I decided our latest blog would be sharing some of the things I’ve learnt working in the fitness industry for over 25 years and now being alive for 45 years.
I’ve seen a lot of things come and go in that time, but, some things stand the test of time. I hope they resonate or give you the reader some food for thought
1. THERE ARE NO QUICK FIXES. Humans are impatient, we want it and we want it now!!!
If for example you are on a weight loss journey did you put all the weight on over a couple of weeks?
Of course not, so, its preposterous to expect to lose all the weight in a couple of weeks.
2. ENJOY THE JOURNEY. I used to always ask people their short and long term goals. Even today when a new client walks in, they know exactly how much weight they want to lose. I have no issue with people having goals, but, if you focus solely on that you probably wont enjoy the process and probably wont be happy even once you’ve reached your goal. Fall in love with the process and all your dreams become reality
3. ACTIONS ARE ALL THAT COUNTS. Your words mean nothing, don’t tell me what you are going to do, show me.
4. HONESTY. Surround yourself with people who are honest with you. Once your ego gets over the initial shock of someone actually telling you the truth progress in any area of your life can be incredibly rapid
5. EMPATHETIC. Be honest without being a dick, you can be truthful without destroying someone
6. RAW NERVES. If you are lucky enough to have someone be completely honest with you and it hits raw nerves, suck up your courage and dig deep in to why it hit such a raw nerve. It’s usually only because you already think/know what they said is true and they have brought it to the surface
7. BE KIND TO YOURSELF. You are human hence you are flawed, when you make mistakes in your life, own it completely, learn from it and MOVE ON. Stop replaying it over and over, HINT- As much as you want it wont change
8. GIFT VOUCHERS. Over the years I’ve had many well-meaning people want to buy gift vouchers so their friend/partner/family member can start the journey towards a healthier life. THEY NEVER WORK. It only ever works when YOU have decided to change your lifestyle
9. WHAT’S YOU WHY? You need to spend a lot of time thinking about what’s YOUR main reason you want to exercise, eat healthy etc. Motivation/Will-Power is finite, it runs out, but if you have a strong why it will make a huge difference when you just can’t be bothered. It needs to be personal and important to you. I trained a mum years ago who would get up at 4am to exercise. She would train then because she ran her own business and that was the only time she could dedicate to her exercise. She ran her business primarily to pay for her 3 daughters to go to private school. Their education was the most important thing in her life. If she DIDN’T exercise she couldn’t cope with being a mum and running her business so her WHY was very strong.
10. NOTHING BEATS A MOTHERS LOVE. Love you mum!
11. AESTHETICS. I live in the real world, I’m not going to say aesthetics don’t matter. BUT, they don’t define you, You are a lot more than that. Remember that
12. CREATE A ROUTINE. One of the first things I do with a new client is map out how their week looks on paper. That way we can set a realistic routine that is sustainable. THEN STICK TO IT!! The ONLY excuse I believe is acceptable to step away from that is if you are sick or your family member is sick. Everything else is just an excuse.
13. THE ENERGY EQUATION. If you want to lose weight you need to burn up more energy than you consume. People don’t like that simplicity but its fact. Eat less, move more and see what happens
14. USE OBJECTIVE MEASURES TO TRACK PROGRESS. I use 4 objective measures to track a client’s physical progress in regards to body composition changes. Mass(scales), Skinfolds (calipers), Photos, Clothes. If we can use those 4 objective measures you get a really good overall picture of body composition change
15. TRAIN SAFELY. The number of people that begin a training regime and attempt to go from 0-100 is crazy. If you are deconditioned this increases the likelihood of injury greatly. This is dangerous and it really just stems from impulsivity and impatience. If you could lose all the weight you wanted and knew that 3 years from now it would still be off would you care if that took you 6, 12, 18 months.
16. PROGRESSIVELY OVERLOAD. The volume and intensity of training your body can tolerate is irrelevant, to me anyway. The key principle to improve is to keep progressively overloading. Lift more weight, reduce rest periods, increase the number of sets/reps, increase the time under tension. There is a myriad of variables you can play around with, they key is to keep providing extra stimulus to the body. The body will not change with status-quo
17. >PROBLEMS AND PERSPECTIVE. With all the luck of being born in a first world country, and a country that gives anyone who works a high standard of living keep trying to gain perspective on what’s really a problem in your life. If something seems a big problem and troubling you, step back and put it up on the windowsill. Will it still be a problem in 12months? 6 months? 3 months? 1 month? 1 week? If not, is it REALLY a big problem or just a natural part of the ups and downs of life.
18. GRATITUDE. If you are feeling flat try this neat little trick in the morning. Think of 3 things in your life you are grateful for. Watch how quickly your mindset shifts and you have a warm heart and great day.
19. USE YOUR EARS MORE/MOUTH LESS. This is one I’ve had to work on especially. You build better relationships, uncover better solutions and become a better person when you can improve at this
20. NOONE WRITES YOUR STORY BUT YOU. Many people will tell you something is impossible, or at least highly improbable. If you have something burning inside your belly go after it with all you have because you will feel fully alive and your soul will become on fire. It’s the ultimate irony of life also, if you want to become happy, be uncomfortable. True inner happiness comes from overcoming challenges and growing self-esteem.
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