Fitness Behavior

As someone who helps people achieve fitness goals, there’s often a moment I see which leads to people moving backwards in their progress. They have… Started a fitness goal Achieved the goal they desired Experienced amazing physical and mental benefits At this point, if you ask these people if they want to maintain the progress they have made, 100% of them would say ‘yes’. But unfortunately, many of them make decisions that lead to them going backwards…and often it’s to the place where they were before they started their journey. We often see this in difference scenarios such as: Weight loss - we often hear of people who have lost weight only to put it straight back on Fitness – where someone has been successful with exercise only to fall away from it and reverting back to being unfit and inactive While there are a few reasons why this happens, one of the biggest reasons is… Once they achieve their goal, they pull away from the things that made them successful. This is often because they think they can ‘do

There are a lot of people out there who want to live a passionate life but for some reason, they aren’t. This may be due to a number of reasons such as… Not knowing what they are passionate about Having so many life commitments that they don’t have the time or energy They have given up on thinking that a passionate life is possible Are you in this place? If so, would you like to change it? If you want to create change, we need to put a framework in place that takes you from where you are right now to where you want to get to. While there are a few hurdles to get over, to me, there’s one that stands out as one of the biggest limiters… It’s that you have put the worst version of yourself into the time you need to develop this side of your life. For example, you plan to put work into developing your passion at the end of the work day… Often when you are tired and unfocused, which can mean you procrastinate and put it off. This can lead to a place where you don’t make progress which reinforces to you that you

One of the hardest parts of creating change is taking the hard actions when we feel resistance. We know… What we need to do How we need to do it But the resistance we can sometimes feel stops us from taking action. I think one of the reasons for this is the story we build up in our head. Have you ever… Talked yourself out of the action you know you need to take? Justified why ‘now is not the right time’ to take action? Made the action almost seem impossible to do? If we want to grow or create change, we need to take action. We need to consistently do the hard things, even when we feel resistance. In this week’s video I want to share with you one powerful motivational tool that I use that helps me take action when I feel resistance. This is a tool that I’ve taught many people to use and it’s proving to be a winner. If you want to get better at doing the hard things, watch this video.

A few years ago I did an interview with one of the greatest triathletes of all time, a guy by the name of Peter Reid. This 3 x world Ironman champion was known to be… An extremely tough athlete Driven to do whatever it took to win Able to endure ‘hurt’ more than other high-level athletes In this interview, he talked about his driving motivation which was… To prove to his father that he was worth something. Peter talked about what motivated him but his insight was more about how his motivation was unhealthy for him. He also shared an amazing moment where he lost all of his athletic motivation… It was when his father sent him a letter telling him he was proud of him. This interview opened up the idea of questioning if the motivation we have is healthy, because sometimes what we are chasing isn’t good for us. In this week’s video, I share Peter’s story and explore the idea of questioning if your motivation is good or bad for you and what you can do if it’s working against you.

You may have heard David Goggins, the guy is a fitness freak! He… Has been a Navy Seal Has held the world record for pull-ups Is an ultra-marathon runner and ultra-distance cyclist You’d think that someone like me, who absolutely loves fitness, would be inspired by Goggins. But I’m not… The reason is because all I ever hear from David Goggins is about what he has done. While he’s clearly a bloody impressive human who I would have been inspired by in my twenties, I no longer get inspiration from people like this. Nowadays, I’m inspired by a different type of person. The type of people I get inspired by still achieve amazing things, they just do it in different ways. In this week’s video I share where I get inspiration from, the type of people I want to surround myself with, to learn from, and to ultimately be one day in the future.

A couple of weeks ago I shared with you how I’m working through a back injury. My main aims during this time are to: Get back to normal in the wisest way possible Minimise the damage that could be done during this time e.g. not putting on unnecessary weight due to unfocused eating. While these are just a couple of my focuses, this time has also reinforced the importance of the self-development work I’ve done over the last 10 years. You see, if I had this injury in my early thirties, I would probably have felt… Lost and insecure That I had to keep exercising in ways that would work against my injury getting better A threat to my life and career Luckily for me when I was thirty, I realised that I was too one-dimensional as a person. I was amazing at exercise but that was about it. At this time I realised I needed to develop new sides of myself, to develop lots of ‘esteem points’. Now that I’m in a place where I can’t exercise how I like to, these different ‘esteem points’ make it easier for me to make the b

