More Alive Today And More Movement Mastery....

..than yesterday?

Is that how you feel and what you have achieved? I hope so and it's my aim for myself the people i work with.

Another step in the right direction along with enjoying the process is what it's all about.

Come on - we can do way better than just burning some calories, breaking a sweat, doing a few machine supported movements, mind-wondering to the tv, music, people etc while 'exercising'!

Let's set our sites higher and get into a far more rewarding experience. When was the last time you learned a brand new movement skill or tried a brand new sport for example?

Don't go through the motions, don't do what everyone else is doing, find something you love and if necessary find someone to help you make the most of the experience! Find your fitness freedom...

Clarity = Great Physical Results!

"Get clear on what you want" - you hear it all the time - set those goals specifically!

How about getting a little deeper and before you even worry about what you might decide would be amazing for you, ask yourself WHY? - and get as much clarity on why you are interested in creating some change. Why it's important, powerful and motivating? Why it's aligned with who you really are - or at least a big part of you?

When you get clear on your why - then you hav a pretty purposeful direction for yourself. Feel free to attach some specific goals to this also - they can be fun and provide some extra focus. But you would also be free to change direction or even fail to hit the goal and would have had a great time getting there - because you were still in touch with your WHY!

I often think people do this completely backwards. For example they hear a friend is doing a marathon, and they see lots of people out running and so they decide to run - even though they hate it and haven't prepared their body in any way for the physical stressors involved. Great recipe for giving up, injuries, and frustration!

Running here is just an example - you could insert any other activity. To extend the running example, maybe you get clear on why you want to be physically active but dismiss running for the reason that you hated it as a child. However if you gave yourself a chance to try it, maybe with some good coaching you might find you love it afterall!

Once you get clear on this stuff you can then simplify what you do and maybe eliminate some of what is wasting time when considered in light of your reasons why and your goals.

I've been spending some time getting clear on what i do and why i do what i do with the services i provide through personal training and bootcamps. It's been an interesting process and i look forward to delivering on the results.....

A Serious Week Of Movement..!

The way we run our bootcamps means that after 4 weeks of sessions we have a week inbetween to catch up with everything else.

This usually means getting some time in the evenings back but recently i was on a bit of a mission to explore some new and some old options.

Along with a slightly abbreviated normal training week, i fitted in 2 parkour classes with Parkour Generations in London, my usual game of squash, a return to a gymnastics class for the first time in several months, and we started an introduction to climbing course!!

I would have tried out a yoga session too but it was fully booked.

It was great to try out some new things and always enjoyable to take part in some sessions. Parkour movements, skills, and it's approach as a discipline are particularly compelling to me at the moment. I look forward to exploring this much more.

Here's an inspiring video!

Alignment with your values = easier results!

Following on from my last post, i've been thinking a lot about why some people find it easy to eat healthy and others struggle. This applies equally to your approach to exercise or anything else you might want to do.

I need to start with the assumption that your version of eating healthy is at least similar to mine! For example eating in a way that gives your body enough protein and fat to be satisfied and having your hormones working for you vs screaming to be fed more sugar beacause you're still on the high carb low fat rollercoaster!

Now, when it comes to a successful approach to eating i think you have to start asking yourself some big questions.

Things like who you are, what you want and why you really even care at all about being fit and healthy? Why really?

Keep digging around until you are face to face with what is truly important.

Now ask yourself the question if eating in a way that gives you the optimum physique, abundant energy and freedom from lifstyle disease is in alignment with what you discovered above.

The more you can realise this connection and make that alignment very strong, the less struggle and the more ease you will have around the whole area.

The more eating within certain guidelines is just part of who you are, the less stress and less decisions you need to make. If 90% of the time certain choices are just off your radar or not on your menu! - then the whole thing just got so much easier.

As i mentioned at the beginning, you want to be aligning your values with a correct approach to eating, otherwise you could just make any wacky celebrity diet easier to stick to!

A 'paleo' type diet is a great approach that nourishes our body in the way it needs to be fed based on our evolution.

Once your physiology is on your side, your mental game should be that much easier.

2 Essential Ingredients - Are You Consuming Them??

Ah a nutrition post? - No!

I'm talking about passion and inspiration.

Perspiration definitely goes a long way, but it's unlikely much of that will happen over the long term unless you have an abundance of Passion and Inspiration for what you are doing!

I believe you build your physical foundations with the correct mindset and whether you have considered this much in the past or not, i'd suggest the time is now.

It's also your choice - you could think of physical activity as a necessary evil that's painful and uncomfortable, that eating the right way is somehow depriving yourself!

Many people do it this way - and then still feel bad and usually make little progress.

I've long suspected and practised a different and better way.

I suggest you find ways to immerse yourself more in what you are doing. If they seem mundane, set yourself mini challenges, ways to motivate and measure your performance. There are many movements that you can feel more mastery over if you stop and pay attention to what you are doing.

You can even learn to appreciate the enjoyment in your effort and in overcoming something challenging.

Once you put yourself on more of a journey and not simply heading for a destination, once you can enjoy the project and not just wait for the goal to arrive, then you get so much more out of the experience.

Not only that but you get to appeciate other people's achievements that much more. So often those stories or you tube video's that are most inspiring are not just something amazing being ticked off the to do list, but the struggle and investment, the highs and lows of the journey to getting there.

Tap into sources of passion and inspiration on a regular basis and it will add ease and energy to what you wish to then do.

These 2 ingredients, that many people leave entirely to chance, will nourish and sustain you like a good paleo meal!!

What Is Your Movement Ability?

I had a massive personal realisation earlier this year - one that really changed my perspective from doing interesting things to challenge my fitness abilities to that of being a mover!

This shift in perspective has come about from learning from Ido Portal.

I was fortunate enough to attend his movement camp in the summer and i found it eye opening to really get immersed in Ido's perspectives and approaches to movement.

It makes you look at your abilities, your weaknesses and what you want to be able to do and what will be some of the most useful additions to your programme.

Ido has a pretty unique approach and successfully combines a wide range of influences to produce some very interesting training programmes for his clients of which i have been for nearly 6 months now.

I really got inspired to be able to do far more with my body and this has lead to really not being at all worried about the more standard elements and approaches to fitness.

I used to have simple strength lifts that i wanted to get bigger numbers in and now i'm for more interested in developing my movement abilities, with strength being one of the necessary components for getting there.

This is an extremely challenging, rewarding and ultimately life long path of physical development that i love to be on.

My hope is that more people and more of my clients get inspired beyond simply getting fitter and losing weight etc, to something that not only achieves such goals but far more besides.

Looking In The Mirror and Stepping Up....

Sometimes you've just got to take that honest look in the mirror and let the truth of where you are at stare you in the face.

If you are not where you want to be, you don't have to feel bad about it (unless that helps - and lets face it sometimes it can!), but you might want to do something about it!

We all choose our daily priorities and they either lead us to the kind of results and life we want or they don't.

So, how about looking back at the year so far and how you've got to where you are at today? Can you do it, can you be completely honest with yourself?

I truly hope you are happy, fulfilled and excited with where you are at - and when i say look in the mirror i'm not just talking about the looks - how about what you can actually do!

If this isn't the case the cure is largely action - correct, consistent, committed action, physically and nutritionally.

But, inspired action is even better - as in knowing your personal reason why you want to do what you are doing.

Get under the surface a little and discover the fuel that can really take you a long way.

Then go for it! And remember to re-visit that 'mirror' on a regular basis..