Category Archives: Strength training

awareness, balance, better choices, body, Body shape, creation, decisions, Energy, Fitness, Goals, good posture, life, long-term perspective, long-term strategy, muscles, planning, Strength training, truths, workout, you, your life

So, what is “Light Weight” anyway?

Back Double Biceps - few days out from the Australian Natural Bodybuilding Championships Result: 2nd in Australia.

“Back Double Biceps” under the watchful eyes of my coach at that time (2 x Australian Champion, Mr John Daniels) – few days out from the Australian Natural Bodybuilding Championships
Result: 2nd in Australia. 

If you’re familiar with bodybuilding and bodybuilding history, there is a former Mr Olympia (one of only 13 men who have won the best-built body title in the world over the last 50 years), that made the phrase “Light Weight” part of gym lingo and folklore.

He was none other than Ronnie “The King” Coleman. An eight-time Mr Olympia, beating Arnold Schwarzenegger who won it seven times. Phenomenal achievement!

So, what he considered “Light Weight” would be someone else’s heavy (actually, it would be 99.9% of all gym goers definition of “extremely heavy”). This is what I am talking about here today.

I have heard many people ask the question “what weight should I use?” It really is a very individual thing. What may be less heavy for someone, may be too heavy for others. If you’re unsure of what weight to use, it may be wise to do a little “pre-exercise” planning.

Now, what I am going to explain below may be considered by many to be ‘quite obvious’  but for some, it may not be so. Here’s what I mean, for a beginner:

Steps before lifting weights –

  1. Start with the bare minimum, in terms of poundage (leave your ego at the door)
  2. Progressively increase weight with each set of the exercise
  3. Stop when you reach a poundage that allows you to strictly perform the exercise within the required number of repetitions.

For example, some of the basic gym tools:

Dumbells.

  1. Start with 1lb dumbbells and work you way up incrementally – either 1lb or 2lb increments
  2. Where the increments switch to 5lb increments, apply steps above accordingly.

Barbells.

  1. Start with just the bar (no weight added). A standard weight bar could weigh anywhere between 5kg and 9kg. An Olympic bar would weigh 20kg (~ 45lbs).
  2. Once the bar feels too light, start adding 2 ½ lb plates on both ends.
  3. Increase weight incrementally by 5 pounds.

Medicine balls.

  1. Start with the lightest (once again, leave your ego at the door). It may be 2 or 2.2lbs.
  2. Once you feel strong enough to move up, do so. Keep in mind, however, that medicine balls typically increase in 2-pound increments ( 6 to 6.6 lbs, 4 to 4.4 lbs etc).

So, there you go.

Figure out how much time of your 86,400 seconds each day you can devote to a work-out (hopefully a minimum of 3,600 seconds twice a week). Find a results-specific workout type you would like to put your body (and mind) through and then just do it!

Don’t be afraid of the gym. You don’t need a degree in exercise physiology. If you’ve ever resented anyone for their physique, you can stop now. I want to let you know that sometimes the bodies that have earned your exercise envy may not be more committed to working out than you are.

It’s just that they’re smarter when it comes to HOW they work out.

Now it’s your turn.

There is no secret to getting in great shape. It is not how much time you spend exercising (there is a bare minimum though for every goal) but it is taking the time to exercising properly. Executing each exercise in proper functional manner, continuously asking yourself the question –

“How well am I doing this particular rep of this particular exercise?”.

Not knowing how to.

Not executing exercises with good form could be disastrous. One simple slip in form can transform a useful exercise into a useless one. The problem areas in your body are progressively neglected and you continuously stress and overwork muscles you would rather avoid or work less.

Don’t you sacrifice your ‘safety umbrella’. Sets you up for major postural problems in the future.

Remember, overworked and over-stressed muscles ( like shoulders for men ) lead to muscle imbalances which lead to (over time) – injuries. Injuries, yes. Some of which you cannot afford to have.

Seek help from a suitably qualified and experienced professional for guidance if you’re unsure.

Train safer. Train smarter.

You’ll enjoy the next 40 or so years in the gym, better.

 

Until next time,

 

Relaxed with dumbells.

Relaxed with dumbells.

 

Collage of some bodybuilding poses

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Beliefs, body, Energy, habits, Imagination, life, mind, muscles, Strength training, time, truths, Vitality, workout

No belief, no nothing.

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I love stories and storytelling. Do you?

I love listening to stories that people share. Everyone has a story in them. I have heard many stories from the hundreds of people that I have had the opportunity to help over the years. This blog is one such story.

