September 16, 2024

Get Your Head in the Game: Why Your Mindset Matters More Than You Think

Starting a new fitness routine is exciting. You’ve found the right gym, you’ve committed to sessions, you’re ready to transform. But here’s the thing that most people don’t talk about: the first part of creating change is actually deciding to do it.

Sounds obvious, right? But it’s not just about signing up. It’s about getting really clear on what you want to achieve and then keeping that front of mind every single day.

Write That Shit Down

Here’s a fact that might surprise you: when you write down your intentions, your chances of achieving them increase by 400%. That’s not motivational fluff, that’s Dr. Pankaj Naram’s research.

So grab a pen and write down exactly what you want. Don’t worry if the goal feels too far out of reach. Don’t listen to that inner voice (we call it your Sneaky Mofo) that tells you it’s ridiculous or too hard. Just write it down.

Break your goals into three categories:

• Immediate (short term) – What can you nail in the next few weeks?
• Medium term – Where do you want to be in a few months?
• Long term – The big vision. What does success really look like?

Once you’ve written your list, put it somewhere you’ll see it every single day. Your bathroom mirror. Your fridge. Your phone wallpaper. Somewhere unavoidable.

The Science Bit

There’s some neural pathway stuff happening here. When you keep your desires and motivations fresh in your mind by looking at them daily, your intentions become more than wishful thinking. This consistent revision, combined with new actions, re-patterns the pathways of your brain and embeds empowered new commands.

Think of neural pathways as well-trodden paths in a forest. You automatically follow these paths because you’re conditioned to do so, they’re habitual. When you change to an unfamiliar route, you have to be mindful, otherwise it’s easy to slip into old habits and old ways of thinking.

An Example: The Takeaway Habit

Old habit: Getting takeaway every night on your way home from work because that’s what you’ve always done. It’s easy, you’re tired, you’re HANGRY, and can’t be assed to cook.

New intention: Do your food shopping once a week, fill your fridge with nutritious food, and prepare everything so you’re organised.

Result: You feel smug, structured, and happy that you’re doing what you said you’d do.

But here’s the reality, this won’t happen overnight. Takeaways are still easier when you haven’t made time to go shopping. You have to recognise and grab hold of the thoughts that aren’t going to help you reach your goals. If that inner saboteur whispers sweet nothings about junk food for dinner, acknowledge it and then let it go.

Change Your Mind, Change Your Life

As Dr. Joe Dispenza says: “I wake up in the morning and I consciously create my day the way I want it to happen… When I create my day and out of nowhere little things happen that are so unexplainable, I know that they are the process or the result of my creation.”

The bottom line? Change your mind, keep an eye on it every day, and the rest will follow. Your trainer can write you the perfect programme, but without your head in the game, you’re fighting with one hand tied behind your back.

Get clear. Write it down. Look at it daily. Watch what happens.

October 3, 2022

Are you required to sit for most of your working day?

Sit happens. It’s unavoidable. Here are my top tips; simple things/drills you can do each day to help alleviate potential problems produced from sitting all day.

• Please change your position every hour and have three different working stations i.e chair 1, stand, chair 2. Set your alarm every hour so you don’t forget. Do the standing stretch: If you sit a lot, stand up from your chair. Start by raising your arms overhead and hold for ten seconds. Then reach higher and farther back for another ten-count. Inhale deeply, working into an upright and stress-free standing posture. Drop your arms and relax. This stretch measurably dispels cumulative stress on the spinal discs. Do it throughout the day. Have a read of Stuart McGill’s tips on this

• Every hour on the hour do 25 x seated banded abductions: triple band your green band and pop it around your legs above your knees, keeping your feet hip distance apart and on the floor move your knees out and in keeping the band tense

• Throughout the day aim to complete 100 single leg calf raises on each leg. These do not need to be performed all at once but look to complete the 100 by the end of each day. Think sets of 10 to 20 reps. Please do this on the floor but get up as high as you can onto your toes. Quality reps. 

• Eyes closed single leg stance 30 seconds 2 sets (neurological proprioception) 

• As many short walks per day as possible. 5 mins around the block or around the office

May 26, 2017

Strength training isn’t all about Personal Bests

I’m sharing this personal story in the hope it will inspire others to strength train.

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