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Change needs to be embraced to see results…

Changing for a week or two will not get the job done.

I see people going all in on their new diet plan or training program and they hit they ground running. It’s like they are a new person and have flipped the script on how they normal live their lives. This is great to see but it can be often a false dawn and not last the pace when it comes to long term results.

Ironically people have a fear of getting started with these things because they don’t want to change their ways but when they do start it’s all or nothing. No more crisps, chocolate, fizzy juice or remotely ‘Bad’ for you. After a few days they start to feel better, they have more energy and believe that they can see this through to a place they can manage and be happy.

Then one day they forget to prep their food for the day and have to buy processed alternatives. They then miss the gym two session in a row for various reasons. After a week or two they start to settle back into old habits like watching too much tv and eating junk while doing so and feel guilty but don’t stop themselves.

New habits can take up to 21 days to develop and become routine.

Most of us are more than likely on the cusp of forming new habits and routines by doing them for a few weeks before reverting back to our old ways. We just don’t give ourselves a chance and enough time to make it to the other side of the new habit. Which is where most people fall down.

So the next time you start something new give yourself a decent amount of time for it to actually work. Therefore you will then allow yourself the chance to get the benefit from it and not give after 12 days and declare it a failure. There needs to be patience.

It’s like if you start a new job or career. You don’t expect to be promoted or given a pay rise straight away. You need to work hard and push yourself and only then will you be given the rewards you deserve.

In the grand scheme of things 21 days is not a long time, so give yourself a chance.

 

How do you know if you are ready?

I see it all the time…

People get in touch saying they are ready to get started ‘I want to change’ is often the phrase used. Now this is all well and good but this alone is not enough. Saying you are ready to change isn’t the same as actually changing. The mental decision when you say I have had enough and I can’t continue this way. It’s only going to get worse and you will become even more unhappy with yourself. It’s sadly a domino effect and one thing can set off a chain reaction and all the other aspects of your life start to fall down.

I see a lot of people signing up at the gym thinking that this is the only step required for them to change how they look and feel. They very quickly get into old habits and routines, This prevents them from making progress and becomes pointless them having even signed up in the first place. They never thought about the actual work they would need to put in for them to get results. Then they start to resent the fact they are paying for something they don’t use. Then they cancel.

Back to square one.

There are a few ways to combat this and they can be linked to your personality. Do we need to go all in and change everything at once or do we need to start slow and build up one habit at a time. That’s down to you knowing what kind of person you are. However as I alluded to before the main reason you will decide to make the change for good is when it you truly and honestly had enough. When you look at yourself and say I can’t live like this for ever. Only then will you make that mental switch.

In truth most people will never get to this stage. They will float between feeling down about the way they look to not being that bothered. They will go back and forth and never get to the enough is enough stage. You can however prevent this from happening at all by taking control of our actions and make a plan.

Why I LOVE it…

I am clearly biased when it comes to exercise and I genuinely enjoy and LOVE training every week. Don’t get me wrong there are times when I can see it far enough if I have lots on or I am tired and sore but in the main I look forward to sessions. The feeling it gives you is definitely worth turning up alone. You may not feel great at the time but afterwards it lifts you and gives you a sense of achievement. It gives you more enthusiasm to go about your day in a positive way.

A lot of people aren’t in the same place as me when it comes to exercise and I totally get that. It doesn’t carry the same weight for everyone and some people genuinely don’t like exercise. People have a fear of being looked at and judged. They also fear not being able to do certain exercises and looking stupid. I would say they haven’t been in a good environment if they have been made to feel this way and that it wouldn’t be the same experience everywhere they go.

I think once you have experienced the true benefits of exercise you will truly learn to love it too. The way it makes your body feel is strong, confident and able to do things physically that not everyone has the privilege of being able to do. Also the way it makes you look lean, toned and be able to stand in front of the mirror and say that you are not fully satisfied but happy with what you see staring back at you. You can’t buy this feeling but you can control it and put in the work to get it.

I see it with the women we have in the gym all the time, They start at the appropriate level and after time they progress and start to achieve things they didn’t think they could do before they started. It’s amazing to see and not only does it give you more confidence in what we are teaching our clients but it does wonders for them and how they see themselves. If I could give everyone this feeling I would in a heartbeat. Sadly not everyone gets the chance to experience it but that’s what we are trying to accomplish here at Synergy Performance. Our aim is to help as many people as possibly with their health and fitness and ensure people get to experience what enjoying exercise feels like and the benefits it brings.

