Life is also complex. One of the skills is to make this complexity a little less complex. Simplify the complex. De-clutter. Simplify life. Most of us would agree on this too.
Life is also an exercise in Risk Management. Anyone that thinks otherwise needs to put their thinking hat on for a few minutes. Look back at your life. Look at your life so far to this point. Look at all the decisions you have made either consciously or subconsciously to minimise your life risks. How many?
Many.
I believe one category with high risk to a growing number of human beings today, partly because of the increasing levels of obesity is cardiovascular disease and other stress-related disorders.
As I see it, it is not enough to just eat the right foods and keep cholesterol levels low. It is also not enough to exercise regularly, not enough still, to take regular holidays to ‘get away from it all’.
Nope, not enough.
How can we lower that moderate to high risk of cardiovascular and stress-related diseases? As I see it, to protect ourselves and lower these real Life Risks, we must learn to ‘switch-off’. Like I tell most of my apprentices in the gym and in life, we need to learn to “quiet the mind”.
Easier said than done.
We need to learn how to ‘turn off our engines’ in order to lengthen the effective useful life of our time on this planet. What I mean by this is that we need to switch off our production of the “Fire within”. What Fire Within, you may be asking?
You see, we are many things. One thing I know is that we are not in control of ourselves as much as we think we are. We are hormonal creatures. Because of this, the Fire Within is a term I use for the production of the hormone – “adrenaline”. I also refer to this as the “Energy Hormone”. The hormone that gives you that sense of Vitality. The hormone that is triggered whenever we a faced with a ‘flight or fight’ response to a threat. That fire within needs to be turned off, when no longer needed.
This hormone, this Fire Within needs to be tamed. To be controlled. Better. Many people need to learn to become less dependent on this energy hormone for their everyday living. As a keen observer of human behaviour, I believe that like many other things people struggle with managing, in life – their diets, their money, their insatiable desire for ‘newness’, their constant dis-satisfaction with the old etc, many people do not know how to ‘switch off’ this vital hormone – the giver of vitality or life and also – THE TAKER!
Not turning the Fire Within OFF, allows emotions such as anger, frustration, irritation, challenge and excitement trigger this energy hormone: adrenaline. I see many people incapable of managing these psychological triggers of this deadly hormone. Incapable of bringing this hormone under control. They let these emotions get the better of them.
Effective stress management is what is needed. Some rules of the brain to consider –
Step 1: Quiet the Mind.
Step 2: Repeat to Remember.
Step 3: Remember to Repeat.
Effective stress management requires that we be healthy in mind and spirit, not just in our physical bodies. What I am talking about here when I refer to effective stress management, it is to “quiet the mind …. And spirit”. This is what will truly allow you to manage one of your life’s greatest risks: adrenalin mis-management.
Eating well and exercising is not enough.
Many individuals seek adrenalin ‘highs’ and seek increasing levels of excitement and joy to enjoy the thrill of challenge. They never seem to get enough. Constantly seeking more and more different ways to experience the adrenalin rush. I believe these people may find it much more difficult to manage adrenalin which could likely increase their life risks.
Ask yourself: are you one of these types of people?
Like any surfer would know, you cannot keep riding the peak of the wave forever as there will always be a trough. A low point. Adrenaline “junkies” need to train and re-train themselves to experience life without the constant novel stimulation. They need to come down from the “mountain-tops” and enjoy the peace and calmness of the valley. This is where true rest and recuperation/re-charging and healing can occur.
Please do.
Your life depends on it more than you think. Turn off the Fire Within.
The hustle and bustle and frantic pace of modern living does not allow us the luxury of natural recovery. We are robbed of it. This comes at a cost: an ever-increasing state of mental diseases or stress-related diseases. A costly price to pay for not managing the energy hormone, better.
Because of this theft brought on us by modern-day living, we find ourselves planning these ‘vacations or holidays’ in to our lives, through deliberate design. But, you cannot escape YOU – you cannot run away from your mind.
Even Jesus Christ, the greatest psychologist that ever lived, thought it was very important, too. Rest, that is. There is a passage in the bible where he did request of his disciples to follow him to a quiet place and get some rest (somewhere in Mark gospel, I think).
Think about it: Jesus Christ thought it was necessary all those years ago.
Now, from a Christian – religious point-of-view, if Jesus Christ thought it was necessary for him and his disciples to periodically get some rest, then, who are we to think we can exist without it?
Practice switching off the Fire Within before the flames burn out your life before your time.
Pour some water to put out those flames. From time to time.
Don’t just treat the symptom (vacations/holidays). Focus on treating the cause: Quietening your mind. And spirit.
The title does not refer to what some of us did in our youth with beer and the various other types of alcohol. No, I am talking about: water, and consuming more of it.
When you wake up, go to the toilet and relieve yourself first thing, drag yourself from the bathroom to the kitchen sink and pour 12 glasses of water (approximately 250ml per glass) in to a larger flask or water bottle. The water bottle should be able to hold 3.0L of liquid, in this case – water or H2O (for the chemistry inclined).
Approximate time needed to do this:3 minutes or 180 seconds.
Can you take 180 seconds out of your ‘busy’ day to do this very important task? You bet you can! This is the 2nd Tip to “Tip-Top” shape and all it takes is 3 minutes.
So, back to my previous blog, when we add the 3 minutes to the time it took to do the first habitual tip (which was less than five minutes), you have an accumulated total of 8 minutes. Yep, eight minutes to invest to a more healthier – YOU.
What to do after you’ve filled the water bottle? Put it in the fridge to cool. Why? Because, you are going to take it with you to work and be ready to drink from it throughout the day until you finish it.
Why is this tip valuable to your body and worth your time investment?
Water makes up more than sixty percent of your body’s mass. It is vital to your health and vitality and without sufficient water intake, you could put your life at risk. If you didn’t know this, sometimes when your body tells you that it is hungry, a lot of times, it is actually asking you for more water. It is telling you, you are thirsty.
Why? Well, if you are not aware of this, the body does draw a lot of its water from the food you eat.
So, when you constantly sip water throughout your work day, in addition to its health benefits, you will feel fuller. And when you drink before, during and after every meal, it reduces your appetite, especially during the rest of your day.
