Trainer says his eight-week plan will get you in shape

CJ Scally, an experienced personal trainer, has condensed his expertise into a new book, ‘Your 8 Week Plan’.

CJ Scally, originally from Auburn Village, started training in 2010 and realised that he loved lifting weights: “It’s a big part of my life, even today I still go four to five times a week, I absolutely love it.”

Realising how positive and energised he felt after training, he decided he could make a career in the industry, and graduated from the University of Limerick in 2013 with a qualification in personal training, exercise and health, Level 6.

He says his new book will help those who want to lose weight, as well as those who want to use the gym to get in shape.

“If you’re looking to start in the gym, you want to have the confidence to go knowing that you have a good idea [of the exercises] because you’ve read the book, you’ve practised what you’re going to do at home, you’ve maybe written down a plan in a notebook, you have a good idea of how you’re going to perform the exercises without getting injured.

“That is a great incentive to purchase the book, to gain that knowledge - and also to get creative with food.

“The book is packed with tasty, healthy recipes that you can try at home, and that are high in satiety and full of protein.”

Asked what he believes the key to losing weight is, CJ suggested moving more and eating foods that are filling – such as eggs, meat like chicken, fish, steak, potatoes. "Those foods are high in satiety and they’re good for you and a lot of them are high in protein, Greek yogurt is another example, and by eating those, we are less likely to binge on trigger foods,” he said.

He says it’s better not to think about foods as good and bad: “If you have a diet that’s high in good protein foods, you’re not going to be binging so much on biscuits – instead of eating the whole packet, you might have one or two with a cup of tea, because you’re feeling full, because your diet is so rich on the healthy foods.

“So, not to demonise biscuits, but they were what I’d call trigger foods, as in it’s hard to get full eating them, you’re not going to fill yourself eating biscuits, and that’s why people binge on them.”

A fundamental, says CJ, is moving more: “Make the gym part of your lifestyle, not a chore – or if the gym isn’t for you, find something that you really enjoy doing.

"I like to tell people about non-exercise activity thermogenesis - walking to work instead of driving, mowing the grass, things that you do in your everyday that aren’t going to the gym, not sports related but you’re moving, expending more energy, so like I say, going for a walk taking the stairs instead of using the lift. All these things are going to help you get into shape."

• ‘Your 8 Week Plan’ is for sale in Just Books, Mullingar, Athlone bookshop, and on Amazon.