Choose Your Normal – Fit in or Stand Out?

We all want to fit in and be normal. The years of working with clients has shown me that nobody is normal. We’re all a bit weird (apart from me, obviously).

Nothing unusual here

But, do we really want to be normal?
What is normal? That’s going to depend on your peer group. Normal might be smoking/vaping, binge drinking and frequent takeaways. Normal could also be eating whole foods, going to the gym regularly and working on your mental health.

Here’s some quick stats:

  • 83% of adults don’t eat their “5‑A‑Day” portions of fruit and vegetables. Opal fruits don’t count.
  • 64% of men and 71% of women fail to do the recommended two days of muscle‑strengthening per week
  • The typical adult consumes double the recommended amount of free sugars

Because of the link between those stats and poor health outcomes (disease, frailty, reduced health span and life span), normal isn’t sounding so good is it?

Do I need to ditch my Friends and Family?
It depends – if they like Ed Sheeran, yes. But otherwise, no, you can keep ‘em. Sorry, I’m not giving you permission to say goodbye to your mate because he likes a Freakshake with a side of dirty fries, and you can’t say no. It makes complete sense that you would want to fit in with those around you, it’s human, but if it doesn’t align with who you want to be, then you’ll need to learn to say no. It can be hard when someone insists on the cake or the vape, or the vapecake (soon to be in shops). “Don’t be boring” “you only live once” “one won’t hurt” to which you will reliably reply “ah go on then”.

Damn, okay, that does look good. Just this once then…

How does one respond to such comments?
“No thank you”. Yep, that’s it, and stick to it. Why? Because you know giving into your desire, or the desires of others will mean you’ll never get to the future self that you imagine yourself to be. And look, you’re not going to get it right every time. So when you do give in, that doesn’t condemn you for life – you have another opportunity to try next time. You could also suggest doing something else, like meeting for a walk instead. Take a Tracker bar with you if you’re really peckish.

Finding Your Fitness Friends
It’s much easier to stay fit and healthy when you’re constantly reminded of it.I work in a gym so I’m surrounded by people trying to get better. Listening to podcasts, reading books, watching videos on the subject will help to keep it top of mind. You can also start to connect with others at work, friendship group or family who exercise, and talk about your latest workout or new things you’ve been trying in the kitchen. By doing this, you’re creating a new network but you’ll also create some social accountability

“hey Bob, how was the gym last night?”

“I didn’t go, I ate a big bucket of cheesy chips instead…but I will be going tomorrow” is how a conversation might go (don’t use this exact script).

Be the Mole
Infiltrate the group with your new healthy mindset and it might spread to others once they see the benefits it’s given you. It won’t if you force it though, people need to come to their own decisions in their own time, just like you did. They’re entitled to live their life how they like.

These stock photo websites don’t always have the exact images you need

So, take pride in being different if that’s what you need to get closer to who you really believe you can become.

PT Shaun

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How to Start – Why Strength Matters to You

Do you know what the most effective approach is when starting a fitness plan? If I was in school I’d be the first one to put my hand up and say “pick me, pick me!”  Let me lay out my argument for what I think is the best way to start.

When people start in the gym, they tend to do high reps, light weights, with a big focus on machines and isolation exercises. This is certainly a fine way to start because…you’ve started. That’s worth celebrating for sure. But, what if you want to start the best way?

Compound VS Isolation:
Compound is how you move in the real world, think pushing, pulling, which requires your whole body. Exercises like squats, deadlifts and bench presses. Your old car has broken down (OK, my old car), you had better compound-push it to safety.

Isolation is single muscle groups, like biceps curls and triceps extensions. It’s not how we move day to day until it’s the evening and you attend the discotheque and do “the robot” dance. 

Robot

Stand back… I’m about to unleash some serious moves.

Foundational Strength:
You come into the gym with a low baseline of strength, and then the goal is to build that up to create a new baseline, and everything becomes easier after that. Once you’ve built up the skillset to learn how to build strength effectively, you can get stronger week to week.

With your newfound strength and resilience, you have more options than if you had started with light weights. Why? Every dumbbell you lift is now heavier because you’re stronger. And because it’s heavier, that’s what’s going to make your body adapt and change. Now imagine if you’d started with light weight and high reps, over the same period, do you think you’ll be able to lift the same heavy weights? No.

Do Heavier Weights Really Matter?
Yes. Little dumbbells are better than no dumbbells, but if we really want physical change i.e. more muscle, less fat, we need heavy things to force our body to grow, otherwise we stay the same.