There are many studies done on what the recommended daily amount of water an average person requires and generally, there is a consensus that a person should drink anywhere between 8 and 10 glasses (250ml) per day. Great!
The question I would like you to ask yourself is this: are you currently drinking that many? Be honest. I am certain that many (maybe you included) are not drinking anywhere near the recommended daily allowance.
If you’re staying physically active (and I am presuming most of you reading this are active), having a little bit more (12 glasses) is wiser, giving you a little buffer for the additional energy output you expand during exercising.
Most of you know that the moment you realize that you’re thirsty, it’s a little too late. The body, by that stage has already lost approximately 4-5% of its total water. Now, you should note that your energy output is heavily dictated by the amount of water or hydration level you have at any point in time. Losing just 1 percent of your body weight in water (approximately 1kg to 2kg) can decrease your overall energy output by as much as 20 to 30 percent.
Now, that is a significant reduction in potential energy output. It will affect your vitality. You will notice this lack of energy in your training sessions. You can see that dehydration puts unnecessary stress on your body, on your organs. Your body goes hunting for water in other places – within the body itself. Where do you think it will find water? Yep, you guessed it – your kidneys, your stomach, colon and also, where you least want to lose it – your hard earned muscles.
All that muscle you have been working hard in the gym for months. Years, perhaps. Being catabolised. Not good. Not what you desire. You want to work hard to build muscle and then hang on to whatever muscle you have. Muscle is precious. Preserve it as best you can from it been cannibalized by its own body.
From a health point-of-view, your organs are put under unnecessary stress than it already has and does not work at its most effective and efficient selves. Your brain requires adequate water to allow you to focus and think at its optimum. A lack of water can also relate to recurring headaches and migraines. I have seen a reduction in these ailments over the years with my clients, the frequency and intensity of such drops.
From a muscle point-of-view, muscles that don’t have sufficient water will mean that your lifts in the gym due to a reduction in your strength levels. This would mean a less than your best effort which would translate in to less potential for muscle growth. No growth means no progress. No progress ultimately leads to an empty, unhappy feeling in your gut. This remains true not only for muscle but for almost all areas in our lives – not experiencing a step-by-step progression towards whatever goal you are working towards.
No progress – you get de-motivated. Progress – you feel motivated. The latter feeling is preferable, I believe.
We are all ‘goal-seeking’ animals, so make this 2nd Tip of my Top Ten Tips to a healthier you a part of your daily life. Take action and start making this habit a part of your life. Today. In a week, see how you feel.
It takes approximately 8 minutes of your day to carry out these two habits. Give your body, your life what it needs. Simply, because you’re worth it. The compound effect of making these two tips habit is contribution to a better quality of life in your future.
You’re now Aware. Apply Action. Adapt accordingly.
What do you think are some of the factors that most often prevent the anyone from reaching his or her greatest potential – in whatever field? In my experience as a coach helping people of all ages and skill levels over the last two decades I’ve heard many barriers or excuses that people have told me regarding why they don’t or cannot make the time to go to the gym. Many, believe me.
What I have learned is that when you funnel out all the cr#p and lies people tell themselves, there appears to be two common barriers that often prevent most people from performing to their fullest. A barrier to ‘giving their all’. A barrier to ‘never giving up on themselves’. What do you think it is? Yep, some of you may have guessed it.
The first, as I see it, is a pattern of failures and past mistakes. When each of us look back honestly on our lives so far, we would all notice that we have made countless mistakes. Had a thousand failures. The second related barrier that appears to be holding people back is fear of failure. Yes, that other ‘F’ word: FAILURE.
Someone once said that “Failure is success deferred”. Very true. The key is patience. Most very successful people in all fields of life, most people that have reached the top of their professions or field of expertise, have all failed. Not once, but multiple times in the process of achieving success, of reaching out for their true potential. If you are going to fail, you might as well, fail big, someone once said. So, don’t be afraid to fail, if you’re going to do it in the pursuit of reaching success, then go ahead: Fail big.
Fail big – learn big!
If you’re a Christian, you, like me, may view these barriers through a different set of lenses or perspective. What I mean to say is that from a Christian perspective, the basic tenets of Christianity addresses these challenges most of us face throughout our lives and helps us remove these two major barriers.
As I recall from my early teachings in Catholic classes, being a Christian, we are taught that our past is forgiven; we are taught from a young age that we can start over with a ‘clean slate’. That making mistakes is a very natural part of life. And because of this, it gives Christians the resolve to trust that the mistakes of the past need not hold them back. It need not hold anyone back, even if you are not a Christian (and you are aware of possibilities). Everyone makes mistakes. Accept that. It reminds us that we are ‘human’ and ‘not perfect’.
So, it follows, according to the belief instilled in Christianity, we are taught and encouraged to never fear the “F” word – failure, that modern society looks upon as a taboo subject to talk about. That other “F’ word that everyone is afraid to open up and admit: Failure. As a Christian, because of our faith, we accept that we are not in total control of our lives, that ultimately, God (or whatever God you worship) is in control of your life.
Don’t mis-interpret me, please.
It does not mean that you start thinking that you will always get what you want or always win every competition you enter or always have things go your way or never get fired or never fail in an endeavour. No, it does not mean any of this at all. It does mean, however, that through your faith, and belief – that God can bring good out of every experience for those who trust in him.
The stronger your trust. The stronger your faith. The stronger your belief in God, you do not need to worry about failing. So, go ahead, people, pursue your dreams. Start the projects you’ve always intended to do but procrastinated because you were reminded of your past failures and you fear failing AGAIN.
If the burden, chains and memories of past mistakes or anxiety about failing in the future is removed, you would be FREE to FOCUS, wouldn’t you? To focus on doing your very BEST in the PRESENT. Makes sense doesn’t it? Yes, it does, if you are a Christian. Even if you are not and don’t belong to a religion, you could still see the gift that Christians have.
This is fundamentally how a real, personal Christian faith can liberate souls in need around the world. Around your world, maybe? It is the awareness of these basic Christian tenets and faith that can make it a little easier for anyone – yes, just like you, to reach out for his or her highest potential.
