Keep your fitness game strong all year

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By Leo Nanetti, Personal Trainer, Weight Loss Coach Movement HQ

 

We’re well and truly into 2022. Remember those New Years or post-Covid goals you set for yourself? When you convinced yourself you were going to achieve that fitness goal you always said you would?

If you’ve started that and are going strong, well done, keep going! Read on so you keep going strong.

If you haven’t quite got into a good routine yet, no worries, it’s time, no more excuses!

With seemingly unlimited excuses, and life and work getting in the way, it’s easy to justify putting your fitness goals on the back burner in favour of more immediate, more “important” goals.

After close to 10 years in the fitness industry, helping countless people achieve their fitness goals through personal training, group training and online coaching, I’ve noticed what really gets people motivated to start training and stick to it:

Effective and applicable goal setting and planning.

I’ve never seen a person more motivated to make a change than after a goal setting session.

But here’s the real crux of the motivation problem, we all know what we want, most of us know why we want what we want.

But we often fall short because we don’t know how to get there. This goes for all areas of life, not just fitness.

So if you know what you want and why you want it, why is the “how” our limiting factor?

Let’s take weight loss as a simple example seeing as I’m in the process of losing weight myself.

Firstly, many of us understand the basics of “how” weight loss works – eat less move more – but what about when we do all the things we believe to be correct but don’t see the results we expect?

Well most people throw in the towel, not for lack of discipline or determination but simply for a lack in knowledge of how to do it. I believe the famous quote is “imagine what you could achieve if you knew you wouldn’t fail”.

I would prefer, “Imagine what you could achieve if you knew exactly how to do it”.

So let’s get practical on goal setting with a focus on how to handle the unforeseeable.

Step 1 – Write down what you want to achieve

Make it as specific as possible:

“I will lose 10kg in the first 4 months of this year”

“I will complete a 1 min handstand by my birthday in July”

Step 2 – List what you need to do

Include everything you can think of.

For handstands, how many handstand classes do you believe it will take? Would doing a mobility class help? Maybe a strength class too?

Step 3 – Diarise it 

Take all the things you list and make a weekly schedule. Block out the time to do those things.

Step 4 – Plan for blockages

Consider all the potential interruptions you may have for this goal and for each write a practical solution.

Can’t make it to one of your regular handstand classes? Is there another one you can get to as a backup?

Can you budget an emergency fund for a private class?

Step 5 – Get advice and information

Now this is super important and ties back to my previous point about lack of knowledge.

Write down as many resources you can turn to for advice/ information if you get stuck on your way to your goal.

Step 6 – Be accountable to someone 

Optional but recommended. Find yourself an accountability partner, preferably someone who has a similar goal to you. This is an optional step but I have personally found it to be the best.

Now, none of the above will work unless you remind yourself. Set a reminder in your phone or computer to re read your goals and plans on a daily basis. Honestly it’s 5min and I guarantee it’s more motivational then anything you can watch on YouTube as it is YOUR goal and no one else’s.

I believe anyone can achieve any goal they set their mind to. Our only true opposition is the limiting beliefs we impose on ourselves.

Time to get to work.

For more tailored guidance and specific advice we are here to help.

Reach out to us here

 

Leo Nannetti has been working in fitness and sport recreation since 2008. He is passionate about movement and exercise instruction. Early in his career he focused on weight loss and general exercise coaching. As he continued his own training he noticed the need for a more systematic approach to exercise prescription. He began studying corrective movement, kettlebells and barbell training in more depth through the Functional Movement System Institute and Strong First. This fostered a keen interest in exercise quality over quantity which became the nucleus of his approach to training.

He participates in a variety of sports, mostly Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, golf, snowboarding and rock climbing. His training consists primarily of kettlebell training, basic barbell training and body weight calisthenics.

How to enhance your workout performance

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What’s the most effective way to get results fast and effectively? This question comes up frequently with new clients joining our fitness centre. Have a solid plan and seek guidance from a professional for that clinical edge. And follow these tips to enhance your workout performance. The last thing we want is to waste time on training formats and exercises that aren’t right for you.

 

enhance your workout performance

Cross-train!

This is striking the right balance between strength and cardio exercise.

Incorporating both will prevent you from getting bored with your workouts. It’s also important for your overall fitness and strength.

Strength training increases muscle size and strength, and enhances coordination of your muscles and joints. It also improves joint and tissue integrity and movement quality.

Cardio exercise enhances your oxygen consumption, cardiac function and endurance, increasing heart health and efficiency.

When you combine both, this is where the magic happens. You can minimise injury risk and see massive improvement in your overall physical performance and wellbeing.

So if you play any kind of sport, or swim, run etc, strength training will make you a stronger and more powerful athlete.

The combined results of strength, power, speed, endurance, agility and balance from cross training will carry through to a happier, healthier and more productive life.

Just remember – alternate between training styles and muscle groups so your body has a good chance to recover.

Mix your classes and keep it interesting: Animal Flow. Bodyweight. Handstand. HIIT. Kettlebell. Mish Mash and Smash. Movement Strength. Rings and Stall Bars.

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Stretch and mobilise

When we’re pushing and pulling our weight around at the gym, hitting a tennis ball or running, it’s important our joints move freely. Ideally safely within their full range of motion.

That stiffness we can get from regular exercise or sitting a lot can restrict joint mobility under load or exertion. This results in sub-optimal training, increasing the risk of injury. This will not help to enhance your workout performance. Good mobility is an integral part of healthy movement and fully-functioning mechanics.

If you haven’t tried our Pilates, Yoga or Functional Mobility classes, give them a go.

Mobility training helps you focus on postural alignment and muscle activation, translating to better movement patterns in the gym and life in general. Yoga or stretching can increase your flexibility, and reduce stiffness from your workouts, increasing blood flow, hydration and tissue integrity.

Take your pick from different ways to mobilise: Barre. Functional Mobility. Fusion Yoga. Reformer Pilates. Mat Pilates. Vinyasa Yoga. Yin Yoga.

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Rest and recover

This is just as important as the physical component of the training process.

Repeated stress from exercise creates micro-tears in your muscles, making them sore and inflamed.

Muscles need to recover during sleep or on your rest days. Without the opportunity to regenerate you’ll see a drop in performance gains and training capacity and a potential increase of injury.

Generally, allow 48 hours rest between strength sessions for the muscle groups worked to allow them to adapt and build effectively.

The simple message is don’t overtrain and schedule rest days. You’ve worked for it so there’s no need to feel any guilt about that.

Relax and chill with us at our Meditation and Yin classes.

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You are what you eat (and drink)

We all know the benefits a balanced diet of fresh food can bring. And it will go a long way to enhance your workout performance.

And when you exercise you particularly need quality carbs for energy – brown and grainy bread, pasta, rice, cereals, lean protein for muscle recovery – eggs, fish, lean meat, quality protein powder, healthy fats – nuts, olive oil, avocados and fluids – the water variety (2-3 L/day) as opposed to alcohol, tea and coffee.

Just remember – 80% of our body composition is what we eat – and in the gym, you’re burning calories and sculpting muscles.

Fresh is best (nothing out of a box or packet) and processed sugars are out. Check out Mark’s Chicken Hotpot recipe for a perfectly lean, fresh post-workout meal.

Have a chat with our nutritionist or dieticians about your eating or weight loss plan.

Read more about our Diet & Nutrition services here