Let's Hit The Reset Button For 2025

2021 has been a rollercoaster of a year. I thought 2020 was tough but 2021 was like “hold my beer”. I’ve done my best to bring you a blog each month (personal goal for me) despite the year we’ve had and I’m closing out the year with this… Whatever you decide you want to achieve in this life all comes down to whether you’re ready to take the actions to bring it into reality. We may hit some stumbling blocks along the way and it may feel like we’re not making any progress at all, but If you’re taking those actions towards your goals I can assure you that you are making progress. It’s important to remember that these pauses and obstacles during your journey are things that you can learn from and will lead you to make better decisions in the future. Time waits for nobody, and it will pass by you whether you do anything or not. So I encourage you to take some time to reflect, think about things you’re thankful for and start brainstorming/planning for 2022. Me, I’m thankful for my family (Emma and Elijah) and my new job to provide for my family. Happy New Year from Total Transition Personal Training 😀😀

This blog was inspired by a member at Buzz who told me she didn’t know what to do in the gym. These are the top tips I’d give to anyone starting or wanting to train in the gym. Before answering the main question it’s important to ask yourself this; “What am I trying to achieve with training? I believe this needs to be asked because if you’re trying to bulk up/put on lots of muscle, then spending most of your time on cardio equipment isn’t going to help. Once you have a clear understanding of your goals then you can be more specific with what you are doing. Inductions - If you’re new to the gym and feel intimidated, book onto an induction so your instructor can demonstrate how to use equipment properly/safely. There’s nothing worse than going onto a machine, only to realise you’ve been using it the wrong way. This happened to me when I first started going to the gym and if I had just asked for help or booked an induction, I would have been felt more confident. Hire a PT - PT’s are experts in the field of health and fitness. If you’re not sure what to do then sign up with one, even if it’s for a couple of months. I know there’s a lot of information out there online on what to do, but it doesn’t beat the experience of having someone there to see over your technique and progress. Training Frequency - So let’s say you’ve done the above right but still want to go it alone …no problem. Look at your weekly schedule and see realistically how many workouts you can get in per week. There’s no point doing an arm workout if you can only get into the gym once per week, especially if you’re looking to lose weight. I’d recommend a full body workout if that were the case. Once you know how many workouts you can do per week then you can sensibly choose the right routine. Prioritise The Bigger Muscles First - The bigger muscles tend to be more complex and more fatiguing so if you can, prioritise these first e.g. chest early in the workout, biceps towards the end. Compounds Before Isolation - A compound exercise is an exercise that uses multiple muscles and joints e.g. Deadlifts (ankle, knee, hip joint & glutes, hamstrings traps to name a few muscles). An Isolation exercises works a single muscle or joint e.g. seated leg extension (knee joint & quads). Now that we know the difference between the two, as a rule of thumb, you should be putting your compound exercises towards the start of your workout and the isolation exercises towards the end. Compound exercises tend to be more mentally taxing and tougher to perform. The last thing you want to be doing is a heavy set of squats at the end of your leg workout. Machines Over Free Weights - When it comes to strength training, I’ll always advise people to start off by using the resistance machines before moving onto free weights. Why? Because most machines will have the name written on, a picture of what muscle you’re working and how to set it up. Resistance machines are designed to make you work the muscles properly and safely so once you’ve mastered them, that’s when you can then move onto using equipment like dumbbells and kettlebells. I could go on and on but these would be the things I would focus on if you’re not sure what to do in the gym. So let me summarise: Figure out what you’re trying to achieve with your training so this guides you on where to start. Book an induction or hire a PT to help you with what to do. If you plan to go solo think about how many times per week you can train. Focus on the bigger muscles first and start with compound lifts Let me know if you found this useful and as always if you want help getting started in the gym….get in