Having said that, I realize a lot of people think the idea of a ‘personal relationship’ with God (or a higher force – your God) sounds disturbingly exclusive, somehow presumptive, and more than a little pious. I do respect these peoples’ perspective. They just have not allowed themselves to be made aware of such consciousness. I thought the same thing when I was a young Catholic, questioning my belief, my faith … many, many years ago. But, life taught me otherwise.
According to the Bible, this idea of having a personal relationship with God isn’t at all presumptive. It was God’s idea in the first place. And it is not exclusive. It is available to anyone who accepts God’s offer. It is not too late for anyone to make that relationship and agreeing to the consideration on offer: your trust, your faith, your belief in him/her.
Then …. reach out (with both hands and with all your might) to your true potential through belief. In you. With God.
So, there you have it. Bring out all those little projects you have had in the ‘back burners’ and BEGIN IT. Maybe, that idea for a business that you were afraid to start. Or, it could be that change of career that you were afraid to make – to do what you love to do. There is power in beginning, starting NOW. Begin your walk to the gym. Begin your weight-loss program – AGAIN (even if you have failed many times before and tried everything but failed). Try again. Begin eating better again. Have faith in you, don’t give up on yourself. Especially now, with increased awareness of your faith, that you have God on your side.
Have that difficult discussion with yourself and with God to guide you on your journey to your goals … towards your imaginary self. But this time, with the belief that all your past mistakes, all your past failures is forgiven.
Create your new foundation for what you are building (on a clean slate) and begin putting the building blocks towards your highest potential.
Don’t look at life as a gamble. Instead look at life as a giant, very real game so become a better player of the ultimate game (with the belief that God is in your corner), like a great coach is in a Champion Boxer’s corner, in his ears, in the ring during battle. Have no doubt in you, no doubt in your God.
Remember: doubters don’t win or succeed. Winners don’t doubt, especially with your higher force on your side. Your God.
Reach out. Don’t delay. There is not time to lose.
In my experience, eating right can actually save you time. Save you, life.
It is winter in this part of the world (I’m live in the beautiful city of Sydney, Australia). Stop, project less than 12 weeks from now, when the next season arrives – ahhh, Spring. Picture this: people are getting out their spring/summer clothes from the cupboards and are feeling a little down because they can’t squeeze in to them like they remembered they did last year. It can be quite de-motivating for some.
Maybe , you’re in that spot of bother right now?
In this first blog of an 8.5 Reasons why Eating RIGHT should not take too much of your time.
My Tip # 1: Never Skip Breakfast!
In one of my earlier blogs, I state that imagination is key to the achievement of any worthwhile goal or goal you place value on . So, if achieving a more sculptured (tonned body) is what you desire you need to learn to use your imagination.
Yes, use your imagination to visualize (now) how you would like to look by summer. This is a very important step – ‘seeing’ yourself as you imagine yourself to be. Having a clear understanding of your destination (refer to earlier blog: “Don’t be a rudderless ship”).
The more vivid the picture of your destination is in your mind and the more it connects with your heart, the more drive and focus you will muster.
Champions practise a lot of visualisation and simulation. To create magic, you need to fuse the worlds of sanity (where you are) with insanity (where you dream/imagine you are, before you are). That is difficult. That is one of the key keys. Don’t stop. Trying. Believing. Keep on … keeping on. You’ll get there. Everyone always does. Especially, if you do it with your heart. and …. with LOVE.
And, with the help of “Coach Mo” (incidentally, that little voice on your shoulder, we can call Coach “Mo”) to start your steam train again …. Hoot … hoot … slowly towards your goal). Just like a steam-train, getting started in your body transformation goals, getting those wheels cranking at the beginning of the journey is the difficult part.
But when you pick up [Mo]mentum (Coach Mo), you, just like that steam train can smash through whatever obstacles that lay in your path. To smithereens! Because you have Big Mo (momentum) on your side.
Here we go again.
Its easy to put off things, to procrastinate. Don’t. Don’t leave it for September, it will be too late. That’s when the majority of people start panicking and joining gyms. Start now. Find your plan (or get help from the relevant professional) and work your plan. You don’t want Spring and then Summer time and Christmas to roll around and you not feel happy about the way you look in you clothes, now, do you? Or you can just buy bigger clothes to hide it all.
Up to you.
You’re the Captain of your ship through the seas of Life. Set you goal towards being your BEST and put a quality plan in place (includes your health & overall well-being) and set sail … Towards your destination.
Making better use of the 86,400 seconds given to us every day
I have said this before: no matter what your exercise goals are, eating healthy (well-compositioned meals), can help you achieve them faster.
And right now, time is ticking and time is your friend as we have just started Winter and have a little under 10 weeks to Spring. But, the question you’re probably thinking is how are you supposed to spend time preparing healthier meals. You barely have enough time to hit the weights, how are you realistically supposed to find time to watch what hits your plate? Right, I hear you …. that is why I wrote this blog to convince you to help you, help yourself more effectively.
Eating right is actually easier than you think.
How so?
Well, in my more than two decades in the health and fitness industry and helping hundreds of people around the world. It is one truth I have discovered. They have learned that, too. You can save more of your life. Here’s how …
I believe that spending a few minutes a day making the right decisions about your nutrition could save you from spending twice the time in the gym or four times as much time on the treadmill or aerobics. How so, Paul, you may be asking? I don’t have the time, you may say!
I argue that it typically takes less time to prepare a healthier meal than it does to work off the extra calories you would eat if you didn’t spend time watching your diet.Makes sense? Yes, it does!
Think about it.
You have 86,400 seconds of your life everyday to live, the way you choose to. But, my question is why would you spend more of those seconds sweating and exercising (and for many enthusiasts doing group classes – smelling intense body odour in small bacteria-infested rooms).
I pity these folks and their poor, poor nostrils. If you do like it, God bless you. Applying my tips could mean you spend less time doing those classes. Smelling those arm-pits. That would be good for you and your nostrils, wouldn’t it? Also, I see so many people lining up outside cafes and stressing about what they are going to have for lunch. How about I say, we take that wastage of time and thought pattern with my tip here?
Achieving a well-balanced physique should be understood for what it is: a masterful fusion of art and science. One should improve once’s “BODY Smart”knowledge. this takes time and deliberate practise.
Your daily eating habits
Ok, it isn’t always easy predicting how much time you’re going to have each day to pay attention to your nutritional habits. It isn’t easy. I realise that. Still, there is a smarter way you can make sure you’re getting the most from what ever number of seconds you can use each day.
