May 17, 2017 · 8:18 am
“I want to be big and strong”
^^ A sentence many a man has said over the years and continues to say to this day.
“I want to be lean and strong”
^^ Something I’m pleased to announce more women are saying, it seems there has been a shift in them saying ‘I just want to be skinny’ to now learning the benefit of being lean and strong, it’s great to see.
While it is only my opinion, I feel everybody should be strong.
I’m not talking about record breaking strong, just strong enough to stay healthy and stave off the effects of ageing on the body.
These sports all centre around lifting:
– Weightlifting (olympic lifting)
– CrossFit (some may not like this one)
Did you know lifting weights can have the following positive effects on the body:
– Hormonal benefits: Higher testosterone, better insulin regulation, more growth hormone, lower cortisol to name a few
– Lowers body fat (great for improving health)
– A higher TDEE (total daily energy expenditure, more calories burnt in a day)
– Increased strength for sport/daily life
– Looking better naked (the most important benefit, obviously)
Those are only some of the benefits, there are numerous more.
Personally I’d say the mental improvement is the pivotal one as this can have the biggest impact on a persons life in a very positive way.
If you’re not an athlete and lift for health/confidence you should do it because you enjoy it, not because you feel you have to, that’s the secret to balance and long term sustainability.
Don’t eat yourself up if you miss a session, chalk it up to life and sue it as a rest day, that way you’ll be more motivated when you get to go in, excited to train in fact. Keep this in mind and you’ll find you don’t fall out of love with training.
What if lifting isn’t for you?
That’s cool, find soothing you do enjoy, here are some other options for improving strength and all achieving all the other benefits mentioned above:
– Calisthenics: bodyweight/movement training, loads of fun
– Kettlebells (sport or hard style)
– Climbing/outdoor sports
There are almost endless options.
Find something you enjoy, training shouldn’t be a chore.
Now go, have fun and make progress.
Filed under Fitness, Nutrition & Health
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December 16, 2016 · 10:29 am
Yesterday I went to see Rogue One.
It was epic. Legitimately one of the best Star Wars films since the originals.
You should go and see it, immediately!
Now I’ve got that off my chest I think we should take a look at the rise of online coaching and peoples experience with it.
*Warning, this post may cause offence because I’m just that kind of ass hole.
It’s popular now for people to be newly qualified (if at all) with little to no experience of actually training/coaching people to jump on the bandwagon of “I’m going to be an online coach.” because of all the success they have seen people achieve via social media in this regard, or at least that’s what they’ve been shown, if said achievements are real for everyone or just hot air is another matter.
The same is true for people who do a few shows themselves and take up the mantel of online coach. Some can make it work because they are that good, to those people we se ‘Good job, you know your stuff and are actually good” but they are few and far between. For the majority it’s just an easy option these days that they think will avoid the much needed years of hard graft in the trenches.
Obviously there are some great online coaching practices available. These are the ones who will send you in-depth questionaries on your current trainings, nutrition, psychological profile and much more. This is because they cater for multiple factors across the entire spectrum of making gains. Worth remembering.
I can say that I know of some online coaches that haven’t really done anything int he way of training real people or even achieved anything themselves, these are the ones that bring the standard down. On the flip side there are people who are worth their weight in gold, you’ve just got to be careful who you get these days as clever marketing can make even the ugliest turd look like a polished diamond.
Anyone can pay for good marketing and fake transformation images/testimonials or even stealing other peoples photos, beware of this.
A few elements that often seem missing from online coaching are rarely the programming aspects (although they can be up for questioning). It’s the actual COACHING, you know, as in setting goals/process goal, video tutorials, video assessment/coaching eye, regular contact (depending on the level of service paid for), program adjustment due to lifestyle or other unforeseen factors, . Basically a client centred approach to coaching rather than a cookie cutter one.
What do you consider the qualities required to make a good online coach?
Have you used one?
Perhaps you are an online coach, if so what do you do that you see many others fail to do?and how do you feel about how the world of online coaching is going?
I am not saying online coaching is bad, far from it because for some people this can be an excellent way to make progress and is exactly what they need, but with all the poor quality ‘coaches’ out there it’s a minefield.
Leave your comments down below and let me know how you feel about all this.
Ross