coaching when we fall, what choice but to get up and go again? Starting from scratch, this person transformed their health and fitness. Aa couple of years later went back to square 1. Had the grit to start all over again!
coaching student story: on being unable to show up A story about a student who showed up all the time until work took off and several life events happened. And they couldn't show up. My thoughts on this.
coaching when I say "strength training", you are thinking "bodybuilding" Bodybuilding is a sport where the goal is to have big, showy muscles. Just like how cricket and American football are two completely different activities - so is strength training and bodybuilding.
coaching on what I learned from SC When students with intent, drive and a desire to learn come in - it is a coach's dream. There are refreshing things to learn from such a student.
open letter to students 25 pushups and unhappy This is a story about an amazingly strong student of mine and my failure to communicate how awesome she was.
coaching triads, continuums and GPP Get fit, look good, and stay healthy. How can we do all of them at the same time? What should we focus on at the gym? Well, here we go.
ArvTraining don't think, feeeeel! Finally, one day, Adrian just smiled when I asked my inevitable question after he explained the workout. And told me some of the most important words I needed to hear - "Arv, turn that brain of yours off".
coaching how do you make time for your fitness habit? But before we even identify a training plan or what to do and all that, we need to nail showing up. Because if you don't show up, then how can you put in any effort towards your health or fitness habit? You cannot.
coaching how strong should one aim to be? For regular folks like us, it is never going to come down to "Add 10 kilos to your bench press numbers and see your discus fly further" or any such thing. From the world of weights, we are looking for general physical preparation (GPP). We want to be able to do most things that life throws at us
coaching are you struggling with motivation? And then, suddenly things start to unravel. We find that the time we were making is suddenly not so straightforward. We skip a session here and there. The results seem to slow down as well. Is it just you or is it getting a bit boring?
coaching on failing Starting Strength (and why it was amazing) I went in to learn and getting a certification would've been a bonus. While it was still a huge hit to the ego when I realised I failed, I quickly realised I knew diddly-squat to have an ego in this and had amongst the best weekends I've ever had.
coaching on how we think about things When we think "this sucks" and I need to slog it out and just figure out how to eat these veggies or slop for 3 months and I can go back to "normal", you are setting yourself up for failure.
coaching on shiny objects Shiny objects can derail us. Shiny objects can confuse us, even when we are on the right path. Shiny objects can make us spin our wheels more. But they have their place though.
coaching can I cancel my junk eating with exercise? If I want to eat an ice-cream that's 400 calories and if running for 40 minutes burns 400 calories - can I run daily and eat that ice-cream daily and doesn't that seem like a win-win?
coaching on a day when something clicked It was exhilarating and I felt like I was dreaming. I wanted to pinch myself because this was night and day! It just felt magical.
coaching on seeing the progress made Open your eyes. See all the things you've achieved and not the (maybe unrealistic, maybe requires a lot more time/effort) arbitrary goal you've set for yourself.
coaching on the transformation of identity Somewhere along the way, running and cycling and jumping around and running randomly and playing sport goes missing. Completely. And we replace it with other endeavours that range from hanging out and smoking cigarettes or hanging out and drinking beer or becoming a "foodie".
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
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?
