2019, it’s been interesting

A word or few for 2020.

 

Just because someone disagrees that doesn’t mean you’re necessarily wrong, nor does it mean your right when someone agrees with you.

 

We all have an ego you see.

 

Typically it will do what it can to validate itself.

 

In essence it’s also trying to protect you and as such it will have you gravitate towards that which ‘feels’ good.

 

This is where you have to beware.

 

It can be easy to allow this place too encapsulate you.

 

You will find it’s called the comfort zone, or as I’ve grown to see it over the years, your Kingdom.

 

As the ruler you’ll be above reproach.

 

Able to banish anyone that doesn’t fit your doctrine, welcome all those who do and vanquish anything that questions your beliefs.

 

While this is a comfortable place to be, it’s a dangerous one.

 

You see the King or Queen of such a place will grow complacent, weak, unaware and eventually the Kingdom will fall, and all that will be left is ruins and flickering embers from the fires of truth that will inevitably find their way to you.

 

By all means build an impressive edifice.

 

Just be sure to also keep the drawbridge down to allow people into your courtyard and perhaps even your court to discuss new ideas and changing times.

 

Avoid circular thinking, pointless points that do bring anything to a conversation and seek to understand before you see to impose your own understanding (or be understood).

 

I hope you have a good final day in 2019.

 

Enjoy,

Ross

Nothing = 2020

Consistency is troublesome for many people.

 

The idea of having to repeat something again and again and agin just doesn’t take well.

 

Given we’re two days away from reigning in a new year it’ll be time for all the –

 

“2018 broke me, 2019 taught me, 2020, let’s do this!”

 

😂😂😂

 

Such heroic nonsense.

 

In the words of Conner McGregor – “You’ll do nothin”

 

If it take the 1st of January for you to pull your finger out I’m not afraid to say that my friend you’ve all ready failed.

 

You see if you see a reason to become better and change your life, well you’d find it.

 

Regardless of that reason you’d find it because you want to.

 

So many need things to start on a Monday, the 1st of a month, after and event or whatever, it’s just not worth it, given how many millions fail what makes you think you’ll be any different?

 

True many other millions succeed, yet no one ever asks them about what made the succeeded, they merely admire from afar or write in envy.

 

Question for you, why will you be consistent this time around?

 

What makes 2020 so different from 2000, or 2010, or any other time you’ve talked a good game and not delivered on it because as much as seeing people do well is truly heart warming, there is so much hot air and bluster it’s just too tiresome to even pretend to care enough to support people these days.

 

I’m sure some will read the above and proclaim that people like me are the reason others fail, because obviously we have that much sway over the minds of the many.

 

In my experience change happens for these two reason:

 

– People become too uncomfortable to take anymore

– Heartbreak

 

Rarely do people change for positive reasons.

 

Sad as it is, many don’t change because they’re comfortable or happy, they do it because life has finally become too shit for them to stay in the place they’re in and it’s no longer giving them even and ounce of what they want anymore.

 

So my dear 6 readers, if I even have 6 😂

 

Why will 2020 be any different from all the year before it?

 

Please do leave your thoughts and motivations below.

 

Enjoy,

Ross

How to Keep Clients Motivated

A question from many a new and even seasoned trainer is this:

 

“How do you keep your clients accountable & motivated once external factors/events have ceased?”

 

*Skip to the bottom for 3 key point to this question*

 

A truly great question with only one answer –

 

You can’t.

 

Sad as it seems you personally can’t force extrinsic, internal or consistent desire/purpose onto a person, they must choose it for themselves.

 

Alas when a person no longer wants what they want, it’s over.

 

That ship has sailed and won’t returning to port anytime soon because they’ve gotten what they needed from that little endeavour.

 

One thing you can do as a trainer/coach is to find out what it did for them mentally and emotionally.

 

You see knowing a persons emotional triggers is key.

 

Very few have the mental capacity to do things for the long term or the the greater good at the sacrifice of current and even foreseeable comfort, people are just too weak.

 

Harsh as that sounds it’s more often the case than many would admit.