Don’t look at exercise as a chore view of it more as a tool you have at your disposal to ensure health and well being is something you are in control of.

‘I Know What I Am Meant To Do’

I love it when people say to me ‘I know what I am meant to be doing, I just don’t’. So basically they know what foods to eat, how much and the best exercises to do to achieve the body they want. Well I am afraid if that just doesn’t cut it. If that was the case then why don’t you just do it. I have been learning about health and fitness for years. I still don’t have all the answers. I spend a LOT of my time studying this stuff and have amassed a lot of information over the years, which puts me in a great position to work with people and help them improve their health and fitness.

The reason most people say they know what they are meant to do but don’t is because of ACTION. Well in this case the lack of ACTION. I fully understand there are times when LIFE gets in the way and you just get caught up in it all. Then things like the gym and preparing meals take a back seat. That’s life and that’s what happens. However like I have mentioned before that’s when if you have good habits in place you will fall back into them when things calm down and a bit of normality resumes.

So if you DO know what do then stop talking about it and start doing it. If however you don’t really know what you are doing or what you are meant to do then go somewhere where someone can show you and get you on the right track. Then there is more chance you will stick to it and get the results and benefits over the long term. Instead of giving up after 3 weeks. Don’t be scared to ask for help.

We spend time and effort trying to educate people to make better choices and show them the way WE feel is best for them to succeed in the gym and in the kitchen. That is our job and that is why we do what we do. We all need a bit of guidance and support at some point so go out and get it. The sooner you do the sooner you can actually do what you are meant to do instead of just saying it.

It all works you just need to stick with it

Simple is the future…

As I get older and wiser. Not sure that’s altogether a good thing but anyway I really like things a simple as possible. Now being a man that is a fairly obvious statement but the more I learn the more I want to strip things back. This runs across all aspects of my life home life, nutrition, training and whatever else comes into the mix. It doesn’t always workout this way but I try my best.

I first noticed it in terms of training and how I go about my workouts now. I love nothing more than picking 3 exercises working 3 different body parts or muscle groups and doing multiple rounds. A good example of this would be Squat, Push Up and Pull Up. This is as simple as it gets and works 3 of the major movements/muscle groups. This can be great when you are short of time or don’t want to have to think about it too much. You can save the more complex workout for another time.

It links into nutrition as well. Like when you make dinner for the family but make too much on purpose so that you have some left over for your lunch the next day. This will not only save you time but take away the headache of having to decide what to have and ensure you have all the ingredients in stock. Another example would having the same thing for breakfast everyday or even every other day so that you have 2 go to options. That is simplicity at it’s finest.

One of the reasons we fail when it comes to trying to improve our health and fitness by making massive changes is that we have too much choice. All those exercise and all those foods??? How do we decide what ones to have and when. What exercises do we do when we are in the gym. It can get really confusing and complex so the easiest way is to keep it as simple as possible.

KISS is often referred as an acronym for either KEEP IT SIMPLE, STUPID or KEEP IT SUPER SIMPLE.

Both work well and is something we should use just to remind ourselves that when things do get a bit complicated we should just strip it back and simplify things. If you only have 1 or 2 choices then it makes it easy. Having 10 choices is where we go wrong.

Variety is the spice of life but simplicity is the key to success.

Do you even care?

I bang on about health and fitness a LOT. It’s my job and something I love and care about, not only for helping myself but for everyone I work with. Now I am guessing you wouldn’t be reading this if you didn’t care too much about your health and fitness. Well when I say ‘Don’t Care’ that’s maybe the wrong term but some people give off that impression even if that’s not their intention.

I shall explain in a bit more detail as to what I mean. Some people have no interest in doing exercise because they don’t enjoy it and don’t see the importance. These same people eat whatever they want with no thought in terms of nutrition input good or bad. Some people on the outside get away with it by staying naturally slim and don’t have excessive weight gain from their lack of exercise on bad nutritional choices.

These are the people that we love to hate. They eat what they want and don’t exercise but never put on weight. My question is do you even care? Whether it’s through lack of knowledge regarding health and fitness some people just aren’t interested. I would counter that by saying just because on the outside things look ok in terms of body shape they aren’t necessarily ok on the inside and even if they are they won’t always be.