touch via the website by hitting the sign up button or just click here. Great, Elijah is 13 months now, he’s mastered walking and we’re baby proofing the whole house - the tv cabinet has a screen shielding it and we have magnetic locks on drawers in the house. I wouldn’t change anything about being a dad. My advice to parents - have patience, Elijah tested me this evening by throwing his sponge on the floor during his bath. I try not to lose my cool around him. Eddie Hall or The Mountain? Eddie Hall (former strongest man) and Hafthor Bjornssonus (The Mountain from Game of Thrones) are having a boxing fight and I think the mountain will win. It’s currently delayed because Eddie Hall tore his bicep. Do I speak Spanish? Hables Inglese? (Do you speak English?) What’s the best pre workout snacks to have? My go to pre workout snacks are: Bananas which I’ll have 30 mins before a session, Fruit smoothie which I’ll have an hour before a workout. Porridge 1-2 hours before a workout. I have tested training on an empty stomach and I definitely need food before a training session. I used to train on an empty stomach when I was younger, but at 30 I can’t do this anymore and leads to poor performance. What stretches should I do for a click knee? Can’t advise on a clicky knee but general stretches for muscles around the knees I would be doing are the quad stretch where you grab your ankle and pull your heel towards your bum and the hamstring stretch where you slightly bend one knee and keep the other knee straight whilst trying to touch your toes. My favourite workout? Strength training is my favourite workout and I love a lower body workout. I’m currently doing an upper/lower body routine but I find the lower body workouts more rewarding especially after a long day whilst fighting the internal battle in my head to give up. I feel better for it. Had to tweak my lower body workout and put easier ones in haha recently (don’t judge me). Is the smith machine a good for building muscle? In my opinion yes but depends it on the muscle you’re trying to hit. Equipment in gyms are there because they will help you build muscle. It just comes down to what muscle you’re trying to train then selecting the ones that gives you the most amount of stimulus for the least amount fatigue. When to do steady state cardio? It depends but also its down to preference. I advise people to do it after strength training. You accumulate fatigue before lifting resulting in the quality of your workout. You can always do cardio on a separate day to your strength training session or do 1 in the morning and the other in the evening as an example. Is ‘Time Under Tension (TUT)’ a good thing to implement in training? I have a blog coming up on this and I do go on to explain TUT in the video so go watch the explanation there. Long story short, TUT is definitely a good thing to implement. My thoughts on counting calories and intermittent fasting? Both work and comes down to preference. Choose a method that you can continue for ‘x’ amount of time/becomes the norm. Calorie counting gives your more detailed information on where your calories are coming from (protein, carbs and fats). Intermittent Fasting especially when the goal is weight loss can help you lose weight by restricting calories through the day. What food do you eat when you first break your fasting? Something carb heavy and something protein filling. Is it ok to do just full body workouts or Upper/Lower? The type of workout you do depends on how many times you can realistically get into the gym. If you can only go 1 day per week stick to full body. Ideally you want to train the body at least 2 times per week. So whatever workout allows you to train the muscles at least twice based on how many workouts you can do is the one you should be doing to see good consistent results. Examples include: 2-3 full body workouts, upper/lower, upper/lower/full body. Tips for going to the gym when you’re really battling your mind and you don’t want to go and what have you found helps? Make sure you’re packed your gym bag the night before and make sure you take your gym bag with your to work. That’s half the battle won vs not going. You’re not really going to go home and pick your gym bag up after a long day of work and head to the gym. Chances are you’ll sack it off. Keeping my goal in mind keeps me on top of going to the gym so keep on telling yourself ‘why’. Why should people train with TTPT? I help people reach your their goals. We look at Deep Health (relational, existential, mental, physical, emotional, environmental). I make sessions fun and the highlight of your day. Ask any of my clients (past and present) and they’ll tell you they love the sessions. I give a damn about what you’ve got going on in life - I’m not there