What do I mean by “heavy”? If you can do 20 reps with it and it’s pink, it’s not heavy. Of course, good form is really important here, so make sure you take the time to learn how to lift heavy weights correctly. “Heavy” is relative to you. If you see a big guy in the gym with loads of plates on the bar, that’s his heavy, not yours. Your heavy is lifting something that weighs more than last week.

Pink Dumbbells

It only counts if you can lift ALL the pink dumbbells

Building your Baseline for the Long-term:
If you have a higher level of strength, you have something to lose when you get ill, have an accident or need surgery. If your baseline is low to non-existent, you’re going to have a much harder time bouncing back. Build that baseline up and as you can see in the graph below, you’re going to be much better equipped before, during and after. Another way to think of it is like this: it’s better to work on your mental health whilst you’re in a good place, so that when the inevitable suffering arrives, you’ll have more tools at your disposal to manage your situation.

Graph
Not everyone wants to get strong. Your journey is your journey. After I present my argument to a new client, they have full freedom to choose the direction they want to go in with my full support, and that’s because my baseline for exercise is: do something, anything.

So, get strong first, and you’ll have set the foundations for the rest of your life.

If you’re unsure how to start, just drop me a message and I’ll be happy to help,

PT Shaun

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Your Stomach is a Liar!

Does your body tell you when you need a particular nutrient?

This question was sparked by a conversation I had with a client who told me that he is an “intuitive eater” and his body told him when he needed “selenium or potassium”. Maybe there’s some truth to that B.C.E (Before Common Eateries) where we didn’t have constant food at our fingertips in convenient buckets.

Meat Tenderiser

I’m just tenderising the meat for you, Sir.

Unfortunately, we’re easily swayed by everything that’s around us, yes, even you (fine, and me too). There’s a reason why fast food companies spend billions of burger pounds on advertising – it works!

There’s also the peer pressure of going out and consuming food and drinks, ignoring how you really feel after eating a family pack of sausage rolls on the bus on the way to meet your friends at the pub.

burger

Searching for this made my stomach rumble, and I just had lunch!

I don’t know about you, but when I watch a movie, I want snacks. Okay I lied, I do know about you, and you want snacks too. This is another example of a situation where hunger is not the driver for eating, but a learned, social behaviour of watching a movie and eating noisy popcorn with a slurpy drink, to add to the enjoyment of the people around you who are trying to watch the film.

Our lack of ability to know when we’re actually hungry can develop when we were younger. For example, we can inadvertently condition our children to eat when feeling sad. “Poor Shauny fell off his skateboard, would you like an ice cream to cheer you up?” I wish my wife wouldn’t speak to me that way. From that example, you can see how food might become a crutch when difficult emotions appear in adult life.

pizza

“By the time I finish this pizza, I am sure I’m going to be happier”

What Can We Do About It?

All is not lost. We can still train ourselves to be better in tune to our needs, and be more aware of our desires. If I’ve had a hard workout, my body is hungrier on those days but I am fulfilling my needs instead of fruit crumbling to my desires.

  • Eat slowly and taste your food
  • Eat mindfully and appreciate your food for all of its complexities
  • Notice when you’re hungry or in fact bored or feeling a negative emotion you’re trying to ignore
  • Eat until satisfied, and not finishing the plate because a child is hungry in Africa (donate instead)

So, you can get better at being intuitive, but it takes time and paying attention to how you’re truly feeling. Most of us are probably better off having a more specific system like occasional food logging or a set of rules like “I only eat a cake on weekends” that we follow, as this is a more reliable approach if you’re finding you’re overeating on a regular basis.

I hope that gives you something to think about this month, and if you need any help, please get in touch.

PT Shaun

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From Suitcases to Tuna: This Is What You Train For

Lifting weights can seem like a waste of time to some people. “So, you pick up a heavy thing and put it down again? Lots of times? Is everything okay at home?”

barbell

Getting ready to do some bicep curls

I was speaking with a client recently, who is pretty new to training and he told me his personal anecdote (which involves the word “train” defined as both a travel vehicle and a planned exercise programme, so I’ve clarified both meanings at the risk of insult to the reader’s intelligence):

“The escalator was broken as I came out of Liverpool Street Station. I had my heavy suitcase, which I had planned to rest on the perpetually moving step. I lifted my suitcase up and said to myself “this is what you train for” and carried it up the stationary stairs. When I arrived onto my choo-choo train (not an exact quote), I was able to lift my suitcase up to the top compartment, another reminder of why I choose to train.”

We build resilience in the gym so when life requires us to lift something heavy, we can. “When do I need to lift 120kg off the floor?”. Not that often, but if you can lift 120kg, how easy do you think lifting a sack of spuds on special offer would be? Did I need that many potatoes?

sack of potatoes

We’re mostly going to be eating potato based meals this month, kids.

