origin stories on 9 years of The Quad Raj and I ran our first-ever class at The Quad on Sep 19, 2011. The 9 years since have been a period of personal growth, of figuring things out, of trying to stick to our guns and doing things our way, of making silly mistakes.
coaching the easiest person to fool The first principle is that you must not fool yourself and you are the easiest person to fool." - Richard P. Feynman
coaching how to read food labels Instead, focus on the big rocks - are you eating enough vegetables, getting enough protein, drinking enough water? For most of us, this is ample. If you are doing all this and want to step it up, sure, spend time reading food labels and all that.
coaching everything is right. everything is wrong. Low-carb is the way to go. No, low-fat is the way to go. Strength training is the best method to train. No, strength training gets you injured. Zumba and Pilates are awesome. Zumba and Pilates suck.
coaching training is not isolated from life One of my students, let's call them Neil, sent me their numbers (training log) for the day and was comparing it to something from a few weeks back, remarking that it had taken them the past few weeks "to get back to square one".
coaching when I lose these 10 kilos, everything will be fine Whether it is fat-loss or muscle-gain, we have a random goal setting attitude when it comes to it. Suddenly, one day we wake up and decide that things have to change and we set a goal with zero understanding of what it requires to get there, and whether it is a good goal in the first place.
coaching on buying peace of mind This does not mean elevating outcome requirements to silly levels though. I believe that working on wellness will (and should lead to) buying time buying money and buying peace of mind
discussion on the time we've created All of this should mean more time in our day, right? All of these and the stuff I've not listed out can easily add up to an hour a day. Then why are we all time-poor?!
coaching on effort versus results Measure the results. If they are not what they are supposed to be, look at the effort. Sometimes they require more time and/or more effort. Don't expect results. Don't expect outcomes. Don't measure yourself by outcomes.
coaching on knowing what you are capable of A difficult situation is not fun. It makes us rather uncomfortable and queasy. The severity of the situation compounds this effect. The situation asks a question of us. Can you handle it?
coaching is it possible to balance things out? Most attempt (at eating better or getting fitter) fail because of a lack of balance. As a beginner, you think only an all-out, no-holds-barred approach works. While brute force has its place, the issue with brute force is it drains you at a rapid pace
coaching I have a plan. Attack! Why do we need to be on the back foot? Why can we not be on the front foot, and be proactive when problems come at us? Mostly because we are unprepared for it. Then, the solution starts to appear - prepare for it.
framework can we buy more money? we cannot afford NOT to invest our time and our money on our health and fitness.
coaching on trash cans and sunk costs Growing up, like most kids were advised to, we were told never to waste food. Think of all the kids who don't have food to eat, our parents said. And I am sure every parent tried to guilt their kids this way. While the sentiment is valid, it is terrible advice, especially for health.
sleep don't hit snooze Except for the festival of Deepavali and for a few summers in my youth, I would never get up before 6 in the morning. I can't recall the last time I missed an alarm in the morning in the last 5 years. And all because I stopped hitting the snooze button.
coaching buying time if it is not about cramming more work, then what?! If I don't cram more work in, how will work get done? Plus, work is not a bad word. I am here to do work. That only I can do. That I want to do. And if I don't do the work now, will I have a secure future?
habits practicing being in the moment I am still unsure but it is easier to learn by action, than by reading other people's experiences and asking 100s of questions. I am still unpacking what a seemingly simple statement one of my students made about washing the dishes.
diet on eating heart-healthy cereals Eating wings for breakfast, washing that down with a few beers, gargantuan portion sizes, a burrito that weighed as much as my head - what else was gonna happen?
daily9 sometimes we need a jolt We have excuses for every week of the year. A long time ago, festivals were a time for celebration, for gorging on food. They truly were a special occasion. Today, we have someone's birthday every week. We can order fancy confectionaries any day.
coaching how to eat more vegetables I grew up in Madras (and I live there today) in a vegetarian household. Our meals were rice, lots of it, and some vegetables. I didn't eat the vegetables much, except if they were roasted and fried potatoes.
coaching on the fear of crashing/falling/failing Let's not fail by not starting. Let's not not fall by not getting on the bike. Failure is always an option. It is never permanent.
coaching on forward progress anything works for 6 weeks. Even most silly, nonsensical things. The jolt to your system is crazy. If you are going from eating a giant candy bar 3 times a day to once a day, we are talking 14 giant candy bars lesser a week.
training is my sandbox for life on cheat codes It was not until I found the iron game that things really changed in my head. When I put in the requisite effort, I got better. When I tried shortcuts, I got bit in the ass sooner or later. When I behaved stupidly and chased too many rabbits, my performance went down.
coaching cleaning out your pantry The next time you feel that commitment towards that goal, or you feel annoyed with yourself for not taking it seriously enough - seize that moment of resolve. Get rid of all the junk food. Yes, literally! Give it away or throw it away.
ArvTraining on finding your wolf Like the wolf, there are certain habits that have far-reaching consequences in our lives. In Charles Duhigg's wonderful book, The Power of Habit, he talks about these as keystone habits. These habits cascade into the rest of our lives, well beyond what we compute as the output.