 

We give up on something because it no longer fulfils an emotional need that demands satiating.

 

Motivation is fleeting.

 

Delving into the realms of neurotransmitters you will find that people are saying it’s because of seeking a hit of dopamine, which might be true, however there could also be a serotonin hit, or GABA rise and perhaps it’s more along the lines of and adrenaline hit.

 

Truth is you just don’t know, we just don’t know.

 

It’s all educated guess work without having someones vitals, bloods and serum levels constantly checked after every smalls action.

 

The best we can do is observe a persons patterns.

 

Everyone has a pattern, one that follows the trigger-action-reward flow (or cue-craving-response-reward, it’s all the same thing essentially, just with different semantics).

 

This is one of inherent flaws with goal setting.

 

Often times it’s based on a short term reward and thus the suffering or perceived pain is minimal and outweighed for the time being, so people can stick to something until they get what they ‘want’.

 

Once that is gone though they will return to old habits because nothing has changed, they haven’t grown as a person, if anything they’ve simply reinforced a poor behaviour that means when they feel bad all they need to is a little of XY or Z to feel better, then they can return to the status quo for another few months of years.

 

Much like an abusive relationship that people stay in.

 

They’re choosing to be there, you can’t get them out because they don’t want to leave as there is something they’re getting from it, a feeling, something they will never admit they want/need/enjoy from it all.

 

^^Sick as that sounds it’s more true than I’d like it to be.

 

To help people stay motivated is not the key to change.

 

A desire to change is.

 

Obvious as it sounds it is.

 

Yet you’ll need to know why someone would want to change emotionally, this means delving into how bad they feel about a situation or themselves.

 

From here it will be about finding out how they want to feel, then way they don’t feel they deserve to feel that way and constantly self sabotage themselves.

 

You can even be direct and ask someone this –

 

Why don’t you want to feel better in yourself?

 

What keeps you in the place you’re currently in and why choose to stay here?

 

Obviously you’ll get all the excuses, some will be logical yet they’re still excuses at the end of the day, however they can all yield understanding and that is what you need to help people.

 

To keep someone ‘motivated/accountable’ is akin to trying to ice-skate up hill, not impossible just really difficult.

 

Instead of trying to create change with insignificant carrots you might needs a significant stick instead.

 

We are more likely to move away from great pain than towards small pleasure.

 

This doesn’t mean bullying people, it does however mean being strong enough in yourself to be honest with people and take the brunt of their resistance (it will be hostility towards you, and potentially even nasty personal attacks).

 

You see before you can help change people you’d first do well to know yourself, like really know yourself.

 

Would you be willing to air all your dirty laundry?

 

All those times you felt like absolute worthless shit?

 

Perhaps even the time you climbed a tree rope in hand and subsequently hand the branch snap and send you tumbling to the floor (yes, the impact and mud brought things into perspective).

 

When a new client comes to you you need to delve deeply.

 

Find out what is really going on mentally & emotionally.

 

Also remember that some people don’t want to change or help themselves, they just want a quick fix to not feel like shit for a while – basically this is 95% of PT and how PT’s run their business, it’s all about the short term.

 

Despite saying they care for people and want to help in reality they just want a pay cheque, and this is cool, however don’t claim benevolent words or to be something you’re not.

 

If money is your goal, be honest about it.

 

If people are what really matter then be prepared to be financially poor for quite a while, on the plus side you’ll be spiritually rich because helping would be your payment.

 

Anyway, that’s a little irrelevant and I’ve begun to ramble, again.

 

Here are three things to remember to keep people moving forwards:

 

1 – Their ‘motivation’ has to be deeply emotional.

2 – Long term change wants to be the focus.

3 – Don’t pander to their bullshit/excuses, nip those int he bud immediately otherwise you’ll lose any chance for real change.

 

Any further questions please leave them below.

 

Enjoy,

Ross

WTH?

Well, shit 😂😂😂

 

Yesterday was down to be an H-Day training wise for me.

 

^^ This meant pushing the numbers to see how close to the target I was.