Before I start, I just want to let you know that all of our running groups are starting on the 3rd of July. We have our beginner 5km group, our 10km group, and our winter half marathon group starting. If you are looking to join our team and achieve an amazing running goal, go to www.extramilerunners.co.nz to find out more. --- A while I ago, I was talking to a recovered alcoholic and they said something to me that blew my mind away.   They said…   ‘Even though I haven’t had a drink in over 20 years I think about having one every day of my life’.   This was quite a different experience to my own journey with alcohol. When I gave up 25 years ago, I never thought about drinking it again.   There’s a difference between me and him…   I was a bad drunk, he’s an alcoholic.   I asked him how he had been successful in keeping drinking away, when every day, he was confronted with this thought.   He shared a powerful technique/tool that he uses. When I learnt this tool, I thought, ‘this tool can be used in so many are

Unfortunately, I hurt by back last week. It’s the kind of the injury that can take quite a bit of time to come right, so I have a journey in front of me. This can be a scary time for someone who loves fitness and has a career in it. Luckily I’ve learnt how to managed times like these so… I can get back to normal as quickly as possible I can manage the emotional side of dealing with this injury I can use it as an opportunity to develop other areas of my life There’s also another area that I think is key at this time… ‘Do as little damage as possible while I work through this’. I’m not talking about the injury here, I’m talking about not allowing myself to take a step backwards in these other areas: My mental health Weight gain Feeling disconnected The aim during this time is to also look after these areas too so when I’m recovered I can get back to the fit and active version of myself I like to be as soon as possible.   ​​​​​​​In this week’s video I share how I approach times like these and w

If you want to grow in an area of your life, one of the best things you can do is…   Consciously put yourself in environments that are designed to help you grow.   Doing this will take you to a place where: ​​​​​​​ You’ll progress faster Experience more motivation Get to levels that you can’t get to by yourself When choosing these environments there are many things you need to look for but there’s one thing in particular that I want to focus on today.   It’s how the environment builds and reinforces a shift in your identity. Being in this type of environment can powerfully help you develop and reinforce a new level of behaviour, which leads to higher outcomes.   In this week’s video, I share one important thing to look for when you are choosing the environments that help you grow which, in turn, shifts how you see yourself.

One of the best ways to make progress is through feedback.   It can be gained through self-assessment or through the use of a mentor or coach.   The problem is, most people don’t have a process for getting feedback. This leads to: Making the same mistakes over and over Not feeling they are getting anywhere or making any progress Depleting motivation because they are a bit lost and confused   Recently I had an experience with one of our runners that should how their lack of self-assessment was working against them. It was taking them to a place where they were losing the love for running.   In this week’s video, I share the insight I gained in working with this person and the advice I gave, which helped them find their mojo again.

I have an insecurity around my piano playing…   It’s that I don’t think I will ever be good at playing by ear.   This holds me back from practicing because when I do spend time trying to play by ear my inner voice says…   ‘You are not good at this so why even try’. This leads to me…   Struggling to stay focused on what I’m trying to practice Telling myself that I can’t do it Moving towards quitting This creates an experience where I don’t get better, which reinforces my insecurity.   Lately, I’ve developed a plan that helps me overcome this, and it’s working. I’m moving away from this insecurity and am actually getting better at playing by ear.    In this week’s video, I share a deeper level of my experience and teach you the technique I’m using which is helping. 

A lot of us have struggled with our devices. Although there is clearly value in having them, they can also… Be massive time wasters Cause mindless use of our energy Have negative impacts on us in social ways (comparison, misrepresentation, FOMO etc..)  The problem is, we also need some of the tools that come with them. Recently I discovered a massive issue that I have… If I had an important task I needed to do on my phone, I was often wasting 5-10mins of my time during the process of dealing with the task itself. For example: I had a work message I had to respond to on Facebook Messenger Once I was in the App, I would spend 5-10mins scrolling So this usual 1-minute task ended up taking up to 10 minutes  When I reflect upon my day, this wastage of time was probably costing me around 40-50 minutes and there was no real value in my ‘scrolling’, I could definitely spend my time on better things. So I knew I need to address this. I came up with a strategy, which is really simple, that has dramatica

When we have moments of success we gain a lot. We... Feel good about ourselves Experience the feeling of having a stronger identity Get to have a rewarding experience In these moments of success, we want to experience as many benefits as possible but sometimes we do things that work against us achieving this outcome.   Two of the main ways we do this are: We diminish our success. This is the ‘yes, but…’ problem.  We rush past the success. This is where you don’t take the time to experience, recognise and feel the full learnings of your success. Recently, I had an experience with one of our runners who rushed passed their success which meant they missed the opportunity to see themselves in a different and more empowering light. In this week’s podcast, I share what happened and I teach what you can do in your moments of success, so you can experience all the powerful benefits that these moments offer us. 