A courageous story of finding the strength within and overcoming fear and the journey towards a better quality life. A few years ago, a member of my gym asked if I could get his wife to come and see me about ‘fixing’ her back. She had been suffering for about 20 years. He was very happy with the success he was getting in one of my programs and he asked me to call his wife as he had failed to persuade her to come see me. I did something a little different. I wrote her a little message on my business card saying “please come in and tell me your story”. I gave her a date and time.

To my surprise she turned up.

Typical of a lot of women, she was a little scared of gyms with a view that it was a place only for men, people who wanted to put on huge muscles and was an unfriendly, male-dominated domain that was not welcoming to women. I knew it was difficult because she had a belief fueled by mis-perceptions.

We sat down and I listened to her story to that point in her life. She had suffered from excruciating back pain and had been in and out of many different professionals for almost 20 years. Visits alleviated pain temporarily but her quality of life had been hampered by the pain and was slowly deteriorating. Her whole family suffered with her too. I discussed my philosophy to training and the framework I would use to help her. I asked her to give me 3 weeks of her life. She needed to see me for half an hour twice a week. A total of 6 visits.

She hesitantly agreed.

She had demonstrated a great deal of courage, just to consider trying something different but also something she truly feared: being in the gym. At this point in her life, she had tried almost everything and nothing was working and she desperately needed a better result. A pain-free existence.

My objective was to help her experience a better quality life, a life without daily back pain and life she could only dream about. I had less than 3 weeks to produce a result. A miracle, but I could not do it without her help. She faced a challenge and I reassured her that we would face it together. The first thing I needed her to do was to stop naming and talking about her pain. This would stop giving them power over her – sucking away at her life through her attention and fear of them.

I got her to imagine the end result (pain-free existence) and feel its reality. I needed her to change her belief and managed to convince her that “according to your belief, is it done unto you”. I then got her to tie this new belief mentally and emotionally within her being. With this renewed belief in herself, my program and me, we went to work. She got to do things that she had been advised not to do for almost two decades.

Let me give you an example: She was afraid to bend and reach for her toes and had the belief that it would make her back problem worse. She did things in the gym with me in her first week that she had feared. By the end of the second week, she told me that the pain in her back was gone. I expected it but not that soon. In the third week, her two teenage children attending university came in to the gym to personally thank me for what I was doing with their mum. It was the first time in their lives that they did not hear their mum complain of her back being sore. They had seen and heard her suffer in pain all their life. Every single day!

I was touched.

I told them the real miracle was that their mum was prepared to do the things she was afraid to do. The healing power was brought about by a changed mental attitude. She essentially cured herself with a little help from me. As I had been there before, I was only a tour-guide but she did the work and journey all on her own. The real courage she demonstrated was the open-mindedness and flexibility to adopt a new way of thinking and acting. That was my true challenge, not the weight-training part.

To cut a long story short, this lady who was afraid of even bending down to just touch her ankles went on to not only do it but she also ended up being the strongest woman in my gym. She dead-lifted 140kgs for 6 reps on a good day. And she was in her mid-50s with no prior training experience. She remained pain-free for the entire time she trained with me – over two years! She got her life back. Her quality of life improved greatly.

When I think back about her miraculous transformation, I knew from the time I first met her that she was a naturally strong woman but she had lost her faith in herself. Her belief in her own inner-strength. This is an example of the many little miracles that I have seen people produce, in their own little way. In their lives – changing their lives and changing the lives of others. Just like the many others, she was empowered. She was back in control.

The law of life is belief.

All religions of the world represent forms of belief and these beliefs are explained in many ways. This client of mine went from thinking why she was getting certain results to asking herself how she was creating the pain she was experiencing in her life. She tried to understand how her beliefs and philosophy generated what happened in her life and to cease to continue believing what did not serve her. I got her to shift her focus consciously and intentionally to what she did want (pain-free back).

She did it.

You too, can achieve your own miracles. Little miracles happen everyday and its all around us. What you focus on is the KEY to everything! For any outcome, whether internal or external, there’s a certain way of thinking and acting that will get it for you. Its like weight-training, if you want strength, you need to train a certain way, if power is goal, then a different way of training is necessary to achieve the goal desired. There is a different path for different goals.

Your task is to find this new way of Thinking and Acting. You then have to be flexible enough to adopt the way of thinking and acting that will get you there. Finding that new way is the easy part. The difficult part is the applying and adapting.

