Hi and welcome to another week,
Great sessions last week – I think the Body Work class really showed that sometimes the simplest exercise combinations can be the best. Do some military press then do some squats. When you have done some squats, do some military press – add in some Kettlebell swings and situps as a ‘punishment’ and some cardio to start and finish. Perfect. The Boxing classes were pretty cool as well – Static Holds and Mini-sleds were featured all week and I know for me that completing the 90-second hold on the chin-up bar was a real moment of achievement. I saw a heap of people maintain their fence pull holds for more than 1 minute and even more than that accomplish the same feat in push-up position – great work from everyone. We probably wont do the statics for another couple of months so if you want to work on them in the mean time, well, all the ‘gear’ you need is always available for you to use – inside and outside of class times.
I wanted to talk a little bit this week about what drives and motivates each person to get to the gym and ONCE you arrive. I have been reading a great book this week (‘Drive: The Surprising Truth about what Motivates Us’ by Daniel Pink) which is all about intrinsic vs extrinsic motivation and what works in what circumstances. The more I get into it, the more it becomes clear that when it comes to your fitness, when it comes to your diet – the journey really MUST be the reward.
Why? Well, because when it comes to your training there are simply no guarantees. If you are only at the gym because you want to look like the girl/guy on the front of the magazine, then how are you going to feel when the scales don’t seem to change – and nor (in your eyes at least) does the image you see reflected in the mirror every morning? My guess is that you will quickly become disheartened and wonder why it isn’t happening – especially because you are ‘working so hard’.
From there, it will quickly become a bit of a downward spiral – because you aren’t seeing the results that were driving your behaviour (attending the gym, watching your food etc) then you will have a lot of trouble sticking with those good habits you have developed. You will ask yourself what the point is, and from there, you will drop the gym sessions and head back to the counter at McDonalds. When all of your motivation is coming from the ‘outside’ it is pretty darned hard to stick at it when all of the outside pointers are that it just “isn’t working”.
If you are able to base your training on a more ‘intrinsic’ level – based on your goal to lead a ‘healthy lifestyle’, together with physical accomplishments/improvements both inside and outside of the gym (“I DO pushups on my toes now”, “I did my first chin-up”, “I used the blue Kettlebell today”, “I held my bridge for two minutes”, “I haven’t had a drink during the week for ten weeks now”, “I just don’t eat bread” etc) then you will find that it is a LOT easier to maintain your diet and training even if ‘the outcomes’ aren’t there. To be honest, the outcomes wont really be a factor for you unless they involve maintaining the lifestyle perceptions you have set for yourself. Even better, in these circumstances – because you are likely to maintain your training AND stick at your diet – then the external results will come your way (like it or not).
Focus on doing things ‘better’, ‘heavier’ and for ‘longer’. Hit ‘harder’. Squat ‘lower’. Don’t worry about what the scales say or what you think the mirror says. Focus on doing the little things well and the other stuff will look after itself.
See you at Round 1,
Michael.
OK. I have a bit of news to share which kind of fits into the “I can’t believe it” category. The most recent addition to our training staff – Elie Griege (a Round 1 regular for just over three (3) years) has been diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma. It is currently in stage 3 and he commenced chemo-therapy treatment last week.
What exactly is happening to Elie is pretty upsetting and a little difficult to explain, but in essence he is scheduled to undertake his therapy in six (6) by three (3) week cycles. It will kind of play out like this:
Days 1-3 he will stay in hospital and undergo three (3) different types of chemo treatments. From there, he goes home to recover before returning to hospital on day eight (8) for more treatment – but this time, no overnight stay. Right throughout this time (and for another week afterwards) he is taking chemo drugs orally as well. On day 15, he has a week off the treatment before starting the whole process again on day 21.
Whilst none of this is brilliant news, I think it is worth adding that the medical team are really confident that Elie will pull through the procedure in 4-6 months and be as good as new – and certainly that is the news that all of us are pretty desperate to hear.
So – Elie will be out of the gym for a while (whilst he undergoes his FIRST stage of therapy) and after that he will be in running sessions when he feels he is able. For me, I already feel that we are missing his friendly, instructive nature around the place – and we are obviously pretty keen to have him back whenever he feels he is up to it.
