Get up 10 minutes earlier and make time for breakfast. It is true what they say, breakfast is the most important meal of the day and if you rush it or worse, skip it completely you’ll end up feeling worse for it in one way or another.

So, a few ways to get that slow releasing burn throughout the morning:

• Jumbo rolled oats i.e. the ones you put in muesli
• Porridge oats
• Oat bran
• Quinoa
• Millet
• Buckwheat

Experiment with grains so that you get variety in your diet and don’t become accustomed to one type.

And a couple of recipes for the all time favourites…

Porridge with fresh fruit

Mix 50-100g of porridge oats (or oat bran, millet or quinoa) with half milk and half water, and heat. If you want to sweeten it other than with fresh fruit, stir in a little honey (Manuka honey is one of the best and has medicinal properties) or sultanas.

Home-made muesli with fresh fruit

This recipe makes 10 portions.

• 1kg of oats
• Sprinkle of cinnamon
• 1 tbsp of honey
• 1 grated apple
• 40g of raisins
• 40g mixed seeds
• 40g natural almond flakes

Mix together the oats, honey, cinnamon and grated apple and spread on a baking sheet. Toast under a medium to high heat grill for about 3 minutes, turning frequently (watch carefully as it will burn quickly otherwise).

When it has browned nicely and starts smelling lovely take it out and mix in the raisins, seeds and almond flakes. Enjoy with fresh fruit, milk and/ or yoghurt. Seal the rest in an airtight container and it will keep for about 2 weeks.

Firstly, you need to decide what you want your sports drink to do. This will depend on intensity, duration and environmental conditions, for example, if you’re going for a half an hour jog around the block, there’s little use in a sports drink and just plain old water will do the job. If you’re thrashing it out in the boxing ring though and sweating buckets, especially if you’re exercising for longer than 60 minutes, you’re going to need a bit of a booster so you don’t just collapse for the rest of the day. I know, it’s happened to me before!

So, here it is. An easy breakdown on how to select your home-made drink. The drinks are split into 3 categories: Hypotonic, Isotonic and Hypertonic.

 Hypotonic drinks

Hypo or “low” means that these drinks contain low levels of dissolved substances. They are designed for quick fluid absorption, rather than to provide energy. They can be drunk before, during and after exercise. They typically contain 2-3 grams of carbohydrate per 100ml i.e. 2-3%

Recipe: 250 ml fruit juice , 750 ml water, 1g-1.5g (pinch) salt

Isotonic drinks

Iso or “the same as” means that the concentration in these drinks is the same as in the body, giving fast fluid absorption and a top-up of carbohydrate fuel. They can be drunk before, during and after exercise. They typically contain 5-8 grams of carbohydrate per 100 ml, i.e. 5-8%

Recipe: 500 ml fruit juice, 500 ml water, 1g-1.5g (pinch) salt

Hypertonic drinks

Hyper or “high” means that the drinks contain a high concentration of dissolved substances. They are designed to provide carbohydrate for repletion of glycogen stores, i.e. for energy rather than to provide water for hydration. These drinks should only be taken after exercise as they can lead to dehydration and could cause stomach upsets. These drinks usually contain more than 10 grams of carbohydrate per 100 ml i.e. more than 10% carbohydrate solution.

Recipe: 1 litre fruit juice,  1g-1.5g (pinch) salt

Commercial brands will use varying combinations of glucose, sucrose and fructose to make it’s solubility level high i.e. how quickly you absorb it, but in the interest of keeping things natural as always, I opt for fresh fruit juice without hesitation. 

In each recipe be sure to use rock  salt, not table salt which is destructive to the body. The salt encourages faster and better hydration. An excellent choice of fruit juice is pomegranate juice which has a high level of naturally occuring antioxidants that help neutralise free radicals – the harmful molecules (that you create loads of in training) which cause cell and tissue damage.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 chicken breasts, trimmed of skin and fat and sliced into strips
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp turmeric
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 mild red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
• 2 onions, chopped
• 2 tsp Marigold reduced salt vegetable bouillon powder dissolved in 210ml water
• 210ml reduced fat coconut milk

1. Heat the oil in a frying pan or wok and sear the chicken strips on both sides then remove from the pan and set to one side.

2. Fry the cumin and turmeric in the pan for a few seconds before adding the garlic and chilli and sautéing for 30 seconds.

3. Add the onion and fry to soften them.

4. Pour the bouillon liquid into the pan with the coconut milk, return the meat to the pan and simmer until the chicken is cooked – about 20-30 minutes.

5. Serve with brown basmati rice or green salad.

Variations: add 25g crunchy peanut butter (with no added sugar) and 25g tomato passata along with the coconut milk, to make a delicious satay chicken curry – in which case use only one chicken breast between two people.

Allergy suitability: gluten, wheat, dairy, yeast free

60 minutes of daily exercise alternating days of circuit training (resistance) and pure cardio. Cardio should involve 2 moderate/ hard sessions i.e. run/bike/swim and 1 easier session i.e. power walk. Circuit training sessions will involve a mix of boot camp strength exercises outlined below. Place a special emphasis on stretching all tight muscles daily.

Example training plan

Alternate between circuit and cardio training sessions during the week like this:

• Monday Circuit
• Tuesday Cardio
• Wednesday Circuit
• Thursday Cardio
• Friday Circuit
• Saturday Cardio
• Sunday Circuit

Circuit training session

Alternate 2 minute bursts of fast running/ cycling with 10 reps of the above exercises until you have completed all 3 sets.

Exercise    Set 1    Set 2    Set 3    Set 4
Stagger push up    10 each side    10 each side    10 each side
Jumping lunge    10 each side    10 each side    10 each side
Side step squat    10 each side    10 each side    10 each side
Hybrid plank    10    10    10
Rotating side plank     10 each side    10 each side    10 each side

Daily priority stretches

Chest, lats, upper traps, hamstrings, hip flexors, calves, quads, adductors

Nutrition

Breakfast – 2 poached eggs, 1 cup each of spinach, tomatoes, blueberries, 10 almonds
Lunch – 100g chicken or turkey breast, 1 cup each cucumber, tomatoes, salad leaves
Snacks – 1 cup of strawberries or an apple and 10 walnut halves
Dinner – 120g fresh tuna or salmon, 1 cup each broccoli, mixed peppers, spinach
Drinks – 3-4 cups green tea, 2-3 litres water

Boot Camp Diary Sheet

Bootcamp – A fitness diary

Download a Boot Camp diary sheet.