Mastering Distraction: How to Make Your Phone Mundane

I had to turn off my PC, leave my phone downstairs and use my work laptop upstairs to write this article. I’m easily distracted by technology and so there are times where I have to isolate myself from it in order to be productive. I’ve been daydreaming about distractions for a while now, and it’s something I find interesting and I have had many conversations with clients who find themselves mindlessly scrolling social media. Look, if you truly enjoy it, that’s cool with me, but the conversations have mostly been “I’ve been scrolling and I can’t stop and I want to stop because I know I could spend my time better”. Indeed, your time, and you get to choose how you spend it.

Distracted by tech

So, what’s the problem with scrolling social media apps? It’s fun! They make people laugh, cry, angry and all sorts of other emotions. It doesn’t sound too bad, right? Well, the question I ask is: Who is in control? You? Or the app? Some people are able to have a healthy relationship with technology, but for most of us, the doors of the casino have been opened up and we’re all inside, oblivious to the tricks being performed on us. Even the people who made these products are warning us against them.

I don’t want to come across as someone who envies the Amish and wants to walk to a payphone to tell my friend “OK mate, I’ll be there at 6:00”. I just want the technology to enhance my life, rather than to diminish it. We can strike a balance but it takes some effort.

Payphone

Where’s the payphone? Oh, well at least I’ll get my steps in.

Try to notice your ticks. You probably won’t be aware of them at first, but once you start to make your phone less appealing they may be visible to you. For example, I removed the “swipe right” Google News feed on my phone and noticed I was still swiping right habitually for an app that doesn’t exist anymore.

How to Make Your Phone as Boring as Possible:

  • Uninstall your most commonly used apps that don’t add value
  • Use greyscale/monochrome
  • Turn off “frequently used” shortcuts
  • Turn off the OLED screen
  • Manage your notifications to only show you what you really care about
  • For the apps that you can make a good case for keeping, use timers to set yourself a limit
  • Changing your wallpaper to a solid unappealing colour like Military Grey.

The list above are “hacks” (a popular term for a shortcut) which are helpful, but they don’t really address the underlying reasons as to why we are bound to our devices, so the unhealthy habits will inevitably sneak back in. You’ve got to be more intentional with how you use your device e.g. if I go to use my phone, my intention is to do something which I consider to be a good use of my time.

Personal Trainer Peterborough

He left his phone at home

So, now you have more time, what do you do? Well, do your best to not get bored because you’ll find yourself reinstalling those apps. What do you feel you are missing out on that could add a better sense of achievement in your life?

  • Reading a book
  • Exercising
  • Cooking a meal
  • Painting/drawing
  • Meditating
  • Playing the guitar badly

It’s definitely a tough challenge, but it’s one I want to win and hopefully this article will help you to get there too. If you need any help, please get in touch (via a message in a bottle).

PT Shaun

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Don’t Try to Lose Weight

I like January. It’s a time to reset, re-evaluate, reassess and some other R words that please those who like alliteration. It feels exciting to think that this time next year, how much better things could be.

Goals

Whilst it feels good to have an opportunity to think about how you’d like this year to be different, we can also set ourselves up for failure. I’ve often set myself lofty goals like reading War and Peace by Tolstoy, only to realise I have a son who likes to jump on me as if I were a trampoline. I’ll stick with the Ladybird books for now.

Your Goals are too Big:

A lot of people I talk to have a fear of setting goals for the year because they have failed before. When I have asked them what their goals had been, they would always be too big and vague. “Lose weight” is a common one but there are so many things involved with that goal, there’s no wonder it failed. 

Try a New Approach:

It is amazing how many times we try the same thing, and expect a different result. If something hasn’t worked consistently, now’s the time to try a different approach.

What if you didn’t focus on losing weight? I know, it’s a crazy thing to say! What if you focused on some other measure which had more positive associations? In the gym for example, focusing on increasing reps, sets, the weight on the bar, improving your recovery between sets. Outside of the gym it could be eating smaller portions consistently, step count, eating mostly whole foods etc. It’s a change in focus which still will have the desired result you’re looking for, but instead of being impatient and just staring, poking and prodding your belly, you’re integrating healthy habits which is what you were lacking in the first place.

Sure, take measurements of your body, but once you have your starting point, put them away and choose your healthy habit of choice and stick with it until it becomes a habit. You’ll not only lose body fat but the habit you’ve integrated will have other benefits in your life. For instance, if you decide to take a daily walk, you’ll also benefit from fresh air, connecting with nature (or concrete depending on where you live), time to think, improved circulation, weight management, stress relief (unless you tread on a dog poo).

