ARC+ Training

Age: 12
Height: taller than Grandma
Match moment: illegally tackling the other team.

So my birthday is Sunday. To be honest I haven't been that arsed about it this year but I just had this fun idea. I love comedy and my friend loves telling people she's a comedian. Despite her gender, she's actually funny sometimes, and she gives good banter. With that inspiration I'd love for any one who wants to have a crack to Roast me!
No one likes comments that are just mean but aren't funny so give it some thought.
On Sunday I'll post a story with the option to leave your best material. Don't hold back. I'll share the best responses.

Happy International Women's Day!
I was very blessed growing up, to come from a family of powerful women with strong leadership qualities. These women embraced their femininity, harnessed their masculinity and worked side by side with the men who they had partnered.
I was taught to, "Man up," by the women in my family. I was also taught to harness my feminine side. I learned what it meant to be strong, compassionate and kind. I learned how to become a better role model for future generations.
I've observed that family dynamic is a degree less than typical, that gender roles are still apparent. That an, "us vs. them," mentality still pervades our society.
Today I've heard some men jokingly say, what about international men's day?
Well this day is for you too! Just as we celebrate Mardi Gras, pride and equality in all people; This day should be just as much a celebration for the boys who come from awesome mothers, who have awesome sisters and aunties and cousins. Celebrate your Female friends and colleagues. We wouldn't be here as a species if we didn't have these awesome babes. Just don't ask them what they want for dinner. 😆

100 years ago, we did not have the calorie packed treats we take for granted today.
100 years ago, we had many more labour intensive tasks to achieve each day.
100 years ago, obesity was almost non existent...
At least in us fu***ng peasants.
Technology has made the world faster and better connected but it could be said it has also made us lazy. Or, we were already lazy but we had no other choice.
So give yourself no other choice!
One of my most successful clients was a chocoholic.
We agreed that he was allowed to eat it whenever he wanted but that he had to walk from his house to the grocer in the next suburb (~2.5km away) to retrieve.
When he was determine to have chocolate he could eat as much as he liked, but he had a 5km round trip to get it.
He was a lazy fu**er but he was stubborn, when he made a promise he kept it.
Turns out, he was so lazy he almost gave up chocolate entirely; the treat was not worth the journey.
I'm very different. I'd happily walk 10km and sacrifice a goat for a block of chocolate so my grocer is very very very far away. The point is, you don't have to burn yourself with maximum intensity exercise all week to get results.
You just need to consolidate your life a little and make exercise and healthy choices a part of it.
Some examples include:
• Taking the stairs at work.
• Walking home.
• Switching to low sugar alternatives.
• Choosing beer or pizza, not both.
• Purchase snack size treats.
• Be the designated driver.
• Try and outrun your problems.
If you're eating like an as***le and not moving very much reach out to me.
I'm happy to roast you for your lack of self control and bully you into being more active. 😂

If you ARE the type of person who seems to lose motivation easily, listen up!
Many times people have come up to me and said, "I have this program. I hate all the exercises." Or, "My trainer has given me this diet and I don't like any of those foods."
There are more than one way to skin a cat (it's a pretty messed up saying) and if this program/diet is the optimal way for you to achieve results but you hate life in the process then I might suggest it's not that optimal.
Too many times I've seen this where people get caught up in the how and not the why.
The problem with this type of regime is adherence and to a degree, quality of life. I think if a client can get a result a little bit slower but is twice as happy along the journey that should be a consideration.
If you disagree then Google flexible dieting, you'll see it's quite popular.
If they're twice as likely to fall off the wagon or skip a training day, I look at strategies to manage them Instead of just blaming them for their poor self control.
So how do you get optimum results in a relatively efficient way by doing what you enjoy?
🏃‍♂️🏁Set performance goals.
You'll be much more likely to adhere to a difficult program if you're achieving some little wins along the way.
🎾⛹️‍♀️Play a sport.
If you're exercising for fat loss but enioy tennis then include some tennis style movements. There's going to be a little carryover into your game and could improve your match. Plus it's extra activity.
🏋️‍♀️🏋️‍♂️Work to your strengths.
You can get a lot more work done on the exercises you are good at and you won't mind it so much either. In the mean time, you can work a little each day on your weak points; slowly getting them to where you feel happy and capable.
🍔🍆Find a balance.
80% of your diet should be foods you know will help you towards your goal or 80% of your effort will be towards keeping strict adherence. The other 20% can be foods you enjoy (within reason) or planned strategies for breaks from your strict diet.