What if I told you that there are ways to change your daily eating habits without making major sacrifices in your diet. What are you thinking now? For many people, they have tried everything, and ‘nothing works’ is a common frustration. What if I told you that these changes are very real and can be implemented in to your “all-day” eating routine. And the great thing is that you could implement these changes anytime you wanted to?
In the next series of blogs, I will be sharing with you my top 8.5 tips to successfully making changes to your daily eating habits with sustainability in mind. Changes that you can sustain forever. These Valentine Top 8.5 Tipsonly takes a few hundred seconds (a few minutes) to master, but I believe, when implemented, they can take months of unnecessary hard work off your schedule, provided you follow them each day.
This is the real challenge for you:Unlearning old habits that are not aligned with your new, ‘imagined self’ and learning these new habits, my Top 10 tips. Successful change is and can only be brought about through improvement in your self-regulatory behaviour . This is heavily dependent on the power of your imagination.
Changing habits – releasing bad eating habits and adopting some good ones is like facing an internal Predator. You need to ‘face the Lion’ within you. Having a conversation with a lion.
Spring/Summer/Christmas?New Year, here you come – You, only better!
How much time do you have a day to apply these tips?
How much time can you spare? Can you spare 30 minutes in your day or 1800 seconds of your 86,400 seconds? We will do a little maths exercise and count the amount of time each of these tips will take out of your day, starting with Tip # 1 in this blog. Doing all 8.5 of my tips would take less than 30 minutes tops each day. Yet they can give you everything you need to maintain a balanced diet. That’s not much time, is it?
Can you allocate that time to YOU? Simply because your life is important and you would like to do everything you can to not only add years to your life but more importantly, add Life in to your years.
It’s going to save you spending your valuable life, your valuable seconds, thinking and exercising unnecessarily to undo what you unknowingly – did in the first place!
How good is that?!
These tips are not meant to create more stress in your life, it is meant to help make your life a bit more manageable, a little less stressful, when it comes to eating a balanced diet with sustainability in mind. It is about making the best of whatever time you have. Allow me to show you how.
My Top 8.5 Tips will cover all main meals – breakfast, lunch and dinner and snacks in-between. We will begin with the first meal of the day – breakfast. So, I will go through your day, from sunrise to sun-set and piece together a sustainable, efficient and effective schedule for melting off fat, building muscle and having increased daily energy towards reshaping your body, not tomorrow or next week.
Right now.
Spring/Summer/Christmas/New Year’s here you come. You – only better!
Sunrise – you rise.
Education through a perception of the truth. Increasing your awareness, taking sufficient and appropriate actions and adapting accordingly is key towards self-improvement. Funny thing is that the process also applies to relationships and response. In the photo, Former Australian Wallaby Captain listening intently to learn key principles of my philosophy in to being your BEST, ALL the time, not some of the time. Great student. Great Champion. Great friend. Vv
Tip #1: DO NOT Skip Breakfast.
It should consist of a mix of the 3 basic macro-nutrients: carbohydrates (oats), protein (eggs – 3 eggs/1 yolk) and a little fat (avocado, peanut butter, almonds).
Estimated time spent: < 5 minutes.
Why not skip Breakfast, you may be thinking?
It is one of the best advice our parents and grandparents have given us when we were children. Missing this very important meal creates more hunger later on and increases your risk of ‘bingeing’ and taking in more calories than you truly need in later meals. With no food in your stomach, your body’s response is to take in whatever calories you ate the night before – and whatever you eat later on and … bingeing at lunch and like many reading this – at dinner. Just before bed.
Result? Guess what? All these ‘extras’ TURNS INTO UNWANTED BODY FAT!
Yes, around the gut ( as some call a ‘spare tyre’) for most men out there after they turn 30 and deposits around the butt and legs for the ladies. Very de-motivating indeed. Not exactly what you want, is it?
So, I insist, make this first tip if you’re skipping breakfast a part of you life. Make it your first habit to master: take 4 minutes when you wake up and eat a meal for breakfast but make sure that it combines all macro-nutrients. You will get sustainable energy all day long and lower your desire for extra calories from other food to provide energy later.
This is a very good rule of thumb you should apply for every meal during your day. Ask yourself – do I have a good mix of carbs, protein and a little fat.
Use what I’ve told all my past customers – my “eyeball method” or ‘I see with my two eyes’ method. Look at your plate, ensure the macro-nutrients take up space on the plate in this ratio:
P:C:F = 0.4:0.5: 0.10. ( where P = Protein; C = Carbohydrates; F = Fats)
Steve Reeves was a Master Poser. He imagined and built the Best Built & Aesthetically beautiful body in the world through synergistic awareness. He understood that optimum health of body & mind required the fusion of art and science. Become a scientific artist of YOU … of your life.
Homework: Lets keep adding the time needed to apply each tip I share in successive blogs and see if it requires you to spend less than half an hour of your day.
Let me prove to you using numbers (minutes spent) that Eating right actually takes less time than you think over the next month or so. Let you in on a secret: I love Physics and Mathematics. They were my first majors in my first University Degree almost 30 years ago now.
Let me show you how these little but significant 8.5 Tips can and will encourage an optimum environment that is a fusion of art and science, allowing for Synergy. This synergism is KEY: it is in the combining of the elements that creates a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts.
Repeat. Make it habit. Make this one change. Repeatedly, with enhanced self-regulatory behavioural change. Repeat.
Believe.
My triple A approach to the development of Self.
Ahoy & all the very BEST… allow me to guide you through my Top 8.5 Tips over the next few weeks.
Cheers & ahoy!
The old Captain Viking Pirate …. & Life Tips
SYNERGISM: The Critical Mind-set to success. Understanding that it is in the combination of key elements to create a whole greater than the sum of its parts. Create the BEST you firstly, through 1) Education and then 2) motivation.
For the same reason that we should exercise our bodies, we should GIVE. Your body is functioning at its best when it is forced to work, specifically, when your muscles are forced to work. If you don’t do anything and live a sedentary lifestyle, then in the long term you are actually hurting them and yourself.
It is as simple as that.
