I Have a Six-Pack

Ladies and Gentlemen, I have a six-pack! And nobody cares.

Seriously, not even my wife comments on it (maybe she will after reading this article which I’ll print out and hand to her).

For many, having a chiseled abdomen is a lifelong goal because that’s what the magazine covers have been showing us is the ideal. Let’s be honest, we’re not going to pick up the magazine that shows a guy with an unimpressive flat stomach which says “How to Get Rid of your Big Belly in Just 1 Year by Being Consistent”. Country Living is more exciting.

Put your shirt on, mate. It’s winter.

Should I Aim For a Six-Pack?
In reality, how often is someone going to see your abs? How often would you be walking around shirtless showing everyone your abs in England? You’ve seen Michael Fish’s forecast right? Does a stranger in Turkey notice on your yearly summer holiday? Guess what, he couldn’t give a shish. Does having a six-pack add to your quality of life and improve the things you actually care about, like being able to tie your shoelaces without having to ask one of the kids for assistance – they’ll eventually ban you from Clarks.

Is Having a Six-Pack Healthy?
I’d argue, no. Unless you’re on the genetically lucky side, most of us will have to work super hard to get a six-pack, and it will come at a cost.

  • You have to eat a lot less, which means it’s really hard to recover from workouts and you’ll feel fatigued, meaning you’ll have less energy to do the things you care about
  • Your training is going to have to be very consistent and intentional, no skipping workouts and no going easy
  • Your stomach rumbles a lot and you find yourself mishearing people
    “Did you say doughnut?”
    “What? No, I said take the bins out, what’s the matter with you?”
  • You are more likely to have nutrient deficiencies when you’re in a large caloric deficit, meaning we’re going to lose muscle, which is not something we want as we get older
  • If you do achieve a six-pack, you may turn into the six-pack guy who you can’t stand because his whole identity is wrapped up in his physical attributes and how awesome he thinks he is

Aiming to have a goal of reducing your “abdominal adiposity” is a good one, as having a flatter stomach means you’ll be able to feel good in your clothes, perform better at your hobbies like golf (not Warhammer), keep up with the kids and grandkids and reduce your chances of obesity-linked diseases.

warhammer

The stock photos website doesn’t know what Warhammer is

 

What Should I Aim For?
A flatter stomach, which doesn’t mean a snowboard stomach (I don’t know what a washboard is so I went with something more contemporary). Not everyone’s abdomens will look the same, because some people have larger organs, a propensity to store more body fat in that area, or they may have an excessive curve in their lower spine which means they push their bellies out which gives the illusion of a belly being bigger than it actually is.

How Do We Get Flatter?
Not by sit-ups. Sure, nothing wrong with working on your abs with deadbugs and planks, but that’s not going to shift any belly fat. We need to incorporate things like:

  • Full body workouts – bicep curls won’t cut it
  • Eating smaller portions – if you’re feeling uncomfortable after a meal, you’ve eaten too much
  • Keeping our protein intake high – let’s support our training, muscle mass and strength
  • Walking – yes, even when it’s grey and wet (I’ll let you off if there’s a hurricane)
  • Drinking less alcohol – saving it for a nice meal on the weekend instead of with your morning eggs and toast

Yes, we all feel this way during a plank

Boring, but as I said, this is the magazine you’re not going to buy. Still, it works. I’ll take the 12 month subscription please.

Best of luck in getting there, and if you need any help, drop me a message.

PT Shaun

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Pre-Discipline

I was generously given a gift after Christmas and New Year – two GIGANTIC Dairy Milk bars. Why are they this big? Seriously. I don’t know about you, but in the new year, the goal is to find ways of getting rid of the chocolate. Some people eat it all until they’re sick, bin it or give it away as a gift (to some unsuspecting victim). I returned the gift to the gift giver, and I was met with accusations of a lack of gratitude. I am grateful – that I can fit into my clothes. Why did I have to get rid of it? Simple: I don’t have the discipline needed to not eat it every moment of my consciousness. Enter “Pre-discipline”.

I don’t rely on willpower. I remove the temptation.

Biscuit Sin:
I grew up with a biscuit tin, one of those fancy ones which keeps them fresh. Not that it mattered of course, their shelf life is long enough to feed us during the next reset. I also ate them immediately (maybe you don’t want me with you during the apocalypse… “what custard cream?”).

Bored – biscuit.

Faced with something challenging – biscuit.