Time and again I've had clients said they felt like everyone is looking at them when they train. I'd respond, "They are all thinking the same thing about you looking at them. Their self consciousness sort of cancels out any judgement they have for you."
The logic is sound but it's quite dismissive. It also isn't true. Everyone is looking at you at some point and they are judging you subconsciously. The thing of it is, you'll never know what they think, so you have the power to decide what that is.
We've all heard the saying, "Don't judge a book by its cover."
I'd be willing to bet we've all done this at one point in our lives.
When you did this was it positive or negative? When you look at a room full of people exercising do you think, "They're all working hard on themselves." Or do you think of them as hopeless idiots interrupting your private visit to the space?
When I was starting out I would look at big bodybuilders and think, "They're probably big stupid meat heads that think I'm some sort of weakling." After meeting them I realised they were the most supportive and kind folks at the gym.
Turns out I was the judgey as***le pigeonholing them. 🤦‍♂️
A lot can be said about how you view others. If you start to see other people in a positive way, you will start to think and feel like they view you that same way. When you stop hating others, you stop projecting their imaginary hate onto you.
Try going up and introducing yourself. I think you'll be surprised at how kind people really are.
And if they turn out to be a hater? Tell em Al said they can go and get fu**ed! ✌

"They say you shouldn’t keep dolphins in concrete tanks, because the endless sound of their own sonar bouncing back at them eventually drives them mad."
-Stewart Lee
I've been receiving some positive feedback on my latest posts. People saying that what I've shared has helped or is useful. While I value feedback and I'm glad I've hit the mark, I do have a hard time with it. Not because I'm one of those people who hates compliments but because I worry it could affect my ego in a way that is of no benefit to humanity.
I don't believe I'm overly narcissistic on the whole but I can certainly be arrogant at times, a little bit elitist and definitely overconfident.
A healthy debate can be humbling, reflective and mind expanding. That is why I follow a number of varied social accounts. People I may be inclined to disagree with, people that frustrate the hell out of me, people that get mad at my comments and usually block me.
The thing I see they all have in common is the sickeningly positive feedback they receive for every trivial thing they do. Comments sections that make me just want to vomit.
I'm all for a bit or positivity but sometimes people are as***les; they could do with being told as much.
So thanks to any one that saw fit to challenge an opinion I've shared or call me out on something. I truly value your candor and it's a good opportunity for me to learn. By all means, keep the positive feedback coming but every now and then if you could just randomly tell me to go f**k myself, society would benefit.
Cheers.

Don't cut calories...
Yet.
Ask anyone who has switched to a plant based diet, what's the first thing they tell you?
"Oh I feel great."
While there's sufficient evidence to support the health benefits of a vegan diet I'd argue the likely short term benefits are immediately apparent because they went from eating like an as***le, to not eating like an as***le. I've literally had friends say they switched from eating McDonald's and sweets to a plant based diet and they feel amazing. It's called nourishment you goof!
One of the immediate shortcomings of dieting is the switch from high calorie, hyper palatable foods to low calorie, bland foods. You are simultaneously depriving your body of energy and flavour. Is it any wonder folks tend to come off the wagon?
Before you cut calories; maintain your intake as it is. No calorie restrictions but limit your food intake to whole foods, boring salads etc. You'll be amazed at how hard it is to over eat salad compared to chips and ice cream. Furthermore, you will learn to enjoy those foods before you begin the painstaking process of dieting down the track.
There's nothing worse than feeling super hungry on a diet with your only food options, things you don't really enjoy. At least if you enjoy those healthy snacks it's a little more bearable.
And stop eating like an as***le.

Take what we say with a grain of it.
There's an old saying, "Be careful whose advice you buy, be patient with those who supply it." Nowadays, it can be hard to decide where to invest your patience. It seems as though everyone is trying to offer you some tips or helpful advice and they don't charge for it; but is it really free?
Even writing this, I'm trying to broadcast a message that resonates with my demographic so that they might employ my business over the thousands of others in an completely saturated industry.
Today's habit is ask questions. Ask them a lot and about things that seem small or even insignificant. The first way to tell if a professional is full of s**t is if they make you feel small for asking the small questions.
Questions that I hear are often, "How much do you charge? What is a good exercise for tummy fat? Will eating this make me fat?" and, "can you write me a program?" 8 years in the industry and I hear the same four questions on repeat. Please ask me about my motivations as a trainer. Ask me if I've ever had a client I didn't get along with and why? Ask me if I'd be comfortable referring a client to another trainer for whatever reason. You'd be surprised how many get uncomfortable about this sort of stuff. These are hard hitting questions. Be critical!
It's your money, your health, your future.