My tip to you: watch “inside” to manage “outside”. There is a saying that goes “it is done unto you as you believe”. What do you believe about yourself, life and the universe? What is the belief of your mind or put simply, what is the thought of your mind?

All your experiences, all your actions, and all events and circumstances of your life are but the reflections and reactions to your own thought in your thought factory.

Watch your thoughts!  

Until next time,

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body, Body shape, diet, Energy, Fitness, habits, muscles, perseverance, Strength training, time, you

Muscle-building success: some simple laws.

B&W3349-1I have described in an earlier blog the congruence of muscle building and  life and have concluded after over two decades of gym experience, that they both have the same principles, namely –

  1.  Simplicity
  2. Continuity

Getting the body you desire and getting in to shape can be complicated but not as much as you think so. If it was so complicated, why are so many witless people in better shape than you are?

The answer is simple: every occupation has its trade secrets, those little muscle nuggets of insider information that acts as recipes to achieving a desired physique shape or result. A lot of people are in the ‘dark’ about these nuggets of inside info and so end up with nothing to show for their efforts in the gym. You can find many helpful secrets in the many resources out there today. However, unfortunately, there are also a lot of BS out there too!

I will try to share some of my more than two decades of training in the gym building and maintaining muscle and what I have observed from the many people who have gone through my various programs to success. This is not only to help you get started or keep going but to also help you not end up being like the millions of gym-goers who start and stop before giving themselves a genuine chance of success. Or for those who have tried everything to lose weight, change their body shape and have been unsuccessful. Very frustrating indeed!

Understanding the basic rules of exercise and weight-training can help you see why the basic average beginner’s workout example I detailed in my last blog can help you get the body you want. If all you can spare is 30 minutes and if you learned and applied the program I shared, you will learn that:

  • Your muscles will not struggle and hurt as much as you think
  • Your body burns fat no matter how long you exercise
  • Your exercise program does not need as many sets as you think
  • Your don’t have to think too much as the workout has been simplified

Also, you’re quite safe in the gym. The simple part is its simplicity in training. The difficult part is the consistent and persistent practice, the dedication required. This is what YOU have to do. You alone. You take full responsibility. No one can provide the dedication for you. Only you.

Try thinking of your muscles with mathematics in mind. Changing them to a look that you desire is much easier than most people would realize. Once you decide what you want your muscles and physique to look like, its really just a matter of determining the right formula to get that result. This formula includes the right combinations of numbers: repetitions, sets, tempo and the amount of weight you should use. Its like a golfer selecting a different club for a different stroke on the fairway.

For example if you’re strength-training for muscular endurance and a leaner look, doing 12 to 15 repetitions is the way to go or if you’re goal is increase in strength, then keeping your rep range under 6 is recommended. Put simply, to succeed in muscle-building, you need to:

  • Know where you are NOW, imagine where you NEED TO BE and design a program to TAKE YOU there (seek help from a mentor if you’re unsure how to)
  •  Stick to your program (ability is > 90% stickability)
  •  Always use correct exercise technique
  •  Train hard once you’re beyond the initial few months
  •  Eat every 3 hours or so (except when you’re sleeping)
  •  Eat ONLY healthy foods. Practice good macro-nutrient portion control based on your program.
  •  REST well between sets – between exercises – between workouts
  •  Go to bed early enough to allow for necessary recuperation. Adequate rest and recuperation leads to adaptation which leads to muscle success.

All this takes focus and dedication.

These are a few of my SIMPLE LAWS OF MUSCLE-BUILDING SUCCESS!

You’re now aware. Act. Adapt accordingly.

All the best!

Your friend in body re-engineering and muscle success,

 

Until next time,

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How much time do you have for a workout?

_MG_9779-1Doing something – anything, is ALWAYS better than nothing.The time you spend exercising and working on your health and fitness goals within a structured program should be viewed as an investment and not as an expense. It is akin to putting aside money in the bank. Everything adds up, every bit of exercise you do – counts.

However, people struggle to find time to go the gym.

But how much time is enough time? How much time do you believe you should have to able to have a meaningful workout? 10 minutes or 20? How about 30 minutes, maybe 1 hour or 2 hours? So, because people perceive that they need a massive 2 hour block to get a meaningful workout done, people don’t go. That’s like not putting a few dollars aside each time in your piggy bank when you have a few dollars available for saving and instead only saving when you have a cool one hundred thousand or a million dollars to bank. Odds are you’ll never save even if you finally had that huge sum of money to.

