Love YOURSELF

LOVE YOURSELF

As many women (and men) these days are incredible muti-taskers and as super emotionally charged beings we tend, to put ourselves in lieu of the people that are closest to our heart. This is especially so for parents especially mothers, we are often always so involved with our little ones that we totally forget that we need to look after ourselves.

Well, is this is all necessary? At times I think yes- we must go through survival mode in order to get by. For example, my partner has recently been away for months, which means I have been in single mum mindset, trying to balance everything on the work, life front is not always easy. Fortunately, now because  I have more normality, i must think of ways that I can actually thrive rather than survive. In retrospect, If i were to to successfully ever be in this situation again I must think of ways that I can love myself more so that i can actually be a better mother to my daughter.

So i'm here to challenge the thought of putting everyone before yourself, is this really actually more selfish than putting yourself before your loved ones?

Can you really be the best mum ever, if you don't go and have some of your own time, do a workout for example?, so that you can come back to your kids with all the happy hormones because you feel better about yourself for moving. Can you be the best mum if you choose poorly when it comes to food as you haven't prepared properly because you're rushing around everywhere for everyone else,  and gain as a result gain excess Kgs therefore your self esteem is on the floor?  Can you really be the best mum ever if you don't ever take time out for yourself and do your favourite yoga class which helps you to relieve the stress and strain of daily life, making you come back home as a peaceful mummy?

Kids are really sensitive, they can feel your vibe, when your rushed,  when you feel like shit, when you look like you've been run over by a bus, and you snap far too easily because because you are trying far top hard to please everyone else, and as a result your health and wellbeing is jeopardised,  your kids, your family and your friends they all feel this vibe. 

So what things can you do, even it's for 5 mins today that can help boost your confidence and allow you to LOVE yourself?

These examples of somethings that you could do in 5 mins are more simple than you might think and are definitely boost your mummy performance:

Examples

• Meditation
• Breathing
• Stretching
• Walking (you can take the kids with you)
• Push ups
• Sit ups
• Lunges
• Squats
• Meal preparation
• Sit out in the fresh air for 5 mins
• Listen to your favourite tune and have a secret dance by yourself.

So tell me what things will you do to love YOURSELF?

MACRONUTRIENTS: How to get Fit and Lean in the Kitchen this Summer

Confused with your nutrition which will help you to get the body you have always desired this summer? Well,  you are not alone. There are so many beliefs about the best ways to lose body fat, a myriad of different diets and fads, no wonder you feel befuddled with the all the information out there!

This article is a very simple guide to help set you up on the right track,  so you can achieve your ultimate bikini body for summer  for our 12 week to christmas challenge, minimising confusion along the way. If you are interested to learn even more more you can download MY FREE comprehensive report showing you how you can accelerate your fat loss and promote a leaner tighter body this summer here:

It is important to note that, we are all different and will respond differently to different nutritional protocols, therefore this information should be used as a guideline ONLY. You will need to tweak this for yourself and understand how your body responds to the directions, in order to achieve true success.

On any fat loss plan, you should strive to lose 1-2 lbs. per week, whilst a realistic goal for strength and muscle building is between 2-4kgs. Essentially,  if you haven't already done so, you will need to follow a nutritional protocol as soon as possible so that you can achieve the best results within a minimal timeframe.

CALORIES AND MACRONUTRIENTS (MACROS)- They all count!

You have three macronutrients which you need to take into consideration to get your body

working like a fat stripping machine for your 12 week transformation challenge.  You must include optimal levels for each and every macronutrient (that is protein, carbs and fat) into  your nutrition plan, and lose any preconceptions of completely cutting any particular  macronutrient, which you may think will allude to better results:

Your macronutrients are Carbohydrate, Fat and Protein and all have a particular energy density which all play specific and essential roles within the body.

One gram of each macronutrient, is equal to a certain number of calories and therefore

contains a certain amount of energy (measured in calories) according to the macronutrients' atwater factor. The energy density of each macronutrient certainly plays an important role in your fat loss plan.

Proteins, fats, and carbohydrates all have  a certain amount of calories (unit of energy) per gram. One gram of protein contains 4 calories, one gram of fat contains 9 calories, and one gram of carbohydrate contains 4 calories. Due to the energy density of each macronutrient you will need to subdivide your portions carefully per meal to promote the results that you want.

