Thanks again to everyone who has been in the gym over the past week. I really couldn’t be happier with the way the classes have evolved over the past month and think we have made a lot of progress in ‘returning to Round 1’ in both our Boxing classes (sleds, ball slams etc) AND in Functional Fitness (addition of accessory work, extra cardio etc). I guess (as always) this stuff is a continual evolution – and in saying that, this week will see a partner class, next week a bike challenge so maybe right now it is all about DE-evolution!! Either way, hopefully even if we haven’t exactly recaptured the ‘old’ gym with the recent changes, we are moving towards a point where the spirit of it lives on.
Having said that, I am not trying to ‘run down’ the cell-based training system we implemented as part of the COVID19 response – I think there is a LOT of good in the way we have restructured the gym and in the increased intensity of the training/shorter duration sessions. As with everything though, when you ADD something, something else is lost…all we are trying to do with the recent programming changes is make sure we maintain some of the ‘old’ with the ‘new’ – back in November/December it almost felt like we had thrown away over 10-years of evolution chasing who knows what exactly.
Anyway, this week I want to relate a couple of conversations I have been having with people post-challenge (along with a couple of recent Health Check clients). I guess the overall point of this little section (if I start at the end) is that to be successful on your health and fitness journey, you need to be FLEXIBLE and you need to be DETERMINED. I have – as you can see from the title – said that in essence you need to be a ‘tough bastard’ if you want to be successful because there are going to be a lot of obstacles (internal and external) that get in your way!
For those out there who don’t really like the idea of being called ‘tough’, think of it this way. Being ‘tough’ is not implying that you have leathery skin or that you don’t have ‘feelings’ – what it means to me is that you respond to stressful situations (setbacks, disappointments) in a way that shows RESILIENCE. And if you are tough, you consistently show three (3) characteristics.
Characteristic 1 – Commitment
So – to me this is about being motivated to push forward when you are confronted with an obstacle rather than finding a way to opt out. In this crazy world we live in, there are ‘reasons’ everywhere which can be used to explain why you can’t do the things you say you are going to do…they are everywhere. It is – for example – really hard to answer the alarm clock at 4:30am if you have been up late with the kids/up late working/up late watching NetFlix…but if you have said you are going to do it, then out of bed you get. You need to simply accept the situation you have found yourself in and push ahead.
Commitment is HARD – and it really is difficult to remain positive. The number of players at footy who train 3x per week from November to July only to quit at the start of August when they were just about to be selected is something that baffles me every year. Sure – they were committed…but not for LONG ENOUGH. This happens in the gym as well – we get 7-good weeks of effort out of a new client who THEN decides it is all too hard?? I will never understand because that is the exact time where you should be remembering why you started and reminding yourself how far you have come. Commitment is about doing the right things right when no-one else is watching…and when the person alongside you has taken a left turn out of town!
Characteristic 2 – Manage what YOU can manage!
I’m going to go to an example first here and apoligies if it reads as if I am primarily talking to the girls with this one. So often a Health Check with one of the girls is highly likely to include a long conversation about breakfast. I mean, YES – they know and accept that they aren’t getting enough calories in the day. And YES – they are feeling super tired each afternoon and can see looking at their food diary that they are simply not eating enough. But they don’t have time to eat breakfast and besides, they aren’t hungry in the mornings. But they know they should.
It drives me CRAZY.
Take charge – take control of your own situation. In the example above, make the kids lunches the night before. Make breakfast the night before. Make a plan, take charge of the plan and get it sorted out.
Whether it applies to your eating, your job, the time you spend with your kids – whatever it is – take control of your own situation. There is no good saying that you have a goal of losing weight but you aren’t prepared to start eating breakfast or give up your glass of wine with dinner each night. For things to change then you need to change – continuing to do the same stuff you are doing now will give you the same outcomes you are currently getting.
Characteristic 3 – Embrace Challenges
There is a rule up on the wall at the gym that says we have 4x forbidden words – “Cant”, ‘Try”, “Never” and “Hate”. These used to be religiously enforced (the penalty is a big one as well!)…lately not so much. But when you say that you “HATE” something it really sucks the energy right out of you! It is basically saying that I am not taking on this challenge…I don’t like it and I don’t want to do it.
To embrace a challenge you need to have an attitude that you are looking forward to being successful…I still remember when Zara was still working at the gym and she said to me “Who wouldn’t want to give that a go – that’s going to make everyone so much better”…just such a great attitude.
Having a positive approach to ‘challenging work’ is such an important part of being ‘tough’ – you need to start with the approach that you WILL get to the end, you WILL succeed…thinking in terms of maybes or failure…again, that sort of thinking really makes it hard to keep pushing ahead.
Anyway, all this stuff we do in the gym is HARD. I can tell you now that when I drive to work early in the morning there aren’t many cars on the road – and when I drive home after a 7:45pm class there aren’t many cars on the road. What you guys are doing in trying to live a fit and healthy life is amazing and you are miles ahead of most people out there. BUT. If you want to succeed, you simply have to be TOUGH. You have to be committed to getting it done – despite the obstacles that each and every day throws up. You have to be prepared to take control of your own circumstances – really be responsible for doing things ‘RIGHT’. And you have to be POSITIVE about the hard work that is headed your way.
See you in the gym,
Michael.
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