Its not how much time that matters but its what you do in that time and how you train. Basically how efficient and effective your exercise routine is. Experience and know how is an important factor to getting the most out of each minute you spend in the gym and I am not going to lie to you: not having as much time to exercise does mean that it may take you longer to see the results you’re gunning for.

But doing something – anything, even if all you have to spare is 20 minutes a week, will take you one small step closer to realizing your goals. It also means you won’t work as hard when you finally have a bit more time to exercise.

So, you only have a maximum of 30 minutes to spare in the week? So what? If that is all you can spare, then what if I told you that you already have enough time to serve your body (and mind) what it desperately needs. Obviously, there are many variables at play here when you’re venturing in to un-chartered territory if you have never been to the gym before.

Don’t fear, the exercises I am listing below is BASIC and when done with control and feel, risk of injury is relatively low. Regardless of what you look like or how fit you are – or what you visualize yourself looking like later, start with the exercises listed below for your 30 minute workout.

You can kick-start part of your New Year’s Resolutions using this. The key word here is: START.

Exercise Sets Reps What it works Specifically
Squats 2 10 Legs From your butt to your calves
Bench Press 2 10 Chest/shoulder/triceps Upper body
1-arm dumbbell row 2 10 Back Upper/middle and lower back
Upright rows 2 10 Shoulders/traps
Seated triceps extension 2 10 Triceps  The back of your arms
Biceps curls 2 10 Biceps The front of your arms/forearms
Crunches 2 15 Abdominals  “6-pack”
* Weight to be used for each exercise should allow you to get to the recommended rep range. If unsure please seek help from a suitably experienced and qualified professional.

The above workout plan is very basic and for the average beginner. Always workout with safety in mind. The reason it works is that when combined, these movements achieve a full-body workout that is very efficient and effective if you perform them within the 30 minutes you have available.

Working out acts as insurance for your muscles, making sure you don’t have to challenge any of them by accident. It also lowers the risk that you don’t fall in to the trap of working only the ‘mirror muscles’ – chest/shoulders/biceps that young men typically over-train in the gym. You set a foundation towards balance and symmetry which helps build a better body and significantly lowers risks of injury to your joints.

The program uses compound exercises – where several muscles work together, instead of isolation exercises which work only one muscle group. For example, doing the squat with proper form, your whole body has to pitch in. All your muscles in your body is turned ‘on’ and is required to work equally for a complete, balanced look. These compound exercises are more effective and practical for building lean muscle fast, because they work more muscle fibres in a shorter period of time. They also teach your body to work as ‘one unit’.

Working out efficiently and effectively is like a good rugby/football team: the forwards or big men lay the platform before the smaller, lanky, faster, smaller men out wide get involved for a winning combination and try/touchdown.

The best exercise programs are always designed to work the larger muscle groups first (legs, back, chest) and then smaller muscle groups (shoulders, triceps, biceps, calves and abs) last.

That’s all you need to know for a winning workout if you have 30 minutes to spare in the week for your investment in your health, strength and fitness. If you are looking for other products/options that may suit your needs better, have a look at some of these under my ‘training program packages’ tabs.

Consistency and persistence are also key variables in the achievement of your physical transformation goals.

Good luck!

 

Until next time,

Training efficiently and effectively under the “safety umbrella ☔️ “ helped me get to 2 x world 🌎 championships
The conservative approach to training is always the best way in the long term

 

 

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ageing, Body shape, Fitness, Goals, habits, life, mind, risk, self-image, Strength training, time, you

Have you got what it takes?

Before you begin lifting weights and start your workout program, either after a long lay-off or if you’re a beginner you need to consider a few things. In my two decades of experience, one thing that holds true is, you have got to decide what you want to get out of it. Basically, what is your goal?

Working out in a gym and sculpturing a physique that is closer to what you imagine yourself to be in the mirror can be rewarding, but it involves hard work, time, lots of effort, sacrifices, risk and money. How much risk you’re willing to take is an individual thing. Just like the famous but true investment motto, “gamble only what you can afford to lose”, in this case, training on your own increases your risks (here, injuries and not achieving desired results). To lower these risks, seek help from a suitably experienced and qualified professional.

So, it is essential to understand why you’re doing it and where it lies in your priorities in life whichever phase of life you’re in. A clear sense of purpose will help propel you through what can be a confusing and often unsatisfying experience, if you’re not careful.