To keep things super simple for you; think about every main meal, your protein serving should be approximately the size of 1 palm of your hand for the ladies and 2 palms for the blokes. Carbohydrates 1/4 to 1/2 cup- if well tolerated for both genders and fats 1/3 the size of each serving.

Ever heard of the phrase that not all calories are created equally? Whilst this concept is true, if you are serious about losing body fat, you will definitely need to consider your overall calorie intake. This is due to the fact that, if your intake is its way over your expenditure you will pile the pounds on rather than rip them off your body.

If you're a food lover,  then maybe you eat all the healthy foods but can't understand why your not changing shape? If this is the case,  you should definitely check your portion sizes this might be sending your energy intake over the edge and as a result,  you could be stunting the potential of your results.  If you do tend to splurge on the portions, a top tip is to be more mindful, and appreciative of  each meal. Avoid being in a rush when you eat,  slow everything down, enjoy each bite and chew around 7 times before swallowing. Also,  actually focus on eating, so rather than eat whilst watching T.V eat at the dinner table where you have time to think about your meal a little more. 

ONLY Choose the calories that will nourish your body

It might be obvious to you yet, important to note;  whilst some foods are extremely nutrient dense for their ratio of calories  others have hardly any use for your body, and can wreck havoc on your hormones thus preventing fat burn. 

For example you could eat a 200kcal ice-cream or you could have a bowl of chopped carrots plus dip, (assuming this also equates to 200kcal). The calories in the ice-cream are nutrient empty, i.e ;full of the bad type of fats and sugars), whilst in the second choice of carrots and dips these are packed with nutrients which your body can use more effectively. So best to stick to the mother nature type of foods rather than anything packaged and chemically laced before it enters your mouth, so that you nourish your body as much as possible with the foods that you consume.

 Record Assess, Plan and Prepare. (RAPP)

Do the RAPP. An essential part of your transformation plan is to record and assess all your meals for at least three days and ideally 7 days. After each meal and beverage you need to describe how you feel. Also you should record your activities around your meals to make a more accurate distinction of your average daily intake Vs daily activity. Ge the ball rolling- download my FREE BODYWIZE 7-DAY NUTRITION DIARY HERE. It is fundamental to do this so your coach and/or yourself can assess your different reactions to the foods, your timings of foods around your activities, and your energy levels, so you can adapt your nutrition in order to lead to awesome results. This exercise is also an excellent way of keeping you accountable for your goals, so always a great idea to repeat this exercise regularly to keep you on track. Once you have recorded your nutrients over 7 days, and calculated your ideal calorie consumption, factoring in your optimal macronutrient intake for your goal, plus activity level you can then plan your grocery shop accordingly and prepare you meals ahead of the week. This will help you to stay focussed and get you to your goals much quicker. You can download a FREE copy of a Meal planner and shopping list here.

Nutrient Timing

Ever heard of the 'anabolic window of opportunity'? This sentiment refers to nutrient timing and its effects on establishing body composition improvements and exercise performance. The ' opportunity window' alludes to a lim

ited time exists after training to optimise training-related muscular adaptations. Worth considering,  as your training regime takes a significant ramp up, you should manipulate your protein and carbohydrate intake,  in particular around your training times.

Pre-training session-There are many interesting variables for this influence, such as exercise type.  For example, Studies have shown that minimising simple sugars before your workout will maximise fat oxidation- i.e you will burn more fat during your workout by reducing and/or eliminating sugar intake, in particular before an endurance training session. 

The post-exercise period is often considered the most critical part of nutrient timing (Aragon and Schoenfeld, 2013)  Our body tends to be much more sensitive and receptive around 1-2 hours post training, due to the events controlled by insulin (Levenhagen et al 2001). Nutrient selection is largely influenced by exercise type. Packing in particular macronutrients, around a resistance training session,  would differ from cycle class, for example.  So clearly we need to ingest the correct nutrients, at the correct times in order to achieve our fat loss goals within our timeframe. Providing your body with the perfect blend of carbohydrates protein as opposed to a mish mash of nutrients and calories  seems to allow for unequivocal results.  An example of this theory was found by Ivy et al.(2002). The authors  found that consumption of a combination of protein and carbohydrate after a 2+ hour bout of cycling and sprinting increased muscle glycogen content significantly more than either a carbohydrate-only supplement of equal carbohydrate or caloric equivalency. Argon and Schoenfild (2013) attribute the synergistic effects of protein-carbohydrate to a more pronounced insulin response.