Watching a film and feeling fidgety because it’s a “must watch” and I can’t bear it – biscuit.

Enter a new scenario without the biscuit tin:

Bored – Read, research, learn, exercise, cook, clean

Need to do something difficult for work –  Do something difficult

Turn off the David Lynch film – rewatch The Matrix

Smart Tech, Dumb Decisions:
We don’t have a television. On telling people this information, they would inform us that televisions aren’t expensive. That was never the point. I find it hard to control myself around a TV and I’ll end up finding something to watch when I could be doing something that is more in line with the person I’d like to be e.g. a bookworm.

Phones of course are the biggest thief of our time. I spoke to a client recently who told me they’d switched to a flip-phone (dumb-phone) because the smartphone was dominating their life. Like many of us, they couldn’t control their phone use, so they got rid of it. Smart (or dumb?).

old flip phone

Simpler times.

Set a Challenge:

  • One week with no biscuits in the house
  • One month with my phone in greyscale mode
  • One month with the TV off (and choose something else to do instead of sitting in front of a black screen with no biscuits to comfort you).

Don’t be embarrassed about your lack of discipline in certain areas. I was telling someone about my struggle with TV and they adjusted their monocle and proudly said “Oh, I can control myself around my television”. “Good for you” I said, but everyone has their thing that they struggle with.

A Navy Seal’s discipline is something many of us feel we should have, but guess what, the Seals only recruit a very small subset of the population. The rest of us, we have to find strategies that allow us to live the lives we want to live and become who we truly want to be.

Military

You mean I can shoot the enemy AND watch TikTok videos?

What kinds of things do you struggle with that stop you realising your goals? Maybe there’s a way to use pre-discipline to fix that. Please send me a message if you need some strategies to help.

Hmm I can’t remember if I made the bed this morning…

PT Shaun

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“Eat What You Want”

It’s the phrase every new client loves to hear, but they can see a little asterisk appear to the left of my mouth, or sometimes I just shave in an asterisk so there’s no doubt some caveats are coming.

When I say “eat what you want” to a man on the street, they’re interpreting that as “eat as much as you can, and of the saltiest, fattiest food”. Also, they’re annoyed that a stranger has interrupted their lunch. 

What it means when we put our health at the forefront is completely different.

Barber

I’m the barbers least favourite customer.

Eating Healthy Isn’t Rabbit Food.
I think it’s pretty clear these days, but it might bear repeating for some who still believe it: eating healthily doesn’t mean you don’t enjoy your food. I love the food I eat! It might mean you need to learn to cook, a skill just like any other – and with a wealth of information on YouTube, you have an expert chef right at your fingertips. Years ago I did an online course of the basics and it set me up with some tools for life.

Can I Still Go Out to Eat?
Yes, but understand this: the chef doesn’t care about your health goals. His or her job is to create a tastebud experience using all the ingredients (especially salt and fat) available to them. With that in mind, you can see how going regularly to the restaurant could be counterproductive to your goals – it’s just a whole load more calories versus a meal you create at home (unless you’re also a professional chef).

As I said in a previous article here, eating more doesn’t mean more enjoyment, and it often means the opposite.

steak

I used the 1 cal spray just as you ordered, Sir.

What I Want Now VS What I Want Tomorrow.
What we think we want right now doesn’t always fit with what we want tomorrow. If I want to be leaner, then today I need to make a decision which means tomorrow that’s more likely to be true.

Eating What You Want Criteria:

  • I want to nourish my body
  • I want to recover from my workouts
  • I want to feel energised
  • I want to function well
  • I want pleasure from my food
  • I want a strong immune system
  • I want to live a longer life

Yes, that does mean you can eat a cookie, but how many do you actually want when you apply a new healthy frame to it?

So, go forth and eat*

PT Shaun

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Play More, Miss Less

To get the most out of life’s available experiences, you need to be physically capable or you’ll miss out on so much.

When my son was younger, I would be able to play with him at soft play, even though a sit down with a coffee and book sounded nice! I could climb, shimmy, wriggle, hit my head repeatedly, throw, chase and squeeze my way around the saliva-covered obstacles. I’d leave feeling tired but elated, and not completely wiped out. It was something that I could do which a lot of other dads sadly can’t, which I am immensely grateful for – but, I did earn it. 

Kindle coffee

This person is living my best life.