Depending on which phase of life you’re in, for example a man or woman going through their 40s would see life quite different from a person in their 20s. In many cases, there will be a specific trigger that kicks this process off – a change in circumstance maybe an upcoming wedding, something traumatic such as going through a divorce or being made redundant or even coming in to a sum of money. For a person in their late teens or early 20s, making themselves feel stronger, more confident and looking better may improve their chances of attracting a potential partner.

In my experience, for most people, however, the underlying reason for starting a strength and fitness program is a desire to be a better version of themselves – a better you, of the person they see in the mirror every morning when they wake up and every night before they go to bed. There is no doubt that feeling stronger and healthier and fitter with an improved body shape makes people feel more attractive and improves their level of confidence. It gives you a certain level of self-determination that simply does not come from other parts of life. If you feel good about your physical self, after all, you usually relate better with everyone who comes in contact with you. More importantly you relate better to you. That much is true. Everyone gets the best of you. You get the best of you too.

Have you got what it takes?

Do you have enough humility to accept that you are not perfect and that you don’t know everything and that you may just need help? Only you can answer these questions. Only you can act on them. Don’t wait too long.

Be brave.

Let the David in you overcome the voice of goliath that has been creating fear and stalling you. Your strongest weapon in beating this goliath, in changing and adopting new physical habits in your life for a better quality life now and especially in to your old age, is with you, 24/7: your MIND.

Its never too late to start, no matter how old you are.

Good luck!

Until next time,

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body, Body shape, body weight, Energy, habits, muscles, perseverance, self-image, Strength training, time, truths, Vitality

Its body shape not body weight that matters

The old Cap”n Viking Pirate – ME.

Weight loss is a losing game

I have helped hundreds of people of all ages re-engineer their bodies towards a stronger, healthier, fitter version of themselves over the years with over 84% success rate in clients’ achieving their goals. Weight-loss has always been a by-product of the transformation using my framework to body re-engineering.

It is important but it has never been the main focus for me and I’ll tell you why I have never believed in losing weight just for the sake of losing weight. Weight loss is a losing game, I know but most people go about loising weight the wrong way.

Be the best you can be for you, first, then by default, everyone gets the best of you.
Vv.

The importance of composition 

The weight scale can be misleading because it tells you nothing about your body composition. Your weight can fluctuate quite a lot on a daily basis due to many factors – your water intake, temperature, time of day etc. It has been the catalyst for many trainees being disheartened and de-motivated on their journey to a better version of themselves.

The scale does not tell you what your muscle-fat ratio is. So, understand that body shape is more important than body weight.

Imagine. Believe.

Rely on YOU

Avoid rapid weight loss because that usually accompanies muscle loss and you cannot afford to lose muscle. Avoid diet-only transformation programs that does not incorporate strength training. If you have a lot of fat to lose, and if you choose not to get an experienced personal trainer to help you, the best thing you can do is combining a well thought out diet plan with a good progressive strength and cardiovasular and stretching routine.

With self-control, discipline, consistency and persistence you may lose say, 10 kg on the scale  over 6 months. A safe and sure way. But note, that would be the net effect of actually losing 13 kg of fat and gaining 2-3 kg of muscle. Like for all my clients who go through my re-engineering programs, this way of weight loss will have a significant effect to your appearance, fitness and well-being: your body shape.

Rely on YOU.

The additional muscle gained enables you to use up more energy even at rest. The benefits go far beyond the initial fat loss and mere aesthetic measures as there are improvements in the inter-cellular and intra-cellular levels in your body and this would help reduce the tendency to store fat.

Educating a top national sprinter of the importance of proper nutrition for recovery & optimal performance

The best you can be

So, the better your condition gets, that is, putting on more muscle and losing fat, the easier it is to lose further fat and maintain a lean body once you have shed the excess fat. You body goes about maintaining a new ‘state of balance’, a new equilibrium: a new YOU.

Don’t go on extreme weight-loss diets, don’t fast to lose weight and don’t go on a fad diet and we have had many come and go over the years. When you limit your food intake extremely without proper resistance exercise, your body will respond by slowing your metabolism or ‘engine room’ and this makes fat loss more difficult and fat gain easier. Your engine room dictates the amount of calories you burn at any point in time.

You then find yourself spending more and more time on treadmills and other versions of cardio machines in gyms. You’ve seen the countless numbers pounding the conveyor belts of these machines in the gym. This all leads to losing muscle you cannot afford to lose.

Target a weight loss of no more than half kilogram per week, which under the right training program can add up to 13 kilograms over a realistic and healthy time-frame of six months. Do this safely.

Don’t be the best ‘biggest loser’ you can be, be the BEST  you can be!

