COPYRIGHT
An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
First published in Great Britain by HQ
An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2018
Text Copyright © Bradley Simmonds 2018
Bradley Simmonds asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Hardback ISBN 978-0-00-822272-7
eBook ISBN: 978-0-00-822271-0
Photography: Glen Burrows
Food styling: Lizzie Kamenetzky
Prop styling: Morag Farquhar
Design: Manisha Patel
Senior Commissioning Editor: Rachel Kenny
Project Editor: Sarah Hammond
Head of Design: Louise McGrory
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.
Version: 2018-03-16
CONTENTS
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Dear Reader
Introduction
About Me
Now to You
How the Book Works
CHAPTER 1 REALISING YOUR GOAL
1 Weight Loss
2 Toning without Bulking and Getting Strong
3 Healthy Weight Gain Through Lean Muscle
4 Your Mental Health and Increased Energy Levels
5 Increasing Your Core Strength
CHAPTER 2 NOW GET MOVING
Bodyweight Exercises
TRX Exercises
Weight-training Exercises
Circuit Training
HIIT
Other Exercises to Enjoy
Stretching and Recovery
CHAPTER 3 FUEL YOUR FITNESS
Breakfast
Fluffy Scrambled Eggs with Chilli Tomatoes and Chives
My Famous Poached Eggs with Turkey Bacon and Avocado
Warm Vanilla Protein Oats with Cinnamon Berries
Delicate Smoked Salmon and Avocado on Toast
Three-Egg Omelette with Spinach, Tomatoes and a Sprinkle of Feta
One-Cup Protein Pancakes with Pick ‘N’ Mix Toppings
Runny Egg with Green and Brown Soldiers
Brad’s Baked Bean Protein Pot
Creamy Mango Chia Pudding
Fit Full English
Lunch & Snacks
Chicken Satay Stir-Fry
Asian-Style King Prawn and Mango Salad
Jacket Sweet Potato Packed Full of Tuna and Sweetcorn with Spicy Spinach
It has to be... Bradley’s Tomato Soup and Crusty Garlic Bread
Creamy Chicken and Pesto Buckwheat Spaghetti
Spiced Roasted Root Vegetables with Feta and Pomegranate
My Best Beetroot and Red Pepper Salad with Walnuts and Goat’s Cheese
Toasted Sourdough Clt with Homemade Crisps
Fillet Steak with Chilli Broccoli and Courgette and Sweet Potato Fries
Lean Turkey Meatballs with Mixed Bean and Edamame Salad
Homemade Vegetable Crisps
Chilli Pesto with Boiled Eggs
Homemade Houmous and Vegetable Crudités
Spicy Salmon Fish Cake Bites
Corn on the Cob with Chilli Butter
Dinner
Sweet-and-Spicy Asian Salmon with Pak Choi
Beef It Up Teriyaki Stir-Fry
Chilli Con Carne with Fluffy Rice
Chicken and Mushroom Rice with Buttery Greens
Post-Workout Piri-Piri Chicken Plate
Fish, Crispy Potatoes and Mushy Peas
Steak with Garlic and Parmesan Mushrooms and Vegetable Mash
Mint Lamb with Super Green Salad
Tuna Steak with Chunky Tomato Salsa and Avocado Salad
Poached Cod in a Tomato and Thyme Sauce with Crunchy New Potatoes
Social Sharers
Green Thai Chicken Hot Pot
My Family’s Favourite Fish Pie
Roast Chicken Dinner
One-Pot Cauliflower Curry
Root Vegetable-Topped Cottage Pie
Smoky Rainbow Skewers For Everyone
Not-so-Naughty Nachos with Homemade Tex-Mex Dips
Super-Lean Lasagne with a Parmesan Crust
Coconut Chicken Dippers with a Sticky Chilli Sauce
Sweet Potato Wedges with a Creamy Paprika Dip
Drinks & Sweet Treats
Red Velvet Beetroot Cakes
Bursting Breakfast Muffins
Chia, Chocolate and Raspberry-Layered Sundae
Grilled Vanilla Peaches and Cream
Get-up-and-Go Breakfast Protein Smoothie
Green Super Smoothie
Brad’s Banana Milkshake
Full of Berries Smoothie
Beetroot, Apple and Ginger Booster Juice
Protein Snowballs
Skinny Cranberry Cosmo
Grapefruit and Gin Cucumber Cooler
Strawberry and Vanilla Mojito
Elderflower and Prosecco Fizz
Connie’s Coconut Colada
CHAPTER 4 MAINTAINING YOUR GOAL
Acknowledgements
List of searchable terms
Alphabetical List of Recipes
About the Publisher
Dear Reader,
Firstly, I can’t thank you enough for reading my book. By doing that, you’ve already found the motivation and drive to become the best version of yourself, so be proud. Regardless of where you are in your health and fitness journey, my book will support, motivate and educate you at every step.