Do you have areas in your life where you may limit your experiences because you feel insecure? You might... Sit on the side-line wishing you could participate Resist from trying new things in a particular area of your life Deep down know you want to have experiences but don’t allow yourself because of an insecurity If you do, you aren’t alone. There’s a life that you want to reach for but your insecurity slaps your hand away. We want to develop these areas so we allow ourselves to move towards growth. So… You actually do have new experiences You may learn that you are not as bad as you think in an area you felt insecure in You have a life that is filled with experiences that you enjoy In this week’s podcast, I share two strategies you can use if you feel you are holding yourself back from the experiences you know you want to move towards.

I was speaking to someone on the phone yesterday who had been very active at high school but had since fallen away from exercise. She was aiming to get back into regular exercise but was making one big mistake which meant she... Was lacking motivation Wasn’t doing the work Was close to the point of giving up While this person had good intentions, it was clear to me that where she was putting her focus at this this stage of her journey was working against her.  When I gave her some advice she said… ‘Stop, I need to get a pen to write this down’. In this week’s podcast, I’m going to share the mistake she was making with her ‘first focus’ and the advice I gave her which will lead her to achieving much better results.

In February, I had a client I was coaching for running tell me they were ready to quit their goals. They were… - Not fitting all their training in - Feeling unmotivated - Not getting the results they wanted - Ready to move on from running completely  While sometimes people do need to move on from certain areas of their lives, I thought it’s worth giving it one more shot with this person. I put my thinking cap on and developed a new way of approaching this person’s training. It’s been a total success. Now they are… - Achieving every session - Feeling on fire with their training - Getting amazing results In this week’s video, I share with you the change in approach I used that has helped this person go from being ready to quit completely to being on fire with their exercise goals.

I recently interviewed leading performance physiologist, Dr Greg Wells. He’s brought out a book called Powerhouse. It’s about how to use scientifically proven techniques to improve energy in our life. The book is based on techniques in these four areas: 1. Breathe 2. Move 3. Energize 4. Thrive In my interview, he shared a concept about how to get more ‘Thrive’ energy in our life. As Greg was talking to me, I was thinking ‘I love this concept’. So, in this week’s show, I’m sharing a technique that you can use to get more thriving energy into your life.

I’ve been working with someone who has made phenomenal progress in their life. When they came to me they: Felt they weren’t at the level they needed to be Had impostor syndrome Felt limitations on the possibilities within their life Through our time working together, this person is now in a place where they: Are a strong leader having massive impact Have massively shifted their self-perception about themselves Have ambition about their future While I have helped guide this person’s growth, my part is only 1% of the reason they have shifted so much. Looking at the reasons for their success, there are two factors that have been crucial and have enabled their growth and ensures their development moving forward. In this week’s podcast, I want to share with you the two things this person has continuously done to create an amazing life for themselves.

Are you good at communication? Actually, let’s go to the next level. Are you good at communication when it comes to helping others get to a higher level? This can be… - With young people in your life - With people you are mentoring - With your friends and family A lot of people aren’t great at this because they make these two mistakes: - They just want to share their own experience: “Here’s what happened to me in this situation’ - They just want to problem solve for the other person: ‘Here’s what you need to do’ - Great communicators use proven techniques that help guide others to place where new possibilities and pathways open up. Think about your own life... ​​​I can 100% guarantee that there have been moments of change that came from a key conversation. In this week’s podcast I’m going to share a leadership communication technique that I learnt years ago that has had a massive impact on how I can help others get to their higher level. It can help you help others in powerful ways.

Last week I thought of something that I had never contemplated before. It was a bit mind-blowing for me. It was to do with a key difference between the life of the ‘old druggie me’ and the now ‘current fitness me’. I’ve decided to share this with you. I’ve got to be honest, while I think there’s some fascinating insights from this… It could be a total disaster. Have a listen and let me know your thoughts.