Hey Team,

Welcome to another week.  I wanted to kick this off with a big congrats to everyone who got through the Murph workout on the weekend – with a special thanks to everyone who hung around to eat some breakfast with us.  It’s always great to have a chat to everyone ‘out’ of the training environment…I mean, I know we were still AT the gym but somehow standing around a bbq out the front has a completely different vibe than being in a huddle trying to listen to what the coaches want ‘next’…as always, we are keen to do a bit more social stuff but it so often seems that people are keen for ‘ANYTHING’…except for every single thing we try!  You have to laugh really…anyway, congrats to all the participants on Saturday and if you do have any ideas for social events, reach out!

Before I head into my topic of the week today I did want to mention that we will be trying something ‘different’ in the gym when July rolls around:  “Round 1 Thrive 30 Bootcamp”.  This will be running each day at 5pm (that’s it – no other times) in the strength gym.  It won’t be part of your normal membership pack – we have set things up so that the bootcamp is 5x weeks of training.

Creating your “PERFECT” week of training.

Back to my ‘topic’ of the week.  Putting together a “PERFECT” week of training.

This topic has really been driven by a lot of the 1-on-1 discussions I have been having with new-starters over the past couple of months.  Getting started at the gym really does seem ‘easy’ for me sitting on the outside – you pick a time, you show up and do what the trainer says, you do that a few more times each week…BINGO!  BUT sadly trying to follow this really ‘loose’ description is not quite that simple – mapping it out like that doesn’t really tick many boxes in terms of acknowledging the ‘other’ stuff in your life, taking into account recovery/rest days and thinking ‘out loud’ about making sure you incorporate some different training ‘types’…

Ultimately, what do people want?  Well – in reality it seems to come down to two main things that they are chasing:

Now – if you’ve chatted to me at all (and if you’re reading this I’ve no doubt you have these posts are not exactly a worldwide phenomenon!!) you will know that I take a pretty simple approach to all things health and fitness.  You need to eat like an adult and do both some structured and unstructured training each week.  I talk about being consistent with your food AND with your training…and being consistent in both areas for the LONG term.

Now – if it feels overwhelming for you to balance all of life’s responsibilities – family and work and everything else – and then just not having the energy (mostly the MENTAL energy) to get to the gym after that…well, I get it…and that’s what ‘creating a plan’ is for – to take the decision making process out of it.  And yep, there are still going to be days when getting ready up for the gym feels like an uphill battle – and one you don’t want to fight…but I’m pretty confident that you’ve overcome some other challenges in the past and been successful…you just have to decide that you’re ready and get on with it.​

And if you’re worried that it’s all too hard – can I just kind of stop you there and say that the gym has been here since 2010 and that we’ve coached many other people who have had to start from rock bottom…we do understand where you are coming from and that it isn’t easy…but then again, I’m pretty sure ‘easy’ wasn’t the word we used.  Creating the plan is easy.  Following the plan is ‘kinda’ easy.  Suffering through the sessions when it’s cold out and you could be sitting on the couch?  HARD.  But if you are dedicated, all of the stuff you are after is achievable with 3-4 days per week of ‘EFFORT’.  

Let’s face it – the basic equation for ‘results’ is pretty simple.  Commit to a routine – 3-4x days per week in the gym, layer in some active recovery and schedule in some ‘rest’.  All of that sounds SIMPLE AS when you write it on a page (just like ‘write blog every Sunday’ SOUNDS simple).  The devil – as always is in both the details and the execution.  So…let’s GO!

For both Mr. and Mrs Round1Fit who hold a Strength membership at the gym and need some additional guidance how to set their week up, here is what I would do (across a 7-day schedule):

What do these Active Recovery Day’s look like?  Well – it’s kind of up to you.  Active Recovery Day = deep stretch, long walk, walk-run at moderate intensity, bike ride to work, game of tennis or golf, etc. Think about movement without an agenda – so go for a walk on the beach, take the dog around the lake, kick the footy in the park with the kids…It means doing ‘something’ without a specific FOCUS.  It’s really the ‘UNSTRUCTURED’ training I spoke about before.

For Mr. and Mrs Round1Fit who are boxing only, obviously their training options would be a bit more limited in terms of class types.  Here’s the same 7-day schedule with one caveat:  If you can get to the Body Work class on a Friday (7am, included with your membership) then that sort of change up would be really valuable to your progress and overall athletic development – basically, the boxing sessions are amazing and include SOME strength work…getting in at least one day per week of strength biased training though can have a real impact for the long term.

I do understand that things get in the way and you will see I have included 4x sessions per week here rather than the usual 3x I recommend.  That’s really because of two reasons:

Now – I do regularly get questioned about “what if I can only get in one session per week…two at best – will that still work?”.  It’s a tough one to answer and my experience tells me that something is almost always better than nothing – 1-2 sessions per week is way (way) better than zero.  The challenge is with sporadic attendance that you can end up being ‘sore’ all the time – your body never gets fully conditioned to the training and you are left in a permanent state of ‘DOMS’ (delayed onset muscle soreness).  THAT SAID – carving out a time-slot for a supplemental session (particularly a boxing session to use as conditioning) alongside your other sporting passions can make a big difference.  Boxing is great ‘off legs’ conditioning (non running) for so many field sports including football, basketball, netball, hockey…you name it.

Breaking it down as simply as I can:

If you’re having trouble coming up with a ‘plan’ that works for you…well, ask for help.  I know most people are going to say “I don’t need help” and I totally get that – we all want to be independent and go it alone.  BUT.  Having gone through this process with literally hundreds of people over the last 14-years, I can assure you that sometimes all it takes is a different way of looking at things to find the pathway to the end…and I’m pretty much happy to do anything (short of driving to your house to pick you up and drive you to the gym) to help you be successful.

And if you’re reading through the shopping list of items in the basic equation and wondering what your calorie and protein numbers should be, start with the Round 1 Guide here:

https://round1fitness.com.au/round-1-simple-food-and-recipe-guide/

And if that isn’t enough for you, well – book an appointment and let’s get your numbers nailed down…

See you in the gym!

Michael.