 

We have a saying in our house which is “this is why we train”. You may hear us shouting it down the road when we’re late for something (an all too common scenario) and we have to run to get there. We always make it, because we train and we’re physically able to.

Training isn’t just for the kids, it’s for you. To train is to feel empowered, capable, and to bring about an independence you’ll want, right into your later years. Of course, it’s not just physical improvements, but mental too. If you show yourself that you can deliberately practice “voluntary discomfort” (as suggested by the Stoic, Seneca), you will become a more resilient human being.

There will be many moments in your life where you’ll be thankful for the consistent work you’ve put in year after year.

Unlikely But Not Impossible Scenarios:

  • You trip up on the edge of the white cliffs of Dover – You pull yourself back up and continue eating your beef jerky (Pull ups)
  • A girder falls onto your friend Mr. Wayne – You lift it off his chest so he can continue his Billionaire lifestyle (Deadlift)
  • You fall on the top stair in a public place – To avoid embarrassment, you land on your hands and push yourself back to vertical like nothing happened (Press Up)
  • You have a large tuna fish and only one high shelf available – You lift it overhead on the top shelf in your walk-in refrigerator (Overhead Press)
Tuna

This fish asked to remain anonymous.

I hope you found that helpful, and if you need any guidance, just drop me a message.

PT Shaun

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The Opportunity Effect

WARNING: I’ll be using the word “Opportunity” a lot because my Franklin thesaurus is broken.

I’ve been checking my gym app which tracks how often I’ve been to the gym in a month. It ranged from 9 sessions (I blame Santa Klaus and school holidays!) to 15 sessions. 9 opportunities to improve VS 15. Over the course of a year, you’ll be able to see and feel the difference between the two.

Every time you train is an opportunity to improve. 1 opportunity to improve is better than 0. 2 is better than 1 and so on. Of course we could reach a point of diminishing returns but within the constraints of a typical person’s life, we can pick a realistic maximum. You can’t always chase progression, but you’re giving yourself a chance for it to happen. For me, 3 opps (slang for opportunity I assume) a week is the sweet spot for recovery and enjoyment.

We naturally seem to gravitate towards short timelines when it comes to our bodies with people signing up to online programmes named:

  • 8 Week – Get Shredded like a Cabbage
  • 10 Weeks to Set Your Fat on Fire!
  • 11 Week (nope, sorry, no improvement is possible with an odd number)
  • 12 Week – Oh I’m Beginning to Hate my Life.
  • 16 Week Rip You to Shreds – Seriously, I’m out?
Unhappy Customer

She’s one day into the programme and missing Maltesers and Strictly

Things take time, lots of time, especially if you have developed many unhealthy habits. If we expand our timelines and think about it like “If I eat a croissant for breakfast every morning, that’s 365 croissants which is 17.5 blocks of Anchor butter”. Let’s say we reduced it down to 1 croissant a week, that would be 2.5 blocks of Anchor butter. How much of an impact do you think that would have over the course of a year? The other benefit is you’re really going to look forward to your weekly croissant!

If you apply this principle to other things you’d like to improve upon, how many other things could you achieve in a year? Opportunities for:

  • Improving sleep quality
  • Finishing a book
  • Building a skill for a hobby
  • Eating Croissants
Croissant

Oh man, I’m off to Lidl bakery, brb.

Time Marches On
I would now like to give you a convoluted, very long analogy, but please stick with it, it’ll pay off in the end (if it doesn’t, please unsubscribe or call the local authority who handles such matters).

You’re told you have to walk an indefinite distance, barefoot and naked. It could be 10 miles or 657,000 miles, you’ll never find out. Along the way you meet a merchant who has 3 items for sale, of which you can pick only one: flip flops, walking boots or really cool gold fashion trainers. You make your choice and you keep walking in your new footwear until you encounter the next merchant who has 3 items for sale: 5 doughnuts, a chicken salad or a stick of celery. Along the way, you meet many more merchants, and make many more choices. The choices you make will have an effect on your walk. Alfonso, who chose to walk in flip flops and pick 5 doughnuts at every food merchant is probably not going to be enjoying his walk as the distance increases. Tatyana chose the walking boots and chicken salad and she’s loving her walk. But, at any point, they have the freedom to change their mind and make a different decision, for better or worse.

Merchants

One of these merchants needs to buy pants from the underwear merchant

This is the abridged version, the original had chariots and a sky full of burning arrows.

In summary, time marches on regardless, and the choices we make along the way affect us positively or negatively. Remember, it’s never too late to make a better choice.

I hope you found that helpful, and if you think it’ll help somebody else, please share it with them.

PT Shaun

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