It is often the little things that can have the most profound effect. Stuff that almost always gets overlooked like portion sizes, daily activity, choosing to walk, sugar free, proper warm ups etc.
But it can also be the little things people obsess over too. Things that make 1% of a difference while the basics are neglected.

In no particular order, here are some things that people focus vs. what they neglect:

🚫Protein powder right after the workout.
✅Adequate protein from whole foods throughout the day.

🚫Supplements to increase performance.
✅Winding down and getting a proper nights sleep.

🚫Sets, reps, weight and exercise variation.
✅Proper intensity and correct technique.

🚫Hitting all the body parts in a training session.
✅Being consistent and recording your workouts.

🚫Cheat meals, de-loads, new programs and shortcuts.
✅Balanced diet, steady routine, technical mastery and working hard.

🚫Biceps curls on a bosu balance trainer.
✅Punching yourself in the fu***ng face as hard as you can.

Comment below with some things you can think of that people miss.

Ok fellas, it's not that kind of how to. Though I will say, generally, if you're finding it difficult to satisfy your partner there's a good chance the length and girth of your communication needs attention.
The sweet spot is knowing your limitations but pushing yourself as well.
The fitness industry can be messed up... on one side you have the all or nothing attitude of the die hard fanatics, on the other, the positivity and soothing of the acceptance wimps. You constantly feel like you're bullied into having a six pack or accepting your lump ass and there's no in between.
The sweet spot is neither!
Find a balance.
Anytime you see a post telling you it's ok to eat cake you should probably ignore it, you haven't deserved it yet. But at the same time, don't let anyone tell you not to eat fu***ng cake if you want to eat it.
Now here's the kicker. Many of you won't know how to find the sweet spot and you wouldn't know it if you had. There's going to be some weird self talk telling you that 5th donut is a good idea or that dressing on your salad was probably 10 calories too many. You're all a bunch of freaks, just face it.
REACH OUT TO YOUR ACCOUNTABILITY BUDDY!
Ask the people who know you best if it's a good idea to do or don't something and don't be a little sook about the answer.

Legendary Tribe of Legends.

"Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food."
-Hippocrates

So you've been ambiguously wandering for 30 minutes a day and writing down what you eat,. Now it's time to set some discernable goals.
You might say, "I want to lose weight." Or, "I want to get stronger." But how much weight do you want to lose? And why? What the heck does getting stronger mean? Do you have a metric for how strong you are and how you wish to improve?
Open any self help book, in the first 100 pages it will have pointed you to reflecting on where you are and where you'd like to be. It seems so simple and yet, so many people wander in to a gym or start a diet with the most vague goals in mind and no way of telling if they are actually making progress.
Start by defining, "How much do I weigh and how much is a healthy weight for someone my age/height?"
Start by defining, "How many reps or weight can I move and what would I like to achieve?"
Really be specific with the goal setting process and when you would like to achieve these goals.
Everyone should try this too. It can be easy to write off this process for the athletes or the body transformation types. Everyone should have a go at setting small achievable goals...
Otherwise you're just wandering around aimlessly and life is too short for that s**t.

Put on your walking shoes and go for a 30 minute walk. You can't go to the gym every day and you're going to have to walk on recovery days so you might as well start here.
Let's face it, if you can't fit 30 minutes of walking into your schedule you might as well give up. 🤷‍♂️
Hell... break it into two 15 minute chunks if you have to. Just get it done!
When you return home from your walk have something to eat. It can be whatever you want but you have to write it down.
When I get asked for a meal plan I quip back, "what did you have for lunch yesterday?"
The number of people who can't answer that question honestly is staggering.
I continue...
"If you can't keep track of what you currently put into your mouth, what makes you think you're going to stick to a plan?" Start writing s**t down and try to be a little bit specific. This will come in handy later and it will serve you to keeping accountable.
Now phone a friend. Tell them you want to start making better health choices and that you want a buddy to help keep you accountable. They don't have to do anything, you just want to be able to report to them how you're getting on with your goals and when you feel like you're struggling. I'm not going to reference countless studies demonstrating why this is a good idea, I'm just going to argue I know my s**t and you need to action this right away.
Got it?
Good.