Meal Frequency- Nibble or gorge?

Ever heard people yarp on about the fact that you must graze on 5-6 meals per day if you

want to improve your body fat percentage? I think this the biggest pile of dogs dinner the health and fitness industry wants you to believe, and its all a falsity. I know if i ate 6 meals a day i would blow up like a hippopotamus having a fat day. I know that I work much better with three meals. This isn't to suggest that 6 meals or 11 meals, might not work for you. This is my biggest piece of advice; find out what works best for YOU! Everyone is a different person,  with different reactions. Are you a nibbler or a gorger, what gives you the best results?  During a detailed review of the possible mechanistic explanations for a metabolic advantage of nibbling meal patterns, Bellisle et al (1997) failed to reveal significant benefits in respect of energy expenditure. In summary, consider your total amount of food consumed to determines the amount of energy expended during digestion. For example, eating 3 meals of 800 calories will cause the same thermic effect as eating 6 meals of 400 calories. There is literally no difference.

Mindset- consistency and PATIENCE!

I see people go charging into a fat stripping muscle building  routine all guns a-blazing, so to 

speak  yet, with-out setting themselves up for consistency as they have failed to plan properly. At the end of the day, your goal is to reduce body fat whilst increasing muscle mass AND you surely want to be able to maintain the results that we achieve from our hard work, therefore going in with the right mind set is a totally essential part of your plan so that you can stick at it through the tough stuff. Some clients fall into the trap of training and eating well for a couple of days then slacking off for a couple of days.  Always be mindful of the fact that a spasmodic approach to training and nutrition will slow your progress down. The more you can assess your weaknesses and strengths, the more you can create the right strategies for yourself,  so that you achieve success. There is no doubt that the mind will flip out sometimes so it's up to remember that you are in control and to tame yourself in to the course of action that will lead to your desired changes. Get your self on track by recording your goals in detail. Download your free copy of the Bodywize health fitness and goals assessment.

If you like this blog post you will LOVE to know more about the macronutrients in further

 detail and how you can manipulate the correct amounts of macronutrients according to your body composition goal in your transformation routine. 

You can download your FREE copy of my report explaining everything you need to know about how to lose fat and build your fitter healthier, firmer body in the kitchen here:  

HOW TO ACHIEVE YOUR ULTIMATE BIKINI BODY

SPRING IS ALMOST HERE, HOW IS YOUR BODY LOOKING?

We are just 3 short weeks away from spring time here in the beautiful eastern board of Australia, which means it's coming around to that time of year where we need to be able to confidently patrol the beach in our bikini without the threat of the dreaded involuntary hale

storm marking our butt, into a colossal orange peel nightmare.

I have formulated this blog series bikini body guide especially for you, to help prevent your body exposure panic and to help you to take  take serious action (eerr like yesterday..)

showing you how to boldly ramp up your training regime, so you can confidently parade your sexy curves in time for the big sun and beautiful bounding waves.

 Naturally, you may have slacked off during the cold season, gradually piling on the Kg's and your body and mind set may not  yet be up to the bikini mark. Knowing the comforts of the extra clothes during winter who can blame you? I can tell you that this is a perfectly normal reaction to the winter season cold discomforts, however NOW is the time you will need to dust off the winter cobwebs and start marching into a body super transforming training routine, allowing you to open your spring and summer wardrobe with excitement and pride. 

 If you are a super smart cookie,  you would have already prepared your body throughout the winter months, so that only minor adjustments to your training and nutrition would be required right now in order to achieve the tight abs and firm bottom.  (Keep that in mind for next year). At all costs, you are to avoid making the dreamy mistake of starting training in summer for summer. It would be fantastic if we could all click our fingers and strip down the layers of fat with the layers of clothes, however we know that hard work, dedication and persistence are the true keys to success. Consider structuring your training like an athlete - which is year round training achieving a peak at the point in the year, where you are aiming for the best results. 