to just count reps…Ruth (longest client) plays regional netball, Gaby (second longest client) is a cheerleader and made it into one of the top level teams with Coventry. How to relieve pain after you’ve had cramp in your calf? I used to get calf cramp in the night after playing 90 minutes of 11-a-side football, it was horrible. Keep yourself hydrated, have something salty salt, stretch your calves and have a bath before bed. This should reduce the cramps. Most common question I get asked is “how long will it take for me to reach my goals?” This depends on YOU and your commitment and how realistic your goal is. You need to be doing stuff outside of training sessions e.g. keeping on top of your nutrition, making sure your sleep is on point, making sure you’re recovering from workouts. Give 100% to get 100% back. PT is an investment but come into it fully committed to do the hard work. Favourite things to do on rest day? Definitely not walking haha….I like to put my feet up and watch YouTube (I’d have an 1st if Youtube was a degree). I’ve been going to Bicester a lot, it’s a nice area. In the evenings when Elijah is asleep I’ll play the PS4 and have a general browse online. If I could only eat 1 meal for the rest of my life, what would it be? Lasagne cooked by my mum. It’s my favourite dish. Favourite thing about being a dad? (This question got emotional and I shed some tears too). Having someone being dependent on me and Emma and getting to guide Elijah through his life. I’m still learning how to be a good dad, how to communicate to him, trying not to lose my cool. I ALWAYS try to make him smile everyday. I never had my dad around when I was growing up (passed away when I was young) therefore I had no father figure. I’m trying to be the best dad I can be and trying parent to Elijah how I feel my own dad would have parented me. It’s one of the reasons why I love to be involved his life and see him hit his milestones. Why is Nigerian Jollof better than Ghanaian Jollof? Haha it’s because we don’t use Basmati Rice haha. It’s seasoned better, flavoursome, delicious. So that was the Q&A, if you have any other questions, feel free to drop them into the comments section below. I may do another live Q&A so follow me on my social media channels to find out when they’ll be (social links at the bottom of the page).

I love a Game of Thrones reference me. But yes winter is just around the corner. The clocks have gone back (did you take advantage of the extra hour?) and the days are shorter. It’s super easy this time of the year to sack off your workout with it being dark earlier. So here are my 5 tips that will keep you on track, especially if you workout after work. #1 Schedule/block time out in your diary. Just like your work appointments, your GP appointments or social events with friends…you should be booking your workouts into your diary making them compulsory. #2 Pack your workout bag the night before. I cannot stress this point enough. Pack your gym bag the night before your session. By doing this you’re telling yourself that you will go to the gym the next day and that’s half the battle won. The last thing you want to be doing in the morning is finding your sports bra or trying to remember where you left your pre-workout. This eats into the time you have to get ready for work where you have a million other important priorities occupying your mind. Just do it the night before and you save yourself the stress. #3 Train in the mornings. Personally I prefer to train in the mornings and not leave my workout to the late afternoon/evenings but there are times when I will train late (Tuesdays because I teach an evening Body Pump Class). If the thought of training in a packed out gym In the evenings gives you goosebumps, then try training in the mornings instead. From personal experience, the gym is much less busier and you won’t find it difficult getting onto a specific machine or needing a piece of equipment. #4 Create an inspiration board. I’ve got clients in the past (and currently) to create an inspiration board mainly to remind them why they started this journey. I got them to to put words of encouragement, pictures of people who inspire them & write down daily habits of what future them do. This was very successful and I would encourage you to do the same. #5 Ask yourself how badly do you want it? If you’re that committed to your health and fitness goals, this should be an easy decision to go. You know this journey will have its up and downs but using the excuse of “it’s cold outside”, “it’s dark out” or “work was tiring, I’ll go tomorrow instead”. These are the thoughts that don’t get you anywhere close to your goals. I hope you found these tips helpful and if you have anything to add then let me know in the comments. 

