From Sussex Bootcamps To Physical Path - My Evolution Continues...

From Sussex Personal Trainer, to Sussex Bootcamps very recently, i'm about to launch my new website and venture!

The website is not really one to shout about at the moment - more to get the basic info out there in a hurry - but it will gradually turn into something more exciting to visit.

'Physical Path' is the name i came up with for how i will be working with people going forward, both in groups and individually.

The next block of sessions will get started on May 21st and full details will be on the site. The website should be live in the next few hours and this is stricly version 1! www.physicalpath.com

This is a passion and something i love to do. It feels great to be 100% in the driving seat again and i can't wait to bring all i have to help the people who join Physical Path experience more, achieve more, and have more fun doing it!

With massive appreciation to all who have been a part of the last 14 plus years, it's time to take it to the next level!

Take a step on your physical path...

The analogy of a path works well for me - it seems we are all influenced today by what we have experienced before today, and what we do today will decide where we are at tomorrow (and if we are likely to enjoy that or not).

There are likely clear steps that led you to your experience, beliefs, and results today. You can continue to take similar steps, or alter your course to move in a better direction.

Once you are clear about where you are going and where you want to go, you can evaluate your choices as either getting you there in a positive way, or not. Then choose accordingly!

Sounds simple but i think the more we can empower ourselves with simple choices that can be acted and built on, the better.

Simple doesn't necessarily mean quick or easy either. You may need to spend some time developing a foundation of awareness of your experience and beliefs. How persistent and consistent you are in this and the action you take will also go a long way.

Ultimately this all leads towards you waking up each day choosing to live more fully in your body, and seek ways to move forward - take another step on your physical path.

This could be getting that next meal right - and taking the time to enjoy it, doing that daily mobility routine, commiting to that strength workout, getting enough sleep, catching yourself using negative thoughts and instead thinking something far more positive etc.

Take another step forward - enjoy that step as you take it and enjoy where those steps end up taking you!

A Simple Formula To Get More Out Of Your Fitness...

The vast majority of people could benefit from enhancing the following areas.

Mobility

(do mobility to avoid the above version)

Movement Skill

(Balance being one example)

Strength

(Get off the hamster wheel and get stronger!)

Play

I think that spending a good chunk of your time in the above areas (including combining some or all of them at the same time!) will take you a long way.

It may even transform your experience of movement and fitness well beyond what you currently do.

Unfortunately a lot of people's first thoughts are still about how much 'cardio' and 'ab' training they are doing.

Have a thought about how you can get more of the above in your day and continue to develop more of it in the future. I'll share some more thoughts soon.

Try these on for better fitness results.....

Not a magic pair of pants or wonder trainers! Not even some tight fitting base layer that seems to have become all the rage.

I'm talking trying something on mentally and noticing how it feels before your next training session.

I want you to engage and get in a better state for enjoying what you are doing, bringing the experience more to life, and ultimately getting more rewards - internally and externally!

Firstly i want you to relax and breath, take a conscious deep breath and notice how your body is feeling today.

While you continue to do this, start to picture one of your most compelling or enjoyable goals - bring it to life in your mind. Continue to enjoy this feeling and recognise how what you are doing today is another stepping stone to fully enjoy and get you closer to where you want to be.

Smile inwardly and outwardly as you see yourself doing your movements or taking on certain challenges successfully and with the qualities you want to express.

As you start to go through your warm up and preparation movements, really feel what you are doing and how you are doing it. See and feel how each movement is preparing you for what you will be doing.

Continue to breath fully and with an element of relaxation. Every so often return to an image of what you will be doing in the session ahead and the energy and focus you will bring to it.

Notice the thoughts that come up. Simply let unhelpful, negative or distracting thoughts drift by, and give energy and attention to positive thoughts, words, and feelings that will only add to your experience.

Today is another chance to experience and practice. It's a chance to play - even if it is serious play! You may well have specifics you want to achieve so recognise these, set your intention, and then let go of any pressure you felt.

During the session aim to continue the above - being mindful of what you are doing and how you are doing it. Returning to an awareness of your breathing, positive images, and positive words, regularly.

After you have done your best for today and gone through your cool down take a moment to sit or lie down in a quiet space. As you focus on relaxed breathing, revisit the things you did well, and also imagine your goals and specific movements done perfectly once again. Finish with a moment of simply breathing with no specific thought.....