There are no short cuts to becoming healthier and fitter, but there are small changes you can make that lead to massive results – trust me.
From now on, let this book forever be your health and fitness mentor, guiding you from start to finish on your journey, whatever that may be.
Stay focused, never lose sight of your goal and, most importantly, learn to enjoy it.
Bradley Simmonds
INTRODUCTION
I don’t want Get It Done to just be a healthy recipe book. I want it to be a resource that helps you to figure out exactly what you want to achieve, then takes you on a journey to making that goal a reality. Whether you want to lose weight, build muscle tone or simply lead a healthier and more balanced life, this book will provide you with the right tools.
SO WHY THIS BOOK?
I know there are lots of health and fitness books out there, so why pick up Get It Done? I’ll tell you why:
Nutrition and fitness is my job. As a former professional sportsperson, now personal trainer, I’ve had access to the best nutritional and fitness advice out there since I was a kid. I know this area inside out, and I’m passionate about health and wellness.
I’ve been where you are. I’ve come back from career-halting injuries, weight gain, frustration and unhappiness all through eating the right food and moving the right way for my body and my goals.
Over 200,000 people follow me on Instagram @bradleysimmonds for fitness inspiration and motivation – so I reckon I must be doing something right!
I am uncompromising in my pursuit of health, fitness and wellbeing, and I will push you to be the same.
ABOUT ME
MY REALISATION
I didn’t always want to be a personal trainer, in fact at school and growing up it didn’t even cross my mind. As far as I was concerned I was a footballer and nothing else; I managed to get pretty far, playing for Chelsea FC and Queen’s Park Rangers.
My last six months as a footballer were spent on the tranquil island country of Iceland, playing for ÍBV Vestmannaeyja. Iceland is one of the world’s most beautiful places and the Icelanders’ active lifestyles and love of fresh food really rubbed off on me. Now looking back, my time in Iceland marked a turning point in my career. It was also the first time I had lived away from home without a big group of friends and my huge family near by.
In my spare time, I explored the landscape and immersed myself in the culture of Iceland, which, incidentally, was recently voted the healthiest nation in the world. This didn’t surprise me; with lobster and fish being their equivalent to our steak and chicken, Icelandic people have an extremely lean diet full of essential fats and omega 3.
I’ve always loved to cook, but my passion for cooking healthy food with good-quality produce began in Iceland. I lived with David James, ex Liverpool and England goalkeeper. He was pretty strict when it came to his diet, refusing my butter and Marmite on toast on cheat days. However, when it came to my super-lean chilli con carne, he couldn’t refuse!
The healthy eating and active lifestyle got me my first ever six-pack. You may laugh, but this was a personal goal of mine! Now, with the knowledge I have, I’ve been able to maintain it. Don’t get me wrong; it’s definitely not easy, but when you want something enough, you find the motivation.
FOOTBALL 1 BRADLEY 0
My time as a footballer was amazing. From ages 7 to 19 I travelled across Italy, Spain, Portugal and Greece to France, Holland and Belgium and, naturally, I picked up the tactics of opposing teams – including how they fuelled themselves before a game! (My interest in health and fitness developed from there, but I’ll come back to that later.)
This chapter came to an abrupt end when I suffered a couple of serious injuries: first an ACL tear in my knee, followed by a fractured ankle. These were huge setbacks, at a vital time in my career. At 20 years old I should have been playing first-team football, but instead I was looking at the four walls of a physio room. I was angry and frustrated with myself and my body. I’d always been fearless on the pitch – that was my strength – but that strength had ultimately been my undoing. I knew it was only a matter of time before I was replaced.
On top of that, I was losing motivation and my passion for football, particularly because I’d gone from exercising every day, to not exercising at all and not changing my eating habits. And – you guessed it – my body fat percentage increased. Nothing major, but I noticed it and I felt uncomfortable and frustrated. But instead of feeling sorry for myself, I did something about it.
I began working out in the gym, mainly upper body due to my injuries, and realised I couldn’t eat what I wanted anymore. All the lessons on nutrition as a footballer really started to become useful, and I found myself educating my whole family – that’s my mum, dad, two brothers James and Elliott and my sister Connie – on the best foods to eat and encouraged them to get more active, even if it was just power walking.
‘THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE FOR ME WAS MY WEIGHT. I LOST WEIGHT, ESPECIALLY AROUND MY MIDDLE AREA, AND HAVE BEEN ABLE TO KEEP IT OFF. I THINK THE HEALTHY SWAPS AND REDUCING THE AMOUNT OF SUGAR I ATE IS THE MAIN REASON.’