So in essence; if you didn't start yesterday you need to start a protocol today. Even if you have those dirty excuses entering your head (i will start on Monday, i will do it when i come back on holiday, i'm not fit enough yet) STOP and think.  MMM maximal movement with minimal equipment with minimal time -with MMM,  there are no excuses.  Start TODAY because the only thing you will regret is NOT starting in the first place. Forwards is still a pace ladies!

Allow us to help you achieve a better body- If you feel keen and want to take this to the next step why not join our 90-DAY BIKINI BODY CHALLENGE? 

You might be thinking that it's  all very well to spend hours at the gym slowly sculpting the body into the bikini,  but for many of just this just might not be realistic, because possibly the damage has already been done?.  It is time for me to help you turn around the damage from sofa sprawl with comfort food, when you were supposed to be dating the squat rack at the gym. 

Eeeek! It's ONLY 3 weeks away from spring, so I imagine what you need right now is access to highly effective training routines and nutritional ideas that will strip the fat leaving you with a lean toned super fit body-right?

Here i am offering you some basic and general guidelines. Remember this is a blog series, so i absolutely will delve in deeper to each element which will allow you to achieve your best ever body- so stay tuned there are some really exciting things that are going to be happening along the way.

HOW TO ACHIEVE MAXIMAL RESULTS (your BEST beach body) IN THE  MINIMAL TIMEFRAME (for Summer)? 

In order to achieve the best possible body in the least possible time you are to address the E-ssential body basics, GOALS,  NUTRITION, TRAINING ROUTINE, RECOVERY ROUTINE

GOALS 

Remember your goals are, YOUR OWN GOALS. You're not your neighbour, your bestie or your

mum. You are you,  therefore your goals should be set for YOU. For a FREE comprehensive goal setting action plan document click here. It is super important that you set your goals properly and specifically address the WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT TO YOU. The deeper you can dig the more likely you are to stick to the plan so you achieve your goals. Setting your goals will enable you to form a SPECIFIC action plan and prevent you from wondering aimlessly. Goal setting is absolutely necessary to keep you on track and provides a purpose. Undoubtedly, there will be days where it will be harder than others to get out of bed for your training session, so establishing your goals, relative plan of action and a ascertaining the reasons WHY you must achieve your goals, will prevent you from indulging in the crappy negative habits.  This will keep you focussed on becoming the ultimate version of yourself  kicking on through all the way until the serene summer hits. So don't delay- write your goals, right NOW.

GOOD NUTRITION IS QUEEN 

A vast area to cover - nutrition. Without a shadow of a doubt,  adopting a wholesome nutritional protocol approach which firmly surrounds your training protocol is absolutely necessary for an awesome beach look and feel. Fuelling your body with the right foods, at the right times will maximise your hard efforts at the gym, not to mention, as the saying goes that 'you can't out exercise a bad diet'.  You don't want to undo all your hard work with a crappy eating regime drinking gallons of wine, which will outwit all your hard work in the gym, any day, any time.

Before your nutrition protocol is addressed,  you will need to record your current eating habits over 7 days. Click here for your very own FREE 7-day nutritional diary. It is then you will be able to determine, exactly where you can make the biggest impact in your eating, in order to maximise your results in the minimum time frame. Completing this small task, allows you to ascertain the most effective strategies you can employ to boost your results from the gym.

 Some general guidelines are:  It is paramount to eating your macronutrients (protein, carbs, fats) at the right ratio's and times during the day, whilst avoiding splurging on the bad stuff . I believe if you are eating all the nutrients you should, then you ought to be way too full to eat any rubbish. If you are craving particular foods constantly, such as chocolate, there is a chance that you could you be deficient in certain minerals within your current eating regime.

Portion sizes. Even if you are eating the good stuff, too much of the good stuff is not necessarily a good thing- this is still packing extra fuel in to your system. Ask yourself the intelligent question- is this fuel necessary for my training regime? So by all means load up on your veggies and salad, but also remember that your stomach has a size which usually equates the size of your both palms cupped. Try to eat slowly, chew on your food properly and eat when your hungry,  to avoid over eating. 

