personal training
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
At Best Practice, we are big on behaviour change and we like to use every little psychological trick in the book to achieve it. When it comes to the best tricks, I look at how games are designed and then use the addictive nature of such ingenious methodology to mould the action of clients towards the ‘good’ habits, as opposed to the numerous bad ones we form, seemingly without even trying. And you know what, I think that last point is key – ‘without even trying’. When I finish a workout now, I almost can’t wait to tick the box in our systems that says, in graphical form, “hey you got something done pal”. My little calendar, which is easily accessible on my smart phone displays a little orange man on the day when ever I have completed a workout. As simple as that is, the accumulation of little men means I know at a glance that I am active in that week, and I will do almost anything to make sure I can tick the box that means I get a little icon to show up. I guess another big reason this works is because ‘being active’ is one of my KPI’s for a good life and like anyone, I want a good life. We use this method with our clients and members because it is easier to drive new behaviour with the simple rather than the complex. You should give it a go. Even a simple walk get’s you a tick and an orange man. Our two group […]
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, […]
02/12/2015
Okay… I don’t really know why your back is sore or your booty is small, but there is a good chance there is a weak glute issue lurking. The two are not necessarily related but they certainly could be. This exercise below (the single leg glute bridge which you probably haven’t seen or done) ably demonstrated by Kennet could help get your glutes activated and worked out well as part of a bigger program – if it is identified that your glutes are not doing the job they were designed for and/or you aren’t doing enough of the right glute exercises including this one. But hey, don’t go rushing into this exercise if you currently have a bad back. Please see your physio, chiro or osteopath first for a proper diagnosis and specific exercise prescription. Consider poor core stability as another obvious and likely cause for the back issue too by the way.
18/09/2015
Is there anything better than a good night’s sleep? Research is now telling us that it is much more than just a subjectively ‘good’ thing to do. Let’s have a look at the magical power of sleep… How’s this for a list of general benefits? If you’re wanting to reach optimal levels of brain power, make sure you rest nicely. Just as we need enough rest to function physically on a day to day basis, your brain needs enough also to be most productive and efficient. This seems like common sense, but it’s definitely worth mentioning at least as a reminder. Creativity – getting the right amount of sleep essentially works its magic on your brain which enhances your creativity levels. So if you’re thinking about taking your art supplies out on a beautiful sunny Saturday, make sure your Friday night sleep is a good one! Some of you might find it hard to believe, but sleep has actually been shown to improve your memory. “How?” I hear you ask… Research shows that you actually practice certain things you learned (or attempted to learn) while you were awake whilst you sleep! If you’re thinking about going on a diet, have a think about this: in the brain, the same sector are in control of metabolism and sleep. Diet studies have found more fat loss is associated with well rested people. This one might seem pretty obvious, but getting adequate rest helps you improve your quality of life. If you’re resting too little (or even way too much), the way you feel on a […]
02/09/2015
Boy oh boy, do we have a great success story to share! The person involved in this story is 43 year old David Heath who is a previous Best Practice Personal Training member. Read what David has to say below: “I thought you could pat yourself on the back for some habits from my Brisbane days. I always remember you telling me “you can’t out-train a bad diet….“, so I’ve finally got around to doing something about it (after my wife, Narelle, said she wanted to do something as she had been feeling lethargic etc). Not advocating one particular diet over another or anything (I still have my Precision Nutrition/examine.com feeds directly feeding into my inbox) but Narelle landed on whole30.com as it didn’t seem too ‘left of centre’/extreme. I simply ate fresh fruit & veg + meat and gave up dairy/sugar/alcohol/processed grains for 30 days (& threw the scales away) to see what happened. I definitely haven’t skimped on portion sizes & have enjoyed cooking up eggs/mushrooms/tomatoes/salmon for most breakfasts! Always feeling full so not a starvation diet. Well today was day 31 so I actually weighed/measured myself and was pretty amazed at the results: 66.5kgs, 77.5cm waist – so dropped ~6kgs & 5-6cm off my waistline. I don’t think I’ve had such a low weight/waist measurement since early uni days. I think I got to 80cm whilst in Brisbane working with Best Practice but definitely not as low as 77.5cm. I am still riding regularly (200-250km/week) & started lifting weights again so keeping the exercise up (I […]
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.
10/07/2015
Exercise procrastination… Life comes and then it goes. It is too short for exercise procrastination folks, I can tell you that much! It’s not until ‘@hit goes down’ sometimes, that people get propelled to take action. Case in point… a good friend of mine who got diagnosed with cancer at which time he started to become the person he always wanted to be. He put some great things together as a massive legacy before he passed away. Good on you Gav. The unfortunate thing though is that it often kicks in too late or not at all. Yes, sometimes even the @hit going down is met with apathy. How is it that some people wring every bit of experience and fun from life whilst others, the vast majority, resign themselves to ‘the way it is’. Have you heard that? “Well that’s just the way it is…..” Says who? It is the person who has stopped thinking originally and is on the fast track to ‘that’s all she wrote’. I love to meet cliche with cliche sometimes simply because it’s fun and the plain ridiculousness of it may edge its way through the most closed down mind. Why would I bother you might say? Well… life is better when you have energy, humour, action, innovation, ideas and a pleasant buzz of optimism around you that you can bring to the table. You think about it and you tell me, who in your life do you enjoy having around you? Those who are forever moaning and finding the hassle in something, dragging […]