The thing about muscle training is that you have to ‘expend some energy’. Some people just don’t want to do that, because it means ‘work’. Work equates to pain which equates to fear of it. That’s certainly a very common way of thinking of lifting weights in the gym, but that’s only one perspective.
Another perspective is that ‘working out’ your muscles, when done properly is one of the greatest and most vital pleasures you can possibly experience in your life.
Your lifetime.
In whatever goal you desire, you need to make sure you understand how to use the tools 🛠 necessary to bring about the change you seek.
Energy Crisis WITHIN.
We are constantly reminded that there is an ‘energy crisis’ in the world today. True, there is. The science says this and politicians argue over interpretation of facts about it. Different perspectives again, on a global scale.
However, the biggest threat to man-kind today is evolving within. I refer to the growing energy crisis WITHIN. Within each individual.
There is a direct correlation between what I call an ‘energy crisis’ within and the increase in sedentary lifestyle choices. If you don’t ‘spend’ any energy in the gym and work your muscles, strangely enough, the result is you will progressively have less strength and energy and VITALITY, than if you had.
This individual energy-crisis physically manifests itself in many life-threatening illnesses – both mentally and physically.
First test. Test YOU, always.
Re-charge.
The gym and weight-training is, I believe, one of the last remaining genuine “re-charge points” available for each and every one of us. Yes, available to you, too. Just like your mobile phone and other modern-day comfort and convenient goods need re-charging and energy to function optimally, you do, too.
The more energy and vitality you re-charge and ‘feel’ within you after expending energy working your muscles is akin to what you will get and feel when you GIVE and don’t expect anything in return.
Do you GIVE it just TAKE?
Are you a Giver or taker.
There are givers and there are takers in this world, but I would like to think there are more givers. Are you a giver or a taker?
Lets firstly look at what it means to be a “giver”?
We can certainly look up a definition if we google it but I will attempt to explain it by referring to some behavioural traits we observe in people around us, and you.
Well, there are many traits – you could say, giving people offer friendship easily; they are caring and empathetic – not only with their money but emotions and knowledge; they take genuine delight in the good fortune of others.
Education through a perception of the truth. Increasing your awareness, taking sufficient and appropriate actions and adapting accordingly is key towards self-improvement. Funny thing is that the process also applies to relationships and response. Vv
Giving is an Attitude toward Life.
Just like making exercise a part of your life, giving is an attitude toward life than it is a specific act at one time or another. Givers have certain openness about them. Givers don’t seem to speak a lot about their ‘rights’. Givers do what is right. They generally find time to laugh and don’t wallow in self-pity. They are forward-thinkers but learn from the past and are keen observers of the present.
Givers do not run constant cost-benefit analyses to see if an opportunity for generosity is to their advantage. They are likely to not get too attached to the material possessions in their lives.
Help people strengthen their resolve, internally, with their own souls so… that nothing can tear it out. I give knowledge to those who want to learn.
Want Less, Give More.
There are giving muscles in you, in every one of us. We just need to consciously use it and ‘feel’ the life-giving effects of using it. Feeling its essence. It is, in essence, what it means to be human.
Like training your muscles – for 20, 30, 45 or 60 minutes in the gym, you get back ten times the energy and vitality you expended which re-charges you and your being. Your life. You can’t afford not to invest energy. Give more and ultimately, get more. Add more life in to your years and not just be concerned with getting more years to your life.
Giving is to your benefit – physically, mentally and spiritually.
You don’t have to be a saint or martyr to give. Miserliness in all forms, diminishes you – diminishes us.
Diminishes the human race.
The more you keep, the less you have and the less you are.
Giving is a joy.
Want less. Give more.
Try it if it isn’t already a part of your attitude to life.
This is another of life’s interesting paradoxes.
Until next time,
Writing things down sometimes helps in the communication process. The goal is not communication. The goal is EFFECTIVE communication. Making real changes with the knowledge gained from ‘feedback loops’ allows me to formulate the right adaptive strategy for student – ex Australian Wallaby Captain, Phil Waugh. Vv.
There is no standard definition of physical fitness.
It means different things to different people. Decide on your own definition but be mindful of your activity. Fitness is relative to the activity performed and not all activities require similar fitness.
For example, someone who is playing as a goalkeeper in soccer may not necessarily be fit for hockey and the fitness for running a marathon may not translate to the fitness for playing rugby.
I believe it is more appropriate to promote a broader definition of total fitness that should comprise of the following 5 elements:
Strength and the development of lean body mass (muscle).
Flexibility
Cardiovascular conditioning
Ease of general daily activities
Exercise-FREE factors
Elements 1 to 3 is quite self-explanatory but lets talk about 4 and 5.
With element 4, if you go about your daily activities without an ache or pain in the world, then, you must be doing something right with your life. Stop and spare a thought for the millions of people in the world that are not as lucky as you to just jump out of bed bursting with the vitality of a hundred people.
There is a definite ‘mind-muscle’ connection. Train your muscles to train & exercise your brain and help it release all those necessary life-affirming hormones to flood your body … needed nutrition for the cells and soul. Try it.
Consider starting a Fitness Program tailored to you
Many humans struggle just to get through their daily activities, like getting out of bed, doing their shopping etc without some form of pain or discomfort. Some could not get through their day without resorting to more than a handful of drugs.
Not nice. Not the way they had envisioned of living, I suppose.
With element five, this includes variables that make up your lifestyle such as healthy nutrition (for the body and mind), no drug abuse, adequate rest and recuperation (sleep), adequate exposure to sunshine (but don’t get sun-burned), good posture, healthy and fulfilling relationships and an enjoyable and satisfying employment.
Now, for people who make their living being a sportsperson, being talented is not enough. They each need to ensure they hone their skills specific to their sport to be the best they can be to be totally fit for that activity.
However, if you’re thinking of starting a fitness program. Great for you! Consider the elements I have listed when you think about getting ‘fit’. All these elements should be factored in to your program for self improvement before, I believe, anyone can really be said to be healthy and fit.
I have seen them, so perhaps have you, people that are strong and well-built but physically unfit and cannot even run up a small flight of stairs without difficulty. Just all show and some suffer from a world-wide epidemic, very evident on beaches – mostly men who suffer from what I have termed “ILS” or “imaginary lats – syndrome”.