What's also worth considering is working around your meal timing  patterns. Don't feel bad that what your training buddy is doing is getting her results but not yourself- this will give the clues as to exactly what's not working for you. Remember that we are 100% individual therefore, what works for your best mate will not necessarily work for you. For example, In terms of the amount of meals per day. Are you a three meal a day girl or more of a grazer? Which strategy helps with you best with positive energy levels and helps you to avoid maintaining or gaining weight?  Once you have worked this out best to stick with your natural pattern if it helps you to avoid over- eating every kg of fuel needs to be put to use in order to get the best butt. 

Keep in mind that,  many poor food choices are made with poor preparation. Knowing that your nutrition preparation is 'Queen' invest some time each week in preparing your recipes, shopping list and meals for the forth coming days. Click here for your very own FREE shopping list and meal planner. This will prevent you from reaching for the lollies at the 3pm mark,  and piling on the pounds that you want to strip off for the beach. Your nutrition we will address in much further detail a little later,  but now let's discuss the most effective training you can do in a minimal time frame to produce maximal results.

FAT BLASTING, BODY BUFFING TRAINING ROUTINE

Once you have established your GOALS, prepared your awesome nutrition, you must super charge your training protocol so you can achieve that super sleek beach look. In order to MAXIMISE your results in a MINIMUM time frame your training routine should be progressive, fun and whole body- functional. If you have a desk job get up and move every single day.

The best body composition results come from encompassing a mix of routines over a three week period, which simply distorts your bodies idea of comfort and forces your body into adaptation mode, allowing you to achieve the results you set out to FAST. If you have prepared with your training over winter,  the good news is that you will more than likely achieve better results now as you ramp up your training protocol for the beach.

It is paramount to select the type of routines which are the most effective at fat stripping and build you up proportionally for an awesome aesthetically pleasing look. These tend to be a combination of  HIRT training, HIIT training and strength building, plyometric training.  Personally,  I have found that incorporating whole body routines with specific complexes provides the absolute best results in record time,  not forgetting to place particular attention to the areas of your posture and body which might be lagging in strength, definition and thus proportion. 

I will show you how you can do this later…so stay tuned.

 We want to spend as little time in the gym with the maximal effects and this comes down to cleverly designed exercise protocol. Because we are close to spring it's uber important now to be dusting off the winter cobwebs, and ramping up your training protocol significantly, in order to achieve your desired body and mind set.You must add variety to your training (a training stimulus) to shock your body, if you want to get the results. Have a serious clean up of your current routine. For example, get your mind out of only doing 3 sets of 10 (Yawn…) or only attending body pump classes for 10 years. Your body will only get certain results by following the same routine week after week. Why not go all out, and and get into some some progressive overload sweat lathering routines, yes it will be tough but at the end of the day, it's totally worth it.

Want an athletically pleasing look? Consider body proportion.  Be careful that you're not lead in to believing that females shouldn't build upper body,  this is simply will put you on the back foot.  Keep in mind that, that an awesome set of deltoids will offset the waist, well developed glutes will offset the legs. As the saying goes, a good waist line is  built in the kitchen.Try to avoid doing too many twist type sit ups as this simply will actually show as a thickened waist rather than narrowing the waist line. The best and quickest way you can define the legs is to incorporate simple plyometric types of exercises for the lower body. 

Invest in working with an an established exercise pro that will keep you accountable, you can train with a buddy or a group  to keep your health and fitness investment down. You could even try working in a new environment as a posed to the gym, you could enjoy training in the beautiful outdoors.  Include yourself in a challenge that will give you a deadline   Click here for my 90-day bikini body challenge details. 

To find out more about how to ramp up your training, join my Facebook page for more info. 

BEAUTY SLEEP (AND BREATHE….AND STRETCH)

Employing laser focus on your training PLUS your recovery will allow you to go from good quality results to a body that is ready for the beach. What strategies you choose to use during your recovery, will certainly influence the quality of your results. You should consider the following

1. Sleep- you will allow your body to recover the MOST effectively with the right amount of

sleep and quality of sleep. 8-9 hours per night plus, adopting a wind down regime so that your quality of sleep is awesome. Check out my sleep post for further info here sleep to health

3. Stretching and breathing- stretch to perform As the intensity of your training increases your recovery via stretching and breathing also increases. Your muscles need to be optimising at the correct length and tension in order for you to move properly. I like to use a number of different modalities such as dynamic stretching, foam rolling, static stretching, PNF, and assisted stretching too. Oxygen is LIFE- If you don't know how to breathe properly- chances are you may not be optimising your recovery or employing the correct breathing during your training sessions- for the type of training that you are doing. 

