life skills
05/02/2016
Whenever I hear the word ‘Aerobics’ I get a picture of Jane Fonda in leg warmers. I remember studying Sports Science back in 1995 in Sydney and it was a very competitive course to get into. 4000 people applying for 90 places. It was seen as a great thing to do at the time and a super fun and promising career. The only problem was that most people who applied thought they would be kicking a footy around or doing aerobics all day long. The reality was a pretty serious science degree including physics, chemistry, biomechanics, physiology and anatomy. This saw about 40 people out of the original 90 who got in actually make it to graduation. That being said, there was one course we had to do later in the degree, and that was teaching an aerobics class. We all thought this was pretty stupid in light of all the other mind bending stuff they had got us to do to that point, but it was a prerequisite for reasons that remain unknown. Maybe it was comic relief for the lecturers in seeing science nerds jump around like Richard Simmons. Now, I saw myself as aerobically fit, and when I had last done aerobics in the 80’s, it was a million repetitions of the same thing, which any idiot could do if they were persistent and crazy enough to keep pushing… I was that idiot. I decided that I should get myself ready for my compulsory teaching of the class (with or without leg warmers) and do a few […]
21/01/2016
It’s the time of year for the ra ra. Same old, same old goal setting blah blah! If that is how you see it, I want you to stop what you are doing and go to take a good hard and long look at yourself in the mirror. If you can maintain the wonder of a child you will live an awesome life. Do you want an awesome life? Come on, don’t be an oxygen thief! There’s not that much room on the planet. Participate, contribute and understand that unless you can play the violin like fiddler on the roof and impact people’s emotions, sing like an opera singer in a concert hall, swing a racket like Roger Federer, make chess moves like the Bobby Fischer, make business moves like Warren Buffett, present like Steve Jobs did, act like Robert Deniro…….and so many other things that I can’t even think of, then you have no business being cynical about setting goals and shooting for stuff because the job will never be done. I don’t know about you, but that makes this life exciting and motivating. It is the process that matters too – engagement in the activity and just plain old ‘taking action’. The best people I like to hang out with are always creating, thinking, doing, laughing, planning and aiming for new things. Now, if you have stared in that mirror long enough and thought about all the things worth chasing or trying, then there is no time to be bored, cynical or tired. Get to it! Shimmering eyes, […]
06/08/2015
A new healthy lifestyle… One of the things that gives us great satisfaction and in fact is the reason we do what we do, is seeing clients/members of ours achieve big goals. Now, it is not always about fat loss and massive body transformation, but it is always about simply ‘feeling better’. Brett Campbell started with us about 12 months back and has actually achieved both of these things. Check out the picture below to see the change he has experienced. It is very inspiring. And what is even more inspiring is that he is still going – he is building more strength after a great initial effort and continually improving his nutrition and activity levels. Life is feeling much better with 20+kg less, a slimmer waist and more energy. Good on you Brett for finding that new healthy lifestyle! It is now your new habit which means will power is no longer needed. It’s just what–you–do.
30/06/2015
The wheel of life goes round and round. How smooth is your wheel and how close to the edge are you? Health & Fitness is the stand out priority no matter how wonky your wheel might look. Literally everything hinges on it. Let’s take a look and put that little assertion to the test. Career & Work. I hear this one a A LOT! “I have no time for exercise because I am working so hard to forward my career and build a future for my family, so my job is my main focus for now. When I get on top of this then I will spend more time with my family, and then get to looking after myself”. How much time do you think you have in this life? It’s a no brainer that you will perform better when you are healthy and fit, and your family will want to spend time with you when you have the energy to give. Cart before the horse and all that! Also, let’s get one thing straight. No one ever said on their deathbed, “gee I wish I spent more time at work”. So if your career and work are getting on top of you (and you will know this by the stress you feel) carve out some “me” time now, because the investment reaps dividends every time. Even if you think it won’t… Trust me I am a personal trainer 🙂 “Me” time by the way is not getting to the pub and downing 6 schooners at lunch. I worked in a fitness […]
01/06/2015
NO ONE REALLY WANTS TO EXERCISE… Seriously, who would want to put their body through pain like that? The answer of course is no one but plenty of people do it. WHY? WHY? WHY? Why do people exercise? Glad you asked! As with most things in this life, it is not about the thing, it is about the stuff associated with the thing. Let me explain. I’ll make another statement: No one really wants a Ferrari either. WHAT? Of course I do I hear you cry. No you don’t, what you really want is the ‘experience’ of owning a Ferrari, the admiring glances as the engine squeals when you gun it at a busy intersection in the crowded city and then how that makes you feel. Or it is the rush that the blind acceleration causes in your body and the joy you get in seeing that exhilaration in your better half next to you in that shiny red car? It is the same with exercise. What everyone is looking for is not the burn in the thighs or the thumping heart (no kidding!), it is the way it makes you feel when you start to experience the results of your hard work. It is the satisfaction you experience when you walk easily up that hill that used to be hard, it is the praise you receive from your workmates when they notice the new definition in your arms, it is how attractive you feel when your better half compliments you on how healthy you look. If you can really […]
19/05/2015
Mastering important skills: what is the most important yet least practiced skill you need to master you ask? It is of course goal setting. It is often spoken about but so few people actually DO it. A massive longitudinal study by the esteemed Yale University in the 1950’s followed the progress through life of their graduate class from 1953. They found that only 3% of the graduates actually wrote down their goals at the start of their careers, and 20 years later that same 3% were worth more than the other 97% put together. So what is the deal? How is this supposed to be done for the highest chance of success? As alluded to previously, the first step is to go past ‘thinking’ about it and get into ‘doing it’. When I say ‘doing it’, I mean putting into action the precise steps that give your brain, your most powerful ally, the best chance to put you on an irrevocable path to success (whatever that means to you – but you better have health in there and you know why!) The following steps relate to a proven method of putting it together which dovetails with how the brain has been shown with amazing modern day technology to actually work. Step 1. Find a quiet relaxing place and visualise in vivid detail your most idealised life – where you live, how you live, what you do on a daily basis, how energetic you are in your activities etc. Step 2. Immediately write down the 5 top goals that will make that […]