The C.A.M Connection - London Edition

When you first meet Baz and Carla you realise that they are the real deal. These two ex-international rowers have brought all the passion, focus and commitment needed to perform at the Olympics into their new personal training business.

Upon our first meeting in southwest London I immediately sensed a strong connection between Carla and Baz, which one can imagine is born out of the long hours spent together in a rowing boat. Whereas Baz, who is naturally the more talkative of the two, strikes me as a energetic, non-nonsense, “lets get on with it” type of person Carla is laid back and more softly spoken.

With academic backgrounds that lie in Sport Science and Physiotherapy Baz and Carla have the theoretical knowledge and the experience within the world of international sports to earn the respect and credibility of even the most sceptical of potential clients.

With that in mind, you’d be forgiven in presuming that Point 2 Fitness specialises in elite training only and, having attended one of Baz’s early morning training sessions, I do believe that some of her exercises are too advanced for the non athlete.

Nevertheless, Baz and Carla are keen to point out that their clients range from the housewife wanting to lose a few extra pounds to the club rower trying to reach an elite standard. Indeed, offering private rowing coaching sessions is something that Point 2 Fitness wants to develop further with the aim of making rowing accessible to everyone who wants to give it a go.

For a fledgling business Point 2 Fitness is doing extremely well given the current economic conditions with clients signing up for training every month since it first started. Although personal training is the main focus of the business Baz and Carla are keen to explore other potential avenues such as media work over the next two years.

It’s not everyday that you come across two world class athletes offering their services at affordable prices. In an industry which has more than its fair share of cowboys Baz and Carla shouldn’t be mistaken for the rest of the herd.

Reflexologist Clare Benka on feet, food and finding the time to fit it all in.

I wish I was a morning person!! Lie-ins are like gold dust in my line of business. If I could I’d arrange to see all my clients in the afternoon and enjoy a nice cup of herbal tea with some quiet reflection. As it happens, I do quite a lot of personal training as well and my clients generally like to train either early in the morning or in the evening, which can make for a very long day!

I absolutely have to get organised the night before otherwise I’m in a rush and I want to stay calm. Typically the alarm will go off between 6-7am depending on which type of client I’m seeing.

Breakfast can be a bit rushed if it’s an early start and I keep it light if I’m running outside with my first client. If I have more time then it’ll be porridge or poached eggs on toast; it’s definitely my favourite meal of the day. I’m a big snacker so I tend to eat light but often throughout the day to keep my energy levels up and this way I manage to avoid being hungry or overly full at any point.

If I haven’t got a client first thing then I will go for a swim. I love it and try to get to my local swimming pool at least two times a week. It’s the one bit of exercise, apart from training my clients, that I try to maintain whatever my workload. I’ve made a lot of good friends at the pool and our morning natter is as important to us as the swim itself. (Read on …)

Following on from Part One of the interview with Andrew and The Pedal Studio…

Claudia and I wouldn’t consider ourselves “Spinning Beginners” but, nevertheless, we were keen to know about the different types of classes on offer..

“The Stretch and Recover Class is a good one for absolute beginners as it’s nice and gentle although essentially with the aid of the heart rate monitor system you could actually do any class as long as you know which heart rate zone you should be working in. Sounds a little complicated but the instructor explains it all very clearly at the beginning of each class”

The first class we attended is called the Core Spinning class which consists of 45 minutes of interval training with a particular focus on your fitness levels and your core muscles. I still felt that I wouldn’t be burning the amount of calories that I wanted to but Andrew assured me that as long as I cycled within a particular heart rate zone that I was guaranteed to burn maximum calories.

I was pleasantly surprised by the atmosphere within the group as I admit that I was anticipating the sort of gung ho, macho environment you tend to find in spinning classes these days. It seems that Andrew is keen to avoid this too.. (Read on …)

A few months ago my wife and I needed to lose some weight pretty quickly. We’d been invited to two of our best friends’ weddings and to be quite frank we were looking pretty chubby. Now, normally we’d head straight to the local gym’s sales office but this time we didn’t want the hassle or commitment of a long-term contract.

Whilst Claudia is a fan of cardio and, perhaps more importantly, a place with a sense of community where she can meet people and make new friends I’m more interested in weightlifting and was, therefore, a little sceptical that only doing cardio would help me lose all the weight I needed to in time.

But eventually I compromised and we found something that seemed to fit the bill: A newly opened, pay-as-you-go spinning studio in the heart of Putney. Pedal Studio’s introductory offer of £7 for 7 days cycling made the decision to turn up for our first class seem like a no-brainer… (Read on …)

As the saying goes when it comes to healthy baby nutrition “Breast Is Best”.

