Call Now!
Anthony Gillespie
28/07/2018
Why is it that a holistic approach always wins in the long run? It’s because health and fitness are more than just getting a good work out. ‘Holistic’ means your considering the whole health and fitness equation – the positive mindset, the small consistent steps to habit change, the healthy nutrition plan, the dedicated hydration and the weekly coaching that keeps you accountable to maximise results. That’s what we call “Smart Training” at Best Practice PT
07/07/2018
Why is it that some personal trainers enter the industry with as little as 6 week’s training, and on average leave the industry within 10 months? I blame the marketing machine that drives this ‘qualification’. At best I see the cert 3 and 4 in Fitness as just a good start. At Best Practice PT we’ve invested 3 to 4 years in our university training (and sometimes much more) plus several years of practical experience to always bring you an informed perspective on your fitness program. Don’t you think that your greatest asset deserves that kind of respect? You’ll have a quality assured training program, safe workout moves and carefully monitored progress towards your goals when you become a valued member.
10/05/2018
If you have been following me on Facebook and Instagram (hint: if you aren’t, it is probably a good idea to go there now!), you will see that I am doing yet another self experimentation with food. Some might call it self denial on a silly scale or a left over from an overly strict catholic upbringing, where suffering was seen as a virtue – might be some truth in that! Okay, it may be overstating it by using the term ‘suffering’, but here is what I am doing and I will let you be the judge. For 30 whole days (it’s called the ‘Whole 30’ so it makes sense!), I am not consuming alcohol, added sugar or sweetener in any form, grains, dairy, legumes or vegetable oils or a bunch of other specified nasties that you wouldn’t believe are regularly added to our food. And I guess here’s the point. All the rules around the Whole 30 are based on limiting foods and additives that have been linked to various disease processes in the body stemming from inflammation. We have all seen or heard the concept that all our health problems are linked to inflammation, as in caused by it, not in response to something else. I am currently reading the book(s) on it and it is very interesting indeed. The pair who wrote it have their credentials in the field of nutrition but they aren’t researchers or world renowned experts by any means. Some critics have called them nothing more than master marketers but I am reserving judgement […]
29/03/2018
We pride ourselves on being of what I call the future of personal training. What I mean by this is the departure from the old school, ‘do what I say or else’ type dogma. You know the image I am talking about, trainer in tracksuit with whistle around his or her neck, military flavoured haircut with square jaw beneath, barking orders staccato style. We are more the confidante and coach meeting you where you are at, changing plans if you turn up with an unexpected issue, be it physical or mental, listening more than talking, adapting. So quick quiz. You decide. Intelligent personal training or….not? 65 year old with knee issues doing aggressive box jumps? Large group of people, with a mixed level of training experience all doing the same exercises in a circuit type set up? Client turns up late. Trainer pushes client straight in to a high intensity move so as ‘not to waste time’ I think you guessed the answers! Best Practice Personal Training. Working hard to earn the title of Brisbane’s best personal trainers.
22/03/2018
Heavy subject line I know. But sometimes a bit of harsh reality is needed to spark action. The life of a health and fitness influencer is all about that – stimulating the beginning and then the continuation of the medicine we all need – movement! There is a strong message and promotion of “extreme exercise” bursting from the fitness industry’s marketing channels. Best Practice Personal Training, arguably the best personal trainers in Brisbane 🙂 are advocates of a more conservative approach . We are attempting to break through the noise to get to the vast majority of our society not attracted to box jumps with a barbell on their back (oddly enough!) who don’t exercise regularly but know they should. A lone voice in the wilderness is us – Move well first then move a bit more we cry! This is the first action and order of events in my humble opinion. Waiting for inspiration, i.e. starting with the head can be a long and sometimes fruitless wait. I have heard time and time again – “I eat better when I start exercising” “I feel mentally stronger when I exercise” “My performance in everything improves when I exercise”. So, big question. What are we waiting for? Life comes and life goes, what will you (be able) to do with the in-between bit? What will you see when you look back? Ok enough contemplation, start small and go for a walk already!