If the above seems quite novel to you at the moment - realise that it doesn't need to take much extra time at all, just familiarising yourself. It is only the relaxation and visualisation at the end that may be an added couple of minutes. If pushed for time you could follow the principles as you go through any other cool down moves or stretches, without needing to switch off completely!

This is one way you can help transform your experience from simply 'routine' to something more like a 'ritual'.

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...

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..

Inspiring Year!

It's been a while - i wonder how many blogs find themselves starting out with those lines or something similar all too frequently!

With Sussex Bootcamps doing fantastic things this year i mentioned not being able to update as often on here.

So with the snow outside at the moment i thought i'd take a few minutes to do a brief update.

I see a big part of my job being to deliver inspiration. In order to do this i have to take the time to stay inspired myself.

For me this comes from a number of sources, especially reading, learning and attending courses.

I've invested in quite a few course this year and i've enjoyed the regular exposure to some fantastic teachers and trainers.

After 'using' kettlebells on and off for years, it's been great to finally learn more about the competition style of lifting and apply this to my own training. Along with this we've started to teach kettlebell classes -

www.sussexkettlebells.co.uk



Personally, i've had a great mix of training over the past few months - integrating some gymnastic strength, kettlebell training, olympic lifts and heavy basic lifts.

We are looking to finish the year by giving something back! We have a charity week of bootcamp on December the 13th, 15th and 17th. People simply need to bring a food donation which we will pass on to local homeless charities. Come and find out why we are the best bootcamp in the area!

You can register for your limited place at

www.sussexfreefitnessbootcamps.com

Hope you have a fit and fantastic festive season! Look forward to an even more awesome 2011.

Here's another link to the frequently updated Sussex Bootcamps blog

www.sussexbootcamps.co.uk/blog

Steve Cork

We Now Have A Sussex Bootcamps Blog!

Yes, i will still post on here from time to time, but our bootcamp website has a blog attached to it at last.

This will be where most of my content will be added on a regular basis.

I'd love to see you over there at Sussex Bootcamps!

http://www.sussexbootcamps.co.uk/blog

Have a great and active weekend!

Steve Cork

10 Minute Outdoor Fitness Session With Some Fun Toys!

Rush hour traffic in Haywards Heath left me a little late for a planned workout on Whitemans Green.

Rather than miss out altogether, Ben and Katie joined me for a 10 minute blast and then carried on while i taught a kettlebell induction.

We just went with some big bang movements for maximum effect - the best way! Tools for the job were kettlebells and ViPR's.

Kettlebells you have no doubt started to hear about, but ViPR's are pretty new on the scene. This are rubber tubes which come in different sizes and weights which have some handles for different use.

They are a great tool for loading some athletic and multi-dimentional movements, and are really nice to use outdoors.

Anyway, first round was 30s of kettlebell snatches per arm, 30s rest and then 1 min of a ViPr move - step with an uppercut.

Then it was back to KB Snatches, then a ViPR shuffle and shovel movement.

Last was 50s per arm of clean to push press, followed by ViPR flips.

This added up to a great 10 minutes that left my whole body feeling good. Ben and Katie carried on to a point that maybe they started to not feel so good!!

The kettlebell induction was followed up with a great session. People are really getting the hang of the bells and finding them to be a great complement to bootcamp.

These sunny evenings have been awesome to get some outdoor exercise and Whitemans Green in Cuckfield provides a fantastic view to enjoy at the same time.

Steve Cork
www.sussexbootcamps.co.uk

Kettlebell Classes Launched!

(Not a great shot - playing with a KB circuit before the class!)

That's right - this has been a few years in the making!

Just one of those things we haven't got around to doing until now. We've been playing around with Kettlebells for quite a few years now along with introducing them into our Personal Training sessions and some of the earlier Bootcamp sessions too.

We always intended to have more of a dedicated class to really let the participants explore the benefits of adding kettlebells in to their training programme a little more fully than just doing a few sets of swings now and again.

Remember, a kettlebell is a tool - it doesn't do anything magic by itself. Like any other tool it's all about how you use it, how you integrate it into your programme and learning correct technique in the first place.

There are a variety of approaches to using kettlebells out there and we can draw benefits from most of them depending on our goals and situation.

To many people, learning how to be stable and strong while moving a weight around will be a new experience. Some people really have to re-educate their major muscle groups to do the work they should be doing to safely and athletically move the kettlebell.

It's in learning how to integrate the legs, hips, and 'core' efficiently that many of the benefits of using kettlebells are realised. Your ability to move is improved, along with your ability to use your whole body and therefore burn a load of calories.

