What is it that makes achieving goals possible?
Last week I returned from the last of the three big fitness challenges I set myself this year. In April I ran the Rotterdam Marathon and was happy to get my PB of 3:14, still room for improvement but good progress. A month later my close friends Simon and Tom and I cycled form London to Brussels via Amsterdam, 330 miles in four days. We rode well together and felt strong at the end. That bode well for the big one, four days doing the Three Peaks of Snowdon, Scafell and Ben Nevis and cycling the 440 miles in between them. Whilst it was definitely one of the toughest things I’ve done, we did it! Through experiences like these and working with so many people to help them achieve their goals, here are the key things that I believe make the difference: The vision – whilst these things appeared daunting, I never waivered in my belief that I could do them. I drew on previous experiences of similar events and knew I had the fitness and determination to get through them. The drive – motivation is key. This event meant a lot to me, Tom and Simon. We were raising money for Genetic Alliance, a charity supporting those with rare genetic conditions. Tom’s young son Dexter has one such condition and the sense of purpose meant we were never going to let tiredness or pain get the better of us. Personally it was something I’d had in my head to do for a long time and I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it. The support – having the guys alongside me, and Vicky doing an amazing job driving the camper van made such a difference. Sharing experiences and having help when needed is essential for getting where you want to go. The preparation – whilst we certainly made mistakes, we were well organised for the event with the right tools and gear. We’d planned our route and whilst at times we adapted it we always knew where we were. The challenge – goals need to be tough enough to motivate you but not so tough that they seem unreachable. We certainly had to work to for it (10 hours of exercise a day) but we knew if we worked hard we’d get there. Compare your own goals against these and see where you might need to make changes. If you need any help, feel free to get in touch.
The 5 best websites containing the 3 best magazines with the 7 best articles on the 10 best foods to eat and 5 best exercises to do to lose weight
Do you know what the 5 best exercises are for weight loss? Do you know which 3 foods will boost your energy levels more than any other food on the planet? What about the 10 best workout DVD’s? 6 most effective cellulite busting tips? 7 most effective running workouts to improve your marathon time? No, I didn’t think so. And I suspect and hope that this is because you realise that there aren’t 5 best exercises for weight loss, or 3 miracle energy-giving foods. There’s nothing wrong at all with the media highlighting effective exercises to help you stay fit and healthy, or to promote foods that you may not have tried or that have possible health benefits identified in scientific research. The problem comes when you’re led to believe in these things as miracles and cure-alls. Stocking up your cupboards with acai berries will not mean you never get a cold again, drinking endless litres of grape juice will not mean you’re guaranteed not to suffer from heart disease and eating a grapefruit a day is the not answer to all of your weight loss goals. So what can you take from these articles? Think of yourself as a plumber, your aim should be to expand the number of tools you possess. You may learn that there are one or two exercises you’ve never done before and you can add them into your weekly exercise routine. Or you’ll see a food that you’ve just discovered might support your goals in doe way, so you think you could add that to your weekly shop occasionally. No single exercise or food will provide the answer or everybody would have done it a long time ago and somebody would have earned a lot of money in the process. Similarly, there is no one tool that a plumber can carry to provide a solution for all jobs they do. The best and most effective plumbers are the ones that literally have a tool for every job. When I teach Personal Trainer courses, one of the most important pieces of advice I give to any budding PT is to build up their toolkit as much as possible. Know a wide range of exercises and methods and different ways of helping people to change. Many business in health and fitness these days have been built on the notion that their way, or their piece of exercise kit is the best, the one for you, the answer to everybody’s problems. As a public we believe in this, probably for a few reasons: 1) It is a quick fix – it looks pretty easy. I just stand on that wobbly thing three times a week and I’ll look just like I want to. 2) It doesn’t take me much effort – I don’t need to think. I just eat add water to those powders twice a day and then eat dinner and I’ll be the weight I want to be in no time. 3) It might work – i’ve tried so many things and I’m desperate to get back to the weight and size I used to be so I’ll give it a go. And of course it may work, but it also may not. People are different and some respond better to certain types of exercise than others. Equally, one diet may make a real difference to one individual whilst at the same time having no effect on another, or even worse cause another to gain weight. Unfortunately there is no ‘wonder test’ that tells you which eating pattern works best and which exercise routine is right for you. And of course what is right for you can change over time as your life changes. Age, stress levels, sleep patterns and a whole host of other factors can affect your energy levels, metabolism and hormones, which in turn change how much physical exertion you can cope with and which foods will help you. Over time a personal trainer gets a good ‘feel’ for how these factors work together, and can advise you on what may well be the best options for you, but cannot say with 100% certainty that it will definitely work. It often does, but even then your life situation may change and things will again need adapting to best suit you. Even without a PT to support you, it’s important to remember: 1) There is no such thing as failure, only learning. Trying a new exercise routine and eating pattern may not work in its entirety for you but you’re bound to learn something, even if it’s what not to do in future. I read a wonderful quote this week from Michael Jordan, one of the best basketball players of all time. It encapsulates this idea wonderfully: “I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” 2) The best way to achieve long-term success in health and fitness goals is to become attuned to your body and its needs. It will always tell you what it wants and you can learn from its reactions what the ‘5 best exercises’ and ‘3 best foods’ are for you. So, remember to take any ‘x best’ lists with a pinch of salt, learn from them and use them to try changes in your own lifestyle but whatever you do, don’t rely on them as gospel and don’t be disheartened if these miracle cures don’t work for you. Note what you’ve learned form your attempts and then adapt, maybe make a small tweak if you think that will work better or try something completely different. Over time you can make your own ‘x best’ and ‘x worst’ lists for you. Here’s a few examples of things I’ve learned about my own body through my journey through health and fitness: If I