21/03/2018
Do you ever get the feeling that you are doing something on autopilot? You know when you unconsciously eat a biscuit because you are having a coffee. We’ve all been there. It’s the way our brains are wired and it’s not our fault. It just is. The reason is that we only have a finite of space to process information, kind of like a computer. It’s efficient to not to have to think all the time. Now I want you to think about all the habits that don’t serve your ultimate goals. What if you could change those habits and replace them with others that did serve your ultimate goals? What if getting up early and walking before work every day was your thing for example? No thinking, just alarm, hit it and then put on shoes and walk out the door? It’s the no thinking part which is so appealing because let’s face it, there is A LOT of information coming at ya in the year 2018. Okay, big question how do you get from not doing a good habit to “doing”? You have probably heard of the 21-day rule and how habits can be formed in this time frame. There is a lot of physical evidence, as in brain imaging not just theorising, that shows that this timeframe is in fact pretty accurate for a change in the hard wiring of behaviour. Lesson? Find a way to fake it till you make it. Start collecting new beneficial habits by will powering your way through the first 21 days […]
22/01/2018
I know a lot of you are already in to it. 2018 is off and running. For me, it’s the school year starting that really signifies the beginning of the manic, exciting and yes sometimes stressful rollercoaster, that is life for another year. That day in Queensland is today. So how was your break? Did you get one? I hope you got a chance to slow down a bit and rejuvenate. Importantly, have you planned your next break? This was told to me some time back and I think it is a great strategy. Make sure you have your next holiday booked in whilst still on your current one. It is a psych thing that really works. Not that we should dread our work and be at a point that you feel life only exists outside of it (if that is you it is time for a change of job or career). Hopefully we all love what we do enough that it is more the ‘re-set’ that we are looking for, than the escape. The mental re-set is so important ass are recovery days in your training week. You can’t keep going hard all the time, you have to judiciously mix in hard with easy so your body has a chance to adapt. It is my guess though that it is not the ‘going too hard with exercise’ thing that you need to worry about but the actually ‘getting some in’. My suggestion is to write it down and book it in, just like any important appointment you have in […]
14/11/2017
It is our firm belief here that exercise is indeed a form of medicine. You could also see it as a kind of annuity or investment if you want to put it in financial terms. One that is sure, keeping to this metaphor, to make a return on investment that is overwhelmingly positive. “I wish I wasn’t so healthy!” Said no one ever! How has your year gone when it comes to the deposits you have made in the bank of health? Or would you say that you have been withdrawing more than you have been regularly putting in? Easy to do in a crazy busy and often stressful world. The question you have to ask yourself is, am I being a master of my own destiny or am I letting the world just happen to me? Are you someone who takes proactive steps to ensure that you are in control when it comes to the ultimate state of your body and mind on a year to year basis? Or do you keep putting it off waiting for the optimal time to take action which never seems to come around? Life is now my friends! So what are deposits in the bank of health? walking daily meditating eating healthy nutritious food sleeping at least 8 hours per night enjoying social interaction helping others less fortunate doing aerobic activity that gets your heart rate up in to a training zone (60-90% of maximum) resistance training at least 1-2 times per week where you are challenging the muscle enough for it to […]
30/10/2017
I find myself writing more and more about motivation. I guess it is because I see a lot of people who talk about wanting to be fit, healthy and or strong, but never quite seem to take the step to get started. Sometimes literally years go by and even decades and sadly a whole life-time for some. It is perplexing and a little frustrating to be honest, but I definitely get that exercising regularly can be hard and eating well, certainly not as easy as buying take away every day. Perhaps it comes down to the ability to dwell on cause and effect. You know, actually feeling the consequences of our actions and the likely end point of those set of behaviours. If you can do that on an intellectual level and then importantly emotional, I am sure the inner drive to start your exercise program will burst forth. We find that when people start exercising they naturally start to eat better and a cascade of other positive things flow as life just gets better. I have always said that we help people think, eat and move better, and in that order. I now believe it should probably just start with movement because the rest usually follows automatically. I realise the Nike catch cry doesn’t work for all though, which is why I am writing this article. Perhaps the thinking that goes with reading this, will end in you taking action (should you be one who needs it and apparently there is a 1 in 4 chance according to WHO, […]