Personal Training

On: failure

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If you try to do too much in one go, you’ll fail.

You’ll fail because change requires effort and energy to sustain and you only have so much of it to go around.

Getting up earlier requires going to be earlier. But you can’t do that if you have commitments that keep you busy.

Cleaning up your diet requires knowledge, planning, effort.

Going to the gym is bullshit. I love gyms, they’re generally my safe place, but they are not the panacea sold by fitness grifters. Gyms are a place of effort, learning, painful self reflection. Go when you are ready for the lesson and can take humility in your kitbag.

Meditation and mindfulness are not solutions, they’re tools. If you can’t accept the dancing monkeys in your head, you’re not going to want to spend any time with them.

And after all that negativity?

Get rid of something. Less is far easier to manage than more.

Stop drinking. Stop smoking. Stop scrolling. If you can’t, accept you might have an addition issue and ask for support.

Walk more, drive less.

Throw out something from your house. It’s almost certainly clutter and there’s a probability someone else could benefit.

Positive deeds are loops. One feeds another. Make space for positive things.

We can offer some of this support.

An exercise review. A safe space to work through basic coaching issues, treatment to give your body space in itself to heal. A motivating kick and gentle reminder that being human takes effort but is worth it.

But make space. Do less, just do less better.

Be kind, be curious.

The big secret the fitness industry doesn’t want you to know.

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They’re lying to you. They have been for years and maybe even they’re lying to themselves.

They’re selling you all these messages and machines and plans and regimes. And they’re not going to work, leaving you disappointed and looking for the next big secret. The next short cut.

So, what is the secret they don’t want you to know?

Exercise won’t make you lose weight. Diet won’t get you fitter.

All the booty classes and HIIT training and smoothies and shakes don’t work alone.

Maybe if you’re running 5-6 hours plus a week then yes. You may lose some weight. You are going to create a significant enough caloric deficit to see a difference. But not much and not for a sustained period. If you don’t back it up with a solid refuelling and recovery strategy.

You’ve got to do both, in the correct proportions.

Look at a visually super fit person, that influencer, gym bunny. Not only are they exercising frequently, they’re looking after their nutrition. They’re not completing the circuit class and immediately down the coffee shop for a syrupy latte. The inside is reflected on the outside.

Exercise is for fitness, nutrition is for weight management. The combination leads to improved health. Which is reflected in your physique.

You don’t need their latest method or protocol or supplement. It’s been said before but you don’t like it because it’s hard and slow and repetitive and dull.

  • Eat to sustain activity, refuel and recover.
  • Eat occasionally for pleasure.
  • Exercise to improve muscle mass
  • Exercise to improve cardiovascular health
  • Exercise to maintain balance and skill
  • Exercise because it’s fun
  • Do it regularly and seek healthcare advice when something seems wrong for a while.

Simple is not the same as easy. But consistency and iteration works.

On: Simple

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Simple is not easy.

Its simple to do the right thing in any situation, but most of the time it is neither easy to discern, nor to act on.

The discernment is the first and possibly most challenging step. This requires much reflection and patience.

Once you have identified the overall goal, it is easier to understand the steps to progressing.

To simplify, and once you have removed the obviously superfluous, you can also:

  • Delegate
  • Habituate
  • Automate

If there is something that you do daily, can you automate it? Is there a way of making technology support you, so you don’t need to worry about it?

If you can afford it and have no love for it, or no skill for it, can you delegate it?

If you have to do it yourself, can you make it a habit so that it is an unconsious process?

Looking at 2 common goals, weight loss and fitness.

Very broad brush and one reason why most people fail is that there is no end point, and therefore no positive feedback or marker of success.

Rather than weight loss, focus on improving a marker for health thats pertinent to your, whether that is HbA1c (a long term marker of blood sugar), cholesterol, blood pressure and so forth. The changes you will make to improve those will often have a positive side effect of improving your weight as well. Or, improve your height to waist ratio, which will have the same outcome.