Being weak, overweight, and inflexible means there are experiences in life that you’re saying no to, and you may not even realise it. I can imagine if I was invited out for a birthday at The Crystal Maze in London or Laser Tag, I may say no and make some excuses, when the truth is I might not want to put myself in that uncomfortable situation where I might be embarrassed. By the way, I’m staying home if I’m nominated for any of the “thinking” Crystal Maze games.  A lot of our decisions happen subconsciously but what might be available to us if we were more physically able? 

As we get older, working on building strength, fitness and flexibility is key. They’re all important, but below I’ve listed them in order of importance.

Flexible

Okay mate, you’ve taken this flexibility business too far.

Strength:
Lifting heavy things 1-2x per week is going to have a profound effect. Read more here.

Fitness:
Run or find some other way of sweating from hard work. Playing Mario under a blanket doesn’t count – even if you’re up against Bowser.

Flexibility:
When it comes to flexibility, a lot of people, including myself, find it difficult to add it into our routine, but we’re just getting stiffer and stiffer as the years go on. Believe it or not, strength work does improve flexibility – when I’ve worked with clients who have poor hip range of motion, I don’t get them to stretch, I get them to squat, and it works every time. After we’ve achieved that though, we can get stiff in other areas so it’s important to do some specific flexibility work.

We Lose (The Problems):

  1. Upper Body Rotation – I was in a beach café and I was told to look behind me to see a boat in the water. I couldn’t turn around to see it!
  2. Hunchback – Our upper back rounds and we look at our feet rather than up ahead.
  3. Reaching Overhead – That giant spider on the ceiling is just going to have to stay there.
  4. Tight ankles – You’re late for the train, but it’s okay, there’s a replacement bus, but oh wait, it’s about to leave, I need to run! This is where your Achilles might become your…Achilles heel. 
Stone man

Quick! Look behind you, there’s a lady who’s about to hit you with a twig!

Get Loose (The Solutions):

  1. Rotate – Lock your hips and just try and turn your upper body left/right and look behind you
  2. Get tall – Remind yourself to be tall by puffing your chest out and look ahead to counter your hunched over work position
  3. Reach – Lay down flat and let your arms reach to the floor over your head, or do the same thing but standing up in a doorway and use the upper door frame to help increase the stretch
  4. Tip toe – As Brits, we tend to be waiting in a queue, so we might as well tip toe (calf raises) whilst complaining about said queue.

I want you to get the most out of life, so if you need any help getting started, just send me a message.

PT Shaun

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Are You the A, B or C Version of Yourself?

The version of you that existed 10 years ago is probably unrecognisable. You may not even realise it, but if you take the time to look back, you will find yourself saying things like “oh my God, I used to actually wear a shell-suit”. But it’s not just cool fashion choices that have changed – more importantly, the self has changed. Maybe for the better, or maybe for the worse.

It’s pretty simple – if we have mostly unhealthy habits, over time, we will be unhealthy. If we have mostly healthy habits, over time, we will be healthy.

Who is in charge of when ripped jeans are cool and not cool?

Versions of You:
Past – The A version of you was from some years ago, and you decided to make some changes because you weren’t happy.

Present – The B version of you is right now, the result of those changes.

Future – The C version of you exists in the future. You might be happy with B and that’s you for the rest of your life, but if not, what would you like C to be doing day to day? Let me illustrate with an example:

A – Junk food, junk media, poor sleep, low mood

B – Gym once per week, whole food, drinking water, reading

C – Gym three times per week, whole food, drinking water, walking, eight hours sleep

Everybody’s C is going to look different, there isn’t a right or wrong, you get to decide.

Without thinking about it though, the C version of you could be something that B would not be happy with. The slow creep of convenience, pleasure, instant gratification through junk food and junk media. We naturally take the path of least resistance if we haven’t taken the time to assess our choices and the direction we’d like to go in.

Sadly with a face tattoo, it’s going to follow you into the future no matter what you do

Future Me:
Smarter – If you expose yourself to new ideas in books, film, documentaries and conversations.

Stronger – Going to the gym to focus on strength

Wider Food Palette -Trying new foods and recipes

Happier – Finding a philosophy of life

Implementation:
Pick one thing you’d like to improve that your future self will be thankful for. Implement it until it becomes normalised. Then, pick your next thing and repeat.

And remember, Suzuki says “Each of you is perfect the way you are, and you can use a little improvement.”

If you need help planning your C, let your B get in touch. C will be happy you did!

PT Shaun

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