Yep, you’ve seen them! Then you have people who are extremely fit physically and yet not be healthy (very long-distance runners could arguably fall in this boat).
What is your definition of health, strength and fitness? Does it include your TOTAL self – physical, mental, spiritual, emotional, intellectual, socially?
What is “Fit” to you?
What is ‘Fit” to you?
There is a prevailing mis-perception about what people consider to be ‘fit’ in society as it most probably does not include the 5 elements I have highlighted above. Although it is highly desirable to be physically fit, please bear in mind that there is so much more to total fitness (and health) than just that.
Now, if you’re brave enough to ‘get off the fence’ and help yourself with your physical goals in life and if you’re lucky enough to seek and get help, just do it! (I just love this NIKE slogan). If you feel you want to go about it on your own then consider mapping out a time-frame for your body transformation journey, say a 16-week (4 month) goal with realistic but specific goals.
Obviously, don’t be too ambitious in the early days. Don’t be disappointed if you can’t achieve instantaneous results. Like I have said before, learn patience and persistence.
Take stock of your physical health so far and remember you have had your body since you were born. You have possibly misused it for many, many years.
You have a lot of mending to do, so getting fit won’t happen overnight, but it WILL happen if you TRY.
Be the most UN-Common Man/Woman you can be. Find the Real YOU and … be YOU
Health, good health is the sum of many parts
Health, good health is the sum of many parts, including how you think, what you eat, read and drink, how you see your body, how you plan your daily activities and how you perform them and how you get on with your internal and external environment.
Like I have said in an earlier blog, you are like a juggler with many balls in the air. If you drop one, that’s fine. Keep going, the others will take up the slack. And then tomorrow, start again with all the balls.
Take a day off occasionally. On those days, sit down for a few minutes and think how you could make your routine more enjoyable.
Notice, I said more enjoyable – NOT EASIER..
Stay focused!
Until next time,
Cheers & Ahoy!
The old Cap’n Viking Pirate Evangelist Muscled Monk … & How fit and healthy are you
Side triceps pose. Contest: Australian Natural Bodybuilding Titles. Placing: 2nd.
Always maintain discipline in all areas of life, at all times, under all conditions … like a great Viking or Pirate of the Seas do. Become the best Captain of the Seas of Life you can be. … Cheers & Ahoy! The old Cap’n Viking Pirate Evangelist Muscled Monk
The old Captain Viking Pirate 🏴☠️ ⚔️Enjoying a beer 🍺 in a hot 🥵 spring day here in Sydney Australia 🇦🇺
I’m talking about growth and producing more muscle for you, here.
There is no room for compromise on the components of recuperation and getting adequate rest to building more muscle towards a more healthier, stronger, fitter you. More muscle is hopefully a more satisfied you too with regards to your body transformation goals.
Here are 14.5 tips (the list is not exhaustive) for getting adequate recuperation and rest with the goal of more muscle and to take better care of you:
Building the best physique you hope to does not rely on chance. It comes down to many variables summed up here – Imagination + Visualisation + Effort (hard deliberate practice) + Feel (Heart) + Talent (genetics) + Focus (never-say-die Mind-set) … To create Balance & Symmetry in design. It does not matter which art medium is used – building architecture, watches, cars etc .. Beauty = Balance & Symmetry The only difference between sculpturing your physique and the other types mentioned above is – the human body is alive and has a mind. Continue to work on yours.
Once you’re training hard (referring to your skeletal muscle here), consume 1g of protein per pound of body-weight.
Don’t waste your time with ‘light weights’ Use a weight (depending on the muscle group) that will get you to 10 reps. But you struggle to get to 8 reps with good form. Everyone’s limit is different.
4. Stay away from low-fat diets. I can show you how fat can be used to burn fat.
Matter of fact, fat in your diet is essential to stripping unwanted fat off you – especially the stubborn fat a lot of people carry around their waists. Fat is vital for your overall health – mind and body. It helps maintain an anabolic metabolism.
However steer clear from unhealthy fats as best you can.
6. Don’t get too caught up on sources of protein, carbohydrates and fats.
Why?
Because what you actually digest and allow your body to assimilate is more important than what you eat and drink.
Meals need to suit you and your physical goals. Understand YOU. Find the most appropriate solution. If you can’t do it yourself, find someone who can help. It may just reduce the risk of disappointment.
Try to avoid getting hungry (believe me, you probably will like me less if you’re around me when I am hungry. You definitely don’t want to be around me when I am both angry … and hungry … ‘Hangry’
Preparation is key – try setting aside some time in the evening for preparing your sandwiches, blender drinks etc for the next day. A little time in the kitchen the night before or on the weekend, will save you tonnes of time during the week, thinking about what you would like to eat for various meals.
Educating a top national sprinter of the importance of proper nutrition for recovery & growth for optimal performance
8. Don’t waste your “window of opportunity”
Within a half hour of finishing your workout, have a liquid easily digested meal (high in protein) and then have a balanced solid-food meal in the next couple of hours.
I call this the ‘window of opportunity’ to infuse your muscle cells with the necessary nutrients to maximise growth and retention.
Now sit, back, rest and say … “Grow baby, grow!”
And it will.
9. Don’t skip breakfast!
10. Supplements are just that – ‘supplements’.
It is meant to supplement a nutritionally sound diet from real food.
That took me to multiple NSW Titles and 2 x World Championships, simply eating good ‘balanced meals’ of REAL FOOD. You can’t beat it. Keep it simple.
Do try to spend more of your precious time with people and doing activities that give you energy – real energy and do your best to limit your time doing activities or being with people who drain you of energy.
Recuperation and rest for example is an activity that enhances your energies. Love yourself more. Give yourself more of it. Don’t feel guilty.
Appreciate that uniqueness and ask yourself what your idea of ‘healthy’ is and how would you define it, with respect to every area in life – meal composition; amount of rest/sleep; play time; activities that you do; books that you read; visual programs that you watch etc.
Continue to ask yourself ‘what is healthy to you’ and promptly eliminate habits and behaviour that steal away from a more healthy you. Respect and love YOU first to truly respect and love all around you.
Take your health seriously if you want to optimise your ability to recuperate….
And live better …
… now and in to your future.
While you’re still breathing and can do something about it.