This is because human milk is richer in whey, lactose, vitamin C, niacin, and long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, as well as lower in the protein casein, than the standard formula products. Studies have shown that breast-fed babies not only have better cognitive development earlier on in their lives but they also have lower cholesterol levels as they mature into adults.

Whilst this is very positive news for mothers who breast feed is there a truly healthy and safe alternative available to those mums for which breastfeeding is not an option? (Read on …)

There is so much money in the Health and Wellbeing Industry these days that it’s no wonder that there are more and more people considering it as a viable second career option.

If your current job consists of the same old sales meetings in yet another drab and dreary conference centre, then a career that consists of helping others improve their lives on a daily basis could represent something significant and meaningful.

Add the fact you can be your own boss, wear what you like and work in a calm and relaxing environment you begin to understand why thousands of people want to follow in the footsteps of industry leaders such as Paul Chek, Dr Mercola and Dr Deepak Chopra.

Joining the C.A.M industry is quite easy. It’s the creating a long and successful career within it that is difficult.

You don’t need a degree to be employed or to set yourself up as a practitioner. What counts is skill, confidence and experience. And that comes through continuous learning and practice. Learning being the operative word - not only is education a lucrative business into which most experienced practitioners eventually want to move it also enhances their status and reputation.

But for every Tony Robbins or Dr Ornish there are a million practitioners who start their new career with very good intentions but gradually fade away back into their old profession. The reasons for this are:

• Little preparation.
• No focus/niche market.
• Lack of persistence.

Becoming a complementary and alternative medicine practitioner is a noble and worthy profession and God knows the industry needs as many willing soldiers to take the battle to the pharmaceutical companies.

But to have someone, who desperately needs your help, place their complete trust in your ability to improve their health significantly and for the long term is a very big responsibility.

This career path is not for the faint hearted.

“How long before I see results?”

This is the question that is most likely to be on the tip of the tongue of every potential client. How the C.A.M practitioner answers will usually be the determining factor in closing the deal.

However, the success and longevity of a C.A.M business will rely upon the practitioner’s ability to convince a client to change their “quick fix” mindset for a long term well-being strategy for optimal health. The longer it takes for the client to change their attitude the longer it will take for them to see the results they desire.

Complimentary and Alternative Medicine is old school.

It represents thousands of years of wisdom passed down through the generations of natural healers. It’s not a natural magic bullet and it shouldn’t be sold as one.

Leave the quick fixes to the medical doctors and concentrate on passing on the healing knowledge that has stood the test of time. As Richard Griffiths said to his students in the film The History Boys;

“Pass it on boys, pass it on. That’s what I want you to do.”

They say a problem shared is a problem solved.

Who you share your problems with, be it a parent, your friends or your boss, is an important decision to make. You may even consider the option of hiring a life coach. They can be a very effective way of helping you to deal with certain areas of your life that are causing you concern. But given there are now so many life coaches offering similar services up and down the country you’d be forgiven for struggling to distinguish the good from the bad.

In order to make your investment in a life coach a productive and worthwhile one there are several factors to consider including experience, reputation, specialty and price. As you browse the internet, check how much time you will spend in front of your life coach as, unfortunately, there is a creeping tendency for life coaches to offer most of their time via technology i.e. phone and email rather than face to face.

I think this is short changing the client and I’ll tell you why… (Read on …)

The dietary supplements industry has enjoyed a meteoric rise in sales over the last 10 years as consumers recognise that they need to remain strong and healthy during these stressful and uncertain times.

With an estimated value of $24-25 billion in the US market alone the pharmaceutical industry decided to send its bullyboy, the FDA, to muscle in on the action. The large companies such as Herbalife, Seven Seas and Maximuscle, who all sell huge quantities of cheap products, will survive by paying off the FDA. But it’s the small, independent companies that actually supply healthy, natural and organic products at a higher price that are being driven out of business as a result of, what can only be considered, industry persecution.

So when you’re looking to buy some supplements I believe that spending money on a cheap brand of supplement, even if it’s well known, is a false economy. A typical low cost supplement pill will only contain a small amount of goodness whilst the rest of it is made up of cheap filler substances that can actually turn bad whilst on the shelf.

It’s the goodness that you need to keep you strong and healthy and it’s on that basis that I’ve compiled my list of top 5 Suppliers of Natural Superfood Supplements… (Read on …)

In 1956, Roger Williams, a biochemist, published a book entitled Biochemical Individuality. The book, which highlights the breakthrough concept that we all have different nutritional needs, should have laid the groundwork for an attack on the fad diet. Alas, it seems as though this attack has foundered. In fact, it fell at the first hurdle as publishing houses across the world continue to release celebrity endorsed diet plans by the hundreds each year.

So, in an age where the ubiquitous “one size fits all” diet plan rules supreme how will the proponents of a “uniquely me” type diet stage a revolution? (Read on …)