Hey Team,

Happy Sunday.  Cheers to everyone who got along to the gym this past week.  I know I for one have been enjoying the ‘every day is moving day’ class plan in boxing and the benefits of the ‘re-imagined’ gym have done for providing a bit of ‘clarity’ as we move around…just being able to quickly and easily SEE where the next station is and know ‘WHERE’ I should be has been great.  Hopefully I can get rid of the second grass run and install some rubber soon (it’s out of stock right now!) because one area of clear improvement right now is the ‘barbell’ area…

Over in the strength gym, we are coming up to our final ‘reload’ week this cycle before we push back into our program and our testing for Deadlift, Back Squat and Bench Press…here’s hoping the change-up of the last couple of weeks has everyone firing come testing day.  On top of that, there is the new ‘Fully Loaded’ series (as we really lean into the Body Building elements of that program) and a revised structure to Developing Athlete…feedback from the kids has been great so far but the results (as always) aren’t in the mirror…they’re on the playing field!

Today’s blog is a bit of a rambling affair and it comes from a conversation I had with a prospective member – apparently they came in and did 1-session 10+ years ago – during the last week.  They have been ‘stop-starting’ on their health and fitness journey pretty much since that time…giving things a go for a few weeks before becoming disheartened and falling back into bad habits.  If that sounds like a common story to you it did to me as well.  Here goes!

First off, I wondered if you guys knew about the what’s and whys of some of the expectations that I have of the coaches at Round 1.  I regularly get the “Oh…you’re joining us today” comment from people (well, not people who have been with the gym for ages but from new members) who are at the gym and see me putting on my hand-wraps.  The short answer is, “Yeah, I train by doing classes at Round 1 just like you do.”  I make sure the trainers do this as well – they need to complete 3x sessions every single week.

Now, I can see everyone shrugging with a bit of a ‘so what…I do more than 3-classes’…and I get that.  But remember, the window that the trainers get to do their classes is quite restricted.  Because when they are working, they obviously cannot do classes.  And they cannot do the classes ‘before work’ or ‘after work’ like most people do…because they are WORKING at those times.  It gets TRICKY for the guys to get them done and I do pretty relentlessly hassle them to get them done.  Now – do I care what classes they do?  NOPE.  They can box if that’s their thing – they can do a strength class if they prefer…whatever they like.  But to me it is a critical part of coaching because unless you DO IT then you don’t know what it’s like.  And if you don’t know what it’s like to try and – I don’t know, get 50-cals on the Ski in 3-minutes then complete 20-KB swings all in a single 4-minute round…well unless you have EXPERIENCED it you are not going to be able to coach others through it?  Or at a minimum, you’re going to struggle to coach others through it.  

There’s a bit more than just “so you know what it’s like” to why I do classes every week and why I insist on the coaching team participating in group training sessions.  Being ‘ACTIVE’ in the gym – side-by-side with members – really enables myself and the coaching team to SHOW LEADERSHIP within our community.  And not with words (‘you should do this’) – but by taking ACTION that everyone can see and understand.

Remember that as coaches, we want everyone to get great results and outcomes – and we know that they don’t just happen.  Great outcomes are only achieved if you consistently show-up at the gym, work ‘hard’ when you get there and take care of your nutrition and recovery outside of those times.  But doing all of those things consistently is hard for a few weeks.  And when you understand it is a ‘lifestyle commitment’, well, that’s when it gets REALLY tough.  Like, RELENTLESS.  And choosing to do those ‘HARD’ things is a choice everyone needs to come to all on their own.  No-one else is going to get you out of bed at 5am.  YOU have to do that.  No-one else is going to drive you to the gym after a tough day at work.  YOU have to do that.  And I’m pretty sure when you chat to your friends and family about what they do before and after work, go to the gym and train hard is NOT the story you get told!  But imagine how much better off they would be if they did?  And imagine if you could influence them to do it?

I mean, what benefits do YOU get from your training?  Sure, long term health is key for a lot of people I talk to, but primary for me are the short-term benefits – specifically energy (feel so much more upbeat when I exercise) and mindset (the mental ‘break’ training gives me from my ‘work day’ is just GOLD).  Imagine if your friends who were complaining about lacking energy or work related ‘stress’ could solve those issues (solve = ha ha…let’s go with improve!) by doing what you do…getting some exercise done 3x per week and tidying up their food decisions?  Wouldn’t that be good?  Unfortunately you can’t really ‘talk’ them into it…you need to ‘lead’ them into it by just being the change you want to see…by just doing the stuff you have been doing and continuing to reap the benefits.  

Walking > Talking

Make no mistake; just continuing to show-up at the gym every day and choosing salad over chips/water over wine will not result in an overnight transformation for everyone around you. I mean, if only.  This stuff takes time, but that is ok – you will be CONSISTENT in choosing the nutritious meal over the easy one, CONSISTENT in getting to the gym and getting it done.  If you think your friends and family members aren’t watching, they are!  If you think your kids aren’t watching, well…they ABSOLUTELY are!  They will see you setting a standard and showing that living your life making positive and healthy choices every day does pay dividends.

Can you do more to help than ‘set an example’?  Well…of course.  But again, you cannot ‘preach’.  But you can ‘support’.  As James Clear said in ‘Atomic Habits’, Identity FOLLOWS Action.  Meaning that if someone wants to start doing some exercise, they need to start their journey by DOING some exercise.  It might be skipping a rope for 2-minutes, or doing some squats when they wake up in the morning.  It could be ANYTHING.  But the best way to help is to support…be there when they START.  Be alongside to help and encourage.  Be the person who isn’t judging how far they might have to go, but instead revels in their willingness to try and make a change!  Make a date with a friend to walk around Bibra Lake…or bring them to a group session with you at the gym.  Be the person who ENABLES the change.  The person who SUPPORTS the change…there are a myriad of ways to help and offer guidance to the people around you.  As a regular gym goer, you are in an ideal position to offer advice as to how to get your sessions in no matter HOW busy your schedule is.  But those people…they don’t need your words – and if they do, they’ll surely ask.  What they need is to ‘SEE’ you doing it.

Back to the prospective member.  I’m not sure if they’re coming in to train with us.  I hope they do and I know we can help.  But that part is up to them.  When they do come in though, they will find me and the other R1 coaches on the station next to them trying to set a positive example.

See you in the gym.

Michael.