Just DO IT! ( I love this NIKE slogan …. my favourite of all time)
All the best!
Until next time,
The Old Cap’n Viking Pirate …. & essential workout Hacks/Lessons … for willing participants
Explaining the fine points of re-engineering the physique and increased self-awareness through enhanced ‘mind-muscle’ connection..
Belief in God has helped me represent Australia at two consecutive World Natural Bodybuilding Championships and achieve those dreams. Never stop believin’. Vv.
The title of this blog could be applied to many areas of life but in this case, it relates to working out in the gym.
A very important principle of muscle building and I have followed it since I learned of it in my late teens, slowly accumulated my hours in the gym.
There are many variables to building muscles and many principles to training. Leaving your ego at the door would have to be one of the most important philosophies because aside from allowing me to get the most out of each workout and get maximum gains in muscle building, it would also be a significant reason why I have stayed injury-free for over two decades of training with weights in the gym.
Well, I tell all the youth that I see training with less than ideal technique in the gym, “to get muscle gains you need to leave your ego at the door”.
Drop the weight down and use something you can handle safely. What I mean by this is that if its muscle-maximization you’re after, then, lose the thought that if you lift very heavy weights, you will automatically get bigger muscles. True but not true. Firstly, accept that you’re not a weight-lifter or power-lifter. How strong you are does not build the biggest muscles.
Maintain control & feel when you’re containing the Lion within you. Leave the ego at the door.
Control and feel
Strength does correlate to muscle-size but only to a point. So, to build muscles one must try to focus on control and feel for any exercise one is doing. You need to keep it simple and have continuous tension on the muscle group throughout the range of motion with good form.
If you load up the weight and sacrifice good form, you’re unlikely to build muscle but instead increase your risk of injury. This could then keep you from the gym which then may get you down and de-motivated. You take one step forward, four steps back in your quest to build muscle and transform your physique.
End result: mediocre muscle development. Not what you desired.
Its not how much you lift that matters but how you lift. Ask yourself the question “how well am I doing this exercise?” each time you perform it. Keep it simple. Focus on the feel of the exercise and maintain control throughout the execution of the exercise. It is highly likely that you are using a weight that is too heavy for you if you lose control and feel while performing a ‘set’ of your exercise and not completing the required number of repetitions at a specific tempo. Instead of building muscle, you’re only working your ego.
Find the courage to keep going. Right. The courage rests in you. Take Lead, be the Leader that YOU are.
Say No to “No Pain, No Gain “ Maxim
Now if that is your intention then fine but if you’re serious about getting good results, stay away from the old, hard-core maxim: No pain, no gain!Seems to only apply when you’re using excessive weights. Instead keep my maxim below in mind: “Work the muscle, not the joint!”
Working out in the gym is a great way to transform your physique from the person you see in the mirror now to the person you imagine yourself to be. To do so, keep your ego in check, leave your ego at the door and instead be patient and make incremental steps towards your ultimate strength and body re-engineering goals.
Learn proper technique. Practise it religiously. Be patient with your progress. Become a better master of your instrument ‘your body’, just like a musician would with practise.
Eat nutritionally-balanced meals aligned with your goals and give your body adequate rest and recovery time to adapt and develop.
It is a great feeling to do this … but make sure it isn’t your ego that is leading. I made 2 World Championships partly because others said I couldn’t. A great feeling to prove people wrong. If it is Stubbornness & not ego leading … well that’s ok.
Me & Mr Fuzzy/Fussy cuddles at my favourite beach 🏖 here in beautiful Sydney, Australia 🇦🇺
It’s ok to enjoy a treat once in a while. Fruit is great after a meal; it satisfies your desire for something sweet but has fewer calories, then, say, ice-cream.
Having dedication is critical.
Even the best training advice and know-how amounts to nothing unless it is catalyzed and fused with dedication to consistent action.
Read that again – dedication to consistent action or like I have summarized to many gym goers over the years, one of the secrets to maximizing benefits from efforts in the gym is simply being CONSISTENT and PERSISTENT. Many people don’t like hearing these words because they think there is some magic formula, some magic supplement portion, some magical new way of training. Well, I have news for you: there isn’t!
Some training enthusiasts have consistency but are not persistent. Some are persistent but not consistent. To be successful in training or muscle-building you need both traits repeatedly practiced. I believe you need the same two traits to be successful in any other area of life. If you strive to be a better person and getting success out of your training is one of your priorities, then having dedication is critical.
Dedication to anything worthwhile achieving takes a lot of mental, physical and emotional discipline.
Dedication is the unsung virtue in today’s world.
With regards to training success in the gym, dedication alone will be wasted if it is combined with poor training and recovery. Many people look at dedication as painful and a slog but this is far from the truth, which is that dedication is an unsung virtue in today’s world.
It is a virtue because dedication involves and includes discipline which can be seen as doing what needs to be done with consistency and persistence. Many successful people in their respective fields of interest have become successful because for some of them, they have practiced mental and physical discipline, day-in, day-out. Along with talent, we cannot discount all the ‘yakka’ and discipline to deliberately practise their craft over many years in most cases, to get them to where they are. Some of you may not be familiar with the term – yakka, and that is perfectly understandable. It simply is an old Australian word that means ‘hard work’. Please apply. Having the opportunity to apply discipline in your chosen field is a BLESSING. This is exactly what is needed to successful training: discipline or in other words – consistency and persistence.
10kg dumbells will always be 10kg wherever you are on this planet. Keeps you grounded.
Not tomorrow. Tomorrow may never come.
Everyone who has ever lifted weights to get stronger, bigger, smaller, more toned, fitter, healthier and so forth is by definition, a bodybuilder. Muscle-building is not just for competitive bodybuilders, it is an activity for everyone who wants to take charge of their physical appearance and conditioning, regardless of age, sex, culture, race or background. It is for you and everyone in your family, for Everyone you know.
Real bodybuilding is a fantastic goal to have and deserves your best efforts.
The benefits go far beyond mere cosmetics. The training, nutritional and recuperative areas of bodybuilding when implemented in a structured and safe manner, can and will produce extensive health benefits. Like I have said before, by improving your health and vitality you can add more life to your years and possibly years to your life. So, don’t wait any more and ‘get off the fence’ and do something about your training and making strength training a part of your lifestyle, today.