With the challenge over and the dust settled (well, settling!), it is time to distribute the goodies. I have a box of awesome ‘Get it Done’ T’s in various sizes from Girls size 8-14 and Boys Med-XL ready to go. If we run out (and not that many people finished the challenge so don’t worry) or we can’t fit you or whatever, don’t stress…I will get you the shirt you earned.
So – what happens now? I have a little spread sheet sitting on the very laptop I am typing this blog on with name/t-shirt size written on it. Basically, all of those people who have finished the challenge, let me know via email what shirt size you are and they will be in alphabetical order in reception for each of you to pick up from Tuesday afternoon.
We are one week into week 3 – I hope everyone is tracking well and coping with the removal of both pasta and breakfast cereal from their diets…and the ADDITION of an extra gym session (we have pushed from 2 workouts per week up to 3). I am hopeful that everyone is pretty comfortable/confident in constructing their daily meals without bread and all of those issues in dealing with sugar withdrawal are in the rear-view mirror.
A reminder of the rules for month 3:
| Training:
Three (3) Classes per Calendar Week (Must be signed by trainer) |
| Diet Rules: |
| NO PASTA permitted – AT ALL! |
| NO BREAKFAST CEREAL permitted – Monday to Friday |
| ONE SERVE of Sweets – Lollies, chocolate, cool drink (soda), icecream or biscuits/cakes etc PER WEEK. |
| No bread – At ALL! |
| Five (5) alcohol free days each week – and only two (2) drinks allowed on the other days. |
| Two (and ONLY 2) days during the month when you can eat/drink outside of the ‘rules’. |
|
Prehab rules: |
| 1 x 30 minute walk/stretch per week. (Mark on sheet with PH) |
So the big ‘changes’ are the addition of PASTA and Breakfast Cereal to the exclusions list – and the restriction of the ‘sweets’ from ‘On Weekends’ to ‘One Serve Per Week’.
Remain focussed, keep your sheets up to date and stay positive – after all, if you aren’t getting results by following the plan, do you really think that falling off the wagon is going to help??
The new KrankCycle IS IN THE GYM. I have been doing some tabata work on it (20 seconds flat out, 10 seconds rest) every day and already I am feeling the benefits. If you aren’t sure how to use it – just ask. The new Krank has a computer on it to measure time/revolutions etc and it really is a great piece of kit and one that really does give you ‘something different’ (upper body based cardio) in the gym.
Both the Dream Team league and the Footy Tipping contest are underway. DreamTeam is FULL so I can’t add any more people there. If you are interested in joining the tipping contest though, please let me know and I will make sure you get the link.
Lots and lots and lots of links on FACEBOOK this week – get into them!
Shoulder rehab: http://breakingmuscle.com/video/video-ben-musholt-4-exercises-for-shoulder-rehabilitation
Pushups post pregnancy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsC0bi-nZmY
The Wahls Protocol / The Wahls Diet: http://terrywahls.com/about-the-wahls-protocol/
Dry Hands now available at Round One: http://dryhands.com.au/testimonials
The TRUTH about Metabolic Damage: http://www.t-nation.com/diet-fat-loss/truth-about-metabolic-damage
Turkish Get-ups: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2KYussrXxk
Why we all need to run: http://breakingmuscle.com/running/because-we-can-why-we-all-need-to-run
As mentioned last week, feel free to put links up on the Facebook site guys…if you read something that resonates, give others the same opportunity to benefit.
Enjoy!
This is a follow-up from the link I posted on Facebook this week about the Wahls’ protocol. It is the link to a podcast conducted between Robb Wolf (‘The Paleo Solution’) and Dr. Terry Wahls’ who developed the Wahls’ protocol in response to her own M.S. episode. It really is amazing stuff.
http://robbwolf.com/2014/03/11/episode-216-dr-terry-wahls/
Of course, if you still haven’t read ‘The Paleo Solution’, you absolutely have to. Find the link here:
(It is only $9.00 for all you Kindle users…you just have to read the book!).
See you in the gym!
Michael.
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