save the planet

The film Cowspiarcy explores the impact of animal agriculture on the environment and the policies of the environmental organisations on the issue. It explores the sustainability of meat consumption and the mass production methods we use to produce meat with effect on grazing land and CO2 emissions. I was unaware that CO2 from livestock accounts for more C02 than the entire transport sector!

  1. Save your body

What we feed our livestock affects the quality of the product and surely alters the end product that we put in our body? I was always told ‘If it doesn’t run on the land, swim in the sea or grow out the ground then don’t eat it’ When we are feeding animals food that is chemically altered to grow out of the ground, mixing it with agents and then not letting our animals run on the land (instead stand in a pen) then surely this goes away form the whole foods thoughts of eating?

  1. Save your mind

Saving the planet and not seeing animals suffer may be high on your agenda? If you are aware of what happens to your food and what is added to it, you may want to minimising the risk of adding chemicals to your diet. Going Vegan will give you peace of mind for the planet, animals and your body with respect to the food you eat.

Personal Trainer Anthony Rogan, an advocate of the vegan diet.

Personal Trainer Anthony Rogan, an advocate of the vegan diet.

Overview

I cannot promise that I won’t laugh, ridicule or joke when my friends tell me they are Vegan, but after the initial ridicule they would have my upmost support and respect. Anyone who claims to be an environmentalist should be eating Vegan. I think that the processes we use to produce food should be reviewed and if we are going to continue to eat meat shouldn’t we understand the environment which it was raised and the produce it was fed? This will ultimately affect us higher up the food chain…….that is for the real apex predators who still eat meat!

Yoga Benefits, 4 reasons why you should integrate yoga into your training.

On
by Henrietta Street Gym

By Neil Perkins

In 2007 I boxed to a national final. I was pound for pound stronger than I have ever been and maintained body fat sub 10% for 6 months. Yes, consistently staying in the gym was key to this along with dieting but I recall during this period I never had any niggles or minor injuries and I felt stronger than ever before. Along with three boxing sessions, two long slow distance runs, one track sprint session and one Strength & Conditioning session per week, I incorporated two yoga sessions per week, one Hatha and one Ashtanga.

In hindsight I feel that the reason why I was able to maintain such a regimented training programme was due to the Yoga. I feel that anyone who trains (not exercises) for more than four sessions per week should integrate some yoga into their schedule. Yoga alone will not make you a better athlete, it will not make you run faster, lift more or punch harder but it will enable your body to function and train on a regular basis, reduce risk of injury and aid your physical and mental capabilities. Below are four reasons you should be integrating yoga into your training regime

  1. Reduce Risk of Injury

Ensuring good flexibility massively reduces the risk of injury. The control your body develops through an increased range of motion also potentially increases your power output.

2. Increase Strength

Moving form pose to pose is taxing on the body, there can be huge gains in strength from practising yoga on a regular basis.

3. Improve Core

Rotation work and planks will massively improve your core strength. Dynamic poses in advanced sequences will really focus on your core.

4. Zen time

Learning to lie still, thinking about your breathing and body will improve your focus and mental state.

Where to practice

Birmingham seems to be the Yoga capital. We have an abundance of quality and independent Yoga Studio’s. Bikram Yoga is good, but the benefits are debateable as opposed to standard Yoga.  I have intermittently used Yoga Haven Birmingham and Solihull and have always been impressed. I have heard nothing but good reports from Yoga Sweat and Barefoot Yoga. If you are feeling hard-core, then Ashtanga Yoga practice under Robin Aurora or James Critchlow comes personally recommended.

Boxing Training: The King of Workouts

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by Henrietta Street Gym

By Neil Perkins

Boxing and pugilism has been around since the beginning of time. The Marcus of Queensbury first brought rules to the sport that has spawned so many famous names. Boxing is as old as the earth. As boxing became main-stream and prize fighting (boxing for money) became established, blue collar kids from around the world looked to fight their way out of poverty through boxing. Jack Dempsey, Joe Fraizer and Mike Tyson are just a few that found fame and fortune through boxing.
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Step 1 – Good Nutritional Habits

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by Henrietta Street Gym

Successful weight loss, muscle gain or optimal health are all achieved by a balanced nutrition plan combined with exercise – keep on exercising and we will look to get your nutrition right, even if we have to take it back to the basics. Let’s start from the beginning and then we can progress from there.
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To spar or not to spar, that is the question

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by Henrietta Street Gym

By Neil Perkins

A boxing gym can be a pretty intimidating place to enter, especially if you are worried about your physical condition. I am sure we have all seen the scene in Rocky 3, when Rocky goes back to train with Apollo Creed at his gym? The whole gym stops and stares menacingly at him and there is silence as they give Rocky ‘the eye of the tiger’ For many of you, I know that is how you feel when you approach a sparring session for the first time or that’s what you think will happen if you progress your journey to start sparring.
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Nutrition Step 2. Calorie Tracking

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by Henrietta Street Gym

Nutrition Step 2. Calorie Tracking, Getting Your Calories Right

Before proceeding with this, please ensure that you are in good habits set about from step 1’s blog – good nutrition habits. I wouldn’t advise going straight into calorie tracking until you are first in the routine of good nutritional habits.
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Looking for experienced coaches, not Personal Trainers

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by Henrietta Street Gym

By Anthony Rogan

Sometimes I despair at the fitness industry. I have been in the ‘industry’ for 5 years and can honestly say if I wasn’t at my current gym then I’d find another career to work in. Recently I was tasked with finding suitable trainers to bring on board to the new Henrietta Street Gym and this compounded my previous feelings.
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