So, in summary: pick your goal, break it down in achievable steps and consider changing the measure you’re focusing on so that you’re more likely to achieve your goal over the year.

If you need any help with goal setting, get in touch,

Best of luck!

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Festive Food: Mindful Feasting

December is my favourite month. I love Christmas (now I’m no longer working in a supermarket listening to Noddy Holder on repeat), from the lights, the cosiness, giving gifts, and of course, the food. For some, it can be a difficult month when it comes to food, but it doesn’t have to be.

From the many conversations I’ve had with clients about Christmas, one theme often pops up – they correlate more food with more enjoyment. BUT, if you spend a moment to think about it you will realise that it has the opposite effect:

  • Feelings of utter discomfort because you’ve eaten as much food as a T-Rex who’s trying to bulk for the winter.
  • Meat sweats.
  • Feelings of regret and guilt.

So, how much more fun are you actually having? I’d argue that being in control by making some decisions beforehand would lead to you having a better time. In social settings, the peer pressure can be difficult to manage but after the party, you’re the one who has to deal with “the feelings”.

So let me say something seemingly contradictory…

Eat what you want!

The question is, what do you want? Do you want abs that look like they’ve been chiselled out of marble by Michelangelo? Well, you had better head home and hide under the covers then!

For the rest of us who just want to look and feel good, what we want is the right amount of food for our levels of hunger and our health goals. If you have built up the skill of tuning into your levels of hunger, the biggest strategy you can employ is to stop when you’re full. If you haven’t built that skill yet, that’s okay, we have some other options.

Christmas day should be a day to relax, focus on friends and family and not to obsess about food, but because Christmas is essentially a whole month of mince pies and unusual Latvian snacks from Lidl, we need to set some rules for ourselves. Examples include:

  • I’m going to eat lots of protein to fill me up to stop snacking
  • I only eat one mince pie per day
  • I will only drink one glass of wine
  • I will drink lots of water to stop me feeling like I need a beer
  • I will wear a blind fold when I visit my mother-in-laws so I can’t see the Quality Street tin.

Notice that we’re not restricting anything here, we’re just setting ourselves some rules to allow us to have fun whilst simultaneously keeping our health goals in mind. They’re your rules, so create ones which are in line with what matters to you.

So, in summary: relax on the day, but not for the whole month, create your own rules, otherwise you’ll be spending almost half of the year trying to lose the fat you’ve gained during “the most wonderful time of the year”.

If you found this article useful and you think others would too, please share it with your friends and family.

PT Shaun

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The Illusion of Quick Wins: Understanding the Giant Drawbacks of Rapid Fat Loss

Did you know that 90% of people who undergo a rapid weight loss plan regain the lost weight within the year (sometimes they regain even more!). A quick result, with a long-term cost.

Rapid weight loss is very tempting. Pretty much everything is available to us right now: food delivery, any TV show you can think of (even ones you’d never think someone would come up with!), information, Uber, so why not weight loss too?

If you think about all the great things you’ve achieved in life, they all took time. Weight loss takes time. Now, if you’re an athlete trying to enter into a specific weight class, rapid weight loss makes sense. But you’re not, are you?

The focus on weight loss can take our attention away from our health goals too. Okay, you might not have health goals specifically, but we all aspire to be healthy. What if we could achieve weight loss whilst simultaneously improving our health? We can, but it’s going to require something from you: patience. Sorry.

So how would one go about a drastic weight loss plan? Let’s say we have someone who is eating 4000 calories per day and they don’t exercise. This person can drop their calories down to 500-800 calories with most of the shake type diets available. Initially, it’s a pretty easy approach to take if you just follow the instructions, but what are the dangers and the long term effects of such an approach?

  • Muscle Loss

    • The scales are going to drop, hooray! Except, you’re not just losing fat mass (the stuff you actually care about), you’re losing muscle mass (which means weakness, slower metabolism, and an increased risk of falling).

  • Nutrient Deficiencies

    • Many of these shakes claim to contain your “5 a day” but in reality, they’re low grade quality supplements. Do you know how well they absorb into your body? Is the vitamin or mineral in the best form that your body can absorb and use? Is it in the right amounts?

  • Fatigue

    • You’ve become accustomed to a certain amount of food and now you’ve significantly reduced your intake which you may notice in terms of fatigue, affecting daily activities.