Many people will improve pretty much every fitness quality. Kettlebells do lend themselves to being great for improving strength endurance and tend to be great for shifting body fat!

We are currently offering sessions on Tuesday nights at Whitemans Green in Cuckfield near Haywards Heath. These are currently fully subscribed but we will be adding more times soon.

An induction must be attended before regular sessions can be joined.

Please e mail info@sussexbootcamps.co.uk to register your interest.

Steve Cork
www.sussexbootcamps.co.uk

I Love It When A Group Comes Together!

Yes, we had a new bootcamp start this week and i do love the way our Bootcamp groups take on the challenge and achieve their goals.

I have a new appreciation of this from being on the 'other side' several times in recent weeks. Being in various group training situations gave me a fresh perspective on the atmosphere, expectation, camaraderie, and energy available.

It also gives me a good look at how someone else is teaching which is always valuable to reflect on.

Personally i've always loved teaching groups, and yet i've always spent the big majority of my own training time alone. I guess part of this comes from having very specific goals and ways i want to achieve them, which are not always compatible with other people being around!

In recent months i've enjoyed spending more of my training sessions with other people involved. Even more recently i took part in several practical sessions at a youth fitness convention, at an athletic training gym, and a weekend on a kettlebell instructor course.

There is a lot to be said for rising to the challenge as part of a group, and if you're lucky enough to be surrounded by people of a good standard or a lot better than you, then you have some great examples and maybe targets to aim for.

Many people on the kettlebell course commented they wouldn't have completed a particularly challenging sequence of squats if it hadn't been for doing it with a group.

I commented on this kind of thing on our members forum today and it seems they agree, this is a very valuable part of bootcamp.

Are you using this to your advantage?

What results might you achieve if you did?

I've been using kettlebells for years now, and this was my 3rd different instructor course. Look out for our kettlebell group sessions coming soon in Haywards Heath!

Steve
www.sussexbootcamps.co.uk

Haywards Heath Charity Event

Wow did i really not post on this! Very slack of me - what can i say, organising events back to back and then going away shortly after the second one didn't leave much time!

Sussex Bootcamps teamed up with the Perrymount Clinic to build on the success of our event last year.

Again the whole idea was to provide some great information for how to make 2010 your healthiest and best year ever. Haywards Heath residents got the benefit of the same speakers as last year covering different topics related to their expertise. The Clair Hall venue worked perfectly for our numbers and the stall holders we also had in the room.

Jo Bareham - Nutritionist, covered what you should be doing to raise your energy levels.

Christian Bates - Osteopath and Naturopath, covered what your body type reveals about how you should be exercising and eating for individualising results.

Steve Cork (me) - Fitness Professional, covered what you need to consider to be fit for life.

Pete Cohen - Life Coach, presenter, weight loss guru etc! Pete covered lots of things and made people think and laugh!



We ended up giving away some great prizes and we raised £1200 for St Peters and St James Hospice!

Thanks for everyone's support and involvement that made this a wonderful evening.

Steve

Time Is Ticking!!

We're already a chunk of the way through the year! Well January at least.

Have you kick started your health and fitness programme, did you set those resolutions?

I really hope you have and have had some great successes already.

Getting started right can set you up for a successful year - and it can make it all easier too. What once might have been a struggle has become part of the routine.

This is true of individual sessions also - just give yourself the permission to get started and chances are the full session you had planned will take place anyway.

If i've got a workout scheduled but i'm wondering if i have the energy, or if i've recovered enough from previous exercise i'll always do it. I figure that if i'm trying to decide whether or not to do it i'm actually ok.

If i really am stuggling or overtrained then it's going to be more obvious and there won't really be the debate!

Want to know how to get started the right way and then stay on track?

Get along to our charity events - the first of which is this Thursday night. Drill Hall, Denne Road, Horsham, 7-9. Remember this is for the Dame Vera Lynn Trust. Please register your place at http://www.sussexbestever.com

We're sharing all the best health and fitness tips and secrets in our talks and free prizes. We're raising money for charity, so it's going to be a great, positive evening all round. My business partner here at Sussex Bootcamps, Ben Davis - will be among the speakers.

Spaces are filling up fast - this really is going to be a great Horsham event.

Looking forward to seeing you there.

Steve Cork
www.sussexbootcamps.co.uk

Big Health And Fitness Charity Events!!