 

The initial H-Day was done 8 sessions ago.

 

I hit 54 reps out of 75 with a pair of 32kg bells in the KB double rack squat.

 

While nothing Earth shattering in regards to loading, it was the best option now the injuries (accidental) were healed, plus not being near a gym it made logical sense.

 

Off of the 54 reps there were L/M-Days programmed:

 

L-Day: 21 total reps with 2x32kg bells (40% of H-Day reps)

M-Day: 36 total reps with 2x32kg bells (70% of H-Day reps)

 

^^ I alternated these session to session, with either ladders of 1-2-3-4-5-6, 3-4×3 and 1-2-3 for the L-Day and each medium day ended up being 2-4-6×3.

 

These were done every 3 days.

 

So not really pushing the envelope too much, just getting in volume slowly and focusing on the tension, speed and form of each set/reps.

 

Yesterday came the ladder test which had the goal of 5×1-2-3-4-5.

 

I choose to super-set this with pull ups just because.

 

In 44min all 75reps had been done with minimal rest, no from breakdown, in fact as I became deeper into the sets/reps the form got better, stronger and kept increasing in RFD.

 

A classic WTH (what the hell) effect.

 

it’s funny how little we can do and really make good progress.

 

Now that target has been hit there is a choice to be made.

 

Take up my own challenge of the ‘5 a Day’ or go for another block of the above with 2x40kg bells.

 

Since I’ve not done any bar work I may opt for the ‘5 a day’ then once that is done go back to the KBs, after all there is no rush.

 

How often do you get a WTH-effect in your training?

 

Enjoy,

Ross

A deep fitness question for y’all –

Can you really be happy without getting tangible results?

If so, why?

I make no apologies for being someone driving by what is.

While ‘results’ is a word that is open for interpretation as it can mean anything to anyone, and people will often shift the goal posts to fit this when needed, especially when they’ve failed to achieve physical results they change the meaning of the word to them to be more of a subjective & emotional one.

Essentially giving themselves an eternal out.

People in my experience don’t like things to be black & white.

It means they’d have to accept failure, not being good enough and all those other tough emotions that come within ‘the resistance’ which make people feel bad.

Can people really be happy without some form of physical result from the gym?

Yes is the obvious answer, I’m just curious as to why.

Now most people will think that this is in relation to doing it for everyone else’s gratification or appeasement and that couldn’t be further from my truth.

We don’t need to do anything for anyone else, only ourselves.

A harsh truth yet one that has seen us evolve to the highly intelligent and depressed beings we now are.

Why wouldn’t someone an tot be strong both physically & mentally.

Have a body akin to that of the heroes we see in comic books and on the big screen?

What is so wrong with having the desire to be warriors in a garden, why do we have to weaken ourselves so that those that choose to be weak don’t feel inadequate or like lesser beings?

Realistically no one can make you feel anything you don’t give them the power to allow you to feel.

People can hate, call you names, and do much worse, yet unless you give them permission to break your will none of it will really matter, so why not choose the ‘best life’ that you champion?

Or is that just something you say because it’s a lie that makes you sound good?

All of these questions, they will not ever really get a good answer because no one really wants to put a target on their back by having an opinion these days.

Well, unless you’re bitter & cynical like me.

My friends, you have one life so why not grow strong instead of old?

Take charge of what you want and make it happen instead of letting the worthless opinions of the sensitive high you down and keep you at their level?

Why don’t you actually do as you say and become the best version of yourself, not the one you think will please society.

^^ The irony of the ‘individual’ is that they don’t actually want to be different or in fact individual because to be alone means to suffer and struggle, persecuted for being that which people don’t understand and as such fear – different.

Even my words are not really my own.

Lingering wills from people far wiser I’ve heard talk and not even known that a seed of thought got planted, as such I will close with this –

“So what if I’m a puppet. Once upon time…. You were too.”

What are results to you, honestly?

Enjoy,
Ross

A New Challenger Appears

Next year I offer a basic challenge.

 

There are two parts though, the first is all about trust.