WRAP UP

That's a mere strip of the information to get you started. Stay tuned there is more coming your way. This is going to be your BEST summer body ever. 

Top 7 Tips to Choose The RIGHT Personal Fitness Coach

There seems to be a common buzz about the place, this time every year as people embark on the mammoth task of improving their health and fitness in some shape or form. There's no doubt that with an expert helping you along the way will enable to you achieve better results in the long term and the short term. 

Considering that most people will give up on their goals sometime after January, (if that) a professional will be able to help you to set your health and fitness goals properly so you actually achieve them and don't drop the ball so to speak.

There are so many bonuses to hiring a health and fitness professional upon your pursuit to healthiness- so what's the catch? In my opinion there are a myriad of different personal trainers who mostly all profess to helping you achieve your dreams and whilst the majority will help you achieve your goals,  there are a minority of trainers that will in no way be suitable for you and you will end up wasting your hard earned cash.

So how do you choose the right personal trainer for you? Here's my top 7 tips of your picking.

1. Experience and knowledge and the articulation of both of these key elements: If you are looking for high quality results you will need to invest more per session in an expert trainer. An expert trainer is someone who is able to understand health and fitness have significant experience within the industry plus is able to apply this understanding to your goals allowing you to succeed so you achieve results in the set time frame. It is all very well having experience and/or knowledge but if you have a trainer that doesn't apply this then you will need to seriously consider whether this trainer is right for you. Also consider the fact that experienced trainers, don't always stay on top of the current industry trends and training techniques, some get stuck on something from the 1980's, so if leg warmers aren't your forte then I suggest that you make it a must to do a little check first before you sign up. This is purely for the fact that exercise training is a science and being in this realm means that things change, so effective training methods should follow suit.

2. You pay for the service which is provided- if you pay cheap expect the results to be cheap….

I have trained many clients who have opted for the cheaper option with their previous trainer only to be left disappointed that they have not achieved any results. So in essence, you get what you pay for- if you want Chanel/Gucci you expect top quality clothing that lasts for a lifetime and the same goes with personal trainers if you buy from Supre, don't expect the clothes to stay in one piece or in trainers terms your results to be particularly outstanding.

3. Check out the profile board and also watch them interact with other clients. Check out the profile boards of the trainers on websites and in the gyms but don't just base your assumptions on the board, maybe have a look and see how the personal trainers are actually communicating and interacting with their clients. Are they sitting down and playing on their phone whilst the client works out or are they spotting and discussing training with the clients. 

4. Ask the trainer for a free trial session to confirm your thoughts. Usually PT's offer a first free consultation or a mini training session to showcase their skills and their knowledge around your health and fitness requirements. In consideration for the fact that this is 'personal' training you will need to make sure your personality types don't clash, are they listening to your needs, do you think they have the intelligence to help you to produce the results that you are paying for?

 5. Don't just pick a personal trainer because you (secretly) want to go out on a date with them.

I've seen this scenario so many times, and as soon as the trainer gets the sniff of your real intentions of join gout on a date with them, and they are just not that way into you, then your going to be very disappointed, not to mention, the poor trainer will feel deflated and awkward. Believe it or not, most of us PT's  actually want to help you and as much as we love you, we don't want to have a love affair with you. Pick a trainer based on their intelligence, their personality style blending with yours, their experience and their knowledge being able to apply these key components to your goals. Whilst it is nice to have someone who is good looking, this is no more than second priority to the above critical values.

6. Make-sure you pick a trainer who is specialised in your desired goal. There's a limited use in picking a trainer who is specialised in endurance training if you want to become an body builder and visa versa. Usually specialisations come with different personality types, you will find that a trainer who is specialised in body building will be much different in looks, style and personality than a trainer specialising in endurance. If you are looking for pre- post natal training try picking a trainer that is specialised in this area, and has actually been in the same situation themselves as they will be much more able to help you empathetically. 

