My fitness journey started with Men\u2019s Health. When it first came out in the UK in 1995, I was working at a hotel in Cyprus and I used to get clients to bring out copies for me. I loved all the tips and advice, and I used them to create a personal training routine that I still use to this day.<\/p>\n
That routine starts every morning at 5.28am \u2013 for no other reason than I just don\u2019t want to start my day with a conventional 5.30am alarm. It sounds early, but this is the only time of day I can have to myself. So I train alone at the gym for two hours. After that, my working day starts and everyone will get a piece of me \u2013 my boss, my family, my lovely children, my friends \u2013 but before 8.30am, it\u2019s strictly me time.<\/p>\n
My routine is the same \u2013 a quick warm-up<\/a>, followed by a weights session for an hour. This is broken down into either biceps and triceps<\/a>, chest and back<\/a> or legs<\/a> and shoulders<\/a>, focusing on lower weights and high reps. After that, I do 20 minutes of core work<\/a>, followed by 30 minutes of cardio. I love running<\/a> \u2013 I started when I was 12, running long distance in school, and still complete half marathons and 10k<\/a> races regularly. London\u2019s Royal Parks Half Marathon is a firm favourite, which I\u2019ve run multiple times. But to protect my knees, I don\u2019t run daily. Instead, I use the cross trainer in the mornings for injury-free cardio, and only do interval sprints<\/a> on the treadmill once a week.<\/p>\n I train almost every day, listening to what my body tells me rather than scheduling rest days. So, if I don\u2019t want to jump out of bed like usual when my alarm goes off, I know to sleep in instead. I used to have a voice in my head telling me I\u2019m lazy if I didn\u2019t train all the time, but I\u2019ve got better at suppressing it, as I know resting is important.<\/p>\n Injuries are my worst enemy, so I\u2019ve adapted my training over the years to avoid them as much as possible. When I\u2019m injured, I get quite depressed and spend my whole time fixating on how to remedy them. The last injury I had was a rotator cuff issue, which came from overuse. I had PRP (platelet-rich plasma) treatments to help with the healing \u2013 it works by taking a blood sample and separating the platelets using a centrifuge, then reinjecting them in this higher concentration back into the patient. Platelets release growth factors that help with healing, making PRP helpful for accelerating repair after injury. I\u2019m also a big fan of PRP as it uses your own blood \u2013 I don\u2019t like experimenting with anything that puts something unnatural in my body.<\/p>\n \u2018The ultimate luxury is good health\u2019<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n I follow a Mediterranean diet<\/a>, focusing on whole foods and avoiding processed ones. I like to eat carb-rich fruit and cereals in the morning, and other than a protein shake<\/a> at breakfast \u2013 to boost my protein intake \u2013 I don\u2019t use any supplementation. You can get everything you need from a good diet. For example, I tend to eat a lot of fish, as it\u2019s high in protein but low in calories. While I like to sprinkle olive oil on almost everything, I don\u2019t eat fried foods and avoid visible fat \u2013 it\u2019s why I don\u2019t eat lamb. I\u2019m also careful with my carbs, consuming them at breakfast then tapering them off during the day so that I eliminate them after lunch. Everyone is different, but it works for my body if I want to stay lean.<\/p>\n But what\u2019s more important to me than aesthetics is the happiness training brings me. I love the feeling I get from the endorphins afterwards. Plus, for me, health is wealth. I work in the luxury sector and I see people enjoying luxury cars, holidays and fashion all the time, but the ultimate luxury is good health. That\u2019s why training hard and good nutrition isn\u2019t a trauma \u2013 it makes me feel alive. Longevity is my goal.<\/p>\n Those natural, biological changes that happen as we age are inevitable, but there are things you can do to delay them. Focusing on a good diet, cardiovascular capacity and muscle mass is the key, but it\u2019ll only work if it\u2019s something you enjoy.<\/p>\n\n