 

To give yourself over to the process can be hard, while the rewards are often to be found at the place where X marks the spot, we must get there first.

 

Knowing the destination help the journey.

 

This being better health, mental fortitude, increased lean body mass and much more.

 

Technical as this is ^^ it doesn’t really mean anything to a lot of people.

 

Thus this is the real destination –

 

‘Feeling comfortable & confident in your own self, it’s the first step to being happier.’

 

This can translate to looking at yourself without even the notion of grabbing your problem area like you repeatedly do currently.

 

Mentally being abel to smile with inside and out because you can have pride in the life changes you make.

 

Gaining strength to shrug off comments and let them wash over you because you’ll no longer give people the power to make you feel bad as you realise only you can allow people to hurt you with words or put you down.

 

While people may try (and they will), you can let them and simply refuse the permission they seek to have you accept their words and feel bad, remember that they’re trying to give you their negative feelings and all their own self doubt.

 

Instead of accepting it, understand they’re hurting and let them say their piece, offer kindness back, seek not their approval, seek your own.

 

Apologies, I’m rambling again.

 

Here’s the preview for those astute enough to check here.

 

Part 1 – Building Neurological Strength

 

– Choose 5 lifts/movements

– Each session 5 total sets of 5 are performed*

– You lift 5 days per week

– Always leave the gym feeling fresh, strong

– 20 session is the commitment, strength is the outcome

 

The purpose of this is to have you become more ‘wired’ and create stronger circuits so that you can go from 0-60 fast.

 

*By 5 total sets that means 1 working set of 5 reps per lift.

 

^^ Yes, only 1×5, no ramping lifts, you simply load up and lift for a set of five reps.

 

While you can play with the loading as you see fit the idea is to gain effortless strength and because you’ve only got one set you’d had better make it count.

 

This is a tactic I’ve used with people who compete in various sports or have hobbies that need strength yet also require them to accumulate as little fatigue as possible as not to negatively affect their hobby/sport/life.

 

You may also find that the above seem scary.

 

Almost like it isn’t enough to make real progress on, thus the emption to do more will creep in, you just resist this call.

 

Now you may be wondering about how to load the above, where are you meant to start?

 

There are two ways you can know what weights to use.

 

1 – in the first week of Jan test the fist movements/lifts you pick, work up to a ‘sorta max’ (gym max that has crips form), from this you’d be looking to effortless lift 40-60% of this for 5 with a little prep as possible.

 

^^ Like in real life we don’t always get to have a full RAMP to a heavy load, the higher your base strength and neurological firing ability becomes the more it will serve you.

 

2 – Use an RM calculator, then take 40-60% from the estimated 1RM.

 

Here would be my choices – Barbell Only

 

– Deadlift (double overhand)

– Power Clean

– Press (overhead)

– Front Squat

– Ab Rollout

 

^^You can pick whatever you want literally anything.

 

Personally I won’t use any extensive warm ups for the above and here is why….

 

The exercise order.

 

A deadlift is a basic human movement, while not the most technically complex it will serve to potentiate (RAMP) the body for the rest.

 

While one set of five may not seem like much, it’s enough.

 

Thinking about increasing your weights slowly and without struggle is the goal, this means not grinding or missed reps.

 

As well as forging stronger neurological pathways (strength-skill, lifting skill), you will also learn to listen to your body, to auto-regulate (also known as cybernetic periodisation in older writing).

 

Knowing when to push, when to back off and more importantly how to let go of your ego.

 

The above is just 4 weeks of your life, not take a leap faith?

 

Part 2, that lasts longer and is far more to most peoples liking, however to get to part two part one is a must.

 

Will you be joining me on January 6th 2020 to start the above?

 

If yes, great, if not that’s cool too.

 

Enjoy,

Ross

Odd Training for Optimisation.

Your body is a fascinating machine, capable of many wondrous things, yet you park it behind a desk and allow it to slowly rust into oblivion.

Why?

The sign of youth is the ability to run, jump, throw, climb, tumble and turn with ease.