7. Let the trainer show you the journey that you will undertake: Gold standard of professional exercise training is that your trainer insists on performing an initial evaluation and follow up measurements, so that they can track your progress towards your goals. Periodisation is an essential item to your training and your success, this is your plan of action according to where you stand right now in your fitness and where you can take it to. If this is not being performed then warning bells ought to be ringing in your head as to the trainers' skill articulation. 

Enjoy your quest to better health and fitness with a pro in the know, and most of all have fun with it all!

EXECUTIVE HEALTH & FITNESS PT#2

So how are we going with the journey towards your goals?

In the first part of this series (twas a very long time ago?), we touched on how to begin to correctly formulate your goals. You may have already devisee a great plan. Here are some helpful tips then, to firmly launch you upon your trajectory path towards your ambitions.

Sports psychologists have traditionally helped athletes reach top levels by setting three types of goals which are similar to the following;

1. Big dreams or long term goals
2. Process goals towards these dreams eg mid term goals
3. Performance goals (aka short term goals)

Rome wasn't built in a day-so please don't expect that you will achieve your big wins in a day either.

Lots of little steps will be more acceptable for your brain and body to surpass.

What do the experts say? Michael Johnson, discussed his successes to journalists, you would expect that he would say things came pretty easily with him, yet this would be an incorrect assumption. He said that to achieve his big dreams, he mainly focussed on taking each day at a time. He worked on his process and performance goals during each & every training session(eg-> baby steps AKA short term goals) and believe it not, pushing towards his success even as one of the worlds top athletes , was a struggle

MOTIVATION - THE KEY TO SUCCESS.

Primarily athletes use the sports psychology principles of motivation as the stepping stone to achieving their goals. Motivation is to be moved to do something (Ryan & Deci, 2000). Motivation is what will form the back bone, it will essentially give you the key to unlock your potential, whilst helping to drive you strongly forthward towards your goal achievement. This is why it is very important to choose your goals carefully, they HAVE to come from the heart, because if they don't, you run the risk of abandoning ship very quickly, due to a lack of motivation.

Recognise also that attaining the big dreams or the small ones aint necessarily going to be easy, be prepared to go through the tough stuff, knowing that you will probably come out of it, feeling like you can take on the world.

So it's OK to struggle? It is absolutely ok to struggle we humans, were all born to struggle, and we were also born to overcome obstacles out of acts of survival. What is important here, is that studies have shown that top athletes, are really good at breaking their big goals down into smaller pieces to allow them to maintain focus, motivation and success!
One of the major comparatives between human life now and back in our primal days, is the amount of choices we have these days. Back in the day, our primal ancestors didn't really have the choice of a chicken sandwich or chicken salad or giving up on their goals (e.g catching thier prey) altogether! They had to eat to survive, when they failed to catch their prey they just has to get right back up and keep at it...otherwise starve?

Whilst I do not advocate the starvation method, can we learn a lesson from our ancestors? Of course we can! Maybe we can just assume the people of the world have gone soft because of the changes in life? We could also adopt a 3D approach to our understanding, realising that in some ways because of the variety of choices we have these days, we are potentially challenged in different ways nowadays, compared to that of our ancestors. Hence we must work hard to overcome these differing struggles.

Just quickly, reminiscing on the first part to this series (yes... I know, clearly this was a long time ago) ***please note that it is important to know yourself and be honest with yourself so that you can apply the principles which are most relevant for yourself.***

Once you have established those exact ambitions of yours, the ones which put a really big fire in your belly, you can apply a specific action plan to launch you off the blocks, on to the race track so you can be assured that you hit the ground running.

ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION

Achievement Motivation is the notion of the need to achieve whilst avoiding failure. Top athletes have been found to possess high levels of achievement motivation. So how can we make ouselves even more motivated to achieve?
Most of us fall into the category of requiring tasks that are challenging yet attainable, they must have at least a 50% chance of success. Rememeber this when setting your all important smart goal plan.My fellow group fitness instructors and personal trainers please note the following: Research shows that we are likely to be more motivated by a task that pleases us out of enjoyment of doing the task itself, rather than doing a task out of external rewards such as praise, results etc (Ryan & Deci 2000, Gegne & Deci, 2005). Yet another reason why a well devised achievement plan is invaluble, and to the fit-pro's how can you use this powerful fact this to refine your coaching skills during your classes and/or PT sessions?