2011 You may or may not have seen those numbers above in your programme, but what do they mean or relate to? Read on below to learn more about tempo, muscle contractions and how you can apply this to your own training. Time Under Tension (TUT) This is the amount of time a muscle or muscle group is under load during an exercise set. Different TUTs can bring about different results. If you’re looking to increase muscle mass, a TUT of 30-40 seconds will do the trick. If your goal is to lose fat, then a TUT of 40-80 seconds will work also. We’ll use the BICEP CURL exercise as our example here. Our muscles do 2 actions, they contract or relax . When you bend your elbow, the bicep muscle contracts and shortens. This is called a Concentric Contraction. When you extend your elbow, the bicep muscle relaxes and lengthens. This is called an Eccentric Contraction. So, we’ve established that muscles contract/shorten and relax/lengthen. In strength training the most amount of muscle damage occurs in the eccentric phase (the lengthening phase). Now you’re probably thinking this is probably a bad thing but it’s not. For a muscle to grow, exercise induced muscle damage needs to occur to grow muscle tissue and the most amount of muscle damage occurs in the eccentric phase of any exercise. Therefore, it’s important to take advantage of this when strength training. “Tobi, what do those numbers have to do with tempo?” I’m glad you asked! We’ll use the 4 numbers at the top [2011] to explain. 1. The first number you see is the ECCENTRIC PHASE (the lengthening phase) . This part of the move focuses on lowering the weight against gravity. 2. The second number is how many seconds you spend in the eccentric phase. 3. The third number is the CONCENTRIC PHASE (the shortening phase) . This part focuses on pushing/pulling the weight against gravity. 4. The fourth number is how many seconds you spend in the concentric phase. So, using the bicep curl example from earlier, if we use the 2.0.1.1 tempo this means that we spend: · 2 seconds lengthening the muscle (extending the elbow) · 0 seconds in the lengthened position (0 time spent at the bottom of the move) · 1 second shortening the muscle (bending the elbow) · 1 second in the shortened position (squeezing the bicep for 1 second at the top of the move) It’s important to know that eccentric loading of muscles has been shown to increase the feeling of soreness after a workout, also known as DOMS (Delayed Onset of Muscle Soreness). This is the pain/soreness that can be felt anywhere from 0-72 hours after a training session. Beginners will feel a lot more soreness compared to someone who has been training longer. Your body will adapt to the training so it may feel painful for now, but you’ll recover much better and feel less sore the more you train. And if you don’t feel sore after a workout, that’s also fine. Soreness isn’t the best indicator of a good workout. Even if you finish a workout and you’re not sore, that doesn’t mean your body hasn’t worked, it has! It just means you’re benefiting from the muscular adaptations that occur when doing strength training. Tempo training will allow you to feel muscles working properly, allow you to focus on your technique and allow you to build the strength needed to achieve your body goals. So now the idea of Tempo should make sense and all that’s left to do is apply this to your own training next time out. If you have any questions on this topic, the comments section on this blog is turned on so don’t hesitate to ask and I’ll respond as soon as I can.

I’ve been a Personal Trainer since April 2016. 5+ years is a lot of time in this industry. A sad but true statistic is that New Personal Trainers last 18 months in the industry before packing it in. I’m glad I’m not part of that statistic but I truly could have been. This blog takes a look into my journey as a Personal Trainer and my aspirations for the future. WHERE IT STARTED My first job as a Personal Trainer was at Pure Gym. I’d been qualified for a few months prior to getting the job, not really using the qualification but working full time as a Therapy Assistant with the NHS. So, I was working 37.5 hours full time at the hospital, doing 15 hours for Pure Gym to cover my rent, and coaching clients on top of that. So, my weeks were super long. I got to a point where I had ‘burnout’ which is a horrible thing to experience. I remember breaking down to my wife about it and she said I had a decision to make but she’d support me either way. So I left my full-time job and became a full time Personal Trainer creating ‘Total Transition Personal Training’. Not long into going full time as a PT I was approached to work for a PT Company in Oxford. They would provide with support and help me become a better trainer. Sadly, this meant I had to close the door on TTPT and be fully associated with them. I spent the best part of 2 and a half years working/learning all I could to make it in this industry. Honestly if they’d not approached