All things I know a great many adults have already lost.

Now these are not even older adults either, they’re people in their 30’s, this is truly shocking.

To grow old chronologically is inevitable.

To grow old physically is optional.

You have the choice to train in such a way that keeps you not only feeling younger, moving like you did in your 20’s or perhaps even when you were a sprightly 18year old again, it can also knock 10 years of your physical appearance (often more).

How can you achieve this with Odd Training?

Easy, all you need to do is to run, jump, throw, climb, tumble and turn daily.

The gym is a temple to me, I love it and all things training related on a deeply personal level, however I’m not so blind as to see it’s limitations and dogma.

Much like the narrow minded view of the Jedi.

All of your training doesn’t need to be body building, or powerlifting, or weightlifting, or CrossFit, or Endurance Races and all other ilk that is just ‘common’ gym practice.

While they are all great tools, they’re just tools.

Plus they can become very dull very quickly.

Taking the above in hand here is an example of the Odd Training touched on, this is a 3 day apr week protocol –

Day 1 –
A1 – Sprint 200-400m (vary distance & RAMP pace) x20min
^ Include drills like leg skips, clawing the floor etc.

B1 – Kettlebell Singel Arm Swing x10
B2 – Tame the Arc Clean x5
B3 – Kettlebell Shot-put Throw x1
^ Rest 60sec, alternate arms each set for 20min

C1 – Movement Patterns – Crawling x20min

Day 2 –
A1 – Wall/Bound/Step Jumps (single or double leg) x20min
^ Start off with short distances, stick the landings and jump in multiple directions.

B1 – Sandbag Clean & Throw Over Shoulder x10 (5L/R)
B2 – Sandbag TGU x1 (L/R sides)
B3 – Rolling Pistol Squat x20 (10L/R)
^ Rest 2-3min, repeat for 20min

C1 – Climbing (anything you can find) x20min

Day 3 –
A1 – Hammer/Discus Throw x20min
^ Use a light load half turn/step, alternatively use a small plate, KB, med-ball etc, just keep it light (less than 4kg)

B1 – Clean x1
B2 – Push Press x3-5
B3 – Squat (front, back or overhead) x3-5
^ Keep rest to a minimum, use any kit you like (bar, KB, DB, sandbag, a person, etc), repeat for 20min

C1 – Tumbling x20min
^ Driving forward rolls, teddybear rolls, backward rolls, basically play like a child does, just take it easy and only do that which your body allows you, over time you can take this up a notch.

Looking at the above, how much of it do you do?

This training is not that which you’ll often see because people are scared of it because they’ve grown old mentally.

Think of it this way, if you can reach 70 years young and have absolutely no fear of falling over because it’s something you CHOOSE to do 2-3 days per week you’ll never be one of those people who says –

“I’ve had a fall.”

Dare to be different, age is as much a state of mind as it is degradation of your body, however it can only happen if you allow it.

Time to decide what is more important.

The Longevity & Health of the Young, or sitting on your ass growing old, weak and round.

You should investigate this thoroughly.

In the end though the choice is yours, just remember whatever you do choose to do start off slow with thing and build up over time.

Enjoy,
Ross

I Renounce You

“Intent, that’s the key. Pouring your soul fully into your endeavour.

 

Greatness is there to be taken not by who’s strongest but by who’s left.

 

You see you don’t need to be born great to survive, you just need to survive to become great in the end.” – Unknown

 

How long have you been training now?

 

All in all my end it’s been over 20years.

 

20 years… Man, that’s a long time.

 

Looking back at all the skills that’ve been gained, lost, mastered and even forgotten, it’s quite something.

 

Lifting have been a staple for 15years, the goals changing from that of endurance based work for better sustained strength in a fight, to bone crushing raw strength for the platform and a single rep.

 

All the training has had a place, all has had it’s flaws or rather it’s exposed my flaws many times over.

 

There have been times of great progress and more of lacklustre lulls.

 

One lesson that has been learned through great resistance is that you must give away that which you desire willingly, then move forwards and you’ll find eventually that which you gave away comes back when the time is ready and you reap the rewards of that sacrifice tenfold.