FIRST AND FOREMOST .......TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR LIFE

Locus of Control (LOC)

Rotter (1966, 1971) believed that the reasons (or attributions) one provides us on past successes and failures of situations or tasks reveals whether a person possesses more of an internal or external LOC. Two factors we might attribute to success or failure are;

INTERNAL LOC; such as the effort one places on a task. For Eg- one might attribute the hard work they placed on a task as a factor which influenced their success.

EXTERNAL LOC; luck or destiny. Eg one might attribute their success because they were lucky to be in the right place at the right time.

LOC influences our behaviours during future situations In very general terms, it is usually more favourable to possess a more internal LOC, because then we take ownership of mistakes and can learn from the mistakes, allowing us to become more successful the next time we participate within tasks. According to the research within this area, some of the characteristics of an individual who possesses an internal LOC dominance are the following

•Persists in the face of failure
•Welcomes new challenges
•Is proactive wants to overcome shortcomings
•Takes ownership within their lives
•Copes will with stress as less susceptible to anxiety
•Experiences success often

External LOC dominant person may possess the following characteristics

•Tends to give up in the face of failure & is less persistent at tasks
•More susceptible to anxiety and as a result does not cope well with stress
• Avoidance of new challenges
•Feels like they don't need to be proactive and doesn't take ownership of life's shortfalls (fate might lead the way...)
•Feels experience of success is rare

Can you be really honest & identify which of the above lists sounds more like you? The good news is & important to point out is that a dominance in either internal or external LOC can be interchangeable and often changes according to situations during the lifespan. Possessing either of these locus of controls will effect you emotional responses to situations. And it is these emotions which may be causing a hindrance to your success. If we can identify our emotional responses, it will help us to pin point our weaknesses and ultimately then provide us with the knowledge, of how to move forward.

For example, when Individuals with an internal locus of control experience success their emotional response to this success may render pride, confidence competence & self satisfaction. Whilst individuals with an external locus of control might feel gratitude, thankfulness or blame their success on luck.

When those with an internal locus of control experience failure they tend to feel guilt, shame, incompetence and/or depression, whilst their external counterparts experience anger surprise & astonishment in the same circumstances.

All is not lost you can change your dominant LOC with practice. Some basic recommendations are to take ownership of tasks in your life, try some new tasks which you would not normally undertake and assess the areas in your life (eg friends, work, hobbies) which are reinforcing your external LOC and try to change these situations to activities which allow you to be abundant within your internal LOC.

In relation to goal achievement, you must commit to assessing yourself so that you can see where you are sitting during different situations. For example assess yourself on your short term and mid term goals-what are the reasons you are giving for your successes and failures? and what are your emotional responses to your successes and failures? This is imperative as it will allow awareness of your current state so you can adjust where neccasary...easier said than done right? RIGHT! Practice makes perfect.Also, by applying specific principles as suggested within this article can help you to irradiate some of the stress and or anxiety you might currently be experiencing. The exercises shown will help to power you up allowing you to achieve greater wins in your life:

CONFIDENCE & PMA (Positive Mental Attitude).

Simulating the attitudes of top athletes seems to be a winning approach!

Athletes possess high levels of self confidence, this has been shown to lead to reduced anxiety during stressful situations, allowing for first class performances. Confidence is a real positive trait, & will ultimately draw other positive confident successful people around you. When confident positive people are around you, your body and mind can't help but to absorb this energy which helps you to power up your being, to an even greater you. So now we know why possessing confidence, in your ability to flourish is of paramount importance. Positiveness & Confidence is not always innate. Even if we are blessed by being born with confidence, this trait will still need to be nourished & trained. Confidence can be trained by using positive self talk, imagery techniques and relaxation. If these techniques sound a little sissy to you, then stop & think again! Athletes use these all the time to help them produce elite performances. If they use them they gotta be good. Right?

During my 3rd part to this series I will discuss applied sports psychology in a little more detail so that you have a few tools up your sleeve just incase you need them....so stay tuned and keep working hard!