me to work for them, I don’t think I’d be here 5+ years later writing this blog. FEEL THE BUZZ Fast forward to August 2018 and a new gym in the city centre was about to open ‘Buzz Gym’. A few of the PTs at Pure Gym left to go work there and I was umm-ing and ahh-ing whether or not to follow. Eventually I would make the decision to leave Pure Gym and go and apply all I’d learned with the PT Company I had been with. I did have to leave them as they were about to launch their own facility but leaving them meant the revival of the ‘Total Transition Personal Training’ brand I’d created. I’m still at Buzz Gym and working there has given me the platform to help so many people with their goals through ‘One-to-One’ coaching and teaching classes. I’m so glad I made the switch as it’s allowed me to work with various other highly skilled trainers enabling me to learn and perfect my craft as a trainer. It’s definitely up there as one of the best gyms in Oxford. THE FUTURE What does the future hold for Total Transition Personal Training? I’m still figuring this out as I’m a dad (absolutely loving it) and my priorities in life have changed massively. I definitely want to move the majority of my work online so I can help more people achieve their goals but still do face to face work, but ideally online is where I want to go. I find myself helping the newly qualified PTs at Buzz Gym so maybe some sort of mentoring which would allow me to give back in some way and help guide the new crop…who knows. All I know is that for now I will continue to help people as much as I can. That’s it for this week’s blog. Next month’s blog will be on the topic of Tempo. If you’re unsure of what Tempo is, or you’ve heard me talk about it but forgotten what it is…. keep an eye out for when the blog goes live to learn more.

Progress definition - a movement toward a goal or to a further or higher stage. For my clients, seeing progress is really important to keep them motivated to continue to work towards their goals. This can come in many forms e.g. seeing inches lost from their waist, old clothes fitting better, weights increasing in workouts. To get a better understanding, I asked a few of my clients to answer ‘What does progress/results mean to you?’. Here’s what a few of them had to say… GABY Progress used to just mean number on the scales for me - which led to a lot of disappointment. Now I’m training with Tobi, progress means so much more. The combination of progress pictures and measurements show me how my body is changing and results in terms of personal bests, higher weights, more reps etc show me how my strength is improving. RUTH Before I started training with Tobi, progress and results was losing weight. Like many other women I grew up with the view that being skinny was the ideal. I’ve never fitted that image and have mentally battled with that for most of my life and whilst playing sport as I’ve always been tall and a different body type to what I was “told” was beautiful. Very early on with my training with Tobi, progress and results were not focused on weight, yes I’ve stepped on the scales and we take progress pictures but that’s not the main goal. NSV (non scale victories) became way more important, hitting a pb, increasing the time doing an exercise or coming off the netball court feeling like I held my own. SIMON Progress means to me the development and feeling of getting fitter and/or stronger. The small things you notice of losing a bit of weight or getting more toned. The feeling you feel when you go up on your weights or beat a PB and the confidence that brings to continue to keep trying to get fitter. Results are when I hit certain goals such as losing weight, beating a certain PB on my bike or lifting a certain weight. Results I base off my targets I set myself and they can be as little as, I'm tired today just need to get this workout done to lose a set amount of weight over a period of time. What I find interesting is that when people start off training with me, their physical health in terms of how they look is their main focus. My goal as a PT mainly is to help with this but I also coach people on something called “Deep Health”. Deep Health is a whole-person, whole-life approach to health which includes 6 key aspects ‘physical, mental, emotional, existential, relational-social, and environmental’. I won’t go into much depth here but essentially your physical health is just 1 part of the equation. I like to look at the bigger picture and see each person for who they are, what they value and help them improve these other areas of their lives.  What I want you to take away from this short blog is that progress and results are so much more than the number you see on the scales. It’s pictures, it’s measurements, it’s the way that you feel, it’s achievements you are reaching in other areas of your life. Often when embarking on a journey to improve your health, it has a snowball effect and can positively impact other areas of your life.