Exercise and a balanced nutritional approach is essential to long term health and disease prevention. It can’t be overlooked to the point where we just neglect what it is we should be doing. Now this will mean different things for different people. We don’t all do the same types of exercise or eat the same types of foods but we must ensure we are making a conscious effort to improve our habits and routines.

So I stress highly that you take care of your health and fitness to make sure you are still here annoying people for years to come. If you don’t know what to do then find out. Learn and take action. You will look back and think how did I survive walking around feeling like crap all day compared to how I feel now. But you have to go through that change to experience it and find out for yourself. Don’t just take my word for it.

If anyone should care about YOUR body and looking after YOUR health and fitness then it should be YOU. No one will do it for you.

What happens when you get there?

I sometimes to refer to the process and the journey. I will elaborate on my meaning on these two words. What I mean by the process is the action we need to take daily to achieve our goals. Then the journey is the time it takes you to get from point A to B (I have mentioned this before). We are always going through the process and the journey. It just happens to be different for all of us. We all have different goals and aspirations. Some people don’t want for much or think about making goals to achieve. Hence why the process and the journey is different for everyone.

You need to find a process that works for you. The things you do on a daily, weekly and monthly basis to keep yourself on track with that you want. It will change from time to time as you discover new things. If they work you keep them in and if they don’t you try something else. It needs to be sustainable, hence why it needs to be subject to change. This will continue to evolve as you do and that’s ok.

Then there is the journey towards point B. What if you achieve point B. Then what? What if you never achieve point B. Then what? That’s the thing, when you do reach point B you just create a new point B and continue forward on the journey by following the process. The same goes for if you don’t get there. You will just keep moving forward trying to get there by trying different things. We have to realise we aren’t going to wake up one day having reached our goals and then that’s us done.

What got you to that point isn’t going to get you to the next point. We need to see what worked and what didn’t. Then we can make changes based on what we discovered. This doesn’t have to be anything big. It can be something like ‘I have noticed my commitment to the gym hasn’t be as good as it was as I am working late more and more. I will need to get up earlier and go to the gym in the morning instead’. Whatever you need to do to make it work and still fit into your lifestyle then do it.

Enjoy the process of trying to get better, keep showing up and doing the work. One day you will wake up and be a lot further down the path to what you would be if you had just threw in the towel and gave up on being a better version of yourself. It doesn’t happen overnight but it will happen.

It all comes down to you and only you.

Stop Passing The Buck…

I previously talked about seeing results or the lack there of. I spoke about our daily habits and having a plan to get from A to B. Now I stand by everything I mentioned in that post. The reason I am going over it again is to do with the reason we are where we are. The fact you are in situation good or bad is down to YOU and YOU alone.

We often hear excuses and reasons WHY we aren’t where we want to be. That isn’t just in terms of health and fitness. That includes job, social life, relationships and everything else. We are the reason we are where we are. There may be someone genuine reasons like illness that are out with our control to a certain extent. We all just want to throw out excuses to cover our track as to why we haven’t achieved something.

This is the same for the majority of people. I think about this a lot. I am not 100% in control of this either. My life has ups and downs and sometimes my fitness doesn’t get enough attention and time because I am spending time with my family or working. That’s not an excuse it’s a fact. It’s all a trade off from one thing to another. If often refer to it as spinning plates. I have a lot of plates to spin and I can’t keep them going at the same speed as I focus more on one thing than another sometimes. But that’s the way it is. I can’t make excuses because I paid more attention to my business rather than my fitness. At that point in time a felt that was more important.

So that’s what we need to do figure out what is IMPORTANT. Then we can focus on that and the other stuff doesn’t matter so much. We just need to accept the fact we can’t do it all. As much as we like to try. It’s like my point of reverse engineering your way from point A to point B. To get the maximum results for your goal we only need to focus on what is important and let the other stuff go. So it’s time to drop the excuses and double down on what needs to be the focus. If that’s relationships great, if that’s career great and if that’s you great.

It needs to personal to you not what someone else thinks you should be doing. Sadly mostly people are too focused on their own stuff to worry about YOU. This might seem a bit harsh but some of us need to hear it. It might just stop us falling back on our excuses as some sort of safety net.

 

Does Every Workout Need To Kill You?