Sometimes a feather can feel heavy when you are FOCUSED on the essence.

Strive for an improvement in body shape, get closer to getting an ‘x-frame’ (which means a smaller waist and from a health point of view means you carry less visceral fat around your waistline which all medical advice say decreases your health risks).

You should not do it with diet alone. You must build muscle.

Control fat by building more muscle. Muscle burns fat, its as simple as that!

Until next time,

 

Best of Vitality and ahoy to YOU,

 

The old Captain Viking Pirate ,…. & thoughts on muscel and body shape and the ridiculous focus on weight loss ( I love meaty women!)

Each rep of every set of every exercise is an opportunity for a person to connect with the muscle group he or she intends to.
The right mix of tempo, control, continuous tension and feel is critical.
Executed properly, under an experienced eye, allows one to bridge the muscles with the mind.
Practise does not make perfect. PERFECT PRACTISE MAKES PERFECT!

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ageing, body, Energy, life, mind, muscles, needs, Strength training, time, Vitality, you

My meditation hour

We all need to relax. True.

Some people, some cultures, some countries do it better than others, just like there are some animals that do it better too. We all need to relax. That much is true.

And physical relaxation is important but I think it is second to mental relaxation. A relaxed mind is a relaxed body.  Not necessarily the other way round. You see it when you watch elite sportsperson in competition and you hear them talk about their mental state being the difference between winning and not. The mind is intricately connected to the body, you all know that.

What I mean is that mental relaxation and peace of mind is one of the most important ways each and every one of us need in our lives to truly relax because it helps boost our sense of vitality. The quantity of hours of sleep is not as important as the quality of sleep but sleep in and of itself is not enough to attaining a relaxed mental state. Your mind being at rest. A quiet mind. You know the type, the people who sleep more than the recommended 8 hours a day and still seem more restless when they wake. They probably have not quietened their mind, not truly allowed their minds to rest. Slowed their minds.

It is a need, not a want. Remember this.

Everyone is searching for that something, that medium that would allow them to feel relaxed. Some go to a church or mosque, some do yoga, meditation classes, some surf, do gardening or fish. Some turn to alcohol, some to drugs. Some go to the other side of the world in search of a way, of a magical drug to find a way to calm, to rest, to slow their minds. Some find it, most never do.

What if I said that you don’t have to look very far. What if I told you that the essence of meditation can be had in the gym. Yes, your gym down the road.

Apart from all the physical goals you set yourself to achieve by visiting the gym, the most important benefit – NOW, to you is the intangible benefits of mental rest and relaxation. How is that so, you say? Well, I don’t think everyone has the required skill level to truly absorb the full benefits to the mind that working out with weights gives. However, it can be learned just like anything else, with patience and a good teacher.

How do you define a workout? Some of you may say words like “lifting weights, with reps; intensity; hard work, lots of sweating etc ..” All good.

I define a workout as a “continuous progression of 15 to 45 second FOCUSED MOMENTS”.

Now, here’s the thing – what are these ’15 to 45 second focused moments?’ Well, they’re simply what every gym goer calls a ‘set’. A number of sets of exercises comprise a workout. I refer to a set as a ‘focused moment’. Now, how does this allow my mind to relax?

Well, think about it for a second … if you really focus for the 15 to 45 seconds and become one with the weight and perform the set, your mind will be thinking of nothing else but getting through each repetition. All other thoughts are blocked out of your mind just for those focused seconds. Don’t let anything or anyone distract you for those seconds. If you add up all those 15 to 45 seconds for the duration of your workout, you would probably get 30 minutes of ‘quiet time’ or totally ‘relaxed mind’ for that period of time.

Now that is food for the mind.

Each workout is my meditation hour. Make it yours too. I have anywhere between 3 and 5 workouts a week. So that means I get 3 to 5 meditation hours every week. Do you get yours? Do you get to rest your mind through your body? Do you give it the respect it needs? What you get out of it depends on how much effort you put in to it, how well you focus. Learn proper exercise/meditation technique and practise, practise, practise. Set after set after set.

If you don’t already visit a gym, do so and try it. Try this meditation technique. Even if you don’t get it the first few times around, you’re still going to benefit from increased muscle size.

Its a WIN-WIN for you!

See if you feel the essence of your workouts.

Until next time,

 

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How Fit and Healthy are you?

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Definition of Total Fitness

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:

  1. Strength and the development of lean body mass (muscle).
  2. Flexibility
  3. Cardiovascular conditioning
  4. Ease of general daily activities
  5. 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.

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

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