It's that time of year again!

Sussex Bootcamps had a very successful charity event in Haywards Heath last year, and we're doing it all again this year!

Only this time we have an event in Horsham as well as Haywards Heath.

This time it's called 'How To Make 2010 Your Healthiest And Best Year Ever'.

The focus is all about your health, fitness, well-being, and all round how to improve your life.

It's our way of saying thank you to our Bootcampers and Personal Training Clients, and a way for us all to do something wonderful for local charities.

The Horsham event is on Thur 28th January at the Drill Hall. We're raising money for The Dame Vera Lynn Trust, and simply suggest making a donation on the night in exchange for your seat at the event and chance to win some great prizes.

Speakers are Fitness Professional and Sussex Bootcamps co-owner Ben Davis, Life Coach Sharon Knight, Oils and fats expert Durwin Banks, and GMTV's success coach Pete Cohen!

The Haywards Heath event is on Thur 4th February at the Claire Hall. We're running this one in conjuction with our friends at the Perrymount Clinic. All donations go to St Peters and St James Hospice.

Speakers are Fitness Professional and Sussex Bootcamps co-owner Steve Cork (me!), Osteopath and Naturopath Christian Bates, Nutritionist and Reflexologist Jo Bareham, and once again Pete Cohen.

We're going to educate, entertain, and importantly send you away with some great action steps.

There will be over £1500 of great prizes at each venue also!

Go here to register http://www.sussexbestever.com

Did You Engage With Your Effort Recently?!

I was enjoying a final week of a 12 week training programme last week. It was a good variety of whole body movements, but loaded pretty heavy (for me at least).

I've always enjoyed this sense of challenge where you are literally stepping up to the bar - and hopefully raising it!

It's all there in black and white - the numbers that have been done before. The inner conversation, the rallying cries shouting out any doubts, bringing emotion to the cause.

There can be beautiful moments of heightened aliveness and really zoning in on just the task at hand.

And at times there are the defeats that can seem crushing for a short while, but soon enough i look forward to testing myself again and simply offering the best i have. It's all i can ask of myself. The best i have on this day, engaging with the sense of effort, giving it my all.

If i can do that, then deep down i know i've succeeded, i've not hidden from the challenge, i've not settled for warmth, comfort, television, hot tea and sweet chocolate! Not for that hour anyway!

I'm stronger for trying, for embracing my strength ritual.

I shared with a friend that i felt a certain fear in the final week. I had already done 2 weeks of similar work, established some bench marks and targets, and knew deep down the effort required to produce them. That final week is my chance to at least match the previous weeks efforts and hopefully exceed them.

It's usually possible to realise an improvement on something, and i think it's important to attempt to do so. But this won't happen by going through the motions. You need to get stuck in - mentally and physically.

Engage with the effort, look it in the eye, feel the joy and the emotion of using your body the way it was meant to be used - again and again and again.....

Is it time you brought your inner athlete out to play?

Steve
www.sussexbootcamps.co.uk

More Resolution Thoughts....

What do New Year Resolutions mean to you?

Do you set them every year? Do you achieve what you set out to do each time, or is initial progress soon ground to a halt as old habits kick in?

I have mixed feelings about the whole thing. Personally i like to consider the year ahead, also break it down into quarters, and sometimes set specific challenges like 100 days. I always have a sense of my targets and goals and therefore times like New Year or Birthdays etc, don't seem like such big deals. It's a constant process of awareness and improvement or challenge.

I think this is a successful approach - consistency of effort, goals and challenges seems to work pretty well for exercise and nutrition too. Rather than endless cycles of frustrating stopping and starting that tend to go no where, a constant awareness of where you are and where you want to be along with consistent effort and tweaking over time will go far!

While i will no doubt come up with what could be considered some resolutions, i think the idea of New Year Resolutions have a sense of failure built into them. Just in terms of culturally there is an assumption of badly set goals not lasting 3 weeks into January! Or maybe that's just my impression, but from what i've read the statistics on successful resolutions seem to back it up.

So why not consider resolutions of a sort - every month rather than every year? Committing to this gives you a great chance to review and reassess what you want and celebrate your successes. It gives you a chance to simply start again on something if that's what you want or need to do.

There is no way to 'blow it' because it's a constant process rather than all or nothing!

As mentioned in the previous post, to really become a goal getter check out the Magic 100 programme - Click Here

I do get a commission if you buy it through this link.

Steve
Sussex Bootcamps