Mumford - The Accumulator: the revolutionary 30-day fitness plan

Bloomsbury Sport

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This electronic edition published in 2015 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

First published 2016

Paul Mumford, 2016

Paul Mumford has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as Author of this work.

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British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

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Library of Congress Cataloguing-in-Publication data has been applied for.

ISBN: PB: 978-1-4729-1894-9

ePDF: 978-1-4729-1896-3

ePub: 978-1-4729-1895-6

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Cover photographs: EddieMacdonald, 2016

Inside photographs: EddieMacdonald, 2016, Shutterstock,

Getty Images, Paul Mumford

Art editor: Louise Turpin

Bloomsbury Publishing Plc makes every effort to ensure that the papers used in the manufacture of our books are natural, recyclable products made from wood grown in well-managed forests. Our manufacturing processes conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin.

CONTENTS

Accumulating knowledge

GREEK PHILOSOPHER PLATO SAID THAT HUMAN BEHAVIOUR FLOWS FROM 3 MAIN SOURCES: DESIRE, EMOTION AND KNOWLEDGE".

YOU ALREADY HAVE THE DESIRE AND EMOTION, SO LETS START BY DISCOVERING HOW THE ACCUMULATOR CAME TO BE AND HOW IT CAN WORK TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE FOR THE BETTER.

Who is this book for?

A S A SPECIES WE HAVE EVOLVED OVER MILLIONS OF YEARS TO BECOME THE MOST DOMINANT FORCE ON THIS PLANET. OUR BODIES ARE CAPABLE OF MANY INCREDIBLE THINGS WE HAVE ALL THE EQUIPMENT WITHIN US TO ENABLE US TO RUN LONG DISTANCES, LIFT AND CARRY HEAVY LOADS, CLIMB TO THE HIGHEST POINTS ON EARTH, PUSH, PULL, JUMP, TWIST, SHIFT AND MOVE IN MYRIAD OF AMAZING WAYS. WE HAVE LEARNT TO SURVIVE ON FOOD PROVIDED BY NATURE AND HOW TO THRIVE IN THE MOST INHOSPITABLE ENVIRONMENTS.

Despite all of this, we have become victims of our own success. In the modern world, the human race does not need to do many of the incredible things our bodies are built for because we have invented gadgets to do it for us. We feed ourselves on products created in laboratories and rely less and less on the natural food our bodies are used to and have evolved to thrive upon. As a result, our bodies no longer work as they were intended to and, as a species, we are suffering from a long list of health problems and diseases.

The more Ive learnt about human evolution, the more I worry about what the future holds for all of us if we continue on this path. This book is my response to the need to change. I want you to discover how to move again, and to move in a way that your body wants you to. You may already go to a gym, but are you really pushing your body in the right direction to make it work to its best potential and therefore give you the best out of life? I also want you to consider how you eat and to challenge your relationship with food. Do you put food in your mouth that will work to make you healthy and strong, or that can potentially lead to sickness and therefore make you weak? Many exercise plans, workout books and fitness DVDs on the market assume we are capable of going from zero to hero at the drop of a hat. We are all so fired up that we are ready to get up and go. We want to work out and work out hard. What often happens next, however, is that many of us find the experience to be so far out of our comfort zone that we give up very quickly and order a pizza.

The Accumulator is different. Whatever your current activity level and weight, I believe you will get something from this book. If youre on the first rung of the ladder to health and fitness, this book will get you to the top, one step at a time, day by day. If you already love the gym and consider yourself to have a good level of fitness, this book will challenge the way you think and make you see exercise in a new way for ever. It even comes with access to an online community who will be taking part with you, together with a library of resources to help you along the way.

The information and exercises in The Accumulator plan are designed for anyone aged between 18 and 65 with no medical conditions or physical restrictions that may hinder their ability to exercise safely. I also assume that you have no special dietary requirements, intolerances or allergies. When using this book, you need to be aware of your personal physical health. In order to avoid injury or health problems, you should check with your doctor before beginning any fitness regime and be aware that you follow health, fitness and exercise advice at your own risk.

cigarettes and alcohol

Ill admit I used to smoke 20 plus per day and drink regularly but giving both up were amongst my wisest decisions. Alcohol is a subject I will touch on a little later in the book but if you do drink alcohol excessively or smoke, these can both clearly have a detrimental effect on your overall health and therefore the results you get from following the advice in this book.

So now is the time to discover where this all came from, learn how it all works and then were off. Start on Day 1 and dont look back. By the time youve followed everything in this book it should look well-loved; the spine should be broken, some of the pages will be folded and torn, there will even be the odd sweat stain. Thats fine I want you to use and abuse this book.