Fitness Behavior

I've always struggled with incorporating stretching into my exercise routine.  Cardio, strength training, power exercises, core conditioning, and plyometrics—none of these have ever been a challenge when it comes to showing up and putting in the effort. However, stretching is a practice I've always acknowledged as necessary but have had difficulty consistently integrating into my routine. The dilemma lies in the fact that as I age, the importance of stretching increases, especially if I want to preserve my long-term mobility. So, at the beginning of July, I set a personal goal: to commit to yoga six days a week for the next three months. I was determined not to let this goal become one of those well-intentioned aspirations that fade away quickly. Now, three and a half months later, I've not only successfully achieved my goal, but I've also made it a daily habit in my life. In this week's video, I'll be sharing the five steps I took to reach this objective. These steps can be instrumental when you're striving

I strongly believe that our potential for personal growth is closely tied to the consistent tools and processes we have in our daily lives. This belief drives me to focus daily effort to this self-improvement work. Recently, I've introduced a new process into my daily routine, and it's returning huge benefits to various parts of my life. I'm excited to share this process with you, which consists of 5 simple steps and only requires 2 minutes of your time each day. If you want to consistently become a better version of yourself… I encourage you to watch this video and incorporate this tool into your daily routine. It has the potential to make a significant difference in your personal growth journey.

The other day, someone posed this question to me: "How can I initiate a conversation with a friend who has recently gained a significant amount of weight?” This individual wants to support their friend but is grappling with how to broach the subject because they don’t want to hurt their feelings. I've encountered this delicate issue many times throughout my career, and through my experiences, I've identified five effective steps. In this week's video, I'll be sharing my five-step approach to facilitate an important conversation in a caring and supportive way.

A lot of people say they need accountability to exercise. But then when they look for an accountability partner they make one mistake… They choose a partner who is unmotivated which often leads to both of them giving up quickly.  If you want to be successful with accountability, there 4 things to look for…  If you are totally new to an exercise or movement – pay for a skilled professional who has helped people like you to be accountable to. Find a partner who has good fitness character traits and ‘soft skills’ (like knowing how to turn up to do a session every time). Work together to create the rules and standards that your relationship will have. Be a legend at keeping your partner to the standards you both set. This is important because if you do this for them, they will do it for you. If you want to go deeper into this subject make sure you watch this video, where I teach you how you set these accountability steps up successfully.

Do you ever wonder why some people struggle to stick to their fitness goals? It's often because they skip a crucial step... They forget to set up their own personal motivation toolbox right from the beginning. When obstacles pop up along the way in their fitness journey, they're left empty-handed, unsure of how to handle them which sadly leads to throwing in the towel. Result? They mistakenly label themselves as "lazy." Let's change that! In this week’s video I share the 5 motivational tools you can put in place when you are on your fitness journey. These tools include: The "No More Comparison" Tool The "Bad Day Resilience" Tool The "Consistency Booster" Tool The "Conquer Tough Conditions" Tool The "Success Momentum" Tool Watch the video to learn about these tools and how you can use them to stay more motivated…in all areas of your life.

There are a lot of people who quit exercise within 13 days of starting.  There are many reasons why this happens, but one of the main reasons is… They do everything wrong around their planning. They:  ·       Plan to do their exercise when they are tired ·       Don’t consider the extra support they will need  ·       Schedule their exercise at times when they know they struggle, for example someone who hates mornings tries to exercise in the morning  ·       Don’t do any practical or mental planning at all!  There are many steps you need to do (and get right) if you want to introduce a long term exercise routine into your life and becoming a legendary planner is one of the most important.  In this week’s video I’m going to teach you the 4 key planning tools you must put in place if you want to develop a long term love of regular exercise.               These tools will set you up for exercise success

Are you stressed in your life right now? Or do you find that you struggle when stress overtakes your life?  Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about this… ‘How do I reduce the time I spend in stress when it’s overtaking my life?’ Through thinking about this question, I’ve developed a 6 step process you can do in times of stress that will help. The results are huge!!! When I go through this 6 step process, my stress melts away and I’m quickly in a healthier, more rational place. In this week’s video I’m going to teach you my 6 step process, a process I’ve never seen anywhere else so you can become a master of moving away from your stresses quickly.

Read this statement: ‘If you are aiming to improve an area of your life, you want to use your time in the most effective and powerful way.’ Do you agree with this statement? I’m pretty sure most of you will.  Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t apply it when they are trying to grow. They… Just do what they have always done in the past Put their focus on the wrong things Don’t spend time understanding and developing the most effective pathway forward This can lead to a place where their progress is slow and frustrating. In developing a growth pathway, we want to make sure we are using our energy in the most effective way possible so we can quickly create impactful change and continue to evolve down this path. I have a technique that I use when I’m trying to grow which massively helps me achieve effective and fast growth. In this week’s video, I’m going to teach you how I use it and how you can apply it to the areas you want to grow in.

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