 

We try so hard for so long.

 

Eventually we let go of our ego and resign ourselves to whatever may happen and in that moment we finally learn how to learn.

 

Often the process isn’t pleasant, it isn’t enjoyable and we don’t love it as people claim. In fact we hate it so passionately we can’t live without it.

 

We refuse it’s gift as long as we can.

 

Eventually though we become ready to let it teach, guide and carry us down the river to the place we need to be, and while that might not be the pace we’d like to be, it’s often the one that is most necessary for us to grow.

 

To break through your limits you must first acknowledge them.

 

None of this ‘anything is possible bullshit’.

 

Somethings are not meant for us until we accept this truth, we may only be able to achieve second tier heights in some areas that is just life, yet it’s not about trying to master everything.

 

It’s about knowing that which you can master.

 

While it might not be what you think, want or would like to be the arbiter of, it will be the one thing you truly master and command with complete serenity and no one else will ever come close.

 

You have to be willing to give yourself to the void.

 

Musashi Miyamoto knew this, that’s why he called it –

 

‘The Way’

 

When you’re ready to relinquish all to the above, you might just find it too.

 

Ross

A post for PT’s.

This message is for those of you that feel frustrated with clients.

😡😡😡

You don’t need to train them you know.

It is your business and as such you can choose who you want to train, there is no need for this 100% inclusiveness.

Not all training is meant for all people, and that’s okay.

Bending yourself all out of shape to try and please the world and its dog will serve you no long term benefit other than that of stressing you out.

So brush that monkey off your shoulder.

Give those feelings, attitudes and mindset away.

You don’t need them anymore, you never did.

☯️☯️☯️

Focusing on people you want to help is a far more worthy cause for your time.

Now I can understand how people panic about not making money, then they bring up all the excuses to justify the shit state they’re in.

Tell me, for all the time you’ve done this ^^ has it ever really been anything other than a complete and utter ball ache?

You will rarely find a successful business person that works with people they don’t want to.

(Multinational corporates are the exception)

People are not worth the effort, the stress and the unhappiness they bring you, so the best way to deal with them is to simply avoid working with them.

☠️☠️☠️

Set your standards.

Market in a way that appeals to the people you want to train and deters those you don’t.

It’s your business, so of course you’ll run it as you see fit.

So why not run it in a way that allows you to help people while also making you happy too.

There’s nothing wrong with being bespoke or members only.

You should investigate this thoroughly.

Enjoy,
Ross

New Year Twist

What will be your New Years Promise?

Yep promise, not resolution.

You see the former means more and is not so easily broken.

The latter on the other hand, we’ve been binning those off for years without any consequence or second thought because it’s the expectation that it will happen.

Our history will often define our future.

……

Your history will often define your future, is that what you want?

One of the best indicators of a persons future performance is to look at all their past ones because you will see a trend, a pattern.

Of course people can change, people do change.

Not that much though.

Do you want to be something more than your history or are you happy with living the same life on repeat, much like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day.

We all get stuck in a loop from time to time.

It’s a far more comfortable place to be, I can personally attest to this because it’s so much easier to stay in a place we feel safe, protected and emotionally satiated.

That’s often what it comes down to in the end.

We all want to feel something, something nice, warm, fuzzy and generally safe.

There is nothing wrong with this you know.

If that is the life you choose and make that choice willing without hesitation or any ambiguousness then you my friend are someone very rare indeed because you’re someone who knows themselves.

I can’t help but respect that deeply.

Say that isn’t you and there is a deep sense of longing, wanting more, yearning for something you can’t quite place your finger on, then this is worth exploring further.

Ask yourself this –

‘What am I searching for? & Why am I searching for this?’

You don’t need to share it with anyone, it’s for you to know and act on if that is your decision.

Half the battle is knowing.

The other half, doing.

To achieve this, in 2020, instead of making a new years resolution try something a little different instead.

Make yourself a New Years Promise.

Enjoy,
Ross