Breathe again!

Hi all,

I have been delving into basic corrective exercises. It surprises me that we have lost our ability to breathe correctly and that leads to a lot of problems. I have been training myself to breathe accurately again and it has got me feeling so much more better and stronger. Here are three videos

The first one is by Mike Robertson. If you don't know who Mike Robertson he is a well respected strength coach and is prominent in the circle. He is also known as the 'corrective exercise' coach!

The other two are by Tony Gentilcore. Once again, Tony is a strength and conditioning coach and works at Cressey Performance. Eric Cressey himself is a well known and well reputed strength coach and Tony is on his team. Tony is definitely one individual you want to listen to when you are looking for strength and corrective exercise patterns.

Watch the videos, practice the patterns and learn to breathe healthy again.

10 Ways to Beat Stress

'I need to de-stress.'

'Gideon, what can I do to de-stress?'

'I'm getting tired these days, it must be all the stress.'

I have been hearing a lot of these kind of statements or questions related to stress and destress recently. So I decided to (finally!) put a post down and give insights on things that actually helped me tackle stress head on.

All of us know that stress is not good. Some of the important things that you should know about stress are:

• It is one of the leading causes of death across the world today.
• It is a time, relationship and health robber.
• It keeps you fat.

There are a lot of other negative things it does but these three pretty much cover all of it.

So how do we beat stress? In todays world there are problems and challenges at every corner but there are things you can do to beat stress.

1) STOP WORRYING!!  Jesus Christ said that about 2000+ years ago. If someone like Jesus said this he knows what he is talking about. This might be easier said than done but it is vital to get your thoughts in order. Some of the things people worry about most of the time don't even happen. Think about the solution to the problem and not the problem. 

2) Sleep! - Do not neglect your sleep. I have written a seperate post on this earlier. Click here.

3) Time Out: - You need to take some time out on a daily basis. 10 or 15 minutes a day should be good enough. Just quieten yourself down and relax. Don't think about work or anything else. Just relax. This would be a good time to also focus on your breathing which brings me to my next point.

4) Breathe: - If ever there was one quick technique I relied on this was it. In the middle of things just stop and take in deep breaths. Anywhere in between 5 and 10 breaths should be good.

5) Ease off on the eating: - Stop eating so frequently. The digestive system is a system that requires huge amounts of energy to work. I strongly suggest slowing down from food for a while. You can do just vegetables or vegetable juices during the day and eat normally again at night. Another practice you can take up is intermittent fasting also known as IF.

What you eat is also important. As much as possible stop eating sugar and processed foods. These also put an enormous strain on your digestive system causing a lot of stress. Watch what you eat and reduce the frequency. Take a break from eating.

6) Unplug:- It is amazing what time without electronic gadgets do for you. For a while switch off your phone, internet and stay away from your computer. I used to take 24 hours out from all of the gadgets around me. It was sooooooo refreshing. I have written an experience of mine here. There are also hidden dangers of technology which causes massive stress. Unplugging once a while will help.

7) Exercise:- Exercise helps a lot at destressing. You can have an exercise schedule in 10 or 15 minutes. There are studies again and again that show that exercise reduces stress. Get an exercise routine.

8) Sunlight:- Get out into the sun. The Vitamin D assimilation and the light does alot for you.

9) Walking: Walking is a great way to get your blood circulating and destressing. It loosens you up and keeps you active and your mind fresh. Here is more on walking.

10) Talk to someone: If you have something on your mind or something is wearing you down talk it out. Sometimes you just need to go to someone you can trust and tell them, 'I just need you to listen to me!' Then talk it out. See how much lighter you feel.

There are more techniques to this but these are the most common ones and that you can implement quickly. Start implementing these and start to reduce your stress today.

If this post has helped you please share it with someone. Drop in comments, ask questions and if you need help with destress techniques you can contact me here.

Another lesson learnt from another client - Discipline and Honesty

The other day a client of mine asked me after a session, 'Do you also train?' Now, while that might seem like 'DUH', it got me thinking. Sometimes clients questions can take us off guard and also keep us in check. It has been quite a busy month for me and my training frequency has reduced but I made time to train at least twice a week for 15 minutes. I was so glad I managed to do that.

Imagine if I had to tell the client, 'No, actually I have not been training recently because I was really busy?' Instead of building them up I would have given the message that its ok to avoid training if there was a 'so and so' reason. 

