Blinco Built personal training

Category: strength training

  • How to find a sustainable routine

    It’s not the what you do that makes the difference, it’s the why and then how you do it

    At this point you could see research on people trying the same exercise and diet routines and getting results or not getting results based on their opinion on whether those exercise and diet routines would work (yup, if you think it won’t work, it won’t work 🤯)

    Let’s go deeper though, because this applies to so much more

    What about depression and learned hopelessness?

    Having suffered through depression a couple of times in my life, and with a genetic predisposition on all sides with that condition it has been a large part of my learning


    It’s through my study, self experimentation and hard lessons, that I’ve come to realise you can do all the things (the “what”) and it doesn’t help at all, unless you start with the “why” and that guides you to the “how”

    The things work (mediation, gratitude, purpose, exercise, social support etc), but only if they themselves are meaningful

    Why is it important for you to be your best self? Not just for you, but for those you care about, who does your best self help?

    I meditate because I am more patient and caring and kind when I do, to my partner and my son, my members, my family, all the people I care about, I show up more focused and more fun when I practice gratitude

    You may think that doing it for others puts you at risk of other people’s whims, I say it keeps you on track

    If you are doing it for those people that truly matter to you, then when it works you’ll see more love, kindness and fulfilment in your life

    If the ones that love you aren’t too impressed with how you’re acting, it’s probably a good indication to evaluate how you’re acting, you won’t always get it right after all

    Start with your why, then figure out your how, and then implement the what’s, you won’t get it right the first time, it will an iterative process, but it’s worth it, for you and for everyone you care about

    Need help with increasing your self-confidence, moving pain free and enjoying life outside of the gym? We can help, just follow the link below to book your free phone consult now:

    https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=17216574&appointmentType=13896304

     

     

  • Are you trying to be perfect?

    Wabi Sabi. 
    Acceptance of the imperfection and the incompleteness of nature, even our human nature
    It’s a beautiful concept, in a world where machine learning and mass production are becoming more and more pronounced, there is something beautiful about the concept of imperfection
    Think about the power of accepting yourself, as imperfect as you are, and then the power of celebrating that imperfection

     

    Those steps would give you so much more hope when you tackle hard things

     

    Too often when we try something new we have an image of perfection in our minds
    “I’m going to do this transformation and I’m going to train 5 days a week, and I’m going to going to follow this meal plan 100% of the time for the next 6 or 8 weeks and it’s going to be amazing!”

    If that does happen, it won’t happen every time, and the expectation of perfection from yourself is more likely to set up a fall that you won’t have seen coming, no matter how many times it’s happened before

     

    Now, this isn’t to say you shouldn’t try your hardest, or that you shouldn’t set your sights high, it’s the idea that in the pursuit of great, you will fall, you will stumble, you won’t be perfect, and how good is that? 

     

    Even better, the journey never stops

     

    It’s beautiful, because it makes it interesting, it makes it worthwhile, if anyone could do it, there’d be no reason to pursue it at all 

     

    Embrace Wabi Sabi
  • Are you playing the infinite game?

    Are you playing the infinite game?

    Are you playing the infinite game or the finite game? 

    Hopefully your answer is: it depends

    Finite games have their place, these are the games you can play to win, like Monopoly (imagine the horror of playing Monopoly forever…) 

    Infinite games cannot be won, hopefully you are playing a finite game with your relationships, or your health

    You don’t want to play a finite game with your health

    This isn’t to say that finite games can’t be included in your infinite game of health

    Workouts should be finite

    Anyone that’s done a 5km row will know that sometimes it can feel infinite

    However, too often people take a finite view of their health, you may have done this yourself, I know I have

    “Oh I’ll start in January”

    As if your health doesn’t matter for months at a time

    “I just need to go 100% for the next 3 weeks”

    That sounds quite finite

    “I need to feel like I’m absolutely wrecked after a workout, otherwise I don’t feel like I’ve done anything”

    Sounds like you might need a properly planned program that includes regular testing to show your progress

    Health doesn’t stop, you can’t tell your body to ignore what you do to it for periods of time and hope it doesn’t matter, it all matters

    Which might sound depressing, or it might sound empowering

    Depends on whether you’re playing a finite or infinite game 😉

    A good way to move your view on this is to think about meeting your grandchild for the first time, are you going to be able to get on the floor and play with them?

    Will you be able to play with them when they’re 5 or 6 years old?

    Will you see them have their own kids?

    If that’s the case, it’s time to start playing the infinite game, because there probably won’t come a time when your health isn’t important

  • Walking into a new gym can be SCARY!

    Walking into a new gym may be the scariest thing you have to do

    It’s a foreign environment, you have no idea what to expect, there are people in there that know each other really well (if the gym has a great community), which is great!