How? Simplify – remove the things from your cupboards that you know tempt you, or ask people to reduce your access to them. Delegate: See input from a qualified professional who can provide both motivation and expert guidance towards your goal, not just an internet celebrity. Automate: Set up reminders,

With fitness, choose an event you wish to complete. Then tell people about it. By putting a public commitment up, you will have more drive to do the work necessary to succeed. And you will improve your fitness almost as a side effect.

Distraction

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What’s stopping you from making progress?

How do you even know if you are?

Far too many of us turn up to a gym environment, do random things, post about it on a social media channel, and leave again, thinking we are training.

That’s not training bro, that’s messing around.

If you’re mid way through a long cardio session, where you simply have to keep moving for a prescribed time or distance then perhaps letting your mind wander is no bad thing. Especially if it’s getting tough and listening to something else allows you to continue.

But for the rest of us, get your mind out of your phone and into your muscles.

Focusing on your form, the load, the way your muscles are moving has been shown to improve performance significantly, so why throw a free benefit away?

No one on Facebook is going to change your body, only you can. No one on instagram really cares about your latest posed bicep shot.

Stop distracting, start performing.

On: scheduling

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There are 5 main barriers to exercise and lifestyle change.

  • Enjoyment
  • Access
  • Convenience
  • Affordability
  • Environment

Enjoyment: if you don’t enjoy the activity you aren’t going to be able to sustain it. This is not the same as not enjoying it during, when it’s challenging and perhaps painful, but whether it provides a sustainable level of enjoyment that reinforces its benefits over the discomfort.

Access: if you can’t access the appropriate facilities to support the activity then you aren’t going to participate. For example, if you like swimming but the nearest pool is 15 miles away then you are not going do it. Similarly, if the only gym is in a building with stairs and you are less mobile then you won’t go.

Convenience: you’ve found an activity you enjoy and a place to do it. But the timing is wrong, the only available slots or classes are when you are at work, or putting the kids to bed then you aren’t going to make it work.

Affordability: even if the location is good, it’s an activity you enjoy, and the timings are convenient. Another block is affordability. If you cannot afford it you simply won’t be able to do it.

Environment: you’ve got the activity, you’ve got the access, you’ve got the convenience. You can even afford it. The last one is environment. If it feels wrong, or doesn’t allow you to feel right then you won’t do it. From dark streets in the ending preventing you in feeling confident running, gym bros laughing and filming everything, to a crowded and cluttered family lounge preventing a home workout, the environmental barriers can be quite subtle but significant.

Simply being aware of these potential barriers can help all concerned, from health and exercise professionals to patients and clients, plan and adapt their goals to better serve their outcomes.

On: teaching the basics

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Following a conversation post training, I was pondering on knowing the basics. We so often absorb information and forget that, for many, the things we are talking about is brand new.

For example, the reasoning behind certain elements within a coaching program may be to access fast twitch or slow twitch fibres, depending on the desired outcome. For those who don’t do physiology, these are the different fibres within the muscles that have different properties and roles and require different inputs from a training plan.

Similarly, when we are providing therapeutic interventions of any form, the client almost certainly doesn’t have our background, or training, so you one may need to provide education under the radar to allow them fully informed consent. This also helps you by working through the elements of the treatment, which can further reinforce your technique and skill.

So, as a client of any practitioner, I encourage you to ask questions if you don’t understand something, so that the understanding can spread and grow.

What cost fitness?

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What cost fitness?

Occasionally, people complain about gym prices, the cost of personal trainers and kit.

Only occasionally though. Because if you understand the value, you wouldn’t complain about the cost. Other than kit. There’s always a new shiny toy to try, and past a certain point, none of which will really improve your performance.

If you’re stronger, you’re less likely to die early, unforeseen events excepting. If you’re fitter, you are more likely to survive a hospital admission (being admitted to hospital is really bad for your health). If you’re healthier, life seems easier, because you have a greater capacity for stress.

Now, fitness is different to wellness. Wellness is a never-ending feast of rubbish, where a huge number of people, both honest and exploitative play. You might benefit from a yoga and meditation session (both are demonstrably good for you), but you don’t need yoni steaming and jade eggs. And you certainly don’t need to spend 300 pounds on any of them.

Fitness is far more measurable and relatable.

At the most basic, you need nothing more than you already have to improve your fitness, other than knowledge.