MY MUM
At that time, all six of us were living at home. Mum cooked dinner and it had to be quick, easy and not too expensive. So you can imagine it was a bit of a challenge to get us off our favourite white pasta, potatoes and white rice! My dad was the most resistant. He’s pretty stubborn (like father, like son…) and didn’t realise how bad his diet was until he wrote a food diary for me.
But I managed to persuade the gang to put in place small changes – like swapping white rice for brown rice and reducing portion sizes – that made a big difference. We also stopped buying white bread and stuck to sourdough or rye bread. At first the change was difficult. They were used to everything being so sweet, so the food seemed bland in comparison, but gradually my mum and dad realised these darker breads had more flavour than our previous family favourite white loaf and that we were less bloated and had a lot more energy. Further down the line, we made the switch to better vegetable and nut oils and substituted white potatoes for sweet potatoes or root vegetables. More good fats and less starch in our diets made weight loss easier, and we began experimenting with herbs and spices. One of the factors that made the biggest obvious difference was reducing the amount of sugar in our diets. We cooked as much as we could from scratch to avoid added or hidden sugar. Sugar has more of an impact on your life than you realise, believe me.
‘I ACTUALLY FEEL QUITE BAD FOR HOW MOODY I WAS. THE AMOUNT OF HEADACHES I WOULD GET WAS UNREAL, PROBABLY EVERY DAY. REMOVING REFINED SUGAR FROM MY DIET AND AVOIDING WHITE PASTA AND BREAD HAS ACTUALLY BEEN ESSENTIAL FOR MY WELLBEING, WEIGHT AND PERSONALITY.’
CONNIE, MY SISTER
After a short while, I began to notice that my dad was in a much better mood and his skin had improved. My sister’s mood swings had disappeared and as a whole the family was losing weight. Seeing how much my entire family benefitted from improving their diet and changing their ingrained unhealthy habits, I found a new passion: helping people transform their lives into healthier ones, starting with my own. That’s when I googled ‘How to be the best personal trainer’.
BECOMING A PERSONAL TRAINER
After years of being an athlete, I began my journey as a personal trainer in 2015, aged 20. While still recovering from my injuries and without a salary, I put all my life savings into a personal training course. I’m a strong believer that everything happens for a reason, so despite the horrific injuries, I’m now thankful for them as they’ve taken me on a journey that I love.
For me the marker of a good personal trainer is their ability to motivate their client and make them feel better in themselves and about their body. In a session with a client I’m serious and focused because that’s what I expect my client to be. Nevertheless, my workouts are fun, varied and undoubtedly get results.
I really enjoy the social aspect of my job; nothing is instant and building relationships with my clients and the people I train with is a massive highlight of what I do. I’ve enjoyed many perks and have travelled to the most beautiful places, including Monaco, Dubai, Barbados and Arizona, training with interesting, inspiring people.
I WAS VERY RELUCTANT TO JOIN IN WITH THE SWAPS AND LIKED TO THINK I WASN’T ACTUALLY EATING THAT MUCH SUGAR. IT DEFINITELY IS AN ADDICTION. I STILL CRAVE SOMETHING SWEET AFTER DINNER BUT WE ALWAYS HAVE DARK CHOCOLATE IN THE FRIDGE FOR THAT.’
MY DAD
I love sharing my knowledge with clients and learning from others in the field. I’ve always believed that everyone you meet knows something you don’t. This philosophy is a great one for the stubborn people out there; don’t think you know best, we are always evolving.
It’s definitely a lot more admirable when someone admits they can be healthier or can work harder. For me there is nothing worse than someone who is ‘proud’ to be unhealthy.
SOCIAL MEDIA CHANGED EVERYTHING
My first job was at Virgin Active Gym, Chiswick. I’d ride my dad’s bike to and from work every day, then train clients all day. However, even though I was working as much as I possibly could, I knew I couldn’t help everyone in the gym. But honestly, I really wanted to.
By watching people in the gym struggle with technique, fear creativity and clearly lack confidence, it gave me the idea to post fitness videos on my Instagram. That way I could help a lot more people and showcase my style of training. Some people laughed as it was such a new concept; others found it extremely useful and motivating.
My followers began to grow and I plucked up the courage to approach some more high-profile clients to gain credibility, exposure and to build my brand.
TRAINING CELEBRITY CLIENTS AND ATHLETES...
Made in Chelsea was the hit show at the time, so I contacted the female cast members offering free personal training sessions in exchange for exposure. Luckily, Sophie Hermann and the Watson sisters took up the offer and became my new clients. As my profile grew, my videos became more and more popular and people who were inspired by me and my style would tag me in their videos.
Ücretsiz ön izlemeyi tamamladınız.