Hi and welcome to another week.
Apologies for the lack of a blog last week – I spent the weekend in Melbourne attending the AFL coaches conference which was a terrific event. Whilst there was a lot of technical ‘footy’ stuff on offer (which was great) one of the sessions that resonated with me the most was all about ‘Mental Resilience’.
The main focus of the session was that resilience – adapting positively to a stressful event – is a NORMAL behaviour, rather than an extraordinary one. I found that interesting given that a willingness to work hard and overcome adversity is generally accepted to be ‘rare’ attribute in society today…
What the presenter (Matti Clements from the AFLPA) did say was that whether or not you were able to see a ‘stressor’ as a positive or negative event was directly related to several elements – key amongst them being:
1. Relationships (or your ‘support network’).
2. Goal-setting.
3. Self-image.
Of course, I have been thinking about these things in terms of Round 1 Fitness and the training that goes on there. I think we all have that feeling in our stomach (occasionally, anyway!) when the time comes to go to the gym…”It is going to be hard”, “I will go tomorrow”, “I don’t have enough time right now”, “My knee/shoulder/calf/elbow etc is too sore to train right now”, “It is too hot”, “I forgot my wraps” etc etc. These thoughts are all feelings of stress and – just like Matti Clements said to me last week – can be easily overcome IF the right support elements are in place.
First, does your self-image support the action you are about to take? Have you convinced yourself that ‘I go to the gym’. Do you see the training you are doing as part of your ongoing lifestyle or just short-term ‘thing’? Stress will be reduced if you can make what you DO match your internal image of self – if you are continually telling yourself you are lazy, cant’ lose weight, will never be fit, are uncoordinated (and on, and on) then being OTHER than those things will cause feelings of stress and discomfort. Be positive about your self-image and about your ability to achieve.
Secondly, are your goals in place? What are you trying to achieve by going to the gym? Weight loss? Great! Write it down – how much you are going to lose, by when, and HOW you are going to do it. “I am going to lose 3 kilograms by the end of February. To do this I will complete three circuits per week at Round 1 Fitness, walk for 45 minutes twice per week and remove all white bread, white rice and soft drinks from my diet.” If your goals are in place – and both CLEAR and REAL to you (you mean them) – you will find your stress levels dropping (your RESILIENCE increasing) as you focus on what you are trying to achieve rather than the initial negative thoughts.
Goal setting and self image are key, but the single most important factor in developing resilience is your personal relationships – your support network, friends and family. Is what you are doing/trying to do supported by your partner, family and friends? This is true for all elements of your life, but if your partner is encouraging you in your efforts (‘You look great, keep it up’) rather than being negative (‘You better get your butt down to the gym – you need it’) your resilience and ability to push aside negative thoughts will increase. I hope that myself and the trainers at Round 1 Fitness become part of your support network and are able to encourage you in your efforts to achieve – but your partner and family will be the most important factors in reducing your stress about training and allowing you to achieve your goals.
I know this has been a bit of a ramble (translating a 90 minute presentation into three paragraphs has been a bit of a challenge) but I hope you get the key points:
Gym Update #1
By now I guess most people will have seen the new audio/visual setup in the gym – with a couple of plasma’s in the main training area, and one each in the weights area and the office area. I hope these really do add to the experience of training at Round 1 Fitness, and I would like to think that as footy season kicks off that we might be able to arrange a few get togethers around events such as the western derbies. Remember though, all discerning football supporters dress in red, white and blue.
Gym Update #2
Probably a couple of weeks late with the announcement but the Skinny Mini 5-day detox program (http://www.skinnymini.com.au/) is available at Round 1 Fitness for the price of $35. I spent last week on the program and I have to say that aside from one thing found the experience pretty painless and quite beneficial…lost a couple of kilo’s and found the extra focus on what I put in my mouth a good thing.
The ‘tough’ bit for me was no coffee for 5-days. This was a lot tougher than I thought it would be, and whilst I am happy to recommend the program to everyone given my positive outcomes I would add this warning – If you crave caffeine you will need to dial up the willpower to ‘11’ on the scale on days 2 and 3. Like I said earlier though, if your goals are clear sticking to the program is a lot easier than if you are just doing it “because”.
Gym Update #3
New gear, new gear, more new gear. I got the news through on Friday that the outstanding orders from Hart Sport and Australian Kettlebells have finally been shipped. This means the new skipping ropes I know a few people are eagerly awaiting, as well as the Power Rings and Ropes (refer to the blog from a couple of weeks back for the video links: https://round1fitness.com.au/new-equipment-january-challenge-update) should arrive in the next few days.
In addition, there is another order on the way from Jim Bradley Speedball – just some spares really for the speedballs (4 replacements for the ones that are getting a bit too out of shape) and some new rubbers for the floor-to-ceiling balls to add a bit of bounce back into a couple of them. I have also ordered a few new pairs of ‘communal’ gloves which will be a relief to a few people out there….remember though, if you are training regularly at Round 1 Fitness you really need your own pair of gloves – and also remember that all of our 12-month members (including renewals!) receive a free pair of gloves as part of their membership.
Kids Club Reminder
Remember, the Kids Club is back this week and will operate as follows:
– Members kids train for FREE.
– All others will be required to purchase a Kids Club Pass – this will entitle you to 10 Sessions and will cost $50.
Friends of Round 1 Fitness
Not one but three members at Round 1 Fitness all work at the same place – Ryan’s Quality Meats in Jandakot (http://www.ryansqualitymeats.com.au/). Now, even before I knew Greg, Shane and Chris I was happily recommending that Ryan’s was the place to go for quality meat – particularly the rib-eye steak that I so obsessively marinade – to friends, family and even casual acquaintances.
Now that I know the guys a little better and have heard them all talk passionately about providing a quality product I am even happier to encourage everyone to get down there…it is only 5-minutes from the gym (over the freeway, behind Bunnings on Biscayne way) and if friendly service and quality produce is what you are after, Ryan’s is the place to go.
Mind you, if the sessions have been particularly hard during the week that you pay them a visit, maybe best NOT to mention that I recommended you head over there.
Link of the week
The most common problem people report to me after training at Round 1 Fitness for a few weeks is that their wrists and hands are getting sore. My usual first step advice is ‘get yourself some hand-wraps, they make a lot of difference’ but many people are tentative to do so because they lack the confidence to put them on. Now myself, Sean and Jason are always happy to help – but having the time to help you in between classes is often another story.
There really are an infinite number of ways to do it, but one of my YouTube favourites – ‘Denny the Trainer’ – has a great little 5 minute spiel on probably the simplest way to wrap your hands: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAn22E5wENM&feature=related. Check out the link, wrap your hands and punch nice and hard with the confidence that your wrists and knuckles are being properly supported/protected.
Anyway, that is it from me for another week.
See you in the gym!
Michael.
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