balance on…barriers
Image courtesy of ddpavumba at Freedigitalphotos.net Barriers, obstacles, challenges, problems, hurdles, difficulties, road blocks, impediments, hitches, snags or drawbacks. Whatever you call them, we all face them in many aspects of life and they often appear when we attempt to achieve our weight loss, health and fitness goals. So what can you do about them? How do you get over them? Or round them, through them or even under them! What happens if you moved them out of the way instead, or got someone else to help you push them to one side? The truth is, there are many ways to overcome the challenges you face and achieve your goals. Hopefully this blog will provide you with a few ideas to help you get past yours and onwards to what you want. First things first, you need to identify what the challenges will be, or may be when working towards your goals. How can you know this? You’re not psychic, you don’t have a crystal ball or a time machine, well it’s unlikely you do! So how do you identify these barriers? 1) Think about things that have got in the way if you have tried to achieve the same or similar goals in the past, what were they? 2) Think about your life, what things take up your time? This doesn’t make them bad things, it just means that they may limit your ability to focus all of your efforts on you and what you want. 3) Look forwards. Imagine yourself doing your new exercise routine, eating more healthily, getting to bed early, drinking plenty of water. What situations, scenarios, times and places might make it challenging to do these things? Hopefully now you have a list of at least a couple of things that may get in the way. These may be common barriers like lack of time, work or family commitments, financial constraints, motivation and times of temptation or something more personal to you. Failing to plan is planning to fail Now you have your list of likely barriers, you’ve taken the first step towards overcoming them already! Just knowing that they might happen means that when they do you can say ‘I knew that was going to happen.’ Maybe you are psychic after all? But the best thing about knowing what could go wrong is that you can plan in advance some methods for getting around, over, under or through these obstacles and challenges. And now is as good a time as any to start planning so you will need: A piece of paper and a pen (or an iPad, laptop or you’re phone if you’re more technologically minded). Lots of positivity and creativity! A cup of tea. The three things method For each of the barriers that you have identified, write down at least three ideas for how you can overcome them. They can be absolutely anything at all, it really doesn’t matter. If you have more than three ideas then fantastic. If you struggle to think of anything, ask yourself if you have ever had a problem. What did you do to overcome it? What skills or tactics can you take from it that you may be able to use here? Once you have your methods, number them in order of preference as to which you think is best. If you have more than three that’s fine, just keep numbering them from favourite to least favourite. You are now armed with a raft of solutions, so when those challenges come this is exactly what they will be, not problems, as you already have solutions. You have the ladder to get over the wall or the sledgehammer to knock it down. You have the raft to get across the river and you have the rope to climb your mountain. Image courtesy of Stuart Miles/freedigitalphotos.net It’s important that your perception of challenges changes to. You can see it as a threat, something that will come along and defeat you or you can see it as an opportunity, something that will make you rise to the very best you can be, performing amazingly in the face of adversity. A sportsperson may see a big event as a scary thing where they could get beaten, or they can see it as the chance for them to show just how good they are on the biggest stage. It’s time to find your very best you! Image courtesy of Stuart Miles/freedigitalphotos.net Enjoy the journey. balance your life, balance your scales
balance on…………block rocking’ beats
Do you run faster as soon as your favourite tune starts playing on your MP3 player? Do you find extra energy in your class when those block rocking’ beats start playing? Many people will tell you that music makes a huge difference to their mood, energy levels and exercise routine. But does the science back this up? Yes! Music increases the work output in people exercising at sub maximal intensities. I feeeeeeeeeel good! Mood and psychological state are improved or increased with moderate to intense exercise. Keep on running! Music has been shown to decrease the perceived effort during exercise and also in some studies to increase time to exhaustion. Basically some people can go further before they tire if they are listening to music. Easy like a Sunday morning. Music is well-known for its relaxing effects, well as long as it is calming (heavy rock or hard house does not have the same effects)! Some exercise studies have suggested that it may aid muscle relaxation and decrease lactate production, allowing people to train harder for longer. Push it…… So it seems clear that exercise may well play a major role in helping you to train harder and longer, and make you feel good along the way. The key it seems is in listening to music that you enjoy. Some studies have suggested that calming music can improve endurance (Copeland and Franks, 1991) whilst others suggest that more upbeat dance music may act as a distraction and help to increase endurance at lower intensities (Yamashita et al, 2006). I like to move it, move it So get that I-Pod exercise playlist on, turn up the radio, take your MP3 player to the gym or if you’re feeling old skool, put on a CD, get that mix tape in the Walkman or even get the needle on that gramophone!!! Choose music that you enjoy and pick tracks that link to the goals of your workout. If you’re going long and steady relaxing music may help, but if you want a big session then loud and heavy may be the way to go! The right music can mean that Sunday, Monday are happy days, Tuesday, Wednesday happy days, Thursday, Friday happy days, Saturday what a day, Trainin’ all week with you!! Rock on. Move. Yours……….balance