Our philosophy for exercise is pretty simple. Working through various movement patterns on a regular basis to ensure people are ‘fit for purpose’ whether that’s sport or everyday life. We use resistance from various pieces of equipment and lots of variations of the previously mentioned movement patterns. This is what we BELIEVE in.

I have no problem with people who have different philosophies as not everyone thinks the same as us. I do strongly feel that everyone should have a form of resistance (Strength) training in their weekly exercise routine. As we age we lose muscle mass and our bones get weaker. I would say this is pretty common knowledge. However common knowledge doesn’t always lead to common practice. When I say muscle mass I don’t mean big biceps. We need muscles mass to function and carry out daily tasks. So surely we want to hold on to as much of this as we can for as long we can

I am getting to my point.

It seems people are under the impression that to get results in the gym we need to be sweating buckets. This doesn’t need to be the case we don’t need to be crawling out the gym for the workout to be effective. People go to dance classes and sweat buckets but don’t see much change in their body shape even though they lost a couple of pounds. I show someone a 16kg Kettlebell and they run for the hills.

Every time someone comes to one our classes for the first time then might think at the time that wasn’t too hard ‘I didn’t sweat too much’. Obviously it depends on what class it is because they are all different in terms of intensity but when they wake up the next day they DEFINITELY know they were at a class last night. Some people can barely use their legs. I don’t say this to boast. Only to highlight they are using their muscles in a way they normally don’t. This soreness passes after a few classes and the muscle start to adapt to the exercise. Then we need to increase the intensity, reps, frequency or resistance to ensure progression.

I am all for variety when it comes to exercise and love people doing different sports and different types of exercise. It needs to be fun and sustainable. I just NEED there to be some form of resistance training in their. When people get this and run with this it’s great. I have women in the gym who went from lifting 6kg or 8kg when the first started and it being tough to now lifting 30+kg. Now that is progression. They surprise themselves and get great confidence in not only how it makes them feel but how it makes them look. AWESOME.

So just remember you don’t need to be on the verge of passing out for a workout to be useful.

The reason you aren’t getting results…

Life can be a funny one sometimes. We go through a lot, great times, sad times and everything in between. We have ups and downs that effect our day to day mood, happiness and general outlook on life. As humans we let all this push and pull us in different directions of emotion. Good and bad. This is the key to our success in anything, not just in health and fitness.

It’s how we deal and handle what life gives us will determine our results.

Now I am not going to sit here and say it’s easy. It’s not that simple. I can’t say to someone who is going through genuine heart ache and pain that they should be doing more to control the food they eat or get to the gym more. That would make me a pretty bad person. I like to think I am not too bad. If I have someone who no matter what they do right (at least what they think is right) can’t get the results they so badly desire and they want to give up. Am I just going to give up on them?

Not a chance!

It’s my job to educate people on the best methods to get them to a place they are happy with themselves, their fitness and their health. As I mentioned it’s how we deal with all the different situations that we face on a daily basis that will determine if we WIN or not. As I also mentioned before that is easier than done. All comes down to our habits and routines.

If we get to a point when our good habits and routines out number our bad ones then we are onto a winner. This will ensure that when we do have a bad day or something unexpected happens then we are prepared. Our good habits will tick away in the background. Not all of them I must say but some of them will. It’s a form of damage limitation. If a few bad habits creep back in when the chips are down then that’s cool because when the clouds pass we are back to normality and all the good habits are back in play. Otherwise if we layer bad habits on top of more bad habits then it’s a compound effect and will only get worse.

Fitness can be a great outlet when things aren’t going well in terms of getting some headspace. Get a way from it all and just shut off. I just wished more people used this a coping strategy. It’s usually people’s nutrition that takes the biggest hit when they go through a bad patch. Most people comfort eat and use food as a short term cure for their problems.

I hear you saying ok ‘Smart Guy’ what do we do now? How do we get to this place you talk about?

Once again it’s not EASY. First you need to figure out where you are and where you want to go. What is point A your starting point and what is point B what you are aiming for. Then you can reverse engineering it so that you break it down into what is required. When it comes to health and fitness goals this usually revolves around eating better, going to the gym more and having more will power to stick at it.

This will get you so far but without a plan you might be back at your starting point before too long.

Check out our 7 day FREE trial: https://synergy-performance.co.uk/7-day-free-trial/

We can introduce you to “The Synergy System” which will help you with this exact thing.