Not tomorrow. Tomorrow may never come.
Your are your brain neuro-pathways
A Healthy Brain is a Happy Life.
Everything we do and feel is governed by how our brain cells, or neurons, connect to one another. What most people think of as psychological makeup is rooted in the biology of these connections. The brain is constantly being rewired and exercise helps keep your brain healthy and balanced.
Exercising with the right intensity, especially like weight-training, is like taking a little bit of Prozac or a little bit of Ritalin, as it elevates the same neurotransmitters, like the drugs do. A useful analogy to make but the main point is that lifting weights and exercising helps balance neurotransmitters – along with the rest of the neurochemicals in the brain.
Keeping your brain in balance can change your life. A healthy brain is a happy life.
I love mathematics and here is a little formula I have come up summarizing success in training or body re-engineering. I have shared this with the many clients I have helped over the years:
Conceptualization/Imagination(dreams and desired outcome) + Effort (know-how and dedication) + Heart (determination ofpurpose) + Belief (passion) == > SUCCESS in training
So, don’t delay, put hard yakka in to your strength and health training and make it a priority in your life – today!
Until next time,
To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment. – Ralph Waldo Emerson. Building a World Class Natural Physique takes patience and deliberate practise of key daily habits.
Education through a perception of the truth. To be the best in a particular field, you need to seek help from the best. Champions help create & develop the champion in you. [Photo: Former Australia Wallabies Captain & current CEO of Australia Rugby, Phil Waugh transporting himself to his Best Self in his tailor-made Peak Performance program
Regardless of your age, or how out of condition you think you are at the present time, it is never too late to start an exercise program. You just have to change your philosophy on your life, with a more caring attitude to YOU.
The older you are, the more important it is that you exercise. All the science research points to this. It is a no-brainer. What older people cannot afford to lose is the little muscle they still have that assists them in their daily lives and mobility. Its simple, like most things in life: “use it or lose it, but don’t abuse it!”, which applies to all ages.
Some studies show that there’s a typical loss of about 1% of muscle mass or lean body mass (LBM) per year from about age 50. There is a slight increase after 60 and by age 70, there may be up to a loss of 25% relative to what it was at age 25, depending on the individual and if there’s been no strength-training in their lives. What a scary thought, isn’t it!
Loss of muscle LBM has many negative impact on peoples’ lives: strength declines, reduced metabolic rates, postural problems, reduced fitness, increased tendency to lug around unwanted bodfat, weakened resistance to injury and illness and deterioration in physical appearance. Another big consequence in old age is a significant reduction in mobility, partly due to weakened skeletal muscles. And that’s only a few likely negative consequences.
I have been doing strength training for over 23 years now and have helped hundreds of people of all ages with their body re-engineering goals, with over 80% success rate. I believe strength training is one of the most important things you can do for your appearance and health. Strength training is critical for building muscle, maintaining muscle or more importantly, minimizing muscle deterioration and atrophy.
Results with care. Here, Brad is ‘feeling the essence’ of the exercise and inching closer to his best self. Vv
Muscle is like precious gems – you need to build it and then preserve it. It is the fountain of youth, yourmagic youth potion.
Stronger muscles produce health benefits that adds to your life. It builds your sense of vitality. Building muscle contributes to reducing the impact of ageing. Strength training helps you stay young for your years. However, strength training is not enough. One needs to combine it with regular structured stretching, consistent cardiovascular work, healthy nutrition, adequate rest and recuperation and a healthy lifestyle.
All this helps you off-set the on-set of ageing.
I have seen them, so perhaps have you. People with that glow. People that are filled with that life-force, that all-important sense of vitality. People who seemed to have gotten closer to the fountain of youth. Most, if not all of them, have consistently and persistently worked on their strength training.
They’ve simply decided to build muscle. No more thinking, no further analysing. They just DID IT. They took action. Think about it – you’re made up of more muscle than anything else. I mean you’re covered with skeleton muscles (that help you move and do what you do every single day), your heart’s a muscle and your stomach’s a muscle too. What do muscles do? Keep it simple … they need to work. It makes sense to ‘work’ your muscles then, doesn’t it?
Muscles are one of the very things that keeps us all alive. But hey, if slowing down the ageing process by building muscle is not convincing enough for you what about if I say that it could help you lose fat. Yep, that’s right, do you want to lose unwanted fat? Well, build muscle. Period!
There are so many organizations and people in the world today that give out fat-loss diet plans that don’t include strength training. This is not ideal. It robs the body of the little muscle it has, making fat loss even more difficult because of reduction of one’s metabolic rate.
This is so common today in many weight-loss programs all around the world, where individuals think that some new ‘fad diet’ will be the answer or some magic supplement. It does not work that way. “That way” is not sustainable and is a huge reason for many victims of the ‘yo-yo’ diet symptoms and millions of dis-illusioned and disappointed individuals with the best of intentions.
Executing an exercise for maximum benefit and minimal risk takes a lot of practise, Just like genuine friendship, genuine muscle requires a lot of work and time. Remember: practise does not make perfect. Perfect practise makes perfect.
Building muscle is the only way you can improve your body-shape and this is achieved through progressively increasing your muscle-fat ratio.
Have a go today, if you haven’t done so already – start a structured strength training program for the most important person in the world to you – YOU. That way, the people that depend on you – your spouse, your kids, your employer, your clients – they get the BEST YOU too. It could be one of the most important decisions you will ever make in your life. More important than the dream house you intend to buy one day. Build that dream house in you, first.
We’re all reminded that people are living longer now. What’s more important I believe is adding LIFE (vitality) in to your years, not just adding years to your life. Most aged people spend the last 20 years with various levels of discomfort and immobility.
Remember though: when you exercise, try to do it as efficiently and effectively as possible, under the safety umbrella. And, don’t try to do everything yourself if it isn’t your area of expertise, you can sometime do more harm than good to yourself.
Let go of all self-imposed limitations and fears and ask for help. It takes a lot of courage to seek help from an appropriately skilled professional with the relevant experience and credentials.
There are a lot of excellent exercise professionals out there, those who give you the results you desire – with care.
Best of luck!
Until next time …
In the heat of competition. Pose name: Abdominal/Thighs. Place in contest: 1st.
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