'Oh c'mon, you didn't need to tell them.' That might be true. That also means it would have backfired on my character. No one would have known except me but in all honesty that would have weakened my resolve and authority as a trainer to ask them to do something or make a suggestion. These clients look up to us for maintaining their health but I also believe as personal trainers there is an element which goes deeper. It is setting an example and standard.

Stay honest and true to yourself. You will be able to handle 'curve balls' that suddenly get thrown at you from your client. As a trainer your own personal disciplines are necessary to be an authority and make an impact while training. Also, when you do that you come from a position of authority to be able to tell your clients what to do.

Discipline and honesty helps you through any aspect of life. As trainers I think this is especially true and important as we also set the example of being role models. It also helps to practice what you preach. If you need to stay on track find someone you can trust and stay accountable to so you can keep sharp. My wife keeps me accountable with something as little as a posture deviation. It gets irritating sometimes but I know its for my good and getting me sharper and stronger in character and skill to do what I have to do.

Practice living being true to what you stand for. Might be a bit difficult at the beginning but if you are consistent it will become a part of your life.

If this post has encouraged you send it out to someone else who you think needs it. If you need any help with Lifestyle Coaching or fitness, send me a message.

Having fun, Monkeying around, Breaking Barriers and Celebrating Achievements

Training sessions should be fun. That is something I learnt from Matt Marshall or at least got it reinforced in my mind from him. Thats exactly what I did today. I was waiting for a client to show up and I decided to have some fun on the kids playground - just monkey around on the monkey bars!!

Well I know it doesn't sound too modest but I was impressed with my speed and body movement. I just ran, jumped and swung around and hung around and also found out where all I had made improvements. Movements I thought still had a long way to go just flowed nicely and......for lack of a better word happened. It was sad that there was no video and no cameras but I did feel like I made my entry into the world of bar athletes.

Here is what went down:

3 single arm Pull ups:) from a 2 second single arm hold previously.

Front levers  

Reverse pull ups 

Upside down Pull ups 

Isometric holds on parallel bars for 15 seconds

I am thankful to God for this and to all the people who kept encouraging me to push past my limits with bodyweight training I want to thank you as well. I am going to take some time out today and celebrate!!

Medical Pros meet the Fitness Pros

There is a huge gap that I have noticed with health and fitness. There are a lot more healthcare professionals and doctors who are not taking advantage of the fitness industry. Some doctors also still refuse exercise programs to certain patients citing that their cases are too chronic. Yet there are numerous cases which show proper nutrition and exercise have actually got people back on their feet and in good health in spite of being bed ridden. Doctors might suggest physiotherapy but the problem with most medical physiotherapy today is it only goes to a certain level and stops and then the client just keeps on and on with a physio program that does nothing much for them after the initial first few sessions.

Its strange to me because the body has this one principle - If it is moving and kept active in the right way it will get stronger and medical professionals know that. If you are a medical prrofessional reading this are are genuinely concerned about your patients please consider looking for a professional fitness professional and working with them in designing your patients recovery plan.

So here are my suggestions as a fitness professional to medical professionals.

1) Look for partnerships: If doctors and professional fitness trainers partner together there is the best of experience coming in together. The doctors experience and knowledge coming in along with the trainers knowledge of exercise and or nutrition will definitely help the patient recover faster. If need be come in with a nutritionist and physio. The point to note here is primarily 'THE HEALTH AND LIFE OF THE PATIENT.
If you are not willing to do that for your patient why on earth are you a medical pro and spent those many years in medical school? After all a patient who is getting healthier is less of a burden for you.

2) Find out exactly what teaming up with fitness professionals can do for you:- Nearly all of the time, if you find a professional trainer your results as a doctor or medical professional can be enhanced. You will have an exchange of ideas and experience which could help you in other cases. You also will have a great team to work with if the trainer knows a really good nutritionist.

From a business perspective you can build your network and have a win win situation gaining more clients.

3) Which areas can you help the patient in? If you are unsure about exercise patterns for rehab of a patient, thats when you need a fitness professional to step in. A good fitness professional will work along with you in devising an appropriate exercise plan. If there are restrictions that you advise there will be ways to maintain those restrictions but also have an effective program.

From a pre-hab point of view you can always suggest patients to be more preventive and get into a fitness program or lose bodyfat weight safely telling them the advantages of staying fit and healthy and losing bodyfat weight.

In all its a win-win-win situation. The patient knows they are in the best care possible and chances of recovery are greater. You are exchanging ideas and learning and increasing your network and networth. The trainer increases thier network and networth while adding value to the patients life.

If you are looking for a professional fitness trainer to help or to partner with to help your clients with rehab or preventive lifestyle you can contact  me here.