  • Constant Hunger

    • You’re going to go back the way you eat, it’s just a matter of time. All of the fantasies you’ve had about the chocolate milkshake with whipped cream, marshmallows and sprinkles of honeycomb are tormenting you day to day (I’m feeling a bit of torment just writing that). For a lot of people, this can negatively affect their mood and they can start to obsess about food. This can affect one’s relationship with food in a negative way.

  • Downregulation in Metabolism

    • This isn’t an immediate danger exactly, but more something to consider in the long term, which in my opinion, is the only lens to look at weight loss. Your body is smart, and it will adapt to little calories coming in, but at a cost. Your metabolism will start to slow down and the simplest way to think about it is that your metabolism isn’t working at an optimal level, and who wants that?
    • Consider an electric car traveling from Peterborough to Glasgow at 50% battery. The car’s computer tells you it can get there but it’s going to have to adjust some features: the radio volume is lowered, the air con is switched off, no Sports Mode for you today, we’re going to get there at a leisurely pace. In contrast, an electric car with a full battery and I’ve got the Vengaboys at full volume, I’m cool with my air con on and I’m getting to Glasgow in record time. I’m not sure why I chose to drive to Glasgow…

  • Fat Gain!

    • This is literally the opposite of what you want. Well, whilst your metabolism is downregulated, and then you increase your calorie back to 4000 calories (revisit the stat at the beginning of the article), your body is primed for storage. Storage of what? Yes, you guessed it, fat my friend, fat.

Hopefully I’ve given you some information to think about which will allow you to push back against that nagging feeling of “I want it now!”.

Remember, your health is a lifelong investment. Quick fixes will lead to setbacks, so choose a path that’s sustainable. If you’re unsure about the best approach for your unique needs, don’t hesitate to seek help from a professional that can give you the guidance and support you need.

PT Shaun – Personal Trainer and a Precision Nutrition Nutritionist

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Strength Training and Injury Prevention – Jake Showler

Guest Post by Jake Showler at https://www.showlerphysiotherapy.co.uk/

 

Strength Training and Injury Prevention – Jake Showler

As a chartered Physiotherapist running my own business (Showler Physiotherapy  https://www.showlerphysiotherapy.co.uk) I fully support the use of strength training in injury prevention and reducing pain. Carry on reading to learn about the benefits of strength training and how it can help prevent injury.

What Injuries can strength training help with?

Improving your muscle strength can help with a wide range of injuries. One common injury is the hamstring strain. This commonly affects footballers and sprinters. It usually happens when the individual is at a high speed. The muscle is then put through a force it cannot withstand, leading to the injury. The key way to rehab and prevent a hamstring strain is a graded strengthening programme.

Why does strength training help injury prevention?

Increased muscle strength / power is strongly linked to injury prevention. This is one reason why elite athletes work closely with coaches in the gym to improve their strength. By improving the strength of the muscle it increases its resistance to tensile forces put on the tissue, which can cause tears. Strength training can also help address muscle imbalances and weaknesses in key areas which may be contributing to pain and injury.

Strength training does not just increase muscle strength. It can also increase bone density, tendon strength and ligament strength. One common injury in team sports is the anterior cruciate ligament tear. Strength training has been show on MRI scans to increase the thickness of the ligament helping to prevent injury.

What are the best exercises?

A quality Personal Trainer will be able to advise you on the correct exercises to build your strength and can adapt this for upper and lower body training. As a rule of thumb, the best exercises involve multiple joints and take the body through a large movement also called compound exercises. Examples of these include the squat, deadlift and bench press. Whilst the exercises should also aim to replicate movements you may perform playing sport where able.

Why does this matter to you?

If you want to recover from an injury, prevent future injury and improve your overall health strength training is a great way to do so. This should be performed with a qualified coach such as Shaun where able to ensure you are doing the right exercises at the right intensity. Starting a strength training programme will help you achieve the fitness goals you want to, especially if you struggle with repeat injuries.

What is the drawback to strength training?

As with any activity there are minor risks in strength training. These can often be prevented by seeking an expert Personal Trainer for guidance. One example is poor form leading to injury. By working with a Personal Trainer you can improve this form to reduce pain. When starting strength training you may find your muscles are sore for a few days, this is also called Delayed Onset of Muscles Soreness (DOMS). A Personal Trainer can advise on the correct recovery and nutritional advice to help with this.

As a Physiotherapist I recommend everyone wanting to improve their fitness should complete strength training alongside a personal trainer.

Jake Showler – https://www.showlerphysiotherapy.co.uk/

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