This month’s blog is taken from an Instagram post I did during lockdown 1. Go follow my instagram account by clicking here . I’ll be discussing NEAT and metabolism and how it affects fat loss. “Guy 1: It seems like I can eat whatever I want to and never gain any weight…. Guy 2: I hate you; you just have a fast metabolism….” We’re really good at losing weight, but really bad at keeping it off. NEAT (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis) refers to activities of daily living – fidgeting, muscle tone, maintenance of posture. In a sedentary person: About 75% of energy expenditure comes from Resting Metabolic Rate.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 8% comes from thermic effect of feeding (energy spent digesting food).⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 17% comes from physical activity (because you’re sedentary, all of this comes from NEAT, not physical). The reason why weight loss starts to slow is because our bodies become more efficient at conserving energy (expending less energy as heat for the same movement). When activity energy expenditure slows, we move less.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ And as we get older, energy expenditure starts to slow down which is why we gain weight as we age. It’s not your metabolism (yes it slows but not a whole lot), it’s our NEAT levels dropping as we age. Studies have shown that you won’t reap the benefits from your training (especially if the goal is weight loss) if you reduce your NEAT levels after a training session. If you’re sedentary after your workout, you reduce the number of calories being expended. So, here are a few ways to increase NEAT: Walk to work Walk during lunch hour Take family walk after dinner Set up treadmill in front of TV Mow the lawn (with a push mower if possible) Take stairs instead of escalator or lifts Park further from destination Get off the bus a stop early and walk the rest of the journey Buy a dog and walk it Buy a pedometer/fitness watch tracker (studies have shown this to help) “Guy 1: It seems like I can eat whatever I want to and never gain any weight… Guy 2: NO, you’re just a NEAT freak.” Do you do any of the above to increase your NEAT? Or what other ways do you increase your NEAT? Let me know in the comments.

Apologies if you’ve been waiting for a new blog. Gyms opened up on the 12th April with other non essential businesses and it’s been non-stop for Total Transition. I’ve finally found some time to get a blog out this month and I’ll be discussing what I’ve been up to. So if you want to know, just keep on reading. WORK As I mentioned above, the gym I coach clients from ‘Buzz Gym Oxford’, was allowed to reopen on the 12th April. Day 1 was SOMETHING! I arrived at 8am (the gym opened at 6am) and I’ve never seen the gym so packed at that time. It felt like being there in the evening. It was great to see so many people so eager to get back to their training and it was also great to see the team, members and my clients in person. I have to give a shoutout to ‘Ena, Gaby & Ruth’ my clients who continued training with me in lockdown remotely. They were probably more excited than me to be back in the gym training and I can’t blame them. I’ve since taken on more new clients and together we’re working to reach their goals. I still have space available to take on new clients so if you want to join the team and work with me click here. TRAINING I’ve finally found the sweet spot with my training. I’m doing 3 workouts a week, looking to increase this to 4 workouts in the future. My routine is a FULL BODY workout on Monday, LOWER BODY on Wednesday and UPPER BODY on Thursday with 20 minutes of cardio after each workout. I hate training in the gym longer than I need to so I decided to have a maximum of 6 exercises for each workout. The workouts don’t go over an hour unless I’m talking to people and I time my rest periods strictly so I’m not wasting time. Muscles are feeling sore and progress is coming. My goal is to drop the lockdown fat and regain the muscle I lost. FAMILY I’m very blessed that my family are all well and healthy. Some family members have had their Covid jabs which puts my mind at ease as I’m not so worried about their health. My son, Elijah, is thriving. He along with my wife are the reason I get up in the mornings. He’s 10 months old now, crawling and standing. It’s not going to be long before he’s walking and then I’ll be bubble wrapping him or bubble wrapping the house 🤣 MENTAL HEALTH My mental health is improving. I’m having more better days then down days and I put this down to changing my whole mantra. Before I wouldn’t smile, have a ‘RBF’ (if you know, you know) and absorb negativity. If people were having negative conversations, then I would get caught up in this. When the 12th April came, I told myself I would stop that, be more positive and smile more. Not only has this made me happier within myself, it’s had a positive effect on the business too so if anyone reading this takes anything from this section, it’s to strive to maintain a positive mindset and smile more. This will allow you to come out of your shell.