However, if you know nothing, then the next step is to ask an expert, or at least a professional. This is where gyms, trainers and such come in.

Do not ask the internet, as you have no filter on what is good or bad. As an internet guru, I could tell you to do 5k every other day and 50 burpees for breakfast but if you’ve got a medical condition, or an injury, or the most exercise you take is picking up the remote when you turn off your laptop after working from home all day, then I may actually kill you. Unlikely, but possible.

Instead, find someone you can have a conversation with, who can answer pertinent questions and give you honest answers. You may need to pay for their time but hey, you wouldn’t ask your next door neighbour to help fit a kitchen unless they are already skilled in it.

If you can’t afford that route, then go to the library and read a book. Lots of fitness people have written books and at least they’re relatively validated. And the walk there is a good start.

So, to loop back to the start, pricing. A gym has significant running costs, a personal trainer is not working 40 hours a week and is self employed. In the end, it is a return on investment question “am I getting out what I am paying in?”

As an example, a local CrossFit box charges £75 per month for 3 sessions a week. But for that you are getting equipment, expertise, time, and a quality environment. A local council gym may charge £30 a month, but you won’t be getting the expertise and programming, so you’d better know what you’re doing on your own (hint- that 12 reps/3sets on each machine will rapidly lead to plateau and boredom).

How does this tie in to us? We are professionals. We treat injuries, and have over 20 years of working with people. We coach, and work with trainers who actually care and understand their jobs.

If you want to live longer, healthier and perhaps even happier, come talk to us.

The first step is the hardest, but the most rewarding.

On: Movement

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Note: if you’re a seasoned gym goer, this isn’t going to be for you.

Leggings and trainers on, new t shirt, new attitude.

Old body.

A common problem. You’ve got your new motivation, goals set and defined, but after a couple of days, you’re sore, stiff and tired.

Your body hasn’t had time to learn.

If you haven’t moved and exercised vigorously for a while, then time is needed for your soft tissue to change, to adapt, and begin to grow.

And, if you’re a little older, then you need show your body some love to clear the worst of the scar tissue and old injuries first.

From zero, walk. From walking, move weights, from weights and walking to increased cardiovascular load (running, cycling, swimming, rowing etc) and more frequent / intense weights.

Your overall goal should be 3 -4 sessions a week of decent cardio, with an elevated Heart and Breathing rate, and 2 sessions of Resistance Work. If you do CrossFit in a good box, or circuit training classes, you can get this in one session, but anything is good.

If you find injuries that need addressing, niggles that need support, or want a more individual plan based on your body, experience and goals, then contact us, or a professional near you.

Move, you evolved to.

On: Consistency

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You are what you do.

Not what you think, read, talk about or present online. They all play a role in your self talk, but they are not you.

You are what you do. Just as your body is made up of what you consume, your mind is as well.

Choose your inputs for your desired outputs.

Want to be functionally more effective? Model those who are, with applied thought. Want a different path? Observe, reflect, change and do.

Not everyone has the physiology to be an Olympic athlete, not everyone has the mental capacity to be a theoretical physicist, but you are far more capable than you think.

So find those current boundaries and explore them, supporting yourself with good inputs, solid relationships and measurable outputs.

We are here to help you start that journey, from physical therapies to starter PT concepts.

Upgrade the mind, optimise the body.

On: Beyond movement

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There are the eight prescribed movement patterns: flex, extend, rotate, push, pull, squat, lunge, walk.

But beyond that is the ability to do them smoothly and under load.

For example, when out walking, without losing step, run your fingers along the ground. That involves walking, flexing, lunging and an element of rotation.

Now repeat the action raising your hand over head to touch a tree leaf. Again, walking, extending, rotation.

The more complex the move, the more we challenge our neuromuscular system, the less spare capacity we have and greater the risk of subtle injury due to compromise.

Therefore, we should train these elements. Not just the standard gymrat moves, but through play.

Look at an object and play with it. A plate carried overhead. A tree branch that can be climbed on or over, or under. A line on the pavement to walk along, skip over, or walk backwards over.

Look at the environment as a playground, and use it to improve the way you move.

Injury proof yourself through play.