With exactly seven weeks to go until the Reading Half Marathon, those of you who have been following the Run JB training plan are looking forward to a recovery week. The concept may not be familiar to anyone new to endurance training, so here is our guide to the art of recovery. Why is Recovery Important? Recovery has both a physical and a psycholo

As a Personal Trainer and Pilates instructor in Swindon I often get asked “would Pilates benefit or compliment my existing training schedule?” To answer this question, let me start by explaining what Pilates is all about. What is Pilates? Pilates focuses on what founder Joseph Pilates called the “powerhouse". Often referred to as the core, this con

I was delighted to hear last week that Simon Stevens, the new head of NHS England, has highlighted the role that business has to play in addressing the obesity crisis.  Having called for greater “upstream preventive action” on obesity shortly after starting the role back in June, Stevens’ language has hardened.  Referring to obesity as “the new smo

Running your first 5K gives an enormous sense of satisfaction.  Many of those who have completed our Couch to 5K beginners’ running course find it hard to believe that only a couple of months previously they were daunted by the prospect of even a couple of minutes continuous running!  So knowing you have completed over 3 miles running non-stop is a

A compound resistance exercise is a multi-joint movement which works several different muscle groups simultaneously.   Examples include the “daddy” of all bodyweight exercises – the squat – and the deadlift.  Unfortunately, a majority of gyms are full of equipment that is geared towards resistance exercises that isolate one or two joints to target

Wow! It has been an amazing year for the JB Personal Training community! As it draws to a close, Jules and Shona would like to thank all our loyal customers for their fantastic support throughout 2013. Here's a reminder of some of your fantastic achievements over the last 12 months! January: 2013 kick-starts with the return of JBPT Ultrabox 2013 go

Team JB were buzzing with anticipation this morning at the prospect of taking part in Monster Race 2013 just a few miles up the road at Charlton Park Estate near Malmesbury (best known for hosting the annual WOMAD festival).  Considering how popular similar events like Tough Mudder and Men's Health Survival of the Fittest have become, it was s

Only eight weeks ago, our latest beginners' running group met at Lydiard Park in Swindon for the first week of Run JB's Couch to 5K course.  This Saturday morning, they got up bright and early to run their first ever 5K at Swindon Parkrun! And as these pictures reveal, they did themselves proud, successfully completing the two-lap course and h

Eating out is no longer the luxury it once was for our parents' generation.  According to the government's "Family Food Report 2011", we each spend an average of £50 a month on eating out, with a third of meals taken outside the home.  So what we consume in restaurants is increasingly important to our overall standard of nutrition. In acc

Be honest. How supportive are you towards helping your partner reach their fitness goals? In my experience as a personal trainer, it is clear that family and friends have a huge influence on an individual's probability of success in achieving their target, from weight-loss to running a marathon. Let's face it - any goal worth achieving involves an