    Except they don’t know you so you immediately feel like an outsider

    Even if you’ve tried many gyms in the past, you can feel this anxiety when starting somewhere new

    This is why we meet with everyone 1on1 before you start, then you at least have a friendly face

    You can go through you can be confident that your coach has your best interests at heart, because we find out what matters to you and make sure we can deliver on that

    Also, we treat you the same way we would if you were coming to our house for the first time, make sure you are seen, you are not just a number and you are made to feel at home

    That’s important, if this place is become a safe space for you to become a better version of yourself

    You need to trust that this is a place that it is safe to push yourself and to become part of a community of people that are all striving to live life more fully outside of the gym

    The gym doesn’t have to be scary, it can be the start of an incredible journey to being more self confident, a more energetic parent, and a fitter and stronger human

    Take the first step and we’ll meet you half way

  • You need problems

    You need problems.

    The idea of any sort of improvement isn’t to eliminate all your problems, it’s to get rid of the boring, annoying problems and replace them with meaningful, joyful problems, the kind of problems you’d love to have

    Problems like, should you kick the footy with your kids or go for a run, ride or swim with them? Instead of worrying about whether your back will give out while picking the laundry basket up

    Not worrying about whether your body will hold to basic tasks vs being able to live life fully outside of the gym

    Problems like, should you have pasta or steak for dinner? Instead of worrying about how you are going to stop putting on weight

    Not knowing whether you should cut carbs, try keto or start fasting vs having a plan that allows for you to enjoy the foods you love in the portions that will make you feel great and get the results you want

    There are good problems, the ones that are new and interesting and fun to solve, the ones you upgrade to, and there are the bad problems, the ones you have tried and failed to solve over and over again

    The way to get better problems? Increase knowledge, skills and get someone or something thing you are accountable to that will guide you along the way

    What problems do you have that you’d like to upgrade?

     

  • Principles to getting stronger

    Looking to get stronger? Don’t get confused by all the information out there, you really just need to do 3 things, consistently, and you’ll get strong fast!

     

    1. Overload – you need to overload your muscles, if you are doing a weight that’s difficult but you could move that weight 40 times without a break, it’s probably not hard enough. Realistically anything you could lift more than 20 times without a break probably won’t make you that much stronger (although it could have other benefits – that’s a different conversation) 

     

    1. Progression – the difficulty needs to increase over time, how you do that, more weight, reps, sets, less rest, is up to you and can be fun to try different things, as long as it is getting more difficult over time

     

    1. Recovery – in order to get stronger from exercise the muscles need to recover. Once again there are many ways to do this, days off, protein intake, nutrients, low intensity movement. It doesn’t matter how you help this process, just that if you want your muscles to improve they need time to repair

     

    If you hit these 3 principles, technically you could be doing the same exercises week after week and just change reps, sets, weight, rest, tempo and progress for years, and probably get stronger than you would ever have use for

     

    Of course, that might get boring, following a program that changes up is more fun and engaging and will help with consistency

     

    If you are looking for such a program, reach out and book a call

     

     

     

  • Internalised beliefs holding you back

    “Hey Joe, what’s with the salad mate? Going on a health kick? Yeah good luck mate” *knowing that he’ll never stick to it*

     

    Have you been here? Maybe it was a first time parent telling you about their plans to not let their toddlers use their mobile, or maybe it was a teenager telling you how they’re going to change the world

     

    We’ve all been there, outwardly supportive, but inwardly telling ourselves they’ll never stick to it

     

    Plot twist: You aren’t talking about them when you have those thoughts, you’re actually talking about yourself

     

    Congratulations, you’ve just discovered an internalised belief about why you couldn’t do such and such

     

    I actually mean congratulations, there is nothing better than discovering an internalised belief that is holding you back, and make no mistake, it IS holding you back. If you’re saying that about someone else, even internally, you are DEFINITELY saying that to yourself at some stage

     

    It’s likely stopping you from even trying something challenging, or could be the reason why you start but never follow through after you encounter the first hurdle

     

    There is a reason why you have that belief, someone passed it on to you, a parent, sibling, friend, colleague, Instagram, and the good news is that you can change it, you don’t have to hold onto it. Even if you’ve been holding onto it from childhood

     

    It’s weird, you change your phone every year or so, but there’s beliefs you have about the world and yourself that haven’t served you and yet you’ve held onto them for years, or decades and never questioned them

     

    This is your wake up call, it’s time to question them and decide whether you actually need them or not

     

    Do you believe that you can’t be fit and healthy? That it’s not possible for you? That’s a belief, not a fact, it can be explored, challenged and ultimately changed, it won’t be easy, but it can be done

     

    Try to be aware the next time you think to yourself, “they/I won’t stick to that” and try to think about the first time you had that said to you, or thought that about yourself, sit with it and decide whether you still need that belief or not, it might be time for an upgrade